Slowly, feeling returned to me. It was exceptionally gradual, as though my mind were wading through the bogs in Blackmarsh dragging my body behind itself. It took what felt like several minutes for me to register that I was laying on my side, and several more to register that it was my right side. Never before now have I ever experienced this to this degree. The only thing that came close was when I was shot in the chest with an arrow laced in paralytic poison. I made the mistake of getting up sharply then. Recalling that part of my past made me appreciate now that I was taking my time in coming to my senses.
More time passed and the air around me was sweet, crisp, and clean. Wherever I was, no one had found me yet. Though I can't be on the Throat of the World anymore. Far too warm. Temperate even. Was I somehow back in Cyrodill? It's been years. Decades even. I finally recognized the feel of plush grass beneath myself. A light breeze wafted over myself, brushing my hair around my face. Weakly, I attempted to move my arm. I only succeeded in making it twitch. Damn it. I attempted to open my eyes, though when they cracked open the light was too harsh and forced them to close again. How long was I out? Through my glimpse at the sky, I thought I saw the light dimming. Twilight. A holy hour. Feels right to come to my senses now.
Although now I wish I hadn't.
Everything was stiff and ached. I barely had the energy to twitch or crack open an eye again, let alone get up and relive this body-wide ache. So with little other choice, I laid there on the plush grass, waiting to test my limbs again.
About the time just before the sun passed below the horizon -- I could feel the heat of day retreat to the cool of night -- I then heard soft wing beats. They sounded like a songbird's, though the size of a hawk. Despite my confusion, I couldn't muster the strength to look.
"Oh my!"
The soft effeminate voice took me a bit off guard. What could fly around on wings with such a soft-spoken voice?
"Sir? Sir! Can you hear me? Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" I attempted to speak, though all that I managed to squeeze out was a grunt. Even that hurt.
"Oh my, oh dear. Hang on! I can't carry you myself. Let me get a friend and we'll get you to a hospital!" Hospital? Judging by the word doctor, seems that shrines aren't the only place to get treatment for wounds or ailments here. The wing beats picked up and hurried away. I could only then lie in wait for the woman's friend to come back with her to aid me. This simply gave me time to acclimate to being back in the waking world. I attempted to open my eyes at least twenty times by the time she returned. There were two sets of wing beats this time, one slightly stronger than the other.
"Oh my goodness! Thank you for telling me, Fluttershy, now let's get him to Ponyville General." The new voice belonged to a more out-spoken woman, far more sure of herself. However I couldn't get the thought of Ponyville out of my mind. Who on Oblivion comes up with that as a name for a building or town? Perhaps town, though I can't be sure. If I could just open my eyes--.
Suddenly, an energy enveloped me. Every muscle tensed. Though it seemed I was anticipating something different as all that really happened was my body being lifted up and drifting into an unknown direction, most likely to the nearest doctor. The pace was equivalent to a brisk walk, perhaps to not agitate any potential wounds. The whole while, the soft-spoken woman, I presume is Fluttershy, was speaking calmly to me, though I could hear the light tones of worry in her words.
"Don't worry, we'll get you a doctor and then you'll be back on your hooves in no time!"
Hooves? Last I checked I had feet.
What happened to me?
A few twists and turns told me we must be inside a city limits by now. Must not be any gates at its entrance like Riverwood or Balmora. As we passed in the city, I heard hoof steps everywhere. Some stopped and concerned voices picked up, most likely at my limp form being magically held in the air. I stopped trying to open my eyes long ago, though the urge to try to look around picked up again. However, I was going to wait for when we stopped moving. When we did, I heard a set of double doors opening. Odd, there are hoof steps in here as well. I filed that information away for later as a conversation struck up between my rescuers and what was presumed to be a doctor.
"Nurse Redheart, we found this stallion passed out by the Everfree Forest! He doesn't look injured though he can't seem to get up!" Her voice was laced with concern. Not injured? I should at least have open points in my armor and clothes that indicate fresh wounds. Wheels squeaked into earshot and I was placed onto a large cot so I could remain on my side.
"Thank you, Princess, we'll take it from here."
Princess?! Well, at least a monarchy around here would actually do something for their denizens. Directly is something different. Where am I? Am I even on Nirn? My thoughts continued in the same direction as my cot was moved away on those same squeaky wheels by Nurse Redheart, away from the Princess and Fluttershy. Finally, my cot came to a rest when two new voices began taking readings of some sort that only they would know. After about fifteen minutes, I felt a Sleep Spell being cast upon me. At first I though of resisting, but then my body convinced me to accept the spell. I decided it would be a good idea to stop needlessly wracking my mind when I couldn't actually investigate. Within seconds, I was back asleep.
~(☼~
Images flashed through my mind's eye. Broken, choppy. There were images of meadows, bright forests, and the sounds of mirthful laughter. Towards then end, however, the tone shifted. Shadows grew, laughter replaced with cries of worry, fight, or woe. The most prominent image at the end was a shadow silhouette of a head with ram's horns. A cowbell rang and the horns lit with a shadowy magic, the eyes opening to reveal horizontally-slit amber eyes glaring.
~(☼~
My eyes snapped open. Wincing, I decided to slam them shut again. Why is it so bright in here? Did they ever put out the lights? How did they get them so bright? Ever so slowly, attempting to acclimate my eyesight to the brightness of the room, I finally got a glimpse of where I was.
The walls and floors were tiled in bright, mostly neutral colors, white being the most dominant color. The ceiling was one solid piece of some material painted white. An orb of light was set in the ceiling, brightening up everything to an ungodly brightness. Reminded me of Dwemer technology if the lights were set to blinding. I was on a large bed with rails on the sides by my torso to aid in sitting up or prevent one from falling off to a degree. A green curtain was open showing the rest of the room. More tile of the same, a bed similar to my own, made and unoccupied, and a door out closed. Everything seemed angled and crisp. I wasn't sure how any of this was made to be so sharp and clean. It felt off. I shifted and rolled to my back and attempted to sit upright with difficulty. As I did so, everything spun and bile attempted to rise into my throat. Forcing that down, I rubbed the back of my head and rubbed my eyes with the backs of my-.
Are those hooves?
Slowly, I moved the appendages away from my face to get a better look at them. They were definitely that of a equine creature's hooves and the fur and skin color retained my original skin tone of an ashen blue. What caught me slightly off guard was the lack of arms, armor, and clothes. Even my small clothes were missing. Though considering I was now a four-legged hoofed creature, I presumed clothes are not in the norm. Sighing, I attempted to make for the edge of my bed when my door opened and a pony with white fur and light pink mane trotted in from the door.
"Oh, good heavens, your awake!" I remained silent and waited. I noticed her mane was pulled back into a bun save for some bangs where as her tail hung free. Upon her head sat a paper hat with a red cross and small pink hearts in the inset corners. Closer examination revealed that she had a mark upon both sides of her flank reflecting the same. She made for the foot of the bed and using her forelock she lifted a board with a metal clip on it which held papers and what looked to be a chart. After examining the chart, she looked back up and met my eyes.
"Are you okay, sir? Your eyes look...." She waved her hoof around lightly as her face scrunched in concentration.
"They aren't bloodshot, I assure you," I replied, "They're just like that."
"Oh. Um, okay," She took out a quill from the holder at the foot of the bed and jotted down more notes. "Anyhow, are you feeling better? Stiffness? Headaches both mundane or magical? Exhaustion?" As she prepared to write this down I realized she was perched precariously on her hind legs, though her legs weren't shaking. Shaking my own head, considered how to reply.
"Mostly stiff, though I believe that has something to do with not moving for about a day or more." I wasn't sure how to bring up that I wasn't an equine prior to waking up.
"That makes sense," she stated as she jotted the notes down, "Now, I want you to be honest with me on this next one, as it will help determine what treatment we can do to improve your recovery," I shifted around in the bed. "Now, don't worry, you won't get in trouble, but we need to know how to best treat you so you can recover properly. How did you end up outside of town passed out like you were?" she inquired, her face falling to worry. Seeing that look on her face reminded me of when the head priestess of Kynareth in Whiterun would speak to the local children when they got themselves hurt trying to climb to the roofs of buildings for bird eggs.
Biting my lower lip, "Honestly, I don't know how I got here," the mare simply waited for any potential continuation. I backed a bit, though unable to actually move, "I just recall being on the top of the tallest mountain in Skyrim. I had just finished fighting a dragon that wished to end all mortal life as we know it." Pausing, wondering how or if I should continue, I looked at the mare that needed to make the proper medical notes. She wasn't moving. Her eyes seemed to be a bit far off, though she returned to her senses after a while with a shake of her own head.
"Uh, Skyrim? Where is that?"
My expression softened and my head lowered to look at my new hooves. Quietly, I responded, "It's-- it's in Tamriel."
"I'm sorry, I've never heard of Tamriel. Is it far?" My heart felt as though the ground had given out to a small pit. I mumbled out a small affirmation. Never heard of Tamriel? That continent held the largest empire and was going through the largest civil strife I've ever witnessed in my few centuries on this mortal plane. "It may as well be on another planet if you've never heard of it."
Her brow furrowed as she wrote another line or two on the papers. Concluding, she put the quill down and started to trot on three legs out the door when she turned and spoke again, "I'll be giving these to your doctor as he reviews this. If you need me, just holler," Just as she was about to leave again, "Oh! I never gave you my name! I'm sorry, I'm Nurse Redheart."
"Pleasure, I am Shade."
Her brow furrowed once again, "No surname?"
"Afraid not. Never knew it nor my family."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
I waved my hoof dismissively at the notion. I grew weary of explaining. She spoke a soft thanks for answering her questions before trotting out the door.
Once I was sure she had left, I decided I needed to do a self-examination. After seeing her, I had reason to believe that her and the doctor would be examining me as though I was originally of whatever race I currently am. Although, my examination would only be to see exactly what I had become. Twisting around a bit and examining what I could see without a mirror, I could tell that my ears, hooves, and now tail were all indeed equine and most likely pony in nature, due to my slightly stockier than normal build. My mane and tail were the same dark, ashen color as my hair was. My ears were slightly pointed -- or more so -- for a pony due to my being a dark elf prior to waking up. What intrigued me the most were two new additions, and a subtraction.
First: I had a horn on my head, indicating that I was a unicorn. A squat unicorn pony. Perhaps that was why she inquired about the magic-induced headaches.
Second: I had a mark on my flank as well, depicting they common holy symbol of Azura, Daedric Prince of Dawn and Dusk. I have no idea where it had come from, though it appeared to show itself in my fur and faintly on my skin upon closer examination. The dark gold colors contrasting on my ashen fur.
Lastly: My scars were all missing. I know I had multitude of scars littering my body, mostly on my torso, spreading out thinner and thinner as the scars got further and further from my chest. I traced where one heavy slash across my stomach would have scarred from the Throat of the World, and older to a point in the center of my chest where I was hit with a paralytic arrow and a slash across my neck at my attempted murder, despite me not able to see there. Another point I simply stopped half-way through tracing in a semi-circular motion. My hoof began shaking and I had to look away and take a few deep breaths. I don't need to relive that. Placing my hooves in front of me, I couldn't help but stare, though anything to take my mind away from that part of my past.
How would I be able to hold anything? Would it be more efficient way of walking around on all fours? Could I even still cast magic? Now that I'm an equine, would my diet have to change? My body should be able to handle it now. At that last thought my stomach tightened and growled. That's right, it's been a while since I've eaten anything. I should wait for Nurse Redheart to return. Perhaps I could get a meal.
Almost on queue, the door I was expecting someone to walk through was covered in a light cyan magicka and gently swung open of its own accord. A yellow-furred unicorn stallion with brunette mane and tail strode in. He wore a white collared coat and a long instrument that hung from his neck that had a metal disc on one end and forked on the other. Upon his muzzle were a pair of small round spectacles. The glow from his horn matched that of the door which then faded as it closed behind Nurse Redheart as she trailed behind him. The glow then enveloped the board in Redheart's hooves as she handed it over to him. Is that how magic is done here? Must be a unicorn to grasp magic? The stallion cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Hello, Mr. Shade, I am Doctor Horse, your physician," he only paused a moment when I arched a brow at his name, "and I just want to do a couple of tests and then we can get you out of here." What followed was some simple exams compromising of him both physically and magically manipulating my limbs. There was some tertiary soreness, though it was slowly being relieved due to the movement. Finally, the last test.
"Okay, Mr. Shade, go ahead and levitate this quill and you'll be good to get out of here." Doctor Horse held up a quill in his left hoof and the board still in his magical field. Here goes nothing.
Focusing like I would with the spell Telekinesis, I felt my magicka charge and naturally head for my horn. I attempted to will the focus and cast the spell. A weak aura of magicka, a dark gold, attempted to envelop the quill. However it faded, and my vision blurred for a couple of seconds. "Are you okay? Don't try to force it, just yet," Doctor Horse insisted and began lowering the quill.
"No, one more try. Might still be a bit out of it," and with a new idea, I tried to imagine as though I were simply moving an arm and picking it up with a hand.
This time around, the tactic brought fruition, though if shakily. The quill, now fully enveloped, shook lightly as I focused and lifted it up at least a finger's length before I decided I aught to shakily lower it back into Doctor's hoof. He then smirked and wrote a few more notes. "Alright then, I believe we are all set here. Follow Nurse Redheart to the counter and she'll help you get signed out," As he turned about I shadily, though firmly got to the floor on all four hooves. All the way I couldn't help but contemplate how I got here.
Perhaps this princess I've heard might know where I could start.