//------------------------------// // Moving Forward // Story: My Life as a Pony // by _Sugarplum_ //------------------------------// After forcing down the tooth-numbingly sweet and flowery slop that was my breakfast, I found myself answering a little questionnaire with the nurse pony. She held a pencil in her mouth as she asked me surveyed me. “How are you feeling today? Any more pain?” she inquired, to which I simply shook my head. She asked a few more things, trying to get personal info out of me, probably to figure out what to do with me once I’m released. I only answered with my fabricated story of being an orphan with no other relatives. “Hmm… well, sweetie,” the nurse said. “I understand that you don’t have… anywhere to go,” she said. “But what brought you to Ponyville. You said you lived far away, right?” I froze for a split second. I tried to think of something. I glanced around in thought. Then a poster caught my eye. It had crest showing the sun and crescent moon, with a minimal style depiction of an alicorn. “Oh, I wanted to see the summer sun celebration” I said, “my… mom said she’d take me to see it one day but… that never happened. I snuck onto a train and came to Ponyville since it’s being held here, this year.” I explained, lying my little tail off. Committing verbal forgery was a lot of work. “Ohh” the nurse exclaimed softly. “Now, I don’t condone hitchhiking, young man, but I think I can excuse it in this case. You’re about two weeks early but it’s better that than being late, huh? And you certainly picked a good year to visit. Eheh, since this is the millennial celebration. It’s going to be extra special. My son’s excited for it too.” she said with a soft smile. While she spoke, I reached for my glass of juice. I may as well try to wash the taste of plant matter out of my mouth. I would’ve preferred water, but I can’t complain too much. As I reached, I tried to focus really hard. I thought that I could maybe grip the cup this time, somehow. I tried to will my hoof to grab hold of the cup. It was useless. It was like trying to grab something while wearing boots on your hands. The cup mocked my plight by sliding away from my hoof and tipping over, spilling onto the table. I looked at the puddle forming on the floor in annoyance. “Shit” The nurse looked at me with a frown as I’d just swore, glaring like an angry mother for a few seconds. She soon regained composure and went back to work mode. “Oh goddess-” sighed the nurse. “How long have you had trouble with your hooves?” She asked. “You didn’t mention it during my questions- we need to know if this was caused by your snake bite,” she said in a more serious tone. “You could be developing have an infection, if that’s the case” she worried, grabbing hold of my front leg, scanning over my hoof. I felt the weird, squishy ‘palm’ of her hoof as she held me. “Ah- Um, this isn’t from that” I said quickly. I cleared my throat. “I’ve… always been like this, I guess. It’s… kind of embarrassing, not being able to do stuff on my own” I elaborated. Mentally, I cringed at how incredibly troubled I must seem to the adult pony. Now I’m apparently disabled, on top of being a homeless orphan. “Oh? That’s different then…” said the nurse after confirming with herself that my snake wound wasn’t the cause. “Plus you don’t seem to have any signs of infection-.” Mused the nurse. The mare was interrupted as the room was suddenly pierced with the sound of static. A speaker system was the source of the noise. A female voice came through. “Nurse Cream Heart, to the front desk please,” said the voice. “Thank you.” “Oh, excuse me, dear. Somepony needs me. I’ll be right back,” said the nurse before leaving me alone in the room. The nurse, who was apparently named Cream Heart, returned after just a few minutes. “Somepony would like to speak with you, dear,” she proclaimed. She stepped aside and let the other pony walk into the room. I looked up at a professional-looking older mare. “Hello there, Stardust,” said the mare. Her coat was a sort of pale pink color and her mane was gray with age, but had a few golden streaks in it. She wore glasses and a half suit. She was also an earth pony, like the nurses. She cleared her throat before she spoke again. “My name is Honey Glow,” she said with a soft smile. “And I’ll be helping you out with your…situation,” she said. I hesitated to respond, which seemed to suggest to the mare that she should explain further. “I’m with the Ministry in charge of caring for special foals like yourself. I’m here to help you find a family to take really good care of you,” she said. Good grief. I’m being forced into a family now? I was hoping I could just manage life on my own, but that clearly won’t be happening. It’s probably for the best, especially given how I managed to get myself hurt already. Regardless, I still felt embarrassed at being forced into this. But I suppose it can’t be helped. This is… my life, now, huh? “Great…” was the only thing I could muster in reply. Meanwhile, Fluttershy had made it to the hospital. She had taken a while to arrive, as she was nervous to meet the colt again and had been stalling. She, of course, wanted to make sure that everything was okay now but her anxiety made her dwell on the possibility that the child may not enjoy her company given how they had met. She sighed softly and tried to calm herself down as she walked into the building. A receptionist who was sat at the desk greeted the flighty pegasus with a polite smile and a wave of her hoof. “Good morning, Fluttershy, what brings you here today?” asked the pony. “Oh, um,” she mumbled. She then cleared her throat and tried to speak up. “I’m here to see a patient…” “Okay, and the patient’s name?” inquired the receptionist. Fluttershy squeaked and mumbled. “I-I don’t…know his name,” she said sheepishly. “He’s a little colt, um- tan coat and whitish hair?” As the ever-nervous pegasus spoke with the receptionist, another member of the hospital staff trotted into the lobby. Nurse Redheart was on a break and was about to go grab a snack, but she noticed the mare’s struggling and couldn’t help but came to her aide. She felt bad for her. Anxiety is no joke. “You’re looking for Stardust?” Redheart asked. “The child you brought in yesterday?” Fluttershy turned towards the nurse and nodded her head quickly. “Y-yes, the little colt I checked in. Is he okay? Can I see him?” “He should still be in his room,” said the nurse. “And I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a visitor.” She then pointed down one of the other halls. “His room is at the far end.” “T-thank you” Fluttershy said softly. She then flew off to find the correct room. When she arrived at the end of the hall, she saw a suited mare blocking the doorway of the last room. “E-excuse me?” she said softly as she couldn’t get by her. The older mare turned to look at her. “Oh, hello there,” she said. She glanced into the room and then looked back at her. “You’re here to see Stardust? Are you close to him?” She inquired with a raised brow. “Um, n-no,” said the pegasus. “Not exactly? I just met him yesterday. He got hurt and I brought him to the hospital. I just wanted to know if he’s okay.” The older mare paused and frowned in thought for a second before relaxing. “Oh, so you’re Miss Shy then? Fluttershy, yes?” she asked. “Yes- but how did you know who I am from that?” the pegasus asked nervously. “Sorry. Let me introduce myself,” explained the other mare. She stepped into the hallway and closed to door to the room. “I am Honey Glow. I’m from the Ministry. I’ll be counseling Stardust. I was informed of his situation, as as well the injury he sustained.” She could see worry spread on Shy’s face and tried to quickly calm her down. “Oh, you aren’t in any trouble, given that it was a wild animal. It could’ve happened anywhere. And to answer your question, Stardust is quite fine. The bite was very mild and only produced a fever which was quickly spelled away by a doctor. He’s fit to leave, but…his circumstances make that difficult, unfortunately.” Fluttershy nodded, feeling relieved. She then looked confused and tilted her head. “What… are his circumstances, u-um, besides being an unattended foal?” Honey Glow sighed and cleared her throat. “I’m afraid that the colt’s not simply ‘unattended,’ she elaborated. “He’s an orphan, and homeless.” Fluttershy nearly whimpered as her heart bled for the poor boy. “Oh my… So… where will he go? He can’t be sent out on the streets.” “Oh Celestia, no,” Honey Glow said with a faint grimace at such a thought. She regained composure and kept talking. “That is to say, that he will be placed in foster care. But finding a family on short notice is proving difficult…. Especially given his disability.” “D-disability?” Fluttershy asked. Glow continued. “He has no grip on his hooves. Either a birth defect or caused by an unknown illness in infancy. Which makes housing an issue, as most ponies aren’t equipped for caring for creatures of different abilities, let alone a child.” Fluttershy thought briefly and then spoke as her eyes lit up. “W-what about me? I’m well versed in caring for all sorts of animals, a-and I raised my little brother when I was younger after…,” she mumbled, trailing off. “Oh?” the counselor said softly. “Well, I suppose that you could possibly… Hm,” Glow thought aloud. She then looked more serious. “If you can foal-proof your home and adhere to weekly check-ins, then yes, I suppose you can foster the colt.” “I-I promise I’ll do my absolute best to make a suitable living situation for the boy,” Fluttershy assured. “Very well,” said Honey Glow. She then opened the door back up and peered into the room. “Stardust? You have another visitor… and we have something important to tell you.”