The things we love.

The doors of the hospital flew open and two ponies ran in carrying a stretcher with a patient on it.

Immediately a green mare followed, running after them .

She got stopped by a stallion before she could follow the stretcher to the ICU.

“I’m afraid you have to wait here miss.” The stallion said to her.

Lyra frowned at that.

“Bu..But my marefriend is in there! I-I need to see her!” She almost burst into tears right there and then.

“Listen, the doctors here will do everything they have to make sure your marefriend is going to be fine. For now, we need to know what happened to her.”

Lyra began to tell him what happened.

“And a-after I looked back to b-Bonbon s-she was being attacked by something.” Lyra sobbed.

The stallion nodded.

“Alright, let me take a look if they are busy operating on her.” With that he walked through the big doors where the ICU was located.

Lyra nodded and sat down on a chair, still trembling in fear.

What seemed like an eternity later the stallion walked out again with a unreadable expression on his face.

“Miss Heartstrings, I’m afraid I have some bad news along with some good news.” The stallion declared.

Lyra bit her lip, unsure what the news could be.

“The operation was a success, but Miss Bonbon developed some fever like symptoms during said operation. We will threat her for it and keep her here for the night.” The stallion showed a little smile. “If she’s lucky, she’ll get to go home around noon tomorrow.”

Lyra let out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding, and felt a weight drop of her shoulders.

“t-That’s great news Doctor! Thank you very much!!” She genuinely smiled at the stallion and he in turn rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“a-Actually , Miss Heartstrings.. I’m still just an assistant here ” The stallion said to her.

Lyra smiled and nodded.

“I understand. Still, thank you for checking on Bonbon.” She smiled again as the stallion’s blush disappeared.

“No need to thank me , Miss Heartstrings. After all, it’s my job to help ponies.” The stallion announced with a confident smile. He then held up a hoof in front of her.

“My name’s Autumn Spark.” He said to her, still holding that confident smile.

Lyra proceeded to shake his hoof, she wasn’t a pony without manners.

“My name is Lyra Heartstrings, but I guess you already knew that…”She giggled and let go of his hoof.

“Again, it’s nice to meet you, Miss Heartstrings,” Autumn said, a smile adorning his face “I have to go now I’m afraid. Patients don’t appreciate it if you keep them waiting too long.” He chuckled and began to walk away, leaving Lyra in the waiting room.

Applebloom twisted and turned in her sleep. The little filly was having a bad dream.

She was being followed by a creature that looked very much like a pony and nothing like a pony at the same time. It ran faster than any normal pony but strangely enough she ran faster, although the distance between them closed in rapidly and she could already feel it’s hot breath in her neck.

She suddenly saw an enormous wall arise in front of her, leaving her with no option of escaping the beast that was chasing after her. As she came to a stop, her back against the wall, she saw the dark shadowy beast come closer with each step it took.

Suddenly, the beast stepped into the light and revealed an image that made Applebloom scream.

The beast appeared to be Appeljack, and had an abnormal amount of fur on her body and looked almost canine.

Applejack opened her mouth, showing big and sharp fangs and let out an unearthly howl.

She slowly walked to the trembling filly and grinned like a madmare.

“Didn’t I told a little filly to go to bed?” Applebloom heard the beast say as it jumped on her and started to rip her apart.

The filly awoke with a scream and gasped for breath.

Immediately her door burst open and her brother and sister both ran into her room with worried looks.

“Applebloom!! Are you alright?!” Applejack asked the trembling filly.

The filly looked around and noticed she was back in her room, safe and sound.

She calmed down and nodded slowly to her sister.

“Y..Yes, I mean, I think so.. .I just had a bad dream.” Applebloom said to her.

Her sister hugged her and held her tight.

“You sure it was ‘just a bad dream’?” The mare asked, seemingly not convinced about what she had said.

“I already said it was just a bad dream!” The filly responded as she rearranged herself in bed.

Her sister let go of her and sighed.

“Alright. We will be in our rooms when you need us.” Applejack said as she turned towards the door.

Applebloom nodded and watched her sister and brother leave the room.

Only minutes later the little filly fell back into a deep sleep.

Lyra looked at the clock that hung on the wall.

It was already after one in the morning and the drowsiness slowly washed over her.

The hospital was mostly empty, aside for the night staff and some other doctors.

Autumn Spark had accompanied her for the most of the time, bringing her something to eat and drink after he finished his rounds.

She thanked him for the refreshments and asked him how Bonbon was holding up.

“I just checked her, she was peacefully asleep.” Autumn Spark replied.

Lyra yawned and simply nodded.

“That’s great to hear.” She said after a few moments of silence.

“Yes, and I think some other pony should too!” He joked.

Lyra giggled slightly and nodded.

“Perhaps that would be best , but I’m not leaving Bonnie alone. I’ll just stay here for a few more minutes and then I’ll go home.”

Lyra talked with Autumn for a few more minutes before he went back to his rounds.

When he checked on Lyra again, he found her soundly asleep on one of the hospital’s seats.

He chuckled and grabbed a clean blanket from a nearby utility closet, which he laid over her.

After that he walked away, humming a quiet but cheerful tune in the meantime.