//------------------------------// // Back on Her Hooves // Story: A Long Life // by pertelote345 //------------------------------// Apple Jack I woke up bleary eyed and sick, Ah my old friend anesthetic... Granted the stuff had saved who knows how many people from a pointless surgical death, but you couldn't say much for the side effects. I processed it quickly though. High metabolism... not as high as when I was younger, but still. I blinked blearily and managed to raise my head a little. "Apple Jack?" came a voice. I turned my head and was very surprised to see Princess Luna. A small mountain of stuffed animals, get well cards and candy sat next to her. I was impressed. Probably half of it came from Pinkie Pie, but still. The Night Princess on the other hand was sitting in a small hospital chair underneath a TV as old as I was reading a magazine as old as she was. She put the magazine down and walked over to me. I forced my tounge to work. "C'n I get the details about Slice, Twilight, and me in that order?" She nodded. "Slice was apprehended and is being transported to Tartarus. Twilight is safe, after a brief encounter with... what appeared to be herself from a year in the future..." I heard the heart monitor tick up a notch. "...who had little to say to her aside from more details on the nature of time travel which we'll have to take some time to parse out. She then encountered a very, very large welcoming party for her set up by Pinkie Pie." She winced, "Personally I'm not sure throwing a raucous party for a pony who'd gone through so much recently was the most well thought out act the element of laughter has ever performed." I nodded. I'd have to have a talk with her about that... "And as for you," Luna continued, "you broke a rib and punctured your lung left. Even with the adrenal boost I'm surprised you could move, let alone fight. You also have a very nasty bruise around your neck..." She looked off for a moment. With a tremendous effort of will I reached out a hoof and gave her a pat. "You did good." She smiled softly. "I'm sorry I interrupted the dream though. It seemed like a nice one." I sighed. "Yeah, it was... Pretty weird though." "Do you really think Derrick and Big Macintosh would make a good couple?" she asked. I groaned. "There's a special level of Tartarus for shippers." She smirked. "Still..." I shook my head, which was a mistake. Once my vision cleared again I continued. "Look, my subconscious thinks up weird stuff sometimes. I love both those boys, but I don't think it would work between 'em. The age difference..." "Chell and Spike make it work." Luna noted. "That's because that dragon is a hopeless romantic. Now can you help me off this bed? If we keep this up poor Cadence will be out of a job." The princess of the night winced. "As much as I'd like to see the aftermath of Twilight's Party I'm not sure you moving would be wise. The doctors said-" "Doctors say a lot of things, if I leave this bed am I going to buy the farm?" "You've bought many farms." She replied. "Ha Ha, you know what I mean." She looked off to the side. "It would be highly unlikely for you to die from the wounds you received today..." I was already picking myself up. "However your heart is another matter." I stopped. "What do you mean?" She levitated over my chart. "Your attack could indicate serious heart disease." I scanned the chart. "This here says that I suffered a 'mild attack with limited heart damage'. I'm no doctor, but that doesn't sound too bad to me." I hauled myself over to the side of the bed Luna narrowed her eyes. "Applejack there is no such thing as a 'mild' heart attack." "Well then, I guess them doctors need to go back to- agh!" Pain shot through my side as my hooves hit the ground. Luna was at my side in an instant. "NURSE! IN HERE NOW!" She bellowed. I waved her off frantically. "I'm fine!" "Thou dost not seem fine! Thou art clearly affrighted once more! Get thee to bed!" Three nurses poured into the room with an intern and a crash cart. "My rib hurt okay!" I shouted, backing into the bead and throwing my forehoves out. "No attack! No nothing! My rib hurt and I wasn't ready for it! I'm fine!" The doctors paused. Luna's horn glowed for a moment and I felt a tingle as she scanned me. She let out a breath, "She speaks the truth. Please return to your rounds." The confused hospital staff backed slowly out of the room, their cart creaking away. Once they were gone, I put a hoof on her shoulder. "You alright sugarcube?" She shivered. "I'm sorry... I just don't... I don't want to lose you. We've all lost far too much." She pulled me into a hug. I returned it as best I could manage. "For a moment I thought I'd killed you..." She whispered. I hugged her tight. Ribs be damned. "You saved my life Luna, just like you've done I reckon... heck, I've lost count. I ain't plannin' on going anywhere, especially not with Twi back." She shook her head. "No one plans... well I guess they do but-" I held up a hoof. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'll cut out all the butter and you can pick me a live-in nurse, but I've already got a clinic in the Apple building and a paranoid bunch of body guards. More importantly I've got a friend who I haven't seen in a century and a half there." I looked down. "I've wasted enough of my life in hospitals..." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Very well." She said finally. That said, she enveloped us in the blue light of her magic and in a flash we vanished. # Apple Jack To my surprise, we reappeared on the broad, flat top of the Apple Building. Lying there, passed out on his back was Spike, wearing a massive, somewhat tussled party hat. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust but when they did I noticed Pinkie pie, Twilight, and to my extreme shock Celestia all lying on his enourmous belly using his left wing as a blanket. We just stopped for a moment and stared. Finally I poked at my ribs and considered my options. "Luna could you be a darling and fetch me a sleeping bag?"