//------------------------------//
// Settling In 
// Story: A Human in an Equestrian Asylum 
// by Mr Anomalous 
//------------------------------//

Settling In

We just sat there, on the floor, crying, tangled in one another's embraces for who knows how long. We finally broke away when Nurse Ichor cleared her throat.

Twilight pulled her soft neck away from mine, and looked at me for a moment or two.

"I'm still mad at you."

A playful punch.

I chuckled.

"And I'm still sorry," I retaliate.

Of course, that's not the end of her visit, we began to chat, and even Nurse Ichor joins in. The orderly is very talented when it comes to standing in one spot forever, without ever freaking blinking. Not once. I'm serious, I was expecting his eyes to ignite into giant bonfires of stinging pain, but he showed no signs of pain. Or boredom for that matter. Just a blank face. I'm pretty sure he might've been a robot of some sort.

Eventually, after many a shared laugh, we had to end the visit. 

As Twilight got up to leave, she turned and looked my straight in the eyes.

"John," she said, "I know that you don't belong here. I am going to try and get you out of here with everything that I know."

I was silent for a few moments, then, "Twilight....I know I don't belong here either, but....what about Princess Celestia? I know she as a bit radical, but, if I can get out of here, what can we do to assure her that I am no threat?"

It was Twilight's turn to be silent.

"I...I don't know. I'll think of something."

I smiled.

"I believe in you Twilight. Let's get me out of here."

She smiled, and left. Robo-orderly and Nurse Ichor followed her. When the door shut, and locked, I sighed. I got up from the floor, climbed into bed, closed my eyes, and let the warm grips of slumber take me.





[/hr]

The next morning, Nurse Ichor, though I love her so, was tasked with the great feat of getting my lazy ass out of bed. She succeeded, sadly, and, when we were at the cafeteria again, she brought something up.

"Today, its going to be a teeny tiny bit different that yesterday."

"Oh? And how so?"

"Weeelll, instead of going to school-like classes, you are attending the class that's going to help you with your problems, not with your knowledge."

Darn. I was actually looking forward to those classes.

"So I'm actually going to see a therapist instead of teachers?"

"Yeppers."

"Am I correct in assuming that this switches every other day?"

She gave me a giant smile.

"You sure are smart."

She leaned over and rustled my hair.

Okay, I wonder what this is going to be like.


After breakfast, Nurse Ichor and a new orderly, though equally robotic, lead me down a different corridor. It took a while to get to our intended destination, and, the deeper that we went, the more I noticed that things were...darker.

This is the part of the asylum that I'm so frightened of. This is where people like Leatherface and Jack the Ripper go.

I caught a glimpse into one of the cells, and there was a pony chained to the walls.

I began breathing faster. I don't need to be here, I'm not a psychopath.

A maniac laugh echoed from somewhere.

I stopped walking. 

I pressed myself against the cold, concrete wall, and began whimpering.

I heard Nurse Ichor mumble.

"Oh dear, I was afraid of this."

She carefully walked up to me, and peered up at me with caring eyes.

"I know this is scary, this is the high-security wing, but we're almost there. Come on, you can do it."

Her hoof slipped around my own hand and I began to feel safer.

Slowly, she peeled me from the wall and we began to walk further into the darkness, the only thing between a complete breakdown was the presence of the friendly Nurse. Robo-orderly two didn't make me feel much safer at all though.


Finally, we made it to a large door. There was an inscription on it, but I couldn't make it out.

I was taken through the doors, and into a large, circular room. In the center was a chair, and I knew that I was being watched from somewhere.

Ah, there, a mirror. Of course, it was actually a one-way window, but still.

Nurse Ichor let go of my hand, and left without a word. The orderly waited, and, when the Nurse was gone, he approached me.

I was a bit frightened, and backed away, but all he did was guide to the chair in the center of the room. When I was sitting, he went to the door and resumed robo-stance.

A doctor came in, and I noticed that he was the same one who had interviewed me a couple days ago.

"Hello." He said, kind of flatly.

"We are here today to try and learn more about that mind of yours. You gave Princess Celestia quite a scare there."

At the mention of the Princess, I tensed up.

"Yeah, then she threw me in here when I don't even belong here."

All he did was shrug.

"Well, regardless if your opinion, you're here."

I remained bitterly silent.

"So, Princess Luna peered into your dreams, and didn't like what she saw. You were killing things."

"Christ, it was a dream. Dreams do not interpret the person who is having them."

"Not directly, but you had to have at least seen that or something similar to give your mind something to make a dream out of."

I grit my teeth.

"I have seen something like that before. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not really from here. In my world, what I saw was a simulation."

"Simulation?"

"Yes. For entertainment, there is a very large industry who creates these simulations, which come in many forms. It is an alternate form of storytelling."

"From what I hear, these stories involve lots of violence."

"They can, and the ones that I like to partake of usually have violence in them, but, in my dreams, what the Princess's saw was the exact opposite of what I do, for the most part. You see, like I said, there are many forms of these simulations. Some of them force you to stick to a storyline of some sort, whereas others are a little more...open. When I participate in these simulations, I prefer not to take the lives of innocents, even if it is just a simulations of sorts."

"I..see"

It went on like this for hours. Me trying to prove myself not a homicidal psycho, the Doctor scribbling notes and nodding.

I was fighting for my freedom, and, not matter what, I was going to get it.