//------------------------------// // I hate Hospitals // Story: Bleeding Strings: Man in a box // by The Drifting Bard //------------------------------// As I lay there, looking into complete darkness, I couldn't help but wonder just how I ended up in the middle of a blizzard. Was the universe just simply giving me my reward for being its cosmic plaything for 23 years? did the universe finally decide to discard me like a child would throw a toy out of its pram?. Regardless of what caused me to appear here, I'm eternally Grateful. It was an odd feeling of regret that suddenly washed over me. I had no Idea if i would ever return home. but quite frankly, I could care less. this place was nice, a little rough around the edges but then again, not every place is going to be perfect. I never knew hospital beds could be so comfortable. I felt like I could sleep for days, but then I began to wake up. I felt eyes suddenly upon me, sound began to trickle into my ears as my hearing returned. "Princess, He's waking up" It was Trixie, and she sounded worried. my eyes fluttered open for a moment. "Slow Down, your going to do more harm than good, whatever you are" The doctor pony placed a hoof on my chest to try and push me down. I simply shifted my self upwards. my back now resting against the headrest. the Doctor then handed me a cup of water. which I graciously accepted and drank slowly. "Relax doc, I'm not going anywhere, more importantly, what happened to the Mare that crashed, She okay?" my voice was an audible rasp. He looked at me in amazement. "...Miss Doo is fine, she suffered a mild concussion, but nothing major, thanks to you" I let out a sigh of relief. Placing the cup on the side table, I gave the doctor a small smile. I took note that the ward was empty, my smile began to fade. "You didn't move the patients because of my appearance did you?" I asked. he gave a sigh as the princess and her husband walked in. "He acted upon my orders, I didn't want my subjects to see you just yet" Cadence walked to me and smiled. "How are you feeling? You've been out for 3 days" I was shocked, Three days? "I feel.... fine... Healing spell?" the pink alicorn mare simply nodded. "thought as much" She suddenly became confused. "Do you not have magic where your from?" I shook my head, I then looked to Trixie, who looked pretty shocked. "but we do have illusionists and tricks, those are always fun... but sadly I'm not an illusionist" I grinned. I did the old removable thumb trick, with both thumbs. Trixie watched as I performed magic without an ethereal glow. it was then that Shining Armour asked me something and called for a scribe. "could you answer some Questions please?" I nodded as the scribe walked in. "what would you like to know? I'm a little vague and unlearned in my peoples history... but I'll do what I can" after a small stack of paper had been written out, a simplified version of earth's history spanning the most recent events was finished. I didn't dare go through the terrible details. "So then, Trixie must ask...what is your story?" I look to the scribe, who was equally expectant. "My story is... well... quite different to what you'd probably expect after hearing all of that, But I'll try and make a simple life as exciting as possible" they laughed. "so, Let me tell you a story" I quickly began to tell the tale of How I Became Known as Gimli. "It was a dreary rainy day in the cheerful yet gloomy town in which I resided..." I recently had just come out of college after a very hard day of studying lines and different methods of acting, I was an acting student you see. the course was good, plus with my bizarre outlook on life, it helped to keep an open mind when interpreting different Ideas. I had made friends with a few people here and there, but never felt like I fit in anywhere. I walked to a local hang out spot. and that's when everything changed. there were People everywhere, I walked into the library of the building and struck up an awkward conversation about something completely random. another person showed up, then another and another. soon I was surrounded by new people. Which was good. then one of them walked straight up to me and gave me a hug. "You look like that guy from the Lord of the Rings... ya know... the one with the axe" I looked into his eyes, as he grinned away, his eyes were glazed over and his pupils were dilated. "Gimli?" "yeah thats the one, I'm gonna call you gimli from now on" I could tell this guy was stoned... If it wasn't for the fact that his eyes were as they were... it would have been from the strong stench of weed. It was at that point, that even though i didn't know it at the time, I had met one of the funniest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, the name pretty much stuck after that, and for the next 4 years... that became my name. "but the rest of my life is another story for another time" I said with a sly smile. the four ponies that stood before me, groaned. "so, can I get out of this hospital? I'm starting to feel a little bit more Nosocomephobic by the second" I shivered for a moment. I always hated hospitals. back when i was visiting my dad in one, I always made jokes about them really being Purgatory. Hospitals always had that strong smell of disinfectant to cover up the smell of stale farts, blood, shit, piss and other unwelcome things... They were also heralds of life and death. I began to feel Queasy. "I need some fresh air, now... please" I begged. I opened the window and looked out. seeing just how high up I was. I took a deep breath. "I hate hospitals" the doctor looked ,mildly shocked. "but i hate heights even more"