Afflicted

“Florette, wake up.”

Her ears heard the voice, yet her mind did not.

“Dream Florette!”

A heavy shove startled her, and she flailed on the floor that was her bed in sleepy confusion. After a few seconds, she realized that she wasn’t dreaming any longer and looked up into a pair of angry green eyes beneath a mess of reddish-brown hair.

“Borderline?” Dream Florette murmured.

“Why must you always drift off when I’m talking to you?” Borderline spouted. “You could at least try to pay attention!”

“Borderline, it’s not my—”

“Not your fault? Right. It’s never your fault,” he shouted. “It’s always me, the ‘moody’ and ‘impulsive’ one!”

“B, you know that’s not true,” Dream Florette opposed. “Please, calm down.”

“To hay with this,” the dirt-brown stallion grumbled, storming off.

Wearily, Dream Florette cast an awareness spell, lessening her exhaustion. She left her small, nearly empty room and carefully made her way down a flight of stairs into the lobby of the hospice she called home.

“Hey, Dreeeam Flooorrette,” another patient greeted; it was Morphine Alarm. He had been the first to welcome Dream Florette to the hospice when she arrived, and they’d become close friends over the years. “Have I ever told you how taaall you are?”

“Yes, Morphine,” Dream Florette answered.

She noticed the indigo unicorn’s horn glowing faintly above his silvery mane; he’d cast his relief spell again, which meant his chest had been hurting again, and that worried her.

“You’re tall... and preeetty, Flower,” Morphine alarm mumbled in his painless stupor.

“Thank you, Morph,” she said, embarrassingly thrilled by his comment. She secretly enjoyed when he called her ‘Flower.’

“Like the sea... on fire!” he said, pointing to her oceany-blue coat and red-orange mane.

“You’re such a flatterer,” Dream Florette said with a giggle.

She caught a glimpse of Borderline glaring at her from a corner at the far end of the room. Rather than smile compassionately in return as she usually would, she met his eyes with contempt, and he quickly averted his gaze.

“Morphine, I need to speak with Nurse Heartfelt. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Mhmmm,” Morphine Alarm replied, blearily gazing at her with his brown eyes.

Dream Florette walked through a short hallway that led her to the nurses’ station, where a bored-looking assistant nurse sat on a stool, seemingly daydreaming.

“Excuse me, is Nurse Heartfelt free?” she asked.

“Oh!” the assistant said, startled by Dream Florette. “Uh... yes, she should be in her office.”

“Thank you.” Dream Florette continued down another hallway and knocked on the door at its end. “Nurse Heartfelt?”

“Come in!”

She entered the small office. “Hello, Miss Heartfelt.”

“Dream Florette! Hello, my dear!” the nurse said. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve come to speak with you about my dreams,” Dream Florette replied.

“Are they bothering you again?”

“No, not like they used to...”

“What is it, dear?” the nurse urged.

“I’ve been seeing somepony in my dreams,” Dream Florette admitted.

“Who?”

“I’m not sure... but she seems so real.”

“‘She?’ How do you know this pony is a mare?”

“I just know.”

“How long have you been experiencing these dreams?”

“A few weeks. I thought nothing of them at first... not until today,” Dream Florette said. “It was different today.”

“In what way?” the nurse asked.

“There were two mares. They... they were like opposites. Black and white. Or... light and dark.”

“Were you able to notice anything else about these mares?”

“Yes... they were sad, I think. They felt my sorrow... or they felt sorrow for me,” Dream Florette murmured. “I can’t tell. That’s all.”

Nurse Heartfelt nodded thoughtfully. “Dream Florette, I’d like you to keep a log of every dream like this, beginning with today’s. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you,” the nurse said. She hugged Dream Florette. “I share your sorrow, dear.”

“I wish Equestria had never been reduced to this... All of these ponies, sick... It’s not right.”

“I know.” The nurse broke their embrace. “It’s a delight seeing you, dear. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come back.”

“Thank you, Miss Heartfelt,”

“Always.”

As she was walking back through the hallways, Dream Florette heard a loud thud reverberate in the walls of the building. She rushed into the lobby and ran into a small group of ponies who were surrounding the bottom of the staircase. Peering over them, she was able to see Borderline crumpled up on the floor, moaning in agony.

Not again, Dream Florette thought.

Having heard the commotion, Nurse Heartfelt galloped into the lobby, followed by the daydreaming assistant nurse.

“What has he done this time?” Nurse Heartfelt asked.

“He hurled himself from atop the stairs,” one of the ponies said.

As the two nurses cleared the cluster of ponies and began assessing Borderline’s injuries, Dream Florette hurriedly searched for Morphine Alarm, but he was no longer in the lobby. After a few frustrating minutes, she found him wandering one of the empty ward corridors, still dazed by his own spell.

“Morphine,” she called. “I need your help. Come with me, okay?”

He nodded with a delighted smile, and the two returned to the lobby. Everypony had gone to other parts of the hospice, preferring quietness rather than the awful sounds coming from Borderline. The nurses were trying to calm him down, but he would not respond.

“Morph, I need you to cast your spell on Borderline,” Dream Florette told Morphine Alarm.

“My spell?” he asked.

“Yes. On Borderline. Can you do that?”

“Hmmm... I suppose,” Morphine Alarm said, seeming confident in his decision to help. He stepped before the nurses. “Mmmay I?”

Nurse Heartfelt looked to Dream Florette, who nodded in approval. The two nurses took a step back, and Morphine Alarm bowed his head towards Borderline, who was still groaning. His horn began glowing, and bright, purple tendrils of magic flowed towards the injured earth pony on the floor. Soon, Borderline ceased his unpleasant moaning, and Morphine Alarm stepped away.

“Thank you, Morphine Alarm,” Nurse Heartfelt said.

“I... think I need to take a nap,” Morphine Alarm mumbled, seeming less disoriented than before.

“You go do that, Morph,” Dream Florette said.

The indigo unicorn bowed, and then he somewhat stumbled towards the bedroom hallways. Dream Florette couldn’t help but feel amused by his unusual demeanor.

“That was very smart thinking, Miss Florette,” Nurse Heartfelt said. “Thank you.”

Dream Florette looked at Borderline, who was watching her in a stupor similar to Morphine Alarm’s. “Friends help each other,” she said.

“That they do,” the nurse said, then looked to her assistant. “Now, let’s get this one to his bed.” The two nurses urged Borderline onto his hooves and helped him limp down the same hallway Morphine Alarm had gone through.

Borderline, you foal, Dream Florette thought. She could feel her own spell wearing off, so she climbed the stairs and entered her cold, empty room. She yawned, suddenly feeling extremely exhausted, and all but collapsed onto the hard floor, asleep before her head even hit the ground.