Trauma Center: Equestrian Opinion

by Legion222

Chapter Ten: Asclepius

Trauma Center: Equestrian Opinion
Chapter Ten: Asclepius

Location: Ponyville Medical

For the second time in as many weeks, Direct Styles found himself in the office of Ponyville Medical’s aged Director, face-to-face with the former world-famous surgeon himself as they sat on opposite sides of a large mahogany desk. Once again, he’d been called in the day after an operation to discuss what had happened.

This time, however, he wasn’t in trouble. At least – he gulped – he didn’t think so.

Things had gone more or less back to normal in the few days that had passed since Ponyville Medical had found itself almost completely unstaffed for a night. There were still a few extra guards hanging around and everypony was being much more mindful of their schedules, but the staff refused to let such a near-disaster stop them from doing their jobs.

And so it was that Direct was back to regularly seeing patients, the most recent of whom was the reason he was here now.

“I’m hoping you can clarify a few parts of this operation report for me, Direct,” Doctor Healing started grimly, gesturing to a file sitting on his desk.

Direct shifted nervously in his seat. Even though he knew the Director much better than he had the last time he’d been here, he was still worried that he might have done something wrong, and the elder Unicorn’s serious expression wasn’t helping. “S-sure, Director. What part?”

Revered Healing’s expression softened as he caught Direct’s eye. “You’re not in trouble, Direct. I’m just a bit… concerned about this part at the end, here.” Flipping open the report, he indicated a spot near the end of the report. “Doctor Stables claims that you cleared up the thrombi in a matter of seconds.”

“S-seconds?” the young doctor asked, confused. Sure, he’d been too focused to be sure exactly how much time had passed, but…

---

”Doctor, this is bad!” Nurse Temperament’s voice cut through the beeps of the various machines around the Operating Room. “The increased blood flow is pushing the thrombi through faster; even the suspended ones are moving again!” It was true. He’d been caught off-guard as the little lumps he’d been removing from his patient’s spleen had started rushing through the veins, in stark contrast to their earlier crawl.

No! He couldn’t let them pass through to damage other parts of the body! Even one could cause some serious damage; enough getting by him could end his patient’s life.

A flash of light.

A five-pointed shape.

Everything was slowing down.

---

“Seconds.” Direct muttered quietly. This was now the second time he’d felt, for lack of a better phrase, time slowing down in the middle of an operation. He’d thought he was just imagining things due to the stressful situations, but if what Doctor Stables had said was true…

Doctor Revered Healing watched Direct think, his own mind wandering a bit, thinking about the young surgeon before him. It was all rather unusual, based on what he knew. He’d honestly never thought he’d meet the next one, much less be a part of training him.

The elder stallion was pulled from his musings when Direct finally spoke up. “Director, this might sound a little crazy, but, well, do you think it might be possible,” Direct paused, glancing around nervously, as though he might be carried away for even suggesting what he was thinking. After a moment of silence, he worked his nerve back up and continued. “Possible for somepony to s-slow down time? Even just for a little bit?”

The Director gave him a reassuring smile. “Not quite as such, but I believe we have something rather important to talk about.” Revered Healing closed his eyes in thought. “I suppose it would be best to start at the beginning. Tell me, Direct, what do you know of the Alicorns?”

Direct, a bit startled at the change of subject, took a moment to respond. “W-well, currently there are only three Alicorns; Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadenza. However, long ago, before Equestria was founded, there were many Alicorns, each of whom embodied something, like how the Princesses represent the sun, the moon, and love. Most of them died during Discord’s reign, or simply disappeared.”

“Good, good. I see you read your textbooks in school. Now, what can you tell me about the Alicorn called Asclepius?” the Director pressed.

Direct was stumped. The existence of Alicorns was all fairly common knowledge, but references to individual ones besides the current Princesses were hard to come by, and gave very few details. He had no idea who the Director was talking about, but he had a feeling he’d find out. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of him. What was Asclepius the Alicorn of?”

“In his time, Asclepius was known as the Alicorn of Medicine. According to what records remain, he invented nearly all of the early treatments for disease and injury, some of which are still in use today.” The Director stared straight into the young doctor’s eyes. “Of course, compared to today’s medicine many of his methods may seem crude or simple, but there’s one thing that appears over and over in stories of him that even the finest scholars just can’t figure out; his reported ability to restore a pony from the brink of death in the blink of an eye.”

“Blink of an eye..?” Direct wondered. It certainly sounded like slowing down time, but even so, that did nothing to explain how he had done it.

Both ponies were silent for several moments, Direct mulling over what he’d learned and Doctor Healing working out the best way to continue. Finally, the elder stallion sighed. “It seems it would be easiest to simply tell you.” He locked eyes with Direct, ensuring he had his full attention. “The Alicorn of Medicine may be dead, but Asclepius is far from gone. His spirit lives on, held by one pony in each new generation and granting that pony access to a portion of his power. In my time I was the Holder of Asclepius, and it seems that mantle was passed to you.

“An Alicorn Holder’s destiny is entwined with the spirit he or she holds, from they day they are born to the day they part; usually at the Holder’s death. The Holder’s path in life is steered towards the Alicorn’s specialty, and in turn the Alicorn’s power helps the Holder excel in that field. This is the source of your special ability.”

Direct had been stunned by what he had learned. There was some kind of spirit living in him? Why had he never heard of this before? “So I’m a Holder? That’s why I can slow down time?”

“Essentially, yes,” Director Healing shrugged lightly before continuing “Thanks to Asclepius’s power you are capable of achieving supernatural levels of concentration, to the point that time seems to have slowed down. In my day I had that power as well, and named it the ‘Healing Touch.’” The Director finished with a faraway smile, reminiscing about his days as a world-class surgeon.

“‘Healing Touch?’” Direct tried the name out. It certainly seemed fitting after what he’d been able to do with it. “So you called it that because it helped you save patients you wouldn’t have been able to help normally?”

The Director rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well, actually, when I was younger I named the ability after myself. But I think I like your reason better, so let’s go with that.” Revered Healing’s old eyes sparkled with all the excitement of a foal in a candy shop. “With the Healing Touch to help you, I have no doubt that you’ll become a top-notch surgeon, Direct. I’m quite certain you’ll leave a legacy that will put mine to shame.”

“Thank you, Director.” Direct smiled; the answers he had received may have been a bit much to take in – especially knowing that he had the power of a long-dead Alicorn at his disposal – but it also made him feel special, like he could handle anything. Still, one thing troubled him. “Uh, Director, you mentioned that the spirit only separates from the Holder at death, right? So, how are you, you know, not dead?”

Doctor Healing chuckled lightly. “I said ‘usually,’ not ‘only,’ Direct. I’m a sort of special case as far as Holders go. Most keep working in their respective fields as long as they live, but I retired from surgery long ago. When I did, Asclepius moved on to a new Holder; namely, you.”

“So, Asclepius can just move from pony to pony whenever he wants?” Direct asked, feeling that the Director’s response had created more questions than it had answered.

“I’m afraid knowledge on the functioning of ancient Alicorn magics used by a long-deceased, since-forgotten Alicorn doesn’t quite fall under my area of expertise,” the old doctor replied with a chuckle. “Though, if my old mind isn’t playing tricks on me,” he said thoughtfully, “Ponyville is home to a scholar of such things; a gifted unicorn who practically lives in the library, as I recall.”

“I’ll have to look into that,” Direct nodded, standing. “Thank you for telling me all of this, sir. You’ve given me a lot to think about, but it’s almost time for my next appointment, so I’d better be going.” Shaking hooves with the Director, he turned to leave.

Suddenly the old stallion’s smile disappeared and his gaze grew distant. He called out to the young doctor before he reached the door, “Just remember, Direct: the Healing Touch is a powerful tool, but you must never allow yourself to rely on it. Even once you learn to control it – and I can help you learn to control it – you cannot allow your other abilities as a surgeon to fall by the wayside. Keep yourself sharp, Direct. That is all I can ask of you.”

“I will, sir,” Direct promised solemnly.

Author's Note:

I was kind of hoping to be out of the “short, boring exposition chapters” phase and back into the interesting/action-y parts by now, but at least I’ve finally made it through all of the explanation that needs to happen. At least until after next chapter But in the meantime, Chapter 11 will finally pick up the pace, as things probably-not-that-subtly alluded to in previous chapters finally come to light. Oh, and we actually see some non-OC characters for once

Questions, comments, criticisms and suggestions are all appreciated, and I’m happy to respond to any feedback. Until next time, thanks for reading!

Read on,
Legion