Lingering Chaos

by nightelf37

It's Time To Go

Hearing the scream a short ways down the hall as he neared the entrance, Tango performed a full one-eighty turn with a graceful hop and saw the nurse pony apparently toppled over against the wall.

"Miss Ashen Rise! …Oh, excuse me sir, you first…oh dear, ponies in Ponyville are always falling over. I never knew…Miss Ashen Rise!"

Upon reaching Ashen, Tango immediately tilted the mare's head up and pressed a hoof firmly against her brow. He stared off vaguely into the air for a moment. "…a little warm? I can't tell…and that's for a cold…Waltz says…Waltz says 'Find the pony in charge. Be respectful. Tell them what the matter is.' The pony in charge…oh, that's you." Tango cleared his throat and addressed Ashen very seriously, not noticing her laugh a bit. "Miss Ashen Rise. There's a pony that's fallen over. She might have a bit of a cold. What do I do?"

Erstwhile…

Crinoline turned around the corner trying to pursue the brown stallion when she saw Tango very close to Ashen, who was sitting on the ground. Her eye twitched several times as she stopped her pursuit and silently approached them.

"…a little warm? I can't tell…and that's for a cold…Waltz says…Waltz says 'find the pony in charge. Be respectful. Tell them what the matter is.' The pony in charge…oh, that's you." Tango cleared his throat and addressed Ashen very seriously.

"Miss Ashen Rise. There's a pony that's fallen over. She might have a bit of a cold. What do I do?"

Crinoline pressed herself between the two and answered Tango's question. "It is easy, Tango dear. You should give her some space to breath, you are suffocating her!" With the skilled tug of a seamstress, Crinoline removed Ashen's cloak with her magic and shouted, "She just needs some fresh air!"

"Eep!" Ashen suddenly yelped as anger rose as much as she did to her hooves, knocking Crinoline backwards as she used her magic to wrap herself in her cloak again.

Next, the pale unicorn was just as swiftly surrounded by Ashen's aura and sent flying towards the ceiling, stopping just inches from it. Crinoline was sweating a bit from this sudden 'assault' and was frankly shocked. With the blue aura licking the air around her body and the light of the lamps cast upon her, it sort of looks like she's been lit on fire with an azure flame.

Ashen sat back down and looked up as she shifted the grip of her spell to let Crinoline dangle upside-down above her, looking straight down into Ashen's golden eyes with the light of the lamps leaving nothing hidden in the dark. Crinoline appeared to be more a doll than a living pony. "Okay, Miss Crinoline," she said in a stern voice. "I know you are close to—or at least very fond of—Mister Tango here, but maybe it'd be better for your and everyone else's health to, as they say, 'look before you leap' and not draw conclusions at first glance."

Tango glanced with surprised dismay between the two mares. This sort of thing seemed to happen quite often in town around him and he wasn't sure why. Crochet had assured him it was his own fault somehow. Tango's ears drooped with shame.

"Little miss, Miss Ashen, I don't understand what's going on, but I'm very sorry," the large stallion apologized. "I'm not sure which one of these I'm supposed to give you, but I'm supposed to give you at least one of them now."

Tango reached into one of his saddlebags and retrieved two unopened envelopes. One of them was labeled "Business Associates" and the other "Acquaintances". He levitated them hopefully onto the food tray and sat back, his duties fulfilled to his own knowledge.

A few patients and nurses poked their heads out of their rooms up and down the hall, wondering what all the ruckus was about. There was mumbling all around.

"Was there a fight?"

"What happened?"

"Who's that?"

"I'm scared."

The runaway pony was long gone by now, and a distant slam of the doors can be heard.

As if a switch was turned, Crinoline was now present again. "I know you cannot hold me here forever, Miss Ashen," she said with a face of resentment. "I am also sorry for having misread the situation at hand, and if you let go of me, I will behave myself."

Ashen seemed to raise an eyebrow (if she had any under that face), not buying her apology and not liking the tone she was using either. "I rather doubt that, so I'm afraid I'll have to keep you restrained for the moment and though you are right, I'll still be able to hold you there for a while longer." Lowering her head, Ashen turned to the nervous looking Tango, her hood partially pulled back by gravity while she was looking upwards. "There's no need for you to apologize, sir. The little miss here was just acting before she'd thought her actions through, so you can keep those for the moment."

(Ashen would levitate the letters back to Tango, but that ability was currently occupied holding a small overdressed mare up in the air that required her attention to keep the mare there.)

Not only was the heat from the azure flame aura taking its toll, but the fact that more and more blood rushed to her head also didn't help brighten her mood. Sweat was starting to drip down from Crinoline's face. She looked at the other mare with an unimpressed face, but deep inside her anger and frustration roamed wild.

That was when she noticed the bystanders. Fine then. Crinoline realized that she was helpless. Her eyes began to shake and her body started to tremble. A stream of tears ran down her eyes, joining the sweat on her face.

She whimpered, clearly conveying her discomfort with her situation. Her body twitched as she gasped for air, and she began to bawl heartrendingly, her volume fluctuating. "*sniff* whuahh he-help m-me, some po *sniff* pony plEase, whauuu "I can't t-take it *sniff* any more!, she is hurting me! "Plase j-just le *sniff* let me g-go! Huee,"

You little brat, playing the victim in front of the crowd, huh? Coldheart will have my hide if she hears of this. "Have it your way then." With a grumble, Ashen brought Crinoline back down, but before letting her back on the ground she made herself clear with a stern voice with the mare levitated on eye-to-eye level. "But if you attack me again, I'll stick you back up in the rafters without a second thought. Understood?"

Maneuvering the mare around and the nervousness from the attention of the crowd was starting to take its toll on Ashen's ability to focus on her spell. Still, as much as the sight of the smaller mare crying (be it fake or not) stung her heart, Ashen was more concerned with keeping this troublemaker under reasonable control even if she'll have to look like a bully to do so.

Crinoline slowly calmed down. After a good amount of time has passed, she gave a nod. Still levitating in the air, she reached into her dress, taking out a piece of candy. Extending her hoof into Ashen's direction, she presented the candy to her, and with a really exhausted look on her face she said, "Please, Miss Ashen. Accept this bonbon as a sign of peace."

Ashen smiled at the change in her behavior, content to see that she seemed to have cooled off. "Glad this little conflict is over, then."

She let the pale mare down to the ground before moving her levitation spell to the offered treat, waiting for the other unicorn to move her hoof away and thus letting go of it before attempting to move the bonbon as a courtesy before turning to the ponies still taking a peek. "Okay, everypony, show's over. Please go back to your beds, you need your rest."

Though she'd love to just chow down on the wrapped piece of candy (after unwrapping it, of course) she had to set an example so instead she moved it into one of the pockets in her cloak. Realizing that Crinoline couldn't have known about the pockets or the items that were kept inside them when she pulled away the cloak, Ashen checked to see if her valuables were still in their places.

Meanwhile, Tango packed away his letters and perked up immediately as the bad atmosphere at least appeared to vanish. "I suppose we ought to finish up here and get on the job as soon as we can and save daylight. Most of these wild forests of Equestria—" Tango started to say before cutting himself off abruptly with a good-humored smile and wink as he remembered his place. "Yes, you young ladies and Mr. Mystic know what's to be done, of course. Miss Crinoline, is Mystic Shield about done with his work?"

Just as the nurses started moving the patients back into their beds, one of them turned the corner and glared down the hall directly at Ashen, a stern look on her face. She started marching toward the three, standing straight and professional.

"What is the meaning of this, Ashen? I could have you fired for starting fights in the halls." She spoke quiet enough to not rouse the patients again, but intimidating as if yelling. "I want you and your friends here outside before I call the head nurse!"

Crinoline levitated a bonbon in front of the nurse, perhaps to sooth her wrath, then ran up to Tango and tugged on him, signalling him to get out as fast as possible.

"Ah, is it time to go already? Alright, little miss."

Tango strode straight to Nurse Coldheart—as he saw on her name tag—and gave her a deferential bow of his head. "I'm very sorry for all the commotion I've caused, madame. There was a bit of an accident that left me quite flustered and I'm afraid I haven't been taking as much care as I ought to. I think the little miss and I will take our leave now and let all of you finish your work."

Tango lifted the mare's hoof gently and released a winning smile along with another respectful inclination of his head as he recited the line Waltz taught him to say to any authority figure. "Good day to you, madame. Thank you for your efforts." He then turned to the hooded nurse pony. "Miss Ashen Rise, we'll just wait for you and Mystic to finish up outside. If you're still feeling faint, you ought not push yourself, you know. You'll get more done in the long run if you don't hurry, Waltz always says."

Nodding to Crinoline, the black unicorn walked along with her to the entrance.

Coldheart smiled at the polite gesture given from tango, but her grin quickly flipped when she looked back at Ashen and trotted toward her.

Though touched by Tango's attempt to take part of the blame, the real cause of which was now long gone, the look Ashen was getting from the mare as he left didn't do much to lift her spirits.

And there go the supporting witnesses leaving me alone in the lion's den…just…great. Ashen knew the pale yellow mare with the two-shaded blue mane all too well; Nurse Coldheart, the supervisor of the hospital's day-shift.

She and Ashen did not like each other very much. As far as Ashen knows, Coldheart doesn't do much other than keep the personnel in line, and even then she seems a bit overzealous with that job. But she does know that for some reason Coldheart seems to have it out for her. Maybe she thinks Ashen is being privileged as the daughter of the head nurse.

"Even if I told you what happened, the only ones who could support my story just ran for it. But even then I doubt you would have believed me, Miss Coldheart,"

Ashen said in a flat tone, not bothering to defend herself when she knew that Coldheart would have already made up her mind the moment she saw her. "And in case you've forgotten, I'm here as a volunteer. I quit on my own long ago, not that you'd care to notice seeing as you drove me to. Plus, I think that if I were to tell Grace that I was just defending myself from an attack on my person by an overly attached filly, I think she'd take my word over what you saw after blundering onto the scene with it all over." Ashen can't help but grin slyly at Coldheart, even if only to defy her.

Coldheart growled under her breath at the mares grin. "I'll clean up after you this time, Ashen. But i want you out of here for the rest of the day, before I report you to management." She walked past Ashen and started picking up the few plates that got knocked over.

Grace and Mystic were almost done making their rounds when they looked out a window and saw Tango and Crinoline standing outside. "I guess they're done already," Grace said, noticing the lack of her daughter. "Ashen must have some unfinished business she has to take care of, then. You should join them." She smiled at Mystic and nodded in appreciation for his help.

"You're welcome," Mystic Shield replied before leaving. Grace had been adamant with lot letting anybody else in on this chaos, and so he is left with three ponies he barely knew. Not that he was going to be their leader or anything.

Before long, he has joined his two acquaintances. "Hey Tango, Miss Crinoline. Did I miss anything?" He had no basis on that assumption, but he could tell—as he could tell from his students during classes—that they were a bit worn out, and not just from boring hospital duty.

Crinoline acknowledged Mystic's greeting with a nod. As for Tango…

"Hello there, Mr. Mystic," he replied cheerfully. "The little miss and I have just been waiting for you and Miss Ashen to finish up. Something or the other happened with a pony knocking over the food cart, and then it seemed like the other nurse mare wanted us to leave." He then brushed aside a lock of hair with his hoof and placed his foreleg to his brow in a grand surveying gesture. "Come to think of it. Wonder what that was all about? Guess somepony would've said if it was anything the matter, though."

Mystic Shield put a hoof to his chin. Darn. The "plot" may be…no, probably not. "Hmm…that pony…did either of you manage to identify him?" It was possible that that pony was the same one from before. "Did you see any green and brown on him? I can't be certain which was which on his coat or mane." And could he have any involvement in all this?

"Hmm, green and brown?" Tango reflected. "I believe that might be right. Friend of yours, Mr. Mystic?"

Crinoline decided that now was an appropriate time to speak up. "Mind If I take a look at the letters inside your saddlebags, Tango dear?" she asked. "Miss Ashen might've said they had nothing to do with her situation, but I think I should read them to ensure they do not apply to me. Don't worry I will fetch them myself."

"Oh! If you think so, Miss Crinoline. Waltz said I ought to be safe and give 'em to anypony who might be mad at me," Tango commented as he unlatched his saddlebag, "Don't know which one you'll want, though. Waltz said this was for friends and Crochet said this was for business partners, but I reckon you're both."

"Pertaining to your previous question to me, Tango, that stallion is hardly a friend of mine," Mystic Shield replied to Tango as Crinoline proceeded to (excitedly) take the letter she was presumably looking for. "Never seen him before. Didn't even get to identify his race." He then turned to the mare. "Say, what's in the letter you're looking for? It's okay if you don't wish to tell me."

"Oh, Waltz and Crochet gave me a few spares, Mr. Mystic. I can give you a pair if you think you need it," Tango said anxiously, popping open his bag wider and levitating a stack of what looked to be a dozen envelopes of alternating style to the front.

As Mystic Shield received the letters, he said, "Please, just Mystic. The only other title I wish to be addressed to is Master Shield, which you cannot call me since you're not gonna be one of my students." He then perused through them, taking interest.

Contents of "Business Associates" letter, written in a very neat, efficient style:

Dear Sir or Madam,

The Spring Quartet would like to extend our sincerest apologies if our employee, Tango, has failed in his services or been the cause of frustration to you or your business. While we vouch for his reliability in completing any requests that we have formally agreed upon before hoof, we regret to inform you that Tango is an idiot. Please convey any further instructions to Tango in as simplistic a manner as possible and do not assume that common sense applies.

If Tango cannot repair damages that have occurred as a result of his misapprehension, please send all requests for compensation or renegotiation to the Spring Quartet floral shop, located in Baltimare.

Regards,
Crochet, Manger of Relations

P.S.: If the statement above does not apply to your circumstances, please ask to see the other letter Tango is carrying

---

Contents of "Acquaintances" letter, written in a friendly, flowery style:

Dear Sir or Madam, (In all likelihood, Madam)

If our Tango has elected to give you this letter, it is because a particular sort of dispute has occurred that he is a participant of and he is unaware of what he has done wrong. If Tango is not directly involved in your argument, please return this letter to him and inform him that he need not become involved.

I would like to assure you that Tango has conducted himself entirely with well-meant intentions and is incapable of knowingly doing any of the following things:
-Flirting with your wife/husband/relative/friend
-Agreeing to take your hoof in marriage
-Challenging you or agreeing to participate in a fight
-Stealing your merchandise or personal belongings.
-Otherwise breaking the law of his own volition.

If Tango has upset you for some other reason that may be resolved, I urge you to remain collected and explain his error in terms he is familiar with. Please contact me at the Spring Quartet floral shop in Baltimare if we must negotiate any further legal or personal arrangements.

Thank you very much for your patience. Good day and sincerest well wishes,
Waltz

PS
If the nature of your concern is business related, please ask Tango for his other letter

Once he was done, he thought to himself. Great. Another cuckoo, just like Derpy Hooves and Pinkie Pie.

Crinoline meanwhile was finished reading the letters as well, and it was evident that her mood had changed upon reading their contents. She quietly put them back in disbelief of what she presumably just read, fell onto her haunches, and stayed like this for a while. "These letters… did not help at all," she said with a sad tone in her voice.

"Alright Mr…Mystic," Tango paused to correct himself. He then turned to face Crinoline. "I'm sorry little miss. Waltz says those are supposed to help sometimes. They must be for somepony else," he replied with concern, taking the letters back and returning them to the bundle.

Crinoline's ears drooped, and she was still sitting on her haunches when she looked at him. "You are a good pony Tango. Too good. Tell me, are there things that others have or do, that you are not allowed to do or have?"

"Hm…I'm not supposed to sign up for clubs or things like that without telling the family first, little miss," Tango replied to the first question, Mystic's offer to tutor him still fresh in his mind.

"Okay, Tango would you tell me what you think this means?" She moved up to Mystic, then in an embrace she pressed her lips onto his and kissed him dearly.

Tango's luxurious red mane tilted to the side as he carefully considered Crinoline's actions performed on the disciplined unicorn and hazarded a level guess. "That's a kiss, Miss Crinoline." He glanced expectantly to see if the two of them would confirm his answer.

Crinoline nodded at his answer, slowly approaching him. "Your answer is correct. Well done, Tango!" she announced proudly. She pointed with her hoof at Mystic and said, "Do you think he liked it?"

Tango frowned with puzzlement and glanced at the speechless unicorn, who was blushing profusely. "Well, I couldn't say, little miss. How do you feel about that, Mystic?" He didn't answer.

"Would you like it?"

This question was along lines Tango was more familiar with and he perked up again with the confidence of giving an easy answer. "No, Miss Crinoline," he stated plainly, "There isn't anypony who should be doing that sort of thing to me. It wouldn't be right."

"*sigh* Okay, okay, I'll leave," Ashen told Coldheart, having dropped the attitude like a brick at the threat and/or warning, before turning around and helping her with the toppled cart as she continued, not interested whether she's being receptive of the aid or not. "Grace already has enough on her mind with this outbreak, she doesn't need any more because of me." She knew that if there were a complaint about her, it would eventually end up on Grace's head.

After finishing up (or when Coldheart made it clear she wanted her gone NOW) Ashen turned to the mare. "Ok Cold—" she stops herself as the thought hit her that calling Coldheart by her (presumed) last name too often would probably get on the supervisor's nerves, considering her unfortunate name. She started again carefully. "C…before I go, I want to ask a favor of you, not for my sake but for that of Grace." She walked up to the mare, put a hoof on her shoulder and took a deep breath as she prepared herself to trust the one she dislikes the most. She almost pleadingly began. "…Could you…keep an eye on Grace for me? I fear she's taking things a lot harder than she's letting it show."

"Fine, I suppose I can try to." Coldheart looked down at Ashen. For the first time in Ashen's life, she had a twinge of compassion. "You may not be nurse material, but I have full confidence in this mission." She shot a smile at her, barely noticeable, not forced. Coldheart then turned around and started pushing the cart back to the kitchen, leaving Ashen to return to her party.

!?! Ashen was not expecting Coldheart to accept, so she was quite taken aback by the fact that she did. By the time that it had sunk in, Coldheart was long gone before Ashen can thank her. She didn't even snap back at me for calling her C. Touched by the unexpected kindness, Ashen starts making her way towards the front of the hospital, but before going around the corner, she looked back and said, "…Coldheart…Thank you."

Arriving at the entrance, Ashen saw the other three ponies outside already. Although she'd like to have a word with this Crinoline, she saw Grace overlooking the group, seemingly waiting for her arrival.

"Grace…" she started, knowing this is going to hurt for the both of them.

"There isn't anypony who should be doing that sort of thing to me. It wouldn't be right."

Crinoline froze in her tracks for a moment over this statement, but regained her composure fast as she looked at him like a cat who locked onto her prey. "Please Tango, explain to me why you think it wouldn't be right!" She looked at him now with a more worried and caring look.

Tango blinked before answering, "Miss Crinoline, two ponies have to love each other for that to be alright. Sonata even told me this," he said with emphasis, "But, I can't do that love thing, little miss."

Mystic Shield remained stunned and speechless throughout this.

Crinoline looked at Tango with a determined expression. I can teach you and I will teach you. It is the only right thing to do. It is just.

Grace heard Ashen Rise come up from behind her, looking out toward The Everfree Forest, avoiding eye contact. "Hello there, Ashen," she said, acknowledging her presence, and knowing that she will cry if she looks. "My little filly is all grown up. I can't stop you, can I? But you're the most capable pony I know and trust. If this danger in the forest is real, as much as I hate to say it, you have to deal with it."

She turned to face Ashen, smiling a bit. With a shaky voice and a quivering lip, she said, "You will come back alive, Ashen. I believe in you. Take care of them." She glanced back out the window at he three. "Make sure they come back alive as well. And, I love you."

She faced Ashen Rise again with watery eyes and stepped forward, embracing her.

"Grace…Mom…" Ashen said as she cried in her embrace.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke again. "I won't disappoint you." She reluctantly backed out of the hug before walking to the double doors leading out into Ponyville. After looking back one last time, she passed through into the outside world once again.

"I know you won't." She looked back out at the Everfree Forest. From this distance, it looked peaceful and beautiful. However, the image of the students lingered in her mind (as well as the four to-be-adventurers) as she looked at it, trying to imagine what horrors could await in that peaceful forest.