Author's Notes:

Even if I search how things work via internet, I still end up making myself look like a dumbass.

The more I know, the more I don't know. I bet that'll keep you up tonight.

I see Los Pegasus as a mix between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The strip is the outer areas, while the urban area is further in. Seems fitting.

Here's the chapter.

EDIT: Chapter name fixed.

You were steady but quick to finish your lunch. As Dash had promised you, you did try a hayburger - in your eyes - for the first time.

Who knew a compressed patty of hay on a bun could turn out so well?

After you had finished your food, Dash turned to ask you how well it tasted.

"Best first solid food I've had in months, I guess," you remark with a smile on your face.

"Well," she replied with a smile of her own, "It's far from the last."

Though the six of you had initially planned to stay for at least thirty minutes - you all spent the majority of an hour sitting at one of the tables in the cafeteria, talking back and forth to each other. Commonly, most of the conversation to you was really giving you more knowledge of the world today or in the past, and you would generally respond with what you think or other questions.

It was enough to keep a good conversation.

Twilight had begun to mention her rallies over the past month - which meant traveling the country with two other princesses, Celestia and Cadance.

Initially, she mentioned a fourth princess. When you asked who it was or where she was...

"...I don't wanna talk about it."

You understood it just fine. You could only assume the worst, but you didn't dare push her onto it.

Twilight went on about one of her recent visitings, the city of Los Pegasus, no more than a week ago. She described the city as "one massive game, where you bet and gamble and bet again."

She was referring to...casinos, right? Yes - casinos.

Though, while it did apparently have a massive knack for betting everything one's got for more - it wasn't all the city was known for. The strip, as it was called, was merely the outskirts of the city itself. The further in one went, it was simpler. Ponies lived normal lives, had normal jobs, raised normal families.

Though, there was nothing wrong with trying to make it big every once in a while.

At least, that's what Rainbow said.

But today, the city was only half of what it used to be. Once a bustling metropolis, Twilight compared what she saw to "a devastating earthquake."

You ended the discussion about it before it got into anything that she wouldn't like to talk about.

As time went on, you found yourself talking to each of the girls, wanting to hear more things about them than you already knew.

Pinkie was one of the most popular dessert salesponies throughout the west - well, even more so nowadays. Applejack's business continued to flourish because of everything that had happened.

Many of the animals Fluttershy had taken care of had survived - simply by hiding in her home, if one could believe it. You still had a bit of a hard time believing the animals could truly communicate with her like she says they do.

Perhaps she could show you some of them sometime. It'd be interesting.

From what Twilight had told you, Rarity was planning to expand her business to Manehattan, for a start.

Obviously - that didn't happen.

Soon enough, the girls all began to diverge into their own conversations with one another.

And eventually - you found yourself having a talk with Rainbow Dash.

She wasn't at all hesitant on talking about herself. Almost immediately, she had begun discussing about where she was born, what she had done at a young age, and where she had planned to go, initially.

But one of the more exciting things that she loved talking about was the sonic rainboom.

When you asked her what the rainboom was, her head reeled back at first with a look of surprise.

Then she remembered.

"Oh. Right."

And she immediately started going into detail about what it was, how it was performed, how fast she went to do it, when she did it, etcetera, etcetera.

That, in itself, then went into the first time she had done it. She was no more than six years old, so a small filly. But according to her - she had the same brash, courageous, determined personality that she had today.

Though, apparently, a bit more reckless in terms - according to AJ. You laughed a little while Rainbow continued.

She went on for several minutes, talking about how she met Fluttershy and beat her bullies in a race, all while swerving around thick and dark clouds, falling and being knocked off course again and again. Even then, she said it didn't stop her.

The moment she started talking about the rainboom, however, her face lit up even more than it had. She went into further detail. The rush, the speed, the feel of the wind on her fur, in her mane - everything, she didn't hold anything back.

She was shaking slightly.

"It was fucking amazing."

Definitely didn't hold it back.

Then she started talking about the moment it happened exactly. She was near rambling on, describing it in all kinds of ways - euphoric, mindblowing, chilling.

Orgasmic, even.

Yes, she said that. But with the way she she described the entire thing, you probably couldn't blame her. It did sound amazing.

"Perhaps I could see it sometime?" you asked her.

With a grin, she replied, "Don't see why not."

You smiled.

It was nice, getting to know your friends for the first time - well, all over again, it seemed. But to know them like this, it was really nice.

But...you were still curious about something - something you didn't exactly think of until now.

"Hey," you say to the pegasus, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she says with a piqued look to her face, "What's up?"

For a moment, you paused - like you were a bit nervous to ask her. You didn't want to risk her getting emotional, but it generally made you wonder.

"Uhm..." you start, "...It's about...this morning. Right after I woke up."

Her faint smile faded, but she wasn't upset. She seemed a bit worried.

"What about it?" she asked.

You stopped again before you replied. "I know it's a bit of a dumb question, but...

"Why did you walk out?"

She hesitated. Dash seemed stuck on what to say, how to say it.

"Uh..."

"Is it...because of...?" you ask openly as you point to your head.

Right away, she knew what you were referring to - and you could already see some form of...

Shame.

She seemed ashamed to answer it.

But she did, with a simple nod, staring down at the table.

"Yeah."

You looked at her face. She seemed sad. Shame was there, you could tell - but it was more sad.

You apologized dearly to her, promising not to talk about it anymore - or at least until she was ready to talk about it again at another time.

She thanked you with a brief smile.

The rest of the hour didn't stay quiet. You were quick to change the subject to something that lifted her spirits.

That was when she got into talk about a sport called hoofball.

"Hoof...ball?"

She laughed a bit.

"It goes like this..."

The lunch ended when everyone had finished eating. You didn't blame Fluttershy for being a slow eater - you were patient.

And suddenly, you want to try hoofball now.

Once the six of you threw away your dirty trays, you started making your way back to the elevator. Twilight was hoping Cobalt had learned something new - something hopeful, at least.

"Why can't he just leave and come back tomorrow or something?" Rainbow questioned.

With a brief shake of her head, Twilight remarked, "He might not be healthy enough to leave. Plus, they still need him."

"For what?" Rainbow attempted to refute, "Stick more needles into him? Shine lights in his eyes? Jerk him off for a sample-?"

"Rainbow!" Twilight yelled.

The rest of the girls looked at Rainbow with a confused or embarrassed tone.

"Wait," you stumbled, "What was that last part?"

But they ignored you, quickly changing back to the topic at hoof as the six of you reached the elevator. As the doors slid open and they pressed the button that went up to the third floor, Rainbow continued to talk.

"Look, all I'm saying is that we've been with him for the past couple of hours and nothing's wrong, else we would've known or seen something, right?"

"Even if nothing's happened yet, that doesn't mean something won't happen."

"Still."

She was right.

It did seem very still.

Or was she referring to-...

You could hear Rainbow call your name - was that really your name?

"You feel alright, don't you?"

It was obvious she was asking you to simply prove a point.

But you...

You weren't sure anymore. Literally as the elevator had begun to move and climb, your mind felt as if it was spinning. You felt sick, your eyes started to strain and blink.

What was this?

They were quick to notice it too.

Briefly, you heard Twilight call out your name too. It was more of concern than anything else. You could feel all of them looking at you, getting closer to you, breathing louder, faster, harder...

The elevator dinged.

The car stopped.

And you convulsed.

The stallion began to shake and spasm, falling heavily against the metal doors, his hooves hardly supporting him as his body became unaware. As the elevator doors began to open, however - he fell down to the floor.

Immediately, Twilight and the others surrounded him, trying to lift him up off the floor. They shouted his name, trying to get him to respond. He didn't - all that came out of his mouth were grunts and pained moans. His eyes were half open and half shut, his pupils dilated and moving all about.

His body jerked and contorted slightly, and his mouth began to foam.

Rainbow asked what was happening.

"He's having a seizure!" Twilight yelled to her, though not yelling at her.

The unicorn looked on all three hallways. One doctors was already on their way over to help or see what was going on. He yelled for assistance.

As he knelt with the rest of them, he rested his forelegs beneath the stallion's body and told them to turn him on his side.

"On the count of three..."

One, two, three.

His body turned onto its side.

And almost immediately after that, he vomited. Most of his lunch poured from his mouth onto the floor in front of him, prompting Rainbow, Rarity, and AJ to back away quickly. Rarity covered her mouth with her hooves, the scene clearly upsetting her.

"Pppplll...Plllleesssassee dddonnnnnt-...."

Twilight's eyes opened up more than they were. Rainbow was all the same.

What did that mean?

Could it mean-...?

A few more doctors and nurses came by and also started to assist, doing whatever they could to keep the stallion stable. This lasted for no more than a couple of minutes, his convulsions growing weaker and weaker. His eyes slowly began to stop dilating, his twitching slowed. He stopped groaning as much.

Within about five minutes after his shaking had begun - it stopped and was gone.

But then he passed out, fallen unconscious as a result. At first, Rainbow wanted to wake him up, but Twilight insisted to let him rest. She wanted to protest, but she knew that Twilight was more right than she was.

The doctors cleaned up their unconscious friend and carried him back to his room, while a janitor emerged from the elevator not long after and began to clean up the mess.

The girls all sat in the nearby waiting room. It'd seem unlikely that they would let them in until everything has at least calmed down. They tried to talk back and forth to keep things a bit normal, but soon enough, they found themselves slowly staying quiet and simply waiting.

But as they did - Rainbow noticed some specks on her fur. She looked closely at it.

It was vomit.

She could smell it.

"Some of it got on me," she said with not much emotion, but more of a casual manner. "I'll be right back."

"We'll be right here."

With a fake smile, Rainbow lifted herself from the chair and made her way to a nearby restroom. With the floor being smaller than the ones below it, the distance was very little. With a couple turns around the corners, she walked through the door of the mares' restroom and went to the sink.

The water was cold at first, but as time went on, it gradually warmed up until it was right enough. Dash took a piece of paper towel, dabbed it into the warm water, and started to rub off whatever dots or specks she saw. The liquid felt tingly and chilling against her fur. She could feel the goosebumps forming across her body with each gentle touch.

She took a calm breath as she continued to wipe herself down. Once she was sure she had gotten it all out, Rainbow took the dirtied paper towel and threw it in the nearby trashcan, before leaving the restroom.

Her friends were still there - nothing much could change in two minutes.

Of course, that's a bit of a contradicting statement, considering...

As she sat back down, Twilight asked her if she was okay.

"I'm fine," she said in an attempted calmness. "I'm just..."

She stopped and stared at the wall in front of her for a moment. With her mouth slightly ajar, she looked at Twilight.

"What the hell happened to him? I mean, he was fine for a while, and then-..."

Twilight interjected, "It could be something related to...that."

Dash knew what that meant, it was obvious.

"No," she denied. "If he had a true problem related to what happened, then something would've happened hours ago. Why now, out of nowhere?"

Twilight could tell her friend was trying not to overreact or be dramatic. In the end, though, she couldn't blame her. She had waited for months for this day, and her fears just come back to haunt her.

It was bad enough he couldn't remember her or AJ or any of them...now this?

Now?

It's not fair.

It was no more than twenty minutes after the seizure when Cobalt had come to them. They looked to him, hopeful that their friend was okay.

"He's fine, we got him stabilized and cleaned up. He's okay."

Twilight gave out a sigh in relief, while the rest of the group smiled with the knowledge that he was going to be fine.

But Rainbow had a question.

She was curious.

"What caused it?"

It got the rest of them curious. Their smiles were still there, but very faint. They all looked at Cobalt, hoping he could shed some light on it. At first, he seemed nervous, like he wasn't as willing to explain it as they hoped.

When he gave that look - when he didn't speak right away, they got worried.

Rainbow assumed it had to do with...that - like Twilight said.

And she was right.

"His brain isn't fully healed yet," he said to the five of them.

"What does that mean?" Twilight asked.

She knew only somewhat what he was talking about - but she wanted, needed more details.

And so he explained.

"His brain restarted itself, restarted the nervous system several weeks too early." He paused for a moment and sighed through his nostrils. "He wasn't supposed to wake up for...at least another month."

"Is that...bad?" Fluttershy came forward to ask.

"We can't say for sure. But what we do know is that his body is reacting to a sort of 'hypersensitive' activity. It's not used to being so active in the state it's in. Walking, talking, moving, eating, back and forth - it still needs time to accustom to that sort of process."

The girls looked back and forth at each other while Dash asked another question.

"So...what, we just leave him here for the next few weeks? Like a zoo animal?"

But Cobalt interjected with a counter-statement. "Dash...like I said, we can't say for sure - it's still too early to make conclusions. For all we know, this could be the only time he seizes and he could be free to go by tomorrow. Or he could seize again and again and again.

"Look...I know he's your friend. In a way, he's my friend too. I know you care about him deeply, and I know you want him to go out and live again...but we have to play things safe and be sure he isn't at further risk."

With a look of concern, Dash replied, "And if he is at risk...?"

Cobalt looked at her. It was clear he felt for her; she was truly worried.

He answered.

"Then we do everything in our power to make sure he will no longer be. No matter how long it takes."

Twilight rested a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, telling her mentally that she would be there for her when or if needed. Dash looked to her friend and gave a warm smile. It lasted for a few moments before it faded, and she looked back to Cobalt.

"Can I...go see him?"

Cobalt smiled back, faintly. "Of course...you all can. Just be careful around him, okay?"

Dash gave a nod and started to make her way down the hall to her friend's room. The girls followed behind her, while Cobalt 'escorted' them. The sounds of all six clip-clopping sets of hooves echoed in their ears. It was unsettling, even annoying - if put frankly at a point.

Eventually, Dash was standing in front of the door and opened it carefully. It creaked as she slowly pushed it open and walked through. At the sides of the bed were two nurses, seemingly keeping him company, though generally asking him how he was feeling at the moment, if there were any differences in feeling, pressure, etc.

They noticed Cobalt and the girls standing at the door way. With gentle smiles, they pardoned their way out of the room, allowing Rainbow to make her way to the side of the bed as her friend greeted them weakly.

"Hey," she greets back to him with her own kind smile. "...How are you feeling?"

"I feel good," he says in a quiet, almost whispering manner. "Though - I feel a little tired...still, I'm fine...right?"

The rainbow maned mare gave a nod. "Yeah...you're fine."

For a moment, Rainbow was heavily reluctant on telling him fully what Cobalt had told her. She didn't want to lie to him - but at the same time, she didn't want to make him nervous by hiding the truth.

So she added, "Though...you might have to stay here for a few more days."

He looked at her, then to the group, primarily Cobalt, "Why? Is something wrong?"

Cobalt didn't say anything for a moment, but eventually explained the situation to the stallion himself.

"Your brain isn't fully...repaired, so to speak. To put it in a certain way, you shouldn't be awake for several more weeks. We believe that's what caused the seizure, your brain being exposed or overworking itself to recent activity. In a way, it's somewhat hypersensitive, perhaps a bit too hypersensitive."

"Should I be worried?"

"As long as you remain in a low activity state, you shouldn't have to worry. The seizures are painful, of course, but they tend to dissipate after a few minutes. However, seizing in random areas could put you at risk of things like injury or even...well...death, depending on the circumstances and the severity of the seizure."

Rainbow turned to Cobalt. "...Severity?"

He nodded. "These seizures won't always have the same effect, they're...extremely prone to vary, no matter the situation. He could seize for a few moments and not even realize it - or he could seize with the risk of something like...heart failure, brain shutdown, etcetera. In some cases, seizures can and...will kill.

"But..." he emphasized that very word. "...That's not to say we can't treat it. As long as he is, like I said, in a low activity state or area, the seizures should be as severe as the one you just had," he finishes pointing to the stallion, "or it can be less - like I said, to the point where you might not even notice."

"How could we treat it?" Dash inquired.

Cobalt tilted his head to the right as he concepted potential scenarios.

"Well," he began, "One form of treatment would be...magic, if you wouldn't believe it. We have unicorn specialists who are highly trained medical experts. We would have one accompany him at all times, be it here or in town-"

"No," Dash refused, "He doesn't need a babysitter. Are there any other options?"

Cobalt opened his mouth, but no words came out initially. He was in thought for a moment before he could answer her question.

When he did, he began to describe said other option.

"Well...there is one other possible form...it's medication, but in pill form. Phabril."

"What does it do?" AJ asked.

"Well, it...basically, it suppresses the initial seizure. The symptoms still occur, but the seizure is roughly...85-95% less likely to occur. In most cases...a seizure doesn't happen at all, if one is lucky."

Rainbow interjected, "Do we have any here?"

"Unfortunately, no. The medication itself is exclusive to the west and east cities, commonly Los Pegasus and Manehattan. And if I remember correctly, seizure patients or victims are few and far between in Ponyville's history. Am I correct?"

Twilight nodded.

"But," Rainbow added, "Wouldn't it be best to keep at least some of it around? In case something like...this ever happened?"

Cobalt shrugged and tilted his head. "You'd have to ask Stable about that. I'm no Ponyville citizen. If I had known something like this would happen, I would have brought some when we left Manehattan."

"What are the chances there's still some pills left there?"

"A very high chance, but..." He paused again. "After the crime spikes there, I'd only be putting myself at risk."

"Then how are we gonna get them?"

"There's always the train transport. I could have them deliver a shipment of Phabril here. Only...there's one problem. It takes two weeks to ship, authorize, and deliver something like Phabril to other areas, regardless of it being via train or pegasi. At best, it would take two weeks for the pills to arrive.

"And...to be honest, it would be unfair to keep him here for fourteen days with little to no activity, despite it being one of the safe options."

"So...?" Rainbow Dash looked at him, hoping for an answer.

He hesitated again. But he answered her regardless.

"As much as you don't agree with it...the only plausible option would, for the moment, have a specialist accompany him. It would only be for two weeks, and he would be able to synchronize with the local folks - at least until the pills arrive."

Rainbow turned to her friend and asked him if he wanted that choice. She always saw being babysat as embarrassing, but...if it helped him...

He answered her, "It's a lot better than spending two weeks in a small hospital room."

Then he shrugged and gave a kind, faint smile.

"And I'd...like to get to know the town...for the first time again."

For the first time again.

To Rainbow, it was strange hearing that come out of his mouth.

Wait...

The townsponies - they don't even know he's away, do they? Twilight never told them. It'd be odd to suddenly introduce him and say, Hey, he's awake everyone! Hooray!

It'd be even more awkward if they...well, if they saw her with him. Sure, many of them had forgiven her for the outburst and generally what happened with Swift - but some were just plan reluctant, unwilling to forgive and forget.

But that was the thing she had to deal with - hiding from it wasn't going to make it better.

She nodded. "Okay."

Cobalt smiled. "Great. I'll send a message, and have some doctors transport some pills over."

Rainbow turned to the doctor and asked him, "And what about him?"

This prompted Cobalt to turn back to the patient and look at him for a moment. He started to answer to Rainbow, though talking to the stallion.

"You'll have to stay here for the rest of the day, for tonight. We can run some more tests, shed some more light, that sort. In the meantime...you girls are free to talk with him until night hours. Just don't leave the room, okay?" he finished with a smile.

Dash nodded, "Alright."

Cobalt looked at Twilight and gave her a little smile before he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. It was just a simple smile on the outside - but Twilight could tell Cobalt was, seemingly, a bit nervous. Whatever it was about, she could only guess.

There was no doubt, she was nervous too - about a lot of things, and it didn't have just to do with him.

It had to do with everything. The cities, the towns, the ponies in them, the ponies not in them.

So much pressure was on her, and this whole morning was not doing favors. So the best thing she decided was to simply block it all out and relax, relish in the calmness of the moment.

And so she did.

For only a few moments - before a thought, a new one, crossed her mind.

But she had to talk to Cobalt about it.

"Hey, guys?" she said to them. They all turned and looked at her. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Holding a hoof up, Rainbow smiled and jokingly said, "See ya, egghead."

Twilight fake-laughed.

Well, it was partially fake.

The unicorn turned to the door, opened it, and walked out, closing it behind her. Even if only a few moments had passed, Cobalt was nowhere to be seen in the hall. But after a few trips about, Twilight had an assumption where he'd be.

Walking down the hall, passing by several ponies, doctors and nurses alike, she eventually found herself in one of the rooms beside the emergency room. There was no official name for it, but doctors would observe the X-rays of whichever patient they were assigned.

Sure enough, when she entered the room, there was Cobalt, standing in front of a board, looking at her friend's X-ray images - very intently, to add. The images were in great detail - of the skull, the body, wherever he sustained any kind of wound.

No damage. Not much sign of injuries, that was all she saw.

She was surprised and impressed - the unicorn could only assume magic was some kind of cause. It wasn't entirely out of the question.

Twilight walked up to the board and gained Cobalt's attention.

He gave a faint smile. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You alright?"

She gave a nod. "Yeah, I'm..."

But she stopped, starting to think about the very thing she was going to ask - but how would she explain it?

Simply, definitely.

"I need to tell you something. About before."

Her statement further gained Cobalt's interest, but he was also concerned. "What happened before?"

With a shrug and after a few moments of hesitant silence, she began to explain.

"Well...when he first started having the seizure, and...when we tried to get him to stay still until the doctors arrived...he...

"He said something."

He looked at her. "...What did he say?"

She paused again before answering.

"...Just two words...

"Please don't."

His eyes opened.

And he stared.

Please don't what?

The alleyway was dirty, broken with rubble. Mossy, wet.

But it didn't stop the boys from having their fair share of fun with the little shit.

They threw him to the ground - a young stallion, probably no older than a college graduate. He had a look of fear on his face. He was afraid, dearly afraid of the men before him. His breathing was heavy with that same fear.

The one stallion watched as the six other stallions circled around him.

He shook his head. He started to beg, plead for his life.

They shut him up with a kick.

"Little shits like you," one of them pointed to him, "are the reason this whole fucking city is the way it is now. Because little shits like you don't know when to keep their fucking mouths shut!"

The stallion's burly voice echoed into the air, reverbing off the brick walls and into the air.

But it wasn't going to do a damn thing.

"So we're gonna send a message. To every little one of your fucking friends, to make them think twice before they do this fucking shit again. You understand?"

The young stallion nodded and stammered as he spoke.

"Y-Y-You want me t-to send a message? I-I can do that! Y-You can t-tell me anything, I-I'll t-t-t-tell them, just please! Anything!"

Little pussy, ain't he?

Another stallion smiled, gave a chuckle.

Then he nodded his head.

"Kid, you're a fucking idiot."

He gets up real close to the stallion's face and looks him dead in the eye.

"You are our message."

The young stallion's eyes went wide, they dilated. He started to frantically shake his head.

One of the old stallions turned to another one, who had been holding what appeared to be a jukebox.

"Yo, Sand!" he yelled. "Play my favorite one."

With no hesitation, the stallion known as Sand placed the jukebox onto the concrete ground and pressed a few buttons here and there before finally pressing down on the play button. Immediately, a song fills all of their ears.

They all smile and close their eyes as they rock their heads to the first few beats of the tune.

And then they start to beat into the young stallion. With every kick and every punch, the young man screamed and begged for them to stop.

"Please!"

But they didn't listen. They kept on kicking and punching, hitting him with objects like nearby bricks or rocks if possible. They piled around him as they continued to kick into him, beat into him, until he was barely moving.

And then one of them then took out the knife and started to cut.

The young man screamed and shouted into the air - but the rest of the world would never hear his pleas.

They became hisses, then splutters of air and blood sucked in.

And they just kept cutting and cutting.

And the song played on.