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// Y-you would not believe how many ponies have done that. 
// Story: Lightning Strikes Twice 
// by Solent Spray 
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When a ponies' offer sounded too good to be true, it usually meant it was. But no matter how hard or closely Lightning thought about Solar's proposition she couldn't find his angle or game. And to Lightning who had received way too many of these kinds of offers before (seriously way too bucking many...), she knew when she was getting conned. But right now...
...right now she just didn't know.

In though Spitfire had told her a couple of hours ago and left (something to do with not letting Soarin and Fleetfoot burning down her academy.), the only thing that Lightning could think about was what she had said, what Solar had offered. To Lightning Solar's offer was frigging miracle; join the Equestrian Military under Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's authority and protection... 
...or be hunted by the Equestrian Military under Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's authority and power to be bought before them and be publicly tried with attempted murder of the majority of the Elements of Harmony, not to even mention Princess Celestia's prized student. Hay, Lightning herself didn't like her odds against the pretty much the entirety of the Equestrian military especially with Captain Wind leading the charge for her arrest if it was the case Lightning would like her odds even less. Seriously some of the stories that had surfaced about him even her in brief stay in the Wonderbolts were scary; and those stories came from Rainbow Dash.

To be honest Lightning already knew which choice she was going to pick, which lead her back to her original thought; Why? 
Why was Solar doing this? Why did he care about this for her, for a pony he barely knew? Why was there some angle that she was missing? Why was there a hoof being waved in front of her face?
...
...
...
Wait, what?

Lightning blinked, in front of her was standing a beige unicorn mare with a brown mane tied back into a rough ponytail was waving her hoof in front of Dust's face. Judging from the military uniform she was wearing along with the sleeve patch of Equestrian Medical Corps as well as the rank of lance corporal displayed on her, Lightning Dust guessed that she was another of the West Hoof medical team.
"Heh, heh, heehhh.....Y-you would not believe how many ponies have done that." she said in a slightly high-pitched cheery voice.
"Try me..." challenged Lightning through gritted teeth, moving herself into the most aggressive stance possible while still in a medical bed.
The medical unicorn gulped hastily trying to retracted her last statement, failing completely she had no choice but to move onward with her patient.
"H-Hi there, I'm L-lance Corporal Triage." the mare said still with an excessively high bubbly note offering a hoof to Dust even giving a really wide bright smile towards her. She tried to surreptitiously glance at a clipboard grasped within her magic, needless to say in Lightning's opinion she failed; for one it was in her magic (something about a pale green magic aura around an object generally tips another pony off) and apparently this Triage mare thought it would be a good idea to hold the clipboard up in front of her face obscuring her view of...

"Ligh-Lighttnnning D-duuust." Triage could practically spell Dust's name out in thin air with that description, from what was presumingly Lightning's patient notes.
Seeming not noticing the raised eyebrow her patient was sporting now, Triage appeared from behind her clipboard with extra gusto, her smile seemed appeared to be even more forced now.
Lightning blinked, something about her seemed off. Her locked joints, the almost robotic way she moved, the small beads of sweat on her forehead and the nearly creepy way she still held her overlarge smile.
"Ummm....oookkkk........" reply Lightning slightly unsurely, her earlier harshness receding slowly. Dust would be lying if she said that she was worried by the mare in-front of her. Wait, worried? Lightning doesn't do worried, concerned maybe-possibly but not worried!

"S-s-so..." The mare faulted. "...h-how are you doing?"
Lightning just looked at her deadpanned. Really... I mean really? That's the question you're going with, what am I your first patient or something?
Triage gave a extremely nervous chuckle, and nervously rubbed her left foreleg behind her right.
"Y-y-you know that you're t-technically my f-f-first patient, s-so don't worry even though I haven't had much e-experience with y-you know ponies I've got a lot of k-knowledge, knowledge in you know medical knowledge not like other knowledge. I mean what kind of doctor would I be if I didn't have medical knowledge, not that I don't know other stuff cause like I'm in the military but I'm also a doctor and and and.... oh sweet Celestia I'm rambling now....." Triage ranted to Lightning.

Triage's breathing had slowly become heavier and heavier to point where she was now hyperventilating, Triage was literally having a panic attack in front of Lightning's eyes. Triage was now shaking violently with fear even muttering to herself quietly, the clipboard fell as her magic fizzled out, her foreleg reached up started playing with the end of her mane fillytail which now looked even more unkempt than it did a couple of minutes ago. If Lightning didn't do something quickly then the current doctor/patient roles would be reversed. Hay, if another pony walking into the situation right now they would probably question why the doctor was in bed and the patient standing over them.  Dust had to take charge of the situation, annoyingly she thought that the last time she had been a position of authority back when she was lead wing pony at the academy. 

She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, Dust placed her foreleg firmly on Triage's shoulders and forcing the panicking mare to look directly into her eyes, luckily Triage was still next to Lightning's hospital bed. As soon as Lightning had forced Triage to look at her, the mare had instantly froze, locking completely up. Dust just about noticed that Triage was so petrified that she had stopped breathing as well.
"Calm Down. Breathe." said Lightning forcefully.
Triage acting act the command released the breath she was holding before she started suffering from oxygen deprivation as she very slowly relaxed. Lightning let go of some of the pressure on the mare but didn't stop holding onto Triage's shoulders. Triage took the first chance she got to fix her gaze away from Lightning's eyes, shifting her eyes to stare firmly at the floor.
"...T-t-thanks." Triage managed to stammer out, Lightning let her do the talking for the moment. "I-I'm not very good w-with p-ponies. I-I-I've s-social a-anxiety."
Dust frowned in confusion. Doesn't like social situations, yet became a doctor.
"Y-you must t-t-think t-that I'm a joke..." sniffed Triage, her eyes started to glisten she looked like she was about to cry.
Lightning sighed, she was not the mare for this situation. Triage tried wiping her eyes in futile effort before she started to cry.
"Look..." Dust started, before she realised that she had forgotten the nearly sobbing mare's name. "Errr...name?"
"Tr-Triage." Triage said helpfully.
"Look, Triage." Dust started again. "First off, I don't think that your a joke. But, you're all over the place, bucking relax and ignore what other ponies think and say about you."
"U-ummm yeah..." confirmed Triage, somewhat confused on what Lightning was saying, this was going against what she was taught back but she was making a connection with her patient there was no reason to stop now.
"Free word of advice, trust your instincts and maybe, occasionally, sometimes listen to your squadmates once in awhile, maybe..." said Lightning to Triage, oddly sagely for her.
That's how I did it, back at the academy. Dust thought to herself.
"O-ok, y-yeah, got it." said Triage gaining more confidence with each word she spoke. 
"Right." Dust responded. "Take control of a situation before it takes control of you."
Triage seemed to bolster with each word spoken to her, until she visibly deflated and looked back to Lightning for guidance.
"Ummm, c-could you teach me?" asked Triage slightly pleadingly, trying to hide her eyes behind her mane.
Lightning Dust sighed, knowing that she could refuse and leave Triage to figure how to command herself on her own. But to honest Dust was bored from bed sitting already and there didn't look like there would be anything better coming along to motivate her anyway, so she rather annoying agreed.
"Alright fine, I'll go over the basics for you. But that's it!"
Triage simply broke out into the real smile Lightning had seen for her.