//------------------------------// // 5. Magic and Medical Treatment. // Story: Orchestrated Chaos // by ReFro //------------------------------// The creme colored Unicorn was taken aback by the sheer volume coming from the grey ball of fur that was currently being held by her magic. Her aura wavered slightly before quickly regaining its strength. She definitely did not want to lose control of her magic again, not after the belittling she had gotten not only from Dr. Charts, but from the foal’s parents as well. She cringed at the unpleasant memories of that day while gently lowering the still screaming filly safely back onto the bed, releasing her magic. Chloe stopped screaming when she felt her backside make contact with the bed below her. She opened her eyes just in time to see the last traces of the aura around the Unicorn’s horn, as it dissipated into the surrounding air. What. The. Fuck?! Chloe tried desperately to comprehend what had just taken place as her breathing increased rapidly. Her mind was still hazy from just waking up, not only that, but being in an unfamiliar place and floating in mid-air. Her eyes darted around the room. The light green mare that had helped her was there, along with another mare that had an off-white coat. Where... am I? The last thing I remember is coming into town- Wait, that pony has a... a... freaking HORN on her head! And it was glowing with the same light blue aura that was surrounding me... No way... There are Unicorns here too?! And they can use magic?! I... I... I… "It's all right sugarcube, don’t you fret none. You’re safe here in the clinic," Granita soothingly spoke, raising a hoof to the panicking filly's head, softly stroking her mane until she had calmed down a notch. Chloe’s heavy breathing had been replaced by a quiet sob as her eyes filled up, overflowing with tears that began to run down her cheeks. The last few days had proven too much for her as she buried her face into her hooves. A good cry was what she needed at this moment. "Well, at least we now know that her lung has healed quite nicely over the course of last night," the Unicorn sarcastically said under her breath. "Heartsong!" Granita barked back at her. "Sorry, sorry!" Heartsong spoke before looking at the floor, her cheeks flush from embarrassment. "I just had a long night, and I didn't sleep well, and the sudden screaming, and I almost lost control of my magic while levitating her, and that brought back some really bad memories, and... and... Oh I'm rambling now, aren't I?" Heartsong sighed and slowly lifted her head back up, her eyes meeting with Granita's. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made that remark, and I truly am glad that she is recovering quickly. I'll go inform the doctor that she is awake now, I'm sure he has some questions for the both of you." Granita nodded as the embarrassed mare stepped out of the room, leaving her alone with the still sobbing filly. She gave a soft sigh, walking over to the cabinets and opening one of them in search for a clean towel. A couple cabinets later, she had found the item she was looking for and promptly returned to the bedside with it in her hoof. “Here, I got ya something to dry yer eyes with,” Granita spoke out but got no response back. “Come on now, the doc’s gonna be here in a few, an ya don’t wanna be seen like that, do ya?” A few seconds passed by with still no response from the filly. She was starting to get a little annoyed at this one-sided conversation and gently nudged the filly to garner her attention. Chloe felt something touch her forearm and removed her hooves from her face, letting out a small sniffle. The light green mare was standing on the opposite side of the bed from where she last saw her and was now dangling a towel in front of her face. Slowly she reached out and attempted to grab the towel from the mare, but it slipped out of her hoof and fell onto the bed. Several more attempts were made to pick it up but each time the cloth proved to be too malleable, and she was not able get a firm grip on it. Granita smiled and held back a chuckle at the sight of the filly’s antics. She knew it was wrong to laugh at other pony’s misfortunes, but the look on the grey filly’s face was priceless as she struggled to grip the cloth in her hoof. She continued watching a few more of the filly’s attempts before grabbing the cloth herself. “I give up! I hate these hooves!” Chloe moaned, letting out a snort of disapproval as she watched the cloth fall from her hooves for the umpteenth time. She crossed her forearms against her chest—it was still tender but felt much better overall—and there was also a large bandage across it. She started to examine the wrappings but didn’t get much of a chance as she was interrupted by the mare. “Let me get that for ya, sugar.” She grinned, easily picking up the cloth as Chloe scrunched up her face and glared at the mare. “Now hold still fer a moment an I’ll git yer face lookin’ right as rain.” Granita moved the towel towards Chloe’s face. Who does she think she is? My mother? She turned her head and moved back slightly, trying her best to avoid the cloth. “I don’t need you to clean me up! I can do it myself!” Chloe tried pushing the mare’s hoof away with hers, but it wasn't very successful. “Now don’t ya go being all stubborn like, and let me get ya cleaned up,” Granita scolded, moving the towel quickly to the filly’s face. Just as the cloth was about to touch her face, Chloe ducked down and slid off the other side of the bed, landing on the floor with a dull thud. She got to her hooves as fast as possible and made a break for the door. Granita tried to grab the feisty filly, and before she knew it, the grey blur shot out the door. She stomped a hoof. “You get back her, missy!” She ran out the door after her, hoping that she wouldn’t get far. Okay, that’s it! I gotta get outta here, wherever here even is... But there is no way I’m gonna let these crazy peop... uh, ponies keep touching me with their han- hooves. And there is no way in HELL I’m going to let them restrain me again, magic or not! Chloe ran through the doorway as fast as her little legs would carry her, which was pretty quick now that she thought about it. She had never ran this fast before in her entire life, but I guess trying to escape alien ponies and magical Unicorns would get anyone’s adrenaline flowing. Just as she turned to head down the hallway in this unfamiliar building, she was sent reeling backwards, landing abruptly on her haunches. Her eyes spun for a second before regaining focus. Chloe rubbed the unseen red spot that had formed on her head. "Oh, are you alright?" Chloe looked up with one eye closed at the sound of this new, deeper voice that came from directly in front of her as she stopped rubbing her head and stared. Standing before her was a large, blue stallion Unicorn that was wearing a white coat; a stethoscope lazily dangled around his neck. Oh crap! Another Unicorn… “EEP!” she shrieked, starting to backpedal, looking for a way out of this situation. "Quick doc, grab her!" Granita shouted as she came running out of the room. The stallion looked up to Granita, and Chloe took the opportunity to dart around him before he could even react to what was happening. She burst through the door at the end of the hallway and entered a medium sized room lined with chairs, end tables, and a few potted plants. There was a door on the far wall with sunlight pouring in through its window. Freedom was in sight! Yes! There’s the exit! Time to get the hell outta- She suddenly stopped moving, her entire body going rigid as a familiar light blue aura filled her vision. She tried to yell out, but she couldn’t move a single muscle in her tiny body. No, no, no, no, no! I was so close... Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision as she was unable to wipe them away. I don’t want to be here anymore, I just want to go back home… And I HATE Unicorns! Stupid magic! “And just where do ya think you’re going, missy?” Nurse Heartsong asked in a playful, yet stern voice as she floated the little escapee in front of her to look her eye to eye. “You really shouldn’t be up and running around, you know? Your wounds still have not fully healed, and you don't want to have to go through surgery again now, do you?” She reprimanded the clearly upset filly while letting her have some control over her movements again. Chloe closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. She knew she was powerless to stop the creme colored Unicorn from hell. “Not much of a talker now, are you?” Heartsong playfully joked, still holding Chloe steady in her magical aura. “Oh thank Celestia ya caught her, Heartsong. I was afraid she was going to run away, and get herself into trouble again before we found her parents,” Granita stated as her and Dr. Charts came into the lobby. “Oh, by the way Nurse, have you been able to locate her parents yet?” Dr. Charts asked as the three of them, plus one mad filly, entered the hallway heading back to the room. “I have asked the guards, several of my friends, and acquaintances, but no one has heard anything about a missing filly. The guards said they would spread the word to the other nearby settlements and let us know if they hear anything,” she said with a small sigh and turning to look at Granita with a sly smirk. “Well I guess with no parents or guardian found yet, you are her guardian for now.” “WHAT?!” Granita’s jaw dropped as she stared dumbfoundedly at the nurse. “I can’t be her guardian! I have my responsibilities at the farm that I cannot and will not neglect!” She huffed, but as she looked over to the filly, her ears drooped. “But I can’t, in good conscious, let a filly just roam free, who knows what could happen to her...” It was not like she didn’t want a foal or six someday but to just be handed one out of the blue like this and one not even of her own blood, mind you, was a hard idea to swallow. There had to be other options. “Can’t you keep her here or what about the guards, what did they say to do with her?” Dr. Charts cleared his throat gaining the mares’ attention. “Now, you know very well that we can’t keep her here any longer than necessary, Granita. We only have a few rooms available as it is, and with only Nurse Heartsong and myself here, we wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on her, and she might try and run away again.” He gave a cautious glare towards the filly who was trying her best to poke a hoof through Heart’s magic aura. “As for the guards, since cases like this are so rare, they do not have any procedures set for this kind of thing, and the guardhouse itself hasn’t even been finished yet. So I don't think they will be able to help in that regard.” After Dr. Charts finished his explanation it was silent as they continued to walk back to the room. “It would only be for a short time,” he spoke up again, entering the room. “I’m sure the guards will find her parents or vice versa soon. I know if I had a missing foal, I would be doing everything in my power to locate them as soon as possible, and I’m positive her parents feel the same way.” “Well...” Granita trailed off, trying to make sense of all the different thoughts and emotions that were racing through her mind. “I would have to talk with Ma and Pa, since it is their house after all. Plus we don’t exactly have a spare room or even an extra bed for that matter.” I wonder what they are all talking about... Chloe pondered as she was placed back onto the same bed she had, just minutes prior, escaped from. Well, whatever it is, it can’t be good news for me. “You be a good little filly now and no more trying to run away, you hear?” Heartsong chided. After getting no response from the filly, she walked over to the door, closing it while simultaneously releasing her magic grip on her. Chloe’s ears swiveled and flattened against her head as a loud *thunk* echoed throughout the small room. She looked up to the door and sighed, crossing her forearms in front of her. Yea, I think I blew my only shot at getting outta here. How much longer do they plan on keeping me here anyway? Nurse Heartsong walked over to Dr. Charts who was still trying to convince Granita to take the filly and whispering into his ear. “You know, we have that small extra bed in the back storage room that we are not using. We could let Granita borrow it until they find her parents, what do you think?” “Why, that is an excellent idea, Heart. That would at least solve one of the issues at hoof,” he said, looking over to the earth pony with a grin on his face. “What are you two going on about over there?” Granita asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice. “Oh nothing much, we were just solving one of the problems about this filly staying with you!” Heartsong chuckled. “And that is what exactly?” Granita deadpanned as she eyed up the two of them. “We have a bed for her, in the back storage room to be exact, and I am willing to loan it to you for as long as you need it. I’ll even pay to have it moved to your farmhouse,” Dr. Charts proudly stated, hoping that this would tip the scales in his favor. “That’s mighty fine of you to offer Doc, but I still haven't made up my mind yet or asked my folks. It is their house you know...” “Well you still have plenty of time to figure out what you would like to do. She still needs to stay here for at least another day to make sure her lung has healed properly, and her cut doesn’t develop an infection. Now, onto the reason I was actually coming to see both of you.” He motioned to the nurse, letting her know she was not needed in the room anymore. She nodded back to him and exited the room, walking back down the hall to the front desk. Dr. Charts cleared his throat after Heartsong left. “First off, I want to say that she seems to be recovering remarkable well. I’ll chalk that up to her innate earth pony resilience, if she was a Unicorn or Pegasus, I don’t think she would have even made it back to town. She has a deep cut across her chest, most likely from the same incident that broke her rib, given its placement. The impact forced the rib into the left lung, causing a puncture. That was the reason for her difficulty breathing and the blood she was coughing up yesterday. I reset the broken rib, closed the hole in her lung, and cleaned out and bandaged the gash on her chest. I have placed a persistent healing spell over the wounds. They should be mostly healed by tomorrow morning.” He stopped and looked over to the grey filly that was wiggling around, trying to get under the covers. “That is, if we can keep her still long enough that she doesn’t reopen her wounds.” “I, ah, think that’s gonna be easier said than done, Doc,” Granita chuckled as she watched the filly struggling with the blanket in her hooves, trying to kick her hind legs under the blanket. “She seems to be a bit of a mover now, seein’ that her injuries have healed for a spell.” “I noticed...” Dr. Charts laughed, looking back to the light green mare. “I will have to place a barrier on the door so she doesn’t try to run away again, although, I don't think she will appreciate that very much.” He looked back over to the grey earth pony that was now fully under the covers, walking over and uncovering her head. “Will ya hun?” Chloe looked up at the two ponies in surprise as the covers were suddenly removed from her head. Looking back and forth between the blue stallion and the light green mare, she was getting a bit paranoid have both of them staring at her like this. What in the world do they want from me? Don’t they realize that I can’t understand them...? God, I wish I could understand them or at least tell them somehow that I am not a pony, and I just want to go find Gennie and get the hell outta this place. Chloe looked back to the stallion; he was still looking at her with an odd expression across his face. Okay! You can quit staring at me now! God Damn! Her eyes darted to the wall behind them, trying to find something interesting that wasn’t the two pairs of huge eyes that seemed to staring into her very soul. A sigh came past her lips as the wall offered little relief with nothing but blank white paint and a plain wooden door to stare at. Dr. Charts turned to Granita as he spoke, “Has she been like this the whole time since you have found her? I mean Nurse Heartsong and I haven’t heard her speak a single word and she doesn't seem to respond to anything we say.” Finally! Chloe moved her head to the side, resting it on the pillow, glad that they were no longer staring at her. “Come to think about it now, I ain’t ever heard her speak neither, but she did give me a few weird ol’ looks and made some strange noises when I tried talkin’ to her before, but I just thought it was ‘cause of her condition and what not.” Granita looked to the stallion with a pained expression. “You don’t think she hurt her noggin as well, do ya?” “Well, that’s the next thing I wanted to talk to you about,” he said with a bit of uncertainty in his words. “I ran a diagnostic spell to check her brain functions before we did the surgery and...” he trailed off, rubbing his neck with a hoof. “What is it Doc? Give it to me straight, is she gonna be ok?” Granita shifted nervously in place waiting for him to respond, her eyes never leaving his. “Don’t worry, her brain is perfectly healthy, but, I... I don’t quite know how to put this... Her brain pattern is unlike anything I have ever seen before. The strength of her brain waves are off the charts. Well above anything I have ever encountered before. The only thing that even comes close is that of a very high level Unicorn mage,” he said with a heavy sigh, knowing that this was, of course, a ridiculous thing to say about an earth pony. “Doc... that’s impossible.” She pointed back to the obviously not-a-unicorn filly. “She ain’t even a Unicorn! So how can she have a brain that acts like one?” Granita stated, scoffing in disbelief. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to explain it myself.” Doc shook his head. “I’m going to send the readings to some of my colleagues at the Royal Canterlot Medical University and see if they can make heads or tails of it. But now that she is awake, I would like to run some more basic tests.” Granita nodded as she looked out the window that was behind the bed. The sun’s position was now directly overhead in the sky, indicating that is was around noon. “Um, Doc? Did ya still need me around for anything? Pa is gonna kill me fer not getting my morning chores done...” she spoke with trepidation in her voice. “There was a few more minor things I wanted to talk to you about, but they can wait till later.” Dr. Charts started rummaging through his pockets in his coat. “Alright Doc, I’ll be back in the morning, and we can talk then,” she said while walking over to the side of the bed and reaching out quickly to give the grey filly a hug. “Don’t fret none sugar, I’ll be back ta see ya in the mornin’.” Chloe recoiled and tried to push the space-invading pony away from her, but the strong arms of the mare wrapped around her small frame, pulling her in much closer that she appreciated. What is with these ponies and their touching! I mean, it’s not unpleasant, it feels nice and warm with the soft fur and all, but damn! How about some personal space! Granita pulled away from the hug and nodded to Dr. Charts. “Take good care of her Doc, and I’ll see ya’ll bright’n early.” “I’ll make sure she is just fine, Granita. Now you better get going before your Pa starts worrying about you.” He grinned as she walked out the door. ”See you tomorrow morning.” The door closed with the same heavy *thud* as before as Chloe gulped, now realizing that she was here all alone with the blue stallion that had just finished grabbing something from his pocket. It was a small, round, and brightly wrapped object that reminded her of hard candy. He held it up in his hoof in a way so that she could see what he was doing as his horn began to glow in a golden yellow aura. Chloe suddenly went from curious to scared as she tightly closed her eyes shut, and turned her head away from the stallion, expecting to lose all control of her body again. She heard what sounded like a chuckle and after a few moments had passed, nothing happened. She dared to take a peek. To her surprise, and relief, the aura was around the object in his hooves and not herself for a change. He noticed that the filly was looking at him again as he proceeded to slowly unwrap the object with his magic, making sure she was watching him the entire time, and placed its contents into his mouth. Chloe could smell a sweet scent starting to permeate the air in the room. That smells sooo good... Wait, I know that scent... it smells like, honey! The smell had brought back memories of her trips to visit her grandparents. Her grandpa always had honey flavored candy around the house, it was his favorite candy after all, and he would always make sure she got at least one piece whenever she came over, despite her parents’ objections. Saliva was already building in her mouth as she subconsciously licked her lips. Dr. Charts saw this and smiled to her. He stuck his hoof back in his pocket, pulling out another identical shaped object. He held it in his hoof and unwrapped it in the same way as the previous one but instead of eating it, he enveloped it in his magic aura and floated it over to her. Chloe looked at it inquisitively for a second before slowly reaching out a hoof to it. Feeling a slight tingle as her hoof penetrated the aura and placed it under the round object. The aura vanished as soon as she had her hoof on it. Slowly and carefully, she moved her hoof towards her, examining the object resting on it. This sure looks and smells like candy, plus that pony ate one... so it can't be bad, can it? The object was now directly in front of her watering mouth; the smell was tickling her nose with its delectable aroma. Her body made up her mind for her as she went to pop it in her mouth, only to miss and sent the object rolling onto the bed and down to the hard floor with a sharp *crack*. Dr. Charts chuckled as Chloe sat there, frozen in place. Her hoof still hovering over her open mouth that was expecting a delicious treat but got nothing for her efforts. She glared back to the blue pony that was now holding a hoof over his mouth, trying to stifle a laugh. He cleared his throat and reached back into his pocket, retrieving another piece of candy, unwrapping it just like before. “Let me get it for you this time, my dear,” Dr. Charts said as he floated it over to the frustrated filly. Chloe went to grab the candy piece but it was pulled back from her hoof just before she could grasp it. She sighed and lowered her forearm; the candy still floating just out of her reach. It started moving towards her again but she didn’t reach for it this time as it made its way closer to her mouth. Ugh! This is so degrading... I can’t even feed myself unless it’s something big like that apple from before... I guess it’s this or nothing... She reluctantly opened her mouth and was rewarded with the sweet taste of honey. Maybe this guy isn't so bad after all, he does look like a doctor and all that. Now that I think about it, I’m most likely in a hospital or something like that. I can actually breathe now, and I do have a bandage across my chest... A hospital only makes sense and they don’t seem to be violent or anything. Well, that magic is some scary shit, but I guess I really shouldn't have freaked out and tried running away earlier. Well, not at least until I’m fully healed, that is. She smiled at the thought, rolling the candy around in her mouth as her tongue soaked up the wonderful flavor. I’ll definitely have to get a few more of these before I leave though. “See, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Dr. Charts chuckled, seeing the filly smiling, clearly enjoying the treat he had given her. “I’ll be back in a bit to check on you, don’t go moving around too much now.” He grinned as he started to walk into the hallway before stopping. “Oh and Nurse Heartsong should be in here shortly with your lunch.” Chloe looked back up to him with a blank look on her face, her lower jaw was the only thing that moved as she rolled the candy around in her mouth. “What a strange little filly...” he muttered, shaking his head before closing the door behind him and making his way to the next patient.