Author's Note

Hello there and welcome back once more to yet another new chapter of Ocular Spectral Therapy, the one story out of many of my craft to go above and beyond the oneshots I have given you since the inception of my presence; suffice to say, the past chapters from before were by far a strong note for you all which had given a taste of what had came earlier on but I am happy to tell you that this will be the final one.

As such, I want to take the time to say thank you for never pulling out too early since we're now in the the new year and a new month with a new hope to have and hold with tender loving care rather than yet a totally lost cause and the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for the future that is the now; in addition, I would also like to apologize for not doing so in time as usual since this chapter here was hard enough to write down given the whole turn of events I had made yet after all this madness we had made it through.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you can find some joy in this chapter now more than in the others before them enough to have the strength in finding some happiness because some special guests are going to be joining our fateful protagonist in the final chapter below; henceforth, I will leave you all with much to say significantly: thank you very much for sticking around to the very end, I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting for it to happen, and more importantly, farewell.

Magenta

There was now a beam of light in its own shining glory dancing in the dark as the place of origin started to emerging within the scenery at once. Its polar opposite soon started to fade out of presence slowly but surely as the orchestra started off with a cadence of crowing followed by twittering tempo with an occasional percussion of buzzing in the distance. The surface amongst the very beings had started to burst with life in color as the artful imitations of itself had become illuminated within its very entirety, sparkling and shimmering from every single microbe possible while casting off an adjacent shadow of its former shelves right behind them in their wake. The crisp cool air on the great string of life and liberty quickly came in the form of such rampant gentle breezes, each of which were possessing an acute aroma that many would cherish for days on end as a distant stardust memory from a link to the past when everything used to be so simple to comprehend.

Of course, not much could be said for the room where a tanned blonde laid fast asleep upon a gurney, the true blue comforter overlaying the teal gown as there was machinery standing nearby. The sterile environment was devoid of many bright colors that could have spoken loudly and proudly like many people would, had they been granted sentience like other innate beings. Without a doubt, it wasn’t lifeless at first glance because of the inner surrounding where the sleeping occupant had remained already, let alone all by its lonesome suffice it to say.

Speaking of which, the tanned blonde wasn’t the only one who had resided in the very area in question; after all, the individual in question seemed to have shared some traits with the former but had some differences. For starters, the secondary figure in attendance was a tall female of a similar build standing nearby a windowpane with a hand on a thin white stick as it turned in sync with the slowly opening blinds. The woman was currently dressed in a sterile garb of whiteness all throughout the body from head to toe: a small hat, a long sleeved blouse, some latex gloves, a flowing skirt, and some thick slippers. With only but a simple straight face upon the visage, the wearer’s identity was easy enough alone to tell from such key details: some teal locks, a pair of magenta irises, and a brightly clear complexion. Quickly found to be snugly tight right underneath the woman’s left shoulder was but a single rectangular tray where it had found its very way onto one of her own two hands all in due time no less. On the opposite side of her body was a flat clipboard where a white sheet of paper became completely stuck to the ligneous material by the metal as it was being held up in the grip of the adjacent hand.

As the thin beams of light made their way through the looking glass, parts of the flooring nearby the solitary gurney were now basking in the aftereffects of the arrogant afterglow all at once.

“Hng… hah… ahh…” a series of groans eked out the beginning of a sudden encounter that the two women would become entangled in within due time.

The woman in white looked to find that the soft struggles against the tender fabric came from the tanned blonde and started to come near the source of such sights and sounds slowly but surely; soon enough, the former spoke, “good morning, Applejack… oh my, what such lovely weather we’re having today; speaking of which, now that you must have slept well, I got to ask: how are you…?”

“Mmnn… Ah am fain, ma’am, thanks fer asking; but, who exactly are you…?” the eponymous occupant steadily replied while rubbing her jade orbs free of some particles, “Ah haven’t seen ya at all around these parts of the area…”

“I’m Nurse Tenderheart, dear…” the woman in white answered quickly, introducing herself with but only a small smile in tow no less.

Placing some hands onto the deep dyed blue comforter, the tanned blonde sat up straight to sigh and said, “alright then, nurse… please, tell me something: what time is it…?”

“You just woke up in time for breakfast, Applejack…” Tenderheart said as she held up a tray with both of her hands at once, “I must warn you that today’s meal is going to be a bit hot now…”

“Okay then; Ah will do mah best to be careful with it ma’am…” Applejack had replied calmly as she then received it at once carefully. The tanned blonde opened the top to find steam pouring out from the rectangular item and exposing its contents to the naked eye: a cream of wheat, some scrambled eggs, a slice of toast, and some glutinous red prism. Already teetering on within the very edged pacific rim of the tray was a white plastic spoon squarely in the women’s line of eyesight, one of whom picking it up to scoop out some lukewarm and moist wheat for the sole purpose of consuming it right after taking in such inherent aroma at once.

Applejack swallowed them whole and heard the nurse ask the former already, “so how does it tastes; do you like the food…?”

“It’s fain, ma’am; not like mah Granny’s cooking, may she rest in peace, but it ain’t awful…” the tanned blonde answered before taking another scoop of food out of the tray within due time, “so what goes on…?”

“Well, Sweetheart had told me last night that you had gave birth to a boy some time ago and that she was able to get it to stop crying; are you okay…?” Tenderheart answered Applejack quickly.

The tanned blonde just finished off the patch of wheat at once and had said to the nurse quietly, “mm-hmm… in fact, Ah feel like Ah am getting better by the day, ma’am…”

“Good for you, Applejack… at least we’re making some progress here…” Tenderheart soon responded as she showed a clipboard with both of her very hands at once, “anywho, Doctor Monitor gave me the test results an hour ago and told me about the infection: they were able to make sure that it has been placed at a more stabilized level for you and your child; however, we’ll still be keeping you under observation until it’s cure with some routine penicillin as usual. In the meantime, I’ve also become aware of the fact that your child hasn’t been given a name at all since the time of your delivery, not that I’m saying that it’s usual though considering the circumstances surrounding it all; anyway, it’s best to avoid pressing this matter onward just for your sake alone. Considering what is happening already so far, I’m happy to tell you that your stay here is going to come at an end but don’t worry about too much, Applejack; this is actually a good thing so how do you feel about it right now?”

“Okay, Ah bet but not good about…” the listener whispered as she lowered her gaze towards the food along with the thin spoon as well.

The nurse noticed a tear seconds away from falling out the corner of the patient’s eye and said, “hey, what’s wrong ma’am; aren’t you happy that you’re going to be out of the hospital soon?”

“Maybe Ah should be, but somehow Ah can’t be at all…” Applejack slowly answered to Tenderheart while silently sniffling, shedding a tear in a mere instant, “what reason is there to be happy when everything ya had been taken away from ya…?”

“I guess that I should be leaving you be for now; on the other hand, just so you already know, the call button’s nearby in case you need anything else…” the bright skinned nurse calmly said to the tanned blonde patient while nearing towards the doorway.

Applejack looked to the right side to find a small device attached with a cord nearby and spoke, “Ah will keep that in mind, ma’am…”

“And that’s all that should be important at this time, dear…” Tenderheart responded before turning the knob at once and taking another glance away from the exit, “I hope you get well soon, Applejack…”

The tanned blonde turned to face the bright skinned woman once more with feeling and peeped, “Ah hope so too…”

At this moment on, Applejack then found herself to be already left alone as a soft slam soon sounded off across the room in due time, the same reminder of such concurrent loneliness. Steadily, the tanned blonde felt a tear pooling out from the corner of her eye and began to wipe it off completely with a singular finger only as she sniffled silently to little end within sight if at all. The only thing that kept her company was a fresh tray of food that Tenderheart had just delivered but its contents were of a limited quantity to say the very least, a short-lived facet to the former. There was also the one window where the nurse had opened the blinds earlier ago so that Applejack can see what awaits beyond the confines of her own current location at any given time.

The tanned blonde focused her attention onto the food within possession and continued to slowly devour what had remained in that rectangular item. First, there was the patch of wheat where she had gotten a taste of it so hastily and seized an opportunity to finish off what’s left of its remains. Unlike the preliminary observations, Applejack started to savor the texture of the soft food and began to clear the spot almost cleanly of its original spot.

“I bet that this must be Applejack’s room already; I wonder if she’s even awake right now…” said a faint voice from behind the door as the eponymous patient turned her attention towards it, “alright, Dash… you’ve made it this far; no use in backing out now…”

“Could it be…?” the tanned blonde slowly stuttered as she placed the fork back down onto the adjacent tray beneath just when the knob far away from her position had started to turn on its side.

The door had slowly opened to find that she was greeted by the sight of another figure approaching right away: another bright skinned female with magenta irises making an entrance. To start it off, the visitor possessed short hair just like Applejack, albeit with a color scheme that included the entire spectrum within each of the former’s tresses in the form of thin racing stripes. Secondly, the bright skinned individual was slim and tender, dressed in a cyan tracksuit with a symmetrical pattern of golden lightning bolts trailing downward from the clavicle to the legs. Third of all, the visitor had on some light brown sneakers with snow white shoelaces tied up in a proper sight, its ends failing to touch the floor she’d already found herself standing upon at once. Last but not least, the individual in question even had on a pair of red gloves worn on her hands, showing only all of her bared fingertips to be emerging from the textile suffice it to say the least.

With a smile now adorned upon the face, the visitor soon began to speak to the tanned blonde, “morning Applejack, I can’t believe that you’re still alive…!”

“Me neither, Rainbow; Ah am surprised to find that you are too…!” the eponymous patient greeted the now aforementioned individual with a smaller smile, “what brings you here anyway…?”

“Just hanging around and checking the place to see where you were, AJ…!” the visitor had quickly answered with a near wink in tow.

Sighing softly, Applejack watched Rainbow approached the former’s current location and said, “Ah can tell that ya leaving something else out of the conversation here, sugarcube; mind to tell me what Ah like to know?”

“Well, you got me as always: you weren’t the first person I had considered on visiting at the sick bay; there was another person besides you, Applejack…” the bright skinned individual replied as she scratched her hair slowly before stopping up in front of the tanned blonde, “you know about who Scoots was back then…”

“Yeah, Ah remember one of the little rascals; Ah can’t believe that they won’t be going on adventures anymore after what has happened with the war…” the patient told the visitor while rubbing a nearby shoulder.

Rainbow had soon slowly clenched her hand into a fist and snorted off, “don’t even get me started about it; already had enough problems with the whole fighting crap…”

“Rainbow… what’s this about that you ain’t telling me; did something happen to one of the girls…?” Applejack inquired, raising a singular eyebrow gently, “come on, answer me please…”

“Let’s just say that I rather not wish to talk about it too much, AJ…” the bright skinned woman said to the tanned blonde while looking away at once.

The patient sat aside her tray and began speaking to the visitor with more feelings escaping already, “look, Ah have reckoned to understand how this madness has changed us all for the worst and why it’s hard to even talk about it at all! The moment when the fighting had washed aside onto our doorstep, Ah had been around to watched what had changed and what was taken from us: lives, lands, friends, family; for land’s sakes, even Ah wanted to end mah own life because of it! Ever since that day, Ah had always been worried about what had been becoming of Apple Bloom when she was taken away from me and what would have happened to her at all had Ah not reached mah sister in time; besides, sometimes when Ah look at mah hands, Ah could hear her crying loudly for me to stop the pain Ah was causing! All Ah had hoped was that she could be able live on past that madness without ever worrying in fear about the damned attacks messing up her spirits and her memories again! You don’t have to hide the pain and stress away because of all that… besides, the doctors said at this rate, Ah would get out of the hospital soon enough already.”

“WHAT WOULD YOU’VE KNOWN ABOUT MY PAIN?!” Rainbow suddenly exclaimed as she felt hot water escaping from her eyes at once, “I never cared about the pain that I was in, but I cared about her instead; up until that day, I barely stopped to consider for a single day how lucky I was to have someone looking up to me. Ever since I was young, I made a promise to myself to not shed a single tear so as to deny the bullies I had the satisfaction of my torment; so much for that, mind you. I cared less about what they were doing to me when they had gotten ahold of me but what they did Scootaloo was something that will never get outta my head for the rest of my life…! The blood pouring out of the body shook me to the core and I had felt that unless she gets some help soon, she would not have lived any much longer; I was lucky to have made it that far but it didn’t change the fact that I failed to protect her. This ordeal gave me nightmares of waking up one morning after to find a girl like Scootaloo dead in the media all thanks to my failure. They said that the odds of getting her hearing back to normal are virtually impossible now even with the most expensive restoration therapy sessions; I bet that she doesn’t even want to see me ever again. Despite the fact that she is alive, I’ve always found myself coming and going to the hospital but never found the strength to even go past Scootaloo’s door every time I ask of her; now, I– I––”

“How can you say such things, Rainbow…?” Applejack whimpered as she quickly watched a few tears fall onto the floor beneath the two of them.

The light skinned woman stomped the tiles and wiped away the stream as she answered the tanned blonde, “I’m sorry, it’s just that what happened made me ask what the fuck was I thinking back then: I was able to overcome every obstacle that had been thrown at me; even so, even she thought that I was unstoppable. This incident nearly left us dead, changed who we were and how we viewed the world, gave me nightmares, made me think that the Princess was too powerless to prevent it from happening. I just don’t know what I am supposed to think about the plan right now: on the one hand, maybe it could perhaps help provide some form of comfort for the girl; then again, she might even start hating on me for nearly causing her death the moment I set foot in there. Please tell me the truth, Applejack: what should I do?”

“Rainbow… mah Granny, may she rest in peace, once said to me that doing the right thing is never easy all the time…” the patient spoken up to the visitor all at once, “but it doesn’t mean that we should quit at any time no matter how far we have gone or how close to doing wrong: you did what you could to save the young’un and if her being alive means that much to you, then I don’t see any reason for Scootaloo to even be mad at you already; besides, Ah will bet that she has already forgiven you, sugarcube…”

“Do you think so, AJ…?” Rainbow peeped as Applejack started to crack a faint smile at once.

The tanned blonde gasped at the bright skinned woman and answered, “Ah believe so; Ah think you have made yerself a great role model for that rascal to not give up on, Rainbow…”

“Spoken like a true friend to the end, AJ; I just wish it didn’t have to come down to all this…” the visitor replied as she rested her hands near the patient’s side already, “so what are you going to do now?”

“Easy, sugarcube… Ah am going to write Apple Bloom a letter after finishing some breakfast…” Applejack answered Rainbow within only seconds while placing a hand on over to the fork.

As the tanned blonde resumed eating, the bright skinned female started to chirp, “I betcha lil sis misses you a lot, am I right?”

“Eeyup and all that’s going to change soon enough, sugarcube…” the patient happily replied, nodding on and off in the process as she started to scarf down a small serving of some scrambled eggs, “besides, Ah had her worried long enough to put off a response; at least, it would be nice to have some help in writing it down alongside me now, wouldn’t ya agree…?”

“Aww yeah; this would be just like old times, eh… J…?” the visitor exclaimed at once with a wide grin appearing upon the visage.

Applejack did nothing but gave off a slight frown upon hearing Rainbow out and spoke back, “let’s just focus on the letter, okay sugarcube…”

“Alright, whatever floats your boat, I’m not gonna rock it; anyway, we’re gonna need a pen and paper…” the bright skinned female wheezed on, “do you know who even might have some at this time…?”

“Sweetheart might even have them on the west wing where the nursery is; why don’t you go on over there and ask her for the supplies, Rainbow…?” the tanned blonde calmly suggested within due time.

Taking in a deep breath, the visitor soon focused the magenta orbs back onto the patient’s jade and replied at once, “well, I don’t see any reason why not; okay, Applejack, I’ll go get you some if it’ll make you feel better. I’ll be right back as soon as I get them; they don’t call me Rainbow Dash for nothing, you’ll see…!”

“Why wouldn’t they…?” the eponymous listener chuckled, “now go on and show them how…”

“That’s what friends are for, Applejack…” Rainbow said before leaving Applejack all alone within ten seconds flat; after the door slammed shut, the latter started to reside back onto the gurney without any solitary form of hesitation whatsoever.

The tanned blonde rested her weary head over the pillow and stared at the ceiling above with a faint smile while whispering, “you go get ‘em, sugarcube…”