Medical Procedures

Twilight glanced yet again over to Rainbow’s side, catching some words found within that mysterious book. She wasn’t hardly even passed the first chapter, and already during break and moments in between the day’s work, Rainbow had practiced several differently new training techniques beyond what Twilight had ever even imagined possible.

Some text within described not only the anatomy of pegasi wings, but the entire body of such a pony itself, and how each exercise could help better Rainbow’s flight capabilities beyond what was comparable to the way she usually carried her practices out. That consisted of merely flying and soaring, then crashing, getting back up and taking off again, only to repeat the process a few more times.

“Says here,” Rainbow said, “that in some cases, meditation followed by a long flight can increase my understanding of drifting.”

Twilight blinked and looked around warily, not exactly comprehending just how that’s even probable. Possible, yes, but it still seemed far fetched. “How?” Twilight asked inquisitively.

“Well, to start with, it say here that the pegasus mind can be very… Uh, what’s that word, Twilight?" She pointed to it with a hoof.

“Trivial…”

“Right, and-” Twilight grabbed the book to read aloud, much better, and faster than Rainbow.

“And it was discovered quite some time ago that deep self sleeping, or meditation, can bring out greater will power... Rainbow, I hate to say it, but this sounds silly, and unbelievable.”

“But,” Rainbow countered. “Twilight, I’ve practiced a lot of these suggestions, and I think they’re gonna help! It’d be nice if you were on my side with this, you know…”

With her friend looking Twilight up and down, hooves crossed and a coiled brow, the unicorn couldn’t deny Rainbow the satisfaction. “Fine, do what you want. However, if you ask me, I think you should just get out there and take to the sky, keep doing what you’re used to. It never failed you before.”

She shook her head. “You just don’t get it, do you, Twilight? In a little less than a month, the Wonderbolts will be back from their trip, and if they see me like this, all outta practice and weaker, Spitfire might-”

“Might what?” Twilight asked. “Did you forget what happened? Because I haven’t. She’s the one who knocked you out of the sky, and it’s her fault you broke your hoof in the first place!”

Rainbow stopped to think back, the memories still a foggy daze. It seemed those incidents happened so long ago, now. “Oh, yeah…” She huffed the fact away. “But, still! They know I’ll have had plenty of time to catch up on my training, and improve my skills. I… just can’t let them see how weak I’ve gotten, Twilight." For a moment, the two sat, the book remaining on the desk, and an eery silence blanketing the room. Rainbow broke it with, “Maybe I’m just paranoid.”

“No,” Twilight said.” I can see where you’re coming from… But, maybe I could help.”

Rainbow looked up at her. “How?”

She took her time thinking about it, then offered, “I could use a spell…”

“No, Twilight,” Rainbow said, denying the notion outright. “No magic, enchantments; nothing like that. I wanna do this right. If you wanna help, I’m all for that, but not magic.”

Another wave of silence, and then a nod from Twilight. “Alright… I suppose we can spend time after work to… No, wait. That’s right!” Twilight brought her hoof up to her forehead. “I forgot about the doctor’s offer. I’ll be right back.”

While getting up, for some reason, Twilight couldn’t help but to glance back at Rainbow once she’d returned to her book. She looked far more different unlike when she’s without the uniform. More elegant, but still the same, daring, egotistical Rainbow Dash, if only a bit shy towards Twilight than what she usually was.

Of course, Twilight knew good and well Rainbow’s attitude was all because of the enchantment placed upon her uniform, but then, why was Twilight herself beginning to feel the exact same symptoms she understood Rainbow must’ve been feeling when she was first admitted into the clinic? Twilight had been able to read up on this, and researched her findings well.

A small collection of symptoms include the following: A heightened temperature whenever near the wardrobe wearing pony. Fear of seeming unattractive towards the subject. Furtively attempting to seem more attractive. A deep desire, possibly becoming lustful to be anywhere closer to the pony. Sudden, unnatural stutters and/or shudders. Daydreaming about the subject in question, usually being absurd or downright impossible, and finally, intensive depression whenever alone or without the being who might be wearing the enchanted garments.

So far, Twilight had gone through much more than those mere beginners. Already, she’d been thinking about asking Dr. Stables about it, timid towards his reaction, and fearing that somehow, she was vulnerable against Rainbow when she wore her nurse uniform.

The door knocked, the doctor looked up, and allowed whoever it was requesting entrance to come in with, “Fifteen more minutes, and I would’ve been off the hook for today!” He chuckled, and finished the greeting. “Come along, it’s open.”

Twilight slowly walked in, looking back at Rainbow one last time before shutting the door. Then, while glancing around, she noticed the lights were dim, and the doctor sitting with all his paperwork folded on his desk, and him sipping on a glass filled with what looked like fine wine. “Is… that…?” Twilight asked.

“Sssh,” the doctor whispered. “Don’t tell my superiors, okay? It’s just a last minute luxury I keep secret for the end of the day.” Twilight wasn’t really concerned with that, though. She had negotiation plans thought out, and needed him to listen. “Come now, what’s on your mind?”

The doctor’s smile seemed sincere enough that maybe Twilight could tell him what had been going on between her and Rainbow Dash, but that would have to wait. First, the promotion. “I’ve reached a decision.”

He looked puzzled, but with a grin. “... Err…” Twilight looked at his desk and saw her papers sitting upon the top, just waiting to be fill out next. It hovered over thanks to her magic, and Dr. Stables nodded. “Ah. Right, that…” He took another small sip. “What do you say, then?”

Twilight flipped the front of the parchment her way and read, “In the case of this particular promotion, Twilight will increase her work efficiency and hours. That’s gotta be expunged.” A red marker flew out of the desk drawer, thus causing a surprised look upon the doctor’s muzzle. “I’ll just highlight parts we need to change.”

“Wait, why?” He stood. “I thought I’d filled it out quite adequately.”

Twilight resumed, “From six to eight… No, you see, I’ll need much more time than that. You’ve set the morning earlier along with the night, but I’ll need more hours to myself, for studying, helping Rainbow with her flying; we just had a talk about that.”

The doctor simply stood, a bit perplexed, but granting the mare his undivided attention. “Okay… Go on.”

“Pay will increase, along with bonuses. Now, that’s alright, but this right here…” She scribbled something to the side, and continued, “These revisions are due to the loyalty I have towards Princess Celestia as her student, and I must say, I expected you to put that little bit into consideration when writing this up for me.”

He giggled, a bit embarrassed. “I apologize, Twilight. It must’ve slipped my mind.”

“Finally, it says here my employment contract will be renewed yearly. If that’s the case, then I’ll need to give you a warning. No doubt I’ll randomly request days, maybe even weeks off for various reasons. Visits to Canterlot, important life issues, and the occasional world saving. I ask you, do these terms sound appropriate?”

He shuffled his hooves with a worried expression. “What… hours were you hoping to receive, Twilight?”

The mare stood strong and voiced, “Eight to three.”

“Seven to six.”

Twilight nodded, catching on to his bargain game. “Seven to three thirty.”

“Well, come to think of it, seven isn’t good timing… I think it would be better if you arrived when I do. So, what about six thirty to four?”

Twilight sighed. “Six thirty to three? That’s almost nine hours, only a few lesser than what I’m working now, and that would give me enough time to work on my magic, and friendship studies. That includes Rainbow Dash.”

He seemed pleased. “Despite obviously being swindled, you’ve got a deal!” He politely took the paper Twilight had wrote on and said, “I’d better get to this,” but Twilight stopped him.

“Wait…” The doctor turned back around and looked his nurse in the eyes, sensing a bit of seriousness in her voice. “Speaking of Rainbow, I’ve got a small question possibly having something to do with her.”

He came closer, a bit interested in what Twilight had to ask. “If it’s anything to do with you wanting new placements, I must apologize, but everything’s been filed and permanently assigned. There’s no changing that now.”

“No, no. I’m fine with where I am, and I don’t mind working with Rainbow… Actually, that might end up being one of the highlights of my upcoming days, but…”

Dr. Stables looked at her curiously. “Yes?”

Finally letting it out, Twilight asked, “Are you… sure unicorns can’t possibly be affected by the enchantments of these outfits?”

He raised his eyebrows. “I… thought we went over this a few weeks ago. If not, a whole month. I told you, the magical barrier one’s horn creates prevents romantic intimacy to be inflicted upon any unicorn in existence. In short, I’m sure somepony like you or I couldn't possibly be enticed or seduced by another just from them wearing the sort of thing you have on right now.”

The more he spoke, the more animated Twilight's face became. “But, that doesn’t make any sense! It’s only been a day, and all throughout my schedule thus far, I’ve been…”

The doctor watched as she glanced to the window that had been slightly blinded. Just beyond the horizontal lines, Rainbow’s back and wings could be seen, exactly what Twilight started staring at. “... Twilight Sparkle?”

She returned, unable to make eye contact any longer. “Through today, I’ve been showing all the first warning signals of being under Rainbow’s spell. Heightened hot flashes if and when near her, unable to look away, mostly catching peeks at her body, and… blushing; I’ve been doing that the most.”

Twilight seemed disappointed with herself, as if this was some sort of battle lost. “Twilight,” the doctor said. “I believe you’re just naturally attracted to her, not to sound offensive… But, even though I agree with you on it sounding like the spell is doing its work, that’s impossible. Maybe it’s just a phase. I’m no romance expert, but if it bothers you this much, I recommend you allow it to grow. Eventually, it’ll pass with time like everything else does.”

Twilight looked from Rainbow’s back to Dr. Stables and said, “That sounds like a horrible idea.”

He nodded. “I know it doesn’t sound very promising, but it may work. Besides, what else do you want me to do? Create a vaccine to battle your romantic interests?” Twilight giggled a little. “All I can say is, well, this just can’t be from Rainbow’s uniform. Maybe you just find her good looking in it, perhaps a bit more than seeing her unclothed. I don’t know. I’m just a medical physician, not some psychiatrist. Try what you think would work.”

As he turned, Twilight muttered, “I suppose you’re right…”

“Just don’t go quitting on me!” He looked back with a snicker, then folded Twilight’s papers along with corking his special bottle. “Now then, tomorrow, I’ll have your revised papers all ready for you and waiting. I’ll see you then, okay?”

Twilight grinned, then was shown out the door. While he locked his private office up, Twilight came to sit with the studying pegasus, if only a bit closer than she originally was. After seeing the stallion leave the building, Twilight asked, “Rainbow?”

The mare reluctantly stopped reading and looked over at her. “Hmm?”

Twilight didn’t return the look, but instead, she decided to say, “I’m glad we’re working together.” She had a faint smile, and clearly blushing cheeks. One thing she didn’t tell the doctor was her hidden knowledge. Twilight knew more than ever about these feelings well before having Rainbow as her new partner. She just didn’t wish to admit it to herself. Not until now.

A hoof graced Twilight’s back, and before Twilight could notice the touch, Rainbow kindly pulled her in close for a single, brief hug. Then, they got back to their final duties. The sun shined through the windows that evening, illuminating the entire room.

It was possibly the most grand sunset either of them had seen for a good while, and in that moment of coy silence and quiet work, Twilight realized something. In truth, within her heart, she really wouldn’t mind being with Rainbow. Not just as partners in the medical work field, but as much closer friends.

After all, it wasn’t as if Rainbow had set this whole thing up; plotted to deviously win Twilight over through the use of her uniform’s magical powers. At least, that’s what Rainbow hoped Twilight would never discover, but how long would the unicorn go before finally finding out Rainbow hadn’t any clue about the average unicorn’s thorough resistance against it?