//------------------------------// // Don’t Leave Me // Story: At The Edge Of Eternity // by Swift Comet //------------------------------// Pipp could not believe what had just happened earlier. What was initially to be an ordinary day where she and Zipp were supposed to have fun turned ugly when the latter accidentally broke her phone and it devolved into a heated argument between the two sisters. It hurt that Zipp broke the precious gift she held since it was given to her on her tenth birthday from mom, but it did not hurt as much as the slap that Zipp inflicted on her during the argument. How could she? How could her own big sister go so far as to slap across the face just because she doesn’t want to admit it was her own fault?! Pipp, who is slowly trotting through the forest with look of devastation on her face quickly turns angry again. She screams out in pure frustration. “Agh! Are you happy now sis!? This is all your fault! If you had just admitted that you were in the wrong none of this would’ve happened, but no! You just had to go and be the stubborn ox in the middle of it all and not own up to your mistakes! I wonder why I even waste my time with you!?” yelled the pink pegasus pop star to the empty forest where nopony is able to hear her grievances. Pipp grunts with annoyance. This is all one giant mess and just wants to have Zipp apologise to her so this can all be swept under the rug. “Well, maybe when we get back to mom she can make you apologise, then we’ll see who is really in the right! Let’s see how you deal with that Zipp!” yelled Pipp in the air and stomping a hoof on the ground, but her ranting is silenced when she feels something wet squish underneath her leg. She looks down at the ground and the colours drain from her face. Laying on the dirt was fresh blood, some of it was still warm. She looks ahead and sees a trail of it leading out the other side of the forest and near a cliff edge. Pipp’s curiosity gets the better of her and she follows the blood trail to the edge of the cliff. She sees a bunch of indents on the dusty inclined slope leading straight down a crevice at the bottom. Pipp spreads her wings and glides down the crevice and lands at the bottom of a cave. She looks around the empty chamber before her eyes land a sight that chills her body to its core. It’s Zipp. She’s laying unconscious in a puddle of her own blood and is severely wounded. “No. No. No no no no no! NO!” Pipp, out of instinct rushes to her unconscious and wounded sister and tries to desperately shake her awake, the sight of her gouged flank and impaled abdomen filling the younger sister with dreadful anxiety and nausea. “Zipp! Zipp! Wake up! Wake up! It’s me! Pipp!” she yells with pure panic in her voice, but to no avail. “No! Please! You’re not dead! YOU’RE NOT DEAD! ZIPP!” screams Pipp as tears flow from her eyes. She grabs Zipp’s foreleg and places her ear on it to hear for a pulse. There is one but it is faint. Wasting no time Pipp picks up her older sister in her arms and flies out of the cave through the open crevice. She flies the fastest her wings have ever carried her as she spears towards Zephyr Heights Gale Wind Hospital. She barges through the double doors and into the main medical ward, startling many personnel. “Please! Help me! It’s Zipp! S-she’s-“ Pipp chokes through her tears as she struggles to get the proper words formed. Seeing the eldest daughter of Queen Haven in such a severe condition the doctors and nurses wasted no effort in scrambling to get to work. Zipp is placed on a stretcher and immediately hauled to an intensive care unit for where an urgent blood transfusion is required. Pipp watches as her sister is taken into ICU and the doors close to hide Zipp from her view. As soon as Zipp is out her vision Pipp burst into heartbreaking sobs. How could this have happened? One moment they were arguing over her broken phone and now Zipp is nearing Death’s embrace. “P-please... n-n-not Zipp… anypony b-b-but Z-Zipp… Don’t leave me big sis… don’t l-leave me…” cried Pipp as she imagines the worst case scenario. She doesn’t want to lose her big sister. Not like this. A lone nurse who stayed behind approaches Pipp and hugs the younger princess to comfort her. Pipp accepts it and buries her face into the nurse’s chest to hide her emotions from the view of any passer’s by. She desperately prays to any deity that will listen to her to save and heal her big sister. She doesn’t want to lose her. An hour later Queen Haven bursts through the hospital’s double doors and rushes to the ICU, a look of pure dread on her face. One of her advisors informed her of her eldest daughter’s severe condition earlier after they received a call from one of the nurses and she wasted no time racing to the hospital see if her little filly is alright. She bumps into the lead doctor of the operation on the way and shakes him with panicked fervour. “Is Zephyrina alright?! Is my little princess alright!? Please tell me she is alive!” she yells with desperate concern. “Your Majesty, please calm down. We are doing everything we can to stabilise your daughters condition.” said the doctor, named Asclepius Remedy as he attempts to calm his sovereign down. Haven slightly calms down but asks Asclepius if she can see her daughter. He nods and leads her into the ICU, but says she won’t like what she sees. Haven’s eyes land on Zipp and gasps in horror. Her daughter is hooked up to various medical equipment to constantly monitor her condition. Her wing, flank and abdomen were wrapped up in bloody bandages and an oxygen mask is fastened to her face to administer breathable air into her lungs. Haven almost felt like passing out at the sight of her sickly daughter but keeps herself composed. She turns back to Asclepius and asks, “Is she going to be alright?” “We have managed to stem much of the bleeding as we can and administered an emergency blood transfusion. She may be able to live through this.” says Asclepius as Haven lets out a sigh of relief that her Zephyrina will survive, but how long will it take until she will wake up is the question plaguing her mind. “What happened to her that put her in such a awful state?” asks the worried mother. “Judging by her wounds it was likely two separate incidents. There were claw marks on the right side of her flank, suggesting a wild animal attacked her by seeing the princess as easy prey. The second incident was more traumatic.” Asclepius reaches at the operating table and shows Haven the bloodied and broken stalagmite, which made the queen’s blood run cold at the sight of it. It had to be at least 3 inches wide and 6 inches tall. “Judging by the blood on this stalagmite it suggests that Zephyrina was impaled by it. It punctured through her first into her wing and then the right side of her abdomen. Had your youngest daughter not brought her here sooner she may not have made it.” Haven nodded as the revelation of what happened to Zipp sunk in. She’s glad Pipp saved her sister in time, otherwise it would’ve been completely devastating if Zipp was lost. She lands her eyes on her eldest daughter again, her tears flowing faster as she silently prays that she will wake up again. Asclepius looked at Haven with sympathy for her daughter’s dire situation. Asclepius sighs sadly and says, “I’ll leave you so you can spend some time with your daughter your majesty.” He exits out of the ICU and closes the doors so Haven can be alone for a bit. Haven approaches the side of Zipp’s bed and put’s her hoof on her daughter’s. It felt like ice when she touched it. Her little princess was so full of life and happiness and enjoyed spending so much time having fun with her friends, but now she is near the edge of eternity. Haven places her head on Zipp’s chest quietly sobs, praying to the highest deity of the alicorn pantheon, Faust to save her daughter. Her moment of silence is broken when she hears the doors to the ICU open and peeks her around to see who it is. It’s Pipp. “Pipp?” she asks. Pipp spots her mother and rushes over to her, hugging Haven in the process while sobbing softly on her shoulder. “Mom. I am so sorry. I-I-I-I didn’t m-mean t-to hurt Zipp. We w-were arguing and s-she s-slapped me and- “ “Shh shh shh. It’s alright Pipp sweetheart. Zephyrina will be alright. She’ll come back to us, I promise.” says Haven as she tries to stay positive while comforting her younger daughter. Pipp sniffles as she looks at Zipp’s frail body. She so desperately wants quickly wake her up but knows it will only make things worse. “I just want Zipp back. I don’t want her to leave me now, not yet.” Pipp says as she buries her face onto her mother chest. Haven looks at Zipp’s body again. She hopes that she will come back soon because Zephyr Heights will not be the same if Zipp passed on so suddenly. She can only hope that the recovery will be swift, but for now she must remain strong and endure the pain. “Please come back soon Zephyrina. We all miss you.” whispers Haven as she leads Pipp out of the ICU.