//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Please Dial Nine To Get Out // Story: Baby Hotline // by sweetnothings //------------------------------// The foal was coming. Both Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich stood in shock at each other. "... go get Applejack. NOW." Pinkie Pie brushed a strand of her mane from her eye. Cheese Sandwich zipped out the door, and ran all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was the fastest pony in town who could pull a wheelbarrow faster than a jackrabbit on a hot day in June. Rarity was pregnant at this time too, though only a few weeks. They had already had a filly two years earlier. An exhausted Cheese Sandwich fell to the ground at the farmhouse doorstep. Applejack answered, and automatically knew what he needed. The sunny orange mare strapped herself to a wooden cart, pulled Cheese into the cart by his tail, and galloped back into town to retrieve her distant cousin. After carefully getting into the cart, Pinkie and Cheese were driven to Ponyville Medical Center. The emergency room was fairly filled. Ponies with sprained arms, bucking legs broken, colds, the usual. Applejack swung by the entrance to let Cheese assist Pinkie inside. The front desk receptionist saw she was noticeably pregnant, so she immediately buzzed the medical staff to bring a stretcher ASAP. In a few intense minutes, riding elevators and swinging through hallways, the couple were settled in a private room in the maternity ward. Groaning in pain, Pinkie was definitely not feeling herself. Her dearest Cheese Sandwich sat beside her bed as they waited for their obstetrician. Cheese looked crazed with anxiety. The beep of the medical equipment was piercing. "Where is the doctor..." Pinkie grumbled as she held her abdomen. Cheese looked around the room. "Soon..." He tapped his hoof on the flooring. A few minutes passed. Dr. Care finally came into the room, looking calm, despite being about to deliver a foal. "Oh, I'm so sorry for the wait, the staff elevator is down." The mare quickly washed her hooves in the room's sink and sat in front of Pinkie. "Alright, contractions are 4 minutes apart... you're getting close." Dr. Care peered at the heart monitor. Usually pregnant mares' heart rate increases from the tension and fear. Pinkie's didn't change... despite being in pain, she still laid there on the hospital bed, looking at the ceiling, wincing time from time. "Well, Cheese, I'm sure you don't want to hear all this mare talk... plus, I think you need some time to relax." Dr. Care smiled, trying to lighten his mood. "Go on, the waiting room is down the hall to the left. Talk to the pony at the desk and she'll give you something to get your mind off this, okay? Everything will be alright." She walked over and patted his back. Cheese flinched, coming back into reality. He grinned awkwardly and stood up to exit the room. He looked back at Pinkie on the bed... worry eating at him from the inside. Dr. Care was on the room phone calling for assistance to deliver a foal. Cheese slowly walked out of the room, down the hall... Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. It felt as if the clock was mocking Cheese Sandwich as he waited for his wife and foal. What was happening in the room? Is she okay? Is their foal okay? What if something goes wrong? Is something bad happening? He's gonna lose her. No, he already did. She stopped being Pinkie Pie months ago. How much pain is she in? Is she going to make it? Will their foal make it? Are they putting her through more pain? No, Doctor Care wouldn't do that. Or would she? You can't trust anypony in this world, can you? How do you know who to trust? Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. His skin started to crawl. The waiting room was dead silent. Nothing but the clock to be heard. Other ponies were waiting there as well, presumably for their families also in labor. They all looked so calm, not bothered... How did they do it? How could they just read magazines while something horrible could be happening right down the hall? The room wasn't quiet now. Muffled, bloodcurdling screaming could be heard down the hall. It made the waiting ponies and receptionist look up, but they knew this was normal. Labor was not a walk through Canterlot Garden. But Cheese never heard this before... and it was life changing. His heart dropped inside his chest. His bloodshot eyes were even wilder. How could this be such a normal occurrence for everypony's lives? Cheese waited for hours. Hours. Hours. How long does it take to give a stallion the news if his wife and foal are dead? Cheese shook his head. It was almost 6 PM now. A few of the waiting ponies had left, with their foals in their arms. He eventually dozed into a deep sleep... an uncomfortable sleep, since he fell asleep sitting up. A bit later, hoofsteps approached him. "Cheese Sandwich?" He jolted awake, looking around. "Wha-wh-are they alive?" He asked, frazzled. It was Dr. Care standing in front of him. She looked tired herself. "Sorry to wake you up, but... your foal was delivered healthy." She smiled softly. Cheese let out a big sigh of relief, smiling. "Oh, thank Boneless..." The doctor lifted her hoof, cutting him off. "But Pinkie will need to stay here for a while." His grin disappeared. Dr. Care wiped some sweat from her forehead. "During the delivery, she bled quite a lot... that isn't unusual for birth, but without a doubt, she will need to stay here for about a day or two to recover. I had to give her the... strongest painkiller we can administer in such intense situations." Cheese looked down. "She went through a lot of pain. But once she recovers, we give her a little transfusion, she gets rest, she'll be able to go home." The mare patted his back, trying to comfort him. "...would you like to see your newborn daughter, Mr. Sandwich?"