(o^o)
The baby filly sat alone in a dark room. She had no idea where she was. The only thing she knew was that she was hungry. The pain in her stomach was almost too much to handle.
Suddenly, she was being lifted into the air. She could feel the familiarity of the magic, knowing that it belonged to her mother, but it was hurting her. The magic seemed to be squeezing her tight, tighter than she liked. She tried to look for her mother, wishing that she would be gentler.
But, just as she noticed the dark silhouette of a pony, the magic was released. She felt herself fall into an even darker place, hitting something hard, yet soft. While she couldn't see anything, she could feel the walls closing in on her. Again, she felt the hunger. Only now, it was causing her to cry.
Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, she felt something soft and warm wrap around her body. The hunger she felt, was soothed and a bright light filled her eyes.
(9_6)
Derpy stared at the baby filly. She was fast asleep on the small bed the hospital had provided. Two earth ponies, a doctor and nurse, stood around the bed, examining the filly as she slept. Derpy couldn't help but notice the filly's once frowning face, ease into a smile.
"Is she going to be ok?" Derpy asked, lowering her voice to a whisper. While the doctor continued the examination, the nurse turned to reply.
"She's going to be fine," she said with a caring smile. Derpy quickly took notice of her dark silver fur and white mane and tail.
"Yes," the doctor added as he turned to face Derpy himself. Along with his white doctor coat, he had light brown fur with a dark brown mane and tail. Unlike his cutie mark, which was ophthalmoscope and a otoscope crossed together, with a stethoscope behind them, he had only a stethoscope actually with him. "You did very well, and given time, this little filly will make a full recovery."
"Thanks Scope," Derpy's father said from the side of the room. "But, does she look familiar?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Hooves," the nurse replied, drawing everyponies attention. "I know every filly and colt that is born in this hospital and she isn't one of them."
This caused a small moment of silence, closely followed by Doctor Scope and Derpy's father leaving the room. Leaving Derpy and the nurse behind. Both, watching the baby filly sleep.
After several minutes, the nurse cleared her throat, gaining Derpy's attention. "I know she looks peaceful," The nurse said, keeping her eyes fixed on the filly. "But could you please wake her up?"
"What," Derpy questioned. She couldn't understand why she needed to do that. She knew the nurse was trained to handle infants and could wake the young filly soothingly.
"I just don't want her to become frightened by the sudden change of scenery," the nurse began. "If she see’s a familiar face when she opens her eyes, she should be able to handle the sudden change more smoothly."
"O...okay," Derpy agreed after a few moments of thought. Although, she hesitated when she realized that she didn't know how to do it. At first, she thought of just shaking the filly back and forth gently. But quickly decided against it, remembering to never shake a baby, even if it was gently.
"One thing you can do," the nurse began, noticing Derpy's hesitation, "is gently pick her up and softly brush her mane back. It would even help if you softly whisper to her as well."
"Okay," Derpy replied as she Carefully picked the filly up and cradled her in her arms. Slowly, Derpy began to softly brush the fillies bangs back, sweeping her hoof all the way back and then starting over. It wasn't much, but the nurse said that it would be enough.
"Come on. It's time to get up," Derpy softly whispered. After a few moments, the filly sluggishly opened her eyes, resisting the urge to fully wake up. But Derpy continued brushing the filly's mane while still whispering in her ear. Soon, the baby unicorn was wide awake and staring up at Derpy.
(o^o)
The first thing the filly noticed was that she was in a different place. The room was a blinding white. It actually hurt her eyes with how the lights seemed to intensify as they bounced off the walls. Then, she saw the kind pony staring down at her, a soft smile on her face. Staring at the pony reminded the filly of the soft and warm feeling from her dream.
But a new sense of fear developed when the filly noticed the other pony. The filly couldn't help but become a little intimidated with the other pony looking at her. She had never seen two different ponies at the same time before. She wondered if the other pony would be kind as well.
Before the filly could figure anything out, she felt herself being given to the other pony. She felt the difference in the way she was being held immediately. This other pony held her far more gently than even the kind pony had. Looking up, the filly's gaze went immediately to the pony's eyes.
They were sky blue and shined with a tinge of green. But that wasn't what caught the filly's attention. All she noticed was that both of the pony's eyes were staring at her. She couldn't help but wonder why this pony stared at her with both eyes, while the kind pony, only with one.
(9_6)
Derpy stared at the baby filly. The filly, in turn, was staring directly into the nurse's eyes, as if performing her own visual inspection. After a few moments, the filly's gaze shifted towards Derpy.
"What kind of tests are you going to do?" Derpy asked as she watched the nurse set the filly back in the small bed.
"I just need to check her movement and reflexes," the nurse replied as she sat the filly up. "It will help us understand if she has any injuries that can't be seen normally," the nurse said as she slowly began moving the filly's hooves. At first, the nurse seemed pleased with how smoothly the filly's joints moved. Then, the small filly twitched in pain as the nurse moved her lower left hoof.
"Is she ok?" Derpy quickly asked noticing the filly's reaction.
"Its ok," she quickly replied. "It looks like a sprain, but we'll have to do an X-ray to make sure." With that, the nurse continued her examination. When she reached the eye exam, the nurse flashed a small bright light in the filly's eyes. Derpy couldn't help but cringe a bit as the filly tried closing her eyes in protest. It was at this time, that both Doctor Scope and Derpy's father re-entered the room.
"Where did you go?" Derpy couldn't help but ask her father.
"Just had to get some paperwork started and call some ponies," he replied.
"She may have a sprained hoof Doctor Scope," the nurse told the other stallion. "Should we have her x-rayed to be sure?"
"Yes we should, the machine should be open right now," Doctor Scope replied as he began writing something down on a nearby clipboard.
"Can't you just have a unicorn check?" Derpy asked as the thought entered her head. She had fractured some bones before, and a few of the times, a unicorn would use their magic to check on their condition.
"While it is the quickest way, introducing foreign magic into a baby unicorns body is very dangerous. It can cause them to lose control and release their own magic prematurely," Doctor Scope said as he looked at the filly in the bed, who in turn was still staring at Derpy. "And because of her age, it's highly doubtful that she would be able to stop it on her own."
"What would happen then," Derpy asked. She had heard stories of unicorns who lost control of their magic. If not stopped in time, their magic would drain and their life-force would start to be used as a power source.
"We're not even going to risk it," Doctor Scope quickly replied. "Now, lets take this little Jane Doe of ours and get some X-rays, shall we?"
Derpy watched in confusion as everypony made their way out of the room. She had heard the doctor call the little filly 'Jane Doe' but she didn't understand why. After a moments thought, she realized it was because no pony even knew the filly's name. It caused her to question if the filly even had a name to begin with.
"Are you coming Miss Hooves," Doctor Scope asked from the hallway. Realizing she was alone in the room, Derpy rushed out into the hallway and followed everypony to the X-ray room.
(o^o)
The baby filly was beginning to dislike the other pony. She didn't like it when the new pony started touching her hooves. It felt weird, especially since one of them hurt when she moved it. From there, the pony continued to poke and prod her body as she examined her. The pony even shined a very bright light in her eyes, hurting them a little.
Then, two more ponies entered the room. They were bigger than the first two, and a lot more intimidating. The filly wanted to curl up and hide, but when she looked towards the kind pony, she saw that she wasn't afraid of them. So she thought that she shouldn't be as well.
After a few minutes, the filly felt herself being taken away again. She could only watch as her surroundings continued to change around her. She tried to look around, but the pony carrying her was moving too fast for her to register anything. Quickly, she began looking at the kind pony, who had just walked up next to her. The filly liked how the kind pony had not changed. Unlike everything else around her.
After a little while, the group of ponies walked through a set of double doors into another room. Immediately, the filly noticed a large square machine. To her, it was the only thing in the room. She couldn't help but wonder what it did.
(9_6)
Derpy still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the filly may not even have a name. By what she knew, parents would decide the name of their foal before they were even born. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even notice the filly getting X-rayed.
"As we thought," Doctor Scope said with a smile, catching Derpy's attention. His sights set on a large screen attached to a strange looking device. "Just a sprain."
On the screen, Derpy could see what looked like a miniature skeleton of a pony. It was focused on the hind leg area, mostly around the lower left hoof. Looking at the other side, she saw the filly sitting on a small table. Her eyes focused on several lenses attached to the machine. She was actually surprised at just how calm the filly looked.
"So what are you going to do now?" Derpy asked. She couldn't help but wonder what else the doctor had to do to the filly.
"Aside from blood work , a little paperwork, and some medicine, there isn't much left to do," Doctor Scope replied with a smile. "I'll have the blood work done after this little filly has had a good night's sleep and regained her strength. Our main concern right now is to get her properly fed and get her some vitamins."
"You can rest easy tonight Miss Hooves," Doctor Scope said with his smile still intact as he shut down the X-ray machine. "This little Jane Doe is in safe hooves."
Again, Derpy heard the filly referred to as a 'Jane Doe'. She hated hearing that.
What if she really doesn't have a name?
This question kept repeating itself in her mind. She was so caught up in the question, she almost didn't notice her father working to gain her attention. Which he appeared to have been doing for several moments.
"Derpy? Are you ok," he asked.
"Do you have to call her Jane Doe?" she asked, without a moments hesitation. The question seemed to create an eerie silence within the room.
Derpy's father was the first to speak," we're only calling her that because we don't have an official name for her yet. Unfortunately, seeing as she is very young... she may not even have one." This only caused Derpy to tear up as her father confirmed her suspicions.
"Why not give her a name yourself then," Doctor Scope chimed with an understanding smile.
"I cant do that," Derpy quickly replied. "I cant just give somepony else’s foal a name. Its not right."
"It doesn't have to be her actual name," Doctor Scope was quick to reply. "You can give her a nickname. It will also help with the paperwork as well.
"Take as much time as you need," Scope said as he noticed Derpy's continued hesitation. While Derpy thought, the doctor turned his attention to the nurse, directing her to take the filly to the nursery and see to it that she was fed and given some vitamins.
Leaving the room, the nurse took the filly in one direction down the hallway. Derpy, her father, and Doctor Scope went in the other. Derpy couldn't help but look back as the nurse disappeared around a corner. A powerful urge to turn and follow them began making its way into her mind.
"So, have you thought of a nickname for the filly?" Derpy's father asked, cutting into her train of thought. Again, she hesitated, not having an answer. She tried to think of something, but the urge to go back to the filly kept overpowering her thoughts.
It wasn't until they reached the lobby that Derpy noticed Doctor Scope addressing her.
"You did very well today Miss Hooves," He complimented. "Not many ponies your age would have acted so calmly in that kind of situation."
But Derpy didn't really listen to what he was saying. She could already feel her legs taking several steps back on their own. It wasn't until she bumped into her father, that Derpy retook control. Looking up at him, she was surprised to see the smile he had.
"Down the hall to the left," he began as he stepped aside. "Its at the end of the third hallway on your right."
Without hesitating, Derpy ran down the left hallway and towards the nursery. Slowing down only when she reached the doors. Without stopping for even a second, she walked in and headed towards the back where the nurse stood looking down into a small crib.
"Miss Hooves, What are you doing here?" the nurse asked as Derpy entered her line of sight. She spoke in a whisper so as not to wake any of the surrounding infants. Ignoring the nurse, Derpy moved in closer to the crib.
(o^o)
The filly couldn't help but stare at the strange lenses that looked at her. She was sitting up on a small table with nothing to look at but the lenses. All the other ponies were on the other side of the strange machine in front of her. But the filly was so caught up with the lenses, she didn't notice. They looked like big black eyes. Each, focused squarely on her.
The filly snapped out of her gaze as the pony she didn't like, picked her up and walked out of the room. Her mind began to wander when she noticed the kind pony walking in the opposite direction from where she was going. At first, she believed that the kind pony would return after a moment or two. But as the distance increased and the kind pony disappeared from sight, she knew that wasn't the case.
Everything around her began to be swallowed by a mental darkness. There was light, but she felt like she was back inside the dumpster. She was alone, scared and could feel the walls closing in on her. To the filly, it didn't matter if there were other ponies around her. All she knew was that the first pony she had ever met besides her mother had just left her.
The filly barely noticed the strange object being pressed against her lips. She didn't open her mouth to accept the object like all the times before. Instead, she reached out and grabbed the object with her two front hooves. There was no resistance as she brought the object in close and held it for protection. The filly could feel the darkness encasing her.
Suddenly, a familiar sound broke through her mind. It was a voice she remembered, not the one from her mother, but from a different pony. As the darkness surrounding her mind faded, the filly looked up to see the kind pony looking down at her with a caring smile.
(9_6)
"Its ok, I'm not going to leave you," Derpy said to the filly, giving her a caring smile. She felt horrible seeing the filly clench the bottle the nurse had given her close to her body. It reminded her of when she found the filly in the dumpster. But as the filly looked up at her, she was happy to see the filly smile in return.
Reaching into the crib, Derpy took the bottle and brought the nipple to the fillies lips. The baby unicorn opened her mouth and accepted the bottle, drinking its contents. As the filly drank, her eyes began to slowly close as she drifted into sleep.
"You can stay for as long as you like," the nurse said, taking the bottle once the foal was done. Derpy merely nodded in reply as she kept her gaze fixed solely on the filly.
"So, have you thought of a name?" the nurse asked as she set the nearly empty bottle on a nearby cart.
At first, Derpy didn't respond, keeping her eyes fixed on the sleeping filly. She still had doubts about giving the filly a name, even if it was a nickname. It wasn't her place to do such a thing. But she couldn't stand having the filly be referred to as a nameless Jane Doe. Then, a single word escaped her lips.
"Dinky."