“Goddammit... Where is that bum...” John threw a rock down the gulch and rolled his eyes – it was starting to get dark, and there was no James in sight. Sighing in frustration, he stood up to pick up another stone when his ears perked up at something walking towards him. “Took you long enough, you asshole!” He said, but the reply he got was not a sarcastic remark he was expecting.
“H-hey...”
He turned around, to see Scootaloo standing some distance away, with face puffy from tears, head hanging low, and eyes fixed on the ground.
“You?!” John shot her a glance, gritting his teeth and clenching his hand into a fist. “What the hell do you want?! Weren’t you entertained enough when your pony friends were beating the crap out of me?!”
“I just—”
“Do you have any idea what you accused me of? What you accused Cheerilee of?” John shook his head, letting out a hiss. “Jeez, kid, what the hell is wrong with you?!”
Instead of an answer, Scootaloo began walking towards the gulch until she reached the edge of the precipice. She glanced down and closed her eyes, letting out a deep, slow sigh. “Are you… going to try again?”
“Try what again?”
“The thing you tried... on the first day. When... Princess Celestia stopped you...”
Scootaloo’s words hit John like a sledgehammer, and his eyes shot wide. He stood dumbfounded, his mouth agape, unable to make any sound. When he finally spoke, it was like a baffled whisper.
“How do you…”
“I saw everything…”
“Kid, I…” John paused, querying his brain for a meaningful, not awkward response, but the results turned out empty. “You, shouldn’t have seen that… I’m sorry—”
“No, don’t be! You’re brave! I wish I had so much courage...”
“Ki... Scootaloo, there is nothing brave about... that. It wasn’t courage, it was... desperation…” John squinted his eyes. “Why are you asking about that, anyway?”
Scootaloo let out a sigh and turned towards the gulch. “I came here many times before, hoping to... find the courage to just jump down there and... fly – even if only for a few seconds...” She glanced down the precipice and flinched. “I couldn’t do it... I was always paralyzed by fear, but... when I saw you standing there just a few moments ago, I... I just...”
“Just... what?”
“Please... take me with you...”
John’s lips curled into a confused expression, and once again, silence filled the air. He just stood there with his gaze locked upon the whimpering pegasus, until something clicked inside his brain.
“Wait… You want me to... grab you and jump down?”
“I know I don’t deserve your help! But... I just... can’t do this anymore...” Scootaloo sniffled as some tears rolled down her cheeks. “It hurts too much...”
“Scootaloo...” John took a step towards her. “I know things are bad right now, but—”
“You don’t know anything…”
“I know about your wings...” This time it was Scootaloo’s time to stand frozen, gaping at John with a bewildered expression. “Look, I’m sorry... I won’t pretend to know how you feel about that, but...”
“Yes... those things...” Scootaloo glanced at her tiny wings with disgust. “Those... pathetic things! It’s all their fault!”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think?! I’m a cripple! A dodo! A walking pile of shame! Everypony hates me... and it’s all because of my wings!” She yelled, angrily stomping the ground, her breathing shallow and rapid. “I started stealing because of them, I made a deal with Dumb Bell because of them, and my parents want to send me away because of them...”
“It’s not the end of the world yet, Scootaloo... Things are bad, but...”
“You don’t understand...”
“I’m not a pegasus, true, but... I do know how it’s to feel so much pain that you’ll do anything to make it stop...” As the memories of what happened a few days ago flooded John’s mind, he sighed and shook his head, staring blankly at the ground. “You look at the core of the problem, and it seems impossible to fix... And then that little voice in your head starts telling you to just let it go, and all your problems will be gone... You have to fight that insidious bastard because there is always a better solution.”
“What if... you did something very wrong? Something that can’t be fixed? What then?”
“You’ll have to live with it, but... doing something like that rarely happens.”
Scootaloo let out a dark chuckle and smiled bitterly. “Yet... it happened to me...”
“If you mean the stealing and the ‘little’ misunderstanding—”
“I did something worse… Much, much worse…”
“Like what?” John noticed Scootaloo forcefully squinted her eyes, and a second later, her body began trembling. “Whatever you did, it can’t be that bad... I’m sure your friends will help you figure it out—”
“No, they won’t! Because I... I...” Suddenly the dam broke, and fresh tears flooded Scootaloo’s face like a river. “I killed Apple Bloom!”
“What?!”
“I knocked off the beehive, and then crashed the scooter, and... she stopped breathing and I just... I just ran!” With her teary eyes fixed to the ground, she began wailing like a child. “I left my best friend to die... I’m such a coward…”
The view of the heartbroken, shaky figure, washed away any animosity John still had for the young pegasus. He walked up to her and with a smile of sympathy on his beaten up face, put a hand on her shoulder. “Scootaloo, she’s fine...”
“No... I killed her, I saw her dead!”
“She passed out, but Sweetie Belle and I got her to the hospital.”
Instead of brightening up, Scootaloo glanced at him like an angry wolf, squinting her eyes, and gritting her teeth. “You really think I’m that stupid?! I know what I saw! She’s dead!”
“I’m telling you the truth – please calm down—”
“I don’t wanna calm down! You’re a liar like the rest of them!” She snapped, pushing him away. “I killed her! I killed my best friend! I... Hey!” Before she could react, John’s vice-like grip was around her body, pulling her away from the edge. “Let go of me!”
“Not before you calm down!”
“No!” She shouted, struggling and kicking. “Help! Somepony, help me!”
“Jeez... Now I know how Celestia must have felt...” John rolled his eyes, pulling her away from the precipice. “Darn it, kid! Would you kindly... Argh!” Scootaloo buried her teeth in his biceps, sending a sharp, radiating pain up his arm. “Fuck, that hurts! Calm down, goddamnit!” His pleading only made Scootaloo angrier, and she began bucking her hooves against his bruised ribs.
“Let... me... GO!” With defiance on her face, she kicked one more time, and it connected perfectly, sending John to the back, knocking out his wind, and launching her forward. Her expression changed in a blink of an eye when she realized, she was flying directly towards the gulch...
Scootaloo’s eyes shot wide, and all sounds around her died down, leaving only the rhythmic beats of her young heart – each strike like a reminder of something that was about to stop. The cruel trip put her instincts into overdrive, jerking her body upwards like a plane trying to perform a loop, and she hit the edge of the gulch on her hind legs, almost vertically. She stood erect with her eyes fixed on the rocky bottom below, and her tiny wings flapping like crazy.
Time seemed to slow down, and for a moment, it looked like her wings would be able to save her, to pull her body up, to prove that they weren’t completely useless. As desperately as she fluttered, though, it was only enough to keep her from falling, and she was already panting from exertion. Her wings ran out of steam a few moments later, and her body started dropping forward...
***
“Argh!” Scootaloo plunged down but got tangled in some old roots on the way. With her heart pounding like crazy, she tried jerking her body around, only to hear ripping-like sounds – the roots were starting to tear up. “H-help! Help me!”
“Gotcha… I think…” John grasped her by her mane, but with nothing to grab onto, his body started slipping down as well. “Scootaloo, you gotta climb!”
“I can’t!”
“Yes, you can! Use your wings to help you!”
“They’re useless—”
“For flying, maybe, but they should—” One of the roots gave way, removing some of the little support Scootaloo have, pulling John closer to the edge. “I’m slipping... You must try! I can’t pull you up.”
“I can’t! I’m useless...” John’s body moved another inch, and he glanced at her, to see nothing but depression and apathy. “Just... let go...” Scootaloo whispered, closing her eyes. “I deserve it...”
“No, you don’t! Listen, you made some bad choices, it happens! But you can still fix things!”
“Apple Bloom—”
“We got her to the hospital! I swear!” John said, but notice her shaking her head in disbelief. “Scootaloo... There’s nothing I can do to convince you but consider this... If I’m telling the truth, and Apple Bloom learns about what happened here, she’ll blame herself. Do you want that?”
“I...” Scootaloo bit her lip, her teary eyes darting from left to right. “No... I… I don’t want to hurt anypony, anymore…”
“Then climb! If not for yourself, then for her!”
After a short pause, Scootaloo glanced up and sniffled. “She’s really alive? You swear?!”
John smiled and nodded. “Pinky swear!”
His gentle and warm expression was like a glimmer of hope, penetrating Scootaloo’s gloomy shell and filling her heart with a weird sensation. It was a feeling of something she didn’t experience in a long, long time. It was the feeling of… confidence.
“All right!” Scootaloo grabbed John’s arm with determination.
Her tiny wings came back to life, fluttering in reverse like crazy, pushing her body against the rock wall. Using John’s arm as a rope, she began climbing, one hoof at the time. It was slow, it was clumsy, but it was working!
“That’s it! You’re doing it! Just a few more steps and—” But then, Scootaloo pulled on his arm a little too hard, and his body began to slip down, with no way to stop it.
“Argh! We’re falling! We’re—” John interrupted Scootaloo’s yell, with a mighty jerk that launched her into the air, and she hit the ground a second later, performing a few barrel rolls before stopping. “Ugh... We’re… OK?” She opened her eyes, and after a short pause of disbelief, let out a chuckle. “We’re OK! You did it! You...” She turned around, but John was not there. “Oh, no…”
***
Scootaloo dashed forward, her mind filled with morbid thoughts, but once she reached the edge, she brightened up. “You... OK?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m dandy!” John was hanging from the same bunch of roots, that saved her life just a few moments ago. “Just hanging around...”
“Hold on!” Scootaloo turned around and went prone, lowering her tail. “Can you grab it?”
“No... It’s close, but out of reach.”
“I’ll get help!”
“I doubt those roots will hold for that long—” One of them snapped as if trying to prove him right. “Fuck! Get... um... get me a long branch!”
“Long branch... Got it! I’ll be right back!” Scootaloo disappeared, leaving John hanging by the literal thread.
John glanced down, trying to figure out a way out of this mess, but the nearest ledge was about ten meters below him, and too narrow to land on, anyway. He scanned the gulch from left to right, but there was no way out of this. He was trapped like a rat in a hermetic maze, with air quickly running out.
“What the...” John arched his eyebrow, realizing he was slowly descending. He glanced up to see that his weight was pulling more and more of the rotten root out of the rock face. “Shit... Hurry up, kid!”
He locked his eyes at the edge of the cliff and waited, praying to see Scootaloo with a rope, stick or... something – before it’s too late. He stood there motionless for what seemed like hours when his ears finally perked up. However, instead of his would be savior, he saw Applejack.
“Hey! I could use a little help here!” John said, but Applejack just glanced at him with a vacant expression, her eyes cold and emotionless. “What are you waiting for?”
“Did you do this to Apple Bloom?”
“Can we talk about this AFTER you pull me up?!”
“Did you cut my sister’s throat?!” Applejack repeated.
“Oh for the love of—” Just then, the root moved a few centimeters again, sending John further down. “Shit! Yes! Yes, I did it! You happy? Now, pull me up!” But Applejack looked at him with disgust and just stood there, watching his struggle. “What are you waiting for?” John shot her a last desperate glance, only to see her lips curling into a sly grin. “You... You’re not gonna help me, are you...?” One of the roots gave way then, and the rest started snapping like dominoes. “You… sadistic bitch!” John yelled just as he started falling down.
He painfully hit one of the ledges and began rolling down like a rag doll, his body going faster, faster and faster, each bump more painful than the other, filling the air with John’s yells of agony. A few seconds later, an audible thud echoed through the gulch, and it was all over.
Applejack glanced down at the motionless body with satisfaction and spat. “You’re not gonna hurt anypony again, you vermin—”
“Did you get to him?” Scootaloo’s voice snapped her back to reality. “Where is he?”
“He… fell.”
“W-what?!” Scootaloo ran to the edge and glanced down. “No, no, no!” She stepped back, frantically shaking her head, and burst into tears a moment later. “It’s my fault...”
“Now, now Scootaloo, let’s get back to... Hey, where are you going?! Scootaloo!” Applejack shouted, but young pegasus kept running away and disappeared in the bushes a moment later. “Consarn it! That filly is always trouble...” She said and went after her.
***
“Again?! That’s like... what? Third time this month?” Nurse Sweetheart said to Redheart as she poured herself some coffee.
“Fourth, actually... Hey, pass me a sugar, would you?” Redheart poured five spoons into her cup and quickly filled it with a black liquid, inhaling the vapors with a quiet moan. “Oh, how I needed that...”
“Five spoons... Honey, you’re addicted.”
“Hrmph, nonsense – five is not that much... Besides, I can stop wherever I want!”
“Oh, yeah, I remember Berry saying the same thing when Stables and I were pulling that bottle out of her... backdoor,” Sweetheart took a sip of her tea and smiled. “What did you pull out this time, anyway? Don’t tell me they finally tried the pineapple?”
“Actually, our lovebirds went fully professional! That thing I pulled out was a metallic bulb-shaped object with adjustable handle.”
Sweetheart cocked her head. “But, if it was adjustable, how did it get stuck?”
“That’s what you get for not reading the instruction, before using your toys... Especially when they’re imprinted on the part that goes where the sun doesn’t shine,” Redheart drank some of her coffee and let out a chuckle. “I always say, RTFM—”
“Working hard, I see...” Doctor Stables walked inside and interjected with a sarcastic grin. “Oh, don’t mind our patients or me, you’re obviously busy... saving lives and all...”
“You’re asking for an enema, Stabie...” Sweetheart said, arching her eyebrow. “I spent the last three hours cleaning wounds and setting bones of those idiots that attacked poor Cheerilee. I think I deserve a coffee break!”
“Ah, about that...” Stables picked up one of the charts. “Since when do broken bones and lacerations need a... rectal exam?”
“Some of those stallions were bragging on how they’re going to run Cheerilee out of town... I feared there might be a lump, blocking the backflow of blood from the colon to the brain.”
“And was there any blockage, nurse Sweetheart?”
“No, but it would appear that some of them were suffering from a strong case of cranial fecalitis. Fortunately, it seemed to disappear after I finished the procedure.”
Redheart shot her an inquisitive glance. “Care to share your secret technique with us?”
“There’s no secret, hon. I did the procedure by the book! Except for the lubricant, since we’re all out.”
Stables closed his eyes and let out a slow, deep sigh. “Sweetheart, did you ever hear about primum nil nocere?”
“I didn’t do any harm! Well, no permanent one, anyway... Although they may walk a little funny, for a few days – just long enough to get back to their senses.”
“Great... And if they decide to sue us?”
Sweetheart put on a sly grin. “I have a secret stash of Pavulon just for that.”
“Hon… Did anypony told you, you’re evil?” Redheart said with a dark chuckle.
“A few... But sadly, they all… passed away,” Sweetheart lowered her voice into a whisper. “stopped breathing for... some reason.”
“I see...” Stables poured himself a cup of coffee and shot her a glance, arching his eyebrow. “It’s not poisoned, is it?”
“Not more than usual...”
He took a sip and smiled, letting out a deep sigh of content a second later. “Jokes aside... I really hope you put something better in their charts as an explanation for that rectal exam... And in the future, please don’t do that—”
“Stabie... Poor Cheerilee was so shaken, I had to give her a cocktail of sedatives just to stitch up her hoof, and she’ll be limping for the next month or more! Those idiots should be glad I didn’t perform a full colonoscopy on each one of them!”
“I understand, but please let the authorities take care of that from now on, OK? I’m sure Princess Celestia will look into it. In the meantime… how is our little patient? Still sleeping?”
“Yeah, I check on her a few minutes before you came here, she’s out like a log...” Redheart shook her head. “Poor little filly.”
“Fortunately, Sweetie Belle not only got her here in time, but she also trached her.”
“She did that?!” Sweetheart’s eyes shot wide. “Impressive!”
“I agree...” Stables smiled viciously. “Who knows, maybe she’ll be taking your job, Sweetheart...”
“Good, I always wanted an apprentice—”
A knock interrupted their conversation. Redheart opened the door to see Applejack standing in the hallway, with tired eyes and a crooked smile on her face.
“Evening nurse, is doctor Stables here?”
“Ah, Applejack... You came to see your sister, I presume?” Stables said, and she nodded. “I can let you in, but... she’s sleeping right now.”
“Is she OK?”
“Yes, she should be fine. We were able to make the swelling go away, and I fixed her throat with a few healing spells. We’re going to keep her under observation for another twenty-four hours just to be on the safe side, but everything should be OK.”
“Thank you, doctor... Can I see her now?”
“Like I said, she’s sleeping, but... I guess I could let you in for a while. If you promise to stay quiet and not cause trouble, that is.”
“You betcha!”
“All right then, follow me, I was about to check on her anyway.”
They entered a dimmed room, and the sound of medical monitors immediately filled the air. Apple Bloom was on the first bed to the left, her mouth slightly agape, and a patch on her throat. The only things contrasting with the peaceful view were some cables connecting her to the machinery.
“All parameters are stable... Excellent,” Stables murmured to himself, noting something on her chart. “I’ll leave the two of you alone... We’re constantly monitoring her remotely, so don’t worry about anything...” Applejack squinted her heavy eyelids and bobbed her head a couple of times. “You seem... tired, everything OK?”
“Oh, believe me, doctor, everything is fine,” Applejack said with a smile, caressing Apple Bloom’s mane. “For the first time in a long time, everything is A-OK...” Not wanting to interrupt, Stables smiled and silently left them, closing the door behind him. “Don’t you worry, little sis... I’m not gonna let anything happen to you...” Applejack’s lips curled into a grin, and her words turned into mad, soft giggles. “I’ll take care of all of them... Every... single... one... You’ll see, everything will be fine...”
Looking at her sister’s peaceful slumber, and stroking her mane, Applejack didn’t notice when her own baggy eyes closed, and she dozed off...
***
The door to the room burst open with a sudden bang, abruptly awakening Applejack from her peaceful slumber. She opened one of her eyes to see another movable bed rolling inside, with Redheart and Sweetheart, jumping around it like crazy.
“OK, on three! One, two, three!”
Applejack let out a quiet groan of annoyance and went back to sleep, next to Apple Bloom – the only thing on her mind was to get some shut-eye.
“OK, I hooked him up… Darn, what a mess!” Sweetheart said with a concerned voice.
“Look at his vitals... This can’t be right!”
“Maybe that’s normal for his species?”
“Not according to this chart here... Sweet Celestia, what happened to this guy.”
“Fell down the gulch near the old castle from what I heard.”
Applejack’s eyes suddenly shot wide, and she leaped off the bed like a startled cat, scaring both nurses in the process.
“Darn it, Applejack! Don’t do that—”
“Who’s that?!”
“That other human – John… something, why?”
Applejack’s eyelid twitched, and she launched in the air with madness on her face – like a religious fanatic, crazy for revenge. “You vermin! I’m gonna kill you!”
“Whoa, calm down!” Sweetheart said, trying to pull Applejack away. “Redheart, sedative!”
“You darn vermin, I’m not gonna let you hurt Apple Bloom!”
Applejack grunted and hissed, struggling with the nurse. Sweetheart tried her best, but it was a losing battle. Applejack knocked her away and once again launched to the air with murder in her eyes. She was almost on top of her target when something grabbed her by the coat and violently jerked her up. The next thing she saw was the mad face of James, just before his right jab smacked her to the muzzle with a stunning effect.
Nurses glanced at each other with unsure expressions, then back at James and Applejack.
“Well, that’s one way to sedate someone...” Sweetheart said. “Please, get her out of here, we need to take care of your friend.”
“Got it...” James said coldly and left the room with dazed Applejack still in his grasp...
***
James’ was trying to strangle the handle as he closed the door. He was a furnace, ready to burn the life out of Applejack and give her a taste of her own medicine. All it would have taken was one stronger squeeze, a single shot from his gun or one thrust of a blade... He thought about it for a moment, but chose a second best thing... and sent her rag doll body flying.
The painful landing was like an unexpected reboot, wakening Applejack up from her dazed slumber. Immediately, she dashed for the ICU – only to be stopped midway by a well-placed jab. With the trickle of blood coming from her nose, she tried again, with the same result.
“Out of my way, you vermin!”
“You’re not getting in there, bitch! If I see you near John again, I swear to Jesus fucking Christ, I’m gonna rip off your hoof and shove it up your ass so far it’s gonna stick out of your mouth!”
Gritting her teeth like a mad dog, Applejack launched into the air, trying to buck James out of the way, only to feel his fist connecting with her chest once again. The sledgehammer strike sent her to the floor panting like a runner after a marathon.
“What’s going on here?!” Stables interjected their one-sided brawl. “This is a hospital, not a bar!”
“What is that thing doing in one room with my sister?!”
“What... thing?”
“The other human!”
“Because this is the ICU...” Stables said, but Applejack kept hissing through her teeth like an angry cat. “Um... Intensive Care Unit? You know, for creatures needing... intensive care?”
“Move Apple Bloom somewhere else!”
“She may not need intensive care at the moment, but needs to be constantly monitored—”
“Then move that... thing!”
“Applejack, this is the place where both of them should be! What’s the problem?”
“You put the monster that tried to kill my sister in the room with her, that’s the problem!”
“He… what?” Stables turned into a statue, his jaw hanging low and eyes glancing between mad Applejack and disgusted James. “Is... this true?”
“He cut her throat!”
“Cut her throat?” Stables cocked his head. “When?”
“What do you... Are you blind or what?!”
“Let me translate that from rednecks’ to Equestrian for you, doc...” James interjected. “According to Sweetie Belle, John’s the one who put the tube down Apple Bloom’s throat.”
“He did this?” James and Applejack nodded in unison. “Darn, so much for an evil apprentice...” They both shot him a glance of confusion. “Never mind... Well, if he did this then... Not bad! The cut was a little crude, but—”
Before he knew what hit him, Stables was lifted off the ground like a sack of potatoes and pushed against the wall. Applejack looked ready to tear him in two!
“’Not bad’?!”
“C-calm down!”
“That... thing tried to kill my sister, and you say ’not bad’?!”
“Kill her?! Applejack, he saved her life!”
“He cut her throat!”
“So she could breathe!”
“W-what?” Applejack felt her energy dwindling in the blink of an eye, and Stables hit the ground a second later. She glanced him in the eye and shook her head. “What are you saying...?”
“Didn’t you talk with Sweetie Belle?” Stables said, readjusting his wrinkled lab coat. “Well anyway, from what she told me, Apple Bloom was bitten by a bunch of bees—”
“She’s allergic to bees!”
“Exactly... That must have been one heck of a swarm because she got an anaphylactic shock and her airways closed up a few moments later. Whoever put that tube down her throat let her breathe again.”
All of a sudden, Applejack felt heat washing over her skin, changing her tongue into sandpaper. The air was like hot steam, burning her lungs with each intake.
“This... this can’t be right,” She said, frantically shaking her head. “It just... can’t be...”
“It can, and it is,” Stables said. “If he is the one who put that tube down Apple Bloom’s throat, then he saved her life.”
His words turned her hooves into jelly, and a second later, she folded like a house of cards. She sat there with her wide opened eyes glued to the floor and face white as snow, praying to wake up from this nightmare.
“Plot twist, bitch…” James whispered with a voice of disgust. His words only tightened the noose around her neck, making her gasp faster.
“Is... he... gonna be... OK?”
Stables let out a sigh and levitated John’s chart with his magic. He tried to keep calm and hide behind the mask of professionalism, but his empty eyes were telling a different story. When he started reading, it quickly became obvious why. The centimeter thick chart was screaming a litany of pain and suffering.
“Multiple lacerations, broken bones and ribs, cranial trauma, abdominal trauma... and probably a dozen other conditions we haven’t diagnosed yet... I’m sorry, but... to be honest, I doubt he’ll make it through the night.”
“N-no... You, you have to save him!”
“I’m sorry, Applejack, but he had the worst case of bad luck I’ve seen in years – first that incident with Rainbow Dash, then getting beaten up by the mob, and now accidentally falling down the gulch—”
“A-accidentally?”
“Yeah... I saw the whole thing. He just... fell off the rock face...” James squinted his eyes, piercing her with his chilling glance. “Too bad, there was nopony that could just... give him a hand, and save his life... isn’t it?”
“I... I don’t—”
“What about using that technology of yours?” Stables interjected, tapping his chin. “Couldn’t it save his life?”
“For what...? So you ponies can play the game of ’smash the human pinata’ for a while longer?”
“You do realize that only a small part of Ponyville population was part of that mob? And that Cheerilee tried to help your friend, and got hurt too?”
“Yeah... I also realize that this ‘small’ part of Ponyville, will continue to treat him like a fucking leper no matter what he’ll do... Do you have any idea how it’s like to live surrounded by creatures who hate you with all their heart, doc?”
“Mister, with all due respect, but... what makes you think that the whole population of Ponyville is going to treat your friend like that?”
This time it was James’ time to admire the tiles on the hospital’s floor and let the awkward silence fill the air. His face twitched a few times before he slammed his eyes shut and let out a deep sigh.
“Personal experience...” James finally said but cut the topic before anyone could respond. “I don’t wanna talk about it. The bottom line is... I’m not going to use nano-tech on John – let the guy die in peace...”
“Well... since I swore to try to save all life, I’ll do my best regardless. Maybe some miracle will happen...”
“With his luck?” James let out a dark chuckle. “Don’t count on it... I do have a favor though...” He pulled out a small spherical device with a button on top. “When he dies... could you push that here and hold it until it starts flashing? It’ll let me know he’s dead.”
“All right...” Stables grabbed the contraption with his magic. “I need to go and check him out, I let you know if something changes. And Captain... I’m sorry about your friend, from what I heard he seems like a good man,” Stables disappeared behind ICU door, leaving James with Applejack.
“Yeah... he was...”
***
As soon as the door closed, James glanced at the pony next to him, to see a ghost sitting there with eyes still fixed to the floor. The bravado she showed just a few moments ago was gone, replaced by apathy and confusion. He couldn’t care less.
“How does it feel, Applejack?” James said, his voice empty and emotionless. “How does it feel to kill a guy who saved your sister’s life?”
“I didn’t kill him...”
“Ah, yes... You just let him die – because that’s completely different?”
“I don’t know what Scootaloo told you, but—”
“Don’t you mention that goddamn brat! She better not cross my path anytime soon, or Dash gonna need to find herself a new number one fan!”
“Then, how—”
“I saw everything!” James said with a face of a judge before handling the death sentence. “Sweetie Belle told me where he was, and that you went after him. I took the shortcut, running like crazy, I made it in time to see him in the distance, dangling from that rock, and you standing above him… Why didn’t you help him, damn it?!”
“I thought he tried to... I...” Applejack began shaking her head like mad. “It’s not my fault! You’re the one who doesn’t want to save him! And he’s supposed to be your friend!”
“Yes, he’s my friend, and that’s exactly why I’m gonna let him die in peace. He doesn’t deserve the shit you ponies put him through.”
“T-then... You’re the one killing him, not me! It’s not my fault!”
James glanced at the pony in front of him with a mixture of disgust and contempt. Applejack, the Element of Honesty, fell so low she was lying to herself. The cruel irony made him feel bad for her, and he hated it. Suddenly, the door to the ICU burst open, revealing nurses pushing John’s bed out of the room – doctor Stables right behind them.
“Coming through, out of the way!”
“What’s going on, doc?” James said. “Where are you taking him?”
“The O.R. – he’s bleeding internally, we need to operate immediately. I’m sorry, no time to talk!”
The creature on the bed was a mixture of zombie and a mummy, with dozen different tubes and devices connected to his bandaged body – each one beeping a crazy tune. The view made Applejack flinch and step back, and something inside her mind rebooted abruptly. It started an inferno that went through her brain and soul, incinerating all the lies that kept her sane during the last few hours.
“He’s probably going to die on that table...” James said as the bed disappeared behind the corner. “I hope you’re happy…” He turned to leave, to hear something he least expected.
“Save him...” Applejack said with a pleading, shaky voice. “Please, I... I want to make things right.”
James turned, boring through the shaky pony with his cold gaze, only to smile a moment later – her body telling him precisely what he wanted to know.
“We had a saying back on Earth: too little, too late. You made your choice back then, now you have to live with it... But don’t worry, I won’t say anything. He fell on his own – that’s the official version.”
“Why?”
“Because I want you to suffer!” Applejack cocked her head. “Yes, miss Honesty, you heard me right... No matter how despicable you are, I can see there’s still some conscience left in that head of yours... and you’ll have to live with the knowledge of what you did for the rest of your life,” James smiled viciously. “I don’t think it’ll end up well...”
“S-stop, stop talking!”
“Knowing you, I bet that it’ll be like a splinter inside your brain, slowly stripping you of your sanity, until every time you look at Apple Bloom, or in the mirror, you’ll see his face!”
“B-be quiet!”
“It’ll be a pleasure watching as guilt drives you insane until you finally crack and confess to your crime... And when your family disowns you, and you’ll lose everything, I’ll be there to remind you that’s all because of your stupid hatred towards John and me...”
His words hit her hard, leaving dark stains on her very soul. She was shaking like a leaf and looking about to pass out, but James was not done. He crouched down to her level and looked her in the glassy eyes.
“Was it worth it, Applejack?”
That question was the final straw. She cracked, burying her face in her hooves in silence, and a second later, her cheeks became a waterfall of tears. Seeing her broken, shaking, and crying her eyes out, put a sly grin on James’ face.
“Why did it happen?” Applejack shot him a glance of a confused child. “I’m not like this... Why did I try to kill him—”
“You, WHAT?!”
Applejack and James turned in unison towards the ICU door, to see Apple Bloom standing there, looking like she’d just seen a ghost.
“Applejack... Tell me, I heard that wrong... Please...” She said, but her sister kept staring at the floor in silence. “No... I don’t believe it! W-why?!”
“Apple Bloom, he... he tried to kill me! When he arrived here, he almost hunted me down! I thought... I thought he tried to kill you too...”
“He... what?!” Apple Bloom yelled with a horrified expression, her eyes darting from left to right. “He tried to kill you, and you didn’t tell me?!”
“Please, I was trying to protect you...”
“By lying to me?!” Apple Bloom shot her sister a hurtful glance. “And he didn’t say anything either… You’re both liars!”
“Apple Bloom...”
“No! Stay away from me! I hate you... and him! I hate both of you!” Apple Bloom said with a sniffle and ran back inside the ICU.
“Wait!” Applejack extended her hoof, as if hoping it will bring her sister to her, but nothing happened. “Please, come back...”
“So it begins... Maybe you should catch her later and tell her she should be happy! After all, the ‘monster’ is dead, she’s safe, and ponykind is safe...” James said and began walking towards the exit, but stopped a few moments later. “Although, after all that happened, it makes you wonder who the monster really is... Doesn’t it?”
Applejack watched as his silhouette disappears around the corner, leaving her in the silent corridor alone with her thoughts. Just when she thought she had begun digging herself out of the hole, she tripped and fell back to the bottom. Except, this time the hole grew so deep she couldn’t see the sunlight or the way out anymore. Then came the voice inside her head, the voice she tried so desperately to silence all this time. It went from a whisper to holler in a blink of an eye and was getting louder by the second. It was the voice of her conscience, and it was slowly devouring her from inside out.
“I’m... I’m a... a... Ugh!” She couldn’t stomach the truth. With one hoof covering her mouth, she darted towards the bathroom, burst inside one of the stalls and violently threw up. She clung to the toilet and rocking back and forth, began wailing like a child, with James’ words playing in the back of her head.
’Although, after all that happened, it makes you wonder who the monster really is... Doesn’t it?’
“...I’m the monster...”