Dr. Taconymous

>You pulled your car off Mane Street and into the staff parking lot of Canterlot General Hospital.
>Navigating your way past the fleet of stationary vehicles until you'd nearly reached the end where your own reserved spot was located.
>Marked by the little sign at the end bearing your name and title.
>Dr. Anonymous
>You let out a sigh before mumbling to yourself.
"Another day at the office..."
>Turning off the ignition and throwing the keys into your coat pocket, you checked to make sure all your things were in order before you began to open the door.
>At the same moment your felt your phone vibrating against your leg.
"I wonder who that could be..."
>Your cyan friend Sonata Dusk had been giving you regular wake up texts for the past month during the current health pandemic.
>These had also been accompanied by what you could only describe as very unorthodox morning motivational talks.
>The kind only a girl like her could come up with.
>You'd tried to assure her that while you appreciated the concern, she didn't have to go to the trouble.
>But the little taco destroyer had been fiercely adamant about 'doing her part' to help keep you going.
>You hadn't recieved one of these pep talks yet this moring.
>And thus figured she'd just slept in and you'd have to go without.
>Evidently not.
>You reached into your pant's pocket and pulled out your phone, the screen turning on once the camera caught your face.
>The familiar sight of a text message notification glaring back at you had become basically a ritual at this point.
>Though you admitted to yourself that it was still a welcome one.
>You unlocked the device and clicked onto the messaging app.
>Re-entering into the digital testimony of your dealings with the blue devil you began to read her latest remarks:
>[Sonata]GOOD MORNING ANON! SUPER SORRY!!!
>Dagi made wffles and i forgot to text u... :/
>but i remembered again! so im ready to start when u r bud!
>[Anon] It's alright Sonata. Go ahead. But I need to go to work soon so it has to be quick okay?
>K! no problem!
>You braced yourself as you saw the indication that the ponytailed oracle was busy at work, typing out her wisdom.
>You tapped your left hand's fingers on the car door somewhat impatiently as you waited.
>Leaning your head back on the seat's headrest, waiting.
>Any moment now...
>The time on the top of your phone's screen climbed another digit closer to the beginning of your morning shift.
>Then another.
>And another.
>And ANOTHER.
>Sonata must have been really serious about this one.
>Perhaps she had been wanting to make up for her tardiness?
>"Thats definitely possible" you thought to yourself outloud.
>Sonata was not necessarily the most conscientious of the Dazzlings, but she could be the most stubborn.
>At least when it came to certain things.
>Regardless of how perplexing they might have seemed to those around her.
>Another digit higher.
>[A]You writing a book? lol
>You made the joke half hoping it might accelerate the current procession under way.
>More typing.
>As your hand reached to open the handle and the other began returning your phone to your pocket, the moment you'd been waiting for arrived.
>Be like a taco. Be calm and delicious,
>Be at peace with yourself(and mostly nutritious),
>Be strong and courageous, like a crisp tortilla shell,
>But not too hard to never break or let go and say 'oh well',
>]S]Be kind and warm inside your heart just like the juicy meat.
>Be hot and spicy with your sauce, whatever 'sauce' may bring the heat.
>Or if no sauce, then that's cool too.
>Be cool and fresh like lettuce do.
>Stay well hydrated like greens require, and staying as sweet as you can.
>And last but not least, you stay cheesy Nonny,
>My loveable big green man.
>You smirked as you read over the taco poetry('tacoetry?') a few times, feeling mixed emotions.
>All positive ones.
>You also didn't fail to notice the sudden improvement in spelling and punctuation.
>She could be quicker than she let on alot of the time.
>But only in Sonata's types of interests it seemed.
>Otherwise, you got the remaining attention and concentration.
>But luckily the affection never changed its frequency.
>[A]Thanks Sonata. That was great.
>:3
>don't be jellous tho. ur still better than most tacos.
>[A]Most huh?
>jk!
>talk later!
>bye! xoxo
>You put your phone back into your coat as you double checked the items in your office bag.
>Opening the door and stepping through you gazed up at the massive edifice of your place of work.
>Staring down on you.
>Imposingly and demandingly.
>Then you smiled and shrugged it off as you closed the door.
>Fuck it. Let's go.

Lunch call with Aria

>You stepped through the door marked 'STAFF ONLY' in bold red letters and immediately turned right.
>An advanced looking hand sanitizer dispenser stood guard on the wall as if daring you to pass without being addressed.
>So like everyone else, you went through the procedure.
>Then mumbled sardonically.
"Never met anyone who liked my hands on them this much."
>Turning around after you finished, you scanned the depressing area.
>A few of your colleagues were with you, spread apart and looking paranoid and tired.
>You recognized one and nodded to him.
>He looked like he'd just been told his dog died.
>Happy Days.
>You walked over to the room's large professional fridge and retrieved your rations for the day.
>After taking another look around the room you found a spot far enough from anyone else that it wouldn't break current etiquette.
>Sitting down, you pulled your lunch items out of your brown paper bag and went through the itinerary.
>Sandwiches? Check. Fruit? Check.
>Weird toast-flavored soft drink Aria sent you from her tour in Maretonia?
>Check.
>She'd sent you two boxes of the stuff.
>One Buttery flavored, one jam.
>This one was jam.
>Jam was the worst.
>It tasted like a giant gummy bear had puked into your mouth.
>The texture was just all wrong for a soft drink.
>Like it was actually half jam instead of soda.
>You ate your meal, jam-slime and all.
>Not wanting to think about it any longer you took out your phone and began checking the list of voice messages.
>You noticed one from Aria.
>You pressed the appropriate number as you listened to her message begin.
>Even before spoke you could tell something was off just by her breathing.
>She sounded drunk.
>Really drunk.
>You'd gotten better at recognizing it lately.
>"H-hey anon. I'm uh, I'm uh, like, ok kay. Yeah? I'm drunk. Obviously dweeb.
>She gave a little laugh.
>"Wanted to call you in the mid...middle of the night so you"d actually TALK to me without getting DISTRACTED!">She had hollered the last word straight into you.
>You listened on as she took a few deep breaths to recover.
>"so *huh* yeah *huh* whatever bro
>She took a last calming breath before continuing on with your judgment and sentencing.
>"Just d-don't bother calling b-back alright?"
>The tone in her voice shifted to one softer and frail.
>"If I want to know about you I'll just ask my sisters."
>She groaned.
>"I-I don't even know when they're gonna let us out and fly back and neither does A-Adagio."
>You heard what sounded like her attempt to stifle a hiccup.
>"D-damn i-it! Okay, whatever, we're d-done here loser!"
>You sighed, speaking to recording.
"Apparently not."
>She once again resumed the browbeating.
>"Y-you don't like what I do in my-my own free time? It's none of your business!"
>She rolled out a cacophony of profanities and curses upon you.
>You took the hits as you finished your sandwich and got ready to end the long-distance verbal thrashing.
>You pulled your heard back at what you assumed was the sound of Aria's phone colliding with a wall.
>The tirade ended there and you were given the instructions of what to do with it.
>Save or delete.
>You gave a sarcastic grunt.
>Your sarcasm however didn't abate your sense of worry for the twintailed grump.
>Alright. Fine
>You clicked the option corresponding to your decision.
>Save.
>You switched to the call section on your phone's app and were about to select Aria's name before being interrupted.
>Hearing the lunch room door hurriedly open you peered up to see an annoyed looking Nurse Redheart.
>Even through the mask it was easy to tell she was worried.
>"Doctor? Doctor you're wanted in room 332B with Mr. Strudel. He wants to voice his complaints over the desserts served with yesterday's lunch."
>More complaints.
>Wonderful.
"Yes, I'll be there in a minute."
>"Sir, he's very insistent.
>You didn't doubt that at least.
>You let out a sigh and looked back at her sapphire eyes.
"Tell him for the last time that the Jell-O is not infected with COVID-19."
>The pale gray woman wasn't having it.
>She rolled her eyes and kept on.
>"Doctor, if you come he'll calm down. It It won't take that long. Now you've finished your lunch and I have a lot of rooms to cover. So can we please get this over with?"
"It can wait! Alright!?"
>It had come out louder than you'd intended.
>And angrier.
>Damn it.
>You couldn't let the stress get to you.
>Certainly not like this.
>You were a professional.
>So act like one.
>You took a deep breath and lowered your voice as you looked at the slightly upset nurse.
"I'm sorry. Tell Mr. Strudel I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm making an urgent call and it won't be long."
>The nurse have a reluctant nod but made no further protest before turning back to the lunchroom door.
>You redirected your to your phone and made the call.
>It rang long enough that you became worried she wasn't going to answer before you heard her enter the call.
>"Hey."
"Hey"
>Neither of you said anything for a moment.
>Both quietly debating on how best to proceed.
>She spoke up first, sounding slightly anxious.
>"So, I'm sorry about earlier. I got pretty blasted. Just being stupid I guess. Heh."
"How often you been getting blasted at three a.m. lately?"
>She scoffed over the phone.
>"Whatever Anonymous. Like you can talk."
>She did have something of a point there. >Your own sobriety was far from consistent sometimes.
>Even so.
"I'm no saint, sure. But you've been getting more and more reliant on it and Adagio tells me you sometimes go on for days."
>Aria began to sound irritated.
>"Well, she's a manipulative bitch. Not that it matters since it's my choice not hers."
>'You go along with her manipulations too' you thought to yourself.
>But that wasn't the point here.
"And you think that choice is a good one?"
>"Not like there's anything else to do. Everything's shut down thanks to your little bat virus."
"I know it sucks. But it won't last forever. You don't have to dive into every bottle you come across on the street."
>She gave a little laugh at her own expense.
>"We can barely go out on the streets here. Local government is really cracking down."
"Regardless, I want you to try and take it easy for a while. You may not have to worry about getting sick but that doesn't make you invincible."
>She gave out sarcastic groan than usual.
>"Yeah, yeah. I said I'm sorry didn't I?"
>You sighed.
"Apology accepted, admiral."
>She gave another tiny laugh before her voice became softer.
>"So what are you doing now?"
"Just finished lunch."
>Her response sounded very mischievous.
>"Oh I see."
>You knew what she was going to ask next.
>She knew you hated it.
>But she also knew you didn't want to admit it and quit drinking.
>For then you would forever be deemed a wimp in her eyes as she had declared.
>You didn't want to give her the satisfaction.
>And this gave her much joy as a means of teasing you with.
>Pretty ironic given the circumstances.
"It was decent. The apple was–"
>She snickered.
>"Did you have some Calsoda with it?"
>You cringed internally.
"Uh... yeah. The jam one."
>Aria's voice brightened as she learned of your most recent digestive torture.
>"Nice. I freaking love that stuff. It's like a whole different toast experience, you know?Way better than using Adagio's toaster."
>You paused for a moment to absorb these undoubtedly genuine remarks and powerful insights.
>You looked up at the clock on the other side of the lunch room, remembering Mr. Strudel's was summoning for you.
>Then you asked the girl on the other end a serious question.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
>A long pause.
"If you're not, you can tell me. You don't have to bottle it in by emptying bottles."
>She didn't say anything for a long pause.
>"I am. I guess. I just... you know."
"What Aria? What is it?"
>She grumbled to herself crankily.
>"I just... I just really sort of miss you I guess. There I said it."
>The last part came out with an irritated send off.
>And you sensed a blushing Aria was awaiting your reply with some trepidation.
>You felt a slight wash of relief come over you as well as a tinge of sadness.
"I miss you too."
>She gave a nervous laugh.
>"Shut up, man."
>You smiled. Wondering if she could sense it without seeing.
>She probably wouldn't want to admit it either way.
"I've got to go. I'll call again as soon as I'm free alright?"
>Aria's voice stole into your ears again.
>"Okay. I know you're busy. We'll talk later."
"Keep your chin up."
>You thought for a second.
"And I don't mean when you're throwing back."
>She gave another one of her laughs.
>"You're so lame dude. Seriously it's embarrassing some times."
>You're welcome.
>You checked the time again.
"Got to get going. Bye."
>"Bye Anon."

Video Call with Adagio

>You'd practically run through your front door as you fumbled through your articles of clothing for the key to unlock it.
"Damn it! Where are they?"
>You searched your coat.
>No luck.
>You searched your pants.
>Still no luck.
>You even searched your office carrier bag.
>Not there either.
>You couldn't even hear them.
>Not over your own panicking that was.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Where are you, you bastard?"
>As if in answer to their rightful title, the items in question were retrieved from the deep recesses of one of the previous pocket you'd swore you'd already checked.
>You gave a sigh of relief as you jammed the small piece of metal in the door's lock and stepped through the entrance.
>As you closed the door behind, you retrieving the small but critical tool.
>And for the millionth time made a solemn reminder to yourself never to misplace it again.
>You restarted your run to your bedroom, hurriedly putting your keys in their resting place while tossing your bag to the side.
>You were late.
>And late to meet someone who hated tardiness.
>You practically flew to your desk where you were expected several minutes ago.
>You turned on your computer's monitor.
>Luckily you hadn't turned the entire machine off that morning as now there wouldn't be any more time lost.
>You clicked the proper shortcut on the screen and entered the video call with the one who'd been waiting for you.
>The one whom you'd kept waiting.
>You felt a small jolt of electricity run through you when you saw her come on screen:
>Adagio Dazzle.
>And what she'd been wearing.
>Nothing but a black negligee with the accompanying bra and undergarments.
>The former being accentuated with a tiny pink bow in the front.
>The bright little sign of femininity contrasted sharply with it's darker surroundings.
>Luckily it was accompanied by the bright glow of it's owners more exposed body parts.
>Skin, hair, eyes...
>You took in the sight for just a moment before finding the neurons to speak up.
"Hey Adagio, sorry I'm late."
>She just nodded with an expectant smile.
>"Anonymous."
>She made a cursory motion to check her phone.
>"Hmm. You're right. You ARE late."
>She emphasized the 'are' like a schoolteacher lecturing a student.
>You knew that was coming from the moment the clock on your phone had exceeded the arranged meeting time.
>You hadn't forgot, not the time at least.
>But you might have forgotten just how punctual Adagio expected you to be.
>But Adagio never forgot a thing.
>And she never really forgave either.
"I know. It was a busy day."
>She narrowed her eyes at the generic excuse.
>"You should have called to let me know you'd be delayed."
>You gave a sheepish smile.
"Heh, yeah... sorry about that. I had to make a call to Aria before we started."
>You stopped to remember the other Dazzling had been a party to your discussion.
"And Sonata might have helped prolong the delay."
>You weren't tring to shift the blame, but usually showing some deference to the 'lead' siren was the best means of appeasing her.
>Then it was golden.
>However the sound of her sisters names taking such priority with you caused one of her eyebrows to rise.
>She let out a tiny sigh thinking of how often they'd inconvenienced her without knowing it.
>"Is that so? Well, we're both here now. So why don't you tell me all about your 'busy day'."
>A warm smile came over her face that overshadowed whatever irritation had preceded it's arrival.
>You took that as the sign you were in the clear.
"Alright, well this morning..."
>You proceeded to run down through the highlights of the day.
>Nothing had been remarkably different, just more abundant.
>But Adagio was interested.
>Not a feigned interest either, like Sonata when listing alternative foods to tacos or Aria with anything related to what Sonata said.
>Adagio genuinely listened. Like she wanted to know. It seemed gaining knowledge was one of her favorite means of accumulating more power.
>It was hardly surprising.
>Especially now with her magic 'temporarily unavailable' as she put it.
>You concluded your daily summary and handed it off to her.
"So yeah, that's about it. What about you?"
>You threw her a small smirk.
"Any closer to world domination?"
>She caught it and tossed it back.
>"Oh you know, this and that."
>She examined her darkly colored, manicured nails in a nonchalant manner. >Practically demanding you to inquire deeper.
>'Alright,' you thought to yourself 'I'll bite.'
"Well? You're not going to leave me with just 'this and that' are you?"
>Adagio gave you a look of mock surprise as she held her hands to her face.
>"You don't like this?"
>The same hands slowly slid down her neck and tugged at her bra straps.
>"Or that?"
>You doubted there were few alive who wouldn't.
>And wondered how many who weren't alive because of it.
>You raised your own eyebrow this time.
"Well sure, but–
>She broke you off with a teasingly indignant tone.
>"Because I seem to recall you've always been satisfied with THIS...
>She moved one hand towards her groin.
>"...and THAT."
>And moved the other to her backside.
>You kept your eyes glued to the screen and tried to keep it cool.
"I thought we were discussing the days events, not planning for the evening."
>Adagio gave a chuckle.
>"My plans are already in motion. As usual you're a step behind."
>She continued her tugging motion on her lingerie, clearly enjoying your undivided attention.
>You grinned and shrugged with happy defeat.
>It seemed like the most you could do at that point.
"Then by all means, take the lead."
>She narrowed her eyes and peered at you more smugly now.
>"Very well. But be careful what you wish for."
>Freeing her hands from any erogenous locations, she proceeded to flip them and give you a better look at her freshly done nails.
>"You like them? I had Sonata do them this morning after I showed her the proper technique."
>You were somewhat jarred by the sudden shift but figured it best to oblige.
>Taking a closer look at the colored keratin you noticed how much their hue resembled the eyes of their owner.
>The sheen from the light they caught had also resembled the twinkle you'd seen in Adagio's gaze.
>You blinked a few times, finally breaking your absorption with the ends of her digits long enough to vocalize a response.
"Uh, yeah. They look great I guess...
>Adagio seemed to be actually indignant at this.
>"You guess?"
>She huffed impatiently while rolling her eyes.
>"Try looking deeper."
>She moved herself and her fingers closer to the camera as the latter were danced back and forth.
>You did as she asked, once again taking in the details of the look and texture of her ten nimble extremities.
>Her voice became soft and soothing.
>A rarity for most of those who knew her.
>"Just watch my fingers go back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth."
>Your felt your head slowly following the rhythm she had set as your eyes drooped to match her lidded ones.
"Adagio? What are you doing?"
>"Shhh. Don't talk Anon. Just close your eyes and listen."
>She let out a satisfied grunt.
>"Listen to the sound of my voice."
>She started humming in a familiar melody.
>It sounded like five notes on repeat.
>It felt like silk running through your ears and coating over every crevice in your mind.
>A shiver ran down your spine as the sound of fingernail meeting microphone accompanied her now whispering tone.
>"Soon you'll feel you don't have a choice..."
>Not only did you hear it, you felt it.
>Something distinct inside your mind was declaring that fact.
>That you needed to hear and feel whatever you were told.
>That you didn't think you would stop listening or feeling even if you could.
>Then another part of you smiled inwardly.
>But you also knew you could.
>Because you'd heard this voice before.
>Because you knew who it was speaking for.
>And trained yourself to recognize her.
>And it would take more than some new nail polish for her to get one over you this time.
>"Captured in the web of my song..."
>You let a smile creep across your face as you opened one eye.
>You lookedback at the hypno poof wannabe, her own eyes still shut.
"Am I now?"
>"Soon you will be singing–"
>"What?"
>Adagio's eyes shot open, her sultry expression falling like a ton of bricks only to replaced with surprise.
>She scanned your shit-eating expression.
>"But... how? It even worked on Sonata this time..."
>Adagio looked genuinely upset with herself as her eyes darted back and forth searching for an explanation.
"I know you've done this before you know. Albeit in different forms and to varying degrees of success."
>At first it had been virtually impossible to resist her hypnotic suggestions, even without magic's involvement.
>But over time you had managed to take hold of your conscious thoughts while in her trance until you could think freely while in subspace.
>Much like you imagined lucid dreaming to feel like.
>And now you could break free completely and actually wake up.
>Adagio looked back at you directly, adjusting herself and the mic so she could commence conversing normally again.
>"If you could do that, why couldn't she?"
>You thought to yourself hard for a second about all the different ways Sonata's limited attention span might be subverted by this latest tactic.
>Then you facepalmed.
>It was so obvious.
>You pulled your hand from your face and smiled at Adagio.
"Sonata was being kind."
>Adagio threw her head back at the word.
>"What do you mean, 'Kind'? Are you saying she took pity on me by only pretending to fall under trance?"
"Well it's possible. Or she might've simply been so relaxed and uninterested that her mind just allowed it to happen."
>You thought about it for a few more seconds before expanding on the matter.
"Extreme taco satiation can do that to you after all."
>"I see."
>The orange haired Dazzling did not look amused in the slightest about having just made a fool of herself on camera.
>"Well then, I suppose that will have to conclude our little session for tonight Anonymous."
>You didn't like the sound of that.
>Wrapping things up so soon had not been your intention and you were beginning to regret causing Adagio to lose face for your own amusement.
"I mean we don't have to stop now. You can try it with me again. Just let me relax a bit and–"
>Adagio put up her hand to stop you from speaking.
>That at least still worked.
>"No, no. You've clearly shown me I no longer have the effect on you I thought I did. I won't waste your time any longer."
>You definitely didn't like the sound of that.
"Wait, Adagio! I'm sorry! It's not a waste of time! I was just kidding!"
>She gave a heavy sigh and closed her eyes, a soft smile crossing her face.
>"It's alright Anonymous."
>There she went using your proper name again.
>"We'll talk again later."
"Adagio! Come on I just–"
>You saw her eyes look over to the corner of her screen.
>And then back to yours.
>But this time the shit-eating grin was hers to bear.
>She leaned in close to the microphone and with the sexiest tone of voice you imagined was possible as she finalized your denial.
>"Next time don't be late."
>You leaned back in your chair as she ended the call.
>You stared up at your ceiling hopelessly and let out a groan.
"Fucking quarantine."
>Nothing but a black negligee with the accompanying bra and undergarments.
>The former being accentuated with a tiny pink bow in the front.
>The bright little sign of femininity contrasted sharply with it's darker surroundings.
>Luckily it was accompanied by the bright glow of it's owners more exposed body parts.
>Skin, hair, eyes...
>You took in the sight for just a moment before finding the neurons to speak up.