Ghostly shimmer

When she woke up Sunset was strapped to a bed being wheeled out of a large van towards a building, women in nurses outfits, one she recognised as Nurse Redheart, and men in lab coats at both her sides, one with a clipboard followed closely by Principal Celestia. "W-wha?" She said weakly as she slowly woke up "What's going on?"

Nurse Redheart gave her a concerned look like a worried aunt and placed a hand on her forehead "Shh it's alright sweetie." She said calmly "We're just taking you to a place where you can get some help, the people here are very nice and are going to help make you better ok?"

"Mhhh o-ok." Sunset said not quite able to think clearly yet, she watched as they stopped briefly in the main reception, and she watched as Principal Celestia filled out some paperwork.

"Alright is that all of it?" Celestia asked.

"Yes ma'am, don't worry she'll be we'll looked after here, I only hope we can help her, form what you've told us she's experienced severe trauma both self inflicted and otherwise." A man at the desk in lab coat said.

"I know, please try your best, that's all I can ask." Celestia said before turning to Sunset and Nurse Redheart who still stood beside her refusing to leave the gurney "how's she feeling?" Celestia asked Nurse Redheart as they stood over her, Sunset barely able to keep her eyes open.

"She's fine, still drowsiest from the sedative, thankfully it wasn't a lethal dose but still I fear I might've given her too much."

Celestia sighed. "Alright, can you speak with the doctors so I know what they have planned for her treatment? I want to have a moment alone with Sunset."

"Ofcourse miss." Nurse Redheart replied and walked over to a group of doctors looking of Sunset's case files.

"Sunset Shimmer?" Celestia said softly, Sunset had turned to face the wall. "Sunset please look at me." Sunset slowly turned to Celestia, she tried to get up but the restraints made it impossible. "You're going to be staying here for a while alright? These people are going to help you."

"What does that mean " Sunset asked some tears forming in her eyes. "Am I sick? What's wrong with me?" Celestia dried her tears.

"Nothing." She said "you're just.. Going through a very difficult phase and.. These doctors and nurses are just going to look after you and make sure you don't hurt yourself.. Then once you're all better you can come back to school and we'll see about getting you properly accommodated."

"Ok." Sunset said unsure if anything else would only make things worse.

"I'll even tell your friends you're here so they can come and visit alright?" Celestia said putting a hand on Sunset's forehead brushing her hair, which had become a tangle rats nest during her struggles, out of her eyes.

Sunset smiled at this. "Yeah." She said. "That's be nice."

"Alright then." Celestia said gently placing a Crutch, the same Crutch from the nurses office by Sunset on the gurney. "And remember what Nurse Redheart said, I want you to try take it easy and co-operate with the doctors while you're here alright?"

"Ok." Sunset said still wearing a brave smile, though inside she was ready to break down and start crying.

And Celestia could see it in her eyes.

A few minutes later Sunset laid on yeh gurney in the same place, watching as through the small window she could see Celestia arguing with the institute head about something, but what was a mystery as the room had been soundproofed so as not to rile up the patients when events such as this occurred. Whatever it was Celestia was so angry about, Nurse Redheart sympathised.

Meanwhile inside the warden's office. "This is a clinic meant to treat and help people!" Celestia cried in frustration "but you haven't even begun to attempt treating her and you want to lock her up and forget about her?!"

"We'll upon filling out the admittance forms you checked no on the permission to use anti psychotics medication." The Warden by the name of Headcase said showing Celestia the forms she had filled out on the way in. "And without medical treatment I'm afraid there are only a few, rather risky alternatives that could either have no effect or have catastrophic effects on the poor girl's already stable mental status."

"I refused the use of pills and medicines because that is what got her into this state!" Celestia snapped slamming her hands on his desk.

"Surely there are other treatments." Nurse Redheart interjected. "Therapy for example, indoctrination, perhaps an intervention with her friends and family."

"As far is our records, city council's records and this form your principal filled in." Headcase said gesturing to the forms again. "She has no family, and as far as friends go I fear from what I've seen she doesn't have many."

"But she still has some." Celestia said. "I know the students personally I could bring them here to try and help her."

"If that were an option miss Celestia you wouldn't have brought her to us... We'll see what we can do to help her using therapy but I tell you therapy only goes so far." And with that Celestia and Nurse Redheart left the office, passing Sunset in the reception area and Sunset watched them leave as a doctor pushed her gurney into the intensive care wing, accompanied by a nurse with a clipboard and Headcase. "Alright miss Shimmer just remain calm now." Headcase said his tone much softer and gentler then it was back in his office with Celestia. "We're going to start your treatment tomorrow but just for today we'll be taking it easy with a quick tour do you understand?" He asked with a false smile her wore to try coax patients into trusting him and the doctors.

"A-alright." Sunset said a little nervously.

"Very good, we'll start with the garden then, I think you'll like it very much." He said. "It's lovely this time of year, warm and full of the most beautiful flowers in bloom and if you'd like we can arrange for you to be given your own little patch to grow anything you'd like."

"That'd be nice." Sunset said slowly starting to regain her senses but with a mild headache as the sedative wore off.

"Now now." Headcase said wiping her forehead with his pocket ha key as he noticed her sweating and struggling. "The pain will wear off momentarily you're just adjusting now that the sedative is working it's way out of your system." He put the Hanley back in his pocket and Sunset turned to a window as they passed a glass hallway spanning through the garden. The bright colours hurt her eyes and made the headache worse but they were rather soothing to look at when compared to the cold sterile environment of the rest if the facility. "Now this is the game Room." Headcase said continuing with the tour. "Here you can draw, play bingo, do a puzzle or if you'd like one of e nurses can even play chess or checkers with you."

"Sounds like fun." Sunset said giving a weak chuckle which made the nurse beside her smile, then the smile faded as she read the reports on her files realising why Headcase was being so nice.

"The cantina is just down that hall on the left, there are bathrooms in every hallway just look for the pink doors and ofcourse there is a bathroom in your room." They came to a door and as Headcase opened it the doctor wheeled Sunset into the room leaving her in the corner still strapped to the gurney. The walls were padded in some areas and the window had bars on it, other then that though it looked like a normal bedroom, there was a door which Sunset assumed lead to the bathroom that Headcase had been talking about. "if you need anything simply push this button." Headcase said pointing to a button on the wall just beside where they had put Sunset's gurney. "And one of the Nurses or Doctors will be with you shortly to help you with anything you need alright?"

"Ok." Sunset replied. "Thank you."

"Alright." Headcase said. "I'm going to un strap you know, I want you to be a good girl for me and just stay still until I leave the room alright?"

"Alright." Sunset said and with a smile Headcase slowly undid the straps around her wrists, ankles and upper arms, her crutch fell on the floor and the nurse picked it up handing it to her. "Thank you." Sunset said hugging it on her chest as the nurse and Doctor followed Headcase outside, closing the door with a smile before tightly locking. It in three places.

Sunset slowly got up, standing on her good leg as she sat up and putting her crutch down before getting up and hobbling over to the window, her broken leg somewhat dangling an inch or two off the ground as she bent it slightly at the knee, she stared down at the bandages holding the splint to her thigh that went all the way down to her knee, then up at the sun out the window.

A bird sat on the branch of a tree just outside her window singing a happy tune as it snuggled down in it's neck we'll built nest.

Sunset smiled.. Then her mouth quivered and her emotional banks finally burst.. As she hugged herself with one arm, leaning on her crutch as she softly started sobbing to herself...

The next day Sunset woke up on her gurney with the sunrise, she gave a soft chuckle thinking it somewhat poetic. Then she returned to depression as she saw the shadows of the bars on her window on the wall infront of her stretched across the door to her room.

She slowly got up and hobbled into the bathroom, freshening up and brushing her teeth, when she came back however she heard the locks come undone and a nurse and a doctor with a clipboard walked in, 'all these clipboards what were they for?' She wondered 'always someone, always writing on a clipboard.'

"Good morning kiss Shimmer." The nurse said kindly. "Did you sleep well?" Then she noticed the nurse holding what looked like a set of scrubs, you know those greeny blue pyjama like things training doctors and nurses wear or kinda like those gowns patients wear before surgery. "Um g-good morning." Sunset replied finally. "Y-yeah I slept.. Fine.. Um what're those for?"

"Oh well we couldn't give you your new clothes until we knew your correct size. The nurse explained calmly "these are just for you to wear while you're here, you can't very we'll wear those same clothes on your back every day." He said with a soft chuckle.

"Um I-if it's ok I.. I'd rather keep my jacket and." Sunset was cut off by the nurse.

"Oh no don't worry you'll still have your clothes, we'll just wash them for you, catalogue them so we know they're yours and then they'll be put into your wardrobe over there to wear during one of our outings, the doctors sometimes find it helps to organise small trips in which patients in small groups will be taken to a park or a pantomime to make them laugh or cheer them up a bit."

"O-oh." Sunset said "th-that's ok.. I.. I guess."

"Would you like some help?" The nurse asked kindly. At which Sunset blushed.

"Um n-no thanks!" Her face went about as red as a tomato "I-I can manage."

"Not with that leg." The doctor said. "I highly advise accepting help form one of our nurses." Then the nurse interjected at the doctor's rather harsh tone.

"It's alright doctor I think I know the problem, I'll go get one of the female nurses for you alright?" Sunset smiled nervously and nodded appreciative that the nurse understood why she'd been so nervous.

"Alright I'll be outside waiting for you, when you're changed we'll take you to start your treatment." The doctor said as the nurse left the scrubs on Sunset's Gurney and they both exited the room, closing the door behind them. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the gurney, noticing for the first time the area where it was had a rail along the ceiling with a curtain dangling from it, this was probably incase a doctor walked in while a patient requiring assistance was being changed or aided in a private matter, suppositories for example.

The disturb it thoughts of what other reasons the curtain might be there for disturbed Sunset so she paid it no more mind, a few of them were even so preposterous they almost made her laugh.... Almost.

A few minutes later she sat Im a wheelchair, crutch laid across her lap, pushed by the male nurse from before, the female nurse who and helped her change walking away to process and wash her clothes. The doctor with the clipboard walking beside them, sunset kept her eyes locked on him as he turned to her momentarily,wrote something down then began to speak

"I believe the first treatment we should explore is a light approach, we'll start with a few mental exercises to determine your level of mental trauma and adjust further treatment accordingly, is that ok?"

"Y-yes that sounds fine." Sunset replied trying to stay clam, in truth that frightened her a little. Then her eyes went wide as she swore one of the nurses she saw pass her was none other then Sonata dusk, who smirked and winked at her as she walked into a Doctor's office.

"Everything alright miss Shimmer?" The doctor asked noticing her staring at the door.

"Y-yeah." Sunset replied. "Sorry just.. Seeing things I guess." She instantly regretted those words as the doctor gave a hmmm and a wrote something else down. 'Great going Sunset.' She mentally scolded herself. 'You're in  a mental hospital and you just told them you think you're hallucinating, that'll get you out of here quicker.' She thought sarcastically.

The nurse wheeled her into a small rock  with a desk with an office chair behind it, a computor and a filing cabinet next to a bookshelf filled with medical journals and healthcare handbooks. The doctor sat down in the chair and as the nurse stepped outside he took out a small stack of paper, placing the clipboard down and pressing the tip of his pen to one of the forms clipped onto it. "Alright miss Shimmer I'm going to show you four ink blots and I want you to tell me what you see."

"O-oh alright." Sunset said nervously, the do for held up the first one and Sunset raised an eyebrow as she tilted her head slightly. "Uuh that one kinda looks like." She said thinking of how to phrase what she thought she was seeing. "A woman sitting ontop of a man's chest with her hands over his eyes." The doctor wrote something down and held up a second ink blot "umm." Sunset squinted slightly unsure what she was looking at, for food measure the doctor turned the ink blot upside down. "Oh that kinda looks like a skull." She said now able to make something out of the obscure ink blot.

"Alright very good miss Shimmer." He said writing something else down. "And this one?"

Sunset looked at the third blot "hmm that kind of looked like chains." She said and as the doctor gave a simple hmm and wrote something else down he held up the finale blot, sunset froze. "Uuuum." Her heart started pounding.

"What is it miss Shimmer? What do you see?" Her asked.

"Uhh I.. I see." Sunset stared at the blot her eyes wide open in terror, staring back at her in the malformed blob of smeared ink she saw all three of the Dazzlings, laughing, she swore she could even hear them laughing. "Th-three laughing girls." She said scaredly afraid to reveal the specifics of what she was seeing "c-can you put that one down please?" She asked

The doctor looked confused for a moment, then concerned as he put the ink blot down and wrote something on his clipboard.  "Alright miss Shimmer you can return to your room now or if you'd like you can go to the game room, I'll just need to confer with the Warden before we commence with proper treatment."

"O-ok." Sunset said. "We'll um thanks." She said as the nurse wheeled her out of his office, as the door shut blocking her form view the doctor rubbed his temples. "Sigh she's a lost cause." He said and picked up the phone on the desk "Miss Harshwhinney please redirect me to the Warden." He asked the receptionist on yeh other end of the line.