Trauma Team: Equestrian Chronicles

Chapters

Prologue
Twilight Sparkle Part 1: Fallen Athena
Fluttershy Part 1: Enter the Matron
Rainbow Dash Part 1: Times Flies When You're Having Fun
AppleJack Part 1: Hoof Scootin' Boogie
Pinkie Pie Part 1: Two Sides of the Scalple

Prologue

“Now, if you’ll just sign here, Miss Pie...”

“Okey-Dokey-Lokey!”

“And now I initial here and... done. Welcome aboard, Miss Pie. The hospital is glad to have you with us.”

The prospect made her giddy. Pinkie Pie, resident surgeon for one of the greatest medical facilities in Equestria. It was all she could do to keep from...

“Woo-Hoo! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” she yelped, bouncing around the office in euphoric glee, stopping just short of smacking her head into the office roof.

The grey haired earth-pony sitting at the desk cleared her throat. “Miss Pie, I must ask you to calm down. You’re messing up my office.”

Realizing her folly, the pink pony came to a stop, a somewhat embarrassed grin spreading across her face. “I’m sorry. It’s just... Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted this? I’ve wanted to be here ever since this hospital opened! Do you have any idea how long that is? That’s fifteen years! Fifteen years waiting and studying and practising and...”

A glare shot across the desk. Pinkie took the hint. “Um, yeah. So... what should we do now?”

“Well, I’d like to get you started as soon as possible, so how about I take you on a tour of our facilities?” the grey-haired pony said, adjusting her glasses as she stood up from her desk.

Pinkie’s face lit up once more. “That sound super-dee-duper-rific! Lead the way Miss-“

Her comment was cut short as the other pony raised her hoof. “Just call me ‘the Mayor’. Everypony else does. It’s my pseudonym around here. Now, shall we?” she inquired, motioning towards the office door. An eager smile came back at her, and Pinkie quickly exited the room. Before she followed, the Mayor looked back at the file on her desk. One line was highlighted on the front page; ‘Amazingly calm and stable under pressure’. She scoffed. She was seriously beginning to doubt that.

“Alrighty! Where to first?” Pinkie questioned, hopping gingerly down the shining white hallway.

“First, Miss Pie, allow me to show you our state of the art orthopaedics ward. It’s one of the most advanced in Equestria and very close by. It’s just down the next hall,” the Mayor replied, a hint of pride entering her voice.

“Yeah, that sounds great!” Pinkie responded, hopping ahead, squeezing her eyes closed as though she was going to a surprise party she already knew was happening. She squee’d happily to herself. After untold years of study, she was finally here; ready to help anypony who came along. She knew she was going to make Granny Pie proud.

“What th... LOOK OUT!”

A loud ‘CRASH’ echoed down the mostly empty hallway. When Pinkie opened her now dazed eyes, it was an orange pony in a doctor’s coat and cowboy hat who was hauling her to her hooves. “You ok there, little miss?” came a heavily accented voice from the orange pony, freckles coating her muzzle. She pulled a small flashlight from one of her pockets and shined it directly in Pinkie’s eyes, moving her free hoof back and forth, which Pinkie’s eyes absent-mindedly followed.

A contended smile came over the orange pony’s face as she placed the flash light back in her pocket. “Y’all seem to be doing alright. You better start looking where you’re going, little missy. Lotsa accidents can occur in a hospital... though I ‘spose if you’re gonna have an accident to begin with, this is prob’ly one-a the best places to have one.” Pinkie blinked a few times, still slightly disoriented from her impact with whatever it was she hit.

As if on cue, the Mayor walked up. “Miss Pie! Watch what you’re doing! You’re going to break vital equipment! Those machines are expensive!” Looking around herself, Pinkie located what she had hit. She recognized it as an outdated x-ray machine, which a grey Pegasus in a white nurse’s coat was in the process of picking up and looking over.

The orange pony tipped her cowboy hat back a bit. “Calm down, Mayor. This is an authentic FR-X23. These babies are built to last. Why, mah big brother could kick one of these things, and it’d still run happier than a caterpillar in an orchard in fall.” She looked back to Pinkie, who shook her head, finally clearing out most of the ringing. “Ah, darn. Where are mah manners?” The orange pony stuck out a hoof. “Dr. Appelisa Jackson, Chief o’ Orthopaedics. But you can call me ‘AppleJack’.”

Pinkie grinned, reaching out and shaking the offered hoof. “Pinkamena Diane Pie; but my friends call me Pinkie Pie, so you can call me that!” The Mayor stepped in. “She’s our new surgical resident. I was just taking her on a tour. We were about to head down to the orthopaedics ward when we had the pleasure of... running into you.”

“No kidding? Well, the least I can do is escort y’all the rest o’ the way there,” AppleJack replied. The grey Pegasus turned around, and said, “Dr. AppleJack. The machine appears to be in perfect running order.” Pinkie gasped at what she saw. The Pegasus’ eyes were bright yellow, but the confusing part was that both eyes were going off in completely different directions. “Ohmigosh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.” The comment was received by a rather confused look from the Pegasus. “You didn’t hit me. You hit the machine. What are you apolo...”

At the point, Dr. AppleJack stepped in. “Uh, it’s nothing, Derpy. She’s probably still a little confused from the impact ‘n all. Now, we’d best be getting these fine fillies and that ol’ hunk a’ gizmos down to the ward.” The Pegasus nodded, turning around and wheeling the machine down the hallway. AppleJack leaned over to speak to Pinkie. “Don’ bring up her eyes, Miss Pie. She don’ right like talkin’ bout ‘em.” Pinkie nodded in silence as the four ponies made their way down the hall.

It was the Mayor who decided to break the silence. “Dr. AppleJack, exactly why are you wheeling this outdated equipment to our ward?”

“Well, Mayor, we just gotta message over from Fillydelphia General. There was a big accident over at the carnival, and they simply don’t got room there for all the broken bones and the like, so we got ‘bout ten or so injured ponies coming our way real quick. I figured it’d be best to get out some more equipment so we can speed things along real nice.”

The Mayor gave AppleJack a surprisingly dirty look. “Dr. AppleJack, you know that using those outdated machines of yours makes the Board of Directors nervous. Can’t you simply treat them with the newer equipment we just brought in?”

AppleJack nodded before giving her reply. “Course we could. But I don’t rightly think we should be tellin’ folks to sit around with their bones all a’cracked while we take our sweet time. Best to work as fast as we can and get them all fixed up lickety-split. Don’ worry, I got the youngin’s working the new fangled stuff. I’ll be handling ol’FR here mahself.” As she said it, AppleJack backhooved the machine, as if to show it’s sturdiness. “Trust me; I know what I’m doing.”

“Aight, here we are. Derpy, help me set up the machine in the corner.”

As Dr. AppleJack and Nurse Derpy moved the bulky machine off into the corner, Pinkie Pie marvelled at the room around her. This ward had its reputation for a reason, with at least 3 sets of high tech x-rays, laser crafting stations for artificial bone, and state of the art operating stations positively dripping with various tools of the trade, from bone saws to drills. Next to these glorious white shining examples of technology, the machine they’d just wheeled in might as well have ran on steam and been made out of a wood. Pinkie was about to give herself a little examination of the machines when her attention was wrenched elsewhere by a loud yelp, followed by the distinctly aggravated sounding tones of a not-so-friendly sounding AppleJack.

“What the... RD! What in Tarnation are you doing sleepin’ on the job again?” came the Doctor’s agitated tones, “and in mah ward, no less!”

Pinkie looked over, to see a blue pegasus with rainbow hair and a black jacket with badges sewn on it hovering a few feet in the air, right in the corner of the room. Her voice came out, young but slightly gravely. “Come on, Doc. It’s my break, and you should watch where you’re shoving those machines.” The Pegasus clenched her hoof and looked down at the doctor. “Somepony’s gonna get hurt if you keep doing that.”

AppleJack returned the gaze. “Is that a threat, RD? I’ll have you know that it’s by mah good graces that I haven’t reported these little naps o’ yours to the higher ups. You’re the Chief Paramedic, for crying out loud, and you’re sleeping on the floor of the orthopaedics ward when we got at least ten ponies coming in from Fillydelphia who are gonna be here in less than ten minutes!”

The pegasus crossed her arms and scoffed. “Ten minutes is nothing. I’ll be ready in two. I can nap until then.” “Not in mah ward, you don’t. Get outa here! Unlike someponies, I’ve actually got work to do!” Taking the hint, the rainbow maned pegasus flew over them and left the doctor and nurse to their work.

The Mayor, her face red with a combination of anger and embarrassment, broke the silence. “Rainbow Dash, if you have a minute, I’d like to introduce a new member of the staff.” Pinkie smiled her usual smile, sticking out a hoof. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie!” The pegasus took the hoof, but rather shaking it normally, pulled Pinkie in until they bumped chests lightly. “Rainbow Dashfeld. You can call me Dash,” she replied.

“Rainbow, Miss Pie here is our new resident surgeon. Pinkie, Miss Dashfeld here is our Chief Paramedic,” the Mayor stated, facing each in turn. “I suspect the two of you will be working together quite a bit. Miss Pie, most of the patients you’ll be dealing with will be emergencies brought in by Miss Dash. As such, I do hope the two of you will put some time aside to get to know one another better.”

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “So you’re the new blood, eh? Good. I was getting sick of calling Dr. Sparkle the Newbie. Nicknames aren’t fun if the other pony doesn’t respond. How about you, Pinkie; you mind if I call you Newbie?” Rainbow said in a playful manner. Pinkie shook her head. “Not at all, RD,” she replied with her typical chipper enthusiasm. Rainbow giggled. “I think I’m gonna like you, Newbie.”

As Pinkie looked over the flying pegasus, some gears started turning in her head. She’d seen her somewhere before. Rather than keep this fact for later, she allowed it to come to the forefront. “Say, RD, you look kinda familiar... did we share a kindergarten classroom?” Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow, her smirk melting off her face. “Um, not unless you’re hiding some wings under that coat of yours. I’m a Cloudsdale local, born and raised, and in the clouds was where I spent most of my days.”

Just as Pinkie was about to inject another idea as to where she might have seen Rainbow Dash before, a message came over the intercom system, interrupting her. “To all paramedics and orthopaedic crew, the Fillydelphian drop-ins arrive in two.” Rainbow perked up at this revelation. “That’s my cue. Sorry girls, I gotta dash!” and without so much as a goodbye, she was out the door.

“I apologize for our... colourful crew. Good help is difficult to find these days.”

“Oh, that’s ok, Mayor. I like colourful ponies! I hope you got lots more fun ponies to be friends with!”

“Unfortunately, yes, I do.”

The halls of the hospital were easy to get lost in, mostly featureless save for the doors, all the same off beige to help them stand out slightly from the white walls. But the door the Mayor led Pinkie too was different. It was an oaken door with the name ‘Dr. Twilight Sparkle’ carved into it. The most bizarre part was what appeared to be a burn mark in the centre of the door.

The Mayor raised her hoof and knocked on the door. “Dr. Sparkle, are you in?” They waited a moment. They heard shuffling behind the door along with what sounded like grunting, but the door didn’t open. A second knock yielded pretty much the same result. A third and final knock finally got a response.

“Hold your horses. I’m trying to move the ladder.”

The voice sounded like a young male. Pinkie found it hard to believe that someone that young sounding could be a doctor. As if to answer her confusion, the shuffling stopped, and the door swung open.

Standing in the doorway was a small step ladder, and standing on this step ladder was a small purple dragon wearing hospital scrubs. Behind him was a rather extravagant office, with an oaken desk, a couch, and a coffee table, on which a medical file was spread open. The walls were lined with medical files and textbooks, broken up only by another oaken door in the left wall.

“Hello, Spike. Is Dr. Sparkle in?” the Mayor inquired. The dragon shot back a look that was a combination of pity and annoyance.

“No, Mayor. I thought I told you, I can’t keep her in this office for anything other than sleep and patients. She already slept, and her next appointment isn’t for an hour, so where do you think she is?”

The Mayor looked up reflectively for a moment. “Ah, yes. My apologies, Spike. Please, return to whatever it was you were doing.”

The dragon nodded, a sarcastic look plastering his face, and remarked, “Thanks,” before slamming the door in the two ponies’ faces.

The Mayor turned and started heading down yet another hallway, and Pinkie hopped along behind. “So, who is this Dr. Twilight Sparkle anyway? Why does she get such a fancy-shmancy office? Even your office wasn’t that hoity-toity.”

“That is none of your concern, Miss Pie. Just know that, even though Dr. Sparkle is the newest member of our crew next to you, she is to be treated with respect. She has quite the resume.”

“Ooh, ooh, ooh! Can you tell me? Huh-huh-huh?”

As the two spoke, they arrived at a set of stairs going down, which the Mayor promptly descended. “Well, Miss Pie, Dr. Sparkle was actually a member of the Equestrian Centre for Disease Research and Control’s Canterlot Division before she came to be our Chief Diagnostician.”

As Pinkie followed, she thought for a moment. “I’ve heard of those guys. The ECDRC are, like, super important in the medical world, right? They’re not run by the government, so they are able to do all kinds of things to learn more about fighting diseases, right? My Granny got the offer to join them, but she refused. Said she didn’t like the idea of being away from the ponies. But still, they sound awesome! Why would someone want to leave a job like that?”

The Mayor shrugged. “That I do not know.” As they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, they stood before a door labelled ‘Hospital Library’. The Mayor pushed the doors open to reveal a world class medical library. They stood on the second floor of a massive medical library. The floor was red carpet, and the shelves were all polished wood. It was at least half-a-kilometre square, and the upper floor circled around so that you could see down the reading tables in the centre. “Every book you could ever want about medicine is in this library. Sometimes twice.”

Pinkie gazed around in amazement as the Mayor looked over the edge into the middle. “Ah, there we are. Follow me, please, Miss Pie.” Leading her down another flight of stairs, the two ponies made their way to the centre. There at one of the reading tables sat a purple unicorn, mane done up neatly out of her eyes, sitting at a table completely riddled with books. There was a neat stack of books to one side, and a messy pile to the other. A book hovered in front of the unicorns face, awash in a purple magical glow. As the final page flipped, the unicorn’s magic slammed the book shut and threw it onto the messy pile. Her magic than enveloped the book on top of the neat pile, which gently floated down and opened itself in front of her.

The Mayor approached and cleared her throat. “Dr. Sparkle, I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

The unicorn looked up from her book. Seeing the new blood, she put on a small smile, and the book neatly placed itself in the center of the table. She stood up and walked over to Pinkie, extending a hoof. “Welcome to Granifred Pie Memorial Hospital. Dr. Twilight Sparkle, diagnostics, and your name is?”

Pinkie took the hoof and shook it vigorously, glancing around the room in continued amazement. “Hey, Dr. Twilight! I’m Pinkie! I’m the new surgical resident!”

Twilight giggled. “Well, you certainly seem to be enthusiastic. Don’t lose that.”

Pinkie smiled. “The Mayor says you used to work for the Equestrian Center for Disease Research and Control! That must of been awesome! But why’d you come from somewhere like that to work in a hospital?” Pinkie inquired, tilting her head to the side as she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Twilight looked back at her with a look somewhere between surprise and contempt. She cleared her throat and spoke. “Pardon me, Miss Pinkie, but I don’t believe that’s any of your business.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I won’t ask any more questions,” Pinkie said, miming zipping her mouth shut. This seemed to do the trick, as Dr. Twilight giggled slightly, and returned to a more relaxed demeanour... or at least as relaxed as she ever seemed to be. Even smiling, she looked incredibly professional and bookish.

“ Now, I’d love to chat some more, but I have an appointment in an hour, so I must get as much research done before that point, so if you’ll excuse me...” With nary another word, Dr. Sparkle sat back down, and returned to her book.

“Alright, one last stop for the day, and that’s the mane surgical room,” said the Mayor, leading Pinkie onwards.

“Oh boy!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “Finally, the place where I’ll get to do my epic battles with all manners of diseases!” Pinkie started jumping around, yelling ‘hi-ya’ and ‘take that’ over and over. The Mayor let out a resigned sigh. If she was truly the wonder child the schools said she was, than it was getting harder and harder to find that believable.

As they headed down yet another hallway towards the surgical room, the door itself suddenly swung open, revealing a white unicorn with a purple mane emerging. “Well, Fluttershy, it was nice talking again,” she said, “I’ll call you if I require anything. We’re still on for the spa this Sunday, correct? I’ll see you there.” With that, she closed the door behind her and started walking in Pinkie’s direction.

This time it was Pinkie who initiated the conversation, sticking out a hoof at the unicorn as it walked towards her. “Hey there, Missy! I’m Pinkie Pie! I’m new here!”

The unicorn stopped for a second, looked down at Pinkies hoof, then back up to Pinkie’s beaming smile. Cautiously, she reached out and took Pinkie’s hoof. “Uh, Rarity Demond, MD. Charmed, I’m sure.”

“Ooh, you’re a doctor too? What’s your job around here? Huh-huh-huh?” Pinkie asked enthusiastically, only for the Mayor to step in.

“I apologize, Miss Demond. She’s our new surgical resident, and she’s a bit... overtly excited.”

Rarity nodded. “I don’t mean to rain on your parade, Miss Pie, but I do not work here.

Pinkie’s enthusiastic grin died down somewhat at this revelation. “Oh, I’m sorry. You were just coming out the surgery room, so I thought maybe you were a surgeon or something.”

Rarity shook her head. “Nothing like that at all, deary. I’m Ponyville’s mortician. I run the Carousel Funeral Parlour. I’m simply here asking a hoof of my dear friend, Dr. Kindred. She and I go way back. We shared a few classes in Canterlot U while we were getting our degrees.”

“Oooh, sounds cool. What did you need a hoof for?” Pinkie inquired, eyes wide open, shining with curiosity.

Rarity stifled a giggle at the almost pleading gaze, and relented. She produced a photograph of a white earth pony lying down at the beach. “I’m investigating a possible murder. Sometimes Ponyville PD requests my assistance on matters. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about the stallion in this picture, would you?”

Pinkie shook her head.

“Ah, very well. If you’re really that curious, I was simply asking Dr. Kindred if she knew how much force you would need to apply to back of the skull in order to leave a compound fracture. She wasn’t very comfortable with the question, to tell the truth,” Rarity mentioned, giggling softly to herself.

At this moment, a soft ringing came from Rarity. She pulled out a small cell phone and looked at the caller ID. Her eyes lit up. “Ah, this is an important one. I must ask my leave, I’ve been waiting for this call for awhile. Perhaps we shall meet again, Miss Pie. Until then.” Rarity made a little mock-bow, which Pinkie returned. Rarity than levitated the phone up to her head. “Ah, Fancy Pants. It’s been entirely too long since we last spoke. Do you have the test results yet?” Rarity spoke as she trotted off.

The Mayor had been standing to the side while Pinkie and Rarity spoke. “Excuse me, Miss Pie, but if you’re finished talking to random strangers, we have a tour to finish.”

Pinkie looked over at the Mayor and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry...”

The Mayor stepped forward and headed into the surgery room. Pinkie followed, and emerged into a large room, cut in half with plastic sheets. On the side she was on, there was a small counter, a sink, a few chairs, an x-ray reader and a white board. Past the clear plastic sheet, she saw the familiar lights of an operating room, and a large operating table. Standing at the white board, scribbling down notes in a neat and fancy hoof was a yellow pegasus in a white doctor’s coat.

The pegasus did not seem to notice the two’s entrance, and was still writing on the white board. Pinkie Pie decided the best way get attention was to shout, “Hey there! Whatcha doing?”

In reaction to this, the yellow pegasus jumped, drawing a mark over a good portion of the notes while a soft squeak escaped her throat. She turned around, breathing heavily. Pinkie’s smile fell right off her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Did I startle you?”

The yellow pegasus breathed heavily for a moment eventually calming down. “P... Please don’t sneak up on me like that,” she half-heartedly mumbled to nopony but herself.

Pinkie leaned in closer. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

The Mayor interrupted, stepping towards the pegasus first. “I apologize, Dr. Kindred. She’s the new surgical resident, and I forgot to mention your nerves when we were coming here.”

The pegasus straightened up. “Oh, it’s alright. I’m fine... though I will have to rewrite all the notes for the surgery this afternoon.” The doctor gave a resigned sigh, before turning to Pinkie.

The Mayor spoke for her. “This is Dr. Fluttershy Kindred. She’s our senior staff member, and a master with the endoscope.” The compliment caused Dr. Fluttershy’s become a deep red.

Pinkie gave a little wave. “Hi, Dr. Fluttershy! I’m Pinkie Pie. I really like the hospital you guys have here!”

“Oh, yes, isn’t it wonderful? It’s so great that we have all this equipment to help with the healing process. It makes things so much nicer for the patients. I have to ask, though... Miss Pie, are by chance related to the great surgeon, Granifred Pie?”

Pinkie beamed once more. “Abso-total-lutely! She was my Granny! When I was growing up, she always told me stories, like when he had to surgically remove a tumour from the chief of the Equestrian Bureau of Intelligence’s liver, or when a bank robber who’d been shot by the police wandered into the hospital, and she refused to let the cops take him away until he finished recuperating! She was so great; I wanted to be just like her when I grew up, and since I’ve already done the growing up part, that’s why I’m here!”

Fluttershy smiled. “What a lovely story. I’m glad you found your own reason to become a doctor. I too was brought in by the kindness of doctors. I was very sick as a child, so the hospital was my second home. They were all so kind to me, so I wanted to do what they did,“ Fluttershy announced, “and now I am. Yay.”

“Dr. Fluttershy, don’t you have notes to write up for the surgery?” the Mayor injected.

Suddenly snapping back, Dr. Fluttershy picked back up the marker. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mayor. I’ll get that done right away,” she promised as she began to hurriedly rewrite everything down.

The Mayor turned to Pinkie Pie. “Well, I do believe you’ve seen all there is to see in Granifred Pie Memorial. I was you here bright and early tomorrow so that we can-“

“Mayor! We have a small problem!”

Pinkie turned around just in time to see the wall-eyed pegasus from before fly into the room. “What’s the problem, Nurse Derpy?”

“Well, Mayor, we just got a call from Caramel. He’s dreadfully ill and won’t be able to make the surgery today.”

The Mayor smacked herself on the forehead with her hoof. “That’s... unacceptable! That’s the 3rd time. Call him back and tell him he’s fired!” Derpy nodded, and flew out the door.

The Mayor tapped her chin. “This is bad. It’s just a routine surgery, but it’s in 20 minutes. I don’t have time to call in another surgeon.”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, ooh, ooh, what kinda surgery is it?”

“Well, it’s just a typically removal of some dormant tumours from the lower intesti... Wait. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not going to happen! You’ve just arrived, and I am not entrusting you with the reigns just yet. The insurance companies would have my head on a platter if you pulled something like that.”

“Um, Mayor, could I please say something?” came the timid little voice of Dr. Fluttershy.

The Mayor turned and sighed. “What is it, Dr. Kindred?”

Fluttershy stepped over to Pinkie Pie. “Well, Miss Pie does need some hooves-on experience in the surgical room. I don’t have any more patients today, so I can assist her in the operating room. It’s very simple, so I’m sure she’ll be fine.” She capped off her plea with a cute little smile, which Pinkie Pie gave as well.

“... Ugh. Fine. But if something goes wrong, I’m firing both of you,” the Mayor said, leaving the room.

Pinkie turned to Fluttershy. “Thanks, Dr. Fluttershy. I’m really glad you’ll be helping me out with my first big surgery.”

Fluttershy responded, “Oh, it’s no problem at all, Miss Pie.”

“Please, call me Pinkie,” Pinkie replied, grinning ear to ear.

“Oh, ok. Well, Miss Pinkie, we should probably go over the procedure now while we have the time. The patient should be here shortly.”

Pinkie nodded. “Teach away, Dr. Fluttershy!”

As Pinkie washed her hooves in preparation, Dr. Fluttershy poked her head in through the plastic curtains. “The patient is sedated, Miss Pinkie. We’re ready when you are.”

Pinkie nodded. “I’ll be out in an itsy-bitsy minute. Just let me get my tools.” Fluttershy nodded, and ducked back through the curtain, returning to the unconscious pony on the table.

Pinkie walked to the counter. Sitting on the counter was a selection of medical tools. A syringe, a pair of tweezers, a small jar of antibiotic gel, and... the scalpel.

The scalpel. She never liked knives. Not since... the incident.

You know, Pinkie, she thought, you could just leave. Why keep this charade up? Do you really deserve to save lives after what you’ve done?

Pinkie reached out a hoof towards the scalpel, but hesitated. Remember the screams, Pinkie. Remember the noise. Remember the blood. Do you really think you can make up for that?

Clenching her eyes closed, she forced herself to grab the scalpel.

And then... silence.

Fluttershy poked her head back in. “Um, Miss Pinkie, we’re waiting on you, so could you please come in? I mean, if it’s not too much trouble.”

Pinkie’s eyes opened. No longer were they full of giddy joy. Rather, they rang hollow and cold. “I’m coming in now, Dr. Kindred.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Ok, that’s good,” and popped back into the surgical chamber.

She glanced at the scalpel once more, and picked up the rest of her tools.

“Alright, Pinkamena. Time to do what we do best.”

Twilight Sparkle Part 1: Fallen Athena

“Alright, do you have the file?”

The purple dragon threw the file down on the library table. “Don’t I always?”

The book flying in front of the purple unicorns face flew over to the messy pile of books to her right and stopped glowing. The glow then came to the file, which rose up and floated in front of her face. She read it aloud as she started walking towards the library exit. “Berry Puncina. Is she in yet, Spike?”

As she walked, Spike always stayed a foot ahead, opening each door in her path. “She’s waiting in examination room as we speak, Dr. Twilight,” he announced, waving other ponies out of Dr. Sparkle’s path as she walked on, face engrossed in the file.

“Excellent. My second official diagnosis. This shouldn’t take long. I can be back in the library in no time at all,” Twilight remarked, narrowly missing running into her own office door before Spike gently nudged her in the direction of the door next to it.

“Dr. Twilight...”

“Be quiet, Spike, I’m trying to get all the information down before I get to the examination room.”

“But Doctor... you’re in the examination room right now.”

Dr. Twilight raised her head from her file to find herself right where she had been told; standing in the middle of her examination room. The room itself had a desk; a small examination bench; a small counter with some basic medical tools including syringes, bandages, and a stethoscope, along with a few larger machines; and a couple of small, relatively comfy chairs.

Sitting in one of these comfy chairs was a purple pony, a red flush in her cheeks as she leaned back. She looked at Twilight. “You the doc?” she half-mumbled.

Twilight blinked a few times before nodding an affirmation and taking a seat in the other chair. “That is correct. My name is Dr. Twilight Sparkle.”

The purple dragon stepped up, pointing to himself. “I’m Spike."

The purple pony suddenly shocked forward, looking intently at Spike. Spike stared back with a nervous look in his eyes before the pony sat back up in her chair. “Uh... am I the only one seeing this... purple... lizard thing over here?”

Dr. Twilight chuckled. “No, Spike’s quite real. He is my assistant and will be helping me in your diagnosis.”

The purple pony sighed in relief, hiccupping in the process. “That’s good. I was afraid somepony had slipped me something. Never know what’ll get into your drinks at the pub.”

She suddenly clapped her hooves together. “Alright, doc, let’s get this done with. I got pain I want gotten rid of so I can get back to the bar before Happy Hour is over.”

Laying the file down on the desk, Dr. Twlight turned towards the pony. “Alright, Ms. Puncina. We’ll figure out what’s bothering you. Ready, Spike?”

Spike reached behind his back and pulled out a clipboard and a quill. “Ready, Dr. Twilight.”

“Very well. Starting diagnosis.”

Using her magic, Twilight opened a drawer in her desk, pulling out a pair of red reading glasses. “Alright, Ms. Puncina. How about you start by telling me what brought you here today?”

Berry sat back in her chair again, thinking. “Well, I’ve been having a couple problems off and on for awhile. They weren’t really bothering me until recently, though. I kept getting this pain in my lower back and my abdomen, but over the last couple days it’s gotten really bad. Oh, and I’ve been losing weight constantly. Normally I’d be thrilled, but there comes a point when skinny stops being attractive, no matter how drunk you are.”

Twilight nodded, before glancing over at Spike. “Spike, did you get those?”

“Way ahead of you, Doc. Abdominal pain, back pain, and weight loss. Check.”

Twilight turned back. “Those are good reasons to bring yourself in for a check-up, but I’m going to need more if I’ll be making a accurate diagnosis. Anything else?”

Berry rubbed her chin. “Well, I’ve been feeling nauseous lately.”

Spike chimed in. “You sure that’s not the drinking?”

Twilight shot him a glare before Berry responded. “Hey there, pip-squeak, I know how to handle my alcohol. I ain’t ever lost my lunch from a couple of drinks.”

Dr. Twilight chimed in. “What exactly constitutes a couple of drinks?”

“Oh, you know, 2 or 3.”

“Glasses?”

“Liquor bottles.”

Dr. Twilight stopped for a moment, taken aback at the comment. “Um... ok then. Spike, make a note of it anyways.”

Spike sighed. “Alright, alright. Nausea. Check.”

Berry sat up. “Anyways, that’s all I can think of off the top of my head. So, what do I got?”

Twilight stood up and walked over to Berry and began to look her over. “I’m afraid I don’t have enough information at the moment. I’m going to collect further data, and then I’ll be able to give you my diagnosis.”

Twilight looked over at a counter. Concentrating on the stethoscope, Twilight magically brought it over, placing it into her ears. “Now, Miss Punchina, I’m going to take a listen to your organs to see if I can find the problem. Hold still, please.”

As Twilight pressed the end of the stethoscope to Berry’s chest, she suddenly jerked away. “Ack! That thing is c-cold! You mind warming it up first, Doc?”

The doctor pulled back the stethoscope. “Oh. I’m sorry. Um... Oh, I know! Spike?”

Spike looked up from his clipboard. “Yes, Dr. Twilight?”

The stethoscope floated over to him as Twilight spoke. “Would you mind warming this up for Ms. Punchina?”

Spike shot back a glance of concern. “Doctor, don’t you think that’s a bit mu-“

“Spike. Hurry up. We have a job to do.”

“Alright, but I still say this isn’t a good ide-“

“Spike!”

“Fine!” came Spike’s final reply. He took a deep breath and exhaled, green flames encompassing the stethoscope.

“Good. Now let us...” Twilight began to speak. Her words cut short when she noticed that the end of the stethoscope had fallen off, the fire having melted the rubber holding it in place.

“I told you, Dr. Twilight.”

Twilight grinned nervously as she magically opened one of the counter drawers and pulled out a spare stethoscope, rubbing the end of it with her hoof to warm it up. “Ok, with that out of the way, please hold still, Ms. Punchina.”

“Hmm... Heart sounds good... breathing is normal... Ah. I think we have something. The bowl sounds are quieter than normal. Spike, record subdued bowel sounds.”

“Subdued bowel sounds. Check.”

A magic aura enveloped a small collection needle and a small container of antibiotic gel. “Now, we’ll need to run a diagnostic, so I’ll need to collect a little blood. Hold still, please,” she mentioned, dipping her hoof in the anti-biotic gel before bringing it up to Berry’s flank, an action that resulted in Berry jerking away.

“Whoa, Doc! Watch those hooves!”

Twilight stopped for a moment before responding. “Oh, are you sensitive there, as well? Spike, are you getting this?”

Spike blinked for a moment. “Um, Dr. Twilight, I don’t think that’s what she means...”

“I’ve seen enough late night television to know where this is going! I may be inheb... inebre... drunk, but I’m not that drunk.” responded Berry in an agitated tone.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t quite get what either of you mean,” came Dr. Twilight’s rebuttal.

“Oh, the doctor seems nice. She’s speaks sweet, she says she wants to help you, she gives you candy, then the next thing you know, she’s greasing up her hooves for some-”

Spike suddenly jumped in. “What she’s trying to say, Dr. Twilight, is that it’d probably be better to get the blood from... somewhere else. Like the shoulder, perhaps.”

Twilight looked puzzled. “But the flank is the location of the largest muscle in the equine body. It’s got heavy blood flow and is easy to acquire blood from. I don’t see why...”

“Dr. Twilight, come here for a moment,” responded a somewhat-aggravated looking Spike. She approached him, at which point Spike whispered something into her ear. A deep flush came to her cheeks.

“... Oh.”

“Yeah. Might want to work on your bedside manner. These are patients, Doc, not the lab rats you’re used to.”

Twilight cleared her throat. “Uh, yes. Sorry. Anyways, blood.” She quietly took the gel and needle and collected her needed blood from Berry’s shoulder.

Plugging it into one of the machines on the counter, she magically flicked a switch. “Now, we give that machines a few minutes and we’ll have the necessary tests done.”

Berry looked a tad confused. “Admittedly, I’m less than alright at the moment, and I never went to any fancy medical school, but aren’t there, like, dozens of tests to do?”

A wide smile came across Dr. Twilight’s face. “You are correct, Ms. Punchina. There are dozens of tests needed to be done and, thanks to this little machine, the latest in cutting edge medical technology developed in the labs of the Equestria Centre for Disease Research and Control, all of those tests can be finished up in mere minutes, saving valuable time in the diagnosing process. Valuable time you can use to get better.”

Twilight stood, a beaming smile on her face, before Berry responded, cocking an eyebrow. “Well, Doc, that’s great and all, but I don’t think I’ll be buying one for my house, so you can cut the pitch.”

Twilight’s smile quickly left her face, and she blushed once again. “Oh, my apologies. I just...”

Twilight stopped. The cocked eyebrow had opened one of Berry’s eyes further, and Twilight didn’t like what she saw. “Spike, I have another symptom to report.”

Spike tilted his head to the side. “What is it?”

“Jaundice in the whites of her eyes. I must have missed it earlier.”

Spike nodded. “Alrighty. Jaundice. Check.”

Twilight’s attention was torn away by a prominent ‘boink’ emanating from the machine.

“Wait a minute. Did that thing just ‘boink’?” Berry inquired.

Twilight approached the machine, which had begun printing out a piece of paper. “Yes. It’s designed to get the doctors attention when the tests are finished so they can retrieve the print-out.”

“Huh. So cutting edge medical technology goes ‘boink’.”

Twilight couldn’t stop herself from giving Berry a dirty look, but quickly returned her attention to the paper. “Spike, you ready to take this down?”

“Ready, willing, able.”

“Alright. The tests show that the blood serum shows high levels of amylase and lipase, we have an elevated elastase level, and the total bilirubin is up, which explains the jaundice.”

“High Serum Amaylase and Lipase, High Elastase, and High Total Bilirubin. Check.”

Berry raised a hoof. “Hey, Doc, that sounds thrilling and all, but I don’t know what emil-lace or Billy’s rubix is, so can you give me the short version?”

Adjusting her glasses, Twilight turned to Spike. “Spike, head down to the X-Ray and CT rooms. Tell them I want scans done on abdomen, sector 3.”

Giving a salute, Spike quickly headed out the door.

Turning her attention back to Berry, Twilight began to elaborate. “Amylase and Lipase are digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas. Elastase is an enzyme that’s commonly found when connective tissue starts breaking down. Bilirubin is a cellular antioxidant which, in excess, causes a yellow discolouration of the eyes and, in extreme cases, the skin. Judging by all that, I believe it’s safe to say that there is something wrong with your pancreas, Ms. Punchina. We’ve ordered the necessary tests, an X-Ray, where you are bombarded with radio waves, allowing us a better look at your bones and organs, and a Computed Tomography scan, where you are bombarded by radio waves from all sides for more information. Does that make it clear?”

Berry blinked a few times, a confused look plastered on her face. “Doc, I asked for the short version.”

Twilight blinked as well, the confused look on her face neatly mirroring Berry’s. “I thought that was the short version.”

“Dr. Twilight! I’ve got the images from the CT Scan and X-Ray of Berry Punchina.”

“Excellent work, Spike. Now let’s take a look...”

Spike held up a pair of manila envelopes, which Twilight took one of and opened, placing the image onto a viewing box. She flicked the switch and the box lit up.

“This is the CT scan, correct?”

“Yep. That’s the one.”

Twilight examined the picture while taping her chin. “Well, this one is clear.” Looking over, she magically picked up a tongue depressor and brought it up to the image, indicating a large blob in the middle. “The pancreas is roughly 30% larger than normal. We have pancreatic swelling.”

“Swollen Pancreas, check.”

Twilight quickly pulled the image down, grabbing the second envelope and placing it’s contents on the viewing box. “Let’s see... here,” she mentioned, circling the tongue depressor around a shaded area. “Calcification in the pancreas. This could be serious.”

“Calcifi-wuh?”

“Calcification. It’s when calcium builds up in the soft tissues, hardening it. Typically caused an excessively high calcium/vitamin D ratio.”

“... I’m going to pretend I understand that and write it down. Calcification in the Pancreas. Check.”

Twilight smiled as she brought the image down and flicked off the viewing box. “Well, Spike, I think I have enough to make a diagnosis. Back to the office.”

“Right behind you, Dr. Twilight.”

“Alright, I have a good idea what we’re looking at. Spike, retrieve me the file with the pancreatic diseases, A-D.”

“I’m on it!” Spike replied, a smile on his face. He quickly went to grab his step ladder as Twilight took a seat behind her desk. It took him a bit, but Spike eventually had the ladder in place and retrieved the file and placed it on the desk. Twilight once again readjusted her reading glasses before removing them completely.

“Um, Dr. Twilight, I keep meaning to ask; why do you wear those glasses anyways? You never use them when you’re reading in the library.”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s for appearances. Studies show that a patient is 23% more likely to trust a doctor if the doctor looks smart, so I brought these from Canterlot when I got this job. Now, onto the file.”

The file magically opened and began flipping pages. “Let’s see... Acute pancreatitis... close... Annular pancreas... no... Benign neoplasms... I doubt it... Ah-ha! Here we are. Spike?”

“Yes, Dr. Twilight?”

“I’m going to start reading off this entry. Please check-off any symptoms that match up, alright?”

Spike pulled out his checkboard and pen. “Sounds like a plan.”

Twilight cleared her throat and began. “Patient will complain about pain in the abdominal region and lower back.”

“Check and check.”

“Weight loss may be noticeable, and in certain cases where the liver is also affected, jaundice will be noticed in the eyes.”

“Double check.”

“Auscultation will turn up subdued bowel sounds caused by reflexive bowel paralysis. This may also lead to nausea as digestion ceases and food builds up in the stomach.”

“Second verse, same as the first.”

“Blood tests will show an elevated amylase and lipase levels in blood serum, as well as high elastase and, if the liver is affected, high total bilirubin.”

“Super check.”

“An X-ray will show calcification in the pancreas, and a CT Scan will reveal a swelling of the pancreas.”

“That’s two more checks. That’s all the symptoms.”

Twilight smiled. “Wait, I have one more.”

Spike gave her a confused look. “One more?” A nod was his answer. “What is it?”

Twilight held aloft the file, clearing her throat before continuing. “Most commonly associated with alcoholism.”

Spike blinked a few times, before responding. “I’ll add that as a check.”

Twilight grinned enthusiastically. “Great! We have our culprit.”

Spike flipped the page on his clipboard. “What should I book her for?”

“Patient: Berry Punchina. Diagnosis: Chronic Pancreatitis.”

“So that’s it, Ms. Punchina. Chronic pancreatitis. The nausea is caused by your digestive system shutting down, and the pain is due to the enzymes activating at the wrong time, thereby dissolving your pancreas, intestines, and liver. We believe it was brought on by your excessive drinking habits.”

Berry rubbed her chin. “Well... that sucks. So what now, Doc? Am I gonna live to see my next happy hour?”

Twilight’s smile beamed once again. “I do have some good news on that front. Last year, the Equestrian Center for Disease Research and Control made a major breakthrough in the suppressing of digestive enzymes. The medication can be applied through a simple endoscopic procedure, and the damage that is done should be repairable as long as it hasn’t progressed farther than we suspect it has. With any luck, we can have you in surgery within a few hours. For now, I’d like to check you in to keep an eye on you.”

“Well, I suppose I don’t have much of a choice, do I? Alrighty. Sign me up.”

Twilight nodded in approval. “Very good. Spike? Go tell Nurse Hooves to get a bed ready for Ms. Punchina.”

“On my way,” Spike said, saluting before heading out the door.

“Well, Ms. Punchina, I’m glad we have that all sorted out. Just wait here till the nurse comes to show you to your room.”

“Alrighty. Thanks a bunch, Doc. We should go out for a drink some time.”

“I thank you for the offer, but I don’t drink.”

Twilight sat in her office, writing up the forms necessary to take Berry into surgery. She hummed a little to herself when a knock came from the door. Magically, she turned the handle and Spike entered the room. “Dr. Twilight. I’m pleased to report that Ms. Punchina has been officially checked in.”

“That’s great news, Spike. Now I just have to focus on finishing these forms and we can be well on our way to helping Ms. Punchina recover.”

Spike smiled. Walking over to the couch, he hopped up. Pulling out a small device from his pocket, he flipped a few nobs until a quiet white noise began emanating from it.

“Spike, how many times have I told you not to bring your pocket radio on the job?”

“Come on, Dr. Twilight. It’s just a little distraction. Besides, it’s not like I have much to do. I’ve already organized the office... twice... this afternoon...”

Twilight chuckled. “Oh, alright. But remember, you always have to ready to spring into action.”

Spike nodded and returned to fiddling with the dial.

At first, there was only static, but soon, a voice came on. “-Listening to 97.3, Scalez Radio, all dragon metal, all the time. And now, for the 2 o’clock news.”

“Aw man... I hate it when the interrupt the music for this stuff...”

The voice on the radio changed from a scratchy voiced DJ to a much more sophisticated female tone.

“Hello, I’m Hedrina L. Newsworth, and this is Ponyville Daily News. A recent accident at the Flim Flam Brothers Amusement Park in neighboring Fillydelphia left several ponies in serious condition. Due to the sheer number of those injured, Fillydelphian General had become overstocked and many of the injured were rushed to our own Granifred Pie Memorial Hospital. Sources state that all the patients arrived safely and are now in stable condition.”

Spike chuckled. “Guess Rainbow Crash is finally starting to pull her weight.”

“In other news, Ponyville PD has an APB out on a currently unnamed gryphon, wanted for questioning in a suspicious death that occurred during the accident in Fillydelphia. Police are not giving a name or reasoning, but state that the gryphon is a 4’5 foot tall female with short head feathers and a nasty disposition.”

Spike looked up. “Hmm... Nope. Can’t say I’ve seen anygriffon matching that description.”

“Now, for National news. It was a happy day at the Equestrian Center for Disease Research and Control as they swore in their new Head of Research. Dr. Trixie Lulamoon, a researcher of 4 years, has become the second youngest pony in the history of Equestria to receive this honour, a record only broken by her pred...”

“Spike. Turn it off.”

Spike looked at the radio for a second, then looked back at Twilight. “But Dr. Twili...”

“Spike. I said turn it off.”

Spike sighed, turning the switch and deactivating the radio. Twilight sighed, standing up from her desk. “The paperwork is done. I’m going to go find Dr. Kindred and see if she’ll be available for this procedure.”

“Right, you do that...” Spike said, his voice trailing off. Twilight walked towards the door, only for Spike to speak up.

“Twilight?”

“Yes, Spike?”

“You know it wasn’t your fault. You can’t stay mad forever.”

“I’m not mad, Spike,” Twilight’s response came as she opened the door, closing it behind her.

“I just don’t like being reminded.”

Fluttershy Part 1: Enter the Matron

Wait-wait-wait-wait; you want to do… what to me?”

Twilight cleared her throat. “As I said, in order to get direct access to the damaged portions of the small intestine and the pancreas, we will be performing an endoscopic procedure to deliver the neutralization agent and the repair agents directly.”

Berry cocked her head, a somewhat disturbed look in her eyes. “And remind me; this endoscopy is… what exactly?”

“Simple. Endoscopy is where we use an endoscope, which is a camera with a series of tools attached to a length of cable, which we hoof feed into the…”

A very quiet knock came from the door, interrupting Twilight’s train of thought. “Ah, that must be her now.” She turned her head to the door. “It’s open, Dr. Kindred. Come in.”

The door creaked open slightly, when a pink mane’d head popped in. “Oh, I’m sorry. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Twilight smiled, waving her in. “Not at all, Dr. Kindred. I was just in the middle of explaining the planned procedure to the patient. Ms. Punchina, this Dr. Fluttershy Kindred. She is the hospital’s senior surgeon, and a veritable master of the endoscope.” Fluttershy couldn’t help but blush, a little smile creeping onto her lips as she looked down at the ground. “Dr. Kindred, this is Berry Punchina. She’s the one with chronic pancreatitis.”

Fluttershy looked over at Berry, whose face was a clear indicator that she had not liked what she had been hearing. “Um… A-are you alright, Ms. Punchina?”

“… Alright? Alright!” she shouted. “Of course I’m not alright! I’m sitting here dying, and now you docs are planning to stick a camera up my…”

“Ms. Punchina! I`ll thank you to keep from raising your voice in my office. Especially to the hospital’s senior surgeon.”

Fluttershy turned to Twilight. “Oh, it’s ok, Dr. Sparkle. Let me try talking to her.” She turned back to Berry, smiling brightly. “It’s alright, Ms. Punchina. I understand that you’re nervous. Everypony is.”

Berry shot back a confused look back, but visibly began to loosen up. “Can you blame me, doc?”

“Not at all, Ms. Punchina. But please trust me, it’s the best thing for your condition.” She tilted her head to the side, her pink mane flopping over. “You want to be able to go out with your friends again, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah. No fun in drinking alone.”

“Then please, for your sake, let us do this procedure. I promise, you’ll be sedated, and I’ll be very careful when I’m healing you. You’ll be perfectly safe in my hooves.”

“But don’t surgeries typically involve knives and such?”

A quiet cough came from behind the purple pony behind the doctor’s desk. “I can answer that. We’re unaware as to the extent of the damage sustained due to the digestive enzymes activation. A traditional surgery may result in more damage than we would like. The endoscope is a preferred alternative, requiring a less invasive procedure and, subsequently, a much higher success rate, and is viable due to most of the damage taking place from the inside of the organ.”

Berry blinked a few times before looking at Dr. Fluttershy. “Can I get that in English, please?”

“Of course. What Dr. Sparkle is trying to say is that it’s much too risky to go cutting in because of your condition. This way, we can make sure we don’t hurt you any further.”

“That’s what I said.”

A sigh emanated from Berry’s mouth. “Alright, fine. You win, doc. Let’s just get this over.”

A small smile blossomed on Fluttershy’s face. “I promise, Ms. Punchina, I will do all in my power to make you better.”

Twilight cleared her throat once again. “Alright, Ms. Punchina. Please return to your room. A nurse will be by soon to take you to the operating room.”

Berry walked to the door, closing it behind herself. “Alright, alright... I’m going to need a lot more booze...”

Twilight stood up, walking over to Fluttershy. “I must say, Dr. Kindred, your ability to calm down patients never ceases to amaze.”

Fluttershy blushed once more. “Oh, it’s nothing. You just have to calm and kind.”

“Well, I hope you can keep that calm demeanor. We should get going. I’ll be assisting the procedure.”

“I’m glad to have you with me on this, Dr. Sparkle.”

“Just a little further and... there. We’re passed the ileocecal sphincter. We’re in the small intestine.”

A small sigh of relief came from Fluttershy as she looked at the monitor.

Twilight smiled. “We’re making good time, and from what we’ve seen on the camera, it’s looking like our worries were unfounded. No damage to the lower intestine, and the reflexive bowel paralysis has left us with next to no peristalsis to worry about.”

Fluttershy looked over to Twilight. “Um, thank you for the refresher, Dr. Sparkle, but... um... I already knew all that. I d-don’t mean to be rude, but I was here... performing the surgery.”

Twilight blinked a few times before smiling nervously. “Oh, sorry. I’m kinda used to dictating previous events to Spike to write down. Comes from my time in the lab.”

Fluttershy smiled back. "Oh, um, it's- it's all right, Dr. Sparkle. I understand. Um, do you think we could continue?"

Twilight nodded. “Yes. Let’s.”

Fluttershy turned her attention back to the monitor. Fiddling with the controls, the camera move delicately towards its destination, only for a red splat to cover the lens and for the doctor to suddenly jump back from the control and utter a quiet a yelp of surprise

“Dr. Fluttershy! Are you alright?”

It took a few deep, quiet breaths, but soon, the frazzled pegasus had calmed herself. “I’m so sorry. I was just startled.”

“Startled by blood inside of a pony body?”

“I’m sorry! It just… JUMPED out of nowhere.”

Twilight couldn’t help but give a somewhat skeptical look to Dr. Fluttershy. “O… kay. Are you alright to continue the operation?”

Fluttershy walked up to the controls and pressed a button, causing a small wiper to clear the view screen. “I’ll be perfectly fine, Dr. Sparkle. But I thank you for your concern.”

Sparkle looked over Fluttershy’s shoulder at the screen aa she gently moved the camera around. “Looks like we have a few instances of hemorrhaging of the intestinal wall. Must be from the enzymes.”

“Oh my. It must really be painful.”

Twilight nodded solemnly. “Indeed. What’s the plan?”

Fluttershy flipped a small switch. On the side of the device, a small motor started whirring. “First, we must drain the blood.” Looking at the screen, she quietly drained the blood, pouring into a small container with the engine, until it was possible to see the injuries clearly. Flipping another switch, a metal clap, glowing red-hot, popped out.

“Now, I make the bleeding stop with the haemostatic forceps.” Taking care to aim the forceps directing at the haemorrhaging, Fluttershy placed a hoof on another button. Closing and averting her eyes, she pressed the button. The forceps extended and began to seal the wound, a slight sizzling sound emanating from the monitors.

As Twilight watched, a thought occurred to her. “Why does the endoscope have a microphone on it? Seems rather pointless...”

After a second, Fluttershy let off the button and the sizzling stopped, revealing a fully cauterized wound. Turning to look at Twilight, Fluttershy opened her eyes. “Oh, I asked for that specifically to be added in. It’s so I can perform parts of procedure without looking at the monitor... The haemostatic forceps are very hot and would probably hurt, so I don’t like to look at them when they’re working. I just use my ears to determine when the healing is done.”

“Oh. You can tell when you’ve finished healing by sound? That’s quite amazing.”

Fluttershy blushed slightly. “Why thank you for the lovely compliment, Dr. Sparkle.”

After a few moments, all the haemorrhaging in this portion of the intestine had been taken care of. “Alright, we’d best move on.”

As the endoscope continued on its way, Twilight made a last minute check of the endoscope machine. She payed careful attention to a container of blue liquid attached to the side. She smiled as she looked at it, tapping the glass lightly.

“Um, Dr. Sparkle... I think I’ve found something...”

Twilight quickly looked at the monitor. Even she was taken aback at what she saw. Portions of the intestinal wall had turned black with decay, and had begun to haemorrhage severely.

“Must be due to the enzymes. Be very careful here. Even the slightest bump against that could cause massive haemorrhaging.” The yellow pegasus shuttered and squeaked at the thought. Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder. “It’ll be alright, Dr. Kindred. I’ll guide you in using the medication. Are you ready?”

Fluttershy nodded nervously. “I’m r-ready, Dr. Sparkle.”

“Alright. First, drain what blood there is so that we can get a better look.”

She nodded. Soon, the blood was drained, and the haemorrhaging black walls could be seen clearly.

“Now we can’t do anything to repair the damage as long as the enzymes are saturated into the tissue. We need to force it back out. Start by using the haemostatic forceps to stop haemorrhaging.”

Fluttershy nodded once again, flipping the switch and averting her eyes as all the haemorrhages were seal.

“Good. Now, with the haemorrhages sealed, the blood will start to build up in the tissue... Like so.”

After a moment, the blackened tissue turned a deep red.

“That’s the cue to inject the medication. Go ahead and inject it right into the dark areas.”

Another switch was flipped, and soon, the blue medicine was being injected into dark areas.

“Alright. At this point, the formulae should be binding with the enzymes, rendering them temporarily inert. The blood pressure should force it out of the tissue... There!” Twilight suddenly shouted, pointing at the screen.

Sure enough, a yellow fluid began to seep out of the dark area. “The binding is temporary. Drain it before it resettles back into the tissue.”

She didn’t have to tell her twice. Soon the yellowish fluid had been drained. Fluttershy breathed a slight sigh of relief.

“Don’t look away just yet, Dr. Kindred. The best part should just be coming up.”

Fluttershy watched the screen, a look of amazement on her face. Slowly, the decayed tissue began to reform before her very eyes. “It’s a miracle.”

“It really is something, isn’t it? Found a special reparative protein that’s actually activated by trace amounts of digestive enzymes in tissue. Combine that with binder removing the access enzymes, and you get this. I’m particularly proud of it.”

“I can see why. Many ponies owe their lives to you, Dr. Sparkle.”

Twilight blushed. “Well... yeah.” Suddenly, Twilight snapped back to reality, remembering that there was currently a surgery going on. “Oh, yes... Um, continue on to the pancreas.”

“Um... Dr. Sparkle?”

“Yes, Dr. Kindred?”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but we’ve already arrived at the pancreas.”

Twilight looked at the monitor once again. “Ah. Excellent... Why didn’t you tell me this a moment ago?”

“Well, you looked so happy thinking about the medicine you helped make that I didn’t want to bother you... I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? I-I’m sorry if I did.”

“No! No, not at all, Dr. Kindred. Perfectly alright. Now let’s get a look here...” Both Twilight and Fluttershy looked over the screen with a scrutinous eye. “Dr. Kindred? Your opinion?”

Fluttershy looked up at Twilight for a moment before returning to the monitor. “Oh... Um... Well... It’s really inflamed. The enzymes seem to still be streaming out. It’s probable that the inflammation is caused by the enzymes themselves activating.”

“That’s the most reasonable conclusion.”

“I suppose the best chance we have is to inject the medicine directly into the pancreas, then use the drain to get rid of the excess. Hopefully, it’ll bring the inflammation down and stop the enzymes from causing any more damage... Um, is that right, Dr. Sparkle?”

Twilight was taken aback somewhat. She gave a sheepish grin. “Um, well... yes, that is probably the best course of action, Dr. Kindred, but I don’t think you need my approval.” Twilight smiled. “You don’t become the senior surgeon of a famous hospital without some serious experience under your belt.”

Fluttershy gave small grin. “Why thank you, Dr. Sparkle. But please, all I really have on any of the other doctors here is a few years of experience. Many of them are just as good, if not better than me at medicine.”

“I doubt that. You’ve handled yourself amazingly well during this surgery. I don’t think I’ve seen such delicate manoeuvring.”

A red flush entered Fluttershy’s cheeks. “Why thank you again, Dr. Sparkle. But as much as I’d love to talk some more, we should really complete this surgery.”

Twilight nodded. “I agree. Inject the formulae when ready.”

Once again the switch was flipped. Both watched as the needle plunged into the pancreas and the medicine was injected.

“Alright, now we wait for... wait a minute...”

“... Oh no...”

Suddenly, the pancreas started flinching, contracting and expanding. After a second, it happened; a large squirt of enzymes, powerful enough to push the endoscope back a few inches, burst into the intestine, causing the dark decay to spread once more. Several haemorrhages appeared, spewing large quantities of blood.

“Oh my Celestia!” called Twilight Sparkle. “Oh no-no-no-no! This is bad! Abort the surgery. I should have known the enzymes would have built up in the organ and would be forced out if we pulled something like this. We need to stop this now and think up a new plan...”

“...No.”

“... Wait, what?”

Fluttershy sat at the controls, surveying the damage to the intestine. She pointed to the pancreas, still visible in the back. “The inflammation has gone down. A few more injections should get it back to normal.”

Twilight blinked at the image. “Well, yeah, I guess... but there’s no way you can get close again with all this damage. We need to pull the plug and rethink our strategy.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I can fix this.”

“What? No! No pony could fix that! There’s damage everywhere! The slightest wrong movement and Ms. Punchina’s next drink will be a Holy Water at the 5-6 Happy Hour Lounge in the sky!”

Fluttershy gripped the controls. “I won’t make a wrong movement. I’m not letting Ms. Punchina remain in pain anymore.”

Twilight watched in awe as Dr. Fluttershy worked her magic. Switches were flipped, cameras were moved, blood was drained and haemorrhages cauterized. She was like a dancer, hooves moving smoothly between all the knobs and switches. It was poetry in motion.

“I’m ready to make the second injection.”

Twilight watched for a moment. Suddenly, an idea came to her. “Dr. Fluttershy! Wait?”

The camera stopped and Fluttershy turned to look at Twilight. “Um... Yes, Dr. Sparkle? If you’re going to ask me to stop, I thank you for your concern, but I’m sorry to say that I’m not leaving until Ms. Punchina is better.” She gave a very meek look. “I-I hope that’s alright...”

“It’s perfectly fine, Dr. Kindred. I’m not asking you to stop. I am, however, asking a simple question; does your endoscope have a dye sprayer for ulcers?”

“Um... yes. The container is on the back.”

“Perfect! Give me a minute.”

Fluttershy watched as Twilight grabbed the container for the dye and proceeded to pour all the die down the drain. Taking out the container for the medicine, she poured half of it into the dye container. As she did, she looked up at the endoscopic pegasus. Their eyes met. Twilight smiled. Fluttershy smiled back. They both knew the plan now. Twilight quickly placed the two containers back.

“Alright. She’s plugged in. Dr. Kindred, she’s all yours.”

Fluttershy beamed, flipping a switch and injecting the formulae. She quickly flipped a different switch and braced herself.

At first, there was nothing much.

After a moment, however, the pancreas began twitching again.

“Ready..."

"...Now!”

As the pancreas contracted and started spraying out more enzymes, Fluttershy hit the button and began spraying the offending juice with the formulae placed in the dye sprayer. A few drops got by and few dark spots popped up, but when all was said and done, the pancreas sat, fit as a fiddle, and floating in front of it, being drained off by the endoscope, was a large collection of the yellowy fluid emulsion of the formulae and enzymes.

“Congratulations, Dr. Kindred. You did it.”

“No, Dr. Sparkle,” came Fluttershy’s reply as she quickly took care of the few remaining dark spots in the intestinal walls, “We did it.”

“We've recieved your tests results. We’ve found no further traces of the enzymes in your blood stream, and your digestive system is back on track. However, we’d like to keep you here a few more days to let you rest. Is that alright?”

Berry Punchina lay in a hospital bed. It’d been 24 hours since she got out of surgery, and she was still incredibly tired. Yet, despite that fact...

“I feel fine doc. Heck, I feel better than I’ve felt in probably 2 years. But you’re the doc, so if you think I should stick around, I’m not gonna say no to free room and board for a few days.”

Fluttershy smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Berry yawned. “Perhaps I should get some rest. Nearly dying like that really knocks the wind outta ya, you know what I mean, doc?”

“Oh yes. I have some firsthoof experience with that.”

“No kinding? Well, nice to know I got a doc that knows how it feels.”

Fluttershy stood up. “Well, Ms. Punchina. I’ll allow you to get your re..”

“Where the Tartarus is she?” came an angry voice from outside the hospital room.

Berry’s eyes opened. “Ah nah... It can’t be...”

It was a poor janitor standing out their room that pointed the cream coloured pony into the room. She had a dark blue and pink mane and a look on her face like she was about to hurl Berry’s bed out the window.

“Why didn’t you call and tell us you were in the hospital? We’ve been worried sick for two days! I only found out you were here because Pina told me you were!”

Berry sighed. “Look, Bon Bon, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and the girls where I was, but I wasn’t in much of a hurry to make you guys worry over what could of simply been a case of indigestion.”

“Um, excuse me, but Ms. Punchina was going to be getting some rest...”

The cream coloured pony walked over to Berry’s bed. “Don’t give me that! You’ve been in the hospital for two days, and you want to pass it off as indigestion?”

“Hey, I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“Um, excuse me, Miss, but Berry here was going to...”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t slap you right now!”

“Because you shouldn’t hurt the sick!”

“Oh, but hurting your friends because you’re sick is perfectly valid! What a load of bull...”

“QUIET!” came a rather loud voice. Both Berry and the cream coloured pony turned to see its source.

It’s source was a rather angry looking Fluttershy. She stepped up to the intruder and looked her dead in the eyes. “I don’t know who you think you are, barging into a hospital and acting like this to a sick friend, but you sure aren’t acting like any friend I’d want! Ms. Punchina has just gone through a very trying ordeal and a very dangerous surgery, and she needs rest! If you’re really such a good friend of hers, then GET OUT OF THE ROOM AND LET HER RECOVER!”

The cream coloured pony looked meekly at the enraged pegasus before slowly creeping out the door.

“Dude... Harsh.”

Fluttershy turned back to face Berry. Her typical cheery demeanor had returned. “Well, Ms. Punchina, I wish you a good rest and a speedy recovery. If you have any questions or if anything is bothering you, please let one of the nurses know to contact me. I’ll come down straight away.”

“Uh... yeah, I’ll get right on that, doc...”

As Dr. Fluttershy walked off, one of the nurses from the other end of the floor came over. “What was all that noise?”

The janitor was the one who spoke up. “Nothing. Just Dr. Fluttershy getting overly protective of the patients again.”

The nurse shook her head. “Poor devil. I know she means well, but one of these days, she’s going to yell at the wrong pony...”

Fluttershy didn’t hear them speak. To her, it was just another day and another precious life to save. It felt good to help ponies. Ms. Punchina would be fine. And so would Mr. Orange. And Mr. Breezy. And Ms. Junebug. As long as she kept an eye on them every step of the way, and made sure no one interfered with their recovery, they’d all be just fine...

Rainbow Dash Part 1: Times Flies When You're Having Fun

Thirty... Twenty-five... Twenty...

There were few sensations Rainbow liked more than the feeling of wind rushing through her mane. Admittedly, the nurses and orderlies she was whizzing past probably weren’t as enthusiastic, but she had a job to do, and time was closing in.

Fifteen... Ten... Five...

She could see it ahead. She had the straight away now. It was time to pile on the juice.

Three... Two... One...

With a loud crash, the Emergency Doors of the hospital flew open. As Rainbow Dash came to a hault, the first couple patients were landing as the hospital’s team of paramedics look on.

“Awesome! Right on time, as usual,” she smugly remarked.

One of the paramedics saluted. “Ms. Dashfeld! Right on time, as usual.”

Rainbow pushed the paramedic back. “Well, what else did you expect? Now step aside; I’ve got ponies to save! You go do... whatever it is you colts do!”

“Right away, Ms. Dashfeld.”

Rainbow looked over the approaching ponies. She turned to the other paramedics. “Alright, buckos, listen up! I want as many ponies as you can get doctors for inside the hospital yesterday! I don’t care if you have to clear off the tables in the cafeteria to get them into surgery, you get that done this instant!”

“Yes, Ms. Dashfeld!”

“Right away, ma’am!”

“Gotcha, boss!”

With remarkable speed, the injured ponies were taken inside, one after another.

Alright, looks like this going even quicker than expect...

“Ms. Dashfeld!”

Rainbow sighed and turned to face the paramedic calling her name. “What is it?”

“We’ve officially ran out of doctors! Many of them were busy with other surgeries! Should we take the remaining patients to the waiting rooms and administer minor treatment until something becomes available?”

His reward for this announcement was an agitated look from Rainbow. “Haul them inside for basic paramedic work? Are you crazy? That’d take way to freakin’ long!”

She reached out, grabbing his medical satchel. “Gimme that! I’ll show you how to actually use it.”

As Rainbow approached the first patient, she was already in the middle of opening up the satchel. She pulled out a small jar of gel and some cotton patches before looking over her shoulder back at the paramedic.

“Pay close attention, cause I’m only showing you this once, and it’s gonna go by real quick!” she proclaimed, before turning her attention to the patient.

Rainbow nodded, noting multiple pieces of glass stuck in the ponies abdomen. “Alright, we got broken glass. No sweat. Step 1: Extraction.”

Reaching back into the satchel, Rainbow retrieved a pair of forceps and a pan. Holding the pan in one hoof, she began quickly and smoothly pulling out all the various pieces of glass and dropping them nimbly in the pan. Once she retrieved all the pieces, she placed the pan down.

“Step 2: Disinfection,” she casually remarked, placing her cotton patches quickly across the various wounds. After placing them, she began to rub the green gel into the patches.

“Aa-augh!” came a gasp of pain from the patient. Rainbow quickly looked up.

“Calm down, sir. That’s just the disinfectant working. It’s gonna sting a bit, but it’s for your own good, alright?”

The patient nodded shakily.

“Alright. Let’s keep going them.”

After a moment, the bandages were all saturated in the gel. Pulling out a roll of surgical tape, Rainbow quickly secured the lot.

“And that’s how you deal with a patient, surprise surprise, quickly. Now get him inside.”

The paramedic nodded before wheeling the pony inside.

“Alright, how many more we got left?”

“Two, ma’am,” responded another paramedic, currently examining one of the remaining patients.

Rainbow stepped up and pushed the paramedic aside. “Make room. I’ll handle this.”

Another quick examination was made. “Burns... How’d he get burnt?”

“Ma’am, the ponies who brought him in say he managed to fall into the kettle for the kettle corn.”

“... Huh. Not a very lucky stallion, are we?”

“Ma’am, he is conscious and can hear you.”

“... Oh. Sorry, buddy. Well... You lucked out with one thing; you got me, Rainbow Dashfeld, here to treat you! Let’s get to fixing you up, shall we?”

“First, we start by disinfecting the burns,” Rainbow began as she began to spread the gel over the burns. Things were looking good until...

“G-g-g-g-gah!” grunted the pony as his body started to convulse.

“Woah! What the buck? Hey! Stop moving! You’re making it hard to work here! What’s wrong?”

“...I... Insulin...”

“Well, that’s just great...” mumbled Rainbow, lifting her head up to look to the paramedic. “Hey, buddy!”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Get down to pharmaceuticals and get me some insulin. This guy’s a diabetic and he’s going into shock, and it’s getting hard to treat his wounds.”

“Right away, ma’am!” replied the paramedic before heading off into the building.

Rainbow sat next to the patient, still convulsing, impatiently tapping her hoof. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you some insulin... eventually...” she half-mumbled, staring at the door.

After a minute, the paramedic returned with a syringe.

“Alright, time to carefully measure the...”

Rainbow grabbed the needle from the paramedic, took a look, and jabbed it into the ponies front leg.

“M-Ma’am! I didn’t have a chance to make sure it was the correct dos...”

“Don’t got time! Colt’s got burns that could get infected. Needed him to start shimmying and shaking. Besides, you can’t overdose on insulin,” came Rainbows reply as she resumed coating his burns in gel.

“A-are you sure about that, ma’am?”

“Well, kinda sure,” came another half-hearted response as Rainbow place the cotton patches across the wounds. “But what does matter is that he isn’t shaking, so we can deal with his injuries.”

“This doesn’t seem right...”

Rainbow ignored the comment and quickly had the remaining wounds gelled, bandaged, gelled, and taped, before having the paramedic take him inside to await further treatment.

“Alright, one more...” Rainbow mumbled to herself, dashing to the final patient.

Looking over the patient, Rainbow started out a tad confused. From what she saw of the pony lying on her back, there wasn’t any actual injury.

Rainbow leaned in close to the pony. “Miss, can you tell me what’s wrong with you?”

“M-my left wing... I-I can’t feel my l-left wing...”

Rainbow was taken aback at this revelation. “They sent you here on your back with a broken wing? Are they crazy? You can cause permanent damage doing that kinda stuff! You know what? Doesn’t matter! I’ll deal with them later. Right now, I need to get you flipped onto your front so I can have a look. Are you strong enough to get up?”

“I-it hurts! It hurts!”

“That’s not answering my question. Can you get up?”

“I-I can’t get up.”

Rainbow sighed. She knew that a broken wing was painful, and the preliminary shock was enough to leave a lot of pegasi in a nigh-on useless state, but being on this end, it was really slowing her down.

“Alright, this is a bit problematic. I’m the only one out here, and I can’t lift you by myself. Can you try? Please? We’re burning daylight he...”

Rainbow’s train of thought was interrupted by a familiar sound. A small buzzing off in the distance. She turned to look at the source as it came around a corner.

It was a small scooter with an orange pegasus on it, wearing a yellow and blue windbreaker, wings flapping like there was no tomorrow. It skidded to a stop a few yards away before the orange pegasus jumped off and quickly hoofed it over to Rainbow and the patient.

The pegasus stopped, pulling off her helmet, revealing a matted purple mane. She saluted.

“Ms. Rainbow Dash! Scarlet Luminada, reporting for duty!”

Rainbow gave a look that was half-smirk, half-sneer. “You’re late, Scootaloo. But you picked a good time to finally show up. Give me a hoof with this patient; we need to get her on her stomach.”

“Yes, Ms. Dash! Right away!”

Together, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were able to make short work of getting the injure mare on her stomach.

Rainbow crouched to get a better look at the wing. “Wow... that’s at least 3 fractures I’m seeing there... Scootaloo?”

“What can I do for you, Ms. Dash?”

“Run inside and get me the wing brace.”

“Consider it done!”

As Scootaloo ran off into the building, Rainbow went around to the front of the injure pegasus.

“Hey, you listening?”

The pegasus looked up, tears in her eyes. “It really, really hurts...”

“I know it does, and I’m afraid to say it going to hurt a lot more before it’s done.”

“W-why would you do that?”

“It’s your wing. You’ve broken it in three different places. For that many injuries, we need to use a special brace, and in order to do so, I’m going to need you to extend your wings.”

The pegasus blinked a few times, still clearly in pain. “Extend my wings? But I can’t! It hurts so much...”

“Don’t worry. I’ve broken my fair share of wings. I’ll be here to help you make sure it fully extends so we can secure it. You have my word on it.”

“Why... why...”

Rainbow shook her head. “Do you like flying?”

“Y-yeah... I love flying...”

“Well, if we don’t set that wing right, your flying days are over. Your wing won’t heal properly, and it’ll be impossible to flap it in conjunction with the other, or generate enough lift. And you don’t want that, do you?”

The pegasus sniffed before shaking her head.

“That’s good... wait a second...” Rainbow mentioned before turning back to the medical bag. She pulled out a small wooden splint. “Take this in your mouth and when I say ‘extend’, bite down as hard as you can while extending your wings. It’ll help. Trust me. I’m a professional, both at helping broken wings and having them.”

The patient nodded before taking the stick in mouth.

“Ms. Rainbow Dash! I’ve got the wing brace!” came a cry from the hospital. Rainbow turned to see Scootaloo, holding a large white plastic rectangle with multiple straps.

“Good! Bring it over here and put it in place.”

Soon the wing brace was in place. “Ok, Scoots. Here’s what I need you to do. I’m gonna make sure the wing extends and is set properly, and then I want you to fasten the straps. Can you do that for me?”

“With pleasure!”

Rainbow nodded. “Alright, missy. I want you to start extending in three... two... one... Now!”

The found of teeth clenching into wood could be heard mixing with the sound of sliding broken bones as Rainbow gently, but firmly pulled the fractured wing into place. “Alright, hold it...” she spoke as she looked over the wing. “Scoots, strap closest to the patient.”

“On it!”

While Scootaloo tied the strap closest to the wing’s base, Rainbow looked over the wing. She made slight pushes in spots, attempting to align the bone as best she could.

“God, why do ponies do this? You don’t send an unsecured fracture wing on her back for transport! It’s common freakin’ sense!”

“What’s that, Ms. Dash?”

Rainbow looked up. “Oh, it’s nothing, Scootaloo. Start tying off the remaining straps.”

“Right away, Ms. Dash!”

Rainbow took a step back as Scootaloo finished strapping the wing up. “Alright, missy. You can relax now.”

The pegasus looked to still be in pain, but she visibly loosened up.

“Alright, Scootaloo, get her to a waiting room. Give her priority one over any other patients present. A fractured wing ain’t no laughing matter.”

“No argument here, Ms. Dash. On my way.”

Rainbow sat outside, awaiting news from inside. After a moment, a familiar voice caught her attention.

“All patients are either being treated, have been treated, or are in the waiting rooms awaiting treatment. All of them are in relatively stable condition, and in record time to boot. Way to go, Ms. Dash!”

Rainbow turned to see Scootaloo standing in the hospital door way, saluting once again.

“You know, Scootaloo, you should probably cut out the saluting all the time. You’re going to give your hooves carpal tunnel with how much you do that.”

A blush came over Scootaloo’s face as she lowered her hoof. “My apologies, Ms. Dash.”

A smirked from Rainbow was what she got in turn, followed by a slap on the shoulder. “Loosen up, squirt. You’re doing fine. Colt, I don’t think I’ve seen a single other paramedic as tense as you..”

“Sorry, Ms. Dash. Just trying to do my best for you and the hospital.”

“That’s admirable, but perhaps you should start by showing up to your shifts on time. The Mayor’ll have my flank if she finds out I keep covering you.”

Scootaloo lowered her head. “I’m really sorry, Ms. Dash. I keep having problems getting through traffic.”

Rainbow laughed. “Is that all? Transportation problems? Kid, let me make you an offer; how about, after work, I give you some tips on how to speed up your commute? Might help you be late a little less often.”

Scootaloo’s eyes lit up at the offer. “R-really, Ms. Dash? You’d do that for me?”

Rainbow couldn’t help but give a little chuckle at the young pegasus’ enthusiasm. “Of course. What kinda boss would I be if I wasn’t looking out for my peons. Meet me out back when your shift is done. I’ll be waiting.”

“Y-You won’t have to wait long, Ms. Dash! I’ll be right there.”

“Good. That’s what I like to hear.”

Looking at her watch, Rainbow nodded. “Well, looks like it’s time for me 3:34 nap in the library. Hopefully Doctor Egghead won’t catch me and ruin it this time. Caio, Scoots. See you after work,” Rainbow replied, gliding on into the hospital and down the halls.

“S-see ya, Rainbow Dash...” Scootaloo replied, slowly trailing off.

As Scootaloo walked into the hospital herself, she began talking.

“Free lessons on racing... from Rainbow Dash herself...”

Scootaloo’s grin quickly grew as she let out a little fangirl giggle.

“This is gonna be SO AWESOME!”

AppleJack Part 1: Hoof Scootin' Boogie

“Come on, ol’ girl... I know you wanna work for me...”

To an outsider, the image in the corner of the Granifred Pie Memorial Hospital Orthopaedics Ward was, at best, strange and, at worst, a good reason to call one of the special ponies with the white jackets.

A orange pony, wearing a doctor’s coat and a cowboy hat, gently whispering to a large clunky machine which was currently making sounds like someone had poured cement on its gears.

Dr. AppleJack, the orange pony in question, was fiddling with nobs and buttons on a large x-ray machine labelled ‘FR-X23’. The machine itself appeared to be running, but sounded like it could fall to scrap at any moment.

It was to this bizarre image that the Mayor entered the Orthopaedics ward. There was a moment of silence as she stared at AppleJack, listening to her attempts to sweet talk a hunk of metal.

“... Um, excuse me, Dr. Jackson...” the Mayor interjected, “but care to explain to me why you’re attempting to sweet talk an antiquated piece of technology?”

AppleJack turned to face the Mayor. “Anti-what?”

The Mayor shook her head. “Nevermind, Doctor. I’m here to let you know the patients are arriving shortly, and I’ll be assisting you in the operating room.”

AppleJack scoffed before returning to fiddling with the machine. “Why you? Wanting to keep an eye on me so I do damage one o’ your precious machines?”

The Mayor stepped forward, looking over the machine in greater detail. “Well, I’d be lying if I said worry wasn’t part of the reason, ESPECIALLY with you performing surgery with an uninsured museum piece.”

“Ah, calm your horses, Mayor,” AppleJack responded, walking around to the other side of the device. “Ol’ FR here’s just a little antsy from being stuck in storage for so long.”

“There’s a reason we had it storage, Doctor. It’s for spare parts,” said the Mayor, an annoyed scowl coating her face.

There was a moment of silence as AppleJack looked over the device once more. Said silence was cut short by a loud CLANG as AppleJack suddenly took it upon herself to kick the device.

“Dr. Jackson!” the Mayor shouted. “What are you doing to our equipment?”

“I’m makin’ it work, ‘s what I’m doin’,” came AppleJack’s response. “Just listen.”

As the Mayor opened her mouth to protest, she stopped. Turning to look at the machine, her jaw nearly dropped open. Sure enough, the clunky sound was gone, and it now appeared to be running at full capacity with no issues.

“What’d I tell yah? Sometimes, you just need to show a little tough love,” AppleJack said as she sauntered over to the Mayor, adjusting her hat as she stood to admire her handiwork.

“... Please never do that again, Doctor. My heart and my wallet can’t bare this kind of thing.”

Before AppleJack could respond, a familiar voice came over the intercom.

“Make sure that Orthopaedics is clear;

The Fillydelphians are almost here.”

AppleJack clapped her hooves together. “Whelp, looks like that’s our cue. Yah ready, Mayor?”

Looking back at the machine, then to AppleJack, then to machine again, the Mayor sighed. “No, but let’s get this over with anyways.”

“That’s one pony fixed up righter ‘n rain! Git me another one, stat!”

AppleJack took a step back as the nurses wheeled the pony out of the room. She looked around, surveying the rest of the ward. It was hectic, with the other three workstations humming with activity. She watched as ponies drilled guides, cut synthetic bone, secured plates and generally went about their work with quick, squeaky-clean efficiency.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? Kind of makes you wish you were on one of those machines... and not that lawsuit waiting to happen.”

AppleJack sighed, turning to face the amber pony opposite her. “Mayor, I know you’re worried ‘bout ‘dem ponies ‘n all, but trust me. I could do these kindsa procedures with ol’ FR here with one hoof tied behind mah back.”

The Mayor scrunched her face, cocking an eyebrow. “Please don’t. I’m fairly certain our insurance doesn’t cover doctors showboating.”

Her comment was greeted with a shaken head from the orange pony opposite her. Before AppleJack could fully respond, however, a call came out from across the room.

“Patient coming in! Severely fractured wing!” the nurse yelled, wheeling the injured pegasus into the ward. AppleJack raised a hoof, motioning the patient towards her little ad hoc surgical station in the ward’s corner.

As the patient was wheeled up, AppleJack began fiddling with the machine while the Mayor looked over the injury. “My word... this wing is broken in at least three places,” she exclaimed, turning to look at AppleJack. “Dr. Jackson, I would strongly recommend we move this treatment over to the new work stations. There are too many injuries to reliably treat with... this machine.”

A chuckle was what she got in response. “Ah, you’re too worried, Mayor. I got this. This l’il missy ‘ll be back tearin’ donuts in the clouds before chow time!”

The Mayor sighed. “One day, I hope to learn to understand these obtuse sayings of yours, Dr. Jackson.”

AppleJack gave the Mayor a slightly amused look and a stuck out tongue before fiddling with the machine once more. “Alrigh’. Give me a moment to get FR ready for this. You get our young filly friend sedated and ready for surgifyin’.”

The Mayor shivered slightly at AppleJack’s peculiar choice of wording, but went about getting the patient properly sedated. She then waited patiently as she watched the cow-poke doctor fiddle with the outdated piece of machinery, flipping switches, turning nobs, and smacking it a few times, the thud of metal causing the Mayor to flinch even further.

“Alrighty!” AppleJack exclaimed, stepping back to admire her handiwork. “She’s ready and rarin’ to go. You ready, Mayor?”

A sigh was her response. “As ready as I’ll ever be, Dr. Jackson.”

Applejack smirked through her surgical mask, adjusting her Stetson. “We’ve been over this a dozen times, Mayor. Call me AppleJack.”

This time, the response was a grunt and nothing else. AppleJack shrugged at the development before walking up to the sedated pegasus. “Startin’ the operation.”

“Just a few more incisions and... there. We’ve found the first fracture.”

AppleJack and Mayor took a moment to examine the damage. The first fracture had been located half-way up the outermost bone.

“Ouch, that musta hurt...” AppleJack mumbled. “I’m countin’... 6 separate bone fragments. Best be gettin’ those out right away...”

“Agreed. I’ll hold the tray while you remove the pieces,” the Mayor responded as she quickly picked up an empty tray.

“Way ahead a’ yah, Mayor,” came a drawling response, punctuated by a ‘tink’ sound as the first bone fragment landed in the tray. The forceps went back and forth between the wound and tray, giving off five more clinks as they landed.

“Alright, Dr. Jackson. We have the fragments. What shall our next course of action be?”

AppleJack cocked an eyebrow at the Mayor. “You’re jokin’, right? Or is this some kinda test to prove I actually know what I’m doin’?”

The Mayor glanced back. “It’s confirmation that we’re both on the same page. I don’t want to be preparing a metal bracket and screws while you’re waiting for some sort of synthetic bone clasp.”

AppleJack let out a chuckle as she shook her head. “We ain’t gonna be needing either o’ those, Mayor. This is a thin enough bone that a CEA Antibiotic Gel should seal things right up.”

“Ah,” came the Mayor’s reply. “In that case, you reset the bones while I prepare the gel.”

“No problem,” AppleJack retorted, taking the tray in one hoof while delicately holding the forceps in the other, as the Mayor galloped off to a supply room. Slowly, but surely, each bone fragement was placed back into the wound, only this time, the fragments slid slowly into place, the sharps edges locking together into a reasonable facsimile of their unbroken form.

With a container of gel in hoof, the Mayor returned. “The Calcium Enriched Adhesive Antibiotic Gel is ready.”

“Fantastic! Give it here,” was what she got in return as AppleJack grabbed it from her. Without wasting another second, AppleJack smeared the gel along the bone. One by one, the bone fragments began to adhere to one another as the adhesive coating took effect.

“Alrighty! That’s one fracture down. Movin’ on down the line...”

As they relocated their view, the sign of the second primary bone came into view.

“Ok, let’s get a look here... Looks like we got two fractures 5 inches apart. It’s still in relatively good shape, but that’s gonna need some bracing if it’s gonna heal properly.”

The Mayor tapped her chin. “We should use a metal brace. I’ll prepare the screws.”

Before she could go and aquire what was needed, a hoof grabbed her should. “Bad idea, Mayor.”

AppleJack’s reward for stopping the Mayor was an agitated glare. “Bad idea? Are you insulting me, Dr. Jackson?”

Applejack shook her head. “Not at all, Mayor. Normally, you’d be 100% right on the nose. But what we’ve got here’s a bit different.”

“How is this any different?”

“Simple. This is a pegasus wing bone. The central bits are hollow. Drilling into them like that is gonna cause more harm than good. Besides, the weight’d cause an uneven balance. This lil’ darlin’d be lucky if she could hop in the air without fallin’ out o’ the sky.”

The Mayor stopped and closed her eyes, a look of deep thought mixed with annoyance on her face. “Very well, Dr. Jackson. Exactly what do you propose we do?”

When she opened her eyes, she realized that AppleJack had already bolted, digging through a series of drawers at one end of the room. The Mayor quickly trotted over. “Dr. Jackson, exactly what are you looking for?”

AppleJack continued ransacking the drawers, tossing stuff all over the place. “I’m... lookin’... for... aha! These!”

With a confident look on her face, AppleJack held what she had been looking for high. It was a metal rod and a strange looking drill.

“... Dr. Jackson, exactly what are those?”

“Oh, these? A couple o’ presents from Ms. Sparkle and her fancy-pants medicine boys in Canterlot. I’ve been waiting to give these bad boys a test run.”

This revelation cause the Mayor’s eyes to bug wide open. “Wait a minute, a test run?”

Giving the two new toys a once over, AppleJack nodded before heading back towards the operating table. “Yep. Haven’t had the luck o’ finding somepony with an injury for these puppies to work on. But like they say, no time like the present.”

The Mayor followed close behind, stammering out objections. “N-now see here, Dr. Jackson! I will not have you using this injured pony as some kinda... guinea pig! Especially not in my hospital on uninsured machinery!”

It was all for naught, however, as AppleJack seemed more interested in the bizarre looking drill. Holding it up to the light, the Mayor was able to get a good look at it for the first time. Two things stood out on it. First off was the trigger, which as far as the Mayor could tell, was on upside down, or rather the entire device was upside down, located on the bottom of the handle. However, this was small potatoes when compared with the really weird part; the drill bit. It was located in a strange U-shaped metal metal piece that popped out below where the drill bit would be expected to be. It was weird enough until AppleJack actually pulled the trigger for a moment. When she did, the drill bit suddenly popped off the U and began floating in between them, spinning rapidly in the air.

“What the... Dr. Jackson, exactly what sorcery have you brought into my hospital this time?”

AppleJack laughed a little as she experimentally pulled the trigger a few more times. “Ah, cool your jets, Mayor. T’ain’t sorcery. If what Dr. Sparkle done told me is right, this here’s something to do with magnets. I don’t know how the buck magnets work, but I’ll be damned if it ain’t fun to watch.”

As the Mayor stared at the drill with an incredulous look on her face, her jaw dropping in disbelief, she was suddenly jostled back to reality by AppleJack handing her metal rod. “Can you hold this end for a sec?”

She took the end in hoof as AppleJack held the other end. Along the rod were small divots wherein the rid thinned out. The Mayor could tell from holding it that the rod was hollow, itself barely weighing anything.

By this point, AppleJack’s attention had gone back to the patient, quietly examining the fractured bone. She began to count under her breath, measuring by eye the length and curvature of the bone. After a moment, she turned her attention back to the rod. Raising her free hoof, she began counting the divots, measuring by mind where she needed to work.

“Two... four... five and half. Got it. Hold on a second, Mayor. Please don’t drop the rod.”

“Dr. Jackson, I think I’m professional enough to not drop a...”

The Mayor’s interjection was interrupted by a grunt as AppleJack pulled her head back before slamming herself forehead first into the rod. In the shock, the Mayor almost dropped the rod, but managed to keep her calm long enough to avoid this.

“For the sweet love of money, what in the name of Celestia are you doing?!” she blurted out, stunned by what she had just witnessed.

AppleJack responded by giving her head a little shake. “Dang, she weren’t kiddin’ about how tough this little rod is...”

“Answer my question, Doctor!”

“Just a sec... here we go,” was AppleJack’s reply, as she head butted the rod once again in a different place, causing another bend in the rod.

“Dr. Jackson, answer me!”

“I’m bendin’ the rod to fit the bone. What’s it look like I’m doin’?”

“It looks like you’re head butting an apparently valuable piece of medical equipment!”

Another grunt and smash indicated AppleJack’s disregard for the Mayor’s complaints.

“S-STOP IT!”

Shaking her head the clear away a bit of the daze, AppleJack glanced over. “Alrighty. She’s looking perfect.”

As AppleJack took the rod back to the surgery table, the Mayor followed behind, her voice wavering like she was bordering on either crying or smacking AppleJack across the back of the face.

“P-p-perfect?! You bent it! Repeatedly! It’s all bent out of shape!”

At this point, AppleJack turned, giving the Mayor a somewhat confused look. After a second, however, her eyes opened in realization.

... And she laughed. To which to Mayor simply stood, confused even further.

“W-wait!... Mayor, you thought I was wrecking this doodad Dr. Sparkle brought us? Do you honestly think I’m that dumb?”

The Mayor opened her mouth to respond, but quickly stopped herself. AppleJack cocked an eyebrow, but decided not to pursue it. “Come here for a sec, Mayor, and I’ll explain this a bit better.”

AppleJack held the now bent rod over the fracture bone. It was easy to see at this point that the purpose was to make the rod fit the shape of the bone.

“Ah... I see. That’s all well and good, Dr. AppleJack, but I fail to see how you plan to secure the rod to the bo...”

The Mayor’s words where cut off by the sound of a drill, causing her to jump slightly. AppleJack had pulled out the strange U-headed drill. “That, Mayor, is where this little doohickey comes in.”

The Mayor took a few breaths while looking at the strange, floating tipped drill. “You’ll forgive me if I require a better explanation than ‘doohicky’...”

AppleJack smiled. “I’ll do yah one better, Mayor. Ya’ll are gonna get a live demonstration!” she said as she began fiddling with the drill tip in the patient.

“I have a bad feeling about this...” the Mayor added, taking a position next to AppleJack to watch the procedure.

“Alright, I’ll explain it nice ‘n slow for yah. See, with pegasus bone, its hollowness keeps the wing light. These special rods ‘r hollow as well, so they can be used for securin’ injured bones.”

The Mayor nodded. “I recall that much, Doctor.”

“Ah, but here’s the problem. Since drillin’ plates into pegasus bones is more likely to cause more harm than good, we need to find a different way. With the thinner bones, the CEA Antibiotic gel is good enough, but with the lower wing bones, the weight’s still too much.”

“Alright, alright, I get it. So how does the rod fit in?”

AppleJack pulled back a hoof to reveal what she had prepared. The drill tip now sat on the end of the bone, the U-shaped part over it. “Easy. We drill a hole through the bone for it.”

“Drill a hole all the way through the bone? That’s crazy!” the Mayor replied.

“Normally, yes, that’s all kindsa crazy. But the thing is, in this case, we got ourselves this here special drill. Using them magnets Dr. Sparkle was all giddy about, we just slowly push the drill along...”

As she spoke, AppleJack began applying gentle pressure to the drill trigger. A few minor shards of bone gave way as the drill bit started spinning, held in place by the magnets in the U-head. Slowly, the drill was pushed forward, the U-head going around the bone. As it did, the drill bit moved along with it, disappearing into the bone.

“Now, we just gotta take this slow and steady...” AppleJack said, slowly guiding the drill along the length of the bone. The sound of drilling bone was barely audible from the bone itself. “If I rush this, I might lose the bit, and I don’t think anypony here’d be right happy ‘bout that.”

The Mayor swayed a little, a brief flash of panic running over her. “Please, Dr. Jackson, do not bring such things up...”

After a few moments, the drill sat right near the end of the bone. Halting the movement, but not the drill itself, AppleJack took a few short breaths. Then, she began slowly working the drill backwards, out the way it came. After another few moments, the drill bit popped out. Letting out a sigh of relief, AppleJack finally eased off the trigger, and the drill bit immediately snapped back into the U-head of the drill.

AppleJack grinned widely, adjusting her Stetson once more. She turned once again to address the Mayor. “That got us a hole for the rod to go in. Better yet, it shaved of a little bit o’ the bone. Not too much, but enough to compensate for the weight of the rod.”

The Mayor nodded. “I must admit. I’m quite impressed.”

A bright blush was the response. “Ah, shucks, Mayor... Just doin’ my job ‘n all...”

“I meant on the rod and drill, Dr. Jackson.”

AppleJack’s head dropped suddenly, blocking her eyes. She quickly lifted it back up. “Ah. Nevermind, then...” she responded before taking the rod in hoof and turning back to the patient. After a second, she turned back. “Can yah get me the medical mallet, Mayor?”

The Mayor quickly glanced at the tool table. She grab the steel mallet of the table and handed it to AppleJack.

“Mighty grateful, Mayor. Now, if you’re still planning on gettin’ all uppity when I start smacking your impressive medical stuffs, I’d suggest you look away now...”

The Mayor took the hint, averting her gaze. It was hard for her not to cringe with each clang she head, the metal on metal bashing drowning out all other sounds in the room. Fortunately for her, all it took was three solid swings and the job was done.

“Alrighty! That’s two down,” AppleJack said excitedly, “one more to go!”

The Mayor cleared her throat, moving back to the operating table. “Very good. Shifting the focus.”

“Alright, final injury is... here...”

“Oh my...”

AppleJack let out a long sigh, adjusting her hat once again. “That ain’t good...”

The Mayor nodded. “What are your thoughts, Dr. Jackson?”

AppleJack pointed to the ball-joint of the humerus; the part the connected the wing to the rest of the pegasus. The joint was knobbly, and looked unnatural.

“It’s about the second worse thing to happen to a pegasus joint short ‘a crackin’ the scapula itself. No doubt, some idgit sent this little lady along on a trip without so much as a wing brace or peck on the cheek. The bone’s already started healin’, but it’s healin’ all wonky...”

The Mayor nodded. “Well... I’m afraid it’s looking like your efforts were in vain, Dr. Jackson... My apologies..”

AppleJack cocked and eyebrow. “Just what you shootin’ at, Mayor?”

The Mayor looked back at AppleJack, seemingly confused at AppleJack’s reaction. “Isn’t it obvious? Standard procedure for a ball-and-socket joint like this is the removal of the damaged areas and replacement with a metal, artificial joint. Such an object would save the wing and prevent further damage, but...”

AppleJack turned back to look at the bone and signed, her hat drooping over her eyes. “But it’d unbalance the wing somethin’ fierce...”

The Mayor’s face seemed genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry, Dr. Jackson. But sometimes, we have to cut our losses. I’ll go prepare the joint. I’ll leave preparing the sight to you.”

As the Mayor walked off, AppleJack stared at the knobbly bone. Was taking away this pegasus’ only means to fly really worth it? Was it really the only option.

“Gal’durnit, AppleJack... Think... What’s somethin’ that we can replace a section of bone with that wouldn’t ground this lass for good...”

“Wait a minute... somethin’ to replace the bone... somethin’ the weighs the same as bone... I got it!”

AppleJack suddenly jumped, pointing at the Mayor. “Stop right there, Mayor!”

Hearing her name ordered around as such, the Mayor stopped, turning back to AppleJack. “Dr. Jackson? What’s going on?”

A wide grin appeared across AppleJack’s face, her hat seemingly pulling back to show off as much of her beaming pride as possible. “Synthetic bone!”

There was a second, it was as if Discord himself had appeared and was doing a two step in the middle of the operating room as the Mayor just stared in disbelief once more. “... What about synthetic bone?”

AppleJack nodded. “Simple. Synthetic bone is, pound for pound, the same weight as real bone. If we shave down the badly healed ball joint, we can just pop a synthetic bone chunk over top to fix the joint. The scapula’s perfectly fine, so I see no reason it shouldn’t work.”

“... Dr. Jackson, you cannot be serious...”

AppleJack was taken aback at the Mayor’s sudden comment. “You sayin’ my mouth’s makin’ promises my hooves can’t keep?”

“Precisely,” came the Mayor’s response. “When you’ve shaven the bone, the artificial joint, if you recall, is placed on using your medical mallet. You can’t have a screw or other such device holding the ball joint in place because it would end up damaging the joint. And I don’t believe I need to remind you what you said; synthetic bone has the weight of regular bone. It also has the tensile strength, and I don’t need to tell you that smashing it with a hammer will do anything but good!”

There was a moment as the Mayor and AppleJack stared at each other, eyes glaring into one another. It was as if an old western had come to life; the sheriff and the desperado, staring each other down at high noon.

“Mayor, I became a doc so I could help ponies in need. I’d be failin’ in my duties if I didn’t do everythin’ in my power to make sure these ponies got healed up, right as rain.”

“Dr. Jackson, this is too risky. Synthetic bone isn’t designed to be smashed all willy nilly. It’s better to use the artificial joint and simply try to help this pony live a healthy life on the ground.”

An angry glare shot from AppleJack. “Mayor, you got two choices right now. You’re either gonna help me get this girl the treatment she deserves, or you’re gonna walk outta this surgery room and leave me to do it mahself.”

The Mayor’s gaze shot back. She opened her mouth, but then stopped. After a moment, she continued. “Dr. Jackson... AppleJack... I’ve allowed you to use outdated technology. I’ve stood by while you used untested medical technology on a patient.”

“... Are you willing to take responsibility for what happens to this patient?”

Without flinching, AppleJack nodded. “You bet your boots, I will...”

The Mayor looked AppleJack over once. After that, she nodded. “Very well. What do you need me to do?”

AppleJack’s grin returned. “That’s the spirit! Alright! I need a spherical bit of synthetic bone with a 2 inch spherical divot in the bottom. Go use on o’ them new fangled laser bone cutters. Just input the shape and get to cuttin’.”

The Mayor nodded. “What will you be doing?”

“Me?” AppleJack quipped, digging through her medical table until she found what she was looking for; a large, cup shaped cutting device. “I gotta get this here bone ready for its new pardner’ “

The Mayor shivered a bit, but nodded. “Very well. I leave that job in your capable hooves,” she stated as she trotted off towards one of the newer looking machines.

A new found fire in her heart, AppleJack set about placing the scrapped over the knobbly bone.

“Alright, AJ. Gotta be careful with this one. Don’t wanna scrape too far after a rousing talk like that one...”

With a small flick, the device began spinning. The sound of scraping bone was one AppleJack never really got used to, but dealt with all the same.

Gently, she began working the scrapper down further and further onto the bony nub, shaving it down further and further.

“Almost... there... got it!”

With a quick hoof, AppleJack turned the machine off, and the whirring and scraping stopped. Pulling the head back up, she admired her work. The nub had been shaven down, and a small 2 inch wide bump remained.

“Alright! That’s done. Hope the Mayor’s almost done with the bone...”

“Did someone say my name?”

AppleJack looked up to see the Mayor, standing with the prerequisite chuck of bone in hoof.

“Dang, Mayor. That was mighty quick!” came a startled reply from AppleJack.

The Mayor gave a small smirk. “Well, you don’t become a hospital director without picking up a few tricks.”

AppleJack quickly took the synthetic bone in hoof and looked it over. Sure enough, it was rounded well, and a 2 inch rounded divot had been carved in the bottom. “She sure is a beaut’. Now let’s pound this doggy into place!”

The Mayor handed AppleJack her medical mallet as she quickly centered the synthetic fragment over the bone nub.

“Be careful, Dr. Jackson. If you hit it too hard, all we’ll have it a series of synthetic splinters, which I don’t think I need to remind you is NOT a good thing to have inside a patient.”

AppleJack scoffed. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing, Mayor...”

Tried as she might to hide it, AppleJack could feel a tingle in the back of her throat. She wasn’t gonna deny she was nervous right now. But if there was ever a time to pony up and hit ‘er home, now was it.”

First, a light tink sound came out as AppleJack gave the bone a test tap.

“Alright... driving her home in 3... 2... 1...”

A loud bang echoed around the operating room. The Mayor reflexively closed her eyes and covered her face.

However, after a moment, she noted that she didn’t feel like anything had hit her, and what’s more, she heard... laughing.

“... Dr. AppleJack?”

The mallet sat on top of the synthetic bone, which had been perfectly aligned with the rest of the humerus. Dr. AppleJack sat beside it, a happy, whole hearted laugh coming from her.

“Well I’ll be...” came the Mayor’s reply.

“Hoowee! What’d I tell ya, Mayor?” AppleJack exclaimed, reaching out a hoof to smack the Mayor on the back with enough force to almost send her glasses flying.

“Oof... I-I must admit, Dr. Jackson. It seems you were right.”

“Sure glad I was,” AppleJack responded as she returned to setting the ball joint back in its socket. “I’d be feelin’ a right heel right about now if that hadn’t worked.”

The Mayor nodded. “Hehe, yeah... Wait, you didn’t know that would work?”

AppleJack shook her head. “Nope! Now hand me the stapler and let’s wrap this up!”

“Woowee! I’m beat!”

AppleJack took a seat just outside the operating room. Taking off her hat with one hoof, she raised the other wipe the sweat from her brow. The Mayor stood alongside her, also looking very tired, but with a decidedly more professional tone about her.

“Dr. Jackson, I’ll thank you not to pull that kind of stunt in my hospital again.”

A chuckle was AppleJack’s immediate response. “Lighten up, Mayor. We got the job done, didn’t we? And now that lil’ filly has her entire life of flyin’ ahead of her.”

“Thanks to blind luck...” the Mayor replied dryly. “Now, with that all over, I believe your shift is done for today, Dr. Jackson. Head home and get some rest.”

AppleJack gave a little nod, still breathing heavily from the whole surgical ordeal.

The Mayor nodded back in turn. “Very well. Have a good evening,” she said before turning around and heading off down one of the hospital’s many halls.

AppleJack had to admit it, while finishing a couple of difficult surgeries always put her in a good mood, they also took a lot out of her. “Like buckin’ apples back on the family farm...” she joked with herself.

Noting the late hour, AppleJack rose up and started heading for the locker room when a familiar voice came up behind her.

“Um, Dr. AppleJack?”

AppleJack turned around to see a familiar wall eyed pegasus in a nurses’ uniform. “Oh. Hey, Derpy! What’s goin’ on?”

The grey pegasus saluted. “I’m sorry, doctor, but did I catch you in the middle of something?”

AppleJack shook her head. “Not at all, Derpy. I’m here to help.”

Derpy nodded. “In that case, Doctor, I was wondering if you could help me with some paperwork I needed to finish filling about the Fillydelphian drop-offs from earlier. I still have a few hours’ worth left..”

AppleJack chuckled, placing a hoof on Derpy’s back. “Say no more, Derpy. Let’s go get these forms of yours finished and get out of this chicken coop.”

“Thank you, Dr. AppleJack... chicken coop?”

As the two ponies walked down the halls, a small voice in the back of AppleJack’s head began yelling about getting a good night’s rest for work tomorrow, but she quickly hushed it up. What’s the point of rest, she thought, if it stopped you from getting work done?

Pinkie Pie Part 1: Two Sides of the Scalple

“Alright, let’s go over the details of the operation once more before we proceed.”

“Make it quick.”

Dr. Fluttershy gave Pinkie a look of saddened confusion as she placed rubber gloves on their front hooves. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

Pinkamena did not look back. She placed her scalpel behind her ear, like a pencil, and slipped on her gloves. “No, Dr. Kindred, but we have an operation to perform, and time is of the essence.”

“Oh, right.” Dr. Fluttershy cleared her throat as she organized a few loose pieces of equipment. “The affected area is the large intestine. Preliminary scans show only one tumour, though there is a possibility of more the scan didn’t pick up.”

“Do we have reason to believe the tumours are dangerous?”

“Well, no, all tests point to them being benign, but we decided it was best to remove them now so they don’t turn malignant down the road.”

“I see. I’m assuming we’ll be using the Clover Procedure to remove them?”

Dr. Fluttershy nodded. “Find the tumour with the ultrasound, excise it, drain the cytoplasm, then cut it out and place a synthetic membrane in its place. We have the synthetic membranes on standby, and the drain is working fine. I know you’ll do perfectly well, Miss Pinkie.”

“My name is Pinkamena.”

Dr. Fluttershy looked over Pinkamena with a very confused look. “But, um, you told me to... nevermind. We should get started. Remember, the patient’s life is in your hooves.”

Pinkamena nodded slightly, pulling her surgical mask over her face. She walked to the unconscious form on the operating table. “Starting the operation.”

A quiet hush came over the operation room, punctuated by the sounds of the heart monitor. Pinkamena started by opening a small container of antibiotic gel on the surgical tray. She gingerly placed her hoof in it, coating the tip, and used it to draw a line across the patient’s abdomen.

“Beginning incision.”

As Pinkamena reached up to grab the scalpel from behind her ear, Dr. Fluttershy averted her eyes. “L-let me know when you’re in...”

“I’m in,” came Pinkamena’s response.

Dr. Fluttershy turned back, a look of surprise on her face. The patient was open, and the scalpel had returned to Pinkamena’s ear. “That was very quick of you.”

Pinkamena didn’t respond, instead getting to work. “Visual confirmation on the first tumour. Drain.”

Fluttershy blinked for a moment before taking a look. “That’s odd. Tumours like that usually don’t form on the outside of orga...”

“Doctor. Drain,” came a rather cold reply. Fluttershy blinked for a moment, a slight shiver going down her spine as she picked up the drain and flicked the switch, causing the suction noise to begin. She handed it to Pinkamena, who quickly went to work.

“Draining cytoplasm.”

As she worked, Dr. Fluttershy interjected. “Aren’t you somewhat curious as to why a tumour formed on the outside of the organ.”

Without looking up, Pinkamena responded. “It’s not important. Cytoplasm drained. Preparing to extract tumour.” She handed the drain back to Dr. Fluttershy before reaching for the scalpel again.

“M-Ms. Pinkamena, isn’t keeping the scalpel behind your ear somewhat... unsanitary?” Fluttershy nervously inquired.

Pinkamena grabbed the anti-biotic gel, dipping the tip in, then rubbing the gel along the cutting implement. “Antibiotic gel. The blade is safe for use.”

“Um, th-that’s good, but..” Fluttershy stuttered out as Pinkamena returned to the tumour. “Wouldn’t it also be unsanitary for you to be putting it behind your ear like that?”

“Tumour is severed from the intestine. Forceps,” Pinkamena responded, slipping the scalpel back behind her ear. Dr. Fluttershy sighed, handing the forceps to Pinkamena before picking up an empty surgical tray. The very second she placed it beside the wound, Pinkamena dropped the excised tumour onto the tray. Without looking up, she continued stating orders. “Synthetic membrane.”

Dr. Fluttershy stood for a moment, a tad stunned once again at Pinkamena’s surgical speed. “Doctor. Synthetic membrane. Now.” This sudden barked order snapped Fluttershy out of her little day-dreamy state, setting down the current tray and procuring the tray on which sat a few strips of synthetic membrane. The minute she had, the forceps flew out in front of her and grabbed one of the strips. She watched as Pinkamena quickly placed it over the wound and brought out the antibiotic gel. A few small applications and the membrane had integrated into the intestine, leaving it looking good as new.

“Tumour extraction complete. Readings?”

Dr. Fluttershy looked over at the various monitors. “Hmm... Tumour readings have decreased by half. I think we still have one more itsy bitsy tumour to locate.”

Without missing a beat, Pinkamena held out her hoof, still holding the forceps. “Ultrasound.” Fluttershy quickly did as she was requested, taking the forceps and handing Pinkamena the ultrasound. Pinkamena quickly began a sweep of the intestine, pinging constantly. After a few seconds, she handed back the ultrasound and once again retrieved the scalpel from behind her ear. After another coat of antibiotic gel, she went in and, with one quick swipe, exposed the second tumour before placing the scalpel back behind her ear.

Getting the swing of things, Dr. Fluttershy had already prepped the drain and handed it to Pinkamena. “You know, Ms. Pinkamena, for just being out of school, you are very quick and skilled. I’m actually quite amazed,” Fluttershy said, smiling slightly. Pinkamena did not respond. When the drain had nothing else to suck up, she handed it back to Fluttershy in silence, grabbing the knife behind her ear and quickly excising the new tumour. Placing the scalpel back behind her ear, she reached out and received the forceps from Fluttershy, and within a few seconds, the tumour was out and the synthetic membrane was being affixed.

As Dr. Fluttershy placed the tray holding the membranes back down, she looked over at Pinkamena. She was in the middle of affixing the membrane with antibiotic gel, but Fluttershy’s attention was instead aimed at the scalpel behind her ear. Not knowing why, she reached out to grab it from behind her ear.

Before her hoof could even touch the metal, Pinkamena turned her head, a look of piercing anger in her eyes, glaring straight at Dr. Fluttershy. Dr. Fluttershy stopped cold, colour draining from her face. She let out a small scream, before closing her eyes. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she quietly repeated, over and over.

“Surgery is complete. Suture.”

Dr. Fluttershy opened her eyes to see Pinkamena holding out her hoof as if nothing had happened. Dr. Fluttershy quickly grabbed the suture and handed it to her. With a few quick motions, the wound was closed and Dr. Fluttershy was retrieving the surgical tape as Pinkamena finished up by disinfecting the cut with the antiobiotic gel.

As Pinkamena finished bandaging the wound, she let out a small sigh. “My scalpel’s strikes are true. You shall be bothered no more.”

Dr. Fluttershy didn’t respond.

Fluttershy was washing her hooves in the sink outside the operating room when a cheery voice came from behind her.“Hey! Did I do good?”

Fluttershy turned to see Pinkie standing there, already cleaned up, a smile beaming on her face. If she hadn’t been present, she’d of sworn that the girl behind her hadn’t even been in the operating room. Disregarding her feelings, Dr. Fluttershy smiled. “You did great. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such skill in the operating room. The patient should make a full recovery.”

Pinkie leaped up happily at this revelation. “That’s great! I love it when I can make ponies feel better, cause being sick sucks.”

Fluttershy chuckled a little at the young pony’s enthusiasm. Their meeting was cut short by a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it!” cried Pinkie enthusiastically. Hopping over to the door, she pulled it open.

“Oh. Hi, Ms. Pinkie.”

“Hey! Hi, Doctor Twilight! I just finished my first official surgery! Isn’t that neato?”

Dr. Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes slightly. “Yes. Very, um... neato. Pinkie, if you don’t mind, can I speak with Dr. Kindred for a moment?”

“Of course! She’s right over here. Hey! Dr. Fluttershy! Dr. Twilight wants to talk to you!”

“Please, Ms. Pinkie, you don’t need to yell. She’s right over there,” Twilight interjected, a slightly annoyed glare crossing her face.

Dr. Fluttershy stepped over. “Yes, Dr. Sparkle? What do you need?”

“Can you come with me for a moment? I have a patient I want you to look at.”

Dr. Fluttershy’s eyes shot open. “Oh. Of course. I’ll be right there.”

“That’s great. Meet me in my office. The patient will be there as well,” came Dr. Twilight’s reply, and with that, she headed off.

Dr. Fluttershy grabbed a few files and was about to head off before stopping to look at Pinkie. She no longer had the scalpel behind her ear, but she had to ask.

“Um, excuse me... Ms. Pinkamena?”

Pinkie blinked a few times. “Hey, come on, Dr. Fluttershy. I said you could call me Pinkie!”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to question that, but stopped. “Um... if you don’t mind me asking, can I ask...” her voice trailed off as her nerve began to waver slightly.

“Sure! You can ask me anything! You can ask me my name, Pinkie Pie, but you already know that; you can ask me my favourite colour, which is pink, though I can’t figure out why; you can ask me...”

“Why did you keep the scalpel behind your ear?” Fluttershy finally blurted out.

Pinkie stopped talking for a moment, a look of stunned silence on her face before an uneasy smile took over. “Oh! That... It, uh... helps me focus! Yeah, that’s it...”

Fluttershy cocked her head slightly. Pinkie’s mouth said one thing, but her nervous, sweaty face said another. “Ms. Pinkie. You lashed out at me when I tried to touch it.”

“I was in the zone! I do weird things when I’m in the zone! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Pinkie quickly shouted out.

Fluttershy quickly realized she had stepped into something that was bothering Pinkie. “I... I’m sorry, Ms. Pinkie. Forget I said anything. You’re a very good surgeon, and I apologize for bothering you with this.” A small smile came over Fluttershy’s face. “You might just need to work on your bedside manner a little bit,” she chuckled.

Pinkie chuckled as well, but it was a very dejected, nervous chuckle.

“Well, I shouldn’t keep Dr. Sparkle waiting. You should probably get home and get some sleep so that you’re all rested up for your first real day of work.”

“O-ok! See ya later, Dr. Fluttershy!”

“Goodbye, Ms. Pinkie. Have a good night’s rest,” Fluttershy said as she left the room.

As Pinkie stood alone in the room, she looked over herself. She walked over to the surgical tray, where all the tools sat. Once again, her eyes were drawn to the scalpel. After a moment, she began scrounging through the room until she had a piece of paper and pencil. She quickly scrawled something down. Looking at what she had wrote, she took a deep breath.

She closed her eyes. She could hear them screaming again. It gave her goose bumps. She hated the screams. She hated knives. But most of all, she hated...

Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the scalpel once again. Her eyes opened slowly. The joy and cheer had drained from them. When these eyes fell upon the paper, they didn’t really react. She reached for the pencil, and wrote a note beneath the one already present. She then looked at the scalpel one more time.

Pinkie opened her eyes. The scalpel was back on the tray, where it belonged. She picked up the note. As she read, a small tear welled up in her eye.

At the top of the note, written in a swirly, almost childish scrawl was ‘Please don’t scare my friends.’

Written below that, in a much neater, almost strike-like print, where the words ‘Don’t let them get in my way.’