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// A (Slightly) Magical Medical Exam 
// Story: An Unexpected Twilight 
// by Redbow Rose 
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When Princess Luna left, I began to wonder about the medical exam she mentioned. Now, the last time  I had been to the doctor was when I was, like, seven for a check up. I've been to a doctor's office since then, but that was for certain issues my parents had. It didn't help that I didn't even have my own body anymore, even worse when I was a girl. Don't get me wrong, being a girl seemed like an interesting prospect, but it came with it's own problems.

I looked at the mirror as my thoughts began to go off track. If I'm a girl now, will I have to deal with periods? What's that even like? All I know is that it involves blood...and screws with emotions. Of course, being a teenager screws with my emotions enough. I frowned. "Wait a second...how old am I now? Am I the same age? Older? Younger? Damn it, being turned into a purple horse makes it hard to tell how old this body is." I studied my new body in the mirror again. I then looked deep into my reflection's eyes. Even with my normal self, I would look intensely at my reflection sometimes. To see what others see. Now, however, it was even more interesting to look. "Huh...would it be weird if I thought I looked cute?" I mumbled to myself. Sure, I had no idea what was considered attractive by pony standards, but I'm pretty sure the idea of cute is universal. Especially with my new eyes. I looked over it at first, but they were REALLY big. In fact--

I suddenly realized that there were ponies in my little "room". I looked over and saw a unicorn stallion wearing what looked like a doctor's coat and stethoscope with Nurse Caring Hoof next to him. They frowned, but didn't say anything. I felt my ears go flat as my cheeks and ear tips heated up. "H-hello there." I said with a nervous, embarrassed smile. "What brings you here?" I mentally freaked out. I'd never been able to stand any situation even remotely embarrassing. Not even in shows, movies, or books. In fact, as a kid I would cover my ears, make noises, and curl up into a ball before rolling out of the room. As I grew up, I handled it better. I simply walked out of the room, or covered my ears and closed my eyes. If it happened in real life, I still escaped if I could. So I was in a situation where I had been caught staring at myself for what was probably a long period of time. Sure, in hindsight it made sense for me to examine myself, and I had no reason to be embarrassed, but hey, I panicked.

The stallion ignored the fact that my face went from purple to red within a few seconds. "Well, My name is Doctor Healthy Heart," he began, "and we're here to make sure your body is healthy and stable, as well as establish a baseline as long as everything is fine." If I hadn't been trying to recover from my embarrassment, I would have groaned at his name. I was able to worry about the kind of tests I'd be put through. Princess Luna mentioned something about medical tests as she left, but I had been too distracted to really think about it much until then. This was a new body for me after all, and I wouldn't feel comfortable if they got too intrusive. Though, considering how I'm naked and the lack of pants on all the ponies I've seen, I'm not sure if I should feel safer or be more worried.

"We plan to do a simple checkup first. Most of the things we will do will be redundant most likely, but it is a simple procedure. After that we'll take a sample of your blood and scan your Magic Potential." The doctor said. I assumed a checkup would be similar to when I was a kid, and taking my blood, while making me fear the needle that will be needed, sounded normal as well. I frowned when he said "Magic Potential". Did they mean fantasy style magic? If I wasn't currently being talked to by a pony, I would laugh at the idea. Sure, I believed that magic did exist, but I felt that it was subtle, not a flashy light show. 

Then again, I could be wrong. Kinda hard to be closed minded when your gender and species change. "Err, magic...potential?" I asked. "What's that?"

The doctor looked thoughtful when I asked. "Well...I suppose I could try to explain it, though if you don't understand the very basics of magic, it might be hard. Do you know anything about magic at all?" I shook my head at his question. Sure, I knew magic was a thing, but not how theirs worked. "Well," the doctor said after being silent a moment, "magic is a form of energy. Ponies can store this energy inside them and use it later when they need it. Think of it like a pool. Some pools can only hold a small amount of water, while others are vast and hold very large quantities at once. Magic potential is simply a measure of how much magic one can store."

I nodded. "I think I understand now." I said. That was interesting to know, and I thought it was pretty cool. I started hoping that the results would say something like 'His magic is off the charts! So powerful!' Or something. Then again they would say 'HER magic'. Because I'm a girl now. That's gonna take a while to get used to... With that thought I looked in the mirror again in a futile attempt to make my new body seem like my own.

The doctor smiled...well not really smiled, just frowned less. He seems to be the stoic type or something. "Well, if you feel up to it we can walk over to the exam room. We're here to help, as I know that walking is difficult for you at the moment." I nodded. Thankfully my brain was starting to get used to my new limbs, and I hoped to master walking as a pony quickly. I started to slide off the bed when I felt a tingling feeling surround me, followed by my body being gently guided to the ground. I looked around in surprise and saw Doctor Healthy Heart's horn glowing a light green color, the same color of the glow that surrounded my body. He must have seen my eyes widen, because he told me right after what it was. "That was levitation, the easiest spell a unicorn can learn. Hopefully you'll be able to use it yourself soon."

Despite the fact that I lacked knowledge on something basic, the doctor seemed amused at my awestruck expression. Had I looked at the mirror at that moment, I would have seen a stars in my eyes, literally. I would learn later that the eyes of ponies are far more expressive than a human's. So, with my feelings running high at the thought of learning to move things with my mind as a basic power, I started following the doctor as he led the way to the exam room. My legs were still wobbly and just not working right, but Nurse Caring Hoof helped me the entire way. I made a comment aloud about it, my mood falling a bit."Thanks for the help, though I wish I could walk on my own. I know how I'm suppose to move, but my legs just don't want to listen..."

The nurse gave me a smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon. The problem is most likely your lack of muscle memory. With your body being completely new, your mind has nothing to go on. I'm sure that, with practice, you'll be able to walk and move on your own." I frowned at that. I knew about muscle memory, but I thought walking around would be easier since I had a basic idea of what to do. I should be grateful that I could at least talk normally, but that felt odd as well.

It took us a bit longer to reach the exam room than I had expected, my lack of control over my legs slowing us down quite a bit. When we got inside, I was surprised. The place looked like an office you'd expect to see back home. it had the same table-chair thing in the middle of the room, and a desk with medical supplies to the side. There were a few posters detailing pony anatomy on the wall, and how to keep healthy. I recognized some of the medical equipment I knew about, and a few things I didn't. Doctor Heart put the sheet over the exam table like the doctors I knew did. Nurse Caring Hoof helped me onto the table before giving me a quiet goodbye, leaving me with the doctor.

Doctor Heart had a clipboard with some sort of document that he was writing on with his magic. If I had to guess, it was probably a new medical record or something. I wondered what he would put as my name. Would he just leave that part blank? Would he write down "Twilight Sparkle Jr"? I wondered at what I would pick for my name. I couldn't use my old one, but a name like "Alexis" wouldn't go either. It didn't match the naming theme I noticed with the few I've met, and a name like that would tip them off than I remember more than I let on. Sure, I'm bound to screw up eventually and accidentally spill the beans, but I'd rather wait and see how far I get.

The doctor finished what he was doing and set the clipboard down. The doctor started the exam by looking around my body. When I asked, he said that he was looking for any abnormalities with my body that may have been missed in the excitement of my arrival. He occasionally had me move a limb and I obliged. I myself was enjoying the experience, despite having a new body and being examined while nude. I actually love stuff like this. When I have someone petting my head, are doing stuff like what the doctor was doing, it made me feel good. Same thing happened sometimes when I helped others out. I know it's weird, and don't ask me why, but I genuinely enjoy the experience. I wondered if the doctor noticed, but if he did then he didn't show it. After he was done, and supposedly having not found anything abnormal, he took out his stethoscope and began placing it at different parts of my body, listening to whatever was being shown. I thought that they only used that to listen to your heart, but apparently he did things differently than I was used to. He had me breathe deeply a few times when he listened to my chest, and put away the stethoscope when he was done, writing something on his clipboard.

He got the arm strap that they use for checking blood pressure and strapped it to my left foreleg. Thankfully it didn't hurt like it sometimes does in the stores with the automatic machines, but I was pretty uncomfortable while he did it. He put that away and jotted down his recordings before  getting a rubber hammer. I made sure to sit upright, knowing what they usually do with the hammers. I had been laying on my side before, mainly because my normal position was uncomfortable in my new body. The doctor raised an eyebrow at my behavior, but said nothing of it. He gave my hind legs a good tap, and I felt a little relieved when they reflexively kicked out. That meant my legs were fine, at least the nerves were anyways. Considering how my arms were replaced with more legs, I had though that the doctor would test those as well. He didn't though, and put the hammer away.

While everything up to this point wouldn't have been out of place in a human's doctor office, what came next was completely new. He took out a weird, cone shaped device with wires attached to it. He put the device over my new horn and made sure it wasn't too lose. It felt weird there, I had been ignoring the completely new appendage most of the time, but to have something cover it felt...different. I knew it had feeling in it from when I had tapped it earlier, but it was still a unique experience.

I noticed that the wires were connected to a box-like machine, which the doctor now attended to. I couldn't see if it was giving off any readings, but that was because any screens were on the other side for Doctor Heart to read. For the first time in a while, the doctor spoke up. "Now, I'm about to check your magic potential using this magusometer. You have never experienced magic before, so it may feel odd. I ask that you stay calm while the machine does it's work." I nodded and watched as he pressed a button on the device.

When he did, I began to feel something odd. It was similar to when I tried to focus on energy working with auras at home. My family was one that believed in magic, and although I believed in it less than they did, I have had a few bits of experience. The closest to this was when I focused my "aura" in my hands as an exercise. I felt warmth there when I did, but that was it. So I dropped the idea and never really thought too much of it again. Now, however, I was feeling something similar. It started with a warm feeling in my new horn. It began to spread downwards, filling me with warmth. Were I able to see my horn, I would have noticed a violet-pink light surrounding it. As it was, I simply focused on the warm, relaxing feeling. I closed my eyes as I basked there, missing the look of surprise the doctor had at the readouts.

After a minute or so (I kinda lost track of time) the doctor turned off the machine and began to remove the horn cover. I felt a little upset at how the good feeling was gone, but I was left feeling better than before. I could even still feel a connection to where it came from. Doctor Heart looked at me, displaying an emotion I found hard to place. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah...actually I feel a lot better! When you did the test, I felt warm and energetic. Some of that feeling has stayed behind actually, and I feel like I could take on the world!" I smiled widely. Normally my expressions are a bit muted, and in this situation I wouldn't be acting so cheerily. Whatever happened left a great feeling, as if I was connected to something I didn't know I needed. The doctor smiled a bit, before thinking aloud. "Curious, how very curious..." He said.

I tilted my head. "Erm...what's curious?" I asked.

Instead on answering my question, the doctor stood next to me. "Try to get off the examination table." He said. He must have noticed my small frown, because he then said, "Don't worry. I'll be here to help you. I would just like to see if you can move any better now."  I didn't see how I could have gained better control of my muscles within that short period, but I humored the doctor and started sliding off the table. This being my third time, I was able to slide off without an issue. I got on my hooves and stood next to the doctor. He smiled a bit more and levitated over his clipboard to write something down. "Now, lets see if you can follow me."

I was a bit nervous of falling on my face, but I attempted to follow the doctor out of the room. After a few steps, however, I noticed something peculiar. "Hey, I'm not tripping!" I said aloud in surprise. I jumped a bit on my hooves and was surprised that they moved exactly as I wanted them to. The doctor seemed amused by my surprise, and gave me an explanation.

"I believe that this has to do with the magusometer. You see, the device functions by connecting to the magic pool inside of a pony before reading the amount inside them. I believe that your own magic was dormant, and the magusometer somehow lured it out. This connected you to your own magic source and caused your magic to fix a few problems that you had, such as the difficulty walking." With that explanation, my eyes grew wide.

"So...I fixed myself with magic?" I asked, my awe obvious.
"In a way, yes." Doctor Heart answered.
"That," I said, "is so AWESOME!" I then proceeded to practically bounce after the doctor.

Again, I wouldn't normally act like this, but I was still on somewhat of a high from the magic thing.

The doctor led me to a contraption that was just now being taken out of wherever they stored it. It was like those things the doctors used on earth to measure your weight and height, but it looked like it also measured length as well. Understanding what I needed to do, I stepped on it and let the doctor move me into the right position. I watched him move the scales around, and it made me wonder how heavy I was. I glanced back and was able to catch some of the numbers, but was unable to get accurate measurements due to the metric system they used. I didn't know how to convert the numbers, but that only made me curious about all the parallels I was noticing.

The doctor measured my height next. Turns out that the vertical measuring stick could move along the horizontal axis that the length measurement stick provided. This was used to measure different parts of my body, and I found it interesting to watch move. I asked Doctor Heart if he added my horn to my height, and he said that there was a measurement taken with the horn and without it. Length was much easier, and was simply measuring me from flank to muzzle. After writing everything down, he announced that we were done. He led me back to my little "room" and left me a small, blue rubber ball.
"What's this for?" I asked him before he left.

"Well, seeing as how you have gotten in touch with your magic, I thought it would be productive to leave you something to practice levitating. All you have to do is reach out to it with your magic and imagine lifting it up. be careful though," the doctor warned, "You have much more magic than foals who are just learning how to use it. It may be hard, but try to use only as much as you need." With an eager nod from myself, the doctor left me to practice.

I sat on my bed with the ball in front of me. Assuming the warmth earlier was my new-found magic power, I reached for it. It was an odd feeling, connecting to it on my own. As I focused on the warm energy I felt inside, I noticed that the warmth wasn't filling my entire body like what happened with the magic-meter thing. Instead, I could feel it focus on my horn. Curious, I tried to adjust the power to my horn to see if I could. At first I tried reducing the energy I let flow, then I increased it. I noticed, however, that I couldn't do much when I wan't actually using it. When I looked in the mirror I could see my horn enveloped in a violet-pink glow, and I could hear a slight sound, but nothing happened when I changed how much magic I used. Just a slight change in the brightness of my glow.

However, just seeing it light up was the best thing in my entire life until that point. That meant I really did have magic! I looked at my glowing magic pony horn for a little while before deciding to try to use my new magic powers to move the blue ball. My magic faded away as I wondered how to move it. If I just imagined it moving, nothing happened, but what if I reached out to it with my magic to pick it up? Imagine it as an extension of my body, see if that helped.

I once again lit up my pony horn and then focused on reaching out with it. As I focused on the ball, I began to see a glow similar to the one from my horn begin to surround the ball. I began to grow excited and put more power into the spell, making the glow around the ball intensify. Once I felt that I had a firm magical grip on the object, I tried to lift it up slowly. As I did, the ball began to raise up. The smile on my face widened. Once the ball was eye level, I began to move it closer to me, making sure to keep it slow. Once I had it in my reach, I lowered it into my cupped hooves before gradually lowering the power of my spell and cutting it off completely.

I gazed down upon the small, blue foam ball like it was the most valuable gem in the world. "I did it..." I said to myself, quietly. "I really did it!" I said, louder that time. I then heard a slight chuckle in front of me. I looked up to see a tall, while alicorn with an ethereal mane that contained the colors of the Aurora Borealis. She wore golden regalia, similar to what Princess Luna wore.

"Congratulations, my little pony. I hear that you only woke up less than two hours ago, with no memory of your own to speak of, and despite no experience at all you are already learning to use your magic." The alicorn wore a small, serene smile. "It seems that your looks weren't the only thing you inherited from Twilight." Meanwhile I began to panic inside. I hadn't noticed her come in because I had been focusing on my ball, and while the smile helped, tall ponies with sharp horns are intimidating.

Despite my nervousness, however, I spoke up. "H-hello, are you Princess Celestia?" I didn't really know what she had looked like when Princess Luna mentioned her, but the alicorn in front of me was wearing royal regalia like Princess Luna, and by her sun butt-mark I'd say she was the day to Princess Luna's night. If I was wrong, I could always panic and hide under the blankets I was on.

The alicorn gave a nod and her smile grew a little. "Why yes, I am. I came here to check on you and see how you were doing. From what Doctor Heart has told me it seems that you are doing well." I nodded to this. "Since you are doing well, would you mind meeting a few ponies over lunch? They would love to meet you, and I believe that it would be best to show you more of the castle. After all, now that you are in good health you don't have to stay in the medical wing anymore." I nodded to this as well.

I was getting kind of hungry, and I would be pretty bored just staying here, even with my new magic powers. I wondered if one of the ponies I was going to meet would be Twilight Sparkle, my...not-clone thing. I slid off the bed and, using my magic, levitated my ball to my mane, holding it there. If the princess found this weird, she didn't show it. With a smile, she turned and started walking as I followed her out of the medical wing.