Apples and Tiaras

Useless.

Completely and Utterly Useless.

That's how Applebloom is feeling. Tiara has been beat down by her ex Green Day and is put into the hospital. The baby was fine... for 48 hours. the beatdown had ruptured Tiara's remaining kidney; she gave the other one to Silver Spoon when she had a bit too much to drink a few years ago. and unless Tiara gets another one in 48 hours, both she and the baby will die.

that was 42 hours ago.

Not only doe she feel completely useless, Applebloom is feeling a deep sense of dread. She was only on Tiara's good side for less then a week; not counting all those years of bullying, and she's dying. she's so dreadful, she couldn't sleep or eat. and waiting to see if she is compatible to give Tiara a kidney is taking forever.

"Come on, Applebloom. you have to eat something." Zim insisted. he hates seeing her like this.

"i'm not hungry." she muttered.

Zim scowled then walked over to her, carrying a plate of dandelion sandwiches. "Come on. not eating isn't going to help her."

"I said i'm not hungry!" Applebloom snapped. she kicked the plate out of Zim's hooves, sending it and it's contents spilling to the ground. Zim stood there, staring at her in shock. Applebloom saw what she did and sat back down. "sorry, Zim. i'm just... on edge." Zim didn't say anything as he started picking the stuff up. "i mean... i finally got Tiara to be nice to me, and she's dying. and not just her, her unborn child as well. and i can't help. what am i supposed to do?"

Zim got up with the plate. "Hope," is all he said as he went back into the kitchen.

Hope? Hope isn't going to help them at all. Someone in her life is dying and she can't do a single Fucking thing about it. she can't deal with this. she needs some air.

the last sound Zim heard Applebloom make was her slamming the door as she went out.

Tiara felt herself gradually getting worse as the hours waned on. now, she's starting to cough up blood.

her hospital room door knocked and Applebloom walked in. "Hey, Tiara." she softly said as she walked in.

Tiara turned her head to Applebloom slowly and smiled. "hey, Applebloom." she weakly said.

Applebloom already knew the answer but she had to ask. "How are you feeling?"

Tiara looked up to the ceiling and blinked. her blinked lasted a lot longer then Tiara expected. "like hell." she looked back to Applebloom. "any luck finding me a kidney?" Applebloom didn't say anything and looked away. that gave Tiara her answer. "That bad, huh?"

"they're still testing and searching. but... but it's been 42 hours. i don't think that they'll.... they'll..." Applebloom couldn't say anything. this was too hard for her. "Tiara... i don't want you to die."Tiara saw tears forming in Applebloom's eyes. She saw those multiple times before but that was when she was bullying her. now... they were tears of worry and sorrow. for her.

"I don't want to die either." Tiara emotionally said. she placed a hoof on her belly and remembered the life she had growing inside her. "and i don't want him to die."

The baby... all this happened because of it. not even Twilight's kid Starlight caused this much trouble, and Twi was clinically depressed for a few days. this makes what Tiara was going to ask much more difficult.

"Applebloom... it's clearly obvious that i'm not going to live..."

"Don't say that!" Applebloom exclaimed. "You are not going to die! i won't let you!"

even with her on death's door, Applebloom wasn't giving up. she was a good choice. "let me finish..." she took a deep breath and coughed. "if... if i happen do die... can you... can you raise Silver Crown for me?"

Silver Crown? she must mean the baby. "raise him? he's not even born yet." oh, wait a tick. "wait. you mean be a surrogate?" Tiara nodded as best she could. Applebloom couldn't believe what Tiara just said. "Tiara... you want me to raise the baby? Inside of me and when it's a foal?" Tiara didn't answer; she was too weak at that point. Applebloom got up and paced for a few seconds. "hew. you... you actually want me to do this?"

"You're the only one i would trust with something like this."

"b-b-but you're asking me to give up my life for the little guy."

"You don't have to keep him. you can always put him up for adoption."

"b-b-but still..." Applebloom moved her hooves though her hair, blowing out air while she thought. Tiara is asking her to give up a lot and she's not sure how to reply.

"you don't have to do it; i'm not forcing you to do it. i'm just asking..."

but with her predicament, she should as well force her. "i... i need to think about this." she went out the door without saying another word.

Applebloom relocated to a bridge over a stream in the park. it was quiet and out of the way; perfect place for her to think. She still finds it hard to believe, what Tiara asked for her to do. be the childs surrogate mother in case Tiara dies? w-why would she ask something like that? this wouldn't be happening if it weren't for that damn Gryphon.

"Argh!" she slammed her hooves into the guardrail. she picked up a stick and growled. "Why is this so fucking hard!?!" she chucked the stick into the river. it hit and made quite a splash. Applebloom grunted and rested her head on the rail as the ripples reached her. "Applejack... what do i do?"

the ripples cleared, showing a unknown pony right beside her. at least for a moment. Applebloom looked down at the reflection, thinking she was seeing things.

"Good Afternoon, Applebloom."

she wasn't seeing things. Applebloom looked to her left and saw that it was indeed real. "Princess Celestia."

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Celestia asked with a smile.

"indeed it has. w-what are you doing here?"

"i'm stopping by on the way to Baltimare. there's been a increase in crime up there and the leader of the officers there asked for my help."

help... that's something she desperately needs. "Help... wish we had a lot of that right now."

Celestia raised a eyebrow in confusion. "how so?"

Applebloom went back to the rail and crossed her hooves over it. "there's been some trouble..."

"What kind of trouble?" the princess asked as she walked over, pulling the same pose as her.

"well.... you remember Diamond Tiara, right?"

"i think you mentioned her a few times. why?"

"Well, she lives here and is now the same age as me. but she had a tough time. still is." Applebloom sighed. "she's... currently in the hospital, dying from a lack of kidneys. her ex-boyfriend, who is the MEANEST gryphon you'll ever meet, beat her down and ruptured one. the other, she gave to her friend who lost hers during a drinking binge. she's dying and has 4 hours left for a kidney transplant. problem is, they aren't finding a match."

"Oh." Celestia sadly said.

"and that's not the worst of it. Tiara's pregnant with the Gryphon's kid. and if she dies, she wants me to be the surrogate."

Celestia gasped. "oh dear." a moment fell between them as the princess thought. "Well... are you?"

"Am i what, going to be the surrogate if she dies?" Celestia nodded. "w-what do you want me to do? i'm not old enough to be someone's mother, real or otherwise. but i don't want to let Tiara down. i just... i just don't know what to do."

Celestia pondered for a moment. she was never in this kind of situation, neither was Luna or Cadence. she doesn't know what to do here. "well... i may not have experience with this kind of predicament, but i can always count on one thing to help me though something like this." Applebloom looked up to her with a mixture of sadness and hope in her eyes. "i just follow my heart."

not the response she wanted. "Your heart?"

"yes. no matter what the problem was, my heart never steered me wrong. it always gave me the right answer."

Applebloom looked away. "i... i don't know. she's asking me too much."

"Applebloom... listen to your heart. what is it telling you?"

Applebloom looked down to her chest, wondering it herself. she held her hoof over it and closed her eyes. "it... it's telling me..." she opened her eyes, already knowing the answer. "it's telling me to help her."

Celestia nodded and smiled. Applebloom smiled with her. "Tiara..." she closed her eyes and held her heart. her mouth slightly moved into a smile.

"APPLEBLOOM!!!"

Applebloom opened her eyes and looked back to see Zim running up to her. he reached her and panted. "Zim. what's going on?"

Zim panted, regaining his strength. "It's Tiara. they think they found a match."

Applebloom instantly ran back to the hospital and into Tiara's room where Filthy Rich and her doctor was with her. Tiara still had 4 hours left so there's still hope.

"You said you got a match?" she asked, filled with hope.

"Indeed we do. we ran the tests and, unfortunately, neither you or Filthy Rich are compatable."

Rich and Applebloom looked at each other. he called them here to tell them that? "But there is someone among you who is?"

"Who?" all 3 of them asked.

"Me." Zim said, walking in. "i'm compatable. and you... you are lucky i'm such a nice guy."

"Zim..." Applebloom happily gasped. She and Tiara looked at each other, both of them happy about this. "You do this and i will owe you BIG time!"

"i know." Zim said with a smirk.

the doctor interrupted. "if we do the surgery now, we should finish with half an hour to spare."

"Do it!" all 4 of them said.

Applebloom hugged her cousin. "Thank you so much, Zim! thank you so very, very much!"

Zim smiled and hugged her back. "anything for family."

Applebloom broke the hug and smiled. Diamond Tiara's bed was grabbed by a couple or orderly's and was pushed out to the operating room. "Hold on." Applebloom said. she headed over to Tiara. "Tiara. just in case this fails... the answer to your questions is yes."

Tiara gasped then smiled with tear-filled eyes. "Thanks, Applebloom." she leaned up and kissed her on the cheek, surprising Applebloom and Filthy Rich. once that was done, the orderly's wheeled her out.

Applebloom stood there, stunned for a moment, as Zim walked up next to her. "Yes to what?"

Applebloom touched where Tiara kissed her and smiled. "it's... it's nothing. i think you better go get prepared."

"Right." Zil said. "Remember, you own me."

"I know." Applebloom replied.

Zim walked out, waving good-bye for the day. Filthy Rich walked up next to Applebloom. "She asked you to be the surrogate if she dies, didn't she?"

he knows? "y-yes sir."

Filthy looked to her. "You care about her, don't you?"

"of course i do. she's my friend. we may have had a rocky start when we were fillies, but she's still my friend though and though."

Rich stood there, not saying a word. "i see..." a awkward silence fell over them. "well, i thank you for helping my daughter when i couldn't. it's about time something good happened to her in this city."

"yeah." Applebloom softly replied.

"there must be something i can do to repay you."

"it's okay, Mr. Rich. i don't need anything."

"are you sure? i am the secretary of banks in this town. i have some pull. is there anything at all you need?"

Secretary of Banks? hmmm... "well... there is one thing."