Artex had just finished his half of the sandwich when there was a loud banging behind him. The noise was quickly followed by a deep, masculine voice calling out to him, "Mister Emissary, are you alright!? We came as soon as we heard!"

Artex slowly spun the stool around and came face to the crest of the golden colored helmet of one of the E.U.P. Guard. Artex nodded, "I have been better..."

The Pegasus threw a smart salute with his right wing, "Regimental Commander Swift Wind, sir."

Artex nodded politely, "At ease Commander."

The Pegasus shook his head, "Not yet sir. We have orders to escort you to a safe location until the investigation is complete. Commander Peach Pit is already looking into the events that transpired earlier today. Do not worry sir, we'll protect you."

"Just a moment, Commander." Artex slowly rotated the stool back to the bar and looked to the waitress, "How much do I owe you, ma'am?"

The waitress shifted her weight left and right nervously, "You don't need to worry about that, Mister Emissary."

Artex shook his head, "No ma'am. You work for a living, and I'm not going to insult your hospitality by neglecting to pay for services rendered. How much?"

"Eight Bits sir." The waitress said quietly.

Artex removed one eight Bit coin and three one Bit coins out of his purse and set them on the bar, "For the meal and the excellent service, ma'am. If I hear of any other Humans visiting Trottingham, I'll tell them how well this establishment treats its customers."

The waitress blushed and bowed her head, "T-thank you sir."

Artex grabbed his makeshift cane and groaned as he pushed himself into a standing position. Turning to Swift Wind, he slowly walked toward the door, "We're not going to this safe location right away, Commander. I left the hospital early and I neglected to pick up any pain medication before my hasty departure." He looked around, but he did not see the eleven Unicorn stallions who had helped him earlier.

Swift Wind followed beside him, "Surely one of my Guards could retrieve your medicine, sir."

Artex chuckled, "I doubt that any respectable medical facility would simply pass out prescription pain medication to even such stalwart defenders as your Guards. No Commander, I need to go there in person. Besides, I need to speak with my doctor, and I doubt you nor any of your Guards would be willing to physically restrain me in my present fragile condition. I would be truly honored to be accompanied by such dedicated stallions, but you do not need to bother with locating a safe location to house me. When I left, the hospital staff greatly encouraged me to return to my room so I could continue my recovery. I believe you and your Guards would find it to be rather comfortable accommodations as well." He reached for the door, but one of the Guards held it open for him.

Artex smiled and nodded thankfully to the Guard, "The other members of the Emissarial Staff should be directed to my hospital room. I feel I may be there for some time. Oh, and be sure that the same doctor who performed the surgery which saved my life is the one who comes to my room please. She is familiar with my condition and will be the best one to take care of me."

Swift Wind trotted up beside him and began speaking, "That will not be possible, sir. The report we received stated that the doctor who performed your surgery is under investigation for malpractice."

Artex rolled his eyes, "Were I concerned about the quality of her work, I would not be walking around putting strain on my stitches right now."

Swift Wind shook his head emphatically, "I am sorry sir, but we absolutely cannot allow her near you until she has been cleared of all charges and her suspension is lifted by her superior."

Artex stopped walking and slowly turned his eyes to the Commander, "Then lead me to Commander Peach Pit immediately. I can clear this matter up myself. I am the supposed victim, am I not? And correct me if I am wrong, but without a victim, there can be no crime."

Swift Wind looked back up at Artex firmly, "I apologize for the inconvenience sir, but I cannot allow you to interfere with an ongoing investigation."

Artex sighed and resumed his slow walk, "Is there a medically trained Guard among your squad here, Commander? Could such a trained Pony not supervise the good doctor while she tends to me to ensure she conducts herself in a proper manner? Certainly that is not too far of a stretch. The good doctor IS the Petamine of my own fiance, Razor Wit. There must be SOMETHING you can do to help accommodate my wishes. I dislike doctors as a whole and I am very picky about who is allowed to touch me in such an manner." Artex decided to risk a bluff and hoped to play off the Commander's ignorance, "I assume you are not familiar with Human medical practices, Commander?"

Swift Wind answered without looking at Artex, "I am not, sir. Why do you ask?"

"It is a Human practice that a patient shall chose whom shall be privileged with their medical information and that information shall be kept strictly between the patient and doctor unless otherwise specifically allowed by the patient. The practice is called the Hippocratic Oath and it is sworn by all Human medical professionals. I had no choice in the matter of whom was privy to my information or the development thereof when I was comatose in Canterlot or else I would have had the right to refuse the doctor there outright. I have chosen this specific doctor as worthy of caring for my person. She will be eligible to be the doctor to deliver my foals as Human tradition dictates and she will be the doctor to attend me. If you doubt me, feel free to ask doctor Bobby Jewel in New Humansville. Ask him about the Hippocratic Oath and he will tell you the same. I will return to my room in the hospital and await my doctor there. This means so much to me that I am willing to bend the practice in order for one of your own medically trained Guards to see my personal information. This is not a small honor, Commander, and I do not make this decision lightly. Please allow me this wish so that I do not have to break an ages old tradition."

Artex hid a smile when Swift Wind called for a runner. The Regimental Commander sent the runner off to find Peach Pit then turned his head back to the front and addressed Artex, "As soon as you feel able, Commander Peach Pit needs a testimony from you regarding the assault on your person, but that can wait until you are safely back in the hospital."

* * *

Artex hobbled his way back to the room in which he had first awoken. The manacles were gone from the bed so he pulled back the covers and carefully climbed in while Swift Wind and his Guards secured the area and took up positions around the door. Artex laid his head back and closed his eyes. He was exhausted from his ordeal and he was asleep within moments.

He was awakened some time later by the sound of voices outside his closed door, 'I don't remember closing the door. One of the Guards must have done it while I was asleep.' He saw two Guards standing stalwart on either side of the door on the inside of his room, "Would one of you two gentlestallions please see what all the fuss is about?"

The words had barely left his lips when the door swung open, revealing his mares. Rose Thorn was the first to enter the room. She stepped through the door and came right up to the side of the bed. She lifted her front half off the ground and placed her forehooves on the bed. She leaned over and nuzzled Artex immediately, "We were so worried about you."

Artex returned her affection by planting a small kiss on the tip of her muzzle, "I'm alright, love."

"YOU might be," Oriana huffed as she raised her front half onto the bed, "But we were nearly out of our minds with worry." She looked tense, like a tightly coiled spring.

Artex reached out and caressed the side of her muzzle, "I missed you girls."

"Apparently not as much as you missed home." Vaiawa added as she smoothly strode into the room, "You bought a ticket back to Canterlot. You were going home and you did not even tell us? Were you planning to leave us here?" She came up on the right side of his bed and leaned down. She planted a small, chaste kiss on his forehead, "You shouldn't let your anger dictate your judgement, Artex."

Artex smiled up at her, "You know me, I'm a passionate person. I was caught up in the moment. I am sorry about that though." He lapsed into silence, waiting for Razor Wit to show herself. After a few seconds, his expression turned confused, "Where's Razor?"

Rose and Vaiawa looked away while Oriana answered, "She's too upset to go anywhere right now. She's with her family. The last time we saw her, she was having a go at her Lamine."

Artex' brow knit together in worry, "How bad was it?"

Oriana lowered her ears, "She was rattling the windows of the house when we left. She was so mad at her brother that we had to hold her back from going down to the jail to get at him. I've never seen her so angry. She was crying and sobbing and screaming. I thought she was going to get violent there for a few minutes. Her Lamane finally got home and took over so we could come see you."

"Well, that's no good. I ran into Cloudy Skies at the diner where I stopped. She gave me the rundown that the Pegasus who all but eviscerated me was her son and Razor's brother. The doctor who performed the surgery on me was one of Razor's Petamines, and that the Unicorn mare who arrested said brother was Razor's Lamine who also filed an investigation about possible malpractice by the doctor Petamine." Artex sighed, "I'm open to any and all suggestions you girls have."

Rose pursed her lips in thought, "Hmm, with the Royal Guard getting involved there isn't much we CAN do. We can't interfere with the investigation. All we can really do is provide testimony during interviews or the trial. I, especially have to remain impartial because of my job."

Oriana only shrugged, "This is way out of my area of expertise. The only thing I can think of is to prove that you, yourself, were both the victim and villain."

The other two mares both looked at her with puzzled expression, Artex shared their confusion. Oriana cleared her throat and continued, "Well... if I understand the situation correctly, the problem with when the doctor's competence was called into question, was basically you being upset that you were tied down, right?"

Artex nodded, "Yeah, so?"

"You told us earlier today that you have Maniac Depression,"

"Manic Depression, hon." Artex corrected her.

"Sorry, Manic Depression. So is it fair to say that you were experiencing a cascade when you woke up?" The Zebra mare asked.

Artex caught on to what she was implying, 'I could portray myself as being the cause of most of what went wrong once I woke up but... if I do that... there is a small chance that I may lose my position as Emissary if it comes to light that I have a mental disease which impaired my judgement under stress. Am I willing to make that kind of a sacrifice?' He gave the matter serious thought and made a hard decision. He looked into the faces of his mares. Their expressions all showed they had come to the same conclusion. Each one in turn gave him a slight nod.

He spoke slightly louder than he had been before, knowing that the Guards inside the room were listening, "No, I was well past that point. I was in a full-blown rage state by that time. Everything that I perceived between when I woke up and when Cloudy Skies found me, I took in the worst possible way. I was nasty to Visceral Slaughter without cause, I was just plain mean to the nurse I met in the hallway, I was impolite and unpleasant to the security staff here in the hospital, and I was even rude to a mare that gave me directions to the train station."

Vaiawa nodded her head subtly, "Shall I go let the investigators know that you're ready to give a statement?"

Artex nodded his head slowly, "Yeah." 'Best to do it now before I lose my nerve.' he thought, 'I can always state that I always had time to adjust or at least to prepare for changes when out on an assignment... or I could have somebody back in New Humansville whip up some mood stabilizers for me.

Author's Notes:

Let me know if you spot any typos. Enjoy my readers.