//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Eye-Opener // Story: Nobody // by Blazer //------------------------------// It had been about a day, and I hadn’t heard from either of my parents. This made me somewhat uncomfortable. I wasn’t exactly enjoying my stay at the hospital, either. Brom Hard-ass had left, leaving me alone in the room. The quiet was initially nice, but boredom was quick to settle in. The feeling in my limbs was returning, but at an extremely slow pace, which meant I couldn’t even eat on my own. I had discovered that this meant the nurse had to hand-feed me. It was what I had perceived as late noon, nigh on evening, and I found myself dreading dinner. The embarrassment of lunchtime had left me traumatized, and I wasn’t ready to go through it again. My heart skipped a beat when I heard the door open. “U-um, I’m not hungry…” I began. “Oh, that’s quite alright. I was just letting in a couple of visitors. You don’t mind, right?” Relief flooded my mind. “Not at all.” The sound of hard shoes on tile surrounded me temporarily as the aforementioned visitors shuffled into the room. The distinct clopping of the nurse’s shoes grew quieter as she exited the room and began her long trek down the hallway. Before her footsteps could fade away, one of the visitors spoke. To my dismay, it wasn’t anyone I knew. “So, Jay, how do you feel?” I hesitated before speaking, almost unsure what to say. “Uh, fine. Just fine.” “That’s good; the nurses told me that you’re going to be walking by tomorrow evening, so it looks like you’re going to make a full recovery from your paralysis.” “That’s… great,” I said slowly, feeling a bit nervous that someone I didn’t know was genuinely concerned for me. It was creepy, to say the least. At least whoever it was, she had one fine-ass voice. This made me even more nervous. After a long pause, I almost mustered the courage to ask who she was. “Uh—!” “So—!” “O-oh… Sorry! You first.” “Oh, no, my apologies. Go ahead.” Another long pause. “Er… I was gonna ask who you were. I don’t really recognize your voice. Do you know my parents?” “Ah, unfortunately, no. I do not.” “Oh.” A third pregnant pause followed as a realization hit me. Before I jumped to any conclusions, I figured I should follow up with another question. I had to explore every possibility and make sure I had an idea of what was going on. “Do you go to Sac Country Day? Or are you an Alumni?” “I’m afraid I’ve never heard of this ‘Country Day’ that you’re talking about.” That was it. I had to ask. “…So how do you know me?” “Well, the doctors told me your name was Jay, according to a small card that you were carrying when they found you in my private quarters yesterday, unconscious.” “Well, I—wh-what?!” I sputtered. “Before we go on, however, I must ask you a few questions of my own; I think it’s only fair, right?” “Just—! Mmph… Please tell me who you are,” I asked, dousing my frustration. “Oh. Yes, I’m sorry; I’ve forgotten that you’re blindfolded. My name is Princess Celestia… Perhaps you’ve heard of me, at least?” The voice replied, raising itself suggestively as it finished. I was astonished into silence. The voice took it in the wrong way. “No need to be shy, Jay. Now I’d like to ask you some questions, if that’s okay with you.” “…Wait, hold up. You’re telling me you’re a Princess? Like, with the tiara and flowing dresses and all that?” “Well, I wouldn’t say that I really wear dresses; they’re… not my style. But, yes, I am a Princess: The Princess of the Solar Diarchy of Equestria.” More silence followed. She decided to finally drop her questions on me. “Anyways, I was hoping to ask where you came from, since you’re obviously not from here.” I was still feeling too flabbergasted to speak. She sighed quietly. “Please, Jay. I know this is a bit strange, but it’s best if we get this over with. I told you about myself…” Her voice softened slightly. “…And I’d like to know a little more about you.” “I… I’m from Sacramento, California. United States of America.” I paused before adding, “Earth.” Another pause. “Well, it looks like we have that ‘Earth’ bit in common, Jay,” the Princess proclaimed with slight elation. “Where… Where am I?” I asked, feeling lightheaded. “What’s going on? Am I getting punked?” “Jay, I assure you, this is no prank. Perhaps if you removed your blindfold…” “No,” I stated coldly. There was a pause; perhaps she took surprise to my change in demeanor. “No,” I began again, careful to keep myself composed. “The light hurts my eyes. Even when they’re closed, it hurts. I’d rather keep it on for now.” “That’s quite alright. You can remove it whenever you’re ready. It would just make things a little easier on the explaining bit… Anyways, do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?” “I guess. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost it…” I let out a trembling sigh. “I don’t know what’s going on, anymore.” “I’m sorry that this is so confusing for you, Jay. I’m just as lost as you are in how you arrived here… But this is why I’m asking these questions; maybe we can find something in each others’ testimonies and get an idea of how you arrived here.” “Shoot, then,” I replied resignedly. “Okay, well, let’s start with the last thing you remember before waking up here.” It didn’t take long for me to recall it. “I was at a basketball game. I was going to represent my high school, and then… I started feeling faint. Eventually, I just passed out. Now, I’m here.” I tried to throw my arms up to emphasize the ‘here,’ but my paralysis prevented me from moving them more than a couple inches. “Hm… Well, I’m not sure how it connects with how you got here.” “Why? What happened with you?” “I was in my room writing a letter to a pupil of mine about her studies. It seemed like a relatively normal evening until you materialized into the space above my bed.” “That… What?” I asked stupidly. “It was as if you had used a teleportation spell to get into my room, although I do not see how, seeing that you are a pegasus and—” “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What?!” I exclaimed. “Well, you see—” “Pegasus? Are you kidding me?!” “No, because—” “This is some serious bullshit; can you cut the crap? This isn’t funny!” “Jay.” The voice cut across my request. “For the last time, I am completely serious.” “Uh-huh. Yeah. Right. Just get Aston Kutcher out here so I can kick his ass.” “Son," An unfamiliar, masculine voice butted in; he barely sounded older than me, "You will address the Princess as 'your highness'! Is that understood?!” “Lieutenant! Stand down, immediately!” There was a burst of what sounded like iron greaves rapping on the tiles before everything became quiet again. There was a short pause before the Princess continued, “Don’t let his disrespect anger you. He’s confused and scared, and this is just him letting out some of his frustration out.” Feeling panicked and frustrated, I suddenly felt very itchy, adrenaline starting to kick in. While scratching my head, something suddenly felt very off... It was as if I couldn’t feel my fingers at all. Suddenly curious, I brought them down to my face, noting they felt fuzzy but firm. Curiosity morphed into worry as I began feeling the rest of my jaw and nose, which seemed to be elongated, as if I was wearing a mask I couldn’t feel. This attracted the attention of my visitors, who fell silent at my actions. A rock settled into my stomach. Whatever I had just felt was my face couldn’t be real. It had to be some weird kind of hospital air mask… But how was I able to talk without any hindrance earlier? And I would’ve felt the humidity from my own breathing had I been wearing one. Eventually, with all of the evidence stacked against me, I suddenly felt the urge to see everything. I had to see what these visitors looked like… I had to know what they were. Or, rather, what I was. Slowly reaching up towards my face again, I eased the blinder down my face, hoping my eyes had lost some of their sensitivity. When I was met with a lack of pain, but only a slight irritation from the residual light, I slowly opened them. My sight was awash with pink, white, blue, green and gold, although mostly white, since I was in a hospital room. I noticed that my visitors were far from human, which gave the impression that maybe they weren’t crazy, but I probably was. And then I saw my hands. Or hooves. And then I fainted.