Just a few years ago, it would have been inconceivable to bring an alicorn injured to the extent Tempest was to Ponyville General Hospital. At one time it had been nothing more than a small clinic, with a very limited range of services. Anything worse than a simple break or sprain required the patient to be referred to Canterlot or one of the other nearby towns with proper medical facilities.
That had all changed shortly after Twilight moved to Ponyville. Playing host to Celestia’s sole student had necessitated certain changes occur in order to protect and aid her should she ever come to harm. Celestia’s aid had also played a large part, the small clinic rapidly expanding into a proper hospital. This was also before Twilight’s ability to attract bizarre, destructive events to the small, quiet town had come to light. The facility found expansion a part of their routine, new services added at a quick rate. The staff’s training was greatly enhanced as well from having to treat the residents time and time again after each ‘Twilight Episode’ as they came to be known, resulting in professional level treatment that rivaled the best locations in the nation.
It was Twilight’s ascension, however, that had given the small hospital its final push into a premier facility. Upon finding out that the newly crowned Princess Twilight was laying claim to Ponyville for her home, Mayor Mare wanted to be able to provide the same level of treatment Celestia’s and Luna’s own personal physicians could. Thus, the alicorn protocols had been established.
So it was that despite the mere fifteen seconds head start Twilight had, Celestia arrived in an already busy hospital lobby. Half a dozen staff swarmed a mobile bed that had Tempest’s prone, broken form upon it while Twilight mutely watched protocols developed for herself put into use. Celestia’s presence barely registered on the staff’s radar, their full focus on their creed of preserving life, of which Tempest was in dire need of.
Noting how Twilight appeared frozen, staring at the scene before them, Celestia knew what her priority should be. “Twilight, trust them to do their job, you’ve done what you can.” She spoke softly, her voice somehow cutting through the much louder ones of the medical staff. “It is best to be out of their way, come.” Celestia began nudging Twilight with a wing towards some of the seats. The lobby was fortunately empty, thanks to the night’s festivities, and a brief barrier spell from Celestia ensured it would remain that way for a short time.
The wing insistently nudging her side was enough to get Twilight to move, wordlessly shambling to a seat before collapsing into it. Her eyes were glued to where the doctors were working on Tempest for a few more seconds, before shifting to look at Celestia, who had taken a seat next to her. “I’ve never,” Twilight weakly started as Celestia met her gaze, unable to conjure up the proper words in her state of shock.
Peering into the smaller mare’s eyes, Celestia paused, her own words forgotten for the moment just as surely as Twilight’s had been. Within those lavender orbs, something new loomed, a look that Celestia was intimately familiar with, having seen it within the eyes of so many subjects over the millennia. That Twilight was now one of them so shortly after her ascension shook Celestia to her very core. It was something she had wanted to spare her for as long as possible.
A white wing wrapped itself around Twilight’s back as Celestia leaned in, eyes glancing for a brief moment towards Tempest. “It’s difficult, isn’t it?” she quietly asked, gently squeezing her for a few seconds. “Through all the, trials I put you and your friends through, you’ve never seen it before, have you? Dealing with a full grown dragon, Sombra and the Crystal Empire, even Discord… this is the first time seeing someone injured to such an extent.”
Looking at Celestia with newfound curiosity, Twilight slowly nodded. “... yes, Princess,” she whispered, eyes drawn unbidden to a bit of Tempest’s blood on the hospital floor, even as the mobile bed was hastily moved through the double doors leading into the body of the hospital. “I’ve read accounts, plenty of them, about wars in the past. I can list off at least a dozen books on anatomy that I’ve read, including the detailed pictures… even if I can’t seem to recall their titles right now,” she uneasily rambled for a bit. “But to see it in pony with such, recklessness?” she paused, her mind beginning to run through every possible synonym that could better quantify that last spoken word.
“Yes… it is never easy to stomach. It still troubles me, and I have been witness to dozens of wars and countless disasters through my millennia,” Celestia sadly remarked, her magic going to work scrubbing the hospital floors of the blood dotting its surface. “And it is why I have done my best in recent centuries to avoid war. It’s a gruesome affair, seeing another beaten to such a degree. I had hoped to spare you such sights for many, many more years to come, but one cannot plan for every variable of life, no matter how hard I try,” she finished with a long, drawn out sigh.
Twilight looked confused at that, her mind slowly shifting towards logical thought. “But like you said, Princess, you’ve tasked my friends and I with all sorts of things. Dangerous things, to be honest. The situation with the buffalos in Appleloosa alone could’ve turned violent quickly, if just one thing had gone wrong, correct? And Chrysalis…” Twilight trailed off and violently shivered. Only Luna’s intervention had completely obliterated those nightmares.
Interjecting before Twilight could continue, Celestia sheepishly nodded. “Yes, it does sound a tad hypocritical of me, doesn’t it? But, I knew you would be fine. There are, forces, greater than you or even I at work in our world. Magic. Fate. Destiny. There are many terms one can use to refer to them as. The Elements of Harmony are one such agent. They can somehow reach out to the very fabric of reality, touch it, influence it. They are how I knew you, and your friends, would be safe regardless of the trials you faced.”
Silently mulling over the information in her head, Twilight attempted to make sense of it all. “Ah. But, that doesn’t really have any logic to it, there’s no substantive evidence to prove that. It can’t be more than a hypothesis, can it?” she mused aloud, a brief look of confusion on her face, bringing a small smile to Celestia’s. “And the only way to test that assumption would be danger, which if proven wrong would yield highly unfavorable results. Or, I suppose I could closely examine all of the past events, but then there wouldn’t be any sort of observational elements in play.”
Unable to hold back a small laugh at Twilight’s scientific mind beginning to tackle the problem, Celestia decided to chime in. “Agreed, it would be quite a dangerous experiment, wouldn’t it? Luna and I tested it extensively, although definitely not on purpose. Including observational spells. The best ones of the time, even.” She paused, smiling reminiscently before a thought brought a frown to her face. “They’ll protect you, up until you break your connection to them…”
A voice cut through their conversation, causing both heads to turn towards the intruder. “Princess?” An older unicorn stallion questioningly spoke, looking slightly nervous. “Princess Celestia, I mean. I’m Doctor Scalpel, and am in charge of Nightmare Moon’s treatment. Never thought I’d be saying that,” he added with a quiet whisper before continuing. “We could really use your assistance. It appears we need a bit more magic than what we have stored to treat Nightmare Moon.”
Nodding to the doctor, Celestia removed her wing from Twilight, smiling reassuringly. “You should go back to the library, spend the evening with your friends. It is the best remedy I’ve found, and there is nothing further you can do here. For now. Worrying about it will only cause unnecessary pain to both your mind and heart.” Getting up, Celestia took a few steps before turning back to Twilight. “And please ensure Luna has done her best to get the festivities rolling. We can discuss other things in detail tomorrow.”
“Twilight?” Doctor Scalpel softly spoke, knowing better than to call her princess. “The princess is right. Thanks to you, she was kept as stable. Prevents further injuries that way, much better than us having to go and get her, so you’ve done quite a lot for us here,” he reassured her with a small smile before heading off deeper into the hospital.
Following Scalpel, Celestia paused just before the doors, turning back to witness Twilight still sitting there with a mixed expression. “Go, Twilight, enjoy the night. Please do not make me ask Pinkie Pie to come and get you. Spending time with your friends and the town will be good for you. Trust me now as you have so many times before. Please?” she softly pleaded with a warm smile.
Celestia softly sighed once Twilight disappeared from the chair, thankful that she had gotten through to her. Turning back towards the double doors, she let the barrier spell she’d previously cast drop as she caught up to Scalpel. “Doctor, I was under the presumption that you had sufficient supplies to treat Twilight? Was I wrong?” she curtly enquired, more than she’d meant to as her nerves showed for a moment.
Clearing his throat, Doctor Scalpel nodded. “No, Princess, you’re not wrong,” he quickly stammered out before taking a moment to compose himself. “The key word, however, is sufficient for Twilight. With Nightmare Moon’s increased size, not to mention the power drain her astral mane and tail require, we need your aid to stabilize her,” he admitted. After a few moments, Scalpel hesitantly asked what was on the forefront of his mind. “And just how did she come to be injured? It might not be my business, but were she any other pony, Princess, I would be calling the Royal Guard in under normal circumstances. I honestly don’t know if we could save her, were she not an alicorn.” Scalpel made a turn into one of the surgery suites, holding the door open for Celestia.
A few moments of terse silence passed before Celestia shook her head. “Do not worry about it, all that matters is healing her so we may either redeem or banish the mare,” she firmly deflected. “It is being handled, though,” Celestia firmly stated, following Scalpel, through the magically powered decontamination hall. The tingling sensation running over her body told her that the magic was doing its work to keep the room they were entering clean.
Leaving the small hall behind, Celestia stepped into the operating suite behind Scalpel and paused, taking in the scene before her. “Just how extensive are her injuries, doctor? I believe I can help with the magical problem, but the rest will have to be up to you and your staff, I’m afraid,” she softly spoke, faintly grimacing at the sight of blood and things that were better left inside one’s body rather than outside. It was sadly familiar, yet still an unwelcome sight to her.
Scalpel’s horn lit up, levitating a small clipboard over to them both, which he began reading. “Like I said before, Princess Celestia, it’s… barbaric would be one word. Too many lacerations to count, for starters. Her ribs are a mess, half a dozen of them are broken, and the rest seem to have fractures. All of them,” he scrunched his nose in disgust as he kept reading. “Her wings are a mess as well, one is broken in three places, the other is riddled with fractures. We’ve got enough blood on hoof to deal with the high rate of loss she’s currently suffering, even with magical aid it’s higher than any normal pony could survive.”
Sighing, Scalpel glanced from the chart to the mare in question, shaking his head. “I understand she is, was, an enemy of Equestria. But honestly, the rest of this?” He shook the clipboard, which Celestia enveloped in her own magic and began reading for herself. “If we can stabilize her magic, our work will become mostly setting bones and suturing the lacerations. Without that, she’ll be here for a year, minimum. Suffering from acute arcane exhaustion as she is, a case of which is worse than Princess Luna suffered upon her cleansing, will potentially leave her crippled for years to come.”
A look of disgust mirroring Scalpel’s own crossed Celestia’s face as she set the chart down, shaking her head. “That would sound about right, I believe I can help her though. It may take a bit of effort to mimic the cleansing effects my sister went through but it would greatly alleviate the drain on her magic. That should allow the infusion to actually take root,” she explained, looking at the ponies hard at work before her.
Scalpel let out a small sigh of relief. “I was hoping that would be the case. I’ll just have everypony step back for you to work, Princess, and then we’ll finish up. Hopefully this will mean she’ll be on her hooves in a week, perhaps two. I know your sister was up and about immediately, but with the injuries on top of the arcane exhaustion…” He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. “Everypony, please take a step back and allow Princess Celestia to work for a minute.”
Approaching the table even as everyone but Scalpel stepped back, Celestia scrunched her nose once more, this time at the heavy scent of blood and antiseptic that pervaded her sense of smell. “Just look at you, so weak now. Were you conscious, no doubt you would be fuming at the sight,” Celestia whispered quietly. “You took my sister, forced my hoof against her, and now, I could finish what Luna started. Were it not for my promise I made to myself all those years ago, I would end you. For my sister, my ponies… for myself.”
A throat clearing distracted Celestia for a moment. “Princess Celestia, any time you’re ready,” he politely pointed out, all of the staff now out of the way.
“Doctor Scalpel?” Celestia softly spoke, feeling a weight on her chest she needed to remove as her horn began to softly glow that golden color, a feeling of warmth tickling those present. “Have you ever wondered at what point it is acceptable to violate the Hippocratic Oath, for the greater good? Knowing that your vows could possibly unleash countless horrors and complications on those you know and care, could you make that slip?” she quietly asked, horn glowing brighter with each passing second.
“I…” Scalpel started, somewhat fearfully at the unexpected question. He took a few moments to gather himself before speaking just as quietly as Celestia was. “I would think, Princess, that I would not. I am a doctor. Not a judge, nor jury, and certainly not an executioner. I cannot begin to fathom what you must go through each day, and for so long, but… if you make one exception, where do you stop?” he finished, fearfully glancing up to her.
Shoulders slumping ever so slightly, Celestia glanced towards Scalpel, giving him a glimpse for a few seconds into eyes filled with millennia of pain and sorrow. “I sometimes wonder if the easy way out would be best. Then I remember that easy does not necessarily mean the best. I’m sorry for burdening you with such a heavy question, Doctor,” she finished.
Horn glowing almost as brightly as her sun, Celestia raised her shoulders once more and glanced to the ponies in the room. “Shield your eyes, this may get brighter yet,” she warned them all, giving them ample time to do just that before going to work. Her magic formed a spell, which seeped into Tempest. It sought the connections to the worst drains on her internal magic, slowly severing them for the moment so that what little magic remained could be used exclusively for healing.
The light flared, just as Celestia said it would, the spell going to work and enshrouding Tempest’s form in magic. As the light faded and vision returned to those within the room, the effects of her work were readily visible. While still direly injured, Tempest was now the size of Twilight, perhaps even a smidge smaller. The ethereal mane and tail were gone, replaced by long, flowing strands of midnight blue hair much like Luna’s. Lastly, her horn had lost its sharp point, instead being rounded at the tip like any other pony.
“Doctor Scalpel, her magic should be fully focused on healing her now, rather than being wasted elsewhere,” Celestia started, taking a step back. “I gave her a small infusion of my own magic to aid the process, from this point it is up to you and your team,” she explained. A small part of her wished she could heal the mare, but she knew that it was one of the few restrictions magic held.
Scalpel’s own horn lit with a magenta glow even as Celestia spoke, scanning Tempest for a few seconds before his look of disgust finally shifted to one of optimism. “Thank you, Princess. We can definitely handle it from here now. It’ll be a long few weeks for the mare, but weeks are better than months. We’ll be keeping her in a magically induced coma while the worst of her injuries heal. I estimate three days or so?” He watched as the staff swarmed Tempest once more, going back to doing their work.
“I see,” Celestia started, plans and actions needed to be taken already swirling about her mind. “I’ll be sending some guards your way in the next few hours, please ensure her room is pointed out to them. I’m afraid we’re going to be making your hospital rather busy these next few days, especially once she wakes up,” she apologetically mentioned. “But, since my work is done, I must be off. There are many plans that need to be set in motion if we are to redeem this mare.” Not waiting for Scalpel’s reply Celestia charged a teleportation spell and in the blink of an eye vanished, her list of tasks growing ever longer with each second.