//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Awaken (Unedited) // Story: A Deal with the Pale Pony // by DragonsHeart //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash awoke. It is very dark. That is most likely because her eyes are closed, but she doesn’t feel like opening them… she actually doesn’t feel much of anything, much less her eyes. The only thing she can feel is her own heart beating in a steady rhythm. Thump… Thump… Thump… Thump… It’s very comforting for some reason. This silence and nothingness went on for some time until a new noise starts in rhythm with her heart. Thump. Beep… Thump. Beep… Thump. Beep… Thump. Beep… ‘I wonder what that noise is?’ Soon she starts to hear new noises, like ponies talking. At first it doesn’t make sense, it is just jumbled noise. But soon words start to become clear. “…So there nothing that can be done to help, Doctor?” asks a sad familiar voice. ‘That sound like Applejack.’ “Ah won’t sugar-coat for you Applejack because ah know you won’t like it,” comes gruff stallion voice with a Shetlandish accent. ‘That must be the Doctor.’ “It will be a miracle if she pulls through at all,” continues the Doctor sadly, “We have done all we can, but the damage was very severe. The branch missed the ribs and went right in. It did a lot of damaged to her organs, but the worst was done to her heart. It was a miracle on its self that we stopped the internal bleeding. We nearly lost her twice during the operation and if the branch wasn’t so firmly stuck in there at first she would have died of blood loss on the way here.” “I see,” says Applejack in a pained voice. “It probably best to say your goodbyes just on the off chance,” suggests the Doctor, “Her heart may give up any moment.” “Yes…” replies Applejack, “Thanks for everything.” “Your welcome,” answers the Doctor, “Well I will leave you all alone. Call me if something happens.” Rainbow Dash can hear the sound of hoofs walking away. As her hearing becomes clearer she starts to become aware of two other sounds beside her… the sound of crying. “…sob… Rainbow Dash…” cries a familiar quite voice. “It is …sob… not fair…” cries another familiar loud voice. ‘That sounds like Fluttershy and Pinkie.’ “Don’t worry. I’m sure Rainbow Dash is going to be fine,” comes a familiar comforting voice with a sophisticated accent. ‘That is definitely Rarity.’ “Yeah, I mean Rainbow Dash is pretty strong I’m sure she will pull through,” comes a familiar confident voice.” ‘And that must be Twilight,’ thinks Rainbow Dash. “That …sob… not what one of the Doctors said,” cries Pinkie Pie, “They said that she going to die soon.” “One of the surgeons …sob… even said …sob… that she is already dead …sob… but her heart just refuses to die,” wails Fluttershy. The room stays silent beside the sound of crying. “Come on, Rainbow Dash,” calls Applejack, sounding like she is about to cry herself, “Give us a sign that you are all right.” She would love to tell them that she is alright, but her body won’t respond. She can’t even feel anything, just numbness. She can only continue to lay there for what must be hours. Doctors and nurses come in and out to check on Rainbow Dash, each one saying nothing positive. Until one nurse comes in. “Can I get you girls anything?” comes an unfamiliar, but sweet and cheerful voice. “Umm, no thanks,” says Twilight sadly to the nurse. “Ok, do you mind if I check her equipment?” asks the nurse. There is the sound of shuffling as her friends must be moving out of the way. “Thank you.” There is the sound of a pony walking?... no skipping up beside her. “Do you think she will be alright?” asks Pinkie hopefully, who has asked every single doctor or nurse that had come in the same question. But never getting definite answer yet. The nurse gives a cheerful giggle, “I’m sure she will be fine.” “Really!” says Pinkie happily. “And how do you know that?” asks Twilight, less than impressed by this nurse’s behaviour. “Oh, I’m just guessing,” the nurse say happily, “And I have never been wrong before.” “Right,” says Twilight, annoyed by this nurse. The nurse starts checking out Rainbow Dash equipment by the sound of it. She starts to sing a cheerful tune under her breath. Then a strange but familiar voice speaks in Rainbow Dash’s mind. “Time to wake up, Miss Dash.” Some blue lights dances across her eyelids. She feels her heart start to speed up. Thump. Beep. Thump. Beep. Thump. Beep. Thump. Beep. Thump. Beep. Thump. Beep. “Did the heartbeat thing just speed up?” asks Applejack, noticing the increases beeping. Feeling starts to climb back up her legs and soon reaches her chest. She feels a huge stringing pain in her side, which luckily quickly fades. The feeling soon reaches her mouth. She lets out a pained groans. “Rainbow Dash! Can you hear, Rainbow Dash!” cries a fanatic Fluttershy, hearing the groan. “She just groaned! She just groaned!” yells Pinkie. Feeling soon reaches the rest of her head and shows that she also has a splitting headache. She groans again and start to push herself up and opens her eyes. Which by the way feel as heavy as lead as does the rest of her body. The sight that greets her is a pair of pink eyes. “She is alive! She is alive! She is alive!” yells Pinkie, pulling back and starting to jump on the end of the bed. Rainbow Dash is then assaulted by yellow pegasus giving her a tight hug. “Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cries on her shoulder, “We thought you were going to die!” “You really gave us quite the scare, dear,” adds Rarity joining the hug. Soon all her friends were hugging her. Something runs down her cheek. “Rainbow, you are crying?” asks Fluttershy quietly, looking up. It is true. The tears pour unbidden down her face. She covers her eyes as if to stop tide of tears that fall from her face. “What are you pain? Are we hurting you?” asks Twilight nervously. “No, that not it,” Rainbow Dash cries, tears running down her cheeks, “I’m just happy to see you all!” The unexpectant outburst surprises her friend, but smiling, tighten their hug on their crying friend as they all start to cry as well. Rainbow Dash doesn’t know why she feels like this, she just does. They hug long after their tears have stopped and don’t stop until a sound interrupts them. “Ahem,” says a gruff voice behind her friends. “Oh, Doctor Highland, your back,” says Twilight smiling, wiping the still wet tears from her eyes. “Aye, I’m back,” says the Shetlandish sounding pony, which Rainbow Dash still can’t see yet because of her friends. “The nurse told me our young lass managed to pull a miracle, so I’m here.” Her friends part to let the Doctor through. Rainbow Dash then bursts out laughing. She has never met a more Shetlandish pony before. His eyebrows were thick and also has a bit of a beard on his chin. His black mane is long and tied up in a ponytail at the back of his head. His body build is very large as well, about as big as Big Mac’s, he is also an Earth-Pony. His coat is white and his eyes were a light blue, which is strangely familiar… Also as well as the doctor’s overcoat he wore kilt and a tam o' shanter on his head… and he is also carrying a bagpipes around his neck. “I hope you are not laughing at my kilt,” he warns as walks up to the laughing mare. “I’m pretty sure you were not wearing any that before,” asks Applejack, trying to laugh herself. “I was practicing me bagpipes when the nurse came and got me,” Doctor Highland explains. “But the kilt and hat?” continues Applejack. “Ah always wear them when I am practice my bagpipes!” he answers. He reaches Rainbow Dash (who is still laughing). “Your luckily to be alive, lass,” he says calmly. Rainbow doesn’t hear, because she is still laughing so hard, clutching at her sore chest. He continues to speak calmly, “Also I promise you if you keep laughing like that the next needles you get from me will be very painful.” This shuts Rainbow Dash up. No pony likes needles. “Now I gotta check your heart,” he says taking off his bagpipe and hat, handing them to someone behind Rainbow Dash’s friends. He then puts on his stethoscope, “Now lift up your shirt.” Rainbow Dash does, he places stethoscope on her chest. “That sound about right,” he says as he moves it about. ‘I wonder why it feels colder than usual?’ wonders Rainbow Dash, shivering slightly. She looks down and screams. A large part of her side and chest hair has been shaved. Blushing she knock away the stethoscope and covers her chest with the medical shirt. “What happened to my fur?!” she asks embarrassed. “Don’t worry, they just had to remove some fur so they can operate on you,” explains Rarity, “I’m sure it will grow back… eventually.” Rainbow Dash groans. “Well your heart sounds fine now anyway,” says Doctor Highland, “But we will need to do some more tests later. But now all I think you need rest, sooo… visitors out! It past visitors hour anyway.” “What!” cries Pinkie, “Can’t we stay a bit longer?” “No! Now get out before I play my bagpipes!” he warns. This got them moving. They all say their ‘Goodbyes’ and promises to visit soon and then leave, quickly. Soon it is just Rainbow Dash and the Doctor. “Now get some sleep,” he suggested, “We will run the other tests tomorrow. Now I gotta look for that nurse, she got my bagpipes… and me hat.” Rainbow Dash nods. The doctor giving her a slight smile, leaves the room to look for the nurse... and his bagpipes. Rainbow Dash flops back on her bed, instantly regretting it. Her chest hurts, that laughing before didn’t help either. She lifts up her shirt and looks for the wound. She found the long stitched up wound on her chest were they opened her up to operate. But that wasn’t were the branch came in? She continues to look for it and found it on her side. But what she sees causes her blood to freeze. For tattooed on her stitched up wound is an hourglass with two scythes crossed behind it. Suddenly she remembers everything. Her meeting with Death. The deal. Everything. She pulls the covers over her head. She had died, but now she is alive again… ‘I wonder for how long,’ she thinks, before sleep over takes her.