Herbal Remedy peeled her eyes open for what felt like the first time in months, a steady throbbing behind her eyes reminding her of another night of questionable decisions. She shut her eyes against the fluorescent burn of the lights and groaned, pulling her forelegs up to her face to shield herself from its harshness.

Goddesses, what kind of night did I have that I fell asleep with the lights on? Herbal Remedy internally groaned as she rolled over to her side. This wasn't the first time she had woken up questioning her actions from the previous night, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

A steady beep caught her attention as she realized what had pulled her from the blissful peace of sleep. It didn't sound like her alarm, and Remedy groaned again as it continued, both because of the sound and what it meant. She felt like horseshit, and not at all like explaining herself to some equally hungover mare or stallion. Who had she gone home with? She only vaguely remembered the night before, but she didn't remember-

And then she did. A cold tendril of panic spread through her heart as flashes of last night ran through her mind. A photograph. A bottle of pills. Shallow cuts littering her flank and foreleg.

Tears started to spill out of her eyes before she even opened them. What greeted her was an empty room painted in a cheap, mass-produced beige. The beeping sped up as IV needles in her left hind leg caught her attention. Her mind raced as she struggled to grasp what was going on, and she found herself unable to breathe. She was only vaguely aware when some kind of alarm started to sound and hoofsteps came racing into her room.

"Herbal Remedy! Kind Heart, page Doctor Triage!"

Herbal Remedy felt the familiar warmth of a unicorns magic envelop her as somepony, probably a nurse, attempted to retrain her. She flailed against the invisible force in between choked sobs.

"I need a sedative!"

Moments later warmth spread through her veins, relaxing her muscles. Her breathing slowed and the monitor along with it. The magic that had previously retrained her was withdrawn as the familiar haze of drug usage clouded her mind.

"Herbal Remedy?"

Remedy turned her head towards the voice and found herself looking at two disheveled nurses.

"It's okay sugar, do you know where you are?"

Before she could answer a stallion trotted in without so much as glancing at her and started speaking in low tones to the nurses, whose faces turned grim as they trotted out.

The stallion turned to her with a professional and detached smile. "I'm glad you're awake Herbal Remedy, you had us very worried. How are you feeling, do you know where you are?"

Remedy tried to sit up but found her body sluggish and unresponsive. "Hospital?" she croaked, more tears spilling over when his nod confirmed this.

"Yes, you're at East Bridleton Medical Center. You took an awful lot of those pills. You've been unconscious for roughly 28 hours." The doctor checked her chart and gave her another detached smile. "But you're going to be okay Herbal Remedy. We're having you transferred to Broadhoof Memorial for an eval-"

Panic began worming its way into Remedy's mind as the doctor gave her a sinister smile. "You can't send me there! That place is for crazy ponies! I AM NOT A CRAZY PONY!"

The doctor took a step back in surprise. "it's just for an evaluation Remedy. Nopony said you were crazy. I just think you might need some help."

Remedy wasn't listening. She was starting to feel bad again. Starting to feel like she did the other night. She didn't want to be here, she didn't want to be alive. It was hurting her to be alive. All of these ponies just wanted to hurt her, they wanted to lock her away and hurt her. Her ears pricked as she heard soft whispers calling her name, but the doctor had left. Panic raced through her as the shadows near her bed shifted.

She just wanted it to end.

Author's Note

So, I'm completely revamping my original Broadhoof story to be from the perspective of Herbal Remedy, and not from her doctor. I quickly realized how little I could do with it, especially without any development or depth to the characters.