This chapter is a soft edit with some grammar and spelling corrections. A final edit is pending review and will be uploaded when finalized. I apologize in advance for any errors that were not corrected.

"Sir," the doctor apologized. "I'm sorry, but we need you to move."

"No," Big Mac insisted. "I need to know she's going to be okay."

"Mac," Cerb's hand found its way to Big Mac's hoof.

Cerb's touch was just as soft and caring as Big Mac's was to Kelly's hand. Big Mac didn't want to turn away from the woman laying on the table in front of him, but Cerb's hold didn't pull away. He finally looked up to see the mammoth of a man telling him it was okay to give them space. Mac still hesitated.

"Come on, let them do what they need to do," Cerb told him.

Big Mac gently laid her hand on the table, stood up, and walked around the table to the couch to keep an eye on things. He almost made it to the cushion but was again met with Cerb.

He looked up, already pleading not to have to be told to move again. "Please, I just want to-"

"I just want to talk to you first," Cerb reassured him, seeing his concern. "It'll be quick. Come outside."

More hurt flooded into Big Mac. All he could think of was how he let Kelly down. That he allowed this all to happen because he wasn't able to protect her. Now, Cerb was going to have it out with him for his failure. Thinking about it, perhaps he deserved it.

Part of him wanted to be punished the more he dwelt on it. Their friend wasn't waking up, and it was all his fault. So without protest, he started to follow.

Cerb marched with a purpose to the sliding door. Rarity reached out for him as he neared her. "Mr. Cerberus. Where are you-"

"Give me a minute, I'll be right back," He told her, passing by with his hand held out to keep her at bay.

He continued his march, meeting Chris who was behind the counter. "Hey, what are-"

Again, Cerb held out his hand, "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Big Mac turned back to see Kelly one last time. Everyone was a frenzy with towels, holding a flashlight, or standing off to the side with something that would be needed at any given moment. His heart was breaking even more, but he continued on to take his punishment as the others fussed over what to do.

"It could be the Thoracoepiastriv vein or the Subscapular artery, I can't tell," Becky explained.

Dr. Horse shook his head. "Becky, you're going to have to show me where that is. I'm not familiar with those terms."

"It's the one she's pointing to Doctor," Nurse Redheart's voice answered, growing quieter with each step Big Mac took away from the house.

Outside the sunny sky had been masked by a thick overcast. Dusk was on its way, and what little light should have been out was mostly hidden.

They were now a reasonable distance away from the house. Far enough away that he couldn't hear them any longer. They probably wouldn't be able to hear the exchange Cerb was about to deliver either, though he thought it would be for the best. Not let the others hear his shame. He looked up again to see Cerb was angrily talking to two of the guards who, with good intentions, had rushed out to see if he needed help.

"I don't need any help. So just take your shiny coated asses back to your princess and away from me," Cerb ordered.

One of the guards tried to apologize. "Sir, we're only trying-"

Cerb stepped up to them, pointing his blood-soaked finger at them. "Did you not hear what the fuck I just said? You're on my land. My land, my rules. Get the fuck away from me, and don't send anyone else over here."

Without another word, the two trotted off back to the house. They gave a concerned look to Big Mac as they passed him, but did not slow their pace.

The two stood there, not saying a word. It was likely he was just waiting for the guards to get out of earshot. Now with them gone, the day seemed to have grown even darker.

Thinking it was safe to speak, Big Mac started to try and explain himself. "Mr. Cerb, I just-"

"Come here," Cerb ordered. His voice was deep yet deaf to any emotion.

Big Mac raised his head up so that he could be face to face, but out of fear and his own embarrassment for his inaction, he closed his eyes. He started to choke up. All his hurt inside was about to be matched by the fist of an angry beast that was out to seek his revenge. Big Mac held fast, ready to take it.

The first contact was Cerb's shoulder into his throat and his arms around his neck. Big Mac braced for whatever torture this otherworldly warrior was capable of delivering.

"Thank you," Cerb's muffled voice came as he sobbed holding onto him. "You were there. You were there for her, man," Cerb cried as he held Big Mac even tighter.

"Cerb, I-" Big Mac couldn't believe he was taken so far away from the others for this.

"You stepped up and kicked those mother fuckers asses," Cerb praised. "They were gonna kill her, and you saved her. I was too far away, but you saved her. But now she's gonna be okay."

Big Mac placed a hoof around Cerb. It should have been a proper hug, but he didn't know how he was supposed to respond. He was still trying to comprehend why he wasn't being blamed.

"I couldn't stop it. I didn't even see it coming," Big Mac admitted. "They were all right next to me, and I couldn't do anything."

Big Mac started to replay the scene in his head all over again. He could have stepped in front of her. Maybe he could have pushed her behind him. He could have swung her out of the way and taken the blade himself. The more he thought about it, the more he felt helpless. "They pushed Granny around. They hit my sister."

Big Mac loosened up and moved into a proper hug. “Then they got Kelly and came after me because I was... I was getting in their way."

Cerb pulled himself away and pointed at Big Mac with the same bloody finger. "Now don't go blaming yourself for this. You hear me? This wasn't your fault. Okay?"

Big Mac protested against his lack of guilt. "But I was there-"

"Doesn't matter."

"I was right there."

"Not your fault."

"I could have-"

"Maybe you could have, maybe you wouldn't," Cerb lectured. "Sometimes, you think you have everything under control. Like everything is fine so long as you're doing the right thing... but it all goes south. And sometimes, you can't do anything about it. When that shit happens, you step up, and you do whatever you can. However, you can. Just like you did today. And when it's all said and done, you lick your wounds and learn never to repeat those same mistakes that led you there."

"It's not my fault?" Big Mac asked, struggling to come to terms with this.

"Brother," Cerb said, gifting Big Mac with a new title. "I've been to war. I was given the best training money could buy to spot assholes like those guys. They walk up like their the good guys, then they stab you in the back and try to kill you. Then I learned even more from experience."

Cerb grew silent for a moment; old ghost from the past returning to haunt him. "And then one day it all went south." He paused again for a moment. "But after I licked my wounds, I didn't have the right people there to convince me that it wasn't my fault."

"You called me, brother?" Somehow that was Big Mac's big takeaway to focus on.

"Yeah," Cerb smiled. "I most certainly did." He placed his hand around the back of Big Mac's neck and tugged it back and forth a little. "You're one of us now. You got that?"

"Yeah, I got it," Big Mac said with some much-needed weight off his shoulders.

Cerb smiled, though it wasn't a very convincing smile. "Good. Now go back in there, get yourself patched up, and get back to waiting by Kelly's side when they let you back in. And hey," He said, again with that same finger pointing at him. "When you're sitting there next to her, remember that she's still alive because of you."

"Right," Big Mac said with a slow nod. "Are you coming back in?"

Cerb waved him off. "Nah. I need some time out here. Alone. I gotta." He turned away and put his bloody hands in his pockets. "I need to work some of this shit out." He turned around again. "Otherwise I'll probably just go back in the house, grab a gun, track down the fuckers who did this and put a bullet in their head. I'll kill'em quick. I don't give a shit."

Such harsh words brought up a confliction with Big Mac. All of the problems that developed today were the result of a pony trying to kill Kelly. Yet here was a human that seemed to come off so firmly against such an act, now saying he wanted to commit murder as well. The idea that any creature could hold such a duality of ideologies made no sense. Life was valuable and was held sacred in Equestria. He thought that these humans held the same beliefs, or did Cerb find a way to rationalize holding both?

“You don’t really mean that, do you?” Big Mac asked.

Cerb could hear the tone in Big Mac’s voice that he was honestly concerned. Perhaps he came off too strongly. “No,” he shook his head. “I mean, part of me wants to, but no. I’m not going to run off and kill anyone. I’m just pissed off.”

“Pissed off?” Big Mac inquired.

“Pissed off. I - “ Cerb had to remember that most of these ponies probably didn’t understand their slang. “I’m just really, really mad, Mac. I’m so frustrated with everything since getting here that I can’t think straight.”

Hoofsteps treaded lightly up to them. “Is everything alright?” The concerned voice or Rarity spoke out. “I’m sorry for intruding, but you walked off in such a hurry and went off alone, we just had to come and check up on you two.”

Cerb looked again to see Fluttershy had tagged along as well. “Celestia had some supplies brought in for you. It seems you all are running out of water and a few other necessities.”

Big Mac could see these two mares wanted some time of their with Cerb. He decided to use that as his excuse to head back to the house. “I’m going to head back in. Let you two have some time alone with Cerb.”

Big Mac turned back towards the house but stopped to say one last thing before leaving. “I’ll be here if you need me for anything, brother. Don’t hesitate to ask.”

Cerb just nodded and let Big Mac off to be back with Kelly.

The two mares coming out to check up on Cerb was a kind gesture, but he wasn’t pleased with it either. He wanted to keep that moment with his new brother private. No one else needed to be there for it. Not even those two. But as they walked closer to him, he couldn’t find it in himself to turn them away.

“I said I’d be back,” Cerb offered the excuse to squash any unnecessary prying from them.

Fluttershy tried to justify their intrusion. “Well, yes, but we still thought-“ Her timid nature forced the words she wanted to say back down inside.

“We heard what you said to Big Macintosh,” Rarity confessed, finally gaining Cerb’s attention. “Those were some very kind words. A rather wise perspective, might I add. And I’m sure they are ones that he appreciates.”

“No offense, but I pulled him aside and away from everyone else for a reason.” Cerb looked away, he didn’t want to be rude to them, but he didn’t want them to get the idea that they could welcome themselves into his private matters as they saw fit.

“We didn’t mean to, you know, eavesdrop,” Fluttershy apologized. “I also really needed to get away from there.”

As upset as he was, he couldn’t be mad. Not at them. Not like he was at the guards earlier. Had they been anyone else, he likely would have told them to get lost, but he found his resolve weak against them. Something he couldn’t explain, so he offered an olive branch. “Don’t worry about it. You’re fine. It’s not like you overheard some dirty little secret or anything.”

“Mr. Cerberus, I know you said you wanted some time to yourself, but perhaps we could keep you company for a while?” Rarity offered. “At least until they call us back with good news."

Rarity wasn't getting any response from Cerb, so she decided to change the subject. "The guards said they would be setting up some tents for bathing. Apparently, when your house arrived, it didn’t retain the amenities of running water.”

“I’ll go back when I’m ready,” Is all he could say about their offer, but in his response, he didn’t turn them away, either.

“Darling, if you don’t wish to go back, you certainly don’t have to, but you must at least clean yourself up a little,” Even in the low lite in the open air, the blood that was slowly drying on his hands and arms stood out all too easy to see. “You’re covered in filth dear. Please.”

A bottle of water floated up, illuminated by Rarity’s magic. Cerb eyed it like it was something alien to him. A small towel was offered up in Fluttershy’s wings. He looked at both items and then down to his hands.

Examining them, he realized just how easy it was for him to shut certain things out. After all his years in the service, he had his fair share of blood on his hands. Much of it from people he never knew. Plenty of them were those he killed himself, but that blood gave him no qualms. However, seeing his hands and arms coated in red like they were, it took him back to his last mission. Again, the horrors he went through started to replay in his mind.

The two mares stared on, waiting for him to accept their offerings, but he just kept looking down at his hands.

Rarity couldn’t tell what was wrong, but something certainly wasn’t right. “How about you take a seat. Let us help you with this, dear.”

Cerb silently obliged the request. Taking a seat in the grass and resting his arms out between the legs, still thinking back to the hot desert air and the setting sun behind him. The rustling of leaves in the mild breeze and the sweet scent of the spring air waned into the echoes of gunfire and smoke that was almost thick enough to mask the stench of a rotting bombed-out city.

Cold water splashed down, rinsing much of the red away from the tan skin underneath. It shocked him out of his trance and back to the site of the white unicorn pouring more from the bottle. She drained it over the length of his arms down to his open hands.

“Are you still with us, Cerb?” Rarity cautiously asked.

Cerb made eye contact and quickly looked away.

Fluttershy draped her cloth over his right arm and started to gently scrub away what bit of gore that still clung to him. “It looked like you were lost for a minute there. Still thinking about what happened today?”

“No,” Cerb answered honestly. “Somewhere, far away from here. Another time not so long ago. My hands looked the same back then. I wasn’t able to wash them then, either.”

“Did you have friends wash them for you? When that happened, I mean,” Rarity asked, raising up another cloth in her hooves and starting to wash between his fingers. She was careful not to scrub too hard or too fast, much like Fluttershy next to her. Her movements were slow and methodical, if not somewhat intimate.

Each pass of the cloth revealed more of the scarred flesh underneath. The scars came in various sizes that were spread out in unusual patterns. They seemed to have faded quietly over the years, but the pain they came with could not be any more self-evident.

Again Cerb’s mind took him back to the metal floor he was laid on. He fought and screamed for the hands holding him down to let him go as they were lifted from the ground, above the burning vehicles and crumbling buildings. His struggle soon after gave out, all his strength leaving him. His body was bleeding out in the chopper that was flying him away. Away from the combat that had struck him down. His body was cold, but the holes in his chest and back still burned. Everything was numb but the pain, and he was deaf to everything but the sound of a gunner returning fire to more insurgents down below.

Something touched his face. He snapped back to reality, and Fluttershy yelping in fear, trying to step back with a wing stretched out to him at eye level.

“I’m sorry. Did I wipe too hard?” Fluttershy was apologizing for something Cerb didn’t even know she was doing.

Cerb’s face made slow jerking turns to his left, tracing along the length of her wing. He followed it until he realized it was held there in his hand. His fist was clenched around the tips of her wing and the cloth it held. He snapped his hand open and released her.

“I’m sorry. You had some on your face, and I thought I would… just clean it off for you,” Fluttershy continued to apologize, pulling both wings back and trying to hide behind them.

It had been a long time since he had a flashback like that one. Nightmares and the occasional loud noise that triggered a reaction were here and there, but this was something he had moved past. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. That was… I’m sorry.”

“Would you like us to stop?” Rarity asked, concerned that perhaps they did do something wrong, but he was being too nice to admit it.

Cerb looked down to his hands, from his fingertips up to his sleeves, everything was washed clean. “How long was I,” He met Rarity eye to eye. “Not here… again?”

“Not long,” Fluttershy meekly answered.

“Mr. Cerburus,” Rarity moved in closer, sounding very concerned. “You can talk to us. About Kelly, or anything else. So please, you don’t need to hold it all in.”

She watched as Cerb lowered his eyes, seemingly shutting down again. “Can you tell us what you were thinking about? Before you… you know.” Rarity was trying to avoid bringing up his reaction as he came out of his trance.

“I won’t clean your face this time,” Fluttershy whispered, still a bit shaken up from the way he snapped.

Cerb looked down to his hands again. He brushed his fingers over the scars that were splattered over his wrist and forearms. “A long time ago, our country was attacked. Terrorist killed almost three-thousand innocent people in the process. Men. Women. Children. Police. Firefighters. Rescue workers. Even just people on the street trying to help.”

The two mares were silent, in shock from just the idea that so many lives could be taken in such a swift and senseless act.

“Once we figured out who ordered the attack, we went to war, and I joined the fight. And at first, when we invaded, things were going well. We were pounding'em. But as the years went on, they got smarter and more desperate. They would send women and children into crowded streets with bombs strapped to their chest. Blow themselves up just to try and kill us. They didn’t even care how many of own their people they killed in the process.”

Cerb took a moment, preparing himself for the hard part. Before he could continue, he felt something warm touch his leg. Rarity’s hoof softly sat on his thigh. She looked to him with sad, sympathetic eyes, encouraging him to continue.

“I’d been fighting there for a while, came home to bury my brother and mother. Then my father walked out on me. So when I went back, I was angrier than ever. I vowed to kill as many of them as possible and keep my squad safe, no matter what. Never let their families have to bury their own like I did mine. Then, one day on another patrol looking for their lieutenants, they hit us with an ambush. Our driver and gunner were killed instantly. An IED took out the Vic. Then they started shooting at us from everywhere. They had us boxed in. Our radioman died, sending out the distress call. Two more went down, and I didn’t even see it happen."

"Me and my battle buddy Garcia, we stayed up front to draw their fire, let everyone behind us get to cover. We were drop'n left and right. Then I got hit. And I got hit again. Turns out a bulletproof vest is only bulletproof for so many bullets... then it’s just a big heavy jacket.”

Cerb had to wipe his eyes. He hadn’t talked about this for years. “I was hurt’n but couldn’t leave my cover and couldn’t stop shooting. So I stayed in the fight. Then I saw Garcia was hit. He took another hit and went down. So I was stupid and ran over to him. Tried to pick up him and drag him out of there. Then they moved in on us. Garcia shot the first few that popped up, but there were too many spread out, and they shot him again. They shot him so many times the bullets passed through him and took me down with him.”

Cerb took a deep breath and exhaled. “When I came to, another squad had shown up and were dragging me out. I saw Garcia still laying out in the street. They left him there, and they wouldn’t let me go back to get him. They told me he was dead, but I said they were wrong and we had to go back and get him. That we couldn’t leave him out there. But of course, they didn’t listen, and they threw me in a chopper to fly out. The last thing I saw was my arms being raised. I had four guys working on me at the same time. But all I could see was them sticking my left arm with needles and my right arm getting wrapped up in gauze.”

The story was coming to an end, and the two mares were starting to understand so much more about him. “The last thing I said before they knocked me out was… That’s Garcia’s blood. They shot him. Then today… today Mac took the hits I couldn’t and got Kelly out alive. We’re all a family, and I wasn’t there for her. I wasn’t there for him. I couldn’t-“

Fluttershy pushed herself under Cerb’s left arm. She wrapped herself around him and held her face close to his chest, using her compassion and comfort to stop the downward spiral he was putting himself in. “You can’t blame yourself for any of this. None of this was your fault.”

Something took control of Cerb’s right arm, lifting it up for him. Rarity’s aura was holding it up so she could step under it. She gently released it, letting it rest over her back. Much like her wingmare, she pressed herself against him and nuzzled under his chin. “Like you said, that was long ago. Now you’re somewhere far away from there. You’re here with us, and your friend Kelly is going to be just fine. I’m sure of it.”

There under the darkening skies, Cerb pulled the two mares in closer to him, accepting them as he had accepted Big Mac. “I just don’t want to lose any more family. We’re all we got left.”

In the kitchen, Chris was going through the cupboards and shelves. He was searching for more clothes or rags to wipe more of the mess from the constant attempts to keep Kelly’s wound clear. Realizing that they had run out and he’d go upstairs, he looked up to see Cerb marching to the back door. "Hey, what are-"

Cerb held out his hand, "Stay here. I'll be right back." He didn’t make eye contact or seem interested in letting Chris know what he was doing. Then Big Mac followed him out the same way, looking like he was walking the Green Mile.

Chris looked around the room, wondering if he had missed something, but it seemed like they had just gotten up and left without reason. “Hey? What’s going on with Cerb and Mac?”

Lumberman was standing at the end of the counter, ready to grab the next thing Becky or the others may need. When he heard the question, he leaned over the counter to see them walking out away from the house. “He’s gonna have a talk with Mac it looks like. Let’em be.”

Rarity tried to see where he was walking off to so suddenly. Given all that has happened and how angry he’d been, she was concerned he might try to take out his frustration on Big Mac. Perhaps blaming him for what happened to Kelly. “Shouldn’t we stop him, or go out there with him?”

Lumberman sighed, leaning onto the countertop. “No, just let’em talk. They’ll be fine.”

Rarity didn’t seem convinced. Despite her attraction and good faith in him, his outburst when they first met left her in fear that something could still happen. “How can you be sure nothing will happen out there?”

Lumberman shook his head in disappointment. “Nothings gonna happen. If old Devil Dog out there was going to start a fight, he would have told one of us to cover for ’em.”

That explanation did nothing to remove any of her worries, and he could see that. “You don’t know Cerb like I do. If he’s got something serious he wants to talk about with someone, he does it in private. He doesn’t open up around people he don’t trust.”

“What about yesterday?” She asked, since that outburst still weighing on her mind.

Lumberman sulked into the countertop. “Yesterday was my fault. I put him in a bad spot.”

“I need another towel, and will you guys shut the fuck up,” Becky barked from the table.

A moan came from Rarity’s lap, Fluttershy was finally coming around. “Oh, dear, I had the most terrible dream.”

Rarity helped her to sit upright but faced her away from the table. “That was no dream, dearie. Let’s get you outside and have some fresh air.”

Fluttershy, still a bit woozy, began to walk out with Rarity. She started to turn her head back to see Kelly again, but Rarity stopped her and turned her head back to the door. “Best not to look again and have a repeat of that, Fluttershy.”

Benny came down the stairs with his arms full of bath towels. “These are most of them. What else you need?”

“A little more quiet would be nice,” Becky snapped, pulling out a wad of gauze that was soaked red. “That’s not even slowing it down. Nurse, did you get her blood pressure yet?”

Nurse Redheart just finished deflating the sphygmomanometer and pulled the stethoscope from her ears. “It’s 119 over 81… Is that good?”

Becky raised her head in confusion. “Are you sure that’s what it is?”

Nurse Redheart reacted like she just did something wrong. “I checked it three times to make sure. Are those numbers bad?”

Becky took a step back from Kelly. “That doesn’t make any sense. You must have done something wrong. Let me try. Peter, keep the pressure on her.”

Sniff stepped into Becky’s spot next to the table and kept his hand firmly pressed against Kelly's side. “What’s wrong with those numbers Becks?”

Becky undid the Velcro and placed the sphygmomanometer a little higher than where Nurse Redheart had set it. “Those numbers can’t be right. Otherwise, she’d be screaming in pain right now.”

“Why would she be screaming?” Chris asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

The seconds it took for Becky to measure Kelly’s blood pressure felt like minutes as they all waited for her explanation. Finally, Becky removed the Stethoscope. “She should be up screaming in pain because her blood pressure is perfectly fine.”

“What?” Even Dr. Horse was confused.

Becky backed away, running her fingers through her hair, trying to make sense of it all. “I thought she passed out from blood loss. I mean, she’s bleeding a lot, but her blood pressure is too high for her to have lost consciousness. Even if she had fainted, she should have come to by now.”

“Maybe it was head trauma. She could have a concussion.” Dr. Horse speculated.

Applejack appeared from back in the kitchen. “N-no. She never hit her head or nothing like that. The guards never got close enough to take a crack at her skull like they did mine.”

Nurse Redheart didn’t have any theories, but she knew better than to lose sight of priorities. “Okay, we can focus on that later. Right now, we need to stop the bleeding. Doctor, what can we do?”

Dr. Horse nervously walked back and forth by the table, fumbling his words. “Uh, I-I-I don’t know? I mean, I’ve never done an operation like this before. I don’t even know anypony who has.”

Benny had been standing at the back of the room with Celestia, watching over everything, and he just remembered something. “Becky, would any of your old med books be able to help? The ones your mom wasn’t able to sell?”

“You still have those?” Becky couldn’t believe that Benny had held on to them for her all these years.

Benny pushed himself off the wall and started towards the stairs. “Yeah, I keep everyone’s extra shit here. They’re up in the attic.”

Chris ran out of the kitchen behind him. “I’ll help.”

A little more hope entered everyone’s hearts. With any luck, maybe one of those books would hold the knowledge they need. Even Pinky’s hair inflated itself back to its usual poof.

It didn’t take long for them to return, each holding a box in their arms. They dropped them down on the floor in the middle of the living room and pulled the tops off. Becky looked inside both boxes. Lots of papers, manuals, and a selection of textbooks that was smaller than she remembered having.

She started to dig in. “Look for anything with the words Endovascular, Arterial, or Stitching in the title. Or anything with Sabistion as an author.

Chris and Benny brought their hands in, looking over the materials. Two of the books in front of Becky illuminated in violet and white, then another in amber. Starlight, Celestia, and Dr. Horse were joining the cause as well. Book by book, paper by paper, and page by page, they scavenged for anything that could help. Even Nurse Redheart, Applejack, and Pinky Pie did what they could, picking up each book that was put down and double-checking to make sure that something wasn’t overlooked.

Dr. Horse suddenly became excited. “I- Hey! I think I found something, The cover was missing, so I didn’t know what the book was at first.” He started flipping through the pages. “The pictures in this book are amazing. I’ve never seen so much detail, and…” The smile he had started to fade.

Celestia put down her book and leaned in. “Doctor, does that book have what you need?”

The turning of the pages began to slow down as he continued through it. “I… I don’t know. This does cover surgeries and bleeding, but I don’t think it-“

Becky grabbed the book and ripped it out of the glowing light that held it. She flipped through some of the pages herself. “This is-“ She turned back to the first few pages. “Surgical skills… Iliac artery ligation… I mean, this might help. It’s about treating bleeding from the uterus after giving birth.”

The doctor took the book back, picking up where he left off. “This still might help… but… I don’t know how long it will take me to read through and understand what can be applied to our patients' case. Is there anything else left to go through?”

“Is she awake yet?” The sad voice of Big Mac entered the room.

The silence they returned gave him all the confirmation he needed. He lowered his head and walked back to Kelly’s side. If he had to move again, they would tell him. Until then, he would stay exactly where he wanted to be.

The frantic clopping of hooves came in from the garage. “I’m sorry I’m late, I had a run-in with-“ Twilight launched herself off the floor and tried to stop herself in midair. She folded out her wings and flapped them feverishly but still slammed into the wall. After seeing it from Trixie, she knew what she was looking at what was splattered on the floor.

She hovered above the floor, following the trail of blood to the table where Sniff was still tending to Kelly. “What happened? Was Trixie here?”

Pinky Pie put down the book she was rereading. “No Twilight,” Her hair deflated and the bright pink of her coat lost its luster. “It’s much worse than that.”

Rainbow Dash finally spoke up from her perch on the top of the couch behind Becky. “Hey! Don’t go losing hope just yet! Becky and the Doc will think of something!”

Starlight put down her stack of papers and walked over to Twilight; no one else was up for trying to get Twilight up to speed. “Twilight, follow me outside. You missed a lot while you were out.”

In only a few short minutes, everyone else had finished going through all the materials that were left in the boxes. Nothing was of use. There were plenty of materials on anatomy, pharmaceutical medicine, and other random topics. Even the few pieces of literature they found that mentioned surgery, didn’t cover anything dealing with the type of surgery they need to know.

Starlight and Twilight finally came back, but Twilight opted to go in through the back door, not wanting to get too close to the blood. “I don’t know what to say… I can’t believe something like this could even happen in Equestria. If there is anything I can do-“

“Can you fix her?” Becky pleaded.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized. “I haven’t studied much in modern medicine. And certainly, nothing that would help with this.”

Becky looked up, finally losing hope. “What about magic?”

Twilight bowed her head. “Again, I’m sorry. Healing spells are limited on what they can do, and mostly all they do is speed up recovery. From what I can tell, it wouldn’t work for her. She needs complex structural repairs to her body. I could end up doing more damage by healing the wrong tissue and not even know it. Or even worse, heal around her wound and she would end up bleeding inside.”

“Just do it then!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “So what if she bleeds inside? That’s where blood is supposed to be! Inside the body! Not outside!”

“No, Dashy,” Becky admitted. “That’s called a hematoma. That could kill her in more ways than not doing a surgery.”

“Twilight, you’re finally back,” Rarity announced, bringing Fluttershy and Cerb with her.

Everyone was together again, but with no reason to celebrate.

Chris dropped a medical manual back in the box and stood up. “I might have a really good idea or a really stupid idea. But I need you to hear me out on this.”

“Wait? What’s going on? Isn’t she patched up?” Cerb asked, thinking there would have been some progress by now.

Chirs was so nervously excited that his leg was shaking. “Kelly needs a surgery that no one here knows how to do, and healing spells aren’t an option either. But what if we supercharged the spell?”

“Chris,” Celestia spoke up. “If you’ve thought of something we haven’t, please just tell us.”

“It’s simple,” Chris opened his hands and pointed them to the Mane Six. “Use the Elements of Harmony!”

All the mares looked to each other, then focused their sight on Twilight.

“What?” Twilight acted like the idea was ludicrous.

Chris repeated himself. “Use the Elements of Harmony! Just like I said. Okay, look,” Chris recomposed himself. “I know this sounds like a lazy copout, but if this world is even remotely close to the show, the Elements of Harmony being used as the Deus Ex Machina for our problem should work. It doesn’t make any sense, and it doesn’t follow any logic. It just does what it needs to do when they're used.”

“Becky!” Sniff hollered from across the room. “You’re the only other person here that’s close to being an expert on this shit. Is Chris onto something or just fucking retarded?”

All eyes were on Becky, especially Rainbow Dash’s magenta eyes that were right up in her face as she propped herself up in Becky’s lap.

Becky tried to think of all the times the Elements were used before. “Well… he’s not wrong.”

“Works for me,” proclaimed Applejack. Picking herself up and walking over to the table.

“Wait! Applejack!” Twilight protested.

“I’m in!” Rainbow Dash announced, jumping up and flying over next to Applejack.

“Deus ex Medicine! Yeah!” Pinky Pie shouted, bouncing over with her poofy hair and brilliant shine returning.

“Sorry, Twilight,” Rarity said in passing. “I make four, so I think you’re outvoted.”

“Outvoted? We didn’t even-“ Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy uttered under her breath.

“No, not you too, Fluttershy.” Twilight was shocked.

“I’m sorry, but she’s not just an Honorary Guest to Equestria, and she’s more than just a friend to everyone here. She’s part of their family, Twilight.” Fluttershy guided Twilight’s eyes to Kelly with Big Mac at her side, still holding her hand. “And I think she’s already become part of a much bigger family.” She let that image sink in. “Our family.”

Fluttershy looked back up to Cerb. He was touched, she could see it written all over his face. She smiled and trotted over next to the others.

Twilight still wasn’t completely sold on the idea. “Wait! We don’t even have the Elements of Harmony with us! They're still in Canterlot!”

A loud whistle came over Twilight’s head. She cringed while covering her ears and looked up to see Celestia lowering her hoof from her lips. “Princess?” Twilight quietly said her name, begging the question.

Celestia smiled, looking down at the confused purple Princess. “I may have brought them as a precaution. You can never tell when you might need them these days.”

A pair of marching hooves from two guards clopped their way to the back door. Cerb sidestepped out of their way and them with the chest they carried together.

“Princess, as requested,” One of the guards answered, opening up the lid to let the radiance of the Elements shine out.

Chris raised his hands in the air in triumph. “Deus Ex Machina! I called it!”

All of the Elements were raised out of the box and found their way to the Mane Six. Each mare stuck out their chest, allowing themselves to dawn their medallions one more time. Except for Twilight, she stared at her crown, still afraid of what could go wrong.

Dr. Horse approached Twilight with a stack of books. “Princess, I don’t think we have much of a choice. It will take me days of non-stop studying to be able to piece together any proper techniques that could be used to help her. And that would still be me doing it with no experience and likely not even the right equipment. This might be her best shot. Perhaps her only shot.”

Nurse Redheart trotted up behind him. “We’ve done all we can, but I will stay for as long as you need me.”

Celestia leaned in next to her student. “Twilight, have a little faith. These things tend to happen like this for a reason.”

“Hey, Twiggels!” Sniff shouted again. “Is that crown your element thingy?!”

“Yes?” She answered, not sure why he was asking.

“Well put that shit on and get your ass over here or I'll put the fucking thing on and do it myself!” Sniff shouted, growing impatient.

“Please,” Cerb kindly asked.

“No matter what happens, we won’t hold anything against you,” Becky said, smiling at the hopes that Twilight would finally give in.

Benny stood with his arms crossed. “My house, my rules. Use the Elements,” He sported a smirk, showing that he had faith in them as well.

Twilight finally looked at Chris, still standing in the middle of the room. “What are you looking at me for? This was my fucking idea! Get up there already!”

Twilight had no reason to resist any longer. She dawned the crown, letting its power flow through her yet again. A wave of confidence took hold.

“Yeah, it’s gotta work,” Twilight admitted and joined the others.

Starlight nudged Chris’s leg. “This was a good idea. I think it’s going to work.”

Twilight took her place, front and center. “Okay, girls. You ready to do this?”

“Yeah!” They all shouted, excited to at the chance to save their new friend.

Twilight looked down to their target. “Big Mac, you should probably move. You too, Smelly.”

“My name’s not Smelly,” Sniff protested, thinking she didn’t intentionally get it wrong.

Twilight cocked her head back and rolled her eyes. “And my name’s not Twiggels, but here we are anyway.”

Sniff smirked, appreciating her sass. “Okay, I got you.”

Twilight started to shine, the light spreading to the others. “Okay, girls. Let’s do this.”

The six mares lifted in the air, the power of the Elements channeling through them. Another flux of energy surged in, and their eyes began to glow with a bright white light.

Twilight gave the command. “One Super Charged Healing Spell! Coming up!”

The rainbow light emerged swirling around them before arching up and came crashing down on Kelly. The power of the release shook the house, dishes and items of sorts rattled and clashed. More and more of the light poured out and narrowed itself smaller and smaller as Twilight did her best to focus the power to heal Kelly’s injuries.

Sniff yelled out over the magic. “Chris! If this actually works, I just might suck your dick!”

“Ugh!” Rainbow Dash groaned. “It’s never taken this long before! Is it working!”

Twilight grunted. “Ah! I don't know! This feels different!”

A light sparked up and started to shine out of Kelly’s side!

“Look! It’s working!” Fluttershy cried out.

“Don’t let up! We have to keep going!” Twilight grunted again. “Give the power to me if it becomes too much! I can take it!”

Cerb went to Chris’s side. “Is this normal?”

Chris slowly shook his head. “No.” He then leaned down close to Starlight. “Is there any way we can help?”

Starlight looked on, worried for her friends. “No,” She narrowed her eyes with the determination to be the better pony she was striving to be. “But I can.”

Twilight was still struggling to hold her grip on the Elements until she felt a portion of the magic slip away. She looked down to see Starlight standing underneath, somehow both redirecting the power through her and adding her own. “Starlight! What are you doing!?

The flow of this much power was uncomfortable, too uncomfortable to hide. “Grrr! You’re taking too long! We’ll never make it in time for those dinner reservations!” She joked, but she realized too late the kind of danger she just put herself in.

Celestia warned the humans as she began to approach the mares. “All of you stay back. I don’t know what might happen next.”

“Still… a little… more…” Twilight grunted, no longer loud enough for the others to hear. Even with Starlight's help, it seemed like this gamble was about to be a losing bet. Or at least until another burst of energy entered the stream. Celestia had joined in from behind, lending her magic to the effort.

One last burst came through with a brilliant flash as Celestia forced as much of her magic out as she could manage in one final push. Then all their magic fell away.

Twilight felt all her strength dissolve, vanishing with the light that had held her up. Her body felt heavy, feeling the pull of gravity draw her down. She tried to ask if the spell worked, but her lungs emptied with a huff. Then, like the others around her, she came crashing to the floor.

Everything was going dark, and her senses were weakening in each labored breath. Muffled voices called out to her and her friends, but they soon faded while she fought to keep her eyes open.

It's working

                                   You’re taking too long!   

The flooding of words that echoed off in Twilight's mind finally grew silent. She was awake, but just barely.

"Did it work?" The quiet voice of Twilight asked in the poorly lit room.

Twilight tried to stand up, but the floor gave way under her struggles. She drew in her legs again, trying to get a better footing, but the floor was soft... and made of couch cushions?

Twilight again tried to stand, but her legs were so weak that they couldn't support her. "Where's Kelly? Where am I?"

"Hey. Whoa there, Twiggels," Sniff ordered, slowly coming into focus.

The first sight she gets to see was this guy. Out of everyone and everypony there, this guy just had to be what she wakes up and see.

"Slow your horses, girl," Sniff joked but also carried his words with a sense of care. There was a subtle softness to his tone. "You there, are gonna have to lay your royal ass down for a few more Z's."

Twilight wanted to fight against Sniff's hands as they caressed under her neck and reached around her barrel, but they were guiding her down, not pushing.

Her legs were as good as jello. Even her neck struggled to hold her head up for more than a few seconds at a time.

Twilight tried to fight off a yawn. "What happened? Is everypony alright?" A yawn finally powered it’s way out. "Is Kelly-"

"You saved Kelly," Sniff answered. "She's done bleeding."

A little more attuned to her surroundings, she could finally put together her situation. She was still in the living room. Several candles lit the room from the shadow the night had cast upon them. The dim light shined on what was to raise many new questions.

Mattresses and blankets littered the floor. Scattered about were intermingling bodies of ponies and humans alike. Big Mac lay next to a mattress where Kelly slept under a blanket they shared. Benny was reclined back in a chair with Pinky Pie laying half next to him and the other half over his tummy. Even Cerb was asleep with Rarity and Fluttershy laying on either side of his legs. Their heads resting on his lap while he sat up against the wall.

Starlight was the only alone. She was curled up on a pile of blankets by herself.

"The Doc says it's Magic Exhaustion." Sniff clarified. "All of you got it. Even Princess Big White behind ya."

Twilight mustered enough strength to lift her head and see Celestia sleeping comfortably. She was laid out on the other end of the couch, resting soundly on a mound of pillows.

Sniff leaned back into the couch again. "You missed a good discussion about all of it. A whole lot of nerd talk."

Twilight flopped her head down to the cushion again. Some form of ease was finally resting down on her. "What discussion? She whispered under a weary voice.

Sniff chuckled. "Yeah, Chris and Becky got into a big discussion about it with the Doc and Nurse Bedfart."

Twilight hummed as much of a laugh as she could muster. Finally finding some amusement in Sniff's intentional misspoken names. Plus, she wasn't very fond of the nurses' attitude.

Sniff looked to see an adorable smile on her face. Even cuter through those tired eyes. "Oh, you like that? But yeah. The Doc seemed familiar with unicorns getting exhausted for overusing magic, but never saw it with an alicorn. Not with the normal ponies or a pegasus, either."

Sniff reached to his side, making something clunk against the couch. Sniff brought up a dark-colored bottle with an unfamiliar odor. It had the bouquet of a wheat brewed tea. Not overall unpleasant, though.

Sniff seemed too calm for her to be overly concerned about her friends, but she still had to know. "Are they okay?"

The bottle raised up, and Sniff took a long drink of his beer. "Yeah. They're all okay. Just tired like you are."

A sigh of relief was Twilight's response.

"Well, they're all better off than you are, actually," Sniff added, taking another drink. "Like I said, you missed them nerding out over how earth ponies and pegasuses could have Magic Exhaustion. Chris was saying that a pegasus doesn't hold much magic for flying and controlling the weather. Then he said a normal pony needs even less if all they are is a little stronger and farm better."

Gentle pawing rubbed up against Sniff's shoulder. Twilight padded gently against him, enjoying the recap of his friends' medical theories.

Sniff smiled at the princess, happy to entertain her after all she did for Kelly. "Anyway, Chris said that Apple Jacks and Party Pie would be the first to recover. Than Butter Butt and Lesb-" A little too loose with his lips, he caught himself. He cleared his throat, took another swig from his beer. "-and the rainbow one after that. And... he was right."

Twilight gripped his shirt with the frog of her hoof. "What about-"

"Your unicorn friends were the last two to get up. But they were awake for all of maybe ten minutes before they crashed again. Just like their feathered friends before them. Only the first two stayed up longer than that. Don't know why, though."

Twilight looked around the room again but noticed one, in particular, that was missing. "Rainbow Dash?"

Sniff took another drink. "She's on the mattress with Becky behind you. She's fine. And before you ask, I don't know why they're all paired up like this. They woke up and tried moving around, but, you know, they're all tired and shit. So we offered them a place to sleep, and they all whined to have someone stay with’em. Except for Strobelight over there."

Another tip of the bottle and Sniff polished off the rest before turning back to the princess again. "Please don't tell me you're wanting someone to cuddle up with too, are you?"

Twilight yawned and tried to get more comfortable on the couch. "If that's why you're here, then no."

Sniff gave her a rather shocked look. "What?"

Twilight playfully smiled and stuck out her tongue at him.

"Oh. Oh. Okay, you're gonna be like that, now. That's cold, your highness. Try to be a nice guy-" Sniff started to get up but felt another tug on his shirt.

"Kelly?" Twilight looked up with hopeful eyes. "How's she feeling?"

Sniff gave a deep sigh and sat down again. "We don't know. She still hasn't woken up."

This wasn't the answer Twilight was hoping to hear. "But, you said we saved her?"

The hiss of another beer bottle opening up initiated another conversation. "You all did. Your Element rainbow magic spell thing stopped the bleeding. Almost closed up the wound, too."

"Almost?" She sounded hurt saying it.

Another long pull from the bottle, and he continued. "You stopped the bleeding, that's the big thing. All the deep stuff was healed up, but about a half-inch deep section didn't heal. Nothing Becky couldn't stitch up."

Twilight let go of his shirt and pulled back into herself. "I'm sorry, I thought for sure if we just kept trying. If we gave it our all."

"Stop," Sniff whined. "You did what we couldn't do. And besides, Doc says she probably has the same shit you do. She'll wake up eventually. We just don't know when. She took the full brunt of your rainbow magic. If humans have less magic than earth ponies, she can’t stay asleep for too long."

Sniff raised the bottle again and downed the rest. "She'll be fine. She is fine. So don't go worrying yourself over it. But you should probably get back to sleep," He responded playfully while giving her a boop on the nose. "I should probably see how ol' Lumberman is doing with Applejack."

Sniff picked up his empties next to the couch, but again felt Twilight paw at him and pull his shirt. He turned confused, not sure what else she might possibly want. "Seriously, Twiggs. There's no room on the couch for me."

"I know," she said shyly. "But can you... talk to me until I fall asleep?"

He owed her this much and gave in. "Okay, what'a you wanna talk about?"

Another yawn creeped its way out from Twilight, leaving behind her sweet smile. "Where's Applejack?"

"Oh," Sniff looked to the sliding glass door. "Not much to tell you there. Much like you, she was crushed to see Kelly didn't wake up. Then she realized that she was still covered in... well, she needed to wash off. Lumberman and Mac helped her to the bathing tents. Ol' Mac did a half-assed rinse off, got patched up by Doc and, well, there you see'em."

Lumberman laid his head back on the couch cushion close to Twilight's front legs. "She was pretty filthy and could barely stand. So, lord only knows how long she's gonna take."

"Mmm," Twilight moaned, nuzzling further into her bed for the night. "Applejack is probably the strongest pony I know. She'll be back on her hooves in no time." She was happy to hear that everypony was being taken care of. "What about Chris?"

Sniff didn't answer. His eyes had closed, and the rhythmic breathing of sleep had taken over.

"Did you fall asleep before me?" Twilight asked, pawing at his hair. "Sniff... you suck." She quietly chuckled before falling asleep herself.

A few minutes later, as the room was hushed with the lullaby of everyone's slumber, Big Mac was stirred from his sleep. Something was rubbing his face. He was slowly coming to as the soft touches slid down the bruises on his cheek and over his snout, then across his lips.

He raised his head, shaking it, trying to remove whatever woke him.

"There you are," Came Kelly's long-awaited voice.

Even the poor lighting of the room couldn't hide the look of excitement in Big Mac's widening eyes from her.

"Shh," She hushed him.

"Kelly," He could barely keep his voice contained.

"Hi," She greeted him. The bright smile of hers, showing just how happy she was to see him again.

Big Mac nuzzled his snout against her face. "We were so worried about you. We need to let everyone know-"

"Wait," She pleaded, again bringing her hand along his jaw and drawing it down to his chin.

Big Mac followed her hand as it guided him. It led him to where he was staring back at her, intimately close. Something was different in her eyes, different in her smile even. Whatever it was, it brought back all the butterflies he thought he left back in the orchard.

"Let them sleep," She whispered.

"Mac," She ran her fingers under the groove behind his chin and down his throat. Her hand explored down his neck and teasingly tickled the tips of her fingers back up into his mane. "Thank you for keeping me safe like you did. I heard everything. I just wished I could have seen it."

So much was going through his mind. He was so happy to finally see her awake and well, but this affection she was giving him made his heart and mind go wild. Was she only acting friendly or was this her hinting towards something more.

Big Mac swallowed hard. His heart was racing as he wrestled with the choices of waking the others or be selfish and just indulge himself with the attention she was giving. "Should we, uh, wake the others and let them-"

"Shh," she instructed him once again. "This is our time for now."

Her hand left his blond hairs and trailed down to his chin. She held it firmly and pulled his lips down against hers. Alone together in this crowded room, they shared their first kiss under the dancing lights of the withering candles.

Their lips parted and separated from each other slowly. Big Mac was staring down to her like when he first was woken. Looking down at her beautiful face, he wondered if the kiss was a dream and this was him now waking up.

"Miss Kelly," Big Mac asked as quietly as he could. "Does this mean that you?"

Her guiding hand ended his question with another kiss, this one with more passion. Over and over, she opened her mouth to pull his lips further into hers, each time giving a subtle suck on his lips that drove him crazy in a whole new way. After their exchange of kisses ended, sooner than he would have liked, she eased him away.

She raised her right hand to stroke up and down his neck, even though the strain on her stitches caused her to wince in pain. Holding him, she breathed heavy, yet slowly on him. Letting the heat she had burning inside warm his skin as she exhaled. Finally, pressed cheek to cheek, she whispered. "It means we can take it slow."