"Breathe in."

You breathed in, as told.

"Breathe out."

Then you sighed, laughing faintly as the metal of the stethoscope tickled your skin. Today was another checkup, one of many that Cobalt had scheduled over the weeks since you woke up, monitoring your recovery, as far as you were told. That ranged from bones to scars healing up, your memories gradually returning to you; whether they were good or bad memories, at this point, you didn't care. You were just glad to have them back.

Removing the stethoscope from your chest, Cobalt checked off some parts of the clipboard he had with him. Casually humming to himself, he clicked and unclicked the pen when he was done.

"Well," he started, "I'll definitely be damned."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Absolutely nothing at all is wrong." He opened a nearby folder and gave you a series of X-rays, presumably of you.

"These were taken earlier this morning, remember?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when you woke up two months ago, you still had a few broken bones in your body. Your skull had a slight indent from the incident. But look at the X-rays now."

And so you did, browsing through each individual photo, showcasing where every injury he mentioned had been and more. But instead of seeing what he explained...

"I don't see anything," you turned to him.

"And there's nothing there. Sure, a few skin-based scars, but other than that, there is nothing there that could have ever indicated you were attacked the way you were. Even the supposed brain damage you suffered post-injury healed, and that was by the time you woke up."

"How long would that usually take?"

Cobalt shook his head, trying to process an estimate. "Years. Well over a couple decades, if it was bad enough. And you healed in months." The doctor hummed to himself as he flipped pages through his clipboard. "I guess the magically enhanced food and medical experiments worked out as intended, maybe far better than intended."

"So... I'm okay now?"

"I'd say you're fit as a whistle."

"Then I don't have to come back? No more checkups or pills?"

"Checkups, no. However, I would recommend you finish your bottle of pills. While you haven't had the seizures in some time, it's best to use up the medicine rather than waste it. Not to mention, better safe than sorry."

You smiled, a sigh of relief escaping your lips as you climbed down from the table. After gaining the will to do so, you shook Cobalt's hoof.

"Thank you. For... everything."

"It was more than a pleasure. I promised Twilight I would help you, and I always keep on my promises."

"She's a great pony."

"Yes. Yes, she is."

After another couple minutes of looking over, you were free to leave the hospital for the final time. With that in mind, you could only hope that the next visit would be for something non life-threatening. The thought made you laugh, albeit a bit uncertain. Anything was possible.

With a fresh breath of air, you trotted your way back to Ponyville, turning corners and roads until you finally ended up back at your place. When you walked inside, even though it had only been an hour or so since you were last here, it felt like it'd been ages. Maybe it was what Cobalt told you or maybe just happiness tingling through your body, but it all felt so brand new.

Even Lilly, who was packing her things into suitcases.

"Lilly?" you called out, her head turning at the sound of her name. "Everything okay?"

"Hey!" she hollered back, nodding. "Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just, uh, getting my stuff packed."

"For?"

"I didn't tell you? I'm heading back home."

You recoiled. "To... Manehattan?"

"No no no no, to my folks' place up in Chicacolt. Something came up and I had to stay there a while instead of here. Still got a few things there I need to finish."

"Does that mean you'll be back?"

"Of course! I've been planning to move down here for months, and I'm still determined to do just that. As soon as I know everything's okay with my family up there, I'm packing all my stuff and coming back here. If you're lucky, I might be back next week."

You laughed quietly to yourself. "Yeah."

Lilly noticed your sudden, though only slight, change in emotion and questioned it. "Are you upset?"

"No. Not really." It wasn't entirely the truth, but it also wasn't a lie. "I just... I just wanted to thank you for everything. For helping me with my seizures and making sure I was okay, that I was getting better. If it weren't for you and Cobalt, I don't think I'd have any idea what to do. I'd probably be as clueless as I was when I woke up."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Hopefully we never have to." You gave her a smile and a slight shrug.

For the next half hour, you helped Lilly pack her things into her suitcases, then spent another ten minutes checking, double checking, and triple checking the place to be sure she wasn't leaving anything behind. If it ever was the case, you'd simply store it away until she came back.

Once everything was packed and ready, you helped Lilly carry her luggage all the way to the train station. But along the way there, the two of you talked for a while longer. You didn't know what exactly to talk about—you just talked. It felt nice, not having a current care in the world. Of course, you were upset she was leaving, but you didn't want to tell her that. If she was coming back anyway, was it worth anymore drama?

She was happy now. It's what mattered.

With just a few minutes to spare, you and Aqua Lilly reached the train station. It didn't take long to help her fit her luggage wherever it needed to go. Once everything was away, you caught Lilly catching a glance at the town through the tinted windows.

"I know I said I'd be back soon, but... I'm still gonna miss this place till then."

"Yeah," you said hesitantly. "It grows on you. Even when I forgot all about it, it was like I already knew it. I mean... I did, but..."

Lilly laughed, knowing what you meant by it. As soon as her laugh died down, the yells of the conductor could be heard outside.

"Final call for Chicacolt! All aboard!"

Just from hearing that, you could see the smile on Lilly's face drop, even just a tiny bit. She sighed to herself, eyeing the clock just outside the train. She was clicking her cheeks, her mind already focusing on something—something bothering her. She closed her eyes and let out another sigh, this time sounded frustrated.

"Are you okay?" was the only thing you could say.

The very next thing, Lilly's body was against you, her lips pressed against your own. You never fought back, not at all. You were merely taken completely by surprise. But the moment you were aware of what was going on, you... embraced it, if it didn't sound like something out of a cheesy romantic novel.

And there was nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all. You liked it, maybe even loved it. But you wondered why you loved it. You never spent as much time with Lilly as you did with Dash or any of the others. But at the same time, she wasn't a stranger to you, not anymore.

You didn't know what to think or what to do next. But if you enjoyed it... who cares?

After a good minute of pure kissing, the two of you pulled away from each other, and you found yourself looking into Lilly's eyes, and her back into yours. You could feel her heartbeat quicken with a hoof on her chest.

"I'm sorry," she hesitated to say. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay. It's okay."

You were never one for perfect words.

"You should go before they leave with you."

The two of you laughed, but ultimately, you agreed with her. She couldn't stay any longer.

"I'll be here."

With a final hug, you and Lilly pulled away from each other, and you pushed yourself to the nearest exit, and back onto the station platform. When you turned around, you saw Lilly looking at you, peering below from one of the windows. Her face was still red, heavy with a blush—something you didn't notice earlier—and a brighter smile than before.

The train's horn blared into the air, and the train began to steadily move. You found yourself waving goodbye to Lilly, and almost immediately did she do the same. The train chugged faster, and the two of you waved to each other until you couldn't see each other anymore.

When the train left the station, and you could no longer see Lilly, you found your hoof lingering in the air longer than it should've been. That sensation in your chest returned, the quickened heartbeat. You let out a sigh to yourself.

Even though you now had your thoughts all to yourself, you still had no idea what to think. It all happened so fast, and yet it felt like it took forever. But what was it, really?

You didn't know, and part of you didn't want to take the time to figure it out. All that you knew was that you were making it that much more complicated.

And honestly... there was nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

Author's Notes:

Oh look, it's that story I said I was gonna finish in 2016, then 2017, and then 2018. When will it end?!

But yeah, I kind of lost a lot of motivation to keep writing fanfics over the last year. I'm sure it's not because of college and falling in love with married people, but... yebbedi sketti.

But I'm trying to fix that (haha). Every time I come on this site, my unfinished stories are constantly biting me in my plot, so if I don't get them done now, I'll never get them done.

So whenever I'm not busy doing homework or hanging with friends or getting drunk, I'm going to try and write the absolute FUCK out of these stories and get them done, and maybe try to do stories one at a time so I'm not spending another five to ten years trying to get them done... as fun as they are to create!

cha cha real smooth