Author's Note

I honestly don't know why I started this, but I did. That's just something we're gonna have to deal with.
This will also be my first attempt at an actual RGRE fic. I would appreciate a few suggestions here and there about how to make that evident without it turning into a cluster-fuck of over-the-top bullshit.
There will be clop in later chapters, they will be labeled accordingly.
I don't really know what else to say, so enjoy this monstrosity if you can.

Editing done by PeerImagination

Chapter 1

We are terribly sorry for your loss and hope nothing but the best for you and your family.

-Sincerely, Nurse Sweetheart

A sigh escaped the mare's lips as she signed her name at the bottom of the letter. There have been plenty of hard times in this hospital; long nights, medical mishaps, loss of life. A lot can go wrong with the simplest mistake. However, the thing she found to be the hardest was this: having to tell a family that their loved one had passed. It was always heart wrenching to see them fall apart, the loss eating away at their souls and wearing them down into nothing. She counted her blessings that this particular family lived far enough away that they couldn't visit regularly, so the staff kept them informed through written letters.

Sweetheart's white hooves lifted the letter, going over it one last time before digging an envelope out of the large desk she shared with the other nurses and slipping the paper inside. Still holding the pen in her mouth, she wrote down the address and the name of the pony it was supposed to be delivered to before setting the envelope into a bin to be picked up later. With that done, she spit out pen and leaned back in her seat, rubbing her eyes with her hooves.

"Still taking Fly Easy's passing pretty hard, huh?"

Sweetheart removed her hooves from her eyes, craning her neck back a little further to see one of the few friends she had: Doctor Amethyst Star, a unicorn with a light purple coat, a lavender mane and wearing her long white coat that covered most of her form. She stood just inches away, staring at the nurse.

Nodding, Sweetheart leaned forward and hunched over the desk. "I know I shouldn't be, but yeah," she began, her heart feeling heavy as she thought back on Fly Easy's last moments alive. "He was such a sweet, old stallion. I wish there was more we could’ve done."

"More we could’ve done?" Amethyst chimed in, peeking around the nurse’s side to look her in the face. "The pony was one hundred and three years old. We did all we could."

Sweetheart continued to face forward, only her eyes moving to look back at the doctor standing beside her. "I know that, but still. It's our job to keep ponies in good health so they can live comfortably."

"And we did that by making his passing as painless as possible." Amethyst confirmed, taking a step back and removing her coat with her magic. "It's getting late. Everypony else has already packed up and left. You should do the same."

Looking over the papers decorating her small section on the desk, she graciously declined. "I will in a bit. There's a few things I want to go over before I head out."

Amethyst rolled her eyes at this, knowing that Sweetheart was the most organized pony in the entire hospital. There was no work to be done on the nurse's part, but she couldn't force her to leave, so she saw no point in arguing. "Whatever floats your boat. I, for one, have a herd that will fall apart without me."

Sweetheart bit her lip at that last part, feeling a pang in her chest as the doctor waved and left her alone. It was a known fact that the nurse was single, and mares would throw that in her face at times, especially Amethyst. She couldn't even be mad at the doctor for being a little annoyed with her. She was kind enough to set up dates with potential stallions on her behalf, but the nurse could never bring herself to see them through.

Amethyst went through a lot of hurdles to try and find Sweetheart a nice herd. Even the occasional–and very rare–single stallion. However, Sweetheart just couldn't find it in her to go out with any of them. Most of them, she declined before anything could happen, and the few she did agree to, she would get cold hooves and take off at the last second. So the doctor's frustration was justified in her eyes and many others.

They were still friends, but there was always a hint of hostility in moments like this. Ones where most would be off to see their families while she stayed in the background, looking for something to keep her preoccupied. Having grown up in a rather average herd, one stallion and two mares, it became something of a pain when she finally got a job and her own place. Leaving work to go into an empty home just made her feel hollow.

Removing her nurse’s cap, Sweetheart pushed those thoughts to the back of her head, as they only proved to make her feel empty inside. She looked over the papers in front of her in a poor attempt to distract herself, running a hoof through her dark blue mane and teasing the single pink streak that hung in front of her face. This would be the seventh time she's gone over them, having finished everything earlier that day and not really needing to make any changes. She thought she could do a quick walk through of the hospital and check on some of the overnight patients. If she was lucky, one of them would be up and willing to ramble the night away.

Something moved hurriedly across her peripheral vision. It was fast, its heavy, uneven steps echoing down the hallway. Lifting her head from the documents spread out in front of her, she began to scan the room for any changes. Nothing seemed out of place and no other sounds were made. She shrugged it off, assuming her mind was just playing tricks on her. Just as she was about to return to her final inspection of her work, Sweetheart's ear flicked as she heard something fall over in the distance.

Jumping out of her seat, the nurse stood up on her hooves and looked around once more before cautiously leaving the confines of the desk and moving into the hallway. She was careful to take in every little detail. The only thing that appeared to be out of place was an overturned heart monitor next to the room where Fly Easy was being held earlier. This was all she needed to investigate further as her previous thoughts vanished into thin air, quickly being replaced with concern for the safety of her patients.

As the nurse moved toward the now broken monitor, laying in pieces on the floor, she noticed that the door beside it was open. She came to a stop, listening carefully for anything that could tell her if somepony was in there. Her suspicions were confirmed as she listened in. It sounded like somepony was not only in there, but digging around. Cabinets and drawers were being opened and closed, items being shuffled around, heavy breathing filling in the few short moments of silence that would follow.

Sweetheart took a quiet breath and peeked around the corner, her eyes going over the dark room. It was difficult to make out anything in the darkness. The only source of light came from the street lights outside, which offered minimal rays through the window. She could still hear something moving around within though. Glancing to the side, she spotted the switch that would put an end to this little mystery.

Swallowing her nerves, Sweetheart reached up, and her hoof was immediately grabbed by something hiding in the darkness. She was pulled with a yelp into a large, warm body. A strange appendage wrapped around her mouth, silencing her as she struggled against its hold.

Grunts of pain were let out by whatever was holding her, but its only response was to tighten its hold on her and grab one of her hooves in one of its claw-like appendages. It then pushed against door with another strangely long appendage. "Shush! Stop it!" it whispered-yelled at her. "For the love of god, calm down!"

Sweetheart was hesitant to comply, but had no other choice. This thing, whatever it was, was bigger and stronger than her. She stopped struggling against its hold, not really relaxing, but no longer putting up a fight. "Look, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just need some supplies and I'll be out of here. I promise." The nurse had no reason to believe this creature, but she wasn't in any position to argue. "I'm gonna let you go now..." It slowly released her hoof, soon repeating this gesture with whatever it was that was silencing her. "Just walk out of this room and don't scream. I'll be gone before you know it and you'll never see me again."

True to its word, Sweetheart was completely released. Once freed, her fight or flight instinct started to kick back in and she quickly left the room, stopping only when she was halfway down the hall to look back and make sure it wasn't following her. The nurse’s heart was racing as she thought of what this thing might do to her if it sees her again. Everything in her screamed to sound the alarm and get the guard here to deal with it.

Then again...

It had her right where it needed her. If it really wanted to hurt her, it would have by now. That didn't explain what it was doing lurking around in a hospital, but it did help to settle her nerves a bit, proving that it didn't come here with ill intent. In fact, it claimed to need supplies. What for though?

Sweetheart lifted a hoof as she pondered this thought, just noticing a strange wet feeling on her back as her adrenaline started to pass. She craned her neck to glance at her behind, spotting the pink heart on her flank with a prominent red stain right above it. Panic started to set in once more as she reached back to inspect herself for any wounds, only to spot another red stain on her hoof. She froze, pulling her hoof to her face to look it over. The stain had a shape to it, one she couldn't really identify.

Something clicked in her brain. The thing had her pulled against it. It grabbed this very hoof she was looking at. It claimed it needed supplies...

It was hurt...

All fear vanished from Sweetheart's mind as her natural, loving, nurturing instincts came back to her in full force. The nurse all but ran back to the room. She stopped at the doorway, not daring to provoke it. It didn't hurt her the first time, but Celestia only knows how it would deal with a repeat offense.

Clearing her throat so it would know she was there, Nurse Sweetheart began to speak. "Excuse me… I don't mean to interrupt, but are you hurt?" The answer was obvious, but she was still on the fence about how it would react if she tried to force medical treatment on it. "My name is Sweetheart. I'm a nurse and I would be..." Her words trailed off as she spotted the same red print on the floor that she saw on her hoof. "-I insist that you let me aid you!"

There was a short period of silence, which was broken by the creature's surprisingly calm voice. "Considering...the circumstances...I suppose I could use the help." It said, as if trying to convince itself of all things. "I mean, you are the expert here."

With a nod, Nurse Sweetheart reached up and flipped the switch to her side. The ceiling lights flickered to life, illuminating the room and revealing the creature that she just offered to help. Her heart skipped a beat as she spotted it at the other end of the room. Blood-covered bandages and random bottles littered the floor around it as it sat against the wall, its long, clothed legs stretched out in front of it as its arms hung lazily by its sides. There was a hole on the lower left side of the grey shirt hugging its torso, completely soaked with its blood, revealing the location of its wound.

With a shake of her head, Sweetheart forced her bearings back into their rightful place and quickly approached the dazed looking human. Once she was close enough, she lifted the shirt and inspected the wound. It looked pretty fresh, like it was inflicted just moments ago. She had to act fast, not knowing how long it's been bleeding like this. There was already a puddle forming on the floor.

The nurse rushed around the room, slipping on a pair of gloves before collecting a few of the essentials she would need. "Please remove your shirt," she requested, grabbing a box of gauze and setting it on the floor. "Once you do that, I'll need you to put some pressure on the wound to slow down the bleeding." She tossed it a clean rag as she said this.

The human caught the rag and looked it over for a second before obeying the mare's orders. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, tossing the article aside. He then placed the rag to the hole in his side, holding it in place as he waited for her.

Sweetheart sat on her haunches by the human's side, grabbing the rag from him and carefully wiping the area down to get a better look at the damage. "How in Equestria did this happen?" She asked herself aloud, feeling the area around it. From what she could tell, his ribs were right above the afflicted area and were unharmed, minus some minor bruising.

Not knowing any better, the human responded, "A cavalcade of bullshit." He winced occasionally as the mare wiped down the source of his pain. "I got chased out of a place not too far from here. Two mountains, two towns. Ended up falling in a patch of trees. I don't know what got me, but it got me good."

"Sounds like you were in the Southern Mountains," Sweetheart commented, knowing of the area and the two families that lived there.

"Bunch of backwoods hicks," the human commented as well.

Sweetheart wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she went back to cleaning the creature's wound. She soaked the rag with a small bottle of fluid before reapplying it. "This might sting a little."

The human hissed as his hands tightened into fists. "You lying little- That stings a lot!"

"I'm sorry!" Sweetheart said genuinely, being careful with how she applied the rest of the substance to his skin. When he began to relax, she inquired further about what had happened to him. "Why were you run out town?" She glanced up at his face in time to see the look he was giving her. "Right… Stupid question. Sorry..." The two fell into an awkward silence as the nurse continued cleaning and disinfecting his wound before applying several bandages.

The human glanced down at the mare, watching her patch him up. She was precise, focused, but also strangely at ease. He was genuinely surprised how well she was taking his presence. The ponies just a few miles south of there didn't seem to like him much at all. Yet, here was this nurse, eager to help him even though he man-handled her like a total dick.

"H-hey..." The nurse looked up at him curiously, her hooves still working on him as efficiently as ever even without her eyes on them. "I, uh...I really owe you one for this."

Sweetheart smiled up at him before turning her attention back to her work. "It's no problem at all," she said, grabbing a roll of surgical tape and applying it to hold the bandages in place. "It's my job, after all, and I'm happy to do it." After placing down one last strip of tape, she set the roll aside and leaned back to admire her work. "That's about all I can do for now." This got the human to look down and do an inspection of his own. "You’ve lost a lot of blood though. You'll have to stay overnight so the night staff can keep an eye on you."

The human's eyes went wide and he started to get up, only for pain to knock him back down, clenching his right knee. "Th-thanks, but no thanks!" he growled, this time pulling himself up at a much slower pace. "Nothing against you in particular, but the last group of ponies to see me wanted my head on a mount." Grabbing his shirt from the floor, albeit with some difficulty, he was ready to leave and began limping toward the exit. "If you'll excuse me, I have a whole lot of anywhere else to be."

Sweetheart's nursing alarms went off in her head as she charged in front of the door to block him. "Wait!" she shouted, standing right in front of his only exit. "You can't go! You're in no condition to be out on your own!"

"I'm also in no condition to be running for my life again!" the human argued, wincing from the pain it caused him to raise his voice. "I need to get out of here before anyone else can see me." He tried to step over the nurse, but she wasn't having it.

Sweetheart stood up on her hind legs, holding herself steady by pressing her forehooves on either side of the door frame. "I know that you had a bad run-in with the ponies in the mountains, but they're just not up to speed with everypony else," she explained, determined to keep him here and under observation. "You're in Vanhoover now. The ponies here are much more accepting of other species and-"

"Sweetheart, right?" The nurse stopped and nodded in approval. "Look, I'm about to have a complete meltdown as is; I don't know where I am, I don't know how I got here, and I really don't want to start dealing with ponies that might just kill me!" His raised tone caused her to flinch, her posture weakened as a result. "You've been nothing but nice to me and I'd really hate to force my way through you, but I will if I have to. I am NOT staying here!"

This left Sweetheart in a bind. On one hoof, she could let him go and likely hurt himself or cause further damage to his already sever puncture wound. Not to mention that he was walking in a way that, she knew for a fact, wasn't natural. On the other, she could deny his departure, resulting in him forcing his way out and leading to the same issue as the former option. He had her beat just with his size alone. Even standing like this, her shoulder only came up to his chest and getting out wouldn't be a problem since it's just her keeping him from leaving. Regardless, he would get out. He had the advantage. But she couldn't just let him go. His injury could get worse without proper treatment! There had to be some way to keep him here, or at the very least with a-

Sweetheart's eyes sparked as an idea came to mind. It was a little out there, but it was something he might just agree to. "Then stay with me!"

The human raised a brow at her, taking an unsteady step back. "Excuse me?"

Sweetheart let herself fall back to her hooves and took a few steps toward him. "You don't want to stay here and I don't want you dragging yourself out of here with a bum leg and that hole in your side. If you agitate it, or it gets infected, then you could be in serious trouble." The nurse explained, hoping it would help her get through to him. "My apartment is only two blocks from here. If we're careful, we can get you there without anypony seeing and you can leave as soon as you're all healed up." The human nodded, still feeling a little on edge with being so close to ponies. This nurse seemed nice enough, but after his last run-in with her kind, he was reluctant to test her sudden burst of hospitality. "I'm not letting you leave here otherwise."

A sigh escaped the human’s throat as he weighed his options. This was just one pony; He could leave if he really needed to. However, he had nowhere to go. As far as he knew, this was the only other town for miles and–if he's being honest with himself–he wouldn't make it more than a mile or two with his knee hurting like it was. There was also a good chance that the other towns might not be as accepting as she was. He was stubborn, but he wasn't stupid. At least this way, he had a chance of not endangering himself or starving to death.

It took a bit of pride swallowing, but he finally announced his answer. "Fine… I'll stay with you. But only until I can start getting around on my own again."

Sweetheart let out a relieved breath, thankful that he was willing to come to a sensible compromise. "Thank you," she said with a soft smile. "Do me a favor and sit down on the bed over there. I'm gonna clean this room up really quick and then we can be on our way."

Sweetheart stuck her head through the half-open door, looking around for anypony that might be roaming the halls. This was more for her new friend's sake, given his rather distrusting nature. Seeing that no pony was around, she walked in and held the door for her guest, letting him limp into the building.

"It's over there on the right," she said, staying vigilant as she closed the door behind her.

"Thank God I don't have to climb the stairs," the human mumbled as he all but hopped down the hall to the first door on his right side.

Sweetheart ran up to his side, looking up at him. "Will you please let me help you?" she practically pleaded. "You can barely stand straight. You shouldn't be walking on your own like this."

"No point now," he reasoned stubbornly. "We're already here."

Sweetheart let out a groan as they stopped in front of the door with gold painted, plastic numbers reading 002. Reaching a hoof into her saddlebag, she pulled out a key and unlocked the door, allowing the human to enter first while she placed the key back in her bag.

"Sweetheart!" a shocked voice called out from behind her, earning the mare's attention. This was temporary, as the door to her apartment slammed shut just out of her view. She glanced back and forth between her door and the stallion standing behind her. "Sweetheart, are you okay? There's blood on your coat!"

Sweetheart sighed and put on a smile, turning to face the neon green, earth pony. "I'm perfectly fine, Mister Bolt. Just a long day at work is all."

The stallion placed a hoof to his chest, a look of worry taking over his features. "Oh, those poor things. I hope they're okay."

Sweetheart nodded as she offered a warm smile in his direction. "He's perfectly fine, Mister Bolt. A little worse for wear, but he should make a full recovery."

"As long as he is in your care, I've not a doubt in my mind," the stallion commented as he smiled back at her. "And I've told you before, you can call me Emerald. My lead mare runs this place, not me."

"Sorry, force of habit," she replied with a giggle. "How is she, by the way?"

"Oh, she's doing much better," Emerald responded happily. "Her temperature is gone and she's back to her old, grouchy self."

"That's good to hear!" Sweetheart added, having always enjoyed the mare's company, despite her temper. "It's not the same around here without her bickering."

Emerald nodded in agreement. "Though I must admit, it was nice to get some sleep without hearing her complain that the mattress is too firm." The stallion giggled at his own comment before he focused his attention back to the stain on the mare's coat. "So, you say that the stallion will recover fully?"

Sweetheart was confused at first, but followed his gaze and realized what he was referring to. "Oh! Yes, he should be perfectly fine in a couple of weeks."

Emerald puffed out his chest proudly after hearing this. "I told you we stallions can be a hearty bunch."

"After meeting this particular stallion, I can't help but to agree with you."

Emerald relaxed his posture, motioning to her door with his head. "So who do you have over that was so reluctant to join us in this conversation?" he asked curiously. "Is it a stallion?"

A lump formed in Sweetheart's throat as he asked her this. She wasn't one for lying–she was a terrible liar–but that didn't mean that she had to tell him all of the details. "Yes, actually. It's the stallion who left this mess on me."

Emerald's gossip face–as she calls it–sank to one of concern. "Um… Are you sure he should be out and about?"

"He really shouldn't be, but he left me no choice," Sweetheart explained. "He's not really the social type, so he was more than a little hesitant to stay in the hospital, despite my protests."

"So you convinced him to stay with you?"

Sweetheart hummed in approval, but realized how weird this was starting to look. "I've known him a little while now, so he was willing to make an exception and I'm always happy to help a friend."

Emerald could only smile enviously at her. "You really are the sweetest, you know that?"

Sweetheart rubbed the back back of her neck as a small blush formed on her face. "I try..."

"Well then, I'll let you get back to your friend," Emerald said. "I'm sure he needs your company more than I do."

Sweetheart lowered her hoof back to the floor and nodded. "It's been a pleasure, as always."

Emerald turned around and made his way to the staircase leading upward. "Goodnight, Sweetheart!"

"Goodnight, Emerald!" Sweetheart let out a long breath as the stallion left her view. Her breathing was heavy as she unlocked the door and entered her apartment, quickly closing the door behind her. "Oh, sweet Celestia!" She stood there for what felt like minutes, trying to regain control over her lungs. Once she had calmed down a bit, she looked over her small apartment.

Her living room was to the left and was arguably the largest room there. To her right was a rather spacious kitchen. Neither of these rooms were in possession of the one she was hoping to find. The sound of running water caught her attention, drawing her gaze to one of the two rooms up ahead. There was a short hallway with two doors. The one on the right led to the bathroom, the one at the end was her bedroom.

Dropping her saddlebag on the floor, she trotted over to the bathroom, placing an ear to the door. The sink was clearly running, but that was all she could really hear. Pulling her head back, she knocked on the door. "Are you alright in there?"

The water stopped running. Soon after, a response came. "I'm fine. Just trying to get all this blood off me. I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay, I'll be in the kitchen." Sweetheart left on that note and went into her fridge. She grabbed an apple for a snack and hummed as she bit into it, savoring its sweet flavor while she chewed. Closing the fridge, she moved to the table and sat down, slowly eating her apple while she waited.

Sweetheart was nearly done with her snack by the time the human exited her bathroom and hobbled his way to the table. He stood still after placing his hands to the wooden structure to take some of the weight off of his leg. An uncomfortable silence followed his arrival and the nurse wasn't sure what to say as he settled on just staring at the floor. Anything just felt like it would make the situation more awkward. Luckily, he did it for her.

"Why are you doing this?" the human asked, sounding oddly troubled.

Sweetheart set the apple core she was holding on the table as she offered him a curious look. "Doing what?"

The human looked up and stared her dead in the eye. "Helping me...duh," he clarified.

Sweetheart could only come up with one answer and shrugged as she said, "I like helping ponies."

"I'm not a pony though," he pointed out. "I'm not even from here!"

Something about the way he said that last part caught Sweetheart's attention. "What do you mean, 'Not from here'?"

Letting out a sigh, the human nodded and tapped out. "Never mind. We can talk about it later." Standing up as straight as he could, he turned his head and looked at the couch in the living room. "I'm gonna go ahead and call it a night. I'm exhausted." He turned to face her one last time, glancing down at the apple core on the table. Reaching over, he grabbed the core and snapped it in half, tossing one of the pieces into his mouth before limping toward the couch.

Sweetheart was, once again, at a loss for words. There were so many questions with so few answers. But, at the very least, he could answer this one without it bothering him. "Excuse me..." The human stopped, looking back at the nurse as he bit into the last half of the apple core in his hand. "I...I never got your name."

The human stared at her for a few seconds, his tired eyes lingering on her small form for a minute before answering. "Maverick."

Sweetheart nodded to him, content to finally put a name to that face. "It's a pleasure, Maverick."

Maverick bobbed his head a bit in random directions, looking as though he was contemplating something. "Give it some time. I'm sure you'll change your mind." This was the last thing he said to her for the remainder of the night, having chose to give in to his natural desires to plop onto the couch after finishing the snack he stole and let sleep claim him after such an eventful day.