… I passed out again.
—
Twilight Sparkle and her friends were growing concerned. They had been looking for traces of their mystery guest for almost an hour.
Twilight herself was frustrated. It was powerful magic that brought the creature here, but the traces were so fleeting it was impossible to get an accurate read.
She was preparing another tracking spell when she felt an enormous wave of magic from the east. And although Twilight Sparkle functioned as the group's source of magic knowledge, the whole group felt the wave.
"What was that?" five of the six ponies asked simultaneously. They glanced at each other and then took off in the direction of the magic disturbance.
They reached the site within minutes and could not be sure of what they saw.
Zecora and a unicorn filly lay on the ground, surrounded by a large quantity what looked like timber wolf remains. The zebra looked unharmed but the filly's state was less certain due to the very large and frazzled mane and tail covering her.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy said and flew over to their striped friend and the unknown party.
"What do you suppose happened, Twilight?" Applejack asked cautiously.
"I don't know," Twilight answered and slowly walked up to the pair lying unconscious on the forest floor. "That felt like unicorn magic, but it wasn't a spell that I recognized."
The six friends were standing over two unconscious ponies (and the branches that would normally form timber wolves). Twilight's impulsive side was telling her to try and see if her zebra friend and the unknown filly were harmed in any way, but since there was no immediate danger, her methodical side won out and she let the resident font of medical knowledge confirm their state instead.
She channeled her magic into her horn and scanned the site. Her suspicions seemed to be true: Zecora, the filly, and the timber wolves had all been drained of their magical reserves.
She let out a sigh of relief. Magical exhaustion almost always led to an almost comatose sleep, but that in itself was not dangerous. Rest, followed by a hearty meal or two, was all that was required for a full recovery.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were the ones that had taken an extra close look at the zebra and the filly, the first out of concern, the second out a mix of concern and curiosity. When Pinkie lifted the considerable mass that made up the filly's mane and tail they both let out small gasps.
"What? What is it, Flutters?" Asked a startled Rainbow Dash.
"It's, it... " A shaken looking Fluttershy tried to answer. "Oh, that poor dear!"
Pinkie Pie took the filly's mane in her mouth and positioned them on the ground rather than on top of her for the rest of the group to see. The rest let out little gasps of their own at what they saw.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack had especially horrified expressions on their faces. With their very beings being so intimately tied to physical exercise, they cringed at the sight.
"Oh, my," Rarity slowly said. Twilight was about to second her friend's concise but encompassing statement, until she realized that they came here for a reason.
"Does anypony recognize the filly?" Twilight asked, despite being certain she already knew the answer.
The rest of the group shook their heads.
Zecora had been trying to locate the involuntary visitor and apparently found this filly. Twilight lit up her horn to try and discern the residues of magical energies in the area. A powerful burst of magic had gone off here very recently, but she suspected that already. She was both relieved and horrified, however, when her reading clearly showed that the filly was the one they had been looking for since coming here. Relieved that her victim was not out there still, with Zecora out of commission and two ponies needing to be transported someplace safe. Horrified of the implications.
"Did I do this?" Twilight asked with a shaky voice. Her friends gave her worried and slightly alarmed looks before she continued. "This filly is the one we've been looking for, the readings are obvious," she said as she gestured to the small form on the ground. "And she's..." Twilight tried to continue but couldn't get any further.
Applejack put a hoof on her friend's withers and tried to say in a soothing voice, "Now don't worry, Twilight. I ain't got no head for magic, but you said that that scryin' orb was supposed to be harmless?" Twilight nodded and Applejack pressed her reasoning and hoped that it would hold water. "That, to me, seems to imply that you ain't responsible for this."
"But I..." Twilight started before giving Applejack's words some thought. It's true, the orb was supposed to be harmless. And, sure, teleporting somepony beyond the borders of worlds could be inconvenient to the point of dangerous, but it was a very indirect danger. Her examination certainly didn't indicate that the orb would remove limbs when spying strange phenomenon. "Yeah, you could be right," she continued. "I hope you're right."
"Anyway, I think we should get out of here," said Rainbow Dash. "If we found what we're looking for then there's no point in sticking around."
"You're right," said Twilight. "Let's get them back to Ponyville. As far as I can tell, they're just suffering from magical exhaustion. The Timber Wolves probably are too, now that I think about it."
"That's not gonna mess up the zap apple harvest is it?" Said Pinkie Pie. "Cause I've got some ideas for new frosting with those."
Twilight was feeling slightly better now, relaying information always had a soothing effect on her. "No," she said. "They're just out cold and should wake up tomorrow."
Applejack was the obvious choice for the one who would carry Zecora back to Ponyville while Rainbow Dash took the filly. The earth pony mare was barely hindered by the zebra on her back while the pegasus positioned her wings to secure the filly with the awkward center of gravity.
By now, the sun had almost set. They were all a bit relieved by this since it meant that there would be few to no ponies seeing them carrying two unconscious ponies from the direction of the Everfree Forest through the streets of Ponyville on the way to the hospital. And considering the state of the filly, and Ponyville rumor mill, this might've been for the best.
—
Nurse Redheart was familiar with the importance of down time, as was common for those who have to be ready to skip lunch and breaks for the sake of her fellow ponies' (and occasionally non-ponies') health.
She was enjoying a weak but highly sugar and milk augmented cup of coffee and having a relaxingly indolent conversation with Ponyville Hospital's receptionist, Ink Sketch, when the front doors shot open and the town's strangeness magnets filed in.
Redheart and Ink Sketch looked at each other. The excitement of being a Ponyville resident had risen exponentially in recent times, ever since the arrival of Twilight Sparkle, the defeat of Nightmare Moon, and the return of Princess Luna, but despite all that had happened, the hospital had not become noticeably more taxed. Nurse Redheart was no mage among the scholarly elite in Canterlot's golden spires, but she felt confident in jumping to the conclusion that it might be the proximity of the Elements of Harmony and their bearers that had kept it that way. Then again, most of the trouble that befell Ponyville also focused around the Bearers themselves, so while her feeling for the six were as benevolent as for the rest of the the ponies (and non-ponies) of Ponyville, she was not entirely without reservations for this motley crew. And she found it a bit daring of them to chastise the dreaded Cutie Mark Crusaders when they got into trouble.
And so she hoped that the sight of the Bearers purposefully moving in through the doors of Ponyville Hospital was not a sign of things to come and set down her coffee and braced herself for the worst.
Ponies with Redheart's experience and dedication often picked up social skills related to their vocation, and reading ponies' body language and discerning situations based on group behavior was one of them. So she was somewhat confused at the downcast look of the recent arrivals, coupled with the purposeful movements and lack of urgency. It was not because anypony was dead, she was sure of that. But she spotted Zecora the zebra lying unconscious on top of Applejack and a foal on top of Rainbow Dash.
When they arrived at the front desk seconds later, Ink Sketch managed to pose the question, "What seems to be the problem?" with a tone that was both guarded and encouraging.
"Magical exhaustion of both Zecora here," Twilight said, nodding her head towards the zebra, "And an unknown filly," she concluded while nodding towards the other unconscious form.
Redheart stepped towards Rainbow Dash and the filly. "A Jane Doe?" She said. "Have you asked her about herself or made anyyyy..." Redheart trailed off when getting a peek beyond the feathers of Rainbow Dash's wings and seeing the state of the filly.
Rainbow Dash looked a little downcast. "Yeeaahh, no, she was unconscious when we got to her."
"We found her like that in the Everfree Forest!" Pinkie Pie said in her usual excited voice, but a perceptive listener might've noticed that she sounded slightly less chipper than usual. "In the middle of a pile of knocked cold timberwolves!"
Nurse Redheart raised an eyebrow at this and said, "Are there any other issues you know of?"
Fluttershy spoke up. "Um, no, I did a quick examination and couldn't find anything." She looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "She's a bit cold though."
"Alright," Nurse Redheart said. "I'm gonna call a doctor for a thorough examination, just in case. But first I'm gonna get a gurney."
At this point, Ink Sketch had fished out a small stack of papers and laid them on the table before saying, "And I would like you to fill out these forms."
"Fluttershy," Twilight said as she walked towards the front desk. "Why don't you fill out the one for Zecora? As for the filly, well, there are some unusual circumstances surrounding her."
Twilight had Ink Sketch's full attention, "Oh, really, now?" she asked and glanced at the filly. "What kind of circumstances?"
Nurse Redheart had apparently found both of what she was looking for when Twilight answered, because both she and a stallion in a doctor's outfit walked in from around the corner, each pushing a gurney. "Well, it requires some explanation." Twilight was a bit nervous, but steeled herself and continued, "But this filly was by accident magically brought here from another world."
Both the doctor and nurse Redheart had paused their wheeling of the gurneys. The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, so what does that mean in this case?" The very mild reluctance to believe what he heard spoke volumes about Equestria's newest addition to the roster of royalties.
"Honestly, I don't know for certain," Twilight answered. She thought back to the notes on the world that the filly came from, and her own impressions of that world. "But I suspect that it might mean that she's going to be even more confused or even scared than one might expect when she wakes up."
There was a pause before the doctor asked, "So... are there any reasons to treat this patient any different from other patients? Medically, I mean."
"Not that I can think of, though I would like to stay and make sure she's alright," Twilight said.
"Well," the doctor said. "You're free to wait while we finish our examination of course. But may I ask why?"
"Because I may be responsible for her state," Twilight answered. "And if I am..." she trailed of.
The young princess was obviously upset about the whole affair and the doctor decided not to push her any further. "Very well. Nurse Redheart, would you please help me bring the patients into examination rooms, and then contact doctor Staff for our dear Zecora?" The doctor said as he pushed the gurney towards Rainbow Dash.
Nurse Redheart helped Rainbow Dash lift the small form with its considerable supplements of mane and tail onto one of the gurneys before moving on to the zebra. "Yes, doctor."
As the nurse and doctor wheeled their patients away, Ink Sketch spoke up. "So, what does this mean in terms of paper work?"
"It means that we should use the anomaly stamp," Twilight said.
As Ink Sketch ducked beneath the desk, she said, "Short and informative, that's how we like it," as she resurfaced with a stamp between her teeth and hammered it down on the blank form, which made Fluttershy, who was filling out the other form next to her , jump in surprise.
Between Discord's rampage, visits and even admittance in the hospital, and things like Parasprites, poison joke and a slew of other bizarre events that the citizens of Ponyville seemed to endure on a monthly basis, the anomaly stamp had been introduced at many of Ponyville's government facilities. A document or paper with that mark could mean many different things, prominent among them are: “We don't know”, “Inquire with Twilight Sparkle about possible solutions”, “We really don't know”, “Don't panic”, “Wing it”, “PANIC!”, and “Hunker down until phenomenons of bright light, rainbows and sparkles are visible outdoors (not to be confused with other phenomenons of less aesthetically appealing and soothing nature).'
As the papers were being filed away by Ink Sketch, Twilight turned to her friends, "It's getting late. I'm going to stay here, but don't feel as if you need to as well."
Rarity, who had been trying to stifle a yawn for some time at that point, gave in and said, "Thank you Twilight, I'm just glad any more serious issues were averted."
"Yeah," Applejack said. "The farm ain't gonna work itself. And to work it properly, a pony needs her sleep. But if you need help with anything, sugarcube, you know where to find us."
"I'm staying, though," Rainbow Dash said. "The weather over the next few days are gonna be just like today anyway, it's pretty much gonna run itself."
"I'm staying too," came Fluttershy's soft voice.
Pinkie Pie had began to bounce toward the exit after with Applejack and Rarity, "Don't worry, Twilight, I'll tell Spike where you are."
As the two small groups separated, Twilight said, "Thank you, Pinkie," before remembering some details about the situation. "WAIT! Don't forget to tell him why I'm here!"
—
Doctor Proper walked out of the examination room to find three young mares waiting for him. The feeling of wistfulness he got from that confused him so much that he almost missed what the lavender one in the middle said.
"How is she, doctor?"
"Oh! Uh, I don't want to say anything specific yet. But it doesn't look bad." He moved around them toward the examination room which currently housed Zecora and Doctor Staff. "However, I would like to confirm something. Excuse me."
He pushed open the door to the examination room and said, "Curl, would you please help me confirm something with the other patient? I would like a third opinion."
The other doctor exited the room and nodded toward the three mares who had brought the patients in. "Of course, what about?" she said as they walked into the room with the filly in.
"Well, like the princess and her friends said, she's clearly suffering from magical exhaustion, but I believe I'm seeing signs of Wisp-Shimmer syndrome," Doctor Proper said.
Doctor Staff took a look at the different values that nurse Redheart had written down before she gently placed her fetlock on the filly's forehead, just below the horn. "Yes, the signs are there. What do you think, Redheart?"
"Hard to be sure, but it would be negligent to not take any steps," the nurse answered.
Doctor Proper nodded at this and looked lost in thought for a moment. "Yes, I believe I overheard that this was officially an anomaly situation. In which case we maybe ought to conscript the help of the young ponies just outside."
Nurse Redheart was heading towards the door. "I was just thinking the same thing." She opened the door and had the attention of the Bearers waiting outside. "Alright, we might have something we need your help with. Please, come in."
The three mares filed in a bit nervously. "What would you like our help with?" asked Fluttershy, who, for a change, was not as nervous as her two friends, as being asked for medical assistance was something she was far more comfortable with than either Rainbow or Twilight.
Doctor Proper turned to his colleague. "You take it from here, Curl. You actually have experience treating this."
Doctor Staff nodded and adjusted her glasses. "We are seeing clear signs of Wisp-Shimmer syndrome in this filly."
Twilight and Fluttershy were about to let out sighs of relief when Fluttershy realized something and stopped herself. "Not... bad, I hope?"
"Oh, no," Doctor Staff answered calmly. "Early stages, but as I'm sure you know it's best if treated in its early stages to prevent complications,".
Rainbow Dash looked a bit annoyed at being the only one that didn't comprehend the situation. "Hold on! What's Shim-Whisper syndrome?"
Twilight rolled her eyes out of reflex. "Wisp-Shimmer syndrome is a fairly rare affliction that mostly affects unicorns. If ponies' magical reserves are exhausted, they try to jump start themselves by borrowing energy from the pony's physical stamina."
Rainbow Dash considered this for a moment. "Oh, yeah, I've seen you get all tired and drowsy when you do powerful spells," Rainbow nodded. Twilight didn't look very pleased at having the side effects of her doing demanding magic described in that particular manner, but her desire to lecture predictably won out over her desire to snap at her friend. So she continued.
"It also works the other way around. When a pony is physically exhausted, her stamina borrows from her magical reserves. Pegasi do this fairly often, and earth ponies do it so often they hardly notice." Rainbow Dash nodded at this, clearly recognizing what her friend was saying. "If a pony's magical reserves are profoundly exhausted while the pony is suffering from serious physical fatigue, her magical and physical reserves might get stuck in a loop, trying to leech off each other, and not getting a chance for either to recover. That is Wisp-Shimmer syndrome and it can be very serious if left untreated."
Doctor Staff nodded. "I couldn't have given a better description myself. Do you happen to know how to treat it, your highness?"
"Unfortunately no," Twilight said before perking up. "But I wouldn't mind learning!"
"I'm sure you wouldn't," a smiling Curl Staff said. "Since we're probably gonna be able to wake her up soon, we should be able to provide the treatment as foodstuff. And that's what we would like your help with."
The three bearers looked at each other before Rainbow Dash spoke. "Well, both Applejack and Pinkie Pie are pretty good with cooking. But how is food going to help?"
Doctor Staff was a bit amused at the expressions of the three mares in front of her, Twilight was looking confused but mostly curious, Rainbow Dash was looking curious but mostly confused, and Fluttershy somewhere in the middle. "If we introduce magic into the patient's digestive tract, where her physical energy comes from, her magical reserves should receive what they need, breaking the loop and letting her recover normally."
"So, um, you want us to make magic food?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Essentially, yes," Doctor Staff answered.
At this, nurse Redheart spoke up. "And everypony knows that Pinkie Pie can make cupcakes from just about anything, including ground up gems."
Twilight's face lit up with a look of epiphany. "Of course! Rarity has lots of gems that can easily hold stable magic, and Spike can pulverize them, no problem."
Redheart and Curl Staff smilingly nodded their heads before the doctor had a slightly uncomfortable look on her face. "Of course, Miss Rarity shouldn't be forced to provide such a thing for the hospital."
"Oh, I'm sure she's happy to help!" Twilight said.
"No doubt. Even so, it would behoove us not to rely on a private pony for such things. If you do retrieve such gems from Miss Rarity, please assure her that she will be compensated." Doctor Staff said.
"Alright, is there anything else?" Twilight asked.
"Eh, yes. Nurse Redheart is writing down the type of gems recommended and how much we might need. And please, tell Miss Pie to restrain herself with the quantity of baked goods, we are leaving for Canterlot with the patient before long." Doctor Stable said.
The three friends had been ready to leave on their little task before they heard this. "You are?" four voices asked, doctor Proper among them.
Doctor Staff nodded at this. "Yes, there are better means to treat this particular malady in Canterlot, and I don't want to take any chances. Redheart, are you up for a trip to Canterlot?"
Nurse Redheart was the only one that didn't seem surprised at the announcement. "Of course."
"Good, we'll leave tomorrow morning, preferably with the earliest train," Doctor Staff turned back to the three mares. "Thank you so much for all your help, and please, pass on our gratitude to the others as well."
Fluttershy and Twilight smiled in a small way while Rainbow Dash puffed her chest out. "No problem," the energetic pegasus said. As they filed out they glanced back at the filly on the gurney, feeling that despite her state, their contribution still made a difference.
—
Spike the dragon was sitting on the back of his oldest friend with a disgruntled look on his face and the end of a shimmering bag jutting out of his mouth. Large crunching sounds were becoming noticeably more faint with every movement of his jaw. Around him, in the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were preparing the ingredients for a batch of cupcakes with Twilight going over the list given to them by Nurse Redheart and some instructions in a thick book exclusively about cupcakes. Rainbow Dash was lounging around in the corner, idly chewing on some leftovers from the day's batch.
Spike Pulled the bag out of his mouth and held it in his claws. "Done," he stated in a resigned voice.
Twilight took the bag in her magic grip, opened it and took a look at the contents. "Spike, there are still large chunks in here!"
Pinkie Pie cheerfully skipped over and looked over the contents. "Don't worry, Twilight, I can make cupcakes out of that, no problem!"
"I know you can, Pinkie, but if it's not finely minced enough it might do more harm than good," Twilight turned back to Spike, sitting on her back. "Please, Spike, I know you don't like this, but it's important that the gem dust is not too rough."
Spike once again grabbed the bag. "Alright, fine," he said before sticking the bag in his mouth again and continued chewing.
Twilight gave Spike a warm smile. "Cheer up, Spike, You're doing this to help a cute little filly. And Rarity seemed very pleased with your part in this, she might give you some gems as a reward the next time you see her."
Spike's chewing slowed down for a few seconds as he considered this, then it sped up again with renewed vigor as he suddenly got a big and slightly dumb-looking smile on his face.
—
Did I ever get to duct-taping chocolate bars to my jacket? There's a chasm between your bedside table and your bed, think of the treasures that could be there! How about some strawberry ice cream? You'd like that wouldn't you? It's like a roller coaster! Where's my slipper? What is? My thoughts. Yeah, they're like "Wooeeooo!". Drop that TV! Applause. Thoughts slowly getting more comprehensible. You know what that means, don't you? Dust bunnies on my lips? Kiss grandma! Yeah, I think I know what that means. Lucy~in~the~sky! But considering that last part it's not looking good. Time to clean the kitchen. Multicultural society! I'm waking up. Morning mist and poetry. Camels outside of Taj Mahal. Aaaoow, JUMP! French, wooden box with purple hat. Extra exclamation marks! Wheels and string. Alright, ENOUGH! Open your eye, already.
When I wake up that scrambled it's usually difficult enough to open my eye and start taking in the world around me, but this time it was a new level of hard. I sighed inwardly, I think, and prepared myself for more incomprehensible mind babble in the twilight zone between sleep and wakefulness. At least it wasn't sleep paralysis, I hate that, everything goes purple.
"Doctor. I think she's waking up."
A voice! I had been drifting aimlessly just beneath the surface of the waking world and I could see the rays of the morning glory shimmering from somewhere above me. But here was something I could orient myself with. ‘Oh, voice! My glaring, orange buoy of floatness! Send down your white polymers-tendrils and save me!’
"Easy, now, little one. Don't worry. Just take it slow, alright?"
‘I take it back! Stop talking, please!’
"Whenever you're ready."
‘Aaah! Please, stop!’
"That's it."
‘It's time to take action! Use your primary method of communication to signal whoever is assaulting your senses to cease all activity.’
"Mmmuh,"
‘... Ugh. Well done.’
"Don't worry, you're doing great."
‘I wish. Shake your head. The universal sign for "no".’
"Doctor, I think we ought to give her some space."
‘You think correctly.’
"Hmm? What do you mean, Redheart?"
"She turns her ears away whenever you speak to her."
‘Oh, thank you!’
"She may just be trying to orient herself."
‘... A pox on your firstborn! Let's go with struggling instead!’
"On the other hoof, You may be right."
‘Triumph! Now to savor this moment.’ I inwardly breathed some satisfied sighs, or at least I thought I did, they might've shown on the outside.
"Oh. Good catch, Nurse Redheart. Make a note of the seeming over sensitiveness, please. Now."
I could hear the clip-clop of hooves approaching. Very astutely.
One of the voices I had heard suddenly spoke very softly right by me. "Can you hear me?"
‘Not as glaringly now that you're whispering, thankfully.’ I nodded my head and tried to give an affirmative murmur. It came out as a whimper though.
"Oh, you poor dear."
‘Indeed.’
"Don't worry, it'll all pass soon."
‘Thank you, that's comforting.’
"You've suffered a magical exhaustion and you're having what we call Wisp-Shimmer syndrome."
‘Magical exhaustion? What're y-’
The dogs, the cave, the wolves, the zebra, my new body, and magic. I would've shot open my eyes in shock at how it all flooded back to me. This time my eyelids (I went for plural) had to make do with a painfully slow and shaky ascent.
I heard a gasp and when my eye finally got with the program and saw a tan-colored equine in a white lab coat, with teal hair done in a bun and with a very human-looking, startled expression, amplified by the huge, expressive eyes and drooped ears. "Nurse Redheart! You never informed me about her eye!" she said, clearly a female, judging by her voice. I flinched and closed my eyes again.
‘Ow.’
"I'm sorry, Doctor Staff. I forgot that me and Doctor Proper performed the examination." Another voice said. I carefully opened my eye again and saw another equine looking slightly down. This one was white with pink hair and a little old-school nurse's cap.
‘Aw, how cute.’
The other one looked back at me, noticed my expression and immediately dropped her voice. "Oh, I'm so sorry, dear!"
‘Well, at least it's helping me wake up.’
"How do you feel?"
‘Yes, how do I feel? I wish the numbness would come back, I miss it.’
"... Delicate," I said, hoping that they'd take the hint.
"Oooh!" she exclaimed (quietly, thankfully) in a voice that contained a worrying amount of sympathy, and lifted her right arm, sorry, foreleg, and gave me a small hug with it.
‘Whoa. What's going on?’
Taking this in gave me a basis to orient myself with. I was sitting up in a clean and somewhat bare room with a distant smell of antiseptic in the air.
‘I know what this is. This is a medical facility.
‘Let's cycle through the possible responses, shall we? “Where am I?” I'm in a hospital, low priority question. “Who are you?” Hopefully a medical expert but it would be good to confirm this. “What happened?” Ah, that's a good one. Let's start with that.’
"What happened?"
‘A whole sentence! Where's my cookie?’
"You used too much magic, dear," the tan equine said as she let go of me and stood back down on all of her legs. "Some very nice mares found you in the Everfree Forest and brought you here."
‘Mares eh? So we're doing it that way. Hold on! The zebra!’
"There... was a... zeb... zebra." I managed to say before a weak yawn escaped me.
At this, the equine with the nurse's cap spoke up. "Oh, yes, Zecora came in with you. Don't worry about her, she's resting." The exhalation part of my sigh had to make do as a breath of relief.
‘Good. Zecora, eh?’ I closed my eye again since I was barely using it anyway.
"As you no doubt want to be doing," the tan equine continued.
‘Gold star.’
"But I'm afraid you're going to have to take some medicine first. If you don't, resting could be very bad for you."
‘Didn't she say earlier that it would all pass? Oh, she meant the over sensitiveness. Okay, let's just sit back and follow the instructions, that's a good thing to do when you're a patient in a hospital.
‘Hold on... I am in a hospital, right? Ah yes, there were more questions I had.’
I opened my eye again.
"Who are you?"
‘It sounds a bit rude, asking it like that. But whatever.’
"My name is Doctor Curl Staff, and this is Nurse Redheart," the tan one said and gestured with a foreleg towards the other equine as they both looked at me and smiled in a caring way. "You're in Ponyville Hospital."
‘There were several keywords there, “nurse”, “doctor” and “hospital” were all clear enough, but “Ponyville” implied things.’
I looked down on myself.
True enough, I once again beheld a small, royal blue equine body. This time mostly covered by a white blanket and positioned in a very human manner in a wheelchair. Now, wheelchairs have their uses, but they're not really my style. One thing that was clear though was that, as with the zebra, Zecora, I was very small compared to the other equines in the room.
"What happened?" I asked again.
I looked up as the one in the lab coat, Curl Staff (‘Curl Staff?’) answered again. "Like I said, dear. You used too much magic."
‘Yeah, I remember the shimmering shapes and all that, but why am I a little horsie? If I remember correctly I was preparing to go home from work not long ago and then waking up like this.’
"N-no, why am I... Why am I like this?" I asked and tried showing them my arm for emphasis. I only managed to lift it out from beneath the blanket and not much else, though. I looked down on my arm and gave it a disapproving look.
The white and pink one took a few steps forward and answered in a somewhat guarded tone. "That... Don't worry about that, we'll find somepony to answer all of your questions after you get some more rest," She turned to a desk beside her and picked up a paper bag in her mouth before continuing. "But first you need your medicine," She finished, speaking through her teeth with no noticeable difference in her voice. Impressive. "Now, you're lucky. Your medicine is like a powder, and our very own master baker, Pinkie Pie, has made these just for you," she said as set the bag down on a table beside me and reached down with her foreleg in the bag to produce a cupcake.
I looked at the baked good that the nurse's cap adorned horsie with gorgeously large, blue eyes and pink mane made up in a bun, held aloft in her hoof and felt a slight daze as a part of my brain informed the rest to try and take in the situation "... What?" I asked. That would have been asked with a greater flourish of eloquence but I'm not ashamed to admit my oratorical skills failed me at that point.
The equine in with the cupcake gave me a warm smile before answering. "You get to eat cupcakes, dear."
‘I'm having trouble telling if their bedside manners are comforting or disturbing. Then again, maybe I really am in the body of a child, or perhaps some small subspecies that looks like children. Horse hobbits? Better that than like in that kinda terrible movie with the reverse aging serial killer.’
The equine with the pink hair (Redheart, was it?) set down the cupcake on the table and started breaking it into smaller pieces. "By the way, dear, what's your name?"
"Gabrielle."
The tan one, Curl Staff, had come into view beside Redheart, and they both kind of stopped for a moment when they heard my name.
"What a pretty name, for such a pretty little filly." Redheart said.
‘So it's true? I'm a talking horsie foal in talking horsie land. How c- You know what? That's it, I'm done. She's right, questions and answers can come later. Treat this like you treat roller coasters, just sit back and go with the flow as the world and everyone around you go crazy, and right now the flow involved eating cupcakes.’
Redheart held a piece of cupcake in her hoof (‘Just roll with it’) and extended it to my mouth. I opened my mouth and with some exertion started chewing what was apparently my medicine. ‘Raspberry? Nice.’
"How are your ears, dear? Are they better?" Redheart asked as I chewed on my second piece of medicine, and I realized that they've been using normal speaking voices for some time. I nodded my head.
"That's good, dear," she continued. "Because we are going on a little trip with the train."
"Mmhm."
"We are going to Canterlot," (ok) "where we're going to make you feel all good as new." She stopped herself and looked a bit flustered before she rallied and continued. "Who knows, maybe you'll even get to meet the princesses."
‘That's nice.’
As I finished off the last piece of the cupcake, Curl Staff spoke up. "Good timing, Redheart. The train leaves soon. Are you ready for a train ride, uhm, Gabrielle?"
"Mmhm." I answered, meekly.
‘Careful there, big girl! Don't scare them off.’
"Good, let's go then," she said in an only slightly strained voice as Redheart walked around to my back.
I was wheeled out through the room and into a large hallway that managed to look both hospital-like and quaint. I could astutely hear the sounds of two sets of hooves, clopping along on the tiles. Thankfully, my hearing wasn't painfully sensitive like before, but I could still hear Curl Staff as she whispered to Redheart, "Redheart, how do you think her name is spelled?"
I let out a yawn as I was wheeled towards what looked like an exit and thought to myself, ‘Am I gonna see this Ponyville they mentioned earlier?’
Seeing Ponyville must've been some nefarious scheme with me as a super villain, because just as it was about to reach fruition, in rode Nap-Time and snatched victory from me in the last second. ‘Darn you, Nap-Time’ was my last thought as I mentally waved my fist towards my old tormentor and fell asleep again.
—
Nurse Redheart poked her head forward to look at the filly in the wheelchair she was pushing along the streets of Ponyville in the early morning hours on the short trip to the train station. "Out like a light."
"Well, who can blame her? Waking up like that," Doctor Staff said from beside her. "I actually felt she handled the situation really well."
"Oh, agreed. I had braced myself for a much worse reaction," Redheart said. "Still, there's something odd about her." It was just after sunrise, very few ponies could be seen outside just yet, most of them probably enjoying their breakfasts right now, so they had not attracted any attention. Still, nurse Redheart kept her voice low just in case, It wouldn't do to have ponies overhearing her talking with her colleague about how her patients acting strange.
"What do you mean?" asked Curl softly, she too having picked up on the need for discretion.
"She was very weak, but I could also tell that she was a lot more aware of her surroundings than one might've suspected. She took in everything we said, calmly and quietly," Redheart said.
Doctor Curl Staff gave this some thought as they reached the train station. One could hear the train in the distance, slowly coming in. Ponyville town hall had officially sent a request to the Crystal Empire's rail road-services to find some way stop by their station in a more discreet manner, the hospital being located so closely to the tracks, and the hospital's staff had encouraged the town hall to extend the request to the standard line as well. She saw four of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and Spike, waiting for them. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
"Good morning, everypony, here to check in on Gabrielle?" Curl Staff said.
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight looked confused, the later one asking "who?" while Pinkie Pie looked excited and answered "yep!"
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight turned their attention towards Pinkie Pie and gave her a questioning look while she just gave them a cheery grin back.
"That's the name of the filly," Redheart answered, gesturing to the mass of hair in the wheelchair in front of her.
"But Twilight is not just checking in on her. She's going with you to Canterlot!" Said Pinkie Pie. Twilight was the only one with a saddle bag with her, they noticed.
Redheart and Curl Staff looked at each other and the doctor spoke up. "Hmm, may I ask why, your highness?"
Twilight took a step forward, looked at Gabrielle and said, "Because I brought her here, if she needs any help, I should be the one to give it to her."
Curl Staff nodded. "That's good to hear, because we promised Gabrielle that somepony would give her some answers when she wakes up."
Twilight's friends looked a bit concerned at the downcast and resigned look she had before Pinkie Pie put a foreleg around her. "Don't worry, Twilight. This is all gonna work out, I can tell!" Pinkie said.
Twilight perked up a bit and Rainbow Dash decided to push the advantage. "Yeah! Don't worry, if anypony can figure out how to solve this..." Rainbow Dash paused for a moment as she didn't even realize what the problem was, if there was one, she only know that they had found a poor little filly unconscious in the woods and she needed help, but she decided to press on, "thing, it's you," she finished. "And we'll help Spike look after the library while you're gone." The others nodded in consent as the train slowly pulled up to the station.
Twilight gave them a warm smile. "Thank you. I'll send Spike a letter when she's ready for visitors and we can all go for a trip." She looked at the doctor and nurse for confirmation.
"That sounds lovely, I'm sure she'd like that," Curl Staff said as the train came to a halt. She filed into the train with the princess, Redheart and Gabrielle in her wheelchair before turning back to the mares standing outside. "Oh, And thank you so much for your help, everypony!"
They all looked pleased at this, but Pinkie Pie especially so and she jumped up and down in excitement. "Oh, oh! Did she say anything about the cupcakes? Did she like them?"
Nurse Redheart gave Pinkie Pie a smile. "She didn't say much, Pinkie, she was very tired, but I'm sure she loved them."
They all looked at the small form sticking out from beneath a blanket, in deep but tranquil sleep and Rainbow said, "She is gonna be okay, isn't she?"
Curl Staff gave her a reassuring smile. "Yes, I believe so."
They moved to take their seats in an otherwise empty car. Nurse Redheart guiding them to a set of benches facing each other and wheeled Gabrielle in between them, positioning herself close by, Curl Staff taking up the other place closest to her and Twilight placing herself nearer the middle passage and pulled out a book from her bags.
Nurse Redheart looked at the book. Magical Maladies & Curious Cures. "A subject that caught your eye recently?" Redheart asked in a slightly playful tone.
Twilight looked a bit abashed. "Er, yes. I wanted to make sure that the cupcakes were done properly."
"They were," Curl Staff said reassuringly.
"By the way, princess-" Redheart started.
"Just "Twilight", please," the princess interjected apologetically.
Redheart wondered if this modesty in regards to her position was going to be a persisting thing. "Alright, Twilight, do you happen to know any spells that muffles senses, specifically hearing?"
"Yes I do." She did indeed have one, she got the idea after her first night in Ponyville but only remembered in looking one up recently. "How so?"
"Well, Gabrielle's hearing appeared to be very sensitive the last time she woke up. If it is next time, I wonder if you could help her out with that." Redheart said.
"Of course!" Twilight said happily, eager to give any aid she could.
—
That step! Every time.
I knew what was going to happen as it happened, because it happened about once a month. I didn't know before it happened, though, as that is the nature of dreams.
It was a very short dream but I had experienced it about a hundred times. Suddenly I was in the middle of walking down the stairs of my parents' old place when one step for some reason was positioned further down than the others and I lost my balance and fell, waking up the moment I would face-plant into another step a few inches below my center of gravity.
I never fall out of my bed though, I just headbutt my pillow. It still leaves me in a bit of a mood, because in the dream I'm walking with two legs made out of flesh and blood. I don't lie to myself, I'm not totally fine with having half my extremities removed and spending ages relearning how to aim when reaching for my breakfast, but I'm pretty much over it.
That said, I hate it when my subconsciousness mocks me with experiencing having all my limbs back for about two seconds every month, and in that limited time I use them by tripping and flailing uselessly as I haplessly sail through the air.
However, the usual experience topped this one.
As previously stated I usually wake up giving my pillow the what for with my forehead (the what forehead?). This time, the side of my head struck a floor.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!"
‘Uugh! Not again!’
I didn't bother opening my eye this time. Painfully loud voices, a throbbing head, exhaustion and an unpleasantly cold tile floor.
‘Nap-Time, I need you. I need you bad.’
"Here, let me help!"
"Uuh." I groaned
"Ma'am, we got this!"
"Uuuh." I insisted.
"I'm so sorry! It's just, I can't control these right now!"
"Uuuuuh!" I groaned again, with emphasis.
"Twilight, now might be the time for that spell we talked about."
"Then please step back, ma'am!"
"What? Oh! Right, let me just..."
I felt a soothing sensation and the volume of everything decreased. "Uuuh?" I groaned hopefully.
"There, that should help!" a normal voice said.
"Uuuh." I gratefully groaned.
"It's just, Oh! I'm sorry, please forgive me!"
"Tha... just- just go about your business, ma'am."
I felt a strange embrace, or something like it, and I was hoisted up in the air and placed in a sitting position.
A blanket was wrapped around me. ‘I'm in that wheelchair aren't I?’
"Dear? Gabrielle?" I heard a woman's somewhat familiar voice ask, but I couldn't place it. "Gabrielle, are you alright?" I opened my eye to see the nurse horsie and another, lavender horsie looked at me with concerned expressions.
‘Hey! That purple one's got a horn too!’
"Mmmm," I managed, trying to sound nonchalant but probably failing. I didn't really feel any worse than the last time I was awake. Actually, I might actually even have felt a little better. Still really tired though.
The lavender raised one of her forelegs and said, "how many hooves am I holding up?"
‘Oh, don't give me any openings like that when I'm trying to sleep!’
"You need at least two eyes to see double," I said with a slight smile.
The purple one looked abashed and I tried to chuckle but only succeeded in yawning. "I'm, I'm so sorry!" she said.
‘Aw, jeeze, I didn't want to actually make her feel bad.’
This time I actually did manage something which could be interpreted as a chuckle and tried waving her off but had to settle for shaking my head slowly with a little smile on my face. "Don't worry 'bout it," I said.
My mannerisms didn't seem to reassure the one with the pink mane though. ‘Her name. Think, think. Redheart!’
"Are you sure you're alright? Does anything hurt?" she asked.
‘Well, yes, my forehead. But that's to be expected when you land on it.
‘Don't be difficult with the healers.’ I chastised myself and closed my eye again.
"My head hurts, and I'm cold, and tired," I said.
Redheart answered. "Is it worse than before?"
I assumed that by that she meant the last time I was awake, and it wasn't. I hadn't tried moving but I had a somewhat easier time to speak. It definitely didn't seem worse. "No," I answered.
But the rude awakening confused me. "What happened?" I asked.
Another voice came from somewhere behind me, I recognized it as the doctor's voice. "Just some klutz who had taken something that made her lose control of her wings."
‘Wings? Were they on another horse? Well, we have unicorns, why not pegasi?’
I felt myself being wheeled forward and Redheart spoke up. "Well, hopefully your medicine will start working soon and you'll be feeling better in no time."
"Mmhm," I concurred as we turned and I heard a door open in front of me.
"Speaking of which," Redheart continued as I felt the wheelchair coming to a halt and the sound of hoof clops around me dropping in frequency. "I think it's time for a new round of medicine."
I opened my eye and saw that I had been wheeled into a fairly plain room with a bed with wheels and walls with muted, warm colors. ‘Are we there already?’ Redheart stepped into my vision with another cupcake held in her mouth this time. ‘She's holding it in her mouth? Eh, whatever, she looks housebroken. And I've had worse medicine, that's for sure. Penicillin, yuk!’
I closed my eye again and heard Redheart ask, "Are you tired, dea– Gabrielle?"
'She remembered my name.'
"Yes," I answered.
"Alright, we can do it like last time. Just open your mouth and chew," she said and I complied.
Like before, I opened my mouth and a piece of cupcake was gently inserted. Blueberry this time.
The whole situation stood in such contrast to the situation I'd been in less than an hour of waking time before. In the woods, with the wooden wolves and the martial arts performance by the zebra, Zecora. ‘I really would like to meet her sometime.’
I was finished soon after and Redheart said, "Good, that's really good. Now, we're gonna lift you over to a bed, alright?"
I nodded while swallowing the last of the medicine and felt myself being gently lifted into the air and laid down on a bed.
I heard the doctor, Curl Staff, speak up next. "Gabrielle, you remember we promised you some answers the next time you woke up?"
I nodded again but decided to try and have a little more active part in the conversation. "Yes."
"Well, I recommend that you try and get some sleep and wait for the next time again," Curl Staff said. "You should be feeling a lot better by then."
‘Well, aside from the coldness, right now I wasn't actually feeling bad, per se. Just very, very, tired.’
Curl Staff continued. "But don't worry, we have somepony with us who can answer lots of questions."
I opened my eye and saw the three equines standing beside the bed, the lavender one looking a bit nervous and Redheart pulling a blanket over me. The lavender one took a step forward and said, "Eh, hello."
"Salutations," I said, with a small smile.
She looked a bit lost before rallying and giving me a small smile of her own. "Er, salutations. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
"Gabrielle. Pleased to meet you," I said.
‘So this purple unicorn can give me answers?’ I thought back to the previous conversations and realized that I've probably been spoken to as if I'm a child. That was one thing on my list of questions. Curl Staff was right though, I should get some sleep before asking them, it was really hard to keep my eye open.
"Are you gonna answer my questions when I wake up?" I asked.
She nodded. "Of course. I'll be waiting close by when you wake up. I just have a little business to attend to while you rest."
I felt someone stalking me. "Oh, good. Brace yourself, they might be a bit odd." It was Nap-Time! That crook was lurking around here somewhere.
Twilight Sparkle fidgeted a bit, which was interesting to see a horse do. "I expect some of them to be. You being from another world and all." Oh?
My eyebrow shot up, or it tried, at least. "How did you know that?" Any second, now.
Twilight Sparkle fidgeted some more. "I, uh, was the one who brought you here."
"Oh." Nap-Time, wearing a white silken suit and hat, struck.