Monochrome forced himself another step and gasped, trying to keep himself moving. Merc wasn’t a lightweight that much was for sure, of course it didn’t help that Monochrome could barely lift his own weight, let alone a full grown stallion. “You knew… You knew they’d be there didn’t you.” Merc gasped out, barely clinging to consciousness, blood running down a gash in his face until it came to the tip of his muzzle and dripped off.
“I didn’t.” Monochrome responded, pacing his words so as to avoid wasting the oxygen his lungs strived for. “You stepped wrong… timberwolves… ears like dogs…” He managed and stepped forward a little bit. “Now shut up… don’t die… before the hospital.” Specks were dancing in Monochrome’s vision now. Buildings were coming into view now. He just needed a few more steps, he could see the hospital from here. Just a few more…
He felt his leg give out suddenly and he toppled over onto his back, the stallion he was lugging ended up next to him in the dirt, the wound on his chest now fully visible, the blood flowing out faster now that Monochrome’s body wasn’t pressed up against it. Merc let out a gasp of pain and Monochrome blinked back the specks in an effort to see clearly again.
“Nice try Mr. Chemist. Looks like we’re not gonna make it now.”
“Shut up. Gotta…” Monochrome heaved himself back up and placed his hooves against the wound on Merc’s chest as best as possible. “Gotta keep you alive.”
“I apprecia-“ Merc blinked and shook his head, trying to throw off the delirium that was taking his mind. “I appreciate it. But you don’t have to pretend you care. What kinda favor you gonna call me on if I live huh? I can’t get rid of your bounty, you know that right?”
“Of course I know that. I don’t…” Monochrome coughed to the side as his lungs fought against him. “I don’t have motives. But you don’t get to die. You wouldn’t kill me so I’m not going to let you get there first. I deserve it more you snob.”
“Awww, ain’t that cute. Little alchemist grew a heart.” Merc said with a grim grin, the blood still leaving the wound and soaking into Monochrome’s fur, despite his best endeavors to the stop the flow. “Why ya gotta get all soft now huh? So I feel all guilty when I pass on? You folks are all the same, so damn sweet to everybody.”
“Shut Up!” Monochrome shouted. “YOU AREN’T GOING TO DIE.” He looked back at the wound that was bubbling up and shook his head again. “If I still had my horn, there’s a simple binding spell that would stabilize you until we could get you to the hospital. Maybe if I could replicate that spell using common materials…” Monochrome’s eyes widened. “No, of course.”
He pulled his hooves off the wound and Merc coughed again in pain. “Hey, thought you said you weren’t trying to kill me over here.” Merc watched through fading eyes as Monochrome searched the nearby grass. “Whatcha think you’re doin’ anyway huh? Gonna patch me up with grass?”
“Yea, I do. Grass has an element of life and endurance in it, if it contains the RIGHT kind of matricies from the nearby occurings of the Everfree then maybe… maybe…” He twirled a blade of grass between his hooves and looked at it with slitted eyes. Then, they widened. “Perfect. Yes.”
He returned to Merc with a collection of the grass and looked at the wound. Monochrome looked at Merc with a dead expression. He paused there for a moment as Merc’s blood continued to flow. Merc didn’t seem to mind, he knew the look in Monochrome’s eyes. Then, without warning, Merc felt warm. Monochrome closed his eyes and began to sweat from exertion. Particles of light lifted out of the ground and moved towards Monochrome’s forehead until it looked like a unicorn horn. Blood began to leak from where it touched his forehead and the sweat dripped even faster down his face. The collection of grass spiraled into the air and transformed into strings of green and grey light, weaving together. Merc’s blood on Monochrome’s hooves lifted up and joined the pattern in a string of red as well.
“Please be awake. Just this once Twilight, catch me.” He said as he weaved the spell and laid it down over Merc’s wound. It rested neatly over it like a blanket and the wound began to close in response. Then, there was an explosion. Merc let loose a blood curdling shout and Monochrome went tumbling back. A crisscross of red seared Merc’s skin, and he felt the fire inside him for several too-long minutes before it went away.
What replaced it was consuming anger. Merc moved onto his feet and approached Monochrome with a face of scarlet rage. “What the hell did you think you were doing? You get some kinda sick joy outta seeing me squirm?”
He stood over Monochrome, who remained on his back, rivulets of blood running down his forehead, the faux horn gone. “Impurities… Couldn’t distill… had to be used… Sorry.”
Merc was about to launch into another rant before he realized that he was standing, easily, on his own hooves. The discovery came as a surprise to him and for a moment he wasn’t sure he believed it himself. He felt no pain, he saw no blood. Well… not on himself anyway. Monochrome though… His hooves were still decked in the dried blood of Merc and his own still poured freely down his forehead. Additionally, his breaths were shallow, his eyes were blinking forcefully to try and stay awake.
Merc moved forward to lift Monochrome onto his back, Merc knew that he’d be able to get them both to the hospital. He was much stronger than the alchemist ever was, after all. When he bent down to lift Monochrome from his place in the dirt though, he felt Monochrome bite into his ear, he backed away in sudden pain. “What the hell alchemist? Just wanna help.”
With blood streaming between his eyes Monochrome managed to level a deadly glare at Merc. He forced himself back onto his hooves again, not breaking eye contact. Merc knew the look, he’d been wondering where it’d gone. “Don’t. Pity. Me.” He breathed, snarling more and more with each word. “You hunted me for YEARS. You DON’T get to be the hero now.” Death was the only thing in that look. Monochrome wore it uncomfortably well.
“Monochrome!” Both turned to see the source of the shout, Monochrome already suspected who it might be. Twilight was covering large distances in a combination of mad dash and short range teleports. She was next to the pair of them before too long. “What did you do?” She was angry, rightfully so. It died and went away as she saw the streaks of blood draining from the victim of her anger. She looked between the two of the stallions and decided to rephrase her question. “Why did you do it?”
“Because I’m an idiot and suicidal maniac. Pretty sure you already knew about that though.” Monochrome made to take another step towards town, but almost fell as his legs buckled again. Twilight lunged forward out of instinct to catch him but he managed to support himself on his own. He blinked heavily as a small streak of blood found it's way into his eyes, making sure that he couldn’t see quite as well as he would’ve liked. “Agh, I just… I just…” He stumbled again and fell down into the dirt again. “Just need to…” He murmured as he finally lost his stance in consciousness, sucked into the tempting sweetness of the darkness that edged in on his mind.
Twilight’s mind snapped into reality and she wrapped Monochrome in magic, she was preparing a teleport spell, knowing precisely where she was going. Before she left for the hospital though she looked towards Merc with slanted eyes, determination bright in her irises. “I don’t know who you are, but you better not go anywhere. I’ve got questions that need answers.” With a flash of light she teleported away and left Merc on the road to find his own way to the hospital, remembering that Monochrome had said his ‘cure’ was temporary.
“You ain’t the only one doll.” He said idly as he moved on from the location of so much, nothing but a streak or two of blood to indicate anything had happened there at all.