Consciousness slowly begins to return to you. It takes a great deal of effort to get your eyes open, but you start to regain your vision nonetheless. As your senses gradually return to you, you notice several things.
First and foremost, there is a great deal of stiffness to your body. While you aren't feeling the intense pain that you recall from the last time you were conscious, you definitely still feel as if moving would be a bad idea. As vision returns to you, you realize that you're looking up at a ceiling. Not a stone ceiling like last time, but a clean white ceiling with several lights embedded into it. There is a quiet hum coming from the lights, and the only other sound in the room is a rhythmic beeping sound coming from your right. While you're far from an expert, you're pretty sure that's the sound of one of those heart rate monitor things they have in hospitals.
That realization, along with your senses almost completely returning to you, allows you to finally realize that you are, in fact, in a hospital. Still not brave enough to move your body, you tilt your head to get a better view of the situation around you.
You're currently in a surprisingly comfortable hospital bed, though there are no sheets covering you. Chrysalis's crude vine wrappings have been removed, and in their place are clean, properly applied bandages. The intense pain that had been coming from your chest has mostly subsided. Well, there is pain, and quite a bit of it, but it no longer feels as though you're bleeding out. A few other bits and bobs are strapped to your body, but you don't know nearly enough about medical stuff to be able to identify any of it. Glancing at the rest of the room, you realize that it's fairly plain. You're pretty sure this isn't the ICU, which is probably a good sign. The patterns on the walls seem to be the same as when you visited Dash in the hospital some time back, so this is probably the Ponyville Hospital. Unlike most rooms in this hospital, there isn't a second bed in here. Despite that, you are not alone. Sitting in a chair next to the only window in the room is a stressed-looking Twilight, her nose buried in a book.
You try to say something to grab her attention, but only succeed in letting out several painful coughs. When you do, it causes the pain in your chest to flare up. The pain is bad, but very different from when you were in that cave with Chrysalis. Less... life-threatening, you suppose. Although you didn't get any words out, your coughing fit did succeed in drawing Twilight's attention.
"Anon! You're awake!" Twilight places her book down and hurries to your side, but not before pressing some sort of button on the wall. She looks at you with concern and anxiousness. "How do you feel?"
You give her a playful smile. When you speak, your words are quieter than you intended.
"Never better."
"If you're feeling good enough to joke around like that, you must be fine."
"What's going on? What time is it? What happened? Where's Chryssi?"
"Woah, slow down there. Let's cover one question at a time, shall we?"
"O-okay."
"First of all, if you can't tell, you've been admitted to the Ponyville Hospital. You've been unconscious for a couple of days, and the staff here were starting to get worried."
"A-am I going to be okay?"
"That's... hard to tell. They had to perform some emergency procedures on you. I, uh, hope you're okay that I gave them your consent on your behalf. You weren't really in a position to provide it yourself."
"No no, that's fine, I trust your judgement. But, er, what kind of procedures? And what do you mean it's 'hard to tell?'"
"If it wasn't obvious, they had to patch up the gaping hole in your chest. You're insanely lucky it didn't pierce something vital. The harder part was the blood transfusion. Apparently you had mere minutes of life left when you got here. As for your second question, it's hard to tell because you're the only human in Equestria. It's a good thing you allowed yourself to undergo some basic examinations when you arrived in Equestria a few years ago, because otherwise the doctors here would have had literally nothing to go off of. Even still, they're pony doctors, not human ones. So, while they're pretty sure you're going to be okay, they can't be positive. They did their best to just treat you like a really tall pony and went from there. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had enough time to save you."
"If I don't get the chance, let them know they have my thanks. I can't imagine being a doctor and seeing an alien get carted in."
"The fact that you woke up is a really good sign. I paged the front desk to let them know you're awake, so a nurse will probably be coming in to check on you soon."
"I guess that's good. While I have you, can you tell me what happened after I passed out? Last I checked, Chryssi and I were in a cave somewhere. I asked her to trust you and to bring me here, but I lost consciousness before she could actually do anything. Can I assume that's what happened?"
"Well... not exactly."
"Hm?"
Twilight looks at you with guilt before closing her eyes and letting out a sigh.
"A lot happened in a short span of time."
Ocellus stares at Chrysalis, confusion and anger both visible in her eyes. After a moment of saying nothing, she takes a few steps backwards out of the cave. She bends her knees and concentrates for a moment. As she does, a slight glow begins to emanate from her horn. After a couple of seconds, she whips her head backwards. At the same time, a beam of magic shoots from her horn into the night sky. After the magic is launched into the air, she looks back down at Chrysalis, panting as though the spell she just cast took a lot out of her.
"What was that?"
"A signal. Half of Ponyville is in the forest right now looking for the two of you. I know I'm not strong enough to take you down by myself, but they are."
"Take me-? Look, I don't care what you do to me! I'll turn myself in if it means getting Anon to a hospital!"
"Then why did you bring him all the way out here in the first place?!"
"I... that's..."
Chrysalis's stuttering is interrupted when Rainbow Dash and a few of her Wonderbolt compatriots suddenly appear in the mouth of the cave.
"Ocellus! What's going on?!"
"They're both in here! I don't know what she's planning, but Mr. Anon doesn't look good!"
Rainbow Dash turns to Chrysalis, fury obvious on her face.
"This time, I'm not gonna let you get away!"
Rainbow Dash flies directly at Chrysalis, swinging one of her back legs as she does so. At first, Chrysalis flinches instinctively, but in that brief second before Dash makes contact, she stops herself. As such, Dash swings her leg into Chrysalis, slamming into her and sending her flying several feet back into the wall behind her. She narrowly avoids hitting her head, but her back takes a heavy blow. She slumps to the ground, still perfectly conscious and not injured all that badly. She stares at Rainbow Dash, but says nothing.
"What, not gonna fight back?!"
"...No."
"That's right, you're... wait, what?"
"Anon doesn't have much longer. Stop wasting your time on me and help him!"
"Wait, but-"
"HE SAID YOU'D HELP HIM! HE SAID HE TRUSTED YOU!"
"..."
Rainbow Dash ponders for a second before letting out a grunt and facing her two fellow Wonderbolts.
"Carry him to the hospital! Be gentle, but go as fast as you can otherwise!"
The two mares nod and help Dash pick up your limp body. They do their best to support your weight as they fly off with you into the night sky. Just as they do so, Twilight and Applejack appear at the mouth of the cave alongside Ocellus. Ocellus turns to look at them, the anger on her face having been replaced with sheer confusion.
"Ocellus! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but..."
She turns to look into the cave, where Chrysalis is still seated on the floor. Her nose is a bit bloody, and she lifts a hoof to wipe at it, but makes no other movements as she silently glares at the trio. Twilight looks at Chrysalis, her face quickly going from angry to concerned as she takes note of the strangely familiar light changeling.
"Chrysalis? Why do you look like that?"
"None of your business." Chrysalis glares at Twilight, her eyes glowing slightly in the darkness. "Are you going to be able to help him or not?"
"I... I couldn't say. The doctors are going to have to take a look at him."
Chrysalis slowly rises from the ground, her voice becoming slightly more aggressive.
"So you don't know?!"
"I know that regardless of whatever may come to pass, he's in good hooves."
"..." Chrysalis looks a bit to the side for just a moment before locking eyes with Twilight once more. "If it means getting him the help he needs, you can do whatever you want with me. But let me make this clear, Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis takes a few steps forward, puffing out her chest and flaring her glittering wings in an attempt to look intimidating. While her light changeling form isn't nearly as imposing as her dark changeling one, it still gets the job done as Twilight takes a fearful step back. "If I learn that Anon's trust was misplaced and you CAN'T help him, I will burn Equestria to the ground. Am I clear about that?"
Twilight struggles to respond as she takes a few more steps away from Chrysalis, causing Applejack to speak up for her.
"And what makes ya think we wouldn't stop ya again?"
"If I don't have to worry about ruling over the land once I've conquered it, then I have no obligation to hold back on anything." Applejack doesn't back down, but she also doesn't respond. "Besides, I wasn't the one who shot him."
Twilight finally responds, but her voice is shaky and quiet.
"I... I didn't mean to..."
Chrysalis looks down at her, finally lowering herself a bit more and dropping the "intimidating" presence she was going for.
"...Even after you put a hole in his chest, he told me he trusts you."
"Huh?"
"Don't let his trust be misplaced."
"..."
Chrysalis takes a couple of steps around Twilight towards Applejack and Ocellus. Neither cower away from her. In fact, Ocellus makes an attempt to spread out her wings and puff up her chest much like Chrysalis just did to Twilight.
"Stop right there! I thought you said you'd turn yourself in!"
"I'm not going anywhere, runt." Chrysalis and Ocellus lock eyes for a few seconds, both glaring at the other with a silent fury. To Ocellus's surprise, Chrysalis looks away first. Her features soften, and she takes a moment to contemplate quietly before speaking up again. "...T-thank you for the medicine."
"What?"
"And..." Chrysalis takes a very deep breath. "I'm sorry. For everything."
"You... are?"
"Don't expect me to say it again."
"Well... I mean, I'm happy to hear that, but what made you change your mind?"
"What, indeed..."
"After that, we met up with a few members of the Royal Guard, who escorted all four of us back to Ponyville."
At this point, a nurse enters the room and asks you a few questions regarding your state. She runs a couple of tests, and a few minutes later she leaves you and Twilight alone once more.
"Wait, so where is she?"
"Once we were safely back in town, I tried to explain what had happened to the Royal Guards. I had every intention of turning myself in as the one who hurt you."
"What?! N-no, that was an accident! I don't want anyone to get in trouble over me!"
"That's... not exactly in the cards anymore, Anon."
"Why not?"
"The public already hated the fact that you were housing Chrysalis. After she ran off with your injured body, everypony just assumed she was responsible. About half of the town joined in on the manhunt. To be honest, she's lucky that it was Ocellus that found her. A-anyway, after all of that, the public is going to demand justice, and they're practically foaming at the mouth to get rid of Chrysalis."
"But like you said, you're the one that shot me."
"Right, but... once I tried to tell the guards what happened, Chrysalis interrupted me. She claimed that it was all her. She instigated the fight, she shot you, and she ran off with you, only turning herself in when she 'realized she couldn't win.' I tried to explain that she was lying, but the guards ate her story up and immediately put her in some anti-magic cuffs. She's currently being held at the detention center."
"B-but why would she say that?! That's not true at all!"
"I know that. So do Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Ocellus, but the general public doesn't."
"..."
You can't think of a response. It's a lot to process at once. You can understand why she would turn herself in for running off with you, but why would she admit to things that she didn't do? What's going to happen to her?
The silence is broken by Twilight letting out a nervous sigh.
"This might sound crazy, but... if I had to guess, I would say that she was trying to protect me."
"Protect you?"
"Why else would she say she was the one who shot you? I know she hates me. But I can't think of any other motive behind her actions."
"...That would be because of me, I think."
"What?"
"She knows how close we are. She knows how much I care about all of you. I think... I think she's a bit jealous of that."
"Jealous?"
"She knows how much I trust you all. I mean, I asked her myself to hand me over to you guys so that you could take me to the hospital. She probably doesn't want to upset me by letting you get in trouble for something that she blames herself for."
"I... hmm." Twilight looks away from you, unable to look you in the eyes as she continues the conversation. "By the by, I haven't gotten a chance to apologize. I-I'm so, so sorry, Anon. I don't know what came over me, but there is no excuse for what I did to you!"
"Sure there is. You're just like Ocellus."
"Huh?"
"You're traumatized, Twilight. Chrysalis has done a lot of awful things to you. She tried to brainwash your brother and hijack his wedding. She tried to make you her servant and betray your friends. She kidnapped you in your sleep and tried to replace you. Heck, it wasn't that long ago that she used Grogar's magic to destroy half of Canterlot. I would be more surprised if you didn't act the way you did when you started hearing those rumors. The fact that you assumed she was going to do something to you after she egged you on isn't exactly a surprising response considering what she's put you through."
"That doesn't justify my actions."
"I forgive you, Twilight."
Twilight finally looks back at you, shock and pain evident on her face.
"What?"
"I said I forgive you. Now all you have to do is forgive yourself."
"I... Anon, it's not that easy."
You give her a goofy smile.
"Why not? I'm alive, aren't I? I don't blame you for what happened, so it's just water under the bridge!"
Twilight is quiet for a moment before she begins to chuckle.
"Anon, I swear, you have the heart of a saint. Fluttershy really rubbed off on you, didn't she?"
"You all did, Twi." You both chuckle. It hurts your chest a little bit when you do that. "Now, then. We have some serious business to take care of."
"W-we do? What is that?"
"We have to save Chryssi, duh."
"..." Twilight is silent for a moment before she nods and looks at you with determination. "I agree. I could easily grant her a pardon, especially with your support, but unless we can do something about her public image, it's going to be really hard to get you two back to your lives."
"Would you believe me if I said I already have a plan for that?"
"I would, but I would have several questions."
"And I have several answers. For now, please make sure Chrysalis is let go. She has a key to my house, she'll be safe there. After that, tell Pinkie Pie that we're changing our plan a little bit, and that she needs to come see me. Also, come with her when she does."
"I have so many questions, but alright, if you say so."
"Thanks Twi, you're the best!"
Twilight gives you a quick, careful hug before trotting out of your room, leaving you alone once more. To be honest, you have no idea if this plan is going to work, but you do know one thing.
You promised Chrysalis you wouldn't let anypony hurt her, and so long as you're still alive and conscious, you intend to keep that promise.