Chapter 3 - eye’s for you.

The following nights fell into a trend for Pill consisting mostly of her regular duties in the manors infirmary, Tending to the rare injury from the staff or guards but now with the addition of taking care of the needs of her new patient and charge Happy, Adding a considerable workload to her usually slow schedule started to interfere with her completely professional midnight naps which until now hadn't been a problem.

About halfway through the third week of Happy’s stay within the infirmary PIll found herself nodding off amid changing his bandages and failed to see him begin to stir awake.

Happy awoke trying to open his eyelids, finding himself unable to, he instead moved his hand towards his face to find out why his vision was obstructed.

He found out quickly that his ability to see had been denied by a metal mask, He was surprised until he thought back to what led to him ending up here, reasoning that It must be some sort of prosthetic, thinking back to the accident he suffered remembering the intense heat and pain as he carried the creature over the huge searing hot chains.

'The creature, what was it?' He thought. It looked kind of like a pony but he could swear it had wings, A Pegasus perhaps but why would a creature from Greek mythology be with him above a volcano? For that matter, why was he there? These and many more thoughts ran through his mind.

Returning his hand to his side it came into contact with a large furry object laying against the cot he quickly retreated his hand, Waiting for whatever was next to him to move… When it didn't he slowly moved his hand back.

'Fur?' His first guess would have to be a large dog with the thick short haired coat he was currently gently scratching.

It wasn't common for hospitals to have pets roaming the building so he assumed he wasn't in one or at least one that wasn't held strictly to code.

He continued thinking about his current situation, absent-mindedly petting the dog taking comfort in its presence, Until he slowly slipped back into a peaceful slumber.

Soon after Pill awoke begrudgingly from a relaxing dream, sighing to herself when she realized she had passed out, Also registering an unfamiliar weight that rested on the back of her neck she looked up and froze.

Happy had moved, she would have to try to figure out if it had been done voluntarily or just a random muscle spasm.

Adjusting his arm back onto the cot she moved to check if it had woken up but with It being nearly completely covered in bandages she could only go off it's breathing pattern, Which at this moment had remained as a steady rhythm of inhales and exhales, so she went with a more direct method, swaying her hip to the side and bumping the cot with her flank to jostle her charge awake, A task she successfully completed.

The creature's arm moved onto her neck, Her muscles tensed under the touch not knowing what to expect only relaxing when Happy's hand began to scratch she pushed her neck further into the mesmerizing feeling but quickly regained her senses stepping back and clearing her throat she addressed him "Happy my name is Hard Pill and I have been tasked with your rehabilitation and training I look forward to working with you and hope you give me as little trouble as possible."

Happy tried to reason out what the new voice had said, Sad the dog moved away he thought on 'rehabilitation he understood, But training? What could she mean by that?," He tried to respond but only managed to make a raspy wheeze and a dry cough, giving up on speaking he decided to just nod in the direction of the voice.

Pill watched the creature nod at her, she continued "Being how it's almost morning we will start your physical therapy early tonight I will also inform Miss Eclipse that you have awoken and seem capable of hearing, It will certainly narrow down her research leaving just sight and speech to be achieved," she turned to leave and made her way out of the cell "now make sure to get plenty of rest your going to need your strength later, Good night Happy."

With that the door closed Hard Pill made her way out of the manors dungeon, Through the winding halls stopping in front of the large wooden doors leading into the dining hall where Crimson Eclipse and her father should be eating dinner.

She pushed one of the large doors open and entered spotting Eclipse enjoying her meal in solitude.

Looking up from her meal Eclipse started to address Pill's unannounced intrusion.
"Hello Pill, how are you this morning? Would you perhaps like to join me?" She used a wing to gesture towards the chair at her side.

Hesitantly accepting the invitation Pill moved forward and sat down, A maid quickly set a silver tray and chalice infront of her, The ornate cup holding a viscous dark red fluid.

"Blood?"Pill asked, "what did it come from?"

"Yes," Eclipse responded, "Donated by a unicorn mare and is of an exceptional flavor," pausing to take a drink of her own chalice. "I believe you will enjoy it. Now tell me how my pet is, I'm very curious."

"Yes Miss Eclipse that's exactly why I had been seeking you, Tonight Happy had awoken from his coma and I have verified that he is indeed a sentient being, I will be starting his training tonight." Pill answered.

Eclipse finishing her meal brought a napkin to her lips removing any residue before replying "I have poured over the family's resources and believe I have found the perfect way to fix its disabilities, I will have tools prepared for the procedure tonight."

With that she excused herself and left the dining room leaving Hard Pill to finish her meal alone and retire for the day.

The next night came quickly, Pill made her way to the cell housing Happy, eager to see what her mistress had dug up to solve the creature's blindness.

So with a speedy trot she reached her destination before long and entered, she instantly recognized the new additions to the normally bare space, the most obvious being a long medical table containing an assortment of tools, books, and tomes.

Before she could continue her visual assessment of the room her mistress Crimson Eclipse entered and greeted her, "Oh Miss Pill Im glad you are here so early, I too am eager to begin as well, I had some of the staff prepare what we will need so their would be no delay."

Pill smiled at her "Very foresightful, How shall we begin?"

"We will have to create a rune circuit to recreate or rather replace his destroyed optical organs,"Eclipse moved forward and selected a fine point chisel to fulfill her delicate intentions.

She continued "To do so I will carve a plethora of runic spells into its skull," she began carving the bone with tender care not worrying about disturbing his sleep, having already seen to it that his water was mixed with a sleeping agent.

Hard Pill looked on, enchanted by her mistress's nimble touch and inquired, "What comes next?"

"Next I will inlay gold, allowing my pet to conduct magic. After that all we will need is a battery, we will use this delightful prosthetic Hard Hoof had expertly crafted for him. The bronze will absorb magic decently." After she finished explaining she let her mind focus on her work, losing track of time until she was nearly done.

"Exhausting work but it is rewarding to see one's art come to life would you not agree Pill?" Eclipse asked settings down her tool's.

"Yes, It is amazing but how will it work, will it allow it to see like it had before?" Pill answered and asked her own question.

"I cannot say for certain I have no basis for how it had perceived the world before but the runes should magically replicate the functionality of the destroyed organ." Eclipse answered as she finished affixing Happy's prosthetic face and tightening the leather strap.

She continued "And with the prosthetic having its own set of tiny expertly etched runes, It will be charged by ambient magic. Allowing me to mercifully bestow upon my pet the gift of sight."

"Wonderful Mistress Eclipse, If you're done how shall we awaken it?" Pill asked.

"I will simply command my pet to awaken, observe well I do so." Eclipse commanded.
"Now my pet Awaken and Arise," power seeped into her words as she commanded the creature, meanwhile a glim glow of gold tinted magic emitted from behind Happy's metal face.

And as soon as her words ceased Happy had stood up rigid seemingly eager to fulfill his new master's will.

"Now then, I have grown weary I will have Happy follow you so you can begin his training," Eclipse looked up, her dark crimson eye's meeting the hollow eye's of Happy's false face, she smiled sweetly and continued,"And you my pet will Obey Miss Hard Pill."

With that she left Pill alone, In awkward silence with her charge Happy, He looked down at her,"Yes now then Happy please follow me, I will give you a tour of your new home." Pill moved to leave but stopped when she noticed Happy had not moved.

She trotted over to his side and sat down and placed a comforting wing against his back.

"Hey big guy come on it's not that bad, Mistress Eclipse is a bit eccentric but she's a great mare to work for and she seems to have a special interest in you, So you should have nothing to worry about, Now how about we go get some air." She finished comforting him and started trotting out of the room once more.

This time with Happy following close behind, Pill turned her head back and smiled at him, "I know, I'll show you the manor's outer garden. It's one of my favorite places in the city."

Happy was trying to figure out what was going on. Obviously the Pegasus he had seen before was real, much like the one he was currently following and even crazier yet, they are sentient, and seem to have some form of technology or magic that appears to enslave him.

He decided it would be best just to follow their commands for now.

He needed to figure out what was going on and why he involuntarily moved when the other Pegasus commanded him.

He watched her as he followed behind, deciding that maybe, Pegasus was the wrong word to describe his little furry master, The wings on her back resembling bat wings, Happy thought 'I suppose I'll refer to them as bat ponies.'

Hard Pill suddenly stopped nearly causing Happy to trip over her while she announced that they had arrived In the outer garden, "And here we are, Definitely more vibrant than Miss Eclipse's gloomy flower garden," she paused and looked at him, "Don't tell her I said that though she's a little self conscious about her tastes." She giggled

"Anyway let's begin your training shall we, I will start by explaining to you whom you serve, Mistress Crimson Eclipse is your master and head of house Crimson," Pill continued.

"House Crimson is one of three main governing houses here in Vurdusk, they control the military, the other's, House Ebony which controls the city's laws and foreign affairs, and House Coin which controls the banks and trade guild," she paused and pointed a hood towards herself.

"And then there are the serving houses, I belong to house Hard, and lastly there are the common Houses which are too numerous and unimportant to go through." She rested down into the grass and yawned.

"Why don't we just take a quick little break? I could really use a nap, Just try to stick around here and behave." She instructed as she layed her head against the soft grass, letting her eye's close, slipping into a light slumber.

Happy watched in disbelief as the bat pony fell asleep, not understanding why the creature would choose to slumber In the company of something no doubt as alien as him, 'Maybe she's just more trusting than the average person,' Sitting down next to the mare he waited for her to awake taking the opportunity to rest his recovering body.

Pill stirred awake before long, Happy watched the bat pony stretch her legs and wings before she met his gaze and addressed him, "Come now happy let's return to the manor. I'm hungry and I'm sure you could use some food as well."

Happy obediently followed the mare Into the castle-like dwelling looking at the Gothic building he couldn't help but have a sudden thought invade his mind, 'A vampire would totally live here.'

If only he knew just how right he was.

Author's Note

Ok so hopefully this chapter will be a little better, I'm also a good bit through the next chapter aswell, my goal is 10k words so we'll see how that goes.

Thanks for reading.