//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 
// Story: Stories of a Shade 
// by ConfettiColored 
//------------------------------//

	I don't really know what I was expecting the world to look like once Blood Oath had gotten his grubby little hands on it. Part of me thought he would make it like it was in my nightmares, but it seemed way to... I don't know, generic, for lack of a better word. It was actually very different from my nightmares. The sky stayed the same color, and the buildings were all intact, so for a while I was wondering if I was dreaming. That was before we headed to the train station and saw a bunch of ponies desperately trying to board a train to get away from the, I'm gonna call them cultists, who attacked the lab. However, the Earth ponies were using their strength to keep the train from moving. Meanwhile, other ponies were getting whipped, cut, bludgeoned, the whole nine yards. I was about to help them, but was held back by Artemis.
"What?" I asked angrily. 
"Your wing is broken. Get to a hospital," She said. I looked at her like she was crazy. 
"I'm not going to sit back and do nothing while a psychopath is on the lose. I want to feel like I'm doing something to help. I hate feeling useless," I said back to her. I tried my best to sound brave, but in all honesty, I was scared of Blood Oath. 
"Vortex, we stabilized your wing, but you need help from a professional. Besides, you'll be far more useful in battle if you can fly," Roam said, and I hate to admit it, but he has a valid point. Being stuck on the ground really limited my mobility, something a mage like me relied on heavily so I don't, you know, get my skull caved in by some brute who got past my defenses.
"Fine," I grumbled. The Canterlot hospital was one of the few areas not overrun with cultists, which was weird, it was full of helpless victims. I guess they wanted to focus on the ponies attempting to leave the city.
I walked it through the sliding doors and immediately had to dodge a blow from a frying pan.
"G-go away!" The pony who swung at me with it yelped.
"I need your help with my wing," I said, knowing what the response would be, but decided to ask anyway.
"No! Your wing isn't broken! You're just trying to trick me!" She screamed. I rolled my eyes and held her up in the air by the legs in my magical grasp, and then summoned a kitchen knife and held it up to her throat. She was a sniveling mess now, so I made the blade disappear and put the Unicorn back on the ground.
"If I wanted you dead, the ground would be covered in blood. Now are you going to fix my wing, or am I gonna have to fight off the cultists with my wing snapped in two?" I asked. The pony gave it a moment of thought before speaking again.
"Okay," She said. I was shocked by how easy it was to convince her. I even had a big speech ready, but I guess I'll save it for another day.
"Thanks," I said. She led me to an empty room with standard hospital equipment in it. I lied down on the bed, and after a while I tried making an awkward attempt at small talk.
"So, how does this stuff work?" I asked, performing my usual job of keeping the air light.
"You set the fracture so that they are facing each other so that they'll fit snuggly when the mending spell is performed," She said, not taking her eyes off my wing so she could do just that.
"I've never heard of that method before," I replied, which seemed odd, it seemed like such a simple way to heal fractured bones.
"It's a very recent development. Discovered by a Unicorn named X-ray, or something like that. There's also a potion called Skele-Grow so that ponies without healing magic can still work in a hospital,"
"Wow. How does-"
"Done," She said, cutting me off. I blinked in shock before looking over at my wing, and sure enough, it was back to normal, it's purple aura blazing at it's full glory once again.
"I didn't even feel that. And how did you do it so fast?" I asked in amazement. I expected the process to be a lot more painful and prolonged.
"You were distracted talking to me, so you didn't even realize how painful it was. Also, I specialize in mending bones," She said.
"Thanks!" I said cheerfully. I thought about something for a moment. "Don't you need more than a frying pan to defend the hospital with?"
"I'll be fine," She said. "Although, I can't operate on the patients and defend the hospital at the same time..."
"I can help with that," I said, now full of fighting spirit now that I could fly again.
"You really don't have to..." She said shyly.
"This way, the patients get healthy again, and I repay my debt to you," I said.
"I was just doing something nice, you don't have to repay me," She replied.
"Look, do you really think you can hold out forever with a frying pan?" I asked dryly.
"I guess not..." She said.
"Then it's settled," I said, my tone of voice making it clear there was to be no more arguments. "You operate, I defend,"
"Okay, if you insist. I'll be in room 104 if you need me," She said, already making here way towards that room.