//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: A Helping Hoof // Story: Shelter: New Beginnings // by Raikage77 //------------------------------// Chapter 3: A Helping Hoof ~ ~(Rin)~ ~ The first thing that the young girl felt was the warm air of the room hitting her face as her pink maned nurse and friend opened the door and wheeled her into the bathing area. At first glance, the bathing area reminded Rin of her bath back in her world, only bigger; the floor was made of blue and white marble tiles, like a checker board; showers lined both walls, fourteen in all, and at the very back of the room was a large, steaming pool. Rin held her teddy bear, with a small yellow bin on her lap, glancing around the area in awe. “This place is really big.” She looked up, and caught sight of a mural on the ceiling. “Oh, wow.” It depicted the four different types of ponies she had seen; an earth pony tilling the land and growing different plants, a Pegasus moving the clouds and changing the weather, and a unicorn wearing a pointed hat and cap with a beard preforming magic of different types, and above them was a tall white pony with rainbow like hair, standing tall and regal against the sun. “Its beautiful, isn't it,” the mare next to her said. Rin nodded. “Yes. Its amazing. Who made it?” “I don't honestly know, to tell the truth. This hospital used to be a hot spring bath hotel, until it got closed down. After that, some business ponies decided to reopen it as a hospital. That was before I was even born, and no pony knows who made the mural, but from my understanding they kept it because it looks nice, ” Redheart answered. She stopped the wheelchair near a row of lockers and opened one of them. “You can put your stuffed bear in here, dear. I'm sure you don't want it to get wet.” “B-but what if someone steals Taro-chan while I'm not looking,” Rin said, meekly; everything else she had known or been familiar with was gone, and the only real thing that stayed the same was her stuffed bear she had had since forever. “No pony is going to take your bear, I promise,” the nurse said, softly. “And the locker can only be opened with a code, so once your bear's inside, I'm the only one who'll be able to open it.” Rin glanced down at her stuffed friend, then over at the mare. Seconds later, she sighed and held her stuffed toy out to the nurse. “Okay ...I guess it would be bad it he got wet.” “There's no need to worry, you'll have your bear back in a bit,” Nurse Redheart said. She took the bear by the ear between her teeth and laid it do on the floor of the locker, before she closed the metal door and turned the combination lock. She turned to Rin and smiled. “Alright, Rin, I need you to hold on to me,” she pointed her hoof at one of the closest showers. “I'm going to help you move over to one of the shower spaces.” “I ...um, I don't think I can walk that far, nurse,” Rin said, sadly, glancing down at her thin, pale legs. She hated how they looked and felt. She didn't trust herself not to fall, especially after the first time she gotten out of bed and tried to walk on her own; the pain she felt when her hip hit the floor, it scared and shocked her. She couldn't remember the last time she felt such pain ...in fact, she could even remember the last time she had ever gotten hurt, or even hungry. It wasn't even so much the fall that scared her. It was the pain that came after, and her legs were just so thin, now. Falling was bad enough. What if my legs break? I don't wanna feel that. Maybe leaving home was a mistake, I should have thought more about this. “Rin.” The voice of the white mare and the feel of her hoof on her arm, brought the seemingly fragile girl from her thoughts. “Its going to be okay.” “B-but what if my legs break,” Rin said in quiet fear. Nurse Redheart patted her legs. “That's not going to happen. Your legs may not be as strong as they should be, but their stronger than you think,” she said. “I'm not going to let you fall; as long as there's somepony around to help you walk, you'll be fine. Now,” the medical mare took the small yellow bin between her teeth and sat it on the floor. “Wrap your arms around my neck, and let's take this one step at a time. This is to help you get strength back into your legs, little by little.” “...Are you sure my legs won't break?” “I'm sure. Just, lean on me.” “O-okay.” Rin leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Redhearts neck, then she slowly stood, her legs wobbling under her weight. Each step she took required more effort than the last; by the sixth step, Rin's legs were burning and she felt herself start to sweat from the strain, as well as from the warmth in the room. “You're doing great, dear,” Redheart softly encouraged her. “We only have a couple more feet.” But, to the girl, a few more feet felt like one-hundred miles. She was leaning all her weight on the nurse at this point, and the burning in her legs lessen a bit. Rin kept her face in the mare's soft, pink mane, just focusing on one small step after the other, then the small stool rubbed against her leg, and the nurse helped her sit down on it, just under the shower head. Rin hunched over, lightly panting; Redheart gently messaged her legs. “You did great. I told you your legs were stronger than you thought.” “M-my ...legs burn,” Rin let out. “It'll pass, the muscles in your legs are just getting used to being active again,” the white mare said. “Do you need any help bathing.” The young girl shook her head. “I want to do this on my own.” Redheart gave a nod. “Alright, I'm going to undo your gown,” the mare went behind her, and untied the strings with her teeth, and Rin tugged her arms out of the sleeves and handed the garment to the nurse to be put away. “I'll be right back.” Rin's legs were one thing, but the rest of her body was in a similar state. She could still see her ribs still showed through her skin, and she didn't eat much. It only took a small portion of food to make her full. Why am I like this? I was just fine before I got here. Rin slid her fingers along the ribs on her side. She could count each one, and feel the slight differences each had. What if I never get better? That was a scary thought, one she didn't want to think. Rin trusted Redheart; the mare was always so kind and soft spoken, and most of all she wasn't scared of her like some of the other ponies. The young girl truly wanted to believe the nurse. However, she still had her doubts. ~ ~(Redheart)~ ~ Nurse Redheart trotted back to her patient with the yellow bin in her mouth and placed it at Rin's feet. She picked up the hoof held shower head from its holder and turned on the water; it took a moment, then a cold burst sprayed on the young girl's leg, causing her to let out a soft yelp. “H-hey, that's cold!” The medical mare giggled. “Sorry about that,” she used her hoof to make sure it was at a comfortable temperature, once she found it fine, she ran the warm water over Rin's body, starting from her hair and over her shoulders. The nurse moved some of girl's long brown hair, and squinted her eyes ever so slightly; along the girls back, from the back of her skull, down to her lower back, were what appeared to be circular, metal plug outlets, the largest of them being on her head. She and the doctors had no idea what they were for, and even Rin herself was confused when they brought it to her attention; the young girl didn't even know how they got there, or who put them there. The only thing they did know for sure was that the outlets were sensitive when touched. Rin ...she truly is a mystery. Redheart thought. Rin reached into the bin and took out a blue washcloth and a bottle of apple scented, three-in-one(body wash, shampoo and conditioner), gel soap; she scrubbed slowly, covering her arms, legs and torso in the nice smelling soap. The young girl could clean her front and limbs just fine, it wasn't until she tried to wash her back that things seem to get difficult for her. “Do you need so help, dear?” “N-no, I can do this by myself,” Rin said, struggling to not touch the outlets on her back. “Are you sure? I don't mind.” After almost a minute of trying, the girl sighed and slumped her shoulders. “I need help.” “That's what I'm here for.” Nurse Redheart took the cloth from her hand and applied a little more of the gel soap, then she got to work; the medical mare stood on her hid-legs and softly scrubbed her patients back, doing her best not to touch the metal outlets. However, her fore-hoof slipped and ran over the edge of the one just below Rin's shoulders and the girl's back jolted. “Eh!” Redheart pulled her hoof away the second it happened. “Sorry ...sorry, dear,” she said, apologetically. “Are you okay?” “Y-yeah,” Rin answered. “It feels really weird. Like there's ice in my back.” “I'll try not to touch them, again. I'm almost finished.” Redheart went back to scrubbing her back, and true to her word she stayed away from touching the outlets; They weren't much of a problem, until they were touched directly. Rin could sleep on her back and move around fine; Doctor Stitch and a few others had debated on rather or not it would be a good idea to surgically remove them. The answer became a defiant no after Rin's x-rays came back. The outlets were wired to her spinal nerves, and the one in her head was attached to her brain. Even with the best surgeons, removing them would cause more harm than good, and the risk of death was too great. If anything, the metal plugs in her body reminded her of a movie she had seen called The Matrix. It had a very interesting concept; the main character, a hacker named Aria Ivy, finds out from a group of ponies that the world she lives in is a virtual simulation created by machines. I wonder if that could that be the reason for the plugs?The nurse mused. It'd make sense. “And, done,” Redheart said after she scrubbed Rin's lower back. She put the washcloth in the bin, and picked up the shower-head and rinsed the suds from her body. Once she was sure she hadn't missed any spots, the nurse ran the water over the girl's hair again. “I'm going to wash your hair, so make sure you keep your eyes closed.” The young girl gave a nod and did as she was told. The pink maned nurse grabbed the bottle of soap and poured some over her patient's head, before putting the container to the side and using her hooves to massage the soap into her scalp. ~ ~(Rin)~ ~ She sighed, letting the relaxing massage lull her into a trance of sorts. Nurse Redheart's hooves were very soft, despite what she had expected from reading her tablet books on animals. A pony's hooves are suppose to be hard, right? She thought. Or is it just when they have horseshoes? I can't seem to remember. Regardless, Rin enjoyed it; the way her hooves worked on her head and scrubbed her hair. Rin found her mind at peace, focusing on nothing at all, except the massage and her breathing. This is nice ...really nice. I can't help shake the feeling someone's done this before, a long time ago. And suddenly everything got quiet, the running water and Nurse Redheart's humming were blocked out, and Rin found herself in complete darkness, as if she was falling, then she was standing in the doorway of a bathroom; a little girl with long brown hair was being washed in a bath filled with bubbles, and a man with short brown hair sat on a small stool outside the tub, messaging shampoo into her hair. “Make sure you keep your eyes closed, Rin. I don't want to get shampoo in them,” the man said, softly. The little girl held her eyes shut tighter than needed, remembering how it felt the last time she had shampoo in them. “Okay,” she was quiet for a moment. “ ...Papa, do you think my hair is pretty?” The brown haired man smiled. “Yes, sweetie, your hair is very pretty. It reminds me of your Mama's.” “Really,” the girl asked. “Did you shampoo her hair, too?” “Not usually, she could do it by herself,” the man chuckled. “She was a big girl.” “I'm a big girl, too,” the little girl said. “Can I do my own hair next time?” “I don't know. You got shampoo in your eyes the last time, remember.” “But, Papa, I can do it. Pretty please.” The man sighed. “Alright. I'll let you clean your own hair. Next time.” “Yay~!” She cheered, as a result of this, however, she ended up getting some of the shampoo suds in her mouth. “Ew ...soap is nasty.” The man laughed and reached over for the bucket of water next to him, and slowly poured it over the little girl's head. "Papa, can you sing that song you said Mama used to sing." "Sure." Though he was smiling, there was something sad about his expression that Rin couldn't quite put her finger on; the man started singing, his voice soft and mellow. Rin was steered from her trance when she felt Redheart remove her hooves and run the warm water over her head. She was confused, now more than ever. What was that? She wondered. Was I dreaming? But, it felt so real. And familiar. There was also the song that the man was singing; she had heard it, somewhere. “You can open your eyes, now,” the mare said. Rin blinked her eyes open, moving the mop of brown hair from in front of her face; the medical mare turned off the shower and placed the shower head back on its holder. she turned to her, smiling. “So, do you want to head back to your room, or do you want to relax in the spring pool.” Rin looked over at the large pool at the end of the room. She wanted to relax in the bath, but she wasn't sure if her legs could get her that far. "Maybe, another time. When I'm better," The young girl turned back to Redheart. “I wanna go back to the room. I'm kinda tired, now.” Redheart nodded. “How are your legs feeling, dear?” “T-they still burn a little, but their okay.” “Walking will get easier over time. For now, just hold onto me like before; you can lean as much weight on me as you need to.” “A-are you sure that's okay. I'm bigger than you are.” “Earth ponies are a lot stronger than you think,” Redheart informed her. “Besides, you're not that heavy, trust me.” With that being said, Rin reached her arms around the nurse's neck like before and stood, putting almost her entire weight on Redheart's back, which didn't even seem to effect the mare in the slightest. This thankfully made walking a lot easier; she was practically being carried. I guess she really is strong. She thought. For someone so short ...or should it be somepony? She is a pony. One thing was for certain, Rin was going to take a nice nap once she got back to her room. ~ ~(Discord)~ ~ The Lord of Chaos floated lazily around his home, located in his personally crafted pocket dimension, Chaosville. He had woken up not too long along, and after a breakfast consisting of cotton candy, chocolate milk and a box of Sugar Bombs, including the box(a snack he had picked up on one of his many multiverse trips). He soon found that he had nothing planned for the day. Or do I? As Discord drifted into his living room, he snapped his talons, and an unnecessarily large calendar appeared in front of him. “Let's see now,” he traced his index-talon along the marked off week blocks, until he got to present day. It was blank. “I guess I really don't have anything planned for today. Shame.” The trickster lowered himself to his checker theme couch, and tapped his chin in thought. What to do ...what to do? ...wait! He chuckled to himself. I never checked up on our new visitor! Discord picked up his chocolate bar remote; the large television flickered on and the draconequus began searching through the channels. “No, no ...funny, but no. Ah, here we are, channel Rin.” The image on the screen showed the young girl he transported getting into bed with the help of one of the nurses he neither bothered, nor cared enough to meet. He had expected her to be in slightly better shape by now, than what he was seeing, considering all the magical treatments and potions that had been made since his one-thousand-year stone imprisonment. Discord had a sneaking suspicion that he knew the reason, and conjured up Rin's hospital record to read for himself. “Let's see here. Malnourished, okay, I expected that. Muscle deterioration, abnormal sleep,” he frowned a bit. “There should a potion to help with all of these problems. Unless ...oh, poo,” he got to the last page. “Healing potions and spells don't work on her. Who knew. Then again, she's not exactly from this dimension.” The fact that healing magic and potions had no effect on her wasn't all that surprising to the chaos spirit, after all, those things were made for ponies and other creatures of Equestria, not humans from other dimensions. However, the girl needed help, badly. Without the modern medicines that were provided for ponies working, healing would take a long time and she would still have damage that would stay with her for life. “And staying in a hospital bed is beyond boring. Looks like I'll be calling in that favor I never planned on using,” Discord snapped his fingers and a floating banana telephone appeared next to him. Picking up the receiver, he dialed in the number to one of his many acquaintances. The phone rang for a few seconds, before someone picked up. “Hello.” “Ah, Korin! How's my favorite feline hermit?” “L-Lord Discord?” “The one and only, amigo,” Discord said with a goof grin. “It appears I need to call in that favor from you, and how's Kami, can I speak to him?” “That's not possible, my lord. Kami passed not too long ago. He is no longer the Guardian of Earth.” “Really? That's unexpected, thought the old green bean had a few more centuries in him. However, I'm sure you can help me.” “Of course, I promised to return your favor. I intend to keep it if I can.” “Wonderful, just wonderful~! So tell me, you wouldn't happen to have anything for hurts and boo-boos, would you,” Discord asked. “Preferably, insta-heal.” The voice on the other line was quiet for a moment, then he spoke. “I believe I may have something for you, Discord," Korin said. "A short while after you left, I found a special bean that could heal almost any injury.” "Any injury at all?" "Yes, as long as its not a virus or disease. They take some time to grow, but I don't mind giving you some if you're interested." “Of course I'm interested. I'll be there in a jiffy~! We can catch up and have tea like old times!” "I'll let Popo know of your visit. I'm sure he will be happy to see you after so long." Discord hung up the phone. He snapped his talons and a door with an orange, four stared orb on it appeared; he opened the door and floated through, then it slammed close behind him, and in a flash, the door and the phone were gone.