A New Take On Life

Chapters

Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV

Chapter I

BLANK SPACE AND NOTHINGNESS was all I could perceive. An inky blackness that just filled my mind to the brim, pushing out all other cognitive thought and reason. The blackness was soothing and terrifying at the same time. It was calm, yet raging. Smooth, yet rough. It was everything and nothing. All meaning meant nothing in this void. While my brain knew not of what it could be processing, my very soul could, and it brought chills with its revelation. I could feel an outline, an outline of my body. It was cold. So very cold. My fingers burned and my feet ached, my face stung and my chest tried to shiver, shutter, shake and move.

This chill began to replace all things in this black emptiness, and it felt like an eternity of torture. My brain was catching up with what my body already knew, and it began to scream at my limbs to start moving once more, at my heart to start pumping again, in order to shake off this terrible cold. But in death, nothing can be done. So with body and mind afloat within the darkness that was what I presumed was the afterlife, all actions halted for a while.

Time within the void was a non-existent notion. I could have been floating along for seconds, for minutes, hours, days, years, and I would not be able to tell how long I was there. Though I felt my body, I could not see it. The cold blackness enveloped all of my sight. With nothing to do, what was left of my mind began operating on autopilot, but there was no pre-set operation for it to follow.

Suddenly, a dot of white opened up in the distance. A single bright dot, nearly blinding in the eerie void. It began to grow in size as it floated closer to my soul, taking shapes as it did. My disembodied mind easily recognized these shapes; a triangle, a hexagon, an octagon, a circle, then it blinked shut. But only for what must have been a moment, for it reopened into a rectangular form. Colors zipped by and mixed within the box. Bright pinks and violets, vivid blues and greens, unreal oranges and reds, all the colors of the visible spectrum muddled together in an organized chaos. Until...

It began to form a picture... Of me.

My memory, my last memory of when I was still alive. It was me, looking in a mirror in the restroom of my town's Denny's. I was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, the ones my friend Beatrice told me to get. They were three sizes too big, but I wore a white belt made of something similar to plastic and hemmed up the legs a bit. They were much more comfortable than regular pants. There was a hole purposely made in the blue fabric in the right knee, and another purposeful partial hole on the front of my left upper leg, showing off the frazzled white threads of the underlining. My white sneakers with the overly-large tongues, beautifully tied in graceful butterfly knots, covered my black sock-covered feet. The front of my gray hoodie was unzipped, cutting the cartoonish skull and crossbones that adorned the front of it in half and allowing me to see a slice of the black tank top underneath. Beatrice and Sandy said that black looked good on anyone, and that a tight shirt was appealing. I didn't like it because you could see the straps of my bra on my shoulders when I wore it. Sandy would suggest that I shouldn't wear one, but every time I would always insist. My girls may have just qualified for c-cup sized support, but that didn't mean that a tight-fitting tank top gave me the support I needed.

My face... It looked so different than I could have ever remembered. It was like looking at myself for the first time. My skin seemed a shade or two too pale for my tastes, my current ones, anyway. My white skin looked like it would burn easily in the memory, but I couldn't remember if it was true. My cute shallow jawline led my sight up to my smallish nose. Underneath it was a set of thin lips that were currently split in a smile. I could see my white teeth shine in the reflection, except where that piece of parsley was stuck, and I tried to remove it with a clean fingernail. My cheeks had a faint peppering of freckles, though the left half of my face was covered in a wave of shoulder-length golden brown hair that shined in the mirrors reflection. Yeah, down to the shoulders in the front, and just a few inches short of my waistline in the back. I was very protective of my hair; I never cut it, except for a trim, which is why it was so long in the back. My dad hated that it was so long, always worrying that it would get caught in doors and such. I loved having my hair long enough to touch my chin in the front, and even longer in the back, because it protected me. Not in a sense of life and death, but more in a social way. With half of my face behind a curtain of brown hair, it left something to the imagination, something mysterious that just... felt right. I don't have any sort of birthmark to cover, or a blind eye, I just wore my hair like that because I liked it that way. The one eye I could see was a bright and colorful one, the light brown centering the pupil gave way to a mottled green in a hazel-like appearance. It almost looked like gold.

Once my former self was satisfied with ~~her, my~~—our teeth, we made our way to the exit. I stopped and paid my bill, stopping a bit longer than anyone really should have, but the current clerk was a friend from school. Janet, the cute one of my circle. Head full of blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a catching smile with a matching voice that just raked in tips. We chatted a bit about school junk, homework, class, Kevin. Kevin moved to our not so little townish city of Warren, Michigan about two years ago. He was cute, smart, not really much of a jock, but still strong enough to take care of himself. He was one of those guys you read about in books or see in movies that was every girl's dream guy. He was instantly popular, and even after two years, still single.

Janet never stopped gushing about how cute Kevin was. The dimples he got when he smiled, his spikey dirty blond hair on top of that super pale face of his, the little scar he had on the edge of his left eyebrow that was somehow lighter than his already white skin, she even said his braces were cute. It was a handful to really get anything out of Janet that wasn't Kevin related. Nearly every conversation ended with her staring off into space, mumbling about how someday, she would be Mrs. Mac Loughlin. Kevin was Irish. She was New Jerseyian. I didn't see it happening.

After my fill of 'Kevin talk,' I bid Janet goodbye, fumbled my wallet, retrieved it in an embarrassed hurry, and left the restaurant. The reason why I had even gone to the wonderful pancake house popped into the back of my mind. I had just been handed back the score of my SAT test from school earlier that day. I scored within the top ten percent of the school's top rating. Nearly perfect among a school of thirteen hundred strong!

A surge of happiness covered my being as I remembered that wondrous time, and some of the happiness from my memory seeped over to me. I watched on as my former self began to walk home in the dreary overcast afternoon. I finally zipped up my hoodie and flipped up my hood to cover myself from the chilly winds that constantly blew in from over the great lakes. It was a short walk from Denny's to my house. My hand extracted itself from my pockets of my hoodie to reach into the front left pocket of my jeans. My key ring jingled as I pulled it out, and I casually flipped through the dozen keys on the small metal ring.

I heard my voice play over through my memory, and it just... sounded so odd in the void, being the only source of audio. "Hm, garage... bike lock... safe... other safe... Beatrice's house... Fucking come on... There you are, you little bastard." I finally jammed the right key into the lock and turned the knob. At the same time, my phone alerted me through a catchy tune and a vibrating left ass cheek that I had a new text message to read. I watched myself reach back and pull my phone out of my rear left pocket and checked out the scraggly message Sandy had sent me.

~PARTY 2NITE @ BEA'S PLACE! U IN?~ I never got to reply as I opened the door and stepped into a white hole of nothing.

The memory window flicked and faded, leaving me to float alone within the black emptiness once again. Why had it shown itself to me? I'll never know, but what I did know is that seeing my former life filled me with emotions. Happiness turned bitter and formed a more prominent feeling; sadness. There was nothing here in this void for me. In death, I was lost to drift alone. Forever.

After what could have been eons, a stir in the void shifted my attention. The darkness around me began to shimmer, then turn to a very, very dark blue. This new color filled the entire space of whatever purgatory this was, and left my floating within a sea of that one single color. All the sadness I felt about seeing my life began to melt away, and a new feeling replaced it. Security.

Whatever was happening, I felt safe. I felt better. The cold that was stinging my non-existent body faded to nothing. This color was so safe. If I was doomed to float alone through the blank slate of the afterlife like this... I suppose I could be content with this. The feeling of being safe, like when my mother would hug me after a hard day of work. I could almost feel her comforting grasp around me. I could almost hear her whisper into my ear.

"...You are safe now."

• • •

THE VERY FIRST THING that entered my mind was uncomfortableness. A rumbling deep within my body, one that nearly rattled my bones and shook my brain. My head threatened to split as everything turned on at once. My body felt fabric, soft fabric, all over. My hearing picked up a soft, calm, rhythmic beeping. My nose caught scent of something familiar, something like... snapdragons. A memory of those unique and beautiful orange flowers popped into my mind as I inhaled deeply, letting the wonderful smell calm my body and take the pain away.

I forced my eyes to open a sliver, and I was greeted by dim lighting. I looked to my left and saw my arm on top of the pale green blanket that covered me. An IV tube was stuck into the crook of my elbow, the line leading up to a bag of fluids that dangled from a low-set pole. A plastic cuff was around my wrist, and the wires that stuck out from the side of it led up to a machine. The machine that was beeping at me. A heart rate monitor. I glanced at it long enough to see my heart rate was sitting at a normal seventy-four beats per minute.

I'm in a hospital? What happened? My head turned to the right, and my heart rate started to climb. Beside me was a doctor, I think. He was wearing a white overcoat over a brown tee shirt and blue gloves on his hands. He was idly patting his knees, which were cloaked in a pair of black jeans. A stethoscope around his neck told me he should be a doctor, but mostly it was the little badge clipped onto the front of his coat that clearly said 'physician.' Black hair sprouted from his head, and his lip, giving him a thin moustache that crawled up the side of his face into his sideburns. His green eyes were locked onto his brown shoes, at least until he spotted me staring at him. He offered me a smile, showing off the gap in his teeth where he was missing his front most right upper tooth. All in all, I couldn't help but think one thing; Handsome.

"Well, well, well, Good morning sleepy head," he said in a calm, soothing voice. Not even a second later, he reached down beside him and brought up a small plastic pail. It was white with a thin, flimsy red handle. Leaning forward, the doctor put the pail on the edge of my bed. "Be a dear and hold onto that for me, would you?"

I nodded slowly, reaching out with my right arm and grabbing the pail. I pulled it closer, basically snuggling it in my armpit, as I tried to form words. The doctor, seeing me struggle to do so, held up his hands.

"Nonono, don't try and talk. Trust me." He stood from his seat and stepped over to me. "Just give it a few minutes." He gave me a reassuring smile, trying to be as calm as possible. I suppose it's normal, him being a person of medical staff, to try and keep me, a patient, calm and collected.

So, I heeded his words and held my tongue for the time being. Seconds ticked by, and he continued to stand at my side while passing the time by examining me. He pressed two fingers against my neck to check my pulse, not really the rate, but how strong it may have been. After that, he did the same with my forehead. Somewhat satisfied with me, the doctor returned to his standing position as he gazed at the clock on the wall, ready for anything that may happen. I began to wonder why he was still there, instead of sitting back in his chair. Maybe he was happy to see me awake? Maybe he was still checking me over to see if there was anything wrong? No, he was silently moving his lips, like he was talking to himself. I looked down at his hands, which he had spread out in front of him, and every second the ticked by, he retracted a finger. Maybe he was—

I felt my esophagus shorten and scrunch up, pulling my stomach up with it. My first gag clicked with my brain, and it told me to put my face in the bucket, which I did. As soon as I had my body curled over the pail, I proceeded to empty the contents of my gut into the plastic bucket. I felt the doctor pull my hair back with one hand and pat the back of my neck with the other as I heaved a second time, expelling more of my half-digested Denny's dinner special. I arched again as more came flowing out, this time trying to gasp as I lost my breathe with the last one. A few seconds past before I heaved one more time, this time nothing coming out.

I just laid there, my chin resting on the edge of the bucket as bile dripped from my lips into the puddle mere inches from my nose. The doctor continued to pat my neck and back in a repetitive manner as I breathed heavily from the aftermath of my episode.

"Right on time. There, there," he said. "It's all over now." He gave me a few more pats before he just held his gloved hand there on my neck, the cool, sticky feeling of the rubber glove ebbing away at the discomfort I was feeling. I brought my face away from the bucket, and the doctor reached back. When his hand returned, I saw a small collection of napkins between his fingers. "Here, these should help. Just dump them in the bucket when you're done."

I nodded again, taking the napkins from him and wiping my face. Once I got everything, I dropped the crumbled papers into the pail with my dinner and shoved myself into a sitting position, clenching my eyes as I did. I felt the cool air waft over me as the blanket dropped from my shoulders and piled around my waist.

"Feel better?" the doctor asked me. I didn't look at him again, but I nodded once more. "Good to hear. We all know what it feels like to go through that, and it isn't pleasant."

"Where... am I?" I managed to croak. Speaking hurt my throat, and everything I tasted was acidic and terrible.

"You are in the Canterlot Medical Wing," the doctor stated. "You've just been in an accident. Don't worry, you're fine, thankfully."

I put my head in my hands, groaning as I moved. "What... ugh..."

"What kind of accident?" the doctor finished for me. I gave a simple hum as an answer. "...Well, let's just say that you were in a traveling accident."

I cracked my eyes open and looked over at him. "...Like... I was hit by a car?"

He shrugged. "Do you feel like you were?"

"...Kinda." I let my head drop again, staring into the pile of blanket surrounding my midsection. My bare midsection. I felt my eyebrows climb as my eyes drifted higher up my own belly until I caught sight of something a bit... disturbing. My left arm snaked down to my legs—being mindful not to go too far and twist the IV feed—and slipped under the covers, trying to feel something that wasn't blanket. A surge of energy rushed through my body, making me feel a bit more normal. I glared over at the doctor as I covered my chest with my right arm. "Why am I naked!?" I managed to yell at him. The sudden change in volume surprised the man, and he held his hands up in surrender.

"You're clothes needed to be washed. When we arrive here, all clothing is riddled with whatever was nearby. Yours were slathered in syrup and paper pulp." He gestured to the bed I was laying in. "Before anything else, your clothes are clean now, and are waiting for you in a bag on the left side of your bedside."

"Not even a gown?" I asked him. He just shook his head.

"Laundry day."

"Aren't I... ugh..." I tried to ask him something, but my stomach threatened to flip again. The doctor, however, was prepared for this. He reached down beside him and pulled up a small plate with a few items. "...What's that?" I asked him.

"Ginger root, banana chips, and a few peppermint leaves." He placed the plate of unusual food items on the edge of my bed, right beside my bucket of sick. "Eat them. They'll help with the nausea."

There was only about a mouthful total present on the plate, so... I scooped the whole thing up with my left hand—once again being careful of my intubation—and dumped it into my mouth. My energy was already returning, and I felt like, even though I was a bit queasy, I had just woke refreshed from a nap, aside from the slight ache my joints held. I chewed thoroughly, trying to choke down the distinct taste of ginger and mint. Once my small snack was finished, I motioned to the doctor with my free hand.

"...What's your name?" I asked him. He game me another smile.

"My name is Dean Carton. I'm the local nurse."

"You're a nurse? I thought you were the doctor."

He chuckled. "No, just a nurse. I was training up when I arrived here like you."

"Like me?"

"Yeah..." Dean trailed off as he looked towards the door leading out of the room. "...But I make due with what I've got here. I was the third to arrive here in Canterlot about three years back, almost exactly. You are number twenty-four."

"...Are there any doctor's here?" I asked him, not trying to be mean, but I kind of wanted a real professional here.

Dean nodded at my question. "Yes, there are, but they don't know much about human physiology."

"...What?"

"And comes the hardest part of this job," Dean mumbles. "How do you feel now?"

"Um, better? I guess."

"Good. Do you think you can walk?" The question caught me off guard, but I nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" Dean just stood up.

"Let's get you dressed. This will go a lot more smoothly if we start moving."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him, concern beginning to knot my now soothed gullet. Dean rubbed the back of his neck with a gloved hand, then decided to take them off. The rubbery snap of the gloves pulling away from his flesh made me cringe both times, but he ignored it and rubbed his neck again.

"When I start explaining, I'll be telling you a lot of things you don't want to hear, and even more things you won't believe. If we walk and talk, I can show you, which would make things easier." He looked up at my questioning face, and sighed again. "Look, I know how this must sound, but it's all for the best. I've done this about a dozen times now."

"...Okay then."

With my agreement now out in the open, Dean walked over to my left side and began his work. He slowly and carefully unhooked my wrist from the heart rate monitor, which flat lined at the absence of my skin, then he quickly turned it off. Dean slid his hand up my arm to my IV feed, and peeled back the medical tape that kept it in place. With the adhesive now gone, Dean, with utmost care, proceeded to slide the needle out of my vein. As soon as he did, a wad of cotton was placed on the small hole, and he applied some new tape-like gauze to secure the cotton ball. Dean gave me a smile as he finished wrapping my arm.

"Can I get your name?" he asked me in a soft tone. I felt myself relax at his voice.

"...Jennifer. Jennifer Hawkins. But most people just call me Jenny." He nodded again as he took my name into his mind.

"Okay Jenny, it's nice to meet you." I felt my snarky side start to surface, and couldn't help but tease him a bit.

"Yeah, I bet you say that to all the naked girls you meet."

Dean simply coughed into his hand as he stood up. "Yes, well, that has been the case with the four others I've helped." Dean bent over and picked up a small brown paper bag and set it between my legs. "Here, let's get you dressed."

"I can dress myself," I said as I grabbed the bag while trying to keep myself covered. I reached into the back and dug around a bit before I pulled out my black tank top. I dug a bit more and found my gray bra inside too, tangled with my white plastic belt. After trying to untangle them with one hand, I glanced up at Dean, who was idly staring at his shoes with his head turned away. "...Can I have a bit of privacy?" I said loud enough to break him from whatever stupor he was in.

"I'll give you a minute," he said rather quickly as he made his way to the door. Dean exited the room, leaving me alone with my clothes.

Finally in the clear, I let my right arm drop from my chest and join my left in untangling my garments. I finally untangled my bra and began to put it on, being careful of my new bandaging. However, a pinch that just seemed to get worse the more I tried kept emanating from my newly bandaged elbow when I tried to reach back and hook my bra in place. I groaned as I slipped my tank top over it. I'd figure it out later.

I lifted the bag and threw the rest of the blanket off of my lower body. Wasn't I supposed to be in some sort of gown? Even one like on House where it just ties shut at the back? But no, I was stark naked from the waist down now, and truthfully, I didn't care for the fact that Dean had, most likely, seen everything I had to offer. I pulled my legs over the edge of the bed and straightened up. The feeling of vertigo quickly passed as I looked at the floor, and I dug into the bag again to find another article of clothing. And I did.

My hand retreated with my pair of gray panties in tow. A special cute pair I had picked up for the hell of it. They were a simple gray, but on the right side of the waistband, right on my hip, was a white skull with a pink bow resting on top. I looped my legs through the holes and began hiking them up just as Dean opened the door and poked his head in.

"Jesus, I didn't think you really meant 'one minute!'" I practically yelled at him as I pulled my underwear up to their respective place. No, I think I genuinely yelled at him.

"Sorry about that," was all Dean said.

"...Whatever," I grumbled. "I need a favor, anyway."

"What is it?" I turned my back on him, but looked over my shoulder.

"...Can you help me hook my bra?"

"Sure."

Dean made his way over to my side again, and placed a clipboard down on my bed. Wonder why he picked that up outside instead of having it in here in the first place... Anyway, I fully turned my back to Dean and rolled up my shirt. He made quick work of hooking the back of my support piece together. I dressed quickly, well, as quickly as I could while I tried to snake a plastic belt through all of the loops of my jeans. With Dean's help, I stood to finish pulling up my pants and locking them in place.

I turned my face back to the bag to start digging for my socks when I saw a familiar glint of purple plastic. I pulled out my phone, somewhat happy that I still had it, and as I did, I saw that it was tangled in the mess of wires that I called my earphones. I gave another soft yank and my black iPod popped into view. But I soon grew annoyed as my attempts to turn it on failed. Dead battery. Same with my phone.

"Yeah, we all get that," Dean said nonchalantly. "There's no signal here, either, so all that is now is a clock," he said as he motioned to my phone. Ignoring him, I slid it into my back pocket with my iPod, saying to myself that I'd untangle my earphones later, and slipped my socks on, followed by my shoes, which were still tied. After a few seconds of maneuvering, I had slipped them over my feet and slapped them down on the tiled floor with a satisfying thwack!

"I know I said we should start walking," Dean started, making me look at him, "but we need to do something first."

He picked up his clipboard and pulled a pencil out of one of the pockets of his overcoat. He also pulled out a small black and white plastic thing with a cone at the end of it. He looked at me with pleading eyes, and it clicked with me after a second. I gave him a nod of my head, fixing my hair so that it covered the left half of my face once more.

"Okay then," he said as he closed the distance between us. Dean held my chin still with one hand as he looked into my left ear with his device. After a few seconds, he switched sides. Dean nodded to himself, wrote something down on the clipboard, then sat on the bed with me.

"Okay, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to answer them to the best of your knowledge, okay?"

"Yeah, go for it."

"Okay... Let's see..." Dean scanned over his clipboard before looking back at me. "Let me confirm. You are Jennifer Hawkins, correct? Is this how you spell your name?" I looked over his writing, and gave him a nod. "Good. How old are you?"

"Seventeen. Almost eighteen, my birthday's in a few months."

"Can I get your date of birth?"

"May twenty-third, Two-thousand-sixteen."

Dean nodded as wrote my info down. "Do you have any allergies?"

I put my finger to my chin as I thought. "...Kinda. I swell pretty badly if I get stung by bugs. Bees and spiders, and that." Dean scribbled on his paper as he recorded my info.

He coughed into his elbow before asking, "...What about food?"

"No, all clear there."

"Medication allergies?"

"Don't think so."

"Do you need to take any type of medication or vitamins? Hydrocodone? Zestril?"

"Negative."

"Do you require any type of physical aid, such as glasses or a hearing aid?"

"No, I don't."

"Do you have any sorts of diseases?"

"What, like AIDS?" My question forced Dean's eyebrows to arch, but he nodded. "...No, clean bill of health... before all this, I mean."

"Any special conditions or disorders? Diabetes, muscle arrhythmia, heavy leg syndrome?"

"Uh-uh, no."

"Do you have any physical disabilities?"

"No."

"Any mental disabilities?"

"No, I don't think so."

"I need you to touch your thumb with each of your fingers, one at a time."

This got me to cock my head. "What?"

Dean gestured to me with the tip of his pencil. "When you arrived here, your body was put through a great bit of stress. I need you to do this to show me that your motor skills haven't been affected." Nodding to show my understanding, I did as he asked. Dean then had me rotate my wrists and ankles, bend my knees and elbows, ex cetera.

"...If you needed me to do this, why were you going to have me walk out of here?" I asked him after all the touching was done.

"I kinda forgot," Dean admitted. "It's been a while since we've had a new addition. Seven months, actually." Before I could ask him another question, he did it to me. "And before you ask, you were only unconscious for about two hours. Okay, moving on. Do you know your blood type?"

"Two hours?" I repeated, ignoring his question. "What time is it?"

"It's about eight pm. Why?" I just stared at him for a second before shaking my head to clear my thoughts. "...Anyways, blood type?"

I didn't move for a second, mainly because the question caught me off guard. Wasn't he supposed to know this stuff since I was his patient? Slowly, I reached back into the bag and withdrew my hoodie. My hand slid into the pocket and pulled out my wallet. It was a simple wallet, a little black polyester thing that folded in two that was held closed by a strip of Velcro. I ripped it open, grabbed my blood donor's card from behind my library card, and read it aloud.

"Blood type O negative."

"Good." He scribbled down the last of what he needed. "Okay, I think we should get going."

"Where are we going?" I asked him as he helped pull me to my feet. Another small wave of vertigo washed over me as I stood, causing me to stumble. Dean instantly caught me, though it was unneeded.

"Well, since you are alert, it's best you meet the rest of the group sooner rather than later. Being around others in a similar situation will help soften the blow."

"What blow?"

"New friends in a new place. They'll try to be friendly to help you. I'll tell you as we walk." With that, he hooked his arm around my own and led me to the door.

I finished slipping on my hoodie as he closed the door, but my zipper skipped over a tooth, causing it to get stuck. I swiftly yanked it down and fixed it, and turned around to see Dean a few feet away talking to someone. Who he was talking to, I don't know; they were hidden behind the corner Dean stood in front of. He nodded and bent over, way over, to shake his client's hand. The guy must be short, really short.

"Thanks for letting me know," Dean said. "But remember, Jennifer is top priority. Make sure the rest of the staff knows she's awake."

"Understood, Sir Carton." Fading footsteps let me know Dean's friend had left. He must have been wearing tap dancing shoes or something, because his footprints clacked in a pretty loud way. Dean made his way back to me and hooked his arm around my own once more, then proceeded to lead me down the hall.

"Now, I'm going to be telling you a few things as we walk," he said calmly. "What I'm about to say may sound like a joke, or a prank, like most have thought when we went through this, but I assure you that it isn't. I will tell you things that will, most likely, cause you alarm, become fearful, sad, and or angry. But I want you to listen to me nonetheless and hold your questions and actions until I am done, okay?" The way he was presenting his little pre-speech made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, but I gave him a firm nod.

"I understand."

He nodded back, keeping his eyes forward. "Okay..." Dean held his breath as we walked for a time. After around a dozen steps, he exhaled and took in a new lungful of air. "...Have you ever heard of the Multiverse theory?"

I cocked my head at him, and ignored one of his rules. "The theory that for every action we take, there is another universe somewhere along the timeline or space-time continuum in which it branches off into it's own little world?" My question caused Dean to look at me for a second, before shrugging.

"Eh, yes and no. Basically, the theory that there is an infinite number of alternate worlds, dimensions, and possibilities all played by differing factors in said universe." Dean gestured to the ground before us as we kept moving. "This is one of those different worlds." I opened my mouth, but Dean cut me off. "I know what you're going to say; I'm crazy, that's not possible, what kind of joke are you playing, where am I really. Am I right?"

We actually stopped walking as I tried to think of a response. Dean rolled his weight around on the balls of his heels as he waited for me to say something. Eventually, I just crossed my arms under my breasts and nodded.

"Yeah, kinda." Dean gave me a pat on my back as he pulled me forward again, getting me started on walking again.

"I know, it sounds crazy, but just hear me out." Once again, he gestured to the floor below us. "This is Canterlot Castle, basically the capital building in the capital city in Equestria, as it houses the rulers of the continent. Please hold your questions until I am finished." I huffed as Dean shot me down again. "Now," he continued, "this is where it gets really weird.

"We are on a planet named Equus. That's spelled E-Q-U-U-S, two U's. It's a similar planet to Earth, able to sustain life of all kinds. However, it is much smaller. The sentient population of Equus is roughly around one point three billion. And unlike our planet, the surface of the planet is an equal fifty-fifty split between water and land. There is also an abundance of a new spectral element, commonly referred to as 'magic,' in every living being, plant, even the ground and air."

"Magic?" I repeated.

"Yes, magic." Dean waved his free hand around. "The same kind of magic you would read about in fantasy books, or see on television, you know, turning an orange into an apple, brooms moving on their own, and all that. I honestly have no idea how it works, but after a while, even we humans can gain special abilities after a prolonged exposure." Dean leaned his face in close to mine. "I'll warn you right here, right now. When we meet the other humans that live here, don't be surprised is you see levitating objects around them."

"What?" This guy must take me for an idiot.

"Moving on," Dean said rather quickly as he pulled me down a different corridor. This one must have been around the edge of the 'castle' because windows dotted the wall, letting in the sunset's beautiful orange light. A lot were decorated with red curtains with gold trim, and a few were glowing. I mean actually glowing, like, there was a visible aura next to the glass. Dean saw me staring at the windows as we passed one, my rubbernecking making it very clear.

"Ah, yes. There is magic in play firsthand. These windows are enchanted." I decided to just play along instead of arguing with Dean.

"...What are they enchanted for?"

"So they can't be shattered or broken."

"Why?"

"Our protection." Dean's voice held a tone that told me I wouldn't be getting much more info on that, yet. "There was an incident a few weeks before you showed up. Two, actually." Okay, maybe a bit of info. "It was a very hard time for us all. Security has been hyped up to try and keep reads on everyone here to prevent another occurrence like that, so when we reach the end of this hall and meet the others—"

"They'll try and be super friendly to help?"

He nodded at my answer. "Yes. I hope you don't mind that we've taken the long way," Dean said, nearly apologetically. "I need to explain this a bit more clearly."

For the next half hour or so, Dean spoke to me like I was a kid at summer camp, letting me know in a super cheery voice, how my new living arrangements would be. Apparently, all new arrivals are paired with a 'buddy' of sorts, someone to talk to and listen to as well. Partnering up like that, Dean explained, helped us cope with the situation at hand. He then began laying out the castle grounds, basically. The west wing was now dedicated to us; we had a dining hall all to ourselves, a section of the bedchambers, and access to the gardens. Well, technically we had access to most of the castle, but whatever. Once Dean and I would enter the dining hall, which he informed me had been turned into a bit of a recreation center and safe haven, I would officially meet the others like me, spend an hour with them to get to know the group, then I would be escorted to my new bedroom where I would meet my buddy.

"—and once everything is set up, we'll all sit down and talk about the future," Dean finished, his long explanation of what may or may not happen while I would be staying here. He looked forward again and smiled. "Well, looks like we're here."

I tore my eyes off of the side of Dean's face and followed his gaze. Before us stood a tall set of dark wooden doors, intricately carved with shapes of all sorts. The doors must have been at least ten feet tall, and with me being five foot five, made me feel pretty insignificant. Dean slowly reached for one of the golden handles and pulls it open, ushering me inside.

The initial sight of the room's interior had me frozen for a moment. It was large, very so, like twenty by fifty feet, and the ceiling hung waaaaaayy up there. A few chandeliers hung from the ceiling to serve as light fixtures. Just a few feet away from me, near the wall of the room, sat three people in large beanbags. Two of them, both men and one of them extremely tall looking, held gaming controllers in their hands, and were furiously tapping away to make their gun-totting soldier selves on the large television before them move to their will. The third, a young woman about my age sat with her feet up high on the table with the TV, just watching them with a smirk. Further down the room, near the large table that was covered in dishes and food scrapes, sat the front half of a large orange truck with a cracked windshield. I could see an older dark-skinned female hunched over in overalls, and only overalls, twerking her wrench on the motor. Two others, a teenage boy and an older male, probably his brother, sat on the opposite side of the room, with another smaller television, and were watching an animated movie. Something about a blue germ and some kind of pill fighting viruses in some dude's body, trying to keep him alive.

But what REALLY fried my brain was the large horse sitting behind the two guys watching that weird movie. It was, like, tall. Really tall. Sitting down as it was, it could have been seven feet easy, which could be normal, but I wouldn't know; I've only seen the ponies at the state fair, little things about the size of large dogs for kids to pet. But this horse was a lot bigger than any animal I've ever seen. A pristine white coat covered its body, and a pastel-colored rainbow mane flowed from its neck, and I literally mean flowed, like there was some sort of breeze. The same with its tail. A strange brand of sorts showed itself on its hindquarters; a large ornate orangish-yellow sun which stood out against the sea of white. A golden tiara sat on top of the horse's head, and it wore similar jewelry like a collar and hoof guards.

The majestic creature and I locked eyes, and I just couldn't help but notice how large its eyes were compared to the rest of its head. And they were so bright, a deep magenta... And then it smiled at me. It rose to its feet and made its way over to me and Dean within four strides. Dean gave a smile and reached forward, and a bit upward, patting the neck of the creature. I know horses were big, but this one just seemed so much bigger up close, though I was wrong about its height before. It was nearly a foot taller than me, so closer to six-in-a-half rather than seven.

"Didn't expect you to be here, but it's nice to see you again, Celestia," Dean said ever-so-casually. The horse nodded at him. Seeing it do this, I caught sight of a very large detail I seemed to have failed at seeing before; a long, slender, sharp-looking spiraling horn protruding from its forehead. I couldn't help but looked it over again, and, much to my amazement, a pair of wings sat closely folded to the sides of its body.

"Likewise, Dean." I think my brain may have short-circuited. Did it talk!? "And you must be Jennifer," the equine, Celestia, continued as she gestured to me with a golden-clad hoof. "It is such a relief to see you are unharmed." Her smile was kept small, but the warmth behind it was immense. "I am Princess Celestia. Welcome to Equestria."

Author's Note

Pop quiz: What year in the near-future does this story take place? On Earth, at least.
Whatever it is, it's not important. Just a little something for you to think about. And props to whoever can guess the name of the movie Celestia was watching.

Chapter II

ONLY THE SOUNDS OF rattling controllers, soft gunfire, and casual talk echoed through the room, but none seemed to reach my ears as my mind was screaming at me. At the moment, I was face to face with this large equine, Celestia as she introduced herself, trying to decide what I should do. All the others in the room just seemed so comfortable, even Dean spoke to her as if this was something you would see every day! But Celestia isn't something you could see every day! She's a damned horse with a horn and wings, straight out of mythology, I think. My mind was starting to revert to a more primal level, and a certain phrase kept popping into my head.

Fight or flight.

Something about Celestia just set my nerves on edge, and yet tried to calm me at the same time. These conflicting waves waged their arguments in my head. The part of my being that wanted to scamper out of here had good reason. Celestia just seemed to radiate power, immense raw power, just as if she was some sort of deity that could kill me with a simple flick of her hoof. At the same time, this feeling would swell, then shrink as the calming aura surrounding Celestia tried to make me feel safe. She held something in her eyes, something that reminded me of how my mom would look at me when I had woken from a nightmare when I was in grade school.

Sanctuary.

The part of me that wanted to fight... didn't want to at all. It changed over to the 'run-away-like-your-fucking-car-is-about-to-explode' side as soon as this whole thing in my head started. Celestia's powerful influence on me—one she casted simply by standing in front of me!—said that anything I would do would be met with a reaction, whether good or bad would be based on my own reaction. I honestly didn't know if I wanted either.

After what must have been quite a number of minutes, Dean gave my shoulder a soft shake. When I didn't respond, he repeated his action with earnest, before placing a hand on my cheek and forcibly turning my head towards his own.

"Jenny? Jennifer, are you there? Jennifer?" He gave my other cheek a light tap. "Jenny, talk to me."

"I'm... here," I managed to squeak.

"Do you know where you are?" Dean asked me, obviously thinking I had just suffered an aneurism. And I think I may have too.

"...Uh... you said... Canterlot?"

"Is everything okay, young one?" I turned my head out of Dean's grasp to look at Celestia again. No, Princess Celestia, as she said. I just shook my head, not so much as an answer to her question, but to try and restart my brian. I mean, brain. Thinking organ. The Princess, however, must have interpreted my head motion as my answer, so in response Celestia pressed a wingtip to my forehead. She shouldn't exist. Humans are the only creature capable of speech, and I don't count those stupid birds that can imitate words. This had to be fake, just had to be. But Celestia... just seemed too real to be anything other than such. Even the tip of her wing, which was still sitting on my skin just below my hairline, felt too real. Soft, velvety fur on top of smooth, warm skin. The edges of her feathers tickled my cheek, and they were as real as the feathers of Sandy's cockatiel.

"Dean, are you sure she crossed over safely?" Celestia asked, snapping me out of my stupor. I felt an arm drape around my shoulders, which caused me to bring my own hands up and cross them over my chest, gripping the flesh of my arms as I tried to apply logic to the situation.

"She seemed to, yes," Dean started. "Her vitals were normal, and she had no trouble walking over here with me. When we were chatting back in her room, everything seemed fine." I felt Dean's forehead press against the side of my head as he pulled me closer, trying to comfort me. "Jenny, are you okay? What's wrong?"

I let the question hang in the air for a moment or two, trying to form words, but... I just couldn't. I shut my eyes, covered them with my left hand, and shook my head again.

"...Oh... I believe I know what's wrong with her," Princess Celestia said as she pulled me away from Dean with her wing. She kept me close to her side, using her wing as a bit of a blanket. "Dean," Celestia said slowly, lowering her head to look him in the eye, "did you... tell her about us ponies?"

Dean's eyes widened a bit before he smacked himself, leaving his hand firmly planted on his forehead. "No, I didn't. Completely overlooked it when we were talking."

"Dean, you know how important it is that we ease new arrivals into this," Celestia said in a soft scolding tone. "Seeing me here probably scared Jennifer half to death, not to mention her mind must be stressing itself out trying to process this." I felt her move, and the side of Celestia's face entered my view. "Isn't that right?" she asked me. I just nodded at her. Celestia gave me a smile. "Would you like to go to your bedchamber? Perhaps have some time to think about this?" Again, I nodded. Celestia turned back to the rest of the room, making me turn with her.

"Everypo—Everybody, eyes forward, please." All of the large room went silent. The gamers had paused their game and gazed over the backs of their beanbags, while their spectator stood up and straightened her shirt, which didn't cover the last few inches of her belly. The other two younger men paused their movie and stood up, and the mechanic in the back looked up, smearing black sludge on her dark skin as she wiped her face with the back of her hand. "This is Jennifer Hawkins," Celestia continued. "She's the newest arrival in Equestria."

I got a hello of some sort from everyone in the room. The gamers gave out welcoming signs with their hands, the girl with them smiled and waved normally, the two movie-goers actually voiced their greetings, and the mechanic girl in the back gave me a mock salute with a friendly smile. I dumbly waved back to them all, and Celestia gave me a squeeze.

"Everyone, Jennifer here is currently having a difficult time with the situation, so I shall show her to bed for the day. We will postpone the normal meet-and-greet until she feels ready. Are you okay with that, Jennifer?" I nodded again, which signaled Celestia that I was apparently ready to go. She turned me around and we began walking to the door. "We'll conduct proper introductions later," Celestia said loudly so the whole room could hear, before lowering her voice to where I could only hear her. "As for now, I'll escort you to your room. I should explain what Dean had left out."

"Sorry about that, you two," I heard Dean mutter as he held the door open for Celestia and me.

"That's quite alright Dean, just bad timing on both our parts," Celestia said calmly. She guided me along the same corridor as Dean had, just the other way. But once we got to the turn, we continued straight ahead, away from the hall that led to the medical wing.

As we walked, I couldn't help but look out the windows. Outside was nothing but large fluffy clouds on an endless dark blue canvass now that the sun had set. The clouds actually had a cartoonish look to them, all poofy and rounded, almost like I could touch one. I actually stopped, which caused Celestia's wing to slip from my shoulders, and stepped closer to the window to get a better look. I think the castle must have been build into the side of a cliff, because all I saw was a long way down aside from the clouds. Looking from left to right, I could see a bit of land sticking up from the far right, and it was covered in greenery.

There really was something about this place... something unreal. It seemed so vibrant, and much more colorful than home. At the risk of sounding a tad cliché, this whole world felt so mystic, so magical, like it was right out of the mind of a child. And it just didn't sit right with me. I was so used to the cold breezes that blew in from the Great Lakes, so used to my school schedule that brought me and all my friends together, so used to seeing that same dent in my locker as I swapped my math book for history, so used to going home and sitting on the bench in front of my piano and playing when I got bored and didn't want to read...

"...Are you okay, little one?" I turned back to Celestia and looked up at her. She, once again, pulled me closer with her wing, and felt my arms go around her neck.

"...I just don't know what's happening." I croaked out, letting Celestia's protective aura wash over me. Whoever Celestia is, she was a friend, I could feel that. "...I just don't understand." I felt Celestia sit down and bring my body closer to her own, using both wings this time to envelop me in a warm blanket of soft, downy feathers. Even her gold collar felt warm.

"...To feel like you have been torn from your home," Celestia said to me calmly, "...I can never truthfully say that I know what that feels like. However, after seeing nearly all of the humans that cross over to our realm, I have gained a small bit of insight. It hurts, doesn't it."

"Mm-hmm," I hummed out while nodding into her neck.

"...I must tell you something," my protector whispered in my ear. She carefully unwrapped her wings from me and looked me dead in the eye. "...Humans are a brand new species here on Equus. And even though there are only a few here in the castle, you are among friends here. We ponies are the most common sentient species in Equestria, and we are a friendly race. Well, most of us are. We all will keep you safe, and we all will be here for you." Celestia gave me a very, very small smile. "You just remember, if you need anything at all, just let us know. We'll all try to help you adjust to your new home."

"N-new home?" Me repeating the last part of her sentence set Celestia on edge. "What... do you mean? Can't we go back?" We held each other's eyes for a few seconds before the Princess took in a deep breath.

"...Two years ago, after our seventh human arrival, you saw him in the lounge, the youngest one?" I nodded to let her know that I did, indeed, know of the teen she was walking about. "My sister and I were able to isolate one of the portals. It constantly reappeared in one corner of the royal gardens, so we had prepared for it's next showing. We spent days waiting for it, but on the eleventh night, it ripped open. He was torn up pretty badly, but once the human was safe and on his way to the hospital, we caught the portal, prevented it from closing, and prepared a squadron of our guards to investigate the other side." Celestia closed her eyes and shook her head. "It was not pretty. The portal is a one-way path, and when our guards entered, they were battered, beaten, and tossed around within the magical tear. We managed to get most of them out before any fatal damage was done, but... even so, we lost a few good lives that day." Princess Celestia took in another breath. "...Whatever is on the other side of that portal took three ponies and scattered them across the plane of existence. They may still be alive somewhere, but we do not know.

"After seeing what we saw that day, we concluded that it is too dangerous to try and reenter the portal, lest somepony ends up in another dimension just as you have, or die on their way there." Once again, Celestia pulled me close to her and pushed my face to her neck. "I'm sorry, but there is no way to return."

...No way back... No way home... What a bombshell. I... I think I may had just broke. I couldn't move, couldn't blink, couldn't breathe... My heart felt like it was being crushed, and my bones burned with fear, sadness, and something else I've never felt before. I felt as if I was watching myself from third person, and the screen I was watching had no speakers. Celestia was saying something, trying to get my attention, but I just couldn't hear her. I could no longer feel the warmth she radiated, could no longer smell the scent of nature that flowed through the windows.

"...Let's go," I said curtly, my hearing clicking back on. A look of worry flickered across Celestia's calm demeanor, but she turned around and continued to lead me to my new room. My new... home. No, that would never be. I'm nothing more than a stranger in someone else's home. I'm a guest. And an alien. Stranded in a strange, colorful new world with talking ponies and only a handful of other humans, apparently.

My vision blurred, and I reached up to rub my eyes with the back of my right wrist. The sleeve of my hoodie came away slightly darker. Was I crying? It didn't feel like I should be, it felt more like... I shouldn't feel at all. Whatever my body was doing, I couldn't be put behind it. Like me walking right now. I couldn't say I was doing it, it was like I was on autopilot. I guess Celestia noticed this too, as she hugged me closer to her was we walked.

Eventually, we turned down another corridor. It was a bit deeper in the castle, so no windows were present on the walls, and I could see why; Doors peppered the walls in the windows' places. Golden plaques sat on the left of each of the double doors, with large numbers engraved on the surface and filled with a dark stone-like material to emphasize the numbers. Odds to the right, evens to the left. We walked down until Celestia stopped in front of door number eight.

"This is your bedroom," Celestia said to me, trying to get me out of my little trance. "...If you ever find yourself lost, just locate a guard and tell them your room number. Yours is number eight."

"Thank you," I mumbled quietly, but not impolitely, I hoped. Celestia opened the doors and led me inside.

It honestly looked like a very fancy hotel room. The room looked like it may have been... eh, maybe twelve by twenty-five feet? Really wide. And the ceiling was at least eleven feet up. The floor was covered in a plush white carpet, and a few pillows and bean bags were strewn across the floor. There were two beds in the room, each I think would be a queen size. Royal red covers with strips of golden fabric along the edges served as blankets for each bed, and four fluffy pillows sat against the headboards of both. Short dressers made of a light brown wood with golden handles sat at ends of each bed for any type of clothing we may have. I looked around and saw an open doorway to the right of the room that led to a large bathroom. Through the doors, I could see tan and white tiles making a checkered pattern for the floor, a kinda low sink with a mirror, a toilet, and a hamper next to the sink.

"I should bring this to your attention," Celestia finally voiced after I finished looking over the room. I looked up and over at her, then followed her gaze to a small shelf near the door leading to the hall. It was completely bare, save for a small round dark blue disk that made it's home on the top shelf, which actually came up to my collarbone. "This is a power pad," Celestia said informatively. "Most humans that arrive through the portal have quite a few things taken along with them, including you. A number of books and cereal boxes came with you, and you may receive them later if you so please. But, back to the power pad." Celestia nudged my butt with her hoof, making my phone clatter against her hoof guard through the fabric of my loose skinny jeans. "Most humans carry with them a type of electronic device. I can't remember what Rebecca calls them, but with hers and Michael's help, we developed this pad. You'll meet them later."

"...What does it do?" I asked her slowly.

"Just place your device, if you have one, on the power pad and it acts like a charger of sorts." Celestia gave me a light chuckle. "We ponies haven't developed the technology needed to charge your devices through the normal way, as Rebecca put it, so this universal charging pad should help."

I cocked my head to the side as I reached into my back pocket and brought out my phone. I stared at my small reflection in the black screen for a moment before I reached out and gently set it on the power pad. Almost as soon as I did, it briefly vibrated to let me know it was charging.

"Wow," I breathed.

"There is also one in the bathroom," Celestia informed me. "Just in case a new piece of technology arrives that's home is with the sink. Dean has warned me about these 'electric razors' of your world." Celestia shook her head, a smile on her face as she did. "Why anypony would electrify a metal blade, then apply it to their body, I will never know."

"Mm-hmm," I lazily replied, looking at the lone painting that hung over the small shelf. It was an old oil painting, and it had a small tear near the bottom left corner, but all-in-all, it was still very beautiful. It depicted a lone pony in silver armor atop a spiky cliff side, with a orange and pink sunset behind the knight. The significance of the painting was lost on me, but it was still a sight to see.

"Well, I'll let you get some rest." I turned my head back towards Celestia, who's halfway out the door. "Breakfast is served at eight, but if you miss the initial serving, there is plenty of fresh fruit leftover all the time. If you wish, we'll have an alarm clock sent up to your room so you can keep track of time. Rest easy, Jennifer."

"Thank you, Princess." My feet acted on their own and pulled me away from the doorway and towards the bed closest to the bathroom. I heard the door click shut behind me, and I let myself slump over the dresser at the foot of my new bed, bruising my shins in the process. Cursing through the sudden pain, I brought the rest of myself onto the soft mattress and curled up into the smallest ball I could, hugging my knees and slowly rocking back and forth on my backside.

...So... this is it... My new home. A land filled with cartoony colors and talking ponies just as pastel-slathered as the rest of the world. And my old home... Back in Warren, what would happen? What was happening? Was anyone worried about me? What of my parents, what where they going through right now? ...But, if it's still the seventh of March, then I would only have been gone for a few hours. But... my family... my friends... Would I even see the again? Celestia said that it was impossible to return... but in her story, she said that the portal took three of her ponies. Maybe chucked them out into a different world like me. Maybe, if I got lucky, I could do the same and be sent back!

Maybe, just maybe! Every once in a while, the portal opens in the royal gardens, and a new human comes through. If I waited for it like Celestia, her sister, and her little ponies did before, then I could make it home! My real home!

...Oh, who was I kidding. I was grasping at straws there. If by what Celestia told me, even if I could survive the thrashing I would apparently get, what were the chances of finding my own universe among them all? God Almighty, how I wished this whole thing was just a dream, but I knew better than that. The achy feeling of when I first woke up, the feeling of Dean's arm around me, Celestia's fur on my skin... You can't dream that kind of stuff and actually feel it.

This whole thing doesn't make sense! Magic portals? Talking ponies? No, back to square one; magic? Seriously, what's going on? Magic, the thing of fairy tales, something early mankind has wished for since the dark ages, is real!? Is it, really? A mystic force that can do nearly everything... And apparently it brought me here...

I crashed my forehead against my knees, clutched the fabric of my jeans as tightly as I could, and screamed into my legs as loud as I could. All my confusion and anger went into that vocalization, and it rumbled and vibrated through my legs and up my spine. The feeling was unpleasant, and forced me to stop myself from doing it again. But I wanted to. But I wanted to just scream and thrash and sleep this whole thing away. Hopefully, I would wake up in my bed back in Michigan and not... on Equus. A little therapy, some counseling, and back to finish school. Unlikely, but a girl could hope.

The realization of my position sapped the strength from my body, yet tensed ever muscle to the point of cramping. An idea of how to deal with this, and my aching shins, began to shine in the perpetual darkness I felt surround me; a nice, hot bath.

I pulled myself off the bedspread and onto my feet, shuffling as I did and kicking my left shoe off. Same with my right as I shed my hoodie and placed it on the dresser. Knowing I was alone, I pulled my shirt over my head and dropped next to my sweater, then set to work on unbuckling my belt. For some reason, I was finding the piece of plastic a lot harder to remove than before, but managed to fling it across the room at the end. Bad part; my jeans were still attached at the belt loops. The two items fell into a heap onto the other bed, the dirty blue fabric and white belt standing out against the vibrant red blanket.

I stretched my arms backwards, but bending my elbow back forced the adhesive gauze Dean had put over my IV feed mark to tighten and pinch my flesh. A growl, a literal, primal sound that I never thought I would ever hear a human make, escaped my throat as I basically ripped the gauze from my arm, followed by my bra. I tossed both of them onto the bed behind me, slipped out of the last piece of clothing I now had on, and sauntered over to the door leading to the bathroom.

But just as I had taken my second step, I heard the doors click open and creak softly as they swung on their hinges. Too much had already happened today, and I just really didn't want to deal with anything right now. Dean walked into the room, and I kept walking to the bathroom.

"Hey, Jenny, I'm here with—Oh! So sorry!" I heard him stumble back and bump into someone else, as a two separate 'oofs' came from the door. Dean muttered another apology to his partner, and I merely waved a hand back at them as I grabbed the doorknob in front of me.

"Don't care. Bath now." And I shut the door behind me, leaving Dean and whoever else it was in my dust. I looked around the bathroom and took in the scene.

A large bathtub stuck up from the floor and attaches to the wall immediately to my left. It looked big enough to bathe a hor—You know what, I'm not even gonna say it. Yeah. It's big. Too big for my taste, but whatever. A low leveled sink is against the far wall, embedded in a countertop with drawers below. A circular mirror sat on the wall right above it, letting anyone, or anypony, give themselves a lookover as they washed. A toilet was stationed a few feet from the sink, and had a soft-looking placement rug in front of it so one could rest their feet on something that wasn't cold tile when they needed the porcelain throne. The rug was a regal red—like so many other things in the bedroom—and it even had a partner seated next to the bathtub to avoid any slips when someone left the water.

But, what really caught my eye was the object Celestia had informed me of; the second power pad resting atop the countertop next to the sink. It was just begging to be used, and since this whole situation is just one crockpot of utter nonsense, I might as well entertain it.

I spun on my heels and opened the door once more. I quickly made my way over to my bed, and caught sight of Dean slamming the door behind him. He turned around, his face firmly pressed against the door as he spoke through it, though it was too muffled for me to really make out. Knowing he's a nurse and that he's already, most likely, seen me nude, but him acting like this... I suppose me yelling at him a few hours prior made it known I don't like to be messed with. And this whole damned world is messing with me right now, so my slow, sad, foul mood must be noticeable.

"Jenny," Dean spoke with his head still against the door, "is everything alright?" I ignored him and grabbed my iPod, yanking my earphones from them and dropping them on the floor. "Jenny? Are you okay?"

"...No, Dean," I said quietly as I made my way back to the bathroom. "...I'm not okay." I heard Dean swear as I closed the bathroom door again.

With my music device in hand, I strode over to the sink and placed my iPod on the power pad. After a few seconds, the screen lit up with a familiar icon, and I swiped it away to unlock the screen. One single tap sends me into my playlists, and I set the device on shuffle, so no order would be formed, just random songs. Hopefully, it can still play in stereo.

Jumpy music began to flow through the room, and for a second, the lights flickered. I sighed and sat on the edge of the bathtub, the cool glazed material beneath me chipping away at the warmth in my flesh. The rubber stopper was stuck in the drain, the faucets were turned, and hot water poured from the spigot. Steam floated towards the ceiling as I adjusted the temperature of my bath. I turned back to watch the mirror fog up like I used to do at home, and I saw something that... I just couldn't explain.

Floating above my iPod, literally right above the screen, was a transparent sphere the size of a basketball. It pulsed in sync with the music, growing spikey and jolting when the tempo changed. Colors were added when the song took a different path, and they swirled inside the sphere, giving it an eerie presence that... just shouldn't have been. It was something you should only have seen on the screen of a computer, but...

I stood. I took a step closer. My arm reached out slowly. The sphere kept pulsing with the music. I felt my breath hitch as my fingers made their way closer to the orb of light. And then I felt it. My hand was enveloped in the music, and I could feel every base change, every tone, every note. It tingled, and shook the flesh on my bones. My nails felt like they were the surface of a drum that was being pounded. My bones vibrated to keep the song going.

It was unreal, this sphere.

It was something that should not be here.

And yet, it was something that should be here...

It was magical.

...Fuck this world. I want my real home, with my real friends and my real life, not this... cartoonish world of magic and sugar-coated ponies. I want to go back and see my parents, go back and finish school, go back and never think about this place again. But if what Celestia said is true... then that can't happen. I'm lost... Lost in this place, and no map can ever lead back to the place I belong. I wonder if the aliens in all those kiddie movies ever felt like this?

I was brought out of my low-thinking trance by a loud knock on the bathroom door.

"Jenny?" The voice belonged to Dean. "Are you okay in there? I hear music, and I need to inform—"

"Buzz off Dean!" I shouted at the door. "Just let a girl stew in her misery for a while, okay!?" I sat back on the edge of the bathtub and adjusted the water so it would be a bit hotter. Not even a second later, I heard the door click open. "Dean, if you take even one step into this room, I swear to God, I will make sure that there will be one less human living in this castle!" The door clicked shut immediately after I said that, and I huffed. "Stupid."

I made my way back to the tub and sat don on its edge once more. The water level was rising to create the optimal depth, so I let it run a few seconds more before I turned the water off. A new song replaced the jumpy music I had been listening to for the past few minutes, bearing a much softer contrast as well. Sparing a glance over at my iPod, I could see the magic sound sphere had changed in size to a little bigger than a softball and kept a blue tint, instead of bouncing from color to color like before. My head dropped, causing my hair to touch the water. Kinda, sorta on autopilot, I slid into the water, shivering at the sudden temperature change. I had gotten the water a tad hot, almost to the point of burning, but... it really didn't matter. What's a little skin irritation, right?

...Why did this have to happen? Everything was going perfect back home. I was doing well in school, I was happy with my family and friends. Makes me wonder what everyone was doing. How was Breanne doing? Or Janet? Or Sandy? What would they think when I don't come to school tomorrow, or the next day, next week, forever from now? And my parents... When I don't come home. How heartbroken they would be when the cops tell them they couldn't find any trace of me. How I felt right now, knowing I wouldn't be able to see them again probably.

My chest heaved, and my lungs locked up. I felt my face heat up, and not just from the water. I knew this was gonna happen, I pretty much welcomed it. So, knowing what I had to do, I pulled my legs up to my chest, planted my forehead on my knees, and cried my heart out.

• • •

I OPENED THE DOOR with a towel wrapped around my body, and glanced at around. Dean was sitting on the end of my bed, talking to three little ponies. Unlike the great white princess, who had quite the height, all three of these ponies looked like they barely hit four feet tall. One of them was clad in golden armor, kinda like Celestia's, but more... well, more. She, at least, I think it's a she, because of her long eyelashes. She had an eggshell white coat, blue eyes, and a dirty blond mane. I also noticed a horn sticking out of the top of her head. The second armor pony was a tad broader, chiseled would be a word I could use. His armor was a weird shade of purple, his coat was a dark grey, and he had a bright blue mane sticking out from under his violet helm. His golden eyes stared right at Dean as he talked, and... Oh Lord, I think he was some kind of pegasus, but all the feathers fell off of his wings; they looked kinda leathery. The third pony had no wings or a horn, nor was he wearing any armor. He was just sitting there, waiting for Dean to finish. He was an earthly brown, with a dark greenish-blue mane. His eyes were a more solid shade of green, kinda like evergreen green. Weirdly enough, he had a tattoo on his ass. It looked like a grey circle with a star cutout in the center. Celestia had a sun on her flanks... Wonder if it's some sort of cultural thing? Did the armored ones have them too?

Dean finished his sentence before looking over at me, his face contorted with worry. With a silent word, the two armored ponies took their leave and exited the room. The other pony just sat there, cautiously eying me. Dean got up and walked over to me, his hand raised to put it on my shoulder. I simply sidestepped around him.

"Don't touch me right now," I said curtly. I quickly moved to my bed and sat down on the edge. Unfortunately, the towel I was using was most likely made for a pony, and therefore was too short to conceal anything as I did. My hand brushed something as I sat down, and I saw my clothes had been neatly folded and placed in a pile. I quickly destroyed the pile and threw my shirt over my toweled torso, then slipped on my underwear just as fast. Now that my towel was free, I used it to continue drying my hair. Twenty minutes is not long enough when you have hair that touches your waistband.

"Jennifer, can we talk?" I looked out from under my towel just in time to see Dean take a seat next to me on my bed. He looked me right in the eyes. "Have you been crying?"

I turned away and rubbed my eyes with the towel. "Of course I have. Who wouldn't if they were in my predicament?" I asked him.

"Can you tell me what you think your predicament is?" Dean asked in return.

"What are you, my therapist now?" I snapped at him.

"I can be, if you need." Dean looked like he was about to put his hand on my shoulder again, but thought better. "I'm here to help you, Jennifer, just as I have helped some of the others adjust."

"...What if I don't want to adjust!?" I yelled at him. I turned completely so my whole front was facing him and dropped the towel. "What if I don't want to adjust, Dean? What if I don't want to live here!?" I yelled. "I was happy back in Michigan! I had all I needed there; my friends, my family, my job, my school, everything!" I could feel my anger boiling up from my soul, and right now, all I could do was let it out. "And now I'm told that not only have I been sucked through the fabric of space and thrown into a world of cartoony ponies, but that I'm stuck here with no chance of returning!? What's to adjust to!? Nothing! There is abso-fucking-lutely nothing relatable here! I didn't want this! I don't want this!" I had to pause to wipe my eyes again. "I don't want this! I want... I want..."

Dean, throwing all caution to the wind, took my shoulders and pulled me close. One arm snaked around my back, the other cradled my head, preventing me from leaving the cradle of his neck. I wanted to hit him, to push him away, but... I just couldn't. I wrapped my arms around him and broke down for the second time today. The second time in an hour.

"I don't wa-hant this..." I sobbed into his chest. "I do-hon't... I wanna go home..." Dean began to rock back and forth, slightly swaying me with him as he rubbed my back. "I just... wanna g-go home."

"I know, Jenny. I know." Dean held me tighter as I racked his body and my own with my sobs. "We all know what this feels like."

I don't know how long we sat there. It could have been minutes or hours, but Dean seemed content to just let me cry myself out. The brown pony decided that it would be best to leave as well, giving the room to us alone. Dean spent the next timeframe sitting on my bed with me, carefully combing my hair with his fingers as my crying died down. We did all this in silence. Not a single word was spoken, not a single movement went unappreciated, and even though I didn't feel any better, I finally relaxed enough to fall into the void of unconsciousness.

I did not dream that night.

Chapter III

HAVE YOU EVER DONE done something in life that just makes you want to turn back time and prevent yourself from doing whatever it was you did? Maybe you called your English teacher Mom, or perhaps you tried to paint a fence with your friend and ended up cleaning your hands with bleach instead of paint remover. Maybe you got in a fight and lost, or flunked a test, or forgot to put the dog out and woke up to a nice coil on the carpet. I've done a few things that I wanted to go back and change, and the biggest one happened pretty recently. If I could go back in time and prevent myself from doing it, I would totally snatch up the chance.

What I did was come home. According to the text I got from Sandy, I had made the biggest mistake of my life on March seventh, 2034 at six-eleven pm.

I walked though my front door and fell into Equestria.

If I had been just a few minutes sooner, or later, then maybe the portal would have missed me, would have disappeared and left me alone, but noooo, I had to time it perfectly. Me wanting to come home before my parents was the biggest mistake of my life, because now I'm trapped in this world filled with four-foot-tall talking ponies with horns, and wings, and eyes way too fucking big for their heads.

The only real upside to this place is that there are twenty-two other humans that went through the same thing I did, and seven of them are in the castle with me. Dean said I was the twenty-forth human to arrive in Equestria, so I guess my numbers don't add up. Well, I asked Dean about that one day when he was checking up on me. He avoided the question, tried to talk me into leaving the room. I didn't want to, really, mainly because I would have two ponies tailing me wherever I went. Those two subjects are linked, truthfully. I got Dean to spill the beans about both of them on the third day he visited me after my episode.

One of the humans that arrived here took his own life a few weeks before I arrived. Forty-three days prior to my arrival, just over six weeks exactly.

His name was Aisaya Ki Twain. Born in Hong Kong, moved to China, and lived there until he was stolen to this mystical plane of existence. He was the last arrival before me. From what he told everyone (more like what they could figure, since his English was something to be desired), he was single, had no close family, had only a few drinking buddies, and his world revolved around technology. His only real skill was soldering wires and making computer chips and that stuff. Equestria's most advanced tech were in the hospitals, and most of it was powered by magically charged batteries. He didn't take it well.

He sat around for a few months, wasting away, like Dean said I was doing. Didn't really eat, drank only what he needed, didn't socialize. At least, at first. The last month before he died, Aisaya's personality did a one-eighty; he was happy, he ate to his fill, he joked around with the other humans, and even a few guards, he played games with them. He seemed to finally have accepted the idea of living in Equestria.

Then he jumped out one of the windows and fell off the side of Canterlot.

Fun fact, Canterlot is zero-point-eight miles off the flat ground the rest of the continent live on. Aisaya freefell forty-two hundred feet to his death. There is a small memorial dedicated to his short memory in Equestria at the base of the mountain. Dean sugarcoated a lot of it, but I understood it. Someone committed suicide because they didn't want to live here, in another dimension on a different planet. That day I learned three things.

One; I learned why the windows were enchanted.

Two; There are secrets in this castle, and I would most likely hear a few of them.

And three; Fearing a repeat incident may occur with me, Princess Celestia had put me on suicide watch. Whenever I left the room, I would be accompanied by two friendly ponies, but I didn't have the chance to meet them yet, since I haven't left the room yet, who were equipped with communication crystals. Dean explained them to me, saying they were sort of like cellphones, but made of blue crystal in some form of necklace or pendant that could easily contact the guards or the princesses. Yes, princesses, as in more than Celestia. Her sister Luna, their 'not-by-blood-relation' niece Mi Amore Cadenza, and some newly-crowned royalty Twilight Sparkle. Dean had explained that I would most likely be meeting with the rest of them later on, but then turned that conversation into one trying to get me to leave my room. I promptly ignored him, not wanting to. In fact, I rarely left the bed. It hurt too much to really move much more than that.

I didn't take the fact that everypony thought I was gonna kill myself too happily, but then again, I haven't been happy in... what is it now, eight days? No, nine. Nine days since I broke down in Dean's arms. And while I wasn't happy about being under surveillance, I can kinda see why.

In nine days, I haven't left my room. I stopped eating after the third, and because of that I was losing weight. I didn't bathe. I didn't talk to anyone, except Dean, mainly because he was the only one who would come into my room and force me to at least yell at him. Though, I would mostly answer "yes" or "no" or maybe a "get the Hell out," and maybe he could get a sentence out of me that wasn't too rude, but that was it. And it was setting everyone one edge, but who really cares, right? Celestia thinks she does, but... really, she's the co-ruler of an entire continent full of talking ponies, and I'm just a single human among a handful of them. And truthfully, depression isn't that bad.

It had been over a week and I still wouldn't really do anything. At first, I would just listen to music and think about home. Then the battery died in my iPod and I just didn't want to recharge it. Not because I was too lazy, but because if I did I would think abut home again in greater detail, and I really didn't want to cry again, so... Sometimes I would just stare at the ceiling. I only left the bed to go to the bathroom in the morning. Recently, I stopped going to sleep. Not really, but at the same time, yeah. I didn't decide it was time to sleep, instead I would black out, or go into some sort of trance and see that a few hours had passed. Dean would visit me constantly, doing anything he could to help me.

Dean made his visits routinely, six times a day. Three of those times a day, Dean would bring in one of those fancy silver dining carts that you see waiters at big restaurants wheel out with a big order, and try to get me to eat something. Just like he was now.

"Jenny, please," Dean said with a pleading tone, "you have to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," was my reply, just like always. I rolled onto my side, which took a lot of effort to do so slowly, because not eating a single thing in six or seven days had, in fact, left me with a terrible stomach ache. Movement in general stabbed my midsection, and while I didn't like it, pain was just a side effect, and so was the feeling that if I did eat, it felt like I would immediately lose it. And it was manageable.

"Jenny, please," Dean repeated once more. "You have to eat, everyone does. You can't keep doing this to yourself."

"Not hungry."

"Jennifer..." I felt Dean sit on the bed with me. "I understand what you're going through, we all do. It hurts to be suddenly ripped away from what you know, what you love, but this isn't healthy." He put his hand on the uncovered section of my waist, making me wince from the light pressure. I gently moved his hand away from my stomach and pulled at my shirt. It was riding up from me moving, and even though I didn't have my pants on, my legs started to itch. I didn't move to scratch them though, I was just so tired of feeling... anything.

"Don't do this to yourself, Jennifer," Dean said softly.

"I'm not doing anything," I said weakly.

"Jenny... Please."

"Knock it off Dean, and leave me alone." I shifted a bit and scratched my bare leg. I had foregone my pants so I could just lay around in my underwear and undershirt. It was my room, after all, so I should be able to do what I wanted. "I'm fine," I slurred out, trying to fall back asleep.

I heard Dean half gasp and half choke on his own spit, and that kinda caught my attention. Then he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up into a sitting position. My eyes found his, and he looked... somewhere between angry and afraid.

"Don't give me that," he said sternly. "Jennifer, look at yourself!" Dean nearly yelled at me, his voice starting to increase in volume. So... I did. Nothing new.

"What about me?" I asked him, which made him grab a lock of my long hair. And I flinched at the sight of it. It looked like straw, nothing like the silk it use to. I guess I hadn't really noticed, but constant rubbing between my body and the sheets do that sort of thing.

"Look at this! Your hair has lost it's sheen. It's splitting, tangled, and filthy!" He grabbed my face with his left hand and brought my nose close to his. "Look at yourself, you look like a damn skeleton!" To emphasize his point, he lifted up my shirt just enough to see my stomach. I looked down between my still-covered breasts to see myself. My midsection was a tad swollen from neglect, and my ribs and hips were starting to poke out... Okay, they've been like that for a bit now, even before all this, but not nearly this bad. Truthfully, it bothered me, but not too much to really care. Dean let my shirt drop and grabbed my right arm, bringing it up between us. Again, not much change, just slightly paler skin. "Jenny," Dean said quietly, painfully, "this isn't healthy."

"Health is just an evaluation seen through the eyes of others to gauge bodily or mental functions," I said mechanically. "Am I still alive? Yes. Is my brain still functioning? Yes, so my health is none of your concern."

"It is my concern, Jennifer," Dean said angrily. "I'm your physician."

"You're a nurse," I corrected him.

Dean grunted angrily. "I was, and still am, training to be a professional surgeon. I have more than enough experience to call myself a doctor."

"But is it legal?" I asked him.

He ignored my question. "It concerns me to see my patient, and friend, slowly kill herself!" I took my arm away from his hand and fixed my shirt a bit more.

"I'm fine, I'm just... not hungry." Dean stood up and offered me his hand. "...What?"

"You're not fine," he stated.

"I am," I argued.

"Are not."

"Am too."

"If you're fine," he said curtly, "then stand up."

"Don't wanna."

"Oh, for the love of—" Dean pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed. He didn't like to curse, said he didn't want to taint his peers' innocence. It didn't stop the guards from talking like sailors when he was gone. It was funny in a way, mainly because even though this is a different world, these ponies had some of our curse words, as well as their own. Ponyfeathers, that one always made me smirk. But Dean still got angry. "Jennifer, stand up!" He yelled, really yelled this time. "Show me that you're not in as terrible shape as everyone thinks! Show me that I'm wrong to worry about you!"

I had a hard time keeping his gaze after he stopped yelling, but managed to not break our staring contest. After a few moments, I swung my arm up and took his hand. With his help, I stood up as well, swaying a bit as I tried to keep my knees from knocking together. The action of standing, though, was much to quick, and pain flared up in my stomach. Dean noticed my very obvious discomfort as I took my hand from his and used both of mine to clutch at my gut.

"Jenny, what's wrong?" he asked, suddenly bent down a bit, ready for anything.

"It hurts," I managed to say. I slowly sat back down on the edge of my bed, the pain starting to fade to a dull throb that corresponded with my pulse. "Standing hurts. Moving hurts."

"Where does it hurt? You should have told me if you were in pain." Dean straightened his collar and sat down beside me. I just waved my hand around my entire right side, trying not to reignite the feeling, to show him. Dean slowly reached out and did the same thing, being careful not to touch me, then mimed the action on himself. "...I need to go, I'll be back soon." With that, he got up and opened the door wide. "Stone, inside. Keep an eye on her... And try to keep her talking." I heard the door close and waited a bit before looking up at the newest entry of my room.

It was the brown earth pony that Dean always seems to be talking to. He's not a guard, or a medic, or really anything. He's just there whenever Dean's around. Seeing him made me remember back when he and Dean caught me, or I caught them, as I exited from my first and only bath since dropping into this weird world about nine days ago. Same dark bluish-green mane—I kinda wanted to call it sea foam green, but it was too dark—pulled back into an (ironic) ponytail with this really feminine bright green ribbon, the same evergreen eyes, same weird star-inside-a-circle tattoo on his flanks.

I sat in silence as he slowly approached me. This was kinda the first time I really saw one of them move, like really noticed. I could see the muscles under his skin stretch and bulge ever so slightly as he walked, effortlessly carrying his sorta-large frame across the room. Can I call ponies large? I mean, most of them are only, like, four feet tall. His walk had something else to it; it had a hitch, like he wasn't sure how close he should get. He was nervous. The pony sat down about two feet from me, and eyed me up and down.

"...Hi." That was it, that's all he said.

"...Hi," I returned, deciding it would be more trouble for me if I didn't respond.

"...How are you feeling?" he asked. His voice was strong, but held a calm and soft tone. Kinda like he was talking to a friend he's known for years. And that friend was, like, waaaaayy younger than him. His voice held something with it as well, it just came out... silky. No, that's not the word. Placid? No. Smooth? Yeah, that's better, he had that smooth tone of voice that could easily get him a job singing... if he can carry rhythm that is. He also had the slightest hint of an accent, I didn't know what, but it sounded like if it was any broader, he would start dropping letters from the ends of his words.

"Could be better," I said slowly. I chewed my lip a bit, something bugging me. "...I've seen you a few times, but I don't think we've really met."

The stallion nodded. "Dean said it would be best if you didn't meet me until you were ready," he said. "I was, and still am, supposed to be your roommate."

"You're supposed to be this 'buddy' Dean spouted off about before?" I exclaimed.

The pony nodded again. "It helps the humans get used to the idea of living alongside us if they get to know one of us first," he explained. Then he held out his hoof. Straight out, elbow locked. My dad held himself the same way when he needed to shake someone's hand, a handshake that was strong, firm, and trusty. "My name is Spectral Stone, though everypony just calls me Speck."

I looked at his outstretched hoof just for a second before reaching out an awkwardly wrapping my fingers around it. I didn't want to do anything, but I didn't want to not do anything. This was... a nice change of pace, I guess. I gave him a firm shake, well, as firm as I could right now, and the left corner of my mouth twitched upward.

"I'm Jennifer Hawkins, but you can call me Jenny if you want."

Our handshake—hoofshake?—came to an end and we both pulled our limbs from the meeting, which brought upon us another lengthy silence. Spectral Stone scratched at the back of his head with a hoof, which made me wonder how effective that would be instead of fingernails. I stared at the little alarm clock Dean brought in on his first visit. It was an actual alarm clock, complete with two little bells on the top that got smacked with a little dinger when it goes off. I've honestly never seen one before, but I suppose that's what I get growing up in the digital age... At least, until now.

"...So, Spectral Stone..." I said, testing out the name. "...That seems kinda off for an earth pony name." At least, it seemed to be. I had caught the names of some of the maids and guards as they walked by or came in to dust, and they all seemed to match the theme of their races. Like the guards that sat outside my door were both pegasi, and they both had weather terms for their last names; Drifting Storm and Cold Rain. And no, they were different from my escorts; still haven't met them, so it'll be a surprise. My comment made his ears perk up, his left ear catching his ponytail and flicking it up over his face. It was cute. "Is there a story behind it? Stone I can understand, but Spectral kinda sounds unicornish."

"Yeah, there is, actually," Spectral replied. "It's not a long one, though, pretty short and to the point. I used to live with my parents back in my home town of Everglade. It was a little half community of earth ponies and thestrals that sat a little bit in the Whitetail Woods, almost sidled up next to the Smokey Mountain."

"What are thestrals?" I interrupted. "Never heard that term before."

"Thestrals are a... how to put this..." Spectral Stone rubbed his chin as he thought, finally fixing his ponytail as he did. "...I suppose they're a different breed of pegasus, maybe a sub-species, I'm not sure. But they are a type of pegasus, and their most noticeable traits are their cat-like eyes and leathery bat wings. Most have fangs as well to help the crack open hard-shelled fruits and nuts that they like to grow and farm, and their special choppers got them a terrible rumor that basically says that if you're alone at night, a thestral could come and swipe you up," he said while actually imitating the action with his forelegs, "biting your neck and turning you into one of them." Spectral looked back up at me, and I guess he saw my expression. "A stupid rumor, but everypony has stupid beliefs for stupid reasons. We have a few stationed here in the night guard, so you may see them sooner or later."

"Night guard, eh?" I repeated as I straightened up, glancing towards the door. "...I've heard of the guards talking about a specific 'batpony' that gets on their nerves, is that a slang term for thestral?"

"Not really slang, just an ignorant nickname," Spectral corrected me. "The kind of same ignorance that keeps them from truly mingling with the rest of ponykind. Just because a pony has fangs, it doesn't make them a monster, but then again, thestrals are known for having veracious appetites, especially when there's fish involved."

"Fish?" I ask him. Honestly, hearing anything about an herbivore eating meat got me thinking.

"Yeah, fish," Spectral said calmly. "Ponies eat fish once in a while, the oils help keep our coats healthy. But pegasi lean a bit more into the carnivorous parts of their diet, eating more fish than the rest of us earth ponies and unicorns. Keeps their feathers strong, you know?" Spectral asked me, probably assuming that I did know. "Thestrals don't need to eat as much fish as they normally do, since they don't have feathers and their coats are normally shorter and more coarse than the rest of ours, but... I guess it's just them being them." I shrugged and gestured back to him.

"...Sorry, we got sidetracked. You were saying?" I asked, trying to get things straight again.

"Hm?" Spectral looked down at me for a second, then seemed to remember that he was talking to someone. He turned his face to look straight down at the floor, while sinking his head a bit into his shoulders. "Oh, yes, Everglade." Adorable. "Um, oh yeah, me and my parents lived back in Everglade all my life until I moved up here to get some better pay for my jewels."

"Jewels?" I interrupted once again.

"Yeah," Spectral confirmed, "but I'll tell you that in a sec, it goes with the rest of the story. Anyways, why my parents named me Spectral Stone, it's kinda because Everglade is that sort of eerie magical place that you only read about, you know what I'm saying?" he asked me and I nodded. "It's got this weird little vibe that follows every foal that's born there, just like me. So, Spectral was the perfect fit for an eerie but mystical feeling name, or so my parents told me."

"You asked your parents why they named you Spectral Stone?"

"Almost every foal asks that eventually," he said, shrugging off my question. "Have you ever...?" Spectral trailed off as he realized what he was asking me to think about. I looked away, but started to answer, my voice a few tones lower and a bit more quiet.

"No, I never did ask them why they named me Jennifer. Hawkins is my dad's last name, and it normally gets carried over to the wife's side when they get married, and to their kids as well, so..." Forcing myself to smile, I looked back at Spectral Stone, and pointed up at my face. "But I don't have the cheeks for a name that ends in 'er' like some of my old friends, like Xavier. He was kinda heavy. Oh, and Alexander! He was a barrel of pudgy laughs. You gotta have a wide face capable of showing a lot of emotion. That's why I like it when people call me Jenny." I shook my head softly, then stopped and fixed my hair to cover half of my face again. "I'm sorry we keep getting sidetracked. Please continue."

"...Okay." Spectral kinda scooted across the carpet and turned until his back was pressed up against the edge of the bed with me. Not wanting to be all alone up here anymore, I slowly and carefully slid my way off the edge onto the carpet with him. Weird, he was taller than me when we sat down, by almost a full foot. But then again, his head stayed in practically the same spot whether he was standing on all fours or sitting down. For some reason, it made me think my legs were too long and my body was too short.

And come to think of it, why did I not want to be alone up on the edge of the bed? I had basically pushed Dean away at every chance he got to come into my room, but he was always annoying the crap out of me. Spectral Stone was different from Dean, though, and not just because he's a furry quadruped. He didn't have Dean's calm, but demanding mood swaying over his back and shoulders, Spectral had his own homely feel to him. Something strong, and tough, but soft when needed... Don't take it that way. It felt nice to talk with him. And, honestly, I kinda wanted to keep talking.

"Well, Everglade has this really special time of the month where the air is just full of magic," Spectral continued. "When the moon is full, it just brings out all the excess mana from all things, the rocks, the grass, the trees, even us ponies. Have you ever seen mana? Pure magic?" he asked me, knowing full well I hadn't. "It's amazing. Beautiful. The ground gets covered in this mist that... kinda looks like your eyes."

"My eyes?" I reached up and felt my right eye socket. "What do you mean?"

"The mist is made of mana," Spectral answered, looking anywhere but at me. "Most of the time, it's blue, but around my house and near the edges of the woods, its all greenish yellow because there's so much plant life around. My parents have a little garden that they just pour their lives into." Then he looked straight ahead, a distant gaze on his face, and his lips in a small smile. I noticed he had a small scar on the left side of his mouth where the fur was a slightly lighter color, right under his bottom lip. "It was really something, seeing it for the first time. Or at least, being able to remember it for the first time. My parents loved their garden so much, put so much work into it, and they still do, hopefully, that it basically got saturated with their native magic, and that showed on the nights of the full moon. And then... When I was eight years old, I got my cutie mark because of that garden."

I absentmindedly looked down at his flanks, more specifically the star the sat within a circle. Guess that must be a cutie mark. Then I realized that I was looking at a dude's ass, and quickly brought my eyes back up to Spectral's face. He was still staring out in front of him.

"A cutie mark is kinda like a picture representing your special talent," he explained. "When a pony finds their special talent, they get their cutie mark on their flanks."

"What's yours?" I asked without thinking. My question broke Spectral's staring contest with the wall, and he looked down at me.

"Mine is... well, I can make jewels."

My head cocked to the left. "You can... make jewels?" I asked him, trying to clarify.

"Yeah..." Spectral looked right at me as he took another breath. "When I was eight years old, one night the full moon was out. I had woken up and looked out of my window to see the mana crawling across the ground, swirling like it had a life of its own. It was the most beautiful thing in the world I had ever seen. I ran out of the house and basically prance around in the mana mist. Pure mana has this weird feel to it, kinda like it was vibrating and you felt wet wherever it touched you, but at the same time it was warm and dry. I actually dunked my head under the fog layer to try and taste it," he said while trying to hide a blush behind his hoof. The whole scene made me smile.

"What did it taste like?" I asked, trying not to smile to largely.

"Stupidly enough, it tasted like rancid pineapples." Spectral and I caught each other's gaze before we broke out into a fit of giggles. His went unhindered, a gentle laugh that eased my pain. But it wasn't enough to keep me from grimacing and clutching at my stomach after the first guffaw. Laughing really fucking hurt; it felt like each pulse of my abdominal muscles sent a hot blade into my side so deep it throbbed all the way through my midsection. Fuck, that sucked so much...

Spectral Stone's laughing stopped as soon as he heard my groan of pain. I had my eyes screwed shut, but I still heard him shift and he turned to put his hoof on my shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked me, leaning in closer to hear my response.

"Hurts to laugh," I croaked out. Spectral moved again to pull me a bit closer to him, but I wiggled in his grasp, which made him let go. "I'm fine, I'm fine," I repeated multiple times, almost like a prayer. "Keep talking," I told him, "it helps to listen to something."

"What should I say?" Spectral—stupidly, might I add—asked me.

I managed to crack an eye at him. "Jewels? Mana? Your story?"

"Oh!" The realization of something we were giggling at nearly thirty seconds ago made him facepalm. Facehoof? Damn these ponies and their non-matching biology. "Right, right," Spectral continued. "Uh, yeah, the mana mist that flowed from the ground around my parents garden tasted terrible, but that didn't stop me from trying the blue stuff that floated near the streets." He nudged me with his elbow, being mindful of my midsection. "The blue mana tasted like olives. Eww~" That got me to smile again, and for some reason, I didn't realize I was leaning into his arm, er, foreleg until he settled a tad lower to make me more comfortable. "Mana just doesn't taste good," he concluded. "But, it's still amazing to look at.

"And my special talent is making jewels that are also beautiful, if I do say so myself," Spectral bragged. "Can you see where I'm going with this?" I thought for a second before shaking my head. Spectral wrapped an arm, leg, whatever! He wrapped a limb around me before he started talking again. "Even though I'm an Earth Pony, I have a high level of magic in my body. My special talent is that I'm able to manipulate mana and magical energy into solid forms, like jewels and gems."

"No way," I scoffed. Even if magic was really real here, it... you know what? I don't really know anymore. The logic in this world is already so different, what's one more thing like life-energy manipulation?

"Yes way," the stallion said in defense. "When I was eight, my parents were celebrating the twenty-ninth anniversary of their union."

"You mean marriage?" My question got a shrug.

"Well, not really. Marriage is usually used for powerful families to combine and share their then-greater power to help them do what they want. It's kinda rare for ponies to get married just for the official unionization of two individuals." I felt Spectral shift a bit, his tail flicking out from under his flanks and out into the open space between us. There wasn't much space between us anyways, so I ended up feeling the whole of his tail swish against my side where my shirt had ridden up a tad. Really smooth, like mine used to be. "My parents aren't married, but they're together, you know? Special someponies," he said.

"Significant other," I added. "I get it. Humans just get married when they find their partner, but only the right one. And even then, divorce is a common thing."

"That's saddening," Spectral stated.

"Keep talking," I told him.

"Okay." I managed a half-breath chuckle without hurting myself. Spectral took it as a good sign. "So, it was the night after my parents' anniversary, and I had gotten them a hoof-carved picture frame for a family photo we were gonna take later in the week. But I didn't think it was enough. So, on that one special night when the moon is full and all the mana floats on top of the ground like steam, I went out to brainstorm ideas."

"And taste the magic," I added with a cheery, but weak, tone.

"Yeah, and to taste it," Spectral said as he laughed. "I wanted to give them something they would remember for the rest of their lives, the perfect gift, you know? And then, I found it. By tripping over it. And by 'it,' I mean a rock."

"A rock?"

"Yeah, a rock. After picking myself up, I picked up the rock itself. And then... I just kept holding it, and thinking that I just wanted it. I wanted it to be something special, I just wanted it so bad... my gift I mean, not the rock. And my will was so powerful, I started to actually grab some of the mana floating around me and basically willed it into the stone. I didn't know what I was doing back then, just kinda wanting, but I kept doing it, and doing it, and subconsciously willing the rock to be something else, something awesome like I wanted my gift to be. I never expected anything to happen, it was just something my dad taught me while we tended to the garden. He taught me how to use my earth pony magic to help things grow properly. And I was doing that to the rock."

"Then what happened?" I asked him, hanging on the edge of my... panties. I let go of them before I ripped the fabric.

"I forced so much will and mana into the stone that it just... shined like the sun. It was so bright, it hurt." Spectral shook his head and sighed with a smile. "But it was so worth it. The useless hunk of stone, changed by my will and the mana around me, had been turned into something gorgeous. A round pearl, about as wide as my hoof back then," he said while bringing his hoof in front of my face. "About the size of an apple," he continued. "And it was... alive.

"The pearl was just filled with mana, swirling around and crashing into opposing currents with the stone. I had taken mostly green mana, but a swirl of blue had made it in as well, and when they mixed, only to be separated again... it was hypnotic. It was like having you very own galaxy in your hooves. When I presented it to my parents the next morning... I had never seen my dad cry, but I think it was because I had gotten my cutie mark. My cutie mark in 'making things so beautiful the world just had to see' he said. Mom said that I truly lived up to my name."

We sat like that for a while, Spectral kinda-but-not-really hugging me, me hugging my knees and leaning into him, just talking. Spectral said that the only reason he was even up here in Canterlot was to get away from his parents; they had kept trying to introduce him to different mares, trying to spice up his life. They ended up getting into a slightly heated discussion, but the heat was one-sided, but it was enough to decide that it was time to get out and explore the world on his own accord. Spectral Stone didn't like the fact that his parents kept meddling in his love life, and it kinda ticked him off when he admitted he really didn't have a love life. But Spectral didn't stay angry long.

He ended up talking with me for a good half hour, bringing to light answers I had questions to. He lived in the castle right now, working as an errand colt for the guards. Outside of the castle, and whenever he was free, he would go down to this little shack on the edge of the city and meet up with his friend, and partner, Rosy Meadows, a unicorn mare that helped him with his gems. Spectral had learned that he could turn any form of mana into a swirling pearl of beauty, so long as he had a way of accessing it and a catalyst to put it in. Rosy helped extract the mana from whatever the customer wanted to see, be it a family item, a special plant, or even the pony themselves. The ones crafted with the mana taken from ponies were significantly smaller, about half the size of a golf ball, while others jewels made from plant life and such to about twice as large. But on full moons, when the natural mana of Canterlot was easy to use, Spectral and Rosy would go out and, using her magical expertise, bottle the loose mana and use it with others to create extraordinary gems that really caught the eyes of the nobles here. They made a lot of money together, and it had only been about three months.

Spectral Stone had this calming aura about him the relaxed me enough to start talking about my own home, back in Michigan. I told him about school, about the hotspots that me and my friends like to hang out at, about my parents, about my brother. Talking about home really got me thinking about them. What was going on back there? I had been missing over a week, if time passed here the same as on Earth. It made me, and Spectral actually, wonder how they were taking my disappearance. Spectral comforted me when I thought too heavily, threatening to start crying again. Not seriously body-racking sobbing, mind you, I couldn't reach that point right then. He felt like someone, or somepony, I could talk to just to talk to, no reason or motive behind it. Kinda like a family member. Kinda like...

...Kinda like how Celestia made me feel when she and I were talking.

"...Fuck," I murmured, but loud enough for Spectral to hear.

"Something wrong?" he asked me, hugging me a bit closer to his body. To answer him, I held out my right hand almost in front of his muzzle with a blank look on my face.

"...Give it here."

"...Give what?"

"Give it here," I repeated, not wanting to really play this game. "I don't know what it is, or how it works, or if it's a spell or something, but gimme. Something's up, I know it."

Spectral Stone didn't move for the longest time, his eyes trained on my palm. For what seemed like an entire minute, but really wasn't, he sighed and reached up into his mane. His hoof came away from his hair with a small square of folded parchment covered with odd symbols. The ink was well dried, but looked like it was glowing. The soft luminescence faded as soon as he dropped it into my open hand... which made me think how the absolute Hell he did that with no fingers.

"How did you know?" Spectral said as I unfolded the paper to examine it.

"A week of moping suddenly ends when you come in?" I shook my head once I saw Celestia's royal sun insignia in the top right-hand corner of the now flattened out paper. "No, I should have known. This some sort of spell card?" After a moment, Spectral nodded. "And this came right from the sun goddess herself, didn't it? To get me comfortable around you, right?"

"...Ordered by Princes Celestia, provided and casted by one of her Archmages," came the stallion's answer.

"...Whatever." I crumpled up the paper and chucked it over my bed. It probably landed on Spectral's, but wha'chya gonna do? The stallion currently holding onto me was probably expecting me to slap him or something, because when I snuggled my way deeper into his side, I felt him shift. "Next time, just be yourself."

"You... You're not mad?" Spectral asked me in a tone I couldn't place.

"...Eh, nah. Mad ain't the right word." I tauntingly put a finger up to my chin to simulate deep, and mischievous, thinking. "Miffed? That's closer. Annoyed doesn't sound right. Maybe... I don't know what to feel really. Seeing that Celestia went so far as to enchant you to make you more likable... sounds like she was trying to get you and me to share a bed tonight," I said with a grin. I felt Spectral flex, and I heard him swallow.

"I, uh, I'm pr-pretty sure only the paper was enchanted," he managed to say. I couldn't help but weakly giggle. It didn't hurt too badly.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed."

"How can you even tell?" He countered. "My face is basically on top of your head... Unless humans have a second set of eyes."

"Some people can be trained to have eyes in the back of their heads," I replied. "Not really though, it's just a way of saying that some people can sense someone behind them. And right now, you feel kinda-but-not-really tense, and if I were to look up, your face would probably be red."

"That's kinda cool." We sat for a second before he added, "But why are we still sitting like this?"

I shrugged. "Because you're warm," I answered. "Can we sit like this for a bit longer? It's kinda nice."

I didn't even get to hear his response before the door opened roughly, causing both me and Spectral to jump. We looked over to see Dean in a different set of clothes, the shirt, tie, and slacks a dark blue, with a light gray lab coat and brown loafers, and a unicorn mare beside him. Her coat was a bright orange—her fur coat, her lab coat was a stunning white—and her dirty red mane was done up into a tight bun. Her tail was cropped short as well, and her fetlocks trimmed nice and neat. A cartoon heart with a white bandage sat on her flanks, indicating that her profession was either romantic psychiatry or, more likely, something in medical training. Eyes of bright golden yellow scanned the room for a second before they landed on me and Spectral.

"God damn it, Dean, what now?" I growled at the human as he walked over to us. "We were having a nice time until you slammed the door open."

"Jenny, listen to me," Dean said firmly. "This is for your own good, so don't start, okay? Can you please sit up on the bed for me?" I rolled my eyes and began to stand. Spectral helped me up by serving as a surface to push down on. A quick jump back and I was sitting back on the extra comfy bed. "Good. Doctor Marmalade, this is Jenny," Dean said as he gestured to the orange unicorn walking closer. "She's gonna do a little spell on you, okay? Nothing more."

"Fine, fine," I said. Dean was really riding on my last nerve, though that may just been because he wouldn't leave me alone this whole week. He's a good guy, has good intentions, but he's so... Deany.

Marmalade sat down right in front of me and squinted her eyes. Her horn began to glow a pale yellow, and soon I felt a very fuzzy feeling pulse through my abdomen. I sat up straighter and looked down to see my whole midsection was encased in the aura. A loud crackling got me to look back at Marmalade, but she was looking at something else. So was Dean.

Some futuristic looking hologram from one of those Sci-fi movies was floating in-between us, apparently facing Dean and Marmalade because I could barely see anything due to the angle and reflected image. It, too, was surrounded by Marmalade's golden magic, and soon it stretched to give them a bigger image.

"Hm, what do you think Dean?" Marmalade asked. "From what I'm seeing, it's just a mild case of bowel inflammation."

"Yes, but look at the location," Dean said as he pointed to something on the spellscreen. "That's what's worrying me." Was something going on inside me? This whole thing is starting to spook me... And this spell was gonna make me hurl if it didn't stop soon. "Marmalade, do you have anything that can give us more detail in the scan?"

"I'm completely unfamiliar with human anatomy Dean," the unicorn said as she shook her head, which made the spellscreen move back and forth as well. "For a more in-depth scan, you would need a magic-sensitive viewing spell. I don't know how well you humans absorb magic, since you didn't originally have it in the first place, so since I don't know what would happen if I used normal magic on her organs, I am not at liberty to start pumping it into her system because of the risks."

"Then we'll go see Doctor Cutter or somepony," Dean stated. Marmalade got up and started walking to the door.

"Okay then. Good thing you thought ahead, Dean. I'll get the chair."

"Chair," I asked, finally finding my voice. "What chair? What's going on?"

Dean looked at me, then Spectral, then Marmalade, then at me again. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Marmalade made a quick return with a foldable wheelchair in her magical grasp. I looked at the thing, worry balling up in my insides, when Dean spoke again.

"Jenny, we need you to come with us," he said quietly. "We're gonna need to take you out of the castle to the hospital for a check-up, okay?"

"Why can't we do it in the infirmary?" I asked him.

"That's just what it is, an infirmary." Dean took a step closer and grabbed my arm, pulling me up into a standing position. "Ponies and people go to the infirmary to be watched, and right now, you need to be tested and checked out by professionals, okay? Not just me."

"Can I come, too?" I heard Spectral Stone ask as Dean helped seat me in the mobile chair.

"I don't see why not," Marmalade answered. "Now come on, let's get going. The sooner we get to the hospital, the sooner Jenny can get back to bed, and you'd like that, right dearie?" she asked me with a small smile.

"Uh, right." Dean got behind me and started pushing me out the door. One of the guards outside my door, Cold Rain, took one look at his partner, who nodded, and ended up walking alongside us. I put my eyes forward and sighed. "Fuck me, can't I get a break?"

"You've been in bed for a week, Jenny," I heard Dean say sarcastically, "you've had too long of a break."

"Fuck you too, Dean."

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay, the fires in California caught a few of my family, so a few funerals were set and I needed to be present. The next chapter will also take a while to be put up, since my family needs to go and spread some ashes up in the Great Lakes.

I'll re-read this chapter in my free time and work out any errors I missed with my first few readings, so bare with me if you find one.

Till then, take care and keep reading strong~

Chapter IV

TO MY DISMAY, AND to the joy of whatever sort of cruel god or goddess I had apparently ticked off, Dean's little trip to grab his unicorn helper seemed to have caused a big stir in the castle. Guards were more active, constantly talking to one another as I was wheeled by with my companions, and even a few of the maids had paused in their work to check up on us. I never did like crowds, not because I don't like being surrounded by tons of people, no, that's not why. I don't like crowds because somehow, no matter what, I always seem to have the spotlight land on me. I don't like the attention. The feeling of having dozens of eyes glaring at me, judging every tiny movement and spoken word of mine, I just really don't like being singled out like that. Like I was right now, being pushed down a long corridor in a wheelchair with two medical practitioners, a guard, and a... whatever Speck is supposed to be. My buddy, I guess.

"So," Spectral Stone began, trying to ease the tension our group had been moving in for the past few minutes, "...Uh, Jenny. Why do you have such long hair?" The way his voice wavered made it sound like he was questioning himself instead of me.

I rolled my chin in my hand so I could look at him. "I just never cut it, save for a few trimmings here and there. Why?"

"I was kinda curious, you know?" I guess I did. "I mean, look at Dean, his hair is pretty closely cropped to his head. And your hair is a lot longer than the other females, even most of the mares here."

"I take pride in my haircut," Dean stated with a half-smile. "I think it makes my chin look a tad broader, not to mention short hair doesn't get in the way of whatever I'm doing."

"And what are you doing now, exactly?" I asked him, craning my head over the back of my chair too look at his stubble-covered chin. "Because I still have no real idea of why you're wheeling me out into the city."

"Like I said, just a little checkup, hopefully," Dean answered calmly. "Marmalade couldn't give me a definite answer for my worries, so we're going to somepony who can." This got the unicorn to shuffle in her steps.

"Well, you can't truly blame me for not knowing how the human body works, Dean," Marmalade said with her nose up in the air. "It's only been, what, three years since you appeared on the face of Equus?"

"Technically," Dean drolled on, "if you really search, we may not have been." This caught my attention and I turned my head up to listen better as he wheeled me along. "Some of the more ancient historical writings that date back before Celestia and Luna and even their mother and father have mentions of large, brutish bipeds ravaging the lands. Many are described as ogres and such, but who knows, perhaps we are not the first humans here."

The guard escorting us gave Dean a look before he rolled her eyes.

"You do know that ogres did exist, right?" he stated. "The horrible result of introducing biological and magical engineering to the Minotaurs all those years ago. Big, green, nasty things that actually went off to become a full-fledged species until about three-thousand years ago when they drove themselves to extinction in an attempt of war with the rest of the nations. That whole fiasco sent Equus' advancements back centuries."

"...Oh." You could see the air rush out of Dean's sails. "Welp, so much for that theory. I guess I'll have to talk to somepony about that."

I raised an eyebrow at his last sentence, not really at the meaning, but at his vocabulary. I've only had a very short interaction with the other humans here (God, am I really referring to my species as a separate species?) but slips of the tongue were heard, just like Dean's. But then again, he said he'd been here for two or three years, so maybe the local lingo had rubbed off on him.

"Riiiiight," I sighed. "So what now?"

"Well," Marmalade said as she sped up a tad to reach my side, "we'll be walking for a good few minutes since we're almost out of the castle, perhaps we could just talk?"

"What about?" asked the rest of us in unison, which resulted in a three-way stare between myself, Dean, and Speck. Dean looked at me, I looked at Speck, and he looked at Dean. Then we reversed the order, which in turn made Marmalade laugh a very snorty and undignified laugh.

"You guys~" she teased. "Alright, how 'bout we ask a question, and then just listen, kay?" Without waiting for an answer, she looked to me. I didn't want to get put in the spotlight right away, but my split-second anxiety faded as soon as it appear when her eyes flickered above my head to Dean. "How about you, Dean? Anything preoccupying your time outside the castle?"

"Like you don't know already," Dean replied, snnrking as he finished. "This mare."

"Come on, tell us~" Marmalade pleaded. "Not really for me, but for them." I knew she was talking about me and Spectral Stone, but something was off about this whole conversation now.

"Alright, alright, jeez." Dean gave a slight chuckle before continuing. "Well, for those of you that don't know, I don't spend all my time here at the castle working as the human doctor. Sometimes I go down to the local hospital and lend my services to the patients, sometimes I go down to one of the bars and spend a few hours unwinding with this mare" he said while gesturing to Marmalade, "and sometimes I just go to bed, both here at the castle when I'm needed and in my own home."

"You have a house here?" I spoke up, genuinely curious. Though my time here had been short, the thought of the other humans here in the castle living somewhere other than in the marble and stone palace never really... well, came up. I just assumed we all stayed here... Except for the rest of us that had left, as Celestia and Dean had stated before, they moved out and made themselves at home in their respective towns and cities. There was even a human in the neighboring town of Ponyville, just a short train ride away. I relayed the rest of my thoughts in hopes of an answer.

"Yeah, I can see why you'd think that, but it's true," Dean said. "I'm one of the two humans that currently resides in Canterlot with a house to call my own."

"Why?" Spectral and I asked at the same time.

"Because out of all of us," Dean paused as we exited the castle's hallways and into the main lobby, "we're the only ones with a job that pays enough bits to afford a home here. Brooklyn has her house near the end of the city, next to her nightclub."

"Her own nightclub?" I asked. Seems a bit weird to have a nightclub in such a... ritzy city.

"Yeah," Dean answered as we took a turn. "Rebecca is really the only other human that does any work outside the castle, but only for repairs and such, like fixing a carriage or two. Either that, or working on her half-truck. Though she'll probably never get it working, we don't have gasoline here. You remember her?" he asked me. I put a hand up to my chin as I thought. I think I remember... Yeah, the dark-skinned woman in the overalls. So her name's Rebecca and the other woman must be Brooklyn. "Oh look, ready for some fresh air, Jennifer?" Dean quipped.

I looked away from the underside of Dean's chin to see our little entourage officially leave the castle and into the wide open air of the city of Canterlot. And let me tell you, I thought of five or six words that accurately described something pretty back home, and none of them could do justice on this amazing sight.

The pillars of the castle's opening passed us and let me see the awe-inspiring city that was Canterlot. Magnificent stone buildings with such ornate carvings and designs, they looked like they had been crafted by angels. Some had solid roofs, some shingled, and some thatched. Most had darkened windows to prevent prying eyes from looking in on the residents. Neon signs were unlit, but still provided a way to tell business from residence. Were those really neon signs? Not a single cloud was in the sky, which let Celestia's sun shine bright upon the immaculate surfaces of the homes and businesses, the shiny surfaces of buttons and buckles that adorned the population's fancy and elegant clothing, the reflective faces of their jewelry sparkling as well. Ten or so marble stairs stood between us and the perfectly-fitted cobblestone roads that paved their way all throughout the stone city, the beautiful mix of dark grey stone, marble, and lighter-colored cement worn smooth over the years.

"Wow..." was the only thing I could say at that moment.

"I know, it's very pretty," Spectral said as he began to walk down the stairs. "I had the same reaction when I really saw this place for the first time too."

I couldn't help but stare ahead of use as Dean and Marmalade both helped ease my wheelchair down the stairs. All these wondrous architectural achievements, these well-trimmed and luxurious outfits, it was all a sight to behold. A sight that suddenly brought my awareness to my situation. My situation of being pushed out into a city of elegantly dressed ponies in nothing more than my underwear.

"...Dean?" I drolled out as he and the mare beside him eased my chair down the last stair and onto the cobblestone street.

He bent over my shoulder and gave me a soft smile. "Yes, Jenny?" God I want to punch him right now, he's just too nice.

"Why didn't you let me put on some pants before wheeling me out into town?" He just gave me a shrug before standing straight once more. With a sudden lurch that got my chair's wheels out of the first divots of the cobblestone road, he started pushing me to the hospital.

I couldn't but stare at some of the homes we walked by. Some were large enough to comfortably house ten people, or ponies in this case. Some were tall and skinny, some were two-story and wide. I don't think there's any single story houses in the city. After about three minutes, my group wheeled me into the market district. Most of the stands were owned by ponies, but I saw a few creatures that had the heads and claws of eagles and the body of a lion. Griffons, if my mythology is correct. And walking around the district were a few zebras too. Their clothing, if they had any, looked like it was han—er, I mean, hoof woven out of long grass. Kinda gave me an Amazonian vide, maybe African. And then I saw the Minotaurs too. The bottom half of a bull, and the head too, but the midsection was definitely humanoid. Fingers and everything. I couldn't help but notice that all the female Minotaurs I saw were... well, very flat in the chest region. Looks like us humans would be winning the breast wars here. Some of the females were wearing very nice dresses, while the males did nothing to hide their bodies. This world and its fixation with nudity. Maybe I should go shopping once we were finished with all this, get myself some new clothes.

Our group passed one particular stand that held feathers, beads, and other odd trinkets. The crowd in front of it held only two ponies, the rest were... I don't know what they were. They walked upright on two legs, like humans, and were vaguely humanoid. All of them had a thin layer of differing shades of yellow fur, and all of them were wearing some sort of shirt or vest and a pair of baggy shorts. Long feline tails poked out under their belts, and wide paws were attached at the ends of their limbs. One of them looked over at us and smiled a very toothy grin as he waved to us with a paw, giving me a look at his very feline-like face.

"Never seen something like that before," I said as I politely waved back.

"They are Ailurians," Dean responded. "Legend has it that just as ponies evolved from more primitive forms of horses, so did they evolve from the extinct mountain lion. They fought for the right to settle in what's now the Griffon Empire against, well, the Griffons. The Ailurians now make their home in the deserts of Camelu off on the Fourth Continent. Its odd to see such ravenous hunters here in Equestria."

"Hunters?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. "What do you mean?"

"Look at them," Dean answered as we moved by another couple of cat-folk. "Ailurians are known for their merciless hunting tactics. Of course, they don't kill anything that can talk and mostly stick to hunting basilisks, sandwyrms, ocean life, and whatever type of bird they can find out in the desert. Quick, but not very clean. An Ailurian can take down a foe that outweighs it by four times alone, even higher if they train."

"Are they friendly?"

"Sort of, it depends on the individual," Dean said. "The Camels seem to enjoy their presence, but I think that's because they scare away any potential threats and other predators. They make for great allies and terrible enemies. Skilled with both blade and claw, the Ailurians are indisputably the most dangerous non-magical race on the face of the planet. One might say they're the humans of this world; the Apex Predator."

"Wow," I replied, short and simply.

"Yeah, you wouldn't think that something that fuzzy could have you on the ground in pieces in under four seconds, would you?"

"How do you know all this?" I asked up at the fellow pushing my chair. All he gave me was a smile for the first few seconds.

"...Well, what was a man to do for the first few weeks here but read everything I could get my hands on?" he replied. "It wasn't until the next human fell out into the gardens that I really slowed down and started taking care of others again."

We passed out of the market and into the business regiment of the city. There was quite the variety of shops in Canterlot; woodwork, glass forming, jewelry, antiques, photography, an orphanage even, home furnishing, easy-living goods, the works. Everything you would ever need you could probably find here in Canterlot.

We all stopped and looked up when a shrill whistle pierced the air. A young unicorn mare with a brilliantly bright red coat and heavenly golden mane was waving at us, and this got a reaction out of my buddy.

"Hey, would you look at that," Spectral said as he took a step forward. "That's Rosy Meadows, my work bud! Hey, could you guys go ahead without me? I kinda want to catch up and get the details of what's been going on with our store." He looked directly at me, this time. "I promise I'll meet you guys up at the hospital," Speck said with an adorable pout on his face. I know it was for show, but I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"You're good, Speck," I answered as I playfully messed his mane. "Go get your girl."

Spectral's face rapidly gained a hue of pink as he sputtered. "What? N-no, no, it's not like that, heh..." With an awkward jump, he took off towards his shop and the mare calling his name. I smiled when she said something we couldn't hear that made Speck's face go even redder and basically trip over himself. We started our way once more to the hospital with a new topic of discussion, one that was directed at me.

"So Jenny," our unicorn helper spoke up as she trotted closer to my side as Dean wheeled me down the street, "Stone's pretty cute when he's flustered like that, huh?" I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it just amazes me how cute and cuddly you ponies are. Your big, expressive eyes just complement your whole figure."

"Our eyes, eh?" Marmalade asked me. "What else do you like about us?"

"I don't really know," I said as I looked away from her face. "...Um, maybe that you can talk, I guess. Humans are the only sapient species back home, and we are not counting the silly cats on TV." That got Dean to chuckle at Marmalade's confusion, so I clarified, "Some cats can almost sound like they're saying words when they mewl. Most commonly its something like 'no' or 'love,' but a real famous one was known for saying 'Oh long Johnson~ Oh Don Piano~'"

My impression got Marmalade to snrrk, which got Dean to do it as well, which in turn set me off in a fit of giggles I tried to hide behind my hand. It wasn't long before we were all laughing, me softer than the other two due to my stomach ache, like a bunch of idiots. We got quite a few odd looks from the populous as we laughed at our own stupidity. Eventually, we managed to calm down and return to the discussion beforehand.

"Ha... anyways, yeah, meeting another species that can talk is cool, and entire planet of them even cooler," I continued. "I just wish that there was a way to go home."

"But," Marmalade interrupted, "would you have completely avoided coming here if you could?"

To that, I snorted and waved a hand. "Oh fuck yeah." My answer brought disheartened looks on both Marmalade's and Dean's faces. "I mean, I was ripped away from my home right in the middle of my life and dropped here without a coin to my name and just the stuff on my being. If there was some sort of safe portal beforehand, then yeah, I may have checked it out, but not in this case. If I could have gone back in time and prevented myself from walking through my front door and coming here, I would."

"But then you wouldn't have met us, right? or Stone?" Marmalade asked me, as if she was trying to get me to change my mind.

I looked here right in the eye. "So? I'd rather be back home instead of meeting new people, or ponies. If I had the chance, I'd take it."

My answer brought on a dull silence as we entered a large building. Looking around, I could see dull blue painted walls with brightly-painted pictures and portraits. Cushions and chairs lined the walls for a few yards, a couple short-legged tables sitting spaced out evenly in front of the seats that provided reading material. I couldn't help but notice that the guard that had been walking with us was no longer in our group; he must have stayed behind at the castle. Up ahead, I could see Marmalade talking to a receptionist pony, a light blue unicorn with a purple mane tight up in a bun behind her little white hat. They exchanged words before Marmalade pointed over at me and Dean. The receptionist nodded and brought up a bulky-as-all-Hell phone and magically punched in a number. This is when I felt dean lean over my shoulder.

"You know," Dean halfway whispered in my ear, "you should be a bit more considerate with your words here in Equestria. You really hurt her, you know."

"How so?" I asked him.

Dean sighed in response. "Here in Equestria, and most of Equus, we don't establish relations with money or goods or force. We just offer our hand, hoof, claw, or whatever you may have in friendship. Friendship is a big part of Equestrian society, it's been ingrained into nearly all of the sapient species' culture for thousands of years. Yes, there is the occasional conflict, but still. And by openly rejecting her friendship back there, you really hurt her feelings."

"I didn't reject it!" I nearly yelled. "I just said that—"

"You would rather have gone back in time and prevented your coming here. We all gave you our friendship to try and help you adjust, and you plainly stated that if our friendship isn't home, it isn't worth your time."

"It's only been a week and a half!" I yelled this time.

"And I made a friend my second day, and she holds a dear part in my heart now," Dean answered me in a calm voice. "Saying what you did back there, just basically stating that you'd give up her offer of friendship in a blink of an eye like that, was like slapping her in the face. I think you should talk to her about this later."

"Dean" I growled, "if I could stand, I would slap you in the face!" I puffed out a long sigh. "I'll talk to her when we get back to the castle. It's just fucking hard to really deal with this, you know?"

"It's only as hard as you make it," Dean answered as another pony walked up to the two of us. He was wearing a white doctor's coat like Dean's, only it was cropped to fit his quadruped body. His fur was a rich chocolate, as were his eyes, and his mane was a crispy tan, combed to the left and only separated by a long horn protruding from his forehead. A stethoscope hung around his neck, ready to be used, and a plastic covered popsicle stick stuck out of one of his pockets. This pony could not be any more cliché if he tried.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Ward." I stand corrected. "What seems to be the problem, Dean ole boy?" he asked the human beside me.

"My patient here needs an abdominal examination," Dean replied formally. "An internal screening would be best."

"From what you've told me about Toad, humans and magic don't mix too well, right?" Ward questioned. Dean waved him off.

"That's why we've come to you, Ward. You and Doctor Cutter have treated Toad four out of the five times he's been here, helped with the surgeries." What is he talking about? Toad? Surgery? "You've even screened me twice when I came down with the stomach flu," Dean said calmly. "You two have the most experience with screening a human, so I was hoping one of you could help. Just keep the magic below seven jewels and she won't absorb too much."

"What do you mean I'll absorb magic?" I asked the two of them.

"Let's get you to an examination room, then." With that, Dean started to wheel me down another hall following the brown unicorn. Once again, Dean leaned over to talk in my ear.

"Humans don't have any magical imprint in their bodies, so if we absorb too much magic, we get what's called 'magic saturation.' It's a very unpleasant condition that occasionally affects any creature over-exposed to magical forces. When every cell in your body is charged with magical energy, you feel bloated, nauseous, feverish, and sore. Very, very sore. Every cell in your body would be constantly swelling and decompressing as it tried to get rid of the excess magic, but its worse with us humans, for since we don't have magic in the first place, whatever type we are over-exposed to is imprinted in our beings. Toad, our youngest human, has been exposed to so much healing and mending magic that he now has the natural, or rather supernatural ability of advanced regeneration, which would be a great thing except for the drastic consequences; it draws from his own life force if his magic supply runs dry, meaning if he gets hurt too badly or uses too much magic and then gets injured, his body will take off years of his life to try and fix it. Doesn't help that he's been in surgery three times now in two years. The doctors say he'll be lucky to see his sixtieth birthday, now. That's almost a forth of his life, gone in such a short time."

"What happened to him?" I asked, genuinely curious about this 'Toad.'

"When he came through the portal, he was teleported from somewhere in Europe. I have an inkling he was from London, but he can't remember. He can't remember a lot of things, really. Brain damage will do that to you. His real name is Pippen Croaker, but he insists we call him Toad. All we really know is that wherever he was, he came through after being a victim to a gruesome mauling from, of all things, a freaking polar bear. That was his first surgery, trying to put him back together again. Even now he doesn't have complete control of his neck, can't turn his head to the left any more than about an inch. Toad is missing his right hand and left leg just below the knee, and he's half-blind in his left eye, thanks to that bear."

"That poor man," I said sadly.

"You mean boy," Dean corrected. "Toad is only fourteen years old now. Almost fifteen, in about five weeks."

The kid from the castle!? "That's terrible!" I cried.

"I know," Dean agreed. "His other two surgeries were right after one another. Unfortunately, Toad suffered from a disorder known as Dilated Cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart weakens to the point where it can no longer pump blood through the body. The first surgery as to replace his heart with that of a deceased pony. The second came only days later when his body rejected the tissue and we had to give him a pig's heart. Its been a few weeks since his last surgery, so we're hoping he's okay now."

"...Was he the second incident you were talking about on my first day?" I asked.

"...Yeah... Yeah, he was."

"Is he..." I paused, trying to think of my question. "Is he okay now?"

"Toad is doing better," Dean answered me. "He still has a long way to go with his physical therapy, not to mention he's getting used to his newest prosthetic leg; the older one was little more than a table leg stuck to a plunger head that was suctioned onto his stump, but the newest one is a bit more realistic. He's been very clingy to his buddy, but she's a nice mare, older too. Knows how to deal with children. Hopefully he'll come out of this just fine. You'll get to meet him once we get back to the castle, you know. Too bad the rest already left."

"Left?" I looked up at him as we entered a sterile looking room. "What do you mean left?"

"The rest of the humans took off earlier in the week," Dean replied as he wheeled me to the edge of a padded table. "If we humans find a place of work that suits our lifestyles, we can move out of the castle whenever we feel we must. Everyone else left yesterday, which was why I was constantly pestering you to go out and talk with them before they went their own ways. Brooklyn and Toad were the only ones to stay behind because Toad is still recovering and Brooklyn lives here in Canterlot, though she stays at the castle a lot more than her own house."

"Oh."

"Alrighty!" We both looked up at the chocolate unicorn as he grabbed a few items from a desk in the corner of the room. Ward turned to us and gave me a smile. "Let's get her standing, shall we?"

"Think you can stand?" asked Dean as he readied himself to help pull me out of the wheelchair. I gave him a nod and pushed up with my legs, while dean pulled and quickly grabbed my sides just under my arms. With me on my feet, Dean slid the wheelchair out of the way with his foot. "There you go," he said calmly. "Now, I know for a fact you are not going to like this part."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked Dean, but Doctor Ward answered for him.

"To do a low-level screening," he said while his horn lit up with a bright brown aura, "I'll need you to remove your garments."

"Otherwise he'd have to use more magic since your clothes add a layer of materials to analyze," Dean clarified, "and that wouldn't be the best course of action." I was pretty sure Dean could read me like a book, because he put his hand on my shoulder and turned me slightly so I was facing him. "Jenny, listen. This is a medical facility, and we are medical staff. This is all a professional and standard procedure, it's completely normal. There is nothing to be embarrassed about, okay?"

My eyes drifted to the floor, then up Dean's legs before finally landing on the wall behind him. A few posters of pony medical information hung from the wall, as well a one just for the wing of a pegasus. But the freaking cliché poster of a cat hanging in there by a thin wire was replaced, at least; it was a ferret, not a cat. A lot or this was all alien to me, and the whole setting of this situation set me on edge, but... Dean really was the only human here with any experience with medical practice. I sighed and gave him a short nod, partway lifting my arms out and grabbing the bottom of my shirt. Dean let go of my shoulder as I stripped, then quickly caught me as I stumble to get out of my underwear. He carefully lead me to the edge of the table and sat me down on the cool wax paper that covered the thin cushion on top of the table's surface.

"So," Doctor Ward asked, chipper as ever, "what sort of scan will I be doing? I'm not seeing any wounds."

"Abdominal, internal. Normal procedure," Dean replied. "We're looking for anything out of the ordinary, at all. A single thing wrong, and I want to know."

The unicorn doctor nodded and made his way to me, a clipboard in his magical grasp and thin pen in his mouth. He gave me a once over, mulling the end of his pen in his lips as he stared at my stomach. I began to feel self-conscious under his scrutinizing gaze, but I stayed perfectly still. Slowly, the doctor sat down on the floor before me, which was fucking right between my legs! I huffed an crossed my legs in an effort to hold onto whatever shred of dignity I had left. Finally, he spoke.

"So, Jennifer," Ward asked slowly, "when was the last time you had a full physical?" The question caught me off-guard.

"Uh, a physical, huh?" I put a hand to my chin as I thought, grimacing as the action moved me a bit and caused a mild flare in my gut. "Um, I'm not entirely sure when, but I think it was a few years ago, back in the beginning of middle school. Yeah, that's right. About five years ago." I heard Ward scribble on his clipboard.

"Mmhmm, and you are eighteen years old?" he asked me.

"Not quite, I'll be eighteen in May."

"Have you ever had a pelvic exam?" he asked, calm as ever.

"Excuse me?" This question really through me off. Where did that come from? Ward ignored me, and asked another question that even upset Dean.

"How far along are you?"

This caused Dean to give his fellow medical practitioner a slap upside the head, a very unprofessional act, but seemingly appropriate. "The Hell did you get that assumption, Ward?" Dean questioned the unicorn as he rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. "We came in for a standard screening, not an ultrasound." Ward glared at him, then looked me over once more before he buried his muzzle into his clipboard and uttered his answer.

"Disheveled look, slight swelling of the abdominal area, enlarged mammaries, it points to a perfectly plausible conclusion." Dean rolled his eyes before informing the doctor.

"The swelling is the result of Jennifer refusing to eat anything for a week, same with her look. We literally wheeled her here because she can barely stand, as you could see," Dean said as he gestured to the wheelchair, which was so obviously different from the local hospital's wheelchairs in no such way. From the doctor's expression, I was pretty sure he believed I had arrived, then put in the chair as we were moving to this room. "And as for her breasts..." Dean trailed off, trying to think of a way to explain my girls to the unicorn. "...Human females have varying breast sizes, based on their genetics and diet. They can range from anywhere from non-existent to the size of cantaloupes, and even then we have the one-in-a-million who naturally have beach balls stuffed in their bras." He could have phrased that a lot better than he did.

"Naturally that large?" Doctor Ward asked me disbelievingly.

"Very rarely," Dean answered him. "Some undergo surgery to increase their breast size. For some stupid reason humans as a species like things big, and the same goes for when it comes to our bodies. Jennifer is actually within the average margin, if her heritage is—"

"Can we get on with this fucking screening!?" I yelled out, my temper flaring and my patience worn through. Both males in front of me shared a look, then looked up at the ceiling with looks of slight embarrassment. "Men are all the same, Equus or Earth," I muttered. "Once boobs enter the conversation, that's all they can think about."

The doctor grimaced at my words. "Err, right. My apologies," Ward said quietly as he patted the table I was sitting on. "Please, lie down straight and we'll begin."

I did as he asked, straightening out on the padded tabletop, the cool wax paper ebbing at my discomfort. I never cared for hospitals, even though I'm rarely ever near them. They have that same smell like the nurse's office at school, only multiplied by, like, four; the scent of disinfectant, rubber, and illness. I couldn't really watch many medical shows because the nature of hospitals wigged me out, besides House and maybe Bizarre ER. I only watched those for entertainment purposes, some of the weirdest things happen when nobody's around.

Dean moved a stool over to the side of the bed I was lying on and sat down next to the doctor. Ward charged up his horn and soon I felt that same nauseating feeling in my mid-section again. After a few seconds, a static hologram blurred into existence over my stomach. It began to focus, and this time Dean started humming to himself.

"Hmm... I'm not quite sure, but..." He trailed off, letting the doctor scan me as he did his own observation.

"I'm not getting a decent view at this power level, Dean," stated Ward. "On your advice, would I be able to increase the level by a jewel?"

Dean rubbed his chin at the same time he waved at the unicorn with two fingers. "Yeah, that's still under the precautionary limit. Go right ahead."

Doctor Ward's horn began to glow just a smidge brighter, and the unusual feeling in my stomach doubled in intensity. I felt my stomach lurch, which sent the pain in my abdomen into overdrive, but I tried my best to remain still while Ward was working. I cast a quick glance at the translucent screen the two were looking at, seeing a lot of orange shapes.

"That's still a tad blurry," Ward said aloud.

"Yes," Dean agreed. "But you can make out a lot of swelling right here," he said as he gestured to a section of the screen. "That's a bit concerning. I'm not entirely sure if my assumption is correct, though, it's still too blurry to pinpoint the problem."

Ward looked up at Dean. "Permission to increase power to eight point five jewels?"

This got Dean to look down at the unicorn. "You know that the most we've used on a human without incidents is seven jewels, Ward." I didn't like the sound of that one bit. Dean, don't you do anything rash now. Dean looked up at the ceiling for a second, finding a particular ceiling panel very interesting. Another few seconds passed before he whistled from the gap from his missing tooth. "Keep the exposure under two minutes, and we should be fine."

Ward nodded, then returned his attention to me. Immediately the instinct to curl up and move thudded into my brain as I felt that I was going to seriously start heaving. The pressure pushing on my stomach from all around just kept growing, almost to the point where I cried out, but I tried to keep my voice calm.

"Guys," I gasped, "it hurts."

"Bare with us, Jenny," Dean replied as he reached over and slid my hand into both of his. "I can see it now, it's clear, right there." he said, letting one hand leave mine and point to the screen. "Just as I thought, Ward, I know what we need to do."

I held onto Dean's hand like there was no tomorrow as I tried to think of anything else to keep my mind, and gut, from going into a frenzy over this feeling of weight. The pressure reminded me of a hose that had been kinked, letting the pressure build behind it until either the hose of faucet gave into the stress. Or perhaps a girdle, because that what it felt like; someone squeezing the life out of my tummy. They just kept pulling the strings tighter, and tighter, and my not quite agony-but-still-disturbing pain continued to grow.

Until the strings snapped.

All of the sudden the pressure in my innards lessened considerably, and my pain went down to a dull throb. I took a deep breath, and realized I could do so without the stabbing pain, just mild discomfort. I gave Dean's hand a squeeze, which made him turn to me. He smiled at me when he saw I was smiling at him.

"Everything's gonna be just fine, Jenny." Dean told me. "It was just as I thou—"

"Dean!" Ward spoke up in an elevated voice. Both of us looked to the unicorn, where he adjusted the magical screen in front of us so Dean could see it better. I could see it as well. A detailed map of my organs was up on the screen. my lungs were blue, heart was blue, stomach blue, but my intestines were the bright orange I saw before. And now, on the bend that looped my intestines around themselves, was a growing spot of deep purple.

Dean's expression grew hard. "Oh shit."

"What? I asked them both. "What's going on? What happened?"

Dean ignored me for the moment. "Ward! Go down and get a nurse to bring us a gurney." The unicorn nodded and was out the door before we knew it. The whole situation just turned sour. My heart felt cold, my lungs locked up with fear, and if I was like one of those old cartoons, I'd be a fucking sunflower right now I was so scared.

I felt my pulse skyrocket, which lead my heart to slam against my chest with each beat. Everything had been going so smooth, what was happening to me now? I turned to the only other person in the room with me and asked him while he was helping me into a sitting position.

"Dean, tell me what's happening," I asked him, almost pleaded him. I was scared more now that ever in my life before, even when I met Celestia for the first time.

"Jennifer," Dean started as he pressed a finger to my neck, "this turned very serious. I think I know what happened, too," he said, regret dripping off of his every word. "I think when I allowed Doctor Ward to increase his magic, we gave you too large of a dose and it worsened your swelling."

"What swelling!?" I yelled, almost screamed. "You haven't told me anything! What happened!?" My throat felt tight as I spoke. "Dean, ple-hease, you're scaring me really bad right now..."

Dean opened his mouth to answer me when the doctor slid back into view with a blue unicorn mare next to him. She was pushing a large wheeled bed, the gurney. Dean turned around and nodded to the two.

"Ward, go prep the O.R." The brown unicorn nodded before taking off once again. "You," Dean said gesturing to the mare, "help me load her onto the gurney. No magic."

Without a word, the mare zipped to my side and stood up on her hind legs. Dean pulled me up into an upright position then pulled me up on my feet. The mare beside me helped me stand as Dean led us just a few inches over and sat me down on the gurney. The unicorn then helped me lie down before she pushed me out into the hallway, Dean following close behind.

I reached up and grabbed Dean's hand, making him look down at me as we progressed through the halls. "Dean, tell me now, please," I asked him, almost in tears. "Tell me what happened."

Guilt, remorse, and sadness flashed on his face. "It's our fault, Jenny. I'm sorry. You're going to be fine, though," he said, realizing how his sentence sounded. "We used too much magic," he explained as we pushed through a pair of doors, "and it caused your swelling to go past the acceptable standards. I was hoping to have this resolved with just some meds, but... We need to do a little operation, Jennifer."

"Op... operation?"

"Surgery," Dean corrected. "Your appendix burst."

...A lot of a weight over my chest vanished when he said that. The whole situation had been blown out of proportion, I know that now, but with just how urgent they sounded, how they were talking... It kinda sounded like I was gonna die.

Dean had something else to add. "Back on Earth, we would have this fairly quickly and keep it small. This isn't Earth, Jennifer." I tried to looked him dead in the eye, but his face was forward, watching the halls. "This is major surgery, we're talking about. We don't have cameras, or proper invasive equipment, or even the same chemicals here. Magic takes up a lot of it, but I don't want to risk overexposing you to any form of mana. So I'll have you make the call."

"...What are the choices?" I asked him as we busted through another door. I lifted my head and saw we were in the operation room now. A wide open area over tiled floor and just three small metal tables, all empty. A larger table sat near the center of the room, the operation table I presumed. There was a small drain in the center of the floor. Two unicorns were in the room as well, one already washed and prepped for whatever she may need to do, and another washing his hooves in a sink.

Dean leaned over into my field of vision. "These are your choices, Jennifer. One is that you take your chances with the unicorns preforming their healing spells, perhaps a potion or two, and risk mana saturation, or we preform surgery. Magic is quick and clean, but could have unknown arcane consequences, since you are human. Surgery will take you down a fairly lengthy road of slow movement and recovery, but we will all know what we're doing and there will be so little risk." Dean helped wheel me over to the center of the room, and the two unicorns joined our little group. I looked at each of them while they were helping me move from the gurney to the table, catching their gaze with my own, then back at Dean. I almost had my answer with one-hundred percent clarity, but I needed to make sure.

"...If I choose surgery, how big will the cut be?"

Dean merely ran a finger from my naval all the way down the right side of my stomach. "At least six inches," Dean answered. "Maybe more."

"Will it leave a scar?" I felt stupid for asking that.

Dean nodded. "But we have a cream to help with that here."

I nodded. "Okay. Cut me."

"You heard the lady, fellas," Dean said to the two surgeons. The responded by walking out of sight and started rummaging around for tools. Dean looked back down at me as he touched my bare shoulder. "It's okay Jenny. I'm the one who handled the major human emergencies. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Okay then," I said quietly. "Just one thing..." Dean leaned down to hear me better, and I took advantage. With my left arm, I reached up and grabbed his tie and brought his face even closer to my own. "Just be careful when you're rooting through my insides, Dean. I still want kids someday in the far future, so don't do anything hasty."

"I understand, Jennifer." I let go of his tie, and Dean removed himself from my vision. It was replaced by the light green unicorn surgeon. She had on one of those paper surgical masks over her muzzle, and the strings holding it together tied around the back of her head instead of around her ears. She lifted up a clear plastic face mask that looked like it protruded a tad to far to be normal, but then again everything that talks here had a muzzle or elongated nose, so... yeah.

The surgeon put the mask over my face, and I could smell a faintly sweet something once it was on. "Breathe deeply and count backwards from one-hundred," she said in a soft, kind voice.

I don't think I made it past ninety-six.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait, a lot of crap going on and whatnot. College registration, bills to pay, playing a bridesmaid for a friend's wedding, the works. I've also gone through the first few chapters and edited them, made them a bit easier to read and fixed any mistakes that passed through the final editing. See you next time~

For the map I use in my work, this one and future stories, you can find it here.
This wonderful piece of art was created by Icaron.