//------------------------------//
// Conscious Decisions 
// Story: Finding the Mark 
// by Plucky-the-Pony 
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	Wakefulness was turning out to be a fitful thing. Pain floated in and out according the my medications and when it did it drug me along with it. I woke up yearning to sleep again, to live in the bliss of that pleasant darkness, yet even in sleep I started to dream. At first it was fuzzy pictures and sounds, but the longer I was awake the brighter and more vivid my dreams became. In my dreams, I dreamed of being awake, of exploring the hallways of the hospital, and visiting other patients in their wards. When I was awake I longed for the ease and peace of sleep, yet in that yearning I also discovered that I did desire to see more than what was within my room. 
Awake now, I lay curled on the bed, gazing at the world around me, and contemplated my latest dream. I had walked out of my bed, down the hall, and found the room of an elderly patient. A younger pony sat in a chair, uncomfortably asleep as it kept her kin company. As I stood there watching, I noticed the elderly-pony glance at me with watery eyes. Smiling shyly, I watched as the elderly-pony smiled in kind, and with a huff had begun to share with me many stories of his youth. The pranks he pulled on his mother and brothers, his first kiss, the long and lovely years he spent with his wife of 54 years. The joys of his grand-ponies and watching the little squirts grow and telling them stories like he was telling me. Together, we spent the night talking and whiling away the hours, until a sudden bright light came through the window. Thinking it was dawn, I made my pardon and stepped out, promising to see him again tomorrow night.
Smiling humbly to myself, I nibbled absently at the soft cotton sheet, hunger gnawing its way in my belly, but not wanting the peaceful feeling of my dream to leave me once the nurses stopped by. A wail of despair came from down the hall... From the very direction I took in my dream... My heart leapt to my throat, and me along with it as I tried to get out of my bed in a big hurry. Surely it couldn't be him?! I thought, as my front hooves hit the floor... And crumpled the moment I put any weight on them. 
Falling messily and painfully to the floor, I whimpered as a fresh wave of pain washed over me. I wasn't down for long when a nurse threw open the door and quickly used her magic to gently pick me back up and onto my bed, all the while berating me for my foolishness in as gentle of a manner as she could manage. 
"Now what do you think you're doing, sweety? If you needed anything you could have just paged me... Is everything alright? You're not hurt are you?"
Blinking at her, it took me a minute to register everything she said, since she spoke so quickly it was hard for my brain to keep up. "I'm sorry, Nurse Flora," I began, speaking slow and concisely so as to not get any of the words jumbled up, "but I heard that cry... and I wanted to go... see if it was the mare... with the elderly gentle-pony." It took far longer to say that simple sentence then it did for me to eat most days, and it wasn't for lack of mind. I knew the words and what I wanted to say, but my tongue refused to cooperate at the same speed my mind did.
"...Gentle-colt..." Flora corrected automatically, while she tucked me back into bed, but then it dawned on her what I said. "What gentle-colt?"
"The elderly one... Just down the hall... " I answered, flicking my ear to the left to indicate the direction.
She stared at me a moment, her face thoughtful, before quietly asking, "And how did you get there?"
I thought for a moment, remembering my dream vividly, but I wasn't sure how to answer. "I walked."
"Oh, Honey, there was no way you walked... You'll need help just to get out of bed! Now how did you do know, really? Did some-pony visit you while I was busy?"
I shook my head, before adding, "I dreamt it."
"You... dreamt... it?" She inquired, obviously disbelieving my story.
I nodded once, not wavering my gaze so she could see the truth in them.
"... I see..." She finally admitted, looking away thoughtfully before she turned back to me. "Well I will go check, but I'm sure that elderly gentle-colt passed on... He wasn't doing too well last I heard..." A pause, before she looked down at me with a soft and motherly smile, "Looks like you're ready for your therapy though, sweety. Would you like that?"
I cocked my head, clearly confused. "What do you mean, 'passed on'?"
A softness entered her expression as she realized I didn't know what she meant. "He probably died, sweety."
"What is 'died'?" I asked again, still grasping at straws.
"That is what happens to you when your body can no longer stay alive. He was too old, his body got too tired, so he went to sleep... To never wake up again..." She added at the end, clearly remembering my own circumstance.
I puzzled over that for a while, before nodding with a small smile, "He went to go see the Light then."
"The... Light?" Now it was her turn to be confused.
"Yes. The Light. He will be happy there."
She looked at me almost uncertainly, but seemed to keep her thoughts to herself. Instead she inquired, "Well it seems we should start you on your therapy. Would you like that?"
Again I was puzzled, and again I asked, "What is ther-a-py?"
"Its what we do to teach you to walk again. Would you like that?"
I smiled and nodded vigorously.
Pleased, she smiled brightly while she walked to the door. "Good. I'll go get your breakfast and tell the therapist that he has a new patient. I'll be right back."
Smiling while she parted, I looked out my window and I began to daydream...