Twister thought he was in an interrogation chamber when he woke up.
He opened his eyes, and they were met with a harsh, bright light. He had instinctively believed it was a lamp being shoved in his face, but when his vision cleared, he found himself lying in a bed in a white room. He heard a consistent beeping noise, and when he turned his head, he saw it was coming from a heart monitor connected to him by a wire through his front left ankle.
Twister saw through a window to his right that it was already past dark. How did I get here? Twister struggled to remember what happened earlier. Okay, I woke up this morning in my tent. Twister backtracked. He fought to remember what happened next. I was packing up, trying to decide where and when to enter the Everfree. Twister's memories started returning to him, more detailed than the last. Then, I heard the hissing and slithering, and saw the Snake Women coming after me. I had to abandon my supplies; all I had time to grab was my satchel, vest, and hat. Twister looked up, and saw a coat hanger had his vest, hat, and satchel.
FOCUS! Twister once again struggled to remember what happened next. I...I flew into the Everfree forest, hoping to lose those things. Twister groaned inwardly; if he was being chased by ponies, running into the Everfree would have been a smart move. But when you're running from supernatural monsters, or ANY creatures who rely on all five senses, running into any forest is fatal. It's not too different than trying to escape a blood raging Slendermane.
At least the trees gave him cover. The Snake Women had destroyed several trees when they first saw him, attempting to kill him. How long did I run? Twister couldn't remember how long the chase had lasted. Two, maybe three hours? Probably longer. Twister just realized how much his hooves ached from the chase. He stretched his front legs out, and noticed for the first time a scar that ran down his right hoof and up to his body. How did I get that? Twister suddenly remembered what happened near the end of the chase. Finding the opening in the canopy, flying out of the Everfree....the pain in his right wing.
Twister moved his hooves to his back, feeling for his wing, and his heart plummeted into his stomach when all he felt was a stub. "Damn it..." Twister sighed. I suppose I should just be glad I'm still alive. Twister tore the wire from his ankle; the beeping from the heart monitor was starting to irritate him.
The crippled Pegasus stepped out of the bed, wincing as he felt a sharp pain go up his front right hoof as it touched the cold floor. He ran his tongue across his teeth, grimacing from the morning taste in his mouth. He walked over to the coat hanger and put his leather vest back on. It had dry blood stains on it's right side, markings that reminded him of the catastrophe. He pulled the satchel around his shoulder, feeling through it to ensure he had everything inside it. Map, check. Key Shard, check. Emergency bits, check. First aid kit, check. Switchblade, check. Nothing was missing. Twister sighed in frustration. It would be awhile before he could buy more traveling supplies, and he wasn't sure if his emergency bits would cut it.
Twister turned back to the coat hanger, and reached for his safari hat. It was old and filthy; it's material frayed in several areas, dirt and grime was rubbed into it, and it blackened on one side, evidence of burning. He placed the ragged accessory onto his head, and looked in a mirror that was hanging on a closet door.
His fur was it's usual dull yellow color, and his mane still held it's several different shades of gray. This color was natural; he was actually only 17 years old, but he certainly didn't look like it.
Twister noticed that he had a new scar running down his right cheek, another painful reminder of the attack. His eyes had bags under them, and his grey iris's looked 50 years older than they were.
This whole adventure has taken it's toll. Twister missed his old life. Before these damn Key shards, before these pricks came after him, before his grandmother's death...
Twister's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hoofsteps and voices. He turned to the door, and distinctly heard the voice of a Stallion.
"...so try...keep it down...he still...not sure if...." The hoofsteps became louder, and the door swung open. Standing at the opened doorway was a Stallion unicorn wearing the white coat of a doctor, and with him were four mares.
The first was an earth pony with an orange coat and blonde mane. She had it tied back, and wore a cowfilly hat. The next mare was a unicorn. She had purple fur, and her mane was a darker shade of purple with a streak of lavender going through it.
The other two mares were Pegasi; the first had a blue coat of fur matching that of the sky, and a short mane with every color in the rainbow.
The other appeared more timid than her friends; her fur was a bright shade of yellow, and her mane was pink and curled. Twister remembered her from the attack. She was the mare who tried to calm me... Twister remembered waking up shortly after crashing. That Pegasus mare had been trying to calm him with some sort of lullaby when he regained consciousness.
The ponies stared in disbelief at the doorway. Suddenly, the Stallion Twister suspected was the doctor spoke up in a deep, hearty voice. "Well, isn't this a surprise!" His cheeks wrinkled as he smiled. He turned to the four mares. "Looks like we underestimated him. He's already up and at 'em!"
Twister scowled, detecting his enthusiasm was faked. "What happened?" He spoke with a gruff, somewhat sour tone.
"Oh, of course, you're probably wondering that, aren't you?" The doctor was taking his sweet time. Twister hated it when ponies did this.
"NO SHIT." Twister could remember, but he needed somepony else to confirm it for him. He wanted an explanation NOW, and the doctor quickly realized this. "No need to get testy; allow me to explain." The old unicorn pulled out a clipboard with his magic and began flipping through it.
"Let's see...you crashed outside the Apple family farm, not too far from the Everfree forest. You were under heavy pursuit by two monsters, apparently Gorgons, and they knocked you out of the sky with a corrosion curse. You were already dying as your wing fell apart. It had...significant effects on the rest of your body."
The old colt tipped his head towards Twister's right flank; the scars running along it looked as if some twisted toddler cut them into him. "These fillies took immediate action. They defended you from the monsters, and...well, it wasn't for them, you wouldn't have made it." The doctor tipped his head to the four.
"Interesting." Twister bowed his head to them. "Many thanks. Wish I could show you how grateful I really am, but I gotta run." Twister attempted to step out of the door, but the doctor blocked his path. "Hold on there, sonny." Twister hated being referred to as 'sonny', or any other nickname, for that matter. "My name is Twister." The doctor bowed his head.
"Sorry; hold on there, Twister." The doctor was losing his fake enthusiastic tone. "We need to ensure you're healthy. The curse had quite an effect on you, and we need to make sure your scars can't bother you too much. Step back in the bed so we can run some tests."
"Fine." Twister stepped back in the bed, his one wing tensing up as a sign of his frustration. The doctor moved back to the hallway. "I need to grab my equipment and some assistants. These mares can keep you company until I return." The four mares entered the room, letting the door swing closed as they passed.
There was a short, awkward silence, and finally, the Pegasus mare with the pink hair spoke up in a soft, gentle voice. "Y-you're taking your loss pretty well..." Twister chuckled. "I've lost worse things than a wing. At this point, if no lives were lost, then I consider it a victory." The mare looked surprised at this, but quickly looked away. "S-sorry..." Twister raised an eyebrow. "What on earth for?" The mare looked back. "I-I didn't mean to...remind you of what...you lost.." She stepped away, whimpering. Twister looked questioningly to the other mares, as if to ask Is she always like this?
The unicorn mare with the purple fur spoke up. "I would've thought you'd be traumatized by what happened. Losing your wing, suffering the pain of corrosion..." Twister interrupted her. " This is nothing." He tipped his head to his scarred flank. "I'm more interested in who YOU are." Twister swapped his gaze between each of the mares, giving each a questioning look.
"Oh, well...My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is Applejack," The purple mare tipped her head to the orange mare with the cowfilly hat." Howdy." Applejack smiled as she spoke. "This is Rainbow Dash." Twilight tipped her head to the cyan pegasus with the multicolored mane." And she's Fluttershy." Twilight turned her head to point her hoof at the timid pegasus. She simply nodded, hiding her face behind her pink hair.
"...Is she alright?" Twister gave himself an imaginary facehoof. He had a horrible habit of speaking his mind, even when nopony asked for his opinion. It never ended well for him.
"She's fine." The pegasus called Rainbow Dash spoke with a firm, somewhat annoyed tone. "Now, who are YOU?" She stared at him with a firm gaze and magenta eyes the color of wine.
"My name is Twister." Twister wasn't keen on telling much more than that. His old life was gone; there wasn't any reason to dig it back up. "Okay, Twister. Why were those gorgons after you?" Twilight spoke this time, an inquisitive look on her face. "I don't know..." Twister seemed to piss of all kinds of women for no reason; when he defended a mare at a pub from a drunken jackass, she slapped him. When he asked a Griffin woman about the town that same pub was in, she slapped him. Some quality about him these days just ticked women off. Twister honestly expected Rainbow Dash to slap him for his insensitive question.
But this was different. He knew exactly why those fiends were after him. But Twister didn't dare tell these mares, lest they get killed in cold blood like so many of his old friends...
Suddenly, Twister was shaken back into reality when Applejack spoke up. "Hello? Twilight asked 'nother question." She spoke with a southern accent, something Twister suspected was common at the apple farm. Twister shook his head. " Sorry...what was that again?" He turned to look at the unicorn mare again, ready to pay attention this time.
"I asked 'what were you doing in the Everfree'?" Twilight looked slightly annoyed after being ignored. Twister didn't dare tell her about the hidden treasure at the ancient castle within the dark forest. It was his only chance at finding out where the next key shard was, and finding clues as to what his assailants were after. And, in turn, another clue to the truth behind his grandmother's death. Twister was in the business long enough to understand that telling a friend could very well mean telling the enemy.
"Um...I was...Hiking?" Twister hoped this was enough; he was terrible liar. He normally just went with 'admit with attitude', but this wouldn't cut it with innocents. Applejack raised an eyebrow, obviously not buying it. "...Alright." She said after a few seconds.
Suddenly, the doctor came back in with equipment and an assistant. "Thanks for keeping him company, fillies. We'll just take some tests, and if he's truly as healthy as he looks, he can leave." His annoying faked enthusiasm had returned. Twister didn't trust this colt; if there's one thing he learned about himself, it's that his gut never lies.
" Just don't use any needles; I HATE needles." Twister spoke with an intimidating scowl on his face. The doctor looked frightened, as he correctly perceived this as a threat. "A-alright..." This told Twister everything he needed to know; This guy was phony. No doctor would let themselves get intimidated by a patient, especially an injured one.
The four mares left, the pink haired pegasus looking back. Twister gave her a smile, to ensure her that he wasn't insulted. Those green eyes reminded him of someone long ago...
The door swung shut, and Twister braced himself for what was to come. The fake doctor grabbed a thermometer, and stuck it in Twister's mouth. "Keep this here." He said as he turned back to his assistant. Twister knew that the fake doctor had no idea what he was doing. Twister was injured, not sick.
But Twister went along with it, waiting for the right moment to strike. As the doctor spoke quietly with his helper, he grabbed a small syringe and hid it up his sleeve. Twister knew about medicine. His grandmother not only taught him first aid, she taught him what medical supplies that doctors relied on were supposed to do. The doctor would have only needed a syringe if he was giving him a vaccine to resist disease. He wasn't sick. Even if he says it was to stop infection, that should have been done BEFORE he was given surgery, not after.
Twister tensed up, his one good wing preparing for flight. Damn, I forgot. Twister had been thinking of flying out of there, the pain of realization that this option was forever gone hitting him like a metal bat. Twister was gonna have to run. Good thing granny taught him to rely on his hooves as much as his wings.
The doctor turned his head, his innocent smile slowly turning to malice as he approached. "This'll only take a second..." Time seemed to slow down for Twister. This happened when his adrenaline was pumping. He could see the doctor pulling the syringe out, something that in reality took less than a second.
Suddenly, time resumed when the faker leaned over to stick the syringe into him. Twister grabbed the doctors hoof, twisted it, and the syringe flew into the air.
Twister struck the fake Doctor's throat with his free hoof, silencing his cries. Twister grabbed the syringe out of the air, and stabbed the doctor's exposed throat with it.