The door to the hospital swung open when Andromeda kicked the door to the side to make way for the the pony with Josh on his back. Most of the doctors and nurses stood still with wide eyes at the sight they had been presented. To Andromeda’s relief, they only stared for a few moments before going back to work. A few doctors ran up to Josh and started to examine him. One of the doctors spoke up to Andromeda in a rather expedient voice. “What happened?”
Andromeda explained everything, which had the doctors a little flustered. After the doctors got all the information they needed, they moved Josh to an operation room. The room was a stale white with white and blue tile floor. A typical operation room in the land of ponies. The oddity of the room was what it contained. Something quite foreign to the average Equestrian pony. After all the doctors got dressed into their proper gowns and gathered around an unconscious abnormity, a surgeon analyst spoke up to inform the surgeons in the room getting ready to operate. Tensions were high in the room. Even though what was going to be operated on was foreign, the surgeons knew that it's life was just as important as an average ponies life. They pushed the fact it was different to the back of their heads and concentrated on the fact it needed their help.
“I'm not going to lie, this is going to be one of the most challenging operations any of us have ever performed, not because it will be complicated, but because it has to be extremely precise. One wrong move, one flinch even, and bam. It's over for our patent, because if more than two of those thorns in his back breaks open, than the poison being contained by these acre venume thorns will clot up his blood and kill him. One has already broken and leaked some of the poison, which caused him to lose consciousness earlier. Good luck to everypony.” The analyst stayed to watch the surgery through, but moved out of the way to give the surgeon more room.
It was a whole day later when Josh finally woke up. He felt as if he was in an unfamiliar place. He was laying on his stomach, which was slightly uncomfortable, but he wasn't going to move anytime soon because he didn't have the strength. “Ugh what happened? I must have fallen down and hit my back or something before I fell asleep last night. Why do I feel as if a sleep spell has been cast on my body? My eyelids feel like lead weights, no, scratch that, my whole body feels like a lead weight. Did I spend the night sleeping on nails or something?”
Across the room there was a response to Josh's question, even though he had not been expecting one. “Actually, you were running from a timberwolf and swung across a crevasse only to land back-first in a bush of poisonous briers, but who's keeping track, and no, you are in the Ponyville hospital.” The voice had a smart aleck tone to it.
Josh wasn't sure who answered the question, but the voice sounded familiar to him. If he was in better condition he would have just sat up and looked to see who the voice belonged to. All he could do at the time was respond verbally. “Who said that?”
Whoever it was, they let out an amused huff. “Oh no pony, just the mare that led you out of the Everfree Forest and saved your life with her planning and navigating skills.” This time the voice sounded snarky with a hint of amusement.
Josh felt a bit relieved at his recognition of the voice, but began to tense at the same time. ‘I'm glad Andromeda is here with me, but that regrettingly confirms that I am still trapped in ponyland.’ After this thought passed through Josh’s head, his demeanor went from one of intensity to one of disappointment. This change in demeanor didn't go unnoticed.
“Listen Josh, you almost died from those thorns. If the Doctors didn't get them out of you before another one broke, then you wouldn't be here anymore. You are very lucky to be alive. There aren't many ponies that could survive what happened to you, so lighten up a little.” Andromeda was also a patent at the hospital, and knew what was going on with Josh. Normally the doctors keep confidential information confidential, but seeing as the only pony in relations with the human was Andromeda, they kept her informed about how Josh was holding up through the procedure he went through.
“I guess so, but I'm still here. Here as in ponyland.” Josh was still hesitant to become less miserable.
Andromeda wasn't sure how to respond to Josh’s comment, so she didn't say anything, at least until she looked out of the hospital window. “Have you looked out the window yet?” She was trying to cheer Josh up. He was still alive after all.
“No. I didn't even notice a window in the room until you mentioned it.” The window was in the direction Josh’s head was in, but out of his peripheral vision. He had to move his head to a down-looking position to be able to look out of the hospital window. When his eyes reached their intended mark, a warm smile found itself on Josh’s lips. Through the window Josh could see beautiful little white flakes trickling down from the dark sky. Every so often a breeze would blow by and push the little flakes in a different direction. ‘At least the weather is normal in this place.’
Andromeda had noticed Josh’s body appearing to loosen up and hold less tension after he spotted and peered through the window she had previously mentioned, so she decided to make some conversation. “The weather ponies sure did a nice job on the snow. Don't you think? Those clouds out there appear as if they are in perfect relation with one another.”
“Yeah…” Josh began to trail off until he caught a peculiar point in Andromeda’s statement. “Wait, what do you mean by weather ponies?”
“I was referring to the pegasusi that move the clouds around and produce the weather, but now that you mention it, I guess I should have explained that earlier.” Andromeda shrugged as she started her next sentence. “Oh well, better late than never. There is a weather team in every town and city that control the weather. They produce all the rain, snow, storms, and anything else relating to the weather.” Andromeda informatively answered.
Josh could only close his eyes and shake his head weakly. “How could I have not seen that coming.”
Before any more conversation could be held between the two, the door to their room slowly opened. The noise the door made was like hearing an old rusty gate open to a farmhouse. The hinges direly needed lubricant.
“Good morning Mr. Josh and Ms. Andromeda. I hope you to are holding up well.” Josh presumed it was one of the hospital’s doctors. His voice was friendly, but also sounded tired. He was probably working overtime. “I am here to check up on you two and make sure everything is going right with your bodies.”
Josh decided to go ahead and answer the doctor because he was a little concerned about how he felt. “I'm feeling really drowsy. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Also, my back feels numb.” Josh tried to point to his back, but he was so weak he couldn't move his arm behind him and point.
The doctor thought for a minuet and observed Josh before answering. “You feeling drowsy is very normal, considering the operators cast a sleep spell on you while removing all of those Acri venume thorns out of your back. Your back feels numb because we put numbing medicine on it so that it wouldn't hurt when you woke up, and it appears that it worked, which is also a good sign. I do, however, need to take a look at your back before moving on to examine Ms. Andromeda.” The doctor waited a response from Josh before continuing.
“Go right ahead dock.” On that que, the doctor walked over to Josh and untied the back of the patents gown he was wearing.
Josh couldn't feel his back very well, but he could tell that fabric was moving apart on his back. The cool air of the room brushed over his exposed skin giving him a good idea of how cold it was in the room. There was no air condition.
“Wait, don't rip my shirt just to look at my back.” His reaction was one of confusion and slight annoyance.
The doctor let out a light chuckle. “I'm not ripping your shirt, I'm just untieing your medical gown so I can take a look at your back.” The doctor let out a light chuckle at Josh’s reaction.
Andromeda spoke up after the doctor finished his sentence.”That gown looks rather peculiar on you since it was made for a pony to wear. It's quite comical really.” Andromeda let out a handful of giggles at her revelation.
Josh only let out a sigh in response to Andromeda’s rude comment. ‘I hope I'm out of this hospital soon. I would much rather be outside enjoying the snow instead of being made fun of by a bat pony. A rude one at that.’
The doctor took a few more minutes examining Josh’s back with his hooves and magic before he spoke up again. “After thoroughly examining your back, I have come to the conclusion that you will most likely fully recover with no permanent damage other than some minor scarring where the thorns were lodged in you.”
Josh let out a held breath of air. “That's a relief. I was getting worried that I might have been permanently damaged. That's pretty cool I will be getting a few scars to show what happened to me though. I can't wait to show it off to someone.” The Doctor couldn't see, but Josh had a goofy grin on his face.
The doctor and Andromeda looked at each other, both with faces expressing concern. They both wondered if that medicine had anything to do with Josh’s behavior. But, he was a human after all.
Josh noticed the silence in the room so he decided to speak up and break it. Silence was quite concerning to Josh when there were others around. To Josh, it just wasn't right for a room with others to be silent. “I know you two may think I'm weird, but scars are great conversation starters. I love to tell stories using my scars, for example; A while back when I was a Scout, I had my knife out because I was about to start whittling with it. I was idly standing behind my tent and one of my friends that was standing in front of me started walking towards me to tell me something, but I wanted to be safe since I had my knife out, so I started to back up. Little did I know there was a tree stump behind me and I tripped. I swung my arm to try and balance myself out, but ended up slashing my leg with my knife instead. Ironic right? Sadly though, I ruined my favorite pair of shorts that day.” Josh slowly shook his head. “What a shame, oh well, not like they could fit anymore.” Josh shrugged at the loss of his favorite shorts before continuing. “I can show you the scar if I can manage to turn over.” Josh attempted to roll over, but his dreary body held him in place like an anchor. “Well, so much for that. I'll show you guys another time.” He was a little disappointed he couldn't show off his favorite scar, but he'd be sure to show it off later.
The doctor had to shake his head to break the trance which was placed on him by Josh’s little story. “Anyways, I need to also check up on Ms. Andromeda. I'll be back to check up on you later Mr. Josh, and be sure to keep yourself together until I come back.” The doctor couldn't think of anything else to say because of Josh’s little story. He even had to shake his head a few times in an attempt to get back on track.
Josh lost track of what the Doctor was saying after he had walked over to check up on Andromeda and her wing. His senses were clouding his thoughts, so he tuned out the world around him to enter one of his own, which was his mind. ‘What was I doing before I wanted to whittle on that day again? Humm- oh yeah! I wanted to charge my camera, so I placed my solar panel on my tent so that I could charge it. I remember doing that right before accidentally cutting my leg. Come to think of it, I brought that same solar panel with me on this camping trip to charge my phone. That also raises a few other questions, like where is my phone? I presume it is still in the pocket of my pants, but where are my pants? Oh how I hope my pants weren't washed with my phone in them, but it's got that waterproof case on it, so it doesn't really matter. I guess I'll just ask the doctor when he is done examining Andromeda’s wing. For now I'll just get my solar panel out of my trusty backpack I brought with me.” Josh looked at the cold and colorless floor of the hospital where he imagined his backpack should be. “Oh- wait. No, that can't be right. How could I have left it behind?!’ Josh was remembering the events which led him to the hospital he was currently in. ‘How could I have not yanked up my backpack while starting to run from that Timberwolf? To be fair though, I was probably more worried about a wolf made of wood trying to bite my face off than worry about making sure I had all of my things ready to go, but I need that backpack, it also has all my other stuff in it like my books. I need to think this over.’ Josh put his hand on his chin in his mind since he couldn't do it in reality.
After a few minutes of more mental debating, Josh had made a decision, and without realizing it, he stated that decision verbally. “I'm going back.” Josh hadn't taken notice, but the doctor had already left the room.
“What do you mean, back?” Andromeda wasn't sure what crazy nonsense Josh was ready to spit out.
“Back to the Everfree forest to get my stuff, duh. I was forced to leave all of my valuable gear in the Forest when you came back to camp with a big old wooden wolf after ya.” Josh wasn't completely sure what he was feeling inside of himself, but he was sure about one thing, he was going back into the Everfree Forest to retrieve the items previously left behind.
Andromeda couldn't put a hoof on what was up with Josh, but she was certain he was being rash. ‘That unicorn sleep spell or that numbing medicine must be affecting Josh’s judgement, because he’s acting pretty out of it right now.’ Andromeda decided to share some of her thoughts about Josh’s plan. “That's not a good idea Josh, I mean look at yourself, no offense, but neither of us are in any condition to go back into that forest at the moment. You'll have to wait until I can fly again, and that's if I will go with you.” Andromeda was hoping she could help steer Josh back to reality with reason. She was more so scared for Josh than herself. She had previous experience in the forest but Josh- not so much.
“No can do, I've got some very precious items in that bag I left behind. Items that can be broken by nature and the wild things that inhabit said nature. They can also be stolen. We were in a clearing, and I'm pretty sure that anything flying overhead would be able to see the grey backpack and orange tent set up in a clearing with no trees over either of the items. I need to get my stuff as soon as possible.” Josh had his sights set on a goal, and once that happened there was no going back.
“You can't even turn around and look at me, I mean seriously, how do you expect to take a journey through the forest we almost died in. The forest also has monsters and numerous other dangers, so there is almost a guarantee you will stumble into trouble sooner or later…”
“And since when are you the voice of reason?” Josh was not convinced to retract his plan.
“Since this crazy human I met wants to run back into the Everfree forest while wounded to get his stuff. This human also almost died the last time he went into the Everfree.” Andromeda was giving Josh a concerned expression even though he couldn't look at her.
“Yeah, but I didn't die or get permanently hurt.” Josh wasn't about to back down, he did of course, have a few treasured items in the backpack he left behind.
“Whatever, it's your life to lose, not mine.” Andromeda didn't want to deal with this stubborn and ungrateful human anymore. She had already saved his life from the dangers of the Everfree, but he wanted to return to where he was previously trying so desperately to escape.
“Listen Andromeda, I really need to go back into the Everfree and retrieve my backpack, even if the trip may be life threatening. I need you to go too, because if you don't, then I'm going to get lost. Then I'll really be in trouble. So what do you say?” Josh had his best puppy face on, but Andromeda couldn't see it, so it was pointless. It was like a gun pointed in the opposite direction of the bad guy.
Andromeda let a heavy sigh escape when she closed her eyes to think the offer over. ‘Why am I even considering going back with Josh just to get his stupid stuff? Actually, now that I think about it, this could be a multipurpose trip. I still need to collect poison from a manticore and obtain a few cockatrice scales to sell to that curio store in Canterlot. There is also that other thing on my list. It won't be easy, but with the help of Josh...’ Andromeda approached a conclusion. “Alright Josh, I'll help you, as long as you help me with a few tasks I need completing while in the forest. But before we go, I need a few days for my wing to heal and for you to recover, because we need to be on our A game before venturing back into the Everfree. I also need to purchase a few items for the trip. What do you say Josh?” Andromeda had been beat, and her expression showed it.
“I say that's fair enough. I'd shake hands with you to seal the deal, but I can't get up, and you don't have hands.”