It was a fairly decent day today, with a gust of warm air blowing peacefully through the woodland, birdsong heard all around. The ground was dry and it looked as though the rain was going to be staved off for at least another few hours. In other words, it was perfect foraging weather. Such was the thinking of Meadowbrook, the famed healer of Equestria's distant past, who happily trotted through the woods by herself, a smile upon her face. With every passing tree, she would stop, checking all around the area and examining every single branch, shrub and blade of grass that caught her eye. Sometimes, her smile would widen, and she'd pluck out a particular plant from the ground, stuffing it neatly into a pair of saddle-bags that had been generously provided for her prior to her and her companions' journey out here. Humming sweetly, she continued on her way but eventually stopped when she heard a muffled, yet familiar voice.
"Curses!"
Stopping, Meadowbrook raised an eyebrow, looking around her immediate area to find, naturally, nopony there. So, she started looking further, peering in-between the trees to discover that her ears had not deceived her. There was indeed somepony out there just a short walk away. To her further surprise, she found that it was none other than Stygian, the youngest of their number, who was presently sitting upon an old tree stump. As Meadowbrook approached, she smiled waving out to him.
"Stygian! Hello!"
Immediately, the young mage took on a startled look, clearly not having expected her.
"Oh! Meadowbrook! I...I...I didn't see you there!"
Giggling, Meadowbrook drew nearer, and it was here that the mare noticed something. Stygian was holding onto one of his forelegs, which, upon further inspection, appeared to have been cut, and was currently bleeding. Ever the healer, Meadowbrook instantly rushed to his side, taking his hoof and examining it.
"Goodness! What happened?"
Looking embarrassed all of a sudden, Stygian let out a grunt of irritation, turning away from his companion before explaining himself.
"It's...it's nothing. I was looking for a quiet place to read, and I was just pushing through some of those branches back there when...well..."
Looking up to him, Meadowbrook chuckled.
"The branches snapped back, right?"
Stygian's sigh was her only answer, and the ancient healer soon got to work, sliding her saddle-bags off her back and opening them up. After rummaging around them for a few moments, she pulled out a dusty-looking bottle, holding it up for her friend to see.
"A few drops of this, and a few bandages, and you'll be right as rain!"
But Stygian wasn't so eager.
"Oh no! Not the ointment again!"
Meadowbrook nodded.
"Yep. It'll sting, but it's the best thing for you...unless...you want an infection from this?"
Her mischievousness was as clear as day in her voice, and Stygian, after rolling his eyes, soon sighed again, offering his hoof to her. Gently, Meadowbrook took it, making sure to be as careful as possible when applying the ointment. As he'd expected, Stygian winced as it was applied, but, as promised, Meadowbrook only put on a few drops here and there. The moment passed, and Stygian relaxed after her aid, remaining silent as he watched her pull out a roll of bandages from her bags. He watched her carefully, looking quite impressed with how expertly she applied those bandages.
"You do that so naturally...like it comes to you as easily as breathing."
Meadowbrook chuckled to that.
"Shoot! It's nothing special. Just years of training and practice. Believe me, I had my fair share of mistakes back in the day."
Hearing that, Stygian's ears dropped slightly.
"Perhaps...but I doubt that's anything compared to my mistakes."
The mare beside him realised immediately that she'd, intentionally or not, stepped on a sore spot. As soon as that knowledge sank in for her, she took on a more apologetic look, letting out a long sigh of her own before reaching forward and patting Stygian on the shoulder.
"Hey...that's all in the past now. You may have done wrong...but so did we. I'm a healer, yet I never recognised that you were hurting for all those years. There's fault in all of us here."
Slowly, Stygian looked to her, smiling slightly.
"Thank you for saying so, Meadowbrook. You always were the nicest to me."
Again, Meadowbrook laughed.
"Bedside manner, friend. Trust me, it's another one of those things you learn over time. I wasn't that much good at it to start off with."
Stygian seemed sceptical.
"I can't really imagine you, of all ponies, ever being anything other than a delight to her patients."
Meadowbrook eyed him, smirking slightly before responding.
"Oh no? When I first started out, I bombarded every sick pony who entered my Mother's home with questions, like a child asking about their Hearth’s Warming Eve presents. Can I get you some food, Sir? Some water? How about a new pillow? They all needed rest and relaxation more often than not, and there was me, this excited little filly, so eager to help that I ended up being a nuisance."
Stygian appeared taken aback by this knowledge.
"Well...that's...surprising."
Meadowbrook chuckled.
"Yeah...but thankfully, I had my Mother to help me. She taught me a whole bunch of what needed to be said and done, and when. Pretty soon, I was there helping her out properly."
Looking away, back to the trail she'd just come from, Meadowbrook pondered on that.
"When this trip of ours is done, maybe I could teach others. I took a look at some medical books before we left. Sure, there's a lot of new stuff...but so much else has been lost."
Again, she looked to her friend.
"Did you know that, since we left, they've completely forgotten that eating a double portion of oats before bed can stave off the old Panting Pox we used to see everywhere?"
Stygian seemed shocked by that.
"What?! But...everypony knows that!"
Meadowbrook shook her head.
"Not anymore they don't!"
Stygian considered that, then took on a nervous smile.
"You know...um...you could always start with me."
Meadowbrook looked to him with confusion, prompting him to explain.
"Teach me, I mean. I don't really contribute much on this trip and...well...maybe I could help? Like how you used to help your Mother?"
It was an unexpected request, as evidenced by the look Meadowbrook now gave him. But, in the silence that followed, the mare considered it, really letting that notion sink in for her. She nodded slowly, a small smile creeping onto her face as she thought longer and harder on it.
"Yeah...that might not be such a bad idea. I've never taught anypony before and, you know, it'd be good to start with somepony I already know before moving onto others."
Moments later, she looked him in the eye.
"Stygian...I'll do it! For the rest of our trip, I'm gonna teach you all I know about medicine, herbs, you name it!"
The young stallion nodded enthusiastically.
"I look forward to it!"
They may well have continued speaking on the matter, only to be rudely interrupted when, all of a sudden, there was a rumbling sound. Looking up, both ponies found, to their dismay, that a bunch of clouds had gathered overhead. Already, they could feel a few droplets of water falling onto their heads, so Meadowbrook set to work, making sure everything was packed up in her bags again before looking back the way they'd come.
"Well, better get back to camp. Don't want to get caught in this."
Stygian nodded, and was about to follow when, to his surprise, he found Meadowbrook now holding onto his injured hoof, guiding him gently along the path, before looking back to him and smiling warmly.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna let some branches get you on the way back, friend."
Slowly, a blush started to develop in the stallion's cheeks, and as he looked away, he couldn't help but chuckle nervously.
"Yes...well...um...thank you...friend."
