//------------------------------//
// Wake Up 
// Story: Mother of Invention 
// by zaponator 
//------------------------------//

	Applejack slowly regained consciousness to the tune of her entire body aching. Every inch of her hurt… but that wasn't right; dead ponies weren't supposed to feel pain. Then again, Applejack was fairly new to the whole 'being dead' thing, so she wasn't entirely sure how it all worked.

After a few minutes of nothing but pain, her hazy mind began to process other things. She could tell that she was lying on her back, and something amazingly soft was underneath her. Another soft thing covered her front all the way up to her shoulders.

A sound reached her ears, foggy and indistinct. It was a repetitive tone, high pitched and grating. The sound went beep, beep, beep in an incessant rhythm that made Applejack want to fold her ears back against her head… or rather, her ear. That would take some getting used to.

As much as she wished the annoying noise would stop, it sounded familiar somehow. It took her a few minute of pondering before Applejack realized what it was. The realization was enough to clear the fog of her mind somewhat, and Applejack felt herself falling into reality.

A heart monitor beeped a steady pulse next to the surprisingly comfortable hospital bed. Applejack's head rested on a fluffy pillow, and a thin but comforting blanket was laid across her.

She was alive, apparently. That was certainly news to her. As exciting as that news was, Applejack had several questions about it. First and foremost: Where was she?

It took a great deal of effort on her part, but Applejack did eventually manage to crack her eyelids open a bit. Fluorescent light flooded in, and she immediately closed them again at the blinding brightness. Applejack tried again, tentatively this time. She slowly worked her eyes open a bit at a time as they adjusted to the light.

As soon as her eyes were open wide enough to see out of, Applejack began to glance about the room without moving her head. Most of what she could see was plain white ceiling. Two long, fluorescent light bulbs were mounted above her to the left and right, which explained the brightness. When Applejack glanced upwards, she could see a blueish-green wall, upon which was mounted a grey metal lamp that pointed down into her bed.

She was in a hospital, that much was certain simply due to the still-beeping heart monitor. It was starting to get on her nerves with its repeated noise, actually…

Before Applejack could work up the courage to move anything besides her eyes, a scratchy voice erupted from somewhere to her right.

"Oh my gosh! Applejack!" A rush of movement accompanied the exclamation, and Applejack soon found herself staring up into a pair of wide, magenta eyes and a bright, multi-colored mane.

Applejack tried to say something, but all that came out was a dry croaking sound. Even that made her throat hurt, and Applejack winced slightly.

"Oh, oh, oh, you're probably super thirsty!" Rainbow Dash said as she leapt back from the bed and out of sight. "Hang on, I'll, uh… I'll just…" She turned and shouted through the door, "Nurse! Nurse!"

Rainbow appeared in Applejack's vision once more. Her face was split by a wide smile, but Applejack could swear she saw tears in the edges of Rainbow's eyes.

"Just wait one second. I'll go get somepony." She was already flying away as she finished her sentence. The door opened, shut, and Applejack was left alone in the room.

She lay there in a daze. What… what was happening? That was Rainbow Dash. That was her friend, Rainbow Dash. How? Applejack's memory of her last moments was somewhat hazy, but she very clearly remembered lying on the cold tile of the security room and bleeding more than any living pony was capable of.

Even if she had somehow survived —which she apparently had— when had she gotten home?

Her scattered and confusing thoughts were put on hold as the door burst open once again. Two voices were in the second half of a conversation as Rainbow Dash returned with a new pony.

"—would have been perfectly fine if we had walked. Really, you had me terrified for a moment when you were rushing me over here. I'd feared the worst."

"Not the worst." Rainbow Dash's voice squeaked joyously. "The best!"

The new visitor poked her head into Applejack's vision, and Applejack was finally able to get a look at who the second speaker was. Unsurprisingly, it was a nurse pony with the standard hospital uniform and hat. She had a white coat, and a pink mane tied back in a tight bun. When her eyes met Applejack's, her face lit up in a smile.

"Oh, dearie me, it looks like you really are awake. Wonderful!" She disappeared from view, only to reappear moments later with an encouraging look as a paper cup was pressed against Applejack's lips.

"Here," the nurse said, "drink this. It's just water, but I think you'll find it helps quite a lot."

Applejack obliged. She was careful not to sip too greedily, but even her small gulps did wonders to soothe her parched throat. She drank in silence for a couple minutes, the only sound being one or two excited squeaks from the nearby Rainbow Dash.

Once the cup had been emptied, and Applejack satisfied, the nurse carefully propped a few pillows underneath Applejack's back. The new position allowed her to see a bit more of the room, while still not sitting upright just yet. She pulled the blanket down to Applejack's waist, which gave her the freedom to move her forehooves, not that she felt the strength to do so just yet.

Much to Applejack's delight, the nurse switched off the beeping noise on the heart monitor before quietly excusing herself and leaving Applejack and Rainbow Dash alone in the room.

Applejack paused, carefully pondering exactly what she would say. After a minute, she decided on, "How—"

Which was as far as she got before a pair of fuzzy blue forelimbs wrapped themselves around her in a shockingly delicate hug. Rainbow Dash, apparently, knew that Applejack was still too injured for a bear-hug, but nuzzled her blue face into Applejack's chest anyway.

Applejack blinked. She sat there in silence, but gratefully accepted the long hug. A soft sniffling emanated from the pegasus clinging to her, and Applejack cocked an eyebrow.

"Rainbow?" Her voice was still a bit hoarse, and it came out as barely more than a whisper. "Are… are you cryin'?"

Rainbow Dash leaned back and looked Applejack in the eyes. Sure enough, trails of tears ran down both her cheeks, framing a massive grin.

Rainbow attempted a stern frown, but only ended up looking a bit silly as she said, "If you tell anypony, I'll kick your dog."

The room fell silent.

Then they laughed. They laughed, and it hurt, but it felt good. Applejack's chest felt like it was exploding with each hearty chuckle, but she couldn't care less at that moment. The pain, all of her pain, faded to the back of her mind as she was consumed with a fit of giggles and guffaws.

When the laughter finally died down, Rainbow Dash paused to wipe her face clear of tears before once more looking back at Applejack with wide, sparkling eyes.

"Are… are you, like, feeling okay?"

Applejack grunted. "Not particularly. Chest hurts, along with most everythin' else."

Rainbow Dash winced. "When they found you, Twilight said… she s-said that it was… it was r-real bad, AJ." Tears began to build up again in the corners of her eyes. "We, all of us, we were afraid that we were gonna lose you… again."

"Shush now, y'hear?" Applejack said quietly, not that she was capable of any other volume at that point. "Y'all ain't gonna get rid of me that easily. Honest."

"Pfft." Rainbow Dash couldn't help the snorting laugh that escaped.

Applejack smiled, but her expression quickly morphed into a thoughtful frown. "To be honest, though, I'm mighty curious as to how, exactly, Twilight did find me."

"Some magical mumbo-jumbo. I told the nurse to go and get the rest of the girls. We were taking turns watching you, but they'll all want to be here when they find out you're awake."

Applejack was about to ask exactly how long they'd been watching her, but she noticed Rainbow Dash fidgeting. The pegasus' ears were folded against her head, and she wasn't quite meeting Applejack's gaze. She would glance up for a split second, then quickly return her gaze to the floor and shake her head slightly.

It didn't take long for Applejack to figure out what was up, and she smiled warmly.

"Rainbow Dash?"

"Hm?" Rainbow looked up with hope-filled eyes.

"You wanna get sappy one more time before the girls get here?"

Whomp!

Rainbow Dash threw herself into a fierce and fluffy hug. Tears matted against Applejack's chest as Rainbow clung to her as if to keep her from disappearing at any moment.

"We thought you were gone, and we all kept searching, but we never ever found anything and I just missed you so mu-huh-huuuutch," she sobbed loudly, her wails broken up by occasional hiccups.

Applejack grunted with effort, but eventually managed to lift one forehoof and lay it across Rainbow Dash's shoulders.

"I know, sugarcube. I know." She weakly patted Rainbow's shoulder with her noodle-like limb. "I'm here now, and I ain't never leavin'. I'm back for good."

The smile that spread across Applejack's face felt entirely too forced.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The rest of her friends arrived a few minutes later. Rainbow Dash had taken the time to clean herself up and adopt an air of nonchalance, though nopony could miss the way her eyes sparkled, or the fact that she couldn't stop smiling.

Rarity entered first. "Oh, darling, it is simply marvelous to see you awake. You caused us all quite the fright, you know."

"Oh, um, I was very scared. More so than usual, I mean, but… I was excited, too. I'm excited that you're back, Applejack." Fluttershy filed in and took a seat with Rarity on Applejack's left.

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie cartwheeled into the room followed by a blast of confetti and the glares of several passing nurses. "You're back, and you're awake, and we can finally have an 'Applejack-is-back-home-and-totally-not-dead' party, and it's going to be amazing!"

"I think we'll have to hold off on the party until we can have it outside of the hospital," Twilight Sparkle said. She was the last one to enter the room. As soon as her eyes met Applejack's, her mouth closed with an audible snap. The two ponies stared across the room at each other, and the tension in the air was palpable.

Twilight's eyes were filled with deep sorrow, and tears were already brimming at the edges. What drew Applejack's gaze, though, were the clearly-visible crack running down almost the entire length of Twilight's horn.

A choking gasp released from Twilight's throat, and that was enough for the first few tears to start rolling down her cheeks. The rest of their friends watched in wide-eyed silence as Twilight finally tore her gaze from Applejack and stared at the ground.

"Applejack, I…" Twilight stammered, the words hitching on the cusp of a sob. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It was all my fault, a-and you got hurt, and y-you… you almost died, and—"

"Twilight." Applejack's voice was stern, and the alicorn it was addressed at flinched visibly. "Come 'ere."

Twilight looked like she was considering fleeing, but after a moment's hesitation she hung her head and trotted despondently to Applejack's bedside. She came to a stop on Applejack's right, all the while not looking up from her forehooves or the steady stream of tears that were dripping onto the white tile.

"Lean in closer; I can't reach ya." Again, Applejack's voice left no room for argument.

Twilight flinched, then slowly took a step closer to Applejack's bed. Once she was within reach, she squeezed her eyes shut and lifted her head. Twilight leaned forward slowly, tensing as if expecting to be struck.

Much to Twilight's surprise, Applejack didn't hit her. Instead, a pair of frail forelimbs came to rest around her shoulders. Twilight froze up, and Applejack could nearly see the gears turning in her friend's head. Finally, Twilight realized she was being hugged, and tentatively raised her own forelimbs to reciprocate.

Applejack leaned into the embrace, nuzzling against the side of Twilight's head.

"Sugarcube, you ain't got nothing to be sorry for."

One purple hoof disappeared from Applejack's back, and while she couldn't actually see it, she could clearly picture Twilight raising her foreleg like a foal in a classroom.

"A-Applejack," Twilight choked out. "I'm confused."

Applejack leaned back from the hug, slumping back into her pillows, and held both of her weak forehooves on Twilight's shoulders as she looked her in the eyes.

"Listen, Twilight, it wasn't your fault."

"Well, technically—"

"Ah, I said listen." Applejack put on a stern face. "You did nothing but your best. You never intended for anypony to get hurt, but you made an honest mistake. It ain't your fault any more than it's mine. I agreed to go on that trip, and you agreed to take us there. What happened in the middle ain't nopony's fault but… but…" Applejack trailed off with a shudder. She hoped her friends didn't notice, but she knew they did. There would be questions later.

"Just don't blame yourself, alright?" Applejack said, returning to her stern tone.

Twilight smiled shakily. "Alright."

The moment was broken when a small cluster of confetti flew across the room and landed all over Twilight, tangling bits and pieces in her mane.

"What?" Pinkie Pie shrugged in the face of five confused glares. "Wasn't that something worth celebrating?"

None of them could hold their glares long, and the room soon devolved into giggles. Even Twilight was chuckling as she fished bits of confetti out of her mane and deposited them in a nearby wastebasket.

When the sudden fit of giggles trailed off, Applejack addressed the room.

"Now, I'm sure y'all have plenty of questions, but I got a couple of my own first. To start, how long have I been lying here?"

Fluttershy stepped forward. "Oh, two whole days. We all took turns watching you and hoping you would wake up."

Applejack nodded thoughtfully. "But why Ponyville's hospital? Not that I'm complainin', mind you."

Twilight's head perked up at that. "Oh, yes, that has to do with exactly how you were, erm, retrieved."

Applejack nodded for her to go on.

"Well, I guess I'll have to explain a bit of backstory first. See, after the… incident with the airship's maiden voyage, I tabled that whole idea and began searching for alternative, safer methods of travel." She fidgeted a bit. "I… will admit, I was very much driven by, uh… well, your d-death. We really thought you were gone when we couldn't find a trace of you. Even Luna couldn't see your dreams, and that was what managed to convince us once and for all…"

The room lapsed into melancholy silence. Everypony looked down at their hooves as deep and unpleasant emotions were brought back to the surface.

Twilight cleared her throat and got back on track. "A-Anyway, I became a bit obsessed with creating a newer and safer way to travel, but my efforts did bear some fruit. I managed to design a long-range teleportation spell that operates with hundreds of times more power than a normal teleport. Of course, this also means it consumes hundreds of times more power. Until I can work that out, the idea is wildly impractical

"I couldn't execute the spell myself," Twilight gestured to her cracked horn, "but I was able to work with Princess Celestia to practice and test it. She would provide the power, while I formed the spell matrix and activated it."

"So…" Applejack tilted her head. "You teleported to the island? That don't explain how you found it though. Also don't explain why I'm in Ponyville…"

"Yes, I'm getting to that," Twilight replied. "As for how we found you… I'm not entirely sure how it happened. I… felt something. It's hard to explain. It was like a void suddenly appeared in the magic of the world, and was quickly filled back up. I can only assume that it had something to do with me being the Element of Magic, because none of the other princesses felt the disturbance.

"I immediately scanned the affected area, and saw a land mass that wasn't on any charts. More worrying still was the presence of a single, solitary living thing. Celestia and I teleported into the sky above the island — the spell is inaccurate if one is unfamiliar with a location, and I didn't want to risk warping into the side of a mountain. We flew down to investigate, but it took Celestia only a second to locate you with her magic."

Twilight paused, shuddering. "Celestia didn't just know where you were, she also sensed the… extent of your injuries. I've never seen her look so worried before. By the time we got to you…" Her voice faltered, and Twilight had to clear her throat to continue. "B-By the time we got to you, you were… you were already… you weren't breathing at all. I thought I was too late. To see you there, like that, after so long…"

When it became apparent that Twilight couldn't go on, Rarity stepped up. "You are fortunate that Princess Celestia was there. She was able to, erm, to restart your heart, if I understand correctly. Even then, you were in poor condition, and the princesses needed to get you to a hospital as quickly as possible. Now, I'm not as intimately familiar with the spell as Twilight, but I understand that she needs to clearly visualize the target area before she can teleport there."

Twilight nodded numbly, and Rarity continued, "As it happens, in all her time living in Canterlot Twilight had managed to entirely avoid the Canterlot General Hospital. She was, however, able to visualize Ponyville General, and here you are."

Twilight Sparkle was still shivering, and her eyes were staring vacantly ahead. "There was… a lot of blood."

"Oh, goodness." Fluttershy rushed over and draped a wing across Twilight's back. She rubbed up and down in soothing motions while offering whispered reassurances. It took a minute or so of this to calm Twilight down, and by then the room was in a somber mood.

"Awww, let's not be all sad-face," Pinkie Pie said to everypony present. "Come on, Applejack is back! Let's be happy and smiles about it."

The corner of Rarity's mouth twitched upward, and she looked up to meet Applejack's gaze with warm eyes. "We really are glad to have you back, darling. Really and truly."

"Aw, shucks." Applejack couldn't help the small grin on her own face. "I'm mighty happy to see you girls too. Don't ever think otherwise. Things were… things were pretty rough, I ain't gonna lie, but that's the past now." She offered Twilight an encouraging smile, which seemed to help somewhat.

Rainbow Dash leaned forward from where she sat on Applejack's right. "Hey, that reminds me. You say things were rough, but, like… what actually happened, AJ? You were off the face of the earth for almost two months, and then you turn up like, like—" she gestured vaguely towards Applejack, "—like this. What happened?"

Applejack shuddered heavily. She felt her breathing go shallow as her mind trailed back to that accursed island. All of the pain, all of the death she'd seen, all of the fear and the misery and the running. Had it really only been two months? It felt like years.

"Whoa! Hey! You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to!" Rainbow Dash's voice snapped Applejack back to reality.

She glanced around the room to see all five mares giving her looks that ranged from confusion to sadness. Applejack felt something wet trailing down her face, and reached one hoof up —with great difficulty— to wipe away tears she hadn't known she was shedding.

Rainbow Dash's wings twitched as she shifted back and forth on her hooves. "You, uh, you kinda zoned out for a second there. Sorry, that was my bad for bringin' that stuff up like that. You really don't have to talk about it. It's cool."

Applejack shook her head. "No, it'll do me good to get it all out, just… just not now, okay? I promise, I'll tell y'all exactly what happened, but n-not just yet." Before the mood could fall right back down again, Applejack quickly said, "Hey, could we maybe talk about something else instead?"

Rarity perked up. "Oh, I say, I do believe I have an idea."

"Is it a clothes idea?" Rainbow Dash deadpanned.

"Well, I suppose, yes—"

Rainbow Dash flung her hooves in the air. "Does anypony else have an idea?"

"Aha, hah hah, hahhh." Rarity didn't even attempt to hide her sarcasm. "You are ever so funny, Rainbow Dash."

"I try."

"Anyway," Rarity turned back to Applejack. "If you don't mind, I think I could design an absolutely smashing headpiece that could hide, well, you know…" Rarity's left ear flicked idly.

Applejack took the hint, but she only chuckled. "Thanks for the offer, Rarity, but I think I'm fine. Not that it's great, but I ain't gonna wear some fancy getup just to hide it. It's no big deal, really."

Rainbow Dash chimed in, "Yeah, go AJ! I think it looks cool!"

Rarity twitched, but managed to force out a nervous chuckle. "Oh, yes. It's certainly, ah, 'cool'."

Applejack was facing to her left, towards Rarity, but she suddenly felt a presence mere inches from her left shoulder. She reacted instinctively, and leapt away from the perceived danger. At least, she attempted to. Her body refused most of her commands, and all she ended up doing was flinching and twisting painfully to the side.

"Gah!" a pained yelp tore from her throat as the sudden movement irritated countless healing injuries. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy moved instantly, appearing at Applejack's side in a flash and holding her still.

Rainbow Dash eased Applejack back into a comfortable position while Fluttershy attempted to calm her down.

"Shh, shh, it's fine. You're okay. You're okay." Fluttershy's reassurances were helped by the fact that it was her speaking them. She could, and had, calmed down an angry manticore when the situation called for it.

Applejack felt her heart rate returning to normal, and her breathing evening out. Her chest felt like it was on fire, not to mention the rest of her, but she was able to calm down and relax into the comfortable bed. After a few moments of silence, a surprisingly quiet voice spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

Twilight turned to face Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie, what were you doing? You can't just sneak up on Applejack right now! She's been through a lot, and there has to be a recovery period!"

Pinkie Pie wilted slightly, her ears folding back against her head. "I was just waiting my turn to say something nice to Applejack, and I thought she'd appreciate it even more if I got reeaaly close before I said it, and I didn't want to interrupt Rarity so I stayed super quiet at first, and—"

"Pinkie," Applejack interrupted. She paused to wince, but managed a shaky smile of encouragement. "S'alright, really. I just gotta get used to things being normal again, that's all. Just gimme some time to adjust, and things'll be right as rain."

Pinkie Pie nodded seriously. "Okie dokie."

"Just what was it you were wantin' to say, anyhow?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I was wondering what kind of cake you wanted for your 'Applejack-is-back-home-and-totally-not-dead' party, and also what kind of streamers, and also what kind of punch, and also—"

"I'll let you handle those preparations, Pinkie," Applejack interrupted. "I trust your party pony…ness." Her eyes crossed momentarily. "I do have one suggestion, though. Might wanna give some thought to shortenin' the name a smidge. Maybe just an 'Applejack is back' party, hm?"

"Hee, alright."

A thought crossed Applejack's mind, and she turned to Fluttershy. "Say, Fluttershy, you happen to know how Winona's been doin'? I hope the poor gal got on alright without me."

"Oh…" Fluttershy winced slightly. "She's been… Well, she's seen better days, I think. Sorry. She's just been very lonely and sad ever since you, uh, left. Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh tried to cheer her up, but all she ever wanted to do was wait by the gate for you to come back. They even brought Winona to see me, but I couldn't get her to cheer up either. I'm sorry."

"Aw shoot. I suppose I expected as much." Applejack shook her head. "'Least the varmint'll be happier than a pig in mud when I get back to the farm, though. Heh, now that'll be a sight to see."

All six of them shared a giggle at the thought of Applejack's overly excitable pet collie.

The conversation turned to idle and unimportant things after that. Applejack did her best to pay attention, but found more often than not that she would miss entire threads of conversation by zoning out. Even worse, she would sometimes participate in a conversation for several minutes, and then immediately forget that it had even happened. It was frustrating, but Applejack tried not to let that show. Her friends had enough to worry about her already.

As they talked, Applejack felt her smiles being forced. She could tell that she was faking her laughter, and she wasn't sure why. She didn't want to burden her friends with it, so she simply went along with the conversation as if things were normal. All the while her eyes were twitching around the room unconsciously. Every shadow was scrutinized for movement, every opening or closing door in the same hallway sounded as loud as a cannon. There was just so much noise and movement and ponies everywhere. It was so much to take in.

"—Applejack?"

"Huh? What?" Applejack blinked. She had zoned out. Again. Inside she was cursing, but outside she simply chuckled and waved it off.

Twilight was understanding about it, and repeated herself calmly. "We were just saying goodnight. Visiting hours are over for today, but we'll all be back as soon as we can."

"Oh," Applejack replied. "Sure, yeah, thanks for comin' by and all."

They all gathered in for a loose semblance of a group hug, though nopony wanted to risk hurting Applejack so it didn't really work out. Nonetheless, various goodbyes were exchanged, and everypony filed back out into the hallway.

Applejack was left alone in the room.

She sank back down into the bed, grateful that she was still able to appreciate the comfort of a good bed. She lay there in the silence. The lack of a crackling and popping fire was distracting. A nurse popped in and flicked the lights off, plunging Applejack into darkness.

She shivered on her bed, but it wasn't cold. Her breath hitched on half a sob, but she had no idea why. When the tears began to fall, she wasn't really surprised, but she couldn't say why she was crying.

Applejack's sleep was plagued with nightmares.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The next day, Applejack was faced with a light brown unicorn doctor with an auburn mane. "Good morning, Miss Applejack. Or should I say good afternoon? You're certainly getting a good amount of sleep, I'll give you that."

His chipper attitude was already grating on Applejack. "Still hurt all over, but I got a question."

"Shoot," the doctor replied enthusiastically.

"Well, I was only out for two days, and I know full well just how badly I got hurt. So how am I sittin' here talkin' with nothing more than a bit of pain to complain about."

The doctor blinked. "Uh… well, firstly, what you're experiencing should be more than 'a bit of pain'." He glanced down at his chart. "You were admitted with multiple lacerations, a missing ear, four broken ribs, a shattered muzzle, a skull fracture, and severe blood loss." He paused, wincing. "And those are just the major ones."

Applejack's mouth hung open for several seconds before she could formulate a reply. When she finally did, all that came out was, "…How?!"

"How did we fix you?" The doctor smiled. "We happen to have a highly talented staff of unicorn doctors who specialize in emergency medical spells and advanced healing…" He trailed off as a small blush covered his cheeks. "It, uh, it might also have had something to do with the direct intervention by the Element of Magic and Princess Celestia."

Applejack blanched as she realized just how bad a state she'd been in. She'd never even heard of a pony hurt that badly.

"So…" Applejack started hesitantly. "The magic fixed me all up?"

The doctor fidgeted. "Not exactly, no. The princesses' magic stabilized you, and did kick-start the healing process a bit —you're able to eat solid food, for example— but your body is still in pretty rough shape. See, mostly what the magic did is… seal things up. All of your broken bones, all of your wounds, they're all being held together by a latticework of magic. Think of it like a magical cast, or magical bandages." He chuckled a bit. "Only they're better than any cast or bandages I've ever seen."

The doctor cast a scrutinizing eye over Applejack's reclining form. "That does beg the question, though: Why aren't you in more pain? Are you feeling any numbness, perhaps?"

"Uh…" Applejack blinked. She hadn't really thought about the pain she was feeling. After weeks of hunger pangs and a few… more painful injuries, she'd become quite good at pushing the pain to the back of her mind. She knew on some level that her entire body was exploding with agony, but she was mostly able to focus on other things.

"I suppose I just have a high tolerance, doc."

The doctor squinted at her. "Yes, well, I'm going to prescribe you some painkillers nonetheless. I'll send an orderly with your first bottle of pills, and you can take them home with you. Just remember to always follow the instruc—"

"What? H-Home!?" Appleajck sputtered, staring at the doctor with wide eyes.

"Hm?" He acted nonchalant, but Applejack could see an amused smile that he failed to hide. "Oh yes, that's one bit of news I forgot to mention. It seems we'll be checking you out later today."

Applejack gaped. "But how? I just got here!"

The doctor's smile slipped slightly, but he recovered his encouraging look quickly. "I'll be honest with you, Miss Applejack, it wasn't my idea. Personally, I would love to keep you here under observation, but, well, the word of two princesses overrides that of a lowly small-town doctor, I'm afraid.

"You see, both Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight have assured me multiple times that their spellwork will hold up just fine back at your farm." His gaze became stern as he said, "That doesn't mean you're allowed to go running around or doing any work. Like I said, you're still very injured, and you need plenty of rest to recover properly."

He sighed. "But, the princesses seemed adamant that your recovery would only be hastened by the presence of family and a familiar environment." He cleared his throat and looked back down at his paperwork. "Like I said, though, I'll be sending some painkillers with you, along with a prescription to get refilled if the need arises. Also, you'll be scheduled for a checkup once a week until you're recovered. If I see any sign that you aren't taking care of yourself back at the farm, I'll drag you back into a hospital bed myself."

Applejack chuckled, then weakly flopped one foreleg in a loose semblance of a salute. "Roger that, doc. I'll get plenty of rest. Not like I'm even capable of moving about much anyway." Applejack glared at her uncooperative limbs.

"Ah, yes," the doctor said. "About that…"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Applejack was not pouting. Her forelegs were crossed, and her face displayed a small frown beneath furrowed brows, but she was not pouting. She was legitimately angry.

Big Macintosh pushed her wheelchair along the road leading to the farm, and Applejack could do nothing but sit. It was embarrassing, it was humiliating, and it felt weird. Applejack was somewhat glad that there were few ponies around to see. The sun had already set by the time she was released, and most ponies were inside socializing or having dinner.

Of course, the few ponies that did see her gave Applejack the most sickening looks of extreme pity. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, and she was glad for their concern, but the level of pity on display just made it feel like they were looking down at her. She would smile and offer a weak wave, but as soon as they turned away, Applejack went back to pouting.

"I'm not an invalid, Big Macintosh!" Applejack suddenly exclaimed, breaking the silence between them.

"Eeyup," his low agreement rumbled from behind her.

"I just want you to know that I'll be back on my hooves in a jiffy. The princess cast some fancy magic on me and everything. You ain't gonna be carting me around like this for long."

"Eeyup."

"So don't get too smug about it, y'hear? I don't wanna hear so much as a peep about all this outta you, ya got that?"

"Eeyup."

They fell back into silence. The only sound was the steady rumble of the wheelchair's wheels against the hard-packed dirt road. Birds chirped distantly as they settled down for the night, and the voices of ponies engaged in pleasant conversation drifted by as wordless noise. It felt surreal, and Applejack couldn't help a small shiver.

"H-Hey, Big Mac?" Applejack winced at the hitch in her voice.

"…Eeyup?"

"I… I really missed you. All of y'all. It's good to be… to be back. I-I love ya, big brother."

Applejack couldn't see him, but she could hear the smile in his voice as Big Mac replied, "Love you too, little sis."

Applejack felt a little better, but another shiver still worked its way through her despite the warm summer night.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


When they arrived back at the farmhouse, two tiny critters waited outside to greet them. Apple Bloom and Winona raced forth and crowded around Applejack. Winona leapt up into her lap, causing Applejack to wince for a moment, while Apple Bloom fretfully tried to get as close as possible to her big sister without climbing on top of the wheelchair.

Tears were shed on both sides, but there were plenty of smiles to go around too. Winona barked happily and licked at Applejack's face as Big Mac wheeled her into the house. Granny Smith waited inside with a tear-rimmed, matronly smile. The expression was filled with enough warmth to momentarily banish Applejack's unpleasant shivering, and she simply basked in the presence of her family for several minutes.

Somepony might have spoken, but Applejack was only half listening. Whatever words were exchanged, they were far less important than the company they came with. There were no questions, not yet at least. Four ponies merely relished in the presence of one another.

After a while, though, Applejack found herself growing tired. She would have loved to stay up all night with her family, but she had promised to get plenty of rest. Big Mac had to carry her up the stairs, which Applejack declined to comment on, but she was able to stand on her own four hooves once they reached the second floor hallway.

"I'm tellin' you, Big Mac, I'll be fine. I can walk ten steps to my own bedroom, thank you very much." She stood up to her full height and held herself with confidence, looking almost like her old, strong self for a moment.

Her brother shot her a careful look, but eventually sighed and nodded his head.

Applejack smirked. "Darn tootin'. Now get downstairs and help Apple Bloom get ready for bed. She ain't old enough to complain about it yet."

Big Mac chuckled, then trotted his way back down the staircase and around the corner. The second he was out of sight, Applejack slumped like a deflated balloon. Just holding herself upright was a struggle, not that she would ever tell him that. Still, the sooner she could collapse in bed, the better.

She limped slowly down the hallway. Each step took a grand effort, and after just a few she was forced to lean against the wall for support. Her remaining ear flicked in irritation, but she pressed on. She'd been through worse after all.

That thought only made things worse, as her eyes began to glance about for signs of danger. Her left foreleg felt naked without the knife strapped to it, and Applejack wished she had a nice, bright fire she could huddle close to.

Fortunately, she reached her room soon enough. Applejack leaned into the door and pushed it open, then stumbled inside and made for her bed. When she reached her bed, however, Applejack froze in surprise. She blinked furiously, attempting to discern if she was only seeing things, but nothing changed. Sure enough, sitting on the bed before her, was a small, familiar, gold locket.

Applejack's hoof shook something fierce as she tentatively reached towards the locket. She picked it up reverently, and flipped the latch open, not sure what to expect. Sure enough, a smiling stranger beamed out at her with almost infectious cheeriness. It was a face Applejack had no name for, but one she'd come to recognize in her time on the island.

She glanced around desperately for some explanation, and found it in the form of a note lying on her bed. Applejack snatched the note up and read it quickly.

Applejack,

You were wearing this when we found you. We were unsure of its significance, so I decided to put it with the rest of your effects in your bedroom for when you make your recovery. I hope you don't mind.

-Twilight Sparkle

That explained that, but… the rest of her effects? Applejack looked around the room and spotted what the note was talking about. Pinkie's old saddlebags —dirtied to the point of being unrecognizable— hung from a hat rack in the corner of her room, along with the knife sheath.

Applejack carefully walked over towards them. The sheath was empty, of course. Applejack ran a hoof along it slowly, her mind filled with memories both good and bad. The saddlebags hadn't been touched, and were still filled with the supplies that Applejack had brought with her down into the facility. All of that was pretty much useless now, she supposed. Still, it was nice of Twilight not to throw it away.

The saddlebags had been stained with blood when Applejack had found them, and it had stood out sharply from their original white coloration. Now, after months of constant use in the jungle, the bags were more of a dull brown, and it took her a moment longer to spot the blood.

New blood. Her blood. The saddlebags were marred all over with huge splotches of red. Applejack could see it, now that she was standing close to them. The sight of so much blood brought a spike of pain to the long knife wounds on Applejack's side and flank. She winced and stumbled back, away from the ruined saddlebags.

As she backtrotted, her gaze happened across a full length mirror sitting against the wall. Applejack blinked, then slowly stepped in front of the mirror to examine herself.

She barely recognized the pony staring back at her. She was skinny and gaunt, something that her friends had kindly neglected to mention. Her eyes looked out dully from sunken sockets, and a single ear stuck out asymmetrically from her head. She twisted a bit, and caught sight of the two massive, angry slashes that marred her coat. The long red lines would be scars someday, she was sure of that. Even the rest of her was covered in bumps and bruises that her coat didn't quite manage to conceal.

In short, she looked terrible. Yet, at the same time, the mirror reflected the room around her. It was warm, cozy, and inviting. A large, plush bed was set neatly in the corner, and the room was paneled in wood that gave it a down-to-earth, homey feeling. The door was painted with a single, red apple in the center, and a painting hung above the bed featuring a happy pony prancing among flowers.

It was… too nice. Applejack felt out of place. There was no way she could fit into this place. She was gross, and damaged, and weak. She couldn't be there, it just wasn't possible.

Applejack felt her breathing quicken, and her heart rate increase. It wasn't right. It wasn't real. She began to shiver uncontrollably, and tears were blurring her vision. Any second now, she would wake up. She would wake up and be back on the island, or be bleeding out on the floor of the control room. She wasn't home, there was no way she was home. She didn't get to go home!

Applejack collapsed to her haunches. It was becoming difficult to breathe. She desperately struggled to gasp in air, but choked and coughed and sputtered. Her heartbeat thudded loudly in her ears, and she hugged herself as she rocked back and forth.

Applejack's single ear twitched as something tapped against her bedroom window. She froze, falling silent as she stared in horror at the pitch-blackness beyond the glass. Without warning, the window slid open to admit a dark shape that flopped onto the floor with a high-pitched yelp.

Applejack tried to get up, to fight, but her hooves only tangled and she barely managed to stumble to a standing position. Then the dark shape stood up quickly, and resolved itself into—

"Pinkie Pie!?" Applejack's mouth hung wide open. Her brain took a moment to restart, and then she said, "What in the hay, Pinkie? You nearly gave me a h-heart attack."

As Applejack's heart rate and breathing returned to normal, she realized that her cheeks were covered in tears. She quickly wiped them away, but knew that Pinkie had already seen everything.

When Pinkie Pie didn't respond, Applejack made to ask again. "Why did you—"

She was cut off by something very pink, and very soft. Pinkie's forelegs wrapped around Applejack in a warm embrace, and her vision was filled completely by a poofy pink mane. Applejack's mouth opened and closed soundlessly for a few moments, before she shuddered heavily and relaxed into the embrace.

"Pinkie?" Applejack asked, her voice muffled slightly by pink mane. "What are you doing?"

Despite the question, she hoped desperately that her friend wouldn't stop.

"You seemed like you needed a hug," Pinkie stated simply.

Applejack blinked. "In my house, in the middle of the night?"

"Yes."

"…Okay."

Applejack buried her face in Pinkie's shoulder, sniffling. It didn't take long for the sniffling to devolve into full-on sobs. Pinkie merely held her in silence as Applejack cried more honestly than she ever had in her life. She let everything out, and it was several minutes before she was able to speak again.

"H-Hey, Pinkie?" Applejack sniffled one last time.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Pinkie smiled. Applejack had no idea how she knew this, since neither of them could see the other's face, but Pinkie Pie grinned widely.

"You're welcome. Do you want a cupcake? I also brought cupcakes."

Applejack chuckled, and the smile that followed it was more genuine than any she'd had since waking up in the hospital.

"No, I think this is fine."

Gone was the cold fear that had persisted deep in her core. Gone was the urge to break down into sobs at any moment. She no longer felt that she would have to fake smiles and pretend to laugh for the rest of her life. She didn't quite feel back to normal, not yet, but she felt like she'd taken a great leap in that direction. A soft warmth was spreading out inside her, and it was slowly but surely banishing every bit of damage that the island had done to her.

"You're home, AJ." Pinkie's voice was surprisingly quiet, though no less chipper.

"Yeah," Applejack said, slowly.

In that moment, she finally saw the truth behind that statement. She smiled widely, even though she knew Pinkie couldn't see it.

She was home. Applejack slept soundly that night.




The End