//------------------------------// // That which is left behind- 1 // Story: Essence of a Sunrise: That which is Left Behind // by maxxxxxx //------------------------------// W-what happened? Sunrise thought, her mind a haze and her memories foggy. As she opened her eyes, she found herself in a dark place devoid of sensation or sound. Her body was weak, she struggled to pull her own weight up, she trembled from exertion as she got to her hooves. Despite her fatigue, she felt a strange absence of something, something that she had known her whole life: Pain. '“Where...”' She began to whisper out loud, stopping suddenly as memories came rushing back. “Tw- Twilight... Twilight!” Sunrise began to panic, her eyes widened as she frantically swung her head back and forth. I was out side, I was going to meet up with Scootaloo and then? What happened to me? Something- “Fluttershy. That's right, she found me and we were talking, but what happened after that? Okay, I need to stay calm.” She tried to calm her trembling body, preparing to draw in a deep breath. No! This can't be! To her horror, she found her lungs would not respond, she wasn't breathing. “What's going on?! I- I can't breath!” “Sunrise.” A whisper in the dark called out, gently. It came from every direction, stealing Sunrise's thoughts from her body to the void surrounding her. “Twilight! Twilight is that you?!” She called out, a glimmer of hope coming to her eyes. “Sunrise… you have to help me.” The voice was forlorn and distant… but it seemed familiar to Sunrise, like a vague and distant memory. “Who are you? Where am I? Please, you have to help me! How do I get home!?” Sunrise pleaded, fear seeping in where hope had formed. She noticed through her fear, that her heart wasn't racing… it wasn't beating at all. “Sunrise, you have to tell her… that I'm still here.” “T-tell who? Who are you?!” Tears pooled in her eyes, she tried to suppressed them, but she could feel them, nearly ready to pour down her face. In her fore mind, she thought of her home with Twilight, her new friends, she even tried to focus on her fear of where she might be, but in the back of her mind, a heartbreaking and terrifying conclusion had formed, she tried not to think of it, to put her mind anywhere else but there, but deep down, she knew she couldn't lie to herself. This voice, it's… R-Rainb- ********************************************************************* “Clear!” A loud voice shouted. “Wait! She's coming back into rhythm and her blood pressure is stabilizing!” Another voice said frantically. Sunrise felt an immense pain in her chest, it burned, it was sore and it was tight. Then, she smelled the scent of singed fur and the unmistakable scent of cleaners and medicine. I'm back in the hospital… Slowly, she opened her eyes. An overwhelmingly bright light from above blinded her, a shadow then fell between the harsh white light and her eyes. It was a familiar silhouette, even though she could hardly distinguish her features, Sunrise knew right away who it was. She strained a smile and took as deep a breath as she could. “Twilight, I'm sorry I let this happen.” “Now isn't the time for apologies Sunrise.” Twilight's voice was hoarse and quivering, Sunrise knew she must have been crying for a while. Her heart sank, she struggled to reach her hoof up to comfort her, but her body was too weak. “Y-you shouldn't strain yourself right now, you need to focus on getting better.” “That's right, you had better do just as Twilight and the doctors say or you'll be stuck here for Celestia knows how long, and I'm sure you'll get as tired of this drab décor as I am.” Sunrise was taken aback by the new voice, she almost couldn't believe it, but there was no doubt. “Rarity?” Sunrise asked weakly. “You got it!” and excited and bubbly voice chimed. “You're win! You're the guesstest bester! Oh I mean the bestest guesser ever! Now guess how many balloons are in your room? Trick question! The answer is all of them!” “Pinkie Pie? Is that you?” In response came a loud and dragged out gasp. “You did it again! You're good at this!” “Calm down Pinkie, you're gonna make her heart freak out again!” A young voice scolded Pinkie. “Scootaloo? You're here too?” Her eyes had finally adjusted to the too well lit room. Pinkie wasn't kidding, even from her narrow view of the room, she could tell she was surrounded with balloons. But besides that and Twilight's face, she could see little more than the ceiling. “Twilight, can you-” “Of course.” Twilight replied without waiting for Sunrise to finish. She sniffled, but her eyes were lit up with a happy glow and a soft smile spread across her face. Her bed began to vibrate as her head was raised, allowing her to see the whole room, and what she saw made her speechless. Twilight, Spike, Scootaloo, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were all looking at her, with relief and joy in their eyes. “Y-you all came for me? You're here… for me?” She was stunned, her face nearly expressionless, but tears fell effortlessly down her face. Her mind went blank, she didn't know what to think of this display of friendship. These ponies, they were relieved, they were happy because she came back to them. They cried… for me. “Well of course were here for you darling, that's what friends are for.” Rarity said simply, a warm and sincere smile making her words all the more potent. “We're not the only ones here actually.” Apple Bloom chimed in from the foot of Sunrise's bed. “What do you mean?” “Well...” Without another word, Apple Bloom stood aside, relieving an coated orange mare with blonde main and tail. Her eyes were unlike the others, tears were held back and her true feelings concealed behind a cold and stoic visage. “Applejack...” Sunrise said, more to herself than anyone else. Fear crept up within her as she knew a confrontation could send her right back into cardiac arrest. No… Twilight wouldn't have let her come with if she thought there was a chance of that, everything is going to be okay. She took a deep breath as Applejack stopped at the foot of her bed. “How ya feeling?” Applejack asked, not meeting Sunrise's eyes. “I've been better, but I've been worse I guess. Did Apple Bloom ask you to come here?” “Nah, I asked Twilight if I could come.” “Are you disappointed that I'm still Sunrise?” She steeled herself. Grief and confusion flashed through Applejack's eyes as she brought her gaze to meet Sunrise's. Both of them stared at each for a moment that seemed to stretch for minutes. Applejack looked around the room, seeing the faces of her friends, nearly holding their breath, all seemingly afraid that one wrong sound could set Applejack off… all but Twilight, who watched with a soft but complex look. “I honestly don't know.” She looked back at Sunrise before continuing. “My friends are like family to me and, in the Apple family, we have a saying, 'Family is family, and that never changes'. Look, I guess what I'm trying to say is... what I- I'm trying to say is nopony could ever…” Tears rolled from her eyes to her face, soaking into her fur as her body convulsed with each whimper. She gritted her teeth and quelled her body, but she couldn't stem the flow of tears. “No pony could ever take Rainbow Dash's place, not you or no one else… but this here is my family, every one in this room. I can see that you… you're important to them, you're in their hearts now, one way or another, that kind of makes us family now too.” Sunrise was awestruck. She didn't know what to say. All she knew was that something had passed between Applejack and Twilight, because the only one who didn't look surprised by Applejack's words was Twilight. Well… Twilight or Apple Bloom. She doesn't seem surprised either. Remembering Applejack's words before, shortly after Sunrise started living with Twilight, she was astounded that she would make such a drastic change. “I- I… I don't what to say.” “Well ya shouldn't be saying anything, like Twilight said, you need to rest.” “That's for the best” A doctor interjected. “It's getting late, you should all go home and get some rest yourselves. We'll be monitoring her closely for any more cardiac events, but it looks like the worst is over.” “The doctor's right, you should all get some sleep, I'll stay here with her overnight. We'll let you know first thing tomorrow how she's doing.” Twilight stood up and walked toward the door. “Alright, you focus on getting better now you hear.” Applejack said before doing an about-face, turning to the door. The others followed close behind, giving their get well wishes and goodbyes. Slowly, they all filed out of the room, all glancing back for one last look at their friend laying in the hospital bed. Emotional and physical exhaustion weighed down her eyelids. As the door closed and Twilight took her place beside her, Sunrise gave in to her weariness and began to drift off to sleep. As she crossed the threshold of awake and asleep, a frail and soft whisper echoed around her from the darkness and she knew, it wasn't just a dream: “Tell her… I'm here.”