Getting out of the hospital went about as well as I thought it would. Especially considering the fact I had almost died not too long ago. According to the doctors that treated me, Twilight was telling the truth. There really wasn't anything that the staff could have done to save me. One of the doctors, a grey Unicorn stallion with what looked like a Medical Syringe on his flank, suggested that I send a letter to the one that saved me.
"Whoa there. You're telling me to write to royalty? Why would she even take the time to read something that I wrote?"
He stared, looking a bit puzzled. He shook his head, before looking at me with a grin. "Well, why wouldn't she? She obviously cared enough to come all the way here to help you. So, that's gotta mean something, right?"
Opening my mouth for a response, I stopped. He was right. Shutting my mouth, I slumped over on the bed I had occupied for the last week, twiddling my thumbs. For a moment, I thought that my fingers felt funny, but I quickly dismissed it as my mind playing tricks on me. I sighed. "Well...Maybe you're right. I might as well try, y'know?"
Apparently satisfied that he had gotten through my (Admittedly) thick skull, he grinned and nodded before reaching down and pulling something out from under the bed. My arms screamed at me as soon as I managed to identify the object he had pulled out.
It was a wheelchair. Definitely not a torture device of any kind.... Oh, who the heck am I trying to convince? I just hoped it wasn't for me....
"Now then, let's get you into this wheelchair, shall we?"
'Crap.' Mentally, I was screaming at myself not to do it, but my mouth, being the jerk that it was decided to betray me. "Oh, jeez...Okay, fine. Just let me get up- Okay, never mind then." I was about to get up and walk to the chair that was to be my mode of transport, but I forgot that this doctor was a Unicorn. Because he was a Unicorn, I found myself being levitated to the chair rather than walking.
Once I was settled and strapped in, we made our way to the one thing keeping me here....The front desk. Yeah, apparently, I've gotta sign my name before I can leave. Turning a corner, I saw it. However, I also saw something else. Along the wall nearest the door, I saw Twilight waiting in a chair reading a book. The Owl-Troll was there too, perched on her head. Also, there were a handful of other Ponies around. Did they accompany her? I noticed all of them were mares, but-
'Oh Now this is getting ridiculous....' It was her. The orange mare that got me in here in the first place. Looking closer, I settled down a bit. She was asleep, her muzzle slightly open, snoring lightly. Thankfully, that little image was enough to banish whatever fears and doubts I had about her. After all, I've found that you can tell something about the nature of someone just by the way they sleep. Thinking about it, I figured that she was just protecting Twilight. After all, I may not look all that Intimidating, being 128 pounds, but I still bet l looked pretty freaky compared to what they were used to.
I looked around at the various mares in the room. Not counting Nurse Redheart, who was doing some work behind the counter, there were three mares I had never seen before. One unicorn, and two(get this...) Pegasi! A blue one and a Butter Yellow one. The blue one had a Technicolor mane and a matching tail, but didn't seem to notice me being wheeled in, being neck deep in a book. However, I couldn't see what book she was reading from my position. I saw two words on the spine though, 'Daring Do" or something like that.
The other Pegasus was sleeping quietly, curled up around something purple. Looking just a little bit closer, I noticed that it was a purple lizard-looking thing with green spines down it's back. Whatever the heck it was, it was sleeping too.
The last mare, a Sea Foam green Unicorn, sorta caused my brain to short circuit for a moment. Now, She wasn't all disfigured or anything like that. It's just...She was sitting. You know... like a Biped? It just didn't look very comfortable....Or natural for that matter, considering the fact that she was... well, a pony. Sitting upright apparently freed her fore-hooves and she was definitely taking advantage of that, clacking her hooves noisily on the wood of the seat.
'Yeesh, She must be bored outta her mind.'
After I had filed away this information for later use, I found myself at the desk, with a pen being levitated in front of me. Taking it, the doctor released it, before sliding me a form. I was gonna sign it, but stopped after noticing the distinct lack of fine print on the sheet of paper. There was no way this visit could've been free. No way in ...wherever I was. In fact, I probably used up a good chunk of their medical supplies. Which is why I'm curious...Why haven't I heard a price yet? Deciding to play it cool, or as cool as I could play it, I signed it hoping he wouldn't mention anything. To my surprise and my great relief, he didn't.
"Lee? Are you ready to go now?"
'GEEZ!!! Twilight popped out of nowhere!
"Jeez, Twilight... you just about scared the pants off of me!"
'Which, now that I think about it...'
My mind straying momentarily, I realized there was some weird lump in my front left pocket. I've been wearing these jeans for a few days, but I haven't noticed.... Yeah, it looks like everybody was right. I really am unobservant. I'll check what's in there later.
Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Oh, I'm sorry Lee. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I'm just glad you're finally out of here."
I cracked another smile. "Eh...Don't worry about it. Truth be told, I'm anxious to get out and eat some real food. This hospital food...I don't think it can even be considered food."
Twilight rolled her eyes and stopped, contemplating something. "Um, Lee? Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did." She stared at me unamused. 'Dang, Troll attempt was unsuccessful...' "Yeah, sure. What's up?"
"Well, you mentioned something before about your dietary habits. I was kind of hoping you could elaborate on that a bit."
I sighed, knowing my hide was gonna be black and blue if I said this wrong. "Twi...Can you make me one small promise?"
"Sure, What is it?"
I looked her in the eyes, hoping she would agree. "Twilight, I just want you to promise me, that I won't end up broken after I tell you...OK?"
She looked shocked. "What? Why would you-"
"Twilight, please. Promise me, or don't promise me. I'm leaving the choice up to you."
She looked down chewing her lip for a moment or two, before looking back up and agreeing.
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Twilight."
At this point, an unfamiliar voice cut in. "Are you two done talking? I really want to meet the thing that saved Scoots."
Looking over, I saw the Cyan Pegasus hovering about a foot from the ground with an expression that seemed to be a mix of suspicion, curiosity, and ...did I spy a smile?
Wiping of her hoof, She held it out to me. Hesitantly, I grabbed it. Wrong thing to do. "What in the.... What're ya' doing?"
My eyes shifting from the hoof, to her face a few times I blurted out what I thought was the obvious answer.
"Uh...Shaking your, uh...your hoof? What?" That earned me a few stares. Embarrassed, I pulled my hand back to my lap. Wow..Suddenly the floor seems quite intriguing...
"Twilight? What's going on with this thing? It...Well, I don't know. But it seems-"
"He." Twilight corrected. "His name is Lee. He's not from....around here."
"Oh, Sorry about that dude. But..." The Blue WingMare in front of me, seemed uncomfortable. In fact, she almost looked nervous....Why?
"Yes? What is it?" She stayed silent. It was almost scary, to be honest. "Ok, come on, What's up?"
She mumbled something, too quiet for me to hear. I quirked an eyebrow. "Um, One more time?"
"I-uh.." More mumbling. I grinned lightly, and then motioned for her to continue. She sighed.
"It was kinda, sorta...myfaultthatyougothurt. There! I said it."
At this, my eyes snapped open. "W-what? What do you mean, that it was your fault?"
She bit her lip, shook her head, and quickly changed the subject. "AnyWays! You're Lee huh? My name's Rainbow Dash! The Fastest Filly Flier, and Future Wonderbolt at your service."
'Wonderbolt...Where did I-' My jaw dropped. "Wait, you're the one that pulled off the Sonic Ranboob!"
It went silent. Well, This was awkward. Looking over, I saw Twilight blushing and shaking her head."What? What did I say?"
I heard a snort. Rainbow Dash fell out of the air, holding her side with tears in her eyes. The next thing I knew, she was howling in laughter. This caught the attention of the other mares in the room, and woke up the sleeping ones. Suddenly I just wanted to curl up and hide my face.
There was a Yawn. "Dagnabbit R.D.... Ah was Sleepin'! Now, What's got ya howlin' yer head off? Oh, Um....Well, Ah'll admit it. This here is, uh...Interestin'..." Wincing out of reflex, I slowly turned to look the orange mare in the face. I'm not completely sure who was more uncomfortable. Was it myself, or was it her for having to talk to the one she hospitalized?
Either way, I still felt that something big was gonna happen. I was right. However.....
This time, I'm glad that I was right. Well, maybe not glad, but it wasn't an unwelcome event.
"Look, Ah'm mighty sorry 'bout puttin' ya'll in the hospital. Ah saw ya Standin' there, but didn't think ya'll mighta been...ya'know, not a Diamon' Dog. But ah rea-"
My head was furious at me for some reason. Was I getting overloaded with new information? Most likely. I stuck a palm to my head, hoping to dull the pain. Unfortunately, That doesn't really work. I gripped my head with both hands, throwing my neck back in pain.
_________________________________
Suddenly, The hospital was gone. I was standing in the center of a really big garden. Also, I noticed that the garden was surrounded by a void of white. In front of me was the statue of a creature I never could've imagined. It had the body of a serpent, a goat beard, mismatched horns and wings, the head of a horse, one lion paw, one eagle claw, the left leg of a deer, and the right leg of some kind of lizard.
Well, technically, I guess you couldn't call it a creature, being a statue and all. I don't know why, but suddenly my Left leg started to hurt, along with my entire torso. The pain started out as a warm throbbing, but before long, it was molten fire coursing through my veins. I couldn't scream, I couldn't move, I couldn't react in any way.
"This pain! It's like it's happened before!"i]
My eyes were locked onto the statue. The scariest thing is, as the pain grew in my leg and torso, the statue reacted in a similar fashion. Finally, as the pain died down, the statue had changed. The torso was glowing brightly, as was the left leg.
Suddenly I felt....tired....There was a tugging sensation, and I found myself back in the wheelchair with 5 mares gathered around me. I coudn't talk at all...I was just too tired. So I leaned my head back, closed my eyes and fell asleep instantaneously. Something told me they were worried, but I didn't have enough energy to deal with it....Maybe...
Maybe after my nap....