Infernal Struggles
The monotone buzzing seemed to match the wavelength of frustration in Whooves head. His head swam with snippets of accusations and chiding calls. One voice in particular rang the clearest.
'I was right all along Whoovsie; you are nothing more than a sack of rubbish...'
'Oh bollocks...'
Whooves rubbed his temples in frustration at his new company. Ever since the Elements of Harmony had their face off with Discord, Whooves has had a quite troubling matter. He could shake his Discording self, or rather, the voice of it. Everything Whooves did was silently mocked and castigated by himself, so to speak.
'I am really not in the mood right now,' Whooves said mentally.
'Oh, your never in the mood for me, Whoovsie. It's really quite a shame' the voice mock whined.
'I said can it.'
'Maybe now that your precious daughter is out of the picture, we can get better acquainted. Whatdya say?'
"I.SAID. STUFF IT!" Whooves yelled. The voice sighed.
'Fine...'
"Um, Whooves, honey? Is now really the time for outbursts?" Whooves looked down at the company next to him, who were looking at him as if he had just insulted the Princesses mane. He quickly took his seat, and returned back to the more pressing conversation. The doctor shifted in his seat to get a more comfortable position before continuing.
"Firstly, I want to say that I commend you for getting her in before the condition became worse. Fortunately, we were able to reduce the swelling from the hemmmorage that had started in her brain, but thats where the good news kinda ends."
Whooves looked at the doctor expectantly.
"With this kind of condition, we have no real clear indication of how much damage has done, but we do know that it might have been extensive. All we can do now is wait and hope that she wakes to determine."
The two relaxed in their chairs for a moment while the doctor got up and left. It wasn't much to go on, but it was a relief that she was stable and not in immediate harm. It had been quite a few hours since they had arrived at the hospital, and Whooves heard Derpy yawn.
"Drepy, are you tired?"Whooves asked.
"Yeah, i'm not used to late nights like this, plus I had an early shift today. What about you?"Derpy responded.
"Yeah."
"Well, go home and get some rest. We both don't need to be here right now."
"We Timelords are notorious for not needing sleep."
"Well, that's no excuse. You're an equestrian now so you dont get a pass this time."
"Well, then I'm playing the I'm your superior card."
"In that case I'm your wife, remember. You go home and rest."
Nurse Redheart came in to the lobby and looked at them both.
"We have a Pegasus on standby to come get you when Dinky wakes up, if you both want to go." Redheart exclaimed.
They looked at each other and sighed.
"I guess that was pointless..."Whooves finally said.
"Yeah."derpy sighed again.
"Alright, let's go..."
~~~~
Three long weeks passed listlessly while Derpy and Whooves waited for Dinky to wake. Their front porch was covered in flowers and letters from concerned classmates and friends of Derpy's. Whooves had the task of collecting the mountain of flowers daily so that they could be properly taken care of, but after a week of Roseluck's work finding its way to their doorstep, the two decided that it was best to just take them to the hospital to be given to Dinky personally.
Dinky herself was showing considerable improvement. Her bandaging from her surgery was removed and the stitches were slowly starting to heal. She was even unconsciously responding to whooves voice, her expression softening when his voice entered her mind. At least that's what Whooves hoped was happening.
Everyday Whooves read to Dinky. He had become Twilight's newest and best guest as of late, and the two of them shared quite a few conversations in his time searching for books. Most of the conversation were about Twilight's childhood and how she wasn't always such a studious filly. As mundane as the conversations were, Whooves found them quite engaging, He never knew that a foal's magic was unpredictable, nor did he know that those same fillies had a tendency to want to change their parents into lawn ornaments whether they wanted it or not. All in all, twilight was a veritable well of knowledge as should be the case, coming from Celestia's number one pupil.
Derpy on the other hoof wasn't taking the time without her daughter so well. Her work didn't seem as fun, home felt to lonely to be in, and even her favorite blueberry chocolate chip muffins had lost there flavor. She usually filled her day by floating around town after the hospital visiting hours.
It had been awhile since Derpy just walked through town instead of flying across like she normally did. Alot of familiar landmarks that she had on her routes seemed bigger and more full of life. She had even found a new diner that served free muffins and tea in the evenings. She reminded herself to take Dinky and Whooves there whenever Dinky was released. She usually ended her trips at the Library, where Whooves and her would depart home for the evening.
~~~
A loud knocking sounded through the house late one morning. Whooves had slept in because he had stayed up ;ate reading a checkout from the library. He trudged slowly down the stairs, the knocking becoming louder and more rapid with each step. When Whooves opened the door, he was greeted to the feeling of forhooves bashing his snout. Whooves recoiled at the sudden action and clenched his eyes shut.
When he opened them, he saw that a Pegasus had been the source of the nostril discomfort. A very specific Pegasus, to be exact. Whooves brightened up when he saw the Colt, but he locked up when he didn't see Derpy.
"Did you already get my wife?" Whooves asked anxiously.
"Yes yes, now can we get moving?" The colt was bouncing from side to side.
"Of course, Allons-y!"
"Allen sea? Who's that, someone else I need to get?"
"No, sorry. It means 'let's go'."
The Pegasus stared at him for another moment before he flew off in the direction of the hospital with Whooves trailing close behind.
~~~~
Whooves barreled around another corner and stopped just short of Dinky's hospital room. He took a few moments to catch his breath before entering. he slowly walked into the room and looked over at Derpy. Derpy was holding Dinky's hoof and silently whispering into her ear. Whooves moved over to the Doctor, who was checking her vitals again.
"Is she waking, Doctor?"
The doctor turned his and grinned gently.
"She has taken a little longer than I anticipated, but she should be up any minute."
Dr.Whooves became visibly more relaxed at this. He looked over at Derpy.
"How are you feeling Derpy?"
"Like someone just took a ten ton off my wings..."
Derpy grinned weakly at Whooves. She had tear streaks visible on her cheeks and Whooves took notice. He walked over to Derpy and wiped a fresh tear off.
"I'm so happy, Whooves." Derpy said softly.
"I know dear. I am too."
Whooves looked down at Dinky and brushed a lock of her mane from her eyes. As if that was the que in some cosmic play, Dinky began too stir. Whooves breath caught in his throat. Slowly, she began to open her eyes and weakly scan the room. After a few choked sobs from Derpy, Dinky finally spoke.
"P-papa..."
Whooves grabbed Dinkys arm and lifted it closer to him.
"Yes, I'm right here Dinky. How do you feel?"
She paused for a moment and plinked her eyes slowly.
"I feel fine I guees. Just a little tired...Why?"
"I'm surprised you feel tired Dinky," Derpy said, grinning widely, "You've been asleep for over three weeks!"
Dinky stared blankly at Derpy, as though she didn't get the joke. The room felt tense.
"I there something wrong Dinky?" Whooves asked.
After a moments more silence she spoke.
"...Yeah Daddy, Who's that?" Dinky pointed her hoof at the pony.
Right at her mother...
TO BE CONTINUED