Private Iceland woke up with a start. He would have sat up if the bandages on his body and his broken right front leg hadn’t reminded him that it wasn’t that easy for him to move. The unicorn just laid still instead, breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself down.
Even if it was night, the lights were on. The stallion still had a bit of a problem with dark rooms and tended to view every shadow with dread, fearing that something he really didn’t want to meet would rise out of them. Something that was responsible for his stay at the hospital.
Private sighed and turned his head so he could look at his broken leg. It was mending, but still had a long ways to go. He had bandages on his chest that were meant for the few of his ribs that were still healing. The bandages on his head had been removed by now, but he still sported a nice black eye and a few bruises. His dirty blonde mane was a mess, but the pony didn’t really care.
I’m getting sick and tired of hospital food, Private grumbled and used his magic to throw off the blanket. His dark gray coat was sweaty, both from the warmth and the nightmare he had just woken up from.
All this just from getting slammed into a cave wall. Granted, it was after a mega punch from King Sombra in his smoke form. The stallion observed his recovering body. Most of the bruises were gone, but there were still visible spots here and there.
Private had been possessed by the Shadow King, who had then forced him and his twin brother Barricade on a long trek to a mountain in the northwestern part of the Crystal Empire. He had been rescued by the Princesses, but not until after the tyrant had successfully resurrected himself, and in the ensuing battle, the unicorn had been punched into a cave wall inside the mountain by accident.
Due to his injuries, he was stuck in the hospital in the Crystal Empire. He was still recovering mentally as well from the ordeal, still had nightmares and still feared the king would come back for him. Sombra had become rather interested in the stallion and his twin, especially when learning that Private and his family shared ancestry with the dark ponies, the king’s race.
Try not to dwell on it, think positively, remember what Dew said, he thought and closed his eyes, trying to banish the memories of the past from his mind. It was a little difficult when he still sported all the reminders of them.
Hey, they allowed me to be alone in the room. Granted if they really need the extra space, they will use it, but while they still don’t need it, I get to be alone. Private opened his eyes and glanced over to the empty bed. Being a rather solitary pony who avoided company, he considered being alone a plus.
And look all those history books from the Crystal Empire library. Some have never even been read in over a thousand years. The pony glanced at the pile of books on his nightstand.
So things aren’t so bad… Private frowned and looked down at his stomach when it growled.
The stallion made a face when remembering the food he generally got here. Bland hospital food. It may have contained all the necessary nutrients to keep him alive, but the pony was wanting something with more substance.
What I want is… pancakes. Private sighed deeper. He hadn’t had his favorite food in so long. He barely could even remember when he’d had it the last time.
Ugh, need to get out of here. Need to get pancakes… do the crystal ponies even know how to make them? Now that his mind had locked onto pancakes, it started to get a little one-tracked.
Great, now I can’t think of anything else, Private lamented and put his left hoof over his face.
Maybe I can sneak into the kitchen, or wait until morning and try and sneak out to a nearby café… if they even serve pancakes there. The stallion frowned. Then his stomach rumbled again.
Let’s see if I can make it to the kitchen. Carefully, minding the cast-covered leg, the stallion climbed out of bed with some difficulty. He usually didn’t move much without someone assisting him. During the day he was taken on short walks with either his friends, parents or nursing staff, but it was tricky to do it alone.
Private found the sling he used during the day on those walks and put it on, keeping the broken leg secured. Then slowly he hobbled to the exit on his three good legs, only occasionally cringing. He opened the door only to see Flash Sentry standing outside.
“Hey, do you need something?” the pegasus asked concerned and looked at the stunned unicorn.
“Why is there a guard outside my room?” Private asked, utterly confused at the presence of a royal guard.
“During the nights, when your family and friends are not with you, we post a guard outside your room,” Flash Sentry explained to him. “After all, you are a possible high priority target by King Sombra. There are also guards near the hospital.”
Private paled up at the thought. He’d had no idea about the guards, of course he usually didn’t go out of his room during the nights. It didn’t really make him feel better that the authorities felt it necessary to post one in front of his room. His parents and friends must not have told him about the guards in order to not worry him.
“But never mind that.” Flash seemed to realize what Private was thinking right now. “Do you require some assistance?”
The unicorn didn’t respond, he just closed the door and returned to his bed. It was a bit of a struggle, but he managed in the end. With a sigh, Private lay back down. He would have gone back to sleep if a nurse hadn’t entered the room and approached him.
“The guard outside told us that you were up and about. Is everything alright?” she asked gently. She already started to adjust things for the unicorn, took the sling and helped him put the blanket back over him.
Private glanced at her - she had a shiny blue crystal coat and smiled warmly at him. The stallion wondered if he should tell her what he wanted. It sounded a little silly now that he thought about it. The unicorn considered not responding. The hospital staff was starting to know him and that he didn’t always voluntarily speak up when talked to.
“Just had a nightmare,” Private finally grumbled a response. Much to his annoyance the nurse sat down by the bed and reached to pat him gently on the left leg. He really just wanted to be alone right now. He had no pancakes and there was a guard outside to apparently protect him from Sombra. As if that would stop the Shadow King if he really wanted to come.
“Want to talk… oh wait.” She chuckled when remembering which patient she was talking to. “I understand. You have the sympathy of practically everyone here in the Empire. We know how the king was.”
The brow rose a little on the stallion and he looked at the nurse. Private had expected to hear a lot of comforting words that just rang hollow to him. None of them had helped so far. Hearing that the entire Empire had sympathy for him was not something he could wrap his mind around.
“Wait… the entire Empire knows I was possessed?” Private asked, not quite sure he wanted that kind of attention.
“Of course. It’s been in all the papers. About the only story that surpasses yours is the Equestria Games.” The nurse nodded her head as she told him.
“I’m surprised you don’t want to lynch me. It’s because of me he’s back and alive,” the stallion muttered. “He was in my body when he killed six of your…”
Private fell silent when the nurse simply shushed him and smiled wider. He almost worried she was going to hug him, but the mare was apparently also aware of his disdain for physical contact.
“What happened to you, Private, no crystal pony in his or her right mind would wish on anypony. We have a first-hoof experience with how the king was. I spent years struggling in the fields that grew food under his rule, most of which went straight to his castle. I saw ponies do horrible things back then, most doing it out of sheer desperation, just trying to survive.” Now it was the nurse who sighed and for a short moment her eyes were just filled with sadness.
“He was always good at controlling others, be it via mind-control or simply using fear of torture or death. He is the one who killed the ponies, he is the one who possessed you. Someone like him thrives and gains strength from victims that blame themselves,” she told him and the smile returned.
“You sound like my friend, Dew Doe,” Private muttered, causing the crystal pony to giggle.
“I am a nurse and my job is to see ponies heal under my care and make sure they are comfortable and safe,” she told him and gave him another pat on his good foreleg. Then the mare peered at him. “But you do know you can use the emergency call button when you need assistance, right?”
The unicorn mentally slapped himself. Of course it would look rather strange that he had tried to go out of the room if he’d just simply had a nightmare. Private wondered if he should just nod and remain silent. Thinking it was the best option, doubtful his hospital menu could be changed, the stallion did so.
“Sorry… didn’t mean to cause any fuss,” he muttered. The nurse just smiled reassuringly at him, clearly showing that this was no fuss at all.
“Also if you want, we can have somepony go and get your parents or friends to stay with you,” she then offered.
That caused Private to actually glance around. The unicorn had seen of course that he was alone in the room earlier, but it hadn’t really registered with him that neither his mother nor Dew Doe had been present. They tended to be here every night. Every time he woke up from a nightmare, either of them was there.
“Your friend Dew Doe suggested they tried allowing you to be by yourself, so they left once you were asleep, but Dew told us to have somepony fetch one of them if you wanted them,” the nurse explained to him.
Private bit his lip as he contemplated if he should accept or refuse this offer. Deep down he hadn’t really minded them being there, yet he appreciated that they finally were allowing him some proper alone time during the night. Thinking back to the nightmare, Private cringed.
“I…” Private started to speak but fell silent. Right now, they were probably all asleep, though the stallion knew they probably would come running back if he needed. Then he had another thought. The guard outside looked familiar.
“No, I’ll just see them tomorrow,” he said quietly. “But do you think I can talk with the guard outside?”
“Oh, well I’m not sure. I’ll go and ask,” the nurse said and rose up.
The mare walked to the door and stepped outside. Private could hear her talk faintly, then he heard a moderately surprised male voice. Shortly later, Flash Sentry entered and walked over to the bed.
“You wanted to talk with me?” Flash asked curiously.
“Yeah, you’re the guard who was here when I first woke up in the hospital… back when I was possessed.” Private recognized the guard now, but his armor was a little different. The unicorn recognized the sergeant armor. It was bit more decorated than the classic guard armor.
“That’s right. I’m Flash Sentry, by the way,” the pegasus introduced himself with a smile.
“Has there been any sightings of… you know who?” Private asked, not really wanting to say the name right now. For all he knew, it could summon him.
“Well…” the way Flash Sentry hesitated told the unicorn everything. There had been sightings, but everyone was making sure Private didn’t hear about them.
“Please… it might make me feel better if I know it has not been anywhere near here,” he pleaded. Flash sighed. After some silent thought, he nodded.
“There were reports north of Vanhoover of a couple of cave explorers who were found roaming, gone utterly mad with fear. They also found the remains of an old diamond dog who had died of a heart attack induced by some sort of a trauma,” the pegasus told him.
“We don’t have anything more solid, only rumors in the northwest of something that is possibly driving ponies and other creatures mad. However, we haven’t been able to find or confirm anything,” Flash Sentry finished.
Private frowned as he thought it over. Sombra had told him that he would need time to rest and recover his former strength. If he were to guess, it seemed the like the king had found himself a hole to hide in in Northwestern Equestria. Then again, there were all kinds of creatures in this world, so unless it was confirmed, it could be anything.
But still, it would mean that he is far away, he thought and found himself calming down a bit.
“But if there was nothing else, I probably should return to my post,” Flash then said.
“Uh, no. Thanks for the info.” Private nodded his head. “Don’t turn off the light on your way out.”
“Of course,” The pegasus chuckled and walked back out of the room and closed the door.
The unicorn sighed contently and closed his eyes, figuring he should try and get some more sleep. Yet there was one thing that never failed Private Iceland - he really had an uncanny sense of knowing when he was not alone. The stallion started to open his eyes. There was definitely someone else in the room with him!
“You know, keeping the lights on won’t banish the shadows. Shadows need light to exist,” an all-too familiar voice addressed him.
Private’s eyes shot open and he quickly turned his head. He froze at the sight of the large, dark gray unicorn with the black mane and red curved horn. The pony would have screamed if a red magic aura hadn’t suddenly enveloped his muzzle and kept it shut, muffling all sound trying to come out.
“Ah, ah, ah...let’s not disturb the hospital staff with some unnecessary screaming,” King Sombra chuckled and walked closer to the bed.
The king examined the shivering pony with a critical eye, especially looking at the cast on his foreleg, keeping the magic aura on Private’s muzzle to keep him silent the entire time.
“You’re probably wondering how I got past those pitiful security methods they have in place,” Sombra snorted and glanced at the closed entrance. “Honestly, those wards were painfully easy to circumvent. I have half a mind to go find Princess Twilight and lecture her on proper ward placement. They focused entirely on somepony using dark magic to enter.”
“And don’t get me started on those guards. They clearly are on the lookout for me as I appear now. I put up a simple illusion spell, making me appear as a slightly smaller pegasus and they didn’t even look at me,” he continued, almost sounding insulted.
Finally Sombra let go of Private’s muzzle, but much to the stallion’s horror, he found he couldn’t speak. The king had clearly put some sort of silencing spell on him. The unicorn gulped, fearing the worst as he glanced up at the unwelcome visitor who was now staring right at him.
“I hadn’t anticipated you being this injured, Private. I recall one of my tendrils sending you to a wall, but I suppose I don’t know my own strength,” the dark pony smirked and raised one hoof, placing it gently on top of Private’s blanket-covered chest.
Right back to touching...geeze what a surprise, Private thought, shuddering. Seeing the grin on Sombra’s muzzle, he realized quickly...You’re inside my head.
“Why of course. My essence still courses through you. I can still easily tap into it,” Sombra informed him via his mind.
What do you want? You’re alive, you’re in your body… can’t you just leave me alone now? Private asked and mentally whimpered when the king bent over to look him directly in the eyes, their muzzles just inches away from each other.
“How quickly you forget, Private. Then again, I suppose I can’t blame you...you probably feel all safe and secure here in this hospital, surrounded by friends and family,” Sombra snorted and his eyes narrowed.
“You and your brother now belong to me. The only reason I haven’t gone and collected the two of you is because I’m just not ready yet. Also, it would only be proper to allow you to heal up first. I’m just here to check on you, ensure you don’t get too comfortable. Your service to me is not over, Private, not by a long shot. The king’s muzzle twisted into a sneer for a moment, it vanished when Private’s stomach growled again.
Sombra glanced down, then looked back at Private skeptically. The unicorn tried not to mentally groan. Here he was being tormented by the very pony that possessed him and his stomach chose now to remind him that he was still hungry. Then involuntarily his mind went back to pancakes and how he had stupidly tried to sneak out in search for them.
“Really now, Private. I’m trying to remind you of your place and you’re thinking about pancakes?” Sombra raised and eyebrow, then he smirked. “If that is all you want, that can easily be arranged.”
“Of course you were a very useful little pawn in my plans to come back to life and I haven’t really properly rewarded you yet,” the king then mused. Private cringed, not really sure he wanted any reward. Suddenly, Sombra narrowed his eyes again.
“Time’s awasting, I shouldn’t stay here much longer. You go back to sleep and don’t ever forget, Private Iceland.” Sombra activated his horn and suddenly Private found it difficult to keep his eyes open, realizing the dark pony must be putting him under a sleeping spell.
“You are MINE!”
Private woke up with a start. Glancing at the window, he saw daylight was starting to crawl in through the curtains. The unicorn looked around and confirmed he was alone in the room. The stallion frowned. Had the entire night just been another nightmare? He recalled talking with the nurse and talking with Flash Sentry. He vividly remembered Sombra standing there by his bed, but did it actually happen? He wasn’t sure anymore.
The door opened and a nurse came walking in with a food tray. The unicorn frowned. It was not the same nurse that he recalled talking to. This crystal pony was yellow. The stallion looked at the tray. The food was covered for now.
Was this a dream? He wondered.
The nurse smiled at him as she put the food tray on the table. Then she rolled it so it was over the bed and thus Private had better access to it. The unicorn still stared at the metal cover. His breakfast was on a big plate.
“Enjoy,” the nurse said and walked back out, knowing this patient liked peace and quiet.
Private still stared at his food tray. He could smell something familiar, part of his mind eagerly wanting to check the contents. Finally, with hesitation, he used his magic to remove the cover. The unicorn’s heart sank, his face paled up. Internally he screamed, outside he just stared in horror. For the first time in his life he really didn’t want to see what was in front of him.
On the plate were the most delicious looking pancakes he had ever seen, smothered with syrup and butter. In the combination of the two condiments was written:
Sleep well. Enjoy your reward.
The End