I was standing in the lobby of the hospital. Speaks with Talons and Plasma Wave were chatting away about adventures during the round up missions. Meanwhile, I casually listened in and occasionally commented while I pored over the small notebook that acted as my wizard spell book I had compiled under Starlight after the war ended. They understood why I didn't dedicate to the conversation and didn't pay it much mind. Though it was rare for me to do it during my time in Ponyville, I had done it more times then any of us could clearly recall during the round up missions.
Yet, I had to take a brief pause when I found myself in utter shock at what I had overheard had happened earlier that morning.
"They're using my advice with so little testing, and with children!?"
Plasma Wave turned to me in a bit of a grump. "It isn't that simple. The colt is allergic to the only medicine the doctors have for the disease affecting him and the griffin apprentices are stretched thin healing those that are on death's door."
Speaks with Talons came up on the others side. "My brothers will do their best to heal him if he takes a turn for the worst, but the doctors have determined there is no additional danger to Pipsqueak's life from the transfusion itself."
Plasma Wave smiled at Speaks with Talons, "From what I heard about it from Keen Wit's dad, Keen Wit and Pipsqueak happen to have the exact same blood type and Keen Wit not only has had the disease before, but was exposed to it again at the same time Pipsqueak was. Given that he's not sick in the slightest now, the doctor's got his parents to consent to a sample for tests and determined his body's producing exactly what it needs to fight it off."
Speaks with Talons nodded again. "I will not pretend to understand these 'blood types' the doctors speak of, but with the two colts matching up, the doctors determined that this transfusion between them was the best chance Pipsqueak had. The shaman's remedy for this illness takes the dedication of a truly skilled herbalist and needs multiple days to work on any creature the doesn't have the magic of æther coursing through their veins like unicorns or dragons do. So my brother, Sings to Canopy, could not bring himself to object to it when they sought his counsel, given the colt's need."
Speaks with Talons saw me listen intently but failed to smile. With a furled brow of frustration, he continued.
"If it is of any comfort to you, battle brother, they are refraining from taking this measure with the other ponies affected until they have more research, be it with adults or children. On top of this, the parents of both colts were informed this was experimental and of the risks before they agreed to this."
I thought about how they had too little time to even see if it would work, but at least they weren't doing it in mass. Maybe they knew more about the subjects than I had been led to believe and I had just helped connect some dots. Either way, it was done and I couldn't do much to undo it.
Instead, I just swallowed my pride and focused on the mission at hand. Shifting my weight to my other foot, I brought my notebook back up to continue reading and turned to Plasma Wave.
"So you've been spending as much time as you could volunteering for the hospital as a counselor for the guards that had to have amputations from the gangrene outbreak. That's neat."
Plasma Wave made note of a nurse walking by, and furled his brow. "Yes, and I've also been spending my time listening to my daughter nag at me to get examined by the doctors when there's nothing wrong with me!"
With a glare, he practically snarled. "And I'm not stupid, either. You've been preoccupied for days now purifying that food but you just so happen to pull out your special foreign magic and whip it up quickly immediately after I leave her alone with you guys. And don't pretend you didn't! You wouldn't be going over your little scribble notebook of spells otherwise!"
With this, Plasma Wave stood up and saw that same nurse stallion turn on the indicator that the patients in the recovery wing he was helping with were ready for counselors and visitation.
"What do you guys do with that exact time you are granted but buddy up to me? You two have been some of the best adventuring buddies I could ever hope to have and it's great to catch up, but I'm telling you that I'm fine! Now go find somepony else to help, because I'm sick and tired of being told I need it!"
He took a deep breath, let it out slowly and practically marched like he was in a parade to that wing.
I just about gave chase when Speaks with Talons put his talon out to stop me, holding it out just shy of touching me. It was subtle, and an outsider wouldn't have understood, but I got what he was using his talon and namesake to say. Plasma Wave was triggered. There was no reaching him right now and Speaks with Talons was using my own gesture to relay that message to me quietly as I had done for him in the past.
I shrank back and returned to working with my notes.
Maybe ten minutes later, I finally finished enough reflection on my notes to feel it kick in. My Arcane Recovery feature as a wizard, while at the most rudimentary level, did let me restore a single level one spell slot after reflecting on my notes for an hour or so. Starlight and Princess Twilight wanted to hook me up to a machine and run tests right away so badly when they found out that they had to be held back by their friends. Ultimately, I had to concede to the testing the next day, but only after they calmed down.
With a smile, I closed my notebook and looked up.
Immediately I was startled to see Fluttershy patiently waiting for me to finish.
"Um, Moss? I'm glad you're here. I was hoping you could help with something?"
With a press of my amulet, I nodded and steadied myself.
"I'll try. What do you-"
I was cut off by a miniaturized Discord lashing out from Fluttershy's mane. His back limbs and tail were still caught in her mane without disturbing it as he stretched his form and grasped my amulet.
"Enough with the politeness! Here's a recharge! We need to get moving!"
With the slightest touch of his lion paw, he dumped so much energy into my previously empty amulet that the overflow protocols were triggered and I felt the surge of the remaining energy shock my body in the form of electricity.
It did more pain than damage, but it was enough to send me over the edge with the sudden surprise that it made me jump back.
"I'm sorry for his behavior, Moss. With..." She went meek. "With you know who out and about again, Discord has refused to leave my side."
Shrinking back into her mane to guard her zealously, Discord piped in with a much quieter tone. "If your counterpart or any soul stupid enough to try to harm her comes near her, I'll rip them a new one, sew it back together inside out, then rip them apart again before they can even try to utter the words 'I'm sorry.'"
A chill came over me as I was reminded of the curse he placed upon me as a compromise on Fluttershy's behalf. I knew he wasn't kidding. If it weren't for the fact he couldn't detect Dalock due to his and his familiar's Amulets of Proof against Detection and Location Starlight had examined before he stole them back, Discord could have already been out there, found him and ended him with little effort. As powerful as Dalock was, Discord was on a whole different level still. I couldn't help but be grateful he was working with us in spite of his chaotic nature.
* * *
Fluttershy, myself, Speaks with Talons and our little almost out of sight followers, went outside the hospital to an open field behind it. It was littered with impromptu tents full of patients of a kind of disease that I didn't understand entirely. All I was able to absorb was that it was one with a nearly nonexistent mortality rate when a healthy pony could tend to the others, but it still left the infected as weak as a kitten. Their core body metabolism and immunity would be as strong as a healthy individual beyond barely being able to lift their heads. As long as they weren't sick with anything else, their biggest threats were dehydration, starvation or a predator catching them from being so weak.
This simple cure of just tender love and care that even volunteers could do, combined with their sheer numbers, the victims of this disease were brought outside to make more room for the others packing the hospital so tightly. At the behest of the Tribal High Shaman before he left, he had recommended leaving them in the fresh air and tend to them around the clock as they get their strength back, saying the fresh air tended to actually help in the recovery by a day or two.
I had to take a moment to remember that the ponies could control the weather conditions before I objected to the logic.
With a small group of nurses and a single doctor overseeing the volunteers, it was quite the sight of cooperation. I wasn't super savvy to my home world's history, but I had a suspicion that this might have been what it might have looked like when the nations of the world clashed and the people of my nation's past put aside their differences, put aside their personal problems, and rose to the occasion to fight a problem that threatened all of them. In a way I was almost happy to be reminded of that time in history. By the time I had been born and raised before I was thrown into this new world, I honestly had no idea if such a time would ever come again. Too much politics and mud slinging.
I had to shake my head as we reached our destination. It was probably an idealized sentiment of looking back at the past like a photograph. I'm sure problems were still under the surface, but at least that didn't keep them from becoming united.
Fluttershy nodded to the pony running the impromptu kitchen to feed the overflowing patients. "Blossomforth and Flitter and the other caregivers that recovered quickly from this disease from having it as foals can handle the animals on their own. As much as I hate parting with the animals, we ultimately agreed that we needed to help as much as we can and only so many of us are needed at the shelter. Since I had this sickness as a filly, at most I'll be out for a day if I do catch it again. So I came here to volunteer."
"You shouldn't be here. You could get sick." I heard Archimedes call out to me.
I looked up at him circling above us. "The sick need medicine, not the healthy. So you can take that opinion of staying away and zip it!"
He said nothing for a moment, but responded coldly, beyond his normal disdain, like he had been hurt. "Yes, partner... Sir."
I just had realized that I had inadvertently given him an order as my familiar when I heard a weak voice from behind.
"Is that you again, Mr Not-Invader?"
Turning around, I saw a feeble white unicorn filly barely managing to come up to me.
"You need to get back to bed!"
It took a moment, but I recognized her as one of the first ponies to warm up to me after I had arrived. She had even tried to recharge my amulet, despite not even getting a single charge in for her effort.
"I know, but I wanted to thank you. You're donation is what made this entire..."
She stopped talking as she was lifted up in the kind of telekinetic aura I'd seen unicorns use.
"That is quite enough energy spent, little one." I heard a familiar voice call out as a larger pony approached.
Without the need to support herself, her body went completely limp like a rag doll and she called out. "but Aunt Luna..."
"Don't you 'But Aunt Luna' me. I've been told that if Applejack catches you or the other Cutie Mark Crusaders out and about again she will personally tie you to your beds. I'm tempted to do it myself. Back to resting."
"Shouldn't you be far away from here, your highness?" I heard a nails on a chalk board like voice call out from the kitchen.
Turning, I saw Spoiled Rich pop her head out alongside her servant, working in the kitchen alongside the Apples.
Before I could respond, Luna was promptly back, teleporting straight in between the volunteers that were getting soup to administer to the ponies in bed.
Several of the ponies were startled, but no soup was spilled.
"I was ill with a much stronger strain of this disease, one that could actually kill a pony when I was young centuries ago. Unlike with you, we were able to confirm with the doctors that my body won't be affected before I came down. And you should be grateful that we are allowing your family to work off your crime in community service. If it is too much for you, you are always welcome to take your chances in those quarantined prisons instead. Just realize that once you go, we can't let you out again until the quarantine is lifted."
I recalled a time where I could have made rain suddenly appear above her, ruining her makeup, but had decided against it. That look of a defeated "Karen" on her face definitely made up for it and my more immature side was properly karma-sated now.
Meanwhile, I was doing my light breathing routine to keep myself... relatively calm in Luna's presence.
Turning to me apologetically, she came up carefully. "Though Sweetie Belle did have a point. The donations collected from your fundraising via answering questions did help considerably in setting this up expediently. Though we know it was simply meant for a general charity of Twilight's choosing, the royal family does thank you for the immediate funding before the paperwork could be pushed through."
With a hand to the spot where my forehead and nose met, I shook off the impending headache I knew I'd have to deal with later. Not wanting to dwell on it, I changed the subject by asking, "'Aunt' Luna? Was she another princess or something?"
A merry smile came to Princess Luna's face as she quelled a laugh before it came out. "Nothing of the sort, Moss. The Ponies of Ponyville were the first to open up to me after I returned and it is simply a nickname some of the local children gave me after I granted them my blessing in gratitude a time back. While privileged to see me in the palace, the ones from this town that hold my blessing are not actually related to myself. It is simply an honorary title I carry from them with no real weight."
She shook her head. "I came because Ponyville is one of the few locations I can substitute for my sister's duties to help with moral, but I fear my presence here may be causing more harm than good after all."
I looked back to the line where they were just getting back in order.
"Let me guess. You're offering to comfort them, but they keep getting upset?"
Her eyes went wide when she saw what I was thinking back to. After a moment she simply gave a nod.
"It's because you're coming on too strong. I know you're their princess, but they're sick and probably feeling very vulnerable. Try taking it slow and let it be their choice to be comforted or not. There's a time for a firm stance and time for a gentle one. Firm isn't working, try gent..."
I cautiously bowed to Princess Luna as quickly as I felt I could get away with, and turned back in the direction of the hospital.
"I'll volunteer with you as soon as I'm able, Fluttershy, but I have to fix something."
Turning to Speaks with Talons as he came up next to me, I gave him a serious look. "Gentle isn't working. We're doing this the firm way. It's time to intervene."
We caught Mandible and Plasma Wave talking to the nurse at the amputee station.
"I'm sorry about before but..." I shifted from thought to speech. "Partner?"
"...OK, fine. One last one, but only because you managed to replenish the slot earlier and the urgency."
With a nod, I reached into my component pouch and pulled out a yew leaf. Moving it across my eyes, I called out.
"Help me see."
Immediately, I saw a startling sight. Plasma Wave's featherless wing was glowing hard with an infected cyst underneath the mechanical wing. This was coupled with another disease eating away at him, mostly in the wing but also throughout his body. I could see the properties of the disease, but I couldn't figure out their names.
Not glancing at him for too long, I moved as if to pass him, only to reach out and grab his mechanical wing where the edge of the cyst was sure to be sensitive.
I had barely grabbed it, but the action caused him to scream out in pain and drop like a sack of potatoes. His brave face broken, he was clearly breathing heavily at the pain my grabbing of the wing caused.
Speaks with Talons worked with me to remove his mechanical wing so that the others could see the cyst.
Once Speaks with Talons saw the cyst on the exposed part of the wing, he looked at Plasma Wave in anger.
"You're getting that examination, now!"
Plasma Wave was on an impromptu couch turned hospital bed in one of the other rooms that had been expanded for allowing a second patient.
"Doc, I need to let you know, I didn't do it to save the wing. If it needs to go, fine. I'm not going to be a hypocrite to the ponies I've been-gah!... Visiting."
The doctor looked at the cyst as he finished draining it carefully.
"Why didn't you at least get it checked up? A simple prescription of penicillin could have handled both the gangrene and prevented the infection of the staphylococcus. Now the gangrene has metastasized."
"I didn't want to clog up the hospital any more. And the infection looked like it was going down. It wasn't nearly this bad this morning."
He looked at Plasma Wave's vitals the old fashioned way, since the machines were all being used from the hospital being overrun.
"Well, We're going to have to go to surgery. Your body isn't responding to the medicine fast enough. The shaman's apprentices just exhausted themselves and they aren't going to recover their stamina in time to catch this."
Plasma wave looked at the doctor. "Give it to me straight. What are my odds with the surgery?"
Pulling up a page on his personal clip board, the doctor shook his head. "If I were to give a good guess, at your age and the progression of the gangrene, maybe thirty percent? We will have to bump up some surgeries-"
"No!"
We all looked at Plasma Wave in shock. "No. No bumping up anypony's surgeries. Not on my account. I know the surgeons are stretched thin as it is. You're all ready having to make tough calls on which ones to let the shaman's treat, which ones to operate on, and are on the verge of just letting some go. I've lived a long life. I'm not risking some young one's treatment for a mere thirty percent that I know you're high balling."
"But-"
Plasma Wave got angry. "I have the right to refuse treatment! Now stop wasting time on me and get back out there!"
The room was solemn as the tired doctor just sighed, nodded and left. The the elderly earth pony mare that was also sharing his room gave an empathetic but sad face.
"At least one of us will recover to help the young." He turned to me. "Moss, you just wanted to help, and I forgive you for that stunt, but could you and the big lug do one last thing?"
With a quiet nod, Speaks with Talons and I leaned in.
"Just stay here? I know it's greedy of me. I don't want my daughter to see me like this, but I don't want to be alone at the end either."
It was a few minutes in as the reality sank in. Plasma Wave was going to die to make sure others could get the limited treatment available.
"I want you two to know, I didn't think it'd end up like this. If I had, I'd have gone to the doctors the moment they had a chance to see me. Now I'm even more of a bother."
Speaks with Talons came up and cupped Plasma Wave's head in his talon, pressing their foreheads together as he shed tears for the stallion. "Even in your last breaths, your worry is for others. Had you ever walked among my village, you would have been seen as a kindred spirit to both the shamans and the braves."
My mind, while in great pain, was in overdrive, thinking on what needed to be done. Memories of words past flashed through my mind.
"Never is it a waste to let a healer heal."
"I was going to just use the same words as my teacher, but he insisted it needed to be personal, from my own heart."
"That sounds more like what you want to think you mean to her, rather than what she means to you."
"Phooey! She loves you like no other!"
"...The ones from this town that hold my blessing are not actually related to myself. It is simply an honorary title I carry from them with no real weight."
"Stay strong, Battle Brother."
"Are you certain it is alright for me to call you cousin, Beast-kin? I am still only a student."
I knew what I could do to help, but a part of my mind still nagged at me.
"...We are going to have to make some tough calls. For the sake of lives, principles might be challenged."
I muttered under my breath, practically in a whisper, "Alright, fine."
Archimedes came over and gave a gentle gnawing at Plasma Wave's mane affectionately.
Not being noticed by my adventuring buddies, I closed my eyes and meditated inwardly on my beliefs.
"He who calls himself 'I Am,' please forgive me if I'm wrong."
With a slight pause to reset myself and dedicate, I heard Plasma Wave call out to Archimedes. "Aw, I didn't think you cared, Mr Grumpy Feathers."
"Animus Mundi? If you're listening, I'm desperate. I won't deny that. You don't seem to want worship, and I have no intention of serving you, but you seem to still like me. For reason's I'll never fathom, you seem to like me. I still have my doubts about my presence in this world, but if you're willing to help despite my not being your child and my lack of dedication, I won't object to it. Not anymore."
I opened up my tear stained eyes. I came up to Plasma Wave, still trying to put on a brave face to comfort me. With both hands, I pressed firmly onto his barrel and called out.
"Please, help me heal him-"
I took a deep breath and called out loudly.
"Auntie Equis!"
Suddenly, the room was alight with magic. I was drawn into the green mist like medium of the Animus Mundi, and yet I could still see the room around me. I saw the spell go off as well as new energy that had been held back flow through me and grant another level. Somehow, however, I knew this was different. Something different was fueling this level.
Archimedes and Plasma Wave simply looked at me in confusion. At the same time, the warmest sensation I had ever felt from the mist swept over me as I saw Speaks with Talons beak fall slack and his eyes follow the swirling essence infusing itself into me.
All the while, a pronounced thought from the Animus Mundi formed itself within me.
"Joy from your presence, son of Gaia."