I was standing on the balcony finally work paperwork. Looking out far enough, I was able to see Spirit in the training grounds. I seemed like he was practicing magic and even though I wasn’t able to see what kind it was I could tell that it failed. After watching what looked like an episode of frustration, he looked at the mood then disappeared in a teleport. Thou remembered. I went back inside my room to prepare for my guest but soon heard the guards outside my door get stirred up. Assuming they were just surprised by spirit teleporting, I ignored it. that is until one of our lunar guards came rushing in a panic.
“Your Highness, you had a visitor but he’s no longer able to present himself. Sorry for the inconvenience,” he reported, returning to attention.
Confused, I asked “Explain.” alright, I didn’t ask, I demanded.
He replied, “He collapsed in the hall and is now being transported to the royal medical ward.” What magic was Spirit practicing?
“Take us to him!” I ordered in the royal Canterlot voice, though it was unintentional.
Flinching, he said “Right away your highness.”, leading me with great haste.
I arrived at the royal medical ward to find Spirit laying on one of the beds. There are only two beds because this medical ward is specifically equipped for alicorns though it’s rare for us to get sick.
“Alright return to thou post.” I dismissed the guard.
“Yes, your highness.”
Upon entering the room further, I was stopped by a nurse I recognized as nurse Red Heart. Strange. “Nurse Red Heart, didn’t thou work at the public hospital?”
Shyly at first, she answered “Yes I do, but Princess Celestia, back when we first found Spirit and discovered his abnormalities, decided to have me be the only nurse to look after him to keep the abnormalities as secret. Luckily, I was just passing by the castle when the guard came to get me.” nurse Red Heart had already said a couple of points of interest, but I had to focus on the matter at hoof.
“Will Spirit recover?” in response, Nurse Red Heart turned around and proceed to lead me to the further bed and slid aside the drape that was hiding the stallion of the hour. He looked alright, but I could feel something off.
“Physically, there’s nothing wrong. However, after hearing how he collapsed and taking into account the condition he was in when they rushed him in, I’d say he’s suffering from just about every mental exhaustion and withdrawal there is. If I had to guess, he was reckless and used up too much magic at once.” she paused. “Has anypony told him what could happen from doing so?” she was glaring right into my eyes. The thought never crossed our mind. How careless of us.
The nurse just let out a sigh. “Wasn’t your fault I guess. All we can do now is hope for him to have a swift recovery and tell him when he wakes up if he does.”
So there really was nothing we could do. I haven’t felt this hurt in over a thousand years. Remembering something Red Heart said, I asked “ Thou mentioned something about some abnormalities. Please explain.”
“Take a look for yourself,” she replied, pointing a hoof at the lit board on the wall behind her that had a series of x-rays on it. I walked up to it for a better look.
I took a few minutes to thoroughly examine the x-rays, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find anything. “We don’t understand what we’re looking for. Nothing’s dislocated or broken.” looking away from the x-rays and back to Red Heart, who just let out a giggle.
“Want a hint? She offered. I nodded. “Now think. What species is he?”
“A unicorn. What about it?”
“Keeping that in mind, look at his bones again. Observing the leg bones will make it easier to notice.” What is she getting at? I looked back at the x-rays.
Nurse Red Heart, getting bored and impatient, carried on. “His bones are thicker than what a unicorn should be. In fact, it matches that of an average earth pony his age.” She’s right! How did we miss that? “To be fair, it wasn’t like that when he first arrived in Equestria, meaning that this abnormality is fairly recent.”
“Wait, but if that’s recent than it isn’t the original discovery thou meant earlier.” She smiled at me.
“Correct. When we found him, he looked horrifying. Steam was rising from areas or skin where it looked like it was still forming, along with the rest of his body is covered in blood.” I was beginning to feel a little sick from trying to picture such a thing, but I just had to know everything. Celestia didn’t tell me much about the matter. “His horn at the time was unlike anything I've ever seen. It was nothing but a nub as big as the fur on his head. Princess Celestia arrived to see what the commotion was herself. After letting her in on the situation, she brought him the hospital and asked me to look after him and to let her know when he woke up.”
“We know the rest from there.” I interjected.
“Yes, well, after taking the x-rays I noticed that there were extra little bones scattered in his back. I was about to feel his back to see if they were near the surface, but I freaked out when I saw his horn forming, pushing its way out of his head. It sent blood flying everywhere. After all was said and done, and cleaned, he woke up.”
I looked back to the x-rays still hanging on the board and found the top-view x-ray. There were indeed small bones in his back. Wait a moment…. “ Thou said that the bones were scattered, but they seem to have formed arcs.” I heard a mirthful hum from Red Heart.
“You’ve noticed. Yes, that is the abnormality. He can be called a few things because of this too, such as a freak of nature or an anomaly. His situation is beyond any medical knowledge ever discovered. All we can do is let Celestia know and see what she thinks.” she gasped. “Oh buck, I forgot. I still need to send for her. She needs to be notified as per her request if anything happens. I can’t leave him though.”
“Calm down, We’ll get her.”
“Thank you.” I turned away to leave for my little errand.