Welcome to the Heights [Orange, Arnica, OPEN]

[SkyMunki]

((*floating* Uhh, skip me. ))

[Astalakio]

Betterbones watched carefully as the nameless stallion attempted to wobble to his hooves, those searching green eyes of his scanning every miniscule twitch and movement, locating which muscles were damaged, which legs he put more of his weight on, the tiny movements that made him flinch. There was nothing they could do for his injuries here, but once they got him back to the clinic, knowledge of his condition would be key to his repair, and this was the best chance he would have for collecting data. Once they had him safely in a hospital bed he didn't want to have to get him up again. They could use diagnostic spells, of course, but nothing compared to observing with one's own eyes.

The stallion fell to the ground again and the doctor's frown deepened.

"A few seconds isn't good enough, I'm afraid." He said, and looked to Arnica, moving Comet gently through the air as he did so. The filly weighed next to nothing, so he was certain that Arnica wouldn't have any problem carrying her on her back. He would carry them both himself, but at the sight of the stallion's suffering he had already begun to form a different plan.

"I'll have to take you up on your offer, doctor." He told his colleague, carefully lowering Comet toward her so that the mare could take control and position the patient on her back for carrying as she liked.

He then turned back to the older of their patients.

"Sir," He addressed him, "If you'll stay as still and as quiet as possible, we'll have you back to the clinic in no time." And with that, his horn burst into light once again, the familiar green glow spreading to engulf the mystery pony in its warmth and shelter. The stallion was larger than comet, but wouldn't pose too much of a challenge to carry. That wasn't going to be the hard part. Even as he began to lift the second patient into the air, his horn sparked a little with the second spell he was attempting to work.

There was nothing they could do for his injuries at this point - nothing that it wouldn't be worth waiting to get back to the clinic for - but the patient was clearly in a lot of pain and discomfort. Betterbones had plenty of spells, none of which he liked to use, to alleviate pain, to create numbness in a pony's body. He knew the danger of them well, for although they were almost always perfectly effective, once cast they took a while to wear off... and the best way for a doctor to know if a patient's injuries are worsening is through the pain they feel. If the patient feels no pain, it takes away one of the doctor's advantages. "One of our senses" a familiar voice muttered in his head. But Betterbones had already calculated the situation. This pony was in too much discomfort for that to matter, so even as he levitated his second patient, he began concentrating on casting a numbing spell to take the worst of the pain.

He had not spoken a word of this plan to Arnica, but it was clear from the sparks that leaped from his horn and from the way he had his eyes fixed in the stallion that the effort he was expending was greater than that required for a simple levitation spell.

"Ready...?" He managed to ask Arnica through gritted teeth.

[Armony]

Arnica joined in on the observation of the nameless black stallion as he attempted to rise to his hooves, every subtle movement giving away problems; areas that would need attention once he was safe. Although it seemed like he was going to be able to stand at first, he collapsed onto the ground once again, and, miraculously, he remained conscious this time around. The white-coated doctor flinched when he struck the dirt nonetheless, fearing what the sudden impact might have just done to exacerbate the poor stallion's wounds. The observations gave her some insight into the nature of some of his less visible injuries, which would save them plenty of valuable time in the clinic, what with not having to run diagnostic spells through him. Looking over to her colleague, she saw that he was contemplating their patient's condition as well, and was likely even drawing the same conclusions.

At Betterbones' word, Arnica prepared herself to carry Comet down to the clinic while he would be taking on the heavier load. Once the filly had been placed on her back, she made some slight adjustments to Comet's position both for comfort and safety, then withdrew most of her magic. The downhill path wasn't that rough, but being able to respond quickly to a possible muscle failure on her own part was a necessary precaution. Once Comet was secured in place and her stabilization spell was in place, she nodded to Betterbones and announced herself as "Ready."

She set off down the path toward the clinic, glad that it had been built at the lowest elevation in the settlement. As they approached the front door to the clinic, Arnica stopped for a minute and began cancelling out her alarm spell, standing out of the way just in case her colleague decided to ignore the alarm and rush the black stallion inside. Once she felt the enchantment's power diffuse, she continued on through the doorway, down the hall, and into a room where she carefully deposited Comet onto a bed. Even though she was panting from the exertion, the white-coated mare immediately turned to their next patient, though she was unsure of where to begin, considering her own state.

[PonyHooves]

Whisperpaw saw sparks flying out of the doctor's horn. He seemed to be looking intensly at him. Gradually, the pain began to ease. It felt as though he was only lightly bruised. The stallion didn't need to think about it for a long period of time. He knew what had just happened. The unicorn that stood before him had used magic to take away the pain. He began to relax. It was only at this point that Whisperpaw had noticed how exhausted he really felt. The stallion wanted to close his eyes and take a long nap. But he was unsure of the doctor's response to him trying to fall asleep. He had to think hard about what to do. 'I'm so tired... My eye lids feel heavy. But what if I worry the poor unicorn when I close my eyes. He already had to use magic to ease my pain? I'm in awfully bad shape. What if he thinks I'm giving up the will to live? I'd hate for anypony to worry that much... But a good long nap would be pretty good about now. I should ask him if he doesn't mind...' The stallion thought to his self. His eyes glanced towards the doctor while his body remained perfectly still. "Is it okay with you if I fall asleep? It's just... I'm tired..." He whispered his question.

[SkyMunki]

Comet felt herself get shifted onto somepony's back, and after a moment of fidgeting, she found herself comfortably being transported toward... A hospital, she assumed. Her assumption was confirmed when they reached the clinic, and the female doctor placed Comet onto a soft white bed. It wasn't much comfortable, and Comet hated being on the ground, but she didn't object and lay there silently, watching lazily as the doctor ponies turned their attention to the dark pony she'd seen on the ground.