Today is going to be a good day.

Today is going to be a good day.

These words continued to float within the mind of a young man with olive colored skin as he readied his tie and suit. His hair wet and combed back as he looked into the mirror. The mantra calmed him down, but only by so much. His stomach flipped and flopped with excitement as he looked at the time on the wall, then let out a happy sigh.

“So… it’s finally time.” His voice sounded much older to the young man than it should have been, but a quick shake of his head brought his focus to what was about to happen. “My little sis is getting married.” His smile grew wider as he did the best to cover his insecurities as he went to the wooden door. His hand wrapped around the knob, and turned it, only to run into his roommate and friend, a human woman with ebony skin and wearing a simple dress and scarf, looking more than a bit worried as she looked up into the young man’s eyes.

“Bob, are you alright? You’ve been in there for a while.” Her voice was filled with the same kind of worry that her eyes shown.

“Elvie… I’m just nervous.” He chuckled nervously as he looked down at her hazel eyes.

“Your still against the wedding, aren’t you?” Her worry was slowly changing into disapproval. Bob couldn’t help but shudder as he tried to look away.

“No! Look, I…” He huffed as he rubbed his forehead. “I have nothing against the guy, nor against them getting married. Hot Rod… gah, still hate his name… Rod is a good guy, but you know my thoughts on it…” He defended himself. “Besides, this day isn’t about me, and Sisters damn me if I try to ruin this day for them.” He tried to make it past Elvie, only for her hand to hold onto his shoulder gently, and turn him to face her.

Her eyes looked right into his, and for the longest ten seconds of their time together, they were quiet. She sighed and began to fix Bob’s collar. “You are a mess; you know that?” She couldn’t help but smile as she made her alterations, helping the man to look more presentable.

He couldn’t help but blush at the attention as he allowed her to work. The discomfort in his stomach returned, but he couldn’t remember why. As soon as Elvie finished, he smiled and began to back away, only to hit his hip against a nearby table, and almost like a rubber ball inside a china shop, he backed away and into another table, disturbing and eschewing several figurines and bowls. He nervously put the tables back as he laughed. “Uh… we better get to the church… Sarah is waiting, and… well… you know… hehe…”

Elvie couldn’t help but giggle at his antics as she followed him. “One of these days, boy, you’ll get it through your head.” Her smile grew as she got her purse from the first table hit and followed suit.

Bob ran through the streets of the bustling city of New Boston, doing his best to avoid the mechanical carts driven by humans and the pony drawn carriages that further congested the streets. He narrowly avoided several of them, and came close to being hit by the honking and swearing postal worker who swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid him, narrowly missing another cart as they corrected themselves.

His blind panic even made him knock an unsuspecting police officer, a poor blue coated earth stallion, into a garbage can face first unknowingly. It wasn’t till he reached his destination, the Church of St. Bartholomew, that he actually started to take deep breaths and relax, and finally realize what he had done… for the third time this year.

“Oh, crap…” He continued cursing himself as he realized whom he had shoved into the garbage can, and hoped beyond hope that he didn’t notice, or at least recognize him. After a few forced calming breaths, he made his way inside, only to be met by a refreshed Elvie smirking back at him as she sat, comfortably in a chair in the sparsely populated lobby.

“Bob… why do you always take the hard way?” She teased as Bob looked more exacerbated than embarrassed. He walked past her, sticking his tongue out at her, only to get a, to him, cute giggle back, causing him to get that familiar knot in his stomach.

It didn’t take him long to find his sister’s dressing room, guarded by her best friend, a golden haired diamond dog named Beauty, wearing a tailor made rose pink Maid of Honor’s gown that fit over her curved, humanoid body well. Her ruby colored eyes fixed on Bob as she smiled at him. “You smacked into Officer Night Stick again, didn’t you?” She teased as she lifted her large, yet slender hand up to cover her mouth as she giggled.

“Never on purpose…”

Beauty let out another giggle as she opened the door for him. “Then I suppose it’s a good thing you’re here, right?”

Bob rolled his eyes as he walked past her, and was met by several Pegasus mare’s with needle, thread, and fabric flying about the room, making last minuet alterations to other bride’s maids who stood on smaller platforms. The brides maids, all friends to Sarah, Bob’s younger sister, stood as still as they could as the tailors continued their work. In the center, given the most room, not out of some strange form of misused ego but practicality, stood Sarah, the flowing gown a marvel to Bob’s eyes as she stood as still as a statue. She looked at Bob with a warm smile as she looked at him, barely saying anything. They both stood like that, not saying a word to each other as Bob’s smile grew, and tears fell down his cheeks. He brought one hand up and gave her a thumbs up, and grinned.

“Lets knock ‘em dead, Bro.” Sarah said as she mimicked him.

“It’ll be a massacre.” He responded. The old “call and respond” phrase was an old family motto from a time when their ancestors, old guard Brotherhood of Steel, would go into battle. A quip that was used between family to strengthen bonds and to show unity between ally and intimidated enemies. When their ancestors settled Equestria, the response retained it’s meaning despite the more peaceful surroundings. Bob’s job as a Brotherhood Scribe stationed in the local instillation of the B.o.S, despite being more academic, further spurred the use of the family motto more and more.

With nothing more needing to be said, he waited to walk his sister down the aisle to wed.

//////////////////

Three years later

Bob sat in the chair as he looked at Sarah and Rod as he heard the news.

“Your… what?” He asked again, his eyes fixed squarely on Rod.

“We’re… we’re going to have a baby, Bob.” Rod said, a mix of fear and happiness in his voice.

“But… but you’re…” Bob said, trying to comprehend what he had heard. “The Department of health has said that it would be impossible, that despite how similar our DNA is, that the magic energy would…” His eyes finally fell to the coffee table in front of him. “Please, Sarah… don’t tell me you’ve been cheating on…” His mind couldn’t process what he had heard.

“Robert Sachs… look up at me now.” Sarah’s voice reached him, making Bob look up at his sister. Tears in her eyes. “You know I would never do something like that.”

“I also know science… and that you’ve been wanting children ever since you were young.” Bob’s eyes bore into Sara, scanning her for any chance that she was lying to him, and more importantly, to Rod.

He did not see her pick up the vase on the table behind her. He didn’t as much as flinch as he felt it shatter against his face. Even when the cut above his left eye forced him to close his eye, he looked at his sister return the glare with one that more than overpowered his. It was that glare that caused all the pain.

Rod gasped as he ran to Bob’s side. “Jesus Christ! Are you alright, Bob?”

Bob didn’t answer. He stood up, hiding his face from his sister as he left his own apartment.

When the doctor’s asked him about the cause of the injury, he simply blamed himself.

///////////////////////

Elvie made it as fast as she could to the hospital. As she entered, she saw the sea of bodies in the waiting room. She made it to the help desk, a mare sat with a disinterested look to her face sat down, doing paper work.

“Ma’am… ma’am, a friend of mine was admitted here. His name is Robert Sachs, goes by Bob.” Elvie asked, worry etched on her face.

“He’s seeing the doctor as we speak, He won’t be too long. The cut wasn’t that deep.” The receptionist sighed as another patient, a unicorn stallion, walked up and set the set of paper work onto the considerable stack that was near her.

Elvie stood, shocked as she looked at the receptionist. “How do you…?”

The mare smirked at Elvie. “He’s the only human that comes here, besides the janitors and the Frost-co crew looking over the protectrons. It’s hard not to remember him.” She said with a chuckle just as the door opened to show a minotaur orderly rolling Bob out with a bandage over his left brow. He had the look of shame over his face as he looked down to the ground.

Elvie couldn’t help herself, and hugged Bob. “You jerk, you made me worry.”

Bob didn’t react as he continued to look down, shame still on his face.

“Bob, are you…?” She brought Bob’s face up and looked into his eyes, the light that was usually in them a flicker now. He looked up at the orderly, worried. “Wh-what happened? Is he alright?”

The minotaur nervously fidgeted as his giant hand scratched the back of his head. “By what I heard, he’s… well, in a state of mild shock from whatever happened. He was alright not too long ago.”

Elvie looked down at Bob, then up at the orderly. “It’s alright. I think I know what’s happening. Is it alright if I take over?” She asked as she stepped up to take the wheelchair from the large caretaker.

“Sure. He’s free to go. You can leave the chair outside the door when you leave.”

Elvie smiled as she took control and took Bob outside. Parking him at a nearby bench, she sighed and sat next to him. “You know… if I was there, I probably would have said the same thing.” She said with a self-deprecating laugh. Bob didn’t say anything, but his eyes lifted up and settled on Elvie. “Yeah… I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t think the same as you in your situation. But… I also know why your sister acted the way she did.” She sighed as she patted Bob’s hand.

“She trusted me…” Bob’s voice was dry and withered.

“She did… but she forgot that your… well… your only human.” Elvie smiled as she petted Bob’s hand. “She had this huge, unrealistic ideal that she expected from you, Bob. Yes, you’re a Scribe. Yes, you’re on the frontlines of scientific discoveries, but you don’t know everything. You just know what everyone else does.” The words would seem somewhat cutting to others listening in, but Bob couldn’t help but smile as Elvie continued. “You are a good man, Robert Sinclair Sachs. This time, though, you put your brain in overdrive. So what if the Baby Isn’t Rod’s? They are sticking together. You are going to be an uncle. And if you ask for it, I know Sarah will forgive you.”

Bob’s eyes fixed on Elvie, tears forming in his eyes as he gave a small smile and brought a hand up to his mouth, to hide the small glimmer of hope he had held onto. Elvie reached forward and gave the man a hug and comforting brushes to her roommate’s hair. “It’ll be okay.”

/////////////////////////////////

Months had passed, and Bob’s wounds, both physical and emotional, had healed, both with scars still quite visible. As he mended his relationship with his sister, he asked if he could become a more prominent fixture in the process. It didn’t take long till the first check-up came, and Sarah’s doctor, an older, light blue coated mare by the name of Cold Facts looked at the ultrasound machine as she showed the signs of the new being growing inside of Sarah. As Rod and Sarah oohed and awed aver the seemingly unrecognizable series of vauge swirls and movement, Bob had begun to notice things that the Doctor didn’t notice.

“R-rod… do you have unicorns in your family?” He asked as his brow furrowed.

Rod and Cold Facts looked at the Scribe as he looked into the picture. His eyes where used to looking at such things, having to look over the holo tapes of old world research of diseases and abnormalities in children. Rod’s head nodded as Cold Facts looked at the picture with bemused interest. “My grandfather… Why?”

“Because she is going to be taking after him. Congratulations.” Bob said, a wide, happy grin on his face as he watched Rod and Sarah celebrate quietly together. Rod was too busy holding onto his wife to notice that Cold Fact’s eyes seemed to narrow at the screen.

//////////////////////////////////////

Eight months later…

Bob ran into the waiting room, wearing his scribe uniform as he looked about. He saw Rod pacing near the door leading to the delivery room, with Beauty sitting nearby with her new boyfriend, a human from the NCR named Bibbs. As he walked to the small group, Bob’s eyes looked at Rod and locked on, giving him a reassuring smile. The two had become more sociable since the ultra sound, before they were more on neutral terms. They knew that the other cared for Sarah, and that despite how protective he could be, that Bob was more than willing to relinquish his duties as the protector of his sister to the capable hooves of the mechanic.

They were now on equal footing. This situation was out of both of their hands, and they needed each other for support.

“How are you holding up, Rod?” Bob asked as he got closer to him.

“She’s… well, she was good when we got here. The doctors would come in every once in a while, and give us some updates, but nothing has really happened.” He explained as Bob looked at the door.

“Did they say anything about letting you be by her side?” Bob asked again as he wiped his forehead from sweat.

“They… wait, what?” Rod looked at Bob with confusion and a bit of worry. “Th-they said that humans don’t want their mates to be by their side when the females are in labor. It’s what I was told by the Doctors here.”

Bob’s eyes widened as he looked down at his brother-in-law. He looked back at the door as a doctor walked back out in scrubs and a strange look to his face. He was a lime green unicorn with an uneasy look about him as he stepped forward. In his wake was a human in priestly garments and the Minotaur orderly, both with an uneasy look in their eyes.

“Mr. Rod… I need to speak with you…” The doctor said in a low, nearly whispering tone. “Preferably in private.” With that, Rod’s legs began to tremble, making him sit down onto the floor. Bob quickly came to his side and put a hand on his shoulder as he locked eyes with the Doctor. That was when he saw it.

It was only a glimmer, but it was a look that Bob was used to seeing in his life. Annoyance and nervousness, directed at him.

“I think it would be best if I stayed by his side for now, Doctor…”

“Life Line. Doctor Life Line, head of surgery.” He introduced with a fake kind of consideration. “I do not think that friends and extraneous family members should have to-“

“Extraneous?” Bob did his best to hide the full brunt of his anger from Life Line as he narrowed his eyes slightly. “I’m your patient’s brother. Her only brother. And my brother-in-law needs me. I can’t think of anyone else who is qualified to help him out.”

Life Line closed his mouth and, after taking a deep breath, let out a sigh as he motioned for the pair to follow them to a less populated corner of the waiting room. Rod sat down, tears ready to fall as the Priest knelt by him and patted Rod on the back as Life line continued. “Your wife is doing fine, but… I’m sorry to say this, but your child didn’t make it.” The Priest said in a calm, comforting voice. Bob saw from the corner of his eyes that Life Line flinched slightly, and then the nervous swaying of the orderly.

Rod was speechless, but Bob latched onto the situation like a hungry dog on a bone. “How did it happen?” Bob looked over at the Doctor, fixed on him as he waited for an answer.

“Unforeseen complications. As magic entered the fetus’ body, it overloaded its heart and stopped beating.” Life Line answered with glare at Bob.

“Magical electricity is less than a mild static shock for baby unicorns. How could it possibly have gotten strong enough to stop a still beating heart?” Bob’s voice became more and more harsh as the Doctor returned the glare. If it wasn’t for Rod holding onto Bob’s shirt, the human wouldn’t have noticed that the minotaur orderly, while having a lot of unease and even guilt, was ready to get into a fight if Life Line gave the signal.

The Priest stepped between the two groups, and Bob’s glare turned to him for an instant. The Priest shook his head to stop Bob’s interrogation. Life Line turned to Rod with a sigh. “You have my condolences.”

Rod began to sob, his kind heart, even when being torn by such events, was strong enough to not resort to any angry outbursts. The Priest attended to Rod, patting his shoulder as the doctor almost callously turned and walked away, leaving the minotaur behind.

The minotaur waited for Life Line to get out of earshot as he looked at Bob, then came closer. “One hour. Parking garage in the corner of the block. Come alone.” He said as quietly as he could.

Bob’s emotions had melted from his face as he stood by Rod as the others came and surrounded him, comforting him as best as he could. The next nurse who came out said that Sarah was still unconscious since the surgery, and that only Rod could go in to her side. It suited Bob well as he walked out and began to make his way to the parking garage when time allowed him so.

The dark nooks and crannies was more than enough cover for the minotaur as Bob looked him over. The Minotaur tossed Bob an envelope.

“What’s this?” Bob hissed as he opened the tan envelope and brought out a list of names and a single photo. The photo was of a small family, a human man, a unicorn mare, and a strange child that had the traits of both parents, all giving a gentle smile to the camera wearing sturdy but well-made clothes. As Bob looked down at it, he realized what it was he was looking at. “How…? How did this NOT get published in the Ministry of Health!?”

“Somepony higher up have been keeping it a secret. The family lives in the NCR, and some scientists thought that since the other side doesn’t have as strong as a magic field now, that it allowed the child to survive, but…” The minotaur looked over his shoulder as he got closer. “… there is talk that that’s not the case. The Princess has been trying to investigate what is going on personally, but the Minister of Health and the Minister of Arcane Study have been putting up road blocks. The Family isn’t allowed into Equestria because they say that the girl couldn’t survive the trip, and they even tell her that her being in their presence could kill the girl. Since the Princess is not one to put the lives of children at risk, she hasn’t forced her hoof on it, waiting till the girl is older so she can make the decision.”

Bob looked at the minotaur as he clinched his jaw. “Are you saying that-”

“There is another paper in there you should look at.” The minotaur interrupted, pointing at the envelope.

Bob continued to pull out more and more papers. Records of hybrid’s being born on the other side of the portal. What he had noticed, though, was the numbers. “Most of these are near the St. Louis Territories. That could be explained that there are more ponies in those areas.” He explained away.

“Look at the mortality rates, though…”

Bob did. His teeth ground as he found something disturbing. The mortality rate increased the farther from the portal the births took place, but even the farthest accounts, the mortality rate never got above 9 percent. “They aren’t dying from magical energy?” Bob growled, then looked up at the minotaur.

“That’s been my guess. But I haven’t seen anything to suspect foul play.” The minotaur said as he crossed his arms.

Bob looked at the minotaur as he began to look him over. “Your with the Solar Guard, aren’t you?”

The minotaur gave a half chuckle as he rubbed his forehead. “Investigator Strong Will. There is one in each of the major hospitals in the kingdom. The only places that don’t have them are the frontier areas like Ponyville and the like.” He sighed. “I wish I could help more, but…”

“Will there be an autopsy?” Bob interrupted again, his voice cold but the harshness kept out as he looked at the papers in his hands.

“Yes, but it’ll only support what Life Line said.” Strong Will said, exacerbated as he tried not to make eye contact with Bob. “I’ve had video on him since I started working here. He hasn’t shown any kind of motivation or unusual actions between operations.”

Bob closed his eyes as he put the papers back into the envelop. “I want to see the video of the surgery.” His voice was shaken, but when he opened his eyes again, they were filled with an angry sorrow. Strong Will only nodded as he walked him over to his vehicle, a large, boxy self-driving wagon that had seen better days. He opened a side door, and motioned for Bob to get in.

“We’ll be going to a colleague’s home. She’ll show you the recording.” He instructed Bob, who climbed into the carriage and sat down, waiting for Strong Will to close it. Strong Will closed the door and sighed heavily as he went to the driver’s door and started the quiet, somber journey. Strong Will heard in the back seat sobbing and crying, but said nothing, the discomfort and wrath fed sorrow flooding into the air. It was a good thing that it didn’t take long to reach the apartment complex. As soon as Strong Will turned off the engines, the sobbing stopped, and the passenger door opened, allowing him to slid out. Strong Will followed suit and saw Bob using his arm sleeve to dry any tears on his face as he allowed Strong Will to lead.

They made their way into the unassuming apartment building, and Bob was surprised that the first apartment was where Strong Will stopped, giving a hard knock that rattled the door frame. In only a matter of seconds, the door opened and there stood a tall, skinny diamond dog with wide, yellow eyes and a very nervous twitch.

“Damn you, Will! You break my door down like that, and the Sup is going to treat me like his bitch!” The gravely smokers voice seeped out of the Diamond Dog’s throat as she shakily put an already lit cigarette to her mouth and gave a quick drag. Strong Will walked in with little pomp and circumstance as Bob struggled to keep both the figures in his vision, just now realizing the stupid mistake he had made in following a stranger into an unknown location. His fears died down as Strong Will went to the Diamond Dog’s old TV set and turned it on, then punched unknown numbers into it to change the static filled screen into a strange menu.

He had no time to analyze the screen further as an image flickered to a delivery room. He looked on as he saw his sister gripping and crying out. He could make out the words “I want my husband” coming to her lips as pain entered her eyes. A nurse walked over and injected something into her arm without warning, and almost immediately, she went limp.

“You… you aren’t supposed to put a pregnant woman under like that… it’s supposed to go into the lower back, and she’s supposed to stay awake. What did they give her?” He asked as he looked up at Strong will as the figures continued preparing for the operation.

“We don’t know at the time being. Whatever it is, it’s strong…” Strong Will said as he continued looking on.

The surgery was quick and uneventful as Life Line showed his talent. Using his magic carefully and with precision, he moved and ordered his staff about, his attention devoted to keeping himself at his work. As he got to the end, gently pulling the baby out of the incision, Bob noticed something. Not in Life Line, but in the nearby nurse. She had in her eyes a kind of hatred that Bob only saw in a few of the raiders in the wasteland when they see an equestrian of any species. One brought out from ignorance and fear.

Life Line smiled as he looked at his handy work, and looked at the baby in his gentle, telekinetic grasp. He then handed her to the nurse’s telekinetic grasp next to him, and turned to close up Sarah.

That was when Bob noticed a slight, nearly insignificant flash of light on the nurse’s horn, and the sudden explosion of activity as the nurse “attempted” to preform CPR to the little body. Other nurses came to her side to assist in any way they could, and Life Line turned back in horror and anger as he looked over what was going on.

Bob’s eyes filled with hot, angry tears as he looked on. “HOW DID YOU NOT NOTICE THE NURSE USING A BOLT SPELL!?” He roared at the investigator who was had pauses the video as he looked back at Bob, confused.

“What do you mean? What did you see?”

Bob fumed more as he pointed at the image. “THIS! THE NURSE USED A BOLT SPELL!” He began to walk back and forth, his anger and sorrow building up. The spell was a favorite for unicorn doctors to use to defibrillate the heart, a cheaper alternative for the paddles, making a mandate that every floor of a hospital had to have a unicorn present to perform the spell in case of emergencies.

“Hey… HEY!” Strong Will grabbed hold of Bob by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Are you sure that it was a bolt spell? No flashes or lens tricks?” Strong Will asked carefully as Bob stopped thrashing about.

“I work with camera’s every day. Recording information, looking over video’s from the past.” Bob seethed from between his teeth as he stared daggers at Strong Will.

“…damn me to Tarterus.” Strong Will cursed himself as he turned back to the image. “Damn me to Tarterus for not seeing this sooner.” Despite the anger in his voice, the minotaur smiled as he turned to the Diamond Dog who stood nearby watching everything play out like a bad drama. “Clover, get the Chief. We have a suspect.” Strong Will turned to Bob with the same angry smile on his face. “I don’t think I have to ask this, but can you help us?”

“I won’t be helping you.” Bob said as he turned to walk to the door. “I’m helping my family.”

////////////////////////////////

Two days later….

She couldn’t help but smile.

Urgent Care stood in the locker room, the unicorn mare’s hair a mess from the long 20-hour shift. She loved the adrenalin rush, though. She loved helping her fellow ponies in their darkest hours. And in her more… generous days, even helping a griffon or a minotaur who had an unfortunate accident. This day was one of those days as she had found herself helping a small griffon family as their youngest child had hurt herself when she had hurt her front claw as she was getting out of one of the abominable self-driving carriages.

She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she remembered the small fledgling’s smile as she was treated, even when she had to get stitches on her claw. It warmed her heart as she remembered the small griffoness hug her. She put her hat into her locker as she put her saddle bags on her back as she noticed movement in the corner of her eyes. She ignored it and closed her locker as she turned, almost running into what she thought was the orderly, doing a check of the rooms.

“Sorry about that, Will…” That was when she realized that she was looking at the pants leg of a human. She recognized the fabric almost immediately, and looked up to a shadowy figure. “S-sir… you aren’t supposed to be here…” She felt her voice quieting down as he looked down at her. The eyes almost looked empty. That was until his hand gently moved up to a pocket and pulled something out.

“No, I think I am.” His voice was ragged. She finally got a look at his face. It was unkempt, with stubble and puffy eyes. She realized that she wasn’t looking at an empty, soulless monster as he pulled out a syringe.

“Stay away.” She warned as she began to furrow her brow, ready to fight. She saw the eyes look right at her, unflinching as she finally noticed where he was going with the needle. It pushed into his skin, and the contents slowly emptied into him as he let out a hiss.

“Are you familiar with the effects of Hydra, Miss Care?” the man asked as the empty syringe dropped to the floor as his hand went back into his pocket to pull out a scalpel.

She was frozen with terror, not knowing what this man was about to do, and hoping that it didn’t involve her and the sharp object in his hand.

“I’ll tell you…” He dragged the sharp blade where his pinky met his hand and began to slice into it. She could tell that he was filled with Med-X with how he didn’t even flinch from the interrupted pain signals, and it didn’t take long till his pinky fell to the ground with a sick plink. She couldn’t help but watch the self-mutilation as the wound where the pinky once was, was now a small nub of flesh as it began to regrow. “It regrows parts of the body that was injured. Really simple, but the pain is intolerable. Many people think that regrown or artificially knitted together wounds is the same as fixing the problem naturally. It isn’t. The damage that is done is done, and nothing really feels right after a digit regrows. You remember how it used to feel, and it’s never the same.”

His eyes looked right into Urgent Care’s eyes, her very being, and she almost realized what he was getting at.

“You hurt my sister. You tore from her and her husband’s arms a part of them that can’t be fixed. Not time, not stim-pacs, and especially not hydra. I saw what you did, and I will drag you out into the light of day, and see you thrown into the St. Louis territory penal colony.” His voice was cold, his eyes blank yet piercing, and his hand’s bloodied as he dropped the scalpel to the ground, and he turned to walk away, leaving behind the syringe and the scalpel.

Urgent Care looked down, and her eyes began to focus as anger began to replace her fear.

“How dare you…” She muttered aloud as her horn glowed, and the scalpel was lifted up. “You and your mongrel race came to our world, and in her pity, the Princess took you in, not knowing that you were a plague!” She seethed as she picked up the syringe. The man paid no mind to her words till the syringe was thrown through the air and pinned his hand to the door.

To her surprise, he didn’t cry out, meaning that he had emptied an entire syringe into his system. He managed to move himself so he could look back at Urgent Care, his eyes still looking at her with the same kind of anger he had before.

“The Purebloods will keep you from polluting our world with your kind’s sickness. Your inventions, while convenient, are a travesty to the ponies. When we finally have the chance, we will round you up and send you back to your hell, and if any of your kind’s progeny exist in the frontier, we will clean it from our people. You will finally die out in the eternal war you created, and we can finally breath easily.” She walked forward, twirling the blade about.

His eyes didn’t change.

His lips didn’t snarl.

His breathing was easy and in control.

He didn’t care what was happening to him.

“I suppose it’s different when you are killing someone that can actually talk back, isn’t it?” He said with a monotone voice.

“I didn’t kill anyone. I was curing a disease from Equestrian soil.” She defended as she held the blade forward, but she found her fear returning with growing intensity.

“No. You broke my sister’s heart. You battered a good man’s soul as he tries to consul his wife.” He reached out, and let the scalpel stab him in the palm as he pulled it from Urgent Care’s grasp, then removed it with his teeth as his hand healed with a scar. He pulled on his other hand and managed to free himself from the trap. He looked down at the now thoroughly unhinged nurse, and opened the door, revealing the Strong Will and a few solar guards looking in with a stern look. “And you just killed your own future.”

Strong Will stepped forward, wearing a trench coat over solar guard armor as he pulled out a scroll. “Ms. Urgent Care, by order of the Celestial Diarch, Princess Celestia, I place you under arrest for the murder of Kelsie, daughter of Hot Rod and Sarah Sachs. You are to be imprisoned till you are arraigned, and you will only have access to your lawyer till you have been given a psychological exam to determine your capability to stand trial. Do you understand your rights?”

Before she could answer, a ring was forced on her horn, and she felt the magic blocked from her will. Her eyes looked over to the human. “… I hope she’s barren and the poor fool leaves her to the gutter like the trash she is.”

And with that, fire erupted from the spark of anger in the human’s eyes as he leapt towards her, his thin arms flailing as he began to shout and growl at her as Strong Will grabbed hold of him and kept him from the unrepentant unicorn as the other guards grabbed hold of her and removed her from the room. The last thing she had seen as she was led out, the man collapsing into Strong Will’s arms, bawling like a child.

And she couldn’t help but smile.

////////////////

A month had passed. The trial was beginning within the next week, and Bob sat at the table, looking down at the food in front of him. Sarah and Rod buried Kaylie, and they received an unexpected guest, a representative of the Solar Court who handed the couple a letter written by Princess Celestia personally, offering her condolences at what had happened. They were invited to come to Canterlot at any time to personally speak with her when they were ready.

Bob himself was given a commendation by the Solar Guard for his assistance, and a letter from Princess Celestia as well. He had read it several times, and began to hate it. He was grateful for her intentions, and could never hold it against his ruler. But the words only made his wounds hurt more.

He had tried to throw it away many times, but he could never bring himself to do it.

“A bit for your thoughts?” Elvie’s voice cut through his, by his assumption now, self-destructive meditation. She sat down beside him and the two locked eyes.

“I… Elvie… how can we live here?” He didn’t waste time, and simply let it out with a labored, sad sigh.

Elvie could feel what he meant. The betrayal, the thought that something so dark was hiding under cheerful smiles and kind words just made everything around them feel oppressive.

“I walked down the street, and everypony couldn’t look me in the eyes. I tried to talk with Mr. Green Bean at the market, and… and he started crying. His son chased me away, thinking I had done something to him.” Bob continued as he looked at his hands. “Are we cursed? Was she right about us?”

Elvie reached out and forced Bob to look him in the eyes. “Don’t you ever say that, Robert. I don’t know who filled that mare with those thoughts, but it was probably from something that existed long before Celestia allowed the first humans to walk into her courts. We’ve fought wars… that isn’t anything new. You’ve heard it from your grandfather about the War of the Green, or how the wasteland was created. But this world has seen its share of war, as well. Their wars, our wars, they are the same. War never changes. It’s how we fight them that can change. These Purebloods had the upper hand for Lord knows how long, but now that we know the enemy, we can fight back. They use hate, we’ll use love. They kill our children, we’ll teach theirs. In the end, history will show that we were the ones with the strength. That we forgave, and remembered. We loved and lost. That we existed. We will endure this, Robert Sachs.” She held onto his hands as she continued to look into his eyes. “And if you want, I will endure alongside you.”

Bob’s eyes fluttered as he looked at Elvie for the longest time. His lip quivered as his hand reached up and touched her face. His anger, his sadness, while still in his heart, died down as calm pounded into his chest. He leaned forward, and gave his roommate, his best friend, and now closest loved one a kiss to, at least for a time, comfort him from the maelstrom to come.

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“It didn’t take long for the Pureblood supporters in the hospitals to be found and arrested. Several of them had been told that, in case of being discovered, that they would be protected by their benefactors from trial. Several found the truth to be far crueler. Seven of the culprits where found, killed by strangulation or stabbing. Those that survived and where smart enough began to name names, showing the contacts and select leaders within the groups, and given reduced sentences at the Montgomery penal colony, only a few miles from The Big Green. The so-called “True Believers”, however, were the first ponies in the history of Equestria to be executed for their heinous and disturbing crimes.”

Twilight looked at the paragraph she had written and rubbed her eyes. Her breathing was steady as she put the pen down and she felt like she could almost see Robert S. Sachs when she closed her eyes. She researched about this bloody time in Equestrian history, now known as the “Trial by Blood”. A time where humans where only a generation removed from when they lived in the wasteland, barely surviving, and many where viewed as beasts of burden as they tried to find a place to call their own. Despite the horrors that where transgressed against them and their loved ones, when the human victims had heard of it, there was very few accounts of violence towards the hospital staff, save for one when a drunken man walked into a waiting room and tried to punch the secretary in the waiting room, an earth stallion named Steel Jaw. Regretfully for the man, the stallion’s name was very appropriate, since he broke his hand after the first and only strike.

But the story of Robert Sachs and his family didn’t end with the discovery of the Purebloods. He continued to work as a Scribe in the Brotherhood of Steel, but with renewed vigor began to talk with those who would that the best way to keep others from being afraid of the humans was to include the people of Equestria, all of them, into the organization. An, originally human centric organization with few government oversight needed to be restructured and allow others in, in his opinion. It took a few years, but a compromise was made. They established the Steel Legion, a separate organization that was under direct control of Princess Celestia, and made it so that THEY were the ones to overlook and critique the Brotherhood. At first, it looked to be a solution that was completely one sided, but when one final addendum was made, where the head of the Brotherhood could be nominated from either branch, the worries where diminished, but never truly gone.

During all of this, Robert had gotten married to Elvie, was there when Sarah and Hot Rod had another child, a boy named William Sullivan Rod-Sachs. Robert and Elvie had a child of their own that they had named Twilight Moon Sachs, a famed medical biologist who made a transfusion treatment for mare’s that lowered miscarriages, and the person that Twilight was named after.

Twilight couldn’t help but smile at all the things she had read about. The contributions and fights just a handful of people had changed so many other’s lives. She was encouraged to do more as she read and re-read these stories when she was growing up, but it wasn’t until she was an adult when the full brunt of what had happened to these people hit her.

It still scared her about what her own kind could do when they were afraid… or didn’t care.

“Miss Princess Sparkle?” A small voice rose from behind the mare, making her turn around to see a young boy, a human that she had seen on the streets helping his parents sell fish to the other humans that lived in Ponyville. She couldn’t put her hoof on the name of the small, brown skinned boy in front of her. “I… I have a project I gotta do for Ms Cheerilee’s class about the Brotherhood of Steel, an’ I was hoping that you could help me out.”

As she heard the young boy’s nearly hidden lisp, his name returned to her like a boomerang. “Alex! Of course…” She smiled warmly as she walked over to his side. “So, what exactly are you wanting to look up?” She asked as she looked down at the boy.

Alex fidgeted as he looked behind her, interest on his face. “Well, I haven’t really gotten anything yet…” He rolled his head a bit, obviously trying to keep his eyes away from Twilights, till he saw a picture in the pages of Twilight’s manuscript of a thin scribe standing proudly. “Can I ask what you’re lookin’ at, Miss Sparkle?”

Twilight looked back at her work, then back at Alex. To a normal person, there was only a few seconds hesitation. Yet, for Twilight and her quick mind, it felt like hours. She debated how she should handle the situation. Should she tell Alex of one of the darkest moments of Equestrian history? What would give her the right to do so? Was he too young to comprehend what had happened? If she didn’t, who would?

She forced a smile on her face when she came to the decision. “Alex… there are a lot of moments in our history that we don’t like remembering…”

“like the Battle of the Sisters?” Alex answered, which made Twilight’s smile seem more genuine, not because of that he was right, but that he was understanding her.

“Yes, like the Battle of the Sister’s. But, we have to remember. We have to tell the next generation about what happened, so they can fight against it better prepared.” She stopped herself before she went on her tangent. “This man is one of the heroes of Equestria during one of those times. If you want, I can tell you a bit about his story.”

Alex’s eyes were locked on the picture till he heard the offer from Princess Twilght. As he looked up at her, she could see an excited smile stretch over his face as he nodded furiously. “Yeah! I mean… ah….yes, I would like to hear about him.” His eyes shined with awe and wonder for an instant, then dimmed just a little bit. “Does his story have a happy ending?”

Twilight paused once more at the simple, honest question.

For the first few seconds, she couldn’t answer, till she remembered something that her mother told her about good stories. “The story is still being written, Alex. A good story doesn’t have an ending. We just follow new characters.” With a warm smile, she led Alex over to the book and began her story about a man and his love for his family.