Astalakio

The ones I remember loving the most were Pokemon, Digimon, Beyblade, X-Men Evolution and Teen Titans. I also watched TAS of Batman, Spider-Man and X-Men, along with Jackie Chan Adventures, Sonic X, Danny Phantom, The Batman, and I'm sure a whole bunch of others I don't remember any more.

More recently I've been watching The Spectacular Spider-Man (which is spectacular), Sym-Bionic Titan (also incredible), Teen Titans (for nostalgia), MLP:FiM (obviously), Young Justice (fantastic new series - revives my faith in modern cartoons), and some Danny Phantom too

Ha, that's pretty cool. It's a similar story with my sister and I, she always used to get into the things I was into. I don't know what it is about MLP that them younger folk just can't take. It's a bit of a paradox that older people can get into more easily, isn't it? Anyway, maybe the same kind of situation will roll out for me as it did for you. But I can't help but think that it would be really cool if she could find it awesome and then it could be something that we could share, you know? Because I don't really know any bronies IRL that I talk to frequently, and it'd be nice to have someone around to get the references I keep making

Thanks you two. As an update, I told her I forgave her behaviour and that I wouldn't mind if she didn't understand me, if only she'd steer away from being hurtful. I told her that the other option was to just give the show a chance, and I am happy to report that she was watching the first episode (of her own free will) when I left her. I can't say how she'll react, since she's not really in the target demographic OR the peripheral demographic, but I'd say that's better than how we left it last night at least...

And besides, I can't think of anyone who wouldn't cave to the Magic of Friendship after watching enough of it.

Betterbones kept his eyes on Orange as he downed his drink with enthusiasm. It occurred to the doctor that it might not be good for a concussion patient to be hitting the alcohol so hard, given his already unstable mental state, but something told Betterbones that this was a pony who could handle his drink. Besides, now that he was staying in Solstice Heights for the night, this was exactly the kind of thing he'd be able to keep an eye on.

Orange ran into another problem in that he didn't have his things with him, and Betterbones chuckled a little at his peace offering of half of his remaining vodka.

"It's alright, I don't mind at all," He replied, as approachable and friendly as ever. There was a reason he was so popular with his patients. "I only mentioned the inn in the first place for your sake, not mine. If you need to stay here, I'm sure we can do something to make your stay comfortable."

He looked briefly out the window and the sun told him that it was late afternoon. He could hear the sound of activity outside - ponies coming home after a hard day at work, market stalls being shut up for the evening.

"Maybe later when I'm off duty I'll take you up on that offer, and help you with that... quality testing."

He got up from his seat and trotted over to the door suddenly.

"Come on," He said, "Let's see if we can't find you a room that isn't too inhospitable."

It was times like these that he really could use a nurse to help him out, but that was one of the many problems that came with living in a small town - it wasn't always so easy to find what you needed. Even his medicine had to be imported from Canterlot when he needed it. He wondered if perhaps he should start looking for a nurse to hire, or a receptionist or something.

He pointedly opened the door for Orange.

"Let me just open this for you..." He smirked, feeling that a dose of teasing wasn't unreasonable given the battering the door had taken that day.

Good advice. You're probably right on all accounts, I'll just have to wait and see what happens now.

Since becoming a brony a few weeks past, the only people I've told about it are people who I know are also bronies. Automatic acceptance. Even that was slightly awkward though, actually. The one person who was not a brony who I thought I would be able to tell (and perhaps even convert) was my little sister.

Now, her being only thirteen, I might've expected some immaturity in handling the matter. Since I've recently been her patient and understanding confidante, there to listen to all the troubles she'd been having at school, I expected the least I could get from her was a little acceptance in return. So eventually it came up in conversation, and she just laughed at me and started making jokes. I tried to explain to her all the good points about MLP (the quality of the show, the messages it conveys, the kind of good and honest qualities it creates in the community that has formed around it). I told her not to be closed minded, and to just watch the first episodes before making any comments. Regardless, she went on ripping me about it, and I told her to just talk to me again after she'd grown up a bit, and quit Skype.

Now, my sister pretty much thinks the world of me, and I was quite sure that she was torturing herself with regret after my departure. She probably still feels bad about it right now. I signed back into Skype to talk to my Mum a little later, and in my sister's overwhelming regret, she's only gone and outted me to my parents while she was at it. Alright, so they don't seem to know the big picture (only that we had an 'argument over My Little Pony', which my Mum is baffled about). The point is, even after me telling my sister that I didn't want everyone to know because they would react just like she did, she went and spilled anyway. Well, I know my parents are probably more understanding and accepting than my sister is, so I don't worry about that. When the topic eventually comes up, I'm not worried about my parents, I'm just annoyed at my sister.

So I wouldn't be surprised if she does go ahead and watch the first episodes just because she feels bad, and she'll probably come around to it fairly soon and see how great it is. Either way, the whole thing really didn't pan out how I thought it would, and I just felt like I needed to vent to somepony here.

“Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.”

- Dream, 'The Sandman: Vol 3: Dream Country' (Neil Gaiman)

Doctor Betterbones was quietly delighted that Orange had accepted his instruction to stay for a night, even though he could see how much he disliked it. Honestly, he didn't know anything about running any kind of farm, but he didn't suppose that one day and night's work going missing would put the whole place into disaray, and if he worked alone there was nobody else there who would worry about him and be missing his instructions.

He did not thank Orange for his decision to stay, but his approval showed clearly on his face in relief as he took his seat at his desk beanbag chair again. It seemed that now his diagnosis was complete and he had convinced his patient to get some rest before dashing off, their conversation was able to turn to less serious matters and more into something like idle chatter, which was fine with him. He was never one to back away from making friends (unless, of course, it put his doctor-patient relationship at risk, which this case did not).

He did have to politely decline the offer of a drink though.

"Thanks," He said, "But I'm still on duty, and I'm not completely sure how satisfied anypony coming in here looking for medical help would be to find their beloved GP out of his senses on vodka." Though he grinned after that, and added, "Perhaps later though."

Orange had asked him a fairly reasonable question, that many ponies had wondered about him - about why such a big-shot doctor could be found in a little town like this.

"Originally, I'm from Canterlot." He explained, watching Orange take his drink, "I had a practice there, helping out all the busy and important ponies... but there were already plenty of medical ponies there, and I felt like I should be somewhere where I could really make more of a difference."

He glanced briefly out the window of his office. What he said was true, of course, but it was only half the reason he had left Canterlot. That city was just full of too many painful memories for him to stay any longer. But that wasn't something a curious patient needed to know.

He looked back to Orange with his friendly smile.

"You know, now that you've agreed to stay the night in Solstice Heights, you might not have to stay here. There is an inn right outside where you'll be much more comfortable for the night, and warmer, too. These halls get so chilly at night. Since the inn is so close, and there'll be other people around there, I'll be able to tend to you in the night if you do need attention, but as I say, you'll also be more comfortable than staying here."

The more Orange tried to convince Betterbones that he was fine and that he was ready to get going, the less Betterbones believed that was the case. He couldn't help but raise a questioning eyebrow when the pony openly doubted his abilities as a doctor (as well as the size of his office), but his strangely liberal topics of speech didn't change anything about the situation. He was still, Betterbones was increasingly certain, unwell.

"So yeah nothing to worry about just a bit of a headache, nothing some sleep back at home can fix" The pegasus gushed, and the doctor seemed unimpressed.

"I believe that's my call to make." He pointed out, his voice perhaps a little more stern than before. He found that he had to take a stand when it came to stubborn patients. He'd figured that out very early on in his profession. "And if you truly believed that a good night's sleep would be all it took to fix your problems, well, you wouldn't be here, visiting me now, would you?"

He was about to inform the orange pony that his leg was sprained and his singed wings would give him trouble flying for a long distance, when his patient began to sway uneasily.

"Are you feeling lethargic?" He asked, and Orange fell down. Moving quickly, the doctor managed to catch him with a cushioning spell, and then he went about positioning him safely back down on the chair. "That'd be a yes then..." He muttered, "Headache, memory loss, restlessness, loss of balance... Orange Tundra, you are the walking definition of a grade two concussion. Now, there are no magic pills to fix your problem, but combined with your sprain and bruising, I'm definitely prescribing immediate bedrest. I'll be sending a letter to whomever it is you need to get back to, excusing you, because you need to recover here for at least a night. After that, we'll do some more tests to make sure you're safe to go home."

Standing close to the chair in which Orange sat in case he was going to fall again, Betterbones prepared to receive a bombardment of protestation. Orange didn't seem the type to attack him or throw any particularly severe insults around, but if he did, Betterbones would take it, because Orange was his patient, and the doctor was always right.

Probably Twilight most of the time, though when I meet new people for the first time I miraculously transform into Fluttershy...

But I used to know someone who was actually just like a human version of Fluttershy. I didn't know MLP:FiM at the time, but looking back, it's uncanny how similar they are...

Nice to meetcha! I'm sure you'll be very comfortable here, it's a great community

I do have one question however. Is there a rule against RPing ponies already in the show? I normally RP as Frederic on other sites

There's a canon list over there http://www.canterlot...1-updated-1107/

I can't see this Frederic pony on there though, so you might be in luck

EDIT: Oh, and also, your piano skills are AWESOME. Very impressed!

I tried to jump up and catch it but it was going too fast.

This pony was being rather unhelpful, Betterbones decided, and even as Orange kept assuring him that his injuries were nothing serious and that he'd be fine to return home, he was thinking the opposite. Everypony was so eager to rush off these days. He could understand it from the stunt flying Midnight Orchid that was in here a moment ago, but would it be such a crime if Orange missed a few vodka deliveries because of a serious injury? As a doctor, Betterbones obviously thought not.

Still, he would cross that bridge when they came to it. First, to complete his diagnosis.

Orange said that his leg hurt when he was stretching it and when he was putting pressure on it. That meant it was sprained, but even if he said it didn't hurt too badly, he couldn't risk there being a fracture as well. For all he knew, Orange was just putting on a strong front and was actually in quite severe pain. It didn't seem likely, but he'd known patients to do so before.

"I'm going to use a spell to check for a fracture." He informed his patient, as he opened a book on his desk and flicked to the right page. It was a spell he used quite frequently, but it was always good to remind oneself of the correct execution before performing it. "If it doesn't hurt too much, as you say, you've probably just got a sprain, but if you do have a fracture, even a small one, and we leave it, it could cause some very bad problems in the future. Now, stay still."

He took a step back and lowered his head so that his horn pointed toward Orange's leg. Then his horn began to glow with a faint purple aura, which soon spread to his eyes, and finally to the leg he was staring at.

He stayed in this position, with intense glowing eyes, for a full minute.

This spell allowed him to see the bones in the leg, as if he were peering right through the skin and muscle. He looked carefully at the bones and the joints, but there was no visible damage.

Satisfied, he lifted his head again and the glowing auras around his horn and eyes and Orange's leg all vanished at once.

"Congratulations." He smiled, "No fracture."

So it was just a sprain in his leg. It was also a very long way to Stalliongrad, but perhaps if he made him take someone with him, and if he was going to fly most of the way, he would be alright to go home. Betterbones didn't want to keep him here if he didn't want to stay - but he would if he thought it was for the best.

Something else that Orange had said was bothering him now.

"I managed to walk here without too much trouble ... even though I can't remember most of it, I must have been in a bit of a haze."

Memory loss wasn't a good sign, even though he'd already checked for full-on brain trauma, he might still have a concussion.

"Does your head hurt? Well, I mean, did it still hurt from the explosion before you rammed it against my office door?"

Having waited until Midnight was gone and out the way, another satisfied patient, Betterbones turned his attention to Orange, who seemed to be chattering to himself. He waited patiently until the stallion remembered what was going on, and then moved over to examine him as he explained his situation.

"How interesting!" He said, as he carefully examined Orange's torso, locating some bad bruising along his ribs. "I've never met a pony who brews vodka, you know. I've also never met a pony who's been in a vodka explosion, so you're something of a novelty, my friend. Stamp your rear left leg for me?"

That leg was worrying. He had noticed the pronounced limp when Orange had walked over to take his seat. A fracture, perhaps, or another sprain.

"Does that leg hurt more when you put pressure on it, or when you stretch it?" He enquired, stretching out his own left hind leg to demonstrate what he meant. A sprain was caused by an overstretched ligament, so if it was a sprain, it would hurt more to stretch it. He hoped it was a sprain, because a fracture would be far more problematic for both doctor and patient. With the bruising, a possible sprain or fracture, not to mention the slightly singed wings among other possible injuries he had yet to locate, it already looked less and less likely that Orange would be fit to leave for Stalliongrad any time today.

Well I've never been as scared of anything as this guy was of his dad (never had a reason to be, thankfully), so I can't imagine the bravery it must of taken to do what he did. All I can do is join the rest in congratulating him and wishing him the best.

This pony's rambling was a little irritating, but it definitely seemed to be brought on by social awkwardness rather than any damage. The doctor had finished with his torch by the time Orange had told him his name, and simply sat and listened to him with a bemused expression until the younger pony realised he was rambling and assured him that he would wait to be seen to. Betterbones was quite worried about this second patient of his, given that an explosion of any kind usually resulted in an instant trip to an emergency centre, rather than a stroll to the local doctor's (not that he didn't think he could handle it). However, since he already had a patient waiting on him, he had to take Orange's word that he would be alright for the moment.

"Good enough for me." Betterbones said, and waited until Orange was safely sat in the seat, before going back over to Midnight.

"Sorry about that." He said to her politely, "Since you were steady enough to go and fetch that water, we can assume you don't have a concussion, but..." He made a quick examination of Midnight's head, moving around her to make sure there was no serious damage that he could attend to. "Yes, expect a particularly pretty bruise tomorrow."

He then trotted back over to his desk, maintaining that casual pace he had kept in everything he did throughout this bizarre event. He never seemed to rush in anything he did or said. He retrieved a key from beneath a pile of papers that had accumulated on his desk, and used it to open a container in the cupboard from which he had got the pillows. Inside this container, which was little more than a long metal box, was an extensive set of different little pots, each one labelled and organised under categories. It took him less than a second to find the one he was after, and he placed it on the table between himself and Midnight. The pot of pills was soon joined by a piece of paper, which Betterbones wrote on, prescribing three-to-four pills a day, as required.

"Luckily, this pain medication will help with your head as well as that wing." He explained, "You'll be glad to hear it'll heal on its own. It will hurt for a while, however. I would usually instruct a patient not to use the limb in question at all for a few days, but I get the distinct impression that you're not the type for bedrest, so all I can say is to take one of these to help with the pain when it's bad, and try not to perform any stunts that are... too groundbreaking." He smiled hopelessly at that point, very much like a parent lecturing his child. "Oh, and these are for you too." He added, and placed a small paper packet on the table.

"Now," He continued, "Usually I give my patients eight cookies each, but you did fly into my door, and that might cause structural problems in the future. Therefore, I have deducted half of your cookie allowance, leaving you four."He held up a hoof as if expecting protest, "I'm sorry, but you've got to take a stand with these things, and that's how it is. Mr. Tundra over there will be receiving the same penalty, I assure you. So as long as there's nothing else you need help with, I think you'll be glad to know you're good to go."

He stopped abruptly, realising he had made an unconscious rhyme, and made a mental note to write that one down for one of his poems. Rhymes were in short supply these days, he found, and when you made one by accident, you certainly shouldn't just let it go.

Annoyingly, the internet has been down while I've been visiting my parents, so while I've been writing around 2000 words per day, now I can go home and update my page, it's going to look like I slacked off for ages and then did 6000 words at once

Berryshine?! I'm sure I've already used that for the name of a secondary character in my RP character's bio! Thieveses!

I could understand if it was something like porn but getting kicked out of the house because of MLP? Seriously? I've heard of some moms or dads at least grounding the kids for life but kicking them out of the house? Wow...

To be honest, with parents like that I think I'd rather be out of the house than in it... >.>

Wow, that's ridiculous. Overreact, much? Feel sorry for that guy

This looks pretty darn awesome. I suck so badly at every videogame in existence, but that won't stop me playing them

The doctor was quite surprised when Midnight took it upon herself to drench the unconscious pony where he lay on the table.

"That's going the extra mile..." He noted, and looked at her, "I was just going to flick some at him." He made a flicking motion with his hoof to demonstrate, as the orange pony began to stir. "I suppose your way works too."

The orange and ash-covered pony opened his eyes, and Betterbones could practically see his memory coming back to him (which meant no amnesia, which was a good thing at least). He opened his mouth to tell him not to do anything drastic, but before he could the new arrival had slammed into the door of his office.

"Do I have a pony magnet installed in my door?!" Betterbones demanded, baffled by this repeated motif that was developing. He wondered if maybe he should replace the darn thing with some curtains, or just have an empty doorway. If ponies kept running into it, it wouldn't be long before one of them did some serious damage to themself.

The pony that had now taken Midnight's previous position by the door had blurted something about an imperial guard, and now muttered that he was giving up. Betterbones shot Midnight a look of confusion accompanied by a shrug, before he walked back over to the orange pony and got down on the floor so that he was level with him.

"You think the guard's coming to take you away for injuring that pony?" He asked, and then pointed to Midnight with a hoof, "That pony who is stood over there?" He smiled, "I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think opening a door on somepony is enough to back an arrest warrant. Now. Stay still, eyes open wide."

He reached back into one of his coat pockets and retrieved a little black torch, which he gripped in his mouth. He then proceeded to shine it in one of the pony's eyes, keeping his head still with his hooves, and then the other. When he was satisfied with the results, he put the torch down and looked at him intently.

"Can you tell me your name, and count backwards from ten out loud?"

He glanced over his shoulder at Midnight, not wanting her to think he was neglecting one patient for another.

"Be with you in just a second."

I might check this out. Or not. I'm still only in the midst of season one, so I don't want to be hearing about a bunch of stuff that hasn't happened yet...

That's right... you guys keep posting. I'm not going to say a single thing until the posting dwindles to a stop, then I'll post a single reply, and take the victory for myself! MWA-HA-HA-HA-wait...

Thank you!

And if anyone's interested,

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/j-m-boulton

That's me.