//------------------------------//
// Chapter XI 
// Story: Quantum Pink 
// by DigiDuncan 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight awoke to find herself in a hospital bed. The sound of heart monitors and the low hum of an IV sounded in her ears, the familiar smell of a mix of cleaning solution, latex, and saltines wafted through her nostrils. Upon further speculation, she found an electrocardiogram attached to her chest, and a purple, glittering fluid being pumped directly into her veins via an IV attached to her front left leg. She tried to lift her head up, but the feeling was uncomfortable, as she was in the only position feasibly possible for the wires and tubing to not choke her or strangle her. She dropped her head back on the pillow in defeat.
Spike noticed the stirring from the bed. He hopped to his feet to see if Twilight was awake yet, something he had done dozens of times in the last few hours. When he confirmed his suspicion, he greeted Twilight back to the land of the conscious.
"Hi, Twilight."
"Why am I in the hospital?"
"Well, it seemed like the logical thing to do after I watched you explode, then de-explode, then get flung by some unknown force into the wall and pass out," Spike said, half-hoping for an explanation to why any of the aforementioned event occurred.
"Oh, yeah, right. Nearly killed myself and learned nothing from it. How long ago was that?"
"About eight hours."
Twilight hmmed. That was longer than her usual blackout. She turned to look at the purple, shimmering IV fluid to her left. Without even asking the question, Spike supplied the answer.
"Mana fluid. You dried yourself out trying to hold yourself together when you grabbed Pinkie, so much so that when the nurse tried to read your levels, it gave her a negative number. Technically impossible, they said. Ran to get you hooked up as fast as her freaked-out legs could carry her," Spike explained, trying to stay calm about the whole experience.
Twilight wondered if they could inject her with the stuff even if she was at full health... would that increase her abilities? Could she perform more powerful spells than anypony had previously achieved? What if...
No, Twilight, she said to herself. More pressing matters currently. Project for another day.
"Anywho," Spike continued, "Pinkie should be here any minute. She feels like it's a little her fault all this happened, so she's been practicing really hard controlling the power like you said you wanted her to, and I think she's actually getting close-ish."
"Oh horse feathers," said Twilight. She didn't want Pinkie feeling guilty for something that was entirely her fault, and she also didn't exactly want Pinkie trying glitch tricks without her.
"I told her it was a bad idea, I really did," Spike said to the now obviously concerned purple alicorn sitting in a hospital bed.
"I'm sure you did Spike, thank you," Twilight responded. She didn't want Spike feeling guilty either. It was entirely her stupid idea that nearly got her killed.
Minutes later, Pinkie arrived in a slightly more standard way than her usual arrivals: via the door. This was never a good sign coming from Pinkie Pie, and her slightly less poofy mane and downwards look added to the notion. She turned towards the bed, and perked up a bit.
"Twilight! You're okay! I was worried that when you exploded into a million pieces, some of those pieces didn't go back where they were supposed to go, but you look great! Except maybe you need a shower. And some deodorant. And a mane-brush," Pinkie said, her honesty and sporadicity a welcome sound for Twilight.
Twilight examined herself. "Yeah, you're probably right," she admitted.
Pinkie Pie looked at the monitor screen, examining the readouts displaying information about Twilight's status.
"You seem positively peachy!" Pinkie Pie said after a moment. "Why are you still hooked up to all this stuff?"
"I feel the same way, Pinkie, but the doctor has to release me before I can leave," Twilight explained.
"I have something that will cheer you up!" Pinkie said. She moved to an empty corner of the room, and after ensuring she was within Twilight's vision, squeezed her eyes as tight as she could. Suddenly, a bright flash consumed Pinkie Pie's form, and as it cleared, Pinkie Pie was very much more blue.
"Tada!"
Twilight fainted for the fourth time in forty-eight hours.