WHATS WRONG WITH MY HEART?!

by Sky Wings

Rating: mature
Tags: Sad, Romance, Slice of Life
Length: 4861

Loose based Katawa Shoujo pony story.

Heartbeat is a regular pony like everypony else, living a normal life until one day, a meeting with another pony changes everything.

A story based loosely on the Visual Novel: Katawa Shoujo.
Thanks to 4 Leaf Studios for creating Katawa Shoujo.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-01-26 09:44:31 UTC

Prologue

A light breeze causes the naked branches overhead to rattle like wind chimes.

This is a popular retreat for couples in the summer. The deciduous trees provide a beautiful green canopy, far out of sight of teachers and fellow students.

But now, in late winter, it feels like I'm standing under a pile of kindling.

I rub my hooves together furiously to prevent them from numbing in this cold.

“Just how long am I expected to wait out here anyway? I'm sure the note said 4pm.”

Ah yes… the note… slipped between the pages of my math book by somepony while I wasn’t looking.

As far as clichés go, I'm more of a fan of the letter-in-the-locker, but at least this way shows a bit of initiative.

As I ponder the meaning of the note, the snowfall gradually thickens.

The snowflakes silently falling from the white-painted sky are the only sign of time passing in this stagnant world.

Their slow descent upon the frozen forest makes it seem like time has slowed to a crawl.

The rustling of dry snow underfoot startles me, interrupting the quiet moon. Someone is approaching me from behind.

“H… Heartbeat? You came?”

A hesitating, barely audible question.

However, I recognize the owner of that dainty voice instantly.

I feel my heart skip a beat.

It’s a voice I've listened to hundreds of times, but never as more than an eavesdropper to a conversation.

I turn to face this voice, the voice of my dreams, and my heart begins to race…

“Rainy Day? I got a note telling me to wait here… it was yours?”

Dammit. I spent all afternoon trying to come up with a good line and that was the result.

Pathetic.

“Ahmm… yes. I asked a friend to give you that note… I'm so glad you got it.”

A shy joyous smile that makes me so tense I couldn’t move a muscle even if I tried.

My heart is pounding now, as if it were trying to burst out from my chest and claim this mare for itself.

“So… ah… here we are. Out in the cold…”

Once again, the wind stirs up the branches, The cacophonous noise is music to my ears.

Rainy Day flinches ever so softly against the gust of wind.

As it passes, she rights herself, as if supported by some new confidence.

Her eyes lock with mine and she lazily brushes her mane with her hoof.

All the while, the anxious beating of my heart grows louder.

My throat is tight; I doubt I could even force a word out if I tried.

“You see…”

Badump…

“I wanted to know…”

Badump… Badump!

“… if you’d go out with me…”

I stand there motionless, save for my pounding heart.

I want to say something in reply, but my vocal cords feel like they’ve been stretched beyond breaking point.

“… Heartbeat?”

I reach up to try to massage my throat, but this only sends spikes of blinding pain along my legs.

“Heartbeat?!”

BADUMP!

My whole body freezes, save for my eyes, which shoot open in terror.

BADUMP …BADUMP …BADUMP …BADUMP

“HEARTBEAT!”

The beating in my chest suddenly stops, and I go weak at the knees.

The world around me – the canopy of bare branches, the dull winter sky, Rainy Day galloping towards me – all these fade to black.

The last things I remember before slipping away are the sounds of Rainy Day screaming for help and the incessant latter of the branches above…

Chapter 2

Its been a year since my heart attack.

A year is a pretty long time when you're left alone in a hospital with your thoughts. So I've come to terms with my situation.

Equirrythmia.

A strange word. A foreign, alien one. One that you don’t want to be in the same room with.

A rare condition. It causes the heart to act erratically and occasionally beat way too fast. It can be fatal.

Apparently, I've had it for a long time. They said it was a miracle that I was able to go on so long without anything happening.

Is that really a miracle? I guess it was supposed to make me feel better, more appreciative of my life.

It really didn’t do too much to cheer me up.

My parents, I think, were hit harder by the news than I was. They practically had two hemorrhages apiece.

I had already had a full day to digest everything. To them, it was all fresh. They were even willing to sell the house in order to pay for the cure.

Of course, there isn’t a cure.

Because of the late discovery of this… condition, I've had to stay at the hospital, to recuperate from the treatments.

When I was first admitted, it felt as if I were missed…

For about a week, my room in the ward was full of flowers, balloons and cards.

But, the visitors soon dwindled and all the get-well gifts began trickling down to nothing shortly after.

I realized that’s the only reason I had gotten so many cards and flowers was because sending me their sympathy had been turned into a class project.

Maybe some ponies were genuinely concerned, but I doubt it. Even in the beginning, I barely had any visitors. By the end of the first month, only my parents came by on a regular basis.

RainyDay was the last to stop visiting.

After six weeks, I never saw her again. We never had that much to talk about when she visited, anyway.

We didn’t touch the subject that was between us on that snowy day, ever again.

The hospital?

Its not really a place id like to live in.

The doctors and nurses feel so impersonal and faceless.

I guess its because they are in a hurry and they have a million other patients waiting for them, but it makes me feel uncomfortable.

For the first few months or so, I asked the head cardiologist every time I saw him for a rough estimate of when id be able to leave.

He never answered anything in a straightforward way, but told me to wait and see if the treatment and surgeries worked.

So I idly observed the scar that those surgeries had left on my chest slowly change its appearance overtime, thinking of it as some kind of omen.

I still ask the head cardiologist about leaving, but my expectations are low enough now that I'm not disappointed any more when I don’t get a reply. The way he shuffles around the answer shows that there is at least some hope.

At some point I stopped watching TV. I don’t know why, I just did.

Maybe it was the wrong kind of escapism for my situation.

I started reading instead. There was a small “library” at the hospital, although is was more like a stoarage room for books. I began working my way through it, one small stack at a time. After consuming them, I would go back for more.

I found that I liked reading, and I think I even became a bit addicted.

I started feeling naked without a book in front of me.

But I loved the stories.

That was what my life was like.

The days became increasingly harder to distinguish from each other, differing only by the book I was reading and the weather outside. It felt like time blurred into some kind of gooey mass I was trapped inside, instead of moving within.

A week could go by without me really noticing it.

Sometimes I’d pause in realization that I didn’t know what day of the week it was.

But other times, all the things that surrounded me would painfully crash into my consciousness, through the barrier on nonchalance I had set up for myself.

The pages of my book would start to feel sharp and burning hot and the heaviness in my chest would become so hard to bear that I had to b]put the book aside and just lay down for a while, looking at the ceiling as if I was going to cry.

But that happened only rarely.

And I couldn’t even cry.

Today the doctor comes in and gives me a smile. He seems excited, but not very. It's like he is trying to make an effort to be happy on my behalf.

My parents are here. It's been a few days since I've last seen them. Both of them are even dressed up/ is this supposed to be some kind of special occasion? It's not  party.

There is this ritual the head cardiologist has. He takes his time, sorting his papers, then setting them aside as if to make a point of the pointlessness of what he just did.

Then he casually sits down on the edge of the bed next to mine. He look me in the eyes for a moment.

“Hello, Heartbeat. How are you today?”

I don’t answer him but I smile a little, back at him.

“I believe that you can leave the hospital; your heart is stronger now, and with some precautions, you should be fine.”

“We have all your medication sorted out. I'll give your father the prescription.”

The doctor hands a sheet of paper to my dad, whose expression turns wooden as he reads it quickly.

“So many…” he says worriedly.

I take it from his hand and take a look myself, feeling numb. How am I supposed to react to this?

I can’t understand any of the things on the paper. Attempting to only makes me feel sicker.

All this… for the rest of my life, every day?

“I'm afraid that’s the best we can do at this point. However, new medications are always being developed, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see that list fade over the years.” Explained the doctor.

“Also, I've spoken with your parents, and we believe it is best if you don’t return to your home in Canterlot.”

What?!

“Please calm down, Heartbeat. Listen to what the doctor has to say.” My dad reasoned.

Calm down? The way he says it tells me he knew full well that I wouldn’t like it. What the hell?

Whatever of my concern shows, it's ignored.

“You will instead, be sent to live in a nice little town called Ponyville, the ponies there are mostly caring , friendly and many in numbers, and with someone of your condition, would not hesitate to help you when you need it, and because the towns hospital is not far away, we think this will be best for you.” Exaplined the doctor.

“We went out there and had a look a couple of weeks back and had a look and talked with the Mayor of the town; I think you’d like it.”

My dad sounded genuine when he said he thought id like it.

It looks like I don’t really have a choice, anyway.

I really hate that something so important was decided for me, But what can I do about it? A “normal” life is out of the question now.

I want to say something, I want to protest, but no.

I don’t say anything, the fact is that I know now it's futile.

There isn’t really a choice. I know this, but I guess ill try to make the best of it.

A clean slate isn’t a bad thing.

At the very least I’ll try to see what my new life will look like.

Chapter 4

Mayor Mare and I left the office where she would lead me to our destination.

As we walked I occasionally got the odd second glance from somepony, they probably knew that I was new to Ponyville.

I try to strike up a decent conversation with the Mayor.

"So uh, the ponies in this town... what are they like?" I asked nervously.

"Most of them a generally friendly and caring. I'm sure you'll get along with everypony just fine."

"Really? that's great, I guess."

“Don’t worry too much, trust me, you’ll be fine.” She said enthusiastically.

I takes us about ten minutes to reach where we were going.

As we walk up to the library, Mayor Mare taps her hoof on the door twice.

Shortly after, the door opens revealing a purple mare in the door frame.

Her mane was a dark purple with a single streak of light pink through it.

Mayor Mare greeted the purple mare cheerily.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle! I've brought your new housemate with me!”

“Hey Mayor Mare.” She replied.

The purple mare I now assume is Twilight Sparkle looked me over once and smiled.

“You must be Heartbeat. My name is Twilight Sparkle, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Ah.. Same here..”

“Now now, no need to be nervous, why don’t you both come in.”

Twilight motioned us to enter the library.

Mayor Mare, however, declined.

“My sincerest apologies Twilight Sparkle, but I simply must get back to my office. I'm afraid my desk is quite piled up with papers and forms of late.” She explained.

Twilight nodded and Mayor Mare trotted off in the direction  we came.

“Well don’t just stand there!” Twilight said happily.

“Come on in! I’ll have Spike prepare tea.”

Chapter 5

[This chapter is really just a trial and error. So ill appreciate feedback in the comments.

I'm probably going to redo it anyway, but if it gets well enough, I might just continue as is.]

I entered into the library nervously.

The first floor is really spacious, it makes me wonder what the second floor is like, I’ll find out soon enough.

“Spike! Can you come down here?”

Twilight had called out to a pony named Spike.

At lease, I thought it was a pony.

Instead I see a little baby purple dragon walk it's way down the stairs and into the room.

“What is it Twilight? And who’s this guy?” he asked rather bluntly.

“Spike, this is Heartbeat. He’s going to be staying here with us, remember I told you about all this?” explained Twilight.

“Oh right! I forgot!”

Spike turned to look at me.

“I'm Spike, Twilight’s number one assistant! Nice to meet you!” Spike exclaimed happily.

“Same here.” I casually responded to the little dragon.

“Spike.” Twilight started. “Could you put on some tea for us please?”

“Sure thing Twilight!” Spike responded happily.

With that, Spike hopped off to the kitchen to prepare out tea.

This left me with only one question on my mind.

“Uh.. Twilight? Where exactly will I be-” My sentence was cut off by a sharp ‘Oh!’ followed by Twilight rushing me upstairs to the top room.

…

There’s only one bed...

“Uh… Twilight… there’s only one bed?”

“It’s only temporary. Sorry, I didn’t have enough time to get another one.”

She looked embarrassed, almost as embarrassed as I felt.

“Is this okay for you?” she’d asked sheepishly.

“Well uh… Sure…”

That didn’t sound convincing to me, but Twilight seemed to take it as an acceptable response.

I glanced around the room, quickly spying a suitcase that looked familiar to me.

“I'm guessing that’s my stuff over there?”

I motion my hoof toward the suitcase, in which Twilight gives a polite nod.

I trot towards the suitcase and open it.

Everything from the hospital is in there, including a few extra things, such as a flute I used to play.

Twilight curiously looks over my shoulder to peek at my stuff oblivious to wether I’d like her to or not.

“Oh wow! I didn’t know you could play the flute!”

Twilight looked excited, she probably expects me to play something or other.

“I can’t. Well, not anymore that is…”

“Oh…”

“Sorry Twilight’, I thought to myself.

Among my things, a certain item catches my eye.

“Oh brilliant! That’s in here!” I shouted.

Twilight jumped at me shouting.

Confused, she asks me what it is.

“What exactly is that thing, Heartbeat?”

“This, my purple maned friend, is a Sonic Screwdriver!. It is a multi-purpose piece of awesome technology that can do almost bloody everything. I got it from the Doctor.”

Twilight looked seriously confused, she’d never heard of this ‘Doctor’ or a thing such as a ‘Sonic Screwdriver’.

“You got it from a Doctor?”

“No, no. Just The Doctor.”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion and proceeded to make a soft Uhh, clearly confused as to whoever this Doctor is.

“Oh right, you’ve probably never heard of him.”

I pondered for a second, thinking of the best way to explain about the Doctor to twilight.

“Well basically, The Doctor is a time travelling pony, he calls himself a ‘Timelord’, who is actually a human which is an animal that walks on two legs and has hands! But for some reason whenever he crosss into this dimension he ends up being a pony… and well, shall I tell you the story of how I ended up being his temporary assistant a year ago?”

Twilight smiled at me looking very interested in my story.

So got myself ready to tell Twilight the story of the Doctor and I.

“This story is pretty long, Twilight, better get yourself comfortable-“ The moment id finished my sentence, Spike appears coming up the staircase with our tea, handing one to Twilight, who levitates it with her unicorn magic, and one to me, which I casually pick up in my hoof(How us ponies can do that, I’ll never know)

“Alright...” I started. “It all began on summer break last year. It was a quiet day, when out of nowhere, a blue police box…”

Chapter 6

[FLASHBACK TIME]

Ugh… why is it so hot?

Why can’t winter hurry and be here already?

Mom and Dad are out on business stuff again, as usual. So this leaves me battling the heat at home alone.

“Isn’t there something I can do around here?”

I’d said that to an empty space in my room, not really caring wether I got an answer or not.

I figure I should go out somewhere, then again it's just as hot outside as it is inside.

‘Oh well’ I thought. Can’t be much hotter outside.

I change clothes, put on some shoes and leave the house, not forgetting to lock up before I do.

Now comes the simple task of finding something to do. The arcade should be open, so maybe some Dance Mania is in order. Or perhaps some Pony Fighter Alpha.

Maybe I should just go to the park.

I wonder what everypony else from school is doing?

So I wander off somewhere not particularly caring where I end up.

Turning at each second street expecting to find something interesting.

After about an hour of walking, I sit down due to intense heat, boredom and also because I'm tired out.

“By Celestia’s mane, why is it so bloody hot?!”

About a second later after I’d yelled out, something appeared in front of me, though transparent at first, it quickly turned solid revealing itself to be a blue police box.

“What in Equestria…?”

Shortly after saying that, the door to the police box swung open and a brown stallion trotted out with a rather odd, rod-shaped object in his mouth.

The stallion looked around as if he were searching for something.

The stallion had a rather spiky mane, and it was a darker brown than his coat. His cutie mark is in the shape of an hourglass-Nope, it is an hourglass.

His gaze wandered to me and his eyes fixated on me.

“Brilliant. You there!” he exclaims.

“M-me?” I say back nervously.

“Yes you, who else would I be talking to? Quite obviously not myself, besides you’re the only other pony around here so I was obviously talking to you! Now anyway, no time to explain, but I need your help, Soo, in you come!” the stallion motioned me to the police box.

“What? In there?”

“Yes there, don’t worry! It's much larger on the inside, come on! No time to waste, Allons-y!”

The brown maned stallion dashed behind me and forcibly pushed me into the police box.

“Oi! Wait a second here!”

“No waiting, we have to hurry now, Allons-y!”

The door shut behind me, and suddenly I was in a much larger room then I had thought.

He was right! It is much larger on the inside!

“What in the hay…?” I said flatly.

“Yes yes, suprising right? Everyone always gasps when they first enter the Tardis.”

“Every…one? You mean everypony, right?” I asked confused.

“Everypo-Oh right! I’d forgotten I was a pony for a minute there!, well anyway, I guess it's time for introductions! Is your name Alonso by any chance?”

I stared blankly at him, not knowing what I should say back, then it hits me.

“No, no! my name is Heartbeat!”

“Oh… shame, oh well doesn’t matter anyway, hello Heartbeat, I'm the Doctor, and this magnificent thing you’re standing in is called the Time and Relative Dimension in Space! AKA; The Tardis.”

So, this guys is a Doctor, and this thing from what I can gather, is something related to time travel?

Wow, insane.

“So do you have an actual name? all you said was Doctor.”

“Nope, no I'm just the Doctor.”

“So you fix ponies up?”

“No, not that kind of Doctor I'm afraid, I am, a Timelord! Now I dunno if you know what that means, but basically, telling from the mark on my flank which is an hourglass, my special talent is Time and Fabrication which means I can travel in time! You getting any of this? Cause you look like you’re spacing out a bit, Hello?”

The Doctor claps his hoof’s in front of my face and I regain my thinking status.

So he is a time travelling pony.

A time travelling- I can’t believe this.

“So you’re a time travelling pony?”

“Yep.”

I place a hoof onto my face, more commonly explained as; I face-hoofed.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Wot?”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Wot?!”

“I DON’T-“

“No no! I meant to say Wot? Why?”

“Because it’s totally illogical, time travel doesn’t exist-“

“Bullshit, I'm a timelord, what more proof do you need?”

I suddenly had an idea.

If he is a time travelling pony, he should have no problem proving it to me.

“Take me back to when I was fifteen then, on my birthday.”

“Okay then! If this is how I gotta prove myself, first off what year, date and time?”

I tell the Doctor what the relevant information, and he begins adjusting nodes, pressing buttons and yanking handles.

“Alright just this last bit here-“ The Doctor pulls one last lever.

“Right off we go. ALLONS-Y!”

The Doctor sits on his flank, and the Tardis-thing shakes for about five seconds and then stops.

The Doctor stands up on all fours and looks in my direction.

“Alright then, go on!”

“What?”

“The door! Open the bloody door! Were out the front of your house!”

I open the door to the Tardis and I’m met by a surge of blinding light probably due to the sudden change from mild lighting to lighter. My eyes now hurt.

“So? I'm just out-front my house, how am I supposed to know if it’s three years ago?”

“Go ‘ave a look you silly boy!”

My birthday had taken place in my backyard that day, so I go to look over the fence.

To my surprise, and unexpectedness, there I was.

Me.

Moi.

Three years ago.

On my fifteenth birthday.

Wearing a stupid party hat.

No way! This guy was telling the truth!

“Good gravy… he really is a time travelling pony…”

“I told you, so anyway I need your help; so, let’s get back to the present shall we?”

The Doctor and I step back into the Tardis, and he repeats the process of twisting all those nodes, pushing buttons and yanking that last lever, followed by shouting ‘ALLONS-Y!’

Chapter 3

Two days later, I arrive in the town I know only as “Ponyville”

It looks like a nice town. Doctor was right I guess.

The assorted houses throughout the town look nice, and they even have a windmill too.

“I guess the first thing I should do is see the Mayor, not that I know where her office is.”

Seeing as how everypony in this town is apparently caring and friendly, I look around to find someone to ask directions.

I then, spot a pink mare trotting in my general direction and stop her for a second.

“Um, ‘scuse me but, perchance do you know how to get to the Mayor’s from here?”

Her eyes twitch and grow wider upon seeing me, and she suddenly jumps up and gasps aloud, followed by running off somewhere.

“Well that was bloody terrible.” I said to myself.

First day in a new town, and I manage scare somepony away.

Upon looking around again, I end up asking a mare with a harp for a cutie mark for directions, and I end up receiving just what id asked for.

It took me a while to get to where I was headed, but when I do I breathe a sigh of relief.

I enter the building in front of me, only to be greeting by a violet mare sitting at a desk in front of me.

“May I help you, sir?” She asked.

“Actually, yes, I just got here… in Ponyville I mean, I figured rather than get myself lost and feel like a complete idiot that I should see the Mayor instead. …She is here, isn’t she?”

The violet mare nodded at me with a smile, and then motioned me to the door behind.

“Just go right in, she’s been expecting you.”

“Alrighty then, thanks.”

Trotting towards the door I knocked twice out of courtesy, only to be invited in by a short ‘Come in’ from who I hope is the Mayor.

I opened the door, closing it behind me, and a light brown pony got up from her desk to greet me.

“You must be Heartbeat. Welcome to Ponyville!, I am Mayor Mare.”

“Nice to meet you Miss Mayor.”

“Now, first off, what do you think of Ponyville so far?”

What do I think of it? I haven’t been here that long and she already asks me something like that?

“Well uh. I haven’t been here that long, I don’t know what I should say…”

“Well never mind then, you’ve got plenty of time anyway. Now, I've taken the liberty of moving your stuff to where youll be staying, and I think youll like it.” She explains.

“Oh? Where will I be staying?” I asked politely.

“Youll be staying with a mare named Twilight Sparkle, she lives in a library that is in a tree.”

Wait, Library in a tree?

“Uhh… In a tree? Like… high up in a tree?” I confusedly ask.

“No no no, silly, inside of the tree!” she exclaims.

“About Twilight Sparkle, she’s a nice friendly mare, and I think you two will get along just fine. Now if you haven’t any questions, shall I show you to your new home?”

Chapter 7

I was back.

Back in Canterlot to where I was just minutes ago.

“Right, so I should probably explain the whole situation to you. I need, your help, to stop Discord from being re-animated by a stupid pony that doesn’t have a name or a flank mark.”

“Flank mark? You mean Cutie Mark right?”

“Oh right! That’s what it's called!. Anyway, not important, we need to save Equestria and by doing so, ultimately saving time and space In the process.”

It took me a minute to process this information, but then a lightbulb went off in my head.

“Hang on a minute, how am I supposed to help? I don’t even know what this Discord is.”

“Well basically, you’re just a person I picked at random to help me, you could have been anypony, and you can help me by assisting me in any way possible. And secondly, Discord is the god of Disharmony, Chaos, whatever Look the point is, I need your help, you gonna help me or not?”

I sighed.

I had no idea what I was getting into, but what if I don’t help him?

Would Equestria be in danger?

And would it be my fault?

What about Princess Celestia?

Couldn’t she stop this?

“I know what you’re thinking. No, Princess Celestia will have no idea what’s going on, and I'm the only one that actually knows because, well, I’m a Timelord.”

I sighed.

What have I gotten myself into?

“Alright, I’ll help you, just tell me what to do.”

“Well right now, all you have to do is follow me, but first we need to get to the present time when this nameless pony is going to re-animate Discord, and kick his arse! Wait, no, kick his flank into space.”

“Right. Okay. Lead the way then Doctor.”

“Alrighty doo then. Allons-y!”

The Doctor had pulled a lever, and the Tardis had made the same noise as before.

In a manner of seconds the noise had stopped.

We were at our destination.