Ok.
What. Just. Happened.
I stood there, right past the closed door of the bathroom, feeling like I could simultaneously have an anxiety attack and pass out from overexertion at the same time.
“How… how did I let myself get so vulnerable?! Why did I let that happen? I. Only. Just. Met her!!” I could still feel my heart racing from the pure awkwardness of that interaction.
I loudly groaned as I sat down and placed my head in my— hooves. “And when will this stop being weird…”
It was still surreal, looking down at my body and not seeing the same build I was used to seeing for my entire life. “I guess it makes sense though… I’ve only been a horse… pony… for what, like 7-ish waking hours? And for most of it I was so dead set on getting out of that forest that I only really acknowledged my body a handful of times.”
Still, it was weird. Maybe eventually I’d get used to it, but for now the only thing I felt towards my body was confusion.
I inspected the fur on my foreleg, brushing against it with a hoof. It was soft, surprisingly so, and almost seemed to spring back to a brushed state without much effort. Throughout my interaction with Redheart, I hadn’t even acknowledged the fact that neither of us were wearing any clothes (besides her hat, which didn’t really count), but what I strangely realized is that I didn’t feel naked. Whether that was because of the fur that now blanketed my body or something about my physiology changing, I really had no idea.
I shook my head clear, realizing I got distracted. “Right, I was… freaking out about that awkward as hell conversation. At least that tangent calmed me down a bit…”
I took a deep breath to calm down my still somewhat racing heart and refocused my attention on my surroundings. Looking around, I saw what I expected to see from a hospital bathroom, with a small sink, a toilet, a wide shower, and a number of handrails— hoofrails?— along most of the walls. The toilet seemed sized for someone twice my height, but at least there was a small stool in front of the sink that I could stand on to reach it. I sighed, once again being reminded of my currently short stature.
“How’d I even end up as a kid anyways?” I mentally pouted. “Not that I can really ask about it, though.”
I still knew that revealing how I actually ended up here would be a terrible idea— right now, at least. I’d just have to deal with my current situation as it is, until… when? A part of me assumed forever. “Now hold on, I’ll be able to trust someone at some point, right? I’ll just wait to tell whoever they happen to be, and then they can convince everyone else for me.”
That part of me still wasn’t convinced. I ignored it.
There was another aspect of being stuck as a kid that I started to think about, but I pushed it aside in exchange for actually doing what I was in here to do.
I tested putting weight on my injured foreleg and winced at the searing pain. It seemed like I still needed some time before I’d be able to walk on it properly. “I’m probably stuck here for at least a couple more days. Ugh…” So far, being quadrupedal was quite a downgrade.
Hobbling over to the sink, I sized up the stool sitting in front of it. It was only about half my height, but I still didn’t want to end up knocking it over in my attempt to climb on top of it. I took slow steps up onto the stool, being careful not to put too much weight on my injury, before looking up and seeing—
Oh.
Wow.
My brain stopped working again. All I could do was stare at myself in the mirror with a shocked expression on my face.
It took a moment before coherent thoughts could begin to form.
My initial reaction was: “Wh-wha— is that… what I look like?” Which was probably the dumbest question I could come up with, considering this was, in fact, a mirror, and I wasn’t actively going insane. Hopefully.
I looked away for a moment, took a deep breath, then looked back at the mirror. The same face I saw before awaited me when I did.
My reflection looked…
“...Do I really need to acknowledge it?”
…
“Ugh, fine.”
“…I look cute.”
Indeed I did. And like, really cute too. Like “could make a really great plushie” levels of cute.
I… did not know how to feel about this. It was a level of shock I was unable to process.
It took another few moments before I could acknowledge any details about my reflection. Before me stared a pony with wide, bright blue eyes, a small, rounded snout, and large, pointed ears. It had a mess of sky blue hair with a stripe of green running front to back, along with a small, dull horn peeking out through the front of it. Sand colored fur covered the pony’s face.
And that pony… was me.
“Is this… really how I look like now? Wow…”
I experimented with expressions for a moment, twisting my face every which way. I watched as my reflection matched every goofy expression I could come up with perfectly. It was almost surreal seeing such human levels of emotion on a face that was quite far from being human.
A face which, to my surprise, looked strikingly feminine.
At that realization, all I could do was stare.
…
That was until I heard a knock at the door. The sudden sound pulled me out of my trance in a bolt of surprised motion that almost sent me sprawling on the floor.
“Terra, dear,” I heard Redheart’s muffled voice call through the door. “Are you almost finished up in there?”
“Fuck, right, the nurse. I was supposed to be washing my hands in here. Er… hooves.”
“Um, almost, just a second!” I shouted back.
I quickly leaned forward and braced my forelegs on the edge of the sink, before turning on the water (oh, right, I can still grip things) and clumsily scrubbing my hooves with the provided soap. “Hold on, what’s even the point of this? I’m just gonna put 'em back down on the floor, anyway.” Maybe this is magic soap, and it keeps my hooves clean even when I walk around on them.
I chuckled a bit at my own silly idea. “Hah, magic…”
I finished up at the sink, dried my hooves, then scampered back to the door. Upon opening it, I saw Nurse Redheart standing right outside, unsurprisingly.
I looked back at the bed, before I suddenly found myself airborne once again as Redheart picked me up and placed me down on the plush sheets. It was less shocking than the first time, but still quite humiliating.
Redheart began speaking, “Alright, I wasn’t sure what you wanted to eat, but I hope this is to your liking.” She then pulled a tray from her back that I didn’t notice there before, containing a small salad, an apple, and another glass of water.
“Now,” she began sternly, “I don’t want you breaking another glass, so be careful with this one, okay?” At my short nod, she continued, “Are you having any trouble with your hoof grip?”
“Hoof grip?” I mentally questioned. “Oh, yeah, holding things. Still have no idea how that works.”
I shook my head, and Redheart smiled. “Good, we wouldn’t want your magic to be damaged.”
…
My brain froze again.
“Wh— magic??? Like, actual, real magic? That I have? I… really was joking before.”
I really needed to stop being hit with information bombshells every five minutes. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take.
I glanced up at the horn atop my head, suddenly remembering its existence. “Maybe this thing is more than just for show…” The idea that I might actually be able to use real magic, like a… wizard, or something, was astronomically cool yet equally terrifying.
I looked over at Redheart again and finally took notice of the fact that she did not have a horn herself. “I guess there’s different pony variants? Why did I get a horn, then?”
Upon remembering I was still actively in a conversation with someone, I commanded myself to stop freaking out and get on with it. “Not in front of someone else! Just… forget about it for now.”
“Uhh… yeah,” I mumbled, as Redheart placed the tray she was holding down onto the bed in front of me.
Now, I wasn’t the biggest fan of salads. I’d only ever eat them if there were literally no other options available, and even then I’d rarely add anything to them, since I didn’t like most of the foods that went into a typical salad. They were never really worth the effort to make, and I certainly didn’t wanna waste money on premade ones when there were usually other, much better options available.
Even still, seeing the salad in front of me, my stomach growled again in acknowledgement of my gnawing hunger. I hadn’t eaten in a while, and I didn’t want to ask for something else when Redheart was nice enough to get this for me. So, despite my reluctance, and due to the lack of silverware, I bent down and took a bite of the salad.
…
Wow. This salad was good.
I didn’t know if food just tasted different here, if my taste buds changed, or if I was just glad to be eating something, but in that moment, I didn’t care. This was genuinely the best salad I had ever eaten. The lettuce was crisp and fresh, the cucumber crunchy and juicy, the tomatoes ripe and flavorful. My singular goal became finishing the thing as fast as possible.
“Slow down!” Redheart cautioned with amusement in her tone. I ignored her.
A short while later, I was eating up the last few leaves of lettuce after luckily managing to not choke on my food. Redheart looked on, seemingly quite entertained, although I might’ve caught a hint of concern in her expression.
Upon realizing what I had just done, my face went red. “Um… I uh… I was hungry…”
Redheart snickered a little bit. “I could tell,” she said with a mirthful expression. “Now, once you’re finished with your meal, I have some more questions for you if you don’t mind.”
I suddenly felt nervous. “Oh god, she’s gonna ask about where I came from. What should I even say? I can’t say what really happened, I already decided on that. But what do I say instead? It’s not like I can just say nothing!”
…
“I could just say nothing.”
As awkward as it might be to remain completely silent when facing questions I didn’t want to answer, lying could get me into an even bigger mess and the truth could lead to… I didn’t even want to guess.
Anxiously, I picked up the apple and began eating it. It was wonderfully crisp, and rivaled some of the best apples I had eaten back home, which helped to calm down my thoughts. “Ok, so the plan is, if I’m asked about where I came from or how I got to the forest, I’ll just stay silent. Or… maybe I could just be really vague?”
As I thought, I finished up the apple with sips of water to wash it down. It seems I had already gotten a pretty good grasp at holding things with hooves. The thought process to hold and manipulate objects was surprisingly similar to doing the same with hands, and took almost no additional mental effort. It was still rather strange though, having a flat surface with no dexterity at the end of my limbs.
I looked down at a hoof. “So… this works through magic, huh?” I carefully watched the end of my hoof as I… activated my grip?... and noticed a very faint shimmer of something right on the surface of it. “Wow, if ponies use magic this casually, it's no wonder they’re the dominant species here. Makes me a little worried about what else is out there, though…”
My thoughts were interrupted. “Alright, are you all done now?” Redheart said in a gentle tone.
I nodded, and she continued, “Good! Now, I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind.” My anxiety grew, before she followed up with, “Feel free not to answer if you’re anxious, but I’d be really happy if you do answer.”
It felt demeaning to be talked to like a child, but I suppose it was still a nice sentiment.
I gave a brief ‘ok’ before Redheart asked, “Ok, how old are you?”
Oh.
I… hadn’t even considered that.
I really had no way of knowing how old I actually was here. With how I felt in the body I was in, I’d say I was somewhere in the 8-12 years old range, but even then it’d just be a guess.
This question had me trapped. With how obvious it should’ve been, not answering would be incredibly strange. I ultimately decided to just follow up the question with another one.
“Um… h-how old do I look to you?” I asked nervously.
Redheart seemed confused and I immediately felt bad. There was nothing I could do to help it, though.
“Well… hm…” Redheart pondered for a moment. “I’d say somewhere around your early twenties.”
…
What.
It… seemed like ponies just age slower and I was making a big deal out of this for no reason. Cool. I mentally chastised myself for not even considering the possibility.
“Oh, well, um… I’m 22.”
“Ugh, this is so weird. Does that mean I won’t be considered an adult until my late thirties or something? Blegh…”
Redheart smiled, and said in a warm tone, “Alright, thank you for answering. Now, if you don’t mind telling me, do you have any place you call home at the moment?”
A wave of emotion threatened to overwhelm me again. I forced it back down and simply shook my head.
Redheart’s expression softened with sympathy. “Oh, you poor dear…”
She then reached down and gave me a gentle hug, stroking my back with a hoof like she did before. I was a bit startled at the sudden physical contact but it was still strangely soothing.
“Don’t you worry one bit, we’re going to find a home for you,” Redheart assured, continuing to embrace me.
I was… oddly ok with this?
I hesitated. “Hold on, what am I doing!?”
I took a moment to self reflect. Since getting here I’d been doing nothing but making a complete fool of myself and being completely helpless. And now I was accepting help even when I was perfectly capable of handling my emotions on my own. “Cmon, I gotta assert myself more! Just because I look like a kid doesn’t mean I have to act like it. I’m an adult for christ sake!”
I gently pulled away from Redheart, but said nothing. I knew that on some level I’d still have to blend into the role of a child, but that didn’t mean I’d have to accept everything about my situation.
Redheart smiled sadly at me. “Alright, I have just one more question. Would you mind if Applejack came to visit? She’s the pony that saved you.”
I was a bit wary at the idea of having visitors. If I could help it, I’d want to keep the number of ponies that see me stuck here, helpless, to a bare minimum.
Still though, I wanted to thank her for getting me out of that situation. And regardless, Applejack must’ve already seen the worst of it when I collapsed in her campsite. I didn’t even wanna think about where I could’ve ended up had she not helped me when she did, as uncomfortable as I was with having screwed up so badly that I had to be saved.
Having decided, I simply said, “No, I don’t mind. I’d like to thank her at the very least.”
Redheart’s smile took on a happy tone as she said, “Great! I’ll send out a letter to Applejack letting her know. I’ll get you some more water too, you go ahead and get some rest.”
Redheart then picked up the tray and set it on her back, then began walking back to the door. At that moment, I realized something.
“Oh! Um, if you don’t mind, I have a quick question too…”
Redheart stopped in her tracks and looked back at me, before saying in that same serene tone, “Of course, anything.”
“Well, uh… for my stay here… um… do I owe anything? I wouldn’t be able to pay for it if I do…”
This was a genuine concern of mine. Considering my past experiences with hospitals, I always came to expect the astronomical bill for even the most basic of things. Insurance helped with that, but it’s not like I had that here. I didn’t know this world’s policy for lost children, but for all I knew they could really expect me to be able to pay for this stay.
“Oh no, don’t worry about that at all,” Redheart replied earnestly. “A filly your age shouldn’t have to worry about the bits you owe to anypony.”
Uh.
‘Filly’? ‘Bits’? ‘Anypony’??
“Ugh, pony words. I’ll just assume that the filly is me, whatever that means, bits are money, and anypony is… just silly.” We didn’t say ‘anyhuman’ back home, so what’s the point of that? “Whatever, maybe I should just assume that everything is weird here and get on with it.”
Despite the weirdness, her response did help to assuage my fears. I gave a brief thanks as Redheart resumed her journey out of the room. Soon I was left alone, letting my mind swirl with thoughts of my past, present, and future.
Nurse Redheart slumped to her desk with a weary expression. Terra’s situation kept being revealed to be even more dire than she thought. Redheart hoped Terra was lying, but didn’t really think she was.
A lost foal was one thing, an orphaned foal was even rarer, but one without a home? It was almost unprecedented. The Ministry of Foal Welfare was a well oiled machine, efficient at dealing with missing and displaced foals. Terra’s parents' passing should have been properly acknowledged, and Terra should have been relocated to a new family. The implications of the contrary happening were concerning at the very least.
Terra’s mannerisms added to that concern. Her overbearing shyness, the speed at which she ate her food, her anxiety at the idea of having to answer questions, her shying away from physical contact, and her apparent financial concerns worried Redheart further. Some of these could just be explained by the situation at hand, but some hinted at something far worse.
What could have really happened? Emotional abuse? Foalnapping? Redheart’s head swirled with the possibilities, but as much as it worried her, she knew that asking Terra for what happened directly wouldn’t have been a good idea. She simply needed more time to recover.
Redheart pulled out a blank piece of paper and began writing a letter to Applejack, informing her that Terra had awoken and she would be allowed to visit. Redheart chose not to share her concerns with Applejack though. That would be something to bring to the attention of the Ministry while sorting out finding Terra a new home.
She then took a moment to do just that, finishing up the letter to Applejack and composing a new one to the Ministry, being sure to include every detail and concern that she had about Terra. She then took both letters and dropped them off in the hospital mailbox, before returning to her duties, her mind still on the mysterious unicorn filly.