“Come on, ol’ girl... I know you wanna work for me...”
To an outsider, the image in the corner of the Granifred Pie Memorial Hospital Orthopaedics Ward was, at best, strange and, at worst, a good reason to call one of the special ponies with the white jackets.
A orange pony, wearing a doctor’s coat and a cowboy hat, gently whispering to a large clunky machine which was currently making sounds like someone had poured cement on its gears.
Dr. AppleJack, the orange pony in question, was fiddling with nobs and buttons on a large x-ray machine labelled ‘FR-X23’. The machine itself appeared to be running, but sounded like it could fall to scrap at any moment.
It was to this bizarre image that the Mayor entered the Orthopaedics ward. There was a moment of silence as she stared at AppleJack, listening to her attempts to sweet talk a hunk of metal.
“... Um, excuse me, Dr. Jackson...” the Mayor interjected, “but care to explain to me why you’re attempting to sweet talk an antiquated piece of technology?”
AppleJack turned to face the Mayor. “Anti-what?”
The Mayor shook her head. “Nevermind, Doctor. I’m here to let you know the patients are arriving shortly, and I’ll be assisting you in the operating room.”
AppleJack scoffed before returning to fiddling with the machine. “Why you? Wanting to keep an eye on me so I do damage one o’ your precious machines?”
The Mayor stepped forward, looking over the machine in greater detail. “Well, I’d be lying if I said worry wasn’t part of the reason, ESPECIALLY with you performing surgery with an uninsured museum piece.”
“Ah, calm your horses, Mayor,” AppleJack responded, walking around to the other side of the device. “Ol’ FR here’s just a little antsy from being stuck in storage for so long.”
“There’s a reason we had it storage, Doctor. It’s for spare parts,” said the Mayor, an annoyed scowl coating her face.
There was a moment of silence as AppleJack looked over the device once more. Said silence was cut short by a loud CLANG as AppleJack suddenly took it upon herself to kick the device.
“Dr. Jackson!” the Mayor shouted. “What are you doing to our equipment?”
“I’m makin’ it work, ‘s what I’m doin’,” came AppleJack’s response. “Just listen.”
As the Mayor opened her mouth to protest, she stopped. Turning to look at the machine, her jaw nearly dropped open. Sure enough, the clunky sound was gone, and it now appeared to be running at full capacity with no issues.
“What’d I tell yah? Sometimes, you just need to show a little tough love,” AppleJack said as she sauntered over to the Mayor, adjusting her hat as she stood to admire her handiwork.
“... Please never do that again, Doctor. My heart and my wallet can’t bare this kind of thing.”
Before AppleJack could respond, a familiar voice came over the intercom.
“Make sure that Orthopaedics is clear;
The Fillydelphians are almost here.”
AppleJack clapped her hooves together. “Whelp, looks like that’s our cue. Yah ready, Mayor?”
Looking back at the machine, then to AppleJack, then to machine again, the Mayor sighed. “No, but let’s get this over with anyways.”
“That’s one pony fixed up righter ‘n rain! Git me another one, stat!”
AppleJack took a step back as the nurses wheeled the pony out of the room. She looked around, surveying the rest of the ward. It was hectic, with the other three workstations humming with activity. She watched as ponies drilled guides, cut synthetic bone, secured plates and generally went about their work with quick, squeaky-clean efficiency.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? Kind of makes you wish you were on one of those machines... and not that lawsuit waiting to happen.”
AppleJack sighed, turning to face the amber pony opposite her. “Mayor, I know you’re worried ‘bout ‘dem ponies ‘n all, but trust me. I could do these kindsa procedures with ol’ FR here with one hoof tied behind mah back.”
The Mayor scrunched her face, cocking an eyebrow. “Please don’t. I’m fairly certain our insurance doesn’t cover doctors showboating.”
Her comment was greeted with a shaken head from the orange pony opposite her. Before AppleJack could fully respond, however, a call came out from across the room.
“Patient coming in! Severely fractured wing!” the nurse yelled, wheeling the injured pegasus into the ward. AppleJack raised a hoof, motioning the patient towards her little ad hoc surgical station in the ward’s corner.
As the patient was wheeled up, AppleJack began fiddling with the machine while the Mayor looked over the injury. “My word... this wing is broken in at least three places,” she exclaimed, turning to look at AppleJack. “Dr. Jackson, I would strongly recommend we move this treatment over to the new work stations. There are too many injuries to reliably treat with... this machine.”
A chuckle was what she got in response. “Ah, you’re too worried, Mayor. I got this. This l’il missy ‘ll be back tearin’ donuts in the clouds before chow time!”
The Mayor sighed. “One day, I hope to learn to understand these obtuse sayings of yours, Dr. Jackson.”
AppleJack gave the Mayor a slightly amused look and a stuck out tongue before fiddling with the machine once more. “Alrigh’. Give me a moment to get FR ready for this. You get our young filly friend sedated and ready for surgifyin’.”
The Mayor shivered slightly at AppleJack’s peculiar choice of wording, but went about getting the patient properly sedated. She then waited patiently as she watched the cow-poke doctor fiddle with the outdated piece of machinery, flipping switches, turning nobs, and smacking it a few times, the thud of metal causing the Mayor to flinch even further.
“Alrighty!” AppleJack exclaimed, stepping back to admire her handiwork. “She’s ready and rarin’ to go. You ready, Mayor?”
A sigh was her response. “As ready as I’ll ever be, Dr. Jackson.”
Applejack smirked through her surgical mask, adjusting her Stetson. “We’ve been over this a dozen times, Mayor. Call me AppleJack.”
This time, the response was a grunt and nothing else. AppleJack shrugged at the development before walking up to the sedated pegasus. “Startin’ the operation.”
“Just a few more incisions and... there. We’ve found the first fracture.”
AppleJack and Mayor took a moment to examine the damage. The first fracture had been located half-way up the outermost bone.
“Ouch, that musta hurt...” AppleJack mumbled. “I’m countin’... 6 separate bone fragments. Best be gettin’ those out right away...”
“Agreed. I’ll hold the tray while you remove the pieces,” the Mayor responded as she quickly picked up an empty tray.
“Way ahead a’ yah, Mayor,” came a drawling response, punctuated by a ‘tink’ sound as the first bone fragment landed in the tray. The forceps went back and forth between the wound and tray, giving off five more clinks as they landed.
“Alright, Dr. Jackson. We have the fragments. What shall our next course of action be?”
AppleJack cocked an eyebrow at the Mayor. “You’re jokin’, right? Or is this some kinda test to prove I actually know what I’m doin’?”
The Mayor glanced back. “It’s confirmation that we’re both on the same page. I don’t want to be preparing a metal bracket and screws while you’re waiting for some sort of synthetic bone clasp.”
AppleJack let out a chuckle as she shook her head. “We ain’t gonna be needing either o’ those, Mayor. This is a thin enough bone that a CEA Antibiotic Gel should seal things right up.”
“Ah,” came the Mayor’s reply. “In that case, you reset the bones while I prepare the gel.”
“No problem,” AppleJack retorted, taking the tray in one hoof while delicately holding the forceps in the other, as the Mayor galloped off to a supply room. Slowly, but surely, each bone fragement was placed back into the wound, only this time, the fragments slid slowly into place, the sharps edges locking together into a reasonable facsimile of their unbroken form.
With a container of gel in hoof, the Mayor returned. “The Calcium Enriched Adhesive Antibiotic Gel is ready.”
“Fantastic! Give it here,” was what she got in return as AppleJack grabbed it from her. Without wasting another second, AppleJack smeared the gel along the bone. One by one, the bone fragments began to adhere to one another as the adhesive coating took effect.
“Alrighty! That’s one fracture down. Movin’ on down the line...”
As they relocated their view, the sign of the second primary bone came into view.
“Ok, let’s get a look here... Looks like we got two fractures 5 inches apart. It’s still in relatively good shape, but that’s gonna need some bracing if it’s gonna heal properly.”
The Mayor tapped her chin. “We should use a metal brace. I’ll prepare the screws.”
Before she could go and aquire what was needed, a hoof grabbed her should. “Bad idea, Mayor.”
AppleJack’s reward for stopping the Mayor was an agitated glare. “Bad idea? Are you insulting me, Dr. Jackson?”
Applejack shook her head. “Not at all, Mayor. Normally, you’d be 100% right on the nose. But what we’ve got here’s a bit different.”
“How is this any different?”
“Simple. This is a pegasus wing bone. The central bits are hollow. Drilling into them like that is gonna cause more harm than good. Besides, the weight’d cause an uneven balance. This lil’ darlin’d be lucky if she could hop in the air without fallin’ out o’ the sky.”
The Mayor stopped and closed her eyes, a look of deep thought mixed with annoyance on her face. “Very well, Dr. Jackson. Exactly what do you propose we do?”
When she opened her eyes, she realized that AppleJack had already bolted, digging through a series of drawers at one end of the room. The Mayor quickly trotted over. “Dr. Jackson, exactly what are you looking for?”
AppleJack continued ransacking the drawers, tossing stuff all over the place. “I’m... lookin’... for... aha! These!”
With a confident look on her face, AppleJack held what she had been looking for high. It was a metal rod and a strange looking drill.
“... Dr. Jackson, exactly what are those?”
“Oh, these? A couple o’ presents from Ms. Sparkle and her fancy-pants medicine boys in Canterlot. I’ve been waiting to give these bad boys a test run.”
This revelation cause the Mayor’s eyes to bug wide open. “Wait a minute, a test run?”
Giving the two new toys a once over, AppleJack nodded before heading back towards the operating table. “Yep. Haven’t had the luck o’ finding somepony with an injury for these puppies to work on. But like they say, no time like the present.”
The Mayor followed close behind, stammering out objections. “N-now see here, Dr. Jackson! I will not have you using this injured pony as some kinda... guinea pig! Especially not in my hospital on uninsured machinery!”
It was all for naught, however, as AppleJack seemed more interested in the bizarre looking drill. Holding it up to the light, the Mayor was able to get a good look at it for the first time. Two things stood out on it. First off was the trigger, which as far as the Mayor could tell, was on upside down, or rather the entire device was upside down, located on the bottom of the handle. However, this was small potatoes when compared with the really weird part; the drill bit. It was located in a strange U-shaped metal metal piece that popped out below where the drill bit would be expected to be. It was weird enough until AppleJack actually pulled the trigger for a moment. When she did, the drill bit suddenly popped off the U and began floating in between them, spinning rapidly in the air.
“What the... Dr. Jackson, exactly what sorcery have you brought into my hospital this time?”
AppleJack laughed a little as she experimentally pulled the trigger a few more times. “Ah, cool your jets, Mayor. T’ain’t sorcery. If what Dr. Sparkle done told me is right, this here’s something to do with magnets. I don’t know how the buck magnets work, but I’ll be damned if it ain’t fun to watch.”
As the Mayor stared at the drill with an incredulous look on her face, her jaw dropping in disbelief, she was suddenly jostled back to reality by AppleJack handing her metal rod. “Can you hold this end for a sec?”
She took the end in hoof as AppleJack held the other end. Along the rod were small divots wherein the rid thinned out. The Mayor could tell from holding it that the rod was hollow, itself barely weighing anything.
By this point, AppleJack’s attention had gone back to the patient, quietly examining the fractured bone. She began to count under her breath, measuring by eye the length and curvature of the bone. After a moment, she turned her attention back to the rod. Raising her free hoof, she began counting the divots, measuring by mind where she needed to work.
“Two... four... five and half. Got it. Hold on a second, Mayor. Please don’t drop the rod.”
“Dr. Jackson, I think I’m professional enough to not drop a...”
The Mayor’s interjection was interrupted by a grunt as AppleJack pulled her head back before slamming herself forehead first into the rod. In the shock, the Mayor almost dropped the rod, but managed to keep her calm long enough to avoid this.
“For the sweet love of money, what in the name of Celestia are you doing?!” she blurted out, stunned by what she had just witnessed.
AppleJack responded by giving her head a little shake. “Dang, she weren’t kiddin’ about how tough this little rod is...”
“Answer my question, Doctor!”
“Just a sec... here we go,” was AppleJack’s reply, as she head butted the rod once again in a different place, causing another bend in the rod.
“Dr. Jackson, answer me!”
“I’m bendin’ the rod to fit the bone. What’s it look like I’m doin’?”
“It looks like you’re head butting an apparently valuable piece of medical equipment!”
Another grunt and smash indicated AppleJack’s disregard for the Mayor’s complaints.
“S-STOP IT!”
Shaking her head the clear away a bit of the daze, AppleJack glanced over. “Alrighty. She’s looking perfect.”
As AppleJack took the rod back to the surgery table, the Mayor followed behind, her voice wavering like she was bordering on either crying or smacking AppleJack across the back of the face.
“P-p-perfect?! You bent it! Repeatedly! It’s all bent out of shape!”
At this point, AppleJack turned, giving the Mayor a somewhat confused look. After a second, however, her eyes opened in realization.
... And she laughed. To which to Mayor simply stood, confused even further.
“W-wait!... Mayor, you thought I was wrecking this doodad Dr. Sparkle brought us? Do you honestly think I’m that dumb?”
The Mayor opened her mouth to respond, but quickly stopped herself. AppleJack cocked an eyebrow, but decided not to pursue it. “Come here for a sec, Mayor, and I’ll explain this a bit better.”
AppleJack held the now bent rod over the fracture bone. It was easy to see at this point that the purpose was to make the rod fit the shape of the bone.
“Ah... I see. That’s all well and good, Dr. AppleJack, but I fail to see how you plan to secure the rod to the bo...”
The Mayor’s words where cut off by the sound of a drill, causing her to jump slightly. AppleJack had pulled out the strange U-headed drill. “That, Mayor, is where this little doohickey comes in.”
The Mayor took a few breaths while looking at the strange, floating tipped drill. “You’ll forgive me if I require a better explanation than ‘doohicky’...”
AppleJack smiled. “I’ll do yah one better, Mayor. Ya’ll are gonna get a live demonstration!” she said as she began fiddling with the drill tip in the patient.
“I have a bad feeling about this...” the Mayor added, taking a position next to AppleJack to watch the procedure.
“Alright, I’ll explain it nice ‘n slow for yah. See, with pegasus bone, its hollowness keeps the wing light. These special rods ‘r hollow as well, so they can be used for securin’ injured bones.”
The Mayor nodded. “I recall that much, Doctor.”
“Ah, but here’s the problem. Since drillin’ plates into pegasus bones is more likely to cause more harm than good, we need to find a different way. With the thinner bones, the CEA Antibiotic gel is good enough, but with the lower wing bones, the weight’s still too much.”
“Alright, alright, I get it. So how does the rod fit in?”
AppleJack pulled back a hoof to reveal what she had prepared. The drill tip now sat on the end of the bone, the U-shaped part over it. “Easy. We drill a hole through the bone for it.”
“Drill a hole all the way through the bone? That’s crazy!” the Mayor replied.
“Normally, yes, that’s all kindsa crazy. But the thing is, in this case, we got ourselves this here special drill. Using them magnets Dr. Sparkle was all giddy about, we just slowly push the drill along...”
As she spoke, AppleJack began applying gentle pressure to the drill trigger. A few minor shards of bone gave way as the drill bit started spinning, held in place by the magnets in the U-head. Slowly, the drill was pushed forward, the U-head going around the bone. As it did, the drill bit moved along with it, disappearing into the bone.
“Now, we just gotta take this slow and steady...” AppleJack said, slowly guiding the drill along the length of the bone. The sound of drilling bone was barely audible from the bone itself. “If I rush this, I might lose the bit, and I don’t think anypony here’d be right happy ‘bout that.”
The Mayor swayed a little, a brief flash of panic running over her. “Please, Dr. Jackson, do not bring such things up...”
After a few moments, the drill sat right near the end of the bone. Halting the movement, but not the drill itself, AppleJack took a few short breaths. Then, she began slowly working the drill backwards, out the way it came. After another few moments, the drill bit popped out. Letting out a sigh of relief, AppleJack finally eased off the trigger, and the drill bit immediately snapped back into the U-head of the drill.
AppleJack grinned widely, adjusting her Stetson once more. She turned once again to address the Mayor. “That got us a hole for the rod to go in. Better yet, it shaved of a little bit o’ the bone. Not too much, but enough to compensate for the weight of the rod.”
The Mayor nodded. “I must admit. I’m quite impressed.”
A bright blush was the response. “Ah, shucks, Mayor... Just doin’ my job ‘n all...”
“I meant on the rod and drill, Dr. Jackson.”
AppleJack’s head dropped suddenly, blocking her eyes. She quickly lifted it back up. “Ah. Nevermind, then...” she responded before taking the rod in hoof and turning back to the patient. After a second, she turned back. “Can yah get me the medical mallet, Mayor?”
The Mayor quickly glanced at the tool table. She grab the steel mallet of the table and handed it to AppleJack.
“Mighty grateful, Mayor. Now, if you’re still planning on gettin’ all uppity when I start smacking your impressive medical stuffs, I’d suggest you look away now...”
The Mayor took the hint, averting her gaze. It was hard for her not to cringe with each clang she head, the metal on metal bashing drowning out all other sounds in the room. Fortunately for her, all it took was three solid swings and the job was done.
“Alrighty! That’s two down,” AppleJack said excitedly, “one more to go!”
The Mayor cleared her throat, moving back to the operating table. “Very good. Shifting the focus.”
“Alright, final injury is... here...”
“Oh my...”
AppleJack let out a long sigh, adjusting her hat once again. “That ain’t good...”
The Mayor nodded. “What are your thoughts, Dr. Jackson?”
AppleJack pointed to the ball-joint of the humerus; the part the connected the wing to the rest of the pegasus. The joint was knobbly, and looked unnatural.
“It’s about the second worse thing to happen to a pegasus joint short ‘a crackin’ the scapula itself. No doubt, some idgit sent this little lady along on a trip without so much as a wing brace or peck on the cheek. The bone’s already started healin’, but it’s healin’ all wonky...”
The Mayor nodded. “Well... I’m afraid it’s looking like your efforts were in vain, Dr. Jackson... My apologies..”
AppleJack cocked and eyebrow. “Just what you shootin’ at, Mayor?”
The Mayor looked back at AppleJack, seemingly confused at AppleJack’s reaction. “Isn’t it obvious? Standard procedure for a ball-and-socket joint like this is the removal of the damaged areas and replacement with a metal, artificial joint. Such an object would save the wing and prevent further damage, but...”
AppleJack turned back to look at the bone and signed, her hat drooping over her eyes. “But it’d unbalance the wing somethin’ fierce...”
The Mayor’s face seemed genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry, Dr. Jackson. But sometimes, we have to cut our losses. I’ll go prepare the joint. I’ll leave preparing the sight to you.”
As the Mayor walked off, AppleJack stared at the knobbly bone. Was taking away this pegasus’ only means to fly really worth it? Was it really the only option.
“Gal’durnit, AppleJack... Think... What’s somethin’ that we can replace a section of bone with that wouldn’t ground this lass for good...”
“Wait a minute... somethin’ to replace the bone... somethin’ the weighs the same as bone... I got it!”
AppleJack suddenly jumped, pointing at the Mayor. “Stop right there, Mayor!”
Hearing her name ordered around as such, the Mayor stopped, turning back to AppleJack. “Dr. Jackson? What’s going on?”
A wide grin appeared across AppleJack’s face, her hat seemingly pulling back to show off as much of her beaming pride as possible. “Synthetic bone!”
There was a second, it was as if Discord himself had appeared and was doing a two step in the middle of the operating room as the Mayor just stared in disbelief once more. “... What about synthetic bone?”
AppleJack nodded. “Simple. Synthetic bone is, pound for pound, the same weight as real bone. If we shave down the badly healed ball joint, we can just pop a synthetic bone chunk over top to fix the joint. The scapula’s perfectly fine, so I see no reason it shouldn’t work.”
“... Dr. Jackson, you cannot be serious...”
AppleJack was taken aback at the Mayor’s sudden comment. “You sayin’ my mouth’s makin’ promises my hooves can’t keep?”
“Precisely,” came the Mayor’s response. “When you’ve shaven the bone, the artificial joint, if you recall, is placed on using your medical mallet. You can’t have a screw or other such device holding the ball joint in place because it would end up damaging the joint. And I don’t believe I need to remind you what you said; synthetic bone has the weight of regular bone. It also has the tensile strength, and I don’t need to tell you that smashing it with a hammer will do anything but good!”
There was a moment as the Mayor and AppleJack stared at each other, eyes glaring into one another. It was as if an old western had come to life; the sheriff and the desperado, staring each other down at high noon.
“Mayor, I became a doc so I could help ponies in need. I’d be failin’ in my duties if I didn’t do everythin’ in my power to make sure these ponies got healed up, right as rain.”
“Dr. Jackson, this is too risky. Synthetic bone isn’t designed to be smashed all willy nilly. It’s better to use the artificial joint and simply try to help this pony live a healthy life on the ground.”
An angry glare shot from AppleJack. “Mayor, you got two choices right now. You’re either gonna help me get this girl the treatment she deserves, or you’re gonna walk outta this surgery room and leave me to do it mahself.”
The Mayor’s gaze shot back. She opened her mouth, but then stopped. After a moment, she continued. “Dr. Jackson... AppleJack... I’ve allowed you to use outdated technology. I’ve stood by while you used untested medical technology on a patient.”
“... Are you willing to take responsibility for what happens to this patient?”
Without flinching, AppleJack nodded. “You bet your boots, I will...”
The Mayor looked AppleJack over once. After that, she nodded. “Very well. What do you need me to do?”
AppleJack’s grin returned. “That’s the spirit! Alright! I need a spherical bit of synthetic bone with a 2 inch spherical divot in the bottom. Go use on o’ them new fangled laser bone cutters. Just input the shape and get to cuttin’.”
The Mayor nodded. “What will you be doing?”
“Me?” AppleJack quipped, digging through her medical table until she found what she was looking for; a large, cup shaped cutting device. “I gotta get this here bone ready for its new pardner’ “
The Mayor shivered a bit, but nodded. “Very well. I leave that job in your capable hooves,” she stated as she trotted off towards one of the newer looking machines.
A new found fire in her heart, AppleJack set about placing the scrapped over the knobbly bone.
“Alright, AJ. Gotta be careful with this one. Don’t wanna scrape too far after a rousing talk like that one...”
With a small flick, the device began spinning. The sound of scraping bone was one AppleJack never really got used to, but dealt with all the same.
Gently, she began working the scrapper down further and further onto the bony nub, shaving it down further and further.
“Almost... there... got it!”
With a quick hoof, AppleJack turned the machine off, and the whirring and scraping stopped. Pulling the head back up, she admired her work. The nub had been shaven down, and a small 2 inch wide bump remained.
“Alright! That’s done. Hope the Mayor’s almost done with the bone...”
“Did someone say my name?”
AppleJack looked up to see the Mayor, standing with the prerequisite chuck of bone in hoof.
“Dang, Mayor. That was mighty quick!” came a startled reply from AppleJack.
The Mayor gave a small smirk. “Well, you don’t become a hospital director without picking up a few tricks.”
AppleJack quickly took the synthetic bone in hoof and looked it over. Sure enough, it was rounded well, and a 2 inch rounded divot had been carved in the bottom. “She sure is a beaut’. Now let’s pound this doggy into place!”
The Mayor handed AppleJack her medical mallet as she quickly centered the synthetic fragment over the bone nub.
“Be careful, Dr. Jackson. If you hit it too hard, all we’ll have it a series of synthetic splinters, which I don’t think I need to remind you is NOT a good thing to have inside a patient.”
AppleJack scoffed. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing, Mayor...”
Tried as she might to hide it, AppleJack could feel a tingle in the back of her throat. She wasn’t gonna deny she was nervous right now. But if there was ever a time to pony up and hit ‘er home, now was it.”
First, a light tink sound came out as AppleJack gave the bone a test tap.
“Alright... driving her home in 3... 2... 1...”
A loud bang echoed around the operating room. The Mayor reflexively closed her eyes and covered her face.
However, after a moment, she noted that she didn’t feel like anything had hit her, and what’s more, she heard... laughing.
“... Dr. AppleJack?”
The mallet sat on top of the synthetic bone, which had been perfectly aligned with the rest of the humerus. Dr. AppleJack sat beside it, a happy, whole hearted laugh coming from her.
“Well I’ll be...” came the Mayor’s reply.
“Hoowee! What’d I tell ya, Mayor?” AppleJack exclaimed, reaching out a hoof to smack the Mayor on the back with enough force to almost send her glasses flying.
“Oof... I-I must admit, Dr. Jackson. It seems you were right.”
“Sure glad I was,” AppleJack responded as she returned to setting the ball joint back in its socket. “I’d be feelin’ a right heel right about now if that hadn’t worked.”
The Mayor nodded. “Hehe, yeah... Wait, you didn’t know that would work?”
AppleJack shook her head. “Nope! Now hand me the stapler and let’s wrap this up!”
“Woowee! I’m beat!”
AppleJack took a seat just outside the operating room. Taking off her hat with one hoof, she raised the other wipe the sweat from her brow. The Mayor stood alongside her, also looking very tired, but with a decidedly more professional tone about her.
“Dr. Jackson, I’ll thank you not to pull that kind of stunt in my hospital again.”
A chuckle was AppleJack’s immediate response. “Lighten up, Mayor. We got the job done, didn’t we? And now that lil’ filly has her entire life of flyin’ ahead of her.”
“Thanks to blind luck...” the Mayor replied dryly. “Now, with that all over, I believe your shift is done for today, Dr. Jackson. Head home and get some rest.”
AppleJack gave a little nod, still breathing heavily from the whole surgical ordeal.
The Mayor nodded back in turn. “Very well. Have a good evening,” she said before turning around and heading off down one of the hospital’s many halls.
AppleJack had to admit it, while finishing a couple of difficult surgeries always put her in a good mood, they also took a lot out of her. “Like buckin’ apples back on the family farm...” she joked with herself.
Noting the late hour, AppleJack rose up and started heading for the locker room when a familiar voice came up behind her.
“Um, Dr. AppleJack?”
AppleJack turned around to see a familiar wall eyed pegasus in a nurses’ uniform. “Oh. Hey, Derpy! What’s goin’ on?”
The grey pegasus saluted. “I’m sorry, doctor, but did I catch you in the middle of something?”
AppleJack shook her head. “Not at all, Derpy. I’m here to help.”
Derpy nodded. “In that case, Doctor, I was wondering if you could help me with some paperwork I needed to finish filling about the Fillydelphian drop-offs from earlier. I still have a few hours’ worth left..”
AppleJack chuckled, placing a hoof on Derpy’s back. “Say no more, Derpy. Let’s go get these forms of yours finished and get out of this chicken coop.”
“Thank you, Dr. AppleJack... chicken coop?”
As the two ponies walked down the halls, a small voice in the back of AppleJack’s head began yelling about getting a good night’s rest for work tomorrow, but she quickly hushed it up. What’s the point of rest, she thought, if it stopped you from getting work done?