Dr. First Response was no stranger to hysterical patients. From elderly stallions ranting on about conspiracies to fillies having outright panic attacks at the sight of needles, he’d dealt with more than his fair share. But by far his least favorite to deal with was the overly protective mother. Especially under such circumstances.
“My poor, poor, baby! Who could have done this to you?! It must have been those filthy ape things, I just know it! I knew from the moment they first appeared that…”
“Mrs. Green Grass!” Dr. Response sharply interrupted.
The hysterical mare turned toward him, her eyes still full of tears.
“I can assure you, the humans had nothing to do with it. This wasn’t the result of exposure to anything, or being treated in any fashion, or ingesting something toxic. Your child’s condition is the result of a genetic defect,” he calmly explained.
“Defect?! Are you accusing my child of being anything less than perfect!? You… You quack! You’re not a doctor! You're just some punk in a lab coat! You…” Green Grass ranted.
Dr. First Response sighed. Why, oh why, did so many patients blame him for their own biology?
“Mrs. Grass, regardless of how you interpret my word choice, the fact remains that little Morning Grass has a severe heart condition that will likely prove fatal if not treated quickly. The problem is that this condition cannot be easily cured with magic or conventional medicine. However...” he tried to explain before he was interrupted.
“No! That can’t be true! You have to be able to save her! You have to! You have to! You…” the hysterical mare sobbed.
“Mrs. Grass!” exclaimed Dr. Response. He really didn’t have time for this.
“As I was trying to say, I made some calls to some colleges of mine who are experimenting with some new medical techniques. They mentioned just the other day that they had finished preparations for a new form of heart treatment that may be able to save her,” said Dr. Response.
Like a switch had been flipped, the mare’s entire being changed from despairing to overjoyed.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I just knew I could trust you doctor! I always knew you were…”
Dr. Response resisted the urge to groan. Especially with what he was legally required to say next.
“Mrs. Grass, I must remind you that while we are confident this procedure with succed, this will still be the first time it will be performed on a pony. There is still a danger that unexpected complications may occur. And before you accuse me of trying to harm your child, please bear in mind that had I not learned of this new option, I would have had to declare your child’s condition incurable. This is simply the only option we have,” Dr. Response explained as quickly as he could.
Green Grass’s expression changed between horror, anger, fear, and despair once again.
“If… if you really think this will let you save my baby, I… I have no choice but to trust you doctor. I’ll do anything to see that she’s no longer in pain,” Green Grass said in an unusual calm.
“That’s good. Because this new procedure involves using technology and techniques from those ‘filthy apes’,” said Dr. Response with an internal smirk.
“And not a moment later she started harping on and on about how wonderful you humans are. That you’re a gift sent from Celestia herself, and that anyone who says otherwise is a fool,” Dr. Response said with a shake of his head.
Chuckles were had around the room by human and pony doctors alike.
“Well, the filly’s eccentric mother aside, I think we’re ready to begin,” said one of the human doctors.
“Indeed. I must say, I’m glad that we managed to finish redesigning the pacemaker for pony use when we did. The poor child wouldn’t have had a chance to survive otherwise,” added another pony doctor.
“I agree. We’re going to be making history today. The first ever combination of human technology and pony magic used in medicine, and it’s being used to treat a disease that has been believed incurable for centuries!” exclaimed a different pony doctor.
“Let’s not congratulate ourselves just yet. We still have yet to confirm that the pony pacemaker will work as intended. Just because it was designed to function with a pony’s biology doesn’t mean it will,” cautioned another human doctor.
“Yes, and I still wish we had been able to test the pony pacemaker on an older patient first. Tissue samples and magical constructs can only provide so much reliable data, and I don’t feel comfortable using a child for our trial run,” added Dr. Response.
“Not to mention we still aren’t sure how the filly’s natural magic may impact the device, even if we took it into consideration while designing the darn thing. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the child is certain to perish if we don’t use it. It’s either we use the child as the first bearer of the device, or we let her waste away,” reminded another human doctor.
Reluctant grunts of agreement were had.
“Alright, let’s stop agreeing how tragic the situation is and get to work on performing a miracle of medicine. Dr. Response, as head surgeon, are you ready to begin the operation?” asked a pony doctor.
Dr. Response took a deep breath. It was unfortunate that this first case came so quickly. The ponies on the project had yet to finish proper training on how to perform the surgery, and the humans lacked proper understanding of the pony body. This was going to be a very difficult surgery, even with so many talented doctors working together.
“Yes. Let’s get started,” he declared.
Dr. Response sighed in accomplishment as he watched mother and daughter embraced each other.
“Well, I think we can declare this a success. With just a bit of human innovation, this little filly has survived an incurable disease. And to think there are those who still say our people have nothing to gain from each other,” he said with a shake of his head.
“This was hardly because of us. We just provided the inspiration. This was a miracle of pony medicine and it’s talented doctors,” said his human companion.
“Oh, don’t say things like that. Mrs. Grass might start rumors about humans attempting to hurt her baby,” said Dr. Response with a chuckle.
The two stood there in silence and watched the happy family.
“So, what’s next for our little project? I know we planned to harness magic to dispose of an incurable human disease, but what exactly do you have in mind?” asked Dr. Response.
The human grinned.
Medical Breakthrough: Ponies invent cure for diabetes!
“It was to expected, I suppose. Do you have any idea how much sugar is in a typical pony’s diet?” commented Dr. First Response.