I know people experience hardships. That everybody has their own problems. Sob stories being thrown about left and right, abusive parents this, hurricane that, Internet drama, the whole nine yards. Nobody wants to hear it. People are desensitized to it; they listen to things like that every night at six-o-clock. How the anchorman tells you, "Good evening, folks," and over the next few hours, tells you just why it isn't going to be a good evening. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't too different.
Back home, I couldn't do anything right. I was a screw-up. Barely holding on in school with a C-average. My close friends calling me a shut-in because I won't spare the money to go see movies any more. My brother getting angry with my inability to take honest opinions and criticism. My girlfriend leaving me. It's obvious that I suck at relationships... Or just at everything. This always left me with nobody to talk to. Nobody to sympathize with. That's what I was, essentially. A nobody.
But there was one thing I could do correctly. One thing that would make all my problems melt away. Something I've played since my childhood. Basketball. Every game, as soon as I set foot on that court... everything just went right. Every shot made was so satisfying, although not as much as the responding roar of approval from the stands. To hear friends, family, and even complete strangers cheer your name always evoked such pride in what I enjoyed doing. Even in practice, I always enjoyed the freedom I was granted. I always knew what I was doing, even in the hairiest of situations. No hitches, no bumps in the road for me to stumble over. No falls for me to take. It was my escape. Here, on the wooden floors of the school gym, I was unstoppable. I was happy. I wasn't a zero anymore. I was somebody.
Until I ended up here.
And I was nobody again. --
NOBODY
Prologue
***
"Dude. Jay. You listening?"
"..."
"Jay!"
"Agh! What the hell!"
"Dude, did you hear a word I said?"
"Yeah, yeah." I waved my hand dismissively. "Stop driving like a maniac. I got it."
"Then why are you still going 75 on a 65 speed limit freeway?"
I let off of the gas slightly, allowing the car to slow down to about 65 MPH. "There. Happy?" I asked, brow twitching in irritation.
"Yeah. Better." Bryan replied, shifting in his seat.
"I swear to god, dude. You bitch about every little thing."
"Hey, I don't care how you drive when I'm not around. Just don't go so fast when I'm here."
"Okay, okay. Don't have to repeat it."
I hit the turn signal, moving over into the right lane to get off the freeway. Bryan cleared his throat. "Sheesh. Why do you always get all touchy when I ask you about one little thing?"
"I don't like it when people pick on my flaws; do you?" I shot back.
"Well, not really, but-"
"Yeah. There."
"But," Bryan raised his voice. "I'd rather have people tell me something that they'd prefer me not to do so I avoid looking like an asshole. Which is what you're doing right now."
"Wow. Real mature, dude."
"Who's being the immature one? Can't take a bit of criticism?"
"Shut up."
"Alright, alright. Fine."
I glared daggers into the road ahead of me. "I swear, if you weren't my brother, I'd beat the tar out of you."
"Yeah? Well, same here."
I braked gently, easing the Prius to a stop sign. Glancing both ways, I proceeded. As I continued to navigate the streets back home, Bryan cleared his throat again. I hated it when he did that. I think he does it to announce that he's going to say something. "So, you get any news back from Toys R' Us about that interview they mentioned?"
"Not yet."
"Ah. Well, at least you got a call about an interview; I haven't heard back from any of the places I applied to. Hope you get that job."
I gave him a sidelong glance. It was bold of him to think that the conversation would cool off that quickly. But, then again, we've been arguing like that for eighteen years. It's what brothers do, really. Although apologies were rare, it was usually unspoken apologies that we gave out. Usually when we expressed good will to the other, that was a sign of such an apology.
I nodded. "Thanks."
Turning right into a side-street, I slowed as I pulled into our driveway. After putting it in park, I soundlessly exited, retrieving my bag and lunch from the back of the car, waiting for Bryan to do the same before locking it and heading inside.
Bursting into my bedroom, I tossed my bag onto the bed, rolling my shoulder to work away the soreness. Hitting the power on my computer, I pulled my flip phone out of my pocket, opening it. I noticed that I had two unread texts. I quickly opened them, reading them over. My hope deflated when it was only a couple of acquaintances from school asking me about homework.
Deleting the two, my eyes fell on the third message. An explosive sigh escaped my lips. It was from my girlfriend. Opening the message, I read it again, even though I had already read it before. It was a complaint about me standing her up on our previous date, and the one before that. I also noticed the date on the text was from over a month ago. Suddenly feeling a pang of sorrow for her, I thought maybe I should make it up to her. I popped the button on the bookbag, flipping the nylon flap over. Rummaging around inside, I removed my planner and flipped it to December, noting that I had nothing going on this weekend, other than the homecoming basketball game Saturday night.
I opened my flip phone again and furiously tapped out a text message, asking her if she was available Friday night for dinner at the Melting Pot, a local fondue restaurant near her house. After sending the text, I left my phone on my desk, returning to my computer to check my email.
I jolted when the phone vibrated against my desk, making a loud buzzing noise. Snatching it off of the desk, I opened it, my eyes scanning the message.
"sounds great; just as long as your really there this time. :\"
I couldn't help a smile. I wouldn't let her down this time.
***
"Nether dust container?"
"Check."
"Sound crystals?"
"Check."
"Okay. That's the last of the list. I think we're ready, then."
"Er... Are you sure the Princess will be okay with this, Twilight?"
"Hm?"
"Y'know... With trying these long-range teleportation spells?"
"Oh, Spike. We've already been over this."
"I know, I know."
"It's just like my short-range teleporation spell."
"Yes. But you're teleporting a magical object!"
"Spike, did anything bad happen when I teleported Rarity?"
"Wha..? What're you getting at?"
"There weren't any negative effects after I moved her with my magic, correct?"
"Well, no, But-!"
"And Rarity was a unicorn, right?"
"Yeah, but still-!
"Therefore, she was a 'magical' object due to her horn."
"Right..."
"So, teleporting nether dust to the Princess shouldn't be a problem. Besides, they said it was urgent, correct?"
"Yeah. They did say that the extracted nether dust needed to be sent to them right away... But they suggested that you take the train to Canterlot."
"Yes, but this will definitely streamline things. I won't have to leave my library if I use long-range teleportation."
I pulled my hand back, cursing as a small chunk of hot broccoli landed on top of it. My eyes scanned the sprouts, my head bobbing in approval. "Hm. Looks done." After one last application of garlic salt, I emptied the pan's contents into a ceramic bowl. "Alright, dinner's ready. Get it before I eat it all,"
Grabbing a paper plate from the shelf in the garage, I took a seat at the table, eagerly spooning a generous serving onto it. Adding two scoops of rice from the rice cooker, I tucked into the meager meal.
Bryan took a seat next to me, groaning in disappointment. "Really? Just cooked broccoli and rice?"
"S'matter with that? Nothing else in this house anyways; mom threw out all the chicken," I mumbled through a mouthful of rice.
"True that. Why is it that she chose such a bad time to go vegan?"
"Wouldn'tve mattered if it was the summer anyways; it would've sucked either way."
"Yeah, yeah. Just the deal with leftovers always being nothing but veggies every day."
"You know the saying. Mom going on a diet means the entire family's going on a diet."
Another few moments of furious eating passed before our mom sat down at the table. "Thanks for making dinner, Jay. Looks good."
"It's my week," I replied.
She helped herself to a couple spoonfuls of broccoli. "Bryan told me about the good news."
"The what?"
"Your job interview."
"Oh. Well, they didn't tell me about a time, yet, so I don't even know if it's still going."
"Well, at least you heard from them."
"Yep."
"So, how're your grades holding up?"
"Huh?" I pretended not to hear her in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable.
"Your grades. You picked up your report card from the post office today, didn't you?"
"Er... Yeah. I did."
"Well? How do they look?"
I sighed. "Good enough."
My mom's eyes narrowed. "Jay. C'mon. I need to know."
"Two C's! I got two C's in Math and Anatomy."
"Two C's? Jay, you can't be serious."
"Do I look like I'm joking?" I growled.
My mom put down her fork. "Jay, have you talked to your teachers about what's going on?"
"...No."
"Well you should-"
"I know."
"Then why haven't you?"
"I've just... Been a bit busy."
I pushed my rice around with my fork, glancing at my mom. She frowned before going back to her food. "Well, you know what you need to do. And you know what this means."
"Yeah. No electronics until I can bring it back up. Got it."
"It means no homecoming this Saturday."
"What?!"
"That's what it means, Jay."
I gripped my fork tighter. My mind raced back and forth, wondering if I should be mad at myself for having let my grades slip so much or at my mom for pulling this bullshit on me. "Mom. This is my last homecoming game," I began. "You can't just take it away from me like this!"
"I can. And I will. Because I know you'll need those." She pointed to the Prius keys on the key rack.
I ground my teeth. "Fine. You win."
A few moments of silent eating passed before my mom ventured another question. "So, got any plans this week? I need to know just in case you need the car again."
I swallowed the broccoli sprout I was eating, taking a moment to glower at him before speaking. "Friday night. Jen and I are going to the Melting Pot at about 9 o'Clock."
"Melting pot?"
"Fondue place."
"Isn't that pricey?"
"Well, yeah. It's coming out of my bank account."
My mom groaned. "Jay, you can't keep taking out of your bank account."
I glared daggers at her before tapping my chin thoughtfully. "Well, I haven't seen her in a month. I thought I should... y'know, make it special."
Mom took a sip of water. "Okay. Whatever you say. Just make sure you know that it's not an unlimited supply of money. Gotta put some of it on a CD and set it aside. Interest rates may be low right now, but you never know what could change in a year."
I nodded, waving a hand dismissively. "Yep. I know."
I missed a scowl crossing my mom's face as she returned to her meal. "Just some food for thought, Jay."
I shook my head, finishing the last of the rice. "How come you're letting me take Jen out for a date, but you're not letting me play in the homecoming game?"
"I didn't want to damage your relationship with Jen; she's a nice girl. Wouldn't want you to lose her."
I couldn't help a smile. At least there was that.
I rubbed my eyes furiously. I should probably turn on the lights; it's pretty dark outside now. I flipped the switch, rubbing my eyes again. Light splashed over the plain white walls of my bedroom, making the light from the computer screen easier on my eyes. I didn't know what I hated more at this point. My dad, homework or college applications.
The faint buzzing of my cell phone caught my attention. Snatching it off of the bed, I flipped it open, holding it to my ear. "Yello? Jay here."
"Hi, Jay Akamatsu?"
"Yep. Who am I speaking to?"
"This is Adam Paulson from Toys R' Us. Manager of the location on Greenback."
My brows shot up. "O-oh! Hi! How are you?"
"I'm doing well, thank you. Just wanted to ask if you're free tomorrow at around 8 o'clock?"
"Er... Yeah! Yeah. I'm free."
"Ah, excellent! In that case, I'd like to interview you tomorrow. Get to know you a little better."
"Great! I'll be looking forward to it, then!"
"Same here; see you tomorrow!"
"Yes, sir! See you tomorrow."
I flipped the phone closed, feeling slightly elated. And then my stomach sank. My date was tomorrow at nine.
Shit.
My cavernous yawn echoed throughout the empty gym, save for the other two seniors stretching in the corner. The one nearest to me gave me a nod. "Sup, sleeping beauty?"
"Sup, jackwagon."
"Nothing yet. It's still the morning."
Chuckling to myself, I glanced around the gym. "Where's the coach?"
"In the suites." He nodded to the small PE office towards the rear of the gym. We called it the "suites" because there was a small window that allowed the occupants to look into the gym, and vice versa.
"He's listening to the results from the Knicks game the other day."
"Guy loves his team, huh?" I joined my teammates in the stretching, starting off with my calves.
"Talk about passion for the sport."
I grinned. "That's why we're all here at 6AM, right?"
The fellow senior stood up off of the wall. "Damn straight."
I pushed myself off of the wall, moving to the ball cart. I frowned. "I'm..." I stopped. I wasn't going to just let this homecoming game slip away. It'd be my last; surely I'd play more in college, but it would be the last time playing with the teammates I've suffered with for the past four years.
Before I could think of my decision, an insidious plot popped into my head. "I'm... I'm in need of a ride on Friday. Parents need the car for a date night."
The junior still stretching nodded. "Yeah; sure. I can pick you up."
I released a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. "Thanks."
A long silence passed before the senior stopped me again. "So, how are things going with Jen? Heard you haven't seen each other in a month."
"Who told you that?"
"This is a big school, but news travels fast. That's Country Day for you."
I groaned. "It's nothing. We were a bit angry at each other after our last date."
"I also heard that 'date' never happened."
"...Okay, so I was five minutes late."
"Well, a little bird told me it was thirty."
"...It was Bryan, wasn't it?"
"What're you talking about?"
"Y'know he's full of shit, right?"
"Multiple sources confirm that he wasn't lying."
"What sources?"
"Tom, Ian, Gordon..."
"Fuck me."
"No thanks. I'm good."
I couldn't help a laugh as I continued to the ball cart. "Dammit; can't stay mad at you, can I, Alex?"
Alex waved his hand dismissively. "Anyways, so you haven't talked to her in a month, and all of a sudden, you set up a date?"
I took one of the balls, taking a couple of experimental dribbles. "Well, I just felt... bad."
"Took you long enough to feel that way, dude." Alex plucked an outdoor ball from the basket, dribbled it twice before throwing it back. "Meh. Flat."
"Thanks, Captain Hindsight." I mumbled dejectedly.
"Whoa. Hey. Sorry; didn't mean to put you down." Alex apologized.
"Yeah. Whatever. Asshole."
"Hey, hey. Dude, chill. I said I was sorry."
I sighed. "Yeah. It's just that I really want to make it up to her, and I've just been really busy lately with the start of the season."
"Jay, why are you worried? You're a natural at this stuff. It helps to take a day off and take it easy. Make sure all your bases are covered." His eyebrows bounced. "Get to second base with a certain somebody."
I raised a brow. "Dude. That's creepy."
He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. None of my business. Just find a way to balance out your time; you can't take people as special as Jen for granted."
My grip on the basketball tightened. "I know."
Alex shrugged, selecting another outdoor ball. "Just saying."
I scowled, turning away. I freaking know. Prick. My eyes fell on the coach limping through the door. "Get warmed up. We'll start with a shooting drill until the rest get here."
A collective groan echoed around the gym.
Twilight nearly leapt out of her skin when a certain pink pony burst through the door. "Twilight!"
"Wha?! Goddess above, Pinkie!"
"Twilight, I just got a doozie!"
"Doozie?" Twilight frowned. "What do you think it is? Monster? Somepony in trouble?"
The party pony shrugged. "I dunno. Just thought you should know! Spike told me that you were going to do some kind of transpor-teleportation-thing-a-mabobber."
Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Did he put you up to this?"
"Put me up to what, Twi?"
"To this! Trying to warn me against using long-range teleport!"
"Hahaha! Silly Twilight! Trix are for kids!"
"What? Trixie...?"
"See ya, Twilight!" The pink pony trotted out the door, humming a familiar tune. Twilight sighed, returning to her books. She frowned. Now that she thought about it, the more a foreboding feeling built in her gut. And not a good one. Although she had no idea if Pinkie was really telling the truth or not, it was still that shadow of a doubt that tugged at the back of her mind. Maybe she shouldn't do this after all...
The unicorn shook her head. No! Why should I be worried? It's just one teleportation spell, just like the rest I've executed! According to my texts from Starswirl the Bearded, this is nothing out of the ordinary! Just a few extra tidbits that would be used to amplify the magical energy, but nothing different! There's nothing for me to be afraid of! Twilight puffed out her chest subconsciously. She wasn't going to get worked up over something completely insignificant. It was just a long-range teleportation spell... right?
I straightened my tie, glancing at my reflection. Honestly, I sort of liked the look. I didn't know why my mom always said I looked "cute", but I certainly looked sharp. With a red dress shirt and a black tie, I cut a pretty impressive look. Kinda reminded me of some sort of Devil's Advocate, which wasn't what I was aiming for in my interview, but it didn't matter. This way, I wouldn't have to change for my date.
Moving away from the mirror, I headed for the door. I had an hour-and-a-half to get through my interview, and another thirty minutes to get to the Melting Pot. Shouldn't be a problem...
I sat back in my car, grinning to myself. For the first time in weeks, something went right. No catches, no worst-case-scenarios. We did go overtime by about twenty minutes, but what did it matter? Ten minutes is plenty of time. Not to mention it was the easiest interview I've ever been through. All I did was go in and be myself. The boss was awesome, too. He was lax and informal, which was the last thing I expected. Also found out we both watch Red vs. Blue every Monday. He's even gone to RTX 2011 and showed me his pictures with the Burnie Burns.
Did I say he was an awesome boss?
I still couldn't believe it myself. And starting tomorrow, of all days! Fuckin' sweeeeet! First job nailed! It's all downhill from here.
I beamed a huge smile as I depressed the power button on the dashboard, shifting into reverse and backing out of the parking spot. Just had to get over to the Melting Pot and wrap up a rather successful evening.
"Hey, Twilight!"
"Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. Don't you have work in the morning?"
"We got the day off. The rain isn't for another week, and we've already corralled all of the clouds near Ponyville over to Cloudsdale. Nothing for us to do anyways."
"Ah, that's great, Rainbow!"
"Yeah. Just came over to see what you were doin'."
"Nothing much, really. Just have to send this nether dust to the Princesses."
"Huh?" Rainbow stopped hovering, taking a seat near the door. "Nether what?"
"Nether dust," Twilight corrected. "Magical essence. Usually used with teleportation."
"Oh. But everypony told me you were leaving for Canterlot."
"I'm not, though."
Rainbow Dash cocked her head. "...But didn't you just say you've got to give the Princesses that nether stuff?"
"Well, yes, but I'm going to teleport it to them."
The pegasus frowned. "I don't think Spike's flame can send that-"
"No, I meant with magic."
Rainbow scratched her head. "But... doesn't that only work for yourself and other ponies?"
"Not according to Starswirl the Bearded!" Twilight flourished a particular book proudly, the ancient tome dancing in her telekinesis. "The entire process is in this book. I can send them anything I want, just like Spike sends letters to the Princess! It's just a bit more complex in what it requires, but it's totally going to be worth it! Instead of being away for a few days, I don't even have to leave my library!" She turned to face the bookshelves that lined the far wall. "Catch up on some of my reading; those John Whinnythrop texts aren't going to read themselves!"
Rainbow Dash frowned. "Uh... I don't know, Twi. Doesn't it sound a little... sketchy?"
Twilight whirled on the pegasus. "Wha? Sketchy...?"
"Y'know... Unsound?"
Twilight shook her head. Not only was Rainbow Dash becoming more cautious than usual, she had expanded her vocabulary. And with a real word, this time. "Ugh. You're the third pony to tell me that this week."
Rainbow lowered her head. "Sorry, Twilight. Just saying."
"Look, I've planned ahead! I've made triple sure that nothing could possibly go wrong! Why does everypony still doubt me?!"
"Whoa, whoa! It's not that I doubt you!" Rainbow shrugged her wings. "Just... a feeling. A hunch. I just wanted to let you know I'm not feeling 100% about this one. Teleporting 'teleporting dust?' Something just doesn't click."
Twilight sighed. "I appreciate your concern, Rainbow. I really do! It's just... frustrating to hear ponies tell me this over and over again."
Rainbow laughed halfheartedly. "Don't I know that feeling. Well, I'd better head out. Missing out on some quality naptime."
Twilight nodded. "Afternoon nap, I presume. See you around, Dash."
The unicorn waved as the pegasus took off, zooming off into the horizon. Shutting the door, she returned to the library, biting her lip unconsciously. What was with everypony...? Even Rainbow Dash, the complete opposite of tentative, voiced caution! She kicked at the wood floor, suddenly overcome with overwhelming doubts. Maybe I shouldn't...
She shook her head, her jaw set in grim determination. No. I can do this. I've already completed the hard part: Preparation. Now, all that's left is the easy part: execution. It should be all downhill from here!
The Prius inched forward with its usual slow acceleration. Pedal to the metal, my ass. I frantically checked the clock. 9:12. You've gotta be shitting me.
Well, what do you freakin' know? Damn fuzz pulled me over for going 75 in a 65 zone. Another $300 I don't have. The engine whined as I pushed the pitiful acceleration to its limit. If Bryan got a hold of this... Prime blackmail substance. He'll use it in every goddamn argument from now. Leverage to every single conflict. The entire car lurched as I cornered a left turn a little too fast. I couldn't afford to screw this one up. Not with her. Not now.
I glanced at the car's clock. 9:14. It was too close; Jen would probably already be at the restaurant by now. If I called her saying I was going to be late... I shook my head. I wasn't going to let her down again.
I slammed on the brakes, nearly ramming into a line of bumper-to-bumper traffic. I leaned out of the driver-side window, eyeing a spectacular wreck several miles up the road. An 18-wheeler on its side.
My fingers drummed on the steering wheel.
God.
Dammit.
"I swear! This is the last straw!"
"Twi, please!"
"Of all ponies, I thought I could rely on you to give me some support!"
"Ah'm sorry, but-!"
"Can't anypony see that I'm perfectly capable of doing a little tidbit of advanced magic?!"
Applejack sighed. "Look, sugarcube. It's not that Ah don't trust you! Ah just don't trust this mumbo-jumbo that Starswirl the Bearded is spewin'. It just doesn't sound right."
"You think that the biggest contributor to unicorn magic is just spewing a bunch of mumbo-jumbo?" the unicorn's voice lowered dangerously.
"Er... Look, Twi. Ah'm just-"
Twilight cut her off with a sigh of her own. "Concerned. I know."
The Earth pony removed her Stetson. "Exactly."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds. "It's just a new concept; Ah'm sure everythin' will go perfectly fine, Twi."
Twilight shook her head. "Honestly, at this point, I don't know what I should think. Everypony's just been going crazy about this whole thing, even just with the preparation. I mean, the prep was just fine, actually, but even now, I'm starting to have my doubts in myself."
Applejack patted the unicorn on the shoulder. "Look, it don't matter what anypony else tells you. As long as you listen to their opinions instead of ignorin' them. Ah mean, maybe they could have some helpful stuff." The farmpony winced under Twilight's icy gaze. "But Ah'm not gonna stop you. If you really believe you know what yer doin', maybe I should believe in you, too."
Twilight couldn't help a small smile. "Thanks."
The earth pony replaced her Stetson. "That's what Ah'm here for. Don't let anypony else tell ya different. Even me."
The unicorn's smile widened. "Thank you. Really. That's just what I needed."
Applejack made a beeline for the door. "Ah'll be over at Pinkie's; picking up a few baking supplies. Give me a holler if ya need anythin'."
The earth pony nudged the door open, gently bucking it closed as she left. Twilight glanced back at the jar of nether dust sitting on the end table, her eyes narrowed. There was no way she was going to give up now. Applejack is right. Nopony can tell her that she's incapable of setting this up correctly. Like before, all that was left was to execute. And nothing was going to stop her now.
Abandoning the haphazardly-parked Prius, I pulled out my phone to check the time. 10:03PM. I gritted my teeth, doubling my speed. This is unbelievable. This isn't happening, right? Just a dream; just a realistic, unbelievably fucked-up dream.
Rounding the corner, I stopped cold at the sight of my girlfriend wrapped in a jacket that obviously wasn't hers. Next to her was a familiar face, although I couldn't recall his name.
We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. I tried to break the silence. "Er... Hey."
Jen sighed. "Jay... meet Gus. Gus Hurley."
Something clicked. Gus Hurley. 7th grade. Had something of a jewfro.
"Oh, dude! Gus! What's up?"
Gus nodded back to me. "Hey, Jay. Long time no see."
My gaze drifted between the two back and forth. "So... What's going on?"
"Look, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. I'm ending it."
My jaw dropped. "You're WHAT?!"
"I'm... I'm ending it."
"Jen, listen-!"
"No. No, Jay. For once, you need to listen. You need to listen to people around you for once. All you do now is simply brush off everybody with, 'I know, I know,' instead of listening to them. You just keep side-stepping your responsibilities and ignoring all advice that all of us try to give you." She looked at her feet. "You've been so busy brushing everybody off, that you ended up brushing me off, too."
My fists clenched and unclenched, but she was right. "And... Gus, here, helped me pick up the pieces. We started off as just friends, but after tonight, I don't know what to think of it any more. At this point... I can't tell if you're even taking me seriously anymore. You're always busy, or you've always got more important things."
"Jen..."
"You need to figure out what your priorities are, Jay."
She turned away, leaving me and Gus alone.
My eyes were fixed on her retreating figure. I felt a presence to my right. Gus.
"Dude, hey, I'm sorry. She never told me about... you two. She... she told me she was single."
"Gus. Just leave."
"...Alright, then."
And with that, Gus walked off with the most important person in my life. I turned away, letting loose a shaky breath.
"Jay?" Patrick, the team's power forward, nudged me with his elbow.
I ignored him, turning my hand over in the car's heater, relishing in the warmth rushing over my chilled fingertips.
"Jay? Something happen?"
"No."
The entire car rocked as we entered the school's driveway. "Okay. Just hope you won't be like this going into the game."
"Yeah."
Exiting the car, we both moved to the trunk to grab our shoes.
Patrick gave me another glance. "You sure everything's okay?"
"I said I'm fine, dude. Give it a rest."
"Alright, sheesh."
Popping my earbuds in, I jogged to catch up to Patrick, who had already started walking towards the gym, leaving me to close the trunk. Entering the high school quad, we pushed past a few of the freshmen, acknowledging their words of encouragement with a nod and a smile, although I had trouble with the latter. Squeezing between several bystanders crowding the doorway, we made our way inside, wincing when the buzzer went off.
The squeaking of shoe soles against the hardwood floor intensified as both girls' basketball teams moved to their respective benches for a thirty-second timeout. Two opposing scoreboards hung on the far ends of the gym, displaying that our home team was losing by twelve points with four minutes to go in the third quarter.
"Guess they've got a strong girls team this year."
"We did lose Mary-Claire last year."
"Still; they at least won the first few games at the start of their season, didn't they?"
"True."
We moved towards a door on the southeastern side of the gym, knocking twice and peering through the windows. A familiar face popped up, unlocking the door and letting us in.
"Hey, guys. Ank isn't here yet, so get your shoes on."
"Coach running late?"
"Guess so. He's coming from El Dorado an hour away, so it's no surprise."
We dispersed to the different areas of the weight room, occasionally getting up to let in teammates and other late arrivals. The athletic director stopped by to open the ball cart for us before returning to doing the girls' statistics. We chatted nonchalantly in an attempt to break the nervous atmosphere that hung heavily in the room, discussing shenanigans we enacted in before coming to the game.
I played with my warmup jersey, resting my elbows on my knees as I leaned forward. Reaching into my bag, I removed my cell phone, flipping it open and scrolling to my contacts. My gaze rested on Jen's phone number, my stomach clenching involuntarily. I stared at it for several seconds before a ball bounced my way, drawing my attention away from the screen. Alex stopped in front of me, dribbling between his legs.
"Jay? You sure you're fine?"
I tapped the options button on my phone, scrolling to "delete" and pressing "enter." I snapped the phone shut, tossing it into my bag.
"Yeah. I said I'm fine."
All fell silent when the fourth quarter buzzer sounded outside, and our coach limped through the door.
"Yo; music off. Listen up."
We deposited our music players into our bags before crowding around the coach.
"Remember: These cats are the number one players in the league. Now I know yall' feelin' a lil' antsy thinkin' about that. And there's nothin' you can change 'bout it. They're big, they're athletic, and they're more skilled than you. They've been playin' all summer, too. They just recycle their football, soccer and baseball players to this team. So think of 'em as a bunch of Morgans on that team."
Morgan was a small point guard on our team who was famous for playing almost every single sport available at Country Day. Lacrosse, skiing, baseball, soccer, cross country and track were the ones he played best at. Basketball wasn't even his prime sport (Which was soccer). This also made him the most athletic on our team, since he played a different sport for every month in the school year.
"You've already got no chance of winning. But," he held up his hands, catching our downcast gazes. "There's a difference in 'losing' and 'getting beaten.'"
We all shared a shit-eating grin. We knew what was coming.
"You lose, you let 'em walk all over you. But if you get beaten, you make them beat you. Make 'em earn that 'W.' And that all lays on where yall are at. You gonna pussy out? Or you gonna be the win they walk away from, sayin', 'Damn, we really had to work for that one.'"
Not even waiting for our answer, he put his hand out. "Bring it in."
Forming a circle, we placed our hands on his fist. "Hard work, on three. One, two, three!"
"HARD WORK!"
As we moved back to switch shoes and gear up, our coach checked the scoreboard through the window. He smiled, his perfectly white teeth providing a stark contrast to his mahogany face. "Five dollars and thirty-six cents on the clock, gentlemen. Get yer heads straight."
"Okay. I think everything's in place."
Twilight took a few steps back, sighing in satisfaction. The sound crystals were in place, each one levitating within its respective container. The soft glow they emitted lit the darkened library basement, illuminating the intricate chalk mosaic drawn on the floor between them.
Spike scratched his head. "You sure this was the 'simplest' design?"
"Of course! Isn't the circle's design streamlined from the mass teleportation ones that we read about in the book the other day?"
The dragon gave her a blank stare. "...It kinda looks the same."
"Oh, Spike! Quit teasing!" Twilight laughed.
Spike opened his mouth as if to say something, but thought better of it, shrugging to himself before returning to his checklist. "That just about does it for the final checklist. Should we fire it up?"
"Not quite yet. We've still got the checklist for the final checklist, and the checklist for the checklist of the final checklist. Then we'll be ready."
"Ugh. How did I not see this coming...?"
"Closeout drill! Let's go!"
We crowded the baseline, lining up on opposite sides of the key.
"Go!"
Alex and I took the lead, sprinting forwards. As we approached the top of the key, we threw our arms back, swinging them back up into an imaginary opponent's face to block a shot, quickly sliding to the sideline and jogging back to the baseline. Our teammates followed, and we repeated the process to the half-court line. Once finished, we switched sides at the baseline and started over again. As I closed out on the half-court line again, I risked a glance at the opposing team. I couldn't help but feel a little more nervous.
The number one team in the division certainly looked like it. Tall; Paul Bunyan tall. Probably about as ripped as that guy, too. They were a Christian school, so it was no surprise to see a majority of white guys on their team. I guess that was one less thing to worry about. Ank always said, "When you start seein' a lot of chocolates, that's when you gotta be careful." But they were still tall, burly and practically dunking every single layup they made.
I snapped out of my stupor when my coach's voice stood out among the obnoxiously loud music from our school's pep band. "Quit starin', Jay! Get yo skinny ass back over here!"
Without hesitation, I obeyed, jogging back to the baseline for the defensive slides drill. As we lined up at the corners of the baseline, I glanced back at the opposing team. If I'm going to be preoccupied with them, I might as well scout out the who the shooters are.
Our drill began, which involved sliding to the top corners of the key, and then to where the half-court line met the sideline before backpedaling to the baseline, all while in a defensive crouch. Ignoring the burning in my quads and calves, I squinted towards the opposite side of the court. Luckily, the other team had just been released to start taking shots around the basket. My eyes widened marginally upon seeing all three initial shots land in the basket, jamming themselves into the narrow net—all three had made it. Even their power forward was a goddamn shooter. I gritted my teeth. This shit just keeps getting better and better.
"Okay, Twilight. That's everything." Spike replaced the quill in the ink bottle, massaging his aching wrist.
"So... Spike, you're not going to say anything?"
"Huh?"
The unicorn frowned at him. "You know, any more words of wisdom? I thought you were against me going through with this?"
"Well, initially, I was," he admitted. "Things that would be 'a challenge' for you always worried me. You said it yourself when you first stumbled upon the idea last week. When you said it required caution, I instantly felt worried about the outcome. Like... What if you teleport yourself off to somewhere far away... and I never get to see you again?" The dragon hung his head. "But I realized it wasn't right for me to doubt you. I mean, look at this crazy checklist!" He waved the long parchment he was still holding. "You always over-prepare yourself, so why should I be worried, right? I mean, you're the smartest pony I know. And even though you make mistakes, you never make technical ones. And I also realized I shouldn't doubt the most magically talented pony in Equestria."
Twilight blushed. "Well... I wouldn't say that."
"Hm... How 'bout the most magically talented unicorn I know?"
Twilight smiled. "Better."
"Anyways, you know what you're doing, and I suddenly asked myself, 'Why am I worried? Twilight's obviously got a lid on this, and you're already thinking about the worst-case scenario.' I was being pessimistic when I really had nothing to fear. Spike gave a sheepish grin. "So, sorry for doubting you. Do you forgive me?"
Twilight ruffled the dragon's spines with a foreleg. "Of course I do! You are my number one assistant, after all." Her expression softened. "And I'm sorry for worrying you. I didn't mean to cause you any stress over the matter; I shouldn't have been so stubborn towards you. I should always listen to what other opinions have to offer instead of shutting them out."
"Heh; sounds like a decent friendship letter for this week!"
Twilight chuckled. "I think the Princess has enough on her hooves after that Crystal Kingdom ordeal; It'll work for next week, though."
She turned her attention to the vial of nether dust resting in the center of the circle, its contents flickering with a hauntingly beautiful shimmer. "Okay. Let's get this over with."
I rocketed the ball back to Patrick before taking my place at the end of the line. I glanced up at the clock: four minutes to go until gametime. Three until we headed to the bench to see who the starting five were. My gaze drifting back to my teammates, I watched intently as one of the other point guards put up a jumpshot, rushing after the ball when it bounced out of the hoop.
I couldn't help a nervous glance back at the other team, who were still shooting and chatting eagerly. Completely oblivious of our intent. My eyes narrowed. Another one of Ank's sayings popped into my head.
"So what? So what if they're D1? So what if they're taller than you? Packing your every shot? Just shrug it off, and say, 'I'm gonna make the next one.' And if they are D1, good. They'll be walkin' in like they're hot shit. Make 'em pay for carelessness. Take up the slack. Don't let them make any mistakes. Make 'em play well, so we've got no excuse for why we lost. We lost because they were better than us, but we did everything we could. No harm in losing those kinds of games."
I knelt to tie my right shoe again, which had come loose. Suddenly, my vision flickered around the edges, accompanied by a sudden wave of dizziness. I swayed in place, holding out a hand for balance. A ball impacted my face, the explosion of pain bringing me back to reality.
"Whoa! Sorry, Jay! You good?"
I nodded quickly, rubbing my face where the ball had hit me. "Yeah. My bad." I retrieved the basketball, turning around and jogging back to the line.
The hell was...? Whatever. Must've knelt too quickly.
I started jogging towards the hoop when another thought popped into my head.
Since when do I get dizzy from taking a knee...?
"Something wrong, Twilight?"
The unicorn frowned. "Yes. I just cast the spell."
Spike cocked his head. "But the vial's still there..."
Sure enough, the vial of nether dust was still resting in the middle of the circle, still giving off a lavender glow from Twilight's magic interacting with it.
"Exactly... It shouldn't still be here."
"Well, try again, I guess."
"Okay. Here we go..."
"Alex, Jay, Richard, Angel and Michael. Everyone else, off. Don't give 'em nothing. Make them earn every damn point, you understand?"
We all nodded in unison. He put his hand out, and we reciprocated. "Cavs on three. One, two, three!"
"CAVS!"
All five of us strolled onto the court, tucking in our jerseys. The announcer's voice boomed over the speakers.
"Welcome to tonight's Homecoming Boy's Basketball game! Tonight's matchup is Country Day Cavaliers versus the Sonoma Valley Lions. Here, we have our starting five..."
The rest was muffled and indiscernible. I glanced back at the announcer's table, confused. The dizziness returned, and I stumbled over myself. Shaking my head in an effort to break up the haze that now surrounded my senses, it became a struggle to simply stand upright. In addition, a strong nausea sent my stomach reeling into somersaults. My ears fell victim to a horrible ringing as the scoreboard's buzzer went off to signal the start of the game. I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear my now-blurry vision, as well as attempting to unplug my ears. And then, as suddenly as this assault on my senses occurred, it vanished. A black-and-white blur appeared in my foggy vision.
"Hey, can you play?" the ref asked.
"I-I'm fine. I stood up too fast," I lied hastily.
"No, ref. Get him out!" the coach barked.
A teammate came off the bench, helping me up and assisting me in hobbling back to the vacant seat before taking my position on the court.
"Jay, s'matter? Ain't gettin' nervous on me, are ya?"
All I could do was shrug helplessly; the nausea made doubly sure that I didn't talk. Ank frowned.
"Well, sit out for a bit. When you think you're better, lemme know and I'll put you back in."
Again, I nodded before I rested my head in my hands, willing the nausea and dizziness to go away.
Twilight stamped her hoof in irritation. "Why isn't it working? I followed everything to the letter!"
"Beats me. Everything checks out. The sound crystals brightened momentarily and made that ringing noise, just like the text said they would."
"Hold on; let me check the tome again."
A flash of Twilight's horn sent the leather-bound book flying towards her, its cover flipping open. After a few seconds of sifting through its yellowed pages, the unicorn squinted as she scrutinized the text printed on the page of interest.
Spike's foot tapping impatiently echoed in the silence. "Well? What does it say?"
The book thumped closed as a befuddled Twilight shook her head. "Nothing that we haven't seen before."
A long pause followed. Spike broke it with a suggestion. "Well, why not give it one last shot? Just to make sure that this isn't going to work. I mean, three time's the charm, right?"
Twilight sighed. "Not sure what good it'll do, but, alright." She crouched low, her horn aglow. "One more shot."
The first quarter buzzer went off as the two referees blew their whistles simultaneously. I squeezed my eyes shut, covering my ears. Although the nausea and dizziness had faded away, the strange hypersensitivity to sound hadn't. My eyes darted up to the scoreboard: 15 to 27. Down twelve points. It hadn't been a terrible quarter, but I still wanted to get into the game. I wanted to contribute to the last homecoming match.
"Okay. Not bad, guys. I can see that yall have settled into your rhythms. Just don't forget to close the zone at the top of the key when the ball moves to the middle. Stop any approaches to the bucket; no easy layups. Make them shoot around the outside for their points." Ank's head swiveled to face me. "Jay, you think you're up for playing?"
I opened my mouth to respond when I heard my name again. Except it was from the last person I wanted to hear at the moment.
"Jay!"
I slowly turned to the doorway of the gym, my eyes widening at the sight of my very pissed-off mom and melancholy dad.
"The hell do you think you're doing, Jay?" she fumed, pushing past the referees.
"Mom?! What're you doing here?"
"I should be asking you the same question."
"Ms. Akamatsu." Ank held up a hand. "Is there something I should know?"
My mom calmed down, much to my surprise. "Yes. I told Jay that he wasn't allowed to play in tonight's game because he's received two Cs. I even took my car keys from him to prevent him from driving here on his own. But I guess he had one of his friends pick him up, thanks to a tip off from someone I won't name."
I ground my teeth. Bryan. That sack of shit.
"I drove over here to take him home."
Ank turned to me. "Jay. You know the rules. One C technically means academic probation, but you're sporting two. I can't have that."
A sinking feeling filled the void the nausea had left in my stomach. "Well, can't I just play for one quarter?"
"Sorry, Jay. Your end of the bargain was to keep those grades up, and you let me down."
The referee jogged up. "Thirty seconds, coach."
Ank nodded to the ref before turning back to me. "Go home. You lied to me and your mother. You took advantage of both of us, and that's just damn selfish. Pack it up. You're out of tonight's game."
"But-!"
"Keep arguing and you're off the team," Ank shot back.
I bit back a smart remark. Not playing one game wasn't worth losing an entire season. I shuffled over behind the bench, throwing on my warmup jersey and slinging my gym bag over my shoulder. Before I could stand up, I couldn't help but feel the nausea returning; the sickening sense of defeat and failure not unlike the stinging aftermath of a slap.
Until it was accompanied by a shutout of almost all noise, muffling my hearing. I turned to face my mom, a confused expression on my face. She reciprocated with one of her own, mouthing something indiscernible to me.
Icy fingers suddenly grasped at my brain, like someone had dripped ice water through the top of my skull. The freezing vice-grip pulled me backward, throwing my vision skyward. I opened my mouth to yell out when the back of my head collided with something sharp, casting a dark blanket of silence over all of my senses. I saw nothing. I heard nothing. I felt nothing.
Except fear.
"You did it, Twilight! Look!"
The unicorn's eyes slowly opened, revealing a large depression in the floor where the circle was once situated. The sound crystals had fallen on the floor, no longer containing their ethereal shimmer. A smile slowly lit up the unicorn's face.
"I think you're right, Spike. Although, it looks like the Princess is going to get a little more than just a vial of nether dust."
The dragon eyed the depression in the floor. "Er... I'm sure she won't mind."
Twilight slumped into a sitting position. "Phew... That took a lot more out of me than it should have..."
Spike's brows shot up worriedly. "You feeling okay..?"
Twilight managed a weak smile. "Nothing a little tea won't fix. C'mon; I'll start the kettle."
"Oooh! Can we break out some of those strawberry scones Pinkie left us yesterday?"
"Why not? Call it our little 'success' celebration."
A steady beeping echoed in my head, accompanied by a weak ringing in my ears. The darkness around me was slowly pulled away, revealing a terribly bright light in its place. It was almost as if somebody was shining a flashlight through my eyelids. I made the mistake of opening my eyes, immediately shutting them as soon as the light burned my eyeballs. It was extremely bright, if not painfully so.
I reflexively attempted to shield it with my arm, but, to my dismay, I found that it didn't respond. Or, rather, it did. It just didn't move very far. I struggled to sit up, but immediately gave up in the effort, feeling a huge weight in my chest. It was impossible to sit up, as the lead-weight feeling was not only in my limbs, but in my core as well. After a few seconds, I mustered up the courage to speak.
"H-hello...?" I mewled weakly. My voice croaked something awful, as if it hadn't been used in months. I cleared my throat, speaking with slightly more volume. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
"What? Whaddya want, kid?!" a gruff voice asked.
My eyes peeked open in curiosity, as I wanted to see who was being such a prick to me. I immediately regretted the decision and shut my eyes again, gritting my teeth in discomfort from the blinding light.
"Sorry. I-I was... er... just wondering where I am."
"Well, yer in the hospital. You were in the room when I got 'ere, so I dunno how long you've been out."
Fuck. I was out for a whole day?! I mentally retraced my steps, struggling to recall what had happened when I was last conscious. Drove to the basketball game. Got ejected thanks to my dad. And then...?
I clenched my eyes tighter as the discomfort from the lights grew. Maybe I should just find out how long I've been here, for starters. "Uh... May I ask when you got here?"
"Yesterday. Slipped a disc in my back while helping my son move into his new apartment here in Canterlot."
Canterlot? The hell...? Is this guy on medication?
"Oh... Er... That's no fun," was all I could manage, too confused at the moment to ask another question.
"What happened t'you?" the voice asked.
"I..." I hesitated, unsure of how to describe it. "I was walking out of a basketball game when I... Uh... I passed out. I don't really remember anything else."
"Oh? Where did you play?"
"At my high school." I subconsciously puffed out my chest. "I play on the varsity team."
"Really? What city are you from, kid?"
"Here in Sacramento."
To my dismay, I heard a scoff. "Never heard of it. Yer in Canterlot, kid. Yer parents must really care for you to be flown all the way out here to Canterlot just to be taken care of."
"Er... what?"
"There's no basketball teams here in Canterlot. Nothing but universities and schools for the magically gifted."
Definitely medication.
"Why not?" I asked, unsure of what else to inquire.
"Unicorns aren't exactly athletic, in case you've forgotten."
That settles it. That guy's bat-shit crazy. I wonder if I can apply for a room change..?
I shifted a little, finding the lead weights partially lifted from my limbs. I still couldn't find the nurse button, however.
"Er, excuse me. Sir?"
"Now what?"
"Can you press your nurse call button? I can't find mine."
"Well, open yer eyes. That'd help ya," came the reply, along with a chuckle.
"The light hurts them; that's why I wanted to call a nurse."
There was a pause, some indiscernible grumbling and then a satisfying click. "There. Should be a nurse on the way. Lazybones..."
I pushed my irritation down. "Thank you, mister...?"
It took a couple of seconds before Mr. Bitchpants McCrabby answered, “Huh? Oh. Brom Ironhoof; I run a blacksmith in the lower city.”
“Huh. Thanks, Mr. Ironhoof,” was all I could manage.
“What’s yer name, sonny?” Ironhoof asked. “Can’t see the nametag at the foot of yer bed; we’re right next to each other.”
“Oh. It’s Jay.”
“…Yeah? Jay what?”
“Jay Akamatsu.”
“Oh; Neighponese, huh? You speak Central Equestrian so well; I couldn’t tell you were a foreigner.”
“Er… Don’t you mean English?”
“Huh? Whuzzat?”
I ground my teeth. Friggin’ nutcase. “Nothing.”
The door squeaking open broke my irritation. “Did somepony call for a nurse?” A female voice inquired.
“Y-yeah. That’s me,” I replied, ignoring her strange word choice. “I just wanted something to cover my eyes… Everything’s too bright.”
“Oh! Yes, right away. It’ll be just one moment.”
There was a clopping of the nurse’s shoes as she left. An uncomfortable silence fell across the room.
“Tch. What a baby.”
“Eat shit, shitbrick.”
---
“Okay, I’m going to do some peripheral tests to see how your recovery is progressing.”
“O-okay. What are those, exactly?”
“Oh, just poking around to see if you still have nerve function in your limbs.”
I gulped. Moment of truth.
There was a pause. “Did you feel that?”
Shit. “N-no. I didn’t.”
Another pause. “How about here?”
“…No.”
The slightest tingle on the palm of my right hand. “There?”
“Yeah. Slightly.”
“On a scale of one to ten, ten being a normal amount of feeling and one being none at all?”
I bit my lip. “Er… I’d like to say four?”
“Okay.” Another tingle, much stronger. Bottom of my foot. “Here?”
“Yes. Uh… Six.”
“Good!” A brush of something… hairy? Fuzzy? Maybe she’s using a brush…? “Here?”
“Yeah. Ten.”
“Great. Well, it looks like you’re doing okay, but we may end up having you stick around for physical therapy. Make sure you’re back on your hooves before you leave.”
“Uhm… Thanks.”
“Oh, no problem!”
The clopping of the nurse’s weird shoes began to head out the door.
“Oh, uh, excuse me! Miss?”
The clopping stopped. “Oh, what is it?”
“Uh, have you heard from my parents? Are they coming to visit?”
A long pause. Not good. “I’m sorry… I haven’t heard from anypony, I’m afraid.”
“I… I see. Th-thank you.”
Another long pause. “I’m sorry.” The clopping resumed, eventually trailing off.
A nervous feeling settled into my gut.
***
“Ma’am?”
“Oh? Is there something else?”
“That pony. The one that appeared in your chambers. He’s awake.”
“Oh, good. Is he well enough to receive visitors?”
It had been about a day, and I hadn’t heard from either of my parents. This made me somewhat uncomfortable. I wasn’t exactly enjoying my stay at the hospital, either. Brom Hard-ass had left, leaving me alone in the room. The quiet was initially nice, but boredom was quick to settle in. The feeling in my limbs was returning, but at an extremely slow pace, which meant I couldn’t even eat on my own. I had discovered that this meant the nurse had to hand-feed me. It was what I had perceived as late noon, nigh on evening, and I found myself dreading dinner. The embarrassment of lunchtime had left me traumatized, and I wasn’t ready to go through it again.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard the door open. “U-um, I’m not hungry…” I began.
“Oh, that’s quite alright. I was just letting in a couple of visitors. You don’t mind, right?”
Relief flooded my mind. “Not at all.”
The sound of hard shoes on tile surrounded me temporarily as the aforementioned visitors shuffled into the room. The distinct clopping of the nurse’s shoes grew quieter as she exited the room and began her long trek down the hallway.
Before her footsteps could fade away, one of the visitors spoke. To my dismay, it wasn’t anyone I knew. “So, Jay, how do you feel?”
I hesitated before speaking, almost unsure what to say. “Uh, fine. Just fine.”
“That’s good; the nurses told me that you’re going to be walking by tomorrow evening, so it looks like you’re going to make a full recovery from your paralysis.”
“That’s… great,” I said slowly, feeling a bit nervous that someone I didn’t know was genuinely concerned for me. It was creepy, to say the least. At least whoever it was, she had one fine-ass voice. This made me even more nervous. After a long pause, I almost mustered the courage to ask who she was.
“Uh—!” “So—!” “O-oh… Sorry! You first.” “Oh, no, my apologies. Go ahead.”
Another long pause.
“Er… I was gonna ask who you were. I don’t really recognize your voice. Do you know my parents?”
“Ah, unfortunately, no. I do not.”
“Oh.”
A third pregnant pause followed as a realization hit me. Before I jumped to any conclusions, I figured I should follow up with another question. I had to explore every possibility and make sure I had an idea of what was going on.
“Do you go to Sac Country Day? Or are you an Alumni?”
“I’m afraid I’ve never heard of this ‘Country Day’ that you’re talking about.”
That was it. I had to ask. “…So how do you know me?”
“Well, the doctors told me your name was Jay, according to a small card that you were carrying when they found you in my private quarters yesterday, unconscious.”
“Well, I—wh-what?!” I sputtered.
“Before we go on, however, I must ask you a few questions of my own; I think it’s only fair, right?”
“Just—! Mmph… Please tell me who you are,” I asked, dousing my frustration.
“Oh. Yes, I’m sorry; I’ve forgotten that you’re blindfolded. My name is Princess Celestia… Perhaps you’ve heard of me, at least?” The voice replied, raising itself suggestively as it finished.
I was astonished into silence. The voice took it in the wrong way.
“No need to be shy, Jay. Now I’d like to ask you some questions, if that’s okay with you.”
“…Wait, hold up. You’re telling me you’re a Princess? Like, with the tiara and flowing dresses and all that?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that I really wear dresses; they’re… not my style. But, yes, I am a Princess: The Princess of the Solar Diarchy of Equestria.”
More silence followed. She decided to finally drop her questions on me.
“Anyways, I was hoping to ask where you came from, since you’re obviously not from here.”
I was still feeling too flabbergasted to speak. She sighed quietly. “Please, Jay. I know this is a bit strange, but it’s best if we get this over with. I told you about myself…” Her voice softened slightly. “…And I’d like to know a little more about you.”
“I… I’m from Sacramento, California. United States of America.” I paused before adding, “Earth.”
Another pause. “Well, it looks like we have that ‘Earth’ bit in common, Jay,” the Princess proclaimed with slight elation.
“Where… Where am I?” I asked, feeling lightheaded. “What’s going on? Am I getting punked?”
“Jay, I assure you, this is no prank. Perhaps if you removed your blindfold…”
“No,” I stated coldly. There was a pause; perhaps she took surprise to my change in demeanor.
“No,” I began again, careful to keep myself composed. “The light hurts my eyes. Even when they’re closed, it hurts. I’d rather keep it on for now.”
“That’s quite alright. You can remove it whenever you’re ready. It would just make things a little easier on the explaining bit… Anyways, do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?”
“I guess. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost it…” I let out a trembling sigh. “I don’t know what’s going on, anymore.”
“I’m sorry that this is so confusing for you, Jay. I’m just as lost as you are in how you arrived here… But this is why I’m asking these questions; maybe we can find something in each others’ testimonies and get an idea of how you arrived here.”
“Shoot, then,” I replied resignedly.
“Okay, well, let’s start with the last thing you remember before waking up here.”
It didn’t take long for me to recall it. “I was at a basketball game. I was going to represent my high school, and then… I started feeling faint. Eventually, I just passed out. Now, I’m here.” I tried to throw my arms up to emphasize the ‘here,’ but my paralysis prevented me from moving them more than a couple inches.
“Hm… Well, I’m not sure how it connects with how you got here.”
“Why? What happened with you?”
“I was in my room writing a letter to a pupil of mine about her studies. It seemed like a relatively normal evening until you materialized into the space above my bed.”
“That… What?” I asked stupidly.
“It was as if you had used a teleportation spell to get into my room, although I do not see how, seeing that you are a pegasus and—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What?!” I exclaimed.
“Well, you see—”
“Pegasus? Are you kidding me?!”
“No, because—”
“This is some serious bullshit; can you cut the crap? This isn’t funny!”
“Jay.” The voice cut across my request. “For the last time, I am completely serious.”
“Uh-huh. Yeah. Right. Just get Aston Kutcher out here so I can kick his ass.”
“Son," An unfamiliar, masculine voice butted in; he barely sounded older than me, "You will address the Princess as 'your highness'! Is that understood?!”
“Lieutenant! Stand down, immediately!”
There was a burst of what sounded like iron greaves rapping on the tiles before everything became quiet again. There was a short pause before the Princess continued, “Don’t let his disrespect anger you. He’s confused and scared, and this is just him letting out some of his frustration out.”
Feeling panicked and frustrated, I suddenly felt very itchy, adrenaline starting to kick in. While scratching my head, something suddenly felt very off... It was as if I couldn’t feel my fingers at all. Suddenly curious, I brought them down to my face, noting they felt fuzzy but firm. Curiosity morphed into worry as I began feeling the rest of my jaw and nose, which seemed to be elongated, as if I was wearing a mask I couldn’t feel. This attracted the attention of my visitors, who fell silent at my actions.
A rock settled into my stomach. Whatever I had just felt was my face couldn’t be real. It had to be some weird kind of hospital air mask… But how was I able to talk without any hindrance earlier? And I would’ve felt the humidity from my own breathing had I been wearing one. Eventually, with all of the evidence stacked against me, I suddenly felt the urge to see everything. I had to see what these visitors looked like… I had to know what they were. Or, rather, what I was.
Slowly reaching up towards my face again, I eased the blinder down my face, hoping my eyes had lost some of their sensitivity. When I was met with a lack of pain, but only a slight irritation from the residual light, I slowly opened them.
My sight was awash with pink, white, blue, green and gold, although mostly white, since I was in a hospital room. I noticed that my visitors were far from human, which gave the impression that maybe they weren’t crazy, but I probably was.
"Princess?" The lavender unicorn paused mid-step, almost as if her hoof-clop would be an offense to her addressee.
"Twilight? You're here." The majestic alicorn rose slowly, her marble-white coat accented by the rays of sun streaking through the nearby window blinds. "Thank you for coming all this way; I apologize for the short notice."
"Oh, I don't mind it at all, Princess," Twilight mumbled abashedly. "Anything from you is always of the utmost importance! Oh, and it's usually..."
She trailed off at the Princess' grave expression. "...exciting."
There was a small pause before the Princess spoke up. "That nether dust I requested you mail to me..."
Twilight's ears flattened for a moment before standing upright once more. "Ehehe.... The nether dust..."
"You didn't mail it, did you?" the Princess ventured.
The unicorn's ears fell flat once more. "No... No, I thought I could speed things up..." Her eyes rose to meet the Princess, suddenly filled with fear. "What happened? Did something happen to you? Or somewhere nearby? What happened? Is that why we're in the hospital?! Oh, gosh! I didn't know! I--!"
"Calm yourself, Twilight. Nothing happened to me, and there was no harm that came to anypony. All is well."
Twilight let relief flood her for a moment with a trembling sigh. Her gaze started to drift downward. "Oh."
Suddenly, the Princess added, "...Or so we think."
The unicorn winced. "Oh... I see."
Another pause. This time, Twilight ended it.
"So, why are we in the hospital, then?"
Celestia started off past her, a massive wing turning Twilight around to follow her.
"I'll show you."
For a few minutes, they walked in silence. Two guards were posted at every threshold they passed, giving them both quick bows as the two equines passed between them. There wasn't a single medical staff member to be seen; Twilight guessed the guards had removed anypony not involved with the Princess.
After almost a minute of walking through identical corridors, they arrived at a room labeled "617". A single guard clad in blue and gold plate armor kept vigil at the side. As they approached, the guard turned towards them with a crisp maneuver of his hooves, giving a slightly over-enthusiastic salute. The Princess smiled and passed him, entering the room. As Twilight passed, she noticed the guard had a swollen lower lip, the purple skin starting to show between the fine fibers of his white fur. Doubt and fear flooded her gut almost instantly, albeit in small amounts. She had the Princess to back her up; there seemed to be little to fear.
"Teeeen hut!"
The clanging of armor and hooves standing at a sudden attention filled the tight space, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts and back to reality, as well as sending a jolt of adrenaline up her spine. Skin still tingling from the scare, she slipped in behind the Princess.
The interior of the room was slightly more furnished than the average hospital room. A couple of wooden-framed chairs sat in the corner, unused but looking ever-welcoming. A large window was situated on the far wall, blinds semi-closed. A few rays of sunlight cut through, permeating the flecks of dust disturbed by the occupants of the room.
Speaking of, Twilight noticed that only two soldiers occupied the room. A grizzled looking officer and a younger subordinate. They addressed Celestia with a low bow.
"Princess."
"Captain. This is Twilight Sparkle. She's my personal pupil."
The captain stood up, glancing at Twilight with his piercing gaze before giving a curt nod. "Ma'am."
Twilight smiled sheepishly, unsure of what she was supposed to say.
"Permission to speak, Ma'am?" The captain asked.
"Granted, Captain."
"I dealt with that greenhorn lieutenant out there personally, ma'am. I hope you'll excuse his rudeness; he's fresh out of officer school, ma'am."
"Not at all, Captain. They're your colts."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Celestia nodded towards the seemingly-occupied bed that sat behind the two guards. "I'd like to talk with Jay for a bit, along with Twilight."
"Ma'am." The officer gave a brief salute before turning to the other guard. Sharing a glance, they immediately marched out of the room, giving Twilight a clear view of the bed's occupant.
It was a pony. A goldenrod coat clashed with the stark white sheets of the bedding, along with a coarse black mane that topped its head. Deep, indigo eyes, edges reddened and puffy, peered out from half-open eyelids--they almost looked black in the failing sunlight. They shifted up, staring straight at her before moving to the Princess.
"Jay? You awake?" The Princess ventured, although the answer seemed obvious.
"I'm awake now."
The pony, revealed to be a colt, slowly struggled to a sitting position. He gave a small smile before his face promptly darkened. "Doesn't a Princess have more important things to be doing than visiting me?"
"I assure you, Jay, you're very important," Celestia chimed, giving the usual warm smile before nodding towards the unicorn beside her.
"This is Twilight Sparkle. She's my--!"
"I'm her pupil!" Twilight blurted out.
There was an awkward silence.
"Well, nice to meet you," sighed the colt.
"N-nice to meet you, too," Twilight mumbled.
Sensing the awkward silence starting to return, the Princess went on.
"She's partly responsible for you being here, but she's going to be the one trying to get you back home."
"What?" "What?"
Both Jay and Twilight were looking at the Princess before glancing at each other, unnerved by each other's interest.
"Twilight, when did you attempt to send the nether dust?"
The unicorn tapped her chin. "I believe it was the day before yesterday..."
"That was the day this pegasus--!"
Jay inhaled sharply, as if he was going to reply, but quickly fell silent. The Princess continued.
"That was the day this individual appeared in my chambers, as if he himself had cast the spell. He was unconscious when he arrived."
Twilight's jaw dropped open while Jay's jaw clenched.
"I'm not sure how he arrived here, but the magic I believe you used is one of Starswirl's. However, that spell is designed for general magical supplies, rather than for something as volatile as nether dust."
"So, it was some 'accident?'"
Twilight noticed that Jay's hooves were gripping the bedside tightly, but his face remained unchanged.
"Yes, and I can assure you that this is a reversible mistake."
Jay's hooves relaxed a little. "Really?"
"Magic, while being an already heavily-studied and explored subject, is always revealing new things. New spells and theories come out almost daily here in Equestria, and this unicorn is quite passionate about it."
"So I've heard," Jay murmured. Twilight's ears flattened.
"Which is why she's going to be helping you get home," the Princess finished. "There was a picture on that card you were carrying, and if you are who you say you are, then I can deduce you aren't from Equestria, let alone, this planet."
"Card?" Twilight asked, surprised at how dry her mouth felt.
"Jay was found with what appeared to be a gym bag of sorts filled with his possessions," the Princess turned to Jay, "We'll have those ready for you when you leave the hospital. But, for now, we've arranged for you to stay here for awhile."
The colt's eyes started to glaze over.
"Oh."
"Twilight will be here for a bit; I think it's best that you two get acquainted."
The unicorn in question glanced up at the Princess, eyes pleading.
"You'll be working together for awhile. I have some important decisions to make involving Discord..."
"What? What is there to decide?!" Twilight demanded, suddenly angry.
"In due time, Twilight. I'll discuss that with you at a later time."
"But how can you talk about it in front of... Well... You know!"
The Princess chuckled. "I assure you, he has no idea what we're talking about."
Jay's frown deepened, but the colt made no response.
"That's true, but... does that mean...?"
"If you could, Twilight, please keep an eye on him. I'll keep the detachment of guards here as long as Jay needs to stay here. I'll notify Spike and the others about your circumstances as soon as I can."
"But...! But..." Twilight trailed off as the Princess turned to leave.
"I'll leave you two to converse. Let the guards know if you need anything." Celestia gave Jay a sympathetic smile. "Either of you."
The two watched as the door opened, then closed. Silence returned, hanging over the room's remaining occupants. Neither looked up at each other for awhile, simply looking at the door that had just slid shut.
"So... Your name is Jay?" Twilight ventured.
"Yeah."
"Oh. Good."
"So... nether dust, huh?"
"What? Oh, yeah. I'm... I'm..."
Twilight hung her head.
"I'm sorry. If everything the Princess says is true, then... I'm... I'm sorry."
Silence. The corners of Twilight's eyes stung a little.
"I'm sorry, too, I guess."
Twilight looked up blearily. "Hm?"
"About this... situation."
"Oh. Yes..."
More silence. The conversation was halting and jarring; replies were irregular as a tangible tension filled the air.
"Well, don't be."
"Why?"
"You'll be helping me out of here, anyways, right?"
"Oh, of course! I mean, it's the least I can do."
"Mmm."
The unicorn frowned. The longer she sat here, the more she could almost feel Jay's eyes bore into the top of her head.
"Is there... anything I can do for you?"
"..Actually, can you?"
Twilight's head jerked up, her eyes almost hesitant to follow. "Y-yes?"
"Can you get my gym bag? Or, at least tell one of the--!"
"No, no. I'll go get it myself."
"You sure?"
"Yep! I'll be right back."
Jay leaned back as his gaze dropped. "Well, okay, then."
The unicorn practically cantered to the door, zipping through the threshold. After waiting for the door to slip closed, she let out a long, shivering sigh.
This is your fault.
Passing the guard at the door, she continued down the hall, not really sure of where she was going.
Why didn't you listen to your friends?
She stopped, taking another deep breath before continuing on. Her gaze slowly became hardened with a familiar determination.
Fix it. Like you always do.
She broke into a gallop down the hall.
***
"Yep! I'll be right back."
I leaned back as my gaze dropped. "Well, okay, then."
I watched as the unicorn promptly vanished, leaving me alone. My eyes returned to the blinds, which were still half-open. The sun was now shining towards my bed, the rays starting to creep across my form. I winced, covering my eyes with one hoof.
Probably should've asked her to close those...
My eyes became glued to the back of my hoof. Panic began to seep into my bones, but I managed to shake it off.
It's real. Get used to it, Jay.
A wave of soreness swept across my back, or rather, in that region, as a wing partially unfolded involuntarily. Gritting my teeth, I willed my wings to move, spreading them out to look at them again. The long feathers looked pretty, at least. I wondered if I could even fly.
But I didn't want to fly. I didn't want this.
I shook my head. Folding my wings back, I started another absentminded stare out the window. I took in a long, shaky breath. Then another, and another. The more breaths I took, the more I began to tremble. My teeth chattered, but I wasn't cold.
Is this real?
I scrunched my eyes shut, as if willing this reality to melt away.
Don't you cry again, you pussy. Don't you fucking dare.
After a minute of increasingly-shaky breaths, my eyes slowly opened again to the same view. The same, sickeningly-white, sterilized room of a hospital greeted me mockingly. I sneered at the empty space, spiting it with every cell in my body.
How long do I have to be here?! And how could they treat my situation like it's such a...!
Filled with frustration, I angrily ripped the sheets off of my legs, tossing them towards the window. I lashed out at the wall next to me, swinging my right hoof out towards the wall. Other than a loud, resounding CRACK and a minor chip in the paint, nothing seemed to happen. Surprisingly, I felt no pain, although it was probably due to the fact that my hands were now hooves. After hearing nothing but my own heavy pants for a minute, a cold smile worked its way across my face.
Getting tired of your shit, Murphy.
I let out a long, trembling sigh. Slumping back into the bed, I glanced at the door, listening intently for any approaching footsteps. My ears were met with the muffled chirping of birds outside.
And then, footsteps. Rhythmic, but in fours rather than twos.
I straightened visibly as the door swung open.
"I-I'm back," Twilight entered, her horn glowing purple and my gym bag floating through the door, enveloped in a similar light.
My jaw dropped involuntarily.
"Brought your bag," Twilight continued, dropping it on my lap. "Also," she began, turning around.
Before I could take a look in my bag, a tray of various pastes and vegetables was shoved into my face.
"You should eat something. You're probably hungry."
I whirled around, putting my body between the hoop and the other team's shooting guard. Everyone watched intently as the ball jammed itself into the rim, rocketing down at our power forward--straight into his hands.
"Kick it forward!"
I grunted as I snatched the power forward's pass, hucking it to our point guard almost at half-court. Sweat tickled my cheeks as I sprinted after him, the rapid thudding of high-tops on a wooden floor rumbling in my ears like a livestock stampede. Squinting through the perspiration dribbling past my face, I spotted our point guard, who was currently trapped behind two of the opposing team, twisting and pivoting to avoid a turnover.
"Hey! HEY!"
I clapped as loudly as I could, opening my hands just in time as the ball smacked into my palms. Giving a quick glance to check on my defender behind me, I looked across the key, hoping to spot someone in the white Country Day home jersey. My eyes darting around the court, they locked on to a flash of white just past a blur of green.
"Nash!"
I hurled the ball into the ground at a shallow angle, narrowly avoiding the exhausted defender between us with a risky, long distance bounce pass. Nash grabbed the ball, completely stopping to avoid having to dribble. Three of the opposing team were lined up between him and the basket--he needed to slow the play down, all while not wasting his dribble in case he had to move. I glanced at the clock--we were ahead by five. The clock was our friend--we had to run it dry.
I glanced back at Nash, who had begun to dribble. He glanced around, unsure of what to do as his defender approached.
"Call something!"
"Kings! Kings!"
Four of us lined up on the elbows and baselines on the key's edges as Nash took it back to the top. I took a spot at the top-left of the elbow, facing Nash, who had begun darting towards my side. He glanced at me expectantly. I immediately turned, struggling past my defender and setting a quick screen for our guard on the baseline. Brushing shoulders, I winced as his defender crashed into me, our arms slipping off of each other from the sweat.
As the ball snapped to my teammate standing at the elbow where I stood before, I shoved off of my overly-eager defender, rushing to the corner while glancing back up to the top of the court. My eyes widened as the ball hit the floor next to me, flying up right at my face. My hands smacking onto the dust-slicked leather, I pumped the ball upwards, readying for a jump shot as my eyes locked onto the rim. A green jersey enveloped my vision, my defender airborne and ready to block my jumper.
Almost as if in slow motion, I finished my pump fake, my left foot slipping to the right side of my defender. Cutting towards the baseline, I ducked under a sorry attempt at help-defense before going up, aiming for the backboard box's corner. An arm came down on my wrist, knocking the ball out of my grasp as a whistle pierced my eardrums.
"Foul! Green, 32. Hold. Shooting two."
Panting heavily, both sides shuffled to their respective positions around the key. A general silence fell across the gym as I trudged up to the foul line, both audiences sizing me up. My head drifted up towards the clock. Thirty seconds left, still up five.
Sink these two, and it's game over.
"Two."
The referee flicked his wrist, the ball bouncing straight at me. I held up a hand to catch it, but was surprised as it simply bounced off of my open palm, rolling awkwardly past the ref. He watched it go, his gaze returning to me with a puzzled expression.
"You good?"
"Yeah, yeah."
I shook my wrist, glancing at my hand before freezing.
I had no fingers. It was just a yellow stump.
"Shooting two."
The ball was coming again. I reached out with my other hand, my eyes widening as the process repeated itself. No more hands--only hooves.
"Wh-what..."
I stumbled forward, my high-tops slipping free. Stars winking in front of my vision, my head swiveled to get a look at my feet.
More hooves.
"No. No... What is this?!"
"Shooting two."
The ball bounced right over my shrinking body, my jersey now loose-fitting over my alien features. Hot tears joined the sweat on my cheeks, my eyes burning.
"No! No!"
My cries echoed through the gym, which was mysteriously silent. I whirled about from my prone position on the foul line--the court was empty.
"Shooting two."
The ball rolled straight at me, stopping deftly in the gentle curve of my elongated neck. Gritting my teeth, I struggled to one hoof, the other foreleg curled around the ball. Predictably, the ball slipped out of my clumsy grasp, rolling off into the darkness.
"No..."
I sobbed pathetically into my jersey, only able to watch as the backboard and basket faded away, leaving an eerily empty court. The lines peeled away from the wooden floor, rising and twisting like wisps of cigarette smoke as they also vanished. The wooden floorboards began to waver and curl, as if it was nothing more than chalk drawings fading away in heavy rain.
"Jay..."
"No..."
"Jay? Jay! Jay, wake up!"
My eyes snapped open before immediately falling to at-ease. The familiar sight of the sterile white of the hospital room greeted my vision. An unfamiliar scent of subtle lavender air freshener mixed with the slightly off smell of the heavily-used mattress.
Right. That's right.
"Hey, you okay?"
A white mare stared straight at me, her baby-blue irises darting around my features. I tried to sniff through my disgustingly stuffed nose.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
Feeling something dribbling off of my chin, I hastily wiped it away, my foreleg tracing the moisture to my eyes. Blinking rapidly, I rubbed them furiously before opening them again, the concerned-looking nurse still watching me. "Well, sorry to wake you, regardless. You looked like you were having a bad dream, there."
"Huh? Oh. Yeah; I guess I shouldn't have eaten so late."
The mare sighed. "No, you shouldn't."
"Sorry," I blurted, although I didn't feel sorry. I felt angry. This whole thing was just... so fucked up.
"Don't worry about it; you've been through a lot, from what I hear," she replied, looking straight at me. She looked a little sad, almost.
"Yeah... Not my best week, I guess."
She still stared at me with a slightly saddened expression before brightening up again. "I'm Nurse Redheart. I'll be helping you with your rehabilitation, today."
"Rehab? What for?" I asked, although I had a decent idea of why.
"It's possible your muscles have atrophied from your prolonged stay, as your weight is way below that of a standard male pegasus of your age."
I winced at the mention of "pegasus," although her seriousness made it less cringe-worthy. "Ah... I see."
"Can you stand up?"
"Yeah. One sec."
I tossed the sheets off, swinging my hindquarters over the side of the bed. I was surprised to see my hind legs hang down vertically, instead of sticking out horizontally as I expected. I was much more flexible than I thought I was, but the vastly different range of movement was no less foreign to me.
"Take it slow; use the side of the bed if you need it."
Taking silent heed of her words, I leaned heavily on the bed as I slowly shifted forward, letting my weight pull me off of the mattress and towards the floor. Progress was agonizingly slow (to me, at least); the floor seemed much further away than it actually was. The bed's mattress almost to my chest, I briefly felt the hard, slippery surface of the tiles below on the corners of my hooves. A little too eager to stand, I put all of my weight down, my rear legs slipping out from under me as I fell flat on my back, forcing a pained grunt out of me.
"Whoa! Easy!"
The nurse approached, grasping under my forelegs and lifting me up almost effortlessly. Leaning me against the bed, she forced me down as I struggled upright.
"Walk normally. I don't want you giving us another reason for you to stay," she tutted.
"Alright, alright. I got it!" I snapped, frustrated.
Redheart fell silent immediately, eyes a little wider than before. I shook my head.
"Sorry. I'll walk normally."
"It's okay; let's just take it slow," she offered, her voice gentle and calm.
Pursing my lips, I put one foreleg forward before moving the other. I looked up at the nurse expectantly. She only nodded and smiled. Returning hers with a nervous one, I moved my rear legs in a similar fashion before stopping. I could almost feel the steam blowing out of my ears; I felt so stupid.
"That's it. You'll get the rhythm."
Clenching my teeth, I tried again, this time, picking up my right foreleg again, but this time, trying to pick up my rear leg just after my front leg. I shifted my weight to my stationary side, sort of turning towards the left. Eager to have my other side catch up, I began the process again before overextending myself, sort of clopping unevenly on all fours as I struggled to get the correct order. My hooves clicked on the smooth tiles as I flailed briefly in an effort to stay upright, my balance returning slowly.
"Easy," Redheart murmured.
Holding back a retort, I stopped myself, choosing to start over. I could almost feel a headache setting in, my cheeks burning bright red.
Just walk. Nice and simple.
My body froze up, my tensed muscles feeling like they were tying my limbs up in knots.
Walk. It's easy.
I started trembling. I willed it to stop, but it seemed to be involuntary.
Take a step forward.
"Try picking up your front leg just as--!"
"I CAN DO IT!" I roared, my throat shredding from the strain.
"I CAN FUCKING DO IT! JUST--!"
I took a long, shaky breath, the exhale even more so.
"Urgh... Just... G-give me a second to figure this out."
There was a short pause before Redheart piped up again.
"Did you want to take a break? We can pick this up in a couple of minutes."
I gave her a sideways glance. Every time she opened her mouth, it only seemed to make me even angrier.
"No, I can do this."
The nurse tapped her chin with a foreleg. "Well... Hmm. I can't believe I'm saying this..."
"What?" I asked, my voice dangerously low.
"How did you walk back in your world? I mean, if what everyone says is true, then you were never a pony, were you?"
Although I was still angry at how nonchalant she seemed, I managed to push the anger back down to a mild irritation.
"No, I wasn't. I was a human."
"A what?"
"Human. Bipedal. Upright. Walking on--!"
"Two legs. I got it." The nurse snapped, her own anger flaring briefly before subsiding just as quickly. She turned to face the wall, taking a long breath as she glanced at the far wall for a second.
I felt a pang of regret, but I made sure to hide it, my pride preventing me from showing vulnerability to her.
Getting the peace she needed, she whirled back around, face back to normal.
"Okay, well think of walking on four legs like this: Imagine you're made up of two bipedal creatures, but you're trying to give the person in front a flat-tire all the time."
"What? That's... What?" I stuttered, bewildered and frustrated by the cryptic explanation.
"Alternate your steps." She spoke slowly and clearly, trying to keep her voice level. "The front leg goes up just as the back comes down."
I hated how she said it so "sing-song-ish."
"Sounds easy."
"Well, I'm sure it's not; I have a feeling your brain is going haywire reprogramming itself to walk using body parts it never had before this."
My emotions cooled for a moment as her encouragement washed over me.
"So don't beat yourself up, okay?"
I glanced up at her, nodding. "Thanks."
She gave a warm smile. "Now, let's try it again."
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
"Shh!" Twilight hissed, returning the worrisome stares of the hospital lobby's occupants with apologetic glances. In front of her, a short, purple dragon hopped about madly, flashing his teeth angrily.
"I WARNED you! EVERYONE warned you! And now there's a pony in there with EVIDENCE saying he--!"
Twilight clamped a hoof over his mouth, briefly silencing him. He wriggled away from her, eyes glaring daggers at her.
"We've been over this! And I know you all warned me--!"
"I knew I should have done something!" Spike threw his arms up, turning away from Twilight.
"Spike! Please!"
The dragon whirled on the purple unicorn, his face crumbling into a soft frown as Twilight's tear-streaked face gazed back.
"I'm sorry. Sorry may not even conclude how horrible I feel right now about the whole situation... But as selfish as it is to say, hindsight isn't helping anypony here."
Spike sighed, hanging his head. "I'm sorry, Twilight. It's just... I was so afraid something would go wrong, and now..."
The unicorn sniffed, drying her eyes with the back of her hoof. "That's why the Princess tasked me with finding him..." Her voice dropped a little lower, giving a nervous glance at the other lobby occupants. "...Finding him a ticket home."
The dragon perked up. "And how do you think that's gonna work?"
"Well, it's not going to be easy. And... I'm sorry that I have to pile my problems on you, but...?"
"I got your back, Twilight."
The unicorn looked up at Spike, who was wearing a proud grin. "I'd be ashamed to call myself your friend if I didn't."
She returned his grin with a sad smile. "Thank you."
He crossed his stubby arms. "Bu~t that worrying carriage ride really had me work up an appetite. Mind if I get a couple bits to grab something sweet?"
Twilight scoffed. "Alright. But you'll have to come to the room, first. I left my saddlebag in there."
"Okay, okay. Fine. Give me a lift?"
"Oh, alright. Hop on, lazybones."
Grumbling briefly, Spike clambered on as Twilight began to pull away. She made a beeline for a very out-of-place Royal Guard standing near the staircase, giving him a nod as she passed, although to no apparent effect other than his inaction to stop her at the threshold. Climbing up to the second floor, she turned to the right, room 617 visible just past another guardspony.
Spike clicked his tongue. "What's with all the security?"
"I'm sure it was just a precaution taken by the Princess. I'd imagine somepony from another plane of existence is a big deal."
As they approached the door, something was barely audible in the eerily silent corridor. It almost sounded like the hospital's intercom system was on, but only in the room in question. The rhythmic kick of a bass echoed down the peaceful hallway, earning some concerned glances from passing hospital staff.
"Wait... Is that...?"
"Sounds like music," Spike said. Twilight glanced at the guard expectantly, who simply shrugged and stared straight ahead. She leaned in to the door, pressing an ear against the lumber.
All these levels of these relative problems, And benevolence is elegance for those who can solve them. I'm feelin' pretty low like I'm stuck at the bottom But I know I'll rebound like the Bulls with Rodman. I am, just exactly what I will be...
"Oooh! He talks really fast!"
The last voice... It sounded strangely familiar.
"That sounded like Pinkie..." Spike noted.
"No, way..." Twilight breathed as she pushed through the doorway.
Sure enough, there was the pink earth pony in question, staring intently at a small, reflective rectangle perched on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, he does. Now can you shut it off before it runs out of juice," another familiar voice snapped.
"Pinkie!"
The pink pony's head swiveled about, eyes sparking with even more excitement than before.
"Twilight! And Spikey!"
"How'd--?!" Twilight began, before casting a worried glance over her shoulder before dropping into a sharp whisper. "H-how did you get in here?!"
"She came in through the goddamn window!" Jay cursed, jabbing a hoof at the now-open aperture, the blinds rattling in the soft breeze blowing through. "She kept knocking on it until I agreed to let her in..."
Spike slid off of Twilight's back, scratching his head.
"Must've been creepy," he mused.
"Fuckin' A!" Jay hissed. "Scared the--!"
"Jay!" Twilight barked, silencing the frazzled pegasus. "Language!" She warned, nodding towards Spike.
"Huh?! O-oh..." Jay shook his head briefly. "Sorry, sorry."
"And you!" Twilight turned on the pink pony. "You've got some explaining to do."
Pinkie clapped her forelegs together in excitement. "Okie-dokie-lokie!" She squeaked. "But as long as you tell me why you're here, too!"
The two purple individuals shared a glance before nodding. Twilight turned to face Pinkie again, nodding.
"...which tipped me off to the fact that something was wrong! You NEVER miss the Pet Parties!"
"Except when I'm busy...? Which was what I told you."
"Right! I KNEW something was up! So I decided to leave Gummi with the others for a hot minute while I investigated your home..."
"...What? I thought I told you I had an important delivery to make!"
"THAT'S what was so interesting! Especially when I stopped outside your door, I suffered the worst doozie I've ever doozied!"
"What? You already told me about this--!"
"No! That was the day before! This was then! The day after!"
"Thats--!" Twilight paused for a moment, her face becoming sullen.
"That... That sounds about... right." She finished. Her face twisted back into a confused expression.
"W-wait, then how'd that lead you here?"
"Oh, silly! I asked Spike where he was off to."
"I see..." Twilight hummed, irked that Spike would leak such important information without telling her.
"Yeah. Anyway, I'm pretty thirsty. Cardio really gets the ol' suderiferous glands going," she remarked, trotting into the hallway. "Feel free to inform me of the situation along the waaaaayyyy~!"
"Whuh? Uh... Okay. I'll go out with you; let the guards know you're with me."
"Oh. Good idea. Bye, Jay-Jay!" Pinkie chirped. Jay smiled weakly before the pink pony followed Twilight out of the door, which thunked gently behind them.
Passing the pair of intimidating guards in the hallway, as well as a nurse headed in the opposite direction, Twilight trotted quietly next to the eerily-quiet Pinkie. She was at least humming to herself, which was normal. But she would normally...?
As they stepped through the cafeteria entrance, the stillness erupted into chaos.
"We came as quickly as we could!" Applejack breathed, flashing a half-smile before letting her face fall back into its worried origins.
"You and Spike leaving in such a hurry... We feared something dreadful had happened!" Rarity chimed in.
"You usually tell us when something goes down. My wings were shaking the whole way here!" Rainbow explained nervously.
"Sorry we showed up without notice... And we couldn't get past the guards in the hall, so we couldn't come see you," Fluttershy apologized, her head dipping low.
"How did you all... Uh... Hear about it?" Twilight stammered; not sure whether to feel happy or upset that her secret foul-up was no longer a secret.
"Ponyville's a small town; news spreads fast," Rainbow replied, shrugging her wings.
"We heard from Pinkie," Applejack corrected, shooting a glance at the sky-blue pegasus. "Rather, we demanded she tell us, since I saw her sneakin' off to yer library after leavin' us with Gummi."
"So if you want to blame anypony for letting the proverbial 'cat' out of the bag, it lies with every one of us!" Rarity added.
Twilight couldn't help a smile. "Everyone... I..." Her gaze dropped. "Well, I owe you all an explanation. The only problem is that I'm not sure how much I'm at liberty to say, other than that this has the attention of Princess Celestia herself."
The bouquet of colorful equine faces darkened as their expressions dropped into frowns.
"Oh... Well, at least you're okay," Applejack began.
"Come on! We wouldn't tell anypony!" Rainbow pleaded.
"I'm sure you wouldn't!" Twilight replied, forcing a smile. "However, I don't want to upset the Princess more than I already have. I'm sure you all understand," she finished, the smile quickly fading.
Silence reigned, save for the quiet bustle of the kitchen and other occupants shuffling through the buffet line. A single sound stood out from the others, however--the rhythmic clicking of claws on tile, rapidly approaching the mares.
"Rarity! You're here!" Spike cried, running up to the fashionista.
"Oh, hello, Spike!" The unicorn cooed, giving him a big smile.
"Hey, all! What's with the frowns?" the dragonling remarked. "I never see you all together and depressed unless the world is ending. And it ain't that bad, if I recall!"
"Actually Spike, we--!" "Spikey-Wikey~" Rarity began, drawing the adolescent into a tight hug. "Do you mind telling a mare what could be going on in the hospital room past all the guards? I'm just worried sick about whomever could be within, but Twilight is being ever-so-stingy!"
"I, uh... Rarity..." Spike croaked, purple blooming into a deep maroon as he fell limp in her embrace.
"Don't tell her anything!" Twilight barked, snapping the purple dragon out of his stupor.
"O-oh! Right!" The hatchling hesitantly pulled himself away from Rarity, backing up sheepishly towards Twilight. "S-sorry. I made a promise."
Rarity pouted. "Not even a widdle bit of info? For old-times' sake?"
"Well..." Spike withered under Twilight's glare. "No! I... Uh... I shouldn't. Not unless the Princess--BWAAAAARRP!"
Everypony jumped in alarm as a green burst of dragon's breath flashed from Spike's maw, the dragon snatching a rolled-up parchment from the depths of the flames.
"Whew, 'scuse me," Spike panted, tapping his chest before he undid the neat red bow keeping the paper rolled up. Taking a quick glance over the contents, he handed it to Twilight, who picked it from his claws with magic. "From the Princess!" he added.
Everypony watched as Twilight's eyes went from worried to relaxed, her expression softening as she read the royal correspondence. With a final nod, the letter rolled itself up, drifting back to Spike, who caught it deftly out of the air.
"Well? What'd it say?" Rainbow asked.
"You would ask that question..." Applejack snorted.
"The Princess," Twilight began, the two rivals immediately captivated by the potential for actual news. "She said it's only fair that I inform you all of my... predicament, for lack of a better term. After all, what is a Princess of Friendship without her friends?" She smiled again, this time for real.
Feeling the warmth of her grin, her friends reciprocated, and they all stood there for a moment, recognizing all they've been through together.
"Anyway, as you might have guessed, it has to do with that 'special delivery' I made the other day," Twilight explained.
"That time already?" "Yes." I took a deep breath, hoping to delay the inevitable by just a moment more. "Okay."
The nurse approached my bed, yanking the blankets off of my legs with a deft turn of her head before moving towards me, putting a foreleg on my thigh to start pulling me off of the bed.
"Can I try to get up on my own?" I ventured.
The nurse hesitated for a moment before slowly stepping back. "Okay. Go ahead," she replied.
I grit my teeth at her expectant tone, but decided to say nothing. I always regretted saying something anyways. I missed Nurse Redheart; she was only there for the first day, but was probably rotated out, since I never saw her after that. Now it was a different nurse each day, with each one seeming less patient than the last.
Swinging my legs over the bedside, I took another deep breath before using my forelegs to ease myself towards the edge. Another second, another inch. An awkward minute later, I was leaning back, trying to slow my descent towards the tiles as my flank slowly began to slide off of the mattress. There was a deft THUNK as my hooves touched the ground.
There was a series of hoofsteps approaching me. This lady... No patience. I held up a foreleg, hoping to stop her.
"Wait! Uh... Let me keep going." "You sure?" "Y-yeah. Yeah. Just... one second."
There was a short pause before I started to move again, taking her silence as consent. Slowly resuming my progress, I lowered myself, resisting the urge to stand upright as I rested there on all fours.
"Good. Now, turn towards me."
Leading with my right foreleg, I managed a slow about-face towards the nurse. This one was white with a deep red mane and yellow irises; she would be intimidating if her face didn't look so sickeningly cute--just like everything else in this damn place.
"Can you turn the other way for me?"
I complied, managing a wobbly turn in the other direction. My head naturally wanted to move in the direction of the turn, almost like a real horse. I managed to push my discomfort down and complete the frustratingly simple maneuver.
"Try walking backwards." "That's impossible," I began. She sighed. "Can you try for me?" "What? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just joking..."
My reply trailed off in her silence as I slowly started backing up.
"Okay, stop."
I stopped.
"Walk forward."
I took a few steps forward before stopping myself at the wall.
"Can you do a lap around the room for me?"
My hooves clacked against the tiles as I took a slow, wobbling walk around the small space, my head lowered towards my forelegs as I struggled to correctly sync up my legs. It felt like a humiliating mix of Red-Light-Green-Light mixed with Simon Says. Even though it was a "game" I was getting used to, my face still got hot from time to time, and it wasn't from exertion.
"Good. You can stop for a moment. Take a break."
I stayed standing, my hocked knees shaking ever-so-slightly in an attempt to stay apart.
"Just take a seat."
Just take a seat. It's so easy, I mentally mocked myself as I slowly lowered my flank to the ground, almost disgusted at myself at using the correct terminology. Soon, I passed the point of no return and felt gravity taking over--but not before looking like a frightened doe on ice upon briefly losing my footing and nearly falling the rest of the way.
"Whoops!"
Despite the sudden stop, I noticed my flank hadn't touched the cold tiles. Glancing back, I noticed the nurse's horn was glowing orange--the same color my magically-suspended posterior was also glowing.
