//------------------------------//
// A Ray of Hope 
// Story: A Cry Left Unheard 
// by BrainLapse 
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	Rainbow Dash woke up to the same scene she had seen for the past few days. White walls, white ceiling, beeping machines, scattered “get well” cards and Fluttershy lying in her bed. Only the slightest rising and falling of her chest provided any sign of life. Rainbow rubbed her eyes, trying to shake the sleep from her body and mind. She glanced at the clock, seeing that it was a little after nine. She then turned her gaze back towards the mare lying in the bed. Her mind kept drifting back to that one moment when Fluttershy had fallen and all she could do is watch. 

If she had reacted fast, been faster or even thought of it faster, Fluttershy wouldn’t be here. She’d be back at home with her animals, humming happily as she worked, instead of lying there like a lifeless body. Rainbow continued her train of thought, imagining how the whole situation would be better if she had just reacted faster. 

As she was thinking, Fluttershy's hoof twitched, just the smallest amount. Her eyelids began to flutter before they were squeezed tight. The sight of this made her heart jump up into  her throat. But then what Rainbow Dash saw next broke her heart. Tears started to stream down Fluttershy’s face, soft sobs shaking her whole body. 

"Fluttershy? Are you OK? What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked, her concern sketched on her face. At the sound of her voice, Fluttershy froze, her body locked in place. The tears, however, continued to fall, staining her coat and bedsheets.

“Fluttershy? It’s OK, it’s just me, Rainbow Dash. You know, your best friend since forever. Don’t worry, I’m here now. It will be alright.” Rainbow Dash said, slowly reaching out to the bedridden pegasus in front of her. She just wanted to comfort her friend, to show her that somepony was there with her in this time of need. When Rainbow touched Fluttershy, the pastel pegasus pulled back, before slowly easing her hoof back forward. Rainbow gently grabbed said hoof and began to slowly stroke it. After a good period of time, Fluttershy began to relax, leaning back into the bed. She finally opened her bloodshot eyes, and the moment that Rainbow looked in them, her world as she knew it ended. There was no trace of the sweetness she used to know, nor was there the hope and happiness she had come to know and love. All there was only pain, hurt and something else that she could not name. But that unknown something made Rainbow feel even worse. 

As soon as Fluttershy opened her eyes, she tensed back up again as sobs began to shake her body again. Rainbow Dash, never one to be too good at the touchy- feely sort of thing, had no clue what to do. Giving it her best guess, the cyan mare slowly wrapped her hooves around the sobbing pony, pulling her close. As soon as Rainbow has her hooves around , Fluttershy quickly returned the hug, burying her head into the shoulder of her friend. Slowly Fluttershy’s sobs became less intense until they faded away completely. They continued to sit there for a long period of time, holding onto the other, lost in this moment, the world around them not mattering for once. As she was stroking Fluttershy’s back, Rainbow Dash saw Nurse Redheart motioning for her to come over. Sighing, Rainbow slowly pulled out of the hug and looked the pastel pegasus in her eyes.
“Fluttershy, I’ve got to go talk to the doctors OK? I’ll be right back.” Rainbow Dash said carefully, hoping that her friend would be fine with out her. Fluttershy nodded, the sullen look never leaving her face. The cyan mare slowly got off the chair and walked to where the nurse was standing, before she looked back quickly to see her friend, not wanting to leave her alone for a moment. Seeing that all was OK, Rainbow Dash walked out into the hall to talk with Nurse Redheart. 

“Miss Dash, as you know, your friend has suffered an injury. Normally something of this type of injury would just require the pony involved to take it easy for a few days. But, based on your accounts, this was an attempt to take her own life. That is a very serious issue, usually stemming from a serious mental problem. We believe that she should be under close watch for at least the next couple of days, with her going to some therapy sessions to help her deal with these problems for the next couple of weeks, bare minimum.” Nurse Redheart said with a somber expression. Rainbow Dash listened to the nurse, taking in what she said. She hadn’t really thought of what Fluttershy had been doing, only that she needed help. Slowly the bits and pieces began to join together in Rainbow’s mind, the level of sensitivity that Fluttershy is at, the pain of heart break, and the natural timidness the pastel pony is at. Then in a flash, it all came together, hitting the cyan mare like a high speed cart. This is Fluttershy, the pony who can barely speak up when asked to go and do something dangerous, revealing her feelings to another pony. The sheer level of feelings that she must gone through weighed on Rainbow’s mind as she realized what being hurt like that could do to a normal pony. 

It suddenly made sense as to what had happened. When it made sense, it hit Rainbow like a ton of bricks. She looked back at the pony laying in the hospital bed, who was crying yet again. She looked back at the nurse, with a simple nod and a quick “I’ll do it”, Rainbow Dash walked back over to Fluttershy and pulled her back into a hug. Gripping her as tight as she could manage without hurting the heartbroken pony. Rainbow then slowly rocked back and forth, still holding onto the crying mare tightly. 

“Shhhhhhhhhh, it’s OK. I’m here. Everything is going to be ok.” Rainbow Dash said calmly. She slowly stroked Fluttershy’s mane, trying to calm the pony in her hooves. After a short period of time, Fluttershy’s breath returned to normal before slowing down even more, as she fell into a much needed sleep. Rainbow Dash carefully laid the sleeping mare back into her bed before heading back to the nurse to fill out the required paper work. 

After that tedious task was done, Rainbow Dash went back to her seat for the past few days to wait for the sleeping mare to wake up once more so that they could head home. But as Rainbow thought of heading home, she realized that they would need to do something about where they were planning on sleeping considering that she couldn’t leave Fluttershy alone. If they were to head to Rainbow’s house, they could be away from anypony that might worsen Fluttershy’s current mental state, specifically a certain orange earth pony. But then Fluttershy also would have to head out into public if she wanted to see her other friends, considering that they weren’t pegasi. Figuring that it would be for the best if the gentle pony could be near the ones that loved her, she begrudgingly decided to leave her cloud home for the time being for the sake of her friend. When she finally reached her mental conclusion to this dilemma, she looked back at the exhausted pony in front of her. She reached out, gently moving Fluttershy’s mane out of her face. How Fluttershy could try to do such a thing was beyond Rainbow. And since she considered Fluttershy to be one of her closest friends made her realise how little she knew about Fluttershy. Sure, she knew all the superficial things, like her birthday and favorite color, but not her hopes or her dreams. Determined to find out more about her friend, Rainbow laid back in the chair, waiting for Fluttershy to wake up.