Calmany watched with anticipation as the machine built up the energy required for the transport.
It was all right. It had to be.
four... three...
Everything was accounted for. It was working perfectly in worse conditions. It worked in a thunderstorm, and this time he checked everything.
two... one...
She would be fine.
He threw the switch.
Cirra disappeared almost instantly. Just like the unicorn version of the spell, the disintegration process was done as rapidly as possible, to reduce any discomfort involved.
He kept her in the buffer about half a second longer, to do a second integrity check. Things could be fixed in transfer, but it was final once he let the lever go. And with a pony passenger... with Cirra as the one being transported, this had to be perfect the first time.
Calmany threw the switch back, and she reappeared on the other side, that same, soft smile on her face.
And then she fell over.
Lightning arced through his mind as he froze for a split second. No...
He burst through the steel door, not even bothering to turn the handle.
"No... nonononono..."
She's just unconscious, he told himself. It was just the shock. It has to be.
He placed a hoof to her neck, sighing with relief as he felt a pulse.
Thank Celestia...
Her eyes fell open, blank and empty.
He shook, his back legs giving way. Any composure he might have had was abandoned as he wept openly.
"Why... why was I so stupid‽" He gritted his teeth. "This should have been me! It always should have been! It was my dumb project. I should have gone in myself if I had any semblance of honor."
He collapsed fully, not caring that the metal edge of the pad dug into his barrel. He deserved it.
Calmany looked up as he felt something like a hoof on his shoulder, but he saw nothing. But there was a paper next to him. A page, torn from his own notebook.
"It's not your fault."
He struck the metal frame with a hoof. "How can it not be my fault‽ This was all me. I'm the one that was too scared to do it myself. I-"
He stopped speaking abruptly as a quill floated over to the page. And if he wasn't seeing things, he could almost make out a vague pony shape attached to it.
"But I agreed with it."
"Cirra?" He gasped softly, trying to make out the shape more clearly. It... no, she was bent down, writing on the paper with one hoof. If it weren't for the bright lights, she might not have been visible at all.
He looked at the paper again. "Besides, I thought it was a good idea, too.
He sat up, his mind racing. Calmany now knew exactly what went wrong. It should have been obvious as soon as he saw Cirra's...
He groaned, flopping back on the ground, his hooves covering his face. "How could I have been so stupid, ignoring the magical side so thoroughly?"
A faint cold feeling to his side told him that she was near. "At least your magic still seems to be intact. I mean, you picked up the quill just fine. And your cognitive functions still seem to work, which is a little strange, since the brain is supposed to do at least half of that-"
He leapt to his feet. "That must mean that it's a preservation tactic! Your magic preserved your synaptic functions. That is great, but we have to go, and quick!"
Cirra picked up the paper with a ghostly hoof, bringing it up to the quill. "I trust you, but why?"
Calmany's hooves twitched with nervousness. "The only pony I can think of that might know how to reunite your magic with your body is Princess Celestia. We need to get there now, though. Who knows how long it might be before something like this is permanent. Or... how long you can survive as just magic. From what I know, magic isn't supposed to function as both parts of your brain."
The paper flipped over as he started to lift her motionless body onto his back, his eyes starting to water.
"How long do we have?"
"That's just the problem, though! I don't know. When a pony's heart stops, sometimes we can get them back, but after fifteen minutes, brain damage already begins to set in. But this is so different from anything I've been taught... I just don't know."
"Canterlot is a lot farther than fifteen minutes by wagon."
He wiped his eyes with a foreleg. "...I know."
Calmany felt a hoof on his shoulder once more, along with that faint outline.
"Do you trust me?"
He blinked. "...O-of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"Is your cart rated for flight?"
"I think so, why?"
"Just take-" The quill paused for a second. "my body and get in the-" She ran out of space on the paper. It dropped to the floor as she ripped another from the notebook.
Calmany waved a hoof at her. "No, we don't have enough time. I trust you. Let's just get going." Looking at his back to make sure Cirra's body was secure, he galloped back upstairs, trusting that the other half would follow.
He didn't even bother to lock or even close the front door as he rushed out to his little "garage" where he kept his cart. As gently as possible, he set her still-breathing body down on the soft hay that covered the back end of the cart. He mostly kept it there more for snacking than seating, but now he was very glad he kept it there.
But now that they were safe, the thought left his mind. He looked worriedly at the front of the cart. I know I said I trusted her, but how is she planning on pulling this if she doesn't have a physical body?
Oddly enough, though, the harness jerked suddenly, as if locking on to something. A sense of weightlessness overtook him as the cart's magic activated, and almost immediately, it lurched forward and into the air.
They soared higher and higher, well past the cloud layer, and Calmany started to actually get nervous. The air above the cart even looked a bit darker than the air below.
"Um... Cirra? What are you-"
Suddenly, a wall of air slammed into them from behind, pushing them forward at an alarming rate.
"Whoa!" He held onto the side of the cart, keeping the pegasus' body from sliding out as well. The cart may have been meant for pegasi and their acceleration, but certainly nothing this extreme.
After they had stabilized, and his heart finally stopped racing, he noticed a little paper airplane in the cart next to him. Recognizing the same lined, yellow paper from his notebook, he unfolded it.
"I heard from my friends back home that these harnesses usually lock onto a pegasus' magic, not their body, so their maneuvers are a lot safer. Especially the nice carts, and yours looked like a fairly recent model."
Calmany blinked, a thoughtful look on his face. "Smart."
"And that shock was due to some air currents I know of that will get us there a lot faster. Normally I'd just let you pull, especially when I'm carrying something, but you said it was really important. I wasn't exactly a fast flyer, even when I had mass."
He chuckled, then immediately felt guilty. That was his fault in the first place. But he also felt relieved. If this was anything like reviving ponies with cardiac arrest, they might actually have a chance of getting there in time. Of course, he was still skeptical that anything could get to Canterlot in fifteen minutes, he wasn't the pegasus here. And the ground was moving pretty fast, especially for how high up they were.
Still, it was a quite impressive height. Earth ponies may be known for how practical a lot of their talents are, but this...
this could be almost as useful as teleportation.
He shook his head sadly. Certainly safer.
Sighing, he tried to relax, leaving Cirra to her work. Absentmindedly, he moved her white mane away from her face, gently closing her eyelids. She could almost be asleep, if she wasn't already pulling the cart.
I really hope you'll be okay.
Calmany almost couldn't believe his eyes. In only a few minutes, Canterlot was easily visible in the distance, and in even less time, they were almost on top of it. Though in those few minutes, he just couldn't stop fidgeting. He should be doing something, not just hanging around, sitting next to her empty body and hoping everything would turn out okay.
Another paper airplane flew back, this one hitting him in the snout. This wasn't a new paper as he expected, but rather one he thought was left back at the lab. There was one thing new, though - one statement was circled.
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes!" he shouted into the wind. "Do what you need to and get us there fast!"
The cart lurched down suddenly, but for once he was prepared. Though he was still shocked as he was shoved forward, a heavy wind hitting his face. After so long in the stream, he had almost forgotten what that kind of speed meant for coming back down.
Though as they dived, he suddenly got a bit worried as a pair of Guard pegasi came out to meet them.
How am I going to explain this one? A cart being pulled by seemingly nothing at all? It's even worse if they do notice her.
Not to mention the pony totally drained of magic next to me. I'm sure that's a crime of some sort.
Cirra leveled out the cart as if to meet the guards, per regulation, but Calmany suddenly felt his heart drop as they took a sudden dive, twisting out of their reach and instantly doubling their speed.
Uh oh. That last part wasn't the "do you trust me" bit, was it?
The ground was getting closer, and fast. There was no way they could avoid the cra-
Calmany almost threw up as the ridiculous G-forces acted on his body from the near ninety-degree turn. Urgh... Wasn't that supposed to be negated by the cart? he thought as they barreled through the open castle doors.
He put his hooves over his eyes as they flew at breakneck speed on the inside of the castle, blowing past any guards in their path, who were totally unprepared for such an incursion.
Finally, they skidded to a halt in the throne room, the wind in their wake strong enough to close the doors after them. Or something like that. They closed, at least, and that's what mattered. There really were a lot of ponies in pursuit.
Shakily, he stood up, then stumbled right onto the cold marble floor.
He opened his eyes, expecting a harsh rebuke, but Princess Celestia simply smiled serenely, as usual. And was that... amusement?
"Good evening, my little pony. What seems to be the problem?"
Calmany's mouth fell open. This was not the Celestia he remembered working with when he started his research. She always seemed so serious... He gritted his teeth, looking at the cart. She had a good reason to be. Now I have to tell her the extent of my failure...
A jarring voice interrupted his worried thoughts before he had a chance to respond.
"Auntiiiieeee!"
He blinked. Was that.... Prince Blueblood?
"But it was my turn! Remove these ruffians at once!"
Calmany's face hardened. This would not do. He stomped his front hoof, gesturing to the wagon. "A young mare's life is at stake!" he shouted. "I can't wait for whatever petty squabbles you happen to have with some decent, hardworking pony!"
Blueblood actually was speechless for a few moments, to his legitimate confusion. He usually was right up in Calmany's face with everything.
*clatter*
All eyes turned towards the wagon. The harness was now detached from the almost-invisible Cirra, and it had fallen to the ground.
"Nephew, leave." Celestia's expression no longer contained any levity.
"But-"
"Now."
Blueblood gulped and nodded, making a quick exit through a side door.
Instantly, Celestia was off the throne, rushing to the cart and the faint pony standing next to it.
"What happened?"
Calmany's surprise over her sudden change in demeanor only lasted a moment. "Her magic got separated from her body, Princess. It's still alive, but... I'm more worried about her magic degrading."
Celestia gently picked up Cirra's body in her magic, examining it closely. "How long since it happened?"
He looked at his watch. "Thirteen minutes."
The Princess hissed. "Oh, that's not good. Still, better than I would have hoped, with your home in Hollow Shades. It's lucky you were so close to Canterlot when it happened."
There was a tearing sound, and another piece of paper floated out of Calmany's saddlebags.
"We weren't. Used air currents."
Celestia tensed, looking back at the ghostly outline of the pony in her magic. "It's that complete, isn't it?"
Calmany nodded. "That's what worried me. Really, only half her brain should be working right now. The fact that she's this coherent... I'm just worried the strain of compensating would do something bad to her over time." He sighed. "Truthfully, Princess, I don't know what is going on. Not fully. All I'm able to do is make good guesses."
Celestia breathed through her nose.
Calmany shivered. "Can you do something to help her, Princess? Is something going to happen to her?"
"Next time you create a prototype, Doctor Calmany, show it to me first."
He visibly shook. "I-I..."
"I cannot help her."
His legs buckled.
Celestia sat down in front of him, gently raising his chin. "I do know somepony who may be able to, though. She is not in any danger currently."
Calmany sighed in relief, wiping tears from his eyes. "Thank you so much, Princ-"
"Don't thank me yet. My student may be bright, and very good with magic, but this problem is more complex than it appears."
"Hope... hope will do for now."
Celestia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "And the timing couldn't be more terrible. The Summer Sun Celebration is coming up very soon, and I've already sent her to Ponyville to prepare. Not to mention she might be... preoccupied with something else. It might be a while before you get any help."
He looked down slightly. "Still... at least she isn't... dying. We can get help eventually."
Celestia's gained a faint smile. "I'm just glad you care for her so much."
Calmany blinked. "Of course I do! I..." He looked at his hooves. "It's my fault she's like this."
Immediately, a pen started scribbling on the paper, but Celestia held up a hoof. "As much as you don't want to blame him for this-"
The pen started scribbling again. "This was my choice."
Celestia let out an amused chuckle. "Yes, it was. But this was still legally his responsibility, no matter what forms you filled out." She turned back to the professor. "Therefore, your punishment seems clear to me."
Calmany gulped. Most of Equestria just saw her benevolent side, but he knew how harsh she could be for mistakes that endangered ponies' lives.
"What was this young mare's name?"
"C-cirra... I mean, Cirro Stratus, Princess."
"You will cease all your current projects, staying with Cirra and tending to her needs until she determines that she is fully recovered."
The pen started scribbling again. "I am fully recovered."
Celestia smirked. "Until I determine she is fully recovered, then."
"Darn."
Calmany turned to glare at her outline. "You are most certainly not better. You can't even talk!"
An invisible hoof smacked him across the head. "All right, all right! You're better, then."
It hit him again. He sputtered. "What was that for?"
Celestia cleared her throat, and both of them froze. "You will get the same research stipend as usual, in order to help Twilight with any solutions."
Calmany furrowed his brows. "That doesn't seem like much of a punishment, Princess."
She sighed. "If I've seemed harsh in the past, Doctor, it was because those were mistakes that could cost ponies in the future. You had to remember those lessons well. This is something that already happened. Depriving you of the resources to help is the last thing I want to do."
She gave a sidelong glance at the body, now resting peacefully back in the cart. "And something tells me you aren't going to forget this lesson any time soon."
He took a deep breath. "There's no way I could."
Celestia watched as the odd pair exited her throne room, dragging their cart with them. With their guard escort, they wouldn't be bothered on their way out, but she couldn't help but worry.
The side door opened quietly, and a familiar face walked in. "Hello nephew," she said kindly. "I assume you were listening?"
"Of course." He shook his head. "That poor mare... Still, you must believe in Miss Sparkle quite a lot if you believe she can achieve what you cannot."
"I do. Believe in her, that is. Truly, I do not think she will be able to reunite that mare with her body. Still, she is quite resourceful with her magic. Quite a few times, she has managed to surprise me." She sighed. "Put simply, though, she has far more time to try.You of all ponies know how busy my schedule is."
He nodded. "I see. As always, you have thought of everything. Still, I don't understand one thing."
"Hm?"
"I found your insight on teaching to be quite intriguing. Yet, he is no longer a simple student, and he is still bound by the law. In all functional respects, that pony in the wagon was dead. Why did you go so easy on him?"
Celestia smiled. "Nephew, what is the purpose of law? At its core?"
Blueblood frowned at the odd question. "To preserve harmony, and to keep ponies from harm. But what does that have to do with this situation?"
"Everything. Do you really think that pony will even think about risking other ponies' lives besides himself after this incident? And what harmony would be created by tearing those two apart?"
"I... I'm sorry, Auntie, but I don't understand what you mean."
Celestia looked at him in surprise. "You didn't see it?"
Blueblood shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Sometimes you just don't make any sense. I just hope I'll understand you sometime within my lifetime."
The Princess chuckled. "We really need to get you out more."