//------------------------------// // Denial // Story: Applejack's Misfortune // by SpunkyBrony //------------------------------// Denial: Applebloom, Applejack and Big Mac rushed to the front desk and asked to see Granny Smith immediately, without any problem they were sent straight to the room Granny Smith was administered to. When the Ponies saw Granny Smith wired to multiple tubes coming from beeping machines they were immediately stricken with dread and sadness, Applebloom couldn’t help but cry and throw herself into Macintosh’s arms; Applejack held back her tears and tried to move closer to Granny Smith but was stopped by a doctor who needed her attention. “Are you the Apple Family?” asked the doctor. “Yeah, a smidge of the family” Applejack responded trying to move around the doctor. The doctor stepped in front Applejack to stop her route, “Ok, we’ve administered her some nitro-glycerine tablets, applied medication to mask any pain and have taken some tests, were just waiting for results right now.” Applejack tried her best to listen to anything the doctor was explaining but her mind was completely fixated on Granny Smith, the world around her seemed to spin, when the doctor was done Applejack made her way to Granny Smith and sat silently next to her. “She'll be okay... right sis?” asked Applebloom though her tears. Applejack tried her best to speak but the lump in throat hindered her ability to speak so she whispered in anguish, “Ah don’t know.” The three Ponies sat quietly next to Granny Smith for the next few hours until the doctor appeared; Applejack immediately asked the doctor a bombardment of questions, “How is it?” “Will Granny be okay?” “What’s happening?” The doctor asked Applejack to leave the room with him, Applejack was reluctant to leave but she knew she had to take responsibility for now. When Applejack and the doctor were hidden behind the door the doctor began to speak, “The results aren’t good; as far as we can see you have only two choices. The first choice is that we can give the patient a lethal injection and she will pass on.” Applejack couldn’t believe what she was hearing, the very thought of Granny Smith passing on brought her tears immediately, no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. Applejack wiped away her tears but they seemed to come back as fast as she could remove them away, “What’s the other choice?” The doctor was reluctant to answer but knew it was his duty to answer their questions, “You can let her live for another 4 hours until her coronary muscle blocks the blood flow and she dies in a very painful manner.” Applejack froze, her mind went blank and every emotion left her body, Applejack’s mouth was filled with a bitter taste and her legs felt like jelly. When she left the doctor and joined the other Apple’s she found it hard to keep the truth from them when they continuously pried into the events that unfolded so she answered every one of their questions. When Applebloom heard the choices she returned to her crying fit and once again threw herself into Big Mac’s arm who was now tearing up. Applejack sat herself next to Granny Smith and held her face in her hooves for the next 2 hours; all the while she constantly denied the choices she was given, “There's gotta be another way” Applejack constantly whispered to herself “It aint true.” Suddenly the same doctor that had given Applejack the horrifying news trotted in and asked them what their decision was. Applejack was quick to reply while dodging his question, “Aint there another choice?” “Can't we perform some sort of surgery?” Applejack could feel the hope in her heart smash into millions of pieces when the doctor answered with the slow shaking of his head, “If you had brought her in earlier then she might have lived longer.” Applejack couldn’t believe this, the Pony that taught her so much and had so much to teach still was going to die within a short while, the Pony that knew so much about Ponyville’s legacy would be gone, Granny Smith would never experience another Apple Family reunion. Applejack didn't want to answer at the moment, or ever in her life, so she joined the other Ponies and discussed the choices. "Applejack, we can't let her die in pain" Applebloom pleaded. "Eeyup" Big Mac agreed through his tears. "What's your choice?" Applejack was shocked and even more miserable when the other Ponies could accept this, how they could give up on Family. Applejack didn't want to accept that this was real but she had to make a choice, "I- Applejack was stopped by the lump rising in her throat, "I'm... I'm..." Applejack looked to the plastic layered floor and wished time would stop, wished she could run from this grievance but her pleas were not heard or answered. "I'm going home." Applejack turned to the doorway, tears pouring from her eyes, just as she left the doctor entered the room, the door slithered into the doorway but Applejack found it hard to pull herself from the room when she heard sounds emitting from the room. "Are you sure about this?" the voice asked. "Yes" a sobbing voice answered, it was then accompanied by a scragged "Eeyup." Suddenly the world was quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the cacophony of beeps from the numerous machines connected to Granny Smith but even the machines started to fit the silent tone until only one machine could be heard and its constant beeping, 'beep' 'beep' 'beep' Applejack didn't have to guess to know this was Granny Smith's heart-rate monitor but then the sound started to slow. With each beep Applejack could feel the horrifying truth creep closer, but she still denied it. The constant noise started to lose its rhythmic beat and the 'beep' 'beep' 'beep' turned into a 'beep...' 'beep...' until the individual sounds slowed into one constant noise. Applejack felt today's breakfast reach into her throat and her vision turn white, however Applejack managed to keep breakfast from leaving her stomach and keep her balance, she couldn't stand to be stuck in a hospital any longer so she galloped to the barn only to face even worse horrors. The blood Granny Smith had coughed up was stained to the floor and broken shards of plates were scattered across the floor. Applejack couldn't stand it, the facts were too much to bear and accept so Applejack ignored any reminders of Granny Smith and trudged to her room.