Chapter 13: Contractual Obligations
"How long does it take to diagnose 'knocked out'?" Final Cut paced the halls of Ponyville Hospital. Watching was Spike, Fluttershy and Applejack. Applejack grabbed a hold of Cut, who still had a scar across his face.
"Final, Ah'm just as worried as you. But you pacing the room isn't exactly making me... or Spike any better." Cut saw Spike, curled up on a chair, with bandages wrapped around his head from Rainbow smacking him against the book case before she and Twilight nearly tore Ponyville to shreds.
"Still... I've been told that the doctor has been in there for hours. How long does he really need?" The door shot open as a pony in a medical uniform. The pony turned around, revealing it to be Pinkie, wearing a spare uniform she found earlier.
"Well, I think I can safely say that she is definitely knocked out." Cut pushed her to the side as he and the others ran into the room. Twilight was lying peacefully in the bed. The window was open, letting a cool breeze come in, blowing her ruffled mane. Cut took a seat next to the bed with Spike by his side.
"Why the hay didn't you let us know it was you in here? Also, what the hay were you doing in here?"
"They said only nurses and doctors were aloud in. So I became one. Duh!"
Applejack took Final Cut's foreleg, leading him out of the room. "Look, Cut, Ah know you're upset, but I think you may need to give them a moment.
"What are you talking about?" Cut looked back in the room and saw Fluttershy and Pinkie looking down at Twilight with worry. Spike as clasping her hoof, bawling his little eyes out. Cut took a step back. "Oh, yeah..."
"Just give us a minute with our friend. You can see her when we're done."
"Yeah... sure."
Cut turned to find a nurse looking directly at him. "Final Cut? You have a visitor."
"Since when do visitors get visitors?"
"Since you were admitted here. You took a nasty fall. As well as that scar-"
"I'll deal with that later. Who wants to see me?"
The nurse led Cut down the hall towards a large room at the end of one of the wings. "It's better if you just go see her. Also, one of our uniforms went mission, have you seen anything?"
...
"I'll let you know if I find it." Cut entered the spare room, leaving the nurse outside. After shutting the door, he glared straight at his visitor with a very unwelcoming look on his face. "Heh... I'm surprised you were able to fit through the doors."
"I don't believe that's how you address a Princess, Final."
"Breakfast!" Soarin' entered Rainbow's hospital room, making her put down her book; 'Daring Do and Atlantis of the Sands.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." Soarin' laid the platter of food on Dash's bedside table.
"I grabbed you some apple pie. Consider it pay pack for the time you- Dash?"
Soarin' was a little flustered by Dash's look. She was staring deep into his eyes, blushing with a warm, beautiful smile. "You said you loved me."
Soarin' looked away. "I'm an actor. I say lots of things." Dash took Soarin' by his chin, pulled him in and kissed passionately. The first kiss they had without Dash being influenced by something. Eventually, she let him go. "But... yeah, I guess I did say that."
"Did you mean it?"
Soarin' laid his hoof over hers. "You bet. I'm sorry we didn't deal with this earlier."
"Let's face it, neither of us are in a place to mess with the other."
"Yeah... I suppose." The two chuckled for a brief bit.
"That was very brave of you."
"What was?"
"Getting in the middle of me and Twi. You risked your plot to get us to calm down. That was very heroic of you." Half-jokingly, half-flirty, Rainbow batted her eyes at her stallion. She didn't pull that one out unless she was really head-over-heels for a colt.
Taking the opportunity to mess around, Soarin laid back in his chair, putting his hooves behind his head. "Yeah... I guess it was."
"No!"
"No?"
"You're supposed to be all like 'I'm just doing my job, ma'am' and then I'll be like 'Oh, how can I ever repay you?' Then you go 'You'll never have to.' Then I pull you in-" She pulled him in. "Then I say 'Oh, I think I can change your mind..." Soarin's face turned a bright red. Eventually, Rainbow let him go. "You really are turning into Mild. You couldn't figure out that a mare was coming onto ya!"
Soarin' stuttered, looking for a response. "Well- I knew- I was just-" Rainbow sighed as she crossed her forelegs.
"Well that's just great! I fell in love with a dork!"
"You never had a problem with the way I talked to you before." When Celestia looked at Final in the past, it was usually as a friend, this time, she had a much more serious look on her face.
"Maybe I wasn't in the position that I am now before." Celestia pulled out a letter with her magic. "I received this letter earlier this morning."
Cut rolled his eyes. "You're the Princess. You get lots of letters, I'm sure."
"Cut, sit down." Celesia took a seat on the floor. Like a child pouting, Cut sat next to her, grunting as he took his spot. He refused to look at her. "Now, I know you blame yourself-"
Cut turned to the Princess with a very condescending look plastered across his face. "No! What gave it away, Sherlock? Was it the letter that I sent that said 'It was my fault'? Or was it the news footage of the Ponyvillians yelling at me, saying that it was my fault? Please, pass down some of that royal wisdom to-"
WHACK! Celestia didn't even let Cut finished before smacking across the cheek.
"Thank you sir, may I have another?"
"Cut... you think you deserve to be hurt?"
"Why not? I nearly kil- leveled Ponyville to the ground." Cut struggled to maintain his sardonic exterior.
"No, you didn't. You know that Trixie did this to her."
"And... what does that mean?" Cut's eyes started to water. "I'm a writer."
Celestia failed to grasp what exactly Cut was getting at. "And... what does that mean?"
"It means I'm supposed to see it coming. In every story, there are hints, seeds that tell you what's coming. It should have been obvious that Trixie was the one causing this. I shouldn't have let it go by. If I had intervened, I could have saved them both and kept Ponyville safe. I'm their leader. It's my fault. I nearly got three little fillies killed. You can't tell me that's not my fault."
"Yes I can." Instead of slapping him again (a tempting option), Celstia pulled him close, wrapping her foreleg around him. "It's true that you have a responsibility, but you can't let one pony's actions make you feel any less."
"And why not?"
"How do you think I'd feel?" Cut started to realize what she was getting at. "I'm Twilight's mentor. I'm the Princess of all of Equestria. Why didn't I step in and help? Why didn't I keep a closer eye on the element wielders instead of letting the fan-filly in me take over and focus on Soarin'?"
Cut hung his head. "I... I just wish I-"
"Didn't see her like this?"
"Yeah... what's the deal with that?"
Celestia smiled. "That's one of the side-effects of being in love."
"Huh... so this is love... I don't like it."
Celestia giggled. "Most ponies don't until they find that right one." Cut's expression started to brighten. "Now, about your resignation..."
"What about it?"
"I refuse it."
...
"Come again?"
"Everypony should be in ship-shape soon enough. And... I'd still like to see that movie."
"Princess, we've been through a lot. I'm not sure if I can keep going with this."
"That's exactly why you have to do it. Show them that you can push forward and be strong. Don't let this get to you. Be strong. Be the-"
"Best pony I can be." Cut's heard those words way too many times. "I'm beginning to sense a recurring theme around this movie."
"Hey, it's a good theme. That and..."
"And what?"
"You're still contractually obligated to make the movie, I'm told."
"HA!"
Celestia wasn't sure if Cut was laughing or if he finally snapped. "What's so funny?"
"You... you really are a bitch, you know that?"
...
"Maybe."
"It's just really starting to chafe." Rarity sat inside one of the examination rooms with her doctor examining her. She was still in he leather costume. "It's become really uncomfortable to take wear and it would take to long for me to deconstruct this monstrosity, so it would be greatly appreciated if you could remove this for me, doctor."
The doctor levitated a pair of scissors off a slab, a pair he typically used for cutting umbilical cords. "Absolutely, Miss Rarity." The doctor started slicing through the costume. "May I ask, if it's a monstrosity, why did you put it on in the first place?"
"In my defense, it wasn't a monstrosity when I put it on," said Rarity, batting her eyes at the doctor, who was far to concentrated to pay any attention to her.
"I'll take your word for it." After a few minutes, the doctor cut the last connecting piece of the costume, removing the components with his magic.
...
"Oh dear..."
"The mirror."
"Miss Rarity, the leather has-"
"MIRROR!" Rarity grabbed a full lenght mirror with her magic, pulling it in front of her.
...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Pinkie was rolling on the floor with her hooves to her ears. Rarity's shriek could be heard all over the hospital. Deaf patients were putting their heads under water and coma patients were telling them to 'turn down the racket'.
At one point, the screen for Twilight's hear rate monitor cracked. Windows shattered and bags of plasma began to boil. Spike shot up, his eyes still red from crying. "Rarity?"
CRASH!
The ponies ran to the window, as they saw a purple and white blur run through the wall of the hospital, heading straight for Ponyville. Applejack's eyes followed the blur in confusion. "What in tarnation?"
"I know that screech anywhere." Spike looked back at her adoptive mother. Applejack laid a hoof on his side.
"You can go check on Rarity. I think you've looked after Twi enough for one day."
As Spike woddled past Twilight's bed, he noticed that his tears had stained the sheets cover her. He stopped for a brief moment before leaving the room to look back at Twilight. "Get well soon... Mommy."
Spike headed down the hall, only to bump into Rainbow Dash and Soarin'. "Hey squirt... sorry about that bump on your head."
"It's alright... I guess I'm just upset that I missed the big battle." Spikes smile did little to hide his fear for his mother. Soarin' laid down to his level.
"Hey, you're being very brave, Spike. But look at Rainbow. She's better then new, I'm sure Twilight is going to be just fine. It's a Super-Stallion guarantee!" Soarin' gave him a wink as he left the two pegasi in the halls.
...
"I don't remember a 'Super-Stallion-guarantee' from the comics."
"That because I just made it up."
"You made it up?"
Soarin' shifted his eyes defensively. "It's my character, I can do what I want with him!"
"Umm... Rarity?" Spike crept into Carousel Boutique. He noticed all the mirrors had been smashed, all the shattered glass made him feel like he was in a house of horrors. Off to the side, he saw a pile of clothes shivering. He walked over and pulled them aside, finding Sweetie Bell, who was now sporting a thousand-yard stare.
"Sweetie Bell? What happened?"
"The horror..." Spike waved his claw in front of the filly's eyes.
"Sweetie, what happened?" She shot up, grabbed the dragon and pulled him close.
"RUN!"
"What's wrong with Rarity?"
"It's... just run. If anypony needs me, I'll be at the club house..." Sweetie bolted the door, keeping her look of horror on as she ran down the streets of Ponyville, creeping out many of the foals she past.
Spike slowly mounted the stairs, step by step, moving closer to Rarity's door. He cautiously turned the knob and pushed forward...
"DON'T LOOK AT ME!"
A bolt of magical energy slammed the door shut, startling Spike. "Rarity! It's OK, I'm here to help."
"You cannot help me! Nopony can! Now be gone! Nopony can ever see me again..."
CREEK!
Spike casually strolled through the cat door the Boutique had for all of it's doors. "You know those cat doors don- Umm... Wow."
Spike gazed on the site before him; Rarity, covered in red marks that perfectly resembled the skin-tight outfit she had been wearing for the last couple of weeks. The bright red parts of her flesh covered strongly contrasted her white coat. "So, now you have seen the horror! Leave, before I make your eyes bleed!" With that, Rarity pulled her fainting couch over so she could collapse.
"Umm, Rarity... you know those go away, right?"
...
"Then there is hope!" Rarity leaped off the couch, and pulled over all the powder she could find, smacking it all over her body. The powder created a sold cloud around her, some of it getting on Spike.
"Rarity, I think that's too- Umm, wow." The cloud cleared, revealing that Rarity was now an even brighter shade of white, including her mane. She looked into the one mirror that wasn't completely smashed with sigh.
"I look like a minstrel show in negative."
"Please tell me you have some more ear buds left." Cut leaned over the counter of the nurses station. Around him, there were employees frantically running around, trying to attend to all of the ponies who's ears had nearly been broken by Rarity's screech. Cut's ears were bleeding as well.
"Sir, we're busy enough as it is. I'm sure you'll be able to find a few spares, but at the moment, we're swamped." Cut left the desk, franticly pacing the hall. He did his best not to look at Twilight, who was still out cold.
Inside Twilight's room, Soarin' and Rainbow have joined the other mares. Rainbow examined the unicorn. "How is she still asleep?"
Fluttershy laid a hoof on Twilight's head. "I think it's because she's not as... athletic as Rainbow Dash. I've seen this happen with my animals. When they push themselves too hard, they can go into a very deep nap. They always wake up, but it never stops me from worrying and now it's Twilight. I don't know if I can-"
Soarin's stepped over to Fluttershy. "Be brave, Fluttershy. Just like did during the f-"
"Stop saying brave!" Rainbow was starting to get sick of the boyscout personality he had taken on. "You're starting to repeat yourself."
Soarin' wanted to glare at her... but he couldn't. Looking at Rainbow Dash made him want to smile non-stop. How could she not?
Raibow turned her attention back to Twilight. "I can't even imagine how Cut is taking this."
"I can." Soarin's sudden, somber tone took the room by surprise. "I woke up a little bit before you and Cut did. I had to watch you lie in that bed with machines hooked up to you. Seeing somepony you love hurt and in pain is the worst possible thing you can go through."
"She's just unconscious."
"That's supposed to make it better?" Soarin' and the girls looked out the window at Cut. "That's the face of a stallion who's afraid he's lost everything he cares about."
"You can see her now." Cut turned to see Soarin' and the ladies leave Twilight's room. "We think we've worried long enough. It's your turn."
Cut approached Soarin'. "Thanks... thanks for saving us."
Soarin' glanced at Twilight. "She's a special girl. I know you'll be good to her."
Walking past the pegasus, Cut gave him a sardonic expression. "Let's not set standards for me to reach." With that, he shut the door behind him. Not changing his expression, he took a spot next to the unconscious unicorn. At the window, the girls and Soarin' subtly poked there eyes over the bottom of the glass, looking like a comedy skit.
Cut contemplated laying a hoof on her, but opted not to. "So... how's things?" He received no response. "You know, the contract you signed covers your medical expenses... so there's that." No response. "I was thinking, when you wake up, I would show you all my old movies. They're horrible. You're... you're making me suffer right now... so I figured that will make us even."
Still... nothing.
"You... you bitch! What did you do to me?" Tears began to trickle down the directors face. "This was supposed to be another job. I make the geeks happy, I win a few awards, make some bits, everypony's happy. But NO! You had to come in and activate my feels... is that what the kids call it these days... feels?"
Back at the window, the onlookers turned to each other in confusion. "What in tarnation are 'feels'?"
"You and your friends bucked my whole world up! I want to do my job and here you guys come in... being all friendly. Why? Why me?! Everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by adorable idiots and you... why are you doing this to me? It's not worth seeing you like this..." Cut laid his head on Twilight's stomach, letting his tear stains merge with those that Spike had left earlier.
"Sparkle... please... come back to me."
"Maybe you should act in the movie instead of me." Cut's eyes shot open as he lifted his head to find Twilight looking straight at him, smirking. "You're crying more then Meekly does." Cut didn't say a word, he just stood there in shock. "We'll have to get you fitted for a dress, but I think you'd look pretty cute in a red tie an- MMPH!"
Cut kissed Twilight harder then he had ever kissed anypony in his life. Tears running down his face, he was just glad to see Sparkle awake. He let her go and looked into her eyes. He tried to look angry... but he couldn't. He was smiling, but his face twitched as he tried to scowl.
"Cut... why are your ears bleeding?"
"B- Buck you, Sparkle!"
Twilight wiped the tears of his face. "Buck you too, Cut." The onlooker ponies leaned their heads through the door.
"Called it!"
Next: Jumping the Shark!
Dedicated to Rainy Meadows, my artist.