A Mentally Unstable and Powerful Changeling...Yeah

by Taken-By-Insanity

Chapter 16

Author's Note:

Virtually nothing big going on here. I’m also sorry for this not being the usual 2,000 words I try to go for, I couldn’t figure out how to do this without too many line breaks and moving of the point of view too much. I hope you enjoy it, regardless.

Shade slowly walked to the throne room with her head in her hoof. “Ugh, why won’t this headache go away?” She grumbled to herself. “I’ve had this for three days now. This is not normal.”

She opened the doors to the throne room and winced as the hinges creaked. “Ow.” She sighed as the doors closed behind her. “Morning.” She greeted the royal couple, barely sparing them a glance as she leaned against a wall.

“Good morning, Shade.” Cadence greeted. “You still have that headache?”

“Yeah.” Shade replied.

“You know, you should definitely go see a doctor. You’ve had that headache for days now.” Cadence said worriedly.

“Maybe.” Shade admitted. “Headaches usually go away after a bit, but not after a few days.” She sighed. “Do you know where I can see one?”

“The hospital isn’t that far from the castle.” Shining Armor said. “It may be from a thousand years ago, but it still holds a similar look to today’s hospitals. Do you need an escort?”

“No no, I’ll be fine.” Shade waved him off. “It’s just some pain, I can still work just fine.” She walked to the door and opened it. “I’ll be back in a bit.” She gave a wave to the royal couple before closing the door behind her.

“Gods fudge cake and jelly caramel.” Shade muttered to herself as she started to walk down the halls. “This headache is gonna be the death of me.”

She stayed quiet as she made her way to the exit. Once outside, Shade winced at the sound of the busy city. Crystal Ponies were walking around everywhere, talking about their days and enjoying the bright, sunny day.

“Clouds and fog would be prettier.” Shade muttered as she walked the streets. She dodged the occasional crystal pony she almost ran into before soon finding a large purple cube of a building. On the center of its front was a red cross, the classic sign of a medical center.

Shade walked through one of the doors and walked up to the front desk. The pony there smiled at her. “Hello, what can I do for you?”

Shade winced at the happy tone, the volume associated irritating her head. “I’ve been suffering from a headache for the past few days. Is there a doctor available that I can go to?”

“Let me check.” The pony nodded before pulling out a clipboard from under the desk. They scanned the paper and gave another nod. “We have one available. Can I have your name?”

“Shade.”

“Alright, I’ll let him know. Feel free to take a seat while you wait.”

“Thank you.” Shade gave a nod of thanks before going to a row of seats and taking one. She sighed, closing her eyes and counting down from 10 in her head. She repeated the countdown, trying to distract herself from the headache.

“Shade?” She looked to the one who called her name. She was shocked to find a familiar face.

“Dr. Extreme?!” Shade balked.

“Yep. Funny how often we run into each other.” Dr. Extreme gave a follow motion and Shake stood from her seat before following. The two walked a little way down the hall before Dr. Extreme opened a door. Shade went through it first before the doctor followed, closing the door behind them. Inside the room were four beds at corners of the room with plain white sheets. “Take a seat.” The doctor motioned toward a bed and Shade took a seat on it. “So, what seems to be the problem this time around?”

“I’ve had a killer headache for the past couple days. Kinda just woke up with it.” Shade explained.

“Have you tried using any medicine?” Dr. Extreme asked, taking out a little flashlight and turning it on. “Keep your eyes open for me, please.”

Shade complied. “I’ve tried some medicine for it and it has lessened it somewhat, but it hasn’t disappeared once.” She told the doctor as he shined the light in her eyes.

“Hm. Have you used any new or difficult magic recently before the headache showed up?”

“No, the most I’ve used is basic telekinesis on small, light objects.”

Dr. Extreme took out a small strap. “Hold out your arm please.” Shade did and Dr. Extreme wrapped the strap around her arm. It was a small blood pressure machine. He turned on the small machine and as it slowly expanded, he continued his questions. “Anything different about your diet in the past couple days or have you recently received any kind of head injury?”

“Nope. I’ve been eating the same and the last time I got hit in the head was the last time I saw you.”

The blood pressure machine beeped and the doctor wrote down the displayed blood pressure on a clipboard. “Well, your blood pressure is a little higher than normal, but definitely not high enough to cause your headache.” He set down the clipboard on a small end table before turning back to Shade. “I’m going to cast a Brain Check Spell. Do I have your permission?”

“What’s a Brain Check Spell?” Shade asked with a raised brow.

“It’s a spell that will make pictures of your brain for me to look at.” Dr. Extreme explained.

”Oh, it’s like an MRI.” Shade gave a nod. “You have my permission.”

Dr. Extreme lit up his horn and casted the spell. Shade’s head is covered in his magic aura for a few moments before it leaves. Four images then appear in front of Dr. Extreme. He looked over the images and raised a brow. “That can’t be right.”

“What is it?” Shade asked.

“By the looks of it, you’re suffering from the side effects of an overuse of magic.” The doctor turned the images over for Shade to see. The brain was white in the images, but there was a notable shade covering it. “This covering of the brain only happens if you use too much magic or, in an unlikely case, when mind magic is used. Such magic is banned, however.” He dismissed the images after saying this. “Perhaps you’ve been sleep casting? It’s an uncommon occurrence but a reasonable explanation behind it.”

“Weird.” Shade put a hoof to her chin. “Well, is there a way for me to at least stop the headache?”

“Yes. You just need a medicine with a little more kick behind it. Then you should be fine.” Dr. Extreme picked up his clipboard again, writing something into it before ripping it off the paper. “Here.” He gives the piece of paper to Shade. “Give this to the pharmacy by the front and they’ll get you what you need.”

“Thanks doc.” Shade stood up and shook his hoof.

“Of course.” Dr. Extreme nodded. “Is there anything else you need before you go?”

“No, I’m sure that’s all. I’ll come back if there is.”

“Feel free to. I’m here for the next month or so, teaching the doctors all the new practices.”

Shade chuckled. “Alright then, see ya.” Shade gave a wave as she left the room. She then headed back to the front. “Excuse me.” She spoke to the pony at the front desk. “Which way is it to the pharmacy?”

“Just down that way, ma’am.” They pointed to a direction and Shade went that way. She quickly found the little storefront, where another pony was waiting there, obviously bored.

“Oh.” They perked up at Shade’s approach. “What can I do for ya?”

“Dr. Extreme told me to just give this to you.” Shade passed the paper to the pony, who gave it a close look.

The pony gave a nod. “I’ll be right back with it.” They disappeared behind a display shelf and came back after a moment with a small bottle in hoof. “Take two of these every hour until the bottle’s empty. After that, you should be fine.”

“Alright, thank you.” The pony passed Shade the bottle and Shade then left the hospital. As she walked, she took out two small black pills and took them before putting the bottle in an unseen pocket.

---

Princess Luna poured over documents. She was sitting at her desk within her room. Spread in front of her were documents with pictures of multiple ponies.

“There is something suspicious about this family.” The princess muttered to herself. “All of them died in the same year. They all had mental health issues, the only exception being the elder daughter and mother, as far as I’m aware. But, it doesn’t make sense. Two were murdered, five died from accidents, and one committed suicide. All of this happening in such a short amount of time cannot be a mere coincidence.”

“Those dreams the maid had. They were made by more than one creature. I could feel their presence in the dream, yet they were nowhere to be found.” She scratched her head in thought.

She looked out a tinted window, looking over the city of Canterlot. She focused on one spot in particular, the business she visited just a week or so ago. “And then there’s the father’s golems. They were made to still operate after he died, but they sensed his magic signature not long after the attack on the city. He’s been dead for two years, there shouldn’t be a trace of his magic left, but they sensed it.”

“The more I think about it, the more nonsensical it sounds. The golems could simply have malfunctioned in a way that went past their diagnostics. Machines aren’t perfect, after all.” She sighed, putting her head in her hooves. “It feels like I’m grasping at straws. There are so many holes in this information, it feels like. Maybe I’m thinking too much about this.” She looked over the papers again. “Perhaps I should bring this up with Celestia. She likely would have a better idea of what to do.”

Luna closed the curtains to the window and put the papers into a folder. She stashed the folder into her desk before taking off her crown and necklace. “For now, I must rest. I will need to visit that maid’s dreams again tonight. She must know more about this. After that, I’ll talk to Celestia.” Luna decided. After changing into her pajamas, the night princess got under the covers and allowed the call of sleep to take her away.

Comments

[Khanathara]

I hope you enjoy it, regardless.

In fact I did.

[A random pony oc]

Things are about to get spicy :D

The story is great so far!