“Gangway! We’ve got a critical patient here!”
“What can you tell me, Nurse?”
“Substantial blood loss resulting from three consecutive stab wounds to the chest.”
“I see. Go prep the O.R. and have a room in the I.C.U. on standby; he may or may not live through the night.”
*************************************************************************************************
Fillydelhpia’s Central Hospital stood tall near the city centre, in close proximity to the police station and the fire station. Bright lights both inside and out gave a clear signal to anypony nearby that it was a hospital. Two mares were drawn to the facility by a rain-soaked police officer.
The light cream-coloured Pegasus Stallion trotted forward. His navy blue mane hung limply across his head and neck, his tail almost dragged the concrete, and his light armour weighed him down as much as the water. He didn’t show fatigue, however, and barely shivered from cold.
Berry Punch and Daisy Dreamer stood under an umbrella given to them by the officer. Their hearts raced as they followed the stallion through the main doors, into the hospital’s lobby.
In the lobby, the police officer and the two mares were greeted warmly by the nurse behind the reception desk.
After the nurse and officer spoke softly for a minute, the latter turned his head to face the mares following him. “Misses,” said he blankly, “a doctor will come find us in a short time to report to us about your friend.” He then trotted towards the rows of benches in the room and sat down. “We’ll be here waiting for them.”
The two mares sat down slowly, to one side of the stallion. “Umm, Sir,” stuttered Berry, anticipating the answer to her question. As the stallion turned to her, his brow raised, she swallowed and asked, “well, we were just wondering, do you know what happened? To Pan, that is.”
Looking into both mares’ eyes, his own eyes of maroon beamed sympathy as he took a breath and answered. “He was stabbed,” said he, his voice distant but caring, “three times in the chest by a stiletto knife in the hooves of a stallion called Switch Blade.”
After the officer finished his reply, Daisy Dreamer buried her face in her hooves, muffling her loud sobs. Berry then held the crying mare’s head to her chest to comfort her. “So, said the mulberry mare, “what happened to the stallion?”
With no hesitation, the officer replied, “justice is swift. He tried to murder your friend, and may very well still succeed. He’s on his way to Canterlot’s deepest, darkest dungeon as we speak, where he’ll stay for a very long time.”
Berry covered her mouth with a hoof as she gasped. “He may still succeed?” questioned she. “D.. does that mean that...”
“Yes,” interrupted the stallion. His tone became purely sympathetic as he continued, “I thought he was dead when I found him; he wasn’t. He’s still got a chance, for he’s in very capable hooves.”
“That he is,” said a stallion from behind the officer. He turned to see a dark cyan Earth Stallion with dark brown eyes. His spiky, unkempt mane matched his tail, and he wore a white lab coat with a red cross patch on either flank. His mildly high, baritone voice was accompanied by a very slight lisp. He then held a hoof towards the officer, who accepted. “I’m Dr. Late Night,” introduced he humbly. Once Berry introduced herself and Daisy, Night looked to a clipboard in his other hoof. “And, you pretty much summed up all we know at this point,” explained he. “Pan Sear is in surgery right now, and afterwards will be in Intensive Care for at least a day.”
Berry and the officer nodded. “That’s good news,” said the latter. He then turned to the mares and informed them, “I have to get going, now; I’ve got duties to attend to. I give my best wishes to you and your friend.” When Berry nodded, he took his umbrella and left the hospital.
Daisy managed to regain her composure as she held her head up. Her fetlocks and face were stained with tears, but she had calmed down significantly. She looked to the doctor before her, and said to him, “hi. I’m Daisy Dreamer. So sorry you have to see me like this.”
Late Night shrugged. “It’s okay,” assured he, “I’ve seen worse. Plus, you’re worried for your friend, so it’s understandable that you’d be upset.”
“Speaking of our friend,” said Berry, thinking about the question herself, “will she be okay? When will she be out of surgery?”
Night gave a look of confusion, but the confusion went away in less than a second as he replied, “who? Pan? He’ll be fine; If there are no complications, he’ll be out of the O.R. and into a room where you can visit in an hour or so.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “in fact, you two should probably get home; it’s late, and there’s no doubt you’ll be able to see him in the morning.”
Both mares glanced to each other, as if to exchange thoughts, before they nodded. “You’re right,” complied Daisy. “We’ll be back here first thing in the morning.”
“I’ll be here,” assured the doctor. To answer the stares given to him by the pair, he said defensively, “I stay up late a lot; I actually work days most of the time.”
Before Daisy and Berry made their way out the front doors, they were opened by Midnight Blue as she entered. Her violet mane was a mess, and she spoke in a panicked fluster. “I.. I.. I ran here as soon as I heard. Where is she? What happened? Is she alright?”
“Midnight! Midnight! Calm down,” beckoned Berry Punch, holding her hooves to her friend’s shoulders. “Look, Pan’s in surgery right now. We’ll all come back here in the morning to check on her. Okay?”
The blue mare’s breathing slowed as she calmed herself. Between breaths, she agreed. “Okay, okay. Now, can you at least tell me what happened?”
Berry nodded. As the three mares left the hospital building, midnight was informed of what had happened to Pan mere hours before.
Late Night stood where he was for a few seconds, in deep thought. “Eh, whatever,” said he with a shrug. “I’ll find out soon enough.”
After roughly a half hour passed, Pan Sear had been transferred from the Operating Room to a room in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. After another two hours, the nurse in Pan’s room jumped as the stallion gasped, followed by short breaths and rapid electronic beeps from his heart monitor. She turned to see that the green stallion was sitting up in his bed, his eyes darting about the room.
“Switch Blade!” shouted the stallion as he awoke. he caught a glimpse of the nurse before him, and backed up as far as he could. “Get away! It’s another trick!”
Without hesitation, the nurse grabbed Pan’s shoulders with her hooves. “Calm down,” begged she, “you’re in a hospital! You’re safe!”
As the pair struggled, the door to the room burst open, revealing a blazing orange Unicorn Stallion with a braided mane of burnt red. His cool aqua eyes contrasted with the rest of the stallion, and shone with concern and urgency. “What’s happening, Nurse?” asked he, his tone matching his expression.
“Delusions, Dr. Flame,” answered the white mare as she overpowered the stallion, holding him down firmly. “He woke up thinking I was somepony called Switch Blade.”
As the orange stallion approached, Pan exhaled deeply, relaxing his every muscle as he did so. A quick survey of the room told him where he was, but he asked anyway. “Where am I? Who are you?” His voice still sounded worried, but much calmer than it was prior.
The doctor fixed the front of his lab coat with his hooves. “My name is Healing Flame,” introduced he, “and this is Nurse Kindheart.”
“That’s right,” confirmed the mare at Flame’s side. “You’re in Fillydelphia Central Hospital. You’re safe here, Mr. Sear.” She spoke tenderly to calm the injured stallion.
Healing Flame nodded. “Do you remember what happened?”
Pan nodded. “Vaguely,” replied he honestly. “I remember Switch Blade, pain in my chest, and bleeding; a lot of bleeding.
Over the next hour, the doctor and nurse explained that Pan had been brought to hospital, and that he needed surgery for his stab wounds. They also informed him that he’d have to stay in Intensive Care for at least two days, and that he’d have visitors in the morning. After the discussion, the pair left Pan to sleep, which he did.
The next morning, the green stallion was woken up by a gentle nudge to his hoof. He groggily opened his eyes, and was met by what he recognised as Midnight Blue’s emerald irises. “Hey, Sleepyhead,” greeted she softly, a matching smile in her muzzle.
“Hey,” replied Pan. He sat up and began to stretch his forelegs, but a sharp pain in his chest caused him to draw his legs back with a grunt.
“Whoa; the doctor said stretching could open those wounds back up, Pan.” The mare spoke sternly, but left a bit of play in her tone.
The stallion nodded. “Right; better not do that, then.”
Midnight’s smile then widened to a bright grin. “By the way, you’ve got more guests.” She turned and motioned a hoof to a bench on the opposite side of the room. On the bench sat two more mares: Daisy Dreamer and Berry Punch.
“Hey, Girls,” greeted Pan happily at the sight of his two friends. Both trotted over to him gleefully as he addressed them. “How’ve you been?”
“Worried sick about you,” replied Berry, worry in her tone. “And we still are. Are you alright?”
The stallion waved a dismissive hoof. “I’ll be fine. I’m all patched up; just a couple weeks and I’ll be good as new.”
“You’re awfully optimistic,” stated a familiar voice as Late Night entered the room. Everypony focused on him, and he backed up defensively as a response. ”Whoa, calm down; I just came here to tell you that visitation’s almost over.” He thought for a second before he added, “and, you’re right; a few weeks or more and the wounds will be healed up.”
All four ponies nodded. One by one, Daisy, Berry, and Midnight filed out of the room. Midnight took a few seconds to quickly kiss Pan’s cheek before she caught up to the others.
The four ponies walked slowly through the hallways of the hospital, and boarded a lift going to the ground floor. Noticing that they were alone, Night posed a question. “By the way,” said he carefully, “last night, you three kept referring to Pan as “her” and “she;” why is that?”
Daisy and her friends felt what they thought was one another’s heart stop. “Umm, slip of the tongue,” answered the lavender mare, though it sounded more like a suggestion than a reply.
“I wasn’t born yesterday,” retorted the doctor. “Only once, maybe twice is a slip of the tongue. Every single pronoun you use referring to Pan isn’t. Please tell me?”
Berry Punch glanced to each of her friends, who both gave granting nods. “Well,” said she, “there’s this psychological condition known as Transgenderism.”
As the four ponies strolled casually through hallway after hallway to the hospital’s lobby, each mare took a turn explaining a bit of Pan’s Transgenderism to the doctor, who was utterly fascinated by the whole thing. “That’s astounding,” complimented he, scrawling notes down on a pad he kept in his coat. “I’m not kidding; that is absolutely remarkable.” With his notes written, he replaced the pad in his pocket. “Look; I have a small class I’m teaching this and that about medicine, and that would be an excellent bit to cover.”
Daisy nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying that I would like to know if you’d let me teach my little class about this ‘Transgenderism.’” After a few seconds of silence, he added, “I won’t give any names.”
The three mares silently exchanged thoughts for a minute. “Okay,” answered Midnight, “teach them whatever you like about the subject; we’re sure Pan won’t mind, either.”
“Yes!” Night drew his forehooves to his chest in victory. “Thank you; thank you so much!” said he gratefully.
“It’s not a problem, Doctor,” assured all three mares simultaneously as they left the hospital.
Night turned face and began to trot back to continue his rounds. “This will be amazing,” mused he. “The colts in Canterlot will never believe this.”