Beating Hearts

by TheExhaustedBrony

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Sad, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Nurse Redheart, Other
Length: 985

Nurse Redheart doesn't want to lose anymore patients

Ponyville hospital has been looked at as a place where ponies go to get better. However, not everypony does. Nurse Redheart has witnessed the deaths of three patients in a single week and the emotional stress is too much for her to take. She decided to completely avoid seeing more deaths by leaving the hospital forever. She wasn't prepared to see so much death, but she also wasn't prepared for who she'd meet on her way home.

Submitted for the 31shotober challenge!

Published 2013-09-24 14:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-24 14:00:02 UTC

Beating Hearts

I ran out of that god forsaken room. My eyes burned with sadness as tears streamed down my face. I wanted to leave. I wanted to get away from the heartache, but I could only curl into a ball on the cold hospital floor and sob.

"Damnit! No! No! No! No! No!!!" I could hear Dr. Pulse cursing and the sound of equipment being thrown onto the floor. He was rightfully, angry that we've failed to save three lives this week. I just continued to lie face down tightly shutting my eyes to force my tears out. Eventually the shouting and commotion ceased. I don't know how long it was but it couldn't have been more than a minute. As I lay on the floor, crying uncontrollably, I could hear the heavy sigh of Dr. Pulse and his hoofsteps drawing closer,

He took off his glasses, "Nurse Redheart, I know it's hard but-"

"But what?" I interrupted, "our job is to keep ponies alive and healthy. Dust Cloud makes this the third death this week. The third!" I was angry, frightened, and heartbroken. Why did it have to be like this? They should t have died. The deaths of Goldenrod and Inkwell were hard enough, but now that Dust Cloud has passed, I've reached my limit. I shakily stood up and walked to the front entrance. I pushed open the door and walked outside into the pouring rain. I did not look back at that house of death and despair.

The wind blew droplets of rain that stung my face and the water chilled me to the bone. I didn't care though, I thought that nothing in the entire world would draw me out of my misery. Let the rain come, what's the point of caring for my well being if I can't protect someone else's? I can't stop asking myself whether or not there's a point to being in he field of medicine if you can't save the ones who need help?

The wind picked up and I had to squint my eyes because of the relentless rain pouring on me. I was at least three minutes from my house when I saw a small yellow figure on the ground underneath a fallen branch. Instantly, my heart sank into my stomach.

"This can't be happening. Not another one!" I ran as fast as I could towards the figure, telling myself that it's not what I think it is over and over again. By the time I was twenty feet away, I could clearly make out what was lying under the branch. I instantly burst into tears but still kept going. I can't leave a child here like this. As I bent over to inspect the filly, I could see that the branch had struck him in the head. Above me, the broken stub on the tree indicates that the branch had fallen from about eight feet up. I put my hoof up to his neck and suddenly, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel of misery. He was alive! He had a pulse, it was weak, but it gave me hope that this child still has a chance. That I have a chance to save someone.

"Don't worry! I'm going to save you!" I grunted as I hoisted the child onto my back, "I will not let another life be lost when I can do something about it!" From there, I carefully trotted as fast as I could back to Ponyville hospital. I looked back to check on the child. I couldn't help but wonder what reason he had for being out in the pouring rain? I was deep so deep in my own thoughts, I did not notice that I was just outside the hospital. I darted inside, sending the door crashing into the walls as they swung open. I looked to see three ponies, other nurses, just standing in the lobby staring at me.

"What do you think you're doing?! Help this child!" I shouted. I explained that he had severe blunt force trauma to the skull. Two of the nurses carefully took the motionless pony off my back and laid him on the floor. They helped support his neck while they waited for Dr. Pulse to arrive with the stretcher, which they could hear rattling just down the hall.

"My Celestia, Nurse Redheart! What happened?" Dr. Pulse cleaned his glasses.

As the three nurses carried the child onto the stretcher, I explained everything that had happened since I left the hospital earlier. We both wheeled the patient into the closest empty room.

"Nurse Redheart, I'm going to ask you to wait in the lobby." Dr. Pulse said with a serious tone.

"What? Why? Why can't I be here to see to it that this child survives?! This is absolutely absurd!"

"You've had a rough week. You're emotionally unstable. Now, while it's not my area of expertise, it's obvious to everypony here that you're still shaken up over the events of this week. I'm asking you, as your superior, no, as your friend, to please take a moment to rest and have faith in me." Dr. Pulse smiled gently. I felt reassured with his kind words as I headed for the lobby.

One of the nurses brought me a blanket and a cup of hot coffee. I completely forgot that I was soaking wet. I guess I turned a blind eye to what seemed insignificant at the time.

Time slowed down to a crawl as I waited on the bench. I went through at least four cups of coffee. I wanted to be awake when Dr. Pulse leaves that room with a smile on his face. It felt like an eternity, but eventually, I heard the sound of the door swing open. I saw Dr. Pulse. His head was hung and I could hear him sobbing.