It took a few moments for everypony to realize what happened. One moment the human was unlocking the horn restraints and the next he was flying across the room after getting hit with a powerful spell from Twilight. Everypony rushed over to Curtis to see if he was okay. The force of the impact knocked him unconscious but there didn't seem to be any other injuries as far as they could tell. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up.

"What they hay Twilight!?! I know you and him had a tense argument about the whole diamond dog situation but was that really necessary?"

"I didn't...I don't-I..." Twilight was unable to put her defense into words.

"Now hold on, ah'm sure Twilight didn't do it on purpose...right?" Applejack asked, trying to defend Twilight. Twilight looked around at the room full of ponies who were all staring at her. Some looked more accusing than others.

"It was an accident, I swear! I didn't even feel myself cast the spell. It had to have been that...thing!" Twilight responded, pointing a hoof at the restraint that was once on her horn and now lying on the floor.

"Just how would that 'thing' do something like that?" Lyra retorted with an accusing tone. To everypony's surprise, Lyra looked almost as upset at the situation as Twilight. "Mine didn't do that and neither did Vinyl's or even Starlight's!" Lyra said as she jabbed the princess in the chest with a hoof.

"Lyra..." Bon Bon tried to call her friend back but her voice fell on deaf ears.

"What do you have against him? We all know you weren't happy with him coming to rescue us. Is that it? Did him disobeying you warrant that?" Lyra was so furious that she was backing Twilight into a corner. "Are you so upset that he came and stole your glory that you had to knock him out cold when all he was doing was helping? That he succeeded where you FAILED?"

"LYRA!" Bon Bon yelled at her friend, finally breaking her out of her rant.

"What!?!" Lyra snapped. Bon Bon didn't flinch, she stood her ground and stared Lyra down as she pointed a hoof at the princess. Lyra, starting to realize what she was doing, followed the direction of Bon Bon's hoof and saw that Twilight was lying on the floor, quietly weeping with her hooves covering her face. She soon realized how harsh she was acting towards the princess of friendship.

"Princess Twilight...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. I don't know what I was-"

"No, don't apologize. You're right, I should have known that would have happened." Twilight said weakly as she wiped the tears from her face. Starlight picked Lyra up with her magic and firmly set her down next to Bon Bon and shot her an angry look before trotting up to Twilight.

"Don't be ridiculous, there's no way you could have known that would have happened." Starlight said trying to console her friend. Spike came to Twilight's side and threw his arms around her neck.

"Don't listen to Lyra, Twilight. I know you wouldn't have done that on purpose. It's not like SHE did anything to help." Spike said as he glowered at Lyra.

"I hate to state the obvious but shouldn't we get this guy to the hospital?" Vinyl Scratch interrupted.

"Vinyl is right. I'm no doctor but he could be seriously injured, he took a pretty hard hit." Octavia added.

"I can take him to the hospital, everypony else should go home for the night. It's been a long day." Starlight said as she levitated the unconscious man with her magic, taking extra care not to move him any more than necessary in case he did have internal injuries. "Spike, please make sure Twilight doesn't beat herself up over this. I'll be back once he's admitted to the hospital." Starlight said as she trotted out the castle with Curtis floating just behind her. Once outside, she took off running towards the hospital, hoping the night staff wasn't too busy.

The sun had set over an hour ago and Luna's moon was shining brightly in the clear night sky. Usually, the streets of Ponyville wouldn't be so empty this early in the night but it seemed most ponies made an exception for tonight considering what happened. She arrived at the hospital to find that Nurse Redheart was sitting at the receptionist desk, scribbling away at some paperwork with the pencil in her mouth.

"Please, I need a doctor! He's hurt." Starlight pleaded. Nurse Redheart looked up from the paperwork she was doing and dropped the pencil she was holding in her mouth when she saw who exactly Starlight was referring to.

"Is that the human everypony's been talking about? What happened to him?" Nurse Redheart asked. She didn't wait for a response before jumping to her hooves. She pushed the button on the intercom at her desk to make an announcement "Doctor Horse to the front desk. Doctor Horse to the front desk." She rushed to get the largest gurney they had since most were meant for ponies of a size much smaller than he was. She returned just as quick as she left and Doctor Horse rushed in as Starlight set Curtis down on the gurney.

"Is that the human everypony's been talking about? What happened to him?" Doctor Horse asked, repeating the nurse's questions.

"He got hit pretty hard with magic. He went unconscious shortly after." Starlight answered trying to keep it short. Doctor Horse was busy casting a spell on the human to see what the damage was.

"I see, there doesn't appear to be any internal damage but I still want to examine him to be safe. Miss Glimmer, please fill out the forms on one of the clipboards and have a seat in the waiting area. Nurse Redheart will be back shortly." Doctor Horse said and rushed off with the nurse to get a closer look at Curtis.

Meanwhile, at Twilight's castle

Octavia and Vinyl Scratch left shortly after Starlight took Curtis to the hospital. Spike finally convinced Twilight to get some sleep and her friends left after they were certain Twilight would get some rest. Bon Bon and Lyra volunteered to take Curtis's belongings to his room. They followed Spike's directions on how to get there and they found it easily enough. Lyra opened the door with her magic and trotted in with Curtis's flak and helmet and Bon Bon followed in behind her carrying his rifle in her mouth since she insisted on carrying it instead of letting Lyra hold it with her magic. Her reason being she "didn't want it to accidentally go off." Lyra set the armor in the closet since that's where the rest of his stuff was at. Bon Bon set the rifle down on the table and took a seat in the chair. She proceeded to take out the magazine and pulled the charging handle back to eject the round inside the chamber and put it back inside the magazine.

"What are you doing?" Lyra asked, shocked at how casual her friend looked handling the strange weapon. Bon Bon's eyes slightly widened, as if she wasn't aware of what she just did.

"Huh? I was just making sure it was safe, probably shouldn't leave it loaded." Bon Bon replied. Lyra cocked her head in confusion.

"Loaded?" Lyra asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, loaded."

"...And how did you know how to...unload it?" Lyra asked, wondering if that was the correct word.

"Oh uh, you know..." Bon Bon paused for a second as she tapped her hoof on the desk "I just watched him do it in the mine. Besides it's not like it's complicated or anything." she said defending herself. Lyra continued to give her friend a confused look, searching her own memory if she could remember the human doing whatever Bon Bon just did.

"If you say so..." Lyra conceded. She didn't remember seeing the human do anything remotely close to whatever Bon Bon just did but concluded she must have missed it. Afterall, it's not like Bon Bon would lie to her right?

Back at the hospital

Starlight Glimmer was sitting in the waiting area, trying her best to ward off sleep even though her eyelids seemed to be getting heavier by the minute. The sound of approaching hoofsteps was enough to wake up her mind and she saw Nurse Redheart enter the waiting area.

"Excuse me, miss Glimmer? Could you come with me please?" Nurse Redheart asked.

"Certainly, is Curtis going to be okay?" Starlight asked, concern in her voice.

"He'll be fine. He has a large bruise where he got hit but it should heal after a few days. I just need you to come with me to his room and sign some paperwork for us and we'll keep him overnight." Nurse Redheart answered. Starlight let out a grateful sigh at the news, happy to know that he will make a full recovery. Starlight stood up from her seat and stretched before following the nurse to Curtis's room where Doctor Horse was waiting for them. Curtis was lying on a hospital bed with a blanket covering his entire body except for his head. His clothes and pistols were neatly folded and stacked on a small table in the room with his boots on the floor beneath the table. The room was dimly lit, the only light source being the lamp on the table.

"Here she is, doctor." Nurse Redheart announced as they entered.

"Ah, miss Glimmer, thank you for your patience. I was just finishing up some paperwork. Your friend here will have to stay overnight but he should wake up sometime tomorrow morning. If you would just sign here acknowledging you are aware he is here you will be free to go." Doctor Horse said as he floated a clipboard over to Starlight with the papers. She signed in the place where the doctor indicated and gave it back to the doctor.

"Thank you so much for your help doctor. As you could imagine it's been quite a stressful day."

"It was my pleasure, after all, it was the least we could do for him after he rescued you along with the princess and those other ponies. If you don't mind me asking, how did this happen?" Doctor Horse asked.

"It was an accident. He was taking off these weird things on our horns when it happened. He removed most of them just fine but for some reason when he removed Twilight's restraint she just..." Starlight trailed off, wondering to herself what exactly happened.

"Are you saying Princess Twilight did this to him?" Doctor Horse asked, shocked that the Princess of Friendship would do such a thing.

"Oh Celestia no! Or at least not on purpose. Even she doesn't know why it happened. Honestly, I think it had something to do with the thing on her horn." Starlight responded. Doctor Horse rubbed his chin in thought.

"Perhaps you're right, that does seem pretty out of character for her. Oh well, not my field of expertise. In the end, your friend will be fine aside for some bruising but that will heal in time so no real harm was done. Besides, judging from the massive scar on his chest I'm certain he has recovered from injuries far worse than bruises. Our work here is done, for now, you are free to leave when you are ready. The nurse and I will leave you be." Doctor Horse said as he and Nurse Redheart exited the room. Starlight looked back at Curtis, replaying the doctor's words in her head.

'I wonder what scar he was talking about.' Starlight thought to herself in curiosity. She walked over to his bedside and used her magic to gently move the blanket down so she could see what scar the doctor was referring to. Starlight's jaw dropped in awe at the large scar that ran from the center of his chest down to his stomach. Her mind was trying to comprehend what could have caused such a mark. She didn't want to even try to think about how much pain it would have caused. As she looked on she noticed other scars on the man's body although these weren't as nearly severe. Along with the scars, she saw the other tattoo he mentioned before the accident. In the center of his chest was the head of an angry looking honey badger. The meaning behind it was lost on her.

"By Celestia...what happened to you?" Starlight asked aloud, a feeling of deep sorrow coming over her for the man. She realized she was gawking at the half naked man and decided it would be best to cover him up and call it a night. She moved the blanket back to where it originally was and left the room, leaving Curtis in the dimly lit hospital room and headed back to the castle to get some rest herself. Unbeknownst to her, blending in perfectly with the shadows of the room, was the former king of the Crystal Empire, watching her every move. After the sound of her hoofsteps could no longer be heard and the only noise was coming from the constant ticking from the clock hanging from the wall, King Sombra stepped out of the shadows and stood in the same spot Starlight was just in.

"That is the question, isn't it? Just what did happen to you?" Sombra asked aloud. When he first entered the human's body and peered into his memories, he thought he saw everything he needed to see. But when Curtis had that flashback, it was as if he was experiencing those horrors himself. If that wasn't strange enough, he couldn't even remember what happened. Curtis was tortured, Sombra didn't doubt that. As to how, why, or for how long he had no clue. Sombra has been trying to find those memories on his own since the man was knocked out but had no success. He couldn't even find any memories that even seemed related to what happened. They had to be buried deep down in his subconscious where he couldn't get them. Fortunately, this meant neither could Luna.

Some good did come out of the whole accident. Curtis was hit with so much magic that Sombra could now accomplish his goal of restoring himself to his true form. He would, of course, have to go into hiding for a few years until he could gather all his strength. Afterall self-restoration is no easy feat. Hell, just preserving himself in his horn for such a long time was an accomplishment that even Starswirl the Bearded could only dream of doing. Of course, that would mean leaving behind the man responsible for him being able to restore himself and breaking the deal they had, but what was that worth to him? If it wasn't for Sombra, the magical blast would have blown a hoof-sized hole in the man's chest. Come to think of it, they would both be dead if it wasn't for the other, so Sombra decided they were even. Since whatever memories Luna could access would only reveal whatever he already told Celestia, there was no need for Sombra to continue blocking her attempts to see his dreams. Sombra began to charge up the restoration spell that he personally made himself. He felt the magic build up, every second that ticked by was another second closer to freedom.

'Casting the spell would surely cause a lot of damage to the hospital' Sombra thought to himself. 'Maybe it would be best to wait until I can do it without causing a scene.' No, it was now or never and he would be able to easily slip away under the cover of night. He was the pony of shadows and darkness. The spell was almost fully charged and he could see his horn glow inside the man's chest.

'What if casting it now would end up killing him?' Sombra paused for a moment to consider that thought. He didn't need Curtis to survive him casting the spell, all he was is a means to an end. Now that he had all the magic he needed, the man was irrelevant and whatever happened to Curtis after he was free wouldn't matter. 'But surely Celestia wouldn't let me get away so easily, especially after murdering...' Again, Sombra had to stop and think about what he was about to do.

'So what? After I take back my what is rightfully mine, it won't matter. I will become more powerful than Celestia could ever dream of. When I do, I will crush her beneath my hooves, and her sister, and anypony else who gets in my way.' This was it, the spell was fully charged. The magic was so intense that the room was bathed in a blood red glow. A glow that was coming from his horn, which was inside the chest of the man who gave him a second chance at life. The man who he was maybe about to kill.

This was it, it was time to set himself free. All he had to was cast the spell.
.
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Yep, just casting the spell was all that was left. It was fully charged and ready to go.
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That's right, no more waiting, no more absorbing magic, no more hiding, just one spell cast away from achieving his destiny.
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He will finally be able to take revenge on those responsible for all his suffering. All he had to do was cast the spell.
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Any day now, while we're still young.
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"What the hay are you waiting for? Just cast the spell already and be done with it!" Sombra told himself. For whatever reason, there was a part of him that wouldn't let him do it. Sombra looked down at Curtis and used his magic to pull the blanket down to look at his scar with his own eyes.

'Oh to Tartarus with it.' Sombra thought as he gave in to whatever mysterious force that was preventing him from taking the final step. 'Now isn't the best time. I already have all the magic I need, I just need a little more time to come up with a plan. Once I have the perfect plan put together I will finally be able to fulfill my destiny. For now, all I need is patience.' Sombra reasoned. How long would that take? Maybe a week? Soon everypony will bow down to him and beg for mercy after he takes back his empire and all of Equus will-

"Is somepony in here?"

'SWEET CELESTIA'S TEATS!' Sombra was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Nurse Redheart open the door and quickly blended in with the shadows at the far end of the room where he was originally hiding. The only thing that saved him from being discovered was the nurse asking her question out loud before entering. Nurse Redheart looked around, completely oblivious to who else was in the room with her. She looked over at Curtis and saw that his blanket was down just above his waist.

"Must be having a bad dream." she reasoned to herself as she walked over to his bedside and went to grab the blanket with her mouth but stopped suddenly as if she felt a presence in the room with her. "Doctor Horse? Is that you?" Nurse Redheart asked seemingly nopony in particular. A few seconds go by with no response. "Well since we're all alone, how about we have a look and see what we have here..." Nurse Redheart said as she grabbed the blanket in her mouth.

'What is she doing? Wait, she isn't...' Sombra watched in awe as Nurse Redheart gently pulled the blanket off Curtis, fully revealing him and all of his...extremities.

"Oh, my! Well, you most certainly aren't 'compensating' for anything. I wonder, is that what it always looks like, or does it get bigger with arousal? Hmm, well we probably have some spare neighagra in the pharmacy. I wonder if..."

'Alright, that's it! Peep show's over.' Sombra reached out with his magic and used just enough force to push the clock off the wall and it fell to the floor with a loud clang, scaring the nurse out of her wits. She was so startled that she tripped over the blanket she ripped off and landed face first on the floor. She quickly picked herself up, holding a hoof up to her nose as a trickle of blood leaked out.

"Stupid clock!" Nurse Redheart cursed. "Well great, now the mood is killed. Oh well, I'll remember you for later." Sombra couldn't tell if she was referring to Curtis or a certain part of him. Either way, his distraction worked and Nurse Redheart covered him up with the blanket the same way it was originally and exited the room to tend to her bleeding nose. Sombra came out from the shadows and stood next to the man's bedside. He looked at the door where the nurse just exited and felt disgusted with what he just saw.

"Despicable..." Sombra spat out and turned his attention back to his human counterpart. "First we were even, now you owe me one. Fortunately, you'll be leaving before Nurse RAPEHEART gets ahold of you." Sombra reentered the human so he wouldn't have to worry about anypony seeing him and decided he needed some rest himself after today's events.

Author's Note

I just got over what was probably the longest case of writer's block ever. I have spent countless hours just sitting in front of my computer, staring at the screen trying to think of what to write or at least figure out where to go after writing myself into a corner. But here it is, just in time for Easter! Hope you all enjoy it