Y'know, if you were to ask anyone, anyone who has ever been severely wounded enough to land themselves a stay in the hospital what their most hated noise was, then they would all tell you the same thing: the sound of a heart monitor pisses them right off.
And now I can see why. The ever-constant beeping! Dear lord, it gets on my nerves!
Upon waking, all I felt was pain. Pain...and the sensation that something was dreadfully wrong, and I hadn't noticed it yet. Hell, the pain was so bad, I felt disinclined to even open my eyes. I did, however, find the position that I'd been forced into felt both odd and natural.
Once I waved in the general direction of the beeping, I heard a voice. A very familiar voice. "Nurse! Nurse, he's awake! Somepony get the doctor, he's waking up!"
I groaned and waved in the general direction of the voice. "Measured, keep it down. My everything hurts."
"Oh. Sorry."
There was silence for a minute, until the sound of hooves on tile caught my attention. "Well, Auric, this is quite the predicament you've landed in, isn't it?"
"Tell me straight, doc, how bad is it?"
There was a chuckle. "Well, whatever you did to save Measured Thought had some serious backlash. What all do you remember?"
"Saving her, and from then on...well, things get weird. But between saving her and now, nothing I can accept as genuine."
"Hmm. Well, she was stabbed, but whatever you did stopped her from dying. We kept her for a night to observe for side effects, but she's fine. You, on the other hoof. It took you two days to stabilize, but you seem to be fine now."
I sighed in relief at that. "I assume I have at least one curious lavender visitor? Perhaps a certain pegasus Guard wishes to pay his respects as well?"
There was a chuckle from every pony present. "A bit more than that, but I can tell those two that you're ready for them if you'd like."
"Yes, please, start me off slow."
The sound of hooves walking away filled my ears for a few minutes, until I picked up on the fact that there was still the sound of breathing coming from nearby. "Measured?"
And then my left shoulder was promptly punched. "What the BUCK were you thinking, Auric?!"
I winced in pain. "Ow! That anything was worth your life? That if I could, I would save you? How could you think anything else of me?"
She sighed. "Yes, well, be that as it may, no more life-or-death situations, mister! You are going to take it easy!"
I sighed as well, but in resignation. "Yes, mom. If I eat my vegetables, do I get to go out and play after dinner?"
Before she could offer a retort, there was the sound of rapid hooves approaching, and the door opened. "Oh my goodness, he's awake? And alright? No trauma? His mind seems to be intact?"
I rolled my eyes under my eyelids. "Hello Twilight. Would you like to calm down?"
There was the sound of sheepish laughter. "Eheheh. Right. So, Auric, how are you feeling?"
I tried to shrug. "Could be worse. I assume Flash is here as well?"
There was silence for a beat before I heard a reply. "Yes, I am. And I would like to apo-"
I cut in before he could finish that sentence. "It. Is. Not. Your. Fault. You did all you could, you did all anyone could in your situation. The only way you could place the blame on yourself is if you willingly got that crystal implanted into you, and I don't think you did. So do not apologize, do not grovel, do not beg for forgiveness. In the end, it all turned out well."
Silence reigned for a moment before I heard Flash speak up again. "I...Thank you. I needed to hear that."
"It would appear the backlash did not alter the way he has with words, so that's a plus..."
I turned to face Twilight's approximate location. "Why does everyone go on about the backlash? I mean, yes, there would be some from doing what I did, but is it really so bad?"
It was Measured who spoke up next. "Well, yes. It would appear that whatever body your powers of Alchemy constructed was tied in deeply with your power. So when you did...whatever you did to deplete your power so, your body...changed."
I felt a knot in my stomach. "Changed. How?"
Twilight interjected. "Well, seeing as how your body wasn't native to Equestria, without any power to maintain it, it altered to become something more...suited for you and the world."
An icy tingle of fear ran up my spine. "Are you...mirror. Is there a mirror in the room?"
There was a tingle of magic, and Twilight spoke up again. "There is now. Just...take it easy, Auric. It'll come as a shock."
I breathed deeply once, twice, and then forced my eyes open.
I did not like what I saw.
Staring into the mirror in front of me revealed a unicorn stallion with an orange coat, a black mane and tail that turned to gold at the tips, crystal-blue hooves, golden eyes, and a cutie mark of an eclipse on his flank. He was currently lying down atop a hospital bed, and standing next to him was Measured Thought. The dots were connected at lightning speed.
Without any power to maintain my human form, I'd become a pony.
I wanted to scream, yell, shout, but that twinge of fear kept running up my spine. I gulped and nodded at the image before me, and it vanished, revealing Twilight and Flash had been behind it. "So. One question that I need you to answer. Did you tell Celestia?"
Twilight cocked her head to the right in confusion. "Yes, but why..."
A call reverberated through the hospital. A call said by an eerily familiar voice. "Oh Siiiiiilver Liiiiiining, I'm coming for yooooooouuuu!"
Aw HELL NAH!