Miss Sweetheart stared at the little colt. She had been assured that the swaths of bandages and tape that covered almost his entire coat were only because he had so many shallow cuts. Nurse redheart had told her that, with all the glass and splinters, they had to call in a specialist. Apparently, it had taken Doctor Shard over four hours to get everything.
When the poor colt was healed, he would be her newest charge.
If he ever wakes up, she thought to herself sadly, noting the vacant look in his eyes as he lay curled up in the bed.
She was reminded of the day she got her cutie mark. The foals whose parents had been crushed by dragons fighting with each other had that same look. It had broken her heart so badly that she had begged her mother to take in more than one. It was at the moment she declared to everypony how she would get a giant house and take care of any foal that lost their parents that she got that distinctly unforgettable, yet impossible to describe feeling that comes with the revelation of one’s Special Talent. She pushed those memories back. They were just too much to deal with at this time.
If only I could keep them from losing their parents in the first place... She thought quietly to herself for probably the thousandth time.
“Is there anything we can do?” She turned to Miss Introspective with a pleading look and tears in her eyes.
“Not much,” Was the reply from Miss Introspective, glancing at her notes and sighing. “As best we can understand, his mind is processing all of what happened... Either that, or he’s retreated into himself and is blocking out everything that has caused him pain and anguish.” There was a slight quaver to her voice as she said the last part.
She turned back to the heartbroken mare with a compassionate smile. “Have hope, the younger they are, the more resilient they seem to be. We should be able to break through to him with a reassurance of love and security. I expect he’ll be noticeably recovering by the end of the month.”
“Are you sure it’s best to keep him in Ponyville?” Miss Sweetheart looked with apprehension at the mental health expert. “My heart goes out to him and I’m already feeling like he’s mine to love, but shouldn’t he go back to Baltimare? Wouldn’t the unfamiliar surroundings here get in the way of his healing?”
“The decision was made that his parents’ sacrifice of well paying jobs showed a serious concern for his environment. His mother was taking a position that paid less than her old job and his father was unable to find work before the move. Also, they do not have anypony with a special talent in orphan care, so he would need to be placed with a willing foster family.” His mixed parentage would be a hinderance to that as well, she added to herself.
Their little discussion was interrupted by Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, as she entered the room. She whispered something that must have been a greeting to the two of them before sitting down at the colt’s bedside. She was carrying a tray of food and set it down before sitting him up and feeding him. He would look down and open his mouth when she touched it with the spoon and drink when she brought the cup to his mouth, but other than that, he showed no awareness at all of his surroundings. Even when eating, he was looking through what was in front of him. Miss Sweetheart’s heart broke and she had to turn away to hide the tears running down her face. When Fluttershy was done feeding him, she started brushing his mane and singing a lullaby to him as she looked into his eyes.
After a while of staring at her, Miss Sweetheart quietly walked over.
“May I brush him for a little bit?” Her whispered question was met with a startled ‘eep’ from the timid mare.
Fluttershy nodded and passed her the brush before giving Steelskin a full pegasus hug and nuzzling his cheek.
After a while of brushing and talking, Miss Sweetheart stopped, brushed the hair from his face and gave him a long hug.
Fluttershy gave a gentle push to Miss Introspective and they both joined in.
Slowly, a light crept into his eyes. A pain beyond description was written line by line across his face. Finally, his tiny frame trembled and he broke out in anguished sobs.
“Oh, Sweet and Merciful Celestia, it’s a miracle,” Miss Introspective murmured to herself.
The poor colt cried without stop for most of the morning. While the sound of it broke their hearts, all three of them were thankful for what it meant.
The rest of the day would be spent speeding up preparations for his move to the orphanage, checking his remarkably light and fast healing injuries, and evaluating his mental state for the records.
“Two days,” Miss Introspective whispered to herself. “After seeing his parents die in front of him. After being trapped with their broken bodies for over an hour. Only two days and he’s come back to us.”
She wiped a tear from her eye and went back in to talk more with the little colt. She wished she could just rock him in her forelegs and comfort him, but she had a job to do. She looked down at the mental evaluation that had to be done and frowned.
Someday, I should make a new evaluation that can be done while comfort is being given instead of this pile of meadowmuffins.
Buck it.
I’m going to give him what he needs. If I get the Discorded paperwork done, fine. But if not, they can shove it up their plots.
With a grim smile, she dropped the papers into her saddlebags, pushed her annoyance off her face and out of her mind, then went in to do her real job.