Ut Ametur Iris

“Ow ow ow ow owww,” Andrew droned while Rainbow opened the door to his house. Clutching the icepack to his forehead.

“Go lie down, i’ll get you something to eat,” Rainbow said softly. Her voice full of concern.

“Thanks sweetie,” He replied, smiling at her, before collapsing into the large sofa in front of his fireplace, eager to take the weight off his, now injured left leg. Groaning in pain and relief.

Once Rainbow was safely within the kitchen, away from prying eyes, she let loose a massive sigh of relief.

While she would never admit it, she was deathly afraid of her big human getting hurt. When he had first arrived, his huge body and ‘bulletproof personality’ as he put it made him seem so, indestructible.

But, as time wore on, and the little scuffs he got from day to day activities and the little rough-housing between himself and Dash began to show that, compared to ponies, he was quite weak.

The temperature affected him, far more so than anypony else. His skin wasn’t as thick leading to numerous scuffs and scrapes.

Rainbow recalled the sick feeling she developed in her gut when she learnt that the playful slugs she hammered into his arms were actually leaving huge bruises and welts. Despite this, Rainbow knew he was no toothpick, but after today she couldn’t help but worry.

This morning Andrew had been helping Applejack, replace a rotted girder in one of her older barns. It wasn’t a particularly hard job, yet his superior flexibility and amazing skill with the bane of ponykind, the hammer, it made him an ideal candidate for the job. Plus the fact that Andrew would never turn down a friend.

But when the new wooden rafter was being hoisted into place, the absent-minded crusaders that were in charge of hoisting the beam, had spontaneously decided that bickering about a dentist cutie mark was more important than holding the rope.

The heavy girder instantly fell victim to gravity and swung back down towards the unsuspecting human like a battering ram.

The sizable beam of timber, slammed into his right shoulder, sending him sprawling to the ground. On the downward journey the side of his head had collided with nearby crate knocking him unconscious, while his leg landed on an inconveniently placed plough frame.

Luckily the blades were off being sharpened at the time, so the frame was all his leg hit, but even still he was in a bad way.

When Rainbow arrived after sweetie had come and retrieved her. the pegasus was in a frantic, panicked state. she wasted no time in hoisting her human onto her back and bolting across town to the clinic.

While an unconscious pony, with head injuries was fairly highly prioritised to the hospital staff, an unconscious alien with head injuries was almost enough to make them drop everything.

Thankfully he woke within a few hours, suffering only minor head trauma, much to the relief of Rainbow Dash who had assumed the worst. But of course, what kind of marefriend would she be if she didn’t?

In any other situation, the sight Andrew awoke to would have been heartwarming. With his right eye obscured by the bandage holding his ice pack in place, his left could clearly see the small rainbow mare making herself sick with worry.

Her mane was disheveled. her feathers were a mess. her ears were twitching sporadically and her tail was flicking anxiously. Even so, she was still a gorgeous sight to the pained human.

all the while, her hoof never left his own hand, even if he didn’t grasp back while he was unconscious, she knew he would appreciate her company.

“Hey good looking,” He said with a croak. “What did I do to end up with a angel like you as my nurse,” he cracked a grin before a splitting pain echoed through his skull.

“How do you feel?”

“Like I just went ten rounds with an express train,” he groaned, trying to sit up.

Once he had successfully pulled himself up into a sitting position, with a little help from Rainbow he turned to her.

“Can I get out of here? The laundry still needs doing.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes in response. “You’ve got a concussion, a fractured shoulder and and swollen knee. You’re not going anywhere,” She stated.

“Aw come on, i’ll be fine just dose me up with some Panadol and i’ll be right as rain,” Andrew joked.

“Panadol?”

“Aspirin,” He quickly corrected himself.

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow questioned.

“Magicky-makey feely-better, make the hurt go away pills,” He said with accompanying hand waves from his good arm.

The comedic gesture was enough to momentarily suppress Rainbows concern for her boyfriend. his charming personality shining through the pain.

Contrary to what Rainbow had originally thought, Andrews’ injuries were minor enough to allow him to be discharged that afternoon, And with Rainbows’ help, he managed to limp across Ponyville back to his house.

Shaking herself from the daydream, Rainbow returned from the kitchen with a simple cheese sandwich balanced on a plate between her teeth. Upon re-entering the small living room she smiled warmly when she saw her big human asleep on the couch. His legs comically hanging over the edge of the slightly too small seat.

Setting the plate aside, she slowly sat down on the floor just near his head. His eyelids fluttered over his light blue eyes as he entered the ‘rapid-eye-movement’ stage of sleep.

Gently, Rainbow raised her hoof to stroke his short black hair, soothing him in his slumber, earning a content sigh from the unconscious alien.

It scared her when she realized just how easily he had fallen. If a pony had been in the same accident the worst injury they would get was most likely a bit of a headache.

Rainbow recalled when she had darted underneath the falling sculpture at the Gala. Even though it was hollow, it was still fairly weighty, the bruising along her back the next day testified to that.

But if it had been Andrew in her place...

She didn’t even want to begin to imagine what might have happened.

The injured human murmured in his sleep, saving Rainbow from the horrid thoughts she was putting into her own head. Another calmed sigh sounded from him as he affectionately rubbed his face against her hoof.

To her, he seemed so peaceful, so content, so harmless. It was a far cry from the six foot, war mongering, apex predator he claimed to be.

A small whimper sounded from the man, interrupting Rainbow from her thoughts. A grasping hand reached out into the air around him, searching for his mare.

Rainbow felt her heart warm at the gesture. leaning into the hand, she revealed in the familiar feeling of his dexterous fingers massaging her scalp.

“Mm-mmh, R-rainbo...,” He mumbled.

“Shhh,” She cooed, “It’s gonna be alright.”

“I’m not going, anywhere. You big Idiot.”