The days passed and Dash barely said a single word. She wouldn’t even look at you when you came in to change her bandages. That all changed when you told her she was ready to be discharged.
“But I can’t fly up to my home! Where do I go?” she asks with panic.
“Can’t you stay with one of your friends?” you ask.
Dash shakes her head. “No, I don’t want to be a bother to them. They all have their own thing they have to do and they can’t have me hanging around like a lump.”
Her eyes perk up. “What if I stay with you? I mean, you’re a doctor! You’re supposed to take care of people!” she backs down a bit, realizing how forward she was being. “That is, if you’re okay with it.”
Sighing, you give in and tussle Dash’s mane. “You’re lucky you’re cute, Dash. Is there anything you want from your house?”
She blushes a bit and becomes a little less forward. “Uh, ya… Ya. Fluttershy can stop by and pick those up. I’ll-“
“You’ll stay here. I'll talk to Fluttershy.” you say as you step out of the room.
Fluttershy was more than happy to pick up some of Dash’s things and went right to work packing up whatever she thought Dash wanted or needed for a speedy recovery. You planned to meet up with her when you wheeled Dash to your home. Dash was against using the wheelchair, but caved after you told her it was either that or be carried.
Fluttershy was placing the last of the boxes in your living when you met up with her. You had told her where the key was and to let herself in.
“Oh, hi. I grabbed some blankets, pajamas, and some things to make Dash feel more at home.”
“Fluttershy, may I ask you a question?”
“Of course, Doctor.”
“Why do you have a turtle on your back?” you ask, pointing to the turtle with the blue shell and two yellow lightning bolts on its back.
“Terry! Oh my gosh, I almost forgot about you!” Dash yells, reaching for the turtle. Fluttershy walks over to Dash and lets her scoop Terry off her back.
"I took care of him while you were in the hospital, I hope you don't mind" Fluttershy says with a sheepish smile.
"Not all, thanks 'shy."
“Feeling better now?” you ask.
Dash smiles at you. “Ya, I am.”
“Good. Thanks for the help Fluttershy, I’ve got it from here.”
“Okay. Get well soon, Dash.” she says before trotting off. You wheel dash into your living room and help her onto your couch.
“I am never going to get used to being wheeled around in that thing.” she grumbles.
You ignore her complaints and instead begin laying down the framework for Dash's stay with you. “You’ll stay in my room and I’ll take the guest room upstairs.”
“No, don’t do that! Why don’t I use the guest room?”
You point at her leg and she gets the idea. “Oh… Right.”
You chuckle as you pick up a box and begin to take it into your room when Dash sees it and begins to visibly panic
“WAIT! Give me that!” she yells as she struggles to get off of the couch.
You stop and look at her, confused. “Uh, sure. Is there something wrong?” you say as you hand the box off to her.
“I might need Fluttershy to take it back and-“ at that moment, Terry decided he was tired of being held and jumped out of Dash’s arms. This made her flail around and lose her grip on the box, spilling its contents over the floor. It was at that moment that things got very awkward.
Dash’s face became bright red as you looked at the numerous copies of “PlayMare”, “Stableloft”, and an assortment of sex toys, some of which you’ve never seen before. Dash screams at the top of her lungs and dives for the floor as she tries to cover up what just happened.
“OH DEAR CELESTIA! WHY DID FLUTTERSHY GRAB THIS?!? IT WAS HIDDEN UNDER MY BED! IT EVEN SAYS KEEP OUT!” she groans and covers her face. “YOU PROBABLY THINK I’M SOME BIG PERVERT NOW, PLEASE I CAN EXPLAIN I-”
“Dash, calm down!” you yell. Dash stops screaming and looks up at you, tears in her eyes. You feel your face go red as what is now on your floor sinks in. “This is perfectly normal for a mare of your age and-“
A buzzing sound coming from underneath Dash makes you stop and causes Dash to freak out again. “WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?” she yells.
You leave Dash alone and let her pick up her things and return when she calls out to you. She's back on the couch, looking away from you as you enter the room. Once you sit down, she takes your hoof into hers.
“I’m SO sorry for that. Please don’t be mad or anything it’s just that when I’m the air and everything and I get back down, I feel so… Well, you know and I to need well…You know. You Know?” she says quickly, her voice full of panic. You can’t help but laugh aloud at this display.
Her face contorts in a mix of anger and hurt. “What’s so funny?!?”
You take a breath and collect yourself. “You. Big, tough, Rainbow Dash goes to pieces when someone finds out her secret. And while yes, that was pretty much the definition of awkward, I couldn’t be mad at you. I’ve seen and heard just about everything, so just relax.” you say as you put a hoof on her shoulder. Dash lets out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. I feel a lot better.” she says as she leans on you.
“Speaking of which…” you begin “Give me a heads up if you’re going to do that so I can go for a walk or something. Or you know, if you need any help I can…”
Dash jumps back, blushing heavily. You smile and she realizes you’re teasing her.
She laughs aloud before punching your shoulder. "Shut up!"
You laugh with her as you rub your shoulder. “You should get some sleep Dash. Here, lemme help you.” You maneuver yourself so Dash isn’t walking on her broken leg and help her into to the bed. Laying her down gently, you smile. “Good night Dash.” She doesn’t hear you. She’s already asleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Holding the tray in your mouth, you back into the door and walk into Dash’s room. She was just waking up from a good night’s sleep and smiles as she sees what’s on the tray: Two eggs, sunny side up, wheat toast, and a glass of orange juice.
“Breakfast in bed again? You’re making me feel like royalty.” She says as you set the tray down on her lap. A few days had passed since Rainbow Dash moved in and she was quite overwhelmed by the treatment.
“It’s no trouble. Just get some rest, okay? I’ll stop by the café and pick something up for us around lunch. You know where the bathroom is and my personal number at the hospital if you need anything. In the meantime, get some rest.”
You give her a quick hug and make your way out.
“See you later!” Dash yells out through a mouthful of food.
“Oh, and if you do have to get out of bed, I shouldn’t have to tell you to stay off that leg.” you yell to her as you slip on your white coat. “Use the other three if you really have to.”
“I will!”
On the way to Ponyville Urgent Care, you bump into Rarity, who was browsing the market for new fabrics.
“Oh Doctor! It’s ever so good to see you! How is Rainbow Dash doing?”
“She’s doing well. She seems to be taking it in strides.”
Rarity smiles. “That’s wonderful news. Oh! Do you think you could stop by this afternoon? I’ve been working on a little something for her. A ‘get well soon gift’, if you will.”
“Oh? What is it? Some sort of fashionable hospital gown?” you ask with a tease.
“No, but that is something I should look into… It’s a quilt! I know how Rainbow Dash is so used to sleeping on clouds, so I’ve been working on something that’s just as soft!”
You relish the thought of sleeping on a cloud. Especially since the guest bed was so rough on your back. “I’ll make sure to do that. I’m sure Dash will be grateful.”
“Oh, I know she will. Goodbye Doctor. Have a nice day.” Rarity says as she trots off, new bolts of fabric in hoof.
You make a mental note to stop by the Carousel Boutique after picking up dinner and continue on.
“Good morning, Doctor.” Nurse Tenderheart says with a smile as you walk in.
“Good morning. Got anything for me?”
“Why in fact I do. Exam room two. Here’s the file.” she says as she hands the manila folder.
Levitating the file in front of you, you look it over quickly before entering the room.
“Hello Mrs. Doo. It says here that your daughter needs her flu shot, is that right?” you ask. You’re a little surprised as you notice the pegasus’ wall eyed expression. One eye was looking at you while the other was admiring the ceiling.
Ditzy nods. “Yup! Muffin don’t need to get sick!”
Looking around, you spy Dinky hiding behind her mother’s legs.
“Well there you are. Come on, I don’t bite.” you say, trying to coax her out. Ditzy steps out of the way and lets you get a look at Dinky. The gray unicorn is shaking in fear as you look down at her, so it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t like doctors. You get down to her eye level and let her look at you. She stops shaking and takes a step closer.
“See, I’m not so scary. Now you’re going to need a shot so you don’t get sick. Getting sick is worse than the shot. Trust me.” you say in a gentle tone “Now just hop up on the table and we can get this done with and then you won’t have to do it again for a whole year.”
Dinky doesn’t say anything, but follows your directions and gets on the exam table. Walking over to the counter, you pull out the flu shot, making Dinky cringe in fright at the size of the needle.
You levitate the needle into the air and look at Dinky, who was waiting for you to make your move. Instead, you slowly start to look up and stare at the ceiling. Dinky follows your gaze to the ceiling. You take this opportunity to put the needle into her foreleg and inject the contents in less time it takes for her to react.
“OW OW! That hurt, you meanie!” she yells.
“I’m sorry about that. Would a lollipop help you forgive me?” you ask as you pull out the candy from the same drawer you got the needle.
Dinky smiles and takes the lollipop from you. “I forgive you.”
“Well, that wraps it up, then. Come back if there’s any problems.”
* * * * * * * * *
Dinky and Ditzy were your only patients all day. You went back home with some takeout spaghetti from the café for your lunch hour, which you and Dash enjoyed.
The day wrapped up quickly and you were coming home with the quilt that Rarity had made for Rainbow Dash. Not only did it look like a cloud, but it felt like one too.
“I’m home Dash!” you yell “I’ve got dinner and you’ve got a present from Rarity!”
“I’m coming!”
Dash hobbles up and her, eyes light up at the sight of the quilt.
“This is what Rarity made? It's SO cool!”
She moves over carefully, making sure not to hit her leg and rubs her head against the quilt. “Oh wow, it feels just like a real cloud…" Dash's eyes darted hungrily to the bag you carried at your side "What did you get for dinner?”
“Ever have a Coltpania style Pizza before?” you ask with a grin as you set the bag down on the table.
Dash furrows her brow as she sniffs the bag. “I’ve had pizza before, but not from Coltpania. What is it?”
“It’s got a lot more tomato sauce in it and they used actual tomatoes, peppers, and spring onions from Coltpania, so it tastes great. I had it before while I was studying abroad and it was AMAZING. You have to try it.”
Taking the dish out of the bag, you remove the plastic wrap from it and let the smell linger for a moment.
Dash takes a deep breath. “Oh wow, that smells so good!”
Carefully, you cut her a sizeable piece and set her plate on the table. She sits down and takes a big bite, only to stick out her tongue in pain. “HOT HOT HOT!” she yells.
“Well of course it’s hot, you ditz!” you say with a laugh “It just came out of the oven not too long ago. Let it cool or you’ll burn your mouth.”
Dash let’s it cool down this time before taking a big bit from it. “This IS good!” she says inbetween bites.
“Glad you like it. Just don’t choke on it, jeez. Good thing there’s a doctor at least a foot away.”
Dash giggles and takes another bite. “It wouldn’t be that bad. I’m fine with you giving me mouth to mouth.”
You smile bashfully as your cheeks become red. I'm fine with it, too
Dinner was easy to clean up and the night came quick. “It’s time for bed. Here, lemme spread out your new quilt.”
You use your magic to levitate the quilt and spread it over and tuck it into the bed.
With your help, Dash gingerly climbs onto the bed and lets out a contented sigh as she settles down. “Rarity may be uptight sometimes, but that pony knows how to sew! Come on, get in here. It feels awesome!”
You crawl into bed with Dash and blush when you feel her snuggle right up to you. You remain quiet and enjoy the feeling of Dash pressed up against your body.
“Why don’t you sleep with me tonight? I mean if you want to. It just that you do so much for me and it’s the least I can do for everything you’ve been doing for me.”
You wrap your hooves around Dash, causing her face to go flush.
“Go to sleep, Dash.”
“Doctor’s orders?” she asks.
You lean forward and plant a kiss on her lips. She looks at you, stunned.
“Doctor’s orders.” you say with an ear to ear grin. Falling asleep on a cloud with Rainbow Dash in your hooves; you’ve never had a better night’s sleep.