Ohhhh, I feel... not-good. My body feels so heavy, and my head feels floaty inside. Like... bad floaty... I just groan, and then I hear a voice. It sounds distant, but it makes my head throb anyway. I open my eyes weakly and my vision is blurry, but I can see Twilight leaning over me, but I can’t quite make out her expression. Someone else as well but it’s too foggy. I try to move, but my limbs don’t do anything.

“Anthony, are you okay?”

I barely manage a groan in response.

“Well, I suppose not. Some sort of toxin...” I’m not sure if she stopped talking, or I just stopped hearing her. She cuts in and out. “-low acting pois... -not very famili... -ould be okay if...”

Suddenly my body, unbidden, rolls over and ejects the contents of my stomach onto the floor. Then it’s dark again...

I open my eyes and I still feel a bit groggy, but I’m not immobile. I get up and I’m pushed back onto my back.

“Oh no you don’t, mister. You aren’t going anywhere until we make sure you’re completely cured.” Twilight said, the usual purple glow leaving her horn.

My throat feels sore and a bit dry. “M fine...”

“No, you’re not, I don’t know what happened, but I do know that you have a long while before you’ve fully recovered.”

“Wha happen?”

“I was leaving the library this morning and I found you collapsed with two stab wounds, one in your back and another in your arm, and you’d been poisoned. You tell me what happened.”

“M... Changelings. I... p- protect Ren. Food. Poison... ugh...”

“Wait, what? Who’s Ren?”

“New queen. Sisters tried... kill her... bad potatoes... d- daggers...”

“I guess that answers a few questions. I’ll be back. And if you’re not here when I get back, you’re not going to be walking for a week, mister.”

“Not... boss of me. I... fine...”

“I’ll believe that when you can speak without slurring or using bad grammar.”

I look to the side weakly and I see Anne, stepping forward carefully. She looks so worried, but I’m fine, I swear.

“No, you aren’t.” She admonishes, stepping over to the side of the bed.

I didn’t say that out loud, did I?

“Says you... just... walk it off...” I attempt to get up, but Anne stops me, simply holding out the joint of her wing is enough to keep me from sitting up. But, the effort has rewarded me with a headache.

“Stay down, Anthony, I don’t want you to get hurt, alright?”

“Not hurt... just fine... I prove it...” Unfortunately, I am still held down by the minor pressure she is applying to my chest. “No fair... cheating.”

“Anthony, you’re a heroic sort of person, but I don’t think you’d have the strength to crusade against a fly right now. I am no more cheating than you are when you use your powers.”

“Jealous... ‘cause I... whoop your butt...”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be jealous, per se.” Anne says, chuckling lightly. It takes several seconds for my brain to process it, with time being drenched in glue or whatever is making it so slow.

She looks real nice. “Betcha... I strong ‘nough... to pound you... crazy...”

Anne suddenly starts blushing all bluish-cyan again, which is really cute.

“S’matter? You ever seen... how strong... I am? I... show ya. You want?” I weakly try to show off my impressive strength, but Anne just rolls her eyes and pushes me back onto the bed. Now, the room is spinning crazily, and I want the world to stop so I can get off the ride.

“Come on... I... can show you... moves you... never seen... I got... crazy skills...”

Anne just giggles and blushes more. Strangely, the sound helps steady my head a little, and I’m a little less dizzy. She looks... real nice. Pretty. Fluffy. Wanna hug her...

I reach out an arm towards her, but for a few moments I miss before I actually get a hand on her shoulder. She stares at me, the metallic swirls over her eyes parting to reveal gorgeous blue-green eyes. They’re more green than blue, though, I note through my mental fog.

I’m gonna show her I’m strong. I pull on her and, with a good bit of effort, pull her down. On top of me.

“Told you... strong...”

She looks at me, her face inches from mine. I can feel her plush chest press against my collarbone. It’s really nice, like laying under a thick plush toy. They’re so soft. Strangely, so are her feathers, in spite of being all sword-y.

I get my other arm around her, and I feel the soft down where her wings meet her back, and the carpet of feathers there. “Sho fluffy...”

Anne chuckles softly, and looks at me with what I think is an uncertain look. She starts leaning towards me as I snuggle, and I feel myself drift off to sleep. I vaguely hear something from Anne as I fall asleep, but she’s so nice and warm and fluffy, and I’m so tired...

I wake up again, this time just exceptionally sore and so very, very thirsty. I also have a monstrous headache.

I get up and a thin blanket falls off of me. I just head to the kitchen and return with some water. While I drink, I notice Anne asleep on a perch. I remember something about her, but it’s foggy. Oh yeah, she was here when Twilight left.

I notice that her bronze-colored wing is being used as a pillow by the sleeping harpy. Awww. I figure I’ll just let her rest. I really do feel a ton better, but I’m not sure if I should leave the library yet, so I head downstairs and look for something to read. I consider a book on pony society, but I’m not sure if my brain has completely rebooted, so I see what is available in the children’s section.

Passing by few books labeled ‘Dusk’, which are all covered in dust and seem unread, I look for something that might entertain me. Perhaps the... wait, ‘The Chronicles of Yarnia’? I’m not sure if I should just go back to bed and cry, or read it out of morbid curiosity.

If the wardrobe ends up being a knitting store, I’m burning this thing. Biblioclasm seems the best course of action in that case... deciding Twilight would probably consider that justifiable reasons for killing me, I decide to leave it be and just head back to bed.

Almost an hour of laying peacefully in bed, Anne stirs. I’m a touch bleary, but at least I’m not incoherent, but I can’t help but see as she stretches on the edge of the bed, the motions causing very... interesting things to happen to her body, which wasn’t made any worse by the wash of almost golden light from her bronze feathers and skin. The splay of light washed through the room, as if from a burnished kaleidoscope.

Heh, and I thought she looked nice while asleep. “Heya, you here to keep me company?”

Anne freezes in place, before slowly sliding her gaze to me. after a moment of this, she shifts her wings in front of her body and blushes. “S- sorry, I didn’t know you were awake already. Uhm... yeah, I’m kinda here to keep you comp- oh, wait, how long have you been awake? Oh, I should’ve been paying attention. Twilight said you’d need water when you woke up again.”

“Eh, I got it myself. I wasn’t up very long ago, I was just resting. You certainly look comfortable.”

“Oh? Oh, the wing... thing. Sorry if that looked weird, it’s just so comfortable. More comfortable than carrying a pillow with me...” Anne trailed off.

“I suppose it would be, it just looks rather difficult to rest on when it’s all metallic.”

“Hmm? Oh, they just look like that. You seemed pretty convinced they’re soft earlier this morning.”

“I did? Sorry, it’s kinda blurry. Last I remember was Twi telling me she was leaving.”

“Yeah, apparently, each of the helements of armory were needed, or something like that. She said something about a test and some crystalline emperor. Then, she kinda sprinted out the door.” Anne shrugs, evidently no more in the know than I.

“Huh, Oh well, guess that leaves the library all to ourselves, with Twilight nowhere around.” I give Anne an evil grin. “You know what that means?”

Anne blushes, looking flustered. She fans herself with a wing. “Uh, that we, uhm...”

I rush down the stairs and towards the kitchen at high speed. “Ice cream!!”

However, careening down stairs at breakneck pace while poisoned and still slightly off in the head turns out to be a horrible idea. Now would be an awesome time to learn time reversal, I think to myself while at the bottom of the stairs, because then I could just not be in as much pain right now.

After a moment, Anne helps me up, giving me a gentle hug before she checks me over. “Alright, try not to run around on waxed stairs while wearing socks, Anthony.”

“Right... Who waxes stairs again?”

“Uh, it’s apparently one of Spike’s chores. I asked, and Twilight said that pony hooves have magic traction fields or something.” once again, Anne shrugs. “It lets them pick up little things without their mouths.”

“That would explain a few things if I had an explanation for how it works. Anyway, ice cream!” I head towards the kitchen again, this time at a slower pace. I still slide a little from the wax now clinging to my socks. Either way, though, I make it to the kitchen, and open the freezer. Almost immediately, the blast of cold, cold, freezing air from the magical icebox has made me back off. This is the moment when I realize I’m not wearing a shirt.

“Uh, Anne, where’s my shirt?”

“Huh? Oh, Twilight took it, to get the blood cleaned out, get it stitched up, etc. But, then that Scarcity pony had to leave with them, and I don’t know how long they’ll be gone.”

After I correct Anne on Rarity’s name, I walk back into the main room. “Doesn’t matter, I can last a bit without a shirt. Not that important.” I do notice one thing that, due to the exercise I’ve gotten since I wound up here, coupled with the fact that I rarely eat... I’ve actually got fairly noticeable muscles. I finally killed the tiny bit of pudge I got from my years of playing video games nonstop!

... It’s strangely unsatisfying, until I see that Anne is staring at me as I lay down. It’s a disturbingly predatory look, too.

“Hey, Miss Bird of Prey, you try chomping down on me and I’ll serve you for Thanksgiving.”

“Well, not so sure I’d bite you... unless you asked.” Anne seems to be getting bolder. I think it’s an improvement. I like this side of her. Reminds me of me.

“Yeah, good luck, I’m too hot for anyone to take in a fight.” I hold up my hand and try to show off some flames... but there’s nothing.

“Huh?” I keep trying with no result, then I try electricity without even a spark. “Uh oh...”

Next Chapter: Chapter 93 Estimated time remaining: 21 Hours, 52 Minutes