My consciousness stirred.

I opened my eyes with great difficulty, only to groan a moment later when they were immediately assaulted by harsh, bright light. Throwing an arm over my eyes, I tried to block the light, but the damage was already done. I was awake. Still, I opted to just lie there for a while as I tried to get my mind working again; the fog of sleep clung to me with a vengeance. My arm felt stiff, almost sore, as if I had slept on it wrong at some point in the night.

Actually, now that I took a moment to process it, my entire body was stiff and achy.

Why was that?

...

After a few minutes had passed, I tried to open my good eye again, but the light was still too bright. Squinting, I hissed in pain.

“Twilight, I know you like getting up with the sun, but it’s too early for this crap,” I muttered, squeezing my eye shut tight again. I shouldn’t be surprised at this point though. This wasn’t the first time Twilight had used the light of the rising sun to wake me, but it was by far the worst.

I felt horrible, like I hadn’t slept properly in ages. My entire body was tense and sore, and it took a great deal of effort to move. Despite the fact I just woke up, it felt like I hadn’t gotten any sleep last night, and right now I didn’t want to get up; I just wanted to go back to sleep, and stay that way for a day or two.

Probably longer.

I’d feel better after that... right?

As nice as that all sounded, the light currently shining on my face didn’t like that plan. Even through my eyelids it was painful, and I had to turn my head to relieve the discomfort, which in turn caused my neck to crack several times. The movement didn’t help though. The light demanded, quite clearly, that I awaken immediately and rise to greet the day…

...fuck the day. Night time was best time! Down with Sunbutt! Moonbutt all the way!

Groaning like an old rotting tree in a windstorm, I reluctantly pushed myself into a seated position, all while keeping my eyes shut tight the entire time.

“Twiiiiiilight,” I growled, running a hand through my long, shaggy mane of hair. The light was getting rather annoying. It had already managed to wake me up, but now it was just adding insult to injury. It was like those people that were always so damn chipper in the morning. What were they called again? Terrorists? I was going to have to have a conversation with Celestia about how bright she made her sun.

“Twilight, ‘m up. Shut the damn blinds already,” I croaked out.

Even as I spoke, something nagged at the back of my mind. Something important that I was missing; that I had forgotten. Something very, very important. However, my brain wasn’t able to work this early in the morning, so it still wasn’t awake enough to figure out what the problem was at the moment. It’d get around to it eventually, if it was important enough. Right now though, I had to focus on one thing at a time, and the first thing on my short list was the fucking light.

Speaking of which, my whining was met with silence.

Ugh… she’s probably already down the stairs, I brooded before sighing heavily. Gritting my teeth, I cracked my eye open again. My vision blurred due to tears of pain and the accursed light. Not waiting for things to come into focus, I swung my legs out from the couch and placed my feet on the ground. The minute my skin touched floor, I froze.

Instantly, I realized that something was definitely wrong.

The floor didn’t feel right. After living with Twilight for nearly a year, I had grown quite accustomed to her home. The floors were usually warm, with a wooden texture that scratched the bottom of my feet in a pleasing manner. It came from living within a tree that was kept alive by some form of magic. Right now though, my feet were touching cold, hard tile.

Alright, time to get real. Grinding my teeth, I wrenched my eyes open and gazed blearily around at my surroundings despite the discomfort that came with it. My pupil immediately shrunk as my eye adjusted to the bright light and I saw where I was.

What… what the hell…?

I was no longer at home. The warm comfort of the Golden Oak’s living room had been replaced by a small, cold cell. The circular, oaken walls had become four stone slabs, painted a dull, two-tone coat of grey and green with a stripe of white running around the room at roughly waist-height.

The walls seemed to close in around me as I stared at them, my brain trying to process what it was seeing. The cell was cold, tiny, and clinical, as if the ponies who had built it had decided to breed a hospital room with a supply closet. The only relief from the dismally bare walls was a metal door embedded in the wall opposite from where I was currently sitting. The door had a single slender opening in it, through which I could see nothing but the wall of what appeared to be a hallway outside.

Fear slowly crept into my belly as my gaze landed on the tough metal bars that were bolted over the gap.

This wasn’t the library.

This wasn’t home.

This… this was...

Quickly, I stood up, trying to keep my breathing steady and normal; panicking would do no good before I figured out what was going on. It was then that I realized that I hadn’t been sleeping on a couch, but on a small, rickety bed that was covered in a single thin white sheet. The pillow was in dismal shape, and had several feathers sticking out of the case. Absently, I ran my hand through my hair again, pulling out several stray feathers in the process.

A quick glance around the room revealed that the bed was the only furniture in the room with me; no sinks, no toilets, no chairs, no nothing. Of course, there wasn’t room for much else. The bed itself touched nearly three of the four walls, with barely a foot of space between the foot of the bed and the rightmost wall. The room wasn’t that tall either, and upon reaching a hand up, I planted my palm against the cold stone roof. My arm bent slightly, unable to extend to its full length.

Lowering my arm, I blinked upon touching my shirt. The material was scratchy and unfamiliar, and upon glancing down, I saw that I wasn’t wearing my regular clothing either. Instead of the hoof-made clothing that Rarity had created for me, I was wearing a plain green shirt that was slightly too big for me, as well as a pair of pants that were the same color as the shirt. They were made out of a thin, prickly fabric, and there were several holes in them.

As I picked at one of the holes in the shirt, my mind was abuzz with a hundred or so thoughts, with ‘what the fuck?!’ being one of the more prominent ones. I glanced around the room again, trying to see if I had somehow missed… something in my panic, hoping to find anything that might explain what was going on.

Nothing. I saw nothing.

Swallowing, I licked my lips nervously. Okay, Max. Deep breaths. Try and calm yourself down. Remember Twilight’s breathing exercise...

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in through my nose and, holding it for several seconds, I then exhaled through my mouth. I repeated the action several more times, and I could feel my heart rate slowly return to normal.

Okay, I thought, opening my eyes again, now let’s think about this logically. I racked my brain quickly, trying to remember what happened last night. A hazy memory slowly worked its way to the front of my mind.

Twilight and I had just returned from a weekend spent at her parent’s house. We had decided to hang out with Rainbow and Applejack during the evening, the latter two trying to outdrink each other. After a few drinks, an argument had broken out... something about who was better at bucking… or was it fuc—nope! Definitely bucking. I wasn’t sure who won, but sometime around midnight, Twilight and I had decided to head for home. I had to half-carry her because she had a little too much to drink. We had arrived home, I threw the mare into her bed, and then I collapsed upon the couch and had fallen asleep.

Wait...

I winced and held a hand to my head as a sudden burst of pain lanced through it. Why… why did I throw Twilight into bed and then take the couch? Aren’t we sleeping together now?

The memories… they felt weird—almost mismatched—like they didn’t belong together. The nagging sensation that I was forgetting something returned, and I struggled to recall what it was that I had forgotten, but to no avail. For the time being, it seemed that the memory was all I had to work with.

“Great,” I muttered under my breath. Absentmindedly scratching my head, I tried to figure out how I might have gone from the couch to this cell. It didn’t look like the inside of Ponyville’s jailhouse, so I wasn’t arrested for any drunken behavior… besides, why would the guards take me to jail anyways? They’d just take me to Twilight instead. So… if it’s not the jail or dungeons, where was I?

Unfortunately, no good explanation came to mind.

Either I drank more than I thought, or something weird is happening here, I thought, glancing around the room once more. Although, this isn’t the weirdest thing to happen to me.

“Maybe I’m still asleep,” I mused out loud to nobody in particular. Immediately I dismissed the idea; the pain from earlier cut the legs out from under that thought in a heartbeat. Although… Luna did have a few tricks up her sleeves when it came to messing with dreams. Maybe I shouldn’t rule out this all being a dream just yet.

But why would Luna do this?

With theories still pounding away in my head, I slowly lowered myself back onto the bed. It creaked loudly as it strained under my weight, several springs in the mattress making tiny snapping sounds. I ignored them though, and sat there with my head in my hands, trying to make sense of my situation. However, like Winona chasing her tail after I had tied a dog treat to it, my mind was a storm of thoughts and ideas, each racing around after the last in a chaotic mess that I could barely understand.

Why the fuck was my mind so fuzzy?

Grimacing, I forced my thoughts into some semblance of order. I needed to remain focused, as the last time that I had found myself in a similar situation had been when I was kidnapped and forced to fight to the death in a pit for the amusement of a group of demented ponies.

Of course, unlike that time, I didn’t appear to be in any immediate danger… yet.

That could easily change though.

The ideas continued to come as I tried to sort through them all: pony captors, changelings, scientists. I shivered at that last one, not wanting to relive that particular experience. The mare had gotten her samples, though I hadn’t been able to sleep for a week straight afterwards. Why she needed—

crack

Pain erupted in my head again, and I winced. The memory began to become distorted and blurred. Wait… w-was it a mare, or a griffon? I… I don’t… It wasn’t that bad. He… she… they only took blood, right? No matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn’t piece together the truth and the memory began to fade alongside the pain. With my mind apparently working against me, I came to the only conclusion I could think of at the moment that made any sort of sense.

“I’ve got nothin’,” I sighed, falling backwards onto the bed. Resting my head against the wall, I stared at the door, waiting for something—anything—to happen. No point in getting worked up if I didn’t even know where I was or what was going on. My headache certainly didn’t help out either. So, I opted to just wait and see what happened. Where’s Pinkie when you need some entertainment?

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long for something to happen. After what felt like a few minutes, during which I amused myself by envisioning different images in the cracks on the far wall, a loud ‘click’ echoed around the room. The sudden noise snapped me out of my daydream and jerked me back into wakefulness. Lifting my head off of the wall, I looked around the cell, trying to see what had made the noise. Nothing of note stood out, and there wasn’t anything in the room that could have fallen.

I frowned, my eyes narrowing. I swear to god, if I start imagining noises, I’m calling it quits on this ‘sanity’ thing.

As soon as I had thought that, a deep chuckle filled the room, causing the walls and floor to vibrate. I was on my feet in an instant, arms raised and fists clenched as I glanced around for Discord. If he thought that he could catch me off guard, he had another thing… wait...

crack

Again pain came as my memories shifted about. W-why… why did I think that the laughter was from Discord? Wasn’t he currently a statue in the gardens at Canterlot? Did he escape, or —

The image of a blood-red moon floated to the front of my mind, causing me to wince before frowning. Why would I be thinking about that?

Before I could gather my thoughts, a sudden flurry of movement outside the door caught my attention. I tensed as the door shifted, groaning on its hinges. Here we go, I thought as a loud ‘clank’ echoed around the room.

The door was now unlocked.

As it swung open slowly, I got ready to fight, only to freeze when I saw who was standing there.

Or rather, what was standing there.

In the open doorway, framed by the light from the hallway, was a human male with a set of keys clutched in his hands. A white shirt fit snugly over his muscular body, as well as a pair of white pressed pants. The top of his head was covered in a short crop of black hair, and his cheeks were covered in a thin layer of stubble. He was big, which, from me, was saying something.

He stared at me with disinterest, only for his eyes to widen when he saw I was staring back. His relaxed posture tensed and he slowly returned the keys to his belt before his hand began to drift to something behind him. He looked almost like he was preparing for me to attack him or something.

He didn’t have to worry though.

The sight of the human set off a metaphorical bomb in my head. Memories exploded forth, rushing in to replace the gaps and holes that were present, as well as destroy any false memories that were present. The week of estrus, Canterlot, Twilight, the humans, Discord, Riddick; it all came flooding back. However, that still left me confused as to how I ended up in this cell in the first place. Even with my memories restored, the last thing I could recall was Riddick and I fighting in that weird, limbo-like place where he had...

My eyes widened as I suddenly remembered what had happened. That motherfucker had managed to get the axe from me. That son of a bitch! He chopped off my—

“Good morning, Max!”

A cheerful voice snapped me back to the present. The speaker was behind the man, and as I watched, a young woman in a doctor’s coat slipped past him and into the room. She had a large smile plastered on her face, and she appeared to be overly cheerful. Her brown hair was done up in a bun, although several loose strands fell about her face. She tucked them behind her ear as she moved to stand in front of me. The silent guard followed behind her, still eyeing me warily.

“I must say, it’s weird seeing you up this early,” the nurse continued with a giggle. “Normally we have to fight to get you to join the land of the living.” She laughed again at her joke, covering her mouth with a hand as she did so.

I stared down at her blankly, still trying to figure out what was going on. My head hurt, and her laughter wasn’t doing anything to soothe the throbbing headache.

Despite the lack of response, the nurse just continued to smile up at me.

“Now, I know that we’re starting the day a little earlier than normal,” she said in the same tone that a parent would use on a toddler, “but the doctor wants to see you. She wants to see how everything is going with your new treatment. We have high hopes for this one, after all.” At that, she stopped talking and just stood there, looking at me with that stupid, happy-go-lucky smile on her face. She seemed to be waiting for some form of response.

My eyes shifted towards the man looming over her shoulder. He was just watching me as well, his expression unchanged. His hand was still behind his back, holding something that I couldn’t see. Glancing back to the nurse, I eyed her for a few more seconds before saying the first thing that popped into my head.

“Who… who the fuck are you?”

This caused the woman to gasp, and she covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening in shock. Behind her, the man shifted his weight slightly, eyebrows raising up a few inches. Okay… not the response I was expecting.

“You… actually responded,” the woman breathed. She lowered her hand, revealing that the smile was back on her face. Beaming at me happily, she clapped her hands together. “This is great! That means the medication must be working already! This is certainly a faster effect than we originally anticipated. Oh, the doctor will be thrilled!”

I stared at her blankly. Medication? What the hell is she talking about?

Her smile slowly began to slip as the silence grew longer and longer.

“Who the fuck are you?” I eventually repeated, which only caused her smile to slip further.

“You… you don’t remember me?” she asked curiously, though I could detect a faint hint of concern in her voice.

Slowly, I shook my head, not taking my eyes off of her. I don’t remember seeing her with the other Terran humans. Besides, I thought the Equestrian humans and ponies were taking care of them. How did these two manage to get away? And for that matter, where are we exactly?

“Well,” she said slowly, placing a finger on her cheek, “the doctor did say that you may have some difficulty recalling things due to the medication. Hmmm.” She stared at me for a few seconds before her smile perked up again. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it at the moment. You should begin to remember everything soon enough, once your body gets used to the medicine, that is.”

There it was again. Medicine. What exactly did they have me on… and why?

“Now, the doctor will want to talk to you immediately,” the woman continued. “She’ll be able to clear up any confusion you may have right now. I was actually sent to check up on you, just to make sure you aren’t having any… adverse reactions to the medicine. So, just hold still while I check your vitals, okay? Once we’re done, we’ll get you fed and out of here to see the doctor.”

My eyes narrowed as I mulled over what she had said. If it was true that they were giving me medication, what was the purpose behind it? And where were they keeping me? Was I still in Canterlot? What had happened since I passed out? Was Twilight alright? And where was Riddick? I figured he’d be here almost immediately to gloat over his victory.

Maybe… maybe he was this ‘doctor’ that wanted to see me.

As I mulled over the situation, the woman approached me slowly, never taking her eyes off of me. The big guy tensed as she drew closer, but other than that he stayed where he was. Motioning towards the bed, the woman had me sit down on the edge of the mattress. With that, she set about with practiced ease. Lifting up my shirt, she slid a stethoscope underneath.

I flinched as the cold metal touched my bare skin. She moved it from one side of my chest to the other, then back again, all while listening to the various noises that could be heard. With that complete, she withdrew the stethoscope and we moved on to the next test.

As she moved to take my blood pressure, I decided that I needed some more information. Time to see what I can learn.

“Soooo… am I in a hospital?” I asked tentatively, deciding that I was going to start of simple and just play along for now. I’d get to the more troubling details after I figured out where the hell I was.

The nurse froze at the question, the smile no longer present on her face. Instead she wore a very concerned look that did nothing to help my mood.

“How much do you remember?” she asked slowly, taking the stethoscope out of her ears.

I raised an eyebrow at her, but remained silent. This seemed to only increase her concern.

“You really don’t remember anything?” she asked. “Nothing at all?”

I slowly shook my head.

She looked back at the guard, who just shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. With a heavy sigh, the nurse turned her attention back to me, a strained smile on her face.

“Well then, I guess introductions are in order… again. Um… I’m Nurse Harper, and this—” she motioned towards the man standing in the doorway “—is Abraham, one of the orderlies that works here.”

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but she cut me off with a wave of her hand.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure you have plenty of questions you’d like to ask, but you’ll just have to wait and ask the doctor later,” she said quickly. “We knew there would be some side effects, although we didn’t think that they would be this severe. In case of some memory loss, the doctor figured that it would be best to deal with all your questions personally. For now, be a good boy and stand up.”

I growled slightly when she called me ‘boy’. She was probably the same age as me, if not a few years older. Still, I did as she asked, and pushed myself up off of the bed.

As I stood, it became apparent just how much of a height difference I had with the nurse. The top of her head barely came up to my shoulder blades. She backed up slightly, the smile on her face becoming nervous. The orderly, Abraham, tensed again, ready to spring forward. I ignored both of them and stretched, cracking my back several times in the process.

As I stretched, Abraham reached for something I couldn’t see on the other side of the door. Pulling it into the room, I saw that he had a plastic tray in his hands. On the tray were two pieces of toast, a glass of water, and some pills.

I stared at the tray as he approached and handed it to Nurse Harper. She thanked him, and he returned to his original position in the door frame. Turning to me, the nurse smiled and held out the tray.

“Eat up,” she said, her tone still cheerful and annoying. “The sooner you eat, the sooner we can go see the doctor!”

Slowly, I lifted up my hands and took the tray from her. The toast was unbuttered and slightly burnt, the glass of water probably held three mouthfuls in it, and there were three pills, all different colors. As I eyed the tray, my stomach let out a low grumble, causing the nurse to giggle. I just rolled my eyes and sighed.

Grabbing one of the pieces of toast, I frowned as I studied it. I took a tentative bite only to immediately screw my face up in distaste as the burnt flavor hit my tongue. Forcing the bit of toast down, I reluctantly took another bite.

A few minutes later and I managed to finish the toast. Grabbing the glass of water, I moved to toss the tray onto the bed, but the nurse stopped me.

“You’ve got to take pills, hon,” she chided, scooping them up and holding them out to me.

The hell I do, I thought, staring at the colorful pills in her hand.

“What are they for?” I asked, not taking my eyes off of them.

“They’re for the pain,” she informed me, proffering the pills again.

I gave her a skeptical look. “Okay. Why do I need three different pills… for pain I don’t have?”

She was beginning to look nervous again.

“Hon, you have to take these pills,” she said weakly, her hand trembling slightly.

“And if I refuse?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

At that, the orderly took a step forward.

“Then Abraham here is going to have to force you to take them,” Harper said, inching away from me slightly.

I bristled at that. Opening my mouth to protest, I then paused and cast another look at Abraham. After eyeing his arms for a few seconds, I decided against it. He was bigger and more muscular than me, and I still had no idea where the hell I was. Even if I escaped these two, I wouldn’t know where the fuck to go.

Still, I was pretty sure that those pills weren’t painkillers, but that then left the question of what they were for. I didn’t think they’d try and poison me; they could have easily killed me when I was passed out.

After thinking about it for a moment, I grudgingly held out my hand and took the pills from Harper. She sighed in relief as I threw my head back and tossed the pills into my mouth. Raising the glass of water to my mouth, I half thought about hiding the pills beneath my tongue for a brief moment. Another glance at Abraham settled that thought and, with a large gulp, all three pills slid down my throat. I finished off the water and placed the empty glass upon the tray.

I hope that doesn’t come back to bite me, I thought as I licked my lips, trying to rid myself of the bitter aftertaste.

Harper raised an eyebrow, a smug look crossing her face. “Feeling a little better now?”

Careful, lady, I fumed. You’re already on my shit list.

“Yeah,” I growled. “Still confused as hell though. I don’t know where the hell I am, how I got here in the first place, or what is going on. And you won’t tell me shit. You can’t blame me for being paranoid.”

Harper gave me a warm smile, nodding her head. “Understandable. The doctor did say that this might happen. The first few days of a new treatment are always confusing.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll take good care of you until you start to remember things again, okay?” Not waiting for an answer, she headed for the door. “Now, let’s go see the doctor, shall we? We can clear up any concerns you may have and then get this day started!” Stopping in front of the door, she motioned for me to follow her. Abraham stepped out into the hallway, his eyes constantly fixed on me.

Yeah. Fuck you too, buddy, I groused, resisting the urge to give him a one-fingered salute.

Harper followed him out, waving at me to follow her. I paused briefly, looking around at the cell. In the short time I had been awake, I had become rather attached to my little room…

...oh, who the fuck am I kidding? I hated this place already, but I was rather hesitant to follow this pair out into the unknown. Of course, by the look on their faces, I doubted that I had a choice in the matter.

Growling softly, I lowered my head and stepped out of the room and into the hall.

“Just stay close to me, hon,” Harper said, that damnable smile back on her face. I nodded weakly and we headed off down the hall, Abraham falling in step behind us.

As we walked through the winding corridors, I took the time to observe my surroundings. The hallways were painted the same color as the cell: dull gray above a moss green. Doors similar to the one on my cell lined the walls. As I walked by, I tried to get a glimpse of what was inside a few, but unfortunately we were moving too quickly.

I couldn’t help but feel a weird sense of déjà vu as I followed the nurse. Here I was, in an unknown situation, following someone blindly and hoping for the best. Where have I seen this before? I thought, a small smirk spreading across my face. Well, when I followed Sunny blindly, it led me to Twilight. Hopefully this will lead to similar results.

Or it’ll lead to your death, a tiny voice in the back of my head spoke up.

I nearly stumbled, a small groan reaching my lips as I closed my eyes.

I thought I got rid of you, I growled.

This just caused the voice to chuckle happily to itself. Not yet, my oblivious little friend. Not yet.

Luckily neither the nurse nor Abraham had noticed my near fall, or they just didn’t care. The three of us just continued to walk, nobody talking. The only noise that could be heard was sound of their shoes—and my bare feet—upon the white tiles.

Walking around a corner, I noticed that we were headed towards a door at the end of the hallway. Another orderly—a young man with blonde hair—was stationed by it, looking bored. As we approached, Harper pulled out some form of identification—a small card connected to a lanyard around her neck—and showed it to the orderly. After looking over it briefly, he pressed a button on the wall and the double doors unlocked with a loud click.

It seems I was right when I called them guards, I mused. This place was beginning to feel more and more like a prison. I couldn’t help but notice that the orderly was armed with a truncheon, pepper spray, and a Taser as I followed the nurse through the doors. A prison indeed.

The thought died quickly though as I got a look at the new hallway. I froze, a bewildered look crossing my face. Slowly, I turned my head and glanced back at the hall we had just left before returning my attention to this new one.

It was nothing like the previous one. For one, it wasn’t painted the same. It was a happy mix of white and light green, and there were no heavy iron doors in sight. It looked like a proper hospital now, and that bothered me. Why is this hallway different than the last one?

Glancing down this new hall, I couldn’t help the small smile that touched my face. A row of windows ran along one of the walls. For some reason the sight of sky outside filled me with relief, even if it was overcast.

My relief didn’t last long, however. Through the windows I could see the surrounding area, and it was not what I was expecting. Unlike the green rolling hills I was used to in Ponyville, or even the mountain side of Canterlot, the land outside those windows was brown and unhealthy looking. Scraggly trees dotted the landscape, devoid of their leaves. An old, dried up stream cut through some of the hills, the riverbed parched and barren. It was a horrific sight, and I could feel my heart plummet into my stomach as I continued to stare at the decrepit landscape. A single thought pushed its way to the front of my mind.

I was no longer in Equestria.

Someone coughed beside me, and I turned my head to find both Harper and Abraham staring at me.

“Are you okay, hon?” the nurse asked, looking at me curiously. I cast another brief glance out of the windows before nodding. Licking my lips, I fell in behind her again, and we proceeded down the hall.

My head was abuzz with new questions now. If I was no longer in Equestria, where was I then? Was I still on Equus… or did Riddick somehow send me back to Earth? I mean, he was the one that brought me to Equestria in the first place, so it stands to reason that he would be able to send me back, right? I thought about it for a few more seconds before sighing. With my brain beginning to hurt again, I pushed the questions from my mind for the time being. I’d most likely get answers here soon enough.

Instead, I glanced around at the surroundings as we walked. A junction in the hall was coming up, and as we passed, I glanced down it. The only sign of life was a janitor who was in the process of mopping the floor. He had on a dark red one-piece jumpsuit. His back was to me, so I couldn’t see his face, but I could see that he had a shaggy mane of dirty-blonde hair. It looked oddly… familiar.

I didn’t have much time to observe him though before we passed the junction and were on our way.

The rest of the journey was uneventful: I followed Harper through a series of monotonous and indistinguishable corridors as we made our way further into the building. Seriously, all these corridors were the same! I swear we were just walking down the same corridor again and again. I pretty sure we’ve passed the same painting of the mountain lake at sunset several times now.

Soon enough we happened to pass by a sign near an intersection that read ‘Examination Rooms 101-113’. I tried to hold its location in my mind, but as soon as we walked around the corner, I was lost again. This entire hospital was an endless labyrinth of identical hallways and doors. Any hope I had of mapping out the building in my head was immediately lost due to the confusion, and the thin layer of fog currently smothering my mind.

I really shouldn’t have taken those pills, I groused silently.

Harper led me onward, the tense silence only broken by the sound of shoes on tiles, and the rare greeting of a passing orderly. Other than that, there was no sign of life anywhere in this building. Every single room we passed was empty, the beds made neatly and the curtains drawn back. That didn’t help my paranoia. Aren’t hospitals supposed to have, you know, patients? Where the hell is everyone?!

Finally, when I was about ready to snap and just make a run for it, Harper came to a stop suddenly.

“Ah, and here were are,” she said happily.

I blinked and glanced up, looking around at the surrounding corridor. Just like the ones before it, it looked the same as every other hallway in this godforsaken place. The only difference was the large pair of oaken doors we were currently standing in front of. A brass plate on the door clearly read Dr. T. Bright, MD.

Well, that… that might rule out Riddick being the doctor, I thought as I stared at the plate. But then… who the hell is T. Bright?

As I was musing silently to myself, Harper knocked on the door softly. A few seconds passed before a somewhat familiar voice answered. “Enter, please.”

I scrunched my face up in confusion. Where have I heard that voice before? It was a nagging sensation in the back of my head, an unknown word at the tip of my tongue. I knew who the voice belonged to… but I just couldn’t put a face or name to it at the moment. Before I could figure it out, Harper opened the door and ushered me inside the room.

It was a fairly typical office. Several wooden bookshelves rested along the covered walls on either side of the room, filled with a multitude of medical books. Several picture frames lined the walls, filled with photos or medical degrees. A large oaken desk sat at the far end of the room, covered in paperwork and books.

And there, standing behind the desk, was…

“Why, hello there, Max. It’s wonderful to see you up and about this morning,” Dr. Bright said, a smile on her face. “I hope you’re feeling better. You certainly look it, my dear.”

I didn’t respond. I… I couldn’t. I could only stare wide-eyed at the woman in front of me with equal measure wonder and fear.

She was tall, nearly my height, if not somewhat shorter. Lithe in nature, she carried herself with almost supernatural grace as she moved out from behind her desk. Long, wavy blonde hair cascaded down about her shoulders and fell down to the middle of her back. Part of her bangs hung in front of her face, covering one of her eyes, which were a brilliant blue color. The smile on her face was kind and motherly… and, when accompanied by the voice, could only belong to one person.

C-Celestia? The voice… the way she smiled, the hairstyle. It… it could only be one individual. But Celestia was a pony… and this was a human. What… what was… was I losing my mind? I just continued to stare, my mouth agape. My brain was currently slamming itself into the side of my skull, demanding answers that I just couldn’t give it. What the fuck is going on here?!

Oblivious to my distress, Dr. Bright gestured to a pair of chairs that stood in front of her desk.

“Please, have a seat,” she said. “I’ll be with you once I have a quick word with Nurse Harper.”

Dumbly, I nodded as she walked past me and into the hall, closing the door behind her. I could hear her muffled voice begin talking with Nurse Harper, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. Shaking my head, I tried to clear my mind. Things were getting weirder and weirder, and no amount of standing around was going to get me answers.

Casting a quick glance at the door, I slipped quietly over to the desk and began to look over the documents that were strewn across it. There were medical papers, letters, medical books, medical proposals, though nothing that I could make sense of and nothing that told me where I was.

Frustrated, I threw the papers back down on her desk and collapsed back into one of the chairs with an explosive sigh. Resting an elbow on the arm of the chair, I rubbed the scar that ran across my nose, thinking hard.

The fact that Dr. Bright was basically a human version of Princess Celestia and sounded exactly like the alicorn was troubling. Was this another game of Riddick’s, or was this something else entirely? I toyed with the idea that maybe I had been transported to yet another universe, but quickly threw that idea aside. Although it would fit the bill nicely, seeing as there appeared to be another version of Celestia here and all, but that didn’t cover why everyone here already knew who I was. If this was indeed a new universe, everyone would be wondering how the hell I showed up in the middle of the hospital.

Sighing heavily, I closed my eyes and rubbed at my temples. It was hard to think straight through the cloud that drifted just on the edge of my mind. It blurred thoughts and made it difficult to concentrate. I didn’t want to think; I just wanted to lay down and take a nap.

Luna, if you can hear me and this is all just a bad dream, can you get your flank in here and help me out? I asked mentally, staring up at the ceiling. I waited several seconds for something to happen, and lo and behold… nothing. Goddamn it, Luna.

The muffled voices outside ceased their conversation abruptly. The doorknob turned with a ‘click’, and the oaken doors swung open. Dr. Bright flashed me a quick smile as she reentered the room, alone. Closing the door behind her, she moved back behind her desk.

“Nurse Harper was just updating me on your current condition,” she said as she sat down in her chair. Leaning back, she crossed her legs, the smile still on her face. “We’re happy that we have you aware of your surroundings once more. Some temporary amnesia, while inconvenient, is expected with your new treatment, as I’m sure that Harper informed you. However, I find it troublesome that you are having difficulty remembering this hospital entirely, as well as the staff. Would you care to elaborate?” With that, she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, picking up a pen off her desk. She looked around at the papers on her desk, a small frown on her face before she glanced up at me, her eyes narrowing.

I just raised an eyebrow.

Keeping her eyes on me, she opened up one of the drawers behind her desk and pulled out a notebook. Flipping it open to a blank page, she placed it on the desk and gave me an expectant look.

I said nothing and remained lounged back in the chair, resting my head on my hand with an eyebrow cocked.

“Max?” Dr. Bright ventured after several seconds. When I still didn’t reply, a concerned look crossed her face. “Max?” she repeated. “All you alright?”

“No, I can’t say that I am,” I said evenly. “I… I woke up this morning, in a room I didn’t recognize, with no memory of how the hell I wound up there. Then I was visited by two people who seemed to know me… yet I have no clue who they are. Then, not only did they not tell me why I’m in this place, but they made me take some mystery pills and told me everything would be explained later.” Taking a deep breath, I sat forward and glared at Dr. Bright. “Well, it’s later… and I want some answers. I was told that you would be able to provide them.” Dr. Bright nodded, and I reclined in the seat again. “In that case… let’s start off real plain and simple, okay? Why… the fuck... am I here? And where is ‘here’, for that matter?”

Dr. Bright was silent for a while, studying my face closely. After a few minutes, she sighed and placed the pen down on the notebook.

“Unfortunately, that isn’t an easy question to answer, Max,” she said softly, “and given your current mental state, I’m not too sure how well you will take this, but if you really want to know, I guess I can tell you.” She paused, appearing to consider her next words carefully before continuing. “The… the short answer is you are in Brookehaven Mental Hospital. You are sick, Max, and we’ve been taking care of you.”

“What… what do you mean ‘sick’?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.

Dr. Bright leaned back in her chair, chewing on her lip as she looked at me. “Well, to put it simply, you’re… well, you’re not well. We’ve been trying to make you better, but unfortunately illnesses like yours are rather hard to treat. A physical wound heals over time, bones can be set, blood replaced. Some things, however, are not so simple. In order for you to get better, you need lots of time and care.”

I scoffed and shook my head.

“You’re dodging the question,” I said. Suddenly my hand shot out and I slammed a fist down upon her desk, causing all the items on it to jump slightly. “Stop treating me like an imbecile and give me a straight answer! Why am I here?!”

Dr. Bright just met my angry glare with a calm glance. My right eye twitched as I felt my temper growing. I wanted her to at least look afraid, but no, she just looked like I was doing exactly what she expected me to do. That did not help my mood.

Closing her eyes and leaning back, she ran a hand through her hair, collecting her thoughts. Finally, she took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and looked at me. Her gaze looked tired.

“Max,” she said slowly, “over a year ago, you slipped and hit your head in an accident at your job. Thanks to the fall, as well as the subsequent head trauma, you are now suffering from severe dementia as well as bursts of paranoia. We’ve been trying to help you the best we can, but until recently, nothing has been working.”

I blinked, staring at her with a blank expression on my face.

“What?” I deadpanned. This just caused her to sigh again.

“Max, for over a year now you’ve been suffering from a number of strange and severe delusions created by a mental disorder.”

I couldn’t help it. I tried—I really did—to keep a straight face, but I couldn’t. Falling back into the chair, I laughed. I laughed hard. I laughed until my sides hurt and tears rolled down my face. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t think; I could only laugh. I didn’t know what I was expecting to hear, but it sure as hell wasn’t that. People have been telling me I’m crazy for years, but this takes the cake.

After several minutes I was able to calm myself down... kinda.

“Are… are you trying to t-tell me that I’m insane? Crazy?” I gasped, wiping a tear from my eye.

“Please don’t use those terms around here,” Dr. Bright said, a frown on her face. “We don’t like our patients thinking that they aren’t normal just because of their illnesses.”

“Please,” I said, rolling my eyes. “If I had a bit for every time I’ve been told I was crazy, I could retire today.” A troubled look came over her face briefly at something I had said, but it passed. Instead, she picked up the pen and jotted something down in the notebook.

Ignoring her, I continued. “Sorry if I don’t believe you, but really? That’s the best you’ve got?”

She didn’t say anything. Instead, she dropped the pen again before reaching down and opening one of the drawers on her desk. Rummaging around in it for a moment, she then pulled out a thick manila folder that was bursting with papers. She placed it on the desk before flipping the folder open and sifting through the contents. Upon finding what she was looking for, she removed a stapled document and slid it over to me.

“What’s this?” I asked, reaching out and picking up the papers. Pressure was slowly beginning to build in the back of my head, but I ignored it. Just another headache coming on.

“Those,” she said, motioning towards the documents in my hands, “are papers that were signed by your parents when we first took you into our care.”

I gave her a bemused look before glancing down at the papers. Right away I noticed that the words ‘BMH Patient Registration Form’ was printed across the top in large, block letters. Skimming down the page, a frown slowly spread across my face as I read. Upon reaching the bottom, I went back and double-checked every single line. Reaching the end again, I just stared down at my parents’ signatures. It seemed like ages since I had last seen them, but there they were, scrawled across the bottom of the page.

Slowly, I placed the document back on the desk. “They’re fake.”

“I’m afraid not,” Dr. Bright said with a shake of her head. “What would be the point in faking the documents anyways? I know it’s a lot to take in, especially with your amnesia, but trust me. This is the real deal.”

“I’m sorry if I find this rather hard to believe,” I huffed. “It’s just… a few days ago, life was normal and fine. When I woke up this morning, it was crazy and messed up. And now you’re telling me that I’ve been here for over a year, when I have no memory of this place. And—” I held up a finger “—that I have amnesia brought on by some kind of medication you are giving me. Is that all correct?”

“Yes,” Dr. Bright said, nodding her head.

“Bullshit,” I snarled. “You expect me to believe that? This is ridiculous. There’s no missing memories, no gaps that need to be filled. I am well aware of what was happening before I woke up in that cell. The only unanswered question I have is how the fuck I got in there in the first place. Who put you up to this? Riddick?”

“Riddick?” Dr. Bright parroted before frowning. She scratched that down in the notebook as well, muttering, “that’s a new one. I wonder if...” Trailing off, she glanced up at me again. “Is Riddick one of the, uh… ponies that you hang out with?”

I glared at her. “What’re you talking about?”

“You’re very talkative when you’re suffering from your delusions,” Dr. Bright said. “You mumble a lot, but we’ve managed to pick up a few names and ideas here and there about what you’re imagining. Like this, uh—” she turned to the notebook, flipping a few pages before stopping— “Ah, yes. Rainbow Dash, was it? And Primrose? Applejack. Fluttershy. Rarity. Ebony Rose. Sunny Breeze.” Eyeing the contents of the notebook for a moment longer, she then leaned back and gave me a half smile. “Really, if it wasn’t for the circumstances, I’d be impressed. You have a very creative imagination. Equestria, a land filled with magical talking ponies. You could make some good money off of that once we get your mind back together.”

“Shut up,” I muttered under my breath.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” she asked.

“Shut up,” I repeated, this time loud enough for her to hear. “Laugh all you want, but unless the next few words out of your goddamn mouth are an explanation on how I got here, I’m leaving. Even if I have to fight my way out.”

When Dr. Bright didn’t say anything, I made to stand up. That’s when she moved. She reached a hand down into the folder and pulled out a small, square piece of paper. Keeping her gaze locked onto me, she tossed the paper onto the registration form.

Still glaring at her, I reached out and picked up the paper. Glancing down at it, I turned the object over in my hands, only to frown upon seeing that it was a photograph. A quick look at the picture caused my eyes to widen.

Three people looked up at me, frozen in time as the picture captured the moment forever. Two of them I recognized as my parents, staring up at me from the photograph with sad smiles on their faces. There was my mom with her dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, wearing the necklace her mother gave her before passing away around her neck. My dad stood next to her, with his short brown hair, blue eyes, and large glasses, and his face covered in stubble. They were exactly how I remembered them before I was thrust into Equestria.

It was the third person, however, was the one that caught my attention. Sitting there in a wheelchair, a blank expression on his face, was, well... me. I was staring at the camera, a look on my face that suggested that the lights were on, but nobody was home. Bandages were wrapped around my head, and it looked like I had several weeks’ worth of stubble on my face, gradually blending in with my mustache.

As I looked down at the photo in silence, my gaze slowly drifted to the building in the background of the picture. There, on top of a cliff overlooking a large, dark lake, was a massive white multi-story building with light-brown roofs that appeared almost golden in the sunlight. I lifted the picture closer to my face, squinting as I tried to make out more details. The sign above the door of the building was minuscule, but I could just barely make it out.

Brookehaven Mental Hospital.

My mind was racing as I stared at the picture. I was dimly aware of Dr. Bright saying something, but my ears weren’t working at the moment. The picture was all that mattered at the moment, and I was trying to figure out what I was seeing.

It’s… it’s me, no doubt about that, I thought, glaring down at my photographic-self, but I’ve never seen this place before. It’s not anywhere near where we lived. What town is it in? It had to be a trick. It was fairly easy to photoshop a picture; I had done it multiple times in the past. However, I had no clue how they could have gotten a picture of me in a wheelchair in order to do so. Plus, what would be the point of trying to convince me that I was in a mental hospital?

What were they trying to accomplish? What was the end game?

The throbbing in the back of my head had grown, and I could feel the blood pulsing through my veins. Closing my eyes, I lowered the photo and took a deep breath, trying to ease the pain. Why was my head hurting so much?

Upon opening my eyes again, I glanced over at Dr. Bright, only to find her giving me a concerned look, half-risen from her chair.

“Are… are you doing alright?” she asked softly, giving me a hard look. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but just keep calm, okay? Breathe. You’re safe here.”

I stared blankly at her for a few moments before reaching up and slowly running a hand through my hair, tugging on the long strands absentmindedly. Too much was happening… too many questions unanswered, and too many were still popping up. What kind of mind games was Riddick playing? Or, was he even behind this at all? I wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Max?” Dr. Bright asked again, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Max, can you hear me?” She was beginning to look flustered, and her hand was straying towards a phone on her desk.

Blinking once, I nodded slowly before answering. “Yes.”

This caused her to sigh in relief, and she fell back in her chair.

“Oh, thank heavens,” she breathed. “I thought we had lost you again.”

“Again?” I asked, my eye twitching involuntarily. “What do you mean ‘again’?”

“We’ve had to explain all of this to you before,” Dr. Bright said, giving me a strained smile. “Let’s just say you didn’t take it that well the first time.” I raised an eyebrow and she continued. “You attacked three of the doctors and sent an orderly to the hospital with a few broken ribs.”

“My apologies,” I said, but the words had no real feeling behind them.

“Don’t worry about it, dear. She’s long since recovered and holds no hard feelings,” Dr. Bright said with a wave of her hand. “She says that it’s all water under the bridge as far as she’s concerned.” Another awkward silence fell over the room as we both continued to stare at each other.

As Dr. Bright obviously searched for something else to say, I decided that I should try and contact Luna again. Maybe, just maybe, this was all just a strange dream and she would be able to hear me this time.

...one could hope, right?

Luna, are you there? I don’t mean to sound needy, but I’m kinda in a pickle here. No reply came however, and I cursed. Goddamn it! What the fuck is going on here?! I returned my attention to Dr. Bright in time to see her open her mouth, possibly to ask me another stupid question about remembering something that never really happened. However, my stomach took that exact moment to make its emptiness known to the room.

As I glanced down, glaring at the treacherous body part, Dr. Bright laughed softly.

“I guess the food they gave you with your pills wasn’t enough, huh?” she asked, a small grin on her lips. Suddenly, her face lit up and she snapped her fingers. “Oh, I know! This might work to our advantage. How about we get one of your, um... friends to come take you to get something to eat? Maybe seeing a more familiar face will help your memories return, and possibly make you feel better.”

I froze and my body tensed. Friend? What friend could I possibly have here? All my friends are back in Equestria, wherever the fuck that is at the moment. I could tell that Dr. Bright was just trying to do something to make me feel more comfortable, however all she succeeded in doing was making my paranoia worse.

“Friend?” I asked, keeping my voice steady even as my heart raced. Just play along for now, and hopefully you’ll manage to figure out what’s going on around here. Who knows, maybe Twilight is working on a way to find me right now. Just gotta play along, and give her time.

“Who is this… friend of mine?” I asked. “I’m assuming it’s one of the patients?”

“No, actually,” Dr. Bright said with a smile. “She’s one of the doctors here. One of the few who has taken quite an interest in you, in fact. While it would be nice to see the other patients you’re close to, due to your recent condition, I think it would be best to wait to see them,” she explained. “Now, I don’t expect you to remember her right away, but hopefully just talking with her for a while might help bring back some of your memories. After all, you two have been rather close over the past year, and I think you share a special bond.”

Yippie, I snarked silently, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. I was supposed to be friends with one of the doctors here? I’d sooner have Winter Cold throw me a birthday party.

“So, when do I get to meet this doctor?” I asked.

“I actually paged her when you were in a daze,” Dr. Bright said, standing for her desk and heading to the door. “I wasn’t sure if we were losing you again or not, so I wanted her on standby.” Opening it, she stuck her head out into the hall. “Okay, you can come in now.”

“Really? A-are you sure? I… I don’t want to make his condition worse if he’s unstable. The last thing he needs is more stress on his mind,” someone said from the other side of the door. “I don’t want to make things harder for him than they already are.”

At the sound of the voice, I froze, my entire body stiffening. N-no… it can’t be. That… that voice…

By the door, Dr. Bright tsked softly.

“It’s quite alright, dear,” she said, pulling her head back in the room and motioning for the person outside to enter. “I’m fairly sure nothing bad will happen because of this. At least, nothing can get worse. Besides, if we don’t nip this in the bud now, he will constantly be at risk of relapsing. Better he meets you now, in a controlled environment, rather than by bumping into you in the hall.”

“A-alright, if you think it’s for the best,” the voice sighed, followed by the sound of footsteps. The whole time this was going on, my brain was tearing itself apart. There’s… there’s no way that she’s… she can’t be here...

Pushing the door open further, Dr. Bright stepped aside to make room. Craning my head around, I stared at the open door with growing horror. At the sight of the person standing in the doorway, a cold tightness gripped my chest and my breath caught in my throat.

There, in the doorway, was a human female. She was young, possibly only a few years older than me, though I was certainly taller than her by a good head. A long white coat covered her clothing, with a silver name tag clipped to the breast pocket. It wasn’t hard to tell that she was a doctor, though that wasn’t the part that scared me.

It was her face and hair.

She had long, straight brown hair that hung just below her shoulders. The bangs were cut in a straight line across her forehead in a frighteningly familiar manner. Another familiar feature were the twin strips of color that ran through the brown strands: one pink, the other dark blue. A few stray strands of hair stuck out at odd angles.

As her gaze landed on me, she smiled shyly.

“Oh… h-hi, Max,” she stammered as she adjusted a pair of glasses on her face. She paused, as if waiting for me to say something back. I didn’t though. I just sat here, staring at her in horror. This… this isn’t happening...

“Max?” the new woman asked, her smile slipping slightly. “Do… do you remember me? I’m… I’m Doctor Twila Sparks.”

Darkness slowly began to creep along the edge of my vision as the pressure in the back of my head grew to unbearable levels. I could feel myself trying to cling to my sanity, but it was slipping through my grasp the more I stared at this new human in the doorway. The hair, the voice, the way she looked at me. I had seen it all before, back when Twilight had transformed herself into a human for that brief moment in time. This woman... it was Twilight. What… what the fuck… I….

Both doctors were now giving me looks of concern. The new human glanced at Dr. Bright and bit her bottom lip before turning back to me. “If… if it helps, um… you like to call me ‘Twi’.”

With that, something deep within my mind snapped. My vision blurred and I felt as if the chair was being pulled out from beneath me. A loud roaring noise filled my ears as bile rose up in my throat. I slipped sideways, crashing to the floor where I just laid there, the whole world spinning around me. As the darkness closed in around me, smothering me, I heard a panicked shout, as though from a great distance, “Max!”

My consciousness stirred…

...and with it came a massive headache. It was the pounding kind of headache that made you nauseous with every little movement. I remained still for a minute or so until the queasiness subsided. Finally able to move without throwing up, I began to move.

“Ugh, fuck me,” I groaned as I pried my eyes open. It took them a few seconds to adjust to the light, but when it did, my gaze was met by a cold, gray ceiling. A quick glance around confirmed that I was back in the cell from before. The walls were just as lifeless as before, the room just as empty.

Sitting up on the creaky bed, I sighed heavily as I peered around. Welp, so much for it being a weird dream.

The memory of what had happened before I passed out surfaced, and I frowned. The human… she had sounded just like Twilight, and even acted like her somewhat, but that couldn’t have been her… could it? If it was actually her, then things had just gotten a lot more complicated. What the fuck was going on? The pain in my head began to grow again as I continued to try and work out something—anything—that could explain what was going on.

After a few minutes though, all I had was a headache and no answers to speak of.

Maybe… maybe the weird doctors were right? Maybe I was suffering from some delusion, and my time in Equestria was all a figment of my imagination. That could possibly explain my… situation...

My thoughts trailed off as I looked at the hand I had just lifted to scratch an itch on the right side of my face. Slowly, I held it up in front of me and stared at it. After a moment, I moved it left and right, continuing to stare at it unblinkingly. When it went left, I could see it clear enough, but when it went right… it entered the blind spot provided by my useless eye.

My blind spot…

Reaching up quickly, I brushed my fingers over the scar on my nose, following it across my face to the bottom of my right eye. While not as prominent as the scars on my back that the manticores had given me, there was still a small ridge where the scarred flesh was raised slightly.

I ran my fingers along the length of the scar once more before suddenly reaching down and pulling up the sleeve of my shirt. There, clearly visible against the skin, was the scarred bite mark I had received from the infected human. All the scars I had gotten in Equestria were still present on my body… so how did that translate to this scenario?

What could have caused the scar on my face and damaged my right eye? How could I have possibly gotten a human bite mark in this hospital? There’s no way I could have done it myself; the angle and position were all wrong.

There was only one explanation that made sense to me at the moment, and it was the one I was going to hold onto for dear life.

Equestria was real.

I had no clue how Riddick was able to pull this off, where he sent me, or why, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was finding a way back home and making sure Twilight and everyone else was okay. But… how to get started? Maybe I could—

A faint whistling sound suddenly caught my ear, causing me to pause. It was coming from out in the hall, and as I listened intently, the noise slowly grew until I could make out individual notes. Someone was whistling a song, and heading my way.

Tentatively, I approached the door and peered through the small gap. The noise was coming from down the hall, just out of my line of sight. I had to press my face against the bars in order to get a good enough angle, but upon doing so, I was just barely able to see who was coming. A confused frown touched my face as I saw it was the janitor from before.

He was slowly making his way down the hall towards me, walking backwards as he continued to mop the floor. Side to side he swayed, whistling softly to himself as he went about his work. Every few seconds he’d mumble something to himself before continuing his whistling. Oddly enough, he had no bucket for the mop, but that didn’t seem to concern him.

As I watched him, a weird tickling started in the back of my head. For some reason, even from the back, he just felt oddly familiar… but I couldn’t, for the life of me, put a finger on it. That, and something about him just felt… off.

I continued to stare at him for a few seconds before I noticed something else weird. He was mopping the floor, yes, but it appeared that the mop was putting on dirt, not taking it off. The floor was getting dirtier the closer he got to my door.

What… what is he doing? I mused as I watched him. I wasn’t completely sure, but in my experience that’s not how you were supposed to clean the floor. If he wasn’t careful, he wasn’t going to have the job for much longer.

As he drew nearer, I was finally able to hear what he was mumbling; he was singing to himself under his breath. It was a happy little ditty, and was sung to the tune of a somewhat familiar sea shanty.

Straining my ears, I was just able to make out the words.

“What do you do when you’ve gone insane?
Stumbling around with a broken brain?
Will your life ever be the same?
Awoken in the Asylum?

“Why do you cry those tears of dread?
Is it the pounding that’s in your head?
You should be glad that your sanity’s fled,
Trapped here in the Asylum.

“Who is it that you’re thinking of?
That filled your life with hope and love?
No divine help will come from above,
Down here in the Asylum.

“Where is this paradise you used to know?
Or was that land just all for show?
Sing the song; your tale of woe,
From deep within the Asylum.

“How could you have lost such a paradise?
Now trapped in a world of sin and vice?
Would you like some friendly advice?
Stay here in the Asylum…”

Finishing up the song, he laughed softly to himself before suddenly shuffling towards the wall and out of my view. I could still hear the sounds of him moving about, as well as the mop sliding across the floor, but I couldn’t see him anymore.

He remained out of sight for a long while, to the point where I was thinking about just giving up and returning to the bed. He was just the janitor anyways; it wasn’t like he could help me out. My mind made up, I started to turn around when suddenly a face appeared in front of the gap in the door, startling me.

“Well, look what we’ve got here,” he said with a grin.

I stumbled back, staring at the face in horror.

He just continued to look at me, grinning widely, his red eye twinkling with twisted joy, the sclera a nasty shade of pale yellow.

It wasn’t the red eye that alarmed me though.

It was his face.

Or rather, my face.

There, staring back at me through the small, barred-up gap in the door, left eye as red as blood, was my own face. A scar ran across its nose and cheek, leading to a milky right eye. Dirty blonde hair fell across its forehead and eyes, and a scruffy beard adorned its cheeks and chin. Yet, there were some details that were off. His grin was unnaturally big, and his teeth were definitely sharper than mine.

He watched me as I gawked at him, demented amusement on his face.

Well, this is a mind fuck, isn’t it? asked the little voice in the back of my head.

I said nothing; just continued to stare at myself.

And myself stared back.