//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Three Steps Down // by Rusty Bascule //------------------------------// He awoke to the sound of the curtains being drawn and the subsequent sunlight flooding the room. "Good morning, I'm glad you could rejoin us. I am nurse Rhyme. Please just relax and I shall fetch for you something for breakfast and I'll check if your doctor is available." The nurse then left the room leaving him to his thoughts. He remembered yesterday, not being able to remember who he was before he passed out. This morning, seeing the grey with red hair equine in blue scrubs nurse didn't shock him as much as it did, yesterday. He looked at his own hooves and the blue-ish fur that he appeared to have: The color seemed wrong but he could not remember why it would be wrong. He looked around the room and it definitely said "hospital" to him, although he could not recall ever having been in a hospital before. His only memories that he could recall was that short bit of consciousness from the day before. "A light breakfast of yoghurt and apple slices," Nurse Rhyme announced. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice her reenter the room and set down the tray. "Doctor Horse will be seeing you in about an hour." Nurse Rhyme fussed around the room for a bit before leaving while he inspected his breakfast. There was an ordinary spoon on the tray with his breakfast and as he poked it with a hoof. No fingers or thumb; how am I supposed to eat with a spoon. I could grab the spoon with my mouth but that's not going to work for getting the food in my mouth. What do fingers look like? Trying to pick up the spoon using his hooves wasn't particularly successful and eventually, after his stomach rumbled and reminded him that he was actually hungry, he gave up and simply ate directly out of the bowl of yoghurt. "You know, we do provide you with a spoon." He stopped, looking up at the source of the statement, seeing a new ... pony standing at the doorway to the room. It was a unicorn with a light brown fur coat and brown mane. "Err ... I couldn't figure out how to use the spoon." He replied, weakly. "Fascinating. An unicorn with no sigil who does not know how to pick up a spoon. I take it that you still cannot remember your name?" He shook his head, sadly before exclaiming, "I am a unicorn?" "Yes, indeed you are. And I am Doctor Horse and I deal with the more ... interesting cases around here and unfortunately, you are the most interesting case in this building." "This building?" he asked, confused. "Yes, it is a hospital which is a building full of sick ponies but that's not important right now." Doctor Horse muttered as he made a few notes on a clipboard. His patient stared, amazed, at the floating clipboard and quill; his mouth open, yoghurt drying on his fur. Doctor House noticed that his patient was staring at his simple magic and made further notes. "Hmmm... A unicorn who seems to have forgotten magic and is unaware that he is a unicorn." Snapping out of his stupor, the patient managed to wipe most of the drying yoghurt off his face using the bed linens. "Okay. I am doctor of your physical ailments and we will get you back on your hooves and out of here. Of your mental faculties, I honestly cannot help you but do not worry, there are other doctors here who can deal with you, if you're cuckoo or otherwise. Meanwhile, let us see how you're doing with the basics, such as standing on your own hooves." Said Doctor Horse before yelling down into the hallway, "Nurse?" A white pony in nurse scrubs entered soon after and the doctor asked her to help his patient out of bed. Still unsure what to call himself, the patient eased himself out of the bed with help of the nurse. Soon he was on all four hooves, standing beside the bed and taking careful steps forwards. Except for a few aches he had, it felt good to be standing by himself, without a walker. What's a walker? Nevermind... Soon, he was comfortable moving around the room and was allowed to walk the length of the hallway and back before being guided back to the bed. "That's good, you seem physically okay except for a few bruises. We only need to deal with your magic. I have some time this afternoon; I shall see you at 3pm and we will try practicing your magic." The doctor abruptly wandered off leaving the nurse behind. "Oh, by the way, I am Nurse Redheart. Is there anything else I can get for you?" With nothing else to do, he asked the first thing which came to his mind: "Um... Are there any books I can read?" "The library cart will be bought around this afternoon," Nurse Redheart said, as she left the room. Perhaps I shall have a nap before lunchtime.