Jerking awake, Selena barely had enough time to turn her head before a vile, foul-tasting liquid spewed from between her lips and into the bucket placed beside the bed. She retched again, more of the substance escaping her mouth to splatter into the bucket below. At least, she hoped she had managed to get it in the bucket.

A few dry heaves later and she was finally able to catch her breath. Leaning back against the uncomfortably soft pillow, she groaned weakly. Her stomach gurgled loudly, and she placed a hoof on it in an attempt to try and settle the upset organ. It didn’t work.

It had been like this since the chariot flight over to… wherever she was now. Despite being blind, she didn’t do well with heights as there was no easy way for her to tell how far she was off the ground. It also messed with her sense of direction, leaving her dazed, confused, and disoriented.

Not a good place to be for a blind pony.

The nurses… Healers… whatever they were calling themselves had given her some medicine that was supposed to calm her stomach as well as help her sleep. It didn’t really help though, as she’d been waking up on an hourly basis in order for her stomach to void itself of whatever bile had managed to fill it up since the last time she vomited.

This had happened several times as she drifted in and out of sleep, and now she wasn’t entirely sure what time it was. Morning, Afternoon, Evening? She wasn’t sure, but at the moment she didn’t really care. She just wanted her stomach to start behaving.

Eyes still closed, she ran a tongue over her teeth only to grimace at the horrible taste.

“I haven’t had anything to eat,” she muttered. “Why am I throwing up? What am I throwing up?”

Her stomach gurgled in response, and she fought back the urge to heave again. Remembering what one of the nurses had told her earlier, she felt around the edge of the bed with a hoof until she finally managed to find the call nurse button. She pushed the button before letting her hoof fall back across her stomach.

She didn’t have to wait long before the sound of approaching hooves reached her ears. The door swung open, allowing the pony to enter.

“Ms. Selena. You’re awake again,” a feminine voice said. The hooves moved around her bed. “Are we feeling any better yet—ah, I see that’s a negative. Pity. That medicine should be working. I wonder why…” The voice trailed off as the faint sound of magic filled the room. Selena’s ear twitched as the bucket was lifted into the air.

“Oops, it appears some missed the bucket,” the voice said.

“‘m sorry,” Selena mumbled weakly.

“Oh? Oh, no. Don’t apologize, dear,” the voice said, sympathy creeping into her tone. “It’s not your fault, and it’s certainly no trouble to clean up either.” There came another tinkle of magic, and sound of something liquid hitting the bottom of the bucket. “There! Already taken care of. Now just hold on one second while I take care of this.” The hooves retreated, followed by the sound of running water coming from nearby. Selena’s ears flicked before swiveling around, trying to pinpoint the source. A toilet flushed before the hooves returned.

“There we are!” the nurse chirped, placing the bucket back down beside the bed. “How about we give you a bit more medicine.” Selena felt the IV in her leg twitch slightly as the nurse tugged on it, and after a few seconds a cool sensation flowed into her veins. “There! Now, while we wait to see if it decides to work this time, I’m going to ask you a few questions, okay?”

Selena nodded weakly before pausing. Eyes still closed, she tilted her head in the direction of the voice. “Um, I’m… I’m sorry, but what’s your name?”

“Oh… oh my goodness,” the voice gasped. “Forgive me, I completely forgot. My name is Silverheart, and I’m one of the Royal Healers that’s been assigned to you.”

“Silverheart,” Selena muttered, an ear twitching as she put the name and voice into her memory.

“Alright,” Silverheart said as Selena tried to memorize the new information. “I’m just going to ask you a few questions, and you answer to the best of your ability, okay? Okay. First question, are you experience any pain or discomfort anywhere?”

“‘m stomach,” Selena muttered.

“Your stomach?” Silverheart hummed, and Selena picked up the faint sound of a quill scratching on paper. “Is it a sharp pain, and throbbing pain, or just a dull ache?”

“Dull ache.”

“I see. Well, that’s typically normal for somepony who’s been throwing up a lot.” More quill scratching. “Alright, now, do you mind if I touch you? Nothing intrusive, I promise.”

Selena’s brow furrowed slightly, but she gave a small nod. The blankets were pulled back, exposing her body to the cold air of the room. She shivered, having not realized how chilly she was until right now. A few seconds later, a clothed hoof touched her stomach, causing her to flinch.

“Do you have any pain here?” Silverheart asked, giving a gentle push.

“N-no,” Selena stuttered.

“Good. How about here?” Silverheart asked, moving her hoof to the other side of Selena’s stomach and pushing again. “No? Good. How about here? No? Good! And her—”

Selena yipped, her sightless eyes widening as pain flared up in her stomach. The hoof quickly retreated.

“Oh, sorry, hun,” Silverheart hissed. “Thankfully, it looks like it’s just muscle pain for the moment. Just keep an eye on it and if it gets worse, let me or one of the other Healers know. Now, I just have a few more questions then I’ll let you try to get some more sleep, okay?”

The rest of the exam went fairly smoothly. Selena gave short answered, accompanied by a nod or shake of her head. There were several questions that she couldn’t answer, most having to do with her medical history, or more specifically, the medication the nurses at Ponyville General had given her. She had apologized, but Silverheart had assured her that that wasn’t a problem and she’d just send a request for information to the head nurse in Ponyville.

Throughout the questions Silverheart kept her tone warm and friendly, and Selena soon found herself warming up to the Healer. She wouldn’t touch her unless Selena gave permission, and when she did, Silverheart was extremely gentle.

Eventually Silverheart finished with her questions.

“There, that should do it!” she chirped, scratching out one last note. Selena’s ear twitched at the sound of wood on wood, and a small vibration ran through her bed from the foot of it. “I’ll just leave this here for the other Healers, and that concludes our little examination. Now, I need to go attend to other things, but is there anything you need before I go? Blankets? Pillows?”

Selena began to shake her head, only for her stomach to suddenly gurgle loudly. An uncomfortable pressure suddenly made itself known, and she crossed her hind legs with a whimper.

“Ah, yes,” Silverheart said, a hint of mirth in her voice. “I was wondering when you might… those IVs can go right through you sometimes. Okay then. Come on, hun. Let’s get you to the bathroom.” After some maneuvering from Selena, which put more pressure on her stomach and caused her to whimper, she finally managed to get out of the bed. Swaying slightly, she took several shaky steps before her legs went out from under her.

Luckily, Silverheart was there to catch her, and allowed Selena to lean on for support. “Easy, hun. No need to rush. The bathroom isn’t going anywhere.”

“The liquid in my bladder is though,” Selena whimpered, the pressure in her lower stomach growing.

“Oh, don’t worry, dear,” Silverheart tittered. “We can clean up any accident you have. Just take it easy and work on getting better. We Healers will handle the rest.”

Selena frowned, her ears splaying back. While that was kind of Silverheart to say, she still didn’t want to have an accident. Clenching her hind legs together tighter, she allowed the Healer to steady her. She stared to walk forward, but was stopped by a gentle hoof on her shoulder.

“Just one second,” Silverheart said, followed by the chime of magic. There was a small tug on Selena’s IV, and something clipped onto the back of her hospital gown. As she shifted, the object did as well, and she realized that it was her IV bag.

“There,” Silverheart chirped. “All set to go.” With that, the she helped Selena across the room and into the adjacent bathroom.

A few minutes later, Silverheart lead a mortified Selena back to her bed.

“Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Silverheart asked with some amusement.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Selena muttered, her face flushed red.

Silverheart giggled, but she dropped the subject and helped Selena to get back in the bed. As she got situated, the door creaked open, causing Selena’s ear to flick.

Silverheart gasped. “Nightingale? What are you doing here? I thought you were on vacation.”

“I was, until the Princess called me back,” came the reply. The new mare’s voice was raspy, likely from age, but held a kind warmth to it. There was also a slight squeak underneath her words. Ears flicking, Selena turned her head in the mare’s direction. “A little troublesome, of course, but when she explained the situation, I was more than happy to return.”

“I bet,” Silverheart said with a chuckle.

Selena shifted uncomfortably on the bed.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Silverheart gasped. “Forgive me. Selena, this is Nightingale. She’s the Head of the Healers, and she’ll be helping get you better again.”

“Um, h-hello,” Selena stuttered out nervously.

“Hello, Moonborn,” the one called Nightingale said as she moved further into the room. “No need to be nervous. I don’t bite. I’m just here to check on your condition, and see how you’re doing.” The sound of scraping wood came from the foot of the bed as Nightingale picked up the clipboard. There was a brief moment of silence before she cooed softly. “Oh dear. Throwing up at regular intervals. It seems your stomach is not pleased with what’s going on.”

“Medication doesn’t appear to be working very well,” Silverheart added.

“So I see,” Nightingale hummed. “Put her on Ondansetron next and see if that helps.” She put the clipboard back before moving around to the side of the bed. “Alright, let’s just take a peek at how you’re doing. Silverheart, if you could remove her bandages while I do a quick check on her horn.”

There came the sound of magic, and the various bandages on Selena’s body began to loosen. As they did so, something leathery but stiff touched her face, causing her to jump. Reaching up, she ran a hoof curiously over the weird appendage.

This caused Nightingale to let out a small, bark-like laugh. “That’s my wing, Moonborn.”

Selena jerked her hoof back. “Y-your wing? But…”

“Yes, my wing,” Nightingale hummed. “I’m a thestral, a batpony. Think of it as a night-themed version of a pegasus. Bat wings and such. Now, hold still. I need to see how your horn is doing.” Again, the leathery appendage grabbed her face, gently moving her head to the side. The feeling of breath on her horn sent shivers down her spine.

After a few seconds, Nightingale released her head.

“Everything looks good,” she said. “The cracks are healing nicely, and there aren’t any foreign objects lodged in them. They should heal up within a week or so. Now, let’s take a look at your other injuries.”

Selena flinched as Nightingale’s wings suddenly touched her chest. The movement caused Nightingale to hiss, pulling her wings back quickly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hurt you, did I?” she asked, concern in her voice.

Selena shook her head, her ears splaying back. “N-no, I’m just not used to not hearing ponies moving around. You, uh… startled me.”

“Huh, can’t say I’ve ever had that complaint before,” Nightingale hummed. “I’ll try to remember to make more noise in the future, okay?”

Selena nodded, and Nightingale’s wings returned to her chest as the batpony checked over her wounds. She held back a giggle as the tips of the wings danced across her skin, making her squirm slightly. Her ears twitched as the Healer moved, her hooves clopping on the floor with more force as she examined Selena’s cuts and scrapes.

After a few minutes of this, Selena spoke up.

“Um, y-you don’t have to make noise,” she said weakly. “Just, uh… let me know when you’re moving. Like, talk with me, I guess? I mean, you don’t have to, but I just thought I’d… well...”

Nightingale paused before a soft chuckle came from her direction. “As you wish.”

After a few more minutes, Nightingale finally retracted her wings and stepped back.

“Everything looks good,” she said happily, and the corner of Selena’s lips twitched upwards as she noted the tiny squeak in the batpony’s voice again. “The cuts are healing nicely, and from the looks of them, the infection is all but cleared up. Some of them will scar, but your coat should cover them when it starts to grow back in. All-in-all, everything looks decent enough. We’ll just let Silverheart here bandage you back up before letting you rest some more.”

The chime of magic filled the air again, and Selena relaxed as she felt fresh bandages being wrapped around her body and legs. As this was happening, she picked up the faint sound of hooves heading for the door.

“Rest well, Moonborn,” Nightingale called out before the door clicked shut behind her.

“Why does she call me that?” Selena asked Silverheart as the Healer finished with her bandages.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Silverheart replied. “It’s the first time I’ve ever heard her call somepony it though. It’s probably a thestral thing. You’d have to ask her or another thestral about it.”

Selena nodded, her brow furrowed in thought.

“Welp, that should do it,” Silverheart said. “Unless you need anything else, I’ll let you get back to your rest.” She started to move towards the door, but stopped when Selena called out.

“Oh, wait. Um… could you tell me what time it is? My internal clock is kinda… thrown off at the moment.”

“Certainly, dear,” Silverheart laughed. “It’s about a half past eleven in the morning.”

Selena nodded faintly, and Silverheart exited the room, closing the door gently behind her. Still lost in her thoughts, Selena shifted about on the bed, trying to get comfortable. That was proving to be difficult, as she wasn’t used to the softness of the mattress.

Settling down as best she could, she closed her eyes and tried to drift back to sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

The rest of the day passed by excruciatingly slow for Selena. She tried to get some sleep, but ended up just tossing and turning for a good couple of hours, unable to get comfortable. The only comfort she had was that her stomach had calmed down once they had put her on the new medication, and she had finally stopped vomiting up bile. Her stomach still gurgled regularly, but she wasn’t heaving every hour or so.

She did get some visitors as the day went on, a few more Healers popping in to check on her and introduce themselves. She tried to memorize each name and voice, but none of them had stuck around as long as Silverheart and Nightingale had. Although one of them had been nice enough to bring her a heated blanket when she had noticed that Selena was shivering.

It was about evening time (or at least, she assumed it was evening if Silverheart had given her the correct time) when Selena finally decided that she couldn’t take it anymore.

“I need to get out of this bed,” she grumbled to herself. Throwing back the blankets, she crawled to the edge of the bed and rolled out. Unlike last time, she was actually able to stand on her own, albeit it was on shaky legs.

She took a couple of steps, only to hiss in pain at a sudden pitching sensation in her crook of her leg. Grumbling under her breath, she lit up her horn and tentatively reached out for the IV bag. It took her a moment to find it, but when she did, she lifted it from the hook and tried to attach it to the back of her hospital gown like Silverheart had done earlier. It took her a few tries to get it right, and when it was finally attached, she made her way to the door.

Opening it a crack, Selena stuck her head out and perked her ears. When only silence greeted her, she cast a quick mapping spell to get a feel for the place. It was a hallway, the left side leading to a dead end and what appeared to be a window? Yes, it felt like a window. There was glass and wood. Definitely a window.

The right side ran several hundred feet before splitting in two.

That looks like the best place to start, Selena mused. Alright, let’s see what we can find. With that, she slipped out of the room and off down the hall, trying to be as quiet as possible.

The first few forks were easy enough, Selena making sure to take the right path so that she could easily find her way back. Then she had hit a couple of staircases, including a large one that seemed to wrap around itself and head back the way she had come. She tried to keep an accurate mental map, but it became harder and harder as she continued to explore. There were dead ends, and roundabouts, and double backs, and parallel corridors, and even side corridors that lead to other corridors which she wasn’t sure if she had explored yet or not.

As she continued to wander through the halls, she realized with growing trepidation the truth of the matter.

She was lost.

She attempted to backtrack, only to find herself in a dead end.

“B-but,” she muttered, running a hoof over the wall in front of her, “I thought I had to take a left at the stairs, right? O-or was it down the stairs and then to the left? Oh… buck.” Unsure of how to get back to her room, she wander down the halls, trying to find something that was familiar. However, this wasn’t Ponyville, and she had no references to help her, resulting in her only getting more and more lost, and more and more frustrated.

“Who designs a building this big?” she growled under her breath as she hit another dead end. “I bet I’d still get lost even if I could see! This is stupid.” Unable to fathom how anyone would successfully navigate the corridors, Selena stopped trying to figure out where she was and started to try and find somepony who could help her.

However, the halls were oddly devoid of life.

Where is everyone? Selena wondered with growing worry as she cast another mapping spell, searching for any signs of movement. Her ears were perked, listening intently for any noise. All she could hear was the sound of her own hooves on the marble floor, and the pounding of her heart in her chest. This is ridiculous!

After half an hour and not coming across anyone, Selena could feel her panic growing. Pausing in the middle of a corridor, she took several deep breaths and tried to hold of a growing panic attack. Yes, she was currently lost inside a huge building and had no clue where anything was, but one of the Healers would notice she was missing when they came to check on her, right? Then they’d send somepony to find her, right? So, she’d just have to wait until then. There was only one problem though. Her legs were beginning to go numb, and she was having trouble staying on her hooves.

Maybe I could just lie down on the floor, she pondered humorlessly. Rest a little until somepony finds me. I’ve slept in worse places. She half entertained the idea, but decided against it. While uncomfortable, her legs weren’t the real cause of her discomfort.

No, the thing that was really bothering her was the quiet. The complete and utter silence that seemed to fill the halls. She never had to deal with this back in Ponyville. There was always some form of noise happening around her. During the day ponies walked around the marketplace, chatting with one another or shouting out their wares to potential customers. The stores had music playing on their loudspeakers. Foals could always be heard in the afternoon and evening, running about and laughing as they played with one another.

Even at night there was never complete silence, what with the gentle sound of families talking with one another drifting out open windows. And should everyone else be asleep, there was the chirping of crickets and other insects, and the occasional hoot of owls flying by overhead. There was always something happening around her to let her know that, even as she hid in the shadows, she was never truly alone.

But here, within these halls, there was nothing. No sound, no noise. Not even a bird chirping in the distance.

She was truly, and utterly, alone—

“Excuse me, can I help you?”

Selena shriek, backpedaling wildly as a voice suddenly spoke up right in front of her. Tripping over her own hind legs, she collapsed to the ground in a tangle of legs. The IV bag came loose and slid across the floor, causing pain to flare up in her leg as the needle shifted.

A gasp came from above her. “Oh! Oh, I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

Selena said nothing, opting to just lay there, breathing heavily as her heart tried to escape through her ribs. Where the buck did she come from?! I didn’t even hear her approach!

“Oh goodness! Are you alright?” the mare asked worriedly. “H-here, let me help you up.”

“I’m fine,” Selena choked out, even as the mare moved to help her stand. A wing draped over her back, keeping her steady as she got her hooves under her again. “You j-just… you just startled me is all. I’m fine.”

“How did I possibly startle you?” the mare asked. “I thought you saw me coming. You were looking right at me. I just assumed you were waiting for me to speak.” Though the voice was inquisitive, Selena noted that it wasn’t unkind. Simply curious.

She blinked, turning her head in the mare’s general direction.

“I’m blind,” she deadpanned.

This caused the mare to gasp again. “Really? B-but, you were staring right at me! I… I thought...” She trailed off, and Selena suddenly got the distinct impression of something being waved in front of her face.

“Um, w-what are you doing?” Selena asked.

“You are blind,” the mare breathed softly. She then gasped for a third time before becoming excited. “Oh! But then that means that you’re the one Auntie was talking about earlier! I was actually just on my way to visit you.”

Selena blinked. “Y-you were?”

“Of course! It’s not every day that, well… something like this happens!” the mare cried. “I would have been there sooner, I swear, but I had to take care of some personal stuff that ended up taking longer than expected. It seems you got a little restless though,” she giggled.

“Yeah,” Selena said, rubbing her leg nervously. “Um, sorry about that, but I just had to get out of that bed.”

“Oh, I completely understand!” the mare said. “I broke my leg one time and was stuck in one of those beds for over two weeks. I went stir crazy within a few days and just had to sneak out. They found me in the gardens three hours later,” she tittered. “Auntie gave me such a scolding.”

“R-right,” Selena said, laughing weakly. She swallowed before shifting awkwardly on her hooves. “Um, n-not to be rude or anything, but, um… who are you?”

The mare gasped again, causing Selena’s ears to flick. “Oh, where are my manners? I completely forgot to introduce myself. I’m… well, you can just call me Cadance, okay? It’s easier that way.”

“Selena,” Selena replied, even as she put Cadance’s voice into her memory. It won’t be that hard; there was a certain bubbliness to Cadance’s voice that she had never heard before. In fact, she kind of liked it. It almost made her want to smile.

“Selena, huh,” Cadance hummed. “Selena. Seh-lean-Ah. I like it. It’s a very pretty name.”

“Pretty?” Selena muttered, her cheeks flushing slightly.

“Yeah, nothing at all like, well, that doesn’t matter,” Cadance said. “Say, Selena. Since you’re already up and about, why don’t we go pay Auntie a visit? I’m sure she’d like that, especially after being in court all day.”

“Oh, um… actually, I should probably get back to the hospital room,” Selena said shyly. “The Healers are probably wondering where I am. I don’t want to cause any trouble for anypony.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Cadance chirped. “I’m sure they won’t mind. Besides, you’re with me, so they shouldn’t give you too much grief.” Upon seeing Selena was still unconvinced, she added, “Tell you what. Let’s go visit Auntie, and then I’ll take you back to the medical wing and sort everything out with the Healers. Would that be okay?”

“W-well, I… you see, I don’t...” Selena stammered out before sighing. “I… I guess that would be okay.”

“Excellent!” Cadance squee’d. “Let’s get going. Oh, wait. Here, let me get that for you.” Selena jerked back as the sound of magic being used filled the air. She felt a slight tug on her leg as the IV shifted about before the bag was suddenly clipped to the back of her shirt again.

“There we are,” Cadance chirped. “Good to go.”

“W-wait… what?” Selena stuttered, mouth opening and closing. “But I thought… I thought you were a pegasus!”

“Huh? Oh, nope. I’m an alicorn.”

“You have both wings and a horn?!”

“Yup,” Cadance said, her words shortly followed by the sound of flapping wings. “I’m an alicorn, just like Auntie.”

“‘Auntie’?” Selena breathed before her eyes suddenly widened. “Wait, you don’t mean the Princess, d-do you?”

“Of course,” Cadance giggled. “Who else? Now come on! I’m sure Auntie Celestia’s had a rough day and seeing you will most likely make it better.”

“But I don’t even know which way to—GAH!” A wing draped over her shoulder before Cadance began to gently—yet firmly—nudge her down the hall. She stumbled, but quickly regained her footing. When it was clear that Cadance wasn’t taking no for an answer, Selena resolved her fate.

Soon enough the pair was walking side-by-side as they made their ways through the halls. Cadance had let up on pushing her and was now simply walking with one wing outstretched, constantly touching Selena as she guided the blind mare through the labyrinth of corridors.

“How do you know where you’re going?” Selena grumbled out, not even bothering to keep a mental map going. Her memory wasn’t good enough to keep up with all the twists and turns.

After a few minutes of walking, they began to encounter other ponies again. At first Selena wasn’t sure what they were doing, but that mystery was solved quickly as the scent of cleaning supplies hit her nose. They were maids, cleaning the castle. Her ears flicked as they passed the cleaning staff, picking up the faint whisper of conversations. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could tell the tone of the conversation: curious, with hints of excitement here and there. The maids were chittering quietly to each other, and Selena grew uneasy, well aware that several of them were staring at her.

Cadance didn’t seem to notice the attention, or simply didn’t care, as she keep chatting animatedly with Selena about things that Selena didn’t even try to understand. The conversation just went in one ear and out the other. Still Cadance prattled on.

Selena breathed a sigh of relief when they eventually reached their destination: the private dining hall, Cadance had called it. While Cadance was certainly working on making Selena feel more relaxed, the alicorn was a talker, something that Selena was not. She preferred quiet, with a faint murmur of noise in the background.

“Here we are!” Cadance chirped, snapping Selena out of her musings. Her ears flicked as the sound of magic reached them, followed by the scraping of a door opening. And then it happened. The wall of smells hit her nose like a freight train. Fresh baked bread, cheeses, carrots, milk, soups of various flavors, flowers, hay, spices, and apples—delicious, mouth-watering apples. All these smells and more flooded Selena’s nostrils in an instant, causing her stomach to growl, despite its earlier upset. She had to swallow in order to stop herself from drooling.

Beside her, Cadance giggled and a wing nudged her side, pushing her along. Absently, she stepped forward in a daze, entering the room of glorious smells with her head held high, nostrils flaring.

“Good evening, Auntie!” Cadance chirped as she followed Selena inside.

“Ah, Cadance, there you are,” a weary voice said from further in the room. “I was wondering if you’d be joining me this evening.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Cadance said. “I lost track of time. Oh, I also brought a friend!”

“Hmmm?” the tired voice hummed. “A friend? I didn’t realize that they were visiting. Who is… it…?” The voice trailed off, causing Selena to blink in confusion. There was a few seconds of silence before a sudden gasp echoed around the room. “Oh… oh no!” The sound of clattering hooves filled the air, and before Selena could react, she was suddenly pulled into a firm, feathery embrace. There was only one pony she knew of that was big enough to smother her with their wings: Princess Celestia.

“What is with you and trying to kill me?” Selena muttered under her breath. Struggling weakly, she tried to maneuver herself to get a breath of fresh air. She received a lungful of hair and feathers for her troubles.

“Auntie, what—?” Cadance began, sounding confused, but was cut off by a panicking Celestia.

“No, nonononono!” The chest Selena was pushed up against vibrated with each word. “No! What are you doing walking around? You should still be in bed! You need to rest if you want to get better! No, no this will never do!”

Selena grunted. “I don’t see what the big deal is—”

The sound of magic cut her off. Suddenly, the world seemed to implode in upon itself, causing Selena’s stomach to lurch horribly. Up became down, down became up, and in the swirling motion of nothingnes she lost all indication of direction. Up, down, left, right; it all meant nothing at the moment, and as such, Selena’s senses were truly and completely destroyed. The explosion of sound that soon followed didn’t help either.

Panicked voices assaulted her ears, the loud squawks and shouts causing her to grimace in pain. The word was spinning, her head was pounding, and her already upset stomach was not happy with what was going on, and as such, decided to voice its objections in the only way it knew possible.

Selena promptly threw up on the large pony that was holding her within their wings.

This just caused the voices to grow more panicked. She was pulled suddenly from Celestia’s grasp, despite the Princess’s very vocal protests. Still unsure of where she was or which way was up, Selena had no chance to recover before she was suddenly poked, prodded, the needle in her leg was removed only to be replaced with a new one, her heart was listened to, her mouth was pulled open, and something that tasted like wood got rather intimate with her tonsils. Her stomach lurched again, and she vomited around whatever they had stuck in her mouth.

The panicked atmosphere grew worse.

As she was jostled about, more ponies tending to her than was truly necessary, Selena couldn’t help the growing feeling of annoyance that began to well up in her chest. Damn them, she growled inwardly. Damn them all to Tartarus.

Author's Note

If you're trying to help someone against their will... is it really considered helping them anymore?