//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Friendship Is Magic! ... Unless You Are a Human // by Huk //------------------------------// At the hospital, both the doctors and other patients were staring at the sight with a bewildered expression on their faces. Occasionally, the staff had to deal with a griffon or a minotaur – once or twice, even a changeling – but they never treated a pure-blooded human. Nevertheless, as soon as the gravity of John’s injuries was clear, they switched into a ‘full professional mode’ in no time. While Dr. Stables’ team was working to keep John alive, he was querying James about the human body and its parameters. A minute after they finished talking, Celestia, Twilight and Dr. Kleiner arrived at the scene, with Rainbow Dash lurking behind them. “How is he?” Celestia asked with a concerned voice. “I don’t know, but... When I found him, his condition was critical.” “What happened exactly?” Twilight said. “Ask her,” he nodded in Dash’s direction. “I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it.” Rainbow Dash was in the corridor outside the room, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. She sat there, lost in thought, with her eyes locked onto the nearby wall – her mind trying to comprehend what happened – when the sound of her name suddenly snapped her awake from her daydream... And into a nightmare. Princess Celestia was looming over her, asking something that Dash could not understand at the moment. “I... Yes?” “I asked you what happened to John – James said you know something.” That was the understatement of the year. Chewing on her lip, Rainbow paused for a moment, trying to figure out something, anything, that would get her out of this mess. But her mind was as blank as a sheet of paper. With a shivering voice, she finally said, " Is he gonna be OK?” Celestia let out a sigh. “I am afraid we do not know yet…” Just as she said those words, the door to the ICU opened, revealing Dr. Stables approaching James with a somber expression on his face. *** “I have some good news and some bad news,” Stables turned to James. “The good news is that we managed to stabilize your friend and for a moment his life isn’t in danger. The bad news is that his left arm took a lot of internal and external damage…” He let out a sigh. “We need to remove it.” “Remove his arm?!” James shook his head in frustration. “Come on, doc! What about all those healing spells and magic and… stuff?” “Even if he were a pony, I don’t think any magic could save his limb – there is a lot of shrapnel embedded there, and from what I can tell, when the lightning struck it got super-heated. I don’t know how it happened, but—” “The lightning didn’t do it… not by itself, anyway.” Stables arched his eyebrow. “Meaning?” “I think that when he was struck, the bolt traveled along his body, and inside of the armor – damaging primary battery in the process. Part of it exploded, and the intact cells were just discharging current all over the place. Some of it probably ran through his arm for a while.” “That would make sense… In any case, the generated heat has damaged the major arteries and veins from the inside out by burning and fusing the tissue. The blood can’t get through. I’m sorry, but this is way beyond what we can fix—” “Excuse me,” Kleiner interjected, “I am a doctor of sorts, would it be possible to examine that limb? Perhaps it can be saved with the technology we brought from home.” Chewing on his lip, Stables scanned the human in front of him from top to bottom. Ordinarily, he would never even consider letting anyone messing with his patient, but those were extreme circumstances, and with his white lab-coat on and a pair of simple glasses on his nose, Kleiner looked almost like a part of hospital staff himself. “All right, please follow me.” As soon as the door closed, Celestia turned her gaze back to Rainbow Dash, and their eyes met. The pegasus instantly looked away in silence, but her nervous lip chewing, widened eyes and shaking figure confirmed what the Princess already knew. Rainbow Dash, what have you done… The sound of the door interrupted her pondering. Both Kleiner and Stables were already back, but if their faces were any indication – the situation wasn’t good. “I’m afraid I have to agree with my colleague here,” Kleiner said to James, gently shaking his head, “They need to cut it—” “But, the nano-tech—” “—won’t be fast enough, the damage is simply too extensive. Even if they cut the arm, his chances of survival are... Not good.” “It’s that bad?” “I’m afraid so... He was lucky that most of the explosion of the battery hit only the arm, but the lightning is a different matter. It caused arrhythmia and internal burns – all of his organs took some damage. If he survives the surgery, we may attempt to heal some of it with nano-tech, but... I’m not sure how much—” “Doctor! Doctor Stables!” A scream from the ICU snapped everyone awake, “Patient has regained consciousness!” Before the medical staff could react, James ran inside, ignoring all the remarks about how he shouldn’t be there. “Doctor, may we have a moment to talk with him?” Celestia asked gently. Stables wanted to say no – princess or not, this was a hospital after all – but the view of Celestia’s concerned face and pleading eyes was melting his heart. “All right, but please make this brief – we need to operate as soon as possible,” he said making a notion with his hoof, informing the staff to leave. *** “Oh, God…” John curled into a shaking ball of pain. His right hand painfully clenched the bed sheets, and sweat was pouring down his forehead. “God it hurts… B-boss? Where am I? What happened…” “You got hit by lightning, and—” “My arm! I… can’t feel my left arm!” John glanced at his limb and his eyes widened in horror. “Christ! What… what the hell?!” James and Celestia only now realized that the limb in question looked like something taken from a Frankenstein movie: with dozens of holes and lacerations oozing some leftover blood – some of them deep enough to reveal the damaged bone inside. “Your powered armor battery exploded and… that’s the result,” James said. “I… remember a cloud moving towards me… almost as if on purpose.” “I am afraid you are correct, this was not an accident,” Celestia said, her head hanging in shame. John stared at both of them in silence, with nothing but the sounds of his short breaths filling the air. “First burning alive, then calling a monster, then not selling food and now striking with a bolt of goddamn lightning?!” He shot Celestia a frown of bewilderment. “What the hell is wrong with you people?!” “I…” Celestia bit her lip. Even her thousand plus years of experience has not prepared her for a situation like this. She didn’t know how to respond. “What was that you said about food?” James interjected. “I gave you the money—” “Yeah, but apparently no pony wanted to sell anything to a monster like me.” “That… cannot be right,” Celestia murmured, shaking her head in disbelief. “Believe what you will,” John clenched his teeth. “God… that’s starting to hurt even more, give me something for the pain…” “I can’t, because…” James paused, letting out a sigh. “John, there is no easy way to say this, but... They need to cut off your arm.” John shot him a cold glare. “No.” “They can’t save it—” “They’re not cutting off my arm!” “We have no choice, John,” Celestia said. “That is the only way to save your life.” “Save my life… For what? So you can torment me some more?!” John shouted clenching his teeth. “I thought humans like torturing others, but after spending one day here, I must say that your kind is the cruelest and most heartless species I met—” “Hey, cut the crap! You are pushing it way too far, man.” “Am I?! I don’t know what kind of brainwashing they did to you, boss, but you act like you are wearing rose-colored glasses! I’m outta here!” Before anyone could react, John jumped off the bed only to feel a searing pain shooting from his mangled arm to the rest of his body. He let out a wail and hit the floor, clenching his limb in agony. *** John’s muffled screams could be clearly heard outside, but when the door opened, they turned to a crescendo of agony. Lying on the floor and shaking from the pain, he was howling like a wolf to the moon. “Doc! Get in here NOW!” James shouted. “Give him a shot, goddamnit!” Biting her lip, Rainbow Dash cautiously peeked out from behind the wall, to see a unicorn nurse trotting inside – holding a syringe with her magic. For a second, the scream died down, but when she thought it was over, John hollered again, even louder than before. “Don’t try to get him on the bed! Sedate him first for fuck’s sake!” Witnessing the agony she caused was slowly pushing Rainbow over the edge. With her eyes shut, she covered her ears with her hooves, trying to block the sound. Make it stop… Please, make it stop. She pleaded, shaking in her chair. For what seemed like an eternity, she rocked back and forth, praying to wake up from the nightmare – not realizing that the howling she was trying to screen herself against, died down some time ago. She was brought back to reality when a different sound, filled the air around her. Opening her eyes, Rainbow found herself face to face with James who was standing above her with a deadpan expression on his face, clapping his hands. “Bravo Dash, bravo! Best prank ever – a prank, to die for…” He shook his head in disgust and walked away, with Kleiner in tow. Celestia was next, but unlike James, she remained quiet. For a moment, she just gazed at the pegasus in front of her with disappointment in her eyes, before shaking her head and leaving without a word. As Celestia moved away, Rainbow thought the situation couldn’t get any worse… until Twilight stepped in front of her. Initially, Twilight wanted to give Dash the piece of her mind, but looking at the shaking figure of her friend in front of her, she didn’t have the heart to do it. After a moment of silence, Twilight let out a sigh and sat on the chair, placing her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Twi, I…” Rainbow whispered with a shuddering breath when something inside her broke. She buried her head in Twilight’s chest and let out a wail. Twilight embraced her in a tight hug, letting the torrent of tears to flood her fur. “I-is he gonna be OK...?” “I don’t know, Rainbow,” Twilight tighten her grip, as her own eyes started to tear up, “I really don’t know...” *** “I better get back to the castle,” Kleiner said, “I need to check what kind of medical equipment we have and what can we do with it.” James nodded. “Most of the medical machinery over there is pony-optimized, but all the blueprints from Earth are in the lab’s computer – replicate what you need.” With that, Kleiner left, leaving him alone with Celestia. James sat down on the nearby bench, staring blankly into the horizon. Around him, the sound of nature and pony foals blissfully playing echoed through the air – their happiness and enjoyment contrasting with the drama happening just a few hundred meters away. The joyful view only added an insult to the injury. “Irony is a bitch…” James let out a bitter chuckle reaching for his bottle when he felt a gentle sensation on his shoulder. “Don’t.” Celestia retracted her wing without protest. “I am sorry, I just... Thought you needed it.” “I’m not the one needing hugs right now.” Celestia joined him on the bench. “I am sorry for asking this, but… do you think it is possible that John made up the part about the food?” “Yeah, sure!” James smiled ironically. “I bet he probably shot himself with the lightning as well… What a guy.” “I… apologize, it is just… I find it so hard to believe that my subjects would act in this manner. Tell me, have you ever been mistreated in a similar fashion by my ponies?” “Hmm,” James tapped his chin with his finger. “There was one incident, but… I already forgot about it.” “What happened?” “Well, shortly after I arrived in Equestria, a crazy alicorn blasted me to the moon for no reason!” He said with a chuckle, but Celestia bit her lip and bowed her head with a shameful expression on her face. “Good God, woman! Don’t be such a stick in the mud – you need to learn to appreciate some dark humor.” “Even in situations like this?” “Especially in situations like this!” He let out another chuckle. “Now, If you want a real answer… Your society is just like any other, with good people, indifferent people, and annoying people—” “H-hey…” A voice interjected from behind. “Speaking of annoying people…” James rolled his eyes, and they both turned to see Rainbow Dash and Twilight standing nearby. “What do you want, Dashie?” “I... I don’t know what to say except... I’m sorry,” Rainbow said, her head hanging low. “For what? That prank was awesome! John was dying for a chance to see it—” “Cut that out!” Twilight interjected angrily. “She said she’s sorry!” “Ah, I see, this is the part where I say ‘It’s OK!’ and that ‘Everything will be just dandy!’ Except we both know that’s BS!” His demeanor suddenly changed from sarcasm to anger. “I asked you a dozen times to stop your fucking pranks, then I threaten you to back off, but you just kept going! And now, when you have finally done it, you think that a simple ‘I’m sorry’ will fix it?” “James is correct, I am afraid a simple apology is not enough, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia interjected, her face suddenly going stoic. “You will have to face the consequences of your actions.” Twilight tilted her head. “What do you mean?” “That depends largely on whether John will live through this or not. However, there is one other matter.” With her eyes closed, Celestia heaved a heavy sigh. “Rainbow, do you remember the Wonderbolts’ codex? Specifically, the section about criminal records?” Rainbow cocked her head with a confused expression. She was lost in thought maybe for a few seconds before the realization struck her. When it happened, her eyes went wide as if a dagger had been thrust through her heart. “No… please – anything, anything but that!” She fell down to the ground, grabbing Celestia’s hoof, as her eyes go watery again. “I beg you...” Both James and Twilight looked at the scene, with their eyes wide open, watching as the daredevil pegasus clung to princess’s hoof as if it was a life raft. “I don’t understand…” Twilight finally asked. “According to the codex, only creatures with no criminal record are allowed to be members of the Wonderbolts. If a member is found guilty of an intentional crime against another creature – he or she shall be expelled from the service,” Celestia let out a sigh. “Sadly, this is exactly what you did, Rainbow Dash.” Dash tightened her grip, letting the waterfall of tears to slowly soak Celestia’s hoof to the skin. “Please... Don’t do this to me...” “Isn’t there anything that can be done?” Twilight said. “I am afraid not—” “But… Rainbow didn’t know she struck him specifically! It was unintentional.” “It changes nothing – the target might have been unintentional, but the act itself was deliberate.” “Even so, we could claim in court that her actions were unintended—” “Twilight…” “If we could convince the court to treat this as an involuntary offense, it would allow Rainbow to remain a Wonderbolt.” “Twilight—” “There’s also a possibility of royal pardon! We could—” “Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia boomed in her royal canterlot voice. “I cannot believe what I am hearing! You cannot be serious!” Twilight cocked her head in confusion. “I don’t understand.” Celestia’s stoic mask shattered – the emotionless expression becoming cold and intimidating. Her eyes were piercing her former student with a gaze that gnawed to the bone. It lasted only for a moment, but for Twilight it felt like an eternity. When Celestia finally decided to break the silence, her voice sounded regal, yet disappointed. “During the day I had spent here, I have witnessed the dark side of my subjects, but until now, I tried to convince myself that all of this, was caused by a handful of misguided individuals... Please, tell me, what am I supposed to think now?” " I… don’t—” “What should I think, Twilight – when even the embodiment of the elements acts by putting their self-interest, above the life of another creature?” She turned to the pegasus who was still clinging onto her hoof. “Rainbow Dash, you maimed that human, perhaps even cost him his very life, and all you can think about is your career?” Before Dash could say anything, she enveloped her with her magic and pushed her away. “And you, Twilight? Making excuses for your friend so she could avoid punishment?!” Twilight bit her lip. “Princess, I… I didn’t mean it like that—” “Really? Then what about the royal pardon?! Good heavens! It is meant to be used only in extreme circumstances, not to get your friends out of trouble caused by their reckless behavior!” Celestia turned her back on them and letting out a deep, slow sigh – closed her eyes, but not before a few tears streaked her cheeks. “Both of you – leave me be. I have a lot to think about.” For a moment, Twilight wanted to counter, but her mind was blank. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she enveloped the still sobbing Rainbow Dash with magic and with her head hanging low walked away, leaving a mark of tears behind her. *** After they left, Celestia sat on the ground, racking her brain over what transpired during her stay. During her rule she saw more than anypony – there were ups and downs, but at the end of the day there was always progress... Or so she thought, until now. “Now you look like someone who could use a hug,” James said, putting his hand onto Celestia’s shoulder in a supportive manner. “Thank you… I just do not understand, how can my ponies be so… selfish? Where are their compassion and kindness?” “Fluttershy must have taken it with her when she went on that tour with Tree Hugger and Pinkie – you need to blast her to the moon when she gets back.” Celestia shot him a glance, but smiled a moment later. “I shall… keep that in mind.” “See, some light humor can really diffuse a tense situation,” James smiled himself. “But, jokes aside – don’t you think that what you did was a little... Harsh?” “Perhaps, but Twilight needs to realize that nobody is above the law, and neither she nor I can favor our friends in that matter. Also, she has been rushing things a lot lately… When we were trying to settle a dispute with the wild settlers, she went for a legal solution after only a day of negotiations, even though I told her that these things take time.” Celestia sighed. “Maybe this splash of cold water will do her good.” “That’s nice and all, but… I was actually referring to how you treated Rainbow Dash.” Celestia turned to him with confusion on her face. “I would expect you to be the last person to defend her.” “I’m not! I have an urge to shove something up her rear for what she did… and not in a fun way…” “But…?” “But… We both know she didn’t assault him on purpose.” Celestia arched her eyebrow. “OK, I know she shot him deliberately, but she thought he was me… I’m not sure you should punish her by destroying her life.” “As I said, this is out of my hooves, the law must be respected.” James smiled furrowing his brow. “You know, the last time when you decided to lock me away – for innocence – I took the liberty of studying Equestrian law, and if I remember correctly, John will have to press charges against Dash.” “If he survives, yes. But even if he would somehow decide against it, according to the Wonderbolts’ codex, Rainbow Dash should still be expelled—” “—only IF the current commander of Wonderbolts decides that her action warrants it,” James interjected, as Celestia stared at him in confusion. “Yes, I know the codex as well, and while Spitfire is Dash’s boss, you are her boss… Hell, you are everybody’s boss.” “Except for you…” “Nope, you’re my boss too…” “Really?” Celestia arched her eyebrow. “Funny, how you never listen to anything I say!” “Because I don’t like being bossed around, boss,” James smirked. “The point is, you can… persuade Spitfire to keep Dash around, and punish her in some other way.” “You… surprise me. As far as I know, Dash and you are constantly at each other’s throats. I even recall you sent me a scroll to… do something I would rather not quote—” “To blast that damn Rainbow… Can’t Understand Normal Thinking, to the moon, where she belongs!’ Yeah, I remember.” “Yes, that… And yet, you are here defending her – even after what she did?” “I’m not saying to let her slide, but if John survives, and won’t press charges, then perhaps you should consider switching her punishment to something else?” James struck a thinking pose and smiled. “Scrubbing Wonderbolts’ toilets for a year, for example - I bet they would have become twenty percent… cleaner.” Celestia smiled involuntarily and nodded a moment later. “All right, I shall follow John’s wishes in that regard… That is, if he survives.” “Yeah, good point,” James let out a sigh. “I better get back to the hospital and see how things are going.” “Me too, Equestria can wait for a while.” James smiled. “Well, then – after you…”