• Published 29th Jul 2014
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Synch - sunnypack



Dive into a new world with Synch, a revolutionary device that interfaces with your brainwaves. Synch is taking the world by storm. Take a vacation. Find adventure. Unfortunately for one human though, he is about to have a never-ending adventure...

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84 - Emotional Code Blue

I rushed Pseudo to the castle as fast as I could. With nothing but hats to carry the bits in I gave both to a mare that seemed down on her luck and quickly gathered the unconscious changeling in my arms. I would have to worry about the magic drain later. This was a dire emergency.

The guards waved me through the main gate as I carried Pseudo towards the throne room. I didn’t know if a hospital would help, I didn't even know where the hospital was, but I knew Celestia would know what to do. I bee lined straight to the throne room, the maze of passages flying past as I dodged surprised servants and returning petitioners.

"Out of the way! Coming through!" I belted as I sprinted down the hallway.

The Day Court was just closing so the guards at the entrance to the throne room blocked my entry.

I glared at them. My heart was racing and I gripped Pseudo tighter.

“Let me through!” I demanded harshly, my eyes blazing with need. I was out of breath and wheezing. The guards held my gaze firmly, unfazed, or more likely unimpressed.

“Sorry, sir. Visiting times are over. Please come back to petition another day”, the one on the left replied stoically.

I almost screamed in frustration. You have got to be kidding me!

“Please”, I begged, showing Pseudo. “This is urgent, I need to speak to Princess Celestia!”

The guards wavered a little as they saw the still form of the little filly that Pseudo was disguised as.

“Just send her a message, say it’s from the human and it is an emergency”, I pleaded, a guard almost took an involuntary step towards the door to pass the message but stopped when in a fit of bad timing, Pseudo became wreathed in blue actinic flames.

“Changeling attack!” hissed the guards, drawing out spears and levelling them at us both.

I shook my head frantically.

“No! No! Pseudo is a changeling princess from the Blue Hive! She is under the protection of Celestia and Luna themselves!”

I backed away as they advanced on me. I don’t think dropping the appellation of their rulers was giving them faith. I didn’t know if Pseudo was actually under the princess’ protection but hey I wasn’t going to tell them that.

“Listen to me, send someone, anyone, to alert the princesses, they will vet for me!”

I growled dropping into a defensive stance but I hesitated. I couldn’t take these two on and protect Pseudo at the same time. I probably couldn't take them on when I didn't have Pseudo.

They backed me to the wall and held me there with a glare and a threatening wave of their spears.

One of the guards addressed the other while still fixing me with a look.

“Buckle, go fetch Kibitz and alert the Captain”, he growled, the tip of the spear held steadily at my chest level.

“Wait!” I called as the stallion retreated to find Kibitz (wait, wasn’t he an ex-convict?) and the captain. “What about the princesses?”

The other guard regarded me contemptuously.

“The princesses will not need to deal with the likes of you. I can see through your plan. You’re going to get close to the princesses and ambush them!”

If it weren’t for the gravity of the situation I would have laughed at the absurdity of it all.

“I know you’re doing your job but there are lives at stake! Haven’t you seen me with the princesses before? I was just walking in with Luna today”, I reasoned, my voice becoming desperate as I felt the warmth from Pseudo drop a little.

Temperature dropping? I didn't have to be a doctor to know that being able to feel her temperature drop was a deadly sign.

“No, no, no, Pseudo!” I exclaimed, bending down and laying her on the ground. The guard started forward, thinking I was about to try something, but I gave him a glare of such intensity that he hesitated.

Was it me? Was I draining the last vestiges of Pseudo’s life? I- I don’t know if I could live with myself if that was the case. In the very short time I’ve known Pseudo she’d grown on me and to heck I was going to let her die with her dreams here! There was so much of her young life ahead of her.

“Pseudo, hang on”, I murmured, eyeing the guard. “Help is on the way.”

I whispered encouraging words, not knowing if they would reach Pseudo in the few minutes that the guard and I tensely waited through.

He and I shot glances at each other in a hostile stalemate. I didn't even want to acknowledge him.

I heard the dissonant sound of clopping hooves at a mad pace and I looked up to see Kibitz come galloping down the hallway with a white stallion I didn’t recognise. I felt relieved, at least this was pony that I recognised, he would help, right?

“Kibitz, you have to help me!” I addressed him, starting forward but stopping as the point of the spear once again made its presence known at the nape of my neck. I almost did something rash then but I held back, for Pseudo.

“No need for that, stand down”, the white stallion ordered as the guard reluctantly dropped the spear from my neck.

Kibitz regarded me curiously, glancing between the guard and I.

“You seem to get yourself in all sorts of trouble- ” he glanced at Pseudo, frowning “ –but there’s no time to dwell on the past. Captain, please carry the changeling, gently.”

He looked at me.

“If you will?” he beckoned, not bothering to look if I was following. I chased after his tail as we rapidly made our way through the castle.

“Where are we going?” I asked when I came across an unfamiliar section of the castle.

“Princess Luna’s personal chambers”, Kibitz replied shortly, giving me a sparing glance.

We skidded to a stop outside massive oak double doors. The doors were lined with intricate carvings of moons and stars but I had no eye for the art as I kept glancing at the struggling form of Pseudo.

Kibitz rapped his hoof sharply on the door.

“Come in”, Luna’s voice responded. Before the last words could fade, the doors were flung open and we surprised a supine Luna as she lay on her bed. I was dimly aware of the muted midnight blue theme she had going around the chambers.

“Pseudo”, I croaked, out-of-breath.

The Captain fared a bit better.

“Your Highness, we have found a changeling in a state of emotional starvation”, he reported. I blinked at the Captain.

Luna nodded appreciatively to the Captain. She placed a sensitive ear over Pseudo’s chest carapace. Her eyes widened and I felt a stab of worry twist in my gut.

“Everypony step back, she’s going critical. I need to give her a short magical shot”, Luna commanded, whilst also taking a couple of hoof steps back.

The Captain obeyed immediately while Kibitz and I belatedly backed away from Pseudo. I felt my heart racing as Luna’s horn charged, giving Pseudo a magical charge. A blue bolt of spectral charge flowed from Luna’s horn as Pseudo took a deep shuddering breath. I hadn’t even noticed that she had stopped breathing and a prickling feeling of foreboding crept up my arms before I could dispel it.

It’s going to be fine. Pseudo will be fine, won’t she?

Pseudo sighed, her eyes fluttering, Luna’s frown and flared wings were all the body signs I needed to know that the situation had gotten more serious.

Luna spoke to Kibitz without shifting her gaze.

“Kibitz, I need you to deliver three thaumic pulses of ten degree strength at the three swirlian nodes on my command”, she ordered, as the unicorn nodded and positioned himself just below Pseudo’s belly.

“Ready?” Luna called out as Kibitz affirmed it with a sharp grunt, his horn glowing.

“One, two, three, pulse!” Luna yelled as Kibitz and Luna sent three pulses to Pseudo’s chest and somewhere at the base of her wings. Pseudo jerked and flopped, her muscles contracting spasmodically. Her wings fluttered but died down. Pseudo still wasn’t breathing.

“Thou grimside-“ Luna began but eyed me desperately. She continued to ‘feed’ energy into Pseudo while narrowing her eyes, looking as if she were mulling over something.

“Human, come here”, she called to me and I rushed to her side.

“W-what?” I stuttered, unsure of what Luna had in mind. Whatever it was I knew I wouldn’t like it.

“We’re going to need a negative energy sink. If we had the equipment and pre-cast spells we could artificially create one however, you may work at a pinch”, she explained succinctly, her teeth gritting at the last word as she fed more power. Pseudo gasped, but her breathing remained agonal.

I tensed but set my jaw in determination, feeling my heart rattling in my chest. This would be life or death for Pseudo. I will do what I can.

“Just tell me what to do”, I told her, positioning myself near Pseudo.

Luna nodded.

“Good. On my mark, Kibitz and I will give another pulse. At precisely the last pulse you must grip her head and then immediately her horn for at least three seconds”, she gasped, sinking down as she strained to keep the flow.

“Quickly now”, she urged, as I scrambled to get to Pseudo’s head.

“Okay!” I called back.

“One, two, three, pulse!” Luna yelled once again.

Actinic light flooded the area as the three pulses traced the same route to Pseudo’s body. Her body jerked again and on the third pulse I gripped her head.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I heard her scream piercingly, her hoof connecting solidly with my jaw as magic flowed immediately from her nodes and directly through her head. I shifted my grip to her horn, ignoring the tears that reflexively pooled in my eyes, blurring the scene.

Pseudo’s horn glowed a bright blue-white that blinded me beyond the blurriness and I saw nothing for a short while. Not knowing if it was the third second or the fifth I staggered back, feeling a wave of heat pass through me.

I was unprepared for the shockwave of pressurised wind that knocked me from the floor. I saw Kibitz and Luna reflexively erect a barrier protecting them and the Captain standing behind Luna, but the wave caught me broadside as I was flung across the room.

I had the glorious feeling of weightlessness that lasted too short before I felt a piercing pain to my back and head and I flopped down in a heap on the stone floor.

My last thoughts before blackness enveloped me were of Pseudo.

I hope she’s okay… I thought sluggishly.

Author's Note:

Medical magic is intense stuff. I wonder how Ponyville General handles this crazy magical surgery.

Next Chapter: The moon is deep red! What are you doing Luna? Hey, are those fangs? This is a joke right? Right?! RIGHT!? NoooOOoooooOOOoo!

NB: As an aside, I've had my proofreader friend ask me (who still has to catch up), how is 'Synch' pronounced? Actually, in answer to that there are two ways people can pronounce 'Synch' either Synch as 'cinch' or Synch as 'sync'. There will be no official pronunciation of the name but if you want you can debate it any way you want! For posterity I originally intended it to be pronounced 'sync', it rolls off the tongue nicely. However, I did also intend the double pun of 'sync' as in, synchronise and 'cinch' as in, it's a cinch!

As always, my perky pernicious pedantic playful plastic polymer prancing p- yeah I got nothing, you guys are the best readers, thanks for reading!

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