Fine Feathered Friend

Marked

When Nimbus ends up on bed rest due to the Flying Flu, all he wants is some company. Eventually, he’s visited by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, with yet another scheme in mind to get their Cutie Marks. The Crusaders soon learn, however, that there’s still a pony that has yet to tell the tale of how he received his Cutie Mark…

“Okay, now open your mouth wide, stick out your tongue, and say ‘aah’.”

Nimbus raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t had to do this since he was a colt. As such, he instead opened his mouth and managed to rasp out an “urr.”

“Wrong,” Dr. Stable said, frowning. “I know you think this is childish, but trust me- I can’t get a good look at the back of your throat if you don’t give me an ‘aah’.”

Nimbus sighed. “Aah,” he said, grudgingly as Dr. Stable peered into his mouth.

“Hmm,” he said, “I need to see this again. Would you mind ‘aahing’ for me again?”

Nimbus decided once more couldn’t be such a bad idea, so he repeated his previous actions. This time, however, Dr. Stable slapped a massive depressor down on his tongue, nearly gagging the poor Pegasus, and looked inside Nimbus’s mouth with a small flashlight.

“Ooh,” he winced, “that can’t be enjoyable.”

“Naw, ‘aving is oung epessah in mah mouf ih noh enjoyabuh,” Nimbus said, trying to keep from choking.

Dr. Stable was not amused. “I’m not talking about the tongue depressor. You’ll just have to suck it up and take that. What I’m talking about is your throat. It’s pretty swollen back there, to say nothing about the blue spots covering it.”

Nimbus spat out the tongue depressor in surprise. “Blue spots?! Ow!”

He put his hooves to his neck trying to stifle the pain he was feeling. For the past few days, his throat had been progressively getting more sore. He’d finally made the decision to come in and see Dr. Stable about his condition, and he was starting to wonder if his visit had only made things worse.

“Yeah,” the doctor said, “those are blue spots, alright. That means there’s only one thing you could have- the Flying Flu.”

“Never heard of it,” Nimbus said, sitting back on his exam table.

“Well, it’s an airborne sickness that affects Pegasi right about this time of year,” Dr. Stable explained. “The more you fly since contracting it, the stronger it gets. If you keep flying, there’s nothing I can do. It won’t go away. There’s only one solution.”

Nimbus frowned. No flying? That simply wouldn’t do. He needed a cure.

“What’s the solution?” he asked.

“Well, you won’t be able to fly for a few days, so I’m going to recommend that you commit to bed rest-“

“Bed rest?” Nimbus was shocked. “But, but-“

“-And I also have to give you a vaccine.”

Nimbus winced. He’d never been fond of vaccines. When he was a colt, he’d been terrified of them. “Okay,” he said finally, “but how long will I have to be in bed?”

Dr. Stable quickly made a few calculations on his notepad. “I’d say about three days,” he said finally.

“Three days without flying,” Nimbus whispered to himself. “Well, what the hay- I guess if it’ll help me…”

He turned to Dr. Stable. “Let’s get this over with,” he said.

“Alright,” the doctor said, turning and walking over to a medical cabinet and pulling out a large case. Inside was a syringe and a few cartridges. Nimbus gulped. The syringe looked long enough to be a weapon.

The doctor loaded a cartridge full of green fluid into the syringe and walked back to Nimbus. He then uttered what was perhaps one of Nimbus’s least favorite phrases in the world.

“Now this may sting for a bit…”

…

Half an hour later, Nimbus opened the door to his house and stepped inside, rubbing his tender left flank gingerly. The shot had gone right into his Cutie Mark- a crossed feather and lightning bolt- and it stung like crazy. He’d been ordered to walk home instead of flying, to boost his recovery, and to top it all off, something in the vaccine had made him completely drowsy. He stumbled into his kitchen, briefly considered cooking himself some lunch, then decided against it and headed upstairs. The last thing he wanted to do was to fall asleep at the stove and catch his house on fire.

He pulled the curtains in his room closed, made his bed, and hopped in, pulling the warm, soft comforter up to his face. It wasn’t long before he was out completely.

When Nimbus woke up, his throat was burning again, and he felt chilled. Still, he reasoned, taking a rest had been a good idea.

He opened his curtains and was greeted by the setting sun. He’d been sleeping since noon, and had skipped lunch. His stomach growled, reminding him that he had to eat something. He headed for his stairs and began to walk down them, heading for his kitchen. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he caught a whiff of fresh fruit, and he could hear clattering noises coming from the kitchen.

“Hello?” he rasped, “is anypony in there?”

A black Earth Pony stuck his head out of the kitchen. Apparently Nimbus’s friend, Mecha, had stopped by for a visit.

“Hey, Nimbus,” Mecha said. “care for a smoothie?”

Nimbus smiled weakly. “That’d be great. Why are you here?”

“Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, Dash, and I heard about you being on bed rest and decided that nothing’s worse for a Pegasus than being forced to sit still for three days, so we decided to take turns cooking for you and pretty much taking care of the place.”

“Well thanks very much,” Nimbus said. He glanced towards his front door and saw a pile of envelopes.

“Are those for me?” he asked.

“Eeyup,” Mecha said. “Get well cards, I think. You can go ahead and open ‘em up, but I’d suggest you head back upstairs and stay in bed.”

“Alright,” Nimbus said, picking up the cards and heading back upstairs.

“I’ll have your smoothie in a minute!” Mecha called after him. Nimbus plopped down into bed and proceeded to read the cards. There were quite a few of them, and some noteworthy examples included a card signed by Cheerilee’s class, one studded with Black Opals from Rarity, and a card from Pinkie Pie which practically exploded in his face with confetti when he opened it. He set the cards on his dresser when he was finished and climbed back into bed just as Mecha arrived with his smoothie.

“Drink up and rest up, Featherbrain,” Mecha joked. “Applejack’s coming tomorrow morning, and I heard she’s bringing the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“Oh boy,” Nimbus chuckled, “that should be fun.”

He had no idea.

…

Nimbus awoke the following morning to a bright light shining directly in his face. When his eyes had painfully adjusted, he noticed Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo standing over him.

“The patient’s coming to, Dr. Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Alright,” Scootaloo said, “Applebloom, hand me the scalpel. This is more serious than we thought.”

Nimbus’s eyes went wide. Scalpel?

“Uh, Scootaloo,” he croaked, “are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Scootaloo didn’t answer. Instead, she grabbed a shiny, sharp scalpel from Applebloom and proceeded to slice the top off a bag of ice.

"Towel," she demanded. Applebloom grabbed a hand towel and wiped a bead of sweat off of Scootaloo's face. Scootaloo then dumped a few chunks of the ice from the bag into a cold pack she was carrying and placed it on Nimbus’s head.

“Success!” Applebloom whooped. “Anything yet?’

All of the fillies turned to look at their flanks. They were still blank.

“Aw, darn it,” Sweetie Belle said, “nothing.”

“Come on, girls,” Applejack said, entering Nimbus’s room, “Nimbus needs his rest, and he’s not gonna get it if y’all keep pesterin’ him like this.”

“Oh, it’s fine, Applejack,” Nimbus said, “they’re not bothering me. Scootaloo should probably be a bit careful, though. My sickness is contagious to other Pegasi.”

Scootaloo instantly stepped back a few paces.

“Well, if yer sure,” said Applejack, “ah’ll get back to mah cookin’. Ah’ve got apple crisp and ice cream waitin’ fer ya.”

“Cool,” said Nimbus. “Feel free to relax.”

“Ah just might,” Applejack said, heading back downstairs.

Nimbus took a look at the fillies around him, all of whom appeared rather dejected.

“So you three were trying to earn your Cutie Marks just now?” he asked. The fillies nodded quietly, and Nimbus smiled. “Yeah, I remember when I got mine pretty well.”

Scootaloo’s eyes lit up. “Yeah? Do you think you could tell us about it? We’ve never really asked you before.”

“Well, I suppose I could,” Nimbus said, settling back. “I was about your age, and like you, I was trying everything to get my Cutie Mark, and to learn how to fly…”

…

“Ow,” the little orange Pegasus colt groaned, pulling himself up off the ground for the third time today. This time, he’d left a fairly large impression in the dirt. He looked back up at the rock he’d leaped off of.

“Celestia forsake you, rock!” he cursed. It felt good to curse. His father had taught him in secret. If his mother had known, she would undoubtedly have been furious.

“One more time,” he said, climbing to the top of the rock. He looked down at the ground. Below were three very distinct Pegasus-shaped imprints in the ground- one for each failed attempt. He’d been trying to teach himself to fly all morning. Since he’d been born, he’d never opened his wings to fly. Today, he’d made up his mind to change that.

“Okay,” he said, backing up. “Three, two, one, go!” the colt ran towards the edge of the rock and hurled himself off, trying to open his wings. A yellow female Pegasus emerged from the trees behind the rock just in time to see the pony smash into the ground.

“Nimbus!” she cried, “what are you doing?”

Nimbus got up woozily, “Hi Mom,” he said, “I’m trying to get my Cutie Mark by learning to fly!”

His mother sighed. “Not again. How many times do I have to tell you? Both your Cutie Mark and flight will come when you’re ready.”

“But I’m ready now!” Nimbus protested. “All of the other Pegasi at school can fly! And almost everyone has Cutie Marks!”

Nimbus’s mother chuckled. “I understand your frustration, Nimbus, but these things happen on their own. Nothing you can do will change that. Now come on- it’s time for lunch.”

Nimbus grudgingly followed his mother back into the trees, stealing a glance back at his jumping-rock. He’d try again later, he decided, but he couldn’t argue with food.

…

“Okay,” said Scootaloo, “that’s all well and good, but how’d you get your Cutie Mark? That’s what we really want to know.”

“I’m getting there, “ Nimbus said, “be patient. The most important thing about waiting for Cutie Marks is that you have to be patient.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Just then, Applejack trotted in carrying a plate of apple crisp with a dish of ice cream on the side.

“Oh boy!” Nimbus said, “thanks, Applejack! You’re a lifesaver!’

Applejack smiled, “anything I can do ta help. I’ll be downstairs if ya need me.”

Nimbus nodded. “Sounds good.” He turned back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Okay, now where was I?”

…

Nimbus sat down at the lunch table as his mother set a plate of hay in front of him. Before long, Nimbus’s father, a blue Pegasus, and his grandfather, a grey Pegasus, sat down as well.

“Hey, kiddo,” his father said, “how are you doing today?”

“Okay, I guess,” Nimbus frowned.

“Your mother and I were thinking of taking you for a flight today,” his father continued. “We were planning on heading into the mountains.”

“The mountains?” Nimbus said, perking up, “really?”

Nimbus, despite his ability to actually do so himself, had always loved flying. He never passed up an opportunity to go out with his parents into the sky, and the mountains were a particularly challenging place to fly. High, unpredictable winds made flying through them difficult for even the most skilled flyers. Nimbus, naturally, was anxious to see what his parents could do.

“We’ll head out after lunch,” Nimbus’s mother said, “if that’s alright with you.”

Nimbus didn’t answer. Instead, he immediately began shoveling down his lunch. He finished in seconds, and was at the front door instantly. As it turned out, he ended up waiting for a solid ten minutes before his parents finally finished their meals, and by the time they were done, Nimbus had nearly died of anticipation. He was bouncing up and down by the time they finally opened the door and headed outside.

“Ready to get on?” Nimbus’s mother asked. Nimbus immediately hopped onto her back and grabbed onto her mane. His mother was a fast flier, and if he wasn’t careful, he could easily find himself falling instead of flying.

“Here we go!” Nimbus’s father called out. An instant later, Nimbus felt as if he left his stomach behind as they took off into the sky. He strained to open his eyes as his face was buffeted by wind. This was what he lived for. His parents banked towards a mountain range not far away.

“How about some fancy flying?” Nimbus’s mother called back with a smile. Nimbus grinned and nodded back enthusiastically. His mother pulled sharply up and snapped into a roll, breaking through the cloud layer. It wasn’t long before Nimbus saw his father join them, racing above the soft, white surface of the clouds. Nimbus laughed with joy as the warmth of the sun touched his face. Up here, Equestria was a very different world. Everything was quiet. There were no obstacles, just open sky. A Pegasus could do anything here.

“Let’s take it down!” Nimbus’s father said, pulling into a sharp bank and slipping down towards the ground. Nimbus’s mother dove straight down, and Nimbus immediately felt as light as a feather.

“Yeehaw!” he yelled out as his mother leveled out at low level, slaloming between trees. Ahead was the mountain pass.

“Let’s race your dad!” Nimbus’s mother said.

“Oh yeah!” Nimbus squeaked. They raced past his father, who immediately gave chase. As they entered the mountain range, a sudden draft of air rocked the Pegasi, and Nimbus had to hold on for dear life.

“Looks like we’re going to hit some turbulence in this range,” Nimbus’s mother said, “you’d better hang on.”

Nimbus tightened his grip on his mother’s mane as she sped ahead, ignoring the occasional bumps of turbulence and flying right up next to the mountains. She and Nimbus’s father were neck and neck, racing right above the tree line. Ahead, Nimbus spotted a dark opening in one of the mountains, leading almost straight down.

“Hey, look!” he said, “a cave!”

“Let’s go through!’ said his father, angling himself to dive in. His mother followed, preparing to shoot through the entrance. Suddenly, a swarm of moving, black… things erupted upward from the mouth of the cave.

“Bats!” Nimbus’s mother cried, pulling up sharply to avoid the swarming mass. Nimbus hadn’t anticipated this sudden movement, and the unexpected appearance of the bats had surprised him enough to let go of his mother’s mane. Nimbus slipped off of her back and instantly plummeted toward the dark cave below.

“Nimbus!” his mother shrieked, feeling his weight instantly leave her. She looked down just in time to see him disappear inside the cave, falling.

“No!” she screamed as he fell. The bats had finally dissipated, and she and her husband simply hovered, staring in shock and horror at the cave beneath them. To them, that dark hole was the end. Their only son was dead, and there was nothing they could do about it.

“If only I’d- if I-“ tears began to well up in Nimbus’s mother’s eyes.

“There was nothing you could have done,” his father said quietly. “He’s in a better place, now, and who knows? Maybe wherever he’s gone, he can fly now.”

The two shared a sad smile, not knowing exactly what was going on beneath them.

Downward Nimbus plummeted, out of control and spinning wildly. He could see the walls of the cave narrowing, and knew that he’d reach the bottom soon. If he didn’t act now, he would surely die. Pegasi could take a hard landing, but he knew he couldn’t recover from something like this. There was only one option, and thus far he’d failed to achieve it: flight.

“How hard can it be?” he thought. He forced himself to open his wings, stabilizing his fall. Now he was in a sheer nosedive- controlled but still doomed. To make matters worse, he could now clearly see the cave floor rushing up to him. He tried to think of what to do, and panicked. At that point, however, an idea came to him.

“Don’t think about it. Just do it. Flight is natural to a Pegasus, and I am a Pegasus. It’s just like walking!”

He closed his eyes and twisted his wings, rolling. Upon completing the maneuver, he opened his eyes in wonder. He had completed the maneuver! He could fly! Gritting his teeth, Nimbus tucked his wings in for the dive and scanned the cave. There, to the side! He spotted a branch of the cave, leading away from the cave floor. It would be a tight turn, certainly. Tighter, in fact, than the average Pegasus could turn. Nimbus, however, didn’t let the fact distract him.

“Just be natural,” he thought. Just before hitting the ground, he flared his wings and ripped through the turn, barely avoiding contact with the ground.

“Yes!” he yelled, “I can fly! I did it!”

Up ahead was a collection of stalagmites and stalactites. Nimbus took the same approach he’d been using earlier: fly naturally. He wove through the tightly-packed obstacles as if he’d been flying his whole life, and even managed to throw in a fun roll every now and then. He was having the time of his life. When he’d finally cleared the obstacles, Nimbus soared ahead. He could see a hint of daylight.

“I can’t wait to show Mom and Dad!” he said aloud. As he popped out of the cave, he saw his parents hovering near the entrance he’d fallen through. He turned and headed straight for them.

Above the cave, Nimbus’s parents were still grieving. Finally, his father laid a hoof on his mother’s back.

“We need to go now,” he said, “Nimbus… is gone.”

“Hi Mom, hi Dad!’

Nimbus’s parents snapped their heads up at the sound of their son’s voice just as Nimbus rocketed past, pulling up sharply and flipping, turning to face them. His parents gazed in awe.

“Nimbus,” his mother cried, “I’m so glad you’re alright!” His father simply stared, openmouthed. Nimbus quickly saw the expression on his face.

“What?” he asked, “I can fly now!”

“Not just fly,” his father said, “You just pulled off a stunt that I’ve never seen a Pegasus perform. If I tried what you just did, I’d break both my wings from sheer stopping force.”

“What, this?” Nimbus said, picking up speed and performing the tight flip turnaround again.

“You did it again?”

“Yeah,” said Nimbus, “it’s just like walking!”

“Nimbus, your flank!” his mother said. Nimbus looked at his flank just in time to see a black-tipped feather appear.

“My Cutie Mark!” he said, “I’ve got it!” He looked back at his parents. “But… what does it mean? Pegasi don’t get Cutie Marks because they know how to fly.”

“That’s not it, though,” his father said, “don’t you see? That maneuver just sealed it for me. You can control yourself in the air in a way I’ve never seen done before. You don’t just fly. It’s like you feel the air, or something. I really can’t explain it. It just seems to me like you know the technique of flying well, better than anypony I’ve ever seen. There are so many Pegasi that just want to be the fastest nowadays… I think we’ve all forgotten what it’s like to take the sky and tame it. Son, you don’t have to be the fastest or the strongest, but with your understanding of the sky, I think you’ll come to do great things later on.”

“Really?!” Nimbus said, amazed, “so my Cutie Mark represents my skill with flying?”

“Not skill, necessarily. That comes with experience. I think it represents your natural talent.”

“Wow,” Nimbus said softly, “cool…”

“Now let’s head home,” his mother said, “I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one day.” She turned to Nimbus. “Want a ride?”

“Mom, are you kidding?” Nimbus said, “I’m flying with you guys all the way back!”

His mother smiled. There was nothing like seeing one’s child accomplish his goals, and the look on Nimbus’s face had made everything up to this moment in time completely worth it.

…

“And that’s how I got my Cutie Mark,” Nimbus finished. The Crusaders were all sitting around him, in awe. “The lightning bolt came later, after I was commissioned into the Equestrian Air Force.”

“That’s a pretty cool story,” Scootaloo said. “I mean, not as cool as Rainbow Dash,” she quickly corrected herself, “but, you know…”

Nimbus chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Did you three learn anything from this?”

“Well,” Applebloom said, “ah guess ya just told us what everypony else is sayin’. Ya can’t rush yer Cutie Mark.”

“And it’s a natural talent,” Sweetie Belle added, “not something you do just to get your Cutie Mark.”

“Right,” Nimbus nodded. Outside, the sun had reached its peak and was already beginning his descent. He’d finished his apple crisp earlier, and now he felt ready for lunch. As if on cue, Applejack walked in with a sandwich for him.

“Ah hope it’s soft enough fer you ta swallow,” she said.

Nimbus took it in his hoof and bit into it, relishing the taste.

“Apple jelly,” he murmured, “the best… Thanks, Applejack,” he said.

“Yer very welcome!” Applejack said. She turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Alright, gals,” she said, “it’s time ta head home. Let’s leave Nimbus ta get some rest.”

“Bye, Nimbus!” the Cutie Mark Crusaders called out. Nimbus waved back to them. He was glad to have taught them something, and recalling the story of his Cutie Mark had been fun. Applejack turned back as she headed out of the room.

“Brace yerself,” she said, “Twilight’ll be here fer dinner. Ah don’t know exactly what she’s got planned, but she just bought a new book on cookin’.”

Nimbus winced. “That could either be a good thing or a bad thing.”

Applejack laughed. “I’ll see ya soon. Hope ya get well fast!”

Nimbus smiled. “I will.”

As Applejack turned to leave, Nimbus stole a glance at his Cutie Mark. To this day, he realized, his father had been right. He’d never been the fastest Pegasus around- Rainbow Dash had proven that- but he still felt a personal connection to the sky. Thinking back, he was glad he’d fallen off of his mother into the cave. Facing a tough situation, it seemed, had finally given him the push he needed to prove himself.