Lily - 11th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - MorningLily - 11th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Morning
It was good to have all the problems tossed out of this place. Despite the events taking place under my new home and clinic, I still liked the building a lot. Without the possibility of ghosts haunting the corridors, and with the inspection over and done with, I could finally get to establishing my business.
True, there was still whatever organization which had used the lab on the loose. Frankly, that wasn’t my problem. They clearly didn’t want the place back, not after abandoning it for three decades, and the guard was busy looking for them. It was out of my hooves and into the proper ones.
It was also true that the ‘ghost’ was in fact back in the building. Because for some reason she was attached to the place and I quote, ‘Outside is too big. I tried to fly up and find the track the lights run along, but it started to get too cold to live and I still couldn’t find it… Can I come back in please?’
I decided to not inform the possible agoraphobe that ‘outside’ is literally an infinite area, and offered her a job as my receptionist. After all, with a place this big I would need employees.
Fortunately for me, Equestrian law provides salaries for the first three employees of any medical facility. Meaning I didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket to get Ember officially employed. All I had to do was take her to city hall and fill out a notice of employment, all she had to do was present an ID she somehow had that I didn’t see fit to question, and boom. The Ghost mare gets two thousand bits a month for helping me keep patient in and out records.
Mostly, I was happy I didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket because I was officially broke. I’d commissioned a sign last night, and the stallion had me pay upfront. This did bug me, as I assumed I would be out of bits for the week with nothing to show for it for at least two weeks. I was wrong.
The sign showed up this morning, and it was better than I asked for.
I asked for a sign with a medical insignia emblem that labeled the clinic as ‘Lifegiver’s’. I figured using my title would be good press, and it worked as a name. All I had expected was a simple painted sign made from some sheet-wood. What I got was an elaborately carved double sided sign board made from laminated red oak boards.
It featured an odd emblem, a winged staff with two serpents coiled symmetrically around it. I liked it, and assumed it was an Equestrian symbol. It was very elaborately carved, and featured some paint to highlight and shade, but was largely colored through the use of carefully brushed on wood stains.
The lettering was also elaborately carved in a calligraphic script which unfortunately made it impossible for my translation spell to actually read. On the plus side it did remind me I should probably get around to actually learning to read Equish. It felt odd to be illiterate in only one of the languages I could speak on my own.
Always tell an artist the bare minimum you need and let them do their craft, you get far better results when you don’t tell them how to do their job.
Also, Ponyvillian carpenters are apparently minor woodworking deities. All the stallion said when I asked how he worked so fast was an ominous grunt and, ‘Kid, it’s Ponyville.’
Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to be able to help me hang it. Understandable with how many ponies homes and how much public property was damaged in the attack yesterday. I did feel a bit bad getting my sign done when so many ponies had much bigger issues.
That’s why I had expected it would take a week. Perhaps because it was a sign for a clinic he got it done first. I mean, there had to be a lot of injured ponies. I was expecting something of a rush today as ponies rejected from the hospital due to injures not deemed severe enough to treat until the critically injured were done with flooded into however many clinics there were.
Frankly, I was astonished that the sun had been up for three hours and nopony had stopped by.
“Lily! There’s a pony here for you!” Ember’s sudden shout snapped me out of my thoughts.
I quickly left the meeting room, where I had been pushing tables into a makeshift operating theater, rushing out into the lobby.
“Yes? What is it?” I called, frowning slightly as I spotted an apparently perfectly fine green and orange pegasus mare standing in the lobby.
“Hello, I’m Autumn Leaves with the Ponyville Disaster Response Team,” she greeted. “I didn’t know anypony was living here again, so I didn’t stop by yesterday. Was anypony here injured yesterday? I have healing potions.”
I tilted my head in mild confusion. “No, no one is injured. Ponyville has a door to door healing potion service?”
“Yes miss,” Autumn said with a nod. “There are generally two or three of these sorts of disasters in a given year. Ponyville General decided the best way to prevent a flood of patients was to assemble a volunteer force to take healing potions door to door, and direct emergency services those a potion wouldn’t help… So, here I am.”
I winced. “So I was right in expecting a ton of injured ponies.”
Autumn nodded and turned to leave. “Well, see you next time. Hopefully you won't need me then.”
“Wait!” I exclaimed as she left and a thought occurred to me. “This is, er, or rather, will be, a clinic as soon as I put the sign up. I don't’ suppose I’ll be seeing many patients then? I mean, if you can afford to send potions door to door.”
“This is a clinic?” Autumn said turning and smiling immediately. “Thank goodness! That means the Redlight District will finally be able to have Five Minute service! I’m a Nurse at Ponyville general, trust me, we can’t afford to give out these potions.
“This comes out of the city’s sales tax and a special disaster relief account that some colt with a finance talent manages. At our best PGH can manage three thousand patients in one year… And last I checked, we were about to hit nine thousand residents.
“So any clinic is welcome!”
I nodded, grateful that I would have work, but at the same time… “It’s sad that you can’t find the funds to treat more than that. Is that a product of the Crown’s funding?”
“Oh no, not at all!” Autumn objected. “It’s mostly space, how much resources we can get, and of course, trained professionals. There’s a shortage of healers these days. Few ponies without a medical cutiemark are going to go into the medical profession, and the most recent to mature generation has an oddly low percentage of healing talents.
“But enough of that, before I go, may I ask what sort of practice you are establishing? Just so I can spread the news correctly. We wouldn’t want gossip to get it wrong and say, have a bunch of ponies with broken femurs show up for healing when you’re an orthodontist.”
I chuckled, her joke was a bit funny. It was a joke too, but you’d only know it if you heard her tone.
“Ja, we wouldn’t want that. I will mostly be performing simple acts of healing, if only because I don’t expect there to be a large market for cosmetic alterations, or bioengineering in a town like this,” I informed. “I specialize in biomancy, which as I hope most people are aware was recently legalized.”
Autumn nodded. “Yes we received the legal update in the mai-” her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh my gosh! You’re the pony who healed Princess Celestia’s horn after the Battle of the Badlands!”
I nodded. “Ja, that was me… Why-”
“How do you do that?” Autumn demanded. “Alicorns are lucky, they have that slow regeneration the Princess would have been fine in a century or so, but thousands of unicorns right now are suffering permanent arcane crippling due to-”
I held up a hoof to cut her off. “Miss, I’ll be happy to share medical knowledge with anypony who needs it. Perhaps I could exchange letters with your hospital so there is a written copy. If you must know, to repair a horn, I first establish a thaumaturgic link with the patient's adipose tissue. Then I instruct it to convert into stem cells, und convert them into embryonic stem cells. I then direct these cells to the horn, und using a variety of techniques, then inform those cells to form the various tissues which make a horn.
“If the horn is simply cracked, chipped, or mostly intact, this will regenerate the damaged portions within an hour. If it’s completely missing or very heavily damaged, the horn should be restored within a few weeks to a month… Or longer if they do not possess much body fat.”
“... You’d probably make more money teaching that Germane magic of yours.” Autumn said with a slow shake of her head.
“Ja, perhaps. But I like to help people.” I returned honestly.
“Good! Far too many ponies in it for the easy money,” Autumn sighed. “Well, I have to go, my shift starts soon. Good luck to you, and I’ll definitely be in touch!”
I gave her a wave. “Auf Wiedersehen.”
Autumn nodded and turned to leave, stepping aside with an, “Oh! Excuse me.” as a light blue furred mare in a purple star spangled cape happened to be coming in at the same time.
“Trixie excuses you.” The icy colored mare said, scrunching up against the doorframe to let Autumn by.
Everything about the new mare screamed ‘stage magician’. The design of her cape, her stance, tone of voice, and of course the instant off the fetlock joke she just made. Total showmare move.
“Hello ma’am,” I greeted, “I’m not open yet, but if you are injured I will help as best I can.”
After a half second, unable to hold it back, I added. “Und you seem to be missing your floppy cone hat.”
She gave me a quick smile. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not performing today, so her hat remains in her cart… Besides, she would be far easier to spot with it.”
“Uh, then, why the cape?” I asked, ears drooping as I realized speaking in third person had to be her stage persona’s bit…
“... Trixie has lost her saddlebags at sea. Her cape has pockets. Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie is a Mistress of Illusion! She simply made herself appear as somepony else’s problem,” Trixie answered before looking around slowly. “Trixie was told this was a hotel, but you tell her you offer medical services, did the mare at the store tell her wrong? Trixie has…a history with Ponyville… She would understand if some ponies were…unwelcoming of her.”
I shook my head slowly. “No, I’ve only owned this place for a week. They probably thought I was making it a hotel again. I’m actually a biomancer, and this is a clinic now.”
Trixie nodded, purple eyes looking around the room still. “This place will need some renovation before it feels… Hospitality.” Suddenly her head snapped to face me. “Did Trixie hear you say you are a biomancer? As in, a wielder of the Germaney’s secret art?”
“Ja, I am,” I said frowning curiously. “I take it your uninjured, but is there anything you want? My services are now legal in Equestria. I do sell cosmetic and practical alterations.”
Trixie nodded quickly. “Trixie is here on some… Unsavory business. She heard her father is ready to do things which… Trixie feel obligated to try and stop. But she is not in top shape anymore.
“Trixie has…scars. Old injuries she healed herself, and not very well. They slow her down. Trixie went to Germaney and Neighpone to try and get help, but found none. She can not pay much, traveling has drained Trixie’s pockets, and Trixie has a… Well… She is only here because she must be.
“Princess Twilight will probably object to Trixie’s presence here… So she can’t put on a show to raise money,” Trixie admitted, tapping her hooves together nervously.
I winced. Old injuries could hurt a lot if they healed wrong. My rear right leg had felt like fire for three months due to one of my mistakes many years ago.
“Ma’am, it’s medical treatment to relieve chronic pain, so it’s covered under Equestrian Health Rights. You don’t need to pay.” I informed before turning to Ember. “Ember, could you help her fill out an in form?”
Ember nodded. “Sure. Uh… How do I do that again?”
I rolled my eyes. “How about I do this one und you watch?”
I briefly filled out the form, getting Trixie’s full name, gender, sex (apparently those terms were not synonymous in Equestria), age, and other basic information down on paper. Fortunately Ember was a quick learner, I didn’t think I’d need to explain it to her ever again.
Once the paperwork was filled out, not wanting to take my first customer into a dirty, barely-work-ready room, I asked, “Would you mind if we did this in the lobby? The other rooms are not sterile to say the least.”
Trixie thought for a moment then nodded. “Trixie is fine with this. She remembers the magic working quickly. It’s not as if she will be here for hours.”
I nodded in agreement. “Ja, we shouldn’t be more than ten minutes. So, what exactly is the problem? Poorly reattached muscle? Pinch in the skin?”
Trixie cleared her throat. “Trixie wouldn’t complain about such trivial matters. Allow her to drop her illusion…”
Trixie swept her cape off of her back and rested it on the stairs. Then her horn glowed for a fraction of a second, and a literal full body illusion around her melted away. I suddenly yelped and jumped backwards, almost booking it far far away from the mental whiplash induced micro-panic!
Mistress of illusion was right! She had looked perfectly fine! I’d brushed against her while doing the paperwork, she had felt fine! She was not in any way okay!
For starters, she was missing her left eye. Entirely. Empty socket, no glass, filler, not even stitching to keep it shut. Lots of scarring around the socket too, making animal attack the obvious cause of the injury.
Then there was the horribly mangled scar down her right foreleg which had healed over resulting in what looked like a trench running down her body. Her left ear was missing it’s top half and the right was notched.
Then there was the entire back, all of it. Nothing but crisscrossing perfectly straight scars covering the entire surface. No fur.
“Faust’s bloody mane! Why the buck are you… Who prevented you from getting to a hospital?” I demanded in horror.
Trixie cleared her throat, her voice still sounded normal. “Trixie’s own stupidity and…notions of superiority.” She admitted.
“How long have you been like this? What the buck even happened to-”
“Trixie lost her eye fighting a Roc over a fish,” she explained. “Her ears… Trixie forgets, the arm is from a duel she lost as a filly, and her back… Trixie was flogged for questioning authority. She then learned that salt and lemon juice is a lie, not a healing sav.” She answered, “You can fix everything, right?”
“Ja!” I exclaimed, nodding firmly. “I can, and I will, right now!”
I closed my eyes and reached for my magic. While horrific to look at, her injuries were relatively minor. I could do this easily enough and it would make a world of difference for the poor girl.
Who the buck flogs anypony? Honestly! There’s cruel and unusual, and then there’s maiming for life!
As I felt my magic connect with her, I slowly began to map out her body, searching for any other damage which wasn’t noticeable from the surface. That would probably take the longest of everything I’d need to do. It was also a simple enough matter, so I felt the need to talk to keep her mind off of the admittedly invasive procedure.
“Just a warning,” I began, “I’m not at all able to work with the brain yet. If your speaking in third person is the result of a head injury-”
“No, Trixie’s mode of speech is not injury related,” Trixie informed with an amused smile.
“So it’s just a bit for the stage?” I asked. “Why do it when you're not performing?”
Ah ha! A few mangled muscles in the right flank… Poorly healed arrow wounds from the looks of it. Perhaps she was a guard once, drummed out for some infraction or medical reasons. Did the Equestrian military still use flogging? I didn’t think so.
“Trixie… Prefers to keep the mystery going.” Trixie said after a moment. “But she will tell you, she feels you are owed something for the help. After Trixie had to leave home, she foolishly stayed in the Everfree forest for some time. One day she happened upon a flower, a bright blue, with a darker strip centered in each petal.
“Trixie knew that this was either the rare Blue Dragon Blossom, whose leaves are said to make a tea so delicious it’s heartbreaking! That, or, it was Poison Joke, which bestows a curse upon those who touch it.”
I almost broke the spell as what she was saying dawned on me. “You didn’t!”
“Trixie did!” She laughed. “She did not know much about herbs in those early days… Trixie is much better at woodcraft now!”
“So how’d it taste?” I asked curiously.
“Blue,” Trixie returned in a joking tone.
“So you’ve never thought to find a cure for the Poison Joke?” I asked, almost finished with my analysis of her biology.
“Trixie likes speaking as she does. She feels it makes her unique.” She said decisively.
“Big family?” I asked casually.
Trixie snorted with laughter. “You have no idea!”
I closed my eyes to reflect on everything my magic had found, so I could catalog a list of problems to fix in the next few moments. There was everything I had noticed, but also…
“Trixie, are you aware that you have dozens of small mana crystals implanted all across your body?” I asked.
“Yes, Trixie knows about them. Please don’t remove them, they are Trixie’s secret weapon. She had that done in Neighpone, and has four years of her mana stored in them… Perhaps she should have told you that before. Will it be a problem?” She asked fearfully.
“No, they appear to have been implanted very skillfully, and muscles are mostly working around them… I’ll just tidy up the surgery. Any reason you wanted to boost your reserve?” I asked, preparing my first regeneration spell.
“Yes… But it is personal. Trixie would prefer not to talk about it,” Trixie said firmly. “Trixie would like to know why you're wearing a single contact lens.”
“You can see it?” I asked in surprise, horn flaring as I began the spell to regenerate her eye. “That eye is green. I can’t make it blue, und I don't like having green eyes so I got a colored contact.”
“Why not?” Trixie asked suspiciously.
“No idea. I’ve been trying since colthood. It wont change. I’ve replaced every single part of myself at least once, except for my eye, und my brain.” I informed. “Um, close your socket, your eye should be coming in soon, und everything will be very bright if you-”
“Thank you.” Trixie said, clamping the socket shut a split second before the skin began to push out as the tissue reformed.
Next was her back. I was working in order of energy required, and after the eye, this was certainly the most damage.
I reflexively flinched as I felt my magic penetrate clear down to the spine as it sought damaged tissue. “Ooo… That’s probably the pain right there. Please tell me that the Royal Guard didn’t do this… I’d have to leave a country that flayed somepony to the spine.”
“Trixie’s Oldest Brother did it, at the behest of her father,” Trixie said after a long moment. “It… It took her a long time. But she realized he is not a good pony. So she tried to leave. He took offense at that.”
“I had a horrible father too,” I said, sympathy pains flashing across most of me. “He lit me on fire once. For liking dresses.”
Trixie’s ears drooped sorrowfully. “That’s terrible! A colt as effeminate as you shouldn’t be faulted for trying nice clothing.”
“He’s not a good pony,” I grunted. “But I’m free of him now, and I think I’ll spend some of my first month’s income on a nice wardrobe.”
Trixie shivered as my magic rippled outwards, new fur sprouting up along her back in a wave, “Ack! Itchies! Urnn! Trixie… Trixie recommends, the Carousel Boutique. Across town. Best designer in Equestria. Don’t mention Trixie! There could be… Bad blood. Rarity is friends with Twilight.”
“Okay, what did you do?” I asked, curiosity getting to be more than I could possibly bottled up. “You don’t need to worry, I’d heal my own dad if he was hurt, I won't stop just because of a crime you committed.”
Trixie shuffled a hoof on the floor for a moment. Then nodded slowly. “Trixie is… Boastful, brash, and arrogant on stage. It’s her persona. Fifteen years ago, when Trixie just started her act after leaving home, she stopped in Ponyville for a show.
“Twilight objected to her stage persona, and Trixie may have pushed the issue by not backing down… She was new to performing. The book said to never break character. There were some hostilities, an Ursa Major was involved, and Twilight humiliated Trixie beyond measure…
“News of this spread. Trixie was known to everypony as a joke. She couldn’t make anything preforming for a long time. She was hungry for months before ponies forgot about Twilight’s sort of duel with Trixie. So Trixie held a grudge, she doesn't now, but she did.
“Trixie has…experience working with enchanted items. She sought out something to replace some equipment she lost before becoming a magician, which would allow her to have a rematch with Twilight, and out perform her as a mage. Trixie found such an item, but… It was cursed.
“When she put it on, Trixie found herself possessed by another entity… And she was used to literally seal all of Ponyville under a dome, banishing Twilight from the town… Trixie basically went full Overlord for a while… But the amulet was removed, Trixie returned to her normal self…
“But Trixie ran. She was afraid of ponies holding a grudge. They didn’t know she was possessed at the time. Who knows how Twilight feels about Trixie? And she’s a Princess now! If Trixie didn’t have to be here to wait for…for any sign of her father, she would have never come near Ponyville.” Trixie finished with a sigh.
“From what I’ve seen of her, Twilight wouldn’t hold much of a grudge. Besides, she definitely would have studied that amulet and learned it was cursed.” I said soothingly.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” Trixie shrugged. “Oh! That didn’t hurt!”
“Yes, your back should be fine now… Once I have your arm done the rest should be over with a standard spell. You can open your eye now. It should be finished.” I informed, concentrating on the new spell.
It was a simple matter to finish repairing Trixie’s damaged body. The entire process was fairly trivial to be perfectly honest. The hardest thing was regrowing the eye, but everything else was simple enough, mostly just telling the body to heal itself properly and supplying it with energy to do so.
Aside from the eye and missing chunk of muscle, a standard healing spell would have helped her a lot. I could only imagine why she didn’t seek help. Perhaps she didn’t think normal healers were up to the task? Many ponies underestimated what healing magic could do, or objected to non-natural healing after all.
Whatever her reason, it was nice to see her healthy and whole for what had to have been the first time in decades. Even nicer was her happy smile when I asked her to take a few steps.
This was why I worked in medicine. Seeing the smile on someone's face after you fix something ailing them is the entire reason I enjoy doing this. Knowing your work is appreciated is one of life’s greatest joys.
Trixie picked up her cape and fastened it on with her magic in preparation to leave. “Trixie thanks you very much!” She exclaimed happily.
“You’re welcome,” I said, returning the smile. “Now, there is something important you should know. A lot of your body is made up of new cells that exist due to my magic. Within a week or so everything will settle down and return to normal. Until then, you need to avoid as much stress as possible or your body could reject the kinda foreign tissue.”
Trixie winced. “Trixie understands, she will relax as much as she-”
The door suddenly opened! Twilight, Luna, and Lyra filed in, in the middle of a mutual conversation.
“I’m sure he won't mind letting me see this bunker,” Twilight said, looking over at Luna as she entered. “You know, since I haven’t gotten to yet, and this is imp-”
Twilight stopped mid stride, staring directly at Trixie, eyes filled with mild surprise. “-Trixie?” She questioned.
“Holy crap that was easy!” Lyra exclaimed, eyes widening.
“That’s Trixie?” Princess Luna asked. “Ms. Lulamoon, we need to talk-”
“Eeep!” Trixie squeaked, ears laying back flat in a panic!
Oh no no no! I had to do something! Too much stress and that eye could go full auto-immune response! “Wai-”
In one fluid motion, Trixie reached under her cape, and hurled a hooffull of sand at the three mares with a cry of, “Pocket sand!” Then dove forwards, sliding under the sputtering in annoyance Luna and out the door.
It was going to be another one of those days… Wasn’t it?