//------------------------------//
// Visitations 
// Story: DragonWrath 
// by JynxJaguar 
//------------------------------//

   It had been two weeks, and Spike was still in a coma. He lay in Twilight's bed, in the best spot, right where the Sun came through the nicest. All his friends came to visit him, but according to both Dr. Horse and Zecora, visitors had to be one at a time and no more than an hour each.
Spike's wounds were healing well, but the ones on his side were going to leave a nasty set of scars for the rest of his life. The Doctor almost added something to that prognosis, but decided to keep it to himself for the sake of propriety. He had lost a tremendous amount of blood, which, along with the heavy shock-trauma, was almost certainly the culprit in his current comatose state. The Doctor was glad when Twilight didn't ask how long he would be in this state. He didn't want to tell her it didn't seem likely to be a short time. Maybe never.
So Twilight changed his bandages and saw to his feeding and other care. She fell behind on her studies because she couldn't concentrate. She would study in the bedroom with Spike until a visitor called, then she would move to her desk, then back to the bedroom after they left, but she didn't disturb him, as per the doc and witch doctor's orders. At night, she would curl up next to him and weep gently as she watched his sleeping face until she drifted off herself.
Applejack came by with hot cider, renowned for its medicinal powers,  at least according to her, and fed it to him while she told stories of the family and the goings-on about the ranch and who got in a dust-up with who. She told him all about how the ponies were coming together and rebuilding the ruined side of Ponyville (though she neglected to mention the behind the few hoof talks about what should be done about the dragon menace and how she'd nearly wound up in a couple of dust ups herself).
When she left the room, Twilight asked, "Is everyone still upset about Spike?"
AJ shrugged. "Most the one's I meet ain't. Ain't been a whole lot I met, though. There's a certain pony named Brighthorn who's gonna catch hoof-in-mouth disease if he keeps up the way he's goin', though."
"Is it bad?" Twilight asked, hopping off her stool.
"Not right now. It's mostly just talk, but half of it's wrong, and the other half ain't right. And he talks to everybody. Ah just don't like hearin' the accusations. Keeps it up, they're gonna wind up callin' him Butthorn, 'cuz I'm gonna shove his head..."
"AJ. Please don't." Twilight didn't know if AJ was serious, but it was wiser to make sure. "It's going to be hard enough without you beating up other ponies over this."
The feisty filly looked a tad miffed. "It'd just be this one, and that's all it'd take." She thought, then sighed. "Yeah, guess you're right. It'd go 'gainst everything Dash's been doin'."
Twilight's brow furrowed. "Dash?"
AJ smiled. "Yeah. She's been talking to all the pegasuses that was there fightin'."
Twilight couldn't help her correcting speech. "Pegasi."
"Yeah, them too. Anyway, she's been makin' real progress with that Honeywing kid. You oughta talk to her about it."
"I'll do that. Thanks for stopping by, AJ. And for the cider."
"Don't mention it." She said it off-handedly, but looked pleased. "I'm just hopin' it works."
Fluttershy stopped in every day with fresh flowers and stayed for a while with him. Even with him being asleep, she rarely talked above her little Fluttershy voice. She kept him up to date on whatever she'd seen that day, mostly about the animals, and made sure that he was tucked in and warm.
Pinkie stopped by at odd hours during the day, her cheerful personality a (mostly) welcome presence in the otherwise quiet library. She talked at great length about the party that was going to be thrown when he woke up, and all the ponies that would be there, etcetera, etcetera. She also told him jokes and anecdotes she'd picked up over the course of the day, though she messed most of them up or outright mixed some together.
Dash sat with him and talked about how he was a hero, and how brave he was, and how the rebuilding was coming along well, and how that little filly Honeywing was doing.
Dash walked out of the room and Twilight said, "Thanks, Dash."
The blue pony cocked her head. "Huh? He's a buddy, you always check up on your buddies."
"No, no, I mean about talking to the pegasi that were at the battle. AJ told me."
Dash smiled. "Oh. Yeah, no problem. Most of them know it wasn't him that was destroying everything. I was mostly worried about Honeywing. She's bouncing back pretty well, and she's coming around to the idea that Good Spike saved us from Bad Spike, and that Bad Spike's not going to come back."
Twilight's eyes darkened. "I certainly hope that's the case."
"Me too," Dash said as she walked toward the door. "Of course, I'd really like to know where it came FROM. See ya, Twi."
Twilight was surprised that Dash's though had not occurred to her since the battle. She'd been so distracted with Spike and so harried that wouldn't let herself think about anything else. She looked to her shelves and decided research on that would have to wait until Spike was better. In her current state of mind, she couldn't afford mistakes. She was too nervous.
Of course, if one to consider the word 'nervous', they wouldn't have to look much further than Rarity. She was close to a breakdown, though she maintained her demeanor, which was a scary combination. She was also in every day, with a fresh batch of warm but very fashionable blankets and changed Spike's bedding with infinite care, talking to him about all the things they were going to do when he got better, all the festivals she wanted him to take her to, all the fashion shows she wanted him to attend with her, all the fun they would have together, where they would have dinner and take long walks together, everything they would do together, which seemed to be everything outside of conquer a small nation together and that might only have been because she hadn't planned that far ahead. Yet.
On the fifth day of her visits, she had given Spike a shaky little laugh and wished him a wonderful day with a kiss on the cheek. When Twilight saw her come out, she mentioned, purely out of off-handed kindness because she knew how much appearance meant to Rarity, "Your mane is a little..." she didn't know what the politest word to use would be.
"Hm?" She looked to Twi and noticed her point. "Oh, dear, it's just been so chaotic lately, I'm surprised there's still any style left to it at all!" She went to a mirror  and noted the stray hairs and  began brushing them into place. "I mean, with so many orders and the rebuilding, not to mention the festivals coming up and I simply MUST have all my designs set up SO long in advance, and Spike...." She stopped and her hoof lowered as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her brow started to furrow and she started to cry, turning away from the mirror. Twilight went to her and Rarity laid her head on Twi's shoulder. The two held each other and Twilight felt her own eyes start to well up.
"Oh, I do miss him so." Rarity sobbed. "He was always so sweet to everyone, and generous to a fault. He was always on the verge of telling me he loved me...." She sniffed and looked Twilight in the eye. ".... I was just afraid that if he ever told me, I wouldn't be able to answer him. At first... it was because I was afraid because nopony could ever love a dragon that way and I'd hurt him. Later... it was because I did love him, and I was afraid I couldn't say it and hurt him worse."
Twilight smiled understandingly and touched horns with her. "It just seems to be the hardest thing in the world to say when you really mean it."
Rarity smiled back, calming down greatly, but the smile was bittersweet. "It is. I can tell him that now... but I want to tell him face to face, eye to eye. It will mean everything.... to me." She broke the embrace and walked to the door. "I'll be back tomorrow, all right?"
"Of course." As an aside, she said, "Spike always said your eyes were the most perfect gems he'd ever seen."
She stopped before she stepped out and cast a glance over her shoulder. "Really? I've always thought my eyes had a lovely shine. But have you ever looked at Spike's? They.... Sparkle."Her smile widened and she stepped out.
Twilight's oddest visitor came calling the very next day. She had just finished organizing a row of books when she a peculiar series of knocks at the door.
Toc-toc-THUD.
Toc-toc-THUD.
Curious, Twilight answered the door and Derpy fell inside the door with one hoof raised. On the arm of the raised hoof was Derpy's mailbag, and Twilight quickly surmised what had happened: Derpy had started knocking, but the weight on her arm pulled her forward and she hit her head on the door on the third rap.
She was back on her feet in a flash, he daffily ever present smile on her face. "Hi, Twilight!"
"Hello Derpy. Is there something I can help you with?"
"There sure is! I've got a delivery!" Pleased as punch about it, too, Twilight thought.
"Thanks, do I have to sign for it?" Twilight levitated a quill over.
"Nope!" Derpy shook her head emphatically. "It's not for you, it's for Spike!" She slid her pack off and started to rummage, though there wasn't really that much to got through.
"Spike?" Twilight was unsure whether the delivery pony knew what kind of condition Spike was in. In terms that seemed oddly appropriate for a pegasus, she was flighty. "Derpy... Spike is... "
"Asleep! I know!" She was just so matter of fact that Twilight just watched as the gray pony finally pulled out a small wrapped box. "Here it is!"
Twilight read the label. It was indeed to Spike, and the sender..... was Derpy.
"You... Wait... you sent Spike something by mail." She was confused.
"Uh huh." She nodded enthusiastically.
"The mail... that you deliver."
"Well.... yeah!" Derpy said, cocking her head to the side. "How else is it gonna get here?"
Twilight blinked. It made an odd kind of sense, and it was just a perfectly Derpy thought.
Derpy looked past her to her room. "Can I deliver it? Pleeeease?"
Twilight thought about it. Derpy was being nice in her sweetly innocent way, but she was also very accident-prone. Another look at her wide eyes told Twilight that she had let everyone else see Spike, it would be impolite and mean not to let Derpy visit with him.
"All right, but you have to be very careful while you're in there, okay?"
"You bet!" She responded as she she walked by Twilight and right into a table.
Twilight stayed nervous after Derpy had gone inside. She paced for about thirty minutes and although she knew it was impolite, she peeked around the door to make the room was.... well, still there.
Derpy's head rested on one hoof on the bed, the other gently stroking Spike's forehead and she wasn't saying a word. Her face didn't show worry, just that smile that showed her simple joy of the world around her. Twilight laid her head against the door and watched, a smile of her own widening her lips.
She went back to her organization and let Derpy finish her visit. When the klutzy filly came out, Twilight said. "Thank you for coming by, Derpy."
She looked around. "Huh?" She asked, then it sank in. "Oh, sure, no problem! I had to come by!"
Twilight's curiosity was roused. "Really? Why is that?"
The cock-eyed filly seemed to try to frame her response and said, "Well, he fell down!"
"What?"
"See, this one time, Spike was getting a picture of me, and while I was posing, I fell down. He came over and asked if I was all right. Nobody ever asks if I'm all right when I fall, 'cause it happens a lot." Twilight felt a twinge at that. "It's okay, I don't get hurt. But it was nice of him to ask. He was worried when I fell down. Now I came to make sure he's not hurt 'cause he fell down. I was quiet, though, since he was asleep. I want him to wake up so I can ask him if he's all right. But he'll wake up when he's ready."
Twilight softened. She was a ditz and accident prone and had six left hooves, but she was also one of the sweetest natured ponies in Equestria.
"Well," she said perkily. "I gotta go, gotta get my mailbag back!" She took six steps, stopped and turned around. "Oops, gotta get the mailbag!" She retrieved the bag and slung it on. "I hope Spike likes his package!"
She was almost at the door when Twilight said, "Derpy?"
She spun around giddily and almost fell down. "Yeah?"
"Would you... come back and see him again?"
Her eyes brightened. "Can I?" She was excited.
Twilight smiled. "Any time you like."
"Yay!" she said, and turned to go. She missed the door by seven inches. "Oops!" she said, and then she was gone.
Curious, Twilight went into the bedroom to see what Derpy had given him. She magically opened the package and had to stifle a laugh.
It was a muffin. It was almost a gem muffin, like Spike favored, but Derpy had probably not known how to order one. So she had gotten a regular muffin and stuck gem encrusted jewelry all through it: earrings, necklaces, bracelets, tiaras.... the muffin was stuffed with more accessories than one pony could ever wear. It was a pure Derpy gift, and it was lovely.
"Thanks, Derpy," Twilight said aloud, and put a preservation spell on it.
Aside from the very close friends and most of the kids Spike and Twilight knew, the other visitors were fewer and farther between as the second week started coming to a close. Twilight was still behind in her studies, and she was afraid Princess Celestia might grow impatient with how badly she was lagging, but the harder she tried, the less she seemed to get accomplished. She began to worry that Spike might be seen as a distraction, and although Celestia was a kind mentor, she also didn't like the idea of Spike being taken from her.
Even with all the food and cider being fed to him, Spike was slowly getting thinner.
So was Twilight. Still she maintained her routine, and AJ eventually started bringing a different batch of cider for her as well, one that would help her sleep a bit easier. All the others began showing concern for her too, but she was always ready with a smile and half-promises to eat more and get more sleep, but they could all see the worries piling up on her. She had a mountain's worth of weight on her and rocks kept being thrown on. Her best comfort was when she curled up with Spike at night. Although she couldn't sleep well, she just felt better with him close to her.
It was the afternoon of the fifteenth day when the visit Twilight dreaded finally arrived.