((Long post is long.
And forgive me if I've misremembered anything or butchered Otik's accent. Dsarker's log was missing the first little bit, and I didn't have it either. I glossed over the Dr. Alen thing a bit, since I'm not sure how relevant it'll be in the end. Should be enough details left if it comes to that. Also, forgive me if I haven't followed the formatting strictly, way too many nested italic tags to get this done in any reasonable time frame.))
Kris wakes to a dull pain in her side that fluctuates with each breath. Everything is a bit hazy, a side effect of some magic the doctors had used on her, but she eventually works up the courage to look over to her mother. Falcata is asleep, but her face still bears the troubled expression she had worn since the commissar had brought her here.
Guilt wells inside her again. Her mom was so upset when she was brought to the hospital... she never wanted to see that look of horror on her mom's face again. She could stand her being angry at her, but this was something so much worse.
She prepares to turn over and return to sleep when she spies Lilac sitting against the far wall of the hospital. The guilt is replaced for a moment with elation. The filly had nearly gotten them killed, but she was very happy to see that she was alright.
"Lilac?" she calls, propping herself up with a bit of difficulty.
There is no response.
"Lilac?" she insists, with greater volume.
Still no response. Kris starts to rise from bed, fear beginning to grow inside her. "Lilac, what's wrong?" She starts to hop down, but a mare in barding bursts into the hospital, searching the room frantically with her eyes.
"Where is she? I 'eard she wos in 'ere!" the mare bellows.
"Lilac? She's over there", Kris answers, pointing at the stricken filly with some trepidation.
The mare, Otik, she thinks her name is, dashes over and throws her hooves around the filly. "Oh Lilac, wot happened to ye? Are ye alright?"
Kris works up the courage to hop out of the bed and trots over. "Is she okay? She wouldn't talk to me..."
Otik studies Lilac's blank expression and gives the filly a gentle nudge. "Lilac? Speak to me, wot's wrong?" She looks over to Kris. "Wot happened to 'er?"
Kris looks away sheepishly. As mad as her mom had been, Miss Otik would surely be furious. "I-I'm sorry Miss Otik... we-we were playing in th-the forest."
The mare's eyes go wide. "Oh, sisters..."
"But we were saved by somepony that wore a funny hat. I think mom calls him Abel."
"Poncy git? Big hat? Red sash?"
Kris nods. "Yeah, that's him."
Well, whoever saved them, that didn't matter right now. Otik looks back to Lilac, who hasn't so much as blinked since she set hoof in the hospital. She notices a few shallow cuts along the filly's body, and a nasty gash along her side. "Why 'asn't anypony treated 'er yet?"
Kris shrugs and rubs at her aching side. "A doctor was in here a little while ago. He gave me something to drink that made my side hurt less." She rolls her eyes and thinks. "That was before I fell asleep though..."
There was no time for this foolishness. What kind of doctors leave a hospital unattended with injured children in it? Otik stands and hurries over to the nearby cabinets and begins rummaging through them. It had been a while since she'd had to perform first aid of any sort, but anypony could clean a cut and apply a bandage.
In her haste, she knocks over a box of things she didn't recognize and didn't particularly care about right now. The clattering of strange metal instruments against stone echoes through the hospital, and Falcata cracks her eyes with a weak grunt. She spots Otik hurrying back over to Lilac and croaks, "Lieutenant Otik? What's going on?"
"Lilac's hurt and there's nae a doctor in sight!" she responds, beginning to tear a piece of gauze to bandage Lilac.
Falcata tries to rise in bed, but catches halfway. She clenches her jaw and fights back a cry before giving up on leaving the bed. "How bad is it?"
"She's got a few cuts, but she'll be alright." Otik begins to wrap the gauze around the now cleaned cuts and notices the lack of blood flow. She pauses for a moment, her mind not want to admit what she's seeing. "Oh, sisters... Luna... Celestia..."
"What?" Falcata asks, propping herself up to get a better look. There is no response from Otik. Her own pain seemed a bit irrelevant at this point, and she forces herself out of bed with significant effort. "Lieutenant, what is it?"
Otik begins to cry softly as she pulls Lilac in closer. "Why... why did this 'ave to happen to ye?"
Falcata begins to limp over as Kris backs away from the scene. "I-is she okay, Miss Otik?"
Otik shakes her head and continues to embrace the filly. "She's... she's..."
Falcata crouches next to the two as Kris clings to her. She places a hoof on Otik's back and takes a closer look at Lilac. "It... doesn't look too bad..."
Otik can barely bring herself to utter the next word. She lowers her head and gives the filly another squeeze. "...undead. Jus' like 'er father..."
Falcata gasps and looks back to Lilac. "I... but... she's..." She had never encountered the undead before, but she knew of them. She half expected the wilds around Glitterglen to be filled with the monstrosities when she arrived, but was thankful to find that at least some of the rumors of the place were just that. Rumors. Regardless, Lilac didn't look anything like the undead as far she was aware of. "How?"
Otik looks her squarely in the face and exclaims, "I-I dun
know!"
Falcata raises an eyebrow. "Wait... this happened to Captain Carrot before? He... seemed fine, last I saw him."
Otik wipes her eyes and says, "I-it happened a couple of times... He'd die, then get better, then die again..."
Kris cowers behind her mother, disbelieving what she is hearing. Falcata shakes her head. None of this made any sense... the filly looked traumatized, not cursed with eternal unlife. "I-I don't understand... how can you get better from that?"
Otik's face is plastered with frustration and fear. She opens her mouth to speak, but the hospital door slams open abruptly. Dr. Alen wanders in, walking in irregular wobbles and carrying a bottle of something in his mouth. He pauses after a few steps, turns to look at the knot of frightened ponies, and puzzles at them. "Wha... what the hell are hospitals doing in my mare?"
Finally a doctor! Falcata rises to her feet and turns to face the new arrival. "Doctor! Can you take a look at Lilac? There's something wrong with her..."
Dr. Alen's eyes uncross for a moment as he brings them into focus. "Shet up, mare! Don't you dare tell me what to do!"
Falcata blinks in confusion. "Doctor... I-"
"This is... this is... this is
my hospital! Go and get yer own!" Dr. Alen snorts and takes another swig from his bottle.
Otik stands, letting her mane hang in her face carelessly. Was this pony serious? She wasn't going to take much more of this...
"Doctor... sh-should you be drinking while on duty?" Falcata asks.
He glowers at her and snorts again. "I'm the doctor here. I'll decide what I doing to be ought!"
Otik begins to walk toward him. "I dun' give a damn.... if it's her majesty's own hospital!"
Dr. Alen rolls his eyes and tries to stabilize himself. "What 'her' majesty? It's
his majesty, you filly! And didn't you hear me? Get!"
Otik bares her teeth and lets out a low growl. "You... will treat this filly this instant!"
"She's fine... just slap a bandage on her... somewhere," the doctor replies, waving a hoof randomly in Lilac's direction.
Falcata scowls and snatches the bottle from the inebriated doctor with a flare of magic from her horn. "I think you've had enough, doctor. Where is Dr. Bubbles?"
Dr. Alen grasps feebly for the floating bottle as it's taken away. "Hey! That's my bottle, you mare!" He gives up after a few wild grabs and staggers backward. "Get, all of you! This is my hospital, I won't have you clogging it up with sick people!"
Otik notes the bottle hovering gently nearby and snatches it from the air with her mouth. She smashes it against the nearest cupboard and points the jagged glass at Dr. Alen. As she begins to step toward the doctor, he backs into another cupboard and knocks a piece of glassware down, which smashes against his head. "Oww! Dammit!"
This was getting out of hand... Falcata steps up behind Otik and says, "Lieutenant, wait... let's not start something we'll regret."
"You... are a doctor. Get off yer sorry arse... and
tell me what's wrong with my child!" she insists, taking another step closer.
Falcata takes a step back. She was in no position to prevent Otik from picking a fight with the doctor, and she didn't want to get herself or Kris hurt any worse if it came to that. "Lieutenant..."
"Ye don't have any children! You're
single!" the doctor scoffs.
Falcata dislodges Kris from her leg and says, "Kris, go back to our room. I'll come get you in a minute." Kris hesitates, staring at Otik and the doctor. "Go!" she insists, giving the filly a nudge.
"O-okay!" The filly takes a few cautious steps toward the door before trotting off down the hall. Falcata immediately cursed herself for not telling her to bring Captain Isos instead. She really hoped this didn't turn violent... Lieutenant Otik had more sense than that...
Her attention is drawn to Dr. Alen stumbling forward a step and collapsing. Had Otik struck him? No, Otik still stood well out of range. She cautiously approaches the doctor, noting that the drink that had leaked from the broken bottle smelled extremely strong... almost acrid. "Doctor?"
His eyes are wildly out of focus as he begins to mumble incoherently. "I can see the palace..." He chuckles. "So... beautiful...."
Falcata nudges him and repeats her question. "Doctor, can you hear me?"
Otik spits out the improvised weapon and snorts. "Drunk out 'o 'is mind."
"Yes... I think you're right." Falcata begins to examine him, noting that he's completely oblivious to the world. "Too much... maybe..." Her heart rate begins to hasten. The last thing they needed right now was for Dr. Alen to die of alcohol poisoning.
She prepares to hoist the inebriated stallion onto a nearby bed when a knock comes at the door, moments before the smell of unwashed socks. "Hello, is anypony there?" a voice calls. A few moments later, the door creaks open, followed by the commissar's aide walking in.
Dr. Alen immediately recovers and begins backing away from the new arrival. "God-princesses above! Get... get away from me... get away from me!"
The grime covered pony scratches his head. He turns to look at Otik and asks, "What's his problem, miss?"
She scowls at the flailing doctor and replies, "Drunk. Is th' booze talkin'."
As the two continue to speak and ignore the bundle of insanity scrabbling around on the floor, Falcata notes the pieces of the shattered bottle lying around on the floor, mostly intact. Something was off about the smell of the stuff... where did he get it? She begins to piece the bottle back together.
Otik notices her set to work and raises an eyebrow. "Err, sergeant, wot are ye doin'?
She shakes her head and replies, "I... don't know. I'm not sure that was just alcohol." She finishes piecing the bottle back together and levitates it in front of Otik. The doctor continues to babble and shout as Schmutz inspects him closer.
Otik takes a glance at the bottle, seeing nothing interesting about it. "Alright... ye can fix it. So? Are ye hurtin' fer bottles?" Lilac was undead, Dr. Alen was stark raving mad, and now Sergeant Falcata was taking an interest to the bottle? Had everypony lost their minds?
Falcata sniffs the bottle, smelling the acrid odor again. She hobbles over to the doctor, favoring her injured leg. "Doctor, what were you drinking? Where did you get this?"
He takes a moment away from cowering from Schmutz to reply, "I-I don't remember! Th-they gave it to me!"
"Who?"
"I don't know!" He scrabbles backward again from Schmutz and adds, "Keep the hole away from me!
Schmutz grabs the doctor and shouts, "You tell the lieutenant and sergeant right now!" The doctor only replies with panicked shrieks and tries in vain to wriggle away.
Otik growls under her breath and takes a step forward. "This is gettin' us nowhere. Yer not gonna get anythin' else out o' him 'till he's sober. Try again t'morrow mornin'."
Schmutz drops the doctor and turns to the two mares. "Anything I can do, ma'am?" he asks Otik, deferring to the highest ranking of the two.
"Get 'im out o' 'ere," she replies immediately.
Falcata nods. "If he was drunk while on duty, I think that alone is worth enough a night in jail." She instinctively reaches for her jail keys before realizing they were with her barding... wherever the doctors had taken that to. "Do you know where the jail is? See if you can find him a cell for the night. Captain Isos should be able to help you if you run into any trouble."
As Schmutz scoops up the sobbing doctor, Otik adds, "And see if ye can find a real doctor!" Otik resists the urge to shout something uncouth at the doctor as he is hauled away from the hospital. Unbelievable, that stallion. She begins to turn back to Lilac when she hears Falcata call the filly's name.
She finds the filly blinking blankly as she sits against the wall. "Yes?" Lilac asks, blinking again.
At the sound of Lilac's voice, Otik rushes over and envelopes her in a crushing hug. "Oh... Lilac..."
Falcata wanders back over and kneels beside Lilac again. "Honey, are you okay?"
The filly blinks idly again and frowns. "I... feel wierd..."
Otik releases the hug. "Wierd how, hun?"
"I normally feel my heartbeat, but..." she begins, reaching for the vein in her neck.
Otik pulls her closer again and begins to nuzzle her. "It's nothin', lit'l one. Yer okay now..."
Lilac ignores the mare and continues to feel her neck. An expression of utter terror washes over her face as she feels nothing. "Am.. am... am.. I..."
"Lilac, look a' me... dun' panic..."
"Buh... buh..." the filly begins, eyes wide in fear. Tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes, and she lets out a sniffle.
"Stay calm hun, breathe..."
Lilac bursts into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Otik presses her into her chest and begins to join the crying. "Shh... hey, c'mon now..." she manages at last.
Falcata forces a weak smile at last, completely baffled at what to say or do. This is far beyond anything she was familiar with. "You're going to be fine, honey."
"I'm
dead!?"
Otik nuzzles her again. "I know yer scared hun, 'cause I'm scared. But.. everythin's gonna be alright. Yer gonna be okay. We'll find a way t' fix this, and you... you'll be okay. But I need ye t' be brave fer me, hun. I need ye t' be brave, so I can be brave, okay?"
Falcata strokes Lilac's mane gently. "You're here talking to us, aren't you? I don't think anypony that's dead can do that."
Lilac sputters something and begins to hyperventilate. Her eyes roll back in her head and she finally goes limp with a sigh. Otik panics for a moment and shouts something incoherent before realizing that Lilac is still breathing.
Falcata swears under her breath. "Where's a real doctor when you need one!?"
Otik ignores the statement and gently places Lilac on the nearest available bed.
"Wait.. Lieutenant, you've seen this before. What do we do?"
She shakes her head and wipes her eyes and nose. "I... I dun' know. I never found out how Carrot got better."
The silence that follows is deafening. Finally, Falcata asks, "W-would Capt - I mean Khenal be able to help? Wasn't he good friends with Captain Carrot?"
"Aye... he was. Way I hear, he wos there every time Carrot... died? He should know if anypony does."
Falcata looks to the empty bed where Khenal was last and nods gravely. "Good... but I have no idea where he is..."
Otik raises a hoof to her head. "Las' I saw 'im, he was in th' barracks with Star... th' Cap'n."
Falcata takes a step toward the door and freezes as a jolt of pain rolls through her body. She clenches her teeth and sucks in her breath . "We... should go... get him... then..." she manages between pained breaths.
Otik shakes her head and points a hoof to Falcata's bed. "I'll go get 'im. Yer in nae condition t' do anythin' but rest. Stay here, lie down an'..." She points back to Lilac. "Watch 'er fer me?"
Falcata lowers her head and nods. "You're right, of course." Overreaching herself is what got her here in the first place. She climbs back into bed with some effort. "I'll keep any eye on Lilac. Oh, and would you mind telling Kris it's safe to come back here?" She would hate for Dr. Bubbles to show up looking for them and she not be here.
"Aye, I'll send 'er," Otik replies as she heads for the exit.
Falcata smiles weakly. "Thank you, lieutenant." As Otik steps out, she collapses in exhaustion and watches Lilac's motionless body. At least the foal was still breathing. She wasn't sure she was looking forward to Khenal diagnosing the child, and especially didn't want Kris to get too worried over it.
None of this made any sense to her...
((Edit: spelling))
Author
Topic: My Little Fortress. Glitterglen. (Read 280991 times)