"Wake up."

A gasp of air, Daniel breathes in, his heart is throbbing in his chest from panic. He's facedown on the ground, trickles of dirt lay on his cheek and chin, he brushes them off and props himself on his elbow. Looking around, he sees nothing but forest and darkness, obscured by the thick tree line above blocking the sunlight. With limited range of sight, Daniel takes a moment to breathe and stop his rapid heartbeat. Blood rushes to his head momentarily, his heart settles.

Taking one knee, he inspects the area. Thick bushes, dark green and moist, the trees loom and seem to have warped throughout the area. They're not coherent, leaned in various directions and the branches span out seemingly to just cover the sun with their thick bundles of ever-spanning leaves. The forest floor is scattered with strange plants, curled and thorny as if wound up like a rope to catch something with the wispy plant fibers, the thought unsettles him. Bundles of dead branches loom and leaves hang over existing branches with no leaves, their appendages mostly bare save for the thriving ones on the forest ceiling blocking out the light. He asks out loud,

"Hello?" He hears himself muffled and he doesn't know why. He asks out loud again, concerned by not being able to her himself,

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" he's still muffled and he feels the back of his head, feeling something foreign clasped on his head. Taking both his hands, he yanks it off.

Upon inspecting it, it's a pair of what looks like dark blue construction ear muffs. Why is he wearing ear muffs, he doesn't hear anything, he thinks about that for a moment.

He doesn't hear anything.

The forest is dead quiet. He turns and looks around once more, concerned by the eerie silence, if this is a forest he should be hearing birds or something. But it sounds dead silent. He has another concerning thought, what is he doing here? Disturbed, he thinks,

'Wait...why -am- I here? How did I-I don't remember.'

Inspecting his clothes that he's wearing, he sees he's wearing a worn out greyish denim vest, underlain with a light grey long shirt, along with grey denim pants and low ankle boots. He feels as if he's dressed for some sort of construction work, but he doesn't remember anything like that. He checks his pockets, his vest, undershirt, then pants; nothing. He finds nothing identifiable, though he remembers a name. D. It starts with a D. He tries to focus,

'Daniel?' the thought moves around in his head. Is that his name? Must be.

His name's Daniel, as far as he knows. He gazes upward, trying to spot some scaffolding he may have fallen from, but there's nothing above him nor is there any sign of disturbed vegetation like broken branches along the forest floor. Something feels wrong, he feels like he's being watch but he doesn't know if it's the quiet or the forest. His heartbeat speeds back up, he's not okay.

"Hello! Is anyone out there? My name's Daniel and I don't kn-" Interrupted by the sound of leaves, he turns to his right and spots movement inside a bush. He remarks out of fear,

"..the fuck is-" he sees yellow eyes pop out of the bush, a prickly and disjointed four legged figure steps out from the bush towards him.

It's a wolf, but it's figure doesn't completely match up, it's kind legs have smaller solid appendages with what look like leaves and little thorns. Several gaps are throughout it's body, it's made out of large branches and twigs, held together by who knows what. It bears it's teeth made up of sharpened twigs and it's incisors that consist of fragmented rocks to a point. It viciously barks, scraping together it's teeth. Daniel drops the muffs and turns to bolt, stumbling over a low bush.

All that's going on in his mind repeatedly is,

'Fuck fuck fuck fuck'

He's interrupted by a large impact of force to his back, the wolf has easily caught up with him and tries to go for his neck. He wrestles on the ground with it, the wooden and fragmented rock teeth tearing into his arm and splicing open his sleeve and forearm with bits of wooden shrapnel splintering along the wound. Finally settling on his right forearm, the wolf grips on and tries to yank him off his feet when he regains his footing.

"Get the F-"

He pulls back, tearing his forearm open even more. He wounds his right leg back, trying to get better footing, but he chooses something more practical. He kicks it in it's wooden chest, it's ribs splinter open and it lets go with a pained whine.

"-UCK off me!"

He stutters and fumbles as he steps back, holding his right arm, he's bleeding from several puncture wounds and the underside of his forearm is torn open. He stumbles to his side, getting ready to bolt again, to his horror he spots several twigs get dragged to the injured wolf and form back from it's damaged chest shape. Paused in horror, he gets a mound of force knocked against his back, another wolf tackles him and balances itself on his back, similarly trying to bring him off his feet and get a hold on his throat. It grips onto his right shoulder and repeatedly yanks, it's own teeth imbedded under his skin. Daniel falls on his stomach, trying to get a hold on it, he grips a gap in it's neck of bundles of twigs and yanks it down off his back. Tearing a wound open on his shoulder, he tries to hold it down with his cut open forearm, holding it down by it's neck. It repeatedly snaps at him, it's paws trying to push him off, but he has the weight advantage here.

Trying to crush it's neck, he hears splintering, along with monotone pained whines, it's neck splinters and slowly cracks apart. He tries not to take his chances, using this opportunity to roll off it and bolt away before both of them have the chance to recover.

He runs and stumbles into a clearing, trying to keep watch for more if they're in a pack, he can't handle anymore in his condition. Upon seeing a clearing, he tries to make a break for it, noticing a drop off point at the end, something to break their line of sight. Running to the edge, he realizes it's far more of a steep drop than it looked.

That one moment, those few marginal few seconds, he realizes the drop off is deeper than he thought it was. It's a near vertical drop and he steps back.

A wolf takes this opportune moment to tackle him, sending them both down below.

He tumbles down the drop, the wolf loses it's grip and tumbles, pieces of it's wooded body splinter and break off from the momentum and eventually there's no wolf left halfway down the slope Daniel bounces and rolls across several little bumps in the slope, he tries to tuck himself in but eventually the momentum and impacts are too much to take and he starts to ragdoll. He opens his eyes for a moment and sees something grey, met with black and a sudden feeling of warmness. He's momentarily thinks he hit his head on a rock on his way down, he feels nothing as his body's momentum stops as he slides to the bottom of the slope onto some flatland, he lies on his stomach with a rasp of breath. Daniel can breathe, but only so barely, he dares not wonder why or look down towards his chest to see why that is.

He feels something wet on his right, he leans himself on his right side and peers at the liquid, it's blood he's laying on and his bleeding arm he's staring at. It's leaving his head, his mind fills with worry but he can't do much about it. A mixture of red and grey mix, making a dark mud-like mixture of brown and dark red. The blurriness starts to set in, the adrenaline starts to wear off, he slowly seeps out of his adrenaline-fueled state and knows he's bleeding out from a head injury and possibly the deep lacerations in his neck and arm. He doesn't make the effort to prop himself up or move his arms, nor does he want to try to call for help, he momentarily speculates that his ribs may be fractured. Even worse, he can't move his right leg.

His head may be too but he doesn't know, he can't know, and as he slowly closes his eyes and tries to get up he knows he won't know.

Letting the silence take over his breathing, the forest lays silent again, but something else overlaps the sound of his breathing.

The wolves have come to finish the kill perhaps? The trouble he's been as prey has been a short but worthy chase.

He feels pressure on his side, on his head, on his arm, but no pain expresses itself. The pain has seeped from his senses, somehow as the adrenaline also fades. A thought keeps bombarding his head,

'Fight it Fight it Fight it' but he's not sure what he could do.

He slowly starts to drift out of consciousness as the blood loss has been too great, he sees nothing but colors as he loses perception.

Blue.

Orange.

White.

Purple.

Pink.

Yellow.

And finally black.

Tic. Tic. Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic. He hears nothing but ticking.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

'Make it stop.' he thinks.

Wait, he's hearing ticking.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

It's annoying too.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

He furrows his brow angrily and grunts, he can feel pain and it's momentarily overwhelming as he wakes. He breathes in heavily, but it stopped by sharp pain in his side, he wheezes and tries to grasp it with his right arm. It feels lightly grainy, his arm. He slowly feels it with his left arm and it's covered in something. He stops to think,

'Wait, I can feel'

Realization at last, he slowly starts to get his perception back, trying to get it through his head that he's awake. Opening his eyes, he immediately sees light and it blinds him, he winces and covers his eyes with his right hand. The grainy texture scratches the right of his eye.

"Urgh.." He groans and he feels something grasp his arm, his last thought remnants scream 'wolf' and he lunges at it with his left arm with a pained fist. It makes contact, a soft clump sound on the wood floor and he sits up. His body feels stiff, fatigued more like it.

Wood floor? He tries to get his perception back, he's in a room; why would there be a wolf?

He covers the top of his eyes and peers outward, to his right, seeing something yellow on the floor. He listens, he hears...crying. He shakes his head suddenly, trying to get a clearer view, bad idea. Blood rushes to his head and he sees dancing colors, pressure envelopes his head and clamps down. In a few moments it subsides, the pain seeping in is unbearable, but goes as quickly as it came. He winces then focuses back on the floor, seeing a...creature, on it's back. It's yellow and has four appendages sort of like a horse, but they're not toed, they're flat and a little...odd. It has a pink hair color and suddenly it stares back at him with it's large green-ish eyes, what looks like tears at the edges start to form and it quickly gasps repeatedly. It's holding what looks like it's cheek and it's lip is quivering, it's pupil's constrict.

It looks scared.

She looks scared.

"..W-Wh-..." She just stares back at him, trying to say something but fumbling from shock. He doesn't know what to say or do, what did he just do? He tries to say something, opening his mouth but instead decides to inspect the room. The walls are a light brown, the furniture is a wooden green with several cushions strewn about the floor, the room is littered with tiny bird houses, boxes, and other little walkways for what seems like might be small animals. Birds or hamsters? A bag of something is near the door, with a picture of a robin, probably some type of bird feed. He looks to his arm, wrapped in a bandage with light traces of blood along where the wounds originally were, he gyrates his shoulder and feels the grainy bandage rub against his cheek, she..bandaged him, he thinks. He tries to move himself out of bed, realizing his leg has been splinted, he stops dead as he sits on the tiny bed. How bad was he hurt?

She still stares at him, a little less frightened, instead watching him look around and think. He asks,

"You helped me?" he's not sure what to feel other than guilt. She closes her mouth and blinks, slowly nodding. Yeah, here comes the guilt.

"..I...I'm sorry, I thought you were..uh." She looks confused, did she know he got attacked or did she just find him there? He attempts to kneel, but the splint doesn't keep the pain away and he loses his footing, catching himself on his left arm. He sits, offering his right arm though it's significantly more weak. She looks to his hand, then back at him, wondering whether to trust him or not after hitting her. She holds her hoof out, he gently holds it and pulls her up so she can sit, still holding her own cheek. She may have a bruise, he can't remember how or tell how hard he hit her.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were one of those...uh, things. Those wolf things." he tries to apologize and explain. She replies,

"Timberwolves?" Her voice sound..soft. Daniel replies,

"Uhm, yes. The wolf things made out of wood or something. I got attacked by I think a pack of them." He holds up his arm, though he wishes not to remember it in detail, he continues,

"You bandaged me up and-" he looks to his leg, "-put a splint on me?" She shyly nods, looking at his arm.

"You had some bad cuts and you got dirt in them, I-I thought they would get infected..." She scoots herself closer and puts her hoof on his arm bandage.

"Does this hurt?" she softly asks as she applies a little bit of pressure, it does hurt but not as much originally. He answers her,

"No, not as much." She smiles at this reply, simply saying,

"Good." She then promptly scoots away, he doesn't think she trusts him but she looks glad to know he's okay. He asks promptly,

"...uh, does your cheek..." she furrows her brow, darting her eyes away, slowly nodding. She replies,

"I-It's okay, you were panicked and you d-didn't mean to I'm sure.." She sounds a little intimidated and unsure herself, Daniel guesses she may have never been hit before, but that thought disturbs him if he ends up being the first. She slowly takes her hoof off her cheek, there is a bruise but it's not as severe as it might have turned out to be. It seems she may have caught the edge of his pinkie when he made a fist, there's more pink than red, only small trickles of purple. The only plus is that it's not severe enough to swell.

"Again I'm sorry for..that-" he apologizes again, she looks fragile enough as is, "-those things were v-" He pauses, wincing. Colors are starting to bounce around again, pressure clamps down on his head and he struggles to form the rest of his sentence as he grits his teeth,

"V-...V-Vis..."

He holds onto his head with both arms, it feels like his brain is twisting and rolling around in his head. She looks worried as she promptly gets up on her legs and rushes over, asking,

"W-What's wrong, is it your head?" she's met with only wincing. She continues,

"I-I'll get you something." She rushes towards a cabinet next to a fireplace, rummaging through several little boxes. She eventually bites onto something and rushes over, holding a strange pill bottle-like container in her mouth. She bites on the lid, it looks formed for their species use, the bottle's cap pops open. Fluttershy tries to hold one of his hands and yank it away from his head, yanking to try to get him to make an open palm. She says with the bottle still in her mouth,

"O-Othen your hanth." she yanks and yanks, but he's still too strong for her and doesn't budge. Her eyes constrict upon realizing she'll have to wait for this to pass, if it does. She sets down the bottle and pets his left shoulder repeatedly, saying,

"You'll be okay, y-you'll be okay.."

A few seconds pass, the pain seems to subside and the colors stop dancing around the room, she slowly comes back into focus. Daniel looks somewhat exhausted regardless of how short he had to endure it, he angrily says,

"My fu-fucking head..." as he grips his hair in fists. He leans his back against the bedside, feeling the trickling pressure slowly fade. It felt like 300 pound weights crushing his head from every direction. She seems to ignore that remark, mostly due to not understanding the word. She insistently says,

"Take this." she nudges it with her nose and adds to it, "Take two, I'll get you some water." She starts to speed walk away, presumably going to get some water. Daniel takes this moment to examine the bottle, some sort of...oh wait, it's in English. Why is it in English? He reads it regardless,

'Ketamol'

'For mild to moderate body pain or headaches. Take only two a day every 6 hours, do not take with alcohol or if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during a 2 week period.'

'Side Effects include (but are not limited to): Mild Digestion Problems and the Trots.'

She comes with a glass of water on a plate, Daniel looks and seems intrigued on her balancing skills...and quite frankly her jaw strength. She doesn't seem to have hands, so he guesses she has to use her mouth for a lot. She holds it up, he takes the water and the pills and drinks them, suddenly asking,

"What are 'the Trots'?" She just stares back at him, confused.

An awkward moment of silence comes and passes. He opens his mouth and she interrupts,

"Diarrhea."

She then continues to stare.

"...okay." He says, rubbing the back of his neck. Awkward question at awkward time. She's not asking why he asked, but she asks something else a bit more fitting,

"W-What's your name?" she tilts her head, a look of curiosity and worry. He answers,

"It's also Diarr-..." He stops himself and corrects himself embarrassingly, "..u-uhh, it's Daniel." it's all he can recall. She replies back with a tiny smile,

"I'm F-Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you Daniel." Fluttershy? Strange name, then again she is a strange...creature, horse? He feels compelled to ask,

"Uh, odd question." as if there wasn't one a minute ago, he continues, "Are you a horse?" She tilts her head, furrowing one brow questionably.

"I'm a pony. U-Uhm, Pegasus." she says, fluttering her wings to show him. Daniel leans a bit back, somehow not having seen the appendages, guessing he focused more on her bruise and eyes more than anything. They look...interesting.

"Oh...huh." She in turn asks,

"What are you?"

This feels a bit late for introductions, but he answers,

"I'm a human, I'm not sure if you've seen something like me before. I haven't seen anything like you before." he's not exactly what to show in turn, so he stands instead, towering over her.

She stands up, her approximate size from her height being just above his waist. Her ears flop and her eyes slightly widen, did she not expect him to be this tall if she dragged him here? He takes the hint and sits on the bed, feeling his forehead, saying,

"Before you ask me more, I can't say much. I don't remember anything other than my name and- " he feels the top of his head, realizing he dropped the construction ear muffs back in the woods, "-oh. Never mind, I must have dropped it running from those wolves. Don't worry about it, it wasn't important..I think." She tilts her head innocently.

Of course it was, it's the only clue to who he is and he decided to drop it..well, he -did- drop it running from wolves. Until he figures out otherwise, Daniel it is, it has a nice ring to it. He stands and says to her,

"Well, Fluttershy. Thank you for helping me, I appreciate it but maybe I should get going." the thought crosses his mind, right: He's talking to a yellow and pink Pegasus half his size that saved him from dying from 'Timberwolves'. Reality strikes. He looks concerned, he asks,

"Fluttershy...where exactly are we?" She promptly answers,

"In my house." innocently enough. He reiterates,

"No, I mean -where- are we?" She answers reluctantly,

"W-We're in my house, next to the Everfree Forest." She waits for him, seeing he's not satisfied with just that, she continues in greater detail. "We're in Ponyville, a town in Equestria that is a kingdom ruled by Princess Celestia.." He chuckles silently.

A princess ruling a kingdom? Preposterous! At least in his head. Yellow and pink talking pony; right. Beyond this point he should probably take whatever he's told from her seriously. She continues,

"I work with Ponyville's animals...u-unofficially. It's my job and cutie mark." she warmly smiles. Cutie mark? He asks,

"Cutie mark?" this is starting to sound a bit more girly by the minute, though he's not one to judge at this point. She answers,

"Oh-Oh, uhm, it's a magic mark you get on your flank when you find out your special talent."

Magic: Check. She seems to be overjoyed to share this, she smiles more and continues,

"Mine is taking care of animals, look." She shyly moves to her side, showing her rear end, it has 3 pink butterflies on each side with the shapes and colors seemingly imbued in her fur.

Pink Butterflies: Check.

Girly to the max.

'Not one to judge, not one to judge...' he repeatedly thinks to himself. She shyly asks,

"Do you have a cutie mark? Or do you not have them?" too innocent. Daniel answers,

"No, we don't. Well, we have tattoos, but those are a little bit more painful." She tilts her head, wondering what he means, but takes his word for it seemingly. He asks,

"Can you fly with those wings?" She duly replies,

"Oh, of course I can." She spreads her wings and flaps, slowly floating to his eye level, smiling. She flies a bit close and touches noses mistakenly.

"S-Sorry, I-" she's interrupted by a sudden noise.

A knock at the door, met with a shrill 'eep' in response from Fluttershy, she drops to the ground. She then sheepishly retreats to the door, opening the door. She says in surprise,

"Oh, Twilight! U-Uh." she seems mildly surprised. She continues,

"I didn't expect you to come so soon, um.." she steps aside as she pets her hair, "Here he is, he seems to be doing better..." she mumbles a few words she apparently didn't hear. Daniel sees a purple unicorn with a matching mane and bright highlights walk inside, apparently 'Twilight'. She stares at Daniel, observing him and studying his body with her eyes. She says plainly,

"I see." and steps towards him. A tape measure flies out near his face, he gets spooked and ducks, seeing a blob of purple glowing stuff around the object. He remarks,

"Let me guess, magic?" Twilight smiles and briskly answers,

"Mhm!"

Unicorn Magic: Check.

The tape measure stretches along his arms, a notepad and pencil scribble away as Twilight observes his body, she writes strangely fast...with magic.

"Leg out please." Daniel shrugs and holds out his good leg, Twilight starts measuring and her magic shrinks down his pants to his leg to show his leg shape. She then promptly lets go and brings out a book from her saddlebags, flipping through it to somewhere in the middle. Daniel leans to his right and reads the title,

"A Guide to Common and Uncommon Mythical Creatures in Equestria and Beyond, Volume III"

She whimsically mutters,

"No, no..no, oh gosh no." as Twilight then closes the book with a swift slam. She proudly stands, saying,

"I...don't know what you are." that proud stance looks defeated. She explains to both Fluttershy and Daniel,

"You resemble mostly a primate, monkeys; or more precisely a chimp. But you don't share the same features. Not short, not hairy, not the same facial structure; plus you're able to speak." She steps around him with a determined expression, repeatedly tugging at his clothes, accidentally gripping onto his buttocks and pinching it. He briefly jumps, stuttering,

"Hey! Watch the hands- uh, magic. " She replies,

"I'm just checking, just checking. Just clothes, right?" Daniel assuredly nods. Twilight seems slightly satisfied, asking,

"Alright, well what -are- you?" Fluttershy steps in,

"Well he said he's a human, I don't think he knows why he's here. I found him in the Everfree forest while..well, I found him." she seems to avoid whatever tangent she was saying. Daniel adds on,

"I got attacked by, what, Timberwolves?" he asks, continuing, "The things attacked in a pack and tackled me down a slope." he holds up his bandaged arm and his splinted leg to Twilight, continuing on,

"Hit my head on a rock or something, started bleeding out." Fluttershy interrupts and states,

"You weren't bleeding from your head, you only hurt your leg, shoulder, and arm."

Daniel looks confused, he's pretty sure he hit his head on the way down, he remembers blood trickling out from his head and laying on a puddle. He asks for her to confirm,

"Are you -sure- I wasn't bleeding from my head at all?" she assuredly nods. Then why does he have this rolling headache coming on and off? He hurt his head, he knows that. Was he mistaken and just dazed or? He doesn't know what to think and just trusts her, she was there, he was unconscious. He must be mistaken, he feels his head and doesn't feel anything abnormal. Twilight states,

"Maybe we should get you to a doctor, though I don't know whether to bring you to a doctor or a..vet." she must still be stuck in the chimp thing, though he guesses she's technically right. He recommends,

"Maybe we should get her a bandage too." Twilight looks confused, tilting her head with a 'What?' expression. Fluttershy looks concerned as Daniel continues,

"She has a bruise on her cheek, is not swelling, but-" he's interrupted by Twilight,

"What??" she looks towards Fluttershy, trying to get a look at her face and body for any sign of this bruise. Fluttershy looks like she's covering her cheek with her hair, after a few odd moments of avoiding eye contact, Twilight eventually tugs her hair out of the way with her magic. She glares over to Daniel, she looks angry.

"Grrrr." she takes a step towards him, Fluttershy tries to intervene,

"T-Twilight, he didn't mean it. H-He was still panicked when he woke up, he thought he was still being attacked. Honest!" she tries to plead, Daniel looks surprised, she hid her bruise? It seems this is why. She doesn't seem to take his confused expression in the way he meant to convey it. Twilight yanks on his shirt's collar, slowly pulling him down to her eye level, he catches himself on the floor with his left arm. She sternly says,

"You don't hurt my friends, she was just trying to help you." she glares at him for a few moments, letting go. She closes her eyes and sighs angrily, continuing,

"I don't want anyone else being hurt-" she opens her eyes and looks back at him face to face, "-is that clear?" she seems to have taken this very personally. Daniel tries to assuredly nod, a little intimidated of her 'technique' if bringing him down to her eye level. Fluttershy tries to soften the conversation,

"I-It doesn't hurt anymore Twilight. Please just calm down, he didn't mean it." she puts a hoof on her arm, trying to calm her down, it seems to work for what it's worth. Twilight replies a little calmer,

"Look, we'll bring you to a doctor if you think you got head trauma. Fluttershy says otherwise but we should get you checked anyway. Come on." she turns around and waits for them both, Fluttershy volunteers,

"I-I'll go too." Twilight acknowledges and they both start to walk outside.

Time for a stroll..he guesses.

Twilight and Fluttershy seem to guide him around a very..girly looking town, is brightly colored, or at least in hue. He sees several other 'ponies' in the distance, though it seems both Fluttershy and Twilight are guiding him through unpopulated areas where he can't be seen. He remarks,

"I guess this is 'Ponyville' ?" Fluttershy looks up to him and nods, not saying anything else along the way.

The place still looks small, not built for his size. And colorful, not in the way he likes but it's definitely unique. Eventually they walk from behind a building to the front of what seems like a doctor's office, given the obligatory sign in front with a red plus. He ducks underneath the door frame as they enter, the place still looks small, his head is only 2 feet away from the ceiling. There doesn't seem to be anyone else inside other than some sort of secretary reading a magazine in a little booth, she's chewing blue gum and blows a bubble. Twilight walks up, asking,

"Hello? We'd like to see Dr. Burgundy." the secretary looks to her, the bubble pops, replying,

"I'll ring you up in a minute." She glances over to Daniel, to which he just replies with an awkward small wave with his bandaged arm. The pony seems to just stare it him confused for a few seconds, talking to Twilight,

"This is a doctor's office ma'am, pets aren't allowed in here. There's a vet just around the block." Daniel looks disgruntled at her, a little insulted. Twilight feels the top of her forehead, annoyed and pleading,

"Just get Dr. Burgundy please." The pony blows another bubble and pops it, pressing a little button near what looks like an intercom, saying,

"Dr. Burgundy, patients coming in now." another voice speaks from it,

"Yes, thank you Lime. Send them in."

Lime? She's light blue. They hear a small buzz and a door near the booth opens, Daniel follows Twilight and Fluttershy into a doctor's office. Several pictures of what seems like pony anatomy are strewn about the walls, they have an odd bone structure is all Daniel can think of. There seems to be a male pony sitting in a large leather chair, must be Dr. Burgundy. Now that Daniel thinks about it, isn't that a name for wine?

Twilight and Fluttershy sit in small seats, Daniel gently lowers himself on the low seat and his knees tower next to his chest. Bit too small. Dr. Burgundy looks up at them, then stares at Daniel, saying,

"I'm a doctor, not a v-" Twilight interrupts,

"He's not an animal. Dr. Burgundy I want you to perform a check-up, at least as best you can." Dr. Burgundy replies sternly,

"I am not a vet Miss, Twilight Sparkle, is it?"

Sparkle? Sparkle: Check.

Daniel replies disgruntled,

"I'm not an animal, alright?" Dr. Burgundy, settles in his chair, stating,

"Alright, point taken." He gets out of his chair on all fours, going through a medical cabinet with several medical instruments.

This will take a while.

Half an hour passes, here comes the piece they've been waiting for, Burgundy says,

"Hold this up to your front, close to the skin as possible please." He hands Daniel a large flat plastic plate, following his orders and holding it pressed against his body, Burgundy aims some sort of X-Ray fixture on a wheeled cart. He pulls a lever, a flash flashes throughout the room, Daniel's body feels a little tingly. That..didn't seem safe.

After a minute or so of waiting, Burgundy comes back with an X-Ray of his body, stating,

"Well this creature has an odd body structure, simply fascinating, if a bit lanky." Daniel tries to ignore that comment. Burgundy continues,

"Hmm, well it appears your leg bone has been correctly set in place, by Miss Fluttershy doing I presume." Fluttershy nods without an expression, listening solely just for answers. He continues,

"However I can't seem to find any sort of fracture in your skull, or even any noticeable damage along your head. It appears you may be mistaken after all, dazed or not, it would show on here." He pats the x-ray light assuredly. That's...good? Daniel seems to vividly remember those last moments, maybe he just landed in a mud puddle or..something. Burgundy asks,

"Now, would you two ladies mind if I bring, Mr Daniel is it? For a full body examination sometime in the future? This seems fairly exciting, I know some colleagues that would absolutely adore a study of this new found creature."

Daniel looks angrily at him,

"Does no one take me seriously? Ask -me- if you'd like." Daniels feels a little apprehensive, is detectable.

Burgundy looks at him for a few moments, asking,

"Hmph, well alright. Would you like being accepted for study?" Daniel shrugs, not knowing what that entails. Body examination doesn't exactly sound pleasant. Burgundy tries to assure him,

"I doubt it'd be painful." Assuring... "We have a policy on non-lethal study with newly discovered species, as Miss Sparkle knows I'm sure." Daniel feels the back of his neck, trying to think. He guesses it'd be better if they got to know his anatomy before anything else bad possibly happens, he nods reluctantly saying,

"Uh..sure. If I'm going to be here then I guess it'd be fine if your 'colleagues' take a study. " Dr. Burgundy claps his hoof on his desk,

"Acceptable I'm sure, it will take some time to contact them, but I shall address Miss Sparkle for a heads up on their arrival. Or Miss Fluttershy if she is not available."

This is starting to feel like a parent thing, how he addresses Twilight and Fluttershy. Time to walk home he guesses. The thought crosses his head as they all leave the office, where exactly is his home going to be? Fluttershy seems to take notice as they walk down an empty alleyway, asking,

"Is something wrong?" they continue on through the town, Daniel replies,

"Yeah, I don't know where to stay. I appreciate the care, but I don't know where to go at this point." She looks away as he finishes his sentence, shyly suggesting,

"W-Well..you can stay with me if you'd like."

Huh. Daniel feels the back of his neck with his bad arm, flinching as he does so, replying,

"Uhm..sure. Though I don't want to be a burden so when I'm up and running I'll try to help as I can. I..don't know where to go at this point anyway."

Twilight rolls her eyes, she knew it'd come to this point, she always gets attached to injured animals she finds, seems to be no different with Daniel. She adds in,

"If you're so dedicated to it, can introduce you to the rest of my friends. Though I don't know how they'd react to you, probably think you're some hairless chimp." Daniel looks down at her, she looks back, remarking,

"Their words, not mine."

Clever Twilight, she seems nice though. Back to Fluttershy's house, then.

Back at Fluttershy's cottage, Daniel takes a seat on the stretcher he was originally resting in. Twilight explains,

"I guess we'll start introductions tomorrow, is getting a little late. " She glances out the window, is already dusk, she continues, "I better get going, Spike will get worried if I'm gone any longer." Spike? Is that an ironic name or is that some other pony? Daniel doesn't bother asking, Twilight has already left. Now it's just Fluttershy and Daniel, he takes the hint that he shouldn't just stare at her and lies back in the stretcher, trying to spread the small blanket over his body to not much avail. Fluttershy walks over, softly asking,

"G-Going to bed?" She seems excited, strangely. Daniel nods while laying his head on the small pillow, he hears her clear her throat. What's she-

"Hush now, quiet now

It's time to lay your sleepy head.

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to go to bed~

Drifting, off to sleep,

Leave the day behind you,

Drifting, off to sleep,

Let the joy of dreamland find you~"

She sounds...heavenly. Daniel's not sure what to think, so he just closes his eyes, this feels strange but relaxing. He says as he yawns,

"Auuuhhh...goodnight Fluttershy." She smiles and replies back,

"Goodnight Daniel."

Then it's silence. Just...silence.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

That's not silence.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

Tic.

That's a clock, is it morning already? Daniel rolls over on his side, feeling something wet. He holds out his hand and feels..grass. Damp grass.

What? He rubs his eyes, opening them slowly and he sees..forest? He's back in- He opens his eyes and sits up, he seems back where he originally started it seems. He feels the ground and his arms and legs. He..still has the bandages and splint. He sits back up, how did he get back here?

"The f- how did I get back-" He calls out,

"Fluttershy? Did you bring me out here or-" he stops as he glances into a clearing, there's his construction ear muffs he dropped when he ran from the timber wolves. He tries to stand and props himself on his feet with his knee, investigating the area around it. Nothing...suspicious in the very least. He bends down and picks it up, examining it. Well, this is it alright, but how did he get back here? He turns around and looks for any movement, there is none, he puts them on and snaps his fingers, the sound muffled. Is he dreaming or is he back where he was before, was it just a dream or-

"Hush now, quiet now..." He hears a voice behind him, he suddenly turns and listens. He calls out, hearing his muffled voice,

"Hello? Fluttershy?" No reply, he hears it again,

"It's time to go to bed..." it's behind him again, he turns again and is feeling anxious. He yells out,

"Hello?? Who's there??" Another voice,

"Driting, off to sleep..." it's not Fluttershy. It's male and has static to it. He tries to examine it, it's to his right now, he turns and runs in that direction yelling,

"S-Stop messing with me!" He hears something familiar, behind him again.

"Hush now, quiet now..it's time to lay your sleepy head..hush now, quiet now, it's time go to bed..."

That's not her voice. He remarks out loud,

"What the fuck is thi-" he realizes what's making the noise. He yanks the ear muffs off and throws them on the floor, he hears his voice scream in static from the ear muffs as he backs away.

"HUSH now, QUIET now..
It's time to lay your sleepy head...
HUSH now, QUIET now ..
IT'S TIME TO GO TO BED...
HUSH now, QUIET now ...
Don't want the monster hearing you...
Hush now, quiet now...
The one inside your head.."

Suddenly a wave of pressure clamps down on his head, agonizingly bringing him down to his knees and gripping his head and hair. The headaches come back, but feels more like something is crushing him instead. He hears repeatedly as his head feels like it's ripping itself apart from the inside,

"HUSH now, QUIET now ..."

"Don't want the monster hearing you..."

"HUSH now, QUIET now..."

"The one INSIDE YOUR HEAD.."

The pain amplifies every time the voice screams 'inside your head', he feels a stabbing pain throughout his head and feels warm liquid flow down the right of his face. He drags his hand grudgingly to his face, drenched in dark red liquid he starts shaking from shock. It keeps repeating inside of his head, over and over,

"HUSH now, QUIET now..."

"Don't want the monster hearing you..."

"HUSH now, QUIET now..."

"THE ONE INSIDE YOUR HEAD.."

"DON'T play, with the darkness..."

"They do love some games as well.."

"DON'T play, with the darkness..."

"Else you go to..."

Hush now. Quiet now.

Don't let it hear you.

Don't let it get out...

Author's Note

Ironically enough, yesterday I got to experience 'The Trots' and rolling headaches, so..yay? Was why this was delayed until today. Is currently 4:20 AM.

Will continue later today, still a bit of a headache so I'm surprised I could finish this at all. May edit sometime later as I work on the next one today.