One and A Half

Her eyes closed tighter for a moment before they opened, her violet eyes squinting at the seemingly bright light. She was lying in a hospital bed, and she didn’t realize it until her eyes had fully adjusted. Her vision was still a tad bit blurry, and she saw a woman in a white coat scribbling away on a clipboard. After her eyes finally focused, she saw the nurse had pink hair, and a red cross with a heart at each interior corner. Scootaloo tried to talk, but it only came out as a hoarse whisper.

“Where am I?” She croaked out, seeing the nurse jump slightly. She guessed the nurse hadn’t notice her wake up.

“Goodness, you startled me…” She put a hand to her chest before letting out a soft giggle. “It’s good to see you’re awake, Scootaloo. You’re in the Canterlot Medical Center. You’ve been out for a few hours or so. We-”

“What happened?” She cut Nurse Redheart off. All she remembered was Applejack driving herself, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom towards the market in her truck, and everything after that was blank.

“You were in a car accident. A drunk driver ran a red light right as Applejack started to move and hit the passenger side. Since you were sitting on the passenger side, you took the brunt of the force. Your frie-“

“Are they all okay?” She could hear the heart monitor jump slightly as her heartbeat picked up. She was worried that they were hurt, too.

“Applejack escaped with some minor cuts and bruises, as well as Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle has a sprained wrist, but that’s the extent of everyone’s injuries.” The Nurse put the clipboard at the holder on the foot of the hospital bed, and a knock at the door was heard. Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom all stood at the door, weak smiles on their faces. Nurse Redheart walked over to Applejack, whispering something to her and left the room.

“Howdy, Scoots.” Applejack said rather timidly. “How ya feelin’?” She sat down next to the bed in one of the chairs, and Apple Bloom sat on her knee. Sweetie Belle took the chair next to the two sisters, and Rarity entered the room shortly after. Her hair looked a little messy, as if she were in a rush to get ready.

“I got here as soon as I could.” She announced, taking the chair next to Sweetie Belle. “Hello, Scootaloo, darling. How do you feel?”

Scootaloo adjusted herself in the bed a bit before she answered softly. “My head really hurts…” She moved her legs, but her left leg didn’t seem to want to move. Nor could she feel it. She figured it was just the crash getting to her, and that the feeling in it would return after a while. “My entire body really hurts…” She mumbled afterwards, hearing Applejack sniffle softly. She looked over to her, seeing a few tears rolling down her face.

“Ah’m so sorry, Sugarcube… Ah didn’t mean to get us into this whole mess, honest!” Applejack wiped the tears away, but more came after, and she sniffed again. “Ah wish none a’ this never happened… That stupid God damn drunk moron’s gonna pay fer what he did. Ah swear.”

Scootaloo reached her hand over towards the edge of the bed, and she felt Applejack’s hand come to it momentarily. It was shaking in her grip, but her reassuring squeeze was all Applejack needed to calm down a little, it seemed. “AJ, it’s okay. I’m not blaming you for what happened. Nurse Redheart told me everything.”

Sweetie Belle stood up and walked over to the nightstand, putting a bunch of movies and books on it. “I got these for you, Scootaloo. They’re from my collection. You can have them as long as you want. You can even keep them.”

Apple Bloom stood up and walked to the other side of the bed, putting an apple on the other side. “Big Mac sent this over. He figured y’all wouldn’t want none a’ that cruddy hospital food, so he picked an apple for ya. But this is from all of the Apple family.”

Scootaloo smiled and held out her arms, hugging her friends after they leaned in towards her. “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.” She realized something was a bit off about the whole situation, and she looked around the room after she released her friends. “Hey, where’s Rainbow?”

“She’s on her way, darling.” Rarity crossed her legs and sat back in the chair a bit. “Cloudsdale is a fair distance away from here. She said she’s bringing a few things with her, too.” She checked her cellphone, which had a case on it made of jewels of some sort. No doubt fake, since Rarity left them for making dresses and accessories. “She said she’s almost here. Rainbow sent a text a couple minutes ago saying the train arrived.”

“Speakin’ a’ trains, we should probably head on out a’ here if we wanna catch ours. Plus, Scootaloo needs her rest.” Applejack’s voice was still shaky, and she heard a couple sniffles, too.

“Thanks again, guys.” Scootaloo told them all, lying back down entirely in her bed since she had been sitting up. They all said their goodbyes, and after a few moments, the Nurse came back into the room.

“If you need anything at all, Scootaloo, or if something hurts or you feel something is wrong, press this button. A Nurse will come in and see what the matter is as soon as possible, okay?” She saw Scootaloo nod, and Redheart smiled softly. “Here’s a glass of water. Your lunch will be in shortly.” She placed the glass down next to the apple, and she sighed, laying her head back and closing her eyes. She fell asleep a few moments later, dreaming about riding Rainbow’s motorcycle with her.

Scootaloo woke up when there was a knock at her door, seeing Rainbow and smiling groggily. “Hey Rainbow!” She stretched out, her arms high above her head, her foot on her right leg straightening out. Her left leg still wasn’t cooperating, nor could she feel it, from where her knee and downward.

“Hey squirt.” A few tears were already threatening to fall from her eyes, sniffles coming out every second or two. “How ya feelin’? Ya doin’ okay? How’re the nurses treating you?”

“I’m okay, I guess. The nurse I have, Nurse Redheart, is really nice.” Scootaloo watched her prismatic-haired friend take a seat beside her bed, scooting it over so she could lean on it and taking her hand.

Rainbow’s cyan sweatshirt she wore was tear-stained on the sleeve, and her ripped jeans were the same at the tops of her thighs. It looked like she had been crying on the train as she was sitting on the way here. “I brought you a couple cards. Fluttershy and Twilight made these for you.” She put them on top of the books and movies Sweetie Belle gave her, looking back to her after a couple moments. Rainbow couldn't stop crying.

“Rainbow, what’s wrong? I’m okay! I’m all in one piece!”

“They didn't tell you?” Rainbow heaved a very shaky sigh, more tears dropping onto her sleeve. She used her arm to wipe the tears away, and she put her head in her hands, shaking her head. “How could they not have told you yet?”

“Tell me what? What happened?” Scootaloo’s brow furrowed. She was extremely confused.

Rainbow looked up to her, wiping her face again from the tears. “Your left leg was shattered when they pulled you out of the wreckage. They said it was crushed between the center console and the dashboard.”

“Why can’t I move it at all, then? I can’t feel it, either.”

“They amputated it. They said it was beyond repair and it would take years to heal, not to mention it would be much more physical therapy.”

“What are you talking about? What does ‘amputated’ even mean? Why do I have to go through physical therapy?” Questions were rising in her mind faster than she could even rationalize any possible answers.

“Your left leg is…” Rainbow couldn't even muster the courage to say it. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, wiping her eyes with her hands and nearly sobbing. “It’s…” Her breath caught in her throat, as if the word didn't want to leave her body.

“What? What’s wrong with my leg?”

“It’s gone. From the knee down.” Rainbow shut her eyes tightly, putting her face into her hands.

“What?” Scootaloo’s skin paled. Her leg couldn't be gone. How was that even possible? Wouldn't she be dead if her leg was gone? But yet, here she was, sitting in the hospital bed with Rainbow Dash, her adopted sister, sitting right next to her, crying her eyes out.

“They said you’ll have to go through physical therapy after you get out of the hospital, and that if all goes well today you’ll be taken to Ponyville General.” Rainbow looked down to the rather hollow spot where her left foot should be, seeing nothing there and quickly averting her gaze back up to Scootaloo, who still seemed to be in shock. “I’ll be here every step of the way, though! I’m here for you, okay?” Rainbow took Scootaloo’s hand and squeezed it tightly, and Scootaloo used her other to throw the sheets off of her.

What she saw shook her to the core. Rather than a perfectly normal leg in a cast, all she saw was a bandaged stump. Tears welled up in Scootaloo's eyes, falling without any resistance whatsoever. How was she going to ride a motorcycle now, just like Rainbow, when she grew up? How would she run track, like Rainbow had in school? How was she going to help Apple Bloom around the farm? How could she ride her scooter anymore? Thoughts and questions and things that she was going to miss piled on top of each other as the tears rolled down her cheeks, starting to cry.

“B-But… My leg c-can’t be g-gone! I need it!”

“I know, Scoots.”

“It’s not fair!” Scootaloo’s nose started running, and she sniffled a few times as she brought up the stump towards her, feeling it gingerly. She started crying more, and her fears had been confirmed. This wasn’t a bad dream she could wake up from. It was real. And it hurt. “It’s not FAIR!” She slammed her fists down into the bed as her left leg fell back to the soft cushion where it rested before.

Rainbow said nothing. She just sat silently and cried.

“Rainbow, it’s not fair!” She leaned over and threw her arms around her sister’s neck, crying into her shoulder.

“I know, squirt.” Rainbow’s arms went around Scootaloo’s back, one rubbing her back and the other on the back of her head.

“Why’d they have to take my leg away? I wish I had it back. Even if it had been shattered…”

“I’m sorry, Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash squeezed her tighter into the hug, and Scootaloo reciprocated before she let her go and sat back into the chair, starting to calm down a little. She wasn't crying nearly as hard as she had been before, but a few tears still rolled down her cheek every so often.

Scootaloo sat in her bed, looking down to her lap blankly, lip still quivering and her cheeks red from crying as hard as she had. She let out a quivering sigh, shivering as she looked down to her leg again.

Rainbow pulled the covers up to her waist, taking Scootaloo’s hand again. “Applejack’s beside herself. She keeps texting me and telling me to apologize to you for her. She’s saying it’s all her fault, when really it isn’t at all.” Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she pulled it out. “Another text from her.” She giggled a little, wiping her eye. “She says ‘Tell her I hope she’s back on her feet soon, and if there’s anything I can do to make it up to her that I’ll do it in a heartbeat’. Lemme text her back real quick.”

“Foot.” Scootaloo said aloud after she had finished. “Lemme get back to my foot soon.” She still looked pretty sad, and she heard Rainbow chuckle softly. “What’s so funny?”

“No, it’s nothing.” She smiled and looked up to Scootaloo from her phone, putting it on the edge of the bed. “But, it’ll be okay, Scoots. It’ll all be fine in the end.”

“No it won’t.” She mumbled, glancing up to the vacant spot where her leg would be. “How am I gonna do all the stuff I used to do with two legs? Like ride my scooter? And how am I gonna get a motorcycle like you when I get older? How am I gonna run track now?”

“I’m tellin’ you, Scoots, you’ll be in a lot better shape than you think you will. Just trust me on this one, okay?”

Scootaloo looked back up to Rainbow, seeing her reassuring smile. It somehow made her feel a little better about the whole situation. She nodded weakly and smiled equally so. “Okay, Rainbow. I trust you.”

She lay back in her bed, and she talked with Rainbow about meaningless things for around a half an hour until she fell asleep with Rainbow sitting next to her bed.