This story is a sequel to Emoticon
Not too long ago, Sergeant Major Dawn Triage, medic of the Dusk Guard, broke a rule. It was easy. Simple, even. No one said anything. No one even noticed. And it wasn't a major rule. She simply ... neglected ... to ask for permission from a patient of hers before running a test. It was only to indulge a faint curiosity, an interest that she was fairly certain would never achieve any actionable result. "What harm could it do," she'd asked herself, "if nothing ever came of it?"
Perhaps she should have asked herself what would have happened if something had.
Sixth and final of the Side Stories to The Dusk Guard: Rise. Familiarity with Rise is not required per se, but recommended.
Side Stories so far:
Carry On
The Definition of Strength
Old Habits
Emoticon
Remembrance
Trust
The Saga has a TV Tropes page! Please help keep it up to date!
Special Thanks to Jorlem, Sinister Voice, and AlouetteSK for their help pre-reading and editing.
Uh oh
Dammit, now I'm all curious.
Oh no! :(
I'm looking forward to this all the same, however.
I'm guessing that the "What have you done" in regards to the blood test is because Dawn's request to have it examined might have put (If I remember right) Nova Beam in danger or found out something that was Equis-shattering.
So wheres the *DUN DUN DUUUUN* ?
Now you've got me really excited for the next update on Thursday. I like how this happening at the same time as "Rememberance".
5371352
I do as well, but the one part that irks me is that due to length differences, the stories won't update at the same time.
Still, you'll be getting a nice amount of reading each week regardless.
Medical ethics!
Now if only I could remember what the blood test was for…
I just found your story today and really enjoyed it. I'm hooked on what the blood test may be!
Excellent work!
I don't know, Dawn. I literally have no idea. Did she send the blood work during Rise, or another side-story? Or did she send it in during Beyond, which has yet to hit? Or did she send it outside the perspective granted by a story?
Whatever way it goes, I suspect somebody's in trouble, and somebody else may be in danger...
Steel Song's pregnant, isn't he?
You're just dangling meat in front of us, now, aren't you?
I'm getting the feeling that since they focused on the Hydra attack as their major return to action, Sky Bolt didn't (won't?) join the team in their adventure Beyond the Borderlands. It makes sense, due to her being fully in the throws of PTSD, but it opens up a zillion questions. Will whatever happens (happened?) in Beyond be an official Dusk Guard mission? Are they going in with a smaller team? Will we be focusing on different characters? Will the Dusk Guard grow? Will we discover Nova and Sabra's united parentage?
The burden of knowing too much and too little!
5369911
5370617
That's okay. Because once the side stories are done...
5370893
We shall see!
5371094
It was in your mind all along...
5371565
Again,
5371952
Thanks! If you haven't already, I recommend that you check out the rest of the series, starting either with the first of the side stories (warning, major spoilers), or better yet, Book I of the Dusk Guard Saga! If you like this, there's a whole lot to catch up on while you wait for the inevitable update!
5372866
Heh heh heh ... ha ha ha ... BWAH HAHAHAHAHA!
Edit: These two stories are going to set of a frenzy of guessing for the Wild Mass Guessing page of TV Tropes, I expect.
dun dun dun!!!
you didnt do it so I had too.
A match for a possible parent, or a lost child?
Edit: ah, parent. Or sibling. But not Nova Beam himself.
Why do I not know what this Ocean is? Can anyone tell me where to look it up?
Huh, so this is going to be an interesting season 3 opener leading up.
I'm glad you finished these two in time, both were quite good. That just sets the bar for the sequel higher, though. I await it eagerly.
5424380
I think we don't know for a reason. I do hope it's a good one, though.
5425001
Oh, is that it? I guess it's just the references in this and Remembrance that have me feeling each time I read "the Ocean" that I should recognize it...
Merry Christmas everyone!!
So what I'm getting is that Equestria doesn't do tips.
…
I wanna move there!
Eh, can't say I really liked this one as much as any of the other side stories. It seems very much the odd one out; all the others ended with some kind of character growth or movement past some kind of personal obstacle, whereas this one felt more like a prologue or teaser than a full, self-contained story.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but thos works. Hoping to see this resolved soon in the sequel!
Is the relation anyone we know?
5422925
Dawn's not going to do it either. 
5423172
Okay, you got me. It's [TRANSMISSION JAMMED]!
But don't tell anyone, okay?
5424380
The best I can do is point you towards the other side stories. There definitely are references to the Ocean of Endless Ice elsewhere. Along with little bits of information that might clue you guys in on the what. Fun stuff for those who like digging and extrapolating.
Surprisingly, the TV Tropes page does not have an entry for the Ocean yet.
5424952
As the writer of the Dusk Guard Saga, never have I been more worried about a season opener and ender than I was with season 3, since I didn't want anything that could potentially wreck the saga story. Thankfully, the opener fit right in. Really, really well.
5425001
Thanks! I'm glad you liked them. And so far, what is written of "Beyond the Borderlands" has been all kinds of awesome. It's coming, people. It's coming!
5425857
Unless she just needed change on the tip. To be honest, I can't remember if that was the intent or not though. I assume that since it's Equestria he is getting a decent paycheck though.
5426591
No disagreement's there from me, actually. Dawn's place as a character has always been a bit more ... pre-developed than others. She's the kind of mare that doesn't grow quickly—at least, not since she was a lot younger. Combine that with her very polite, high-class personality and it's hard to get character development out of her. I'm not disagreeing with your post. I kind of agree. Dawn's story isn't nearly as compelling to read as any of the others. The best I can hope for is that reading this and getting insights into her mindset, personality, and behavior will make her portions in future bits of the saga more meaningful. But if nothing else, hopefully you had some fun with the worldbuilding I threw in all over the place.
5426950
It's Dawn. I'm just going to say you probably shouldn't expect a quick resolution to her little mistake.
5427969
Well, I said it above, but I suppose I can mention it once again here. It's [DATA CORRUPTED]. There. That's the last time I say it, though. If something goes wrong, you'll just have to wait to see how it pans out.
5442648 Here's to hoping that the next installment really shines as these have.
5442655
Trust me. It's already way better. Prepare to have the bar raised.
5442737 Just dont set it too high, or else, no one will be taking hold the gold on that jump.
5442648
Thanks, Viking! The Ocean of Endless Ice, huh... That sounds familiar. I guess I'll have to reread all the side stories again. It's just too bad we have to give you actual time to write the next story! Someone needs to invent a pocket dimension where time passes at a much faster rate than the real world, so we can shove authors into it and they can spend a year writing a story and come out to fans who have only waited a couple days...
took me way too long to get around to this one, seeing as it was buried in my read later list. but it didnt disappoint. the teasing, all the way thru the story till i thot i wasnt going to find out at all, then chucking it back at me at the very last. the chekovs gun that appeared somewhere way back when with novas blood sample, i had completely forgotten about it.
also,
mint and blossom! from the start of Rise! nice of u to give us an update on what happened with them.
5469666 also, what was up with celestias mane?
Awesomeness. Can;t wait to find out what the next installment of the Dusk Guard series brings. I want to know what the Ocean is very badly right now. Also you love throwing little spoilers and hints into your side stories to see if we notice them or not don't you. I guess it;s time to re-read those side stories. As the naruto anime states we must look underneath the underneath and see through deception.
I say build the large teleport device, install it on the Hummingbird, and then use it to silently drop in on ponies.
I gotta say these Shorts were all fantastic. The first story focused Mostly on steel and Nova, and it was really nice to have these Down time fics to kinda flesh out the background and story of the other characters. I mean each of them had a Well developed personality and a story, we just didn't get to see as much of them as we did Steel and nova. It's really gotta me a lot more excited to start on the second book
Reckon I've now read all your DG related stuff, worth it.
I most certainly won’t tell anyone if I had to wipe the drool off my keyboard after reading this.
That got me wondering. Could that blood test be related to some unusual powers of a (male) team member? Say, an unusually powerful magic? Something with his lineage (as, I believe, was already suggested in the comments to “Rise”), perhaps? Wait a minute, isn’t he an orphan?!
I didn’t see the other major plot points coming, though.
Calling it right now. Dawn is Nova's mother.