The steady beat of the monitor was the only sound aside from the silent cries of the Apple family. After a long fulfilling life, old age had finally caught up to Granny Smith. Despite of the injuries she had obtained, old age was the thing that would kill her.
"I guess it's just my time to go, isn't it?" Granny asked her family.
Applejack knelt down beside the hospital bed. “Don’t say that granny. You’re gonna be fine. Isn’t she?” Applejack turns around to look at her brother. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
“Now don’t you worry now. I’ll be all better when ‘they’ take me away.” Granny Smith rested her head on her pillow, smiling at the ceiling. Applejack and Macintosh looked at each other, both with a confused look on their faces.
"'They?'" They asked in unison. Granny didn't answer. She simply chuckled to herself.
Dinner that night, wasn't as fun or pleasant. Not one word came out of anypony's mouth. The silence from it all destroyed the happiness that was left in the Apple Family.
The founder of the Cutie Mark Crusaders had no kind of happiness in her heart. It was replaced sorrow and guilt. She picked at her apple pie with her fork. She let the crumbs fall to the ground, Winona licked them off of the ground. The pies just didn't taste as good when Macintosh cooked them. "Why couldn't it have been me?" Apple Bloom asked out loud.
Applejack looked at her heart-broken sister. The element bearer faired no better than her sister. She thought about all of the stories that her Granny had told her. She tried to hide the tears that flowed down her cheeks, but she wasn't doing to good of a job. "J-just eat your pie. We've done enough grievin' for today."
"But it's mah fault thats she's in the hospital. Why couldn't it have been me?" Apple Bloom was letting tears free fall down her face.
"Apple Bloom, you can't blame yourself for that, it was an accident." Applejack told her sister.
"That seems to be the only thing I've ever done in my life."
"Hey! Don't say that."
"Well it's true!"
"Enough!" Big Mac stamped his hoof on the ground. The sound echoed through out the house, and left a crater in the ground. "Both of you! We can't do this to ourselves. We just need to finish our meal."
Big Macintosh showed anger on his face. This was the only emotion that Mac had shown in a long time. Mac didn't even flinch when he learned that Granny Smith was in the hospital. All he did was lower his head in sadness.
Applejack and Apple Bloom returned to their now cold Apple Pies.
Throughout the night, all was silent. Not even the mice that had infested the hospital made any sound. Orderly's went about their business, trying to finish up so they can go back to their families at home. None of them paid any attention to the silent crying coming from room 403.
Granny Smith lied on her bed, and looked up at the ceiling. She released all of the pain and sorrow through the method of crying. She didn't let up for a long time. She kept crying for more than half an hour.
Her situation was very bad. Old age had finally caught up to her. That, and she has a broken arm. Poor Apple Bloom must feel terrible about this. It wasn't AB's fault, Granny just walked in front of her granddaughter's fancy contraption.
While thinking about her family, she thought about how they'll fair without her. 'Applejack and Mac are both hard-working ponies, who raise a good amount of money selling things. And Apple Bloom does know how to make Zap Apples. They'll manage, I know they will.'
Granny thought it would be best to put off her thoughts until morning. As she was on the verge of sleep, she was awoken by a sudden flash of light. She thought it must've have been some pony accidentally turning her lights on. She opened her eyes, seeing the darkness that sheltered the room from the light. She looked around saw nothing but darkness. She thought for sure that it was an orderly or something.
Her head fell back to her pillow, and she readied herself for the restless night ahead. But she felt something roll down her stomach. It was light, but she could feel it nonetheless. Once again, she lifted her head from her pillow, and looked down at her bandaged stomach. It was a scroll that interrupted her slumber.
Without touching it, the scroll unfolded itself, and it seemed to float right in front her. It couldn't have been a unicorn who was doing this because there was no colorful aura surrounding. It seemed like there was nothing manipulating its movements.
The scroll was close enough for Granny to read it. Even though she was blind as a bat, she found it that it was very easy to read. As she read it, her smile developed and tears fell from her eyes. "I knew it. I knew they were comin' for me." She said softly.
The Apple family slowly walked into the hospital. They had just recieved terrible news that Granny would not last for another day. Her old age was really getting to her, and it was almost her time. Though the eldest members of the family were strong, they couldn't help but shed a few tears. AB was a waterfall of tears. The poor thing...
They had all agreed on one last visit to their beloved Granny Smith. It was inevitable, and they could do nothing to stop it. Nopony could.
The hallway to Granny's room seemed to stretch on forever. A never-ending passage way to a dying mare. They entered the room, to find Granny Smith exactly where they left her. Her eyes were closed, and they feared that she...
"Granny?" Applejack asked, gently shaking her. She didn't respond. Applejack shook a little harder, and still no response. She set her head against Granny's chest, and she felt no heart-beat. She checked her pulse, and she felt nothing. "Oh Celestia, DOCTOR!"
The Apple family continued to shout for help until a doctor arrived in the room. He did as Applejack did, and checked everything. He felt nothing as well. The doctor called several other nurses and doctors, and he asked them to leave. He didn't want them to see what was about to happen.
Despite their desire to stay, they left. Apple Bloom hung her head low, not wanting to make any kind of eye contact with anypony. She looked behind her, she could hear the doctors struggling. Then they all suddenly stopped. No noise came from Granny's room. Until one doctor spoke up. "Patient name: Granny Smith. Cause of death: Old Age. Time of death: 9:45."
That did it. That ended the noise coming from every room in the hospital. It probably made Equestria stand still. Granny, and all of Equestria was aware of it.
Apple Bloom broke down, letting every emotion come out of her mind. Applejack did the same. Big Macintosh looked down at the ground and sobbed. And what was the worse thing about it was that none of them had said their good-byes. Or told her that they loved her.
This realization struck Apple Bloom as her thoughts raced around in her mind. 'I won't let her die alone. I won't.' She ran towards Granny's room. She ran faster than she ever had in her entire life time. Just as the doctor's and nurses were leaving, she slipped inside. She ran to Granny's now dead body. "Granny, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for what I did to you, and I wish that I could take it all back! I love you Granny!" AB rested her head on top of Granny's chest.
And there she cried for a long time. She wished that Granny was alive, so that she could tell her that she loved her. She so desperately wanted nothing else. She didn't want her cutie mark, she didn't want Diamond Tiara to stop bullying her, she only wanted her Granny back. She wanted to see her just one last time. Just one last time...
AB felt a hoof on her shoulder. She thought it was Applejack's, or maybe one of the nurses. She looked at the hoof. It was light green. AB was bemused, and she looked back to see...
"Granny!?" She proclaimed. Only, this wasn't the old Granny. This was a younger form of her.
"Hi Apple Bloom." The younger Granny said. Her voice was more fresh, and more beautiful. AB had no words for her. She simply stared at her with her mouth agape. "That's probably the usual reaction to this."
"I-I-I don't understand. What's going on?"
"Oh yeah. Well... obviously I'm dead. And now I'm about to move on." AB's heart sank, and new tears began to fall. "Now don't y'all cry now. I'll always be there looking over you."
"Where are you going now?" AB asked, trying to hide the tears.
Granny chuckled. "I'm goin' home. Home to all of the others who have died. I'm told it's a beautiful place." Granny stooped down, so she could look into AB's eyes. "And you helped me get there."
"What? I'm sorry Granny, that was an accident I swe-"
"No, you helped get a ride there." Silence fell over them. "You told me that you loved me. That set my soul free."
"My love set you free?"
"Yes. That's all I needed to get a ride." A blinding flash of light interrupts their conversation. Erupting from the light, a beautiful chariot of many colors floated down upon them. It seemed that it was driven by nothing. "And there it is. My ride home."
Granny boarded the chariot, only to be stopped by AB. "Wait, will I see you again?"
Granny smiled, and laid a kiss on her forehead. "Of course you will. We'll meet again at home." Granny let go of AB's hoof, and boarded the chariot.
As the chariot floated out of the building, Granny turned around. "Never wait to tell the ones close to you that you love them. For it could be the last time you ever see them!"
"I won't! Cross my heart, I will never forget! I love you Granny!" Granny tossed something back to her.
"I almost forgot to give you this! I love you Apple Bloom!" That was last time Apple Bloom saw her.
Applejack and Macintosh waited for their sister to return from Granny's room. They were both surprised that nopony had bothered to get her out of there. Apple Bloom suddenly came out of the room, with a scroll in hand. Tears were smeared on her face, but she wore a proud smile.
"Apple Bloom, what do you have there?" Macintosh asked. "And what was the bright light?"
Apple Bloom took her time to answer his question. "The chariot... the chariot took Granny home." Her older siblings stared at her, with a confused look on their face. Apple Bloom handed them the scroll. "I already read it."
They took the scroll, and began to read what was inside.