//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Be Strong 
// by fluttershylover357 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow Dash sighed, picking the dream Apple Jack up and carrying her to a new spot. This time, she explored the secret tunnel beneath the cave, finding it led to a small, abandoned cottage. She laid AJ down on one of the two small cots, then stood on the other, waiting for her real self to wake up. Eventually, after fifteen minutes of standing, sitting, and pacing, she began to ache, and the dream world rippled yet again as yet another pony began to exit. 

"Ugh... it would be nice if waking up didn't hurt so much..." She said as she finished her exit and her dream self fell over, hitting her head on the headboard of the cot. 

"Ugh.... Ow...." Rainbow Dash touched her head, then looked at her hoof, which luckily wasn't covered in blood. Geez... I almost got a concussion.... in a hospital? She giggled a bit and thought of how the doctors and nurses would react to that. She stretched herself out, the cords and strange machines gone. Her body felt strangely refreshed, almost as though she had recently had a hot bubble bath. She looked around the room. It was still the same room.... same boring wallpaper and ceiling, same boring green curtains, and same boring old green patient gown. She sighed, her wings still sore. She tried one more time to move them, and finally succeeded. She tried to flap them, and was easily able to do that. Geez... How long was I in here? She looked at the nurse who just entered, smiling. The nurse smiled back. 

"We have some great news, Ms. Rainbow Dash. Today you will be released from the hospital!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, rising into the air as high as she could without hitting her head on the ceiling. 

"Yes!" She said, doing a small flip. 

"But..." The nurse frowned, waiting for Rainbow Dash to come down from the ceiling. After a minute or so, she did. "Your friend won't be coming out for a while yet. She has a bad concussion and a fever. She must have had both for months..." Rainbow Dash frowned, looking at the nurse. 

"What? Really? She was fine before I brought her here.... and before she fell over..." She frowned even more, really upset that AJ would be stuck in the boring hospital. "How much longer will she be here for?" The nurse frowned, then said, 

"Three weeks, at the least." She smiled a bit. "But... I will extend visiting hours a bit for you." Rainbow Dash put a small smile on her face as well. "Well... at least one of us gets to leave... right?" The nurse nodded. 

"Are you ready to be checked out?" Rainbow Dash nodded. 

"Good. Follow me, please." The nurse led Rainbow Dash to the checkout, giving her the bill, the paperwork, and the forms to take home. Rainbow Dash frowned at the price, but didn't argue against it. She then flew out the big glass doors. I guess I'll visit AJ later... She flew up to Cloudsdale in about ten seconds flat, landing in front of her house. Here we go... She walked through the open door of the quiet cloud house, knowing she had done the impossible. She had gotten over the deaths of her parents in less than a month. Well... almost. As her eyes began to water at the sight of the empty house, she reassured herself. Be strong. Just... be strong.