Boredom.

Here I sat with just myself and the ever present, crushing boredom. When I was called out on this Emergency Medical Teleport I thought I was going to, you know, preform emergency medicine. Yet they left me here to wait.

***

I was doing my paperwork at the Ministry of Peace Hub in Canterlot. My desk was piled high with papers and forms, most of which were shoveled onto me by the assholes that work with me. Apparently being new to the job means I get to do all the shit that no pony else wants to do. Though as much as I thought it was stupid and want to tell somepony to fuck themselves with a Zebra's front hoof, I knew it would only get me fired and being a unicorn with a medical cutie mark in the Ministry of Peace meant that I did NOT want that happening.

Medicine is all I've ever known. Both of my parents were medical ponies and Luna be damned if they were going to let me go off and be a toaster repair pony or something. Fortunately I had some interest in medicine so my parents weren't forcing something I didn't want. Unfortunately, due to the pressure from my parents, I refined only my medical skills so any other line of work was out of the question. It's like being a party pony at a construction site.

Anyway, the call came in for an emergency teleport. Outside of Cloudsdale there had been an accident involving two pegasi. So my team had gathered and the designated teleporter, her name was Cherry Blossom, cast her spell.

Sidenote: I've never been able to get used to teleporting. I've been through it plenty of times in my career and have even mastered basic teleportation, but just the feeling of being taken out of existence by arcane energy and shoved back into it...it just makes my stomach turn. Especially after treating ponies who have had...um...problems with teleporting. Seeing a pony halfway teleported into a mailbox will make a unicorn paranoid.

When we arrived, not in a mailbox thank Celestia, the scene was a mess to say the least. A refrigeration cart with the Sparkle-Cola logo had embedded its front half into the ground. The pony who had been pulling it was leaning against the cart to support himself. He was the one that had sent out the call from the emergency radio on his cart. He was bleeding from his wing joint and one of his legs was bent at a slightly odd angle, but he was breathing and conscious. The other pony wasn't as lucky. She was laying in a pool of blood that was flowing from her head. It was hard to tell if she were breathing or conscious from the blood. Her harness was the only immediate evidence that she had even had a cart.

My team of four split between the two ponies. Cherry Blossom choosing to check out the stallion as he seemed in less critical condition and she was still drained from teleporting. I and my two other team members, who for the record were named Gene Splice and Warm Heart, rushed to the mare. I did a vitals scan while the others focused on her bleeding. I lifted my Pipbuck and tapped the broadcaster expansion.

"Alive," I shouted, "Pegasus Mare. Concussion. Shattered front right foreleg. Several cracked ribs. Many possible fractures. Slight internal bleeding. External bleeding mainly on forehead and front foreleg. Blood level: low. Breathing: irregular. Heartrate: irregular. Priority: high."

This was usually my main duty. Reporting information back to the Hub so that they were prepared when the patient arrived. In critical situations like this the faster the patient can be put into stable condition, the more likely the patient is of surviving. I am trained in advanced medical spells, but the main healing done by an Emergency Teleport Team (or ETT) is to stop the patient from bleeding out or otherwise dying immediately. My Pipbuck static-ed to life.

" -kzzzt- Received. Doctors on standby. Ready for teleport. Room 27B. -kzzt-"

"Got it," I shouted into the Pipbuck, then I addressed Gene Splice. "27B's ready, Gene."

Gene nodded and went back to treating the bleeding mare. Gene was the second teleporter on our team. Every ETT was equipped with two teleporters: a To and a From. A To teleporter got the ETT to the scene and the From teleporter took the critical patients back to be treated immediately. The To teleporter would bring everypony else back after they recharged their magic.

I left Gene Splice and Warm Heart as I went to check on the other pegasus. He was still leaning on the cart but his wing had stopped bleeding. Cherry Blossom was examining him. I tapped my recording program on my Pipbuck and held it up so that it would record both of our voices.

"What exactly happened, sir?" I asked.

"What the? Are you recordin' me?" He responded.

"Yes, sir. It's standard procedure to get a report of what happened. So please tell me, sir, what happened here?"

"Well, Ah was makin' a delivery of Sparkle-Cola t' Manehatten when some other pegasus ran righ' into the side of ma cart. It must've knocked ma spark battery loose or somethin' because Ah fell outta the sky. Luckily Ah have a quick release on ma harness so Ah didn' get smashed into the ground like the front half of ma cart. Ah still hit the ground mighty hard. Then Ah noticed that mare there bleedin' somethin' fierce. So Ah used ma emergency radio."

"Okay." I said tapping a button on my Pipbuck to save the audio log. "Thank you, sir."

Cherry Blossom had been speaking into her Pipbuck, giving the results of her scan.

"...Priority Medium."

"*kzzt* Received. Doctors on standby. Teleport when ready. Room 12A. *kzzzt*"

"Roger." Cherry Blossom said to her Pipbuck and looked back at the pegasus. "We'll teleport in a moment, sir. Just let me get my strength back for my spell."

"Yes, ma'am." He responded.

Cherry Blossom nodded to Gene as a signal that the stallion wasn't in critical condition and that she could teleport him. A flash behind me told me that the mare had been teleported back to the Hub. Which meant my job was just about done. I just had to teleport back with Cherry Blossom and write up an accident report. Then my Pipbuck flashed as it had received a message. I brought it up to my eyes and read it. It was from my boss telling me that Sparkle-Cola was coming to retrieve their cart and that I needed to wait by the cart for their arrival.

Wait, really? I gotta wait here for Sparkle-Cola to come get their cart? But they're based all the way in Manehatten! This is bullshit! I work for the Luna damned Ministry of Peace! This wasn't in the fucking job description! I thought. But I couldn't argue because, well, I like having a job. It's kinda nice having bits in my saddlebags.

"Cherry Blossom, I'm not teleporting back. I gotta wait for Sparkle-Cola to pick up their stuff."

I gestured to the big metal cart in question. She nodded and in a flash of pink light they vanished.

***

Now here we are again, waiting. Just me and this huge metal piece of shit.

Though I have to say, that thing was pretty durable. It fell out of the sky and was still in one piece. It wasn't too beaten up either. Mostly a bunch of scratches and a huge dent where the mare had run into the side. She's definitely going to have a bit of brain damage after a hit that hard, but on the bright side they will both live. That's really the most I can ask for.

The only other place to look was up at the pegasus delivery carts flying to and from Cloudsdale.

It's a really populated place and thus has a lot of accidents involving cart crashes. Minister Fluttershy really dislikes this area of sky for its frequency in accidents. She always seem sad when I deliver the weekly reports and a lot of them are from this area. There really isn't much we can do either. That stuff needs to get to all of Equestria and to slow or stop that would result in loads of angry ponies. Among them being the Ministry of Peace itself. Our Hub receives some of its medical supplies via a pegasus delivery service. A specific one as well. Something about Minister Fluttershy being old friends with the pegasus that drives the cart. I'm the one that has to sign the Receiving Form so I see this mare pretty often. She's very sweet and her name is-

"Ditzy Doo?"

There she was, pulling the cart with her trademark bubble design on the side.

That's right, today we're expecting a delivery for Minister Fluttershy. I was told it was a footlocker containing some personal items and to alert Minister Fluttershy when it arrives. I hope I'm able to get back before it gets there. It's always a highlight of my day to see Ditzy. She's always so unconditionally nice and kind. It's as if she's nice just to be nice and that's a rare virtue in Equestria today.

I waved up at her and called her name, but I guess she didn't notice me down here.

Aw well, I'm sure I'll see her again later today. It's not like it's the end of the world. But this waiting is sure going to be the end of me. I wish I would have grabbed a book or something before I had left. I was halfway through my copy of "The Big Book of Science." There was this great article about hacking computer terminals which looked like it might be of use.

Finding some comfort in watching Cloudsdale in the distance, I zoned out and kinda surfed my thoughts. A message from my sister over in Manehatten came to mind.

'Hey, bro. I heard you got the job with the MoP over in Canterlot. Good job! I knew you could do it. Just wanted to say that I got some space in a local Stable shelter. I was able to get in as the medical professional for the Stable, and after a little string pulling I was able to get space for three more ponies. I know you don't think they're necessary because you think that they'll be a peaceful solution to this war, but I can't quite believe that. I'm scared, bro, I really am. This isn't the Equestria of Mom and Dad's time. That Equestria seems dead and gone. Mom and Dad have both agreed to go into the Stable. Since you're now out in Canterlot, I know you'll want to stay, but promise us that you will look into Stables in your area. I know you think it's a waste, but I'd rather you be out a few bits and be safe than on the other side of the Stable door. Please consider it."

I got that message about a month prior, and while I did look at Stables, I just felt like they were a waste of my bits. Maybe those at Stable-Tec thought the world was going to end, but I stood with Minister Fluttershy that a peaceful solution could be found.

I got another message earlier that week that sorta spooked me.

"Big brother, they've loaded everypony into the Stable. They're telling everypony that it's only a test, but they're lying. I know ponies up in Stable-Tec and they said that Stable-Tec is getting scared. Honesty, I'm getting scared too. I know that in this Stable I'm as safe as can be, but I fear for Equestria...and I fear for you. You still not having a spot in a Stable is scaring me to the point that I'm having nightmares. It scares Mom and Dad too. They asked me earlier today if you had gotten into a Stable and I lied and told them you did. The last thing they need is that on their minds. Listen, bro, I know siblings are supposed to hate each other's guts but I truly love you. I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for my big brother helping me every step of the way. Saying that, I have to ask you one more time to try to get into the Stable. Tell them you work for the Ministry, they love MoP unicorns. Anything so that you're safe, okay? Please message me back as soon as possible."

Something about that message seemed ominous. Sure, not all the Stables were being loaded because I would have heard about it over the radio. It's just the idea of a Stable being filled makes me slightly paranoid. Especially after remembering their purpose.

Waste of bits or not, after I finish my shift I'm going right to Canterlot's Stable-Tec building and getting a place in a Stable. Luna forbid those Zebras do something drastic and I'm unprepared.

While zoning out at Cloudsdale I noticed something that drew my focus back.

Rainbows? Was Minister Rainbow Dash doing one of her morale-boasting Sonic Rainbooms? That's awfully close to the city. If I didn't know any better I'd think that was a....No...Fuck no...Those Zebra bastards....They actually used a Celestia-fucking Megaspell...I need to get out of here.

I tried to move my hooves but nothing happened. I tried to scream but nothing happened. I tried to blink but nothing happened. It wasn't because I was frozen with fear either. It actually was that my brain had yet to even put together the order to send out to my body. It was as if the time-space continuum took a golf club to the side of the head and still hadn't gotten back to his senses. Time was going so slow that I wasn't even breathing. All my knowledge of pony anatomy told me it was impossible for the brain to process this fast, but there were more pressing matters at hoof.

The rainbow explosion began to expand rapidly, even in this slowed time. Cloudsdale was dissolved with ease as the water vapor became rainbow plasma. Those poor ponies were now nothing more than excited polychromatic particles fueling the destructive chain reaction.Now was not the time for science talk, I needed to escape.

Surely there is something I can do to escape the Megaspell. Moving is out of the question. Maybe I can teleport back to Canterlot. Surely the Princesses had the whole city protected against such an attack.

As I tried to focus my arcane energy into the pattern that represented a teleport spell, I noticed that the entirety of Cloudsdale had been consumed in the rainbow explosion. Then it inexplicable began to get hot. Which I may have wondered about, given the fact that time was going so slow my brain couldn't tell my legs to move, so signals of heat going from my skin to my brain was ludicrous. Instead I was busy freaking out.

This can't be happening. Nope. I totally fell asleep at work. I was up too late last night reading Daring Do again and fell asleep on my inventory forms. Any moment now Gene's gonna wake me up by dumping cold water on me. Heh heh. Gene's such a dick.

The explosion was getting closer. The air was getting much hotter.

Fuck. Why did this fucking accident have to be so close to Cloudsdale? Why couldn't that fucking bitch watch where she was going? It wasn't even like this was a road with specific lanes, it was the fucking sky. Three dimensional space. How fucking hard is it to keep from hiting somepony in three dimensional fucking space?

The explosion reached the ground. The shockwave was clearly visible as the force pushed clouds and everything on the ground with great power.

Oh Celestia. I'm don't even know god I should be praying to; I've never been familiar with the Equestrian religions. I always been to busy to read up on them and my parents weren't the religious types. I guess the Princesses are the closest things I know to Gods...err...Goddesses.

Dearest Celestia, bringer of the Sun, please keep me safe from this Megaspell. I really don't want to die.

Dearest Luna, bringer of the Moon, please keep my family safe in the Stable. I love then greatly.

If you grant me these things, I will devote myself to worshiping you forever.

The heat was increasing still. It was begin to hurt my skin. I started to hear a clicking that belonged to my radiation detector. The wall of Megaspell was getting closer.

So many are dead. I'm going to be next. I'll never get to see my sweet sister again. My parents either. I never got to tell any of them that I loved them one last time. They'll never know either. They'll just think I got into a Stable. I miss them already. I'll never get to see anypony again. Gene Splice, Warm Heart, Cherry Blossom, Minister Fluttershy...Ditzy Doo...Oh Celestia...I just saw Ditzy Doo...she's going to die too...It's so depressing that somepony so innocent and nice could have been killed by those Zebra bastards...why couldn't she be spared this...why...

Then the world got dimmer and dimmer until the world was dark. I thought I may have passed out or died but I quickly realized that I had only blinked. The heat was beginning to burn my skin. The constant tone of my radiation detector was beginning to be drowned out by wind as the shockwave started to hit me.

This is it. The end. I hope it will be quick. Goodbye Cruel Worl-

***

Suddenly I was pulled out of existence for a moment and thrust back in. My teleport spell had kicked in at the last second. I thought that I must have been in Canterlot, since that's where I was aiming. The only sound I could hear was my radiation detector clicking wildly from the radiation being emitted from me. Also a metallic grinding.

I opened my eyes at a normal speed. I was in what looked like a dark tunnel. In front of me was a giant gear-shaped hole with an equally giant gear-shaped piece of metal moving across it slowly. This must be Stable...and it's closing. Inside was a room with many ponies in it. All the ponies were surprised, except for one that was horrified. The horrified one was a unicorn mare and more importantly was my sister.

She began to run towards me. I couldn't let her do that, she would get locked out here. I had to stop her, but the radiation had left me weak. I pulled together all my remaining strength.

"Stop!" I shouted.

She stopped right behind the threshold of the door. We looked into each others eyes, tears were streaming from hers.

"Big brother..." She said with a sob.

"...L-love you, S-s-sis..." I managed to stutter out.

I smiled, even though it was difficult to do so. She returned my smile as she cried. We remained this way until the Stable door finally closed and slid into place.

Then it all faded away.

Author's Note

I hope that didn't suck as much I think it might. This was based on a dream I had where I stood helpless as a nuclear explosion consumed me. As you can see, I went for a different ending. This stallion isn't one of any importance. He doesn't have a name, a cutie mark, or even a coat color. I tried to make his description as vague as possible so that he holds no real importances to the FoE universe. The only thing you might find is his skeleton outside of an unnamed Stable in Manehatten and maybe his Pipbuck.