The Blood Doctor

Chapters

Chapter 1: Oath To Do No Harm
Chapter 2: Un-Settled In
Chapter 3: Sick Leave
Chapter 4: Questions
Chapter 5: The Date

Chapter 1: Oath To Do No Harm

Author's Note

Happy Halloween Everypony! Here is the first chapter of my new fanfic as I promised! This fanfic will be a supernatural drama and will be about 10 chapters long give or take. This first chapter is a long one but has a lot of great moments as I hope you'll all come to see. If you're confused by some of the language in the chapter, don't worry, this won't be the norm for the whole story.

For now, I hope everypony enjoys this chapter! I'm already in the process of writing the second and will release it as soon as I can! Also, kudos to @MalinRaf1615 for the amazing story cover!

Chapter 1: Oath To Do No Harm

The Blood Doctor

Written By: Obsedian Flame

Chapter 1

Oath To Do No Harm

Today is the day. My first day on the job. More specifically my first day at my dream job. I have spent years of my life studying and practicing to reach this point. I made sure to set my alarm extra early this morning followed by a second one to make sure I didn’t skip the first. Surely enough my clock rang out loud in my apartment when the hour hand hit 5:00 AM. Without missing a beat, I tapped the clock with my hoof to stop it and rose from my comfortable bed before stretching my limbs.

After getting up and onto my hooves, I made my way to the bathroom to start my day with a nice warm shower. While walking through the hall I looked out the window to see the silhouettes of trees only faintly illuminated by Princess Celestia’s slowly rising sun. If my calendar hadn’t already reminded me, I could definitely tell that fall was approaching just by the shorter daylight hours. Most of my friends prefer seasons like spring or summer for the warmer weather and brighter days, but for me fall will always be my favorite. If somepony were to ask my why I’d likely lie and tell them I like the colors or the holidays, while in reality, the coming of fall means I get to return to studying and working.

As I walked into the bathroom, I flipped the light on before turning the tap to medium high heat. I usually wait a few moments as the water gets nice and warm before I enter the shower, but today I decided to step right in before the water even had a chance to heat up. The chilling drops felt like cold hail raining down on me but luckily warmed up shortly after. While running my hoof through my mane with shampoo, I thought about how my first day would be like and what to expect. I’d worked in hospitals many times before both as an intern and as a nurse, but never as an assistant surgeon. Despite being qualified for the job and having studied for years, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.

After finishing rinsing the shampoo from my mane and tail, I turned the tap closed and stepped out of the shower before drying myself with a soft towel. With my mane dry, I took out my hairband and tied up most of my mane into a high ponytail while parting my bangs to the side. I know a lot of mares like to wear their manes out, but I’ve grown accustomed to this style and it helps keep my hair out of my face when I put a mask on.

With that done, I went to exit the bathroom before my ears picked up a faint ringing noise from up ahead. I raised my brow, confused as to what this could be so early in the morning before it hit me. I’d forgotten to cancel my second alarm…

After rushing through the hall I heard the sound more clearly. I could only hope the commotion hadn’t woken my roommate up. As I entered my dim room I quickly tapped on my clock to stop it for good. Rolling my eyes at my own ignorance, I turned around before seeing a figure standing outside my door.

“Scarlet, I know it’s your first day on the job, but could you at least try to be quiet?” Said the voice at my doorway.

I rubbed my neck in sheepishly before replying, “Sorry Sheryl…”

While I could tell she wanted to yell at me, I was relieved to hear her begin to snicker before breaking into a small chuckle. “It’s fine. I know how much this means to you Scarlet.”

I didn’t really know what to say, so instead I simply smiled. Truth be told, I’m incredibly lucky to have a roommate as nice as her. Sheryl Shine and I met in high school and we stayed close even while I was going through med school in Manehattan. Her shift at the hoof salon doesn’t start until 9 so I know I woke her up much earlier than she’s used to.

Without wasting anymore time I respond, “I’d better get going. Sorry again for waking you up Sheryl.”

She raised a brow but looked at me with a devious smile, “If you buy dinner tonight we’re even.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, “Alright, alright! Garlic fried rice at Manny’s?”

Sheryl nodded, “You bet! Now go on and be the best doctor yet!”

“Assistant surgeon!” I corrected her as I walked out my room and down the stairs.

“They’re the same thing!” I heard her call down to me as she went back to her room to go back to sleep.

My stubborn side wanted me to argue back, but knowing how much commotion I’d already caused, I decided to leave it at that and pour myself a bowl of oatmeal. After filling my bowl, I opened our fridge and poured myself a glass of fresh 2% milk and got to eating. If there’s one thing my studies have taught me it’s that a good healthy meal is always the right choice despite what our stomachs say.

Once I finished eating, I put my dishes in the sink knowing I’d wash them when I got home later. I then made sure to brush my teeth and floss thoroughly before preparing to head out and catch my train. As I rummaged through the front hall closet, I took out my purse and my scarf to keep me warm. With that, I was ready.

As I opened the door and stepped outside, I was greeted by the cool and misty fall morning. Visibility was not great, but the street lamps illuminated the road well enough for me to see where I was going. I then set out to catch the train that would depart soon.

The walk to the train station was not far but still gave my body a chance to fully wake up. As I stepped onto platform 6, I approached the ticket booth to purchase a pass. I always prefer to ride coach over sleeper if only for the more affordable price.

While waiting for the train to arrive, I checked my purse to make sure I had all the belongings I needed for the day. My notepad, pencil, paperclips, and most importantly my new name tag and lanyard which had come in the mail recently.

The card read:

Tramplevania Hospital

Scarlet Vessel
Assistant Surgeon
Department C

I felt great pride seeing those two words after my name, however, I could only cringe after looking at my photo on the right corner of the tag. I had been incredibly nervous that day and it certainly showed in this picture.

Before I could lament any further, I heard a loud hoot from down the track. Moments later, the train arrived with a cloud of steam coming from its funnel. The doors opened shortly after and I wasted no time in boarding and finding my seat. The train was relatively empty for the most part so I felt no guilt putting my purse on the empty seat next to me.

As the train’s doors closed once more, we began to set off. The ride to the hospital was a little less than half an hour so I figured I’d read today’s paper to pass the time. The front page had all the usual headlines ranging from wonderbolt events to the re-emergence of the Crystal Empire, but after turning to the second page I was surprised to see a local story. Tramplevania isn’t a terribly popular city in Equestria even at the best of times. Our main attractions are the tall mountains and ancient castles, but apart from that we normally get overshadowed by places like Canterlot and Manehattan.

‘Kidnapped or Vanished?

The eerie city of Tramplevania has recently been plagued with the disappearance of another pony last Friday 13th. Guards from the city as well as local law enforcement are searching tirelessly to find the victim; Garnet Gash. Local residents and close family members of the victim suggest that these events may be connected to prior disappearances dating back as far as the year 3422.

Some say supernatural forces are to blame. Some even claim they are the work of a monster that strikes at the darkest hour of night. Could these urban myths hold any truth? If you have any information as to the whereabouts of the victim, please report it to the authorities immediately.’

After reading the article I could only roll my eyes. I’ve never believed in urban myths nor in supernatural forces. Of course I knew that Unicorns can cast spells with magic, and that Pegasi can fly and stand atop clouds effortlessly, however, my career in science has shown me that these myths are nothing but folly.

After another half hour ride, the train had reached its destination; Oak Leaf Station. Once the doors to the car opened, I thanked the conductor before stepping out into the cold air once more. The walk to the hospital was no more than several minutes and before I knew it I was standing at the doors. As I entered the atrium I made my way past the reception desk before hearing a voice from behind, “Excuse me Mrs, you know where you’re going, right?”

I looked back to see the Unicorn Mare behind the desk before answering, “Yes I do. Department C on floor 4.”

The receptionist looked shocked, “Dr. Acardio’s section? Okay. Are you new to the department?”

I nodded without fail, “Yes. Today’s my first day.”

Upon hearing my response, the Mare smiled warmly, “Oh okay. Glad to have you Mrs-”

“Vessel. Scarlet Vessel.” I stated, finishing her sentence.

“Well, if it’s your first day and you know where you’re going I won’t take up any more of your time. Best of luck!” She kindly stated.

Another thing I don’t believe in. Luck. Regardless I politely thanked the Mare and made my way to the staircase. As I scaled the flights of stairs, I thought of the name the receptionist had mentioned. I’d never met this ‘Doctor Acardio’ and I could only assume he was the chief physician of the department which would likely make him my new boss.

After a short climb up, I had finally reached the fourth floor. As I walked through the hall I passed both departments A and B before arriving where I needed to be. ‘Okay Scarlet. Just be calm.’ I told myself as I took a deep breath and slipped my name tag lanyard on.

Not wanting to waste another minute, I pushed the door open and entered Department C. Once inside, I took note just how large the room was. To my left I could see an assortment of stretchers and tool carts lined up in perfect order. While on my right was a large waiting room with enough chairs to seat an entire classroom full of Ponies. Straight ahead I could see another hallway with a number of operating rooms and a series of floor to ceiling windows which strangely had all their blinds down.

After examining the room, I decided to delve further into the department to find somepony I could ask for directions. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before I found a pair of Unicorn Stallions each wearing similar lanyards to myself.

“Excuse me?” I called to them politely.

They each turned their heads to face me. The one on the left had an olive green coat and a short mane while the one on the right had a cyan coat and a longer brushed mane. The one on the left addressed me first, “Good morning Mrs, can we help you with anything?”

I nodded, “It’s Scarlet. This is my first day on the job and I was just wondering where to go. The Mare at the office told me this is Doctor Acardio’s section?”

After explaining myself, the two Stallions looked down and noticed my name tag. The blue coated Stallion replied once again, “Oh okay, welcome aboard Scarlet! I’m Rem and this is Sporin.”

The Unicorn then extended his hoof as if to shake mine. I didn’t hesitate to do the same as I shook both Stallions hooves. “Pleased to meet you both! It’ll be great getting to work with you.”

The one named Rem nodded, “Totally! It’s great to get some new blood on the team! Here, let us show you around.” The Stallion then turned and motioned for me to follow to which I did.

“We have four operating rooms on this wing and several checkup rooms right here.” Stated Rem as he guided me along the hallway.

“As you can tell, our equipment is state of the art and we keep good care of it. We transport any tools and instruments we use on these carts and always clean them thoroughly when done.” He continued.

“We have a few sanitation rooms where we clean our instruments and those can be found at the far end of the hall. Other than that there isn’t a whole lot more to show.” The Stallion finished as we came to a halt near the entrance.

“Perhaps we could show Scarlet the interior of one of the operating rooms? Seeing as how it’s her first day.” Spoke the other blue coated Unicorn.

I became a bit apprehensive upon hearing this. Operating rooms weren’t meant to be used unless a patient was being tended to. “Is that a good idea? I thought we weren’t supposed to go in those rooms unless during an operation.” I protested.

Rem looked ready to respond before a loud sound emanated from the entrance. The two doors flung open as a stretcher was quickly wheeled into the department with what looked to be a pony lying on top. The cart was being pushed along by several other Ponies followed by a third and rather unusual looking winged Pony from behind.

I immediately moved out of their way as they rushed past, however, I could not help but stare at the strange Pony. I had never seen such a large Stallion before. His coat resembled a fresh piece of parchment while his long burgundy mane provided a stark contrast. His most defining feature, however, were his dark bat-like wings.

But before I could ponder his appearance further, I heard the Stallion speak, “Remedy. Sporin. What are you two doing?” His voice was powerful and his accent was equally noticeable. It sounded almost aristocratic in nature.

“Sorry Doctor. We were just showing the new recruit around. What’s going on here?” Rem asked on our behalf.

The Batpony raised one of his sharp eyebrows as he glanced my way. Though I couldn’t explain it, my body felt cold all of a sudden with my fur perking up around my limbs. The Stallion proceeded to examine me with his pure red reptilian-like eyes. Between the cold sensation and his peering gaze, I felt more awkward than I could ever remember.

“Our patient is having a stroke. We need to act quickly if we are to save him. I want you two to follow me to operating room 3. And bring our new recruit as well.” The Batpony spoke as he turned his back and caught up with the cart which was being wheeled into the room.

Before I could even react, Rem glanced my way, “Well, you heard him Scarlet. Come on! You can learn a thing or two!”

Knowing there was no time to waste, I nodded and followed the two into the operating room. After walking in, the two other ponies lifted the stretcher onto the operating table and set the cart aside. I noticed as Sporin opened one of the drawers and pulled out a box of unused masks and mitts. Without any questions, I took one of the masks and several mitts for my front two hooves. Once ready, I joined the others beside the table.

“Rem, bring the tube and mask and place the patient under anesthesia set to stage 3. Sporin, bring the cart of instruments here.” Ordered the Batpony.

Rem did as our supervisor told him and levitated the mask in position before placing it on the patient’s mouth and turning it on to keep the distressed pony sedated. Not a moment later, Sporin returned with a cart full of surgical equipment ranging from scalpels, syringes, clothes, and forceps.

Before conducting any operations, Rem and Sporin wheeled another cart right next to the operating table and attach several velcro straps and pads to the patient’s chest and his left front hoof. These pads connected to a small case on the cart which I recognized from my internship training. This was a new piece of equipment known as a heartrate monitor which would track pulses through a body and display a pony’s bpm using a dial on the case. Currently our patient’s heart rate was at 150 bpm which was extraordinarily high.

I then watched as the Batpony brought his head right next to the patient’s chest. Though I expected him to use a stethoscope or some other tool to determine where the clot was, he appeared to be only using his ears.

“Cerebral artery clot. It needs a thrombectomy. Bring me the size 7 scalpel.” The Doctor spoke as he lifted his head.

Sporin used his unicorn magic to delicately levitate the blade before handing it off to the Batpony who used the claws on his wing to grip the blade carefully. “Rotate the patient 60 degrees left and keep him steady.” He stated.

Both Rem and Sporin proceeded to turn the patient over until he was on his side. The Batpony then made his way to the back of the patient’s neck before using his scalpel to make a small incision down the patient’s neck while being careful to avoid any blood vessels or nerves.

However, the Batpony stopped abruptly before turning his head to face me, “New one. Bring me a huck cloth and a 2x magnifying glass.”

I was shocked to hear him giving me orders, but knowing there was no time to waste, I made my way to the tool cart. My education and training thankfully made identifying the items easy and I brought them to our supervisor as quickly as I could. The Batpony took the cloth and cleaned up the blood that had been spilled from the incision. He then passed the bloodied cloth back to me before taking the magnifying glass from my hoof.

As he opened the incision, the Batpony began examining the patient’s cerebral artery. To any normal Pony, the sight of such a cut in the skin would be unnerving, however, as a medical practitioner I’d gotten used to such things. While I could not see in as much detail as my supervisor, I could not pick up on any blood clots in the artery.

After a few minutes of examination, the Batpony looked up as if contemplating something, “How can this be… He has all the symptoms of a stroke. Yet the flow in his cerebral artery is not hindered…”

I began to worry as I knew that with a heart rate as high as this patient’s he was likely not going to last much longer unless we quickly fixed the problem.

“Doctor? Is everything okay?” Asked Rem who looked equally concerned.

“Quiet Remedy, I need to think.” The Batpony shot back.

As I looked at the struggling patient, however, a thought then dawned on me. “Wait, Doctor? Sir? Does this patient have any prior heart conditions?”

The Batpony looked at me with a raised brow, “No. He does not. His only recorded medical conditions are viral infections which he has been treated for. But these do not have any stakehold on his current condition.”

Upon hearing this information, a metaphoric light bulb lit up in my mind. “Actually sir, they might! What if the patient isn’t suffering from a stroke at all?”

The Batpony looked insulted by what I said, “Excuse me?”

Both Rem and Sporin looked at one another and then back to me, “Wait, what are you implying Scarlet?” Rem asked.

“Well, if this Pony has never had any prior heart conditions and he has symptoms of a stroke then it’s possible he’s instead suffering from a brain aneurysm. That may be why he has no blot clots. It’s likely that one of the walls of his artery has thinned.” I stated while glancing at both Rem and Sporin as well as the Batpony who was eyeing me skeptically.

There was a brief pause in the room before Rem spoke up, “Wait, you might be right Scarlet! If that’s true then the problem is likely within his Aorta!”

As I looked back at the Batpony Doctor, I felt compelled to speak up, “Please sir, I took an oath to do no harm. Please let me help this patient.”

Despite his eyebrow still raised, he nodded, “Very well, but we must act quickly. He hasn’t much time. Sporin, please retrieve an aortic graft.”

With that, the Batpony made another careful incision at the patient’s upper chest just above the rib cage. Already knowing the drill, I brought a clean huck cloth and this time cleaned the incision myself. Once ready, the doctor opened the cut ever so slightly which revealed a number of the patient’s organs. His lungs were functioning, but his breathing was sporadic. Just above the Pony’s rapidly beating heart was his upper aorta; the largest of the body’s blood vessels.

Upon further inspection using his 2x magnifying glass, the Batpony’s eyes went wide as if shocked by what he saw. “You were correct. His aorta has a bulge and the wall has thinned. Bring us the synthetic graft quickly.”

Sporin arrived not a moment later with the small metal filament coil and handed it to our supervisor. Before the Batpony did anything else, however, he glanced my way, “Have you been trained on endovascular grafting?”

I nodded without falter as I recalled my training.

“Then I shall give you the honor.” He continued as he passed the material to me.

This action came as a surprise, but there was no time to waste. I quickly put on a pair of hoof tweezers and took the graft from him. As I looked inside the chest of the patient, I could easily see the distressed area on his aorta. Being as delicate as I could, I wrapped the material around the weak spot before attaching it and clamping it to the large blood vessel. Once finished, I immediately noticed the Pony’s heart begin to calm as blood flow returned to normal.

As I removed my hoof from the incision, I glanced back to the Doctor who looked strangely impressed. “Well done.” He blurted out.

I could not help but smile as I realized what I had just accomplished. But as much as I wanted to celebrate, I knew the procedure wasn’t finished yet.

“Remedy, please retrieve the size 2 suture line.” The Batpony asked.

Rem quickly brought the stitching line and handed it off. With that, the Doctor began to close the incisions one by one. After a few minutes of precise work, the Doctor had sealed both cuts and set his tools down on a cart with a small sigh.

After looking at the heartrate monitor I was relieved to see the Pony’s pulse had dropped to 100 beats per minute and had stabilized itself. I watched as the Batpony removed the anesthetic tube from the patient’s mouth before taking off his own mask.

“We should notify his next of kin that he is going to make it. Remedy, Sporin, have Ana keep watch of our patient and make sure he does not stress the sutures on his neck and chest.” The Batpony ordered as he stood up.

“Yes Doctor.” Rem answered as both he and Sporin left the room.

The air in the room had gotten a lot quieter now. And I couldn’t deny I felt a bit awkward. “Come. We should return to the foyer to notify his family.” The Batpony said before stepping out.

While I wanted nothing more than to wait a moment to contemplate what had happened, I knew I should do what I was told. I removed my own mask and made my way out before following the Doctor down the hall.

It didn’t take long before the both of us arrived at the waiting room where we could see several anxious Mares sitting beside one another. The one on the right noticed us immediately and rose from her chair before approaching. She looked incredibly stressed as her messy mane and shaking hooves showed.

“Well!? Is he alright!?” She asked with a tone of dread and fear.

The Batpony remained relaxed as he nodded, “Yes. He is going to make it.”

The fearful expressions on the two Pony’s faces instantly changed as they heard the news. Tears of happiness fell from the older Mare’s face as she felt relieved. “I don’t know what to say… Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“You need not thank me. It is our new recruit here who found the problem and saved your husband. She is the one who deserves praise.”

I went still upon hearing those words. I’d only known this Batpony for a little under an hour, but I knew he was a very serious type. Yet hearing words of praise come from his mouth felt strange. So strange that I was not sure how to react. All I could think of was to smile as genuinely as I could.

The mare looked at me with a warmth I’d never seen in anypony before. “Thank you so much! I owe you everything! We owe you everything!”

In all honesty, I felt overwhelmed with all the praise. “It’s okay Mrs, I was just doing my duty. I wish your husband a great recovery.” I answered.

“We will let your husband out in a few days after he has properly healed. For the time being I’d advise against any physical exertion and keep him on a low carb diet.” The Batpony stated.

“We can do that. Thank you again for everything!” She replied with a gleeful smile.

The Batpony then spoke on our behalf, “We should return to our work now.”

He then let abruptly leaving me behind. I couldn’t help but feel his comment was terse, so I looked back to the mare with a smile of my own, “You’re welcome Mrs. I hope everything works out for your family.”

With that, I left and went to rejoin my supervisor who was making his way down the hall.

After catching up to him, I heard him speak to me, “You did well back there. But I’m curious, how did you know?”

In all honesty, I was unsure how I’d known either. Ever since I was little I just felt a natural gift with medicine and anatomy. “I’m not sure sir, I just knew…”

He seemed unconvinced with this, not that I could blame him. Regardless he carried on, “I suppose it does not matter for the time being. You saved him, and that’s what truly matters.”

I nodded but noticed him stop in his tracks and letting me pass him slightly. I looked back confused, but before I could talk to him, he addressed me again, “I never properly introduced myself. I am Doctor Acardio, chief physician of Department C.”

Suddenly, a lot of things in my brain now made sense. “I’m Scarlet. Scarlet Vessel. Pleasure to meet you Sir.” I answered as I extended my hoof to his.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he reached out and shook my hoof. “Perhaps I should show you the rest of the department to finish off your first day.”

“I’d appreciate that sir.” I answered again.

As if acknowledging my answer, he began on a saunter again leaving me to follow.

Our tour of the department was much longer than when Rem and Sporin had shown me around. I could tell he was far more experienced than them if his title hadn’t already revealed that. But while my brain was busy soaking up all the information I could, I couldn’t help but sense a peculiar feeling from this Batpony Stallion. Though at first I felt it was simply the nature of his species. After all Batponies are rarely if ever seen in the healthcare industry. However, the more I pondered it there was something else entirely that I couldn’t yet comprehend.

As the day passed on, Doctor Acardio continued to show me around the department, stopping to summarize each room, tool, and even introduce me to a lot of the other staff. As we entered the final operating room, the Batpony turned to face me, “Does this room look familiar to you?”

I shrugged my shoulders as the room seemed fairly ordinary to me. Taking my gesture as an answer, he continued, “This is the room where the first ever coronary bypass was performed.”

My eyes went wide with realization, “Wait… You’re serious?”

He nodded, “Yes. I personally oversaw the procedure.”

I didn’t know how to respond. This meant that my new boss was practically a celebrity in the world of medicine. I still found it odd how I’d never heard his name mentioned until today, but regardless, I was too excited to care.

There were many fascinating pieces of equipment in the room, but the one that caught my eye the most was a large mirror on the other end. It was likely a two way mirror meaning others could view inside the room but anypony inside would not be able to see them. However, something seemed to be missing in the room. I could see my own reflection perfectly fine, but strangely the Batpony who was standing next to me was not there on the mirror. I rubbed my eyes with my hooves to make sure I wasn’t simply seeing things.

“Is something the matter?”

His voice startled me as I looked to my side and noticed him looking at me with concern.

“Sorry. I just… It feels weird standing in such a famous room.” I lied as I glanced his way.

To make things even stranger, the Batpony proceeded to smile. This was the first time I’d ever seen him express such an emotion and I wasn’t sure whether it was a good thing or not. Only adding to the oddity of the moment, Doctor Acardio began to chuckle.

‘Was it something I said?’ I thought as embarrassment overtook me.

“Forgive me Mrs Scarlet. I could not help but admire your affinity for the field. I have met few other surgeons as passionate as you. I believe you will make a very fine doctor in time.” He stated after calming down.

This complement awakened a new feeling in me. It felt professional, yes. But I couldn’t help but feel my cheeks flush. Luckily the blush on my face was hidden by my crimson fur coat. “T-thank you Doctor Acardio.” I blurted out, trying to mask my emotions.

As the Batpony nodded, he continued, “Come. We can finish your day off by tending to our patient from earlier.”

I nodded in agreement before following him out of the room. But before the door closed, I had one last look at the mirror on the wall. Still, however, I saw only my own reflection. ‘Strange.’ I thought.

As the sun set over Equestria, I stepped back onto the platform to catch my train that would arrive soon. As I sat down on one of the benches, my brain stayed busy remembering all the events that had happened over the day. I hadn’t ever expected the day to be as exciting as it was, however, I couldn’t complain. For the first time in my life I had saved a Pony’s life. I felt enormous pride knowing that I had given a family hope where there was none to be found.

But while I was mostly focused on highlights such as the procedure, I couldn’t help but think back to the Batpony Doctor I’d met. Doctor Acardio was unlike any Pony I’d ever met before. And not because I’d never seen a real Batpony before, but rather of the mysterious way about him. Even for his kind he was incredibly large and imposing. Not to mention every time I got close to him I felt strange. And to top things off was the matter of the mirror not showing his reflection at all. Was it simply broken? Or was I just seeing things?

Before I could ponder the events any further, the train pulled up to the station and stopped to let its current passengers off. I rose from the bench and made my way on board remembering to keep my ticket close. Once on board and in my seat I yawned after the long day. It felt good knowing I’d soon be back home, but I then remembered the promise I’d made to Sheryl earlier. ‘Buck… I promised her I’d buy her dinner at Manny’s.’

I supposed the evening would be a long one just as the day had been. Regardless, it’d be a nice time to tell her about everything.

After a short ride back, the train had arrived at my stop. Before departing, I thanked the kind conductor and exited the train. The sun had since set and in its place was the pale white moon with the mare at its center. The air was now much colder and was accompanied by a chilling breeze that gusted leaves off the ground only for them to land elsewhere. I proceeded to wrap my warm scarf around my neck before heading home.

Despite Fall being my favorite season, I couldn’t deny that it tended to have many eerie nights. And tonight was certainly one of those nights. As I walked down the street, I could hear the sound of the wind brushing up against houses and streetlights all the while making a ghostly whistling noise. Worse yet, every so often I’d hear what sounded like wing flaps not too far behind me as if a bird were swooping down from the sky. But since hawks and other raptors are day time predators it was more than likely simply an owl.

As I continued on my way home, however, my trepidation remained. The flapping noises had quieted down, but I could still pick up on small flutters from time to time. Moreover, I could now see faint movements in my peripheral vision as if something was stalking me from behind. While I was too focused on my surroundings to notice it, my heart rate had risen as had my walking pace. As I looked from side to side, I kept getting the feeling that I was being followed.

After a few more moments, the noises began to feel closer. And Closer, and closer, and closer until it felt as though something was directly behind me. I couldn’t handle the suspense anymore so I impulsively turned to see what was behind me. Only, there was nothing. The only thing I saw nearby was a street pole with my street name; Maple Street.

After detecting nothing around me, I sighed in relief before turning my back. ‘Blasted owls…’ I thought as I rolled my eyes at my own mind for believing in such nonsense.

Little did I know at the time, however, how lucky I’d been this night…

Chapter 2: Un-Settled In

Chapter 2

Un-Settled In

It was yet another cool and misty morning out as I walked toward the Hospital. While I didn’t mind the cold autumn mornings for now, I knew I’d have to start bundling up more fairly soon. Still, as I walked through the Hospital doors, I was greeted by the warmer conditioned air.

After unwrapping my scarf I was politely greeted by the mare behind the counter who had no doubt seen me enter, “Good morning Scarlet.”

Her tone was much friendlier than it had been the day before, yet I shrugged it off and greeted her in return, “Likewise!” I said.

I felt a bit embarrassed that I did not yet know her name. I had been so preoccupied with my first day yesterday that I’d completely neglected to look at her name tag. Today, however, I would do just that.

“How was your first day yesterday?” The Mare asked as I approached.

After getting closer I snuck a brief glance towards the name tag on her chest. It read; Nadine Note. In an attempt to avoid being awkward I answered her question, “It was nice! I even assisted in my first surgery.”

Nadine looked impressed as she raised a brow, “Are you serious? How did it go?”

I was surprised to see the Mare so interested in my story, but regardless I replied, “It went great! We saved the patient from an aneurysm. He should make a full recovery.”

“That’s awesome! Who else did you get to work with?” She asked in response.

Her enthusiasm with my story continued to amaze me, “It was myself, Remedy, Sporin and Doctor Acardio.”

At this the Mare raised her brow again and was silent for a moment before looking both ways and addressing me again with a hushed tone, “What did you think of him? Doctor Acardio I mean.”

I couldn’t help but glance at her suspiciously, “Think of him?” I asked to clarify.

“I mean what was he like. I’ve heard a lot of rumors and just wanted to hear it from you.” She replied still in a quiet tone.

This comment made me think for a moment as I recalled my experience with the Batpony the day prior. I pondered whether I should tell the mare about the many strange things I’d noticed about him, but I know that gossip is hardly appropriate especially at work. “I’m not sure. He seems very professional and skilled. And he’s already helped me to settle into the job a lot. I’m glad to have him as my boss.”

Nadine shrugged, “Okay, well either way I’m glad you’re settling in okay! I’ll avoid taking up any more of your time.”

At this I nodded, “Thanks Nadine, have a nice day!”

The Mare smiled and nodded in return. With this I went on my way to Department C.

After pushing the doors to my department open, I walked towards the break room and put my purse and scarf in my new locker. Unlike many of my other colleagues in the department, my locker was undecorated and fairly plain. I don’t have much talent for artistic expression so I know I’m likely never going to get around to doing any sort of display on it.

As I went to shut my locker I heard the door open only for my new friend Remedy to walk in. The blue coated Stallion smiled and immediately addressed me, “Good morning Scarlet!”

I couldn’t help but smile back, “Hi Rem!”

“Ready to get back to work today?” He asked as he used his own locker.

I nodded, “Yep! Although I hope we don’t have to conduct too many operations like yesterday’s.”

He chuckled, “Yeah, those kinds of cases aren’t common. Most of our cases are lacerations or skin grafts.”

I nodded in understanding. While neither of these cases were fun to deal with for the patient, they were far better off than the aneurysm we had treated the day before. Still, it was reassuring knowing that kind of condition was rare.

“Well, I’ll see you in the Foyer.” I stated as I shut my locker.

“See you!” Remedy replied.

As I waited in the hall, I couldn’t help but notice again that all the blinds for the windows were shut while the lights were turned on. It felt odd to leave them down seeing as how the weather was supposed to clear up today so I decided to take the initiative and open them. However, when I went to lift the first blind, my hooves were stopped by another.

“Do not do that.”

The action startled me as I quickly turned to face the culprit who was none other than my own boss Doctor Acardio. He looked very serious as he stared at me with his red irises.

“I-I’m sorry sir. I didn’t know we aren’t allowed to lift the blinds.” I blurted out, not knowing what else to say in the moment.

He seemed to relax after noticing my distress as he removed his cold hoof from mine. “It’s quite alright. Others have made the same mistake before. However, I would request that you leave them shut. My kind function better outside of natural light.”

This explanation made sense to me. Batponies were after all nocturnal creatures. “I understand. It won’t happen again sir.” I answered while composing myself.

My answer seemed to satisfy him as he then replied, “Thank you Scarlet Vessel.”

A brief silence ensued after his comment, however, just as I was about to ask him what I should do, I noticed his nose twitch rather weirdly. He spoke up again, “Pardon me, but did you happen happen to eat something with garlic recently?”

This question caught me completely off guard. I’d of course gone out to Manny’s with Sheryl last night, but I’d brushed my teeth very thoroughly last night and this morning. How could he have possibly known?

“Is it that obvious?” I asked in response.

The Doctor nodded with a chuckle, “I apologize. My senses are quite powerful.”

He made yet another valid point. However, it still felt odd that he’d bring it up at all. Regardless I shrugged it off and asked my question, “So how can I help today?”

“We have several scheduled operations at 10:00 and 1:30. I would appreciate your assistance for both of them.” The Batpony answered.

Without hesitation I nodded and accompanied the Doctor as we made our way to an operating room to get set up.

Much later into the day, I found myself assisting with my third surgery. It was much less stressful than yesterday’s, however, I still needed to remain focused as the work was just as delicate as ever. To my delight, Doctor Acardio had entrusted me with a few more tasks and responsibilities during this operation as we currently performed a discectomy on our patient.

Throughout most of the day the Batpony had observed me closely to make sure I was not making mistakes. However, every so often I’d catch him staring at me curiously. I could not truly explain it, nor did I know for sure, but it felt as though he was admiring me. As embarrassing and stupid as that was to conceive of…

Luckily despite these feelings I still kept my concentration up making no mistakes as I worked. As I carefully removed a harmful disc from the patient’s spine, I heard the Batpony speak, “Very good.”

I acknowledged his compliment and then allowed the Doctor some space to close the incision on the patient’s back. As the Batpony worked, however, a question formed in my mind, “Sorry to ask this sir-”

“You may call me Doctor Acardio if you wish.” He stated, cutting me off mid sentence.

His response had once again caught me off guard. It felt weird to refer to my boss’ own name after only knowing him for several days. His behavior continued to puzzle me, however, I left it be seeing as I’d yet to have asked my question.

“Okay, my question is how long have you been working here at the hospital?”

He raised a brow and briefly turned my way, “I’m not exactly sure myself. But it has been quite a long time.”

Yet another answer I didn’t expect. You’d think a highly accomplished Doctor would remember how many years he’d worked at his own job. I could only suppose he’d lost count over the many years and wasn’t concerned with it. Still, it felt odd nonetheless.

As he began stitching up the incision, Doctor Acardio spoke to me once more, “When you have worked at a place as long as I have the years begin to blend together. I focus less on how long I’ve been here and rather on what I’ve accomplished in that time.”

His words seemed wise, but I could tell there was more to it than his answer. Still, it had left me with another question I wanted to ask. “What made you want to become a surgeon?”

At this he halted his work and glanced at me as though I were ignorant, “Likely the same reason as yourself. I have a natural affinity for anatomy.”

While his compliment filled me with pride, his assessment wasn’t entirely correct. “Thank you Doctor Acardio, but I didn’t just become an assistant surgeon because of my talent. I did it to help save the lives other Ponies who need me.”

The Batpony raised a brow before shrugging his shoulders with a huff and returning to his work. A moment later I subconsciously cursed myself for making this comment. It wasn’t my place to say such a thing to somepony as prestigious as him. I supposed my pride had gotten the better of me.

At any rate, the Doctor soon finished stitching the sutures on our patient’s back. With the procedure complete, I used a huck cloth to clean the area before setting it down on the used equipment table along with the rest of the tools I’d used. It would be some time before our patient’s anesthetic shot would wear off so I figured I’d take the time to have my lunch break.

As if reading my mind, the Batpony addressed me, “You may have your break. I will take it from here.”

Without thinking too much about it I nodded and removed my mask and mitts before heading out the door.

My day had been rather uneventful ever since the two surgeries earlier. After having taken my break I’d spent some more time familiarizing myself with the equipment and the layout of the building. Before the day was over I’d volunteered to help assist my other colleague Sporin with a simple laceration surgery.

Unlike Remedy, Sporin was far less extroverted, much like myself. As such, the procedure had been fairly quiet throughout. This was hardly an issue, however, as the two of us got along just fine. In a way it was comforting knowing there were others like me at the Hospital.

Now as my shift was nearly over, I prepared to head home for the night. After packing my things I made my way through the foyer before bumping into something. As I looked up, I was shocked to see it was none other than Doctor Acardio. “S-sorry!” I exclaimed as I backed up slightly.

The Batpony did not look bothered in the slightest as he stood tall before me. “You did well today.” He spoke very simply.

Hearing his words of praise filled me with praise. I subtly turned my head to hide the blush on my cheeks, hoping my hair would conceal if from him. “Thank you sir-”

“I mean thank you Doctor Acardio! It’s my pleasure.” I corrected as I foolishly fumbled my words.

The Batpony clearly saw right through my unconvincing front and grinned with a small chuckle. It was then that I noticed his very long abnormal canine teeth. Although his expression looked genuinely friendly, I made sure not to show my discomfort as I stared at the tall Stallion’s fangs.

“In any case, I wish you a pleasant evening, Scarlet Vessel.” He stated before concealing his fangs once more.

“Thank you! Same to you sir!” I answered before passing him heading on my way.

After closing the door to my apartment, I breathed a heavy sigh before placing my purse and my scarf on the nearby coat hanger. Although today had been shorter and less stressful than my first day, it had been no less busy. However, I was thankful to once again be in the comfort of my home.

Knowing my roommate Sheryl wouldn’t be home for another hour, I decided to fix some dinner so it would be ready when she arrived. A salad seemed like as good an option as any and it tended to be my go-to meal. Without wasting any time, I got to work cooking.

Unlike many other chores, cooking never seemed to bother me as much. In many ways it felt similar to performing a surgery. But instead of making an incision with a scalpel I used a kitchen knife to slice vegetables into proper bite sized chunks.

After having finished making the salad, I covered it up to keep it fresh for when Sheryl would get home. Although I could already start eating myself, I always preferred to wait until others were at the table like my parents had taught me. Seeing as my roommate would be here soon, I decided to take a seat in the living room and reflect on my day.

I was thrilled that my colleagues were kind hearted Ponies. It felt good to feel welcomed after only 2 days on the job. Even better I was glad that I was getting a chance to truly put my skills to work helping and even saving other Ponies. It had been my dream since I got my cutie mark. Still, despite things at work going great, something still felt off.

On one hoof, Doctor Acardio seemed like he meant well, however, there were also times when he would come across as cold and downright erratic. I’d never met another Batpony before him, however, I could tell even now that he likely wasn’t normal even among his own kind. It almost felt as though he was hiding something from everypony.

Still, I could not deny that something about him interested me. He felt like an incomplete puzzle that I needed to solve in order to truly connect with him. ‘Why is he so tall? Why did his reflection not show in the mirror that day? Why is he oddly very charming and handso-’

I shook my head before snapping myself out of my daze. “Where the hay did that come from?” I asked myself as I stood up from the chair.

I couldn’t explain what had come over me in that moment. Luckily I then heard the door open, effectively breaking my weird train of thoughts.

“Hey Sheryl! How was your day?” I asked as I entered the hall to greet my roommate.

“Hey Scarlet, it was alright! You been home for long?”

I nodded, “Yep. I figured you’d be hungry so I made us dinner.”

She laughed, “You making dinner? Is it another salad?”

“Yup!” I answered with a knowing smile.

“Alright, give me a second and I’ll join you.”

While my salad certainly wasn’t as good as the dinner we had at Manny’s last night, it was still quite enjoyable. “Thanks again for making this Scarlet.” Sheryl said before taking another forkful of the greens.

“You’re welcome Sheryl. Did anything fun happen at the Salon today?” I asked, trying to spark a conversation.

“Well, we got a visit from that eccentric stallion again today… So I guess that was fun.” She answered with a vexed expression.

I giggled, “You mean that turquoise coated Stallion with the blonde mane you talked about last week? What was his name again?”

“Zephyr Breeze… And yes, he tried to hit on me again today.” Sheryl answered with disdain.

Although I found humor in this story, I couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of her. Sheryl seemed to easily attract Stallions wherever she went even when she wasn’t trying. Still, I supposed this was one of the pros and cons of working in the cosmetics industry.

“What about you? You told me you saved that Pony yesterday, is he doing okay now?” Sheryl asked, changing the subject.

I nodded, “Yeah, he’s recovering at one of the other wings of the Hospital. He should be able to leave in a week or so.”

Sheryl smiled, “That’s great! Look at you saving the world one pony at a time!”

I smiled proudly in return, “You know it!”

As the conversation had died down, I figured I’d take a drink from my glass before Sheryl spoke up once more, “And what about that strange Batpony you talked about yesterday?”

My eyes widened at her question, and while I tried desperately to stop it, I failed spectacularly and spit out the water in my mouth. Both Sheryl and I were speechless afterward for a few seconds before she burst out in an uncontrollable laughter. I hung my head in shame as I looked at the mess I’d made on our table cloth…

“I’ll get a rag.” I answered before trotting off.

My ears hung down in embarrassment as I mopped up the scattered droplets of water. Sheryl was still laughing which only made me more ashamed. ‘Why did I do that?’ I asked myself as I shook my head at my mistake.

As Sheryl’s laughter died down, she commented, “Sorry Scarlet. But I’ve never seen you do something like that! Especially over a Stallion!”

“What!? That’s not true! I was just… It was an accident!” I retorted immediately.

Sheryl chuckled again, “You’re a terrible liar Scarlet. You talked about him a lot last night. You like him, don’t you?”

“I don’t like him!” I fought as my cheeks began to flush.

“Besides! He’s my boss and it’s totally inappropriate to date in the workplace!” I answered factually as I returned to the table after cleaning up.

“So if you weren’t working together you would totally go out with him then. Is that what you’re saying?” Sheryl prodded with a devious grin.

“Yes-I mean NO! No! I wouldn’t!” I answered with a huff.

To my dismay, Sheryl began laughing again. I rolled my eyes before shouting over her, “I don’t like him! He’s creepy! And he has big fangs! And he’s way way older than me!”

Thankfully Sheryl’s annoying smug laughter stopped, but sadly her questions did not. “Alright, but why were you talking so much about him if you’re not interested in him?”

I now regretted having ever spoken about it yesterday night as I wished this conversation could have been avoided altogether. Regardless I figured I’d explain myself, “Because there’s something weird about him Sheryl. Even for a Stallion he’s really tall! Like as tall as Princess Celestia tall.”

My roommate shrugged her shoulders, “Good genetics?”

“And what about the mirror! I swear I wasn’t lying when I said his reflection was missing!” I added, trying to further prove my point.

“Maybe he wasn’t in the frame of the mirror. Or maybe the mirror was just dirty?” She replied again.

These excuses were total folly and I didn’t buy either of them for a second. “And then there was today! I asked him how long he’d been working there and he couldn’t even remember!”

Sheryl raised a brow sarcastically, “Ooo! Doctors are allowed to forget things!? Who would have thought!?”

I grumbled before rolling my eyes again, “Alright, then answer this! When I went to open one of the blinds in the department, he stopped me and said his kind doesn’t like light. But yet all the lights were on in the building!”

“Maybe he just means sunlight? I heard a lot of Batponies work for Princess Luna’s guard too.” She answered.

I sighed but decided to give it up. There were some times I simply couldn’t out-argue Sheryl, and right now I didn’t have the mental capacity to continue the conversation. “Fine, you win.”

“Of course I do.” She responded with another smug grin.

Luckily, as the conversation had gone on so long, I’d finally finished my portion of the salad. I went to go clean up my dishes in the sink before Sheryl spoke up again, “Honestly Scarlet, I think you should lighten up about the whole thing. He may be a bit weird, but weird can sometimes be good right?”

“I guess.” I answered.

As I rinsed my clean dishes in the sink, I left them on a towel to dry until the morning. It had been a long day and I knew tomorrow would likely be the same, so I figured I’d get some early shut eye tonight.

“Well, I’m gonna go to bed early tonight. See you in the morning Sheryl.”

My roommate nodded, “Have a good night Scarlet!”

After getting myself ready for the night, I stepped into my bed before glancing up at the ceiling of my room in thought. While I wanted to forget all about the conversation over dinner, I couldn’t help but ponder a single thought that was bothering me. ‘Do I really like him?’

Chapter 3: Sick Leave

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Chapter 4: Questions

Chapter 4

Questions

After the craziness that was yesterday, I was glad to have gotten a nice night to myself. However, I made sure to wake up bright and early again this morning to get in before anypony else. Although I’d been on the job for only a month, I was still intent on proving how reliable I am and that meant not falling into any bad habits such as coming to work late.

But though I wanted to be as professional as I could, I still found it odd that my own boss had just up and left with almost no advanced warning yesterday. I understood well enough that he needed to focus on his own health, however, if that was the case then why did he come in to work in the first place? The whole situation felt very off to me.

Regardless, today was a new day. And we’d likely be missing him again which would still put Remedy in charge of the department. Seeing as how progress would be slower today, I decided to get a head start when I arrived early by preparing all the tools for some of our scheduled surgeries.

Though I wouldn’t admit it publicly, a small part of me wanted to do this so I could earn a promotion. I knew I had a lot of experience to gain in order for that to happen, but it couldn’t hurt to make a good impression now.

Only a few minutes later, I heard the doors to the department open which likely meant either Rem or Sporin had arrived. However, when I peeked over my shoulder I was shocked to instead see the last pony I’d have ever expected. I nearly dropped the equipment in my hooves as Doctor Acardio walked into the room casually as if nothing had happened.

It felt like I was watching a ghost pass by as the Batpony seemed to have miraculously fully recovered from whatever illness he had the day before. To make matters even stranger, he looked even more healthy than he’d been when I’d met him a month ago. His mane and tail looked darker and more flush than before as did his coat, and his body looked much stronger and defined now.

I seemed to forget I was staring at him until his voice shook me out of my daze, “I did not expect to see you this early in the morning.”

I’m not sure why, but in the moment I couldn’t seem to form a response while I still marveled at his inexplicable recovery. To my dismay, he seemed to notice my stupor and spoke again, “Are you well, Mrs Vessel?”

I shook my head for a good second before subconsciously cursing myself for my lack of control. “Yeah, sorry sir-I mean Doctor Acardio.”

I was rarely ever this socially awkward, but given the circumstances I felt as though anypony else would be in a similar boat. Still, I did my best to try and accept what was happening rather than question it any further.

“I just came in early today to get things ready before the shift starts. Yesterday was a bit busier than usual.” I finally answered his first question.

The Batpony raised a brow. I couldn’t quite tell whether he looked concerned or impressed. “I see.”

“In any case, it is rather admirable that you decided to come in so early. I haven’t seen this kind of dedication in many others.” He stated again.

His compliment filled me with pride. I was glad my effort was being noticed. “Thank you sir-I mean-”

I’d done it again and fumbled my words… But this time before I could even correct myself I heard the Batpony chuckle out loud. “You are a fascinating mare, Scarlet Vessel.” He stated before heading off towards his office.

Once alone again, I took a deep breath and tried my best to ignore the one very prominent thought in my head. But it was useless as I couldn’t help but feel flabbergasted that Dr Acardio was here in the hospital today just a few hours after he’d supposedly left on sick leave. ‘How is it possible for a pony to recover from something that bad so quickly?’

But for the life of me I could not find an answer to my own question. Nopony I knew was able to shake off a serious illness as quickly much less show up to work the next day… If I hadn’t been convinced yet that there was something seriously odd about the Batpony, this had practically sealed it.

My morning had passed by normally after my awkward encounter with the Batpony. As the noon hour was drawing close, I was currently aiding in a coronary bipass surgery for one of our high risk patients. However, unlike usual procedures, I was interrupted as another pony walked into the room mid-operation. I tried to keep my concentration before I heard my colleague Sporin address me, “Scarlet, Doctor Acardio wants to see you in his office.”

“But I’m needed here-” I began before he interjected, “He said it’s very important. And don’t worry. I’ll fill in for you while you’re gone.”

All of a sudden my mind went from confusion to worry. It was not very professional to barge into an operating room during a surgery, much less talk to the surgeons while they are working. And it felt even more unprofessional for me to leave in the middle of an operation I was working on. However, seeing as how my own boss was behind this, I couldn’t refuse.

As I nodded, I made my way out before removing my mask and mitts. While walking down the hall I wondered what it was the Batpony wanted to see me for. As I reached his door, I took a deep breath before opening the door and entering.

“You wanted to see me Doctor?” I asked calmly as I stepped inside.

The Batpony, who was behind his desk, simply nodded. “Yes. Take a seat, Scarlet Vessel.”

Judging by the tone of his voice, it felt as though I was in trouble. But what had I done wrong? I thought as a pool of dread built up in my stomach. As I took a seat, the Batpony used one of his wings to pick up a clipboard on the desk.

I stayed silent as I anxiously awaited him to explain why he’d summoned me here. And a moment later, he looked up from the clipboard, “Remedy told me about what you did yesterday while I was away.”

“He did?” I asked.

He nodded, “Yes. You quickly identified the problem and the solution to a very serious case.”

Though I was happy to hear Remedy hadn’t let my work go unnoticed, I felt there was a second part to the Doctor’s lecture.

“I must say, using yourself as a donor for the patient was a great risk. Not to mention against the Hospital’s policy.” He trailed off as he stared me in the eye intently.

There it was. I knew I had to have done something wrong. There was no other reason for him to summon me while I was busy working. I began to feel butterflies in my stomach as I waited for my boss to inevitably rant at me for my obvious mistake and lack of judgment.

The Doctor then put down his clipboard, “However, your actions led to a successful procedure. And for that, they deserve to be commended.”

My eyes lit up after hearing this unexpected compliment. “Thank you Doctor Acardio. But I was just doing my duty.”

“No. You were not doing your duty. You were doing much more.” He replied simply.

Now I was just confused. Was he trying to praise me, or patronize me? “Pardon me?” I asked for clarification.

Instead of answering my question, the Batpony was silent for a few moments before rising from his chair and approaching me, “Follow me.”

I was rather skeptical on whether or not to do so, but seeing as how I was unlikely to get answers otherwise, I decided to trust my boss and follow him.

After a few minutes of walking, Doctor Acardio had led me to one of the more secluded wings of the Hospital. I felt quite uncomfortable as I anxiously awaited him to elaborate on his earlier statement.

As we walked through the hallway, the Batpony then spoke up, “This was not the first time your bold actions have led to a successful procedure in a very serious case. And I doubt it will be the last time.”

The Doctor then stopped abruptly before turning to face me, “I do not believe you are qualified for this position, Scarlet Vessel.”

I immediately wanted to protest and even opened my mouth before the Batpony cut me off, “You are overqualified. More so than even Sporrin or Remedy. You have a natural talent, but your position is holding you back from true greatness.”

The Doctor stared directly at me as he continued, “And that is why I like to discuss an offer with you over dinner at my personal residence tomorrow night.”

‘Did he just offer me a promotion?… And ask me out to dinner?’

“The decision is yours, however, if my offer appeals to you, meet me back at my office before the end of the day.” He stated before making his way back behind me.

I couldn’t recall a time I’d been more loss for words than I was now. My brain felt like a raging tornado with thoughts spiraling out of control as I tried to unpack what the Batpony had just laid out before me. Of course I’d been working very hard to earn a promotion and the respect of my colleagues, however, this felt very sudden and had come much sooner than I’d expected. Furthermore, my boss was now inviting me for dinner at his own house which felt even more odd. It seemed I now had a lot to think about over the next few hours…

A few hours had passed since my conversation with Doctor Acardio, yet to my dismay I still hadn’t made a decision. Though I wanted nothing more than to take him up on his offer, something felt suspicious about the while thing. For one, I’d only been working at the hospital for a short time. And even though I could tell I’d made a good impression, it still felt far too soon to be offered a promotion. Moreover, why had he invited me to his own house to discuss this opportunity? Surely we could talk about it here at work.

Despite my skepticism, every bone in my body was telling me to take him up on his offer. Normally I hated making bold decisions, however, if my experience at this job so far had shown me anything, it was to trust my instincts.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to wait until tomorrow to make up my mind since tomorrow was my day off, and I also knew I likely wouldn’t get another chance like this. Besides, even after hearing out his offer it still wasn’t like I had to accept it, right?

Knowing this, I made up my decision then and there.

As I finished up with my last surgery of the day, I made my way over to Doctor Acardio’s office. But before I could even knock, the door opened in front of me as Doctor Acardio stared down at me. Though the action had slightly startled me, what startled me more was the fact that Doctor Acardio looked like he was expecting me.

“Have you come to accept my invitation?” He asked as he stared down at me.

I had to clear my throat before collecting myself, “Yes sir. I’d be honored to attend tomorrow night.”

My answer seemed to satisfy him as he adorned a small grin, “Very good.”

The Batpony then brought up a small piece of paper and handed it to me, “This is the address of my home. Please arrive at sundown tomorrow evening.”

As I took the piece of paper with my hoof, I nodded before replying, “I’ll be there sir, thank you for the opportunity!”

The Stallion’s small grin turned into a wider smile as he responded, “I look forward to your visit, Scarlet Vessel.”

I smiled in return as I nodded one more time before taking my leave. As I made my way to the break room, I placed the piece of paper in my purse for safe keeping before saying my goodbyes to my colleagues and heading on out.

On my way out, I decided I to check up on my patient from yesterday’s operation; Mahogany Morris. His condition had been much better after the blood transfusion, however, I knew that he would likely feel a bit week over the next few days as his body recovered its strength. Besides still being concerned with his health, I also wanted to find out more about the incident that had left him in such peril.

After strolling through the hall for a few moments I was about to come up on the patient’s room before spotting another Pony standing on the outside. He looked to be a fairly tall and well built Unicorn Stallion wearing a large beige trench coat above a half buttoned up white shirt with a black tie which had not been properly tied. Below his loose attire was a dull gray fur coat while his mane and tail were a deep black charcoal-like color. His mane looked rough and unkempt while on his chin he had a messy ducktail beard.

He appeared to be levitating a small note pad along with a pen and was busy jotting down notes. I wondered what exactly he was doing outside of the room, so I decided to approach and speak to him, “Excuse me.”

He immediately turned to face me before closing his notepad and putting it into one of the pockets on his coat, “Good evening Ma’am. Can I help you with something?” He answered with a tone just as rough as his appearance.

Even though I’d heard very little from him, I could already tell he had a very distinct Shetland Pony accent. His mannerism was also less than subtle, however, I replied anyway, “Oh no thanks, I was just wondering if you’re here to see Mr Mahogany.”

At this the Stallion nodded, “Why yes. I was just here to ask him some questions.”

Now I was even more skeptical about him. But before I could ask another question, he approached me and extended his hoof, “Detective Angus McCane. Pleasure to meet you Mrs…”

Though I was skeptical of his appearance, I could tell based on the badge on his chest that he indeed was a detective. I then shook his hoof as I replied, “Vessel. Scarlet Vessel.”

It seemed after hearing my name that the Stallions posture changed as did his serious disposition. “Interesting So you’re the surgeon who saved him from his near death experience yesterday?”

I could have nodded, but it felt wrong to take all the credit for what was a team effort by both Rem and me. Instead I humbly shook my head, “I was just the assistant. Doctor Remedy was the one who oversaw the operation. I was just doing my part.”

The Detective looked unconvinced as he tilted his head with a raised brow, “That’s not what I heard. I heard that you even donated your own blood to save him. To me that’s going the extra mile, don’t you think?”

Though he had a point, I decided to stay humble and shrug, “Like I said, I was just doing my job.”

“I see…” He answered incredulously.

After a brief but nonetheless awkward silence, I asked a question that was lingering in my head, “So what were you doing talking to Mr Mahogany?”

At this, the Detective brought out his notepad and his pen before explaining, “I’m currently investigating the cause behind his hospitalization. Though, his answers were… Less than satisfactory.”

He then glanced my way, “Since I have you here, would you mind answering some questions as well?”

Though I was suspicious of him, I decided to cooperate with him for the moment. “Sure. What would you like to know?”

“Well, for starters, I’d like to know how Mr Mahogany looked when you first saw him. What condition was he in?” The detective asked.

“He was unconscious and had lost a lot of blood. His skin was pale and his body was very cold too.” I answered simply.

The detective paused as he wrote down my answer down. After glancing back up, he asked, “Do you know what could have caused his condition?”

I nodded, “Yes. There were two small puncture wounds on his neck where the blood had been drained.”

Again he took a moment to write my response down. Shortly after, he looked back up, “And what do you believe could have caused these wounds?”

Now it was me who paused as I debated whether or not to tell him what Mr Mahogany had told me the day prior. However, seeing as how telling the detective would break patient confidentiality, I decided to withhold the information. “I don’t know.” I answered simply with a small shake of my head.

Though I was confident with my answer, it seemed the Detective was less than pleased. “No? Surely you must have some idea…”

“I’m sorry Mr McCane, but I don’t. Perhaps you could ask Mr Mahogany what happened before he went unconscious.” I answered, hoping he would leave me be.

To my dismay, the Unicorn Stallion remained put and still looked unconvinced. “I did. But his answers were inconclusive. He claims it was an accident that happened when he was on his way home from the Arboretum.”

I remained quiet as I let the Detective continue, “But you see, Mrs Vessel, I don’t believe this was any accident.”

Again I stayed silent for a moment, expecting him to continue. But instead, the Stallion put his notepad and pen back in one of his pockets and looked both ways before falling back to me. “I believe he was the victim of an attack by a monster.”

Although I already knew this was a possibility, I remained as stoic as I could while the Detective continued to explain. “I also believe this attack is related to a number of other cases spanning back over the last 250 years.”

After stating his absurd conspiracy theory Detective McCane looked to be judging my reaction. I don’t believe in the supernatural, however, I didn’t have a good idea as to what had attacked Mr Mahogany either. “What kind of monster do you think could have done that to him?” I asked.

At this the Detective huffed, “I wish I knew… I’ve searched every lead up every dead end and still haven’t found the answer. The few Ponies that have witnessed attacks have not been very credible, however, they’ve all given a similar description of the monster.”

“And that is?” I asked.

“It strikes only in the dark, and has large wings. But none of the victims were ever found alive. That was until now…” He answered before glancing back at the door.

Based on this information, I could only picture one monster being responsible for these attacks. “Could it be a Manticore? They have wings and do occasionally attack Ponies.”

Annoyingly, he shook his head as if he’d expected this answer, “No. Manticores are not known for making quiet attacks. They are proud territorial creatures. Not to mention our victim here had only lost blood. Manticores do not feed like that.”

All of his points made sense, however, it still left the question unanswered. I wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery as much as he did, however, the day would be over soon. “Well, I wish you the best in your investigation Mr McCane. But I have to be moving along with my day.”

He nodded, “Very well.”

He then reached into another pocket on his jacket and used his magic to pass along a card to me. “Should you find any more information regarding this case, I would ask that you contact me about it.”

I nodded and took the card before placing it in my purse. As if on queue, the Detective saluted me, “Well, I must be off. Have a pleasant evening ma’am.”

As I watched the Stallion trot off, I shrugged and returned my attention to my original plan. As I knocked on the door, I heard a voice behind shout, “Come in.”

I entered the room before I noticed the red coated Unicorn seated on a hospital bed with a book in his hooves. “Oh, good evening Doctor Vessel.” He remarked as I walked in.

I chuckled before answering, “It’s okay Mr Mahogany, I’m not a Doctor yet. You don’t have to call me that.”

“Oh, my bad.” He said before putting the book down.

“I just came to check up on you. Are you feeling any better today?” I asked as I walked up to the bed and took a seat on a nearby chair.

He nodded without falter, “Yeah, I feel a lot better. Thanks for coming to see me.”

Though he was indeed looking healthier, I could tell that something was definitely weighing on his mind. “Are you sure everything is alright?”

This time he looked away for a moment as he stared at the window in the corner of the room. He then glanced back my way, “I hope that Monster doesn’t come back for me…” He stated with noticeable worry.

“You’re safe here. I’m sure of it.” I reassured him as I looked him in the eye.

He seemed comforted slightly, but I could tell it was still lingering in his mind. Still, this presented another question for me, “Why didn’t you tell the Detective what happened? He questioned you, right?”

The Unicorn nodded, “He did, but I was scared he wouldn’t believe me. He seemed pretty intimidating.”

“Yeah, he was…” I stated as I stared off at the wall remembering my encounter with him.

‘Ironically, the Detective would have believed him…’ I thought as I continued to drift off.

“Did he interview you too? You didn’t tell him, did you?” Mahogany asked with a worried look.

I glanced back at him before shaking my head, “He did. And I did not tell him. I would never betray patient confidentiality. Unless you want me to, I will not speak a word of it to anypony else.”

He looked relieved upon hearing this as he rested his head against the pillow behind him. A moment later though he rose and looked my way again, “Do you think I should have told him?”

Despite being hesitant, I nodded, “I think you should have. Whether your story is crazy or not, you were undoubtedly attacked by something last night.”

The Unicorn dawned an anxious look as he recalled what had happened to him. Sensing his fear, I extended my hoof towards him, “It’s going to be okay Mr Mahogany. You’re safe now.”

Seeing the genuine look on my face seemed to calm him once more, “Thanks Scarlet.” He said simply.

I nodded one last time before standing up and heading on my way.

Author's Note

Uh oh! Some crazy stuff has happened this chapter! I had a blast writing this one (Even though Google Docs failed me and deleted half my progress for no reason at one point)... But either way, I hope everypony else enjoyed this one as much as I did!

Stay tuned for the next one where a lot of stuff goes down! If you're liking the story so far and look forward to seeing more, be sure to favorite and follow the story as well as leave a comment!

Until next time!
-Obsedian_Flame

Chapter 5: The Date

Chapter 5

The Date

My day had passed by rather normally, albeit with an ever important looming date to look forward to. I should have been excited to get out and meet my boss at his own house, but weather out of fear or cowardice, I couldn’t seem to shake a feeling of dread that I’d woken up with this morning.

As I sat at the table looking towards the wall, I imagined what Doctor Acardio’s house would be like. What would we discuss? What would be served for dinner?

“Why are you staring at the wall like that?”

Would we do anything else besides just discuss this ‘opportunity’ of his?

“Equestria to Scarlet…”

Was this whole ‘date’ even necessary?

“SCARLET!!!”

I immediately broke out of my trance as I nearly tipped out of my chair after being startled. I looked around frantically before my eyes fell on my roommate who sat adjacent to me at the table. Sheryl simply shook her head as she chuckled, “Are you under that anesthetic stuff or something?”

I rolled my eyes before huffing, “No…”

Again my Earth Pony roommate giggled, “Alright, what are ya daydreaming about this time, little miss head in the clouds?”

“Nothing.” I lied as I shifted my focus back to the fruit bowl I was eating prior to my ‘daydreaming’.

Annoyingly, Sheryl saw right through my fib, “Nope. Nice try. What is it? Come on, you can tell me.”

I sighed as I looked away from her. Without even seeing her, I could tell Sheryl was staring me down like a hawk to its prey. “Come onnnnnnnn. Spill ittttttttttttttt.” she chided.

I stayed silent, hoping she would just give up and leave me alone, but Sheryl was hardly one to back down and never seemed to mind bothering me when she knew I was hiding anything from her. “Scarlettttttt. Tell meeeeeeeeeee.” She prodded while just a few uncomfortable inches away from me.

I couldn’t take it anymore and turned my head suddenly before shouting, “I’M GOING OUT!! OKAY!?” I then grunted in annoyance before huffing again and folding my front hooves.

Despite having told the truth this time, Sheryl didn’t seem to believe me, “Going out, like… A date?”

“YES!! I mean-I don’t know…” I replied as I rolled my eyes and threw my hooves up.

“…”

For the first time in this bothersome conversation, I actually wanted Sheryl to speak up, “There, I said it! Happy now?”

My roommate was uncomfortably silent for a few seconds as she stared my way, “Wow… You’re actually going out with somepony…”

I nodded before going silent myself. I hoped she would drop the subject now but as my bad luck would have it, she piped up again, “Well!? Don’t keep me in suspense! Who is it?”

I rolled my eyes as I sighed before muttering under my breath, “Doctor Acardio…”

“I can’t hear youuuuuu.” Sheryl taunted with a devious smile.

I growled before shouting again, “It’s Doctor Acardio! He invited me to his house for dinner tonight! Is that good enough for you!?”

“I called it! You do like him!” Sheryl shouted with glee as she threw her hoof up in celebration.

I sighed again and placed my hoof on my face before shaking my head, “It’s not a ‘date’ date. He invited me there to discuss a work opportunity.”

My roommate’s eyes lit up again, “Wait, are you getting that promotion you wanted? But isn’t it like way too fast for that? You’ve only been there for a month.”

I shrugged, “I don’t know for sure. All I know is that he wanted me to meet him at his house at sundown to discuss it over dinner.”

Sheryl seemed to go quiet again which bothered me even more. I always knew in moments like these that she was coming up with some absurd notion about me that ignored logic. “Tonight huh. Well, date or not, we’re not having you show up to your boss’ house with hooves and a mane like that.” She stated as she pointed towards me.

“What do you mean ‘like that’!” I protested before I noticed her stand up and pull my chair back from behind me abruptly.

“Come on!” She said simply.

“I don’t have a choice here, do I?” I asked.

“Nope!” She answered with a smug smile.

After a few hours of work, Sheryl had gotten me into what she liked to call ‘Tip Top Shape’. I’d never been fond of cosmetics and beautification, however, as I looked at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but marvel at the job Sheryl had done. My mane was cleaner than it had ever been, and I couldn’t spot a single blemish on my face. And true to her cutie mark, Sheryl had polished and styled my hooves expertly giving them a nice shine.

It felt silly to go to this much effort just for a simple dinner visit at somepony else’ home, but it was still nice to have seen Sheryl’s talent in all its splendor. “So, what do you think?” My roommate asked with a confident smile as she stood beside me.

I chuckled a bit, “I think you’re way too happy with yourself.”

Sheryl laughed before I replied, “I also think it looks great. Thanks a bunch Sher.”

I rarely used that nickname, but now felt as fitting of a time as any, given how much effort she’d put into this. “You’re welcome Scarlet. Now don’t you dare mess it up!”

I nodded and stood up from the chair before glancing up at the clock on the wall. I was shocked to notice that almost 3 hours had gone by. The sun was about to set over the horizon, and seeing as how Doctor Acardio had requested that I arrive at sun down, I figured I should leave now.

The address he’d given me was #24 Traian Moșoi, Tramplevania. I’d heard of this street name before, but I couldn’t remember where from. As I looked at a map of the city, I estimated that it would take me nearly 20 minutes to walk all the way there.

“Leaving now?” Sheryl asked as she followed me to the front hall.

I nodded, “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“You bet. And you’re gonna tell me all about it tomorrow.” She stated with a smug look.

I chuckled as I slung my purse over my shoulder before wrapping a scarf around my neck. “Alright. I’ll see you soon.”

With that, I headed on my way.

It felt nice to stroll through the city at this time of day. With the sun dropping over the horizon, it left a pleasant orange hue in the sky which was complemented by a number of small clouds. The temperature in the air had not yet dropped, but I had a feeling it would be a rather cold night.

The route was fairly simple to memorize with only a few turns. In no time I found myself rounding the final corner at Traian Moșoiu. The street looked much different than the rest before it. The road was more worn, and had much fewer street lights than the others. A tall and dense evergreen hedge surrounded nearly every house on the street. And from little I could see of the houses, it seemed this was a rather affluent area of the neighborhood.

I figured Doctor Acardio must be somewhat well to do given that he is the chief physician of our department so it made sense that he’d live in such a rich section of the city. The gaps between each house were very large. Almost big enough to fit 20 of my apartments in a line.

After an unusually long walk, I arrived at an elegant sign that read #24. Beside the sign was an opening in the large hedge which led to another path. I figured this must be the place, so I stepped on through. Once on the other side, however, my jaw dropped as I took in an incredible Castle ahead. Unlike any of the other houses on the street, this castle towered over them like a Dragon over an Ant.

I’d seen castles before, but never any like this. Of course I’d been to Canterlot before, but this one was different. Its build looked ancient, with large spires rising into the sky so high they could touch the clouds. The walls appeared to be built from sturdy stone bricks and were complemented by a number of red tiles on the roofs. It looked to be a very old building, but was still well maintained despite its age.

‘There’s no way this is his home…’ I thought to myself as I approached.

Despite being in utter disbelief, I decided to trust what my boss had written and made my way to the front door to check that I was at least at the right place. The entrance looked just as grand as the rest of the structure with a majestic arch over a set of two grand doors. On each door was a set of metal knockers in the shapes of a bat.

Just to make sure I was at the right place, I decided to knock multiple times. A few seconds passed as I waited while looking around the property. Besides just the castle, there looked to be a large pond as well as a forest.

Before I could bask in the property’s splendor much longer, I heard the doors behind me open as an accented voice followed, “Greetings lady Scarlet.”

Behind the doors stood a creature I hadn’t expected to see. While he wasn’t as tall as I’d heard them described before, this Stallion was indeed a Centaur. He had four hooves and a lower body like a pony, but had the upper body of an ape.

His lack of stature was due in no small part to his very poor posture which looked rather painful. However, despite his off-putting physical appearance, he was very sharply dressed with a nice suit, shirt, and a bow-tie.

I wasn’t sure how to respond, so instead I asked, “Sorry, is this Doctor Acardio’s residence?”

The Centaur nodded, “It is. Master Acardio has been expecting you. Please come in.”

I graciously nodded and entered before taking in the amazing interior of the castle. It was somehow more majestic on the inside than the outside with a grand hallway that extended quite a ways forward. The ceiling stood very high above the floor and the smooth stone walls extended the whole way up with elegant lighting neatly placed throughout.

“May I?” I heard the Centaur speak as he pointed toward the scarf and purse on my neck.

“Oh, yes. Thank you.” I replied as I removed each item and handed them to him.

The creature kindly took the items and placed them on a rack on the wall. “Master Acardio is right this way if you will please follow me.” He said as he started on a light saunter.

I did as such and followed the Centaur up the hall. But despite the fact that I was at the right place, I still had so many questions. While trailing shortly behind my guide I decided to ask the first, “Excuse me, but who are you?”

The Centaur did not glance back but replied, “I am Master Acardio’s butler, Rupert Renfeild at your service lady Scarlet.”

This answer was about what I was expecting, but with Doctor Acardio it seemed I could never expect the ordinary. Still, I had a few questions left to ask, and as we began up a staircase to the second floor, I decided to ask the next one, “Does Doctor Acardio own this entire Castle?”

Even with his hunched neck, the Centaur nodded, “Yes. This castle has passed down through three generations of this family. Now Master Acardio is the sole landlord.” Renfeild then stopped for a moment and pointed up at one of the walls where a series of painted portraits hung.

Each picture depicted a Mare and a Stallion pair which I could only assume were Doctor Acardio’s relatives. They all looked aristocratic in nature with their expensive clothing and jewelry. It seemed Doctor Acardio’s father and grandfather in particular liked to wear large black cloaks with untucked red collars. Though strangely, I could not see Doctor Acardio in any of these portraits.

Having spent long enough staring at the pictures on the wall, however, the Centaur continued onward. After following Renfield up to the second floor, we neared another room which I assumed was the dinning hall. Surely enough my presumption was correct, only this was no ordinary dining room. In the center of the massive chamber was a long elegant wood table that I guessed could fit more than 20 guests at once. On it was a full set of expensive silverware along with fine glass chalices.

Before I could remark on the amazing presentation any longer I heard another voice perk up, “Miss Vessel! I am glad to see you made it.”

I turned around to notice Doctor Acardio who adorned a very sharp looking outfit. Like many of his relatives that I saw on the wall, he wore a very stylish tuxedo along with a thick black cloak but with his collar folded instead.

As he approached me, the Batpony glanced over at his butler and nodded. The Centaur then dismissed himself on queue presumably to go retrieve the food for this ‘dinner’ Doctor Acardio had promised.

Once alone with me, the Batpony spoke once more, “I see you have met Renfield.”

I nodded, “Yes, he was very kind to me.”

“Yes. He has served me well for many years.” The Doctor explained as he stared off for a moment.

After a second or two, he brought his focus back to me, “Dinner will be served soon, let us sit.”

I nodded as I followed him to the large table. Like a proper gentlecolt, he pulled out a chair for me to which I nodded and sat down. He then made his way to the other end of the table and sat directly opposite to me.

As the two of us sat, I noticed the Batpony staring at me for an uncomfortably long time, but before I could spark a conversation, he spoke up, “Forgive me miss Vessel, I was merely admiring your appearance. You look very pleasing tonight.”

His compliment had taken me fully by surprise. I had to clear my throat as I responded, “Thank you. You look nice too.”

Though my response wasn’t what one would call subtle, it seemed Doctor Acardio was nonetheless grateful as he nodded.

A few seconds passed by as a silence grew between us. Whether out of boredom or a need to end the awkward moment, I decided to bring up a new topic that was on my mind, “I didn’t know you lived in a castle. Your family must be very wealthy to have afforded a place like this.”

“You could say that.” The Batpony answered.

I wasn’t sure what this answer meant, but luckily he continued a moment later, “My family profiteered greatly from the mining operations in the second millennia. They owned more than 10 gold and diamond mines throughout Equestria and they invested some of their profits into the construction of this Castle.”

Just as he finished his story, a series of footsteps sounded through the hall as the Centaur from earlier arrived carrying a tray with a plentiful selection of wine bottles. “Would Lady Scarlet care for a glass of Feteasca Neagra?” He asked politely.

I hardly considered myself a boozer, and I didn’t often drink even when going out with my friends. But as I was about to kindly refuse in favor of a simple drink of water, the Batpony spoke up, “You will not find a finer aged wine in the country Miss Vessel. It has been in our stores unopened since the 32nd century.”

Seeing the look on the batpony’s face, I decided to take him up on his offer, “Okay, yes please.”

Renfield went ahead and poured my glass halfway full with the pure red fluid. I thanked him as he brought the tray over to my host across the table. Though instead of pouring the same bottle for Doctor Acardio, the Centaur opened another and poured another red liquid into his glass. I could only assume this was a different wine, but I still felt it odd that he’d gone out of his way to praise this aged wine but hadn’t opted to have some of his own.

Regardless, with our drinks having been served, Renfield left us again, presumably to go prepare the meal that would go along with our beverages. Once alone again, I heard the Batpony address me, “Now then. I assume you wish to know what offer I had in mind for you yesterday?”

I nodded my head, “Yes sir-I mean-”

I had to stop myself as I realized I’d messed up again with addressing him. A moment later he began to chuckle. He seemed to react this way every time I’d make this mistake, but this time he laughed for a few more moments before he dawned a smile, “It’s Athan. You may call me by my given name here.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to this. Though I’d seen his name tag in the Hospital, it hadn’t listed his name before, only his initials. To avoid another awkward silence, I continued my original reply, “I would like that, Athan.”

It felt weird calling him by his first name seeing as how I’d always referred to him like my superior at work. Still, it was relieving to know he respected me enough to have me address him normally.

“Very well. As I mentioned the day before, your skills and expertise are well beyond the confines of your current position.” The Batpony reaffirmed while looking me in the eye.

“However, I believe even as a dedicated surgeon your talents would be wasted. I believe you would be best suited to a higher role, one where you could push your abilities to greater heights and truly excel. And that is why I would like to offer you a position as the Assistant Chief Physician of Department C.”

Though I was outwardly silent for a long moment, my mind immediately exploded after hearing his offer. I’d only formally started my job a month ago and now I was being offered a role as Doctor Acardio’s right hoof at the department. It felt like winning an Iron Pony competition for the first time while having never attended a competition before…

“You’re serious? You would trust me in a position like that?” I asked while still being unsure about the whole proposal.

Acardio smiled as he nodded, “Yes. You have earned my trust, and you have earned this position. Your skills far exceed anyone else in the department.”

“But, I’ve only been on the job for a month. I mean, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but isn’t it way too soon for me to be promoted to this level?” I asked again.

Now he raised a brow, “Do you doubt you would be a good fit for this role?”

I was quick to respond this time, “No! It’s not that sir-I mean Athan. It’s just-”

“Scarlet Vessel, listen to me. I would not have offered you this position if I did not believe you could do it. From the first day you stepped in that Hospital, I could sense something that differentiates you from the rest of the Department. I have met many surgeons and doctors in my years, but never have I seen anyone as talented as yourself.”

After hearing his complements, I felt my cheeks blush slightly. ‘Did he really mean that? Or is he simply praising me this much so I’ll accept his offer…’ I thought as I fought my emotions.

Luckily, our conversation was cut short after the timely arrival of our meal. Renfield entered the room pushing a cart with multiple trays on it. I could see several types of warm soup, an assorted vegetable salad, and an exquisite fruit tray.

“Four trays as you requested sir.” The Centaur stated.

“Thank you Renfield. That will be all for tonight.” Athan replied.

With that, the Centaur nodded his hunched head before excusing himself from the room leaving us to our own again. With his servant gone, Doctor Acardio stood up, “Help yourself to anything you like.”

It felt weird to have full permission to just take whatever items I wanted, but after seeing the Batpony take a plate full of fruit along with a bowl of soup, I decided to serve myself. Each tray looked delicious, however, right now I was most craving the vegetable salad and some of the tomato soup.

After bringing my meal to the table, I waited to see if Athan would start to eat first. It seemed he was aware of my hesitation, so he began to eat his meal in a way prompting me to do the same. I decided to start with the salad seeing as how the soup was still very hot. The assorted greens were very nice and had great seasoning as well. It wasn’t a type of salad I’d ever heard of before but perhaps some family recipe of Athan’s that went back many years.

I couldn’t remember eating a finer meal than I was now. While simple, the recipe for both the salad and the soup was excellent. I hadn’t even noticed I’d been eating much faster than Doctor Acardio until I’d finished only to look and see he had yet to touch his soup. I felt a bit embarrassed by my lack of restraint, but thankfully my host did not seem to mind in the slightest.

“Was it to your liking?” He asked with a smile.

I nodded in response with a smile of my own.

“Very good. Now, back to our conversation earlier. Would you be open to accepting my offer?” He asked as his smile shifted to a serious glare.

I didn’t know what to say. Though I should have been thinking about this while eating dinner, I’d been too caught up enjoying the delectable food. The only thing holding me back from immediately accepting his proposal was the looming thought of what everypony else would think about it. A new rookie promoted nearly to the top of the department after only one short month of being on the job…

After a few moments of contemplation, I decided to trust my instincts and nodded, “Yes. I would sir-I mean Athan.”

My response seemed to please him, “I am glad to hear that, Scarlet Vessel. You will make a very fine Doctor.”

It felt crazy to hear those words ushered about me. If somepony had gone back in time to tell me this was where I’d end up after only a month on the job, I’d have thought them a lunatic… Regardless, this was happening, and I had Athan to thank for it.

“Thank you for the opportunity sir, I won’t let you down!” I replied with confidence.

Yet again the Batpony looked pleased. He then picked up his wine glass and raised it in the air, “Here is to you, Scarlet Vessel. The new Assistant Chief Physician of Department C.”

I took my own wine glass and extended it forward before lightly clashing with his as both chalices made an audible ‘DING’ sound. I then took a sip of the bitter drink just as he did with his. The wine was indeed very nice just as he’d told me, however as I drank from my glass I briefly smelled a strange aroma in the air. It didn’t smell like wine or food, but rather like… Iron?

As I set my glass down, I looked over to the other side of the table only to notice Doctor Acardio was still drinking from his Chalice. I wouldn’t consider myself a lightweight by any means, however, the Batpony was putting me to shame as he downed the entire glass in one go before setting it down and licking his lips. ‘Wow… He really enjoyed that wine…’ I thought to myself as I stared.

“Apologies.” He stated as he noticed me looking on at him.

I chuckled, “It’s okay. The wine is very good. Thank you.”

Instead of returning a friendly gesture, however, he looked away as if in deep thought. ‘Was it something I said?’ I asked myself as I watched him.

A moment later, however, the Batpony rose from his chair abruptly, “Excuse me.” He said as he quickly left the room.

‘What in the Hay is going on…’ I thought as I glanced back at my plate.

After his sudden leave, I’d patiently waited at the table for Athan to return. But after several more minutes alone, I was beginning to worry. Had I offended him? Or was there something more urgent he had to attend to? Regardless, I couldn’t stow my curiosity much longer and decided to try and find him.

While walking through the halls of his castle, I admired the unique art on the walls. There were many antique paintings and sculptures which I could guess had been collected over the many generations of Doctor Acardio’s family. A fair number of the pieces depicted bats which I could easily understand the significance.

Though after a few minutes of wandering the halls and appreciating the fine art pieces, it seemed I’d lost my way. I’d navigated through complex buildings before, but never any as convoluted as Doctor Acardio’s grand castle. It seemed every passage I followed led to another, but after roaming the halls for a few minutes, I seemed to have found a room.

Though I knew it wasn’t the dining room or an atrium, my curiosity compelled me to explore nonetheless. As I popped my head in, I noticed it was a form of study with a number of tall, stocked bookshelves on the walls and a table at its center. On top the table sat a thick binded book accompanied by what looked like a set of vials containing different samples of blood.

Were I in anypony else’s house this would be very concerning, but seeing as how he was a doctor this was likely just a room where Athan would experiment and do independent research. After taking a closer look at the vials, I found one of them looked a bit off. There were five vials filled half of the way with fresh blood, however, the last looked very pale almost to the point of being rose.

I wasn’t sure what to make of this, but before looking into it much longer my eyes rested on the book on the table. It looked quite old based on the aged binding and partially degraded pages inside. More interesting yet, it was not written in our Equestrian language. Though I couldn’t decipher what these foreign words meant, I could see the black and white illustration of a random Batpony along with lines that pointed towards vital anatomical sections of its body.

From what little I could understand, this appeared to be an anatomical encyclopedia of sorts. And after scrolling through a few pages out of curiosity, my suspicion was confirmed. This book seemed to have passages on every kind of creature known to Equestria. After scanning through a few pages, my hoof ran across a bookmarked page near the middle. Though I did not understand the language, I immediately noticed a pattern in the writing and deduced the page must be about the different blood types among Equestrian species. However, what I found odd was that next to each type there were a few lines of notes jotted down which were clearly not from when the book was published.

But unlike the rest of the language in the book, they were written in our modern language. While still curious, I decided to read through them.

Next to type A- it read ‘Bland’

For type B- it read ‘Viscous’

For type A+ it read ‘Thin and runny’

And lastly for type O- it read ‘Ideal’

I raised my brow after scanning through these notes. I couldn’t understand what they meant or why they’d been written into the page. As I glanced back to the table, I noticed four of the five vials were filled with each blood type I had just read about on the page. It was difficult to notice a difference between them, but they were likely samples Doctor Acardio had borrowed from the Hospital for research.

And yet, I still wondered what this last vial contained. It was far too pale to be deoxygenated blood. “Perhaps it’s really low on Iron…” I muttered to myself as I examined it more closely. What was the purpose behind this research? I wondered as I set the book down.

“I see you discovered my study.” A voice spoke from directly behind me.

I jumped and accidentally caught my hoof on the table as the Batpony’s voice had startled me. All the contents on the table would have been ruined were it not for Athan’s incredible reaction speed. Using his wing and his hoof, the Batpony immediately caught both me and stabilized the table before any of the vials could spill.

I glanced behind only to notice Athan holding me up and keeping me from falling forward. My heart was racing, but not from the shock of the surprise. The Batpony’s red eyes nearly glowed as they peered into mine.

“Pardon me. I did not intend to startle you.” I could nearly feel his breath as he spoke, being only inches away from him. The mellow tone of his voice almost felt hypnotic as he held me in place with his strong hoof.

An awkward moment elapsed as I tried to form words, but to my dismay all I could do was blurt out, “I’m sorry.”

The Batpony continued to stare at me as if peering into my soul. Words could not describe how uncomfortable I felt in this moment. And it seemed Athan knew this as he gently let me down and backed away a step. “No, I should be the one apologizing to you. I should not have left you by yourself.”

His words felt sincere, yet now my curiosity piqued up again. I wanted to ask why he’d left so abruptly, but that question came second to the fact that he’d managed to get right beside me without making a single sound as if he’d been there the whole time.

Before I could ask either, however, the Batpony spoke again, “Are you well, Scarlet Vessel?”

I quickly replied, “Yes, I am. I was just lost. Do you have a restroom I can use?” I lied.

Athan nodded, “Down the hall and to the left.”

“Thanks, I’ll be back in a moment.” I said as I left the room.

Once alone in the restroom I began to calm down. I couldn’t explain why, but being so close to the Batpony had brought a strange feeling. His hoof was not warm like other Ponies, but it was very strong and firm. Each time he stared into my eyes it felt like a chilling wind crashing into me.

After washing my hooves with warm water for a minute, my heart rate had returned to normal again. I took a deep breath as I dried them on an elegant towel before making my way back to the hall. Athan had waited for me patiently as he stood by the exit.

“Feeling better?” He asked as I approached him.

I nodded, “Yes. Thank you very much.”

After responding, I took a glance out a tall window only to notice the dark night sky. ‘Have I really been here that long?’ I thought to myself.

As if reading my mind, the Batpony spoke, “I believe I have taken up enough of your time this night, Scarlet Vessel.”

“Yeah, I should probably get going.” I answered simply.

Athan nodded subtly, “Very well.”

Without saying another word, the Batpony led me back out towards the main entrance. Once at the doors, I found my purse and wrapped my scarf around my neck again. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner Athan, I hope I can be a good assistant to you.”

“You have my full confidence, Scarlet Vessel.” He stated with a proud smile.

I returned a genuine smile of my own, “Thank you for inviting me for dinner. It was very nice.” I said.

The Batpony nodded, “You are very welcome.”

As I turned around and prepared to head out the door, I heard the Batpony pipe up again, “Are you sure you will be fine walking home on your own? I could accompany you.”

I raised my brow as I looked back at him. Athan’s behavior continued to puzzle me, however, his words did bring up a good point. Despite this, I nodded anyway, “I think I’ll be okay-”

“I insist.” He stated as he took a step forward.

I supposed a little company couldn’t hurt, and besides, it wasn’t too long of a walk home. With that, I shrugged, “Okay. Thank you.”

Like many of my moments thus far with Athan, my walk home was rather awkward. Neither he nor I said so much as a word to one another as strutted along the path. Truth be told, I couldn’t really think of anything to say to him.

Despite knowing I should feel safer with him by my side, I still had an unexplainable feeling in my body as I had all night. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Athan, but something about him seemed… Off. He was a very mysterious stallion, and I supposed it would take a while before I could understand him fully. But nonetheless, I was very grateful to have met him, and even more grateful to know that he already trusted and believed in me so much.

As we approached my apartment, I stopped before the front walkway, “This is it. Thank you for walking with me. It was… Nice…”

The Batpony nodded but remained silent as he watched me.

I felt very uncomfortable in this moment. I cleared my throat before continuing, “Well, I think I’ll head inside now. But thanks for inviting me to your Castle! It was a pleasure.”

Athan took several steps forward until he was right next to me, “The pleasure is all mine.” He said before raising my front hoof with his own and looking me in the eyes. “I will see you soon. Have a fine evening, Scarlet Vessel.” He said simply.

Before I could respond, he lowered my hoof and took off into the night sky using his bat-like wings. As I watched him quickly vanish from my sight, I stood before my apartment thinking to myself, ‘What in Equestria just happened…’

Author's Note

Nope! I'm not dead! Yet...

This chapter took a while to complete, both because it's quite long and also because of having to work a lot of hours for my job lately. But I'm glad to keep this story going! Things are starting to move along and it seems Scarlet is starting to learn more about her mysterious boss... I hope everypony enjoys this chapter and I hope you come back to read the next one coming soon!