A white doctor entered the room with a notepad wrapped in her hoof. Like many of the employees at the hospital, she had a collected composure with a calm face and relaxed limbs.
The doctor saw Pinkamena sitting in her bed. Even though she was awake, she was inactive. Her parents were watching her from their chairs nearby.
"Hello everypony," she said. It took Cloudy and Igneous several moments to turn their heads towards the white mare. The two of them coldly stared at the doctor as she looked down at her notepad.
"I have the results of Pinkamena's MRI scans. I'm glad to say that Pinkamena's brain is actively working. This is a big step towards her recovery."
Cloudy's eyes widened and her face loosened.
"Does that mean Pinkamena can come home?" she asked.
"It's going to be a while before Pinkamena can be released. She will also need physical therapy to get her body back in shape and counseling sessions to improve her mental health."
Cloudy stared at her daughter, who was listening to the exchange, and then back at the doctor.
"Do you know how long those will take?" Cloudy asked.
"My recommendation would be to oversee her progress for three weeks. Afterward, she will probably be released, however she will still need to return to receive treatment."
Cloudy nodded.
"Okay."
"Do you have any questions?"
Cloudy thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"Well if you need anything, just contact a nurse."
With that, the doctor exited the room. Beeping filled the room as Cloudy observed her inactive daughter. Even though the machines beside her bed clearly showed she was alive, Pinkamena might as well have been dead.
"Will she ever forgive me?" Cloudy asked herself.
Nurse Smiley Bunch pushed Pinkamena's wheelchair down the hallway using her magic. It was the same story as the trip to physical therapy earlier that morning. Smiley Bunch knew there wasn't much fun or variety when it came to moving her patients, but she always tried to make the stroll a little lively. It usually didn't accomplish much, but she thought it was worth the effort.
"We're here," Smiley Bunch said as she opened a white door.
The office was slightly larger than the normal rooms in the hospital. To the side was a wall that was covered with books. The other side was white and had various picture frames mounted. The back of the room had a square window and a desk that was seated by a brown mare with a short gray mane.
"Good morning, Pinkamena," she said.
No answer came from the mare. Instead, Smiley Bunch lifted Pinkamena from the wheelchair and landed her on a green couch on the side of the room. Smiley Bunch looked on as the mare rose from her desk and trotted to the patient.
"I'm Dr. Goodtalk and I will be your therapist," she said nonchalantly.
Smiley Bunch felt a pinch of discomfort in Goodtalk's voice, but quickly rubbed it off.
"Goodbye Pinkamena...have a nice time..." Smiley Bunch said as she slowly backed away to the door.
"So Pinkamena, can you tell me about your emotions?" Goodtalk said.
"..."
"I have been told by several doctors and nurses that you have been sad since waking up from the coma. Would you care to talk about it?"
"..."
Goodtalk stared at the dull, limp mare. The only sense of life was the occasional rising and falling of her chest. Goodtalk was by no means shocked by the sight, but she was still eager to hear Pinkamena.
"...Why...did they have to go away..." Pinkamena said. Her voice was small and fragile, "Why can't I...go back to them..."
Goodtalk heard a weak sniffle.
As silence took over the room once again, Goodtalk copied down what Pinkamena had said.
"Who are 'they'?" Goodtalk asked.
Pinkamena took several difficult breaths as her lifeless eyes stared at the wall.
"My...f-friends..."
"Can you tell me about your friends?"
Pinkamena's blue eyes finally moved and rested on the forest green carpet. They lazily hung there as if there was nothing to hold them up.
"I..."
As Pinkamena gazed at the emerald fibers of the floor, an image entered her head. She pictured that same green in her head and brightened its shade. Her new product was a green that was like a bed of grass on a sunny day. But it also reminded her of something else. A certain mare came to mind that had such a color for her eyes.
"...Applejack..." she whispered to herself. It was just loud enough for Goodtalk to hear.
"Applejack...what was she like?" Goodtalk asked.
Surrounding those green irises were two oceans of pure white. Beyond them were freckles that bordered between pale orange and a continuation of the vast white. These spots served to compliment an orange coat that has been exposed to the elements. Also along her body was a long piece of sun-baked blonde hair. She was her Applejack.
"Applejack was a farmer...of apples...she farmed apples..." Pinkamena said.
Goodtalk recorded her patient's description in her notepad.
"Then...there's Fluttershy...she's shy and scared a lot...but she's very nice..."
Pinkamena felt her hooves moving slightly as she spoke.
"And then there's Rarity...she's pretty and she's very good at making clothes for everypony...even though ponies rarely wear clothes, they're nice to have..."
Pinkamena's hooves shakily clicked together and lightly pressed against her stomach.
"And there's Rainbow Dash...who is the fastest pony in Equestria...she...can zoom and swish through the air...and she wants to join the Wonderbolts..."
For the first time in several weeks, Pinkie's eyes brightened.
"And lastly, there's Princess Twilight Sparkle...she's the smartest, bestest pony ever...she likes Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and Princess Cadence and Starswirl the Bearded all smushed into one."
Goodtalk's eyes widened as she wrote down those words, but was happy to see a smile on Pinkie's face.
"So those are my bestest friends in all of Equestria..."
Silence.
Abruptness.
Goodtalk stared at Pinkamena as her entire body crashed. Goodtalk thought that she had fantasized her patient's rise and fall.
And there was more silence.
"Pinkamena, are you alright?" Goodtalk asked.
Her answer was a sniffle.
"I'm...I-...I'm trying to...find them...they're...missing...and..."
Her voice fell as well. Goodtalk saw her patient's trembling body lying limp on the couch. And another sniffle was heard.
Goodtalk's bottom lip loosened, but she kept it from opening. Instead, she read through what she had recorded while also granting her client some air.
"Can you tell me about the last time you saw them?" Goodtalk asked.
Pinkamena's body shuddered, causing small ripples in her straight mane. Her eyes gradually fell shut as well. Goodtalk sat silently as she waited for her patient to find the strength to speak.
"We...we-we were going t-to have a picnic...and then I...closed my eyes...but when they o-opened," she said as she did the same, "there was nothing...but white...everywhere..."
Pause.
Goodtalk sat in her chair without movement as she waited for her patient to continue.
"...But...then...everything dimmed...to a room...and Mom was there...and Dad was there...and my sisters were there...but none of friends were..."
Pinkamena choked another sniffle as she felt a small tear escape her eye.
"Do you need any tissues, Pinkamena?" Goodtalk asked as she rose from her chair.
The dull mare clenched her lips into an awkward form and shakily jerked her head sideways.
"Are you sure?"
Pinkamena's eyes clamped shut as well as she shook her head once more.
Still standing, Goodtalk turned to face the tissue box that she had resting on her desk. She trotted to it and removed a generous amount of tissues before approaching her patient.
"I'll give you some anyway if you need them," Goodtalk said before sitting in her chair.
The bundle shook in Pinkamena's hooves as she stared down at them with glassy eyes.
"Now Pinkamena...how long have you known your friends before they 'disappeared'?"
There was another silence. Pinkamena's mouth hung open, but no words came out. Soundless packets of air flowed in through the lifeless opening.
"I...I..." she said. Pinkamena stopped and dug through her recollections. She had a feeling she knew somewhere. Eventually, she produced the response, "don't know..."
Goodtalk scribbled her patient's exact words into the notepad.
"Well...can you describe to me how you met each of them?" Goodtalk asked.
"Well...I met a lot of them...during my "Welcome to Ponyville" party...it was how I became friends with them and...everypony else in Ponyville..." Pinkamena said before forcing in an unsteady breath, "...I learned their names and what they liked...but...they didn't become my bestest friends in all Equestria...until Twilight came to Ponyville..."
Pinkamena hacked a chuckle, which sounded more like a pitiful cough.
"That was when all six of us...became the keepers of...the Elements of Harmony...and how we became the bestest friends in all Equestria..."
The mare's eyes widened as a breathy sound escaped her. Those blue eyes flashed as something crosses her mind. But alas, it was a passing flicker as her body shut down once more.
"Is there something you would like to say?" Goodtalk asked.
Time passed by again, but the silence was prolonged-- destined to drag on indefinitely. Not even a whimper was able to break free from its broken confinement.
Goodtalk read through her notes once more-- which now took up two whole pages. She looked up at her patient, who was devoid of sound and life.
"Well, if you aren't comfortable speaking now, then we can save it for another time...Would that be alright?"
No answer.
"I'll just call Nurse Smiley Bunch to bring you back to your room."
Goodtalk rose and walked to the phone that was mounted to her desk. She picked it up and brought it to her ear.
"Nurse Smiley Bunch," Goodtalk said as she kept an eye on her patient, "the session has ended for today. You may pick up Pinkamena."
Goodtalk returned to her chair and watched her patient. She has had extensive exposure to those that preferred silence and this one was no different. It was never easy for her to be surrounded by forlorn ponies, but she always asked herself who would help them if she didn't. Goodtalk also thought about the times when she herself was in need of to supportive companion. Her cutie mark-- a smiling face-- was a clear indicator of her perseverance.
The intoxicating silence was shattered by a gentle knock on the door.
"This is Nurse Smiley Bunch," a voice said.
"Come in," Goodtalk replied.
The door opened to reveal the pony and the empty wheelchair she was pushing with her magic.
"Alright Pinkamena, here we go," Smiley Bunch cheered as she lifted her body from the couch to the wheelchair.
"Have a nice say, Dr. Goodtalk," Smiley Bunch said before rolling out of the room.
The door was shut with the same demeanor as the one that opened it. Meanwhile, Dr. Goodtalk trotted to her sturdy desk and read through her notes once more.