//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 - Melancholia // Story: Married to Her Job, Single in Her Heart // by Revenant Wings //------------------------------// 15. After the events of the previous night, it was almost a relief for Redheart to have a calm, quiet evening at the hospital. Things seemed to be constantly shifting with her and Caramel and they were often getting interrupted by Lyra; at the hospital it was the same old routine. Check the patient’s medicine, check the medical records to see if anything needs to be changed, check the vital signs to see if they’re stable or if there’s any changes, move to the next one. Despite the small size of the town, Ponyville Hospital often had as many as thirty overnight patients which meant at least a few hours of the same simple, yet necessary routine. The work calmed Redheart. It was so easy for her to slip back into her work mind and be able to do things without bias. Once a grade-school bully that Redheart recognized came into the hospital and she acted as though she didn’t even know him. After he was out of the building, she vented to the rest of her colleagues about him yet even Doctor Stable admitted the assessment of his health had taken priority to old vendettas. It was one of the things that calmed Doctor Stable about Redheart; to be so young yet be so focused and able to work without hesitation. The last part had faltered recently. Often when Redheart would pass Twilight’s room, she would stop longer than the others. Part of which was because she was the princess and a student of Celestia, which meant extra stress just to keep her stable. But some other part had arisen, something that Redheart couldn’t place. Redheart knew the mare to be someone who could put things into action, yet here she was so vulnerable that Redheart took pity on her despite hardly knowing her. Whereas she had been able to deal with those she knew as though it was the first time seeing them, Twilight evoked the opposite; she hardly knew her and yet she cared for her like a trusted friend while in her custody. There was one night where Redheart was sitting on a chair, forehooves crossed over the back of it as she stared at Twilight. The examinations of the patients were finished and Redheart was about to go off-duty for the night, and yet she stayed in the dimly-lit room. The only noises Redheart could hear were the ticking of the clock on the wall and the steady beeping of the EEG machine. Eventually, even those began to fade away as Redheart focused on the mare’s face, looking as though she was simply asleep and would wake up at any moment. What was going on in that head of hers, Redheart wondered. Was she dreaming? Was she reliving the moments right before the accident? Or maybe she didn’t have anything going on, maybe she was just floating endlessly in a void and searching for a way out. Redheart hadn’t much experience with coma patients, but sometimes she imagined it was like that when they woke up; that they had finally found the exit from a dark room they had trapped themselves in. A set of soft footsteps broke Redheart from her train of thought. She turned around and saw Doctor Stable standing in the door, smiling warmly at her. “Nurse Redheart,” he said, “your shift’s been over for fifteen minutes. You can go ahead and go home.” Redheart turned back to Twilight and set her head on her hooves. “I must have not been paying attention.” Doctor Stable nodded. “Quite alright,” he said gently. “It is quite normal for you to get wrapped up in your work.” Redheart didn’t move. “What do you think is going through her brain?” she asked. Stable thought about that for a minute. “I once had a patient that woke up from a coma and said it was like they were running a race they never could finish, that the goal kept going farther and farther ahead of him. Another said it was like he was calling out for someone, anyone, to help him out and yet no one responded. Is there a particular reason you ask?” Redheart shook her head. “I haven’t had much experience with comatose patients. I learned how to deal with them, but I’ve never actually cared for one as long as her.” Doctor Stable nodded. “Nine weeks, isn’t it? It was quite a hard fall, though. The harder the damage, the more time it takes to recuperate.” Redheart got out of the chair and shifted the position of the nurse’s cap on her head. “…has there ever been someone you’ve treated that never woke up?” Stable had to think about that for a minute as well. “Not in twenty years. Normally we don’t get accidents as serious as this. I’ve heard of it happening in Canterlot a few times; someone falls out of a high building or has a carriage knocked into them and ends up in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Ponyville is calmer and not so prone to such accidents.” Redheart nodded and walked back to the staff room. Doctor Stable followed her. “You seem particularly vested in Twilight’s condition,” he said. “While I have no problems with the work ethic you have as it seems to be normal, with Twilight you seem to have something personal in it. Did you know her much before?” Redheart shook her head. “No. We worked together on some occasions, but that’s it. However, before her coma she invited me to go on a picnic.” “Ah, yes, the fated day she was brought to us.” Redheart nodded. “I hadn’t gone out in four years,” Redheart said. “The last breakup I had was too bitter, too full of fighting, that I closed myself into my studies and finished early. That was how I got here being so young.” Stable put a hoof to his chin. “I recall you coming in asking for a job. When I asked if you meant internship, you simply replied to me ‘I’ve already done it’.” Redheart nodded. “I put myself into work and kept out of relationships. I met with the family, but outside of them I had no one. For a long time, you were the closest to me, and even then it was simply a matter of a professional relationship.” “Given I’m twenty or so years older than you, I’d say that’s perfectly fine.” Redheart ignored the comment. “Well, a year after I started working for you, Twilight Sparkle came along. I initially assumed we needed to simply treat her as another even if she was just here for the Summer Sun Celebration at the time. Then she moved, we updated the records and she began her studies in friendship. I… I felt it was something of a stupid thing, but nopony says that to Celestia’s face.” “We had three meetings,” Redheart continued, sitting down at the table in the staff room. “The first of which was for the incident with the poorly-baked muffins. Apart from being a student of Celestia, it was already well known by then that she was a powerful magician and a knowledgeable one, so we called her in to help out. She helped out with all the sick ponies then headed off to stop Applejack from working herself to the ground. I respected her, but it went no further.” “The next time was when Rainbow Dash broke her wing; Twilight was one of the ones who brought her in and seemed to be the only one who could control the otherwise bull-headed and rambunctious Dash. I ended up calling her in to help with controlling Dash during her treatments and eventually helped you find Rainbow Dash after she stole the Daring Do book, with Twilight returning it to me later that same night. The interaction here was small and professional, but I began to see how she was around her friends; caring and loyal.” “The third time was the birth of the Cakes’ twins. This time, I don’t think we talked at all, but something about the fact that she was there for Mister and Missus Cake struck me. She was there to offer friendly encouragement even if it wasn’t her own family. Something about this made me envy her. Not in a bad way, don’t get me wrong, but in the way that she was combining her work with her friends whereas for me it felt like I had to choose between one or the other. It lessened over time, but it wasn’t brought back up again until she invited me to go on the picnic.” Doctor Stable remained quiet for a few moments longer just to make sure Redheart had finished. “So you wanted to go because you had the chance to recover from your envy of her,” he said. “You wanted to learn how she did it and at the same time maybe figure out how you could do it yourself.” For a long time, Redheart did nothing. Then, she slowly closed her eyes and nodded. Something wet fell down her cheek. “I want her awake because I haven’t gotten my answer. I thought I came close, but I have begun to doubt myself.” Doctor Stable looked at the young mare with pity. “Nurse Redheart,” he said. “Whatever happens, we’ll get her back. If it means bringing solace to you, I’ll do whatever I can.” Redheart nodded and smiled. “Thank you.” Stable began to walk out of the room, but turned around as he entered the doorway. “Perhaps you could have an extra day off this week. A time to rest, but not so long as I made you take before.” Redheart nodded. “Thank you again, doctor.” Stable smiled and walked away. Redheart walked home. As soon as she stepped in the door, she picked up her phone and called the first number she could think of. The voice on the other side of the line was still perky despite the late hour. “Hello?” “Caramel, it’s Redheart.” “Hey, Redheart! How has work been going for you? Any good news?” “Nothing improving on Twilight’s condition, but I did get an extra day off from work this week. I was wondering if you wanted to go out somewhere… maybe to dinner.” Caramel inhaled sharply. “I’m sorry, Redheart. I have plans with the family. I’m going to be going out of town. I meant to call you about it, but I haven’t been able to get around to it and you haven’t been home.” “You could have called me at the office,” Redheart said. “Yeah, but I figured you would be busy.” Redheart gulped. “Okay. I’m sorry if I bothered you.” “It’s alright,” Caramel said gently. “You don’t have to be sorry.” Redheart nodded. “Well, hope your plans with the family go well.” “Thanks. Hopefully Twilight’s condition will improve. Goodnight, Redheart.” “Goodbye, Caramel.” Redheart kept the phone to her ear for a while longer, hoping that Caramel would suddenly change his mind and want to keep talking to her. Instead, she heard a click on the receiver and the line went silent.