Celestia woke up again. The first thing that reminded her she was not in Equestria was the fact that her room smelled like oatmeal. She opened her eyes to see a new woman sitting at the table, flipping through a book with her legs propped up next to a covered tray. She didn’t seem to fit the powder blue scrubs she was wearing. They covered her and weren’t too loose or tight, but they just didn’t seem to suit her. This woman’s full lips were locked in a scowl that shifted back and forth under a small nose and haunting green eyes.
Those eyes suddenly darted to Celestia.
“It’s about time you woke up.”
Celestia raised herself despite the heavy feeling in her head. Her eyes burned to be closed again. So Discord had two mares working with him. Or were they just two humans? What did they have against her? Were they perhaps... under his influence? Celestia’s eyes went back to the tray.
“Am I ever going to leave this room?”
“The bathroom’s through that door,” the woman said irritably. Her right hand gestured towards the doorway. Her eyes remained glued on the book she read.
“I’m aware of that... Is that the only other time I leave the room?”
“Basically.”
“You have to be kidding me.”
“Nope,” she said with a pop of her lips.
“I can’t go outside?”
“Are you kidding me? You’d be dead in minutes.”
“What?”
“We’re in the middle of the city! There’s not a nice ‘outside’ for you to walk around in.”
Celestia went to the window. Last night she had kept to her bed, hiding under the blankets like a filly. For the first time since she had woken up in this place she saw the metropolis that surrounded her. The world outside bustled and crashed without a pause. People walked around beneath her gaze with their coats pulled close. Any view of the distance was walled off by skyscrapers. Cars and truck swerved around each other haphazardly when not locked in a standstill. Through the thick glass Celestia could almost hear the horns and the shouts. So this is the world that Chaos would run. Her eyes rose and stared directly in the face of a ghost in the wire-infused windowpane.
The light illuminated her fingers in the glass as she touched her face slowly. She had felt her hair was cut short; she hadn’t realized just how short it was. The hairs were long only enough to show that she had strawberry blonde hair. Celestia couldn’t distinguish the color of her eyes. She turned around again to look at the woman.
“Can I leave my room?”
“You know better than that.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m just a nurse here,” she said, pulling her long ponytail tighter.
“What’s your name?”
“Alice. You might want to start eating. This has been sitting here for almost half an hour now.”
Celestia glanced at the covered tray with apprehension. Discord had talked with the woman and the girl about drugs. He said it was part of her "treatment".
“I’m not really hungry—“
“When does that make a difference? You still have to eat.”
Celestia’s throat tensed as she felt her hair bristle. “I don’t feel like it,” she said through a locked jaw.
“Either you are going to eat or I’m going to have to make you eat,” she snapped. Celestia strode to the table and looked at the woman until she responded with a scornful glare.
The tray clattered sharply on the floor, the covered bowl rolled around like a top as the containers of water and orange juice smashed, leaking their contents onto the concrete floor. Those green eyes didn’t scare Celestia. Even if she was going to remain kidnapped she was not going to be a victim. She kept her own eyes level with those of the woman.
“I said I don’t feel like eating,” she reminded her through an air of calm. She needed to take a step back. Something in her head hurt.
“Are you okay?” the nurse asked Celestia.
There was a scent behind Celestia’s eyes. She had smelled this once before. It was a scent that carried a warning. It was the scent of blood and something sweet, like vanilla sugar or honey. Every time she had smelled it before, the same thing happened. The black always came.
Two people knelt on either side of her. Something cold and wet pressed against her head while she felt fingers on her wrist. The floor pushed against her shoulder blades and hip bones as she lay there, dead relaxed.
“I think she’s coming out,” the girl’s voice said to Celestia’s right.
“She’s still feverish,” Discord said after Celestia felt a hand touch her face. She blinked her eyes open and saw the two human forms arching over her. She had fainted for no reason whatsoever.
“You said she just fainted?”
“Yeah, after knocking the tray over.” The voice came from her feet.
“Her pulse is fast,” the girl said and the finger around Celestia’s wrist released. She could feel that her feet were propped up on something.
“Open this. I’ll help her up.” Celestia heard something tear and felt a strong arm sneak under her shoulders. She blinked her eyes open to the ceiling as Discord raised her to sit. Her skin burned as she shivered from the sweat.
The girl held a plastic container of water in her right hand with the foil cover pulled back. She took Celestia's hand in her own and guided it to the container. She helped Celestia drink without spilling everything by her trembling. The water tasted like plastic but it was also cold and refreshing to her dry lips and throat. She finished the container in two gulps.
“Alice, could you please get us some more water?” Alice sat at Celestia’s feet, which she had propped up on her own legs. The book was still in her hand.
“Just a minute.”
“Now,” Discord said more firmly. The woman rolled her eyes and close the book after dog-earing the page. She didn’t open or close the door. Her footsteps just disappeared down a hallway. The door is open.
Play weak. Celestia thought. Make a run for it when they don’t think you’re strong enough.
“Can you stand?” Discord asked. Celestia silently shrugged. “All right, let me help you.”
As he helped her stand she kept her trembling at minimal and clung to him for support. Her feet slid a few shaky steps when prompted but her eyes glanced at the open door momentarily. She would try to outrun them. Once by herself she could figure out exactly what was going on and how far this illusion went.
How long did she have until the woman came back?
Celestia’s heart choked her as she lunged towards the door, shoving the girl towards the bed as she flew past. Her head began to pound after the first few strides. She kept her breath steady while her heart beat sharply in her chest. She didn’t dare look back. Which direction had the woman gone? Would she try to stop her?
Celestia turned left outside the door as Discord shouted after her. The tiles shined underneath her racing, bare feet. A set of doors stood in front and they became her goal as footstep advanced behind. Her footfalls echoed her heartbeat in the hall. With a few more leaping bound she pressed her hands against the gray bar in the middle of one of the doors.
The metal met her face with the full force that she had run at it. It was locked. Before she had a chance to orient herself, her arms were locked behind her back and she was on the ground again with her cheek smashed against the tile.
Celestia smelled blood and honey behind her eyes.