//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - Magical Infirmities // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// The next morning Arc and Ember awaken in their shared bed. Ember turns to him and smiles as she traces his face with a finger. “Good morning, Arc.” Arc smiles sleepily. “And a good morning it is.” Ember rolls over to allow the covers to fall away from her naked body. “Shall we continue where we left off?” “Very funny, Ember.” “Yeah, I know. You probably have things to do today.” Arc shrugs as he sits up. “Kinda. I was planning to check on Hammer and Mio first thing.” “Why? What’s up with them?” “Nothing hopefully. I just wanted to see how she’s doing.” “Still sick?” “It’s more along the lines of post illness fatigue.” Ember raises an eyebrow. “Is that really a thing?” Arc shrugs. “I had it years ago after a bout with pneumonia. Took a week or two for me to feel like myself again.” Ember sighs as she grabs her clothes. “Well, I guess you’d better get over there then, Arc.” “Yeah. But, um...” “What is it?” “I did want to say something first.” “Oh?” “Thanks for last night.” Ember grins. “I had a really good time too. Even if it wasn’t a life changing experience like the others said it would be.” Arc shrugs. “I guess we’ll have to try again another time.” Ember licks her lips as she looks over her bare shoulder. “Maybe then you’ll be up for a bit more action.” “One never really knows.” “Really?” “Yeah. Why?” “Sorry. It’s just... you’ve always just kinda brushed off my advances in the past.” “Mostly because I don’t really know what to say about them. But if I’m being totally Honest, I really do think you’re beautiful, Ember.” “And I think you look drop dead sexy, Arc. Now get outta here before I try to jump you, or something.” Arc chuckles. “Yes ma’am.” Opening a portal, Arc steps through to his own room in the castle. After using the bathroom and brushing his teeth he leaves the room and heads down the corridor. Arriving at Hammer’s room he knocks lightly. A few moments later Mio answers the door. She frowns as she sees whom it is. “Oh... it’s you.” “Hey. I... just stopped by to see how you were doing.” Mio narrows her eyes. “Alright, I suppose. But I think we both know the real reason for your visit.” “Huh?” “You came to see Hammer, didn’t you?” “That too, yes.” “Well, she’s in the shower.” “Ah! Then I guess I’ll just...” Mio interrupts him. “You are NOT going in there!” Arc rolls his eyes. “I was actually going to say that I’d come back later.” Mio scoffs. “Right.” “It’s the truth.” “Look... I can’t stop the fact that Hammer’s completely gaga over you. Believe me, I would if I could.” “I’m sure you would. But why would you want to do that?” “To protect my sister, obviously!” “From what exactly?” “Making the serious mistake of entering into a polyamorous relationship with YOU of all people!” Arc sighs. “Fair enough.” Mio appears surprised. “...what?” “I’m just saying that it’s a totally viable reaction.” Mio nods soberly as she steps aside. “Won’t you come in?” Arc does so as Mio closes the door behind him. The sound of the fireplace nearby and water running in the bathroom are the only sounds to be heard. Mio reaches out toward the steam-laced door and, with some effort, pulls it shut with a Telekinesis Spell before turning to Arc. “Tell me something. How can you agree with me AND still want to marry so many females?” Arc shrugs. “I didn’t say I agreed. Just that your statement was fair.” “That doesn’t make any sense!” “It’s only natural to want to protect a loved one from making what you see as a grandiose mistake.” “Which it is!” “I agree that it isn’t the best idea. However they and I have thought about this for a long time now.” “Not long enough!” “And we’re proceeding very, VERY slowly.” Mio groans. “Look... I’d be upset if you were going to marry Hammer alone. But adding half a dozen other females to the mix isn’t something that sits well with me!” “Nine.” “I’m sorry, what?” “Nine others. Hammer is the tenth.” “You say that so casually!” “Just want you to know the truth.” Mio folds her arms over her chest and frowns. “Then please... do enlighten me. What’s your goal here?” “Goal?” “I can see why you’d want to wed the princess of this land as well as the demon girl whose name escapes me.” “Auriel.” “Right. That in addition to your partner, Dragon, whom I’m told is the heir to a kingdom across the sea.” “The Dragon Lands, yes.” “It would put you in control of three separate countries after the wedding. Or weddings, if that’s your plan.” “We hadn’t actually gotten that far yet in planning.” “You could create an empire. One that you ruled over.” “I suppose so, yes.” “Then answer me this. How does Hammer fit into your little plan?” Arc shrugs. “I just care about her, that’s all.” “A connection to The Organization then perhaps? She’s privy to many of their secrets, after all.” “So was Doctor Knowles.” “Ah, yes. She’d become your mother-in-law.” “If I really wanted to know something I could just ask her.” “That is true. However her information is quite dated.” “One might look at it this way, Mio. Her information is known only to her, Doctor Rieper, and General Mustang.” “Which again leads me to ask why you’re involving Hammer in all of this.” “As I said earlier, because I care about her.” Mio puts a hand to her forehead and sighs. “There has to be more to it than that.” “Trust me, there isn’t.” “You’ve been able to fully convince Hammer that you care about her.” “And you want to know how I did it.” Mio nods. “That I would.” “Then stick around and you’ll figure it out.” “Hammer said roughly the same thing.” “Then her and I agree on this matter.” Hammer steps out of the bathroom wearing her uniform. She grins as Arc comes into view. “I thought I heard something out here.” Mio looks away nervously. “Arc and I were just... talking.” Hammer appears unconvinced. “Uh huh. What about?” Arc cuts in. “The herd mostly.” Mio frowns. “I still think it’s not wise, Hammer.” Hammer puts her hands on her hips. “Well, you can see whomever you want and I’ll do the same, Mio.” “That I will, yes. But...” “And if Arc gets out of hand you can blast him.” Mio sighs. “I wish I could.” Arc raises an eyebrow. “Your magic is still weak? “That it is.” Hammer shrugs. “Doctor Whooves said that her magiplast levels were lower than when she arrived.” “I didn’t know that was even a thing.” “That’s what I told him.” Mio groans. “Apparently it can happen if a magic user doesn’t make use of their powers for an extended period of time.” Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Like any other skill it can be lost, huh?” “More like ‘weakened’. But yes, the analogy is still correct.” Hammer folds her arms over her chest. “However, Mio says that she never stopped practicing.” “I’ve always trained for at least two hours a day.” Arc frowns. “So if anything you should be better at magic.” “Exactly.” “Did the doctor have any insight into the cause of the magiplast drop?” Mio shakes her head. “Nothing as per equine biology, no.” Hammer groans. “It makes no sense to me either. I mean, I don’t use my magic very often. And I’m gotten stronger since I got here.” Arc turns to her. “You have?” Hammer nods proudly. “Sure have!” Mio gasps. “But how? Maybe I could do what you did to regain my magical strength.” “I dunno. Kinda thought there was something in the water here, or something.” Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Something in the water, huh?” “Uh... there isn’t though, right? I mean, that was a joke I was making.” “Not to my knowledge, no. However I’ve also never raised the question.” He walks over to the telephone as he continues. “I’m going to ask Doctor Whooves right now.” Picking up the receiver, Arc asks to be connected to the Infirmary. The doctor picks up momentarily. “This is Doctor Whooves.” “Doctor, this is Arc.” “Yes sir. What can I do for you today?” “Sorry to call so early, but I needed to know something right away. Is there anything in the water here in Equestria that has to do with magic and/or magical powers?” “I don’t really understand the question, sir.” “Meaning, could a magical being gain or lose magical power from something in the water?” “No sir. Magical power is dictated solely by the potency of the subject’s magiplast blood count. Nothing in the water, air, or food could possibly change that.” “And you’re one-hundred percent certain of that?” “I am, sir.” “Alright. Thank you for your time, doctor.” Hanging up, he turns back to Hammer and Mio. “Nothing here should be interfering with your magical powers, Mio.” “But something clearly is!” Hammer puts a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Easy there, Mio. It might just be due to your sickness. After all, pneumonia is nothing to scoff at.” “Agreed. However she wasn’t sick THAT long.” Mio nods. “Yes. That and I felt myself weakening even before I came to this land.” Hammer turns to Arc. “We need to figure this thing out! If nothing changes Mio might lose her magic for good!” “Let’s not jump to conclusions, Hammer. Tell me, both of you are Ascended, right?” “That we are.” “And it’s a somewhat long process?” Hammer shudders. “It takes a lot of treatment over months to get magical powers, yeah.” “And are there any kind of follow up treatments after that?” Mio shakes her head. “None whatsoever. To strengthen one’s magic you must simply practice and study.” Hammer groans. “Right. One doesn’t lose their power’s potency though. At least not like Mio is.” “True. However what Arc said does make sense.” “Oh?” “If there were some kind of follow up treatments, even those we weren’t aware of, then Hammer would be losing her powers too.” “And I’m not. If anything they’re more powerful than before I joined up with you, Arc.” Mio puts a hand to her forehead. “It’s just so confusing.” “Well... the Ascension program was still pretty young when we went through it, Mio. Maybe there was some kind of flaw in your treatments?” “That’s possible, yes.” Arc snaps a finger. “If that’s the case perhaps it could be reversed in some way.” Hammer grins. “Auriel’s mom might be able to help.” Mio appears skeptical. “Doctor Knowles?” Arc shrugs. “It might be worth asking about at least.” Mio sighs. “I doubt she could help me though. After all, she’s been out of the loop for quite a few years now.” Hammer sighs. “Maybe. But she and Rieper were the ones whom started the program in the first place.” “So it’s her or Rieper. And I don’t think he’d be too happy to help you, Mio.” “I’ll... think about it.” Hammer frowns. “What’s there to think about?! You need help and she knows the program!” “I don’t really feel comfortable putting myself in the care of someone from The Organization right now. Not after all that’s happened.” “Mio does raise a good point, Hammer.” “But YOU’RE trusting her, Arc!” “Only because I don’t have a choice. She’s the only one whom could possible help Shelly at this point.” He turns to Mio before continuing. “We’ll stand behind whatever choice you make here. After all, it’s completely up to you where you go from here.” “Th-thank you. I just need some time to...” Arc’s earring chirps. Frowning, he touches it. “Arc here.” “Hey! This is Auriel!” “Something up?” “My mother says she’s come up with something and wants to talk it over with your right away!” “Alright. Tell her I’ll be there in five minutes.” “See you soon!” Nodding, Arc severs the connection as he turns to look at the pair before him. “Looks like I’m about to get busy.” Hammer grins. “Yeah. Let me know if you need a hand with that.” Arc heads for the door. “I will. Take care you two.” As he leaves, Mio turns to Hammer. “I just don’t get him.” “What’s not to get, Mio?!” “Well... he’s blackmailed and used me in the past. However right now it looks like Arc’s doing his absolute best to help someone.” “His friend back on Earth. They’re not doing well.” “A comrade in arms?” Hammer shakes her head. “An old friend from his childhood.” “What’s his name?” “Shelly.” Mio facepalms. “Another love interest?” “Nah. But he’s known her since he was orphaned.” “Arc’s an... orphan?” “Yup. He and a couple others really bonded as kids. They’re still the very best of friends even now.” Mio sighs. “Are they now?” “Something wrong with that?” “I’m just... worried.” Hammer groans. “About what?!” “Another potential future wife.” “And what’s the harm in that?!” “He’s already at ten, Hammer!” “So what’s one more?!” “Is that an option?” Hammer sighs. “I already asked the others about that. Derpy and Rarity have both met her. They told me that he treats her and the other gal she lives with like little sisters. No romance there.” “Are you sure?” “Positive.” Meanwhile, Arc runs down the corridor. Reaching Auriel’s room he finds the door open. Rushing inside he spies Auriel and Maria sitting at the table surrounded by papers. “Auriel said you found something!” Maria nods. “That I did.” Auriel motions to an empty chair as she speaks. “Why don’t you sit down so we can talk about it, Arc?” Doing as suggested, Arc sits. Maria pulls out a folder and opens it as she speaks. “As you know, your friend is going downhill due to her organs shutting down.” Auriel nods. “Over years, of course.” “It’s leading to them failing entirely, yes?” Maria sighs. “I’m afraid so, yes.” Arc raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “That was already known though.” “Indeed. But I’ve figured out why.” Arc gasps. “Tell me!” “The problem is actually on the cellular level.” “Which cells?” Auriel bows her head. “All of them.” “Yes. Tell me, how well did you do in high school biology class, Arc?” “Okay, I guess. Why?” “I just needed to know how much detail to explain.” “Keep it simple then and I’ll ask if I don’t understand something.” “Very well.” Maria turns to Auriel before continuing. “Would you bring me a bag of bits?” Auriel nods and stands. “Yes, mother.” Walking over to a cupboard, Auriel removes a bag. Returning to her mother she hands it to her and sits back down. Maria opens it and pulls out a two bits which she lays on top of one another before speaking again. “Pretend that these coins represent a skin cell. They divide to form two daughter cells that are identical to one another.” Picking up the top coin, she sets it next to the first. “These new cells are young and require time to mature into fully functioning cells so they can do their jobs. Then when the time is right they divide into four identical cells again.” Pulling out two more bits, Maria sets them next to the first. “In this way, they skin is able to maintain a barrier to protect the body from bacteria and viruses that they come into contact with. Cells are created, mature, carry out their duties, and either die or split via a process called mitosis. After that the process begins again and continues endlessly as long as the subject is alive.” “Makes sense so far.” Auriel nods. “Let’s continue then, mother.” “Agreed. However, when cells have some kind of defect in their DNA the splitting can make for an inferior cell.” Arc raises an eyebrow. “Like a cancerous one?” “Not quite. Such things happen fairly often in the body and there are functions which deal with those cells. However...” Maria piles a number of coins on top of the original grouping. “...should the body not remove the bad cells they will continue to divide and pass on their damaged DNA.” Auriel continues where her mother left off. “Which in turn causes tumors.” “Yes, Auriel. Normally that is the case. However from the records Arc obtained from the hospital I’ve found that this case is significantly more complicated.” “Complicated?” Maria nods. “Yes, indeed. You see, normally cancerous cells are large and misshapen. This is due to their DNA being out of order.” She motions to the coins again. “However, your friend’s damaged cells all appear to be relatively dispersed and normally shaped.” “So they’re not clumping together to form tumors?” Maria shakes her head. “No, they’re not. That would have been easy for the medical staff attending her to spot from a standard testing session.” “But if they’re not clumping, what ARE those cells doing?” “Dispersing.” Auriel gasps. “Where though?” “All over her body. And far enough apart from one another that they would just be seen as a natural occurrence.” “So ultimately we need to find a way to kill these cells while not harming the good ones, right?” Maria shakes her head. “Sadly it’s not that simple, Arc. The cause of this is the DNA in those cells being passed on through the cellular generations. It’s not so much a matter of killing the bad cells at this point, as that would certainly result in Shelly’s death. We need to find a way to repair the cells that exist to give Shelly any chance at all of surviving.” Arc raises an eyebrow. “How many cells would need to be... addressed?” “It’s impossible to say. However the number would almost certainly be in the tens of billions.” Auriel sighs. “And there’s no known way to do that anyways.” Arc looks to Maria. “I hope you have an idea on what to do.” “Actually, I do.” “Good. Let’s hear it.” “We need a procedure that can simultaneously address this issue. A device of sorts.” Auriel gasps. “But such a thing would take years to design and build, mother!” “It actually already exists, my dear.” “What?! Where?!” “Wherever that creature left it.” Arc raises an eyebrow. “Brightwing?” Maria shudders. “Yes.” Auriel grins. “It’s probably still out in the woods then!” Arc smirks. “Probably. I could head over there, shrink it down, and bring it back here in about ten minutes.” Maria nods approvingly. “Good. With it I can create a magical cure that could, potentially, do for her what it did for me. Altering every cell of my body at the same time.” Arc stands. “Get to work on that potion, or whatever. I’ll head back to Earth and get Mio’s device.” Auriel calls out after him. “Let me know if you need help transporting it. I’ll have my comm link on me.” “Alright. Here goes...” Pulling the Rainbow of Light from his ring, Arc channels his magic into it and opens a wormhole. Stepping through he finds himself in the woods again. Making his way to the clearing Arc pushes aside several branches. Spotting Mio’s tent, he hurries forward and looks around. Seeing the massive indentation in the snow, Arc touches his earring and speaks. “Arc to Auriel.” “I’m here, Arc. Do you need assistance?” “Kinda. It’s about the machine.” “What about it?” Arc looks around. “There’s... nothing here.” Auriel gasps. “Are you saying...?!” Arc nods as he clenches a fist. “Yes. Mio’s machine... is gone.”