Regret

by I Am The Night

Chapter XIII: Different This Time

Even with all the quiet noise going on, the room felt very silent. The three mares who remained didn't say a word to each other. There was nothing much to say, really.

Once Rainbow got back up from the floor, she made her way to her friend's bedside and let his hoof rest in hers. She never realized how warm it was. Then again, she never really held his hooves at all before, so the feeling was almost alien to her.

As Rainbow continued to stand at the side of the bed, Twilight and Applejack eventually sat down in a couple of nearby chairs. The two of them didn't have anything to say to the other, nor to Rainbow. The two seated mares did nothing more than look about the room; at the clock, the door, the nearby window that looked to the city skyline; they looked at it all, until there was nothing else to look at.

Applejack eventually felt herself begin to doze off. She didn't seem to resist it much, so it wasn't very long before she slipped into sleep, leaving Twilight and Rainbow the only two awake ponies in the room.

For a few moments, Twilight looked towards the sleeping Applejack, having heard her rather audible snores. It reminded her of the time Applejack slept over at her home.

Well, her old home, that is.

When she couldn't take the snores any further, she got up from the chair and walked towards the window on the opposite side of the room. Rainbow didn't look at or even acknowledge Twilight; she just stared at him and only him, as if she was waiting for him to just wake up.

Twilight couldn't help but feel bad for her friend. She knew she never meant it to go this far.

Once she made it to the window, Twilight began to observe the cityscape before her. In all directions, buildings, high and low, scattered across the city like building blocks. The tallest building she could have seen was the Equestrian Empire Tower, the tallest in the city so far. And in the distance, another set of buildings would soon be built to surpass even the Empire Tower.

This was only the second time in her life that Twilight was really able to take in the amount of work and effort ponies put in to build a city as big as Manehattan. Even after only a hundred years, the city still grows and grows.

But to her, now that she truly thought of it, It seemed as if the bigger a city was, the more dangerous it became. She never wanted to deny or even accept it, but something like this was bound to happen.

But she never expected it to happen to someone she thought of as family. She and he got along together so well when they first met, even now. He was like another brother to her.

She could never think of losing him.

"... Do you..."

Rainbow stopped for a moment, trying to get the words to line up properly in her head. Twilight could feel her difficulty, but she didn't say anything, lest she upset her friend in any way. After a couple more moments, she continued to speak.

"... Do you remember when him and I... fought last night?"

A moment of silence. "Yes."

Rainbow didn't turn her head to Twilight for the time being, but continued to stare at her fallen friend. Though Twilight responded, another batch of silence brewed into the air for a few chilling moments. Even the sound of the beating monitor seemed quieter than usual, but they never questioned it.

"He asked me why I hated him. And I told him exactly why I did. And then I told him to leave and never come back."

Twilight could remember it now, that quote. She could remember how angry, how shocked, how disappointed she was in Rainbow when she said that. She could remember when he walked out.

And to think, If she never said that, he wouldn't be here right now. And Rainbow knew it too.

"I-I didn't mean it."

Unable to hold them any further, the tears came flowing down Dash's face. Her cries, though not terribly loud, were still very audible. The mare covered her face, but even that couldn't hold back the tears. Every time she saw her cry, Twilight always felt that pit of guilt in her stomach always fill to the brim.

Guilt and sadness flooding her mind, Twilight made her way over to the sitting mare; gently, she too sat down next to her.

She didn't see it at first, but Rainbow was a wreck. Her mane was only slightly frazzled, but her fur was matted and improper. Even her tail was undone, even as undone as it always was. But it was her face that got her. It was drenched in tears, old and new. Whatever fur that was on her face was also matted. It was as if Rainbow had flown through a tornado or a thunderstorm. But Twilight knew Rainbow could care less about what she looked like.

After a few seconds of only looking, Twilight eventually lifted a hoof and rested it on Rainbow's back, gently rubbing it back and forth as a way to comfort the teary mare. Rainbow's crying seemed to die down, only a small bit, but still enough to show. Her cries were now only sniffles. Tears still fell, but she did nothing about it; there was no point in wiping them away if more were going to fall anyway.

Rainbow began to lower her hooves away from her face, until they landed in her lap. It wasn't the first time Twilight had seen Rainbow's face like this.

Her eyes were very red, as red as if they had been pepper-sprayed. Her cheeks were stained and matted with tears, some dry, some wet.

She sniffled heavily, her nose very clearly runny from the crying. Her eyes were focused on the floor; they weren't staring at anything in particular.

Then her face bleakly lit up in realization.

"That was the last thing I ever said to him."

Twilight was speechless.

She held her friend again, holding her close and sighing, keeping herself composed however she could.

"It won't be the last thing he'll hear. I promise."

And even though Twilight couldn't see her face, she could feel Rainbow smile through her tears; she even laughed a little through the sniffles, and on the inside, it made Twilight smile back.

Those two things, smiling and laughing... it was what she really needed right now.

But then a rumble of their stomachs made them realize those two weren't the only things they needed. The two mares blushed only slightly from their rumbling bellies, but after a couple of moments, Twilight volunteered for the both of them to go eat some breakfast so the rumbling could stop.

Rainbow smiled only slightly. "Yeah. Breakfast sounds good right now."

When the two mares were standing properly, Twilight began to make her way towards the door. But a grab of her hoof stopped her and turned her right back around. Rainbow was looking at her, the smile faded and a look of minor pleading plastered onto her face. If Rainbow was a cat instead, Twilight would have found it rather adorable.

"Wait," Rainbow began, "Do you... Do you think we can... y'know, eat here? In the hospital?"

Rainbow gently leaned her head towards her male friend's bed, setting a hoof gently on the blanket.

"... I just... just don't want to be too far from him."

Any feeling of adorableness Twilight felt within her quickly faded. The mare looked at Rainbow for a moment, then back to her friend on the bed. Rainbow seemed to be silently pleading to stay close, regardless of how many doctors and nurses worked here. But even though she was a princess of Equestria, who was she to say 'no' to a friend?

"... Okay."

Rainbow smiled again, another real smile this time, before thanking Twilight and giving her another, but shorter hug, to which Twilight happily accepted. When the cyan pulled away, however, she moved her way back towards the bed, nearest to the stallion's hoof.

Lifting his hoof up and holding it in hers---she slowly brought her face close to it. And as she did, she gently gave it a kiss. When she pulled away, she looked at his face, as covered and bandaged as it had been, and smiled. A tear began to fall down the right of her face, but with a hoof, she wiped it away.

After a few more seconds, she carefully put his hoof back onto the bed and straightened the blanket, as if it would make him more comfortable. To Twilight, that's what she was doing. But there was only a number of things Rainbow could have been thinking about. And she wasn't planning on using that spell again.

"... Let's go."

The lavender mare smiled. Leading her forward, Twilight was the first to walk towards the door. But when she got to the door, Rainbow stopped her again.

"Should we wake up Applejack?"

Twilight had completely forgotten Applejack was even in the room, as if she was blended into the background. Looking towards the chairs, she noticed the farm-mare sprawling across two chairs. She would never understand why Applejack would ever find that so comfortable, especially in sleep.

With a nod, Twilight looked back to Rainbow. "It's fine. Just let her sleep a little longer; she'll catch up."

The two left the room, Rainbow first. Once she was out of the room, Twilight began to make her way out, as well. But before she did, she took one last look at her friend --- her 'brother' lying in the bed. With a frown, the mare sighed and turned away.

And with a single 'click' of a closing door, he was alone.

It was near nine o'clock in the morning by the time Rainbow and Twilight got to eat breakfast. It wasn't anything like the food they ate at the hotel or at a cafe, but it honestly wasn't bad.

Well, to Twilight, anyways.

While Twilight semi-happily ate her plate of pancakes—not forgetting the syrup, of course—Rainbow somewhat picked at her tray of cinnamon rolls, like a child who picked at their vegetables on their dinner plate.

The cafeteria, or one of them, really, was rather big, taking up half the floor it was on. Being such a large hospital, it was no surprise that the place was quite packed. Luckily, for them, it didn't take them very long to find a couple of seats; but the table they sat on was almost completely deserted.

At least they wouldn't be disturbed, at least.

As she ate, Twilight took the time to look around at the ponies inhabiting the place. While a couple of them were here for minor... ish injuries, a broken leg or arm, there were others who had far worse injuries. A couple of them sat in wheelchairs, a leg or two missing. One of them had nothing but his torso and his head, his caretaker, she assumed, feeding him.

And as she looked at these poor souls and the sacrifices they were forced to make, it made her really realize just how lucky her friend was. Well... as lucky as he was, of course.

But the silence was quickly getting to Twilight. It wasn't long before the quietness became awkward to her, and she figured---the best way to break the silence was with some conversation. Besides... who doesn't love conversation?

Of course, it took a couple of seconds for Twilight to think of something that'd be worth talking about. And... it went less awkwardly in her head.

"...So..." Twilight began, "...This place is pretty packed."

Nice one, Princess.

"Uh-huh."

Twilight shifted her eyes a bit, the conversation clearly having not gone anywhere yet, at least. So she switched to another topic.

"Can you believe this hospital has three cafeterias? It's crazy."

Rainbow, still looking at her food and picking at it, didn't even change the pitch of her voice.

"Nnnope."

The princess sighed, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet, so she asked one last question.

"This food's pretty good."

And that got Rainbow's thoughts kicking into gear. Unfortunately, they weren't the kind that Twilight wanted.

"This food tastes like crap," she replied as she continued to pick at it before pushing it slightly away from her.

"Well, you're the one who wanted to eat here," Twilight counteracted.

"I know, I know. It's just..."

The mare sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, before opening them back up and looking towards Twilight.

"Every restaurant and cafe we've been to in this city, even places like Burger Queen, their food always tastes great! Wonderful! Not to mention, we're in freaking Manehattan! So why does the hospital food taste like sh-"

Rainbow stopped herself not only because she realized how far she was going, but because of Twilight's reaction towards her, a look of concern and slight fear... maybe fear.

Sighing, the Pegasus sat back down in her chair, only now realizing she stood up.

Twilight could only look at her friend in a sad and worrisome manner.

"... I'm sorry. I'm just... scared, y'know?"

The mare sighed once again, unable to think of anything else to say. And for another few moments, their table was quiet; while the world around them continued to move forward, they seemed to stay still.

"...I know," Twilight eventually admitted, "...I'm scared too."

Rainbow continued to look at her friend, the sadness never leaving her face. Her mouth opened a couple of times, as if trying to respond, but after a second or two, she closed it and sighed, looking away once again.

Eventually, she felt Twilight's hoof rest itself on top of hers. It caught her attention, prompting her head.

"We're all scared, Dash... but we can't let it get to us. He wouldn't want that, especially from you... okay?"

Rainbow took the few short moments she had to think about what Twilight had said; it made her remember the time he tried to cheer up Fluttershy after the death of one of her rabbits. While it took time for her to move on, it probably would have taken longer, had he not done what he did.

But Rainbow couldn't believe it took her this long to really appreciate what he did that day. So what better time to start than now?

Rainbow gently embraced Twilight's hoof. They stayed that way for a few short moments; but in those moments, things felt as normal as they would likely ever be.

Twilight continued eating what was left of her pancakes. But even after the talk, Rainbow still didn't eat her food. Twilight, as worried as she was about everything, didn't want to ponder on it for too long.

Rainbow wasn't necessarily wrong.

Eventually, the two of them began to hear the sounds of clip-clopping getting closer to them. While Rainbow didn't look up from her 'disgusting' breakfast, Twilight turned around to notice Applejack heading towards them, a tray of what appeared to be a half-dozen bagels in one hoof.

When she got close enough to them, Applejack said, "Howdy."

But it was not as uplifting or energetic as usual, just a casual way of 'hello'.

"Hey," Twilight said with a smile as the cow-mare sat herself down next to her. Rainbow also greeted her friend, but with a frown, instead.

"So, what'ya gals eatin'?" she asked the both of them.

"Pancakes," Twilight asked, a chunk of pancake still in her mouth.

"Nothing," Rainbow said immediately after, before taking her tray and sliding it to the far end of the table.

Before they asked why she did that, it landed into a trash can that happened to sit near the table's edge. The contents of the tray, including the tray, fell into the can rather flawlessly. The two mares, an expression of surprise on their faces, looked at Rainbow, the boredom still on her face.

"... Good... slide, Ah guess?" Applejack said, unsure whether to ask a question or give a complement.

Nonetheless, Rainbow smirked at her friend's comple-question. But the smirk only lasted for a few short seconds before dissolving into nothing more than a neutral frown. The belle mare quickly noticed the change in Rainbow's attitude, prompting a change in her own attitude.

"How ya holdin' up, Rainbow?" she asked.

"Fine... I guess..." she hesitated. "Is he still okay? Like... nothing happened to him before you left... right?"

Applejack could tell that Rainbow was more than just worried for him. It was as if she couldn't leave his side for a minute without already beginning to worry about him. It was ironic, in its own sad way.

"No, he's fine. Ah promise. That doctor from before came in to look after him, at least while we're down here."

Even though she answered the question, Rainbow still couldn't seem to shake the worry off her face. After what Cobalt had told them, she had every right to be worried. But her friends would always be there to reassure her. As Twilight had done before, Applejack rested a hoof on Rainbow's. Also as before, Rainbow found herself looking up to her friend, a caring smile on her face.

"Hey," she began, "we'll get through this... all of us. Including him. He ain't somepony who gives up easily. He'll make it... okay?"

After a few moments pass, Rainbow lets another smile come on. She grins as best as she could have in that moment, and as she had done with Twilight, she embraced Applejack's hoof with care, but unlike before, the moment was shorter. And when the two of them separated, Applejack dug into her meal, causing Rainbow to giggle only a bit. Twilight smiled at her friend, relieved that she could still crack a laugh.

For the remainder of that breakfast, the three of them spent the remainder of their breakfast eating, talking, and laughing. And for the first time since the prior night, things felt normal.

Well... as normal as it would ever be.

By ten o'clock, the three mares finished their breakfasts, concluded their discussions, and headed back to their friend's room. Being only a couple floors above, they decided to use the stairwell. When they arrived back in the room, they noticed Doctor Cobalt and an unfamiliar nurse standing at their friend's bedside.

"Dr. Cobalt," Twilight said. "Hi."

Turning towards the door, Cobalt noticed the trio and smiled.

"Princess Twilight," he began, "Ms. Dash. Ms. Jack-"

"Ms. Applejack," Applejack corrected him with a kind smile.

Cobalt chuckled faintly, "Of course."

"Is everything okay?" Twilight asked.

With a nod, the doctor replied, "Yes, everything's fine. We're just taking some final x-rays of your friend's brain to pinpoint how far the swelling has protruded."

"Are you going to move him?"

"Of course not, we've taken remote x-rays."

Holding up her hooves, the nurse on the opposite side of the bed held what appeared to be a rather small form of machinery. On the side of it, it labeled, "Remote X-Ray Scanner."

Twilight found herself intrigued on the technology.

"I've never seen anything like that before," she said.

"It's a new technology," Cobalt mentioned, "We're the first city, or rather, the first place in the world to own it. It scans the patient's entire body, top to bottom, then takes a photograph of it. The bright light illuminates their structure in two separate photos, bones and muscle."

But even mentioning X-Ray seemed to worry Dash only a small bit.

"Uh..." she began, "This won't have any effects on him...will it?"

Cobalt knew what she was getting at, and he simply shook his head.

"Of course not," he began, "This machine has been magically modified to protect its patients against any form of exposure. You and your coltfriend will never have to worry about any future complications... radiation-wise, of course."

Rainbow let out a gentle sigh of relief, glad that-

Wait... Coltfriend?

"He..." Rainbow started, only to blush and scratch the back of her head, "... He's not my coltfriend."

Cobalt backtracked for a moment.

"I apologize. With how much you worry for him, I assumed you were more than his friend."

Rainbow exchanged a faint smile, not at all offended, but nonetheless flushed.

"So, will we know how long the coma can last?" Twilight questioned, hope on her tongue.

Cobalt nodded. "Yes. The amount of swelling of the brain will allow us to determine how long a patient may remain comatose. The x-rays from before were... not as conclusive, but these new x-rays should give us a whole new diagnosis."

"When can we expect them?" Rainbow asked, her tone of concern returning again.

"Well, when the photos clear up, you can expect them within the hour; maybe even less."

The nurse spoke up, "All set, doctor."

"Excellent," he said to her before turning back to the others. "Until then, the best you can do is wait for the results."

"Okay. Thank you, doctor," Twilight said with a smile.

"You're very welcome, princess."

Cobalt and the nurse packed up whatever things they had with them and walked out of the room.

And now all the trio had to do was wait out the hour.

The hour was long and boring. Nothing interesting, nor life-threatening—thankfully—happened .

After the first thirty minutes, Twilight wrote a letter to Spike, telling him to stay at the hotel and make sure the others are okay. After waiting for ten minutes, there was never a reply letter.

She had the assumptions he was still angry. That, or sleeping.

Eventually, she resorted to laying in a chair near the window and napping for a bit. Breakfast can sometimes tire a pony out.

For almost the entire hour, Rainbow and Applejack tried thinking of things to do to pass the time. But regardless of what they thought of, nothing was interesting or thought to be interesting enough to pass the time.

But eventually---they settled on a bit of Truth or Dare.

Because who doesn't love Truth or Dare?

The first few questions of the game between the two were more commonly related to things such as cheating off a test or who they would sacrifice to save themselves. Dares, on the other hoof, revolved around things such as singing their favorite songs out loud out the window or sing the alphabet in Germane.

For the most part, the jokes were more or less friendly and safe.

After asking for truth, Applejack thought of a question to ask Rainbow.

"What was the best dessert you ever had?"

Rainbow pondered on the thought, rubbing her chin while trying to dig down into her mind. But when she found the thought, she drooled in satisfaction; Applejack wasn't sure whether to be worried or interested.

"Triple chocolate, vanilla chocolate, caramel covered, chocolate and vanilla ice-cream sundae. I had that when I was six years old. And right now, that sounds so good."

Applejack couldn't help but engorge herself into the thought of that kind of ice-cream. Even she eventually found herself letting her saliva loose in sweet hunger.

"Shucks," she began as she wiped her mouth, "now ya got me droolin'."

The Pegasus smirked and let out a chuckle. Eventually, Applejack joined in too, but as quick as they began, the laughs died down and the game resumed. This time, it was Rainbow's turn to ask a question.

"Truth or Dare?" she began.

"Truth," she responded without hesitation.

Rainbow took the time, just as much time as Applejack, to think about this one. At first, she was wondering about the kind of foods she ate not involving apples, or maybe the last time she pranked somepony.

But as she thought more about the questions, her mind began to delve further into more... personal questions... relationship-wise, of course.

"Who was your first kiss?"

The question alone took Applejack completely by surprise. She wasn't expecting to be asked that.

"U-Uh..."

The mare was speechless; she didn't know how to answer it. Nopony ever really asked her that, but when they did, she always shook it off.

She'd only really been kissed once. At least, in the way she wanted it.

"This... this stallion back in high school. He and Ah kinda had a... thing for each other. We talked, flirted, the usual teenage stuff.

"And then he just... came onto me. It was kinda by surprise. Ah didn't know he was gonna do it.

"He just put his lips on mine. And then next thing we know, we're ruttin' like rabbits in the swimming pool."

Rainbow cut her off, "Wait... pool?"

Through her blush and slight awkwardness, Applejack explained with an awkward giggle.

"Y-Yeah... It was after school and we kinda... snuck into the swimming pool. We made out... touched each other a bit and then we... y'know..."

Rainbow found herself looking at her friend in a different light. Maybe a new shade of color too.

"... Wow..." she stumbled, "that's pretty... hot, I guess?"

That made Applejack giggle.

"Your turn, cowgirl."

Even though she knew her spotlight came up, she couldn't help but feel pressured, though willing to return the favor. Clearing her throat, she looked up to Rainbow and asked her that iconic game question.

"Truth or Dare?"

She was hesitant to ask, but Rainbow mentioned nothing of it.

"Truth."

For a couple moments, Applejack held her mouth only slightly ajar, as if to ask the question, but no matter what, she couldn't seem to get the words out. The mare found herself looking about the room, trying to get her mind to turn on and just talk.

But finally, her view fell to her stallion-friend's bedside, and looked to her friend. She watched as his chest rose and fell calmly, the IV stuck to his body as it took blood.

But she found herself looking at his face... or what she could see.

Beneath those bandages and bruises was a stallion she, only last night, shared feelings with. And even if he felt for Rainbow, he felt for her too. And that alone propped up the question she was looking for.

"... Do you love him?"

Taken aback by the question, Rainbow was left speechless. As Applejack had felt about the prior question, this one was something Rainbow was completely surprised by.

She never expected her or any of the others to have asked her the question. Had they asked her twenty-four hours ago, her arrogance likely would have said no, that she hated him with every fiber in her body.

But the question now got her thinking.

How exactly did she feel for him?

She remembered the letters and the once-in-a-while poems he had sent her at times. The letters, some short and some long, always portrayed the feelings he had for her, even if not in plain sight. Sometimes, a few letters would show up while he was on vacation to other parts of Equestria. He mentioned that he missed her, that he couldn't wait to see her again.

The poems, some rhymed and others not, portrayed the same love in forms of poetic imagery. In every word, he could describe mountains, landscapes, and entire worlds, all with such detail that you'd think a renowned poet would've written them. But no, it was just some stallion in a small mountain town, wanting to tell someone he loved just how much he did. Even if she did find them to be a hoof-ful after a while, she couldn't help but at least appreciate them.

But she wasn't willing to admit it. Twenty-four hours ago, she would have said no.

"I don't know."

Applejack felt something in her chest, racing around like a speeding rocket. Was it her heart? It might have been; she couldn't tell.

The beating in her body burned within. She couldn't seem to put her hoof on it what it was, and it bothered her.

"... Do you?"

Before she could get her answer, the door opened, shaking the two out of their concentration.

They immediately recognize the tan-coated Doctor Cobalt walking into the room, a clipboard in one hoof.

"Ms. Dash, Ms. Ja-...Ms. Applejack," he greets them with a kind smile.

"Howdy doc," Applejack smiled faintly.

"Hey," Rainbow greeted.

"How are you doing?"

"Good," Rainbow adds, but pauses for a moment. "Somewhat."

"That's good. Is Princess Twilight here with you?"

Rainbow pointed towards the windows, prompting Cobalt to look upon Twilight, who had been laid out on a couple of chairs. Cobalt let out a faint chuckle before turning towards the two mares and asking if it was okay to wake her up.

"No problem," Rainbow nodded.

The mare got up from the chair and walked past Cobalt. With the room somewhat small, it only took a couple of seconds for her to reach Twilight.

For a second, she gently shook her with a hoof, whispering her name as to not startle her.

"Twilight," she began, "Wake up."

The princess did stir a bit in her sleep, but the gentle shakes did nothing to wake her.

Speaking louder, "Twilight," Rainbow tapped her friend's shoulder a few times.

Slowly, Twilight stirred further, shaking her head gently, until her eyes began to open slowly. For a moment, she found herself staring at the floor. But eventually, her eyes worked their way up to notice Rainbow's sleek form watching over her.

"Ddassh?" Twilight sluggishly said.

"Dr. Cobalt's here with the results."

Rainbow stood aside, just enough for Twilight to see Cobalt's form standing on the opposite side of the bed. The princess's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically, trying to wake herself up as much as possible.

When she stopped, she looked at Cobalt with as much of a smile as she could portray.

"Dr. Cobalt!" she began, "What a su-"

Midway, she paused to let out a yawn. She couldn't help but blush.

"What a surprise," she finished.

"And... you, Princess Twilight."

Twilight blushed a deeper red.

"Are they done, doc?" Applejack asked. "The x-rays?"

The small smile he held on his face disappeared, his emotions returning into a more serious pattern. With a nod, he replied.

"Yes, they are."

Lifting his clipboard, he unhooked the contents attached to it and presented them to the three of them. Each individual piece of paper was an x-ray. X-Rays of his body. His head.

The basis that made him him.

With a couple of tacks, Cobalt took the x-rays and hung them on a random observable piece of wall for the trio to see. They all walked over and looked at the three images.

"Is this his...?" Rainbow asked, trailing off as she stared at the pictures.

"Yes," Cobalt answered, "That is his brain... well..."

He pointed at the middle and third images.

"These are his brain," he added, before pointing at the first image, "That is his body."

The three of them took a look at the first image, asking the exact damages to his body, other than the stabbings.

As he looked at the image, Cobalt began to explain.

"Well," he began, "as you already know, your friend was stabbed up to ten times in ten different locations. Out of those ten, seven of them were not life-threatening."

He walks closer to the image, and begins to point out the wounds.

"But these three: Here, here, and here," he mentions, pointing towards the heart, appendix, and lung, supposedly where those wounds were. He began with the heart.

"Out of the most crucial, the wound nearest to the heart was the most worrying. I've already... explained to you about the heart and lung, haven't I?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, this morning."

"Ah, well that saves much discomfort from all of us, as I can say."

The trio nod in agreement, including Rainbow, already remembering the chilling words he had mentioned just hours ago.

Cobalt skips the heart and lung and goes immediately to the area of the appendix.

"While the heart and lung were not punctured---his appendix was. It dug nearly two inches into it. Had we not removed it, it could have been fatal."

Rainbow looked up, curious but worried too. "You...removed his appendix?"

"Yes. He would have died if we didn't."

"Is he at risk of infection?" Twilight questioned, concerned about the operation.

"No, we were able to remove the appendix as quickly as possible, and as far as we know, there are no current leakages or traces of Peritonitis, and so far, that also means he has about zero risk of having Septicemia. So no, he's clear of infection."

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Another problem out of the way. But now that it was out of the way, there was another important matter on her mind.

Or rather, his mind.

"How bad is the swelling?"

Walking away from the first image, he makes his way to the other two, preferably the third image.

"The swelling has not caused any further injuries to his skull fractures, but it has caused his RAS to function in the exact opposite manner. In fact, it's rather damaged it."

"How bad is the damage?" asked Rainbow as she found herself staring at the x-rays.

Cobalt flipped through the clipboard he held in his hoof. Flipping to the last page, he revealed what appeared to be some sort of scale.

"This is the Equestrian Coma Scale, or ECS. This scale has been able to determine how likely the damage to a patient is, regarding brain swells. We have separated the status of a patient as 1-15."

He points to the first list of the scale.

"This is the status of a patient ranging in between the 1-4 range. If a patient is within this range after twenty-four hours, 87% of victims are subject to remain in a vegetative state, whereas 7% are subject to a minor disability or moderate to good recovery. A 5-7 range records a 53% vegetative rate and a 34% recovery rate. An 8-10 range determines a 27% vegetative rate and a 68% recovery rate. And an 11-15 range has determined a 7% vegetative rate and an 87% recovery rate."

"And... he is...?"

Cobalt couldn't help but sigh.

"After many of the tests we have taken the night to perform and record... Your friend is a 4."

Rainbow gasped to herself, covering her mouth with a hoof. Twilight's face was frozen; she was dubious about Cobalt's diagnosis. Applejack didn't seem to believe it. She didn't want to believe it. None of them wanted to.

When Twilight regained enough strength to compose herself, she stared at Cobalt.

"Is there a way to help him? At all?"

He shook his head, much to her disappointment. "Not that we know of, no. Comatose patients are extremely rare, especially in this country. Your friend is the first comatose patient this city's ever had. We have no such idea how to improve his condition-"

"Then find something!" Twilight suddenly yelled, only to stop when she realized what she had done.

She noticed the sudden shock in Cobalt's eyes; clearly, he was just as surprised from her outburst as she was. But she only had a small glimpse of his face before she looked to the floor, embarrassed and ashamed, for a princess, to look up at him.

But the doctor simply walked over to her and put his hooves on her shoulders. She looked up towards him, and he stared into her eyes with the same care and compassion that her friend used to show her. He addressed her not with the title 'Princess', but just like a friend would.

"Twilight... I promise you I will do everything in my power to help your friend. I have not lost a single patient of mine in this hospital since I started here, and he will not be my first. But right now... the best thing you can do for him is wait."

"... But for how long?" Twilight asked him, her voice slightly beginning to crack.

Cobalt frowned further, sighing gently to the floor. He didn't know.

"As long as it takes. Okay?"

Twilight continued to look into Cobalt's eyes; the poor mare couldn't help but tear up. He was right. Of course he was right. He was a doctor. She didn't want to believe it. But she didn't have a choice.

Unable to hold back the dam that flowed within her, tears began to fall down Twilight's face as she found herself holding Cobalt in a warm hug, to which the stallion kindly embraced.

It had been the first time Rainbow or Applejack had ever seen the mare truly cry. There were times where they would see her tear up, but never cry as she did now.

It only went to show how a single night could really change someone.

The three of them stayed long after Cobalt left, occasionally going to the bathroom or going down to eat lunch or dinner.

By the time the sun touched the horizon, Twilight proposed going back to the hotel. However, Applejack and Rainbow decided to stay a bit longer. The princess bid them farewell, even giving her bedridden friend a kiss on the forehead, before leaving for the hotel.

That left only Rainbow and Applejack in the room, getting slowly dimmer as sun finally began to set.

The first hour since Twilight's departure was more or less quiet. Their friend's heart monitor beeped in a normal fashion, the clock on the wall ticked steadily, and other than those two, the only things that came from any three of their mouths were the sounds of breath going in and going out.

It wasn't really as much of an awkward hour. There was just nothing much to say.

So it stayed that way for only sixty minutes.

The girls sat on opposite sides of their friend's bed. Rainbow found herself staring at the stallion's face most of the time, whereas Applejack stared at the window, watching as the lights of the city slowly begin to flicker on and glow brighter than a Hearth's Warming tree.

Just watching the city begin to glow made Applejack smile, even just for a moment.

But even the smile wasn't meant to last forever. The frown soon returned, no matter how long she looked at the sights. Eventually, she stared at the door. When she visited Rainbow when she was hospitalized, she would see doctors or nurses, even patients, strolling by the door window, going to and from rooms.

Unfortunately, being the last room at this hallway, no one would be passing by.

Then suddenly, Rainbow spoke into the quiet.

"That story about you and that stallion... That wasn't real...was it?"

The way she asked that... It was as if she was begging, like she wanted... no... like she needed the truth.

"... No. It wasn't."

Rainbow, though not moving her head up, nodded to her answer. Applejack wasn't sure if it was one of understanding or something else. Honestly, it scared her. The last thing she wanted, especially in the situation they were in now, was for Rainbow to want to tear her head off.

After another couple of moments in silence, Rainbow spoke up once more.

"It was really about... you and... him," she emphasizes as she leans her head towards her bedridden friend, "... wasn't it?"

Brief silence.

"...Yes."

Rainbow still didn't look up. She watched him instead. She didn't seem all that angry, especially at him. Applejack didn't know what the mare could have been feeling or thinking at the very moment.

But she wasn't going to let Rainbow think anything bad of her or him.

But what was she going to say? What was she going to do?

There were so many thoughts in her head that she wanted to put together into words, but no matter what, the thoughts could never stay, could never form, could never become what she wanted.

So she stopped trying to tell the truth. She stopped trying to explain everything.

She stopped trying to salvage what she felt was to become a broken friendship.

So she started being honest with her friend.

"If you hate me at all... Ah won't blame you. You can slap me...hit me if you want... Whatever you want... Ah deserve it."

The mare turned herself away from Rainbow, sighing gently and closing her eyes tightly, as if she was waiting for an inevitable smack or punch.

But it never came. Even after ten seconds of tense silence, that expected hit never came. But even if it didn't, she didn't want to look Dash in the face. She just couldn't.

And for several moments, maybe even what felt like several minutes, it was very quiet. The air was chilling and the silence was deafening. Not even the sounds of the ponies coming and going through the hallways and frolicking in the streets below were enough to bring the rather dull scene to life.

And the sound of their friend's heart monitor only brought the mood further down.

*beep----beep----beep*

*beep----beep----beep*

*beep----beep----beep*

"I don't hate you."

The sudden response was not only startling, it was chilling too.

It prompted Applejack's head upward, looking in front of herself, like she was staring a thousand yards away, seemingly in... disbelief.

But almost subconsciously, her head began to turn towards her colorful friend. And she stared at her like she was looking at a ghost; a ghost that looked right back at her with... accepting eyes.

"... What?"

Rainbow didn't take her eyes off her.

"I said I don't hate you."

The farm-mare couldn't believe her ears, couldn't believe what she was hearing. After what she just said, after everything she just admitted... she doesn't hate her? Doesn't want to kill her after not only stealing her friend from her, but...

"But...why not? Ah...Dash, Ah slept with him! Ah kissed him, Ah took him from you! How could you not want ta-"

"Because I don't care about what happened! I just care about what will happen!"

"So you don't care? At all?! You don't care about the fact that Ah took him? ... Ah can't believe you!"

Dash couldn't believe her own ears. Applejack was angry over this? Over forgiveness?

"What, do you want me to hit you?! Is that what you want?!"

"Ah want you to do something to me, especially after what I did! You've spent all week treatin' him like dirt, THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS STAND UP FOR HIM FOR ONCE!"

Applejack's screams were loud enough to have been heard from the next room over, but after she finished yelling, things grew silent again.

Rainbow was furious, more furious than she had been a week ago. But she could never think of, even in her most darkest of emotions, hurting Applejack. Her best friend.

Even if she wanted to, she'd never do it. Who would she even be?

Applejack, staring at Dash in her blind anger, still waited for the inevitable hit. But it still never came. The mare, seemingly frustrated with her friend's incompetence, quickly stood up from her chair and stormed to the door, intent on leaving before things grew any more tense.

"Applejack," Dash called, her voice cracking, as the mare opened the door. "Applejack! Don't go, please!"

But she didn't listen. Ignoring her plea, Applejack left the room, slamming the door behind her. It caused the pictures that hung around the room the shake a bit; one of them became crooked, but never fell.

And so Dash was all alone. Alone with him.

Rainbow wanted to get up and chase after Applejack, tell her she was sorry, do anything to make her stay. But a part of her didn't want to leave him, fearing that he could shut down at any moment, and there would be no one to know. Of course, in a way, she thought that it was simply an overreaction.

But there was always the risk. So she stayed. She stared, frozen in the moment.

And then she cried. For the third time, the mare broke into tears, falling into her hooves as she covered her face. She mumbled, she spoke incoherently. She even apologized. At first, it was to no one in particular, but soon enough, she found herself kneeling down against her friend's bedside, apologizing time and time again, as if he would hear it eventually.

Then after what felt like a long time of crying and saying 'sorry', the mare went quiet, so quiet that you could only hear her breathing. Dash found herself staring forward, just over the form of where the stallion's stomach would be. She wasn't looking at anything in particular.

Her mind was racing, thinking of so many things, all at the same time. Her face was stained with tears, drenched and sticky.

She was breathing heavily and ragged, making it clear that she had just been crying.

After several moments of staring, Rainbow eventually found herself looking at his face.

It looked so peaceful. Even through the cuts and the bruises and the scars, he still looked so peaceful.

But not even that could lift her spirits. It only brought her down further into that dark emotional abyss.

With a hoof, she gently placed on his shoulder, hoping he would react to it.

Nothing.

She felt herself begin to tear up more as she started shaking him slightly, wanting him to just do something...anything.

Nothing.

She shook him again, more forcibly this time, hoping he would open his eyes and tell her to stop.

Nothing.

Fresh tears fell down her face as she continued to shake him. She opened her mouth to speak, but the voice that came out was cracked and different. It was as if listening to an entirely different person.

"W... Wake up..." She sniffled and shivered. "Please... just... wake up."

She continued to shake him, as if she thought it would really make any difference. And even after she stopped shaking him, he didn't flinch. He didn't stir. All he did was breathe.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Dash cried again; she cried hard and long. And this time, there was no one to comfort her.

So she continued to cry until there were no more tears left to shed.

When the tears went dry, her anger, her fear, her frustration... it went with them too.

For an hour, the tearless Rainbow continued to sit at her friend's bedside. If one was in the room with her, they would see her as somewhat 'emotionless'.

Her face showed no signs that she was angry, either at him, Applejack---or herself. At this point, she didn't exactly know what to feel.

So she didn't feel anything.

She just sat in silence, the only sounds in the room being his and her breathing and the sound of his monitor beeping, for a whole hour.

Other than the times she had slept, this was the longest time she had ever really been quiet.

It was better than crying, she thought.

Even though she couldn't express further emotion, she began to feel herself become bored. It was a small room, and there wasn't exactly all that much to do.

Maybe she could look out the window again, longer this time, and observe the now dark city, the pedestrians that walk across its streets and enter its buildings. Or maybe she could stare up at the night sky and its billions and trillions of stars.

But then it caught her eye.

Sitting at the front of his bed, just at the corner of it---a brown satchel stood up, still closed and seemingly untouched. She knew very well that it once belonged to her idol. She knew very well that it was a gift.

But at the same time, she didn't know that yesterday. To her, it was nothing more than a 'stupid satchel' in her eyes. She would have never guessed.

And there it was, standing at the bedside, full of birthday presents he never got to give her, even just to show her how much he cared.

For a few moments, she wanted to just leave it alone---have him open it for her when---if he wakes up... so he could surprise her himself.

Just as he wanted.

Just as he planned.

But the temptation of it standing there was already beginning to kill her. While she was somewhat excited about what they could be, the situation her and the others were in made her excitement dwindle to only mere curiosity---like she wanted to know what kinds of gifts made him so excited, he burned down a house.

... Well... not that it was his fault, anyhow.

Eventually, said temptation quickly got to her, and with slight guilt, she reached over to the satchel and picked it up from the floor. It felt much like a leather material---not that she exactly cared much...unless it had to do with someone she looked up to.

Taking a quick look at the satchel's detail, it was more or less like the type of satchel she always brought to work with her, only this one had a couple of pockets on the outside, though not filled with anything.

After a few moments of observation, Dash turned the satchel around to look at the back of it. And that's when she noticed the very faint blood stains.

Even looking at it for a few seconds made her ill. At one point, she even started thinking.

Thinking about that night... what he had gone through.... What caused him to end up here... just on the cliff, clutching between life and death.

She tried blocking the thoughts out. They weren't something she wanted to see or feel right now.

Turning the satchel back around, she noticed the leather strap with a button that kept it closed. Undoing the button, she was swiftly able to remove the strap and open up the bag to reveal what was inside. Inside the satchel were two objects, both wrapped up in a paper cover of the Wonderbolts and Daring Do, respectively.

How thoughtful, Dash thought as she let out a faint chuckle.

The first thing she noticed after the gifts was a paper that lay just next to the presents. It was a piece of paper, likely a note, that had been folded in half and gently placed beside the bigger gift. Taking it out from the satchel, Dash read the text that had been written on one of the folded sides.

PLEASE READ AFTER OPENING GIFTS AND AFTER THE PARTY. THANKS. :)

The sentence alone managed to bring her down just a bit further. flooding her mind with guilt, but nonetheless, she did as she was told and held off on opening it.

The first gift she went for was the big one. Upon picking it up, it seemed somewhat heavy, just as heavy as a book, indicating that it was... a book.

As she began to unwrap the paper that covered it, she began to think about what book it would be. Perhaps another awesome zombie story, or a romance novel, or maybe a copy of the last Daring Do book... though that wouldn't necessarily be his fault for not knowing.

But as she opened the gift and the book was fully revealed, she had to cover her mouth with a hoof to prevent a screech of suddenness.

"T... The next Daring Do book?!"

She would have expected an old book or something she always wanted to read, but she wasn't expecting, not in a million years, to have a copy of a book that wasn't even published yet!

The whole time she looked at the book, she was wondering how he was able to get this from her. Daring wasn't exactly one to give something away without some sort of trade or bribe.

"T-This has to be a joke or something."

She started flipping through the pages, reading a couple of sentences from each of them. It wasn't a joke. It was the real deal.

And Dash started to freak.

"Oh my gosh, it's real! It's actually real! It's the next Daring Do bookIcan'tbelieveit-!"

Gripping the book tightly in her arms, she clenched her eyes shut and grinned like a young child at a candy store, wiggling her legs frantically as excitement coursed through her body, squealing like a cat.

After a few moments of happiness, she slowly released her grip on the book and gently held it in her hooves. She was still smiling, but was also somewhat tearful at the fact that her friend was able to get this for her.

But her smile faded somewhat when she realized that she made him do this for her. She wondered what things he had to trade away or sell, and that only made her feel quite guilty.

But it wasn't too late to appreciate it.

With a turn of her head towards her friend, she cracked a smile and said, with a calm and surprisingly caring voice:

"... Thank you."

Freeing a hoof, she hovered it over towards the closest one and gently rested it there for a moment or two. While it was somewhat creepily quiet, it did nothing to ruin the moment.

She only wished he was awake right now. But she didn't want the setting to stay somber forever.

Lifting another smile, she added, "Let's see what else you got me... okay?"

Removing her hoof, she placed the book back into the satchel to read later and pulled out the second gift. This second gift was much smaller and much thinner, indicating it might be some sort of card or maybe even a bookmark.

But as she felt the gift behind its paper covering, she noticed that there was not one, but two of them wrapped. She was very curious to know what they could have been. As she began to open the wrapping, she kept the assumption that they were maybe Daring Do and Wonderbolts bookmarks. Maybe they were even the rare ones that she was always saving up for.

But when her eyes fell upon what they really were, she had to look closer to see if she was just seeing things.

But she wasn't. And so she read what she saw on those cards.

Or rather---tickets.

WONDERBOLTS WONDER SPECTATULAR

With this ticket, you are allowed to see the Wonderbolts perform what is known as the Spectacle of the Century! Watch them perform daring stunts, insane tricks, and most of all, their best stunt yet: The Atom! So don't miss out!

The performance will take place at Cloudsdale's Grand Sky Stadium on the 21st of Windfall at 8:00 PM. Be sure to arrive 30 minutes before or earlier get yourself the best spots! See you there!

Spitfire
Soarin
Fleetfoot

It was real.

It was really real.

There were even signatures on it.

No one could fake their signatures, it was impossible.

He got her rare tickets to one of the most looked upon events of the century... for her.

She felt like a monster. She was a monster.

He had gone through possibly so much, to Tartarus and back, just to get a couple of tickets for her. Expensive ones, but tickets nonetheless. Sure, he could have gotten her a keychain, a bookmark. Hell, even a plushie!

But instead, he decided to get her this over all of those.

The realization of that alone left her speechless. She didn't know what to say or do, or how to feel. But eventually, she felt the guilt come on, and it came on strong.

She always saw him as some "obsessive moron" that tried too hard to make her laugh and smile, and her alone. But now she began to wonder if she had gone about it all wrong. Took it too far. She always thought she was justified with the way she reacted.

But the moment Twilight...

As the seconds passed in silence, Dash took both tickets in one hoof. Holding them closely to her chest, she placed her other hoof back onto his. She found herself staring, seemingly for a long time, at his face.

His bruised and cut face.

And it made her think. Would it even look like that if she apologized earlier?

Just the thought alone made her grip his hoof just slightly more---it was as if she felt afraid that he would slip away if she wasn't holding on hard enough.

The mare felt her heart beating faster with worry and uncertainty.

Fear.

She feared what the future would hold... not just for her and the others. But mostly him.

For what felt like a few minutes, Dash continued to stare at his face, occasionally glancing at her and his connecting hooves every other moment or so. It did make her blush somewhat, but there were more thoughts flooding her mind at the moment. And they were anything but positive.

After enough time had passed, Rainbow put the tickets back into the satchel, safely and securely to prevent bending or tearing them, and slowly removed her hoof from his. A part of her felt sad upon doing so.

Reaching back into the satchel, past the tickets and the book, she once again came across the apparent letter that he had written for her. Just as he wished, she waited until she saw the gifts. Now it was time to read.

Removing the tape that kept the note folded, she began to unfold the paper.

What she was greeted with was a rather large assortment of words and thoughts. There were scribbles and cross-outs here and there, but there was still something for her to read.

But what she did read, it only worsened the ever growing guilt inside her. But nonetheless, she read on.

Dear Rainbow Dash,

I know, I know. By now, you're probably annoyed of all the letters that come from me. I'm sorry about all of that. But please... hear me out.

I can only somewhat understand the amount of frustration that I've given you over these last few years. I know that I'm a screwup. I don't want to be, but I can't ever seem to keep myself from screwing up further.

I know I cause problems for you and the other Pegasi with some of the trouble I caused. I hope they can forgive me for it. I hope YOU can forgive me for it.

I'm writing this letter because I don't want you to think of me as some kind of idiot who's obssessed with you. You're the one girl I really found amazing, and I only wanted to impress you sometimes, even unintentionally.

I wanted to be someone that you could trust...that you could enjoy being around.

You make me warm inside. My he Whenever I see you, I can't You're beautiful.

I love you. I know I've probably said it a dozen times already, but I do mean it. I know nothing will ever come of it, and it was stupid of me to ever consider it. I care about you and don't want to lose whatever sliver of friendship you have for me. I hope you can forgive me for ever being a bother to you.

I really hope you like the gifts. Daring was kind enough to give me the book. She apparently planned to make it, but she knew she would never be able to make it to your party with the work she has. Twilight did try to get the tickets for you, but I won them first in a radio contest. Sorry I won them cheaply. I didn't have much of a choice.

And if you haven't figured it out by now, this satchel they came in is another gift from Daring herself.

I wanted to write this letter as a way of hoping to find some way of forgiveness from you. I'm really sorry for all the trouble I've caused all this time. I want to make it up to you, not just with these gifts. Maybe someday, we can go out sometime and try to make amends. As friends, nothing more.

If you want that, I'd be glad. If you crumple up this letter and throw it in a fire, I wouldn't blame you.

But I hope that things will be different this time.

Happy birthday, Dashie.

The letter ended with his signature. And then the letter ended. And once it did, Rainbow found herself leaning back into her chair and looking up at the dimly lit ceiling.

And all she could do was just stare. And stare. And stare.

And as she stared at the dark ceiling, that last... sentence played in her mind again and again.

But I hope that things will be different this time.

And again.

But I hope that things will be different this time.

And again. Like a taunt on a loop, it rang in her mind even after she drifted into sleep. Even as she dreamed, even as that sentence plagued her mind with guilt, she hoped that she would wake up from this nightmare of despair, and he too would be just as awake as her.