Beyond Blind Eyes

by Lunaric

Lifetime's Worth of Change

"I'm pretty certain I sound like a broken record at this point, but wow I hate doctor's visits. Yeah, they're useful and it's also good to know what's happening, but sometimes you just don't want to be haunted by the knowledge or whatever the phrase actually is..."

Cotton stared at Aqua as she sat on one of the two desks reserved for patients. Cotton smiled. Seems happier, after the other day.

Unknowning of Cotton's thoughts, Aqua continue to ramble. "Why are they called Doctor's visits anyway..? Actually, they probably came to you once upon a time..."

She was perfectly content to let her talk. Probably helps with stress. Doesn't hurt that it's cute...

"What is it now, three times? I don't really keep track of doctor's visits. Third time's the charm and all that."

Cotton looked up and furrowed her eyebrows. Has it been three times?

Aqua's ears perked up, before she smirked. "Hey, Cotton, watch: I can be psychic. The exact words he's going to say are..." The filly coughed and lowered her voice in a terrible imitation of Doctor Windhorn as she sat up straight in her chair, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

Cotton snorted in a very unmarly fashion and began to speak, "I don't think that-," before two knocks sounded from the door.

Aqua grinned and whispered to Cotton, "Watch." Speaking up, "Come in!"

Doctor Windorn walked through the door as it opened, before closing it behind him with his magic. "Hello, Miss Aqua. How are you feeling today?"

Looking down, Cotton couldn't see a hint of amusement from the filly. "Eh, you know. The usual... Oh, right. I'm good. Forgot I was talking to a doctor for a second." She giggled. "And you?"

The doctor sat down at a tiny desk on the other side of the white room. "I'm doing good as well... Well, before we begin, I want to make it known that The Princess even gave a tip for finding out what your situation was!"

Aqua leaned back with wide eyes and spoke after an awkward second of silence. "Uh... That was nice of her..?"

The pegasus tilted her head. Aqua?

The doctor nodded firmly. "Indeed it was. There is good news and bad news. Is there a preference to which one you would like to hear first?"

Cotton heard the filly whisper to herself. "Damn." She then leaned towards Cotton and whispered slightly louder, "I was close though."

Cottom smiled, shook her head, and lightly shushed Aqua before speaking, "Well, Aqua? Which one first?"

Aqua slouched. "Uh... Probably the bad news, that way I'll be feeling better afterwards."

"It's your horn. The external outburst irritated your mana pathways. The calculations in spells will be hard for you to learn and continue to practice. Simple spells will still be possible and might get easier..." Doctor Windhorn then looked down as he spoke, "I'm sorry, Aqua."

Cotton looked at the filly. I'm so sorry, Aqua...

There was a grimace on the filly's face as she spoke to herself, "Well, that's just great... Twice now, too... More chaos to the pile..."

Cotton quickly looked around the room with wide eyes. Spotting nothing immediately wrong, and barely noting that the Doctor was also doing the same, Cotton turned back to Aqua. Aqua...

Aqua turned quickly between the two of them and broke the awkward silence, "Uh, are you two okay? Did something happen?"

Cotton looked towards the Doctor with a quirked eyebrow before gesturing to Aqua with her eyes. The doctor shook his head and turned back to Aqua. "Don't worry about it, miss Aqua..."

Cotton nodded. Too young.

Doctor Windhorn continued, "There is still good news to hear."

Aqua was facing the floor before shaking her head and responding slowly. "Ah, uh, yeah. Sure."

"In comparison to your ability to cast complex spells, your casting simple magic, like telekinesis, will become slightly easier."

Aqua's head jerked backwards as an eyebrow quirked, "Wait, what? Why?"

"Due to the excess of mana that entered your mana pathways, it irritates the ones in your horn to grow. This will cause your horn to grow slightly larger than most unicorns. While it will not majorly increase your ability, it will become more precise. The condition is called the Unfettered Horn Disorder..."

Aqua looked down. "Oh... That's... neat... Yeah, that's the word I'm going to use..."

The doctor looked at her in a way Cotton couldn't identify. "Most unicorns do not use a large variety of spells. Mostly only researchers at The Princess' school do that."

Looked close to pity?

The filly slowly nodded. "Gotcha... So essentially, I'll be fine as long as I'm not trying to graduate from Celestia's school."

Cotton leaned a hoof on the filly's withers and said forcefully, "Aqua."

Said filly deflated and hung her head slightly. "Yeah, yeah... Sorry."

Looking back up, Cotton noticed that the doctor looked uncomfortable. "Your own ability to cast spells doesn't determine your grade..." He smiled and steadied himself. "In fact, one of the most respected professors has a cracked horn. It hurts her ability to cast, but she's a master of theory."

"Huh. Well, that's actually neat."

The doctor nodded. "It's definitely curious, Miss Aqua."

Aqua faced the doctor. "So, just to be clear, I'm good to cast and stuff, right? Just gotta keep an eye out and all that?"

Cotton held back a comment.

"Essentially, yes. There will likely be a small amount of discomfort and maybe pain as you are growing into adulthood. Though, It very likely won't be troubling, if it does annoy you, feel free to come in at any time to get a check-up."

The filly nodded firmly. "Sick."

The doctor raised an eyebrow before speaking. "Is there anything else you want to mention?"

"Uh..." Aqua spoke slowly, "I don't think so..?"

The doctor headed to the door. "Very well. If that's all, then I shall be going. I wish the two of you a good day and I'm sorry for being the bearer of bad news." With that, he disappeared outside the almost-closed door.

"I swear, that dude really doesn't like talking to people, huh?"

Cotton looked at the door curiously. "He has left quickly twice..."

"Eh, probably just got other patients to talk to." Turning to the filly to pick her up, she saw a smile on her face. "Well, Cotton, I'm not dead yet." Aqua nodded. "I'd say that's reason to celebrate."

Do you always have to sound so down? A little sterner than earlier, "Aqua..." Cotton shook her head and reached to pick up Aqua to put her between her wings.

"What? It's true! Plus, I wanna distract myself from all that... By chance do you- oop!"

Cotton replied sheepishly with a quiet, "Sorry."

Now secured between Cotton wings, the filly continued, "Anyway, do you have one of those training balls on ya? Kinda want to play with one now that I'm cleared to cast... Heh. That's sounds funny."

Cotton paused on her way out the door of the room. "I think I left them back in your room."

Aqua clicked her tongue. "Aw... Well, all the more reason to hurry home."

Cotton nodded with a smile as she walked through the hallways of the hospital. She took it fairly well.

Aqua hugged the back of Cotton's neck and giggled, "Well, what are you waiting for? Entertainment awaits!"

Cotton lightly shook her head. Turning around, she saw Aqua's grin. Cotton's smile grew as she turned back around. Cotton deepened her voice and attempted to imitate Solid as she sped up to a trot. "As you command, ma'am."

Cotton heard a laugh ring out from behind her.

Author's Note:

I know I said I had the beginning of this chapter written out, but I rewrote it again. Despite the small rewrite, this was very fun to write.

Dialogue is definitely easier to write out than describing what's happening. Making either one of them good, though? I don't know about that.

Four for four. Heh.

Comments

[Vaguely Demented]

11680621
Possibly. But as they say, it can always get worse.

[Cyana Flame]

more chaos for the pile~

Now is it Loony Tunes, or Milk for the Khorne Flakes~?

[Lunaric]

11680622

What's a little more awkwardness?
0% to 100% is a lot more than 100% to 200%.

[Lunaric]

11680635

:)

[mustangdrew4]

Woohooo! Progress! Atleast Aqua can continue practicing simple magic. I can't wait to see how they'll use simple spells in ways others might not think to. It's bound to happen atleast once anyways.

And another day to add to the daily streak. Congrats 👏

[NATOstrike]

Do you always have to sound so down? A little sterner than earlier, "Aqua..." Cotton shook her head and reached to pick up Aqua to put her between her wings.

Looks like you accidently dropped an italics tag behind the closing tag here.

[Lunaric]

11680910

You would be correct. Thanks for catching that!
Fixed it now.

I swear, the one time I decided to proofread in the editor so I could edit as I read. I was only missing a single character: /
Almost feels like I'm coding.

[Lunaric]

11680770

I'm excited for the future. There's still work to be done.
Thanks.

[mustangdrew4]

"Why are they called Dcotor's visits anyway..? Actually, they probably came to you once upon a time..."

Typo

[Lunaric]

11681218

Also fixed. Thanks.

[Poparakelis]

Become even more crippled I guess, what's next the legs?

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

I feel that Aqua will become a one trick pony. :3