//------------------------------// // Horseplay in the Hospital // Story: My Life as a Pony // by _Sugarplum_ //------------------------------// After my emotional outburst had finally subsided, I regained enough composure to try holding a conversation again. I looked around briefly, re-confirming that it was only me and one other person… I mean pony, in the room. I then looked back at the nurse. She’d let me go by now and was standing beside the bed, eyeing my expression as I thought. “H-hey…. Didn’t Fluttershy bring me here? Where is she?” I asked with a head tilt. Nurse Redheart paused for a second. “Well, I believe she went home,” she said. I pouted but she didn’t seem to notice. She then changed topic. “Back to my questions now, sweetie. I know you said….” she mumbled, apparently not wanting to risk me having another fit by bringing up my ‘dead’ parents again. “But what about anypony else in your herd? Your aunties? Older siblings?” She inquired. I paused for a moment then shook my head. “N-no, it’s…. just me,” I said. “That’s no good,” the mare said softly. She scribbled something down on her clipboard. She seemed to be planning something. She stood up and was about to head out the door. She turned back to face me. “Do you need anything else before I leave? I’ll be right back though, so don’t worry.” I was about to say no but a twinge in my gut changed my tune. I looked sheepish and said. “I kinda… really have to go.” The nurse sighed and then walked back to the bed. She helped me out and then led me to the bathroom. As I got out of bed, it occurred to me that I’d yet to ‘go’ since becoming a pony. Guess I’d been too preoccupied. Welp, it had to happen eventually. May as well happen now and save myself from kidney damage. The bathroom was interesting, I suppose. The cartoon never showed toilets, so I didn’t know what to expect. The squat style toilet that I was beholding made sense, it would’ve felt weird if their toilets were just like human ones. Going about using the pony-potty was simple enough. Being wiped by somebody else was a bit embarrassing though. Once that ordeal was over, I was placed back into bed. The nurse then dismissed herself. I was now all alone. It was boring, honestly. No tvs or phones to keep me busy. So I just laid on the bed in awkward silence. I hoped she would come back soon. Nurse Redheart huffed and mumbled to herself as she walked down the halls. Filing a missing foal’s report was something that the mare rarely dealt with. Doing a report on an homeless and orphaned foal was even rarer. There were hardly ever any cases of children without parents or guardians in Ponyville. If anything, the herds in the village tended to have an abundance of foals in their care. The nurse couldn’t help but wonder where this mystery child in her wing of the hospital came from. Regardless of his origin, she’d have to get in contact with the Ministry. They’d be far better at sorting this out than anypony in the village. “It’s going to be a long day,” Redheart said to herself in a quiet voice. She was lost in thought for a short while she walked. She was stirred from her thoughts when she accidentally bumped into one of the doctors. She collided with the stallion, nearly bumping heads with him. “Oh!” She mumbled in surprise. “Doctor Stable, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. All you alright? I didn't bump you too hard did I?” She inquired. Doctor Stable sighed and he brushed himself off. “Oh, come now, I'm not a foal. I’m fine. Is everything okay with you? It’s not like you to be so distracted, Redheart.” “I was just….” she said, “thinking about one of the young patients.” “Oh?” He inquired in a mildly curious tone. “Would it be that little colt that Miss Shy brought in this morning, by any chance?” She nodded her head. “Yes, um, Stardust’s his name… Actually, I could use your help,” she stated as she glanced over her notes on her clipboard. “Could you send a letter to the Ministry of Families, Foals and Mental Health? I’ve come to find out that the foal is homeless and I want to get guidance on what to do with him.” Doctor Stable paused as his brow furrowed. “How unfortunate,” he sighed. “…I’ll send a letter right away.” He shook his head. He briefly thought of how odd it was to have an orphan suddenly turn up in Ponyville. He’d never even seen the foal before today. How did he end up here? The situation just didn’t sit right with him. He sighed softly. “That poor foal…. He’s going to need a lot of love and support,” he mused. He tried to keep the conversation light though. “For now… we could send a certain some pony to help improve his mood,” he suggested with a slight smile. Nurse Redheart listened to the doctor talk. “I think that might be fine,” she said. She giggled and sighed as she knew who the ‘somepony’ was. “I hope she’s not too busy with the bakery to come have an impromptu party for the little fella.” Waiting around for the nurse to come back was soooo boring. The room didn’t even have a clock, so I didn’t know how much time was passing. It felt like a long time. I tried singing a song or too to make time pass a bit better. It helped a little but after that, I was bored again. I rolled on my back and stared blankly my hooves for a little while. It was still strange to think about my new body. It felt like me, but not, at the same time. Having so many legs, and a tail, was such an odd experience. Yet moving them felt natural, almost as if I’d always been this way. My fixation on my foreign anatomy was interrupted when I heard hoofsteps approaching the room. I quickly rolled back onto my stomach as the door opened up. The door swung open but I didn’t see anyone there. My head tilted in confusion. A sweet smell then started to fill my nose. It was a little overpowering. I sneezed. “Bless you,” I heard someone say. My ears stood up and twitched as the voice had startled me. I looked to my right and didn’t see anything. I then looked left and was met with a pair of big blue eyes staring at me, barely a few inches away from me. I yelped and jolted as I wasnt expecting that. “Gah!” I squeaked as I fell backwards, flailing my hooves. I slipped off of the bed, landing upside down. “Oof-“ The wide eyed stranger suddenly started laughing. She giggled and snorted. “Wowie- heh, sorry little guy,” she said. Her hooves clacked against the floor as she walked over to my side of the bed. “Let me help you,” she said in a familiar sounding voice. I thought I knew who this might be but it wasn’t exactly the same as I remembered, so I couldn’t be sure. I was still upside down when she approached. At first, I couldn’t see her face. All I saw was four pink legs with blue and yellow shoes on the hooves. I hadn’t paid attention to anyone wearing horseshoes before now, I noted. I was then suddenly grabbed by her two front legs and was flipped upright. I was held up in her hooves and my eyes briefly lit up as I looked at her face, getting confirmation that this pony was who I assumed. The pony smiled at me, giggling, her poofy hair bouncing slightly as she did so. This was definitely Pinkie Pie. Her appearance was more dynamic than the show had displayed. She had spots of lighter pink all over her fur. Dappling, I think was the word. She sat me back on the bed and patted my head with a hoof. “That was fun! I really surprised you, huh? Huh?“ she asked. My head nodded softly in response, earning a big smile from the party pony. “Oh good! Cuz I was worried at first that it might be TOO surprising. Y’know you can’t be too rough with foals,” she said, “especially cute wittle colty-wolties like you!” She added in a teasing tone. She then started talking faster and she started tapping her front hooves on the floor. She seemed to be getting extra giddy. “I’m so glad I got called over. My pinkie sense was going all crazy-wazy all morning, so I knew there was something really exciting going on. Like a big secret or something! But I figured out what the doozy was. A brand new pony had popped into town!” She explained. She then continued getting a little louder and even faster. “At first I thought maybe Mrs. Cake was gonna have her babies but then I was like ‘uh-duh, silly head, she’s not even pregnant yet!’ So I had to think of what else it could be so I ran all around town trying to find the new pony and now I’m here and I know that the new pony is you! So HIIIII!! I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m so so glad to meet a new pony. Especially a cute wittle foaly-woaly like you! What’s your name? Huh? Huh? Huh?” I could barely think while I was flash banged by the words spewing from the party pony’s lips. It was so fast and loud. Plus her horseshoes clacking on the floor with each bounce was starting to bug me. It was too much at once. My ears flattened and I frowned a little as the pink mare’s energy was growing to be overstimulating. “Um, Pinkie?” I tried to interject. The pink pony giggled. “Oh, your name is Pinkie too? How fun!” She said. “I can’t wait to through you a welcome party! We’ll have cake and games and-“ “What, no- Ugh. Look, Pinkie… I’m sorry but my name’s not-“ “And cookies and ice cream and it’ll be so fun and-“ “Pinkie, please…” “I’mjustsoexcitedIcouldexplode!!” I was growing frustrated with her for not listening. I frowned and huffed through my nose. “HEY!” I said, my voice nearly cracking from the volume I used. Pinkie Pie’s ears dropped and she looked at me wide eyed. She looked taken aback at my shouting. “Huh? Oh…sorry. What is it?” I let out a long sigh. “Ugh…. Look, uh, my name is Stardust, okay? And… I know you’re all about parties and all but,” I said before gesturing up and down over her with a hoof. “allll this energy is just too much for me right now,” I sighed. “Can you be a bit…gentler in your enthusiasm… please?” Pinkie pouted at me briefly. “Oh I’m sorry, little guy. I just get so buzzy about parties and new ponies. I didn’t mean to upset you…” I gave a sheepish smile. “It’s okay. Im not that bothered or anything.” “OH-“ Pinkie suddenly started to say before quickly correcting and talking softer. “I mean… Oh, I almost forgot” she said. She then reached a hoof into her thick mane. She pulled out a cupcake with rainbow frosting on it. “Here you go!” “Oh, cool thanks,” I said. I reached out for the cupcake, not thinking. It fell on the floor as the pink mare had loosened her grip. I paused as I looked at it, splattered on the ground. I huffed quietly. “Aw, Damn it.” Pinkie Pie looked at me with a frown for a moment, her hair deflated slightly, but then went back to her normal style and smiled sympathetically. “Oh… did you want me to hoof-feed you? It’s okay, I’ve got another one.” She asked, seemingly not wanting to address my grip issue. She then pulled out a duplicate cupcake from her mane. She then sat down and peeled the wrapper off. It was weird to watch the paper pinch against the inside of the pony’s hoof. It felt physically impossible. Like when I used to watch the powerpuff girls and they grabbed things with their weird baguette arms. Once the wrapper was off, she held the cupcake out for me. I leaned forward and took a bite. It was sweet. Super sweet! ….Too sweet, actually. I cringed internally at the overly sugary taste that pervaded my mouth. It hurt my teeth a little. I kinda wanted to spit it out but I didn’t want to offend the party pony. “G-…good,” I said as I swallowed it down. She noticed my hesitance and shrugged. “My special welcome cupcakes aren’t always a favorite of everypony,” she said, “but don’t worry! Once I get to know you, I’ll make you the best cupcakes you’ve ever had!” Pinkie then gasped and giggled to herself. “Ooo, I know, I’ll try all sorts of recipes and see which ones you like. In fact, imma get started on that now!” She said. Without so much as a goodbye, the pink mare zipped out of the room, leaving nothing but a little cloud of dust with confetti somehow sprinkled into it. I looked a little dumbfounded at the speed of that pony. I briefly wondered how she could move so fast, but then I recalled a phrase. Don’t question Pinkie Pie. I shrugged and chuckled to myself for a moment. I then gagged a little and huffed at the aftertaste the cupcake had left in my mouth. “Bleh… That sucked. They always seemed so good on tv…” I sighed in disappointment. I rolled my eyes as I was left alone again. At least I had some company for a minute.