Nurse Redheart's Secret Patient
Nurse Redheart walked through the doors in to the A&E room. She had been called in on her one day off for the month. Two ponies burst through the door with a stretcher. On the stretcher lay Mrs.Graymane. She was an eldery pony who was one of the oldest living ponies in Ponyville. Redheart recognised her as she has to come to the hospital on multiple occasions for regular heart test and other small check-ups. The doctors ask her to stay in the hospital but she always says"I would rather have my time come in the comfort of my own home".Nurse Redheart followed the stretcher over to the operating table. The two stallions who were pushing the stretcher levitated Mrs.Graymane onto the operating table. Nurse Redheart was about to ask the pair what had happened when Doctor Heartbeat came through the door. he trotted over to the operating table."Thank you for coming Nurse Redheart, I wanted to have my best nurse here when I heard what happened".
"Of course Doctor Heartbeat, but may I ask what has happened".
"Mrs.Graymane has suffered a mild heart attack. My sister was having tea with her when all of a sudden she grabbed her chest and collapsed on the ground. My sister, knowing how to act in this kind of situation, immediately sent word to the hospital. We had her brought here as quick as we could".
"I see doctor, let's get to work then and make sure she is alright". Nurse Redheart wired Mrs.Graymane up to the monitors to keep an eye on her heartbeat and blood levels."I have her heartbeat and blood levels monitored doctor"
"Good, the reading shows that her blood is lacking oxygen, so we will have to manually insert it into the blood".
"I will get the oxygen pump". Nurse Redheart left the operating room to get the oxygen tank from the storage room. She picked up a tank off the shelf. When she did she noticed something that made her drop the tank. It was a door, a door that she had been hiding for quite a few years. She quickly put the tank back and grabbed another one off another shelf. She went out of the room and returned to the operating room. Mrs.Graymane was now slipping in and out of consciousness.
"My little Heartbeat, is that you"
"Yes it is aunty, I'm going to help you feel better". She had fallen back asleep before he finished speaking. Doctor Heartbeat gave a soft smile.
"Here is the oxygen tank Doctor"
"Thank you nurse Redheart, I think I can handle the rest of the procedure myself. Thank you for coming in on your day off"
"Anything to help those in need Doctor Heartbeat, especially when it's someponies family".With that she left the operating room and headed for the exit. On the way she passed the storage room. She paused outside it."Especially if it's someponies family". The words echoed through her head. A tear rolled down her cheek and she continued down the hall to the exit.
Nurse Redheart struggled to go to sleep that night, too many bad dreams. But they weren't so much dreams, rather memories she tried to hide from herself as she couldn't bare to face the truth. She went downstairs to get a drink of cold water to calm herself. After getting her drink she went into the small living room. She looked at the photos on the fireplace. There was a photo of her family from when she was just a little filly. Her father to the left, a tall,strong stallion who worked as a farm hand for ole Granny Smith. Her mother to the right, she was also a nurse and it was where she got her desire to become a nurse herself. Her at her mothers hooves, with the most childish grin across her face. And at her father's hooves stood her younger brother. A shiver ran down her neck. The memories started to resurface. She took a sip of the cold water to calm her mind. Redheart looked at the photo again, her brother specifically. How could that be the face of something so evil, she couldn't understand. Her brother was 'different' from most stallions. He said he had voices in his head that told him to do bad things. The doctors had classified him as a danger to other ponies and recommended he be put into hospital permanently. My mother was able to convince the doctors to leave him in her care. She and my father tried their best to keep my brother under control but if that were possible they would be here now. She finished her glass of water and went back upstairs to bed.
Nurse Redheart came into work early the next morning. It was raining very heavily. Why did the weather ponies have to make it rain today. On her way to her office she passed Doctor Heartbeat."Thank you for your help with Mrs.Graymane yesterday Nurse Redheart".
"I was just doing my job Doctor Heartbeat".
"I know and I just wanted to thank you for doing so".With that he trotted down the hall to the reception desk. Nurse Redheart headed for the storage room. When she was sure nopony was around she went into the room. She made her way over to the shelf with the oxygen tanks on it. She moved the shelf to reveal a door. She opened it and went inside. The room was lit up by candles and at the back wall lay a pony. Nurse Redheart closed the door behind her. The pony eyed every movement she made."I was just stopping by to make sure you were okay, do you need anything". He didn't answer her, he just glared at her with his dark, empty eyes."Don't give me that look, it's your own fault that you are here. I just did what our mother asked me to do, keep you safe".
"You call this safe, locked away from the world like I don't even exist".
"Well what else would you expect me to do, let you roam free around Equestria to do what you did to our parents". She kept her distance from him, always making sure to face him.
"Why don't you just put me out of my misery". He got up and started to trot towards his sister but only made if a few feet before he was stopped. He looked back to the wall where a chain had been bolted to stop him from leaving."Oh that's right, because your too afraid". He went back to the wall and lay down again.
"I'm not going to kill my own brother".
"Then leave me here, stop bringing me food, let me starve to death".
"As a nurse I am bound to my duty to help those in need, especially if they are family".
"Then help me".
"No, it's not the answer". Nurse Redheart started to cry.
"If you won't do it then can i ask for something else".
Nurse Redheart stopped crying and looked at him."What do you need".
"The last thing mom gave me before I killed her"."A hug".
"If you promise you'll stop asking me to kill you then yes".
"I promise".Nurse Redheart walked over to her brother and gave him a hug.
Her brother whispered in her ear "I love you" and then there was darkness. Her lifeless body fell to the floor. Her brother looked at her corpse."I will you be with you and our parents soon". He laid down against the wall and waited for time to play it's part in his own death.
Nurse Redheart's disappearance came as a shock to Ponyville as nopony had any idea where she could of went to. It was only a few weeks after her disappearance that one of the other nurses found the door behind the shelf and reported it to the royal guards. Nopony knew the stallion who lay dead by her side. Life continued on in Ponyville, but nopony ever forgot Nurse Redheart and the services she had provided during her time in the hospital.
The End
