Chapter 27: The Pudding Pop Show
"Uhm, Nurse Feather Aid said that I was good to go!" Whinnies a familiar, flighty, almost ...squeaky? Who am I kidding, and who am I trying to describe this for? It's Rainbow Dash.
The nurse pony that is causing a sudden ruckus is addressing Rainbow Dash, because, of course she is.
No wonder I haven't seen her in a while if she's been here... Spotting the nurse, she doesn't seem to be anyp- I don't recognize her. Dark caramel? Coat, chocolate unkempt mane and tail, dark blue eyes. Fet, if it weren't for the cutie mark, some might say that we're sis- Siblings! 'Sibling'... Yes, siblings.
Speaking of that mark... How odd, it seems really out of place for a nurse, let alone a hospital worker.
It's what I can only describe as a ... starbucks white cup and a... cookie... wait, nooo... what did mom serve as her time as a 'birstia'?... Biscotti. Yeah, that's it. Wait, didn't Rainbow Dash just call her that?
"Nurse Feather Aid?" She asks pointedly. "Nurse Feather Aid was not put in charge of that wing of the hospital, I was!"
"Come on, Nurse Biscotti!" Rainbow rolls her wine coloured eyes and gestures both front hooves behind her, where there happens to be a hidden, tucked away flash of yellow and pink that I swear lets out a tiny eep! "I'm only trying to hel-"
"Tut, tut, tut!" Biscotti chides, wagging a hoof up in the perturbed pegasus's ... puckered face. "Don't 'come on' me, Miss Dash! Your papers say that your discharge is tomorrow and I am not going to risk you staying here any longer, not while I'm on my tour of service!"
I quickly cover my muz- mouth! My mouth! My face, to stifle a large snort that's just itching its way to escape!
"Is somethin' wrong there, H.B.?" Cream Puff asks in that all too innocent drawl of hers.
"No! No! I'm good! I'm good!" I manage to wheeze out. She is waaay too young for that 'joke'. Jeebus crimany, there's always been a few questionable line reads and jokes. 'Scary, but fun' and 'the punch has been spiked!' come to mind, but how did something like that get past the censors?
'Hey now, stop that. There are no 'censors'. This is the actual lives of these ponies/creatures.' Fine, yeah, sure, still funny though. As if to punish me for this thought, the recent burn on my leg gives me a painful, twinging, stinging sensation to remind me that it still exists.
As I let out a whimpering hissing noise, I can see Dash's ears followed by a wide eyed expression turn towards my direction.
Okay, she knows that I know that she's there. So why the shocked face- wait. Of course. That flicker-flash of yellow and pink has to be Fluttershy! Which means... sigh.
"Back to your room!" Biscotti's voice chides as she practically nips at Dash's tail. "Don't make me strap you to a wheelchair!"
"Hey! Hey! I'm going! I'm going!" Rainbow snorts and whickers, "We'll talk more about, uhm, you-know-what tomorrow..." she says, obviously to Fluttershy who's remaining off screen.
"Yes, tomorrow..." Fluttershy's meek barely audible voice replies.
"Yeah! OK! Tomorrow! Tomorrow! It's only a day away!" Geez, this 'Biscotti' pony is making the interaction with 'Practically Perfect' seem practically like a stroll through the park! ... On a windy day... Where we're all flying kites...
No! Stop it, Brain! I get it! Mary Poppins ponies! Ha. Ha. Ha! Okay! Moving on!
Just then, I can feel the still burning stare of a pair of eyes- oh, right...
"Well?!" Cream Puff asks me in a small whimpery accusatory tone.
"I..." Ffffet-fuck... She asked me a question that I'm not sure how to answer.
"You're not mad at her for knowing my song, are you?" Woot! Little Pip... squeak to the rescue? I think?
"Well, uhm no..." Cream Puff answers, a hint of ... shame? Embarrassment? Curse not being able to read emotions!
"I didn't mean to upset you..." Pipsqueak says, looking up at Cream Puff with big sad eyes. "I'm sorry..."
"I-it's all right," Cream Puff replies.
I really ought to say something ya know... about this? Come on mouth! Do the talk thing! Do. The. THING!
"Me also... I mean, I also didn't mean to upset you." Oh yeah, H.B.! Good jorb! That sounded sooo sincere! Totally convincing! 'Ssshut up!'. "I... just didn't know what song you were singing, is all... P-plus, Minneighsota ponies don't sing a lot. It's kinda... exhausting..." Yup, gotta push the lie! That'll work!
"Really?" Cream Puff asks. There's a mixture of sadness and confusion on her face as her head tilts and one of her ears half falls. "Cause Ah thought Ah heard Apple Bloom and them say that ya sung with them..."
Crum- Crap, I had nearly forgotten that they managed to coax a tune out of me last month.
"Well... uhm," Great, now I have to perform damage control over being tricked one time.
"I thought I heard about you singing at that one odd stallion that sells the pens and ink while chasing him around Ponyville!" Aaaand Pipsqueak has gone from hero to villain in one long sentence. Great, now I have two examples of me singing to attempt to explain.
"We," Deep breath, think this out and remember the little 'lie' so we can keep it straight, H.B. Oh, also adjust your glasses. "Minneighsota ponies don't sing often. So spontaneous bouts of song are not something that I am used to. That and because I'm not practiced in singing so much, it's pretty exhausting."
"Ooooh..." The two of them said in unison.
"Plus... I just suck at singing." What? It's true! Even when I was a 'guy', I never liked my voice when recorded, it always sounded ... wrong. Too nasally, and drained, buzzy and what have you. I think one time I was compared to Mysterious Mr. Enter.
"Oh! Oh!” Pipsqueak suddenly exclaims. “Maybe you could write a book!"
"Pipsqueakum, in door voice, if you would!" Practically Perfect finally interjects.
"A ... Book?" I ask this as I feel my ears swivel to buffer that voice of his. Sweet Princess Luna! How can a... pony so small be so loud?!
"Y-yeah! To help you with your songs and singing!" He says, his voice volume going down a few ticks as he sheepishly looks at Practically Perfect. "It's what my mummy did to help with my singing! I could even give you some of the ones she gave me!"
"Ah could give ya some of the ones that my Ma sang ta me!" Cream Puff adds, most likely in an attempt not to be outdone. "Ah mean, if ya want them, that is..."
"W-well..." Fffffu-
"Pipsqueakum? Practically Perfect? Chim Chimaroo?" Comes a mare's- uhm, a female nurse... pony's voice from the hall. "3:14 appointment for Pipsqu-"
"Oy! That's me!" Pipsqueak exclaims, bounding in the direction of the disembodied voice.
"Oy! No running in the halls!" Chimaroo chides, picking up his sooty looking saddlebags. "Best be after him before he goes getting popping then."
"Hopefully the nurse assigned to us has more bedside manner than that 'Hot Biscotti!" Practically Perfect remarks.
She's talking to you
"Oh! Uhm yeah," Thanks inner voice. I would have never figured that out, I mean, it's not like she's not looking right at me. "Ha... That's one nurse who could definitely benefit from the old adage 'A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down' or something like that." I remark while twirling my left front hoof.
"I suppose so!" She giggles before turning her head only to produce a small business card. "I would like to offer you this, H.B."
Crossing my eyes at the little card that's practically right in front of my snoot, I see the following in gold embossing:
'Practically Perfect's practically perfect nanny and home tidying up services! Give us a call and I'll be there, spit-spot!'
Next to which is the small black silhouette of a pony, dressed in 'Mary Poppin garb', of course, holding an umbrella in her teeth and a carpetbag at her side.
"Oh... Thanks?" I begrudgingly take the business card with my... sigh, teeth. Fet. Can practically smell whatever floral perfume she's wearing with how close she is to me. I can taste it too. 'Just be polite, put it in your saddlebag, and maybe forget about it, H.B.' I tell myself as I do just that.
"To call upon me and my services, merely tear the card into several pieces and dispose of it in your fireplace, then I'll be there spit-spot!"
"Wait, what?" That felt like a reference...
"The finer the pieces, the quicker I'll arrive to perform whatever duties you require of me," She says in a practiced manner. "Whether that be home chores or even perhaps a ... respite from the duties of motherhood so that you may socialize with friends or maybe even go for a constitutional."
"Uhm… but, I'm not-"
"Oy!" Chim-Chimaroo's face pops back around the corner. "P.P.! Stop advertising yerself an' come on! We 'aven't all day!" He wipes his muzzle with the ankle of his foreleg, maybe in an attempt to remove some of the soot, this however only services to give him a 'Charlie Chaplan' ash-stash. "Can't keep Dr. Stable waiting!"
"Right," P.P. sighs. "If you forget what I have told you, there are instructions on the reverse of the card."
"That's great but I-"
"P.P.!"
"Ta-ta for now!" She says with a practical gust moving past me with her departure.
Grumbling, I apply my hoof to my face and sigh, before feeling some thing -bump up against my shoulder..
It's Cream Puff, and she's looking up at me with a... smarmy grin before giving me a light hug.
==========
"Tomorrow..." Fluttershy hesitantly called out, her voice trailing as Nurse Hot Biscotti pushed Dash back to her room.
"Yeah-oof! Tomorrow! Hey!" Dash called back between near shoves. "Tomorrow! It's gonna be great!" She promised her head peeking one more time around the corner before a caramel hoof swiped to pull her back. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming!"
Fluttershy now finding herself alone in that small hallway, began fidgeting nervously. After all, other than updating Rainbow Dash as to the goings on with Heartbreak, from tip to tail, from sickness to spiders, she hadn't accomplished what she set out to do... 'I didn't even use the bathroom! What am I going to-'
"Excuse me, Miss!" The littlest of colts named Pipsqueak said as he ducked underhoof.
"Oh!"
"Begging yer pardon, Miss," Not but a moment later, a soot speckled stallion said, tipping his hat at Fluttershy. "Oy! P.P.! Stop advertising yerself an' come on! We 'aven't all day! Can’t leave Dr. Stable waiting!" He wiped his face. "Oh, sorry about that, didn't mean ta be that loud." He apologized, noticing the mare's ears pinning.
"I-it's alright," Fluttershy replied sheepishly.
"Just have ta make sure me better 'alf doesn't get into a speal over her business." Chimaroo explained, his neck craned around the corner. "Ah, Blimey! She's starting on how the cards work! P.P.!"
Practically Perfect came trotting around the corner shortly after. "There's no reason to raise a fuss! I had a good feeling about that one!"
"Aw, P.P., you say that about every mare you encounter. Besides, I don't think that she was that filly's mum." Chimaroo said following Pipsqueak through a pair of doors.
"Well, you don't know that! They do both have a similar curl to their manes!" Practically Perfect protested proceeding past.
With the squeaking and settling of the doors behind her, Fluttershy once again found herself alone. She peeked around the corner.
Heartbreak sat on the bench, her ears flicking back and forth in a state of barely contained agitation. This state of being didn't seem to be helped by Cream Puff hopping right next to her side.
'Oh, dear,' Fluttershy thought, a hoof raising to her mouth. 'I'm not really sure what happened while I was gone, but what Cream Puff is doing doesn't seem to be soothing! But what should I do? I can't just ask her to leave! That would be really mean! And what if H.B. is really upset with me for taking so long! What if-"
Fluttershy felt a small gust in her mane as her wings began to flit about with the onset of these anxious, practically paranoid thoughts intruded into her mind.
'Calm down, Fluttershy,' She told herself, starting to take a deep breath. 'H.B. won't be upset with you... And if you ask Cream Puff if she thinks that it might be time for her to go home, she would understand,' She once more peeked around the corner, the little filly was now looking up at her favorite reader. "Maybe..."
She felt her hooves starting to almost dance with the need to prance fretfully in place. "Come on, Fluttershy!" She started, attempting to cheer herself forward. "Just put one hoof in front of the other and..."
"Fluttershy!" Heartbreak's voice almost exclaimed with a mix of relief, anxiety, and hard fought irritation. "Tadaima!" She said, tilting her head and giving a welcoming, apt weary smile.
"Uhm..." Fluttershy blinked, though she hadn't totally prepared herself for what was to happen when she came back, but of all the things to come back to that random almost... a chaotic sounding mix of vowels and constants wasn't one of them.
"O-oh, right, my bad, apologies," Heartbreak said once she saw the confusion and perhaps apprehension painted on Fluttershy's face. "Uhm, it's a phrase I learned in another language. It means... 'I'm back'." she paused and tapped her chin with her perforated hoof. "I think it does at least... It's been a long time... though I guess you would be the one to say it..."
"Oh! uhm...Tadaima?" Fluttershy asked questioningly.
"Okaerinasai!" Heartbreak replied. "And that means 'you're back!' ... At least I think it does... So! Welcome back! We were beginning to think that maybe you fell in..."
Cream Puff looked up at Heartbreak eyes amaze. "Ya sure are smart! Ya know any other fancy language, an' could ya teach me?"
Heartbreak gave an awkward chuckle and the back of her head. "Hmmnoh, no.. Not really? Like I said, it's been forever, fet, I barely remember anything of that one."
"Oh..." Cream Puff said, her ears dipping down a little. "Well, uhm, what's the name of the language?" she asked.
"I don't remember that either." Heartbreak squeaked as her eyes went wide and she gave a nervous laugh. "Fluttershy! So glad you're back! Are you alright?"
"Oh!" Fluttershy's wings jumped at the sudden and pointed attention shifted sharply her way. "Y-yes, why do you ask?"
"Ya were in there fer an awfully long time," Cream Puff piped in. "Ya didn't go an' eat some raw dough an' clog up yer pipes did ya?"
"N-no..." Fluttershy said, realizing what the two were implying. "No," she repeated. "I'm fine." she said, nodding asurradly, but with the smallest flit of embarrassment.
"That there was somethin' that happened ta lil' Sweet Pea, this one time when Ah was makin' biscuits! Boy, Ah tell ya wot, Missus Hayneighan was not happy with that colt..." She clicked her tongue and waggled her forehooves over the edge of the bench they sat upon, all the while shaking her head. "Nope... Not happy at all..." she remarked distantly.
"Ooo-kay..." Heartbreak replied uneasily.
Just then, there was a loud din of noise coming from the doors that lead to the front office. Shouts, banging, the sounds of wheels screeching on tile, and metal grinding that was then followed by said doors bursting open.
"Get back here and tell me where your parents are and what room you are meant to be in!" Were the words practically thrown at a young cobalt blue colt with a black mane and wide green eyes.
Quickly, he pivoted in his pony-styled wheelchair, (two wheels attached to his hind legs and locked in place by a strap that encircled his midsection) to stare directly at the nurse pony pursuing him.
"I... told... you...! I'm... not... a... patient... here!" He said between labored breaths. "I'm... here... for... Cream... Puff!" He pointed a forehoof at said filly.
Cream Puff only glowered at the sight of the colt. "Hi, Jeepers Creepers..." She grumbled, her ears pinning far back.
"Cream... Puff... Mrs-" Jeepers began, only to be interrupted by the nurse.
"You're a visitor?! Then why didn't you sign in at the front desk?" she inquisioned.
"I... would.. have... if... you... had... let... me!" Jeepers retorted, his gasping breathy words growing addjitated.
The nurse grumbled indignantly. "Well, a colt your age shouldn't be coming in alone, where are your parents?" she interrogated, looking about "I would like to have a word with them!"
"They're... Dead..." Jeepers hissed at her, the fluorescent lights glaring off his thick, oversized glasses.
"They're what?" The nurse asked, horrifyingly dumbfounded.
"Ah fer fet's- Sweet potato egg tarts!" Cream Puff bristled. "He's like me! He's an orphan!"
The color seemed to drain from this random nurse pony's face as her eyes went wide before they darted about in awkward silence.
"O-o-oh," Was the only utterance that dared escape her lips along with a muffled "I'm.. sorry."
"Awk-ward..." Heartbreak said, barely under her breath.
Just then, Nurse Redheart walked into the room.
"What's the meaning of all this shouting?" She curtly asked before turning to the other nurse. "Nurse Nutmeg what did I tell you about this sort of behavior?"
"But I-" Nurse Nutmeg stammered.
Nurse Redheart held up a hoof to cut her off. "My Office. Now." her tone turned very icy cold.
"Y-yes, ma'am," Nutmeg squeaked out, head lowered as she shamefully walked in the direction of the nurse's office.
"I'm very sorry about that," Nurse Redheart said, scowling. "I'll make sure that she's given a talking to right away."
"It's... alright..." Jeepers Creepers replied. "I'm... here... for... Cream... Puff!"
"Oh, alright, then there's no need to sign in. However, as a common courtesy I would appreciate it if you did," Nurse Redheart said sweetly.
"Under... stood..." The colt said, nodding his head, his antenni like polelocks bobbing.
"Alright then. If nopony minds, I must be off." Redheart said, picking up a clipboard and trotting away.
Cream Puff looked at Jeepers, her dower expression refusing to be evicted from her face. "Wha'cha want, Creepers?"
"I'm... sorry... but... Miss... Hayneighan ... told... me... to... get... you... because... it's... your... turn... to... help... make... supper... and... Miss Hayneighan... isn't... going... to... accept... you... being... late!" Jeepers finally said, taking a deep breath.
"What?! That's tanight?! Ah thought it was Ragga Muffin's turn!" Cream Puff exclaimed.
Jeepers could only shrug. "Hey... don't... shoot.. me... I'm... just... the-"
"Messenger? But Ah was hoping ta- uhm, help, ta help H.B. back home!" She protested turning to look at Heartbreak with large pleading eyes. "Ya want me ta help ya get home, wouldn't ya?" She asked in her most desperate of voices.
==========
FFFF-e-e-e-Fuck! I have to fight every nerve cell in my body attempting to force me to flee from this situation! The best I can manage in locking those instincts is a visible flinching as she asks her question with those big little filly eyes.
"Well?" She whimpers.
No doubt she's still trying to find a way of letting me let her stay the night at my house, I'm sure, and I don't need to be reminded as to why that's a bad idea.
The memory of what happened last time any little filly spent the night at my house crawls into my mind. This in turn causes an odd burning? No, not quite... More of a painful tingling sensation running through the brandings on my flanks...
Gah! No time to think about what that means! Address the question!
"I..." Come on, H.B... "I wouldn't mind it..." Great, now her ears are perking and I swear her 'eyeshines' are growing bigger... "But..." Aaand, there goes the ear drooping, along with those disappointed eyebrows!
"B-buut?"
"Buuuut..." My forehoof trails up the back of my head-gah! I'm caught on somethi- oh, right, invisible crockie.. "I don't know how long this will take... And..." Be gentle... "I really don't have any authority here, so, if Miss Hayneighan heard about it and was upset with you? She might get upset with me too, and we don't want that... right?"
"Ah... Ah guess not..." She finally concedes.
"And there's also how long it could take for you to get back..." Fluttershy interjects peering over my shoulder at the... two? The pair? Jeez, finding an equivalent for 'kids' is really hard!
"That... is... true..." Jeepers says, each breath sounding like a Hercilaran labor. I must be really uncomfortable with all this because I'm finding my eyes being drawn to the small sticker decals on what ponies call a 'wheelchair'. Little bugs, butterflies, spiders, and other creepy-crawlies that adorn the cold and silver pipes.
"Ah... guess yer right..." Cream Puff deflates at this realization, her little curls in her mane doing a Pinkie pie and are sagging a bit. I could say something...
"Cream Puff, I'm-"
"Will ya at least take ma muffin?!" She exclaims, practically popping up in my face with said muffin in ... hoof.
"Y-yeah, of course I will," I am fairly certain that I'm having a hard time covering my concern for this little filly offering me a muffin, that while still looking good, is showing the wear and tear of its journey here as a small bit crumbles off the top.
I'm sure there's a metaphor here...
"Thank ya, H.B." She says, sniffing and placing the muffin next to me, before sadly hopping off the bench.
"Cream Puff?" I call her as she's halfway to the exit door.
"Yeah?!" Oof, that voice has waay too much hopefulness to it! Not to mention how sharply she just turned her head.
"I'll see you sometime tomorrow. Okay?" She smiles a little bit, a hoof wiping her nose. Clearly this wasn't the outcome she wanted. "Maybe I'll cook something for you when that happens."
This seems to have done the intended effect of not being left on such a sad note as she perks back up.
Beaming like the sun obscured partly by clouds just found a crack to escape through, she eagerly nods. "Yeah! Ah'd like that!"
"Can... we... go... now?" Jeepers huffs, or at least that's what I think he's doing. The way he's talking reminds me of a character from Malcolm in the Middle, fet, What was his name? ... She would know.
"Yeah, yeah, don't get yer cookie inta a crumble," Cream Puff retorts while holding the door open for the pitiable insect themed colt, possible friend? Of hers.
"All.. the... better... for... my... ant... farm..." He replies walking out the door.
"Ah'll see ya tamarrow there, H.B.!" Cream Puff beams almost four-fifths out the sterile white hospital door.
"Y-yeah! See you tomorrow!" I feel like I'm fumbling over my words and forcing myself to not mirror her accent. It's something of a habit from... childhood that I have. Mimicking others that is. It was... kinda, sorta helpful when dealing with classmates, but here? I'm sure that it would start making that little filly view me in a maternal light.
Well, more of a maternal light than she already does, and we can't have that.
Just then, I feel a sharp chill in the air and I involuntarily use my hooves to rub my side. However, this cold sensation persists.
'Seeing what hooves are made from, what did you expect?'
"Are you okay, H.B.?" Fluttershy asks, looking at me in the same way I'm sure she looks at animals she's tending to. Head tilted to the left slightly, eyebrows concerned, and wings fluttering.
"Yeah, I'm fi-'' Gah! Time for a phlegm ball to punctuate the fact that I might be as well as I profess to be! "Fine. I'm fine. Just a little chilly."
Fluttershy lifts her left forehoof up to my forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever.." she says after a moment of assessment.
"It must be from waiting in this room for so long," my ears are picking up the sounds of quickly shuddering paper. A quick glance up and I see the source of both this sound and cold. "Ah, that explains it." I direct her attention above us. "We're sitting right below the A.C."
"Oh..." She replies. There is a fretful uneasiness in her tone. "That... does... explain... that." she says, her words trailing off into an ever quieting path.
"So!" Great, how do I approach this? Obviously something is bothering her. “I'm guessing that you found Rainbow Dash's room after you... took care of business?"
Her surprised squeak is something that I expected and somehow, still catches me off guard. "O-oh, uhm.. I..."
"It's fine, Fluttershy." I think I'm saying that as much for her benefit as I am mine. I really don't know if I'm being confrontational or not, but the whole 'sneaking to talk to others' is starting to rub me wrong. Like from what I know about Fluttershy, I can see her doing something like this, but there's a difference between watching things happen and being the thick of it all... apparently.
"A-are you sure?" She stammers, her wings rustling about like aspen leaves.
"Yes, I'm sure and I'm sure that I'm sure." Whoooo! Assuring her that I'm sure! Because who doesn't like a call back from... almost a week? Back from when this all started? As always, it feels longer. "So! Was I right?"
"W-well, n-no.." She fidgets her front hooves about while looking away, her long forelock covering half her face.
Ugh, it's been such a long day, so many things have happened, and I don't want another long, drawn out awkward conversation in this cold waiting room.
"Right, however it happened, doesn't matter. What's... happening tomorrow?" I ask, carefully policing my words. Last thing we need is a Flutter-panic attack.
"Oh, uhm... well..." She's still sounding hesitant. Afraid of something. "Uhm," Oooh, boy... She has a case of the 'uhms'. "Well, I talked to Rainbow Dash.. and... well... she.. had the idea of... maybe... possibly... having... tomorrow's lesson... outside. If that's okay with you!"
"Oookay..." I want to snark and say that thus far, all attempts at a less have been 'outside' but with as stop and go she was with just getting that out, better not.
"To get some fresh air!" She almost shouts. Or, ya know, as close to a shout as Fluttershy can get. "F-for your health and maybe... to get a... little... exercise... at a park?"
"Oh..." Why is she being so cagey about this!? Maybe it's about how utterly disastrous not but two hours ago was. Though.. she seemed to put more emphasis on.. exercise... is she hinting at something? ... Nah.. "Ok."
"Oh.. Really?" her eyes widened as she looked... hopeful.
"Yeah.. Sure, why not?" Just then, a tingling burning in… the place you'd expect it to currently be reminds me of maybe 'why not'...
"Oh, I almost forgot about your leg!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Eh.. it's fine. Funnily enough, it doesn't seem to be burning like it was any more." Just at that moment the thing decides to twing some more causing me to sharply hiss, this in turn causes my fluttering caretaker to flitter-flutter, as a mote of defeated hopelessness attempting to take over her face. "I'm sure I'll be fine come tomorrow, get it checked out, and there's loads of different... activities that don't require me to be on all four... hooves."
"Like?" Ooof. That tone is on the verge of despair...
Has being with me been that bad? Have I been... No. Stop that. No spinning vortex from which there is no return. Something that doesn't require me-
"Bicycle?"
"Bicycle?" Fluttershy repeats.
"Yeah, I could ride my bicycle- I could ride my bike." Ha. Ha, H.B. Fluttershy doesn't get that reference and now the first part of that song will be stuck in your head for who knows how long. "Though, I've been wanting to get it repainted. Maybe black, or red, blue... green? Just anything but-" clear my throat... "-but pink."
"Oh…There's a bicycle shop that I know of that's right across the street from the ferrier!" That's the bright happy voice that sounds more like a non-stressed Fluttershy. "The bicycle repair pony has a cockatiel who's the sweetest bird! And the two ferriers have puppies named 'Horseshoe' and ‘Clipper’!."
"All of which I hope they keep at home..." I commented under my breath.
"Oh..." She sadly smiles. "Oh yes, they do."
"Ferrier... That's that hoof specialist you told me about... right?" Gawds, I hate having these things at the ends of my appendages, but I might as well look into taking care of them.
After all, if that cream-colored line under those fetlocks is any indication... Hooves are gonna grow no matter what I do or in this case don’t do.
Just then, the nightmarish videos of overgrown and neglected horse hooves that live rent free in the back of my mind pay me a visit and I fight the urge to visibly shudder. Fluttershy is paying more than enough attention to all my little behaviors, right? Can’t have her fretting about any more than she was just now.
"Yes..." She replies matter-of-factly. "Oh! Maybe we can go to the bicycle repair pony and then to the ferrier!"
"Before the park?" She nods and smiles. "Yeah, that sounds doable. See what the doctor says and we'll see how I feel tomorrow. O-okay?"
"Okay." She says soft and sweetly.
Just then, a pink nurse pony with a white and dark pink striped mane and tail done up in a bun comes into the waiting room, her blue eyes scanning about before she speaks.
"Heart-Break? Appointment for..." She looks down at the clipboard she's holding. There's a mote of judgment in her expression. "Heart-Break?"
"That's us, I guess," sighing and pushing myself off the bench. I make my way over there with Fluttershy in tow.
==========
Yet again, Heartbreak found herself in a doctor's waiting room, and yet again, she was sat atop one of those uncomfortable tables with the crinkly white translucent paper.
She sighed a little as her forehooves waggled over the table's edge. "Back to the 'hurry up and wait' game." Heartbreak commented under her breath with a wry chuckle.
"I'm sure that Doctor Puddin' Pop will be with us shortly... That's what Nurse Sweet Heart said..." Fluttershy replied, looking around the room. She peered at the straggly, twisty plant nearby. ‘Poor thing, if they were outdoors they could grow big and strong... So many animals could make their homes there...”
"Oh yeah, I know..." Heartbreak said, a tint of Whinniapolian making its way through her 'o's. She glared up at the clock just above the plant Fluttershy had been pondering, her ears twitching slightly with the ticking of every second.
Fluttershy glanced at Heartbreak from the corner of her eye. Though it was but the briefest of looks, the tan mare's body language was speaking volumes.
'I'm very tired.' It said,
'And how couldn't she be? After all, she's been in the hospital three times within the past week! First for being deathly ill, then when tux cat bit her, and now for this burn-Oh, Fluttershy, what if something goes wrong tomorrow?!'
"You alright there, Flutters?" Heartbreak asked, peeking over questioningly.
Fluttershy fought back a squeak. "O-oh yes." she said, taking a deep breath before slowly letting it out.
"Are you sure?" Heartbreak asked, a shiver in her voice as her hooves crossed over each other before proceeding to rub her shoulders.
"Y-yes, b-but.. Are you okay?"
Heartbreak looked puzzled for a moment before realizing what she was doing. "Oh," she said. "I guess the AC must be on the fritz, cause it feels even colder in here..."
Fluttershy looked confused for a moment and just as she was about to say something, there was a knock at the door and the doctor entered the room.
"Well! Hey-Hey-Hey! How are we today?" asked the chocolate stallion with a darker brown splat of short curly mane and tail.
"Doctor... Puddin' Pop... I presume..." Heartbreak asked, her face crumpling and ears pinning back as she spied what looked like a fudgesicle with a bandaid over the stick.
"Whoa-nelly! That's quite the greeting! I didn't do anything wrong did I?" He asked in a gravelly voice.
'Oh... not again...' Fluttershy thought, recalling the difficulty Heartbreak had displayed with the last two doctors. "H.B., we talked about this; doctors are only here to help..." she said, her voice mayhaps a bit strained.
"I know that, Fluttershy..." Heartbreak replied with a somewhat incredulous chuckle.
"Oh! So you must be 'Heartbreak'!" Puddin' Pop said, his words ending with some hemming and hawing. "What... seems to be the issue that you're suffering from today? Not a cat bite, I hope!"
"Noo...." Heartbreak said, her ears pinning back to the point where Fluttershy winced in pain.
"Uhm... Doctor Puddin' Pop?" She inquired, a hoof reaching out.
"You don't need a booster for our last shots, do ya?" Doctor Puddin' Pop asked. "Cause we do have a distraction ready if you need a needling!"
Heartbreak's eyes narrowed and Fluttershy could see the light threatening to twist and warp into fine points within. "No..." came to the curt and a clearly irritated response.
"Hey-hey, calm down! There's no need to be that defensive! After all there's only so many doctors that can be put into the hospital beds!" Puddin' Pop said in a jokingly ribbing manner.
"Oh... There's always a way to find room... for one more..." Heartbreak darkly said, just barely under her breath, her tail beginning to curl, twitch and snap.
"Doctor Puddin' Pop?" Fluttershy almost exclaimed quickly craning her neck forward as to place herself between the unwitting doctor and a clearly seething Heartbreak.
"Uhm, yes? Oh, aren't you Fluttershy?" He asked
"Yes, and her name is Heartbreak, but she prefers to be called 'H.B.'." Fluttershy explained as the titular pony in her care tapped a hoof on the paper of the table irritatedly.
"And we did come here for a reason..." Heartbreak grumbled. Though, if one were to be honest, it came out more like a growl. "Fet, why is it so cold in here?"
"Well, I hope you did, because I was about to sign you up for our hospital's rewards card!" Doctor Puddin' Pop said with a chuckle that started out strong but quickly fizzled before ending in an uncomfortable cough. "Well!" he repeated, this time with fewer comidical overtones. "What can I do you for?"
Heartbreak only replied with a deepening scowl.
"W-what I mean to say- to ask is, what seems to be today's problem?" Doctor Puddin' Pop spat out, tugging nervously at his shirt collar.
"Other than fixing the A.C. so that it's not so freezing in here?" Heartbreak asked, looking as if she was struggling to keep down something more venomous. "I got burned by fire ants. I was told that there could be magic in the fire?"
"Oh, huh, well ya see... magical afflictions aren't my specialty..." Doctor Puddin' Pop explained. "Buuut if we can remove these bandages and take a look..." he said, gently starting to unravel the tenderly applied wrappings.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Doctor Puddin' Pop?' Fluttershy asked, fretfully about to bite on the tip of her forehoof while watching Heartbreak see and tense in anticipation of the thought of the burned flesh being exposed to open air.
"Huh, well I think it would be," Puddin' Pop said once the bandages had fallen to the floor. "When did you say that this happened? Cause this looks like it has to be a few months old!"
Both mares looked at the site of the once red and charred flesh, and indeed it now looked as if flames had hardly lapped the skin, only a bare bit of peach fur and slight distortion being the landmark that any such a thing had been present in the first place.
"That can't be right," Heartbreak murmured a hesitant hoof raised to poke at the spot. "That burn happened like what was almost three-four hours ago?" She quizzeled at Fluttershy.
"Are you sure about that?" Doctor Puddin' Pop asked, chuckling incredulously.
"Oh yes," Fluttershy replied, nodding.
"Really?" he asked, looking over his muzzle at the two ponies before him.
"Yes... Really." Heartbreak responded curtly, her ears starting to swivel back in disapproval.
"I'm not saying that I don't believe you..." Puddin Pop started, his front hoof waving defensively. "But, ya see here, if this was a fresh burn like ya are sayin' it is...I'd expect it to be more... burned-like ya see..."
"And I'm telling you that just a few hours ago, I had an incident involving fire ants at Sweet Apple Acres, where if it hadn't been for Applejack pulling me away, I woulda been rushed here a lot sooner..." Heartbreak snarled at Puddin Pop. "Right, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy whimpered and looked as if she was going to chew on the tip of her forehoof. "Well... uhm... a lot of things were happening really fast all at once..." she said uneasily.
"And ya musta wrapped it prematurely!" Doctor Puddin' Pop said, chuckling almost condescendingly.
Heartbreak glared at the doctor before her. "Ex-cuse me? For one, I wasn't the one who bandaged this! Applejack was!"
"Explains the pretty rustic way it was wrapped-"
"-Two, I was indeed burned, and I swear it looked far worse than this and finally-"
"Just what are you still doing here?!" rang in an accusatory voice that didn't belong to any of the three ponies present.
Heartbreak's expression only further soured at hearing a voice that was growing all too familiar. "Nurse... Goodfilly..." She hissed her tail whipping about at the tip. "I'll have you know that I have indeed been home between the time I last saw you, and shouldn't you be being chased by Nurse Biscotti or Redheart for stealing books?" she snapped pointedly, the light in her eyes now warping sharply.
Robin recoiled back uneasily at whatever twisting madness that was bubbling just under this pony's skin. "Well..." she began, cautiously entering the room. "That's no way to speak to your favorite nurse, now is it?" she asked as sweetly as she could muster, fluttering her eyelashes all the while.
"Favorite?" Heartbreak asked, looking as if the very word itself tasted of burnt popcorn and orange pith in her mouth.
"Well, of course! Otherwise, why would you be here?" Nurse Goodfilly replied with a wide coy smile. "But I have to inform you that while I'm your favorite,whether you see me as a villain or helper in your story, I wasn't speaking to you, my little Heartbreak."
"You ... aren't?" Heartbreak asked, the confusion causing her mane and tail to discontinue their feline-like swishing before going limp in quasi-disappointment. "Then-"
Nurse Goodfilly whipped around so fast that you could hear her tail crack the air. "You!" she snarled accusatively at Doctor Puddin' Pop.
"Wha-? Uh-who me?" the stallion asked suddenly meekly recoiling back.
"Yes, you!" Robin snorted, striding up to place herself between Heartbreak and the doctor. "What are you still doing here?" she inquisioned. "Your final day at this hospital ended at three pm, sharp!'
"Well, you see here," Doctor Puddin' Pop started once more pulling on his collar. "They were short staffed, and I figured that you all wouldn't mind if ol' Puddin' Pops had a go he-"
"Sent off into the sunset, never to be seen or heard from again?" Nurse Goodfilly hissed. "That was not what the board agreed on! Leave now and you'll be lucky that I don't report you to the Headnurse!"
"W-well, I mean, you can't do that! I'm in the middle of- you see- taking care of- of a patient!" Puddin' Pop stammered.
"By belittling them and making them question their trauma?" Robin asked, staring him down practically with just one eye. "Yes, I overheard everything..."
"Uh- uhm- well..."
"Get out, before I use a summoning scroll to call for security..." Robin commanded, her hoof inching towards a rather suspect looking scroll tacked to the wall.
"Alright, alright! I'm going!" Doctor Puddin' Pop exclaimed, ears pinning down, tail tucked as he hastily backed towards the room's door. "But you're still gonna need a real doctor to look at that burn!"
Nurse Goodfilly only responded with a seething, almost protective glare and a waggling of her hoof near the summoning scroll.
Puddin' Pop huffed and walked out the door, though not before stumbling and slamming face first into a pole.
Heartbreak giggled once the off putting stallion was out of sight.
"Now then!" Nurse Goodfilly began, her expression flipping as quickly as Puddin' Pop had made his exit. "I heard that you had a nasty run in with some fire ants?"
"Uhm... yes..." Heartbreak replied, struggling slightly as Nurse Goodfilly looked over the spot where she had been burned.
"I-I don't mean to be rude," Fluttershy said, looking rather concerned. "And while he was kind of mean.... shouldn't you call for another doctor?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Normally, yes. However, it would seem that Heartbr-"
"H.B." Heartbreak grumbled, attempting to pull her leg away.
"H.B." Robin corrected. "Wasn't the only case of fire ant immolation... this week... I assume you tended to this right away?"
"Uhm, yes?" Heartbreak answered. "Well, Applejack did the tending to, but then I was told that there could be...magic in their fire?"
"Yes...and no." Nurse Goodfilly said, almost hesitantly. "There might have been if it hadn't been tended to right away."
"That's good to know...I suppose." Heartbreak said strangely, but not surprisingly disheartened fizzling about her face.
"Is something wrong, H.B.?" Robin asked, tapping her chin.
"Eh.. Guess I was expecting... more? That this would be somehow...worse?" Heartbreak said muddly.
"Well, we could always take some tests! Get some needles and draw some blood! Get you a bed and make a night out of it!" Nurse Goodfilly said in an altogether too cheery manner as a toothy grin appeared on her face. "Ooor, we could send you home and Fluttersy would tend to you in homecare!"
"Yeaaaah...I would still like to keep doing the latter..." Heartbreak said looking down while rubbing back of her head.
"Splendid! Now, we'll just re-wrap that leg of yours and I'll take care of any paperwork so that you can go home and rest O' Meu pequeno desamor!" Robin Goodfilly chimed, picking up a clipboard starting to fill things out. "Oh, and make sure to stay hydrated, get plenty of rest when you get home, and eat your greens!"
Heartbreak could only stare in confusion. "Wha- you know what? Fine. Great. Will do. Thanks, Mom." She said getting up and attempting to get off the table.
"Anytime, Sweetie!" Goodfilly said, her strange, wide-beaming smile seemed to spread even further across her face.
"Thank you for all your help..." Fluttershy said as she assisted Heartbreak any difficulties getting down. "Sorry if we've caused any trouble..."
"Anything for you, Fluttershy!" Nurse Goodfilly said, writing something down on the clipboard. "And don't worry, you two are no trouble at all. No trouble at all..."
"Hey, Fluttershy? Can we go?" Heartbreak asked already at the door, her face forcing a smile. "Please?"
Fluttershy gave Robin another sweet smile before turning to Heartbreak. “Y-yes, I suppose we can... I mean, as long as it’s really okay with Nurse Goodfilly. "
Robin flashed that impish smile the yellow pegasus' way while nodding. She then started shooing the two ponies away with the clipboard. “Yes, yes, you two go have fun blowing bubbles or whatever you’ll be doing tomorrow. I have all this chaos under control.”
Fluttershy nodded and walked up to Heartbreak. “Alright, have a good night, Robin...”
Heartbreak only could roll her eyes and stifle any feelings of anxious impatience. “Yes. Have a good night.” She repeated, rolling her eyes and walking out the door.