She could just tell that her nurse was smiling under that surgical mask.
Her nurse! Glimmer just loved the sound of that. She tried not to smile to deeply herself, as she made the incision.
Pinkie’s calling, her destiny, was to make ponies smile. That was nice. Everypony loves to smile. Interesting though that she would choose nursing as a vehicle by which to do this. She’d heard once about another Pinkie Pie, one who baked pies, planned parties, and told jokes. That was also nice, if you’re into that sort of thing. Glimmer wondered what Pinkie would say if asked what she thought of this. It would probably be some schmultzy platitude like “Nurses get to bring smiles to ponies who need them the most.” Normally such things would make Glimmer gag, right now it felt nice.
She checked to make sure she hadn’t left the nitrous oxide tanks valve open again.
It occurred to Glimmer that in an odd way she and Pinkie were alike. Pinkie was driven from her profession, because some arrogant doctor thought she ‘lacked the dignity and decorum befitting her profession.’ She could just picture the type of snooty tone that doctor would speak in. As for Glimmer, her career was set back so many times, on account of the FOOLS in academia failing to recognize true genius!
She tried to resist cutting too deeply when anger made her teeth clench upon the handle of the scalpel.
Actually, in her recent mood, she could somewhat accept that in life she had made many mistakes, and done a few things that, though not mistakes necessarily, did leave people asking why anypony would do such things.
Glimmer created monsters, okay!
She looked up. Pinkie was still watching. She was interested, not appalled, not reluctantly doing what needed to be done, she was interested.
“Would you like to make the next cut.”
“Me!,” cried Pinkie. “I couldn’t, you’re the doctor.”
Glimmer looked away for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about that. The mine is very dangerous. Something bad could happen, then on a seemingly quiet day, I would suddenly have more patients then I could attend to. Perhaps you should be ready to go above and beyond the duties of a typical nurse.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, one little cut, I’ll even help you. If anything goes wrong, I’ll just fix it before the patient wakes up.”
She handed the scalpel to Pinkie, then she made her way behind the nurse, and guided her.
“That’s it, same depth all the way through for five inches. You’re a natural.”
As Pinkie lifted the scalpel away from the patient, Glimmer whispered one more thing into her ear. “Can I keep you?”
“Doctor please, don’t make me laugh while I’m holding the knife.”
Glimmer stepped back, having forgotten herself. “I was just…testing to see if you could remain composed for the patient. Good work!”
Outside the operating room, Midnight Sparkle tried to read a magazine left behind by the old doctor. She was actually nervous. These comical tales about two mares vying for the affections of a freckled ginger did not ease her worries in the least.
Rarity had finally promised to become one of her elements of harmony. It was her first real success. Unfortunately this was after bragging about how easily Glimmer could fix her friends wing. A few teleportation spells were needed to get everypony together at this time.
Perhaps it was generous of Rarity to say she would do anything to help her friend. And it was an element of generosity that Midnight needed after all. Do friendships usually start with some Faustian deal between the two parties. If she was aspiring to be the Princess of Friendship, then she would need to learn such things.
She just hoped Miss Dot was okay in there.
A fire was still smouldering. This was encouraging. If this was Maudie’s camp, then she had been here recently. Also, who leaves a fire smouldering! Don’t they know how dry the vegetation is this time of year?
Spike kicked some sand onto the branches, then turned to the flutterbats.
“Can you track them?”
Shade and Icarus looked to one another, then turned back to Spike. One gave an affirmative nod while the other gave a negative nod.
“Okay, so you can,” he pointed at Shade, “and you can’t” he pointed at Icarus.
They both nodded in the negative.
“Can you or can’t you Track Maudie?”
“We’re great trackers at night. At night living things shine like stars in the night sky.”
Spike checked his pocket watch. “It’s four in the afternoon. The sun doesn’t set until 9:52 p.m.”
“Sir, we’re also nocturnal and working these hours is a little weird for us.”
Icarus probably would have been more diligent if he had any reason to believe Maudie was in trouble, which at that moment she was.
Suddenly Shade’s ear twitched. He turned to the others. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what.”
His other ear twitched.
“There it is again.”
“You’re hearing things. We should get out of the sun.” Icarus complained.
“What are you hearing?” Spike asked.
“It’s a mare, calling for help.”
Shade grabbed Spike under the armpits, and flew him down a cliffside, until they were facing a cave. It was dark inside, which they saw as an improvement.
“Help!”
“I heard it too,” said Spike.
They flew inside.
When they exited the operating room, Glimmer wore her usual expression, which was none at all.
“Well!” demanded Midnight Sparkle.
“I used a tissue bonding agent instead of stitches. It’s the one me and Daisy created last month. She’ll have to lie on her stomach for one hour, also she might be loopy from the anesthetic.”
Midnight nodded in understanding.
“The wing is a little atrophied and imbalanced from lack of use. It’ll strengthen quickly, though it would take tremendous will power and pain tolerance to fly within the first month.”
“That’s still an excellent result.”
Midnight decided to enter the room, and checked on Miss Dot. She sat by the bedside. It seemed like somepony should be there when she wakes up. Pinkie figured the same, and only left for a short smoke break.
For a few minutes they awkwardly sat together in silence. Finally Midnight spoke. “Miss Pie, did doctor Glimmer explain my situation to you.”
“Your situation?”
“Did she tell you why I need you as a friend?”
“She told me. It sounded a little crazy.”
Midnight turned her head, annoyed.
“Oh, not crazy in a bad way, crazy like boy what a fun and wild time all that must them been.”
“What did she say?”
“She said you used a magic mirror to visit another world. You met another version of yourself, and five ponies. They were all best friends, and together they could use these magic doohickeys called the Elements of Harmony to do great things….And that you want to do great things too.”
“Yes.”
“So how about it, will you be my friend.”
“Oh don’t worry about me Miss Sparkle. I try to be friends with every new pony I meet. Becoming some kinda fantasy heroine is just icing on the cake.”
“Do you mean it?”
“Yes,” said Pinkie. “I’ll be your friend.”
“I’ll be your friend too,” Dotti declared.
They both giggled. She was loopy from the anesthetic, just like Glimmer said.
The two of them held hooves.
“So how is it going? Finding these bearers of the Elements of Harmony, I mean”
“I’m getting there. I have you and Rarity. I know where Fluttershy and Appleja… Applejewel are. I just have to find Dash.”
“Dash…” Dot slurred. “Dashes and Dots. You know my Mom was a telegraph operator. I used to help her work. Dots and Dashes. I thought that was so clever. No pony would guess, Dots and Dashes.”
Midnight leapt from her seat and ran to the foot of Dots bed. She looked closer. Midnight parted some of Dots black hair, checking the roots. There were at least seven colours. She examined the fur. It was a little grey, but she knew that coal dust could do that to a ponies coat.
“Rainbow Dash, Dot are you Rainbow Dash?”
“Dot, Dash, Dash, Dot.” She looked up and Midnight and smiled. “Hello friend.”
“Please you don’t have to do this!” Maudie pleaded. “Let’s just return to the town together, and I won’t say a single word.”
“Technically it’s an outpost, not a town.”
If Maudie wasn’t so terrified, she’d scream at him for saying ‘technically’ again.
“I despise that horrid outpost.”
“Then we don’t have to go back there, we can go somewhere else. We’ll run away together, you and me.” She hated the idea of going anywhere with him, yet she was desperate, and said whatever she thought might help her…
Mudbriar swung his pick axe. It hit the rock with a loud clang.
“Please don’t do that. You could knock loose a stalactite. It might fall and you could hurt yourself.”
“Technically it would hurt you. My location is safe. You my dear are directly above a large outcrop of stalactites.”
“Stop saying technically!” Maudie covered her muzzle.
Enraged, Mudbriar struck the rock again.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Do you know that I was sentenced to the mine. It happens quite often. Peasants get sent to the mine as punishment for various offences. Most of the outpost ponies are heretics, or complicit to heresy, which technically is the same as being a heretic. Me, I was sent here because of a lying Jezebel, a mare just like you.”
He struck the rock again. This time a few stalactites did fall, one dangerously close to where Maudie stood.
“I thought you were like me. I thought you were a pious soul who didn’t deserve to be in this horrid place. That story about helping your sister was a lie, wasn’t it? WASN’T IT! You’re just another lying heretic.”
As he lifted his pick axe, ready to swing yet again, something leapt towards him and bit into the meat nearest his shoulder blade. Mudbriar cried in terror.
In the darkness, Maudie could barely make out the terrifying creature that was attacking him. She braced herself to run, when she turned Maudie almost stepped on a small dragon. Maudie leapt backward in the other direction.
“Well,” said Spike, “that guy sure had it coming to him.” He turned to Maudie. “Don’t worry! Shade is just gonna take enough pints of blood to make him pass out, I think.” He held out a clawed hand, the gesture was kind and friendly. “You must be Maudie. Let’s take you to see your sister Pinkie, okay.”
A few days later. Midnight Still has not returned from Appleloosa or the coal mining outpost.
Lily tossed some papers to the ground and threw her front hooves up in exasperation. “Who knew running a town was so much work.”
“Everypony knows that.” Roseluck answered.
Lily wanted to retort, perhaps say something about the nepotism and corporate ties of all the candidates, though neither thing actually proved that they didn’t have a heavy work load.
The Burgermeister was doing a hooficure on Lily’s hind legs. He stopped for a second to pick up the papers.
“Why don’t you just tell him what policies to change, and let the Bergermeister do his job?” Daisy offered
“If only it were that simple Daisy, every document I read has something awful somewhere in the fine print. The worst part is figuring out what I even can change; determining where regional laws end and Federal laws begin is a nightmare. I’m thinking our whole society needs it’s laws rewritten.”
At that moment, Macintosh Appleton entered the room. It was awkward for him to get through the door, owing not only to his own girth, but because he was carrying another full sized stallion; said stallion was tied up and gagged.
“What are you doing?” Lily was flustered.
“He was spying on your estate. I found him in the bushes with binoculars.”
“How creepy!” As she looked away, one of Roselucks flytraps began chewing on her hair. She gave it a light slap.
Daisy was not used to seeing ponies bound and gagged in the home she lived and worked in. She should be by now. The mare rushed to his side and took off the gag.
He nearly bit her as Daisy tried to help. Dr Van Neighsayer then turned his neck as far as he could, trying to face Macintosh, who was still holding him in place. “Unhand me you brute.”
“Why were you watching our house?” Roseluck asked.
“Are you a pervert,” Daisy sounded almost excited at the prospect.
Lily took his saddlebag and dumped the contents upon a table. There was the usual: hammer, wooden stakes, rope, knife, binoculars, and a canteen; Lily sniffed the canteen, wondering if it was sacred water or just liquid courage. There was also a letter. The three crowded around, all trying to read the letter at once.
A Letter To Dr Van Neighsayer
Monday, May 26th,
Doctor Van Neighsayer, we have reviewed the case and we concur with your findings.
Rarity Belle is somehow integral to whatever Midnight Sparkle is plotting.
You have our organizations permission to end her life. There will be no legal consequences for carrying out this task. Please perform the necessary duties post haste.
Though you have our full support, we prefer the matter be handled with anonymity if possible.
“No way!” Roseluck exclaimed. “So he’s not just a pervert.”
“Hey, check if there’s a return address.” Daisy suggested.
Lily approached Dr Van Neighsayer. She placed her muzzle uncomfortably close to his face. Though for all intents and purposes she appeared to be a pretty mare, Dr Van Neighsayer still recoiled backward from the sight of this convicted witch.
“This organization, could they be the pillars of the enlightenment.” She was referring to the secret society, which could be considered the true power in most of Equestria.
“I’ll tell you nothing witch.”
Lily giggled to herself, as she made her way to a cupboard, and searched for a certain perfume.
“Oh Lily, not that potion again!” Daisy was referring to the perfume she already used on Macintosh, and on the Burgermeister. “There’s something awfully wicked about that potion.”
“Yeah, couldn’t we just turn him into a rabbit and let the timber wolves chase him around a little bit. Y’know, like we used to do with intruders and assassins.”
“Though that does sound fun Rosie dear, I’m afraid we’re going to have to keep this particular pest around for a while. He’s going to lead us to the real seat of power in Equestria.”
“I’ll tell you nothing witch.” Van Neighsayer repeated himself.
“I think you’ll change your tune in about three minutes.” Lily squeezed a nozzle, sending a waft of perfume towards his face.