When Twilight woke up, the first thing she saw was the relieved face of Fluttershy. "What... Where am I?"

"Oh, Twilight, I'm so glad you're ok... Once Angel got my bunnies back, (they're very sensitive, you know), he calmed me back down, and that's when I noticed you and your friend were gone."

"You mean... Your rabbits never went into the forest?" Fluttershy shook her head, and Twilight facehoofed.

Fluttershy continued her story, "I flew as fast as I could to get Rainbow. We spent all night searching until we heard a bunch of yelling and growling, and then we saw the little fire coming from the cave you were in."

Suddenly remembering Sam, Twilight panicked, "What happened to Sam? Is he ok?!"

"Oh no, I'm sorry Twilight, but he's in pretty bad shape. He hit his head really hard, and when we found him, he'd been bleeding awhile." Fluttershy said in a grave tone.

"Can I see him? I need to see him..." Twilight felt the tears stinging her eyes.

"He's stable for now, and you're in just barely better shape yourself..." Seeing her friend's emotions welling up, Fluttershy added, "But I'll get the doctor to wheel you over as soon as he can... If you want..."

"I told him, you know... Or I tried to, before the monster attacked us..." Twilight drifted back to sleep.

---

A few days later, Twilight was released. Her head injury, though incredibly painful, was minor, and her leg wasn't broken as she'd feared; it was a severe sprain. Sam, however, had still not regained consciousness. The doctors determined that he was in no immediate danger of dying, but given the severity of his wound, specifically the brain trauma he sustained, there was no certainty that he'd ever regain consciousness. The thought of never really seeing Sam again hurt Twilight in a way that no fall, break, sprain, or manticore attack ever could.

In the course of their visits to cheer her up and drop off their "get-well-soon" gifts, Twilight's friends all picked up on her depression. After a bit of gentle, well-intended prodding, she broke down and explained to them all about her feelings for her human guest. She sobbed for what felt like hours, that she felt wrong for getting enamored with someone who wasn't even the same race as herself, and that aside, she may never get to talk to him again. The whole time, her friends were there, offering their supporting words and embraces.

Applejack, ever the blunt one, spoke up as Twilight's crying subsided, "Listen here sugarcube, about Sam, we wouldn't care if he were a buffalo. You ain't got ta worry 'bout what we, or anypony for that matter, think. First off, we're glad you're ok. Second, we're glad you feel that way about somepony, even if he ain't a pony. Finally, Sam paid a pretty high price ta save yore hide; make sure you don't waste that by being holed up in here poutin'."

Twilight finally broke a slight smile, "Thanks, AJ... You guys are too good to me... But what can I do? He's only a few steps above..." Her voice cracked, "A few steps above dead..." Suddenly, her eyes lit up, "I've got it! Surely there's a spell in one of these books that could help!"

Applejack cocked her head, "That's tha spirit? Whatever keeps you occupied... Just don't lose yourself, alright Twi'?"

The lavender unicorn barely heard her, as she was already hobbling all over the library in search of the right book and the right spell. Her friends said their farewells and promised to drop by the next day.

---

Eventually, Twilight found a spell that just might work. She was unsure of its exact function, as it only claimed to "regenerate the body of an injured pony." Obviously, Sam was not a pony, so she had no idea how the spell might react to his physiology. She figured there were two distinct possibilities: the spell meant "pony" as in the spell's target and was just a manner of phrasing, (aside from Sam, almost everyone else WAS a pony), or the spell really was being specific about the target actually being a pony. If reality turned out to be the former, then Sam would be healed! If the latter possibility was the case... At best, the spell just wouldn't work; at worst, the spell's effects would be unpredictable.

Either way, there was a problem. Twilight's own magical abilities weren't strong enough to fully power this spell; she'd need some help. There was only one pony that could help her with this: Princess Celestia. She had Spike quickly draft the letter, and then all she could do was wait. She hoped that the Princess would respond soon, as she knew she'd be unable to sleep until she had a chance to try this. Fortunately, Celestia answered quickly by appearing in front of Twilight.

"I came as quickly as I got your letter. I'm terribly sorry about not visiting you in the hospital, but there was a crisis in Manehattan and-"

Twilight cut her off, "I know, it's ok Princess, I was fine. Have you heard of the spell I mentioned in my letter?"

The Princess nodded, "I have, and I agree with your assessment of it's unpredictability given the circumstances... Are you sure that this is what you want to do?"

The unicorn responded, "Yes. He's not getting any better... And... I care a lot about him, I don't know what I'd do if he never woke up."

The Princess smiled knowingly, "I understand. Let's go visit him, shall we, my faithful student?"

---

Twilight and her mentor quietly walked into Sam's hospital room. An orderly was in the process of adjusting his IV medications. The entire hospital staff was surprised that their alien patient was in stable condition, given they had very little information to go on regarding how to best treat him.

Twilight felt the tears welling up again as she looked at Sam; he was connected to so many different machines. One to breathe for him, one to pump his medication, sensors to monitor his pulse and brain activity, all with miles of tubing and wiring between him and his machines. His head was still bandaged and swollen; he barely looked like himself.

The Princess looked down at her student, reassuring her, "Start the spell when you're ready, and I'll join in to amplify it."

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, and her horn began to glow. The Princess followed suit, adding her power to Twilight's own. Sam's body was slowly enveloped by the light. As the spell reached its peak, both Twilight and the Princess were completely blinded by a brilliant flash emanating from the bed. As the glow subsided, and Twilight's eyes readjusted, she was shocked by what she saw.

Laying in the bed before her was no longer a human, but a tan unicorn with a chestnut-colored mane resembling the messy mass of hair that Sam had before.

---

The Princess had called in the best physicians in Equestria to check on Sam. He had still not regained consciousness, but by all medical accounts he was perfectly healed, his pony transformation notwithstanding. Twilight hypothesized that Sam's unconsciousness was now just a side effect of the spell. After all, it was an incredibly powerful piece of magic.

Twilight's expression was still that of panic and distress, "Princess, what have I done? What do I do?"

The Princess placed a hoof on her shoulder, "You did what you thought was right, because you care about him. Would I be wrong in saying that you might even love him?" The exhausted pony blushed a little, "All you can do now is make sure you're here for him when he does wake up."

With that, Twilight climbed onto the bed. She noticed a familiar mark on his flank; it was an almost exact duplicate of her own cutie mark, though the center star was a blue-green and the outer stars were black, a reminder that his survival, and his transformation, was due to her love for him. She curled up next to Sam, and fell asleep for the first time since her release from the hospital's care.