*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
Twilight's heartbeat pulsed through her ears in time with the rhythmic tone. There was an even pressure against most of her body as the unfamiliar feel of bandages smothered her fur.
She jerkily flicked her ears and something shifted atop Twilight's head to sit hanging from her horn, filling her vision with brown as her eyes cracked open. Applejack's warm smile replaced the dull haze as the hat was pulled away. "Hey, there, sugahcube. We're all mighty glad to see yer all right." She reached up and situated the hat back on Twilight's head before placing Twilight's hoof in her own.
Twilight swallowed hard, wings straining against restraints, and winced after releasing a muffled grunt. "Shush," Applejack gently rubbed her hoof, "ya don't have tah say nothin'." Her warm smile and bright emerald eyes beneath that tousled mane put Twilight's mind at ease.
The corners of Twilight's muzzle twitched as she squeezed her friend's hoof back with a weak nod.
Wrinkles formed in the stiff hospital sheets as Twilight shifted her gaze around the room. "Get Well Soon" was plastered in bright letters on the face of several balloons. Matted pink hair at the foot of her hospital bed obscured Fluttershy's face as her folded ears twitched slightly between quiet sobs. Cupcakes with three different shades of purple frosting were set on a silver platter atop a cabinet in the far corner of the room. Pinkie Pie's straightened mane cast a shadow across the right side of the hospital bed in the orange glow of the evening sun.
As Twilight's gaze settled upon her, Pinkie's muzzle perked up into a small, sad smile before she spoke, "Hey, Twilight, it just wouldn't be a party without you." Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes.
Applejack held the pillow in place as Twilight shifted with a pained expression. Pinkie carefully wrapped Twilight's hoof in her own as it was feebly stretched towards her. A few dry coughs escaped Twilight, but Pinkie just shook her head as she looked down at her.
Fluttershy's silent fit of coughing snapped Twilight's attention to the end of her bed. Her pink hair shook slightly as her hooves kept tracing the same patterns is her mussed fur. With a grimace, Twilight stretched against the spasming protests of her body to extend her bandaged leg, gently nudging her friend's hooves.
Wet pink hair whipped like a curtain as Fluttershy recoiled further into her own embrace. "Don't hurt yerself trying, Twi." Applejack lightly rubbed her hoof as her smile slipped. "She plum won't listen and won't quit blaming herself fer not going with you an' Spike earlier." Twilight winced at the ball of a weeping pegasus. Shaking her head, Applejack continued, "ah know, ya didn' want anypony else there in case things went sour, but ya know how much we worry about ya when ya go off and do all those crazy things ya do without thinkin'!"
Their eyes met for a moment before Twilight quickly looked down at her sheets. A wet spot formed as a single tear escaped her cheek and Applejack quickly bit her lip. "Ah didn't mean that, ah'm sorry." Purple eyes peered up at her for a second before looking away to the other side of the room.
"It's jus'..." Applejack chewed on her words while she traded glances with Pinkie before looking over at Fluttershy. "Ah'm not the only one that knows yer the most important one outta the bushel of us." Pinkie closed her eyes and Twilight jolted back to stare up at her friend, wide-eyed. "No, just listen tah me. Yer the newest princess of Equestria, and hoofpicked by Celestia herself, no less. Ah'd say that makes ya a-mite more special than the rest of us. Yer taking on so many responsibilities, but ya still feel like ya have to make time for us like we're just more work..." Weak coughs and trembling shook the hospital bed.
Applejack inhaled raggedly before before looking down. "Oh." She tutted over Twilight like a mother to a newborn foal, wiping away her tears with the edge of the blanket. "Don't cry so much, sugahcube, it makes ya look like a right sorry mess." Twilight searched Applejack's face, mouth working weakly. "I jus' want to make sure that ah can be there for ye." Pinkie met Applejack's eyes over the hospital bed. "That we can be there for ya. How are we supposed tah be the Elements of Harmony if ya don't let us help ya? Isn't that what friends are for?" She brushed the fringe out of Twilight's eyes, with a half-hearted grin. "We'll be here for ya if ya let us, no strings attached, ah promise."
The quartet stayed like that for a time, silent save for the machinery, as if they were objects of affection on a canvas squirrelled away and forgotten beneath the sands of time.
All the calm and quiet in the room did little to prevent the argument on the other side of the door from reaching its apex.
"No," Rainbow Dash blurted out, "you don't get to tell me 'no'!" Fluttershy's sobbing intensified along with the fresh round of involuntary shivers that coursed through her body.
"Well, excuse me for doing my job!" The huffing of Nurse Redheart made Pinkie close her eyes while her ears clamped down on the sides of her head. "But, you! Oh, you're in here every other week because you're such a thick-headed mare." Applejack cast a worried glance towards Pinkie when she pulled Twilight's hoof to her chest in an iron grip. "Don't tell me how to do my job when you can't even take care of yourself!" Pinkie began mouthing something while she rocked slightly, and Applejack's ears twitched while her eyes darted from Pinkie to the door as Rainbow Dash snorted.
"Now, now, Rainbow, you know I agree with you," Rarity cut in, but anger fringed her words, "but we need to stay calm and have this conversation like mature adults." A curt snarl from Rainbow Dash silenced Rarity with a squeak.
"Mature adults!? forget that, I want answers! That's our friend in there, and I, at least, care if there's something we can do to help! Why is she so unresponsive? Give her some of my blood if she needs it, do that thing that you ponies do with the blood to make sure it won't get attacked by her immune system!"
Derisive laughter heralded Nurse Redheart's reply. "Seriously? We've already administered as much saline solution as we can after I stopped most of the bleeding. Snowheart and Tenderheart have already gone through our records to begin the cross-matching to find suitable donors."
"If you're so good at your job why is she still in such bad shape? Do you even care about your patients!?"
"That's it!" Stomping shook the bland, framed pictures on the wall. "I will not tolerate personal attacks! Leave my hospital this instant!"
Utterances formed and died in Rainbow's throat during which Rarity seized her opportunity to cut in. "Come, now, Rainbow, we wouldn't want to make Twilight's head nurse any angrier than she already is." Rainbow growled. "That's final, let's go before she decides to not even bother helping Twilight."
With an exasperated groan from Redheart, the flapping of a pair of wings quickly shot away from the door with a set of hoofsteps taking off after it, Rarity calling out for Rainbow Dash. Dark mumblings slowly died away as another set of hooves slowly went the other direction.
Pinkie's rocking motion stopped and she placed Twilight's hoof back on the bed while Fluttershy returned to her relatively quiet sobbing. "Listen, Twi," she looked up at Applejack, "ol' Redheart is doing the best she can. I'm sure yer gonna be right as rain, thanks to her." The only response the cowpony got was the look of Twilight's eyes glazing over as her head slowly fell to the side. "Twilight? Twilight, look at me!" Machinery started beeping rapidly as alarms filled the room.
Fluttershy bolted upright, her entire face damp around a determined expression as she ripped the sheets of the bed and moved towards the head of the bed, gently trying to roll Twilight onto her side. Dry heaves and convulsions wracked Twilight's body and Pinkie quickly leaned forward, shifting the pillow under her head while helping Fluttershy to roll her completely onto her side. "Ah, shoot..." Applejack turned to leave, a sullen look on her face, as Pinkie began crying, furiously wringing her hooves.
Broken was the caring embrace shared by their hooves as Applejack galloped towards the door. A single bandaged hoof twitching weakly in her direction before falling limp over the side of the bed.