Deer Winter (Canterlot) [Closed:CaptainMcDerp]

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

"Whoah. You're the weirdest looking pony I've met. Oh, wait, no... I know you. You don't look too good, weren't you red last time I saw you?"

 

Red? An image of her brother flashed through her mind for a split second before being disregarded. Her focus on Dunder's condition trumped all else at the moment. From the looks of things, it's possible the stallion might have suffered a pretty serious head injury. The growing concern was evident on her face. "Oh no, this looks worse than I thought." She mumbled before responding outright. "Um, no it's Winter, remember? We need to get you do a doctor. But there's no way I'll be able to carry you. Can you walk?"

[Dunder]

"Of course, I can walk. Too hot to trot~" Dunder placed one hoof in front of the other and fell back on the floor. There he laid for a moment, eyes closed but still his chest rose and fell softly with his breaths. "Ugh.... I really should have listened to you and just not gone for that umbrella...." He rolled over onto his back, so that the rain fell on his face. Quickly he pulled out his wing and pulled it to cover his face so he could lay there in the muddy dirt. That's when he noticed Winter's face, "Uhh... Winter? You look concerned, is something wrong?"

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

Winter grew increasingly concerned when he fell. And nearly panicked when he laid still for a moment. Just before she built enough courage to ask him rather or not he was dead, he fortunately spoke, expressing regret for chasing after the umbrella in the middle of he rain. Winter felt a hint of relief. It seemed like he was regaining awareness.

 

"Uhh... Winter? You look concerned, is something wrong?"

 

That's when Winter realized just how incredibly tense her facial muscles felt. No telling what kind of expression she was displaying. She attempted to relax her face and smile. "Oh no, nothing's wrong. Just wanted to make sure you weren't severely or fatally injured." She laughed nervously. "Anyways, how are you feeling now? Do you think you need a doctor?"

 

 

 

[Dunder]

"I've survived worse." Dunder groaned and rubbed his throbbing head, "I am not feeling too hot. I don't think I will need a doctor..." he trailed off. For a moment he was legitimately concerned, the feeling in his head felt like it could have actually been dangerous. But he had forgone worse with little to no consequence. Why waste time and ruin their time in the gardens any further. But  at that very moment, the pony grinned a most mischievous of grins. The concern gave way to some playfulness. "Though I think I hurt my lungs. I could use some mouth-to-mouth." Winter wouldn't even need to use her powers to see what the pony was up to. Maybe Dunder hit his head worse than he thought.

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

"I am not feeling too hot. I don't think I will need a doctor..."

 

No one ever thinks they need a doctor even when they do. But she kept those thoughts to herself. He seemed okay now, but maybe she could urge for a small check up later. He must be right when he said he's survived worse though, being a bodyguard and all. She was probably just letting her nerves get the best of her again.

 

"Though I think I hurt my lungs. I could use some mouth-to-mouth."

 

Winter simply blinked. She never new exactly how to deal with playful flirting. It didn't help that she could feel her cheeks beginning to burn. "Er..." She stammered. "What did you do, suck a bunch of rain down your windpipe? Either way, you seem to be breathing fine now. The doctor might comply to such a request, though."

[Dunder]

Dunder stuck his tongue out in disgust, still on his back as he protested. "The doctors around here are old and stuffy. And dismissive after dealing with a bunch of hypochondriac nobles. They are convinced that the slightest discomfort is an incurable disease."

The stallion rolled over, crouching low on all his hooves before sticking his muscular rump back and in the air to stretch. "Anyway, I am fine. No need to worry." He said, anticipating her worrisome nature. "Anyway, weren't we talking about something?" He asked, pulling his wing to cover his own head as he turned to face her again, "I could have sworn you said something."

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

"Anyway, weren't we talking about something? I could have sworn you said something."

 

"Er..."

 

Winter couldn't help but look rather baffled. Said what? She said lot of things and wasn't too sure what he was referring to. in an effort to answer the question, she began reflecting on their previous conversations. Her mind settled on the scene in which Dunder asked her if she was red last time they met. It stuck out in her mind quite a bit for being such a strange thing to say. Perhaps he's met another Peryton that was...

 

Red.

 

Winter snapped back into reality and looked at Dunder like he just solved the mysteries of the universe. "Earlier you asked me if I was red last time we met. What did you mean by that? Have you encountered a red peryton before?"

[Dunder]

She seemed deep in thought after he posed the question. Confused at the reaction, Dunder awkwardly just looked at the floor,, rubbing his foreleg with the other as she appeared to be deep in thought. Honestly the stallion was still embarrassed and emasculated at his blunder. And only barely was he realizing it. She was hidden behind a thick shell, how could he charm himself through now?

Then she answered his question, finishing with her own. "Red peryton?" He thought, tapping a hoof against his chin for a moment while thinking, "I can't remember a red peryton. You're the only peryton that I've ever met, let alone seen." He said, genuine in every sense of the word. At least to himself. Maybe she could sense he was lying and didn't even know it.

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

 

"I can't remember a red peryton. You're the only peryton that I've ever met, let alone seen."

 

That was odd. Winter was almost curtain he'd say yes. As she considered his prior words, she couldn't help but feel like something didn't add up. Was there any other species that resembled a peryton? Maybe he was referring to a red pegasus, or perhaps a caribou. Either way, it was quite disappointing to say the least. It's been years since she's heard of her brother. For all she knew he might not be alive anymore, so the mere prospect of Dunder having seen a red peryton gave her a small glimmer of hope. Somehow, her danger-prone sibling might be doing okay.

 

As she gazed at Dunder, an alien emotion flooded her mind. Her anxiety was replaced with... confidence? Oh wait, she was accidentally reading emotions again. Whoops. Winter started to break the connection but stopped. Dunder said she was the first peryton he's seen, but what if he was lying for some reason? As much as she didn't want to invade the minds of others, she felt like was something she couldn't leave to chance.

 

"Oh... must've been the head trauma talking, then." She chuckled and returned her eyes to his, noticing a small chance in disposition as she fed off of the new found boldness. "So I'm the first one you've seen, huh? I know we're a little hard to come by, but that's pretty surprising. Are you sure you've never seen another peryton? A red male with blue eyes by the name of August, maybe?"

[Dunder]

Dunder was deep in confusion about what was going on. She looked distressed and disappointed that he knew no red peryton. The thought was plaguing his mind as he tried to coax it out of himself. He wished he could tell her everything about this peryton, but his mind was blank. Or maybe his mind was blocked from entering those memories.

"Red male? Blue eyes...Like yours?" He asked, convinced she had blue eyes. But upon further inspection he noticed her eyes were actually pink. "August..." The name rung a bell, but what it was for was barely out of his mind's grasp. The same feeling the stallion got when he trots into a room and forgets what he came there for. "August, and Winter..." The stallion turned away, still lost in thought. "August... He was related to you? I still don't know who he is. But I keep getting him confused with you." The stallion kept trotting around, deep in thought. "Maybe when I hit my head I got my memories of him buried under memories of you."

"Which leads me to believe the only way to unbury those memories is if I slam my head against the wall again. Either that or we have to reenact what August and I did. Which will be difficult because I can't remember. Don't worry, I read about this is a book once probably."
 

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

 

"Which leads me to believe the only way to unbury those memories is if I slam my head against the wall again. Either that or we have to reenact what August and I did. Which will be difficult because I can't remember. Don't worry, I read about this is a book once probably."

 

"Oh no, no, no. Let's not do any of that. You already escaped a concussion the first time."

 

Funny, he didn't seem to be lying. And his willingness to slam his head against a wall again brought up more questions than answers. Hmmm, what could she possibly do to make him remember? Wait... he said something about reenacting. She may not know what August did, but she does know how he acts.

 

"How about I do a little impersonation of him?" She cleared her throat, took a step back, and got into character. Let's see... Annoying smirk? Check. Pretentious prancing? Check. Now all she had to do was make sure every word dripped with sarcasm. She held her head high and circled Dunder. "Oh, a body guard eh? You certainly look the part. I wouldn't wanna get into a tussle with you, that's for sure." She stopped in front of him. "Why aren't you a royal guard though? Not feeling much loyalty to the princess? Or do you like to do things your way?" She widened her smirk. "I could respect both answers."

 

Winter ended her act with a laugh and shook her head. "This is silly. What you said was probably nothing but some random stream-of-conscious words by a pony who just hit their head."

[Dunder]

Dunder took what she said as a challenge, as if slamming his head against a wall would impress her. He was going to take off, but she offered an impersonation. Maybe the stallion would have paid closer attention, but her preparations were enough to make the Stallion grin and suppress a chuckle. And the way she strutted around him, held herself. If it wasn't so funny, he would have thought it was attractive, how she acted so confident now. The way she held her head up though, and some of the worse she spoke. It was almost like she changed more than just an act. At least in his mind he could see something take the place of her body and voice as she put on the show. Redder coat, deeper voice... But the stallion could hardly notice.

He rolled onto his back, laughing, hooves on his belly. "Oh! Hehehehe!" The pony cackled, "Awww. It's over? I almost started taking a liking to the confident Winter." He said and rolled back so that he was on his stomach. Now he was getting all muddy, "And no, I swear something happened. How would I have guessed about your brother?" He said and stood up, "Red, right? That arrogance strikes me as similar, but I just can't put my wing on it!" Suddenly, Dunder was starting to sound more frustrated. "What else could have happened? What else can I do to remember?"
 

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

 

Winter raised an eyebrow when Dunder bust out laughing. But despite the fact that she was trying to keep a straight face, she couldn't help but chuckle along with him a bit. She didn't consider it before, but it was probably rather amusing in hindsight. He then suggested that he was starting to like the confident Winter. What was he talking about? She was already confident! That wasn't confidence. That was arrogance. What she had was grace, elegance, alertness. No need to prance around like royalty as if you own Equestria, like August. Then again, he obviously felt like he would make a better ruler than all the princesses combined, so that was to be expected she supposed.

 

"Red, right? That arrogance strikes me as similar, but I just can't put my wing on it! What else could have happened? What else can I do to remember?"

 

Winter's expression drooped into disgruntlement. "I'm honestly at a loss now. It's not like I can read your memories." Her expression lit up for a moment and she looked at him with a slight tilt of her head. "There isn't any magic to speak of that can do something like that... is there?"

[Dunder]

Dunder'e expression hardened. A spell to read minds. Neither of them were unicorns, or probably skilled in the higher magic. Her cute expression wasn't helping him think either. "Just... I don't know. I'd have to look into it, or ask a Princess or something." He said, "I wouldn't doubt it though, I've heard of some crazy magic existing. Like necromancers up in the north." his expression going softer. He was feeling overwhelmed with disappointment now. At this point she'd probably never want to see him again, he was useless and lost the only utility he had.

"I'm gonna do it." Dunder clapped his hooves together, "I'm going to run into the wall. Then I'll remember." Dunder flared his wings and flapped, taking off into the air, a look of determination on his face.

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

 

At first, it seemed like Dunder was going to follow the new plan. But just as soon as Winter came to that conclusion, the stallion once again resolved to throwing himself into a wall.

 

"What?" She ran to where he had just ascended and swiped at the tip of his tail, missing by only a few inches. "No, no, no. Dunder! Don't you do it!"

 

She tightly folded her wings and gave the ground a frustrated stomp. "Shoot!... Dunder!" She warned. "You better not hurt yourself!"

 

What in Equestria was that stallion thinking!? He could either cause or worsen an existing concussion doing this, and the chances of it jogging his memory were slim. However, all Winter could do was watch from the ground, hoping she did enough to make him change his mind.

[Dunder]

As Dunder ascended he heard her pleading for him to come back down. It was bizarre for her to show this much emotion. Was it legitimate concern for him though? Dunder thought about this while eyeing down the wall he had crashed into. Was she always concerned for his health like this? Maybe deep down inside, this is what he wanted. Her to be legitimately concerned for him.

Slowly, as Dunder eyed down the wall, he started to descend back to the mud where Winter was. "You're right. I wasn't thinking straight. Good thing you said something or else I might have actually done it." Finally Dunder touched down and pulled his wings down to his chest. "I'm sorry to make you worry. I was being so selfish.. I hope you can forgive me."

[CaptainMcDerp]

 

Winter breathed a sigh of relief when Dunder landed back down on the ground beside her.

 

"You're right. I wasn't thinking straight. Good thing you said something or else I might have actually done it. I'm sorry to make you worry. I was being so selfish.. I hope you can forgive me."

 

Selfish? What was selfish about purposefully bashing one's head into a wall just to remember something for an acquaintance? Nonetheless, Winter was glad she didn't have to feel responsible for causing someone to give themselves a possible concussion.

 

She gave a small huff. "Of course I can forgive you. Just don't go hurting yourself for my sake."

 

She glanced back into the garden and noticed small rays of sun shine reflecting off the glistening, rain covered leaves. Just hearing someone mention a red peryton gave her some hope that her brother was alive, even though he's certainly not the only peryton with a crimson coat. She turned back to Dunder. "And don't worry about trying to remember right now. I can wait. I've waited this long. Besides, it's not like you'd know where he is now anyways." She glanced in the direction of the library. "But if I find a good spell or something that'll help you regain your memory, we can try it out." She glanced at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "If it's safe, that is."

 

[Dunder]

"Don't go hurting myself for your sake? You paid me to get hurt for your sake. I got roughed up pretty badly." He said and began to chuckle, remembering protecting that cart of jewels. Dunder would never forget that job. "But, better me than you. You should know better than most...peryton... that my own safety gets put on the line plenty of times. Honestly, you don't really need to worry about me."

At her suggestion, he tilted his head in confusion. "Spell? I thought you couldn't cast magic. You aren't a unicorn, after all. Or can you use magic with your horns?" He asked, reaching out with a wing and tapping one on the tip.

When he reached out his wing he noticed his feathers weren't getting peppered with rain. He looked up, "Oh, look. The sun." The sun's warm embrace reminded him how cold the rain made him feel. He shivered, "If we went to the library, I think I'd fall right asleep. On the floor too, I've done that before."