//------------------------------// // Choices and Chances // Story: Humans Assemble! // by Mistershield //------------------------------// Chapter 38- Choices and Chances “Rarity, whatever train of thought you have, couldn't you think of something nicer?” Fluttershy asked, looking at the medical instrument. She had her right forehoof up, pointing at her friend. The Element of Generosity looked alright, at least. Her friends usually had a strange and wild look about them when they were going to do something crazy. Well, except for Rainbow Dash who did it on a regular basis. “I think I understand now. From what I heard, pony doctors can’t do a thing for humans. I think I remember Twilight Sparkle telling me that they couldn’t even diagnose poor Spikey Wikey when he came down with something,” Rarity said. The scalpel was raised in front of the white unicorn’s face, staring at the sharp end. “Now Rarity, I’m not sure how this is supposed to help Nathan now,” Fluttershy said, walking into the room more now. Please, please, let her be able to talk some sense into her. “Its been a few minutes...” “Its because of Nate I’m doing this!” Rarity said, turning to look at Fluttershy, almost mad. The fancy one frowned a bit, the water that had been held back for so long was now starting to spill from her eyes. “If these pony doctors can’t help him, maybe he can get the help he needs at his home!” “Rarity... I- What if it doesn’t work? What if he dies? Would hurting yourself be worth it then?” Fluttershy asked, quickly looking around. Oh, where was Soma when she needed him?! “Even more reason to send him back! At least he can die with his friends, and no one will have to worry about him! No one will know how he died here for no reason!” Rarity said, crying again to face the scalpel. She shut both eyes, still upset. Droplets of salty water started to form on the floor. “He shouldn’t have to die because of us! He’s not like the others! He doesn’t have super powers, he can’t shoot magic from his hands! Dear Nathan is...” She stopped talking there, letting the scalpel fall to the floor as she fell to the ground. Fluttershy quickly moved over to her friend, moving her right hoof out along with her wing to hug her close. “Oh, I had no idea he meant that much to you...” The pegasus said. Those two always seemed to have a more casual approach to their relationship. Still, she felt great relief Rarity dropped the medical instrument. “I never even got to tell him...” Rarity said, keeping her face pointed to the ground. “And it’s still so hard. I would do anything for Nathan! But I can’t even do what I have to send him home.” “Hey Fluttershy, where-” Soma stopped, picking up his head to look past the door the two were in. He took a few steps back and then peeked his head inside. “What’s-” Soma stopped talking, realizing Rarity was crying. “Oh Soma! Any news about Nate? Fluttershy asked, lifting her head. With any luck, it could distract Rarity. “Actually, the doc is asking for whoever next kin is. It looks like he needs permission to do something,” Soma said, walking slowly into the room. Did Rarity need some privacy to cry properly? “Oh... I see. I suppose that would be me, wouldn’t it?” Rarity said, picking herself to stand. Fluttershy took a step back as Rarity moved a hoof to wipe the tears from her eyes. Some of her makeup had started to smear. “I think we should all hear this,” Soma said, nodding. “The doctor did say that they didn’t need to take these measures yet though, they are hoping the antidotes they use take effect, but they won’t know until another hour or so passes. He just needs permission to proceed in case they need to.” “Alright, we’d better go see then,” Rarity said and walked over to head out of the room. Soma stood to the side, letting Fluttershy pass out as well. The teen blinked once, turning to look at the spot where the two had been. The sparkle of metal reflecting light from the floor did not escape his view. He said nothing, and turned to walk out and join the others in the waiting room. Dr. Stable was in the front of the group, standing near the doubles doors where Nate had been lead through. Everyone was quiet, waiting for the others to return. “Well, now that everyone’s here, I can give explanations,” The medical unicorn said. This time, he had a stethoscope hanging around his neck. Nurse Redheart was standing at his side, holding a chart in her mouth. Both winced a bit, seeing Soma walk in. Everyone turned to look at Soma, wondering what he had done. The soul hunter merely raised two fingers of his right hand to point at his eyes, and then point at the doctor. “Yes, well. Ahem. First, the good news. Nate’s vitals are not dropping anymore. I think this means he’s stable, but he’s not getting any better... Least we think so,” Dr. Stable said to look at the nurse. She nodded along with him. “If this was a deadly poison, he would have died the moment he arrived at the hospital.” “You said good news... I am going to guess there’s bad news also,” Dan said, crossing both arms on his chest and frown. He hated hospitals so much. “Well, yes. Because of Nate’s symptoms, we have no idea if this was a fast acting poison or not. This thing could merely be a slow acting toxin meant to kill eventually... Or just some neural toxin meant to disable him. The fact is...” The doctor turned to look down at the clipboard and lift it up using his magic. “The foreign agent delivered into his spine is the only clue we have for now. The dart is being analyzed as we speak, but this is just a general hospital. If we want real results, we have to get this thing analyzed with the latest cutting edge medical facilities, like in Manehattan or Canterlot.” “Let me guess, there’s more,” Dan said. There always was with these quacks. “Well, some good news. Thanks to Ponyville being so close to the Everfree Forest, we probably have one of the best poison treatments centers in Equestria. We have slowly been giving Nate doses of various medicines to see if they will be of any help,” Nurse Redheart said, taking over for the doctor as he looked over his clipboard. “That’s good, right?” Rarity asked, moving to step through the crowd. The others moved to the side a bit, letting the Element of Generosity get through. “At least, we think so. The problem is, we couldn’t administer them through his spine. Because of this, it may take a while before any of them have any effect. Not to mention the first countermeasure we had to take...” The nurse said, lowering her head to look away. “What countermeasure?” Phoenix asked, suddenly not liking the way the nurse reacted. Ash and now Travis joined in with the frowning Dan. “Well, you already tried to suck the blood out, right?” Dr. Stable spoke up again. He lowered the board to look back at the others. “We basically do the same thing with unknown agents. While its risky, it does give the patient a better chance to live. Bloodletting.” “What kind of quack hospital is this?!” Dan’s hands immediately flew up to the sides of his head, eyes suddenly bulging out at the outrage he was feeling. The doctor and nurse both winced, not expecting that reaction from the small one. Who knew he had such strong lungs? “Don't tell me you used leeches too, you primitive backwater quack!” The frowning humans had suddenly turned ugly with rage. Those that had remained calm were now frowning. “In all of my...” Phoenix said, his own hands held out in front of himself, looking back and forth in front of himself a little. “How do you even know how much blood a human can lose without going into the danger zone? I even might sue you for malpractice!” Phoenix said, now angry. The former lawyer’s eyes narrowed, the Double Phoenix emblem now showing signs of reacting. The other humans, even Dan, suddenly took steps back from him. Beware the anger of a man that never gets angry, for it is slow but terrible to behold. “Please! Please calm down!” Dr. Stable said, taking a step back as he shook his head to the sides. This time there were more humans than just Soma. “Start talking you quack! Or I will make Ralf here eat you!” Dan said, pointing at the large guy. Ralf growled, lowering his head to show off his gritted teeth. “Ralf wouldn’t... Eat a pony would he?” Lyra asked, her eyes wide open. Cherilee shrugged, not sure. She then blushed and smacked her head. The poor school teacher had a nasty thought that made her want to wash her brain with soap. Now was not the time! “It’s standard procedure, please believe me. With less blood, the poison won’t circulate as fast. Also, it will give us a chance to drain some of the poison out. And we only took a liter of blood out of him. Its the most we dared to do, and we need the blood for test samples,” The unicorn said, slowly shying away from Ralf. “And if he gets constant blood transfusions, the poison will eventually be diluted.” “Is this true?” Dovahkiin finally asked, turning to look at the nurse. The poor earth pony nodded, gulping once. The way the teeth of these humans were placed and shaped- They were omnivores. Vegetation and meat diet. Phoenix shut both of his eyes and lowered both arms to calm down. His chest was moving up and down to take in deep breaths. “Please doctor, is there anything else?” Twilight asked, moving to step in front of the humans and block them from the doctor and nurse. “It’s not much to go on. But we have a few things we want to do...” “Like what?” Asked Rarity, moving to step up with Twilight. “Well, it would be good to have those closest to him to talk to him. We want to sedate him and let him get rest, but if its a neural toxin, we need him to stay alert and fight it. Nate also needs a reason to live. Give him a reason to fight for his right to live as it were,” Dr. Stable said. He found himself calming down with the unicorns present. Twilight nodded, understanding. “Of course doctor! I will do it! Anything else?” Rarity asked. “Well, Nate did lose blood. We need a human of similar blood type to donate-” Nurse Redheart found herself getting silenced by the sound of ripping and tearing. Every single human except Sephiroth and Samus had moved their arms out. “Do it,” Dan said, eyes closed. Although he hated needles, he grabbed his right wrist to hold out his arm. Ash had torn off a sleeve from his tattered shirt. Dovahkiin had removed the gloves from his guild set. Snake, Spy, and Phoenix had thrown their jackets to the side, having to roll up their sleeves for blood tests. Those without sleeves like Samurai Jack, Sokka, and Ralf quickly had their arms out. Travis and Otacon were the only ones having trouble taking of their jackets. Otacon because of his leg and lost his balance because he moved too quickly. Travis because Luna kept trying to help him with his jacket and he wouldn’t have it. “Sephiroth?” Lyra asked, looking at her partner. Why didn’t he volunteer? “I heal too quickly to get a good amount of blood out,” the long haired warrior said with a shrug. “And with my experimentation, I have no idea if my blood would do any good either.” “Same for me, I have two alien DNA strands inside me already,” Samus said, frowning. She really did want to donate blood if she could though. Big Macintosh walked over to his partner, nuzzling her arm with a smile. “Wow...” Dr. Stable said, honestly surprised by the reaction. All the anger and hate from just a moment ago vanished with the sudden volunteering of the humans. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and smiled, feeling pride over all the humans. It looks like she wasn’t the only one with powerful loyalty. “Er... Does anyone know what blood type Nate is though? Or what your own is?” “Blood type?” Samurai Jack asked. Dovahkiin looked at Dan for an explanation. Sokka shrugged, also confused by the term. “Yeah, this isn’t helping,” Dan said with a frown and closed eyes. “Before we go through the long process of blood testing and compatibility, there are few more things,” Dr. Stable added. He turned from the humans to look at the others. “Those we already mentioned were just a few options we have. There are two more that are our absolutely last case options.” “As if blood-letting wasn’t the worst,” Travis spoke up, moving his free hand to his sunglasses. “This gonna be rich.” “One- We can freeze Nate with a stasis spell,” The unicorn doctor said. “If we freeze him in this state, we can at least buy time from the poison affecting him. Also, we can also transport him to better facilities.” “Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad,” Rarity said, picking up her eyebrows. “Why is this a last option?” “Well, formally making an antidote from a blood sample can take years. Also, we have no way of knowing how a stasis spell will affect a human. There have been some ponies who went under stasis and did not turn out so well when awakened,” The earth pony said with a slight wince. “And even then, there is no guarantee we would find an antidote either,” The doctor said with a shrug. “Oh. What’s the last one?” Twilight asked. Why were things turning out so badly? At least everypony else stayed quiet and listened. “Well...” Dr. Stable turned to look at Nurse Redheart, who nodded. He sighed and shook his head to the sides. “There is a final solution- And no, not death, don’t give me the stink eye Sir,” Dr. Stable said, pointing at Dan. The leader of the human looked like he was about to yell again. “Out with it man!” Dan said, unable to handle this doctor anymore. “We fight poison with poison,” The doctor said, very serious at this point. Samurai Jack and Sokka picked up their heads, actually having heard of this method of healing. “You can’t be serious,” Soma said, speaking up for once. The doctor expected some sort of backlash from this comment, but the humans actually looked- Bored? Even Dan lost his anger, looking at the medical pony like he was a log. “Well, actually it worked in Ninja Scroll,” Otacon said, moving his hand to rest on his chin. “Oh you saw that Otacon? That was a great movie,” Travis said, pointing at the scientist. “And yeah, it did work in that one.” Otacon nodded, glad to have another fellow otaku. “Wait, you guys believe this?” Soma said, turning to look at the others. “I mean, he said this was a last resort...” “Well, yes. Just because things are poisonous to us, does not have to be for humans. Also, the poison we have to use to fight this will have to be stronger than the one Nate’s fighting. And yes, it does sound crazy-” The doctor rolled his eyes at the looks he was getting from half of the humans. “But sometimes you can only fight fire with fire. And if the fire we use wins, we can at least cure that.” “Is that so?” Dan asked. That’s it. His brain decided to shut down. His left hand moved up to hold his chin, while his right hand moved to hold his bent left elbow. The fingers moved to drum up and down over his lips and tip of nose. “Its risky, but it’s an option. We can’t ask Nate for permission, so its up to one of you to decide,” The nurse said. “Can you at least tell us the chances of any of these options working?” Phoenix ask, lifting his eyebrows. “It could help us make up our minds.” “Well, the stasis spell is the best bet. If Nate is strong, I think its has about a 90 percent chance- But this will take the longest.” The doctor turned to look at the nurse for the next one. “The fight poison with poison, I honestly have no clue. But this method has had a 50-50 chance of working on past instances.” “Sounds about right,” Nurse redheart said with a nod. “Then there is the blood letting. We drain him now and then, making sure he gets new healthy blood until the poison is diluted. That has maybe... 40 percent chance. Higher still, if the blood we get actually strengthens him. But at least this option has the least risks to his life or mental health.” “So they all have their ups and downs. No wonder you need permission to proceed. What’s your suggestion doc?” Snake asked. “As a medical professional, I would go with the stasis. Statistically, it has the best chances. Least, if time is not an issue. My second choice would be the bloodletting. With so many humans here, I think we may stand a chance.” The doctor took a moment to think, turning to look at Zecora. “Hmm...” “Hmm... What?” Pinkie Pie asked, turning to look at Zecora. The zebra picked up her eyebrows and then nodded. She knew what the doctor was thinking. “Well, those were the medical “professional” options we have. Have you guys considered alternatives? I know for a fact that Miss Zecora has cured some ailments we couldn’t. Also, do any of you humans possess any medical skills or other abilities? He is a human, surely one of you has an option you can try out.” The light brown unicorn said. Spy looked down at the Zebra, impressed. There was something to be said about homeostasis medicine. “How long do we have before we have to make a decision?” Otacon asked. He wondered if nanites could help Nate out. He just hoped he had time. Maybe Samus ship could do a scan over the treasure hunter and help him out. “Maybe, an hour or two. By then, we could safely say if the serums we tried worked or not,” Nurse Redheart said, getting a nod from the doctor. “But the sooner, the better. That way we can prepare what we need faster.” “Alright, thanks doc. I guess,” Dan said with disinterest now. Not that he didn't care for Nate’s well being, but the way these options were given out made him want to stop thinking. “Ok, group meeting,” the human leader said to lead them all away from the so called “medical” professionals. “Please do not take too long. We have to draw blood samples and test for compatibility with Nate as fast as possible,” The nurse said. Now that they had left her, she wasn’t so scared of these humans. They were all honestly worried over their friend, and even the ponies showed concern. At the moment, Redheart wondered who this Nate was that had so many people drawn to him. “Yeah, will do,” Ralf said to smile at the doctor and nurse. “No hard feelings about wanting to eat you. I mean, I’ve been given the chance to eat horse, but I turned it down.” Both Stable and Redheart opened their eyes wide and quickly retreated. “Ralf!” Cherilee said to move a hoof to slap Ralf on his hind. “Do not joke about such things! Please tell me that was a joke...” The school teacher said, suddenly getting really weird feeling. “I’ll never tell,” Ralf said with a wink. “If you’re done flirting!” Dan yelled, looking at the two. “We have things to do.” Ralf and Cherilee joined in with the others, gathering around in a circle around the seats in the room. “Alright. This is how it will go down. Zecora, you and Spy here go do your... Thing? I need someone to go with them and provide backup,” Dan said, looking around at his mighty army. “I can go. Besides, Fluttershy lives close to Everfree. And if they can whip something up, I can get it quicker than the others,” Soma volunteered. Zecora and Spy nodded, while Fluttershy grinned at the idea as well. “Yeah, that sounds good. Rarity, you and...” Dan stopped talking, looking around the room. “Ash and Sokka. Yeah, you guys stay. You will all have to talk to Nate, keep his spirits up and other useless sentimentalities,” Dan said. “Ash and Sokka will have to be on guard duty.” “Can I bring my daughter?” Derpy asked, afraid to lift her voice up. “You have a kid? I didn’t know. But yeah, go ahead. I think Rarity will need some alone time anyway,” The Element of Anger said. He took a second to think, getting an idea. “You know what? I like that idea. Kids seem to like Nate. Someone find the tiny tots I punished earlier. Maybe they can also make Nate feel better.” “On it,” Applejack offered, turning to look at Dovahkiin. While he would have liked to work on his alchemy and potions, Zecora probably had a higher skill with it. He nodded along with Applejack. “Alright. Take Lyra and Sephiroth too. I think they saw them in town,” Dan said with a snicker. Sephiroth nodded, unable to help himself from smiling. Oh, the looks the others would get when they brought them to the hospital. “Also, from now on, we move in pairs. We already got attacked once. I would rather have us use a buddy system that way none of us get jumped and replaced with Changelings.” “Good thinking Dan. Wow, you do make a good leader,” Sokka said, lifting his eyebrows. The water tribe member was impressed. “Naturally,” Dan said, eyes closed. Pinkie Pie smiled and moved to hug Dan. “Damnit. In any case, now is the time to volunteer any ideas that don’t suck.” “Samus? Can we get to your ship? I think I could try something,” Otacon said. Samus blinked, but nodded. “But Otacon, I wanted to try to do some research in the library. Maybe we can find a cure in a book I read,” Twilight added. “Just make the ship hover over the library. That way you both stick close.” Everyone turned to look at Big Macintosh, surprised by his practicality. “What? Her ship moves.” “Moving on,” Dan said, turning to look at the others. “I guess we stick in the library until the deadline. Unless some of you have family or duties no one mentioned yet.” “I am the Mayor,” Ms. Mare said. “And I am sure Princess Luna has things to attend.” “Sadly, this is right. I only came today for the meeting and planned to leave. I must watch over the night, so I must sleep during the day,” Princess Luna said. “Also, the shipment of supplies is scheduled to arrive at noon.” “I suppose it can’t be helped,” Rarity said, trying to be understanding. She was just feeling better they had options, and everyone was more than willingly to help out. “What about getting Nate his Cutie Mark?” Rainbow asked. “Brand,” Dan corrected. “Brand?” Fluttershy asked, that was not a nice word. It was a horrible way to punish a pony. “Yeah, these things. Brands. I’ll be damned if I am calling this a “cutie mark.” What do you think Phoenix?” Dan asked. He held up his hand to show off the King of Hearts. “You know, I don’t feel right calling them Cutie Marks, considering they are like a right of passage. These things seems more of an acknowledgement of our Element. And Brand does sound better, least its one word.” Phoenix said with a nod. “Whatever. They’re your marks, call em whatever you want. Why not Rarity blast Nate?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Its worth a shot,” Twilight said, looking at Rarity. “Alright, I will do it. But after I talk to him. If he can’t focus on Equality, I do not think it will work. And in his condition...” Rarity stopped there, looking at the ground. “I mean, you saw his eyes, right?” “Its better than nothing,” Dovahkiin said. “We will get the Element necklace while we get the.. Foals? Fillies? I have no idea what to call young ponies.” “Fillies,” Applejack nodded. “Alright, those that have to leave, get your blood tested first. The rest of us can wait here until the deadline. I wish we had radios or something, it would make things so much easier,” Dan said with a sigh. The smallest of them walked over to sit down on a chair and sat down, tired. Who knew caring about others was so hard? He was going to have to stop soon. “Alright! You heard the man! Go,” Ralf said, moving his large hands to clap. He understood how much a commander of an army had to go through. “Move it move it move it!” The others nodded, letting Spy and Zecora go first. “Danny, are you okay?” Pinkie Pie asked, moving to sit next to her fiance. “Its my paranoia Pinkie,” Dan said, letting out a sigh. “What do you mean?” “Think about it Pinkie. Why wait till we all done with the introductions to attack us? Why attack Nate specifically?” Dan asked, moving a hand to cover his eyes. “You know, they could have done this to anypony- Er, anyone, sorry! Why Nate?” Pinkie asked. “They picked the one that had the highest chances of getting poisoned. Even Sokka has no super powers, but his young teen body had a better chance to fight off the poison,” Dan said, lifting his head up. Pinkie immediately found her happy go lucky attitude quickly fade and be replaced with concern. Was Dan, crying? “They did what I would do Pinkie! They went after the one that would hurt us the most!” Dan said, turning his head to look away. “Nate was one of the First, and almost everyone of us liked him. Even if one of the big guns was attacked, we wouldn’t feel so bad because they could fight it off better!” Dan said, moving a hand to cover his eyes again. “Do you know why Nate was so important?” “Why?” Pinkie asked, drawing her face closer to her human. Luckily, no one was looking. “Nate managed to live. No powers, no above average senses or stats. Even no formal education. Because of this- no one expects so much out of him. But he makes it through. If he can survive, even with his handicaps, we knew we could do it to.” “Dan,” Pinkie said, her voice low. She moved out to hug Dan, and for once run her hoof over his head and hair. “Its not your fault.” “Don’t look at me,” Dan said, but he didn’t fight her advances. “I’m gonna burn this hospital once Nate’s better.” “And I’ll help you.” ___________________________________ “Snape ole chap. How’d it go?” The Doctor said, smiling with both of his hands inside his pant pockets. The wizard arrived landing on the ground from the shadow swirl he had created. The Tardis and Doctor were waiting at the border of the Everfree forest. If Snape was followed, then they could lose them in the forest. “Sod off, you bloody Time Lord. You get the role of hero to play while I get stuck with the dirty work,” Snape said as he straightened out his black robes. “That was the worst thing I ever had to do.” “Oh come now, you’re a wizard that was a double agent. Surely there was other travesties committed.” “Are you joking? I have done worse things, but this was the first time I actually had to punish an innocent muggle. At least dealing with Voldemort and his crew had it coming.” Snape said as they walked to the Tardis together. “I suppose that is true... But it was for the greater good,” The Time Lord said. “Don't talk to me about the greater good. These were all heroes brought against their will and forced to save the lives of insignificant ponies. Having to stand there and pick the most human out of all of them to stab in the back was horrible.” Snape frowned. “And the worst part is, we have no idea if this is going to help Discord or not.” “Chin up Snape. I am sure these humans can come up with something. We have to find Discord’s last champion now.” _____________________________________ Merchant smiled under his scarf, trying to make deals with ponies. Although it took him a while, he finally buckled down and decided to accept bits as currency. With any luck, he could always pawn it off once he got back home. None of the four legged customers bought his guns, as very few of them could actually hold it properly. But his other wares like eggs, mixed herbs, and first aid sprays were selling like hotcakes. Even a few flash grenades were sold, ponies thinking they were party favors. “Sir, what’s this?” Junebug asked, blinking once. There was an uncrushed blue herb leaf among his things. “Oh, you have an eye missy. That is the rare Blue Herb. While the first aid sprays and herb vials can cure wounds- That special herb can cure ailments like poisoning and several diseases. But its very rare, and I have only one left. Because its my last, its price has skyrocketed-” He stopped talking, lifting himself to look behind his customers. All the ponies who had gathered around his makeshift shop though, turned to look at what the salesman was looking at. Three fillies... Or young colts? It was hard to tell with their manes shaved off were marching through town. “I’ve seen many things in my life- I’ve seen mutated rats and ravens. Innocent men and women reduced to degenerates seeking only their primitive desires. I’ve been a witness to gross sins against humanity and nature. But that is messed up,” Merchant Creeper Pasta said. Author’s Notes: Blood-letting is the withdraw of often little quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. An almost all but dead practice. But Nate’s chances are looking up. Chapter proofreaded by LyonAzakura.