DISC: I DO NOT own any of the ponies you recognize in this story. They belong to Hasbro. I do however own any ponies you don't recognize, along with all the Human characters.
Enjoy!

"In No Time At All"

Chapter 5

Firefly was furious with Whizzer, but she pushed her feelings to the back burner and concentrated on Patrick.

She flew down and nuzzled him, trying to wake him up.

It didn't work.

After trying it a second time, she realized she needed help.

Glaring at Whizzer and trying to keep her voice as steady as possible, she said, "Stay with Patrick. I'm gonna get help." With that, she nuzzled Patrick one more time, this time out of comfort and reassurance before flying off. "I'll be back, kiddo." Firefly flew faster than she had ever flown in her whole life.

When she reached Paradise Estate, she raced inside to find Megan.

She found her daughter in the kitchen, making cupcakes with Emily and Baby Rainbow Star.

"Mom, what's wrong? What happened?" Megan asked. She could tell something was wrong immediately by the expression on her mother's face.

"It's Patrick!" Firefly explained quickly. "Hop on. He needs medical help. I'll explain on the way."

Megan did so without any further questions. She trusted Firefly with her life.

During the ten minute flight back to where Patrick was, Firefly explained to her sweet girl what had happened.

Megan was scared for Patrick, but she had faith he would be okay. He was strong and she knew God would see him through this as well.

Despite her strong faith, she also knew he needed help from his friends and family too.

When they reached the spot where Patrick was, they found Whizzer watching over him.

Megan jumped off Firefly's back the minute the pink pegasus landed. She ran to Patrick's side and began inspecting him for visible injuries.

"It doesn't look like he broke anything." Megan concluded as she tried to hold it together for Patrick's sake. "But that doesn't mean he hasn't broken something we can't see. We need to get him to the hospital over the Rainbow now." With that, she instructed Whizzer to go back to Paradise Estate and get Aunt Abby.

Whizzer did so without even hesitating.

Once Whizzer was gone, Firefly sighed.

"I tried to save him, but I couldn't. he was falling to fast and…"

"It's not your fault, Firefly." Megan assured her mother. "I promise. I know you did your best. Right now, we need to concentrate on helping Patrick get better."

Whizzer returned with Abby and Lofty in no time at all.

Megan and Firefly explained to Abby what had happened and she agreed to help immediately.

She picked Patrick up as carefully as she could and climbed on Lofty with the teenager in her arms.

Once that was done, Megan jumped on Firefly's back and hung on tightly.

Before they left, Megan gave Whizzer some more instructions.

"You need to go to Nebraska and get Mike. Tell him what happened and tell him we'll be at Hope for the Children Medical Center in twenty-minutes."

"Okay, Megan." With that, Whizzer was off.

"What can I do?" Firefly asked. She was feeling guilty and Megan knew it.

Patting her mother's mane, Megan let a small smile spread across her face.

"Once we get to the hospital and Patrick is being taken care of medically, I have a special job for you."

Firefly nodded and took off for the Rainbow with Abby and Lofty following close behind.

When they arrived at the hospital, Abby and Megan explained what had happened as DR. Larson, as well as Dr. Marcela and a doctor Megan had never met before started assessing Patrick's injuries and ordering medical tests.

"We're gonna take good care of him. " DR. Larson assured a worried Megan and Firefly. "I promise. But you guys need to wait in chairs for now."

"Is there anyone in Patrick's family who needs to be notified of the accident?" Dr. Marcela asked.

Megan nodded as though on auto pilot.

"His uncle and his mother." She said. "We'll call them and try to get them up here."

"Okay. Good. I'll tell you if anything changes and update you when we know more." Dr. Larson promised. With that, she had Jeanie Mathews escort Megan, Abby and Firefly to chairs.

Once Jeanie left to get Megan some hot chocolate and Abby a cup of coffee, Megan turned to her mother.

But before she could speak, Firefly beat her to it.

"You said you had a special job for me?" Firefly asked her eldest daughter. "I'll do anything to help my kiddo."

"I know you will." Megan assured her. "I need you to go down to California and get Patrick's mother. She's staying there for a few weeks. Her name is Carol."

"Consider it done, sweetie." With that, Firefly nuzzled Megan before flying out of the window. She only prayed she wouldn't' give Patrick's mother a heart attack when she showed up at her hotel.

After Firefly left, Megan prayed that Patrick would be okay.

After she was done praying, she called Mike on his cell phone and told him what had happened.

He said he would be down as soon as he could. He was gonna get Masquerade to fly him down to the hospital.

Once that was done, Megan let tears of worry fall freely down her face.

Abby tried to comfort and reassure her, but Megan really wasn't in the mood to be comforted right now. While she appreciated her aunt's efforts, she just needed to get this out of her system.

Meanwhile, Firefly had made it to California and was now heading in the direction of Carol's hotel.

Megan had told her that she was staying in a place called San Francisco.

Landing on the window of the right hotel room, Firefly took a deep breath before tapping on the window.

She didn't have to wait long before it was opened.

A woman with brown hair and eyes the same color as Patrick was soon staring down at her.

"Wha-who are you?" She asked in slight shock.

"My name is Firefly." Firefly explained quickly. "I'm a good friend of Patrick's. He's been in an accident and he needs you. He's at the hospital now. I've been sent by Mike to bring you to him."

Carol nodded as though someone had just told her that aliens had landed on earth and wanted her recipe for strawberry shortcake.

She blinked a few times before she realized Firefly wasn't a figment of her imagination.

Once she realized the pink pony with wings wasn't going anywhere, one main thing stuck in the young woman's mind.

"Patrick's hurt? What happened?"
"I'll explain on the way. Hop on." Firefly told her.

Carol hesitated only slightly before doing as Firefly had instructed.

Once she was aboard, she took a hold of Firefly's mane and the pink pegasus was off.

During the flight back to Nebraska, Firefly explained to Carol what had happened.

"Oh my…" Carol breathed the minute Firefly was done explaining.

"My daughter, Megan can tell you more when we get there as well as Dr. Larson. Dr. Larson is the doctor taking care of Patrick. She's the best." She assured her new friend.

"That's good." Carol said absently.

They landed at the hospital two hours later and Firefly flew inside without a second thought.

When she arrived in the waiting room, she found Megan and Abby sitting there, along with Mike and Lofty and Masquerade.

Firefly quickly introduced Carol to Masquerade, Megan and Abby.

Once everyone was acquainted, Carol turned her attention to the most important person at hand.

"Where's Patrick? How is he?"

"We don't' know much yet." Abby informed her. "Dr. Larson came out just before you got here and told us that Patrick needed surgery to repair a broken rib and relieve some pressure on his brain. She promised she would tell us anything more as soon as she has any news."

Carol nodded. She felt numb as she sat down next to Mike.

Firefly gave her a sympathetic look. She flew over to her own daughter just then. She noticed she had been rather quiet since they had gotten back.

She nuzzled her comfortingly before asking her if she was okay.

Megan shook her head as she tried hard to fight the tears back.

Before Firefly could try and help her, Dr. Larson approached them. She had a slightly relieved look on her face. This made everyone feel a little bit better.

"Patrick's out of surgery." She began. "He's stabilized for now. We've relieved the pressure on his brain and his rib has been repaired. Now it's just a matter of him waking up. After the anesthesia wears off it'll be up to him. I know you're very worried about him, but I can assure you he's in good hands with us. I suggest you all go back to Ponyland. I'll call Mike or Megan when I know anything more."

"Thank you, Dr. Larson." Abby said graciously.

"No problem." Dr. Larson replied. With that, she left.

Once she was gone, Firefly stood up and Megan mounted her.

Mike did the same with Masquerade and Carol got on Masquerade with him.

Abby got on Lofty and the three pegasi took off for Ponyland.

Once they got there, Mike dismounted from Masquerade and helped Carol off.

Carol gazed around her new surroundings with something of awe on her face. She had never been in a place like this before.

Firefly was about to offer to give her new friend a tour, but stopped when Megan suddenly collapsed to the ground and buried her head in her hands.

Firefly was on her daughter like a shot.

"Megan? What is it, sweetheart?" She asked in concern.

Abby had knelt down beside her eldest niece as well. She knew something was wrong by the way Megan was acting. She was shaking and clutching her head as though she were in a great deal of pain.

"Is it your head, sweetie?" Abby asked softly.

Megan merely whimpered, giving her aunt and mother the answer they needed.

"Let's get her inside." Firefly said.

Abby nodded. She picked Megan up and carried her into the Estate.

Firefly followed close behind.

Abby tucked Megan in bed and left to get her a migraine shot.

Firefly stayed with her while they waited for Abby to return.

The pink pegasus gave Carol an apologetic look as she started stroking Megan's hair.

"I'm sorry." She said. "Sometimes when Megan's stressed, she gets migraines. She'll be okay by tomorrow. I would give you a tour, but my sweet girl doesn't' like me to leave her when she's sick or hurt."

Carol nodded. She understood where Firefly was coming from. She gazed at Firefly in confusion a minute later.

"Your sweet girl?" She asked.

Firefly nodded.

"That's my special name for Megan. I call Megan my sweet girl. I also have special names for her younger sisters, Julie and Molly. I call Molly my precious peanut and Julie my Jules. I have a special name for…" Her voice trailed off. She couldn't say Patrick's name at the moment. It was too painful.

Carol seemed to understand what she was feeling.

"What do you call him?" She asked.

"My kiddo." Firefly replied.

Carol nodded.

Abby returned just then and Carol left to explore Paradise Estate on her own.

Once Abby gave Megan her medicine, she got her an empty bucket and some of Princess Tiffany's special juice before leaving her to get some rest.

"I'll go and see how Carol's doing." She told Firefly. With that, she gave Megan a kiss on her cheek and left the room.

"Just try and get some rest, honey." Firefly advised gently.

Megan tried, but it wasn't easy. She was hurting and she was worried about Patrick.

"You're not leaving, are you?" She asked softly.

Nope." Firefly assured her.

"Okay." With that, Megan closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep.

Firefly sighed. She could tell that this was going to be a long day.

She got comfortable and folded her wings in an attempt to get some rest of her own. She wasn't planning on sleeping though, at least not yet. She wanted to keep an eye on Megan to make sure she was going to be okay.

Meanwhile, Abby found Carol in the kitchen. She was having tea with Cupcake and Emily.

Molly and Fizzy wandered in after a while and joined them.

"Hi!" Molly greeted with a warm smile. "I'm Molly."

Carol smiled, despite the fact that she was worried about Patrick. This little girl who called herself Molly seemed sweet.

"Hi, Molly. It's nice to meet you. How old are you, honey?"

"Eight." Molly replied proudly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Carol." She replied. "I'm Patrick's Mommy."

"Holy macanoli!" Molly said in surprise.

Carol managed a small laugh.

"Do you like Ponyland? What are you doing here?" Molly asked as she pulled a chair out and sat down across from Carol. She grabbed a cookie off the tray in front of her and bit into it while waiting for Carol to answer. "Are you visiting Patrick for a few days? Ponyland's awesome! You're gonna love it here."

Carol nodded.

"You could say that," she said carefully. She didn't know how much Molly knew if any of what had happened. She didn't want to scare her.

Just then, Fizzy returned to Molly's side. She had been getting a snack.

"Hi!" she greeted, "I'm Fizzy!"

"Hi Fizzy. It's nice to meet you. I'm Carol. I'm Patrick's mother."

"It's nice to meet you too," Fizzy said. She giggled as a few bubbles came out of her horn.

Carol gasped in surprise while Molly burst into a fit of giggles.

"Do it again, Fizzy! Please?" Molly said in between giggles.

"Sure!" Fizzy obliged.

"Fizzy's my best pony friend," Molly told Carol, "she's great!"

"I'll bet," Carol said. She heaved a sigh. She only prayed Patrick would be okay. He was all she had. She couldn't lose him now. She just couldn't…