Human meet Pony
“Tick!!”
“Tick!!”
“Tick!!”
“Tick!!”
The sound of a clock was the first thing to reach his ears as he slowly came to. “Mmmm,” He hummed as he started to open his eyes. ‘Where-where am I?’ he thought as his eyes opened, and he saw his surroundings.
He appeared to be in a hospital room of some sort. It had a pear green ceiling with lighter green swirls scattered on it, with a yellow domed light sitting in the middle. The walls were a sapphire or French blue color, with darker blue swirls on them. A large window sat in the wall on his right, with nepeta green curtains on either side. The floor was made of dark and light tan tiles, and a tall yellow door sat in the wall on his left, with another door sitting across from the bed. Said bed was made out of yellowish brown wood and had yellowish white sheets and pillows on it, with a pinkish purple blanket covering his body.
‘Why am I in a hospital?’ He thought with confusion as he continued to look at his surroundings. ‘And why is everything short?’ He continued, noticing that the nightstand next to the bed was shorter than one’s he’d seen before, and the oddly-shaped emergency oxygen mask hanging from the wall was about three to four feet above the ground. And right above the headboard was a few more pieces of medical equipment, while a large curtain hung from the ceiling around the bed, pushed to one side. ‘Am I in the children’s ward?’
Then he heard what sounded like footsteps approaching from beyond the door, except they sounded odd. They kinda sounded like hooves, which was really weird considering equines, generally speaking, were not allowed in hospitals from what he knew. ‘What in the world?’ He thought with even more confusion as the sound got closer and closer, before the door swung open.
And what stepped into the room made his eyes widen as big as saucers.
Stepping through the doorway was a horse.
A genuine, flesh and blood horse!!
And it looked a bit odd.
First off, it looked a bit on the small/short side. It had a light gray, almost white, coat of fur covering its entire body, and its mane and tail, which reached to just above its fetlocks, were a gentle light amarinthish gray. Its hooves matched the coat of fur it had exactly. It had its mane done up in a bun on the back of its head, which had a white nurses cap on top between its ears. On the front of the cap was a white cross with a red outline, a red heart in the middle of it and in each corner of the cross. The same symbol could be seen on its right flank. Its head was a bit different than that of a normal horse, with it being a bit rounder and having a shorter muzzle. The head was larger in the back, as if the horse had a bigger brain like a human. The eyes were larger than that of a typical horse as well, with them being a bit more forward set.
‘What the fuck did the owner do to their horse?!’ He thought with shock. ‘Why dye its hair pink and why tattoo their flank with that weird symbol?!! And why is its head a bit weirdly shaped?’
As he stared at the horse, it turned to look at him, showing its large and expressive eyes were a brilliant sapphire blue and had long eyelashes. A bit of mane stuck out over its head a bit as bangs that were swept a bit to the left side. Its eyes widened a bit upon seeing him, before a smile appeared on its face.
‘What the hell?!! How is it smiling?!!’ He thought with more shock running through him. ‘Horses can’t smile like humans!!’
And then what happened next made him forget everything else.
“Oh good!! You’re awake!!” The horse said in a female voice that sounded rather friendly and had a somewhat high pitch to it, like that of a friendly nurse in a tv show. “How are you feeling dear?” She asked him as she walked over, her hooves gently “Clip-clop”ing on the floor.
He continued to stare at her, his eyes as wide as dinner plates, while his mind, which was currently trying to piece together what in the fuck was going on, failed to make his mouth move.
‘Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck?!!!’ His mind screamed as he stared at the horse, who tilted her head to the side as she looked at him.
“Can I get you anything?” She asked. “Maybe some water?”
Upon hearing the word “water,” he realized that his mouth and throat did indeed feel a little dry, and so he slowwwwly nodded.
“Good. I’ll be right back,” She replied with a warm smile, before she turned around and started to trot off, her tail slowly swaying behind her as she went, and also revealing that the weird symbol was also on her left flank.
As she left the room, the door swung shut behind her, and the sound of the door closing snapped his mind’s control of his mouth back into place. “What. The. Fuck?!!” He whispered as he stared at the door with shock and confusion. “Did I just see and hear a horse talk?!!” 'Am I going insane??!! Am I dreaming?!!’ He thought, before he bit his tongue hard and closed his eyes. ‘Oww!!’ He thought as pain blossomed in his mouth.
‘Okay, let’s see if this is all a dream,’ He thought before he opened his eyes and saw that he was still in the hospital. ‘Alright then, so it seems this is not a dream,’ He continued, before he looked at the door. ‘But what if it was, and I was dreaming of the nurse being a horse??’
As if on cue, the door swung open, and his eyes widened again as the horse nurse walked back into the room, pushing a silver cart with a glass of water on it before her. She was pushing it with her hooves curved around the black handle of the cart, like she was using them as hands to grip it.
“Here you go dear,” She said as she pushed the cart over to the bed and got back down on all fours. “One cold glass of water,” She continued as she reached a forehoof out and grabbed the cup with it, with her limb moving in a way that no normal equine limb was able to. It was the same motion that a human on their hands and knees would do to grab a cup from a coffee table and remain in position. Her hoof held the cup as if she had invisible fingers protruding from it.
She then walked over to the head of the bed and held the cup to his lips. “Drink slowly,” She said to him as she started to tip the cup. “Don’t want you to choke.”
As soon as he felt the cool water touch his lips, which were slightly dry, he opened them, and started to drink. ‘Ah, that’s good,’ He thought with relief as the water filled his mouth and went down his throat. ‘That’s really good.’
“There you go, dear,” The nurse said with a smile as he drank the last of the water. “Need some more?” She asked him, prompting him to nod again. “Alright. I’ll be right back with some more,” She said as she turned and headed back out the room with the cart, the empty glass on it.
‘Okay, this is probably not a dream,’ He thought, having felt her breath a bit as she’d given him the water. And she’d smelled…not like any horse he’d been around before. She smelled faintly of cotton candy, cinnamon, and medicine. ‘But why am I here??’ He continued as he looked around at the room, before he looked down at himself in the bed, lifting up the rusty reddish-brown sheet to look at his body.
He was wearing a blue green hospital gown that appeared to have been made in a rush, as there was an obvious seam running across his thighs. ‘Okay, so I don’t look like I’ve been injured,’ He thought as he looked at himself, running a hand across his chest and waist to feel for any wounds. ‘At least, from what I can feel and see right now,’ He continued, before he lowered the sheet. ‘I’ll have to look at myself more closely later.’
Then, the door swung open once more, and the nurse from before came back in with some more water.
“Here’s some more water, dear,” She said sweetly as she grabbed the cup and carried it over to the bed, before she helped him drink it. “There you go. Is that enough?” She asked him.
He then nodded.
“Good,” She replied with a nod as she set the cup back on the cart, before she turned to him again. “The doctor shall be with you in a moment,” She continued, before she walked out of the room with the cart.
‘“Doctor?”’ He thought with confusion at her words. ‘Why does a doctor need to see me?’
Fortunately, before his mind could start making up possibly horrific scenarios for why he needed a doctor, another horse entered the room.
Said horse stood an inch or two taller than the nurse, and had a short cream caramel coat of fur covering its entire body. Its mane was dark grayish tangelo and had a large swoop in the back as it ended at its withers. Its tail was the same color as its mane and ended right above its hocks. Its hooves were the same color as its coat of fur, and its moderate cerulean eyes looked at him with intrigue through a pair of round rimless glasses. On its right flank was the colored image of an EKG monitor, and it was wearing a pale blue, almost white collared shirt with a black tie, a white lab coat with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and a black stethoscope.
But what captured his attention was the six-inch-long pointy horn that was right above its eyes and had a counter-clockwise groove in it. Currently a grayish cyan aura was around the horn, matching the aura around a file that was floating alongside the horse, as well as a small black bottle and a red quill.
“Ah, good morning!!” The unicorn said in a gentle but firm female voice as she looked at him with a smile. “How are you feeling?”
Upon hearing the question, he sighed. ‘Well, here goes nothing,’ He thought, having been dreading speaking to the horses, as he wasn’t sure how they’d respond. “Confused,” he replied.
The unicorn’s eyes widened ever so slightly upon hearing him speak, and she then smiled. “Ah, I figured as much,” She said. “Let me introduce myself. I am Doctor Horse, and you are at Ponyville Hospital, where you have been since yesterday morning.”
Upon hearing that, he blinked a few times, before he chuckled a bit.
“What’s so funny?” Doctor Horse asked him with an arched eyebrow.
“I’m s-s-sorry,” He stammered as he chuckled. “It’s the pun.”
“What pun?”
“The name, of course,” He replied. “You are a horse who is named Horse.”
Doctor Horse’s arched eyebrow grew even higher at that. “I beg your pardon young stallion, but I am no whorse. I am a pony,” She answered sternly, with her voice sounding a bit upset, like he’d offended her.
Upon hearing her tone, he stopped chuckling. “Oh!! Um, so-wait, you’re a pony?!!” He said with surprise.
“I am. In fact, everyone in Ponyville is,” She replied. “As are most of the citizens of Equestria.”
“But ponies aren’t supposed to be so small!!” He said with shock, sitting up as he spoke. “They’re supposed to be bigger! At least by a foot,” He continued, measuring out a foot with his hands.
“There are some ponies who are that tall, or even bigger,” Doctor Horse answered as she dipped the quill into the bottle and started to write in the file. “But most ponies are around my height.”
“What?!!” He said with surprise, before he looked down and started to think to himself. ‘That’s so weird. They call themselves ponies here, yet they look like miniature horses. I wonder why that is?’
“Ponies have been this height for thousands of years,” Doctor Horse stated as she looked at him. “Our earliest ancestors were tall like the Saddle Arabians, but over time, we ponies became this height that we are at now.”
“I see,” He replied after thinking it over for several seconds. “Sooo, is calling a pony a ‘horse’ rude?”
“It is very rude to call a pony that,” Doctor Horse said with a nod and a slight frown.
“Oh,” He replied, eyes widening at that, before he gained a look of confusion. “But wait, then why are you named that?”
“Because it is not offensive when used as a name,” Doctor Horse answered him. “It is an offensive term when you are talking about a pony or their profession, but not when you are saying their name.”
At that, his eyebrows scrunched, and his confused look only grew. “But that doesn’t-Why-What?!!” He stammered, feeling very confused about the whole thing.
“As much as I’d like to have more discourse about this topic, I do need to ask you some questions,” Doctor Horse said. “If that is alright with you.”
“Ummm, yeah, I think that’s fine,” He replied after a couple seconds with a shake of his head, pushing the topic to the back of his head. “Ask away.”
“Alright then,” Doctor Horse said with a smile as she walked a bit closer to the bed. “First off, can you tell me what kind of creature you are?”
“I’m a human,” He replied simply.
“Okay, and how do you spell that?” Doctor Horse asked him, causing him to blink as the quill dipped itself in the bottle again and returned to the files.
‘Wait, do they not have humans here?’ He thought with shock and surprise, before he answered her. “Um, it’s spelled ‘H-u-m-a-n,’” He slowly said, making sure to put emphasis on each letter.
“Alright,” Doctor Horse replied, the quill slowly writing on the paper. ‘What an odd name for a species,’ She thought to herself. “And what is your name?”
At that, the human frowned, before he closed his eyes and tried to think. “It’s…Gavin,” He said, the name slowly coming to him as he concentrated, before he opened his eyes and looked back at Doctor Horse. “Gavin Woodring.”
“Alright, Gavin,” Doctor Horse said as she wrote down his name. ‘Hmm, patient seems to be struggling to remember things,’ She thought to herself, writing it down in the file. ‘Possible amnesia??’ “My next question is this. What exactly does a human diet consist of?”
“Well, humans can eat several kinds of plants, like broccoli, green beans, brussel sprouts, potatoes asparagus. There’s a lot humans can eat, but there’s a lot of plants we can’t eat, although I can’t think of any off the top of my head,” Gavin replied, using his fingers to list off the plants. “We also eat meat.”
“W-What kind of m-m-meat?” Doctor Horse asked, sounding a bit nervous, which Gavin missed as he concentrated on the question.
“Well, there’s red meat, which consists of cow, sheep, pig, goat, and deer,” He replied, listing them off on his fingers. “There’s white meat, which consists of poultry and other birds. And then there’s seafood, like fish and crab.” As he spoke, a slightly hungry look appeared on his face. ‘Mmmm, fiiiish,’ He thought happily. ‘That sounds good right now.’
“Do you eat p-ponies?” Doctor Horse asked him, her ears splayed back a bit.
“What?!! No!! Not at all!!” Gavin replied with a shocked and a horrified look. “I would never even consider doing such a thing to an equine!!”
At that, Doctor Horse visibly relaxed as she sighed with relief. “Oh thank Celestia,” She said quietly to herself, before she looked back at him. “Well, those are all the questions I have right now,” She continued. “I have to go check on my other patients, but I’ll be back with more questions.”
“Alright, doctor,” Gavin said to her with a smile as she turned and started to head to the door. “I am feeling a bit hungry,” he continued, before his stomach growled with hunger, making him blush with embarrassment.
“I’ll talk with the nurses about getting you some food soon,” Doctor Horse replied, before she left the room, the door swinging shut behind her.
Once she was gone, Gavin sighed. “Okay, so based off those questions, they’ve never seen or heard of a human before. Does that imply that humans don’t exist in this land, which is called-Oh!! What did she say it was called?” he asked himself, humming as he tried to recall what Doctor Horse had said. “It was Equ-something. Maybe Equelaria, or Equesta??” He continued, before shrugging. “Whatever. In any case, am I the only one they’ve seen? Or do humans live in the land, but I’m the first that ‘Ponyville’ has seen?” he questioned, chuckling a bit at the name of the town.
He then started to hum as he remembered something he was curious about. “And how did I end up in the hospital?” He questioned, before he closed his eyes and started to concentrate. ‘Let’s see if I can remember that,’ He thought as he thought hard.
He sat there for about a minute or two, trying to pull up how he got in this situation. ‘Come on!! Remember!!’ He yelled in his head as he sat there, face tight with concentration.
And then, he stiffened as memories started to flash before his eyes and ring in his ears.
“Get on the ground!!”
*BANG!!*
“SOMEONE CALL 911!”
“We love you too son.”
“…be what you always wanted to be. A hero.”
As the memories filled his head while he sat there, face loosening up, his eyes started to fill with tears. ‘Mom, Dad,’ He thought as the tears started to fall. ‘Sisters.’ He then broke down, sobbing as he put his hands to his face, while the memories continued to dance around in his head, flashing before his eyes.
“Happy birthday big bwother!!”
“Mommy, can we get some ice cream?”
“I’m going to be a big brother?!!”
Tears dripped down his hands and arms as he bawled his eyes out, not caring about how loud he was.
A few minutes went by, before he felt something rest against his left thigh, prompting him to move his hands to look. It was the mare nurse from earlier, and she was resting a forehoof on his leg while giving him a comforting look and sitting on her butt.
Gavin felt a bit touched at her comforting look, before he continued to sob and bawl, putting his hands back to his face as he did so.
He cried and cried for what seemed like several hours, before he finally started to calm down, his cries of anguish and pain dying down, being replaced by sniffs.
As he slowly removed his hands from his face, revealing that they were wet with tears and snot, he looked to the mare nurse. “Th-Thank you,” He said to her. She’d remained with him the whole time, remaining silent as he’d cried, occasionally rubbing his thigh in a soothing manner.
She nodded in response, before she held out a box of tissues, which he took and started to use to clean himself up. “Thanks,” He said again, before he blew hard into a tissue and then grabbed another.
“You’re welcome dear,” She said to him, sounding a bit emotional for some reason. “How are you feeling?” She asked, wanting to get a read of his current mental state.
“Scared, confused, dismayed, full of grief,” He replied. “And I think I will be for quite some time,” he said with a sniffle and a sigh.
The nurse hummed at that, before she nodded. “Alright,” She said, rubbing his thigh some more, before she got up on all fours. “You ready to eat?” She asked him.
“Um, yeah, yeah, I am,” he replied with a nod as he wiped his face of tears and snot, making a pile of used tissues on his lap, while his stomach growled with hunger.
“Good,” The nurse said with a smile, before she turned and started to walk away. “I’ll be right back.” She then left the room, leaving him with the tissues, which he continued to use.
“I wonder what they’re gonna give me?” he asked aloud with curiosity, doing his best to not start crying again, as he felt very fragile emotionally at the moment. “Maybe mashed carrots and peas?” he guessed, trying to think of what hospital food they could give him. “Or a salad?”
A few minutes later, the nurse returned with the cart, which had a pale blue plastic tray on it with a large yellow plate of what appeared to be mashed potatoes, peas, and baked beans, along with a large glass of water.
“Here you go dear!!” The mare said with a warm smile as she brought the cart to a stop right next to the bed, before she got down on all fours. “Dinner time!!” She continued as she grabbed a dustpan with her teeth and, with a small broom held in her left forehoof, swept up the tissues and deposited them in a small trashcan nearby.
“Thank you,” Gavin said to her with a smile as his stomach growled again, before he looked at the food and noticed something missing. “Um, do you have a fork I can use?” He asked, looking at her questioningly.
“Oh!! Let me get you one!!” The nurse replied with a look of embarrassment on her face upon hearing that, before she turned and hurried out the room.
About thirty seconds or so passed, before she trotted back into the room, holding a small white plate in her mouth, with a silver-colored fork on it. “Here you go dear,” She said through her teeth as she tilted the plate over the tray, causing the fork to slide off and land on the tray next to the food. She then set the plate down, and used a hoof to pick up the tray and set it on his lap. “Enjoy!” She continued with a smile.
“Thank you,” Gavin said once more with a smile, before he picked up the somewhat small fork and stuck it into the mashed potatoes. He then got a good glob of potatoes on the fork and lifted it to his nose to smell it, while the nurse watched him with interest.
‘Hmm, not bad,’ He thought to himself, before he opened his mouth and took a bite. ‘Yeah, not bad,’ He continued. ‘Kinda reminds me of the ones dad would…make.’ At the thought of his father, his face dropped, and he sighed after he finished chewing and swallowed, tears forming in his eyes again. ‘Dad…mom,’ He thought sadly as he took another bite, while his hand reached up to his neck, only to feel nothing around it, making his eyes widen and heart start to race. ‘Wait…where is my necklace?!!’
He then dropped the fork on his tray and started to look around anxiously, tears continuing to build in his eyes. “Where is it?” he said with worry.
“Where’s what dear?” The nurse asked him with some concern.
“My necklace!!” He replied as he looked at her anxiously. “It’s precious to me!! It has a purple fox and a purple cat as its centerpiece, and I need it!!” He continued, panic in his voice as it started to tremble with emotion.
“Okay!! Calm down, dear! Calm down,” The nurse said to him soothingly, taking a few steps forward and patting his side comfortingly. “Take deep breaths. Deep breaths.”
Unfortunately, Gavin didn’t listen, having gotten caught up in his grief and worry. And he started sobbing again, putting his hands to his face. ‘I lost it!!’ He thought, missing the sound of the nurse hurrying out of the room. ‘And I won’t get it back!!’
He continued to cry for about thirty seconds or so, before he heard the nurse speak up again. “Here’s your necklace dear!!” She said, causing him to look up with a sharp intake of air. The nurse stood next to the bed, panting a little bit, with his necklace in her outstretched right forehoof. Said necklace was made of leather, and had a cat and fox made up of some sort of purple stone or gem as the centerpiece.
Upon seeing it, his eyes widened greatly, and he snatched it from her while saying “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!” in a relieved tone. He then put the necklace on, using his fingers to secure the clasps, before he held the centerpiece with his left hand and started to rub the fox and cat with a thumb. “Oh thank you!!” he said as he looked at the nurse with a grateful smile, his tears of sadness becoming tears of relief. “It means so much to me!!”
“You’re welcome dear,” The nurse replied, sounding a bit relieved. “Do you need anything else?”
“N-No, I’ll be fine,” He answered her as he looked down at his necklace while grabbing his fork and getting another gob of potatoes. “Thank you for asking.”
“Alright. If you need anything, just call out for Nurse Redheart or Sweetheart,” The nurse replied as she turned and started to walk away with the cart. “One of us will respond as quickly as we can.”
“Okay. Thank you for letting me know,” He said as his tears started to dry up while he took another bite of his food.
“You’re welcome,” The nurse answered, before she walked out of the room, the door swinging shut behind her.
‘Oh thank goodness it’s not lost!!’ Gavin thought as he looked down at his necklace with a smile. ‘I don’t know what I’d do if this was gone forever,’ He continued, before his mind started to pull up memories once more. ‘It’s such an important thing to me, now more than ever,’ he thought, a sad look appearing on his face again as he remembered the past while eating.
Several minutes later…
“Well, that was good,” he said as he set the fork down on the empty tray and took another sip of water, finishing his cup. “For hospital food,” he continued, smiling sadly as he pushed the tray away from him, before sighing. “Okay, now what?” He questioned as he looked around the room, not seeing a TV anywhere.
Then, his body decided to let him know what he needed to do next, as if it had been waiting for the question.
‘Man I need to pee,’ He thought as he felt the pressure in his bladder, which he had somehow missed while eating. ‘But where is the bathroom?’ He continued, before he looked at the door across from the bed. ‘Is that it?’
He then grabbed the blanket and pulled it back, before he turned to the side, setting his bare feet on the floor and shivering a bit at the cold sensation. He then slowly started to stand up, grabbing the headboard as he did so to prevent himself from potentially getting dizzy. He still had no idea why he was in the hospital, so he wanted to be careful. “Man it feels nice to be out of the bed,” He said to himself as he reached his full height and stretched, before he turned his attention to the door he’d looked at earlier. “Now then, let’s see if this is the bathroom,” He continued as he walked over to the door, taking a mental note as he went that, unlike other hospital gowns, the one he was wearing was completely closed in the back.
Upon reaching the door and opening it, he saw that it did indeed lead to a bathroom. A bathroom that was scaled down for the ponies.
The appliances and room had the same colors as the main room, but the sink was white, as was the toilet.
The sink had two large knobs on either side, with thick levers sticking out of the knobs. The toilet was quite wide as well, as if built to accommodate ponies of all sizes. A small blue stool sat underneath the counter.
“Huh,” He said with some surprise. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but this isn’t it,” He continued, before he shut the door behind him and went to the toilet. He then lifted the seat up, pulled up the gown, and relieved himself.
Once he was done, he dropped the gown and turned to the sink to wash his hands. As he did so, he looked at himself in the mirror. Looking back at him in the mirror was a young, 6 foot 1 inch tall male human with lightly tanned skin, a somewhat muscular build, short brownish blonde hair, and blue eyes. “Good. I still look like myself,” he said with relief as he washed his hands, before drying them off with a towel that was quite fluffy. He then turned, walked out of the bathroom, and headed over to the bed.
Right as he was starting to get back into the bed, he heard the nurse from earlier speak up. “Oh!! I see you finished your food,” She said as he sat down on the bed and turned to look at her.
“Yes, it was quite good,” He replied as he grabbed the tray and put it on the cart she was pushing. “My compliments to the chef,” he continued as he pulled the blanket back over his legs, resting his head and back against the headboard.
“I’ll be sure to let Doctor Horse know you liked it,” The nurse said with a smile. “Is there anything else I can do for you? Maybe get you a book to read a little tonight?” She suggested.
“Thank you, but I’m not really up for reading right now,” Gavin replied with a sigh. “I’ve got a lot on my mind,” he continued with a wistful look.
“I see,” the nurse said with understanding, nodding. “Well then, I’ll leave you be. Goodnight dear.”
“Goodnight, nurse,” He replied as she turned and walked away, before he turned to look at the nearby window. ‘It’s already nighttime?’ He thought with confusion upon seeing the sky was dark, with stars gleaming in it. ‘How late in the day did I wake up?’
Gavin stared at the window for a few minutes, before he sighed, and turned his attention back to his necklace. He started to rub it again, while memories danced in his head. ‘I miss them,’ He thought as he started to cry yet again.
As he cried, he laid down, pulled the blanket over his head, and curled up on his side as he clutched his necklace tightly. “Mom, dad, sisters,” he sobbed as he laid there.
Eventually, he fell fast asleep, tears still streaming down his face and necklace clutched tight.
As he slept, the door opened, and Doctor Horse looked into the lit room. She looked at him for a few minutes, before she sighed, and turned off the light with her horn. She had a lot of things to do and observations to write.