//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Emergency // Story: To Save Equestria: The Mysterious Virus // by KalaAWild //------------------------------// Chapter 5: The Emergency Armonia's swords, under Silvershot's control, floated in the air with their tips pointed at Finn's neck. He had no idea where the swords had come from or what they were doing in his time. He dropped the swords onto the grounds and got up from his chair. The pupils in Silvershot's eyes shrank as he tried to ascertain what had just happened. Applebloom, the sweetest little mare, was terrified out of her wits just as much as Silvershot was. She didn't know how to react to Silvershot's unexpected behavior. All she could do was stare at him, confused. Finn got up from his chair and touched his wings against the blades of Armonia's swords. The swords looked dull and blunt in appearance, but they were sharper than they looked. When Finn touched the swords, the tips of his feathers were sliced off. The tips fell slowly to the ground and everypony around followed them with their eyes. "Armonia's memories are reaching the real world, Silvershot," Finn spoke as he approached Silvershot. "Your world is about to change, unless you react quickly." "Why are his memories bleeding into my reality?" Silvershot asked. "What magic could have caused this?" "There was a secret about himself that he kept especially close. I don't know what it is, but I can assure you that you will remember it." Finn smiled at Silvershot and made his way to the door. "Wait Finn," he turned around to look at Silvershot. "How have you been alive for more than a thousand years?" "I had to make a deal." He paused to take a deep sighing breath. He pulled his captain hat down on his face to cover his sobbing eyes. "A deal I still regret to this day." Finn stepped out of the cafeteria and closed the door behind him. He wished silently that he had his old friends back again. He had wished he never made that deal. The crewponies in the cafeteria resumed their work after Finn left. Murmurs about Silvershot jumped between each group, but the gossip soon faded with lunchtime. Silvershot sat back down next to Applebloom and restarted his lunchtime meal. Applebloom still looked at Silvershot funnily. He noticed her awkward stare and asked about it. "I've neva seen ya get angry before," Applebloom admitted to him. "It was scary to see the rage in ya eyes." In his mind, he was still angry at Finn; but at the same time, he was glad to know Finn. Finn knew something about Armonia, and he would be a perfect guide during this adventure. Later, he would ask for his help when both of them had the time. For the time being, he focused his attention on Applebloom. He raised a slow hoof and ruffled Applebloom's bright red hair. She giggled a little bit in joy that everything was okay at the moment. "Sorry you had to see that," he apologized to Applebloom. "I'll try to refrain from raising my voice again." "Are ya going to tone your voice like Fluttershy?" "Yes, kind of like hers. Are you done with your food?" Applebloom looked at her fries and took a large bite at the last five fries on her plate. "Yup. Now I am done." Silvershot took his and Applebloom's plates to the washing counter where dishes are supposed to be washed. On his way there, he passed by some of the crew members. Some of them gave him a glare that sent chills down his spine, while others gave him blank looks. If he wanted to become popular amongst the ship members, his debut performance with Armonia's swords was certainly not likeable. His dishes clattered against other ceramic plates in the murky water sink, and it hurt his ears to hear the sound. The sound sounded similar to the memory of Armonia during the Battle of Feathered Hill, the clashing of metal resembled each other to a large extent. He closed his eyes when he heard it. Soon after realizing that the sound was just a sound, he rejoined his friend at the door. "What do we do now?" Applebloom asked. "Let's find Rainbow Dash so we can make a plan for when we get to Afri-" Silvershot said, but then paused. He had almost said the Zebra kingdom's old name. "I mean, the Zebra kingdom. Have you heard from her recently?" "Ah think she is on the deck with Cookie Dough, but I'm not sure." "Then we better go see." He took a few hoofsteps forward, then stopped. "You coming?" Applebloom caught up with him, and they walked toward the deck. There was a lot more stress to worry about for poor Silvershot. He had to think about Equestria and saving it from a plague that never had a cure in the past. But most of all, he had to worry about Fortress; the love of his life was at home without him and he couldn't do anything to help when he was hundreds of miles away from her. The blaring lights of the ambulance carriage flashed in the middle of the night. Mares and stallions, who unfortunately left their windows open that night, woke up to the sound of the vehicle as it pulled up to the house. The back door of the ambulance opened and Spike and Nurse Redheart jumped out. Spike opened the door and Nurse Redheart directed the paramedics to bring the stretcher. From the downstairs living room, Spike could hear the writhing screams of Fortress coming from upstairs. The paramedics and Nurse Redheart went upstairs as quickly as they could, and went to the room where Fortress was. Nurse Redheart bucked the door open as they galloped down a hallway to the room. Fortress sat on top of the bed with the covers off of her. Her underside was bulging and it was rather abnormal for a mother mare to have an extending belly like that. "Nurse Redheart, hurry..." Fortress groaned. The paramedics levitated Fortress off the bed carefully and laid her on the stretcher. They rushed her to the ambulance, followed by Nurse Redheart and Spike. Spike sat next to Fortress and held her hoof so she would know he was there. Nurse Redheart opened a cabinet in the ambulance and took out a machine Spike had never seen before. "I'll need to perform a sonagraph on her. Spike, remove her shirt if you can," Nurse Redheart said. As instructed, he used his sharp baby claws to rip the shirt off of her. Nurse Redheart placed the sonagraph tool over Fortress' belly and turned it on. A computer screen beside Spike lit up with an image. In the image, there were two things moving inside. Spike didn't understand what the pictures meant until Nurse Redheart explained to Fortress. "Nurse, what is that?" Fortress asked, glancing at the sonagraph. "Is that the baby?" "Fortress," Nurse Redheart said. "You're pregnant with twins." "Twins? Last week, Silvershot and I were told that we would expect one baby. And I still have one month left." "Do you know what today is?" "Of course, it's June 21." "Fortress, it's August. August fourth, actually. You are overdue." "Nurse Redheart, what can we do?" Spike asked. "Write a letter to Silvershot. He needs to come home; she will need her husband.