Applejack hurt. That was the first thing she was aware of when she came to, pain. The next thing was beeping and how she was on her back. Her eyes fluttered open. She immediately recognized the hospital. She looked down. Her barrel was covered in bandages.

"Applejack?" Applejack blinked and saw her sister staring at her with wide eyes, "Hey ya'll, she's awake!"

Applejack then noticed who else was in the room. Her friends and family was staring at her in concern. Applejack tried to sit up more, but hissed in pain. A purple hoof was gently placed on her chest, "Easy, Applejack. You're okay. You're alive," said Twilight.

"And you're very lucky to be that way," said a doctor, who just entered the room at the right time, "Deep lacerations on your flank. A scratched leg bone. Broken ribs. Punctured lung. Two pints worth of blood loss. You're very lucky, Applejack. A half an hour later and you would've died."

Applejack swallowed with a dry throat, "How long was Ah out?"

"Over a day," said Twilight. She looked apologetic. Applejack wondered why when Twilight continued, "A...Royal Guard wants to talk to you, Applejack. He wanted to ask about what you saw. We can postpone it-"

Applejack shook her head, "Ah...wanna get this over with. Ah...don't want ta think 'bout th' monster Ah saw."

"We can stay here with you, if you want," said Fluttershy.

"That'll be much appreciated," said Applejack.

"I'll go tell him she's awake," the doctor said before leaving.

Moments later, the Royal Guard entered. He nodded at Applejack, "My name's Iron Hoof. If you can, I would like you to tell me what you saw for my report."

Hungry eyes. Bared teeth. Sharp claws. Applejack shivered as she remembered her near fatal encounter, "Me an' my sis went ta Zecora's fer potion supplies. Th' forest was creepy, more than usual. We...we found her laying on th' ground..." Tears came to Applejack's eyes. While she didn't know Zecora as well as the rest of her friends, she was still a friend nonetheless, "She...she was dead."

All the ponies except Applebloom and the Guard gasped. The Guard sighed. He hated to do this, but he needed all the information he could get before having Guards venture into the Everfree forest to reclaim Zecora, "Can you remember her wounds. It doesn't have to be specific."

"H-her side was split open...H-her head...Oh Celestia, Ah need a bucket," A bucket was levitated to her by Twilight. Applejack grabbed it and dry heaved a few times before hacking up bile. She let out a shuddering breath, "P-part o' her head was gone..."

"Did you see what had killed Zecora?" Applejack and Applebloom grew pale before the big sister nodded, "Can you describe it?"

"I-it was big. It was on all fours. Th' head looked like one of them big monkeys. Ah ferget th' name."

"Gorilla?" suggested Twilight.

Applejack nodded, "Yep, like one o' those. 'cept it had scales 'stead o' fur. Had tail too. Like a lizard. Even then, Ah could see th' muscles it had. Kinda reminded meh o' Bulk Bicep. It had claws like a lizard too," Applejack shuddered as she rubbed her bandaged chest, "Real sharp. It was brown. 'cept fer its eyes. Th-they were orange. Like fire. A-an' they were hungry. B-but they were smart lookin' too. L-like a pony."

"...what happened?" asked the Guard.

"I-it attacked meh. It was fast. Real fast. Faster than RD if she ran on th' ground," Rainbow Dash almost looked insulted, "Ah kicked it off an' told 'Bloom ta run. It...got meh in th' chest. It was standin' over meh...b-but somethin' scared it off befer it could kill meh. Ah got out o' th' forest an' found mahself here."

The Guard finished writing down his notes, "You have any suggestions on how to combat this beast?"

"Ah...Ah don't know. Ah kicked it off, but Ah don't think it even hurt it. Jus' sent it flyin' away. Y-you best get Zecora and get out o' there fast," The Guard nodded and stood up to leave before Applejack called after him, "Wait! It smells real bad. That's when ya know its near."

The Guard nodded and left the room...

Author's Note

God I can't think up of unique pony names. Short chapter is short, but the title is 'Hospital' so I'm ending it here.