//------------------------------//
// Family Troubles 
// Story: A Day in the Life of Tempest 
// by Tempesttheblindpegasus 
//------------------------------//

	Tempest stood outside the Ponyville hospital for a long time, wanting to go in, yet too afraid to enter.  He was afraid that it could be too late; he hadn’t heard from his mother for a few weeks.  He gulped and trotted in place, trying to make his final decision to either go in or go home.  He made up his mind and trotted into the hospital, Flitter deciding to stay outside in a tree for now.

“I am here to visit a Miss Palletta, in room three zero five,” Tempest said as he walked up to the receptionist.

“Close friend or family?” Said the eggshell colored receptionist, her voice nasally like a stereotypical receptionist.  Her blue mane was in a tight bun.

“Family,” Tempest guessed that this was the mare’s first day on the job, since most of the other receptionists knew him and would let him right in.

The receptionist found his name and let him through to go to his mother’s room.  Tempest stepped into the elevator and felt the wall until he found the third floor button.  As the doors closed, he sighed and hoped that it wasn’t too late.  He hoped that his mother was still alive.  She was the only pony left that mattered to him.

The elevator stopped and he stepped out onto the third floor.  He placed his hoof on the wall, knowing that there was a braille directory nearby.  When he found it, he felt around with his hoof to find room 305.  He gulped and headed down the Intensive Care wing of the third floor, pressing his hooves against the numbers of the rooms to help him find the way.