Everybody has wondered what it would be like to go somewhere else, to just leave all of their problems behind and make a new life for themselves somewhere else. Back in the day, one could just hop on a ship and strike out for a new land. In today’s era of technology and information interconnectivity, this is impossible. You are tracked from the moment you buy a ticket. Those who seek you will find you; and more often than not they will bring you back. So there goes the dream of leaving it all and starting over, right? That’s what I thought as well… at least until that one fateful night… but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Nobody ever stops to think ‘Hey? What if I actually did go somewhere new and I missed this place more?’ No, nobody ever says that, because we are sure that our fantasy worlds are the bees’ knees and we would never want to return. Let me tell you, that's not always the case. Let’s rewind and take it from the top, shall we?

Imagine, if you will, that you had a nearly ideal life: a beautiful, loving wife; a happy, healthy, and lovely little boy. You had a good job with the Military that even came with a security clearance. You had a brand new motorcycle, and a host of tools and gadgets for recreation. This was my life. Sounds great, right? After all, I had the three things most people want; family, money, and toys. Yet for some reason, this wasn’t enough for me. Inside I felt hollow, like there was something missing from me, missing from my life. I’d tried to fill the void… hence the motorcycle and the gadgets. Despite my plethora of attempts, I found that nothing worked. This was the state in which I lived; the state in which this story begins.

My name is Dave, last name is unimportant. I am twenty one years old, and you already know the basics of my life. There is a whole sob story back there, but I’ll not be boring you with that right now. Suffice it to say that my childhood was not the greatest and move on from there. One thing that sets me aside from most is my unabashed and unashamed love of a certain show that most people would say "is for little girls."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen; I am a Brony.

Now that you know a bit about me, let’s continue on with the story, shall we? Like I said, I was not very happy, though I had every conceivable reason I should be. There’s likely a deeper issue there somewhere, but I don’t care enough to get into it. I suppose that right there is a reason for it as good as any other; apathy. I had quite a bit of apathy on tap, ready to be dispensed at a moment’s notice. So much apathy, in fact, that I’m pretty sure if I bottled and sold it I could end all war, because nobody would care enough about anything to fight over it. Not to say I cared about nothing, but I had and still have the ability to let damn near anything go; to not dwell in the past, even to a fault. This brings us to the start of the narrative.

I’d just gotten home from work, after having my ass chewed at work for things that I had no conceivable control over, and set my bags down in the living room. Even as I was standing up, a voice echoed from the kitchen, “You know your bags don’t go there. Put them up right, love.”

“Yes, dear” I responded, shouldering my bags again. With a sigh, I lumbered down the hall into the bedroom and deposited everything on the floor. No sense unpacking everything I’d be taking with me in the morning anyways, right? I dropped my helmet and stripped out of my riding gear, piling it neatly alongside the bags. The smell of stir-fry wafted in from the kitchen as I removed my boots. I hopped into the shower briefly, trying to rinse the day off of me. The cool water was as refreshing as ever, and by the time I stepped out of the shower I felt like a new man.

Throwing on some shorts, a tee shirt, and my lucky hoodie, I moseyed into the dining room. A sad sight greeted me, though I’d expected it. There was only one plate on the table, piled high with food that had long since gone cold. Of course they’d eaten without me. I’d gotten home a good hour later than usual, courtesy of the ass chewing I’d received. Sighing, I sat down to my meal in silence, barely tasting the food.

I finished up and placed my dishes in the sink before joining my wife on the couch. I could feel the tension in the air as I walked up, the scattered bills on the table a very likely culprit. Sometimes, I hate it when I’m right. As I sat down, she remarked on how we were going to be short again this month. And thus it begins. This fight had happened so often that it’d become a finely choreographed routine. We’d argue about what spending we could cut, what we could put off paying till the next check, and the like. Sooner or later, it always came around to the blame game.

When I asked why she was buying snacks instead of food, she turned it around on me and went in for the kill. “We would be fine, if not for that stupid motorcycle payment.”

And there it was. Without fail, it always ended there, just like that. For what it’s worth, she was right though… the motorcycle payment was crippling us financially. In a fit of self indulgence, I’d bought the motorcycle; I was thinking only of myself when I did it, and that’s what hurt the most. Ordinarily, this point in the argument was where I shouldered the blame for all of humanity's problems and admitted that I was the worst human ever, just to end the fight. Ordinarily, I didn’t just get my ass chewed by my Commander for an hour. I had soaked up enough undeserved blame for the day, and I couldn’t take any more. Where we usually ended the argument was only just the beginning of a new argument; one that would be far worse than usual.

I’ll not repeat what was said, more out of shame than anything else, but by the end of the verbal altercation, I stormed out of the house and into the cool night air. If I hadn’t, who knows how much worse it would have gotten; how much louder I would have yelled. As I left, I witnessed something that would break my heart again and again in times to come; my wife reached into the crib and picked up our crying son. He didn’t know what was going on, he couldn’t understand what was being said, but he knew that mommy and daddy were yelling, and it scared him. The last time I saw my son was with tears in his eyes, and his mother was fighting her own tears as she held him. I was the monster that did this to them both. And, God help me, I was proud of it. I was proud of the suffering I could put others through after suffering so much myself. And then I walked away into the night, slamming the door in my wake.

I was about a block away from the house when a police car came roaring around the corner. I guess someone had heard the yelling and figured that somebody was being murdered. I scoffed and continued walking. The only things I had on my person were a watch, my keys, and my wallet. I was furious, and I was looking for a place to vent the anger I still had pent up inside. I quickened my pace with no destination in mind, and in about half an hour I wound up at my local watering hole.

As soon as I walked in, I made a beeline for the bar and ordered a pint of Guinness. I took this holy beverage and walked over to a booth, deep in the shadows of the building and made myself comfortable. Out of the corner of my eye, I took note of a large, ominous looking figure in a black overcoat as he rapidly approached my table. I could feel my heart speed up as the adrenaline kicked in and time slowed down; I was ready for a fight. Instead of attacking me, the imposing figure held up a brace of Guinness bottles with a smile. If I had any emotion remaining in me, I might have felt bad that I hadn't spotted my best mate Dan when I walked into the bar. I shot him a dirty look as he slid into the booth across from me. Dan was a good friend of mine and had been since we were kids, and he was without a doubt the person I would go to when the world went to hell.

And thus we began our Saturday night ritual on Friday. We drank a beer or two each as I listened to him recounting this grand tale of how he acquired his new black leather duster. I admired it, but I was too internally preoccupied to say much of anything. Seeing that I was in a funk, he declared that we needed to get away. I suppose I agreed… my head did the little nodding thing, anyways. He told me to meet him in the parking lot out back of the bar in thirty minutes with my bike. I nodded, drained my beer, and shuffled into the night. I could feel myself loosening up, as the Guinness took the edge off of the day and allowed me to relax a bit. With the limber gait of a man without a care in the world, I sauntered home to get my gear.

Normally, I would never ride my bike after even a single beer, let alone two. But right now, none of that mattered; nothing mattered. My apathy welled up and swallowed me whole. I got home and pulled out my keys, unlocked my truck and climbed in. Strewn in the backseat of the cab were various articles of clothing. I dug out a pair of jeans, some gloves, and my spare helmet and dressed myself thus. I locked the truck back up and made my way up the lot to my bike, pausing a moment to take it all in.

The harsh light of the street lamp was reflected by the metal flakes in the paint, causing the whole machine to glimmer with an appearance of speed, even while stationary. The bike had always looked like a bird of prey to me, the way all of its sharp lines and jutting angles swooped about, culminating in a very pointed front cowl that I’d always thought was reminiscent of a beak. In the dim light, you couldn’t see the smaller scratches that marred the paint, battle scars of flying gravel being kicked up by cars in front of me.

I slid the key in and watched as the gauges spun and settled. I fired it up, reveling in the deep, throaty roar of the motor. I can’t really explain the feeling that seeing such a finely tuned machine evoked in me, but some of you out there must know what I’m talking about.

I fastened the strap on my helmet and climbed into position. All the inebriating effect of the alcohol seemed to have vanished by the time I kicked up the stand and set out on my way. As I pulled into the bar, I gave a quick rev of the engine, a gesture that was answered from the shadows. Dan kicked on his lights and rolled out to greet me. Where my bike was angular and jagged, his was smooth and fluid; almost like black silk in darkness. With a nod, we took off. We rode the surface streets for a while as we threaded our way to the highway. Once we were on the highway though, all hell broke loose.

It started innocently enough. We began to jockey for position on the ramp, one of us edging forward and then the other passing him; and then we were off, just like that.

We took off like bats out of hell. Well… he sped off, and I soon followed. We were doing about a hundred and thirty kilometers an hour on the on ramp when he split, and I dropped from sixth gear to fourth, my tachometer dancing as I swiftly passed him at no less than two hundred kilometers per hour. And with that, the race was on. It was about twenty-one hundred and the highway was mostly clear. Even so, we rocketed past several cars at a speed so high it was not dangerous but suicidal. Trivial things like mortality meant nothing to us; we were Gods. We were the embodiment of speed.

Even so, we eventually slowed down to a sedate hundred and twenty kilometers per hour and started pulling stunts in feats of one-upmanship. I started it by clipping my front brake and sliding up to sit on the gas tank, followed by a blip of the throttle to get the front wheel in the air. I rode this for a second or two before settling back down. He countered it by kicking his legs out behind him and lying prone on the bike, what we called a ‘superman.’ As he pulled that, I pulled my signature move: the Single Leg Over. I stood up on the bike and swung my right leg over the bike to sit down on my left heel. I was entirely off one side of the bike, save for my right arm crossing the bike to keep a grip on the throttle.

We rocketed past a black and while blur on our left side, causing Dan and I to share a look. The flashing blue lights that winked into life behind us erased any suspicion, and we settled back onto our bikes before we exploded into the night, "going dark". Fun fact: did you know that nearly all modern motorcycles have the lights hard wired to the motor, so that if the motor is running the lights are on? This is for increased visibility, and so you can’t forget to turn them on. Dan and I had wired up a switch between the motor and the lights, allowing us to turn the lights off entirely, thereby “Going Dark.”

We began to weave our way through traffic methodically, cutting a good deal closer to other vehicles than we ordinarily would, and at a much higher speed to boot. At one point, I looked at the speedometer; it read two hundred and fifty-four kilometers per hour. We entered into a long, sweeping counterclockwise turn at a high rate of speed, leaning the bikes over so far that our knees brushed the asphalt. I reached out my left hand and dragged it along the tarmac briefly, before grabbing the handlebars again to avoid another car on the road.

In our wake, there was a flurry of horns and flashing lights, the squeal of brakes permeating the air ever so briefly as drivers belatedly reacted to our passing. Soon, the blue lights faded to nothing; our speed was a deterring factor for the police; but then again, so was the fact that, by chasing us they were endangering more lives. One way or the other, the blue lights disappeared.

Without even having to signal, we took the next exit and threaded our way back onto surface streets, still “Dark.” Once we were a good distance from the highway, we started "rolling bright" as we turned the lights back on. We made our way to Dan’s house and parked in his garage, so that our rocket powered sleds of mayhem would be hidden from prying eyes, until the heat from the fuzz cooled off. Sadly, I actually talk like this. Rather, I used to.

Retiring to the couch in his living room and flicking on the tube, we reveled in the afterglow of our reckless endangerment of our lives and the lives of others. Suddenly, Dan jumped to his feet, a devilish gleam in his eyes. As he made his way into the darkness of his home and disappeared round a corner, his voice rang out from the shadows.

“Dave, you ever tried ‘Therapeutic Oil’?”

I cocked my eyebrow in confusion, uncertain if I’d heard that right. “The fuck is that?”

His voice far more smug than it should have been, he replied. “You’ve gotta try this shit.”

I replied with sarcasm in kind. “Still don’t know what it is, Dan.”

He emerged from the darkness, cradling a bright green bottle as if it were an infant. The bottle was so brightly colored it almost seemed to be glowing. As a matter of fact, it really looked like it was. I’m not sure if this was a property of the liquid inside the bottle or something caused by the assortment of black lights throughout the house, but none of that mattered at the time.

The two of us made eye contact and said “Absinthe” at the same time.

With a huge grin plastered on his face, he fetched a pair of shot glasses.

"Salud" say we as we down the liquid. It was nearly caustic going down, a fierce burning sensation coupled with a prickly, tingly, menthol sensation. As the fire died in our throats, there was a strange aftertaste… like a minty-cinnamon-anise-clove flavor. The last thing I could remember was taking another shot as Dan tells me that the wormwood they made this batch from was taken from an area of Europe that is renowned for its potent beverages.

The blackness crept up from the edges of my vision and swallowed me.

I was floating numbly in the ether of the void when a voice reverberated in the blackness; this voice, which seemed to come as much from within me as from around me, addressed me. “Boy. What are you doing here?”

I was currently in no state to be answering any sort of questions, the alcohol adding a fine edge to my apathy. Thus, I answered the mysterious voice of hallucination with no small amount of insolence. “I do believe I am floating.”

As my have been expected, the voice did not take kindly to my sarcasm.“Are you mocking us?"

Inebriated as I was, I wasn’t taking the hint. “Us? Are there more of you?”

The voice scoffed. “That is immaterial. How did you come to these hallowed grounds?”

This confused me, this talk of hallowed grounds. I looked around, my eyes trying in vain to pierce the darkness that surrounded me. I had no recollection of ever leaving the couch, let alone of venturing into any sort of “hallowed grounds”, though this would not be the first time I’d woken up someplace strange with no memory of how I’d gotten there. The blackness was so thick that I swear I could feel it pressing down on me. This was just as well; there was nothing to see as, far as I could tell. Something wriggling in the back of my mind told me I might want to stop messing around with whatever this voice was, and answer the question straight up.

It was a bit of a struggle to form cohesive thoughts without sarcasm. “I…I don’t know, to be honest. Last thing I remember was Absinthe…”

The Voice seemed somewhat confused. “Who is this ‘Absinthe’ of which you speak?”

I had to fight the urge to spout a “yo mama” joke. “It’s not a person, it’s a beverage. A strong alcohol that sometimes causes hallucinations. Are you a hallucination?”

The voice dispelled any hope I’d been harboring. “We are as real as you, and in some ways more.”

In the darkness, I rolled my eyes. “That… that’s not very helpful. Look, can I just go home now?”

Again, the voice seemed not to understand. “Home? Where is home for you?”

In my mind, the first thing that popped into my head was the sight of my wife holding my son; both crying. The second was an image of a cyan pegasus, floating along on a cloud. I don’t know why this would pop into my head at this very moment, seeing as how I had never lived there (not even counting the fact that it wasn’t a real place). Regardless, there it was in my mind’s eye… and all I could think about was how nice it must be to live there. Then the voice spoke up again. “You have shown us conflicting visions. Pray tell, which of these do you call home?”

So apparently, they could see my thoughts. That fit neatly in with my “hallucination” theory. But wait… they’d just asked me which one my home was. Did that mean they could send me to Equestria? Well, since this was all an Absinthe fueled break from reality, I figured… why the hell not. I might as well have some fun before I woke up.

With utter conviction, I spouted my answer. “Send me to Equestria, to the place I now picture in my mind’s eye.”

As I said this, I fixed Twilight's library in Ponyville foremost in my mind. If there was a response to my supplication, it was drowned out by a sense of falling into oblivion. The wind began to whip me to and fro, buffeting me with powerful gusts. As the invisible walls of air slammed me around, I started to see stars. Stars, which rapidly coalesced into an all-consuming brightness behind my closed lids. Finally, the buffeting ceased, replaced by a single, very forceful wind. I could feel the wind whistling through my hair… wait. I had hair?

My thought process was disrupted by an earth shattering, eardrum rupturing explosion. Instinctively, my eyes popped open in fright, and as they focused I had to marvel in shock for a moment at what exactly I saw beneath me. The ground was far, far away, but approaching fast. Not even the thought of my imminent collision with the earth below could detract from the sight ahead of me; I was staring at Twilight's tree-library-observatory.

Numbly, my mind kept stumbling over the sheer impossibility of it. At the same time, the threat of the ground rapidly approaching became more and more of a concern. Snapping my concentration away from the library, I quickly determined that I was going to fall to my death, and that was not okay. I braced myself for impact, hoping against hope that I would somehow survive. With a resounding crack and a white hot flash of pain that seemed to reverberate through my entire body, I slammed to a stop, as my world erupted in a burst of crimson, shortly before going black.

And then I touched down, all four of my hooves coming to rest softly the ground. Blinking, I opened my eyes to see if I was dead or not. Looking down to see if my legs were still attached, my heart did this thing it does sometimes where it tries to escape my body by climbing out of my throat. I did not have hands or feet. I was standing on all fours, on hooves. Hooves? Well… that's new.

As my heart settled back down into its rightful place after its failed escape attempt, I drew in a deep breath and noticed two things. First, the air here was the sweetest, purest air I had ever inhaled; it seemed to caress my lungs with each breath. Second, I was pretty sure that my entire ribcage had been surreptitiously replaced with either a bunch of knives or a couple of rabid honey badgers. Each breath was a joyous torment.

The pain in my chest sent waves of agony through me, and I dropped to my knees under the weight of the torment. Vaguely, I noticed something nearby on the ground. Turning to my right to look at it, I saw it was a feather; a light brown feather of unusual length. As I turned my head to see the feather better, I became aware of another one… and another one… and another one… there was an entire gaggle of feathers here! And they all seemed to lead to… me? I don’t have feath-OH MY GOD I’M A PEGASUS. Huh. Imagine that.

That explained the chest pain… I guess my subconscious wasn’t ready to die and used my wings to break our fall. But holy crap it hurt.

As I was staring in shock at the feathered appendages I was now sporting, a lilting voice rose up behind me. “Umm… sir? Are you okay?”

I turned to investigate the newest bit of sensory overload that was gracing my presence. Off to my left there stood a teal unicorn, staring at me; her eyes widened with a mix of worry and trepidation. She looked vaguely familiar, and seemed like she wanted to help, but didn’t want to get too close. Realizing that I was badly hurt and in need of medical assistance, I mustered all of my considerable wit to plead for medical attention. “Hehehe. You are a unicorn.”

Dammit. That was not helpful at all. The teal unicorn took a half step back, suddenly unsure about her idea of approaching this odd pegasus. A few of my synapses managed to fire in a coherent pattern, and I registered the identity of the teal mare, and also the idiocy of my last utterance. After mentally berating myself, I tried again.

“Miss… Lyra? I’m hurt. I… I need a doctor… can you help me?”

Wrong friggin' answer. The mare stood stock still, evaluating me with an uneasy gaze, clearly registering shock and bewilderment. Hesitantly, she asked the obvious question: "H… How do you know my name?"

Damn, I'm amazing. While part of my mind was kicking itself for not seeing this coming, my mouth decided to take matters "into its own hands" so to speak, and addressed the skittish mare. I listened to the words coming from my mouth, curious as to just what I was saying.

"I saw your cutie mark. I figured your name was either Lyra or Harpy, so I just went with it. I was right, I suppose, based on your reaction."

Sonofa bitch. If I could've moved, I would have facehoofed. Did I really just say that? Dammit… Lyra, on the other hand, was apparently in the middle of an emotional pirouette from cautious to some strange mix of sadness and anger. I could hear her grinding her teeth as she stifled her emotions, taking a deep breath to collect herself before addressing me again.

"My name is Lyra… please don't call me that other name ever again. Since you're new here, I won't hold it against you, because you don't know. That was a cruel nickname the bullies called me when I was in school, and I have tried very hard to put it behind me."

Goodness. I'd been here less than a minute, and I was already dredging up repressed emotional trauma. So far, this hallucination was going swimmingly. As I tried to take a deep breath and collect myself to apologize, I was seized by a violent, spasming cough. Driven to my knees, my vision swam as the world faded to shades of grey. I noticed a disquieting gurgle growing in my chest; the feeling of fluid sloshing around in my body was highly concerning.

I eventually quelled the coughing fit, sucking in rapid, shallow breaths to disperse the stars dancing around my head. My mouth tasted like blood, and as I spat onto the sidewalk, I discovered that the reason for this was simply that my mouth was full of the stuff. Breathing as deeply as I dared, I once again began to plead for help as best I could, between rattling inhalations.

"Lyra… please. I'm hurt bad… I need a doctor. Please… help me."

I could almost feel the blood pooling in my lungs as I fought for each breath, and a thin trickle of blood flowed from the corner of my mouth. Despite whatever misgivings Lyra had about me a moment ago, the mare’s trepidation melted away in the face of such a supplication. She approached me and tried to help me to my hooves, but my legs were doing a very convincing impression of wet noodles and would not cooperate. After trying and failing at this for a few moments, the pain rose to an unbearable level and caused me to cry out in protest. This startled her and caused her to drop me, which elicited a further groan of agony from me.

At this point a new voice joined the fray.

“Lyra, do you need a hoof?”

In the back of my mind, I recognized the voice. As Lyra responded, I caught sight of the mare that she was addressing.

“Yeah, could you help me get this guy to Nurse Redheart? He’s really heavy.”

As indignantly as I could manage in my state, I retorted. “Hey… I’m not heavy… I eat right and exercise, and-“

My further rebuttal was silenced by a purple glow as I was levitated into a nearby cart. The two mares nodded in assenting motions at each other as they each wrapped one of the leaders in a glow of magic and set off into town, me in tow.

As they walked, Twilight looked me over with a critical eye before addressing Lyra. “What happened to him?”

Lyra shrugged. “There was a clap of thunder outside… so I went to look, since we are not scheduled for a storm this week. When I got outside, I saw him plummeting towards the ground… I didn’t think he was going to open his wings in time, but just before he smashed into the ground he snaps them open. He slowed down a lot, but I think he hurt himself pretty badly in the process.”

I grumbled to myself. I hated being spoken about as if I wasn’t present. “I’m right here, you know…”

Both mares tossed a glance my way before continuing.

“I heard the thunder too, Lyra. So, he just fell out of the sky?”

Lyra shrugged again. “From what I saw.”

Twilight then looked back at me, cocked an eyebrow expectantly, and asked “Well?”

Caught off guard, I smartly replied “Huh?” Man, I was batting a thousand for quick responses today.

Twilight restated her question. “Why did you fall out of the sky instead of just, I don’t know, landing like a normal pegasus?”

I scratched the back of my neck, a disturbingly long area. "Well, you see… what had happened was…"

I rubbed the mane back of my neck with one hoof while I attempted to concoct a cover story. I drew a blank. Between each ragged breath, I deflected the question as best I could. “Well… it’s a long story, but I’m afraid I’m in no condition for stories at the moment. I promise that as soon as I’m all fixed up, I’ll give you the answers you deserve Miss Lyra and miss…?”

The lavender one took her cue and introduced herself. “Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville’s Town Librarian.”

At this point, we hit a rather large pothole, jarring the cart violently and eliciting a wince and a growl of pain from me. As soon as I managed to contain myself, I formally introduced myself to the two mares.

“Thank you both, Miss Lyra and Miss Sparkle. My name is Dave, and I’m new here.”

Another pothole, another wince. Seriously, was my ribcage made out of fire or what? This was getting ridiculous.

Precluding any further discussion, the Ponyville clinic came into view as we rounded the corner. It was a four story structure made out of light granite, with many windows, presumably to let in natural light. Pretty standard for hospitals, I suppose. While riding in the cart, I almost managed to catch my breath, a little bit of strength had returned to my limbs. As the cart wheeled to a stop out front of the clinic, I tried with some success to stand on my own four hooves again.

And then the front of the cart pitched forward as the pair who were pulling it set down the yoke, causing me to roll head over hooves out of the front of the cart. Not nearly as graceful as I would have preferred, but effective nonetheless. I landed on my haunches as my world spun in a cyclone of agony and stars. As I was trying to convince myself that I really didn’t need to breathe, that air was overrated, an orderly bustled through the door and began to do… something.

I’m pretty sure he was talking to Lyra and Twilight, but I was far too preoccupied with the stars to take note of what they were saying. So many pretty, pretty stars... My lungs simply refused to work, and it was all I could do to take in breath at all. Trying to breathe any deeper only served to piss off the badgers in my chest, a very painful thing to do.

Somehow I wound up on a stretcher being pushed through the halls, and the ceiling lights passing by overhead seemed like a strobe to me. I felt myself drifting away as the whole scene became detached, as if I was watching someone else’s experiences. A new face appeared over me, a blob of blue and white with no features other than a pair of bright blue eyes, which widened as they took in my present condition. Presently, there was a bright light in one of my eyes and then the other, followed by a muffled conversation. I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly…they sounded like the adults from Peanuts.

I might even have cracked a smile as the blue eyes returned, brandishing a large, shiny needle. A stab of pain in my chest, followed by the sensation of fire spreading through my veins quickly made everything a lot less funny. As the pain blossomed, the world around me once again gained substance, as if I was emerging from the bottom of a lake. I began to catch bits and pieces of conversation, all of it some obscure dialect of doctor-speak, and all of it was far over my head.

I recognized “punctured lung” though, and it suddenly made a lot more sense as to why I couldn’t breathe. Again, the blue eyes returned brandishing a needle. I tried to fend it off, but my miserable, traitorous limbs refused to bend to my will. Again, a brief stab of pain rocked me (seriously, was it necessary to jab it into the same spot as the last one?) but this time, it was followed by a cooling sensation that numbed the fire in my chest.

And what do you know, I could breathe again. Just like that. The gurgle in my chest was worse than before, but that was not my concern at the moment. My lungs greedily sucked down as much air as they could hold. Slowly, I realized that I’d stopped moving, and that nurse blue-eyes was staring at me as if she was expecting something. I screwed my face up in my best approximation of confusion, and she spoke again, reiterating what she had apparently just said. “Can you hear me?”

I nodded.

She nodded in kind. “Good. Do you know who you are and where you are?”

I had to think for a second on that one. Gradually, I replied. “I… I think so. My name is Dave, and… if I’m not mistaken… I'm in Ponyville.”

Another short nod. “Okay Dave. That’s good… now; can you tell me what happened to you?”

I looked at her, confused. “Didn’t the other two fill you in?” I intoned.

She waved a dismissive hoof. “I prefer to hear it from the patient themselves… straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were."

Here, I ran into a bit of trouble. I couldn’t very well explain that I had just appeared over Ponyville as a pegasus who didn’t know how to fly… this hallucination would be a lot less fun if I was in an asylum for it. A voice in the back of my mind pointed out that hallucinations don’t usually hurt, but I silenced that part as I tried to come up with a valid excuse. Suddenly, it hit me.

“Well nurse, what had happened was, I was flying along all fine and dandy, when out of nowhere there was this huge clap of thunder. It startled me so much that my wings locked up, and I only just managed to open them in time to prevent myself becoming a pony shaped smear on the ground.”

I lied as nonchalantly as I could, and it seemed to work. I did not enjoy lying to this pony who was just trying to help me, but there was no way to avoid it for the time being. I would have to figure out a way to explain myself in the future. Presently, the nurse poked inquisitively at my wounds, eliciting a few grunts from me as I voiced my displeasure.

“Well, you are very lucky; these wounds could have been much worse. If you had opened your wings a split second later, you would have hit the ground much faster than you did, and likely would have died. As it is, you have torn your pectoral muscles and fractured a couple ribs. You are very lucky that your broken ribs did not puncture your lung very deeply; otherwise you would be in a much more serious situation. As it is, there is nothing we can do for the rib other than give you some painkillers and ground you for three weeks. Understand?”

My head spun slightly in the wake of the information deluge, but I thought I’d grasped all of the important bits. “Umm… no flying for three weeks, take my pills, get lots of rest. I miss anything?”

She shook her head. “The rest is optional, but encouraged. The other two items are not. If you try to fly in your current condition, you might drive the broken rib back into your lung. Then, you would be in a very bad way. Got it?”

I nodded curtly. “Roger.”

Tilting her head, she inquired “Who’s roger?”

I mentally facehoofed. Of course the nice ponies wouldn’t understand that… radio etiquette means nothing to those who don’t have a radio.

Suppressing a sigh, I lamely replied “Nopony, nurse. I meant to say ‘Yes, I understand.’”

She looked skeptical, but didn’t question me further. "Okay… anyways, there is one last thing we have to do before we can release you, and unfortunately it will be quite unpleasant. It seems that there was a bit of blood that pooled in your punctured lung, and we have to extract it, otherwise it will coagulate and cause further complications. Take a moment to prepare, and let me know when you’re ready."

As I opened my mouth to ask a question, I was quite suddenly aware of an icy cold manifesting in my chest… it was as if I had been stabbed with an icicle. The icicle spread its frigid tendrils throughout my chest, and I became aware of movement in my chest that was entirely unnatural. What came next felt like a combination of vomiting and drowning, as the icicle coalesced into a ball and made its way up and out of my throat.

For what must have been the hundredth time that day, my vision swam from the pain. I was distantly aware of a crimson sphere sheathed in a cerulean glow, as it made its way from my face towards a bucket. A glimpse at the nurse confirmed that she was the source of my anguish, her horn emitting the same cerulean glow that cloaked the crimson sphere. I soon recognized the crimson sphere as the blood that had previously been clotting in my lung.

Before I could even begin to be upset at the nurse for not warning me, it dawned on me that I could breathe again, and breathe deeply at that. The pain of each breath had been reduced to a mild stabbing sensation, and the gurgle in my chest was gone entirely. I savored the sweetness of the air with a new appreciation, and I shot the blue-eyed nurse my best smile and fumbled some sort of appreciative remark in her direction. She merely favored me with a small smile as she wrapped my wings to my chest with gauze to immobilize them, so that the muscles would mend themselves properly, which she explained as she worked.

Satisfied with her work, she spoke up again. “Alrighty then… we’ve done all we can for you. Here’s your bill.”

I faltered. “My… bill?”

In a flat voice, she replied. “Yes, sir. Your bill.”

Fuck me running. I didn’t have any currency to pay this, as far as I knew. I patted against my body in an approximation of where my pockets should be. Suddenly, my hoof thumped against something solid. Looking back, I realized that I had saddlebags on. How did I not notice these before? Mentally shrugging, I pushed the thought off to deal with later as I searched through the bags for something to settle the debt. I pulled out a small satchel that seemed to be laden with coins. I dumped it out on the bed, and a small mountain of bits stared back at me.

Then it occurred to me that I had no idea what the exchange rate was here. I stared at the pile for a moment and looked towards the nurse with a pleading look.

The nurse took the hint with a slight sigh and picked out a half dozen of the golden bits. I took a moment to notice that the blue eyes were attached to a very cute mare, a fine example of natural beauty. How I had suddenly come to the conclusion that this pony was attractive was beyond me, but I wasn't about to question it. Must have something to do with the equestrian body I now inhabited or something like that. I had no time for such thoughts at the moment anyways. With a nod of appreciation, I scooped the remaining bits back into the coin purse. As the nurse turned to walk away, I panicked a bit.

“Nurse! I… um… I never got your name…”

She stopped walking away, turning her head to look back at me. “Joy. My name is Nurse Joy.”

I smiled warmly at her. “Well, from the bottom of my heart Nurse Joy, I thank you.”

At this, Nurse Joy looked stunned. I guessed she wasn’t used to being thanked for what she does… I could see a bit of a blush beginning to bloom on her cheeks. Something compelled me to keep going.

“Well… Nurse Joy? I’m new to this area… and I don’t really know anypony, or know my way around this town. And since I can’t fly anywhere for a few weeks, I was wondering if you knew anybody who could show me around town? Where to eat, where I can rent a room, what sights to see, so on and so forth…”

At this, Nurse Joy’s blush deepened, and she pawed the ground absentmindedly while studiously avoiding my gaze. If it isn't clear by now that I am pretty slow to pick certain things up, let me state it for the record right now: When it comes to females, I am painfully oblivious to all but the most overt signs. Yet, even I could see that the blue eyed Nurse Joy might just have a thing for me. Seeing an opening, I pressed my opening.

"…Perhaps you know a cute nurse who might be up to showing a stranger around town?"

I swear, I had no idea a pony could change so many different shades. Nurse Joy was busy tracing a figure eight on the floor with her hoof, pulling off a startlingly good impression of a tomato for a good ten seconds, before she cleared her throat and shook herself free of her daze. Finally, she gathered herself up and answered me.

“Well, I… I suppose I could… could give you the once-over. Of the Town! The once over of the town I meant, not that I would be giving you the once over, I mean I barely…”

Nurse Joy’s sentence began to dwindle into nothing as she found herself digging deeper and deeper into a hole. I swear, I could almost feel the heat radiating from her blush.

“I would really enjoy that, Nurse Joy.” I punctuated my sentence with a wink, and she started to stammer.

I continued, feeling more confident. “So, when and where would you like to meet for the tour?”

Joy snapped out of her funk with a quick shake of her head, shaking it a few more times for good measure before answering “Meet me out front of the clinic at twenty fifteen. That’s when my shift ends.”

Again, I found myself smiling. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Nurse Joy.”

As she sauntered off, I could see the smile on her face from all the way across the room; I was pretty sure that mine matched it. Gathering my discharge papers, I headed towards the exit. The cart I’d arrived in had disappeared, as had the two mares pulling it. I felt momentarily disappointed that I wasn’t going to meet the Mane Six in some wacky adventure on my first day, but I figured it would happen sooner or later.

I checked the watch that was somehow attached to my hoof and saw that it was only four minutes past eighteen hundred. I had almost two hours to kill before I was to meet Nurse Joy, and I'm not usually one to sit idly by. Thus, I set off along the street I was on. I wandered into a few shops selling assorted novelties, before stumbling upon one which sold cologne. I spent several minutes smelling the different scents until I found one that spoke to me. The best way I can describe it was that it smelled of s'mores by a campfire, cordite, and gasoline fumes.

I loved the scent and bought it immediately, starting to get the hang of the currency here. Spritzing myself with the glorious scent, I walked a bit farther, figuring I would have to turn around soon to make my date with Nurse Joy. Just as I was about to turn around, I spotted a florist closing up shop. In the window was a single flower, the very same shade of blue as Nurse Joy’s eyes. In a moment of hassling and after paying a non-insignificant sum of bits, the flower was mine and carefully tucked into my saddlebag. My bandaged torso complained at the contortion required to reach up and secure the bloom in my saddlebag, so I pulled out the medication I had been given and downed a dose dry, swallowing hard to get the pills to go down.

I began cantering back to the clinic so I could be waiting outside when Nurse Joy came out. I arrived at ten till twenty, and I made myself comfortable on a bench across the street that afforded a clear view of the exit. No sooner had I gotten settled in than I saw a pair of blue eyes heading out of the door, a veritable beacon in the darkness. I hopped off of the bench and cantered in Nurse Joy's direction, but as I drew near to her I froze in my tracks… what was the proper greeting? A hug? A nuzzle? A hoofshake? I wanted to be courteous, but not forward… I locked onto the best solution I could think of and continued forward. As I closed the last bit of distance between us, I bowed deeply before greeting her.

“It’s good to see you again, Nurse Joy.”

As I looked up, I saw she was looking at me with a mild amusement written on her face, and sporting an adorable little smirk. Now it was my turn to blush, and blush I did as I rubbed a hoof along the back of my neck.

“So… I guess you have a different greeting here, huh…”

Her face lit up with a beautiful smile as she replied: “Yes, but you can keep doing that if you want. It’s kinda cute.”

I blushed harder and came up with a snappy reply. “Perhaps, but so are you.”

Now she too was blushing. Score one for me. She motioned into the distance and started walking, I quickly followed. As I drew up alongside her, I fumbled with my saddlebag, attempting to withdraw the flower I had stashed earlier. After a couple missteps and a near faceplant, I managed to extricate the fabulous flora. Clearing my throat to get Nurse Joy’s attention, I stood under a streetlight with the flower behind my back. Nurse Joy turned back and shot a curious look my way. Gesticulating as best I could while hiding a flower behind my back, I motioned her closer. She drew up short about two paces away, and I motioned her closer still. Hesitantly, she drew up to within a meter of me. I sat on my haunches and flourished the flower, eliciting a sharp inhale of surprise from Nurse Joy.

“I was wandering around the avenue as I waited for your shift to be over, and I happened across a florist. And what should catch my eyes but this beautiful flower… I saw it and immediately thought of you. It reminded me of your lovely eyes.”

I swear I thought that if she blushed any harder, she might have a stroke. I guessed that most colts around these parts were not what you would call romantic, and that this was a new experience for her. I motioned for her to come closer, and she only hesitated for a moment this time. I gently brushed her mane away from her ear, and slid the flower in behind it. The flower matched her eyes so perfectly that it seemed like it was custom made for her. I admired the three beautiful bursts of color in front of me for a moment. I smiled at her, and she smiled back; nervously biting her lower lip as she did so.

I was about to ask her if something was wrong when she silenced me with a quick peck on my lips. As was becoming an annoying habit, my mind ground to a halt as it tried to figure out what had just occurred. I felt my own blush blooming as my heart jumped into overdrive, a sensation that I hadn’t felt in quite a while. I was likewise powerless to stop the grin from spreading on my face, not that I minded. It took me a long moment to find my voice again.

“Wow.”

And my winning streak for quick responses lived on. Thankfully, Nurse Joy was better prepared to perform the delicate verbal acrobatics sometime referred to as “Speech.”

“I’m so sorry… I… I don’t know what came over me… I don’t act that way normally. I… I should go…”

“No!” I exclaimed, a bit louder than expected. A bit more softly, I continued. “You don’t have to leave… if you don’t want to. I’d like to spend some more time with you. After all, I haven’t even gotten my tour…”

I held out a hoof in a pleading gesture as I tried my winning-est smile, hoping to convince her to stay. I was relatively sure I could navigate this town on my own after a bit of trial and error, but I would rather not test that theory if I could help it. Something I said or did resonated with her, and she rejoined me, the blush still visible on her face. My stomach grumbled loudly, kindly informing me that I had not eaten today, or since I had entered Equestria, anyways. I looked over to Nurse Joy, who was walking a bit closer to me than she had been before, and addressed my hunger.

“So, where is a good place for cheap, greasy food late at night?”

She raised an eyebrow at the 'greasy' comment, but didn’t mention it. I had momentarily forgotten I was dealing with vegetarians, a mistake I would be sure not to repeat in the future.

“Well, there is a nice little diner nearby that serves the best daffodil sandwich you have ever tasted, and there is also a little smoothie shop that is just out of this world… did you want to stop at one?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Okay, which one: the sandwich place, or the smoothie place?" As she offered the choices, she pointed in two directions.

“Yes,” I replied again.

“Yes?” she intoned, confused.

I smiled at her confusion. “Yes. Both of them sound good, and I do enjoy food quite a bit. Why not both?” Then, I was struck by a thought. I know, it surprised me too. “Wait, I wouldn’t want to keep you away from home for too long… it would be wrong of me to take advantage of you like that. Do tell me if it's getting too late for you, okay?”

Nurse Joy nodded before answering. “I see no reason why we couldn’t do both. It’ll give me a chance to show you more of the town. Also, I think I’d like to get to know you better… you seem like an interesting sort of colt.”

So far, this was shaping up to be the best hallucination I’ve ever had, despite the rough start. In spite of the mounting evidence to the contrary, I was holding on to the idea that this was a hallucination, as the alternative was simply too hard to fathom. As we walked to the first diner for a daisy sammich, we passed the time with idle chit chat. I discovered that her full name was Joy Romana Redheart, and that she was a daughter of the head nurse at the clinic. She was a little bit younger than I was, only a few months away from turning twenty one, and was a full time nurse and part time student as she worked her way towards her doctorate. Because of this, she didn’t have much of a social life or free time, and she was not romantically engaged with anypony else. We arrived at the diner as she ran out of things to say about herself, and began grilling me about my life.

I managed to persuade her to stave off her inquisition momentarily as we placed our order. Most of her questions I was prepared for, such as who I was, where I’d come from, and the like. After all, I hadn’t only been wasting time as I waited for her to get off shift.

Once we ordered a pair of daffodil sandwiches with a side of hay fries, we picked a booth away from the counter and sat down to enjoy our meal. As we polished off our sandwiches and pecked at our fries, Nurse Joy resumed her grilling.

“So Dave, where are you from?”

Swallowing my fries, I responded. “I’m from a small town a long way from here, called Rockledge. Things are… different there. I'm trying to get used to Equestria, with a little luck.”

She didn’t seem to question this at all. “Fair enough. I’d like to think that I could be of assistance with acquainting you with how we do things in Ponyville.”

I grinned at her generous offer. “That would be most appreciated, Nurse Joy.”

She waved a hoof dismissively. “Please Dave, call me Joy. Just Joy.”

“As you wish, Just Joy.”

I smirked with my last comment, delighted at the frazzled look she favored me with. I found it quite endearing. She stuck her tongue out at me and blew a raspberry in my direction.

Murmuring in what could be considered a bedroom manner, I purred “Keep sticking that tongue out, and I’m liable to put it to good use."

At this, Joy froze mid-raspberry as she tried to figure out what that meant. Her comprehension was indicated by the rosy blush spreading across her features, as she found a spot on the table that demanded her utmost attention. She withdrew her tongue slowly, and kept casting glances up at me. I had to say, this mare was just chock full of interesting mannerisms.

She cleared her throat and tried to hide the blush as she changed the subject. She asked about my cutie mark, which I had apparently neglected to analyze while strolling about and waiting for her to get off shift. It was a pretty simple thing, just a glass of water that was half full, with a hole in the cup about the diameter of a bit positioned just above the water line. I had a vague idea of what it might be, but I wasn't about to go down that rabbit hole just yet. I quickly thought up an answer to buy myself some time.

"I like to drink", I said simply, with a dismissive wave of my hoof.

"Drink what?" She questioned.

"Um… hard cider?" I posited.

At the inquisitive note in my reply, Joy narrowed her eyes suspiciously, favoring me with what must have been an attempt at an intimidating gaze.

"Cider, huh?"

Unfortunately, this mare was simply too cute for her own good, and her attempt at intimidation was simply adorable. I put on my game face, adopting the confident, self assured expression and speech pattern that I use when I have to brief my commanding officer. Nine out of ten times, it is not so much what you say as how you say it. This was a game I could not lose. I cocked one eyebrow and met her gaze, initiating a friendly staring contest.

"Yes. I quite enjoy partaking in this beverage."

A moment of silence passed as our staring match heated up. We stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, when our match was suddenly interrupted by a high pitched squeak of a sneeze from Joy. Our concentration broken, we lapsed into a fit of giggles for reasons we did not quite understand, not that either of us minded. Once we stifled our giggling, Joy spoke up.

"Well, I don’t know about cider, but I could sure go for a smoothie right about now."

I nodded in agreement, and we settled our tab and headed out the door. As we walked away, I cast a glance over my shoulder to catch the name of the diner, having missed it on the way in. The establishment was aptly named "Daffodil's Diner".

While we walked along the nearly empty streets of Ponyville, Joy and I conversed about the different attractions in town, where to eat, what to do, and what to avoid at all costs. Before I knew it, we had arrived at the smoothie joint, a place called "Berry's Smoothies".

As we entered the small café, Joy greeted the mare behind the counter by name, painting both of their faces with a friendly smile.

"Hey there, Berry. How's life?"

The mauve mare behind the counter waved her hoof nonchalantly. "Oh, you know how it goes, Joy. Life is pretty smooth. Who's the handsome mummy?" as she spoke, she gesticulated in my direction.

Joy nodded my way. "This is Dave, from Rockledge. He'll be staying in Ponyville for a few weeks while he heals, and he's asked me to show him around town."

As I mentioned before, I am not exactly the swiftest pony to pick up on inter-pony subtleties, but even I couldn't help but notice a distinctly frosty tone in Joy's response. It seemed to imply "He's mine, back off". If Berry was taken aback at all by this retort, she hid it masterfully. She came right back with a response as chipper as ever.

"Sounds like fun! Make sure you show him all the good stuff,"

Berry added, punctuating her declaration with a highly exaggerated wink. Joy just rolled her eyes playfully and let the comment go unanswered, though her blush was a bit harder to hide. We ordered a pair of the "Berry Smoothies", the beverage which the café was named after, and made famous by.

I have no idea what was in that smoothie other than berries of assorted varieties, but this smoothie tasted better than it had any right to. Who did this smoothie think it was, being that delicious? What was the secret ingredient, weapons-grade deliciousness? Hey, why is half of my smoothie gone… is somepony drinking this when I'm not looking?

What is go-SWEET CELESTIA, MY BRAIN. SO… COLD…

While I was grinding my teeth down to the gums, rubbing my temples like it would actually help, and squinting through the tears brought on by Arctic-Cranium-Itis, I could barely distinguish a mass of blue across from me that seemed to be having a seizure. As I fought the ice demon trying to possess my skull, it registered that the figure across from me was not having a seizure, just laughing uncontrollably. I couldn't help but think that now was an inappropriate time to be laughing, being that there was an angry ice demon on the loose.

Gradually, the pain faded away, and coherent thoughts began to pop up in its stead. My first thought was "What in the hell was I thinking drinking that smoothie so quickly?", and this thought was immediately followed by the realization that they had both anticipated this happening, and were taking far too much joy from this.

This second conclusion was supported by the camera on the counter and the wall of snapshots posted behind the register, all of ponies in the throes of ice-demon-skull-possession. There was no denying it, I had been thoroughly 'gotten', as it were, and I couldn't even be sore about it. I joined in the laughter, and it was at least a minute before we all got ourselves under control again. Joy and I chatted with Berry for a bit before heading out to the patio to enjoy the splendid evening.

Berry's Smoothies was a rather small café, only having about ten tables inside and four more on the patio. The café itself was decorated in bright pastel colors, with depictions of assorted berries painted seemingly at random on the walls; the two sides of the café that faced the street were endowed with several large windows, creating the illusion that there was no wall at all.

Joy and I were seated on the cobblestone patio at the table closest to the corner of the lot, simply enjoying the cool breeze of a beautiful summer night. A few moments of pleasant silence passed before I spoke up.

"So Joy, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

She had just taken a large sip of her smoothie when I asked the question, and shot me a dirty look as she quickly gulped it down to answer.

"Well, tomorrow I don't go to work until seventeen hundred, and my classes don't start again until next week, so I figured I would take the day off to relax. Care to join me? I'll give you the grand tour in the morning if you like."

I smiled again, my cheeks slowly becoming sore from the unaccustomed movement. "Actually, I would like that very much. I can't think of a better way to spend the day, honestly. Just one question though… where can I rent a room? I'll have to sleep eventually, and goodness knows I'll need a shower sooner rather than later. Preferably somewhere cheap… I'm not sure how long my funds will hold out between rent and food. Do you know anywhere that needs part time help? If I could get a part time job, I-"

Joy silenced me mid-sentence with a wave of her hoof.

"Actually, I have a solution to all of the concerns you mentioned, and others besides."

I cocked an eyebrow to express my skepticism, but waved her on to continue.

"It's fairly simple really… you can just stay with me while you recover."

I stopped in the midst of a hearty gulp of smoothie, and I might have done a spit-take if the smoothie wasn’t so damned good. As it was, I swallowed heavily before speaking up.

"Are… are you sure? I feel like I would be nothing but a burden to you in my current condition… not that I don't appreciate the offer tremendously, it's just that I have so very little to give in return…"

She leveled her gaze at me. "Dave, I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure; I've been contemplating it since I got off of work. If that coin purse of yours is all you have with you, you could barely afford a week in an inn, let alone food as well. Plus, if you are staying under my roof, I can keep an eye on you. On your wounds, I mean… make sure you are healing properly and all that. It's like a house-call in reverse."

I made eye contact with Joy, and as the connection was made I registered somewhere in my mind that these were the eyes of a mare who had made up her mind and would not take no for an answer. It had to be some sort of Jedi mind trick, because there is no way I could read that much from a look… and yet, I had no doubt that I was right about the look. I could do nothing to resist.

"Well, if it's the doctor's orders… who am I to argue?"

At this, Joy hung her head a bit and lowered her voice in what seemed like defeat as I finished my sentence… leave it to me to strike a raw nerve with a compliment.

"Dave, I am a nurse, not a doctor."

Her voice got so quiet that it was almost silent, as she finished her thought.

"And sometimes, it seems like I'll never be."

I have no idea what's come over me since I arrived in Equestria, but as long as I've been here I've been picking up on far more inter-pony signals and cues, and something inside me was thrashing in its cage with an overwhelming desire to comfort this mare.

"Joy… don't say things like that about yourself. There are too many ponies in this world who will tell you that you can't do it, that you aren't strong enough or smart enough, or some other thing to tear you down. There is no reason to add your voice to the crowd. The world is full of them; this is a sad fact of life. You may not see them around Ponyville much, but trust me, they’re out there. Here’s the secret though: it doesn't matter if the entire world is telling you that you can't. All you need is one special pony telling you that you can achieve your dreams to make all the other voices silent. Now, I'm no good at these motivational talks, but even I can clearly see you have what it takes to achieve your goal. I'll be your one voice; I believe in you, even if you don’t. I'm going to keep calling you 'Doctor' because as far as I'm concerned, it’s not a question of if, but when you achieve your goals. If I were to disappear tonight, I want you to know that no matter what, I believe in you."

Honestly, I was surprised that all of that came out as smoothly as it did. I just knew what needed to be said, and I said it. And every single word of it was the truth, no less. At first, Joy seemed to be in shock. She sat as motionless as a statue for so long that I began to wonder if I had said something to hurt her or offend her. Just as I was opening my mouth to apologize, I heard the tiniest sniffle escape her. I stopped before I spoke, and looked at her very closely for a sign of what I should do next. Once I really looked at her, I began to see the signs. Her face was partially hidden by her mane, but her shoulders shook ever so slightly with her silent sobs. The breaking point was when the first tear hit the table.

Without stopping to consider the ramifications, or to really think at all, I stood up took a seat next to her. I put a hoof on her shoulder to comfort her, and for a moment she did not react at all. Just as I was wondering if I had crossed a line in the sand and hopelessly destroyed the fledgling friendship we had only just began building, she inclined her head and nuzzled my hoof. This was all the affirmation that I needed, and I pulled her into a hug and held her close. Her initial stiffness soon faded as she let her composure slip away, and soon she was leaning into my embrace, soft sobs gently wracking her body. Right about then, I had no idea what exactly had caused this little meltdown, but it was plainly obvious that this was just what she needed; a little bit of encouragement and comfort.

I don't know how long we stayed in that position. It was likely not more than a couple of minutes before Joy shifted her position to return my embrace. And return it she did, with a vengeance at that. She held me in a vice-like hug and buried her face into my neck. Her warm tears traced a path down to my shoulder, tickling a bit as they did so.

Again, I have no frame of reference for how long we held that posture. In her own good time, Joy's quiet sobs had abated and then halted altogether, as her hug0 became less vice like and more gentle. However long she had embraced me was plenty long enough to inflame my injuries, though I did my best to hide it. It was Joy who broke the silence.

"I… I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I've… I've never been complemented like that before. It's just that… I'm always so busy, between school and work, and I have this constant fear that I'm not good enough to make it. I guess I never realized how much it was weighing on me, how much I needed… validation. I didn’t believe in myself… you were right, what you said about only needing one voice to silence the rest. If somepony I barely know believes in me, then why can't I believe in myself? I know it sounds stupid, but… just knowing that there is somepony who believes in me gives me a reason to keep trying. Even if I can't believe in myself, I know that you do… so I'll keep trying for you, if nothing else. I won't let myself disappoint you."

The ball was back in my court, and I had no way to respond. What can you say to that? I felt like there was something I should say, but nothing seemed right. And just like that, the moment was gone; the only sounds were those of the crickets in the night and that of our breathing. We remained seated on the bench, still holding our embrace.

Having my arms in an elevated position for so long, combined with the constricting hug from earlier conspired to produce an exquisite pain that wrapped my chest in a constricting band of embers.

Despite my best efforts to hide the pain, soon my breath was hitching in my throat with each exhalation. The nurse portion of Joy surfaced as soon as she caught on to my pain, and the embrace was broken as she pulled back to evaluate me. In her absence, my arms felt empty and cold, though my chest ached as badly as ever. Before I could really discern what was happening, she had rummaged through my saddlebag, grabbed the pain medication out of it, measured out the proper dosage, and popped the pills into my mouth. As I opened my mouth to protest or something of the sort, I felt a straw being pushed between my lips.

About this time, my brain decided to catch up with the rest of the world, and I washed down my medication with the now-melted Berry Smoothie. How long had we been sitting here, wrapped in our own world? I checked my watch and then checked it again in disbelief; it was nearly midnight. As if to confirm the legitimacy of the time, a rather long and noisy yawn escaped from me. Somehow, the time had slipped away much faster than seemed possible, and had taken my stamina with it. As we stood up to leave, I cast a glance back towards Berry. She was glaring at me with a mixture of concern for her friend and an unconcealed threat for me, if I had been the one that had wrought tears from those blue eyes. Berry's concerns were soothed as Joy came up to me, and nuzzled my neck as we made our way towards the exit.

The walk back to Joy's residence seemed like a mountain climbing expedition. After an extended period of abuse and neglect, my torn muscles refused to be soothed by the pain killers, choosing instead to remain miserable clusters of pain. By the time we walked in the door to her home, I was entirely disoriented. Somehow, the sleeping arrangements were set up, and I would be sleeping on the pull out bed in the living room. I was settling into the couch, entirely oblivious to damn near everything around me when I had a singularly disturbing thought: What if I went to sleep here and woke up back on earth? I was not ready to leave Equestria for the torment of my day to day world. I wasn't sure how I could settle back into my life as if nothing had happened after going through everything I had experienced today. Granted, I might have only been here for a couple hours, but the time I spent here had already left an indelible mark on me. I'd made a friend here; one who I felt needed me. If I was to leave her after everything she did for me without giving her an explanation, what would that say about me?

As I felt the weariness settling over me, I tried in vain to communicate my fear of leaving to her, unsuccessfully. My mouth was full of peanut butter each time I tried to speak, my exhaustion taking its toll. The last thing I could remember about that night was when Joy turned out the light; I had hoped and begged for all I was worth to remain in Equestria for the rest of my days.

The lights went out, and I locked the image of the living room away in the vault of my mind. All I could think was that to fall asleep in Equestria meant to wake up back in my own world, and for some reason I did not want this at all. As sleep claimed me, the last thing that ran through my head was an image of Joy's face, as we enjoyed our smoothies. I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life.

And then the blackness moved in.