"I hate you so much." Eris said standing in front of her conscience at the mirror. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you with every fiber of my being."

"Why do you hate yourself?" Her conscience said smiling back. "Why do you hate yourself?"

Thinking of punching the mirror, Eris was cocking her fist back when she heard a faint knocking. Looking away from her grinning double, she saw Luna peeking in through the curtains at the balcony doors. Opening them from where she was standing, Luna was furious, but her expression quickly turned to a concerned one when she saw Eris with the blanket on her shoulders.

Looking back at what she was thinking would be her conscience, she jumped back when she saw her reflection. Her hair was disheveled, there were bags under her eyes, and her eyes had cracks of red in them.

"Eris, did you not sleep well last night?" Luna asked forgetting she came to yell at her for the mustache on her lip.

"I didn't." Eris said looking at Luna.

"You didn't what? Sleep? Eris, I know you're distressed about Sunshine, but-"

"I wasn't worrying about him." She said yawning. "I was arguing with myself."

"You were arguing... With yourself the entire night?" Luna asked looking at the Draconequus wobbled a bit. "About what?"

"Which side of the bed to sleep on." She said shrugging.

Luna, looking between Eris and the bed, shook her head as Eris stuck her tongue out at the mirror. Leaving the room, she looked back at Eris before putting her fore-hooves on the balcony and with some effort, slowly raised the sun while the moon went down.

"Eris," Luna said stepping onto the rail of the balcony. "My guards will be reporting to Twilight if they find something wrong with the orders weight. Twilight, after asking me multiple times in the night, is looking at the contents of the patients stomachs at the hospital. She seems to think the food poisoning may have more to do with an outside factor than just the grease."

As she leapt from the balcony, Eris was putting on her shirt from the night before after throwing the blanket back on the bed. Teleporting away as a guard opened the door, the guard closed the balcony doors before looking around and eventually finding nothing again, retreated back to their former post.

Ponyville Hospital

Eris, appearing in the lobby, went to the front desk where a nurse in the same blue scrubs was sitting. Ringing the bell, the pony looked up and gasped.

"Hold on, I'll get a doctor in just a second." She said getting up from her desk.

Watching the mare go into the hall behind her, Eris saw her stop a doctor and start speaking in a hushed tone with him. The doctor went out from view and came in through the other pair of double doors in the lobby. Taking her paw, he led her through and down the hall where he led her into an empty room.

"Please, sit," he said motioning towards one of the two beds with a hoof. "Can I have your name?"

"Eris. Doctor what is-"

"Well, Eris, the nurse at the lobby seems to think you're sick Could you list off some symptoms for me?" He asked looking at her with a clip board in hoof and pen in the other.

"I'm not sick, I just didn't sleep last night. I'm just here to-"

"I could prescribe you some sleep medication if you're having trouble going to sleep. We even have a new arm of the hosptal here to help ponies with nightmares sleep, even if they're being kept awake with medication."

"I'm not having nightmares." She said narrowing her eyes at him. "I came here to see when visiting hours begin."

"Oh, I see." He said pocketing the pen. "They start sun-up to sun-down."

"Good, thank you for wasting my time." She said getting up and leaving the doctor there to fiddle with his clip board.

Going back down the hall, she pushed the double doors open just as the ones one the other side were swung open. Looking at Sunshine as he was rolled out, he was in a much better condition than before. A new I.V. with a brown fluid in it was attached to his right leg, his mane was waving much faster and it had gotten back some of its color.

Running up to him, he was smiling before she lifted him out of the chair in a hug.

"Eris," he said shaking from a new source of pain. "You just tore my I.V. out of my leg."

Looking down while she still held him, she saw a small puddle of liquid begin to pool on the floor by a stressed out looking doctor. The nurse that was pushing the wheelchair, held a roll of surgical tape in her magic and a cotton ball in the other. Putting the cotton ball on the red spot forming on his right fore-leg, she taped it over and cut the tape when it reached the cotton ball again.

"Well, it looks like I won the ring toss," she said holding Sunshine as if he were a teddy bear. "I just won a stuffed alicorn. I think I'll take you home and name you Cuddles."

"Do not call me Cuddles." He said attempting to make an angry face but instead he yawned. "I think the medicine they gave me is still making me tired."

"You think?" She said smiling. "Hey, doc, is he being released?" She asked setting Sunshine on the floor.

"Yes," the doctor said nodding at the nurse as she took the wheelchair away. "He needs plenty of rest, to drink two cups of water or fluid every hour, he'll also be on a liquid or soft food diet for the next two days, and he needs to take one of these every two days for eight days." He said pulling a orange prescription bottle out and handing it to her.

"Pills?" She said holding the her talon. "What are these for?"

"They're to cause constipation. It seems one of the other symptoms he had later was diarrhea."

"Poor thing," she said rubbing the top of Sunshine's head with her talon. "You must feel absolutely miserable. Come on, lets get you in bed." She said putting her lion paw under his back legs, her talon over his shoulders and letting him sluggishly wrap his fore-legs around her neck and rest his head on her shoulder, falling asleep in seconds.

Teleporting back to his bedroom, the doctor smiled at the spectacle while another spoke to the nurse behind the check-in.

Sunshine's Bedchambers

Carrying him in her arms, Eris set Sunshine down on the bare mattress before throwing the blanket over him. He turned away from the balcony's doors, covering his eyes with a hoof to block out the light. Shutting the curtains, Eris looked back at him as he uncovered his eyes.

Going to the other side of the bed she scooted in and put her back to him while she laid her head under his chin. Listening to his heart beat slowly, she yawned and began to fall asleep with his hoof he had moved onto her shoulder.

Twilight

Looking at the clear bags of partially digested food, Twilight glanced by them to the three separate ones marked with an 'S'. Taking a hose leading to one of the many machines currently in her basement, she stuck it into the top of the second bag and it began sucking out scraps of nearly undigested food. Spike and the guard, standing away momentarily, looked at each other and shook their heads as the mixture fell into a small bowl.

Closing the end of the hose, she took a dropper and a pair of tweezers and extracted a fluid sample and a small piece of vegetable which she put into a petri dish. Putting the dropper onto a piece of white cloth, she took the petri dish and set it under a microscope. Putting her eye to it, she adjusted the knobs on the sides, the height once or twice, and the power on it before dragging Spike over with her magic.

"Spike, take a look at this." She said putting him up to the ocular lens. "What do those look like to you?"

Looking through, he saw what looked like a miniature forest of white cotton balls on ribbed trunks standing in disarray. Shrugging, it was sufficient enough for her to let him go and take the dropper to a clear tank where she had a carrot and piece of wood separated by a wall. Putting a drop on each of the objects, she closed and locked the doors before her horn began to glow. Spike and the guard watched as the wood remained unaffected while the apple was turned into a white mound within seconds.

Putting on a mask and goggles, she pushed Spike away to the guard before opening the door containing the apple. When the air inside mixed with the air outside and the temperature dropped inside the tank, the mound shifted and split at the top before spitting out a cloud of white and yellow liquid and dust that slid down the sides.

"Twilight, are you sure we don't need masks?" Spike asked backing up onto the stairs as she picked what was left of the apple up with a pair of tongs. "Is this even safe to be doing in here?"

"Don't worry Spike," she said sliding a sample of the apple under the microscope before pulling a book over. "If this is what I think it is, we're perfectly safe."

Watching her work, she began slowly going page-by-page through the book until she went back to one. Looking between the picture in the book and the microscope, she set it down and took out the apple piece.

"I know it wasn't the food now," she said holding the petri dish up to them. "It was this. A rare species of fungus only found in one region in the world, the Griffon Highlands. Common in their high, humid and moist climate, it's nearly harmless to them, but to ponies it can cause a severe case of food poisoning, and to dragons, a very unpleasant end."

"End?" Spike said taking another step up the stairs. "I thought you said that stuff was harmless?"

"Only if ingested, not inhaled." She said putting the petri dish down. "I was lucky enough to spot it on these samples," she said motioning towards the other six bags. "But Sunshine ate enough that he really didn't have time to digest much of it at all. If it wasn't for him, a lot of more ponies may have gotten sick." She said taking off her goggles and flinging them onto a nearby table.

"Now, from the weight and quantity of the orders, I can dry the food out, separate the bodily fluids from grease, add the grease and do a cross reference. But, I've just subtracted the extra weight of fluid in a ponies stomach and found the weight of it without the need to dry it. What I have found, is that a total of three pounds are not in the shipping records." She said nodding towards the bags.

"Does that mean the cook has been buying unmarked goods?" The guard asked stepping toward her. "That in itself is against the law, and against our nation's health policies regarding out of country produce."

"Yes, I had to read that entire book within a day." Twilight said glancing at the three larger bags. "How he still managed to eat that much is as much of a mystery to me as Pinkie's Pinkie sense."

"High metabolism?" Spike suggested. "He's in a new body, he's burned a lot of energy out recently and his body is letting him take that much in. Of course, he may just have a big stomach."

"Whatever it is, we need to inform Princess Luna immediately so we can have a talk with that cook Eris punched."

"Do we have to?" Spike asked leaning on the rail. "Couldn't we just arrest him so we don't have to hear him complain about his bits? Hey, Wrought Shield, could we charge him with attempted killing since I've eaten there too?"

"It's a possibility." The guard said. "It may also be an accident the produce was infected with the fungus. That's what happens when you risk buying unmarked food."

"Well, the risks have been shown quite clearly, and now we need to make sure this doesn't happen again." Twilight said going to Spike. "Spike, send a letter to Luna, tell her me and Wrought Shield will be going to that... Whatever that place is called. Just tell her to meet us where Sunshine got the bad food."

"Will do, and you make sure to stuff a wad of napkins in that guy's mouth if he mentions bits, and tell Eris if he insults Sunshine again. It was scary in a cool way the way she sent him flying across the room."

"If he does anything, I'll tell Luna and she can tell Eris." Twilight said going up the stairs with the guard.

Sunshine

Taking in a deep breath, he gave a small snort before breathing in again. A sweet, almost chocolatey smell was invading his sleep-addled mind, making him smile and take another deep breath in. Waking up a little more, he moved his hoof up to where the smell was coming from and pulled it a little closer, and smiling as a small, rhythmic warmth began tickling his collarbone; he opened an eye to look down at it.

His medicine, what was left of it, burned away when he saw Eris's hair pressed up against his nose. Blushing furiously from the fact he was cuddling her like that, or was she cuddling him? Looking down under the comforter, he saw she had her arms over his fore-legs and was the one keeping him against her. Blushing still, he tried to gently wiggle out from her grasp but she made a move in her sleep and put her chin on his throat and arms around his barrel, effectively trapping him.

'Okay, I woke up with Eris pressed up against me again, she's cuddling me, and I was sniffing her hair while I was asleep.' He thought feeling her tail curl around one of his back hooves. 'At least I don't have an erection. Now, how do I get out of this?'

Looking around as best as he could without disturbing her, he didn't see much but the comforter, her hair at his chin, and the pillow he was laying on. Feeling her take in a deep breath and make a growling noise similar to a dragon, he put his nose to his pillow and took a whiff of it.

'It smells like me.' He thought having an idea begin to form in his head. 'If I could slip this in my place, than I could get out of bed.'

Sliding a wing out from under him, he carefully slid it under the pillow his head was on and, raising his head ever so slightly, began to move it in his place while he used what leverage he could with his free hooves to move down the bed. Carefully moving it to where his head was, he felt Eris's paw drift from him to the pillow and not long after she was squeezing the life out of it. Moving further down, he got as far as her waist before her tail stopped him from going any further. Looking down, he saw her tail, along with his back hooves, hanging off the bed.

Trying to push her tail off his left hoof with his other only encouraged her to wrap her tail around the other one as well. He was taking in a breath to sigh when he got another whiff of that chocolatey scent from her. Shaking his head to clear his head he quickly lit his horn to try and move her tail magically, but as soon as his magic began flowing through his horn, he was struck with a sharp pain that burrowed all the way through his skull and behind his eyes.

Falling out of the bed, his horn discharged regardless before he hit the floor and, to his surprise, Eris was still laying there. Looking at the edge of the bed, he saw her tail hanging off in a curl, tangling itself like a snake trying to commit self-cannibalism.

Getting up while he nursed his temples, he looked at the balcony doors and judging by the light coming through a small crack, it was the middle of the day. Frowning, he looked towards the door and, before going to it, gave one more glance at Eris to make sure she was still asleep. Seeing the Draconequus lovingly hugging his pillow, he reached for the handle and opened the door.

"What do you think you're doing out of bed?" Eris asked frowning down at him as she stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. "You're supposed to be asleep or taking your water and medicine. Get back in your bed."

Not bothering to look surprised, he sat down in front of her. She pointed at the bed with her paw while she held her talons up.

"You have until the count of three to get back in bed or else." She said raising her three main talons. "One."

"Eris, I would like to get some fresh air. Preferably outside." He said watching as her frown deepened.

"Two."

"Eris, I am not a foal. Stop counting and let me pass." He said getting up. "I am not going back to bed."

"Last chance before I get to three." She said holding her index claw up. "Get back in the bed or else."

Watching her just stare at him with that disapproving look, he flattened his ears against his head and, with his head hanging low he turned around and climbed back into bed. Fixing his pillow, he tossed the comforter over his lower half while he glared at her like a child as he leaned against the bed frame.

"That's a good alicorn." She said closing the door. "Now follow your treatment's directions so you can go outside faster."

"I've been sleeping for most of the time I've been sick." He said looking away. "I'm tired of being cooped up inside, and especially when I'm restrained to a bed."

"You didn't seem to mind if you have company." She said sitting at the edge of the bed so she could lean towards him on her elbows. "Did you know you whistle when your head is tilted down?"

"No, I did not know that since I'm usually asleep." He said sitting more upright. "Why were you cuddling me?"

"Excuse me?" She asked looking at him in mild surprise.

"When I woke up, you were hugging me, your head was on my chest, and you wrapped your tail around my back hooves."

"I must have been cold." She said inspecting the claws in her paw.

"Then why were you suddenly giving my pillow a death hug when I slipped out of the bed?" He asked watching her poker face momentarily break. "Were you awake at all until I got to the door?"

"I wasn't quite sure what you were doing when you started sliding down, I was tempted to kick you out when you started smelling my shorts. Creepy."

"I was not trying to smell your shorts!" He barked before a dry wheeze came out. "Ugh, my throat is dry. Could I get a glass of water?"

As he finished the question, Eris brought out a silver tray with a glass of water on it. Taking it he slowly drank until it was empty. As he set it back down, it refilled itself as she set the dish down on a small table she had put next to his bed.

"According to the doctor," Eris said making him sink back into the bed. "You're going to have to rest for two days, eat nothing but soft foods for the same amount of time, and take these." She said handing him the prescription of pills. "You have to take one every two days for eight days."

"What am I going to do for two days?" He growled setting the bottle down on the table. "I have a court to run, meetings to attend to, I still-"

"Have nothing to worry about." She said shutting him up. "Cadance has volunteered as your replacement. Your precious sun and moon cycles are being handled by Luna, and Twilight is looking into the food poisoning along with Luna."

"That little, false advertising, piece of-" he was grumbling until she cleared her throat, giving him another disapproving look. " Never mind."

Sitting in silence for a moment, Sunshine grabbed under the spot where his bruise was healing and attempted to get up only to be pushed gently back into bed.

"I need to use the bathroom." He said, and for emphasis his innards made a gurgling sound as if a drain cleaner was just poured into a stopped valve system. "Can I do that, nurse?"

"Yeah, you can go, wise guy." She said letting him get up. "And don't think about trying to teleport away; if I feel even the smallest amount of magic, then you're coming right out."

"Fine," he said going into the bathroom with Eris standing in the doorway, watching him suspiciously. "Are you going to watch or hold it?" He said glaring at her as she went around the corner.

As he went, she looked at her  nails until she stole a peek at the mirror on the wall. Looking back at her, was her conscience and as before she was smiling. Narrowing her eyes, Eris put two fingers to her eyes and pointed them at the mirror. Her conscience, rolling her eyes, jabbed a thumb off to the left and all at once the mirror resumed what it was supposed to be reflecting, which unfortunately, happened to have a view in the bathroom. Turning away with a squeak, Eris covered the side of the room from view with her talon. Jumping from a flush, she looked down and saw Sunshine come out and crawl back into the bed.

"What's wrong?" He asked watching her keep staring at the mirror. "Eris?"

"Nothing," she said. "Just my conscience playing... Dirty tricks on me." She said blushing from her embarrassment.

"I wasn't aware your conscience could play tricks on you." He said turning over so he could lay on his right side. "How long are you going to play nurse for me?"

"Until you get better." She said crossing her arms. "And in just half an hour, you'll have to drink your other cup of water for the hour."

"Great," he said looking down at his hooves. "What am I supposed to do to pass the time? Twilight is busy working, Cadance is working, Luna is asleep, and I'm sure Spike is helping Twilight. You know, it's times like these that I regret not having a bookshelf in here."

"We could always find something to do." Eris said smiling. "Hey, Sunshine, have you ever seen a blue chihuahua with a yellow mustache?"

At the mention of 'blue chihuahua,' he grinned showing his teeth as he laughed. Smiling herself, she watched as he got a thoughtful look on his face and became quiet. When he didn't speak for a minute, she scooted up next to him on the bed.

"You're thinking about something," she said poking him in the shoulder. "What is it?"

"Nothing," he said losing his concentration. "I was just trying to remember a dream I had last night. Come to think of it, I've been trying to remember last night. With all the medicine they pumped into me, I'm not sure what I was even saying, if anypony spoke to me, or... anything really. It's all a blur."

"Really?" She said letting her ears droop. "That's too bad. A real shame... Yep, a real shame." She said letting her head fall onto the other pillow.

Seeing her distressed by that, he put a hoof on her back and rubbed a little to make her feel better. When she let out a breath of air through her mouth, he could almost see a few tears trying to form.

"Is something wrong?" He asked making her shake her head. "Eris, did something happen last night? Did you talk to me at any time?"

"Yeah, I just asked you a question." She said. "I don't think either of us were in a position to accept your answer. It was a stupid question anyway, I don't really remember what I asked." She said brushing her hair behind an ear.

He saw her face and didn't press the matter, and reaching over, sat her semi-upright so he could look her in the eyes. Unsure of what he was doing, she leaned her head back a little instinctively.

Picking up her paw with a hoof, he wiped off a small few flecks of blood she had overlooked. Looking at her, she looked away and his her eyes behind her hair. When he put a small amount of pressure on the area, he could hear her wince and feel the small jerk she made.

"What happened last night? Because Your knuckles weren't like this before." He said holding her paw in both hooves and before he knew it, she was hugging him with her face buried in his shoulder and crying. "Whoa, whoa, it's all right, just tell me what's wrong." He said rubbing her back.

"That stupid lard head came in after I left your room, I was already feeling horrible about seeing you like that," she said keeping her voice calm. "But he just came in and started demanding the bits you owed him." She said spitting the word 'owed' out like venom. "When he started insulting you, I just punched him. He went lying across the room and lost three of his teeth... and then I threatened to make him eat the rest if he insulted you again."

"Eris." He said holding her in his fore-legs, rocking her back-and-forth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that to him." She said curling up to him further.

"Eris." He said with as much sympathy he could use, but she still kept going.

"I didn't want to hurt him like that, but he wouldn't-he just wouldn't shut up!" She yelled into his shoulder breaking into tears.

"Eris, I'm not angry." He said making her quiet down, but not by much. "I'm a little flattered you would do that for me. Standing up for me while I couldn't lift my head, that's one of the sweetest things anypony has done for me in a long time."

"Well, you know I'm just sweet like that." She said drying her eyes. "These past few days have been hectic, even for me. So, what did you want to do to pass the time?"

"We could always take a walk in the garden by the entertainment hall." He said wincing as she hit him behind the head. "Fine. We could sit on the balcony and talk. Is that better?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear the words rest and nurses orders in that sentence. Could you repeat that?" She asked making him blow a puff air out of his mouth as he let his head slide on the bed frame.

"You are the most regulated nurse I have ever met," he said. "And you're not even dressed like one either."

"I can look like a nurse if I want to." She said before she disappeared and reappeared by the bed clad in a nurses uniform. "What do you think?"

He just stared, wide-eyed as she sat with her legs crossed in a white nurses uniform, a small cap with a red plus on it was sitting on her head, a white coat with a black shirt was just cut short at her wrists, and the skirt she wore ended just above the knees.

"It looks like your temperature might be rising." She said Pulling a thermometer from a pocket on her coat. "It looks like I'm going to have to take your temperature."

Blushing furiously, he opened her mouth which made her smile even more. Closing it, his eyes suddenly grew as wide as saucers when he realized what she meant. Furiously shaking his head, he scooted away from her while she crawled on all fours towards him. In one quick movement, she was on top of him, giggling while she threw the thermometer over her shoulder.

"Y-You actually thought I was-that it was- that's priceless!" She laughed rolling off of the shocked alicorn. "Y-You should have seen your face!"

"That wasn't funny!" He snapped but his anger didn't last long, and soon he was laughing with her. "Can I-"

"If you suggest getting out of bed for any other reason than the bathroom or stretching, I will get that thermometer and use it." She said suddenly taking on her professional tone again, all of her humorous self evaporating instantly. "Try it, and we'll see how serious I am."

"I was going to suggest you go get a book and we can read together. In the bed and not anywhere else."

"Good," she said patting him on the head. "That's a good patient."

"Eris," he said watching her turn around to look at him with that little cap beginning to fall off yet for it to replace itself. "Are you going to wear that outfit the entire time?"

"I could take it off if you want." She said unbuttoning the first few buttons on her jacket.

"No, No, I think it suits you very nicely." He said looking away. "You make a good nurse." Next Chapter: Criminal goofballs. Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 58 Minutes