Doctor Redheart stared evenly at the closed door.
Behind it, she knew, was a troubled colt of unclear origin that desperately needed her help--more so than males usually did. It hadn't been long since she dropped Heath off at the room within; minutes at most, during which she'd stood and stared quite uncharacteristically.
Redheart was a mare of action, but the fatigue that'd overtaken her didn't seem much concerned with such personality traits. Even now, her head drooped to the floor as she absently recalled that her shift had been over two hours ago. The time had long passed since she was meant to be heading home, but there were some things the mare couldn't walk away from.
...and that was probably why she was left standing there in the hallway.
There was great hesitation felt in regards to leaving Heath unsupervised; the one time that'd happened, the colt had managed to seriously injure himself and there was no telling if he would again. Redheart hoped he had the sense to take it easy, but considering his age and gender, predicting Heath's actions was all but impossible.
What was more, if their suspicions were correct...
The doctor had conducted surgeries, amputated limbs, and had ample experience with needles. Nothing much phased her anymore.
But she still found herself shuddering at the thought.
Redheart struggled to back away from the door and begin her trip home. It felt like her mind had split along several different desires and, much to her chagrin, no clear course of action emerged. She ended up pulling an orderly aside when she passed the mare in the hallway, leaning close to mutter into her perked ears.
"Make sure the new colt is under surveillance; he may hurt himself if left alone." The orderly nodded, but Redheart noticed her incredulous expression even through her fatigue.
"Of course, doctor," the mare said in a tone that was less 'I will obey your order' and more 'obviously, you weirdo. Why would we do anything else?'
Redheart shrugged it off and carried on.
Next on her spontaneous to-do list was to visit the F.P.S. representative, Violet Mist. The social worker's behavior had been unacceptable and she intended to find out why. The paperwork and general bureaucracy required for fostering a colt would surely be immense, so the doctor figured her target wouldn't have left the building yet. Her hooves dragged on the polished, sterile floor and she caught herself stumbling far too often on her way back to the meeting room.
Sighing, the earth pony leaned against the doorframe of her destination, lifting a hoof to rub at her bleary eyes as she tuned in.
Doctor Redheart was familiar with Ponyville General. Had spent over thirty years of her life almost exclusively within its walls. The phrase 'knew it like the back of her hoof' fell entirely short of describing her grasp on the building. Countless times had she dashed through the halls, letting her knowledge of the structure guide her in the midst of an emergency. As Head Physician, her duties all but required complete and total attunement.
As any long-established building in Equestria, the hospital had a sort of life to it. Not just the poetic kind, used to describe bustling nurses and busy ponies. Magic had long suffused its walls and, being an earth pony, Redheart had special abilities with living things.
Again, the mare set off, turning down a different hallway as she followed the trail Violet Mist had left. It wound around the second floor a ways before finally seeming to find a staircase. The doctor stumbled down, scarcely managing a cordial nod to those she passed and regretting her choice not to have that seventh cup of coffee.
Soon enough, the blazing trail ended in a stereotypical office room, one set aside for various paperwork ahead of time and kept well-stocked with supplies. There the social worker sat, busily filling out several forms at once with pens held in her icy blue aura. The swivel chair she sat on squeaked as she shifted, but the unicorn never glanced behind her at the door, even when Redheart made her noisy entrance.
"Alright, what the buck was that about?" The doctor huffed, coming to a full stop as she squinted at the back of a pale purple mane. Violet Mist paused her writing, but stayed facing away and only turned her head a fraction.
"I'd have thought you'd be heading home already. Is there not another doctor ready to take her turn at the helm?" Redheart scowled, not appreciating the reminder, and stomped closer.
"Don't play games with me. I came personally to find the reason you threatened a foal under your care. A colt, no less." The earth pony straightened, feeling the heavy grasp of fatigue loosen under righteous fury. "If you don't give it, there will be Tartarus to pay."
Violet's ears perked up and she finally spun her chair around to eye the doctor's imposing form up and down. The social worker's eyes bulged when she saw just how dead serious Redheart was, as well as the locked door behind them she'd softly closed seconds prior. Instantly, Violet raised her hooves in a placating gesture, set the papers she was levitating down on the desk, and deactivated her horn.
"Please calm yourself, ma'am. I was only worried for your health. You seemed quite exhausted." The doctor's sole response was to raise an unimpressed eyebrow, her face carved from stone. The unicorn sighed, gazing up at it with a rueful expression. "Alright, you'll get your answers. Must you receive them immediately, though? Can't this wait until you've rested up?" Redheart contemplated the point, but not for very long.
"I have been entrusted with the care of dozens of males. I don't take threats to them lightly." She lowered her head until it was level with Violet's, all but staring into her soul. "You will tell me why you, a mare I contacted for help, saw fit to traumatize a colt under my care even further than he evidently is already. If you refuse, I will ensure you never get the chance to do so again." The social worker gulped audibly, again gesturing with her hooves while trying and failing to scoot her chair away.
"Fine, fine! Would you at least take a seat?" But Redheart refused and simply stood there, less to make a point and more because she feared sleep would claim her the instant she relaxed in any way. The representative, seeing this, sighed once more and began: "Heath is incredibly fearful of mares. Where this originates from, whether events in his past or natural coltish wariness, we'll have to investigate later. One thing was and still is clear to me," she pointed at the doctor with a hoof, nearly striking her chest for how close they were. "You, a mare, are going to foster him. Heath may be starting to trust you, but he's still unsure if you're really different."
The foreleg waved dismissively in the air as Redheart raised both brows and Violet finished. "I had to reinforce how much you stood out by acting exactly how he'd expect. Simple, really. I push him away from me and, consequently, make your job easier for you." That seemed to be the end of the social worker's justification, judging by her satisfied smile and abrupt silence. The doctor slumped, stumped by the unexpected nature of the answer, and sat in contemplative stillness for many moments.
"And you think that making him believe he'll ever be returned to potential abusers as punishment is somehow the best way?" Incredulity all but extinguished the raging fire of her wrath and now the earth pony could only stare at Violet, feeling fatigue return all too fast. The unicorn pursed her lips, but that sly smile soon returned and her horn relit to levitate the documents once more.
"Did he or did he not follow you back to his room of his own volition?" Redheart opened her muzzle to interject, but found herself at a loss for words. "That's right. You may not believe in my methods, but you can't deny their effectiveness." Violet swiveled back to face her desk, raising the pens in her aura in preparation to resume her task. "Now if you'll excuse me, doctor, I have some paperwork to do. And, if I'm not mistaken, you have a herd to get home to."
The earth pony wanted to argue, to protest this ethically-shallow manipulation with the well-tested moral compass she possessed. Still, the weight that descended down upon her once the anger left had no tolerance for such things. Thoughts of her waiting husband, herdsisters, and fillies filled her mind, bidding her turn to unlock and open the door.
"This conversation isn't over," she managed to mutter through slurred speech, but the social worker made no acknowledgement.
So, Doctor Redheart traveled on.
It was a simple matter to clock out for the night; decades of habit made the process effortless and anypony that took one look at her face saw that she desperately needed to go home. The system she'd established was a remnant of her time in nursing; Ponyville General, as a relatively large hospital, had enough doctors under its employ to support working shifts much like any other faculty member. To be sure, there were occasional hiccups--tonight being one of them--but it had proven to be a largely effective system regardless.
Crisp June air caressed Redheart's body upon her exit and she took a few seconds to stand there, breathing it in. Seconds became minutes and she jolted suddenly, swaying on legs that had nearly collapsed in the throes of sleep. The mare shook herself and let out a nicker of disapproval, settling into a light trot.
Ponyville was a small farming town, so any form of nightlife was all but nonexistent. Dark windows and closed doors were everywhere she looked and the near-silent streets compared to a bustling hospital felt almost like a slap to the face. The doctor's matted pink mane hung low over her eyes, obscuring her view of the night sky above. Normally she'd brush it aside and ensure she looked professional at all times, but the energy simply wasn't there.
Many crickets and the odd rustle echoed out from around her. Redheart's ears twitched minutely as they took in the sounds, swiveling in place while she worked to keep her head up. She slowed when another noise made itself known, eyeing her immediate surroundings with a raised brow.
"Hello?" Redheart asked before movement drew her gaze. A dark, vaguely-equine figure stood a ways away, shuffling toward her at a snail's pace. The earth pony squinted, craning her neck to peer into the dim moonlight, and approached. It had its head lowered, whatever it was, and its body language said it had the same lack of energy as her. With further proximity, she was able to make out a grey-blue coat and a spiky, navy mane. Finally, two pairs of eighth notes on the pony's flank had Redheart's eyes widening in recognition.
"Noteworthy!" Earlier in the day the doctor would have galloped, but instead she broke into a lurching half-canter as her legs nearly gave out. "What are you doing out so..." She paused right in front of the stallion, taking in his closed eyes and the string of drool hanging from his muzzle. "Of course. Sleepwalking again." Noteworthy continued to stumble right on by and she watched, blinking, before shaking her head and raising a hoof.
Ever-so-gently, Redheart made contact with the stallion's shoulder and shook it. Despite her best efforts, he immediately lost any sense of balance and keeled to the side, but she caught him with a foreleg and eased him upright. Doing so was effortless--even as an earth pony, Noteworthy was a stallion and thus lighter than air--but that still left him deep in Princess Luna's realm of dreams.
"Alright, plan B." The mare muttered, angling and guiding both herself and her charge until he walked face first into her chest tuft. The slumbering stallion stopped short, inhaling the scent for several moments before he grunted and his eyes finally opened. Noteworthy's golden irises flicked every which way, clouded by a confused haze, until they settled on Redheart's face and suddenly cleared.
"Doctor?" He inquired in a wispy tenor, muffled somewhat by volumes of white fur. The mare nodded, steadying him with her hooves before responding.
"Yes, Noteworthy. It's me. Are you feeling alright?" Her brows invisibly creased together as she looked down at him, but the rest of her expression became stoic and strong. The stallion blinked, seemingly taking time to ponder his situation, but eventually nodded back.
"Yeah. I'm just peachy. Was I..." He glanced around again, actually taking in the darkened street and high moon before returning his gaze to her with rueful eyes. "...again?" Redheart didn't need to nod; her shift in expression was all it took for the stallion to sigh and step back. She let him do so, but still kept a wary eye out lest he collapse again.
"Haven't you been taking the pills I prescribed?" Her brow raised at Noteworthy's sheepish expression and ventured further up her forehead when he opened his muzzle, failed to find words, then closed it and shook his head. "Is there a reason why?" Redheart did her best to keep any exasperation out of her voice, but the stallion still flinched away from the question.
"I...don't like the way they make me feel." Noteworthy stuck his tongue out and grimaced as though in memory. "Or how they taste." The doctor suppressed both a yawn and a sigh, lowering her head to be level with his.
"I'm very sorry about that, Noteworthy. But you must take them. Wandering out here in the middle of the night is incredibly dangerous. You know this." He scuffed his hoof against the ground and seemed properly ashamed, so the mare touched hers to his withers--lightly, of course, so as not to bruise him. "Are your mares not helping you? They must be worried sick--" unbidden thoughts of Heath flooded Redheart's mind and she stopped short, all but glaring at the stallion with sudden intensity. "They are treating you well, right? Because if something is happening at home then so help me--"
"--No! I mean--yes! We--we're all good. My herd is wonderful!" Noteworthy seemed genuine enough, but the doctor stayed right in his face for several moments more, searching for any sign of anything.
He smiled sincerely, hesitating a little before adding: "I asked them not to make me take it. Made a huge fuss about it, too. Eventually, I convinced them that letting me have my way was better than listening to my whining all night." The stallion returned her gesture, stumbling as he lifted his foreleg and all but punching her shoulder in search of balance. The mare didn't so much as blink from the impact, it being slightly stronger than a soft breeze. "My mares are good. We love each other. There's nothing going on. I promise."
Finally convinced, Redheart stepped back, gently setting the stallion's foreleg on the ground as she forced herself to relax.
"Woe to the mare that dares disobey her stallion's whimsy. I'm sorry for assuming things about your herd, Noteworthy. I hope you'll forgive me. I just had to be sure." Noteworthy smiled softly, wiping the tears out of his eyes as he edged closer. "Let's get you back to them, eh? I'll walk you home." Her every tired cell resisted such a proposition, knowing he lived quite far from her own abode, but seeing a stallion safely home took priority over anything else. He definitely appreciated the offer, if his glancing around at the dim street and deep sigh of relief was any indication.
"Thanks, doc. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for the trouble." Redheart gave a wordless nod in reply and off they went.
She remained vigilant throughout the journey, watching intently for dips in the paths or any stray stones that might be a tripping hazard for her charge. Several times, Noteworthy nearly strode right into several of such things, but luckily she was there with a swift nudge to guide him around them. A tumble would have been catastrophic and Redheart simply didn't have the magic left to treat another male's injuries.
Forlornly, the doctor watched her own house pass by as they walked at the stallion's pace. It was the only building with lights on in sight, showing at least some of her herd was waiting for her return. She knew her husband likely wouldn't be sleeping with her not home; he had a bit of an anxious streak, despite his best efforts to hide it. A picture came to mind of him sitting just behind the doorway, sandwiched by her herdsisters as they tried futile comforts, ears perked forwards in search of hoofsteps from outside...
A rush of guilt--powerful enough to be felt past the fatigue--made her shake away such thoughts and focus on the task at hoof.
And soon enough, the house passed on by.
"Almost there," muttered Noteworthy. His escort barely stifled her sigh of relief in time, but managed to keep her projection of strength and emotionlessness uninterrupted. Redheart walked right across several loose and wobbly cobblestones, but turned to offer a supporting hoof before letting her companion do the same. He took it, grinning in gratitude, and all but collapsed onto her raised foreleg when his knees buckled.
With no more effort than if she'd done it without the weight of his body, the doctor lifted her leg a few inches higher and took several steps forward on the remaining three. Noteworthy was again set gently on the ground and he chuckled to himself as she took the lead.
"You mares, heh..." He shook his head, breaking into a canter to catch up. "Sometimes I forget just how...imbalanced...things are." Redheart allowed herself another raised brow, glancing over at him as they rounded the final bend.
"That's why it's so dangerous for you to be unaccompanied, Noteworthy. What if you'd fallen on a rock while sleepwalking? Stepped on a loose stone? Or what if somepony tried to take advantage of you in the dead of night?" The stallion had been nodding along until her last statement, upon hearing which he cocked an eyebrow of his own and incredulously glanced back at her.
"In Ponyville, doc? I doubt anypony who dared try would get away for long." The confidence he said this with was immense, but Redheart found she still couldn't believe them fully. Perhaps because thoughts of Heath still hadn't left her mind.
"You'd be surprised." Noteworthy clearly wasn't convinced, but her next statement cut any retort short: "Looks like we're here."
A modest home greeted them, cozy and undeniably Ponyville in appearance. Furnishing and various decorations suggested it being a stallion's residence, but the true indication was the herd emblem inscribed on the door. Three pairs of eighth notes, a golden lyre, three wrapped candies and a pink treble clef all entwined together in a stylized fashion. It was unmistakably the sign of the town's most musical herd.
Ponyville law mandated that every full herd have their emblem emblazoned on their home's doors. It was just one of the many measures that ensured any lost males were safely returned, no matter the cost.
"Thank you again, doctor. I really owe you one." Noteworthy ascended the steps and reached for the handle, but paused and gave a questioning look when the doctor followed.
"I'd like to speak with one of your mares." Redheart's muzzle formed a reassuring smile, but it failed to mask the steel in her icy blue eyes. "This can't continue." He winced in reaction, offering a tentative grin.
"It won't, I promise. Please don't yell at my wives about it. Really, it's my fault." When she didn't move, he sighed and placed a hoof on her chest, into which it sank several inches thanks to the fur. "I'll tell them to make me take the pills myself. After tonight, I'm too guilt-tripped to do anything else. You have your own herd to get back to, right? I'm sure they're waiting." Noteworthy was insistent but appeared sincere, and that meant she was out of options.
Barging into a herd's home uninvited in the middle of the night wasn't something civilized mares did outside of an emergency. Since the stallion had every intention to take care of the problem himself, her further interference wasn't needed. Upon realizing this--and reflecting on his words--Redheart let out a deep sigh.
"You're right. But please do as you say. I'll be following up on this later." Noteworthy nodded and gave another smile, opening the door and taking a few steps inside as the interaction concluded.
"As you should. I'll see you then, doc."
With an answering nod, the door closed.
Her remaining tasks dwindled to one.
Doctor Redheart was free to return home.
Any joy that might have arisen from this development was buried deep. The mare's hooves dragged instead of skipped as she turned back the way she'd come. A stiff breeze blew her pink mane back, letting her gaze up at the June night sky. A few constellations caught her attention and her eyes traced the elegant forms of Aeo, Faren, and Pseudocles, slightly different compared to last night thanks to Princess Luna's experimentation. Ramdar and the Four Tribes were hidden behind cloud cover, but Redheart had never been too interested in those ones anyway.
Really, she was only focusing on constellations to avoid collapse into slumber.
Belatedly, the earth pony's home came into view for the last time that night. She picked up the pace as she approached, breaking into a trot, then a canter, then a near gallop until finally, finally, her hooves crossed the porch and landed on the front handle.
Redheart didn't give herself any time to contemplate the emblem on the door as it all but flew open. She was too focused on the relieved and delighted expression on the masculine face of the pony inside.
"I'm home," she breathlessly announced.
Immediately, the beige forelegs of her husband ensnared themselves around her neck and she found herself enveloped in a passionate kiss. Closing her eyes to enjoy it to the fullest, she felt herself tipping to the side, unable to remain upright, but thankfully a presence on Redheart's left buoyed her up in time.
She was the first to break away, panting softly as she gazed into her lover's royal blue eyes and returning the heartfelt nuzzle that followed.
"I missed you..." He murmured, somehow expressing hours of worry in those three short words. Redheart kissed him again, lightly, on the nose, and expressed her apology by touching their foreheads together.
"I know, Whoovsie. I missed you too." The stoic mask she'd been wearing with Noteworthy melted away entirely in the presence of her herd. Redheart's husband Time Turner was able to take full stock of her fatigue, as could her herdsisters. She'd never hide from her family. Not like that.
"Rough day at the office?" Minuette asked from beside her, grunting softly as she shifted under the white mare's weight. As a female earth pony it wasn't exactly dismissible and the unicorn visibly struggled before resorting to levitation. Redheart felt herself lifted off her weary hooves in her herdsister's yellow aura, still entangled in their affectionate husband's forelegs. Time Turner had taken to burying his snout in her neck and breathing in the scent, letting its calming narcotic effect take root of his mind.
Redheart didn't bother to open her eyes, knowing she and her husband were being carted upstairs to the master bedroom and, from the two sets of hoofbeats echoing behind, her herdsisters were coming too. The thought of being put to bed like a disobedient filly despite being Alpha Mare was hardly amusing, but she found she was too tired to care.
"Like you wouldn't believe," was the earth pony's response. The sound of light switches flicking off, interspersed with the swirling sound of the magical aura both she and Time Turner were encased in, reached her drooping ears. Then, another voice.
"It must've been something really bad," said Ditzy. "You're not usually this tired. What happened?" Her tone was inquisitive, but also not a little accusatory. The undertone of 'it better excuse you making our stallion worry for three hours' was very much present. Redheart sighed and started drawing circles on her husband's back with a hoof--gently, of course, so as not to bruise him.
"There's a...colt," she began, pausing to peck her lover's mane when he shivered under her ministrations. "His name is Heath. Flitter and Cloudchaser brought him in, said they found him on the edge of Ponyville. He has...scars...consistent with--" Redheart clenched her closed eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat and focusing on her breath for several moments.
The creak of a door's hinge, then she was settled on a plush surface she recognized as their nest. One massive, circular mattress covered in sheets, blankets, and pillows, modelled after that of a bird. Comfy and practical, much to the satisfaction of every party involved. "We stitched him up and put Heath in the youth ward, but he woke sooner than expected. Managed to hurt himself far too badly not to be concerning. Tore open his leg and broke his muzzle in three places."
Gasps from all three other herdmembers finally had the white earth pony opening her eyes. Ditzy looked horrified, so much so that her lazy eye had straightened while both pupils shrunk. Minuette's expression was grim, from what she could see in what scant light came through the window. Poor Time Turner clutched at her neck and pulled himself yet closer against her, still shivering. Tired, worried, and scared: Those were the emotions that tended to made her husband cuddly, and right now, the trifecta was complete.
"He's okay now. I healed him up and saved his life. It took a lot out of me, especially regenerating the lost blood, and that's why I'm so tired. But listen," Redheart's tone grew urgent and the others leaned in. "Heath needs a new home. His previous herd is..." She paused, seething, but continued: "...unfit to raise a colt, that much is clear. Since he and I'd had some experience together, I offered us as a foster home. I know it's a lot to take in, but even though he's very troubled I hope--"
Ditzy placed a hoof over the earth pony's muzzle, cutting her off from rambling any more before she offered a sincere smile.
"Of course, Red. I think I speak for all of us when I say we don't have a problem with that. I'm sure Dinky and Amethyst will be thrilled to have a brother!" Vehement nods accompanied this notion and Redheart found herself relaxing as the stress of the day finally left.
"Thank you. I really appreciate it."
Minuette lit her horn in a yellow aura, levitating the various blankets and bodies around until everypony was comfortably situated.
"And on that note, I think we should sleep. Let's worry about all of it tomorrow."
Again, vehement nods accompanied this sentiment, from Redheart most of all.
The day had been long, exhausting, and rife with confusion. But she knew that, with her herd behind her, she could take on anything.
Finally, belatedly, gladly, Doctor Redheart dozed off.