//------------------------------// // The Accident // Story: The Human Side of Things // by Gylden Glor //------------------------------// I have a story to tell you. And by you, I mean my subconscious due to the fact that I'm desperately trying to keep my thoughts in order without passing out. Alright...so, when I left Canterlot - no, before I left Canterlot - I agreed to be a guinea pig for an experiment. The experiment would allow me to be immune to the effects of alcohol for a short amount of time. That short amount of time ended just as I got into the library, and the vodka I had used to test the product had really hit. Hard. Still don't know why I agreed to that test. Also, it may result in cognitive decay. Or something like that. Which is why I have to go over what's happened within the past few hours in my head. And then something happened with Rainbow, I don't know what...uh...maybe I insulted her? I dunno, Twilight said she was pretty ticked... Also, she stole my fucking iPod. Who the fuck does that!? I guess I must've really pissed her off... But still, who the fuck does that!? Anyway, I've got to go apologize to Rainbow now for...something, but I've got to explain all this crap to Twilight first, who is acting really concerned for me and in all honesty it's super fucking creepy. "Uhm...are you okay, Peter? You've been staring into space for the past few moments, and...I'm getting worried..." She leans a bit towards me, and I shake my head to bring myself back to reality. I quickly explain what had caused me to be drunk, and she nods in understanding. "Oh, alright," she announces. "Uh...I guess you'd better go apologize to Rainbow Dash, then..." She bites her lower lip as she moves away from me, and I frown as I look at her. "Yo, Twi', what's up?" I take a step towards her, and she lets out a squeak of protest. "No! Please, go apologize to her..." "Uh...why are you acting all skittish?" "Because if I don't, I'm afraid I'll beat the shit out of you for doing whatever you did to Rainbow!" She finally shouts at me. "I know I'm not normally angry, but it ticks me off that you insulted her so much!" "Yeah, sure. Like you could beat the shit out of me," I scoff. Twilight scowls at me, and uses magic to lift up a book. I nod and, without a word, make my exit. "Hey, have you seen Rainbow Dash?" "No, sorry." "Have you seen Rainbow?" "Nah." "Hey, have you seen Dash anywhere?" "I think so..." "Where?" "I think she was headed towards Whitetail Woods. She looked pretty shaken up." "Wait, really?" "Yeah. I kinda wish I knew what happened." "I'm actually going to head over there right now," I announce. The orange filly nods in consent. "Thanks, uhm..." "Scootaloo," she responds. "My name is Scootaloo. And make sure you don't upset Rainbow Dash, okay?" "Uh...yeah," I respond, slightly weirded out by the kid's protectiveness for the cyan Pegasus. "Seeya later, Scootaloo." "Bye!" I sprint over to Whitetail Woods, and immediately delve in as I search for the cyan Pegasus. I see signs of her here and there - a small feather lying on the ground, or even just a... What the hell? I stop to examine the area of broken branches, and the small amount of blood. I see hoof prints leading off from the obvious crash site, as well as a line dragging in the dirt. I roll my eyes as I realize what this means. She crashed again. I hurry to follow the trail, and eventually burst into a small lakeside area. I find Rainbow Dash, oblivious to my presence, carefully washing down a wound on her left wing. Blood seeps off, and she seethes as the water flows over the gash. I call out her name, which startles her a bit. "Peter!" She exclaims. "Uh...what are you...how'd you find me? And...you're not drunk anymore?" I quickly explain the product I had tested, and the orange Pegasus that gave me a tip. "Heh...yeah, that's Scootaloo for ya...always tryin' to make me happy..." She smiles at the ground for a moment before shaking her head. "Whatever...uh, so...are you here to apologize?" She asks, seemingly embarrassed by the subject. "Yeah, but I can do that later," I announce as I approach her. Without asking permission, I quickly examine her body and find that her left foreleg has been injured. "We've got to get you to the hospital, this looks pretty bad..." "Please, I've had - GAH!" She nearly collapses in pain, and I wince as I see a small bit of bone protruding from her wing. "Yeah...let's go to the hospital..." "You sure you can walk?" I ask as I hover around her in anxious concern. "Yeah, it's fine..." She responds as she grits her teeth and begins to drag her wing. She lets out sounds of pain, and I sigh as I pick her up, forcing her to walk on her hind legs so I can support her. She doesn't protest and immediately tries to get her balance. Once she has, she gives me a weak smile and a few words of gratitude. I nod as we begin to haul ass towards the hospital. Or, at least, as much ass as we can haul when she's injured like this. We're right by the outskirts of Ponyville when Rainbow Dash's hind right leg gives out. She lets out a cry of pain, and I tenderly pick her up to carry her. "Why didn't you say anything about your hind leg?" I ask. "Because...I didn't wanna make you have to carry me," she responds, a blush creeping across her face. "I look dorky..." "Oh, shut the fuck up," I growl. "Start worrying more about your damn health than your rep, okay? Now, tell me if your wing is being bent." "I can't feel it...so it doesn't matter..." I nod. "Well...that's good, I guess," I mutter. I begin to jog towards the hospital, and a spike of panic sears up my spine as Rainbow Dash's eyes begin to close. "Fuck," I mutter aloud. "She's losing a lot of blood..." I suddenly understand the true severity of the situation as I realize that she may have internal bleeding. With a sound akin to "meaarhk!", I begin to carefully sprint towards the hospital, taking any and all shortcuts I can think of. Ponies that I pass are stunned by the blood trailing behind me, and a few start to follow me to ensure I get to the hospital as quickly as possible. About an hour later, I'm wringing my hands in the waiting room as the rest of the ponies nervously await the news. Fluttershy begins to sniffle and cry, but I don't really notice as I'm too preoccupied watching as a few staff members clean the blood that Rainbow had left on the floor. I shudder as I remember how much blood Rainbow had left on me. My shirt was soaked, and it had run down to my pants...thank goodness that one of the doctors was able to use magic to get rid of the blood, or I'd be freaking out right now... "Peter...d'ya know if RD will be okay?" Applejack brings me out of my reverie. I see out of the corner of my eye that Pinkie is trying to cheer Fluttershy up. "Ah mean...th' doctor said that this was 'er worst crash yet..." "Holy shit, really?" I ask, absolutely stunned. "Fuck..." Rarity doesn't comment on my language as she shakes in her seat. "Well...do you think she'll be able to recover?" Twilight inquires. "Why're you asking me?" "Because you're the only one who saw her injuries. How...how bad were they? I mean, the doctors will tell us, but not until they're done stabilizing her..." "The bone in her wing was showing," I reveal. "Her foreleg was broken; and I'm pretty sure she did a number on her ribs...might've crushed them." Twilight cringes, and Rarity expresses her distress. "Why must we speak of this? I would rather know what truly ails my friend from a professional, not just guesstimations from another friend who is just as worried as I am!" I cock an eyebrow at her. "Er...as we are..." I roll my eyes, and look up as a doctor comes through the door with a clipboard. I cross my fingers in hopes that if he's coming to us, he has good news. Fortunately, he just walks right past us and up to a totally different pony. The news delivered seems to be very good indeed, as the unicorn grins and lets out a sigh of relief. I really hope I get to do that soon... "You're all friends of Rainbow Dash?" I turn in surprise. I hadn't seen the doctor enter because I was watching the other doctor. We all nod in agreement, and I feel a bit of fear culminating within my stomach. "Well...she's very badly injured, and...she's lost a lot of blood," the doctor starts. "There was a lot of internal bleeding, and...well, I'm afraid that there's not much more we can do for her. A collective gasp spreads throughout the group, and I feel tears brimming behind my eyes. "So...you mean she's...gonna...die?" I ask, unable to think logically beyond the pain and shock. "Wait, what? No, I mean that we've done everything we can. She's stable." The doctor replies with a bemused expression. I scowl at him. "Well, why the buck didn't you say so in the first place!?" My eyes widen as Rarity uses such offensive language. "You scared me half to death!" The doctor doesn't reply. "Would you like to see her?" He offers. "Yes!" We all shout in unison. He nods, and starts to lead us towards her room. We arrive at Rainbow's room within moments, and I'm immediately sitting in a chair next to her bed. Thank goodness for chairs, I didn't want to have to stand throughout the entire visit... Especially since she's unconscious. "She's suffered several concussions and trauma to her frontal lobe," the doctor reveals. "We've put her into an artificial coma that will last until the swelling in her brain goes down." I gulp as I stare at her, and my heart races. Twilight asks a question, but I don't hear her. I just stare at the oxygen mask, the intravenous tubes, and the heart rate monitor. My lower lip begins to tremble, and tears begin to form. She's like this because of me. Because I did something that got her so upset that she ended up crashing...and now, she's right here, in a coma, and I can't apologize to her, let alone even speak to her... All because of me... I sniffle a bit, and I hear Fluttershy doing the same. I feel as if I'm about to cry, so to save face I exit the room, and make for the restrooms. I try to find the men's restroom before I realize it's a unisex bathroom. Not what I'd expect in a hospital, but...whatever. Bracing myself against the marble sink, I begin to cry. Not sobbing, just crying. And not even because it's potentially my fault - but because one of my best friends is in a coma... A million scenarios race through my mind as paranoia takes over. I imagine her somehow dying in her coma, and I can't take it - I break down. Still not sobbing, but I have to brace myself more to stand. And that's when hope begins to shine. In my mind's eye, I see Rainbow's eyes fluttering open, and I see myself excitedly grasping her hoof as she comes to. I get lost in my imaginative moment, and I end up imagining my lips on hers as she finally wakes up... Wait, the fuck? Did I really just... I look at myself in the mirror, and I scowl. I can't believe I thought of her like that - when she's in a coma...it's completely innapropriate, and disgusting to boot. Because it's taking my distress at a friend being unconscious and changing it into the perception of romance - which would be completely wrong. There's nothing but friendship between Rainbow and I, and for my mind to try to soothe itself by putting me in the shoes of a relieved lover is awful. I have no feelings for Dash, and she deserves someone better than me anyway. But I do care about her... My musings are interrupted as I see Fluttershy enter the bathroom through the mirror. I immediately wipe away my tears so it doesn't look like I was crying and start to wash my hands. "Hey," I announce, trying to keep my voice steady. It doesn't work well, and Fluttershy knows that something's amiss. She frowns as I turn, and start to wash my hands. "Are you okay?" She solemnly shakes her head. "Are you?" "Yeah," I lie. "You look like you've been crying." I gulp as I rub my eyes a bit. "Uh...allergies..." "Oh..." I nod, and emotions begin to come forth as Fluttershy watches me in genuine concern. I immediately abandon ship under her gaze. "I'm just...scared," I admit with a blush. "I mean...she's in a coma, and...we don't know whether she'll be okay or not, and..." I gesture as my voice gives out and tears force themselves through my ducts. I rub them away, and don't bother to try to pass it off as allergies this time. "I'm scared too," she informs he as she approaches. "You don't have to be alone when you're scared, you know..." I smile at her. "I know," I respond. "It's just...I don't like crying in front of others..." "You can cry in front of me," she immediately offers. She blushes as she retracts. "That is...I mean...if you're okay with that, of course..." I smile at her. "I am." She smiles before pulling me into a gentle, tentative hug. When I return the gesture, she tightens her embrace into a more confident hug. I smile as we begin to part. "Thank you," I say softly. "I needed that..." I pause for a moment as I admire her. "You came in here to help me," I recount, "even though you were crying, yourself...", She nods. "I thought you needed me," she explains. "Maybe we just needed each other," I suggest. She smiles, and nods. "Maybe..." I smile at her as I release the embrace. "Now, come on," I urge. "We've got a friend in need." She nods, and we both exit the bathroom, and I realize how awkward that whole moment was. Especially if somepony had walked in on us, or had been in the stalls... Well, whatever. Hopefully the girls don't make any assumptions...