I woke up the next day with new-found vigor. Today was the day I was getting out of the hospital... Finally. I'm pretty sure the hospital staff are fed up with me by now considering the meals I'm receiving seem to get less and less edible (not that they were in the first place). Nurse Redheart was given the painstaking task of watching over my annoying ass and I'm pretty sure if she had to do this even a day longer I would end up leaving the hospital in the same condition I entered it with.
It was now 9:30am and I had just finished my breakfast of really bland oatmeal and orange juice in the hospital cafeteria. All the ponies in here seemed rather uninteresting in causal conversation so I just meandered back to my room to pack up the very few belongings I had. I had received several gifts from various ponies in the last few days and they had collected in a small pile in the corner.
The necklace thing from Silk, Forge, & Violet, a half-eaten box of cupcakes from Pinkie (those things are amazing but also diabetes waiting to happen), a book on Equestrian History from Twilight, a wing-care kit from Fluttershy, various Wonderbolts gear from Rainbow Dash, a badass looking jacket from Rarity which was quite a surprise considering she normally makes dresses and more 'feminine' wear, a few jars of something called 'Zap Apple Jam' from Applejack (I have yet to try), and several cards from secret admirers and whatnot commending me for my heroism.
I gathered everything up and stuffed it all into my saddlebags which had been brought to me by Twilight yesterday, and headed to the lobby to checkout. Apparently Celestia had hoofed the bill so all I would need to do was sign my name and get the hell out of this ammonia-smelling hell. I did just that and once again I was outside in the bright sun and the crisp, clean, air.
"This place is too goddamn perfect," I muttered under my breath.
And I was right. Earth may of been a war filled, polluted, cesspool of shit but it was like a home to me. These ponies walked around all happy every day of their life, not seeming to care about anything whatsoever. The closest thing they've had to a 'catastrophe' was some event a few months back, before I had arrived, involving some "God of Chaos" that tried to takeover Equestria. He ruled the lesser half of two days before being overwhelmed by the.... get this... 'power of friendship'. That is honest to god what Twilight told me which resulting in full blown hysterics on my part.
"Power of friendship my ass," I chuckled a little to loudly getting some awkward looks from passing ponies.
I just kept walking holding my head high. There isn't a damn I could give about what any of em' thought of me. I may have to spend the rest of my days here, but I'm not going to turn into some idiot frolicking in the flowers and singing about harmony. I'll just live my life and try not to assimilate completely.
It was at this point in my mental rant, that I began to notice where I was. Looking around I determined I was about 5 or 6 blocks from my house so I decided to head in that direction. That was, until somepony interrupted me...
"Yo Vlad! You got out?" came a voice from overhead. I looked up to see Rainbow Dash giving me an amused smirk.
"Yeah, good riddance. Hospitals are awful," I replied with a grimace.
"Definitely! Hospitals suck!" Rainbow affirmed. "Anyway, I was hoping we could continue our flight lessons. We need to get you airborne!"
"I'm a bit tired right now Rainbow, how bout' in a few days," I responded with a sigh.
"Aww! I was looking forward to getting my newest flyin' buddy in the air!" she exclaimed with disappointment. "Alright, but you better be ready by Friday!"
"Sure thing Rainbow." I acknowledged before leaving the blue pegasus to continue the journey back home.
Soon the comforting view of my new home came into sight just a block or so down. As I get close I look across the street to see the burning remains of the building I so recently escaped with my life. Despite intense fire damage some of the main supports of the building managed to remain standing but everything else was torched to a crisp. From what I could see a crew of ponies had already started clearing away the rubble so reconstruction could begin. Considering all the other profound miracles I had witnessed in the past few days I wouldn't be surprised if the place was good as new within a week.
I entered my quaint apartment to find it almost exactly as I had left it. The paint had dried fine (lucky for me) so there was no need to continue anymore manual labor for the time being. Hey, laziness is one of my better qualities if only for not getting me into trouble every so often. Procrastination for the win!
After I made a thorough check of my apartment for anything out of the ordinary, it suddenly dawned on me how tired I was. Sleeping in the hospital is easier said than done you know! I shuffled my way over to my bed before collapsing to get some much needed rest...
I woke to the sound of banging on my door. I groaned loudly in annoyance at the rude interruption to my sleep. "Hello? Anypony home?" I heard a muffled voice call as the banging continued.
"Yeah, yeah I'm comin'!" I called back in response, stretching out my aching muscles before shambling over to the door. I yanked the door wide to reveal Ditzy Doo in a mail-carrier outfit.
"Delivery for... Vladumer Korzhaekuoff," she said butchering my name. She help out a letter in her mouth for me which I accepted.
"Hey Ditzy, how you doing?" I asked.
"Oh, hi Vlad! Didn't know you lived here. I'm doing fine, just out delivering the mail. Sorry if I said your full name wrong it has a lot of crazy letters," she said blushing slightly.
"No problem at all, most ponies don't pronounce it right the first time," I reply giving her a grin.
"Well it was nice seeing you again. Feel free to stop by my place for muffins sometime. I've gotta go, the mail wont deliver itself!" she exclaimed taking off from my porch in a wobbly manner before regaining her composure and flying away to her next delivery.
I waved her off before closing the door and scrutinized the letter I had been given with intrigue. On the front was my name and address and everything you would expect out of a normal letter. The only other thing I took notice of was the red 'Priority Shipping-First Class' stamp on the front. I deduced that whatever this was, it must be important.
I tore open the envelope to reveal a fancy looking letter fastened shut by an elaborate seal with the words Royal Parliament engraved at the bottom. I carefully opened the letter and began to read;
Mr. Korzhakov,
In light of your recent act of heroism, the Canterlot Royal Parliament and Their Royal Highnesses Celestia and Luna invite you for a honorary ceremony as recognition for your actions. The ceremony will take place in Canterlot this coming Saturday. At this time due to Royal Law of Equestria, your presence for this event is obligatory. All transportation and accommodations have been arranged and will go as follows.
Friday 9:30 A.M.: Departure via train from Ponyville to Canterlot
Friday 2:30 P.M.: Arrive at Canterlot Station and meet up with envoy waiting on platform.
Friday 2:45 P.M.: Transportation via carriage to the Royal Castle.
Friday 3:00 P.M.:...
(Annnnnnnnnd blah, blah, blah. I swear whomever wrote this has severe OCD issues. Every last detail of my four day visit to Canterlot was written out in extreme detail. I bet if one thing was to go awry this pony's head would explode from panic fueled rage. Anyway...)
Enclosed within this letter are your train tickets for your departure and return journeys. We at the CRP are eagerly awaiting your arrival and hope your stay is most wonderful,
Sincerely,
Regal Dictation, official scribe of the Canterlot Royal Parliament.
I sighed as I finished reading the letter which I discarded on the kitchen table. I had been informed of this by Celestia earlier so this invitation was no surprise on my end. It was still only Monday so I had plenty of time to rest and recuperate from my hospitalization which was a plus but I still wanted to just stay at home and sleep for a month or two. Oh well.
"I guess I'm going to Canterlot!" I exclaim unenthusiastically.
Two days pass rather uneventfully for me, most likely because I slept half the time and lazed around my house the other half. Nevertheless, it did wonders for my health and energy. Most of my cuts and bruises had faded away and the burned areas of my fur were growing back at a steady rate. It was nice to have a break finally after the craziness of the previous week, even if I was going to Canterlot in two days time.
I was currently eating my lunch of an apple and a daisy sandwich (they're good, don't know how) when I was startled by a loud knock on my door. I quickly wolfed down the rest of my sandwich before striding over to the door. I unlocked said door and then made sure I was at least not a complete mess before swinging it wide open. What was on my doorstep made me roll my eyes...
You see, after my daring rescue last week, Celestia announced on my behalf that the media would not be allowed to interview or question me about the incident without explicit permission from the crown. I was extremely grateful for this considering I hate excessive amounts of public attention and would prefer not to be swarmed by paparazzi. Apparently some ponies didn't get the memo.
On my front... porch I guess you can call it... was a tannish unicorn mare who looked the most stereotypical journalist ever. I mean she had it all. A brown fedora with a quill sticking out the back, a notepad and pencil suspended via magic, and black-rimmed spectacles attached firmly to her muzzle. Beside her was another unicorn, stallion this time, who had a camera strapped to his chest and possessed a douche-y goatee on his face (still don't get how pony facial hair works).
"Can I help you?" I asked just to humor them.
"Ah Mr. Korzhakov?" the mare asked a smile adorning her face.
"The one and only," I replied rolling my eyes.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," she replied just as sarcastically, "Me and my associate would like to conduct an interview with you."
"Well unless I see some form of approval from the princesses you ain't get nothing," I snorted, "I don't know if you've heard but you have to go though them in order to interview me about the incident 'cross the street."
"Hmm a shame. Lucky for you we aren't here to interview you about that," she replied with a smirk, "May we come in? There is much to discuss."
"Am I allowed to refuse?" I snark back.
"Of course. But that would make me ever so sad," she pouted giving me the puppy dog eyes.
It seemed this mare would not take no for an answer. Sigh. "Ugh, fine but this better not be a waste of time," I replied opening the door to allow the two in.
With glee she and her associate (who kept the neutral expression on his face) walked inside. I closed the door behind me, preparing myself for another looooong day.