Empire of Mercy
Copyright© 2025 by Daelyx Len Auphydas
Chapter 20: Escalation
“Now, raise your forelimbs. Slowly.” Doctor Bonezaw instructs Rainbow Dash, as the filly rolls her eyes but complies.
“You know, I didn’t think I’d be getting so familiar with the doctor when I came out here.” Rainbow Dash huffs out. It isn’t Bonezaw’s fault of course, but the run of bad luck she’d had over the past couple months have her feeling a little grouchy. Guess all the good fortune from getting here in the first place had to be paid back somehow.
“Yeah, and I didn’t think my most frequent visitor as a military doctor would be a little overeager filly either.” Bonezaw retorts, as he hands the pegasus a small flask of swirling fluid. “Here. Drink up.”
Rainbow Dash eyes the concoction distrustfully, as she finishes her stretches and stands back up, stretching out her stiff wings which had finally been unbound. “What’s in it?” She asks, staring into the opening with one eye.
“Bluwort, Roc egg, and spring water from the Appleloosan mountains.” Bonezaw rattles off. “It’s normally used by strongponies, but it will help your muscles recover from injury and underuse. Just so long as you don’t take it all the time.”
Only one of the ingredients was familiar to Rainbow Dash, but the doc was trust by Celestia to minister the soldiers of Canterlot, so he presumably knows his stuff. Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash downs the tonic in one go. It honestly didn’t taste as bad as she was fearing given its appearance, though it’s still rather odd for a beverage.
Smacking her lips, Rainbow Dash tilts her head to the side looking at Bonezaw. “Where did you learn how to make things like this? I remember you gave me something for electricity when I first got to Canterlot, too. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a doctor prescribing potions before.”
“Spread your wings for me.” Bonezaw instructs, inspecting the pegasus while he answers. “I would be surprised if you had heard of it, since I picked it up from my father’s side of the family, and he wasn’t from Equestria.”
Rainbow Dash furrows her brow. “What, like, you’re from Prance or something? Ow... ” She recoils as Bonezaw prods the shoulder joint and examines how the musculature is recovering.
Bonezaw takes a step back as he finishes his examination, picking up a clipboard and jotting something down while he shakes his head. “Wrong direction. He came from south of Equestria, met my mother down in a village in Tenochtitlan Basin. It’s real isolated down there, and there aren’t a lot of proper doctors, so the ponies were willing to swallow their pride and accept a foreigner’s treatment. I guess Celestia must have seen something to the art, since she picked me up while on campaign in the south. Never thought I’d end up in Canterlot of all places, but here I am.”
Rainbow Dash furrows her brow. To the best of her knowledge, there aren’t any ponies south of Equestria, but then again she is hardly a geography buff. “Wait. So where did your father learn his skills, then? Where...” Rainbow Dash squints as she tries to piece the puzzle together. After a moment, Bonezaw just sighs.
“Look. See the stripes? They’re not just for show.” Bonezaw motions vaguely and emphatically at his own side. “He was an adventurer from Zebrica.”
Rainbow Dash blinks several times rapidly in surprise. “Wait. Wait. What? You’re not even a pony? But ... You have a cutie mark!” She blurts out without thinking.
Bonezaw just rolls his eyes with the tired huff of somecreature whose had this conversation a million times. “I’m still half pony, on my mothers side, but yes. You wouldn’t be the first one surprised I’m here in Canterlot, but I suppose the Princess has more important things to worry about.”
Rainbow Dash gulps anxiously. “Ehrm, right, sorry.”
Bonezaw steps back and claps his hooves together. “Well, at any rate, your wing seems to be healing well, I think you can start flying again, just take it easy and don’t stay airborne for more than a half hour at a time.”
Rainbow Dash grins broadly, stretching out her wings with a smirk on her face. “Ah, finally! I feel like I’ve been grounded for a year.” The pegasus flaps her wings and lifts into the air for just a second before settling back down; there isn’t much room to fly in the hospital ward after all.
“Well, you’re clear to go. You had somewhere else you wanted to be, right?” Bonezaw announces, finishing one more note on his clipboard before placing it onto the table next to him.
Rainbow Dash nods quickly. “Uh-huh, I wanted to go and see my friends. You know, the ones who visited from-”
Bonezaw holds up one hoof with the most uninterested expression Rainbow Dash thinks she’s ever seen. “I didn’t ask for your whole life story. Just go on and get, I have other patients to see.” The fringes of the doctor’s mouth tug downwards in a frown. “Been a lot of injuries in the guard corps lately. A lot.”
As Rainbow Dash trots out of the room, the voice of Glyndwr standing sentinel right by the door reminds Rainbow Dash of her bodyguard’s presence right before she could zip off on her own. “Everything go alright in there?”
The pegasus nods and flaps her wings. “Alright? Better than alright, I’m cleared for flight again! Finally! Oh how I’ve missed you!” Rainbow Dash says to her wings as if they’re sapient entities in their own right, kissing each one in turn. “C’mon, let’s get going! I’ve got some friends to catch up with!”
“You got all of them, right? Every last one? You don’t need to go back and check?” Twilight asks as she glances up at the mountain of letters currently held in a shield bubble above her brothers’ head.
“Yes, Twilight, I’m sure.” Shining armor drolls out in a dry tone. “We only checked seven times. If there’s any more, we’re not going to find them.”
“We did find one on the sixth time we checked, so it’s not that far outside the pale to think there could still be more.” Twilight shoots back. “Or, well, Spike did at least.” The filly exchanges a brief affectionate nuzzle with the scaly creature on her back, who giggles in response.
“Let-tur!” The little dragon announces proudly, looking immensely smug, while Shining Armor gives him a look out of the corner of his eye.
“I’m still surprised you’re allowed to keep your pet with you in classes. Especially during drill.” Shining Armor remarks. “Guess being Celestia’s protege has its perks, huh?”
Twilight stiffens and gives Shining Armor the most indignant expression he’d ever seen paint her face. “Spike isn’t a pet.” She scoffs. “He’s ... I mean ... Alright, I don’t know what he is, but he’s not a pet! He’s more like ... My assistant. Yeah, that’s it, he’s my assistant.”
Shining Armor rolls his eyes as he holds open the door going into the library. “Oh, really? He is, is he? Just what does he assist you with?”
“ ... Well, he assisted us in finding all the letters!” Twilight proclaims after a moment of thought. “Didn’t you, little buddy?” Spike lets out a cheer and pumps a fist into the air at that, grinning eagerly.
“Guess I can’t argue with that.” Shining Armor grunts, before quickly hushing himself as they enter the library. There, just like every evening, Sunburst is sitting alone at the long table surrounded by esoteric texts. Well, that isn’t entirely true, he does occasionally have company; but his presence is consistent, if nothing else.
The orange colt doesn’t pay the newcomers any heed until the trio sit down directly across from him and deposit the neatly-ordered stack of letters in front of him. Sunburst blinks and hastily adjusts his glasses, as he recognizes his visitors with some measure of surprise.
“Uhm? Right, you said there were letters for me, didn’t you?” The colt half-murmurs, eyes still tracing the height of the letter stack with awe. “Oh Celestia, there sure are a ton of them. Are you sure these are all for me? I don’t think it’s been that long since I wrote home...”
“One and all of them!” Twilight announces in a chipper tone. “All one-hundred and seventy-two! Two that just say ‘from Mom’, and one-hundred and seventy from somepony named Starlight Glimmer! ... I counted.” Twilight tacks on the last bit with an unmistakable aura of smugness.
Sunburst stares at Twilight aghast, his hoof rapidly striking his forehead in frustration. “Starlight!? Shoot! I can’t believe I forgot!” The colt blanches, as he shuffles through the cards, instantly laying to waste Twilight’s grand plans of studious organization without a second thought nor glance at the filly’s dismay. “Oh Celestia, she’s been writing me for years! Even as far back as...” The colt’s voice breaks off, and he recoils backwards upon seeing some of the dates.
Shining Armor raises a brow. “As far back as?...” He asks, leading on with his hoof in idle curiosity.
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