Game of Shadows

“RAINBOW!”

Twilight and her friends gasped. They rushed over to Rainbow’s side, and Fluttershy shook Rainbow’s prone body, surrounded by a puddle of sweat. “Please wake up…please wake up…”

There was no response. She then placed a single forehoof over Rainbow’s neck, shifting it about before breathing a sigh of relief. “Her heart’s still beating.”

Hoisting Rainbow onto her back, Twilight fought the urge to prance in place, her horn flaring out sputters of magic. “Quick! Pinkie, you stay here with the rest. I’ll bring Rainbow to the hospital with Fluttershy.”

“But what do we d—”

Twilight interjected. “Close Sugarcube Corner down. We don’t know if Rainbow fainted because of the food.”

Pinkie’s eyes narrowed as she stammered. “I-It’s not th—”

In a flash of violet light, Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow disappeared. Pinkie stared at the floating magical sparks they left behind, her mane and ears drooping.

The pungent smell of disinfectant permeated Twilight’s nose as she hurried over to the counter with Fluttershy. “Nurse!”

A white pony jumped from her seat. “Princess Twilight! What happened?”

“Rainbow fainted!” Twilight exclaimed through a chaotic cacophony of gasps. Nurse Redheart pushed a spare stretcher from the side of the corridor. With several grunts of effort, Twilight and Fluttershy rolled a supine Rainbow onto the white sheets. Redheart then hurried down the corridor with Rainbow in tow.

As Twilight and Fluttershy tailed her, Twilight felt her front hooves slipping on the floor tiles. A quick glance revealed them to be drenched with perspiration. Was that sweat hers, or Rainbow’s?

The four mares burst into the emergency room. A stethoscope-draped doctor leapt to his hooves. “Princess Twilight! What happened!?”

“Rainbow fainted at her birthday party.” Twilight’s eyes fell as the doctor levitated a nearby clipboard and quill from his desk. She watched the doctor’s eyes focus on Rainbow’s open mouth, then on the rise and fall of her chest. “She collapsed after she ate Pinkie’s cake!”

“Doctor, please…! Please tell us that Rainbow’s okay…” Fluttershy gripped the sides of the stretcher, tears trickling down the sides of her cheeks. “Please…”

With Redheart’s assistance, the doctor lifted Rainbow onto the bed. He glanced up sharply. “Does she have any allergies?”

Twilight shook her head. In a whirlwind of activity, he cuffed a blood pressure monitor onto Rainbow’s hoof and triggered the device before his head buried itself into his clipboard, scribbling hurriedly with his quill.

“Doctor…please…” Fluttershy’s longing eyes struggled to divert the doctor’s attention away from his clipboard.

“I’ll promise that I’ll do my best to help Rainbow Dash.” The doctor glanced over his clipboard at the reading on the blood pressure monitor. “Redheart, get a feel for Rainbow’s pulse.”

With sunken, reddened cheeks, Fluttershy gagged and gasped. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy.” Twilight placed a forehoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “They’ll make sure that Rainbow will be okay.”

Fluttershy sucked in a short breath of air. “But...Rainbow…”

“Rainbow will be fine.” Twilight’s eyes shifted. “I believe in her.”

“Have you performed any first aid?” the doctor asked.

Twilight frowned. “We…we just teleported her here the second she fell...”

The doctor’s quill danced on his clipboard. “Did anyone else eat the cake or have similar symptoms?”

“No...not that I know of,” Twilight responded after a moment. “I told Pinkie to close Sugarcube Corner down...just in case the cake caused this.”

“Alright, that’s good.” The doctor turned to Redheart. “Attach the pulse oximeter, then secure an IV line.” As Redheart followed the doctor’s orders in a similar whirlwind of activity, the doctor swung his stethoscope out.

Twilight stepped forward. “What do you suspect, doctor?”

For several seconds, voices stopped chattering. The doctor’s cerulean magic planted his stethoscope on several points on Rainbow’s chest. “Her breathing is normal, but her heartbeat’s irregular and elevated.”

“W-what?” Fluttershy spluttered.

The doctor jerked his head up at Redheart. “Call for Tenderheart; we need an ECG. After that, give the poison centre a ring. Tell them we have a comatose patient in a possible sympathomimetic toxidrome.” Redheart gave a single nod and dashed out of the emergency room.

“Her heartbeat is...wait, is Rainbow going to DIE!?” Fluttershy jumped up. Her hoof instinctively lifted itself off the floor and visibly trembled in the air.

Twilight held her back. “Calm down, Fluttershy...”

Tenderheart burst through the doors, a cart rattling in her hooves. The doctor jerked his head up. “Tenderheart! Roll her into position while I attach the electrodes.”

The doctor snatched a tangle of wires from Tenderheart’s cart while she rolled Rainbow onto the side. Fluttershy had since placed her front hoof back down on the floor, and it wasn’t long before Rainbow was rolled back supine. The wires dangled between Tenderheart’s cart and Rainbow’s chest like spaghetti. Fluttershy fought to calm her ragged breaths as the ECG began beeping to life. “Does that—”

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Fluttershy’s pupils widened. “Doctor! Doctor! Ra-rainbow...”

“That’s an A-Fib,” the doctor muttered to himself, a crack seeping through the grave undertones of his voice. “Tenderheart, verapamil, now.” He stared at the beeping monitor, his eyes tracing the spikes as Tenderheart ransacked the drawers for an ampoule. “Fluttershy, please calm down. We can treat this.”

Twilight grabbed Fluttershy and hugged her. “Fluttershy, Rainbow’s already being treated. She’ll be fine.” Fluttershy clasped onto her tightly. “She’ll be okay…”

The doors slammed open. “Doc, I’ve informed the poison centre,” Redheart uttered. “They said they’ll prepare for the patient’s arrival once we stabilize her and transfer her there.”

The doctor nodded. “Thank you. Please help me perform the neuro exam.”

The moment she cantered back to Rainbow’s bedside, Redheart swiped a penlight from Tenderheart’s cart and shined it directly into Rainbow’s right pupil, then on her left. “Doctor, her pupils are dilated, but her eyes are tracking the light.”

“Alright, continue.” With a flash of azure magic, the doctor broke the ampoule and allowed Tenderheart to draw its contents into a syringe. Tenderheart narrowed her eyes at the needle, approached the IV line, and placed a hoof on Rainbow’s carpus.

Tenderheart didn’t inject the medicine. She repositioned her hoof, and her eyes widened.

“Doc, I can’t feel the patient’s pulse!”

Twilight and Fluttershy broke away from their embrace. The doctor jerked his head up, eyes locked at the ECG. Although Twilight and Fluttershy couldn’t understand the erratic lines on its screen, they could hear its beeps get louder and faster.

The doctor jumped to his hooves. “We have a Code Blue in Bed 2!” he called out at the top of his voice. “Redheart, start CPR! Tenderheart, does that cart also have a defib?”

“Yes, Doc!”

Fluttershy cowered behind Twilight, her shaking hooves clasping onto Twilight’s wings. Cold sweat trickled down Twilight’s face as the foreboding ambience sent shivers from her face, down her spine, and into her front hooves. Despite the tingling tremors, Twilight’s mind struggled to muster whatever hope she could.

In Fluttershy and Twilight’s eyes, the medical team’s actions blurred into an incomprehensible flurry. Tenderheart swiftly capped the syringe and kept it on a side counter before pushing an oxygen mask on Rainbow’s mouth. Meanwhile, Redheart positioned her forehooves in the middle of Rainbow’s chest, panting with each heaving compression. She only stopped for a few seconds to allow Tenderheart and the doctor to hook the defibrillator’s electrodes to Rainbow’s chest and back.

The doctor hovered one hoof over a large button on the defibrillator. “Stand clear!”

While the nurses obeyed, Fluttershy remained rooted to the spot. Her inconsolable eyes were transfixed on Rainbow’s body.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight’s words snapped Fluttershy out of her trance. Her legs nearly buckled as Twilight yanked her away from the bed before placing a comforting wing over her.

The doctor’s hoof visibly tensed when it pushed the button.

There was no jolt of electricity snaking from the wires and into Rainbow's body, and no jump from Rainbow's contracting muscles. The medical team once again became an incomprehensible blur as Fluttershy stared blankly at Rainbow. Years of animal care did nothing to prepare her for this. "Did...did it work, Twilight?"

Twilight patted Fluttershy's back. "I hope it did."

Twilight's eyes returned to the medical team. Truth be told, she didn't know the real answer to Fluttershy's question.

“Close Sugarcube Corner? But why?”

Applejack sighed. “Honestly, we ain’t sure if Rainbow had fainted because of the cake. What if the other cak—”

Pinkie’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean by that?” She bolted over to Applejack, her eyes boring down into Applejack’s own. “I baked the cake! I planned the birthday party! Are you saying that I poisoned Rainbow Dash?!”

Gulping, Applejack backpedalled. “Well, uhh...no? But it could b—”

“NO!” Pinkie slammed her hooves onto the floor. “I did not! Why would I? Why would you ever think that? Why would you accuse me? Why would I be doing this to Rainbow Dash? Why would I—”

Starlight took in a deep breath. “Look, I think we should all—”

Applejack stuttered. “I-I’m just sayin’ that…”

“GIRLS!”

Silence. Everypony’s eyes drifted to the fourth pony in the room.

Rarity exhaled. “Please, can the both of you just calm down?” She stood between Applejack and Pinkie. “I understand that we are in a difficult situation right now, but we need to remain level-headed and follow Twilight’s instructions.”

“B-but but but!” Pinkie complained. “I didn’t poison the cake! I didn’t do anything! Why would I do anything to Rain—”

“No.” Rarity firmly shook her head. “We are not blaming you, Pinkie. Twilight just wishes to be on the safe side. If it was really the cake, there’s a chance that the other cakes could be contaminated too.”

“Alright...” Pinkie sank down to the ground.

“We trust you.” Starlight trotted toward Pinkie and patted her back with a hoof. “I don’t think that you would do such a thing.”

Applejack darted her eyes over to Pinkie momentarily. “But we ought to get to the bottom of this.”

“Don’t worry, Applejack.” Rarity gave a wry smile. “Detective Rarity is on the case.”