"Keep that thing away from me!" Nightmare Moon growled. There was a flare of pain as she tried to extend her wings, the right one currently bandaged up against her body.

"Now Miss Moon," the nurse said calmly, "it's alright. I just need to-"

"No," Nightmare cut in. "You do not just need to do anything! I have been poked, prodded, probed, and jabbed repeatedly! I have had things stuck in my ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. And don't even get me started on the catheter. I have been given lotions, pills, shots, and even several potions that are supposed to accelerate healing. I am tired of it. So keep whatever it is this time away from me or I will shove it so far up your plot that you'll be coughing it up!"

"It's just a blood pressure cuff," the nurse started.

"I don't care if it's a miracle heal all bestowed upon me by an ancient deity from on high!" Nightmare snapped. "Keep away from me."

"Well seeing as your current mood would affect the results, we will just have to wait until you are calmer." With that, the nurse turned and left.

"Hey," Chocolate Cherry said as she came in. "You must be feel..." She stopped talking as she continued to move toward Nightmare Moon.

"I was going to say you must be feeling better because I could hear you shouting down the hall, but you don't look too good."

Nightmare shifted, looking toward the doorway and making sure that no other ponies were coming in.

"I was unable to get any rest since yesterday," she whispered. "I realized that I could have died. I'm mortal now."

"But you've been mortal for months," Cherry replied. "I thought you knew that already."

"As an abstract concept, yes," Nightmare said. "But the other night, it became real. Those ponies could have killed me if they had wanted. It's like..." she paused, considering how to explain it.

"The mountains."

Nightmare blinked, turning to look at Cherry and raise an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

"The mountains," Cherry repeated. "When I was a filly, we lived in a place that was very flat and boring. Off in the distance you could see The Dragon Spine Mountains. In school they taught us how they were these big, snow-covered mountains that marked part of Equestria's northern border. We could see them way off and were told about how big they were, so I thought I knew what they were like.

"One summer, my family went on a trip and we ended up going to this lakeside lodge that was at the base of one of them. It was the first time I had seen one up close. The thing was huge. It actually scared me a little. Felt like this thing was actually looming over me. Also made me feel claustrophobic. Like I was so used to having open space that having this massive thing blocking the sky made it feel like I was trapped. I got used to it, sort of. I still felt claustrophobic when we went there again. Still, I will remember how big that mountain was when I saw it, and how shocking it was even though I thought I had known before."

"Yes," Nightmare said with a nod. "That is a very accurate comparison to what it is like."

Moving closer, Cherry reached up and patted Nightmare gently.

"Well if it's any comfort, realizing they are mortal is something that ponies have to go through as well."

"No," Nightmare said. "It is not." She shifted. "Although I appreciate the attempt."

Cherry gave a smile before pulling her hoof away. She then leaned forward to give Nightmare a kiss on the cheek before sitting down beside her.

"By the way, while you were the only one attacked, you weren't the only to have trouble at Nightmare Night."

"Oh?"

"Do you know who Zecora is?"

Nightmare Moon thought about the name, trying to put a face to it. None actually came. The closest that she could get was a shadowy figure in a cloak with glowing yellow eyes that some ponies have dreamed about a few times. Zecora must have been something that ponies had been frightened of, but never actually seen. Interesting, but useless in this case.

Nightmare gave a shake of her head.

"She's this zebra that lives in The Everfree Forest for some reason. Never met her before yesterday. Don't exactly hang out in the same circles." Cherry paused, tapping her chin. "Although considering she always speaks in rhymes, I bet she would be a pretty good rapper..."

There was a few seconds of silence as Chocolate Cherry seemed to consider this.

"Anyway," she suddenly continued, "after our visit yesterday, I ended up at the castle with Twilight -- Gibbous is fine by the way, although I think she misses you -- when Zecora showed up. It seems while she was in Ponyville helping with Nightmare Night, some ponies broke into her hut. The only thing they took was something called The Alicorn Amulet."

"What?" Nightmare cried out, straightening up. Her mind started to race. "What did you say?" It felt like things were suddenly lining up. An idea started to develop. One that made too much sense to simply ignore.

"The Alicorn Amulet?" Cherry repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Why? Do you know what that-- what are you doing?"

Nightmare took a hold of the intravenous tube and yanked, pulling the needle from her foreleg with a burst of pain. Letting it fall away, she grabbed her blankets and threw them off. Rolling over, she tried to get out of bed.

"Nightmare!" Chocolate Cherry shouted as she tried to stop Nightmare from getting up. "Stop. You're still injured. You shouldn't be getting up yet."

"We have to see Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare Moon stated, pushing back. "It is urgent. I believe I have figured out what is going on."

As soon as her legs touched the floor, they gave out from under her. She collapsed with a grunt, the impact sending a fresh explosion of pain through her battered rib cage. It was suddenly hard for her to breathe.

Carefully, Chocolate Cherry wrapped her forelegs around Nightmare and helped pull her back up.

"You're too hurt to go anywhere," she said softly.

"Perhaps," Nightmare conceded once able to breathe again, "but I need to speak with Twilight Sparkle immediately. I believe I have figured out something that is going on."

"Okay. You get back in bed. I'll go get Twilight so that you can tell her whatever you need to."

With Chocolate Cherry's help, Nightmare Moon got back into bed. With a sigh, she looked up at the ceiling. The pains in her body were flaring back up, coming back fresh and anew.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Cherry called out.

Nightmare gave a nod of acknowledgement. Her ears shifted as she listened to the sounds of hooves leaving her room. Soon, she was alone again.

"I hate this place," she whispered to herself.