Author's Note: This is a retelling of milesprower06's "A Precious Rainbow". This first part contains copy/pasting, which he gave permission to use, to tell part of the story, but most of it is original, even within the copy/pasted parts. This is also my first short story, so the quality may be lacking compared to what you're used to, but bear with me...
NOTE: I made Rarity French because, at this point, I hadn't seen many episodes featuring Rarity besides the first one, in which she speaks a bit of French. I see now that that's not the case... but I don't care. I like her better this way. She stays. Don't like it? Sue me.
TWO SHATTERED HEARTS
PART 1: MEMORIES:
"Well." Pinkie said, putting the skull down and picking up her scalpel. "It's time to begin." She walked over to the wimpering Dash's right flank. Without any flair, she sliced the skin around Dash's cutie mark in a circular motion. Dash gasped in pain.
"Dash?"
Dash ground her teeth in agony as she watched her flesh scraped off by the skinning knife. Her thighs burned.
"Dash! Wake up!"
Pinkie grabbed her left wing and brought the knife down again and again. Blood and flesh flew in flecks as Dash screamed and thrashed. Despite the force used, the bone wouldn't cut. "Oh well. Let's try this!" Pinkie cheerfully said, pulling out a hacksaw. It sailed effortlessly through the bone and Dash could only watch in horror as it flew over her head onto the table in front of her.
"Dash! You're dreaming! Wake up!"
Dash screamed as Pinkie drove white hot nails into the bottoms of her hooves, the heat almost instantly melting and blistering her skin and muscle. But Pinkie wasn't done yet... She wrapped copper wires around each nail, attatched them to a small generator, and turned it on. Dash gave a throat-tearing scream as surges of electricity rocketed through her, paralyzing every muscle and igniting every nerve!
"Dash! Listen to me! You HAVE to wake up! It's only a dream!"
The drug had numbed her below her ribcage, but Rainbow could still watch in agony and disbelief as Pinkie made a slit right above her pelvis. She couldn't feel physical pain, but inside, her mind wailed in fear and torment.
"DASH!"
There was a sudden, sharp sting across her face and Rainbow Dash woke up screaming! "Rainbow! Calm down!" Applejack yelled, having no time to feel sorry for slapping her best friend across the muzzle. The heart monitor next to the bed beeped furiously and AJ feared that if she didn't calm down soon, it would soon flatline.
"Dash! Listen! It was all a dream. You're safe!" The screaming gradually died, as Rainbow slowly snapped back to , she looked around the room, taking in her surroundings.
She was still in AJ's guest room, where she had been for a while now. The moonlight shone through the window, hitting the mirror on the dresser and lighting the room.
In front of her was Applejack, breathing slowly but heavily in fright. The heart monitor gradually slowed down as Rainbow Dash calmed.
Applejack wiped a hoof across her brow. "You had me worried for a minute, Sugarcube." Applejack said, relieved.
Despite the dream she just had being long past, Dash still clutched the bed covers in fright, breathing heavily, her pupils dilated. She moved an arm up to her face, ignoring the itching pain emenating from the bandaged area, and slowly rubbed the area where AJ's hoof had hit her to wake her up.
"Applejack?" she asked, still in shock. "It's alright, Sugarcube. You're safe now." AJ said reassuringly. "That was a close call though." she continued, giving a nervous chuckle. "Feel alright?"
"...I was there." Dash said, her voice nearly a whisper. The heart monitor still beeped above normal, showing that Dash was still shaken by her nightmare. "I was... back there... tied to that table, and Pinkie Pie was... she was..." Dash's eyes welled up and she burst into tears of pain and sorrow.
"It's alright." AJ said again, putting an arm around Dash in sympathy and comfort. "You're here. You're safe. You're with me now. Pinkie can't hurt you. She's gone."
Dash slowly stopped crying, but tears still ran down her cheeks as she tearfully said "She took my wings, Applejack. She ruined my life. My dreams of being the fastest flier ever. She cut off my cutie marks. She ruined my hooves. She barbequed me! She did THIS to me!" Dash shoved the bandaged arm she had been rubbing her face with into AJ's face.
"She did... she did..." Applejack sadly replied. "...But you're alive. You're alive and you're with your friends. Everything's fine now, and everything will stay fine. Ah promise."
The heart monitor finally slowed to normal speed and Dash gave a deep sigh. "...I'm sorry, Applejack. I'll go back to sleep now."
"Yeah. You need some rest, Sugarcube. Lots of rest. You don't need to worry anymore. No more. Just sleep and get your strength back."
Dash lied back on the bed and shut her eyes. Applejack stayed by her side until she fell asleep a few minutes later, then she quietly opened the door, walked out of the room, and gently closed the door behind her.
She still felt shaken as she walked up the stairs back to her room. Rainbow hadn't had an attack for weeks now, and this time, there were no doctors or nurses to snap her out of it. If Applejack hadn't been downstairs at the time, quieting Winona... she preferred not to think about it...
"That was too close." she mumbled, as she reached the top of the stairs. Big Macintosh was snoring down the hall, tired from his day's work around the farm and oblivious to all that had happened the past few minutes.
Applejack opened her own door and slipped back into her room. As she crawled back into bed, she couldn't help but have her own memories of the event flash through her mind. She quickly blocked them and tightly shut her eyes.
"That was the most horrible thing we've been through. ...But what's over is over. Nothing to worry about now." Lying on her back, she thought about good times with her friends until her mind finally clouded and she drifted off to sleep.
...And remembered...
Against her conscious wishes, she remembered what had happened...
4 WEEKS AGO:
Applejack gave two knocks on the door to the bakery before opening it.
"Dash? Pinkie? Hellooooo?" she called, walking inside.
The bakery was almost pitch black, illuminated only by the moonlight through the open door.
Looking around, Applejack saw no sign of any ponies being here recently.
"That's mighty weird..." Applejack mumbled to herself. "If they're not at Dash's place er Pinkie's place er any of my other friend's homes, where could they have run off to?"
Applejack took several steps into the bakery, in hopes of getting a better look.
Despite the darkness, Applejack could make out several half-full trays of baked goods still on the shelves.
"Heh. Pinkie's gotten a bit lazy." she chuckled to herself. "...Welp, if nobody ain't here, Ah guess Ah'll just head on-"
A blood-curdling scream of pain erupted from nowhere, causing Applejack to jump back a few feet.
"...Dash?" Applejack yelled, recognizing the voice. "Dash! Where are ya?"
When AJ didn't get an answer, she started to panickedly run through the bakery, looking for her friend.
Despite the darkness, she could see well enough not to crash into anything... and to see that her friend wasn't in any of the rooms.
"Dash?" AJ called again. "Geez, where is that Pegasus? I looked everywhere round here... exceptin'..." AJ remembered the time Pinkie Pie showed her around the bakery and there was a trap door leading to a cellar where Pinkie said she "kept everything the bakery didn't need."
Running back toward the entryway, she threw back the rug in the center of the room and found the cellar door.
She grabbed the heavy metal ring and pulled, as another scream of pain faintly sounded from beneath the floor.
"Dash! Ah'm comin'!" she called out, struggling with the heavy door.
With a hearty tug, the door finally opened enough for AJ to squeeze through, the closing prevented by a latch on the inside.
The cellar was darker than the bakery, but if she squinted, she could make out the shapes of what she guessed were barrels and sacks of baking ingredients.
She started to make her way through the room, not knowing how long she may have to walk.
After a few feet, she started to hear... voices?
"Mumble mumble last mumble" she could make out, coming from several yards in front of her.
She continued slowly down the hall to the source, listening for more speech.
"Something mumble mumble pain away."
*silence for a few steps*
"In a mumble, you mumble feel anything mumble ribcage."
AJ started trotting faster toward the voices.
"Pinkie..."
AJ stopped in her tracks.
"Yeah?"
"I want to go home."
"Dash!" AJ silently shouted.
She was now galloping as fast as she could, no longer listening to anything said.
The hall only went a few more feet and she had to stop herself in time to avoid crashing into the door.
Now slightly panicked, she fumbled with the knob, managed to get her hooves around it, and threw open the door.
...She only needed a second to take in the scene that would haunt her for the rest of her life...
The room has been decorated in a twisted mind's idea of a party. Tables and chairs made of bone and skin sat in a corner of the room, with almost whole pony heads arranged neatly as centerpieces. A large banner reading "Life is a Party!" hung over the table. Tools and pieces of ponies littered the floor. Everything stank with urine, blood, and death. ...And at the center of it all was a barely conscious, badly hurt Rainbow Dash strapped to a wooden plank table, with Pinkie Pie right in front of her, holding a scalpel and staring at AJ.
AJ regained concentration quickly. "Pinkie!" she said, sternly. "'Ah don't know what you're thinkin', but I'mma give you one chance to drop that knife, now."
Pinkie looked dumbstruck for just a moment; as if AJ was out of line for giving her orders in her basement.
After a couple seconds, she blinked, and gave an enraged scream as she charged AJ with the scalpel.
Applejack, remaining collected, took a small leap forward, swiftly rotated 180 degrees on her front legs, and gave the insane Pinkie a full force buck to the chin with both back hooves.
The move sent Pinkie airborne, back-flipping wildly towards the back right corner of the room, where her head slammed into a wooden table with knives on it.
Her body slumped to the floor, motionless.
As several knives on the table clattered to the floor from the crash, AJ quickly approached Rainbow, growing more wide-eyed the closer she got.
"Oh, Equestria..." she said disbelievingly.
It seemed that Rainbow wasn't aware of anything that had happened in the last few seconds, her eyes wandering aimlessly.
AJ grabbed the dropped scalpel, and went immediately for the leather straps restraining Rainbow to the planks.
First the legs, then the arms, and Rainbow collapsed onto the cobblestone floor, where her body began to go into shock.
"Rainbow? Dash? Stay with me, Rainbow, ya hear? Stay with me. Rainbow!"
Applejack desperately fought back the panic.
If she didn't do something, and fast, her friend was going to die.
Answers for this horrific sight would have to wait.
Rainbow needed help, now.
She quickly cut through the copper wires that were wrapped around nails that had been hammered into her back hooves and connected to a power box on the far wall.
It was then that AJ noticed the deep cut made right above Dash's pelvis, bleeding profusely.
Nearly panicked, she quickly searched the room for something to stop the bleeding, her eyes finally resting on Pinkie Pie's... "dress".
Fighting the nausea, she grabbed the scalpel and rushed over to cut off a slice off the dead Pinkie Pie's-
...Dead?
...No...
AJ could see her still breathing, slowly, in a deep sleep.
She was alive...
Her jaw was visibly broken and a small stream of blood oozed out of her mouth onto the already blood-stained floor. On the back of her head was a deep gash from hitting the table, also bleeding, but not enough to prove life threatening.
Only the feeling of duty she had to her dying friend prevented AJ from finishing her off, right there and then.
Hurriedly returning to the task on hand, she cut the fleshiest part of the dress she could find and ran toward Dash. She dropped the scalpel and wrapped the "bandage" around the incision tightly, hoping it would stop the bleeding enough to get help.
Spotting a discarded bucket nearby, she resisted the nausea as best she could, and placed Rainbow's dismembered wings and cutie marks into the bucket before placing the unconscious Pegasus on her back, taking the rope handle of the bucket in her mouth, and racing out of the basement as fast as she could.
Before she left the bakery, an idea came to her.
Hurriedly, but gently, setting down Dash and the bucket, she slammed the trap door down and, running almost completely on adrenaline, pushed a nearby barrel on top.
"Get outta that, Pinkie." she muttered, before picking Dash and the bucket back up and bursting out the door into Sugarcube Corner, with only the cresent moon for light.
Making sure to keep her friend balanced on her back, she galloped as fast as she could to Ponyville Urgent Care.
Minutes later, she came bolting through the doors of the care center, dropping the bucket on the tile floor and screaming for help.
The desk attendant quickly alerted two orderlies, and they rolled out a gurney into the lobby, placing the unconscious Rainbow Dash onto it, and rolled her into the ER, quickly signaling for a doctor's immediate attention.
Applejack's eyes were locked on her friend all the way to the shutting ER doors; the last sight of her was blood starting to trickle from the Pegasus' mouth.
The events of the night finally catching up to her, Applejack resisted the urge to vomit one last time, and passed out in the lobby.
Applejack sat upright in her bed, panting heavily in fright. She too had to survey her room before she could be convinced that it was all a dream. ...But it wasn't, and she knew it. It was her memory of the night Dash's future changed. When everyone's future changed, because of what Pinkie Pie did... Groaning, disgusted at what little sleep she was getting, she lied back down and closed her eyes... but couldn't go to sleep. The memories continued to flow through her mind. She spaced out as she remembered the next part...
Applejack sat slumped back in the waiting hall chair, right next to the ER doors. Her eyes were welled up with tears she refused to cry. She couldn't cry. Not now. She had to make sure her friend was all right before she could launch into something as weak-hearted as crying... She hoped the messenger pony she had sent would reach her friends soon. They needed to know what happened. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, they all had to know that one of their friends was seriously injured... because of another friend... "Pinkie... why...?" she muttered, chocking back tears.
Minutes later, her friends came through the door, looking very tired and worried. "Applejack?" Twilight asked. "What's wrong? What happened?" The farm workhorse turned to her friends with tired, desperate eyes. Tears pricked the corners of her eyelids, and her lips trembled. "It's Rainbow..." "What's happened to her?" "'I...'ah don't know for sure..." Twilight looked around the waiting room again. "One of us should go find Pinkie Pie." "No...no ya don't." Applejack answered. "Why not? What's going on?" AJ swallowed hard, and prepared to do her best at describing what she had just seen earlier that night. By the time she had finished explaining the last hour or so to her three friends in the waiting room with her, each of them looked as confused and horrified as she.
"Wh-why would she do such a thing?" Twilight shakily asked. "Ah haven't the faintest idea, Twi'. I didn't mean to kick her so hard either. I just saw Rainbow, and when Pinkie came at me with that knife, I just made a split-second decision. And judging from what was in that room, I don't think Rainbow was the first victim. Not even close."
"I just hope they can help her..." Fluttershy said softly.
"Ah really hope so, too, Fluttershy. She didn't look good when they took her in there. Not good at all." AJ said.
It was another 30 minutes before a nurse pony came quietly trotting out into the waiting room. The 4 friends were immediately on their feet, anxious for any news. They hoped it was good. "Well?" Applejack asked.
"We managed to stabilize her. You got her here just in time." the nurse reported.
"Oh thank Celestia..."
"...But I'm afraid I have some bad news. Your friend was clearly tortured. We managed to remove the nails from her hooves and administer antibiotics. Hopefully, that will keep any infection from setting in. We also managed to reattach her cutie marks. Hopefully, they will heal quickly and look good as new. The tears in her throat will eventually heal as well. ...However..." The nurse took a short pause that seemed to last for hours to the 4 ponies. "Her heart has been damaged by long exposure to high amounts of voltage. Only later tests will be able to determine how much, but it's safe to say your friend won't be able to enjoy long periods of excitement without risking complete heart failure."The 4 ponies stood shocked. Rainbow Dash, the daredevil, the risk-taker, the fastest flier in Ponyville, not able to play like she used to? "There's more, I'm afraid. ...The electricity also burned areas of her skin very badly. It will have to be replaced. She will have to stay with us for quite a while..." If they were in a calmer mood, the ponies would have groaned, knowing that Dash wouldn't like that one bit. Things as they were, they silently continued to stare.
"...But, what about her wings?" Fluttershy asked, fluttering her own. "Will she be able to fly?"
For a second, the nurse looked as if she would tell them some reassuring lie, but instead she sighed and said "No." "WHAT?" the others exclaimed. "I'm sorry, but the damage to her wingbones was too extensive to repair. We smoothed down the jagged edges from where they were broken. If her skin heals up, they'll just be small stubs on her back. She might be able to pass for an Earth Pony, but...I'm sorry, we've never dealt with anything like this before. We did the best we could. Aside from the doubtless psychological harm, she'll carry some of these physical scars for the rest of her life. But...but at least you got her here alive."
AJ collapsed onto her back haunches, looking like she was about to break down into tears.
"Can we see her?" Rarity asked.
"I wouldn't recommend that. At least not until morning. She's asleep. Once we're sure she's stable enough, we'll move her out of Intensive Care to a private room tomorrow, and then you can see her. And as far as I know, Royal Guards have quarantined off Sugarcube Corner, so hopefully we'll get some answers soon."
"Th-thank you, nurse." AJ shakily said.
The nurse nodded. "Again, I'm so sorry." She then walked back into the ER, and left the four friends alone in the waiting room. The events of the night finally coming to a climax, AJ's shoulders heaved, and she quietly wept. With there being no words to say yet, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy gathered around her, put their arms around each other, and held each other silently.
HOURS LATER:
The next morning, Applejack awoke to a gentle touch on her shoulder, and looked up to see the nurse.
"Rainbow's been moved to Room 104. She's still sleeping, but you can go and see her if you want." she quietly said, as the other three were still sleeping.
"Thank you, ma'am."
"...I have also been informed that they've arrested Pinkie Pie. Hopefully, we'll soon have some answers to these arocities." With that, the nurse returned to her rounds, and Applejack went about waking her friends, and they immediately made their way down the private wing to Room 104.
Upon entering the room as quietly as they could, they shared a hushed gasp as they looked at their friend. Rainbow Dash lay silent in the hospital bed; chest slowly rising and falling. An oxygen mask was strapped around her muzzle, and was connected to a wheezing respirator next to the bed. Her mane was still unkempt and frazzled from the electrocution. Suction-cupped wires went from her chest to a slow but steadily-beeping heart monitor. IVs drips were plugged into both arms, a dark liquid flowing onto her body. Her arms and entire midsection was wrapped in gauze bandages, joined with her flanks, back hooves and calves.
Applejack slowly approached the side of the bed. "Oh Sugarcube...if only 'ah had gotten there sooner..."
Twilight came up next to her and placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "You got her out of there alive. That's the best you could do."
"Thanks, Twi'. Would one of y'all mind letting Big Macintosh know to try and do what he can at the farm? If he can't, just put it on hold. Ah ain't leavin' her side until she's on her feet."
"We'll get another messenger. I don't think any of us want to leave her." And so they sat there silently, waiting for their friend to come to...and wondering what was next.
"...Something else, everypony." AJ suddenly said. The others turned to her attentively. "We can't let her know that Pinkie Pie's still alive. No telling how she'll react when she finds out Pinkie's just locked away somewhere." The other ponies took a few seconds, but all agreed. "If she asks, Pinkie's dead. Ah hit her too hard and she broke her neck. That's what we'll tell her. What we need to tell her." All the ponies swore to keep the secret that Pinkie was alive.
Feeling slowly returned to Rainbow Dash's body. Her vision faded in and out, and by the time it cleared completely, she found herself staring at a pasty white ceiling, and she heard a raspy wheezing sound, and steady beeping.
"Hey everypony, I think she's waking up." she heard a familiar voice say.
Rainbow very slowly lifted her head off of the pillow, and saw four of her friends around the bed. She noticed the heart monitor and respirator next to her bed before returning to the pillow. She didn't utter a word yet. No doubt everything was still a haze.
"How ya feelin', sugar?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow turned her head to the left side of the bed and locked eyes with her friend, slowly reaching a hoof up and removing the oxygen mask and allowed it to hang around her neck. "Wh-what...h-happened?" Rainbow asked, her voice hoarse, not even above a whisper.
"Well, ya told me you'd come by the farm for some apple pie last night, and when you didn't show up, Ah thought somethin' was up. Ah asked around Ponyville at sunset, and no one had seen you or Pinkie all day. Ah went to Sugarcube Corner, and found the place dark and empty. Ah was about to leave when Ah heard a faint scream come from under the floor. It sounded like you, so Ah found the trap door under one of the rugs, and Ah got to you as fast as I could..."
Rainbow took it all in, and shuddered at the all-too-fresh memories of the horror she just experienced. "P-Pinkie...? Is...she...?"
AJ silently shook her head. "She's gone, Dash. When Ah saw what she was doing to you, Ah took matters into my own hooves. Ah just hope my hasty decision doesn't keep us from getting answers to why she was doing this."
Rainbow shakily exhaled. She rolled over on her side towards Applejack, and immediately noticed what they were all afraid she'd notice. "M-my...my wings..." she said, her eyes tearing up.
Applejack swallowed hard, placing her front hooves gently on Rainbow's. "Ah'm so, so sorry, Rainbow. They did everything they could for ya."
Rainbow's eyes widened at the horrifying, life-changing realization. She shuddered, and rolled onto her other side, looking away from her friends and revealing her bandaged back. There were two round red stains on the gauze where her wings should have protruded from her body. She covered her mouth and tried to suppress a sob, her shoulders heaved.
"Rainbow, ah'm...a'hm so very sorry..." AJ softly said, her voice uneasy, placing a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, gently rolled her back over and pulled her into a hug. Rainbow returned the hug, threw her front legs around Applejack, and burst into an uncontrollable sob, burying her face into AJ's shoulder, clinging to the workhorse as if for dear life. Her arms seared in pain from the damaged skin, but she wouldn't let herself let go.
"Now don't you worry none," Applejack shakily told her, beginning to cry herself. "We'll find a way through this. It'll be okay, ya hear?"
Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight stood by silently, tears flowing down their cheeks, all of them collectively sharing this pain, watching as the two friends held each other and cried. When the nurse came in a half-hour later, and suggested that they let Rainbow get some rest, Rainbow was the first to refute her, claiming they could stay for as long as they wanted, and she'd rest easier with them there. The nurse pony gave in, then informed Rainbow that she would have to stay in the hospital for several weeks, while they removed her burnt tissue and replaced skin where nesessary. It would be a long and painful stay, but Rainbow knew that with her friends, everything would be all right...
When Rainbow Dash was asleep, AJ suddenly had an idea. "Twilight!" she whispered to the purple pony. "Your spell. The one that gave Rarity wings. We could use that to-" "It won't work." Twilight interrupted, shaking her head. "The spell is to temporarily give a non-pegasus flight. It doesn't work on one who already has or had wings. If I tried, it might destroy her skeletal structure, at the very least...!" "So, what you're saying is..." "Yes, Applejack. Rainbow Dash is without wings forever. I'm sorry..." A depressed AJ turned back to staring at the floor, the last flicker of hope of flight for her winged friend vanishing...
Applejack rolled over onto her stomach, but could not relax. Tears from the memories still dripped onto her already wet pillow. She would never be able to forget the pain on Rainbow's face when she was told not only that she could never fly again, but that, with her heart torn up as it was, she may never even be able to run as fast as she could. Her hobbies and goals that she had had all her life were now shattered. Applejack started to imagine what that was like, not being able to run as fast, jump as high, or kick as hard as she was used to. The best athlete in Ponyville... unable to compete any longer. That would destroy her... Applejack could only imagine what Dash's true thoughts and feeling were on that fact. She had been calm about it for a while now, but AJ wondered what was really going on inside her head. ...Then came the next wave of memories. Applejack buried her head under her pillow in an attempt to drown them out, but it was futile. She couldn't silence what was inside her own head. Sighing, AJ gave in and let the memories flow, knowing full well how they would affect her...
4 WEEKS AGO-1.5 WEEKS AGO:
Flutershy walked the halls of Rainbow Dash's cloud castle, searching for what would fit in her saddlebag. Before Fluttershy had left that first night, Rainbow asked her to move her things out of her cloud house so the Cloudsdale movers could take it back to Cloudsdale. She collected Dash's golden tiara and gala dress from the oak display box they were hanging in, as well as several Wonderbolt posters, and put them in her bag. She moved slowly through the house, looking for other things that meant something to Dash. She couldn't help but feel unhappy as she picked up Dash's Harmony necklace. "Dash. ...I'm sorry." she thought to herself, as she thought of the fact that Rainbow would never again be able to come here again. Because of Pinkie... Banishing the thoughts from her head, she quickly grabbed whatever else she could find that would fit in her saddlebag and left the building. Before she left, she took an empty glass jar from her bag, filled it with streaming colors from the rainbow fountain, and flew back to Ponyville.
"*Click click click*" went Rarity's sewing machine, as Rarity sat, sewing a special present for her injured friend. Thanks to Twilight's standing with Celestia and Celestia's influence, they had earned Dash a membership in the Wonderbolts. Rarity had been given permission to sew an official Wonderbolt uniform to commemorate the occasion. She hadn't had the chance to take Rainbow Dash's measurements, so she hoped that the measurements she had with her were still accurate. She tried to imagine Dash's face when presented with the present. ...But what if she didn't like it? What if it reminded her of what she lost? Of her time of torment? Of Pinkie...? Rarity pushed the thought from her mind and continued the costume.
Applejack visited Dash every chance she had, making sure she wouldn't get lonely. She was hesitant at first to spend so much time with her, but Big Machintosh assured her that he could do the work she missed because of her time spent. Every day she could visit, she would walk into Dash's room, usually with a picnic basket of apple-based goods. Dash would happily greet her and they would eat and talk for as long as they could. ...But even though Dash appeared happy and not worried, Applejack could tell she was suffering.
On certain days, AJ couldn't visit her. Those were the days when the painful operation of replacing burnt skin with whatever skin wasn't burnt on her body. Bandages appeared and disappeared on her body. Sores healed or got worse. One time, AJ fed Dash her tart because she couldn't move her heavily bandaged arms.
...And then there were the breakdowns... AJ was never there, but the nurses told her that during the first few days of her stay, Dash had suffered severe nightmares of her experience. She would toss and turn and her heart would race as she thought back to her time in the cellar. Her time strapped to the planks. Her time with Pinkie... It nearly came to the point where she couldn't sleep without sedation, but after the first week, the memories subsided and she slept soundly... or as soundly as one in her condition could sleep... AJ avoided the subject whenever she could, preferring to talk about things Rainbow could do after she left.
...Then, one day...
"AJ?"
"Yeah, Sugarcube?"
They had just finished the fresh apple danishes Granny Smith had baked for them and had been joking around. Despite still wearing bandages over most of her body, Dash looked better than she did her first day in the hospital. Even her voice was healing rapidly, now sounding more like the Dash they knew instead of a croak.
"I want to talk to you about something."
"Shoot." AJ replied.
"About Pinkie Pie."
AJ tensed up. She had kept the secret that Pinkie Pie was still alive. As far as Dash knew, she had died the night AJ rescued Dash. ...But what if one of the other ponies or a nurse...
AJ gulped. "What about her?"
"Remember when we threw that suprise party for her a few months ago?"
"Yeah?"
"When I went to go get her, something...wasn't right. She had placed all these inanimate objects at the table, and were talking to them and making up their own voices like they were alive. It was just...creepy. I'd never seen her like that before. ...I wonder if that's where it started...?"
AJ breathed a short sigh of relief. If she had to explain about Pinkie Pie to her, Dash might never sleep again. Or worse. She might try to get revenge... No telling what would happen with the headstrong pony.
"I don't know, Dash. I don't know. But it's over now. It's all over. So just relax your pretty little head and think about other things. Thought much about what you want to do when you get out?"
"Yes, but I still haven't decided. Look at me! My whole life I've been practicing to be the best flier in the world. ...Now what do I do?"
"It's up to you, Dash. We'll help, but you need to decide."
The nurse came in and announced visiting hours were over.
"Don't worry." said AJ, walking toward the door. "You'll find something." With that, she left for another day.
On her way home, she too thought about what Rainbow could do. She could run. She could kick. ...Maybe she could be a help on the farm? But, are Pegasi be strong enough for farm work? She'd have to ask Twilight about that later... Incredible how involved friends can get if something like Pinkie Pie could... Pinkie Pie... She stopped in her tracks. This was the first time she had thought about what the pony's doing since the day they told her she'd been arrested. She'd never even bothered to check to see where she was and what they were doing... or what she was doing... Maybe... With Twilight's help...
10 DAYS AGO:
AJ joined her friends in the central room of the Ponyville Mental Institution. Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy were already standing in front of the guarded doorway to the cells of the mental hospital.
"You made it." Twilight said, turning to face her friend. "But I still don't know why you want to do this."
"I... Ah just wanted to see Pinkie Pie again." AJ said, looking down at the floor. "Ah want to know if she was anything like her old self again. Thanks for arrangin' this Twi', but you ponies didn't have to come."
"Horseradish!" Rarity snapped. "Despite all she's done, she's our friend too. We're all curious to know how our bon ami is doing, especially in this dreadful place, aren't we Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy seemed the most spooked out of the group, but she managed to nod quickly, while keeping behind the others.
"You're right. We all deserve to know how she's doing." Twilight agreed.
After a few minutes, a doctor in a white uniform walked through the double doors and into the room.
"You're the friends of Pinkamena?"
They nodded in agreement.
"My name's Doctor Pathos. This way, please."
They followed him through the doors into a long hallway. The entire room was so white, it was nearly blinding. Doors lined the walls, each labeled with a room number and patient name. The ponies walked slowly behind the doctor gazing at each name.
A sudden, shrill whinny came from one of the doors, causing the young ponies to jump back. "Not again..." Doctor Pathos muttered, stopping momentarily, then continuing. "I'm sorry for that. Schizophrenia patient. Thinks she's a bird." He chuckled to himself. The other ponies hesitantly returned the chuckle and continued to follow the doctor.
After several turns down hallways and wards, they finally arrived at a door marked 'Room 6655, Patient 5321, Pinkamena Diane Pie.'
"Here we are." Doctor Pathos said, opening the door.
The door led into a small room, almost bare but for a table, a clipboard, a microphone, and a window at the left of the room. A white suited guard sat in a chair, staring at the window.
"Good Afternoon, Heavyhooves." the doctor said to the guard.
"Aft'noon." Heavyhooves responded, his eyes still on the window.
"How's the patient?"
"See for yourself."
Heavyhooves pointed toward the window. All the ponies followed his gesture and saw the first they had seen of Pinkie Pie in weeks.
...It was not a pretty sight...
Pinkie was in the far right corner of a white, padded room. She was clad in a straitjacket, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. Her normally curly hair was long and flowing freely down her shoulders, slightly frazzled as if it hadn't been brushed in several days. The area around her lower jaw was swollen and purple, clashing horrible with her pink tinted skin. She smiled as she stared at the opposite end of the room, revealing wires that were fusing her jaws shut.
The ponies looked in shock at their friend's condition.
"Mon Dieu!" Rarity exclaimed. "What happened?"
"It's for her safety." the doctor responded.
"They found her shortly after the incident, trapped in the bakery's cellar." Heavyhooves said, attention shifting to the ponies. '"She was trying to cut through the trap door with a scalpel. It took four guards to restrain her until she could be sedated and brought here."
"Her jaw was severely fractured, as you can see." Doctor Pathos continued. "She'll have to have her jaw wired for a few more weeks." AJ winced at the news, remebering the buck to the chin she gave Pinkie Pie that night.
"She suffered a minor concussion as well, but the damage has mostly healed." Somehow, AJ didn't feel any better... Maybe this was a bad idea...
"...Is she always this quiet?" Twilight inquired.
"Yes, it's odd, but ever since she arrived, she's been content to just sit in the corner. Most other patients here are given opportunities to participate in activities, but she has refused to do anything."
"...Can she talk?" Fluttershy asked.
"Only if we talk to her. Would you like to?" The ponies paused briefly, then nodded in agreement.
The doctor picked up the microphone and pushed a switch. "Hello Pinkie Pie." he spoke into the microphone. "How are you today?"
Pinkie's head turned toward the window, her smile not leaving her face. "Silly. I'm bored. I've been bored ever since I came to this BOOOORING place." Her voice sounded strained, a result of talking through her teeth with a broken jaw.
"Your friends are here."
"Really? Where?" Pinkie asked, playfully gazing around the room.
"In here with me."
"Where are you? Are we playing hide and seek again?"
"Yes, we are, but you don't need to find us. We found you. "
"Can't she see us?" asked Fluttershy, puzzled.
"Nope. One-way mirror. We can see in, but she can only see herself." Twilight stated, matter-of-factly.
"Is Dashie there?" Pinkie asked. AJ cringed at Pinkie's pet name for Rainbow. How dare she talk about Rainbow like that after what she did to her?
"No, Rainbow Dash is not here." the doctor responded.
"Oh." Pinkie said, looking away, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. "I wanted to play some more. We didn't get to finish our game."
Suddenly, AJ was infuriated. "Game?" she asked, grabbing the microphone from the doctor. "GAME? Pinkie! Do you even know what you did to Rainbow Dash?"
"...Applejack?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking around the room. "Is that you?"
"Yeah it's me! Do you have any idea? ANY IDEA AT ALL WHAT YOU DID TO DASH?"
"Had fun! Lots of fun!"
"YOU MUTILATED HER, PINKIE! YOU BURNED HER! YOU CUT OFF HER WINGS! SHE'S NEVER GOING TO FLY AGAIN! YOU TOOK THAT AWAY FROM HER! DO YOU HEAR THAT?"
"Wow, Applejack." Pinkie responded, rolling her eyes. "You need to chill. Hey. If you get me out of this boring place, I'll make some cupcakes, then we can all have some fun! Doesn't that sound great?"
Applejack was outraged. "PINKIE! IF YOU WEREN'T IN THERE, I'D-"
"That is enough!" the doctor shouted, grabbing the microphone from Applejack. The other ponies stared at Applejack in shock.
"...I'm sorry. This was a bad idea. We should leave." Twilight said quickly, turning toward the door. "Rarity? Fluttershy?"
Rarity glanced one more time at Pinkie Pie and AJ and walked toward the door.
"Applejack. Let's go." Fluttershy nervously said, putting a hoof on AJ's shoulder. AJ, still hopping mad, quickly moved away from Fluttershy's touch, but walked toward the door with her.
"Heavyhooves will show you out." the doctor said, as Heavyhooves also walked toward the door. "Twilight? May I speak to you for a minute?" Twilight stayed behind as the others were led out of the building by the guard.
"...So, what's going to happen to her?" Fluttershy asked the guard, when they were outside the door.
"Dunno." Heavyhooves responded. "Probably stick around here, then onto trial, get found guilty by insanity, and then back here for probably the rest of her life."
Fluttershy shied away. "...Sorry I asked."
The guard went back inside.
"...She deserves it!" AJ shouted. "After what she did to all those ponies and to Rainbow Dash, she-!"
"APPLEJACK!" Rarity angrily interrupted. "If I remember, you're the one who wanted to come here in the first place! You wanted to see how Pinkie was doing!"
"Well, now Ah saw, but Ah didn't see Pinkie. Ah saw a monster! A psycho grinning pink MONSTER! She didn't feel sorry for anyone! Not the ponies! Not for Dash. ...Not even for her best friends..." AJ was crying tears of anger and sorrow. "She's not Pinkie any more..."
She broke down, falling to her knees and crying bitter tears. Rarity and Fluttershy put their arms on AJ's shoulders.
"We know. We're sorry." Fluttershy said, comfortingly.
"Il est temps de continuer nos vies." Rarity said. "It's time to move on."
AJ continued to quietly weep while they waited outside as Twilight talked to the doctor. After 15 minutes or so, Twilight came out the front door, looking glum.
"Twi', Ah'm sorry-" AJ started, before Twilight cut her off.
"Let's just forget that happened, ok? Ok."
"What did he say?" asked Rarity.
Twilight said nothing for a few seconds, then gave a brief rundown of her conversation. "Pinkie has a split personality."
"You mean she's different ponies at different times?" Fluttershy asked.
"...Not exactly. Her current personality is more of a combination of different personalities, which explains why she's so unpredictable. Doctor Pathos said that fairly recently, she met with some form of trama that shattered part the personality she had at the time... and apparently, something bad took its place. That's why she's still so friendly, but dangerous. She's lost the ability to control her chaotic mind. She probably wasn't even aware she was doing wrong. It was all just a game to her."
"...The party." AJ said, calmed down enough to talk.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"Rainbow Dash told me that a few months ago, when we were planning Pinkie Pie's surprise party and she went to get her, she was acting... weird."
"No, it wasn't because of the party." Twilight responded. "Some of the bones they found were from months before that. No, she's been doing this for almost a year, at least!"
"...Then what caused Pinkie to flip?" AJ asked.
"They don't know yet." Twilight responded. "It could have been anything we've been through. Our quest to stop Nightmare Moon. Glinda's visit. Even the muffin mix-up."
AJ cringed.
"...Nonono, I didn't mean... Well, anyway, it's over. Pinkie's in there, Dash is in the hospital, and the nightmare is over. Nothing else to do but clean up the mess..."
"...Thanks for this, Twilight. Sorry about-"
"Never happened!" Twilight interrupted, as she walked back toward the library.
"Sorry, Applejack." Fluttershy said. "Would you like to come over for some tea or juice or something?"
"...Nah. Ah'd better head on home. Let me know if anyone hears anything from Dash."
"Nous allons." Rarity said. "We will..."
Fluttershy and Rarity went their separate ways. Before slowly walking home, AJ took one last look at the mental hospital.
"...Pinkie Pie... Why?"
THE NEXT DAY:
AJ galloped as fast as she could toward the hospital. It was late afternoon and she had just gone back to the house, her day's work done, when a messenger turned up at her door.
"Rainbow Dash wishes you to see her at the hospital." the tan brony told her. He said that was all he had been told to say and couldn't answer her questions about why she wanted her to visit.
AJ was worried.
What if something horrible had happened and this would be the last time... NO! AJ couldn't think that way.
She reached the hospital and walked up to the front desk.
"I...need...to...see...Rainbow...Dash!" she panted, out of breath.
"Oh yes. She's expecting you." the nurse said. "Go ahead."
Still out of breath, AJ trotted quickly toward Dash's room. She came to the door and walked through, preparing for the worst.
Dash was there... but she looked fine! In fact, she looked better than she looked in a long while. She was still bandaged, but most bandages from her arms, legs, and head had been removed, revealing healing skin which was about a tone deeper than her normal color. Only one IV remained connected to her, full of clear liquid. The heart monitor beeped normally as Dash read a book from Twilight's library. When she noticed that Applejack had come in, she smiled and put the book down.
"Hey Applejack." she greeted.
"Howdy, Dash. You're looking fine today!" AJ responded, smiling and sitting down beside her.
"I feel great!" Dash said, enthusiastically. "Sure my hooves still hurt a bit and this skin they gave itches a little, but I feel like I could fly... Oh... right..." Dash sunk back into a slightly depressed mood.
"Don't worry about that." AJ said, placing a hoof on Dash's shoulder. "Now why'd you want to see me?"
Dash looked confused for a second as she tried to remember why she asked AJ to come, then it came to her.
"Well, Applejack..." she began. "The doctors said I don't need to stay in the hospital any longer. At least not until I'm healed enough for them to start on the next part..."
"That's great, Dash! So whaterya going to do?"
"...That's what I wanted to tell you. They said I could stay pretty much anywhere for a change of scenery. I mean, I'm sure an inn somewhere would give me a room for that time, but I was thinking...if I could... I mean, your farm has fresh air and maybe some peace and quiet..."
AJ silenced her. "Yes, Rainbow Dash. You can stay at the farm for as long as you want to. We'll be happy to have you there."
Rainbow Dash beamed. "Thanks Applejack."
"Not a problem, Sugarcube."
THE NEXT DAY:
The next day was very busy for AJ. She had spent the morning preparing the guest room for Dash's arrival, sweeping the dust and dirt out of each corner and straightening up the furniture. That afternoon, the hospital wagon came bearing Rainbow Dash. Carefully, the orderlies unloaded Dash, along with her bed, IV drip, and heart monitor from the back, and Applejack showed them where to put her. They gently set her down and hooked the machines back up. When everything was set up in its place, a nurse came in to check on everything. Satisfied, she pulled AJ outside and gave her specific instructions for Dash.
"She's not well enough to walk yet." "Make sure she has plenty of food, but do not overfeed her." "Her heart is still weak. No excitement." After the nurse was done, she showed AJ a small button next to Dash's bed. "That is the Panic Button. If anything happens, push that button and we'll be here momentarily. Are you sure you understand everything."
"Yes ma'am. Nothing to worry about. We'll take care of her." AJ responded.
After a final check-up, the nurse and orderlies left, leaving AJ and Dash.
"...Well, Dash. Here ya are. Home sweet home." AJ said to Dash.
"Applejack... Thank you. You've helped me so much these last few weeks."
"Just helping a friend out, Sugarcube."
"Applejack... if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead by now. You saved me. You've been there for me. Everypony has made my life better again. You, Rarity, Fluttershy... Thanks..."
"Not a problem. Now you just rest for a little bit and you'll be back on your hooves in no time. I'll be here if you need anything."
Dash smiled and closed her eyes.
"Night, Sugarcube." AJ said, walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. "Get better soon..."
AJ breathed a sigh of relief as the memories finally came to a close. Her eyes were still full of tears as she remembered all she and her friends had been through. Now, Dash was safe, sleeping downstairs. Soon, she would be on her feet again and running the whole length of Ponyville. AJ smiled as she thought of the fun they would have again after Dash was better. Being an Earth Pony wasn't a bad thing. It'll probably take some getting used to for a former Pegasus, but she'll get used to it. She's bound to find something else to fulfill her cutie mark's meaning. A thundercloud could mean anything... But that was something for another day... another time... AJ continued to smile as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, the nightmarish memories finally over.
END OF PART 1