I was hurting all over. That was what I was first aware of when I woke. It was a throbbing ache that filled my entire body, and it wasn't letting up. Finally after lying where I was for who knows how long, days, hours, minutes, seconds, I was able to get past the pain and pay attention to my surroundings. It smelt of apples, and Equis. I was incapacitated inside Equis territory. My body hurt to much to panic. Turning to my ears, I didn't hear much, other than the occasional turning of a page. I was not alone. I tried to open my eyes to look at the owner of the book, but they were heavy as led. I groaned as the aching screamed loudly before it died back down to a throb.
There was a scrape of wood against wood, most likely a chair being pushed back and a scrambling of feet. For another while, it was completely quiet. I couldn't focus on anything but the pain. seconds ticked by, Or maybe hours, before I could even try to speak. I had to be careful at this point though, think about what I was going to say, and how I would phrase it. It was dangerous to do otherwise in the territory of the sun goddess.
More time pressed by as I finally found the words I was looking for. The words I had to have an answer for before I spoke of anything else. I opened my mouth and closed it, as it felt like a hinge that had not been oiled in years. I stretched my jaw a few more times, trying to ignore the pain it caused. The seconds ticked away as once more the pain swelled and subsided. "Am," I stopped as a bolt of lightning shot into my head from my creaky voice. I pushed on. "Am I in danger here?"
The voice that answered was strong, and masculine. It spoke with clarity, and calmness. The power of the voice's owner could easily be heard, as well as his gentleness. His answer was simple, direct, and comforting. All of this came from the one word he let come forth from his lips. "Nope."
I let the horrid pain take me back to the darkness of my sleep.
.oO0Oo.
Somebody's screaming. No, wait, it was just me. The pain was shooting through my body. I screamed again not sure of where I was. A fresh wave of the electric like pain jolted through my body, and I screamed again. The pain would not let up. There were voices, I couldn't make sense of them.
"Why's he screaming?"
I couldn't tell who had the voice.
"His wounds run very deep, the healing process is-"
I couldn't hear the rest of what was said as I let out a new wail of pain. My eyes wouldn't open.
"Is there a way to stop him from feeling it?"
Was this real? Was it in my head? I couldn't tell. All I knew was pain, as it pressed from the inside of my body, to the outside. Like needles scraping my flesh, like molten iron being poured into my digestive track, like my bones being twisted in circles, then crushed into dust.
"Stop!" I managed to get the word out of my mouth, but the pain seemed only to get worse. I screamed as loud as I could, "PLEASE STOP" but my torturers wouldn't listen. I let out another roar of pain. Was this punishment for what I did? Suddenly, the pain died down once more to a throbbing ache.
"It's over Sugarcube."
It was that voice. That gentle and strong voice. I suddenly felt very safe, and very tired. I slipped into unconsciousness once more.
.oO0Oo.
The pain had subsided back to what it had felt like when I first woke up. It was cold, and I was shivering. I tried to call out, but I couldn't find my voice. My throat burned for water. I swallowed, and felt the back of my throat split in two. Ignoring the pain, I swallowed again, this time managing to moisten my parched mouth. "Is there somebody there?" I rasped. It hurt to talk. It hurt to even think. There was no answer. I was alone, and I was afraid. I was ready to panic, when I picked up on a strange noise from nearby. Listening carefully, I could tell that it was Snoring. I had to get their attention. I opened my mouth again, and tried to speak, but it felt like my mouth would peel away from the effort. I pushed past the pain once again. "Water." I coughed once, and instantly regretted it, as my body writhed around me from the pain. I held back the rest of the coughing, not ready for more pain. The snoring had stopped. I heard footsteps exiting out of the room, and after a couple of minutes, the footsteps came back in. they traveled to the side of my bed, and the floor creaked as the owner of the footsteps stooped down.
I felt cool glass touch my lips. "Drink." It was the voice. The one I heard before. I opened my mouth as he slowly poured the cool water inside. It was a long time before the glass was half empty, seeing as how he had to stop many a time and allow me to swallow. And longer still to finish the rest of the drink.
I wanted to express my gratitude to him for staying so long by my side, just to let me drink a small glass of water. I wanted to tell him that it was appreciated. But my mouth did not want to move. I forced my voice one last time before blacking out. "Thank you."
.oO0Oo.
The pain was now a distant ache, easily ignored. I felt all of my senses heightened in a natural response to danger. The space around me smelt of must and decay. The floor underneath my back was cold and dirty. I heard the groans of old support beams struggling under the weight of what was above them.
This was not where I had fallen asleep at. I opened my eyes with relative ease. It was very dark. After a few moments, I picked myself up. I blew a controlled gust of fire into the air, briefly lighting up the area. It only served to make my night vision worse. I blew another flame, for a longer duration. I saw a desk, with a candle. I quickly grabbed the candle and lit it, so not to waste my reserves. The room around me was small, and completely made of stone. A bookshelf to my left leaned on its side against a wall, and several bottles, papers, and books had lie scattered around it. To my right was an old wall with several illegible sheets of literature. I looked to the desk in front of me, where I had grabbed the candle from. It had nothing on it, save for a small statue of one of the equis' princesses. Celestia, I think.
.oO0Oo.
Shadows of my dreams danced menacingly across my closed eyelids. I tried opening my eyes, but I was still too weak. I was still cold, enough to know that I was not in my draconic form. I take a moment debating whether I should say something. Sighing inwardly, my mouth found its way open and my dry voice took to the air. "I'm cold." After a few moments I felt something warm drape over my body, and I found my way back into comfort. I heard the footsteps walking away. I had to speak, before he was gone. "Wait." The person stopped. "Please don't leave me here."
Where did that come from? Was I so insecure as to fear being here without the owner of the voice? "I'll be right back Sugarcube." He spoke firmly. The word Sugarcube ran through my mind a few times, and I found I didn't mind the name so much. I heard him leave the room, and after just a few moments I heard him enter once more. Again another soft and warm weight was cast over me, and I managed to find my way into a blissful sleep.
Though I felt worried what my next wake up call would bring me.