Beep

Beep

Beep

Beep

Rainbow Dash groaned mentally. For once, I’d just like to wake up not in pain. Is that too much to ask?

It was at this point that Rainbow tried to open her eyes. And failed. What the hay? By now, she was close to panicking, trying to move anything, but to no avail.

Voices spoke nearby, but they were too garbled to make out what they were saying. Suddenly one of the voices got louder! No, wait, just closer.

“…She’s just not waking up. Follow me, you need to rest.”

“Ah’ll rest when Dash wakes up an’ not a minute before!”

Rainbow wanted to scream ‘But I am awake!’, but she couldn’t even open her mouth. She recognized the second voice; it was Applejack!

Well, at least I’m not alone, she thought ruefully.

Rainbow had no idea how much time had passed since then, but she was sure that Applejack hadn’t left. Other ponies (nurses and doctors, probably) tried to get her to rest and eat something, but she would refuse to leave every time and only ate a small bit.

Rainbow slipped in and out of sleep easily. Then again, being awake and sleeping weren’t really that different at this point. But something different happened almost immediately after she woke up again.

As she roused herself from consciousness for the nth time, Rainbow braced herself for the pain that was becoming her new normal. But it never came. Thank Celestia! She thought. I don’t know how much longer I could’ve handled that.

Rainbow shifted her attention over to her best friend, still sitting next to her bed. She didn’t have to strain to catch the scent of apples and hay that seemed to follow Applejack like a natural perfume. She loved that scent. It was just so natural. Of course, normally it wasn’t so strong… Oh.

Rainbow could feel Applejack breathing. The earth pony felt really close. Almost uncomfortably close. She finally spoke: “Ah’m sorry sugarcube. Ah’m so sorry that Ah was too durn scared to tell ya this before-” She stopped for a moment to choke back a sob “-Before all o’ this. But Ah just gotta git this off mah chest…”

Well, get on with it, Rainbow thought, feeling impatient. I don’t have anything else to-Whoa

The cyan Pegasus felt like her brain had suddenly stopped working. She could no longer think. In hindsight, this was almost the exact same feeling that she had when Keres was speaking. But this was so much better because there was no fear involved. It was caused by her best friend, and that made her feel safe, despite the fact that her heart was just about to leap out of her chest.

It took a moment for her brain to catch up with what was actually happening, but she finally realized that Applejack was kissing her. It felt absolutely incredible, and Rainbow found herself wishing that it wouldn’t stop.

Beep… Beep… Beep, beep, beepbeepbeepbeep

Oh, horsefeathers! Rainbow swore as nurses galloped into the room, alerted by the rapidly accelerating heartbeat. Voices mingled all around, making Rainbow’s head spin even more. One voice spoke louder, trying to get everypony’s attention.

“Ah’m sorry! Ah didn’t mean to do anythin’!”

“What did you do? What happened?” Rainbow recognized Nurse Redheart’s voice. She had been admitted to Ponyville hospital enough times after crashing that she could recognize that voice anywhere.

“Ah- Ah was just tryin’ ta work up the courage ta tell Dash that Ah’ve had a crush on her for a long time so Ah kissed her. Ah didn’t know that that’d happen!” Applejack responded.

Rainbow could barely think, but she was able to hear Redheart’s response: “Oh, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I’ve heard stories that some comatose ponies are sometimes conscious enough to hear what’s going on.” Rainbow could almost feel the mixture of hope and dread radiating off of Applejack in waves.

“Ya mean that she could be listenin’ right now?”

Redheart responded and Rainbow could imagine the smile that she knew the nurse was wearing. “Well, considering how her heart rate exploded when you kissed her, I would assume that, yes she’s conscious. However, she is still comatose, so nopony can really know until she wakes up.”

Rainbow barely had time to breathe before she felt a muzzle against her cheek. “Please sugarcube, wake up. Ah know ya can do it. Jus’ come back. Ya mean so much ta me,” Applejack murmured, tickling the pegasus’ ear.

Rainbow strained her muscles, trying to flick her tail, open her eyes, anything. But she still couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried. She swore again, more frustrated than ever before. After a moment, Rainbow felt a cold liquid entering her foreleg, most likely through an IV.

Applejack sighed and sat down again with an audible thump. “When do ya reckon she’ll wake up?” Her voice sounded thick, like she was just barely holding back tears.

Nurse Redheart spoke from Rainbow’s other side, “I don’t think it will be today, but she is going to need her strength to wake up. That’s why I’m giving her a sedative. Sufentanil will help Rainbow relax and go to sleep.”

Rainbow felt herself growing calmer; all her thoughts drifting away like clouds in a breeze. Finally, she succumbed to sleep, her last thoughts on that apple-and-hay scented mane right next to her.

Author's Note

Alert! rainbow_dash.exe has stopped working. Please restart program. Of course, when Rainbow wakes up, she'll have more situations to deal with than just some blood loss. But generally, situations aren't orange or wear Stetsons

As always, please let me know how I can improve! Since this is my first story, I don't expect it to be perfect, and constructive criticism is always encouraged!