There was a knock at the door. Ann opened her eyes and blinked a few times. The bed was soft and warm. And the bright sunlight streaming in through the window really made the mosaic artwork on the ceiling stand out. Funny how she’d never noticed that during the last couple days.
Sunlight? She furrowed her brow.
Sunlight! She bolted upright in bed. “It’s late. It’s so late.”
There was another knock. She startled and kicked at the covers, trying to get out of bed without falling on her face. “Coming…” She dropped to her hooves, trotted to the door, and opened it. Thunder Surf stood in a relaxed pose with a front leg crossed. “Thunder Surf! I’m so sorry. I must have overslept. Is anything wrong? Are we under attack again?”
He held up a leg. “Please, Miss Ann. Calm yourself. There is no problem, and you certainly deserved to sleep in after the day you had yesterday.”
She took a deep breath. “So there’s no emergency?”
He chuckled. “No, no emergency. I just thought I might escort you to get something to eat. And later you need to stop by the throne room as Princess Celestia would like to see you. But there’s no rush. She has many duties to fill the day.”
“Okay. I… Give me a few minutes to get ready. Would you like to come in?”
He backed up a couple steps. “No, Miss Ann. I’ll wait here until you’re ready.”
She closed the door and leaned against it. After several deep breaths, she went into the bathroom. She was much calmer when she exited her room.
“All clean and shiny?” he asked with a smile.
“Yes. I’m sorry I took so long.” She pawed at the floor.
“No, it’s fine.” He shook his head a couple times. “We don’t have a fixed schedule. Now, if you’d like, can we get you some brunch?”
She sighed. “That would be great. I realized I am pretty hungry.”
He turned to head down the hallway. “The guards’ mess again, I assume.”
She fell in next to him. “Absolutely. I feel comfortable there.”
It didn’t take long to descend to the mess hall. As they walked in, Ann suddenly stopped. The place was packed. Every table was full, and there were ponies lined up against the walls. Many wore their regular on-duty armor.
A pony close to the door jumped to his hooves and yelled out, “Attention!” Everypony stood up and faced Ann. They all stood motionless looking at her. Then some of the ponies in the front started to stomp their hooves. It spread throughout the room. The sound was deafening. Ann could feel the floor vibrating.
From out of the middle of the sea of faces, she saw the captain step forward. He raised a hoof, and the room went completely silent. He stopped a couple paces away from her and faced his troops.
“We have all taken an oath to protect the princess. Whatever it takes. We therefore had no illusions about what yesterday meant to us. Until the last pony.” He turned towards her. “Miss Ann, your actions tipped the balance in our favor. You probably saved the lives of everypony here.” He glanced at some bandaged guards standing by the wall. “Some you saved twice with the medical supplies you prepared.”
He paused for a moment, then looked directly into her eyes. “It's said you can't really know a pony until you've stood shoulder to shoulder with them in battle. I was on that balcony yesterday. I witnessed your skill as an alchemist. Your bravery in putting yourself at risk. Your composure under extreme stress. And your... empathy for the fallen.”
His hooves clicked together as he came to attention. “It was my honor, our honor to stand with you in defense of our princess and this castle. Thank you.” He crisply saluted, immediately echoed by the rest of the room. They held for a moment, and then dropped their legs.
Ann stood, mouth agape. Thunder Surf softly cleared his throat, and her mouth snapped shut. “Thank you. I was just doing what I felt was right. What needed to be done to save lives.”
“That’s what we all do, miss. But you did so as a civilian. That deserves to be recognized.” He turned to face the assembly. “As you were. Those on duty, get moving.” He smiled at Ann as he strode by and out of the room.
Thunder Surf guided Ann to the side as a flood of guard members exited. Many smiled or waved as they passed by. A few saluted again.
Once the room was clear, there were only a few scattered ponies left at the tables, eating. Ann whipped around to face Thunder Surf. “You knew about this, didn’t you?” She glared at him.
He shrugged sheepishly. “Maybe?” He paused. “Look. The whole guard has been talking about what you did yesterday. They just wanted an opportunity to express their thanks. Remember, saved lives…”
Ann held the glare just a second more, then relaxed into a smile. “Yeah, okay, I get it. It was just really embarrassing to have that many ponies staring at me.”
He returned her smile. “Well, it’s over now. Let’s get that brunch you wanted.”
Ann collected a nice big plate of food while Thunder Surf just had his usual tea. “You guards eat really fancy food.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, compared to what I normally eat at home…” As she ate, Ann noticed the chief medical officer and a nurse walk in. He scanned the room, stopping when he spotted Ann. With a nod to his companion, they walked over to the table.
The officer addressed Thunder Surf. “I guess we missed the gathering?”
“Yeah. It broke up perhaps ten minutes ago.” He gestured invitingly to the two open chairs at the table. “Please, have a seat.”
As they sat down, the officer continued, “That’s too bad. We wanted to be here, but we were a little delayed with surgery.”
The nurse snorted. “A little delayed?” She shook her head while giving him a playful push on the shoulder. “With the exception of a few short breaks, we’ve been working on an unending queue of injured for like the last twenty hours straight.”
“We did get through all the critical and serious cases,” he retorted.
“And... we didn’t lose a single patient that made it to the medical wing,” she added. They leaned forward and nuzzled for a moment.
Ann glanced sideways at Thunder Surf. He explained, “You’ve heard of couples who are so close they can finish each other’s sentences? These two can do entire surgeries with little more than the occasional grunt or a nod. We are lucky to have them, especially when things go bad… like they did yesterday.”
The couple smiled at Thunder Surf. “It’s probably just as well that we were late,” the officer continued. “I really wanted to speak to you in person, Miss Ann. That would have been hard in a room full of troops.” He sat up a little straighter.
“I wanted to personally thank you for the mixing you did the other day. Those compounds have a shelf life, so we don’t keep large amounts on hand. Certainly not enough for a major engagement like we had yesterday.” He shifted in his chair and leaned forward on the table. “We ran out of our supply very quickly. Without the containers you had prepared…” He glanced at his wife. “We’d have lost at least a dozen more ponies before we could get them into surgery.”
“Perhaps as many as twenty,” she added. “And that doesn’t count how painful it would have been for the survivors we worked on without the topical anesthesia you also mixed.” She paused to see Ann staring at her. “Is something wrong?”
A little startled, Ann shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I just realized I recognized you from yesterday. I saw you run across the courtyard. You slipped in a puddle of… You fell down. And when you got back up…” She closed her eyes for a moment. “Sorry, I was just back on that balcony for a second.”
The nurse let out a long sigh before she spoke. “I do much better in the surgery with just a single pony. It’s controlled, manageable. Battlefield triage is hard, so chaotic. You find a pony and realize there's nothing you can do. He only has a few minutes left. And you can't even sit down and hold his hoof until the end because there are three other ponies next to him you might be able to save if you don't delay.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “So you watch him slip away, scared and alone, while you desperately try to save a comrade, or perhaps an enemy. I hate being forced to do that.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “But then you remember those other three ponies you did save. And you realize as horrible as it was, in those few minutes, you made a choice, and it made a difference. And that difference is why we do what we do.”
Her husband leaned over, and they embraced. Ann wiped her eyes.
The couple released each other and stood up. He addressed Ann. “We need to get back. There are still a lot of ponies who require stitches and other care. I just really wanted to thank you. You're not on staff and under no obligation to help. Yet you did, and it made a huge difference to a lot of ponies.” He nodded to Thunder Surf, and then they turned and walked out of the room.
Ann pushed her almost empty plate away. “I think I’m done.” She looked at Thunder Surf. “You know, I’ve led a pretty sheltered life back in my little town. I’m not sure how much I like the larger world.”
“I know it can be hard sometimes.” He laid a hoof on hers. “But things like yesterday are rare. There’s a lot more that’s beautiful and worth seeing than there is bad stuff. The world is a better place if you’re out in it.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
He pulled back his leg and cleared his throat. “So, since you’re done, how about we wander up towards the throne room?”
As they walked down one of the hallways, Ann commented. “Thunder Surf, something’s wrong…”
He stiffened and glanced around. “What is it, Miss Ann?”
“We’re walking.”
He raised his head and let loose with a hearty belly laugh. “You’re right. It is weird to be walking. Everywhere we went yesterday was at a full gallop.”
She grinned at him. “I haven’t galloped that much in a day for some time.”
"And I've probably fulfilled this week's PT requirements just sprinting around the castle."
They walked on in silence for a while. Ann bit her lower lip as she gave him a subtle glance. "Hey, Thunder Surf, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Miss Ann, anything."
"Do you ever take vacations? I mean, long enough to go somewhere?"
"Yes, we get a couple periods of extended leave per year. I typically go home to visit my family."
Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she focused straight ahead. "Well... If you were ever interested in seeing someplace new... There's a... I know a nice little farming community you could come visit. If you wanted..."
"That sounds like it could be fun, Miss Ann." He looked over at her.
She met his gaze. "Oh, and... perhaps... you could just call me Ann?"
He smiled gently at her. "I'd like that very much."
Ann pranced for a couple steps, then caught herself. Lowering her head, she whispered, "Sorry."
"It's fine. I might prance too... if it were allowed." He winked at her.
As they reached the antechamber, they saw the alchemist waiting in the middle of the room. Ann smiled. “Master, it’s good to see--”
The alchemist briskly strode towards her. With his head held high, he looked down his muzzle at Ann. "Windflower. Some small assistance you said? I have spoken with the princess, the captain on duty yesterday, the chief medical officer, and even Thunder Surf here. I am well aware of what you have been up to in my absence. There can only be one response to the actions you have taken.” He paused. “I’m afraid you can no longer be my apprentice.”
Ann gasped. Her legs trembled, and the room seemed to fade from view.
He lowered his head and smiled. "Therefore, from this day forward, you will bear the full title of alchemist. Your actions these last two days were more than I could have hoped for from an apprentice. You acted with skill and wisdom. You made a difference. And in the end, making a difference is what an alchemist does. Congratulations." He reached out and gently touched her cheek.
“I saw the potential for something those many years ago. I took a chance hoping you were what was needed. I had no idea what that might be, but I had faith that the universe did. Your years of work and hardship have produced what you are now. And I couldn’t be prouder.”
Thunder Surf snorted once. "Huh! Who knew the old stallion had such a wicked sense of humor. Miss...” He cleared his throat. “Ann, let me be the first to congratulate you on your new title. You truly deserve it.”
“An alchemist? I’m a real alchemist?” She glanced back and forth between the two. A smile started to form, and then fell away. "Does this mean I have to leave? I don't want to leave. You’re not going to kick me out, are you? I have so much more to learn..."
He reached out to touch her shoulder. "No, it doesn't mean you have to leave. I would enjoy your companionship for a short time more. But soon, you will need to set out on your own. Soon, you will want to do so. You must find your own path as an alchemist and follow it wherever it may lead you. And I am excited to see where that will be."