Applejack winced a bit as she was worked on, alcohol being poured onto her wounds as she considered exactly what she wanted to say. She also watched Happy Hoof next to her, his eyes still closed, but breathing a bit deeper. Several doctors crowded him and had their horns lit up, looks of concentration on their faces. She watched for a long moment before she felt more alcohol being poured onto her wounds.

“What unicorn did this to you?” the nurse asked as she worked on the mare. “They had to have been an extremely powerful wizard to completely overload your friend with magic and give you cuts this deep. What happened?”

“There was no unicorn,” Applejack responded irritatedly. “There was an earth pony who looked exactly like me who did this. She said somethin’ about tryin’ ta get back ta Equestria, which is why Ah need ta talk to Twilight. There’s somethin’ big goin’ on that she has ta know about.”

“Are you sure you’re okay though, AJ?” the nurse asked. “Do you remember you were in here this morning for your legs? Are you sure you’re not still sick? You might just not remember what happened.”

“Do Ah look sick ta you?” she asked seriously, frowning at the pony. “Ah’m fine. Ah’m just a little bit cut up. Now Ah need ta send a letter to my friend.”

“You were here this morning, remember?” she asked, tilting her head with a worried expression, already calling a doctor over to her to look at her. “You don’t have a fever or anything. Whatever unicorn attacked you must have done a number on you. We’ll have to get the Royal Guard to investigate this.”

“Ah’m tellin’ you there was no unicorn!” she said angrily as she was being pushed to lay down. “My brother was tellin’ me that Ah was actin’ funny this mornin’, but that wasn’t me. There’s some creature out there who made a clone of me and sent me ta another world or universe or somethin’. That’s why Ah need ta talk ta Twilight. She’ll know what to do about this best. Just let me send a letter her way.”

“I don’t think it’s wise to bother Princess Twilight in your state, Applejack,” the nurse said. “Especially with how you’ve been today and how you’re acting right now. Your mental state’s not clear enough for us to-”

“Dag nabbit, Ah’m the Element of Honesty!” she said angrily. “Why would Ah lie about somethin’ like this? Twilight is my friend! Just let her listen to me!”

“You need to rest, Applejack,” the nurse told her firmly. “That’s what we told you this morning, and it doesn’t look like you’ve gotten very much of it since then. Resting will make you feel better.”

It was true, she didn’t do very much resting since she woke up in that house hours ago, but to be fair, there was a lot going on around her. She was extremely tired after being awake all day. But that didn’t mean she was hallucinating or doing whatever the nurse thought she was.

She was going to say as much, but was stopped when she saw Happy Hoof’s eyes flutter open. It made her relieved to see, both because he was was okay and because it meant he could back her up on what she was saying.

“Huh? Where am- oh! Applejack! Did you… oh, I passed out didn’t I?” he said tiredly, apologetically. “I’m sorry. That was my fault. I know I said I wouldn't. Ugh, magic is so heavy…”

“It ain’t your fault for passin’ out. That’s not somethin’ you can control. But Ah need ya ta tell these doctor’s what’s goin’ on. They ain’t listening to me.”

The stallion raised an eyebrow at that. “Aren’t you the Element of Honesty?” he asked. “And they don’t believe you about what you said?”

“Who was the unicorn that attacked you?” the nurse asked seriously. “Are they in Ponyville? How long ago was it?”

“No unicorn attacked me,” Happy Hoof said tiredly. “It’s just the ambient magic in the air that’s making me feel awful… god, it’s so heavy. I didn’t think Equestria would have so much of it… I can’t believe I’m actually in Equestria though. This is crazy. It's, like, every brony's dream.”

“Maybe whatever unicorn that attacked them had a memory spell?” one of the doctors suggested. “If they were able to cut up Applejack the way they did and funnel enough magic into this stallion to make them pass out, they must be unbelievably powerful.”

“What?” they both asked at the same time, Happy Hoof more tired and AJ practically yelling. “Why don’t you believe us?” the mare continued angrily. “Does it look like we’re lyin’ or somethin’?”

“Applejack, ambient magic doesn’t work like that,” the nurse said slowly, speaking like she was a child. It made her scowl more as she continued, “You can’t get sick from just the magic in the air. It’s not possible, unless you have a very serious genetic condition, in which case, there’s no way he would ever just be out and about, and wouldn’t have lived to be a full grown stallion.”

“Ah’m tellin’ you, that- look, just let us send a letter to Twilight so she can know what’s goin’ on. It’s gonna take two minutes. If she says we’re botherin’ her, we won’t ask again.”

“You need to rest, AJ,” the nurse told her, pushing her back down into a laying position. “You were told this morning that you need to rest. A good night’s sleep will do wonders for you. If you still feel how you do-”

“Can I check myself out?” Happy Hoof suddenly asked, sounding extremely tired, like it might have been the last thing he wanted to do.

“Huh?”

“I’m gonna check myself out if Applejack can’t send a letter to Twilight Sparkle,” he asserted, looking extremely tired, the doctors still having their horns lit up as they worked. “She needs to hear what we have to say.”

“You can’t just-”

“Yes I can, and I will,” he interrupted. Before the mare could comment, he said, “AJ, this matters to me. I care about my home. I don’t want to waste time while everyone on Earth just suffers because who knows what’s going to happen next? I want Twilight to fix this, and I want her to fix it as fast as she can.”

“Ah understand, but ya passed out just walkin’ here is the problem,” she told him. “Ah don’t think you’d make it ta Canterlot in your condition if you’re right about just regular magic hurtin’ you.”

“We walked for, what? An hour or two to get to Twilight’s castle? And we stayed there for a little while, and I was fine. How long does it take to get to Canterlot by train?”

“Longer than that,” she said. “It’s gonna take Rainbow a good while ta get there, and she’s the best flier in Equestria.”

“Well, that’s an okay risk to take, I think,” he decided firmly. He turned to the doctor and said, “Let her send a letter or I’m going to check out right now and we’ll go to Canterlot to see her.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update, I've been busy at my actual job.