//------------------------------// // Ch 4 - Needlez // Story: Chaotic Visage // by Orderly Disassembly //------------------------------// I should never have thought it, it’s the ultimate jinx! ‘What’s the worst they could do?’ The splitting headache that refused the soothing chill of an ice pack decided to answer my question with another particularly strong throb. I really shouldn’t taunt Murphy like that. Another pulse of pain sharpened the ache in my forehead as another thought pierced the curtain of pain. Who’s Murphy? A voice with an odd accent pierced the void I formed by screwing my eyes shut. “I really don’t know what else to tell you, Starswirl. All of ze readingz show normal fluctuationz in power! Ze mana focal pointz are a little bit vonky but othervize everythingz fine!” Swirly’s voice hurt my ears when he shouted back. “He has enough power in him to rip apart a mountain with nothing but levitation spells and you’re telling me that taking three canisters incapacitated him? Are you unaware of how ridiculous that sounds?” I heard a sigh come from my new flamboyantly German companion. “Look, Starswirl, I know it soundz ridiculous, buuuut it’z true.” I finally opened my eyes to see the same gray stone walls that seemed to follow me everywhere in this tower, lined with white cots and covered in medical tools. My gaze passed over dozens of saws, scalpels, and needles, all hung on… hooks? Why is he hanging up each needle individually? I shook my still aching head before looking over to the pair of bickering unicorns. My friend Swirly was arguing with an all-white unicorn with an unusually sharp horn. The image of a needle full of blood stamped on his flank made me roll my eyes. Not ominous at all. I sighed as I felt several vertebrae pop back into place. With a yawn, I floated up into the air, and the fire all over the inside of my skull sputtered. “Well that was a nice nap, could do without the magic hangover though.” I scratched my back while Starswirl scowled at me. “Stay here until Mr. Healthy Needles tells you to go.” I cocked an eyebrow. “But I feel fine, spiffy even!” Swirly sighed as he trotted under me. “Please, for the love of everything good, just do it.” He stopped after opening the wooden door outwards to look back at me from over his shoulder. “Please.” With that, my friend walked out to… wherever he needed to be I suppose. I shrugged before turning to the supposed ‘doctor’ who was now grinning from ear to ear. My smile suddenly felt a lot more shallow as the crazed unicorn stepped forward. “Uhh, I know that Swirly probably said your name and all, but I kinda missed it. Do you mind clarifying?” The manic doctor chuckled. “Oh, my name iz Doctor Healthy Needlez and ve are going to get to know eachozer very vell.” Oh God. My vision shifted as I swear I felt my eyeballs shrink in their sockets. The maniac was now staring at me without blinking like some generic horror movie villain. “Letz go practice some medicine!” He chuckled after finishing, then he laughed, and finally descended into the evilest cackling that I’d ever heard. … Why Swirly? – -- Everything itched. I had several disembodied claws scratching at every square inch that could be reached without breaking skin or any laws of physics. I twitched about in the air, trying to make room for the appendages to satisfy the creeping itch that seemed to burrow into my skin. “And they call you a doctor? I swear it’ll take hours, hours I tell you, for this to go away!” Dr. Needles, or as I like to call him, Doc Itchy just nodded along as he pushed another slide into the holder of a microscope that he had on a table at the far end of the room. “Mmhmm, yez, interesting… vut?” Doc Itchy leaned back for a moment with a frown before peering into the microscope again. Then he stepped away to look at me. Then back to the microscope, but before I could say anything he spoke. “Vhy is your blood red?” I cocked an eyebrow. “Wasn’t it before? He shook his head. “No, it vas some strange mix between yellow and orange.” I blinked. “Ok, and?” He scowled in response before manning the microscope again… or would the term be ‘ponying’?” I shrugged before looking around the room for what must’ve been the dozenth time. The walls were still lined with medical implements, sans a few needles, and the cots were still a mostly sterile white. However, the one that I floated over while Doc Itchy assaulted me with needles, was covered in a rainbow of colors. When I focused on it, the blood turned white. After a moment of staring, I grinned while zooming in on the plate that Doc was focusing on. I was rewarded with an irritated snort that preceded Doc turning away to rub his temple. “You know vut? Zis can vait for tomorrow. Typhon?” A smile spread across my face as I guessed what he wanted. “Yeeeees?” “You may go.” I whooped with excitement before charging straight at the door. Doc raised a hoof and probably said something, but before I could hear, I had already phased through the door like a ghost and had shot down the hallway. Several twists and turns later I rammed into a unicorn. I hunched over in the air as I averted my eyes in shame. Note to self: fly a little bit higher when going fast. A familiar voice called up at me from the floor “Ok, who the buck was that?” I glanced down to find that I had bumped into Clover! A genuine grin infected my visage as I dragged the slightly flat-faced unicorn to her hooves. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry my dear, but I was just so excited to find you and I rushed a little too much through the hallways.” I hunched over while my smile fell and I looked away. “I hope we’re fine.” Clover tilted her head as she stepped closer. She put a hoof on my shoulder to get me to look at her, and she met my gaze with one of confusion. “Calm down Typhon, why’re you so nervous?” I scratched the back of my head as my sight flicked around, struggling to maintain eye contact with Clover. “Well, it’s just you’re my first real friend since waking up in the forest a couple of days ago.” I frowned for a moment before adding. “I think it’s been a few days anyways.” I shook my head. “I know I call basically everybody ‘friend’ and give away nicknames like it’s going out of style.” I focused on keeping my eyes on Clover, if only for a moment. “But I’m not stupid enough to believe that everybody’s gonna be a wonderful paragon of virtue. The only reason I’ve been so trusting is that I’m pretty sure I’m virtually invincible.” I scowled at the wall as I added. “It’s probably not the safest of ways to live life.” I returned my attention to my friend who maintained a solid poker face, but I did notice a crack in the mask; the edges of her mouth were curved up. My scowl faded into a faint frown as I set a talon on her shoulder, mirroring her gesture of comfort. “However, I want you guys to trust me, I want you guys to like me, I want you guys to want me around. But trust is a two-way street, so I need to give a little if I want a little.” My little grin fell as I finished. “I want to feel like I have a home with friends if not family.” Clover’s face twisted into a sly grin. “You want to start a family with me already? Jeez, take a girl out to dinner first. Why dontcha?” My face went redder than a tomato marinated with liquid rock as I sputtered out several incoherent sentences. Fortunately for me, Clover brought me back to a state of cognizant thought with a boop on my snout. “Chill out big guy, it was just a joke.” There was that twisted little grin again. “Or was it?” And so I became a tomato again. “But seriously Typhon, we’re cool. It’ll take way more than that to make me do more than yell at ya.” I coughed a couple of times before floating down the hallway. “Thank you Clover, it means a lot to me.” She grinned again. “The library’s this way ya doofus.” I would say that I reddened at the correction, but I don’t think it would've been possible.