//------------------------------//
// Waking Things 
// Story: The Things Tavi Says 
// by shortskirtsandexplosions 
//------------------------------//

	I wince.

Then I wince harder.

The first hint that I'm still alive comes in a jolt of persistent pain shooting up through my right rear leg.  I wriggle and squirm, and I feel my body encumbered by tight sheets and fabric.

The barest hint of a whimper escapes my throat, and the resulting tsunami of magenta nearly throttles me back to unconsciousness.  My brow furrows, and I feel naked... cold.  I reach a hoof out, blindly reaching for a nightstand, a table, anything and anywhere in search of a pair of shades.

It is then that I notice a strangely comforting sound.  Streams of purple swim through the crimson currents of muffled pain.  I flail slowly, helplessly—in search of the humming voice.  But then the sound finds me before I find it, and I'm rewarded with a satin soft hoof reaching in and placing a pair of shades over my face.

With a gasp, I allow the article to fit over my eyes.  Squinting, I blink over towards a violet cloud besides me.

Her outline comes into focus, led by a smile, framed by a bow tie, and followed by an elegant plume of charcoal mane hair.  Her hoof finishes placing the shades over my eyes, and I watch—breathless—as she leans back in the bedside table.  Her voice echoes melodically off the walls of a tiny hospital room.

"Welcome back, love."  Rich, velvety violet.

I clench my teeth.  I can't afford to cry right now.  I might implode.

"First thing's first, you're quite alright," Tavi says.  I spot a small stack of books by her chair.  A tiny tea set.  A pillow.  How long has she been waiting here?

Come to think of it, how long have I been out?

"Second, the little filly is even more than alright," my roommate proclaims, and there's no avoiding the proud smile across her muzzle.  "Looks like somepony fancies herself a hero."

I bite my lip.  Struggling—wincing—I lean my head up to look down at my body.  At least, I try to.

"Uh uh uh..."  Tavi leans in, steadying me in the bed.  It's then that I realize that my lower right leg is lifted up—hanging from a complicated pulley system.  "Best to lie back, Vine.  It's not broken.  Well... not broken per se.  The doctor says that there's a hairline fracture and several bruised tendons.  You'll have to wear a brace for about a week or two.  All things considered—if you ask me, at least—I find the whole matter to be blissfully miraculous."  Again, that proud smile... that violet voice.  "An incredibly fortunate thing that you were located so close to a hospital, yes?"  She giggles.

The sound of her mirthful chuckling raises my heart out of bed.  With the next few breaths, I feel like the rest of my body is lifting up after it.  I smile, ears folding back as a toasty sensation bubbles across my reclined figure.

"I... uh..."  She squirms in the chair, her legs kicking, flouncing against the hoof-rest.  I watch as her purple eyes trace across the tile floor.  "I was rather... alarmed when I first heard of what happened.  It didn't help that the story came directly from the mouths of fillies, which afforded an inordinate amount of hyperbole."  She clears her throat in a brief flash of indigo.  "I... I must admit that I had assumed the worst for a while there, which is precisely why I committed to a full stay here while you recovered."  She looks up, blinking brightly.  "Do not worry, though.  I have Bon Bon committed to feeding Scribbler in my absence."

I stare at her.

I'm... not worried about Scribbler.

"Truth is, I wouldn't wish to be anywhere else, Vine."  She gulps hard.  "You... never cease to amaze me.  Do you know that?"  She smiles delicately in my direction.  "A gifted musician... a charitable friend... and now... heeheehee... a veritable savior of fillies.  Sometimes, yes, I do believe I am the luckiest roommate in Equestria."

I lean back into my pillows, smiling dreamfully at her.

You should know a thing or two about being a savior...