//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: In the Hospital // Story: Life of a new Pie // by Reily //------------------------------// Slow steady beeps of machinery droned on in the background. I opened my eyes and was greeted all at once by a blinding flash of white light. Surrounding me were cabinets, a sink, an IV stand, and this far too big bed. Like it could easily fit two of me laying down on it. All at once I knew this was a hospital room though. I always hated them. The sterile smell in the air, less than stellar staff, and the way my wallet cried after I left. There were more important things on my agenda. I had to leave soon! My job needed me. Someone had to greet potential clients. Additionally, documents didn't organize and type themselves; as much as I’d like them to. It'd make life so much easier. Maybe it would free me up to actually investigate and do the job I wanted to do. But nope, papers didn't take care of themselves and goodness help me if that coworker was without his fancy coffee. While I was berating my job, the door cracked open. In came a fairly giant yellow figure with blue hair. Something about her looked completely wrong; four legs with no arms. On top of it, the massive protrusion bursting out of her forehead and what appeared to be razor-sharp teeth. She got closer and closer, and I was a little concerned about whatever was in my IV. Various aches and pains went up and down my body. In addition, this room felt absolutely sweltering. Some fans would do nicely. “Hello little one. I'm Nurse Snow. How are you feeling?” She started eyeing me closer. “Your boo-boos are certainly looking better. Mind sitting up so I can take your temperature?” I hurriedly sat up. “Gah! Phone! Phone! Do you happen to have my phone?” She tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean dear?” “I mean-”, my nose wiggled, “achoo! I'd like to call my boss. Ms. Hart. Fairly tall lady. Has her hair in a bun. I had a photo of her somewhere. Though you must have seen her at some point.” Loretta was one of my emergency contacts and has done a lot to help me when I started working for her. I'd be shocked if she wasn't at least wondering why I am late. Instead of her handing over my phone or explaining anything, all I received was a pinch to the cheek. “Aren't you the cutest thing and what a huge imagination you have. If you ask nicely, I'll maybe let you go visit Nurse Redheart in a little bit. She’s a little busy in the other ward and managing this hospital.” A woman after my own heart. Oh, how I wanted to thank her for her tireless job. But I had to get going. She was almost ready with the thermometer. Now was my chance! I opened my mouth and clamped down on her arm. It tasted weird, like hairy or something. There were other more pressing concerns though. “You little-!” As fast as I could, I went down the corridor. While I was having trouble staying upright, nothing was going to stop me. The corridor opened up to a set of similar-looking rooms, and I had no time to think. My gut instinct said that it would be down the double doors. I pushed myself through and entered a long white room with various signs and arrows pointing everywhere. Choosing one at random, I followed a big rectangular red one up above with a word and an arrow on it. Regardless of what it said, there was no time to lose! Other hideously misshapen medical staff with various protrusions and feathers sped after me on all fours on the hunt for me. Running through the door, I thought I briefly saw a pony symbol. Though I didn’t know if that had to do with a side effect of the IV or not. Modern medicine is not something I’m a domain expert on unfortunately. Whatever was bugging me, there were usually websites for that. Websites that were wrong and contradicted each other, but information. As for information that I could pick up on right now, this room unfortunately was window-free. I was completely cornered! At least on the bright side, there was an exceptionally tall sink and mirror here. I clambered onto the sink and climbed up on top of the basin. The faucet handles were pulled, and the basin slowly filled up. I splashed my face in it; then looked up at myself. The same pink pony I saw yesterday continued to stare at me. Every action I took, it took. Raising a hoof, followed by raising a hoof. Sticking my tongue out, it followed. Refusing to accept it, I splashed my face again. However, nothing that implied this wasn’t real was making itself known. That could with it being a direct continuation unfortunately meant this was very real. My hoof pressed against the mirror, and I began to sob. The soaking wet sad mess I saw continually mocked me. For whatever reason; instead of the twenty-six-year-old professional secretary named Alexandra Clemmons with golden locks and an unrelenting attitude, I’m just in this sad small pathetic-looking pegasus with red hair and pink fur. Complete with bandages on her nose and along her sides and one on her right wing. Though I guess, this body was named with a sickeningly sweet name from Pinkie of all ponies. While she seemed less grounded than I remembered, there was something about her that screamed fun. Strawberry Gentle Pie; how it would fit so well on that show Nicole and I watched whenever I went to her house as a kid. While that show was better than everything else on TV, she seemed to love that a lot more than me. She kept detailed notes on all the characters and lore and let me borrow her notes so I could actually follow the plot. Not to mention the dolls she loaned me, that my caretaker continually smashed. If Nicole ever got word of what happened to me, she’d probably be laughing her head off. Still, I swore that I would figure out why I am a pony. The full reason and what actually happened to me. Maybe if it's possible, I'd find a way to undo it. Though I guess I didn’t know anything. Everything around me was fake! Fiction that’s been made real. Whatever theories I could have made, none of them would make sense. There’s nothing to go by! “There’s just nothing…”, I quietly muttered, wiping away tears. The doors flew open, and in came Nurse Snow. What a sight I must have been, all wet and crying hysterically. She made her way closer and closer to me while holding onto a syringe full of green liquid. My heart felt like it was already beating out my chest. Any faster and I’d probably be the youngest person ever to have a heart attack. Panting rapidly, I raised a hoof into the air and quickly put it back down as I was losing my balance. “Stay right there! You’re not in trouble.” Unfortunately, my difficulties with sliding suggested I should do something about the water. I went to try to turn off the water to make things easier for everyone involved, but started to slip. Down to the cold wet hard floor. “Gotcha! There. Safe and sound” When I landed on something fairly soft, I looked up. I was being held pretty tightly by her while the syringe was floating in the air by a mysterious light. “I'm going to need you to be a little brave for me. This is going to sting a little bit, but it’s very important you stay still. In that syringe is medicine. Please don't move.” Waiting for the prick, it came faster than I expected. That thing hurt so badly, it was like all the uncomfortableness of a regular injection times ten. Straight into the wings, presumably the fastest way to deliver any magic medicine. Then came a bandage. “I’m going to take you back to your room okay.” I started feeling a little sleepy and felt weightless for a few minutes before ending up on something very soft. Presumably her. These ponies sure do have something right. A little bumpy but it's so easy to forget. I saw the double doors, a nauseatingly cute sun; then the hospital bed. The bed came closer and closer until I was right on top. Then some nice soft blankets were gently lowered on top of me. Slowly inching towards me was a little tube connecting to a hoof. My eyelids started to close. An indeterminate amount of time later, I woke up again on the hospital bed. Same horse hooves, and the same old hospital room. But lucky me, another horse nurse was watching over me. One with white fur and pink hair arranged in a bun. She was actually rather pretty. But as I stared at her silhouette and couldn't help but think of Loretta. She’d be telling me I was probably worrying for no reason. Or she’d be disappointed with how I acted. Not mad, just disappointed. Which always made things ten times worse. My teeth chattered, and I tried slowly scooting away. Despite them being some weird form of ponies, I still can't trust them. Big scary animal that I can't understand. “We're not going to hurt you. Please calm down. We only want to help.” The phrase struck a chord with me. When I looked up at her, my mind drifted back to that cold October night when I tried to run away from foster care all those years ago. The day I first met Loretta and her sister. It was unseasonably cold and windy, and after getting yelled at for one thing or another, then threatened to be sent to bed without dinner, I tried to leave by myself. Made it as far as the McDonald's down the road before I bumped into Loretta, and she grabbed onto me. Every child being fostered knew better than to randomly approach a strange adult. It was a one-way ticket to getting hurt and ending up missing. Rather than hurting me as I had expected, she bought me a burger, then handed me a business card so I could call her if I needed something. Though it actually ended up taking years before I got the nerve to actually call her. But just like then, there was someone who might be nice. I sat still for a moment and cleared my throat, and thought about what to say. “I'm really really sorry about trying to run away from the hospital.” I knew I was nervous, but I'd never been able to actually feel any twitches before. Or even suspected I had any. Yet here I was now with a left eye twitching rapidly. “It's just…I. I'm scared. I don't understand what's going on, and I would really appreciate going home soon. There's some very important things I need to get to.” Nurse Redheart looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "I understand little one. But please be patient. If I let you go too soon, you'll just be brought back here again, and it won't be fun for any pony involved." Nurse Redheart looked to the side. "Your parents will be here tomorrow to visit you. If there's anything that would make you more comfortable, please let me or one of the nurses know." Parents, they must mean Pinkie and the yellow pony. At least it's a one-way ticket to avoid being sent to a group home again. There was something that I could ask for, come to think of it. Since I'm in horsey land, I should at least know the basics of the country I'm in. "If it's okay, can I have a history book to look at? To pass the time." She gave a friendly smile. "I think we can arrange something." She started to trot out the door, only for it to nearly hit her on the way out. She mumbled quietly, "Celestia, please grant me patience."