Marjoram

by Nekiyha

A Discussion

Spike didn’t like what was happening. Shores was outside yelling at police officers, which made Spike feel uncomfortable in a lot of ways. While he could understand her frustration, they did have a job to do.

Marjoram hadn’t woken up yet either, which was upsetting in its own way. Marjoram’s mane, so thick and long, was a mangled, tangled, torn mess. When Marjoram did wake up, he wouldn’t be pleased. They would have to cut it, probably fairly short too, to try to even it out.

Twilight wrapped a leg around Spike’s shoulders, pressing him close, “He’ll be okay.”

Spike leaned into the embrace, “He’s going to be so mad about his mane.”

Twilight chuckled softly, “We’ll help him through it. Don’t worry.”

Spike let out a shuddering sigh, “Is Shores going to be okay?”

“I’m sure she will be. She’s just upset and scared. That’s all. When Marjoram wakes up, she’ll be a lot calmer.”

“I know, but..I don’t think I’ve heard her yell like this before.”

Twilight nuzzled Spike comfortingly, “She’s upset that the police aren’t hearing her. Marjoram is unconscious and can’t answer their questions. They have a job to do, regardless of his state. Marjoram didn’t hurt his head, and he should be waking up soon. They want to be here when he does.”

“Is he going to be in trouble?”

Twilight froze. She knew what had happened, Shores had filled her in. The idea that Marjoram had done that to anypony was a hard reality to swallow. She sighed, “I don’t think so. It was self defence. They probably want to get his side of the story. They only know what Shores told them.”

Spike nodded, staring down at the floor, “Okay.”

Twilight sighed, “It’ll all turn out okay, Spike. You’ll see. I promise.”

One of the monitors beeped, and Marjoram shifted under the blanket he’d been provided. Twilight and Spike shot up from their chairs. Spike scrambled onto the edge of the bed, while Twilight rushed to the other side where Marjoram could better see her.

Marjoram’s eye was barely open, and she could tell he was in an incredible amount of pain. His eye focused on Twilight.

“Do you need anything?” Twilight asked, “Water, ice, another blanket?”

Marjoram’s eye flicked around the room, trying to take in what he could without moving.

“You’re in the hospital,” Twilight explained, “Shores is fine and you’re not dead, despite giving it a good try.”

Marjoram nodded minutely, his eye closing again. Spike rested his talons on Marjoram’s neck, then flinched.

“He’s cold, Twilight,” Spike said, moving closer to Marjoram. As a dragon, he was often warmer than anypony else. When chilled, cuddling with Spike was usually the best remedy.

“Marjoram,” Twilight caught his attention, the eye opening again, “Would you like some water?”

A nod.

“Another blanket?”

Another nod, and this time Twilight could see a full-body shiver wrack his frame. She made a mental note to bring two.

“One more question from me. Are you still in a lot of pain?”

Marjoram squeezed his eye shut and nodded. Twilight nuzzled him gently, “Okay. I’ll leave Spike here with you. He’ll get you warmed up for now, okay?”

Using her magic, she pressed the call button next to Marjoram’s bed.

The yelling outside had subsided, but Twilight could still hear Shores lecturing the police. She slid the door open, and poked her head through.

Shores’ tirade stopped. She turned around, hope shining in her light eyes, “Is he okay?”

“He’s awake. Barely. He hasn’t spoken, not sure if he can.”

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Nurse Redheart pushed past the two police officers. She looked between Twilight and Shores expectantly, “How is he? Awake now?”

“Yeah. And he’s cold. I asked if he was in pain and he nodded,” Twilight looked at Shores, “Could you get him some water?”

“I need to check his vitals,’ Nurse Redheart said, waiting for Twilight to step aside to approach the door, “Twilight, if you want to fetch some blankets, there’s a nurses desk near the warmer. They should be able to help.”

“Thank you,” Twilight smiled, making her way down the hall. Shores huffed, but left as well.

Redheart glared at the officers, “I’m sorry but I can’t let you two in yet. Not without those two here. Let me check on him, and we’ll see. He’s not doing very well right now, and his health is paramount.”

“Yes ma’am,” they replied in unison. Redheart entered the room fully, noting Spike’s presence.

“Keeping him warm?” She asked, looking over Marjoram’s vitals on the machinery.

“Yeah. He’s shivering really bad.”

“Not surprising. He’s had quite a few shocks today. Couple that with his low BMI, and the underoxygenation I’m surprised he doesn’t demand warm blankets all the time.”

Spike chuckled, “That would be a lot of work, and he knows. Usually he just uses his comforter or his cloak.”

Redheart smiled, noting that Marjoram was still conscious, though he appeared barely so.

“Good morning, Marjoram,” She said brightly. He would probably hate her attitude, but if spite got him to recover quicker than that’s what she would inspire, “Twilight said you’re still in pain. Is that true? Can you tell me where?”

Marjoram opened his mouth, but nothing more than a cracked noise came out of it. It triggered a coughing fit, causing Marjoram to curl around himself with the force. After a few moments, it settled down. Redheart was pleased to note that the hemorrhages he’d opened up had stopped bleeding, at least for now.
“Alright, I”m going to list a few options, alright? Nod if they hurt.”

Marjoram nodded, panting weakly. He was clearly fading fast, and Redheart needed to pinpoint where the pain was coming from.

“Your chest?”

A nod.

“Your flank?”

Another nod.

“How about your neck?”

Marjoram shook his head.

“Is the pain in your flank worse than your chest?”

Marjoram shook his head again.

“Alright. Thank you for your honesty. I’m here to help. Due to your injuries, we already have you on some morphine. That might be why you feel so heavy. We can’t give you anymore without increasing your risk of respiratory failure. I’ll go talk to the doctor and see what else I can do, alright? Twilight and Shores are getting you blankets and some water. I want you to drink all the water they give you, alright? I’ll be right back with some medication for you.”

Marjoram nodded again, his eye once again sliding shut. Spike nestled in closer, smiling at Redheart.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, Spike. Please tell Twilight and Shores when they come back.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Redheart left, opening the door for Shores to come in. She balanced a cup of water on her back, a colourful straw sticking out of it, and smiled when she saw Marjoram was still semi-conscious.

“Hey, kiddo,” Shores said gently, “Glad you’re still awake.”

Marjoram offered a flicker of a smile, and watched as Shores slid the cup onto a nearby table. Using her mouth, she picked up the cup again. She brought it near Marjoram’s face, and he used the straw to drink until all the water was gone.

“Do you want more?”

Marjoram shook his head.

Shores set the cup down, and sank into the chair near his bedside, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Marjoram nodded, his eye sliding shut again. Twilight slid the door open again quietly, holding two blankets in her magic. She laid one of them over both Spike and Marjoram, tucking the edges around them carefully. Spike was still awake, but he’d had a long night and Twilight couldn’t begrudge him some sleep.

The other blanket she centered mostly over Marjoram. He was the chilled one afterall.

Spike made a noise in the back of his throat, “Nurse Redheart is coming back soon with medicine.” His words were a little slurred, telling Twilight exactly how tired the young dragon was.

“For his pain?”

“Yeah,” Spike curled up closer to Marjoram’s back, nestling himself carefully into the bed. Twilight ruffled his spines carefully.

“Good job, Spike. I’ll wake you later, okay?”

Spike nodded, smiling a little. It was an uncomfortable situation, but he was comfortable in the moment. Things usually looked better after a nap.

The door slid open again, and Nurse Redheart trotted in, “Alright, I have a codeine injection here. I’ll just put it into your IV, Marjoram. Your pain should decrease soon. If your pain levels spike again, you let us know alright? We’re trying to make you as comfortable as possible.”

Marjoram nodded, not bothering to open his eyes. He’d been on pain medication before, and knew the drill. In the Canterlot Hospital they had a routine. Here, he was still a relatively new patient. Needed to be careful and all.

Redheart did her job, checking over Marjoram’s vitals again. She smiled down at the snoring Spike, and couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

“Alright. Since you three are family, I’ll let you be. If any of you need a cot or something just let us know, alright?”

Shores nodded, “Thank you again. It’s appreciated.”

Redheart smiled, nodded, then left. She eased the door shut, and the officers outside parted for her.

Shores sighed, rubbing at her eyes with a foreleg, “I can’t believe he got a private room.”

“With what happened….” Twilight sighed, “I’m not surprised.”

“They’re also probably also worried about infection. He doesn’t usually get injured physically like this. Usually it’s just his lungs and the usual issues. This is a bit odd.”

Twilight sighed, looking at Marjoram. His eye was still shut, and he seemed to be asleep or falling asleep.

“What are we going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s...he’s killed someone,” Twilight whispered.

Shores’ breath hitched, “It was self-defence.”

“We know that, but not everypony will know.”

Shores sighed, “I know. We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

Twilight sank into a chair on the opposite side of Marjoram, “I know. I’m just worried.”

A quiet knock on the door caused both Twilight and Shores to twist to see. The glass door slid open, and one of the officers poked their heads through.

Shores frowned, “Haven’t I already-” She stopped when Marjoram’s hoof reached out to touch her. His eye was open again, and he nodded.

“He can’t talk. You need to ask yes or no questions.”

The officer slid the door open fully, and he and his partner stepped in. She shut the door behind her.

“I’m Sunny Ward,” She said, sliding the door shut behind her, “And my partner here is Obsidian Greaves. We don’t want to take too much of your time. All of the evidence adds up, we just need you to answer some questions for us, Marjoram. We’ll get out of your tail as soon as we can.”

Marjoram nodded. Shores stood and sat beside Twilight. Sunny and Obsidian stood near Marjoram’s head.

“We’ve already talked to Shores here, and like we said everything adds up. But there was a bit of time there when you were alone with the deceased. We need to get some facts straight. You’re sure you’re up to answering?”

Marjoram nodded. Sunny smiled, “Alright, good. First question. You managed to wrest one of his knives away from him. You didn’t have any weapons on you, did you?”

Marjoram shook his head. Sunny nodded, and Obsidian scribbled something down in a notebook.

“Shores said that you pushed her out of the way of a first attack, originally made on her own life. Is that true?”

Marjoram nodded.

“You struck the deceased at the poll of the head. Were you aware of the fact this would likely lead to instantaneous death?

Marjoram squeezed his eye shut, and nodded. Obsidian continued to write in his notebook.

Sunny sighed, “You have defensive wounds on you, though he doesn’t. We would like to have a copy of your medical history. This will help us verify that you took the best possible course of action in your defense, and in the defense of your friend. Is that alright?”

Marjoram nodded. He tried to move, but Shores rested a hoof on his barrel, “I’ll contact the doctors in Canterlot for the full history. I’ve been meaning to get a full copy faxed here anyway. Celestia knows he won’t do it himself. I’ll have them send one to you as well.”

“Everypony at the Ponyville Station are already pretty certain no charges or anything need to be brought up. All of this was clearly self defence. We’ll keep you updated when we know more, alright? You rest up and get better in the meantime. Stay in Ponyville until we tell you otherwise. That’s just standard procedure. This is looking to be a open and shut case, so we should get back to you soon.”

“Thank you for all of this,” Twilight said, “We appreciate it.”

“I know this wasn’t an ideal time for us to come,” Obsidian looked to Shores for a moment, “But with how straightforward this is, we wanted to get this out of the way as soon as we could. Thank you for your time.”

Sunny nodded, opening the door and shutting it behind them.

Shores sighed, “That was ridiculous. Three questions.”

“They might have more later,” Twilight replied, “You never know.”

Shores rolled her eyes, moving back to her previous chair, “Idiots the lot of them. They know what I told them.”

“Yes but you weren’t there for some of it.” Twilight shook her head, “Regardless, let’s hope this gets resolved quickly. I want him out of here as quick as we can.”

“Agreed. Plus we have those new supplies coming in soon. Some of them he won’t be able to use all the time, especially now he’s hemorrhaged so recently. Have you written to Celestia, yet?”

“No,” Twilight sighed, resting her head on the back of her chair, “I don’t even know what to say.”

“I’ll help you write a letter now. I want her to know before the news breaks tomorrow.”

“Okay. We’ll wake Spike when it’s done though. It’s been a tough night for all of us.”

“Yeah we should let him sleep in tomorrow, poor kid. I’ll see if I can’t find a pen and some paper for us to use, alright? I know you prefer ink and parchment-”

“This is more important,” Twilight interrupted.

Shores nodded, standing up and moving toward the door, “Start thinking now. It might take us a few tries to write it properly.”

“No kidding,” Twilight muttered. She took a deep breath, her mind already swirling with possibilities. It was going to take them a while to get the letter perfect.

Watching Marjoram struggle to breathe, Twilight knew getting it right would be worth it. Maybe the Princesses could help, or would know what to do. At least she hoped they would, because she was at a loss.

For the first time in a very long time, Twilight Sparkle didn't know what to do.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

If Marjoram was voiced, what would he sound like?

[Xanatos Speed Chess]

Am I the only one who think Marjoram looks like a Pony version of Xemnas from Kingdom Hearts?

[Nekiyha]

8997842
Kiefer Sutherland. if you can find a clip of Raistlin Majere from the animated Dragonlance movie, that would be pretty close.

[Nekiyha]

8997911
I haven't played Kingdom Hearts, but you're not the first person to say so, haha.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Finally caught up, and hoo boy, seems things are going a bit pear shaped!

[Samellan]

I wish this story wasn't cancelled...