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// Prologue 
// Story: Red Heart Checkout: Autobiography Of A Disturbed Patient 
// by ShadowSteed 
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I'll never forget that day. That one day that started what felt like a lifetime of atrocities. That one day that held that one moment that turned everything upside down. That one moment where everything meant nothing.

I'll never forget it.

It started out as a bright, sunny morning here in Ponyville. I awoke to the sweet melody of the birds perched outside my open window. They sang a song of great pasture. I always took that as a sign that it was going to be a magnificent day. I rose from bed with a smile on my face and benevolence in my heart ready and eager to start my day. I slowly walked downstairs with a satisfied smile on my face and my eyes closed for I was envisioning the perfect way to begin today with a full breakfast. I wondered what would suit this wonderful day. Scrambled eggs smothered with rich honey? A healthy bowl of hay flakes with a side of juicy, succulent strawberries? A plate of waffles drenched in syrup with a tall glass of enriching orange juice? Oh the possibilities running through my head were endless.

The vision of my delights for a healthy start to my day were short lived. I heard a sudden ringing in my ears. My body jolted as my eyes suddenly popped open. The sweet tastes in my mouth suddenly turned bitter and the waterfall forming within my taste buds dried up as I located the source of the ringing. It was my clock indicating that the next hour come. It was now 9am. I was late for work! Thoughts of a pleasant morning were now filled with dread as I wondered of the atrocities my strict boss was going to inflict on me. I quickly ran to the kitchen, opened the fridge and grabbed the first thing I saw that I thought would fill me up quickly. A healthy, red, apple. I quickly ran out the door and halfway out my front yard I took my first bite of the apple.

I abruptly stopped where I stood. I suddenly felt a pleasant sensation fill my body. The apple was so much juicier than I expected. the flavors seemed to gush in my mouth and fill it with delicious happiness. My heart raced at a steady pace as the horrendous beat it played as I ran from my home now played a melody of delight and euphoric reassurance. As I just stand there chewing on the succulent fruit, I hear the sweet sounds of nature around me. The wind blew in such a way it seemed to dance as it swept through my mane. The feel of the grass beneath my hooves as it swayed in sync with the breeze around me. I slowly began walking as the dread that I had felt just moments ago had completely disappeared. Everything was in perfect harmony.

I walked slowly towards my workplace with the apple within the aura of my horn. All of my worries dissolved as I took each bite of it. I savored each moment, relished each bite, I was thankful to Celestia that this sudden turn of events turned out better than I could have ever hoped for. The birds were now singing all around me, they seemed to sing with such a melody that Fluttershy herself would very much be proud of. They flew close to me as I walked, flying across my head. Each sound that hit my eardrum seemed to say, "Have no worries, have no troubles, today will be a good day" Or something along those lines. I had never had such a wonderful day in my entire life. Something this good was sure to last right?

Apparantly not.

The birds suddenly screeched and I jolted with sudden fear. The birds flew away as to signal distress. I wondered what could have been the matter. I looked around to see what could have been the cause of their fear. Yet all I saw was a house to my left. A simple, small, suburban home. The only thing irregular about it was the roof. It was incomplete. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to take a look around. I suddenly heard a loud banging sound coming from behind the house. Closer inspection revealed a large, bulky construction worker hammering nails into the roof. There was not much to see there so I knew it was best not to disturbed him. I turned around to go back the way I came, but was stopped frozen in fear when the sound of banging was replaced with a scream of agony. I turned around to see the construction worker in great pain for he had accidentally hit the tip of hims hoof with the hammer. Blood started gushing out of it's tip and covered the top of his hoof. His screams of agony filled my heart with sorrow, I tried to run and help him, but his pain suddenly turned to anger as he picked up the hammer which was the source of his anguish and threw it with full force away from him. It wouldn't have bothered me very much except for one problem, It was headed straight for me!

I tried to move, but the hammer was closer than I originally thought. It him me with great force in my head creating a large wound. I screamed with great anguish as the hammer had lodged itself into my cranium and blood started gushing from my forehead. The construction worker heard my cries and noticed what he had done. He was so shocked to see the hammer in my head he lost his balance and tumbled off the roof. I didn't notice at the time for I was rapidly losing blood and the back of the hammer was poking my brain.  I felt extreme dizziness and was barely conscious. When s little of my strength returned and allowed me to focus, the first thing I saw was the construction worker falling off the roof and straight towards me. I was unfortunate enough to be caught in his path. His big body landed on the center of my face, pushing the hammer deeper into my head. We both fell to the ground. The pain I originally felt in the beginning was now tripled due to the crushing feeling of the construction worker on top of me and the hammer pushed to the point of almost entering my brain. The construction worker walked close to me and was squirted in the face with the blood still gushing from my head. I quickly began to lose consciousness and my ability to hear started to fade even faster. The last thing I could see was the construction worker running into the house shouting "CALL THE HOSPITAL!" I just laid on my back, looked up at the sky, and said what I thought would be my final words, I said "Celestia, please don't let me die." I than lost all consciousness as questions started to run across my head. Why did this happen? Am I being punished for my curiosity? Would all this have happened if I had woken earlier? I would never know for my thoughts had stopped as well and all that could be seen was pitch darkness. No colors, no sounds, no apple to make this all better.

I was certain I was dead.