When Nurse Redheart's pet gets sick, she knows there's only one pony she trusts. And while she's there, perhaps Fluttershy can teach her that there's somepony else she needs to take care of as well.
Nurse Redheart loves her job. She’s the head nurse at Ponyville Hospital, and she helps take care of everypony in town. It’s a very rewarding job, and she loves it very much. At least that’s what reminds herself of every day.
The only thing that Redheart loves more than her job is Feverfew, her pet skunk. So when Feverfew gets sick after the veterinarian’s office is closed, Redheart knows there’s only one pony she trusts with her beloved pet’s care.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy seems to think that Feverfew isn’t the only one with a problem, and that not all ailments are physical.
Written as a birthday present for ArchAngelsWings, my partner in both life and horsewords
for ArchAngelsWings, who brought calmness into my life
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Chapter One One of Those Days
⠀
⠀ There was a great cruelty in the world. An injustice that snuck up on ponies unaware, catching them when they least expected it. It cared not whom its victim would be; it came for all, with neither mercy nor prejudice, and it did not come quietly.
The sun was not yet in the sky when it came for Redheart. She was asleep in her bed, as anypony would be at such an hour, when the great adversary began its wailing.
Redheart awoke with a start and glared at the monster that was her alarm clock. She smacked the button on the top, with perhaps a bit more force than was strictly necessary. At least the alarm went quiet, although that scarcely made up for it having the audacity to ring in the first place.
With a heavy groan, Redheart pulled herself out of bed. A low light coming in from her bedroom door was all that lit her way as she shuffled towards it, guided more by memory of the room than by the little vision provided by the light.
The light brightened as Redheart stepped through the door. Even if it was still fairly tame, she winced and lifted a hoof over her eyes. She slowly continued her shuffle towards the kitchen, but she stopped when she heard the sound of claws tapping against the wooden floor. That finally got her to smile, and she held out a foreleg in preparation.
Two tiny paws wrapped around her foreleg, and Redheart lifted her pet. The little skunk climbed from her leg to her shoulder. “Well, good morning, Feverfew. Sleep well?”
In response, Feverfew nuzzled against her cheek.
“Glad to hear it. Now come on, this pony needs coffee.”
It was always the highlight of Redheart’s mornings. When Fluttershy had suggested she adopt the baby skunk, she’d had her doubts. She often worked unexpected hours, so the amount of time she’d be able to spend with her pet was never guaranteed. Plus skunks had a certain… reputation that was cause for some concern.
But Fluttershy had convinced her. As Fluttershy had explained, skunks could be very social animals, but also did well independently. The quality of time that Redheart was able to spend with her pet would be far more important than the quantity. As well, Fluttershy informed her that skunk spray was only used as a last resort method of self-defense, so it wasn’t likely to be something she’d need to worry about.
It turned out that Feverfew had been the best choice Redheart could have made. If anything, the nurse often felt like her pet took care of her more than the other way around. Every day, when Redheart’s alarm would go off, Feverfew would wake up and turn the kitchen light on, then wait. And every day, Redheart would be greeted with cuddles, finally giving her a reason to smile in the mornings.
Of course, coffee was still an important part of the day. Redheart set the skunk down on the kitchen table and set about making her morning caffeine boost. “Some days, I wish you knew how to make coffee, Few. Then you’d really be taking care of me.”
Feverfew sniffed around the tabletop.
“I know, it’s coming.”
Of course, Redheart did take care of her pet as well. While waiting for the water to boil, she opened her refrigerator and pulled out a bowl full of mixed vegetables. Before giving it to Feverfew, however, she set it on the counter. She pulled a bag of oats from a cabinet under the counter and poured some into the bowl. She started to tuck the bag away again, then looked at the bowl and thought better of it and added a little more. Oats were her favorite, after all.
“Here you go, girl,” Redheart said, finally setting the bowl on the table. Feverfew immediately went to work on it. Redheart frowned; Feverfew was always such a voracious eater that Redheart was occasionally concerned for her. “Maybe you could try to actually chew your food, Few?”
It didn’t slow her down any. With a sigh, Redheart turned back to the stove and added coffee grounds to the now-boiling water. “Well then don’t blame me if you’ve got a stomach ache later.”
By the time Redheart was sitting down at the table with her coffee, Feverfew had already finished her breakfast. “Don’t give me that look. You know that Dr. Fauna gave specific instructions for how much to feed you.”
Feverfew turned up her nose. Regular check-ups showed that she was perfectly healthy and was always the proper weight for her age, but she maintained very strong opinions about Dr. Fauna’s proposed diet for her.
Redheart smiled and scooped her up, cradling Feverfew in her foreleg like a baby. She pointedly poked the skunk’s belly. “Although I think we both know you don’t need it, we also both know I can’t help but spoil you.”
Knowing very well that she had won, Feverfew nuzzled against Redheart’s foreleg. Redheart could only sigh and shake her head as she put her pet back down. One of these days she resolved to not be such a pushover, but she knew that day was not today.
She stood up from the table and ducked her head back into the cabinet. After rummaging through it for a moment, she found the box of cereal she was looking for. Although it was meant for ponies, it was a simple mix of grains and fruit with a low sugar content, which Dr. Fauna had recommended as a treat.
When Redheart emerged from the cabinet, Feverfew was already nudging her bowl closer. Redheart chuckled and rolled her eyes, then poured some cereal into the bowl. She wondered if it was a bit too much, but Feverfew didn’t seem to think so.
She didn’t have the chance to wonder for long, however. As she was closing the box, her alarm went off again. This time it signified that she was out of time and needed to run out the door. She quickly threw the box in the cabinet and grabbed her coffee. “Guess I’ll be drinking on the run again…”
She hurried to the door, but stopped when she heard the sound of four paws jumping off the table and running after her. With a smile, she turned to say her goodbyes before leaving. “You behave yourself, alright? Love you, Feverfew.”
Feverfew answered by rubbing against Redheart’s legs. She sat by and watched as Redheart ran out the door, and as usual, the pony couldn’t help but feel bad for leaving her alone.
It was one of those kinds of days. Not just a bad day. It was the kind of day where nothing went right. The kind of day that seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in making things go wrong. One of those days.
Redheart had only drunk half her coffee by the time she got to Ponyville General Hospital. On a good day, she would have had time to finish it while going over the status of the patients with the overnight staff. But this was not a good day, so she immediately found herself being dragged into a patient’s room because he wouldn’t take his medicine. Her coffee was quickly set aside and just as quickly forgotten.
“I don’t need any medicine! Just got to walk it off, that’s all I need.”
“Mr. Waddle, please…” Redheart sighed and checked her charts. Not that she needed to; she was already perfectly aware of why he was staying at the hospital. But visibly checking the chart would give a sense of officiality to her statement. “You’re here for arrhythmia, which causes, among other things, fatigue. You’ve been recovering splendidly, but you’re still not ready to be up and about yet. You will not get better by ‘walking it off’.”
“Nonsense! I’m fit as a fiddle, let me show you.”
It took twenty minutes to get him to take his medicine, which should have been done before Redheart had even arrived. From there, she finally managed to meet with the overnight staff, which didn’t manage to improve her day any.
“We had some trouble with the patient in room 103.”
“103? But that’s Rumble’s room. He’s always been so well-behaved before.”
“Oh no, it wasn’t anything he did.” Nurse Sweetheart sighed. “The medicine was making his pneumonia bearable, but he was still having trouble sleeping. So we gave him a sleep aid, but he had a bad reaction to it.”
Redheart winced. “How bad?”
“He’s not in any danger, but it certainly didn’t help him sleep. He’s been awake all night.”
Redheart nodded. “I’ll check on him and see if I can help him get some rest before his family visits later. I just hope they don’t show up too soon…”
Finally sitting down at her desk should have been a turning point in the day. It should have given her a chance to organize and plan, and to get herself in the right mindset for work. It should have, but it didn’t.
Instead, Redheart found a pile of paperwork waiting for her. It was there, of course, because she had left it there the night before. She always told herself that she would get everything done sooner, but that ideal never seemed to hold up when she was still at work after visiting hours were over.
In the end, it didn’t matter much anyway; before Redheart even had time to properly take inventory of the work ahead of her, she was already being pulled away. It seemed Rumble’s brother had arrived for a visit before Redheart had even had the chance to check in on him. He was in Rumble’s room by the time Redheart got there.
“I don’t feel so good…”
Thunderlane made a good effort at putting on a comforting smile for his brother. “You’ll be better soon, Rumble. The ponies here know what they’re doing, and they’re gonna take good care of you.”
It was subtle, but Redheart noticed the way he glanced back at her while he was talking. “Your brother’s right, Rumble,” Redheart said. “Everything will be just fine, you’ll see. I promise that we’ll have you in tip top shape in no time.”
And it didn’t stop there. The whole day was filled with things going wrong. Things were misplaced, so Redheart had to track them down. An early appointment ran later than expected, which threw off the schedule for the whole day. Flu season meant more unscheduled walk-ins than they had expected.
It was just one of those days, so it didn’t come as a surprise when Tenderheart asked her to stay late.
“I know it’s short notice, but I just found out my sister came to visit Ponyville. It would mean the world to me if I could leave a few hours early so I can meet her at the station.”
Why couldn’t ponies just schedule these things in advance? Of course, Redheart wouldn’t say that, though. “I suppose if it’s for family… then sure, I’ll find someone to cover for you.”
“Yes! You’re the best, I owe you one!”
Redheart did her best to put on a friendly smile. “Don’t worry about it. Have a good time with your sister.”
It wasn’t even surprising. Tenderheart thanked her more, and Redheart assured her it was fine, all while knowing that there would be no one to cover for her. As much as she longed to just get back home, it seemed Redheart herself would be staying to make up for the lost time. But on days like this, she knew better than to expect things would go according to plan.
It was the only kind of day she seemed to have anymore.
The extra few hours felt much longer than they should have as the events of the day continued to pile up on her. By the end, even little things were grating on her – the flickering of the light in the second-floor hallway, or a document being in a different drawer than she expected. But ever the professional, she kept her cool; anypony around her would believe she was completely calm and collected. It wouldn’t do for the head nurse to break down in front of everyone.
Even leaving didn’t make her feel better. The day had just been too busy to get everything done; she had arrived to a pile of work at the start of her shift, and she would the next morning as well. There was nothing to do about it, though. It was already getting too late in the day, and she’d reached the point where the comfort of home sounded better than a clean start in the morning did.
The walk home was slow, and the sight of shops closing up only served to remind her how long the day had been. All she wanted was to get home, curl up with Feverfew, and –
“Oh, Nurse Redheart!”
Redheart smiled as her neighbor greeted her, and hoped the chat wouldn’t last too long. “Hello, Daisy.”
“Busy day?”
“Well, you know how it is. Never a dull moment at Ponyville Hospital!”
Daisy grinned. “That’s the spirit! It’s so nice to know that the nurses at Ponyville Hospital are so happy to help ponies in need.”
Redheart was feeling like a pony in need herself, but of course she couldn’t ever say that. “Of course, it’s a very rewarding career.”
“I can imagine,” Daisy said. And right as Redheart was about to depart, she continued with, “Hey, since you’re here, do you think you could take a look at my shoulder? It’s been sore for the past few days now.”
Redheart wanted to point out that a sore muscle probably didn’t require medical attention. That she should just take it easy for a bit and see how it feels, or maybe schedule a trip to the spa. And that if she did need medical attention, Ponyville Hospital was open at all hours, and walk-ins were accepted if it couldn’t wait for an appointment.
She wanted to point that out, but what she said was, “I suppose I could take a look. Let’s step inside so I can see it in the light.”
Redheart was so close to home, but still she was kept from it. There was nothing visibly wrong with Daisy’s shoulder, and questioning her revealed that she had been overdoing it at work. The muscle had likely been strained while she was pulling an over-full flower cart, and she’d been using it regularly in the following days.
The only thing Redheart could do for her was wrap it in a compression bandage and recommend that she take it easy for a few days. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but then Daisy insisted that she stay for late afternoon tea as a thank you. By the time they finished, it was late enough for dinner. Daisy tried to get her to stay for that as well, but Redheart managed to get away by using Feverfew as an excuse.
Even though she lived just next door to Daisy, it still felt like a miracle when nopony else stopped her on the way home. Only when the door was shut did she really feel any sort of comfort, but even that was coated with a heavy layer of exhaustion.
The quiet of the house told her that Feverfew was asleep. She’d get up soon enough, though. She was never late for dinner.
Redheart made her way into the kitchen, then opened the fridge and pulled out a plate with a partially cut up fish on it. It had been difficult to adjust to the needs of an omnivorous pet – finding meat in Ponyville wasn’t always easy, not to mention cutting, cooking, and storing it – but there was no way Redheart would ever hold back on Feverfew’s dietary needs. Besides, it had been six months since Redheart had adopted the skunk, and it no longer fazed her as she cut the remaining meat off the fish into smaller pieces and discarded the bone.
She set the meat to cook and assembled the rest of the meal. Along with the fish, dinner for Feverfew would be a balanced meal with a bit of everything: cheese, rice, almonds, and mixed vegetables. Dinner for Redheart would be whatever she found the energy to make afterwards.
“Feverfew, dinner time!” Redheart called out as she was adding the fish to the bowl with everything else. “And it looks pretty good. If you don’t hurry, I think somepony else might wind up eating this!”
The sound of claws on wood was slow and quiet. Instead of running over to her at full speed, as she normally would, Feverfew walked in at a slow pace with her head hung low.
“Come on, Few, it’s your favorite time of day.” Redheart set the bowl on the table, but Feverfew made no effort to climb it. She walked past the chair she would use to climb up and instead leaned against Redheart’s legs. “What, did you have a rough day too? Well alright then, but I really do need to stop spoiling you so much.”
Redheart lifted Feverfew and placed her on the table. The skunk looked at the food, then turned away from it.
“What’s gotten into you?” Redheart asked. “This morning you act like you’re starving, and now you don’t even want to eat at all.”
Although she knew better, Redheart didn’t have it in her to put up a fight. So with a sigh, she turned around to get the cereal out of the cabinet, only to find that the cabinet drawer wasn’t closed all the way. Opening it further revealed the box of cereal on its side, with nothing but a few spilled pieces remaining.
Realizing what happened instantly, Redheart pulled her head out of the cabinet. “Feverfew, did you eat that whole box!?” Feverfew covered her head with her paws.
“Oh, dammit…” Redheart muttered to herself. She had been so preoccupied in the morning that she hadn’t remembered to close the cabinet tightly. Feverfew had always had her diet carefully monitored, and so she had never learned what too much of a good thing could mean. If it had just been grain, there wouldn’t have been a problem; Feverfew would have a stomach ache, then she’d feel better after sleeping it off.
But the cereal had fruit in it, and there was certain fruit that skunks either couldn’t eat, or that they could only eat in small amounts. Dr. Fauna had been clear to only give Feverfew the cereal as a treat, but Redheart found she couldn’t recall why.
“It’s going to be okay, Few,” Redheart said as she scooped up the Skunk. She walked towards the front door as quickly as she could without jostling her poor skunk too much. “We’ve just got to see Dr. Fauna and we’ll get you feeling better in no time! I just hope we’re not too late…”
They were, of course, too late. Dr. Fauna’s office must have been closed for hours, and Ponyville didn’t have a twenty-four-hour veterinarian’s office. And since Redheart didn’t know where Dr. Fauna lived, and nopony at Ponyville Hospital knew more about skunks than Redheart did, her options were limited.
Which is how she found herself on Fluttershy’s doorstep far too late to drop by unannounced under normal circumstances. But one look at the whimpering skunk was all it took to push concerns of politeness from her mind.
And so she shifted Feverfew so she was half balancing on her shoulder and half in the crook of her foreleg, then awkwardly knocked on the door. ‘Please be home…’
There was an agonizing moment of stillness before the door creaked open. “Hello?” Fluttershy said tentatively.
“Fluttershy!” Redheart grinned as the soft light from inside fell on her, but her relief was short lived. “I’m sorry for dropping in, but Feverfew is sick, and…”
Fluttershy opened the door wider. “Oh dear… Please, come inside.”
Redheart followed her into the cottage. Fluttershy led her to a couch, where she placed Feverfew down. “What happened?” Fluttershy asked.
“While I was at work, she got into a cabinet and ate a whole box of cereal. It was a mix of grains and fruits.”
Fluttershy gently stroked Feverfew, making sure the skunk knew she didn’t mean any harm. Feverfew gave her a weak nuzzle, likely remembering the pony who had cared for her before Redheart adopted her. “Were there raisins or grapes in it?”
Redheart shook her head. “No, just cranberries.”
Fluttershy turned to her and smiled. “I see. In that case, Feverfew isn’t going to be very happy tonight, but she should be just fine. Cranberries aren’t something she should overdo it on, but a tummy ache is all she’ll have to worry about.”
Redheart breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.” With the immediate danger out of the way, she fixed a hard glare at Feverfew. “And maybe you’ll finally learn a lesson from this!”
Feverfew whimpered, and Redheart melted. “Aww, I’m sorry, Few. You’re already feeling crummy enough without me grumping at you.”
Fluttershy giggled. “Of course, it would be best if she spent the night here. That way I can keep an eye on her, just in case.”
Redheart winced. She had been afraid of that. “I understand.” She forced a smile as she said her goodbyes to Feverfew. “Alright, Few, Miss Fluttershy is going to take good care of you tonight, and I’ll be back to get you tomorrow.”
Even though she was still sick, Feverfew’s head shot up.
“Now don’t give me that look,” Redheart said. “It’s only for one night.”
“Aww, come on now,” Fluttershy said. “You’ll get a good night’s sleep, then tomorrow you’ll be able to play with all the other animals while you wait to go back home.”
Feverfew wasn’t having any of it. She bowed her head sadly and wouldn’t respond to any of Redheart’s or Fluttershy’s attempts to cheer her up.
Eventually, Redheart had to give up. “Sorry, Few, but I have to get going. And I’m sure Fluttershy would like to get to sleep.” Since there was no response from the skunk, Redheart turned back to Fluttershy. “Thank you again. And she really is well behaved, I’m sure she’ll be no trouble.”
Fluttershy smiled and walked Redheart to the door. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. And you don’t have to worry about a thing, she’ll be in excellent –” both ponies stopped walking and stared back at Redheart’s hindleg “– hooves.”
Undeterred by being sick, Feverfew had run over and latched herself onto Redheart’s right hindhoof. Redheart was torn between exasperation and adoration. “Few… I know you don’t want me to leave, and, well… who am I kidding? I don’t want to leave you either. But you need to let Miss Fluttershy take care of you.”
Redheart’s attempts to remove Feverfew proved futile; all that happened was Feverfew transferring from her hindleg to her foreleg.
“Uhm…” Fluttershy said. Redheart turned to see her smiling sheepishly at the two of them. “You could stay the night, uhm, if you wanted to. I don’t have a spare room, but you’re more than welcome to stay on my couch.”
“Oh, that sounds nice, but I’d really hate to impose…”
“It’s no trouble at all. I understand not wanting to leave your pet behind.”
“In that case… I’d love to. Thank you, Fluttershy. Again.”
As they walked back inside, Feverfew finally loosened her grip, giving Redheart the chance to shift her passenger from her foreleg to her shoulder. Fluttershy looked at the skunk clinging onto her and giggled. “You know, she’s lucky to have someone who loves her so much.”
Redheart chuckled. “Yes, she definitely is.”
Fluttershy cocked her head and looked at Redheart. “Hmm? Oh!” She mocked surprise then smiled playfully. “I was talking to Feverfew. I don’t know what you’d do without her.”
“What makes you say that?” Redheart asked, even though Fluttershy was completely right.
Before Fluttershy could reply, Redheart’s stomach rumbled. She blushed as Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, just a hunch. I take it somepony was so busy worrying about her pet that she forgot to feed herself?”
“Well, I…” Redheart turned away, realizing she didn’t really want to admit how hectic her day had been. She was in charge of overseeing the well-being of her patients, and she was expected to take joy in her work. “Yeah, I suppose you have a point there.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Wait right there, I’ll make you something to eat.”
“What? No, you –”
Before Redheart could finish her complaint, Fluttershy was already walking into the kitchen. Pausing only to make sure Feverfew was secure in her spot on Redheart’s shoulder, she ignored the request to wait and followed Fluttershy into the kitchen.
“Fluttershy, please, you’re already doing too much.”
“Nonsense. You’re my guest.” Fluttershy hummed as she moved around the kitchen, getting various ingredients out. When she saw Redheart was about to protest, she bashfully added, “And… I haven’t eaten either.”
“Can I help, then?” Redheart asked, determined to at least do something in return for the hospitality. It seemed Feverfew was finally satisfied that Redheart wouldn’t abandon her, since she allowed her caretaker to set her on a chair.
“Sure! Would you mind cutting the onion while I get out the rest of the ingredients?”
Redheart smirked knowingly. “Cut the onion? No wonder you agreed to let me help so easily.”
Fluttershy didn’t even try to deny that she had offloaded the worst job. “Well, you did offer.”
Both mares laughed as they worked. Fluttershy pulled out more ingredients for them to work with – garlic cloves, an eggplant, a zucchini, a bell pepper, and tomatoes – and Redheart prepared them as Fluttershy cooked. It reminded Redheart of simpler times; although she had always been a decent cook, she hadn’t actually done much of it in recent years. Well, aside from preparing meals for Feverfew.
Even though Redheart was hungry before they had started cooking, the time flew by quickly. Redheart was reminded that Fluttershy was much more friendly and talkative than she would have expected. Sure, everyone in town knew who Fluttershy was, but few ponies really seemed to know her. She was the first stop for ponies looking for a pet and was becoming a bit more of a common sight in town when she was with her friends, but she largely came off as a pony who preferred her peace and quiet. And yet here she was, playing the gracious host and fully participating in the conversation.
“...and after looking all over Ponyville, guess where those pesky bunnies were?” Fluttershy asked as they carried their plates to the table.
Redheart was already smiling. “Don’t tell me they were back in their burrow already?”
“Of course they were,” Fluttershy said with a laugh. “Tucked away safe and sound, completely unaware that I was even looking for them.”
Redheart laughed and shook her head. “I know what that’s like. We’ve had that happen at the hospital a few times.” She set her plate down and gently lifted Feverfew, who immediately tried to climb onto the table. “Sorry, Few, but I don’t think Fluttershy wants a skunk on her kitchen table.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Fluttershy said as she sat down. “She, uhm, she wouldn’t be the first. Animals kind of make themselves at home here.”
“Sounds good to me.” Redheart let Feverfew onto the table, where she gave a curious sniff to their food, then walked away from it and lay back down. And judging by the way she buried her face in her paws, it was clear that she was still feeling quite sick.
Maybe Feverfew was in no mood to be around food, but Redheart was. And as it happened, the meal before her was tantalizing. The two mares’ work was certainly going to pay off, as the ratatouille they had made looked and smelled delicious.
Redheart took a bite and found the looks undersold the food. It tasted amazing, and was exactly what she needed. Feverfew was going to be okay, they’d spend the night together after all, she was eating a wonderful home-cooked meal, spending time in delightful company, and she wouldn’t have to think about –
“So how’s everything going at Ponyville Hospital?”
Well, it was nice while it lasted. “Oh, we’ve been busy as usual. With the flu going around, you’d think ponies would be a bit more careful about washing their hooves, but…” Redheart shook her head. She was supposed to be positive about her job. “But of course, it’s very rewarding to help everypony feel better!”
Fluttershy frowned for a second, then returned to a comforting smile. “Well, of course, but that still sounds very frustrating. Nopony wants to do more work than they have to.”
That was a hell of an understatement. “I suppose that’s true, but really, I do love my job.”
Fluttershy nodded. “I understand. It’s always so wonderful to know that I’m making a difference in the lives of all the animals I look after, even though they can be a hoof full sometimes.”
“Oh, I’ll bet.” Redheart grinned at the potential to move the conversation away from the hospital. “Must be tough to get the animals to cooperate, even with your gift.”
“Most of the time it’s not too bad. Although sometimes I have to think outside the box a little.” Fluttershy looked around before leaning in closer. “Especially with Angel Bunny.”
“Uh oh.” Redheart leaned in as well and matched her conspiratory tone. “What’s so bad about Angel Bunny?”
“Oh, he can be a real hoof full. A little while ago he even got it in his head that he wanted to try parkour.”
Redheart snickered. “How’d you talk him out of that one?”
“I didn’t.” Fluttershy smiled at Redheart’s surprise. “Well, I tried to, but he can be very stubborn. So I set up a safe place where I could make sure he didn’t get any serious injuries, and I let him try it. Between you and me, I knew he wouldn’t like it. But I also knew there was no way to convince him that until he tried it himself.”
“Huh.” Redheart returned to her normal sitting position. “Pretty sneaky, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy just giggled and resumed eating her food. The evening went on, and the conversation lasted longer than the food did. Neither of them admitted to it, but Redheart was certain that they both knew they were letting more time pass them by than was wise.
Hours had passed by the time Fluttershy finally decided to call it a night. She made sure Redheart had plenty of pillows and blankets, then went to her bedroom upstairs.
The couch was by no means a replacement for a bed, but it was comfortable enough for one night. And as tired as she was, Redheart couldn’t bring herself to care. She snuggled into the blankets and had to fight to keep from falling asleep immediately. She just had one thing to make sure of first.
“You doing alright, Few?”
Feverfew, who was snuggled against Redheart’s chest, made a soft whimpering noise.
“Yeah, I know. But tomorrow you should be good as new.” Redheart stroked Feverfew’s pelt, and in turn she nuzzled her way closer to the pony.
“I love you too, Few. Goodnight.” Redheart stretched her neck to reach Feverfew’s forehead for a goodnight kiss, then closed her eyes to go to sleep. “But if you throw up on me while I’m asleep, I won’t forgive you.”
If Feverfew had a reply, she was too soundly asleep to give it. And before long, Redheart was as well.
⠀ Right from the start, it was clear that this day was going to be different. As always, the sun wasn’t up when Redheart awoke, but she woke to something much more pleasing than her alarm clock.
There was some light pouring into Fluttershy’s living room from her kitchen, and gentle noises of someone moving around as quietly as possible. But neither of those were the reason Redheart woke up. No, it was something much nicer, something she almost thought was a dream.
Fluttershy was singing.
It was quiet, hardly louder than the other sounds coming from the kitchen, but Fluttershy’s voice was serene. She had been humming along merrily while they made dinner the night before, but hearing her actually sing…
It pulled Redheart off of the couch and guided her towards the kitchen. She lingered outside the door to savor the sound. It was hard to imagine anyone could be so happy before the sun was out, but Fluttershy sounded like she was in complete bliss. Her voice occasionally rose in volume, which brought out a smile from Redheart; Fluttershy was clearly trying to keep quiet, but she kept getting lost in her song and forgetting.
It was with some reluctance that Redheart finally entered the kitchen. Just as she expected, Fluttershy immediately stopped her song. Redheart would’ve liked to have heard more, but she knew she’d feel guilty if she kept listening in.
“Good morning, Fluttershy,” Redheart said brightly. She ignored Fluttershy’s blush, hoping to avoid causing her any more embarrassment. Instead, she turned her focus on the little skunk who was already eating at the table. “And good morning to you, Few.”
Fluttershy seemed relieved to have something else to focus on. “Feverfew is feeling much better after a good night’s sleep.”
It was good to see Feverfew eating again, even if she wasn’t attacking breakfast with her usual ferocity. Then again, maybe that was a good thing as well. “I hope you learned a lesson out of all this. I know I definitely have… I can’t believe I was so careless in the first place…”
“It’s okay.” Fluttershy extended her wing and gently touched the tip to Redheart’s back. “Everypony makes mistakes sometimes, and there’s no need to beat yourself up over it.”
For an earth pony, Redheart was pretty familiar with pegasi wings. She had to be; the treatment of sprained or broken wings was a regular part of her job. And among the things she knew about pegasi and their wings was that they were notoriously picky about letting other ponies touch them. Proper care for a patient’s wing had to be done as delicately as possible, not only because wings were a complex series of bones, muscles, and ligaments, but also because pegasi considered wing touching to be fairly intimate.
Which was why even though Fluttershy’s touch was minor – only a few primary feathers against Redheart’s shoulders and back – the gesture caused her to blush slightly. It was a nice feeling, but none of her experience with injured wings taught her how to respond to voluntary contact.
If Fluttershy noticed the awkwardness, she didn’t address it. After just a moment, she withdrew her wing and walked over to the stove. “I hope the couch wasn’t too uncomfortable last night.”
“Not at all,” Redheart said, happy to be back on a topic she could handle. “I actually feel pretty well rested, all things considered. I just hope I haven’t been too much of an inconvenience… It’s awfully early to be up and about, considering how late we went to bed last night.”
“Oh, no, it’s been nice having you over. And, uhm, I’m used to sleeping unusual hours.” Fluttershy pulled out several plates before turning back to the stove. “I hope you like pancakes.”
“Pancakes?” Sure enough, Fluttershy carried a plate with pancakes stacked on it to the table before going back for a second one. “I do, but you didn’t have to go through all that trouble. I was planning on just getting out of your hair, actually. I should get Feverfew home before I go to work, after all.”
“Nurse Redheart,” Fluttershy said gently, yet resolutely. “It’s really no trouble at all. Besides, I’ve already made them. And I don’t mind watching Feverfew while you’re at work, so you can come back and pick her up this afternoon.” Fluttershy finished setting the table with butter and maple syrup before adding, “Uhm, if you want to, that is.”
Nurse Redheart tried and failed to remember the last time she’d taken the time to eat a proper breakfast. Even on her days off, she was either too busy running errands or too exhausted from work. “Alright, you drive a hard bargain, Fluttershy. But I do have one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Just ‘Redheart’ will do. I’d rather not be nurse anything until I’m at the hospital.”
Fluttershy giggled as they took their seats. “Okay, I think I can manage that one.”
The pancakes were amazing, which hardly surprised Redheart. The longer she was around Fluttershy, the more it seemed like everything about her was wonderful. Despite being quiet and keeping mostly to herself and her close friends, Fluttershy was surprisingly easy to talk to. She was friendly, nurturing, her cooking was divine, and, if Redheart was being honest with herself, she was stunningly pretty.
Even though they had eaten a big dinner the night before and Redheart wasn’t used to eating breakfast, she still ate the whole stack of pancakes Fluttershy had given her. They were simply too good not to.
“That was perfect,” Redheart said once they were all gone. “But I’d better get going or else I’ll be late. That is, if a certain someone doesn’t find a way to make me late anyway for leaving her here…”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Fluttershy said, giggling and pointing to Feverfew. The little skunk also seemed to have eaten her fill and decided to take a nap to sleep it off.
Redheart smiled. She felt bad at the idea of leaving Few without saying goodbye, but she knew it might be her only chance to leave at all. “She shouldn’t give you any problems when I’m gone. And thank you again for everything, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy stood up with Redheart and walked her to the door. “It’s my pleasure.” As Redheart left, Fluttershy waved from the doorway. “Bye, have a nice day at work!”
Redheart waved back and returned the well wishes, then set off towards the hospital. Although most of the ponies in town seemed to have no problems with impromptu singing, Redheart had never been the type for that. Still, she found herself humming along during the walk.
It was a bit odd, really. Feverfew had gotten sick, even if it hadn’t been anything serious. Redheart had been forced to rush out in a panic. She’d spent the night on a couch and hadn’t really had enough sleep. By all accounts, she suspected that she should have found the situation miserable.
Should’ve, perhaps, but she didn’t. The few hours after Redheart had finally been able to calm down upon learning there was nothing to be concerned about had been wonderful. Talking with Fluttershy while Feverfew was curled up with her left Redheart smiling throughout the whole evening. And even though she was on Fluttershy’s couch, Redheart had finally relaxed enough for a good night’s sleep. Waking up to find that Feverfew was feeling better and that Fluttershy had made them breakfast solidified her good mood.
Today was going to be different. It wasn’t going to be another one of those days.
Even if it tried to be one. As soon as Redheart walked in the door, Nurse Sweetheart greeted her with an exasperated look. “Good morning, Redheart.”
“Good morning, Sweetheart. Trouble last night?”
“Not too much, but there’s one thing still giving us trouble.” Sweetheart sighed. “It’s Mr. Waddle.”
“Still refusing to take his medicine?” Redheart asked. Sweetheart nodded, and then Redheart surprised even herself by chuckling. “Alright, I’ll go talk with him.”
Sweetheart fell into step behind her as they made their way to the room. “Everyone knows to listen when Nurse Redheart’s the one giving the orders. I’m a little jealous, to be honest with you.”
“I’ve just been doing this for a long time. But you know, sometimes there’s more to it than just giving orders. I’ve got an idea.”
Mr. Waddle was sitting up in bed with his forelegs crossed when they walked in. Redheart had to wonder how long he had been sitting like that. “Good morning, Mr. Waddle.”
“Hmph,” was all the greeting he gave. “When are you ponies going to realize that I’m healthy as an ox?”
“I hear you haven’t taken your medicine again,” Redheart said.
“I don’t need it! All I need is a good morning walk to shake these old bones loose.”
Exactly as Redheart had expected. “Okay, let’s go for a walk then.”
Both Mr. Waddle and Nurse Sweetheart turned to her in surprise, although they were on opposite ends of that spectrum. Sweetheart pulled Redheart off to the side and spoke in a hushed tone. “Nurse, you know that with his arrhythmia, he needs to rest. And several times a day, he goes –”
“Out in his wheelchair so he can get some fresh air, I know. Trust me.” Redheart flashed a smile before going over to Mr. Waddle’s bed. “Here, I’ll help you up, then the two of us can take that walk, alright?”
Mr. Waddle laughed. “Well, about time someone sees what’s what!”
Redheart used a foreleg to help brace Mr. Waddle as he stood up, then the two set off at a leisurely pace. Although his arrhythmia did mean he needed to take it easy, a simple walk within the hospital wasn’t going to do much but leave him winded. In fact, she was counting on exactly that.
Within a few minutes, Mr. Waddle began to slow down. “Wow, I, uh…” He came to a stop as he caught his breath. “I think that maybe I should go get some more rest after all…”
“Alright then, let’s get you back to your room.”
As she suspected, Mr. Waddle was much more willing to take his medicine once they returned from the brief walk. The whole endeavor took half as long as just trying to convince him had taken the day before, and with any luck, the lesson would stick with him in the future.
“How did you know that wouldn’t just encourage him?” Sweetheart asked once they left the room.
Redheart smiled. It had been the way Fluttershy had handled Angel Bunny’s interest in parkour that inspired her. “Sometimes ponies just need to try things for themselves to be able to see that they won’t like them.”
With no other issues left over from the night before, Redheart should have gone to her desk to plan her day and pretend she was going to finally get to all that paperwork. Instead, she went to room 103 to pay a certain colt a visit.
She knocked on the door gently before going inside. “How’re you feeling today, Rumble?”
Rumble coughed as she entered. “A little bit better,” he said, although he didn’t sound it.
After so many years, giving his symptoms a quick check was almost automatic. There seemed to be no change in his condition, so she soon moved on. “Did you sleep better last night?”
“I tried. I know I need to rest to get better, but I kept waking up…”
Redheart nodded. “It’s hard being away from home overnight.” Redheart took a seat on the end of his bed. “But I have an idea. What if we had your brother stay to read you a bedtime story tonight? Would that make it feel a little more like home?”
Rumble smiled for a moment, but it was short lived. “But they said that visitors had to leave after dinner time.”
“Just let me worry about that.” Redheart leaned in and winked. “We’ll sneak him in through the window if we have to.”
That got Rumble to laugh a little. “Thank you, nurse.”
“Just remember that this is to help you fall asleep. I’ll trust you because you’ve been so well behaved this whole time, but I don’t want to hear that you two stayed up playing games all night.”
Rumble nodded. “Don’t worry, nurse. I’ll make sure he behaves.”
Seeing such an immediate improvement in his mood helped lift Redheart’s own. By the time she left his room, she was feeling uncharacteristically optimistic about the day ahead of her. She made arrangements to allow Thunderlane to stay after the other guests left, then finally made her way to her desk.
What she found was nothing short of a miracle. Nurse Tenderheart was already there, putting some papers in order. “Good morning, Redheart!”
“Tenderheart? What’s going on?”
Tenderheart motioned to a stack of papers left on the desk. “Well, these are the ones that need your attention specifically, but I took care of everything else.”
Redheart stared in disbelief for a moment, then shook her head. “No, what I meant is why are you doing all this? You don’t even work today, and isn’t your sister in town?”
Tenderheart chuckled. “Well, my dad got it in his head to take her out on a hot air balloon, and you know how I am with heights. I got up early to see them off and didn’t have anything else to do, so I figured I’d come in and make up some of the time I missed yesterday.”
The stack of papers that Redheart would need to take care of looked quite manageable; she would probably be through it by the end of the day. “Well, I certainly won’t complain. I can’t believe you got through so much of the backlog.”
“Hey, I did say I owed you one. And you know, this would probably be less of an issue if you organized things a little better. Here, I’ll show you how I do it.”
It was baffling that in all her years of nursing, Redheart had never quite gotten the knack of organizing her work. Before she became the head nurse, she spent a lot less of her time with paperwork, so she never found the need to be as organized as most of her peers did. As far as she was concerned, the most important thing was the time she spent with her patients, and everything else could wait. But the promotion had brought about a big change in how she had to do things, and Redheart always struggled to keep up.
Really, overhauling her organizational system was a long way coming. And with Tenderheart’s help, Redheart was left with a system that she could use to hopefully keep things running smoother in the future.
The day continued in much the same vein. Not everything was perfect, but more things fell into place than not, and obstacles were faced relatively easily. And although Redheart never got caught up enough to have time to slow down, that was just part of working in the hospital. Besides, it kept her busy and passed the time quickly.
By the time Redheart’s day was finally winding down, it was fifteen minutes past the end of her shift. She was surprised to find it had gotten so late, and even more surprised to realize she was actually at a stopping point for the day. Another fifteen minutes to wrap things up, and she was out the door.
It was difficult to remember the last time Redheart left on time. Well, she was almost leaving on time. Certainly closer to it than she usually did. She walked to Fluttershy’s cottage at a steady pace, the full day catching up to her once she was no longer hopping from task to task.
Even if the day had been a good one, it had also been exhausting. She hadn’t felt it much at work, but as she put more distance between herself and the hospital, she found herself sighing and slowing her pace.
‘Today was good,’ she reminded herself. She had gotten everything done that she needed to, and had even made steps to make her future easier. While some patients had been a little on edge, that was to be expected since none of them wanted to be there, and they had all been reasonable with her and the rest of the staff. She’d kept busy, and hardly even noticed the time going by.
Until leaving, of course. Her hooves were sore from being on them all day, she only just now realized that she had skipped lunch, and above all, she just felt absolutely exhausted. It had been a good day, so why didn’t she feel good about it?
All she wanted to do was scoop up Feverfew, bring her into bed, and pass out. It was the same way she felt after a bad day, and she couldn’t place why. Sure, some of it was to be expected. A day of running around the hospital was never going to be easy on her hooves, of course. But there was being tired after a busy day, and then there was wanting to shut down and not have to so much as think about anything besides cuddling with Feverfew.
But she knew she would not be so fortunate. She had to go to Fluttershy’s cottage to get Feverfew, of course, then she’d have to walk back across town to her own house. There’d be dinner to make, and sweet Celestia, she left that fish out the night before!
The more she thought about what was still ahead of her, the more she felt overwhelmed. Her pace slowed even more, which she knew wasn’t helpful at all, but she couldn’t manage to move any faster.
The slowed trip to Fluttershy’s cottage gave her more time to dwell on her problems and less of a chance to relax at home, but eventually she found herself outside the door. She took a moment to compose herself; it wouldn’t do to look anything but her best for Fluttershy, who had gone above and beyond in her kindness.
Redheart knocked on the door and managed a smile as it opened. “Hello, Fluttershy. I hope Feverfew wasn’t too much trouble today.”
Fluttershy stepped aside to allow her to come in. “Oh no, she was a perfect angel.” A small white rabbit shot her a look that caused her to chuckle. “Uhm, figuratively speaking.”
It was a little surprising that Feverfew hadn’t come running to greet Redheart, but as Fluttershy led them into the kitchen, she soon saw why. Feverfew had pointedly turned her back to them, even as Redheart tried to get her attention.
When Redheart attempted to pick up Feverfew, she darted away. Redheart sighed. “I know you’re mad that I snuck off and left you here, but I had to go to work. How about the two of us head home?”
Feverfew showed no signs of relenting.
“She’ll come around,” Fluttershy said. “Are you hungry? I could make us some dinner again.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that! You’ve already done so much, I couldn’t possibly ask you to do anything else.”
Fluttershy showed a small smile. “You aren’t asking, I offered.” She looked over the kitchen and her shoulders drooped a little bit. “Uhm, maybe something easier tonight, though. How do grilled cheese and tomato soup sound?”
Redheart couldn’t help but smile. It seemed that ‘no’ wasn’t going to be an option. “Okay, but only if you let me get the soup going.”
“Deal.”
There wasn’t any humming while they worked this time. In general, Fluttershy seemed more tired than the night before. She smiled and kept her tone positive when Redheart would ask questions about where pots or ingredients could be found, but she kept to herself otherwise. Redheart wasn’t sure if she should give Fluttershy space or try to carry a conversation herself.
It didn’t matter much, as the easy meal didn’t take long at all to make. Still, Redheart couldn’t help but feel like she was intruding on Fluttershy’s personal time.
At least the food itself was good. It was simple, but somehow comforting in that regard. It reminded Redheart of simpler times.
“So how was work today?” Fluttershy asked as they ate.
Happy to have a conversation started, Redheart pushed her concerns aside. “It was great. I got so much done today, and I managed to set some things up that should make tomorrow easier.”
“That’s good to hear. Do you always work such long hours?”
That dropped Redheart’s smile a little. “Yeah, twelve hours is a pretty normal shift for me. Sorry, I should have told you that before leaving you with Feverfew all day.”
Fluttershy stroked Feverfew, who was still determined to look her grumpiest. “It’s really fine, I didn’t mind one bit. But it has to be tough working such long days. I hope you get plenty of days off.”
Although the long hours did often get to her, Redheart didn’t want to complain. “When the hospital’s not too busy, I get plenty of time off.” Of course, the hospital was always busy.
“And you were just saying last night how busy it’s been… You poor thing, you’re probably overworking yourself.”
“No, I love my job! Really!” Redheart had forgotten that she mentioned flu season, and quickly shifted the subject. “But at least I get days off. Taking care of all of Ponyville’s animals must be a nonstop job.”
“It can be a little much sometimes, but the only thing I need to do every day is feed them all. That gives me plenty of time to rest and relax when I need to.”
“If you say so…” Redheart couldn’t see working every day being anything other than horrible, but she wasn’t about to argue the point. “So was today an easy day then?”
“Uhm… not exactly. The Sweet Feather Sanctuary is every bit as wonderful as I had hoped, but there is a lot more to keep up with now. It has to cater to the needs of all sorts of animals, so everything has to be kept just right. The rain lately sure has been great for all the trees and flowers, but the grass was getting so high that the bigger animals couldn’t watch out for the smaller ones. I had to take care of that before anyone got stepped on.”
“Yeah, we definitely don’t want that.”
Fluttershy nodded. “And then a family of wolverines showed up. They weren’t used to being around so many other animals and kept scaring them away. It took forever to convince them that everyone could coexist peacefully. Then I had to convince the other animals not to be afraid anymore, and… well, it was a pretty long day.”
“I’ll bet.” Redheart dipped the last of her grilled cheese into her soup and quickly finished both. She set the bowl on top of the plate so she could carry both to the sink and stood up. “You probably want to unwind after all of that, so I’ll get out of your hair.”
Fluttershy stood up as well and took Redheart’s plate from her, carrying it the rest of the way to the sink. Before she could return for her own, Redheart had already grabbed it and followed behind her. Fluttershy smiled and shook her head when she noticed Redheart’s insistence on helping.
“Thank you,” she said as she took the plate from Redheart, leaving it in the sink with the other. “But before you go… well, I was wondering if, uhm, maybe you’d want to take a walk with me?”
Redheart cocked her head at the sudden request. “Sure. Is there something I can help you with?”
Fluttershy looked away and… was she blushing? “No, uhm. I just thought it’d be nice to get some fresh air and talk a little more. If you’d rather not, then that’s okay.”
“Oh, no, I’d love to,” Redheart said. She didn’t even need to think about that one. In fact, there was only one variable in the situation. She turned to Feverfew. “That is, if someone isn’t going to be a stinker about that.”
Feverfew took a small step towards Redheart while still trying to look indifferent. She quickly gave up on that, however, and made a running jump onto Redheart’s back.
Both mares laughed, and Fluttershy moved closer to pet Feverfew. “What do you think of going on an evening walk, Few?”
“I think some skunky could use a chance to stretch those legs a bit,” Redheart said. “Assuming she ever gets off, that is.”
Redheart was unable to see Feverfew’s reaction, but Fluttershy laughed. With no objections, Fluttershy led them through the living room and out the front door.
The sun had almost finished setting by the time they were outside, but moonlight would still be enough for Redheart to find her way home once they were finished. Meanwhile, there was a sense of gentleness about the cool evening air.
Fluttershy seemed to have a destination in mind, and she moved purposely towards it. They walked in the opposite direction of town, which gave Redheart a good idea of where they were headed. That was fine by her; after the rush of the day, letting someone else take the lead was nice.
It didn’t take long to reach their destination. While it was a good distance from the hustle and bustle of town, Sweet Feather Sanctuary was only a short walk from Fluttershy’s cottage. Since it had been built after Redheart adopted Feverfew, this was her first time visiting the sanctuary.
Without Fluttershy, Redheart would have felt uneasy about being around so many wild animals at night. But Fluttershy seemed to have no reservations. If anything, she seemed to perk up as they entered.
Even in the dying light, there was a serene feeling to everything around them. Fluttershy brought them to what seemed to the be the centerpiece to the sanctuary – a large pool, complete with a small waterfall. It looked like a natural formation, but Redheart knew better; she had heard horror stories from Hard Hat about what ‘that crazy mare’ had asked him to build.
“This place is wonderful,” Redheart said as they came to a stop. She took the chance to set Feverfew down, who began exploring the various sights and scents nearby.
Fluttershy sat down near the water, so Redheart followed suit. Although Redheart had already picked a spot near the other mare, Fluttershy still shifted to be a little closer to her. Given how spacious the sanctuary was, the move wasn’t exactly subtle. Redheart just smiled contently.
“This place is everything I always dreamed of,” Fluttershy said. “I spent years dreaming of this place before I ever told anypony. Making plans, wishing I could do more…”
“You’ve certainly done a lot now,” Redheart pointed out. “You’ve really turned this place into something to be proud of.”
Fluttershy beamed. “And I am proud of it. It feels like ever since I got my cutie mark, this is what my life has been leading up to.” She paused, taking in her surroundings for a moment. “What about you? Did you always plan on being a nurse?”
Redheart chuckled. “Oh, you don’t want to hear about that. And it’s, uh, a little embarrassing.”
“Sure I do. If you want to tell me, of course.” Fluttershy placed her hoof on top of Redheart’s and they smiled at one another. “And you don’t have to be embarrassed with me.”
Redheart blushed a little. “Well, when I was younger, I really wanted to be in the royal guard.”
“What’s embarrassing about that?”
“Nothing. Except that I had some friends with the same idea, and we used to dress up in homemade uniforms and call ourselves the ‘Ponyville Guard’.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that! I bet you were adorable.”
“That’s easy for you to say, you didn’t live in Ponyville back then! And, uh…” Redheart looked over at Feverfew to give herself an excuse to avoid eye contact. “I was a teenager.”
“I stand by what I said.”
Redheart’s blush provided enough reason to keep her eyes focused on Feverfew. The little skunk was staring at something in the pond when a fish jumped out nearby, splashing Feverfew as it landed back in the water. She jumped back, and both mares giggled.
“So what changed your mind?” Fluttershy asked.
Rather than looking back at her, Redheart cast her eyes downwards. Fluttershy’s hoof was still resting on hers. “We didn’t do much guarding, but we did a lot of drills to make sure we were ready just in case. And since I was the oldest, it was always my job to take care of everyone. I started to learn first aid as a way to do that, and then I guess I just kept learning. It took me a while to see, but one day I realized that what I really wanted wasn’t to be a guard – I just wanted to help everypony. I wanted to make a difference and keep ponies safe and healthy, and I realized I could do that from right here in Ponyville.”
“See? That was a nice story.”
Redheart finally turned back to look into Fluttershy’s eyes. She decided to chance moving a little closer. “I guess you’re right.” She smirked as she added, “As long as nopony has any pictures of me in that uniform.”
Fluttershy laughed. She didn’t seem to mind Redheart’s move to be closer; if anything, Redheart got the impression that she was delighted with the way things were going.
“Look.” Fluttershy gestured above them. The sun had finished setting during Redheart’s story, and the sky was now filled with stars. But much closer, other lights also began showing clearly against the night sky. There were only a few when Redheart first looked, but as they watched, more and more fireflies joined in.
Redheart turned her hoof so that instead of having Fluttershy’s hoof resting on hers, Redheart held it in her own. “It’s so beautiful.”
Fluttershy simply nodded her agreement. While the two mares watched the fireflies, Feverfew made her way back to them. She let out a yawn and curled up next to Redheart, who used her free foreleg to cradle the skunk.
“You know,” Fluttershy said after a while, “anypony could see how much being a nurse means to you.”
That was a topic Redheart had hoped they wouldn’t come back to. “Sure. It’s what I spent my life working towards, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
“You do so much for everypony in town.”
Redheart blushed. “Well, I try to do what I can.”
“You take care of so many ponies every day. But I… well, I get the feeling that there’s somepony you aren’t taking very good care of.”
Redheart frowned. Somepony she wasn’t taking care of? That wasn’t possible. “What? Who?”
“You.”
Oh, that was all. “That’s sweet, Fluttershy, but you don’t have anything to worry about. I make sure to go for all my regular checkups and take all possible precautions when working with sick patients. I’ve got a clean bill of health, I promise.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Fluttershy said with a smile, but it soon faded as she continued. “It’s just, well… there are other ways you need to take care of yourself, too.”
“What do you mean?”
Before answering, Fluttershy took a look around them. “Sweet Feather Sanctuary is everything to me. I love it, and I’ll do anything to help it be the best animal sanctuary I can make it. But… it’s also a lot of work. I do have a lot of good times here with all of my animal friends, but most of the time it isn’t just fun and games.”
“Of course. Anypony could see how much work you put into all of this.”
Fluttershy smiled bashfully. “Just like anypony could see how much work it is to run a hospital.”
Redheart opened her mouth then closed it. She wasn’t sure which was more surprising: that she walked into that one so willingly, or that Fluttershy, of all ponies, had been able to catch her off guard so easily.
As if reading her mind, Fluttershy continued. “A lot of things are hard for me. I don’t always do well around ponies I don’t know, especially in groups. I worry if things that I do or make are really good enough, so I usually keep them to myself. These days, I’m a lot better than I used to be. A few years ago, I could barely talk to anypony at all.”
“I admit I was pretty surprised when we started talking last night,” Redheart said. “I hope this hasn’t been too much for you. I didn’t mean to…”
Fluttershy leaned her head on Redheart’s shoulder, cutting off her train of thought. “No, it’s been nice having you around. Even if it can be challenging, I do like spending time with other ponies.” Fluttershy lifted her head and immediately turned to look away. “And, uhm, it was probably good for me that you stayed. It… well, sometimes it can even be hard to take care of myself. It’s much easier to take care of someone else.”
Redheart remembered how even though it had been late by the time she arrived at her cottage, Fluttershy still hadn’t eaten the night before. How many times had Redheart skipped meals just because she didn’t have the willpower to make something for herself? “I know what you mean.”
Fluttershy looked back and smiled. “I… I know we’re not exactly the same. I couldn’t even imagine working somewhere with so many other ponies. But… I can tell you try to keep everything inside, and I know how that feels.”
“I… I just…”
“It’s okay.” Fluttershy squeezed Redheart’s hoof, which was still wrapped around her own. “You don’t have to talk about anything if you don’t want to. But it can help to get those thoughts out of your head, and I’m happy to listen.”
Her instinct was to deny that there was anything wrong. It was what she always did, and besides, things were looking up after all the steps she’d taken earlier at the hospital. “Well, uhm… as the head nurse, I’m not actually in charge of the entire hospital.”
Redheart looked down to see Feverfew had fallen asleep in her foreleg. Her head popped up again as Fluttershy draped a wing over her back. She turned to see Fluttershy blushing, but still smiling comfortingly. Redheart mimicked both the blush and the smile as she scooted closer so that they were pressed against one another.
“So what’s it like being the head nurse?” Fluttershy asked.
The fireflies continued to drift around them. Feverfew was snuggled into the crook of Redheart’s foreleg. And Redheart was learning something about pegasi wings that being a nurse hadn’t quite prepared her for: exactly how warm and comforting it felt to have one wrapped around her.
“I guess it can be pretty stressful…”
Mostly, Redheart talked while Fluttershy listened. Occasionally she would comment, but she didn’t have many solutions to Redheart’s problems. Fluttershy’s place had never been in a hospital, after all. But still, she listened and she sympathised.
For the second night in a row, the two of them stayed up talking for more of the night than was wise. The quietness of the moment prompted them to keep their voices low, neither wanting to disturb the peace more than they needed to. Not that it mattered; only the fireflies were around to hear them talk.
⠀ For years, the morning sun coming in through the window had always woken Redheart up, but she was gradually getting used to sleeping through it. It did pull her from deep sleep into a state of tossing and turning, but not restlessly so. Rather, she was enjoying being in bed; she was surrounded by a nest of pillows and kept curling into different positions as she found the most comfortable one. If she had been allowed to, she would have kept at it for another hour, at least.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t a luxury she would be afforded. As she rolled over one last time, she bumped into a pillow near her face. Still more asleep than awake, she grabbed the pillow and pulled it closer to her chest.
Which would have been fine, had a certain skunk not been sleeping on it. With her cushion being pulled out from beneath her, Feverfew awoke with a start as she fell off the pillow and onto Redheart’s head.
Redheart let out an irritated huff, but didn’t react otherwise. Or at least, not until Feverfew started scrambling to get off. “Hey hey hey! Watch those claws!”
Well, there was no sleeping after that. Redheart pulled Feverfew off of her and set her down on the bed, and they both glared at each other. Only for a moment, however, then Redheart began to laugh.
“Oh, what am I going to do with you?” Redheart asked as she pulled Feverfew into a hug, then chuckled again. “Well, I suppose getting your breakfast would be a good start.”
Glancing at her clock, Redheart saw that it was nine in the morning. That was much later than she was used to sleeping, so it was probably a good time to get up. She set Feverfew down on the edge of the bed so she could jump down to the floor.
After one last moment of stretching, Redheart left the bed as well. For years, every day started with dragging herself out of bed, full of dread for the day before her. But for the past few months, that had been changing. She still had days like that, but they were getting fewer, and now, she had days like today as well. Days that gave her something to feel excited about.
But first, breakfast. Redheart followed Feverfew into the kitchen, picked her up, and set her down on the table. “It’s a good thing Fluttershy doesn’t mind that I let a skunk climb all over the furniture.” Feverfew ignored the comment as she scratched her ear.
Breakfast was easy. Redheart pulled Feverfew’s bowl of pre-prepared fruits and vegetables out of the fridge, added a healthy serving of oats, and set it down on the counter. Feverfew made a show of looking from the bowl to Redheart, causing the pony to tilt her head down incredulously. “You’re not supposed to expect extra, Few.”
Feverfew held her ground for a moment before she caved and dug into the food in front of her. Really, it was hard to blame her; Redheart had been the one who more often than not gave her an extra large helping of oats. But Fluttershy always had a treat for the skunk, and she didn’t want to overdo it.
Speaking of Fluttershy, Redheart knew she’d cause her to worry if she didn’t get something to eat herself. She wasn’t really hungry, but some toast wouldn’t hurt, so she pulled out a loaf of bread. She was surprised to see it was mostly gone – she usually had to throw out the last of any bread she bought, as it would inevitably go stale before she finished it. It was amazing how much more food she went through now that she was actually managing to eat more than one meal on most days.
Within a few minutes, Redheart was sitting down next to Feverfew with toast and strawberry jam. Although she hadn’t felt hungry before, once she had food ready, she was all too happy to eat it.
It was simple, but she was pleased with herself for remembering breakfast. She brought her plate and Feverfew’s bowl to the sink, then checked the time. “Two more hours. But I guess it never hurts to get an early start, eh, Feverfew?”
Feverfew gave her a knowing look before using a chair to get herself off the table.
“Fine! I’ll do the dishes first…”
Grumbling to herself, Redheart set to washing the dishes that had been sitting in her sink for the past week. Daily reminders that she had to do them ‘tomorrow’ had usually proved futile – they had been sitting for so long, what was one more day? – so instead, Redheart had decided that it would be a weekly chore that she’d do every Thursday. Although it should, in theory, be a simple task to just wash them as she dirtied them, most mornings she didn’t have the time and most nights she didn’t have the energy.
It wasn’t like it even took that long. Even with the recent increase in how often Redheart found herself with company, there weren’t usually more than a few dirty dishes a day. As she finished, she found herself wondering why she viewed such simple tasks as if they were so daunting. But that was the same question she had been asking herself for most of her adult life, and she knew better than to hope for a satisfactory answer.
There wasn’t a good reason for why certain things were harder than they should be for her, but that was the reality of her situation. Ignoring her anxiety hadn’t done her much good in the past few years, so rather than dwell on why, Redheart just had to work with it.
With the dishes taken care of, and Redheart feeling even more pleased with herself than before, she proceeded to get herself ready for the day ahead of her. That was easy to find motivation for, at least. There was no way she wouldn’t take the time to make sure she looked her best; she had a date, after all.
The remainder of her time passed by much too quickly. Shower, check her reflection, wonder if the bags under her eyes were noticeable, put up her mane in an elaborately braided bun, admire her manestyle, decide that the bags under her eyes were noticeable, attempt to cover them with makeup, wonder if she just made it look worse, and top it off by panicking over how close it was getting to noon.
Her alarm going off didn’t ease the panic. It was set for half an hour before she was scheduled to meet Fluttershy, so she’d have plenty of time to finish what she was doing and walk to the cottage.
Redheart shut off the alarm and frantically ran through the house to find Feverfew. The skunk was playing with a squeaky toy when Redheart scooped her up for a second opinion. “What do you think, Few? Is the makeup too much?”
Feverfew squirmed and reached in vain for her toy.
“Oh, what do you know!”
Redheart set the skunk down and ran back to her room. She looked in the mirror again to try and decide what to do with her makeup, but instead she noticed the worried grimace she wore.
Redheart closed her eyes and took a deep breath, just like Fluttershy always suggested. She needed to relax. She was worrying herself over nothing. She spent at least a few days a week with Fluttershy, who had to be well aware that she had bags under her eyes by now.
She opened her eyes, looked at her reflection again, and found that, no, she was not calm at all. But she wasn’t running around and asking her pet skunk’s opinion on makeup, so that was a start.
Realizing that she had been a little overzealous on the makeup, Redheart cleaned it off and redid it, opting for a much lighter application. In the end, she found that she could still see the bags under her eyes, but much less so than before. It would have to do, since she had bigger concerns.
Like, for example, the fact that she was now running late. Redheart haphazardly threw her makeup into a drawer and left her bedroom. “Feverfew, time to go!” she called as she approached the door. Feverfew came running eagerly, and the two of them set off at a brisk pace.
It wasn’t so bad. She should’ve left sooner, but she wouldn’t be too late so long as –
“Why, hello there, Nurse Redheart!”
…so long as she wasn’t stopped on the way. At least it was easy to smile when she saw who had called out to her. “Mr. Waddle! It’s so good to see you out and about again!”
“All thanks to you and the rest of Ponyville Hospital!” Mr. Waddle said with a grin.
“Oh, we’re just happy that we can help.”
“No work today, I see?”
“Not today. Remember the two new nurses that started near the end of your stay? They’ve been settling in nicely, and they’re taking on more responsibility these days.”
Mr. Waddle nodded. “About time the rest of you got yourselves some breathing room. I’ve never seen such a hard-working bunch.”
Feverfew rubbed up against Redheart’s legs, reminding her that she had somewhere to be. “You’re too sweet. But I’m afraid I’ve got to run, I’m supposed to be meeting Fluttershy at her house.”
“Oh, well, in that case I won’t keep you. But you really have to let me buy you lunch sometime as a token of my gratitude.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that. Taking care of ponies is what I do, and believe me, it’s more than enough of a reward all on its own.”
Mr. Waddle chuckled. “Now now, I won’t take no for an answer. How does Saturday sound?”
Redheart glanced towards Fluttershy’s cottage and frowned. “I work on the weekends. Really, there’s no –”
“Monday then? It’s all the same at my age.”
Redheart was about to insist once more that he didn’t have to do anything at all, but she knew there was no telling how long it would take to convince him. “How about Tuesday?”
“Tuesday it is.” Mr. Waddle nodded.
Redheart was about to say her goodbyes when he stopped her. “In the meantime, how about you let an old stallion escort you?”
Oh no. Mr. Waddle’s arrhythmia had been taken care of at the hospital, and he was still quite capable of getting around. But he was in his seventies and his heart wasn’t what it used to be, so he was not going to get anywhere quickly.
“That’s very kind of you to offer, but it’s clear across town. I couldn’t ask you to walk all the way there and back.”
Mr. Waddle laughed and nodded. “Alright alright, you make a good point.” Redheart smiled, until he added, “But at least let take you as far as my house, just on the other side of the town square. Celestia knows there’s nothing else for an old stallion like me to do in the middle of the day.”
Why did he have to add that last part? There was no way she could turn him down after that, no matter how long the walk was going to be… “Well, okay then.”
The walk could have been nice under other circumstances. Mr. Waddle was a sweet old stallion, and he had an endless amount of stories from a long and interesting life. But ‘just on the other side of town square’ was still a fairly considerable distance, and Redheart had already been running late.
While they walked along at their painfully slow pace, Redheart couldn’t stop dwelling on how late she was going to be. At least Feverfew seemed to enjoy the walk; she kept running ahead, sniffing things, and poking her head in places to see what there was to see. Of course, that just made Redheart more nervous, because what if she got separated, or stuck in something, or somepony didn’t see her and stepped on her, or… well, Redheart didn’t know what else, but what if something happened!?
“And here we are,” Mr. Waddle said after what had to have been at least a half hour. “Boy, how the time does fly. Thank you for the company, Nurse, and I’ll be seeing you on Tuesday!”
“Looking forward to it already!” Nurse Redheart said as she took a step back from the house. “It was delightful seeing you again. Bye!”
Redheart kept to an average pace until she rounded a corner, then she scooped up Feverfew and broke into the fastest run she could manage with three legs. She barely stopped along the way to smile and wave at Rumble and Thunderlane, and she didn’t dare stop to talk.
By the time she got to Fluttershy’s house, Redheart was completely winded. She set Feverfew down and stopped outside to catch her breath. Every day at the hospital, Redheart was on her hooves constantly. She never tired when walking, be it around town or on nature expeditions with Fluttershy. But running? Running was another matter entirely.
“Okay,” she said in between still ragged breaths. “How do I look, Few?”
Feverfew looked at her approvingly then nudged her towards the door. Redheart smiled. “Okay, okay. Let’s go then.”
She knocked on the door, and Fluttershy’s voice called out, “Come in!” Redheart opened the door and found Fluttershy sitting on the couch with a book.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.”
Fluttershy looked at her with confusion before turning to look at a clock. Confusion turned to surprise as she said, “Oh my, I didn’t even realize what time it was. I, uhm, I guess I’ve been pretty caught up in my book.”
Redheart smiled at Fluttershy’s bashful expression. “And here I’ve been worried all day about being late.”
“That’s silly, you know we’re not in a hurry,” Fluttershy said. She brought a hoof to her mouth to hide a smile. “Uhm, windy day?”
“Huh?” Redheart noticed where she was staring and frowned. She didn’t even need to check to know that running had ruined her mane. Why did she keep asking for fashion advice from a skunk? “Er, how about you finish your chapter while I fix my mane?”
Fluttershy giggled. “Okay. But you know you don’t have to do anything special for me.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”
As Redheart and Feverfew walked into the house, Angel Bunny hopped down the stairs. As soon as he saw them, he made a beeline for Feverfew, who enthusiastically ran over to the rabbit. Feverfew and Angel Bunny had become fast friends. Fluttershy said that it was strange, and that Angel Bunny usually didn’t like other animals much, but he had always seemed like a delightful bunny around Redheart. Which, Fluttershy assured her, was also highly strange.
With Fluttershy returning to her book and the pets off playing, Redheart made her way into Fluttershy’s bathroom. Studying herself in the mirror, she found that at least her makeup had survived, although her hair was a mess. She sighed, then set to redoing the whole thing.
In the end, she didn’t think it looked nearly as good as it had the first time around. But after a few tries, she just had to accept that it would be what it would be, and left the bathroom in resignation.
Fluttershy was still reading when Redheart got back into the living room. There wasn’t much point in disturbing her; Fluttershy had been right that they weren’t in a hurry. They were taking Feverfew and Angel Bunny out to have a pet play date, and she doubted either of them would mind waiting.
Besides, this was part of their relationship. Redheart and Fluttershy both loved doing things together, but the years each of them had spent living alone had gotten them used to doing their own thing. Sometimes they found ways to include each other in things they normally did alone, but there was also a sort of comfort in just being around one another.
It was strange at first; the impulse was always to find things that they could do together. But that was another thing Redheart was learning about herself thanks to Fluttershy. She enjoyed simply being around somepony she loved while they each focused on their own activities, and that was okay.
Although she didn’t turn away from the book, Fluttershy’s ears swiveled towards Redheart as she walked into the room. Fluttershy lifted a wing as in invitation to cuddle up together, which Redheart happily accepted.
And there it was. As Redheart snuggled close to Fluttershy, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and found what she’d spent the morning longing for.
The room was quiet, for the most part. The only sounds came from the animals that lived in and around Fluttershy’s house, the gentle ticking of a large grandfather clock, the occasional turn of the page from the book, and the steady, rhythmic breathing coming from both Fluttershy and Redheart as they sat side by side.
The quietness of the moment worked its way into Redheart. Life moved on, day by day, and sometimes there was nothing to do but roll with it as best as she could. But in moments like this, she felt what she’d spent years longing for. Because Fluttershy did a lot more than remind Redheart to eat, or to take things easy at work, or any of the other little reminders that she needed to hear every so often. Fluttershy brought calmness into her life, and she knew everything else would fall into place.
