//------------------------------// // In The Worst of Times // Story: At Her Hospital Bed // by Eventide Indigo //------------------------------// "Excuse me, miss? I'm here to see Rainbow Dash!" The secretary looked Pinkie up and down with an unimpressed frown. Her graying mane was done up in a tight bun, and even her foggy eyes seemed to scowl at her as she paused, wordlessly, to skim over a sheet on her clipboard. "Name?" she muttered, hardly bothering to look up. "Pinkamena Diane Pie. But you can just call me Pinkie Pie, that's what ALL my friends call me." she chirped. "I should be on the list to see my friend." The bedraggled secretary nodded, her eye raised slightly at her enthusiasm. "Ah yes, there you are. Take this, Ms. Pie." she said dully as she dangled Pinkie's visitor pass over the desk. She limply gesture with her hoof down the hall. "Room 20, walk straight down and it should be to your left." "Thanks!" Pinkie grinned, bouncing down the hallway with an inappropriate exuberance, given the circumstances . Hmm. Room 20? Room 20. Room 20. Room 20! There you are! Pinkie settled her flank down on the cool tiles, raising a hoof to the door and giving a soft, resounding knock. She waited a few seconds outside, her tail twitching ever so slightly, until a tall, lanky stallion wearing a white scrub and a stethoscope draped around his neck, opened the door for her. "Pinkamena?" She nodded faintly, craning her neck to see into the room behind him. He glanced away away, speaking to the patient over his shoulder. "Rainbow Dash, we have a visitor here for you. Would you like me to let her in?" Pinkie could hear a feeble voice reply, though the words were to faint to make out. The doctor nodded and opened the door wider, stepping around her and into the hallway. Pinkie leaped up and happily trotted in. "Dashie? I'm really sorry I couldn't see you sooner, but -" She stopped in her tracks. What Pinkie saw melted her heart completely, tears caught in her throat so only a devastated squeak escaped her mouth. She galloped forward, rushing to the hospital bed. "D-Dashie?" Pinkie whimpered as tears stung her eyes. She lay there, the crippled form of her best friend, staring up at her through glazed, half-lidded eyes. Several clear tubes connected her forelegs to plastic packets of blood and medicinal liquids. Bruises and scrapes littered her face, the most prominent being a cut lip and a puffy black eye. Her wings were bent at awful angles, and blood-caked feathers clung together. The heart monitor's mechanical beeps were infrequent. The doctor, whom had returned from the hall, gave Pinkie a sympathetic glance. "I-I had no idea... the accident was this bad..." Pinkie managed. "I'm afraid so... She needs her rest, but she insisted she see you. I will leave you two alone, but if you're in need of any assistance, I have two highly capable nurses posted outside." "Thank you..." Pinkie said with a meek smile. Her head snapped back to Rainbow Dash as a moan of pain escaped her lips. The pegasus' eyes fluttered and then opened wide, as if she had only just noticed Pinkie's presence. "P-Pinkie?" she rasped. "You came." A weak smile spread across her lips. Pinkie grinned, taking a seat in a wooden chair beside her bed. "Of course I did, Dashie." Rainbow coughed and shifted to face Pinkie, wincing with pain. "I uh... I guess I banged myself up pretty bad, huh?" she said with a playful smile, chuckling softly, before blinking and craning her neck to survey the room. "Where's Twilight and the others?" she frowned, resting her head on the pillow once more. "They got held up, but they're doing their best to get here." Rainbow grunted as if saying 'oh'. "Look, Pinkie. I invited a *cough* -another friend over. I hope you don't mind." Pinkie blinked her blue eyes cheerily. "Of course I don't mind, silly! I LOVE making new friends." Rainbow struggled to laugh, but could only manage a pained sigh. "How about old enemies?" At that moment, the door swung open, revealing the doctor with yet another guest by his side. Pinkie's jaw dropped. "...Gilda." she growled through clenched teeth. She was immediately knocked aside as the griffon surged past her, over to Rainbow's bed. "Dashie? Aww, man. Dashie. You really got it bad this time. Are you okay?" Gilda blurted, her claws resting on the side of the bed. Rainbow smiled. "Hey Gilda. Meh. Wing's a little screwed up but I think I'll be fine." Gilda pivoted on her heel, turning to face Pinkie. "Pinkie! How good it is to see you." she sneered, obviously unimpressed to see the pink Earth pony that she found so annoying. She snapped her head to face Rainbow Dash. "Ugh. Dashie, when will you get rid of this lame-o pony?" she snorted. "Hey! I can hear you, you know! Why do you have to be such a meany mean-pants all the time?" Pinkie retorted, her voice nearly reaching a full-blown yell. "Seriously, Dashie. What gives? You know we hate each other, so why did you schedule for us to visit at the same time?" Gilda snarled. Rainbow Dash simply gazed at them blankly, a faint smile on her face. "Yeah, Dashie!" Pinkie piped in. Rainbow shrugged, wincing in pain."Because you two are my friends. I-" Her hoarse voice was interrupted by the slamming of a door as the doctor and two nurses cantered in. The doctor had a worried expression on his face. "Pinkie Pie, Gilda, I will have to ask you to step outside for a minute. I have some news for Ms. Dash." Pinkie and Gilda exchanged confused and horrified looks, and slowly stepped outside. Their was a long awkward silence between the two of them as they desperately tried to avoid eye contact. "Hey, um. Pinkie Pie? Look, I am sorry for being such a jerk back there. I realise that if Dashie here cares about you so much, you can't be all that bad after all." Pinkie blinked in surprise. Was this the real Gilda? The stuck-up obnoxious jerk? Apologizing? Despite her mixed emotions, Pinkie couldn't bring herself to be angry. "Thanks, Gilda." Pinkie turned and pressed her ear up against the door, straining to make out the doctor's mumbling. She could clearly hear Dashie sobbing. "I am so sorry to tell you this, Rainbow Dash. But it appears your condition is much worse that we anticipated. Your wounds are... fatal. We know this must be so devastating for you, but we feel you have the right to know. We estimate you have within two or three days. We extend our deepest sympathies for you and if there is anything I can do for you to make you more comfortable, please do not hesitate to ask." By this point, Pinkie had long since burst in to tears. Gilda stared in pure shock, she opened her beak but no words managed to escape. "We will let your friends back in now so you can spend time together. Once again, we are so sorry. We are doing everything we can for you." With that, the doctor, with his head hanging, escorted himself and the nurses out. He paused to speak. "I am so sorry for your loss." As if paralyzed in fear, Rainbow Dash lay sprawled out on her bed, her teary eyes fixed on the ceiling. She rotated her neck slightly, and her sadness seemed to deplete as two of her best friends came into view once more. "Pinkie... Gilda..." Rainbow rasped. "I'm dying."