//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Adjustment // Story: Painful Memories // by Wayofthepen //------------------------------// He opened his eye slowly, finally adjusting to his surroundings. Looking to his left, he saw the nurse from before. "N-Nurse..." She turned around and trotted to him. She gave him a smile. "How are you feeling?" He groaned as a response, feeling a sudden pain in his chest. "Well, there is good news and bad news." He looked at her questioningly. "The good news is you are recovering better than expected. Bad news, you have no memory of anything from before." He started moving towards a sitting position. "I...I do remember, some anyway..." The nurse looked a little shocked, and once more called for the doctor. Two voices were heard arguing when the door opened, a female and male voice. "What do you mean I can't see him?!" "I'm sorry, but you can cause some problems with the recovery. Please, just trust me on this." That voice....The one from the dream, or was it a dream? The doctor trotted in and closed the door behind him. "Now that she is dealt with, how are you feeling?" He looked at the doctor, then to the nurse, and kept looking between them. "Who am I?" The doctor let out a heavy sigh. "We don't know. For now, we will just have to call you X." X? What kind of name is that... "With that said, what do you remember?" X proceeded to tell the doctor about what he had seen in his sleep. The entire time X told the story, the doctor had been taking notes. Every so often, the doctor would ask him to be more descriptive, which caused even more pain to be brought. "Doc, I don't think that I can say anymore than that. It's all I know..." The doctor let out another heavy sigh. "Alright, I don't think there is anything more I can do for now. Try to relax." X moved back down into a laying position. The doctor left him alone in solitude, but it wasn't long before he heard the door creak open. "Are you awake?" Whispered a voice. "Yes." After responding, a figure slipped inside the room. Wait...I know her... A cyan pegasus silently trotted inside, her rainbow mane flowing behind her head and off to her side. "I'm glad you're alright. You can take a hit, that's for sure." She gave him a smile, but he just stared at her. "Something wrong?" X shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. "I...I know you..." What X said made her smile become a worried frown. "You were there when..." "I was always there, remember?" X started trying to remember her, but it caused nothing but a pain in his head. She stared at him as his facial expression went from blank to painful. "What are you doing? Don't try to strain yourself. Hey!" Her voice was fading fast as his head began to spin once more. "D-Dash?" X said as the room started spinning. He could make out a faint smile as the door swung open again. "What is she doing here? Get her out!" The doctor screamed, suddenly sounding closer. "He's my friend!" Dash yelled back to him. Two nurses galloped into the room and began forcing her out of the room. At this sight, X's head once more started hurting. "S-Shut up!" Everyone stopped and looked at him. Tears were streaming down from his one good eye. "Glad to see you're still normal. Look, I think I can get you and your friend out of here. It will take time, but I can do it." X gripped his head harder. "The voices..." He opened his eye and looked at the ponies staring in horror. Make the voices stop... The doctor took a step closer to X. His head was hurting, his breathing becoming heavy and slow, and his entire body shaking. He put his hooves to his face. Suddenly, his sight changed to a flashback. - - - - - - - He was in his solitary chamber, but this time there was a bed and sink. He heard a voice, it was faint though. "You will compromise with the doctors or you shall spend the rest of your days in solitary confinement." X started laughing insanely. "You can try to tame the beast within, or you can learn to keep him in his cage...Either way, the beast is still a beast...And you are still it's prey..." X stood up as the doctor closed in on him. "Yes, the beast can be tamed...You need your medicine." X put one of his hands in the air, still grinning insanely. "Remember what happened to Dr. Torez, and Dr. Selfe? I am a demon in human form." Is that me? Is this another dream? "You will take your medicine!" "You will keep losing doctors!" The doctor had let out a heavy sigh. "I see. This is your home now. No more sunlight, no more medicine, no more help." X just laughed at him. "And here I was getting used to opening positions on your medical team..." The doctor shook his head. "We're lucky we sound proofed the rooms..." Was all he said walking out and closing the one-way door. "He's gone." X said, turning to the vent. "Nice display. Nearly fell for it. Now, my friends are working hard to get as many of you as we can out. It's going to be another two weeks, tops. Can you make it?" X had a smile on his face. "You kidding me, Dash? I got this." - - - - - - - When X finally came back to reality, he found Dash shaking him with her hooves. "What happened?" Dash said, realizing that he had his grip on reality. "The dreams...Voices...I don't understand..." She gave him a friendly smile. "I don't think that they are dreams." X looked at her funny, not knowing what to think. "Then why am I like this here, and different there?" Dash shrugged. "That would be a question for Twilight. You haven't met her yet." This makes no sense... He tried to let out a smile, but it only looked like a smirk with half his face covered. "What happened to me?" Dash looked away at this question, looking very uncomfortable. "Maybe it's better I don't know..." X said, still smiling at her. The doctor trotted over to the two by the bed. "Well, you need your rest. You should be out of here soon, and flying in no time." Flying? What does he..? X flipped over painfully, and look at his back. He had a pair of black wings, one of which was bandaged. He rolled back onto his back, and rested his head on the pillow. The other ponies in the room slowly drifted out, leaving him to his thoughts. What did happen to me? Maybe I will remember later...Too tired to think... Those were his last thoughts before drifting to a dreamless sleep.