//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: You Wanna Give Up Cause It's Dark // Story: The Everfree Medicine // by PonyJosiah13 //------------------------------// Tree Hugger carefully shook the little test tube, studying the purple liquid within. “Hmm,” she mused, setting the tube back in the rack amidst the other vials and turning back to the thick pile of notes, the result of a week’s work with Twilight’s help. With help from Twilight Sparkle, I’ve finally managed to isolate the active ingredient in the sunrise kiss fern, the chemical compound that creates the stimulant effect. We’ve both run a few experiments, and while it’s not as powerful as epinephrine, it’s still pretty strong. I’m now trying to combine it with the right herbal mixtures to make it more effective and safe for consumption; it might have medical applications for patients and other creatures with heart palpitations or breathing problems. Stifling a yawn, Tree looked over her shoulder at the rows of terrariums behind her, the plants resting inside their plastic homes beneath the warm embrace of the heat lamps. She studied the burnished orange and green leaves of the sunrise kiss ferns, then turned her tired gaze over to the open books of herbology and medicine, scanning the pages as if another viewing would somehow impart a revelation. Tree’s gaze finally went up to the rack of test tubes sitting at the end of the table. The small glass vials each carried a different colored liquid, their contents forming a miniature rainbow on the desk. Each one was a different formula, paste from the ortus basium mixed with other compounds. “So which one is best, dude?” Tree mused to herself, looking over her notes, studying the charts of the experimental results. All of the different formulas had resulted in greatly increased pulse and breathing in their mice test subjects, but it wasn’t enough for her to decide which one was best. “Combining it with flash bee honey gave the greatest increase, but would it be too much of a jolt? Maybe the glowberries would be safer…” She sighed, rubbing her forehead as the thoughts raced across her fatigued mind like worker bees in a hive, and turned to the portrait of Meadowbrook, who smiled kindly at her protege. “I bet you had days like this, didn’t you, dude?” she asked the portrait. Sadly, the mage didn’t seem to want to answer. “Well, I’m not gonna figure out anything when I’m this outta whack,” Tree declared. “Just gotta take a moment to smooth out my chakras here, get back into the flow of life.” She closed her eyes and took in a slow, vibrating breath, letting it out in a low, thrumming whinny. She continued the meditation for a few minutes, focusing only on her breathing, on the sound as it washed down her body, soothing her frazzled nerves. “Maybe I’ve been working a little too much,” she conceded to herself, rising and stretching out her back. The sound of animals clucking, barking, newing, and chirping upstairs drew her attention. “Dinner time,” she declared. Switching off the main lights but leaving the heat lamps on, Tree proceeded back upstairs and into the sitting room. Fluttershy was currently setting out feed for their charges, but her movements were slow and haggard, her eyes unfocused. As Tree approached, Fluttershy looked out the window with a low sigh. “Flutters, let me handle it,” Tree said, taking over at the kibble bag. Fluttershy nodded and began studying the cast on an injured chickadee’s wing, ensuring that the limb was healing properly as the bird nibbled down seed. Satisfied that her patient was making good progress, she slowly walked over to the sofa, moving as if in a dream. She laid down and stared at the ceiling, her gaze locked upwards as if she could see right through the roof at the orange-coated sky above. Tree Hugger finished feeding the animals, then strolled over to Fluttershy and crawled up onto the sofa, cuddling up against the pegasus. “C’mon, Flutters, talk to me,” she said. Fluttershy just sighed and stared at the ceiling. “What happened with Lightning wasn’t your fault, dude,” Tree reassured Fluttershy, kissing her on the cheek over where Lightning had struck her; the bruise had long faded. “She hasn’t come back in a week,” Fluttershy mumbled. “What if she’s sick or—?” “We would’ve heard,” Tree soothed her. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’ll come back when she’s ready.” The pealing of the doorbell snapped them both to attention. Rising, Tree strode past the eating animals and down the hall. Even before she reached the door, she heard the sound of a dog whimpering and scratching at the wood. Tree’s eyebrows raised in surprise when she found Vinyl and Octavia standing on the other side. Vinyl was holding a leash in her magic; Thunder was on the other end, whining and pawing at Tree’s forelegs. The drawn, frowning expressions on the mares’ faces made Tree falter for a moment. “Blessings, dudes,” Tree said, patting the little terrier. “What’re you two doing here?” “Lightning Dust sent us here,” Octavia said. She held up an envelope and handed it to Tree. “She asked us to give this to you.” Fluttershy walked up at the sound of voices, her eyes wide with mingled hope and concern. “Lightning Dust?” she asked, taking the envelope and tearing it open. Tree Hugger leaned over her shoulder to read the letter. Dear Fluttershy and Tree: I’m writing this as a goodbye. I’m going to be leaving soon: things in Ponyville just aren’t working out for me. That stuff I yelled at you when we were at that drug house (sorry about hitting you and your friend, by the way): that’s just part of it. My parents always wanted me to dream big, but look at me: I’ve been stuck in this same dead-end job for years now, trying and trying to get myself ready to be a Wonderbolt. You know I tried to apply seven times last year? But I’ve never gone through it. I knew I’d always fail the drug test and the written tests. It’s ironic, isn’t it? Somepony as tough as me, scared by a stupid written test. You know what’s even more ironic? I took more drugs after flunking to make myself feel better for not being able to pass the drug test. It’s what’s always made me feel better. But now even that’s not working. Ever since last week, I’ve just been feeling worse and worse. Not even the poppydust will help now. I just need to figure some things out. While I’m gone, I’d like you to take care of Thunder for me. I know you’ll treat him right, make sure he’s loved. You’ll treat him better than I ever could. Lighting Dust. Tree and Fluttershy both looked at each other, the same thought reflecting in their wide eyes. “We have to find her now!” Fluttershy cried. “Why, what’s the matter?” Octavia asked. “This is a suicide note,” Tree said. “And I bet I know where she went.” Fluttershy thought for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Tree, you stay here. Call Applejack and Rara and tell them that we need them over here. I’m going to find her.” “You sure?” Tree asked. “I could go myself.” Fluttershy paused for a moment, briefly recalling the stench of decay and despair, the suspicious glare in the door sentry’s eyes as she passed him. Her stomach felt like it was doing somersaults in her chest, her wings suddenly tense and trembling as she pondered reentering the battlefield, wading through the wounded and dying. But a pony needed her. “I’ll be fine,” she replied with what she hoped looked like a smile and not a grimace. Tree didn’t look fully convinced, but she nodded and gave Fluttershy a brief kiss on the cheek. Vinyl handed the leash to Tree Hugger, then signed rapidly, her face grim. Octavia blinked in surprise, then signed back a question. Vinyl nodded. Octavia hesitated for a moment, then sighed and gave a curt nod. “Very well,” she said, turning back to Fluttershy. “Vinyl wishes to help you find her, and I shall help as well. A pony needs help, after all.” “Thank you,” Fluttershy nodded gratefully, some of the weight leaving her chest. Before she could convince herself otherwise, she proceeded out the door with Vinyl and Octavia behind her. Fluttershy stood in front of the two-story building, staring at the walls as if she could see through the boarded-up windows into the dingy interior. Lightning was in there; she had to be. All she had to do was get past the locked door, wade through the sea of the sick, and get her out. She felt like she was being asked to enter a raging inferno. Fluttershy stared at the door across the street, trying to keep her breathing slow and steady. Vinyl and Octavia stood at her sides, studying her with pensive expressions. Vinyl signed something that Fluttershy guessed meant “Are you coming?” Fluttershy tried to answer, but her voice didn’t work and she swallowed down her words. “Are you certain of this, doctor?” Octavia asked. Fluttershy swallowed and nodded again. She briefly flashed back to her first operation in medical school, assisting with a dog who had swallowed a toy. It had been terrifying; she’d spent almost ten minutes in the bathroom before the operation, gulping down air like the room was filling with water. The idea of having a dog’s life in her hooves was terrifying; she was convinced with every beat of her heart that she was going to make a mistake that would cost the patient his life. But she had succeeded then. She could succeed now. And she would. Closing her eyes, Fluttershy took in a slow breath in a vibrating hum, then let it out in a whinny. She couldn’t quite get the same pitch as Tree could, but the effect was the same; the sound traveled down her body, like a wind calming troubled waters. “All right,” she nodded and proceeded across the street. Vinyl fell in step beside her, with Octavia following. Fluttershy drew back a hoof, then paused for a moment and gently knocked at the metal door. After a moment, the peephole slid open and she found herself staring at a familiar pair of eyes. “What are you doing back here?” the griffon growled. “Haven’t you and your friends caused enough trou—” Vinyl approached the door and tilted her sunglasses down her nose, raising an eyebrow at the guard. “Oh, Vinyl,” the griffon said, his eyes widening in recognition. “Didn’t see you there. Man, it’s been, what, a year?” With a click, the door unlocked and swung open, the griffon giving Vinyl an approving nod. Vinyl signed that her companions were cool as she passed him. “Thank you,” Fluttershy nodded politely as she and Octavia entered. The trio proceeded up the steps and onto the second floor. Once again Fluttershy flinched as they struck the wall of miasma as they rounded the landing. Once again, she beheld a battlefield littered with the wounded and dying, semiconscious ponies barely stirring in shivering piles, stumbling across the filthy floors, speaking quietly in stuttering flows of slurred conversation. Octavia shuddered. “Vinyl, I am very glad that you no longer come here.” Vinyl nodded in grim agreement. “Doctor, all due respect, what difference will this make?” Octavia asked, sticking close to Fluttershy as she proceeded across the open floor, looking for any turquoise pegasi. “This is one mare out of so many.” “I know I can’t make a difference to everypony,” Fluttershy said quietly, trying to close her heart to the suffering that surrounded her. “But I can make a difference to one.” Vinyl waved to attract their attention and pointed. Lightning Dust was curled up in the corner, her head tucked between her hind legs and wings. Empty glass bottles and plastic bags surrounded her. “Lightning,” Fluttershy said, hurrying over and shaking the mare. “Lightning?” Lightning Dust moaned and slowly lifted her head, moving like a marionette operated by an inept puppeteer. Her trembling eyes struggled to focus upon the mares. “Vinyl...Fluttershy…” she slurred, drool dripping out of the gaping mouth set in her pale face. “Come on,” Fluttershy said, taking Lightning’s foreleg and draping it over her withers, pulling the mare up onto her hooves. Vinyl and Octavia took Lightning’s other foreleg and helped her stand. “I wanna go home…” Lightning whimpered, her head rolling. “My stomach hurts…” “It’s okay,” Fluttershy whispered soothingly as they led the mare to the stairs and carefully guided her down. “We’re gonna take you to my house. It’s gonna be okay.” Putting the earpieces of the stethoscope in her ears, Fluttershy carefully pulled away some of the blankets covering Lightning Dust’s shivering, sweating form. Lightning moaned, clenching her eyes shut even tighter and shifting on the couch, but did not protest as Fluttershy pressed the diaphragm to her chest. After listening for a full minute, Fluttershy sighed and put the stethoscope away. “Is she gonna be okay?” Rara asked, sitting on the other sofa with Applejack. Vinyl and Octavia had returned home after dropping Lightning off with best wishes. “She’s not in immediate danger,” Fluttershy reported. “But we definitely need to keep a close eye on her for the rest of the night.” “Poor girl,” Rara whispered, gazing at Lightning with a sympathetic look. “You sure that she only took alcohol and poppydust?” Applejack asked. “S’all I took…” Lightning’s moan was interrupted by a terrible belch. She leaned over and placed her face over the plastic bucket on the floor, retching and heaving as she added more to the putrid contents. Several of the animals that were gathered around Lightning flinched and backed up. It took almost a minute for her to finally recover enough to speak again. “You swear?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why would I lie?” Lightning snapped back, glaring feebly at her. Thunder whined and nuzzled Lightning’s hoof. Lightning feebly patted the little dog as it licked her sweaty, clammy hoof. “Hey, buddy,” she moaned. “Dudes, let’s not fight,” Tree Hugger chided gently, reentering the room with a glass of juice and a bottle of medicine. “We’re all here for the same reason: making sure Lightning is okay.” She maneuvered around the bucket of sick and crouched down next to Lightning. “Here, dude. Open wide, it’ll help a bit.” Lightning opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, allowing Tree to place a multivitamin, an antacid, and a pair of aspirin on her tongue, washing them down with some juice. Lightning gulped down the pills, then allowed Tree to help her drink the rest of the juice. “Why are you helping me?” Lightning groaned, flopping back down on the couch. “I’ve been an ass to all of you. Why don’t you just leave me alone?” “Do you really want us to do that?” Fluttershy asked with a raised eyebrow. Lightning turned away but didn’t answer, continuing to pet Thunder. “Lightning, let me ask you something,” Fluttershy asked, crouching beside her. “Has taking these drugs ever made you happy? Really happy? And if the drugs are preventing you from accomplishing your goals, does it make sense to keep using them?” “Does it matter?” Lightning grunted into the sofa, her voice soft and raspy. “Please, Lightning,” Fluttershy said. “Answer the question.” Lightning didn’t answer for several seconds, resting her hoof on Thunder’s head at the dog whimpered and nuzzled her. “It makes me feel better,” she finally answered in a barely audible voice. “For a little while,” Rara put in. “But then the next day, it still hurts. Because the drinks and the poppydust just cover up the pain, they don’t solve anything.” “How the fuck do you know anything?” Lightning snapped, turning to glare at Rara. Her outburst turned into a fit of coughing and wheezing. “Because I was exactly where you are a few years ago,” Rara replied softly after Lightning’s breathing had returned to normal. “Hurting, alone, thinking that I could use drugs and alcohol to hide the pain. And one day, I decided that I’d had enough. Applejack and my friends helped me quit, helped me fix those problems.” “I can handle myself,” Lightning grunted, then belched again. She leaned over the bucket again, but thankfully, nothing came out. “That’s clearly not true,” Applejack replied. “And besides, this isn’t just about you. You ever think about what’s gonna happen to Thunder if you kick the bucket?” Thunder whined and placed his paws on the couch, wagging his tail. Lightning stared at him for a few seconds, then blinked and looked down, shame slowly settling in the edges of her eyes. “It’s not just him,” Applejack added. “You’ve got all of us here, looking out for you; Octavia and Vinyl helped get you over here. Seems clear to me that you’ve got ponies who care about you. So if you feel like you’re alone, look around.” She smiled as Lightning slowly panned her gaze across the room, studying the four smiles facing her. “You ain’t alone.” Fluttershy reached out and took Lightning’s hoof. “It’s not too late for us to help you, Lighting,” she said. “We can help you.” The dim, pale gold eyes stared up at the soft blue irides; Fluttershy thought she saw tears in Lightning’s eyes. She also saw that her lips were blue, her eyes were dull and struggling to focus upon her. Her mane was damp, but there was no fresh sweat running down her forehead. “Lightning, are you okay?” she asked, feeling Lightning’s pulse in her foreleg. She gasped as she realized that she could barely feel the slow throbbing. Lightning let out a noise that might have been a quiet laugh or a stifled sob. “Maybe I should’ve...talked to you sooner…” Her eyes closed and she became still. Thunder started whining and nudging at her hoof, producing no response. “Lightning?” Fluttershy shook Lightning’s shoulder. “Lightning!” No response. Ripping the blankets away, Fluttershy pressed her ear to her chest, her own heart hammering in her chest so loud she could barely hear Lightning’s heartbeat. It was there...but shallow, thready and irregular, like the feeble, rhythmless tapping of a distant drum. Her chest slowly rose by such an infinitesimal amount that it was only on the second inhalation that Fluttershy was sure she was still breathing. “Rara, call an ambulance! Applejack, help me get her on the floor!” Fluttershy ordered, grabbing Lightning beneath the forelegs. Applejack grabbed Lightning’s hind legs and the two of them hoisted Lightning onto the floor as Rara sprinted for the phone, fumbling as she dialed 911. Tree watched as Fluttershy started CPR on Lightning, Applejack locking her forelegs and pressing down on Lightning’s chest like a pile driver, grunting as she counted out loud. Once she reached thirty, Fluttershy locked her lips against Lightning’s blue lips and blew. Lightning’s chest rose as Fluttershy gasped in a breath and gave another rescue breath. Immediately Applejack began compressions again. Thunder pranced around them, whining and trying to lick Lightning’s face; Fluttershy had to shoo him away. “Does she have a pulse? Breathing?” Tree asked, trying to keep her voice level as her own heart started racing. “It’s thready!” Fluttershy replied, placing a hoof on Lightning’s neck. “Bradypneic and getting weaker!” A squeaking to Tree Hugger’s left and a tugging on her braided tail made her turn. Swiss was hopping up and down, pulling at her tail. He pointed down the hallway. “What? What is it?” Tree asked. Swiss’ sister Brie hurried up, carrying something in her mouth; a green leaf with burnished red and orange around the edges. Realization flashed across Tree’s mind. “Righteous!” she cried, sprinting down the hallway with Brie and Swiss in tow. She hurried down the basement stairs so fast that she nearly lost her balance and tumbled down the steps, throwing on the light. Skidding to a halt in front of the desk, she grabbed at the rack of test tubes. “There!” she cried, snatching up the test tube with the golden liquid in it; ortus basium paste mixed with flash bee honey. Sprinting back up the stairs, Tree ducked into the examination room and yanked a drawer open. Snatching up a syringe, she stabbed the needle through the rubber top of the test tube and pulled on the mouthpiece of the plunger. The thin yellow liquid flowed into the syringe. “Let’s hope this works,” she said to Brie and Swiss, who nodded grimly. Tree returned to the living room to see Applejack and Fluttershy still trying to revive Lightning, with Rara watching, fidgeting in place helplessly. Tree sprinted up and crouched down next to them, taking Lightning's cold, limp foreleg. “What are you doing?” Applejack panted through gritted teeth, a few drops of sweat running down her forehead and mane as she continued to pump her forelegs. “Tree, is that—?” Fluttershy started to say, staring at the syringe of yellow liquid. “Trust me, dudes,” Tree said as she started probing Lightning’s inner foreleg, reminding herself that she was a doctor, reminding herself that she knew what she was doing, reminding herself that this would work...or, at the very least, not hurt. She found Lightning’s vein and carefully stretched her foreleg out. Taking a breath, she let all of her stress flow out of her body on the exhalation. This was just like medical school, just something she’d done a hundred times before. And so, she pushed the syringe forward into Lightning’s vein and used her mouth to push the plunger down. The golden syrup flowed into Lightning’s foreleg. Fluttershy finished giving rescue breaths and Applejack immediately started compressions again, grunting and huffing with every press. “Come on, come on,” Fluttershy whispered. Lightning still didn’t respond. Applejack finished her compressions and pulled away, panting and wiping sweat as Fluttershy began two more breaths. Rara immediately took over for Applejack, giving strong, firm, practiced compressions. Still nothing. A stab of panic raced across Tree’s chest and she felt Lightning’s pulse in her foreleg. It was still thready...was it worse than before? It was! The medicine wasn’t work— Just as Fluttershy bent down once more, Lightning’s body suddenly jolted, her eyes shooting open to reveal narrow pupils. She gasped loudly, then twisted onto her side, coughing and retching. White spittle and chyme dribbled out of her mouth. Fluttershy gently hugged Lightning as she continued to cough and gasp, clutching her chest. “Breathe, Lightning,” Fluttershy whispered, stroking the shivering, gulping mare’s back, not caring as drool and tears stained her chest. “Breathe. It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay.”