Misery

by Normal

Chapter 2

Through many winding and downright pointless halls I walked. When one converts a half finished castle into a hospital for all, the result you get is not something that is productive to arriving promptly to one’s destination. Thusly it was with weary hooves that I reached the grand golden doors that would lead to the Princess’s chambers. When the ponies of long ago had re-purposed the castle, it was still of the belief that it should still remain a symbol of our shining Princess. It was with that mind set that the throne room was built with such grandeur.

Entering the vast and well lit confines did not make my hooves feel relief, however in lieu of such I got the pleasant sensation of both my eyes and mind being refreshed. Here the walls, when compared to the drear grey of the rest of the castle, glowed an pure white and was only interrupted by the fine gilding that line the windows. At the far end, should one let their eyes follow the red pathway laid out for you, sat the throne fine enough to seat Her Highness. I pull in my left leg, dropping into a deep bow as tradition decrees.

"Princess Celestia," I pause, muzzle brushing against cold marble. "You called upon me?"

"Yes, my little pony. You may enter." A lilting voice rings out from the fair throne.

Only the sharp sounds of my hooves fill the echoing hall of the room. Though I have made this same walk a great many times in my years working as a royal physician, this hall always piques my curiosity. Either side you look to is ceiling high glass, ending easily a good seventy five hands above. History books say when the castle was still in construction, what could be call historians of the time had the intention of filling these frames with crystalline murals to display Equestria's proudest moments. That never came to be. The throne room ended up within the center of the castle do to cries of more space needed, and the windows we see are these days are formed and lit by magic.

It is always with surprisingly short time that I find myself standing in front the throne, and today proves no different. I suppose sometimes I too am guilty of day dreaming off. With a secondary bow I thus proceed to seat myself down on the plush rug in front of my Princess.

"What is the report this month, good Doctor Stitch?"

I inhale deeply, preparing for the gloom that is to come, "Your Highness, the mortality rate remains the same. All infants born since I last saw you have passed away. Only one lasted longer than a week." I always have and always will hate delivering such news to somepony I, like many others, wish to see smile.

"I see...I keep hoping one of these months you will get to come to me with news that might brighten our hopes of a cure. It has been nearly four years since last a foal lived past its first year, has it not..."

"According to the censuses received from outlying regions, that would be accurate..."

I trail off slightly as I become aware that no longer is Princess Celestia's attention held solely by my words. Instead it does appear her gaze has wandered upwards. Though I know what I will see I too turn to the ceiling. The famous mural. I've seen it many times and each time it both amazes me, leaving me with the sense of a child's wonderment, and leaves me with the curiosity that drove me to my current field of work. Above us it watches down, its spiral of hope always there, the two alicorns in a constant spin around the planetary bodies which allow for any life at all to exist. The sun and the moon.

I clear my throat and try to proceed. "Yes, all reports from outlying providences-"

This time I find myself being truly cut off. Not from a gentle cough emanating forth from my audience, but instead with the long bang that echoes forth from solid doors being thrown open. I turn around, planting a genial smile on my otherwise annoyed muzzle. Between the open doorway of the entrance I see framed in the contrast of light just one of the royal guards, a courier if I must say.

"Your Highness, Ponyville’s monthly report. "

"Very well. I will address it right after Doctor Stitch finishes."

"Ma'am, if you don’t mind, it is marked as urgent."

Sure enough, a blue glow forms at the guard’s horn and plucked from the recesses of armor a blue ribboned scroll appears. With a blink of one’s eye a yellow aura wraps itself over blue, and with it the scroll is carried down the length of the room in quick order. As it passes by me I turn once more to where the Princess still sits. Other than the luminescence around her horn she has not moved a muscle in wake of the other pony's arrival. Nor as the scroll unravels does a single muscle move.

I feel myself grow unreasonably inattentive, one might even say bored, during this whole ordeal. While it is not uncommon for the Ponyville report to be delivered within the same week as my own report it has never once arrived during my own appointment. There is a reason each providence has their own schedule that is to be at the very least roughly adhered to. But there is that word. Urgent. Had the report arrived late I would have assume the town, like many before it, had simply ceased to be, taken away in the wind by the disease. But I recollect no such occasion such as this where a report arrives earlier than deemed normal. Watching Celestia’s face gives no clue away to what the contents might contain.

When Celestia finally did turn away from the letter it was not, as I hoped, to inform me of what likely catastrophe went down in our nearest providence. No, indeed it wasn’t.

“Quick Stitch, is there any pony on your team that you might willing to spare?”

As I said, this told me nothing of what was within, I would expect nothing less of anything marked urgent. And I could only think of one pony I would be willing to spare.

“The new medical intern you assigned me. If that pleases you, Your Majesty?”

"Young Fluttershy? I agree she is a good candidate but... Is she not doing well working alongside your team? I ask only because your answer came so swiftly."

"She is very adept at what she knows, however I am afraid too often she lets her heart get the better of her. I don't think she is cut out for the position, yes," I say this bluntly, a good heart will get you nowhere in Equestria after all. " I can safely say Fluttershy would be better inclined to a position held elsewhere."

Celestia cocks her head slightly at my response before speaking. "Very well. Inform her that she should have her bags packed by noon. A chariot will be ready to take her to Ponyville in the front court yard."

Author's Note:

Each time I read over this I find something new to tinker with...
Pardon if it gets rough. I wrote this at...is it seriously already one in the morning? Hmmm.

Comments

[OfTheIronwilled]

2710511

Oh, don't worry about the tense-switching. A lot of people do it, and even I do if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing, so it's pretty... Normal. Ha! See what I did there, see it!? N-Nobody? I'm alone on this one? Not even a chuckle? Oh... I'll just go back to my corner now...

Seriously though, you don't have to worry about it. Everybody switches tense sometimes.

[Normal]

2712114
I see what you did there. Thanks for the encouragement.

[Normal]

2701641
I believe I have fixed the issues with the tenses within chapter one And for now I have cut the scene with Luna. I won't bring Luna up a little while I think