//------------------------------// // 2 // Story: The Injury // by cooopercrisp //------------------------------//         Big Mac knocked gently on Applejack’s door, having heard no stirring from inside her room. When she didn’t answer, he opened it a crack and peered into the room. Her eyes were closed, she was breathing deeply, and there was a calm look on her face that he hadn’t seen in a long time. He smiled and carefully shut the door.         Big Mac made for his own room, but a door opened and Apple Bloom ran into his leg. He looked down at her, a bundle of nerves, and smiled.         “She’s sound asleep,” he said, and the panicked look on Apple Bloom’s face faded.         “That’s a good thing, right?” she asked.         Big Mac nodded.         “Oh, but I wanted to check up on her,” she said with a pout. “I wanna make sure she’s okay.”         “She’s sleepin’ like an angel,” Big Mac said, “and Nurse Redheart agreed to check on her first thing in the morning. I can sleep easy knowing AJ’s gonna get the care she needs, and you should, too.”         Apple Bloom gazed intently at Applejack’s door, but then returned her gaze to Big Mac and nodded.         “You have a goodnight, sis,” he said, leading by example and going to his room. Apple Bloom looked once again at her sister’s door before reluctantly returning to her own room.         “Applejack?” Nurse Redheart asked gently. She was in her bedroom with Big Mac and Granny Smith, all three looking at Applejack with concern. Big Mac had never seen her this sound asleep, and it was a little worrisome.         “Is she gonna get up?” Granny Smith asked, and Redheart turned to her.         “I’m sure the incident’s left her exhausted, but we’ll need her awake before I can check up on her.”         “Right,” Big Mac said. He then prodded his sister gently. “AJ? You gotta get up.”         “Huh?” Applejack said, gradually waking up. She looked up into Redheart’s face and her eyes shot open.         “What the—? Why in the world is...Mac!”         “AJ, I told ya I was bringing Nurse Redheart over to check up on you.”         “What for? I’m totally fine,” she said, rising from her bed. The other three ponies winced when Applejack’s hind legs touched the floor and she hollered in pain. Big Mac immediately helped her back into bed, and for once she didn’t object.         “We don’t want you moving anywhere anytime soon until we know what’s wrong with you,” Redheart informed her. Applejack nodded and rested her hind legs on the bed. Redheart took out a cuff connected to a large rubber bulb.         “I’m just going to take your blood pressure,” she said, wrapping the cuff around Applejack’s foreleg and keeping her eye on the meter as she began squeezing the bulb. Applejack felt the cuff getting tighter and tighter and could actually feel the blood pumping through her veins, but just as the pressure was about to be painful, Redheart stopped and slowly let out air. She eyed the meter with concern and looked at Applejack as she put it aside.         “Your blood pressure’s a bit high,” she informed her. “How hard have you been working in the fields?”         “Well, um...yesterday I worked from sunup to sundown, but that was just a normal day for me.”         “Normal?” Redheart asked, turning to Granny Smith.         “She and Big Mac are hard-workin’ ponies,” Granny Smith told her. “Hardest workin’ ponies in Ponyville.”         “While that is admirable,” Redheart said, “I’m afraid strenuous labor day in and day out takes a toll on a pony’s body. I need to have a look at her hind legs.” Redheart turned and reached for Applejack’s legs.         “Now hold on a second!” Applejack implored. “Is this gonna hurt?”         “It might,” Redheart said, “but if I don’t get a feel for what’s going on, I can’t properly treat you.”         She touched Applejack’s legs, and Applejack winced. Redheart took care not to aggravate the injury, but she felt around the leg looking for the source of the pain. When she kneaded the leg, she immediately stopped after Applejack cried out.         “Is she okay?” Big Mac asked in alarm.         “She’ll be fine,” Redheart said. “I know what the issue is now.”         “What is it?” Granny Smith asked.         “She has stress fractures in her hind legs,” Redheart announced, and the room went quiet. Applejack’s face was the picture of panic, while Big Mac and Granny Smith stared at her worriedly.         “She’s going to be okay,” Redheart said, “provided she stay in bed for a few weeks to give her body the chance to heal itself. In the meantime, I can prescribe some pain medication to ease the discomfort in her legs. She can take them twice a day with the morning and evening meals.”         “And I’m supposed to stay in bed the whole time?” Applejack asked. “What if I have to go to the bathroom?”         “Oh,” Redheart said.         “Oh?” Applejack asked, staring at her in disbelief.         “We have a host of unicorns on staff” Redheart asked. “They could help you get to the bathroom when you need it.”         “Uh...I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want some strange pony liftin’ me with magic. What if they drop me and injure me any more than I already am?”         “Well...I can’t think of any other way for you to get the help you need,” Redheart said, “unless Twilight or Rarity could take the time to assist you.”         “Seriously? Twilight’s a princess and Rarity runs a huge business. I can’t ask them to come over here and help me go to the bathroom. Oh, Celestia…”         “Uh, Applejack?” Big Mac asked.         “Yeah?”         “Maybe you can’t get them to come to your house, but maybe you can stay in one of theirs. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind taking you in for a few weeks.”         “Well, I ain’t going to Rarity’s,” Applejack said.         “Why not?” Granny Smith asked.         “She’s way too fussy, and I’m not in the mood to be babied. Big Mac, can you see if Twilight wouldn’t mind having me at the library?”         “Absolutely,” he said, leaving the room.         “Okay then,” Redheart said. “Well, if you need anything else, feel free to send someone to my office and I’ll make sure to stop by and assist you when I can. I hope you get well soon.”         “Thank ya kindly,” Applejack said, and Redheart waved goodbye before exiting the room.         “Uh...Granny Smith?” Applejack asked. “Where’s Apple Bloom?”         “Right here!” Apple Bloom cried, stumbling into the room buried under a huge piece of cardboard paper. Granny Smith helped her flip the paper onto the bed face-up. Applejack looked at it and smiled.         It was a crudely drawn picture of Applejack with her hind legs in casts and a note that said “GET WELL SOON.”         “You made this for me?” Applejack asked.         Apple Bloom nodded enthusiastically.         “I couldn’t sleep last night, ’cause I was worried sick about ya, and I decided while I was awake, I’d do somethin’ to help you feel better.”         “That’s mighty sweet of you, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said.         “It’s okay,” Apple Bloom said, “’cause now I get to take care of ya while you’re recovering!”         “Bloom,” Granny Smith said, giving her a sobering look. “Applejack’s goin’ to be stayin’ at Twilight’s while she’s recovering.”         “What?” Apple Bloom asked, already beginning to whimper.         “Don’t you worry none, Bloom,” Applejack said. “You can visit as often as you want. I’m sure Twilight won’t mind. And I’ll be better and back on the farm before you know it.”         “Oh,” Apple Bloom said. “I guess that’s okay…” She slumped out of the room, sniffling a bit before she was out of earshot.         “Granny Smith,” Applejack said, “can you—”         “I’ll talk to her,” she said. “You just focus on gettin’ better.”         “Thanks,” Applejack said. “I’ll make sure to focus on my recovery from here on out. I just hope Twilight doesn’t mind havin’ me over.”         “She’ll be more than happy to help you,” Granny Smith said. “You’ll see.”         “Yeah, I guess I will,” Applejack said with a smile. Hopefully I’m not a burden on Twilight. Celestia knows she has enough going on as it is...