//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 - Recovery // Story: Fred Walsh: Diverted // by Baguettedood //------------------------------// Chapter 18 – Recovery “Well, that's certainly one way to get to sleep, passing out after a demon attack. I mean, deus damnare, that was ridiculous. DemonTrixie learned some new skills since last time, including that harmonic emerald. He really beat the hell out of us. Cadance and Shining took a few hits and I was blasted into a wall. It really hurts, did you know? “It might've been a stupid idea, but I will forever think that it's hilarious that I nicked Celestia's crown. Well, it did work, so it couldn't have been that bad of a plan.. I'm amazed that I actually got away with it, though the Princess could probably see why.” Fred's eyes opened. Motionless and using only his eyes and what he could feel, he began to survey his surroundings. He felt like he lay on something comfortable, overlaid with a sheet for warmth. He heard a constant beeping nearby, roughly once a second. 'Okay, arms, legs, fingers, toes, check. Torso and head seem alright.' The human turned his head to his right and found the origin of the beeping: A heart rate monitor. He also observed an analogue clock ticking away and his Scavenger Watch on a table. On the left side of him, he saw a similar set-up for Twilight, Cadance and Shining Armor, also beginning to awaken. “Now that must've been some party,” he stated with a smile as the others stirred. “...A party?” Twilight asked suspiciously. “How else do you explain passing out and waking up in a hospital?” “That demon attacking again,” she replied. “Yeah, that works too.” He tried to sit upright, but he encountered pain in his back. “Ow.” He lay back down. 'Oh right, DemonTrixie threw me into a wall.' Next to speak was Princess Cadance. “Well, you made it retreat, the demon's on the run now," she said to Twilight. “But what happened to you after Fred put Celestia's crown on you, Twily?” Shining Armor asked. “I don't know, when I saw what it did to all of you, I couldn't control myself. I just couldn't stop.” Twilight failed to explain. “Combine that with the amethysts' ability to provide a sudden return of magical energy and there's your burst.” Fred referenced he previous times he saw magic being drained or blocked, then suddenly regained. 'Also, what she said sounds like some kind of movie cliché.' The clinic's door opened with a light squeak. In walked Princess Celestia – Her crown and chestpiece worn by her once again - and one of the unicorn doctors. With his horn lit, the doctor quickly examined the patients. “Well, the good news is that magic heals you quickly, so you all should be able to go soon.” “Too bad humans don't have magic, then. Though we do have science – hold on,” Fred grabbed his watch from the table. “This should've beeped last night.” “Like it did the first time?” Twilight responded. “Yeah. I mean, I didn't have much faith in the script anyway, but still.” He unlocked the device and checked the input of the neuroheadset fragment. Even when there was no emergency, he should've been receiving a few low-level signals, but there was nothing. “Crap. Okay, the fear detector's broken, probably from that EMP or whatever happened two nights ago.” 'On the other hand, it was cheating anyway.' The doctor broke in. “You said that humans recover slowly, but you're almost fully healed.” “How bad were my injuries?” 'Now that I think of it, a few bruises doesn't really make sense to being thrown into a wall.' “When you arrived, you had at least two broken ribs, but they have almost finished repairing,” he explained. “That can't be right. A cut takes a few days to heal, I'm not even sure if ribs grow back.” 'The creepy medic from over half a year ago gave me mixed messages.' Fred confusedly looked around the room and saw Princess Cadance's smug expression from last night again. “I'm burning my physics books when I get home. Everything I know is wrong.” “At least in Equestria, we heal quickly, except for magical appendages such as horns and wings,” Twilight added. “Maybe it's affected you somehow.” “Then how come I didn't heal when I hit a tree after being diverted?” he questioned, a little exasperated. “I'm not sure,” she said. “Although, I swear that I saw you glowing when you held Celestia's crown.” “Glowing? What am I, radioactive?” he dismissed the idea. The sun princess confirmed. “I observed you with a faint luminescence as you sprinted toward Twilight.” 'Why couldn't she just say light instead of luminescence?' He tried to rise again, already slightly less difficult. He sat up. “I think I know who can explain this....” 'My last plan may have been a terrible idea, but this will be a much, much more insane gamble. Suits my current mind state, I guess.' “Hey, Cadance? Can you come over here for a bit?” The pink alicorn rolled out of the hospital bed and moved over to the human. “Yes?” she asked, still with that look on her face. “I know you know something,” he stated firmly as the doctor left. “What do you mean?” “Okay then.” 'I really hope I don't end up doing this.' He took a breath. “Humans may not have magic, but some of us possess a skill, able to turn others insane quite easily.” He unlocked the scavenger watch, navigated to some files he encrypted for safety reasons: His cache of MLP songs, and decrypted them. “What's that supposed to mean?” At this point, she became worried at his tone. “Twilight, you can help too.” He selected Winter Wrap Up, ready to play. 'Surrounded by her friends and family; this had better work without me doing this or we're all totally screwed.' “Tell me if you've heard this before.” “Alright!” Cadance screamed. He retreated his finger from the play button. 'Phew.' “Oh?” “You said the topaz vanished in an explosion, but it didn't. You absorbed it,” she explained. Fred re-encrypted the files and closed the music player. “So a little gemstone is chilling inside my body.” “You have magic now, of some description.” “That would explain the glow, then. What else can I do with it?” he asked. “I've never seen a being without magic encounter a harmonic topaz before; I'm uncertain,” she replied. Twilight interrupted. “Fred, would you really have done that? Turn ponies insane?” “Actually, I lied,” he answered. “Humans can't do that.”