Arthur didn't know what hit him.

His head ached; his body was weak and fatigued. He was lying beaten and bruised, in a room that was pitch black, inside a world he didn't belong to. He could tell that he had been unconscious for quite some time, due to the moon now shining brightly through the small peephole a little ways from where Arthur laid.

Then he heard the shallow breathing.

He wasn't alone in the room, as he could clearly hear and feel the presence of another pony somewhere close.

Then Arthur remembered what happened.

There he was, being snogged on by some wanker, when a few kicks were landed on him by a third pony. He didn't know who the attacker was, all he saw was a flash of dark purple. He needed to find out who the other pony in the room was. Maybe the other pony knew where they were, and how to get out.

Carefully, Arthur followed the sound of breathing towards where the other pony lay. Fumbling around in the dark, he nudged the other pony on what he assumed was the shoulder.

"Mmhh.." said the other pony.
"Oh, wake up, will you? I need you to tell me where we are."
"….who are you?" the voice asked. Arthur felt a strange flutter in his stomach, but he wasn't sure why.
"That's not important."
"Take me back…I'm sorry…take me back…"

Arthur then knew what the fluttering was about. That voice. The fluttering was growing stronger, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears. It wasn't America. It couldn't be. He needed to take deep breaths, that was all. Deep breaths.

Then he heard sobbing.

The scent of alcohol once again wafted off of the creature and into Arthur's snout. Damn, this must be the pony who tried to snog him last night. The pony would have to pay for that later, Arthur was too hurt and tired to do anything. He just wanted to get the hell out of this place. The poor drunken bastard.

"You don't understand, you wouldn't…" The pony continued, "I'm just a sorry son of bitch, I hurt the one I love, I just want to get back to where I came from. But at the same time, I want to stay here forever…I don't know who you are, but I can't help you, I'm not a hero…"

No. That voice. It kept making Arthur's stomach churn, his heart pound. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then he remembered those eyes, that warmth, that smell….

He continued listening to the other pony's sobbing.

"I don't deserve to be here anyways, I just want to be a savior, but I'm too stupid to help anyone…I just want to forget everything that happened, I just want to forget, I want to die and see my Iggy again…."

An indescribable wave of numbness hit Arthur's chest. He felt oddly calmed. But he was still filled with feelings he couldn't describe. Like there was some sort of system overload in his brain, like he was feeling so many different emotions at once that his mind just shut down. He gave a deep breath.

"But your Iggy isn't dead." Arthur said calmly.
"He might as well be…and it's my fault…"
"It's not your fault, America."
"You don't know that!"

Arthur gave a frustrated sigh.

"Tell my why it's your fault."
"I was the one who got him hurt…I'm just so stupid…stupid…." Alfred repeated, smacking his hoof violently against his own head. Arthur was overtaken by pity and affection for America. Arthur wasn't for romance. But now is the time where it could save America's sanity. Arthur had so much he wanted to tell America…so much he just wanted to speak out, to get America to realize how much he cared for him and how much he loved him…

Arthur nudged closer. He prepared for what he was about to say.

"Alfred. Look at me."

He felt Alfred's movement in the dark room.

"Do you know who I am?" Arthur asked.
"I know it's you, but it's not really you…You're not really there. You're not really there, I'm just dreaming, but I just want you back, England…"
"Calm down."

Alfred's voice began to rise to a panicked tone.

"But you're not there, you'll never wake up, you're not really here. It's just a dream, just a dream, and soon I'll wake up and see Kiku and Matthew and Francis and-"
"America, it's me."

Suddenly, a burst of light flickered into view. Arthur looked around to see where they were, and then realized that they were in some sort of bathroom. The moon shone through a small window, the light that had just come emanated from a small dusty lightbulb hanging in the far corner. Then Arthur looked down and saw Alfred, who was now in clearer view. The same blue eyes. The same crescent-shaped hair curl. Bent glasses.

Alfred looked up. His heart beat so furiously that he felt as if it were going to burst out of his chest. It was the pony he ran into in his drunkenness. He remembered seeing those grass-green eyes, and just losing control. Shame burned into him.

"Iggy…" Alfred moaned, then sobbed even harder than before. Arthur felt even more pity for him, and he himself began to cry. He felt weak. But at least his Alfred was here, right in front of him, though it was still quite hard to believe.

"Alfred, listen…" Arthur began, "I just want you to know that I love you. Okay? Whatever happened that sent me to this place, I forgive you. I love you, Alfred. And you know I never say these sorts of things to anyone, but you're special, and you're the one who deserves it the most. And God knows that I couldn't have missed you more. We'll make it out of this place, together, somehow. I don't know what this world is or why we're here. But we can escape."

Tears streamed down both of their faces. Alfred continued to stare straight into Arthur's eyes.

"I'm sorry…" Alfred sobbed, "I just…I love you too, Arthur. I know you probably don't think that I do, but I really couldn't love you more. I was just afraid of how you'd react, of how you'd think of me...when the truth is, I've had a crush on you for longer than I can remember..."

At that moment, something overtook Arthur. Was it affection? Was it worry? Whatever it was, Arthur then reached down to Alfred, stuck out his snout, and kissed him passionately.

A few minutes later, Arthur withdrew and once again looked down at Alfred. Alfred's face was still tearstained, yet his eyes were clear and bright. Arthur couldn't help but smile. But at the same time, he felt awful strange. He didn't feel like himself. Was this what France always felt like, he wondered? No, it wasn't really hornyness, exactly. It was passion. Affection. All for the one that he always sort of hated, but secretly enjoyed the company of. Damn, he was starting to soften up. Bloody America.

"Thanks, England." Alfred said.

But then, Alfred looked as if he had been stabbed. He shot straight up, and began to jerk around.

"No, England, meet me here again tomorrow kay? I have to go, I'm-" Alfred said quickly, before disappearing into thin air.

Arthur stood, dumbstruck. What just happened? He felt torn. He had just gotten Alfred back, when he was just as suddenly taken from him. Where did Alfred go? Did he go back to the real world? Would he come back? How did that happen? Though, Alfred did say to meet him back in the same spot tomorrow. And Arthur would be there, most definitely.

Arthur fumbled around, looking for the door out of the bathroom. He still wondered how he got in here. He was probably beaten up by one of the other ponies for being kissed by Alfred, and was thrown in here. He needed to get back home. Twilight was probably worried about him.

Arthur opened the door quietly, looking out. Yes, he was indeed in the bathroom of the Dance Hall. Those bastards, why couldn't they have at least taken him somewhere a little more decent? Oh well, He was still alive, that's all that mattered. At least, he thought he was alive. He really wasn't even sure.

Fortunately, as Arthur walked out of the bathroom and across the dark and abandoned dance hall, he realized that the door was unlocked. Which he actually though was really stupid, as anyone could walk in and steal shit at any point in time. Maybe those tossers knew he was in there. Maybe they were watching him, on camera, right now. Then he thought of the scene in the bathroom. That would be a hard one to explain, Arthur thought to himself as he walked out into the cold but peaceful night.