My Time With the Farmer: Three Years Later

The nurse retrieved the papers and a pen from the bulky doctors bag she had brought with her and spread them out upon the table.

"Sign here, here and here and we can have you prepped for surgery in less than a hour." She said. I signed the papers, shuffled them and handed the. To the nurse. I started to move towards the door when I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I turned around and looked to the nurse. "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened earlier, I just got a bit carried away and-" I cut her off with a kiss to the cheek.

"Don't worry about it, if anything it was a compliment." I said. The nurse pony breathed a sigh of relief and we walked out the door. I headed to applejack's room to see all her friends there. They were all anxiously tapping their hooves on the ground but perked up when they saw me.

"So..." Pinkie said with a little les than enthusiastic than usual.

"I'm a compatible donor and I'm gonna be in surgery in less than an hour." I said.

"You know what this means Joe, are you willing to do that for applejack. There is still time to back out. They will find a donor eventually." Celestia said.

"I know what I'm signing up for and I'm not gonna back out. Applejack needs me and I'm gonna help her." I said confidently. The nurse showed up with my robe and some other equipment. She led me to the room right next to applejack's and set the equipment out on the counter on the far side wall. She threw me the robe and I went to the bathroom to change. When I emerged the nurse had a needle connected to an IV bag. She handed me the needle and I stuck it in my left arm and grabbed the pole with the IV bag on it and walked out into the hallway where there was two padded surgery tables stuck together and several unicorns with facemasks on. A purple on with black hair except for a pink stripe was among them but I didn't pay any attention to that right now. One of the surgeons took the IV bag off the stand as I climbed on to the tables. They wheeled the tables down the hallway at a leisurely gait. I looked around wondering why they were going so slow. There was a pony's life at stake if they didn't cut me open in time.

"Umm, is there a reason why we are going so slow?" I asked the blue unicorn with a stethoscope as a cutie mark. He just nodded to the doctor to my right who inserted a needle into IV bag and injected a dark looking fluid into it. Within seconds the hallway started to stretch and the lights got brighter. "Wait, I have so many questions." I said slurring my words as I passed out.

I opened my eyes to a pony standing over me in a blood spattered lab coat and gloves with a long dagger in its hands I kicked out to find I didn't have feet but brown hooves. It didn't matter I bucked the pony in the chest making them drop the dagger. I jumped up out of the bed all the while my chest throbbing horribly. I galloped down the hall and with the other pony hot on my tail, literally. I skidded to Aston and made award right and kept running. I reached the end of the hall. All that was there was a single window. I turned around to see the pony chasing me was right there. It pulled down the facemasks to reveal a scared muzzle. He rose up on his back hooves and held the dagger in his right hoof. I hopped up on the window seal and looked over at him.

"Now where were we." He said in a raspy voice. He took a step closer and I spread my frot hooves and fell back with my eyes closed. The stallion threw the dagger as I fell through the window it clipping my nose and then spiraling away over my head. I fell for a long time, knowing it was the end for me. I fell with my back to the ground and my eyes wide open. I closed my eyes one last time and hot the ground, at least it was quick.

My eyes shot open and I groaned. The ponies around me smiled as they heard the noise come from me, confirming I was still alive. I tried to sit up but the pain in my chest was too much. A pony that looked like the nurse came over and pressed a cold hoof to my neck. She broke the silence,

"You seem fine but as you and I both know, you're not. Your own heart is decaying and you have a few days at best before it gives out. I hung my head and saw the huge bandage that adorned my chest. I looked back up to see everypony I had ever met. There was Celestia, Luna, applejack's littles sister and her brother, all of her friends and a pony with a whit pelt and red mane who looked to be the nurse which I now counted as a friend.

"A few days, wow, shorter than I thought." I said. I began to rise up from the bed despite my body's and the other ponies protests. I stood up and started to walk, shakily, but walking all the same. I was surprised at how fast I was able to begin to start moving and without too much pain. That's magic for ya. I opened up the door with the other ponies following me and the nurse with my IV bag and I went next door to applejack's room. I opened the door to see applejack standing there doing push ups. She looked up and saw me with a little nit of sweat running down her face and a tear down the other. She jumped up into my arms and gave ma a huge kiss. After a while she pulled back and asked me with a frown on her face.

"How long," she asked with a hard set expression on her face.

"Applejack, you do-" I started.

"How long." She asked again.

"Three days, at best." I sighed.