Techno Blue's Travels

The next day, it was raining and I couldn’t use my umbrella of course. But I didn't care, as staying here all day will just make me get angry with myself as usual. I had made another wonderful breakfast on the floor, I’m sure it would have tasted delicious. In the end I went to a garden bed Poppy set up on a window ledge and ate the flowers, of course I couldn’t open the window so I had to climb up from the outside. I don’t think anypony saw me, they were all inside on a day like this.

I headed towards my favourite hospital to talk to my least favourite practitioner. I was soaked way before I got there and tried to shake it off before going inside, my mane slapped me hard in the eyes a few times. I walked in and my night time nurse with the glasses was at the reception desk. “Hello again, ready to be a proper patient?” she asked.

“No.” I replied “I want to see Doctor Stone.”

“Hello to you to,” She snapped back at me. “You can’t see him. Mr attitude doesn’t work here anymore.”

“Why?”

“Beats me and we don’t give reasons to the public on internal affairs, especially when we fire jerks ‘cause they don’t follow etiquette. He insulted his last patient two days ago. Small world huh?” she peered at me again over her glasses, I wish she would stop doing that.

“Could you please tell me his address?” I grinned with a squee back at her.

“That’s confidential information,” she pulled out a large bundle of papers and started sorting through them. “I can’t just tell you where that parasprite of a pony lives.” She slid a paper to me, it had Stone’s address on it. I looked quickly, he lives a few blocks from my place. I went to grab a few bits of money to give her as thanks but she refused. “You just give him a piece of your mind when you find him.”

“That’s the plan,” I grinned wider at her, thinking she was more right than she knew. “Thanks.” That went remarkably better than I thought it would. It could of been better if he was here, but with him fired; I wouldn't have to be concerned about the hospital's intervention.

I left the hospital quite pleased with how things were going, then I realised it was still raining.

I walked past my apartment, soaked and cold. I past some more streets until I arrived at Dr Stone’s place, it’s a five story building with graffiti around the base. I walked into the building and up to his flat. The building was in bad shape, it was old and nopony was taking care of it. The wallpaper was peeling with more graffiti marks and some rubbish littered the floor.

How could a medical pony live in such squalor? He should be doing well financially, unless he was one; a terrible doctor or two; sued frequently. Both answers were not optimistic.

I reached his door and knocked, it opened on the first tap. I peered inside “Hello,” I said meekly. The place was a mess, take-away scraps were everywhere, the furniture was old, a pile of newspapers on the couch. Dr Stone owned one of those beds that folds into the wall, it appeared to be stuck halfway down. This pony’s life was a mess and I started to regret needing him. 'The terrible doctor' thought came back until I saw on wall decorated in several diplomas, I took no heed in reading them. 'A doctor is doctor,' I thought, 'What more could there be to than 'just heal this Doc' and move on.'

I walked in and looked around, the floorboards creaking loudly. I heard something groan from the couch, I looked closely at the scene. The papers on top were crumpled and piled high and wide. IT MOVED, I stepped back in shock and saw a slight rise and fall to the heap of paper. I could then hear it, somepony was snoring underneath that.

I started moving the newspaper away noticing the jobs sections were circled. It had only been two days and this pile of paper was huge, either he bought all the newspapers of Manehatten or he's been looking for another job for some time.

I removed the last piece of paper and there was Dr Stone, asleep, upside down and…exposing himself for all to see. I blushed with my eyes moving upwards, I really didn’t need to see that. I tapped him on his shoulder, he budged and something flinched down his lower half on the edge of my eye sight. ‘Pretty sure it’s was his leg’ I told myself. I pushed him harder and he started to wake up, sadly though he also woke up down there and he just looked at me with his pole at full attention. “Are you going to make this worth my while?”

It was one of those special moments now that you'd do anything to not be in, I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I’ve come to you with a proposition.” I said regretting every word. “I want you to operate on me.” ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SHUT-UP!’ I yelled at myself, ‘You’re making this worse.’

He got up right and stared at me, it was bouncing up and down. I shouldn't be able to see it anymore with him standing towards me but there is was, 'He was naturally blessed,' I thought. I tried REALLY hard not to look at it, but it was just there and not going away. “Sadly I don’t fancy you,” He replied flatly.

“No, what, no. Sorry. Let’s start again. I would like you to help me with a project, I need a doctor that can perform surgery on me, practically on my skull, brain and spine.”

He walked over to his fridge and pulled out a bottle of alcohol. It was still early but he took a swig of it anyway. “Why? And why me? You got me fired, not like it wasn’t coming anyway.”

“You might not know that I am more crippled than I appear, without this operation I don't see a point in going on" That was a lie, suicide wasn't an alternative, just an excuse. "I need a pony who won’t say no because of it being ethically wrong and you seemed like an obvious choice.” I slightly walked up to him. “Also I can pay a more than fair price for your help.”

“Ethically wrong, huh?” he replied, taking another drink. He lowered the bottle then smashed it and raced up to me, he was holding the broken bottle close to my face with the neck end in his mouth and he pushed me against the wall. “Maybe I could just kill you and take your money, is that ethically wrong enough for you? Takes care of your suicide wish, so we both win, huh?n, huh? Why would I risk my doctor’s licence over you?” he mumbled with the bottle getting in the way.

I tried to remain calm, I don’t know how cool I looked at the time though. “I can get you your own practice, if my project works I might be able to share the results with you and then you could help many ponies.” I tried to find something better than a cliché to work off of, but he had no personal items around that I could use as leverage. “If the procedure goes wrong, you could probably run away if I die and nopony will know. You’d be doing me a favour that way honestly.” I had no real problem with that, but I wasn’t going to tell him Brick Beak would be there, I wondered how she would react to all this.

He stood still, eyeing me closely and eventually tossed the bottle aside. “I want four things; a new CLEAN apartment, the practice you’ve offered as well the money and you never to come wake me up ever again.” He growled as he backed off. “What do you need done exactly?”

I pulled myself of the wall, “I need you to carefully attach Magic Thread from the inside of my horn to the front of the dorsal vertebrae to a small attachment piece.” I tried to tap between my shoulder blades, but my body doesn’t bend that way.

“Are you loco in the coco? What could you possibly need that for?”

“I need the thread to attach to a harness that is being built which will help me with my disabilities. All I need is your help and a lot of Magic Thread.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me, there has to be. I will need to know what you are doing, so I know what to do properly. Also this will be beyond dangerous, doctors don't usually enter the brain from the angle you're describing to reach the horn. Did you even research me before you came asking me to rummage through your body? How did you know I was a brain surgeon?”

“I just needed a doctor and didn’t think that was an issue. Wait! If you are a brain surgeon what about your cutie mark?” I pointed at his catheter symbol.

“I got it helping a colt pass a kidney stone and found my calling in helping, healing ponies, it wasn’t til later I found most ponies were ungrateful dicks. I majored in brain and spinal surgery.” He pointed to the diplomas on the wall. "Brain surgery is such a dangerous practice it can leave some side effects after an operation. I got sued due to them experiencing tiny twinges or something else and some I swear put on an act afterwards just so they don't have to pay.” He stared at me in the eye, “And I am a good doctor, I saved lives that did nothing but curse me later." So many pieces fell into place.

What he said and how he said it, I know that feeling, to be hated for just being who you are. “I believe you. Look I know the procedure will not be without risks. But I am willing to take them, if you aren’t I will find somepony who is. And I’d I know the Guild of Science would be willing to do this but I don’t trust them entirely.”

He sighed not happy about any of this, but he needed a job and definitely needed a new place to live. Once the operation was over, I wouldn’t need him anymore, the Magic Thread would last forever from touching my horn and I had no plans on giving him access to all of my project. “When do we start and do you have any plans I can look over?” he asked.

“Sometime later this week, pieces are being delivered over the next few days and with the operation I will need to be fitted into a mechanical part straight away. There are no plans made available, I’ve…been making this up as I go along.” He stared at me, not liking any of this.

“I’ll need an operating room and money to get the equipment I’ll need.”

“I have a place we can operate in, I just need a few days to clean it up.” I replied as I started pulling out my money pouch, I tipped a small pile of gems toward him

“Gonna’ need more than that.” He said, I tipped out more “Not enough.” I tipped out the rest of the bag, grateful I had some more money at home. I wondered if some of this was going towards alcohol. “I’ll figure something out about how to sew the thread into your mind but this is crazy.” He said shaking his head. “I have to work out how to keep the string tight so it doesn’t move around, yet loose so you can move easily. Come get me when you are ready and I should be done by then. Now get out before I change my mind.” I left the apartment hoping he would keep his word and help me, I didn’t want to pay someone a small fortune to go running off.

-_-_-_-_-

I returned to my place, just as I arrived the rain stopped. I looked down the street, the rain was still pouring down it. I looked the other way and noticed a large cart carrying a lot of boxes had just pulled up. There was a force field being projected, stopping the rain from entering. The water pooled against the magical barrier and my apartment walls. It was pulled by three earth ponies who looked very strong. One unicorn sat at the front of the cart, Sparking Thought, ‘Why was she delivering my Eternal Magic Lifter?’’ I thought. She hoped down from the cart, I noticed that when she moved so did the force field.

“Where do you want it?” She asked bitterly.

“Just in the lounge room on the left.” I replied, was she here to figure out why one pony could need all this stuff? I took a second look at the contents of the cart, there was way more than I ordered. Did they get the order wrong? If they did, so be it, I can always use more of the stuff.

I would need to make sure she didn’t go down to the basement and see my little mystery sphere, fortunately my magic barrier was still up. She lifted the boxes into the air with her magic and I released the force field at my door, as she entered I saw all the earth ponies shudder as the force field’s cover left them and they started being rained on.

I returned my attention to Sparking Thought who tried to act lost and walked past the lounge. “Ahem!” I coughed, she turned back and look at me pointing towards the lounge.

“Sorry, wondering what that smell is?” she replied.

‘Oh no’ I panicked, I haven’t cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. I had used a new carton of milk earlier, but the milk from my first breakfast attempt was still out, the smell of the off milk was pretty strong. Luckily she returned to her task and floated the boxes into lounge and placed them down in a corner. She looked around the room.

“What?” I asked, trying to figure out what was wrong.

“First time here. I thought it would be colder, with lots of stupid contraptions and nothing but a laboratory in each room. I have the same settee. Come on show me around.”

I was shocked and surprised “Why would I do that?”

“I’m your guest and rival-”

“We aren’t rivals! We battled once. You see this!” I shoved my hoof to my horn “It’s gone, I can’t do magic, we can’t duel anymore because…I’m, I’m a freak,” I mumbled.

“Yet your arrogance remains. Have you ever looked the word up, I know a really good dictionary, you were a freak before you lost your horn. But the loss of your horn hasn’t changed your personality which hasn’t changed you. If that loss changed you mentally then there is no hope for you, but you are the kind of pony that works around problems and gets things done.” Getting comfort from her was painful but it at least helped. “Despite the fact that your ideas are rubbish. Come on show me around.”

As we passed the hall, I saw the earth ponies outside at the cart. They were miserable and completely soaked. They looked a little happier with Sparking Thought heading towards them, then straight back to depressed as she walked up the stairs. I then lead her around upstairs and showed the magic lab and science lab, she was only impressed with the magic lab. “Over there is a toilet, my bedroom and a closet.” I said pointing at several doors, “You saw the hall downstairs and the lounge…Its best if we don’t go into the kitchen.” We walked back down the stairs. “And that’s about it.”

“Hmm? What about the basement? I can feel some powerful magic coming from down there.” Was she picking up my force field or the mystery orb, I really need to find a better name than 'mystery orb'.

I needed to think quickly, she would never believe there’s nothing down there. She headed to the door which would take her to the basement. “Don’t go in there!” I yelled. She looked at me “I use a barrier protection spell to…protect…my...my…my books,” I stammered.

“What kind of books, rare magic spells?” she asked inquisitively.

“Uh.” She will want to see them if I said they were spell books. “No.”

“What are they then?” I had to think quickly, anything would do.

“Porn” I blurted, I could mentally see myself digging another grave. “Yeah my collection of ‘PlayPony’ magazines, really, really hard-core stuff…really…hard-core, whips and everything. Being a female you don’t know how precious that stuff is to a guy, I have to protect it anyway I can.” I was trying hard to make it seem true, I scrunched my face and looked in all directions.

She paused. Eventually she said, “You’re disgusting,” she huffed as she walked past me to the streets. That was a good and bad result, I could live with that. She hopped on the cart, she didn’t look at me as she left.

I went upstairs and over to my bookshelf in my room and bit into my dictionary, scrolling through the pages was hard and frustrating. I would get to ‘F’ just to flip too many pages with my hooves and up at ‘R’. I eventually got to the page I was after and looked at ‘Freak’ “Huh, that’s useful, multiple answers, I can live with that definition.” I said to myself, pointing to a line “but can he live with that one?” I thought of the small child from the train.

#: An eccentric or nonconformist pony, especially a member of a counterculture

#: An abnormally formed organism, especially a pony or animal regarded as a curiosity or

monstrosity.

End of Chapter 5