The Baltimare Hospital was a place in town that had a bit of a unique feeling compared to other medical establishments. Where in most hospitals there was the usual feelings and smells, namely an odd mix of dread and antiseptic scented hope, Baltimare’s hospital was home to a unique set of everyday occurrences.
So much so, that Twilight and Sunset had to take a moment and stare at a pony who had climbed up the side of the building. The sight wouldn’t have been so weird if it weren’t for the fact that the earth pony was climbing with suction cups. “So... is this something that happens often?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing over at Hot Air.
“Yeah, Suction Cup there has been an issue across town. Likes to climb everything he can, regardless of how often it gets him in the hospital. Last time, it was some cleaning products CEO that he tangled with.” Hot Air shook his head and turned back to the front entrance. “The staff should take care of him. Let’s get inside.”
As the three headed inside, Twilight kept an eye to the door for a moment before looking to Sunset. “I’m starting to wonder if Equestria as a whole is as weird as Ponyville, or if it’s just Baltimare.”
Sunset shrugged as she walked. “I guess important ponies attract the bizarre? I sure don’t remember anything like that while growing up.” The two fell into silence as they caught up with Hot Air, who was standing at the receptionist’s desk.
Once they caught up, they could hear the two better. “Alright Mr. Air, Dr. Throb will see you in a moment.”
Sunset’s eyebrows shot up for a moment as she glanced around. “Heart Throb? He’s here?” Twilight raised her eyebrow at Sunset, and the amber unicorn blushed a bit before grinning sheepishly. “Heart Throb was the stallion in school who had mares flocking over him. Uh, let’s say that if I weren’t interested in mares, I’d be worshiping those flanks.” Her grin turned as she got lost in her thoughts. “Might just do it now that he’s a doctor.”
Hot Air just looked back at her with a small grin. “Then you’re in for a surprise when Dr. Throb gets here.” His smile fell a bit when Sunset shot him a low glare.
Twilight looked to the receptionist with a slightly curious glance. The receptionist just shrugged and motioned for the three to take a seat, taking the next patient to walk in shortly after. There wasn’t much talking between the three of them as they sat. Seconds ticked into minutes, but eventually, Hot Air had his name called, and the three stood.
The nurse, however, put a hoof up when Sunset and Twilight tried to follow. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to wait here.”
Hot Air turned around and smiled. “I don’t mind them coming.”
The nurse frowned and sighed. “Sir, I’m sorry, but you know the rules. I can’t let anyone--”
“Everything alright?” The four turned their heads to see a blue and purple pinto mare walk up clad in a lab coat. She stopped when she saw Hot Air and rolled her eyes. “Hot Air, causing more trouble again?”
Hot Air looked offended for a moment before pouting. “I’m just trying to come to our appointment. She’s the one who won’t let my daughter join me.”
The doctor sighed and rolled her eyes, before walking around the nurse, where they could see her better. “Hot Air, you know the--” She froze the moment she saw the ponies in question, before blinking in surprise. “Sunset Shimmer?”
Sunset just blinked in confusion and raised an eyebrow as the doctor walked out and started to circle her. “Uh... yes?” She jumped in surprise when she felt a hoof brush against her cutie mark, before swiping at the offending doctor’s hoof with her tail. “Hey!”
“Sorry, just checking.” The doctor smiled apologetically before looking Sunset in the eye and rubbing her chin. “I'm surprised to see you are looking so young.”
Blinking in surprise, Sunset felt a small blush dance across her cheeks. “Uh, magical shenanigans?” Sunset offered, taking a step back. “I’m sorry, but, do I know you?”
It was the doctor’s turn to blink in surprise for a moment before frowning. “Oh come on, you don’t even recognize me? I mean seriously, you, me, and every other mare we hung out with spent years chasing my husband’s flank. I even thought we were friends after a while.”
Sunset’s eyes narrowed for a moment before she started staring a thousand yards into the void. “Wait. Are you, Neuron Pulse?”
Chuckling and brushing a lock of her mane out of her eyes, Neuron just smiled. “Well, it’s Dr. Neuron Throb now, but yes.” She trotted over to the door leading to the back and turned to the receptionist. “She can come since she’s family, and Hot Air is giving permission, but the princess will have to wait outside.”
The receptionist for her part looked surprised and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?” Dr. Throb gave a quick nod to the front desk, and the receptionist sighed, going back to her papers.
Sunset paused for a moment to look to Twilight, who just shrugged and nodded her head to the door. The amber unicorn gave her friend a quick smile of thanks before following her father into the back.
Dr. Throb and Sunset walked down the hall towards the room that Hot Air was waiting in before Sunset stopped. “Hey, Neuron?” The medical pony paused her walking to look back towards Sunset. “I know this isn’t something I should be asking, but how exactly is my dad doing?”
Sighing, Dr. Throb turned to Sunset with a small frown. “That’s something I can’t give too much detail. Patient-doctor confidentiality and all that. All I can say is that he could be doing better.” She smiled and put a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “However, if the situation changes or Hot Air allows for his medical records to be released to you, I can tell you later.”
“Right.” The two continued their walk to the back and Sunset looked around. There was an encompassing feeling of awkwardness as she kept trying to avoid looking at Dr. Throb. Every time she did, she kept seeing a markless filly half her size trotting around without a care in the world. The same little filly that she’d tease saying that there wasn’t a chance for her to catch Heart Throb’s eye because of how young she was. Only to blink and switch back to the doctor who was walking with her. What she saw was yet another haunting reminder of how long she was gone.
Shaking her head, Sunset cleared the thoughts out as best she could and cleared her throat, getting Dr. Throb’s attention. “So... what field of medicine did you take up?”
Laughing a bit, they stopped at the door just at the end of the hall, and Dr. Throb grabbed the handle. “It’s a bit on the nose, but Neuroscience. I’m the resident Neurosurgeon when not tending to patients due to my thankful lack of necessary operations.” Heading inside, Dr. Throb paused for a moment and held a hoof out towards Sunset. “Wait here for a moment.”
Standing outside the room as the door shut, Sunset looked around curiously. Sitting there in the hall was by no means her first time in a hospital, but something felt distinctly off. The section of the hospital they were in didn’t look like a standard check-up area. The number of nurses nearby also felt like they were trying to prepare for something. Shaking her head, Sunset let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in an attempt to calm down. She was overthinking it and was getting worked up over next to nothing.
At least, that's what she told herself. The whispering she heard from some of the nurses nearby made that harder to believe.
“Another one?”
“This makes, what, seven?”
“He was doing so well too.”
“I think this one might be the real deal.”
“Now that you mention it, she doesn’t look dyed.”
When Sunset looked towards them, they jumped in their skin and turned back to their work. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before the door opened again and her attention was back to Dr. Throb, who had just stepped out. “Sunset, a word?”
Her heart sank from the tone of Dr. Throb’s voice.
Sunset gave a small nod, and Dr. Throb sighed. “I have good news. Your father has agreed to let me divulge his medical history to you.” Sunset had a smile start to grace her features before Dr. Throb shook her head, quickly making it fade. “However, that is the extent of the good.”
Sunset’s throat felt dry as what hope she had bled out of her. “How... how bad is he?”
“The damage that cost him his wing did more than take his flight. Your father has moderate nerve damage in his back and lungs, as well as the mana-paths leading up to his brain. Had anyone noticed sooner, we might have been able to help him, but his condition was discovered several years too late.” Dr. Throb sighed and shook her head as she glanced at the door leading back into the examination room. “The result, unfortunately, is Ether-Vascular Dementia.”
Sunset felt like the world had broken. “I... I thought that only happened to Unicorns?”
Dr. Throb shook her head and looked Sunset in the eye. “It’s rare, but sometimes it can happen to Pegasi or even Earth Ponies should they be involved with intense bursts of uncontrolled magic. A strong enough surge of foreign magic can cause enough damage to start the degradation.” She scowled, surprising Sunset a bit. “I just can’t believe those morons in Canterlot didn’t even bother to check after he lost his wing.”
Looking confused, Sunset shook her head. “But... he told me it was a boiler accident. It exploded when he was working on repairing it.”
Dr. Throb shook her head. “According to his medical history, Hot Air’s wing was severed by an arc of uncontrolled magic before his discharge from the Royal Guard. The spell cauterized the wound and kept him from dying of blood loss, but the damage was done, and the wing could not be saved, nor could he be fitted for a prosthetic. The records show this all occurred twenty-eight years ago.” A sad chuckle left the doctor as she shook her head. “I can’t believe I’ve gone over his records so much I’ve gotten that memorized.”
Sunset was silent. She sat there, staring down at her hooves as Dr. Throb put a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Dr. Throb shook her head and gave Sunset a small smile. “For what? It’s not like it’s your fault he lost his wing or that any of this is happening. You’re doing everything you can just by being here for him.” Even to Sunset, her words sounded hollow. They were more of an automatic response than anything else.
“You’re right.” Sunset rubbed her face and frowned as she looked back up. “It’s just that this never gets any easier.” Sunset glanced at the door with trepidation. “How... how long?”
“By our estimations, he has till the end of the year.” Dr. Throb then trotted over to the door and gave a strained smile. “You can come in if you’d like. If not, then you’re free to wait here or in the lobby.”
“I- I’ll be in the lobby. Could you let me know how his examination goes?” Dr. Throb nodded, and Sunset turned to leave, before stopping and looking back. “It... it was good seeing you again, Neuron.”
“It was good seeing you too.” A final sigh escaped the doctor’s lips before she turned to the medical room. “I just wish it were under better circumstances.”
The walk back to the lobby felt far longer than it was. Sunset’s mind was going over all the doctor had told her. She wanted to deny it all. As much as she loved her father, he was a habitual liar. But there had to be something true to what he told her, right? No, she knew that was a lie. One she told herself more often than not. Her father lied yet again.
Medical records didn’t.
In the end, it didn’t matter. With the state her father was in, the spell that he wanted cast would cause more harm than good.
Sunset got to the lobby, and Twilight looked hopeful for only a moment, before rushing over to her friend radiating worry. “How did it go?”
Looking over to the door that she’d just come through, Sunset sighed and deflated. “We’re going to have to figure something else out.” No more words needed to be said. Twilight’s posture sunk to match her friend and she wrapped Sunset in a hug.