//------------------------------// // Spike's Invalid // Story: Never Ending Fears // by Faith Everlasting //------------------------------// "Applejack?" Spike called out into the forest, slowly parting a bush that was in front of him. "Applejack! Where are you!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She looked around at all of her other best friends who were searching far and wide to find Applejack. Even some of the townsfolk had come to help them, including the Mayor Mare herself. Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom remained close together, but it still did not ease Apple Bloom's worries. She sniffled in a sob when Granny Smith took her in for a hug. "It's OK, youngin, we'll find 'er." But deep down inside, Granny Smith felt that something was terribly wrong. Where are ya, Sugar Cube? Granny Smith thought to herself. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Winona whining. She walked up to the border collie and saw that she had found Applejack's hat! "Over here, y'all!" Granny Smith called out. Everypony gathered around the two and gasped in horror when they saw the torn hat on the ground. Big Macintosh shielded Apple Bloom's eyes when he saw a blood stain across the brim and he suppressed a tear from sliding down his cheek. "Applejack..." Spike murmured beneath his breath. He slowly crouched onto the ground and lifted the hat into his arms. He brought it up to his chest and nuzzled into the rough fabric, trying to shield his watering eyes. "This doesn't confirm ANYTHING!" Rainbow Dash screamed and startled a few of the ponies around her. "Just because we find her hat doesn't mean that she's dead!" With that, she took off deeper into the woods, shouting out her name as loudly as she could. The other ponies did the same, but Spike remained behind with Winona. The young dog whimpered and snuggled up against Spike which made him slowly pet the dog and cry at the same time. Winona sniffed the hat and whined loudly, but then... then her head shot up and she sniffed the air. "What is it, girl?" Spike asked. He held the hat against her nose again and she howled in response, charging off into the forest. "Hey! Wait!" He called out. The nearby ponies heard him and also followed the dog as she howled like a crazy pony through the forest. All along their path, Spike noticed numerous amounts of sticks, leaves, and logs that were scattered everywhere. He even noticed a full grown pine tree was lying on the ground with no trace of where its roots were. Winona howled more loudly than ever and plunged through a dense wall of vines. Spike growled in frustration and clawed his way through. "These vines shouldn't be here!" He yelled. "No vines grow like this!" He could hear the grumbles and gripes from the ponies behind him, but he didn't wait for them to catch up. He ran after Winona until she turned around a corner... then he couldn't hear her anymore. "Winona!" He called to her. "Here, girl!" He raced around the bend and froze. Winona was standing stock still, not even letting out a whine or a pant. Her tail was frozen in mid air as her muzzle pointed downwards toward a dark figure on the ground. "Applejack?" Spike asked, coming closer. The darkness of the forest seemed to diminish as he slowly walked towards the strange object, making him suddenly realize his suspicions were correct. "NO! APPLEJACK!" He ran over to his friend and pulled her into his arms. Her body was limp and cold, but he could still feel a small yet steady pulse in her chest. "HELP! SOMEPONY FIND HELP!" He screamed. All over her body were teeth marks and scratches that ran deep, deep enough to see the white bones of her rib cage and skeleton. Worst of all, though, was her back leg. It was bent into an awkward position and blood was seeping out of a large gash that ran all the way down to her hoof. Spike gathered up some nearby moss and pressed it firmly into the wound. Then Big Macintosh and Twilight came running into view. "Oh, no..." Twilight murmured as she ran up to her friend. "We've got to get her out of here!" Spike shouted. Twilight nodded and gently, oh so gently, lifted her with her unicorn magic. Applejack was surrounded by a pink aura of light and was briskly carried off by Twilight. Big Macintosh remained where he was, frozen from the shock that he had just seen. He turned to Spike and only blinked. "Will she be... OK?" Spike asked the large stallion. Big Macintosh watched as Twilight carried his sister away and he hung his head and let out a long and despairing sigh. The beeping noise of the IV was almost too horrible for Spike to bear. It was just so... slow! It felt like an eternity between each beat of Applejack's heart and every second, he envisioned it to suddenly fail and for the line to go flat. He buried his face in his claws and waited impatiently for the doctor to return. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash were in the room as well. Rarity held one of Applejack's hooves and gently tried to groom AJ's mane to keep herself from crying. Rainbow Dash only stared at a wall, refusing to look at her friend in such a state. Fluttershy sat in the corner seat and softly clutched a box of tissues. Pinkie's mane had gone flat once again and her coat had turned a shade darker. Not even the balloons she brought with her seemed to cheer her up. Suddenly, the door to Applejack's room opened and the doctor slowly walked in. "Is she going to be all right?!" The dragon asked frantically. He observed that Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom had also walked in after returning from their afternoon meal. The doctor sighed and looked over Applejack's charts that were dangling at the end of her bed. Then he checked the IV that was protruding from her leg and checked the pulse monitor. "It's too early to tell." He confirmed. Spike felt like he was going to explode! "TOO EARLY?! This mare saved my life... TWICE! And I am not going to let her die without repaying my debt to her!" Spike quickly snatched up Applejack's other hoof and kept a firm hold on it. "Don't you dare leave me, Applejack! You hear?!" The other ponies in the room stared at the young dragon in shock, but he refused to divert his gaze from Applejack's weary face. A tear slid down his cheek and landed softly on Applejack's bed sheets. "Don't..." Spike whispered. "Don't... don't leave me." The doctor sighed and walked out of the room, leaving the eight ponies and the dragon to compose themselves. Rarity ceased grooming Applejack's mane and walked over to Spike. She placed an affectionate hoof on his shoulder and wiped away his tears with the other. "Applejack is a strong mare, Spike, she'll make it through." Spike gazed up at the gorgeous unicorn and felt his heart flutter for only a brief second, but then it sank again when he heard the continuing beep... beep... of the IV. "It's so... slow." He uttered. Nopony in the room commented on his remark as they all sat in silence and watched Applejack's dangerously slow pulse. Days passed. The friends of Applejack came and went, typically bringing more flowers with them while Pinkie Pie almost flooded her room with 'Get Well' balloons. But Spike hadn't left her side at all except when he absolutely had to go and eat something. Twilight tried convincing him to come home, but he refused every offer. "Twilight, you know about my Dragon Code! She saved my life, so now I need to be there for her no matter what!" He felt a sharp pain in his chest when Twilight allowed a few tears to escape her eyes. He walked over to the purple unicorn and gave her a long and weary hug. She hugged him back and sighed. "I know, Spike. This is something you have to do and I'm not going to stop you." Spike looked up into her wet eyes and smiled. "I knew that you would understand, Twilight." She grinned and gently kissed his forehead, but they still remained in their embrace... until the IV suddenly stopped beeping. A loud screeching noise erupted from the machine as a flashing red line flew across it. Spike immediately let go of Twilight and ran to Applejack's side. "No! NO!" He yelled. "DOCTOR!" Twilight quickly left the room, frantically calling for somepony to help! Spike put his claws to Applejack's neck and, as he suspected, felt nothing! He started to panic. "Don't leave." He muttered. He quickly glanced over the hospital room's walls until he caught sight of a poster titled 'CPR'. He read the instructions as fast as he could and then ran back over to Applejack, clambering up onto the bed near her side. "OK, 30 pumps!" He instructed himself, placing his two hands on Applejack's chest. He pressed down fast and hard as he attempted to make her heart beat again! "Come on! Come on!" He shouted in frustration as the red line remained. "...27...28...29...30!" Still nothing changed. "NO!" He looked back over to the poster and saw another stepped that he had missed. "Lift the chin up..." He read, slowly following the procedure. He placed his hand beneath Applejack's chin and gently lifted upward. "Plug the nose..." He used his other hand to complete that. "Mouth to mouth-" He froze as he read the final step. "Oh, dear..." He muttered. He observed Applejack's lips and saw that they were growing paler by the second. No time to hesitate, Spike! This has to be done! He smacked himself across the face and then stared to lean in towards Applejack. "Please don't hate me." He prayed as he brought his lips to hers. He started to blow air into Applejack's mouth, causing her chest to slowly rise and fall. He backed up to catch his breath and then repeated the process. He didn't even realize that the IV had started beeping again and Applejack was slowly waking up. Suddenly, he felt warmth come back into Applejack's lips and he heard a small moan of contentment. He opened his eyes to see that Applejack... was... She's kissing me back!!! He thought, alarmed. He knew that she wasn't fully awake, but it did feel really strange as she continued to press her lips against his. However, it also felt... kind of... pleasant. "What the-?!" Spike was startled back to reality when Twilight and the doctor galloped into the room. Twilight's face was covered in shock when she saw that the IV was steadily beeping again and that Applejack was waking up. "Wha... What happened?" Applejack asked, rubbing her head and then suddenly noticing the dragon beside her. "Spike? You OK?" Spike let out a nervous chuckle, hopped down from the bed, and then tried to hide his embarrassed blush from the farm pony. She quickly dropped the subject when Twilight walked over to her and hugged her tightly. "OH! I thought you were dead!" Twilight cried. "Dead?" "Your heart stopped beating! I ran out of the room to find the doctor!" "Then how am I now alive?" "I don't know..." Twilight looked over at her dragon friend. "Spike?" He flinched as she called him out and then sighed in defeat. "I... uh... gave her... uh..." "Yes?" "CPR." Everypony in the room froze... except for Applejack. "You mean... you..." Twilight made a small kissing noise and pointed over to Applejack. Spike's eyes widened in horror and then he slowly pondered what he would say. Maybe now isn't the best time to tell Applejack what I had to do. It might TERRIFY her. "Nope! No way! I didn't kiss her like it says to do on the instruction poster over there! I just did the first step. You know, the hands pressing into her chest one." Twilight sighed with relief and Applejack smiled with amusement. "Spike," Applejack said softly. "Ya saved mah life. We are now officially even steven!" "Oh, no, Applejack! We're definitely not 'even steven'!" He walked over to the pony and leaned in towards her face. "I saved you once, but you've saved me twice! I still owe you a life debt!" "Spike!" Applejack groaned. "Why can't ya just leave it at-" "Stop! I will not say 'that's what friends do'! I owe you a life debt and I will fulfill it!" Applejack groaned again and placed her head in her hooves. "I'm fine, Spike! I can take care ah my-" Applejack grimaced in pain as she tried to move her lower leg. The doctor ran over to her and gently eased her down onto her back. "Applejack," The doctor said calmly. "Now that you are conscious, we no longer need to worry about you dying." "Well, that's a relief to here!" She said with a chuckle. "However, not all of your wounds will heal." "What dya mean?" The doctor hung his head and slowly started to lift up Applejack's bed sheets. She followed his gaze and recoiled in terror. Her back right leg was completely covered in bandages and blood. "Your leg will never be able to hold your weight again." The doctor explained as he placed the covers back over her. "The timber wolf must have done something to you to wrench the bone out of its socket and then shatter it into a dozen pieces." Applejack looked away from the doctor and tried to drown out his words. "Now, we've done all that we can, but I'm afraid that's the best we can do." The doctor stopped talking when he noticed Applejack's countenance. "Don't worry, though, you're going to be fine and dandy!" Then, with a happy smile on his face, he left the room. Spike approached his friend and laid a claw on her shoulder. "What's wrong, AJ?" "If ah can't use my kickin' legs..." She choked. "Then how am I gonna buck apples? How will ah provide fer mah family?!" She buried her face in her hooves and sobbed as Spike caressed her shoulder. Then his eyes brightened. "I'll do it!" He declared. "Do what?" Applejack sniffed. "I'll do your job! I owe you my life, so now I'll do your part!" "Oh, Spike... no. I appreciate it an' all, but-" "Say no more! I will serve you for as long as it takes and I will never leave your side again!" He jumped onto the bed and hugged Applejack around the neck. She winced in pain, but then looked down at the young dragon. She couldn't help but feel happy at his dedication, but deep down she dreaded something. But how long WILL it take?