Chapter 3: A Fresh Start, Making New Friends

Celestia waits in the room with Twilight and the other girls and says, "It is good news that she will be able to fly and didn't suffer more serious injuries than having a wing in a cast and two fractured ribs. She does need to be scolded for her brash actions against the human though, she may have caused some serious damage."

Twilight then nods and agrees with her when she sees a nurse making her way towards her and meets her halfway and asks, "Do you have any information about the Human that was brought in?"

The nurse then stops in front of the princesses Twilight, Celestia, and Luna then motions for the three princesses to follow her into the hallway, she then waits for them to gather and says, "There is good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"

Twilight, Celestia, and Luna discuss it for a few moments before Twilight says, "Please tell us the good news first."

She then nods and then says, "The good news is that there are no major injuries or broken bones." She then sighs and then lowers her voice and says, "The bad news is that they likely have bacterial TB that is advanced. We are currently taking blood samples and are testing it now to find out which strain he has, so we can prevent it from taking root in anypony that have been within five feet of them. The doctor and I both hope that they do not have the magic and medicinal resistant strain. If they do have it, they may not live to see the sunrise. Can any of you tell me if there were any other ponies within five feet of the human, they need to be inoculated as soon as the blood test results come in."

Twilight then clears her throat and says, "The only other ponies that were that close to them was Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, me, and the two guards that carried the human in."

The nurse then nods and thanks her for the information she provided and then says, "I wish that this was a happier day Princesses Celestia, Luna and Twilight. My sympathy goes to the human for what they are suffering through."

She then sighs and then says, "I will ask my sister-in-law if she could send the two guards that carried the human to the hospital." She then brings out a quill and paper, then gets to work writing the letter. After a couple of minutes writing, she sends it to her through a teleportation spell and says, "There, the letter has been sent to Princess Cadence."

The grim news hits the princesses hard, leaving them speechless until Luna then sighs sadly and says, "How very sad for them if they do have that strain, but I truly do hope that they don't have it so they can enjoy seeing and experiencing Hearth's Warming Eve, as well as discover the wonderful world that we live in. It also wouldn't be so bad if they could make a new friend or two while they were here would it?"

Celestia feels a little sympathy for the suffering the human is enduring and says, "I agree that the news is indeed unfortunate for them, but I hope for their sake that they do not remain violent and apologize for their actions towards Rainbow Dash." She then thinks to herself, 'If this human turns out to be one from that world, I will send them back through that portal immediately after finding out how they got here.'

Twilight then sees a letter pop up in front of her, then opens and reads it and says, "The guards will be found and sent here in a few minutes."

Nurse Helping Hoof nods and then says, "Thank you very much for asking Princess Cadence to send them here to be treated, it is in everypony's best interest to prevent this terrible disease from spreading any further." She then turns around and takes her leave.

At the ER in the hospital

Discord hears hoofsteps outside of the door, snaps his fingers and then vanishes into thin air, avoiding being seen in the room as he watches the room through a painting on the wall thinking, 'I am curious as to how Fluttershy is doing, I think I will go check on her after leaving a copy of myself here to inform me when the pony finishes their work and leave the room.' He then snaps his fingers and appears by Fluttershy and her other friends and says, "Oh hey Fluttershy, I was visiting a friend close by and then noticed you and the other representatives of the Elements of Harmony were here. Is everything alright, why do you all have such long faces?"

Applejack rolls her eyes as she turns to look at the reformed Discord and says, "Because we're ponies Discord, who were you visiting?"

Fluttershy then smiles and says, "That was really kind of you, a human is here and Rainbow Dash was injured by the human when a loud noise was heard. We are waiting for Twilight to tell us what the doctor had told her earlier."

He then looks at her and then decides to tell her the truth and says, "I was visiting my friend Arthur Morgan, who has somehow found his way to this world from who knows where."

Celestia hears Discord in the waiting room and mention something about the human and then asks Luna and Twilight to follow her back inside to listen to the rest of the conversation between Discord and Applejack.

She looks at him suspiciously and then says, "Why are you trying to hide things from me Discord, you know that I can tell when somepony is trying to fool me. So come clean about it, what did you do."

Discord then hangs his head and then says, "I was watching somepony's life and thought that they might like it better here and cast a magic spell, unfortunately I cannot say any more details about it without him telling you first. Sorry Applejack, but my lips are sealed until he talks about it first."

Celestia then narrows her eyes at him and says, "I thought you were up to something Discord. After we find out from this Arthur Morgan what happened, depending on how bad you were, you may either be sent to Tartarus or returned to stone for a time as punishment."

Twilight then sighs and then says, "I was going to wait until I heard about the results from the tests they are running on the human to tell you what the doctor and the nurse told me."

He then looks at the three princesses and then says, "I already know what's going on, so I shall be returning to continue telling Arthur about this world. Please do give my best wishes to Rainbow when you see her, she really did get lucky today, toodles!" He then snaps his fingers and disappears into thin air with a pop, reappearing back in the room near Arthur and then says, "I'm back, now where did I leave off...Oh! I was getting to where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna found the Elements of Harmony, which the two of them used the elements to turn me to stone...in a literal sense. There are six elements in all, the five can't exist without the spark. They are Laughter, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and Kindness. When the five are gathered, they create the spark that creates the Element of Magic..."

A half hour later, at the hospital

The lab tech gets the results back from the test and then hears the door to the lab open and looks over to see the nurse that brought the sample to the lab for him to test standing in the doorway and says, "You are just in time, the test just finished a few seconds ago. You better get them to Doctor Van Colt so he can look at them and inform the human of what the tests found out." He then watches her pick up the results and then make her way out of the room in a hurry to find the doctor.

Doctor Van Colt is walking down the hall when he sees the nurse quickly approach him and extend her hand towards him, holding a paper between her fingers and says, "What did you bring me now Nurse Helping Hoof?"

Nurse Helping Hoof takes a couple of breaths before saying, "I brought the human's blood test results as soon as they were finished, the results are good, but not the best. They say that he has Active Pulmonary TB, at least they will be able to get treatment for it. I am going to go inform the Elements of Harmony of the results, so please excuse me." She then takes her leave and heads for the waiting room.

He quickly takes them and looks them over and says, "Well, it isn't the best news we could hope for. At least this makes their life span maintainable until a cure is found for it, I am glad that it is just the medicinal resistant strain. Let's go inform the patient of the results and notify them about the treatment available for it."

In the ER with Discord and Arthur

Discord then says, "I wish I had more time to tell you more about Equestria Arthur, but it seems that our time has run out for now. So if you have anymore questions to ask, just say 'Discord, I need to talk to you.' and I will respond to you. If you wish to know more about Equestria, ask Princess Twilight Sparkle. Be sure to get her to simplify things because you are a human and don't speak nerd like her. If she starts to ramble on and doesn't hear you, just say or do something drastic to get her to listen. The doctor is here with the results of your blood test, so toodles!" He then pops out of existence and then returns to his realm to watch his two thousand inch flatscreen, keeping an eye on what is happening everywhere in Equestria at the same time saying, "I am so glad that I upgraded my package to the UDVR that can record an hour of events happening in a single location, and can track an unlimited number of locations! I am also glad that I have access to satellite channels and all of that other stuff for when I get bored of spying on Equestria, which never gets old!" He then selects a box and then watches what happens in the room with his new friend, Arthur Morgan.

Doctor Van Colt then enters the room after putting a face mask on to stop any airborne pathogens from getting into his body and then closes the door saying, "Well the bad news is that you have the medicinal resistant strain of Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis, the good news is that it is manageable. It has a treatment plan that requires you to visit a hospital to receive treatment every two weeks, this treatment will reduce the disease's progress a bit, and keep it from spreading to others via bodily fluids or through the air. Most hospitals in the major cities can provide the treatment you require, including the hospital in the town of Ponyville. If you take the proper treatments, it will allow you more time to enjoy Equestria until a cure is found or you succumb to your disease and pass on."

I then sigh and say, "I kind of guessed it wasn't just a cold by you walkin' in here with your face covered by cloth. It is a good thing to hear that you are positive about the treatment for it, how much does the treatment cost?"

He then smiles and says, "You are quite calm for receiving news like this human, I think we charge one hundred fifty for a treatment. Are you going to pay right away or in installments? If you choose installments, we will need to know your address so we can send you notices and reminders. How about this, I will make you a deal though since it's so close to Hearth's Warming Eve, the treatment will be free this time around."

I then smile and say, " Well thanks, I appreciate it and accept the kind offer. As you already know, I am not from around here. So could you tell me what is used here for money?"

Doctor Van Colt then looks at them, nods and says, "You are welcome, I hope you have a happy Hearth's Warming Eve. Yes, the currency that we use are called bits. I don't know much about what other currencies are acceptable in Equestria, but your best chance to find that out would be at the bank or attend day or night court and ask either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, my name is Doctor Van Colt, what is your name human?"

I then start to say, "My name is Arthur Cal...I mean Arthur Morgan."

He then cocks an eyebrow at them and then says, "Ok, which name do you want me to use?"

I then look at him seriously and say, "I am used to having to use other names where I'm from, My name is actually Arthur Morgan, Doctor Van Colt. It would not be a good thing to tell anyone about that habit, I don't want or need the attention that it brings with it when my real name gets out." I then sit up on the edge of the bed and stand up off of it, walking towards him and look down into his eyes, narrowing mine and then say, "I am used to adapting to different situations as they happen, but the world I am used to is very different from yours. What I am saying is that I don't want to continue life in that manner, and neither do you... Do I make myself perfectly clear Doc?"

Doctor Van Colt's eyes shrink in size at the way Arthur is looking at him and says, "Y-Yes, yes I understand you perfectly. I won't tell a soul, I swear. I don't want any trouble, I just want to keep enjoying my peaceful pony life."

I then ease off and sit back down on the edge and then say, "Great, I'm glad we understand each other now. So let's go on and get this treatment over with then."

Doctor Van Colt then breathes easier and then says, "Unfortunately, I can't perform the treatment because I am an Earth pony. The treatment is really just a spell that is only available through Unicorn or Alicorn magic. Therefore, I am going to go get the nurse from earlier because she knows that complex spell."

I then smile and chuckle saying, "That is unfortunate, but that is how things seem to work. Don't worry about me doc, I ain't going anywhere for right now. So I will continue to wait here, slowly dying as my lungs slowly turn black."

He then sighs and then heads for the door and says, "I hope that a cure can be found for Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis. It is a rare disease here, but it is still a horrible disease for anypony to get. Have a Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, Arthur Morgan."

I then watch him walk through the door and say, "So do I Doc, so do I." I then grab my satchel and reach down into it, pulling out my journal and then start writing in it about recent events.

Inside Discord's realm of chaos

Discord watches as he has a few moments longer to chat with him and says, "I better go fill him in about Celestia and Luna's special abilities so he can adjust to it when he experiences it. I also can't forget about those changelings that still follow Queen Chrysalis, I wonder how he would react to seeing a clone of himself." He then snaps his fingers and then appears out of thin air and looks at Arthur and says, "I just thought that I should notify you that there are some creatures out there that do have the ability to talk, there are also a few other things I thought that I should inform you about so you don't react so violently when you see or experience them. There are four alicorn princesses in Equestria, there is Princess Celestia, who is white as snow with a multi colored flowing mane. She really cares for her subjects, but she can also hold a grudge if you get on her bad side. She has the power to raise and lower the sun and moon, though she prefers to share that with her sister. Princess Luna returned from her banishment to the moon three or four years ago, with help from the Elements of Harmony. She can only move the moon, but she can enter the Dream Realm while ponies are asleep. She takes her duty of keeping the dreams of her subjects free of nightmares seriously, so if you ever experience a nightmare, she will show up and make it go away. She doesn't get out in public that much, but she is trying to adjust to the changes that have occurred during her absence. Princess Cadence spreads love around to ponies that need to feel some love, she can also control crystals because she is distantly related to Princess Amore, the first unicorn to rule the Crystal Empire. She now rules the Crystal Empire beside her husband Shining Armor, and has an alicorn daughter named Flurry Heart. Lastly, there is the Princess Twilight Sparkle. She is the Princess of Friendship and has a crystal tree castle in Ponyville where the Table of Friendship is, the table has a map that shows friendship problems. It selects certain ponies to go places to solve a friendship problem, her special talent is being able to use any kind of magic." He then takes the opportunity to tell him a bit more about the history of Equestria, starting off by telling him about the elements and the ponies that represent them.

In the Waiting Room

Nurse Helping Hoof enters the Waiting Room and every eye in the group of seven ponies turns to look at her and she then stops in front of them and says, "We got the results back, and it is good news. The results say that the human has a medical resistant strain of Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis and it is treatable, but there is no cure at this time for it." She lowers her voice a little so that only the group can hear her and continues saying, "TB is uncommon these days, but it is still a very deadly disease with a low cure rate after the early stages. So Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Twilight, can you please follow me once the two guards we are waiting on to arrive, so we can give you inoculations to keep the disease from taking hold and progressing beyond cure."

Doctor Van Colt walks into the waiting room and says, "I spoke with the patient and they are ready to begin the treatment whenever you are ready to administer it. Is there anything that I can do to help you out Nurse Helping Hoof?"

She turns and then looks to him and then says, "Actually yes there is, could you please lead Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and the two guards that should be arriving shortly to exam rooms, then inform the nurses station about the inoculations they are to receive while I go and inoculate Rainbow dash before I administer the treatment."

He then smiles and then says, "I can handle that. Since it is this close to Hearth's Warming Eve, I will be paying for the treatment as a gift to welcome them to Equestria."

Nurse Helping Hoof smiles at hearing that and says, "I think that is a great idea, I will tell the board of this after I finish their treatment."

Applejack doesn't hear what the nurse and doctor are talking about, as she thinks of how the human might feel after hearing that. She then feels Pinkie Pie give her a big hug suddenly and then asks, "Hey there Pinkie, what'cha doin'?"

Pinkie Pie then ends the hug and smiles softly then says, "I was just thinking about how the human must be feeling after hearing news like this, I think that he may need a few new friends. What do you think about that everypony?"

The others then start to smile one by one and nod in agreement and say a few things as Celestia then speaks up and says, "I think that would be a good idea, but they may want to find a way back to the world they came from."

Luna then sighs, looks to her sister and says, "What could we do if they do not, and would like to share this world with us instead? It never hurts to try to give an idea a chance to succeed, as you have seen time and time again with Twilight and her friends' exploits."

Celestia looks to her sister shocked that she would say that and then says, "Alright then, I don't see the harm in at least giving this human a chance to decide if they want to stay or return to their world."

The nurse then smiles and clears her throat saying, "I apologize, but we must act quickly to administer the cure. Will you girls please follow the doctor to the exam rooms to receive the inoculations once the two guards arrive. I will bring the human to the waiting room once I am finished with treating Rainbow Dash. I will have him back here in an hour after I tend to Rainbow Dash, so go ahead and feel free to visit her in room 132."

The girls nod and follow the doctor as he starts to exit the room when he sees the two guards arrive and follow after the five girls.

Celestia and the rest of the girls wait for fifteen minutes before making their way towards Rainbow Dash's room as Twilight says, "We're coming to see you Rainbow, the talk will wait until we get you back home."

Rainbow Dash's recovery room, ten minutes earlier

Rainbow slowly opens her eyes and sees a nurse standing beside her bed and then sighs and says, "Am I going to be okay? The human did something that made me scream out in pain, and making my left wing not feel right. He then yelled at me for what I did, I then...cried...after that. I...don't remember much else after that, can you tell me what happened to the human that injured me? Did I at least cause him pain?"

The nurse then sighs and shakes her head saying, "Yes you will be fine but you will be laid up for at least 3 months, you have two fractured ribs and a shattered Ulna in your wing. Your wing will be in a cast for most of that time, that wrap will have to remain on your lower chest until your ribs heal up in three to six weeks. You are to strictly avoid any sports or strenuous activity that could cause pain to your ribs or wing. You did not do much from what I could tell, but I couldn't finish the examination before they woke up and started moving. They then said they weren't seriously injured and had some kind of disease, after running some tests on the blood, we learned they had a type of Tuberculosis which is not curable at this time. Now Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Applejack, you and two guards have to get inoculated to stop the TB from becoming incurable. So hold still while I use this syringe to inoculate you against the nasty disease."

She then nods and holds still, watching the nurse's actions and then says, "OWW!" as the needle goes in and injects the fluid into her shoulder. She then looks away and then sniffles saying, "I can't believe I can't do anything at all for three to six weeks, it is going to feel even longer not being able to fly for that long...I hope that human dies from that disease."

Nurse Helping Hoof then narrows her eyes at Rainbow and says in a raised tone, "Don't you dare say that, you have no idea how terrible and painful that disease is! He has Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis, a rare and aggressive disease that attacks the lungs and the other organs too. It is a slow and agonizing death that makes the pony suffer coughing attacks that cause them to cough up blood, causes them to limit their activity more and more as it progresses."

Rainbow then looks to her in shock and says, "I-I'm sorry, I just hate the fact that they injured me so badly. That really does sound like a terrible disease, I have never once heard of it in Equestria though."

She then nods and says, "Alright Rainbow Dash, I would stay with you longer, but I have to cast a complex spell that takes awhile to successfully cast. Your friends will be visiting soon, you will be able to go home tomorrow." She then exits the room and heads down the hall to the ER to administer the treatment to the human.

Thirty Five Minutes later, in the ER

I am sitting on the edge of the table, using my fingers to scratch my chin underneath this full beard of mine as I watch the nurse's horn emit some sort of light curiously and say, "Is that magic that you are using right now? What does it feel like to use magic?"

The nurse then focuses on the complex spell and then says, "Quiet, this requires concentration." She then finishes the last piece of the spell and then casts it on the patient and then takes a breath and then says, "In a little bit you should start to feel a tingling all over as well as itching that you can not satisfy, that would be the spell doing its job and making some repairs and keeping the disease from passing into the air and to others. Yes, that was magic you saw me perform with my horn. There is a sensation of warmth when a pony uses it, but it just feels natural to us. A creature escaped from Tartarus called Tirek and he took every unicorns' magic and nearly conquered Equestria, but he was defeated by Twilight and her friends."

I then drop my hand onto my knee and say, "Huh, I guess this world does has its dangers. If this world is as peaceful as my friend told me, it would be a damn sight better than where I came from. It is strange to see a mythical creature in my world doing something like that here."

Nurse Helping hoof then looks at him and says, "Who else was here, I have to give them an inoculation against the disease before it gets past the early stages."

Discord then sticks his head through the wall in her line of sight and says, "Oh that friend would be me, Nurse Helping Hoof. You don't need to worry, because I already took precautions when I was watching him from my realm. When he found his way here, I saw the events unfold and when he passed out. I then decided that if he was going to be here for a time, he may as well know some things about this world and I filled him in on what I could squeeze in when you or Doctor Van Colt were out of the room."

She then looks at him and narrows her eyes at him and says, "Oh it's you, Discord. I am surprised that you manage to keep out of Tartarus for so long with all the pranks you pull..."

I then raise an eyebrow and say, "It seems you two know each other pretty well, did you two involved for a time?"

They both turn to look at him and say, "Never in a million years!"

The Draconequus then says, "Oh please, as if I would ever date a pony that didn't have a sense of humor."

Nurse Helping Hoof then looks at Discord with a scowl on her face and then crosses her arms and says in annoyance, "You turned the doors in my home to taffy, I had to literally eat my way out of my home to get to work! That prank you pulled caused me to gain five pounds, it took me two weeks to get it off!"

Discord then rolls his eyes and then says, "I can't believe you are still mad about that, why can't you just accept my apology and forget about it?"

I then chuckle at the way they are acting and shake my head saying, "Oh yes, this world sure is peaceful alright. Do you think we can continue on with this so I can get out of here already, I do think that some ponies want to have words with me when I get done here."

She then says, "Of course, the treatment is done. So all that you need to do now is follow me to the front desk and we will sign you out so you can be on your way mister....."

I then stand up and then say, "My name is Arthur Morgan, Nurse Helping Hoof. Please lead the way nurse, I am right behind you."

Back in the Waiting Room ten minutes later

Fluttershy is in the Waiting room, waiting for the human to arrive so she can return his hat to him when she hears a deep resounding thunking noise coming from down the hall and watches the archway for who might be making the noise when she sees the tall human step into the Waiting room and then looks into his eyes and sees something in them that makes her feel sad for them and then quickly looks away and blushes saying, "I...uhm...I uhm...have your hat...I picked it up after Lou asked me to return it to you. So here you go..." She then holds her arms out in front of her and then waits for him to take it from her and maybe yell at her for something she did.

I then walk towards the shy pony and then take the hat from them and sigh happily saying, "Thank you very much, I feel naked without this hat. Sorry, I couldn't hear what you said at the end. What's your name kid?" I then turn the hat around and then push it down onto my head and then wait for them to answer me.

She then trembles lightly, nervous of being around the human that injured her friend earlier and then stammers and says a bit louder, "Uhm...all I said was that I picked it up after Lou asked me to return it to you, so here you go... My name is Fluttershy."

I then watch as she trembles and then try to calm her down and say, "I ain't gonna harm ya, so settle down. If you made me angry, I would definitely let you know it a few times before resorting to violence. How is the blue pony doing by the way, I was hoping to not kill them."

Fluttershy then calms down and then says, "She is going to live, but she won't be able to fly for awhile or do much, thanks to you. Her name is Rainbow Dash by the way. You can wait here for the others to return, I am going to go see how my friend is doing."

I then sigh and sit down in the corner of the Waiting Room while she then heads out to visit her friend and sigh thinking, 'I really know how to make an entrance, dont I?'