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The Unhappiest Pony In Equestria1,070 words
And Down We Go970 words
Hugs Can Hurt?700 words
Trouble Making, Friend Making760 words
Not My Decision1,250 words
A Surprise Encounter1,109 words
Doctor Doctor Please998 words

Doctor Doctor Please

The Hippocratic Oath is a wonderful thing. This oath meant, among other things, that a doctor could not refuse care to anypony, or any creature, that came asking for help, especially one who was visibly injured, even if such a creature might be considered, under other circumstances, a fearsome enemy. Of course, there were a few minor bumps along the road to good health...

"You know, I don't mean this as an insult to your friend," Doctor Stable said to Silhouette, keeping his tone carefully neutral, "but it might have been a better idea to take her to a veterinarian, instead of a doctor."

Trouble gave the doctor a look that implied that, while it might not have been meant as an insult, she was very close to taking it as one. "Don't talk about me as if I'm not here, or like I'm not smart enough to understand." The doctor turned towards Trouble, then nodded. "Now," Trouble continued, her tone rather measured, like someone who was trying very hard not to sound angry, "Please explain what you meant. Because that did sound very close to an insult to me."

Doctor Stable nodded, sighed, then said, "What I meant was, my specialty is in the treatment of ailments and injuries that can be suffered by ponies. While I know a little bit about the anatomy and physiology of various non-pony creatures, I wouldn't be confident in my ability to treat them effectively for anything but the most basic of injuries, and even then, I'd recommend that such a patient see a specialist immediately afterwards for a follow-up. The problem is..."

With a weary sigh, Trouble guessed what he would say next. "There aren't likely to be many specialists in changeling anatomy."

The doctor nodded, then looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, there might be one possibility. If you'll wait right here, I'll see if I can get somepony who might now more. And you," he said, turning and pointing at Heddy, "Leave the lollipops alone. Those are for patients." When Heddy gave the doctor a puppy-dog eyes stare, Stable sighed and said, "Fine, you can have one. But leave the rest alone: I'm expecting Pinkie Pie in for her annual physical today, and she gets... crabby if there aren't any lollipops."

The doctor stepped out, off to find whichever pony it might be who would know more about changeling anatomy. After he left, Silhouette asked a question that had been bugging her for a little while. "Ummm, if you don't mind my asking, how did you end up in such bad shape, anyways?"

Trouble smirked, and said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Silhouette chuckled, then said, "Try me, you'd be amazed what I'll believe."

Trouble smiled, then, looking Silhouette right in the eyes, said, "I told the queen that I thought that she was an idiot. To her face. Then, I explained to her, in detail, why. In front of the entire colony. As you can guess, she wasn't happy about it."

Silhouette's jaw dropped. Trouble was dead serious: her voice didn't waver, she didn't blink, she didn't break eye contact. Silhouette could tell it was the truth, but it was too incredible to believe. "Why," she asked, shock plain on her face and in her voice, "would you do that? You had to know she would have reacted."

Trouble scowled, not at Silhouette, but at a memory. It seemed that the entire issue was an unpleasant subject. "She... look, you know about the invasion, right? How, after the entire thing went south, we got launched miles and miles away? Well, where we were launched to wasn't anywhere near the hive, where we were situated before. Normally not a problem, we can always make a new one... except that there was a hatchling left behind at the old hive."

Trouble looked deeply saddened as she continued, saying, "The hatchling was too young to participate in the invasion: she couldn't change shapes or fly yet, let alone fight, so she'd just get hurt. So, the queen decided to leave her in charge of watching over the hive. Not a big problem, the hive was hidden, and she was left with enough love to last her for weeks, if need be. But after the invasion, everything started going bad. She was like a little sister to me, so I was very worried about her. We'd expected to be gone for less than a day, but it turned out to be much longer. I was sent to the old hive to retrieve the hatchling, to bring her to the new hive, where she would be safe, but when I got there... she was gone."

After a moment, as if she had to steel herself for what she had to say next, she continued, "I have no idea where she may have gone to, but when I got back with the swarm, I was furious. So furious that, once I arrived, I immediately sought out the queen, and gave her a piece of my mind. As you can tell, she didn't enjoy it. I ended up fighting my way out, but not before I took a few hits, and the queen had zapped me with a spell bolt. I didn't realize my wings were burning until I smelled them cooking. No nerves."

Silhouette really didn't know what to say to that. Heddy, on the other hand, knew exactly what to do: hug. She latched herself onto Trouble, and after a moment, Silhouette did as well. Sometimes, it's better not to say anything.

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