Doctor Time inclined his small head, regarding the larger pony. The pony was easily twice his size, but looked far less certain. The... stallion was nervous, clearly. He was also a bit malformed. The short leg doctor coughed into a hoof. "Well, good afternoon... Mister Shine was it?"
"Yes, Sir." He dipped his head down so far he went flat on the ground. "They said you had things that needed cleaning. You... aren't a queen." He sounded a little sad at that observation.
"I'm not." Time smiled a little. "But I work for one, and so do you, if you work for me." He stood up, his small tail wagging behind him. "You want Queen Longshot to be happy, don't you?"
"Oh, yes! Yes, very much so." He sat up onto his haunches, looking at Time intently. "What must I do to gain her favor?"
"All you have to do is keep me happy, and I don't require too much." Doctor Time hopped up onto a stool with a little scramble of his short hind legs. "Do you see these jars?" He pointed to a line of them, each with a variety of medical tools. "Do you know how to clean them? They must be entirely spotless and free of even the tiniest speck of dirt. I will use them, and they will become dirty again, and you will clean them again."
Crown's ears lifted as best they could. "I love shining things, Sir. I'll be happy to do that."
"I'm Time. Stitch in Time. You can call me Doctor, or Time, or Doctor Time, if you prefer. What shall I call you?" He hopped from the stool up to the countertop, finally standing over his new assistant. "I'm told you also have experience helping ponies who need it?"
"Yes, yes. Oh, I'm Crown Shine. You can call me Crown." He set a hoof on his chest. "And you're a doctor... They never let me speak to the doctors, unless I was hurt. It's... an honor, Doctor Time. I will help hurt ponies feel better. I will get them water, and help them stay clean. I will let them lean against me if that helps."
"Delightful." His smile grew, feeling Crown's words were sincere. "Some ponies, and not all of them will be ponies, I should add, will be confused. They may say unkind things, or even try to hurt you. What will you do?"
Crown ran his fetlock over his chin with a thoughtful murmur. "That happens, I mean, it happened. I had to take care of candidates, and sometimes they were very angry, and they would hit me... but they were just scared, so I didn't get angry..."
Time softly hummed. "I see... You've already been a nurse, in a fashion. I should note, no pony will be here that is not being helped."
Crown blinked. "I always helped ponies too."
Time let that topic just die quietly. He would not be going through trying to convince Crown how he had been involved in a terrible thing. That was another topic for another day. "Good, then you understand. I will try to help them, to restore them. You are my assistant."
"And extra hooves." He reached up towards the doctor with his subtly wrong hoof. "Should I start cleaning?"
"Not just yet. We have to go over organization." He started going over what had to be exactly where, and his student listened, and watched. He really was a faithful subject.
"Stitch in Time." The door nudged open with a faint glow, allowing Longshot inside. "I saw him trotting away. He looked very proud of himself. Did he have reason to be?"
Time nodded at Longshot. "I think he'll work out." He gestured over his tools. "He polished the entire set and found a few things I had put away in the wrong places. Cleaning is something he seems to take very seriously, which I can appreciate."
"Good, but... be honest, is he difficult? I understand he has... unusual origins."
"To put it mildly." He hopped down to the stool. "He has a good heart... I should verify that physically. Speaking of that, you're here, let's do a checkup."
"Doctor!"
He held up a stethoscope balanced on his hoof. "I don't get the opportunity that often, and we don't want our beloved queen becoming ill."
She huffed, but sank down onto her haunches in front of him, allowing him to do as he pleased. "I feel fine, but do as you will to ensure that remains the case." She drew a slow breath. "She's gone..."
"Hmm?"
"Octavia... She's gone. With any luck, never to return, ferried safely back to her heavenly plane, far removed from our ashen lives."
He quirked an ear up at his large boss. He pressed the cool ring of metal against her chest. "Mmm, I can hear a bruised heart. I hear sharing one's feelings can help put that on the mend. I recommend 14 cc of snuggles and approximately ten minutes of shared feelings."
She burst into laughter. "I do not normally expect such talk out of you, Doctor, though I am aware of your people's... reputations. Still, you're married."
"Marriage does not preclude holding a dear patient and letting them cry. Lock the door, and whatever you tell me will die with me. You deserve that much, Longshot. May I give you this?"
Longshot considered him a moment. "If you try anything, I will tell her, and she will tan your hide and I will let her."
His little ears pinned to his head. "A little faith, please. I will not betray her trust, or yours."
She fixed him with a steely gaze, but her glowing horn did lock the door. "I wish to start by saying that I am damn proud of this town, and my role in its success. It's a lovely place... getting better, I think, one little step at a time."
"You've done so much for us," he easily agreed with a smile. "But that doesn't stop you from hurting."
"No, it doesn't..." She sighed, her head coming far closer to him. "She was so innocent, but so elegant. She was a pony that simply cannot exist in this world, and my heart breaks, but... But!"
"But?"
"But I will keep working, damn it all. I want this world to be worth that again, to raise little foals like that..."
He tilted his head. "You could raise foals right now."
"You're edging close to that line..."
The topic shifted back towards safer waters.