Nurse Redheart And I
“Oh my…” Redheart said quietly as she looked into my mouth. I gave her a concerned look as she asked me, “Do you eat meat, Asher?”
“Um, yes… I mean, sometimes,” I answered honestly, almost whispering. I watched her cringe at my answer, and couldn’t help but add, “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, you don’t- you don’t… need to be sorry…” she got out as she continued to look around my mouth. “It’s just, uh, most ponies…”
“They don’t eat meat,” I finished for her. “I know.”
“Not that they can’t eat meat,” she said quickly. “It’s just, um… eating meat is, uh… well…” I must have looked upset because she tried to change the subject. “Why don’t we move on?” she offered. “Miss Cheerilee said that you’re having trouble walking. Is that true?”
“A little bit, yes.”
“Well let’s have a look at your legs and hooves then,” she said as she bent down to feel them with her own hooves. “Does anything hurt?” she asked as she looked them over.
“No.”
“What if I bend them like this? Does this hurt?” I shook my head, and immediately regretted it as she continued, “I want you to try and grip my hooves as hard as you can, okay?”
“Okay…”
She placed her hooves on top of mine, and I tried to do… something. I didn’t know what. But even as I tried, I could tell nothing was happening from the look she was giving me.
“Are you having trouble, sweetie?” she asked.
I ignored my discomfort at the word ‘sweetie’ as I responded, “I don’t know how to do it.”
Her look of concern changed to one of shock. “You can’t use your hooves?” she asked, surprised.
“I don’t know. I mean, I was able to pick something up yesterday, a fork, but once I noticed I was doing it, it fell.”
“That’s… that’s strange. How long have you been having trouble holding things?”
I felt myself blush at her question as I quietly answered, “Since I became a pony.”
“When you became a pony?” she asked curiously as she raised an eyebrow while continuing to examine me, matching the quietness of my voice. “Were you not a pony before?”
“No,” I managed to say with a sigh. "I shouldn't be one now."
“You said before that you weren’t a pony,” she started as she stopped what she was doing to look me in the eye. “Can I ask when you became one?”
“Yesterday morning…”
“I see…” she trailed off. “Can I ask what happened when you became a pony?”
“Well, I… I don’t really remember. I do remember waking up on the ground, and then I was a pony.”
“That must’ve been very scary for you.”
“It was terrifying,” I admitted. “It’s making me nervous now.”
"You don’t need to be scared of us,” she tried to tell me as she put a hoof on my shoulder. “I promise we won’t hurt you here.”
Once again, I could tell what route this conversation was taking and what conclusions she was drawing from this, and wanted to put a stop to it immediately.
“I just- I want to make sure you aren’t getting the wrong idea,” I told her. “I wasn’t, like, sexually abused or anything. I really wasn’t physically a pony before yesterday.”
“I understand,” she responded in a manner that was supposed to be reassuring, but only told me she didn’t believe me. “In any case,” she continued as she quickly got out a stethoscope, “why don’t we keep going? Can you sit up and breathe in deep for me?”
I followed her instructions and took deep breaths so she could listen to my lungs. While breathing didn’t make me feel better about the situation I was in, it did help me relax a little bit more. It was just a little bit, but it was certainly better than nothing.
“Your lungs sound fine. Now I’m going to listen to your tummy here and make sure it sounds good, too. If you could lay back down, please?”
“Okay,” I managed to say with a little less of the nervousness I spoke with before. As she listened, she tried to engage me somewhat.
“Do you like it in Ponyville so far?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s nice,” I answered simply.
“That’s good. Have you made any friends yet?”
For some reason, I felt embarrassed, and blushed as I answered her. “I think so, um… Scootaloo. Oh, and Sweetie Belle.”
“Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, huh? I know both of those fillies. Has Scootaloo showed you any of her tricks yet?”
“Tricks?”
“Yeah. Scootaloo is really good with that scooter of hers. You should ask her to show you some of her tricks later.” She paused for a second after that, then continued, “Okay, Asher, I’m just going to take a quick look to make sure everything looks alright down there, okay?”
“Okay…”
Even as I tried to stay relaxed, I couldn’t help but tense up as she examined me. This whole situation was just absolutely killing me. Even as I tried to ignore it right then, I couldn’t get it out of my head that I wasn’t supposed to be there, I wasn’t supposed to be a pony, and I certainly wasn’t supposed to be a girl.
“Lord,” I thought as I clenched my jaw, “I ask for your strength and your guidance in these moments. Let me have the courage to face this situation and faith in whatever your will is. Please let me… I don’t know. Let me… let me... I don’t know.”
“Just relax for me, sweetie.”
"Oh, Lord, why is this happening to me?"
It was hard to get relaxed again, especially with her calling me sweetie. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t help but start to breathe faster. It wasn’t her examining me that was getting to me, it was what she was examining. I wasn’t supposed to be a girl. I wasn’t supposed to be a child. I wasn’t supposed to be a pony. I wasn’t supposed to be… here!
I closed my eyes. I knew that being nervous and panicky wasn’t going to help me change anything, but even if I wasn’t nervous, I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do. I had no idea how to change anything. I was stuck in this… animal’s body, and all I could do was go along with it. It was impossible to force the fact out of my head because I was living it every second, and it was absolutely killing me.
Asher couldn’t help but start to sniffle again. She knew how Nurse Redheart would view her tears at that exact moment, and tried to stop herself from getting teary eyed, but couldn’t. Everything about her current predicament was getting to her, and she was lucky that she hadn't simply broken down completely in the past day of being in Ponyville.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Nurse Redheart said, the filly suddenly feeling her hoof in her mane. “It’s okay. I promise I won’t hurt you. Nopony is going to hurt you…”
“I… oh, I can’t do this…” Asher got out.
“You’re okay,” the nurse continued, gently stroking her mane. “Nopony will hurt you. It’s okay.”
“It’s not going to be okay!” she got out. “I’m not supposed to be here! I’m not supposed to be a pony! I’m a human being! Not this… ugh!” She put her hooves on her eyes and started to breathe faster, trying to keep herself from crying. She hated the frustration and anxiety and fear that she felt, and hated that, as far as she knew so far, those feelings would last forever.
“God, why is this happening to me?” she asked aloud, breathless.
“It’s going to be okay,” the nurse started again in a comforting way, her voice both quiet and firm. "You don't need to be scared."
"I- I c-can't help it…"
“Just calm down and tell me what’s wrong, okay? It's going to be alright.”
“I’m trying,” she sniffled out. “I’m trying to stay calm. I r-really am. It’s just- it’s hard. I’ve never been so terrified in my whole life...”
“You don’t have to be scared. It’s going to be okay. Just take some deep breaths and tell me what’s going on, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”
There was a pause as the filly took a few moments to breathe, then she said, “I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be an adult human male, not this… horse girl!” Asher hiccuped as she finished, choking back tears and forcing herself not to cry.
“Can you tell me what you mean?” RedHeart asked kindly.
“I mean I’m not a girl!” she answered, exasperated. “I’m supposed to be a boy, I’m supposed to be a human, and I’m supposed to be an adult!”
Redheart squinted at her, trying to process what she said. “Um… how long have you… felt like that?” she asked carefully.
“The last day,” she sniffed out bitterly, breathing slowly to stay calm. “Since I got here.”
“The last day? Can you tell me a little about where you’re from?” The nurse was trying to distract her from being upset, and it seemed to be working from what she could tell. Not only that, but she was also curious to see exactly what Asher would say about her life, seeing as she already claimed not to be a filly.
She gave another sniffle as she calmed down a little bit more, quietly answering, “I'm from Delaware…”
“Delamare? What’s it like there?”
“It’s small and flat and by the ocean…” She swallowed, continuing, “There’s not that many people there, and I live in a city called Wilmington…”
“That sounds like a very nice place. How long have you lived there?”
“Since I was four. Me and- my parents and I lived with my great grandparents until I was ten. I’m going to move out after I finish my degree this year. I mean, I was...” She hiccuped at the end of her sentence, working to keep herself calm.
“Can I ask what your parents do?”
“My mom is unemployed, and my dad is a mechanic.”
Despite her interest in the filly’s mother being unemployed, the nurse asked the obvious question. “Your dad's a mechanic? What kinds of things does your dad fix?”
“Cars,” she answered, which prompted a weird expression and raised eyebrow from Redheart. “They- they’re machines that can go places really fast. Um, I- I guess it’s like a scooter, but faster. Um, and you need a license to drive them”
“That’s interesting. Do ponies use ‘cars’ to get around often?”
“Yes, but, um, not ponies. There aren’t any ponies where I’m from.”
“Are you the only pony where you live?”
“I- well, I’m not a pony either…”
“I see…”
Asher sighed, rubbing her eyes. “You don’t believe me,” she spoke quietly.
“I didn’t-”
“I know you don’t believe me,” she interrupted. She hiccuped again, took a few slow breaths, then continued, “I know you don’t believe me because I wouldn’t believe me. You didn’t believe me earlier about my age, so I don’t see why you would believe me now…”
She stared at her hooves and sniffed as Redheart stared at her. The mare was trying to piece together what the words she was saying meant. They didn’t really make any sense, but then again, she did hit her head, and might have had a concussion. Of course, it could also have been some sort of mental health issue, but it didn’t really seem like that was the case, and if it was, the nurse really didn’t want to get tied in to that sort of thing. Honestly, if she had to guess, she’d say she was lying about all this and was a runaway foal.
“Hmmm… there’s an idea,” Redheart thought. “A runaway foal… maybe attention seeking behavior? Hmmmm…”
“I just... I really don't want to be here...” Asher whispered sadly.
“I understand,” Redheart replied sympathetically, already thinking about how she would hand her back to Cheerilee in a little while. “We’ll do everything we can to get you home. It’s going to be okay.”
“If you say so…" the filly whispered, already starting to believe it wasn't possible.
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Soooooo close
Always intresting to see them drawing the wrong conclusions and I can only wonder how much it will backfire this time.
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Now the question comes down to -- can "she" give any provable information that ponykind hasn't come up with yet. She talked about cars. How well does she know them? Most people don't know enough about much to be able to get there from scratch. I mean there is mathematics that one shouldn't be able to know -- do some calculus? It isn't enough of course to be beyond pony though. I mean I have a computer science and math degree. I got them about 30 years ago. Doesn't mean I could advance computers a ton -- I mean how much about x-ray lithography and such does one know? I mean I might be able to solve some math problem somewhere. I know enough general science and such that I could probably reveal things they didn't know, but proving them is another ball of wax. She has medical knowledge as a nurse. Maybe she knows the chemical composition of some things that could be used as medicines.
At any rate Calculus would be a decent starting point -- NO filly should know that.
Transformation magic and interdimensional travel is canon in original show. They could at least attempt to take Asher's claims at face value.
Stop me if I've told you this before, but...
I think that's as close to Acceptsnce as Asher is gonna get, for now.
Nnnnope. Back to Depression.
10428024
If Ashley shows knowledge of the inner workings of really advanced, unknown inventions, they just might be convinced about her being from another world. However, calculus skills would more likely make ponies think she's a genius. Assuming that she somehow de-aged would still be an idea from a tinfoil hat.
---
I'm not too sure of Redheart's reaction to meat eating. Is it really that taboo when griffins eat meat (or do they)? I suppose seeing some meat pieces in a filly's mouth can be off-putting though...
grabs my popcorn
Well we're in for the long haul on this fic! Look forward to seeing more soon.
Are we sure he was a man? I've met more manly girly men.
Story not going anywhere seems fine; as a foal/child it is normal for them to be treated like stupid pets. I have so many 'fond' memories of such behavior in my own childhood. Then they wonder why I never trust them. Redheart has no respect.
10428082
There's one big issue with that though. This takes place in pre-season 1 Ponyville. The stuff Rarity does is probably the fanciest magic they've seen so far. Twilight hasn't come to town yet with all her fancy magic. Also, we don't know if EqG is canon in this story. Even if it is, it's still locked away in Canterlot.
Well he was in college. Demonstration of knowledge beyond her apparent age should tell them something more than "she's a runaway". He just needs to focus and overcome the panic spiral. The sooner he can escape the self-destructing feedback loop the sooner they'll be able to start being more useful to him.
Of course, the examination probably smashed that stress tolerance so we'll have to wait for a while...
Keep going! ;)
10428082
Concerning the kind of field she's in, the magic she'd see would be medical, and that only tells so much(magic does have many applications, and she would've probably have come across some varying fields in magic, but it kinds of feels like this would have a similar parallel to technology, there's a lot of things it can do, though unless you're in the field, you'll only know the basics/general idea).
It defintely makes sense to somewhat think it plausible, but when concerning something serious as state of mind, it's better to take what is known and can be predicted through facts/truths.
10428024
10432133
We are going to want to keep in mind that Asher isn't a nurse, and said that she was getting a degree in Business
10429526
For how he acts, I don't think he ever truly believed it was a dream. He never took any real risks to go out and enjoy this zany dream he was having or even walk fast. His attitude is really just a reflection of him being scared shitless and barely holding it together for an entire day. What would be a more manly reaction? Lashing out in anger at everyone around him? That isn't the Christian way.
10440710
It might not be the christian way but that has never stopped christians; they are still human you know...
"Should he have been lashing out in anger?"
Possibly. More manly? Sure (if toxic). but i would expect it more because we don't know if his body was changed or his mind was moved. A sudden (and sharp given complete gender change) change in hormones would result in spontaneous mood swings, lashing out in anger, crying no matter what you were feeling.
"Suck it up. Be responsible. Take it like a man."
Even going catatonic would be better (retreating into his mind would at least show some more initiative than what we see)
10440850
I see his actions as being the most logical course of action for self-preservation. Head down not making waves while trying to figure out this new world. He got sad instead of angry or scared when he became a girl, sure. And he didn't demand that God (who from his perspective, definitely did this or allowed this to happen) change him back. But what could he realistically do against God?
The way he kind of accepts everything without a fight is boring. But I don't like the idea that a man has to fight to keep his man card, even when there is literally nothing to fight, (except a couple of mean eight-year-old female talking horses.)
At the very least can we agree that Ashley's manner of accepting his circumstances is technically more manly then giving into despair to the point of becoming catatonic?
10440893
If that is the only way to be catatonic? Yep.
Sometimes the brain just needs a hard reset to deal with trama. I don't think despair is the only way.
Twice, I have read a fic with Redheart taking care of a filly, and both time, she ruled it as attention-seeking behavior. I know it's the one that makes the most sense, but there's always the audacity fallacy. Ever thought of that?
Isn't it weird how ponies almost always think you're mentally unstable after hearing your "I'm not a pony, something happened to me" speech?
I mean, in a world where magic is so common there are plenty of other explanations. There are diseases that turn ponies into trees, spells that turn frogs into oranges, herbs that can pull mean magical jokes and so on. Being turned into a pony seems well within realm of possibilities.
I'm not saying it's problematic here. I'm just pointing that there's this trend going on.
10513891
I mean if you were a medical employee and a child who was confirmed to have fallen on their head told you they weren’t a human being, but in fact a pony.
Would you believe that?
*Your
10513891
Let's bear in mind that that first example involved one of countless "unnatural" aspects of an enigmatic forest, and the other two involve the ruler's protege. Neither of which Redheart should be familiar with.