Ponyville General isn't a big hospital like in Canterlot or Manehatten, but considering the fifteen thousand ponies that lived in town and on the surrounding farms, it had plenty of business. Since my arrival, and certainly since the castle and the school were built, the royal purse had vastly modernized it with the latest equipment that bleeped and blatted, and refreshed it with a new green and yellow decor that boasted plenty of daisies and cherry-wood accents. Between being a bit of a klutz, and injuries I'd suffered protecting ponies, I knew the hospital way too well.
I teleported into the reception area, startling waiting ponies from the sofa and chairs. I spotted Rumble, too tired to flutter his wings with his red nose standing out against his gray fur. Thunderlane put up a wing over his brother, as others scrambled away.
The perfect in-teleport left me standing as the biped settled on the floor—which was flatter than the grass he'd lain upon, so he moaned.
The pink maned charge nurse, Nurse Tenderheart, rushed up. "Don't you think you need Dr. Fauna instead?"
"I think he's bleeding internally. Let's get him looked at and we can call Dr. Fauna while that's done."
The wiry creature took two gurneys, being almost one and half times longer than a pony. With no further delay, attendants wheeled him into the ER but insisted that I remain to restrain him. They gave me a face mask and sprayed antiseptic as they turned bright lights on him and began cutting away his stained shirt. Everything gleamed with white tile or shiny steel that could be completely sanitized. Three unicorns worked on the paired gurneys, using magic and machinery. Thread and utensils flew through the air.
He had left drops of blood on the reception floor.
Starlight's exit teleport made me jump and I turned to the doorway. I saw the lavender unicorn—frost steaming from her hide—and another. True to the spell, the magic had shoved the biped to the floor as there was no chance that she could stand in the doorway except crouched over. She grunted as she looked up, her muscles tensed as if ready to spring.
Starlight immediately cast Levitate around her, but didn't restrain her as she looked around. The biped looked astonished. I supposed that hospitals looked similar in every world, so maybe she recognized it—or had never seen its like. I could only speculate if one without magic could function affectively, but her gaze focused on her mate. Her eyes alighted on the heart monitor, which now beat regularly, sounding very much like the heart of a pony. She shuddered as she watched as the doctors cast repeated spells into his chest. The tension in her body caved suddenly and she collapsed with a heartfelt sigh.
Whatever she'd been thinking had changed.
Keeping an eye on the stallion lest he suddenly move, I approached the mare, motioning her inside to let a wary lime-green nurse trot in around her.
She understood, levered herself up though bent over, and approached a few pony-lengths closer.
I sat and spread my wings widely, motioning around me. "Hospital."
She blinked at me, then said a word too strange sounding to repeat.
I pointed at my own chest and said, "Twilight Sparkle."
She glanced at her mate, then at me, and said something that imitated my name, but her lips just couldn't buzz right as she said it. Then something miraculous happened. I saw something that resembled a smile as she pointed a claw at herself and said something guttural that sounded like, "Oh Neigh," followed by, "Broader," pointing at the stallion on the gurneys. She had tears in her tiny wary eyes, but I took it as a good sign.
Princess Celestia teleported in. She'd bowed her head, knowing she faced a low ceiling. A yellow pegasus, Dr. Fauna, frost on her hide, trotted past to assist the doctors.
"My guards informed me what happened. And this is one of the mysterious bipeds?"
The biped just stood dumbfounded, blinking in surprise. The whole teleport thing was probably beyond her comprehension, but then again Princess Celestia could not help but generate awe. She might be significantly shorter than one of their horses, but she gleamed. As did her regalia. And her particolor mane flowed in the zephyr of the magical pulse. Maybe the bipeds had their own royalty, for the biped made an obvious dip of her head. (She could scarcely do much else as her brown hair brushed the ceiling. I did notice a momentary strengthening of Starlight's spell around the mare.)
"Princess Celestia, this is Oh Neigh."
The alicorn ducked her head slightly in acknowledgement, then looked at the operation. "He will survive?" she asked.
A doctor said, "Broken ribs and a collapsed lung, but we're on it, Your Majesty."
The biped communicator took that moment to bleep and hiss in my saddle bag. I realized suddenly that I still wore the barking arrow, and the two other weapons strapped to me. Levitating the noisy black amulet to the princess, I said, "The others may know more about us than I hoped."
The princess brought the rounded device to her eye, as if looking for a hidden door for a breezie to hide inside, then shook it. "Then you had better put your plan into action, now," she replied. "I'm certain I can charm this young creature in your absence, and the clouds are gathered."
"I will need to return Oh Neigh and Broader to their brethren, shortly."
"An exchange of hostages?"
"Nooo. Okay, maybe. I did say creatures of applied force, didn't I? By that time, I hope it will be a simple good-faith return."
The princess nodded.
"I need you, Starlight."
Oh great, pony wankfest fic #99999. Can't wait to see Übermensch ponies be superior in every way to dumb and weak humans. Again.
Giving back the radio would be highly advisable. "The horses have hospitals" is pretty major information... though the fact that Broader had to be hospitalized could be taken the wrong way. Still, this could be the beginning of a mutual understanding.
Also, do note that Dr. Fauna is an earth pony.
9898767
You are literally judging a book by its cover. Maybe read a chapter or two before condemning it?
9899062
Actually, I've read all chapters when I posted that comment.
Hyper competent Twilight easily sneaks into another world, gets tons of information and guns. Easily makes anti-gun spell (atleast they didn't have it before even seeing guns, like other authors make it, I'll give you that), gets a squad of guards on stand by. Easily beats two humans and takes them as hostages.
When humans find portal to another world, do they report it to authorities? Nope, they go throught it, assault someone's property, steal their animals and don't establish any protective perimeter whatsoever. Apparently, they don't even realize they have a hostage, because humans can't recognise when someone can speak another language.
Self-explanatory.
9899209
I still disagree with your assertions, but I apologize for making assumptions about how much you'd read.
9899221
No problem, water under the bridge. I admit that my original comment was a bit too crass, but I still think it's true.
9898767
I challenge you to read the rest of the story, then comment again. I think you'll find I've been realistic on the competencies of all the players in the drama. I've tried to treat everyone as if each were real with real agendas, quantifying hard limits, physics, physiology, civilization norms, emotions, etc. No cartoons here—this is a science fiction story. Yes, I do treat TS as competent, because she is. But not perfect. The last chapter should leave you re-evaluating everything.
9898767 Well these humans are pretty dumb. They've found a portal and on the other side is settled land with structures and farm animals. What do they do? Go riding in guns blazing to tear up the place!
Someone else made a good point that actual responsible gun owners would not do this. So they have to be a bunch of dumb as rocks hicks with a collective IQ of 5 and a dellusion that they're all the reincarnation of Duke Nukem crossed with John Wayne and Rambo and a hard on for heavy weapons. You know the sort of people who no sane country would under any circumstances allow to have anything more lethal than a water pistol.
Versus this perfect demontration of why brothers and sisters shouldn't inbreed is the very best of Equestria, beings capable of altering reality at will operating in serious face mode. Yeah, there's a reason this looks lopsided, but it makes sense in story.
Damn im hyped for the story This will be great
9898767
Lol, so far the ponies have been the opposite. They should have been much stronger but it looks like they’ve been weakened for the humans to look like a threat at all.
Remember the basic unicorn can lift a fully grown human and render them helpless.
A basic Pegasus can control the weather and fly at jet like speeds.
The basic earth pony can shift weight in tons and has nature magic.
Compared to ponies we are weak lol
11289169
You've made good points, and so have others who concur with you in the comments. This old story was polarizing, which means I've made you think. In this, I'd like to ask you to consider the context (what's not written and you assume is true) that you bring to this story, or to any story, you read.
Every fantasy world or story requires limits. Canon MLP magic clearly has gradations of power: Starlight is OP, Twilight quite strong, Rarity neither strong nor versatile. Let's not forget how hard it was for Twilight to teleport in the beginning, and nopony beyond the Celestials teleport (Celestia, Luna, Sunset, Twilight, and Starlight). There is little evidence that most unicorns do more than light up their horn, use variations of levitation, or maybe cast one cutie mark related spell. I chose limits to prevent everypony being a Power Pony. (Ask yourself, why would Power Ponies stories make sense if everypony—unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus pony— was a "superman?")
We humans have an amazing ability to both be very intelligent and act stupidly at the same time. This is very human. In our favor, this is often because of an erroneous context we are unaware we hold going into a situation. Moreover, once we realize we've made a mistake, we often cover it up or compound it hoping to overpower the situation before someone notices.
This reaction—be it to dangerous situations or horrifying mistakes—is what I call being in the crucibletm. Until something horrible has happened to you, you have no idea how you will react; until then you can only guess what you would do, and will likely guess wrong. This is why military training is so rigorous, and even then there are still failures in the face of the enemy.
Some characters act at the best of their ability in this story, some not so much, and there is plenty of misunderstanding to go around. This is equally true of the humans and the ponies. Not saying this story is any kind of masterpiece, mind you! It's just intended to make you think. And, to a degree, it is satire.