I opened my eyes to find that I was looking at the plain white tiles I had come to associate with hospitals; the smell of disinfectant reaching my nostrils soon corroborating my theory. I tried to breathe a sigh of relief, happy that the girls had gotten me to safety, but the pain was just too much.

Haywick is gonna kill me for being back so soon, I thought. But at least this time I won't be in the hospital for three months.

"Unidentified male found with gunshot wound in James Street," a voice said. I tried to look around, but found that I was unable to move for all the machines attached to me. "Take it easy, pal." The same voice soothed. "You're gonna be fine."

It didn't take me long to realise that the voice had said 'James Street,' instead of 'the Everfree Forest.' Furthermore, the doctor's voice sounded nothing like Haywick's.

The trolley slowed to a stop, at which I felt several bodies crowding around me; I looked up to see several faces looking back.

Human faces. My eyes widened, and I gasped in shock.

With a collective grunt I was transferred onto a bed, the doctors shouting for various medicines as my mind drifted back to Equestria. I was sincerely hoping that the girls had used the Elements of Harmony to their full effect.

With nothing else to do in the meantime, I lay back and let the wonders of modern medicine work their magic on me.

I woke up slowly, my eyes fluttering in the light, and looked around to see that I was still in the hospital. The window was open, and the sounds and smells of the outside world were filtering through.

I soon realised that I wasn't in Equestria, I was actually back on Earth. The door opened and a doctor came in; he walked over to me with a small smile on his face. "Ah, you're awake," he said. "I'm Doctor Hardwick, and I have to say that you are lucky to be alive. Another inch to the left and you'd be dead."

I stared at him blankly. "How long has it been, Doctor?" I asked. "Since... since I was admitted, I mean."

"A few days," Hardwick replied. "Why?"

"I dreamt that I was in a whole other place," I said, a smile spreading on my face. "It all seemed so real; to my mind, it was though I had been there for nine whole months."

Hardwick nodded. "Sounds to me like your mind created this world for you as a sort of defence mechanism," he replied, scribbling some notes on a piece of paper attached to a clipboard. "Not to worry, though, you'll be up and about in no time. I just popped in to check on you, but since I can see that you're awake, I will let you get some more rest." He left the room, closing the door quietly behind, leaving me to fall back onto the pillows.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you like that, girls," I said aloud. "But, now that I'm back, I am going to keep the promise I made to Twilight... and do my utmost to finally make a new friend."

I sat in the gallery, sweating profusely and crossing my fingers while hoping for the best. Derek stood in the dock, looking intently at his shoes, while another man stood up holding a piece of paper.

"Mr. Foreman," said the judge. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"Yes, Your Honour, we have," replied the foreman. "We the jury find the defendant, Derek Adams, guilty of attempted murder."

I suppressed a cheer.

"Thank you, foreman," the judge replied as he turned to Derek, who was standing with a shocked expression on his face. "Given that your attack was completely unprovoked, as well your history of violence, I believe you are a danger to the public. I sentence you to seven years in a secure mental health facility, where you can get the help you need." He pounded his gavel.

I punched the air in triumph, watching as Derek was led away; he saw me sitting in the gallery and looked at me with anger in his eyes, before his face dissolved into a look of remorse. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he was taken out the room.

I stood up and left the courtroom, deliriously happy with the turn of events. But As I danced down the hall I collided with someone, sending us both tumbling to the floor in a heap.

"Hey, watch it!" said the man I'd bumped into, standing up and beginning to collect the papers he had been carrying.

"Sorry, I just got a good result in a case and I wasn't looking where I was going," I said sheepishly. "Here, let me help you with those."

I started picking up some of the papers and handed them to him.

"Thanks," he turned to leave, but his eyes remained focused on the gaming t-shirt I was wearing. Before I went to Equestria, I had been afraid to wear one because of what people might think — but then I remembered something that Twilight had said to me.

"Would you listen to yourself? You've got a negative opinion of yourself, simply because somepony else does!"

These words were my mantra. By wearing this t-shirt, I was announcing to the world that I didn't give a fuck what they thought of me; that I was who I was, and proud of it. As I thought about this, the man whom I bumped into finished looking at it.

"So," he said nonchalantly. "You're a gamer?"

"Yeah," I replied with a smile. "PC and PS4 mostly."

"PS4 is my favourite too." he held out his hand. "I'm John."

I took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, I'm Geo."

"That's an odd name," John replied, raising an eyebrow.

I laughed. "Yeah, it is," I said. "Truth be told it's a nickname of mine, but I liked it so much I used the Deed Poll laws to legally change my name from 'Chris' to 'Geo.'"

"Cool." John smirked, then he hesitated for a moment. "Listen, I don't normally do this, but you seem like a good guy. I've gotta get back to work now, but if you want to go for a drink one night... then maybe we can talk about our favourite games?"

"Sure," I replied, writing my mobile number on a piece of scrap paper he offered me. "Call me when you're free."

"Will do, mate," John replied as he turned around and began running down the hall. "Catch ya later, Geo!"

I smiled and left the courthouse, happier than I could ever remember. As I walked home, I looked up at the sky and recalled the dream I'd had about going to Equestria.

Twilight would be proud of me, I thought to myself. I made a new friend – well, at least I think I did – just like I promised her I would. I stopped walking and looked at the pavement, a single tear landing on the concrete below. I miss them all so much — but knowing that it was all something my mind conjured up makes it harder to bear. I resumed walking. But that doesn't mean I still didn't learn anything from my experience, because I have a chance to make a fresh start... come hell or high water.

The heavens opened, and the rain cascaded onto the streets.

And I'm going to make damn sure that I take it.

I sat back on the sofa, raising my arms in triumph. "I win again!" I shouted, a smile on my face. "You owe me twenty quid, John!"

"We didn't shake on that bet." John laughed. "So it doesn't count!"

I stood up, grinning, and went to the kitchen. "Want a beer?" I called through to the living room, where John was swapping games.

"Yeah, mate, cheers!" he replied. I grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge as well as a couple of packets of crisps. I took them back through to the living room and tossed one of each to John, nonchalantly aiming for his head. "Cheers, Geo."

"You're welcome, mate" I replied, just as there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it; don't even think about cheating while I'm gone!"

John grinned. "No promises!" he said jokingly. "I'm only teasing, Geo, I could never cheat on you." He batted his lashes at me.

I rolled my eyes and went over to the door, opening it to find a delivery man with a parcel. "Delivery for Geo," he said. "Sign here."

I signed for the parcel and he handed it to me. "That's it, cheers, have a nice day." With that, he was gone.

I closed the door and looked closer at the parcel, which had the logo of the hospital I was at in the top left corner. Underneath that were the words 'PATIENT PROPERTY.'

"What is it, mate?" asked John from the living room.

"It's from the hospital," I replied. "Apparently, I forgot to claim something of mine, and they're returning it to me; I just can't seem to recall having anything on me when I was admitted."

John paused the game and came to the door. "That's nice of them," he said. "Maybe they've made a mistake and sent you someone else's stuff? If so, stick it on eBay and make yourself a few quid!" He chuckled at his own joke before noticing the glazed look on my face. He clumsily patted me on the shoulder. "Mate, that's all in the past now; you're okay, and the bastard who did it is behind bars."

I smiled. "I was just glad I could talk to someone about it," I said. "I'm also very thankful that you didn't think I was a complete loony when I got to the part about the talking ponies."

"It's like the doctor said," replied John. "The whole thing was likely a defence mechanism your mind came up with; you're also my best mate, so why wouldn't I believe you?" I smiled, and John raised his hand. "Mind you, the bit about falling in love with one of them was a bit weird — and I certainly didn't need to hear about how the two of you took each other's virginity." He paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, you're still a virgin since it was a dream."

I responded by flipping him the bird. "Fuck off."

"Hey, I'm just saying!" John defended. "Maybe we can go to Amsterdam at some point... if you feel like it, that is."

"Can we get back on topic, please?" I rolled my eyes. "Those ponies taught me a lot about friendship, John; If they could see me now with you, I'm sure they'd be proud... especially Twilight."

"I'm sure they would," he replied. "Now, what's in the envelope?"

I smiled, opened the envelope and peered inside; all I could make out was a piece of paper. I took it out, unfolded it and read it.

Dear Geo,

Enclosed is the property you had on you when you were admitted to our Accident and Emergency department. Should you feel that anything is missing, please contact me as soon as possible.

Doctor Hardwick.

I put a hand in the envelope and had a feel around, my fingers eventually touching something cold. Taking a hold of it pulled it out and looked at it — only to fall onto my knees, clutching it in my fist.

"Geo!" John panicked. "Shit, are you okay? What is it?!"

I opened my shaking hand to reveal a gold necklace — with a small purple gem attached to the end.

I clutched the object closer to my chest; John tried to take a closer look, but all he could see were four simple words.

My Heart Is Yours.