Eris's Furor

Chapters

[2] *Insert Witty Chapter Name Here*
[3] I did another chapter!
[4] Filler and Fodder
[5] Cliffhanger
[6] Meet the Princess
[7] More Filler
[8] Dining With Royalty
[1] Exit Stage Earth
Going Out of Business

[2] Insert Witty Chapter Name Here

Hey there everybody! So I finally got around to making another chapter, and it didn't come out like complete shit this time *gasp* So yeah, here it is, I'd love to hear back from you in the comments, and seriously, thanks to EVERYBODY who fav.ed and liked this story! ONWARD TOWARDS READING LAND!

[2]

I was alive! Halleluiah! Somehow, I was alive. That was all I knew and that’s all I cared about… except for an incessant beeping, that I cared about. It was damn annoying.

Having just barely re-entered the world of the living, I quickly realized where I was. Then again, it wasn’t all that hard. If you were in a nasty car wreck and wake up, alive, with an annoying beeping, it’s pretty obvious. I had been reincarnated as an alarm clock! But seriously, I was definitely in a hospital

Slowly, I regained most of my senses. Obviously, my hearing worked. Hearing was soon followed by smell, and it smelled like a hospital: overly sterile and nostril-burningly antisepticy. Okay, 2 down 3 to go. I tried sight. Cracking one lid open I immediately shut it again. I don’t think it was bright, but it still hurt. Just opening my damn eye hurt. Okay… taste? Yeah, so feel! Hmm… I felt… heavy? I couldn’t really move. I knew I was sore but couldn’t feel anything like I was numb. That’s understandable seeing as I was in a hospital. Last time I checked I was pretty banged up so I was grateful for the numbness.

Well, now I was fully awake and already bored. What the hell was I supposed to do? Just lay there, blind and immobile like a vegetable until some hospital nerd noticed I was actually awake? Wait, how would they even know I was awake? I had to get someone’s attention; just lying there doing nothing was driving me insane. (Wow, awake less than a minute and already bored out of my mind. That has to be some kind of record.)

My best bet was to call out to somebody. I inhaled deeply, getting ready to yell to whoever could hear, only for fire to immediately erupt inside my lungs and send me into a rancorous coughing fit. Oh gods why?! I yelled inside my own head. Coughing only made more fire in my lungs which made me cough which made more fire which… yes, another fucking cycle of fucking pain. But hey! At least I was making noise… terrible, painful, loud noise.

Success! My plan worked! After about two minutes of straight coughing and the EKG having a seizure, it suddenly stopped. It just died down and my breathing evened out and the heart monitor’s beeping slowly evened out. My chest was still on fire, though.

That was just plain insane! I get why I started coughing, but why the hell did it stop? (Not that I wasn’t grateful). Then I heard someone speak, “Woah! You’re okay; calm down, just calm down…” Someone was literally RIGHT next to me. Though they were speaking softly, they still scared the living daylights out of me.

Had I been able to move, I would have flinched, but being unable to do so I just kind of tensed while the EKG spiked again. Whoever was next to me took notice of this and tried to calm me down again. “It’s okay,” he cooed again, “It’s okay, you need to calm down, okay. You’re quite scraped up and you don’t want agitate any of your wounds now do ya?” he chuckled at his own “joke”. Did he seriously expect me answer that? After a short pause, he continued (apparently he did), “Are you still awake? I’m afraid I may have overdone it with the anesthesia…” he trailed off, mumbling to himself and I heard him fiddling with something. I’ve seen enough television hospital dramas to be able to be pretty sure that it was a drip that I was hooked up to.

I tried, once again, to make a noise. Not one nearly as loud this time, so I didn’t need to inhale enough to make my lungs explode again. I wanted to say something along the lines of “yo” but it came out as a kind of pained squeak. Damn I sounded terrible. Regardless, it achieved what I wanted it to. The guy (I’m just going to say doctor, that’s much easier)… The doctor stopped fiddling with my fluid bag and addressed me again.

“Oh good!” he was still soft-spoken as hell, but less so now that he knew I was awake, I guess, “you’re awake!” Called it! “Now, do you know where you are?” Okay, I have to ask, are all hospitals like this? No, How do you feel? Would you like more pain killers? Would you like a pillow fluffing or mint, perhaps? Were doctors always this bluntly to-the-point? I’d never been in the hospital before so this was all new to me. You know what else was new? Not being able to talk.

I squeaked again. Damn that was embarrassing. Doc got the point that I couldn’t really speak for myself and conceded to the fact that, if anything, this was going to be a one-sided conversation. “Yes, well, you’re in the hospital. Manehatton General, to be exact. My names Soft Wing,” heh, ‘soft’, “and I’ve been the RN looking after you since you got here. You’ve been out for about…” he made some ‘tch’ noises like he was counting “uh, about a week and this is the first you’ve been awake so I’m sure you’re glad to hear that we can officially get you on your way to being fit as a fiddle!” He was suddenly upbeat and kind of annoying. This guy was proactive if nothing.

WAITACOTTONPICKINGMINUTE! When the hell did I get to New York?! That scared me. How was that even possible?! The EKG showed what I was feeling by speeding up. “Woah there, I really need you to stay calm! If I give you any more sedatives I’m not sure how long it’ll be before you wake up again. You’re in a hospital, you’re okay, okay?”

No! Not okay! I thought, What, did my car roll half way across the country? If it did, then seriously, how the fuck am I alive? I tried to calm down, regardless. Maybe it was the drugs he’d undoubtedly given me. Hell, I thought I saw a gryphon earlier, why not hear crazy shit when both wrecked and drugged? Whatever, he was right, I needed to get better and figure out how to pay for this. Thank the lord it was still winter break. That means I had one more week before classes started back up, but I’d still have to pay for a wrecked car, probably a tow, all the bullshit that are hospital bills (my mom was once sent to the ER with a broken wrist; they literally bill you for everything), my insurance going up… Oh shit! What If they drop me?! This was my fault after all! And then any prescriptions and, gods forbid, physical therapy. Maybe I cracked my skull and was eligible for disability. Wait, no, you have to have a job for that don’t you.

I was lost in my thoughts and didn’t notice the doc… I mean RN leave and come back until he spoke up again. “Okay, you want to try an open your eyes since you’re awake?” …I squeaked “I have some eye drops here, they should help you. I’m going to put them on now, okay?” I wanted to flinch at the freezing liquid he then proceeded to drop on my eye. It soaked in between the lids of my right eye. “Okay, it should be easier to open you eye now. Don’t worry, It’s not very bright.” Why didn’t he put it in both eyes? I thought before trying to do so.

It was significantly easier to do so this time around. I cracked my eye open and it didn’t feel like I’d just been jabbed by a toothpick. What I saw didn’t really surprise me (at first). It seemed to be the stereotypical hospital room: bulky bed with guard rails, bulky machinery with various fluxuating neon lines, a bag of clear fluid and one of blood with tubes going into my hand, gryphon standing over me. …wait a minute…

2 possible thoughts here: 1- blood loss has permanently brain-damaged me and I’ll be cursed to live out the rest of my days in my own personal acid tip, or 2- the world went over the deep-end into uncanny valley in the time it took me to roll my GrandAm. Either way, I somehow wasn’t all that worried. It was kind of cool. He was oddly life-like despite being a an anime-esque mythological creature.

Leaning on the edge of my bed was who I assumed to by my RN. His head and chest were covered in dull gray feathers with the ones on the top of his head being oddly long and droopy. The droopy feathers were tipped with a Paris green color along with the feathers around his eyes, which were amber. The most obvious thing about this gryphon though was his protruding beak. It was, of course, a beak. So cool! I thought But I gotta be cool… There’s a huge chance I’m just tripping the fuck out and he’s actually normal. Play it cool…

He was looking concernedly down at me as his eyes met my cycloptic gaze. Definitely weird having an anime bird-lion stare at you. “So…Can you see okay?” I was about to reply (squeak) before he gasped and dug around for something in the pocket of a lab coat I’d failed to notice him wearing. He pulled out what looked like a pen, “Ah! Okay, I want you to follow this with you eye,” he clicked on the pen and it shined a light out of one end. Positioning the light pen above my face, he began to move it back and forth with his hand… wait… talon, yellow talon.

I followed the light but only because I was fascinated with the fact that my psyche was capable of creating such an elaborate trip. After a few passes in front of my eyes RN Softie clicked the light off and replaced in his pocket. “You’re doing really great for having just woken up,” he laughed a bit, “Now, I don’t want to overload you, but if you’re feeling up to it, we could try some more to get you up an at it.” I actually was feeling better. Still sore but I was wide awake and definitely didn’t want to be bored, so why not? I tried nodding and got minimal success. At least I wasn’t just ambiguously squeaking anymore. Softie’s eyes lit up and a smile spread across his beak (…what?) “That’s great news, I’ll get some water and maybe you can try talking, okay?” He turned around to the sink in the room and filled a cup. Turning back to face me, he slowly put the cup up to my lips and tilted it slightly. Sweet bejeebus that felt amazing!

The ice cold water rehydrated my mouth and throat, which I hadn’t even noticed were so dry. I was positively parched. Before I knew it, I’d downed the whole glass. “There you go,” he set the empty glass on the table next to my bed. His smile didn’t falter as he continued looking at me with bright eyes.

After a very pregnant pause, I finally said something, “…You’re starting to creep me out, dude.” My voice sounded terrible, but at least I wasn’t squeaking anymore. I sounded like I’d been gargling nails for the past week. Eh, words were words.

Softie’s grin got even bigger if that was possible, “This is absolutely splendid! Okay, I think we’ve done enough for one night. You should probably get some rest,” Rest?! I thought, Didn’t I just wake up like five minutes ago? Thinking about it though, I was actually tired. Damn, when did that happen?

“Yeah,” I scratched out an agreement.

“I’ll leave you to do that then, okay?” He nodded, backing out of the room, “I’ll see you when you wake up then,” and he was gone.

I could just barely see into the hallway, as the door was barely cracked. There wasn’t much to look at; just the wall of the hallway, but there was some dim light filtering in. I was tired but curious. I was beat up pretty bad, so I didn’t think I should have felt as well as I did after only one week.

Since I was lying flat on my back, I had to crane my neck up pretty far to see anything. Surprisingly, I found myself unable to do so. I could just barely move my chin. I settled on using my elbows to push myself back onto some pillows. Thank the gods that Softie gave me whatever it was that he gave me earlier, because I was numb as fuck. That probably would have hurt immensely had I not been so drugged up. I’d no doubt feel the full repercussions of doing so as soon as the drugs wore off, though. Oh well, Carpe Diem!

Now that I was at a slight incline, I could see a little more of myself, and oh boy was I messed up. From head to toe I was patched up in one way or another. Because I couldn’t see so myself, I assumed my head was wrapped up, including my left eye, which explained why I couldn’t see out of it. My neck was most likely in a brace, but again, I couldn’t see. My left arm was wrapped heavily from the elbow down. I couldn’t even see any of my fingers! The right side fared better. It seemed to be mostly okay with only a splint on my ring finger; it was also the hand the i.v.’s were hooked up to. Looking straight down at my chest made my breath catch. I was wrapped several times around my chest in gauze and above my left lung completely black. In the low light, it looked black, but it was obviously dried blood. Holy fuck! What happened?! It didn’t matter though, obviously, whatever it was, was better now. I’m in a hospital for gods’ sake! I forced my breath to be even so I wouldn’t go into another coughing fit at the sight of the source of said fits. Very pointedly, I moved on to my legs. They seemed okay for the most part; only my left calf and foot had a hard cast on. Ooh! Lime green! Finally: my tail. From what I could tell, over half of it was broken. It was wrapped in not quite a hard cast but more than just gauze and splinted. All in all, considering what happened, I was looking pretty good!

...Wait a minute… Tail… I’m not supposed to have a tail. Any thoughts of my acid trip-like perception twisting what I saw were thrown out the window as soon as I nudged the new limb with my knee, instantly sending what felt like a bolt of lightning shooting up my spine. Okay, I thought, not an acid trip.

I couldn’t believe it! This was insane: I had a tail and my nurse was a gryphon! How does something like this happen, I wondered. Then I noticed something more about myself. In addition to the tail, it seemed all my limbs had been swapped out: my legs for a green dragon and brown goat’s (I think), my arms for a lion and gryphon’s (Hey, something in common with Softie!), my torso was dark brown, and my tail red and scaly with a plume of white feathers at then.

Maybe it was the drugs, but I wasn’t freaked out at all. It certainly was interesting, but not scary at all. I am always down for an adventure and whatever happened to me sure as hell seemed more interesting than the boring life I had for sure.

I was now extremely tired from each baby heart attack I got upon initially noticing all of my limbs had been changed. I eased myself back to where I was lying flat and comfortable and closed my eyes with a dopy smile spread across my lips. As content and tired as I was, I couldn’t help but notice a nagging thought in the back of my mind, and just as I finally slipped into the dreamworld, I finally realized what that thought was.

It was actually two thoughts. The first was that I was in Equestria, no-doubt. The wonderful, magical, Utopian world from a children’s show that I had been known to watch on the weekend and secretly fantasized about raising hell in for years (What? They’re so sheltered in that show it’d be fun to mess with them!). And the second was that I was in Equestria… and looked like a female version of one of the main villains. As cool and hilarious as I thought Discord was, he was still considered a dangerous criminal, and here I was looking like he was my father. This is probably going to bite me in the ass later… And then I was out.

[3] I did another chapter!

[3]

I felt utterly terrible. It was the morning after my 21st all over again. I was sore all over except for my head. My brain pounded relentlessly against my defenseless skull. What the hell did I do last night? My eyes were pinched shut against the red glow showing through my eyelids. After racking my brain for a few minutes, I remembered happened; I wrecked my car.

Last thing I could recall was a drug-induced fantasy, so I really didn’t have much to go on. Unless, of course, I really was in Equestria… HA! Anyway, based on smell, I hadn’t hallucinated about actually being in a hospital. The main difference though was the silence. There was no beeping of a heart monitor. That meant I was stable, right? If I was well enough to not be constantly monitored, I wanted to see the true extent of damage from my accident.

I slowly began to peak open one eye and instantly regretted it. As soon as my eye allowed the slightest crack of light to hit my cornea, pain exploded. It felt like someone jabbed a hot ice pick into my eye and as electricity arced to my already in pain cranial cavity. I was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea and my stomach decided to relieve itself of its contents.

With little time to act, I threw my torso off the side of the bed as I violently retched. Contracting my stomach muscles hurt beyond all description but after throwing up, my nausea was over as suddenly as it had begun. Though the urge to vomit was gone, my gut still hurt from doing so.

“Ugh…” I groaned as I still lay prone. I tried to open my eyes again against my better judgment and to my delight, it didn’t hurt this time. It may have been a little too bright for my liking, but it was tolerable. Below my head I noticed a conveniently placed trashcan. At least my first impression in the hospital hadn’t been me making a mess of the floor, for that I was grateful.

Since I was done with the disgusting task of throwing up, I moved to re-situate myself to lie back on my bed. But of course, nothing in life is simple. When I went to sit up my gut flared up with pain again. I yelped in surprise. Fuuuuck! How long am I going to be stuck like this? Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait for too long. Almost as soon as I realized I couldn’t get up on my own, I heard the door open and a familiar voice speak.

“You look like you are in need of a bit of assistance,” the voice chuckled. Whoever it was really sounded like the gryphon from my dream. I guessed I’d heard him speak while I was out and my brain incorporated it into my dream. The mind is a tricky and mysterious place after all. “Here, allow me to help.” In the next instant I felt a pair of strong arms gently wrap around my shoulders and begin to lean me back up, “Aaand there you go. Sorry about that, anesthesia tends to cause a bit of nausea, and seeing how much was in your system this was no surprise,” he laid me flat on the mattress and I finally got a look at the “gryphon”.

Turns out the “gryphon” was actually a gryphon. Upon realizing this, I proceeded to do the completely rational thing: freak the ever-living fuck out!

“Fuck! You’re really a gryphon?!” I all but screamed. Soft Wing looked surprised for a second but quickly switched to classic medical stoicism.

“Yes,” he started carefully, “I am. And you’re a Draconequus. Okay, now that you are awa…” I cut him off with more mindless yelling.

“What the fuck do you mean I’m a Draconequus?” It was just a dream, right? There was no way this was real. I tore off the generic minty green hospital blanket and was speechless at what I saw. Just like in my dream, I was a Draconequus like Discord. “Oh gods! This isn’t possible!”

Soft Wing dropped the impartial doctor act and was suddenly very concerned, “It’s okay, just calm down and we can figure this out. If you don’t calm down, I’m going to have to sedate you.”

I knew he was right, and I really didn’t want to be sedated again, but I just couldn’t calm myself down. First I was in a car accident, then I had a drug-induced hallucination, and now said hallucination was real. And on top of it all, the hallucination took place in Equestria from a children’s show and adult’s guilty pleasure. Oh, and let’s not forget that I seem to be incarnated as the personification of chaos and one of the main villains from the show as well! I wound up quieting, but not calming, down.

After I stopped yelling, he began again, “There you go, just stay calm. What’s “not possible”?” He kept his voice soft and comforting.

I was so confused, “I-it’s not… I’m n-n-not… You… This! This i-isn’t pos-poss…,” I sputtered and started hyperventilating. Soft Wing placed a comforting talon on my shoulder. I feel like it should have freaked me out more than helped, but it actually allowed me to steady my thoughts. “This isn’t possible! Nothing going on right now is possible!”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand. How is nothing possible?” Soft Wing was obviously having a hard time figuring out what I could possibly mean.

I looked up into his amber eyes and readied myself for the shitstorm that this would most-likely end in, “I’m not what you think I am.” I really didn’t want to have to say it; I’d sound crazy.

“Whatever do you mean?” He inquired lightly. His quiet tone and bolstering touch really helped to calm me down. I was just about to elaborate some more when someo- somepony entered the room.

“Nurse,” somepony-I-couldn’t-see-because-Soft-Wing-was-in-the-way said, “the chariot is ready as soon as you and the patient are.”

Soft Wing looked over his shoulder at the door, “Oh, Thank-you Red Line.” I heard her hoofsteps retreat down the tile hallway.

Chariot? My train of thought changed direction, “Are we going somewhere?”

Soft Wing looked down at me and smiled, probably glad that the crazy switched seemed to be turned off for the moment. “Yes, actually. We received a royal summons not two days after you arrived from the princesses themselves. And by “we” I mean specifically you and myself.” He seemed as happy-go-lucky as ever, as if royal summonses were normal, which I doubted they were.

“Wait a minute, I just woke up; shouldn't I be in the hospital a little longer or something?”

He chuckled, “If this were a few decades ago or maybe some more rural hospitals, definitely. Thankfully though, we have exceptional medically trained unicorns employed here. They healed most of your injuries within a few days.” Huh, medical magic. I gave myself a quick once-over and noticed that he was right. There wasn’t so much as a scratch on me, except for my hand in a cast and some gauze (clear of any blood this time) on my chest. I motioned with my right hand to the cast and gauze. “Yes, well, some injuries were a little too severe and delicate to be simply sealed up. Your talon and tail seemed to be crushed required delicate re-alignment that required more of a conscience touch that magic cannot provide. Your midsection looked impaled but is still healing at the moment and is very tender. As for you head and face, one of your horns broke off and is very tender like a broken tooth and your eye seems to be fine aside from some mild swelling and is wrapped up as a precautionary measure. You’re also recovering from a concussion and there’s still some deep cuts on your head, but in accordance with hospital policy, no magic is to be used on head injuries; we’re going to have to change your bandages regularly for a few weeks,” he said all of this in one breath, and he still wasn’t done, “Now, contrary to popular belief, you’re perfectly fine to sleep with a concussion and you can be up and about as soon as you feel up to it, but you do need to be careful and be on the lookout for warning signs that could mean there is something worse than a concussion. Some signs are severe and persisting headaches, migraines, hyper-sensitivity to lights and sounds…” he probably could have gone on for longer, but I raised a hand to stop him.

“Dude, you’re giving me a headache,” I brought my hand to my left eye and lightly touched the bandages there. I hadn’t even noticed the fact that I couldn’t see out of my left eye until he mentioned it, This is going to be annoying. “So basically, you’re saying I’m good to go?”

Soft Wing looked sheepish for having rambled, “Oh, yes, you’re very much “good to go”. The only thing I could foresee impeding your leaving is the fact that we have no medical records on you, much less even your name! But we can figure that out on the way to Canterlot.”

Canterlot… Wow, this is really happening. I was absolutely terrified of what Celestia and Luna could want with me, but I’d probably just make matters worse if I avoided her. “Well, if you say I’m ready I guess I’m ready. Help me up?” It’s best I do this like a Band-Aid; If I take too long to think about it I’ll probably chicken out… I wonder if “chicken out” is insulting to a gryphon. With my head swimming, I like to think it’s thoughts like that that keep me sane.

Soft Wing helped me to my feet and let me use him for balance. I was very weak and dizzy which was apparently to be expected, along with possible muscle atrophy. Everything was going so fast I didn’t really have much time to process any of it, but I never minded. After all, I was in Equestria! I may look like a villain and about to visit my possible executioner but how many others can say they somehow wound up in Equestria? This was such a new and exciting thing so why take things slowly? I was fine with getting as much in as little time as possible (as I may not have much time left). I’ve just always been a crazy optimistic thinker.

Before we actually left, I took the opportunity to check myself out in the large mirror in the room. It felt extremely disorienting and foreign to see such an alien body when I looked in the mirror. I was indeed a Discord-esque draconequus, but much more feminine and young. The most notable differences were that I was much shorter than Discord including my neck, which was about half as long as his. My body was slightly curvier than his, but still almost painfully slender like my human self (the curves were actually a bonus as I’d always looked pretty androgynous to my dismay). It was pretty neat to have a tail and I couldn’t wait to use it, but alas, it was wrapped up in a splint. My head was the weirdest thing to see out of everything, ignoring the bandages wrapping around my head and covering my eye. I had a short little muzzle with my right canine showing even when my mouth was closed, yellow eyes with red, pupil-less irises (with my left eye covered, I wondered if my irises were different sizes), floppy ears farther up on my head than they used to be complete with my usual earring holes, and finally two nubby horns. Well, there would be two but my bluish goat horn was a jagged stump whereas my antler was only a few inches long and rounded at its three points.

Being coated in fur felt weird, as did having a mane. There was a short black mane running down the nape of my neck that was topped with a messy crop of white hair. I silently thanked the gods that I wasn’t bald like Discord but had retained my hairstyle and, believe it or not, hair color. My hair was about four inches long and completely disheveled with one lock of longer hair on the left side that reached about my shoulder. It was relieving to see something so familiar. My eyebrows were still white as well, but a lot thicker and more prominent. All in all, I decided I didn’t look too bad. In fact, I liked my new look.

Author's Note

Helooo there! Nifty little A/N box here :3 anywho, sorry about this chapter being very filler-ish, but hey, this is a proper story, not a *CLIMAXCLIMAXCLIMAX NORESOLUTION* story. Things will get moving next chapter.
Thanks again for sticking with the story and bearing through it... I know it's rough, but it's my first time writing and I'm still working out my own kinks and vices :P (next chapter in a few days btw, not a few WEEKS this time)
So yeah, feedback is greatly appreciated in the comments :D

[4] Filler and Fodder

Filler and Fodder

‘Okay’ I thought cynically, ‘she is, by far, the weirdest creature I have ever met’. Not only was she a draconequus, she was absolutely bonkers as well! I wondered if she was like this before I found her or if whatever banged her up so bad made her so weird. I hoped for the latter as I really didn’t want to be dealing with an insane chimera. She just stood there, staring at herself in the mirror as if it were the first time she has done so. Coupled with the fact that she didn’t recognize her I made a mental note to be on the lookout for possible amnesia (also insanity).

“AHEM,” I cleared my thought to catch her attention, “We don’t want to keep the princesses waiting, now do we?” I forced a smile.

“Oh, okay I guess, but I have some questions..” she started before I cut her off with the wave of a talon.

“As do I, but the trip to Canterlot is not a short one, so I say again; we don’t want to keep the princesses waiting.” Did this girl really not understand the importance of the situation? Her ignorance was riding my nerves and I began to grind my beak while the smile I wore became even harder to force.

The odd draconequus chuckled and agreed, “Of course Softie! Lead the way, will you?” In a broad sweeping motion, she brought her unbound arm in a bowing gesture. As she went to actually bow she grabbed at her gauze and winced. Clearly the fates were testing me with this one. Glad to have her agreeing and wanting to finally “get the show on the road”, I simply nodded and began to exit the room.

The soft clicks of claws and clop of a hoof on the linoleum let me know she was indeed following me. I wanted so badly to relax; it was just picking up some paperwork, a quick walk to the elevator, and then we would be at the chariot. The only problem was the actual walk there. I could already feel their eyes on me as I slowly made my way to the floor main desk, draconequus ward in tow. Who was ‘they’? Why, the entire hospital staff I worked with of course! With the exception of my roommates, I really had no friends here in Manehattan. Or anywhere else for that matter.

I find ponies to be a very tolerant and accepting bunch, as long as one is a pony. Otherwise, it takes great effort to gain a pony’s favor. I also find that ponies rarely give one a chance to gain their favor. I am a young, broke, nurse who is also a gyphon. I work my tail to the bone with extended shifts every night and even take extra work from others but I’m still the lowest rung on the ladder. Of course, I had to take my break in the park last week. Of course I would help anybody injured I found. And of course that anybody was a (crazy) draconequus. I don’t think there could be any more reasons for my coworkers to hate me. Oh wait, I forgot, because no one wants to work with a draconequus and I was the one who found her, she became my patient. And the piece de resistance, the princesses summoned the draconequus but because she’s injured, I have to accompany her. NOW I’m sure there couldn’t be any more reasons for them to hate me.

Ponies actually stopped what they were doing to stare daggers at me. What great work ethic, I thought sourly. I wished the draconequus would shuffle faster so we could leave faster. It wasn’t entirely her fault though, she was pretty banged up. Still…

Eventually we made our way to the front desk where an eggshell coated and maned mare sat, that is, until we walked up. “I need the rest of the file on the draconequus and blank general and emergency admittance forms, please,” I added the ‘please’ in place of something ruder that might get me fired. Her eyes flicked to the draconequus who had finally limped her way to the desk for a moment.

“I’d need to know a name or when said draconequus arrived,” her tone was very chipper, as a desk clerk could, but it was clear to me that it was patronizing. She knew perfectly well when something as important as a draconequus arrived.

“No name on file, but she arrived one week ago,” once again, I stood on my tongue. The bland mare locked eyes with me for a while in defiance, but turned to the cubbies full of files behind her with a flick of her tail. She was clearly going out of her way to be slow about finding the file. I rolled my eyes and leaned on the counter. Glancing at the draconequus, I noticed her not paying one lick of attention. Instead, she was manically and intently staring at everyone that passed her. Once again, I rolled my eyes and waited for the desk mare to get my papers.

After an unnecessarily long time of trivial searching, a relatively thin tan folder was practically slapped onto the counter in front of me, along with a few pages of admittance forms. She immediately did an about face and busied herself shuffling papers.

“Cone along, the chariot’s on the roof’s landing pad,” I brought the draconequus back into reality and we began our slow walk to the elevator once more. Thankfully it was close and within the minute we were out of the viewing range of the ponies, and I was enclosed in a small box with an annoying draconequus. It took all off two seconds for both the doors to close and the silence to be broken.

“Soooo… How long does it take to get to Canterlot?” We were on the third floor; four left before we were at the roof.

“About four hours by chariot,” Three left.

“How long ago did the princesses say they wanted to see us? You said they’ve been waiting for a while.”

“The day after you arrived here,” Two.
“Why are you called Soft Wing?”

“It’s my name,” One.

“Do you have soft wings?”

“I- What?” *DING* Thank the gods.

The elevator opened to reveal a rather small, closed chariot with four royal guard pegasi at the ready. They stoically gazed in front of the chariot and didn’t pay the slightest attention to me practically running out the elevator or the lanky draconequus limping behind.

After helping her into the cabin, I gave the pegasi the all clear and settled in for a headache-inducing trip across from my ward. There was a strong lurch and the sense of moving quickly. You couldn’t even tell when the chariot went from rolling to flying. They were part of the royal guard for a reason, I guess. I closed my eyes for a moment to clear my mind and pulled out her file.

“Okay, now to fill out your records,” I noticed she was glued to one of the small portholes that were on each of the walls of the cabin. “Excuse me, I said it’s about time we fill out your information,” She mouthed something I didn’t quite catch.

Leaning in, I heard her repeat herself “Is this really happening?” her words came out airy and were still barely audible.

“What? Flying in a chariot,” Was this really such a stupefying experience for her? “or a royal summons?” Oh, I realized, maybe it is.

“Both,” she said just as breathlessly as she had before.

“Well, yes, and I’m terribly sorry to interrupt your sightseeing, but we really must fill these forms as soon as possible.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” she snapped out her stupor and focused on me, “What’s up doc?”

“First, I’m a nurse, not a doctor,” I inadvertently said a bit more curtly than I had wanted.

“Sorry. But seriously, what do you want to know, Softie?” I cringed internally and began grinding my beak once again. Though she didn’t know, I loathed being called ‘Softie’. That nickname had followed me from flight school, through medical school, and even in the hospital. I let it slide.

“Let’s start with the basics: Name, date and place of birth, current residence, insurance, and any known allergies.”

She answered immediately, “Easy! Eris; June fifth, nineteen ninety-two; St. Louis Missouri, USA; none; blue cross; and bees.”

Sighing, I set the quill and papers down and tried to keep my composure, “Ma’am, please, be serious. The sooner we get these forms done, the sooner we can relax and enjoy our ride.”

“I was serious,” she deadpanned. I had nothing to say. I was in no mood to give myself an even bigger headache if she was going to behave like this so I quickly jotted down the information she had given me on a piece of scrap parchment and filed everything back in the folder.

“Well then, I guess the papers can wait until a later time,” my excuse fell on deaf ears. The draconequus, Eris, was fast asleep propped up against the window. She really looked innocent when she was silent.

With nothing left to do but wait to arrive in Canterlot, I decided it best to try to rid myself of my headache before most likely getting an even larger one meeting with the royals. I could scarcely imagine the migraine medicine I was going to go through dealing with the fact that I had a royal summons whilst having to deal with an insane draconequus (as neither were common in the least). And then I entered a restless, anxiety-driven, sleep.

Author's Note

I love how since my last chapter, I've had absolutely NOTHING going on in my life, and the past 2 weeks my life has basically fallen apart and I somehow manage to write a coherent chapter. Okay then.
Anywho, my life is shit right now, but eh, it happens. But since this is what seems to inspire me to write, expect another chapter this week.

Thanks again for readin, and I really do apologize for waiting so long to update again (I really think that doing so breaks up the reader's ability to fully understand/retain what's happening in the story :P
Constructive criticism appreciated and the pointing out of straight-up writing/grammatical errors encouraged!

Next episode: something interesting actually happens and we meet the fucking princesses!

[5] Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger

A jolt unsanctimoniously roused me from my dreamless sleep. Upon opening my eyes, I was assaulted by the colors of the Equestrian world from the view of a window in a chariot. Yup. Still reality. I hadn’t been conscious all that long and I was still expecting to wake up as human. Yet there I sat, in a chariot in front of Canterlot castle, with a tired-looking gryphon glaring at me.

“Heh, you look like shit, Softie,” I said, stretching my arms above my head, but not so hard that I strained my injured midsection.

He inhaled sharply and was about to respond but the cabin’s door opening interrupted him. We both turned to see a guard poke his head in, “If you’re both ready, we’ll escort you to the princesses; they’re waiting.” It was pretty unnerving, the way he was so stoic and professional. I guess that was how most all military men are, though I can’t say I speak from experience.

So at the guard’s words, we exited the carriage and were led into the castle. We had apparently landed on a specialized pad for just such arrivals and I couldn’t see much of the castle or Canterlot itself. Hopefully I’d get to see it later, I thought as the guard led us through some over-sized doors and into the castle interior. We entered a long corridor which was clearly meant to dazzle those visiting.

A plush red carpet ran the length of the hall which contrasted starkly with the matt gray stones that comprised the walls and floor. Lining said walls were ornate tapestries, some obviously worn and old while others were gleaming and new, but all were clearly priceless.

I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going. I was more limping alongside Softy and bumping into him occasionally as he followed the guards. He kept his left wing slightly unfolded to help keep me balanced but it did not help in the least.

At the end of the hallway were obviously old and worn doors that had maintained their majesty through the years. They were quite small an unassuming, but like everything else in this world, they garnered my attention like nothing else. They were old and weathered and obviously older than the castle itself, like most of the artifacts through the rest of the hall.

The guards opened the doors and the room that lay beyond was much less geared towards inspiring awe and more towards function. The function was waiting. The room we entered was a mundane, boring, sterile, waiting room for the princesses. I hated waiting, with a fiery passion.

Upon entering I sighed loudly causing Softie to glance back at me. Seeing nothing wrong other than a disgruntled draconequus, he focused his gaze back on the guards.

“One moment please; we’ll let the princesses know you’ve arrived,” one of the guards then walked up to a second set of doors, flanked by two guards wielding spears. The door guards opened and closed the doors for him. These doors were much larger and more ornate. Clearly the throne room lay beyond them. Carved in each door was the cutie mark of the princesses, a sun and the moon, only more stylistic.

So many doors! There was yet another set of unassuming doors. They were clearly for general admittance to waiting for the pleasure of an audience with the princesses.

I guessed it was an off day because along with the various lounges and plush chairs against the walls, about thirty of those poles that form lines. Maybe they cleared today just for us. I felt so honored.

It was an awkward few minutes before the guard returned. The door guards stoically and impassively stared ahead of themselves while the pegasus guard left to watch Softie and myself awkwardly shifted weight from hoof to hoof. I could care less about the awkwardness of the situation, but I’d just recently realized how tired I was.

Should I really have left the hospital so soon? I was now wishing I had not. My head was beginning to throb and pound, my left leg had gone numb upon exiting the chariot while the other felt like jelly, the neckbrace I wore was itchy, and to top it all off, I began to realize how important this meeting was. The powerful god-like diarches of a powerful country had personally asked for myself and Softie to appear before them. They had waited since I appeared here to see me. There were so many ways I could fuck this meeting up.

The ROYALS! My mind broke. Looking back, I think it’s pretty safe assume it was whatever I had been sedated with wearing off. The realization of the implications of meeting with the princesses hit me like a ton of bricks regardless of the reason. The fact that I was beginning to feel pain again did not help in the slightest, either.

What if they just unanimously decide that Draconequui don’t belong in Equestria and banish me or turned me to stone or something? What if they know I’m not from Equestria and decided to banish me or turn me to stone? What if I somehow screw this meeting up and they somehow decide to banish me or turn me to stone? What if Molestia is canon? THE SHOW NEVER TAUGHT ME HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS SITUATION!

Softie noticed my existential crisis and nudged me with the wing I was leaning on. I looked down to see him looking at me questioningly. He looked tired and worried with dark circles beginning to form under his eyes. I was about to answer when the door opened and the guard who’d left to announce our arrival appeared in the doorway once again.

“The princesses are ready to see you.”

Soft Wing thanked them and nudged me forward. I swear I could hear Requiem for a Dream Playing. The world seemed to slow as we neared the doors. Whatever would happen beyond those doors could be the end of me. I wouldn’t even get an “I visited Equestria and all I got was this T-shirt” shirt.

We stepped through the doors and they shut, sealing me and Softie in the throne room with my possible executioners. I could see them at the end of the long red carpet that led to the two stone thrones upon which the royals sat; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in all their glory. It was bright and cheery in the room (really it was more like another corridor) with the colorful stained glass windows all along the walls. All of the light and colors contrasted starkly with the dark thoughts I was having as I stood there frozen like stone just inside the room.

Time sped up again as a voice rang like a bell through the room, “Welcome, Eris.”

Author's Note

Just like I said in the last chapter, we meet the princesses in this chapter! Also, spoiled by the chapter name, I DID A CLIFFHANGER! I think this deserves a writers achievement trophy! That cliffhanger is partially why this is so short by the way. I WAS going to make this around 2,000 words as that's a pretty good length, but I'm lazy and this made for a great cliffhanger so... this happened.

OH! Shout-out to user Kill Joy for making me a wicked cover art! I'm not going to put it up yet because there's a char. in it I haven't even mentioned yet so you guys'll have to wait a few chapters to see it. but yeah, you all should check 'em out and some props http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Kill+Joy. Also thanks to all you lovely readers who, after this appeared as featured, offered to make me a coverart.

So as usual, tell me what you guys think and point out any stupid shit I pulled whilst writing and not pre-reading por favor! (especially anything funky that happened in 'translating' this or whatever; I've already caught some weird things that showed up when I copy/pasted this over. Quirky site sometimes :P)

Holy batshitfucks batman! I didn't cuss NEARLY as much as I usually do in this chapter! Maybe because I'm oddly calm for once in my life and not sleep-deprived or hopped up on sugar... hmm...

[6] Meet the Princess

Meet the Princess

Alternate Title: Yay! I wrote a lot of words!

Her voice was like velvet, “Welcome, Eris.” It was funny how those two simple words meant the world to me.

Time seemed to stop, but I still walked alongside Soft Wing. Well, I wasn’t so much walking of my own accord as much as I was pushed by Softie. He held his left wing slightly extended and used it to nudge me forward.

Thoughts were still racing through my mind as we reached the halfway point to her throne. The first thoughts had been rational, if not maybe a bit extreme. But the nearer I drew the more paranoid I became. Suddenly I was worrying about seeing royalty in my current condition, covered in bandages. What if I offended her somehow? How am I supposed to address royals anyway? I didn’t even know what kind of meeting this was going to be!

I could rule out political, obviously. The only other possibilities my mind could conjure were a welcome, an investigation, and damnation. I prayed to whatever powers ruled this world that it would be the first possibility. Hell, even the second was fine, honestly. I just really didn’t want to end up in jail, or banished, or dead, or anything else negative.

Oh shit, I thought, what if she really IS a god! Does that mean she can hear my thoughts? Would that just be a spell? Maybe it would be passive (that would get annoying). My mind went off on another tangent about major and minor actions and I failed to notice that we were at the base of the throne.

“Soft Wing, Eris, I thank you for arriving so promptly,” my head snapped up. It actually hurt to move my neck so quickly; it was in a neckbrace for a reason afterall.

The first thing I noticed about the sun diarch was that she was absolutely stunning. I mean, she was a pony, but she was a breathtaking pony. Her coat almost glowed it was so pristinely white which complemented her glowing mane perfectly. Her mane did indeed flow ethereally in some inexistent wind as it sparkled in its full pastel glory. And of course, there was her royal regalia. Had she been anyone else, I would think it superfluous to have such delicate gold adorning her figure. It somehow managed multiplied her awe. One look at her and you knew the definition of beauty and refinement. Through the goddess-like looks though, I could feel something even more influential. It was power. Pure, unadulterated, power.

She radiated beauty and oozed power. She carried herself with grace and poise while at the same time seemed ready to call out battle orders at a moment’s notice. It was the perfect combination for a ruler. It was also absolutely terrifying.

I managed to peel my gaze from gawking at her to the guards that flanked the throne. They were also pretty intimidating. In the show, I really thought them to be almost comical, and the ones I’d dealt with up until this point had been so… calm? Was that the right word? … regardless, they were nothing compared to the harsh glares I was getting from these stoic soldiers. They looked ready to rend my flesh from bone with their spears, and they probably wouldn’t hesitate to do so if I gave them a reason.

I felt Soft Wing shift next to me. I looked over to see him lower himself into a low bow, spreading the wing that wasn’t supporting me out as well. It was a pretty majestic sight. I felt awkward standing dumbly in front her, so I figured I should try to show some respect as well.

My mind may have been scattered and paranoid, but it knew I had to do SOMETHING. Bowing was out of the question, so I guessed a wave would have to do. I raised my paw, but that didn’t seem like enough. I had to say something to show I respected (feared) her. So of course, in my mental state, I summoned the most eloquent utterance I could muster.

Unfortunately, whatever I had planned went out the window as soon as I opened my mouth and squeaked out a stuttering, “H-hi…”. Yup, “hi”. That was apparently the best I could do. And my luck would just have it that my voice was shot, coupled with the respect (nope, still fear), so it came out awkwardly choppy and soft.

Fuck me, was all I thought. This whole ordeal had gone on long enough! The suspense was killing me and I just wanted to get whatever done and over with, because the longer this was dragged out the more insane I became. I was absolutely terrified. It seemed like hours had passed since we first entered the chamber, though it had only been a couple minutes realistically.

Soft Wing groaned and rose from his bow as I dropped my hand back to steady myself with his help. Softie definitely had the proper reaction to my lame greeting. Hell, I had the same feeling about it. The guards didn’t react at all. And then there was Celestia. She laughed. That was the last thing I expected. Maybe it was a patronizing laugh before she shot me to the moon. She had to at least been making fun of me.

Her laugh was soft and short-lived, but it was as beautiful as one would expect. The sound of her laugh was like soft bells. Like crisp silver bells ringing in perfect pitch and tone. She didn’t have to regain her composure after laughing because she never lost it. It just fit perfectly into her actions. I literally could not comprehend how she did it.

“Hello to you as well, Eris. As I mentioned, I would first like to thank the two of you for arriving as swiftly as you did. I hope that you were not too rushed,” she said perfectly, of course.

Softie spoke up before I could even gather my thoughts enough for another “hi”. “It was your guard who flew us here so quickly. And we we’re fine, your highness. Eris is well on her way to recovery.” He spoke with reverence, but it very rigidly. I guess I wasn’t the only one impressed by our audience.

“That is wonderful to hear,” she then shot me a smile that could probably bring someone back to life. I just stared blankly at her, hypnotized, but she didn’t seem to notice (or care), “I apologize, but I would rather skip the pleasantries and get right to the point so that you two may get on with your days. I have asked for you to appear before me so that some questions may be answered. You arrived under very mysterious circumstances, Eris, and I would be very appreciative if you could provide some insight into the subject. I have arranged for you, Eris, to stay comfortably here at the castle and also for you, Soft Wing, as her care-giver.”

Wow. I was not expecting that. I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been awake in total, but I know it hasn’t been that long, and I was already in with the princess and staying at the castle? It seemed way too good to be true. Also, she was weirdly ambiguous yet forward with her wording. Did anyone else notice that? Softie’s jaw was hanging slightly open so I know he was thinking the same thing I was.

All in all it was a pretty sobering experience. I was so terrified, and then she just says that wants to know how I got here. That thought was a whole other mind-breaking concept to me. Thankfully, this one made my mind stop completely rather than run a million miles per hour.

Softie stole a quick glance in my direction, “P-princess, all of this for such a simple request? I’m fairly sure she’s well enough to answer your inquiry as soon as possible; there is no need for us to inconvenience you.” It was funny to see Softie so confused.

“I assure you it is no imposition,” she responded, “Though if you are insistent that Eris,” she nodded in my direction, “is well enough, then I don’t see why we cannot get to the bottom of this situation sooner. I have to say, though, I think all of us would feel more at ease in a more casual setting,” there were those bells again, “How would you two feel about joining my sister and I over dinner tonight? There you could relax after your hectic weeks, get a nice meal, and we could converse better.” She was smiling slightly. Her demeanor hadn’t wavered once throughout the entire meeting.

“Of course, your highness, that sounds wonderful.” Softie still sounded breathless, but I could detect some hints contempt. I couldn’t help but think he wanted to just get this thing over with, but he went along with Celestia’s idea. Well, when the ruler of your land asks you to dinner, who are you to say no?

“Excellent!” The smile on her face could not only be seen but heard in her voice. She was suddenly full of energy and joy. “I will have some of the guard show you to your rooms so you can settle. Dinner will be just after sundown so I shall see you then.” And with that, she nodded to the guard on her left who nodded back.

The guard then began walking towards the door through which we entered. Both Softie and I were absolutely dumbstruck. For a moment, we just stood there, mouths agape, before Softie remembered how to function properly and quickly bade the princess farewell and spun on his heels. I didn’t move until I felt him nudging me with his wing. I simply raised my paw yet again in a lame attempt at a goodbye. She gave a light giggle and raised her hoof at me as well.

And with that, we were whisked out of the throne room, through another door, down countless hallways and through some stairwells, and eventually landed at our destination. No words were spoken the entire trip nor were any glances shared between myself and Softie.

The guard who had led us stopped in front of two doors next to eachother and spoke, “These are the guest rooms, which house all sorts of guests of the royal family. You’ll be staying in these two. I’ll come get you when it’s dinner time,” the guard then left, most likely to return to Celestia’s side.

“I do not think I’m entirely sure what just happened,” Softie said after a moment.

“Yeah, same here.”

“Well, let’s get some business done before dinner,” I looked down the hall to see the sky reddening through a window. Softie pushed open the closest door and motioned for me to enter.

I hobbled inside, made my way to the bed and all but collapsed. Oh the bed was so soft! It was plush and down and just perfect. I just wanted to stay there forever. Unfortunately, my respite was short-lived.

Soft Wing sat on the edge of the bed and gave an exasperated sigh, “Give me a few minutes of your time and then you can nap until dinner,” I grunted out a ‘no’, “Eris, this is important, now listen.” He was in no mood to play.

I slowly pushed myself up so my back was against the headboard. I was too tired and sore to say anything, so I just glared at Softie. He sat at the foot of the bed with a small, sippered pouch. Where he’d kept it up until no, I don’t have a clue.

“Okay, these are the medications you’re going to have to take,” he began pulling out orange pill bottles and held each one up, “This is a very heavy sedative, which you actually need to take right about now. It’s for the worst of your injuries and once you heal a bit, you can stop taking it. As I said, it’s very powerful so don’t take it more than twice a day; once in the morning and at dinner should suffice. This one,” he held up another bottle, “is a very low dose pain killer. It won’t interact with the sedative so you can take it if you experience any pain in between the sedatives. There’s an antibiotic medication I want you to take every day until you’re tiniest scratch is healed,” he pulled out the final bottles, “And muscle relaxants which will help you get sleep after you’re off of the sedatives. AFTER… you’re off of the sedatives.” He stressed the last part.

That was the most medication I’ve ever had to take in my life! It also sounded dangerous. I’ve never been fond of medicine, even aspirin, but something as powerful as the sedatives actually kind of frightened me.

“This is important! Would you please pay at attention?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” whoops, “What’d you say?”

He sighed heavily, “Actually, how about I hang on the medicine, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan, Softie.” That works, I thought, I’d probably lose them or forget to take the damn things.

He cringed visibly, “Soft. Wing,” he said slowly, “My name is Soft Wing, okay? Anyway, it’s time for you to take this,” he handed me a small green and red capsule and got up to get me a glass of water from the en suite bathroom.

It was small and easy to swallow even without the water. I wondered how powerful such a small amount of medicine could really be, but I hoped it was pretty damn powerful as I was numbing pain began to creep back into my wounds. Thankfully, it was evident after a few minutes that the size of the pill didn’t matter.

I was in heaven. Soft Wing had left the room for a few minutes to do… something… in his own room, but I was in heaven. I was laying on the bed with half-lidded eyes and my mouth hanging a bit open feeling like I was floating. I could now see why people did drugs, especially prescriptions. I didn’t have a care in the world.

I didn’t notice Softie had returned until tapped me to get my attention. He looked clean and smelled ever so slightly like flowers, so I guess he’d gone to clean up before dinner. “Eris…”

“You clean up niiiice, Softie,” I slurred.

Soft Wing ignored me as propped me up against the headboard again, “I need to refresh your bandages and it’d go a lot better if you worked with me, okay.” I was completely still, laughing, leaving him to try and pull my form back and up into a sitting position.

“Ha, at least I’m not working against you,” I knew that was a rude thing to say, but it was a little funny, and on medication, it was REALLY funny. I’m not sure why I didn’t just sit up. I blame the drugs.

“Just… just stay still while I put new gauze on, okay?” I kept slumping over to one side or the other. Eventually, Softie just stacked pillows on either side of me. He then pulled patches of gauze and some rolls of soft and stretchy cloth out of the bag that had my drugs.

He then went about meticulously checking all of my injuries. His face melted from a grimace of exhaustion from having to deal with me to one of serene calm as his eyes darted over my wounds.

He started at my head. After picking at the end of the wrap around my head, he finally began to slowly unwind it. He tossed the wrapping into a trashcan and slowly peeled away a patch of gauze just above my left temple. He hissed and I felt some resistance when he pulled. Softie quickly met my gaze, but I guess my blank stare tipped him off to the fact that I felt nothing as he continued to slowly pull the gauze free and threw it in with the wrapping.

He then started dabbing the wound with a warm rag. Where did that come from? Once it was free of any crusty blood, he then rubbed a cotton ball of alcohol on it. When did he bring all of this in? He locked eyes with me again, I guess expecting me to wince from the alcohol, but I met his gaze with a dopey grin the entire time. He then cleaned another wound I wasn’t aware was on my head, just above and behind my left ear. After both were cleaned to his satisfaction, he placed clean white gauze on them and swaddled my head in a new wrap.

Next was my eye. I think had I been in my right mind I would have been very worried about my eye. After all, I only freaking SAW out of it. The eyes are just tender spots that freak me out. I think that it’s warranted paranoia as they are very important organs. Also very sensitive… very very painfully sensitive.

My eye had one of those big, sticky patches over it, so Softie peeled that off while holding the underlying gauze one. When he finally took the gauze away, his stoicism was almost broken as his own eye twitched. I probably should have been worried about such a reaction, but I wasn’t. Instead of using alcohol, he used some other solution I didn’t know. I felt nothing so I cared not. He then quickly replaced the old gauze with a fresh and folded one and then finished it off with a new eye patch. I love how I couldn’t feel the apparently painful ripping off of bloody bandages and the smearing of alcohol on open wounds, but I could feel the sticky edges of the patch adhere to my fur.

Next up was the wrap around my chest. The same happened with a wound on my left ribcage that had happened with the others and I was soon wearing a clean wrap.

Since the rest of my injuries consisted of a splint on my right ring finger and tail and a cast on my left leg, they were left as they were.

With everything done, Soft Wing packed the rest of the clean gauze and wraps up, threw his gloves away, and got off the bed. Had he been wearing gloves this whole time? I pondered how I’d missed so many obvious details as I slowly slid back down onto the bed and Softie returned the pack to his room. I actually hadn’t noticed he’d left until he returned, along with his regular scowl.

“Ugh, really?” I giggled from my position on the bed. I was still giggling when the guard from earlier came to get us for dinner. I was still giggling when Softie tried to get me off of the bed. Eventually I stopped giggling, though, as he did succeed in getting me to stand mostly on my own.

Soft Wing stared at me for a minute before undoing the Velcro of my neckbrace and removing it completely. Don't I need that?

And then we were off to see the Princesses!

Author's Note

Hello all! Once again, I waited WAY too long to get you guys another chapter... hehe, sorry about that. If you're at all interested in the excuse I have, I put up a very ranty, very sleep-deprived, and very migrainy exlpaination in my blog thingy. It's probably painful to read, but It was late and I'm lazy, so deal.

So, yeah, this chapter is actually moving! I have to say that I'm almost proud of this chapter. Not only is it over 3,000 words, but I feel like my skill as a writer is improving a bit. Though I could just be crazy and it still sucks. Either way, here it is!

I just finished up the last 1,000 words dealing with 2 midgets I nanny. I've been here since 6am and will be here until 5pm WHEEEE! IT'S ONLY 10! :'D I hate children

You guys know the deal now, comment with what you think is good, what sucks, any mistakes in grammar or continuity, blah blah blah... Though I do feel I must make this disclaimer: PLEASE do NOT post what you think *should* happen or message me about how you don't like something because you would have done it differently. Kind suggestions are nice, but I've had people message me basically being asses about how they don't like my story because I'm not writing the story they want and then tell me how the story should go. My suggestion to you guys if you don't like my story: Don't read it. Trust me, I'll understand.

[7] More Filler

More Filler

Alternate Title: I Ponder the Existence of Magic in a Cartoon World

“Gah!” I yelled and made a show of dramatically grabbing my neck.

“Your neck is fine, Eris. The brace was on to prevent injury in transit,” Softie looked toward the room’s only window to gauge the time, “The sun is down and I assume a guard will be here to collect us soon so please collect yourself.”

“Am I not together?” I looked myself over and around as if I was missing a piece of myself. As I did so Soft Wing pinched the bridge of his beak.

“Just… please be on your best behavior at dinner,” Soft Wing was clearly growing tired of my act. I couldn’t help it. I’m usually a pretty happy-go-lucky person and with the meds I just couldn’t control myself. It may not have been such a bad thing though; Softie was really uptight and maybe my joking around would help him loosen up eventually. To the relief of Softie, a guard interrupted his growing headache. The guard was specifically a gray unicorn, not that it mattered, but it got me thinking about how magic worked.

The horned guard informed us that dinner was ready and led us through the maze of hallways to the dining hall. All the way I paid no mind to the confusing twists and turns we took and instead pondered how magic fit into this world.

As the show made clear, magic was an integral part of Equestrian life, at least for ponies. The show implied that literally everything held some kind of intrinsic magical energy. I went ahead and assumed that magic was emotionally driven given the nature and power of the Elements of Harmony. The show only really showed that type of magic: harmonic. This kind of magic was probably everywhere since most people, or ponies, usually try to please others rather than antagonize them. But surely there had to be an antithesis to this powerful magic. The show also made it clear that there was indeed an opposite to harmony. This opposition came in the form of Discord.

Discord, the apparent spirit of disharmony. His powers were vast and he seemed to have complete control of them. He harnessed the power of chaos to tip the scales in his favor and win the throne of Equestria twice. At least, that’s what the show said.

Discord, as I’ve said before, is my favorite character in My Little Pony. He’s actually the reason I started watching in the first place. I loved John de Lancie’s role in Star Trek: The Next Generation and when I heard he had a role nearly identical to Q in MLP I decided to check it out. Why did I love Q and Discord’s roles? It’s simple, really: chaos is interesting.

Both Q and Discord’s sole purpose was to serve as an undefeatable enemy. In Star Trek, Q was a literal god compared to the puny mortals aboard the USS Enterprise. He loved to pop in whenever he felt like it to bother his newfound playthings and amused himself by passing “judgment” on them. With a literal snap of his fingers Q could change any and every aspect life, from teleportation to summoning cigars and mariachi bands to freezing a living being. The captain of the Enterprise, Picard, knew that they were at the fate of an all-powerful madman and the defeat of him was an impossibility. Instead of approaching Q as a normal adversary, the captain treated their rivalry like a parent-child relationship, albeit an incredibly unstable one as Q could kill Picard at a moment’s notice.

Picard had to change Q’s way of thinking. He made the “god” realize how skewed his views were and taught him that with great power comes great responsibility. Q was in a few episodes and though he was never as bad as in the first episodes the same plot played out every time: Q shows up at an inopportune time, Q causes potentially harmful chaos, Picard chastises him, Q pouts and eventually returns things to normal, Q leaves a better man. Q’s breaking of the monotonous norm and need of divergent thinking for defeat him made his character extremely interesting. It was the same in My Little Pony. Technically Discord wasn’t defeated as much as his confrontation put on hold.

Let’s face it, the ponies on the show lived pretty boring lives. They had very set routines and the second one tiny part of their day-to-day lives diverged from what they held as “normal” they broke. Look at how they reacted when another race showed up. One zebra walks into town and literally every pony runs inside, locks the doors, turns off the lights, and pretends their not at home. And when Twilight first showed up every pony was in awe at the new resident. It’s clear that nothing interesting or chaotic ever really happens in the town.

If harmony is present in the ponies and the power of harmonic magic is dependent on the current level of harmony present in the pony utilizing it, where does Discord’s power come from? He seemed to create chaos, and a lot of it at that, rather than draw upon it like harmonic magic does. I guess all magic was not created equal. But I wondered if there were other types of magic in this world. And if there were, what were their sources? Did have magic? How exactly do you utilize magic anyway? I guess I’d have to wait to find out seeing as I couldn’t exactly use my left hand to snap. I’ve never been able to snap with my right finger so until my talon was all healed everything was up for speculation.

I made a mental note to ask Celestia if my assumption s about magic were correct. This world was so foreign and I had so many questions but I didn’t want to overload her. Speaking of this world, what exactly was it called? I guessed “Equestria” referred to the country (kingdom?) but what was the world as a whole called? What were the other countries/kingdoms called?

I had to stop my accumulation of questions short as we entered the dining hall. It was beautiful, just like the rest of the castle. It was room taken up mostly by a long table surrounded by many chairs with the walls lined with tables and flowers for decoration. Only one wall had any windows but they weren’t stained glass. Instead the windows were much more classically cast-like in that they were rather skinny, tall, and pane-less, allowing the cool night breeze to fill the room with fresh air.

At the far end of the long table sat Celestia at the head and Luna to her right on corner. The guard led us right up to side to the left of Celestia and motioned for us to take our seats. Softie took the chair closest to the sun princess and was clearly unnerved by the proximity and I sat next him. Sitting on the side of the table gave clear view of the night princess, Luna.

I have to say she was just as lovely as her sister but in a very different way. In stature she was a few hands shorter than her sister but probably still taller than myself and her free-flowing hair that was the night sky were quite intimidating. She lacked the more ostentatious look Celestia had with her royal regalia, as Luna’s was darker and muted rather than sparkly gold. Perhaps the most notable thing about the younger diarch was the way she carried herself.

Celestia had a very powerful feel about her but it was less menacing and direct and more intelligence and wisdom-based. Luna on the other hand, to put it simply, looked and felt like she had no problem going hand to hand (hoof to hoof?) with somebody in battle. It’s hard to describe how exactly she put off this feeling, as she was simply sitting calmly at a table waiting for dinner without a word, but it was there. She felt… sharp. Yes, “sharp” was the best way to describe her. Like a sword. I guess Celestia would be “overwhelming” then.

Unfortunately I didn’t realize that the entire time I’d been scrutinizing her appearance I’d been staring blankly at Luna until she spoke up.

She looked around nervously after a few moments of my stare and eventually brought a hoof up to her cheek, “Have I something on my face?” she questioned nervously. Celestia giggled and Softie held his face in his talon (he seemed to do that a lot around me).

Another flawless first impression by the alien being that is moi.

Author's Note

I'm tired and wrote this. It's very much filler but it also serves to get me back into the groove of writing since I've had such a long sabbatical. I might come back tomorrow and sand it down a little bit but I at least want to get it up tonight so I don't procrastinate on it anymore. Unfortunately this week is finals week for me and then I have to get ready for a trip up north for a week so I probably won't get another chapter up until at least after Christmas so until next time, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Drink nog and be merry like I'll be doing as soon as finals are over! HO HO HO!

[8] Dining With Royalty

I continued staring at the princess of the night, this time out of embarrassment. Soft Wing cleared his throat finally drawing the attention of everyone, including myself, away from my faux pas.

“Yes,” he began as three sets of eyes bore down on him, “Well, it is nice to see you again Princess Celestia and you, Princess Luna, for the first time.” He dipped his head at each princess in respect to which they each nodded back.

“Tis indeed a pleasure to finally meet the two my sister has been speaking of,” Luna said in her formal way. Her mentioning that she’d heard about us piqued my cocky curiosity.

“Oh, I see our reputation precedes us,” I tugged on my non-existent collar, “I hope you’ve only been telling stories that boost my public image, Celestia,” both giggled at my strange mannerisms.

“Unfortunately I can’t say I have, just that we seem to have one too many persons in our kingdom than should be accounted for. In fact that is why I’ve asked you two to dine with Luna and myself; to figure out why you’re here exactly.” As Celestia smirked, casting a sideways glance at Soft Wing.

He squirmed under her gaze, “Oh don’t worry princess!” Softie quickly said, “She’s practically harmless!” Apparently he thought what Celestia had said was code for something more sinister.

“Worry not, worry not,” Luna said between giggles, “We are merely curious about your means of arrival. You seem to be shrouded in much mystery, Eris.”

I loved being the center of attention and was all too eager to oblige them in their quest for information. These girls were smart, taking advantage altered mental state to get what information they wanted easily, but it seemed rather thinly veiled. Of course after I sobered up I’d realize that they were weaseling information out of me like I’d taken a truth serum but there had to be a deeper meaning. Otherwise would they really risk being this obvious their reconnaissance?

I figured there were two possibilities: One- they didn't see me as a threat or two- they saw me as a huge threat. The former gave reason for transparency but the latter gave reason for some kind of sinister plot. They’d have to have backup and could no doubt lock me up or kill me. There was never any death in the show but these were real life princesses who had a whole kingdom to protect.

Of course I wasn't a threat and had no intention of becoming one. I wanted to make that clear so I had no reason to fear any ulterior motives on their part. I mean, I SHOULD have feared them but drugs are great things. If anything I succeeded in being completely nonplussed by their power and acting like a vulnerable blabbermouth.

I told them about my departure from boyfriend, the icy roads, and the car crash in what can be summed up as one long breath. They didn’t ask how the car ran or who Mariah Carey was. They didn’t ask for clarification on any of the details I gave them. The princesses and Soft Wing sat in silence, save for the occasional “mhmm”, with looks of silent contemplation. Well, not so much Softie. He made quiet scoffing noises and rolled his eyes at most of what I said.

After I described the accident, with a happy grin I might add, I paused. Celestia must have thought it was because I didn’t want to remember any more pain or that my meds were wearing off because she spoke up for the first time since I began. “It’s alright, Eris,” she started softly, “You can tell us when you’re ready if –“

“No, I’m fine it’s just…” I interrupted her, “I just can’t remember what happened next. I mean, I was there and then I was here, but I’m not sure how.”

Celestia’s brow furrowed, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. One second in was in my car, making a literal bloody mess, and then something straight out of a fairy tale was poking me awake. And then after that I was in a hospital. I have no clue how I got from point A to point B but I’m like 99% sure Softie here got me from point B to C,” I laughed and nudged Soft Wing with my elbow obnoxiously. He leaned away and grimaced.

Luna spoke up next, “Could you have used magic to transport yourself? Perhaps specifically someplace safe?”

I laughed again, “Hell no! I don’t have magic. It doesn’t even exist where I’m from. I wish I did, though! It would have made my life so much easier. Hey, how exactly does magic work, anyway? Is it midichlorians? I bet it’s midichlorians.”

“Your way of life sounds refreshingly simplistic,” Luna remarked as she gave an unrefined guffaw. “Magic is not so easily explained, young Eris. Students across the lands study this all-encompassing enigma to no end. I must say, however, I have never heard of these “midichlorians”. Pray tell, what role do they play in your world?”

I wasn’t sure if she was playing along like you do when a little kid tries to tell a story and you ask them questions even though you don’t care or it doesn’t make a lick of sense or if she thought I might have been serious. It was probably some combination of the two so I made sure to set her straight.

“Oh, I was kinda kidding about the midichlorians thing. They’re from this movie that has something similar to magic in it. Really it’s a crock of bullshit, even in the movie universe. Lazy writing,” I waved my hand dismissively.

“Ah, well it seems we are no closer to figuring out where you came from than when we started. Why don’t we have dinner and we can discuss what happens next another day.” Celestia flashed a radiant smile and I returned the gesture as servants began filing in carrying trays of food covered with metal lids. The servants presented the food in the middle of the table and we all took portions buffet-style.

While we dined on such delicacies as spinach salad, baked apples stuffed with some kind of fancy cheese, something called “choux puffs”, and other foods I’ve never seen before, casual conversation drifted around the table. Since the princesses were done interrogating me Soft Wing visibly relaxed and actually talked a bit about himself.
He’s apparently from some other, non-Equestrian land inhabited gryphons. Unsurprisingly this place is called the Gryphon Kingdom. He talked about what got him into the medical field which he and Luna instantly bonded over. As a child Soft Wing had apparently read about some ancient war in which there were hundreds upon hundreds of casualties. This made the tiny Soft Wing sad and determined to help people in that kind of situation. This was also a war that Luna fought in. They wound up talking for most of the meal about the justifications of war, how better leadership on the field and on the throne can minimize casualties, and how noble it apparently is of him to be a doctor for this reason.

I let the two of them talk without interruption partially because I had absolutely no clue what they discussing and because the food was absolutely delicious. I did glance at Celestia every now and then, however. Each time our gazes met and smiled politely but I noticed a trend. Not so much a trend as a constant. I don’t think Celestia stopped watching once the whole meal. It’s understandable but it’s also extremely unsettling, especially since we didn’t speak once after dinner began.

Author's Note

Spur of the moment writing right here.
I'm probably going to end the hiatus soon but not until my chapters are revised. I have a friend working on them so I'll start fixing them as soon as the weekend.
So yeah, author back from the retrospective dead at your service once again

[1] Exit Stage Earth

“Do you really have to go?”

It wasn’t a question. It was a pleading statement made in desperation. I was visiting my boyfriend up in St. Louis and, of course, he didn’t want me to leave. But I had to. School called me back down in Florida while he was stuck in the Midwest, as the DJ career is not a very lucrative one in the beginning. We both wished so much for him to follow me down to Florida, but he was stuck financially. The fact that I was visiting during winter didn’t help much. It was one of the most depressing seasons and leaving him right before the holidays probably tore him up more than anything.

“You know I can’t,” I sighed, “I still have two more years. Just two! After that, we’re set,” I tried to sound positive, but two years was such a long time. Who knows what could happen in that time.

He responded by pulling me in for a tight hug. His hat rubbed against mine as we tried to conserve body heat, sitting on a metal picnic table in the middle of a park at night. The streetlights illuminated the snow to a sparkling gold color. It would almost be beautiful if it wasn’t so cold, but two feet of snow covered in a sheet of ice tends to lean toward the chilly side.

We leaned on eachother for a little longer before I pulled out to check my phone: 11:30 pm. I had to go. It was a 12 hour drive and I never like driving icy roads with other drivers. Reluctantly, I sighed deeply and moved to get up. Standing a full foot taller than me, Scott stood up and pulled me into yet another 6’ 6” bear hug.

“You’re squishing my inards, Scotty,” I chuckled. He finally let go and looked deeply into my eyes. He was always so much more mushy and lovey than me. The soft-spoken giant complemented my short sarcastic self perfectly. His icy blue eyes locked onto my emerald ones.

This was exactly what I wanted to avoid. I’m pretty adaptable. You can plop my happy ass anywhere in the world and I’d be fine, but ever since I’d been with Scotty, I felt different. There was somebody who loved me, and I loved them back. It physically hurt to be away for as long as we usually were, and seeing eachother 5 days a year does not a relationship make. We were just trying to get me graduated and then we could be together again. But like I said before, two years was a long time.

I was tired of his sappy love/death-glare. After fidgeting and avoiding eye contact, I reached up and snatched his cap off, letting his bouncy brown curls fly free. “I’ll be back before you know it!” I stood on my tiptoes as I ruffled his hair. He didn’t share my dopey grin though. He chuckled a bit but it was forced, as was his half-smile. His eyes were as sad as ever.
“Oh come on, please,” I said, backing up to my car, skullcap still in hand, “please don’t make this hard on me. We’ll Skype on Christmas, how’s that sound?” Christmas was just two days away, once again, how much worse could this situation get?
“I know, but we always Skype. I want you instead of just a video of you for Christmas again.”

I groaned as I opened the door to my blue Grand-Am, “Eh… I can’t. You know that. I have to start looking for a job or something, then maybe I can stay long enough for Christmas,” I began humming All I Want for Christmas is You, “I could even sit under the tree with a bow on my noggin for when you wake up, eh? How does that sound?” I was actually in the car now and started the engine.

He stuffed his hands in his sweatshirt’s front pocket and gave a legitimate chuckle, finally. His demeanor was changed, still sad, but less so, as he walked up to my window. Rolling down the window, I heard him say, “Fine, only if you promise,” he winked, eliciting rancorous laughter from me at the innuendo. “Now give me my hat back,” he held out his hand. I obliged and held out his skullcap.

When Scott went to retrieve his belonging, I grabbed his hand and yanked him down to my level. Who ever said I wasn’t romantic? Well, they were telling the truth. I quickly pecked him on the lips and then promptly smashed the cap in his face. Grabbing the gearshift, I jammed it in reverse and arced around him, pausing only to put it in drive. During that pause, I heard him yell something akin to “be careful”, to which I responded with a middle finger and peeled out of the parking lot. Honestly, I had no clue what he saw in me, but I was thankful for whatever it was.

Unsurprisingly, the roads were free of almost any other cars, which was a good thing considering how much I was fishtailing on streets. Since Scott lived (and I used to as well) in a small town outside of St. Louis, I had to take a long, winding, 2-lane back road to get to the interstate. Knowing these roads like the back of my hand, I gunned it to about 50mph. Any other time it would have been fine, with the layer of ice on the roads, it was really stupid. I didn’t care though. It may not have shown on the outside, but I was really upset. I had to leave the only person I have ever loved more than my own mother, and who loved me back, for at least another 7 months. It hurt.

With the bluffs on one side of me and rolling, frozen fields on the other with holiday music playing, it was really quite picturesque. That is, until I went to turn. Thank the gods the bluffs were on the inside of the turn, but it’s still not that great getting into a wreck at 60 regardless of what hit.

Taking the turn, I started to fishtail. It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal had the field been level with the road. Had that been the case, I would have drifted sideways on to slicked-over dirt until I came to a stop. But as my luck would have it, Murphy was work when he sent my car flying sideways off the road onto the field which lay about five feet below the banked curve.

The car hit squarely with the driver’s side down and started flipping. Contrary to popular belief, “doing a barrel roll” is not as fun as the internet would have you believe. My heart leapt into my throat and I lost all conscience awareness of what was happening around me. All I knew is that I had rolled off of a hill and was now upside down.

Cracking my right eye open just a hair, I looked up. Or would it be down? The car’s roof was now on the ground with me hanging in my seatbelt. 'Shit' was all I could think. It was going to cost a fortune to get a new car (I was in college afterall). The radio crackled as All I Want for Christmas is You in some kind of cruel irony as the open door signal beeped and light shone.

I’d been in one crash only once before. I was rear-ended at a red light by a Yukon. It smashed my compact to bits, which is why I had the Grand-Am. I wasn't beat up too bad from that; just a bit of whiplash and a scratch on my face. Oh, did I say a “bit” of whiplash and “scratch”? I mean my neck was painfully bent backwards and my eyebrow had a huge gash, mere millimeters from my actual eyeball. I was still on medication for my neck and the scar was fresh on my eye, and that was 2 years prior. I figured my neck was going to be pretty messed up this time if all of that came from a fender-bender.

I started to lift my hand to my pocket to get my phone for help, but quickly realized I couldn’t. My hand didn’t move even a little. I was confused at first, but quickly realized what was wrong as the pain set in. So much pain, I couldn’t even begin to describe it. I took a few calming breathes as my heart rate sky-rocked so I could take stock of my injuries.

'Oh God…' I noticed blood. On the roof of the car were millions of tiny crystal beads from the shattered windows, and all of the ones directly below (above?) me were tinted pink. My head was hanging limply and inclined slightly up (down?) so I could see my hands, also hanging limply, lightly brushing the glass. The pink tint quickly turned into a full on puddle of blood as it started dripping down my face. I could feel all of it flowing; most of it from my gut and some from my face. Again, the left side of my face seemed to be leaking my life juices, just as it had in my last crash, but with much more vigor.

Dumbfounded for a moment, I watched as a trail of blood began to descend up my arm I felt trickle from my stomach. It creeped to my elbow, my wrist, my hand, the glass. Wait… IS THAT MY HAND?! I screamed internally, forgetting the “calming breathes” I’d taken earlier as I noticed the mincemeat that was left of my left hand. It just looked like a red, pulpy mess at the end of my red-streaked arm. Was my hand even still there? I had no clue.

Then I lost it. The pain came in a fresh agonizing wave. I finally felt the painful numbness of my “hand”, my swollen-shut eye, and whatever had happened to my midsection. Opening my mouth to scream, I gaged as more blood poured out of my mouth. Really, it was quite an alarming amount that came out of my mouth. As I choked on said blood, more pain ignited in my gut, causing more blood to be forced up through my throat. See the painful cycle I was going through here?

In excruciating pain, spasming, and unable to breathe, I finally stated to drift to sleep. I was scared of dying. There was so much I had yet to do! I hadn’t gotten my degree, made the millions of dollars I planned on making, bought a sports team and filled it with shitty players, gone skydiving… told Scott I loved him. That one really got me. He told me plenty of times that he loved me, but I always responded with “ditto” or “likewise” or “congratulations, get me a sandwich”. Why hadn’t I just said those three dumb words?! They probably meant the world to him, but I was afraid to say them. Why? Why hadn’t I listened to him? Whatever the reason, it was too late now.

It was obvious that my heart was slowing down. I could both feel and see it in the puddle of drippings. About half of my vision was black now. I was fighting as hard as I could. I didn’t want to die! Who the fuck actually wants to die?! Life was too fun, like going 60 around hairpin turns with ice on the roads… yeah.

Finally, my vision was gone. I drifted into complete darkness as the song finished playing on the staticy radio. Fuck you Mariah Carey.

***

Something was poking me. It was really annoying. I tried to swat whatever it was away from my side but pain instantly shot through my… well… everything. I was sucked back in to reality painfully fast. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t make sound, too much pain. Lots of pain going on here. It was surprisingly easy to suppress said pain for some reason. I felt sort of tingly, but in the back of my mind I knew how much I really hurt. Don’t get me wrong, if I could speak, I’d be screaming my face off right now. Anyway…

My mind was completely numb as I peeked open my right eye. When I did, I realized two, confusing as hell, things: 1- I was laying on my back on grass as opposed to hanging upside-down in an overturned car, it was still night and frosty though, and 2- The thing that was poking me was an animal, but not just some random wild animal. Oh no, there was a, I kid you not, gryphon nudging my side with his talon.

Ha! I tried to laugh. Either I was dead and seeing things or dying and seeing things. Regardless, this was insane. I guess bloodloss led to be a bit giggly, because I actually tried to laugh at the fact that there was a mythical creature poking my bloodied corpse. Instead of giggling though, I wound up in the circle of painful choking again.

Apparently, the gryphon hadn’t noticed me spying on him, as he (I think it’s a he) suddenly jerked his talon away and his head whipped around to look at me. His ice blue eyes locked with my one, good eye. They looked caring as his feathery eyebrows were pressed deeply into thought and concentration. Aw fuck, I thought, am I hallucinating that Scotty’s a gryphon? Who does that?! At first I thought I actually was hallucinating as the thing’s beak moved to say something which I couldn't hear in the least bit. He noticed my lack of acknowledgment and pointedly repeated what he said very slowly. Maybe if he didn’t have a damn beak I could figure out what the hell he was trying to say. Noticing my lack of response, again, he nervously looked around. Did he bring someone? Eh, what do I care, I’m dying anyway.

I was still locked in the choking on blood sequence. He finally pulled himself from looking around and put one talon behind my neck and one under my knees. His beak was moving again, slowly, but I still had no clue what the fuck he was saying. Moving extremely slowly, he lifted me up as he stood on his hind legs. 'What the…' I started, before I noticed his massive wings unfurl. Best. Hallucination. EVER!

In one downbeat we were airborn. I was completely numb so I had no clue if the way he held me was uncomfortable or not. I thought I was cold, but that was probably just shock. The only downside to the shock was that I couldn’t feel his feathers. He was holding me close to his chest and they looked soft as hell. Had I been able to move, I’d probably nuzzled them. Is that weird? What did I care, I was dying. After all that blood I lost, I couldn’t not die.

I really wanted to look around at what it looked like free-flying, but just like I couldn’t nuzzle his feathers, I sure as hell couldn’t turn my head. I didn’t have to worry about making the journey to gods-know-where without a good view for long though, as within seconds of taking off into the air I slipped back into the blackness that was unconsciousness.
Huh… dying, being saved by a mythical creature, then dying again… what a weird night.

Going Out of Business

As is clearly evident, I'v fallen out of writing my stories. This is because of a few reasons including falling out of the fandom, classes that require most of my attention, independent research, and preparing for international research this summer. It's been a loaded past few months for both my mind and wallet. The result is that I'm just not interested in writing this story anymore. I hope you guys can understand.

But, there might be a silver lining. While *I* am no longer interested in this story I bet some of you guys, the fans, are. I'm not the best writer or creative person out there and have been and continue to be absolutely floored by the enthusiasm of my readers so I'm confident one of you will be able to take up Furor's reigns.

So, here's the deal: Eris's Furor is officially up for auction. There's really only one criteria to meet in order for me to consider passing ownership: You must have written something publicly so I can assess your abilities. That's it. If you've written something drop me a line with a link and why you want this story and at that point it becomes a subjective competition with me as the judge.

Of course creative rights isn't a corporeal thing so really it's just my permission to re-upload what I've written on your account and continue from there, take creative liberty and edit what I've written, or take the premise and write a new story. But, like I said, this does actually require my permission as it is legally my creative property, so, not that I think any of you will, just please don't be a store loser. I will send a message to the admins if that becomes a reality.

Let the games begin!