Thankfully, my dumbass blank staring at Sweetie Belle was interrupted by the door to Nurse Redheart’s office swinging open. The nurse herself poked her head out and smiled at me before waving me in with one hoof. I set the stuffed bear that I’d been stuck carrying around down in the chair I was sitting on before walking inside. It probably was because of the fact I was now in a body over half my age, but I was seriously enjoying actually walking around versus being stuck in a bed for several days.
“So, Princess Flurry Heart, please take a seat” Nurse Redheart started as soon as she closed the door. “Princess Twilight already signed your discharge documents, so we just have to go over some quick instructions to make sure your transition to living back at home is as smooth as possible.”
I took a second to look around the small office before nodding and taking a seat in front of the surprisingly cluttered desk. In the other seat next to me was Rarity, who was reading a floating piece of paper, her brow creased in concentration. I watched as Nurse Readheart took her seat before pulling two pieces of paper from the largest stack and passing it to me.
“Your at-home care will come in two parts. First, for your apparent amnesia, you’ll meet with a counselor once a week here at Ponyville General.” Redheart pointed a hoof at the first paper, which was covered in what I assumed was legalese. If I could read it, I mean, since it was written in strange symbols and glyphs I couldn’t decipher for the life of me. “Second, in case you suffer some pain as you finish recovering from the accident you’ve been prescribed some painkillers. They should have been delivered to the Crystal Castle, but just in case the other page is a prescription.”
“Ooookay.” I looked up from the strange glyphs and smiled at the nurse. “I assume that I’ll be staying with Auntie Twilight since my parents are elsewhere?”
“Yes.” Nurse Redheart nodded before waving a hoof at Rarity. “For tonight I believe you’re staying with Rarity, however, as Princess Twilight is out on ‘princess business’. Additionally, there is one more test we have to give today to help examine the extent of your potential amnesia.”
“Okay, what is the test?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion.
“Well, it is a literal test.” Nurse Redheart chuckled. “Miss Cheerilee will give you a placement test at the Ponyville Schoolhouse so we can see what you remember. Also, if your aunt desires it, you can be enrolled in the school during your time here.”
“Understood, ma’am.” I nodded, smiling at the nurse. Meanwhile, I felt a small part of me die a bit at the thought of going back to school. But, if I was going to be stuck here for a while, some knowledge on ‘Equestria’ would be nice, for better or for worse.
“Now then, I think that is all.” Nurse Redheart hopped out of her chair and opened the door for me and Rarity to head on out. “If you ever need anything, please let me know. Hope you have a good day, Princess Flurry Heart.”
I nodded to the nurse before heading out of the office with Rarity. I set the stuffed bear on my back as Rarity, Sweetie and I started heading to the hospital exit, passing by several medical staff and various injured ponies. Some of them looked at me with raised eyebrows or shock before they quickly went back to their various duties.
“Alright dears, we have a very fun day before us!” Rarity cheered before looking back at Sweetie and myself with a grin. “However, first we need to get you all cleaned up Flurry. Can’t exactly have a Princess running around with that bed mane and lack of fashion. First stop, Carousel Boutique!”
I blinked at Rarity before looking at Sweetie Belle, who was rolling her eyes and hiding a smile behind her hoof. Looking back at Rarity I could almost see her looking me over, fitting me for a dress or suit or something. I gave an awkward smile and took the opportunity to finally see the town I had been dropped into by whatever force shoved me into a pony body.
The town itself reminded me of an old medieval town in many ways, full of mostly wooden houses with thatch roofs. There were a handful of brick or stone buildings, but they were more localized to what I would hazard was a ‘rich people’s section’ of the town. The ponies themselves were as multicolored as one could imagine, and were all surprisingly friendly, waving and saying hello to the three of us as we passed. Looking up I could see various pegasus managing the weather, somehow moving the clouds with their hooves.
“Wow, this place is crazy,” I muttered under my breath as I watched the pegasi at work.
“Oh, the weather team? Their work is important, but not the most flashy, don’t worry dear.” Rarity gently chided, a hint of jealousy in her tone as we began to approach a large fancy pink and blue building. “Flurry, I present to you, the Carousel Boutique! Home sweet home.”
Rarity magiced a key from somewhere before unlocking the door, revealing a large shop full of dresses and pony mannequins, and other bits of pony fashion. Admittedly I was never a stylish filly but I could tell she had a lot of passion for her work, and a lot of it looked pretty nice if a bit too frilly. Rarity closed the door behind me and Sweetie, setting a ‘closed’ sign on the door before leading the two of us upstairs.
“Sweetie, would you mind setting Flurry up a bed in your room? She’s going to be staying with us for a few days while Twilight is doing, well, whatever experiment she’s lost herself in this time.” Rarity instructed Sweetie, who groaned but went into her room. “Now Flurry, no offense but you need a bath before we go visit Cheerilee. Spending almost two weeks in the hospital is not the best for somepony’s look.”
Instinctively I stepped away from the unicorn but she began to nudge me towards the bathroom with a hoof. I sighed and decided I would go, while I was never a bath person I was looking forward to relaxing for a minute. Before we went in, Rarity took the stuffed bear off of my back and left it in the hall before she shuffled me into the bathroom itself.
It was a surprisingly simple bathroom for such a dramatic mare, all things considered. A porcelain sink with a large mirror on one wall next to a pony toilet, radiator, giant claw-foot tub with a fuck ton of beauty products around it. Wait. There were a lot of beauty products. Oh no.
Rarity hummed as she used her magic to turn on the hot water and toss flower petals and other nice scents into the water to make it both smell good and be a bit more calming. As we waited for the water she looked me over, poking bits of me that were a bit out of sorts from being in the hospital.
“Do you remember how to preen your wings, Flurry?” She asked as I extended my wings for her to inspect. “Your feathers are a complete mess.”
“I don’t remember how to, I’m sorry Ms. Rarity,” I answered, somehow embarrassed despite there being no way I would know how to do that.
“It's fine dear, don’t worry about it.” She rubbed her chin with one hoof, muttering to herself a bit. “I can try to preen your wings for you this time, it's been a while since I’ve done it. Hopefully, Dash or Fluttershy can show you how to do it sometime tonight so you don’t have to rely on somepony else to do it.”
I nodded and hopped into the bathtub once it became hot enough for Rarity’s approval. Feeling my hooves and coat get wet was a strange feeling, not uncomfortable but certainly different than it did when I was human. I couldn’t help myself but sigh and sit down in the bath, enjoying the relaxing power of the hot water on my muscles. As I closed my eyes and enjoyed the scent of fresh flowers I missed the sounds of Rarity getting into the bath behind me. The feeling of her putting shampoo into my mane with a combo of magic and hooves made me jump a bit.
“Oh, I should have mentioned, most foals bathe with an adult.” Rarity chuckled. “Hooves aren’t the most useful in getting clean, after all. Besides, it helps when somepony can reach your back and other spots that are often missed.”
While it felt strange to take a bath with someone else, I bit my lip to silence my grumbling and let her put the sweet-smelling shampoo into my mane and tail. She hummed a faint tune as it soaked into my hair, using the time to put soap on my body to wash the filth of the hospital off. Was almost calming despite the fact that I hadn’t had someone else help bathe me since I was a kid. Or well, was calming until...
“Gak! Ms. Rarity, please, I will bathe that spot myself.” I pulled away from her, one hoof covering a spot that I still was really uncomfortable about in the best of times, much less wanting someone else touching.
“I am so sorry Flurry! I got a bit carried away and forgot I was helping somepony other than Sweetie.” Rarity sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a second. “Wash your, ah, private area while I rinse the shampoo out of your mane. Again, I am sorry.”
I grumbled a bit before awkwardly washing down there. Once everything was washed and rinsed I hopped out of the bathtub before I was quickly wrapped and dried by a few towels gripped in Rarity's magic. Meanwhile, I could hear the unicorn herself dry off her hooves, having only stepped in the bath to help me bathe.
Freedom from the towels only made me subject to the quick attack of several brushes untangling and styling my mess of a mane and tail, despite my best efforts to wriggle away from them. Rarity put one hoof on my back to stop me, her slight glare strangely scaring me more than I would admit. My manliness could only take so many hits in one day, after all. While my mane and tail were being styled Rarity awkwardly preened my wings, pulling out the few broken feathers and moving a few other feathers back into their proper place with her mouth. She finished the assault of fashion by affixing a bright blue bow to the base of my tail and tying its larger twin to the back of my mane. Once she was done Rarity spun me to the full-length mirror on the other wall so I could see my finished look. While I was loath to admit it, I did look a lot better than the mess I was this morning. Almost...adorable. Bleh.
“Well, now that you’re all cleaned up Flurry I do believe we have an appointment with Cheerilee at the Ponyville Schoolhouse.” Rarity grinned, happy with how I looked no doubt. “A proper mare doesn’t keep others waiting, so we better hurry.”
Following Rarity out of the carousel of nightmares and fashion, we headed towards the schoolhouse in a hurry that only one with a strict schedule has. Keeping up with her was more effort than I expected, being shorter my legs were a lot smaller so I had to walk a lot faster than her. Oddly despite the added exercise, I wasn’t tired at all as we neared the rustic schoolhouse.
“Huh, where are all the kids?” I murmured, looking up at the sun to check the time. Couldn’t have been more than nine o’clock, would have been the second period back home.
“It's the middle of summer vacation, so all the foals are out enjoying themselves and spending a bit more time with friends and family.” Rarity explained. “Admittedly, it might be a good time for you to make some friends, Flurry. While a day out in the park or running around might be a bit beneath a princess, you always need friends.”
I couldn’t help but make a small face to myself. I wouldn’t go out and call myself an introvert, but I never was the most social person. The thought of having to go out and make friends was a strange task to be given, especially with children. Hell, I couldn't think of how I would even go about that, after all, I was a bit too old to act like a kid anymore.
Being so caught up in my thoughts quickly came to bite me when I ended up power-walking headfirst into the door of the schoolhouse, bouncing back a step. While I grumbled I heard Rarity give a small giggle before clearing her throat and knocking on the door. After a moment the door opened to reveal a raspberry-colored pony with a pink mane and green eyes. She gave me a smile before holding out her hoof for me to shake.
“Hello, you must be Flurry Heart. I’m Miss Cheerilee, the teacher here. It's a pleasure to meet you.” The pony introduced herself as I shook her hoof before she waved us into the schoolhouse. “Please come in.”
The schoolhouse itself seemed to be a one-room school, with about two dozen small wooden desks in rows in front of a blackboard. Off to the side was a larger wooden desk, probably Cheerilee’s. The teacher herself led me over to one of the wooden desks before setting a sheaf of papers before me. I took a look before raising my eyebrow at the weird symbols and script.
“Uh, Miss Cheerilee, I can’t read this,” I complained, earning a look of slight shock from Rarity and Cheerilee. I couldn’t help but flick my ears back, wasn’t the best look for a grown man to admit he can’t read. Well, I guess I wasn’t a grown man at the moment but still!
“Oh dear, that’s going to be a problem.” Cheerilee rubbed the back of her head with a hoof before smiling. “Don’t worry Flurry, I can teach you how to read again this summer. That is a Cheerilee promise. But as for the test I can give you it orally, don’t worry.”
Trotting over she spun the test around so she could read the questions and fill in the answers. The math questions were easy enough, while I hated math I was good enough at it until I hit precal at school. Thankfully when it came to showing my work she didn’t ask for some of the weirder stuff that my siblings had to deal with when I helped them with their schoolwork. The creative writing was also fun, although throwing the plot of The Alchemist did raise an eyebrow from the two mares. Well, a more sanitized version, no need to mention guns and religion when I didn’t need to. However, I soon regretted my earlier achievements when we hit the history section....
“What year was Equestria founded?”
“Uh, 1567.”
“Uh, no. Do you know what date Princesses Luna and Celestia were crowned?”
“I am gonna guess January 8th, 1678.”
“Unfortunately, no. How about...ah, an easy one. When was the Crystal Empire founded?”
“Miss Cheerilee, I appreciate your devotion but you do realize that you’re asking a bunch of history questions to someone who has amnesia, right?” I sighed. “All I can do is offer a bunch of guesses, most of which are probably going to be wrong.”
“I guess you are right on that note, Flurry Heart.” Cheerilee frowned at the mess of the test in front of her. “And it is somepony, not someone. It looks like if we were to get you ready for the school year, we have to get you up to speed on history and reading. And grammar, since you keep speaking like a griffon for some reason.” She rubbed her face for a moment before sighing. “It is a tall task, but if you are willing to work with me Flurry I am sure we can do this. While it is a lot to ask, would you be willing to come in for a few hours of tutoring each day? Between me and a few other ponies, we can quickly get you up to scruff while you spend the summer in Ponyville.”
I looked to Rarity, who nodded in approval before I turned back and nodded at Cheerilee. While learning how to read random symbols and a random country’s history did not sound at all exciting, it sure beat the alternative. Besides, it would help while I was working on my plan to get back home.
Hopefully, it will be soon. While this strange multicolored hell was oddly more peaceful than back home, I was in no mood to start back over as a kid. Went through that once, not doing it again.
"Cross my heart, hope to learn, stick some knowledge in my brain!"
What?
"That's a Cheerilee promise!"
Right. That doesn't have the same ring as Pinkie’s
"Aww, poo..."
Huh, I thought people usually associate griffons with the term 'somegriff', I guess 'someone' is plausible too.
11146314
I remember a long time ago Gilda using the term ‘someone’ instead of ‘somepony’. Admittedly I could be misremembering but I prefer the thought vs no one using someone and just using some(insert name of race).
As for other races like changelings and kirins…..eh, don’t worry about it lol.
What? No Math? Lucky. Bet she be surprised to hear how old her other aunties are and get another crisis "Am I Immortal?!"
i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/017/204/CaptainAmerica1_zps8c295f96.JPG
Friendship is magic, after all.
To say nothing of puberty, when that comes along... But that wouldn't matter for quite some time yet.
The silence from Caddy and Shiny is interesting. Ominous too.
11146314
Heh. Like the name.
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/trekcreative/images/0/0d/Hal-Armin.png/revision/latest?cb=20160128160049
On another tack, just wondering about Flurry’s back story before her human occupation. 🙃
You know, with that one glimpse at the changeling, there are two possibilities that easily arise to my mind. Either: A), the experiment accidentally bodyswapped Flurry Heart and a Changeling, or B), Twilight is changing Changelings into ponies and blocking/removing the memories of being Changelings to examine if Changeling hostility is caused by 'Nature vs. Nurture'.
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i don't think so. using princess flurry's identity is too high profile for an experiment.
11146543
What other pony with horn and wings while being too young to reasonably know how to use either is there?
well that was a awesome ch thank u
For Shame Cheerilee you sounded very Racist near the end of the chapter, aren't you a teacher, scolding Flurry on the word "Everyone" and saying she has to say "Everypony" that sounds very anti-friendship. Isn't a teacher's job to help learn new things and never be judgemental. Why do you hate griffons so much, anyway. Also you don't know if before Flurry got "Amnesia" that she was being taught by a griffon tutor before her accident and she just says "everyone" because it was ingrained into her subconscious as "amnesia" only effects your conscious mind. If you keep forcing Flurry to say "Everypony" instead of "Everyone" which she clearly feels more comfortable with i'm going to report you to Twilight and Celestia about your Racist comments and feelings about Griffons.
Aside from that gripe great story it is starting to get moving. I look forward to what you write next.
Really…How old are we talking? Because in my story the main character is 20 years old, which is still a foal where he comes from, and Cadence got into the tub with him.
That's racist tho, if it comes from cheerlie the school TEACHER then honestly it isn't suprising that something like friendship princess exist and is always needed
11146769
Lol look how people disliked you just because you have opinion, arguments and because you are negative (suprisingly everyting negative on this side get's disliked a lot) XD
So in your fic mares could just look like stallions due to illusions? Because I remember in “Sparkle's Seven” they actually had mares dressed in Royal Guard armor.
Have him forcibly keep the someone everyone and all that. The ponyisms need to stop they are incredibly racist and since she's a princess she can declare that those words are illegal or that she will not stoop to using words that do not include other races / species
I think there is a mistake here. How exactly could flurry write a story in a language she cant read. The teacher and rarity seemed to be able to read it. Also at this point its assumed whatever happened has aged her to around 10 years old. They treat her like a 13 year old. When according to the story her original age could be anywhere from 2-8.
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Well, I guessed actual writing wasn't involved.
...but it seems writing were actually involved. Bizarre.
He/She can't read
But he/she can do creative writing? How?
11146314
I've always thought it would be normal for griffons and other creatures to also be referred to as "somepony."
Think about it. Ponies are either the dominant culture in Equestria, or at the very least, the show is being spoken in their language. It would be reasonable and expected for cultural cues to happen from their point of view. In English, masculine is the default signifier and this is reflected in many words besides simple pronouns. "Mankind" for example. And this grammatical preference extends to species as well, and is also reflected in many words. "Humanities," for example.
If aliens show up, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if there legal discissions of extending "human rights" to them despite not being human. This is simply a quirk of language, nothing more. And if those same aliens were to learn English, they would learn to use those same words with all of their quirks.
It would come as no surprise if the pony language exhibited similar tendencies, nor if a griffon who learned that language, were to refer to other griffons as "somepony."
"you talk like a griffon", was that racist?
11195834
I think ponies have always been a bit racist against non ponies even when they try to know them. Twilight has done nothing to Learn about other cultures and their history even before opening the school.
11195834
These are ponies that are talking so yeah. It's definitely racism.
Redheart
11179955
That is a fair point, and an angle that I have not looked at it from before.
11147995
How is it racist? I mean if someone was saying some pony to you you would correct them.
Clearly someone isn’t in the equestrian language
Okay, something is really weird about this. Where are Cadence and Shining Armor? You would think that, as her parents, they'd want to be by Flurry Heart the moment she woke up. Twilight and the others are hiding something, and it's something big.
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"Somepony" can seem racist by only including ponies within the context. I don't know if context is the right word. I'm in no way a linguist, but "someone" is more inclusive to other races and that makes "somepony" seem racist.
Slightly off topic, but am I the only one who thought it was weird how they say “every creature” instead of everyone when talking about more than one species?
11303710
No, it definitely doesn't sound good. When I hear "creature," I imagine something hiding in the shadows of a dark wood. Plus it sounds like it would refer to all animals and not just the intelligent civilized ones.
Well, looks like Storm is going to school.
11316451
On one hand, remember that most Equestrian animals DO understand the language, even if they can't speak it. A language that evolves over a multispecies society with a different range of sapience would naturally move to use umbrella terms that can encompass the largest amount of referred subjects, hence "everycreature" instead of "everyone" or "everyperson". Moreover, the usage of "some[species]" instead of "someone" works because each species have different definition and distinction of individuals (and some barely have any, think pre-reform changelings), so it makes more sense that the language evolves to specify the species instead of individual.
On the other, this shouldn't be a problem if the griffons also use terms like "somegriff", instead of "someone". That threw me for a loop. If the griffons actually use individual terms like how we do as humans, then either the language within the griffon society evolved to follow a certain societal movement of individuality, or the language within pony society evolved to follow a certain societal movement of herdism. In my opinion, the former is more likely, since the language initially followed a species-based mindset, and a species higher in the food chain would more likely put weight in the individual than the community.
Alternatively, the pony society as a whole just has some underlying feeling of speciesist superiority, but that's definitely not the case, right? Right???