All Around Me
I felt like trash. I had ruined everything.
As the giddy excitement of ‘winning’ over Spoiled Rich faded I came to realise what I’d done. Diamond Tiara was injured and bleeding, her namesake jewelry was broken. She called me her friend, and I’d turned around and used her as a cudgel against her own mother... figuratively speaking. If she was a friend I should have put her well-being first.
My leg throbbed in time with Melody’s gait, keeping me from succumbing to the intense fatigue I was feeling. Forcing me to keep thinking.
I might have started out wanting to teach Spoiled a lesson, but in the end I had broken her. It was possible that Spoiled was too far up her own arse to see how much trouble she was in, but she’d be lucky to avoid prison. It would be difficult to argue for leniency on the grounds she had a young child at home when she’d struck Tiara as well.
I knew how bullying worked. I’d seen Spoiled’s weakness and insecurities, and instead of offering support I’d struck again and again at any vulnerability I found. I’d gaslit her into believing everypony was against her. I’d goaded her into overreacting so she would be punished. In my attempt to stop a bully, had I become one myself?
That isn’t the pony I want to be.
I cracked my eyes open only to feel the pain in my head magnify. I think I was getting a migraine.
“Diamond?” I asked.
“Yeah?” She replied.
Somehow Diamond was able to speak clearly while carrying her broken tiara with her mouth.
“I’m sorry,” My voice wavered, “I’m not a good friend.”
“That’s ok.” Said Diamond. I could tell she was distracted.
“I’m not sure if we should go to the waiting room or just walk in through the ambulance bay.” Melody admitted.
“Let’s just go through triage,” I suggested. “It’s not like I’m dying so there’s no need to skip the queue.”
The sounds and smell of a hospital immediately made me feel more relaxed.
I couldn’t clearly remember coming in through emergency last time. It looked almost disappointingly normal, if a bit old fashioned. Unlike the dated facilities I’d seen however, everything looked new and well-kept. A central nurse station was surrounded by patient bays cordoned off with ceiling-mounted curtains. There were a couple of resus bays near to the ambulance entrance, and some triage bays along the short hallway that connected the waiting room to the unit.
The clerk behind the admissions desk gave a look of recognition upon seeing Melody, but her smile quickly faded on seeing she was carrying an injured filly on her back.
“Good afternoon Melody,” said the blue mare, “Can I have the patient’s name and reason for admission?”
Melody leaned closer to the counter.
“I have two fillies here with me, Green has an injured leg, and Diamond Tiara has a laceration to her forehead.” Said Melody, “Code lilac.”
The admissions clerk glanced down behind her desk at what I assumed was a list of code colors before stiffening slightly.
“Please take them straight through to Triage 2.”
The clerk spoke into an intercom system, but by the time she started speaking we were too far away for me to make out the words. There was no such thing as a ‘code lilac’ in any of the hospitals I’d worked at, but I was sure we were about to become very popular.
Once we were with the admitting nurse, Melody stepped away so she could talk to one of the other nurses. With the twisting motion Melody mimed there was little doubt about what she was describing. There were already a pair of stallions wearing vests hovering around us trying to look inconspicuous. They were earth ponies so their hovering was figurative rather than literal.
They pushed us through the area with the curtained-off patient bays to some more private rooms at the back of the unit. I had my own room while Diamond and Spoiled were placed in the next one. The mattress was thinner than a ward bed, but it was comfortable enough. If only my leg would stop throbbing I’d be glad to take a nap.
A gray earth pony mare in a nurse cap tapped a hoof on the doorway before entering my room.
“Hi Green,” she said, “My name is nurse Tenderheart, how are you feeling?”
“Not great,” I quipped, “But I suppose you get that a lot. Any relation to nurse Redheart?”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Tenderheart, “And yes, Redheart is my cousin. What would you give your pain out of ten at the moment?”
“Seven.” I answered, “... eight if I try to move it.”
“That’s no good, I’ll see if I can get you something for the pain,” she said, “is there anywhere else that hurts? Apart from your leg.”
“My head hurts.” I replied, “Especially around my horn. I had a magic surge earlier though, so that’s not surprising.”
“A magic surge?” Tenderheart questioned, “But-”
She probably hadn’t gotten a chance to read my patient notes yet.
“Yeah yeah, I’m too old,” I interrupted, “Just read my file. Anyway, I have magic fatigue.”
"Aww, you poor thing,” I could do without the condescension, “We’ve sent somepony to find your guardian, so she should be here soon. Your call button is here and the doctor should be with you soon. Was there anything else you needed?”
“Could you dim the lights?” I asked, “I think I’m getting a migraine.”
Dayglow was honestly a little shaken. A code lilac meant a situation involving child or elder abuse which was rare enough in Ponyville to be notable. This was a code lilac involving her highest profile client. She didn’t know the details yet, but there was no way this didn’t become a huge headache.
“Poor Green,” she sighed, “you just can’t catch a break, can you?”
There was no need for her to run, security would already have responded, so Dayglow took the time to unlock her filing cabinet to pull out Green’s file, and a few forms she would probably need before she left her office.
Dayglow took a moment to collect herself before entering the emergency department. She hadn't dealt with Spoiled Rich before, in a professional sense, but her husband had made some quite generous donations to the hospital so she had met the mare in passing. Her name was certainly familiar though, and she seemed so benign when they exchanged pleasantries last time... how could she do this? What had happened? Dayglow wondered if something terrible happened in her past to explain why she acted like this but the answer was probably quite simple: Spoiled thought she could get away with it. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, with the powers that were interested in this case, Spoiled's influence meant nothing.
Dr. Redcross and then the unit manager briefed her on what to expect before she went in.
Entering the room, Dayglow approached the bed where Diamond Tiara lay, her forehead bandaged from the gash her mother had inflicted upon her. Dayglow could see the fear and confusion in the filly's eyes, and her heart ached for her.
Spoiled Rich sat in a chair next to the bed, she had a look of scorn on her face and was staring at Dayglow as if she were an inconvenience. Dayglow felt a flash of annoyance. How dare she? Her own daughter was hurt and Spoiled didn't seem concerned at all.
"What do you want?" Spoiled demanded, her voice dripping with disdain.
"Mrs. Rich, I am Dayglow, a Social Worker at this hospital. I am here to investigate the injury that your daughter Diamond Tiara has sustained." Dayglow said in a stern voice.
Spoiled shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see what the big deal is. Two fillies got into a fight. It happens every day," she said flatly.
Dayglow ignored her and turned to Diamond Tiara, her voice soft and gentle. "Hi, Diamond Tiara. My name is Dayglow, and I'm here to help you. Can you tell me what happened?"
Diamond Tiara hesitated, her eyes darting nervously between her mother and Dayglow. Finally, she spoke in a small, shaky voice. "I-I was playing with Green, and she said something mean to my mom. My mom got really angry and tried to hit her, but she missed and hit me instead."
Dayglow's eyes narrowed as she turned to face Spoiled Rich. "Is this true?" she asked, her voice tight with anger.
"Of course not,” Spoiled scoffed, still refusing to engage with Dayglow, and turning to stare at Diamond Tiara instead, who began to whimper in fear.
"It's alright Diamond," said Dayglow, "You don't have to cover for her, I understand that this must be upsetting for you."
Diamond nodded, sniffling.
"Mrs. Rich, Melody saw you strike your own daughter in the head," said Dayglow, "Do you deny it?"
"She jumped into my hoof, I wasn't trying to hit her." Spoiled protested.
Dayglow struggled to control her irritation. She hadn't seen Spoiled act like this before. She was always so calm and composed, and now suddenly she'd become a different pony. No longer did the mare care about being polite or even rational.
"Mrs. Rich, you need to stop playing games with me," Dayglow said, the anger seething inside her, "Your daughter has been seriously injured, by you, and you're not taking this seriously."
"A serious injury?" Spoiled rolled her eyes, "What are you talking about? A tiny cut. It hardly counts as a 'serious injury.'"
“Dr. Redcross says it’s bad enough she’ll likely need stitches.”
For the first time in the conversation, Spoiled seemed to pay attention. “Will she have a scar?”
"It’s certainly possible." Dayglow replied, using all the power she could muster to keep her temper under control, “What were you doing when your daughter 'jumped into your hoof’?”
"It was an accident, I was trying to hit that brat Green and missed. I didn't mean to hit Diamond Tiara." Spoiled insisted.
"You-" Dayglow struggled for words, "You injured your own daughter while you were trying to beat someponyelse's?"
"She spat on me!" Spoiled snarled, "I was going to discipline her, but Diamond jumped into my hoof! So I accidentally hit her instead! It was an honest mistake, and she’s fine."
"Mrs. Rich, hitting anypony, let alone a child, is not acceptable. What you've admitted to is considered child abuse. Do you understand the seriousness of this situation?"
"Green is just an orphan who doesn't know her place." Spoiled stated with a sneer, as if she were justifying her actions.
“An orphan?” Dayglow repeated, struggling to hide her shock, this whole conversation was going in a direction that she hadn’t anticipated. "Green is an eight-year-old filly who is under my duty of care! I don't care what she said to you, she is the victim in this situation, and you put her in the hospital. And Diamond Tiara is not 'fine', she has a gash on her forehead that may need stitches. There is no universe where this is all okay."
Spoiled smirked. "I don't have to listen to you, Dayglow. You are nothing. My family has given enough money to this hospital to make you irrelevant."
"Mrs. Rich," Dayglow glared, "Do you have any idea what you are saying? I have a responsibility as a social worker to protect children. Do you honestly think that any amount of money can protect you from the consequences of assaulting a young filly? Breaking her leg just because she said something you didn't like? I will report this. You could lose custody of Diamond Tiara. You may even go to prison."
"Oh come on," Spoiled scoffed, "There's no way I twisted her hoof hard enough to break it."
"It's the same leg she broke two weeks ago," Dayglow corrected, "Did you know that?"
“How was I supposed to know?” Spoiled asked, looking confused, yet defiant, as if this was somehow more offensive than breaking a child's leg.
"It doesn't matter if you knew," said Dayglow, "The point is that you broke her leg, and then you tried to hit her again. You injured your own daughter and now you don't seem to care at all. Am I right, Mrs. Rich?"
"I don't have to take this from you, Dayglow, I've got better things to do. I'll be taking my daughter home. If you want to talk to me, you can contact me through my lawyer. I don't have time for this nonsense. Goodbye.”
Dayglow watched as Spoiled stood up and turned toward the door.
"Mrs. Rich, you are free to leave if you like," Dayglow ordered, "But your daughter will be staying. I'm taking her into protective custody until I complete my investigation. If you try to interfere in any way, security will escort you out of the hospital. Is that understood?"
Spoiled paused and turned back around. "Fine! Fine. But you won't get anywhere with this, you know that, don't you?" Spoiled asked, her tone mocking.
"If you're about to tell me how powerful your friends are, you can skip it." Dayglow said, "I'd stick my neck out for any child that needed my help, but in this case I'll give you fair warning. The last time Green was in the hospital, Princess Luna came to check on her personally."
Spoiled's smug expression faltered at Dayglow's words.
"I don't believe you," Spoiled said, but her voice lacked conviction.
"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not," Dayglow replied calmly, "The fact remains that I have the support of Princess Luna, and she will not tolerate any abuse towards children. So if you think you can bully me or intimidate me with your connections, you are very much mistaken."
Spoiled scowled at Dayglow, but she didn't say anything else. She stormed out of the room, leaving Dayglow and Diamond Tiara behind.
Dayglow sighed and looked at Diamond Tiara, who was staring at the floor. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Dayglow asked gently.
Diamond Tiara nodded, but didn't say anything.
"I know this is hard, but I promise you, you're safe now," Dayglow said, "I'm going to take care of you and make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. And if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here to listen."
Diamond Tiara nodded again, still not speaking.
Dayglow gave her a gentle hug. "Everything is going to be alright, I promise."
After Spoiled left, Dayglow called for security to keep an eye on her and to make sure she didn't try to interfere with Diamond Tiara's care.
I could hear Dayglow and Spoiled talking through the wall.
As I sat on the hospital bed, I couldn't help but feel guilty for what had happened. If only I had de-escalated the situation, none of this would have happened. But I was so angry at Spoiled for being a bully. I said things I shouldn't have. I provoked her into attacking me.
It was my fault. I should have known better. I did know better and I had the training certifications to prove it, but in the moment, I couldn’t control myself.
I wanted to apologize to Diamond Tiara, but I was too embarrassed to face her after what had happened. I had pretty much ruined her life just when she was getting it on track. How could she forgive me? What could I possibly say?
My heart felt heavy in my chest.
I heard hoofsteps approaching and saw a white unicorn stallion walk into the room. He wore a white coat and carried a clipboard in one hoof. "Hi there, Green, I'm Dr. Red Cross, you might not remember me, but we've met before," he said cheerfully, "how are you feeling?"
"I'm sorry," I said.
Red Cross smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry about it, Green, accidents happen. Just rest easy, we'll take good care of you."
"It wasn't an accident," I said quietly, "I meant to do it."
"Meant to do what?" asked Red Cross, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I meant to goad Spoiled into hitting me." I explained, "She was being a bully, so I made her angry enough to hit me. I wanted her to get into trouble."
Red Cross raised his eyebrows. "So you intentionally tried to provoke her?"
"Yes," I admitted.
"That's... unusual behavior," Red Cross said slowly, "what gave you the idea to do that?"
I struggled to come up with an answer. "I don't know," I lied.
"I see..." Red Cross said thoughtfully, "have you done something like this before?"
"No," I answered truthfully.
Red Cross nodded. "I need you to understand that what Spoiled did is not your fault. She is the one who attacked you, and she is the one who deserves to be punished for it. Nopony forced her to respond the way she did."
I sighed. "I shouldn't have done it."
"You couldn’t have known." Said Red Cross.
"I should have de-escalated the situation," I said, "I should have just ignored her insults and been the bigger pony."
"There's no shame in standing up for yourself," said Red Cross, "and you did the right thing. Now, I'm going to take a look at your foreleg."
He grabbed my leg and pain shot through my body as he examined my injury. "Hmm," he muttered, "this isn't healing well. Looks like you may have displaced it. We may have to reset it so that it heals correctly."
"Okay," I said, "are you going to do it here?"
"Since you've had an internal fixation it's a bit more complicated." Dr. Red Cross explained, "I'll prescribe something to help with the pain, you'll have some X-rays done, and then we'll call in Dr. Stone to do the realignment since he's the surgeon that worked on your leg before."
"That makes sense," I said.
"Does it?" Red Cross asked, raising an eyebrow, "The nurses told me you were a clever little filly, do you know what an internal fixation is?"
I closed my eyes against the growing headache.
"Yeah," I replied, "it's a type of surgery where they fix broken bones inside your body so that the bone can heal correctly. The bone gets fixed by screwing metal rods into the bone itself."
"Correct," said Red Cross thoughtfully, "but why is that important?"
Just answer the questions and then he’ll go away.
I cracked my eyes open again to judge his response.
"Because there's extra hardware inside my leg now," I answered, "So it's not as simple as setting a bone from a simple fracture anymore. Even if you could have a go at setting it, you wouldn't want to mess with another doctor's work if you could help it."
Red Cross nodded, impressed. "Exactly. Internal fixation can make things a bit more complicated and we have to be careful not to displace any of the hardware..."
Dr. Red Cross frowned, looking around the room, he picked up a blood pressure cuff.
"Alright," he challenged, "what is this for?"
I tried not to show any irritation at being grilled like this.
"That's a blood pressure cuff," I replied, "It's used to measure the blood pressure in a patient's leg by inflating the cuff and measuring the pressure at which the blood flow is blocked."
My head pounded.
Maybe if I answer as completely as possible he won’t keep asking followup questions.
"That's right," Dr. Red Cross nodded, "what's the normal range for a blood pressure?"
"The normal range depends on the patient," I replied, "I don't know the protocol in this hospital."
"Let's pretend you're a nurse though," Red Cross continued, "at what point would you call me?"
Why won’t he just be quiet!?
I wanted to scream.
"If the patient's MAP was below 65, or their Systolic was above 180 I would be very concerned," I explained, "but again, I don't know what the protocol is in this hospital."
Red Cross was looking increasingly perplexed. He took a moment to think.
"If a patient had low serum phosphate, and I asked you to administer a bolus of K-phos," Dr. Red Cross asked, "What would you do?”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“I’d tell you to rethink that order before you kill somepony.” I answered, “You can’t give K-phos as a bolus, you’ll stop their heart.”
“And?” Red Cross prompted.
“And why are you ordering K-phos for hypophosphatemia, unless there’s something else going on.” I grumbled, “Doctor - just, I have a migraine okay? You can test me later. I can’t even see straight.”
“Sorry, I-” said Red Cross, “I’ll get you something for pain, okay? Hang in there.”
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The doctor is being to realize there is more to this kid than meets the eye. Maybe now they will get off the sexual abuse kick. I'm surprised nobody did examination of her girl parts considering that would be part of the evidence against her supposed abuser. They would have been surprised if they had.
Very enjoyable and I cannot wait for the next chapter!
Woo!!! Just a week or so after I start reading I get a brand new chapter, I feel spoiled.
What a second. Did you quote Firefly at the end there?
Now spoiled is in a whole bunch of trouble. I hope she goes to prison where she'll have the biggest, strongest, toughest mare whose locked up for bucking somepony to death for hurting her foal as a cellmate who'll beat the crap out of her for her entire sentence. I also hope that Filthy divorces her plot and gets sole custody of Diamond.
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They did. No evidence found. Not sure where it was stated.
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They did.
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I agree with this
I do love that art of Day Glow. I know she's supposed to be very bright, and the artwork really sells it.
awesome chapter, spoild is an idiotic bitch
would have liked to see that doctors stupefied face xD
Liked the medical talk and yay lots of updates lately
At last, somepony is actually using their head and digging deeper at the questions surrounding Green, and not going off an assumed outcome.
Also, that level of medical knowledge kinda proves that Green knows far more about medical procedures and medicine than somepony her age would have been able to learn. That would make her either a genius, a savant, or more than she appears. The first two are easily enough testable for, and if they come back negative... well, that leaves option 3.
Nice.
This chapters are too short for the wait we have to suffer through. It's too good
looks like some one believes green
...and we see Spoiled realizing her reputation doesn't mean shit in pony world after abusing a kid. Lovely.
I really like that it took a doctor all of a minute to figure Green was more than met the eye. I very much look forward to the next chapter.
Lovely seeing another new chapter, and a captivating one at that. I hope Spoiled soils herself when Luna wants to have a chat.
Now I want more.
More I say!
Answering difficult medical questions while in high levels of pain and having a migraine. That's insanely impressive... and also extremely eye opening for everyone else probably.
oh dear... spoiled bitch has really fuck up now. Everyone involved with this filly thinks she is an abuse victim. at least two princesses have a vested interest in her case. her current guardian is a national hero. even if all of that wasn't a factor. she just BROKE A FOALS LEG. in public, if full view of a crowd of towns ponies who had been drawn by the sound of her verbally abusing said foal. if there isn't a warrant out for her arrest by time the sun comes up, there is something severely wrong with the equestrian legal system.
i do believe that she has lost ALL of the credibility and social standing she oh so loved to swing around
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By now they would have giving her some pain meds that would make her a little tired. Docs and Nurses study and train in long hours. So being tired may be helping with her memory?
The migraines made me think of them giving her pain meds because most opioid based pain meds give me really bad migraines.
Wait... They put diamond and spoiled TOGETHER in the same room?!? Even though they know that they have a potential child abuse situation on their hands? That was a dumb move.
This is why you never question an abuse victim in the same room as their abuser. Frankly, Dayglow is lucky she got a truthful answer from Diamond Tiara.
Mistake made, Spoiled just changed the story she told proving that she will lie about what happened.
Thus making it nearly impossible to believe what she says.
And now you admit to child abuse, but given how you said it I suspect you don't see the issue
That doesn’t really change anything though
Not too suprising when you think about it.
Green may have the mind of an adult, but she also has the brain chemistry of a child and the experiences of a bully victim so her impulse control in that situation would never have been great.
Then there is the fact that she just became friends with Diamond and that she was aware how Spoiled treated her new friend.
Making her control over her emotions even worse
That might not be accurate with ponies (I have no idea), unless Green read some medical books after she got here
Well Spoiled just blew it. I don’t think she will be getting off scott free and hopefully her meddling will finally be put a stop to.
Wasn't Green supposedly a grown man with a degree and a career before he was sent to Equestria? Get over yourself, a full grown adult shouldn't be carrying around a chip on their shoulders the size of Mount Rushmore like this.
Well Spoil's life is officially ruined by her own hooves.
No one will want to be associated with a child-beater, so whatever social status she has is pretty much dead.
And who knows what Filthy will do once he gets word of what went down. A divorce, most likely.
Wow Spouled Milk has her head so deep in her own ass that when priceless retribution comes, she will only see the Sun or Moon long enough to end in a Dungeon that don't show either.
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She's also extremely traumatized and with a child's brain right now, not nearly mature enough to just deal with it. A lot of the maturity we associate with being an adult is biological in nature, and Green has none of that currently.
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Well yes, all the memories of a grown man in a child's body of a completely different species, there is no telling the psychological impact that would have, this could be a symptom of that.
I am reminded of Kvothe when he was fielding questions from the medical professor.
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Shouldn't...
Still does though.
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Maybe being in a filly’s body is affecting him some?
Looks like a nice pivotal chapter : ) Shits were fired, unusual knowledge confirmed, poor Green still struggling... Great story so far, really enjoyed it : )
a-ackwa-acHW!@2.1 Yoyoouuuu fucckcinngg mosnster called an author, you can't make a pony that cute... That's illeegaa- My heart... murrdeerrrr!
dies
This is a great chapter.
He knows~
(Ahhh, fun! Also, Spoiled, I'm going to love seeing you suffer. It's not just the entitlement and arrogance and enjoyment of suffering of others. It's the delusion and lack of tactics. I'm guessing she's forgotten how to be subtle, after 'sleeping her way to the top' or whatever she did. And I'm still waiting for the fallout from Filthy Rich. After all... it was HIS daughter that got hit.)
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Dude, most adults have some irrational grudge against something from growing up. It's unusual for someone who was bullied a lot to not hate bullies.
"hey, guys, call me crazy but I don't think greens delirius nurse bit was a bit"
Missing a quotation mark before "Aww" both here and on SpaceBattles.
Also based of some googling "Code Lilac" seems to be an actual thing albeit as a signal that a caregiver is under severe emotional stress and needs counseling rather than an emergency code about a patient.
Ha-haaah, he's gettin' somewhere.
I loved this chapter! Standing by for the next one.
Oh man, I wonder what's gonna happen
Poor kids and screw u spoiled
This story is good I jeast wish green was with someone else but that's I don't like A.j she always acts like your lying or hiding something that she does not need to put a nose into
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Op, notice the red thumbs downs next to the comments that unnecessarily berate you and the story. Pretty much everyone here is on your side, remember that!
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Even a genius wouldn't know that much about a particular field unless they were pushed to it, or had family in the field. Green is also a suspected abuse victim which if she isn't what she said she is just opens another can of worms.
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Luna gona bite somepony neck. :3
i.postimg.cc/vTrnXJpG/unicorn-green-fur-black-mane-black-hair-anonfilly-child-daughter-b-s-2469156920.png
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its unfortunate that a story can't have two images as its cover but you should definitely include a link somewhere besides in the comments. Some people don't care about comments area and just want to read the story. I know for a while I did not until I wanted to comment about how bad an authors writing (like it was a google translation) was and saw images created for the story that the author posted like you just did. Perhaps put them in a spoiler tag with a reason not to look at it till x chapter to not have the story blown?
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The pain is making her agitated enough that she is simply answering the questions to make the other person leave instead of bother her instead of thinking it through and not answering or giving other replies to screw with them.
finally someone is actually paying enough attention to green to realize she's actually a trained nurse in a kid's body. Poor doctor is gonna go crazy trying to figure that out.
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D'awww... I think my heart just melted a little...
Seriously, though, that's great artwork. Yours, or someone else's?