The Pokémon tried to open her eyes in the darkness. Her sight was filled to the brim with dim, blurry shapes she couldn't decipher and dark, muted colors she couldn't name. Every part of her body ached and throbbed faintly, enough that she could feel it but not enough to feel like it was coming from her. It felt like she wasn't in her body, like she was watching from somewhere else through a muffling veil neither light nor sound could breach. The only sounds she could hear were the constant beeping of an electrocardiograph monitor and bits and pieces of indistinct conversations she couldn't understand.
Finally, she cried out to the void. "I...I...urgh..." She tried to form words but her mouth seemed full of cotton and all she could do was groan.
Suddenly, one of the voices from those muted conversations came through to her clearly, ringing in her ears. "Look, Rainbow Dash! She's awake!" It sounded like a young female. R...Renbodash? She repeated mentally, not hearing the name well enough to correctly pronounce it.
"Huh?!" Another voice loudly called, resounding in her sensitive ears. "Hey, you're right, Scoots! I'll go get the doctor." She felt a wave of dizziness at these sudden sounds. With a funny clip clop sound, one of the voices left.
Another clip clop. "Hey...are you okay?" The young voice said, much closer than before.
It took the barely-conscious Pokémon a few seconds to realize the voice was questioning her. It took another few seconds for her to gather up her strength and speak from her numbed mouth. "I...I can't...see..." her words were slow and raspy.
"Oh, uh, yeah," the little voice said, and she could imagine it nodding. "You're wearing a blindfold. The doctor said it was because you had a...what was it called...a cun-cush-in." A concussion? Ugh, that would explain the nausea...
"W-wait...doctor?" the Pokémon queried with her croaking vocal cords. "Like...a human doctor?" She was feeling a bit more awake now, her senses and mind less dull. Not by much, but enough to feel a twinge of fear at the prospect of the bipedal, fleshy creatures she loathed.
"A what doctor?"
"N-nevermind..." Maybe this was a small hatchling who hadn't learned yet about humans and their dangers. "Just...who are you?"
"My name's Scootaloo," the hatchling answered excitedly, and the Pokémon heard a buzzing, like the sound of wings flapping rapidly. She wondered what kind of creature the hatchling was. She had never heard of a Pokémon called Scootaloo, or Renbodash, so they were probably both nicknames. Maybe a Pidgey, or a Ledyba? But she didn't get time to ask Scootaloo what species she was before more clip clopping came. This time it sounded like two pairs of quadrupeds. The older voice, Renbodash, and the "doctor" they were conversing about, most likely.
"Ah," a new voice came in, this one belonging to an older male. All these voices were beginning to overwhelm her, and she felt lightheaded. "So you're awake. How are you feeling?"
She surveyed her body, all the dull aches and nausea and darkness. Just how was she feeling? She felt...different. "I...I can't see. I hurt, but I...feel kinda numb all over...and I'm really dizzy."
"Mmhmm, that was to be expected," the older male, the doctor, replied in a low, soothing voice. "We've put a thick, black cloth over your eyes to block out any alarming sights or sounds that would only serve to make you feel worse. If you're feeling up to it, I can remove it now."
Just trying to process those words brought on a new wave of vertigo. She shook her head, and winced as one of the aches became more prominent. "No...I'm not up to it yet. Maybe later..."
"Alright then," the doctor said. "But I'm going to have to ask you a few questions, Miss. Are at least up to that?"
Talking? I'm still pretty uncomfortable...but this doctor is very courteous. I'd hate to sound rude in comparison. "Okay...ask away."
The doctor didn't hesitate. "Miss Rainbow Dash here found you unconscious on the edge of the Apple Family land. She carried you all the way here to Ponyville Hospital on her back." Apple Family? Ponyville? She didn't recognize any of the terms, but the gist was obvious. Renbodash had saved her life. "Th-thanks..." she breathed.
"No need to thank me!" Renbodash reacted quickly. "I mean, c'mon. I couldn't just leave somepony lying there without helping them!"
The doctor cleared his throat. "The point here being, we know next to nothing about you, Miss. So could you please tell us about yourself?" After she didn't answer, he spoke again. "How about you start with your name?"
"M-my name? You mean, like...my species?"
"No, Miss. We know that you're a pegasus. But what's your name?"
"A...pegasus? Wh-what..."
"Hm..." the doctor grunted, deep in thought. "It would seem you have a bit of amnesia. That is to be expected with a concussion. Don't worry, I'm sure your mind is just a bit foggy right now. You haven't suffered any cognitive or mental damage."
"Maybe we should leave her alone for a bit, Doc," Renbodash suggested. "Give her some time to remember?"
"Yes, perhaps that would be for the best," the doctor agreed.
"No, wait...I know my name," the Pokémon interrupted. They said she was a...Pegasus. They must be mistaking her for a different species. So they wanted to know her name? Like most Pokémon, she went by the name of her species, but she DID have a nickname, one her parents gave her, but she preferred not to use it. She decided not to tell these creatures her nickname, and instead her species name.
"Flygon," she said. "My name is Flygon."
"Good," the doctor said approvingly. "This way we can find out more about you. Where do you live, Miss Flygon?"
"I live..." This one took a little longer to remember. "I live...in the Kalos region."
"The what-region?" Renbodash interjected.
"Hm, there's no place known as the 'Kalos region,' in Equestria, as far as I know," the doctor's deep voice grew confused. "Do you live outside Equestria?"
"Wh-what's Equestria?"
"It's the country we're in," Scootaloo answered the obvious question proudly. "This town is called Ponyville!"
"Oh," Flygon mumbled. "In that case...yes, I live outside Equestria."
"That complicates things," the doctor sighed. "It's very difficult to get in touch with other countries across the world, and Equestrian borders are very strict in who passes in and out."
"But if that's true, then why and how was she flying around in Equestria?" Renbodash pressed. I wasn't "flying around in Equestria." I was...wait, what was I doing again...? Ugh, I can't seem to remember. Cursed amnesia...
"We'll have to ask around about that," the doctor said. "But for now, let's stop grilling Miss Flygon. Our questions seem to be stressing her out." It was true, Flygon was almost panicking from not being able to recall simple things like what she was doing when Renbodash rescued her.
"Heh, sorry," Renbodash apologized, placing what felt like a limb with a hard surface on Flygon's shoulder. Though it was hardly more than a pat, it made Flygon suck in a quick breath and flinch away in pain. "Oh...sorry!" Renbodash gasped. "I mean it this time!" You didn't mean it LAST time? Flygon thought in exasperation.
"Be careful, Miss Dash," the doctor warned, tsk-ing. "Miss Flygon has some rather severe injuries. Though we have casted painkilling spells, I'd advise against touching."
"Severe injuries?" Scootaloo gasped. "What's wrong with her, Doctor Horse?" Doctor Horse, eh? So that's his name...
"Not so fast, my little pony," Doctor Horse tsk'd again. "It is her decision whether she is comfortable learning what happened to her. It isn't very polite to pry into these types of things, you know."
"Oh...m-my bad," Scootaloo stammered.
"No, Doctor," Flygon cut in. "I want to know what happened to me. It's okay if you tell everyone here."
Doctor Horse hesitated for a second. "Well, I suppose, if you really want to know...This may shock you, Miss Flygon, but while flying around the border between the White Tail woods and the Apple Family orchard, you were struck by lightning. Do you remember?"
Flygon reflected upon that, and after some mental strain, she did find that she recalled a bright flash of light, then seeing the ground rushing up towards her as she fell. A nagging voice in her head told her that it wasn't lightning, that the flash had come from something else, but she ignored the voice. "Y-yes. I think I do."
"Good. Well, most of your injuries were from your fall, not from the lightning strike itself. You've been impressively bruised and scratched, but nothing too serious externally. You were very lucky, to hardly have any injuries from the lightning. Especially your wings. They're the most vulnerable to lightning strikes while flying. The main problem is that when you hit the ground, you fractured three ribs. One of which punctured a lung. We had to perform surgery, and though it was successful, you'll have a rather nasty scar on your chest from now on."
"Oh...okay." Scars, Flygon could deal with. She already had a few from battling. "How long will it take me to recover?"
"If everything goes well, you'll only have to be staying in the hospital for a couple days. We'll bandage you up and you'll be free to go. However, after you leave, you MUST leave your bandages on and take it easy for as long as it takes for your ribs to heal, which should be about...two weeks."
"T-two weeks?" The words felt weird coming out of her mouth. What did he say? Take it easy...for two whole weeks? No battling, no high-speed chases, no raiding human cities for two whole weeks?!
"Ooh, that's awful..." Renbodash cringed. "I feel you. I once had to spend a day and a night in this place with a broken wing, and I only had to 'take it easy' for one week. It felt like an eternity!"
"It isn't as awful as it seems," Doctor Horse condoled. "Two weeks will fly by like lightning...if you excuse the pun. After several days, you'll even be able to fly again. Just be careful not to overexert yourself once you leave."
"A...Alright," Flygon sighed.
"I'm glad you understand."
Flygon shifted a bit, ignoring the dull ache that resulted. Her vision was still black and shadowy. Like Doctor Horse said, it was to prevent even more nausea. But as a Pokémon relying on sight to guide her, the lack of it was distressing her. She fidgeted and tried to blink her eyes, but the heavy black cloth restrained fast ocular movement. "If it's okay, I think I want to take the blindfold off now."
"Of course, Miss Flygon," Doctor Horse intoned. She felt him place a limb on the cloth. "But I'd like to warn you, this room is lit very brightly. You're about to feel an extreme amount of nausea. Are you ready?"
"Yes. I'm ready." The limb on her eyes shifted upward, dragging the blindfold with it. Yet everything was still dark. Flygon realized her eyes were still shut tightly, blocking off all light. With a gulp that stung her dry throat, she steeled up her courage, dread and curiosity bubbling in her stomach. With one last push from her mind, she opened her eyes wide.
White, everything was white. It was a blazing, brilliant light that burned her eyes, but she couldn't close them once again. The radiance focused all of her attention, like a Venomoth drawn towards a lightbulb. Then, her vision focused.
Something was wrong.
Something was absolutely, terrifyingly wrong.
Thanks to her special eye-cases, meant to protect her eyes against the harsh winds and sands of the desert, her world was constantly tinted a warm, comforting magenta. The magenta was gone. Every color was massively intensified. When she was a Vibrava, her world was tinted green. And all the way back when she was a hatchling, a little Trapinch, her world was black-and-white. Now she saw everything. Every sharp, shocking shade she had learned the names of but never truly understood. It was shocking and overwhelming. She started feeling dizzy and lightheaded, and she knew it wasn't only because of her concussion. The world spun in circles and it took all of Flygon's will not to gag and vomit. She felt light-headed and weak. What happened to her eye-cases?!
As Flygon started to panic, three odd figures came into view. They looked like...Ponyta, but smaller and more plush. They had no fire in their manes and tails, and their pelts were many absurd colors. The first was--what was that color?--blue with a full spectrum in her mane and tail. The second was small and orange, with a pink mane and tail. The last was taller and built more stockily...a male, maybe? He had a light brown coat and a darker brown mane and tail, wearing a crisp white lab coat. Were they...Pokémon? She had never seen anything like them. They must've been a species she'd never seen before.
The bright lights, the startling colors, and the unknown Pokémon were too much for her. She was breathing fast, on the verge of dry heaving. I...I can't... She reached her arms up to cover her eyes. She had to ask to put the blindfold on, she couldn't go on like this...
When she tried to cover her eyes, Flygon didn't expect something hard and blunt to painfully smash into her jaw, which felt farther out than usual. What the... She got a closer look at the offending object. It was pea-green, like her scales. Except it was a limb covered in fur and ended with a circular, stiff object. A hoof. She moved her arm, and the furry appendage moved too. Flygon touched the appendage to her face. Sure enough, her eye cases were gone. Her eyes felt much bigger. Her jaw was protruded and her teeth were flat, not sharp. Fur covered her face, and most likely, her entire body. ...Does not compute.
"Hey, uh, Flygon? You alright?" Renbodash's tomboyish voice cut through her confusion.
Flygon screamed.
And then she blacked out.