That One Patient

Today was a rather boring day because we didn’t interview Apollo as we did the past two days. After conferring with the rest of the psychologists after the patient’s second interview, I agreed that it was best to switch things up a bit. So, for the day, we maintained a passive observation of him. It was through this that we wanted to make a not of any and all abnormal behaviors that Apollo may exhibit for the sake of more efficient analysis and prepare for any situation.

Like yesterday, he was given the opportunity to walk around a bit for some fresh air but with supervision. He went into the T.V. break room where he sat on a chair and began reading a Daring Do book. It was an odd choice as I figured he wouldn’t be interested but nevertheless, I marked it down as him enjoying books. He seemed to be entirely glued to the thing. Hell, I’ve even heard from his attending caretaker that he seemed to smile. Mark that down for an oddity.

But, another incident occurred between two patients, Acheron and Cheddar. It all started with both of them complaining about headaches, followed by general irritability and hostility. It all came to a head when a heated exchange between them before it erupted to blows. Apollo was reported to have observed the exchange as things got worse when somehow, Cheddar pulled out a scalpel and stabbed Acheron in the throat.

It was a grisly by the time the guards separated them. Blood pooling around, things, strangely enough, cooled down when Apollo was removed from the room. As a result of this, Cheddar was put into solitary confinement until his condition improves. As for Acheron, he survived… but his vocal cords have been irreparably damaged and as a result, may never be able to speak again. I’ll be looking for possible alternate methods of communication for him.

I find it odd, however, that they only ceased their fighting after Apollo was removed from the room and to the library. I’ve drawn two conclusions from this: a possible side effect from the medication or, though unlikely, a fault in his magic suppression ring. The reason why I’m considering ruling out the latter is that I made sure that all those rings we get are of high quality and built to take any measure of magic. But, I can’t discount that possibility. I’ll look further into this.

At the end of the day when he was sent to his quarters for the night, his handler gave me a notebook he drew in. It was an idea I had to give him something of that sort as a way to encourage expression and also gather valuable data. All he really drew was the same symbol as yesterday on all of the notebook’s pages. Each iteration of the symbol was accompanied by:

“He demands blood.”

I have no clue as to who ‘he’ is in reference to. However, since I’m heading into Canterlot tomorrow, I’m going to try to find some time to broaden the investigation a bit and dig up some more information. As a result of today’s incident, I’m ordering all medical equipment to be monitored and put under lock and key when not in use. It’s inexcusable that our security is beginning to lax.
But, I must get some sleep. I hope it can get rid of this migraine.