Chapter 2
You couldn’t help but get up early this morning. You were very excited about your first case. The morning rituals you preform each day didn't seem to matter and you had to force yourself to take a shower. The only thing that seemed to matter this morning was your patient.
You were up so early, in fact, the streets of Ponyville were silent and empty, allowing you to take in the glory of Celestia’s rising the sun. The only thing that made it better was the walk to Sweet Apple Acres. The apple trees were just blooming and they seemed to go on forever in a cascade of whites and pinks. Along the way, you come across a red stallion looking out on the field of apple trees.
“They’re quite beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like them.”
The stallion doesn’t turn around, but gives you a single “Eeyup.”
“Well, I’m here to see Granny Smith, is she around?” you ask.
Once again, you’re given a single “Eeyup.”
You sigh, thinking you’re not going to get much out of him and make your way towards the farm. Remembering back to Applejack’s words, you stop and give it one final shot. “Granny Smith can’t be as violent as Applejack made her out to be, can she?” you ask. You wince as the stallion turns to you and reveals a massive shiner.
“What do you think?” he asks.
“I think you need an cold pack.” you say as you reach into your saddlebag. Pulling out a plastic pouch, you squeeze it until you hear an audible pop. Shaking the contents together, you give it to him as it starts to chill. “Five minutes on and five minutes off,” you tell him before walking off.
“Watch out for her left hook.” The stallion says as you approach the farm. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you knock on the door.
“Well lookee here!” Applejack greets you “been wondering when you’d show up. Come on, I’ll show you to Granny Smith.”
Without a word, you follow her through the house and to a room in the back. Applejack opens the door for you. “Is there anything you can t-“ before you can say anything else, Applejack slams the door.
“Good luck doc!” you hear her say before running off.
There, lying in the bed was an elderly mare with a green coat and white mane. She’s staring at you with contempt, as if your very presence was an insult. You couldn’t believe this little old mare was causing all this trouble.
“So, Applejack told me that you’re having problems with your back, is that right?”
“My back is FINE!” she yells “I don’t need no snake oil salesman coming into my home and tellin’ me there’s something wrong with me!”
Sighing heavily, you realize this wasn’t going to be easy. “She sounded very concerned about you when I talked to her. She doesn’t seem like the kind of pony who would ask for help when there was no problem.”
“I SAID I’M FINE AND I’LL PROVE IT!” she yells again, this time jumping out of bed and standing without assistance. Surprised, you start to think that they were just overreacting. That is, until you hear something sounding like a branch snap and see Granny Smith’s eyes go wide.
“OW OW OW!” she yells as she falls back into bed.
“Mrs. Smith, I’m sorry but that doesn’t sound like ‘nothing’.”
“I said I’m fine! Just getting’ old, that’s all.” She says, trying to force a smile. You’ve seen a lot of ponies in pain before and know what it looks like when they’re trying to hide it.
“Mrs. Smith, I’m just here to help. I’m not going to give you anything. I’m not even going to examine you. Just tell me what you’re feeling and we’ll go from there. Is that alright?” you ask.
She crosses her forelegs and looks away, silent.
“Could you at least humor me?”
She looks like she’s going to protest again, but sighs, defeated. “Fine.”
Levitating a piece of paper and a pen, you get ready to write down what she tells you.
“My back hurts. That’s nothing new for me, being older than the hills and all. But this is different. It goes down through my back legs and into my hooves, making it impossible to walk.” she says as she rubs her calves.
“On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest, how would you rate this pain?” you ask.
“Eight...Maybe Nine.” she says. You jot down the number and nod. “And when did this start?”
She lets out a heavy sigh. “I was trying to lift a box of apple jam out of the cellar. It wasn’t even that heavy! Two jars at the most! But then my back sort of...Made a sound.”
You wonder how she could or would hide all of this and jot down more notes. “Kinda of like just now?”
Granny Smith nods. “Yeah. But uh… Doctor, there’s somethin’ else.”
You look up from your notes. “Yes?”
“It’s really embarrassing and I don’t want the others findin’ out.” she says sheepishly.
“Mrs. Smith, there is nothing you can tell me that I haven’t heard before. And the only way someone is going to find out is if you tell them. I promise.”
Your words reassure her and she takes a deep breath. “I can’t hold my piss. There, I said it.” she says, putting her hoofs to her face in shame. “I’ve had times where it felt like I was going to lose it in front of my family. What would they think of me if they saw me wet myself like a foal?”
Rolling up your notes, you smile at her and shift into full doctor mode. “I think I know exactly what’s wrong with you, Mrs. Smith.”
The elderly mare's eyes seem to light up at these words.
Clearing your throat, you begin. “It sounds like you have a slipped disk in your lumbar spine. You’re age has made your bones weaker and the stress on your back actually cause part of your spine to herniate. The pain you’re feeling in your back is the pressure the herniation is causing on the spinal cord itself. The pain down your back legs is called sciatica and it’s caused when pressure is being put on the sciatic nerve. As for your incontinence, the herniation could be affecting the nerves that control your bladder, actually making it numb. You wouldn't notice that you had to urinate until your bladder actually released itself.”
You think you went over Granny Smith’s head with some of the technical speak and try to tone it down for her. “Whether from old age or over exertion, you hurt your back and it’s causing all of your problems. Now let’s talk about treatment.”
Granny Smith eyes you cautiously. “What can we do?”
“Well, if it’s a simple herniation, then it will actually get better with rest and anti-inflammatories.”
“What if it isn’t ‘simple’. What then?” she asks.
“Then we may have to consider surgery.” Granny Smith’s eyes go wide and her mouth droops a bit at the word ‘surgery’.
“But only as a last resort,” you add, trying to calm her fears “I don’t want you undergoing any needless operations, so let’s try the simple approach first.” Reaching into your pack, you pull out two cloth patches, both about a foot long in length.
“These are Cold-Fire patches.” you explain. “They get cold at first, but then warm up and alternate between states. Put one on in the morning and replace it with the other when you go to bed. I also want you to pick up some Willow-Bark pills, 800 milligrams and take as directed. They’re not expensive and will help your back.”
She looks at the pieces of cloth skeptically and then back to you. “Is that all?”
You nod. “Over the next week, I don’t want you lifting, stretching, bending, or anything else you think will strain your back. If it doesn’t get better by then, I want you to schedule an appointment with Nurse Redheart and we’ll go from there. Any questions?”
Granny Smith takes the patches and looks at you, smiling. “No. And thank you doctor. I’d still be acting like a darned idiot if you didn’t show up. Back in my day, doctors were more focused on cures, rather than the people they were pushing it on. Thanks for showing me different.”
Grabbing your saddlebag, you head for the door. “Glad I could help. If you need me for anything, just holler.”
“Uh, Doctor. Wait,” Granny Smith says nervously, stopping you. “What do I tell Applejack and Big Macintosh?”
You shrug plainly. “Whatever you feel comfortable with. But I think ‘I’m sorry’ would be a good place to start.”
Walking out the door, you find yourself face to face with Applejack, who was looking over you. “Ya still got all yer teeth and limbs. What happened?”
“She’s going to be fine and she should recover.” you say with a comforting smile. Applejack lets out a sigh of relief and guides you to the front door. “Thank you so much, doc. I don’t know how ya did it, but you did.”
“Any time, AJ. If you need me, you know where I am.”
You were quite happy as you walked back to Ponville Urgent Care. Your first house call went great and you were able to start your new career on the right hoof.
Walking through the automatic doors of P.U.C, you greet Nurse Redheart with a smile. “Good afternoon, nurse.”
She looks at you and smiles back. “Good afternoon doctor. You have your first patient waiting for you in room one. She asked to see you specifically.”
Giving Nurse Redheart a puzzled look, you make your way for the exam room. Looking through the glass, you're surprised to see Rainbow Dash, sitting on the exam table with a bored look on her face.
As you enter, she smiles when she sees your face.
“Heya doc. I’m here for my check-up. Mayor says I’ve been putting it off for too long."
“Not a problem, Ms. Dash I-“
“Can you not call me ‘Ms. Dash’?” she says, slightly annoyed. “It sounds way too formal for me. Dash is fine.”
“Of course, Dash. Now, can you hop on the scale?” you say, patting the platform. Dash trots over and steps up on it. The electronic display flickers between numbers for a few moments and finally stops. “Average weight…” you muse aloud, making sure to jot down the number. Bringing up the ruler, you lower it and rest it on top of her shoulder. “Average height.”
You motion her off of the scale and bring a stethoscope to her chest. She jumps back a bit and blushes.
“Sorry. Cold.”
You give her a nod and listen carefully. “Average resting heart rate.” you say with a smile.
“I’m anything BUT average!” Dash exclaims as she spreads her wings out.
“Ah good!” you say with a smirk. “You already know the next part.” Reaching into a nearby drawer, you fish around until you find a roll of tape measure. “Just stay like that.” you tell her as you unroll it. You take both ends of the roll and touch the tip of her wing to the base. She lets out a gasp as you touch her wing.
“I’m sorry, did that hurt?” you ask. Dash shakes her head and stays quiet.
You continue to measure her wing and finally finish. “Okay…” you say as you jot down more notes. Dash lets out a sigh of relief for a moment until you say “Now for the other one.”
By the end of the examination, Dash’s face is bright red and she’s really quiet.
“Alright Dash, everything checks out. You’re as healthy as you can be, but you’re looking a little flushed.”
“Well I’m okay, it’s just that I-“ Dash tries to say before you move away some of her rainbow mane and place a hoof on her forehead. “You’re not running a fever.”
Dash jumps back, stumbling as she does. “Well thanks doc you’ve been real great bye!” she says quickly before bolting out of the exam room, leaving you there, confused. You don’t have much time to ponder this when you hear Nurse Redheart call out to you.
“You have a patient in room two!”
Sighing, you push it to the back of your mind and get to work.
***********
Your lunch hour came and you decided to go out and find a nice quiet spot where you can enjoy it. The park turned out to be the best and most obvious choice. Sitting down on a bench, you take out the salad you made this morning and about to dig in when something whizzes just above your head. Looking around, you see a familiar rainbow colored streak in the air.
Rainbow Dash does a series of flips, rolls, and loop de loops before landing in the middle of the park, but tripping up a bit as she does so.
“Stupid! Stick the landing next time!” she says as she stomps her hooves in frustration.
“I thought it was pretty good.” you say as you take a bite into your lunch. Rainbow Dash spins around shocked.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, blushing slightly.
“Well, this is a public park and it is time for lunch. But please, don’t stop on my part,” you say with a smile. “Your performance was quite spectacular.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she says sullenly “If it’s not perfect, than it’s not good.”
“Well, then…” you say as put aside your half eaten salad “Show me what perfect looks like. I’ve got time.”
Dash smiles. “You got it.” Taking off to the skies again, she performs a series of flight maneuvers you’ve only seen pulled off by the Wonderbolts. Your heart leaps and soars at the spectacle and you can’t help but give her a round of applause when she’s done.
“That was beautiful! Where did you learn that?” you ask excitedly.
Dash rubs the back of her head with her hoof, looking a little bashful from the praise. “I learned the basics from flight school and picked the rest up as I went along. I’m hoping to try out for the Wonderbolts as soon as I get good enough!”
“And I’m sure you’ll make it in, no problem,” you say as you get up. Your lunch hour was over, but you still wanted to see Dash perform.
“Hey, are you always practicing around this time?” you ask.
Dash nods. “Every day.”
“Then do you think we can make this a regular thing? I swing by on my lunch hour and watch you practice? I had a lot of fun.” you say with a smile.
Dash smiles back at you. “Sure! It was pretty cool having an audience for a change, even if it was like one pony. So, see you tomorrow?”
“See you tomorrow.” you say as you make your back for Ponyville Urgent Care.
**************
It soon became a regular thing for you to watch Rainbow Dash practice as you ate your lunch. On more than one occasion, you shared what you had with her, something she was very grateful for. Naturally, she was quite happy when you showed up with a whole basket filled with food. Picnic in the park with Rainbow Dash became a normal thing for over a month for you.
That’s why you were surprised when she didn’t show up one day.
“Huh… She must be busy today,” you say to yourself on the way back to Ponyville Urgent Care.
The day slowly crept to an end and you were just about to leave when you were knocked over by Pinkie Pie, who was speaking too fast for you to understand.
“DoctordoctoryouhavetohurryDashwastryingtodothisnewtrickandshefelland-“
“Pinkie! Slow down and tell me what’s wrong!”
Pinkie Pie takes a deep breath and looks at you, her eyes tearing up. “Dashie’s hurt! Twilight and Applejack are coming here with her!”
Your heart sinks at the thought of Dash hurt enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. You stop yourself from getting too emotional and turn to the two nurses standing behind you.
“Nurse Tenderheart, you’re with me. Get a gurney ready. Nurse Redheart, prep the O.R. just in case.”
The Nurses run off without asking any questions, leaving you with Pinkie Pie, who was on the verge of tears.
“Pinkie, how bad is it?”
She starts to cry openly. “Bad.”
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I must simply say, I am loving this!
But Dashie's hurt 
dash tried to do a doble sonic rainboom didn't she
I laughed so hard with Granny smith, I always thought she would have a mouth like a sailor LOL
I think I might have to read all your stuff now
Of course she is... XD
Dashie took an arrow to the knee!
130075
static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Arrow_b48344_2962945.jpg
27453 *double
Every now and again, I come back to read the part about Dash's check-up. I like the friendly banter in the professional environment.
130075
I may be very late to say this but it still needs to be said i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2011/10/6/16a08295-cbc7-4e61-8f2c-ed8256396d53.jpg
>Dash's Social Link increased to Rank 2!
"I'd love to chat, but I have a pegasus to operate on."
>...Make that Rank 3.
Rainbow dash: I believe I can fly!
princes Celesta: No you cant RD: throws lighting bolt: Bitch
3967341
#Celestabitch