“Until further notice, I am the sole commander of this army,” Elias said, keeping his expression tight and emotionless, even as he held his ribs in place.
After talking with the guard captains about how the march would function, he had immediately called a meeting of all of the able-bodied ponies. The princesses stood on the uncovered wagon behind him, their best stoic expressions on. The brown and red stains in their fur really helped sell the look, and he knew that nobody put any kind of blame or fault in their direction. The guard captains stood in front of the wagon, while his personal support staff was scattered in the crowd; his attempt to not show favoritism of what was now essentially his army.
With no wish to draw things out, he kept his words simple, and to the point.
“I have already briefed your captains, and they will begin training you on the new way this army will operate,” he continued. “Rest assured, we will have no repeat of yesterday. Ponies are lost in battle, but we lost far too many for reasons that are frankly not good enough.”
His eyes were drawn to motion, and he noted several Solar Guards shifting about nervously.
“Which brings me to my next point. Though the investigation is ongoing, we know who we do not lay blame upon. The rout of the Solar Guard was not caused by the cowardice of its members, but by artificial means. Do not blame your golden brothers in arms for receiving confusing orders. I do not.”
He had told Gray Granite to intermingle some legionaries with the Solar Guards before the meeting, and the earth pony began playfully jostling some of the golden-clad ponies. The other legionaries quickly joined in, and the mood became contagious. Lunar Guards and legionaries began teasing those on the fringes of the Solar Guard block, and what little tension had been in the air vanished as the ponies did what they did best; smile and forgave one another.
“Furthermore,” Elias called out above the low-level chatter, “the word ‘traitor’ has been making the rounds. Let me be clear; that is not your concern. Trust in those around you, in your princesses, and in your captains. They have your best interests at heart, and they will ensure as many of you as possible get home safe. Any ‘traitors’ that need dealt with fall under my purview, and I hope you trust me to met out appropriate punishments if such are necessary.”
A few legionaries chuckled darkly, drawing nervous smiles from the regular guards around them. Elias felt a similarly dark smile creeping across his lips as he thought about the torments he could inflict on Lionheart. Some would obviously be physical, but most didn’t need to be. A coward like Lionheart would be intimidated by the physical, but to truly break him, he would need to attack… attack the…
Elias blinked awake, found himself swaying in place. A rainbow of color cast in the orange of the late afternoon sun swam before him, and he felt something warm running down his face.
“General?” a call came from the crowd.
Elias squinted at the multi-colored blobs, finding a particularly concerned looking spot of green and blue.
Then he pitched forward, flopping out of the wagon and to the dirt. He felt another rib break as his back hit the ground, and he fell into a coughing fit even as fur surrounded him. Hooves dragged him on to a stretcher, then spirited him away, the blue sky moving past in a daze.
Elias began recovering his faculties when he was somewhat upright again. He winced as he listened to someone yelling. His eyes squinted open to find Kind Heart yelling at a mass of scrambling ponies.
“I don’t care if I get four ponies covered with a sheet, I need a bucking bed, and I need it now!”
Elias looked down to once again find himself in the chair at Scarlet’s bedside. The pegasus was watching him with visible alarm, even as Bloody Bandage gently preened his good wing. Elias did his best to offer the scarlet pegasus a reassuring wink before turning his squinting eyes at Kind Heart.
“Relax Doc,” he mumbled. “I just had a dizzy spell.”
The pink unicorn’s eyes smoldered with anger, and her muzzle curled.
“Shut the buck up General!” she snapped. “You’re getting a bed, you’re getting a transfusion, and then we’re getting whoever the buck still has magic to fix you! I don’t care if it’s King Sombra at this point!”
Elias snorted and glanced at Scarlet.
“I think I’m in trouble Strategist.”
The crimson pegasus did not match his grin. Elias rolled his eyes and looked back to Kind Heart.
“Doc, I don’t need a bed or healing, just-” she began to growl “-let me stay here for the rest of the day and get me something to wash off in. I swear, rest of the day resting. Then you can take a crack at me as soon as you’re charged up, alright?”
Kind Heart’s anger slipped away at his attempt to compromise, cooling to a mere frown.
“We can get you a bed at least.”
Elias closed his eyes and leaned back.
“Not without taking one away from someone else. I’ll be fine, and I’ll rest. Just… don’t worry.” He paused for a moment, then added; “and get Snowball in here. He’s right. He does a really good blanket impression.”
“I knew it!” the loveling cheered, popping up as if summoned in his thestral disguise.
Elias found himself immediately smothered as Snowball purred and nuzzled his head.
“Arm out General,” he said. “Then I can give you a nice healing dose of snuggles.”
Elias snorted, managing to poke an eye free of Snowball’s overwhelming fluff.
“Never mind. No rest, just let me die.”
Kind Heart’s frown broke and she let out a chuckle.
“No dice General.” With a sigh, she said; “Fine, no bed until one becomes available. I’ll go get some saline for you, and some soup. You need to naturally process some fluids too.”
“Grab some blood for Scarlet as well,” Bloody Bandage said, plopping a bucket at Elias’ feet. “And some towels. I’ll clean up General Bright once I have the IVs started.”
She started cleaning, first scrubbing down his arm before sliding the needle in with ease. Nudging Snowball down, she then cut away his tunic to little protest; it was one of his red ones that he had bulk produced for exactly that purpose. Pointing out a few of the worst spots, she made Snowball continue his “bath” while she checked Scarlet’s IV line. The pegasus rolled onto his belly, leaving one of his forelegs sticking out, a needle already in place with an empty bag hanging from the IV stand.
“Aw, don’t I get a bath?” the crimson pegasus teased.
“Sure,” Bloody Bandage smiled. “Just ask General Bright if he wants to share. We only have the one bucket for now.”
Scarlet looked sheepishly toward Elias, who raised an eyebrow.
“I can wait ‘till later,” he squeaked.
Elias rolled his eyes, wincing slightly as Snowball brushed a small nick near his ear. The loveling clicked his tongue and dabbed the damaged ear itself.
“You might want to have a doctor regrow this when we get back. It’s covered up by your hair for now, but it’s pretty bad.”
“I wasn’t going to get them pierced anyway,” Elias said, watching as Kind Heart trotted to the foot of Scarlet’s bed, a pair of bags in her mouth. She left the blood bag on the bed and moved to his side to hook up the saline. “And it’s not like the ear lobe does anything.”
“Still, it’s asymmetrical,” Snowball said. “You look better with them both being the same.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Elias said, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand.
“Princess Luna would like it…”
Elias’ fingers stopped and he glared at the disguised loveling. Snowball blinked back at him, then seemed to realize his verbal slip up. He shrank, then resumed his normal, smaller loveling form.
“Sorry,” he squeaked.
Elias continued to glare even as Kind Heart moved away and began hooking up Scarlet’s blood bag.
“Oh please General, everypony who has eyes knows about that little ‘secret’. What do you think all the legionaries talked about when you were at your little, *ahem* “friendship sessions”?”
“And who do you think was providing extra security during your dates?” Bloody Bandage grinned. “With how rumors run in Canterlot, the only ponies who don’t know are the ones who think they know everything. Like nobles.”
The ponies and the human shared a collective hate-filled shudder.
“That can’t be true,” Elias said, recovering from the collective hatred of Canterlot’s noble class first. “Princess Luna and I were very discrete, and we didn’t even do anything.”
“Except eat approximately thirty-one steak dinners with her privately,” Bloody Bandage said, unwrapping a length of bandages. “Only one pony in the entirety of Canterlot that eats that much meat, and the whole kitchen had to be cleaned every time, so there’s a little over a dozen ponies who know just about the dinners.”
Elias winced.
“Alright, I didn’t think about that, but that’s still only a little-”
“Two of the kitchen staff have brothers in the Solar Guard,” Bloody Bandage said. She prodded Scarlet and mumbled; “roll onto your side,” then continued. “And both of those Solar Guards have weekly poker sessions with three Lunar Guards and one Royal Guard.”
She directed Kind Heart to remove the old bandages while she readied the new ones, wrapping Scarlet’s belly wound tight as soon as the old set was pulled away.
“There’s also the Royal Guards that watched you two during your date to Book Binder and Night Flash’s wedding, as well as the Lunar Guards on support that night.”
“And every legionary knows what “I have an important meeting” really meant,” Kind Heart said, picking up where Bloody Bandage left off. “I’m sure one or two were real, but three a week? Please, we even saw you watching us with Princess Luna while we were still running drills one night. Even at a distance I could tell that she was very engaged with whatever you were talking about. Then there was the fact that you always smelled like lavender, and there were occasionally those midnight blue hairs on your tunics, and-”
Elias again winced. Had he really been so indiscreet? Sure, got passionate when it came to talking about his legion, and he hadn’t even considered the possibility that the legionaries might have been watching him just as he and Luna were watching them…
He sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand.
“Joy. Are any of the rumors bad?”
Kind Heart chortled.
“No, if anything, they’re glad that somepony finally got a princess to go on a date. Word from the older guards is that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been dry for thousands of years. To see one get back in the game and take a risk on love is beautiful, and we’re all rooting for a return of that relationship after the march is over.”
Elias dropped his hand slightly and stared at the mare.
“So everyone knows I broke Luna’s heart?”
“Everypony knows that you did what you thought was right and that you both got hurt,” Kind Heart said smoothly. “And very few are judgmental; none of whom are in the legion.”
Elias let out a long breath.
“I suppose that’s the best I ca-”
A single wet cough seemed to send a shockwave of silence through the air, and a short gasp quickly drew all eyes toward Scarlet’s bed. The pegasus twitched, an arc of red passing up and down his body. The pegasus blinked, his eyes, shifting through a rainbow of colors. His bad wing shot out, spontaneously healing and regrowing all of its feathers. Another arc passed through the pegasus and he shivered, sitting up in bed.
“Why is it suddenly hot in here?”
Bloody Bandage shifted to his bedside even as Kind Heart shouted; “Stay back!”
“It’s okay,” the unicorn said, laying the pegasus back down. “Let me just pull the IV, then we can try diagnosing this the old fashioned way before anypony starts a pani-”
She flinched as Scarlet spit blood into her face, then flopped back onto the bed. He writhed wordlessly, his wings flapping up and down, more red energy flitting between his feathers.
Elias pushed Snowball off and ripped the IV from his arm. Though his head swam as he stood, he still moved to Scarlet’s bedside, recovering his vision even as he spoke.
“What do we do?”
“Just hold him down!” Bloody Bandage said, wiping her eyes clean. “He only got a little overcharge, it should pass!”
Elias pinned the pegasus’ left side, and Bloody Bandage latched onto the right a moment later. She gritted her teeth, her horn flickering with magic.
“Healer Bandage, do not light your horn!” Kind Heart said, staying well back. “Let me get the inhibitor rings first, just… just stay here!”
She charged away with Snowball in tow. Scarlet let out a moan, and his eyes opened, glowing with rainbow light. He looked up to Elias and smiled, his teeth bloody.
“I… I want to go fly-”
Elias closed his eyes as a cough of blood splattered his face, and he quickly turned, spitting what had gotten in his mouth on the ground. Bloody Bandage growled, and as Elias blinked away the blood in his eyes, she charged her horn, settling the magic in Scarlet’s belly.
“The overcharge doesn’t know what to do with his organs, it’s tearing them.”
Her horn flickered, and she winced.
“I… I don’t have enough magic to-”
Scarlet groaned and sprayed more blood down his stomach. A red arc razed through his body. Elias watched as it paused when it encountered Bloody Bandage’s magic. He again looked up to the unicorn and found a white arc of energy sparking from her horn. She gritted her teeth, meeting his eyes for a bare second.
“Overcharge can be utilized to recharge magic-” she said in what he imagined was her attempt at reassurance, “-as long as I don’t take too much...”
The aura on Scarlet’s belly began glowing with the same white crackling energy, and the pegasus’ struggles lessened. Bloody Bandage panted, then grinned.
“It’s working. I… I’ve quarantined his belly from the overcharge and am using what little I took to heal all the internal damage…” Her eyes flicked to Scarlet’s foreleg. “Elias, pull that. Rip it out for all I care.”
He reached over and yanked the needle free. He began to use the bed sheet to staunch bleeding, but Bloody Bandage stopped him.
“Don’t; let it drip. Maybe we can let some bad blood out.” She pointed a hoof at the IV bag. “Nopony touch that! Wait until we can quarantine that off, everypony just back away!”
Kind Heart returned, a ring around her horn and thick rubber gloves on her forelegs. An equally thick mask covered her muzzle, and she offered similar equipment to Bloody Bandage.
“Gear up Healer,” she said.
Bloody Bandage shook her head.
“Leave me alone. I’m already infected, but I can save both of us if I can focus.”
Kind Heart sighed, but merely left the protective gear on the foot of the bed. She grabbed the bucket they had been using to clean Elias off and moved around the bed, tipping the entire IV pole over so that the blood bag splattered inside. She then began stuffing the bucket with bed sheets, no doubt to make sure the bad blood didn’t spread.
Elias had several questions he wanted to ask, but he didn’t dare interrupt as the crackling arcs of white magic began to dim. Scarlet moaned and looked up at him.
“E-Elias?”
The human gave the pony his best comforting smile, loosening his grip to gently brush the stallion’s mane.
“Shhh, relax Scarlet. Let Doc Bandage get you fixed up.”
Scarlet’s eyes flickered with rainbow light, the glow beginning to grow brighter once more.
“I… ”
Elias looked up to Bloody Bandage to find the glow mirrored in the unicorn’s eyes as she gritted her teeth in concentration.
“Kind Heart…” he called.
The pink unicorn looked up from the bucket just as one final, massive arc of energy ran up and down Scarlet’s body. Elias hissed as his hands blistered with intense heat, and he couldn’t help but pull away. Bloody Bandage cried out in pain, and the crimson energy arced to her horn, over taking her aura and continuing to run havoc through her body. She collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain and clutching at her head. Nobody approached her to help.
Elias felt torn between helping her and helping Scarlet, and his eyes made the decision. Looking at the crimson pegasus broke his heart. The freshly changed bandages around the pegasus’ barrel were wet with blood and other fluids. His eyes were void of light, and all his struggling had ceased. He was gone.
Elias numbly moved around the bed, stumbling slightly, his head swimming. Kind Heart whimpered from afar as he crouched next to Bloody Bandage.
“General, you need to stay away from her until we can quarantine the overload.”
Elias stared at the suffering unicorn beneath him, her eyes flickering in the same assortment of colors that had filled Scarlet’s eyes. Bloody Bandage didn’t blink, merely clutched at her head in teary eyed pain as her horn sparked out of control. He reached out and gently scratched her ears, unsure of what else to do.
“General-”
“I won’t be affected by bad magic,” Elias said. “I don’t have magic, so it can’t affect me, right?”
Kind Heart shook her head.
“Overcharged magic can still be deadly, even on inanimate objects. Yes, you’re unique, but I don’t know if that mean’s you’re safe.”
Safe. Somebody cared if he was safe. That wasn’t how it was supposed to work. He was supposed to protect them. And he’d failed. He closed his eyes, not wanting them to drift upward.
“Just tell me what to do Healer.” He motioned to the blood splatter on his face. “Either I’m already infected or I’m immune. Let’s not put anyone else at risk.” He swallowed hard and stroked Bloody Bandage’s head. “She doesn’t want that.”
He heard a shaky breath from behind him, followed by a cooling sigh.
“Right… right. Put the protective gear on Healer Bandage. It’s laced with null stone and it may help her ride this out. It definitely will help protect other ponies. You need to take her outside the camp, I’ll be along shortly after I clean up here, but don’t worry about that. Just get out of camp. I’ll tell Snowball to clear the way.”
Elias gave her a single nod, then tuned out everything around him as she began bellowing orders. He reached onto the bed, grabbing the protective gear. Bloody Bandage met his eyes as he began sliding on the rubber gloves, and she shook her head.
“The horn ring first,” she whispered. “It’ll keep the magic trapped.”
“In you,” Elias said.
The unicorn nodded. She knew what would happen.
So he slid the ring on. It clicked into place, and the wild arcs vanished, instead beginning their wild run within Bloody Bandage’s body. She whimpered, but did her best to remain still as he finished dressing her.
He then picked her up, his grip comforting and gentle. He braced her rump and let her rest her chin on his shoulder, hugging her tight to his body. Elias bit his lip until it bled as the arcs lashed out at him, sending palpitations into his already battered lungs. He didn’t let his grip loosen.
Not as he walked through the rapidly emptied healing tent, not as he walked past rows of ponies watching from the shadows of their tents, and not as he walked past the pair of Royal Guards at the castra entrance. The two made no effort to move away as he carried Bloody Bandage past, and he saw from the corner of his eye a stiff salute from both as he walked into the dark trees.
He walked until he was in so much pain that he couldn’t breathe. He found a thick tree trunk and sat down, holding back a groan of pain. He wasn’t allowed to hurt, not with Bloody Bandage in his arms. He stroked her back and scratched her ears and did his best to ignore every shock and jolt he received from the magic racing through her body.
The mare managed to let out a hum between moans of pain, and she nuzzled his cheek.
“T-too bad y-you never joined us,” she stuttered. “Royal G-Guard could use some hands like yours.”
She coughed, then coughed again. Elias closed his eyes and held her tight, rocking her back and forth as she slowly fought for breath. He considered trying human chest compressions, but knew that it was pointless. He’d probably just break her ribs, inflicting more pain. It was better to do nothing. The magic grew worse, and she began to twitch and spasm.
Then it was over.
The forest was silent.
Elias continued to cradle her still body long as he stared into the dark, his eyes hazy and unseeing, his mind in total shutdown. He didn’t think, didn’t process. He merely sat, and stared, and cradled yet another failure of his.
A ghost walked before his unseeing eyes. An Elias far younger, far healthier, sighed and crouched before him.
“I’m sorry,” Other-Elias whispered in his head, the ghost reaching out to gently brush Bloody Bandage’s coat. “I thought… maybe it wouldn’t be the same.”
Elias didn’t respond, didn’t engage that part of his mind, didn’t engage anything at all.
His first sense to return was his hearing. It tracked the slow crunch of hooves passing through leaves, approaching from behind. His eyes flickered to life next, greeted by nothing, but processing the steady increase of light. His brain kicked into gear, telling him that it was likely a search party. He hadn’t been out long enough for the sun to rise.
He coughed feebly and extended his hand out from behind the tree trunk.
“Here.”
The hooves all sped up, and he winced as light fell on him. He didn’t try to shield his eyes though, he merely stared up at the masked ponies without emotion.
“It’s over,” one of the ponies said, one who looked familiar… Kind Heart. Such sadness in her eyes. “It’ll be okay General. We’ve… We’ve got her.”
Rubber clad hooves touched his arm, and Elias realized after a moment that they were trying to make him let go. But he didn’t want to. She was still warm. Maybe… Maybe there was a chance…
Rational parts of his brain kicked on, taking quick control of his arms. They fell limp in his lap as Kind Heart and a pair of unicorns drew Bloody Bandage away and into a wooden coffin lined with bed-sheets and spare rubber gloves. He noticed that all three wore horn rings, noticed a moment later another familiar face. His eyes fell to his feet, then drifted back up to the forest. The unicorns finished up quickly, and hooves again descended to rest on his arm.
“Come on Elias,” Kind Heart said softly. “Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed.”
She began to pull, but this time Elias shrugged her off. His mind was awake, alive. Blood bags didn’t just do that. Magic didn’t just do that. He was an idiot when it came to magic and he knew better than to think something like that just happened.
“Answer me a question,” he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Healer Bandage said something about magical overcharge. That isn’t naturally carried by blood bags, is it?”
Silence gave him plenty of answer.
“No General,” Kind Heart finally said. “Overcharged magic is usually caused within the body and then explodes outward, tainting objects that are then dangerous. To have a contagious version of overcharged magic in a recently filled blood bag means that the bag was likely sabotaged.”
Elias nodded.
“Noted. How many ponies know?”
“We couldn’t be subtle General,” Kind Heart said. “And most unicorns know what overcharge is and where it comes from. It won’t take long until somepony mentions the idea of poison.”
Elias again nodded.
“Alright. I’ll deal with that… later. Go back to camp. Make sure everyone is calm and safe, and make sure there’s no more tainted blood. Can you sniff that kind of thing out?”
“I have detection spells,” Kind Heart said. “And I… I know which wagon I drew blood from. We’ll quarantine them all, but we’ll start our search there.”
“Okay,” Elias said.
They fell into silence again. Eventually, he wasn’t quite sure when, the ponies slipped away, taking the light with them.
So he sat. Caked in blood, his body crying out for care and rest. It was becoming severe enough that he knew that his body would force the point, but he needed more time to process. To simply stare. His eyes remained dry, something inside his brain wouldn’t let him go that far. Not even for a lost friend or two apparently. He was of the mind that that wasn’t natural, that it was something that needed looked at… later.
His ears again detected the approach of someone. Hooves crunched through the leaves, this time preluded by no light. He vaguely wondered if it was someone coming to yell at him. He was supposed to be stalwart, and strong. Yes, he had held one of his closest friends in his arms as they died, chased immediately by another in a far worse fashion, but he wasn’t supposed to show how much he cared. Not yet anyway. He had to be a rock for the army first; unshaking, unflinching. He knew what death was, had seen it hundreds of times, had dealt it just as much. Friends dying was just as familiar. It shouldn’t matter in the moment.
So maybe that was it. It was a princess, probably Luna, come to yell at him for being weak, for showing that weakness to all. She was the one most likely to get away with it after all.But more likely it was Celestia. He’d made her look small in front of everyone, and criticizing his weakness would be a fine revenge. It would certainly put him back in place.
Then again, they weren’t allowed outside camp without an escort, and Elias heard only a single set of hooves. Perhaps it was Snowball. The emotivore probably had plenty to say about his lack of finesse with containing his emotions. Who knew, perhaps he had inadvertently poisoned the loveling with the same magic that had killed Scarlet and Bloody Bandage, and now he was coming to join the corpse count. Now there was a thought that twisted and jabbed at his insides.
“Elias?”
The human blinked, then glanced up to find Scalpel standing next to him, worry bleeding from his eyes comparable to the blood staining his apron and surgical mask. Elias blinked again.
“I thought I warned you to stay away,” he said, no energy behind the words.
“You did,” Scalpel replied. “And you can hit me again if it would make you feel better. It’d be the first decent piece of healing I’ve done tonight.”
He plopped down at Elias’ side. The unicorn looked haggard as he pulled off his mask.
“Is that safe?” Elias asked.
Scalpel shrugged, visibly uncaring.
“Safe enough. I… I autopsied Scarlet. He was the safe choice of the two; unicorns are so much more dangerous when exposed to overcharged magic.” Scalpel rubbed at his eyes, dried blood flaking from his gloves. “Bloody Bandage almost saved him, but that last arc… It ripped him apart inside. I… the magic went inert when it was done.” Scalpel paused, then his teeth shined in the dark, grinding as his tone filled with anger. “It went inert. Magic overcharge doesn’t go inert! It lives on in inanimate objects, in blood, in everything! You have to manually nullify the magic to make it go away. It’s so bucking dangerous for a reason, but not today! Today it casually murders two ponies and then poof! No more overcharge!”
His eyes whipped to meet Elias’
“Do you understand what that means? Do you have any idea? All of this blood covering us means nothing! We should both be dead touching this crap, magic or no magic, but we’re caked in it, and we’re both perfectly fine, as if someone thought this was a big joke!” He immediately withered and looked away. “Sorry. I… I wasn’t a very good doctor today.”
Elias stared at him for a moment, then absently patted his waist. His fingers met leather, and he unclipped his belt. His mind was fuzzy on when he had put it back on, but he knew for certain it had never left his side. He still hadn’t been back to his tent. It had been at least two days since he had slept for more than a few hours. He felt around the belt until he came to a broad pouch holding a full flask. As he unscrewed the cap, he said;
“Kind Heart mentioned that it wasn’t natural. That it was poison.”
“It was, but whoever did it picked the dumbest, most dangerous poison imaginable!” Scalpel spat. “If Bloody Bandage hadn’t been there… We could have lost the entire healing tent Elias. A stray arc hitting a spot of blood and turning that into an aerosol… We were lucky.”
He let out a long breath, then leaned against Elias’ shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t come out here to vent. There’s enough anger in camp. I just… I wanted to sit by a friend, one who wasn’t so… emotional right now.”
Elias snorted, taking a long pull from his flask.
“That’s me all right. No emotion here.”
Scalpel flinched.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean-”
“It doesn’t matter,” Elias said. “None of it does. I don’t care anyways.” The words were far harsher than he intended, but then again, how else were they supposed to sound? He glanced toward Scalpel and offered a fake smile, doing his best to put out a joke. “Besides, who says I’m not out here on the verge of tears?”
Scalpel didn’t match his expression. Elias kept up the smile for a moment more, then sighed and looked away, taking another swig.
It took a few more moments before Scalpel spoke again.
“Are you okay?”
Elias stared blankly into the black for a moment before answering.
“No. No I am not.”
He glanced down at the unicorn, offering his flask.
“You?”
Scalpel sniffed at the opening.
“N-no.” He pushed the flask away, his voice solidifying as he took a clearer breath. “No, I’m not. Far from it in fact.”
Elias nodded, letting the flask rest in his lap. It wasn’t long before another question followed.
“Are you going to be okay?”
His answer was quicker, sharper as he tried to reject the little whispers tingling his ears.
“No. This… this has happened before. I know how it ended last time. I believe it’s all going to happen again.”
They’re all going to die, a voice sent bouncing around his skull.
His eye twitched, and forest seemed to grow a touch hazy. Scents of iron and smoke filled his nose, and he took another swig to drown his taste buds in a dulling kind of fire.
“I don’t know what to say Elias. I don’t know how to help you.”
“Then don’t say anything. You’re not my therapist, and neither of us wants me to start yelling at you right now. Just… leave it alone. I’ll deal with it. I did last time.”
Scalpel remained silent. Elias found that he hated that silence, hated how a pony was right beside him and silent. They weren’t silent creatures. They made noise when they were alive. They talked, and purred, and squeaked and snorted, and he hated how silent Scalpel was.
Luckily his body knew just what the unicorn needed to become noisy again. A cough irritated his chest, provoking a second, then a third. It grew worse, and he flopped forward onto his hands and knees, blood dribbling from his mouth as he fought for breath. The motion was getting exhausting, and some part of him wanted to curl up and just sleep.
A hoof began rubbing his back, and the sound of another rustling through saddlebags touched his ears. Light shined as Scalpel’s horn lit up and the unicorn shoved a potion in his face.
“D-”
“I don’t want it,” Elias rasped.
“And I don’t care, I am not losing another friend!” Scalpel spat. “You’re the last pony with untreated internal injuries, and you are at risk of dying in your sleep! You are drinking this potion or so help me I will strap you to a bed and let Book Binder do whatever she wishes until the end of the march. I will legally change your name to Elias ‘Snuggle Master’ Bright, and I will have Night Flash draft up orders for every single pony to come and snuggle you every single second of the day.”
He uncorked the potion and began pushing it toward Elias’ lips, but the human pushed it away.
“Save it for an emergency. I-”
Scalpel butted heads with Elias and growled.
“Drink the fucking potion Elias, or so help me I’ll make you.”
Elias grinned, and he began to choke with laughter. Most ponies did an adorable little muzzle scrunch when they were angry, and Scalpel was no exception. What little pudge the sedentary doctor had only added to the effect, making his ‘death glare’ quite adorable. The tiny voice crack when he swore sealed the deal.
Elias’ ribs hurt as he fell onto his side, coughing as much as he laughed. Scalpel’s ears flicked in confusion, and the unicorn watched as he hurt himself through laughter.
“I’m being serious Elias.”
The human nodded, wincing even as he continued chuckling, his chest tight.
“I know,” he gasped. “It makes it funnier. I laughed when Night Flash swore the first time too.”
Scalpel finally relaxed, and he smiled, shook his head, then approached.
“Alright you big goof, come on. Let’s fix you up.”
Elias did his best to help as Scalpel sat him up against the tree. The unicorn climbed in his lap, potion in hoof.
“Open up.”
Elias grunted, and snatched the potion away, refusing to be fed it like he was some sort of child.
“Is this best taken in one go or in sips?”
Scalpel charged his horn and settled the magic on Elias’ chest.
“One go. It’s a powerful restoration potion, but it requires magical focus or it will apply its affect evenly.” Elias felt slightly better as the yellow unicorn acted more like his usual self, clicking his tongue as he touched at his torn ear with a hoof. “I wish we could use it to regrow this… but the internals are more important. Sorry Elias. I know a specialist who can regrow even healed ear-tears. When she’s done with you, you won’t even know it was gone.”
“Sounds like a pretty mare,” Elias said. “You trying to outshine my dating rumors Doc?”
Scalpel blushed, and his sputtering gave him all the answer he needed.
“We, we aren’t… I mean, she probably doesn’t want some surgeon-…”
“You mean the royal surgeon? The one who acts as a doctor for the entirety of Canterlot castle? Including the princesses?”
“I… only from noon to sunrise…”
“Oh yeah, that guy sounds like a bossy bleeding heart. I definitely wouldn’t want to know him at all.”
Scalpel kicked out with a hind leg, swatting Elias’ knee.
“Shut up,” he said, not meeting Elias’ grin. “You’re the last pony I need dating advice from, especially since I’m older than you.” The unicorn managed a smile. “And don’t think you’re getting away from the potion that easy.”
“But it’s so gross Doc!” Elias complained, exaggerating his every word with playfulness. “I mean come on, can’t I at least wash it down with something…”
Both of their eyes flicked to the flask still in his other hand, and Scalpel’s eyes widened.
“Absolutely not! No mixing alcohol with magical potions!”
He snatched away the flask before Elias could react, quickly screwing it shut and tucking it back in his saddlebags. Scalpel sat up and gave him a smug grin.
“You can have that back tomorrow morning, on the condition that you drink the potion this second. Otherwise, Adiutor Book Binder can be informed of your contraband.”
Elias’ eyes rolled.
“As if I don’t have more.”
He tilted his head back and poured the potion down his throat however. The foul taste of the potion seemed to hit his tongue just as the last drop fell in, and his stomach rebelled. Scalpel forced his jaw shut with one hoof, forcing Elias to swallow. Elias screwed his eyes shut and rode out the wave of nausea, relaxing only when he felt a warm, soothing sensation flood his body.
Scalpel hummed softly, his hooves gingerly pressing on Elias’ ribs.
“There we go, healing up nice and strong. Are you feeling any better Elias?”
“How does a society of ponies that practically vomit happiness and good things make potions that taste like minotaur ass?”
Scalpel chuckled.
“Well you certainly sound better. Also, funnily enough, making the potions taste better reduces their effectiveness.”
“Joy,” Elias said, reclining back.
Scalpel hummed for a minute or two more, then he let his magic slowly fade away.
“Done. All the internal damage is healed up. Come by the healing tent tomorrow morning and we’ll start closing some of those cuts. And take a bath tonight. We don’t need anything getting infected, and frankly, you’re more red than pale at his point.”
Elias snorted.
“I could say the same about you.”
“Yeah…” Scalpel’s smiled dimmed slightly. “I… I’m going to go back to camp. We cleaned up, but now there’s an active investigation, and… I’m needed. I’ll... I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Elias grunted as he got to his feet. He felt worlds better now that his chest wasn’t so tight. It didn’t hurt that his mind was solidified on a solitary need.
“Is it going to hurt your feelings if I walk with you?”
Scalpel looked up at him with wide eyes.
“You… but what about-”
Elias cut him off with a hand wave.
“I can get past it if you can.” He winced at the harsh words. “Please. I’d like to just walk with a friend. No talking, no apologizing, or debating. Just-”
A hoof on his leg stopped his stumbling tongue.
“Okay Elias,” Scalpel smiled, the expression not at all smug. “Can I just say one thing?”
Elias swallowed and nodded.
“Go ahead.”
“I’m sorry for betraying your trust. It was wrong of me to hide my intentions, and I’m sorry. I wish tonight hadn’t happened, even if it meant we still wouldn’t be friends. I’m sorry Elias, and if you ever want to talk, or just walk and say nothing, please come to me.”
Elias didn’t answer. Scalpel waited only for a moment, then they began to walk back toward the castra. As they did, Elias couldn’t help but drift closer to the yellow unicorn, scratching at his ears as they walked. The measure of comfort helped him speak two simple words that sealed their fate as friends, dangerous as he knew it to be.
“I will.”