Comatose

     "Mommy, do you know any more stories?" Apple Eve, still a foal, was held in her mother's forelegs.

     "Of course, why don't Ah tell y'all about the time Ah beat Nightmare Moon?" Applejack asked her daughter.

     "I love that one!" Apple Eve cheered.

     "Well, once upon a time, there were two sisters, rulin' Equestria. The oldest sister rose the sun, an' the youngest rose the moon. The youngest was jealous of how much more her sister's day was loved, an' so she became Nightmare Moon!" Applejack pretended she was about to pounce on her daughter.

     "Eek!" Apple Eve cowered away.

                                                                                         ********

     Pound watched her. Apple Bloom was also there. Every beep from the heart rate monitor made him feel like he was losing his sanity. He stared at her. Broken wing, hind leg, and foreleg, as well as a fractured ribcage, bruised skull, and a variety of other injuries.

     "Pound, Ah want y'all to know..." Apple Bloom said, "They've made an offer."

     "What is it?" Pound asked.

     "T-ta put 'er out of 'er suffering. Ta stop givin' 'er the stuff keepin' 'er alive."

     "We can't." he said.

     "Pound, Ah know this is just gonna be a replay of Pumpkin. We better stop this pain, it'll also open the room up to other patients."

     "Don't you dare bring Pumpkin into this!" tears ran from Pound's eyes.

     "Pound, Ah can see why yer holdin' on, an' Ah know this'll be hard fer you. But believe me, this'll be better fer her."

     "I'm not giving up on her!" Pound said, "She may be barely alive, but she's all I got. I believe she'll get better. I know she'll get better."

     "Ah'm just gonna let y'all know, this'll be hard on me too. Apple Eve is mah sister's foal!" Apple Bloom said.

     "I haven't had anything but her since Pumpkin died, I don't want her to die too!"

     "We ain't gonna do it if y'all don't want to." Apple Bloom said.

     "I really want her to be-" Pound was stopped when the monitor went flatlined. "APPLE EVE!!!" he shouted.

     "DOCTORS!! APPLE EVE'S GONE FLATLINED!!!" Apple Bloom yelled into the hallway.

     "APPLE EVE!!! WAKE UP!!!" Pound screamed.

     "I'm so sorry." a doctor said.