Roughly two weeks had passed, and this particular morning brought some joys to lighten my sorrows.

“Sabie, I’m so glad you’re ok!” bawled Mina. The griffon had burst into the room, strangled me in a hug, and was now drenching me with tears and mucus.

“M-mina, Mina!” I choked. “I’m g-glad you came, and I l-love you because you’re my friend, but *cough* c-could you pleeeaaasestop smearing mucus all over me?”

“O-oh, oh, I’m so sorry!” she swiftly offered.

I smirked softly. “It’s alright. I know I was… gone for some time, but I’m alright now, can’t you see?”

“Y-yes, I know,” sobbed Mina. “But I’m really scared something like this will happen again!”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh please, it won’t. I’ve got a few hunky officers as my friends. They’ll make sure I’m safe, right?”

I nodded knowingly towards Simony and Officer Marble, who snorted and chuckled in kind – especially at the “hunky” part.

“I’m glad you made it, Sabie,” commented Marble with a witty smile.

“I’m glad you made it too, Marble.” I gestured at the white bandages wrapped tightly around his barrel.

“Ah, this?” He chuckled. “It was worth it.”

Everypony present chuckled. I managed a small smile.

Suddenly, I hissed and brought a hoof up to my right ear. A sharp pain attacked my right ear, followed by a ringing sound. Simony and Marble exchanged worried glances while Mina hastily laid a claw on my shoulder.

“It’s phantom pain,” she uttered quietly. “Your brain still remembers where your ear has been.”

“How long will it last..?” I whispered, trying my hardest to hold the pain in.

She wrapped a wing over me. “I’m not so sure. It really depends on you. It will be a struggle, Sabie, but I'll be with you all the way.”

I took her claw in my hoof and squeezed it, grateful for her assurance.

“Uh, Sabie?” called Simony. I turned to him, wondering why he fidgeted slightly at the doorway.

“You have a visitor,” Marble finished for him. Upon my nod, he called out, “Come in.”

I watched with saucer-wide eyes as a cream-coated mare with a rather matted chestnut mane trotted in with a quiet, almost terrified gait.

“J-julia? What are you… doing here?”

She initiated a bow that nearly touched the floor. “It's my fault you got into this, Sabie. I… I’d like to offer my deepest apologies.”

I shuddered at the level of deference she was offering. “J-julia, please, you don’t have to do this… I’m merely a mare.”

She glanced up. “But–”

I put a hoof up. “It’s alright, really, I don’t blame you. Nopony could have known. Besides, if it wasn’t for you trying to reason with him… it might’ve ended worse.”

It hurt me to say this, no matter how true it was.

“You’re right. I did take every precaution…” She paused and observed me with uncanny eyes. I squinted, confused.

“Miss Julia, are you–”

“I’m fine, Miss Sabie,” she hastily interjected. “I… To tell you the truth, I never really loved him.”

The room fell silent.

“...What?”

I’d hardly blinked before a verdant flame swept around and engulfed Julia. I watched, eyes wide and jaw hanging as a black-shelled insectoid creature arose from the fire.

“A c-ch-changeling..?”

“Any problem with that?” she inquired with some edge.

“N-no, of course not! I’m just curious…”

The changeling snorted. “Never seen one up close before, eh?”

With that, she flashed an identity card. “Officer Berry, Undercover Department.”

“Undercov–” I halted and turned to Simony. “You never told me about undercover!”

Simony twisted his lips into some funny shape. “Well, we wanted to keep the element of surprise…”

“This operation was set up to bust Rufus and his gang,” stated the changeling. “Believe it or not, Hank’s informal participation provided the crucial evidence we needed to finally take it down.”

I sunk back into my pillow, heaving and huffing. So that’s what Hank was doing…

Berry cleared her throat. “It wasn’t easy. But then, undercover is never easy anyway. I… apologize for admitting it so late.”

I shook my head. “It was your duty, Berry. You don’t have to apologize.”

She regarded me with stiff eyes, before relaxing with a warm smile. “Thank you. I just wanted to see how you were.”

“I’m alright, thanks. Knowing what Hank did…” – I closed my eyes and offered a quick prayer – “I feel relieved. Perhaps, satisfied.”

She nodded.

“Well, I believe we’ve disturbed Sabie enough,” declared Simony. With his dark-circled eyes and sunken mien, I wondered if he was the one who’d been disturbed enough.

“Take care, Sabie,” he bade. “I wish you all the best.”

“Yeah, take care!”

“Get well soon!”

“Don’t give up!”

My eyes began to glisten as I received their well-wishes. I shuddered within the warm embrace of the bed, heart slowly beating to a hopeful rhythm.

For the first time, I did not feel alone.

I went to sleep again, but this time with a rather large smile.

***

I breathed a tired, but satisfied sigh. The bed had been tidied up, and the hospital gown was folded neatly and placed on the pillow where I’d slept for the past three weeks. After a few minor checkups, the doctor had allowed me to go home.

“Miss Sabie?” called a mare’s voice.

I turned to see a white unicorn nurse trotting in, sporting a pink mane with pretty little white stripes. She had a bottle in her thaumic grasp, to which she offered with a smile.

“Doctor Orb says to take this. It’s a medicinal cream that’ll help your injuries recover faster. Scars might remain, though.”

“I see. That’s alright, thank you.” I took the bottle and placed it in my little saddlebag. “Well, I best be off. Thanks for everything, Nurse..?”

“Candy, Nurse Candy,” she replied. “And it’s my pleasure to help you! Especially…” A look of sympathy passed upon her eyes. “Especially considering what you went through.”

I paused, then nodded solemnly. “I'm just glad that it’s all over. You don’t know how… scared I was.”

Her gaze faltered.

“I think I do, Miss Sabie.”

She paused and collected herself.

“I’ve been through the same thing.”

I stared at her, dumb. “You… y-you have?

She stiffly nodded. “Abducted. By a group of traffickers. They intended to sell me as… as a sex slave.”

I put a hoof on her wither. “You were..?”

“Nearly,” she revealed, looking up with a painful stare. “It was close. A… brave stallion came just in time to rescue me.” Her gaze softened upon mentioning this stallion.

I whispered a sigh. “He must be quite noble.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s the… most noble in everything, but I do love him,” admitted the mare. I placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“I hope your love goes well, Candy.”

She offered a small smile. “Thank you. I hope… your life goes well too.”

I trembled as those words echoed in my fragile mind. Hank’s murder, my abduction, the torture and abuse I suffered at that monster’s hoofs…

How could it ever go well?

A jerk brought me back to reality. Candy had locked me in a really tight embrace.

I couldn’t help but respond in kind, sobbing as I did so.

“Shhh, it’s alright…” she cooed, like a mother hen caressing its chicks. Her voice was so soft and gentle that I nearly thought she was some angel.

“T-thanks, Candy,” I stammered as we broke the hug.

“No worries, Sabie. If you ever need to talk, I’ll be here for you, alright?”

“A-alright.”

We said our goodbyes and left. There was still a long way to go. But I did sense that my whole body felt lighter – as if all my troubles had decided to lift off and go away. I even felt a slight bounce in my steps as I descended the stairs.

Perhaps I could move on. I just hoped that it would stay that wa–

Pain burst around my shoulders, and I fell to the ground. Dazed, I hissed. Those wounds did not like that at all.

“Oww…” groaned a decidedly male voice.

I quickly opened my eyes. It was a stallion.

“Oh, my sincere apologies, missus…”

“No, no, it was my fault! I’m sorry.”

In the midst of my apologizing, I took a rather good look at him – not in that sense of the word. There wasn't much to see anyway – black fedora, an oversized (and rather musty) duster coat, and just a shadow of a chiseled muzzle poking out from beneath his concealed face.

Whoever he was, he certainly didn't want to be exposed...

"You're too kind, missus," he chuckled. His voice was colored with some sort of accent – I imagined it was rather Eastern to my ears. I offered a small bow.

"Well then, I best be on my way. Take care, missus."

"Thank you..."

He continued on, leaving me mystified and, maybe, curious. Just who was this stallion?

I heard a cute giggle, followed by a hearty laugh.

"T-tybalt!"

"Hey there, Candy..."

Ah... so it was somepony related to Candy. Perhaps they knew each other in more ways than one. Perhaps... it could even be that unnamed, noble lover she'd mentioned earlier.

Well, that's something I'll leave alone.

As I exited the hospital, I felt my stomach lurching with an unpleasant ache. But it left after a while, so I took no notice of it and started back home.

Author's Note

One more chapter to go, and I'm done