Once I gathered myself, (having a fairly large metal object land mere feet infront of you, followed by a scattering of glass tends to be a little shocking) I quickly moved away from the scene of destruction, not only so I wouldn't be blamed, but another reason aswell.

That reason was quickly demonstrated as yet another music stand launched from the broken window above, landing on the cobbled street with a bounce and a loud clang. I could have sworn it landed right where I had been standing when the first one landed.

As I entered the palace, glad to have a protective roof over my head, I could not help but shiver at the thought of what other monstrous acts were being performed on the innocent musical equipment situated somewhere upstairs.

But, despite my discomfort, I decided to call it a night.

Since if I had learned anything about Steve and Dawn, it was; that when either (or both) of them are in a particularly 'berserk' mood it's best to keep a distance. While no actual harm would be handed out to innocent onlookers, too many times had they come just a little too close to doing so.

Ebony wasn't in when I entered our little section of the palace.

"Must still be with Dawn and Steve." I mumbled aloud as I walked into the room, the door closing behind me softly.

The moon was very low in the sky, in Equestria, this was a sign of the dawn being near since, unlike how it is on Earth, the sun and the moon acted like they were connected somehow, always perfectly adjacent to eachother aside from during cosmic events like eclipses. It doesn't make too much sense, but the key to understanding Equestria is to not take it too seriously.

To get to sleep, I had to close the curtains because the moon was bright enough to light the whole apartment somewhat. While the sight was relaxing, you don't do much 'seeing' while trying to get to sleep. I did feel a tinge of guilt however, as I whipped the curtains over the window, the night sky was Luna's canvas and I was ignoring it.

But I needed my sleep.

I remember hearing Ebony come in at some point during the night. He presumed me asleep, which I was, mostly, and made his way about the rooms in almost complete silence.

Treading lightly with hooves must be difficult, but he managed to, somehow.

If it's any constellation, I didn't regret getting a few extra hours of sleep that night by not waiting for Ebony. Those extra hours probably saved me from a mental break-down during the coming day.

***

I heard the distinct sound of a changeling in need of attention as I woke up.

I rose from my crater and winced at the now-open curtains, which were letting in a bright light. By it's direction, I could tell it was almost noon. Meaning I had slept for a rather long time, which explained the sluggish feeling planted in the front of my brain.

I rubbed my eyes and looked about the room, searching for the source of the noise. "Wha... What was what? What?" I mumbled as I found Ebony standing in the doorway to the bedroom. He had a rather unimpressed look on his face, but it wasn't cold.

He snorted at my attempt to speak. "You want to try that sentence again?" He said, a line that should have been delivered with sarcasm, but was instead stated as a serious question. I couldn't tell if that was his intention or if he just failed to sound sarcastic.

"Er, yeah," I stretched my arms and cleared my throat, still not completely awake, "What... did you say?" I yawned, actually managing to perform the correct words.

He smiled, showing some actually kind-of-scary teeth. They were too small to actually be threatening though. "I said get up! It's almost lunch time, for you at least."

I decided not to ask about what had happened the night before during his 'music practice' with Steve and Dawn. If the raining glass was any indication, I'd say it could have gone worse. It could have been raining griffins.

"I don't envy you, you know." I said, wiping the last of the crust from my eyes. "Not being able to eat food and all."

"Oh, we can," he said, nodding happily, "It's just not good for us. Like... you eating salt."

I made a face as I envisioned myself emptying a salt shaker into my mouth. "...Yeah, that's not a nice image. Wait, can you actually taste? You know, like, food?"

He hmm'ed, "Whenever I eat physical food, there IS a sensation. It's not unlike the taste of emotions, but it's a lot weaker." He glanced behind him, at the kitchen, then back to me. "Say, speaking of which, I've watched you make yourself breakfast enough times now, mind if I have a go?"

I blinked, astonished. "Do you really have to ask? By all means, make me food!"

He rolled his eyes, turned around and left the doorway.

I realized my mistake when a mass of clatters and clangs immediately echoed from the other side of the door. It sounded like he had lifted the whole kitchen a foot off the ground then dropped it.

Leaping to my feet, I ripped a fresh set of clothes out of their drawer and rushed to put them on as I scrambled towards the door, determined to save whatever was left of our kitchen.

I pushed open the door and peered out.

Silence.

I slowly shut the door behind me and walked up behind Ebony, who was staring, hoof-to-chin, out across the kitchen floor, examining each pot, and each pan which inhabited it's surface. Which was all of them, by the way. Every cooking utensil was on the floor.

Ebony tapped his chin lightly, then gasped, "Aha!" As he leaped across the kitchen, hovering a few feet off the ground with his wings. He whizzed around in small circles, each time he passed an item he needed, it was picked up and and set next to the stove. Once he had made a small pile, he hovered above the centre of the kitchen and inspected it.

After a few seconds, he gave himself a sharp nod and dropped to the ground.

Up until that point, I was impressed with his coordination. He was like a little... messy sorting machine. Unfortunately when he hit the ground my admiration was replaced with panic.

Three of his hooves hit the floor without a problem. His back-left however, the one nearest me, landed inside a large pot who'd had it's lid knocked off. Under his weight, it slid against the smooth tile flooring, pulling Ebony's weight out from under him. He flopped down onto his stomach, letting his hooves extend in different directions. Though he hit his chin pretty hard on the ground, I suspect this fall was a defense mechanism, since if he had kept trying to stay upright, he would have fell sideways or face-planted.

But by letting all of his hooves lose grip at once, he was somewhat safely lowered to the ground, even if it looked a little jarring.

Not satisfied by it's first victim, apparently, the pot continued to slide along the ground, launched by Ebony's successful attempt at saving himself from another broken face.

Why. Why did I take the time to put on socks? Socks and tiles... Not a good combination.

The pot collided with my ankles and swept my legs out from under me. I turned to the side as I fell, and extended my leading arm to catch myself.

I suffered the same fate as Ebony.

My hand landed right in the middle of a small pan, sliding my hand away from me causing me to land on my leading shoulder while simultaneously pulling the muscle through over-extension.

There was a yelp from Ebony as used my left arm to clutch my injured shoulder, I guessed that the pan I had launched with my hand had hit him.

I groaned and fell onto my front, my face pressing against the seem between two tiles and my left arm crushed between my chest and the floor. My right arm still laid extended upwards since I didn't have the courage to attempt to use the stretched and probably bruised joint yet.

I was in no spectacular amount of pain, but it definitely hurt, a lot. Plus, something didn't feel right with my shoulder, something was in the wrong place.

I heard Ebony's hooves begin to scrape against the floor as he slowly rose from his stomach, stumbling. I rolled onto my back, holding my shoulder still with my spare arm. I looked up at an upside-down Ebony, who was looking down at me worried and confused. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"Go and get Luna, I need a healing spell or something." I said, trying to hold myself still. Something was definitely amiss with my right shoulder.

"Are you sure?" He said, tilting his head and prodding the side of mine with a hoof. "You sound fine."

"Trust me, something is very, very wrong. Just go and get Luna."

"Why Luna? Celestia is known for having very good healing-"

"Celestia stayed up last night doing work for Luna, Luna's now likely doing Celestia's work as payment, just go to the throne room and get whoever's there." I said, my annoyance slowly rising, the look of panic on Ebony's face was also increasing.

"O-okay!" He said, before jumping over me and running out of the front door. "Sorry!" He yelled as he ran down the hall. The front door didn't close, and instead just swung weakly, leaving it open a crack.

My shoulder was slowly getting more and more painful. Luna could not arrive quick enough.

Part of me wanted to look up at my hand, to see if it was facing the right way, but I decided knowing would only make it difficult to keep calm.

"Damn... fucking possessed pans... Ruin everything..."

A pair of sparkling blue eyes peered down at me from the crack in the door.

I lifted my head to get a better look. "Lu-"

"Guess who landed a job in the science department!" Chrome sung as he threw open the door and made a heroic pose.

I let my head hit the floor, I sighed, staring at the ceiling, yet again. "...-na... Shit." I mumbled, "That's nice Chrome."

"It is!" He said proudly. "Say, we should all go out to celebrate, where'd you think we should go?" He asked excitedly, putting his front hooves on his face and staring into the distance in wonder.

"Chrome. I am in pain." I said, snapping him out of his revelry. "Do you mind?"

"You are?"

"Yes!"

"Where?"

I glanced at the shoulder I was still clutching with my free hand. "Where'd you think?!" He walked over to me curiously and reached down to my shoulder. I glared at him, "What are you-"

My words were cut short by a spike of pain caused by a curious hoof colliding with my shoulder. I grit my teeth to keep from crying out.

"Hmm... Interesting..." He mused, he leaned down close to my face, much closer than necessary. "You seem... to have hurt your shoulder."

"No shit!" I barked at him.

"Hey, just giving my medical opinion, I'm a doctor you know!" He said in a authority-demanding tone and put a hoof to his chest, there was a small smirk on the corner of his lips.

"You are not a doctor, Chrome."

"I have a degree! And a P.H.D!" He whined, like a teenager trying to come up with reason they should be allowed to hang out with the 'cool kids' again.

"In chemistry or something, probably! Not medicine!"

"Physics, actually." He corrected in mock-offence.

I blinked, "Exactly, not medicine! Having degrees and PHD's in physics does not make you a doctor Chrome! At least not a medical one!"

He stepped back slightly and began looking me up and down, "Doctor or not, I'm sure I know what I'm..." His words trailed off when his eyes met the hand I had still above my head. I had yet to see it. He then glanced to my other hand, then back again.

"What? What is it?" I asked, still refusing to look at it.

He seemed to come to a realization and his face cringed, he took another step back. "It's er..." He did a whirling motion with his hooves.

I swallowed, trying to stay focused and keep myself together, "The whole arm or just the hand?"

He squinted at my arm, I had long sleeves on, so he could not see anything but the general position. "I... would need to bend your elbow to find out, it could be snapped and twisted at the wrist or forearm... So just touching it would be risky..." His eyes widened, "Sorry about touching your shoulder! That's... probably dislocated." Chrome suddenly looked a little ill.

I sighed. "You know, for the magnificent 'Dr Chrome' you're doing a really crappy job keeping me calm." I tried to let go of my shoulder to make a rude hand gesture at him, but I found that releasing my hand from where it was grasped actually made it hurt more. "Ugh... I feel like I'm going to pass out."

Chrome blinked, "Ah... That's probably bad..." He began pacing on the spot, "Okay, okay, err... Why don't you tell me how this happened, then?"

I looked up at the ceiling and tried to focus on recalling the morning thus far. "I... I told Ebony he could cook me breakfast."

He pointed a hoof at me, "See, I think that's where you went wrong."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, clearly I could have foresaw Ebony landing on a pot, which then knocked me over, only to land on a pan which would dislocate my whole fucking arm. Yes. Obviously, I should have seen this coming."

Chrome glared at my face inspecting it, then recoiled, "Ah... That's not calm..." He said, thinking for a second as I realized my breathing was becoming more rapid, "Why don't you try and imagine the breakfast you would have had if you didn't dislocate your arm."

I was literally about to scream for Luna when she burst in through the door, Ebony was hanging on her back like a rucksack. The door opening so suddenly startled me, causing me to sit up through instinct. The arm I was using to hold my shoulder also released and shot to the ground next to me to stop my sudden lurch from causing a face-plant.

My eyes widened, not only due to the unimaginable pain, but due to the odd feeling of my shoulder rotating backwards as my right arm limply fell to the ground behind me. Chrome looked about ready to throw up. Ebony, not fairing as well as the scientist, fainted on the spot, his chin dropping onto Luna's shoulder.

I fell back down onto the floor as Luna scrambled to my side, Ebony launching off of her back in the process. I continued to writhe about on the ground until I was lit in a blue aura which made everything feel warm and... tingly. The pain was suppressed but it was still there.

I remember wishing to pass out, but whatever spell Luna had cast on me had also neutralized the drifting feeling along with some of the pain. With her magic, she set me square on my back.

"What's wro-" Luna started, but she was cut off...

...by me and Chrome both simultaneously yelling "Arm! Arm! Arm! Arm! Arm!" and pointing and the injured limb.

Luna glared at the arm for a second and looked it up and down, using my other arm as reference. She looked to Chrome, who clearly didn't want anything to do with the situation, and pointed to my uninjured shoulder. "Hold him down. I need to concentrate."

"What?" I yelled. No one seemed to react to question.

Chrome's eyes darted around the room, "I-I-I don't..." He sighed and took a few deep breathes before flapping his wings and landing by my side. He looked at me apologetically as he placed his front hooves on my chest, hard. One of his eyes closed, shielding him from whatever Luna was doing to my arm. My arm was quickly becoming numb from the hand upwards, probably a spell.

From my position with the back of my head against the floor, all I could see was the ceiling and Chrome's squeamish face.

I fought my curiosity as I felt my arm moving and shifting in a magical grasp.

Unfortunately, a series of crackles from my arm got the better of me and I lifted my head, wondering just what she was doing. "What are..." I started.

My eyes widened as I witnessed my own wrist turn a full 270 degrees. Not only was the image unsettling, the faint feeling of twisting bones was the real kicker. Really not something you ever expect to ever feel.

My neck and shoulders fell limp and my head hit the ground as my vision faded into the top of my eye-sockets. Clearly, that was just too much for conscious mind to take, since it called it a day after that and figured my subconscious would do for the moment.

***

I rubbed my forehead as I sat up. I was back in my room, Chrome was leaning in the corner of the room, reading the book I had seen in his room. Luna looked on in interest and curiosity as Ebony seemed to be reenacting what had happened in the kitchen, but with a lot more spinning and jumping around while making 'whooshing' noises than actually explaining what happened.

Suddenly remembering what had happened, I looked to my right. My arm looked fine. I let out a sigh of relief that seemed to have got the attention of the room.

Luna and Ebony both looked to me in relieved surprise. Chrome however, still engrossed in his book, moved his nose down and used it to flick to the next page.

Ebony coiled his back legs, then launched himself at me, his mouth letting out a barrage of apologies. They ended abruptly when a magical aura encased his body, freezing him in mid-air. His eyes darted around for a second, clearly unable to move the rest of his body. When he realized that Luna was holding him in place, his eyes relaxed.

Luna walked around the frozen Ebony, and to my bed-side, "I need you to..." Her eyes drifted to the still-distracted pegasus in the corner to her left, "Chrome!" She snapped, startling him.

Chrome's book flew into the air due to the jolt of shock, he flailed and batted at it as it began to fall, eventually, after a brief improvised juggling session, he clamped it between to hooves and set it on his chair. He smiled sheepishly to Luna as she tilted her head, directing his attention towards me.

Chrome was by my side in a second. "Sorry I er... I was reading."

Ebony was looking a little bored. I can't imagine being suspended in midair would be very entertaining.

"It's fine." I said, shaking my head, "I feel good." I thought for a second and gave my body a look-over, "In fact, I feel great."

"That's the magic, it'll wear off." Luna said, pulling one of her rather signature serious faces, "I need you to try and move your arm." She said, pointing.

"Erm sure I..." My voice trailed off, and so did every other noise as we all stared at my hand.

It was lifting, slowly, not even an inch off the sheets. It shook, like you'd expect from an elderly person. I grit my teeth and lifted harder, it was like something was tying me down and my arm didn't make it any further off the bed, it just shook more rapidly.

Luna set a hoof on my hand and pushed it down without even a hint of trouble. "Don't strain yourself." She said, mimicking a tone only her sister can pull off perfectly, "Without the magic you have on you right now, that would have been agonizing." She sighed, looking at Chrome, then to the floor. "Keep it in a sling. Try to exercise it every day, if you can. The muscle needs to rebuild."

I barely heard what she said, I was still staring at my hand. "That's my right arm. My favorite arm!"

Chrome rolled his eyes, "You have another one."

I pouted at him, "That arm. That's my writing arm. My waving arm. Half of my hugging arms and my strumming arm!" I sighed and tried lifting it again, it barely left the bed's surface. "Luna," I said, looking to the alicorn, "You said I had magic cast on me that's keeping the pain away... You'll keep it on me, right? Keep me topped up? I don' think I'm ready to go through that again."

Luna shook her head solemnly. "No, it would be very taxing for me to do so, you will have to bare with the medication we have requested. It arrived an hour ago, your first dose is due to be taken in the next couple of minutes." Her horn flashed and an open-topped wooden box of small vials filled with a florescent pink liquid appeared beside me on the bed. Each vial was about the size of one of my fingers and looked a little like test-tubes, which was a little unsettling. Each of them had a small label tied around it's cork and there was at least thirty of them in the box.

I used my good arm to point at the box, "What are they? Like, what do they do?"

Chrome peered around the box, then lifted one of the labels up to his eye with a hoof. "Cadamene." He said, looking rather astonished, "...'A painkilling and calming medication'." He looked to me in wonder. "I heard about this stuff back in college. I've heard it's..." He nodded and winked at me.

Ebony seemed to have completely given up on following the conversation from his position, floating behind Luna. By the looks of it, Luna had forgotten he was there.

A thought struck me. "Say, Luna, is this stuff given to... say... stab victims?"

She glanced to the box, then back to me, a slightly concerned look on her face. "...Probably? wh-"

"Okay, that's nice." I said, smiling innocently. "One per hour?"

She blinked. "Every three hours."

I shrugged lopsidedly, "Close enough. Now, I think I can handle myself..." I said, beginning to stand up. Luna backed away to make room for me to stand.

Chrome smirked at me, "Dan, you're not going to tak-"

"Don't you worry about me, now." I said, ushering them both out of the room, surprisingly, they both backed up with confused looks on their faces. "You continue with your days now!" I called as I shut the front door with them behind it. I heard a changeling hit the ground in the other room as I quickly locked the door from the inside.

I quickly made my way into the bedroom, leaped over the still dazed changeling and sat on the bed. I reached over to the box and carefully extracted a single vial and unplugged the cork with my thumb, it gave a satisfying 'pop'. I quickly downed the solution, awkwardly re-corked it and placed it back into the box.

I wiped my mouth with a sleeve as Ebony's head poked up from the foot of the bed. I presumed an innocent pose as he collected himself. "What did you just do?" He asked, suspiciously.

I gave another one-sided shrug, "Nothing, say, could you get one of my shirts and fold or rip it into a sling while I take one of these?" I said, pointing at the box.

Ebony looked over the collection of vials and their corks, seeing nothing amiss, he shrugged. "Sure, I can try. Don't take too much, though, remember what she said." He advised as he walked to one of my drawers and pulled out an orange shirt. It was probably the most vibrant one I had, which means it didn't get used often. So he knew he could make a sling out of it without upsetting my wardrobe.

As he walked towards me, shirt held in his magic, I said "One every three hours, I remember." as I swigged down another vial. I left the empty container on the bedside-table so he wouldn't think to check the box for empty vials.

I was already noticing a familiar and very welcome feeling spreading about my body. A dumb smile spread across my face.

Ebony tore the shirt on one side and used it to bind my arm in a make-shift sling. He looked up at my face, after making sure the fabric was secure. "Are you... okay?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeess... Wait... No! I am amazing!" I said, pointing my good arm at the ceiling. Ebony stared at me as I held the position for a full twenty seconds, lost in thought. I blinked slowly, then lowered my arm, pointing it at Ebony, "We are going to make pancakes."

Ebony bit his lip, "I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Naahh... You're right." I said, waving an arm, lightly clipping Ebony's nose in the process, "It's a greeaat idea!"

Ebony trailed me as I stumbled into the kitchen, where I held up a hand and stopped. Ebony walked around me to face me, "...Dan?"

I lowered my hand. "Suggestion."

He tilted his head to one side, "Yes?"

"Yoouu do the cakes, I will... outsiding."

"Erm..." Ebony said as I continued to stare blankly forwards, "What?"

"You do cakes, I am outsiding!" I slurred as I unlocked the door and shut it behind me. Ebony was, as far as I know, frozen in confusion, standing in the kitchen.

I shambled through the halls smiling at every pony I saw, most just gave me weird looks or returned the gesture. I wandered aimlessly until I found a sign with a guard next to it.

"Royal guard only beyond this point." It read.

The guard stepped infront of me as I attempted to pass, I bumped into him and he pushed me back. I barely kept my balance.

"What is your business here?" He asked in an official tone.

"I out-rank you! Stand aside horse!"

"You may outrank me, but you're not a guard. Rules are rules." He said, having clearly already had enough of me.

"...In that case... I am here to see a guard!" I proclaimed.

"Who?"

"Mid... day... No! Night... something... N-Night...wi.. Nightwish, yes!" I pushed out my chest and put my good arm to my hip. "Nightwish. I am here to see Nightwish."

He blinked, a bored look on his face. "Do you mean Midnight? The day guard?"

"Yes! That is... what I said!" I said. At this point, my voice was probably quite a lot more than a few decibels louder than necessary.

The stallion sighed, "Right this way." and began walking down the hall. I followed, dragging behind slightly.

That was the last thing I remember happening, everything after that is a blur, I'm guessing that's when the second vial kicked in. Looking back and really thinking about what I had done, I had taken pony medicine.

Pony medicine, also known as, basically horse tranquilizers. Not my best moment, I will admit. But I have to say, that stuff... Dude, it was great.

But er... Don't do drugs kids. They're bad and stuff.

***

I woke up to a sharp pain in my shoulder. I lifted my head from the desk, finding myself in a blank, small stone room with a desk, two chairs and a single door.

I instantly recognized it as an interrogation room, having woken up in one before.

My arm was positively killing me, despite it still hanging limply in its sling. A wave of relief hit me as I noticed the small vial on the floor beside one of my feet. It was only a quarter full and the label was slightly bigger.

"To take the edge off. - Celestia." It read.

I leaned down, recoiling a couple of times due to my right arm hanging about. After a few attempts, I managed to pick up the vial, pop off the cork and down it's contents. I set the vial on the table infront of me.

I spent a couple of minutes attempting to balance the vial on it's curved bottom.

I swear I had just done it when white alicorn burst in through the door, knocking it over.

"Damnit, I just got it!" I said, thudding the desk slightly as Celestia sat in the chair on the other side of the desk.

She didn't look very happy.

"Dan, why must you put me through this." She said, rubbing her face with a hoof. "Let's make this quick, I have a report of a kitchen fire I'd much rather be dealing with instead of this."

"Hey!" I said defensively, "That pan attacked me! If it wants some sort of insurance claim or something, I ain't giving it."

Celestia sighed, "I can't even tell if you're still delusional or not."

I chuckled and reached across the desk, patting Celestia's nose. She glared at me, but she knew she liked it. "Trust me, I would know if I was still high on that stuff. Boy, that was great..." I sighed, reminiscing over all of the memories I couldn't actually remember. "...Wait... Why am I here?"

Celestia rolled her eyes, "Finally! A logical thought. We're progressing. How much do you remember?"

I put my good hand to my chin and thought. "I was going to a... wait... no... I... I was being lead down a hall by a guard. everything after that's just... gone."

"Mhmm..." She nodded as a notepad appeared infront of her and she jotted something down, it quickly vanished. "That's all I needed, you can go."

"...Really?"

She shrugged, "You were under the effects of prescribed medication. It's not your fault what you did. Yes, you took too much, but we can put that down to the effects of the first dose, can't we?" She said, smiling and raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head, smiling, "You hate me yet you help me. I don't get it."

She recoiled, looking slightly offended. "I don't hate you! I don't hate anyone!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, bullshit, that is. I saw your glare just now. Plus, there has to be someone you hate."

She shrugged.

"I don't believe you," I said, returning her shrug, "Just a few months ago you despised an entire race."

She groaned, stood from her chair and exited the room, leaving the door open.

"You're only proving me right!" I called after her, my voice echoing down the stone hallways outside.

After a minute of silence, I realized I had passed out probably at least twice since I had last seen a clock or date. "...What time is it?"

A note appeared infront of me in a burst of magic, colored in Celetsia's signature hue. "You take any more than half a vial every 2 hours and I will know. It seems your species does not need as much as ponies do to have the same effects, so don't try anything. Behave yourself! And good luck with your arm."

Well this happened fast.

Don't really know what caused this, the planned synopsis changed completely a couple hundred words in. Don't know why, but at least I have a spare chapter synopsis now. Don't know when I'll incorporate it though.