A Kindred Spirit

Applejack's ambulance rescue hardly went unnoticed. Ponies were first alarmed to see the urgency with which the transportation was taking place, and then stumped by the creature within. Similar to the observations of the apple-farming pony herself, many thought it a minotaur with a disease. However, the head did not match such an expanation. It was distinctly alien to the ponies. However, the occasional unknown being was known to exist in Equestria, usually from distant lands and with muddled ancestries. Nevertheless, the common interest was stirred, and word traveled quickly in a small town...

Soft. Warm.

Touch was the first sense to return.

The sound of hard material striking stone. A faint whiff of... disinfectant? Hearing. Smell.

Blurry images of a wall of fabric. Rails flanking me. The shining of an early morning sun on the roof.

Ahh. Vision.

I grunted, moving my arms. My joints felt stiff. I pushed back to sit myself up in the hospital bed.

Recall and acumen were slowly returning. I remembered the events that could have lead me here.

The curtain protecting me from the full brunt of the sun was withdrawn, and I squinted, bringing up a hand to shield my eyes.

"Oh... you're awake," a cool, feminine voice observed. Warmth seemed to permeate the subsequent "Good morning!"

"Morning," I grumbled, dropping my hand. I had caught something significant... what was it? Oh...

"You know my language?"

"You know mine?" the voice countered, with some pleasure. As my eyes adjusted to the bright light, I was able to see my acquaintance.

It was a pony. Not a normal pony from home. Its coat was a snow white, and the mane and tail were a pale bubblegum pink. The body of this pony seemed moderately smaller and shorter than would be expected, standing about 4' 8", for its somewhat large neck and head, and its snout short and with a sharp angle connecting it on the upper side. All of this was enough to look significantly different from a normal pony, but still somehow feasible and not malformed.* There was a distinct smile on the quite expressive face of this creature, which served to make it comparable to a human smile. It also wore one of those caps like you'd see a nurse wear in old movies, and a stethoscope hung neatly around its neck. A satchel hung on her side, holding a clipboard and pen. An Equestrian pony. A mare. A nurse.

"I have to say, you are probably one of our most unique cases. A hot topic around town, right now." The nurse spoke with a mirthful, warm voice.

"Can't imagine why," I said, still groggy and with only a very small inflection of sarcasm. It was missed, I think.

"One of the ponies on the edge of town saw you were hurt and had fallen unconscious. She got you here quickly, and likely saved your life. She said you had fought a timberwolf before coming out onto her property. That's no small feat!"

For being a medical professional, this...mare, mare, was very conversational. Despite being in such a strange situation, it put me at ease. However, I wasn't quite sure how to respond to her praise. Fortunately, I didn't have to.

"I'm Nurse Redheart, and you are in Ponyville Medical Center. Might I ask your name?"

I was stumped. It wounded me.

"I'm... not sure. And I don't know where I'm from."

Redheart looked very troubled. "Oh, dear... memory loss." She somehow lifted a pen with her hoof, at which I was dumbfounded, and proceeded to delicately write a few words down on a clipboard with the instrument in the forefront of her mouth.

"That's a very interesting way to write," I commented.

Redheart broke out of her reverie and looked back up at me. "Hm? Oh. Well, quite frankly, I'm not sure how else you would do it. But you seem to be pretty sharp to be suffering from amnesia. Did you receive any head wounds when fighting with the timberwolf?"

I was sure. "No. I've a bit of a complicated and probably worrying story from before that, but I can tell you that my... amnesia has something to do with magic."

I worked it out as I was saying it. Magic brought me here. Magic also wiped my identity.

Come to think of it, I hadn't thought out anything since arriving here. Where would I go after being discharged from the hospital? And what would I do? Wander? Get a job? I'm a foreigner, not just to this town, not just to this nation, but to the entire world.

Panic began to well up in my throat. Redheart seemed to notice. "Are you alright?" she asked, worriedly.

Calm down... we'll cross those roads when we get to them...

I took a deep breath of air, paused, then let it go. "Yes, I'm alright. Just... a little... adrift, that's all." Odd but accurate word choice. Staying calm... I've got questions...

"I smell something we would use to clean materials where I used to be. Do you use antiseptic?"

Redheart seemed a little off-put by the strange phrasing of my statement, but responded curtly. "Yes, of course."

"Hm." Wonder how they make it...

I shook the random questions away now. Fortunately, I didn't have to ask if the nurse had any duties to attend to.

"If I might ask... what race do you hail from?" Redheart asked the question tentatively.

I told her. "I am from a race that calls itself Humanity, or Homo sapiens sapiens in binomial nomenclature..." I stopped. I couldn't very well tell her I was from a different planet, or I would arrive in a psych ward in short order. "Our lands are far from here."

"Oh, I see. Welcome to Equestria."

"Thank you," I answered.

"I came in to serve breakfast to the patients in this wing, as well as take vitals. Do you feel up to eating?"

"Yes'm'," I answered. I felt weak and tired. I needed to eat.

Redheart trotted over to the food cart, at the door to the wing. She pushed it closer to the bed, and proceeded to do a very odd thing. Redheart's hoof acted almost like a hand as she touched the wall of a bowl, and pivoted it so that the hoof was underneath the bowl. I was awestruck.

"How did you grab the bowl?"

Redheart looked up, a little surprised by the question. She set it down on the small table next to the bed. "I just..." She picked it up again, and it looked almost like a magnet as it stuck to her hoof. "...grab it." She set it down again.

The physics issues were bothering me, but I wouldn't argue about it. "...strange."

The nurse seemed to shake it off as quickly as I did, returning to her business. "I'll leave this right here. I would take your vitals, but I don't know enough about your anatomy to know what is normal, so I don't think it would do much good. Before I move on, do you want the curtains open or closed?"

"They're just fine open, thanks," I answered.

"Okay. If you need anything, just call." She smiled, and turned to go on about her business.

I decided to try and inspect my wounds, as I distinctly remember a multitude of deep cuts. Looking down for the first time told me I didn't have a shirt on. Oh... wait. Hang on. Hospitals, with little exception, have patient gowns... but ponies don't wear clothes...

I checked under the sheets. I was right. Ohhhhh, great...

The implications of this were that it was very likely that I was stripped as soon as I got here. Not that the ponies cared, but I still would rather keep everything securely in a pair of pants. Also, I would need to request my clothing back when I saw the nurse again if I wanted to leave without constantly being extremely embarrassed.

I proceeded about checking myself for injuries again. Limb by limb, I was dumbfounded to find none at all. Uh oh... how long have I been here? Again, another question I couldn't answer...

I turned back to the bowl on the table. I had a lot of food for thought, and I figured I could down a little bit of real food along with it. Redheart had a job to do, so I would call her on her way out.

Taking the lid off the bowl revealed a soup, of what flavor I had no idea. I took the bowl, lifting a spoonful of the steamy liquid out. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I had swallowed it. The taste made me assume that this was some sort of vegetable soup, and was actually quite good, especially for being produced on a large scale.

I absentmindedly consumed the soup while trying to figure out how long I'd been staying here, and what could have happened to my clothing. Thinking about such matters had me make another jolting revelation; I didn't know where my electronics were or how they were being handled. I didn't know what the ponies would do with them as they were not exactly experienced with such devices and may unintentionally damage them. They also might hold clues to my history... This was yet another thing I would have to distract Redheart with.

I had a clear view of the door with the curtain in its current position, and I saw that Redheart was returning to my bed from the other side of the room. The cart was stacked with bowls again, so I could safely assume she was coming to get my bowl and utensils back. I also saw a clock on the wall, which I couldn't read at the moment. Right... glasses. Poor Redheart.

As Redheart arrived at my bedside, she stopped and spoke again with her typical soothing warmth. "Hello again. Are you done?"

The bowl was sitting in my lap still, so I picked it up and gave it back to her. "Yes, thanks." I decided now was as good a time as any to ask. "Do you know how long I've been here?"

"Yes, let me double check here..." She pulled the clipboard from the satchel on her side. "Ah, yes. Two days."

I was, yet again, shocked. "Two days? That can't be right. I should still be healing, if that were the case."

She looked up, slightly surprised. "Oh? It seemed like the typical rate of magic-assisted healing."

"Oh," I said, my problem solved. "I didn't know that. How does that process go? Is it like a twice a day session or what?"

Redheart responded unexpectedly. "I'm sorry, I must have been a little unspecific. Our nurses didn't do any healing therapy, we weren't sure how your body would have reacted to that. Your own magic helped heal you."

What? Somebody's made a mistake. "But nurse, my people aren't magical by nature. It doesn't exist where I come from."

The poor earth pony was as bewildered as I was now. "I don't understand... the healing was clearly magic assisted, and we didn't perform any healing procedures... oh well, this one is unexplained, I suppose." Redheart was still debating internally, and I decided I would launch my next salvo of questions.

"I don't mean to bother you, but do you know where my clothes are? I need them back, as soon as it's convenient. And my bag, too. Please."

"Of course. But... if you don't mind my asking, why?" She looked at me innocently, confusion in her eyes.

It was weird, but I had to break it to someone sometime. "We always wear clothes in public. It's a modesty thing. The only time we remove our clothing is when we are alone in a private place."

The bubblegum-maned mare blushed, kicking the floor a little with her head down. "Oh, um, my apologies. We had to remove them to operate, and never thought to replace them afterwards. We don't have such customs."

I tried to put her mind at ease. "I understand. Life is more important than modesty to us, don't worry about that. And... sorry for holding you up, but when do you think I'll be released?"

"Tomorrow, hopefully, if everything stays normal. Anything else you need to ask before I go?"

"One last thing... really. I promise. Have you seen my glasses?"

She didn't miss a beat. "Yes, they're right here behind this box of tissues." She picked them up from the other side of the table, behind said object. She handed them to me, an odd maneuver with the strange hoof physics at maximum.

"Will that be all?"

"No, ma'am. Thanks for all your help."

She brightened a little, smiling. "My pleasure. Feel free to rest, if you'd like. I'll be back soon with your things."

Rest... rest sounded good. Despite sleeping for two days straight, I was still tired and could use some rest. Before laying back down, I checked the clock again, glasses on. It was surprisingly normal, with 12 hours, 60 minutes, and Arabic numerals. 8:30.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a few more hours in...

Consummate lethargy. It ruled over all whenever I was waking.

"Um, sir? Sorry to wake you, but you'll be having visitors soon. I'm afraid these won't wait, either."

I groggily awoke to the pleadings of Redheart, who was shaking me. It was generally a great achievement to wake me; I was a very heavy sleeper and was very slow to sober up.

Blearily, I registered what the mare said, sitting up again. "'Kay... thanks." I tried rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Whenever you're ready, but if you don't mind they'll be in in about 15 minutes."

"Okay," I yawned, glancing at the clock. "Wow, another 4 hours..."

In a process entirely similar to this morning, I had to warm up the CPU and start booting the core programs of my brain again. I wondered who could be visiting me...

Right, visitors. Time to get dressed. Another thing occurred to me, and I had to call Redheart, who was leaving the room.

"Um, nurse! If you don't mind... I'd rather meet whoever this is in the waiting room, if that's alright with you. I want to get back on my feet."

"Sure, I don't see why not. You seem healed enough to walk, and we need to know if you're not if we plan on releasing you tomorrow. Come on out when you're ready." Redheart stepped behind the door, much to my gratitude...

I swung my feet over the bedside, standing for the first time since I had fallen. It wasn't difficult; I rose without issue. Surprisingly, nothing seemed sore. However, my joints were resistant and stiff, almost like they were swollen. I snatched up the bag that held my laptop as I left the room. I needed to check on it later. Hopefully it had been off. It wouldn't get any charge here unless I manage an engineering feat...

The upper frame of the door to the ward was only about five and a half feet high, it seemed. I had to duck to get through. Redheart stood on the other side, apparently startled.

"Oh... excuse me. You stand a lot taller than me."

From rough estimates, she would probably weigh 110, 130 lbs, or thereabouts; the quadrupedal form of the ponies meant more mass in a more compact package. The white pony led the way down the hall to the room of chairs, which was essentially just a room with some chairs, a few decorative plants, a clock, and a window overlooking the front lawn.

I looked out the window at this fragment of the world I had only known in cartoon renditions. It was all very real looking, the trees, the grass. Some ponies of various colors, shapes and sizes moved about. It was an alien world, even if I had seen glimpses.

I thought of what my home was like. I patted my right leg and it confirmed the source of the familiar weight.

My phone was still in my pocket. I pulled it out now, out of idle curiosity. Something strange caught my eye.

The green LED in the speaker grille was on, solid. But that means...

I clicked the power button, bringing up my lock screen.

it's charging?

Sure enough, the circular lock screen widget displayed my battery at 100% capacity, and with the charging indicator on. What?

I slid the screen up, putting in the pattern to unlock the phone. Checking a discharge chart told me it had been charging roughly since I had arrived in Equestria. But... about that...

Stranger than that, even. The time displayed on the device... it matched the clock in the room.

A coincidence, unlikely, but possible. Equestria apparently has the same 24-hour day as back on Earth, and Ponyville could coincidentally have its town clock set to the same time as Central Standard...but if they use time zones...a very fortuitous coincidence indeed.

I checked the quick settings bar, hoping I'd see my name and email in the top left corner. The next shock from the carpet bombing hit.

The text is corrupted? I was worried. I checked my email app. The text was again corrupted, and the doomed refreshing icon was spinning forever, no internet to be found. I put the phone away, mildly frustrated.

Whatever was done has gone to extreme lengths to make sure I don't know who I am... and that's disturbing.

Shaking my thoughts from the dark implications that this might have, I was left listening for the clip-clop of hooves on tile and the physics behind my charging phone. Perhaps it had to do with the proximity of magical creatures and the science behind the abilities of unicorns?

I heard the sound of many hooves in the hall outside, and muffled voices through the door. This many po--wait... oh, wow... this quick?

Redheart opened the door and stepped into the room. "Your visitors are here. Meet Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie"--I noticed Redheart giving a quick glare to Pinkie--"and Fluttershy."

Sure enough, through the door came a significant biomass of the six said ponies, in list order. I was suddenly confronted with the problem of being the center of attention of a large group, which was something I was anything but comfortable with. I looked up and smiled shyly, wishing I was smaller than 5' 8" for one of the few times in my life. A tension hung in the air, of the diplomatic sort. Twilight, being the de jure leader of the group, looked just as nervous as I did. She was calculating her first move, which made sense... of course, Fluttershy was visibly shrinking in the back of the group, so that made us both seem confident.

I realized that this hospital visit was laced with politics, and while I was inclined to believe much of it was out of goodwill, the true motives of the group was uncertain.

Twilight seemed ready to be ready. There was a visible commitment made, and she opened her mouth to speak the first official pony-human relations sentence ever--

"Hi!"

The most gregarious of the group propelled herself to the front of the group and interjected the word, expending some of her boundless social energy and shattering Twilight's carefully devised words for the ages, along with the serious mood. She proceeded to talk in a very animated fashion, body talking as much as her mouth. "I'm Pinkie Pie and these are my friends! Twilight here looooves reading and is super-smart, but is a little uptight, Rainbow Dash is a huge athlete and is a really fast flier--"

Twilight ended the onslaught. "Alright, Pinkie, that's enough." Pinkie froze and slowly returned to a regular standing position.

Despite being somewhat annoyed, Twilight appeared amused and seemed to have relaxed some.

"Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I am a student of one of our reigning princesses and a bearer of an Element of Harmony, along with each of my friends here. We came to formally welcome you to Equestria, being our first human visitor in recorded history. If you need any help around town, just come and talk to one of us. I'll let you get acquainted with each of my friends, as some of them are dying to meet you." She cast a sidelong glance at Pinkie. "And... later, if you don't mind..." She couldn't help but light up a little with a inquisitive smile. "I'd like to talk to you about your kind and your culture." Oh, Twilight. We were too similar. I smiled again. "Sure... I'll tell you what I know."

Despite still being somewhat stiff in her mannerisms, I could tell her words were genuine. Neither of us were socialites, and that ironically made it easier to make a connection. She returned the smile and left to talk to Redheart, who had been supervising the proceedings.

Naturally, Pinkie was the first to grab the opportunity to talk to me. The pink pony crossed the tile towards me in an almost dance-like trot, hooves clicking out a tune.

"Hi! I'm sorry, but silly me, I didn't catch your name!"

Twilight and Redheart stiffened in the back of the room, almost cringing. The message was caught by the rest of the ponies, and the social current in the room froze. The query did freshen the wound of a lost identity, but I was going to play it off.

"I'm not quite sure. Seem to have lost some memories of my past, somewhere along the way."

Pinkie looked down, crossing her two front hooves and blushing, embarrassed. "Oh... S-sorry..."

She brought back the warmth to her next words, trying desperately to recover and use her ever-cheery attitude to lighten the weight of the atmosphere in the room. I found her persistently charged demeanor one that was odd, but endearing, in a sort. "But anyway... it's nice to meet you!"

I smiled a little, and nodded. I tried to pass the "you're fine, it's ok" message along via the gesture. Pinkie retreated, as she really couldn't make much small talk if I didn't know anything about my past. I wasn't good at small talk and didn't particularly like it, but I felt a little bad for the pink pony for having her plans smashed.

Rarity, who was chatting with the other girls quietly, saw her opening, no doubt seeing an opportunity.

She strode up confidently and with poise, almost like a royal herself. "Hello, darling!" She lifted a hoof daintly, appearing to invite a hand...hoof-shake. I went for it, applying standard handshake procedure, and making eye contact with the smiling diplomat.

"My name is Rarity, bearer of the Element of Generosity. But personally, I prefer to be a fashion designer by day!" It was a humorous remark, complete with dramatic flourish, so I smiled in appreciation.

She looked to my torn and shredded clothing, as I was expecting, and her expression shifted to something I would describe as a "frown of empathetic distress", sitting down with a tip of a hoof resting on her chin.

"Dear me, your garments are in tatters!" She turned to a smile again, warmly offering me a proposition.

"Tell you what, darling. When you are released from the hospital, come and stop by my boutique. I'll fix it right up!"

I wasn't quite sure what to say. "With respect... I appreciate the offer, but I don't have any other clothes to wear in the mean-time. Thank you, though."

"Oh, no, darling! Please, you must stop by. I insist. Promise, I'll have it all figured out."

I wasn't quite sure how to respond. Rarity appeared to be examining the cuts and tears, planning every stitch. I was skeptical and somewhat concerned of future events, but it was plain I would get nowhere by arguing with the mare who was the mistress of conversations."

"Alright..." I was a little unsure. The girls seemed to be amused, giggling somewhat at the events before them. It seemed to consisted of a general attitude of "we've been there," at least from my guess. It only reaffirmed me that I'd made the right decision.

"Excellent! I promise you won't be disappointed!" She beamed, clapping  her hooves together. I wasn't sure how much was theatrics, as she seemed genuinely excited. She angled away from me, preparing to rejoin her friends. "I'll see you later, darling. My store is the Carousel Boutique. That's about all the description you need!"

The conversation queen did leave, retreating into her circle of companions.

It seemed everyone wanted the chance to speak to the mysterious creature in the corner of the room. How ironic.

A entirely assuming cyan coat and rainbow mane emerged at the front of the pack. Rainbow Dash, probably the least discreet pony when it came to color pallet, nonchalantly moseyed up next to the chair.

I'll take this moment to describe in detail the first up-close pair of pegasus wings I saw, folded away or no.

The wing was larger than what was represented in our familiar cartoon, and more densely feathered. The wing structure was similar to that of a bird, which was only logical. I was still somewhat skeptical of the ability of such a wing to lift the weight of a whole pony, but I would see about that.

Anyhow, here was Rainbow, standing coolly in front of me.

"Hey," she said simply, voice low, composed, friendly. Another hoof was raised, but in a different style from Lady Rarity. The Equestrian pony's leg joints were evidently a highly flexible, as Rainbow's hoof was held up in a manner entirely indicating that a fist bump should be given. I again took the plunge.

I was apparently correct. Rainbow went along without any indication of an odd action.

"So I heard you beat a timber wolf with your bare hooves?" Enthusiasm had crept into her voice, and anticipation was plain in her features. I nodded once, prepared to amend "with a handy tree branch, but, yeah," but had no opportunity. Rainbow almost squeed. "Awesome! Applejack runs them off or breaks 'em up with slings, but you're pretty daring to get close to those claws. Name's Rainbow Dash, by the way. Oh, Element of Loyalty and all that."

"Good to meet you," I said. So many ponies in so little time. I was still somewhat uncomfortable with the sheer amount of beings in the room, especially with being the "main event," so to speak.

"Yeah, you too. So, I'll be all around town. I work on weather team up in the clouds, so I'll probably be around when you least expect it. That's how it usually is, anyway. See ya!" Rainbow turned away, giving a sort of wave, and returning to the group of friends. The bold one. She seems to be really... *cool** about everything.*

And so there were two. Applejack, and Fluttershy.  Wonder which one will go first.

Applejack, of course, was to approach with a slow gait. She seemed almost... shy. Reluctant.

Being the pony she was, she was currently without her hat, no doubt having left it at some hatrack at the door to the hospital.

"Howdy, mister," she offered, in a casual tone, colored by the accent of the Deep South.

"Afternoon," I replied, the Texas twang in my voice subconsciously growing more pronounced. What could...? oh...

Applejack seemed to have no conversation point, but I had a hunch as to why the gregarious farmer pony was so awkward.

I asked the question that I thought may allow her to speak without fear of seeming boastful. "Did you find me, when I fell?"

She seemed to relax a little bit. "Yeah... that was me. My brother and I were about to call it a day when I heard a wolf out on the edge of the farm. Have to drive 'em off every now and then, y'know? When I saw that somepony had beat it and you were layin' there all tore up, figured ya needed some help."

This little bit of information solved many problems. I also knew who I owed my life to, which was a strange feeling to have weighing on me. "Thanks, for that... I probably would have bled to death if you hadn't have brought me here." I was obviously very grateful to the orange pony and owed her a debt that could never really be repaid.

This seemed to make AJ close up again, not knowing how to respond. She visibly shrank. "Aw, it was nothin', you would've done the same thing, I bet..."

She was uncomfortable, it was plain, and really just wanted to let the subject go.

"My name's Applejack. My family and I live out on the edge of town on an apple orchard... don't like to brag, but we got some pretty good trees on our land. Oh... suppose I should say something about being Element of Honesty, I guess. Anyhow... guess I'll see you around."

"Good to meet you, Applejack," I said. She smiled briefly and nodded, making her way back to her friends.

And so there was one.

Everyone knew it was physically impossible to do or say something mean to Fluttershy if they even had one shred of decency, but trying not to spook her was the real challenge. I prepared for the confrontation ahead.

The group milled and shuffled, leaving a very unsure Fluttershy in front of her support network of smiling, encouraging faces. The yellow pony smiled nervously from behind her long cotton-candy mane, and took a few shuffling steps forward. I couldn't help but be reminded of a curious shy dog, wanting to move forward, but afraid. Like said dog, a false move could probably scare her off. The difference in stature didn't help matters, even if I was sitting down.

"Um, hi..." The mare was as adorable as always, but quite uncomfortable. "My name is Fluttershy."

"Hi." I tried to avoid any expression of the natural impulse to smile and resist the urge to reach down and rub her neck, and convey through eye contact the message of shy solidarity. Neither of us were in our comfort zones, but she was much more afflicted than I was.

"I'm the Element of Kindness... I like to take care of the forest creatures." She smiled shyly again. There was a spark of curiosity in her eyes. She wanted to ask questions, badly. Courage was mustered, and the draw overcame the fear.

"Umm... excuse me... but can I ask you some questions about yourself?" The wave broke, its mission complete. "I mean, later, of course, I'm sure you want some quiet time to yourself after meeting so many ponies..." She blushed and hid behind her pink mane again, embarrassed at her outpouring of words.

"Of course," I said, flashing what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Great! I'll, uh, see you later... bye." Her expression was now what could be called a warm, happy smile now, as she shrank back to her comforting group of friends, who were all quietly congratulating her.

The feeling of being the center of attention was still weighing heavily on my shoulders. Too many eyes, too much uncertainty, too many potential outcomes--it was overwhelming to try and think my actions and their possible impacts through. Even though I saw pleased smiles all around, I couldn't help but wonder what everybody really thought of me. I tried to make my good intentions apparent, but one cannot tell what another truly thinks...

I sighed internally, then laughed satirically at my own behavior.

Oh, socialization. So trivial to so many, but crippling to the analytical. At least me, anyway.

I illustrated my own statement by amending it.

I had to resist cracking up. I'm such a weirdo.

Trying to wrench myself from my self-amused reverie and think sensibly again, I looked to the posse of mares and absorbed myself in observing their actions, which were getting more restless now as the consensus seemed to be that it was time to leave.

I caught Twilight trying to do the same thing, evidently. Eyes made contact before they could drift away from each other and ignore such a coincidence.

I found it amazing how something as small as a tiny smile, a miniscule exertion of caloric energy, could communicate something so grand as the inklings of a mutual understanding, and put my mind more at ease. The power of mere eye contact was never to be underestimated.

And so, the shufflings of the group continued, and Pinkie seemed to snap at the opportunity to announce an ending to this understated historic event in the waiting room of a local hospital. As usual, the pink pony was a powerhouse of boundless social energy, and it could all fit in her voice. A true, somewhat extreme example of animated speech, Pinkie Pie was.

"Okey dokey, we're going to go now, but we'll see you again soo-oon!" She then managed, to my astoundment, to pull of a gesture similar to that of pointing whilst leaning back, saying, "Catch you later, alligator!"

"Uhm... Goodbye, everyone."

The group smiled and waved collectively, and filed out the door, leaving me and Redheart as the only two left in the room. Inspecting her features turned up a glassy-eyed stare that seemed to be half towards me, half into space. I could only assume she was somewhat in awe of the events that had taken place. I still wasn't quite able to place this on a scale of gravity for an event in Equestria, but I really had little frames of reference.

She cleared her throat quietly. "You really seemed to hit it off well with those girls. They're some of the most important ponies in Equestria... excuse me. Would you like to return to your ward?"

"I suppose so." I really just wanted to leave, but I had nowhere to go and needed to know if I was completely healthy. Being obtuse wouldn't solve anything either. More time to ponder the many unknowns riddling my sense of self. I winced.

It's going to be a long day.