“Get outta the way!” an orange mare yelled to a couple strolling ponies as she poked her head out through the open window. She raced by them in a carriage, hauled by three burly stallions going full speed. The haulers and the carriage’s wheels almost crushed one passerby who took too long to notice. Applejack looked behind with her blonde mane whipping around her face and the tan hat perched atop almost flying off. Her head turned back around to face ahead, looking up towards a massive, pearly building with many floors and windows to decorate them.
The Canterlot Hospital.
Applejack felt her heart sink further than it already had. “I’m comin’, sugarcube,” she faintly spoke beneath her breath. She had heard what happened. Twilight Sparkle, the ever talkative walking library, practically barged into the farmer’s barn. It looked as if she had been running forever with sweat covering her entire body. Pinkie Pie was also with her, but faring much worse. Her signature puffy mane had flattened out to the thickness of paper.
She bit her lip to hold back tears. They might come in need later. The carriage neared the hospital’s overhanging roof. The farmer didn’t even wait for it to slow down before she busted out of the door. Her hooves caught the ground wrong and caused her to tumble, but she was back on them in a flash and began galloping as fast as she could. Almost crashing through the doorway, she skidded to a stop in front of a reception desk and a surprised mare.
“Where’s Rainbow?” she asked hurriedly, shifting and dancing in her spot while the unicorn sifted through papers.
“Um... I’m not sure, you need to ask somepony else.” Applejack whirled around, trying to find another pony. There were none on the floor.
“Just get me a nurse or doctor!” The receptionist blinked at her. “Now!” Her front hooves slammed down on the table and sent the unicorn scurrying. “Oh Rainbow, oh Rainbow,” she repeated while still stepping in place.
A few moments later a doctor wearing a white lab coat appeared beside the frantic farmer. “Miss?”
“Where’s Rainbow?!” Her question came out as a blast and caused the doctor to recoil slightly.
“Rainbow Dash?” he asked while rubbing his ear.
“Yes! Where is she?”
“Fourth floor up in the ICU. You can take the...” His sentence drifted off as Applejack shot away like a rocket and barged up the stairway. “...Elevator.”
Applejack searched each and every plaque that she found in the stairwell. She passed all of them until she found the one that read “Fourth Floor: Trauma Center.” With a spring, she launched herself through and slipped into the opposite wall then scrambled down the tiled hallway. An unfortunate nurse happened to be closest. She was seized by her shoulders and brought, shaking back and forth wildly, to the orange farmer’s muzzle.
“Rainbow! Where is she?” Her hooves still kept a rather crushing grasp on the poor nurse and continued to shake her back and forth. The pony managed to raise a hoof and point to a room further down the hall. She collapsed to the floor in a daze while Applejack sped off.
The green eyed mare slammed through the room’s doorway and frightened a doctor. She peeled the medical expert away from the bed with ease. Then she froze instantly.
There, in the bed, lay a restrained cyan pegasus. Her body was scarred and bruised badly with deep red lacerations; wings almost nonexistent beneath a mass of bandaging. Black and charcoal gray stains threatened to discolor her vibrant mane. Her magenta eyes weren’t to be seen under heavily closed lids. Many machines and monitors decorated the room while several tubes that ranged in thickness stuck out of the pegasus beneath a gown. The largest tube was connected to her mouth and forked as it ran to a machine. Red lines would trace up at an angle in the screen’s dark green backdrop then turn into a light green, almost teal, line that sloped down. They were synchronized with an odd, mechanical wheeze as the pegasus breathed deeply. Several other machines were on the other side across the bed. Each of these sported monitors that showed different numbers, lines, words, and all other sorts of information regarding their patient. One graph could be easily identified as the heart monitor, with its spiking line going across the screen.
“Rainbow...” Applejack slowly removed her beloved hat and sat it down by the base of the bed. “Is she going to be okay?” was the first thing to pop on her mind as she turned to the doctor.
He coughed. “Yes. With how young and strong she is there’s a high possibility for her to recover. Actually, she should have died before we got her here. Nopony could normally live through such a thing.”
The orange mare set her emerald eyes on her ruined friend. She wanted to do something so badly, but what is there to do? “Can I talk with her at all?” she said without moving her eyes away.
“You can try, but with that respirator in, she can’t talk back. She also may not remember anything since we have to have her heavily sedated to relieve her pain.” He shook his head. “Just breathing is going to be a problem for quite some time.”
“Please, I want to talk to her.”
“Only for a moment.” The doctor looked at the few smallest machines and turned their dripping off with magic. Within ten seconds, Rainbow began to stir and very slowly opened her eyes - but kept them to slits.
Applejack put on a huge grin that threatened to tear her face in two as her dear friend carefully turned her head and focused on the farmer. “Hi, Rainbow,” she said with tears welling in her eyes. Rainbow Dash fidgeted a bit more then calmed down soon after. “Don’t worry.” The apple bucker put a gentle, reassuring hoof on the mare. “Y’all be alright. Just relax, sugarcube.”
From under the respirator’s tubing Applejack could have sworn she saw a faint smile. “Ya know... there was always something I have wanted to tell you.” Rainbow furrowed her brows just slightly and opened her eyes more while a foreleg moved in its restraint.
“Relax, sugarcube. Relax.” Applejack waited for her to calm down before continuing. “What I wanted to say, ever since we ran through those autumn leaves years ago...” She felt hot tears drip down her coat in rivulets, staining it darker.
“Was that I... I...”
A beeping alarm went off and the heart rate monitor showed increased activity; the lines came faster and faster while two numbers reading the patient’s blood pressure grew higher.
“Please, Rainbow, get better soon... I miss seeing you fly through the air, or seeing you sleeping in my orchard. I miss racing with you.”
Another machine set off wildly and flashed squares of color around their respected information. Rainbow Dash struggled in her spot and strained against her secured wrappings in an ever losing battle. The orange pony was magically pulled out of the room as a couple nurses hurried in and began checking over the machinery. She watched, unmoving, as the trio of medical ponies scurried in attempts to subdue the riled pegasus. They activated sedatives as her breathing became shallow and harsh, the mechanical wheeze flooding half of the room. Orders were issued in quick succession as Applejack stared with dripping eyes, her face partially covered in weary strands of hair.
She focused her rings of emerald on the heart rate; it spiked madly and became frantic. The beeping grew louder as more alarms were set off and another doctor rushed in.
“I...”
The spiking lines suddenly slowed down, but the alarms continued ringing in a clamor. They became distant as the cyan pegasus stopped struggling and relaxed. The noise kept going. Applejack blinked and let out a new wave of tears drip down to the flooring.
“I love you, Rainbow.”
“Clear!” The pegasus’ body thumped up slightly as it was trying to be jump started. The monitor showed a low spike. “Again! Clear!” It came up again and continued.
But the alarms didn’t stop. The monitor showed a flat line again after a moment.
“Dammit! Clear!” Another spike.
The doctor who tried to resurrect the pegasus let out a frustrated yell and kicked away a piece of equipment, scaring the two nurses. “Clear!”
Nothing came up.
“Don’t you die on me! Clear!”
Applejack slowly looked down and saw her hat on the ground, crushed from the hooves of the doctors and nurses.
The heart monitor rang out a long, single tone. Applejack stared hard at her crushed heirloom laying on the ground, her mind conjuring past thoughts of the pegasus as scalding tears began to run down her cheeks.
“I love you more than anything...”
A/N: I know I have been going on a short streak of fics containing Rainbow being hurt and AJ missing/loving her. It does not mean that I don't like RD in any way. I also know that this may seem fast paced and a bit of a cliche, but it stuck in my mind. And without further ado, I give thanks to SanityLost for having helped review and edit this story! I hope you readers enjoy it.