Medical Procedures

Dusk was creeping upon the swamps of the Everfree Forest. The air above this area always became harder to fly through for Spitfire during this time of day. The fog and greenery made Zecora’s hut more difficult to spot as well, but that had become less of a problem lately thanks to so many trips made back and forth. All her time spent flying up until hitting this point in her voyage had been filled with her thinking about what had transpired, and how she’d break this to Zecora.

Whistling on by the treetops, Spitfire said aloud, “How I’m supposed to break this to anypony is beyond me.”

It had been a short flight. Upon seeing some smoke rising from a clearing, she banked. Landing smoothly, she straightened herself, and stood before the cloth door leading into Zecora’s hut. Her hoof felt her head, and she solemnly breathed quietly before pulling out the flower from her pocket.

It rested noticeably on her hoof, and moved ever so slightly when the wind touched it. “Here we go…”

With her entrance came even less sounds of the jungle. Zecora sat right there before the table, busy as ever. She’d been fiddling with some exotic roots and other bowls of ingredients. The second the object that Spitfire held came into the zebra’s sight, however, she quickly dropped what she was doing.

“I… do not believe this,” Zecora voiced dramatically.

“It’s alright.”

“But, where did you find it? Did something go amiss?”

“No,” Spitfire assured her striped and worried friend. “Everything went according to plan… Well, except that Rainbow Dash fell in love with Twilight naturally.” She tossed the flower to the wooden table, and said, “I found it in Rainbow’s clinic room, the one she occupied when she was hurt. It was under the bed this whole time.”

Zecora gulped. “Then, that’s the only logical explanation given its location.”

At that time, Spitfire placed her hooves on the table to once again weigh her options while standing over the dead flower. “I could keep this a secret. I could… tell them the truth of what I tried to do, so that they know the suits had minor to no impact on their relationship.”

“The outcome would be the same, though, no matter which way you go.”

Spitfire made a pained face. “Exactly, but still, Zecora. The right thing to do is to tell them what I’ve done.”

Zecora asked while putting her hoof on Spitfire’s, “I don’t mean to be brash, but do you still love Rainbow Dash?”

“I don’t know,” Spitfire replied, shaking her head.

At that, all Zecora could do was let go, and begin walking towards her room on the far side while stating, “You should hurry, for time is something you may lack. It’s almost time for those two to hit the sack.”

Now all alone, Spitfire grunted with what she had to do, but snatched up the flower for the last time, and got on her way to Twilight’s library.

Again, with how fast Spitfire flew, it didn’t take her long at all to reach her destination. However, before approaching the door to the library, or even landing for that matter, she hid in the same branch she’d used in the past to spy through the upstairs window. She mainly wanted to make sure the two were home, but when she saw what was inside, she had to take another moment to observe a bit more.

Right there, sitting on the bed was Rainbow, and before her was an open book of Daring Do. On top of Rainbow’s backside and wings was Twilight, cuddling and coyly listening to her pegasus read aloud.

Spitfire hadn’t considered Rainbow to be the type to enjoy reading so much, but it seemed she was really into the activity. Spitfire saw this most when Rainbow squinted her eyes, and then pointed at what she’d read, the delighted look on her face unmistakable.

If Spitfire were asked what she was feeling right then and there, she wouldn’t have know what to say. She’d wasted enough time with this anyway, and leaped down, gliding to the door. She straightened her jacket and took off her glasses, and then gulped. Biting her bottom lip, Spitfire was tempted to do nothing at all, or maybe even fly away.

“No,” she told herself. “I can’t walk away from this.” She knocked, and hard.

Then came the waiting. To her surprise, it wasn’t even Twilight or Rainbow Dash that answered her. It was some tiny, purple dragon she’d never seen before. He stared at her, and she looked down at him. More specifically, the piece of literature in his claw. It was a Bolts Illustrated issue with Spitfire on the cover.

“Holy Luna! S-S-Spitfire!?” the little guy asked, backing away into the room and awkwardly shelving what he held in the fiction section.

Spitfire simply walked in, looked around, and said while rolling her eyes, “Yep. Is Twilight and Rainbow Dash around?”

Spike blinked, and scratched his head for a second. “Let me, uh, go get them for you.”

Spitfire watched him leave, nodded once alone, and decided to check out exactly what he had tried to hide back there. “Better not be the one I’m thinking of…”

It was. All she needed was another good glance, and she could already tell. Spitfire rolled her eyes yet again, and continued to wait, and in little time at all, she’d be greeted by the two she had requested. Twilight lead the way.

Seeing the two now, all up close and together like this, fully undressed and both donning a confused frown, Spitfire couldn’t help but look away rather unpleasantly. The sounds of their hoof steps seemed to go on for minutes, but the second they ended, a voice followed.

Twilight was the first to speak, and said, “Wow, you really are here…” Then, she smiled before looking at Rainbow who still kept wearing this worried face, and asked, “What brings you here?”

It was a funny question, and the answer, even funnier. The answer was Twilight, of course, but Spitfire refused to bring about any such confrontation. She could’ve, too, but she didn’t. Spitfire understood she was completely at fault here, and slowly stated, “I think…” She seemingly gagged. “I messed up.”

Twilight blinked with her mouth opening slightly. She looked at Rainbow who gave the same bewildered look, and then asked Spitfire, “You… What?”

While the Wonderbolt began fidgeting with her jacket pocket, Rainbow also asked, “What do you mean?”

Instead of answering so quickly, she simply pulled out the Polifern and rested it on the table. She didn’t dare even pick it back up again after that. One glance at Twilight’s disgruntled face told Spitfire she had an inkling of what was going on. “Do you know what this is?”

Rainbow shook her head, but Twilight spoke up. “It’s a…” She looked away, wishing to remember.

“Polifern,” Spitfire voiced. Then, she decided to unload. “I guess I should start at the beginning. Twilight? Explain to Rainbow Dash what this flower does, please.”

Twilight looked at Rainbow, scrunched her muzzle, and said, “It nullifies the enchanted uniforms the nurses and doctors at the Ponyville Clinic wear. It makes them useless to whoever’s nearest to the flower, so that if Spitfire has one and goes inside, she’s not affected by the clothing’s magical properties.”

Rainbow said simply, “In english please?”

Twilight groaned, and corrected with a bit of annoyance, “It’s used to keep from falling in love with the nurses and doctors while they’re enchanted.”

“I’m a friend of Zecora’s,” Spitfire said suddenly.

This caught both Twilight and Rainbow’s attention quite easily. Both went, “Huh?!”

“She and I go back somewhat, and, uh…” Spitfire looked the pegasus in the eyes. “Well, Rainbow? I liked you… Alot...”

Rainbow blushed, but not as much as Spitfire, but Spitfire blushed because of how tricky this situation was. She could even feel some sweat slide down her neck. Rainbow asked, “You… like me?”

“No,” Spitfire said while shaking her head. “I liked you. It happened at the Gala, I suppose, when you saved Sorren’s pie. Just… let me explain.” Rainbow had raised her hoof, but decided to settle it back down and gave Spitfire her chance. “Look, I know you’re with Twilight. I… spied on you two one night, just to make sure.”

Twilight predictably raised her eyebrows, but Rainbow had become less reactive after hearing about how her idol once loved her, but apparently not anymore by the sounds of things. Spitfire continued, “I had Zecora tweak one of these Polifern flowers to make you invulnerable to the uniform’s effect for about a month. That’s this one right here, but it had to be near you for at least twenty-four hours.”

Twilight asked probingly, “Well then, it must not’ve worked. How’d you plant it on Rainbow Dash?”

Spitfire chuckled. “Actually, Rainbow? Do you remember that bouquet we spoke about today, back in the clinic?”

Rainbow blinked, and breathed for a second before asking, “You… hid it with the flowers?”

Twilight stepped forth, now beyond confused. “But, wait… I myself removed that not five minutes after delivering it.” She looked down and held her head in thought. “This isn’t adding up.”

“The Polifern must’ve fallen,” Spitfire revealed with a shrug. Spitfire hadn’t realized the dead silence that was forming quickly. “I came to the clinic today to do some investigating of my own. Fleetfoot being there was just an excuse I took advantage of in case I ran into either of you.” She looked at the surprised faces of Twilight and Rainbow Dash, and finished, “I found it under the bed.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and before asking her question, all she could do was stare at Spitfire for a good while. She’d never considered the mare able to do all of this, and to keep from losing Rainbow Dash nevertheless. “You mean… Rainbow Dash and I are…”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Rainbow said while taking a step back from the other two. “Where’s the proof?”

Spitfire hastily answered, “If you’ve got the bouquet…”

Another moment of silence, and then Twilight walked off. She’d return from the basement with the vase still full of old, dead flowers, and at that, Rainbow would simply ask, “You’ve… had that thing all this time?”

Twilight sheepishly let out a sigh, and a giggle. “I might’ve forgotten about it.” She looked from Spitfire to Rainbow Dash. “Besides, I liked the vase.”

“Wondered where it went from the window sill…”

“Doesn’t matter,” Spitfire chimed. “The Polifern is gone, so...”

Rainbow looked at the flowers, sniffled, and remarked, “She’s right.” Then, Rainbow also mentioned mainly to Twilight while rubbing her nose, “Guess I’m not allergic to dead flowers…”

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smirk, and proceeded with putting it on the table. Spitfire then picked up the flower next to the vase, and returned it to the bouquet, right where she’d placed it so long ago. “I’m sorry for what I tried to do… You two are actually, honestly in love with one another. Put simply, the uniforms had very little to do with it.”

Rainbow commented, “Well, I wouldn’t say very little.” Twilight agreed by laughing, and Rainbow asked, “But, uh, does this mean I was gonna be a Wonderbolt because you liked me that much?”

Spitfire nodded, and stated, “Yeah, but this doesn’t change anything. I still expect you to do your best, because you’ll probably always be my best choice for the next official Wonderbolt.”

Rainbow perked up. “Yes Ma’am!”

Twilight snickered, and sighed. “I guess this is a good thing … Not for Spitfire, of course, but thank you. You did the right thing.” Twilight and Rainbow smiled, forgiving Spitfire for her misdeeds.

The jacketed pony smiled, too, and turned for the door. “I guess… that’s all there is to talk about, then.”

Before leaving the two with lots to discuss between themselves, Spitfire was stopped by Rainbow asking boldly, “Hey, before you go… So, you don’t still like me like that anymore?”

Spitfire breathed, and said, “I’ll probably always like you, Rainbow Dash, but…” She smoothed her hair, and finished, “I’m over the rainbow.”

With the message relayed, Spitfire left. Flying off, she’d be watched by Twilight and Rainbow Dash outside the tree house. Both felt a bit bad for her, but there was nothing they could do, just as there was really nothing Spitfire could do to stop Rainbow from falling in love with somepony else.