Everything was quiet. She couldn't remember where she was, if she were still there at all. Everything was too hazy, and even to move was too much effort, like she was wrapped in a soft cocoon. At least she knew who she was. Jasmine Rain. Yes she could think that much. And she was visiting Manehatten, that much she could reason. Was she still here? The only logical way to be certain was to just open her eyes. But it felt like a lifetime before she could finally blink them open. Now it was too bright! There was lights shining overhead. Was she in a room? Her ears eventually picked up the sounds of beeping nearby, matching the tempo of her pulses in her veins. 'Hospital...?' Yes, this must be. Now that she had adjusted to the brightness, her eyes were slowly moving about, her neck oddly too stiff to move. Soft green curtains over the windows, a curtain to the other side of her, the bed she was laying on. Why was she here? Did something happen? At that thought, the machine beeped a little quicker, which alerted a nurse that was passing by. "You're awake!" she said as though it was a surprise to find her patient like this. Opening her mouth as though to ask, the pony quickly tapped her hoof against her lips to stop her. "Just a moment, I'll get the doctor." And in a flash, she was gone. Trying to relax, Jasmine wondered why she wasn't allowed to speak. All the same, her throat felt... funny. As she became aware of it, she was realizing that it was a dull throb, as though it was in pain but the medicine was keeping it at bay. Resisting the urge to groan, she closed her eyes again, unable to do anything but think. The sound of approaching hooves brought her back to reality, opening her eyes to see another pony hovering over her. "Miss Rain, good morning," he said with a gentle voice. How did he know her name? And was he somewhat familiar to her? After a moment of thought, the name Doctor Shine came to mind, the very same doctor that had overseen her recovery from when her house burned down. At the expression of recognizing him, he smiled a bit. "Yes it had been awhile. But try not to talk." "Why not?" she thought she said, though maybe she just mouthed it. Patting her foreleg, Shine sat next to the bed on a chair that was just out of her sight. "We don't need you staining." He seemed troubled as he looked to somewhere below her face, making her look curious at him until he looked back up. "You've been here for a few days, miss Rain, mostly asleep. I... am afraid you're here for a reason." A few days? Strange. In a flash, a few memories were popping up in her mind, but much of it was hazy like her senses. She could remember stopping by an hotel and getting a room. Then... wasn't she hungry? Yes she remembered leaving to go to a nice little restaurant that was cheap enough with food. But that was currently all she had. So what happened that brought her here? "You were found unconscious on the street. I'm fairly certain that the police hadn't found much to go on, but they're looking for the culprit that had attacked you." Taking note of how rapid the machine became with its beeping, he sighed lightly, unable to make this any lighter. "You've lost a lot of blood, but we've managed to stop it and repaired what we could. But..." The doctor looked grave as he looked to her. There was nothing else that could make this better. "I am afraid that we couldn't repair everything. Your... vocal cords were rendered too badly damaged. There wasn't anything we could do, so you're... going to have to learn a different way to communicate." Shock went through the mare... Learn a new way... She couldn't speak ever again..? Never?! Her breathing became rapid as the news sank in, and her mouth was opening to voice just one sound. Through thepain, all that came out was a tiny sound that was close to a broken whine... Before the doctor could calm her, tears were already building up and spilling down her cheeks, truly unable to help herself by this point. She thought there wasn't anything else to lose, but there was, and now she had nothing else but her inner thoughts that were in anguish as much as her throat felt. She was mute!
