The Night Of A Broken Heart

by WanderingPony

Chapter 13: With A Sweetie On Top

With a final clunk and a rattle of wheels, the Cutie Mark Crusaders achieved the summit of their aspirations.

No, not their cutie marks. The top of the hospital stairs, thanks to Tag-A-Long's generous offer to take that load off their hooves. A pleasant afternoon breeze blew through a window, sending a few sparkling motes of dust down the hallway. Sweetie Belle followed the glittering bits as they floated past a sign:

<--- 200-230 STAIRS 231-265 --->

"We're almost there!", she cried out, prompting a nurse to poke her head out of a nearby door and "Ssssh!" her into something almost resembling quiet. She swiftly shut the door as Scootaloo pushed down the hallway, cutting off the sounds of wheel against tile for whoever else was trying to sleep inside. Fortunately for the health of most of Ponyville, only a few rooms had patients in the summer months, and nearly all of the ones leading to 211 were for therapy sessions.

211's door was open just a crack, and three filly heads only needed to push it a hair more to...to watch Nurse Redheart bopping an inflated rubber hoof-boot at a bed. The occupant's azure hoof batted it back with a giggle, but the rest was just out of sight. Apple Bloom leaned just a little bit further. Sweetie Belle thought she could see more if SHE leaned just a little bit further. Scootaloo, who was on top of both of them KNEW she could see more if she got her head around the corner...and her two friends obliged her by tossing the little pegasus headlong.

The Leaning Tower Of Pony toppled into the room, Applebloom tipping Sweetie flipping Scootaloo to slide across the floor under Redheart's hooves.

"Hi! We're here to see our friend, Chip?", Scootaloo said without missing a beat.

At the name, the bed's occupant leaned over the side to look fearfully at Scootaloo.

"Miss Redheart...are they my friends?", said the frail-looking colt.

Slightly muffled by Sweetie's tail, Apple Bloom piped up. "We was the ones who found him, an' Cloud Kicker said he'd be lonely!"

Sweetie Belle stood up, her tail hairs interrupting Apple Bloom by forcing a sneeze. "And nopony should be lonely! Um...you are all lonely and stuff, right? That looked kinda fun and not-alone..."

"Girls, why are you here without an adult?", Nurse Redheart said as she absorbed the fact that three children had crashed into her patient's room and were beginning to spook him to boot.

"Miss Penny said it was OK cause the mare of the house said so!", Apple Bloom answered with sincerity. That the mare in question was still in remedial math class for fillies, lacking a cutie mark and so young that she could barely spark her own horn was artfully omitted.

"Well, Chip IS nervous around most adults...", thought Redheart. "As long as I'm here, some time with other children will be good for him. It's probably better for the first visit to be with ponies his age."

"Did your mommy and daddy tell you about fostering, girls?", she said.

"Nope!", all three fillies answered. Which was true.

"Sometimes, when we have someone who doesn't feel well at the hospital and can't go to their home, we ask someone else's mommy or daddy to "foster" them. It's....sorta like a really long sleepover, where they can be with someponies who have plenty of love to share while they get better. Chip doesn't have his mommy or daddy here, and he's far away from his home..."

"Really?", said Scootaloo.

"Really,", answered the nurse. "and having ponies that love you is often the best medicine of all, especially when you're little. Somepony who can be mommy and daddy for Chip, as long as he needs them to be." Reaching onto the bed, she gave the little colt a reassuring hug. "If there's anything I know, it's that having someponies to love you is a very, very good cure for all sorts of things!"

"Awww....", Scootaloo said. She was out of this race. "Would havin' big sisters and brothers be good?", questioned Apple Bloom.

"Chip is at that age where it really helps to have other unicorns, dear. But brothers and sisters would be good, too."

"Umm...hey! -I- have a big sister, and I'm a really good little sister, and a mom and a dad and I'm a unicorn!", Sweetie Belle blurted out as she managed to put this two and two together and NOT get four. Rather, it'd be five.

"D-does that mean I don't get to see you anymore?", Chip managed to get out. "I don't want you to go away!" Nurse Redheart delicately pried Chip's hoof from the death grip it'd found in her pink mane and nuzzled the tip of his horn.

"No, honey. You'd see me lots and lots- we visit everypony in home care, and you're my favoritest get-better-buddy. Just because you're not here doesn't mean I don't want to you be best-better or be your friend. Promise!". She thought for a moment. "You know, Bop The Boot is a lot more fun with more players...would you like to play with Chip and me?"

Redheart couldn't have hoped for a more enthusiastic response. The five-pony game sent the puffed-up bit of rubber back and forth between wings and hooves, riding on gusts of giggly filly with occasional colt nickers and mare laughs to bear it back into the air when it wasn't.