As life would have it, the unforeseen arrival of a werewolf at the local hospital did not transpire as Jim had expected it to. Oh, there were a few faces that expressed a suitable amount of fear toward him as he entered the waiting area, but that was where things veered off into the unexpected. There was a nurse behind the counter, a white coated earth pony mare with a light pink mane pulled back into a bun and sporting a little white cap depicting a red cross with four tiny pink hearts in the corners. The moment she noticed him… all hell broke loose in the oddest of ways.
The nurse, Nurse Redheart, had stared at Jim for all of three seconds before her face exploded into the biggest of smiles Jim had ever seen, aside from Pinkie Pie’s. She promptly zipped over to him and took his hand in hoof to introduce herself and thank him for helping Sweetie Belle before. As it turned out, she had been the one to see to the little filly that day. She had also been the one to mildly reprimand Rarity about how long it took her to bring her younger sibling in to receive medical care.
Redheart continued on her happy little tangent for a few solid minutes, explaining how she had heard rumors of Jim from other ponies and how she desperately wanted to meet him. Though Jim was curious as to why she had wished to meet him so much, he had enough experience from his past to know that people, or in this case ponies, like her would feed off of his curiosity and it would take too long for the tasks at hand to be done. Knowing this, Jim was gentle as he lifted his hand up to put a pause to the enthusiastic nurse’s tale.
“It’s nice that you think so highly of me, but I’m afraid that time is not permitting enough for us to have a more meaningful discussion,” he said with a sympathetic smile. “I have two passengers that require some attention.”
Nurse Redheart blinked and looked toward Jim’s back. Indeed, the two young fillies looked a little roughed up, especially the young pegasus with the many small cuts.
Feeling that he had successfully gotten the nurse back on track, Jim gently cleared his throat. “There was a little bit of a disagreement at the school. Apple Bloom took a punch to her jaw. On the way over I asked her how she was feeling and so far she thinks that it’s just two of her teeth that wiggle just a pinch. Scootaloo wound up jumping through a window to get help and acquired a few cuts in the process… but I don’t think her injuries are a problem at the moment.”
Redheart’s attention shifted to Jim and she raised a brow at him.
Jim was more than aware of what his words meant and how the nurse had interpreted them, so he quickly let his smile melt away into a look of seriousness. “I know. The blood says otherwise, but she is not injured. I have no issue with explaining why, but I won’t do it out here. I trust that you ponies follow a patient/doctor confidentiality agreement?” he asked.
Comprehension quickly dawned on Nurse Redheart’s face as she looked to Scootaloo once more before her eyes locked back onto Jim and she nodded. “I understand. If you would follow me, I’ll take you to a room.”
Jim went to follow, but stopped when he realized there were a number of other ponies that had been there before his arrival. “Are you sure it’s alright for me to follow you? What about the other patients?” he asked, looking back at the few faces trying not to stare his way.
Nurse Redheart paused and looked back before she smiled. “Oh, don’t worry, none of them are waiting to be seen. They’re family and friends waiting to pick up.”
“Oh… well that’s a small relief,” Jim replied and he moved to follow Redheart.
Nurse Redheart began to lead the way, but after only a few steps she had to bring her hoof up to subdue a giggle. Jim eyed her curiously as he wondered what had gotten her into such a mood before she looked over her shoulder at him.
“You’re observant, helpful, and considerate… you’re quite the gentlecolt, if I say so myself,” she said with a pleasant grin.
Jim almost paused at her words before he returned her grin and shook his head good-naturedly. “You flatter me, Miss Redheart, but I’m really not as good as you view me. My more recent actions have been with, more or less, good intent… but I’ve done plenty of wrong in the past. Though I am putting in more effort to change myself for the better now that I’ve made new friends and have been given a chance at a normal life.”
Nurse Redheart’s expression melted into an understanding smile and she turned her head forward. “Nopony’s perfect… we all have things that we’ve done and regret, but it’s not what defines us. What’s important is why we made those choices. I’m sure you had good reasons for whatever it was you’ve done.”
Jim smiled and looked to the floor as they walked. “I would like to think I’ve had the best of intentions in mind… but I have my doubts some days.”
Redheart hummed and slowly came to a stop beside a door. She turned to it and opened it before backing away to let Jim and his passengers enter. “Please take a seat inside. The doctor will see you shortly.”
Jim nodded and slipped inside. Nurse Redheart started to close the door behind them, but she stopped about half way.
“One more thing, before I leave you. Being a member of the medical profession comes with knowledge. One of the things we’re taught, though it is a rare occurrence, is that there are times where our choices can change the lives of others. Every one of us puts in our best efforts to help our patients… but sometimes there are times when what we decide brings an end to a life.” Nurse Redheart’s eyes closed and she sighed before she looked back to Jim with a small smile. “One of my professors told me something that might help you. He said: ‘If you have to constantly look back upon your actions in life and wonder if what you did was right, then you’re still a good-hearted pony. It’s when you stop doubting yourself that you have become the most experienced in your field… or the most heartless.’”
Jim quietly thought about those words, even after Nurse Redheart closed the door and walked down the hall. He understood the meaning behind them, probably far more so than he’d like, but from his personal experiences he managed to find the flaw in even those encouraging words.
The path to hell is said to have been paved with good intentions… so even if one were to doubt, to be good-hearted… it still falls under the rules of condition. An act of good for one person can be an act of evil to another… he mused silently.
And I’ve done plenty that could be seen as evil…
A slightly awkward silence befell the hospital room for a moment before Jim remembered about the two fillies on his back. He turned his head around to better look at them. “So… how are you two doing so far?” he asked.
The pair shared a look with each other. “Well… I think I’m feeling fine,” Scootaloo said before looking to the dried blood on her foreleg. “But… now that I think about it, why did my cuts heal so fast? It really stung when I got them, but I was too scared to realize how quickly the pain went away.”
Apple Bloom blinked and took a closer look at her friend’s injuries. “Whoa, yer right, they are healed.”
Jim nodded gently and slowly made his way over to the examining table. “That’s one of the useful characteristics of our curse. We can regenerate quickly, though we’re not unkillable. A fatal injury can still end our lives, though it is not easy to do. I’ve survived many encounters that would have killed a normal person. The downside is that more severe wounds require more energy to fuel the healing process, so we need to eat more food… otherwise the stress on our body will slowly kill us.”
The two fillies shared a nervous glance before Scootaloo licked her lips. “Uh… why would we die? That seems kinda weird. I mean… shouldn’t a healing ability keep us alive instead?”
Jim hummed thoughtfully for a moment as he gathered what all he remembered about the process. “Well… in a sense it should, but it has to do with what happens inside of us. When our body draws nutrients to mend damaged tissues, it creates a unique reaction. Scientifically it shouldn’t be possible for our bodies to heal the way they do. The energy required should generate an equal amount of waste that would normally poison our body, but for some reason the cellular growth is almost completely pure conversion. Instead, our body feeds off of itself, usually creating new organic material from the blood in our veins, as well as converting nearby tissues into usable substances. The result is we lose whatever amount of our own body that was required to mend the damage. If too much is used up, and we don’t eat anything to take in new materials to replenish what was converted, it depletes us of vital nutrients that keep us alive.”
He looked back to Scootaloo.
The filly stared back at him with wide eyes.
Jim cocked an inquisitive brow.
Scootaloo slowly opened her mouth, lifting her hoof a little before she sagged and shook her head. “I think I only understood half of that,” she admitted.
Jim chuckled gently. “Basically, we need to eat to keep our bodies healthy. Especially if we’re recovering from an injury.”
Apple Bloom looked between the two were-beings for a brief moment. “So… ah take it somethin’ happened yesterday? Ah mean, Scootaloo looks different and you just said ‘our curse’… so…”
Now it was Jim and Scootaloo’s turn to share a brief glance; Jim simply wondering if the young pegasus would want to answer for herself while she, in turn, was silently asking what she should do. Scootaloo eventually pulled her gaze from Jim, sparing the slightest of peeks at Apple Bloom, before she hopped onto the nearby examining table.
Apple Bloom watched her friend’s actions, quickly sensing a growing unease coming from Scootaloo. She looked to Jim worriedly. Jim simply eyed Scootaloo calmly for a moment before deciding to at least give the troubled pair a starting point on the subject.
Jim slowly closed his eyes and took a steady breath. “You’re right that something happened, Apple Bloom. However, it did not start yesterday. The day I came to Ponyville was… eventful.” Jim’s eyes opened and gently drifted down to gaze sadly at the young yellow farm filly. He then proceeded to explain the summarization of the events of what had happened in the cave, Twilight’s sudden thought about what had happened and how Jim’s curse was spread, and finally concluding with the more kid-friendly version of Scootaloo’s transformation.
By the end of Jim’s explanation, Apple Bloom’s eyes were wide. “So…” she slowly began, “What all does that mean? How much in common does she have with you now?”
Jim sighed lightly and glanced at Scootaloo, who had been caught peeking at them, but before he could give his answer the air around them shifted with a subtle sensation that he had never felt before. Jim’s ears perked up, along with Scootaloo’s as she had felt it too, and both of them looked toward the door of the room.
As if waiting for the cue, the handle of the door lit up in the soft green glow of magic. With a seemingly practiced ease, the door swung open smoothly as a unicorn stallion with an ash grey coat and slightly shaggy, short silver mane walked in. He wore a simple white lab coat that held three pens in the front pocket.
Jim’s first instinct was to meet the pony’s gaze, but oddly enough the stallion’s eyes remained closed as he entered.
“Doctor Thorough Good!” Scootaloo said happily.
The doctor smiled warmly and turned toward the young filly. “Ah, Scootaloo, it’s been some time since I last saw you,” he said with a distinctly aged voice. Then he turned his head toward Apple Bloom. “Ah, and the youngest of the Apples. How’s your family doing these days?”
Apple Bloom smiled widely. “We’re all doin’ great. Things have been pretty swell on the farm and Granny’s still goin’ strong.”
“That’s wonderful to hear,” Thorough replied before turning his attention to the third being in his medical room. “Interesting… I haven’t met someone like you before. I’m Doctor Thorough Good. Who might you be?”
Jim eyed the stallion for a moment. He was sure that the doctor had not opened his eyes the entire time, yet he was spot on with knowing where the three of them were. He quickly put a few things together in his mind as he replied to the stallion. “My name is Jim Douglas.” He paused. “How is it you knew I was here? Your eyes have been closed since before you entered…”
Apple Bloom’s body perked up and she tapped Jim’s shoulder. “Oh, Doctor Thorough Good had an accident when he was younger. It left him blind. Now he sees using his magic.”
Thorough Good chuckled kindly. “Yes. I used to be a more renowned figure, but when I lost my vision… I couldn’t keep the position. It took a few years, but I eventually learned a way to use small amounts of my magic to ‘feel’ the world around me. Sadly, I couldn’t return to my old job, so I did the next best thing to keep helping others.”
“You still haven’t told me what it is you used to do,” Scootaloo piped up playfully.
Thorough Good laughed goodheartedly. “And I intend to keep it that way. Just as a magician never reveals their secrets, an old doctor doesn’t treat and tell. Speaking of which, Nurse Redheart said you were in a bit of a scuffle at school.”
Apple Bloom’s ears folded back and she gently reached her hoof back to rub at the back of her neck. Scootaloo mimicked the action, though she gently rubbed at her foreleg as her tail curled around her a little. Jim looked to the two little ones and his thoughts drifted back to ones of guilt at seeing their expressions, though he remained neutral on the outside.
Doctor Thorough Good took notice of the reactions and sighed lightly. “I see… so this isn’t a little squabble over spilled milk. I’ll have to admit, I did hear a little of your discussion before I entered.” He turned to Jim. “My apologies, but my hearing is a little sharper than most. I assure you I won’t speak a word of it unless directed by the highest authority.”
Jim looked to the stallion with slightly narrowed eyes. Just how much did he hear?
“That would be appreciated. After all, the princesses have yet to decide on whether they want this information known openly to everyone,” Jim replied as he gazed sharply at the doctor, watching for anything that might give off a tell to his intentions.
Thorough Good’s brow lifted in mild surprise. “So both princesses know about the new predicament regarding Scootaloo?”
Jim nodded. “Three of them, to be precise.”
“Then I shan’t breathe a word of it to anypony else but them. I learned long ago that Celestia does things for a reason, and I have always trusted her,” Thorough Good nodded firmly yet sagely.
Jim’s gaze softened at that. There was little hesitation in the stallion’s response and the conviction in his aged voice was clearly evident. That was more than enough for Jim and he looked back to the two fillies. “In any case, I do believe that Apple Bloom could use a quick check-up. She took a hit to her jaw in the scuffle at school.”
Doctor Thorough Good turned his head toward her and he smiled. “I would have to agree. Let’s take a look at you, little miss.”
As Thorough Good finished his sentence, Jim felt Apple Bloom’s body stiffen a little. “Um… ah don’t need to get any… ya know, uh… shots this time… do ah?” she asked nervously, forcing a smile.
Thorough Good lit up his horn and a clipboard poofed into existence beside him before floating in front of him. He flipped through a few pages, humming gently a few times before turning away and walking toward the counter. “Looks like you are up to date on your vaccinations,” he said before setting the clipboard down on the counter.
Apple Bloom’s body relaxed and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“As of three years ago,” Thorough Good continued and smirked over his shoulder at the newly ridged filly. “You’ve got three to get for this year. I swear, the only one in your family that doesn’t avoid getting regular vaccines is Big Mac. The rest of you avoid it like it’s the worst possible thing,” he finished with a raspy chuckle.
Jim suddenly felt the little body on his back swiftly move to hide behind his head, gripping his neck firmly. “Uh, that’s because we don’t need it. We Apples are tough, hardly ever get sick. So… uh… you can stop pulling out those needles,” Apple bloom said and laughed nervously as she peeked around Jim's head.
Sighing to hide his smile at the display, Jim gently shook his head. “Apple Bloom, you do know that getting a shot isn’t really that bad, right? Besides, it’s important to keep yourself healthy.”
“Mr. Douglas is correct,” Thorough Good chimed in. He then turned toward the yellow filly with three syringes in his magical grasp. “And it is my duty to ensure all of my patients are as fit and healthy as possible. Now hold still and this will be over before you know it.”