Ejected Casings

Sitting in a boiling hot bed for day after day after day is not an enjoyable thing. No matter if you are turned on by the strong scent of cleaning products or the constant sedatives being pumped into your veins, what situation I am in is worse than all of that.

I am not even allowed to stand up or walk. I feel like in a week when I'm discharged I may need to go to a physiotherapist to actually make my legs work again.

Propped up against my pillow, eyes barely open, I can see that Fluttershy, the pony who examined my wound on my torso, has sat down on one of the three black leather chairs against the wall opposite me. Opening my eyes to stop squinting, I address her.

"Hi Fluttershy. What are you here for?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you?" she asks in a concerned tone.

"..... Nothing spurred that on."

"Ooopsie.."

"That put aside, why are you here?"

"Well, I spoke to one of the nurses that is assigned to look after you, and she said that your are going to be able to go home tomorrow. She had to go to another patient, so I came here to tell you the news."

I'm being discharged tomorrow? FUCK YEAH! No more lousing around, and I can finally get back in the fight.

"Thanks Fluttershy," I say. "I'm sick of this place as it is."

"No worries. But for now, I recommend that you get some rest."

"Are you a practising nurse or something? You seem to know all about what I should do in this situation."

"No, I'm a veterinarian. My house is full of little animal creatures that I adore so much. You could visit sometime!" She raises her voice to emphasise the final sentence, but I guess she realizes what she just did and shrinks back down to her normal position. "oh, only if you, um, want to that is."

"I'd be honoured." I say with a smile.

This seems to lighten her mood, and she starts walking towards the door.

"Goodbye!" she chirps, waving her hoof at me through the door frame.

"Bye."

Leaning back further into my white pillow, I take Fluttershy's advice and my eyes close, eager to enter the realm of sleep.

I thought that once you fall asleep you are not aware of what is happening in the dream you having unless said dream is lucid. But this is all too real.

I am in a completely black space, and the floor is invisible. It is like glass, but if I were to jump, it would stay intact. Wait. If I can jump, it means I am in control. Well, not completely, but at least of myself.

I don't know what to do. All around me is empty and there is no signs of it changing. So I decide to walk. Not my idea of course, but my natural instincts give me a gut feeling that it is the right idea. I have covered about 50 metres when I feel like there is a separate set of footsteps behind me, walking at the exact same pace I am.

I quickly stop, and so do the footsteps, so I continue. But I can still feel the floor vibrating more than enough for only one person to create. I turn around really fast, in a fruitless attempt to catch whatever was following me. It proves useless. I turn back around, and I am greeted by the horrifying smirking face of Spartacus.

"Boo!"

"PISSNUGGETS!" I scream, flailing my arms wildly as I fall backwards, landing on my ass in a rather pathetic manner.

"Scared you, did I?"

I try to think of a clever sarcastic response, but nothing comes to mind. So instead of embarrassing myself, I just say nothing.  Man, my ass hurts.

"I'm sorry, I believe I asked you a question. If you know what's good for you..." He teleports so he is an inch from my face. I can feel his hot sticky breath. "I suggest you answer it."

His mouth is actually dripping blood. What is this guy? Like an outtake from a shitty Hollywood horror film?! I swallow a huge chunk of my pride, and reply.

"Yes, you sadistic bastard."

He gets up from his crouching position and so do I. He starts to walk in the opposite direction, and I hear him mutter something about filthy language. But I decide I need my questions answered.

"Why in flying fuck are you here now?"

"Hmm?" He turns around and slowly walks towards me. "I said I will torment your every sleeping moment, and I am just doing my job, to be frankly honest."

"But, why not all my other moments in hospital? It would have spiced things up a bit." I say, still glaring up at him. I hate how small I am compared to him. He must 10 feet tall.

"I have other subjects to appear to, not just you. I couldn't be bothered to speak to you either. You actually seem quite barbaric. Well, at least compared to the pretty pony princesses I usually visit."

"You visited Celestia?!" I say this in a concerned voice, as I was sworn to protect her from anything the moment I was admitted into the Royal Guard Unit. Plus, she managed to give me bacon.

"And Luna." He says in a smug tone. "I am in the process of turning them both against you, and I say it is going tremendously well so far."

"What? I protect them, why would they ever turn on me?"

"Tell me Alex, did either princess ever visit you in hospital when you were incapacitated?"

He's right. As much as I hate to admit it, he's right.

"No. They didn't. It was probably because they had other duties to attend to, such as-"

"Quiet, you despicable fool! Neither of them came because they don't want to see you! They hate you! They DESPISE YOU!"

"I bet neither of them came for you either." I say with a smile.

"What was that? You little shit? Huh?"

"Language, foul mouth."

He frowns in a way that could kill someone. But it also means I win.

"Why do you hate me?" I ask. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Do you know who I am?"

"The Lord of Darkness, Spartacus. You told me a while ago."

"Do you know who I was?"

Where is he going with this?

"No..."

"Here let me show you."

His face starts to morph quite disturbingly, his features becoming even more twisted and distorted than usual. Until it finally settles as a human face. I face I recognize.

"Holy shit..." I mutter under my breath.

"That's right. I am Charlie Merit. The person who hated you the most, and the person who you hated the most. Now, I bet your new marefriend wants to see you. Oh, and those stumps on your back? They are wings. Go figure. Hope this isn't too shocking. Bye now."

He starts to walk away, and the area around me starts to deteriorate.

"What?!" I scream in utter bewilderment. "WAIT!"

I wake up with a start. I am still in the hospital room, thank god. I am caked in sweat, as usual. The early morning wisps of sunlight are peeking through the window. Just as my breathing starts to reach normal speeds, Fluttershy walks back in.

"Hey Alex, the nurse says you are ready to be dischar-....... oh... my...."

I look down.

Holy shit, I have hooves.