Forest Fire

...the injured pegasus is resting here...

...nurse... doctor...

Is that really her?

Rainbow Dash!

..Soarin...

...transfusion...

Spitfire let out a groan as she opened her eyes. All see saw bright fuzzy whiteness. Closing them again, she lifted a hoof to rub at them.

"Hey doc," A voice said, "she's waking up." The voice sounded familiar. She could not place it for some reason. Shifting, she pushed herself up, feeling the softness beneath her. The voice was forgotten about as she turned her head and looked down.

She was in a hospital bed. The mare could feel a smile spread across her face. She had never been so happy to wake up in a hospital bed in her entire life. She flopped back down, enjoying the feeling of having a mattress and sheets beneath her once again.

"Well it seems that you are recovering quite nicely," said a strange voice. Spitfire opened her eyes, seeing a doctor standing over her. Behind him stood a white pony in a nurse's uniform

"Yeah." She stretched out, feeling some aches and pains. "So glad to be out of that forest. I really need to thank..." She stopped and looked around. "You know... I don't even know who saved me..."

"It was Zecora," the familiar voice said again. "She's a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest." Spitfire looked to see a familiar blue pegasus with rainbow colored mane.

"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?"

"I saw Applejack carrying you and have been here since you arrived."

"Applejack?" Spitfire asked, blinking. "Who's-"

"Excuse me," the doctor said. "Now that you are conscious, could you please tell me what happened?"

Spitfire shifted and thought, then started to speak. She gave a brief explanation of her fight in Canterlot and waking up in The Everfree Forest, as well as a summary of what happened as she tried to get out. While she spoke, the doctor checked her vitals as well as her eyes and ears, and the nurse changed the dressing on various parts of her body.

"Well you are recovering quite well," the doctor said after they finished. "We want to keep you for a few days, but you should be able to go home soon."

"Thanks Doc," she called as the doctor and nurse left. Spitfire turned back to Rainbow Dash. "So what are you doing here? I thought we were past the hero worship thing after telling me off at the academy."

"Are you kidding?" The blue pegasus shifted, nearly dancing. "You're still one of the awesomest ponies alive, and captain of The Wonderbolts. No way I would leave you alone in the hospital." She blushed. "Uh... I mean... Some pony should be here to keep an eye on you until you wake up."

"Still a little creepy stalkerish sounding," Spitfire said with a laugh, "but I get what you're saying. So does your being here mean I'm back in Ponyville?"

Before Rainbow Dash could say anything, a voice called "SPITFIRE!"

In a blur, a powder blue pegasus stallion flew into the room and nearly slammed into the bed, wrapping his front legs around Spitfire.

"Hey Soarin," the pegasus mare said with a grin, hugging him back. "What took you so long?"

"We were out searching for you," he explained. "I came back to hq and got that message that you were here. What happened to you?"

Once again she gave a brief explanation of what happened after waking up in The Everfree Forest. As she reached the part about seeing a pony shaped figure before passing out, she turned to look at Rainbow Dash.

"I was hoping she could tell me who saved me and how I got here just as you showed up." The two Wonderbolts turned to give their full attention. The pair watched the rainbow maned mare shift nervously before putting on a face that seemed confident and taking a deep breath.

"The pony that found you was Zecora," Rainbow Dash explained, "A zebra that lives in The Everfree Forest. She probably took you to her hut and gave you some medicine. She's weird, but knows how to make some potions that are pretty useful. After that, she got Applejack, a friend of mine you've met who lives at a farm near the forest, to help. A.J. is strong so she was able to carry you to the hospital. I saw here when I was following and came along. Twilight saw and sent a message to the Princess to let her know you were found. And here you are." She made a motion

"Sounds like I have a lot of ponies I'm going to have to thank," Spitfire said. "Dash, could you give Soarin and me some time alone?"

"Sure," Rainbow Dash responded as she headed for the door. "I have to go pick someone up from school anyways. If you want, I can go by the library and bring you something to read."

"That's okay." She gave a smile as the excited young mare left. As soon as Rainbow Dash was gone, Spitfire turned to Soarin. The smile quickly vanished and tears began to fill the yellow mare's eyes. She grabbed her friend and buried her face against him as she began to cry.

Soarin shifted, thrown off by the sudden change. He spread his wings and wrapped them around his captain, his teammate, and most of all his friend. The stallion held the mare tightly, rubbing her back as she sobbed against him. He waited patiently until the worst of the outburst subsided, then listened quietly as she went into greater detail about how scared she had been and how horrible she felt about what she did to the cockatrice.

Spitfire's body would be healed in a few days, but it seemed that the trauma of what happened would take longer to heal.