The Cloudsdale Underground

A Pegasus's Loyalty

"No no no no no no no no no!"

Rainbow Dash zipped through the Ponyville skyline, dodging between rooftops expertly. But this was no race or usual stunt she was in the middle of. She chose to fly so she could get to her destination faster and without causing a ruckus on the ground. Her heart pounded and she breathed heavily, nervous about what she might find.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay!" she frantically chanted as she buzzed to the side of town.

There, Rainbow finally reached the Ponyville hospital. She landed with a long skid and burst through the front door. Along the way through the corridors, she cantered sill frantically, paying no courtesy to the passing doctors and nurses and patients on stretchers. After taking a quick look at a directory as she passed by it, Rainbow kicked into gear and rushed to the correct room. At last, she found the emergency wing of the hospital and nearly knocked down the door as she entered the room. Her worst fears were there in front of her.

"Oh no! AJ!"

There on the bed was Applejack, lying in pain. Her front right leg and her back left leg were both hoisted in traction and her back right one was also in a cast. Her face and body were almost covered in bandages and gauze, and her left eye was swollen and purple. Nurse Redheart carefully adjusted the bed to make sure she was comfortable.

Rainbow came to her friend's side. "Oh my gosh, Applejack I'm so so so sorry!" she pleaded. "If I had watched where I was going, I wouldn't have crashed into your barn...again."

"It's alright, Rainbow," said Applejack meekly. "Accidents happen." She grunted from a tinge of pain in her leg. "I guess that'll teach me to work with lumber."

"Oh man this is bad." Rainbow frowned. "It's all my fault!"

"Hey hey, listen Dash," Applejack managed to smile at her. "I don't blame ya at all. That roof wasn't well supported, and ya couldn't have known I was under there."

"That's no excuse!" replied Rainbow. "I feel terrible. I have to do something about his. I'll...I'll pay for your medical bill!"

"Oh come on now, Dash." Applejack rolled her good eye. "Ya don't have to do that. Just the fact that you cared enough to come here is already enough."

"But...but I caused this." Rainbow could feel a tear welling up.

"Don't go blamin' yerself, ya knucklehead." Applejack reassured her. "I'll be fine. It'll take a lot more than a few breaks and bruises to bring this ol' cowgirl down."

Rainbow tried her best to keep her chin up. She wiped her tear away and gave her brave pal a hug, as gently as she could. "I promise I'll come back as soon as possible."

"That's all I need, sugarcube." Applejack winked, her morale uninjured.

Rainbow couldn't help but smile at the farm pony's gusto as she walked out. But her face quickly turned long again in the hallway, the guilt still dwelling insider her.

"Um, Rainbow Dash?" said Nurse Redheart, who exited the room behind her. She seemed hesitant to break the news. "I'm afraid Applejack's condition is worse than she thinks. She has multiple compound fractures, and some internal bleeding. She'll be fine overall, but based on the level of treatment we'll need, she'll likely be staying here for at least six months."

"Six months?!" gawked Rainbow. "She can't be here for that long!"

"Well, we can perform a special operation to mend her back to health within a couple weeks." Redheart said. "But I'm not sure if she can afford it."