"Care to give a statement on your friend there?" "How long has he been here?" "When're you going to tell the Princess about the new alicorn?" "I think I broke my pencil…"

The barrage of questions hailed down on them from the journalists and reporters responding to the day's hottest rumor. So much press coverage in such a small space made one wonder what truly important stories they'll miss because of the one pony walking to the hospital. Applejack, almost several times, had to push the mass of ponies back away from the rest of the group to keep them moving. At this point, Amissus wanted nothing more than to be somepony else. Rarity, meanwhile, gave an intimately detailed timeline between when they started looking for Amissus and now. She also cleverly used the coverage to promote her store. Rainbow used the press to her advantage as well, posing for pictures and giving information to them about her feats of athleticism and telling them to "take the details to the Wonderbolts."

Coming into the dreary hospital, a chill running up each of their spines from the stiff temperature drop and perhaps from the monotone wallpaper color as well, the entire group made it into the building. Fluttershy, being the last in, stopped in the doorway, effectively blocking the paparazzi; "I'm sorry, but we need to get our friend to a doctor…" her voice barely audible, but somehow influential enough to settle the constant babble outside, "If you just wait out here, I'm sure we can convince him to talk to you." She started backing away, letting the door close on the silenced reporters. One journalist bold enough caught the door and asked "How long will we have to wait?"

"Oh, um…uh…" Fluttershy was put on the spot and couldn't help but freeze up as the anticipation for an answer grew. She was saved by Twilight simply pulling her away from the door and letting it shut the crowd out. The more determined investigative writers kept their faces in on the window, scribbling down notes. Most of the others either backed away from hospital or left altogether.

The receptionist, wearing the usual white garments and hat that a nurse would wear, was reading a magazine, sucked away from the bothersome world around her. The rest of the waiting room, quiet as it was, was somewhat filled with awaiting ponies who were grateful that something broke their boredom. Another nurse, recognizing Twilight, greeted the group in the lobby, the room just before the waiting room. She and Twilight talked for a brief moment before the nurse ushered to Amissus to join the conversation. He ambled sluggishly over to them, half from his uncertainty about the nurse and half from his aching body.

"We haven't seen that many reporters since that Wonderbolt was here with a sprained wing. What makes you as special as a Wonderbolt?" The nurse kind-heartedly teased him in a voice that was full yet honeyed.

"I'm just a regular pony going to a hospital with six mares and a dragon escorting me." He said partially to play on her teasing his recent publicity.

The nurse turned to Twilight for the real reason. "What's the truth Twilight?"

Twilight whispered to her "He's an alicorn…" The nurse went off her rocker then.

"Oh, stars above! We have royalty in this hospital!" Twilight and Amissus tried to keep her quiet, but there was no need. "I'm just pulling you're legs: I saw your horn through your hair. You can't get anything past Nurse X-ray." She said it without a boasting tone, as if her entire career and town life had been tied to her acute perception.

"Well, what has to be done?" He asked the two mares in general, not knowing if anything needed to be done.

"I suggest a full evaluation." Twilight put the thought out.

"Are we talking psychological as well?" The nurse looked questionably at her.

"I'd be happy to do that part myself." She proposed.

Stay out of my head, purple unicorn. Amissus's thoughts were aggressive, but he was able to keep it as just thoughts.

"Well, you're wing needs fixing, and maybe a look around your legs and neck. Your face is just fine…thank Celestia for that." She raised her hoof and patted him on the head like she would a nephew.

Rainbow had been listening to the conversation and just then she had to have her say-so. "His face wouldn't look so good after a few rounds with me."

"Rainbow Dash, how could you say such a thing. Such shaped facial features should never have to suffer brutish contest." Rarity declared in abhorrence and protest. Amissus had to roll his eyes at the white unicorn for assuming he hadn't gone through anything worse. He woke up in a crater after all.

"Oh please, Rarity. C'mon Amissus, what're your best moves? Know anything exotic?" She stood on her hind legs and punched the air with her forelegs. Applejack told her to knock it off and that it "Ain't meant to be done inside anyhow."

"Well, enough of that." X-ray said. "You can all wait in here while I take him to the back for his physical and meet with Doctor Dry Cough." She led Amissus through the waiting room and through the crowd of impatient ponies. One mare was more impatient than the rest, springing up in front of the nurse, demanding to know why he could go before any of them. Some voices of agreement found their way to her support. "Sit down Sniff. You'll get your dose of powdered hayseed soon enough." The mare 'Sniff' shook her head and sat back down. Nurse X-ray and Amissus weaned their way through a set of doors to the back corridors.

"Who was that? And what's powdered hayseed?"

"Powdered hayseed is slang for a potent hallucinogenic drug that found its way into Equestria. Oh, that poor dear Flower Sniff: Her parents weren't the best kind of folk. She grew up around the stuff and eventually got addicted to it. She's been here since Nurse Helping Hoof came back with her from a Manehattan conference. She's ten times better than when Helping Hoof found her, but her addiction isn't very improved yet." Nurse X-ray explained, obviously implying that she had become attached to this patient of theirs.

"It sounds as if she only traded one addiction for another: From hayseed to your treatments."

The nurse laughed and said he sounded like a Canterlot doctor who toured the hospital not too long ago. "I was almost convinced he was right. But what am I to do? At least with treatment, we can control her consumption."

They stopped in the hallway at a scale. "Please step on." He did as he was asked. He didn't know how much he weighed. He couldn't remember what he looked like either…that sudden shock came to mind that he would have to relearn everything about himself but his name, if Amissus was his name.

…

"Here, Doctor: his preliminary results." Nurse X-ray set the partially filled out clipboard on the counter in the practice. Dry Cough looked over the papers as X-ray slipped outside the room. Amissus sat on a low examination table, looking at the various medical instruments, bottles of medicine on shelves, and wondered what the doctor would tell him.

I wonder how many journalists are still waiting outside: It's a weird feeling to be wanted. Solitude seems to be a rare commodity around this town.

"Alright, Amissus-" She said the name as if it were alien to speak. "I'd assume the best from you: pains in your sides, cramping, broken wing, shattered skull…" Amissus didn't follow her assumptions and the smiling doctor saw it in his face. She quickly dropped the smile and coughed to settle the awkwardness. "Anyway, no medicine, but I am going to have to put casts and padding to your legs and sides, and a stint for your left wing. Would you like to inform me of anything before we begin mummification?" Another bad joke. "No, doctor." He told her; weary of her horrible attempt at comic relief. So he was half-mummified with an entire roll of bandages and tape. He was hot and itchy under the bandages and he suspected that this was the doctor's revenge on him for not appreciating her effort for humor. What walked out of that practice was a monstrosity of medical grade cloth and mangled pony being held together by it.

"Another thing:" Amissus turned to her. "I covered your flank with bandages so somepony doesn't notice: If they haven't noticed."

"Notice what?"

Dry Cough looked as if she were about to string together a series of swears. "You don't have a cutie mark…"

Amissus looked to his bandaged flank, imagining what she could be talking about. Then he looked to hers: A stethoscope circling a medical cross and heart. It never bothered him to notice, but everypony had one; he was the odd pony out. "So where did it go?" Cough asked. "I don't think I've ever had one…"

…

Stiff-legged and hobbling out through the waiting room and through the lobby to the open air, he saw Twilight, with Spike riding on her back, trotting up to him. "You look…mended." Twilight gave a perfect word to describe how the tight bindings felt on Amissus, holding him together it seemed. She and Spike couldn't help but chuckle at his ridiculous demeanor: The bandages had started to come undone as his body underneath sweated combined with his movement wanting to retain their normal motions. His wing sticking up while the other rested at his side only made him look lopsided as well. "The only thing that could make this worse is if she had shaved my mane." Twilight and Spike let out their built up snickering into a quiet laughter to attempt to keep from bursting out loud. Amissus started to walk away from the pony and dragon, but they soon caught themselves and settled down, following him down the road into Ponyville.

"C'mon Amissus, you may look ridiculous, but at least you have wings." Spike said in a flat, hopeful tune. "Spike, you'll get your wings when you get them." Twilight said to him. It sounded like they had this conversation a few times before, so Twilight knew the right words to end it. "The average dragon gets their wings around thirty to sixty years of age."

"I can't wait that long!" Spike whined.

"Spike, be quiet." Twilight commanded harshly. He had apparently derailed her train of thought, but it was quickly back on schedule. "Amissus, have you been to the library?"

"No, I was honestly thinking about leaving town." He said, turning to her. Her eyes had narrowed and gave a gaze of disappointment while she shook her head. "What?!" He stopped on the road. "All we want to do is help and all you want to do is leave." She bitterly told him, not stopping but walking past with a gaunt of frustration with him. Her body language combined with her tone struck a chord of guilt in Amissus.

Mares…

He ran to her and slowly apologized. "I'm sorry Twilight; it's not that I'm…ungrateful for what you've all done for me-" "Then what?" They stopped as she cut his apology short, and then expected an answer. "It…it must be something with this town. I'm just not comfortable here." Twilight released her angry tension with him. "I'm sorry too, the Princess had me do so much work lately and taking care of you on top of that…" She didn't finish her sentence because the meaning was given without an ending, all implied. They stood there a moment on the road, nopony else around: Just a stallion, mare, and dragon. The brief silence was broken when Amissus said "Well…tell me about this library."

Twilight perked up again and started walking with a fire anew and spoke more quickly. "I live there, well Spike and I, we both live in the second story loft. It's an amazing collection of books, almost as good as some of the Canterlot library…" She went on about how she and Spike had arrived and soon took over the building and became permanent residents of Ponyville. She didn't mention anything strange, and by far Amissus thought he would be dealing with a regular magic student with some strange friends. The sun watched them enter town for the library.