The light hurt his eyes. He was being carried down a long corridor with many lights, ponies scurrying around him. He caught a glimpse of Purple Haze, she looked scared. His eyes fell shut again, why did he feel so weak? Someone was shouting something but he couldn't place it together. His mind constantly shifted between sleep and consciousness.
Whenever he was awake he could hear voices talking, the little bits he could catch he couldn't understand. Infection, broken spear tip, blood poisoning... his tired mind couldn't make sense of the words. Something was in his nose.
Once he thought he could hear Celestia, then someone was crying. There was another glimpse of a very angry Purple Haze shouting at some ponies who were carrying belts and chains. Time seemed to lose meaning as things moved around him. Something stung him in his arm, his mind shifted to sleep once more.
---
This place smelled strange. It was his first thought as he tried to open his eyes. There was a strong smell that stung his nose, but he could also smell ponies, many ponies. Someone was holding his head. He shifted his head, it was Purple Haze. She was cradling his head as she slept. Even in her sleep he could smell her stress. She looked tired.
He carefully pulled his head out of her lap as he stood up. He had been lying on a makeshift bed of several mattresses and blankets on the floor. There was a bed in the white room too, but it was much too small for his frame. Something was stuck in his arm, a long tube running to a little bag hanging besides his bed. He pulled it out with a grunt.
He bent down and carefully picked up Purple Haze, there were dark rings and wet streaks under her eyes. Had she been crying? He carried her over to the bed and placed her onto it, ponies shouldn't sleep on the floor. As he put a blanket over her she murmured something in her sleep, "Don't worry Scar, I'll watch over you... won't let them chain you..."
He watched her with a smile as she slept. Had he been sick? He definitely felt like it. His whole body ached with every movement and his stomach felt empty. How long had he been sleeping? He looked out a window, it was night outside. The position of the stars told him he had been sleeping for three, maybe four days. He was hungry. He checked on Purple Haze again, she was still sleeping. He deemed this place safe enough to leave her for a short moment to get some food.
As he walked towards the door of the room he passed a little stand. There were many cards and flowers on it. He picked one up and inspected the little thing in his claws. By the smell it was from the tiny ponies, it was colorful and covered in glitter. He read it quietly. 'Dear Scar, we hope you'll feel better soon so you can play with us again! Get well soon, the Cutie Mark Crusaders.'
He put down the card and looked at the others. It seemed many ponies had sent him cards, he read one after the other. All of them expressed sympathy and the wish for him to get healthy again. Maybe he had been sick. He put down the last of the cards, it was from Rarity. Next to it were his new clothes. He carefully reached out and put on the black one, wearing it felt even nicer than just holding it. Had there always been a feather on it?
He looked at the cards again. The way he felt looking at them,... he couldn't describe it. He carefully reached out and collected the cards and put them in a pocket inside the cloak. They would get their own special place in his library. He looked back at Purple Haze, hopefully she hadn't worried too much about him. He'd have to apologize later for making her trouble. His stomach gave a soft growl, he felt like he could eat a whole stinger right now.
---
Featherkite stood in front of the vending machine in the hallways of the Canterlot hospital. He would get in trouble if the nurses would catch him out of bed but he simply couldn't sleep. The little foal looked up at the snacks behind the glass in wonder. He hated hospital food, but he didn't have any money. Still, he could at least imagine what they tasted like.
"Is food?" asked a deep voice behind him.
"Yeah, but I don't have any bits..." Featherkite replied lost in fantasies about Butterfogeys, they were his favorites. He wondered why there was a shadow over him. He turned around and froze. Something insanely huge and black was towering above him, huge teeth glinting in the light. He gulped, somehow he suddenly wished he'd stayed inside his bed.
The large head turned towards him, "Tiny pony hungry?" a deep voice rumbled from the creatures throat. Not being able to think of anything else the little foal did the first thing that came to its mind, it nodded with an open mouth.
The huge head gave a short nod and looked at the vending machine, "Gnoll is hungry too..." Two huge paws with claws reached out above him and grabbed the vending machine. "Evil little box... tempts ponies with food but gives none! Scar will teach box to share!"
Featherkite watched in awe as the gnolls paws sunk into the metal of the vending machine. There was a loud squeak as the gnoll simply tore off the whole front of the vending machine, letting a shower of candy and snacks fall out of its bowels and before the foal. "Now tiny pony and Scar can eat." the gnoll said happily as he put down the bent front of the vending machine.
Featherkite looked at the mountain of snacks before him, then back at the gnoll. "Wow..."
---
Featherkite happily swallowed another piece of chocolate as he and the gnoll sat crammed into a closet with cleaning utensils. The gnoll reached down and after a short smell picked up a little bag with chips from their hoard.
"You know,..." Featherkite said between two bites, "The nurses are going to be pretty angry you broke that vending machine."
The gnoll shrugged as he swallowed the contents of the little bag in one bite. "Let ponies be angry,... gnoll can be more angry when hungry..." he picked up another snack. "Is wrong if tiny pony is hungry too."
Featherkite nodded happily as he picked up another piece of chocolate, "I'm Featherkite, by the way."
"Is Scar..." the gnoll said through munching teeth.