"Open a little wider for me sweetie...there we go”, the pegasus mare spoke sweetly as she pulled the metal spoon out of the biped's mouth, free of its food. The biped that sat directly next to her made no move other then slowly chewing the food now in its mouth, as if not bothering to exert more energy then necessary.
Nurse Critical Care watched patiently as the biped assigned to her quietly and softly chewed its food before swallowing plainly. The nurse nodded happily before returning the spoon to the steaming bowl of oatmeal in between the two, carefully extracting some more of the porridge to offer to her patient. Blowing on the oatmeal a few times to ensure it would not be too hot, she offered the food once more to the biped, which after a small command opened its mouth to accept the food. Once again, the biped began to chew lazily, staring strait ahead as it ate at its calm pace.
Waiting once again for her patient to finish, Critical looked around her, spotting similar scenes all around her in the expansive room. Modeled similarly after a hospital cafeteria, the area was full of tables with groups of ponies and bipeds alike. Ranging from unicorns to earth ponies, all ponies were in the roll of the nurse, evident by the bright white caps and aprons upon their forms. The bipeds by contrast wore the plain gown of that of a patient, though a similar detail that each biped sported was a navy blue headband that glowed faintly in some areas. In all essence, it appeared like any regular hospital cafeteria-perhaps slightly different due to all the nurse's feeding their patients- if not for the fact that the amount of gold that struck out against the white of the room.
Golden armored ponies stood about, some walking in between the tables, others standing at attention near the multiple exits, and some even casually conversing with the nurses that monitored their patients.
Though Critical Care liked to avoid looking at the guards. It tended to ruin her good mood.
Smiling happily as the biped finished another bite, she once again repeated the process, the feeling of monotony all but lost to her. Occupied with the biped in her care, the pegasus once again looked over her patient. The biped under her care was faired skinned, no fur upon her form save her golden brown mane.
Yes she, rather the biped, was a female. A filly to be exact by Critical's standard. Apparently at the age of nine, the biped was no taller then her sitting at the table, though standing she was able to achieve a good half a head taller then her nurse. However, the height difference mattered little to Critical Care, considering some nurses found themselves with full grown bipeds that stood nearly double the height of a regular pony. Some even appeared to surpass the astounding height of Princess Celestia!
She wondered faintly how tall her charge would get, though that was a large unknown to mare.
She didn’t know too much about humans after all.
As the process of feeding her patient continued, the nurse looked over the biped's mane, which was ironically tied in a ponytail fashion. This allowed her own headband to easily stand out around her forehead. Up close, Critical Care could easily spot the several complex runic symbols that dotted the headbands length, each glowing a light cyan, evident of the active magic at work.
"Perhaps we should change that mane style sweetie, maybe try braiding your hair next time hmmm?" the pegasus spoke, as she returned the spoon to the bowl for another grab at the oatmeal.
The biped did not reply, instead continuing to stare blankly ahead. Of course, Critical didn’t expect a response; she knew her patient didn’t speak.
Or move around on her own.
Or do things that an actual patient should be doing.
No, she steeled herself suddenly, stop that train of thought.
She was a nurse, an extremely high ranking one at that. She was to care for the patient placed upon her with the utmost kindness and love, even if it meant ignoring the striking things that bothered Critical so much.
The young biped’s hazy eyes, looking almost devoid of life. Her blank look, no expressions present on her face despite the fact a filly her age would be a kaleidoscope of expressions every day. Nor did she point out how she had to command the biped to do simple tasks, it lazily moving to accomplish said tasks.
A sudden clank broke Critical out of her reprieve and she looked around, trying to spot the perpetrator of the noise. She quickly came to realize however, that the sound had emanated from the metal bowl in front of her, the oatmeal all but gone and the metal spoon resting inside it.
While she had been preoccupied inside her head, it appeared she had gone ahead and already finished feeding the girl, whose mouth was still half open, expecting another spoonful that would not come. Reaching up, she brought her hoof to gently touch the bipeds chin.
"Close you mouth honey, its not very ladylike" she spoke tenderly as she nudged the young humans mouth closed, meeting little resistance.
Humming softly, Critical Care hopped off the large bench that was the seating for the table, noting as she did so that several other nurses and their patients were already exiting the cafeteria as well. She did not bother to pay attention as a lone guard accompanied each duo at the double doors, instead instructing her patient to stand up. She watched calmly as the girl swung her legs around from the inside of the table to the outside in one quick motion, before standing to her full height.
"Come along Julia, let’s get you back to bed hmm?" the mare said, using the girl's name more actively.
The young human offered no reply, just calmly following her nurse that headed toward the door. Of course, the remaining guards quickly saw this, and one was dispatched to immediately join the duo.
The pegasus offered a casual glance at first at the encroaching guard, before her eyes narrowed slightly.
It had to be him today, she thought angrily.
For walking toward her at a slightly quick pace was a grey earth pony stallion, well under the guise of the armor's cloak spell.
She knew well from experience that this guard had a particular dislike for the patients here, and made a point to show it.
Sometimes verbally.
She decided to slow her pace ever so slightly, allowing Julia to walk nearly next to her, to which she raised a wing against the biped's back in a protective manner.
The earth pony fell in behind the two, his silver headed spear raised upward in a non combatant manner.
She still didnt like it though.
Passing through the doorways of the cafeteria, she was greeted by multiple crisscrossing hallways that other patients and nurse were already heading down, moving to their respective rooms.
With practiced ease, Critical began her walk down a rather long hallway toward the young human's room. She passed a few nurses and their charges on the way. She offered a warm smile to each, who offered it in turn. The guards simply saluted each other as they passed.
This was an attempt to distract herself from the burning gaze from the earth pony stallion, who was attempting to drill a hole right through her wing to get at the biped.
Sighing, she glanced back at the guard.
"Is there something the matter Sergeant Overwatch?" She asked plainly, no emotion in her usually sweet voice. The sergeant did not take his hazel eyes off the biped, but answered her question.
"Why are you even touching that thing nurse?" He spoke, anger clearly present.
Taking a deep breath and attempting to avoid the obvious comment of "thing" Critical calmly replied, "I believe it's called a human actually. And she is not a thing and her name is Julia"
Annunciating each word with more power, she glanced back once again at the guard, who was trying to hold back a snarl.
Trying and failing.
"Don't fraternize with the enemy nurse. It just makes em look more pony" he growled out.
That particular comment stopped Critical Care dead in her tracks, forcing Julia and the guard as well to halt their advance. Turning to face the guard muzzle to muzzle, she glared back at him.
"She is not an enemy Sergeant Overwatch. She is sick. She is being treated. And before you do, don’t you dare go comparing her to the event" she scolded.
Overwatch's eyes went wide for a moment, surprised by the brashness of the slightly smaller mare. Then his eyes narrowed in suppressed anger.
"I will Celestia bucking please compare it to whatever I bucking want to nurse. Especially the event, or did you already forget what their kind did?"
He spoke, glaring daggers at the biped that stood at equal height who retuned the expression with a blank one in turn.
Resisting the urge to flare her wings, the nurse instead turned away from the guardspony and placed a feathered wing against the girl's back to get her walking again.
"You should not blame the actions of a few on that of the many Overwatch. Especially on a filly like her" The mare said as she continued down the hallway, avoiding all formalities in speaking just the guard's name.
Just as they stopped at the entrance to Julia's room, the guard shaking his head as Critical led Julia inside. The room was extremely small, and padded on all sides. The only actual furniture was a bed large enough for a full grown human and a small nightstand.
The nurse didn’t take any pleasure that the room was reminiscent of a lavish jail cell, but that didn’t stop the guard.
"That ain’t a filly nurse. That there is a monster. An innocent pony killing monster" He spoke from the doorway, his spear blocking most of the entrance purposefully.
The mare prayed to Celestia to give her strength as she allowed the biped to rest on her bed, before moving the sheets over her form. The girl's eyes began to slowly close almost immediately as she laid in the bed.
In moments, Julia was already asleep. The pegasus resisted the urge to sing to her as she had done prior, if only to prevent Overwatch from opening his mouth. Exiting the room as calmly as she could, she allowed Overwatch to close the door behind her with a rather unnecessary slam.
Feeling her fur hackle, she resisted the urge to tear into the guard, choosing to walk away down the corridor.
Spitting once onto the floor, the guardspony headed a different direction, most likely toward the command center of the facility.
From a quick glance back, Critical eyed the stallion angrily. She did not like Overwatch at all. Though some shared her sentiment, they spoke that he was in his right to dislike them. He had lost his brother to the human event after all.
He is not the only one, she thought bitterly, and nor does it give him the right to act like that.
At the thought of the event, the mare was swarmed by memories of the past and for a moment she had to stop to place a hoof near her rapidly beating heart. She resisted the urge of oncoming tears, banishing them away.
"Even after months" she whispered, "It still hurts"
For a moment, Critical Care stood alone on the hallway, some passing nurses quickly leaving her alone.
However, the moment came and gone, and nurse Critical Care once again resumed her walk down the hallway, ready to start her day again in the morning. Like she had done the month prior. And the month prior to that.
And the month prior to that...