Chapter 1
A Deep Sleep
Fluttershy drew a ragged breath as her consciousness returned. Her chest felt heavy and her lungs burned with each breath. She tried to open her eyes, feeling the resistance of weight of her eyelids. The feelings hadn’t returned to her limbs yet and her breaths were short and slow. As her hearing slowly returned she could make out hushed voices, off in the distance.
“Do you think she can hear us?” asked a female voice. It sounded nice and proper, kind of refined in it’s tone. But Fluttershy could feel the worry and despair hidden behind it’s soft tone.
“I don’t know Rarity” replied another female voice. This voice wasn’t as refined, but it was well structured. It was as if it wasn’t allowed to have a flaw. “I’ve never read about this in any of my books” Fluttershy could read the doubt in her voice.
Fluttershy let out a soft sigh. Her friends were nearby, and they were worried about her. Everything was going to be fine, nothing bad could happen as long as they were looking out for her. She wondered for a moment if Dashie was with them. Fluttershy tried once more to open her eyes, and was denied sight once more.
“Come on y’all this is Rainbow we’re talkin bout” said a female voice with a southern drawl. It sound bold and confident on the outside, but it masked a deep sadness. “There’s no way she’s goin down this easy”
“Rainbow?” thought Fluttershy her heart sinking “What’s wrong with Dashie?!” Trying to move to hear better, a searing pain tore through her mid section. She felt the bandages around her tighten against her skin as she moved. Deciding that it was best not to move again, Fluttershy held her breath and strained to hear what her friends were saying.
Fluttershy tried to remember what happened that night. She remembered that Dashie had followed her into the storm, but her memories cut off with a blinding flash. Trying to recall anything else resulted in a prime example of futility. With a faint light of hope, she listened to her friends conversation. It might shed some light on what happened that night.
“Yeah Dash is the best prankster in all of Ponyville” said a bouncy feminine voice “I bet any second now she’s gonna wake up and laugh at the sad looks on our faces” There was no sadness or worry in this voice, it was comforting to hear some positive words.
“Pinkie dear” said Rarity with a long drawn out breath “This is not a prank. Rainbow would never do such a thing to her friends. She’d never fake something like this” The elegance in her voice began to crack, and Fluttershy heard the sound of heavy sobs.
At this Fluttershy could take no more. With a great effort her eyes creaked open. She was forced to shut them once more as light poured into them. Finally squinting her eyes she waited until they grew accustomed to the light and opened them further. Her vision semi restored, she began to take in her surroundings. The room she resided in had white walls, and a single large window with green curtains.
It had a few furnishings; two chairs a sofa and a wardrobe with a television on top. Fluttershy herself was in a folding bed with a control panel to her right side. A faint beeping sound caught her attention. Turning to her left she saw a machine was wired up to her, it had a screen with a green line making mountains and valleys. It beeped in sync with the movement of the line.
“Ah good morning” said a pink haired woman entering the room “It’s good to see you awake” She was wearing the white dress of a nurse, and a red cross was emblazoned on her skirt. Fluttershy recognized her as Nurse Redheart, the head nurse of Ponyville Hospital. She had on white sneakers with red trim, and had her long pink hair in a ponytail draped over her left shoulder.
“Why am I in the hospital?” asked Fluttershy in a scared tone
“You were some sort of accident” said Redheart walking across the room, opening the blinds and letting sunlight into the room. “Massive amounts of blunt force trauma to your midsection. You were unconscious for quite some time Miss Fluttershy” The nurse turned and shot the timid girl a curious look. “Do you remember any of that?”
“Honestly I can’t remember anything about what happened last night, past a blinding flash of light. It’s almost as if it was burned out of my mind...” said Fluttershy hoping that Redheart would know more.
“Ah I’ve heard that before” said Redheart snapping her fingers as a sign of victory “You must have been struck by lightning. That’s why you can’t remember anything about what happened, seven days ago”
“Did you just say seven days ago?” squeaked Fluttershy her mind reeling in surprise. “Had she really been unconscious for seven whole days?” questions and doubts began to rise in her mind “What happened that night, how bad was she hurt, but most importantly Where’s Rainbow Dash?!”
Almost having read the girls mind, Redheart simply walked over and placed a hand over Fluttershy’s mouth, stopping the barrage of questions before she could form the words. Fluttershy looked up into the nurse’s eyes and found only calm reassurance. Redheart pulled up a chair and sat down beside Fluttershy.
“You can calm down Miss Fluttershy” said Redheart in a soothing tone. Fluttershy began to relax a bit at her kind words and tried to calm her frantic thoughts. “Now I can make no promises that I can answer all of your questions, but i’ll be happy to try. If you promise me to calm down and take a deep breath”
Fluttershy made a slow node in acceptance. As Nurse Redheart removed her hand, she closed her eyes and let her head fall back on the pillow. She took in a deep slow breath, feeling her body react in response. As she let it out, she felt a small twang of pain on her left side. Opening her eyes she caught a look of apology on Nurse Redheart’s face.
“What’s with the look?” asked Fluttershy blushing in embarrassment “Did I do it wrong?”
“No” replied the Nurse laying a hand ever so softly on Fluttershy’s chest “I for a second I forgot just how badly you were injured. That breath, however relaxing, must have caused you some pain” Fluttershy could tell it was a sincere apology and couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s alright” said Fluttershy warmly “I needed to take a breather anyway”
“I’d say so” said Redheart “ You’ve been through so much, you must be really worried about what’s happened while you were unconscious”
“I am worried my absence has affect my friends” said Fluttershy “But most of all I’m worried about Rainbow Dash”
“Oh..” said Redheart leaning back in her chair, waiting for Fluttershy to elaborate.
“She followed me into the storm that night” continued Fluttershy her mind working against her bringing up all of her worst fears. “I really hope nothing bad happened to her”
“Well Fluttershy I have good news for you then” said Redheart leaning in closer to Fluttershy “Rainbow Dash is the reason you’re alive”
“What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy her eyes growing wide with shock
“If Rainbow Dash hadn’t brought you in here when she did you’d never have survived that fall” said Redheart with a smile
“Is she okay?” asked Fluttershy urgently. She needed to know that Rainbow Dash was okay. “I heard my friends talking about her earlier”
The smile faded from Redheart’s face. She took in a deep breath before she stood up and walked over to the window. She stared out into the distance for some time before she turned with a blank expression.
“I’m afraid I’m not allowed to share that information with you” was all she said before she changed the subject “It’s against Hospital policy to share information about patients with patients.”
“You can’t tell me anything?” asked Fluttershy desperately grasping any information at all about her injured friend
“I’m sorry Miss Fluttershy” answered Redheart with an apologetic look “I can share no information about Miss Dash’s condition at this time. If you’d like to know anything you’re going to need to talk to her family or guardian”
“How can my friends get to see her?” asked Fluttershy confused “When I can’t even find out if she’s alive?”
“Nurse Redheart!” called an angry male voice with a foreign accent from the hallway
“Coming Doctor!” called Redheart dashing out of the room. As she exited she turned back and said “I truly am sorry, but my hands are tied”
With that Fluttershy was left alone once more. She had so many questions swirling her mind as she stared out into the hall. “Why were they keeping so much information from her on purpose?” Fluttershy couldn’t figure it out yet, but she was going to one way or another. She needed to know if Rainbow Dash was okay.