After guarding Indigo's door for a few hours Partisan was sleepy, and decided to give this post to an underling. Fortunately for him Jaxler, a fellow guard, lives opposite door from Indigo. Partisan woke him up, told him that Indigo went on a rampage last night, and it is Jaxler's assignment for today to make sure that Indigo doesn't hurt anypony when he wakes up.
Jaxler is guarding Indigo's door. He has been there for the last 4 hours and is bored, annoyed and dangerously sober. He was also supposed to be off-duty today. "Hay Indigo, why the hell did you have to go piss off Partisan?"
Indigo is woken up by somepony shouting outside his door. He is feeling real bad, so he just moans and turns over on his bed, waiting to fall asleep again.
Jaxler hears a moan from the room behind him. He hates it when ponies ignore him so he figures he might try asking again but louder "HAY INDIGO, WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO PISS OFF PARTISAN!"
They won't even leave me alone. Wait... why are my sheets wet? That smell is not piss, it is... buck! This didn't happen to me for years. Ouch, ouch, everything hurts me. The yelling is making Indigo's head hurt even more. "I didn't do anything! Just let me sleep!"
"Fine!" After hearing Indigo yell back at him Jaxler sits down leaning on Indigo's door, silently waiting, as the hours drag on by.
After that there is no more shouting and Indigo drifts back to sleep. He wakes up in the late afternoon. He is still sore and tired, but needs to relieve himself badly. He crawls off his bed, and staggers towards the door. He opens it and blinks, blinded by the light.
Jaxler falls back when the door, he was leaning on, swings open. After getting back on his hooves he sees that Indigo comes out of his room, looking rather run down. "Looks like somepony finally got up." Jaxler looks around. Indigo’s room looks tidy in general, has a bed, a table, a chest, a cabinet, some shelves and two lamps: one under the ceiling and one on the table. On the table are some empty plates and cups. There are a few neatly arranged tools here and there as well as some scrolls and books, but otherwise the place looks pretty empty.
"Humph?" The blue unicorn blinks in surprise at the pegasus, who fell into his room. He recognizes the drunkard guard living next door. "Jaxler?"
"Yes my name's Jaxler"
Indigo sighs, then stumbles and groans. "Am I... under house arrest? I need to go to the privy."
"I'm kinda supposed to just follow you around all day and make sure you don't kill anypony."
"I... don't think that I will. Fine then. I have some... errands to run. Wait... was somepony shouting when I slept?" The unicorn slowly recomposes himself, but still looks frazzled, tired and smells bad.
"Yea, that was me. I was supposed to be off duty today but then Partisan knocked on my door early in the morning and told me I needed to follow you around." Jaxler then breaks eye contact and picks up his wooden crossbow.
Indigo starts slowly walking towards the stairs. "Ugh... don't shout at me, please. My head hurts. What were you yelling earlier? Did you want to check if I was still alive?" Indigo stops, turns back to close his door, then makes for the stairs again.
Jaxler follows Indigo as he walks down the stairs. "Neigh, I was just tired, bored and pissed, but I was also confused as to why Partisan wanted me to shadow you all day."
Indigo stops and thinks. "Ah. He thought I was going to turn violent after Stiletto almost strangled me in the barracks. I think." He walks towards the closest privy.
Jaxler shrugs "Heh, I guess that makes sense, but why did you pick a fight with Stiletto?"
"I had a really rough night. She wouldn't leave me alone no matter how much I told her to buck off, and then Kat yelled at me that I’m rude, and then they cornered me. Besides I hate that slut. Oh, and I was drunk, and angry too."
Jaxler chuckles "Did you get any good hits on her?"
"Nope. Not even one. I'm no match for her." Then he adds "I had a hammer, but kinda forgot about it in the struggle. Maybe... it is for the best that I didn't hurt her. She might retaliate, or press charges or something." He stops again. "Did Virtue want to see me as soon as I wake up?"
"No, she didn't sent for you. I was supposed to interrogate you about last night, but seeing how you just told me your side of the story, I really don't have to anymore."
"I just gave you a short version. I want to see Virtue later anyway, but first..." Indigo goes to relieve himself. When he is done he says "If you need to go too, I can wait."
"I'm fine." Answers Jaxler.
"Okay. I need to clean myself next." He walks towards the well.
Jaxler follows Indigo to the well "So about those errands, what exactly are they?"
"Clean myself, eat, go to the hospital, that sort of thing." They make it to the well. Indigo drinks a lot of water, then cleans himself, especially his private bits. This takes about three times longer than normal, but at least he looks fresher now, and doesn't stink. Somewhat refreshed Indigo goes back to his room, collects all the empty pots, and then they go together to the dining hall. Indigo picks up some vegetables and juice, and walks towards a few empty seats. It is not dinner time yet, so the hall is mostly empty.
Jaxler notices Indigo's selection of food and a drink. "Vegetables and juice aye? Excuse me, but I'm gonna go get a barrel of booze and some meat."
Indigo simply nods and eats his food, then gets some more vegetables and eats them too. Finally they are done. They go back to Indigo's room. After a moment Indigo emerges carrying a sheet and some clothes curled up in a ball. "So Jaxler, got any laundry?"
Jaxler thinks for a moment. "Well, I really don't know. I guess we could go over to my room and check."
Jaxler walks into his room. it is a bit of a mess, with a few empty barrels scattered about and it smells of moonshine and grease. Jaxler goes over to his coffer and takes out a few pieces of clothing. "I know this place looks like a mess but I really don't spend much time in here."
Indigo looks around through the door frame. "I think you should move the empty barrels to the stockpile. Brewers and cooks can always use some. If you don't want to carry them yourself, just leave them out the door in the corner, and somepony will pick them, I think." Otherwise he keeps his opinion to himself. This is messy, but not as much as I expected.
Jaxler shrugs and makes his way out the door. "I can take care of the barrels after I'm done with this laundry." Together they take the washables and go to do the laundry. Indigo slowly proceeds with his, and spends the most time on his sheets.
Jaxler puts his crossbow down and starts washing his laundry. He really isn't paying much attention to Indigo at this point.
The unicorn is more accustomed to this kind of work, but he is feeling bad today, and wants to clean his sheets very thoroughly, so they finish at about the same time. Then they go to hang their laundry, and back to the dormitory. Indigo enters his room again, this time closing his door without saying a word.
Jaxler sees Indigo walking back into his room and closing the door, which worries him slightly. He says aloud "I kinda need to know, why you're in there", hoping that Indigo could hear him through the door.
"Oh, I'm dressing myself. We're going to the hospital next, and Virtue's office after that, and I want to make myself presentable." After a long moment Indigo comes out with his mane and tail combed and wearing a robe and saddlebags. He still moves as if he had sores in every part of his body, but is less sluggish than when he woke up. One of the saddlebags has something inside.
When Indigo comes out, Jaxler notices that he looks a lot less worn out than he did earlier, but Indigo is definitely still tired. Just as Jaxler is about to turn around he notices, that one of Indigo's saddlebags has something inside. "Uh, I really need to know what's in that bag."
Indigo frowns at that. "It is something I need to take to Panacea. I'll tell Virtue about it, but don't tell Stiletto or Kat where it is, and don't try to drink it." Indigo closes his door again, and turns towards the stairs.
Jaxler frowns and sighs "I need to know exactly what it is".
Indigo stops. "You are getting out of your way to be a good guard today, aren't you? Fine." He opens the saddlebag, and inside there is a bottle. "It is a wine I got from a zebra. Are you happy now?"
Jaxler looks at Indigo with disgust. He honestly doesn't care about the bottle anymore, but Indigo's little comment really rubbed him the wrong way. "What the hell do you mean. I do a great job guarding this city."
Indigo bites his lips and closes the saddlebag. Yeah, you get drunk all the time, and mistreat your weapon, but if I start arguing with you now, you will yell at me, and my head hurts. He sights. "Fine. You saved a few ponies from death. Look, I'm really not feeling well now, and want to get this over with, so if you want to argue, lets do that some other time, alright?" Indigo looks at Jaxler with tired expression.
"Fine." answers Jaxler.
The two of them go towards the hospital in silence. At the entrance Indigo turns to Jaxler "I need to talk to Panacea alone, and there is only one exit. So just wait here unless somepony screams or something. It should be quick." He looks at Jaxler, and waits for him to nod or protest.
Jaxler shrugs and leans on the side of the building "I doubt you'd kill anypony, so I'll let you talk in private."
Indigo enters the hospital, closes the door, then looks around. “Hello Panacea. I need a checkup.” He undresses himself.
“A checkup? What's the matter?” She gives him a concerned look, as he goes about the process and turns away from the chest of things, she was organizing.
“Well, I got drunk last night, and I normally don’t drink, so my head hurts. Everything else also hurts, because I got really tired and then Stiletto started to strangle me for using the barracks. Oh, and I haven’t slept the whole night, but slept through most of the day. I feel bad, so I’ve come here.”
Panacea's expression grows even more worried, but she gives him a reassuring smile and moves to examine him. “That's some bruising you have there... but it doesn't look too bad. Just a bit of pain from the hangover?” She fetches a small bottle from a shelf and gives it to him. “This should help with that. The bruising should heal on its own. If it gets worse or if it starts to hurt too much, I've got a few things I can give you for that.”
Indigo accepts the bottle and drinks some of it. It tastes... like a medicine, but will alleviate his pain. “Thank you. Just as I hoped, no permanent damage, and the rest will heal itself with some rest. Good.” Indigo nods, opens his saddlebag with telekinesis, and puts a bottle in front of Panacea. “There is another reason I’m here. This is a bottle of special zebra wine with some kind of aphrodisiac. There is still over half it left. I don’t want it, so just hide it somewhere, and give it to some responsible, married couple who want it.”
“Any responsible married couple?” Panacea makes sure.
Indigo shrugs. “Yes, I don’t care who gets it, as long as they are married, responsible and have use for it.” He dresses himself, says goodbye, and exits the hospital.
Panacea looks at the bottle with an air of curiosity as Indigo leaves as abruptly as he came. She'd have to figure out what it was exactly before she let anypony have it. Indigo looked a bit rough, but whether it was from the drink or not she didn't know. It probably wasn't poisonous... maybe she'd give it a small taste later and see if she could identify it...
Finally the Unicorn walks out. "She said, I'll be fine. Virtue's office next."
Jaxler stops leaning on the side of the build and stretches. "Lead the way then."
They make their way towards the keep. "I think, you should enter with me. I only gave you the short version of what happened last night, and besides this is Virtue, and you were tasked with keeping watch over me. Well, unless you want to find Partisan first." Jaxler shakes his head.
Indigo knocks at Virtue's door, then enters with Jaxler. “Hello Lady Virtue. You probably want to hear my version of what happened last night.”
Virtue turns to face him across her desk from the stack of books she was flipping through. “Oh, Indigo! Yes... I think that might be good. I'm a bit hazy on the details...”
“I was just finishing my chores yesterday, when Sekashi, a zebra from the caravan approached me, and said she wanted to spend some time with me, and say goodbye. I often talked to her over the years. In the beginning I mostly wanted feedback on the stone trinkets I make to trade, but she often had some interesting things to say, and we gradually became friends. Or so I thought. She said she wanted to eat dinner with me, and talk before leaving. I got some food from the dining hall, while she brought a ‘special’ wine with her, and we went to my room. Now, just for the record, I’m not aware of any rules against inviting our guests to the dormitory. Anyway, I normally don’t drink alcohol, but she told me, it is rude to deny a gift, so I did.
We talked for a time, then she told me my muscles are stiff, put me on my bed and started giving me a massage. I should have been more suspicious about it, I admit, but it was nice. Her wine had some kind of aphrodisiac in it, and at some point I started getting uncomfortable. Then she told me, she wanted to spend a night with me. Yes, that way. I refused of course, because I’m not married to her, but she started arguing with me, that there is nothing wrong with having sex when not married. She actually did that after the Friesden incident! Anyway eventually she started laughing at me and my morals, and called me a ‘silly pony’. Me! She was laughing at me!” Indigo looks very angry, but closes his eyes, breathes, and calms down enough to continue.
When Indigo looks just about ready to explode, Jaxler switches his position to combat stance, and readies his crossbow.
Virtue is a bit stunned at the outpouring, particularly at the direction the conversation had already taken. “I... um... well, no there's nothing against the rules with inviting somepony to the dorms... but, I, uh...”
“Anyway, I kicked the zebra out, and she left. Then Stiletto came to my room, and started bothering me. Now, just for the record, I see all kinds of perversion she spreads among some of the more naive ponies, and really don’t like her for it. I told her, I had nothing to report, but she was persistent in her questioning, so I told her to buck off. To her credit she almost did, but called me rude.”
“Wait... Stiletto?”
“Yes, Stiletto. She has at least two buckfriends, and they got into a fight over her, I think. She also seduced Kat, who used to be my friend. From what I've heard, she will call anypony who sucks up to her “her love”, and let him ride her. I'm inclined to believe these rumors. She calls her depraved ideology ‘love’ and opposing it ‘jealousy’. As if that had anything to do with it.”
Virtue is growing quite uncomfortable about things now. Stiletto really was beginning to cause trouble, even if she didn't mean to. She had no idea Indigo was so upset about this though. Words leave her for a moment.
“Anyway, Kat showed up, started banging on my door, calling me rude, insulting, and other such things. I told them both to buck off and leave me alone. Then they started talking to each other something about love. I was rather shocked by what they said at the time, and perked my head out of my room, and they were kissing. Mares! Kissing!”
Uncomfortable wasn't the right word anymore, but she didn't know what was. What was she supposed to say to him? She couldn't control what the two did like that... “I... I see...”
“At this point I could barely take it anymore, so I decided to try and get so tired, I’d pass out on the spot. I went running, but that didn’t do the trick. Then I went into the barracks and started hitting a target dummy. Just for the record, I underwent basic military training. I got rather rusty, but I don’t think I’d hurt myself. Oh, and besides I had a hammer, not an axe. When I just started my intensive training (which often causes blackouts after minutes), Stiletto showed up with Kat, blocked the only exit from barracks, and they started yelling at me again. So I told them to buck off and leave me alone. They wouldn’t, so I tried to run away, but Stiletto started strangling me. Again to her credit, she used just enough force to restrain me without causing any lasting damage.
At about this time Partisan showed up, and rescued me. I just about collapsed from exhaustion, and they took me to my room and left there. When I woke up Jaxler was guarding my door, and then we went about the camp so I could clean myself, eat, go to the hospital, and finally come here.”
Jaxler chuckles, but says nothing.
Virtue is speechless. Stiletto choked him? Even if she meant to restrain him that sounded quite harsh.
“So as you can see, I’m not some kind of psychotic pony throwing tantrums. I just had a very rough night. And I don’t think there is a need for the guard to follow me around, but that’s up to you and Partisan of course. I didn’t do anything violent today.”
Jaxler nods.
Virtue: “I... I think I see... I don't think there's any need to have Jaxler shadow you anymore. Are you alright now?”
“Not even close. I mean physically I'm in pain, but Panacea gave me some painkiller, and I should be fine in a few days. The thing is, I was betrayed twice last night, both by ponies I trusted. I'm still shocked and angry about it.” Indigo closes his eyes and slouches.
Virtue gives him another concerned look. "I'm sorry to hear that..." She didn't know what else to say, really. Indigo usually kept to himself, so she couldn't think of much that might console him. Perhaps time to think about it was what he desired and needed more than anything she might could say.
“By the way, are civilians allowed to train in the barracks, when they are not used by the military?”
"Well... as long as they're careful and don't disturb anything, I don't have a problem with it... but you'd have to speak with Halberd to be sure. The armory would probably remain locked, of course, without special permission."
“Oh, I almost forgot. I mentioned getting a 'special' wine from that zebra. I got rid of that wretched thing.”
"Got rid of it? What did you do, just throw it out?" She didn't want any of the children stumbling across it, and hoped he had sense enough to not pour it down the well.
“Well, pouring it on the ground would be wasteful, I wouldn’t sell it, because it is a gift, and I certainly don’t want it to be misused. I left it with Panacea to give to some responsible married couple. That way at least it can be used for something good.”
“Oh, alright... I'm sure she'll find a good use for it.”
“I’m hesitating whether to press charges against Stiletto and Kat for harassment. I’ll let it slide this time, I guess. I was really on edge that night, nopony was seriously hurt and I have no witnesses. I will however, want to look over our code of laws tomorrow.” He sighs. “I seem to be unintentionally getting into all sorts of trouble lately, so I want to at least have a general idea about what's in stock for troublemakers.”
Virtue shifts nervously in her seat and nods slowly. “Alright... I've got a copy of everything relevant here if you need it.” She really, really hoped it didn't come to him filing charges for one reason or another. She didn't know how she was going to take it if it came to that...
“Oh, one more thing, what can you tell me about the Friesden incident? Carmine asked me for help, but it looks like he doesn’t even acknowledge her being Ocean Breeze’s, and I really don’t know what to tell him. It is probably best if I stay out of this, but he may come to me again.”
Virtue frowns and looks down briefly. “I'm not sure what else there is to say, really. I think you know about as much as I do. At some point Ocean Breeze cheated on Carmine with one of the zebras. When Carmine discovered Friesden wasn't his foal, it's as if he lost his mind. He acts as if she never existed, and doesn't bring up the question of his wife cheating on him at all.”
She adds “It's really sad and confusing. I don't know what to do about it. I was worried what would happen to the poor filly, but at least Glyph has taken her in for now. I'm still hoping Carmine might change his mind and let her back into their family, but so far nothing.”
“I don't know, if he will. I mean he denies her very existence, and seems to be believing it. Glyph might be the next best thing for her, and cares about her.” Indigo frowns “If Carmine comes to me again, I'll tell him what he wanted to know from me. That the filly didn't come from the zebra caravan, and that she has been here for a long time. If he persists, I'll tell him the whole truth, but I really don't know how he'll take it. I'm rather worried about Carmine. His wife did a terrible thing, and then Glyph yelled at him. I really don't want to make matters any worse for him, and I'd rather stay out of it.”
Virtue's expression falls a bit. If she'd hoped Inigo had good news on that she was deluding herself. "I fear it won't get any better either. I worry mostly about little Friesden, but I think Glyph will do as good as anypony but her family could right now." She sighs. "Just say what you think is best to Carmine. I worry about him too."
“Goodbye. Sorry to cause trouble, I know it worried you.”
"It's alright," she says, but her voice is clearly troubled. "I hope you feel better soon."
After the talk with Lady Virtue Jaxler walks off for a drink, and Indigo goes to get some supplies from the stockpile. He is unwell, but there is still one thing to fix. He picks up some carpenter’s tools, glue, putty, brush and paint, and just in case a plank. He goes to his room, and fixes the damage to his bed from kicking it last night. When the work is done, he returns the tools and supplies to the stockpile, cleans his face, eats dinner, goes to the privy and finally back to sleep. Hopefully he is going to feel better tomorrow.