Redemption

“Okay, I may have overdone that,” I groan as I set Master Sergeant Fairy down and rub my upper arms. What should have been a regular workout had left me shaking and sore. Pulling magic from my armor's reservoir, I pulse it through my body and give a long sigh as sweet relief flows through my body. Flexing my now limber body parts, I turn to two puddles of equine flesh. “Need some help?” I ask kneeling down beside Sergeant Cloud Burst.

Sergeant Cloud just gives a long low groan, prompting me to laugh.

“Come on now, you barely managed a mile, the rest of us did 5 on foot, and I did another 5 in the air, carrying the medic,” I retort good naturedly, I rest my hands on her side and feed a small but steady trace of healing magic into her, taking it slow until I know how her body will react to the magic.

It seems to work well enough, Sergeant Cloud's Breathing steadies out and she stands up after a couple seconds to stretch. “Hey! That was amazing, I feel like I just had 12 hours of sleep and a message!” she cheers, I just chuckle, moving on to kneel beside Sergeant Scatter Shot.

“Need some help?” I ask her in turn, she gives me an eager nod, she looks like she's trying to nod her head off, which is adorable. I rest my hands on her side in turn and feed a small wave of healing magic into her as well.

After a few moments, Sergeant Scatter stands and stretches her front legs way out like a cat, letting her back pop several times before standing and giving me a heated gaze, complete with hooded eyes, I recoil slightly. She just giggles. “With tricks like that, I bet you made Vine one happy ma-urk” I go from recoiling to striking out in the blink of an eye, wrapping my hand around her throat and lifting her up off her front legs so I can look her in the eyes from my kneeling position, this causes everyone else to tense up as well, regrettable, but she insulted my Alpha, this shall not stand.

“Take that back!” I growl. Sergeant Scatter just grabs ineffectually at my wrist as she struggles to breath. “Take. That. Back.” I order again bringing our faces closer together, she remains stubbornly silent but starts panicking. Bucking her back legs, trying to pull back.

“Stand down, Private!” Pahnzer orders loudly, and is ignored.

“Shit, someone do something!” Cloud orders in a voice verging on panic as well, but they don't dare move for fear of what I'll do.

“Take that back,” I order again, shaking Scatter lightly, she just stares at with pinprick eyes as she overexerts herself on insufficient air flow and starts blacking out, still stubbornly silent, I feel my rage curling inside me as my hand tightens further.

“Redemit,” Fairy Dancer says softly, her voice strangely calm in spite of the turmoil I feel inside her. I turn my head to look at her, a silent snarl upon my face. “She doesn't know what you mean,” she says quietly, I blink a few times, my hand loosening slightly allowing Scatter to inhale shakily.

“My Alpha isn't a whorse.” I respond. I feel a general thread of surprise and consternation from the group surrounding me.

“Human fancying isn't a crime here,” Fairy Dancer continues soothingly, moving closer very slowly, I simply watch her, my thoughts in turmoil. “She didn't mean anything by it, please, let her go.” Fairy continues, laying a hoof on my arm holding Scatter gently, I release my hold on Scatter causing her to fall backward and scramble away from me on her back.

I drop my gaze to the ground and rest my hands in my lap loosely, my muscles tensed up for any retaliation. With the heat of the moment past, I'm starting to contemplate the consequences of my actions. Sergeant Scatter Shot meant nothing by the statement, I reacted entirely out of context in what would have been a perfectly natural act back on my home world.

I blew it. I messed up so badly, I assaulted a superior officer. I'm sure they wont retaliate against Vine, but I'll probably have to . . . I don't know what I'd do outside. Where would I go? The forest? My wilderness survival training was minimal, if you got lost outside a conclave, you were dead, and by the end, there was no wilderness left anywhere nearby, just mountains and swarms hundreds strong.

I'm distracted from my thoughts by an annoyed sigh. “Alright, private, explain yourself,” Pahnzer orders.

“I have no excuse for what I did, I shouldn't have let my last world's behaviors affect my actions here, and for that, I am truly sorry,” I state with complete sincerity, I dug this hole, time to dig my way out if I can.

“Oh shit, so you mean when I made that crack about your . . . oh shit, I'm sorry!” I blink as I turn to find Sergeant Scatter actually still nearby, rubbing her throat, but I don't feel much anger, just general irritation, and a thread of contriteness. When I turn my head to her, she shakes her own. “Sorry Private, they always told me my questionable humor would get me in trouble one day, just never thought it'd be by stallion,” She says with a smirk, I can only stare at her.

“What?” I ask semi-bemusedly.

“By stallion, you know, you. Most males don't mind being flirted with, comes with the territory, always thought'd it be a mare that beat the crap out of me,” Sergeant Scatter says with a smirk. I find myself gratified that she's not holding a grudge, and also grateful that she's taking it in stride.

I gesture towards her throat. “I . . . ah, I can take care of that for you, if you'd like,” I offer by way of apology. Sergeant Scatter considers me a moment, as if she were peering into my soul, then steps up to me. I raise a hand slowly, one finger outstretched, and trace it down her throat lightly, magic whispering into her flesh, dulling the pain and combating the swelling.

Sergeant Scatter steps back and clears her throat, giving a nod and a significant look at Captain Pahnzer, what she's telling him, I don't know, but I hope it's good, or at least neutral. “Thank you,” I state, for accepting my apology, and showing trust in letting me heal her.

“We have GOT to get his gear in production,” Sergeant Fairy states, I look at her questioningly, she just stares back at me. “I mean, look what you just did with a touch, those two were on the ground, now they're up and ready for more, and all this through a human for crying out loud, you have the natural magical potential of a toadstool, no offense to you Redemit,” she says, I just chuckle.

“None taken,” I state, watching Sergeant Fairy shake her head.

“Can anypony do what you just did?” Captain Pahnzer asks, I shake my head.

“With the armor, even an earth pony can power runes, but healing? Not without the right runes, I don't know if I'm unique, or if any human could do this, but I can actually shape the intent of the magic flowing through me, which is why magic consumption is always a problem for me, I can blow my reservoirs in a matter of seconds, most runes, even big ones, will take closer to a minute. Unicorns can use the magic any way they want, including projection,” I explain, having had rather a bit of time and opportunity to experiment.

“Seconds?” Sergeant Fairy asks in a strangled voice. I turn to her with an alarmed look.

“Yeah, close to 3 depending on how badly I want something dead, why?” I ask, Sergeant Fairy just stares at me.

“I don't believe it,” Sergeant Fairy finally states, I blink, I have no reason to lie.

“What's the big deal?” Sergeant Cloud interrupts, and Captain Pahnzer turns towards her.

“His armor holds about as much magic as you'd find in your exceptionally powerful Unicorn's natural reserves, plus it seems to recharge quickly with unlimited uses.

I raise my hand. “Your crystals will break actually. Generally if you drain them fully you get about 5 uses out of them, depending on the material, mine are night-guard issue, we had access to certain . . . perks. The reservoirs on my back aren't crystals, they're a living component, something about crystal pony research, I think. But I do know, don't drain life into them or they'll burn out VERY quickly.” I state with a certain amount of irony.

I get several looks of not quite disgust at my last statement, if these weren't crack troops, I'd say it was squeamishness.

“You can suck something's life out?” Sergeant Rock asks, I nod my head.

“Yep, if I can stick one of my enchanted blades into, the channel I use to power the enchant can also serve to allow me to pull life out of the creature I'm killing, maybe only swarmlings though, never tried it on anything else,” I trail off contemplatively.

“Redemit,” Sergeant Fairy states. “Do us all a favor, and never try that on anything else without specific orders?” she asks rubbing her face, I nod my head.

I'm not sure why she's using my name, rather than my rank as everyone else does, but I'm certainly not objecting, my doubts about the validity of my name aside, it's nice to hear it said by someone other than Vine without disgust or aversion.

“Alright, no one mention Miss Vine Bloom without good reason for now. Private, work on that aggressive streak. Rock, you're with me, everyone else, hit the showers and assemble by the demonstration area in thirty mikes, dismissed,” Captain Pahnzer orders, his emotions moving at a breakneck pace, he's troubled, beyond that, I can't say.

I stand and salute with the others until he moves off, Sergeant Rock in tow, then follow after the three sargents as they lead the way to the showers. Coming to the showers, I'm stuck once more by the size in mass and build, most of the pony showers are designed lower, with broader heads designed to hit as much of their bodies as possible.

Rather than try to squeeze myself under one of the pony-sized ones, I simply head to the human section, which is thankfully devoid of said humans and handlers. Stripping my armor off, I place a hand on my back plate and pull a bit of magic into my body, running my hand over the various pieces, I pulse the cleaning runes, repelling dirt and grime. I'll have to polish most of it later, but that shouldn't be an issue, I can probably find my maintenance kit with the scientists studying the armor.

Stripping off my under-layers, I repeat the process once again, drawing magic off the armor as needed. Once my armors seen to, I walk into the shower area, going to the shower farthest from the door, and least likely to pull attention, I step under the shower head and start messing with the controls. When I get sub-arctic water, I know I'm doing something right, a little more fiddling, and I manage to warm it up.

Grabbing the provided brush and cleaning supplies, I lather the brush up and then turn towards the doorway as I hear the sound of a blade sliding from its sheathe. I tense up, but then relax as I see Sergeant Fairy Dancer through the door, holding my, ugh, sword.

I start worrying though when I sense her unease, she turns to look at me and the feeling intensifies, my heart-rate accelerates and I start taking deep breaths, I don't know what's going on, but alarms are going off inside my head.

I know post-digestive byproducts are about to hit the rotary air impeller when her unease disappears, replaced by determination. I bend my knees slightly and unfurl my wings slightly, grimacing as I feel the water moving through my feathers, it's going to slow me down.

Sergeant Fairy Dancer moves forward into the doorway, I keep my eyes on her steadily, various possibilities and scenarios running through my head. I don't sense hostility, so she dosen't personally hate me, which doesn't rule out an order to kill me. I don't sense desire, so it's hardly a rape attempt, not that the attempt hasn't happened before, but after I dislocated all four of a pegusai's legs and both wings, they left me alone. Of course, that wasn't here, I just pray I don't have to do it to Fairy Dancer, I really wanted her help, this world was terrifying in a lot of ways, and I was missing the thrill of battle badly.

“Can I help you with something, Sergeant?” I ask, gauging her reactions.

“Yes, yes you can, Redemit,” Sergeant Fairy states in a serious tone. “You can submit,” She says, and my teeth bare in a silent snarl. I don't know if she's challenging me, or want's an easy kill, but I won't go down easily either way, but without my magic supply, this could get bad very quickly.

She steps into the showers and I start considering avenues of retreat, there are none, she's blocking the door, and I can hardly slip past a unicorn, their telekinesis may weaken at range, but there is no range in here, and she has the only weapon, I need to disarm her, get the blade stuck in my meat, a wing if possible, this is going to suck.

“Not happening, Sergeant,” I state challengingly, moving forward to place my self in the middle of the room, wings held half open, arms held forward, elbows slightly bent, fingers clenched.

I feel her momentary hesitation, as she considers one last time what she's doing, then all doubt, all fear, just evaporates. 'Oh buck,' is my last thought before we both move.

I bull-rush forward, presenting an easy target for her blade, which she obliges me by stabbing forward at my chest. Extending my right wing out and forward, I force it onto the blade, grunting as I feel it punch through the muscle and grind along a bone. My momentary distraction by the pain proves my undoing.

In a display of mental dexterity, Fairy Dancer looses a second telekinetic wave, this time a simple blast that knocks me back sending me an the floor until I impact the wall head-first, stunning me.

By the time I'm tracking again, Fairy Dancer has both my arms and legs as well as my left wing restrained. My right wing is still impaled on the blade, and I give a muted yelp, clenching my jaw tightly as she pulls the blade out and forces that wing down as well.

I stare up at her, anger coiling through my limbs, my sight going green as power races through my body seeking a release I can't, nay, don't know how to give it.

Fairy Dancer steps up onto me, resting both front hooves on my chest, she levitates my blade to my throat as I stare up at her quietly. “You will submit, Redemit. I won't tolerate actions like what you displayed today,” She says quietly but with great force. I just smile, bearing my teeth. Surprisingly, she dosen't even flinch, just presses the blade closer, touching my skin, I feel the well sharpened blade start separating the layers of my skin, I add a smirk to my grin. Fairy sighs before increasing pressure on the blade, I feel blood start to pool out as the blade sinks deeper, when it starts to approach my veins I tense up, my smile melting into another snarl. “Submit to me, Redemit, I will be your Alpha,” Fairy orders again, my mind races, considering my options. They're simple: Submit or Die.

I close my eyes in defeat, this doesn't prove sufficient for her, my body twitches slightly as she taps the blade slightly, bringing it dangerously close to my throat veins. “Say it,” She orders.

With a sigh of defeat, I give in fully. “You are my Alpha.” I say, feelings of betrayal flowing through me, how can I do this to Vine. 'Because she's free.' my mind whispers back. 'She's free to live and grow, you're just a broken protector without a job and nothing to kill.' I snarl slightly in response, but I know its true.

I feel the blade pulled back slowly, then my Alpha steps off me. “Alright, clean up the mess and heal yourself. Then get ready, we have places to be,” she orders, I nod my head silently.

Standing I move to the shower I was using, tilting the shower head, I wash away the blood on the floor. After that, I ensure my wing is repaired and finish my interrupted shower. upon exiting the shower area, I find my Alpha outside, still holding my sword.

I watch her warily until she notices me and tosses her head at my armor. “Get dressed, lets go,” she orders, I move to my gear and start putting it on, once fully clothed and armored, I turn to her and gesture at the blade.

“May this one have his blade, Alpha?” I ask, flinching slightly as I use the training I'd come to loathe.

“No, you may not, and refer to yourself in the first person, I want your obedience, not your subservience,” Fairy Dancer states with an edge of disgust, I find myself torn. On the one hand, I don't have a decent weapon anymore, on the other, she's willing to treat me as an equal, an equal that will have to follow her orders, but still.

I rub my chest-piece absentmindedly, reassuring myself the little 3 inch blade is still there. How the hay you kill anything with it, I don't know, but I'll certainly be able to slice someone up at least. That morbid yet still humorous thought sustains me while we make out way out of the shower building and through a number of corridors to the parkour jungle.

As we're coming up to them, Fairy speaks softly. “Follow their orders as if they were my own,” I clench my teeth as I find myself placed unceremoniously in the position of Omega, but I keep my silence.

Walking up to the other four, I stand at attention and salute, when Pahnzer returns it, I drop my hand but remain at attention. “What do you want me to show you today, Sir?” I ask, I don't miss his blink at my chance in terminology, and I have to suppress another snarl.

“Alright Private, we've had our exercise for the day, lets discuss -” He starts outlining the subjects he wants to talk about, and I steady myself for a long day ahead.

Several hours later, my voice is feeling rather rough from the amount of instruction and iteration I'd been forced to give. Not having had any schooling on the subject, I was being forced to put into words what I took for granted as much as breathing, and it was not a pleasant experience.

I was tired, I was irritable, and I couldn't heal without permission, but I sure as hay wasn't asking in front of a crowd. As if sensing my fatigue, or noticing the time. Captain Pahnzer holds up a hoof, interrupting my speech on counter balancing every action. “That's enough for today, Private. Lunch should be served in 20, you have a doctor to go see, everyone else, chow time,” he orders, I can only admire the amount of control he exerts with a calm controlled voice.

Contemplating the doctor visit, I find myself more than a little violently averse on the subject, but then, it's not my choice, now is it? I snarl silently and turn to my Alpha, who's watching me equally silently. “I won't ask what's got you irritated. I can guess from what I've heard, but your going, and there will be no bodily harm inflicted on ANYPONY,” She orders, making the last part very clear, I grind my teeth and nod.

“Permission to heal myself before we depart, Alpha?” I query as soon as we're alone, she shakes her head and I blink in surprise, she didn't strike me as the vindictive type, nor did I think she had a cruel streak hidden somewhere which made her response all the more surprising.

“We don't know what changes the use magic causes in your physiology, if we're going to get an honest medical reading, it's best not to cloud the waters,” Fairy Dancer explains, I find myself nodding almost against my will.

“Yes, Alpha,” I respond, more irritation flooding my mind, why? Why'd she have to do this? Why now of all times? That question will have to wait . . .

“Come on then, Private,” Fairy Dancer orders, setting off, I have no choice but to follow.

My tour the previous day starts paying off, as I can tell we're going to the base infirmary, which invokes mixed feelings in me. On one hand, they're the kind of doctors soldiers will tolerate, on the other, said soldiers will be around if push comes to shove, and not on my side.

The closer we come, the more I find myself pulling back in my mind, mental barriers slamming shut as I start practicing fear control exercises I haven't needed in years. It helps only a little, I find myself tracking every corner, every door. It wasn't bad in the hospital, I never saw a doctor more than 30 seconds, and they never even looked at me. Plus, my . . . Vine was there, conscious or no, I had very specific orders to disable or kill as needed if anything happened. Now? I was being led into the hydra's den with both arms tied behind my back, it was all I could do to not pull my knife to have a weapon in hand.

We enter the front foyer and Sergeant Fairy moves to the counter, I have to physically resist the urge to run, I'd rather deal with Nurse Redheart than this, I miss her, she was fair and compassionate, I want to see her, not some random animal in a lab coat.

I watch my Alpha smile at the receptionist. “Hello, I need a full physical for the Private here, she says, gesturing at me, I just want to melt into the background, where no one can see me, keeping a straight face is hard. I don't know why I didn't trigger my helm, didn't think of it, I guess.

The receptionist looks directly at me, then turn back to my Alpha with a confused look. “I'm sorry Ma'am, who?”

“The human right behind me,” my Alpha replies, I can sense a thread of anger, either from the receptionist ignoring me, or what, I can't tell.

The receptionist nods her head slowly making eye contact with several nearby orderlies, they look confused at first, but one heads into the back as the other starts walking forward to listen in, alarms start screaming inside my mind, but I keep my hands by my sides stubbornly.

“Look, just get the doctor,” my Alpha orders, and the detached part of me chuckles. The rest of me just bends my knees a tad, ruffling my wings slightly. More are coming.

I'm not disappointed, what's obviously a doctor and a small army of orderlies come out of the back, look around the room, then focus on Sergeant Fairy, I move up to support her, still wishing I could just disappear and this entire affair could die in a corner somewhere.

“Can I help you, Master Sergeant?” The Doctor asks in a mock friendly voice as he approaches, my teeth draw back as I start flashing back, mental safeties start disengaging with soft clicks in the depths of my mind as I start selecting and prioritizing targets.

“Yes, you can, Captain, I need a full physical for Private Redemit here,” Fairy states, turning to the doctor, who in turn glances past her right at me, then turns back to her, giving another fake smile.

“All right, Master Sergeant, if you'll follow me please, we'll get you admitted right away,” he says with a 'you're crazy' vibe to his voice, thankfully, my Alpha catches on at this point.

“Excuse me?” my Alpha states, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

The doctor nods and several horns light up, my blade that my Alpha had been carrying on her back is pulled away and she's encased in several layer of magic, this is my cue, and I haven't killed in weeks, time to dance.

With a sick smile, I walk around the group confronting my Alpha and stride to the unicorn holding my blade. Drawing back a fist, I slam it down into the back of the unicorn's head with a satisfying crack. The handle of my blade slaps into the palm of my hand and I bring the blade up and around to rest against the doctor's throat with a flourish, with my wing tapping his horn to disrupt his magic, I'm being showy, which is sloppy, but I'm also about to kill to defend my Alpha, and it feels great.

Then, as if to say it's just one great tease, one cruel joke, as I'm giving the doctor a few more miserable seconds to realize his impending demise, my Alpha calls out. “Hold!” My training kicks in and I stay my blade, the doctor just stands there frozen, his eyes rolling up to meet mine, only to flinch away from the look of sheer rage on my face as I'm denied release.

“Let. Me. Go.” I hear her order, and saw my blade along the doctor's throat lightly to emphasize the point, I barely cut the hair, but he proves unable to find his voice for a few moments.

“...let . . . “ the doctor swallows. “Let her go,” he orders softly, still looking in my general direction without meeting my gaze. The surrounding unicorns drop their magic as they and the other orderlies back up, leaving the one I hit laying on the ground, I snarl softly before pulling my blade from the doctors throat, leaving him to collapse on the ground.

Kneeling by the pony I ambushed, I rest a hand on his head lightly. Feeding magic into him slowly, I ease the swelling and pulse magic into his skull just in case I hit harder than I think I did. Considering his body one more time, I wonder why I did that with a certain amount of detached curiosity, normally, I wouldn't have cared or stopped to help even if I'd cracked his head in two. Giving up on the question for the time being, I stand up and look at Sergeant Fairy, who is in turn watching me.

She gives a slight shake of her head after glancing at my blade, I suppress another growl, and after a few moments hold it out to her in a show of submission, she takes it in her magic and rests it on her back. “Thank you, Private,” she states quietly, then, turning back to the receptionist who's looking between the two of us as if she can't decide who's more terrifying. “Now, could you please sign Private Redemit here up for a physical?” she asks sweetly, and I hold back a grin as the receptionist nods and shoots off down the hall.

I turn my head to watch the various other ponies in the room with us. Most of them look confused or outright scared, but several stare at myself or my Alpha sullenly, making eye contact with several of the latter, I smile and watch their sullen looks melt into sheer terror.

“W...what is that monster?” One mare quavers, I just give a sharp barking laugh.

“Look to yourself to find a monster, pony, I act in defense of myself and my own,” I chuckle, causing a group gasp, my Alpha just gives me a narrow-eyed look I can feel without turning to look. I fall silent and settle for staring at them silently.

Another couple moments later, the receptionist comes back out. “The...the doctor will see you now,” she quavers. Sergeant Fairy gives a short nod and walks past her, I follow, but turn to the receptionist who stares up at me with pin-prick eyes. In another bout of compassion, I kneel down and pat her head gently, she blinks up at me, but seems to relax slightly none-the-less. I give a slight smirk and stand up, leaving the poor pony goggling at me. Heh, talking, smiling, human assaults clinic workers, I can just see it now.

Several minutes later I find myself under the scrutiny of several more doctors. I stand quietly, practicing breath control while I feel sweat soaking my garments, only Fairy Dancer's presence prevents my immediate and energetic exit.

“This is Private Redemit, he's a new recruit, and he's been experiencing some health related issues. Her Majesty, Princess Luna, has ordered that he be examined with all due haste, you will treat him with the respect you would show any other pony, since he is just as intelligent as any other pony. But beware, he's apparently rather skittish around doctors. So no more than two doctors near him, and stay where I can see you,” my Alpha orders as she moves to sit herself in a corner where she can watch everything going on as well as the door.

A unicorn mare steps forward. “You expect me to believe this human is intelligent? I'd sooner accept a talking cat!” she retorts angrily, I just smile, though it's rather strained.

“Belief, or disbelief is up to you, but you will treat me with respect,” I say with a small smile, taking vicious pleasure in their looks of unease.

“Redemit,” My alpha warns, and I nod my head submissively, dropping my gaze from them, and focusing on the various devices along the walls and scattered around.

Another one of the doctors moves forward and clears his throat. “Let us begin,” he says in a quiet voice.

…

Several hours later, I'm feeling a few steps short of irate. The physical tests weren't an issue, I didn't mind the blood samples they were taking continuously. But when they took my temperature 4 times using various locations on my upper body and head, then tried to stick another into my lower body, I just about tore one of the technicians apart. Needless to say, they gave up on that, and simply settled for huddling together, whispering animatedly with one another.

As I'm sitting in chair, not quite huddling, even after continuous kind and courteous treatment. A doctor comes up to my Alpha and opens his mouth. She gives him a dirty look and points at me, the doctor looks slightly less sure of himself at this point, but none-the-less gamely walks over to me.

Looking up at me, he appears slightly nervous, which isn't doing much for my mood but I digress. Opening his mouth, he gives a weak smile. “Hello there, Private, we've finished most of the tests, your blood work is going to require some additional time, and we've had to call in several human specialists, but we have a number of preliminary findings.”

“Based on observed muscle densities, and lack of joint problems, we'd say your age was somewhere around 4 years old, with some alternative signs pointing closer to 9 years old.” He starts off, I raise a brow. “Furthermore, your extra appendages, namely your wings, seem to be in fine working order, if slightly denser than their pony equivalents, as does the rest of your limbs and other functioning parts.” he continues, I nod my head appreciatively. “However, we do have a few immediate concerns. You're blood is showing a distinct lack of specific acids, and your skin pigmentation also indicates a general lack of protein in your diet, have you been consuming a protein supplement?” he asks, I blink.

“Yes, yes I have, a human diet supplement, I've been taking twice the recommended dose, actually.” I respond, the doctor nods.

“Have you been noticing any signs of fatigue or lethargy, maybe added irritability? Troubles breathing?” the doctor asks, I nod my head.

“I've been craving meat rather badly, and my normal exercise regimen wore me out this morning, I thought I was just out of practice, I don't know about irritability-” I start but my Alpha coughs, interrupting me.

“He's been extremely irritable recently, including lashing out at another for presumed insult to his previous handler,” She states authoritatively, I duck my head, suppressing another bout of said irritation.

The Doctor nods his head. “You'll want to talk to a human specialist, or maybe a xenobiologist, his physiology is certainly unique enough. Now, do you know what temperature you generally run, Private?” he asks, I shake my head.

“No, I generally avoided vets and doctors, any care I can't provide myself, my handler handled.” I answer. “You'll probably want to talk to her, why do you ask?”

“Because by domesticated human standards, you should be a steamed vegetable. Your temperature has been holding steady around 97 to 99 degrees, depending on shifts in your mood and activity levels, now, this is all conjecture, but it appears that your organs aren't shutting down, nor do you appear comatose, so aside from suggesting you take up the consumption of additional protein, we don't have any other recommendations at this time, your physiology is simply too unique, we don't know what we're looking at,” the doctor state ruefully.

My Alpha glances at me appraisingly. “You're just full of surprises, Private. We'll have to see about that protein, can he make do with beans or nuts, doc?” She asks, turning to the doctor, who shakes his head.

“To keep his levels up, maybe. But for now, you want actual protein in his system, perhaps fish. You can find that at most any diner that serves gryphons or pegusai. Or if you're feeling rather adventurous, you can venture down to the gryphon quarter and see what they have in the way of animal protein, just . . . don't tell anyone here about it.” He states shaking his head and looking slightly green at the thought. I'm just surprised he even knows where to find it, my thoughts must have shown, because he glanced at me and shrugged. “We have gryphons in the guard too, talk gets around, and when you've seen as much of the body's insides as I have, the thought of body parts isn't so bad, it's the consump . . .” he trails off shaking his head.

I nod my head respectfully, I still hate and fear doctors, but this one wasn't bad. I'm just never coming back here if I can help it. Giving a weak chuckle, I stand. “Are we done here, then?” I ask, he nods his head.

“We're waiting on that blood work, plus you apparently spent some time in the Ponyville Hospital, we've requested those records by dragon-fire as well, you'll want to drop by in a few days . . . just try not to harass the staff,” he says lightly.

I just snarl. “Tell them not to harass my Alpha then,” I retort, he blinks, and backs up with a nod, moving to join his associates.

I turn to Sergeant Fairy Dancer and nod my head towards the door. “Shall we?” I ask, thankfully, she nods, and stands, turning for the door as well. With that, I bid farewell to another encounter with maybe not-so-animal ponies in white coats.