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Misery Enjoys Company: A (Not So) Restful Interlude
By SlowanonCreated: 2020-12-21 12:30:35
Expiry: Never
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A RESTFUL INTERLUDE
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>A warm wet feeling snaked its way inside you and made you yelp in surprise.
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>You jumped and ended up on the floor as you fell out of your chair, roused from your nap.
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>An energetic voice filled your ears.
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>”Wake up silly buns! Break is over!”
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>You looked at the clock on the break room’s wall.
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>5:30 AM
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>You looked up at the form above you.
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>Coldheart.
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>A rather cheerful pony despite her name.
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>You have no idea how she always came to work so… awake in the mornings.
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>Still though, you admired her drive.
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>She loved her work and loved coming to work.
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>Even at this Celestia forsaken hour.
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>That’s not to say you didn’t love your job either because you did.
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>You just weren’t as...
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>Nurse Coldheart was still regarding you with that same warm smile.
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>... enthusiastic about it.
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“Heh, sorry, I must have fallen asleep.”
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>”Hey now, don’t worry about it. And besides, Helpinghoof would have your flank if he knew you were dozing off.”
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>She was right, you knew.
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“Yeah. Thanks for waking me but was sticking your friggin tongue in my ear really necessary?
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>”No, not really. But it worked didn’t it?”
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>Of course it worked but that was besides the point!
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>...
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>You couldn’r really find it in you to be mad at her.
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“I guess so.” you replied evenly, taking the diplomatic route.
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“So, did you have a deep rest?”
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>IF YOU HAD TO HEAR THAT JOKE ONE MOR-
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>No, no.
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>Calm it, girl.
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>She didn’t mean anything by it.
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“No, not really. I’m off the clock in about three hours so I should be fine.”
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>You wouldn’t be fine.
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>You swore you could hear your bed calling your name.
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>It’d be a miracle if you were able to stay awake for the whole three hours.
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>You eyed the coffee machine miserably.
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>There was no more coffee mix in the break room.
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>You let out a little yawn and eyed the clock then your food that you had yet to even touch.
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>Your break was over.
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>So much for enjoying your snack.
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>You packed all of it up and tossed it back into the refrigerator.
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>You could do this right?
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>There were only three hours left.
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>You couldn’t do this.
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>You were in the process of making sure vitals were stable, checked and logged.
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>You’ve just about completed your rounds but there were two problems.
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>It has only been about thirty minutes and your were dead tired.
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>Anyways, the next patient you were to check on was named Connie Amore according to her chart.
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>You pulled the clipboard off its hook and continued reading.
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>Just out of surgery for tonsillitis not too long ago.
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>She shouldn’t be awake from the anesthetics just yet so you forewent knocking and gently opened up the door.
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>Looking at the machine, you started scribbling on the clipboard.
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>BP 122/85
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>Oxygen 91 percent.
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>Blah.
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>Blah.
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>Done.
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>Checked the cords on the bed and the machine.
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>Checked the IV.
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>Yada yada.
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>Rada rada.
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>Everything, like the last few rooms, were normal.
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>Which was good despite how it was making you cripplingly bored.
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>If things were normal that meant ponies were ok.
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>You’d rather be bored than to see a pony die from post op complications.
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>Another look at the patient reveal that her blanket had drifted downwards somehow.
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>A simple fix.
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>You pulled it up over the pink mass and made your way out of the room.
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>Next room you did the same thing.
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>And in the next one.
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>Things were normal, once again, in the next one.
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>After a few more rooms with a few more patients you were about to check the last one when a BP alarm went off somewhere down the hall.
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>You immediately turned tail and ran towards the source worried.
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>That low beeping meant that somepony’s blood pressure was either dangerously high or low.
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>When you finally reached the room you saw the door was open and the doctor on staff was already in dealing with with the unruly elderly pony in bed.
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>Doctor Hooves or something like that.
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>Regardless, the stallion waved you off while explaining the importance of not removing hospital equipment to the old mare.
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>You let out a sigh of relief.
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>At least you were awake now.
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>You made your way back to the the last room and took the clipboard off the wall into your hooves.
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>The patient's name was was Miss Eri.
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>Female, earth pony.
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>19.
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>Interesting.
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>As you continued to read down the chart the wider your eyes became.
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>A few lacerations, blunt force trauma, a concussion, multiple rib fractures.
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>The list went on and on.
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>What the heck happened to her to get her these injuries.
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>The most surprising of which was the reason this pony was in the post OP ward in the first place.
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>Apparently she had just gotten out of surgery for a full screfula drain.
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>You’ve only ever seen unicorns in here for that if you ever saw it at all.
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>The screfula is the organ responsible for storing and releasing magic within a pony’s body.
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>To think an earth pony could become so saturated with magic to warrant a full drain was nothing short of mind boggling.
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>Let alone all those other injures.
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>The patient was to be kept under anesthetics for about a day to keep her from injuring herself.
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>Since she was out, it didn’t warrant a knock.
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>But you did anyways for whatever reason.
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>Upon receiving no response, you entered.
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>On the bed lied said earth pony mare.
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>You winced.
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>You were a nurse and you’ve seen a lot of things.
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>Still though.
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>The young mare had a breathing tube in her throat and other wires and cords snaking down from the bed.
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>There were bruises that you could clearly see through the fur on her face and a large one around her neck.
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>She had a black eye that was slightly swollen.
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>The rest of her was concealed by the blanket.
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>The mare in the bed was absolutely gorgeous despite everything, however.
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>What the heck happened to her?
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>It was when you saw her the shape of one of the marks on her that things started to click.
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>You referred back to her clipboard.
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>Admitted by Ponyville PD.
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>Taken immediately for emergency surgery.
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>She’d received a rape kit?
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>Celestia above, what kind of ponies...
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>You looked at the sorry form in bed and shook your head.
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>Thanks to medicine and magic she'd be fine in a few days but just to think...
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>You took the clipboard and started to record the readings.
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>You really just didn’t want to think about what she must have went through...
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>Your eyes popped open to the sound of the intercom and an automated voice.
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>”Code Blue, fourth floor, room 460. Code Blue, fourth floor, room 460.”
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>You sighed.
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>Code Blue signalled to medical staff like yourself of a patient needing immediate attention usually due to cardio-respiratory failure.
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>Normally there’d be ward designation on the automated alert but considering where the room number put the emergency you could understand why it was omitted.
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>That would be the birthplace.
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>Some mother must be having complications.
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>Poor mare, whoever she was.
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>Fuck, you needed to stop falling asleep.
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>You grimaced and glanced at the clock behind your nurse’s station.
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>6:58 AM.
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>It was almost time to check vitals.
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>But the good news was you were out of here in about an hour.
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>You decided to get a head start on your rounds to make time move a little faster for you.
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>It killed about thirty minutes which was nice but it didn’t make you any less tired.
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>All you had to do was stay awake just a little longer for Heartmender to take over for you and you’d be fine.
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>You yawned into your hoof and sat back down in your chair behind the station.
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>Thirty minutes.
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>Just thirty minutes.
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>All you had to do...
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>Was stay...
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>Awake...
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>Don’t go to sleep...
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>Your eyes flutter and threaten to close on you entirely.
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>Just stay awake girl, you can do this.
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>Your eyes just closed on you anyways.
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>That was ok though...
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>As long as you stayed awake you were fine.
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>Your eyes resting couldn’t hurt right?
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>The intercom spoke again.
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>”Code Blue, second floor, Post OP, room 228. Code Blue, second floor, Post OP, room 228.”
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>You were already on your hooves and galloping down the hall.
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>As soon as you turned the next corner you could hear the alarms of various machines.
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>You reached the end of the hall and quickly glanced at the clipboard hanging just outside of the door.
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>Miss Eri.
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>Female, Earth Pony.
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>You threw the door open.
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>The window on the opposite end of the room was opened up, curtains billowing slightly in the breeze.
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>It wasn’t like that before.
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>And was that a flash of magic or was that a glint of light reflected of the window itself?
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>Putting that off for now, you moved to the earth pony in the bed who was practically blue beneath her fur.
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>Oh Luna, give you strength.
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>This wasn’t how you wanted to end your day.
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>Blood oxygen readings were zeroed.
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>The heart monitor which you heard beeping frantically has since stopped and was sounding an erie single tone.
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>Shit shit shit.
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>You used your training to reign in your panic.
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>You deftly pulled the breathing tube from the mares throat and noticed Dr. Hooves had joined you and was removing the restraints from over her chest.
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>With the sheet away Hooves stepped away and allowed you to do the honors.
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>There wasn’t time to argue with him right now so you went back to one of the first medical procedures you ever learned.
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>The one that earned you your cutie mark.
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>You hesitated, if for just a moment, when you saw some of the same scars on her now exposed forelegs that ran down yours as well.
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>No time for feelings right now.
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>You placed your hooves over her and started chest compressions.
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>One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand...
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END A (NOT SO)RESTFUL INTERLUDE
by Slowanon
by Slowanon
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