I was beginning to awaken, struggling to get up. I pushed with my arms, but my hands felt incredibly numb. Like they weren't even there. That just made things harder. Eventually i was able to stand upright, but itt somehow felt.... wrong. With little more than a thought, i fell forward into an all-fours stance, which oddly felt more natural.
“This isn't the strangest dream i've had, but still....” i mumbled to myself, noticing that my voice sounds a bit higher; a bit softer. I went to put a hand to my throat.... only to discover that my arm came, but i lacked a hand! Instead, where my hand should be, there was nothing but a keratinous surface, with a vaguely heart shaped indent in the middle.
A hoof.
Trying really, REALLY hard to stay calm, i gave myself the once-over. I seemed to be a strange equine of some kind. I had brown fur, (except that the last couple of inches of my legs, those were a bluish colour) I had black hair, made into neat dreadlocks, and a similarly styled tail. Looking up, i also had a flower in my hair. A Hibiscus flower, i immediately recognized. “Finally, something i'm familiar with.” I said aloud. In a way, it was.... calming.
My sense of smell was better than ever before. So, too, my hearing and sight. The form i was in was clearly superior to my human self in every way, except opposable thumbs. Or thumbs of any kind, for that matter. It would be nice if i could entirely remember my human shape.
Either way, I felt confident. Capable. Strong.
Nearby was a large bag with a red cross on it. “Hmm... must belong to a hospital nearby.” I wondered. “Who would just leave this here? I'm... pretty sure it isn't mine. Might as well take it along, though.”
That idea in mind, i instinctively lifted it up with my tail with practiced (yet unpracticed) ease, put it on my back and strode off, in search of civilization, not stopping to wonder how i knew how to do all that.
Only to realize that i was in a forest of sorts, with no idea of where i was supposed to be going.
As i suddenly remembered my grandfather telling me what to do when in doubt, i closed my eyes and centered myself. I nearly lost concentration when i saw the power of the earth beneath my.... hooves. Here it was wild, untamed, hard to understand, but something definitely told me to go to the right, so i did.
A short trot later, i found myself at the edge of the forest. I kept walking until i came up to a cottage that i couldn't tell if it was made out of a tree or if a tree grew out of it.
“Well,” i said aloud, “At least whoever lives here is environmentally friendly.” I gave a small chuckle at that. I could really appreciate someone who stuck to their roots. Even if the roots as such weren't theirs, if you know what i mean.
Confidently, i strode forward and, after brushing one hoof off, knocked on the door. Essentially, poking it a few times, but it was effective nonetheless.
I heard a soft voice from inside. “Come in!”
Silently thanking the owner of the house for getting a lever instead of a doorknob, i opened the door and walked in.
Rustic decor greeted me, as well as a white rabbit, with his front legs crossed, bearing an annoyed expression.
“Is there a problem?” i asked, raising one eyebrow.
[“Is there a problem?”, she says. No, no problem, but i'm watchin' her.] i heard, at which point he put a paw toward his eyes, then at me.
“Duly noted.” I said, and began to walk forward again.
The rabbit's eyes widened. He dashed back in front of me.
[Wait! You can understand me?!]
“So it seems.” i replied, surprisingly nonchalant.
[It's been so long since i had anyone to talk to other than Fluttershy. And as her name might suggest, she's not much for casual conversation. After a bit it becomes.... Irritating.] He put his right paw out, smiling. [I'm Angel Bunny. Just call me Angel, everyone i know does. At least to my face.] he 'said', before i put out a hoof to shake. [So, who are you?] he 'asked'.
“I'm....” i tried to think up a name on the fly. “Rain Dance.” i said after a moment. The name sounded cool, and felt.... right. Like it had belonged to me all my life.
[Well, Rain Dance, consider yourself to have made a new friend.] Angel 'said', smiling.
Just then a yellow coated pony with a long pink hairstyle came down the stairs.
“Oh! I wasn't expecting to have company today, much less meet a new pony.” she said in a soft voice, backing up nearly imperceptibly.
“Hello there, miss...?”
Timidly she said, “Um... I'm Fluttershy.” a bit too quietly for me to hear.
Angel rolled his eyes and said, [This is Fluttershy. She's the one i told you about. She takes care of me and so many other animals. Don't mind her. She's kind and friendly... but has a little trouble making new friends sometimes.]
“Oh.” i said in reply.
“You can UNDERSTAND him?!” Fluttershy exclaimed and tackled me to the ground.
[I probably should have mentioned that taking care of us every day has made her really strong, shouldn't I?]
“It... would have... helped.” i replied.
“Oh! Goodness! Are you okay?” Fluttershy said, getting off of me. “It's just.... I've so rarely seen other ponies that can understand animals and.... well, sorry.” she finished with a shy smile an an "E" sound.
Clearly this one was a Disney Princess type.
“It's really no problem at all.” i replied. “I'm much stronger than i remember being, i think. And i'm tougher than i look.”
“Ah, yes. That Earth Pony magic of yours. My friend Applejack explained some of that to me once.”
“Do tell.” i said. “This might be useful information.” i thought.
“Well, far be it for me to gossip or anything, and you might know about this stuff already, but she said that you Earth Ponies are super strong, super tough, have super stamina, and have a connection to the earth beneath your hooves. She also said something about your hair, but i don't remember that too well.”
“I may have to have a chat with this Applejack character at some point.” I thought.
“Really?” i said aloud instead.
“Well, as you can see, i'm a Pegasus.” she replied, flaring her wings briefly. “But i can't even fly too well, so it might or might not be for... ALL Earth Ponies, but i don't know.”
She switched to another topic
“Anyway, you're new in town, yes?”
“I am.” I replied.
“in that case you might want to stop by the town hall to register and the hospital to... make sure you're up to date, if you know what i mean.”
“No, i don't.”
“Oh. I mean that you'll want to catch up on your shots. Your booster, your feather flu shot (Earth Ponies can still be carriers for.... some... reason), your poison joke vaccine (we can thank Zecora for coming up with that) and that kind of thing. Don't worry, it can all be given in one or two shots.”
“Oh. Okay.” i said, calming down a bit. “I'll definitely do that. It was nice talking to you, miss Fluttershy.”
“Oh, just call me Fluttershy. Everypony does.” she said, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. “And 'miss' makes me sound old.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “Well, it was nice talking to you anyway.”
Angel waved. [Come back soon!]
Arriving at the hospital, I let myself in.
The lobby was the typical type you'd find in a hospital; bleached white walls, the occasdional chair here and there, the smel of disinfectant. In the middle of the back part of the room was a kiosk with doors on either side, where I saw a stallion who was coloured a bluish green. More green than blue, actually. Anyway, he had a mark of a green plus sign with smaller ones floating up around it.
Upon seeing me, he called me over. "Hello there!" he said. "Medkit here. What can I do for you?"
I said, "I'm here to get my shots updated. I hear that newcomers would be wise to get that done quickly."
"Indeed, ma'am! I'll notify Nurse Redheart."
At length, two mares came through the door. One was a pudgy gray mare, who had a mark of a lunchbox. Clearly she was a mother, presumably with another on the way. Walking alongside her was a white mare with a nurse's cap and a mark of a red plus sign surrounded by four hearts. I presumed that this was Nurse Redheart.
Now, at the time, the first mare was finishing up an explanation "... son takes school in Canterlot, you see. we need to take him on a carriage or train to school five days a week! But when he gets off he's always sick to his stonach, often while on the way, too. Do you know what I can do about it?"
Nurse Redheart said, "It sounds like your son has Motion Sickness. Maybe I can conme up with something-"
My eyes glowed green and the world became all fuzzy. I felt the sudden need to help this mare and found myself being involuntarily drawn over to her. "Try giving your son a piece of candied ginger every day before he goes. That'll mitigate the sickness."
Wait... how did I know that?
I shook my head and returned to my senses fully. The mare thanked me profusely and left with her foal.
Redheart was looking at the departing mare, rather slack-jawed. Clearly she was awestruck. She then turned to me and said, "Do you happen to need a job? I'm a very good judge of talent, and i can tell that you have the touch."
That didn't explain why she couldn't tell that at first, but whatever.
"Funny you should ask..." I replied, trailing off at the end.
"Do you know any ways to-"
Just then, a blue light started flashing.
"Oh no!" Redheart gasped. "A code blue! C'mon!" she beckoned as she started toward the disturbance.
Reaching under her cap, she pulled out an identical one and put it on my head. "You're hired. You get paid bi-weekly dependant on how many ponies you treat."
When we arrived at the room in question, there was already somepony there. A bluish mare with a yellow mane with a blue highlight in either side. Her Cutie Mark was of a teddy bear-like pony hugging a heart.
"Tender Loving Care; what's the issue?" Redheart queried.
"One of our inpatients is havong an attack! He needs immediate treatment!" Nurse TLC said, indicating the stallion.
"Oh no!" Redheart exclaimed. "Hoof me the electrocardio stimulators."
"The what?" TLC queried, tilting her head slightly.
"I think she means the defibrilator, or whatever you have on hoof."
"Oh! Here!" she said, hoofing over the requested implement. Then she looked to me and asked, "So who is this?"
Redheart answered, "Our new intern, Rain Dance. She may seem like a newbie, but she has a... sixth sense of sorts. Clear!"
*Zzz-beep!*
I loked around, hoping to see something I could use to help. Suddenly, I noticed a plant in the corner of the room, my eyes going green again. "Is that a Digitalis Lanata plant?"
"You mean the foxglove there?"
That told me all I needed to know! I dashed over and bit off one of the flowers, bringing it over.
"Hav'm eat a bit'o thith." I said through my teeth. "It thould hlp. It of'n doeth, 'nyway."
Redheart fed a fragment of the bloom to the stallion, who shortly thereafter calmed down.
"That was too close." she said, wiping her brow.
TLC turned to me. "How did you know that that would help? Isn't that stuff poisonous?"
I replied, "Yes, but Foxgloves are high in a certain chemical that can be used to help treat heart failure, usually in medication form; much less concentrated. All parts of the plant are poisonous, in significant quantity, but he... should have a hearty enough constitution, even in his condition."
"Luckily, he did, or that could have done more harm to him."
"He might have died with or without; it was worth a try."
"Let's just hope that we don't have to risk that again. Come on, Rain Dance. Let's get you registered. We'll need youu on the job more than I thought."
As she went back out of the room, I followed. Thus began my "internship". If you could call it that.
Author's Note
Both of those treatments are a thing, yes, but I don't suggest you try the second at home under any circumstances. A... slight fudge, but real enough..
