//------------------------------// // Ch 2 - New Mission // Story: Memoirs of a Minutor Crystallum // by Witching Hour //------------------------------// Canterlot General Hospital Canterlot, Equestria Starsday, 29 Rain Moon, 1001 Equestrian Era I was in my room at the hospital, still vibrating from the exhilaration of my… test flying earlier when my father appeared at the door, poking his head into the room. His worried green eyes darted about the room until he saw me, sitting upright in bed. Anxiety quickly turned into surprise as he took in the sight. I’m sure it looked more than strange to see his previously morose, grievously injured daughter smiling and waving to him as I did then. “Monks!” he exclaimed, restraining himself only long enough to close the door behind him before zipping across the intervening space and nearly hauling me from the bed into a crushing hug. His grip loosened only slightly at my muffled squeak of protest, partly from surprise but also because the muscles across my back still ached from the residual trauma and the workout I’d given them just that morning. “Oh Monkey… I’m so glad she was right…” my father whispered fiercely near my ear before he finally released me enough to pull away and look at my face. It seemed like a brief glance was all he could handle before he pulled me back into his arms, and his breathing rattled his whole body as he shook from the emotions that clearly rocked through him. Part of me wanted to comfort him, reassure him that I was fine in spite of everything, but the part that won was the battered teenager who’d spent the last two weeks one step short of death for a pegasus. I clung to him, ignoring the discomfort of battered and stiff muscles, burying my face against his shoulder. “I’m okay, Dad.” My voice shook even though I bent my entire will to making it come out evenly. “You’re okay now, you mean, Monks,” he retorted, running a hoof through my mane comfortingly. “Thank the gods you are…” I tried to hold back the wave of what could have been, of relief so keen it was agony. For twelve days, I had tasted the abyss, and it still clung to me. I fought that darkness with the knowledge that just that morning, I had been in the air again. True not open air as the therapy room was indoors, but still, I’d flown. Erratic as those short flights had been, I’d flown… and there was one pony to thank for it. “Thank Doctor Witching Hour, you mean,” I corrected with a sniffle, finally getting some control of myself and relaxing in my father’s embrace. “Dad, lemme wipe my face. I don’t wanna get your shirt all crusty.” With a laugh that was part sob, he let me go and passed me a tissue from the box on the bedside table. “You are alright though? She said there weren’t any other complications, but…” he trailed off anxiously. “No, nothing else… Well, unless you count reverting to a filly trying out her wings for the first time as a complication?” I offered, tossing the used tissue into the waste bin. “What part of the reversion would that be? I seem to recall several reverberating shouts of joy at just getting your hooves off the ground moments before crash-landing into your mother’s herb garden…” he chuckled lightly, as though trying to keep his worries at bay. “Think worse than that,” Monkey grimaced and, unconsciously, her hoof rubbed the top of her head where it had frequently met the ceiling. “Like why Mom banned flying in the house after Red destroyed that hanging lamp in the living room.” “Never liked that lamp, if I’m being honest. It always made it a pain in the neck to get coffee in the morning, often quite literally if I was particularly tired.” Dad chuckled lightly, taking a seat in the nearby chair. I shrugged, then winced as my shoulders protested against the movement. “Mom has her quirks… but I’d gleefully maim someone for her massage right now. I spent all morning trying to not crash into every surface down in the therapy room. I think there are still a few parts of the ceiling I’ve missed… I’ll probably get them tomorrow.” “Don’t rush yourself on that. I’m sure that everything will be fine while you take a few weeks to tag those last few ceiling tiles,” Dad laughed as he leaned back comfortably in his chair. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was being far too casual about my recovery now. “Dad… You’re hiding something, and not very well, I’ll add… What’s Aunt Moira wanting me to do now?” Part of me was irritated, but not at my father particularly. Honestly, I was cranky that I couldn’t take more than a day to basically catch my breath before the Order flung me head-first into yet another mission. And yes, I was cross about my father trying to dance around the subject like I was still too young, or fragile, or any other thing, to deal with such things. “… Dammit, you were always too clever for your own good. It’s why we gave up hiding Hearthswarming gifts for you and your brother after a while. Well, I hope you liked talking with Doctor Hour, because she’s your next assignment,” Dad sighed, reaching into a satchel to withdraw a written set of orders. My eyes widened as I saw the seal of the Capo Minutor on the orders, glancing back to my father to confirm this wasn’t just a mistake or an elaborate prank. “It’s real, no question about that,” Dad confirmed. “Honestly, I would have been skeptical myself if it weren’t for the wings on your back right now. They aren’t just magical constructs, Monks. I’m sure you’ve realized it by now, or can at least feel it… They’re Hope Magic, plain as day. And I’m sure you know what that means for the mare who made them...” I blinked and realized that he was right… Only not about when I’d realized the very special quality of my doctor. “I knew… At least… I suspected before she did… Whatever she did…” I stammered, still trying to organize the sudden jumble in my brain. “But… There hasn’t been any sign of Hope since the Crystal Empire disappeared… Why now? Why not sooner? And how is she doing it without the relic???” “Does it matter? With Hope so close to returning again, we need to make sure that nothing happens to her, hence why your orders come from the top. Honestly, if it were anypony else but the good doctor, I’d be out of my mind in worry right now, but thankfully she’s the least likely to put herself in danger. Gods help us if that Sparkle mare was one of the Virtues…” “Princess Twilight Sparkle is important to us; Virtue or not, Dad,” I retorted, exasperated. “She and her friends use the Elements of Harmony.” Did I really need to remind him? Probably not, but he was making it sound like she wasn’t important at all because she wasn’t a Virtue. “Oh I know, sweetie,” Dad sighed, resigned. “But if you were set with her instead, given how often she’s at the center of a weekly maelstrom around Ponyville, I wouldn’t even be considering letting you go, even if you would have that reckless cousin of yours around.” “I still haven’t forgiven her for calling the Air Guard nothing better than Wonderbolt wash-outs,” I grumbled sourly. “Does she even realize how hard you all worked to even get to reservist status?!” “She was five, Monks,” Dad chided me flatly, even though I knew that instance had rankled on him too. He’d offered to teach my cousin and I some tips on stunt flying, and she’d dismissed the offer with a scoff that there was nothing a ‘wash-out’ could teach her that she’d be able to use. “And she never apologized!” I protested. “And she’s probably forgotten all about it by now,” my father countered. “Besides, kiddo, she’s probably learned by now what it takes.” “All the more reason for her to apologize now…” I grumbled under my breath. “The point is,” he continued firmly, raising his voice a touch to drown out my muttering, “no familial relation in the area would’ve made me consider allowing this if it were anyone else, loyalty to Aunt Moira or not. Your doctor is very likely the key to what the entire society’s been looking for since Sombra fell, and you’re in the best position to stay near her. You’re also well prepared to protect her if we’re not the only one’s looking for her… and you know we won’t be once she starts coming into her full power as Hope.” “Are the… the Vices going to move again?” I asked hesitantly, not relishing the idea of being the only thing between a fledgling Virtue and those that would attempt to corrupt her. “Possibly… They lost their hoofhold a year ago when Luna was redeemed.” Dad shrugged and sighed. “But with how much has gone on since then, with Chrysalis attacking the royal wedding, and Discord on the loose, to say nothing of that minor scuff-up with the corrupted Amulet of Compassion, I’m almost certain we’ll see some other power-crazed maniac try a stunt or five…” “You realize that now you’ve said that, I'm gonna be up to my eyeballs in ponies wanting to either kill or corrupt my doctor, right?” I asked dryly. “Of course,” Dad conceded, sighing heavily in resignation, “but this is too important, Monks… Honestly, if it weren’t this important, I’d tell them all to shove this order somewhere unpleasant, and I’d be hauling us both home as soon as Witching Hour said you were clear for release.” He sighed again, scowling unhappily at the scroll. “I’d tell them to find someone else to do this, to Tartarus with the delay it’d cause… But it is that important… And I have to let you make the choice yourself, however much I don’t like it…” “Is this another ‘my baby’s growing up’ moment, Dad?” I queried, trying to bring a little levity into the situation. “If it is, Mom’s gonna be pissed because you’re getting another one over her…” He leveled a stern look at me and I backpedaled quickly. “Okay okay… I get it… You don’t like it, but it has to be done. To be honest, I’m not keen on being shunted into this almost immediately after what I’ve been through for the past two weeks.” I sighed heavily, my dad’s resignation infecting me. “But it does need to be done, and I am the best positioned to do it… What do we know about Witching Hour? Other than the obvious, of course.” “For being the first known student of Princess Luna, Doctor Hour is surprisingly ordinary, at least according to her dossier,” Dad mused lightly, pulling said dossier from his bag and flipping through it. “Only granddaughter to the current Earl and Countess Grey, though reports seem to indicate some strain on that relation- something to be aware of. Unsurprisingly earned her Doctorate of Medicine from Canterlot University, although without any support from her grandparents- further evidence of that aforementioned strain. A friend of the family who’s a nurse here wrote her recommendation. Unremarkable work at a few clinics in Bromley and Sutton districts prior to transferring to Canterlot General- oh, now that's interesting. Seems the good doctor was part of the team that worked on First Commander Soarin of the Wonderbolts after that fracas in Ponyville with those Shadowbolt mercenaries-” “I told you that doesn’t sound like their Modus Operandi…” I interjected, grumbling. “Organizations change, sweetie,” he countered. “Not that much and in only two years…” I retorted. “Well, would you like to go and ask- no, I take that back, don’t ask them…” he sighed, facehoofing. “What with all the time you spent in that hole Coltenhagen, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could…” “Actually, I can’t… Haven’t seen hide nor hoof of them since the dust-up involving the Olympia.” At that, I sighed. Charon had been quite the hunk of stallion, even if he wouldn’t have given me the time of day in a clock factory if not for him needing my assistance on occasion over my perceived youth. “Well, with this recent move by them, that’s all the more reason to not see them,” he commented dryly. “And I know that sigh, Daughter Dearest… I do hope that you didn’t complicate matters with one of them.” “Not for lack of trying…” I grumbled. “Had more success with that in one night than I did in the several months I’d been there, but not with the one I was looking for…” I shook my head. “But no… It wasn’t complicated… just fun.” Despite the skeptical look he gave me, he let the matter slide. “In any case, I figured you’d agree with me that this is necessary, however unpleasant it might be for us, so I’ve already made arrangements. Victoria Veritas is going to be your mentor while you’re in the city, and Capo Toffee has arranged for your housing. It’s not the best of places, but it’s what we could do on short notice. It’ll be up to you to arrange your reason for staying here though.” “Oh sure… Leave the hardest part to me, will you?” I groaned, not really meaning it. “It’ll sound better if you come up with it rather than just spouting off lines fed to you and you know it, Monks,” Dad retorted, missing my facetiousness. “I know, I know.” I waved a hoof dismissively at him. “I’ll figure it out…” ‘I hope…’ I thought then, wondering if there was any excuse believable enough for a pegasus voluntarily leaving Cloudsdale for Canterlot. Canterlot General Hospital Canterlot, Equestria Moonsday, 2 Breeze Moon, 1001 Equestrian Era My doctor stared at me with wide blue eyes that clearly showed her confusion at my latest pronouncement. “You’re sure about this, Miss Wrench?” she asked, clearly skeptical. “Yes I’m sure,” I responded firmly. “No pegasus, nurse or doctor, at Hurricane Memorial will have the first clue about what’s gone on with my wings. You do, and you’re just as capable as any of them there in physio, right? So what’s the problem?” “Canterlot is…” Witching Hour started, fumbling for the words. “It’s not an easy place to live if -” “If I’m not rich and a unicorn?” I offered dryly, making my doctor recoil slightly. “I didn’t say -” she protested but I headed her off again. “No, you didn’t… but you were thinking it, and I’m well aware of it. However, this is my health and my ability to fly on the line here, so if it means I have to deal with some snotty cone-heads looking down their high-on-the-smell-of-their-own-rose-scented-shit noses at me, then so be it,” I announce, resuming my firm tone. Though her eyes still betrayed some trepidation about the decision, Witching Hour nodded acquiescence. “I like that attitude, Miss Wrench. Let me know if you need help with anything,” she offered, smiling slightly. “Well… Do you think you could arrange for someone to show me around town? And maybe introduce me to the Weather Team captain?” I asked hopefully. Immediately, the doctor slapped her hoof to her face. “Not even out of the hospital and already trying to find a way to go back to work. Celestia preserve the breed,” she sighed heavily. “Alright, I can at least arrange for a tour of the town… Whether he’s fool enough to introduce you to Captain Merryweather against your doctor’s recommendation is another issue completely.”