(Make sure to thank V-Dub, the editor, in the comments. Also, WTB Constructive Criticisms - N64Fan)
As the night wore on, the friends of the unicorn drifted off into fitful sleeps in the hall of the hospital. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie were the last to fall asleep. The group decided on having one person awake at all times to to keep a watch on the odd stallion that stood in the doorway to Twilight’s room. Fluttershy was the current volunteer. Occasionally a doctor would approach to check on the status of the unicorn. The doctor would be allowed in as long as they weren’t unicorns. Those that were quickly paled as they were met with the barrier and the apathetic stare.
Eventually Fluttershy gained the courage to talk to the traveler who stood at the door. As she approached, his eyes turned to look at the mustard colored mare and she flinched at the lack of feeling they held. They gave the appearance that the stallion wasn’t even alive, let alone cared about anything.
The mare continued her walk to the doorway and with her eyes firmly locked on the ground, asked “Why is it that you won’t let any of us in the room? Um, that is, if you want to answer my question,” she finished shyly.
The black stallion continued to look at her, lost in thought. “She’s suffering from magical overload. If a unicorn casts a large amount of magic in a short amount of time, their body becomes unstable and any magic that gets near them while in this state has a chance of infecting them and killing them within minutes.” the stallion said as his gaze slowly drifted back to the hallway, his eyes glazing over.
“But, um, me and Rainbow are pegasi and Applejack and Pinkie are earth ponies.” Fluttershy said as she let her gaze up slowly from the floor.
“You are all also the Elements of Harmony and the magical power coming from you because of that is powerful. Besides, even the innate magic from the other pony races can affect a unicorn in this state of magic overload if they are in her vicinity for too long. She should be fine by morning though, then you and your friends can hug and all that.”
“But, if what you just said is true then wouldn’t you being in the same room affect her as well? I mean, not to sound rude or anything, but you are an earth pony.” Fluttershy said.
No response was forthcoming and Monochrome continued to gaze down the hall. The shy pegasus cast a brief glance at the stallion’s cutie mark in another attempt at conversation. It was a rectangle that was cut in half. The left half was black and the right half was gold. Behind the rectangle was a potion.
“That’s an interesting cutie mark. What’s your talent?”
Again no response was forthcoming from the pony except a subtle shifting of his body to obscure the mark slightly. Fluttershy went back over to the spot she had slept until she was woken for her watch. Her eyes never drifted from the strange stallion who stood still under the doorway. Eventually she woke up Pinkie Pie who would keep the next watch and the shy pegasus drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
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The hours past dully as Pinkie Pie was rebuffed by Monochrome. A familiar pain shot through the black stallion's head as the sun rose, following shortly thereafter was a more powerful burst akin to a migraine.
“Crap,” Monochrome said louder than he intended to as he shook off the after effects of the pain shooting through his head, “What is the princess doing here?”
The stallion began to visibly sweat with nervousness as he walked over to the unicorn at the hospital bed, his sprained leg sending waves of pain the entire way.
“That takes away jumping out of a window as a possible avenue of escape.” He lowered his head near Twilight’s brow and, after a few moments, raised it again with an exhale of relief. Walking back over to the door, he nodded to Pinkie.
“Her magic has settled and you can see her now.”
The pink mare immediately exploded into action. She woke her friends and told them the news. Just as they were about to enter the room, a white alicorn arrived on the top floor, her coat shining under the hospital’s hall lights. Monochrome had retreated back within the room and was standing near Twilight’s bedside watching as her eyes began to flutter, indicating that she would be waking up soon.
The surprised group of friends greeted Celestia who informed them that she was visiting Twilight since she had received word of the mysterious fire that had caught at the Ponyville library. The group of ponies entered the room, each eyeing the black stallion at the bedside with different looks. From his place by the bed, Monochrome noticed them all.
Rainbow viewed him with distrust, which she had all the right to. Ponies had trusted him once, before he got his cutie mark. Trust was a flimsy thing and held no real value in the apathetic pony’s eyes. It was like a rainbow, for sight alone, and would disappear as easily as it appeared and leave behind no evidence it was ever there except for how it affected a life.
Rarity viewed him with a somewhat hesitant glance. Her sight seemed to doubt his very existence and yet it seemed to rejoice it at the same time. She was happy her friend was alive,and she suspected that it was Monochrome she had to thank for that. Her eyes were like gems, they would reflect what was beyond them, with perhaps a little bit of color to liven it up.
AJ looked at him with a look similar to Rainbow’s, except for the fact that underneath the gaze was a look of understanding. She viewed everyone as something like herself. As such she assumed truth until the pony was proven false. The red fruit she was named after were the same way. They were all the same, on the inside and outside. Unless a bug got within the apple and messed up the insides of the fruit to something unrecognizable.
Pinkie Pie eyed him with a look of pure excitement and it caught the stallion off guard. She was bouncing happily as Twilight’s eyes began to slowly open. Balloons were similar, bouncy, erratic, and filled all kinds of ponies with joy on sight but only when they were filled with the necessary materials. Namely air from someone else’s lungs or air pumped from tanks. Without someone to fill them up they were limp and inspired no emotion.
Fluttershy viewed him with insecurity, she felt that he was something to be feared and she wasn’t sure if she could trust him. She was like a butterfly. If you try to chase after them to catch and admire them all you get is exhaustion. If you wait patiently on the other hoof, they will eventually come and rest on you. Act and they will fly away. But if you just sit there, enjoying the day, they may very well stay with you until it has to leave.
Celestia looked at him in surprise before her eyes narrowed into an analyzing look, searching for something. She was like the sun, leaving nothing uncovered. She expected her gaze to see everything. She wanted it all laid out before her so she would never be caught off guard. Every now and then though, something hit her headlong from the shadows where she couldn’t see and would confuse her.
Silence enveloped the room as the group gathered around the bed where Twilight was waking. The five mares were eying their friend excitedly as she began to wake. The silence was eventually shattered by the purple mare herself.
“Where am I?” she managed.
As the librarian spoke the stallion made a move to exit the room.
The door was slammed shut with a yellow glow and he collapsed to floor grasping his head in pain.
“What did you do to him?” Fluttershy said to the alicorn who was looking at the writhing stallion on the ground dumbfoundedly.
“I didn’t do anything to him. I just shut the door to prevent him from escaping. He shouldn’t have collapsed like that,” Celestia responded.
“Curse you to Tartarus, Celestia,” the stallion managed as he slowly lifted himself from the ground. “Act first. Ask questions later. Why not?”
The friends were stammering by the bed, scared by the events that had just occured. Twilight looked confused and Celestia was completely caught off guard. The alicorn quickly recovered and decided the best course of action was a simple question.
“Why do you curse me so? What did I do to you, my little pony?”
The stallion stood from the ground as his top hat rolled away. Rarity gasped in horror. Twilight looked like she was unsure if she was dreaming or not. Rainbow was stunned silent. Fluttershy looked on with a feeling of empathy. Applejack turned away. A large gouge was set in the middle of his forehead, the red scab ‘X’ crisscrossed over it.
“You made my life a living pit of carnivorous worms and you never even knew it,” he responded and bent down to pick up his top hat.
As he turned to the side he revealed his cutie mark to the sun princess and she gasped lightly.
“A talent in alchemy? But that’s impossible. It’s -”
“Against the law? Yes it is. Congratulations on remembering a law you made thirty years ago,” the stallion said as he placed his top hat back on his head and lowered it to hide his forehead. “So what now? If I remember the punishment is dungeon time or death. What’s your choice.”
A hesitant call came from the hallway.
“B-but, wait princess, he saved Twilight’s life. We just got the test results back. She was indeed suffering from magic overload. By keeping the elements out of the room he saved her life.”
An earth pony doctor walked into the room with paperwork that was attached to his side. Taking it into his mouth, the pony showed the princess the test results.
As the white alicorn paused for a moment to read the papers, she thought back on the law.
“There is the third option of you stopping the practice of alchemy.”
“Ha,” was the reply from the white-maned stallion, he turned to Rainbow Dash and continued. “You want to quit your talent cold turkey with me Rainbow? You don’t race anymore and I won’t do alchemy.” A shiver ran down the cyan pegasus back as the thought went through her mind.
“Point taken,” Celestia said and went over the law one more time.
There was brief pause before the alicorn continued “I believe that my sister or I am allowed to distribute alternative punishments to breakers of the law. What’s your name?”
“Monochrome,” was the cold reply.
“Monochrome, I hereby declare that you shall stay in Ponyville until such a time as I see fit. In the time between, you will run all alchemical projects you plan by me to ensure that no illicit creations shall be made. Do you accept the proposal?” the princess asked.
A smile graced the face of Monochrome as he looked up at the princess yet his eyes contained the same indifferent appearance.
“I do indeed Celestia.”
Twilight decided now was a good time to speak up.
"Um, what just happened?" she asked, completely confused.
Laughter echoed around the room from Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy and Rarity smiled. Celestia and Monochrome looked at each other with a shakey trust.