A challenge! A challenge! A mare of my experience has been without a challenge for decades! As Equestria's premier specialist on exotic species and diseases, I've seen it all! I can diagnose, prescribe and administer treatment for all manner of ailments. So when Stillwater called me in because they had a feral griffin, I was not amused. I was looking for some kind of mystery disease that would require months of research and tests, not an intestinal worm and malaria cocktail. Still... the fact that he was in that swamp meant it may be something new and interesting meant it was worth coming.

"Doctor Exotic, thank you for coming. I know you're busy and that time is important to you..." The nurse at the front began.

"Then why are you wasting mine? Just hurry up and show me the patient already so I can get this over with."

"Um... right this way."

The nurse showed me to the secured wing of the hospital, to a room that was under watch by a pair of unicorn guards.

"He is under guard?"

"Well, the rest of the hospital staff haven't been able to get near him to properly diagnose, and active stun spells can give false readings on tests, so we're pretty much sunk. That's why we called you in."

"Alright, fine." I grumbled. They couldn't even get near the patient. Amateurs. I turned to the guards. "Out of my way, let me see him."

Pressing my face against the glass, I could see him ravenously devouring anything even remotely edible that the staff had in the room. When he finally ran out of food, he began rasping his claws rhythmically against the tile flooring, as though anxiously awaiting his next meal. His stomach was bulging from his gorging, yet he still looked hungry.

"Alright, let me in." The guards opened the door and allowed me inside. The patient immediately made a move for the door. When I stood in his way, he growled at me, his tail whipping to and fro behind him, likely a distraction technique set deep in his predatory instincts. When he made a move for the door, I planted my hoof on his forehead and looked him dead in the eye.

"Sit." His pupils turned to pinpricks as he immediately planted his rear on the floor, still like a statue. I pulled open his eyelids to look, placed a hoof along his neck to find his pulse, moved down his side to underneath his one wing, then began rubbing his belly, which prompted him to turn over and lay on his side, letting me get a good look at the underside of his tail. Finally, I gave him a quick once over with my horn, just to be sure. With that, I left the room and spoke with the nurse.

"Just as I thought. He has intestinal worms, which is giving him a ferocious appetite, despite being so malnourished. Judging by his rapid eye movements, despite being awake, he probably hasn't slept in a while, probably fear based adrenaline keeping him awake so he wouldn't get eaten by predators. Either that or the buzz of insects annoyed him into consciousness. He's going crazy for vegetables because he probably only ate uncooked meat out in the swamp, which is how he got the parasites to begin with. He also has minor joint shakes, gastric inflammation, yellowing in his eyes, which tells me he's got the first stages of malaria. Put him on a biltricide and standard antimalarial drugs, give him supplemental vitamins with a protein rich diet, and some mild muscle relaxants. He's far too tense to sleep. After that he should be cognitive. Try to get in contact with his family once he's able to tell you who they are, and in the meantime get him some socialization therapy. He's been alone for some time. Give him some real food, a safe place to sleep, and someone non threatening to talk to. He'll snap right out of it."

"Thank you Doctor Exotic." The nurse went to shake my hoof, but I backed away.

"Don't touch me, you have fleas. Does the hospital have my billing information?" The nurse nodded, then started looking frantically in her mane for the aforementioned parasites as I walked out of the hospital with a sense of pride, even if it was just a run of the mill double infection on a feral one winged griffin.

"Damn I'm good.... wait... one wing?" The markings, the face shape, colouration... "Oh yes. When he comes out of it I'll have some questions of my own for Mr. North. No rush however. Plenty of time."

"Dr. Exotic? Are you alright? You're talking to yourself."

"Hush, I'm a genius, you don't get to talk."

Several days passed after the strange doctor told me to sit and I felt oddly compelled to obey. Each day I was given three warm meals, (with pills cleverly hidden inside them, you think I didn't notice?), and had one of the nurses come in to talk to me or sing a song that was supposed to be soothing, something I couldn't enjoy because for some reason my magic escapes me and I don't have a protect spell. If the nurse decided to stick me with a needle, I couldn't stop her! Who knows what's in those things? Medicine... or a deadly poison! I've seen the dirty looks she gives me, like she's disgusted by my very existence. Like the fact that she has to use different protocol because I'm not a pony is such a burden, and she's got to put up with it. Without my magical shield, I felt... naked. At any time the nurse could come in and make me take unknown medicines. Then there was the strange doctor. She was a completely different story. She had some way of... controlling me, and I didn't like it one bit.

Unfortunately, I didn't lose my memories of my time in the swamp. I remember those bugs, and the rats, and eating half rotten meat, and crawling through the muck with a sense of purpose, sometimes forgetting what that purpose even was. I remember feeling totally and completely lost. I remember being up all night, curled into a ball in a shallow pool of muck as I rested my body, my mind denied the same relief as I constantly searched for danger, prepared to jump up and run for it at a moment's notice. Above all, I remember the stench, like sulfur mixed with skunk, vomit, and decay.

As harrowing and painful as my experience in hell was, my two month journey through the Black Marsh, which would have taken less than a week if I could fly, had worn on my psyche more. Was this the result of no longer having Hades' divine protection? And that's when I realized it. Everything I had done up till this point, every accomplishment, every achievement, every success had in some way or another been tarnished by the fact that I literally had a god preventing me from failing. Now that I no longer had that defense, did I even know what I was capable of anymore? Could I do anything on my own?

I think that's what was the scariest. Through every hardship I had been lead by the hand, like a parent leads their child across the road, and suddenly without warning, it was gone. I know I was paranoid before, and that was with the god of the dead looking out for me. Now, everything was a threat. Were the nurses secretly assassins hired by some pissed off noble who'd lost their estate because of me, and the pills meant to 'heal' me actually dangerous? Probably not, considering that I'd been taking them for two days before I came to the conclusion that they MIGHT be toxic, but they could be some slow acting poison meant to make it look unrelated. The very notion of that gave me a lump in my throat that prevented me from swallowing them, so I wound up hiding them in my beak and discreetly disposing of them through the toilet.

The thing is, would I have been better off not knowing I had divine protection? Obviously it was gone, but if I didn't know it was gone, or had ever been there in the first place, I wouldn't be panicking like I was now. But Hades told me it was gone, and given that he had manipulated the fates so he could know the future, that meant for me to survive, he knew that I had to know that I couldn't rely on the serendipitous events that I'd become accustomed to without even knowing what they were, which meant he WANTED me to be on my guard against any perceivable threat, which meant that being extremely careful was the right thing to do... wasn't it?

"Hello. Griffin?" I don't know how the nurse knew my name, I never told it to her. Further proof of conspiracy. "I've brought your food." She set it on the small table in the room. Unlike every other time however, she didn't leave. She stayed and began to talk. "Listen, I know you haven't been taking your pills." Shit "You need to take those to get better." You haven't even told me what's wrong with me, if anything. "You're very sick. Because you haven't been taking your pills, I have to give you an injection of a stronger medicine."

She pulled the needle from out of her bag, it's sharp point gleaming in the indoor lighting and a horrific, sickening smile on her face. At that point I became convinced whatever was in that needle was NOT medicine. I screamed as I flung myself against the far wall.

"What? It's just a little needle. It'll be fine." She tilted her head on the side, going farther and farther till it made a disgusting crack, slowly walking towards me with the tip of the instrument pointed forward.

"̫̥͕̝̦͓̱̫͓͖̎́͐ͥͧͧ̀̒̂ͧͅD̤̪̹̩̖̬͍͉̺̯̮͛ͨ̔̓́ͥͮ̂̋͂̈ͧͮ̀̿̈́̚ͅo̬̙͔͎̩͈̞̬̣̼̪͔̞̤͚̓͊̍ͯ̄̽̉ͩͬͦ̃̚̚n͚̰͙͙̩̆͛̆ͫ̏̓̂̈͊́̌̚'̫͇̰̳̼̗̥̣̪̥͚̖̰̫̥̞ͮ̈́̔ͥͫ̐̓͑̑̈̀̈́̿̽ͧ̚t̮͕͓͍͉͕̼̳͓̝͔̹͖͙̘̲̘̘̂͂͂̈́̆ͧ̂ͦ̒ͅ ͈̜̘͉͖͇̋ͩͤ͋͆̊͑̌ḅ̣̭̱̮̤̬̠̗̼̫ͧ̉̂ͦ͒ͤ̈́ͤ͒e̹̞͈͉̫̗̳̳͇̫ͦ̃ͬͬ̓͌̎̓̃̉ͮ̆ͨ̏̅̽ ̠̖̻̬͎͔͔͕ͫͥ̒̏̔͛s̹̖̞̲͍͖͕̺͕͖̪̓͂͑ͫ̐ͮ̑ͯ̓ũ͔͖̹̭̜̱͉̟̫͇̞̄ͯ̏̑̿ͯͭ͐̌̔̐͆̓ͯ̏̊c͍̙̤̣͔̹̝̙͎͚̼͈͑ͫ͗͊ͮ̿ͧͬ̚ḧ̺̳̘̫͙̥͔͖̘͉́͌ͫͦ̊͆̍ͨ͒̎̈̋̿̚ͅ ̮̬̭͔ͤ̂ͣͨ̈ͦ̅ͦ̍ͪͫͦͮ͛̓̀͒̀ͫa̜̣͍̫̦͉̲̣̭͚̤̫̤̬͖̻ͥ̉͊͐ͮ̒͂̚̚ͅ ̜̻̠̳͇̟͎̙̆ͬͤ̓͌̇̽̓͆̃ͅͅd̯̤̮͚̫ͣͬ͌ͧ̍̈́ͬ̄͗̚r̗͎͔̫̪̝͖̻̩̝͍̯͚̟͉̆͌̎ͮͦ̂ͪͪͬ̇͗̔͛ͯá̗̰̗̘̱̞͚̗̝͙̮̪̫̓̓ͣ̀͌͒̐̽͋̄́̆̿͊̃̚m͈̻͕̟̯͎͈̩̲̯̬̟̞͇̦̭̤ͬ̓ͮ͆̋ͯ̏ͤͧͫ̏̌͋̉̚ͅå͔̪͕͕͖̣̘͌ͮ̒̂ͥ̇̏ͯ̈͆̚ͅ ̥͍͖̼̯͖̭ͣ̀ͮ̆͂ͤ̑ͪ̇ͯͤ̑ͥͯ̋͗̓̈́q͓̻̥̳̜͖̥̭̙̈̂̔ͭͭͯͮ̈́ͭ̔̊̒ͯͣ͂̓̌͑̚ͅǘ̝͍̜̖͚̎͂̅ͬe̦̳̣͓̠̼̝͍̰̦̤͍̲̞̥̣͂̂ͬ̀̑ͥ̅ͯͦ̂ͭͦ͒̀̈ḙ͉̥̣̗̺̘̣̞ͯ̈̒̌̽̃̌͆͒̍̊͛͒̽n͖̪̤͓̦͎̻̭̳͕̼̲̼ͯ̈̑͛̾̋̅̋̓͐̚.̤̣̘̗̭̻̠͓̹̲̬̯ͮ̓́͂͂ͨ̅͌̚"̟͚̺̣̪̳̐̔̔͆̔͛̿͆̓ͨ̒ͬ̈́ "She hissed in a mocking tone. ̠͍͈͍͕̻̭̘̦͇̗͕̯̥̖̘̖̬ͮ̍̌ͥͭ̇́ͮͮ̌̓ͦͩͮͥͅJ̠̣̩͕̬͎̘̩̮̞͚̪̝̪̮̮̫͉̈́ͦ̉̂͌̓u̥̯̮̳̯̖̰̻͎̦͓͎ͥͩ̂͌̾̈s͓͖̩̻̹̻̣̯̹̻͔̘̬̯̻̿̿ͫͩ̏͂̈̈́ͤ̃͋̇ͣ̂͋ͤ̅ͅt͖̱̦͎͉̦̮͙̺͓̰̳̯ͯͧͮ͑̎ ̹̘̗̝̤̙̙͈̪̤͙͈̩̯̱̟̠̤̥̏̉̊̈o̜̺͚͕̞͕͇͇̒͐ͩ̄̀̀̊ͪ̒͗̒ͩ̒̈́n̗̹̖̱̻̥̣̮͖͍͌̓͒͊ͥ̽ͣ̾̿̐̃͂̊̇̏͂ͬ̓ë̥̜̟̳̻̥̲͔̩̗̪̼̪̦͓͇̺̦ͮ̈ͭ̔ͪͯ̇͊ ̬̹̮̗̲̰̩̫̹͇̱̮̬̙̩̫͙̈̂ͫ̄͌̔ͨ̈ͥ̓ͅͅl̝̥͈̟͈̦̮̪̖̮͓̗̘͎̯̮̤̘͌͗͑͛ͮͮ̈́̈́̒̎͒̚i͉̻̣͓͓ͧ̀̉͛́t̥̮̹̗̗͖̜̹̪̹̲̮̘́̏̆ͥ̐̄ͮ̓ͪͨͨͥ̇̔̅̄̚t̳͍̮̱̙͂͂ͮͦl̗̝̼͕̩͎͙̬̣̲̙̊̄̓̋͒ͨ̊ͧ̄̎̉̈́ͨͦͧe͈͖̦̦͔̣̐̆̑ ̙̱͚̖̝̜͍ͤ͑͒̈̈́p͔̣͕̟̩̮͕̬͕͚̠̣̯̉ͮͯ̐ͫ̽̏̀̾̑̆̽ͫ͆̓̏̓͊̚r͇̭͔̞̪̥̘͙̩̬̞͉̳̳̥͚͓̩͙̓̽̔̀̀͊̀̃̐ͥi̲̜̩̹̰͍̠͙͓͕̻̳̎̓͑ͩ̄̔̑̽̓ͫ̑ͅͅc̘͓͈̝͙̣̑̋ͨͭ̈͑k̪̗̝̩̩̥̼̻̬̟̰̝̹̤̍̔̾̅͂ͅͅ,̙͓̦̙͈̹͖̲͚͗̀͋̋͑ͮͨ ͙̩͍̫̬̠̗͍̣̖̟̲̻̩͙̥͔͇͓̈́͋͋̆͋ͨ͛ͭ̈̾̓̊̂a͇͇̱̖͉͉̹͇̩̩̹̝͔̞̍̎͂̏̍ͬ̒̒ͤ̚n̳̗̥̩̭͙ͯͮ͌̎ͫ̊ͮͭ̾̊̂̇͊̓ͤ̇̐̎ͫd͇͚͖͓̝͍̣͔͈̎ͪ͐ ͙̜̦̺̜̻̼͔̭̮̑ͦͭ̓̔ͣ͂͒ͪ͑̄̄̑͐̆ͮ̎͆̄ị̤͖̗̄̓̄̾̅ͦ͐̿̈͌̑̓̀ͩ̈̐ͧt͔̜̺̗̊͒̽ͦ̏͋͋̍̔͑̿̆͊ͨ̋ͣ'̞̺̲̫͚͙̺̦͎̫̯͚̺̳̯̘͚̩̏͗̆͐ͪ̉ͫ̔̂̈́̚l͕̜̲̦̩͕̞̦̜͉̙̦̗̯ͦͪ͌ͬͮ͊l̘̳̥͚̘̗͕̼̜̰̹̙̬̺̜̱̜͈͉ͦͫ͗ͨ̚ ͖̣͔͍̰̻̩̣̻͔͎̫͎̰͓͙̬͕ͣ̃ͪ̚b̼̰͓̘͉͔̯̱̣̺̖̙̳̰̺̱̽͆̐ͅe̬̣͎̙̹͓͗͂̄ͣ̎ͣ̄̄͊̉ͦ̓ ̜̻̯͙͙̳̣̖̳̼̦͎̣̑ͥ͗͐̈͂̄͊ͥ̚o̙͙̱̙͇̰̥̦̥̗̝̘͙̙̞ͭͦ͑̐ͮ̓̓̾ͧ͛̉͋̊ͬ̏̌͑ͅv̤͙͍͕̪͚̻̘̥͍ͣ̿͌ͪͩ͐͒̌̋ẹ̠͙͚̳̱̖̘̺͎̟̱͇͎̬̝͌̒͋̀̀̃͐̿ͮ̃r͍͙͇͎͙̜̯̗̼ͣ̔̑̊ͤ̔̈̎̓.̦̪͙̫͕̘̱͚̼̜͌̋ͯͯ̀̃̾͆͐ͣͫͬͯ̌͒"͖͚̻̺̻̪̼̥̳̓̆̄̑ͬͥ́̈̒͐͑̄ͥ̈͛ͤ̋̐

Just one little prick, and it'll be over! She's gonna kill me! I ran past her to the door she came in through, locked as always, and began pounding on it to try and escape. 'If only I had my magic.'

"Come back, you need to take your 'medicine'. Hehehe..." The door wouldn't open. I turned my back to it and faced the clearly demonic nurse. The only thing to do was call for help, but I couldn't manage the words. All I was capable of was a horrific, ear splitting scream.

I was surprised to feel a wetness falling down on me. Had the sprinkler system gone off or something? When I opened my eyes after my shriek the nurse appeared normal, having dropped the needle in order to cover her ears. It was also raining. I could tell because there were black clouds in the sky that pegasi were jumping on, and I could see that from my secure, windowless room because it was now missing three walls and a ceiling.

"Geez! If you were that afraid of needles you should have just said something! Hpmf!" The nurse walked past me to the door like nothing happened. "Security! Please escort patient 342 to room 361." When the security guards came and asked what happened, the nurse replied, "I've decided to use the two years of vacation time I've saved up. See you in six weeks." When they came into the... 'room' they looked at me in shock. They began asking each other what could have possibly happened and when they turned their expectant eyes to me, I said the first words I had spoken in over two months.

"Oops."

Author's Notes:

I had a HELL of a time writing this chapter. If you don't like it, well, I don't like it either! Too plucking bad! (because apparently, according to every fic released in the past 2 months, pluck is now a griffonic swear word. Makes sense I suppose. 'Go pluck yourself' would be seen as insulting to the feather-kin)

Also, Dr. Exotic will play a role later on. She's the one part I do like in this chapter. That and the room exploding. Everything between those just doesn't feel right.