El Turnia: Becoming Fire *DISCONTINUED*

Chapter 25: The Hospital

Falcon, her brown coat stained with blood, white mane pulled out in clumps.

Claws raking across my neck. Blood. So much blood.

Lunacy looming over Christilia ready to lay the final blow...

I wanted to run, to flee from these images of horror that circled my mind, but I couldn't move. I was frozen to the spot like a fly caught in a web, I was trapped.

WAKE UP GLORIA!!

My mind screamed, but I couldn't, I was currently incapable of doing anything except being frozen. Just then the tidal wave of horrifying graphics came crashing down and I was swept away with them. I didn't know where it was taking me, I just tried to get up, to get out of this overpowering stream of terror. My eyes flew open. I panted as sweat poured down my face.

It was just a bad dream! Just a nightmare....

I sighed relieved, I stared around for awhile in a attempt to calm myself. I shook myself, trying to get rid of the goosebumps that were crawling up my neck. I stared at the ceiling.

Wait! A ceiling!!?? I thought I was outside?!

That's when I realized I had no idea where I was. I looked around. I was in a bed.... in a room... a small room. It had white curtains that covered the windows blocking out most of the sunlight. There were other small beds, like mine, maybe three of them, they were... sort of like cots... but bigger and more comfortable looking. Some of the beds contained ponies, all of them seemingly asleep. There were bedside tables some covered in vases of flowers and wrapped gifts.

Weird....

I drew my attention back to the room. I noticed that the walls were made out of stone and the floor was wooden and covered in off-white carpets. I had never seen this place before and I was getting antsy and uncomfortable.

"You're awake!" a voice trilled happily.

My hackles raised as I prepared for the worst and I jerked my head from side to side trying to find the voice's location. I winced as sudden pain seared from my neck.

"Oh I wouldn't try to move your head to much." the voice spoke again. "It might make the wounds start bleeding again."

"Where are you?" I asked confused.

A light pink pegasus flew down from above my head and walked over to me. Her red mane was tucked neatly under a nurses cap and her amethyst eyes sparkled. She wore and apron with a red cross apparently sown on.

I'm in a hospital! Of course!

"Sorry for startling you!" the pegasus said bringing my attention back to the present. "How do you feel?"

"Oh... uh a little sore and woozy but pretty good actually." I replied.

"Thats great!... greater than I expected at least." the pegasus said, smiling. "We were taking care of you all week after all! I'm glad that paid off in the end!"

"Oh! Thank you Miss...." I broke of realizing I didn't know her name.

"Rose. Nurse Rose." she replied. Then her eyes widened. "I'll have to tell Queen Christilia you're all right! She's been worried sick! In fact we have to force her to leave your side so we can work!"

I smiled at the prospect of seeing Christilia, but stopped.

"Wait! What about Lunacy?" I asked.

Rose chuckled.

"Oh you'll find out!"

She winked cheerfully as if thinking I would know what she meant.

What?

Rose smiled.

"I'll be right back!" and with that she trotted out of the room and I was left alone to think.

What happened? Where is Christilia? How'd I get here? Is everypony alright? What happened to Lunacy?

I didn't have the faintest idea what the answer to those questions were. But I did have one idea, of a different kind that is. I lifted my hoof slowly and gingerly touched the back of my neck, my hoof came in contact with a thick layer of bandages. It seemed that they had stopped bleeding although my wooziness definitely came from my large loss of sanguinary fluid.

Welp, at least I'm alive!

I yawned, I was exhausted, clearly a weeks worth of being "asleep" had not helped. I tried to close my eyes and rest but the questions that swirled around in my mind like a tornado prevented any action of that sort. I sighed once more and resorted to staring up at the ceiling in boredom and restlessness and let my mind go through the spinning questions in my head.

I wondered how I got here, and if I was in Trottingham or some other distant town. I wondered how the city was recovering and if the Ponington ponies had made it home safely. I wondered if Falcon had a proper burial and how her family was, I wondered if anypony else had died, and if Lunacy was in a dungeon or somewhere worse. It was hard having questions and nopony to answer them and it was hard not knowing how you were alive. I closed my eyes. I thought about everything that had happened since the day my mother woke me up telling me that the King and Queen of the Jewel Empire were coming to Trottingham. It felt like my life had sped past and all my memories seemed bunched together as if the were from the same day. Voices from outside interrupted my train of thought, the first seemed desperate and pleading:

"Ma'am, please! You'll wake the other patients!!"

The other more authoritative and loud:

"I DON'T CARE!! NOW LET ME IN!"

"Please, just calm down!"

"CALM DOWN!? SHE'S BEEN ON THE BRINK OF DEATH FOR A WEEK AND YOU EXPECT ME TO BE CALM!!"

"Just please be quiet! She could be sleeping or-or sensitive to loud noises like your voice!"

"Fine! I'll be quiet!"

Whoever had been the loud voice burst through the doors with an extremely loud bang.

So much for being quiet!

Some of the other ponies awoke and shrieked, Rose rushed in hurriedly to calm them down. I on the other hoof stared at the pony in front of me.

"Christilia!" I said, happiness flooding over my body like a tidal wave of relief. "You're okay!"

"Barely!" she said rolling her eyes.

She hurried over to my bedside and laughed:

"I would hug you but that would probably hurt!"

I noticed she was eyeing my neck worriedly and I smiled.

"It's ok! It doesn't hurt, at least I'm the only one of us who got injured!"

Except for Falcon...

"That's.... actually not true..." Christilia said biting her lip.

I looked at her, confused. She slowly lifted the hair that had been covering the right side of her face and I gasped. Her right eye had claw marks running over it and the was now milky white and stared blankly into space.

"Lunacy clawed my eye and I guess she made me half blind." Christilia said lowering her head, sadly.

Now I wanted to hug her!

"I'm sorry." I said softly.

"It's alright, at least it's only one, I can still see can't I?" Christilia said and smiled a fake smile.

In attempt to change the subject I asked hurriedly:

"What happened to Lunacy?"

Christilia frowned.

"Well its a bit of a long story...."