[Solstice Heights] Quiet, Too Quiet [Open]

[Astalakio]

Doctor Betterbones was quietly delighted that Orange had accepted his instruction to stay for a night, even though he could see how much he disliked it. Honestly, he didn't know anything about running any kind of farm, but he didn't suppose that one day and night's work going missing would put the whole place into disaray, and if he worked alone there was nobody else there who would worry about him and be missing his instructions.

He did not thank Orange for his decision to stay, but his approval showed clearly on his face in relief as he took his seat at his desk beanbag chair again. It seemed that now his diagnosis was complete and he had convinced his patient to get some rest before dashing off, their conversation was able to turn to less serious matters and more into something like idle chatter, which was fine with him. He was never one to back away from making friends (unless, of course, it put his doctor-patient relationship at risk, which this case did not).

He did have to politely decline the offer of a drink though.

"Thanks," He said, "But I'm still on duty, and I'm not completely sure how satisfied anypony coming in here looking for medical help would be to find their beloved GP out of his senses on vodka." Though he grinned after that, and added, "Perhaps later though."

Orange had asked him a fairly reasonable question, that many ponies had wondered about him - about why such a big-shot doctor could be found in a little town like this.

"Originally, I'm from Canterlot." He explained, watching Orange take his drink, "I had a practice there, helping out all the busy and important ponies... but there were already plenty of medical ponies there, and I felt like I should be somewhere where I could really make more of a difference."

He glanced briefly out the window of his office. What he said was true, of course, but it was only half the reason he had left Canterlot. That city was just full of too many painful memories for him to stay any longer. But that wasn't something a curious patient needed to know.

He looked back to Orange with his friendly smile.

"You know, now that you've agreed to stay the night in Solstice Heights, you might not have to stay here. There is an inn right outside where you'll be much more comfortable for the night, and warmer, too. These halls get so chilly at night. Since the inn is so close, and there'll be other people around there, I'll be able to tend to you in the night if you do need attention, but as I say, you'll also be more comfortable than staying here."

[Haserman]

"I had a practice there, helping out all the busy and important ponies... but there were already plenty of medical ponies there, and I felt like I should be somewhere where I could really make more of a difference."

Orange finished his shot, 'it makes sense, I don't know how ponies can stand living in large cities' Orange thought to himself 'Oh, well at least Vodka makes everything better'. Orange could all to well remember the bustling streets of Stalliongrad, living life amongst the factories and the desperate need to be alone and away from the mass multitude of ponies.

"You know, now that you've agreed to stay the night in Solstice Heights, you might not have to stay here. There is an inn right outside where you'll be much more comfortable for the night, and warmer, too. These halls get so chilly at night. Since the inn is so close, and there'll be other people around there, I'll be able to tend to you in the night if you do need attention, but as I say, you'll also be more comfortable than staying here."

"That sounds like a great idea, yeah it would be more comfortable than staying here for the night" Orange instinctly reached down for his bit bag. "Oh great" Orange muttered as he remembered disctinctly placing his bag full of bits into the cart in favor of a Vodka bottle and some shot glasses "Nice one Dimitri" Orange sighed using his Stalliongradish name. "Well this is awkward, my bits sort of took the same trajectory of my cart" Orange tried to mimic an explosion with his hooves as he pictured small destroyed bits raining down around Equestria "So I'll take a guess that most of my bits are scattered around half of Equestria". Orange started to contemplate how he would try to resolve this situation "Damn well I'm kinda screwed, can I stay here and in exchange I'll give you half of what's left in my Vodka bottle" Orange said, "the other half's mine, it's for ... uhhh for quality testing? Yeah, yeah, yeah quality testing".

Orange didn't like being a burden to anypony especially if they had the power to probably turn him into a apple but he really was stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. He could only hope his gracious offer of his precious vodka would help smooth things over, he really didn't want to become an apple today of all days.

[Astalakio]

Betterbones kept his eyes on Orange as he downed his drink with enthusiasm. It occurred to the doctor that it might not be good for a concussion patient to be hitting the alcohol so hard, given his already unstable mental state, but something told Betterbones that this was a pony who could handle his drink. Besides, now that he was staying in Solstice Heights for the night, this was exactly the kind of thing he'd be able to keep an eye on.

Orange ran into another problem in that he didn't have his things with him, and Betterbones chuckled a little at his peace offering of half of his remaining vodka.

"It's alright, I don't mind at all," He replied, as approachable and friendly as ever. There was a reason he was so popular with his patients. "I only mentioned the inn in the first place for your sake, not mine. If you need to stay here, I'm sure we can do something to make your stay comfortable."

He looked briefly out the window and the sun told him that it was late afternoon. He could hear the sound of activity outside - ponies coming home after a hard day at work, market stalls being shut up for the evening.

"Maybe later when I'm off duty I'll take you up on that offer, and help you with that... quality testing."

He got up from his seat and trotted over to the door suddenly.

"Come on," He said, "Let's see if we can't find you a room that isn't too inhospitable."

It was times like these that he really could use a nurse to help him out, but that was one of the many problems that came with living in a small town - it wasn't always so easy to find what you needed. Even his medicine had to be imported from Canterlot when he needed it. He wondered if perhaps he should start looking for a nurse to hire, or a receptionist or something.

He pointedly opened the door for Orange.

"Let me just open this for you..." He smirked, feeling that a dose of teasing wasn't unreasonable given the battering the door had taken that day.

[Armony]

Arnica made her way swiftly through the empty streets, her destination address written on a small scrap of paper hovering in front of her. It had already been just over a week since she had closed her office in Canterlot, deciding to practice medicine in a place that didn't have a ready supply of doctors on hoof at all times. A friend of hers from one of the larger hospitals had given her this address and told her that she might stand a chance of joining up with somepony in her practice there. She could hardly believe that there would be a noteworthy doctor down in Solstice Heights.

As she rounded the corner onto the street, she was passed by a dark purple pegasus mare who was struggling to open a bottle of pills while still walking. Odd that, she would have thought that any pegasus would have preferred to fly rather than walk. She suppressed her curiosity, carrying on with her mission and placing the scrap of paper into her white saddlebags when she spotted her destination. After double checking that the flaps on her saddlebags were secure and still had their roughly sewn on red crosses, she entered the office into the empty waiting room.

Not just empty of patients, either; there was absolutely nopony, doctor, nurse, or even a receptionist. She considered leaving immediately, feeling that she had wasted her time in coming here, and that this building was obviously abandoned. Arnica decided to trust in the friend that had sent her here just a little longer, and, hoping that the office was just closed and nopony had remembered to lock the door, sat herself down in the waiting room. She withdrew a book from her saddlebags about the proper treatment of wounds, opened it up to where she had left off, the chapter about preventing infection, and began to read.

She very nearly finished the chapter before she heard the door to the office down the hall open. She put her book back in her saddlebags and vacated her seat, setting off at a light trot down the hall to the door that had opened. Peering around the door curiously when there was a lack of pony walking through it, she was greeted by the sight of a sky blue coated unicorn stallion wearing a white lab coat and an orange coated pegasus holding a bottle of what looked to be an alcoholic beverage. Not feeling quite so confident as when she had started out, and not sure of who to interoduce herself to, she went with the obvious choice and extended a hoof to the unicorn in the lab coat.

"Hello, um..." Arnica had to think a moment before she could remember the name of who she was supposed to be meeting here. "Doctor Betterbones, is it? I'm Arnica. I'm kind of new around here... is now a bad time?"

[Haserman]

Orange poured the remnants of the Vodka in his shot down his throat trying to remember the last time he had done some quality testing on the Vodka. 'This shot passes' he thought to himself trying to remember when he probably made the batch.

"Come on, Let's see if we can't find you a room that isn't too inhospitable."

Until now Orange hadn't noticed how large the Doctor's surgery was, it had probably half a dozen separate rooms or more but that might had been due to the Vodka 'that's strange why have such a large Doctor's surgery for such a small town and then have it run by one doctor' Orange pondered getting ready to start firing questions at the Doctor before Orange could start, Doctor Betterbones had started to open a door to a somewhat cozy room yet still sterile room.

"Let me just open this for you..." Doctor Betterbones remarked, Orange shot the Doctor an unamused look but immediately smiled remembering the previous events involving the front door. "Do what you must, but Celestia herself probably couldn't prevent the bad luck I've been having so far" Orange remarked remembering the exploding Vodka cart and unfavourable door incident. "Now is there somewhere I can go wash off my face? If I don't it may stay like this and have you ever seen a pony with a black sooty face and Orange body ... not a pretty sight" Orange remarked as he began to look around the room for any form of door that may lead to a wash room. Seeing a nondescript door on the other side of the room, Orange walked towards the door only to pause momentarily to cautiously push the door open with his hoof in case a piano or any other strange thing may want to happen to him.

Orange quickly washed his face in the sink, making himself look at least somewhat respectable, Orange looked into the mirror getting the first sight of his wings: they were slightly singed around the tips but were mostly unharmed. He didn't really care about the weeks it would take for him to be able to fly again as most of his days were spent working the fields tending to his crops or making his vodka.

"Hello, um ... Doctor Betterbones, is it? I'm Arnica. I'm kind of new around here... is now a bad time?"

Orange looked towards the source of the voice, that being a white unicorn mare. Orange just assumed her name to be Arnica and that she must have been either an old acquaintance or a family friend. Orange just decided to pour himself another shot thinking of different ways he could possibly serve it, trying to avoid being dragged into a conversation he had no part in joining.

[Astalakio]

Betterbones had been waiting by the door, watching Orange with a mixture of amusement at his wariness and sympathy for his pains, when he heard a voice beside him and looked to see another new pony stood outside the door. It was odd that he was seeing so many ponies he'd never met before today, when, being a doctor in a small town, he knew almost everypony who lived here. It was strange, but it seemed that this was just that kind of day.

"A bad time?" He pondered aloud in response to her introduction, "Well, that depends. It's a bad time for the world to end... or the building to burn down... or to discover I was adopted... but is it a bad time to welcome a new pony to Solstice Heights?" He grinned cheerily, "Never." He extended his own hoof to meet hers in a warm greeting.

Even as he had been speaking, his mind had already been assessing the new pony who stood in front of him. She was female, a unicorn, younger than him, with a white coat, blue eyes and a turquoise mane and tail that was fairly well brushed though unstyled, and he didn't see any signs of physical injuries. That meant that the problem was a mental one, or that there was no problem, and that Arnica was here for another purpose entirely. She had been quite formal in her approach and introduction, which made him think that she was here on business. He hoped that she wasn't from the department of health, since, although he wasn't having a hoof in the vodka that was being downed, it still didn't say great things about his practice to have a patient doing it. In truth, he hadn't been expecting a third visitor that day at all. He had been shocked to have two in a row.

Arnica was wearing saddlebags, and this combined with the way she was stood in the doorway prevented Betterbones from seeing her cutie mark, which was always the best clue about who anypony was when meeting them for the first time. He was sure that Arnica would explain her purpose shortly, but there was no fun in that.

"I am Doctor Betterbones," He confirmed, motioning to himself with a hoof, and then pointing to Orange, "And that over there is my new friend, Mister Dimitri Orangiko Tundra." He said the name with a curiously perfect Staliongradish accent, and then turned his attention back to Arnica, "I observe that you're here on business. If you'd like to talk in private, it's thattaway to my office, and I'll be with you after I make sure Orange is happy with the room. If not, then feel free to talk here, because I'm sure Orange won't tell any secrets." He winked.

His 'observation' was more of an educated guess, but one he was willing to bet the conversation on. Standing between the orange pony with the singed wings and glass of vodka and this newcomer with the look of importance and uncertainty about her, Betterbones couldn't help but reflect that this had been an odd sort of day, but he was enjoying it after the spell of silence that had settled over his practice.

[Armony]

Arnica was taken aback by the comments from the blue unicorn, and felt immediately certain that she had somehow managed to guess incorrectly. That thought made her heart sink, as she noted the orange pegasus, who must be the doctor, was drinking while dealing with a patient. And not just any patient, but one that was very clearly suffering some sort of delusion about the world ending, or the office burning down, or being adopted. Well, she thought, the part about being adopted might not be a delusion, and depending on how harsh of a reality check it had been, might have caused a minor case of insanity...

She shook her head when the unicorn interrupted her thoughts by claiming himself to be Doctor Betterbones. She audibly sighed in relief at having been utterly mistaken with who was who in the room in front of her. She even gave bit of a giggle, deciding that his sense of humor was something that she could get used to working around, even if it was a bit... morbid, to be joking about the office burning down or the world ending. "You observe correctly, doctor, I am here on business, of a sort, today." Today and many days afterward, she couldn't help but silently hope to herself.

It was tempting to take the other doctor up on his offer for a private conversation in his office, more out of nervousness than anything else, but she decided against it. Delaying the moment would only cause her nerves to get worse and increase her chances of screwing up the last hope she had for finding work down here. Summoning her courage, she explained her presence in more detail, "I recently came to Solstice Heights from Canterlot, hoping my skills could be of better use, but I haven't been able to find any place to set up an office. A friend of mine from the hospital I used to work at mentioned that you had an office already running and that you might be looking for help, so, um... here I am!" She knew she had ended on a rather weak note, but she had at least gotten her purpose across without slipping up or apologizing unnecessarily. "Oh, do you have any place I could set these down at?" She asked, tilting her head meaningfully toward her saddlebags. "They're kind of heavy for me."

[Haserman]

As the unicorn mare talked to the Doctor, Orange began examining his bottle more and more. Orange didn't want to be involved in this conversation if he didn't have to. 'Strange, Doctor Betterbones looks somewhat happy to have so many people interrupting him' Orange thought to himself.

"I am Doctor Betterbones, and that over there is my new friend, Mister Dimitri Orangiko Tundra."

Orange merely looked up from his bottle to acknowledge his name, while smiling inwardly at the thought of making a new friend that day. For most of his days were spent working on the farm he had little time to socialise with other ponies yet alone have time to make decent friends, for the first time today it looked like his luck was starting to change.

Orange downed another shot of Vodka and started to feel the effects of the Vodka, as the two ponies continued to talk he could start to feel the numbness spreading from his extremities. His mind slowly became fogged, which was a welcomed effect as it wiped the pain from his mind. 'Ah this is the reason why I always carry a bottle of Vodka' Orange thought as the ground began to sway ever so slightly. Orange was no light weight but his vodka was no light weight either for it was barely under the maximum legal alcohol percentage and far above most average drinks. Orange knew how to handle his drink and started to focus all his effort in keeping himself upright. "Ah thank you vodka, you always know how to make me feel better" Orange mumbled/slurred slowly finding it difficult to multitask both standing up and talking.

Orange set down one of his shot glasses onto the floor preparing to pour himself another drink, 'strange, I don't remember putting two shot glasses down' Orange thought as he tried to force the two images into one. "Ok, ok I got this ... I ... just ... have ... to ... concentrate" Orange mumbled as he started to move his head closer to the floor in an effort to focus on them.

[Astalakio]

Betterbones listened carefully and attentively to what Arnica said by way of explanation of her purpose. She seemed a little nervous. Perhaps that was why she had forgotten to actually mention what she did. Although she had said she worked in a hospital in Canterlot and was looking to start a practice, she could have been anything from a psychologist to a general practitioner to a financer. He hoped she wasn't a financer. That would be the least interesting thing.

"Here you are." He agreed when she finished.

He was about to put forth that he was indeed looking for help, ask what the role that she was looking for was, and perhaps enquire as to who pointed her in his direction - since if they worked in Canterlot, he might know them. He was distracted, however, by the sight of Orange swaying gently in the corner of his eye - a sight that had become quickly familiar but no less concerning.

"Uh," He murmured, thinking about what Arnica said while moving across to Orange, "Saddlebags, yes, just... stick them..." He looked around the room. It wasn't a particularly densely furnished room. There was a wardrobe, a bed, the washroom, and a bookcase that was in here because he had nowhere else to put it. "Anywhere?" He shrugged, and turned his much-needed attention to Orange.

"Speaking as your doctor, I think you've had enough for now." He told him, looking a little uncomfortable, perhaps embarrassed by Orange's obvious intoxication while under his care, "Why don't you lie down for a bit, take the pressure off that sprain of yours?" Although clearly tipsy, Orange still appeared docile, so he wasn't worried about the repercussions of taking away his alcohol.

"And I'll..." He realised something, smacked a hoof to his forehead, "Cookies! I'll go get the cookies I promised. You - wait here. You -" He turned his pointing hoof to Arnica, "Let's walk and talk."

He didn't wait for a response from either pony, but was quickly out the doorway. He was suddenly feeling an urge to separate his two visitors for the sake of his credibility. He headed toward his office, which wasn't far down the hallway, and trusted that Arnica was following and keeping up with him as he spoke.

"Well, before we say anything," He said, "You should know that living and working in Solstice Heights is a completely different ball game than doing so in Canterlot. Not that it isn't as good or rewarding..."

He came to a stop outside his door.

"I don't want it to sound like I'm trying to put you off," He assured her, "I just want you to understand that things are different down here, and there's a chance that you won't find it to your liking, but if you're willing to try..." He left the sentence unfinished for her response.

[Armony]

Arnica was becoming increasingly concerned with the state of the orange pegasus as he swayed back and forth, obviously intoxicated by the vodka he had drank. She had no way of knowing how much he had drank, but she took it as good, at least for now, that he wasn't passed out. Whether that was good or bad, things seemed to be much more relaxed down here than in the clinics up in Canterlot, and that was definitely to her liking, thus far.

At Doctor Betterbones' words, she slid off her saddlebags and set them next to the wall, careful not to cause too much shock to them, for fear of anything breaking. While she did so, the other doctor returned his attention to his patient, and he looked uncomfortable about the situation he had been caught in. Was he afraid that Arnica was going to report him for allowing a patient to drink while under medical care? She couldn't be sure, but if that was the source of his discomfort, it was quite silly; she could really care less, as long as he wasn't intoxicated to the point where it became a threat to his health, or as a means to escape from his mental anguish. She might have to ask about the patient later, if she got accepted on as a business partner here. Thinking about work again, she realized with a start that she had completely forgotten to mention what exactly it was that she did in the medical field during her brief introduction.

Before she could correct that mistake, Doctor Betterbones told Orange to stay, and pointed at her and demanded that she walk and talk with him. Arnica was already accustomed to the tendency some doctors had to be more short with their words than they meant to be when under pressure, so she took no offense and accompanied him down the hall. He was moving very quickly, and once again she couldn't help but feel that he was embarrased over the state his patient was in. And honestly, if she had been caught in the same situation, she would be pretty embarassed herself, and she wouldn't be as good as he was at hiding it.

They came to a stop outside a door leading off to... another room, she assumed, perhaps his real office. When the other doctor paused for her to respond to his statements on the way there, she said "I've already noticed things are quite different down here; far more... lenient, than what I've become accustomed to in Canterlot. The real reward, at least for me, is helping others, regardless of the procedure, or lack thereof. So, yes, I'm still willing to try working here in Solstice Heights." Nearly forgetting once again to tell him what it is she did, she smacked a hoof into her face and added "And before I forget, once again, to tell you, I've got a pretty good working knowledge of just about any medical topic, though my specialties are in handling bruising, sprains, and strains."

[Haserman]

Orange had been deeply enjoying the Vodka even through his new found difficulty pouring it into the absurdly small shot glasses. 'They should make a bigger shot glass that would make sense, no more difficult pouring and more vodka. A win, win. Ha I've solved all the vodka problems in the world, I will be known as Orange Tundra the Vodkavich and will be regarded a hero in Stalliongrad. Ponies will bow down to me for solving the world's greatest problem' Orange thought to himself, picturing himself on a throne ruling a kingdom of vodkavites. Because of this when Doctor Betterbones removed his precious vodka bottle he was devastated. Orange had barely noticed what the Doctor said before but only could remember something involving 'speaking' and 'Doctor' and 'your'. Because of this Orange acted appropriately to this, he acted in a manner similar to any mother if somepony would take away their child, "but ... but, ohhh" was all Orange could mutter in an extraordinarily defeated tone.

"Why don't you lie down for a bit, take the pressure off that sprain of yours?"

"mmmhm ok" Orange said in a muffled defeated tone as he began lay down, defeated Orange thought back to all the good times he had with that particular bottle of vodka, though they had only just met they were able to console in each other like old friends, the vodka bottle never judged him or asked questions but just stayed there, the ever present friend. Orange just laid down on the floor defeated.

"Cookies! I'll go get the cookies I promised. You - wait here."

Orange's ears perked up at the prospect of cookies, the universal treat for any occasion "YAAY" Orange cheered his missing vodka bottle all but forgotten at the prospect of getting cookies. "Oh I hope their chocolate chip or better yet vodka flavoured" Orange began, as he started to hop around the room like a little (drunken) colt. Orange continued to bounce around the room only swaying slightly with the new found energy.

[Astalakio]

They had gone into the office, but Betterbones was distracted with thinking about what Arnica was saying, and so didn't actually go and get the cookies when they entered.

From what she said, it sounded like Arnica was similar to him when it came to values. It would be impossible to tell how proficient she was when it actually came to applying medical care until the situation arose where she was needed. However, he valued heart over skill any day, and since Arnica had the will to help others unconditionally, it appeared to Betterbones that she was fine doctor material already.

"All sounds good to me!" He told her, "Welcome to the practice!"

It might have sounded like he had made his decision rather quickly, and more than a little blindly, but he had thought it through. Besides, looking back, some of the best decisions he had made in his life were split-second ones.

Even if it was usually too slow around here to need multiple doctors, there were days like today when he definitely could have used the help of another. Not to mention, it was often very lonely here, away from the place he had grown up and from his family. It made him miss his daughter, and having another pony around would probably help take his mind off that. He would be the first to admit that that wasn't a very professional thing to hire somepony based on, but it was a factor he considered nonetheless.

"There are plenty of empty rooms around..." He added, and began looking around his office distractedly, as if he had lost something, "Feel free to set up office in any of them. Since I've been the only doctor in town up 'til now, and there always needs to be a doctor here in case of emergencies, I've been living in the building, and will probably continue to do so. If you've got nowhere to stay, feel free to do the same - there's plenty of space - or if you have somewhere else in mind, I've got no problem with you coming into work in the morning and leaving in the afternoon... do you ever do that thing where you walk into a room and forget why you went there?"

He tapped a hoof thoughtfully on his chin.

[OOC: We'll get back to you ASAP, Haserman. I seem to have unintentionally abandoned you over there ]

[Armony]

When Doctor Betterbones spoke up, Arnica immediately started arguing her point, having expected to meet with rejection. "I understand you may not tr... wait, what? Are you serious, you really want me working here!? I... I..." She couldn't quite find words that would adequately voice her emotion at finally having a job and being able to help others again. After a moment of incoherent stammering, she settled with a "Thank you!" That phrase could never describe the happiness that flooded her at that moment, but it would have to do until she could show that elation through her work.

The other doctor seemed to be looking around his office absentmindedly, as if he had come here for another reason and forgotten. As he was doing so, he told her about the empty space in the building, and told her she could feel free to live in the building. That would mean no more paying to stay at an inn, on top of having a job again! She made a mental note to look through the unused rooms later, when there weren't other things to be handled, and pick one out for herself. She didn't own any furniture to move into it, but she thought she had at least enough money to get a desk in and sleep on the floor until she made enough to buy a proper bed.

Her train of thought was once again interrupted by Doctor Betterbones, this time voicing exactly what she had thought had happened; he forgot why he came here. She didn't even know why he came here. "Oh, I hate it when that happens. I thought the only reason you came here was to talk, so I can't really help you remember either. Why don't we go check on how Orange is doing? I'd rather not leave an intoxicated patient alone any longer than necessary, especially when they looked like they were in an explo..." Something dawned on Arnica just then, a possible explanation for Orange's presence in the clinic. "He wasn't actually in an explosion, was he?"

Not waiting for a response, she hurried out of the office and back to the room where they had left the drunken pegasus. The sight she was greeted with inside caused her to smack a hoof against her forehead, just under her horn. In the absence of the two doctors, Orange had begun bouncing around the room excitedly, still swaying slightly in his inebriation. She cleared her throat in an attempt to get his attention, and as a way to buy time to figure out exactly what she was going to say. "Orange, you weren't... You weren't in an explosion before you came here, were you?" she asked him, forcing her voice to be as calm as possible and fearing that he may be severely dehydrated, on top of being drunk.

[Haserman]

Orange had been bouncing around the room for quite some while discussing with himself the possible cookie flavours he could be receiving. At this point in time some may say he was a bit more than intoxicated but to Orange this was his normal blood alcohol percentage on a Monday night, especially after the events he had endured. Eventually Orange had come to the conclusion that the most likely flavour outcome he would receive would be Chocolate chip taking into account the weather and location of Solstice Heights allowing it to have a continuous supply of coco beans forcing the consumer price to be lower than any other flavouring, this in turn with the Doctor's current position in Solstice Heights and lack of other personnel showing the amount of income being representative over the last couple of weeks proving chocolate chips to be the most favourable.

This rather lengthy conclusion having been come up by a slightly more intoxicated Orange left him with nothing else to do. "Soo bored" Orange muttered to himself while he lay on the floor wallowing in his own boredom. "I'm drunk aren't I? No I'm not. Yes I am. Ok, ok if I can fly upside-down then I'm officially not drunk". Orange immediately got up off the floor and took to the air, the room being slightly large had ample space for a pegasus to take off easily. Orange noticed a slight movement on the ground but assumed it only to be due to his flying. Orange quickly tried to turn upside down and continue flying, a feat quite difficult for most sober and well trained pegasi, at this point in time Orange was neither and quickly fell to the ground in a pile of his own limbs.

Orange slowly recovered and untangled himself, "oh well I may be slightly drunk but I'm still getting cookies" Orange said cheerily as he began to bounce around the room in anticipation of the sweet confectionery treats. Orange was quickly interrupted by somepony clearing their throat, Orange merely stopped mid-bounce, smiling while still thinking about the cookies.

"Orange, you weren't... You weren't in an explosion before you came here, were you?"

"Yes? Maybe?" Orange replied thinking back to why somepony would ask him that, 'Oh sweet Celestia maybe I blew up something of hers and she's here to claim retribution ... IN BLOOD. What can I do, what can I do? Apologise and beg for mercy that's it' Orange thought quickly as he panicked over the worst case scenarios. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry it wasn't my fault my cart exploded. It just kinda exploded I didn't mean to break anything. I'm so sorry, please don't turn me into soup" Orange pleaded hoping he could somehow save himself.

[Astalakio]

Having lingered behind a while in his office, trying to remember what he had forgotten after Arnica rushed off in a hurry, Doctor Betterbones eventually appeared in the doorway to Orange's room beside his new colleague. His horn was glowing and floating beside him in the air was a packet of chocolate chip cookies.

With wide, interested eyes, he surveyed the situation. Orange appeared to be appealing for his life. He did that a lot, Betterbones reflected, and Arnica had rushed off in such a flurry of concern that he thought he'd better assure her that Orange wasn't in any immediate danger. He thought he'd better assure them both, in fact.

"Ahem." He said, "As he says, Orange was in a small explosion." He trotted past Arnica into the room, "It caused grade two concussion, a sprain in his left leg, singed wing tips and minor bruising along the ribs." As he listed off these things, he used a hoof to point to the different parts of his patient he was talking about, giving the impression that he was some sort of teacher in a lecture hall. "I managed to convince him to stay here for the night so I could keep an eye on him, and after that, well, I didn't have the heart to take his vodka away from him. Besides," He grinned like a schoolboy, "Nothing wrong with his liver. You can rest easy, Doctor, this one's not going to fall to pieces any time soon."

He glanced down and, seeing the orange pony grovelling on the floor, he had to wonder at the accuracy of that last promise.

"Don't worry, Orange, Arnica is a doctor like me, and, like me, she's just concerned for you. She's not going to turn you into soup..." He paused, "At least, I don't think she is..." He added thoughtfully, and when he looked up at Arnica it was with a similar expression of fear to the one that Orange wore. "You... don't do that to ponies... do you?"

He took a careful step backward so that Orange was the pony closest to her. He couldn't be certain of anything, could he? He mentally berated himself, and made a note that, in the future, he would find out if potential co-workers had a habit of turning ponies into soup before hiring them.

[Armony]

Arnica had to stop and think for a moment about how to respond to the situation. The accusation of somepony, of anypony, turning their own kind into soup was quite outrageous, especially considering she had said nothing about soup, or even harming them. The only thing this could possibly be then, she reasoned, was a joke between Betterbones and Orange, and even though she didn't quite understand it, she was willing to play along, at least for the moment. Even if Orange was a little dehydrated from the explosion like she thought he might be, dehydration was scarcely serious enough to require immediate attention.

She put on what she thought to be an evil grin, though she was never any good at acting, and turned toward Doctor Betterbones, horn flaring to life. "Oh, I hoped I'd get to have a little more fun before you found out." She closed the door to the room they were all in through her telekinesis, and opened one side of her saddlebags lying on the floor. From them, she grabbed a dissection kit and removed all of its contents, sending them flying in a circle around herself. "My plan was to turn all of your patients, one by one, into soup... but I guess I'll have to just settle with making soup out of the two of you!" Following that exclamation, she reared up on her hind legs, giving out again what she thought to be maniacal laughter. She felt she could have done better, but it was a bit too late to be taking acting lessons in the middle of an act.

She reared back too far in her fit of laughter and fell over on her back, breaking her magic and causing all the dissection tools to drop to the floor. She was silent for a moment in the shock of losing her balance, and then began laughing, not her bad maniacal laughter, but her real laugh. "Oh Celestia, you should have seen the looks on your faces!" She managed to gasp out, fighting for breath in her fit of amusement, keeping her eyes firmly shut the whole while. "Who ever heard of anypony turning others into soup? That's just silly!"

[Haserman]

Orange looked around the room hoping and praying to Celestia for a quick escape route, just in case his plea for his life did not work. Just like it had been before the room still had no windows and Orange wasn't game enough to try flying through the walls after his last incident with the front door the only possible escape route being the door, the very same door that was now blocked by this blood crazy mare seeking retribution against him.

Orange's flow of panic was mildly interrupted by Doctor Betterbones, Orange hadn't heard the first part of the Doctor's conversation with the mad mare due to blood that was now rushing through his ears due to his extraordinarily high heart rate. Orange was slightly brought out of his panic stricken state when the conversation flowed towards him.

"Don't worry, Orange, Arnica is a doctor like me, and, like me, she's just concerned for you. She's not going to turn you into soup ..."

This somewhat calmed Orange down a little, knowing that Arnica was a Doctor and not some crazed mad mare seeking retribution against him for his vodka mishap allowed Orange to calm down slightly. 'Unless ... Doctor Betterbones is onto this too and wants to turn me into soup for what I did to his door, OH CELESTIA HELP ME' Orange thought as he started to panic more than before.

"At least, I don't think she is ... You... don't do that to ponies... do you?"

"Oh, I hoped I'd get to have a little more fun before you found out. My plan was to turn all of your patients, one by one, into soup... but I guess I'll have to just settle with making soup out of the two of you!"

"Eeep" was all Orange could make out as his mind went a mile a minute. Orange's eyes began dart around the room comically fast. looking for an escape route he could have possibly missed, the room having not changed within the minutes he last checked left Orange with no options. All Orange could think back to was the moments leading up to him being stuck in a room surrounded by surgical equipment about to be turned into pony soup. The crazed Arnica Soup Mare (ASM for short) continued to speak but Orange was still deep in thought panicking. Orange's vision started to darken, Orange continued to panic as unconsciousness took over.

[Astalakio]

Watching the spark and flare of those gleaming surgical tools as they began to hover around in a circle, Doctor Betterbones saw his life flash before his eyes. He was disappointed to say it was actually quite dull.

He couldn't believe it! He had hired a madmare! He didn't know how he could have overlooked this poignant detail - how he could have missed the fact that this innocent young doctor was actually a soup-sipping psychopath! She didn't come to Solstice Heights to escape the bustle of Canterlot! She was probably trying to escape the authorities of Canterlot!

His heart began to race and he realised that for the protection and self-defence of both his patient and himself, he was going to have to fight Arnica. He watched her as the tools circled ominously. She was still young. He had experience on his side. He reckoned he could handle her. He knew an extremely powerful sedation spell that he had only used once or twice on dangerous patients... but it would have to do in this case.

Even as he tried to steel himself and prepare the spell, Arnica suddenly toppled over onto her back into a fit of laughter. But this wasn't murderous laughter - this wasn't soup-making laughter...

Betterbones began to connect the dots just before Arnica admitted it was all a joke. His pulse still pounding, he waited a moment for the magic energy that had been gathering around his horn to fade away, and then sighed in massive relief.

"Phew..." He huffed, "You, uh, you really had me going there..." He shook his head disbelievingly, "You certainly have an... odd sense of humour, don't you?" He asked, still trying to catch his breath, and smiled a little, "I can work with that."

There was a thud beside him and Betterbones wasn't actually surprised to see that Orange had hit the floor in unconsciousness again.

"Oh..." He muttered, "Would you... look at that? Don't worry-" He added, looking back up to Arnica before she could panic, "I get the impression he does that a lot. Just, er," For the second time that day, Betterbones used levitation magic to raise Orange up and replace him on a more comfortable surface. Luckily, this time there was a bed at hand rather than just an old table. The doctor muttered something about him being over-excited, that was all, and that they'd have to swiftly explain the truth of things to him when he woke up, or risk the damage of another door.

Orange now settled on the comfortable bed, Betterbones relaxed. He reflected for a moment on just how bizarre this day had turned out to be. He was vaguely thankful that not every day was this exciting after all. He didn't think his heart would be able to handle it.

"Hey," He said suddenly, looking to Arnica while standing beside Orange's bed,"I leave a concussion patient to get drunk and you scare him into unconsciousness." He grinned again,"I think we're going to make a great team!"

[Armony]

As her laughter gradually subsided, Arnica opened her eyes and looked around the room. The first thing she noticed was the unconscious form of Orange lying on the floor, not at all near where he was when she began her little speech about soup making. The next thing she saw was the spell fading away from Betterbones' horn, uncast, and the look on his face. Oh no! She thought wildly, I've gone too far with the joke and now I'm going to get fired before I've even had a chance to do anything for anypony...

"I'm so sorry!" she blurted out when the other doctor asked about her sense of humor. "I didn't mean to... I was only..." His next comment concerning her joke astounded her and left her dumbstruck once again. This unicorn seemed to have the ability to do that quite often. He wasn't mad at her, and in fact, actually seemed to like her sense of humor! As Doctor Betterbones lifted Orange off the floor and levitated him over to a bed, Arnica began picking up her dissection tools and returning them to the kit in her saddlebags. Next, she took out the first aid kit and a bottle of water and set them on a table while listening closely to what the other doctor was saying.

She smiled back at him, not entirely sure she wanted to become known as part of a team that, as the doctors and nurses of Canterlot would surely say, regularly mistreated and neglected their patients. She didn't have a problem with having a sense of humor or even allowing patients who were of age to have a little alcohol, but she knew plenty of others who would have a problem with it. And those were the kind of ponies that could make HUGE problems for her if she wasn't careful enough. "I'm glad you seem to have taken a liking to my humor, even though I thought the two of you were the ones who started the joke. And... I'm more than a bit relieved that I haven't been fired for that."

With that, Arnica opened her first aid kit and removed one of the small salt packets she had stuck inside, leaving one behind when she closed it. "I don't know if you've already treated him for dehydration or not, but if, as you say, he has been fainting a lot, I'd imagine he should be treated for it regardless. The heat from being that close to an explosion, even a small one, could have drained him of quite a lot of fluid. I probably shouldn't be in here when he wakes up, unless we want to scare him to death, so I'll leave these here for you while I go pick out an office. Make sure he gets both the salt and the water, otherwise we could end up with a case of water poisoning, on top of everything else he's got." With that last comment, she levitated her saddlebags a few inches off the ground and left the room, going off to look at the empty offices.

[Haserman]

Orange's unconsciousness prospered into a peaceful slumber, his previous excitements and escapades forgotten only to be taken away (even if momentarily) by dreams. Orange dreamed peaceful dreams, of his home amongst his crop, the cool winter breezes and the potatoes the miles of miles of potatoes. Orange heard the mumbles of ponies just out of the reaches of his mind but was in too much of a peaceful place to pay it no mind. To the outside observer Orange would like like any other normal semi-unconscious, drunk pony but to the keen observer or anypony with ears could add a snoring pony to this list. As Orange had peacefully fallen into a deep sleep tired from his previous escapades.

[OOC: This is really a pass so you guys can continue on. I'm really busy at the moment so I haven't been able to create a super awesome post so sorry, I'll be able to post back to normal soon enough (probably tomorrow). So anyway sorry]

[Astalakio]

Betterbones watched and listened attentively as Arnica instructed him upon the treatment of his patient, and didn't say anything as she left the room. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her go. He was quite impressed. Not at the medical advice she had given him, of course, he'd already thought of that, but the fact that she wasn't scared to teach him how to treat his patient when she'd only just been hired was quite admirable. Clearly, she was true to her word that she cared about the wellbeing of ponies and wanted to help them. That, or she just felt bad about knocking Orange out through sheer fright.

He turned his attention to the salt packet he had been left. He doubted he would need to use a drip to rehydrate Orange, the problem wasn't that severe. He would just make sure he drank it when he awoke. He wouldn't be happy - saltwater wouldn't be a pleasant change from vodka - but he was here to be treated for his injuries, and that included any possible dehydration.

"This has been a pretty odd day, hasn't it?" He asked, and looked to his unconscious patient as if expecting an answer, "It's not just me, is it? No, I didn't think so."

He had started off patientless and bored, and, through a series of strange and unpredictable events, had ended up scaring a pegasus that she would have to have her wing amputated, watching the victim of an explosion get progressively more intoxicated, hiring a new doctor for the practice, and finally fearing that he was going to be made into a delicious meal for one. To some, that would sound like all the ingredients for a bad day. For Doctor Betterbones, it was the most fun he'd had in weeks. To think that just this morning he was complaining about how still and boring the place was. Well, ask and you shall receive, apparently.

One thing was for sure, Betterbones reflected as he trotted off to find some water to mix with the salt, and that was that it wasn't too quiet around here anymore.

[Reckon that's a wrap, guys? Can't think of anywhere else we can take this thread, particularly. If you can, though, feel free to continue. Otherwise I suggest we have a time gap and start a new thread, maybe the next morning? We could have Orange make peace with Arnica and Betterbones show her around SH, for example?]

[Armony]

(OOC: Yeah, I think it's about time to hit fast forward to the next morning, unless Haserman's still got more in him. Starting a fresh thread might attract more some more people too; there was one person in particular who said he'd like to join in, but felt we were too far in for him to contribute. Maybe I can talk him into joining the next thread.

Haserman, if you've got something to continue this with, go ahead. Arnica will just be taking her sweet time looking through the offices.)

[Haserman]

[OOC: Yeah I'm fine with starting a new thread just send me a link and we'll resume it in the morning. Any questions feel free to PM if you want to discuss this or anything]