As the blistering heat from the supernova enveloped me, an unnatural silence filled my ears. Everything was dark. I felt a vague sensation of falling, ending abruptly as if I had hit the ground. At first there was a dull throbbing in my head, but it soon spread throughout until my entire body throbbed like a slow heartbeat. A pins and needles sensation pierced my head, then made its way down to my arms and legs. Eventually the pins and needles ended, and were replaced by searing pain. Through the pain I could hear a muffled conversation between two exasperated voices.
"I did all I could Twilight. I'm a pony nurse, not a..."
I couldn't make everything out through the pain. Every throb blocked out my hearing. The pain continued to ebb and flow, making my thoughts disjointed. It felt like I had the worst migraine in the world.
"Thank you Red... anything you recommend?"
"I can't...anything, it's not a… I’ve already used my...reserve of burn healing. The magic will...delayed."
"Alright, what about..."
"I'll send a...help full time. I need to..."
"Until it wakes up, we can't....dangerous?"
"We don't..if it...understand us?"
A large groan escaped from my closed mouth. I attempted to move my arm, but something was holding it down and trying to break free was a lost cause as it erupted in pain. I winced, and a whimper escaped. I shuffled, with each movement causing my skin to prickle with a burning sensation.
"Twilight! I think he’s awake!" I heard a door open followed by...the clopping of hooves? The sound echoed through my head-brain like a fire-alarm. I fought the instinct to put my hands to my ears, knowing moving would only cause more problems.
"Oh you poor thing. You must be in so much pain! Don't move too much, you're covered in burns." A soft hushed voice that could melt even the coldest of hearts started talking. My mind swam in a dark abyss of pain so deep I could only utter a pitiful grunt in response.
"Fluttershy, we don't know if it can understand us, or if it even talks." Another voice spoke skeptically. Were they talking about me? I've never been referred to as an "It" before. I groaned again, in disapproval. I was still unable to build enough energy to talk.
"Would you stop calling him an "It"?" The soft voice reprimanded, though still sounding soothing enough to calm a dragon. "He clearly has boy parts." I would have to thank the soft voice later, at least someone was sticking up for me. I am most certainly a man.
"Alright." I could hear the eye roll.
"You've been through a lot, but we're here to help you. Can you open your eyes?" The soft voice questioned. The throbbing pain in my head made it difficult to focus, but with enough effort my eyes arduously fluttered open. At first the light burned my retinas. Everything was just a flash of white light. I groaned again as my eyes focused, two blobs of color slowly started to come in. There was a purple blob, and a yellow blob.
"If you can understand us, nod your head." The yellow blob said. I nodded my head slowly, each movement sending searing pain through my head. I winced again and groaned. I could hear what sounded like a pen to a paper coming from the purple blob. The scribbling did not seem to end.
"Don't strain yourself. We wanted to make sure you were awake before we gave you anything for the pain. Nurse Redheart says she doesn't know how your body will react to the medication so we need your permission. Nod your head if you want us to try and give you something for the pain."
Oh god please give me something for this pain! I can’t focus, my entire existence hurts! I nodded vigorously, despite the pain.
"Nurse Redheart, can you give him the pain meds before you go?" The yellow blob chirped sweetly.
A white blob pushed past the yellow and purple. "Alright, since you can consent, I'm going to administer you some pain medication. Open your mouth." This voice sounded like she had done this a thousand times before and was reciting from memory. I opened my mouth. Two pills were deposited on my tongue and I swallowed. It was then I realized I felt like I had eaten a bag of cotton balls. The white blob moved away.
"Alright, I'm going back to the hospital. I'll be sending one of our medical students to watch over him full time. Please give Celestia my regards." Again I heard hooves clopping away.
"That should help." The yellow blob was in full view again, but this time I could see pink and a splash of teal. My eyes sharpened and what I saw I couldn't really comprehend. At first I noticed the huge eyes. They were plate sized. In front of the eyes was a muzzle? I blinked several times. Nope, still there. The yellow blob slid completely into focus. There was fur, wings, and a butterfly tattoo. It was a horse. There was a talking horse floating above me. For now I decided to ignore that in favor of the screaming of my (apparently) burned body.
I inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. My mouth was still so dry. I opened my mouth and rasped "Water". The scribbling from the other side of the room intensified. I carefully looked over and saw a purple unicorn hard at work writing with a levitating quill. I also decided to ignore that.
"Oh yes, of course! I"ll get you some water right away." The flying horse left in a flash, creating a light breeze. It smelled like vanilla.
It was at this moment I could finally take in my surroundings. I was laying in a hospital bed. There was medical equipment all around me and I was covered in electrodes. There was a needle in my arm with an IV bag and I could hear a heart monitor beeping regularly. The flooring was wooden, and it didn't quite look like a hospital. It looked more like a laboratory than anything else.
As I continued my slow scan of the room, I could see the purple unicorn in the corner, furiously writing on a scroll of parchment. She was so focused that she didn't realize I was staring at her. She looked cartoonish and it reminded me of something, but I wasn't quite sure yet what that was. It was hard to think through all the throbbing pain.
"Alright, I have some water for you." The yellow flying horse wafted in. "I'm going to hold this for you okay." She held the glass with her hoof. I was definitely ignoring that for now. She held the glass near my mouth and tipped the glass. The water was refreshing, and It felt like the pain meds were starting to kick in because the throbbing was subsiding.
"Thank you." I croaked. A gasp came from the corner of the room and quick scribblings were made before they finally stopped. The purple unicorn walked over with those clopping hooves. She was beaming.
"You're welcome." The yellow horse said in a soothing voice. "You must be so confused. We found you by the Everfree Forest, almost burnt to a crisp! My name is Fluttershy." She brought her hoof to her chest. Then she pointed to the horned one, “and this is my friend Twilight.”
"I have so many questions to ask you! We weren't sure if you could understand us or even talk." She confessed. "But it looks like my worries were unfounded. A creature with manners is something I wasn't entirely anticipating." She stopped short of the bed, staring at the restraints. "You're not going to try and eat us, right?"
“Twilight!” Fluttershy reprimanded. “He doesn’t even have claws!” She turned to me. “I’m sorry about Twilight, but she is just being careful.” She smiled at me reassuringly.
I wonder what kind of monster they thought I was to think I would eat them!
"No, I’m not going to eat you. But I am hungry." My voice was starting to unrasp itself.
Fluttershy looked concerned. "You must be starving! I'll go get some...ummm" She trailed off. "Excuse me, but what umm... what do you eat?" She almost looked scared to ask.
"Anything, I’m not picky." I said slowly. Talking still used too much energy. Fluttershy looked perplexed for a moment, and then her face brightened with an idea.
"How about pancakes and apples? It’s never too late for brunch." She asked hesitantly. The look on her face was pure nervousness. I nodded and she smiled. “Oh good, then I’ll get you a plate fixed up real quick.” She floated out of the room with haste. Twilight moved closer with her quill and parchment. I felt like I was being looked over like a science experiment. Twilight's eyes lingered at my fingers before looking back at my face.
"Do you have a name?" She asked, quill ready. She looked at me expectantly, her eyes so full of curiosity and wonder. There was something that was...adorable about it...even though she had me in restraints...I felt strangely at ease….maybe it was the pain meds.
"Charlie." I said carefully. My voice sounded far away or like I was underwater. “Why does it sound like I’m underwater?”
"Well Charlie, It's nice to meet you.” I think she purposefully ignored my second question. “As Fluttershy has already told you, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry you are in restraints, but we weren't sure what kind of creature you are....” She hesitated. “What are you?" She looked back at my fingers nervously.
This was not the room I fell asleep in. I was talking to a unicorn that could make quills float. There was a flying one making me breakfast. I was covered in burns and most of my body was in bandages. My arms and legs were restrained. I think now would be a good time to roll with the punches.
"I'm a human." I stated matter-of-factly. "And I'm not going to hurt you."
"Of course, but if you do try anything I have some magical wards in place." She said as she unbuckled the restraints...without her hands. I rolled my wrists. My entire arms were covered in bandages up to the palms of my hands. The pain had nearly vanished, but there was a mental fog rolling in.
"Where are you from?" She inquired nervously as she watched my every move like a hawk.
"I'm from up-state New York." I said. Twilight looked at me with a blank stare.
"United states?" No reaction.
"America?" Nothing.
I sighed.
"Earth". That one got a reaction.
"I didn't know Earth was a place" She scribbled all of this on her parchment. “How did you get here?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I went to sleep in my bed, and I woke up here.”
She stared at me for a few seconds before jotting that down. After finishing, she set the parchment down and picked up a syringe. "Can I draw some more blood?" She sounded way too chipper for this. I nodded slowly. The syringe floated slowly towards me.
“How are you doing that?” I asked, my eyes following the syringe.
“It’s a simple levitation spell.” She said as if I should have already known that. While drawing my blood, Twilight continued. "So you can’t remember anything about how you got here?”
It was as if Twilight had pulled the lever on my roulette wheel of memories. No matches. "Honestly, I have no idea. I don't really remember too much. I know I went to bed last night..." I paused. Thinking any harder made my head feel fuzzy and gave me a slight throb. "Nope, I got nothing. I fell asleep in my bed last night, and I woke up here."
"Fascinating!" Twilight had taken the syringe and placed it in a machine that began whirring. Then she grabbed her quill and started writing again. "Instantaneous inter-dimensional teleportation. Who or whatever brought you here must be a very powerful wizard!"
"There is just one problem." I mused tiredly, "Magic doesn't exist where I'm from. This isn't something that happens...ever. I'm not even entirely sure you're real; I could still be dreaming." I looked at Twilight skeptically. “Can I...touch your horn?” She just ignored me and giggled.
"So you're a non-magical creature that came here under magical means… hmmm" She paused to think before continuing "I am very real. I would prefer if you didn’t touch my horn. Unicorn horns are a… sensitive area….” She trailed off and then continued. “ And your lack of magic doesn't surprise me. Your magic aura is faint, but it's still there. You've got some accumulating in your head.”
Magic in my head?
I rubbed my head. “Ouch, my head hurts if I touch it. Doesn’t feel very magical.” My curiosity was finally beginning to surface. I think it’s about time I open this can of worms. "You know, I've got some questions of my own." I said plainly. Twilight looked at me and smiled.
“I can answer some of your questions." Twilight offered.
"Yes. What are you?" My head bobbled. The pain meds were starting to make me feel sloppy, but it was a good sloppy. Twilight giggled again.
"I'm a unicorn..." She stopped. "Actually, I'm an alicorn." She unfurled her wings and flapped. "Still getting used to these." My eyes widened. I didn't even notice she had wings. "I'm the Princess of Friendship!" I looked at her with a blank expression.
That’s it, I've completely lost it!
"And Fluttershy? Is she an alicorn princess of friendship too?" I asked without any reservation. I noticed my vision was beginning to wobble....
Everything is fine.
Twilight giggled again. "No silly, she's a Pegasus. She doesn't have a horn. She takes care of animals.” I nodded as if all this was just common sense.
"Of course..." I stated. "And where am I? Something tells me I'm not on Earth anymore." Twilight looked pensive for a moment.
"You're in the town of Ponyville in the land of Equestria." She said matter-of-factly.
"Oh...I see." I nodded slowly. "I'm ssorry, but where I'm from horsses don't talk. They don't have wingss or hornss. They can't do magic and they certainly don't come in passtel colorss." I pointed out as if trying to find a flaw in her logic. I also for whatever reason started hissing like a snake.
"We're ponies." She corrected, still smiling. Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." Twilight called.
The door opened and a light grey mare entered the room. She had a horn and a tattoo of a band-aid on her flank. Her mane was a powder blue with a pink highlight. She was wearing a lab coat with a stethoscope around her neck. She stopped in the doorway with her jaw open as she stared at me.
"Oh, the subject is awake." She said in a melodious sing-song to Twilight.
"Yes, his name is Charlie. He has already been given pain medications." Twilight walked over and leaned in to whisper something.
"I think the dosage was too high." Twilight looked sheepish.
"Alright then." The grey mare looked at me. "My name is Triage and I'll be looking after your healthcare needs." Triage then looked to Twilight. "Can I see your notes so far so I know what's going on. I'm not familiar with..." She trailed off, waving her hoof at me.
"Humans." Twilight finished. "And here are my notes so far." Twilight floated the notes towards Triage. She looked them over.
Fluttershy came back with a stack of pancakes with syrup and sliced apples. My stomach growled. I couldn't remember the last time I had some home-cooked food. Fluttershy set the plate down on a tray in front of me and smiled.
"I hope you like it." She looked at me nervously.I looked up at Fluttershy and smiled back.
"It's great, thank you." I must have been hungry, but I was moving at a snail’s pace. My burns were tender and I could still feel pain if I moved too fast. They were fluffier than I remembered. After I finished, Fluttershy took my plate away, smiling again.
“Are you still hungry?” She asked.
“No. Thank you” I responded. Fluttershy nodded and then left with the empty plate.
"Okay Charlie" Triage looked up at me and smiled. “It's time to do a physical assessment. Nurse Redheart tells me that you have severe burns on a majority of your body. How is your pain right now?" She asked as she walked beside me.
"What pain?" I said as I lifted my arms slowly, checking under them. "I don't ssee any." I said.
I heard a giggle from Twilight. Triage just looked at me with a neutral expression, then she smiled.
"It appears the pain medications are working. I would recommend a smaller dose. We'll have to lower the dosage until we can reduce the...side effects." She then took out an ophthalmoscope and held it to my eyes, muttering to herself "Pupil constriction appears normal considering pain medication. Eyes are small, but otherwise look healthy." Triage stepped away and pulled out an otoscope. She then looked in my ears. It tickled and had to hold in some laughter. "Again, small, but I'm not seeing anything concerning." Triage put her tools away and took out a tongue depressor. This was old hat for me and I opened my mouth. She put it on my tongue and said "Say ahhhh" I did as she asked. "Hmm, nothing I can see here that would be a concern." She turned to Twilight. "I'm going to do a body scan for internal injuries. Would you like the results for your...er... research?"
"Yes!" Twilight beamed. "I'm more than a little curious about his internal anatomy. I've already taken a blood sample for testing. It should be done in the centrifuge soon and we can take a look at the results." Triage looked at Twilight. "You're really having fun with this aren't you?" Twilight smiled sheepishly.
Fluttershy flew into the room soundlessly and perched on one of the chairs by the door. I glanced at her for a second. The way she sat made me think of a cat...and it was cute. She blushed as she hid behind her hair with a smile.
"Alright Charlie. I'm going to do a full body scan. This may tickle, but it's harmless." I nodded. Triage stepped back, and for the first time I noticed that her horn lit up and I could hear a slight jingle. I didn't have time to process that though because a tickling sensation started at my toes and worked its way up my body. So much better than the stabbing pain from before!
"Done." She said as the last tickling sensation reached the top of my head. Triage turned around and produced a plastic like parchment. She then used her horn to make an image appear on the large scroll. It looked like an x-ray. Triage and Twilight laid it across one of the tables and they looked over it.
"Fascinating!" Twilight gushed. A "hmm" escaped Triage as she looked over the x-ray.
"There is a build up of keratin seemingly inconsistent with his cranial physiology." Triage turned around, examining me. "On his forehead. Look at this Twilight." Triage pointed to the center of my forehead. "Charlie, I'm going to feel around your forehead." Triage took her hoof and started poking my forehead. With every poke, a bubble of pain burst through my head.
"Ouch. That hurtss!" I exclaimed groggily.
"Interesting. Even with the pain medication, it's sensitive to touch." She continued to poke it. "Charlie, it appears you have a lesion on your forehead of unknown origin.” Triage turned to Twilight. “It's red, swollen, and sensitive to touch." I looked at her with wide eyes.
"What doess that mean?" I asked worriedly. I brought my hand to my forehead. Indeed there was a large bump right in the center of my forehead, and it was painful to the touch. Triage looked at me for a moment.
"I'm afraid I don't know anything about humans, but I’m assuming that this is not normal.” She started thinking to herself. “It’s almost as if…” She shook her head. “We will just have to keep an eye on it." She said with a neutral expression. A buzzing sound filled the room and Twilight perked up.
"Triage, the blood is ready for examination!" Twilight exclaimed. She took the blood out of the machine, and placed it under what looked like a microscope. Silence filled the room as Twilight inspected my blood sample. "Hmm. That's interesting. Triage, would you like to take a look at this?” Triage looked through the lens.
“I'm seeing two different variations of thrombocytes." Triage exclaimed. "Interesting. I'm also seeing two different variations of erythrocytes.” Twilight, are you sure the blood sample hasn’t been contaminated?” Twilight shook her head.
“Straight from the syringe.” Twilight said as she took the slide from out of the microscope. "I’m going to transfer the sample for DNA analysis." She took a pipette and put the sample in another machine. The machine whirred and sputtered, spitting out parchment.
Twilight and Triage both looked at the parchment for a moment, and then both their jaws dropped. They looked at me, my forehead, and then back to the parchment.
"Iss everything alright?" I asked hesitantly, not knowing if I wanted an answer.
"Charlie" Triage spoke carefully, sounding like she didn't believe what she was saying. "You have human/pony chimerism." I just stared at her blankly.
"I don't know what that meanss." I said flatly.
"It means you have pony DNA." Twilight elaborated incredulously with a look of shock.
Just then my head felt like it was splitting open.