In Darkness

by applejackofalltrades

Six

It had been a month since Spitfire and Applejack reconciled, and Spitfire hadn’t felt this happy since before the war started and she was just a regular Wonderbolts captain—the type that coordinated stunt shows, not the type that led ponies into war and possibly their own deaths.

The building excitement in her body wasn’t only because she was once again next to Applejack, the mare that she might love—the verdict was still out on that—but also because she was supposed to go for her last eyesight appointment in only a few hours or less. She wasn’t exactly sure, the time seemed to pass differently when the hospital no longer felt like a drag, but instead a cause for joy as they would hopefully both soon be able to leave.

By a stroke of luck, Applejack had been cleared at her last check-up and was deemed ready to leave after one last round of antibiotics, some salves, and instruction for home care in case anything came up. Magic really was something to be happy for, Spitfire figured. They could both leave soon, by the end of the week at most, she figured.

In fact, they were both so overjoyed that despite the dismay of multiple members of the hospital staff, the two mares had eagerly pushed their beds together and began talking into the dead of night like fillies at summer camp. When they’d chastise them and split up the sleeping arrangements up again in the morning, they would just do it over again in the night. After the first week, the doctors gave up on making them stop. There wasn’t really any harm to it, so why make them stop?

Spitfire couldn’t help but smile at the thought of doing something so foalish and immature. She wouldn’t have ever done something like that, but being with Applejack made her feel like a filly again. She adjusted her current position until she pushed further into Applejack’s sleeping body.

The earth pony was no longer ashamed to have Spitfire feel her burns. She no longer turned her body away from the pegasus so she couldn’t feel the wrinkled skin that covered where she had been injured. Instead, Spitfire now felt it along her back and over her barrel where Applejack had left her foreleg. The pegasus was careful not to move too much as to not wake Applejack up, but she really couldn’t sleep. She was too excited!

And nervous. Definitely nervous. Like with any medical procedure, there was the chance that something could go wrong, but everything had been going so well that she wasn’t really that worried about it. They’d said the margin of error was small, small enough so that it shouldn’t be a big concern, and Spitfire was definitely not going to blow things out of proportion. She had a knack for surviving. Her time in the war had proved that, despite all odds, Spitfire would always see things through to the other side.

In the meantime, she was more than happy to lay in Applejack’s grasp. She wasn’t sure exactly what it meant, but she figured that Applejack didn’t really know either. They just let whatever happened happen, and they grew closer because of that. Spitfire at least knew she liked Applejack. More than she’d like a friend, that was for sure. She like liked Applejack.

The pegasus clicked her tongue in amusement. “Tch, what am I,” she whispered, shaking her head, “a school filly? Like-like.”

Behind her, Applejack let out a low hum. “Spitfire?” she groggily asked in the darkness of the room. “You say somethin’?”

It had to be at least an hour or two before dawn, and Spitfire certainly hadn’t meant to wake Applejack up. Guilt made her wilt, but it didn’t last long as Applejack tightened her hold on the pegasus. Spitfire’s heart skipped a beat, which only made her roll her eyes at herself. “I was just talking to myself.”

“Oh, I thought I heard somethin’. What about?” Applejack’s creaky, sleep-filled voice asked softly into Spitfire’s ear. Her breath tickled, and Spitfire snorted out a tiny laugh.

“I was thinking about you, actually,” Spitfire admitted. “I’m going to finally get to see you, ‘Jack. I guess I’m just excited.”

Applejack chuckled. Her chest rumbled with it and Spitfire felt her laugh. She couldn’t hold back the laugh that escaped her own lips—a giddy, gleeful one that lasted a short time, but it held all the mirth inside her. She really was like a little filly, but she didn’t mind!

“Well I’m excited for ya,” Applejack responded, nuzzling Spitfire from behind. “I think after all this time I’ve finally steadied myself. I’m ready for you to see me. Just in time, too, don’t ya think?”

Spitfire nodded. “I’ve been dreaming about you saying those words, you know. Feels good to finally hear them come from you.” She leaned her head into Applejack’s nuzzle, feeling the way Applejack’s skin felt against her coat.

“Mhm,” Applejack vocalized as she stopped the nuzzle, much to Spitfire’s dismay. She loosened her hold on the pegasus, which Spitfire knew to mean that she wanted to talk face-to-face, so she adjusted herself onto her other side, curious about what Applejack wanted to talk about. Applejack moved, too, probably onto her stomach. She had said once that it was more comfortable that way.

“What’s up? I can tell you wanna say something,” Spitfire prompted curiously.

“Well, before all this, I just wanna clear somethin’ up, I guess,” Applejack started. “Now, don’t you mind this question. I reckon you’ll figure I’m about as dense as the apple trees I grew up around, and it’s true, but I just gotta ask… Well, to be blunt, is there somethin’ between us?”

Spitfire knew that Applejack had to be blushing, and she just wished she could see it. She did her best to try to suppress her own blush, but there was only so much she could do about the way her blood decided to flow into her face. Instead, she tried to play it cool. “If you want there to be,” Spitfire offered. “I think we got caught up in each other and let it happen, but we never really talked about it.”

“If I’m being honest, well, I do like you, Spitfire,” Applejack admitted. “I never did feel this way ‘bout anypony before, but I know it’s true. I just really had to ask. We’ve been, y’know, sharin’ a bed for a while now.”

They both laughed softly at that.

“Well, Applejack, I would like it if there was nothing between us,” Spitfire said teasingly. “By which I mean I want you to hold me again.”

“Oh, you’re like a li’l puppy, you know that?” Applejack asked, prodding at Spitfire to urge her to return to her spot. “C’mon then, ya softie. Are all pegasi soldiers like you? ‘Cause I know the earth ponies sure ain’t.”

Spitfire let herself be held again, though she really couldn’t the redness she could feel burning her cheeks. “If you tell anyone, I swear to Celestia I’ll show you just why I’m a general.”

“Scary.”

---

Applejack snored sometimes, which was fine. Spitfire had long been desensitized to sleeping around various noises, but for some reason, Applejack’s snoring had woken Spitfire up for the first time. Her eyes blinked groggily open, only for her to realize she hadn’t even noticed ever falling asleep. Though, to be fair, most ponies don’t ever notice falling asleep.

Applejack had turned on her back and slept with her hooves in the air, which meant that Spitfire wouldn’t have to shimmy out of her grip. That, at least, was good. The slight amount of light she was able to make out told her it was dawn, though she wasn’t sure how far along the sunrise was. It didn’t really matter, she figured, just as long as it was fully up by the time she would be able to open her eyes and really see.

Carefully, she made her way off the bed and gently touched her hooves to the ground. Once on all fours, she turned and decided to actually preen her wings. She wouldn’t be able to see what she was doing, but she could do a good enough job without sight. For some reason, she felt more adamant about looking presentable that day. Maybe it had something to do about finally being able to see herself.

Oof, I must look like a mess, she realized with an amused smile as she pulled on a stray feather and straightened it out as best as she could. If she was half as disastrous as her wings appeared to be, then it was a miracle that Applejack had any kind of interest in her.

As if on cue, the earth pony snored loudly and then mumbled something inaudible before returning to the quiet snoring. Spitfire smiled at that and decided she was done with her wings. They were as good as they were going to get and besides, she could always finish them up after. All she had left to do was wait. She sat kind of in the middle of the room. It felt so much bigger with their beds together, which only left her wondering why they were even still there. “They” being herself and Applejack.

Surely, they could have been sent home and been told to come back for check ups after they had recovered enough, but at the same time, Spitfire would guess that it was safer to keep at least Applejack in the hospital where it was sterile and risk of infection was low. It had clearly worked; there had been no complications when it came to the earth pony’s recovery, so the next question was why they had kept Spitfire there.

Did they feel sorry for her? Where could she have been sent anyway? Cloudsdale was pretty much just a military base, and it wasn’t like she could stay at anypony’s house; all of her friends were gone. That prompted a morbid thought to pop into the pegasus’s head. Maybe they were keeping her so they could keep an eye on her. To make sure she didn’t try anything.

The thought made her frown because she totally understood why that would be the case. Before Applejack came, Spitfire dreaded being in the hospital. She dreaded being alive. Why did she get to survive but none of her friends did? Why was she the lucky one? That’s what a doctor—or maybe a nurse?—had told her all those months ago, that she was one of the lucky ones. She certainly didn’t feel that way at the time.

But now? Now, Spitfire could hear Applejack sleeping off somewhere behind her. There was no more hissing from machines, no more incessant beeping, no more things to remind her what she hated about herself and about her environment. For the first time in forever, Spitfire felt giddy. It was almost easy to forget the state of the world but with Applejack around, that hardly mattered.

Soon, she’d get her vision back and whatever happened after was a problem for future Spitfire.

The procedure was set to happen in the early morning. It wasn’t supposed to take very long but she did have to wear a blindfold for a day after. It was almost cruel to keep her from being able to see with a blindfold, but it was for medical reasons and Spitfire wasn’t about to argue with that. Whatever it took, it would be worth it. Besides, that meant she got to take off her blindfold with Applejack, too. She made sure of that.

As excited as she was, she was equal parts nervous. It had almost just become normal to not see anything but lights and shadows and the idea of being thrown back into pitch-black nothingness again was a bit nerve-wracking, but it was only temporary. She hoped.

Regardless, since the sun was rising, then it would happen soon. And then she would have to stay for one last night, and if things went well, then she’d be clear to leave along with Applejack who also had her final appointment on the same day. She would finally lay her eyes on Applejack, and they could leave. That was what they had wanted for so long. So many nights awake wishing to leave soon. Talking about what it’d be like to get out of the hospital, hoping that maybe the world wouldn’t be as shit as it was four months ago.

Four months. It seemed like such a long time, but looking back, it was only four months. Yet, as Spitfire and Applejack both knew, life could change in a split second. And four months were full of split seconds. Spitfire just hoped that every single one of those counted for something. All the talks, and the listening, and even the arguing. Arguing that led to making up. Arguing that led to the closeness she was able to have with Applejack. It was all worth it. That made her smile.

From the bed, Applejack stirred. Spitfire’s ears turned to the noise, followed by her head. She hadn’t even noticed Applejack’s snores subside until the mare’s yawn filled the air once again.

“Good morning, Sleepyjack,” Spitfire teased.

“Howdy,” she greeted in return. “Did you sleep at all? I know you were up late last night, and you’re up with the sunrise now. Nervous?”

Spitfire laughed and shook her head. “No, I’m not really nervous. Well, I guess in a way I am, but it’s more just… nerves. Does that make sense?”

“I get what you mean.” After a moment, Applejack had jumped down to the floor as well and sat next to Spitfire. “That’s how my li’l sis always felt before field trips at her school.”

“Yeah, I guess it is kinda like that,” Spitfire agreed. She shifted her weight between her forelegs, feeling how the pain had entirely gone away. Sometimes, her shoulder felt sore or couldn’t handle all her weight, but that would hopefully go away in time. It just reminded her of how much time she had really passed with Applejack by her side, even if sometimes it felt like Applejack didn't want to be there.

“Whatcha thinkin’ bout?” Applejack asked, breaking into Spitfire’s thought. The pegasus gave her a funny look, to which Applejack responded with a smile. “Ya get this look on your face when you’re thinkin’. It’s kinda cute.”

Spitfire rolled her eyes and looked away. “I was just thinking about how much has changed in the past four months. The main thing for me being my injuries, of course, but that made me think about how we’ve changed, too,” she explained. “You used to be so quiet and reserved. I guess I understood why, but you always kept me at a distance. But then we started to get closer, and every time I noticed that I could put more weight on my leg, I noticed you would speak more, too.”

In turn, Applejack let out a short chuckle. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I can’t lie, I don’t really like gettin’ close to ponies, but it was hard not to get close to you.”

“Is it because we’re always in the same room?”

“Hah, that and the fact that you made it worth wakin’ up, Spitfire,” Applejack admitted. “I was so scared about what happened to me, and I let it get between us for a bit there. You’re a lot nicer than I thought you’d be, y’know.”

“Hey, that goes for you too, ‘Jack. But seriously, I think you’re the best thing that could have happened to me.”

“Back at ya,” Applejack responded. “I can’t imagine what I woulda done without you here.”

Spitfire smiled and used her sense of hearing to guide her to Applejack’s face where she gave a soft nuzzle. “I don’t think I even want to think about that.”

“Hah!” Applejack guffawed and leaned back. “Yeah, me neither. Maybe I woulda gotten a different annoyin’ roommate.”

“So I’m annoying now?” Spitfire quipped, flashing a smile at Applejack, who she was sure rolled her eyes. “Hey, at least I’m not in a full-body wing and hoof cast drinking through a straw! Imagine that.” She made an elongated exaggerated slurping sound until Applejack gently whacked her with a hoof and they both started laughing.

Just as they finished their bout of laughter, the door opened with that same telltale squeak.

“Oh good, you’re both awake,” spoke a familiar voice. It was one of the nurses that regularly came to check on them. “You must both be excited.”

“Yes ma’am, we are!” Applejack responded with the same, almost strange, level of enthusiasm she had picked up recently. “Spitfire here’s just about rarin’ to get out, and I feel the same.”

Spitfire cleared her throat. “It’s not like we aren’t appreciative of everything you’ve been doing for us or anything, in fact, it’s really been amazing what you have been able to do! But—”

“I understand,” the nurse interjected. “If I was stuck here for four months, I think I’d be just about ready to leave as well. Don’t worry.”

The pegasus nodded and sighed in relief. She couldn’t think of a way to respond to that so she stayed silent as a different set of hoofsteps came in.

“Good morning, General. I see you’re up bright and early,” a stallion’s voice spoke. This one she had only heard a few times when they had actually improved her vision. That must be the unicorn who was going to try to finalize it all. “I trust you’re ready for the final hurdle.”

Spitfire gulped as Applejack placed a hoof on her back. She wasn’t nervous before, but she was starting to feel the butterflies in her stomach. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Well, then we’d better get going. I’ll give you a moment to get yourself ready.” With that being said, he left the room. His hoofsteps echoed in the hallway.

Spitfire smirked a bit. He really wasn’t a stallion of many words, but that was just fine by her. A set of familiar-sounding wheels squeaked close to her. She narrowed her eyes to try to remember what that noise was when it hit her. Her eyes widened and she shook her head in amused disbelief. “Is that a wheelchair?”

“Yes, we know you can walk to the room, but it’s better for you to conserve your energy,” the nurse explained.

“I guess I’m ending this how I started,” Spitfire joked. “Blind and in a wheelchair.”

As she took her seat on the chair, Applejack chortled a bit behind her. Spitfire stuck her tongue out in the hopes that the earth pony saw before waving as the chair started to move.

Soon, she’d be done. Just two more days.

The door shut behind her and she knew she was on her way. It was weird to be wheeled out of the room again after so long, but it was oddly comforting, kind of like closure. Hopefully, it’d be one of the last times she’d be wheeled out of anywhere.

They were taking her somewhere different. She could tell. It wasn’t the familiar room where they did most of her check-ins and procedures. They had gone further down the hallway and taken a right rather than a left. That made sense, it was probably meant for more important procedures.

Spitfire gulped. They had stopped moving her, and judging by the lights she could see, they were in a different room now. It seemed like there were at least two other ponies in there, judging by the hushed whispering that died out shortly after she had been rolled in.

The pony wheeling her in gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder as she stepped away from the room and closed the door behind her. That made sense, she didn’t usually stick around for any of the actual procedures.

“Well, General,” the same stoic voice from before spoke, “are you ready now?”

As the second pony guided Spitfire to a different seat, one meant to hold an unconscious patient with what felt like several straps, she nodded and let out a curt breath. “Sure am, Doc.”

The all too familiar feeling of magic washed over her as her body relaxed with it. Her eyelids were heavy and the voices around her faded away along with her consciousness.

As she drifted into sleep, she couldn’t keep the smile from her face until it finally fell asleep along with the rest of her body.

---

“You ready?”

Spitfire could stand to never hear that question again, or at least not for a while. The circumstances surrounding that specific utterance made it okay, though. That and the pony asking it.

A soft wind blew through her mane as she fiddled with the blindfold nestled over her eyes. The pegasus nodded at Applejack’s question. “Yeah, I am.”

The hospital had a courtyard that was actually not a horrible place to be, according to what Spitfire had heard. Much like the outside world, it was a bit barren, though not in such a bad way. She could feel it in the soft, gentle breeze and in the way the wind carried some warmth to it. The air even smelled nice, and she wondered what kind of magic had been cast to keep it so different than the outside world. It might have even been easy to forget it was even part of a hospital, especially since she couldn’t see.

The feeling of the stone floor beneath her hooves and the warm breeze made Spitfire’s heart lurch, but that was nothing compared to how she felt when Applejack’s hooves came to rest on her shoulders. She felt how the earth pony trembled slightly, but she couldn’t judge because she was probably shaking worse.

It was finally time to take off the blindfold.

“Alright, Spitfire,” a different voice spoke. It was one of the ponies who had done the procedure the day before. Spitfire wasn’t exactly sure of her name, but she recognized her voice. “As per your request, we brought your roommate. And as per her request, we’re doing this outside.”

“You sure you still want me to be the first thing you see?” Applejack asked from directly in front of her.

Spitfire nodded. “More than anything.”

She was ready, and she was so nervous. But Applejack was the thing that kept her from falling apart. Of course she wanted to see her. Applejack pushed gently down on Spitfire’s shoulders as if to mimic a nod and then let the pegasus go. Preemptively, Spitfire shut her eyes. The knot on the blindfold loosened but was held to her eyes for a moment extra. The pegasus almost wanted to force herself out of its blinding hold, but she forced herself to sit still.

“Here goes nothing,” Spitfire whispered as the blindfold dropped and the sun’s light beamed on her eyelids. Even with her eyes closed, it was impossibly bright. However, that wasn’t what she had been waiting for.

With a slow exhale, Spitfire opened her eyes and looked at Applejack.

She was blurry at first, just a mess of colours against the dim grays of the outdoor setting. Spitfire couldn’t keep her eyes from instinctually blinking against the almost painful light but her eyes adjusted and Applejack finally came into view, even if it was still a bit blurry.

Just like she thought that day that Applejack had described herself to the pegasus, she was better than anything Spitfire could have ever imagined.

Comments

[Bicyclette]

In fact, they were both so overjoyed that despite the dismay of multiple members of the hospital staff, the two mares had eagerly pushed their beds together and began talking into the dead of night like fillies at summer camp. When they’d chastise them and split up the sleeping arrangements up again in the morning, they would just do it over again in the night. After the first week, the doctors gave up on making them stop. There wasn’t really any harm to it, so why make them stop?

hehehe, this is so cute!

The pegasus clicked her tongue in amusement. “Tch, what am I,” she whispered, shaking her head, “a school filly? Like-like.”

hehe, i was about to remark exactly that!

Spitfire let herself be held again, though she really couldn’t the redness she could feel burning her cheeks. “If you tell anyone, I swear to Celestia I’ll show you just why I’m a general.”

“Scary.”

hahaha, Applejack is so good at that! augh, i can just imagine her smug smile

“Good morning, Sleepyjack,” Spitfire teased.

hehehe good nickname

“Hey, at least I’m not in a full-body wing and hoof cast drinking through a straw! Imagine that.”

hehehe, very fitting reference, was waiting for this one!

As she drifted into sleep, she couldn’t keep the smile from her face until it finally fell asleep along with the rest of her body.

aww, such a difference from where she was at the start of the story

“You sure you still want me to be the first thing you see?” Applejack asked from directly in front of her.

Spitfire nodded. “More than anything.”

dang, you are really building up this moment!

Just like she thought that day that Applejack had described herself to the pegasus, she was better than anything Spitfire could have ever imagined.

and how could it end any other way? augh, i just want a fanart of this moment!