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// You Need To Get More Sleep 
// Story: The Number One Patient 
// by RushyFiction 
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At 2 o'clock, when Celestia's sun shone bright in the sky and most self-respecting ponies were skittering at work or seeing the sights in town, one house at the end of the street had all of its windows covered, filling the place with dark shadows. The occupants of the building, worn out by their duties during the night, had chosen to block out all the terrible busy bees and their unforgivingly bright sun, allowing only one light to shine in the entire building - a projector, displaying a monochrome adaptation of a Daring Doo adventure, the eponymous mare currently fleeing for her life from nails being spat out from the walls of a temple.

Redheart sat on the couch, her hooves wrapped around the woolly tummy of Shaggy the bat pony, who had dozed off, the back of his head resting against Redheart's chest. The mare smiled, listening to his deep, calm breaths. Peaceful. Safe. Carefree. Just the way she liked him. She couldn't begrudge the bat pony for slipping during their movie ni- erm, day. A nurse at heart, Redheart discovered that knowing he was getting the rest he needed in her hooves made the experience better, even if she couldn't talk to him. 

As the film reel rolled on and on, her attention gradually drifted from Daring's remarkable feats to the bat pony, and to the relationship the two now shared. After confessing their love for another, the two had simply slided into place, supporting one another as if made to be there for one another. Her colleagues would universally refer to Shaggy as her "coltfriend", which was technically the correct term, but not in practice. There was something too... brittle... about it. Too temporary.
She'd mentioned this to him at one point, and Shaggy had laughed warmly. "Ponies have all sorts of fancy words. I think I'm just your pony. Are you my pony?" 
Brightly beaming, she'd kissed him and asked: "Does that answer your question, my little pony?"
Shaggy wagged his tail and booped his nose against hers. "Mhmh! That's good!"

Feeling affectionate, Redheart pulled the bat pony's snoring form closer and nuzzled into the crook of his neck, which turned the soft snorts into subconscious hums of pleasure. "You're such a cute bat." She whispered into his ear. 
Shaggy had nailed that answer. He was her pony - she felt an odd sense of entitlement thinking of him, and an almost malevolent glee that was most unlike her. Redheart knew that when she was in the room, Shaggy's attention would be on her no matter what else was happening. And she imagined that everyone else could tell that as well. And she felt like flaunting it, as if she were a rich prima-donna with the biggest diamond ring. "Look at me, I have him! Just me and nobody else!"

Nobody else would make Shaggy's sharp-toothed grin quite as wide, or see his watery, trusting eyes when she held his hoof in the hospital during an injection. Nobody else had him waiting at the door for when she came home, or had him lick their cheek as if they were the tastiest treat in the whole of Equestria. She held Shaggy's heart, and it was her most treasured possession by far. 

The reverse was naturally also true. Redheart was his pony. As she played with his rusty red mane, she just knew that she could never trust a pony the way she trusted Shaggy, and she made sure he knew it. She treated every one of his ailments personally, left notes in his things to cheer him up in her absence, complimented him on a regular basis to boost his confidence and always, always listened. In short, she was there for him, as best as she could be. The mare adored him. 


Shaggy smacked his lips. "Red...?" he mumbled, blinking his eyes free of sleep dust.

"Hey there." Redheart giggled softly, and kissed the back of his neck. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I..." Shaggy paused, his memories slowly returning to him. "What about the movie??" he asked worriedly, looking upwards at his mare. "What time is it?"

Redheart rolled her eyes. "Probably time we were in bed. I couldn't resist letting you nap right here though, you are just..." she booped his snout. "Too..." Again. "Adorable!" She rubbed his nose playfully. 

"You know what this means, don't you?" The bat pony asked, giving her as close to a stern look as he could manage at the moment, though it was more pouty than anything. 
Redheart blinked innocently. "What?"

Without warning, the bat pony hopped off and pulled her onto his back with the accuracy and speed of a trained guard. "We're off to bed, that's what!"
Redheart burst into hysterical laughter as Shaggy ran up the stairs with her flailing on his backside and desperately holding on until they reached the bedroom, at which point the bat pony unceremoniously dumped her onto the pillows. He sighed melodramatically. "It's true what they say - doctors and nurses make the worst patients. You, miss Redheart, have been a very naughty filly, staying up this long on my account!"

The mare brushed her frazzled pink mane. "I have no regrets. I guess you'll just have to stay and make sure I don't do it again..."
Shaggy snorted, breaking the roleplay. "Well, duh!" He bounced onto the bed and delicately pulled Redheart into his embrace, wrapping his wings around the two to form a sleeping bag once again. "Try and not have a beauty sleep with this level of comfort. I dare you." He kissed the beautiful white mare on the temple. "I don't want you to be tired at work."
"I won't be." Redheart promised, her voice slightly muffled below his jaw. 

The bat pony smiled. "I know. That's why you're the best nurse in the world." He nipped at her ear, which flicked back and forth, enjoying the attention. 
"... you know, I'm not gonna fall asleep if you keep playing with my ear."
"Oh. Oops." Shaggy left it alone and instead rested his jaw on Redheart's pink mane before drifting off to sleep again. 
A minute or two passed, and one of the mare's light blue eyes peeked open and focused on the bat pony above her, squinting a little out of joy from seeing Shaggy slumber with a smile on his muzzle, and then closing once again, feeling at peace, safe in his wings and without a care in the world.