“Penny, are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Twilight asks as Ponyville comes into sight. “Nopony will think less of you. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

I shift awkwardly against the edge of the wagon and the dead demon under the tarp as I try to curl my tail underneath me. My torso aches from the movement, but I don’t make a peep. I can’t show weakness. Not now. If I do, she might take away my guild card and send me to live with Dad and Mom before I’m ready.

“Nothing happened,” I say in as low a voice, unable to keep a bit of pain out of my tone. I don’t exactly want the others to hear over the wind. “I mean, it tried, but I didn’t let it... If it had raped me, Aunt Twilight, I wouldn’t be here. Its penis was as big as I am.”

She gives me this look. You know that womanly look tells you that she clearly wishes you’d have ended a few sentences back? That’s the kind of look she’s giving me right now. I’ve gotta learn how to make that face. I’m not very good at reassuring other ponies...

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rainbow’s ear flick. Shit. Had she heard me?

“At any rate, we’ve got to get you to the hospital to get your ribs properly set, and then you need to purged of any diseases you might be carrying from contact with the blightwolf, Need to make sure you aren’t going to start an epidemic.” She glances at her friends. “All of us will.”

“...need to start carrying blood-tailored cleansing potions...” I murmur in a voice that doesn’t suit my form. I feel like I know it from somewhere, but... Wait. What even is that? Pain pulses in my temple and around the base of my horn.

As careful as I can to not disturb my ribs, I bring up a hoof to rub my face. Again, I can’t quite stop myself from wincing at the movement. The bandages are doing a good job limiting movement, but it still feels like something’s numbing the pain... and that I’ve forgotten something important.

Twilight looks at me in surprise. “I’m surprised you know enough alchemy to know about those potions, Penny,” she says. Wait, I know what now? “I know that we’ve touched on it slightly, but it was never really part of our curriculum. After all, you need a special license to teach much more than the basics.”

“Wha...?” I just sorta look at her, not quite grasping why I’m there with her. What is she talking about? Why did she bring up... Why am I here? As I cock my head in confusion, the world begins to spin. It feels like I’m falling, but my entire body is... vibrating? Is that a good word for it? I feel like a struck tuning fork.

“Penny?” comes Twilight’s voice, as if from a distance. All the snow falling around us... it’s so bright and white... like light. Too bright... “...to me, Penny!”

I blink... and then I’m on my back, looking up at a ceiling and lights passing overhead. On my back, pressed into a soft surface... something strapped to my face. I squint and my head throbs. “What ‘appened?”

A pony’s face crosses into my field of view as the ride stops. White mare, pink mane, nurse’s cap. Hey... it’s the pretty nurse mare!

I try to sit up, but somepony pushes me back down. “Easy there, Penny. You have four broken ribs, a concussion, and some minor demonic contamination,” says Nurse Redheart in a matter-of-fact tone. “You were also exposed to several nasty pathogens that—thank Celestia—hadn’t taken root before we were able to decontaminate you.”

Despite wanting to get up and do... something, I manage to accede to her instructions. “Demonic contamination?” I ask, flicking my eyes in her direction and resisting the urge to push off the oxygen mask. “If I was decontaminated, wouldn’t that mean that you got it out of me already?”

She shakes her head. “At Ponyville Hospital, we’re not equipped to remove demonic energy from a pony,” is her answer. “We don’t get too many demons in the heart of Equestria. Further along the edges and the southern reaches, sure, there’s usually more need for a unicorn on staff trained in it.”

I reach out to pull on the magic reserves still remaining in my ring, just to begin my own probing, but stop cold; somepony removed my ring. Gah, they don’t want me doing it myself. I grit my teeth and huff.

Nurse Redheart’s eyes narrow as she catches the sudden change in demeanor. “Your ring will be returned to you later,” she says, clicking her tongue at me even though a smile perks the corners of her mouth. “Twilight seemed convinced you’d try to do it yourself. She was right, wasn’t she?”

There’s no stopping warmth from filling my face. I guess she really does have me sussed out. There’s not much else that I can do. Instead, I let her get back to pushing the gurney where it needs to go. I know I shouldn’t dignify it with a response but... “Maybe...”

The mare actually stumbles as she pushes the bed. “Are you trying to sound like a foal?” she asks with a chuckle. “You’re too clever to not realize how you sound.”

I carefully raise a hoof to stare at it, trying to visualize a fist clenching. The phantom image of a leg bent at an unnatural angle flicks through my mind; I don’t quite flinch, but I can’t quite stifle the pained sigh that escapes my lips. “Truth be told, I think it’s a coping mechanism.” I let the limb fall to my side and angle my head to look at her. “It’s easier to pretend I’m the fool, and put others at ease, than it is to let others know how scared or not-okay I really am. Even myself.” I gotta be strong, so that others don’t have to.

She gives me an expectant look, as if expecting me to say more, but I’m done talking. Maybe it’s because I’m lying down and blood is reaching my head more easily, or maybe it’s because I’m no longer riding the fear and adrenaline of today’s events, but for the first time, I notice the knot of flesh near my temple.

There’s no hiding the wince when I finally notice the bump. “Gah, if I have a concussion, this is going to be a long night,” I grumble. “Where’s... where’s Aunt Twilight?”

For a few moments, she doesn’t speak. Instead, she navigates the bed through the halls of the hospital. We come upon a door that, although is upside down from my perspective, reads Isolation Ward. “After explaining your condition and ensuring your wounds were cleaned and ribs re-bound, Twilight left to send a request to Canterlot for a specialist from the guard.” She looks slightly disgusted when she adds, “She also went in your stead to collect payment for your services rendered and... trophy.”

I nod haltingly as she pushes me through the door. It opens into a narrow corridor that, as I look closely, see is completely plastered with spellpaper wards. On the other end of the corridor is a split glass sliding door that has spell glyphs carved into it. As we approach, a glyph above the door glows, and the two plates of etched glass part, allowing us entry.

Even passively—that is to say, without drawing on my reserves—I can feel the magical suppression field as soon as we enter the room. It’s strange... eerie, even. When the doors shut behind us and she begins hooking me up to some monitors, I still feel external magic flowing into the room, but there’s this overbearing pressure bearing down on me. Even if I wasn’t absolutely drained, I doubt I’d be able to so much as exert my own magic and actively sense with it.

Although the walls are padded, and a light is inlaid in the ceiling, I imagine the walls beneath the padding are also plastered with the same sort of wards as the hallway. Either that, or the wards are etched into the walls like they are on the glass. They’d pretty much have to have every surface in the room marked to give this kind of coverage.

An interesting way of isolating patients, I think to myself as Redheart says something that I don’t quite catch. Magical maladies are common, and with unicorns, it’s especially important. If they’re sick and suffering magic incontinence, you want them isolated from everypony else, and kept from using their magic. A ring could be dislodged, but this is absolute.

I glance at Redheart before looking down at myself. “So this room... this pressure... should keep whatever magical contaminants in my body from spreading?” She nods. “Guess I’ll have to wait until the guard sends their exorcist. In the meantime, I’ll let you get back to your rounds.”

She smiles and turns to leave. The door slides open and she makes her way through the threshold. “Can you do me just one favour?” She glances over her shoulder at me with a curious expression. I blush and smile. “If you guys have the second and third Harry Trotter books in the hospital book cart, could you send them my way? I know I’m probably going to be here a while, and given these lapses in consciousness, going to sleep might not be the best idea.”

“I’ll see what I can do, Penny.”

~ 14 ~

The one problem with this isolation ward is that there’s no windows and no clock here. I can’t tell exactly how long I’ve been here, but I can tell it’s been at least several hours. This isn’t my first rodeo being bed-bound, so I know how slowly or fast it can go.

The only real gauge I have for time is books. The Harry Trotter series, although largely similar to the Harry Potter books back on Earth, are much denser, each book about the length of a Tolkien story. Back then, it would take me about six hours straight to read through one of them. Given that I’ve been reading long enough to complete the second book and move probably one third of the way through number three, I’m pretty sure I’ve been here about eight hours. If it was around midday when I got here, it’s probably ten at night.

“Why haven’t they fed you?” a voice to my right asks. “You need all the nutrition you can get to mend those bones.”

I look in the direction of the voice and nearly scream. Sitting there in a chair is gray pegasus mare that certainly wasn’t there before. She’s just sitting there, watching me with wary blue eyes.

Dunno why, but she looks familiar, I think to myself. How did she get in here, though?

“I know, right?” I reply, groaning as I push myself upright. This is such a bad idea. Already, my sides are beginning to hurt. “Wonder if something’s not going on out there.”

There’s no doubt in my mind that I should be more concerned about where this mare came from, but as the knot on the side of my head pulses, I realize that it’s probably the concussion. Maybe that’s why I’m not scared... Why she looks so familiar. She’s a manifestation of something from my braindamaged mind, I think.

The mare glances at the door and shrugs. “I’d wager twenty bits that the Cutie Mark Crusaders caused some sort of giant snowball-related catastrophe and they’re treating the casualties for injuries and frostbite.” She stifles a laugh. “Those girls can get into so much trouble. Like that trebuchet.”

Definitely a figment of my mind. Very few ponies ever actually found out about that. Their families, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, and myself, really.

I shake my head. “Not a bet I’d take,” I offer with a smile. “You’re probably right.” Raising a hoof, in her direction, I add, “I’m Silver Penny. You?”

She looks hesitantly at my hoof before reaching out her own. “I’m Silver Script,” she replies.

Somehow, I actually expect our hooves to connect, but as her hoof reaches mine, it passes straight through. It leaves me with a cold, tingly sensation in the extremity.

Her cheeks flush red as she notes my discomfort. “Sorry.” Withdrawing, she glances down at the chair. I follow her gaze and note that she’s not actually sitting on it so much as in it. “Can’t really interact with things, usually.”

Of course she wouldn’t. She’s a figment of my concussed mind.

As I stare at her, I begin to realize why it looks so familiar. When I was in the midst of my mental breakdown, way back when Lyra and Twilight first brought me here, Princess Luna shaped a dream for me. In that dream, I took on the form of a pegasus that looked so much like her living on earth. Sure, I’d turned out to be a unicorn instead, but there’s no mistaking that face. That name.

I’ll never forget that... that nightmare my disturbed mind caused. Why would I suddenly start hallucinating about her now, though? It doesn’t make much sense. What is she supposed to represent?

I look down at my lap and frown. “What are you supposed—”

The plate glass sealing the room parts, allowing Redheart to push a food cart through. She shoots me an apologetic look as she makes her way to the bedside. “Sorry it took so long for me to bring you your meal,” she says, removing the cover from the tray. With one free hoof she sits a plate with a sandwich on it on my lap. “You wouldn’t believe the chaos those three troublemakers caused this time. We’ve been busy treating the injuries and frostbite for hours.”

I cast a sidelong glance at the spot where there was once a mare. Sure enough, Miss Script is gone, but what I didn’t expect was for the chair to be gone as well. Fuckin’ hell, but ain’t that just too detailed for a hallucination?

With a shake of my head, I smile. “Giant snowball?” I ask, as I pick up the sandwich with my hooves. Oh fuck yes! Tuna!

The stunned look on her face stops me before I take a bite, though. “Yes, actually,” she responds, pouring milk from a pitcher into a glass. She glances at the door. “Did somepony stop by to let you know?”

I frown, and debate my next words. Do I tell her it was a lucky guess, or do I tell her my hallucination told me? It might be a good idea, even if she just thinks I’m losing my mind instead. I somehow don’t doubt I may already be suspected to be suffering some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. Nopony... nobody goes through what I did unscathed.

“I was having a chat with the most interesting hallucination before you got in,” I admit, taking a bite of the sandwich. “She wagered twenty bits that those three had gotten up to something. Snowball was her guess.”

I shrug and take another bite. It’s not Twilight’s tuna sandwich, but it’s alright. “Probably just means somepony was talking about it while passing the doorway and their voices carried far enough that I stored it subconsciously.”

“You need to rest.” Redheart shakes her head at me as she holds the glass of milk to my lips. I’m not exactly fond of milk—I’d much rather tea, coffee, or juice—but I recognize the need for it. Silver Script was right, after all; I need it if my bones are going to mend. “Hopefully, this will help.”

With that in mind, I drink greedily. It tastes off, but I put the complaint aside. She’d certainly not feed me spoiled milk, so at the very least, I should just ignore my disgust and do what’s best for me. In only a few gulps, it’s all gone.

With the milk out of the way with, she pats my mane as she lets me finish off the sandwich. “Penny, I apologize for the deceit, but you’re really going to want to be asleep for this next part.” A wave of dizziness washes over me and my eyelids grow heavy. “Now that we’ve cleaned up the mess the crusaders have made, we can finally prep you for surgery. Normally we wouldn’t feed you before surgery, but...”

From beneath the tray she fed me from, she withdraws an x-ray film. Holding it to the light, she points out several white shards present inside my rib cage precariously close to my lungs and heart. “These shards can’t just be guided back to the bone with magic, so we need to remove them completely and mend the bone with a potion. It will be very painful and impossible to do on a conscious patient.”

I dazedly look from the film to the nurse. “That’s as good a reason as any to put me to sleep with a concussion,” I murmur. My muscles begin to lose rigidity. My eyes are fixed on the shards of bone. Even as a fog begins to creep over my mind, I’m calculating. Can’t be more than a finger worth of bone there, but...

“That’s it, just relax and enjoy the rest,” she says as I lean into the patting with a dumb smile. “You’ll feel better in the morning... and don’t worry. This sedative was made with concussed ponies in mind.”

“Mmm,” I coo. Despite how much it should hurt me, I roll onto my side and nuzzle into the pillow. It’s so soft and fluffy. “Can I keep the pieces, Mum? I want to make...”

~ 14 ~

Upon arriving to check up on Penny the next morning, Twilight was left with more questions than she left the library with. At first, she had the standard array of questions a guardian would after their ward had been hospitalized. How did the surgery go? Were there any complications? How is she? How soon will she be released? Most of those questions were answered the moment the morning’s shift nurse led Twilight to Isolation. They were answered and replaced with so many more questions.

At first, she had to rub her eyes to be sure she was actually seeing what was on the other side of the etched glass door. Try as she might, though, Twilight just couldn’t believe it.

Where Penny’s hospital bed should have been, there was a large, round table with a green felt-lined top. Seated at it was a wide variety of beings, all of them in varying degrees of dress. The first one she noticed was Penny, in a black pinstripe suit, and matching bowler hat. Her chin rested on one hoof as she smoked a bubble pipe, not looking entirely there.

Across from her, curiously, was Discord. The draconequus, although clearly quite displeased about something, looked to be having a blast sitting there in frilly lingerie. He had a sucker held between the two talons on his eagle-claw hand, and the end of the stick seemed to be smoking slightly.

Besides the pair, she could also see Applejack’s dog, Winona, dressed in a vest and what Twilight was certain to be the farmpony’s stetson. Beside the dog was Gummy the alligator, dressed as a cat. Opposite of Gummy was Rarity’s cat, Opalescence, in a strange one-piece outfit and wearing bunny ears. Beside her was Tank the Tortoise, dressed in a wonderbolts flight suit and goggles. At the head of the table was Angel Bunny, wearing only a sun visor. Scattered on the floor behind the various seated beings were various garments.

Twilight watched in morbid fascination as Angel Bunny dealt out playing cards. Two to each of the others, three face up and two face down to the middle of the table. Penny examined her cards and blinked unevenly at the pair before looking to the three at the table. Winona and Opalescence both shook their heads as they examined their own cards, throwing them face down. Tank and Gummy just blinked, looking to Discord with an expectant look.

With a nod from the Lord of Chaos, Angel Bunny flipped over the last two cards.

A grin spread across Penny’s face as she revealed her pair to the table. Though Twilight couldn’t see the cards, nor did she know what variation they were playing, she imagined it was a very good hand. Tank and Gummy followed suit shortly after the small unicorn, but Discord just sighed and began removing the frilly garment strapped around his torso.

“I think you’re cheating,” the draconequus groused, crossing his arms in front of his chest, as though there was something to hide. “How else could you have not lost a single hand?”

Penny just smiled and turned her glazed eyes to him. “Nah, man... It’s not cheating,” she replied, swiveling the pipe from one corner of her mouth to the other with a giggle. Spreading her arms to indicate the rest of the table, she grinned a goofy grin. “I’m just a high roller!”

Despite losing the hand, there was no hiding the smirk on Discord’s face. “Did you just pun at me?” He laughed—so hard, in fact, that he literally fell to pieces. “Hi-larious! Why are you such a stick-in-the-mud all the time if you can be like this?”

That brought a frown to Penny’s face. It was an interesting question, and one Twilight had not thought to ask her niece. A lot of the time, the only time Penny looked to be enjoying herself was if she was enchanting, reading, or practicing with her weapons. Besides receiving a copy of her adoption paperwork on her birthday, Twilight couldn’t remember a time in recent memory where Penny looked this relaxed.

“Dude, the only reason I’m like this at all is because I’m high on ana... anes... anesthetics,” Penny replied, taking a large puff from her bubble pipe as Discord reconstructed himself. She coughed slightly, and Twilight watched in concern as the filly-sized mare coughed up some bubbles. “It took me getting nearly raped to death by a demon dog from hell and breaking several ribs for me to get like this.” She cocked her eyebrow, and for a moment, Twilight thought Penny was looking at her rather than Discord. That might just have been the fact that Penny’s eyes weren’t in sync, though. “Do you want me going through that all the time just to have what you think of as a good time?”

Discord snapped his talons, and the table, the cards, and the pets vanished, leaving Penny in her hospital bed, still wearing the suit and bowler. He plucked the pipe from her mouth and took a drag from it as well. “That’s not what I meant and you know it,” he accused. “This is the most civil you’ve been with me since we’ve met. The last time I saw you, you chased me with that hammer of yours until you smashed me clear across the Everfree!”

Twilight cringed inwardly as she recalled the first few encounters Penny’d had. The first was the day he’d abducted her from the hospital. The second was the day Twilight had taken her parents to the train station to send them back to canterlot after many weeks spent in Ponyville. Twilight didn’t actually witness the full encounter; she only saw Penny chasing him through the town, swinging at him with her hammer. Then there were several attempts at stabbing him the time after that... the time she tried to blow him up twice... Come to think of it, Penny really doesn’t like him...

“You were fucking watching me masturbate, you moon-damned prick!” Penny shrieked, covering her face with her hooves. “I was fucking mortified! Of course I was gonna harbor resentment! You never leave me alone.”

Twilight backed away from the rune-etched door, sharing a horrified look with the silent nurse. I’m not sure I’m old enough to be hearing this, she thought. I didn’t need to hear that.

“I was not watching!” Discord protested loudly. “I was a passerby who stumbled upon some chaos. You just happened to notice me and assumed that—”

“You were eating popcorn in the recliner! The bathroom doesn’t even have a recliner!” came Penny’s screamed retort. “You expect me to believe you were just popping in and out of existence on a—”

The nurse pulled the outer door to Isolation shut, silencing the arguing pair. Giving Twilight a wry smile, the nurse turned and said, “As you can see, your niece is recovering nicely, and even has the opportunity to work out some interpersonal issues in a controlled environment.” Putting a hoof to her chin, she cast a sidelong glance at the door. “Do you think we should give them some condoms, just to be on the safe side?”

Twilight turned her horrified gaze to the mare. “Absolutely not! She was almost... she wouldn’t...” Managing to clamp down and prevent herself from blabbing something Penny wouldn’t want out there. Admittedly, the nurse had already heard Penny blab it, but that was something her niece would want to deal with on her own terms.

Again, her eyes flicked to the door. “No, I can’t let them get into it, especially when she can’t even defend herself from him,” Twilight said to the mare, pushing the isolation ward’s outer door back open. “Let me in.”

With a sigh, the nurse approaches the glass close enough that the rune activates and the door parts. “Probably for the best. If she tries to get out of bed now or tries to fight him, she’s going to have to get her surgical incisions restitched.”

Twilight paid the nurse no mind. Instead, she stormed into the room, and jabbed a hoof into Discord’s chest. “Alright, that’s enough, Discord,” she demanded. “Penny needs rest. Especially for what’s to come. A unicorn from the Royal Guard’s Exorcist Corps will be here in several hours.”

The draconequus shrugged and floated up to the ceiling. “Fine, I was done with this spoilsport anyway.” With a snap of his claws, he was gone. It was surprising that he would relent this easily, as it would usually take mention of Fluttershy to get rid of him.

At the disappearance of Discord and the sight of Twilight, Penny’s body sagged. A tired smile spread across the small mare’s face. “Thanks...” She inclined her head forward and the bowler hat fell into her lap. “Dealing with him is such a pain.”

With a nod, Twilight pulled up a seat to Penny’s bedside. “It might not look like it, but I think he’s trying to be your friend,” she offered softly. “He’s actually trying... even if he’s doing all of the wrong things with you.”

Despite the glazed look in Penny’s eyes, Twilight could see a look of recognition as tears began to seep from her eyes. “I know... it’s just, he scares me so damn much,” Penny replied, shivering. “I saw what he did to all of you... how he perverted you all. If he ever went bad again... and he did that to me...”

Twilight, who’d been in the process of reaching out to hug her niece, froze. Of course Penny’d known about all of that, but she’d somehow never considered what would happen to her niece in that sort of situation. That was why she was always trying to drive him away or lash out at him. He represented her inner demons made flesh... the risk of her being made to hurt ponies without remorse.

“Change of subject,” Penny said, casting her gaze at the door. “Really don’t wanna think about hurting somepony.” She swallowed, shook her head, and when Twilight next saw her face, the smaller mare’s eyes were softer. “So... when’s the exorcist coming and what can I expect?”

~ 14 ~

My eyes drift to the alarm clock a nurse was kind enough to bring me. I guess they realized that being alone in a room with no windows, being able to tell time was a very desirable thing. It definitely makes this stay a bit more bearable. At the same time though, it does nothing to help my anxiety.

At noon today, the exorcist from the Royal Guard will see me. Since it’s 11 already, they’re probably already here, preparing the cleansing ritual. Twilight talked about it a bit early this morning, but I was a bit high from anesthetic and painkillers. Let’s see if I can remember what she said about it.

Firstly, I’ll be led out of the isolation ward and into the space chosen for the ritual. I need to be wearing as little as possible, barring a limiter. That means I can’t be wearing Discord’s pinstripe suit or the matching bowler that he left me with last night. Can’t take off the bandages around my torso, though.

After that, I’ll be bound. Not sure if it’ll be to a bed, or magically shackled to the ground, but it’s supposed to be for my protection as much as it is theirs. Can’t say I’m keen on the idea of being restrained, but it’s either this, or allow this taint to spread, and then possibly have to be executed when I become a threat. Would I become a demon at 100% contamination?

The only other thing I really remember is that it’s going to be painful. That means that I should probably go tend to some sorely neglected bodily needs. I mean, when you’re in a bed, recovering from surgery and haven’t eaten much because you’re too high to have an appetite, you don’t really need to go... but...

With a sigh, I find the call button on the side of my bed and press it. You know, it’s kinda funny what you don’t notice when you’re absorbed in a book or two, or you have a concussion.

While I wait, I tug at the tie in the collar of the dress-shirt beneath the jacket and start having a go at the buttons on both inner and outer articles. It’s not easy, and my quickly recovering wounds ache as I move, but I manage to undo them without just ripping them.

After but a few moments, Nurse Redheart joins me in the containment room. “What seems to be the problem, Penny?” she asks, noting my attempts to disrobe. She blinks, and then frowns. “I’m surprised you were allowed to remain clothed after Discord’s visit. Your sutures need to be checked regularly.”

I look down at the shirt and matching pants. “Yeah, I can see that being a problem.” Flinching slightly, I try and fail to pull off my jacket. “I anyway, I need to...” My cheeks flush with warmth. “I need to use the mares room, and since I need to strip for the cleansing later... may as well go all the way.”

A sympathetic look crosses Redheart’s face as she realizes my conundrum. “You’re not cleared to leave isolation until the ritual, but I can have a chamberpot and a privacy screen brought in for you.” With the gentle care one might expect from a mother, she reaches her hooves out and helps me remove the jacket and shirt. “You should know, however, that you’re likely to be unable to pass a movement yet. The specific medication used on you puts your lower digestive tract into a state of stasis. You’ll probably be plugged up for another day at a minimum.”

Oh joy; at least I know I won’t be shitting myself out of pain.

Once she helps remove the pants, I frown. It still feels like I’m wearing something on my body... around my hips and back-end. Needless to say, if I hadn’t already been blushing, I would be when I look to see what it is. Lacy black pony panties, cradling my teats and my clinging to my figure.

“It’s like Discord wants me to smash him and stab him...” I murmur, using my own hoof to gently push them off. Getting assistance removing my shirt and pants is one thing, but underwear—wanted or not—is another. “Could you help me down?”

She looks momentarily surprised, but she grabs me under my forelegs and lifts me down to the ground. Redheart watches for a few moments as I carefully stretch and jog in place for a moment. Content that I’m not in crippling pain, and not too weak to stand, the nurse leaves.

It’s been too long since I’ve stood on my own four hooves. My muscles don’t necessarily feel weak, but for certain I’m rather stiff. Admittedly, my torso is still rather sore where my ribs were broken and where they had to go in to remove bone fragments, but it’s not so bad.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot my hallucination from the other night watching me. She’s just standing there by the door, with an indecipherable look on her face. It’s almost like she wants to say something, but is unsure of what to say.

I know I should be alarmed that I’m hallucinating again, but there’s something about her presence that’s soothing... empowering almost. Just knowing that she’s there, even if she’s not real, fills me with an inner strength and determination to thrive.

For a quick moment, the sensation of hooves around my throat passes over me, along with the feeling of broken... something on my back. I remember... a male Aqua Regia. A crying mare... But where do these memories come from?

Seemingly reading my mind, the gray pegasus mare—and for the first time since seeing her, I realize she’s not diminutive like me—winces and looks away. Funny how the figments of one’s own mind can be so animated, while still responding to your every thought. Still... why’s she presented as a fully grown pony and not a pint-sized pervert like me?

Maybe I subconsciously want to be able to feel big about something... I mean, being hospitalized again certainly makes me feel more like a foal, and these childlike outbursts don’t help any. I frown. But that doesn’t explain what I saw... what I felt.

From the opposite side of the glass door, I hear a small rattlng. Flicking my gaze to the door, I spot Redheart pushing a small dolly loaded up with a chamberpot, a container of disinfectant wipes, a roll of toilet paper and a large folding privacy screen. When I look again, I just catch Silver Script passing through the wall.

Even as Redheart sets up the privacy screen and the chamberpot, my gaze never leaves that spot. Why would an image conjured by my damaged brain or psyche walk through walls? Why not just vanish when I’m not looking? It’s fucking eerie, for sure.

No point fretting over it. I’m clearly suffering from a concussion, and even if I’m not, I’ve been through a traumatic event. Fuck knows I’m probably going to need to sleep somewhere near a bat pony for a while. Should I write a letter to Princess Luna and ask her to watch over my dreams?

I shiver and use my newfound privacy to relieve myself. It’s a bit weird going when the only thing between me and the nurse is a cloth partition, but it’s probably policy. After all, they just operated on me not too long ago, so she probably needs to be around in case I fall and hurt myself. I do feel a bit weak.

By the time I finish, wipe myself with some provided toilet paper, and wash my hooves with some disinfectant wipes, my ribs and sutures are starting to ache slightly. It’s more like that achy knee Soren always had, so I’m not really inclined to mention it to Redheart.

Coming out from behind the curtain, I flick my eyes immediately to the door. Nurse Redheart’s over by the closed glass panel, speaking to somepony in night guard armor. Somepony’s here. Not just anypony though. I’d recognize that blue mane, red highlight, and tufty ears anywhere.

“Penny, ya feckin’ troublemaker,” says Evening Script, her eyes alight with mirth. “I hears you went and got into a scrap with a damn demon.”

A smile crosses my face as I meet her gaze. Maybe everything’ll be alright after all?

Author's Note

Sorry I didn’t get this out sooner. Been a very busy second semester of my second year at college and I’ve been pretty busy. This had honestly been finished a clean month ago, but I’d been waiting to hear back from others regarding editing... Ah well. I finished my own edit pass this morning, and figured that I might as well get this out there.