Bat and Bug

by Silent Quill


Parents and Patients

The changeling struggled to breathe as she lay in her bed on her back, her sleep punctured only with wheezing breaths; at the foot of her bed, the pile of wood that consisted of her canine companion slept on peacefully. Relying on sunlight for much of her energy as she was, in essence, a quadrupedal plant, the timberwolf fell into what could be considered a coma once the sun went down.

Still, Stalwart admitted to himself as he observed the comatose canine, Maple was kind of cute while she slept. Still, he couldn’t just leave Ruby struggling to breathe as she was; he’d been told about her difficulty breathing by one of his corporals, and he’d found time to stop by the palace medical wing to talk with one of the staff on duty, who had informed him to gently turn her.

Stealthily he crossed the floor between the door and her bed, and with as much care as he could he rolled her onto her right side. Sure enough, once positioned she shifted in the bed to get more comfortable and her breathing evened out, changing from wheezing, almost pained breaths to slightly raspy yet much cleaner breathing.

Smiling at a job well done, Stalwart crept out of her room as stealthily as he had entered. He closed her door with the faintest of clicks before nodding at the crystal pony that had waited outside patiently.

“Thanks for informing me of that, corporal; I’ll talk with her about it when I return home after sunrise.”

“Yes, sir,” the guard replied somewhat stoically, “I feel that I need to inform you that this isn’t the first time I’ve heard her breathing difficulties during the night, sir…”

“Oh?”

The guard nodded, “I heard her breathing difficulties three nights ago, and then the next night; I must have caught her having difficulties just before she shifted in her sleep into a more comfortable position.”

Stalwart nodded, “Alright, thank you for telling me; I’ll have a chat with her about it in the morning.” He said, before saluting idly with his wing, “Carry on, Facet.”

“Yes sir.”

Stalwart dawdled back through his home, slowing only to scoop up the paperwork that he had left on the kitchen table with his wing; a captain’s job is never done it seemed. He idly looked through them, bill, bill, a report about Prince Blueblood’s visit, a report about when Princess Cadance came to his home to talk with her husband and meet Maple… The next one made him pause and stare, reading through the report with barely contained dread.

Oh, dear, this wouldn’t be a fun weekend.

*&*&*&*

He’d been given the weekend off, courtesy of Princess Cadance herself, Ruby was down in the basement carving yet another practice weapon, and the timberwolf was chasing bees in the backyard. She’d flowered already, surprising only Stalwart, and Ruby had spent a few minutes discussing a few aspects of their wooden companion with him that could be changed.

For instance, the colour of the nectar that her flowers contained could be changed to whatever colour they wanted. Through a little negotiation, it was decided that she would go with blue.

The colour of the sugar that the bees consumed, in this case nectar, would correlate to the colour of the honey they produced. With a different coloured honey came an opportunity to have a unique product that they could sell through novelty. The first batch, due to likely be ready in a week or so, would be gifted to Princess Cadance, if only to see the look on her face at receiving blue honey.

Still, he had spent the whole day so far cleaning and finding ways to lock down the house and pretend there was nopony home, and had managed to avoid having to tell Ruby why exactly by way of either distraction or a tried and tested method that ponies had honed over the years: lying.

Eventually the moment he had been dreading the entire day arrived, and he almost yelped when he heard the front door knock. This was followed by hushed voices, some scuffing of hooves on his doorstep, and then another knock at the door.

He sighed sadly as the ponies knocked a third time, knowing he was unlikely to avoid this encounter if he just hid long enough, and unlocked the front door, swinging it open only to have a thestral mare with a dark blue mane attach herself to his face by way of vigorous hugs designed either to convey affection or to crush him.
His parents had come to visit.

“Stalwart, how lovely to see you,” the mare with a bunch of roses cutie mark currently attempting to crush his head chimed, “You don’t write enough!”

Stalwart sighed, giving up on attempting to pry her loose, “Hello to you as well, mom; could you let go, it’s hard to breathe.”

The elder thestral mare released him and wandered into the house, “This is the thanks I get for years of love and dedication… Oh, your house is clean; did you sleep at all today? I'm not sure we have the right house...”

The stallion that Stalwart recognized had his father’s shaggy purple mane and cogwheel cutie mark laughed. “Sorry about that, you know how she gets.” He said, “It’s been a while, how’ve you been?”

“Oh, you know, the usual;” Stalwart replied, leading his father through the house into the living room, “reports, training, promotions…”

“To captain of the guard no less!” His mother piped up from where she sat, bouncing in her seat, “You make me so proud!”

Stalwart’s father nudged him, “Your mother has been talking about that non-stop the whole way here.” He said through his teeth, “it’s gotten kinda annoying.”

Stalwart sighed, “Sorry, dad, but it’s not like that’s something I can control. She's your wife, you do something about it.”

“Stalwart?” Ruby’s voice echoed from beneath the house, “Is there somepony here?”

The eyes of his father and mother shifted to the floor, then one another, and then to their son, each grinning in a manner that sent a shiver down his spine. “Who was that?” His father asked curiously, before his mother piped up as all mothers do.

“My young man has a mare?! By Princess Luna’s glorious moon, why didn’t you say something, or write to us?!” She hopped off the couch and once again attached herself to his face by way of hug, “Oh, is the pretty? Or smart? Oh! Oh! Is she an earth pony, or a unicorn? A pegasus? Ooh, did my colt get a thestral?!”

“Mom, you’re hurting me.”

“Stalwart, are you in here? Do you have guests?” Ruby asked as she stepped into the living room, stopping abruptly and staring at the two thestral ponies who stared back in shock. Ruby took a step back, “I… I’ll just… yeah…” She mumbled, before fleeing back out of the room.

The silence that followed her swift departure was the kind of silence that would be not talked about for decades. It was thick and awkward and hung around like a bad smell, and slowly the eyes of Stalwart’s parents turned on their son.

“Stalwart, was that a changeling?” His father growled.

“Uh," Stalwart blurted, looking away sheepishly, "... yes..?”

“What is a changeling doing in your house, young stallion?”

Stalwart grimaced and turned his head, “Uh... stuff?”

Stalwart…”

Dad..?”

“You are, if my ears have not lied to me recently, the captain of the night guard in the Crystal Empire, correct?”

“… Yes?”

“Then what in the seven layers of Tartarus are you doing with a changeling in your house?!”

“You’re not dating it, are you?” His mother asked threateningly.

“What, her? No!”

She nodded, “Good, then we can have this all settled by going to Princess Cadance and reporting it; it’ll be out of your house and in a dungeon where it belongs by nightfall.”

Stalwart sighed, “Mom, she’s here on Princess Cadance’s orders.” He huffed.

What?!” She shrieked at the top of her lungs, “Why?! That thing is a changeling! They’re dangerous!”

Stalwart stared at his mother deadpan, unblinking. “Ruby Swift, dangerous?” He asked, “Really, you expect me to believe that she’s dangerous?” Be finally blinked at her, “I have a report on my desk from two days ago that states she complained for hours because she apparently got a splinter.”

“Yes! She’s a changeling, they’re all dangerous!”

“She’s a carpenter and is here for her protection, mom.” He snapped back.

His mother huffed, “I’m not surprised, seeing as you’re the one who isn’t reporting her to the authorities!”

“Mom, I am the authorities!” Stalwart finally shouted, “And the only pony that Ruby Swift is a danger to is herself because she’s seriously injured and won’t go to a Celestia-damned hospital to have herself checked!”

“I can’t afford it, Stalwart!” Ruby shouted at him as she re-entered with a mug of tea.

Stalwart stamped his hooves in frustration, teeth grit and bore and his face going red, “Ruby,” he gestured to her with his hooves, “witness protection! Stalwart,” he gestured to himself with his hooves, “royal guard captain! Medical care,” at this point his hooves switched between the two of them spastically, “free!”

“You don’t need to shout, Stalwart.” His father stated bluntly.

Finally Stalwart snapped, giving a roar of consternation and slamming his head onto the coffee table. “I swear this is why I don’t visit more.” He groaned into the polished wood. “This and the ‘when are you going to give me grandfoals?’ speech mum gives every time.”

“Well, when are you going to give me grandfoals?” She asked, earning a groan from Stalwart, whose head had yet to leave the table. "I'm not getting any younger over here."

“I hate my life.” He groused bitterly.

“I’m loving this;” Ruby said as she sat down in a recliner and sipped her tea, “It’s like having a show come to you.”

Most of her seemingly mollified for now, Stalwart’s mother eyed Ruby like a teacher with an essay, putting little red circles around the bits she didn’t like and finally writing ‘see me’ at the bottom. “My goodness, what on Equestria do you do with yourself?” She asked, “Does Stalwart not feed you? Skin and bones, I swear! And your coat is so marred and scuffed! It’s like you’ve been fighting somepony and came out second best! And your tail! So many knots, I can just see them!”

“And then the show calls for volunteer participation.” Ruby sighed.

“She did, mom,” Stalwart groaned from the table, “One of the Princess’s guards decided to try and kill her a couple days ago.”

“She’s under witness protection in the house of the night guard captain and she was assaulted? Are you sure you’re our son?” She asked in a hiss.

“There are days I ask myself that very question.” He groused in return.

His mother huffed and wandered off through the house, “I’m going to see if you’re at least looking after your bees correctly!” She snapped as she left.

“No, wait-”

“Ah, let her go, Ruby,” Stalwart said from the table, “let her find out for herself, it’s more fun for everypony else that way.”

“Find out what?” Stalwart’s father asked nervously, “What are you not telling your mother, Stalwart?”

A scream echoed from the back of the house, and hooves frantically echoed running back through the house followed by barking. “We have a pet timberwolf.” He said smugly.

His mother came running into the room, followed close behind by a little wooden wolf shedding flowers as she moved, wooden tongue lolling out of her mouth as she eagerly kept up with the fun new pony who smelled like master’s friend and looked like master’s friend but wasn’t master’s friend and was therefore new and exciting!

Get it away from me!”

Ruby watched the mare run circles around the room, chased closely by a timberwolf pup whose only real goal was for her to continue the game that she thought was being played. Stalwart, from the coffee table, tilted his head to watch his mother run past, fleeing from the diminutive and honestly harmless predator with a cruel smile upon his lips.

“Yeah, get her, Maple! She’s getting away from you!” He cheered amusedly.

Finally Ruby had enough, putting a hoof to her forehead to try and stave off the approaching headache, “Maple, heel;” she hissed, shifting a little in her seat as the canine heeded her command and bounded over, hopping up into the recliner next to her.

Stalwart’s mother leapt over to her husband, hugging him and trying to inch away from Maple at the same time. “Oh Clockwork I was so scared!”

“Primrose, you’re… you’re choking me!”

“Oh, look, he’s turning blue.” Stalwart said with his head still resting on the table. “Maybe he’ll pass out and I can use that as an excuse to drag Ruby to the hospital with him.”

“Stalwart, I don’t need to go to the hospital, I’m fine!” Ruby protested.

“Oh? So I didn’t have to come home last night specifically to roll you onto your side so you could breathe while you were asleep?” He retorted at her, finally lifting his head. “And I’ve not been informed that you struggle to breathe almost every night? You’re under my care, and you’re going if I have to knock you out and drag you.” He gave his father another sidelong glance, “Whether or not dad has to go for medical reasons himself is up to my mother to decide.”

Finally letting the stallion go, Stalwart’s mother gave a sheepish chuckle, “Sorry, I, uh…”

“Mom, the timberwolf you were running from is Ruby’s companion; Maple is about as harmful as y- well, I would say you, but you’ve already tried to suffocate two members of your own family in the space of an hour, so…”

Stalwart’s father coughed, inhaling entire lungfuls of air and groaning in between. “By Celestia’s beard honey, don’t do that again…”

“I said I was sorry!”

Rather than respond, the stallion merely stared deadpan at his wife before coughing in her direction.

She sighed, “Alright, fine, I’m sorry, honey. Can you forgive me?”

“I’ll find a way.” He muttered before leaning against her. “Anyway, Stalwart, you said you were protecting this… changeling?”

“Yes, dad, Ruby Swift is here on witness protection policy, but it’s an informal protection plan. Her hive would kill her on sight, and it’s not like Equestria is the friendliest of places for a changeling these days, so she’s being kept under watch from anypony or changeling out to cause her harm. Sort of like diplomatic guard, only she’s not a diplomat.”

“Well, if you’re going to take her to the local sawbones, we might as well come with you,” his mother said, “we wouldn’t mind seeing the Empire, and knowing where help is if we ever need it would be handy.”

“You just want to see the mares in town and suggest I date some of them.” Stalwart grumbled.

“Well, if it gets me some grandfoals, it’s time well spent.”

Her son sighed at her, “Mother, one of these days you’ll get your wish and you’ll regret ever making it.”

She only tittered at him amusedly before dancing around him, “Ooh, you’ll have to prove it first.” She sang at him, earning another irritated groan in response.

*&*&*&*

“And that, over there, is the local day spa,” Stalwart said, waving a wing at the building as they walked past, “Not been myself, but some of the guardsmares say it’s worth every bit spent.”

“Do you think the mares that work there are cute?” Stalwart’s mother, Primrose, asked curiously while giving her son a sly look.

Stalwart shrugged, “Mom, I just said I’ve never been; I wouldn’t know if they have a fire extinguisher.” He replied, continuing to walk, “That building over there is the Éclair, one of the Empire’s eight most expensive eateries and our least problematic. By that, of course, I mean we have to arrest the fewest drunks from that place.”

“You paint the empire in such a lovely light, Stalwart.” Clockwork deadpanned.

“Well excuse me for having the job of solving all of these problems.” Stalwart grumbled back, “I just do what I’m paid to do.” He nodded to a guard as he passed, earning a nod in response. “It’s not always the most popular work, but it’s important.”

“And it pays for your bees.” His father added.

“That too; that building is the local smithy, not been myself, but supposedly that’s where I’ll need to go to replace or repair any damaged gear.” Stalwart said, waving a wing at a building with a large chimney spouting from its roof. “Ah, here we are, Aquamarine Hospital,” He mumbled as he swerved into a building, “this is our stop, for now.”

“I am really not comfortable being here, Stalwart.” Ruby mumbled.

“And I’m not comfortable with the risk that you suffocate in your sleep.” Stalwart countered, “Your unease lets me sleep; now let’s go.”

They walked up to the front counter where a homely mare sat fiddling with some paperwork and rang the little bell, making her look up at them. “Yes, dears?”

“Royal guard business, I need a checkup for miss Ruby Swift here; she’s having breathing difficulties during sleep. Medium priority, if you could.”

“Of course, dear; take a seat and we’ll see to you as soon as we can.”

Stalwart nodded before urging Ruby to a nearby pair of seats. “Mom, dad, you don’t need to stick around if you’d rather be out doing something else. The castle has regular tours, or there’s a market along Quartz Drive, the main boulevard to the north of the Empire, if you want to do some souvenir shopping.”

Clockwork shrugged, “I suppose we could get some sightseeing done.”

“We’ve not booked a hotel or anything, we didn’t know anywhere to contact; the Empire is still rather new to the rest of Equestira, so… ”

Stalwart sighed, “Can’t believe I’m saying this,” he muttered under his breath, “We have a spare room you can stay in a couple of nights if you need to.”

“Well, if you insist…” His mother mumbled unsurely, “If we’re not imposing..?”

“Take the room, mom, it’ll save you on hotel fees.” Stalwart pressed.

She smiled and nodded, “Alright, Stalwart; thank you for the room.” She tapped her husband with her wing to get his attention, “Let’s go see the castle and maybe the market? We can hit up a restaurant for lunch.”

The stallion shrugged, “Yeah, alright. Will you be alright here, Stalwart?”

“Well it’s not like the doctor is going to attempt to extract my liver without a fight.” He replied.

His father nodded and, after a quick hug, walked off with his wife muttering about the castle. This, of course, left Stalwart sitting in a hospital lobby with a flighty and nervous changeling. She kept glancing at the exit, or at other ponies who wandered in or out. Stalwart attempted to pass his time grooming his wings, but his distraction tactic didn’t manage to relieve Ruby of any of her nervousness. Finally, after a good hour of their lives had slipped away waiting in the lobby of a hospital, their turn arrived.

“Miss Ruby Swift?” The nurse called, “The doctor will see you now.”

“Right, let’s go;” Stalwart said, standing and tugging her up from her seat.

*

“So, Miss Swift, what seems to be the trouble?”

The doctor, a rosy quartz coloured stallion with a slicked back purple mane and tail and a stethoscope for a cutie mark, had been waiting patiently for them in the exam room, and he hadn’t been surprised at all at her appearance.

“I, uh… why aren’t you wary of me..?”

The doctor chuckled, “Miss Swift, who do you think cared for you while you were here the first time?” He asked jovially, holding out a hoof that she shook, “Doctor Suture, at your service. Now come, tell me what wars you’ve been in since you left my care; you don’t look like you’ve been caring for yourself much at all.”

“She was assaulted by a thestral royal guard about four nights ago and, after being medically seen to by two EMTs, was released back into my care. She’s recently developed a difficulty breathing while sleeping, and it was so bad I had to take a detour on my rounds to roll her into a better position.” Stalwart said firmly, ignoring protests by Ruby to stop talking. “She’s also started to get headaches, which I’m going to assume are from the blow to the back of her head and consequent concussion she suffered.”

The doctor nodded with a hum, “I see; Miss Ruby, if you could climb onto the bed for me, we’ll see about that breathing issue.”

Meekly she complied, sidling up and onto the bed, turning around, and sitting while waiting for further instructions.

“Good, now, open wide and say ‘ah’.” He ordered, again getting compliance from the changeling. Curiously he peered into her mouth and down her throat, depressing her tongue with a little flat wooden stick before closing her mouth, putting on his stethoscope, and listening to her chest. “Breathe deep for me, Miss Swift.” He instructed, listening intently as she did so.

“Is it anything we need to worry about, doctor?” Stalwart asked worriedly from near the door.

Removing his stethoscope, the doctor smiled and took a hold of Ruby’s head, turning her to see the back. “No, not really anything I can do about that one I’m afraid; from the look of her throat and the sound of her breathing it would seem to be a minor contusion to her left lung and some of her lower windpipe.”

“That’s what the EMTs said when they released her into my care, I was just worried that this was developing into something worse.”

The doctor shook his head, “No, no, everything should be alright. If it develops into a routine heavy cough, persistent heavy wheezing even when awake or, worst case scenario, haemoptysis, that is, coughing up blood, then come and see me and we will be more thorough and come up with a treatment plan. She should be fine with rest and relaxation. Worst case scenario, we can request the Princess or Prince Consort to come and assist with clearing her lung, but it isn’t severe enough for it to come to that in my opinion.”

“I relax by working…” She mumbled, earning a laugh from him.

“And judging by the small bits of wood dust in the holes in your hooves and your tail, you work in an environment with wood shaving and dust. I trust the EMTs gave you a mask for when you work?” He asked, to which she nodded meekly. “Good, then so long as you wear that during your work there shouldn’t be any complications surrounding it. Now, onto your headaches; my cursory look leads me to believe that you likely have a minor cerebral contusion, that is, a bruise on the brain, due to heavy blunt force trauma to your skull giving you a concussion. The healing crack in the chitin on the back of your head would support this diagnosis.

“Again, the best solution is simply rest and relaxation. Little to no bright lights, no reading in the dark, no overtly loud noises, and plenty of bedrest are best for this. I insist that you get some painkillers from our pharmacy, painkillers that you will get before you leave today. While they are common, over the counter pills, they will help in your recovery greatly. As for your breathing, I suggest sleeping on the side which produces the least pain for you.”

He held his hoof out for Ruby to shake, for which she had to hop off of the bed to do, before leading them from the room. “Captain Drone, I cannot stress enough to you that if her breathing worsens you must return her here. Lung injuries can be dire if not correctly managed.”

“Yes doctor, the minute she worsens she’ll be right back here.”

“She, also, does not look like she has put on much weight, and as such I insist that you increase her dietary intake. It will be harder for her to heal if she lacks the nutrition required.”

Stalwart nodded, “Of course, doctor, thank you for your help.”

“It was no trouble at all, have a good day.”

With another nod, the door was closed and Stalwart led Ruby out through the hospital to the pharmacy, where a homely-looking mare passed them a box of painkillers for a couple of bits. Finally, walking out the door, Ruby took a calming breath.

“I hate hospitals.” She breathed.

“I’m sorry for having to drag you here, Ruby, but it’s for your own good.”

She sighed, “I know, Stalwart; that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” She replied, “I just want to get home and get back to my woodwork.”

“That’s fine, Ruby, just so long as you wear the mask and take a painkiller when you start to get a headache.” He shifted as he unlocked their front door, hearing the box of pills rustle in his saddlebag. “Just… read the instructions and follow them, alright? I don’t want to have to carry you to the hospital from overdose.”

“By the Weave, Stalwart, I’m not a foal!”

Stalwart shrugged, tossing the medicine onto the kitchen table idly, “Never suggested you were, Ruby. Drugs of any kind can be dangerous if not taken in moderation, and the last thing I need is an inquiry into why I let the mare I have been tasked with protecting has drugged herself half to death.”

“It would get me some peace and quiet for once…” Ruby muttered, earning herself a thwap on the nose with his right wing.

“It would likely kill you, end my career, and set Maple feral. I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen what feral timberwolves can do.” His eyes bore into hers unrelentingly, “Not here, not in the Empire. These ponies have seen enough horror, and I won't let you do that to yourself.”

The staccato of hooves out front their home caught their attention a little less than the sudden furious pounding at the front door. With a sigh, Stalwart wandered to and opened it only to receive a punch to his nose.

“Oh, I’m so sorry honey, I just-”

“Celestia damn it, mom; what was that for?!” Stalwart snapped.

Looking as apologetic as she could –that is to say, not at all- the mare smiled broadly and waved a hoof. “Your father and I found the most adorable little restaurant in the market district, and we wondered,”

“She wondered, I had to nod along like some kind of plastic toy,” Stalwart’s father interjected irritably.

“That’s nice dear; we wondered if you and Ruby would like to go out for lunch, our treat?”

“My treat, as it’s my wallet she’s gotten hold of.”

“Not now, Clocky.”

Stalwart sighed and looked over his shoulder at Ruby, who froze with a glass of water and a pill halfway to her mouth. Her eyes stared back at him like a deer caught in a magic lantern, and she nodded jerkily before continuing with her medical needs.

“Yeah, I suppose we can go with you.” Stalwart said in an exhale. “I need to call for an escort guard. The trip to the hospital was fine, but I’m going to need an extra pair of eyes as I’m likely to be distracted with food.”

“That’s fine, take your time.”

Stalwart let his parents in, closing the door behind them and moving through the house to the kitchen, where his armour stood on a standing ponyquin. He slid the helmet on and tapped the gem on the breastplate of the set.

“Guard central, this is Night One requesting an escort for a protected civilian. This is not an emergency, over.” He sat and waited for the response to come before tapping the gem again. “Appreciated, Guard central, will confirm on arrival of backup, out.” He snapped before sliding his helmet off of his head and back onto the ponyquin.
“And now we wait.”