Pillow Talk II · 3:18pm May 15th, 2022
“Um… Greetings? Dr. Fauna?”
“Who’s there? Oh! Come in, come in, Your Highness. Sorry, it’s a bit of a zoo in here! But it can’t be as bad as out there, I’m sure. Hey! Don’t eat her tail…”
“It’s quiet outside, actually.”
“Oh.”
“Do you… normally treat patients in the front hall? And in your office? And… on the floor?”
“Er… No. No, I usually have a room for that. With beds and everything! What the… What did I just say about the tail?”
“...”
“...”
“Sorry. With all due respect, Your Highness—”
“Just Luna is fine.”
“Luna. With all due respect, I don’t have the capacity for guests today. I hope you understand.”
“It’s alright. I won’t be here long. I’m just looking for…”
“Haven’t seen her! I mean, it’s her day off! So of course I haven’t seen her.”
“She never takes days off.”
“All the more reason for her to take one, though, right? Ahem… Sorry, I wish I could help, but… Oh, for the love of… Here, chew on my tail if you’re so hungry. Better?”
“Dr. Fauna?”
“Hmm?”
“She wouldn’t happen to be in the room with the beds, would she?”
“...”
“...”
“...Please help her.”
“Oh! Hmm.”
“Hello, Dove.”
“I’ve never been woken up with a kiss on the cheek before… That’s nice.”
“You weren’t asleep.”
“No fair. You have a sense for that.”
“I don’t. I just know you too well.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Dr. Fauna didn’t want me to know where you were.”
“What? Oh… I’ll talk with her.”
“I suspect you told her not to tell me.”
“...No fair. You know me too well.”
“Uh-huh. Scooch.”
“...What?”
“Scooch.”
“There’s no room.”
“Don’t make me say it a third time.”
“Luna… You wouldn’t fit in this bed even if I wasn’t in it.”
“Wow.”
“No, wait.”
“Wow!”
“I didn’t mean—!”
“I know I’ve gained a few pounds since retirement, but still.”
“I didn’t—!”
“I know you didn’t. Now… scooooooch.”
“Hrmm…”
“Ahhhh, that's better.”
“...Hi.”
“Greetings.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just a little tired.”
“Fluttershy.”
“Hmm?”
“I can feel your heartbeat through your back.”
“...”
“It’s not my presence, is it?”
“No. I’ve been like this for a few days now.”
“...”
“A week.”
“...”
“My whole life.”
“...”
“...”
“Dr. Fauna needs her room back, Dove.”
“It’s okay. There were no patients this morning.”
“Well, they’re there now.”
“What?! Oh, no-no-no…”
“Lie back down.”
“But—!”
“Fluttershy. You can hear them through the door just as well as I can.”
“...I didn’t hear them.”
“Lie down.”
“Okay, okay…”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...For how long?”
“Until you’re ready.”
“Luna?”
“Mmf… I was almost asleep. Apologies.”
“Luna.”
“Yes, Dove?”
“...They’re leaving.”
“Who is?”
“Everyone.”
“Come here.”
“...Mm.”
“...”
“Thank you.”
“Is this about that bird who does the weekly census?”
“Angie is an owl. And it’s more of a head-count.”
“Right. Her numbers are still dwindling, I presume.”
“Yes. We have a quarter of what we had when we first opened.”
“Well, maybe she missed some. There’s only so many animals you can see from the sky.”
“She’s very thorough.”
“It’s getting to be winter. Are some of the animals hibernating early?”
“Not this early. And she doesn’t miss anyone. Not even the ones who are hiding.”
“...Hiding?”
“Yeah.”
“Why are they hiding?”
“All the predators left a few nights ago. I thought they were gone forever, but… they came back last night. Started circling the sanctuary.”
“Ah. I was wondering why that tiger was giving me such a dirty look on my way in.”
“Everycreature is too scared to leave without an escort. And… they all want an escort. They all want to leave, even though it’s dangerous out there. So if I just stay here in this room…”
“...”
“...”
“...I j-just don’t know why I thought I c-could… I could help. I could…”
“Hey.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Shh. Here. Blow your nose.”
“...”
“...”
“Thank you.”
“Most welcome.”
“...”
“Have you talked to your friends lately? Perhaps they can help.”
“...”
“...Is that a no?”
“I don’t see them anymore.”
“At all?”
“No… We see each other once a month. Rarity once a week. But I used to see them way more often. Like every day. So now whenever I see them I… I miss them even more. So I don’t… reach out. That much. Anymore.”
“Hmm. What about… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but what about Discord?”
“Chaos pilgrimage.”
“...”
“...”
“...Should I ask what that is? Or…”
“I wouldn’t…He tried to explain it to me, but I didn’t get it. All I know is he’s gone for a long time.”
“Ah.”
“...And if I keep this up then you’ll leave too.”
“Fluttershy…”
“Still awake?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Alright. Permission to speak about a sore subject?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, well… As we both know, I have a breadth of experience with others leaving. When you're around for long enough it seems to become your whole life—an endless procession of... leaving. In every sense of the word.”
“Every sense?”
“Well, I have three senses in mind. Sometimes ponies leave to go somewhere else, and you never see them again. Or they leave partially, and you don’t see them quite as often. And sometimes they leave… altogether.”
“...”
“...”
“How do you stop it?”
“Well, first of all, you don’t try to stop it.”
“If I don’t try to stop them leaving… then they’ll stay?”
“No.”
“Then…?”
“Fluttershy.”
“...”
“You can’t stop it.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Blow.”
“...”
“...”
“Thanbks.”
“Little more.”
“...”
“Ugh. So… I’m just supposed to let them go?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s complicated. But the simplest answer I can give you is that relationships, at any level, are not about making the other person stay. Relationships are about leaving.”
“...”
“They’re about leaving the other person in a better place than you found them. Take your friends, for example. You don’t see them as often, sure, but imagine how dark your lives would be if you had never known each other. Truly, your friendships are the gold standard. And I’m including the fact that you drifted apart.”
“...And what if I can’t?”
“Can’t?”
“What if I can’t leave somepony better off than I found them? What if I make them worse?”
“Then you let them go, and hope somepony else can.”
“And what if I can help somepony get to a better place, but they still leave?”
“Then they leave.”
“...”
“...”
“And what if I just want to cry?”
“Then you cry.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Another tissue?”
“...Nobe.”
“Alright, here you go. That might be gauze, actually. I can’t see in here.”
“It’s fine. Thank you.”
“...”
“...”
“I’ve a question for you, Fluttershy.”
“Okay.”
“Who is the most important pony in this entire sanctuary?”
“...Me.”
“Dr. Fauna, actually.”
“Oh.”
“Let me give you a bit of history. Before your nomadic ancestors first settled down, grew food, built villages, towns, and cities… Well, I won’t bore you with the equinology. The point is, that, at every step of their history, ponies always had each other. From the first connection they made, they had touch. Even before they built their first fire, they had each others’ warmth. They’ve been smiling at each other longer than they could walk on four hooves.”
“Huh.”
“Hm?”
“Sorry, I just… forgot how long you’ve been around.”
“So I’m fat and I’m old. Wow.”
“No! I didn’t—”
“Only teasing. And for the record, I was not around for the dawn of civilization. I just read a lot.”
“Oh.”
“But I was around for the healthcare revolution. When splints, herbal remedies and heuristic rituals were replaced with medicine, technology, scientific expertise. That was when I noticed ponies staying more than they were leaving. And I mean that in all three senses of the word.”
“...”
“The wounded stay where their wounds can be healed. The unwounded stay where they know help is not far, should they need it. And the same goes for animals. In the Sanct—”
“So Dr. Fauna is the only reason the animals stay?”
“I’ll stop you right there.”
“...Okay.”
“The animals come here for you, sure. But—”
“But they stay for Dr. Fauna.”
“You will stop interrupting.”
“Sorry…”
“You’re partially right. You do provide some amazing benefits for the animals here. You’re one of the kindest souls I know. But, to be perfectly candid with you, you can’t really beat living in a resort that has its own private, on-site, free-of-charge hospital.”
“...”
“But the animals do come for you. And they often stay for you too. For your warmth, and your smile, and your touch. But these three things, Fluttershy… they do not set bones or mend cuts. They do not cure disease. If anything, they are painkillers. And while they certainly have their place, painkillers can be addicting. They can be abused.”
“...”
“...”
“...I’m not sure how this is supposed to make me feel better.”
“I was supposed to make you feel better? Oops.”
“Pfft.”
“Hey, I got a laugh! A veritable laugh!”
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
“...”
“...”
“...You just called me a painkiller, but I feel better. Why?”
“That’s not exactly what I was saying. But still, that’s a great question. What’s your answer?”
“I don’t know… Talking makes me feel better. Even though I’m scared of it sometimes. But… is talking medicine? Or is it a painkiller?”
“It’s a start, is what it is.”
“...”
“Like anything, it takes presence. Thoughtfulness. Dr. Fauna has the luxury of knowing exactly what she’s prescribing at all times. The rest of us are administering blindly.”
“...”
“But, I’m glad to hear you are feeling better. How about we take a walk? It is a stunning day.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… Twilight’s really good at raising the sun, isn’t she?”
“Eh.”
“Eh?”
“She’s fine. But, to be honest, I’ve never thought it was very difficult.”
“Pfft.”
“My sister and I got a lot of praise for what was a pretty simple job. We might as well have been moving a couple magnets across a fridge twice a day.”
“...You’re not being serious.”
“No, I’m not. But I am making you laugh.”
“Yeah.”
“So. How about that walk?”
“I don’t know.”
“I could fire some lasers at those predators.”
“That’s your solution to everything.”
“If you could shoot lasers from your forehead, you would know that it is a solution to everything.”
“...”
“Aaaaand that makes three laughs. All in a day’s work.”
“Noooo. You just caught me off guard.”
“Yes, that is typically how comedy works. I told you I read a lot, didn’t I? Alright, now, Dr. Fauna really needs her space back. Up we get. Up-up-up.”
“Hrng…”
“Theeeeere you go.”
“Ghhh.”
“All set. Ready to go?”
“...Yeah. But, uhm...”
“Hm?”
“Are you sure you want me to come with you?”
“…”
“…”
“Of course, Fluttershy. I'm old, remember?”
“...You’re old?”
“Yes. And the first rule of being old is you should always keep your medicine close-by.”
“Wh—? Luna, oh, Luna… You…”
“Come here.”
“...I lub you…”
“I love you too, Dove.”
“...”
“Now then. As my sister never tires of saying... It's laser time.”
Hellooo.
I do not know if this is any good. But thank you for reading, and I hope you're all doing well. I have an arm's-length list of things to figure out in my life these days, but I'm hoping to be more present in this space again sooner or later. I'm even working on a new profile picture. Isn't that exciting!
Is that exciting? My excite-o-meter is on the fritz these days.
Excite-o-radar?
Damn it. Add it to the list.
Ciao!
M-
Why is this a blog and not a published story?
IT'S LASER TIME
ALSO IT'S GOOD
GOOD JOB
Graduated Excitoflask.
This was indeed quite nice, Miller. Hello and happy days.