//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: Epinephrine Has Its Ups and Downs // Story: The Dividing Line // by Divide //------------------------------// The Dividing Line Chapter Two: Epinephrine Has Its Ups and Downs I opened my eyes. And then I blinked in surprise. I wasn't in Twilight's library anymore—that much was apparent. Instead of wood, books, and the ponies I spent nearly a year writing about, I saw white washed walls, along with a white ceiling. Sterile white. I nearly had a heart attack: there were too many parallels that I'd rather not draw upon. Thankfully, after noticing a lazily oscillating ceiling fan, I realized that I wasn't where I thought I was. What happened? The last thing I remembered was spouting something about 'Equestria,' and then... nothing. I tried to get a bearing on what had happened. Did I black out? Certainly a possibility. A combination of having my body shifted to a different dimensional plane and the blood vessel bursting understanding of which plane I was in would be more than enough to shut my brain down temporarily—or something like that. My line of thinking brought me to my next question. Did I hallucinate the entire thing? In an attempt to answer my question, whether it was for better or worse, I tried to sit up. Something as simple as sitting upright should've been, in theory, just that: simple. The only problem was that the pain my body seemed to have experienced over the course of whatever cataclysmic event—that may or may not have brought me to Equestria—managed to hit me, all at once. It felt like I went ten rounds with Mike Tyson, and then followed that up with running a marathon. My vision swirled dangerously, and I nearly passed out, but I held on to consciousness. Sick with the realization that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, I consigned myself to observing what I could via only moving my head. First off, I was lying in a too-small bed; my legs were dangling over the edge, and I felt that if I tried to roll over, I'd fall flat on the floor. The bed sheets were stock white, and I could feel that I was completely naked underneath—I wasn't even wearing boxers. There was a window directly across from me, with light blue curtains open and letting in golden rays of sun. A potted plant was sitting on a small table next to some uncomfortable-looking chairs. I squinted and noticed that there were magazines spread out on the small table as well, presumably in case of visitors, just like in any generic medical centre. In fact, everything pointed to me being in an infirmary. I tentatively sniffed the air. It smelt like grief, hope, and antiseptic—hospital smells. While in the process of determining whether or not it was of the Earth variety, my answer walked through the door. Nurse Redheart—for it had to be her; the hat and colouring was a dead giveaway—strolled up towards my bedside, a strange swagger in her step. Despite my best attempts at trying to remain calm, I swallowed nervously when I saw a strange look in her eyes. "I see you're finally awake," Redheart mentioned as she checked my arm. I felt the underside of her hoof against my skin. It felt strangely static and soft, like a fleece sweater after it was taken out of the dryer. "Now we can finally have some fun." It was at that exact moment that I knew something was definitely wrong. I licked my lips to moisten my lips, and attempted to speak. "F—Fun?" Nurse Redheart licked her lips right back at me. She looked hungry, but not for food. "Oh yes," she whispered in my ear. I could feel her breath on the nape of my neck. "Fun." Eyes wide and wearing a very disturbed face, I opened my mouth to say something, but a hoof gently clamped over my mouth before I could get a word out. "Shh," she shushed. I felt something prick the underside of my arm. "You don't need to say anything. Not. A. Thing. Nurse Redheart's just going to give you a little boost—" I cringed at 'boost.' "—and then we'll be good to go." Almost immediately, I felt my heartbeat start to increase from a tranquil ba-dump, ba-dump to what sounded like a beat I'd hear at a rave. As soon as Redheart's hoof was removed from my mouth, I stammered, "W—What did you just inject me with?" She smiled lustfully and nibbled my earlobe. "Oh, just a little shot of epinephrine. Something to get the blood pumping." "I don't—I can't—" "You don't need to do anything. I'll take care of you the way a mare should take care of her stallion." Before my brain could process exactly what the hell was happening, Nurse Redheart trotted over to the blinds and shut them. "A little privacy never hurt," she said with a wink. She then pulled the sheets off of me and jumped onto the bed, making the already small amount of room I had into virtually no room at all. I could feel Redheart's fur rubbing against my bare skin. It felt surprisingly soft, albeit slightly damp from what I assumed was sweat. What I hoped was sweat. "P-Please get off," I pleaded. I tried to shove her off, but my limbs weren't responding properly, my heart rate was going through the roof, and time seemed to slow to a crawl. I felt like I could bench press a mountain, yet I couldn't even get Nurse Redheart to stop straddling me. Something twinkled in her eye, and she pulled herself directly over top of my chest. "Oh, I'll make sure that we both get more than just off," she teased. The horror of how misconstrued my words were made me want to curl up in a hole. I tried to say something that would dig me out of the grave I dug for myself, but my words shrivelled and died when I felt Nurse Redheart's hoof go somewhere it really shouldn't have. "Ooh," she cooed after groping a feel. "Looks like the blood is pumping." "Please wake up," I mumbled to myself. "Please let this be a nightmare and let me wake up—" I didn't wake up, but the next best thing that could've happened, did. Twilight Sparkle, now officially the best pony for coming to my rescue, was standing in the doorway, hoof raised in the process of knocking. Her face mirrored my own. "The door was open, so I didn't knock," Twilight began, her tone unsure, as if she didn't know whether what she was witnessing was real or just a figment of her imagination. "Nurse Redheart, are you—?" "T—Twilight Sparkle!" stammered the nurse, who was centimetres away from me in every conceivable way. "It's not what it looks like—" I was not letting Nurse Redheart get away with this. "It's exactly what it looks like!" I exclaimed, panic rising in my voice. "Get me out of here!" Knowing that she was caught red-handed, Redheart still tried to talk her way out of it. "I—I was just... administering a... sedative... so that—" "For Celestia's sake, you're straddling him!" Twilight retorted. She took a couple of steps closer, to which Nurse Redheart responded by extricating herself from my person and mirroring the steps in reverse. I quickly grabbed a pillow to cover my most important area. "Nurse Redheart, what's gotten in to you?! I can't believe you'd take advantage of a patient like that!" While Twilight reamed out Nurse Redheart, I glanced at the window. In her haste, Redheart didn't close the blinds all the way: there was a small gap that could still be seen through. I saw a golden eye on the other side of the window. It slowly widened when it noticed me. A feeling of dread hit me like a lead pipe. "Twilight?" I asked. She stopped mid rant to look at me. "Uh... yes?" "I hate to break your tangent, but there's a pony on the other side of that window eyeing me like Nurse Redheart did. I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me not get raped." Twilight glanced at the window. She made a quick decision. "I don't know what you are, or why you're here, but I can't in good conscience leave you here to a fate like that." She shuddered, then made eye contact with me, suddenly serious. "I want answers, though. Answers like—" "You'll get them, just get me out of here!" Twilight nodded. "Alright then. Follow me, and keep close. We'll take the back exit out." Stopping only to wrap the bed sheet around myself like a shawl, I followed a galloping Twilight Sparkle through Ponyville Medical Centre.