James : A Technicolour Storyby MottledlobsterChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1Chapter One I opened my eyes, realizing that another grueling day had begun. I looked to my right and noticed my wife'd already left for work. I called for my step-son, Dave to help me out of bed, and he came. "Alright, Jim, let's make this quick." I grunted in agreement, and he lifted me out of bed and helped me get dressed. That's how life is, as a quadriplegic. It's an embarrassing lifestyle, and if it weren't for the younger kids the life wouldn't be worth living. I knew how much I troubled Dave. "I'm gonna head on outside for a while, I need some fresh air." Dave waved, dismissively, as if to say "Catch you later". If I knew that he'd never see me alive again, I never would've gone. Too bad. I headed on out towards the back and entered the garage, rolling down the first ramp, using my chair to shut the door behind me. I continued on and began to roll down the second ramp, and that's when it happened. My ramp caught in between two of my tires, leaving me on a descending angle, forcing my neck to connect heavily with my seatbelt, choking me. How ironic. "Agh.." I jiggled the joystick control for my wheelchair, trying to get out of the suffocating deathtrap. This is the worst way to die for a quadriplegic. Suffocating and knowing you can't do anything about it. "Agh.. Dave.." I managed to whisper. My eyes shut. "James? James can you hear me? James!" A kind voice seemed to be calling out for me. It was soothing. Must be God or something. Surprising, since I never really believed in that stuff. "H--hello?" I raised my arm to shield my eyes from the light that was all I could see. I raised my arm, and gasped, shocked that it could move. I fainted from shock. "Hello? Hello, James? Wake up." That same kind voice was calling to me again, only now sounding much more commanding than kind. I braved the light and decided to force my eyes open. "Wha-what?" I managed to crack out of my dry throat, wondering why it was so bright and if I was alive. "My name is Princess Celestia, though I am not your Princess, so formalities are not necessary." She'd taken extra time to emphasize the word 'your'. I nodded, and finally, as my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized what was standing before me. Not a horse. Nor was it a pegasus or a unicorn. It was some hybrid of all three. "I am an Alicorn, James, and I have brought you here to give you two things. A better life and a second chance." I was shocked. This 'Princess' could read my mind and decided to pull me right out from my own world just for this? Why couldn't she do this to just anyone? "Why can't you save everyone's lives by bringing them here, then? Also, where is here?" I asked, a puzzled expression growing on my face. Celestia showing surprise at my ignorance to where I was. "You're in Equestria, dear. Don't you have children? You should know this world better than many your age." She was right. The colour schemes and images of everything around me were familiar. "Right. I'm beginning to pick up on it." I went to sit up, as I'd been lying on my back looking at her for the longest time. "I want to know if I can go home, though. You've made it clear you know I have chil--WHAT?!" I jumped up in shock, as when I'd sat up I realized what'd happened to my body. I looked the same as the characters on Kat's TV show. I was a pony. "Oh, right. I should explain your situation. Basically, on your home world, you've passed away." She showed a sad expression, before continuing. "I've been interested in your family's and, particularly your own, endeavors for the past while. I've taken you to this world to save your life and give you a second chance to live a life with limbs." She gestured towards my legs, arms, and wings. "I've given you a younger body as well. I wish you the best, but you'll never be able to see your family again. I'm sorry, but if I were to send you back you'd have no living body there to return to and your existence would diminish." She frowned, and I began crying, silently. I wasn't one for emotions, but I just lost my entire family. She put a hoof on my shoulder, consoling me in my weakest state. When I'd finished my crying, Celestia stood, watching over me, waiting for my decision, to continue here, or to die at home. I chose the former. "I'd.. I'd like to thank you for this opportunity, Princess. I'll make a life to be proud of here.. in Equestria.. as a pony." I looked up to her soothing eyes, confidently. "I'll do it." She smiled. "Good. However, we need to make this clear. None can know you're a human. It would cause an uproar. Humans are only mythological creatures in our world." There was a serious and commanding tone in her voice, but at the same time it was soothing. I nodded, and she continued. "Secondly, we need two more things for you. A name and a talent." She said all of this very seriously and commandingly. It's clear she takes her role as Princess very seriously. "A talent? What do you mean? Why would that matter?" She frowned, clearly realizing that I hadn't been watching much of my daughters television with her. "I need to know a talent of yours so I can give you an accurate cutie mark. Since your pegasus body is artificial, it will not develop a cutie mark on it's own. I have to design it. Think of it like a tattoo of something you're good at." "A tattoo, eh? Hm.. I can play guitar.. but I'm not sure if I can do that with these hooves." I frowned, realizing I'd likely have to relearn guitar anyway, seeing as I haven't used my limbs for years. "A guitar, hm? Very well then." She closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow a baby blue. I looked at my flank, and noticed a guitar as well as two eighth notes had appeared. "Oh. That's cool. It's like a painless tattoo." She chuckled. "Yes, a painless tattoo. Now all we need for you is a name and your.. belongings." I raised a brow. "My belongings?" Again, her horn began to glow baby blue and, again, something incredible happened. In front of me was an immaculate black classical-acoustic guitar. I had no idea of the make, considering I'm not from Equestria, but it's appearance was stunning. She magically placed it inside of yet another conjured item. A hard leather case, with a felt interior. Again, beautiful. She refused to let me respond to this, blurting out "Okay your name from here on will be Soft Maple, unless you've a better idea?" She paused, waiting for a response. I shook my head to say 'no, I don't have a better idea.' She picked up on it and went on to chuckle. "Right then, Maple. Are you ready to jump into the world of Equestria and take on a whole new life? Your second chance?" She seemed to be getting excited for me. I'm glad someone was. "Er, yes. I suppose. Thanks, Princess. For everything." She nodded, her horn began to glow, and, yet again I blacked out. Waking up in a dark forest I was surprised I wasn't somewhere more.. welcoming. 'This isn't what I expected.' I thought to myself. I put down the guitar case and rested on it. 'Maybe I'll teach myself to fly and look around, figure out where exactly I am.' I began by taking running starts, then jumping and trying to flap my wings, which was harder than expected. When your brain is used to no controllable limbs it's hard to control your base four, let alone your fifth and sixth. I plopped down onto my haunches, and sighed. "I have no idea which way to go. I should have asked..." Just then, I saw a rainbow form high above the canopy of the forest. Author's Note : Thanks for reading, guys. Feedback has been very helpful. Originally this was two different chapters, but it seems to make sense to put them both in one. Thanks. Chapter 2Chapter 2 : New Horizons I watched the rainbow and it seemed to be moving. "This is odd. Rainbows don't mo--". I was interrupted by my thinking by a terribly loud explosion, coming from the same direction the rainbow was coming from. I had to check to make sure I wasn't deafened by it, and, luckily, I wasn't. I picked up my guitar case within my mouth and galloped off to where the rainbow ended. I never was one to believe in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I figured there had to be something special about this one, considering it created that deafening boom. I galloped straight through bushes and tree branches, earning myself all kinds of cuts and scrapes. That's when I saw it. I'd only covered maybe two-hundred feet before I saw it. "Well, crap. A lion. Er, no wait, this is some sort of winged lion scorpion.. thing." It turned around, realizing my presence. "Crap. Did I say that out loud?" It pounced towards me, but fell short a few metres. That answered my question, and I galloped off in a serpentine pattern, hoping to lose it eventually. I found I was still headed in the direction the rainbow had ended at. I ran faster, and began screaming. "Help! Help! A thing is going to kill me!" I ran. I'd covered another two-hundred feet before I got tired enough for it to begin gaining on me. "Crap-crap-crap-crap! Somebody help!" I kept screaming for help. This was my second chance at life and I'm already going to find myself dead. Great. Just as I'd began to approach the rainbow's landing, I saw a cyan pegasus, out cold on the ground. I didn't think and picked her up onto my back, knowing the lion thing to be on it's way here, I had to run and keep this mare safe. If I hadn't, she'd be someone's lunch. I ran. I ran, and ran, and as the monster got closer I ran harder. My lungs were on fire, and so were my emotions. 'I've already died once, why am I willing to die again for some unconscious mare I ran into purely by coincidence?' I managed a quick scoff, ignoring how out of breath I was. 'I really shouldn't care.' I thought. Just then, I bucked her off of me. It didn't take much thought to know that I'd be caught with her on my back. I noticed her stir. I started, not caring if she could actually hear me. "If you're awake, listen. There's a lion thing out there and it's after both of us. I'm going to distract it. If you're conscious, run the other direction." I ran back in the direction of the lion thing. Rainbow's Point Of View "Ow.. my head.." I looked up, to see some greyish blue stallion with a burgundy mane run off, deeper into the Everfree. "What..? Who? Why isn't he flying?" I heard a roar. Most likely that of a manticore. I sat up. "Ugh. What is he thinking? Running towards the roar of an angry manticore? Is he insane?" So many thoughts were crossing my mind. I had to get up and get him to run away. I sat there a moment, trying to work up the courage to stagger to my feet without worrying about broken bones. I did just botch a landing of my sonic rainboom. I forced myself up, and, to my surprise, no broken bones! I grinned, and flew after that idiot pegasus. "Rainbow Dash coming to save the day!" It wasn't long before he came back into view. Between a tree and a manticore, that is. James' Point Of View Leaving the cyan rainbow maned pegasus behind, I galloped off back towards the direction the lion-thing was coming from. It wasn't very far, and I had no plan, so when I reached it I hadn't thought of how I'd catch it's attention without getting myself killed. "Oi! You! Don't I look tasty? Don't you want to eat me?! I bet you do!" I shouted, and immediately ran away from both the mystery-pegasus and the monster. I came to a humongous tree, and looked around frantically for the quickest escape. All were blocked by the thick brush. I had no where to go but up. Too bad I can't fly. "I guess this is it.." I murmured, eyes shut tight. Just then, as I expected my death to come, yet again, a cyan blur came flying towards me, and before I knew it we were both flying directly up in a ninety degree angle. "Am I dead yet?" I asked. I heard a raspy, feminine laugh. "Ha, no. You're alive, buddy. Why'd you run towards an angry manticore, anyway?" she asked, looking back to make sure we weren't being followed. "I uh, I made it mad when I was lost in the forest. While I was running I ran into you unconcious so I took the liberty of saving your life." I managed to squeak out, realizing I'd almost been the cause of this mare's death. "Oh, well, I figured you were just an idiot looking for death. You're a bit cooler, in my books. I'd say 20%." She eyed me up and down. "Er, yeah, thanks." I stuttered, not used to praise, let alone being called 'cool'. "So, er, can you let me down? I'm feeling a little, er, sick." I turned pale. The fact that I had been running for almost an hour straight was only now catching up to me. "Uh, yeah. Can you fly?" She asked, loosening her grip. I scrambled to get a firmer grip on her hooves, as I couldn't fly and we were about four-hundred feet up. "LETMEDOWNLETMEDOWNLETMEDOWN!!" I screamed, trying not to fall. The cyan mare complied. After a terribly long flight down, we landed in a valley outside the forest. My guts immediately painted the grass.. green. Er, greener, that is to say. A different kind of green. Aaaaanyway... "So, er.. Never heard of a pegasus with motion sickness. I think I'm going to have to take back that comment about you being 20% cooler. Yeah." The cyan mare eyed me up and down, curiously. "So er," I managed to recover, and rubbed the remnants of my.. mess off of my face with my forehoof, "may I ask the name of the enchanting mare that has saved my life?" She frowned. "Hold on a minute, kiddo. No compliments. You're not my type. I prefer my men... in the sky. That's something you can't do, isn't it?" She frowned. "No," I was a little taken aback with her reaction to the compliment I tossed out there, "no, I can't fly. Least, not now." She actually looked a little disappointed by my unwillingness to persevere with the compliment. I went on. "Well, I'll at least give you my name," I paused, taking a moment to be sure I remembered the name Celestia had given me correctly. "Soft Maple." It seemed I'd put her into an awkward situation. I had asked her name and she had refused to give me it, so I went on to give my own. She seemed uncomfortable, and muttered audibly, "Rainbow Dash...". "What was that? Sorry, I've had a," I paused, yet again, not knowing the name of the monster, "monster roaring in my ears for the past hour." She blushed, and yelled "RAINBOW DASH!" I flinched, closing my eyes. Opening my eyes again, I noticed I was alone in the valley, and looked up to see a rainbow blur speeding off towards what I had to think was north or south, judging from where the sun had risen. My mouth gaped, realizing something terrible. "Crap... I forgot to ask where the closest town is." I decided to walk the direction I saw Rainbow Dash fly off in, figuring I'd see something eventually. It took about an hour of walking for me to notice a path that lead off towards the Everfree. "Oh good. A sigh of society." I smiled, took out my guitar, put on the strap, lifted the case onto my back, and began to play, celebrating my progress. We were strangers Starting out on a journey Never dreaming What we'd have to go through Now here I am And I'm suddenly standing At the beginning alone No one told me I was going to find you Unexpected What it did to my heart When I lost hope You weren't there to remind me This is the start And... Life is a road And I want to keep going Love is a river I wanna keep flowing Life is a road Now and forever Wonderful journey I'll be there When the world stops turning I'll be there When the storm is through In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you We were strangers On a crazy adventure Never dreaming How our dreams would come true Now here I stand afraid of the future At the beginning with you And... Life is a road And I want to keep going Love is a river I wanna keep flowing Life is a road Now and forever Wonderful journey I'll be there When the world stops turning I'll be there When the storm is through In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you I knew there was somebody somewhere Like me alone in the dark Now I know my dream will live on I've been waiting so long Nothing's gonna tear us apart And... Life is a road And I want to keep going Love is a river I wanna keep flowing Life is a road Now and forever Wonderful journey I'll be there When the world stops turning I'll be there When the storm is through In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you Life is a road and I wanna keep going Love is a river I wanna keep going on.... Starting out on a journey Life is a road And I wanna keep going Love is river I wanna keep flowing In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you. I stopped. Thoughts of my family had been haunting me since I came to this world. I couldn't help but want to go back, even though I knew I couldn't. A tear ran down my cheek, and I grinned. Through my teeth, I muttered "I'll find love just as strong here, then. That way, I won't hurt as much." I knew that idea was wrong, but hope was nice to have. Third Person Point Of View Rainbow Dash had been laying in a tree, trying to sleep when she heard the strumming of a guitar and a masculine treble singing voice coming from down the path. She started humming along with the singing voice, not knowing it was Soft Maple. "..that's a nice voice.." she mumbled, her imagination going wild imagining a stallion with a voice like that. She grimaced, realizing what she'd been imagining. "Stupid Rainbow, stupid! You can't trust stallions!" she scolded herself. The voice had paused, and the strumming had ceased. All that was to be heard was a ringing C chord being carried by the wind. She frowned. "Aw.. it's over.." she muttered. She heard a muffled, hurt voice coming, almost inaudibly, but she caught it. "I'll find love," She frowned, a bird had began chirping and she missed some of Soft Maple's self-conversation. The bird had ceased chirping just in time for Soft Maple to mutter "That way, I won't hurt as much." Rainbow peeked over from behind the tree to see who it was. Author's Note : Thanks for reading, guys. I'm surprised I was able to pump out this chapter in such a short time. I hadn't an idea of what to do within the short-term, but I figured something out, and know where I'm taking this bit. Song : Youtube Video Chapter 3Chapter 3 : Dropping Eaves Author's Note : From here on I'll be adopting an omniscient third person PoV. It's simpler to write from and doesn't require me to constantly have to read other chapters to figure out if the character I'm narrating through knows a name, etc. I don't have to worry about giving characters knowledge they don't have through narration, only dialogue/thoughts. Enjoy! The woeful stallion continued his trek along the path, not noticing Rainbow Dash watching and listening from behind a tree. He wiped his face of tears, and looked up. Only now did he realize how quickly he'd been travelling, as he'd seen a town. Glad something positive happened, he began to trot towards town for a moment, but slowed to a halt after thinking a moment. "I still don't know how to fly..." He said, ironically worried someone nearby might hear him talking to himself. "Alright, Jim, time to fly." He began in a gallop, in the opposite direction of town, so as to not eventually be known as the adult pegasus that didn't know how to fly. Rainbow watched, confused as to what he was doing. Jim jumped up, and began trying to flap his wings, which wasn't as difficult as the time he'd attempted in the Everfree. It was probably because he had warmed up his body. Gotten the blood flowing. He managed to jump and flap his wings once, still not doing much to keep him in the air. He tried again. Only this time, not starting from a gallop. He hopped up, from an immobile stance and began to flap his wings furiously. He gasped this time, when he managed to hover. "Yes! I did it! I'm flying!" Jim yelled, not thinking about being caught, only thinking of his new success. Rainbow Dash face-hoofed and flew down, to talk to him. "Uhm, hi." She said, uncomfortably. Jim turned around, and saw Rainbow standing there, uncomfortably watching him hover. "Oh, uh, this isn't what it looks like," He blurted out. "I mean, uh, I'm just uh..." Rainbow Dash quirked a brow, and then chuckled. "Oh, that embarrassed, are you? Look, I'll teach you to fly if you promise never to tell anypony about me botching that landing in the forest." Jim looked her up and down, and considered this. He had no idea how he could teach himself to fly, and even if he had managed to successfully fly, he could have a particularly odd lift-off habit or something that could lead to some awkward questions. "I suppose I have no choice, then." He muttered, pawing at the ground, awkwardly. Rainbow beamed. She was incredibly happy she had successfully eliminated a risk to her ego. "Great! Right then, er.. you said your name was Soft Maple, right? I'll call you Softie." She joked, but paused to take a minute to actually consider the nickname. It wasn't bad. Jim frowned. "Sure. Now hurry up and teach me to fly, Instructor." He put some emphasis on the last word, to let her know he still felt she had no authority over him, even as his flight instructor. Rainbow Dash ignored this. "Alrighty. Open your wings for me." She said, as she eyed him up and down, patting his entire body with her forehooves to get a feel for Jim's muscles. He spread his wings open, they were about two and a half feet long each, "Like this?" He asked, trying not to react too much to all the physical contact Rainbow was giving him, feeling each of his muscles. His body was ticklish all over. "Yeah. Just like that." The raspy voiced mare replied. She went on. "Right. So I think you've got a lot of potential for flight. You have about six inches of more wing than most other pegasi. The problem lies entirely in your technique. Watch." She showed Jim a flawless lift off, where she had simply flapped her wings once with such an incredible force that it actually lifted her up six feet. "You try." She said hopefully. Jim complied, flapping both of his wings as just once, as hard as he could. He managed to lift off into his previous hovering position. "Good, so now you have the basic lift off that fillies and colts learn in flight school. If you can just move-" Before she could finish, in a burst of confidence, Jim had rolled his shoulders forward, and began moving. He was getting a hang of it. Rainbow gawked at him. She couldn't believe her eyes. This stallion was only just learning to fly, for whatever reason, and was already slightly superior to Fluttershy. She couldn't hold in the excitement any more, she yelled, "You're a natural!" This caused him to lost concentration, and, forgetting his situation, stopper flapping his wings about 20 feet in the air. Thud. Rainbow's winced as she saw him hit the ground. "Well there you go making me a liar. Couldn't you keep flying for the compliment to register?" Jim was forcing himself to not show any signs of weakness. "I could have, but the compliment ruined me." He forced himself to a standing position, his knees still looking wobbly. Rainbow frowned, seeing his suddenly wobbling knees, she started. "Are you sure you're alright?" Jim cut her off, suddenly. "I'm fine!" He snapped, annoyed at Rainbow's sudden interest in his well being. She ignored his rudeness, and continued. "You know I could fly to town and get somepony." Jim began walking towards Rainbow, and on his third step she noticed a limp. "You're not fine." She said, frowning, she continued. "I'm going to town, and there's nothing you can do about it. Wait here." Before Jim could object she was off, at least 100 feet in the distance. He sighed, before dropping down back onto his haunches, making conjectures as to what could be wrong with his rear left leg. Rainbow had only just reached Twilight's house when there was a loud explosion from within. Rainbow let herself in, not terribly worried since Twilight had often enough failed experiments for her to expect such an event. "Twi? I'm coming in." Rainbow called blindly, not seeing Twilight in the immediate vicinity. She heard Spike start in reply. "Oh, I see how it is! Since Twilight's older you don't think Spike deserves a 'hello', huh?" He seemed aggravated. Rainbow quirked a brow at the baby dragon's change in character, before brushing it off, figuring it uncool to react to Spike's complaining. As she made the decision to let Spike cool off, Twilight came into the main room of the library, half of her face covered in soot. "Er, Twilight? You got a little somethin' on your face there." Twilight blushed, at least as far as rainbow could tell, under the soot. The two mares sat in the awkward atmosphere a moment, before Twilight opened her mouth. "Er, right. Sorry. I was trying out a new spell to enchant dishes so they would do themselves. It didn't go so well. What's up?" "Oh! There's a new pony just outside town! He's hurt himself flying. Could you help me get him to the hospital?" Rainbow's complexion paled, a little bit, remembering the time she hurt her wing and was left in the hospital with nothing but books to accompany her. Twilight frowned. "Is it terribly bad? The Princess told me I'd have somebody staying with me awhile, he should be here any minute now." Rainbow frowned, but decided it best to not distract Twilight from her work too much, even if it meant an idiot stallion with a bum leg having to wait a little longer for treatment. "It's alright, Twilight. It's not fatal, or anything. Just a bum leg." Rainbow smiled weakly, before moving to head out of the library. Twilight stopped her before she could reach the door, however. "Wait. Rainbow, this could be bad. If it's broken it might heal wrong, meaning we'd have to break the bone a second time to fix it. I'll go, my guest can wait." Rainbow was surprised at Twilight's leniency with her own duty, but satisfied that the brainiac could help with anything that needed immediate attention. "Great, Twi! C'mon! This way, hurry!" Rainbow's expression was brighter, thanks to Twilight's willingness to help. "Right, I'm coming, I'm coming." Twilight trotted after Rainbow, out of the library, Spike watching, with an annoyed expression on his face. While Rainbow was getting Twilight : Jim sat, against the same tree Rainbow had been spying on him before. He'd managed to limp there with his guitar from his original crashing position with some effort. He held a sad expression on his face, and he thought to himself 'I wonder what my family would think.. if they knew I'd abandoned them for some carefree world and a new life..' Silently, a tear rolled down his cheek, and he began to strum on his guitar. Slowly, he began humming, and after a moment, actually began singing, again, in a higher pitched, tenor voice, fairly higher than the voice he'd used just hours ago. Long before we each said goodbye All our fights would make hate appear I don't know why those are the days I hold dear You taught me how to be so fearless; Always pushing me further each day Saying, "You can overcome it all and find happiness along the way if you try" I'll go on alone with the pain And I swear that I won't complain 'Cause I'll have the dream you gave me To keep me strong just how I should be You were once what made me happy What I once had called my everything But it faded and I could see Being with you was all just a dream I once thought we always would be And never cross the finish line But I knew that was just a wish Of mine I don't regret being born any longer I have learned to cherish life 'Cause you gave me all you had and more Though we now move on our separate ways Without strife I'll go on alone with the pain And I swear that I won't complain 'Cause I'll have the dream you gave me To keep me strong just how I should be Even if I am far from you When there's more than distance between us I will pick myself up once more With the strength I have thanks to you I'll go on alone With the pain Though I want to die I'll restrain It's your voice that I can still hear Like a light that will not disappear Even if it's hard to move on Even if I cannot stop my tears My heart is warm because of you And I'll hold that dear for all my years Our time came and went by so fast I now look back and make it last I cannot recall what broke us Into pieces like inside my heart If I close my eyes I can hear Someone laughing long ago with me To this day I've held that right here 'Cause you're still my most precious treasure Our time came and went by so fast I know look bac kand make it last I cannot recall what broke us? Into pieces like inside my heart If I close my eyes I can hear Someone laughing long ago with me To this day I've held that right here 'Cause you're still my most precious treasure He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes after holding the last note, and sighed, the tear he'd shed now falling from his cheek into the soil. He opened his eyes and looked to his left. He noticed two silhouettes of ponies in the distance, coming closer, as the sun set behind them, and he wiped his face, trying to hold true to a particular line that would never leave his mind. I'll go on alone with the pain and I swear that I won't complain Author's Note : Done! A small tidbit of inspiration came to me today, and here it is! I planned to spend a week on this chapter, but it slipped my mind after my Enchanted Arms crossover, and I lost all will to write, suddenly. I hope this is satisfactory, I've got plans for the future, but other ideas are always coming, so you can always expect a twist in the future. The song used in this chapter is "Most Precious Treasure - Angel Beats!" Yep. I'm a freaking weaboo. To an extent, at least. Thanks for reading! Feedback will always be appreciated! Chapter 4Chapter Four : Healing Jim scrambled to dry his face and prayed his eyes weren't red as he watched the silhouettes of the two ponies he assumed to be Rainbow and her 'help' closing in on him. He could hear them making conversation, however could not make out any of what was being said. He decided to stand up. Bad idea. He howled in pain as he'd split his weight equally to all his legs. Including the bum one, which he'd forgotten about. "Damn it all! I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine!" He said, wincing as he attempted to recover from the searing pain. Forcing his eyes open, he saw Rainbow's face inches away from his own. She'd apparently flown at light speed the moment she'd heard his yelp. Surprised at the gross invasion of his personal bubble, he took a step back. With his left leg. Yet another yelp was let out into the meadow. "Dammit! Why are you so close?!" Jim was in a bad mood, firstly for being hurt and not being able to hide it, and secondly for Rainbow's proximity. "I just wanted to see if you're okay! Clearly not. Your eyes are red. Does it hurt that much?" Rainbow blurted out, curious as to why he'd been crying, again, thinking about what she'd heard when she was watching him. Jim was moments away from blurting out 'no' at Rainbow at the top of his lungs, but paused, a moment. Rainbow'd noticed a sudden blank expression in his face, and quirked a brow, waiting for the response. Jim's mind was as blank as his expression. He had no idea which path to choose. He went with the latter, as, again, there was only one resounding thought in his mind. I'll go on alone with the pain. I swear, I won't complain. Rainbow was losing her patience, and wondered if he'd maybe hit his head in the fall, but the thought was quickly tossed to the side as she watched him wince again. "Gah.. er, yeah. It hurts. A lot. How long 'til I get hel-" He was cut off by a purple pony, who he could only assume to be the help. "I'm the help Rainbow was getting you, er, what was your nam-" Twilight was cut off by Rainbow, who blurted out "Soft Maple!" she paused, noticing both ponies had suddenly given her a quizzical expression. "I mean, uh, his name is Soft Maple." She said, awkwardly. "Rrrright..." Twilight said, noticing the conversation wasn't going very far. "Well, Soft Maple," she emphasized, his name, as if to scold Rainbow Dash for interrupting her. "What do you think is wrong with it? If it's just broken, I know a spell to fix it, unless it's already healed, which would be a bad thing." Jim looked around, dumbfounded, until he recalled what his name was supposed to be. "Oh, right. Me. Yep. That's me! Uh, er.." He was terribly uncomfortable, not sure how to go about getting used to an entirely new identity, he figured it'd just take time, so he shrugged it off and continued, noting both mares had been giving him a curious look as to why he received the name so awkwardly. "Well, I've had a broken arm--I mean front leg, once before, and I'm recalling it feeling something similar to this, but I'm still unsure. Is there a way for you to check?" Jim asked, just as awkward as before. Rainbow was stifling a laugh at his discomfort, and, tossing a glare her way, Twilight began. "Er, yes. There is a way, although we have no painkillers and it is definitely not recommended." Jim thought about this, and decided it could be a chance to prove that he had a solid pain tolerance. "I'm sure I'll live, regardless of how painful it'll be." He groaned. Rainbow silently quirked a brow, but refused to say anything until he could gallop, figuring to let colts be colts. Twilight sighed. "It's always the stallions that want me to do this to them. Okay.." she shrugged, closing her eyes, her horn began to glow. Jim braced himself with a straight face and opened eyes, refusing to blink. His rear leg had been enveloped in purple glow, and he just figured this to be something normal, since, you know, Celestia more or less did the same thing. Twilight started to speak. "I'm going to have to make sure it's broken. This means I'll have to move the bone. You'll feel some immense pain, so I recommend bracing yourself." Jim nodded, "Way ahead of you." Jim was suddenly assaulted with terrible pain. His face went pale, but his expression remained blank. "This.. is nothing.." He forced out of his throat. Rainbow reached a hoof over, to hold his shoulder, but Twilight's magic held her still. "Sorry, Rainbow. This is a very delicate process. Any sudden movement can pierce the muscle with the bone. Rainbow gasped, realizing just how terribly painful this must have been, and her eyes fell back to Jim's face. She quirked a brow when she noticed something particularly questionable. He'd been crying just from the pain of his broken leg, but not from having it moved around magically? Something was up. After a moment, the magic let up, and Jim had regained some color in his face. The process was still being done, but the worst of it seemed to be over. "So, uh," Jim had been trying to catch his breath, as he'd been holding it for the entire time he'd been worked on. "So uh, it was broken, huh?" Twilight sighed for a moment, still working on his leg, managing an "mhm" through her concentration. Jim looked to Rainbow. "Uhm, Thanks. For the help, I mean." Rainbow was surprised at the display of gratitude from the terribly rude pegasus before her. "Yeah, yeah. It's alright. Er, I mean you're welcome. All in a day's work." Rainbow was uncomfortable, and Jim enjoyed this, managing a small chuckle. Twilight's purple glow faded from both Jim and her horn, and she raised her head. "I think.. it should be done." She said, sheepishly. Jim looked at her, and smiled. "Thanks, er, what was your name?" The color had been fully returned to his face, and Twilight was silently surprised he wasn't passed out on the grass before her. "Twilight, nice to meet you." She smiled, and watched as Jim tested out his newly set bones. "Oh this is great! It feels sturdier than before! How do you do it?" He was particularly interested in Twilight and Celestia's magic, and wondered a moment if he'd have been better off if her were reincarnated as a unicorn. "Oh, well it's just a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo, I doubt you'd be really interested if I got started on explaining." Twilight replied. Rainbow didn't like this, She was being left out of a conversation. She can't take that lying down! She spoke. "So, Softie, I guess you need a place? For awhile, at least? You're welcome to stay with me." Jim was taken aback by the invitation. "I er, I guess that'd be nice. I don't really have a plan. I was sent out before I could ask where to go or anything." Both Rainbow and Twilight quirked their brows at this, mirroring eachother. "Sent out?" Put on the spot, and not wanting to have to out himself to the only two ponies he'd met, Jim lied, remembering that his body was at least 10 years younger, leaving his actual age somewhere between 18 and 21, deciding on 20 to be a good number, he put on a face. "Yeah.. I uh, well, I was kicked out from home. Family.. issues." Now, family evicting family is a rare phenomenon in Equestria. Family issues have occurred, but not to the extent that a pony would be made homeless. This was terrible news for Twilight and Rainbow to hear. Twilight started, Rainbow's mouth still agape from the shock. "Well, Rainbow and I can take care of you until you can get on your own hooves. We swear it, on our elements!" She exclaimed. As if to emphasize, Twilight placed her right hoof on her heart, or where it would be on a pony's chest, and used her left hoof to shut Rainbow's gaping muzzle. Rainbow awoke from the shock enough to manage a "That's right! We're here for you!" Jim, surprised to have so easily won these two ponies favour, especially Rainbow, considering her lack of enthusiasm for being hospitable to him earlier, could think of nothing to say besides a simple "I'll be relying on you, then." He bowed his head, not sure if or how ponies could shake hooves. Author's Note : Hey guys, pumped this out in about an hour, I think I'm making some major improvements in my writing skill, considering I do very little prewriting for each chapter. All I plan is what I eventually want to happen, and that's always changing. I hope I can meet everyone's expectations, at least! As per usual, thanks for reading and I look forward to any and all feedback I can get!
Chapter 1Chapter One I opened my eyes, realizing that another grueling day had begun. I looked to my right and noticed my wife'd already left for work. I called for my step-son, Dave to help me out of bed, and he came. "Alright, Jim, let's make this quick." I grunted in agreement, and he lifted me out of bed and helped me get dressed. That's how life is, as a quadriplegic. It's an embarrassing lifestyle, and if it weren't for the younger kids the life wouldn't be worth living. I knew how much I troubled Dave. "I'm gonna head on outside for a while, I need some fresh air." Dave waved, dismissively, as if to say "Catch you later". If I knew that he'd never see me alive again, I never would've gone. Too bad. I headed on out towards the back and entered the garage, rolling down the first ramp, using my chair to shut the door behind me. I continued on and began to roll down the second ramp, and that's when it happened. My ramp caught in between two of my tires, leaving me on a descending angle, forcing my neck to connect heavily with my seatbelt, choking me. How ironic. "Agh.." I jiggled the joystick control for my wheelchair, trying to get out of the suffocating deathtrap. This is the worst way to die for a quadriplegic. Suffocating and knowing you can't do anything about it. "Agh.. Dave.." I managed to whisper. My eyes shut. "James? James can you hear me? James!" A kind voice seemed to be calling out for me. It was soothing. Must be God or something. Surprising, since I never really believed in that stuff. "H--hello?" I raised my arm to shield my eyes from the light that was all I could see. I raised my arm, and gasped, shocked that it could move. I fainted from shock. "Hello? Hello, James? Wake up." That same kind voice was calling to me again, only now sounding much more commanding than kind. I braved the light and decided to force my eyes open. "Wha-what?" I managed to crack out of my dry throat, wondering why it was so bright and if I was alive. "My name is Princess Celestia, though I am not your Princess, so formalities are not necessary." She'd taken extra time to emphasize the word 'your'. I nodded, and finally, as my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized what was standing before me. Not a horse. Nor was it a pegasus or a unicorn. It was some hybrid of all three. "I am an Alicorn, James, and I have brought you here to give you two things. A better life and a second chance." I was shocked. This 'Princess' could read my mind and decided to pull me right out from my own world just for this? Why couldn't she do this to just anyone? "Why can't you save everyone's lives by bringing them here, then? Also, where is here?" I asked, a puzzled expression growing on my face. Celestia showing surprise at my ignorance to where I was. "You're in Equestria, dear. Don't you have children? You should know this world better than many your age." She was right. The colour schemes and images of everything around me were familiar. "Right. I'm beginning to pick up on it." I went to sit up, as I'd been lying on my back looking at her for the longest time. "I want to know if I can go home, though. You've made it clear you know I have chil--WHAT?!" I jumped up in shock, as when I'd sat up I realized what'd happened to my body. I looked the same as the characters on Kat's TV show. I was a pony. "Oh, right. I should explain your situation. Basically, on your home world, you've passed away." She showed a sad expression, before continuing. "I've been interested in your family's and, particularly your own, endeavors for the past while. I've taken you to this world to save your life and give you a second chance to live a life with limbs." She gestured towards my legs, arms, and wings. "I've given you a younger body as well. I wish you the best, but you'll never be able to see your family again. I'm sorry, but if I were to send you back you'd have no living body there to return to and your existence would diminish." She frowned, and I began crying, silently. I wasn't one for emotions, but I just lost my entire family. She put a hoof on my shoulder, consoling me in my weakest state. When I'd finished my crying, Celestia stood, watching over me, waiting for my decision, to continue here, or to die at home. I chose the former. "I'd.. I'd like to thank you for this opportunity, Princess. I'll make a life to be proud of here.. in Equestria.. as a pony." I looked up to her soothing eyes, confidently. "I'll do it." She smiled. "Good. However, we need to make this clear. None can know you're a human. It would cause an uproar. Humans are only mythological creatures in our world." There was a serious and commanding tone in her voice, but at the same time it was soothing. I nodded, and she continued. "Secondly, we need two more things for you. A name and a talent." She said all of this very seriously and commandingly. It's clear she takes her role as Princess very seriously. "A talent? What do you mean? Why would that matter?" She frowned, clearly realizing that I hadn't been watching much of my daughters television with her. "I need to know a talent of yours so I can give you an accurate cutie mark. Since your pegasus body is artificial, it will not develop a cutie mark on it's own. I have to design it. Think of it like a tattoo of something you're good at." "A tattoo, eh? Hm.. I can play guitar.. but I'm not sure if I can do that with these hooves." I frowned, realizing I'd likely have to relearn guitar anyway, seeing as I haven't used my limbs for years. "A guitar, hm? Very well then." She closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow a baby blue. I looked at my flank, and noticed a guitar as well as two eighth notes had appeared. "Oh. That's cool. It's like a painless tattoo." She chuckled. "Yes, a painless tattoo. Now all we need for you is a name and your.. belongings." I raised a brow. "My belongings?" Again, her horn began to glow baby blue and, again, something incredible happened. In front of me was an immaculate black classical-acoustic guitar. I had no idea of the make, considering I'm not from Equestria, but it's appearance was stunning. She magically placed it inside of yet another conjured item. A hard leather case, with a felt interior. Again, beautiful. She refused to let me respond to this, blurting out "Okay your name from here on will be Soft Maple, unless you've a better idea?" She paused, waiting for a response. I shook my head to say 'no, I don't have a better idea.' She picked up on it and went on to chuckle. "Right then, Maple. Are you ready to jump into the world of Equestria and take on a whole new life? Your second chance?" She seemed to be getting excited for me. I'm glad someone was. "Er, yes. I suppose. Thanks, Princess. For everything." She nodded, her horn began to glow, and, yet again I blacked out. Waking up in a dark forest I was surprised I wasn't somewhere more.. welcoming. 'This isn't what I expected.' I thought to myself. I put down the guitar case and rested on it. 'Maybe I'll teach myself to fly and look around, figure out where exactly I am.' I began by taking running starts, then jumping and trying to flap my wings, which was harder than expected. When your brain is used to no controllable limbs it's hard to control your base four, let alone your fifth and sixth. I plopped down onto my haunches, and sighed. "I have no idea which way to go. I should have asked..." Just then, I saw a rainbow form high above the canopy of the forest. Author's Note : Thanks for reading, guys. Feedback has been very helpful. Originally this was two different chapters, but it seems to make sense to put them both in one. Thanks.
Chapter 2Chapter 2 : New Horizons I watched the rainbow and it seemed to be moving. "This is odd. Rainbows don't mo--". I was interrupted by my thinking by a terribly loud explosion, coming from the same direction the rainbow was coming from. I had to check to make sure I wasn't deafened by it, and, luckily, I wasn't. I picked up my guitar case within my mouth and galloped off to where the rainbow ended. I never was one to believe in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I figured there had to be something special about this one, considering it created that deafening boom. I galloped straight through bushes and tree branches, earning myself all kinds of cuts and scrapes. That's when I saw it. I'd only covered maybe two-hundred feet before I saw it. "Well, crap. A lion. Er, no wait, this is some sort of winged lion scorpion.. thing." It turned around, realizing my presence. "Crap. Did I say that out loud?" It pounced towards me, but fell short a few metres. That answered my question, and I galloped off in a serpentine pattern, hoping to lose it eventually. I found I was still headed in the direction the rainbow had ended at. I ran faster, and began screaming. "Help! Help! A thing is going to kill me!" I ran. I'd covered another two-hundred feet before I got tired enough for it to begin gaining on me. "Crap-crap-crap-crap! Somebody help!" I kept screaming for help. This was my second chance at life and I'm already going to find myself dead. Great. Just as I'd began to approach the rainbow's landing, I saw a cyan pegasus, out cold on the ground. I didn't think and picked her up onto my back, knowing the lion thing to be on it's way here, I had to run and keep this mare safe. If I hadn't, she'd be someone's lunch. I ran. I ran, and ran, and as the monster got closer I ran harder. My lungs were on fire, and so were my emotions. 'I've already died once, why am I willing to die again for some unconscious mare I ran into purely by coincidence?' I managed a quick scoff, ignoring how out of breath I was. 'I really shouldn't care.' I thought. Just then, I bucked her off of me. It didn't take much thought to know that I'd be caught with her on my back. I noticed her stir. I started, not caring if she could actually hear me. "If you're awake, listen. There's a lion thing out there and it's after both of us. I'm going to distract it. If you're conscious, run the other direction." I ran back in the direction of the lion thing. Rainbow's Point Of View "Ow.. my head.." I looked up, to see some greyish blue stallion with a burgundy mane run off, deeper into the Everfree. "What..? Who? Why isn't he flying?" I heard a roar. Most likely that of a manticore. I sat up. "Ugh. What is he thinking? Running towards the roar of an angry manticore? Is he insane?" So many thoughts were crossing my mind. I had to get up and get him to run away. I sat there a moment, trying to work up the courage to stagger to my feet without worrying about broken bones. I did just botch a landing of my sonic rainboom. I forced myself up, and, to my surprise, no broken bones! I grinned, and flew after that idiot pegasus. "Rainbow Dash coming to save the day!" It wasn't long before he came back into view. Between a tree and a manticore, that is. James' Point Of View Leaving the cyan rainbow maned pegasus behind, I galloped off back towards the direction the lion-thing was coming from. It wasn't very far, and I had no plan, so when I reached it I hadn't thought of how I'd catch it's attention without getting myself killed. "Oi! You! Don't I look tasty? Don't you want to eat me?! I bet you do!" I shouted, and immediately ran away from both the mystery-pegasus and the monster. I came to a humongous tree, and looked around frantically for the quickest escape. All were blocked by the thick brush. I had no where to go but up. Too bad I can't fly. "I guess this is it.." I murmured, eyes shut tight. Just then, as I expected my death to come, yet again, a cyan blur came flying towards me, and before I knew it we were both flying directly up in a ninety degree angle. "Am I dead yet?" I asked. I heard a raspy, feminine laugh. "Ha, no. You're alive, buddy. Why'd you run towards an angry manticore, anyway?" she asked, looking back to make sure we weren't being followed. "I uh, I made it mad when I was lost in the forest. While I was running I ran into you unconcious so I took the liberty of saving your life." I managed to squeak out, realizing I'd almost been the cause of this mare's death. "Oh, well, I figured you were just an idiot looking for death. You're a bit cooler, in my books. I'd say 20%." She eyed me up and down. "Er, yeah, thanks." I stuttered, not used to praise, let alone being called 'cool'. "So, er, can you let me down? I'm feeling a little, er, sick." I turned pale. The fact that I had been running for almost an hour straight was only now catching up to me. "Uh, yeah. Can you fly?" She asked, loosening her grip. I scrambled to get a firmer grip on her hooves, as I couldn't fly and we were about four-hundred feet up. "LETMEDOWNLETMEDOWNLETMEDOWN!!" I screamed, trying not to fall. The cyan mare complied. After a terribly long flight down, we landed in a valley outside the forest. My guts immediately painted the grass.. green. Er, greener, that is to say. A different kind of green. Aaaaanyway... "So, er.. Never heard of a pegasus with motion sickness. I think I'm going to have to take back that comment about you being 20% cooler. Yeah." The cyan mare eyed me up and down, curiously. "So er," I managed to recover, and rubbed the remnants of my.. mess off of my face with my forehoof, "may I ask the name of the enchanting mare that has saved my life?" She frowned. "Hold on a minute, kiddo. No compliments. You're not my type. I prefer my men... in the sky. That's something you can't do, isn't it?" She frowned. "No," I was a little taken aback with her reaction to the compliment I tossed out there, "no, I can't fly. Least, not now." She actually looked a little disappointed by my unwillingness to persevere with the compliment. I went on. "Well, I'll at least give you my name," I paused, taking a moment to be sure I remembered the name Celestia had given me correctly. "Soft Maple." It seemed I'd put her into an awkward situation. I had asked her name and she had refused to give me it, so I went on to give my own. She seemed uncomfortable, and muttered audibly, "Rainbow Dash...". "What was that? Sorry, I've had a," I paused, yet again, not knowing the name of the monster, "monster roaring in my ears for the past hour." She blushed, and yelled "RAINBOW DASH!" I flinched, closing my eyes. Opening my eyes again, I noticed I was alone in the valley, and looked up to see a rainbow blur speeding off towards what I had to think was north or south, judging from where the sun had risen. My mouth gaped, realizing something terrible. "Crap... I forgot to ask where the closest town is." I decided to walk the direction I saw Rainbow Dash fly off in, figuring I'd see something eventually. It took about an hour of walking for me to notice a path that lead off towards the Everfree. "Oh good. A sigh of society." I smiled, took out my guitar, put on the strap, lifted the case onto my back, and began to play, celebrating my progress. We were strangers Starting out on a journey Never dreaming What we'd have to go through Now here I am And I'm suddenly standing At the beginning alone No one told me I was going to find you Unexpected What it did to my heart When I lost hope You weren't there to remind me This is the start And... Life is a road And I want to keep going Love is a river I wanna keep flowing Life is a road Now and forever Wonderful journey I'll be there When the world stops turning I'll be there When the storm is through In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you We were strangers On a crazy adventure Never dreaming How our dreams would come true Now here I stand afraid of the future At the beginning with you And... Life is a road And I want to keep going Love is a river I wanna keep flowing Life is a road Now and forever Wonderful journey I'll be there When the world stops turning I'll be there When the storm is through In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you I knew there was somebody somewhere Like me alone in the dark Now I know my dream will live on I've been waiting so long Nothing's gonna tear us apart And... Life is a road And I want to keep going Love is a river I wanna keep flowing Life is a road Now and forever Wonderful journey I'll be there When the world stops turning I'll be there When the storm is through In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you Life is a road and I wanna keep going Love is a river I wanna keep going on.... Starting out on a journey Life is a road And I wanna keep going Love is river I wanna keep flowing In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you. I stopped. Thoughts of my family had been haunting me since I came to this world. I couldn't help but want to go back, even though I knew I couldn't. A tear ran down my cheek, and I grinned. Through my teeth, I muttered "I'll find love just as strong here, then. That way, I won't hurt as much." I knew that idea was wrong, but hope was nice to have. Third Person Point Of View Rainbow Dash had been laying in a tree, trying to sleep when she heard the strumming of a guitar and a masculine treble singing voice coming from down the path. She started humming along with the singing voice, not knowing it was Soft Maple. "..that's a nice voice.." she mumbled, her imagination going wild imagining a stallion with a voice like that. She grimaced, realizing what she'd been imagining. "Stupid Rainbow, stupid! You can't trust stallions!" she scolded herself. The voice had paused, and the strumming had ceased. All that was to be heard was a ringing C chord being carried by the wind. She frowned. "Aw.. it's over.." she muttered. She heard a muffled, hurt voice coming, almost inaudibly, but she caught it. "I'll find love," She frowned, a bird had began chirping and she missed some of Soft Maple's self-conversation. The bird had ceased chirping just in time for Soft Maple to mutter "That way, I won't hurt as much." Rainbow peeked over from behind the tree to see who it was. Author's Note : Thanks for reading, guys. I'm surprised I was able to pump out this chapter in such a short time. I hadn't an idea of what to do within the short-term, but I figured something out, and know where I'm taking this bit. Song : Youtube Video
Chapter 3Chapter 3 : Dropping Eaves Author's Note : From here on I'll be adopting an omniscient third person PoV. It's simpler to write from and doesn't require me to constantly have to read other chapters to figure out if the character I'm narrating through knows a name, etc. I don't have to worry about giving characters knowledge they don't have through narration, only dialogue/thoughts. Enjoy! The woeful stallion continued his trek along the path, not noticing Rainbow Dash watching and listening from behind a tree. He wiped his face of tears, and looked up. Only now did he realize how quickly he'd been travelling, as he'd seen a town. Glad something positive happened, he began to trot towards town for a moment, but slowed to a halt after thinking a moment. "I still don't know how to fly..." He said, ironically worried someone nearby might hear him talking to himself. "Alright, Jim, time to fly." He began in a gallop, in the opposite direction of town, so as to not eventually be known as the adult pegasus that didn't know how to fly. Rainbow watched, confused as to what he was doing. Jim jumped up, and began trying to flap his wings, which wasn't as difficult as the time he'd attempted in the Everfree. It was probably because he had warmed up his body. Gotten the blood flowing. He managed to jump and flap his wings once, still not doing much to keep him in the air. He tried again. Only this time, not starting from a gallop. He hopped up, from an immobile stance and began to flap his wings furiously. He gasped this time, when he managed to hover. "Yes! I did it! I'm flying!" Jim yelled, not thinking about being caught, only thinking of his new success. Rainbow Dash face-hoofed and flew down, to talk to him. "Uhm, hi." She said, uncomfortably. Jim turned around, and saw Rainbow standing there, uncomfortably watching him hover. "Oh, uh, this isn't what it looks like," He blurted out. "I mean, uh, I'm just uh..." Rainbow Dash quirked a brow, and then chuckled. "Oh, that embarrassed, are you? Look, I'll teach you to fly if you promise never to tell anypony about me botching that landing in the forest." Jim looked her up and down, and considered this. He had no idea how he could teach himself to fly, and even if he had managed to successfully fly, he could have a particularly odd lift-off habit or something that could lead to some awkward questions. "I suppose I have no choice, then." He muttered, pawing at the ground, awkwardly. Rainbow beamed. She was incredibly happy she had successfully eliminated a risk to her ego. "Great! Right then, er.. you said your name was Soft Maple, right? I'll call you Softie." She joked, but paused to take a minute to actually consider the nickname. It wasn't bad. Jim frowned. "Sure. Now hurry up and teach me to fly, Instructor." He put some emphasis on the last word, to let her know he still felt she had no authority over him, even as his flight instructor. Rainbow Dash ignored this. "Alrighty. Open your wings for me." She said, as she eyed him up and down, patting his entire body with her forehooves to get a feel for Jim's muscles. He spread his wings open, they were about two and a half feet long each, "Like this?" He asked, trying not to react too much to all the physical contact Rainbow was giving him, feeling each of his muscles. His body was ticklish all over. "Yeah. Just like that." The raspy voiced mare replied. She went on. "Right. So I think you've got a lot of potential for flight. You have about six inches of more wing than most other pegasi. The problem lies entirely in your technique. Watch." She showed Jim a flawless lift off, where she had simply flapped her wings once with such an incredible force that it actually lifted her up six feet. "You try." She said hopefully. Jim complied, flapping both of his wings as just once, as hard as he could. He managed to lift off into his previous hovering position. "Good, so now you have the basic lift off that fillies and colts learn in flight school. If you can just move-" Before she could finish, in a burst of confidence, Jim had rolled his shoulders forward, and began moving. He was getting a hang of it. Rainbow gawked at him. She couldn't believe her eyes. This stallion was only just learning to fly, for whatever reason, and was already slightly superior to Fluttershy. She couldn't hold in the excitement any more, she yelled, "You're a natural!" This caused him to lost concentration, and, forgetting his situation, stopper flapping his wings about 20 feet in the air. Thud. Rainbow's winced as she saw him hit the ground. "Well there you go making me a liar. Couldn't you keep flying for the compliment to register?" Jim was forcing himself to not show any signs of weakness. "I could have, but the compliment ruined me." He forced himself to a standing position, his knees still looking wobbly. Rainbow frowned, seeing his suddenly wobbling knees, she started. "Are you sure you're alright?" Jim cut her off, suddenly. "I'm fine!" He snapped, annoyed at Rainbow's sudden interest in his well being. She ignored his rudeness, and continued. "You know I could fly to town and get somepony." Jim began walking towards Rainbow, and on his third step she noticed a limp. "You're not fine." She said, frowning, she continued. "I'm going to town, and there's nothing you can do about it. Wait here." Before Jim could object she was off, at least 100 feet in the distance. He sighed, before dropping down back onto his haunches, making conjectures as to what could be wrong with his rear left leg. Rainbow had only just reached Twilight's house when there was a loud explosion from within. Rainbow let herself in, not terribly worried since Twilight had often enough failed experiments for her to expect such an event. "Twi? I'm coming in." Rainbow called blindly, not seeing Twilight in the immediate vicinity. She heard Spike start in reply. "Oh, I see how it is! Since Twilight's older you don't think Spike deserves a 'hello', huh?" He seemed aggravated. Rainbow quirked a brow at the baby dragon's change in character, before brushing it off, figuring it uncool to react to Spike's complaining. As she made the decision to let Spike cool off, Twilight came into the main room of the library, half of her face covered in soot. "Er, Twilight? You got a little somethin' on your face there." Twilight blushed, at least as far as rainbow could tell, under the soot. The two mares sat in the awkward atmosphere a moment, before Twilight opened her mouth. "Er, right. Sorry. I was trying out a new spell to enchant dishes so they would do themselves. It didn't go so well. What's up?" "Oh! There's a new pony just outside town! He's hurt himself flying. Could you help me get him to the hospital?" Rainbow's complexion paled, a little bit, remembering the time she hurt her wing and was left in the hospital with nothing but books to accompany her. Twilight frowned. "Is it terribly bad? The Princess told me I'd have somebody staying with me awhile, he should be here any minute now." Rainbow frowned, but decided it best to not distract Twilight from her work too much, even if it meant an idiot stallion with a bum leg having to wait a little longer for treatment. "It's alright, Twilight. It's not fatal, or anything. Just a bum leg." Rainbow smiled weakly, before moving to head out of the library. Twilight stopped her before she could reach the door, however. "Wait. Rainbow, this could be bad. If it's broken it might heal wrong, meaning we'd have to break the bone a second time to fix it. I'll go, my guest can wait." Rainbow was surprised at Twilight's leniency with her own duty, but satisfied that the brainiac could help with anything that needed immediate attention. "Great, Twi! C'mon! This way, hurry!" Rainbow's expression was brighter, thanks to Twilight's willingness to help. "Right, I'm coming, I'm coming." Twilight trotted after Rainbow, out of the library, Spike watching, with an annoyed expression on his face. While Rainbow was getting Twilight : Jim sat, against the same tree Rainbow had been spying on him before. He'd managed to limp there with his guitar from his original crashing position with some effort. He held a sad expression on his face, and he thought to himself 'I wonder what my family would think.. if they knew I'd abandoned them for some carefree world and a new life..' Silently, a tear rolled down his cheek, and he began to strum on his guitar. Slowly, he began humming, and after a moment, actually began singing, again, in a higher pitched, tenor voice, fairly higher than the voice he'd used just hours ago. Long before we each said goodbye All our fights would make hate appear I don't know why those are the days I hold dear You taught me how to be so fearless; Always pushing me further each day Saying, "You can overcome it all and find happiness along the way if you try" I'll go on alone with the pain And I swear that I won't complain 'Cause I'll have the dream you gave me To keep me strong just how I should be You were once what made me happy What I once had called my everything But it faded and I could see Being with you was all just a dream I once thought we always would be And never cross the finish line But I knew that was just a wish Of mine I don't regret being born any longer I have learned to cherish life 'Cause you gave me all you had and more Though we now move on our separate ways Without strife I'll go on alone with the pain And I swear that I won't complain 'Cause I'll have the dream you gave me To keep me strong just how I should be Even if I am far from you When there's more than distance between us I will pick myself up once more With the strength I have thanks to you I'll go on alone With the pain Though I want to die I'll restrain It's your voice that I can still hear Like a light that will not disappear Even if it's hard to move on Even if I cannot stop my tears My heart is warm because of you And I'll hold that dear for all my years Our time came and went by so fast I now look back and make it last I cannot recall what broke us Into pieces like inside my heart If I close my eyes I can hear Someone laughing long ago with me To this day I've held that right here 'Cause you're still my most precious treasure Our time came and went by so fast I know look bac kand make it last I cannot recall what broke us? Into pieces like inside my heart If I close my eyes I can hear Someone laughing long ago with me To this day I've held that right here 'Cause you're still my most precious treasure He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes after holding the last note, and sighed, the tear he'd shed now falling from his cheek into the soil. He opened his eyes and looked to his left. He noticed two silhouettes of ponies in the distance, coming closer, as the sun set behind them, and he wiped his face, trying to hold true to a particular line that would never leave his mind. I'll go on alone with the pain and I swear that I won't complain Author's Note : Done! A small tidbit of inspiration came to me today, and here it is! I planned to spend a week on this chapter, but it slipped my mind after my Enchanted Arms crossover, and I lost all will to write, suddenly. I hope this is satisfactory, I've got plans for the future, but other ideas are always coming, so you can always expect a twist in the future. The song used in this chapter is "Most Precious Treasure - Angel Beats!" Yep. I'm a freaking weaboo. To an extent, at least. Thanks for reading! Feedback will always be appreciated!
Chapter 4Chapter Four : Healing Jim scrambled to dry his face and prayed his eyes weren't red as he watched the silhouettes of the two ponies he assumed to be Rainbow and her 'help' closing in on him. He could hear them making conversation, however could not make out any of what was being said. He decided to stand up. Bad idea. He howled in pain as he'd split his weight equally to all his legs. Including the bum one, which he'd forgotten about. "Damn it all! I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine!" He said, wincing as he attempted to recover from the searing pain. Forcing his eyes open, he saw Rainbow's face inches away from his own. She'd apparently flown at light speed the moment she'd heard his yelp. Surprised at the gross invasion of his personal bubble, he took a step back. With his left leg. Yet another yelp was let out into the meadow. "Dammit! Why are you so close?!" Jim was in a bad mood, firstly for being hurt and not being able to hide it, and secondly for Rainbow's proximity. "I just wanted to see if you're okay! Clearly not. Your eyes are red. Does it hurt that much?" Rainbow blurted out, curious as to why he'd been crying, again, thinking about what she'd heard when she was watching him. Jim was moments away from blurting out 'no' at Rainbow at the top of his lungs, but paused, a moment. Rainbow'd noticed a sudden blank expression in his face, and quirked a brow, waiting for the response. Jim's mind was as blank as his expression. He had no idea which path to choose. He went with the latter, as, again, there was only one resounding thought in his mind. I'll go on alone with the pain. I swear, I won't complain. Rainbow was losing her patience, and wondered if he'd maybe hit his head in the fall, but the thought was quickly tossed to the side as she watched him wince again. "Gah.. er, yeah. It hurts. A lot. How long 'til I get hel-" He was cut off by a purple pony, who he could only assume to be the help. "I'm the help Rainbow was getting you, er, what was your nam-" Twilight was cut off by Rainbow, who blurted out "Soft Maple!" she paused, noticing both ponies had suddenly given her a quizzical expression. "I mean, uh, his name is Soft Maple." She said, awkwardly. "Rrrright..." Twilight said, noticing the conversation wasn't going very far. "Well, Soft Maple," she emphasized, his name, as if to scold Rainbow Dash for interrupting her. "What do you think is wrong with it? If it's just broken, I know a spell to fix it, unless it's already healed, which would be a bad thing." Jim looked around, dumbfounded, until he recalled what his name was supposed to be. "Oh, right. Me. Yep. That's me! Uh, er.." He was terribly uncomfortable, not sure how to go about getting used to an entirely new identity, he figured it'd just take time, so he shrugged it off and continued, noting both mares had been giving him a curious look as to why he received the name so awkwardly. "Well, I've had a broken arm--I mean front leg, once before, and I'm recalling it feeling something similar to this, but I'm still unsure. Is there a way for you to check?" Jim asked, just as awkward as before. Rainbow was stifling a laugh at his discomfort, and, tossing a glare her way, Twilight began. "Er, yes. There is a way, although we have no painkillers and it is definitely not recommended." Jim thought about this, and decided it could be a chance to prove that he had a solid pain tolerance. "I'm sure I'll live, regardless of how painful it'll be." He groaned. Rainbow silently quirked a brow, but refused to say anything until he could gallop, figuring to let colts be colts. Twilight sighed. "It's always the stallions that want me to do this to them. Okay.." she shrugged, closing her eyes, her horn began to glow. Jim braced himself with a straight face and opened eyes, refusing to blink. His rear leg had been enveloped in purple glow, and he just figured this to be something normal, since, you know, Celestia more or less did the same thing. Twilight started to speak. "I'm going to have to make sure it's broken. This means I'll have to move the bone. You'll feel some immense pain, so I recommend bracing yourself." Jim nodded, "Way ahead of you." Jim was suddenly assaulted with terrible pain. His face went pale, but his expression remained blank. "This.. is nothing.." He forced out of his throat. Rainbow reached a hoof over, to hold his shoulder, but Twilight's magic held her still. "Sorry, Rainbow. This is a very delicate process. Any sudden movement can pierce the muscle with the bone. Rainbow gasped, realizing just how terribly painful this must have been, and her eyes fell back to Jim's face. She quirked a brow when she noticed something particularly questionable. He'd been crying just from the pain of his broken leg, but not from having it moved around magically? Something was up. After a moment, the magic let up, and Jim had regained some color in his face. The process was still being done, but the worst of it seemed to be over. "So, uh," Jim had been trying to catch his breath, as he'd been holding it for the entire time he'd been worked on. "So uh, it was broken, huh?" Twilight sighed for a moment, still working on his leg, managing an "mhm" through her concentration. Jim looked to Rainbow. "Uhm, Thanks. For the help, I mean." Rainbow was surprised at the display of gratitude from the terribly rude pegasus before her. "Yeah, yeah. It's alright. Er, I mean you're welcome. All in a day's work." Rainbow was uncomfortable, and Jim enjoyed this, managing a small chuckle. Twilight's purple glow faded from both Jim and her horn, and she raised her head. "I think.. it should be done." She said, sheepishly. Jim looked at her, and smiled. "Thanks, er, what was your name?" The color had been fully returned to his face, and Twilight was silently surprised he wasn't passed out on the grass before her. "Twilight, nice to meet you." She smiled, and watched as Jim tested out his newly set bones. "Oh this is great! It feels sturdier than before! How do you do it?" He was particularly interested in Twilight and Celestia's magic, and wondered a moment if he'd have been better off if her were reincarnated as a unicorn. "Oh, well it's just a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo, I doubt you'd be really interested if I got started on explaining." Twilight replied. Rainbow didn't like this, She was being left out of a conversation. She can't take that lying down! She spoke. "So, Softie, I guess you need a place? For awhile, at least? You're welcome to stay with me." Jim was taken aback by the invitation. "I er, I guess that'd be nice. I don't really have a plan. I was sent out before I could ask where to go or anything." Both Rainbow and Twilight quirked their brows at this, mirroring eachother. "Sent out?" Put on the spot, and not wanting to have to out himself to the only two ponies he'd met, Jim lied, remembering that his body was at least 10 years younger, leaving his actual age somewhere between 18 and 21, deciding on 20 to be a good number, he put on a face. "Yeah.. I uh, well, I was kicked out from home. Family.. issues." Now, family evicting family is a rare phenomenon in Equestria. Family issues have occurred, but not to the extent that a pony would be made homeless. This was terrible news for Twilight and Rainbow to hear. Twilight started, Rainbow's mouth still agape from the shock. "Well, Rainbow and I can take care of you until you can get on your own hooves. We swear it, on our elements!" She exclaimed. As if to emphasize, Twilight placed her right hoof on her heart, or where it would be on a pony's chest, and used her left hoof to shut Rainbow's gaping muzzle. Rainbow awoke from the shock enough to manage a "That's right! We're here for you!" Jim, surprised to have so easily won these two ponies favour, especially Rainbow, considering her lack of enthusiasm for being hospitable to him earlier, could think of nothing to say besides a simple "I'll be relying on you, then." He bowed his head, not sure if or how ponies could shake hooves. Author's Note : Hey guys, pumped this out in about an hour, I think I'm making some major improvements in my writing skill, considering I do very little prewriting for each chapter. All I plan is what I eventually want to happen, and that's always changing. I hope I can meet everyone's expectations, at least! As per usual, thanks for reading and I look forward to any and all feedback I can get!
