Chronicles Of A Timelord - Volume 1 - An Unequestrian Stallion

"How is he, Doctor Horse?"

The voices sounded distant, like they were being carried as an echo through a vast mountain range. Groggy and disoriented, the patients eyes slowly began to flutter open. The sight that greeted him was a most peculiar one. Staring back at him were a pair of equine faces, one was male with glasses, brown mane and a light amber coat covered by a white doctor's jacket, shirt, tie and stethoscope. The second was a female with light green eyes, nurse's cap, pink coat and a light purple mane with white stripes.

"It's hard to be sure, Nurse Sweetheart." He replied thoughtfully, while flashing a small light into The Doctor's eyes to test the functionality of his cranial nerves. "I've never had a patient like this before. I don't believe anypony has!"

Sweetheart hummed in response while easing a thermometer into The Doctor's mouth. After a few brief moments, she removed it and reported the results.

"The best thing we can do is just observe and see if any other symptoms are presented to help us discover what is wrong with this pony." He remarked while trying to attract The Doctor's attention by moving his hoof from side to side in the patient's view. "Hello, sir! I am Doctor Horse and this is Nurse Sweetheart. Can you tell us how you're feeling?"

The Doctor's gaze drifting vacantly from one pony to the next. His mind was struggling to process what was occurring, but he could conclude that he was in some form of medical institution. After a minute of uneasy silence, he finally responded.

"Shoes."

"I beg your pardon?" Doctor Horse responded while looking over the top of his glasses in confusion at The Doctor's statement. Nurse Sweetheart frowned and placed her hoof against her cheek in concern.

"Shoes!" The Doctor repeated urgently before rolling over to try and look over the edge of the hospital bed he was lying in and see if they were on the floor. However, his actions were prevented by the intervention of the two physicians who gently forced him back into his original position.

"Now, now." Doctor Horse scolded lightly. "You're not well enough to get out of bed just yet, but if you wish to have your shoes, I am certain we can give you them. Nurse, do you know where his shoes are?"

Nurse Sweetheart nodded, her frown melting into a smile that accentuated her chubby cheeks. She trotted over to a nightstand by the bed, which was separated into two parts. A small drawer was available for trinkets, watches and other articles, while the rest of the nightstand was home to a larger, cupboard-like space for clothes and other big items that wouldn't fit in the drawer. After opening the cupboard area, she retrieved a pair of black leather shoes that were in a style perfect for being worn on humanoid feet, but useless for equine hooves.

"They are most peculiar, but these were on his hooves when we found him." She remarked while passing them to Doctor Horse. After glancing over them, he then held them out to The Doctor.

"Are these the shoes you wanted?" He enquired. The Doctor stared back at him blankly before swiftly snatching the shoes from him and hugging them close to his body. The frantic display made Nurse Sweetheart squeak in surprise and Doctor Horse's eyes widen at the overprotective behaviour being exhibited by his patient.

"Perhaps he may have suffered from some form of head trauma?" He mused as The Doctor rolled over to face away from his physicians. Nurse Sweetheart shrugged in response before following her superior out of the room into the corridor.

"Maybe we should ask for the pony who found him to come and visit?" She suggested. "Perhaps seeing her will make him more comfortable and allow us to speak to him?"

"It could work, plus it won't do any harm to him." He remarked while adjusting his glasses. "I know a neurologist in Canterlot who could take a look at him. After all, an extra opinion might help us, Nurse."

"Oh, indeed!" She replied enthusiastically. "I'll see about having Lyra come and visit, Doctor."

"I have no idea what's going on."

The Doctor's gaze wandered around the room, quietly absorbing his surroundings for him to analyse as he adjusted to the light, clinical green the room had been painted in. It looked pleasant enough, but he was still uneasy. He couldn't quite grasp what was precisely wrong, but he was convinced that there was an issue. Looking down at his dark cream hooves, he couldn't help but question if what he was using to hold his shoes close to him were what he was meant to possess. His unclear memories showed that he was meant to have a more agile limb with appendages growing from it to assist in grasping objects.

"Spindly things..." He murmured as he attempted to remember what this limb was. "Spindly... Long, but agile, holds things."

After a few moments of struggling, he gave up and shook his head vigorously to clear his mind. His focus then attached itself to his shoes. He wanted, if not needed, them for some reason, which compelled him to snatch them so fiercely from the doctor attending to him. Curiously, he grasped one of the shoes and looked at it more closely. They were old, the leather was creased and cracked and a brief sniff resulted in a rancid smell invading The Doctor's nostrils. Scrunching his face in disgust at the odour, he refrained from sniffing again and shook the shoe before throwing it across the room carelessly. He then picked up the last shoe and turned it over, resulting in it making a soft rattle. Eyes widening, The Doctor shook the shoe lightly, which caused a key to fall out of it and onto the bed.

Small, round headed and the word "Yale" engraved on it, it was a very dull looking artifact. The Doctor threw away the remaining shoe and picked up the key, turning it over to examine it for any other marks of interest before licking it tentatively. Greeted with a distinct and strong metallic taste, he wiped his tongue feverishly with his hooves to try and remove the taste that was assaulting his taste buds. Once the taste of metal had disappeared, he grasped the key tightly and held it close.

He was unsure why, but he had a deep affinity for the key that told him that he needed to protect the key with all his might. Remembering that he was under the care of unknown individuals, he looked around for somewhere to hide it, but a swift glance round the room yielded no places to conceal the key. Suddenly, an idea formed within him. Gulping with uncertainty, The Doctor opened his mouth and placed the key under his tongue, ensuring that it wouldn't contact his taste buds and inconvenience him with the unpleasant taste he'd experienced mere moments ago.

Happy that he had sufficiently concealed the key he needed to protect, he plumped up his pillows before resting his head on them. He felt exhausted and reasoned that since no harm had come to him yet, he could get some rest right now.

"What exactly do you want me to do with him, doctor?"

The aquamarine mare, blessed with a pale cyan and white striped mane and a lyre adorning her rump, was the subject of an urgent request by Doctor Horse. Since she was the one to discover the unknown stallion lying in one of the side streets of Ponyville beside a strange, tall, blue box in oversized and peculiar clothing, she was also the first point of contact given to the hospital staff when she brought him in. Now, she was being asked to act as some form of companion to an amnesiac she knew nothing about. Suffice to say, she wasn't keen on the idea.

"It isn't a task you're required to do, Lyra." Doctor Horse admitted. "However, we believe that since you were the first to encounter him, he might be inclined to be more open with you."

"You mean like some sort of spy?"

"No, not at all! Consider it more along the lines of being a carer."

Lyra tapped her chin in thought as she mulled over the offer. On the one hoof, she wasn't convinced that her presence would be of any help. On the other hoof, she was rather lonely at that moment. Normally, she'd have the company of her roommate, Bon Bon, however she had business to attend to in Canterlot and wasn't going to return home for a few days. Realising that the task would, at the very least, help with her loneliness, she nodded in acceptance.

"Thank you! You have no idea how grateful I am for your help."

"Not a problem, doctor." Lyra replied modestly as she followed Doctor Horse out of his office. After navigating the corridors to reach the patient's room, Doctor Horse knocked on the door lightly before entering with Lyra following behind him.

"Hello again!" He greeted. "I have a visitor for you."

The patient, a stallion with a white mane and a dark cream coat, was laying motionlessly in bed. Doctor Horse approached quietly and was about to gently poke his shoulder, but was cut off when the patient immediately sat up in bed defensively.

"Oh! I'm sorry if I startled you." Doctor Horse apologised and bowed his head slightly submissively. "I'd like to introduce you to Lyra Heartstrings. She was the mare that found you and brought you in for treatment."

Lyra blushed as she tapped the floor nervously due to the unknown stallion staring vacantly at her. After a moment of silence, she looked up to meet his gaze and waved.

"Hello."

The stallion blinked before slowly copying the gesture and waved back at her, eliciting a giggle in response.

"I'll leave the pair of you to get acquainted." Doctor Horse said while backing out of the room. Once he'd shut the door, the pair were on their own. Silence creeped in as the two ponies stared awkwardly at each other.

"So..." Lyra began uneasily. "How are you feeling?"

Seconds passed by and all that was gained was a blink. Lyra coughed slightly to try and dispel some of the awkwardness that had gathered, but upon realising that it wasn't working she walked over to a chair nearby and pushed to closer to the bed. Once it was in position, she sat down. She had a reputation for having a unique method of sitting on chairs and other objects. She chose to sit with her rump on the seat, her legs dangling over the edge and her back straight against the backrest. The reactions she had received for such a choice varied wildly, but for the most part other ponies were concerned that what she was doing was uncomfortable.

After adjusting herself to achieve a degree of comfort, she looked back at the patient. Greeting her view was the stallion staring at her posture with deep interest.

"Is there a problem with the way I sit?" She enquired with a hint of irritation. To her surprise, his response was a solemn shaking of his head.

"You don't mind it?" She asked eagerly. "Um... Do you perhaps sit like this too?"

Her heart leaped with joy when he nodded, but was then surprised when he opened his mouth and began to speak.

"Is it not the normal way to sit here?"

"No, it isn't." Lyra explained while sitting in the more common position to demonstrate. "This is how ponies usually sit, but I prefer my way."

Nodding, the patient lifted his bed sheets so that he could sit on the edge of the bed to face Lyra. Every second caused Lyra's smile to widen as she saw him sit in the exact same manner as herself.

"So..." She began happily. "You never answered my question about how you were feeling."

"Oh, that is a good question." He replied while rubbing his temple thoughtfully. "I feel confused. I feel very strange and I feel like I should know more than I do right now."

"Well, do you know your name?" Lyra asked gently. "No pony knows right now, do you?"

His gaze drifted to the floor as he began to search through his memories for an answer. Seconds turned into minutes before he finally looked up at Lyra and shook his head dejectedly.

"I don't." He replied. "Do you think you could help me find out?"

Lyra blinked. She wasn't entirely sure how to react to such a question. As far as her task went for Doctor Horse, she was pretty much done. He was clearly unable to recall any details regarding his identity, meaning her continued interaction with him was pointless. However, a feeling within her heart begged her to say yes. It was most likely due to the fact that he sat in the same manner as she did, but to her, such a gesture meant a lot. Lyra had been the subject of a number of strange looks when she sat and she'd done her best to ignore them, yet it still hurt to see that ponies couldn't just accept that she was just being herself. She saw a comrade in sitting in this amnesiac, a lousy excuse to continue spending time with him, but for her it was good enough.

"I will definitely try!" She chirped with a nod. "I was the pony who brought you here, so I guess that means I know a bit about you."

"And what do you know about me?"

"Well!" Lyra began while clapping her hooves together. "I was heading to Sugarcube Corner when I heard this strange whirring coming from one of the side streets in Ponyville. So, I had a look to see what was making it and found you laying beside this big, blue box thing."

"What happened then?"

"Well, I approached and tapped your shoulder to see if you were okay. When you didn't say anything, I thought something was really wrong and so I brought you here!"

"You carried me?"

"Nope, I levitated you!"

The patient blinked in surprise and shook his head in disbelief.

"You... Levitated me?"

Lyra nodded and then closed her eyes while her horn began to glow. The patient was surprised to find that he was no longer sat in the bed, he was now floating in mid-air, surrounded in a brightly coloured aura. He began to flail his hooves about to try and get back onto solid ground, causing Lyra to giggle.

"Don't worry!" She soothed. "I won't drop you! Levitation is a basic skill for any unicorn, silly!"

"If it's all the same to you, Miss." He replied uneasily. "I would rather that I am on the ground where I belong."

Lyra obeyed and lowered him to the ground. Once he landed, he looked down at his four hooves and began to lift each one up individually and then put them back down onto the floor tentatively.

"This doesn't feel right to me." He mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Standing like this with four limbs." He replied and began to walk forward in a haphazard manner. "It feels awkward and unnatural to me. It's as if I've never done this before."

Lyra tilted her head while tapping her chin in thought. Ideas regarding how much he'd forgotten began to whirl round her head, considering whether it was possible that a fully grown pony could forget how to walk. After making a mental note to ask Doctor Horse about such a possibility, she stood up and approached him to help by teaching the amnesiac how to walk.