39. Patients
I was, in fact, not fine. I was not fine at all.
Only two days later, my head felt huge, my nose was running, and my stomach had taken to committing all kinds of atrocities. Things better unspoken.
“I’m going to kill her,” I muttered from the couch.
Iridescence was currently entombed in several blankets while sitting on the easy chair. “Not if I kill her first.”
“She sneezed in my face!”
“I let her drink from my canteen. She poisoned me!” Iridescence retorted.
Winterspear sat in the kitchen, looking ragged. To be fair, taking care of two sick royal guards was a miserable experience for her, too. “Could you two maybe go back to sleep? That would be lovely.”
“Would this be a bad time to request some cold water?” I asked.
“No…” Winterspear sighed before getting up for the thirtieth time or so. She brought me a fresh glass of water and pulled the cold cloth off my head. “When you two infect me, I want you to remember this and treat me well.”
Iridescence’s eyes drifted closed and she whined, “We’ll be dead… but my spirit shall lavish you with blessings before moving on to torment that little plague-ridden mare.”
I chuckled, but it came out more like a wheeze. Then I started coughing. That hurt. A lot. Winterspear went about her rounds of cleaning up tissues, swapping water, removing sweaty blankets, and other such caretaking things.
“Maybe you should get some rest,” Iridescence said. “If you keep this up, you’ll most certainly get sick.”
“I will once you two fall asleep,” my sister replied. “Rest, that is.”
She was putting up a good front, but I could see we were wearing Winterspear out. Then an idea hit me and I mused aloud, “Well, it would be easier if you only had to look after one of us.”
Iridescence shot me a look of betrayal.
My sister snorted. “As much as we might temporarily all feel better if I suffocated you with a pillow, that doesn’t seem like a good solution.”
“Thanks… glad to know where I stand in the family hierarchy.” I rolled my bleary eyes. “I more meant with some creative talking, you could pawn me off on another pony? Say, one that is planning to keep me in sickness and in health?”
Winterspear’s ears stood up before she tapped her forehooves together, grinning. “Oh… You’re a devious pony.”
“I’m really good at resource management,” I wheezed.
“I’m not going to say I’m eager to do that, but it would make life easier. Do you think you can get over there?”
With a groan, I rolled off the couch. Every bit of my body said nope! My stomach threatened to quit on me, but I pushed on. “Maybe get a taxi.”
“Okay,” Winterspear said before gathering up a few things for me and heading out the door.
I looked to Iridescence. “You owe me one.”
She was asleep but I took the bob of her head as agreement.
With a renewed vigor brought about by the excitement of getting rid of me, my dear, sweet sister found a taxi, loaded me into the cart, took me across town, dragged me up to Crystal’s condo. She knocked several quick times, like it was an emergency. It kind of was. Sort of.
Crystal opened it, looked at me in shock and horror, and asked, “What happened?!”
Winterspear forced our way inside, laid out the whole situation in detail while pouring it on really thick. This was a Royal Guard tragedy! It was a resource management problem! It was the duty of all ponies to come to our aid.
“So half the unit is sick,” Winterspear said in closing. “I am wearing out trying to watch them both. You’re going to be his wife, so I thought, you know, you could help out?”
I was already inside laying on two of the really fancy sitting pillows. Laying and sweating on them. I’m pretty sure that, after my stay, they’d have to be burned.
Crystal nodded and replied, “You’re right, I am going to be his wife. Leave him to me! I’ll get him well and back on duty in a couple of days.”
“I hope so. Wear a mask, don’t let him sneeze on you, wash your hooves… or just do that magic disinfectant thing. The doctors said probably a week at the worst and they’re already into day three. If it goes longer than that we’ll have to take him back to the medical center. Thank you, Crystal.”
My wife-to-be nodded. “It isn’t a problem. Honestly, you should have dropped him off sooner! You’re looking pretty beat.”
Winterspear stepped back out into the hall and gave a quick, lazy salute. “Just waiting for my turn. Take care.”
“You, too.” Crystal came over to look down at me once my sister was gone. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing a lot of you for a few days.”
I wheezed, “After this, all of the mystery is going to be gone.”
She laughed and smiled. “You forget I sat by your hospital bed an awful long time. There wasn’t a lot of mystery once that happened.”
That was a frightening thought. What had she seen? “Well… sorry you have to nurse me again.”
“It’s fine, honey. Are you going to be alright if I leave you for a bit to go to the drug store? I’ll need some things to take care of you.”
I waved a hoof. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine.”
“Try to get some rest. I’ll be back in a bit.” She smiled down at me before hurrying out the door with her bit purse floating behind her.
When you’re sick, you find out very quickly which ponies care about you the most. I learned immediately that Crystal truly loved me. Nopony would put up with a flu-ridden stallion if they didn’t have to, but Crystal had done so without thought. She’d made every effort to make me comfortable.
Things got kind of hazy as I slipped in and out of feverish dreams. At some point, Runic showed up with several of his home remedies as an apology for Miley’s crime. None of them worked on the flu but one of them did help me sleep. Unfortunately, when I woke up, I had a mustache but that was easy to fix.
Sometimes I wasn’t sure if I was awake or asleep when things would happen. I think I caught Velvet dressed as a clown, riding a unicycle around the living room… but maybe that was just a nightmare.
Then I looked down at my hooves and saw one of the newest Airship Armada miniatures on the market. I was certain it was a dream. Sitting across from me was Azurite, and though she was talking, I couldn’t quite make out the words. Something about fish and feeling frowny.
Where had she gotten this figure? How could the real Azurite have found it? I was certain not even Runic had been able to get his hooves on one. He’d have told me if he had. Bragged, really.
Wait. I looked up at Azurite, and she seemed real, and also sad. “Why do you feel frowny?”
Azurite’s ears shot up. “Me? Well, it seems stupid compared to you being sick.”
“Try me?”
The little blue unicorn looked like she was going to bolt. “Sunny won’t talk to me,” she practically whispered.
“Oh.” I coughed and struggled to say in a voice that wasn’t a tired rasp, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
In truth, I really was. Sunny had been off. Now Azurite was off. Seeing them both sad was actually painful. And without Azurite, Sunny had been slipping professionally. It just seemed like they were better together.
Dream or not, I had to fix this. I had to do something.
“Yeah… that is how things go, I guess,” Azurite said, then glanced at the door. “Maybe I should get going.”
“You don’t have to,” I replied hurriedly as I tried to think of what I could do. In the moment, the best tactic would be to stall.
Azurite and Sunny. Sunny and Azurite. Azurite liked Sunny, and Sunny liked Azurite, but she didn’t like candy. Or something like that. It was hard to think, but I knew there was something important that I was missing.
Then, I blew my nose, and that seemed to free up space to think. To remember, actually. “Are you still with your friend, Soarin?”
“What? Oh, uh, yes,” she squeaked, her face turning red. “So, I should go. I think I should definitely go.”
Even sick, I could spot that I’d hit on something. Maybe when I’d bumped into them at the faire, it hadn’t just been as friends. Had Sunny started to act weird around that time? I tried to make a mental note to think about this when I could think again.
I nodded. “Alright, drop in my office sometime. I’ll show you the airship when it’s done.”
“Okay. I’ll do that. See you later, sir! Bye, Velvet, see you tomorrow!” Azurite called as she hurried out the door.
Crystal and Velvet slowly came in from the kitchen. There was trepidation on their faces.
I glanced between them. “Wait. How do you know Azurite, Velvet?”
“Well that’s complicated,” Velvet started, wringing her hooves.
“Very,” Crystal put in.
Velvet nodded. “She comes into the bakery a lot with her friend.”
My head tilted. “That isn’t complicated at all. Almost everypony comes into your bakery.”
Crystal looked at Velvet who looked back.
“I guess it isn’t complicated,” Velvet said before heading towards her room. “I’ve got to go stretch since you’re sprawled across our living room.”
I grumbled, “A few more days, then I’m out of your mane.”
Crystal came over and settled across from me. “Don’t push it. Get some more rest, then we’ll get you back in your armor. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed having you here.”
“No offense intended, but I’ve not enjoyed being here under these conditions. I much prefer being healthy. We do more entertaining things when I’m healthy.”
The mare softly laughed and winked at me. “Well, then, that should motivate you to rest more. You can use that pent-up energy later.”
Velvet stuck her head out of her bedroom. “You two know I’m, like, right here. I can hear everything.”
I felt hot. I think it was a blush and not a fever. I’m going to say it was the fever, though, and not the sheer embarrassment.
Crystal just shook her head and giggled. It was my favorite mare sound.
☾
The sound of stomping mare hooves would have been cute… if I weren’t annoyed at having to say for the tenth time, “Crystal… please.”
“Look at me, I’m a big bad house guard! I’m still not completely well but I’m going back to work because that is what I do,” she said in a tone I guess she thought I sounded like. She was trying to sell the image, because she was also wearing my armor.
Granted, the armor was too large for her. The hoofguards didn’t fit, the breastplate was loose, and the helmet was perched against her horn. To be fair, I was impressed she even got it on and was standing up. She stomped around the living room a few more times.
“Please take my armor off,” I said, moving into her path.
The delicate mare shifted, did an about face, and stomped away. “I’m just going to put on my armor and go right back to work! Mr. House Guard Commander Stallion,” she continued in her Silent Knight voice.
I was amused but also somewhat annoyed. I needed my armor; it was time to get back to work. Carefully, I moved around the couch to block her path. “Impersonating a royal guard is a crime, you know.”
Crystal froze and then hurriedly backed up. “You’re not well yet. You need a couple more days rest.” This time she’d used her own voice.
“I’m well enough. Half the unit is out. I need to get back and relieve Sunny. She’s having a rough time and Iridescence is still sick worse than me.”
Stomp, stomp, stomp went the unicorn mare. There would have been a fourth stomp, but that hoofguard had fallen off and rolled under the couch. She was not giving up.
“Alright. We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way.” I said as I flapped my wings and lifted myself up onto the couch. Always capture the high ground. The tactical value was there immediately.
“Or you can just rest another day or so,” she replied before sticking her tongue out and trotting behind the dining table.
“I’ll go easy at work.”
She huffed. “You never go easy at work. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I will, for you. Today.”
Crystal stuck her nose in the air. “Nope!”
“I was kind of hoping you’d say that,” I said with a grin. In a show of pegasi prowess, I stretched both wings out and flexed everything. “The hard way it is!” Then I dove at her.
Crystal squealed in surprise and took off running. Maybe I wasn’t well yet or maybe she was just really fast! Either way, I missed the first time and had to pull up short to avoid crashing into the wall.
She giggled as she rushed across the condo. “Too slow!”
“I need my armor! I’ve got to go on duty,” I called back before giving chase. She wasn’t going to get away twice!
After retrieving my armor with most of my dignity still intact, I made my way toward the castle, but I had one quick stop to make first. I had to check up and make sure somepony very important and her newborn foal hadn’t caught the Miley pox.
“Excuse me,” I said to the nurse at the reception desk. “I’m looking for Warrant Officer Orchid.”
She smiled at me. “Okay! Are you her next appointment?”
I shook my head. “No, she told me to drop in and see her sometime. It’s a social call.”
“Oh, okay. Well you picked a good day. She’s still on light duty and doesn’t have a lot of appointments. You can go on back through the door to my right. She’s in office three. Please don’t wander, Lieutenant.”
Wander? Who would wander a Royal Guard medical facility?
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied before heading the way she’d indicated. I found myself in a sterile white hall. There were office doors along the right side and each had a sign with a number over it. I trotted down to number three and knocked.
“Come in,” she called in a voice that mercifully didn’t sound raspy or wheezy at all.
I opened the door and poked my head in. “Hello there.”
Orchid lit up with a smile. “Silent Knight! Well, hello!”
The room on the inside was split in half by a large counter. It was like a desk, but it went from wall to wall and created a clear divide in the space. A single chair sat in front of it. On the whole, it was pretty intimidating as far as rooms went.
She waved a hoof eagerly. “Come in!”
I did so and came over to awkwardly hug Orchid. Most hugs in armor were awkward, and the desk didn’t make it any easier. “The nurse said you had a light day.”
“Yup! Just the critical cases I didn’t want to give up.” She sat down and I followed suit. “How’re you?”
“I’m doing well. Miley got me sick, but I’m feeling better now. How are you? How is Star?”
Orchid chuckled. “I heard. Thankfully, somepony told her to wear a mask when coming to visit us. We’re both doing very well. I haven’t been a new mom in a long time. He’s making me feel young again.”
“Well, I’ll consider that a good thing.” I looked around a bit and then added, “I see why you get lonely. This office is depressing. I actually feel depressed having come in here.”
She sighed and nodded. “I know. We’re trying to work on that. We want ponies to feel like they can come here and get help, but…” She gestured at the bland surroundings. “I want to paint it bright orange and find a way to get a window. We don’t have windows because this all has to be confidential, but it feels almost like an interrogation room the way it is now.”
“Yes, yes it does. It makes me uncomfortable.” I shifted in my seat and looked back at her. “So what do you do exactly?”
“Oh! Well, I’m a caseworker. So, let’s say you have a problem. Say you were injured really bad on the job and were struggling with that. You’d come here for help. Not just medical, but mental and physical, whatever you need. I arrange it all.”
“Okay… but what do you do?”
She wagged a hoof at me. “I’m getting to that! This is all new so I don’t have the right words yet, okay? We’ve had two attacks on Canterlot in as many years! We had a princess almost abducted. Giant cockatrices knocked down nearly half the city.
“Some ponies need more than just bandages. The goal is one point of contact for a holistic approach. You come to me and I coordinate your physician, your therapist, and anything else. I’m like your coach.”
That brought a grin to my face. “Now that, I get. Yeah. This is perfect for you.”
“It is! Plus, I learned all kinds of specialized skills. They help me recognize ponies in need. And, to be honest, I started seeing a lot of it in me, so I’ve got my own caseworker. She’s over in office five.”
She was seeing somepony? I blinked and tried to find the right words. “Well… you’ve been through a lot.”
Orchid nodded. “Yeah. We have.”
My hackles started to raise.
“So, Silent Knight,” she continued in a tone of voice I really didn’t like. “I want you to know that anything and everything you say to me is confidential. Nothing you say, including admissions of crimes or wrongdoing, will be logged or repeated. However, if I feel you intend to do harm to yourself or to other ponies, I am legally obligated to warn the authorities. Do you understand?”
What was this? I wanted to stand up, but something like panic was holding me in place. My muscles were locked up and rigid. “What?”
“I’m sorry. I have to say that, and I need you to respond. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, I understand the words, but this isn’t funny.” My jaw hurt from being clenched so tight. “This isn’t funny at all.”
The mare nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. Princess Luna set up an appointment, and I thought it would be easier if it was me. I’m legitimately sorry for the false pretenses of asking you here, but we’re going to do this now and get it over with.”
Anger surged in place of panic and I finally found the strength to stand. I fixed Orchid with a withering glare. Coming here had been a mistake.
Her ears drooped. “Please sit down. You have a job to do. I have a job to do. If the Princess tells me to do something, I do it, especially when it is for a friend. Just… Just trust me, okay?”
“I don’t like being ambushed,” I growled.
“Yeah… me either… but we both were, and you can’t hear the word Lavender without wincing.”
I winced and she jabbed a hoof at me, exclaiming, “See! You don’t need specialized training to notice that… and you yelled at the princess. So please, just sit down.”
Although I turned towards the door, something kept me from taking the first step. Maybe it was the earnest pleading tone. Maybe it was something else.
“It isn’t going to stop, Silent Knight. It doesn’t just go away. You’re getting worse, not better. If you walk out that door, sooner or later you’re going to slip up. Then you’ll just end up here anyway… or worse.”
Deep breaths. I took two slow, deep breaths. Holding them hurt my lungs and releasing them felt like my chest was going to cave in.
Lashing out at Orchid for doing her job wouldn’t make me feel better, even if she had tricked me. It was wrong for her to have tricked me. Wrong of the princess, too.
Princess Luna wasn’t going to let it go, was she? She was just going to keep meddling. How could I possibly win against her? I could leave. Leaving would be an option.
But it might be better to try this, like my mom had said. Like Winterspear had said. Stratus Knight would say it was weak to ask for help, but I didn’t want to be him. I didn’t. That meant doing the opposite.
One more deep breath. “I understand, but is it actually true? That everything is confidential?”
Orchid nodded. “Of course. I don’t take specific notes. The only thing that goes into your file is that you completed a program. That’s it. An officer that was ambushed, going through a survivor’s guilt program? Wouldn’t even get a second glance.”
“If it was anypony else, I’d put this chair through the door,” I said before slowly sitting down.
“Yeah, and that doesn’t bother you? That is extreme, isn’t it? I mean, since when do you throw things? Since when is Silent Knight violent?”
That question hit me hard. I didn’t remember getting this angry before.
“Fine. What do I do?” I said, trying not to be as short as I felt.
“Well, I have to ask… do you plan to do any harm to yourself or to other ponies?”
My wings twitched. “Orchid!”
She quickly raised her hooves. “I have to ask! This is my job. I can’t do it halfway just because it’s you. I can’t make assumptions! You just said you’d put a chair through a door. We can’t sit here and pretend I know you like I used to. Silent Knight, you have to say yes or no.”
“No. I don’t plan to do any harm to myself or any ponies… with a possible exception of Miley, but we both know that will be justified.”
Orchid snorted and replied, “I’ll take humor. And I’m going to leave that last part off because I know you’re not serious. I’m just going to put you on the same plan I’m on. You see a therapist, you talk, and they give you suggestions on how to let things go. It isn’t bad. Is there anything else I need to know, other than anger? Drinking? Depression?”
“No, no drinking like you’re suggesting. No depression.” There was that one thing… That one very, very big thing. “So, when you say confidential?”
“Confidential! Completely.”
Confidential could work. It might even turn her off to this therapy idea. That could definitely work in my favor. “Remember what I told you when you asked too many questions a while back?”
Her head tilted. “About Alastair? Yes. You were showing macho bravado.”
“Yeah, I was hurt and upset. You’re way off on the bravado, though.”
“What does that mean?” she asked in a guarded tone.
The operation hadn’t made me feel any better. Killing Alastair had only left this black mark on my soul. After all, Winterspear had understood. She’d even supported me on some level. She was a guard. Orchid was a guard. A guard would understand.
“Silent Knight?” she asked, her voice soft now. “What do you mean?”
I took a breath and then looked her in the eyes. The words tumbled out one after the other without much thought behind them. Shove the feelings down, focus on the task at hoof. “I killed Alastair and all of his soldiers. And I mean almost literally; I personally killed him when it didn’t seem like he’d surrender. I put my sword right through him.
“We weren’t giving any quarter because there’d have been nothing to do with them. I killed several of his gryphons, too, and got a bunch of other ponies involved. Some of them got hurt. Mercifully, none were killed, but this was supposed to help me get over it all, and instead I feel worse than I did before.”
Orchid’s eyes were wide as she just stared at me. It was a mixture of disbelief, shock, and disappointment. Maybe she wouldn’t understand as well as Winterspear had. Or at all.
Her voice came out as a high-pitched squeak. “How—No! I don’t want to know how. Are you serious?”
“Very. That’s when things started to get worse. Having those ponies injured reminded me a lot about the ponies I’d lost in the ambush.”
I felt sick. The look on her face was twisting my gut into knots, and pouring everything into words felt a little like my soul was vomiting emotions. My throat was tight and raw. My tongue felt swollen in my mouth.
I didn’t want to talk about this anymore. I averted my eyes and said, “Princess Luna told me she was trying to keep me out of harm’s way by giving me my current position. Did she mention that? Did you know about it, too?”
Orchid held up a hoof. “Yes. Forget that. Can we please go back to the part where you flippantly explain that you killed a bunch of gryphon soldiers?”
It wasn’t flippant. Maybe it sounded that way to her, but keeping the emotions I felt out of my voice was the only way to keep from getting sick. Or angry, especially now that I knew yet another pony was aware of how weak I was. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything! Nothing! How? No… gah. Just… how? Without details.”
I breathed in through my nose. “An EIS pony found me and encouraged me to keep digging. That pony is placed high enough in the chain of command and takes a personal interest in the gryphons. I also ran across another pony with exceptional combat prowess that had a bone to pick with them, too.
“He kept pushing me to stay with the mission, and I let him. Part of me wanted him to keep pushing. Between the two of them, we had the skills, contacts, and… I guess issues necessary to pull it off.”
I waved a hoof about. “She worked on Alastair over in Nordanver while the other pony and I organized and trained a team here. My plan was tight. So, through some back-channel efforts and deceit, we managed to trick the gryphons into thinking they could hide in Equestria.”
“And?” Orchid asked, her voice tense.
“I stretched my oath to the breaking point, led my team into battle, and made sure those gryphons were not going to be killing any more royal guards ever again.”
Orchid’s hooves reached for and fumbled a book that had been sitting on her desk. When she finally got it, she started flipping through it. “I don’t think we have a course for this.”
I almost laughed. “No? Nothing for clandestine black operations to kill enemies of the kingdom?”
“What? No! For finding out your friend is capable of tricking a bunch of soldiers into thinking they’re safe here and then slaughtering them. For me!”
I didn’t laugh at that. “Oh. Yeah, probably not. Sorry, Orchid. Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not. Not at all… but I’m a professional. Look, I’m not saying you did wrong. I’m just… Silent Knight, you’re like one of my kids. Kind of. I just… this is so cold and ruthless. I didn’t know you—” She set the book down and her head drooped.
“Orchid?” I leaned towards her. I started to reach out a hoof, but then paused halfway. She probably wouldn’t want a pony like me to touch her.
The mare’s own hoof reached out and grabbed mine. “I should have said something. I should have told somepony. I should have gotten you help… but I didn’t. I sat there and then I resigned and now you’ve done this.”
I held her hoof tightly and asked in surprise, “You’re blaming yourself?”
“You’re too nice of a stallion for this. You were just doing your job. You might lose your career for this if the secret gets out, and you’re not a liar.” She choked on a sound that was dangerously like a sob. “I should have stopped it.”
I wasn’t prepared for this. Was that how she felt when I was talking? Lost? “Orchid… come on. This isn’t your fault.”
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “You sat in your office and told me, Silent Knight! What did you say? ‘Come on, Orchid, I can’t get past this while he is still out there?’ And what did I say? ‘Keep me out of it!’ Keep me out of it?” Her chest heaved, and she sniffled.
“Orchid, no, it’s not like that. You couldn’t have known.”
She wiped her eyes with her other hoof. “I should have. I was your section sergeant. Well… I’m paying attention now. We’re going to start with grief counseling and survivor’s guilt. Unfortunately, if I put you in for the course for when a guard has to kill… well, that might be obvious. I don’t want you to lose your career because you went vigilante.”
My brow furrowed. “You could lose your career if you cover for me.”
“No! No, I can’t. Everything you say to me is confidential. Nothing you say, including admissions of crimes or wrongdoing, will be logged or repeated. Do you feel bad about killing the gryphons?”
I paused to give the question serious thought before shaking my head. “Honestly? I have misgivings about the method but not the outcome. I still believe it’s what I had to do. They could have killed more ponies. They could have tried again. They got their due.”
Orchid winced and just nodded. “Then I don’t think you need a course on how to deal with that guilt. Good Celestia… please tell me you’re done?”
“Well… we captured papers and such. If he had orders…”
“You can’t go around killing everything that might hurt the princess!” Orchid practically shouted at me.
My ears stood. “That’s kind of my job! Remove the threats…” I sighed and relented with a nod. “No, don’t worry, I’m not going to go try and kill everyone. I’ll let the normal process go. Justice was served. It just… It just didn’t matter.”
She tilted her head. “What does that mean?”
I shook my head and shrugged. “My ponies are still dead and I still feel awful about it.”
“Oh… well…” She gave me a weak smile. “There is the Silent Knight I was looking for. Look, here is a list of therapists. Pick one. I’ll make you some appointments. Who do you want to see?” She held the list out to me.
“They’re all the same…” I mumbled, looking at it. Then one name jumped out at me; I recognized it. “Mindful Soul. I’ll see her.”
Orchid gave me a hopeful look. “Yeah? You know her?”
“She helped a pony I know. I want to see her.” If she could help Azurite maybe she could help me.
She nodded and picked up a tissue, wiped her eyes, and then blew her nose. “Alright. She’ll keep me in the loop. I want you to come back and see me, though.”
“For?”
Her eyes rolled. “To keep me company! This office is depressing and next time, I don’t plan to have orders from a princess to surprise you. I legitimately do get lonely down here and you need a place to feel safe. So maybe help a mare out and next time bring a cake or something.”
I glared at her. “You ambush me and expect me to bring a cake?”
The glare had no power over her. “Yes.”
“Oh… well, alright, then. I’m still mad at you, though.”
She nodded. “I know. Sorry. I’m mad at me, too.”
“Yeah… well… you’re just doing your job.” I got up and leaned across the desk to kiss her cheek. “I’m going to go. I’ve got work to do.”
“Okay. Don’t miss your appointments! That’s an order.”
I chuckled and just nodded as I headed out. Confidential could work… or I could be stubborn enough to get them to leave me alone. I’d have to at least do enough to get the princess to stop meddling.
Was therapy supposed to be so draining, though? I felt like I’d worked a whole day’s shift already and I hadn’t even gotten to the palace. My hooves twitched with an eagerness to just go back to the loving embrace of my wife-to-be’s couch again.
I kept them marching in the right direction: straight to a Guard doctor for a quick check-up. Not just for me, but so I could check up on her, too. Telling Orchid about the operation and how it made me feel reminded me that I wasn’t the only pony who might be struggling.
Nova peered into my eyes with her flashlight and then stuck a tongue depressor into my mouth. “You realize I’m not actually a doctor, right?”
Why do doctors ask questions when they have things in your mouth? “‘ose ‘nough,” I said as best I could.
She snorted and pulled the depressor out. “No, I’m not… but this is just a case of Miley Pox. You’re clearly over it. I recommend extra rest, extra fluids, and no contact with Miley.”
I glared. “I put her on house arrest. She won’t be infecting any other innocent ponies for a while.”
Her brow arched. “You realize she recovered before you, right, sir?”
“It’s the point of the matter! She sneezed in my face. Twice! Who does that? When she is completely well, she can come back. Although I might see about keeping her in a mask from now on.”
“Extreme, but I’m not going to say I blame you,” Nova replied before putting her gear away. “How’re you otherwise?”
“Worried about Tranquil and Crimson, but managing. How’re you?”
Nova looked over at me. “Me? I’m fine. I always wondered if I could do it. You know, medicine when it really mattered. Ponies got hurt. I pulled them out, patched them up, and kept them together. Being a doctor after that will be easy.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. We’re royal guards. Ponies will get hurt. As long as I can do the job, I’ll see about making sure nopony dies. None of our ponies died that night, so I consider that a pretty positive thing.”
I nodded at her. “Me, too. You’re not having any other issues with it?”
Nova shrugged. “Just what one would expect from being in combat, but nothing overly traumatic. Remember, sir, most of my training revolves around seeing horrible things and fixing it.”
“Valid point. Thank you for checking me out. Keep an eye on the others. If somepony looks sick, slap a mask on them and send them home.”
“You’ve got it, sir! Have a good afternoon.”
Art by Andy Price
I've been eager to share this for a while. When we see Crystal's side of this we'll see Painted Wave's version as well! One of our favorite scenes ever!
If you are enjoying this story, please consider taking a look at Crystal and my's website QuillnBlade.com for extra content such as mini stories, Q&B AU wiki, and special rewards for the awesome folks who support our Patreon. We have monthly art give aways, a Q&B Discord RPG, a several other fun gifts for patrons.
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Why can't you like / favorite a story repeatedly?
I always love Price's art!
Interesting to see the reactions of Silent's friends as he reveals his big deception.
I love how he told Orchid he killed Alistair. Straight into it and he moved off. Also Crystal you troll.
6518986
I feel for ya buddy. But you can make a bunch of favorite lists maybe and stick them on it.
A missed opportunity by Silent Knight, this was the perfect time to kick start a bio warfare program. Unless the other side struck first and this is the result...
Huh. Crystal impersonates a Rotal Guard, in front of a Royal Guard, and gets away with it?
Mares do run the world. Better make a note of this bizarre pony trait.
For myself! It would be good to remember, as I am also totally a pony and would need to know this, because I am a pony.
SK is telling too many ponies what he did! Take the secret, bury it deep inside and never ever tell a soul. See your therapist and try to get better. I just hope he doesn't get caught...
After the past few days' family reunion, I'm really hoping, for Crystal's sake, that Silent continues to be able to let work go and just 'come home' frequently. And for Silent's sake, I hope Crystal's capable in her alone time and doesn't just saddle him with to-do lists when he's present. But it doesn't seem like that will be the case. Luna wouldn't allow it!
Also, I hope Crystal remembered to get a picture of her in the guard armor. That'll make a helluva' memory to have later. (Or Velvet snuck one in for later blackmail...
)
sums up my day atm.
Its always fun to see crystal messing with silent, and the artwork at the end of the story is priceless. Im surprised, even though I shouldn't be at orchids responce to what he said, but the fact he was willing to tell her after she made him see he needed help is a good sign. I suppose it shouldn't be surprised that orchid sees him as one of her foals basicly, or that she would freak out over it, but how could she have known? Then again he was pretty stright foward about it and she wasnt expecting it.
Azu is a sweetheart. all i gotta say bout her. and Miley the plague bearer is amusing to me. All in all this was a good chapter i enjoyed reading.
Ahh Silent continues the psychological battle... and holy shit, that art is cute. :P
Miley the plague carrier, and a very effective one at that. If I didn't know any better I'd suspect this was an experiment by Mad Scientist Runic.
Crystal in armor, nice. I've been hoping to see that in the story ever since some art of the general idea.
Sounds like exactly what Silent needs, though it's possible that Orchid is too close to the patient in this instance. Maybe not, though, if she's just the coordinator and not the physician or therapist.
Wait, wait, looks like we're doing this now!
Good job with the setup on this, Luna.
Geeze, this admission isn't going so well. I think Orchid may need more counseling next.
quillnblade.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2015/10/silent-crystal-small.jpg
I love it.
Well. Silents reservations about being with Crystal seem to be slowly bleeding away with time and he's finally starting to get help, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
6519150 I will have to disagree on that one. Silent TOTALLY needs to be caught! his guilt will eat him up from the inside and ruin his life if it doesn't get resolved. It looks like he's very slowly getting over it with the help of all the many ponies that care about him.
I gotta say I am loving this, a lot of stories would stick him in a room with a pony he trusts, and one conversation later he is better. In this case he has to accept a lot of help over a long period of time (kind of like real life, huh!) until he's all fixed (but he's not fixed yet!)
>>djthomp yes! i bet runic could make a flu grenade! pony biological warfare!
Art was hilarious, that was one of the funniest scenes I've read in a while, at least since the hospital scene with Celestia.
For the record, I totally called Crystal taking care of SK (not super hard to call but I'm still proud of myself)
Well here's to hoping that Silent isn't a stubborn jackass and actually goes through with getting the help he needs.
Ah yes I remember that picture by Painted Wave! That's exactly what I thought of when I first read that part of this chapter!
Looking at Andy's picture up above I can just see Crystal responding to SK's demand saying "Gotta catch me!"
So seriously, how long did it take for SK to get his armor back?
And Miley needs a Spartan helmet.
Heh, Miley the great plague bearer will destroy all. The scene with Crystal in SK's armor was pretty amusing. Finally, SK is on the road to getting the help he needs. Orchid shouldn't feel too bad about not doing something/not noticing. Not even Luna was aware. Luna was more focused on protecting SK in the future without noticing what was going on in the present. Plus, I think this is one of those things that's really easy to say only because of hindsight.
Yes, yes he was (of course, compared to engineering the death of Alistair, convincing Crystal wouldn't be hard). Anyway, Crystal did watch SK for a long period of time while he was hurt from the ambush without knowing if he would survive so watching him while sick wouldn't be an issue.
So, if I'm reading this right: SK now thinks that Azurite has moved on from Sunny to Soarin (wonder if SK and Soarin will have a "talk" later?) possibly because Sunny cheated (why else mention the bolded)? Then again SK is still pretty clueless about romance so maybe he should ask the experts? Crystal and Velvet...
...oh, right that's why.
I wonder if SK will ever find out what happened there. I'm sure his response to Azurite's antics with Velvet would be very amusing.
6518986 I really appreciate the sentiment :D Once is huge though and thank you for that!
6518993 Me too. He is pretty much my favorite. Yes, it was important for me to show how different ponies dealt with what happened. How they saw it looking in, etc.
6519031 Confidentiality is a big thing! He had her in an interesting position for sure.
6519064 Drop Miley off in an enemy controlled area? Nobody would suspect a little mare like her. Sneezes everywhere!
6519139 I think he let her get away with it because of true wuv. It might not work for other ponies!
6519150 Well, at least Orchid can't tell anypony about it. She's under a medical oath for sure. Winterspear probably won't roll over on him either given she is his sister.
6519161 It is funny you mentioned that. In an original draft he got bored and fixed everything in her condo, including things that didn't need fixing.
6519168 Sorry to hear you're not feeling well! I hope it passes quickly. I do love Azurite. She's a sweet pony that tries to do the right thing. We'll see her side of this on Wednesday.
6519233 Indeed he does. Recovery is a long road. I'm glad you like it!
6519234 Painted did the original art for Crystal and I've adored it. I thought we'd reserve that for Crystal's readers for sure.
Orchid doesn't do things halfway! She had him trapped ;D And agreed on the too close but she's just a coordinator so I figured it would work out and be interesting instead of "random pony 3." She'll need more therapy now for sure ><
6519328 This is a valid point! Although stay tuned for chapter 40 where we'll see more of this plot.
6519374 You did indeed! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I particularly was pleased with myself with the "stomp, stomp, stomp" thing :D
6519380 He certainly can be stubborn but he seems to be listening now. Also yes! Painted's work inspired this chapter all that time ago. I just had to fit it in correctly. This seemed right.
6519486 Crystal is pretty quick! We'll have to see. Perhaps in Crystal's Wishes!
6519493 Haha well, I was really sick recently but, in this case, it was something I had planned for a while. I wasn't sure EXACTLY how it was going to go down but I also wanted to tie it in with Miley's original plague from Memoirs. Kind of a thing. I honestly do recommend Memoirs though and not just because I wrote it. I actually like the story a lot. It is different though.
I've met Andy Price a couple of times at DragonCon. One thing you have to know is that he is a super nice guy. Extremely approachable (as long as the setting is appropriate), extremely interesting, and extremely polite. As long as you don't ambush him on the way to or from the bathroom he'll chat with you. So at this DragonCon I really wanted to have a commission done. He'd done some headshots for us before. My wife and I asked nicely, he said yes, and the rest is history.
6519574 I agree with your assessment of where Luna was at mentally. She was worried about physical injuries happening again in the future but kind of had blinders on to what was happening in the short term. Plus she had her own thing going on with Haven.
I also think Silent Knight is getting a bit more experience when it comes to romance so he is putting together that he keeps seeing Azurite with Soarin. We'll see how that all falls out!
6519629
The last time he tried that logic he thought that Crystal and Velvet were together.
6519629 Cant wait. Il be alright its just a 24 hour bug im guessing.
6519629
I'm sure it has everything to do with that, and nothing to do with Crystal deciding whether or not he'd get a pizza.
6519781
Homemade pizza is the best, but I haven't started growing my own vegetables or raising livestock yet so I can't claim 100% homemade. As for the decision, you either make a pizza on a semi-regular schedule or the dough takes over the counter.
6519834 This is 100% true. We make our own pizza now and once you start doing that you can never go back. Ask Crystal for her pretzel dough recipe if you're into that kind of thing. I LOVE it.
6519686
6519871
Well I did move my sourdough to a larger home two days ago, so I do have room for another creature now... but if they combine...
6519871 6519899
I can't help but feel that the two of you are talking about something very different from me.
Unless you aren't, in which case this conversation took an unexpected turn for the strange and the kinky.
Thanks Anzel, i really like these kind of chapters with a bit more slice of life and them. you are doing really great job, keep it up :P
The Inquisition has become highly interested.
~Walk in the Emperor's Light
Miley is now a follower of Nurgle.
orig12.deviantart.net/9627/f/2008/018/b/b/greater_daemon_of_nurgle_by_psionic.jpg
I really like the Slice of life aspect of this chapter.
Silent Knight still is a long way from recovery, he gain too much anger.
That pic in the author's notes was epic!!!
This story is absolutely fantastic. The characters are all wonderful and I really like how you take the time to give everything the detail it deserves.
My only issue is that it feels like you are pushing too much real-world military into the guard and universe when the Royal Guard is clearly presented as primarily a light-duty police force and ceremonial guard in the show. Of course, that kind of thing is common among royal guard stories and is really not too bad overall because most of the focus is on other stuff in this story, especially because you have the AU tag to note that you are not fully following the show, but it can still get a bit annoying from time to time.
You know, Silent get angry over the fact that his friends, including Princess Luna, really want to help him overcome his psychological wounds. I mean, that's what friends are there for in the first: to help other friends in need and Silent shouldn't be ashamed or even flat out angry that. Instead, he should be eternally grateful that he has ponies in his life who want to help me overcome his recently inflicted mental wounds.
The drawing.. is beyond perfect. Andy Price is the master.
6521258
Mental illnesses are ... Odd and most are still porly understood
PTSD tends to cause random acts of uncontrollable emotions
Like fear anger and sadness
Silent undsertands that he shouldn't be mad at his friends and it is in this chapter that he shows he understands
But he can't help it because of the PTSD triggering his fight or flight instincts to a praseved threat
Even tho his friends are only looking out for him
Watching friends and ponies he cared about/for die screaming and fighting is probably one of the highest forms of emotional trauma someone can suffer
A random thought......
but I am curious to see how this plays out, since I have a feeling Luna/Celestia already know what he did.
That depends how powerful the author makes them. I mean, they DO move the celestial bodies.....I imagine keeping track of their friends is fairly easy.
.......*eagerly awaits more*
6521990 That is certainly one theory depending on exactly how their magic works ;D I can't confirm or deny at this time!
6521877 I couldn't have put it any better. This is a complete understanding of the situation! Well done :D
6521351 Agreed!
6521258 Sirflyalot summed up what I was going to say. PTSD is a heck of a thing.
6521104 I'm glad you're enjoying the story. As you pointed out, this is an AU. It is fairly different from the show/comics and does focus on an authentic military experience based on my background. That is a big part of why I write the way I do.
6520231 Agreed :D
6520210 This is very true. It won't disappear overnight for sure.
6520103 ;D I'm certainly glad to be doing some SoL!
6521877 I know this is off topic, I've actually seen PTSD happen to a cartoon character before: Ed from Ed, Edd, n Eddy. It occurs in the episode entitled "Rock-a-Bye Ed." I can provide you a link of that episode to show you how he reacts.
That picture's very existence is so much win. I love that the official artists are so open that it was even possible.
That picture is the cutest thing ive seen all week.
On a other matter, i seem to have noticed that your story is a few chapters ahead of crystal wishes? Just because i have not seen this scene in her book yet
Whaaaaat? Another picture of one of the most adorable scenes in the series? I'll take it!
It's a dang good thing Silent has such great friends. Now that he's finally dealing with all of his more guilt in a healthy way he is going to need their support. Including the support of making him finally deal with said guilt.
Suddenly, I find myself wanting a side story for Orchid.
This exchange gives me around five distinct reasons to burst out laughing - which I did - and a few to cry - which I refrained from, but still.
Sometimes Silent is willfully stupid. Or stupidly willful.
QnB has give me many excellent fits and bouts of laughter. So it's with a slightly awkward manner I have to say that this is what really, really bust my gut more than any other:
To explain myself: it wasn't a humour laugh but rather, the laugh of exultation in relief after tension and pain. It's finally out, at long last.
If Silent isn't actually climbing up out of the hole just yet, he's at the very least giving his shovel a rest and thinking to himself, "hey, these ponies up there are saying something, maybe I should listen?"
Though it might be premature - it feels a weight is lifted.
And in all seriousness - it's kind of amazing to find a story, a family of stories, that draws you in enough to play up such strong and deep reactions. This is superb stuff.
Oh look, someone who's not SK gets this treatment.