Smokey Arrival
Chapter 9:
Tests and Results
Written by: Slayerbrony

Breakfast had gotten Chad’s mind going, thinking of several things he had put into the recesses of his mind. The biggest of those thoughts being ‘Will I be able to get home?’. His facial expression became stoic and his brow furrowed, the thought bringing in a whole train of other thoughts. Most of them being negative. He finally cleared his mind and let out a small, quiet sigh. He turned to Celestia, whom was still wearing her happy smile as they walked down the halls. His eyes moved from her to Sapphire, the blue drake trotting by his side and glancing around the castle. He finally gave into his thoughts and turned to Celestia, taking a deep breath as he did so.

“Princess Celestia?” He asked, gaining her attention. “I have to ask, and I probably should have asked this when we were talking in the throne room...” He trailed off slightly before continuing. “Is there any chance of finding me a way back home?”

As the words left his lips, Celestia stopped in her tracks making Chad and Sapphire stop as well. The solar goddess had dropped her smile and settled for a somber expression. She had hoped this question wouldn’t have come up for a while. She let out a small sigh, sitting on her haunches and looking to Chad. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it, she had to make sure to say this correctly.

“I... I am not completely sure we would be able to send you back, Mister Holden.” Celestia began, Chad’s expression almost immediately falling, Sapphire putting a sympathetic claw on his shoulder. “The amount of magic it took to bring you here, and not kill you in the process, was almost mind boggling. And we don’t even know where you are from. You could be from an entirely new planet or even a completely different plane of existence.” As she finished, Chad nodded and let out a small saddened sigh. Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder and gave him a sincere and sympathetic look. “But...” She began, making Chad perk up. “I don’t want to give you false hope, but if there is a chance that you could be sent home, I will do everything in my power to help you. Stranger things have happened here.”

Those words made a smile appear on Chad’s lips and a sliver of hope to rekindle his faith in seeing his world again, even if it was an immensely long shot. He took in a shaky breath to calm his mind before giving Celestia a thankful smile. “Thank you, that really means alot to me.” He said.

She gave him a nod and stood back up, patting his shoulder with a hoof before she began to walk. “Now, let’s get the tests out of the way.” She said, giving him a kind smile. Giving a small chuckle, he nodded and followed after her.

As they continued down the hallway, Chad couldn’t help but feel as if he was being watched. He knew the normal royal guards were standing in the halls and patrolling, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there were a hidden pair of eyes simply waiting for him to mess up or do something idiotic. Stopping he took a quick look behind himself, only to see a empty hall. He gave a small annoyed grunt before turning to follow Celestia again.

He would have started walking if there wasn’t a pair of yellow and red eyes staring directly into his own. He felt his pupils shrink and his eyes widen before he heard a sinister voice say. “Hello, there!”

He let out a loud yelp and stumbled backwards, falling onto his rump as he did so. The same voice let out a loud roar of laughter as Celestia and Sapphire turned around to see what was going on. They saw a certain Draconequus slithering down from the ceiling and onto his hoofed and clawed legs, chuckling to himself at the sight of Chad. The poor human was clutching his chest where his heart was attempting to flee its captivity, panting heavily as he did so.

“Oh my, that was truly a spectacle! Beautiful performance! Ten out of ten!” The creature laughed out, clapping his paw and eagle claw together. Celestia let out a annoyed sigh before clearing her throat.

“Discord!” She shouted, making the draconequus flinch slightly. His head swiveled around to greet Celestia, giving a coy smile as he did so.

“Yeeees?” He only received a pokerfaced Celestia in return while Sapphire trotted over to help Chad off the ground.

“May I ask why you are trying to give our guest a heart attack?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Discord spun his body around until it faced Celestia and put a hand on his chin.

“Well, I heard there was a strange creature in the castle, not resident to Equestria or the planet it resides in, and I thought ‘Why not see this creature from another world?’” He replied, giving a shrug of his shoulders. “I even listened in on your little ‘Private’ meeting. And I must say, the way he entered this little corner of our world really made me laugh!”

“He was partially traumatized by that, Discord.” Celestia informed making Discord frown and cross his arms, huffing indignantly.

“Oh anre’t you just a stick in the mud.” As Chad got to his feet and calmed his breathing, he walked over to Celestia and looked up at Discord, somewhat scowling at him. “And see? He is completely fine!”

Celestia just shook her head before looking at Chad. “Chad, this is Discord. Discord, this is Chad.” Chad blinked at Celestia before glancing up at Discord again. The draconequus leaned down and held out his paw, giving a somewhat toothy smile as he did so.

“It is nice to finally meet the being from out of town.” Discord said. Chad hesitantly took his paw.

“Pleasure is all mine...” Chad muttered, still wary of Discord. Sapphire only gave Discord a protective snort as she sat down next to Chad. The chaotic creature only rolled his eyes and floated into the air, as if reclining on a invisible hammock.

“If I may ask, what are you plans for today?” He asked, floating along while the group began to move once more. Celestia gave a hesitant sigh, knowing that Discord would simply pester her until she told him or get Luna to tell him. And with her asleep, that would just lead to parts of the castle being torn off.

“We are going to conduct some tests on Chad’s body to see if our world can harm him or the pathogens from his would can harm us.” Celestia informed, glancing at the doors as she walked. Discord groaned out dramatically, letting his head hang down and a frown to once more appear on his face.

“Oh that is boring. Wouldn’t it be easier to just zap him with some spell and be done with it?” He asked, making Chad stop momentarily. He worried for a second before Celestia picked up on this.

“No, Discord. We still don’t know the effects of Magic on his system, body, or mind. One of the many tests we are going to have to go through.” She stated glaring at Discord before giving Chad a calming smile. He let out a pent up breath and caught up to the group.

“Once again... Boooorrrring.” Discord stated before settling down onto the ground and walking off in the opposite direction. “Have fun with your needles, horns, and spells. I have pranks to set and legs to pull. Toodles~!” And with a snap of his talons, he was gone in a puff of pink smoke. Letting out a somewhat pained and irritable sigh, Chad pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Ugh... Why do I have a feeling that this day is not going to be easy? Like at all?” He asked to no one in particular.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~

Finally arriving at a door with a red Cross, Celestia opened the door and gestured them inside. As Celestia and Sapphire walked in, Chad remained outside. His expression was one of mild fear and impending doom. Sapphire walked back out, looking at Chad and giving him a curious expression.

“What is wrong? We are at the doctors... Might as well get these tests out of the way, right?” She asked, nudging him with a claw. Chad only crossed his arms, nervously rubbing his sides as he stared inside the door, his expression not changing. Sapphire simply frowned and sat on her haunches. “Okay, what is with you?”

Chad wrenched his view from the inside of the infirmary, where Celestia was talking to a doctor, and looked down at sapphire. “U-Uhm... Nothing?” He said, unsure if she was going to accept that answer or not. Clearly seeing his answer on her unamused muzzle, he sighed. “Look, I just... I don’t like doctors and I hate needles. And I am pretty damn sure there are plenty of them in there. Add on that I am on an Alien world, there are possibly diseases that could kill me in there, and the fact that I have to have tests run on me... I am not entirely comfortable with going in there!”

“I see...” Sapphire said, looking back in the clinic and then back at Chad, whom was still nervously rubbing his arms and side. She lifted a claw and tapped her chin in thought. “What if you just thought of something relaxing and calming?”

Chad looked at her before glancing back at the infirmary. He gave a nod before closing his eyes and thought of something that made him relaxed. Taking in some deep breaths, he thought of anything that came to mind. The memory of his last dream floated through his thoughts, making him somewhat smile. The memory of his friends from his world made him smile a bit wider. His final thought was of his family back home, his siblings and parents, how they would all laugh and poke fun at each other. He opened his eyes, noticing a true smile on his lips, and looked to Sapphire.

“Thank you... That really helped.” He said before taking in another deep breath and taken a few shaky steps into the infirmary. Sapphire smiled at his words and followed him in, closing the door behind her with her tail.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~

Chad was sitting on a examination table you would usually see in a doctor’s office, only it was rather lower to the floor, letting his feet touch the floor. The familiarness of the situation did little to calm the anxiety that was slowly, but surely, resurfacing. Sapphire sat next to him on the table, idly humming and glancing about the room, curious as she had never seen the inside of any pony structures.

Soon the door opened and in walked a seafoam green unicorn with a white and mint green mane. Her amber eyes gave off a calming yet energetic tone while. She was wearing a nurses cap and carrying a tray with several pieces medical equipments. She raised a hoof and waved at Chad and Sapphire, making Chad give a hesitant wave back.

“Hello! I am Lyra Heartstrings and I will be your nurse today!” The peppy unicorn stated, placing the tray of utensils down and looked to Chad. “I am just going to run a small little spell that will analyze your circulatory system and then we can get a small blood sample.”

As those words left her lips, Chad tensed up and felt his pupils shrink. His thoughts went from relaxing and calm to ‘Holy god in heaven, I have to get out of here!’, in a manner of seconds. His muscles began to go into Autopilot as he felt his body begin to move towards the door. Sapphire saw this and gently wrapped her tail around his waist and held him in place. As this happened, Chad almost began to have a panic attack. Sapphire leaned her head up and said.

“Be still, Chad. I promise I will let nothing happen to you.” Chad looked at her, her eyes sincere. His mind calmed down slightly, his muscles stopped moving, and he settled for digging his fingernails into the faux leather that he was sitting on. Lyra had been sorting the utensils on the tray while Chad had been freaking out, her attention more focused and preparing the treatment than the patient.

When she turned around, she saw Chad’s expression, seeing his panicky expression. Her lips formed a sympathetic smile as she walked over and held out a hoof. “I don’t believe you have told me your name yet, Mister...?” She began. Chad shakily held out his hand and shook her hoof.

“Ch-Chad... Chad Holden...” He muttered quietly, still panicking on the inside. Lyra only smiled wider before her horn lit up. A small wave of light emitted from her horn, flowing over Chad. As it did, Chad saw small lines of golden light emit from his arms and across his hands. His mind stopped thinking of the needles and focused on the strange occurrence. “How did you do that?”

Lyra giggled and gently lifted his hand with a hoof, using the other to point at the lines. “I sent a small wave of magic that pulsed with your heart beat. When your blood pumped, the magic lit up the areas where it is the most visible on the skin, highlighting it to make tracing it easier.” She explained, Chad’s eyes filled with curiosity. That was until Lyra floated a small needle, tube, and vial. Chad’s muscles tensed up and the lights on his hands began to strobe violently. Noticing this, Lyra floated the needle away and grabbed Chad’s hand gently with a hoof.

“Hey, calm down, Mister Holden! I won’t get the sample until you are ready, alright?” As these words left her, the flashing slowed dramatically and Chad breathed a breath of relief. He gave Lyra a Sympathetic look before she began to speak. “I take it you don’t like needles?”

Chad shook his head from side to side as quick as his neck would allow. Lyra giggled and looked at the door before looking up at Chad. “Well to be honest, I don’t either. I get chills everytime I see the little things.” She said. “But, want to know a trick a teacher at my med school taught me?”

Chad looked down at her with a curious gaze as she continued. “If you don’t look at them, you can’t get scared of them, right? Out of sight, out of mind!” She stated before gesturing a hoof to Sapphire. “In fact, here is a good trick! Talk to your dragon friend!”

Chad blinked at her before turning to Sapphire, whom just shrugged and sat up properly. Lyra rolled her eyes before saying. “Miss Dragon, why don’t you tell Chad about what you are afraid of?”

Sapphire blinked before turning to Chad and lifting a claw to her chin. Chad rolled his eyes before turning to Lyra. “What could a dragon possibly be afraid of? I mean they breathe fire, got razor sharp claws! And they are ginormous! Well she isn’t right now, but-”

He was cut off by Sapphire’s voice. “Spiders.” Chad blinked before turning to Sapphire and seeing her somewhat hanging her head in mild shame. “I am afraid of spiders...”

Chad couldn’t believe his ears, what he was hearing made almost no sense. A Dragon afraid of spiders? Preposterous! “Why?” He finally asked after a few minutes of silence. Sapphire sighed and shifted slightly.

“When I was a hatchling, my mother always encouraged me to go hunting whenever I was feeling snackish... So, one day I tried it and went out on my own. My mother was very excited for me and wished me luck.” She took in a small somber breath. “When I finally found my meal, a small rabbit plump from winter, I pounced and snatched it up, devouring it with gusto!” She gained a triumphant smirk before it fell. “But... Afterwards I felt something on my tail. When I turned around it was a giant spider... Like nearly the size of a pony!”

Her eyes began to water up slightly. “Before I could get away, the damned thing bit my tail and stopped me from moving. The thing slowly began to wrap me up in a cocoon a-and...” Sapphire was on the verge of bursting, the painful memory proving to be a bit more than she could handle. Feeling sympathy for the drake, Chad wrapped his left arm around her and rubbed her shoulder in order to comfort her. She gave him a small smile before finishing her story. “Luckily, my older brother was watching over me, as my mom requested since I was still rather young, and he killed the blasted thing... When the venom finally wore off, I was traumatized. I didn’t leave the cave without my brother or mother with me... Also that damned spider is the reason for my scales being so weak...”

“I-I don’t know what to say... “ Chad said, unable to comprehend how that must have felt. Being unable to move while a creature bares down menacingly on you. Well he partially knew, but to have it happen at such a young age. Sapphire only rested her head against his shoulder, eyes shut tight. After a moment, Chad felt a small prick causing his vision to snap to Lyra.

The perky little unicorn was holding the vial of blood, putting a bandaid over Chad’s hand. He blinked before looking to the unicorn. “How did...”

“When she was in the middle of her story.” She stated before giving a sympathetic smile to Sapphire. “Sorry about what happened to you... I can’t imagine how it felt.”

Sapphire opened her eyes and smiled at the unicorn. “It is fine.. Thank you for caring though.” After putting the Vial in a safe container, she filled out a quick form and told Chad and Sapphire her goodbyes before heading off. They sat in silence for a moment before Chad turned to Sapphire and gave her a smile.

“Want me to tell you why I hate needles and Doctors?” He asked.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~

The rest of the day went by rather slowly, the tests and questions all being done and asked by different unicorns. They scanned his body from his digestive track to his reproductive organs, which Chad gave his opinion on rather harshly and using several inappropriate words. He also had to five several samples of different fluids to aid in their study of human anatomy, the semen sample being the only test that Chad thoroughly refused to give, even after they offered someone to aid him. Especially after they offered someone to aid him.

When the tests were finally over, he was allowed to leave the infirmary. As he got up and left, he saw Celestia talking to one of the doctors, which gave him a small feeling of dread. He wasn't going start pointing fingers or accusing the ponies of treachery, but when a doctor is talking to someone in private it usually didn’t end well. He shrugged off the feeling and stepped out of the Infirmary, glad to finally be able to stretch his legs and not have to worry about needles any longer.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~

Celestia watched as the doctor’s finished Chad’s tests and sent him on his way. She was about to go greet him and thank him for being patient with the doctors, but a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Princess Celestia? May I have a word?” A deep voice asked. She turned and saw a Chocolate brown unicorn with a dark grey mane. Nodding, she turned and looked to the doctor.

“Of course, Dr.Suture, what do you need?” She asked, giving the doctor a smile. Floating a clipboard up to Celestia, he pointed with his hoof to a very large number written next to the letters ‘IMC’. She blinked before looking to the Doctor. “I am sorry, I am afraid I don’t understand.”

“The... Human, Chad, seems to be sucking mana into his body. At an alarming rate actually...” The doctor stated, turning the clipboard to look over it. Celestia blinked once more before opening her mouth to speak, only to be cut off. “I know he said his race cannot and never has been able to use magic, but regardless of what he says, I, the numbers, and tests don’t lie. But I have found out something rather interesting.” Celestia simply raised an eyebrow and waited for the Doctor to continue. He was quiet for a moment, as if lost in thought, before Celestia cleared her throat. This snapped him back to reality, making him look up at her. She simply waved a hoof, signalling for him to continue.

“Hmm?... Oh right!” He stated before going back to his clipboard. “ I found that his body is not only gathering magic, but, in a sense, using it to its advantage.” He flipped the papers on his clipboard several times before looking up to Celestia. “If my theory is correct, His body is somehow adapting and altering itself to use the magic to its benefit. It is using it to make him stronger, more durable, have less fatigue when he moves! But If I am correct in my thinking, this could have some very serious drawbacks...”

Now Celestia was beginning to worry. She knew how magic could have both positive and negative effects, but they were never too serious, unless it was a dramatic loss or gain of magic. “What drawbacks do you mean, Doctor?” She asked.

“Well... Once more, if I am correct, he could possibly become harmed if his body gathers too much magic. But since he has no outlet other than expelling fluids or moving, it could begin to force its way out of his body. And not in the way other ponies or creatures do, he cannot simply passively expel this in his sleep.” The doctor stated. “Essentially, his body is becoming one massive battery that is continuously charging. And well... Let me put it this way, what happens when you overcharge a Crystal, Princess?”

“The energy inside looks for the easiest escape point, and since crystals have none they...” Celestia stopped as her eyes widened. “... Explode...” Her eyes darted to the Doctor, pleading that he was wrong. The Doctor could only sigh and rub his temples.

“Now it is only a theory I have. I do not wish to cause any alarm to you or the human, but I firmly would consider testing him a bit more to see if I am wrong or right.” Dr.Suture said. “The lad is a good one and I would hate to see something bad happen to him.”

Celestia nodded at the doctor, her mind filled with fear for Chad and comforting thoughts that he was going to be alright. The worst part was going to be actually informing Chad of this possibility. She certainly didn’t want to lie to him, but she truly did not want to terrify him in thinking he could possibly pop at any moment. She thanked the doctor for telling her this, turning on her hooves and walking towards the exit.

She couldn’t help but continue to mull over what Dr.Suture told her. The easiest solution, yet also being the hardest, was simply sitting Chad down and telling him of what may be happening to him. As she walked out of the Infirmary, she saw Chad laughing and joking with his dragon friend, happy to be out of the infirmary. She thought about what Chad had asked her earlier and what she told him. With a somber and determined smile on her face she gave a confirming nod. as her thoughts finally settled.

‘I will tell him tonight, but for now, I will let him relax.’ She thought to herself as she watched Chad give Sapphire a gentle shove, only to have the drake begin to chase him down the halls.

Author's Note

And just so you know, no he won't be able to do magic, no he won't be able to suffer fatal injuries, NO! He is not going to become this OP mess of bleh...
Don't worry, its just to add a little tension and life to the next chapters to come.