Pinkie squinted from the light sunbeams that penetrated the familiar small window above her room. Letting out a groan she rolled over in her bed, feeling her plushie rub against her chest as she moved. She glanced down letting out a small giggle.
“Oh, sorry Gummy, didn’t see you down there.” Pinkie held up the stuffed animal giving it an uneasy smile. “Although I really wish you actually could respond. No such luck I guess.” She sighed putting the toy down on the bed.
Getting up she stretched her arms up in the air, feeling the joints in her bones loosening. She suspected her breakfast would be brought soon. However, not really having many other means of entertainment, she plopped back in the bed and decided to just wait quietly.
It had been two days since her meeting with Doctor Summers, and through those two days she had met with Tessa, regularly. Mostly discussing how she was coping with the idea of seeing her family. Although she was actually anticipating this session, as Tessa mentioned that there would be a change, though she wouldn’t actually say what it was. It was because of that, that Pinkie was still wary of this place. She never got a straight answer on anything, and it was really starting to get on her nerves. Still, she couldn’t help but admit her trust in the doctor had grown, even if it was on a small scale.
A sudden knocking made her sit up slightly, focusing on the door of the room. It creaked open all the way, but to Pinkie’s surprise, it was actually Tessa instead of the expected Fiona. She was carrying one of the familiar food trays the nurse always brought.
The doctor walked over to the bed and set the tray down. “Morning Diane. I see you’re up early.”
Pinke let out a small yawn. “Um yeah, didn’t feel like sleeping in. Why exactly are you here? Doesn’t Fiona bring my breakfast?”
Tessa put her hand behind her head, giving an awkward smile. “Oh. Well Doctor Summers asked me to personally watch you for the day. As I said yesterday, your session with me today will be a bit different.”
Pinkie rolled her eyes a bit while picking up the tray. “Yup, I remember.” She took a look at the food, noticing that today she was actually being served apple slices.
Tessa sat down on the other side of the bed. “Straight from the mess hall, I thought you were probably tired of oatmeal.”
Pinkie’s lips curled into a wide smile as she began to take one of the slices, almost stuffing it into her mouth. The sweet juicy taste flooded her mouth, as she began to chew the piece of fruit. It definitely wasn’t Sweet Apple Acres good, but it wasn’t bad either. Unable to resit the urge, she proceeded to eat the rest one at a time
Tessa gave a slight giggle. “I take it you're enjoying that.”
“Mm hm.” The girl responded through a full mouth before taking a moment to swallow.
“You sure you’ve been fed properly Diane?”
She gave the psychologist a bemused look, that slowly turned to mild awkwardness. “Yeah don’t worry, I just find the oatmeal to be... bland.”
Tessa gave a nervous smile. “It is, isn’t it?.”
Pinkie put down the plate on the tray handing it to the woman, who simply shook her head.
“Oh, theres no need. Just leave it there, one of the orderlies will take care of it.” The girl nodded putting the tray onto the bed.
Tessa slowly stood up, motioning her to the door. Pinkie hopped off the bed, following her down the familiar foreboding high security hallway. As they continued onward, Pinkie noticed the familiar guarded metal door. The orderly opened the door, letting both of them exit. The two left the high security wing, into the brightly lit hallway.
Pinkie turned to Tessa. “My family isn’t here are they?”
“Oh no, not today.” Doctor Sparks gave a small smile. “I guess I should probably tell you why you’re being brought out.”
“Yes, that would actually be nice.” Pinkie responded, trying to sound polite.
“Well, Doctor Summers has contacted your family and they should be arriving tomorrow.”
Pinkie’s whole body nearly froze up. “R-really?”
“Yup.” Her guide said smiling back happily.
“So why am I being brought out today?” she asked, noticing Tessa had stopped in front of a familiar door. She recognized it as Doctor Summers office and followed her inside as she unlocked the door.
“Oh, Doctor Sparks. You’re earlier than I thought.”
Pinkie stood next to her psychologist, who hadn’t moved from her spot. She took this as an indication to stand.
“Good morning Diane. I’m assuming Doctor Sparks told you about your parents.” The head physician received a nod from Pinkie before continuing. “Now, considering this is your first bit of interaction with others beyond the staff, there are certain precautions I want to take.”
Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well, as you know Diane you’ve been in the high security wing for a very long time, and in that time you have had no interaction with any others minus the staff.” Doctor Summers replied, taking off her glasses to wipe them.
“So, what are you going to do?” Pinkie’s eyes suddenly widened. “Are you moving me out of high security?”
Doctor Summers shook her head. “No Diane, I’m afraid that kind of decision is yet to be made. However, the reason I’ve brought you here, is you’re going to be monitored on how you react socially with, other patients.” She said and adjusted her glasses.
“So I’m going to see the rest of the hospital?” Pinkie asked feeling a bit reluctant.
“Yes, well, you’ll be able to see a great deal of it, as we walk to a certain destination.” Tessa said adding to Doctor Summers comment.
“Well. I suppose that should be explanation enough for now.” The woman turned to Pinkie. “You will only be out for a certain amount of time, after that Doctor Sparks will escort you back to high security.” The girl simply responded with a nod.
Tessa then moved back to the door motioning for her to leave. Pinkie waited before she saw her closing the door to the office.
“Well, shall we?” The doctor said and began to walk down the hallway. Pinkie simply followed her without question. Honestly she couldn’t deny she was curious. Being in high security for only a couple days can make you keen to explore your surroundings.
Leaving the hall Tessa lead her through two wooden double doors, entering what lay behind them. Pinkie saw what were doors along the hallway’s walls. They were similar to those in high security, only they weren’t made out of metal. Instead these were made out of wood, with very simple door knobs on the front. She had never been to a psychiatric hospital once in Equestria, but she knew they didn’t look anything like this.
Walking further down Pinkie held in the urge to speak up, seeing one or two patients being escorted by doctors. One wore the familiar gown that she herself was wearing, but the others clothing looked casual. She walked past them giving a quick once over of the closest patient. Turning back to Tessa she finally found the courage to speak.
“Um, Tessa?”
“Hm?” She glanced at Pinkie.
“Why was one of those patients wearing, well you know, not this?” The girl said motioning to her gown.
“Oh well, you must understand, many patients here are allowed when checked in, to actually bring personal belongings. Of course as long as they are approved by security.” Tessa said noticing the girl’s confusion.
Pinkie gave a slightly stern expression. “Then why do I have to wear this?”
The doctor gave her a saddened look. “Well Diane, we don’t usually allow people who have not been self checked into the hospital, or are a danger to either themselves or others to have that choice.”
Pinkie resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing fine well Tessa was once again sugar coating the undeniable fact that they considered her dangerous. She decided to change the subject feeling the awkward atmosphere setting in.
“Okay, so what do people check themselves in here for?” Pinkie asked, attempting to put on an inquisitive attitude.
“Many patients check themselves in for common occurrences, such as depression and suicidal thoughts. They simply come seeking therapy and help for their symptoms.” Tessa said proudly.
Pinkie understood what she was saying, being someone who encountered many ponies that suffered from depression. Of course she wondered how much of that was true.
“What about patients who don’t check themselves in. Patients like me.” Pinkie said giving a slight frown.
“Well Diane, I’m sure you know you’re not the only patient in this facility who suffers from schizophrenia. Believe it or not, some do come willingly for treatment, but unfortunately there are some that need more extensive treatment than others. You remember, my discussion with you about Doctor Summer’s sister.” Tessa last comment made Pinkie freeze up.
“Is she down here?” she asked quietly.
The psychologist nodded. “Of course, like I said, she is one of my other regular patients.” Tessa finished leading Pinkie down through another corridor. At the end was another set of wooden double doors with glass windows above each. Light was streaming through the top of them. She followed her guide as she pushed the doors open. Inside was a brightly lit room, caused by the natural light pouring through three large windows on the walls.
Pinkie gazed around the room, noticing the other patients scattered around. She looked in awe, she hadn’t seen so many of, well, human beings in one place. There were many sitting at tables, while others were standing up, talking to one another. She glanced to see one or two that were very isolated from the rest, having rather dull expressions on their faces. She brushed it off and glanced back at Tessa.
“As you can see Diane, this is our day room, it’s where many of our patients spend their free time in the morning after breakfast in the mess hall.” She said moving in front of Pinkie.
“You allow them just to wander around freely?” She asked curiously.
“Well within reason.” The psychologist lead her further in. “Many of these patients are very trustworthy, almost all of them as I said before being self admitted.”
Pinkie still couldn’t wrap her head around why you’d want to be here, but she didn’t feel like making a big fuss. She gazed at some of the other patients in the room, noticing a few were looking at her curiously. She quickly turned away, not wanting to make direct eye contact. Glancing away from them over to the far corner of the room, she saw a couple patients gathered around something. She honestly didn’t know what it was. It looked like a black box, in the front, were moving images similar to that of what you’d find at a movie theatre back in Equestria.
“Um, Tessa?”
“Hmm?”
“What is that thing over there.” Pinkie asked inquisitively.
The question caught the doctor off guard. “Oh um, well thats a television Diane. We allow the patients to watch it in their free time, although they can abuse it at times.” She answered, giving a slight giggle, before turning back to the girl concerned. “Diane. You really can’t remember what a television is?”
Pinkie simply shook her head. “Nope. I never saw one of those in Equestria.” She paused. “But for some reason it seems, familiar to me...”
“Well, perhaps this a discussion for a later session.” Tessa said, awkwardly biting her bottom lip. “Anyway, we should probably be moving on now.” She continued leading the girl towards a door on the other side of the day room.
Before leaving, Pinkie gave the room a once over, glancing over to see a small boy staring at her. She stared back, beginning to wonder if she had done something to upset him. However, the boys face turned into a nervous glance, as he waved at her. Not knowing what else to do, Pinkie returned a nervous smile, waving back as she exited the room.
Doctor Sparks lead her down another long hallway. She began to wonder how big this place actually was. How was Tessa able to know where everything was? Pinkie shook it off, this place probably wasn’t as big as she was thinking. Perhaps they just went around in circles. She suddenly felt Tessa motion her to one side of the corridor. She raised an eyebrow in confusion, before she heard the sobbing. Further up the hall was a patient, curled up in the fetal position. From what she could tell it was a girl, due to the long hair, but she couldn’t get much else from one glance. A female doctor knelt down next to her, seemingly trying to comfort the poor girl. She quickly followed Tessa, keeping her distance from the two. When they were far enough away, Pinkie slowed down her pace.
“What was going on there? Why’d you want to avoid them?” She asked exasperated.
“I’m sorry about that Diane, but when patients are in that state, it’s best for them not to be crowded around, it can fuel their anxiety.” The psychologist said in a tone that was both stern and calm.
“But what's going to happen to her?”
“She’ll receive the care she needs, that is what we as the staff are here to do. Help our patients.”
“I know but, still…” She wondered what more she could say. Honestly, she knew there wasn’t much she could do. She was a patient here and wasn’t in the position to do anything, if she didn’t want to lose the chance to seeing her parents. Pinkie let out a soft sigh. “Where are we going now?”
“Right here.” Tessa said stopping in front of a wooden door.
“Okay, and what's in here?”
The doctor simply smiled. “Let me to show you.”
Tessa pushed the door open and motioned for the girl to follow her inside. Pinkie began to inch slowly forward. Upon entering, she realized that this was a patients room, only it was a bit bigger than the one she was used to in high security. What quickly caught her eye, was how well lit it was. There were two windows on the right side wall. To match the natural light, Pinkie found a ceiling light that she could only assume was to brighten the room during the night. However, the most noticeable aspect was it’s occupant. In front of Tessa, Pinkie made out the figure of a girl, sitting idly on her made bed. She assumed she was a patient due to the gown. The girl turned to face Tessa, a small smile on her face.
“Good morning Tessa. I was wondering if you were coming today.”
Her voice. She knew this voice.
Only now did the girl notice Pinkie standing in the doorway. Her look of excitement, turned to one of uncertainty.
“Who is that?” Pinkie flinched as she made eye contact with the girl.
“Luna, I know it’s been a long time.” The doctor stepped to the side so that the pink haired girl could come forward. “This is Diane.”
Pinkie looked at Luna, noticing her eyes going wide. She stepped forward to get a better look at the girl in front of her. She had long raven black hair, however, unlike her own, it was a bit more well kempt. But the most prominent feature were two piercing brown eyes, that only continued to stare at Pinkie in awe.
“Diane?” Luna asked softly. Pinkie broke out in a cold sweat unsure of what to say.
“Um, yup it’s me.” She mentally slapped herself for such a dumb response. For a good couple seconds, both of them just stared at each other before the girl embraced her in a hug. She let out a gasp feeling her skinny body being constricted in Luna’s grip. After a second the other teenager let go, leaving Pinkie to inhale a good amount of oxygen.
“Tessa I… I thought she was in high security? H-how is she here?”
“Well Luna, there have been recent developments in Diane’s symptoms. So many that Doctor Summers brought her here for the two of you to interact.”
Luna’s face brightened up. “My sister did this?”
Tessa nodded. “But theres something you have to understand.” She bit her lip. The sudden pause indicated to Pinkie what she was going to say. “Diane, as you know, has suffered from schizophrenia similar to yourself. However, she has most recently not been able to remember the world around her clearly.”
Luna gave her a look of confusion, turning back towards Pinkie, who was standing with a nervous look on her face.
“Do you… remember me?” The black haired girl asked uneasily.
The other girl shook her head. “Not in the way you’d think.”
Luna hung her head sitting back down onto to the bed on the left side of the room. Pinkie felt a bit bad for her, she probably remembered so much about her, but she herself could remember only her Equestrian life, and how Luna was once royalty to her. She saw Tessa beginning to walk over.
“Luna, I know this may be disappointing to hear, but Diane has her family coming to visit her tomorrow. I think the two of you reconnecting may be good for her personal development.”
Pinkie honestly was at a loss for words, she felt like the only one in the room that didn’t have a grasp of what was going on around her. In a certain sense it was true, as she was the one in the room who’d apparently imagined most of her life. She turned to face Luna. She figured that there was really no running away from this.
“Luna, I know there are some things I may not remember, but I’d like to get to know you, even if it is for a second time.” Pinkie said in a vain attempt at humor, which almost came naturally to her back in Equestria.
Luna’s look of uncertainty, turned to that of a very small smile. “I… I would like that.” She went back over to her bed, patting the mattress as an indication for Pinkie to join her.
Pinkie glanced in Tessa’s direction, receiving a nod of approval. She walked over to the bed, plopping herself right next to Luna. The bed surprisingly felt softer than the one she slept on every night.
Luna gave a slight chuckle at Pinkies awkward nature. “You look very nervous.”
“Sorry about that, I haven’t really been very social since I woke up in this place.” She replied, causing the other girl to frown in confusion.
“What do you mean? You honestly can’t remember how you got here?” Luna asked cocking her eyebrow, while Pinkie simply shook her head.
“I don’t know really know if I want to discuss that!” She said rather suddenly causing Luna to have a bit of a shocked expression on her face. “Sorry, it’s just maybe a bit too soon. How about you tell me about how we met?” Pinkie said forcing a smile.
Luna’s face brightened a bit at this. “Oh well. We were actually a bit younger, about 15 I think.” She paused shortly. “At the time you just had such a bubbly personality, I guess I just gravitated to it.”
Pinkie grimaced a bit. “What exactly did I do?”
“Well you always seemed to have a smile on your face, but you also got into trouble quite a bit, particularly with the other doctors and orderlies. You were quite the troublemaker.” Luna said with a slight giggle.
Pinkie’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. “Hehe, yeah they told me.”
“I knew it wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t help it.” Luna said giving a reassuring smile.
“Yeah.” Pinkie replied solemnly. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself since you seem to know so much about me.”
The black haired girl paused, starting to look uneasy. “Well… I”
She immediately regretted her question. “Oh I’m sorry. You don’t have to if you don’t...”
“No no, it’s fine.” She said cutting Pinkie off. “I just don’t talk about anything personal to anyone else except Tessa very often.”
The girl gave a bemused look. “Don’t you have any friends here?”
Luna shook her head. “Not really, I don’t trust other people.”
“Why?” She asked, taking a quick glance at Tessa, who stood at the doorway uneasily.
“I don’t know. I just feel like they’re all against me, like there always saying bad things about me.” Luna let out sigh. “So I don’t talk with them, I just ignore them.”
Pinkie felt like she may have struck a nerve, but wasn’t entirely certain. “I’m sorry to hear that, I know being here for this long with no one to be with must be frustrating.”
Luna nodded. “It’s not all bad, Doctor Tessa visits, she’s been helping me with my problems, but I sometimes wonder if it’s enough.”
Pinkie leaned in. “Why is that?”
“I know it’s not real. I try to tell myself the things I see and hear are not real, but they just don’t go away.” Luna said in a whisper.
The pink haired girl paused, internally knowing exactly how Luna felt, the same thing seemed to be happening to her with the Equestrian counterpart. Knowing it can’t be there, yet being able to see it as clearly as she could see a real person.
“I know how you feel.” Pinkie replied softly.
“I know. I guess it comes with the schizophrenia.” Luna said giving a sad giggle.
The girl shook her head. “Hehe, yeah I guess. It’s just...” Pinkie felt the need to mention her counterpart, maybe her new, or old, friend could help her understand it.
However, she pushed these thoughts back, for Luna was really no different to her, she perceived things that weren’t there, having no explanation for them.
“I know this may be hard to answer, but what exactly do you see?”
Luna froze, her look of unease was now gone replaced by that of fright. Pinkie grimaced at the sight, knowing she’d said something to set her off. “I-I, I don’t… I don’t...”
“Alright Diane, I’m afraid thats all the time you have.” The girl glanced up to see Tessa. She was moving over to Luna a look of concern on her face. Pinkie glanced behind her to see two orderlies standing watch, obviously waiting for her to come along.
Luna still looking unnerved, glanced at Pinkie. Her look of fear was beginning to change into sadness. “I’m sorry Diane. Am I gonna see you again?”
Tessa gave a reassuring smile, to both Pinkie and Luna. “Yes of course, don’t you worry about that.” The doctor turned to her. “Diane, these orderlies will escort you back to your room. I’m going to have my session with Luna.”
Pinkie nodded, waving goodbye to the other girl, who returned the goodbye, shaking her hand weakly. She looked up at the two large orderlies frowning. She really disliked them. She was lead out the door slowly. Giving the room a once over, Pinkie noticed, something next to Tessa and Luna. The one thing she dreaded everyday since she’d come to this place. Her equine self, simply glared at her, as she left the room.