//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Healing Dash // by TheGentlemanCreeper //------------------------------// “COMING THROUGH, MAKE WAY!” Applejack yells as she hauled a wagon in through the front door of the hospital. In the back was Twilight, who has doing everything she could to keep Dash calm. However, she wasn’t doing such a good job at keeping herself calm. “Y-You’re going to be fine Dash! We’re here and you’re going to be fine!” Twilight repeated, trying to choke back tears. Grabbing the gurney, you and Nurse Tenderheart wheel it over and finally get to see the extent of Dash’s injuries. Her front left leg was obviously broken. Bloody white bone stuck out of her leg like a spear. Her back left leg looked fine, albeit a little swollen, but the thing that really made your heart sink was her pride and joy. Her left wing was bent at an awkward angle and dripped crimson blood every so often. She didn’t even seem to notice you, her friends, or anything around her. She just cried rivers of tears as she moaned in pain. All you wanted to do was hold the blue angel in front of you and make her pain go away, but you knew what you had to do. “Alright! Applejack, Twilight, you slip a hoof under her belly on her right side, Nurse Tenderheart, you and I on left. On three, we move her to the gurney.” Rainbow Dash winced as you and the others got ready to move her. “Watch her leg Nurse and make sure to set her down gently. Okay… One. Two. Three!” All at once you and the others lift up on Dash and ease her onto the gurney. You wince as she screams out in pain as her broken leg bumps into the side of the gurney. “I SAID WATCH HER LEG, DAMNIT!” you yell at Nurse Tenderheart. She shrinks back in shock. “I’m sorry! I-“ “We don’t have time for this! Go to O.R. and scrub up with Nurse Redheat!” Nurse Tenderheart ran off as quickly as she can, leaving you with Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Dash sobs heavily as you run a hoof through her mane. “Dash, it’s going to be okay.” you say, trying to comfort her. She looks up at you, her eyes full of tears. “I’m going to put you to sleep for now and when you wake up, you’ll be fine, I promise.” You focus on the magic inside of you and bring it through your body to your horn. Touching it to Dash’s head, her eyes close and she goes quiet. With her under, you grab a hold of the gurney and move it as fast as you dared towards the operating room. Nurse Redheart and Nurse Tenderheart were fully dressed in scrubs, waiting for you. “Get her prepped while I wash up!” you tell them as you throw off your coat and don a set of scrubs. You’ve done this many times before and let the ritual take over as you let your mind wander for a moment. What happened? Was it really an accident? Is she going to be okay? You push those intrusive thoughts to the back to your mind and walk through the doors leading to the operating room. Dash had an I.V. full of anesthetic going into her left left leg and a tube down her throat, which was hooked up to a pump that Nurse Tenderheart was pushing on manually. “Just keep the respirator going, Nurse Tenderheart. Redheart, hang a blood bag. You’re with me. Let’s take a look at the damage.” Turning to Dash, you bring the magic up from within you again and spread it above Dash’s body. The magic aura shimmers as it hung in the air and looking through it, the skeleton beneath the flesh was revealed, creating a perfect x-ray. “Her metacarpal bone is broken, but it’ll heal on its own once we set it. Her back ankle is twisted, not broken, so that’s a relief. But her wing… She’s broken her humerus, ulna, and carpometacarpus.” “She may never fly again…” Nurse Redheart says aloud. You let the magic fade and ignore Nurse Redheart. Levitating a scalpel, you begin. * * * * * * * * Six hours later, you walk out of the operating room, exhausted. Slipping off your scrubs, you throw them away and stagger into the waiting room. There, you find Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy sleeping on the couch. You figure that they fell asleep, waiting for any word about their friend. “You’ve got good friends, Dash," you say aloud as you try to stifle a yawn. You take a look at the clock on the wall and sigh. Three AM… I’ll just take a nap for a bit… you say as you sit down on the couch with them. Slowly, but surely, you drift to sleep. * * * * * * * * “How are you feeling, Ms. Dash?” you ask as you walk into the hospital room. “Ms…Dash? Is that my name?” “I was afraid of this…” you say as you sit down by her side. “When you came in, you were very hurt. You almost didn’t make the trip here. But there you were in my O.R., clinging onto life. I made the decision to use my magic to heal you, but there were some side effects.” “Side effects? What do you mean?” “Ms. Dash, I’m afraid you have…Amnesia.” Dash looks at you with a look of panic. “What am I supposed to do, Doctor? I don’t know anything!” she yells, tears streaking down her face. Taking her hoof in yours, you move closer to her. “Know this. I love you and will help you through this.” you lean forward and kiss her. At first she protests, but she’s soon moaning in ecstasy as the kisses come hot and faster. “Doctor…I-“ * * * * * * * * Before you realize it, you’re being shaken awake by Nurse Tenderheart. “Doctor, wake up. The patient is awake” Looking around, you realize that you were dreaming. No more Stable Hospital for me… you think, trying to push the remnant feelings of the dream away. “She’s awake? Then that means the surgery went okay?” you hear a voice say to your side. Looking, you find Twilight staring at you, waiting for an answer. “Yes, the surgery went well. Wake up the others and let them know what’s going on. I want to check on her before she has any visitors.” you say. You follow Nurse Tenderheart to Dash’s room and find Nurse Redheart hanging a new I.V. “She was complaining of pain, so I give her a Five-Poppy drip.” Nurse Redheart explains. “Thank you Nurse. If the pain gets worse, bump her up to four," you say as you examine the I.V. "How are you feeling Dash?” Rainbow Dash looks up at you as she’s lying on her belly. Her left front leg was wrapped in a cast and splayed out over the bed. Her left wing was wrapped in bandages and tied to her side. “Lousy…” she says groggily. “Your friends are here. They’re asking to see you.” Dash looks nervous for a moment, but nods. “O-Okay.” You look to Nurse Redheart and she leaves the room, only to return later with the five mares in tow. Rainbow Dash forces a smile. “Hey guys. Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it looks.” The five don’t say anything and just look at their friend, who was trying to make her injuries sound like nothing. Surpisingly, Fluttershy was the first to speak up. “Is she going to be okay?” “The leg was the easy part. We set the bone and it will heal on its own. The wing was what took the longest. What we did was reassemble the bone the best we could and then use magic to stimulate the healing process.” Dash looks at you, confused. “Stimulate? You couldn’t just, you know, abra kadabra it and heal it totally?” she asked. A smile breaks across Twilight’s face. “Of course! I’ve read about healing magic, we can-“ “No. No you can't.” you say plainly. Twilight looks at you, her face contorting in rage. “What do you mean by that? We can do it if we just-“ “NO, YOU CAN'T!” you yell, making everyone jump. “Don’t you think I would have done that in the first place? You can’t use magic to heal wounds completely! It’s caused everything from infections, atrophy, and even all sorts of cancers. I knit together a total quarter millimeter of bone and even that’s pushing it.” Twilight starts to tear up. “I’m-I’m sorry, I just want to do something to help.” Feeling bad for snapping, you move to Twilight's side and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “I know you do and I’m sorry for yelling. I’ve just seen too many ponies lose something from healing magic mishaps.” you say with remorse. Silence fills the air for a few minutes before Dash speaks up. “How long until I can fly again?” You sigh heavily and sit down on the bed next to her. “Best case scenario? Everything heals without any complications? I’d give you six, maybe eight weeks at the most.” Dash gasps aloud. “THAT long?!?” “And I can’t even guarantee that. I’m sorry Dash, there’s nothing else I can do.” Dash puts a hoof over her face and cries. “Rainbow Dash… Are you okay?” Rarity asks above a whisper. “I want to be alone…” she says with a ragged sob.