//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: TMP - Twidash Style // by Liquidfirest0rm //------------------------------// Prompt #3: "Pangs" Twilight is grievously injured and only Rainbow Dash can save her. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Rainbow chided herself over and over again in her head. She pumped her wings harder before pulling them in and tearing through the canopy of the Everfree Forest. Tightening her grip on her precious cargo, she felt a fresh trickle of warm blood snake it's way down her foreleg, further matting her already stained coat. "Don't you even think about dying on me! I don't care if you are a princess now, I'll still kick your flank!" She willed herself to go faster, ignoring the aching protests from her wings, and barely keeping her speed subsonic. Her target quickly came into view on the edge of the edge of the horizon, but it felt like it was miles away. As she approached the front of the hospital she finally had what she felt was her first lucky break, a couple of ponies were just making their way out and she used the opening to dart inside, quickly braking as soon as she passed the door frame. She managed to slow down just enough to avoid crashing into the front desk. She gently laid Twilight down before screaming at the top of her lungs: "I NEED A DOCTOR IT'S AN EMERGENCY!" To her horror there wasn't anyone behind the desk when she looked up. Instead there was a little sign with a bell next to it. Ignoring the sign, she started furiously slamming her hoof down on the bell, quickly misshaping it to the point it no longer worked. With a few choice expletives she sent the useless hunk of metal flying with a vicious kick, opting instead for simply slamming her hoof onto the counter. After about four hits the side door opened and one of the nurses casually walked into the room. Rainbow was over the counter and in the mare's face before the door had even closed. "Where the hay were you! Twilight's been stung by a manticore and she's hurt bad!" The nurse took one look at the blood covered mare in front of her before bolting back through the door shouting the doctor's name. Rainbow flew back over the counter and sat down beside Twilight's motionless body. She brushed a few stray pieces of her mane off her face before the door next to her burst open and the same nurse came out followed by a doctor pulling a hospital bed in his magic grip. He carefully picked Twilight up and set her on the bed before they both rushed back through the door. She sat in silence for a few moments, her gaze never leaving the door. When she eventually did lower her gaze, she finally got a good look at herself. Her chest and forelegs were matted down with a sizeable amount of Twilight's blood. Seeing that, she did the only thing she could do: she promptly threw up before falling onto her side and letting out a heart wrenching wail as the tears flowed freely. She knew deep down inside that Twilight wasn't going to make it. She hadn't gotten here fast enough. After what Rainbow felt like had been hours, but in reality had only been a few moments, another of the hospital's nurses came out to find her still sobbing in the same spot. She called for the janitor before moving over to Rainbow and helping her up on her hooves. She guided her to a nearby washroom for the hospital staff and helped her get cleaned up, which consisted of the Pegasus sitting there occasionally sobbing while the nurse cleaned the various fluids off of her. Once she was clean the nurse led her back out to the waiting room and made her comfortable on one of the benches before retrieving a clipboard from the desk. "Miss Dash?" The nurse asked. When she didn't get a response, she prodded her shoulder and asked again, this time the Pegasus turned to face her, her eyes red and puffy. "Could you tell me what happened so I can put it in the medical report?" Rainbow let out a sigh and rested her head on her forelegs before replying "Sure." Without waiting for a reply she started telling her story. "Twilight wanted to make a visit to the old castle in the Everfree, something about wanting to get some of the books from the old library there. I tagged along to keep her company. It was starting to get dark so we decided to head back to town, not wanting to deal with the forest at night. Right as we got back on the path there was a roar from deeper into the forest right before a manticore jumped out of the brush. I was caught off guard and it knocked me down, staring down at me with its teeth bared. "Twilight hit it in the face with that beam spell of hers, but that just ticked it off more. She cast it a second time, but right before it connected, the manticore got a hit in with its tail. The manticore went flying back into the forest and Twilight wobbled for a couple seconds before falling over. I didn't wait to see what happened to the manticore, I just grabbed her and took off as fast as I could to get her here." She buried her face in her hooves. "And the blood, there was so much blood. I should have tried harder, pushed myself harder to get her here in time." The nurse put a comforting hoof on her back, rubbing gently in small circles. "Miss Dash, you did the best that you could, no one could ask more from you." "But what if my best wasn't good enough!" She interrupted, sitting up abruptly and glaring at the nurse as tears streamed down her face. "I don't know what I'd do without her." She finished, letting her head drop back down. "We have some of the best medical professionals working here, you can trust that she's in good hooves now. Why don't you get some rest, I'll make sure that you are told as soon as there's an update on her condition." Rainbow weakly nodded but didn't move. The nurse went back through the door with her clipboard to do whatever she was going to do with it. She couldn't get her mind off of Twilight, seeing her marefriend like that had torn her up more than she let on. She would give anything to be in Twilight's place right now. She didn't even notice as fatigue finally overcame her and she drifted off. She was awoken sometime later by an insistent prodding on her shoulder. She sat up, letting loose a yawn as she stretched. Looking around, she wondered where she was briefly, before she saw the same nurse from before and everything clicked into place. Before she could say anything the nurse spoke up. "Miss Dash, they've gotten her stabilized and she's resting now. She's not responsive yet but you can go in and be with her." She simply nodded in reply, before getting up and following the nurse. She was led down a maze of hallways that all looked the same before the nurse stopped in front of one of the doors. She turned the handle and gently pushed the door open. "She's in here." The nurse stated. She turned and started to walk back down the hall before she felt a hoof touch her side, halting her. She looked back to see that Rainbow was now facing her. Before she could wonder what she wanted, she spoke up. "Thank you," Rainbow said calmly, then finished with "Thank you for everything." The nurse gave a smile and polite nod then continued on her way. Rainbow turned back to the door, pushing it open and slipping inside before gently closing the door behind her. The lamp next to Twilight's bed was the only thing giving light to the dark room, but it was enough for rainbow to see Twilight's form. She couldn't see much of her body due to it being covered by the sheets, but there were a couple of hoses coming out of her muzzle. Rainbow pushed the chair over beside the bed and climbed into it. For a while she simply sat there, staring at the sleeping figure in front of her. She reached forward and gently moved the sheet down. Twilight's barrel was firmly bandaged and she could just barely make out the tiniest hint of red on her side. Gently covering her back up, she laid her head down beside Twilight's. "I'm so sorry I got you into all of this." She started quietly. "If I'd have been faster or paying better attention... Well things would have been better. I swear once you're all better I'm gonna make this whole thing up to you, even if I have to read the most boring, eggheaded books you have to you." She kissed the side of her head before readjusting to a more comfortable position, then returning her head to its previous position. "Hurry up and get better, it kills me seeing you like this. Plus I need my adorkable egghead back. I love you, Twi." She kissed her again, before laying her head down and closing her eyes, not seeing the tear streak down the side of Twilight's face.