Clara trotted in the room. She had carted in the same box that she used the last time you met her. An unsettling feeling drenched your body as she stood close to you. The look in her eyes showed neither care nor pity, there was only malice.
“I see you’re awake.” Clara noted of your rapidly blinking eyes. “Don’t worry, it won’t be for long.” She then removed a rather long syringe from her box. “You’ll feel a slight pinch.”
The substance within the syringe was crystal clear. Just as she stuck the needle in you, the loud clatter of hooves started to break the eerie silence. Clara’s face looked rather strained instead of its usual calm collected self.
“Come on, not now.” She hissed.
As the liquid flowed into your body, a cold shiver ran down your spine. Half of the contents of the syringe were in you before Red come barging into the room. Her eyes snapped to the syringe and Clara rapidly.
“What are you doing to him?” Red snatched the syringe of you and threateningly pointed it at Clara.
“Better not worry about what I’m doing to him. It’s how long it will take for the potassium cyanide to finish him off.” Clara replied. “I can’t believe Ace got away with taking Anesthesia. No matter though, I at least got one of you two."
“Ace took what?” Red yelled shrilly, waking up the pony in question and Vinyl.
Clara tried to escape from the room, only to be tackled down by Vinyl. Red turned her attention to you and the look in her eye’s told you that things were pretty bad. Without a word, Red hurriedly rushes you out of the room and down the hallway. If Clara had really injected you with cyanide, there was a slim chance you will really walk away from death this time around. Vinyl had caught up to you and looked scared out of her mind.
“Is he going to be alright?” Vinyl’s voice cracked as she asked. Tears were starting to slide down her face and your heart cried out, wanting nothing more than to comfort her.
“He’s been poisoned, but if we get him the antidote quick he’ll be fine.” Red explained as she carted you down the hallway.
Once you passed a doorway, Vinyl was gestured to make no further progress. A large group of doctors came rushing at you, carrying needles and tubes. While they worked on you, every little sound was blocked out. Only the steady beat of your heart was audible for you. Didn’t you just go through enough already? The pain, stress, drama of everything really started to weigh you down. Sure, all the burdens that were on your shoulders for years had finally been lifted. It just sucked to know that you were going to be poisoned as soon as you pulled through.
“There, he should be okay!” Red declared.
Many sighs of relief echoed throughout the tense filled room. You could only smile to show your appreciation for them saving your life, again. Red took notice of the tube running down your throat and kindly removed it. Breathing was an automatic thing, but you really started to appreciate it once you performed it under your own will.
“I still won’t be getting up anytime soon.” You ask after looking at how many wires had been attached on your body.
“Sadly, yes. You’ll be staying here for little over four months to be exact.” Red regretfully informed.
“Don’t sound so sad, I went looking for this.”
“Yes, everypony just loves to have multiple near death experiences!” Red snapped shrilly.
“Do you mind if you took me back to my room? I bet the others are worried out of their minds.”
Red went into a wordless rage while she pushed you back to your room. Vinyl quickly returned by your side as you passed by the same door way from before. A surge if guilt ran through your body as you noticed how terrible Vinyl looked, tear stained cheeks and looking sleep deprived. Somehow, she seemed to be her usual spunky self when the looks of her screamed otherwise.
“Are you alright?”
“Why are you so worried about me? You just got poisoned!”
“I’ve been through worse.” You gesture to the scar on your chest.
“Look, maybe now isn’t the time to talk.” Vinyl shot a nervous glance at Red, who looked rather annoyed. As usual, you never really felt threatened by Red’s demeanor.
“With over four months to recover, I got lots of time to talk.” A rare chuckle escapes your lips while Vinyl stifles a giggle of her own.
4 months later…
“I still say this hospital food is literally sprinkled with poison.” Ace growled as he poked your breakfast, which you didn’t feel like eating after seeing it move.
“If it’s poison, you must really like it because you kept asking for seconds.” Red snapped back.
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who got poisoned with cyanide. We all know Proof here was the victim of that.” Ace replied grimly.
It took a few moments for the quarreling pair to notice how little you cared about what happened months ago. Your attention was more focused on Vinyl, who had been running her hoof over your mane. Words weren’t enough to express how peaceful you felt when Vinyl would arrive to visit you in visiting hours. She would be the first visitor and the last to leave your side.
Red had kept offering pain killers for you, but you always rejected them. It was far easier now to reject what used to be your makeshift crutch. A few months ago, even considering taking one less pill, let alone quit, was not possible. That is, this was before Vinyl’s presence graced your life and your desire to move on. Depending on pain killers was no longer an on demand thing anymore. Honestly, your newly found freedom felt very long overdue and might be the start of something new.
The new obsession of yours came in the form of an electric blue mane, white coat, epic DJ, spunky, and overall joyful mare named Vinyl Scratch. Her ruby red eyes were probably her finest feature though, how they grabbed your attention and never ceased to let go of it. There had been a fair amount of times when Vinyl would ask you what you were staring at while you got lost in her eyes. Your only response was “I get lost a lot. You just keep finding me though”. She would get slightly embarrassed and blushed a bit, for she knew how many times you seen her eyes before slipping into the darkness.
Your thoughts are interrupted by Vinyl’s soothing voice. “What do you want to do when we leave this joint?”
“Um,” You look around the room briefly to see if Red or Ace was still there. Ace noticed your gestures and he quickly shoved
Red from the room. Once Ace and Red were both outside, by the looks of it bickering to, you happily turned your attention to Vinyl, who had been patiently waiting. “Could we do something a little…private?”
Vinyl’s eyes opened wide and you figured she thought your idea was absurd. To your surprise, she ran her hoof down your chest. “I think.” Her lips were so close to yours, yet not enough for you to lean into. “That sounds like a great idea.” Vinyl whispered in your ear before nuzzling you on the neck.
After one last physical exam, one Red persisted you take, you were finally dismissed. Was it odd that the walls, which once made you feel claustrophobic, now felt really welcoming? Well, if you were to consider being trapped here for four months, this place better start feeling like home. Red kept reminding you how lucky you were that the unicorn doctors on duty were so determined to close up the wound on your lung when they first found you outside Erotica. You would never admit it to her, but you were ever grateful to their efforts to save your sorry flank.
Speaking of Erotica, the place was a wreck after the ambulance came and the cops came. Every last one of Frost’s thugs were cuffed or sent to this same hospital to be treated, soon as they left the cops cuffed them. Ace was the one who notified you of Frost’s fall from power. Gold was able to retain Erotica, but felt that running the place was too much trouble. So, he left the place for you and Ace to deal with. Being much too ill to leave the hospital, Ace was the one who dealt with Erotica for the four months.
There were many times when Ace was amazed on how Gold didn’t just blow the place up from growing tired of the stress that came with running Erotica. You figured Ace’s attitude was no place to run a business; he was too carefree to worry over anything. Once Vinyl found out about the change of ownership though, she immediately asked if it was possible for her to DJ at Erotica more often. That or move the operations to Ponyville, where Vinyl had been living in.
To be honest, at first you felt reluctant to move over to Ponyville. However, Vinyl had four months to make her case to you and Ace. After hearing how things out Ponyville were pretty friendly, you and Ace figured the move wouldn’t be so bad after all. Moving from Manehattan, the place you called home for a long time was a big deal. Luckily, Vinyl was willing to break you and Ace into the mold of Ponyville.
Seeing the daylight from the outside was a feeling you totally forgot about, being locked up in a hospital for so long did that to anypony. Ace trot by your side and he looked a little under the weather. Once of is his eyes looked swollen.
“What’s up Ace?” Vinyl asked, even she was concerned by Ace’s lack of enthusiasm.
“Well, I tried to hit on Red.” Ace muttered darkly, gesturing to his swollen eye now. “She didn’t take kindly to that.”
“Didn’t I tell you she was already dating?” You couldn’t help but feel pity on him for trying though.
“That might have slipped through my ears.” Ace replied, looking more upset by the minute.
“Cheer up Ace, there are plenty of other mares out there.” You try to comfort Ace by taking him in a one hoof hug and
gestured to the open sky.
“Yeah, if you’re really moving to Ponyville you’ll find plenty of us around.” Vinyl pointed out.
Ace nodded and it looked a good pep cheered him up. He even had a new spring in his step as he trotted down the road. If you could find love, there was no doubt Ace could find it. Vinyl leaned on you and kissed you on the cheek.
“Mind if we get going? I hate waiting.” Vinyl whispered in your ear.