Transparent Living

by PinoyPony

Chapter 12: Welcome to the Hospital

Dazzle looked away from the needle. Even if she had an aging spell on, she was still had the same squeamishness about needles. She distracted herself with the room.

Bland, as a hospital room was. A couple chairs were arranged near her. A poster on the other side of the room caught her eye. It had a stallion with a lab coat and a stethoscope on the barrel of a little filly. The caption said ‘Helping tiny hearts for 47 years.’

“Confirmed,” The nurse stated. She put a vial of blood on a nearby rack. “Blood type AB positive.”

Dazzle looked at her cutie mark. Her cutie mark was of a drop of blood. It perfectly matched her name; Blood Transfusion. A rather haphazard name, if Dazzle said so herself. But, yet a useful talent to have.

She flinched as the needle was pulled out of her foreleg. The doctor dabbed the affected area with a cotton ball and wrapped a bandage around it. She was surprised that is was not the colorful bandage that foals got after taking their vaccination, but the plain, tan, older grown-up pony bandage.

She forgot that being older came with its own downsides. But that was the stipulation for her volunteering at the hospital’s laboratory.

As he looked at the pinprick on her other foreleg, the doctor stated, “No sign of Tuberculosis either.”

Dazzle raised an eyebrow. She babied her left foreleg as a ghost pinprick would haunt her every time. How many hoops had she to jump through? Didn’t they know that is was Princess Twilight Sparkle that recommended her in the first place?

“Everything is in order! Wel-” The doctor said before being interrupted.

Dazzle’s smile dropped.

“Not so fast, Doctor Globin!” The nurse toted a clipboard and said “One final thing before completing the application- Organ donor?”

“What?” Dazzle asked “Why would you need to know that?”

“It’s a simple question- yes or no.”

She bit her tongue as words from the past came back to her. She should learn how to be kind. To be patient. Coco seemed to be good at it. Another thought crossed her mind: Relax, they are just trying to make sure everypony is safe. Tuberculosis is a horrible disease to spread.

Dazzle calmly replied “Yes.”

Doctor Globin walked up to her and held out a hoof. “Diamond Dazzle Tiara, welcome to Mane-hattan North Hospital.”

She accepted it and smiled. “Glad to be here.”

“Follow us out.” The Doctor instructed, trotting out of the room. The nurse followed him. Dazzle got up and tailed both of them.

Once outside, Doctor Globin greeted her with a smile. “Being the first day, let’s have a tour.” He said.

As they trotted down the hallway, they came to a shop filled with flowers. The doctor held open the door. The nurse trotted in and greeted the mare at the desk. “Zinnia, meet our new recruit!”

“How do you do?” Zinnia greeted as she held out a hoof and Dazzle shook it. “Welcome to Mane-hattan North Hospital.”

Zinnia reminded Dazzle of those flighty flower mares back in Ponyville, but older. She had a pink and yellow mane with a tan coat.

Doctor Globin stepped in and gestured to Zinnia. “Zinnia is head of flower delivery at this hospital, she will teach you how to sign for deliveries and deliver packages, mostly flowers to the patient’s rooms.”

Dazzle flicked her ears. Her? Doing Deliveries? Wasn’t she going to be too busy in the lab?

Before she could say anything, Nurse Transfusion pushed her out of the room and back into the hallway.

Geez, why did Nurse Transfusion have to be so pushy?

“Next up, this is the wing to the Emergency. You might be called there once in a blue moon. It’s fast-paced, but critical to the survival of some patients coming in.” Doctor Globin pointed a hoof down a corridor.

“Doctor?” Dazzle started. “Don’t mean to be hasty, but when do we get to the Laboratories?” She asked.

“Oh, that is on fourth floor, on the opposite side of the building from the ICU.” Doctor Globin answered. “We’ll get there. Just 2 more floors.”

Dazzle’s ears dropped. She sighed.

“Next up is the cafeteria, with your card that you get next week, you get a free meal each time you clock in.” He waved a hoof down another corridor.

Dazzle could smell the delicious food wafting out of the kitchen. The smell of hay-burgers and hay fries hung in the air. The clattering of utensils and the din of chattering ponies signaled her that the it was rush hour for them. She licked her lips.

“Speaking of which, its lunch time, C’mon, I’ll buy you something!” The doctor added.

Dazzle didn’t have to be asked twice. Food was always inviting.

Up ahead, there were a couple more doctors with nurses in line with a couple ponies in between.

“Ugh, new recruit line is always the longest.” Doctor Globin grumbled. “Sorry, Diamond.”

“Dazzle, actually.” She corrected. “And I don’t mind the line. So, these are all the new recruits?”

“Yep.” Doctor Globin answered.

“Each department gets one-to-two new volunteers every month or so. Heh, high turnover… what can you do?” Nurse Transfusion added. “There is the Neurological department, the Skeletal Department, and so forth.” She pointed to a Doctor to the next one.

“This is a weird hospital.” Dazzle said.

Doctor Globin chuckled “Just the way we work. There is a method to this madness, believe me.”

Dazzle nodded.

“Hey hey, cook! How’s it going?”

The mare in behind the counter smiled. She was tall and slim, her brown hair caught up in a hair net. “How’s it going Doctor Globin?”

“Fine! How are you?” He asked.

“Great!” The mare said. “It was a heckuva day a few days ago- Princess Twilight almost cleaned us out of hay fries!”

Doctor Globin laughed. “It was sure an interesting day when she showed up. We had to practically coax her into making sure she didn’t have the Corrosion!”

The mare laughed and lifted up a notepad “The usual?”

“You know me so well!” Doctor Globin said.

Dazzle looked at the menu, trying to decide for herself. Oh, so many choices, but the daily special caught her eye. Fettuccini with Celery, served with a roll and a drink.

“What would like to order?” The mare asked Dazzle.

“The daily special.”

“What would you like to drink?”

She looked through, and picked one “Black cherry soda.”

“Got-cha!” The mare said, tapping the order onto a notepad. “Anything else?”

“Nothing else.”

“Alright! Order will be at the end!” She pointed to where Doctor Globin was out. He was taking out his wallet.

“I’m paying for her too.” Doctor Globin said to the cashier as he pointed to Dazzle.

After he swiped his card, he took the tray by his hoof and trotted to an empty table.

Nurse Transfusion trotted by. “Need me to carry it?”

Doctor Globin rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. “No, I got it.”

They took a seat at the table, which was marked with a folded greeting card. The card had an anatomical diagram of a heart with a “Cardiac Department” printed on it. Others were there as well. Another Doctor, Nurse, and a colt.

“So glad to finally have an earth pony come into the hospital!” The other Doctor said.

Nurse Transfusion rolled her eyes and scoffed. “That's right, Platelet. finally scored another one.” She said blandly.

Dazzle raised an eyebrow. She looked around, spotting Pegasai and Unicorns. Mostly Unicorns though. That was odd, she was the only Earth Pony.

Dazzle looked back to Doctor Globin. Unicorn. Next to him was Platelet, who was scribbling down some notes with a pen in his mouth. Also Unicorn. The Nurse next to him. Pegasai, white coat with a frizzled red mane. Cutie mark of O2. The colt right next to her. Unicorn. Primed back pink mane, white coat. Cutie mark of a strand of DNA. What made Dazzle more comfortable is that Nurse Transfusion was also an Earth.

“Why aren't there so many Earth Ponies?” Dazzle asked.

Doctor Globin exchanged glances with Nurse Transfusion. “Last few got fired. We figure that they were aggravated and told their friends about it. Hence, a shortage of Earth Ponies.” He said.

“Hope you don't have anything against Unicorns.” The colt next to her turned and held out a hoof. “Myrrh Helix.”

“Dazzle Tiara.” Dazzle replied, accepting his hoof. “It was just a question.”

“Gotcha.” He said as he went back to sipping his drink.

Doctor Globin made a racket as he struggled to open his container. “Ugh, this is so hard.” He complained. After a little finagling, he opened it and picked up the wrap with his mouth.

“Want me to spoon feed it to you, baby?” Nurse Transfusion said, taking a bite out of her daisy sandwich.

Doctor Globin chuckled. “Try eating with your most dominant hoof tied behind your back.” He replied.

Dazzle inched away from them. She knew they were flirting. Ugh, ever since she put the tiara on, she wasn't used to being a grown up. Maybe she’d tell Twilight that there were a couple bugs. Dazzle decided on munching on her fettuccini was better than thinking about it.

Doctor Globin haphazardly munched on his wrap. Everything was quiet for a while, until another pony took a seat next to Dazzle.

“How's it going on the sample, Platelet?” A familiar voice said.

“You're not supposed to be here. This is induction for volunteers only.” Platelet narrowed his eyes.

“I know I'm late. Got caught up again with another tangent.” The pony replied. “I figure it wouldn't hurt to pop in and have a look see at our new volunteers.”

“Time for you to get a new watch.” Doctor Globin said.

“Working on it. Just hadn't had the time.” He said. “Ha! Get it? Just hadn't had the time!”

Dazzle turned to the Stallion. Her jaw dropped. “Yttrium?”

He looked over to her and his eyes widened. “Dazzle? H-how?”

Dazzle chuckled as she pulled off her tiara. “Princess Twilight enchanted my tiara.” She felt herself shrink back into her tiny filly body.

Soda came out of Platelet's nose. The nurse next him had her jaw hanging open. Myrrh leaned over to take a peek at her. His eyes widened.

Doctor Globin laughed “And that's why we were late. We never had a volunteer whose real age was eleven. Hence, more paperwork.”

“Sweet Celestia… you should've warned us first.” Platelet said. His eyes watered as he coughed. “You'd better be careful, or you'll end up with another patient to worry about.”

“Agreed.” The nurse next to him said. “Not to mention, Mare-ison Bergeron.”

“What?” Doctor Globin looked back at Dazzle “The star of the play that mysteriously disappeared after she ran backstage?”

“Precisely.” Nurse Transfusion said. “Honestly… you didn’t notice while filing out her paperwork?”

Doctor Globin blushed.

Yttrium nodded. “Here’s my claim to fame. Look at the coat, seems familiar?” Yttrium pointed at the lab coat that Dazzle had on. “You really like that thing, don't you?”

Dazzle smiled as she put her Tiara back on. “It's fits me better when I'm older.”

Doctor Globin stiffened. “Wait… why do you have his lab coat?”

“You’re not all here today, are you?” The nurse next to Platelet teased.

“He gave it to me.” Dazzle said. “This is the whole reason why I came to the hospital, to work with Yttrium.”

Nurse Transfusion took a sip of her soda. “That must've explained why she asked about the labs. That also explains why they put her in the Cardiac Department.”

“Oh no.” Doctor Globin pointed a hoof at Yttrium. “You are not stealing the only Earth Pony volunteer to help in your research.”

“Relaaaaax.” Yttrium waved a hoof. “We can share.”

“Wait… what?” Dazzle asked.

“Don't you know? You have to at least volunteer three weeks working in the labs.” Yttrium explained. “And that's not including twelve weeks of training.”

“Did you even read the paperwork you signed?” Nurse Transfusion asked with a smug look on her face. “You're stuck with us, mare. Or should I say, immature filly?”

Dazzle knew it was cliché to think it. She grumbled. “You tricked me!”

“Easy.” Doctor Globin stuffed a hoof over Nurse Transfusion’s mouth before she could say anything else.

Yttrium put a hoof over Dazzle's shoulder, signaling her to stay down.

“You can't change the fact that you can't terminate her contract with the hospital. She either has to decline it or do something malicious.” Yttrium explained. “Now, Let's stop making a scene. The other Departments are watching.”

Dazzle glanced around. Another feeling of Deja vu hit her. She got up from her seat and announced. “Sorry everyone. Heated argument.”

Everypony slowly got back to eating their food, trying to distract themselves from the scene.

Yttrium smiled at Dazzle. “Done that before haven't you?”

“When I was a filly.” Dazzle joked.

Yttrium snickered. He looked to the group and said. “Let's get to the Cardiac Department before it gets crowded. I had enough judgement from other Departments for today.”

---

Dazzle followed Yttrium as the rest of the group trailed behind. Everything was quiet except the clatter of hooves going through the hallway.

Dazzle looked behind, with the indifferent faces of everypony, except Nurse Transfusion. She glared at Dazzle.

“This is the waiting room.” Yttrium gestured. The room was filled with chairs and coffee tables with some magazines scattered about. Dazzle could tell that it was well used. For one reason or another, there seemed to be only a few ponies present.

Dazzle recognized the room, as it was the one Coco and her waited in before meeting Yttrium.

Doctor Globin keyed in a code next to the door, then a click was heard. He pulled and held the door open.

“...And finally, the Cardiac Department.” Yttrium announced.

Immediately inside, facing the doors, was a little area with a couple chairs and a few counters. Underneath, there were a couple binders.

“This is the Nurse's station.” Doctor Globin gestured. “When you start your shift here the nurses will clock you in.”

They filed into the station and Doctor Globin pulled a binder out. “Every morning, you'll note the status of each patient in this wing of the hospital. It may sound like a lot, but with many hooves, it’ll get done quickly.”

Nurse Transfusion sat down in a chair and pulled out a stethoscope and a pressure cuff from the drawer. She wiped it down the stethoscope with a disinfecting cloth, and put it in her ears.

“Nurse Transfusion will show you how to take blood pressure.” Doctor Globin said.

Myrrh eagerly stepped forward. Nurse Transfusion wrapped the cuff around his foreleg.

“Doctor Fuse.” said a voice behind them.

All of them looked at another nurse standing near Yttrium.

“Doctor, there is a patient in critical condition. Come quickly.”

Yttrium nodded and started to follow.

“Can I come with you?” Dazzle blurted. She didn't know what got to her, but for some strange reason, she wanted to follow him. Maybe it was because she wanted to stay as far away from Nurse Transfusion as possible.

Yttrium smiled.

“Not yet, Doctor.” Nurse Transfusion said. “She hasn't even learned proper precautions yet…”

Yttrium waved a hoof. “Relax. It is not like she needs to put a spell on her horn.”

Now that was just weird. Didn't Yttrium know that Dazzle was an Earth Pony?

“But…” Nurse Transfusion stopped herself and glared.

Dazzle didn't comment though, since it apparently shut Nurse Transfusion up.

“Come. Watch and learn my magic.” He said.

Dazzle tailed him as they trotted down the halls.

“What's her problem?” Dazzle asked.

“Watch your tone.” Yttrium whispered. “Some patients are sleeping.”

Dazzle saw. As they passed by some room, she saw a whole assortment of ponies either in horrible condition, hooked up to countless machines. There was an occasional one that looked ready to get out of here.

As they passed by the countless rooms, she noticed another set of doors. This time, instead of wood doors, it was a heavy steel door.

The nurse keyed in the passcode, and walked inside. “Who's the new recruit?”

“This is Dazzle. I believe you remember Coco?” He asked.

“I sure do.” She said.

“She is bunking with Coco for now.”

“Gotcha.”

“Dazzle, this is Mrs. Radius, one of my colleagues.” Yttrium introduced. “Go ahead and shake her hoof. I can't because I need to sanitize.”

“Sanitize?” Dazzle asked.

“You'll see.”

Dazzle obeyed and offered a hoof. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too!” She turned back towards Yttrium. “Anyways, the poor thing is in stage three of the Corrosion.”

“Mrs. Avocado?” His expression hardened.

“Yes.” She said, trotting down the hallway. As they followed, she slipped into another room.

“After you.” Yttrium said, gesturing her in.

Dazzle saw. Inside, was a Unicorn mare. She had a brown coat with a green mane. However. She had her eyes barely open. Most notably, her horn was covered in a thick white dust. Beneath the dust, the texture was as pockmarked as swiss cheese.

“Mrs. Avocado, I hope you don't mind, I'm training Dazzle here.”

The mare answered weakly. “You're good.” Her eyes shifted towards Dazzle. Dazzle noticed her irises shook violently. “How's it going, sweetheart?”

“Uhm… good.” Dazzle said, trying to be careful with the situation.

“That's good.” She said.

“Watch and learn.” Yttrium said as his horn started to glow a light blue. He closed his eyes. Suddenly, an outer shell of a ghostly green shrouded the blue. The coated aura latched onto a machine. then started to scan Mrs. Avocado's horn.

“What spell was that?” She asked.

“Sanitizing and protecting.” Mrs. Radius said. She flew up and took a bottle of liquid and a bottle of milky solution off the shelf. She noticed the ridges of her wings were highlighted the same ghostly green. She faced Dazzle “Doctor Fuse has to protect himself from the Corrosion.”

She watched as Yttrium worked away, pouring the liquid onto Mrs. Avocado’s horn and then pouring it with powder.

“This is a basic solution.” He held up the bottle and put it back on the shelf. “Do you know what an acid is?” He asked.

“A liquid that melts stuff?” Dazzle answered.

“Yep.” Yttrium said. “A base is quite the opposite, and it neutralizes the acid. Pour that with a couple specks of Carbon-Fiber or Silicon Dioxide” He lifted the bottle with the gray powder. “Non-toxic to Unicorn horns by the way.” He put it back up on the shelf. “The graphite allows the horn to grow back.”

“What causes this in the first place?” Dazzle asked.

“Remember the curse I spoke about a while back? This strain is called the Corrosion.” He said. “It has a variety of Specific charms, from inverted flying, loss of vision, or lowering of voice.” He sighed. “All those effects are curable, except one.” He looked at the mare in the hospital bed. “Corroded horn. Slowly, it seeps into the meninges, and pulls the unicorn into a coma. We can hold it off for months of intense treatment, but it is inevitable.”

A tear fell out of Mrs. Avocado’s eye.

Dazzle shuddered. “Should I be protecting myself?”

“Luckily, you do not. It’s an odd occurrence, but we noticed an odd correlation, and it seems that Earth Ponies are exempt.” His tone became lighter. “You neither contract it nor carry it.”

Wait… that meant...

“You're immune.” Mrs. Radius said.

Dazzle's jaw dropped.

“That's why I wanted Coco to help me. She wouldn't be affected whatsoever. But because she is so busy, as with every other Earth Pony I've talked to, they all decline. The few that have come in have quit before three weeks probation is up.”

“Hospital life is tough.” Radius started. “The only reason why I made it is because my advantage is to fly ponies quickly and smoothly from room to room. Whenever in a hurry, I'm your mare.”

“Because of magic, I can perform operations without cutting open the chest.” Yttrium said. “Pegasai and Unicorns have an advantage in the hospital at first, but there are things that we can't touch directly.” He gestured to Mrs. Avocado’s horn.

“So, no matter what you do, do not quit… The labs need ponies like you to find the cure.” Yttrium said. “Things will be tough since you are Earth Pony. But the reward is that your disadvantage becomes an advantage that holds the key to unlocking the cure.”

So much responsibility upon her shoulders. This was only the start. Dazzle wondered if it could get any worse.

Mrs. Avocado glanced towards Dazzle and smiled. “I'm counting on you.” Even with her tired eyes, Dazzle felt warmth when she smiled.

Yttrium stepped out. Dazzle took one last look at her, and said “I'll do my best.”

Mrs. Radius shut the door behind them.

“So, how hard is it going to get?” Dazzle asked.

“Depends on how smart you are.” He tapped his temple. “But I believe in you. As long as you work hard, you'll be able to join me in the lab. Just three short weeks.”

Dazzle looked back at the closed metal door that led into Mrs. Avocado’s room. She hoped that the mare could hold on.

“This is a little odd for your first day.” Yttrium said. “But, since you wanted to follow, I figured it couldn't hurt.”

Yttrium started down the hallway, his hooves clattering softly against the white floor.

Dazzle followed him back to the Nurses station. As they trotted, he stopped at a room and pointed at a wooden door. “This is my office. Whenever you need me, whether you are having a hard time, or just need a friend to talk to, just come in.”

“Thank you.” Dazzle said.

“Let's get back to the group.” Yttrium instructed. He nudged Dazzle. “Ready to work hard?”

Dazzle lifted her head up. “I'll do my best.”

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late chapter... I'm bad at this. Anyways, this is number two of this tough section. A lot is going on right now in the story. Again, the slightest mistake would ruin this part of the arc. Hopefully the next chapter will be easier to edit.

More coming soon!