The Mercy of Screwball

by Professor Coruptus

Just another day on the job

The thing that had been Mercy lifted her head up and looked down at the now empty terrace below. Redheart was looking for somepony, actually frantic with worry over whoever it was. The plum mare had never seen her boss act like that over anypony. Whoever it was had to be very important to her, and with her beloved cousin already there with her, there was little doubt in half deranged mare’s mind who it was.

“Awww, the poor little pony’s lost her soul mate,” a strange, terrible but beautiful voice said in her ear.

“Who’s there?” Mercy snapped, her head turning around to face whoever it was, but there was no one there.

“You know, it is nice when everything goes according to plan, but I wouldn’t be much of an embodiment of chaos if I didn’t look forward to at least a few of my smaller projects going against my expectations. I couldn’t be happier that it was you my dear. I was so sure you would be a perfect candidate for my special treatment. You were practically begging for help when I came across you, so sad and melancholy, and I positively abhor ill feelings when I’m not the one causing them.”

That voice, it was so familiar, and yet she couldn’t quite…

The burring began in her brain began to prickle again, and in an instant she remembered where she had heard that voice before.

“You,” she gasped, her face literally split between horror and delight. “You were the one who did this to me. I was on my way to the medical center and you… attacked me on the road!”

“Oh!,” the disembodied voice said in a joyous surprise. “You must have an excellent memory if you can recall all that by yourself. It’s almost a pity you precious saviors didn’t have such a skill, it might have made breaking their spirits take a little longer too.”

“What are you?” Mercy began but she was cut off as a cool haziness began to overtake the ‘sane’ part of her mind.

“Of course, I can’t have you running around half finished like this. What would the neighbors think?” the voice said jovially through the haze. “Shame I didn’t know it was another mare who was the source of your little heartache earlier. I have a fondness for anything that goes against the act of nature you see, even if that old sunspot happens to share the sentiment on this particular matter. Love and tolerance and all that nonsense, belch!”

The fog in her brain grew thicker until she could barely tell if she was on the ground or in the air again. Even so, the voice cut through the mists with perfect clarity, wrought with sarcasm and over the top theatrics. “But I’ll tell you what I’ll do. As equestrian’s new, and original ruler, I shall show my benevolence towards my subjects by helping you, my little pony, obtain that which you most desire.”

Suddenly the fog lifted and her mind was once again filled with a love for all things chaos, and something else; a burring, overwhelming desire for one white and pink earth pony mare.

“The extra hormones ought to keep that photographic breadbox of yours occupied too,” the voice added flatly, but the plum colored mare did hear it. She was too busy exuding tiny floating hearts. “Now, go be naughty girl my little Screwball,” the voice said, christening its creation as it began to float away in search of her prey.

“And remember, if she says ‘no’ but doesn’t trap you in stone for two thousand years it’s really a ‘yes!”

--------

“You’re sure this potion is safe, right?” Nurse Redheart asked quietly as she and Zecora made their way around the ponies cluttering the hallways. The zebra was carrying a small caldron by the handle, but as they approached the wing they were destined for the black and white equine gently set down her precious cargo to answer.

“This broth is made from herbal things. Flowers and sap, not harpies’ wings. There is nothing that’s poisonous in my brew, of this I can assure you true.”

“Good, good,” the white mare mumbled, fishing out a set of keys from her hat and fumbling with them as she looked for the one that would open the door in front of them. “Some of these ponies are… wrong, and we’ve been scared to even try any of our usual medicines on them for fear of it might do to them.”

“You’re concern’s are justified, I must agree,” Zecora replied, her voice grim and serious. “For the symptoms of chaos maybe far more than we see. But my remedy potion cleanses body and soul, helping those taken by chaos become once again whole.”

“I sure hope so, Zecora,” Redheart said under her breath as the zebra reclaimed her cauldron. Finding the correct key, the Head Nurse opened the door into detention ward. Both of the mares shuddered as the door opened and they were met with the horrible noises echoing from within what should have been sound proofed walls. “This way,” Redheart said grimly, leading the zebra inside and closing the door behind her.

Normally, this section of the hospital housed saw very little use, but now almost every one of its padded rooms held an occupant; a pony who had been touched by the darker, or more dangerous side of chaos, a pony unrecognizable for who they once were.

As the two healers passed by the doors, eyes glistening with mania followed them from behind reinforced glass, and the squawks, barks, and insane gibbering coming from beneath the iron doors mixed with each other in a disjointed chorus.

“This one,” Redheart said, coming to a stop in front of an unlit room. The zebra put down her cauldron and cautiously approached the door to peer inside the small, square window in its center. “The patient appears to be extremely photosensitive,” The Head Nurse explained, answering the zebra’s unvoiced question. “He’s been fairly calm compared to the other patients in here too, so-” The earth pony was interrupted as the thing in the cell threw itself violently against the door, cracking the glass and causing the zebra to quickly jump back from the cell.

“Like I said…” the nurse continued slowly, watching a heavily scaled black foreleg slide down the broken glass. “Compared to the other patients he’s been fairly calm, so I think he’s a best option for a test subject right now.”

The striped equine nodded, not taking her eyes away from the window. “I can feel the evil of this beast. It wishes upon my flesh to feast. But worry not, my pony friend. This nightmare now shall meet its end. ”

“Right,” the earth pony replied, a bit skeptically. She signaled to two of her larger earth pony volunteers to come assist them, and after looking uncertainly at each other, they complied. “How will you need to administer the potion?”

“A broth it is, but an ointment too,” Zecora replied taking the lid off her caldron and pulling up the small ladle dipped inside. “I need but splash it on for its work to do.”

Both the Head Nurse and the two volunteers breathed sighs of relief. “Good. I’m not sure if we could get close enough to some of these poor ponies to make them swallow it,” Redheart replied. “Alright, when I count three, you two open the door. The light from the hall should stun him and keep him in one spot long enough for you to splash him.” The other three nodded and the two stallions took their place at the door as Zecora filled her ladle.

“Alright…” the nurse began, taking a steadying breath and waiting for her assistants to do the same. “One… Two… Three!”

The door swung open in a flash, letting light poor into the darkened room. What it revealed was a hissing and writhing thing of nightmares. Its shape was still vaguely pony like, four legs, one head and a tail, but its skin was covered in black scales and green feathers, and its eyes burned like red coals under its jutting brow. Its tail was long and snake like, and its mouth opened impossibly wide to hiss like an enraged crocodile as it began to smoke under the glare of the light.

“Zecora, now!” Redheart screamed, but she needn’t have bothered. The Zebra was already stepping forward, pulling her head back and then swinging it forward to splash her potent mixture across the demon thing in the cell. As awkward as using the ladle for such a purpose must have been, her aim was true and long ark of amber liquid speed strait for its intended target. Unfortunately, the creatures painful writhing, and the unexpected flexibility of its unusual body caused it to unintentionally duck most of the potion, leaving it to splash uselessly against the padded back. What little that did make it onto the creature bubbled angrily, seemingly causing the monster even more pain than the light did. The zebra swore in her native tongue before turning back to fill her ladle for another attempt.

“Look out!”

The warning came almost too late, for no sooner had she filled her ladle, then the black and white mare turned round to see the monster in the room flying at her with a terrifying snarl. Time seemed to slow down for her at that moment and she watched the creature’s mouth stretch wide enough to swallow her whole, saw the grey mussel inside of it glisten with saliva and what she could only suspect to be orange venom. The creature came closer, and closer as each instant stretched into a life time.

Its jaws were just about to close on her head with the abomination was suddenly pushed to the right. As it slowly arced away from her, the reptilian and feathered head turned to look back at the reason for its altered trajectory. Nurse Serenity Redheart grit her teeth with determination as she tackled the chaos fuelled monster right out of the air, and way from striped alchemist.

Time resumed its normal speed as the two hit the linoleum floor with a scraping ‘thud.’ The demure earth pony wrestled with the monster as it thrashed and hissed under the direct glow of the overhead lights.

“Zecora!” the Head Nurse shouted, attempting to hold the creature still as it writhed and beat her with its oddly shaped hooves and tail. The zebra snapped to her sense a second wave of her brew flying at the struggling figures. Nurse Redheart rolled the creature on its side just in time for it to take the full arc of the potion across its back and head. The monster went ridged as the herbal concoction bubbled and fizzed over its skin, slowly covering every scale and feather in amber froth. Redheart took this as her cue and released her patient and rolled away lest she be covered in foam as well. The creature continued to bubble and gurgle for almost a minute until the liquid began to evaporate away, leaving an unconscious charcoal grey pegasus stallion with a teal and white mane and tail in its place.

Zecora stepped cautiously towards the stallion while the volunteers rushed to the side of the battered nurse as she began to get to her feet. “He is alive, no worse for wear,” she proclaimed after checking his pulse and breathing. “All thanks to you, my courageous mare.”

The alchemist looked up at the Head Nurse as she stood up, assisted on either side by the two abashed looking stallions. “Don’t worry, I’m all right,” she told them, then added to Zecroa, “Are you okay?”

“It is not the first time I have averted deaths gaze,” the zebra replied. “Yet you Equestrian ponies never cease to amaze. I owe you my life, my care giving friend. Pray, what might I do to begin my amend?”

Despite the way her legs were trembling under her, the white mare shook her head. “It was my fault you were put in danger in the first place. We should have had a better plan then just throw open the door and hope it stayed still.” Then on reflection she added, “But if you really want to help you could make up some more of that potion. We’ll need a safer way to deliver it though… I think there are some empty spray bottles in some of the janitorial closets. Maybe we could use those and just squirt them through the food slots?”

“On both of those matters, I shall seek brisk solutions,” Zecora answered, reaching out the help steady the shaking mare. “But for now you should rest, and see to your contusions.”

The white pony winced as the zebra gently pressed against her back where the creature has stuck her. There was going to be a very angry bruise there and several other places for at least a week. Her mind turned to the ice packs and heat pads kept in the break room. “Actually,” the Head Nurse replied, letting her facade drop so that she finally looked as tired as she felt. “A little break doesn’t sound like a bad idea…”

Comments

[CGPH]

Continue plese! I'm really enjoying this