//------------------------------// // Issue 2.2 - A Class M Emergency // Story: The First Wonderbolt // by Essay Jay //------------------------------// “Ms. Cell?” the mare at the counter confusedly asked, watching as Ter rushed into the room with a pony on a stretcher and two fillies close behind. “No time for formalities, Paper Weight, I need an emergency room!” Ter barked, talking as though she had done this a million times. For Firefly and Skylark, they wouldn’t have been surprised at that point if she had. “Terra, why-” Paper Weight began, but was cut off by Ter’s next words. “She’s in a Class M condition, Paper Weight,” Terra whispered gravely. “Class M.” Firefly and Sky watched as Paper Weight’s eyes widened in surprise and shock. “But-but I thought…” Paper Weight trailed off. “Yes, I know, and there’s no time to waste. It’s a miracle she’s still alive!” Ter said. “Can you get all doctors and nurses that aren’t attending to a patient in life-threatening condition and the head of the hospital to attend? We need all the minds we can get!” She nodded quickly. “Emergency Room 7 is open,” Paper Weight said, her motions quick and panicky. She went to hit a button with a small grill. “To all doctors and nurses with a Class F patient or lower, please finish up and move to Emergency Room 7 ASAP. This is a Class M emergency. Doctor Magis, please report to ER 7. Thank you.” Ter nodded quickly before she turned to the fillies. “I’m so sorry, Firefly, Sky. You’ll have to wait out here until we’ve got this down. Please don’t do anything rash.” Before the Sky and Firefly could say anything, Ter had disappeared down the hall, speedily flying down the hall. The stretcher did not waver, and Ter’s movements were controlled. They tried to keep her in their view until she finally went into a doorway. Soon enough, confused and shocked doctors and nurses were rushing to the counter to check in as they fled down the halls to ER 7. When Doctor Magis came, it was clear who he was. A badge, a few pins, and the sense of authority filled the air. What was more was his flabbergasted face at the possible incursion of a Class M patient. Nodding to Paper Weight, he too joined the ranks of other speedy doctors and went into the room. “Would you kids like a lollipop?” Paper Weight asked nervously, holding two suckers in her hoof. Firefly and Sky took a glance at each other before nodding quietly. As she hoofed them over, Paper Weight glanced down the hall. “Firefly and Sky, right?” Paper Weight confirmed. “Terra tells me all about you whenever she visits. You spend a lot of time getting in trouble, hm?” Firefly and Sky neglected to answer, and an awkward silence filled the air. “Uh,” Paper muttered. With a look of defeat, she looked down on the two fillies who remained standing, sucking on their lollipops and craning their heads to look down the hall. “They’re… Look, kids, they’re going to take a while. Please, if you would, I’d recommend you take a seat. Since it’s a… it’s a Class M, this may even take the whole night.” Firefly had had enough of the mentioning of this stupid ‘Class M’. “What the hell does ‘Class M’ even mean?” she asked Paper. Paper was taken aback by the crass vocabulary Firefly had used. Not sure what to say, Paper Weight blinked. “Well, it, uh… it means that the patient has suffered an irreversible magical spell that has the ability to disable parts of, if not whole sections of a pony’s body. It is supposed to be impossible to make a spell that is irreversible in that sense, or incredibly difficult to cause a pony’s body to basically fail on it’s own. “For as far as we know…” Paper Weight murmured, “...it can’t be done. At least, not until today.” A chill went down their backs, and both pegasi ruffled their feathers in discomfort. The way she had said it… it gave them bad vibes. As they glanced once more down the hall, they looked at each other. “There’s nothing we can really do, Firefly,” Sky said. “This isn’t our problem.” “It was for me,” Firefly murmured, and they both hopped onto some seats. “Can you just explain to me why I feel like this? Wanting her to be safe, even though I’ve only known her for a day or two?” Looking into Sky’s eyes for answers, Sky held it for a moment. Firefly was disappointed and left to ponder when Sky dropped her gaze, instead playing with the lollipop in her mouth and staring at her hooves. With nothing to do and time to burn, Firefly closed her eyes to think. “...Firefly…” The small filly could see herself looking up at the technicoloured mare, amazed by the tricks she was performing. “You’re awesome, Rainbow Dash!” she would say. “...Firefly…!” Firefly's ears flicked at the sound of a familiar voice but couldn’t take her attention off of Rainbow Dash. As she watched her in amazement, it slowly turned to horror. Rainbow had begun to shrivel up, black wisps of something beginning to drain her of energy. As her wings locked up, Firefly could only scream in silent terror as she watched Rainbow being to plummet to her death… “FIREFLY!” Sky cried, smacking Firefly across the face. The shock of the hit woke her up instantly. “Ack-agh!” Firefly stuttered. “Wagh!” Sky shook her friend out of her daze. “Get yourself together, girl,” Sky said. “I think they’re done now!” Rubbing her eyes, Firefly blearily turned her head to see dozens of disheveled and prim-faced nurses and doctors coming from the hallway. Each was tired in some way. Some eyes were red, some were dry. Some coats were rumpled and others as crisp as how they were before. By this, Firefly could tell Sky was right. Ter and Doctor Magis walking into the room together was the final nail in the coffin. Rushing up to Ter, Firefly hugged her. “Aunt Terra!” Firefly announced. Sky just kinda stood awkwardly to the side as none of the ponies here was family she knew. “Is Rainbow going to be okay?” Ter glanced to the doctor standing next to her before the doctor nodded. Nodding back in acknowledgement, Ter smiled softly. “Why don’t I take you two to her?” She led Sky and Firefly down several more hallways than they had seen Rainbow be taken. Confused a little bit, Sky and Firefly shrugged at each other as they continued to follow the earth pony ahead of them. Soon enough, they came to a room that had a window and held only one occupant. Lying down in a near comatose state was Rainbow Dash. As much as Firefly hated to admit it to herself, it made her insides churn to see the way Rainbow looked. The way she felt. The aura she gave off was all wrong. All kinds of wrong. Completely different to how she had been like just a few days prior. Rainbow shifted slightly, having sensed three new presences in the room with her. Turning her head, she sighed. A tired smile donned Rainbow’s lips, but something else was in her eye. Firefly couldn’t understand it just yet, but in later years, she would realize it was the look of a pony on the brink of desperation and breaking down. And as all meetings go with the polychromatic mare, this was no different. With a soft grin, Rainbow nodded. “How ya doin’, small fry?” Rainbow croaked.