The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Chapter 6 - Emergency Medical Visits

Arc and the others hurry out the front door and down the path toward town. Fluttershy nervously looks up at the sky as she flies next to Rainbow Dash.

“It… it looks like the sun will be setting very soon.”

Twilight turns to her frightened friend. “We’ll be at the clinic soon. Can you stay strong until then?”

“I think so.”

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I won’t let the moon hurt you.”

“Th-thank you.”

A short time later they arrive at their destination. The vet unlocks the door and they hurry inside. She leads them into a large room and walks over to a machine.

“Put the cub on the table.”

Arc does so and steps back. Fauna presses a few buttons on the console. The table slowly begins to move as the cub cries out, clearly frightened. Fluttershy does her best to comfort them.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

The Ursa Major lets out a few guttural growls. Rainbow Dash turns to Fluttershy nervously.

“Uh oh. Is she mad?!”

“No. Just reassuring her cub.”

Twilight nods as she writes. “Interesting. Ask her if…”

Arc shakes his head. “Not the best time, Twilight.”

A short time later the table returns to its default position. The cub growls and holds its midsection as Doctor Fauna looks over a screen.

“This is… beyond strange. Twilight, you’re familiar with this creature’s physiology, correct?”

Twilight looks up from her note taking. “Why, yes. As much as is known anyways. Why do you ask?”

“Tell me, would a normal bear be a decent reference point for how their organs are laid out?”

“Yes. I’ve seen numerous diagrams. There’s no difference in that regard other than the size.”

“Please step over here and tell me what you see.”

Twilight does so. A strange look crosses her face. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy join her.

“Uh… what is this?”

“A scan of the cub’s insides.

Rainbow Dash makes a face. “It’s… guts?!”

Fauna nods. “Yes. But look at their lungs.”

Twilight frowns. “One’s twice the size of the other!”

“Indeed. And their heart is oddly misshapen.”

Fluttershy gasps. “Even the cub’s kidneys are very different in size! What could possibly be causing this?!”

Rainbow Dash shrugs. “So their guts are a little misshapen. Big deal! I mean, it’s not like it hasn’t lived with it this long, right?”

The cub whimpers in pain as it clutches its stomach. Twilight looks to her friend.

“I think he’s not doing well, Rainbow Dash.”

Fauna sighs. “Agreed. How the creature has gone this long in such a state is anypony’s guess.”

Arc turns to his friend. “Fluttershy, ask his mother how long this has been going on.”

Fluttershy does so before turning to Arc.

“She says it started about a year after he was born.”

Rainbow Dash frowns. “Can she be more descriptive? I mean, did something happen?”

Fluttershy shakes her head. “No. He just slowly stopped listening to her and always seemed to be in pain.”

Arc thinks for a moment. “Is that when she took him to the facility?”

Twilight raises an eyebrow. “Facility?”

“Just ask her Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy does so.

“She says yes.”

Twilight turns to Arc. “Could the ponies at this so-called facility help?”

Arc shakes his head. “No. They couldn’t do anything. It really is up to Doctor Fauna here.”

“I’ll do my best. Let me take a blood sample and run a few more tests. There has to be a reason this happened.”

The vet continues working as Twilight turns to Arc.

“Can you tell us anything more about this facility?”

Rainbow Dash nods. “Yeah! For example, where the heck is it?”

“Sorry. Even the princesses don’t know the exact location.”

Twilight frowns. “Why not?”

Arc sighs. “Some things just need to be left in the past. Sorry, but I need you to trust me on this one. But I can tell you more about their species origins.”

Fluttershy looks confused. “Origins?”

“They weren’t born normally like you and I were, Twilight.”

“Now that’s a strange thing to say. I mean, how else could something be born?”

Arc looks to her soberly. “In a lab.”

Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow. “Like… Rose?”

“Similarly, yes. But instead of mechanical parts, they were part of a bio-engineering experiment.”

Twilight gasps. “How?!”

“The details aren’t clear. But let me just say that they were specifically designed to be as they are now. At least that’s what I learned. Well, the mother anyways.”

Fauna looks over. “What about the little one?”

“The caretaker of the facility said the mother was the only one of her kind that was a success. There must’ve been some kind of mistake made when the cub was created.”

Twilight puts a hoof to her head. “Creating life. It just feels wrong to even say it. And remember, this is from a mare whom considered doing just that.”

Rainbow Dash nods. “I agree. I mean, can you imagine how it must feel to know you were created to do something that you might not agree with?”

Fluttershy shudders. “That IS creepy.”

Fauna pulls out a syringe from a drawer. “I need a blood sample from the cub.”

“Fluttershy, make sure the mother understands this.”

“Right.”

Doctor Fauna stands by the cub and waits. A moment later Fluttershy nods. She plunges the needle into the cub’s flesh and extracts a sample before putting the vial into a bag and making a note on it.

“I should also get a sample from the mother.”

Twilight nods. “Good idea. We can have something to compare it to then.”

Arc looks to Rainbow Dash as Fluttershy takes the mother’s sample. “Can you fly these over to the hospital for us? Tell them I need the results right away.”

“Sure.”

As the second sample is bagged Rainbow Dash grabs them and flies out the door. Fauna turns to Fluttershy.

“This is going to take a bit. In the meantime I can give the patient a painkiller, but it’ll make them groggy.”

“She’s asking you to do something to help.”

Arc nods. “Go ahead, doctor.”

The shot is administered and Doctor Fauna steps back.

“Nothing to do but wait now. We should probably let them both rest.”

Arc picks the cub up as the vet leads them down the hall to another room. They approach the largest cot as Arc lays the cub on it and steps back. The Ursa Major lays down next to her cub and snuggles up to them. Fluttershy turns to Arc.

“She’s very concerned for her cub.”

Twilight nods. “I can imagine. But it would be a lot easier if we knew more about them.”

Arc glances over as he stands. “You can ask her. Not sure how helpful it’ll be though.”

Twilight turns to the Ursa Major.

“Who… created you?”

Fluttershy looks confused. “She says… but that doesn’t make sense.”

“What is it?”

“A metal stallion.”

Twilight raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. That’s what she said.”

“Okay then. Um… how far away is your home?”

“She doesn’t understand the question.”

Fauna puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “I would assume she doesn’t have a way to gauge distance.”

Twilight sighs. “This is hard. I mean… there’s so much I want to ask. But I’m not sure how to go about doing it.”

“That’s complicated by translation and vocabulary.”

They look at the Ursa Major as she comforts her cub by nuzzling him.

“This is more than I expected.”

“Twilight?”

“I mean, I just thought she was some mindless beast.”

Fluttershy frowns as Twilight continues.

“But seeing this now, I guess there’s more to what goes through her mind than just eating and anger.”

Fauna nods. “The same could be said of most animals. They usually have fairly complex thoughts, after all.”

Arc’s earring chirps.

“Arc here.”

“Sir, this is Lemon Hearts. The princesses are requesting an update to the earlier… situation.”

“We’re at the local vet’s clinic. The pair are resting peacefully and we’ve sent blood samples to the hospital for some more tests.”

“Captain Shining Armor wanted to know if you needed anything over there.”

Arc shakes his head. “I think we’re good for now. Just keep your eyes open for more trouble.”

“Yes sir. Um… he also wanted me to pass on a message to Miss Sparkle.”

“Oh?”

“The captain merely wanted me to tell her… be careful.”

Arc nods. “Understood. I’ll stay here with them until this mess is sorted out.”

“Yes sir.”

“Arc out.”

He touches his earring and severs the connection before turning to Twilight.

“Shining Armor’s worried about you.”

Twilight sighs. “He’s such a worry-wart.”

Fauna sighs. “His concern may well be warranted. This isn’t exactly what I would call a routine examination.”

Fluttershy walks over to him. “Arc, is it really okay for you to stay here? I mean, what about the summit?”

“There’s plenty of security over there as it is. Worst case scenario, I could just take a portal back.”

Twilight nods. “I suppose that’s true. If something happens I’m sure you’ll hear about it, Arc.”

A short time later Rainbow Dash flies in the door with two large envelopes. She gives them to Doctor Fauna.

“There you go.”

“Thank you. Maybe now we’ll get somewhere.”

The doctor opens the reports. Her eyes widen in amazement.

“This can’t be right! They must’ve made a mistake!”

Rainbow Dash shrugs. “Well, that’s about what the nurse at the hospital said. She ran the tests again with identical results.”

Fluttershy gasps. “What is it, Doctor Fauna? Is it serious?”

“I… Twilight would you come here please?”

Twilight looks confused. “Oh! Um… okay.”

The doctor hands her the reports and points a hoof.

“This is a genetic readout of the mother. Are you familiar with this sort of thing?”

“Yes. I was studying the genetics of otherworldly plants some time ago.”

Twilight squees. She looks to Arc and mouths the words ‘I’m sorry’ as she looks down at the readout.

“It looks a little… strange.”

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. “All the stuff we’ve seen, and a piece of paper is strange to you, Twilight?”

Fluttershy sighs. “Please, Rainbow Dash. Let her finish.”

“If I’m readying this right, her DNA shouldn’t even work!”

Arc frowns. “What? But… then how are they here? Alive, I mean.”

Fauna shrugs. “I really don’t know. But that pales in comparison to the cub’s paperwork. Look here.”

She point to the readout.

“This is similar to the mother. However, several chromosomes were swapped out to make certain… changes.”

Arc looks worried. “Physical changes?”

Rainbow Dash turns to the cub and her mother. “They look similar to me.”

Twilight shakes her head. “These changes are on the inside. Mostly having to do with behavior and mental capacity.”

Arc turns to Fauna. “Did you take any brain scans, doctor?”

“Yes. However at the time I was looking at this as a physical problem. Let’s revisit them.”

Rainbow Dash flies back to the first room and returns with the papers.

“There you go!”

Doctor Fauna looks over the papers. When she looks up, her face is grim.

“Physically the brain looks fine. However, the way it’s working is certainly odd to say the least.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin. “Can you elaborate?”

“Well, it’s almost like the cub was genetically programmed to be more aggressive. It’s also smarter, stronger, faster, and more durable than the mother.”

Twilight puts a hoof to her chin in similar fashion to Arc. “So the cub is like a version 2.0?”

“Hardly. Pretty much every advantage that was attempted appears to have failed at the most basic level.”

Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow. “Isn’t that good though? I mean, we don’t want a monster running around killing everypony, right?”

Arc looks back to the doctor. “I suppose that’s true. Is that why the organs are so disproportionate?”

“Yes. They were supposed to grow much larger to support the beast as it aged. But genetic abnormalities on top of defects on top of poor physiology have led the cub to this point. Frankly I’m not sure why the mother isn’t in a similar condition.”

Twilight looks at the cub, sadly. “I wish we could run some tests on the father.”

Fluttershy looks hopeful. “Maybe he’s still around.”

Fauna shrugs. “It’s worth a try. Let’s ask.”

Fluttershy does so. A strange look crosses her face as she turns back to the others. Rainbow Dash appears expectant.

“So? What did she say?”

“That’s just it. She said there is no father.”

Twilight sighs. “So he died?”

Fluttershy shakes her head. “No. If I’m understanding this correctly, she’s saying there physically was no male.”

The doctor frowns. “That isn’t possible. An egg and a sperm cell are required for a cub to be born.”

Arc sighs. “I think I might know what happened.”

Rainbow Dash turns to him. “Great!”

“These creatures were created in a lab specializing in magical extraction technology.”

Twilight frowns. “What?! Impossible! That kind of thing has been illegal for hundreds of years!”

“From the state of the facility it looked like it had been abandoned for that long.”

Rainbow Dash waves her hooves in front of her face. “Woah, woah, woah! Are you saying these two are THAT old?!”

Fauna thinks for a moment. “That would explain another genetic defect I saw. Arrested development in both mental and physical expansion.”

Fluttershy looks at the pair as she speaks. “You mean it’s really possible to keep somepony young for that long?”

Twilight sighs. “On paper, yes. But this is far more proof of concept than I ever thought possible.”

She turns to the doctor.

“So what do we do?”

“I have no idea. There isn’t any medical procedure to even begin to address any of these problems.”

Rainbow Dash gasps. “So you can’t do ANYTHING for them?!”

Twilight sighs as she walks over to her friend. “Medicine and science have only come so far, Rainbow Dash. I guess the question now is, how long does the cub have to live?”

“His organs can’t take much more of this. I’d say a week at most.”

Fluttershy begins to tear up. “But… but how do I tell her that?! We have to do SOMETHING!”

Fauna shakes her head. “Fluttershy. You’ve been around animals long enough to know that not every case ends happily. Had you brought me a stray cat or dog in this condition, I think you know what my prognosis would have been.”

“Yes. A certain shot.”

Rainbow Dash’s face brightens. “Great! Do you have one of those shots around here?!”

Arc puts a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think it’s one of the shots you’re thinking of.”

“What other kind is there?”

Twilight hangs her head. “The kind that puts an animal to sleep… forever.”

“…oh.”

The room is silent for a time. Doctor Fauna turns to Fluttershy

“I’m sorry I don’t have better news, but the question now is what does the mother want to do?”

Fluttershy sighs. “I’ll ask her.”

Arc snaps his finger. “Wait a second.”

Twilight looks hopeful. “You have an idea, Arc?”

“Let’s think about this some more. Magic ultimately created these two. Is it possible that magic might be the key to fixing this?”

Doctor Fauna thinks for a moment before responding.

“It’s certainly possible. But such research is both forbidden and very complicated. It would take years to complete even with the data from all those centuries ago. Time this cub doesn’t have.”

Rainbow Dash puts a hoof to her forehead. “Okay, crazy idea here, but what if the cub’s organs worked correctly?”

“That would certainly save them, yes.”

Fluttershy smiles. “As well as stop all the pain they’re in.”

Twilight puts a hoof to her chin. “It would save their life, I suppose. But still not solve all the mental problems.”

Arc appears sober. “Isn’t that better than the alternative? I mean, I’m sure the mother doesn’t want to lose her cub. Nor does the cub want to die.”

Rainbow Dash looks to Arc. “Couldn’t you just use the Matter Compacting spell and… I don’t know… use it backwards?”

“You mean even out the cub’s organ sizes?”

Fluttershy gasps happily. “That might just work.”

Twilight frowns. “True. But this is very risky. Do we really want to do this? Nopony’s ever done anything quite like this that I’m aware of.”

Arc frowns. “I don’t think we have much of a choice. What do you think, doctor?”

“There’s nothing I or anypony else could do at this point with our current understanding of the cub’s genetic makeup.”

“Great. Fluttershy, explain it to his mother.”

Fluttershy looks at Arc nervously. “But… how?”

“Tell her… tell her everything we know, and that we’ll do our very best with what little we have to work with.”

Fluttershy does so. The Ursa Major growls.

“She doesn’t like the idea of anypony experimenting on her cub.”

Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow. “Experimenting?!”

Arc sighs. “Tell her that’s the best we can do.”

Fauna nods. “Please explain to her that his only chance for survival is quite risky. But the alternative is a slow and painful death for him over the course of a week or so.”

Turning back to the mother, Fluttershy relays the message before turning back to her friends.

“She… doesn’t know what to do.”

Twilight’s ears droop. “I understand this isn’t easy. But we need to find some way of convincing her.”

Rainbow Dash turns to Twilight. “Do we? I mean… Arc’s stronger than she is! He could just take the cub!”

“True. But she’s his mother, and this needs to be her choice.”

Twilight sadly nods at Arc. “Like Derpy’s choice to let Kronos have Dinky a while back?”

Arc winces at the memory. “Y-yeah.”

“But that turned out okay!”

“Yes it did, Rainbow Dash. However it was very painful for Derpy and I.”

“True, but…!”

Arc interrupts her. “Rainbow Dash, please… just stop.”

They silent for a time. Arc sighs and turns to Rainbow Dash.

“Listen to me. When you have children of your own, a decision like this isn’t as simple as you would think. Someday you’ll understand.”

Rainbow Dash opens her mouth to speak but Fluttershy puts a hoof on her back and shakes her head as Arc continues.

“Fluttershy, tell her we can either do this, or make him as comfortable as possible here.”

Fauna nods. “I can keep the pain away with regular injections. But he’ll be like he is now most of the time.”

Fluttershy does as she is told. The Ursa Major does not respond as she lies next to her cub. Arc looks to his friends.

“If she needs some time to decide…”

The cub whimpers softly as the mother nuzzles him. She sighs and turns to Fluttershy. A long moment passes between them before she turns to back to the others..

“She… wants you to try, Twilight.”

“Me?!”

Fluttershy nods. “Well, you ARE a unicorn.”

Rainbow Dash frowns. “What about Arc?!”

“She says it would make her feel better to have an actual unicorn do this. It wasn’t meant to be a personal insult.”

Arc nods. “I understand.”

He turns to Twilight.

“Can you do this?”

“I think so.”

Rainbow Dash grins. “Of course she can! She’s Twilight Sparkle!”

Fluttershy smiles. “We have faith in your abilities.”

“Okay. Let’s give this a try.”

Twilight turns to Doctor Fauna.

“What should I do? I mean, what if I make them TOO big?!”

“We’ll put the cub back into the machine. I can monitor the size of everything in real time and tell you when to stop.”

Arc looks nervous. “Begging your pardon, doctor. But how would Twilight know where to aim?”

Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow. “Yeah. I mean, we wouldn’t want her to accidently enlarge the wrong organ.”

“The only way I can think of to make that work would be to have you in the machine with him. But you have to understand that the painkiller will be wearing off soon. I can give him another one, but not for another few hours.”

Fluttershy gasps. “Wha… what?! But with the cub fully awake that would be very dangerous for Twilight! She could be hurt! Or worse!”

Twilight nods. “But if this works the cub might just pull through. I have to try!”

Arc looks to her soberly. “You’re very brave, Twilight. I’ll keep watch for you.”

“Thank you.”

Arc walks over to the cub. The mother slowly stands up and steps aside. He carefully picks the little one up and follows the others back to the first room. Laying the cub on the table Doctor Fauna walks over to Twilight as she climbs up onto the bed and lies down with him.

“Alright, just let me make a bit of an adjustment here.”

Doctor Fauna gently turns Twilight’s head so her horn is pointing at a very specific spot on the cub’s chest. Fluttershy leads the mother over to her cub’s line of vision.

“We should hurry, doctor! Who knows how long the cub will stay docile!”

“Agreed, Fluttershy. Just give me a few moments to start the machine.”

Arc walks over to the end of the bed and gently pats Twilight’s rear hoof. There is a slight intake of breath on her part as he does so.

“I’m right here, Twilight. Fluttershy’s watching everything very closely. If something goes wrong, I’ll get you out of there.”

“Thank you.”

“Is it okay for me to hold your hind legs? Just in case I need to get you out of there fast, I mean.”

Rainbow Dash facehoofs. “Arc, that’s not something you should be doing!”

Fluttershy blushes. “I’m… sure he didn’t know that.”

“Know what?”

Rainbow Dash sighs. “It’s considered inappropriate for a stallion to touch a mare anywhere on the back half of her body. And especially not her hind legs!”

Twilight sighs. “This isn’t exactly normal circumstances though, Rainbow Dash.”

She turns her eyes to looks at Arc as best she can.

“Go ahead and hold me, Arc.”

“Okay.”

Fauna looks up from the console. “I’m ready to start.”

Arc nods. “One second.”

He carefully puts his hands around Twilight’s rear fetlocks. The doctor looks over.

“Pardon me, but if she’s all right with it, I suggest holding Miss Sparkle above her bent knee.”

Fluttershy blushes heavily. “What?!”

“As he said before, in the event of an emergency he needs to get her out as quickly as possible. As it stands, her legs could slip out of his grasp. Now I know it might make you feel a little uncomfortable, but it’s for the best.”

Rainbow Dash looks to Twilight. “If you want I could do it.”

“Thank you, but I feel safe with Arc.”

Twilight bends her knees as Arc takes hold of her again. She makes a small gasp and blushes.

“Ready over there, Twilight?”

“Y-yes, go ahead.”

The machine starts up. Doctor Fauna looks over the display.

“Alright. Begin slowly Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight’s horn lights up as she casts the spell.

“Slowly… slowly… take your time…”

Fluttershy looks nervous. “The cub looks to be uncomfortable!”

Fauna nods. “That’s because the last of the sedative is wearing off. Going slow should help with the pain. And help his innards adjust.”

The Ursa Major puts its paws up on the table and nuzzles the cub. It seems to calm down a bit.

“You’re almost there, Twilight. Just elongate the lung a bit more, and… stop.”

Twilight’s horn ceases glowing as the vet walks over and puts her hooves on the table before turning to Arc.

“Would you please pull Miss Sparkle two feet toward you?”

“Okay. Say when…”

Arc slowly pulls Twilight’s body down the table.

“There.”

Fauna takes Twilight’s head and gently pushes it to one side before returning to her console.

“You’re both doing fine over there. Now for the kidneys. And… start.”

Again Twilight’s horn glows as she evens out the organ sizes. They repeat the process several times for each set of organs. Rainbow Dash watches the cub with a look of concern in her eyes.

“Are we almost done? This little guy is getting restless over here!”

Fluttershy looks over the monitor with the vet. “Just one more time and we’ll be done.”

Twilight breathes a sigh of relief. “Great. What’s last?”

Fauna walks over to her and sighs. “You’re not going to like this.”

Rainbow Dash chuckles. “How bad can it be? She’s already come this far.”

Fluttershy joins the doctor in front of Twilight with a nervous smile on her face. “Yes, well… this is… difficult to say, Twilight.”

Arc looks confused. “I don’t get it. That should have been the last of the paired organs. What else is there?”

Doctor Fauna sighs as she looks Twilight directly in the eye soberly.

“The testicles.”

Comments

[Moonlight_Mist]

“The testicles.”

Are you...wheeze...uncomfortable?

[Kamahido]

11773748
My wife was when she read that line. Then she fell over laughing.