he told her in a kind tone. To this sugestion the mare nodded exitedly and took a feew trotting steps.



- Come on now your highness, or are you getting old?

The mare looked at the baffled stallion before snickering and after shaking her head some she begun to walk once more.



As they reached the staff room the two walked towards the coffemaker, the stallion getting the cups down from the top shelves while the mare took a grip of the maker, filling the cups with the liquid wonder thats named coffe.



-Oh yeah, how was your vacation? You went to manehattan right?

The green and blue stallion looked at the mare as they walked. He could have sworn that her eyes widend and pupils went smaller if just even for a split second. But he wasnt sure, and a look like that. When had he seen it last? During the reign of Nightmare Moon, the fear of knowing that everything they did could be their undoing. Cautiously the tall stallion looked at her a moment before he got a smile, wide and warm, comforting and reasuring.

-It ... was intresting.

The tone was warm, affectionate even towards the stallion next to her. But it was a tone he had known all to well. The last time he had heard her use it was when she had to sneak with the suplies they stole from Nightmare Moons guards. While the mare have no evil bone in her body, unable to harm anyone despite what they do she is also faulty in a manner there she refuses to ask for help.

"Red, you deliverd my son. You saved my wife as she was giving birth in the mines. If you are in trouble tell me and I will help."



The stallion looked at the white and pink mare as she stoped. The courners of her lips was twitching as if she was trying to determin what to say and do.

Just as it seemed she was about to say something the doors opend up, in walked a mare that was carrying a sleeping foal.

"Oh, do you need any help ma'm?"

the white mare asked in a sudden enthusiatc tone. The mare nodded in silence and looked between them before bowing deeply as she seemed to realice who the stallion truley was. He simply reached out his hoof and helped the mare up and while chatting in a friendly manner he took both her and the foal to a room, leaving Red to do her job on her own. And that was exactly what she did, while humming the song of liberation and even singing a word here and there of it she walked up to the front desk, looking for her list of patients. However the humming and sporadic singing slowly died out as she started to carry a consearned face.

- Where is the darn list? It should be here.

the mare mutterd as she looked through the piles under the desk, mumbling to her self in a anoyed manner. Had they missplaced it when the prevvious shift left? Or had they simply forgotten to leave a list of the patients? Its rare but not unheard of. When a gentle breeze of cold nightair stroke her in the neck she looked up, confused as to how she didnt see or hear anyone. But as nothing nor noone could be seen she simply shrugged before she took a sip of her coffe and started to walk away with a pen and a clippboard with papers in her mouth. As she started to reach the first room her steps slowed down, had the halls always been so echoing? Had it always been so .... open? When she finally reached the door she stoped, staring at it a moment before opening and walking in. Oh, Lady Octavia? A smile spread on the pony´s lips as she walked up to the bed, looked at the charts and vitals befopre noting down the patients name and values. With that she turned and left the room, carefully closing it behind her. As she turned to walk to the next room she simply stumbled backwards, ending up sitting on her rump and looking up at the prince and the mare with her foal.

-My apologies, I didnt see you three. Now have a lovely evening mrs.Cake.

the white mare smiled before trotting of to the the next room.



As she opend the room she heard someone quickly move and with a cocked eyebrow she lit up the lighgts in the room.

- Crystal Rosalia Drops, you know that you need to rest if you want to get out of here. Now sleep properly and dont get up untill we wake you!

The white mare huffed some, anoyed about having to scold the young filly before her. The filly thought looked up, her twocoloured, almost glittering, rosered and silvery mane shining as then light hit her.

"But red, I woke up because I heard somepony .... It was heavy hoofsteps."

The filly protested but let the older mare tuck her in.

- Worry not little one, it is only me and his highness prince Blood Rain from the house of Rarity here with some guards for safety. You are as safe as ever.

The white and pink mare looked down at the filly before gently hugging her and sitting down on the floor, telling her a story about the time before the darkness, about how SHE had guarded them, guided them, aided them. Eventually the filly fell asleep and after noting down the vitals of Crystlal she left the room, backing a bit as something seemed to hit her in the face when she passed the doors. After shaking her head some she looked around, seeing nothing or noone. Perhaps a really quick spider? She could always ask empress Fluttershy in the morning to help with that problem, cant have spiders in here after all. With a huff once more from her the mare trotted through the corridor, stopping as she turned to the left to trott down a corridor. Well, stopping is a understatment. SHe reared up, fencing with her hooves and ears back towards her neck. With quick, shallow breaths she looked around with widend eyes and shrunken pupils. After a few moments of acting like a foal she calmed down enough to look around, Barley visable were they hanging there, thin strands of either a tail or mane. The orange strands of hair barley visable. Nervously she walked up and sniffed them some before quickly looking around. It smelled so familiar ... and something, something about that smell made her heart stop beating, the air leave her lungs and the body shake.



"Red?"

The voice was barley hearable and with quick movements the mare spun around in a pirruet, looking in all the corridors after the one responsible for her lack of sleep, for her terrors and even the wishing of their tormentor, the nightmare, to return. Yet, still, she saw nothing. With her heart pounding she looked to the sides again, shaking and with tears falling she turned and ran. Her hooves echoing throughout the corridors, making patients wake up and look out to see what was going on. As she rushed towards the door the only reason she didnt crash straight throughh it was the fact that Blood stopped her. He simply apeared before the mare, embracing her into a gentle hug and wrapping his wings around the paniking mare.

"Red?"

the prince asked in a soft, calming manner. However the mare simply flinchedbefore she started to cry, sobbing loudly and clinging to him. The prince commanded the guards to search the place and make sure that nothing was out of the ordenary. Seeing as these guards was his personall ones they know the hospital inside out. After leading the mare to the staffroom and looking to make sure noone was in the room he turrned to leave.

"Lock the door after me Red, Il be back once we have searched this place."

After giving a nod the prince left her alone in the room and after locking the door she stood still for a moment, shallow, quick and scared breathes filling her with air as Bloods hoofsteps slowly faded. And just as the hoofsteps was to disepear a thump was heard from behind. As she turned around she tripped on the apple, falling down onto her flank, sitting while staring at it before slowly looking up. As a steardy stallion with orange mane and tail and a red coat apeard before her she slowly stoped breathing.

-Let me be alone ...



A shriek unlike anything he had heard in a long time made him freez up and look over his wings to where he had left Red, as he finally got the door in his view a red substance could be seen from under the door.



(Im bored so here comes a text wall, you have been warned)- Oh great, the graveyard shift!the white and pink mare sighed.While happy to be out of her house and surrounded by other ponies like always she still apeared to be a bit skittish. A younger nurse, a pegasus with green body and blue mane and tail who carried red eyes looked at her with consearned eyes."Are you okej?"The mare flinched before looking up at him and smiling softly.- Prince Blood Rain, Im fine thank you ever so kindly for asking. I just have not been able to sleep properly for a week or so.""Oh, then why dont we go and take some coffe? Im sure that would be helpfull for you."