“Well, as far as we can tell, he should respond to the healing medications normally as long as we give him the nutrients he needs,” Explained Furry Heart. “I'll make sure this is all on his chart for the doctors in Ponyville. I'm not sure about any more advanced magic, so his stay there might be extended a bit compared to normal. Speaking of which, Princess Sparkle, do you have any idea who might be able to care for him afterward? Originally, I thought miss Fluttershy would be the obvious candidate, but seeing that he's not just a lost animal, I was thinking the Canterlot Orphanage might be more appropriate...”
“I'm not sure.” She answered with her hoof to her chin, having already given up on getting the doctor to simply call her Twilight. “I don't know whether an orphanage would be very good for his mental state. Not to mention he'll probably need some tutoring to help him catch up academically. We don't even know what he is, let alone how old he is, so there's really no good way to tell until he learns to communicate a bit more.”
“Um, Twilight?”
“Not to mention that with his wings in that condition, he's likely never been allowed to fly. He'd need a good bit of physical therapy to make up for that.”
“Twilight, I think that...”
“Well, Princess Sparkle, I agree with you on both points. He may also need additional therapies once he can tell us more about what happened. I'm not sure what other options you have besides the orphanage, to be honest. Perhaps you could come up with something that would fit his needs. I'm concerned for his well-being, but I'm useless at any of this bureaucratic nonsense, and he's being transferred over to Ponyville general tomorrow morning, assuming he's stable.”
“Excuse me...”
Twilight and the doctor both turned to Fluttershy, noticing her for the first time since they started the conversation. “Yes?” Twilight asked.
“Well, um, if it's okay with you, he could still stay at my cottage once he's a little better...”
“Really?” asked the doctor. “I thought you only boarded animals.”
“Well, I have a lot of the things he would need for treatment. My cabin usually doesn't have too many ponies around, which I think would be good for him. Twilight could help him with lessons, too, if that's okay with her, of course...”
“I'd love to tutor him, Fluttershy, but if you want to have him live with you, I'll have to get started on some paperwork. Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. Even if it's only for a little while, I'd like to help him. I think the poor dear has had enough trouble to last him for a while.”
“Well, in that case I need to talk to the Mayor about that paperwork. You should let him know that they're moving him in the morning.”
Spike turned back and waved as they left. “See you guys in Ponyville!”
“Talon?” Asked Fluttershy, peeking her head in the doorway. Talon blinked lethargically, turning his head slightly so he could look at her. His eyelids drooped over his yellow eyes.
“How are you feeling?” She asked, moving to sit in one of the chairs at the side of the room. He tensed when she began walking, but relaxed somewhat when she sat down.
“What feeling?”
“What does feeling mean?” Fluttershy clarified, frowning at the implications of what he did and didn't understand.
“What does feeling mean?” He asked, slowly enunciating each word, nodding a bit as he did so.
“Oh, um, it means... um... are you in any pain, or sick, or okay?”
“Pain, no sick.” He stated “What okay mean?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, “it means that something is good, or even just... not bad.”
“Uh...” he trailed off, glancing at his wing and legs.
As Fluttershy sat waiting to see if he would say anything else, the doctor walked in, interrupting the rather awkward silence.
“Hello there, Just checking in before I leave for the night. Do either of you need anything? You're welcome to stay the night if you wish, Fluttershy.”
“I'm good, thank you. Did you want anything, Talon?”
Talon shook his head, keeping a wary eye on the doctor as he left.
“He won't hurt you, you know.”
“...”
“Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, Talon? Where are you from?”
“Is far. Ger-fun-uh?”
Fluttershy scratched her head as she thought. “Um, do you mean Griffonia?”
“Um... not know.”
Fluttershy trailed off into silence, listening as tiny snores eventually came from the bed. Soon, she found her own eyelids drooping shut as well.
Fluttershy was woken by a soft prod in the foreleg. She glanced over, taking in the sight of a red unicorn mare dressed in scrubs.
“Good, you're awake,” the nurse whispered as she lifted Talon onto a small stretcher. “I gave the little guy some sedatives so he should be out for the whole trip, but I wanted to make sure you got the chance to come along. I'm Tender Care, by the way”
Fluttershy watched as Tender transferred Talon's IV bag to sit next to him. She followed along after her as she carried the whole assembly in her magic. “Alright, let's skedaddle.”
Fluttershy followed her outside to where a chariot waited with two pegasi hooked into it, ready to take off.
“Hey buddy, it's time for you to wake up.”
Talon groaned as he woke up. He was sore all over, and it felt like somepony had glued his eyes shut. He had to get up, though, or Show Stealer would push him out of the cage.
Wait, that didn't sound like Show Stealer...
“Don't worry, you don't have to go anywhere. I just need you to eat your breakfast.”
Talon's eyes shot open, revealing a red mare with white mane standing next to him. He tried to get up, managing only to fall over onto one of many pillows situated on the bed he was on.
Talon looked at the pillows, then at the surrounding room. “Where...”
“It's okay, sweetie.” Talon turned back to look at the mare beside him, scooting back until his flanks hit the railing at the edge of the bed.
Tender Care frowned as she watched him, before forcing her expression back to a small smile. “It's okay. I'm your nurse, Tender Care, and I'm here to help if you need anything. Would you like some breakfast?”
Talon glanced around the room once more, eyes locking onto Fluttershy where she sat to one side. “Break...fast? What breakfast?”
Nurse Care's eyebrow shot up as she glanced over to Fluttershy briefly. “Food?”
“Oh, uh... yes.”
“Well, then,” she responded as she trotted over to the open doorway. “I'll be right back.”
Soon enough, Nurse Care returned with a small tray held in her magic. Perched on top were a bowl and glass, the bowl containing some kind of porridge, while the glass held simple apple juice.
“Here we go. We wanted to start you on simple foods and work up from there. The oats have some extra nutrient powder in them, so it should help you get your strength back.” She explained as she placed the tray down where Talon could reach, drawing back a bit in surprise when he ignored the spoon in favor of simply shoving his short muzzle into the oats. His eyes widened in surprise as the taste hit his tongue.
“Sorry it's not the best, but you can't really expect too much with hospital food...” apologized the nurse.
“It's fine,” Fluttershy said, gesturing to Talon, who was eating with more enthusiasm than anypony Nurse Care had ever seen eating the hospital's food. Obviously he was enjoying it, in spite of her misgivings. “He seems to like it, at least.”
“Huh. You know what they say, one pony's trash and all that.”
“Good!” Interjected Talon, sitting up a bit while oats continued to drip down his face. He had even managed to get some in one of his ears, and was currently trying to get to it with his tongue.
Fluttershy chuckled a bit, eventually giving in and helping him with the spoon that would have saved him so much trouble. After he drank the juice (although a more accurate term might be guzzled), Tender Care took the dishes away before bringing back a styrofoam cup of water with a pitcher.
“If you need anything else, just let me know. I'll see if I can get it for you.” She offered with a friendly smile, heading back out of the room.
“Did you enjoy your breakfast, Talon?” Fluttershy asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
“Yes!” replied Talon, nodding as much as he could without disturbing his injuries. “What oats?"
“Well, they're a pretty basic food. They grow pretty fast, so we use them for a lot of things. I think we might need to teach you about manners, though,” said Fluttershy, giggling.
Before Talon could ask what manners were, they were interrupted by Twilight backing into the room. She was closely followed by a large stack of papers with stubby dragon legs.
“Can I put these down now, Twilight?”
“Sure thing, Spike. I need to go over them with Fluttershy anyway.” Turning around, she paused as she took in the sight of Talon pressed as far as he could get into the back of the bed while dripping oatmeal onto the pillow. She turned to see Fluttershy with her mouth hanging open and her hoof held over a food tray.
“What happened to you guys?”
Twilight stayed to help clean up and sort through some of the paperwork for a few hours before leaving. She mentioned something about a CMC sleepover at a castle as she was leaving. Talon just wondered what a CMC was and why they seemed so nervous about it.
After talking a little more and teaching Talon a few new words, Fluttershy noticed the sun setting.
“Well, little one, I need to go. I'll come see you again tomorrow, but I need to feed my animals and you need to go to bed.”
“Go bed?” Talon looked at the surface he was resting on, significantly clearer of oats than it had been earlier.
Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, right. Going to bed is just another way of saying sleeping.”
“Sleep?” he asked. “Where cage?” He couldn't see any cage in this room. Maybe it was in the hallway?
“Huh? Why... Oh! No, you are going to sleep in the bed, alright Talon?”
“Oh...” Talon was unsure about that; he couldn't remember sleeping outside his cage before. It made him a bit nervous, to be honest, but it wasn't like he could move around on his own. Tired, he fell quickly into a dreamless sleep.
Breakfast for the patients consisted of apple slices and toast, but Talon was getting more oats. Tender Care knew they would have to find some way to figure out what else he could eat; the poor thing didn't need any more complications in his treatment. That, and he certainly seemed to enjoy the food here, in spite of its quality. She wondered if he could possibly get any more enthusiastic, in fact.
Knocking lightly on the door frame, Nurse Care stepped slowly into the room, trying to avoid startling Talon. Her eyes shot open when she realized he was already awake. At first he seemed to tense up at the sight of her, but he almost immediately relaxed when his gaze fell upon the tray she held on her back. “Evidently food is the way to get through to him,” she thought as she put the tray down for him.
After a breakfast that caused her to be concerned about whether he had chewed his food enough to actually get any nutrients from it, she changed out the IV bags for the new ones the doctor had ordered and turned to Talon.
“Sweetie, would it be alright if I came in later and helped you clean up a bit?”
Talon pondered this for a moment. “Clean up?” he chirped. “What clean up?”
“Oh. Um... here, let me show you. I take a rag like this,” she started, holding a rag in her hoof. Magic was easier, but she had heard about what had happened at the vet. “Then, I dip it in some water and use it to get rid of the dirt in your coat.” Doing so while she explained, she slowly wiped a bit of dirt off of an uncovered spot on his shoulder. “See?”
“Oh. Yes, alright.” He agreed, drawing out the syllables a bit as he tried out the new word. “Alright good?”
“Yes, it is, dear. Now I've got to go get the dishes from the other patients. You just wait here, I'm sure Miss Fluttershy will be here soon.”
Fluttershy hurried as she cared for her animals. Angel, sensing her urgency, directed some of the other animals who regularly helped in the mornings. Soon enough he watched her leave with a slightly worried look on his face before he turned back to his own breakfast, munching a carrot unhappily.
As she trotted down the road to the hospital, she hurriedly greeted passing ponies. She bought her breakfast from Applejack on the way, as she had neglected to get anything on her way out the door. As she continued on, Pinkie rushed up to greet her, stopping for a moment before deciding to bounce along beside her.
“What's got you in such a rush Fluttershy?” Ask Pinkie as she leaped alongside her friend.
“Oh, I'm just going to the hospital to visit Talon.”
“Can I come with you? I just got a wobbly knee, tail twitch, and eye flutter, and that means somepony needs fun today.”
“I don't know, Pinkie.” Fluttershy frowned. “Talon is awfully shy around ponies. I wouldn't want him to be scared of you, and you can be a bit... exuberant.”
“Oh Fluttershy. I know I can be energetic sometimes, but I don't have to be. Do you think he might like a cupcake, though?” she asked as she pulled a cupcake out of her mane. “I have a few extra that I keep for cheering-up emergencies.”
“I don't now if he can, Pinkie. He's not supposed to eat anything too strong or rich right now. We'll have to ask the doctor first.”
“Aw, he can't even have cupcakes?” Pinkie whined as she put said confection back into her mane. “That's terrible! Now I know I have to come along, just in case there's anything I can do to cheer him up.”
“Alright,” Fluttershy agreed with a soft smile. “Just try not to upset him.”