The city of Trottingham lay quiet under the night sky. Above the houses, unseen by anypony, a rainbow-colored mare was carefully shaping a cloudbank to hide the moon. As the light cast on the city was dimmed, the pegasus spiraled down to rejoin her friends under the cover of darkness. There were six mares in all. Each wore a piece of shiny jewelry with a representation of her cutie mark. They spoke in quiet whispers, organizing themselves for the task that lay ahead.
A yellow mare was carefully listening to the cheeping of a sparrow as it perched on her shoulder. She nodded to the bird. “Thank you so much, Mr. Feather.”
“What did he say, Fluttershy?” asked a well-groomed white unicorn.
“That house over there is the one where the bad ponies are,” answered Fluttershy. “He also said there might be traps.”
Rarity nodded and turned to a purple unicorn. “Twilight, a little concealment, if you please.”
The other mare concentrated, casting a temporary invisibility spell on Rarity. It would allow her to get close to the house without being spotted. After Rarity had disappeared from view, they all heard her quiet hoofsteps moving away.
Twilight glanced sideways at a pink pony who was fidgeting and looked uncomfortable with waiting for Rarity to return. “Pinkie, calm down. We’ll get this over with and you can throw a party later, okay? And stop twirling your necklace around your hoof! We’ll need to use the Elements of Harmony once we get inside the house.”
“Sorry!” Pinkie replied with a smile and put her jewelry back around her neck. “I just get so bored sometimes that all I can think about is planning the next party and I can’t plan that before we take down some evil ponies here tonight, but we’ve been waiting sooo long and—”
“You have not; I was only gone for thirty seconds!” Rarity contested, appearing back in their midst suddenly. Pinkie gasped theatrically and fell over. The others chuckled quietly. It was a bit of stress relief before the mission.
Rarity turned to the two other ponies. “Rainbow, Applejack, I think you can begin. I didn’t spot anything obvious on the outside of the building.”
“Are you sure?” Rainbow pressed, hovering slightly off the ground.
“Well, if you had such discerning eyes, then checking for ambushes would be your job,” Rarity reminded her.
“Yeah, yeah.” Rainbow glanced at the mare beside her. “Let’s do it, Applejack.”
As Rainbow soared high into the sky, Applejack adjusted her cowboy hat and positioned her hind legs near the house’s front door. In a carefully timed maneuver, she kicked the door open just as Rainbow came zooming back towards the ground.
The multicolored pony was through the doorway an instant after the door sprang open, and the other five mares were not far behind. They had taken the residents of the house completely by surprise.
This was the group of ponies who had planted several bombs around Equestria in a wave of violence like nothing ever seen before. While the arrest of such criminals would have been a police matter, Princess Celestia was convinced that the Elements of Harmony could help.
Twilight swept her eyes around the room as a few of the perpetrators were tackled by Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie, the latter giggling as she put her opponent into a hoof lock. Rarity held down another pony with magic. Satisfied that things were under control, Twilight began the spell to activate the Elements of Harmony and wipe the evil from these ponies’ hearts.
One stallion struggled under the pile of mares, his hoof reaching towards a cluster of electronics. Nopony saw his target until it was too late. The detonator he activated was wired into an improvised bomb.
The explosion brought emergency ponies running from all over the city.
Applejack jerked awake, residual terror bleeding away as she stared up at the plain ceiling above. Adjusting her head revealed a view of a lonely hospital room. She was tucked into bed with sheets up to her chin.
Thoughts of her friends came in a rush. Were they all right? Had they been injured in the explosion? Applejack spotted a call button on the side of the bed and reached for it with her right front hoof. Nothing moved under the sheet.
“What in tarnation…” Applejack twisted, pulling the fabric away from herself with her other hoof. Bandages swathed her chest and sides. Where there was supposed to be a limb connected to her shoulder only a smooth lump covered in gauze could be seen.
Applejack’s breath stopped for several seconds. A choked, involuntary cry from her throat brought the nurses running.
Gently, they lay Applejack back down in bed, soft voices attempting to soothe her. There was nothing that could make her feel better, but some detached part of Applejack’s mind appreciated them trying.
“I’ll get the doctor,” said Nurse Tenderheart, heading for the door after Applejack began to calm. A minute passed. Applejack closed her eyes for a moment. She was over the initial shock but wasn’t out of the woods yet.
Doctor Stable came in, consulting a clipboard of information. “Hello Applejack. Let’s see if we can get you feeling better.”
Not being one for snark, Applejack nodded quietly. She watched as the doctor flipped through some notes and then put the clipboard down. “What do you remember about the explosion?”
Applejack shook her head. “Not much.”
“Your leg was too badly damaged to be saved. I’m very sorry, but the surgeons did what they could.” Doctor Stable’s voice changed to a more positive tone. “We can have you walking again soon, however. Your injury should be no trouble to fit with a prosthesis.”
Applejack swallowed and nodded in resignation. “What about my friends?”
“They’re all here.”
“I want to visit ‘em.”
“We can arrange that,” the doctor promised.
“Now,” Applejack insisted.
“You’ve lost a lot of blood; this isn’t a good idea!” Doctor Stable put a hoof on her chest but Applejack brushed it off with her good leg and sat up.
“Get me that rolling chair from across the room.” Applejack had been trying to curtail her stubbornness, but this was one time when she would not be deterred. The medical ponies reluctantly unhooked her IV’s and heart monitor. Doctor Stable waited to see that she was in good care before departing.
Getting out of bed was even more difficult than Applejack imagined it would be. With help, however, she made it to the chair and leaned on it. After grabbing her hat from the bedside table, she slowly wheeled herself out of the room.
Fluttershy was the first pony the nurses escorted her to. The room was adjacent to Applejack's and the decorations looked exactly the same. Fluttershy was still unconscious. Most of her head was wrapped in bandages.
“What happened?” asked Applejack, her voice pitching into a whisper all by itself.
“I don't have her charts, but it's something to do with her ears,” nurse Redheart answered.
“I…I don’t know how she’ll make out.” Tears were beginning to form in Applejack’s eyes. “Sure, maybe I can’t run anymore, but Fluttershy has all those animals to take care of. How is she gonna…”
“She’ll be fine,” the nurse assured her, although her voice lacked the conviction of absolute certainty.
Fluttershy still had not woken up. Applejack turned, torn between staying and wanting to visit the rest of her friends. She paused at the door. Fluttershy was isolated in this room. She’d be scared and helpless. That was no way to wake up.
Applejack placed her hat on the bedside table. Fluttershy would know it on sight and realize that somepony had been there and that she wasn’t alone. It was a small comfort, and Applejack wished she could do more. Turning again, she reluctantly let the nurse lead her away.
Rainbow Dash knew her whole life was ruined. From the moment she’d woken up, something had seemed wrong. It was only after inspecting her bandaging that she’d learned the truth. An abbreviated stub was all that remained of her left wing.
It had been a rather heated conversation with the medical ponies. Rainbow’s voice carried out of the room and into the hallway. “This can’t be happening! You need to do something! I got my cutie mark for flying. It’s what I do; I have to!”
She was not irate to the point of needing restraint, but the nurses were ready just in case. It was probably the best possible time for Applejack to enter.
Rainbow’s attitude instantly cooled upon seeing her friend leaning heavily on a rolling chair. She quickly took in Applejack’s injury, wincing slightly in sympathy. At least Rainbow could still walk.
Applejack was sizing her up in the same way. “Well, I reckon the annual Running of the Leaves just got a whole lot more one-sided.”
“But I can’t be a Wonderbolt now.” Rainbow put on a brave smile, trying to mask her disappointment. “But hey, at least you can still harvest apples. With a mechanical front leg, maybe you can brace even better for bucking.”
Applejack knew what Rainbow was trying to do. Even if it didn’t change anything, she was honestly cheered up at Rainbow’s efforts. She tried to do the same. “Heck, you’ve probably still got more wingpower than most pegasi have in a full set.”
Rainbow forced a smile. That might be true, but she couldn’t fly with just one wing. Changing the subject, she said, “How is everypony else?”
Applejack shook her head. “Dunno. All of us are here at the hospital. I haven’t been to every room yet.”
“Hey, how did we get to the Ponyville hospital anyway?” asked Rainbow.
“After the explosion, you were all stabilized and initial surgery was performed,” provided Nurse Coldheart. “With all the trama, it was advisable to keep all six of you in a restful state while you were transferred here.”
Rainbow decided that was probably better. A familiar hospital provided comfort, but having her friends near was more important.
“We should go see them,” Rainbow said. The nurses started to stop her, but if they let Applejack be up and about, they couldn’t really deny Rainbow.
Rainbow got her hooves on the floor and turned to Applejack. “Here, let me help you.”
She got her shoulder under her friend’s chest so that Applejack could lean on Rainbow’s back. It was slow to walk together like that, but better than relying on a chair for Applejack. Rainbow was glad to do it.
The two of them exited the room and went down the hallway.
Twilight Sparkle’s head throbbed as she lay back in the hospital bed. It had been moments since she’d awoken, and it was probably the pain in her cranium that had pulled her from sleep.
The worst of the ache was concentrated in her forehead, and Twilight touched a hoof there gently, feeling bandages completely covering her horn. Feeling a bit of panic beginning to rise, she pressed the call button.
Nurse Sweetheart responded, offering Twilight a comforting smile as she entered the room. “Good to see you’re awake. Let me get our unicorn specialist.”
A doctor appeared with Twilight’s medical records. He examined her bandaging. “How do you feel, Twilight?”
“It hurts,” she replied simply. Twilight may have been a scholar of many things, but medical science was not something she had ever investigated in depth. Maybe when she got out of the hospital it would be time to start.
“The feeling of pain tells us that you haven’t suffered nerve damage.” The doctor paused before going on gently. “You’ve lost a bit of your horn.”
Magic theory, which Twilight had studied, covered basic horn structure. Large amounts of power originated from the thicker base while the narrow pointed tip directed finer tasks like telekinesis. Twilight swallowed hard and asked, “What does this mean to me?”
The doctor considered that. “You’ll still be able to channel large amounts of energy to do your Element of Magic duty but with the end of your horn missing I’m afraid that lifting a glass of water might be impossible.”
Twilight nodded slowly, afraid that if she opened her mouth that only sounds of anguish would come out. In fact, the only thing that saved her from a breakdown right there was Applejack and Rainbow Dash coming in.
“Howdy, Twi,” Applejack murmured weakly. Rainbow supported her, but she didn’t look so healthy either. Twilight looked with shock at their injuries. The heartfelt pain of seeing her friends hurt was comparable to her own physical wound.
Twilight invited them in. It was good to know that two of her friends were awake, but she wanted news about the rest. As the Element of Magic, it was her prerogative to see that the whole group was kept together.
“We’re all here,” Rainbow replied to Twilight’s question. “AJ and I haven’t gone to see anypony else yet.”
“We should go,” Twilight insisted, starting to climb out of bed. There was nothing wrong with her legs, and other than a warning to be careful the medical ponies did not try to stop her. If they couldn’t keep the more severely injured Rainbow and Applejack in bed, there was no holding back Twilight.
Twilight was almost to the door when she realized her friends could not keep up. Applejack hobbled along, and while Rainbow continued to steadfastly support her, it was obvious that the pegasus was feeling some pain.
“Here, let me take Applejack.” Twilight was no athlete, but it wasn’t fair that Rainbow should have to do the heavy lifting in her condition. The two of them swapped places. Rainbow looked like she wanted to protest, but sighed in defeat.
Twilight eyed her bandaging, knowing that without her wings Rainbow probably felt useless. She offered a nervous smile. “I think I might be able to help you. I can probably do the wings spell I used on Rarity. It’s high-energy enough that I think my horn will still be able to do it.”
Second-guessing herself, Twilight stuttered, “O-of course, they wouldn’t really match your color scheme and you’d be lopsided with your other wing, but—”
Rainbow smiled. “I appreciate the thought. Just flying again would be amazing. Thanks.”
Buoyed by the thought of helping her friend, Twilight left the room with the others.
The décor of the hospital room was so passé. Even the small crevices were more of the same, no interesting knickknacks to fill them. Looking at her surroundings was the only thing that kept Rarity’s mind off the half of her head that was bandaged.
She had inspected herself after waking up. The rest of her body had a few cuts and scrapes, although nothing too serious. Rarity was worried about what might be found behind the dressings on her face. The way it felt, something was seriously wrong. What would ponies think of her? What if she was…disfigured? There was only so much that a mane styling could hide.
Rarity’s thoughts slipped from her own problems completely when her friends entered. It was in her very nature to be worried about others, to make sure they were all right. To her horror, Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack were much worse for wear. Rarity stared openmouthed at the obvious impairments they had been dealt. Twilight’s bandaged horn was less obvious than the other ponies' injuries, but Rarity spotted it straightaway. “Goodness, what happened to you all?”
“Well, we all survived,” said Applejack, attempting to put a positive spin on things. It seemed a small miracle considering her condition, Rarity thought.
“Pinkie and Fluttershy are down the hall,” Rainbow commented. She tipped her head. “So, what’s up with you, Rarity?”
Twilight elbowed Rainbow for sounding rude but Rarity knew that it was simply in her style. Rainbow always wanted to get to the point. At any rate, her missing wing was clearly more serious than anything Rarity could have endured. She wasn’t being too insensitive.
A small team of nurses had followed the three mares into the room. One of them answered Rainbow’s question by addressing Rarity. “Miss, your eye was badly damaged and couldn’t be saved. I'm sorry.”
“What…?” Rarity felt the air gush out of her lungs as she started to lean precariously over the edge of the bed. Her three friends quickly pushed her back as well as they could and held her securely.
“This can’t be. No! This can’t happen to me!” Rarity’s other eye began to leak tears. “How am I going to work? I…I can’t be seen by the public! Precise work requires depth perception! This is the w-worst poss—”
The other three mares hugged her close. Their embrace was nothing but pure comfort. Regardless of what Rarity was going through, she knew that they would be there for her. They didn’t care what she looked like.
Slowly, the tears came to a stop. Rarity wiped her nose with a tissue one of the nurses provided. “Thank you all. I don’t know what I would do without my friends.”
“We’re here for you.” Twilight smiled. “Would you like to go see Pinkie and Fluttershy?”
Rarity smiled and started to get out of bed. With only one eye, she couldn’t judge how far away the floor was and stumbled a bit. Putting on a brave face for her friends, she advanced into the corridor outside the room.
Pinkie was confused. Not afraid, just not sure what was going on. Hospitals were not fun places. She had been to them plenty of times to cheer up sick ponies. In fact, she’d been inside the Ponyville hospital so many times that she knew instantly where she was.
That still did not explain why she was there. As Pinkie sat in her bed puzzling on it, she became aware of a mass of bandages encircling her throat. They seemed sort of flexible, but clearly meant to protect her. Protect her from what? Hmmm.
Also, there was a little pain, but Pinkie temporarily wrote it off. Being the number one party pony was not without aches and soreness. However, as she considered it, she started to hurt more. Something must be wrong.
A nurse came in. “Ah, good. You’re awake. Don’t try to speak, Ms. Pie. You don’t want to hurt yourself further.”
Pinkie opened her mouth but paused. There was so many things she wanted to say, but if a nurse was telling her to be quiet, there was probably a good reason. Ponies often told Pinkie to be quiet, especially that one time when Pinkie visited the maternity wing of the hospital. This seemed different, however. Pinkie scratched her chin thoughtfully. Maybe they were playing the quiet game?
“There was an explosion,” the nurse said, reviewing Pinkie’s charts. “You were hit in the neck with some debris. I’m afraid your Element of Harmony necklace was not in place for protection. Your vocal chords will likely never function again.”
Pinkie let out a gasp, her eyes going wide. Not only did she feel that way, but it was all she could do. How will I entertain ponies and be the Element of Laughter if I can’t even laugh?
Even as she watched, her mane and tail had started to go limp and straight. It was a sure sign that she was feeling down. No, no! Got to be happy! Got to laugh! …oh, right.
However, the day was saved as the door opened and four of Pinkie’s best friends came in. None of them looked good, but she was so happy to see them that it didn’t matter. The nurse left a small chalkboard and some chalk and quietly left them alone.
Pinkie quickly jotted a long message that required several writings and erasings to fit entirely on the board. Ohmygosh! I’m so happy to see all of you! I guess we’ll have to have a great party when we get out of this hospital! Where is Fluttershy? Oh, is she hurt, too? Let’s go cheer her up!
Her friends were noticeably less receptive to Pinkie’s antics than usual. Perhaps it was her lack of voice or just because they were all tired and hurt. Pinkie frowned a little. She had to come up with a new tactic.
Maybe she could be super helpful to all of them. Yeah! They were all sad now, and Pinkie could bring them out of that. She quickly found the saddest one—Rarity. The white unicorn looked like she had been crying. From what part of her face Pinkie could see, anyway. The other side was all covered up like she had hurt her eye. Good thing Pinkie had a stash for eyepatch emergencies.
She quickly grabbed one and showed it to Rarity. It was a special designer patch, one that rather conveniently matched Rarity’s coat and cutie mark. Pinkie hadn’t even meant to grab it, but sometimes things worked out that way. It’s not like she understood how the universe worked or anything.
Rarity smiled at the unexpected gift. “I have no idea where you got that from, Pinkie, but I think it would look stunning on me! I’ll wear it, even with the bandages.”
Pinkie was happy to help, but felt that maybe it wasn’t really her calling the same as making ponies laugh was. She quickly herded the rest of her friends towards Fluttershy’s room.
The sound of silence was almost unbearable. Fluttershy had no idea that hearing nothing could be so difficult. She pulled Applejack’s hat down over her eyes, hiding from the room.
The nurses had started communicating with her using small chalkboards when it became apparent that her hearing loss was total. Her shattered eardrums had been treated and her head was bandaged. The uncomfortable plastering only made Fluttershy even more meek.
It had been a comfort to find the hat and know that she wasn’t alone at the hospital. She hadn’t seen any of her friends yet, but just knowing that they were around helped a lot.
Still, it didn’t change her condition any. Her special talent was working with animals. She had even learned to speak a few of their languages. How could she do her job if she couldn’t hear? Would the animals still like her?
Fluttershy was on the edge of tears when the door opened and all her friends came in. The sight of them was an instant lift to her spirits and she practically leaped out of bed to join them. They were all talking amongst themselves, and shoved a chalkboard in front of Fluttershy for her to read. How are you?
“I’m better now that all of you are here.”
All her friends jumped. Fluttershy realized she must have shouted it. She couldn’t hear her own voice. What if she shouted at the animals? They wouldn’t understand that she couldn’t help it. Her eyes dropped to the floor.
Pinkie was there. She was lying on the floor just to be at Fluttershy’s eye level. Earlier, Pinkie hadn’t been one of the ponies trying to speak. Did her bandaged throat make her mute? Pinkie could not speak and Fluttershy could not hear. Nothing lost, then.
Pinkie reached a hoof up to a spot on Fluttershy’s side just below her wing. Tickle, tickle.
Fluttershy’s mouth curled into a grin without her control. Pinkie carried on tickling her until Fluttershy couldn’t help but to laugh. The others joined in, even though she couldn’t hear them. They were all together, enjoying each other’s company.
“Good to see Pinkie don’t need her voice to make somepony laugh,” noted Applejack, still chuckling slightly. “Look at how big her grin is.”
“Twilight said something about a device that could give Pinkie some speech capability,” said Rainbow. “I don’t know if I like the sound of that, though. Just imagine what Pinkie would do with a robot voice.”
“Don’t be harsh,” Rarity reminded her. “Each of us needs to loosen up a little after what happened to us all.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. Terrible things had happened. Important parts of their lives had been ripped away, leaving their bodies less than whole. All was not lost, however.The six of them were together. Despite what they may have lost they still had friendship and each other, and nothing could be more important.
