“No idea who he is,” Redheart said from across the counter as she looked at Cheerilee.
“What? How? Somepony has to have reported a missing child, correct?”
“We can't find any record of anything even close to those names he mentioned,” the nurse said with a shake of her head. “Probably something he found in a book somewhere. But his colorations are just... not very common. In the local area there's only one pony with colorations even close to his. Thunderlane. But we contacted him and his family and they deny knowing any unicorns of his particular colors.”
“They can't be that uncommon. Why, I've met...” Cheerilee's words trailed off as she thought about it. Now that she actually focused on it, she'd met plenty of ponies with white manes, but she couldn't remember meeting anypony with a pure black coat. Though that was hardly fair, most ponies in the Canterlot and Ponyville area tended to have light and colorful coats. Likely due to Celestia's unintentional influence over the years. “Perhaps he's from another region?”
“Maybe. We'll be sending him to protective services once he's better, though.” Redheart looked down at her file. “We can't find anything wrong with him. Aside from a little bit of dehydration and malnutrition, he's fine. Nothing poisonous in his system. Considering where you found him, that's quite lucky. We have him on an IV for now, but we need to get him to wake up and eat something. But if he goes into another panic we'll have to put him under again.”
Cheerilee nodded. “Would you mind if I tried?”
“What? Why?”
“Well, I do have a way with children,” she said with a smile. “You have an inhibitor so it's not like he could hurt me with his magic. I know he couldn't hurt me with his hooves. I might be able to calm him down.”
Redheart glanced down at her clip board again, before giving a nod. “Well... normally I'd say no. But I know how good you are with children. I've even seen some of it first hoof. I guess you're welcome to give it a try.”
Cheerilee smiled and gave a little nod. “Of course. I've dealt with dozens of children who don't want to eat their vegetables. He'll be no different.” That at least brought a smile to the nurse's lips.
------
Cheerilee sat at the end of the bed, watching the drowsy unicorn. He'd been slightly responsive, diving in and out of consciousness for the last few minutes as the spell finally began to wear off. He was fighting it, but it would still take a while for him to clear. The only thing in the room was his bed and the IV. Everything else had been removed to avoid the risk of him hurting himself. She was the only one in the room, though there were a few aides and a doctor outside the room waiting in case he panicked again.
Finally his eyes opened and they stayed open. She took a deep breath and smiled to him. “Hello. Are you feeling better now?”
He stared for a few moments before groaning and falling back. “I... I was wrong. Oh BLEEPing BLEEP I was wrong. If only it was demon horses.” He shivered. “I've been captured by paladins.” He then tried to sit up, but all he managed to do was kind of roll around a bit on his side. “You, mount! Where is your master? And summon whatever mage you had turn me into this... this thing! I will not be made a foal o--” He paused. “Did... did I just say bleep? But I said BLEEP!” His eyes widened. “BLEEP! BLEEP BLEEP GOSH BLEEP! What? You! What vile witchcraft is this?”
She took a deep breath. Well, this was going to be a tad more annoying than she initially thought. “Child, you need to be calm, please. You're safe now,” she said with a comforting smile. “I don't know what you're talking about, but trust me. You're safe and sound, nothing will hurt you here. Tell me, how did you get into the Everfree Forest?”
“The Ever... oh BLEEP you really are the mounts of paladins.” He groaned. “Is this some sort of torture? Turning me into a horse?”
“Dear, you're not a horse, you're a pony. You need to calm down and take deep breaths, listen to--”
“I WON'T LISTEN TO ANYPONY!” he yelled, rolling around a bit more angrily. “WHY DO I KEEP BLEEPING BLEEPING?” He then paused. “Did... I just say anypony? AnyONE. I won't listen to anyONE.”
“That, young man, is the language filter,” Cheerilee said firmly. “It's on in all public places like that, especially for children. Now, will you calm down? You need to eat something, but first you need to calm down.”
“I will not be calm until you tell me what you're doing to me! Who are you ponies? I will incinerate every last one of you!” He let out a yelp of pain as his horn flickered. “Ow ow ow ow!”
“That's the horn neutralizer.” She slowly moved closer. He tensed up, but his coordination was so bad he could do little more than wiggle ineffectually. She reached out and gently stroked his head, receiving a glower for her troubles.
“Don't touch me.”
“You need to calm down and listen to your elders. Now, will you promise to not make a mess or throw anything if I get you something to eat?”
He glowered for a few more moments, but she could see the soft waver in his eyes and mouth. He licked his lips a little bit before giving a small nod. “What exactly to eat?”
“Well, your stomach is pretty weak right now so probably some grass and daffodils.”
Now he just looked surprised, his mouth falling open. “You want... what? You want to feed me grass? I thought paladin horses were supposed to be smart. I can't eat grass. I need meat! Butcher a cow and--” Cheerilee covered his mouth before he could continue, the color draining from her face.
“I... I don't know what kind of books you've been reading or shows you've been watched, but we do not talk about cows like that. They are... very well.” He was currently trying to bite her hoof. “How about a nice banana? That should be easy enough on your stomach.”
Now he just looked confused again. “What's a banana?”
She smiled and got to her hooves. “I'll be right back. And I'll bring a daffodil sandwich too, I--”
“I do not eat flowers! I am a proud drow, I am not a horse!”
“What in Equestria is a drow?”
He opened his mouth again to speak, moments before closing it. He tried opening it again, but no words could come out. Finally, he coughed into his hoof. “Did... did you just ask what a drow is? How could you not know what a drow is? That's like asking what's a goblin, a beholder or... or a bear!”
“Well, I know what a bear is, but I've never heard of those other creatures.”
He went flat on the bed, his eyes wide. “I've died. That must be it. They burst into my room and killed me. This is all some kind of BLEEP. Wait, really? I can't even say BLEEP?”
Cheerilee sat back down quickly. “Could somepony bring a banana, please?” She then looked down to him. “Who burst into your room? Do you remember how you ended up in the Everfree Forest?” Had somepony tried to kidnap this poor unicorn? Is that why he was saying such strange things? Was he just living in his own fantasy world away from everypony else in an attempt to deal with the pain?
“I don't know. The alarms were going off and they were pounding on my door when—” His eyes widened and a grin spread across his lips. “Of course! I must have teleported out and come to this strange... plane. This must be where the paladin's mounts are stored when not in use and--” He then looked up at her. “You! Horse! I demand to know who is in charge here! I will conquer this land in the name of House Araknioss! Stand in my way and you will perish like all the others who dare stand against the drow!”
She sighed and shook her head. The pony was making absolutely no sense. All she knew for now was he had a very active, and brutal, imagination. One of the aides walked in with a small tray, handing it to her. She took it graciously and smiled as the aide left. She then turned to him. He was staring at where the pony had gone. “Is something wrong?”
“That... that was a unicorn. How... how did... Paladins can't have unicorn mounts, can they?”
“I'm afraid I don't know what a paladin is. But I assure you, here in Ponyville there are dozens of unicorns. Not as many as are in Canterlot, but still quite a few. In fact, you're one.”
“What? I am not!” he said quickly, sounding disgusted. “I am not a pony! Your witches have turned me into one, but I will regain my normal form and destroy you all! No, I will ens-- mmff!” Cheerilee stuffed the banana into his mouth to earn herself a few moments of peace. He coughed a little, but after a few seconds he relaxed and swallowed. “That... was not an unpleasant food. Are there any more?”
“Maybe. But first you need to eat your sandwich.” She held up the small snack.
He made a face. “I will not eat flowers!”
The teacher sighed and shook her head. Now she'd seen it all. A foal who didn't like daffodils. Next thing he'd tell her he liked eating his brussel sprouts. She peeped between the two slices of bread and, to her delight, found it wasn't flowers at all. “It's peanut butter and jelly.”
“What?”
“Here. Grab it with your hooves.” She held out the tray.
He stared at it for a few moments, before looking up at her. “You're an idiot, aren't you? How can I grab it with hooves? You need fingers to grab things.”
Cheerilee took a deep, calming breath. A part of her longed for the old days when she could smack a child on the hoof with a ruler when they were so rude. “Just try, dear.”
“Why? What do I get out of it?” he asked, glaring at her. “Is this some kind of sick game? Make the drow make a foal of himself while he's your prisoner?”
“You're not our prisoner. We're waiting for your parents to come get you.”
That made almost all the color drain from his face. She thought he'd looked scared before when he'd been fighting the aides, but this was a look of sheer terror in his eyes. She'd have thought he'd seen a ghost. “My... my mother is coming here?”
“Yes. Just as soon as we find her, we'll send a message and she can come pick you up.”
“Y-you're holding me ransom? Don't you realize what she'll do to you when she gets here? What she'll do to ME? You'll just die! But me, ohhhh, for being captured she'll... she'll... I-I don't know what she'll do!” The child looked horrified, his eyes wide and frightened.
Cheerilee felt a lump in her chest and quickly got to her hooves. “Eat your sandwich. Or... or at least try. I'll be right back.” She quickly trotted out the room and closed the door behind her.
“Yes?” Redheart asked, looking up from her clipboard.
“Can you call foal protective services? I think I might be understanding why he's so... strange.”
“You think there's any merit to his stories?”
“He's frightened, very frightened. I've seen foals in situations with abusive parents before, they don't always understand what's happening to them and can make up all kinds of weird stories.”
The nurse nodded. “Then you'll be happy to know there's already somepony on the way. We called them a few hours ago.”
“And they're still not here?”
“Discord has been making travel... difficult,” the mare grumbled. “It's one of the reasons his visits are always part of our slowest times. That, and nopony ever seems to get really injured when he's around. At least nothing worse than a sprain.”
Cheerilee nodded and walked back into the room. She had to struggle to hold in her laughter. The little colt was struggling to squeeze his sandwich between his two hooves, but his lack of motor skills were working against him and now he and his bed were covered in jam, his poor sandwich a squashed, gooey mess. “Can we get another peanut butter and jelly sandwich, please?” she called out before trotting over to him. “Okay, let's get you cleaned up.”
He glared at her. “I know what I'm doing!”
“You obviously do not,” she said firmly before taking an edge of the blanket, lightly spitting on it and dabbing at his face, wiping the jam off.
“Stop it! Ew! Knock it off! Stop ittttt!”
“Hold still and this will be over in a moment. Can we get a new blanket, too? His is covered in jam,” she called back as she kept working. Soon enough she had the mess mostly cleaned up, though his face was still pretty sticky and his sheets were a mess. She tossed the blanket on the ground and smiled at the little colt. “Now. How about we start small. My name is Cheerilee, what's yours?”
He glared back. “ Valkala Del--”
“Your real name,” she interrupted. “Not your make believe name.”
“That IS my real name!”
She sighed and shook her head. “Fine. How about I just call you Val?”
“It's Valkala Del--”
“So, Val, do you remember anything about how you ended up in the Everfree Forest?”
“No,” he said with a scowl. “I just woke up there after the attack. What kind of stupid name is Everfree Forest, anyway? It's hardly scary or anything.”
“Okay, how about we move onto the attack. What do you remember happening before you ended up there?”
He took a slow, deep breath, suddenly looking unsure of himself. “Well... I was locked into my room at the time... but...”