The C̸̞̙̭̽̌̀̈́̽̕̕ȗ̵̧̨̢̻̩̞̘͙̉̋̊͂͘ŕ̷͖̦̍͝s̵̫̪̋̍͂̆̆͆̄é̶̡̧̺͖d̸͎͒̒̿̈̀ Apocalypse

It was darkness. I couldn't remember what just happened, but only a few moments passed until I woke up. Expecting to be around Twi and the others, I was surprised to find myself in the hospital again. But something was off. It was too realistic to be Ponyville's hospital.

I heard slow beeps. All the pain I had experienced when being shot wasn't there. I noticed the realism more with every second. This couldn't be right.

There was an oxygen mask on my face and wires around my torso. I felt an IV strapped on my left arm. There was an open door to the bathroom on my right, as well as a chair and more medical equipment. I noticed a TV on the wall in front of me.

There were no TVs in Equestria that I knew about. I started panicking. Was I still in Equestria? The IV machine began beeping. I leaned forward as much as I could with the mask to see what it looked like. It was detailed as much as the ones back on Earth and had smaller buttons.

The door opened, drawing my attention. A man with a white doctor's coat came through.

"Gah!"

"Wah!"

We both jumped at the sight of each other. I hadn't expected a human to come in.

"Devan ... you're up!" he said. He rushed to my IV machine to press some buttons. A woman nurse, who must have overheard us, came through the door. She looked surprised before leaving.

"Where am I? What time is it? Where's Twi?"

"Calm down, Devan. You just woke up from a ten month coma."

My body froze. Realism struck me knick in the chest. It was the reverse of waking up from a nightmare. I had awoken to a nightmare.

"No!"

"Devan ... are you alright?"

He made the beeping stop and stood next to my bed. The nurse came back with another doctor.

"Look who's up. How was the ten month nap?" the other doctor joked.

"Where am I?" I asked again.

"You're at Emory. Near Atlanta."

Atlanta ...

My memory clicked. Atlanta was the city I had lived in before waking up in Equestria. It was the city my father was mugged. It was the city I had lived homeless for just about two years. It was the life I hadn't wanted. And now it was back.

"He's finally awake."

"How are you feeling?" the first doctor asked.

"Horrible ..."

"Any pain that's over the top? We can get you on pain meds ..."

I thought for a moment.

"Yes, please. I can barely feel my ... arms."

"Alright. You heard the man. Can you get a pack of pills while we evaluate his pain?" he asked a nurse. She set off.

I wasn't really feeling any pain, but I thought it would numb me back to Ponyville if I was lucky.

"So, Devan ...who's this Twi you're asking about? Is she a relative?"

Oh boy ...

"She's ... yeah, just a relative ..."

"Don't worry about her yet. We'll get everything sorted out in the next few days."

Pills ... please work.

"We're going to remove the mask in about half an hour. We gotta make sure everybody knows you're awake. I'll look in the book for your relative Twi."

"But ... sir ... um ..."

"Yes? Don't talk if you're too tired."

"No ... it's not that. It's just ... Twi isn't a relative. I don't know if she's real or not," I said.

Of course she is. Don't be stupid.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Maybe a dream."

You know it wasn't. Don't be stupid.

"A dream? Was it a long dream?"

"Yes ... definitely."

Most of the nurses and doctors were gone. I felt liquids from the IV cooling my veins. The other machine beeping had stopped. Most of the wires were taken away.

"We'll let you rest. We'll wake you up to take off the mask, then you can sleep however long you need."

Another ten months maybe?

My brain was still interpreting the fact that I was back in the world. What if Twi and the others didn't make it? Celestia and Luna didn't know I was gone yet. Was my whole body gone from Equestria or just my spirit?

The first doctor left, leaving the room empty and the door closed. I laid back and tried to relax. For now, I'd see if rest could let me escape this world.