The Broken One

You can’t imagine how hard it is to tell time with no clock and no windows to track the sun. I checked every inch of my “accommodations” multiple times, hoping to find something I missed. There was absolutely nothing other than the chair and bed.

“Well, Jackson”, I mumbled, “Looks like I fucked up good.”

Time seemed to crawl, and there was absolutely nothing to do so I decided to exercise. Pushups were first, getting my heart pumping around the time I reached a count of two hundred. Despite the pain I felt in my arms and chest I felt fantastic. Until something in my upper back came undone with a gut wrenching tearing I heard just as clearly as I felt it.

“SON OF A BITCH”, I shouted through instant tears as I collapsed.

I didn’t know how long I was out of it but I knew it was nightfall from the loud pop that echoed through the tiny room. I couldn’t even be bothered with looking at the princess due to the pain I felt.

“What in Equestria have you done”, Celestia gasped, engulfing me in a golden aura.

“Pulled muscles”, I groaned as she lay me down on the bed.

Quietly the giant alicorn did something with her shining horn, her eyes travelling over my back as she muttered. The warmth of her magic seeped into my back, but was nowhere near enough to stop the pain. Her mumbling ministrations continued for several minutes before she sighed and let the magic drop.

“Fuck”, I groaned as the pain returned with a vengeance.

“These muscles aren’t pulled, Jackson”, she cringed. “These muscles are torn!”

“Just fucking lovely”, I groaned.

“What manner of creature are you”, she finally asked.

“What part of ‘amnesia’ do you not understand”, I grunted.

“DO NOT SASS ME”, Celestia shouted as she pulled my face up to hers. “I AM TRYING TO HELP, AND YOUR ATTITUDE IS RATHER DISTRACTING!”

“Okay, geez”, I shouted back. “Just put me down already!”

Celestia huffed out a breath and settled me face down on the bed once again before closing her eyes as if in thought. For several minutes she was silent, her hair the only movement in the room.

“Do you know what I saw when I looked into your mind”, she asked, her eyes still closed.

“You did what now”, I grunted, trying to glare at her.

“Forgive me for withholding my manners”, she smiled darkly, “but reading your mind was the quickest way to gather the information I needed.”

“So you just tromped through my brain, not caring what the fuck you messed up”, I growled.

“Mind your attitude”, she warned quietly. “Besides, there was nothing there to mess up.”

“I’m not fucking stupid”, I muttered.

“No”, she replied testily, “and therein lies the problem.”

“Dafuq?”

Before I could blink her face was right next to mine, her eyes burning as she glared at me. Considering the state I was in I figured it best not to anger the crazy horse even further, so I silently bore her glare until she stood back up.

“As I asked before”, she sighed, “do you know what I saw when I looked into your mind?”

“No.”

“Impossible”, she muttered with a toss of her head before she looked at me with what was almost sympathy.

“Well, what did you see”, I asked hopefully.

“Your name”, she said quietly. “Just your name. No memories of friends. No memories of family or home.”

“But what does that mean”, I sighed.

“For all intents and purposes”, she hesitated, “you didn’t exist before you arrived here.”

“I… don’t exist”, I asked quietly.

“Of course you do”, she replied just as quietly before draping a wing across my back. “I’m not sure where you came from, or how you got here, but you exist just as surely as I do.”

“Yeah”, I muttered. “Can you please fix my muscles?”

“Since you asked so nicely”, she smiled.

Before I could reply she touched her horn to my back and flooded my body with magic. It was a weird sensation, almost like warm ripples running beneath my skin until they reached my damaged muscles. As soon as the magic began working on my injuries a chill raced across my scalp and deep into my brain.

“Dafuq was that”, I murmured dizzily.

“I’m healing you”, Celestia replied slowly.

“Why do you ask?”

I described what I felt, even though I could barely find the words. As I continued speaking Celestia’s brow raised higher and higher as her pupils got smaller and smaller. As I finished speaking her mouth hung slightly open. She rapidly blinked a few times before she shook her head and regained her composure.

“That certainly is interesting”, she said softly. “I regret to say it, but I must go for now. Have you eaten?”

“No”, I replied. “That cute nurse brought a tray of hay, which I can’t eat, by the way.”

“Cute”, Celestia asked with an odd look on her face.

“Face it”, I laughed, “All of those little horses-“

“Ponies.”

“-are super cute in their little uniforms and shit!”

“That sounds like a profane word”, she said with an edge to her voice.

“Sorry”, I shrugged.

“I doubt it”, she coolly replied before taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. “I must go, but this oversight shall be rectified personally. And the cute nurse is Nurse Sweet Heart.”

She instantly vanished with that now familiar pop leaving me to my very limited devices, a fact I grumbled loudly about. Yes, I grumbled. Less than ten estimated minutes later a tray of what looked suspiciously like oatmeal and cupcakes with a glass of chilled milk as well as local periodicals popped into existence in my lap, causing that odd shiver again.

“Dafuq?!”

I sat still for several seconds, glancing around the room before shrugging and digging in. The first bite of oatmeal sent my eyebrows up near my hairline. A pleasant tang of fresh apple raced across my tongue, followed slowly by the hint of vanilla that was lifted and swirled with a bold dash of cinnamon. That creamy texture washed over the palate last, seeming to prepare the taste buds for the next marvelous bite.

“Holy fuck, this shit is awesome”, I grinned for some reason, then really dug in to the delicious offerings.

After finishing the rather large bowl of oat meal I eyed the colorful confectionary concoction. It was a white cupcake with impossibly bright lime green icing with purple sprinkles with a tiny flag of some sort stuck into the top. It almost looked like something the princess would eat.

“This thing looks like diabetes incarnate”, I muttered.

Slowly I pulled back the pink wrapper and bit into the eye watering thing. Vanilla sweetness slammed into my tongue, sending a cringe through my entire body. After the sweet torture began to subside the inexplicable twinge of Key Lime Pie flitted across my tongue.

“Get me some insulin”, I shivered, slowly putting the torturous treat back on the tray.

After finishing the somehow still cold milk I stretched, reached through the flap of the hospital gown that somehow fit almost perfectly and scratched my butt cheek. Suddenly I had to stifle a yawn as the room swayed. I made my way to the bed before I wound up falling.

There was something in the food, I woozily thought.

“Well, fuck.”