A Whole New World

The first thing I could hear was a high-pitched beeping. It happened every second or so, and it was starting to get annoying. What the hell is that? Can't I enjoy this comfortable bed in pea... Wait, bed?

I looked at my surroundings. I was lying in a bed, with my toes sticking out of the sheets at the end. The room was empty and bare, except for a heart monitor, which turned out to be the source of the beeping. The entire room smelled like it had been cleaned recently. Wait, I know that smell. I took a sniff of the air. This smells awfully like a hospital. There was a door in the wall opposite me, and a window on my right lit the room. I could hear birds singing outside, it sounded peaceful.

I tried to sit up, but my stomach screamed with pain, and I almost collapsed again. I lifted the bedsheets off, and was shocked by the sight. My stomach was a mass of purple and black, which started just above my waist, and ended in line with my sternum. Almost the entire area was covered in bandages, and I could see where blood had escaped through split skin. I ran my fingers along it, but it was tender, and the stinging discouraged me. I threw the sheets back over me; I was starting to feel sick just by looking at it.

I tried to focus on something other than my wounds, and started to hear voices outside my door. It sounded like two ponies, both in a heated discussion. I recognised one voice as Applejack, but the other one was new to me.

"I'm not sure if we can Applejack. The doctors have never seen anything like it before."

"Ya mean you've never seen anythin' like him before." Applejack almost sounded angry, "Ah've spoken to him nurse, he's a pony in every way except how he looks! Plus, he saved mah sister's life! You've treated donkeys here before, why is he any different?"

I heard the nurse sigh, "Alright, we'll treat him here. But he can't stay forever, I'm afraid he'll have to leave as soon as he can walk. He's been making doctors and patients alike nervous."

"Thanks Nurse Redheart. Ah'll have to buy you a drink later."

"Ha, more than one."

I decided I should let them know I was awake, "Hello?" Almost immediately the door swung open and Applejack trotted in, followed by a white pony with a red cross on her flank. Applejack went over to my side and propped herself on the edge of the bed. "Thank Celestia yer awake Dutch. How do ya feel?"

That's quite an odd question considering where I am now, "Actually, I feel like I got punched by a manticore, but apart from that I feel fine."

Applejack chuckled at the answer, and replied, "Speaking of which, is me standing over your body nursing you back to health going to become a regular thing?"

I felt I had to make a comeback to that, "That depends how many times I think up crazy ideas, like fighting a lion that's twice my height!"

We both laughed now. I felt pain in my stomach after every laugh, but it was worth it. I turned to the nurse, a smile still on my face, "So, how am I?"

The nurse reviewed a clipboard she had been carrying on her back, "Well, we did some x-rays of your torso, but we could only make rough guesses because of how... unique you are."

"Well, it's better than nothing." I replied. I'd rather they knew something rather than nothing.

"But it doesn't look good," she took some X-ray photos off the clipboard and hung them on the wall in front of a light. My smile vanished and I almost fainted. Was that my rib cage? Where was the other half?

"You're lucky to be alive after whatever hit you," the nurse started. She pointed up at the x-ray, "I'm going to assume that these are you're ribs, but six of them have been shattered from the impact. Four more have broken, with another three cracked. You're also suffering from a huge amount of internal bleeding. We've tried to do as much as we can, but I think you're going to be here for a while."

Wow. I've never been in this bad of a shape, not even close. "Jeez, is that all?" I asked rhetorically.

The nurse didn't seem amused by this however, and shut me up by saying, "No. Unfortunately, the damage to your... hand is permanent. We managed to seal the wound, but there's no way to get it back."

"What do you mean? I don't feel any--, oh." I was cut short as I looked at my left hand. I hadn't been paying attention before, but I think I heard the heart monitor flicker.

My left ring finger was missing just above the first knuckle, and all that was left was a stump. It looked like something out of Assassin's Creed. My mind went back to the fight in the cave. The manticore had hit me with its tail, but I broke free. A shiver went up my spine. It must've been when I was pinned. As I pulled, I must have wrenched my finger off. I asked the nurse if they had a bucket. She understood, and galloped out of the room. When she returned I barely gave her time to back off as I emptied my stomach into the bucket. When I was finished, she pushed it to the corner of the room, acting like it was biological waste.

At this point, Applebloom walked in, and her face lit up as she saw me, "Dutch! Yer awake!" That southern drawl sounds cute on her. She leapt onto the bed, causing me to wince as she brushed my stomach. She apologised, but I brushed it off with a smile.

"It's ok kid. I'm just glad you're not hurt. That manticore did a serious number on me." I coughed, and Applejack started looking concerned, but I thought nothing of it.

We continued to talk for some time, but I felt pain rising in my stomach again. I let out another cough, this time it was longer, and more violent. Applejack had a look of terror on her face. I noticed my hand was covered in blood from my lungs, and I started coughing again. It was getting uncontrollable, and my breathing was becoming faster and more ragged. The heart monitor next to me almost doubled in speed, and started blaring an alarm. The nurse ran out of the room, looking for a doctor. The Apple sisters started looking fearful, and Applejack wrapped my hand in her hooves.

I started feeling light-headed, "Woah, so this is what it feels like," I turned to Applejack, "Hey AJ. I think this is it." Even I was amazed at how calm I was, considering I was dying.

"No, ya can't go. Ya just can't!" Tears were running down Applejack's face. I felt sad now, but I rubbed her hoof to comfort her, "Shh. It's ok AJ. I'm sorry, but I don't think I have a choice in the matter, which completely sucks."

Applebloom was lying next to me, and she was starting to cry too, "Thank you Dutch, fer saving mah life."

I used my free hand to rub her mane, and smiled weakly, "You're a sweet kid Applebloom. It was nice to meet you."

The pain had disappeared now, and the heart monitor was slowing down again. I tried to muscle out a few last words.

"Applejack, Applebloom. I can't thank you enough for helping me. I wish... we could've met... under... better circumstances."

I closed my eyes to let the darkness take me, and the last thing I heard was a doctor's voice shouting, "Bring me the paddles!"

Nurse Redheart ran out of the room and immediately started looking for a doctor. She had only been a professional nurse for a few months now, and she started to panic. She didn't know what Dutch was, but he was dying, and she was determined to prevent that.

She saw the staff room, and burst through the door, where she was lucky enough to catch Doctor Whitebone getting himself some coffee.

"Doctor! We've got a Code Blue in ward 17!" she said. The doctor dropped the cup, and followed the nurse back down the hall, where he found the unusual animal that had been brought in earlier. It's heart rate was slowing, well below that of an animal that size.

"Bring me the paddles!" he shouted, and another pair of nurses arrived wheeling a defibrillator between them. He ordered the Apple ponies to move away, and picked up the paddles. They let off a high-pitched whine as they charged, and he shouted, "Clear!" as he placed them of the animal's chest.

*thump*

I opened my eyes, and looked around. I was in the same black emptiness I had been in before the Everfree Forest. I looked around, but there were no family members, and no ponies with me.

I turned, and saw an eerie light in the distance. I started walking towards it, and in turn, it moved towards me. As I got closer however, I got this feeling of uncertainty. The light felt cold, and it was piercing rather than warming. Is this the light in the tunnel that dead people talk about? I didn't want to find out. I just turned and ran.

I was running as fast as my legs could move, but the light was still gaining on me. It felt like my attempts to flee were hopeless.

Suddenly, there was a deafening bang. I almost fell over from the noise, and my ears were ringing. I looked behind me, and saw that the light had retreated some distance, but it was still moving. I kept running, and this time, I heard a muffled voice before another explosion. The light fell back further. I stopped and turned after a third explosion, and the light was just a tiny flicker in the distance. There was one final bang, and I felt myself getting dragged away by some unknown force.

"Clear!"

Doctor Whitebone placed the paddles on the human one final time, and released the charge. Almost immediately, Dutch started breathing again, and the heart monitor bleeped back to life.

Nurse Redheart let out a sigh of relief, "We've got a rhythm, we've got a pulse."

Whitebone sighed with content, and placed the paddles back onto the machine. The nurses wheeled it out the door, and he followed them. I think I've earned that coffee.

Meanwhile, Nurse Redheart stayed with Dutch to keep an eye on him. Applejack and Applebloom returned to his side too. He was still unconscious, and Redheart explained that it would take some time before his heart would regain strength. They simply nodded, and went to the window to listen to the birds singing.

None of them noticed the hooded figure with the striped face from earlier walk past the door, staring in as it passed.

I yawned as I opened my eyes, and looked around. I was still in the hospital bed, and the moonlight shone in through the window. I switched on a lamp next to me, and saw that the room was empty. But something was different. I don't know how, but I suspected that someone had been in here recently. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a bottle on the table, next to the lamp. It was filled with a red liquid, and there was a picture of a heart on the side. Underneath the bottle was a note. I picked it up, and focused my eyesight to read it.

Your soul is brave, and your heart is true
And for that I will reward you
Drink down this potion, my friend
And all those broken ribs will mend

Creepy, but ok. I picked up the bottle and removed the cork covering it. The contents smelt of cut grass and blood, so I was concerned whether the mystery delivery pony had been truthful. I remembered a method from a bit of survivalist training to test for edible plants, so I decided to test it out on the potion.

I dipped my finger into the mixture, and wiped the drop across my lips. I waited for fifteen minutes, but I didn't feel any burning or discomfort. I figured it was ok so far, and went to level two. I took a small sip of the potion, waiting for half an hour to see what would happen. I felt something move in my stomach, and something stung, but it almost felt beneficial.

After another hour, I thought, "Fuck it," and drank the fluid. After about three minutes, my stomach began to move. It felt like my ribs were shifting, and the movement made the experience excruciating. I buried my face in the pillow to stop myself screaming out, and almost passed out from the pain. Suddenly however, the pain stopped, leaving me gasping for air in an empty hospital room like nothing had happened.

Out of curiosity, I eventually sat up and looked at my stomach. I was amazed. All of the bruising had disappeared as if it had never been there! My hopes rose at another thought, and I looked at my left hand, running the other one across my face.

My hopes dropped again. The stitches were still there, and the finger wasn't. I sighed, but tried to be optimistic with myself. It's just going to be a scar, and when are you going to use your ring finger now?

I felt tired again. Surprisingly, being unconscious doesn't get counted by your body as sleeping. I wasn't going to resist though, at least there was no risk of dying in my sleep now. I relaxed, and let the dreamworld take me away.

I didn't see my family that night.

Thanks for all the feedback. We've passed fifty trackers now, so thanks! It sounds cheesy, but you guys are the ones who keep me going *brohoof*