Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I think you were right to be concerned. I keep close track of the march of technological progress, and I’ve never heard of anything like what this Doctor Insano has either. In fact, I expressly forbade the progress of weapons technology to the level that you described. Equestria is a peaceful nation and we have no need for such advanced killing machines. His goggles that help the blind see, however, I am very interested in. If this colt were to apply his gifts for the betterment of ponykind instead of making faster ways to kill, I have a feeling we would make leaps and bounds like never before.

As for the stallion himself, as you probably have guessed, I had not heard of him before your letter. That such a brilliant scientist could invent such advanced technology without my knowledge is more than a bit worrisome. The invention of something like this death ray is beyond illegal, and I fear that if he has ties to the criminal underworld, these weapons are now on the streets. The royal guard and other law enforcement would be grievously outmatched by such weaponry.

Princess Luna and I are both preoccupied with our royal duties (mostly placating nobles by pretending to listen to their ludicrous requests and power grabs), but I will move my schedule around to make time for a visit to Ponyville to meet this colt within the week. If I need to arrest him, I will. For now, keep a very close eye on him and make sure he doesn’t cause any damage. If you need to, enlist your friends on this endeavor. If need be, consider this a royal mandate.

Your mentor,

Princess Celestia

P.S.: Tell Spike that he’ll get what he’s owed when I arrive. He’ll know what I mean.

“Do we really have to do this?” Rainbow Dash groaned as she trotted down the hall of the clinic. She was being lead along by the metaphorical balls by Fluttershy along with Applejack, the two mares flanking and walking slightly behind the yellow pegasus as if they were her entourage.

“Yes, you do,” Fluttershy said in the tone of a mother scolding her children. “You two basically tore out his eyes, and you heard Nurse Redheart: he lost so much blood it’s a miracle he didn’t die. You could’ve killed him.”

“He said he was going to kill everypony and turned to Redheart. What was I supposed to do, let him zap her with that death ray of his?” she asked.

“Sugarcube, Dash does have a point,” Applejack admitted.

“See? I’m not the only pony here with some sense,” Rainbow said.

“But so does Fluttershy,” the cowpony added. “We did what we had ta do, but that doesn’t mean we should be all high and mighty about it. Ta be honest, Ah feel downright awful for the poor colt.”

“What part of ‘he tried to kill us’ do you not get?” Rainbow Dash half asked, half growled.

Fluttershy stopped in her tracks and wheeled around, looking her fellow pegasus in the eye with a glare that could make oceans part before her in fear. “Rainbow Dash, he had plenty of opportunities to kill us. He could have killed us in the woods or at any point on the way home. He only tried to hurt us when we tried to take away his goggles, which the poor stallion needs to see. He may be a huge jerk, but so are you sometimes and we love you anyway, so you will swallow your pride and apologize to him, understood?”

“Y-yes ma’am!” Rainbow Dash squeaked.

“Good.” Fluttershy turned back around with a small huff and trotted down the hall like she not only owned the place, but the place was her bitch.

Applejack hung back with the frozen cyan pegasus and let out a small whistle. “Shy can sure be scary when she wants ta be, can’t she?”

Rainbow Dash steadied her quaking legs; no easy feat, since they felt about as sturdy as pillars of latex. “Yeah, I guess,” she said with more apathy than she actually had as she followed Fluttershy once more.

The yellow pegasus softly knocked on the door to the room where they were told Insano resided. “Doctor Insano? It’s me, Flutter–”

“I know who it is,” the scientist called back. “And I know who’s with you. Go the fuck away.”

Fluttershy flinched, her ears drooping. Applejack put a reassuring hoof on her withers and said, “Look, we just came ta apologize. We feel really rotten about how we treated ya last night, and we wanted ta come and say we’re sorry.”

“I don’t,” Rainbow Dash mumbled, earning a quick kick to the side from Applejack. “Ow!”

“If I find a fuck for me to give, I’ll send it by mail,” he sneered. “Right now, I’m fresh out. I expect to get more on the fifth of never.”

“Look, pal,” Rainbow Dash snapped, “I really don’t care what happens to you, you plothole! But Fluttershy cared enough about you to drag our plots here and spend her own bits to get you flowers; I don’t care if you forgive me or whatever, but you will be nice to her!”

There were several long seconds of silence. Fluttershy gave a look to Rainbow Dash that plainly said she was confused about whether to be angry for yelling at him, or thankful for standing up for her. Applejack just gave the cyan pegasus a look of approval.

“Fine; get in here,” Insano spat.

Fluttershy’s confusion abated and she whispered, “Thank you.” Rainbow Dash just smiled back as Fluttershy opened the door and stepped inside, the other two mares following close behind.

The scientist was still bound to the gurney, lying on his back. His side was bandaged from the huge gash he’d gotten from the timber wolves, and his head from the nose up was covered in blood-soaked gauze. His plot was also covered in Band-Aids for some reason, causing Rainbow Dash to crack up.

“What happened to your plot?” the stunt flyer asked, trying not to laugh.

“Nurse Reheart vaccinated me with great gusto,” he grumbled. “Harpy enjoyed it, too. I hate nurses; glad I got rid of mine.”

“She was just doing what was best for you,” Fluttershy said softly as she approached the foot of the bed. Her face suddenly turned as red as one of her robins as her eyes were drawn downward. “Oh… oh my.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and trotted up next to her. “Come on, Fluttershy, I know you’re shy, but you’ve seen a sheath before. Everypony’s naked. He can’t be that big, can–” Her words died in her throat when her gaze matched Fluttershy’s. “You’re a mare?!”

“Yes, that’s right, everyone gawk at the fucking freak who was able to engineer everything into a proper male’s body except the genitals,” Insano sneered.

Applejack hung back, blushing herself and refusing to look. “So, you’re one of those trans folks, then?” she asked.

“Yes, I am,” he spat. “The hell does it matter to you? Are you going to laugh at me? I know you fucking want to.”

“No, Ah don’t,” Applejack said firmly, looking Insano in the eye if she could see them through the gauze. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Three of my cousins are trans, and Ah love ‘em just the way they are.”

“We’re just a bit… surprised, is all,” Fluttershy said softly, looking away. “Sex change magic doesn’t usually leave anything out of the transformation.”

“Magic? I became this way through the power of science, you cretins!” He paused and asked, “Wait, sex change magic? That’s a thing?”

“Um, yeah, duh. I know a pony or two who had the spell cast on them,” Rainbow Dash said. “Hay, I know this one pony from flight school that’s switched several times. Were you born under a rock?”

“As I said, I live in the middle of the goddamn desert; I don’t know anything about magic,” he said.

“What?!” the three mares asked in unison.

“Partner, a unicorn that don’t know a thing about magic is like a fish not knowing how to swim,” Applejack said, her jaw slack.

“Or a pegasus that doesn’t know how to fly!” Rainbow added, waving her forelegs in the air.

“Your parents never taught you?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, they didn’t,” he said flatly. “I’ve wanted to learn for quite a while, but nobody’s ever wanted to teach me.”

“Maybe you could ask Twilight?” Applejack suggested. “She’s always happy to teach ponies anything she knows.”

“And gab about it for ages,” Dash added with a roll of her eyes.

“Once the harpy twins that run this place let me fucking leave, I will,” Insano said. “For now, you said you had flowers for me? I smell tulips, daisies, and forget-me-nots.”

“Yes, we do; good nose,” Fluttershy said with a smile as she reached into her saddlebags. She pulled the bouquet out with a wider grin. “I thought you could use a little break from the hospital food, so I brought these for you.”

“Ah, right, herbivores,” Insano mumbled under his breath, though it appeared as if Rainbow Dash was the only one who heard him. “How much did they cost you? I’ll pay you back later.”

“No, please, they’re a gift,” Fluttershy said as she set them on his bedside table.

“How sweet of you,” Insano drawled with disinterest, earning a glare from Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“You’re welcome,” Fluttershy said with a smile, not noticing or ignoring Insano’s tone.

“As for you two,” Insano started, “don’t bother. Apology not fucking accepted.”

“But you didn’t even let us say it yet!” Rainbow Dash balked

“You already made it clear you wouldn’t really mean it,” he spat. “And you, you country hick, still helped her make blood spurt out my head like a fucking faucet. Now get out, all of you.”

Fluttershy cringed, a look of hurt plain on her face as she softly said, “Okay. Let’s go, girls.” She trotted towards the door, her head hung low.

Applejack sighed as she turned to leave. Her head hung low and her ears flat against her head, she said, “For what it’s worth, Ah really am sorry.”

Rainbow Dash just snorted as she cantered to the door.

The three were about to leave when Insano said behind them, “And I guess… thanks for being so concerned for my welfare. You’re pretty much the first ones in years to actually give a damn about me.”

Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks along with the other two. While her ears just flattened, her two friends each smiled and said “You’re welcome, Doctor Insano,” and “You’re welcome, partner.” The shy pegasus and the cowpony left, while Rainbow Dash stood frozen in the door for a few more seconds.

“The hell are you waiting for? Get the fuck out of my sight. Oh wait, I can’t see because of you,” he barked.

She shook her head as if to shake off her thoughts. “Fine, fine, I’m leaving.” She added under her breath, “Bucking plothole,” as she galloped to catch up with her friends, not bothering to close the door.

“That went better than Ah expected,” Applejack admitted as Rainbow Dash came up beside her.

“And what exactly did you expect?” the cyan pegasus asked, cocking an eyebrow. “He was still a complete plothole who swore every other word.”

“Yeah, but Ah expected him to break through his restraints and try to lay a beat down for taking away his goggles,” she said flatly. “He snapped through my rope like it was nothin’ last night. That stallion can seriously be strong when he’s backed into a corner, it looks like.”

“Then why hasn’t he just broken out of here? He obviously doesn’t like it here. Hay, I don’t think he likes anything,” Rainbow Dash said with a roll of her eyes.

“I thought he was kind of sad,” Fluttershy said.

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “How do you figure, sugarcube?”

“Yeah, he looked as angry as ever,” Dash added.

“It’s just the way he was laying; I’ve seen it before, when an animal’s been caught in a trap for so long that they’ve given up struggling,” she explained, her ears laid flat against her head. “I think he feels lonely… maybe even a little homesick."

“Or he may just be waiting for something, or planning something,” Dash mused under her breath.

“Rainbow, now yer just bein’ paranoid,” Applejack huffed.

“I’m being smart; no matter how depressed or whatever he is, he’s still dangerous,” Dash said, narrowing her eyes. “Hope for the best, expect the worst.”

“Get that from a Daring Do novel, sugarcube?” Applejack asked coyly, flicking the tip of her tail against the pegasus’ nose.

“Yeah, so?” she snapped back, blushing and looking away.

Before the cowpony could answer, they’d reached the front of the building.

“How’d it go?” Tenderheart asked from behind the front desk.

“He was a bit snippy, but he thanked us for coming,” Fluttershy said with a smile so sweet that it could inflict diabetes.

“You didn’t tell us he was trans,” Rainbow Dash said, casting an accusing gaze the nurse’s way.

“Does it matter?” Tenderheart asked with a raised brow that said “ball’s in your court.”

“Of course not,” the pegasus answered, puffing up her chest. “It’s just a shock to walk in expecting sausage and instead seeing a taco, you know?”

“Dash, please don’t compare privates to food ever again,” Applejack begged, her face creating an interesting collage of the orange of her fur, the red of her blushing, and the green of her nausea. “Ah had a taco for lunch and Ah’d prefer if it stayed on the inside of my hide.”

The stunt flyer smirked like a cat going in for the kill. “What, not comfortable talking about carrots and peaches? Bean stalks and honey pots? Bananas and meat muffins? Sugar sticks and–”

“Say another word and Ah’ll kick you to the buckin’ moon!” Applejack snarled, pressing her face against Rainbow Dash’s before the pegasus fell over laughing her tail off. Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle herself, though behind her foreleg.

“I can see why my sister agreed to a date with you,” Tenderheart said with a smile and roll of her eyes. “Anyway, I didn’t really think it was important to mention.” Her motherly smile turned sly. “Unless, of course, him having a clitoris changes your feelings about him, Miss Filly Fooler.”

Rainbow Dash’s hysterics screeched to a halt and she screeched herself, “Buck no!”

A devious smile crossed Applejack’s lips. “You sure, sugarcube? When you spotted his honey pot, you looked mighty impressed.”

“I did not!” she shouted, scrambling back onto all fours and looking the cowpony in the eye.

“Then why’re your wings erect?” Applejack asked, her grin threatening to eat those freckles of hers.

Rainbow Dash gasped and blushed brightly, slamming her wings back to her sides. “This again? I keep telling you, wingboners are just a myth!”

“Not completely; pegasi wings flare up involuntarily due to sudden rushes of strong emotions, like anger, surprise, fear, or lust,” Tenderheart corrected.

“Okay, fine, sure, but I’m pretty angry that anypony would suggest that I would ever have the hots for a plothole like Insano!” the pegasus insisted, glaring at Applejack.

The cowpony started prancing toward the exit, singing, “Rainbow and Insano, sittin’ in a tree! B-U-C-K-I-N-”

Before she could finish, she broke out into a gallop as the pegasus flew after her. “Say another word and I’ll shove the biggest apple I can find up your plot!”

“Ya gotta catch me first, sugarcube!” the cowpony called back with a laugh.

Fluttershy shook her head with a smile before trotting after them. “I’ll make sure they don’t get hurt. Thanks again for letting us visit him, Nurse Tenderheart!”

“No problem; have a nice day, and stay safe!” she called after the yellow pegasus’ receding plot. Nice view, Tenderheart had to admit.

The clinic was pretty quiet for a while afterward. The clock ticked, time passed, the sisters changed stations every few hours. Nothing but the usual monotony of checking on patients, manning the front desk, then checking on patients again.

It was on Tenderheart’s shift on the front desk that the monotony was broken. She was treated to the sight of a certain grey coated, walleyed mare frantically bursting into the clinic with her injured younger daughter on her back. The young unicorn’s face was covered in gashes as she sobbed, her blood dripping down from her coat onto her mother’s.

“Nurse Tenderheart!” Derpy panted, her chest heaving as she cantered to the front desk. “Please help Dinky! Sh-she was practicing her magic, and tried to levitate a glass. I thought she could handle it, b-but it exploded in her face, and…and…!”

Tenderheart nuzzled the distraught pegasus. “Don’t worry; we’ll take care of it.” She turned around and called, “Sis, we need a gurney! Glass shards to the face, small filly!”

“You got it!” her sister called back. Redheart appeared in record time, pushing the gurney along. Tenderheart helped Derpy ease her sobbing daughter onto the gurney before Redheart wheeled her off.

“Will she be okay?” the fretting mother whimpered.

“We’ll do our best,” Tenderheart assured, nuzzling Derpy once more before turning around and bolting after her sister.

Her gallop came to a screeching halt when a male voice called out, “Hey, Tenderheart, I think I can help you with your little problem!”

The nurse looked to see that she had stopped outside of Insano’s room. The door was ajar for some reason, but that wasn’t the first thing on her mind. “What are you talking about?”

“That filly of yours; glass shrapnel, yes? Very delicate and dangerous stuff, and I don’t think either of you are proper surgeons,” he continued with a grin that spelled out “trouble” in neon with fanfare and fireworks.

“No, we aren’t. All we can really do is stop the bleeding as best we can and then ship her off to a hospital in Canterlot,” she admitted, her ears flattening.

“Well, I happen to be schooled in surgery,” he said proudly. “Just give me my goggles back, and I’ll operate.”

“Sis, where are you?” Redheart asked from down the hall.

“Just a second!” Tenderheart called back before turning her attention back to Insano. “And why should I? A surgeon in Canterlot would be just as good as you and be a lot more trustworthy.”

“Oh, you wound me,” he mewled, his manure-eating grin not fading in the slightest. “The thing is, though, my goggles have the capability of x-ray vision. I could spot every single glass shard and get them out before they do any real damage.”

“I don’t have time to bargain with you!” Tenderheart snapped. “If we don’t act fast, any shards in Dinky’s eyes may cause her to go blind.” She took a step forward, but she noticed Insano’s smile fade.

“Give me my goggles,” he said, his tone suddenly that of a stallion with a purpose instead of a Cheshire cat.

Tenderheart shook her head and took another step.

“I said give me my goggles!” Insano roared, pulling at his restraints. “I don’t give a fuck if you trust me or not, but I am not going to let that little girl grow up like I did!”

Tenderheart looked back at the struggling unicorn. The gurney was rocking back and forth like it never had before, his struggles much more violent than when he had tried to escape to freedom before.

After several seconds of silence, she said, “Fine. I’ll go get you your goggles; stay here.” She galloped off to the storage room where they kept confiscated items. “I just hope I don’t regret this…” Next Chapter: Devil on the Doorstep Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 10 Minutes