A Squire's Tail

by BBkat

Chapter Five

Chase groaned as he stretched out on the dorm room floor, several books lay scattered around him, some in a pile and a couple wide open. He’d been reading through them for the last few hours, though it felt like so much longer.

“Ohh, to hell with this studying, it’s so boring!” He held his head in his hooves, ruffling his mane. “If I do this any more my brain’s going to turn to mush and start leaking from my ears. I’d rather be running laps.” With a sigh he stood up, pushing the books into a heap, he needed a break from all this studying.

He looked up at the clock on the wall, it read 2:30 pm. Training didn’t stop until after 5, so he still had a few hours till everyone returned.

“Hmm, I wonder if I could find Wish? Unfortunately I don’t know where her room is.” Chase sighed and bowed his head, “That’s no good is it. And I’ll get in trouble if I go for a walk I’m sure.” He looked back at the pile of books, then towards the door, “But then again, it’s either that or studying. Oh this sucks.” He rubbed his head; the dull throbbing was pounding from the base of his horn again. “Maybe I should take another painkiller, this is getting bad.”

It was a painful feeling, like someone was beating his head from under his horn, and he wished it would stop. It shouldn’t have been getting worse, not like this. Rubbing his forehead he made his way over to his bag, pulling out the bottle of painkillers.

He scowled at the foal-proof lid, why on earth did he even need a foal proof lid? There weren’t any foals around there, unless he counted the foalish behaviour of his roommates. He clenched his teeth in annoyance as he fought to yank open the bottle; all he wanted was something to ease his headache and this would only make it worse. There was a satisfying pop as he got the lid off, dropping it to the floor. He didn’t have anything to drink, so he was just going to have to take it dry. Chase wrinkled his nose at the idea but fished out a pill, setting aside as he recapped the bottle and stuffed it away.

He took the small pill and crawled onto the bed, maybe resting for a bit would help. He looked down at his hooves as he climbed into bed and frowned, he was trembling something awful.

“I’m not that cold,” he thought, tucking his legs close. He didn’t feel cold either; perhaps it was just his nerves or something. Yeah, nerves, that had to be it. He rubbed his forehead, he’d probably just been studying to hard and gotten a headache. He closed his eyes, lying his head on the pillow, letting sleep carrying him away.

The creak of a door drew him from the dream world and back to the waking world. Raising his head he rubbed his eyes, looking towards the door. “Oh, it’s just you,” he said groggily, as the pegasi walked in.

“Yeah, we just got out of class. Oh man, you don’t look so hot.” Thundermane gave him a pointedly worried look.

“Yeah, I’ve been feeling a bit off since I left earlier. I think I might have over worked myself and studied to hard,” said Chase as he sat up. He smacked his lips, his mouth felt dry. “I could use something to drink though.” He climbed off the bed slowly, legs shaking ever so slightly. As he touched the ground he wobbled, momentarily losing his balance. “Oh man, did I ever over work myself,” he said, leaning on the bed for added support.

Thundermane trotted over to him, placing a hoof on his forehead, “You feel a bit warm.”

“Well, then I’ll rest after I get a drink,” said Chase.

Thundermane looked over at his friends, “I’ll take him to go get a drink, I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit,” he said.

“Aww I can handle myself,” said Chase, trying to wave him off.

He shook his head, “Nope, I’m going with you. If you’re sick you shouldn’t be on your own.”

Chase sighed in defeat, he didn’t want to argue anyways, “Fine whatever, come with me if you want, it’s not going to be that interesting though.”

“Don’t care, I’m still going.” He gave Chase a playful swat with his wing, “Now come on, let’s get you something to drink, it might help you feel better.”

“I hope so,” said Chase, rubbing his head as he walked out the door. His head was feeling a bit better, but the chills hadn’t left him and he felt wobbly. “I should not have raced you this morning, that was a mistake.”

“I’ll say, you lost, and badly too,” laughed Thundermane as they walked down the hall.

Chase gave a hollow laugh; Thundermane had finished his laps well before Chase had finished. He rubbed his head again, everything suddenly felt so, strange. Like the world was slipping away from him, like he was sliding or falling, even though all four feet were firmly on the ground. Thundermane’s voice seemed so distance and faint and his vision, well everything seemed to be sliding around. The only thing he could really feel was the pain in his head, it hurt even worse now.

---

Thundermane wasn’t sure what was going on. One moment he was escorting a weary looking Chase to get a drink, talking with the unicorn as they walked. The next moment Chase had stopped talking, growing very quiet before he heard a thumping from behind him. Spinning around to find out what had happened he saw Chase stumbling around, with a far off look in his eyes. The unicorn mis-stepped and collapsed on the ground, his whole body trembling and shaking. His legs were twitching, kicking and flailing around, narrowly missing Thundermane’s face. Tiny red sparks sputtered out from the tip of his horn like a dying sparkler.

“Chase!” He bounded to his side, wings flared in panic. Chase’s face looked so, blank, it was horrifying. Thundermane gulped, this wasn’t part of training. Basic first aid sure, but nothing like this. “Somepony! Anypony! We need a doctor!” He screamed again, staying close to Chase, wings still flared as he waited for someone to come to his aid. What on earth was he supposed to do? He’d never had to deal with this before. It was frightening and he felt so useless. “Come on Chase, it’ll be alright, I hope.”

---

Chase’s vision shifted in and out, his mind in a haze of disorientation and confusion. He strained his ears to try and listen, the voices swimming around him were so faint and sounded far away, so very far away. He groaned, closing his eyes and lifting a hoof to rub his head. What had happened?

“Chase? Can you hear me?” Thundermane’s voice grew louder from his side as everything began to clear up, his head finally pulling out of the haze it seemed to be in.

“Thundermane?” He turned his head to looked at him; he still didn’t have his bearings or even an idea of what had happened. “What-what happened? I remember walking and then things went, strange.”

The grey pegasus’ ears drooped and he fidgeted with his hooves. “You collapsed and had, some sort of fit. You were twitching and shaking all over. It was frightening; I didn’t know what to do. You’re in the infirmary right now, someone heard me shouting and got a doctor.”

“I…collapsed?” Chase frowned, why would he have collapsed like that? He wasn’t that sick, was he?

He nodded, “Yeah, the doctors haven’t said much, I think they were waiting for you to become lucid, I think they said. Your fit didn’t last long but you weren’t very, responsive to anything.”

“I wonder if that’s why my head was hurting,” he mused, looking down at his hooves. “And why does my leg hurt?”

“The doctor gave you a shot of something. He said it was supposed to help keep you from having another, well, seizure. I should probably go tell someone you’re up and talking, they’ll probably want to see you.” He hopped off the chair he was sitting in and trotted towards the door to find a doctor or nurse.

Chase sighed, leaning back against the pillows. A seizure? He’d never had a seizure before, never, and as far as he knew no one in his family ever had.

“Ah Sun Chaser, you’re lucid again, that’s good. You were, in and out for a few minutes. You were stable enough for us to get you here but not enough to answer any questions or even understand what we were saying. You gave your friend out there quite a start.”

Chase looked up, it was the doctor from his previous visit, the rich brown unicorn with a light flaxen mane. Dr. Warmheart. “I don’t really remember what happened, or even it ending,” said Chase, ears flicking back.

“It’s not uncommon for mild memory loss to accompany such an event,” he said with a nod.

“What caused it?” asked Chase with a frown. “I mean that’s never happened before.”

The stallion sighed, rubbing he bridge of his nose. “A complication from your horn injury I’m afraid. Or more accurately, the head injury you sustained. You were doing so well despite it all that I figured it would safe to discharge you from my care. Yours wouldn’t be the first cracked horn I’ve dealt with in my career, which is why I felt safe in sending you on your way when you showed no ill effects. It seems however I should have kept you overnight to monitor you and make sure. While it doesn’t happen all the time, those who have suffered from head trauma, especially involving horns do on occasion suffer from seizures after words. You had what we call a Post-traumatic seizure.”

Chase gave him a confused look, “What’s that? Aren’t seizures like a life long thing?”

Dr. Warmheart shook his head, “Not in this case I shouldn’t think. Post-traumatic seizures happen after head trauma like yours. Yours happening so soon after is what we call an early seizure and no, I do not think you are likely to have more. It’s more common in unicorns because of buildups of unused magical energy in the core and base, which starts to leak out and play havoc with everything. Which I’m afraid it what happened.”

“A buildup of magic? How did that happen?”

“Likely because of your injury and your temporary inability to use magic. Usually magic works its way out through natural everyday activities, but it seems the depth of the crack allowed it to seep out and build up in the core. The buildup became to much for your body and mind to handle which resulted in, this.” He sighed and shook his head apologetically. “I would like to keep you overnight to monitor you condition and make sure there are no more underlying conditions that may surface and deal with the ones that have already cropped up. I hope you can understand.”

Chase nodded, “I suppose that would be a good idea.”

“I am sorry about all this, I should have been more diligent the first time around.” The doctor sighed, “I’ll send your friend back in to keep you company, I think it would be best if you took it easy for now.” He exited the room leaving Chase alone with his thoughts.

What had started out as a cracked horn was getting even more complicated and Chase didn’t like it one bit. He leaned back into the pillow, staring off into space as he let his mind wander. The room was pretty similar to the one he’d been in on his last visit, plain, undecorated with a single window on one wall. This time he wore a plastic medical bracelet on the wrist of his left foreleg with his name and a few other things written on it. He wasn’t even going to be able to spend the night in his own room.

“Hey, how are you doing?” asked Thundermane as he trotted back in.

“Better,” said Chase, looking over at him.

“So what’s happening, the doctor’s won’t tell me anything.”

Chase sighed, “It’s because I hit my head, apparently this sort of thing can happen. The doctor wants to keep me here overnight so he can keep and eye on me. And probably run a few tests.”

“Ah, that’s to bad, guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow then, or whenever they let you out.”

He nodded, “Yeah, I was hoping to go back to. I’ve never been in a hospital before, let alone overnight like this. I mean, aside from when I was born but that doesn’t really count huh?”

They shared a laugh, Thundermane keeping the seat beside Chase warm until he was kicked out by the infirmary staff.

---

Chase’s earlier guess about the doctor wanting to run more tests was correct, after Thundermane left he was escorted by a couple nurses to another room where the doctor gave him a physical as well as scanned him. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, just that he was told to remain as still as possible. He supposed if the doctor found anything he would tell him and took the silence to mean he didn’t find anything.

“You may feel a little tired after all this,” said Dr. Warmheart.

“What are you doing?” asked Chase as another warm wave of magic washed over him.

“Siphoning off your excess magic,” he explained. “It may help prevent this sort of thing from happening again.”

After the doctor finished scanning him, and siphoning his magic, he made his way back to his room where a small tray of food was waiting for him.

It was typical hospital fare, mashed potatoes, spinach leaves and corn. The desert was a jello cup, bright green in colour and a glass of water with a few pills. He grimaced, it didn’t look very appetizing; the potatoes looked almost soupy, the spinach was cooked into near mush and the corn smelled weird. At least the jello looked tasty enough.

“I guess I should take these,” he thought, looking at the pills. He wasn’t sure what they were for; he’d have to ask the doctor later. If he had to guess probably pain killers and something to help him sleep. He scooped them up, chugging them down with a mouthful of water and a shudder.

He ate a bit from each section; a mouthful of potato and spinach was all he could stomach. The corn, while it smelled weird at least tasted alright, enough that he was able to eat it all. He grasped the jello cup between his hooves, tilting it back as he slurped up the lime-flavoured treat inside. Having eaten his fill he pushed aside the tray, setting it onto the chair beside him before he burrowed into the covers of the bed.

It was going to be hard, sleeping in a bed that was unfamiliar to him, and being alone in the room. He was used to hearing the snoring of his roommates or the shifting of covers as one rolled over or adjusted their position for comfort. This time it was just silent, all he could make out was the distant humming of machines in other rooms or the faint clattering of hooves on the floor from the night staff. It wasn’t the same and he didn’t like it.

Not only that but he couldn’t stop thinking about how things just kept getting worse and worse for him. “Maybe I’m really not cut out for this,” he thought, shifting his position to lie on his side. “Everyone probably thinks I’m just a big joke at this rate.” His ears drooped sadly as he buried his face into the pillow. “I might even get kicked out with an injury like this.”

Sleep eventually found him but it took a while, and he still wasn’t comfortable with the silence or his intrusive thoughts.

---

He was jostled awake the next morning by a hoof on his shoulder and the doctor’s voice sounding in his ear.

“How are you feeling Sun Chaser?”

“Like someone just woke me up,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

The doctor chuckled warmly, “How’s your head feel? If you’re up to it I’d like to run a few cognitive tests to make sure you’re up to snuff.”

“My head? Better than yesterday, it actually doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“That’s good to hear, drawing out the excess magic helped. It removed the pressure that was causing your headache. I’ll have breakfast brought in to you, then follow me.”

Breakfast was a bit more appetizing as dinner, a bowl of cereal and milk and what he assumed was applesauce. He downed it fairly quickly and set the tray aside. The doctor was waiting outside and gestured for Chase to follow.

The tests were simple enough; testing his eyesight, his reflexes and running some of the scans he had the night before. After what the doctor had told him he assumed he was scanning to make sure there was no more energy building up. As the tests wrapped up he placed the magic limiter on Chase’s horn again, but not as tight this time.

“So, does this mean I’m allowed to leave?” asked Chase, tapping the limiter lightly.

“Actually, I‘d prefer you stay here a little longer, just so I can monitor you. You can use the yard to practice if you like. I’m afraid there’s not much else to do around here, unless you wish to find reading material in the waiting room.” He laughed a little bit at the last part. “Depending on how things go I should be able to discharge you as early as this afternoon. For now though just take it easy.”

---

Staying cooped up all day was not Chase’s cup of tea, so he found himself in the grassy yard stretching and working on the drills they’d been practicing. The wind blew through his mane, whipping it about his face and neck wildly. Thin wispy clouds glided by, carried through the sky on the strong breeze. With a stretch he flopped onto his side in the grass, letting the blades tickle his nose. It felt so relaxing to just lay around like that and he might have lain there longer had a shadow not fallen over his face.

“Hmm?” He lifted his head up and looked around, soon noticing someone in the sky above him. “Who’s there?” he asked, shielding his eyes with one leg.

“Having a nice nap?” asked Thundermane, dropping into the grass beside Chase as the unicorn sat up.

“I wasn’t napping, I was resting,” he said with a curt nod. “I’ve been going over drills on my own most of the morning since I got up. It’s boring in there.”

“I take it that means you’re feeling better?” The second voice came from behind him and Chase turned around to find Cloud Runner and Sky Fire standing behind him. “Yeah, Thundermane told us what happened and why you didn’t come back last night.”

“I’m feeling better, but Dr. Warmheart won’t let me leave yet.” He lifted up his front leg, showing the medical bracelet, “He wants to make sure it’s safe for me to go. He’s probably watching me from a window. But what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at practice?”

Thundermane gave him a playful swat with his wing, “It’s lunch time you dope, so we thought we’d go pay you a visit. It’s real quiet in the dorm when you’re not there snoring away all night.”

Chase felt his ears begin to burn, “I-I don’t snore,” he sputtered, the heat rising up through his face.

“Oh you do, like a bear,” grinned Sky Fire. “I sleep in the bunk above you, trust me, you snore.”

Chase pawed at the ground awkwardly, face rapidly turning red, something that stood out against his white coat. This only served to make them laugh more.

“Well, at least I stay still, you guys flop around like fish when you sleep,” he shot back. “Now, I’m going to get something to eat, and hope it’s actually edible, hospital food is disgusting.” He turned tail, quickly trotting back towards the infirmary. He couldn’t believe it he snored while sleeping? And no one had told him? How utterly embarrassing.

The other three trotted after him, giving him a bit of space till he cooled off. Chase wasn’t mad at them, but he was embarrassed at the fact that up until now no one had told him he snored. Had he even snored during summer camp? He shuddered at the thought and shook his head. Celestia above he hoped not. He wondered if he could get anything to help with that. He’d have to ask the doctor later.

Lunch was simple, a daisy sandwich and a glass of orange juice and a cup of red jello.

“Well, at least it looks like food and not mush,” he said as he swallowed a bite from his sandwich. “I’ll give it that much.”

“Hey, you gonna eat this or can I have it?’ asked Thundermane, tapping the jello cup.

Chase stuck his tongue out, pulling it closer, “Get your own, this is the best part, I ain’t letting you eat this. So hooves off.”

There was a light tapping on the door and Chase looked up to see the doctor standing there. “Ah, I see you have some guests over, how nice. How are you doing?”

Chase smiled, “Better, my head isn’t hurting anymore and I don’t feel tired. I’m still bored as heck though, there’s really not much to do here is there?”

“I’m afraid not,” said Dr. Warm Heart. “And you seem much more alert as well, that is definitely a good sign. I’m glad to see you doing better so quickly.”

“Does this mean I’ll be able to leave soon?” asked Chase, perking up at the very idea.

“Yes I believe so.”

Author's Note:

So remember that one update where I mentioned that I ended up doing a surprising amount of research for my fic? This would be the chapter. I originally was looking up what other side effects head trauma can have, other than concussions. Which drifted into seizures-both the kinds, causes and what it's like having one(that was actually the harder one because there are different kinds). So I learned more than I care to know about them.
Of course I did have to fudge some details because magic is also a factor here.
But the main bit is true enough, after severe enough head trauma one can experience a seizure, even if they've never had one before. And they may never even have one again-this is all dependant on when after the trauma the seizure occurs. From what I could glean the sooner it happens(hours to a day) the less likely it'll happen again, while the longer till one happens, weeks to months, the higher the chance of them happening again.
Why all the research? I didn't want to write about them and make myself look uneducated or be unintentionally offensive. I didn't just want to go 'because magic', it would feel kinda cheap. So it's part magic, part science. I hope it worked.

And like usual, feedback is appreciated.