//------------------------------//
// Chapter II: Stranded and Confined 
// Story: Distorted Fate 
// by Silvak 
//------------------------------//

	It was a slow day for the clerk mare at the hospital, which, considering that it was the Ponyville Hospital, was a good day for her. Ever since Princess Celestia's student came to Ponyville, all sorts of weird events had started to crop up in the town, including mass panic and the destruction of the town itself. So having one rare day where few ponies were needing medical attention was considered a good day for the mare since it gave her a chance to relax. Unfortunately, that all came to an end when the doors opened as a concerned unicorn mare came inside, carrying a dark purple unicorn filly that was struggling in her magical grasp. Releasing a sigh, the clerk asked, "What medical emergency do you have today, miss?" having assumed that somepony thought that they received some horrible injury or some long forgotten disease.

"Somepony found this filly all by herself, but when she went to ask her where's her parents, she instead started talking in an unknown tongue! We tried to call out for anypony that lost their filly, but no pony said she was theirs. She must have some horrible disease and her parents abandoned her for it!" the unicorn exclaimed.

Despite the unicorn's panic, the clerk knew better than to assume the worst as she asked, "So, how come you're holding the filly with your magic?"

"Well, some of us try to tell the filly to come with us so we could take her to the hospital for treatment, but she refused to follow anypony. So I... volunteered to take the filly here with my magic."

"And you came alone because no pony wanted to catch whatever the filly has, correct?" the clerk questioned, to which the unicorn gave a quick nod. Looking at the filly, who was glaring at the unicorn that was holding her, the clerk asked, "Hello there little one. Can you look at me please?"  The filly, though she had her ears turned in the direction of the clerk, kept her glare on the unicorn. Suspicion arose in the clerk's mind as she prodded the filly's shoulder, which finally got her attention as she turned her head towards the clerk. "Are you okay. little one?  Are you feeling sick?" the clerk asked.

In response, the filly just spoke in some foreign language that the clerk couldn't understand. Her suspicions growing, the clerk carefully asked, "If you understand me, can you please nod?" The filly just stared at her as she released a sigh, not even giving a reply this time. Turning to the unicorn, the clerk said, "I don't think this filly is sick, though I would call for a nurse to give her a check-up. I think it's more likely that she just speaks a foreign language, and that she and her family just moved here recently. So could you please release the filly and drop by the town hall to inform them of the filly's description so that they can locate her parents?" Giving the clerk a nod, the unicorn gently put the filly down, releasing her before making her leave while the filly shook a forehoof at the departing unicorn in frustration. Pressing the intercom button, the clerk called for Nurse Redheart to come to the front desk, all the while keeping an eye on the filly so she didn't dash out the front doors.





Damn horned creature. Isn't there some law in this world that prohibits people from grabbing others and dragging them wherever against their will? I thought to myself as I shook my hoof at the unicorn, thinking of the things I would do to it if I was in my original body. Hearing the other creature speaking, I turned my head towards the other creature, observing it as it first pointed at me with a hoof, before pointing at the ground. After watching it do the action several more times, I finally got the meaning that it wanted me to stay still, to which I replied with a nod as I figured that if I refused to comply, I might get mobbed by these creatures all over again. Seeing the creature smile, I turned my attention away from it to observe my surroundings. Seeing the seating arrangement, the clean white walls and the desk where the creature was sitting, I judged that this was some sort of lobby, but what the lobby was for I couldn't ascertain until a pair of doors near the desk opened, revealing another creature bearing a white coat and a pink mane done in a bun style, wearing a hat with a red cross as it came out.  

Upon the sight of the red cross, I gulped as I realized that if this world had some symbols that are still universal to other dimensions, then the place I am at is some kind of medical facility. Seeing the two creatures discuss something among themselves in their own language, I nervously hoped that I wasn't here to be dissected or studied. Then the medical creature gave a nod to the one at the desk before turning to me as it did a motion with its foreleg, which appeared to mean that it wanted me to follow. Taking a deep breath, I stood up, and began to walk towards the creature as I inwardly hoped that my fears didn't come to pass. The creature led me down a hallway before leading to me a room with a bed in it. It approached the bed, tapping a forehoof on it before pointing the hoof at me. Nodding that I understood its meaning, I approached the bed, which unfortunately, was as high as I was tall. Planting my forehooves on the bed, I struggled to try to climb it for a while before feeling a presence on my rear that pushed me onto the bed. Turning my head around in alarm, I saw that the creature actually used its head to help push me onto to the bed, causing me to shiver at how much these creatures used their heads for in this world.  

Hearing the sound of hooves clopping on the ground, I turned my head towards the doorway to see a horned creature coming in, but it bore features that differed from the other creatures I have seen so far, as its body was built in a more muscular fashion, its own muzzle much larger and protruding farther than the other creature in the room. Basing off the physical difference, I judged that the males and the females of this species carried visible physical differences from each other. However, that raised the question of why I observed seeing so many female creatures and only spotted a male right then.

Suddenly, I saw an aura surround me, one that matched the aura the male's horn, but instead of being lifted off the bed, I felt an odd sensation around my body. Tensing, I waited for something to happen, until the aura disappeared with the male turning to speak to the female. Tilting my head in confusion, I only watched as the male walked out of the room as the female turned to me, pointing a hoof at me before pointing at the bed, repeating the action until I nodded in understanding that it wanted me to remain where I was. Satisfied with the answer, the female gave me a smile before leaving the room, closing the door behind itself.





Having been told by the doctor that scans revealed that the unicorn filly is perfectly fit, Nurse Redheart went on to write down a medical report on the filly's health, and was about to finish it when the intercom called out for her to come to the front desk again. Arriving there, she saw a pony with a camera that had just come by from the town hall after being told about the filly's presence. As the files on all resident foals were checked and there was no record of a dark purple unicorn filly. Judging that this filly must have gotten lost from her family during some trip, they planned to send out the word about the filly to other towns and cities in hopes of finding her parents or closest of kin, and the pony was here to take a photograph for identification purposes.

Leading the pony to the room where the filly was currently waiting, Nurse Redheart opened the door to find that the filly hadn't move off the bed at all nor had anything in the room been tampered with, even though she had expected that the filly would do something out of boredom instead of sitting on the bed, blankly staring at the wall before turning her attention towards the two. The filly didn't even take any action as the pony took a picture of her, only blinking from the flash before shaking her head to clear it. As the pony left to return to the town hall after informing that they will be contacting all possible foster parents if they are available to look after a lost filly until her family is found, Nurse Redheart decided that the filly needed a meal in the meantime. After making a quick trip to the cafeteria, she returned with a tray that had a glass of apple juice, a bowl of oatmeal, and a cookie that she decided the filly deserved for her good behavior.





Upon the white coated female's second return, I spotted her carrying a tray, which, by the scent that it was giving off, was filled with food.  After watching her maneuver the tray onto the bed, I saw her point a hoof at the tray before pointing it at my mouth. Inwardly sighing that even a child would know that the food was being given to them, I gave the female a smile that it returned with one of its own before turning to leave the room. Turning my attention to the food, I saw a glass that was holding some fluid, a bowl full of some kind of mashed material, and some brown circular object. Shrugging to myself that they wouldn't poison me since there were far easier means to get rid of me if they had ill intentions, I decided to try the brown food item first, to which I found to be delicious. After taking my time as I eat it in order to enjoy its taste, I then turned my attention to the bowl, spotting a spoon next to it, taunting me at my lack of hands and my inability to use that levitation ability that the other horned creatures possessed. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I simply dipped my muzzle into the bowl, noting that its taste was bland compared to the brown food object.

Finishing up the last food item, I moved onto the glass, which I was forced to place both my hooves around as I put my muzzle on the open edge before tilting it, sipping the fluid that I found to be sweet. I managed to drink half of it before being forced to lift it with both my hooves underneath it, which barely worked but ended causing the liquid to spill all over my face as I tried to drink the rest of it. Carefully putting the glass down, I spotted a napkin,which I gladly used to clean my muzzle by rubbing it against it while one hoof was on top to hold it still, all the while glad that this world had napkins and remembering other places that didn't have any values on hygiene at all. Finishing up, I simply pushed the tray onto the end of the bed before returning to my original spot to stare at a blank wall and await whatever plans these creatures had for me.

Hours passed as I continued my staring contest with the wall, interrupted once by the white coated female returning to retrieve the tray before patting my head for what I believed was behaving nicely, hopefully. I for one was hoping that this world’s culture was similar to most others that I had visited, and didn't bear any strange customs like a pat on the head foretelling an inevitable doom. Finally, the door opened again as I turned my head to view whoever was entering the room, only to spot some blur suddenly racing towards me. I didn't even have the time to react as the blur reached the bed, before a pink head with those giant eyes this species had stared at me with its blue irises and dark pupils.

I was so startled by the being’s approach that I couldn't even flinch. Only my eyes moved, inspecting the creature just enough to find that this one was yet another female a pink coat, a fluffy wild pink mane, and no horn or wings. As I wondered why a creature that was so pink would naturally exist, I noticed that the female was baring a peculiarly odd smile on its face, one that was spread unnaturally wide. Sadly, I was broken out of my stupor as the creature opened its mouth, from which I ended up being tormented by flood of words that I couldn't understand at an unbelievably fast pace that no creature should naturally be capable of. All the while, the pink female kept its bizarre smile as it chattered on. As I took on the barrage of words from the female, I thought to myself that I was earlier thinking that things might turn out alright for me after being treated with care and given food by the white coated female, only for reality to tell me otherwise by bringing this pink menace to me.