Hearing the Pulse

by Toraka

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Sad, Main 6, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 2174

Standard sad story with a little twist

Terminal. Eight letters, three syllables. When you take it apart, you see it's just a meaningless bunch of sounds. Still, it can crush lives and ruin ponies with ease. Facing your personal world in shards, what can you do to reassemble it?

Standalone, though it's even better if you've read Splitting aMid the Night!

Published 2012-09-23 13:24:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-23 13:24:01 UTC

Riding the Sine

It looked like yet another fine day in Canterlot. The Sun was already high, awakening the blooming nature in and around the castle with the blessed warmth of an invigorating spring morning. Many ponies were out enjoying the national holiday, playing, talking, or just having a walk in one of the many parks around. There were a few clouds in the sky, but those coming too close to the Sun quickly evaporated, no hint of them remaining except for a rainbow trail going away.

In Ponyville, the sky was just as clear and theoretically, the day should be just as good. However, there was something that made the Sun seem cold, that drained the holiday until nothing but a feeling of pointlessness remained. Some that were less affected by it simply felt uneasy savoring the moment, others who had gotten their dose of exposure were blinded to anything but an evergrowing sense of dread. Among the latter group was the pegasus currently clearing the sky. The sight of her soaring around may have made ponies think she didn't let herself be pulled down, but when closely approached, her true emotions quickly came to light. Following those, Rainbow Dash went into a dive after bucking away the last cloud in order to get back to Ponyville as fast as possible.

After just a few seconds, though it might as well have been hours for Rainbow Dash, she pulled out of her dive and slowed down to a safe speed until she no longer left rainbows in her wake. While flying this fast close to the ground would usually just be another challenge for her to rock, there was no need for more trouble in that moment. As it turned out, she had been well to slow down as she noticed just in time to react that the window she had been aiming to fly through was closed. Unfortunately, she couldn't avoid bumping into it, her forelegs up front to absorb the force. The ponies inside the room had apparently heard her, as Applejack walked over to open the window for her. Embarassed, Rainbow finally came into the room. On her left, a purple unicorn nurse she had come to know well was bent over her patient. On the right, Applejack and Rarity sat on two chairs out of a group next to the door. From the outside, it looked like just yet another hospital room. Next to the bed, a card stood on the bedside table. The lamps on the tiled ceiling illuminated a lone picture hanging on the white walls right where the patient's viewpoint would be. On the inside however, it gave a feeling of lifelessness, as everything was in perfect order like the cleaner staff would leave it. The only indicators that there was somepony using the room were found in and around the bed, in the form of a mare surrounded by gadgets with varying shapes and functions.

"Gotta put some bird stickers on those windows if you're gonna keep crashing into them," Midnight, Twilight Sparkle's love, commented on her entrance.

After giving Applejack a brief peck, Rainbow Dash said, "Seriously, I am speed. I fly. Do you expect me to do anything that involves walking? Anyway, how is she doing?"

"She's," Midnight had to swallow mid-sentence, "she's still stable as ever. It's up to you if that's good or bad. There's nothing I can do right now. It's her fight."

"But surely, she is going to come back to us?" Rarity asked. Her voice was a curious between undying hope and creeping despair, like she expected Midnight to say what they all wanted to hear, but didn't want any answer at all.

"Well, judging by how I know that pony, absolutely, she's going to get through it." Midnight flung her head to get her blue mane out of her face, "But, medicine rarely cares about character. She could, or she couldn't. I'm sorry, but that's all I can say. Just make sure to..." Midnight couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence, but it seemed like everypony understood what she meant. They all shared a moment of quiet reflection with the only sound being a periodic beep when suddenly three foals, followed by Fluttershy, came in. If nothing else, they served well to bring some more color into the white room. There was something odd about them, however. Instead of sprinting around looking for adventure, never seeming to run out of energy, they calmly walked in one by one, eyes barely high enough to look at their respective sisters, or Rainbow Dash as a substitute in one case.

"Sorry, I tried to hold them back, but they wouldn't let off," Fluttershy said to explain their appearance. Technically, she should have been watching over the Crusaders and giving answers to their questions, but it obviously wouldn't have taken much effort on the fillies' side to make her bring them to the hospital even during normal times.

"It's okay, sugar. Who knows how long she'll las- Ah mean, be. Can't hurt ta try everythin' we can ta make her come back faster."

Neither Sweetie Belle nor Scootaloo wasted any time and stepped right up to the bed. While they were already busy leaning onto it and whispering various things into the sleeping mare's ears, Apple Bloom hesitated by Applejack's side, nestling up against her for comfort on multiple levels, physical and emotional. Obviously, the adult mare couldn't avoid noticing. "Somethin' wrong, sis?"

"Ah jus'... Ah can't help thinkin' it's all mah fault." Apple Bloom looked up to her with tear-filled eyes.

"Now listen here. It was just a terrible accident. What happened ain't ta blame on nopony."

"Well, technically," Midnight joined in with a grim expression on her face, "it really is your fault. What does this tell you about doing stuff you have no idea of?"

Apple Bloom started crying into Applejack's shoulder while the head of the same pony glared at Midnight. "Was that really necessary?"

"Blame me for being a bit bitter when, right next to me, lays the love of my life, and would-be wife?"

Everypony let out a gasp or equivalent upon hearing about Midnight's plans. Rarity picked up first, "You wanted to..."

From deep within her bag, Midnight magicked forth a small box and opened it, though she didn't seem to be interested in its content. "Would've asked her a few hours after everything went wrong. If it hadn't, of course." She tossed the box into a corner, that which was inside of it falling out and out of sight with a clink. "Worthless. Everything's worthless."

"I... she'll come back, I know it. I promise you two will have the life you deserve." Rarity turned to look at Fluttershy, who had gone even more quiet than usual. "Oh, darling, you look terrible, is there something the matter?"

Upon this provocation, just after Applejack had managed to calm down Apple Bloom, Fluttershy's emotions burst free. She managed to control herself so she wasn't outright sobbing, but the sight of her losing the fight with her tears was just all the more heartbreaking. "I can't... she'll... she won't... oh, I'm sorry, you should just," she then broke into incomprehensible gibberish.

Rarity put a caring hoof onto Fluttershy's shoulder and began to lead her out of the room, overpowering her resistance easily through persistence, "My poor little dear, I don't think this is the place for you to be right now. Come, we'll go outside for a bit and bring your mind to other things. You others, don't hesitate to call us if something changes." With that, she pushed through the door and they left.

"Ah, what change does she expect? It's already good that she stays like this, though what difference is there between neverending sleep and eternal rest?" Midnight set to trotting through the room while Apple Bloom joined her friends at the bedside. "Come on, Sparkle. You're better than this."

There was another period in which nopony said too much, all focused on themselves as they quietly tried to contemplate the situation fully. Occasionally, a spike in the beeps' frequency would, in turn, speed up their hearts and make them hopefully look at the patient, only to then be disappointed when it fell down to the average level again. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had begun cuddling up against each other while Midnight stared out the window. The Sun shone on her face, but she still felt empty and cold. All of a sudden, everything came back to her. How they had first met. How it had been like when Midnight had discovered her secret crush for Twilight. Their first kiss. They had been together for so little time, yet they had been happier than either of them could ask for. Now, through fate's irony, those memories caused only pain within Midnight. She hadn't seen it coming. She hadn't been there to protect Twilight. Now she could only watch as her only object of desire's chances of survival worsened with each passing day and night. A tear dropped to the floor, quickly followed by another. The third one fell onto her foreleg, waking her from her trance just in time to clean herself up before there was a knock on the door and Pinkie Pie walked in.

The recent events had taken a toll on everypony, but Pinkie clearly was the one it had hit worst. Judging by her usual behavior, she'd be expected to stay optimistic and carry up hope for everypony else, but instead, looking into her puffy eyes only amplified their grief. Her hair, while it wasn't completely straight, appeared to have lost quite a bit of its fluffyness. It was obvious she was a mare who didn't know what to do anymore, which clashed horribly with her candy colored looks. In the corners of her mouth, a hint of the old Pinkie Pie remained, but it just couldn't expand to the rest of her body.

"Not too many at a time, please. Protocol demands for only... you know what, as if I cared anymore. I'm going down," Midnight said before anypony else could respond to Pinkie entering. She sat down on a chair and fired up her magic, collapsing seconds after.

Pinkie's eyes shifted from silent sorrow to open panic and she sprinted over to see what had happened to Midnight. "What did she do? Girls, give me some help over here!"

Applejack shook her head. "Don't bother. She's fine."

Pinkie set the unicorn down again, "But what happened?"

"Tryin' ta get into Twilight's mind. She'll wake up again in a bit. An' if she don't... Ah guess that's a good sign."

"Okay then. So, um, how's Twilight doing?"

Everypony looked at the bed, wishing that the various machines surrounding it didn't have to be there. "She didn't get worse, at least."

Midnight stirred, pulling herself up again. Noticing how everypony in the room was looking at her with at least a spark of hope in their expressions, she quickly got to the point, "Darkness. She's always been as tight as a tank. I just can't get in. Studying that spell for two days and nights straight probably just isn't enough. I hope."

Pinkie whispered something into the ears of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who then said, "C'mon fillies, Ah think it's about time we got you some lunch. We can always come back later."

After each of them had said a temporary goodbye to Twilight, the Cutie Mark Crusaders followed the two mares out of the room, so that only Midnight, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle herself remained.

"Should I?" Midnight asked.

Pinkie shook her head. "No, stay, please. Um, hey Twilight, I'd throw you a party for speedy recovery, but you couldn't come, so I brought the party to you." From somewhere, Pinkie pulled forth some streamers, two balloons and a cupcake. "If you come back to Sugarcube Corner with me now, I promise you can have everything in it. Twilight, please come back, I don't know what to do without you. Please, Twilight, please." Pinkie began to quietly weep into the bedsheet. Even to say that Twilight was unphased would already be an overstatement. She didn't, as they all secretly still hoped for, suddenly jump up. She didn't speak, nor open an eye or even move a muscle. The heart rate indicator beeped at the exact same frequency as before. Unable to stand Twilight's indifference any longer, Pinkie stepped away from the bed and left the room.

Midnight was alone. Without anypony else in the room, all she had was Twilight. She looked serene lying there like that, indifferent to what happened around her. It was a sight that could mend or break hearts. Midnight just couldn't bear this. She wasn't strong enough by herself. After quickly kissing Twilight on the forehead, she turned to leave. Just before she could open the door, the wave of harmony hit her. Calmly, she switched off the light and left.