Was there ever a time somepony had to go to a hospital when they weren’t nervous? Cloud certainly was as he walked into Ponyville Hospital alongside Serenity and a saddlebag-wearing Sunny. He was fairly confident that he would pass these tests easily. Once he did, the former changeling could really start properly putting a new life together.
But what if he didn’t? What if he was still a changeling deep down and didn’t realize it? Could he still rejoin the swarm? Did he even still have it in him? As the trio took seats in the main waiting room, the two engaged pegasi noticed that their green newcomer was nervously biting away at his still relatively new hooves.
“I don’t think you need to be that nervous, Cloud,” Sunny noted. “If your story really is true, the outcome is already decided and you’ll be fine.”
“A little fear is good for ya,” Serenity added. “Keeps you focused on success.”
“Yeah, ah, sure,” Cloud said.
Cloud’s attempt at his first-ever “Ponyville-style” breakdown—even in the hive he’d heard anypony living there was prone to one—was interrupted as a door opened to reveal two ponies. The first was a light blue unicorn with a purple-and-white mane. She had a little orange flower in her hair and bandages on her horn. The second was a yellow Earth pony with a blue mane, green eyes and an oddly high amount of blue eye shadow; she wore a small hat that indicated she was one of the facilities’ nurses.
“Now you’ll be just fine, Ms. Diamond Mint, but only if you lay off aggressive magic for the next week as Doctor Stable recommended,” the nurse said. “Horn cracks happen to every unicorn from time to time, but the latent magic in your carbuncle should heal it relatively soon.”
“Thank you, Nurse Coldheart,” Diamond Mint responded. “I’m picking up my prescription at the pharmacy on my way home.”
Diamond Mint trotted off, leaving the nurse to walk behind the desk and check the list of appointments. She called off the next name on the list.
“Breaker, Cloud,” Nurse Coldheart announced. “The staff will see you now.”
Cloud gulped one last time and walked toward the door. Sunny and Serenity both gave a wave then waited. They figured they might need to be there if medical staff had any outside questions about Cloud.
“Wish me luck,” Cloud said as he left.
“Good luck,” the pegasi responded in unison.
Serenity and Sunny both knew they’d probably just peg him for “stressed out, maybe delusional.” They started talking again as soon as Cloud trotted through the door and out of earshot.
“Five bits says he’s a pony,” Sunny wagered.
“You’re on,” Serenity fired back in a half-joking manner. “If I’m being honest, I hope he is. The guys and I need a fourth for euchre since Thunderlane started spending more time with Flitter and Cloudchaser.”
In the hallway outside of the waiting room, Nurse Coldheart looked at the forms for the new patient and chuckled softly at the description “patient thinks he is a changeling, administer DNA test.” She then led Cloud Breaker to a small room. Using her mouth she pulled a new paper cover out and covered the room’s bench with it. She placed Cloud’s paperwork by the door.
“Feel free to have a seat if you’d like,” Nurse Coldheart said.
“Thank you,” Cloud responded as he did so.
Nurse Coldheart opened a drawer, revealing a fresh syringe and a checklist.
“I will need a few samples for testing,” she said. “Doctor Stable will handle most of the tests. I will need one of your feathers and a blood sample for the lab, though.”
Cloud pulled a feather out of his right wing his with mouth and presented it to her. She placed it in a bag and sealed it with her hooves.
“This next part will hurt,” Nurse Coldheart warned as she picked up the syringe.
Cloud braced himself as she positioned it with her hooves and jammed it into his flank just above the cutie mark. She took the sample with a quick pull of the plunger, and Cloud looked down as the instrument was removed with its red contents. That blood color was a good sign, right?
“Doctor Stable will be with you shortly,” Nurse Coldheart said as she left to take the samples for testing.
Cloud thought he had a moment to ponder what he doing, but instead the doctor arrived almost immediately with another nurse. The doctor was a yellow unicorn stallion with a brown mane; he was accompanied by a white earth pony mare with pink hair. They were apparently coming back from a short break and finishing a conversation.
“I can’t believe you got me on the back nine with that birdie on 17, Redheart,” Doctor Stable said. “That’s usually one of my better holes, too.”
“My uncle is the groundskeeper at the Gooseneck Club, and I’ve been playing that course since I was a filly,” Nurse Redheart responded. “A deal is a deal. You owe me a smoothie at the 19th hole next time we play.”
“Yes, yes,” Doctor Stable responded as the white pony left. “Now on to business.”
He pulled out Cloud’s paperwork with his magic.
“So let’s see what your issue is, Cloud Breaker,” Doctor Stable said as he looked over the papers. “Hum. Okay. So you think you are really a changeling? How long have you been having these thoughts?”
Time for more honesty. If he kept this up he’d get quite good at it eventually.
“My whole life, Doctor,” Cloud responded. “I was a changeling up until yesterday when I screwed up my magic and turned into this.”
Cloud gestured to the various aspects of his new permanent pony look.
“So you were part of the attack on Canterlot?” the doctor asked.
“I was,” Cloud replied. “I had a spy mission in Ponyville for a month leading up to that.”
“I see, spy mission,” Doctor Stable responded. “That sounds risky. So have you been under a lot of stress at work lately?”
“I haven’t found any pony work yet,” Cloud said. “Haven’t had much time to look yet if I’m honest.”
“So you haven’t been working in at least the last six months?” Doctor Stable asked.
“Not in any pony positions,” Cloud said.
“I see. Well the job market has been stressful lately. Are you new in town? I noticed we don’t have any prior records for you.”
“Yes, I’ve only been in Ponyville about a month,” Cloud responded.
“Have you had any changeling-related dreams of late?” Doctor Stable asked.
“Um, not really,” Cloud said. “Just normal deception and conquest stuff until last night. My first dream as a pony was about getting a toasted BLT flower sandwich. After having a normal one, toasting it seemed like the next step.”
Doctor Stable made a few notes on the paper.
“Do you mind if I make a more personal examination for a moment?” the doctor asked.
Cloud nodded.
“This may tingle a bit,” Doctor Stable said.
The doctor then examined something on Cloud’s underside. Cloud felt a bump in a rather personal area.
“Ah,” Cloud said. “What are you doing down there, Doc?”
“I’m checking your personal area,” Doctor Stable said. “Changeling reproduction is different from other equines. While they can fake the appearances and, to an extent, intimacy of ponies, they aren’t a perfect copy. This appears rather normal, though.”
“Is that good?” Cloud asked.
“That depends on what you hope the answer to this test will be,” Doctor Stable responded. “Wings out, please.”
Cloud responded by extending his wings as asked. Doctor Stable attempted some small talk as he examined them and made notes.
“It’s not often that I have a voluntarily-conscious patient for a changeling test,” Doctor Stable said. “Normally if any doctor is doing one of these, it’s down at the police station with a subdued suspect. Comes up more than you’d think. Our knowledge of changelings is relatively strong, but not complete.”
Doctor Stable finished his examinations and opened the door.
“I would like to run one more test,” Doctor Stable said. “Please follow me.”
Cloud got up and did so. The pair walked down the hall, passed closed doors as the scent of antiseptics hung in their snouts, and arrived at a room labeled “X-ray.” Doctor Stable opened the door, and the two stallions entered.
“This is a simple process,” Doctor Stable said. “I’d like to do an X-ray. If you are in a disguise, the all-seeing eye will see through it.”
“I’ll take one,” Cloud said. “If it will help, then I’m game.”
The doctor brought Cloud into the room and positioned him for the X-ray. He then left the room and clicked the machine, snapping an internal picture of the questionable pegasus.
“That should about do it,” Doctor Stable said. “The lab results will take a few more minutes. I’d like to talk with your friends during that time if it’s possible. One of the nurses will take you back to the room and I’ll return with the results.”
“Yes, doctor,” Cloud murmured as the older stallion departed and Nurse Coldheart returned.
***
In the waiting room Sunny and Serenity were both distractedly reading books that she had brought from home. Their reading was interrupted as Doctor Stable walked in. Nurse Redheart followed with a packet of papers and an X-ray picture.
“Your materials, doctor,” Nurse Redheart said.
“Thank you, nurse,” Doctor Stable responded.
As Nurse Redheart walked back to her other duties, Doctor Stable looked over the papers and glanced up at Serenity and Sunny.
“Good afternoon, I’m Doctor Stable. I’m handling Cloud’s tests today,” the doctor said. “We have our conclusion and wanted to talk with you both before we tell Cloud.”
“Certainly,” Serenity said.
“What’s the answer, Doc?” Sunny asked. “Is he a changeling?”
“Not in the slightest,” the doctor explained. “His physical tests all indicated a normal pegasus, and these results have confirmed it. The DNA tests on his blood and feathers are a 100 percent match for a male Pegasus, and the X-ray shows he has a normal pony skeleton. He’s just as much a pony as anypony else.”
“Well that’s a relief,” Sunny said.
“Not quite,” Doctor Stable said. “I’m curious. How long he has claimed to be a changeling? Did he start after the attack or before it?”
“He only started doing this after Canterlot was attacked,” Serenity responded. Technically that wasn’t a lie.
“Was he in Canterlot for it?” Doctor Stable asked.
“He was,” Sunny responded, relatively sure of that point.
“As I thought,” Doctor Stable noted. “I think he’s suffering from a mild form of PTSD. If he indeed witnessed the attack, in order for his mind to comprehend it he is now convinced that he somehow took part in it. I think it’s certainly a notable condition, but not an incurable one. It’s quite possible that he’s just having a kneejerk reaction, but if it continues for more than two weeks I’d recommend counseling.”
“Is he a danger to anypony?” Sunny asked.
“Not in my opinion,” Doctor Stable responded.
“Will he be allowed to leave?” Serenity asked.
“Yes,” Doctor Stable said. “For now anyway, we will tell him the results and release him.”
***
Cloud had been waiting for the past several minutes alone. He examined his hooves. They were so much smoother and more complete than his old holey ones, and they still felt a bit weird to use. He had no further time to consider his new appearance, though, as Doctor Stable returned. The doctor didn’t beat around the bush in telling him the results.
“You are free to go, Mr. Pegasus,” Doctor Stable said. “Everything checks out. You are not a changeling.”
Cloud smiled widely as Doctor Stable presented him with all of the data confirming the announcement.
“Oh thank goodness,” Cloud responded with a smile.
Finally, confirmation. Either way, now he could really start living again.
“Have a good day, Mr. Cloud. I need to go check on another patient now,” Doctor Stable said before leaving. “Your friends are waiting for you in the lobby.”
As Cloud walked out of the exam room and made his way back to the lobby, a million thoughts went through his mind. So he really was a pony now. He’d make it work somehow.
Even if he was past this hurdle, there were still a million more to come. How would he make money? How would he make amends for attacking Canterlot? At least he might have something on his side, “his friends” as the doctor put it. He probably had a bit more work to do before he could call them that, but at least it was a start.
Meanwhile in the lobby, Serenity discreetly forked over five bits to Sunny just before Cloud walked out.