//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 - The Hospital // Story: Tale of a Lost Scoots // by RDfan27 //------------------------------//     Apple Bloom’s eyes fluttered open, right as the last light was fading from the horizon. She felt a soft presence on her lap and looked down to find that Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep there. The peaceful smile of the sleeping filly seemed to radiate in the fading light of the evening. Apple Bloom felt her face heat up as she looked away.     She reached a hoof out to ruffle Sweetie Belle’s mane in an attempt to rouse her from her sleep. “Sweetie,” Apple Bloom said awkwardly. “Sweetie, wake up.”     Sweetie Belle mumbled something in her sleep as her eyes began to flutter open. “Hmm? What’s going on?” Sweetie Belle muttered sleepily. She opened her eyes and she lifted her head, trying to figure out where she was. It took her a moment to realize where she had fallen asleep, but when she did, her face exploded into a furious blush as she practically jumped away from Apple Bloom and did her best to look anywhere but at her friend. “Hehe, sorry.”     “It’s okay,” Apple Bloom said, giving the unicorn a reassuring smile, causing her to smile back. “I was tired too.”     Sweetie Belle looked up to the horizon, and suddenly the smile dropped from her face and was replaced with a look of fear. Apple Bloom grew confused and followed her gaze to the setting sun. “What’s wron...” Apple Bloom’s voice trailed off as it sank in. They had been sleeping since early afternoon and it was now evening. There was no sign of any other ponies there either.     Their eyes locked in a frightened stare that seemed to last forever. Sweetie Belle’s mind was racing, and Apple Bloom was beginning to panic. Both of them broke the gaze and sprinted towards the beach and out of the woods. When they got there, every last shred of hope they had left, faded instantly.     “Th-they’re… they’re gone,” muttered Sweetie Belle as the last of her strength faded, and her knees grew weak. She felt her heart stop in her chest and she fell to the ground, sobbing loudly. The only thing keeping her from face planting the ground being the shoulder of her also crying friend, who she now held tightly in an embrace. ***     Scootaloo strained to open her eyes, but instantly regretted it and shut them once again when she was met with the blinding white light of her new location. She could hear the beeping of a heart monitor in the room, telling her that she was in a hospital. ”Well, that would explain the light.” Scootaloo grumbled and lifted a hoof to try and block the light that somehow still managed to find it’s way into her eyes, even with her eyes closed. When she tried to lift her hoof though, she noticed that it was weighed down by something. She slowly cracked her eyes open, trying to adjust her eyes to the light so she could see what was going on.     After a little while of trying, she managed to get her eyes open enough to look around. As she suspected, she was in a hospital room, lying down on the bed. The room was pretty much like you would expect a hospital to look like. Most of the room was white, save for the curtains which were a light green, and the walls which were a creamy yellow color. There were a few chairs that lined the wall underneath a window that looked out into a hall. Several ponies wearing white medical coats could be seen trotting around, rushing from place to place. There was a door leading out into this hall on the left side of the chairs.     There was also a heart monitor, and a few other tubes and hoses hooked up to her. She had no idea what any of them did. The one thing that she didn’t recognize at all was a sort of wooden box that hung at the top of the wall opposite from the bed. It had a black shiny surface in the middle of it that was outlined in the rest of the box.     She would have kept looking at this, but then her attention was brought over to the door that opened to allow a nurse to step into the room. It was a white pegasus mare with a pink and purple striped mane and tail. “Good morning sweetie!” she said in a very bright and cheerful tone. “How did you sleep?” She wore a bright and beaming smile.     Scootaloo did her best to smile back, but the pain that she could still feel throughout her body, along with the confusion she felt made it nearly impossible. “Uh…” Scootaloo said, looking down at her body for the first time since she had woken up. Her right front hoof was in a splint, and her left front hoof was in a cast and hanging in a sling from the ceiling. The rest of her body was hidden underneath the heavy blankets. ”What is going on? Where am I? What happened?”     Thoughts were racing through Scootaloo’s head as she stared down at her bandaged hooves. The nurse must have noticed Scootaloo’s confusion and panic, because her smile softened and she slowly walked over to Scootaloo's bed and placed a hoof on her shoulder.     Scootaloo looked up to meet the mare’s eyes. Her breathing was quickening and her heart rate was increasing quickly as she began to panic.     As her eyes met with those of the nurse though, she began to calm down. She found herself staring into the caring magenta pools that were the nurse's eyes. The care in her eyes and the warmth of her smile calmed her down quickly as the nurse began rubbing slow, soft, circles on her back. “Shh,” she cooed. “It’s okay. Calm down. I’m here to help you.”     “W-where am I?” Scootaloo asked, much more timidly than she had intended to.     “You’re in the Atlas City General Hospital, sweetheart. You had a big fall.” The mare’s tone was soft and caring, almost motherly in nature. It was calming for Scootaloo, although her confusion at the answer was evident.     “Um, what is Atlas?” Scootaloo asked, confusion seeping into her voice.     The nurse looked taken off guard by this. “It’s the capital city.” Scootaloo’s confusion only grew. ”What? No, it’s not. Canterlot is the capital city. I’ve never even heard of Atlas before. I don’t even know how I got here.”     Scootaloo was beyond confused at this point. “What are you talking about? The capital city is Canterlot. You know, where Princesses Celestia and Luna live?” Scootaloo was confused as to how this nurse could get it so wrong. ”This doesn’t make any sense. What happened to me? If she’s right and this is a different place, then how did I even get here in the first place?” These thoughts raced through Scootaloo’s mind as she tried to remember anything that had happened.     While she was so busy thinking, she hadn’t noticed the nurse’s confused and bewildered look shift to one of more understanding. There was also a slight hint of pity in the mare’s eyes as the realization dawned on her. “Okay, I see now. Don’t worry, the doctor said you didn’t hit your head too hard. Your memories should start to come back very soon,” the mare said, placing her hoof on that of the little filly’s.     This seemed to anger Scootaloo as she jerked her hoof away. “What do you mean. I can remember stuff just fine. It’s just the past couple days that are a little blurry.”     The nurse didn’t seem phased by this. She simply offered a reassuring smile, before going along with it. “Okay, then. Why don’t we see.”     “What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked, only letting her guard down slightly to give way to her curiosity.     “Well, I have your information here. When you came in, we ran some tests and were able to find out who you are.”     “What! That’s so cool! I didn’t know you could do that,” Scootaloo exclaimed loudly.     The nurse only chuckled as she stood up and walked over to pick up the chart by the foot of the bed. “Well, let’s get on with it. What is your name?”     “Scootaloo,” Scootaloo said this with the utmost confidence, although her confidence faltered slightly when she saw the look of confusion on the nurses face.     “Okay,” she said slowly. “Now, how about your parents?”     Scootaloo smiled brightly as she thought of her mom. “I’ve got my awesome mother Rainbow Dash. She just adopted me not too long ago.” The nurse’s mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. Her eyes quickly scanned down the rest of the page, and when she got to the bottom, her eyes seemed to bug out, and her jaw dropped in shock. She looked up at Scootaloo, and then back down at the paper a few times.     Scootaloo stared on, completely oblivious as to what was going on with the nurse. The nurse slowly looked back up at Scootaloo once more, and all of the pieces seemed to fall into place. She put the clipboard down, and slowly walked back over to Scootaloo and placed a hoof on her cheek. There was a distinct look of recognition in her eyes, and as she spoke, the caring nature of her voice seemed to have tripled. “Okay Scootaloo, why don’t you tell me what you remember.”     After the confusing display of emotion that the nurse just showed, Scootaloo was reluctant to continue, but she did anyway. ”I’ll figure out what all of that was about later. I’m sure it wasn’t important.” ***     Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom trudged slowly along the beach the light had long since faded from the sky, the glow of the moon now their only source of light on the dark and lonely beach. They had lost track of how long they had been walking. Heads hung low to the ground, they followed the hoofprints of their sisters and their friends. Although they were following them, with every step they took, the fillies felt further and further away. Above all though, they were alone. There was not another soul on the beach. Just them… alone.     Or so they thought. The faint sound of drumming hooves on sand captured their attention as they lifted their heads for the first time since they began walking. They stopped and listened straining their eyes to make out what was in the distance through the dark.     After a moment longer they were able to make out two shapes running down the beach in the distance. It seemed to be two ponies. They were running at a decently fast pace like they had a destination in mind. Some target they were running towards. That’s when it hit Apple Bloom. They were the targets. She practically jumped out of her own coat when she realized this. She quickly grabbed Sweetie Belle and pushed her behind a bush, following behind her shortly after.     “What was tha—” Sweetie Belle was cut off as a yellow hoof was shoved in her mouth in an attempt to keep her quiet.     “Shh!” Applebloom shushed in a forced whisper. They could only hope that the two ponies had not seen them when they ducked behind the bush. Luckily they had been near the edge of the beach where the sand met the woods, and were able to find somewhere to hide quickly.     Applebloom’s heart dropped into her stomach when she heard the hoofsteps stop right in front of the bush they were hiding behind. She swallowed a lump in her throat as the hoofsteps drew near. Right as she was just about to run into the woods, dragging Sweetie Belle behind her, she heard a voice call to them from the beach. “Hello.” It was a mare’s voice. Calm and caring, with almost a motherly tone to it. “Don’t be afraid. You can come out. We just want to help.”     Applebloom looked to Sweetie Belle for reassurance, but she was already walking out from behind the bush. Applebloom jumped up and quickly followed, not wanting to let her friend do this alone. “H-hello.” Applebloom greeted sheepishly as she trotted out from their hiding spot.     “Well, hey there you two,” The mare that they could now see greeted with a smile. She was a pegasus with a pink coat, light blue mane, and light green eyes. There was also a stallion there who had yet to speak. Applebloom assumed it was the mare’s husband. He was an earth pony with a brown coat, black mane, and light blue eyes. “What are your names?”     “I’m Applebloom,” she said timidly.     “I’m Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie Belle said.     “Oh, aren’t those just the most adorable names!” the mare squealed eliciting a blush from both fillies. “I’m so glad you two are alright.”     “Yeah, we got worried there,” the stallion cut in for the first time since the conversation began. “We saw you out here all alone and wanted to make sure you were okay.”     “We’re fine,” Applebloom half-lied. ”I don’t quite trust these ponies yet. Maybe I’ll tell them that we’re lost later, but I don’t want them knowing just yet. I don’t really tr—”     “We’re just lost,” Sweetie Belle finished, cutting off her friend’s thoughts.     ”Oh come on!” Applebloom screamed in her head.     “Oh my!” the mare said, sounding concerned. “Why don’t you come with us, and in the morning we’ll help you figure out where  you need to go?”     “Okay!” Sweetie Belle chirped exactly. “Oh, I forgot to ask. What are your names?”     “I’m Firefly, and my husband here is Cinnamon. Now come along, it’s getting late.”