Nurse Redheart story (FINISHED)


                                            >[copied from  https://pastebin.com/nFq2rRT2 ]

                                            >[ original author BadGrammarFag ]


                                            >An audible, tiered sigh escapes your lips as you sit down behind the reception desk.

                                            >This will be another long shift for you in the Ponyville Hospital.

                                            >However discouraging this fact may be, it isn't the reason why you'd rather be somewhere else right now.

                                            >You're Nurse Redheart and you're "waiting" for a particular "patient" to show up.

                                            >He'll be here any minute now, barging in through the large double doors at the hospital entry.

                                            >As always, he'll be demanding help for his fictitious injuries.

                                            >And of course, only you're able to help him, because you're the only competent 'medical pone' here.

                                            >His words, not yours.

                                            >As if on cue, the front doors of a hospital opens loudly, immediately attracting your attention.

                                            >Then and there you truly hoped that it was somepony with real problems, not imaginary one's.

                                            >Not that you wish somepony any harm, mind you.

                                            >Nevertheless those hopes quickly vanished, when you noticed the large frame of your "patient".

                                            >It was rather hard not to.

                                            >Standing in front of the reception desk Anonymous, the only hyumin in Equestria, was at least two times bigger than you.

                                            >You never saw him near her, but you think that he was even taller than Princess Celestia herself.

                                            >Anon, as he ineffectively insisted you to call him, was pressing his hoov- hands to his chest, with a goofy smile on his face.

                                            >Sighing loudly once more, you looked at him with disinterest.

                                            "Good morning, Mr. Anonymous. What seems to be the problem?"

                                            >His smile widened and he leaned forward a little.

                                            >"Please Red, call me Anon. Mr. Anonymous was my dad's name."

                                            >You only blinked once, unimpressed with that 'old' routine between the two of you.

                                            "I won't do that, Mr. Anonymous. This is a hospital and we try to not familiarize with patients. Also, my name isn't Red. It's Miss Redheart, or Nurse Redheart."

                                            >Anon chuckled softly when he heard the humorless tone of your voice.

                                            >"Aww, serious pone is serious. You're a cute, Red. A C-u-t-e!"

                                            >Despite yourself, you felt a little blush blooming on your features.

                                            >Why, oh why, you really should be accustomed to his shenanigans by now!

                                            >Shaking your head quickly, to get rid of the heat on your muzzle, you looked at him trying to seem annoyed.

                                            >Which really wasn't hard to achieve when you were talking with him.

                                            "I'm going to ask one last time, Mr. Anonymous. What seems to be the problem?"

                                            >He pressed his hands to his chest even harder.

                                            >"Oh, it's horrible, Red. I have a really, really nasty heart condition, you see and I need immediate help."

                                            >You arched your eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything.

                                            >He bent down and you found his head closer to yours.

                                            >"Red, my heart is broken because that one hot nurse doesn't want to go on a date with me. I think you know her. White fur, pink mane made in a bun. Does it ring any bells?"

                                            >So, the problem was imaginary, as always.

                                            >You gently placed your hoof on his face, which was getting uncomfortably close to your snout.

                                            >Then you slowly pushed it back.

                                            "Mr Anonymous, please be serious. We only treat real patients here, with real problems. We don't have time for jokes, or similar things."

                                            >Before you managed to stop yourself, you blurted out something else.

                                            "Besides, what is so special in this old and boring nurse? Surely, there are a lot more attractive mares out there, who would give anything to be with such a strong and handsome stallion like yo-"

                                            >You quickly covered your unruly mouth with your front hooves and blushed furiously.

                                            >By Celestia, why did you say that!

                                            >Stupid, stupid mare!

                                            >What is wrong with you!

                                            >Looking at you, Anonymous cocked his head to the side.

                                            >"What are you even talking about, Red? Old and boring? Yeah, right! Listen to this!"

                                            >He started declaring your virtues, emphasizing each one of his wild statements with an exaggerated thrust of his hips.

                                            >"You're smart! Unf! You're sexy! Unf! You're kind and caring! Unf! You're best pony! Unf!"

                                            >Buck this stubborn blush, you need to stop him!

                                            >You removed your front hooves from your muzzle and started waving them in front of you, to get his attention.

                                            "Alright, alright! I get it! Thank you for the compliment, you can stop now!"

                                            >Anon ceased his silly behavior and leaned on the reception desk once more.

                                            >He still had that smug smile on his face.

                                            >"Also, I bet you're not as old as you want me to believe you are. Hmm?"

                                            >Still fighting with that stupid heat on your muzzle, you shook your head.

                                            "Ah, ah , ah, Mr. Anonymous. A mare's age is a mare's secret."

                                            >Well you're 28 actually, but like anypony else here, he doesn't need to know it.

                                            >You're not exactly old-old, but you fell old enough to know that you're no longer a 'nice catch' for a stallion, so to speak.

                                            >Especially, with your weird hours of work and all other things related to your serious and taxing job.

                                            >Also, there's one more issue, a very painful issue, which prevents you from seeing anyone, but you don't want to remind yourself about it... like never.

                                            >Anonymous chuckled audibly when he heard your answer about your age.

                                            >"No problem, Red. To say the truth, I don't give a shit how old are you. I'm thirty by the way, so I bet you're not older than me."

                                            >That... that was really surprising to you.

                                            >He was older than you initially thought.

                                            >Not that it was a problem.

                                            >Most of the time mares like older stallions than themse-

                                            >Stop it, Redheart!

                                            >H-How is he doing this?!

                                            >Wh-Why does he have such an effect on you and your thoughts?

                                            >Looking at him smiling at you, you started remembering how the two of you met.

                                            >It was two weeks ago.

                                            >Sitting behind the very same reception desk, you were in the middle of your night shift.

                                            >You were engrossed with filling out paperwork, when suddenly a mare's voice broke you out of your bureaucratic stupor.

                                            >"Excuse me. Can I ask you for some help?"

                                            >When you looked at the mare your eyes widened a little.

                                            >In front of your desk stood Princess Twilight herself.

                                            >Being a no nonsense mare, you only bowed slightly before her.

                                            "Of course, your highness. What seems to be the problem?"

                                            >The purple alicorn blushed embarrassed by your formal behavior.

                                            >Her eyes quickly scanned the nametag on your nurse uniform.

                                            >"Please call me Twilight. I'm not a big fan of royal titles and such, Nurse Redheart."

                                            >You nodded your head.

                                            "As you wish, Miss Twilight. Now, what do you need my help with?"

                                            >She pointed with her hoof behind her and only then you noticed that there was more ponies in the reception than only the two of you.

                                            >Well, actually there was one more pink pony you knew as Pinkie Pie and an unconscious hyumin slung across her back.

                                            >You immediately felt the stench of alcohol coming from him.

                                            >Dragging his arms and legs across the hospital floor, Pinkie came up to you.

                                            >Twilight didn't waste any time and grabbed his head with her magic to show you his face.

                                            >His face was mostly covered by the blood oozing out from the nasty, bleeding cut on his forehead.

                                            >Pinkie looked at you with pleading eyes.

                                            >"Nonny had an accident during the party, Miss Redheart. Twilight said that she cannot help him with her super duper powerful magic. Supposedly alcohol and healing magic don't mix well. She said that he needs more traditional help. Please help him, before he bleeds out!"

                                            >You put your hoof on her withers.

                                            "Don't worry Miss Pie and please calm down. His injury isn't as dangerous as it appears to be."

                                            >Actually, at the second glance it looked like the cut was pretty shallow and it stopped bleeding some time ago.

                                            >It surely didn't need any stitches.

                                            >The dried blood on his face was making the whole picture look pretty bad, but in truth he wasn't in any danger.

                                            "Please come with me."

                                            >You led them to the one of the free hospital rooms.

                                            >During your walk there, Anonymous regained his consciousness and was able to sit down on the hospital bed.

                                            >Standing on the same bed, you began cleaning his wound and he started to mumble something incoherently.

                                            >He was really drunk, or as he himself stated later "shitfaced to the max".

                                            >You looked at Twilight and Pinkie.

                                            "Tell me, how did this happened?"

                                            >She started rubbing her front hoof with the other nervously.

                                            >"Weeell... it happened during the party. Anon was already pretty drunk and he suddenly decided to use my horn as an... impromptu orange juicer. When I dodged his outstretched hand holding the mentioned orange, he tripped and fell face first on the floor."

                                            >Anon started swinging and mumbling a little louder.

                                            >He began touching your muzzle without permission, delicately 'booping' you with his fingers.

                                            >Luckily, you had a lot of experience with drunken ponies and minotaurs.

                                            >You knew more, or less what to expect from a drunken hyumin.

                                            >For that time, he was pretty calm for a "touchy feely" drunk, so you just grabbed his hands with your hoof and gently moved them down on the bed.

                                            >Twilight chuckled nervously when she saw that.

                                            >"S-Sorry about this, Miss Redheart. He's sometimes like this when he's drunk."

                                            >You nodded at her.

                                            "Worry none. I'm accustomed to wounded drunken ponies. I have a question though. From the state of his cut and the dried blood on his face, I assume that bringing him to the hospital wasn't the first thing you did after he triped. Am I right?"

                                            >Twilight wanted to answer you when suddenly Pinkie covered her snout with her front hoof and started waving the other in the air.

                                            >"Oh, oh! Me, me!"

                                            >You looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

                                            "Yes, Miss Pie?"

                                            >Seeing that Anonymous life was in no danger, Pinkie was sporting back her trademark smile on her muzzle.

                                            >"You're right! We took him here, when he lost his consciousness for the second time!"

                                            >Well that wa-

                                            "What?! The second time? I thought he lost it only once when he fell on the floor during the party?"

                                            >The hyperactive mare shook her head furiously.

                                            >"No! No! The first time was during his, Applejack's and Rainbow's drinking contest. Nonny was like 'No way you little midgets will outdrink me!' and they was like "Way!" and he was like "No way!" an they was like "Way!" and he was..."

                                            >Your head began to hurt.

                                            "Ugh.. please cut to the chase, Miss Pie."

                                            >She nodded and did a little twirl.

                                            >Obviously she was also drunk, but not as much as Anonymous, who began stroking your chest fluff with his hand.

                                            >Bringing his unruly limb down once more, you started listening to Pinkie again.

                                            >"... and then when he and Rainbow fell on the floor, we saw that the both of them were unconscious. Applejack won! Hurray for her! Even I thought that it was the end of a party for Anon and Rainbow and probably soon for Applejack too."

                                            "But?"

                                            >"But Nonny stood up after a couple of minutes, grabbed an orange and exclaimed loudly 'Juice for the juice god!' He started running in Twilight's directon. She dodged him and his face collided with the floor. When he stood up, his face was bleeding and it was really scary."

                                            >Fighting with Anon's hands, who was trying his best to place those on your mane, you raised your second eyebrow at Pinkie.

                                            "Why didn't you bring him to the hospital after that?"

                                            >Seeing that Pinkie Pie was preoccupied with watching Anon's hands trying to pet you, Twilight was the one, who answered you.

                                            >"We tried to, but then Anon noticed all the blood on his face. He started running around, scaring everypony and shouting that he's from a wild barbarian tribe and that he came to steal our 'waifus'."

                                            >Pinkie was back among the living and inebriated.

                                            >"That was scary and funny at the same time! He was shouting something about ripping, tearing, guts and 'removing kebab from premises'. When he jumped at the table, it collapsed under his weight and he tumbled down on the floor like a sack of potates. W-When I saw he wasn't moveing, I was really frightened that he lost t-too much b-blood a-a-and *snif*-"

                                            >Twilight hugged her friend.

                                            >"It's alright Pinkie. Anon is here and like you can see there's nothing wrong with him. Well, except maybe that his drunk out of his right mind."

                                            >The hyumin in question didn't care about your conversation and was still trying to drunkenly stroke your mane.

                                            "Mr. Anonymous, do I really need to restrain you?"

                                            >By some miracle he managed to grab your hairpin, which was holding your mane in place.

                                            >When he pulled it out, your pink mane fall down, showing its full length and volume to the whole world.

                                            >You wanted to loudly scold him, but then you saw his face.

                                            >His mouth was hanging open and he was looking at you like some ponies tend to look at Princess Celestia.

                                            >"B-By the ghods! Youh are a-amh'azing!"

                                            >Like every mare, you like to be prised and all that, but not by some drunken stallion.

                                            "Yeah... thank you. Let me stick that band-aid on your forehead and we're done here."

                                            >He let you do that, but started shaking his head wildly afterwards.

                                            >"Nho! N-Never! Must pet muh beautifhull pone! Mhust pet!"

                                            >Without any warning, he started his 'assault' on you, which was pretty sloppy and predictable.

                                            >Hence easy to repel with your front hooves only.

                                            "Please stop, I don't want to use my full strength on you, Mr. Anonymous."

                                            >Pinkie grabbed one of his legs and started tugging at it.

                                            >"What are you doing Nonny?! Don't be silly and leave her alone!"

                                            >Twilight had a similar idea and grabbed his hands with her magic.

                                            >"Anon stop it, now."

                                            >He turned to the two of them with a drunken pleading look on his face.

                                            >"B-Buth look at'h her T-Thwiggles! Sh-She's an anhgel! A th-true angel!"

                                            >Pinkie let go of his leg and hopped on the bed between you and him.

                                            >"She's not Angel silly! Angel is a little bunny and he lives at Fluttershy's cottage and he's probably sleeping now!"

                                            >He looked at her dumbfounded, his drunken mind trying to process what she just said.

                                            >"Wh.. Wut?"

                                            >Twilight had enough of this.

                                            >She enveloped him whole with her magic.

                                            >Lifting him in the air behind her, she started walking to the door leading out of the room.

                                            >"Looks like it's time to leave, Anon. You need to go to sleep and we don't want to bother Miss Redheart without a reason to."

                                            >She turned to look at you with a smile on her muzzle.

                                            >"Thank you very much for helping him Nurse Redheart and once again, sorry for his behavior."

                                            >You waved your hoof at her dismissively.

                                            "That was no problem, that's what I'm here for, Miss Twilight. Also, I'm sure that Mr. Anonymous is a proper gentlestallion when he's sober. Next time keep him away from any alcohol, please."

                                            >She chuckled audibly when she heard you.

                                            >"We'll try, but no promises. I wish you a paceful night, Miss Redheart."

                                            >She walked through the door, with Anon floating in the air behind her in her magic.

                                            >He was squirming and thrashing around, drunkenly shouting that he'll come back for you, becouse you're amazing, beautifull, etc.

                                            >Pinkie Pie was close behind them, strangely quiet.

                                            >Before she walked through the door she stopped and turned her head in your direction.

                                            >Surprisingly, there was no smile on her muzzle and she looked pretty serious.

                                            >She raised her front hoof and pointed it at her eyes and then at you in a 'I'm watching you' motion.

                                            >An unpleasant shiver ran down your spine.

                                            >Without waiting for your answer, or any reaction Pinkie smile again and walked out of the room.

                                            >Nevertheless, you quickly shrugged it off as a shenanigans of a mare, who had too much alcohol running in her veins.

                                            >You knew it will be a long time till you see those mares again, or Anonymous for that matter.

                                            >Oh, how much were you wrong with the last one.

                                            >Anon came back the next day during your shift.

                                            >He apologised for his behavior and told you that he talked to your so called 'friends' from the hospital.

                                            >From them he learned that you were single and he declared that he'll be the one, who will fill that 'void' in your heart.

                                            >He even tried to give you some flowers.

                                            >You coldly told him that you're not interested in seeing anypony in the romantic manner.

                                            >Being a little annoyed with him, you also pointed to him that you got no business talking with him, unless he needs medical help.

                                            >He said that a true love never dies and walked away.

                                            >You really thought you saw him for the last time.

                                            >Only to be wrong once more.

                                            >For the next two weeks he kept coming back to the hospital during your shifts, be it night, or day shifts.

                                            >Every time with some imaginary wound, sickness, or other medical problem that only you could help him with.

                                            >Once he even smeared ketchup all over himself and told everyone that a timberwolf attacked him, efficiently scaring everypony in the reception.

                                            >Of course, you were not impressed with his 'romantic endeavours'.

                                            >Nevertheless, you found yourself talking to him more and more on a daily, or nightly basis.

                                            >You admit that he was a nice distraction from a normally humorless, cold and sometimes boring atmosphere prevailing in the hospital.

                                            >Anon cleared his throat loudly, pulling you out from your thoughts about how you met him.

                                            >He started drawing circles with his finger on the polished surface of the reception desk and looked at you.

                                            >"Sooo... now that I know you find me handsome and all that... will you go on a date with me, Red?"

                                            >That persistent blush didn't vanish from your muzzle.

                                            >You started thinking about this.

                                            >By Celestia's teats, you were really thinking about going on a date with him!

                                            >You looked at him with your blue eyes.

                                            >Maybe... maybe it's worth a try... maybe he won't run away when he'll learn some things about you...

                                            >He was still smiling at you, waiting for your answer.

                                            >... maybe.

                                            "Anon... I... I-"

                                            >Suddenly the red emergency phone on your desk rang loudly, scaring the both of you like some ghost of a Nightmare Moon!

                                            >You immediately picked it up.

                                            "Redheart speaking!"

                                            >The voice you heard on the phone belonged to Nurse Tenderheart.

                                            >It was nervous and tired.

                                            >"Red, if you don't have some kind of an emergency on your side, we need you in the surgical ward asap!"

                                            "I'll be there in a second!"

                                            >Quiclky hanging up the phone, you looked at Anonymous.

                                            >"I'm sorry, Mr. Anonymous. I'm not interested in a date with you, or anypony else for that matter. Now, please excuse me!"

                                            >Without waiting for his answer, you started galloping as fast as you could in the surgical ward direction.

                                            >You... you really made the best decision you could, right?

                                            >...

                                            >Though, why do you feel so hollow and empty inside all of a sudden?

                                            >The rest of your shift was a blur of activity and 'controlled' drama.

                                            >Nothing new there, really.

                                            >At the end of your work time you were on your last hooves.

                                            "So bucking tired..."

                                            >You whispered it under your breath, when you trotted back to the reception area.

                                            >Without your conscious command, your eyes began searching the vast empty space before you for a large, familiar hyumin shape.

                                            >Maybe he was sitting, or standing there... waiting for you.

                                            >Walking up to the reception desk, your mind finally caught on what your eyes were doing.

                                            >You shook your head as fast as your exhausted neck muscles allowed you to.

                                            "Foolish filly, why are you looking for him? You know he won't be waiting for you here..."

                                            >Besides, for the last two weeks he was 'visiting' you only once per shift.

                                            >You'll probably see him tomorrow.

                                            >Sitting down behind the reception desk, you sighed softly.

                                            >Or, maybe not?

                                            >Maybe he'll finally give up after what he heard from you today?

                                            >Signing some papers, you chuckled audibly, almost dropping the pen you were holding with your teeth.

                                            >You really didn't know how to feel about this!

                                            >About his 'implied by your tired brain' absence during your shifts from now on.

                                            >Your mind was a melting pot of conflicting emotions.

                                            >On one hoof you'd be happy, on the other... sad.

                                            >Yeah... you'll miss him.

                                            >To say the truth, his presence made your 'shift to shift' life a little more bearable.

                                            >...

                                            >Leaning back on the squeaking chair, you rubbed your eyes with your front hooves.

                                            "Grrr, bucking stallion... Hold it together, Redheart. You just need to get some sleep, that's all."

                                            >Luckily for you, there was nopony around to see your unusual behavior.

                                            >It was really more fitting for a mental ward patient than a nurse.

                                            >You chuckled loudly once more.

                                            "Maybe I'll start barking soon, seeing that I'm growling already."

                                            >The rest of your shift went smoothly.

                                            >Saying your goodbyes to your substitute behind the reception desk, you walked out of the hospital.

                                            >After a short walk under the shining moon, you found yourself in your home.

                                            >As always nopony was waiting there for you.

                                            >Though your house is rather small, it felt really empty and cold that night.

                                            >You knew you had Anon and your delusional mind to thank for that.

                                            >Not thinking much about it you quickly went to bed.

                                            >After all, you should show your flank in the hospital early in the morning tomorrow and you wanted to be well rested for that.

                                            >unsurprisingly, your last thoughts after you closed your eyes were about Anon.

                                            >You were wondering just with what kind of a fabricated disease he'll come up with to see you tomorrow.

                                            >In the middle of your next working day you have found yourself doing paperwork behind the reception desk once more.

                                            >Filling out another boring form, you started nervously tapping on the wooden surface of your desk with your front hoof.

                                            >Also your tail began to swish and you looked more like an annoyed cat than a nurse.

                                            >All in all, it was hard for you to focus on the work at hoof.

                                            >Why?

                                            >Well, becouse yet again your mind decided to start thinking about your 'regular' patient.

                                            >Anon... he didn't show up at the start of your shift.

                                            >You admit that when you didn't see him waiting for you in the reception after you made your usual rounds... you felt a little pang of pain in your heart.

                                            >Do you really begin to feel something more for him?

                                            >You quickly shook your head.

                                            "No... no, he's just a... well, a friend. Yes, he's just my friend. Nothing more."

                                            >Though you'd never admit it to him, he was fun to talk to.

                                            >His goofy behavior and casual attidute made your shifts a little brighter...

                                            >Celestia damit, you need to stop thinking so much about him!

                                            >He didn't showed up, so what?!

                                            >You got your own life and he's got his own!

                                            *SNAP!*

                                            >Your teeth clenched on the pen you had in your mouth so hard that it snapped in two.

                                            >Spitting it out, you decided to do something before you really start barking.

                                            >Though, what can you do?

                                            >You already checked on all of your patients and various medical equipment.

                                            >There was nothing you coul-

                                            >Suddenly a bouquet of sweetly smelling red roses landed on the reception desk, interrupting your inner thoughts.

                                            >To your greatest embarrassment, your ears immiedietly turned forward just like your head and you shouted loudly.

                                            "Anon! Where have you been, you stupid colt?! I was-"

                                            >Only then you saw that the stallion, who was standing before you wasn't Anon.

                                            >"I-I'm sorry nurse, but I'm not erm, Anon. Actually, my name is Time Turner and I'm here to visit somepony."

                                            >Your face was as red as your cutie mark.

                                            >"O-Of course, Mr. Turner. Please forgive me my brash behavior. Because of those flowers, I thought you were somepony else."

                                            >The brown stallion before you whistled loudly.

                                            >"Ho, ho, ho I wouldn't want to be that Anon guy when you finally get him in your hooves! Though, he surely deserve what's coming for him for making his marefriend so upset."

                                            >He winked at you at the end of his speech.

                                            >Your eyelid twitched and you felt that strange pang of pain in your heart once again.

                                            >Slamming your front hooves on the desk, you quickly stood up from your chair.

                                            "I am NOT his marefriend!"

                                            >Time Turner jumped back from you with a scared expression on his muzzle.

                                            >"A-Alright, alright! I'm sorry. I just want to know where I can find my friend and I'll be out of your mane, I promise!"

                                            >You immediately sat down on your chair and put your head in your hooves, quietly muttering to yourself.

                                            "Bucking shift, bucking brain... bucking Anon."

                                            >Turner looked a you nervously.

                                            >"Erm, is... is everything alright, ma'am?"

                                            >No, no it isn't.

                                            "Yes, yes it is. I'm sorry for my outburst, Mr. Turner. I'm just a little jumpy today... Now, you were saying that you're looking for somepony?"

                                            >After you told him where he can find his friend and apologised for your behavior once again, your shift returned to its normal course.

                                            >Eventually your work time was over and you haven't seen hide nor fur of Anon for the whole day.

                                            >Walking out of the hospital, you tried to tell yourself that you didn't care that he didn't 'visit' the reception today.

                                            >Nevertheless, at the back of your mind you had that little, stupid, unexplained, irrational hope that maybe you'll see him tomorrow.

                                            >Guess what filly, no such luck!

                                            >You didn't see him the next day and the next one after that one too.

                                            >It was the fourth day of his absence in the hospital, when you were walking through the one of the hospital corridors softly mumbling to yourself.

                                            "It... it's for the better. Yeah..."

                                            >You stopped in place and pressed the notepad you were holding to your chest.

                                            "Nopony deserves to be with a damaged mare like myself... yeah."

                                            >You wanted to start walking again, but a certain conversation nearby attracted your attention.

                                            >"...and did you see how bold she is with Anon."

                                            >You saw two of the 'famous' three flower sisters, who were probably waiting for somepony.

                                            >The one with the red mane, you think Roseluck was her name, was giggling loudly.

                                            >"Yeah, I saw it, Daisy. She hopped on his arms like a little filly and essentially made him massage her flanks with those dexterous hands of his."

                                            >Daisy smiled smugly at her sister.

                                            >"I bet you would like that too."

                                            >Roseluck chuckled.

                                            >"What mare wouldn't! Though, I'm not as bold as Pinkie Pie, you know. She sure as Tartarus will be the one to call him her coltfriend soon."

                                            >Daisy waved her front hoof in the air dismissively.

                                            >"That, I wouldn't bet on. He's the most oblivious and ignorant stallion I ever saw. I mean, Pinkie is practically dry humping him and he never even noticed she's into him! Maybe he's gay?"

                                            >The red maned mare shook her head.

                                            >"Nah, he's not. I think he'll crack soon, you know what I'm saying. Pinkie know what she's doing, that sly mare. She-"

                                            >At that moment the notepad you were barely holding slipped from your hoof and collapsed with the floor with a loud clatter.

                                            >It alerted the mares before you about your presence there.

                                            >Roseluck looked at you with her eyebrows raised.

                                            >"Excuse me nurse, were you... listening to us?"

                                            >You quickly picked the notepad from the floor.

                                            "Yes, I'm sorry I... I just heard you were talking about, Mr. Anonymous and-"

                                            >She didn't let you finish.

                                            >"Ha! Mr. Anonymous? You're the first pony to ever call him that. He always insist to everypony to just call him Anon. Tell me nurse, are you also intrested with that hyumin, or what?"

                                            >You shook your head.

                                            "No... no I'm not, I just wanted to-"

                                            >She interrupted you yet again.

                                            >"Because, if you are, you better hurry up filly! Pinkie Pie practically have him wrapped around her hoof and I think he's starting to like it."

                                            >Your pupils turned to pinpricks and you began trembling slightly.

                                            "I'm sorry. I must go now."

                                            >Without waiting for their answer, you turned around and started trotting and then galloping to the reception area.

                                            >Luckily there was nopony there, because when you found yourself behind the reception desk, you threw the notepad at it with enough force to brake it in half.

                                            >You hissed through your clenched teeth.

                                            "So that's why his absent, hmm?!"

                                            >You hit the desk with one of your front hooves.

                                            "Well, good for him! I bet he enjoys the taste of her 'cupcake' sooo much, that he don't even remember about my existence! The story of my life!"

                                            >You lift both of your front hooves before you and shook your head.

                                            "No, no he's not with her. Y-You heard it yourelf, he doesn't give a single, minuscule buck about that... that hiperactive, crazy whorse, she-"

                                            >In that moment you looked at your shaking hooves and your eyes widened.

                                            >"W-What the buck is wrong with me? Am I going crazy? WH-Why do I care about this... about him so much? I can't be with him, because... because I-"

                                            >You didn't manage to finish that sentence, because the main hospital doors opened loudly and two medical ponies barged inside pushing the large gurney before them.

                                            >On the gurney you saw... Anon!

                                            >You stood up immediately to see him better.

                                            >He was dirty, unconscious and was bleeding profusely.

                                            >This time this surely wasn't ketchup.

                                            >One of the medical ponies noticed you and started shouting.

                                            >"You! Call the surgical ward asap! Tell them to get a team ready! This guy is bleeding internally like crazy and if they don't do something soon, we're going to lose him!"

                                            >They didn't wait for your answer and started galloping with... dying Anon to the surgical ward.

                                            >Acting on pure instinct, you grabbed the red phone from your desk and did what he asked for.

                                            >After a short and very to the point talk, you dropped the phone and started running yourself.

                                            >You quickly caught up with them.

                                            >Before the doors leading to the surgical ward was already waiting Nurse Tenderheart and Dr. Stable.

                                            >When the latter one saw you galloping after the gurney containing Anon, he leaned to the pale blue nurse and whispered something.

                                            >She nodded her head and started walking in your direction.

                                            >When the medical ponies with Anon ran past her, she opened her front hooves wide, blocking your way inside the ward.

                                            >You stopped in your tracks, almost colliding with her.

                                            "What the buck are you doing, Tender! Let me through!"

                                            >She put her hoof on your chest.

                                            >"Sorry, but I can't, Red."

                                            >You smacked her hoof off of your chest.

                                            "Move out of my way! I'm going in!"

                                            >She didn't budge.

                                            >"No, you're not. Have you forgotten one of the main rules of our hospital? You can't have a personal attachment to the patient in the surgical room, Red."

                                            >Wha... what?!

                                            >"Sorry, but you can't assist during the operation, if it's your coltfriend laying on the table. You'll be too nervous and we can't afford that."

                                            >WHAT!?

                                            "He's NOT my coltfriend, Tender! What are you even talking about?!"

                                            >She was visibly not amused by your outburst.

                                            >"Just who are you trying to convince here, Red? Me, or yourself? For the last two weeks me and everypony else saw how you were looking at him, when the two of you spoke. How you're obviously happier and all that after your short encounters with him. Don't lie to yourself, mare. That hyumin have a special place in your heart. Do you like it, or not."

                                            >No, no... that's... that's impossible.

                                            "I-I... I... That's not..."

                                            >Tenderheart shook her head.

                                            >"Deny it all you want, but you still have to wait here. Will you do that, Red?"

                                            >You absentmindedly nodded your head and she put her hoof on your withers.

                                            >"Thank you and don't worry about him. You know as well as me, that he's in good hooves. Now please excuse me, they probably need me back there."

                                            >When she vanished behind the doors leading inside the surgical ward, you sat down on one of the chairs standing against the corridor walls.

                                            >Your mind was... blank.

                                            >Sure as Tartarus you didn't know what to think in that moment.

                                            >Not that you wanted to.

                                            >You just curled up into a ball of pony and waited for any news about Anon.

                                            >Almost two hours later you heard the doors to the surgical opening.

                                            >Looking up, you saw Tenderheart standing beside you.

                                            >She looked very tired and there was no smile on her muzzle.

                                            >Your heart froze and you stopped breathing.

                                            >No... NO!

                                            >You stood up as if burned and ran up to her.

                                            >Once again, she stopped you with her outstretched hoof.

                                            >"*huff* Don't *huff* Worry, Red. He's *huff* fine. He's a tough *huff* one. Sorry, I'm really *huff* exhausted..."

                                            >You almost broke all of her bones with a bear hug you gave her.

                                            "Thank you, Tender... thank you."

                                            >She started tapping your back with her hooves.

                                            >"Can't-... breathe-..."

                                            >You let her go, with a stupid smile on your face.

                                            "Oh, right. Sorry, Tender."

                                            >She was about to say something, but the double doors behind you opened again and the gurney containing unconscious Anon was pushed into the corridor.

                                            >He was covered in bandages, looked peaceful and what was the most important, he was breathing normally.

                                            >You began walking beside the gurney and felt some tears forming in your eyes.

                                            >You almost didn't fight them... almost.

                                            >Dr. Stable, who was also trotting along the gurney looked at you.

                                            >"So I gather, I don't have to look for a nurse to take care fo him while he's in hospital, right Nurse Redheart?"

                                            >You open your mouth dumbfounded.

                                            "You... You let me be his nurse, Dr. Stable?"

                                            >He chuckled and shook his head a few times.

                                            >"Please, I'm strict, but not merciless. He'll be placed in the room 22B. Actually we're going there right now."

                                            >Before you managed to say your thanks to him, you saw something in the corner of your eye.

                                            >A pink blur was coming from the other side of the corridor in your direction.

                                            >When you turned your head to look at it, you immediately recognised that blur as Pinkie Pie.

                                            >She had a disturbed expression on her muzzle.

                                            >"Nonny, oh no! I-I heard there was an accident and that Nonny was hurt really, really bad! I came as quick as I could! Nonny, can you hear me?! Pinkie is here for you, Nonny!"

                                            >She tried to put her hooves on the gurney.

                                            >Tried being the key word there.

                                            >You tackled her on the ground like a wild buffalo!

                                            >In that moment there was so much adrenaline in your veins tha you could probably rip one in half with your bare hooves!

                                            >You grabbed her tightly by the fur around her neck and yanked to yourself.

                                            "YOU! What have you done to him?! What did you made him do?! You crazy, sugar addict!"

                                            >She was looking at you with wide eyes.

                                            >"M-Me?! Are you loco in the coco?! I would never do anything bad to Nonny! Never!"

                                            >You wanted to beat the truth out of her, but you felt two pairs of hooves wrapping around your own.

                                            >Dr. Stables and Tenteheart removed you from the pink party pony in a not-so-pleasant manner.

                                            >"That's enough, Nurse Redheart! You will leave this mare alone!"

                                            >You started thrashing it their grip.

                                            "No! She can't be near him! She's probably the reason why Anon is lying unconscious on that gurney right now! She doesn't know the meaning of the word restraint, or-or moderation!"

                                            >Dr. Stable shook you a few times.

                                            >"By Celestia, pull yourself together, Redheart!"

                                            >It actually helped.

                                            >You stopped fighting with the both of them and calmed down.

                                            >He and Tenderheart took their hooves off of you.

                                            >"Good. Now, Nurse Tenderheart, please take Miss Pie to some free room and check if she have any injuries from her... sudden encounter with Nurse Redheart."

                                            >The pale blue mare quickly trotted up to Pinkie Pie and started leading her to the other corridor.

                                            >The party pony wasn't to happy about it.

                                            >"B-But Nonny! I want to see, Nonny!"

                                            >Tenderheart shook her head vigorously.

                                            >"I'm sorry Miss Pie, but he is not to be disturbed right now. He need to rest."

                                            >When they vanished in the other corridor, Dr. Stable turned to you.

                                            >"Now you, Nurse Redheart. You need to go home and get some sleep. You'll see Mr. Anonymous tomorrow. Also, let it be the last time I saw you behaving like that in this hospital. Are we clear?"

                                            >You opened your snout to say something, but he narrowed his eyes at you.

                                            >"Are. We. Clear?"

                                            >You closed your muzzle and nodded.

                                            >"Good, good. Now please, go home."

                                            >You knew better than to try something stupid, so you looked one last time at the unconscious Anonymous, turned around and trotted away.

                                            >You're going to see him tomorrow and nopony, be it an element of harmony, or Celestia herself won't stop you from talking to him about something very, very important.

                                            >The next day found you standing before the door leading to the room 22B.

                                            >Anon's room.

                                            >To say the truth, you didn't even come near it from the start of your shift in the early morning.

                                            >In the first hours of work you focused on other things.

                                            >You filled out some forms, checked on other patients, examined various medical equipment and other whatnot.

                                            >The reason why you avoided his room was pretty simple.

                                            >You were nervous and... scared.

                                            >Yes, the strict, tough nurse was scared of a little talk.

                                            >Scared of opening up before somepony, or rather somehyumin.

                                            >Scared of being judged.

                                            >Scared of being... rejected.

                                            >Looking at the still closed door, you mumbled under your breath.

                                            "Get a grip, Red. You need to do this. You need to see him and talk with him."

                                            >That's truth.

                                            >Firstly, because you want to live a relatively normal life.

                                            >To do this you need to tell him one of your biggest secrets and see just how he'll react when he hears about it.

                                            >If you won't do this, you'll start asking yourself more and more 'what if?' questions, until doubt and self-loathing will poison the rest of your life.

                                            >Secondly, your job demands from you to check on him at least once, or twice during your shift.

                                            >After all, you're his nurse during his stay in the hospital and you're simply responsible for his wellbeing here.

                                            >Taking a big breath, you finally opened the door and walked inside.

                                            >The first thing that you saw there, were three colorful balloons tied to Anon's hospital bed.

                                            >You didn't need a detective cutie mark to instantly guess who was responsible for those.

                                            >Pinkie Pie.

                                            >She must have already been here in the early morning.

                                            >Judging from the six 'get well soon' cards standing on the little bedside table, she wasn't alone.

                                            >Probably his other friends visited him along with her.

                                            >Unfortunately for them, Anon was surely still asleep in the morning, so they couldn't speak with him then.

                                            >The sleeping spells they literally pelted him with during the operation, were one of the most potent ones.

                                            >Those must have stopped working only recently.

                                            >Nevertheless, it was still possible that you'll have to wait for him to wake up.

                                            >Looking at the three balloons floating in the air, you began walking to Anon's bed.

                                            >The events from last night related to the pony, who brought those here, started playing in your mind.

                                            >Your behavior was very unprofessional.

                                            >Yes, you were nervous and upset, but that wasn't an excuse to attack Pinkie like you did, additionally flinging probably false accusations at her.

                                            >It was a real miracle that Dr. Stable only scolded you then and send you home.

                                            >He could have easily suspended you for a long time.

                                            >Sitting on a chair beside Anon's bed, you sighed audibly.

                                            "I have to apologise to Pinkie."

                                            >You looked at Anon's sleeping form.

                                            >Despite yourself, you smiled weakly.

                                            "Hi there, Mr. Anonymous. I see you finally have a good reason to be here, aren't you."

                                            >Of course, there was no answer.

                                            >Bandaged all over, he was lying on his back with his eyes closed.

                                            >He was breathing evenly and-

                                            >Wait a second.

                                            >There was something wrong with the way he 'slept'.

                                            >His eyes wasn't moving behind his eyelids and his breath was a little to shallow.

                                            >...

                                            "You're not really sleeping, aren't you?"

                                            >You said it more like a statement, than a question.

                                            >Slowly his eyes began opening and a small smile found its way on his features.

                                            >"Hello, Red. Fancy meeting you here."

                                            >For some reason a small blush bloomed on your muzzle when you heard his weak voice.

                                            >Surprisingly enough, you didn't fight with it.

                                            "How long are you awake? How are you feeling?"

                                            >He stirred a little in bed and groaned.

                                            >"I think, I woke up about 10 minutes ago and forgive me for saying this, but I feel like shit."

                                            >You half snorted, half chuckled.

                                            "I'm not surprised. After all, it's a small miracle that you're still alive."

                                            >Still smiling, he blinked a few times.

                                            >"That bad, eh?"

                                            >You nodded immediately.

                                            "Yes, that bad. How did it happened? What kind of dumb shenanigans you got yourself into, that you almost managed to kill yourself?"

                                            >You knew you were rude, but you already waited too long for the answer to that one.

                                            >Also, you were almost taken aback by the pure emotions hiding in the tone of your voice.

                                            >You surely wasn't talking to a patient there.

                                            >Anon turned his head slightly in your direction, with a smug expression on his face.

                                            >"Oh, didn't know you care so much for me, Red."

                                            >Instead of answering him verbally, you just narrowed your eyes at him.

                                            >He chuckled and judging by the groan following that action, he was fairly punished for it by his battered body immediately.

                                            >"Ouch... Well Red, if you must know, I was repairing a pretty high roof for someone and ya know, simply fell down from it."

                                            >Wh... WHAT?!

                                            >Also, so that's why he wasn't in the hospital lately.

                                            >He probably was to busy doing, whatever he was doing on that roof.

                                            "How... Where in Ponyville did you find roof high enough to hurt yourself so badly?!"

                                            >The only one, which came to your mind was the hospital roof, but that was impossible.

                                            >"Heh, lean down a little closer, Miss Inquisitive Nurse."

                                            >A little reluctantly you moved your head closer to his.

                                            >You felt his warm breath tickling your fur around your ear and the heat on your muzzle returned with a vengeance.

                                            >"It's a secret."

                                            >That bucking...

                                            >You immediately straighten yourself on the chair and looked at him with righteous fury in your eyes.

                                            >However, before you managed to say anything, he looked at the balloons tied to his bed.

                                            >"Wow, thanks for those Red, but I'm not a little kid anymore, you know."

                                            >Your eye twitched dangerously.

                                            "We're NOT talking about those right now. Besides, I wasn't the one, who brought them here. It was-"

                                            >"ME!"

                                            >A cold shiver ran down your spine and you looked behind you.

                                            >There, 'crawling' inside the room through the window, was Pinkie Pie.

                                            >You raised both of your eyebrows at the sight in front of you.

                                            "We're on the second floor, just how did you..."

                                            >It was Anon, who answerd you.

                                            >"Don't do this. Don't question anything she does. You'll live a happier and less complicated life that way."

                                            >Pinkie quickly found herself on the opposite side of his bed.

                                            >"Hurray, you're finally awake, Nonny!"

                                            >With a precision worthy of a skilled surgeon, she fished out his left hand from under the blanket.

                                            >"I knew you wasn't sleeping anymore, because my Pinkie sense told me that and it's never wrong!"

                                            >She started affectionately rubbing her cheek against his hand.

                                            >When you saw that, your body stiffened and your heart skipped a beat.

                                            >None of those in a good way.

                                            >Without thinking, you hissed at her through your clenched teeth.

                                            "Stop this, Miss Pie! You'll cause him pain and discomfort!"

                                            >She looked at you, visibly offended by your words.

                                            >"I already said that yesterday, I would never hurt Nonny! Only a big meanie like you could do this!"

                                            >What, did she just-

                                            >"Oi, stop it girls! What happened with the both of you?"

                                            >Anon was less than happy to see you arguing with each other.

                                            >Pinkie looked at him and pointed her hoof at you.

                                            >"That grumpy nurse is mean to me for no reason, Nonny!"

                                            >Great, now Anonymous was looking at you weirdly.

                                            >Though, you probably deserved this for your behavior last night.

                                            >With a sigh, you turned your eyes at the pink mare.

                                            "Yes, you're right. I was mean to you and attacked you for no reason. I'm... I'm sorry, I was very nervous yesterday and it just happened. Please forgive me."

                                            >She pressed her front hoof to her muzzle and started humming audibly.

                                            >"Weeelll, okie dokie lokie! Just don't do it again!"

                                            >You released a breath, you didn't know you were holding.

                                            "Thank you, Miss Pie."

                                            >Anon looked confused.

                                            >"Wait, what? You attacked Pinkie, the most chill and harmless pony in this crazy candyland?"

                                            >The party mare proudly puffed out her chest, showing off her pink fluff.

                                            >"See, told ya!"

                                            >You instinctively pushed your own chest tuft up front.

                                            "I couldn't know it for sure, didn't I? Besides, you already accepted my apology, so there's that."

                                            >Anonymous was switching his eyes from you to her and back.

                                            >The whole situation must have looked pretty unusual for him.

                                            >There were two mares puffing out their chests and seizing each other up beside his bed.

                                            >He whispered something about 'silly, edgy marshmallow pones' under his breath.

                                            >Pinkie Pie's ear twitched and she turned her attention at him.

                                            >To your great annoyance, she nuzzled his hand once more and smiled widely.

                                            >"Oh Nonny, when you finally get out of the hospital, I'm going to throw you the biggest party ever!"

                                            >He looked at her with pleading eyes and a something akin to pouting.

                                            >"Will there be any booze, my favourite pink, party pony?"~

                                            >She leaned closer to him with half lidded eyes and you literally felt like your stomach turned upside down.

                                            >"There may be, if somehyumin promise that he won't drink to much of it."

                                            >He chuckled and groaned.

                                            >Guess someponie- hyumins never learn.

                                            >"As soon as I'll be able to move my hands, I'll make you a pinkie promise that I won't, Ponks."

                                            >That elicited a giggle from her.

                                            >Your tail started dangerously flicking back and forth and you crossed your hooves on your chest.

                                            "Miss Pie, can I ask you something?"

                                            >She smiled at you smugly.

                                            >"You just did, silly!"

                                            >By Celestia, stay calm Redheart!

                                            >Stay calm!

                                            "I'm sorry for asking you this, but... can you leave me and Mr. Anonymous alone for a longer while. I need to speak to him about something private."

                                            >The smile vanished from her muzzle.

                                            >"B-But I already got here a-and Nonny just woke up."

                                            >As if sensing the gravity of the situation, Anonymous spoke to Pinkie.

                                            >"Pinks, please listen to her request. Unlike you, she can't be here for to long. She's got other patients and responsibilities to take care. You can see me later today, I promise."

                                            >The pink mare looked at you and him biting her lower lip.

                                            >"Ummm... okay. It's not like she's gonna steal you from me, right?"

                                            >You and Anon raised your eyebrows simultaneously.

                                            >"Wut?!"

                                            "What?!"

                                            >She waved her hoof in the air.

                                            >"Oh nothing, nothing. See you later alligator!"

                                            >Without waiting for anypony's answer, she galloped out from the room closing the door behind her.

                                            >You and Anon were alone once again.

                                            >He turned his head to look at you.

                                            >"So what's up, Red? IT must be something really important, I never seen you so nervous and all."

                                            >Despite yourself, you gulped loudly and nodded.

                                            "V-Very. You see, I was thinking about your um... proposition a-and before I 'really' make my decision, you must know something about me."

                                            >His eyes widened and his head sank a little more in the pillow.

                                            >"No, don't tell me... you have a dick?!"

                                            >You blushed like a crazy mare in heat.

                                            >He directed his eyes lower.

                                            >Though with the way you were sitting he wouldn't be able to see anything, you immediately covered the area around your lower belly with your front hooves.

                                            "No, you dump stallion, you! I'm a one hundred percent mare! Please, try to act serious!"

                                            >He cocked his head to the side a little and laughed softly.

                                            >"See, you're not so tense and stressed anymore."

                                            >You started wondering if you should tell him, or just choke him to death.

                                            >"I promise to act like an adult. Now tell me, what is so serious, that it can change the way I look at you, my pink maned angel?"

                                            >Why does he always insisted on calling you by Fluttershy's pet rabbit name?

                                            >No matter, it was time to tell him about your biggest shame.

                                            >Let's see if he'll see you in a romantic way after that.

                                            "Mr. Anonymous... Anon, please never tell anypony about this. I didn't want to go on a date with you, or any anypony else, because I-"

                                            *KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!*

                                            >Your head snapped in the door direction.

                                            >The door handle started to move.

                                            >You almost shouted out loud 'Are you bucking kidding me!'.

                                            >When the door opened, you saw an older mare wearing a white scarf and glasses.

                                            >Her fur was light grey and her mane was deep blue.

                                            >She looked at Anon.

                                            >"So that's where you are, dearie!"

                                            >He recognized her right away.

                                            >"Miss Waterfall?! What are you doing here?"

                                            >She smiled warmly at the both of you.

                                            >"Oh, it's not only me, Anon. There are other ponies with me, who really wanted to see you."

                                            >She turned her head and took a big breath.

                                            >Anon's eyes widened and he looked at you.

                                            >"No, no! Red, stop her before she-"

                                            >>"He's here, my dearies! Anon is here!"

                                            >Miss Waterfall walked inside, holding the door widely opened.

                                            >The floor started to shake and you heard the sounds of many hooves hitting the floor outside the room.

                                            >Anon looked at the ceiling and whispered to you.

                                            >"Goodbye, Red. It was nice knowing you."

                                            >Your head snapped back to him.

                                            "Wait, what?!"

                                            >Without any warning the room was filled with giggling and screeching little fillies and colts!

                                            >Like an unstoppable wave they rushed in Anon's direction.

                                            >He just closed his eyes dramatically.

                                            >Before you even managed to blink, the 'foal army' was beside his bed.

                                            >You counted almost fifteen of them.

                                            >In a record time, with the accompaniment of his groans and whimpers, he was covered from head to toes in little ponies.

                                            >To put it simply, they were hugging the live out of him.

                                            >It was... bucking cute.

                                            >What?

                                            >Even King Sombra's dark heart would beat at least once, if he'd seen something like that.

                                            >Miss Waterfall came up to Anon's bed, still smiling warmly at the adorable scene before her.

                                            >"How are you feeling, dearie?"

                                            >Turning his head along with the little peach colored filly, who was lying on top of it, Anon looked at her.

                                            >"I'm... in a... tremendous... amounts... of pain..."

                                            >She put her front hoof on a rare empty surface of his bed.

                                            >"Don't be ridiculous, sweetie. Besides, you deserve it for not listening to me and not securing yourself while working on the roof."

                                            >To say that you were dumbfounded would be an understatement.

                                            "You were working on the roof without any protection?! You-"

                                            >As if they were a one living being, fifteen pairs of eyes looked at you at once.

                                            >That caught you off guard and you literally lose your voice.

                                            >You truly felt more than a little 'overwhelmed with attention' at that moment.

                                            >Anon groaned once again and smiled silly.

                                            >"I never stated that I'm a smart guy."

                                            >So that was his explanation, huh?

                                            "I was going to ask those little fillies and colts to get off of you. However, now I think that they can stay were there are for as long as they want."

                                            >A loud "Hurray!" filled the air around you.

                                            >Anonymous wanted to say something, but was interrupted by two little snouts furiously nuzzling both of his cheeks and just mumbled something incoherently.

                                            >Miss Waterfall turned her attention at you.

                                            >"So, you must be the illustrious Nurse Redheart, Anon is always talking about. My name's Waterfall, it's nice to meet you."

                                            >You nodded slightly.

                                            "Likewise, Miss Waterfall. Can I ask you a few questions?"

                                            >Anon moaned pitifully from under his 'dome of foals'.

                                            >"No, you can't."

                                            >Deep blue maned mare had a different opinion on the subject.

                                            >"Of course, you can, dearie."

                                            "Alright. Who are you, who are those foals and why are they acting like if Anon was somepony special for them?"

                                            >You had some suspicions of your own, but you decided to hear the truth from the source itself, so to speak.

                                            >"That's because he is somepony special for them."

                                            >Anon only muttered something under his breath.

                                            >Miss Waterfall took off her glasses and stroked the mane of a little brown unicorn colt, who was hugging Anon's shoulder.

                                            >"We are from Ponyville's Orphanage, Miss Redheart. Normally, everypony pay little to no attention to us. 'The Crown is taking care of them' they say and it's true. However, children needs something more than just goverment bits, which by the way barely suffice until the end of the month. They need attention and kindness."

                                            >One of the fillies on Anon's stomach turned to you.

                                            >"Mr. Anon is always fixing something for us!"

                                            >The brown colt, who was still hugging his shoulder nodded his little head.

                                            >"Yeah and he always plays hoofball with us and he tell stories about um... about..."

                                            >The peach colored filly on his head continued for him.

                                            >"...about his amazing world with cars and planes and spacecrafts!"

                                            >Cars, planes, spacecrafts?

                                            >What are those?

                                            >Miss Waterfall was the one, who was talking again.

                                            >"Yes, from the moment Princess Twilight showed our orphanage to Anon, he's visiting us regularly. He's always so good for the foals and tries to fix what's broken in our old building."

                                            >If you remember correctly orphanage is a 3 storeys building with a high sloping roof.

                                            >So, this is this mysterious roof he fell from.

                                            "How many ponies know about him helping you?"

                                            >She put glasses back on her snout.

                                            >"Not many, dearie. Anon doesn't want any praise for what he's doing."

                                            >Anonymous finally found his voice, from under the assault of two little muzzles.

                                            >"That's because what I'm doing is selfish, Miss Waterfall. Helping you and playing with those cute little buggers makes me feel better about myself. Besides that, if ponies came to know that I'm regulary visiting orphanage without actualy working there, or wanting to adopt, they'll think I'm some kind of a pedophile, or something."

                                            >The light grey mare smiled at his words.

                                            >"He's always saying this, don't let it get to you, Miss Redheart. He has a kind heart. If he hasn't, foals wouldn't be so frightened about his wellbeing after his accident. That's why I let them come here with me today."

                                            >Looks like Anon is a little more complicated stallion than you thought.

                                            >What a surprise.

                                            >Miss Waterfall clapped her hooves together a few times, getting everypony's attention.

                                            >"Alright dearies, it's time to go! Anon needs his rest! Say your goodbyes, quickly now!"

                                            >A chorus of discouraged high pitched voices was her answer, but they listened to her anyway.

                                            >After some cute and teary eyed goodbyes Miss Waterfall and her foals leaved the room.

                                            >Both Anonymous and his bed looked as if a tornado went through the hospital.

                                            >You looked at him and asked only one, short question.

                                            "Why?"

                                            >It didn't have to be longer, he knew exactly what were you asking him about.

                                            >He smiled bitterly.

                                            >"I told you already, because I'm a selfish bastard, who have too much time and money. Celestia gave me the position of 'ambassador of mankind'. My country simply doesn't exist, so no one needs to talk with me, but I get the money anyway. I help in the orphanage, because it makes me feel better about myself. I'm no longer a 'useless hyumin, who doesn't have a cutie mark' anymore, that's all. Boring story, eh?"

                                            >You shook your head.

                                            "No, there's something more. Don't worry, you can tell me. I know how to keep a secret."

                                            >He narrowed his eyes, as if judging you for the first time ever.

                                            >"...I can't have any children of my own. At least not in this world. I mean, I'm thirty years old for fucks sake. I should have a wife and a kid, or two already. When I'm spending time with those foals at the orphanage, I feel like a, I don't know, a father of some sort. I know that is weird for a guy to think like that and... ah, fuck it, you wouldn't understand anyway."

                                            >When you heard his explanation, your heart almost burst out of your chest.

                                            >You gently grabbed his hand in your hooves and smiled softly.

                                            "No I definitely can, Anon."

                                            >He raised his eyebrows, more than a little surprised.

                                            >"R-Really?"

                                            >You nodded.

                                            "Yes, because you see, I can't have children of my own too. I'm infertile, Anon. That's my darkest secret."

                                            >Well, that was it.

                                            >You told Anon your most guarded secret.

                                            >Sudden silence filled the room.

                                            >You could hear the rapid beating of your nervous heart.

                                            >Anon was looking at you... strangely, as if you grew a second head, or something.

                                            >In contrast, you were looking at him with hope in your heart.

                                            >Nonetheless, deep down in the back of your mind you were preparing yourself to receive the harshest of words.

                                            >You were reading yourself to be rejected.

                                            >Without warning, Anon grabbed one of your hooves with his hand.

                                            >Due to your nervousness, you barely registered his touch.

                                            >"My little angel, why did you think that this information would change the way I'm looking at you?"

                                            >Your mind finally started working like it should.

                                            "Because I'm a damaged mare Anon, incomplete... My job alone is a factor that drives most of the stallions away, but this... What stallion would ever want to start a family with a mare that can't give him foals. For most, I would be good for just a quick roll in the hay, but nothing more. With their pride on the line and all that horse apples there are very little stallions out there, who would even think about adoption... "

                                            >Anon chuckled softly.

                                            >"And which group of stallions, do you think I represent?"

                                            >He squeezed your hoof gently.

                                            >A fresh blush bloomed on your muzzle.

                                            "F-from what I saw, y-you would be more than willing to adopt, even if it would be an older filly, or colt."

                                            >He smiled, when he heard you.

                                            >"Especially, if it would be an older colt, or filly."

                                            >You raised both of your eyebrows in a non-verbal question.

                                            >"Well, you see, I'm more than willing to not live throughout the first years of a chil-, I mean a foals life. It's mostly filled with crying, sleepless nights, smelly diapers and all that 'fun' stuff. I... I hope you understand."

                                            >You scrunched your muzzle, just to feel the satisfaction of making him nervous for a moment, but then you smiled.

                                            "I understand perfectly, Anon. I had more than my fair share of all those things in the maternity ward, I-"

                                            >And then it hit you like a ton of bricks.

                                            >Both of you were speaking as if you were a happy, married couple, who wanted to adopt a foal.

                                            >Did you... did you finally found a stallion, who was accepting you for who you are?

                                            >Who didn't give a buck about your demanding job hours and your greatest flaw?

                                            >Silence fell between you again, but Anon quickly ended it.

                                            >"Sooo, do you know for how long I need to be here, chained to this bed?"

                                            >You scratched your lower jaw in thought.

                                            "That's for Dr. Stable to decide. Although, I think you'll have to be here for at least two weeks."

                                            >At first he wasn't looking to happy about it, but then he sighted and smiled again.

                                            >"Two weeks with my favourite nurse? I'm more than happy about it."

                                            >With a weak grunt, he moved in bed to get a little closer to you.

                                            >"Now, please answer me this, Red. When I finally get out of this room and this hospital, I want to invite you for a romantic dinner. How does it sounds?"

                                            >Your cheeks become even redder than before, but you smiled widely.

                                            >You already knew the answer to his question.

                                            "Anon, I-"

                                            *BANG!*

                                            >With a loud clatter, the door burst open, as if kicked from the other side.

                                            >"Nooooo..."

                                            >Pinkie Pie galloped inside the room.

                                            >"...ooooo..."

                                            >She quickly found herself beside Anon.

                                            >"...ooooo..."

                                            >She grabbed his hand in her hooves and firmly pressed it to her chest tuft.

                                            >"...ooooo..."

                                            >She looked at you with determination in her eyes.

                                            >"...oooo! Nonny is my stallion, I saw him first!"

                                            >You opened and closed your snout a few times, but didn't utter a sound.

                                            >For a few moments nopony said anything.

                                            >Anon looked at Pinkie with an arched eyebrow.

                                            >"Ponko, were you eavesdropping on us?"

                                            >She shook her head vigorously.

                                            >"No Anon, I would never do that! I had an ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch and-"

                                            >He quickly interrupted her with a loud chuckle.

                                            >"Oh right, I forgot about ridiculous Pinkie sense you have..."

                                            >Then he sighed audibly, and looked at her with a serious expression on his face.

                                            >"Pinks, do you like me? I mean, do you like-like me?"

                                            >Her pink muzzle turned red and she pressed his hand to her chest even harder.

                                            >"O-Of course, silly! Why would I be s-such a drama queen if I didn't? You know that I'm not Rarity in Pinkie Pie costume, right?"

                                            >With some effort, he turned his hand on her chest and grabbed her hoof with it.

                                            >At that moment, he was holding two mares by their hooves, while lying in the hospital bed.

                                            >Anon swallowed nervously.

                                            >"Pinkie, you're a great mare and an awesome friend, but I don't reciprocate your feelings for me. I'm sorry, but I don't think about you in a romantic kind of way. To say the truth, I think that you also don't think that way about me."

                                            >The pink mare became confused in a heart beat.

                                            >Just like you.

                                            >"I-I don't?"

                                            >Anon nodded.

                                            >"Yeah, I think you just really like to hang out with me. Joking around and acting in a silly manner with someone, who have a similar sense of humor is the highlight of your day. You are just afraid that when I actually get a marefriend, you'll stop seeing me."

                                            >He smiled warmly at her.

                                            >"So you decided that you need to be that marefriend. You were even trying to get me to like-like you, by using your body, Pinks. I'm not as silly as I look, you know."

                                            >She started looking around nervously and you swear, that you saw a drop of sweat forming on her forehead.

                                            >"M-Maybe you're right, maybe you're not..."

                                            >Anon didn't stop smiling.

                                            >"I know I'm right, Ponks. Please don't be afraid that you'll stop seeing me. If you want, I can make a Pinkie promise to you that I will always have time for my best friend, no matter what."

                                            >When she heard him, she visibly calmed down and shook her head.

                                            >"No Nonny, you don't have to. I belive you."

                                            >She smiled at him, but after a moment she looked back at you.

                                            >That fierce determination was back in her eyes.

                                            >She pointed on of her hooves at you.

                                            >"Treat Nonny well! If you don't, I'll make cupcakes out of you!"

                                            >Yours and Anon's eyes widened.

                                            >However, you didn't manage to say anything because she let go of his hand and ran out of the room, without closing the door behind her.

                                            >Both of you looked at each other, with great confusion and a little fear in your eyes.

                                            >Suddenly, Pinkie's head showed itself in the doorway.

                                            >"I was just joking about those cupcakes, you silly fillies!"

                                            >After that she was gone, this time closing the door behind her.

                                            >You really hoped she was joking.

                                            >O-or, maybe she'll just turn you into some other kind of pastry, than cupcakes...

                                            >Your ominous thoughts were interrupted by Anon, Who gently squeezed your hoof.

                                            >He was looking at you with his goofy version of puppy dog eyes.

                                            >"Sooo, about that romantic dinner, Red. Yay or neigh?"

                                            >You leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

                                            "I'll be delighted to go on a romantic dinner with you, my favourite, stubborn patient."


                                            The End