Popped

Nurse Redheart sighed. With her patient’s vitals finally stabilized, she could finally step away from the bed that she and many others had been slaving over for hours on end. Too exhausted to speak another word, she walked through the door and towards the hospital cafeteria, wanting nothing more than to sit down. She would have walked faster, but her aching hooves forced her to take a more relaxed pace.

She’d never seen a case a severe as this. In fact, the last 24 hours had been absolutely chaotic for most of the staff of the Royal Canterlot Hospital. Surgeons and nurses alike constantly filtered in and out of the emergency ward, working tirelessly to save a mare who had arrived in critical condition.

But between that, and, of course, the time-and-a-half pay, it was all worth it. Now that the patient’s vitals had finally stabilized, she could finally use the last hour of her double-shift to sit down and eat a proper meal. At 11 PM. She did so with no hesitation, plopping herself down at an empty table and opening the paper bag that contained today’s dinner.

Opening her novel at the marked page, Redheart resumed where she had left off the day before.

“It’s not me, it’s you.” She said, voice trembling. She put a hoof up to her face to wipe away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. “You’ve changed, Blanco. You’re not who you used to be. You’re not the stallion I fell in love with!”

Blanco tenderly placed a hoof on her withers, pulling her closer. “Please, I need you.” He said, feeling her warmth as their bodies met for the first time in years. “You’re the first mare I’ve ever loved. Nopony else has ever made me feel this way.”

“Oh, Blanco…” She said, quickly shuffling herself out of the embrace. In that moment, they could only listen to the rapid beating of their hearts, neither of them sure of what to say. “...I wish you hadn’t said that.” She finally said, putting her head down. “I-I can’t… I can’t do this!’

Blanco felt his heart stop as he watched her gallop away. “No!” he screamed, nearly falling over as he stumbled to run after her. “Please, I love-

“So, do they know what happened to her yet?” Healing Touch said, taking a seat across from Redheart with his tray of food from the cafeteria.

Redheart resisted the urge to groan and roll her eyes as she put her book down. She liked her co-workers, but in all honesty, she just wanted some time to herself. “You could say that. I was present during the operation.” she replied, despite herself.

“Oh, right.” Healing Touch said, adjusting his glasses. “So? What’s wrong with her? I haven’t heard any details yet.”

“Heck if I know.” Redheart replied, taking a bite of her sandwich. “The investigation is still ongoing, and the Royal Guard hasn’t released any information about where she was found. That being said, it’s pretty obvious that she wasn’t attacked by an animal in the woods or something. A pony did this to her.”

“Woah, what?” Healing touch said, leaning closer. “Seriously? How can you tell?”

“Well, for starters, the main problem with that theory is the fact that she’s covered in third-degree burns. Plus, there were no bite marks anywhere, just gashes. It’s pretty obvious she was, well, tortured.”

“Oh my goodness. That poor girl! Is she at least recovering?”

“Don’t worry, we managed to save her. She should actually be waking up any-”

“Nurses Redheart, Caduceus, and Tendercare to the Emergency Ward immediately.”

Healing Touch stifled a laugh. “Uh oh. You just can’t get a break, can you?”

“Ugh.” Redheart groaned, putting down her half-eaten meal. Sometimes she wished she had never moved to Canterlot from Ponyville. “Save my seat.”

“Will do!” Healing Touch shouted, waving as he watched Redheart gallop out of the hospital’s dining area.

* * *

The double doors slammed loudly behind Redheart as she made her way into the room. "What's wrong?" she said, though the question was more of a formality than a genuine inquiry. It was very apparent why she, along with two other nurses, had been called into the emergency ward. She winced and put her head down as she approached the bed, trying to spare herself from the blood curdling shrieks that echoed off the walls.

"I-It's okay Miss Pie, we won't hurt you. You're safe now." One of the nurses said, smiling awkwardly as she hid a large syringe that sported an even larger needle behind her back.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Pinkie screamed, holding her forehooves in front of her good eye. A long, shaky moan escaped her lips as she broke down into tears. “PLEASE!"

Nurse Redheart approached the bed slowly, wearing what she hoped was a comforting face. Though, even if it had been, it probably wouldn’t have helped anyway. After a few moments, She stopped at the side of the bed opposite from the nurse who held the syringe.

"This will make you better, I promise." She said, linking her hoof with Pinkie's. The intimate connection didn't last long, however. Almost immediately, Pinkie ripped her hoof away, nearly causing Nurse Redheart to topple over backwards in surprise.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Pinkie screamed, thrashing around as much as the various tubes and cables that were connected to her would allow.

Redheart groaned. "Caduceus, bring over some of the toys from the pediatric ward, would you?" She whispered, leaning over the bed to speak with the third nurse. "This is time-sensitive, and I really don't want to have to put her under again."

"Y-yes, ma'am." Caduces replied, not hesitating a moment before she galloped into the hallway.

Caduceus swerved left and right, avoiding the wheelchairs, doctors, and stretchers that populated the narrow hallway. Despite the volume of the area, it was only when she was several feet away did the sound of Pinkie's cries fade into the murmur around her.

Poking her head into the pediatric ward, Caduceus looked around frantically for what she needed.

"Caduceus?" Said one of the nurses. "What are you-"

"Um, I need this" she said quickly, running across the room and plucking one of the teddy bears off the shelf. "Sorry!" She mumbled with the stuffed animal still in her mouth, running back into the hall just as quickly as she entered.

She soon returned to the Emergency Ward, carrying with her the large teddy bear. She barely managed to make it through the door before Redheart surrounded it with a levitation spell and set in in Pinkie's lap.

Instantly, Pinkie hugged the bear tightly, pressing the back against her face and muffling her own whines. She seemed to have calmed down a bit in the short time Caduceus had been gone. Though she had stopped screaming, she was still visibly distraught and crying profusely.

"You ready?" Redheart said. “Try your best not to look.”

Pinkie gave a tiny, muffled squeak in response.

With that, Redheart held out Pinkie’s foreleg while Tendercare produced a large syringe from behind her back. She could feel the bruised, burned limb shaking intensely in anticipation, and couldn’t help but release a small, empathetic whine of her own while she watched.

The sharp point of the needle hovered over the targeted vein, moving slowly toward its destination. Tendercare was right to be hesitant. Any sudden movement from Pinkie could end with her accidentally stabbing herself. They would never hear the end of that.

The needle punctured Pinkie’s skin, an occurrence punctuated by a sharp, yet soft gasp from the receiver. “Nnnngh…” Pinkie grimaced as the metal sank into her flesh, trying her hardest not to retaliate. She was no stranger to getting blood drawn, and she knew she wasn’t in any danger. For some reason, however, as the nurse slowly and carefully steered the needle toward the vein, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic setting in. One that she had never before felt in this kind of situation.

“It’s okay, dear…” Redheart reassured, stroking Pinkie’s foreleg up and down. The nurse could feel her own skin crawl in response to Pinkie’s doing the same.

Once the needle had successfully entered the bloodstream, the pain faded, and Pinkie was able to calm herself down just as quickly. Instead a small, barely noticeable pulling sensation replaced the pain as the nurse began pulling out the syringe’s handle.

Pinkie waited a few seconds, still hiding behind her teddy bear, before her curiosity got the best of her. “Is it over?” she asked, lifting her head up just enough to catch a glimpse of the syringe as it slowly filled up with a thick, red liquid.

In an instant, Pinkie’s single functioning iris grew wide as she sucked in air through her newly-installed dentures. Her entire body went weak, and she felt her head spinning. “No, ugh, oh gosh, oh my goodness…” she mumbled, having quickly retreated back behind the teddy bear’s overly-large head. Now that she knew exactly what has happening, not looking was almost as bad as watching her blood slowly fill up the vial.

But fortunately, as quickly as the procedure had begun, it was over. The nurse removed the needle with ease, placing the filled syringe into a small bag while Redheart taped a cotton pad over the small red dot on Pinkie’s foreleg. Then, with the bandage in place, Redheart stepped away and motioned for the other nurse to leave the room with the vial of blood. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She said in a soft, caring tone.

Pinkie simply looked away, quickly wrapping herself under the covers as soon as she could.

Seeing this, Redheart frowned a bit, but quickly caught herself. "I'll be back to check on you tomorrow morning. Try to get some rest, okay, hun?" She assured, barely managing to fake a smile while she did so. Never before had she seen a patient in such a poor condition. It broke her heart just to look.

Without lifting her head up from the pillow, Pinkie Pie made a slight movement that barely passed for a nod and closed her single eye.

The double-doors closed behind Nurse Redheart, and Pinkie was once again alone. She held her teddy bear close against her chest, hugging it with both forelegs. By now, its fur had become stiff and matted where her tears had dried. Pinkie didn’t care, though.

She still wasn’t sure whether or not this was all just another dream. Whether or not she would soon wake up to find herself on the filthy floor of a dark, humid cell. Though she was wrapped under the warmth of multiple wool blankets, Pinkie still felt a cold shiver run down her spine when she entertained the thought.

The last thing Pinkie remembered was just that: laying alone on the floor of Pokey’s basement, paralyzed in pain as blood quickly flowed out of the fresh gashes on her back. She couldn’t speak, move, or even cry. Her face rested solemnly on the dirt, colored dots dancing across her vision as she felt herself slipping into death’s cold embrace.

She didn’t remember being afraid, though. In fact, she welcomed the feeling. It’s finally over, she recalled herself thinking as her blood soaked into the dirt below her. She felt happier than she had in ages, knowing that soon she would be free.

But then, suddenly, a blinding light shone down upon her as a circle of ponies in white clothing looked down at her, murmuring a flurry of big, confusing words. She wore a plastic face mask around her muzzle with a long, stretchy tube attached. It in turn was connected to some kind of machine. At least, that’s what it looked like. She was only able to catch a brief glimpse before she quickly fell back asleep.

Now she was here, wrapped in bandages and plugged into some other noisy machines. If this wasn’t all a dream, she thought, how did I get here? What happened to me?

All of the doctors had told her that it was over. That she would be okay from now on. That she didn’t have to be afraid anymore.

What did they know?

Pinkie looked down at her body, covered in bandages, most of which were hidden under and a light green hospital gown. Sure, Pinkie was all better on the outside. Her wounds had been sown up, her burns treated. But the doctors had only fixed her up halfway. For the first time in weeks, her belly was full, but she still felt empty inside.

She laid there in the same position for minutes on end, staring intently at the blank, white ceiling above her. Memories of the past few weeks played back in her head constantly, with no end in sight. Even when she shut her eye, she could still see his face. Hear his laugh. Her screams. Feel the unending misery.

“It’s…I...” she muttered, quickly trailing off into silence. It didn’t matter what she said. Nopony was there to listen. The tears on her face had grown cold in the near-empty room. She brought her teddy bear up to her face to wipe them off. “It’s all my fault...”

She scrunched up her muzzle as the horrifying thoughts continued running rampant through her head. She focused hard, visualizing all the things that made her happy. Though try as she might have, the only thing she was able to see was Rainbow Dash. The smell of her blood. The sound of the saw grinding against her spine. The look of hopeless despair in her eyes as they met her's for the last time.

“I-If it wasn’t for me…” She mumbled, shivering despite the blanket’s warm embrace. “I should have...I didn’t...”

It was all still so fresh in her mind. “Dashie, I’m sorry!” She cried, turning around to sobbing into the wall of pillows behind her so nopony would have to hear. “It should have been me! I don’t deserve this!”

“I don’t...deserve to live…” Pinkie whispered, a river of tears running down her face. She wavered for a brief moment before pressing her head hard into the tear-soaked pillows below her. She shoved her face deep into the pile, the embrace of the large cushions cutting off her ability to breathe.

Her chest heaved up and down and her pink cheeks turned blue as she smothered herself. Pinkie could feel her tears tickle her face as they ran down her cheeks for a short while until her entire face went numb. Though her lungs left as if they were on fire, her head felt light as a feather.

And like she had seen before, colorful dots began to dance across her vision. A bright light shown, inviting her to step across to the other side. To get what she deserved for her disgusting crimes.

But Just as the light began to come closer, Pinkie quickly pulled herself away, taking a massive breath as soon as she was able to. As blood began rushing back to her head, she unceremoniously collapsed back onto the mattress, gasping for air as she laid on her side.

"No!” she heaved, cringing as each pulse of blood hit her like a hammer to the back of her skull. “No...It's over. It’s over, it's over, it's over..." She whispered weakly to herself, curling snugly around her teddy bear. "It's over, I'm safe, it's fine..."

* * *

“It’s okay...It’s all fine…” Pinkie mumbled as she tossed and turned through the night. Though safely tucked under the blanket’s warm embrace, she still felt vulnerable. No matter what she tried, no matter how much she wanted it to end, she couldn’t bring herself to stop thinking about him.

His voice echoed in her head on an endless loop, never ceasing for even a moment. Every time she turned her back towards the door, she could sense him approaching from behind. Feel his hot breath on her shoulder.

It was like he was still there, endlessly torturing her without even a shred of remorse. All Pinkie wanted was a bit of shut-eye. She only wished to lay back, relax, and escape from this world, if only for a few hours. It was such a simple thing to ask for, yet it was still out of her reach.

She growled softly, re-adjusting her posture yet again. Briefly, she opened her eye to glance at the red glow of the digital alarm clock on the nightstand.

Three-thirty-seven in the morning.

“Ugh!” She screamed, slamming her head back down onto her pillow. She scowled at the tiled ceiling, silently cursing whatever outside force was depriving her of her much-needed rest. She already couldn’t relax enough to get to sleep, and it didn’t help that some stupid little column of light was now shining squarely on her.

“Wait...huh?”

Pinkie sat up, shielding her eye from the intrusive beam of light. She squinted towards the source of the light, a slightly opened door that led to one of the hospital’s many hallways.

It was weird, though. Pinkie remembered distinctly hearing the door click shut when Redheart left the room all those hours ago. To her dismay, she’d been awake the entire time, and she hadn’t heard the door open at any point.

“Hmm.’ Pinkie hummed to herself, slowly making her way out of the bed with the blanket still wrapped around her. Her legs, still relatively weak and emaciated, shook as they approached the cold tile floor. According to one of the nurses, she was fed via feeding tube while she was still unconscious, so she had enough energy to at least walk a few feet. Or, at least she hoped so.

Pinkie felt herself go lightheaded for a moment as she stood up, having not done so in quite some time. In fact, she almost had to remind herself how to properly walk, as if she had lost the muscle memory. Once she regained control, however, she gradually made her way over to the other side of the room.

“Ow...nngh...ow…” she cringed, her brand-new stitches radiating pain as she moved. Every little step pulled at the fragile strings, creating a brief, yet very uncomfortable flash of pain.

This wouldn’t be a huge problem if Pinkie only had a few stitches, but they covered her entire body. Her backside, legs, and even her face had suffered deep wounds from the whipping she had received. As a result, Pinkie was forced to move quite slowly, both from the fear of unweaving her stitches and the pain that gripped her with every slight movement.

Pinkie looked back towards her bed, her regret clear in her face. At this point, she was still closer to the bed than she was to the door, so she might as well just-

“Huh?” Pinkie gasped, whipping her head back towards the door. In the few seconds that her head had been facing the other way, Pinkie heard the sound of the door in question very loudly creaking open.

Pinkie stared in awe at the figure standing in the doorframe between the light of the hallway and the darkness of the room. She didn’t even have to look at his thin build, his dark blue coat, or his yellow eyes to know who stood there. All she needed was the horn. His razor-sharp horn.

“Did you miss me?” Pokey said, taking a few strides into the room.

“N-no! No, please…” Pinkie stuttered, taking just as many steps back. She cringed hard as she did so, her movements pulling as the stitches on her backside.

Pokey picked up the pace, approaching Pinkie as she did what she could to back away. “No? Well, that’s a shame, wouldn’t you say?”

“No! Get away! Somepony help me!”

“Aw, don’t be scared, Pinkie Pie!” Pokey said, continuing to move closer, but in seemingly random directions. This erratic pattern forced Pinkie to move similarly in the opposite direction, like a wolf herding a flock of sheep. “I just want to say a proper goodbye!” Once she was close enough to where he wanted her, Pokey jumped at her, sending Pinkie reeling in the opposite direction.

Just like Pokey had hoped, Pinkie immediately collided with the wall and collapsed to the floor few feet away from the night stand. On the way down, Pinkie’s face hit the corner of the table, slicing her lower lip cleanly open.

“Ow, ow, ow…” Pinkie whined, sensing the metallic taste of her own blood as it dribbled into her mouth. But before she could even think to spit it out, Pokey pounced on top of her.

He pressed a single foreleg on top of Pinkie’s stomach, pressing down hard to ensure the still-frail mare would be unable to fight back. Her distended stomach, filled by a feeding tube, was soft and pliable, jiggling around ever so slightly as Pinkie squirmed violently under it.

“No! NO! STOP!” Pinkie screamed, turning her face towards the wall. “I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me! Please, please please!”

Pokey laughed ominously. “Oh... I’m gonna hurt you.”

“No, I didn’t do anything! I-I’m begging y-you, please!”

Pinkie pressed her face into the wall, wailing loudly as she waited for somepony to come save her. She cried and screamed as loud as she could, but nopony ever came to her aid. No matter how much she suffered, nopony seemed to care.

Over the past few weeks, Pinkie had learned that hope was useless. It didn’t matter how much she wanted to not believe it, ponies only cared about themselves. The only thing she had to look forward to was more suffering.

And she didn’t have to wait long. Before Pinkie could even process the fading sound of her nightstand rolling away, it came back. The rickety sound of the plastic wheels sailing across the tile floor grew ever louder until Pinkie’s head was suddenly forced into the wall.

The nightstand in question was a hefty structure, made of dense, heavy wood. Its four legs featured lockable wheels on the bottom, allowing the table to both remain stationary and be moved around freely without having to be picked up. For an object of its weight and girth, this feature was a necessity.

Pinkie’s head was crushed between the heavy table and the wall, the impact of her skull leaving a large dent in the soft drywall. With no shortage of screaming, Pinkie Pie fell backwards, holding her pulsating head between her hooves. Both the back of her head and her forehead now featured large, red bumps.

With the side of Pinkie’s head now exposed, Pokey again slammed the nightstand as hard as he could into it, reveling in the sound of her horrified shrieks as he carried out the attack. Then, like he had done mere seconds beforehand, he once again pulled it away, letting a small trickle of blood seep out of Pinkie’s ear before driving the wooden table into the same spot.

“HELP ME! HELP MEEEE!” Pinkie screamed in agony. Or at least, she thought she did. The searing pain gripping every inch of her head was so great that she could barely even hear herself as she cried for anypony who could make her suffering stop. That and, of course, the fact that the fragile internal structures of her ears were crushed to pieces with every successive blow. The one thing she was sure of, however, was the unending, high-pitched ringing in her ears.

“You thought you could get away from me that easily?” Pokey hissed, pulling the nightstand back even farther than before. “Do you even know who I am?” He closed his eyes for a brief moment, focusing his magical energy. Then, in a surge of rage, he slung the table forward, sending it reeling towards Pinkie. The the wheel-bound piece of furniture slid across the smooth floor in a flash, its sharp corner impacting Pinkie’s temple in less than a second.

The sharp wooden corner dug into the sensitive cavity, dyeing the side of her head red as a river of blood flowed across it. Droplets of blood flung across the room in every direction as Pokey crushed Pinkie’s skull with the blunt, heavy object.

Again and again, Pokey hit her, cracking Pinkie’s skull a little bit more each time. She could feel the blood sloshing around her brain cavity even as her movements slowed down, the central organ being slowly crushed between the table and the wall.

She could feel herself slipping. Any moment now, she would walk into the light, and pass into the next life...

* * *

But then, In an instant, Pinkie stood up in her bed, gasping for breath.

“NO! HELP ME! HELP!” She shrieked, instinctively placing her hooves on her head. “HEEEELP! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!” She screamed relentlessly at the top of her lungs. Unable to control herself, she shrieked mindlessly until she ran out of breath, falling backwards into the soft pillows behind her.

It wasn’t long before Nurse Caduceus, the night shift nurse, came rushing into the room. "Pinkie Pie! Are you okay? What happened?"

Pinkie shook her head vigorously, her face contorted into a horrified grimace. "He's in here! Get him away from me!" She sobbed, hiding her face behind her forehooves. "I don't wanna go back! Please!"

At that, Caduceus turned on the lights as quickly as she could. She scanned the room, checking every nook and cranny, but her search came up dry. "Who? Who's in here?" She asked, ducking under a bed across the room. The only response she received, however, came in the form of a panicked, muffled whimper from under the covers.

Caduceus sighed. "Nopony's here, Pinkie. You just had a bad dream." She said, walking up to the side of the bed.

"N-no, I know I saw him!" Pinkie replied, poking half of her head above the blanket. "He tried to kill me! I know he's here, I-I-"

"You're just seeing things, Pinkie. You're safe here. "

“B-but...I saw him...it was so real…”

“Everything’s going to be okay.”

Pinkie panted and shifted up a bit, still holding her blanket close to her chest. No words were spoken by either party for a few seconds, the space filled instead with sniffling and the occasional quiet moan. "Promise?" Pinkie finally squeaked, staring at the point in the room most opposite to where the nurse stood.

Caduceus surrounded the blanket with her aura and tucked Pinkie under the covers. “Yes, Pinkie Pie. I promise.”

* * *

Waking up grumpy ponies was nothing new to Nurse Redheart, or anypony in her profession, really. Over many years in her career, she had had her fair share of obscenities screamed at her by angry patients. It all came with the territory.

This morning, however, Redheart hadn’t needed to worry about such problems. Pinkie Pie, her trauma patient, was already awake when she entered the room. The first thing she saw upon opening the door was Pinkie hunched over her bed, staring at the bottom of her hooves.

“Miss Pie?” Redheart said, wheeling in a cart stocked with various medical supplies, as well as a hot meal. “You’re up already?”

Pinkie’s head shot up at the sound of her name. She said nothing, simply staring nervously at Redheart until she spoke again.

Redheart politely waited a few seconds for a response before eventually realizing that she wasn’t going to get one. “Well, um...I hope you managed to get some rest! I brought a nice warm breakfast for you, but-”

“I didn’t”. Pinkie said flatly, never taking her eyes off her hooves.

“Y-you mean you didn’t get any sleep last night?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Oh, well…” Redheart said, making an worried face while she unpacked the cart next to her patient. “You’ll have plenty of time for naps today. Like I was saying, I brought you breakfast, but you have to promise to be good while I change some of your bandages, okay?” She said, parking her supply cart next to the bed.

Pinkie made a short, monotone noise to convey her understanding.

Redheart surrounded Pinkie’s left hoof in her light-pink magical aura and pulled it towards her so she could begin. She didn’t get very far, however, before Pinkie began to squirm around in protest.

“NO, STOP!” She yelped, shaking her hoof around to try to extinguish Redheart’s aura.

Not wanting to upset her patient, Redheart complied and cut off the spell. “What’s wrong, Miss Pie?” She said, raising an eyebrow.

“N-not like that!” Pinkie pleaded, sounding as if she had just narrowly escaped some horrible fate. “Just use your mouth, okay?”

"Oh, um..." Redheart replied, scrunching up her muzzle at the odd request. "Of course, dear."

Complying with Pinkie’s request, Redheart began unfurling the day-old gauze on Pinkie’s left hoof, where there was a ring of several deep puncture wounds. After throwing the old bandage in the trash, she wiped down the affected area, applied some gel to a new bandage, and wrapped it tightly around Pinkie’s wrist.

Poor girl… Redheart thought, looking up at Pinkie with pity in her eyes as she began to repeat the process on the opposite hoof, though Pinkie did not return her gaze. She continued to simply stare off into space, as if she was deep in thought.

She looked awful. Dark bags had formed under her bloodshot eyes overnight. All over her frail body, what was left of her malnourished muscles trembled uncontrollably. Whether or not she ever got to sleep was a mystery, as every time Redheart asked, she was met with a quiet, disconnected mumble. Even with Pinkie’s vague answers, however, it didn’t take a world-class detective to figure out that she had probably been up all night.

The cotton pad peeled backwards off of Pinkie's left eye, along with a thick layer of goo that now coated the underside. Redheart kept a professional demeanor about her, as she was trained to do, but didn't mean she couldn't grimace in disgust on the inside. And she most definitely did so.

Quickly throwing the dirty pad in a biohazard bin, Redheart levitated into the air a sanitary wipe from the table next to her. "Now, this may hurt a bit, Pinkie. Are you ready?" She said, awkwardly holding the sanitary wipe in her mouth above Pinkie's empty eye socket. She was poised to strike when she got the OK. Politely looking at the wall behind Pinkie, She waited for a few seconds before looking back.

"Pinkie?" Redheart asked, looking down at her patient's heavily disfigured face.

Pinkie simply laid motionless in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She breathed in and out slowly.

"Pinkie Pie?" Redheart asked again, clicking her hooves together in front of Pinkie's face.

"Huh?" Pinkie finally responded, breaking her gaze to look at Nurse Redheart for a moment. "What?"

Redheart raised an eyebrow. "Are you ready?" She inquired, shaking the sanitary wipe around in front of her patient for emphasis.

Pinkie started hesitantly at the slick, fibrous rag for a few seconds before speaking up. "Um...yeah." She finally said, turning away mid-sentence.

“Okay, hold still.” Redheart pressed the wipe into the eye socket, wiping up the excess goo that had built up under the sterilized cotton pad. Or, at least, she tried to. As soon the alcohol-soaked rag touched the sensitive lining of her empty eye socket, Pinkie yelped and jolted away.

"Ow!" Pinkie barked, scowling at Redheart. "Watch what you're doing with that!"

"O-oh, I-" Redheart stuttered, taking a step back. "I'm sorry, I-"

"You know what? Just go away! Leave me alone!" Pinkie sneered, raising her voice to a level she'd never reached before.

Redheart looked around awkwardly. Unfortunately for her, she was the only nurse currently in the room.

She cast her gaze towards Pinkie's teddy bear, currently squished between the side of the bed and Pinkie's hindquarters. She levitated it into the air and set in Pinkie's lap. "Pinkie, dear, I know it hurts, but I have to-"

“NO!” Pinkie screamed. She batted the stuffed animal away, sending it flying across the room. It landed with a crash as it hit a pile of medicine bottles a few feet away.

Redheart rolled her eyes. Ugh...

* * *

Fluttershy politely placed a hoof over her mouth and yawned. Only the constant ticking of the clock reminded her that time was, in fact, still moving forward in the hospital waiting room.

She was seated next to Rarity, who had, much to her dismay, taken the last available magazine. It wasn’t as if her mind was unoccupied without it, however. Both she and Rarity had been waiting for at least an hour, and in that time, neither of them had moved an inch away from the edge of their seats. Fluttershy only wished for a distraction from the constant worry. Not to mention that the magazine in question featured an article on pet accessories for the winter season.

“What do you think is taking so long?” Fluttershy whispered, turning to face the pony beside her. She spoke as softly as possible, though she still looked around the room sheepishly in case anypony had thought otherwise.

“I haven’t the slightest clue.” Rarity said, setting the January issue of Canterlot Fashion Monthly down on the seat next to her. She lightly bit her lip while she mindlessly tapped her hooves together. “But I know I’m not moving an inch until I see Pinkie.”

Fluttershy nodded sweetly in agreement. “I can’t help but worry about Rainbow and Applejack, too. I mean, if they didn’t find her, who did? And where are they? It’s been almost a week since they left to look for Pinkie Pie.”

“Oh, dear, I hadn’t even thought about that...” Rarity replied. “Though I’m sure they’re all right. I bet they’re on their way back as we speak. Those two know what they’re doing as long as they stay together.”

Fluttershy looked at the worn-down carpet below her. “I sure hope so.”

Without anything else to say, Rarity shuffled a bit in her seat and looked up at the clock. Fluttershy did the same, prompting both of them to sit in silence for a few moments before realizing that the conversation ended there.

Leaning back again, Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath that ultimately ended up as a yawn.

"...but they were able to find her within a few hours and save her life, don't you think that's worth it?"

Fluttershy's ears perked up at the sound of a hushed female voice from across the room. Curious, and with nothing better to do, she looked up to find the voice’s owner to be one of the receptionists behind the counter. Hoping her friend would also take notice, Fluttershy glanced briefly at Rarity, though she was apparently too engrossed in whatever article she was reading to notice.

"I don't care! Those Royal Guard brutes broke a precious vase that's been in my family for generations!" The other receptionist, a dark blue stallion, retaliated, raising his voice in the process. "I don't care how much the Princess likes her, she can't just disregard the Constitution like that! She needs to be put away!"

The other receptionist, a petite, light brown mare, rolled her eyes in response. "Did you not pay any attention in school? The Princess is allowed to do that in the case of a national emergency, according to your precious Constitution. Plus, it's not like she can just decide to do it out if the blue, she had to have the unanimous approval of the Royal Council!"

"Pssh. Yeah. The Royal Council. Who do you think appoints them?" The stallion retaliated, now having raised his voice to the point where everypony in the waiting room, including Rarity, was staring at him.

The female receptionist rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, would you keep it down? And don't turn this into one of your crazy conspiracy theo-"

"Excuse me?" A familiar voice greeted, sending the argument to a screeching halt. The two receptionists looked up in unison, but neither of them spoke a word.

"I-I'd like to schedule a visit to room 233, please." The voice continued. She was quiet and reserved with her speech, stumbling over her words as if embarrassed by the fact that the room’s attention was now cast solely onto her.

"P-Princess Twilight." The female receptionist greeted nervously, bowing forward in respect to the best of her ability with the counter in the way.

The stallion behind the counter remained still. "Oh, look who it is, Despot Twilight. Oh wait, am I allowed to say that, or are you going to take away my right to free speech, too?"

Twilight frowned and looked down, blushing hard. "What? I-"

"D-Don't mind him, your majesty." The mare stuttered, blushing just as much, if not more than the princess before her. She rubbed her quivering hooves together, staring down at the counter below her. "We'll p-put you in the queue. Take a, u-um, please, um… take a seat over there, please. Your- your highness."

"Thanks..." Twilight muttered sheepishly, still staring intently at the carpet. Her face was flushed a deep red as she stumbled away from the most awkward exchange she had ever experienced in her life.

She soon looked up, however, at the sound of her own name being called from the other end of the waiting room.

"Oh! Hi, Twilight." Fluttershy said, waving at her friend.

The greeting was immediately followed by Rarity. “Twilight! So good to see you again, darling.”

Fluttershy smiled sweetly at Twilight as she took a seat next to her. “Rarity and I were wondering if you would show up today.”

“Mmm.” Twilight nodded back, leaning forward as discreetly as possible to see what Fluttershy did with her wings. She mimicked the position, though her recent alicorn growth spurt made the task quite difficult. Her hips had grown wider and her shoulders taller, making for a less-than-comfortable seating arrangement.

"Is everything alright?" Fluttershy said, watching Twilight squirm about in the chair.

"Yup!" Twilight quickly replied, squeezing her wings between the sides of the chair. "Yup, it's all good. Yup." She said, faking a smile. "How long have you two been here?"

Rarity stifled a giggle while she carefully examined her hooficure. "Mmmh, about an hour, I'd say."

“Oh, heh. Sorry for the late arrival. I’ve just been really busy trying to run the country while Celestia and Luna are sorting things out in the Griffon Kingdom. I can’t believe it’s taking this long to solve a simple trade dispute.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Rarity said, levitating a brush to comb her mane. “We came a bit late ourselves. Pinkie’s family actually came to visit her earlier. You just missed them.”

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed, though she was honestly more put off by the statement than she was excited. The mere mention of Pinkie Pie or her family was enough to send adrenaline into every nook and cranny of her body. ”Um, how...how were they?”

“Well…” Rarity began, pressing a forehoof to her lips while she thought of a proper response. “They seemed a bit, um, how to put this...they seemed...off.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side. “Off?”

“Well, I don’t really know how to explain it.” Rarity said, raising an eyebrow. “They weren’t exactly what I would describe as ‘relieved’.”

“Oh.” Twilight said, teeth chattering. She could feel her heart racing as a sharp feeling of dread sank into her stomach.

Her interaction with Pinkie’s family was still fresh in her mind. The look on their faces as they pleaded for her rescue. The sound of their tired, mournful voices. It was all she could think about for hours after the fact, and now, it all came rushing back.

It was Pinkie’s father, however, who was most ingrained in her memory. As he spoke to her, somewhere in his red, bloodshot eyes, behind all the sadness and despair, there was hope. Trust. The look he gave her as he begged for his daughter’s safety was one Twilight wouldn’t soon forget. For Twilight, the simple thought of failing him was the stuff of nightmares.

That’s what frightened her the most. If Pinkie is okay, why wouldn’t they be happy? Did I act too late? Did I let them down?

Fluttershy leaned forward in her chair to meet Twilight’s gaze. “Twilight? Is everything okay?”

“Um, yeah, it’s n-nothing.” Twilight said, shaking her head to break her trance-like train of thought. Her eyes moved about the room as she tried to come up with something to change the subject. “What about Applejack and Rainbow Dash? Are they on their way?”

Rarity turned her head to the side. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They came back to Ponyville after Pinkie was found, right?” Twilight said, her voice faltering slightly.

“No, darling, we haven’t heard from them in days.” Rarity said. She turned to Fluttershy, who nodded in agreement. “I wouldn’t worry too much about them though. As I was telling Fluttershy, the situation with Pinkie is national news, so I’m sure they’ve heard and are on their way back as we speak.

“I really hope so...” Twilight said, her gaze trailing off yet again.

Before Twilight had time to get caught in another anxious trance, the female receptionist piped up from across the room. "Rarity and Fluttershy?" she said, prompting the aforementioned ponies to stand up and make their way towards the front desk.

Rarity leaned forward on the counter. "The maximum party size for non-family members is three, correct?” she said, gesturing towards Twilight. “In that case, she’s with us.”

The stallion behind the counter rolled his eyes. "Fine. You have forty-five minutes."

* * *

The female receptionist knocked on the door and cracked it open enough to fit her head through. "Pinkie Pie?" She began,"You have visitors."

Pinkie whined a bit as she stirred from her nap. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up slightly and fixed her gaze across the room. "More visitors?." She deadpanned, looking at the soft-spoken receptionist for only a brief moment before redirecting her gaze elsewhere.

"Well, u-um, Princess Twilight is here, as well as two of your friends, Rarity and, um-” Not wanting to have to ask, she thought hard for a moment, her head still poking into the other room. “Uh, Rarity and-”

“Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked, sounding a lot more angry than was probably warranted.

“Y-yes, her.” She finally spat out. “Um, they'll be here in a moment." the receptionist said, closing the door. Hesitantly, she turned to face the three ponies behind her, her cheeks fully flushed. “Oh my goodness, I’m so, so sorry about that!" she pleaded, opting to look at Fluttershy’s fine, pedicured hooves rather than her face.

Fluttershy blushed just as much, if not more than the receptionist. “It’s okay, really. It happens a lot more often than you would think.” she reassured.

“Well, um, I suppose you three can go in now.” The receptionist continued, still thoroughly embarrassed with herself. “Um, please try to not stare. Your friend has been through a lot, and she's pretty, um..." She paused for a moment to find the right word. "...disfigured." She concluded bluntly.

"Thank you, miss." Twilight said, faking a grin. She moved a few steps towards the door until she was face-to-face with the five-by-two foot slab of wood. All she had to do was open the door and walk into the room. That was it. But in that moment, Twilight felt so small, so helpless, so afraid of what she would find behind that door. She froze up, unable to move a single muscle out of pure dread.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy peeped behind her. “She said you can go in now.”

Twilight nodded. “Oh, uh, yes. Of course.”

The simple act of opening a door towered over her like a massive colossus. She had fought off a vengeful sibling, a crazed demigod, a deceptive half-pony, and slave-driving shadow-stallion, but in that moment, Twilight fought the hardest battle she’d ever had to face thus far. She was now living in the moment she had been dreading ever since she had learned that perhaps she had made a mistake. That perhaps this could have been prevented.

That perhaps this was all her fault.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight leaned forward, transferring a portion of her weight into the door. Like magic, it yielded to her actions, swinging backwards until there was an adequate amount of room for her to pass through. The whole process took place in ultra slow-motion, as if Twilight’s brain was desperately trying everything it could to delay what was about to happen.

Then, it was done.

With the door wide open, Twilight closed her eyes, taking slow strides into the spacious area. She was followed by Rarity and Fluttershy, who both stopped in their tracks as soon as they found the courage to look up.

Nothing they could have imagined could have prepared them for this.

Before them was their friend, Pinkie Pie, covered from head to hoof in bandages. Gauze, stitches, and cotton pads were strewn about her body in seemingly random places, covering up an almost endless amount of wounds.

Her legs, face, and presumably, her body, was totally devoid of fat and muscle tissue, leaving her bones clearly visible. Large, black and yellow bruises covered large swaths of her skin.

What disturbed them the most, however, was her heavily disfigured face. Though nopony would admit it to themselves, Pinkie now resembled some kind of abomination. The two halves of her face, split in half by a deep wound, were held together by a series of stitches that ran diagonally down her face. Though not visible under the large cotton pad, her left eye had been replaced by an empty socket.

Twilight felt her knees turn to jelly. Her entire body shook as regret gripped her heart. “Pinkie Pie?” She choked out.

“Hey girls.” Pinkie mumbled, glancing at them for only a moment before returning her gaze to the hospital’s white tile floor. Her face remained totally still, without so much as a twitch on either side of her mouth.

Tears formed in the corners of Twilight’s eyes as she stood there, speechless.

This is your fault. You could have stopped this.

“No…” She begged, doing everything in her power to deny the grim reality before her. “Please, no…”

"We're so glad to see you again, Pinkie! We were all so worried!" Rarity spoke up, smiling sweetly and trotting ahead of Twilight.

Pinkie, on the other hand, crossed her forelegs and scowled in response. A single, flat, “Okay.” was all Rarity received in return.

Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged worried looks before turning their attention back to Pinkie. “Pinkie, dear?” Rarity asked, a small bit of apprehension present in her voice.

Pinkie made an audible exhalation to signify her frustration.“What? I said okay.”

“I-I, um, I don’t, ah…” Rarity stumbled. Even her conversational expertise wasn’t fine-tuned enough to handle the situation. “I just wanted to say that, ah, we’re all here because we love you, a-and, we want to help you get through this.” She said, ending her statement with a smile as awkward as the delivery of what preceded it.

Pinkie did not concede or show any kind of emotion. “Okay. Fine.” She said bluntly, not even putting in enough effort to make eye contact with her message’s recipient.

It was like trying to converse with a brick wall. Only their own thoughts could punctuate their severely limited dialogue as the three tried to get their mouths to keep up with what their senses told them. This isn’t Pinkie Pie, They thought to themselves in unison. What happened to her?

“Pinkie?” Fluttershy finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. She trotted over to the bed and placed a forehoof on Pinkie’s freshly bandaged shoulder in an attempt to console her. “Is everything okay? We’re here for you, Pinkie.” she said with a slight, yet loving smile.

“Ow!” Pinkie grunted loudly, frantically wiggling away from the unwanted physical contact.

Fluttershy quickly withdrew her hoof. “O-oh, I’m sorry, I should ha-”

“Don’t touch me there, stupid!” Pinkie interrupted, smacking Fluttershy hard on the wrist. “Don’t touch me at all! Just step away!”

Fluttershy complied, not hesitating to immediately take a few strides away from Pinkie. “I-I’m sorry, really! I didn’t know!” She said, her voice quivering.

It was like she was talking to an entirely different pony. Gone was the happy, cheerful, friendly Pinkie Pie who loved nothing but to smile and eat candy. What she saw instead was the sad, angry, disfigured shell of that pony.

As both Fluttershy and Rarity stood there, speechless, they were eventually joined by Twilight.. She, like the other two ponies, kept her distance, not wanting to distress Pinkie any further.

Once again, the conversation, if one could call it that, came to a screeching halt. The constant humming of the various medical equipment strewn about the room was all there was to listen to as the three ponies fathered their thoughts.

Each second of silence was excruciating. Nopony knew quite what to say, or, to be more precise, if they should bother to speak at all.

But eventually, a weak, yet angry voice broke the silence. “Why didn’t you come for me?” Pinkie said, finally lifting her head up. For the first time since the conversation had begun, Pinkie stared directly into Twilight’s eyes.

Twilight returned the gaze, her pupils trembling as she stared at Pinkie’s mangled visage. “What?” was all she managed to say.

“Am I just not important enough?” Pinkie continued, her voice becoming more strained as tears began to well. “Did you just not care?” Her hurt, angry stare was like a dagger through Twilight’s heart.

Twilight only stood there, mouth hanging agape. She was speechless, unable to move or think as her mind scrambled to process what she was hearing. As the moment she had been dreading came to life before her eyes, Twilight wanted nothing more than to run and hide, shutting herself away from the rest of the world.

But, of course, she couldn’t. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. She wanted to collapse to the floor and beg for forgiveness, but she couldn’t. She was trapped, with no choice but to watch in horror as her world came crashing down around her.

“You were never really my friends, were you?” Pinkie went on with her rant, her face glistening with tears. Her chest heaved in and out, making her words almost unintelligible as she began to hyperventilate. “You n-never cared about me! T-the only one w-who really c-c-cared was-”

Pinkie hesitated for a brief moment, looking up at the ceiling. “R-Rai-” she tried to say, stuttering as her lips trembled. “She...she-”

Pinkie collapsed forward, crying uncontrollably into her sheets.

“Rainbow?” Fluttershy whispered, watching the scene unfold before her. Before she could say another word, however, she was interrupted.

“What’s going on in here?” Called a female voice, accompanied by the sound of a door slamming open.

Startled, Twilight quickly turned around to see a older nurse hurrying into the room. “I, um…” she mumbled, looking back at Pinkie, then back again at the nurse, trying to come up with some kind of worthy explanation. Unfortunately, she didn’t even understand what was going on herself. “I-I don’t know, I just-”

“Maybe you should leave.” The nurse interrupted, gesturing towards the door.

“But-”

“Please. Go.” The nurse interrupted, putting no effort into hiding her scowl.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Twilight muttered, hanging her head as she led her two friends toward the exit, They all took one final glance at Pinkie Pie before complying with the nurse’s request.

* * *

In one quick burst of magical energy, the door, as well as the blinds that lined the windows of Twilight’s private quarters, were slammed shut.

“UUUGGHH! I HATE THIS!” Twilight shrieked, using the same magic to push a collection of books off the shelf above her desk. Each of the thick tomes crashed to the floor, destroying the fragile binding of some and sending pieces of paper flying across the room. “IT’S NOT FAIR!” She went on, tearing open a pillow and letting its soft, cotton guts spill out over the floor.

Twilight continued her rant in the minutes that followed, listening to her own, anger-filled voice as it echoed off the thick marble walls of the Canterlot Royal Palace. She screamed and shouted, steadily racking up furniture-casualties as she massacred her belongings in a blind rage.

When her fit was finally over, she collapsed at the foot of her bed, resting her aching head on the now-barren mattress. “Unngghh…” She moaned as the dust settled around her, her mind on the edge of collapsing under the myriad of emotions that stirred inside her.

Just a few minutes ago, Twilight had been looking down, hiding her face as she walked through Canterlot’s pristine streets. Though the Castle and the Royal Hospital were only five minutes apart on hoof, that distance seemed ten times longer.

If she had dared to raise her head, she would have no doubt met the countless pairs of eyes stabbing into her side from every street, sidewalk, and storefront of Equestria’s capital city. As the ambient noises of the city flew in and out of her ears, she could hear her name combined with words she didn’t care to repeat.

It made her sick to her stomach.

She wasn’t cut out for this, and she knew it. All she wanted was stay in her room forever, hiding under what remained of her covers, never to be seen again.

What was I supposed to do? Let her die? She thought, her steadily-flowing tears soaking into the mattress. She thought she was doing the right thing, but all she ended up doing was make one of her best friends, in addition to everypony across Equestria, detest her.

She missed the simple days, when all she had to worry about was writing silly little reports to the Princess. All the little adventures she used to have with her friends now seemed so far away.

She missed Applejack and Rainbow Dash. She cringed as she thought of the last time she saw them, the last thing she said to them before they stormed out of the library. She wished she could take it all back and tell them how much she loved them, how sorry she was for ever doubting them.

What if something happened to them, too? What if…

Twilight moaned as if she were being burned alive. This is all my fault, she repeated over and over in her head like a broken record. I could have stopped this.