Applejack held Applebloom closely in the Ponyville Hospital waiting room. Her little sister was terrified and crying harder than Applejack had ever seen her cry. Not twenty minutes earlier, Applejack had awoken in her room after crying herself to sleep to hear the pained moaning of Granny Smith. She had fallen in the kitchen, and Applejack had been horrified to discover that her Grandmother was having a heart attack. Applejack had pulled a cart holding Granny and Applebloom to the hospital.

"Is Granny gonna be okay?" Applebloom whimpered, her lips trembling. Letting out a shaky breath, Applejack looked down at her sister.

"Ah don't know, sugarcube." Applejack said simply. She was shocked, and couldn't manage anything more.

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Applebloom asked.

"Hopefully with Big Mac on her way here." Applejack breathed, desperately hoping Applebloom wouldn't ask why Rainbow wasn't home in the first place. She fought desperately with herself to keep it together for Applebloom. Someone had to be strong in these situations, it was almost an unspoken rule. Still, as she continued to hold her sister, she wished desperately that Big Macintosh would arrive so that she would not have to bear the burden of staying strong anymore. There was also the fact that without a thought, on the way to the hospital, she had sent her big brother to retrieve Rainbow Dash at the castle of friendship. Despite what Rainbow had done, she needed to be present for Granny Smith. The farm mare was in agony over what had happened to her Grandmother, while at the same time, her wife's very recent betrayal stuck fast in her mind.

Suddenly, and without warning, Rainbow Dash burst into the waiting room. She looked around for a moment before her eyes, overflowing with tears, came to Applejack. With a sob, the farm mare stood and ran to Rainbow, her sister following closely behind. Rainbow wrapped her wife in a tight embrace that soothed Applejack's frayed mind. At that moment, what Rainbow had done didn't matter. She was there, holding her. Applejack breathed deeply as she finally let herself cry. She didnt have to be the only strong one anymore.

"I came as fast as I could when Big Mac told me." Rainbow breathed, giving Applejack a small squeeze. Rainbow separated from the hug so she could talk to her wife face-to-face, but she thought better of going in for a kiss, a decision that Applejack appreciated in the back of her mind. "Are you okay?"

"No, Ah can't say Ah am." Applejack sighed.

"You're right, dumb question. Sorry." Rainbow said, wiping her tears and letting out a small, nervous laugh. At that moment, Big Macintosh and Twilight walked into the waiting room. He hugged Applejack, and almost reading his sister's mind, took Applebloom to the vending machines to get a snack.

"You got here awfully fast, Rainbow." Twilight said. "Must've arrived before I even finished charging the teleportation spell." Applejack looked at Rainbow and smiled, the pegasus sending a bashful smile back.

"Well, Granny Smith is my family." Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head before once more looking at Applejack. "Right?"

"Of course." Applejack said, feeling a small pang in her heart for Rainbow. At that moment, Applejack thought about how much her wife had probably been torturing herself for what she did.

"I'll go get the girls. They'd want to be here." Twilight said, as she began to power up another teleportation spell. Applejack gave her a nod before she and Rainbow each exchanged brief hugs with her. Bearing a sorrowful and grave expression, Twilight spoke not another word as she teleported out of the waiting room, leaving Rainbow Dash and Applejack by themselves. Not speaking, they moved to a couple chairs and sat.

"I've been at the Castle. It's pretty nice." Rainbow said, with a small smile. Applejack didn't react, and simply sank in her chair. After a couple seconds, Rainbow Dash mentally cursed herself as she nervously continued.

"So, you just found her on the floor?" Rainbow asked and Applejack nodded.

"Yeah, Ah did. Honestly, Ah'd prefer not to talk about it right now, Rainbow." Applejack said, looking forward. Rainbow felt her stomach tense up just the slightest bit, and she had to keep herself from shaking. Though she'd experienced something similar once or twice before, also in a situation involving Applejack, it still was a completely foreign and uncomfortable feeling for Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, okay. Sorry. They say that talking helps, and I was just trying..." Rainbow attempted to explain, but trailed off as Applejack looked at her, her face unchanging. "To help. Sorry." Leaning forward for a moment, Applejack let out a sigh before looking at Rainbow Dash, whose ears lowered.

"Rainbow, Ah get that you're tryin'. Ah do." Applejack said, and Rainbow Dash could tell she wasn't just referring to the situation they currently were in. "But right now, Ah don't really care about anything else besides that mare whose life they're tryin' to save in there. " Her hoof pointed toward the doors leading to the emergency room, and Rainbow's eyes followed it as it did so. "So again, Ah appreciate that you're tryin' right now. But honestly, Ah'd appreciate it more if you just held me." Without a word, Rainbow scooted closer to her wife and wrapped her forelegs around her. Applejack rested her head on Rainbow's chest, and nuzzled into it slightly.

Shortly after, Applebloom and Big Mac returned with snacks in tow, and began to give them out. Big Mac had been very generous at the vending machine. Applejack received an apple danish, a bag of cheddar cheese chips and a bottle of apple juice. Rainbow Dash politely refused her snacks, and promised to eat them later. Applebloom went to the waiting room television and switched the station to one of the all night cartoon variety. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Big Mac sat in their chairs almost silently.

"So those snacks remind me of the time that me and AJ were just craving something sweet to eat. Remember, it was back when we were getting all that money into the farm." Rainbow piped up suddenly, grabbing the attention of both ponies. Applebloom was much too focused on the cartoons she watched, which was perhaps for the better. Applejack smiled at Rainbow.

"Ya mean when you were getting all that money into the farm." Applejack said, the smile not leaving her face.

"Well yeah, sure, whatever. But you remember, right? We had all this money, and we just wanted something sweet so bad! The cakes were on vacation, Pinkie Pie just happened to be sick." Rainbow continued.

"Yeah, we looked everywhere." Applejack sighed.

"Ah remember that too." Big Mac added before letting out a small chuckle. "You were a little testy that day, Rainbow."

"Well yeah, I was craving something sweet, which doesn't happen that much. Then Ponyville of all places doesn't have anything sweet to eat." Rainbow replied, and the three of them laughed. It wasn't uproarious laughter, but it was laughter all the same, and as far as Rainbow could tell, it was better than the tortured silenced they'd all been subjecting themselves to. "We finally came home after looking through the whole town, and Granny had made some apple fritters. They were perfect." The last bit of the memory brought tears to Rainbow's eyes. Applejack and her brother had the same reaction.

"So warm and flaky. Ah believe we got some right out of the oven." Applejack said with a small laugh, wiping her cheeks.

"Ah went light on dinner that night, for sure." Said Big Mac, the tears, while present, staying in his eyes. Rainbow felt warmth inside her for the first time in days, talking and laughing with her family. The thought of what she'd done came to her again, and she looked over at Applejack, who she discovered hadn't stopped watching her throughout the entire conversation. Rainbow smiled nervously at Applejack, and the farm mare took her hoof into hers.

Before too long, the rest of their friends arrived. Rarity and Fluttershy had been the first to arrive with Sweetie Belle in tow. The two mares had gone immediately to Applejack and Rainbow and the hugs had been emotional and comforting at the same time. During this time, Sweetie Belle joined Applebloom in watching cartoons after a quick loving exchange.

"Ah'm just happy they have that TV now." Applejack sighed as she watched her sister with her friend. "Ah remember when Rainbow was in there, and they hadn't gotten it yet. It was torture. Ah couldn't even read, there were no books or magazines."

"How are the two of you holding up?" Fluttershy asked, and earned a tired shrug and a shook head from Rainbow and Applejack respectively.

"Not too well." Rainbow said when she realized that Applejack hadn't wanted to answer the question. "I mean, considering...We could be worse, I guess." Applejack looked at Rainbow for a moment, and the pegasus became nervous. "Right?" Applejack felt it to be a little presumptuous of Rainbow to say that they all could "be worse", but she knew that her wife was just trying to stay positive. So Applejack nodded with a deep exhale.

"Ah suppose so." She said.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie arrived then, and the pink pony, whose mane was straight, ran to the two of them and went to give one of her signature hugs. She appeared to think better of it, and stepped back.

"Do you guys want a hug? I know they can be a little much sometimes." Pinkie asked, which absolutely warmed the hearts of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They nodded, and Pinkie wrapped her hooves around the two of them and squeezed. It wasn't her normal bear-hug squeezing, rather it was a simple reassuring squeeze that was not in the least bit unpleasant.

"I need to sit down for a bit." Twilight breathed before taking a seat. "I've been running-or well, teleporting, for a good while now." The rest of the ponies joined her in the waiting room chairs, while Spike settled for sitting at the foot of Twilight's chair. She urged him to go watch television with the fillies, who were now joined by Scootaloo after Big Mac had gone to pick her up at his little sister's request. Despite remaining loyal at her side for an impressive amount of time, he relented at his own boredom and joined them. For a good while, the support and love that came from having their best friends present worked wonders for Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Big Mac. They didn't talk about anything that any of the three of them didn't want to talk about, and just having them there lightened the atmosphere up significantly. Pinkie Pie's mane and tail even curled back up as jokes were made and fun memories were recounted. However, as the time went on and as the hour grew later, they had become tired and sluggish.

"Could be a good while longer before anypony can see her." Rainbow Dash said to the group as she returned from the help desk. "You guys don't have to stay if you're feeling tired."

"Nonsense, dear." Rarity said, throwing out a hoof. "We're here to stay."

"Rarity, your marefriend fell asleep fifteen minutes ago." Rainbow said with a raised eyebrow. "It's past eleven P.M. now, you've all been here for hours."

"Yeah, don't sit up here this waiting room on our account." Applejack added. "Y'all have been wonderful and we're so thankful for y'all bein' here, but please, go home and get some rest."

"But, we're family." Pinkie Pie said, a worried look on her tired face. "We can't just leave you like that."

"Come back tomorrow. I promise, it won't hurt our feelings, right Applejack?" Rainbow said.

"Right." Applejack concurred immediately.

"Pinkie Pie, you have to run Sugarcube Corner, I know that you can't run on no sleep, no matter how much energy you have." Rainbow said to the earth pony with an appreciative smile. "Rarity, Fluttershy, you guys have stuff to do tomorrow too, don't lie."

"Rainbow, the boutique can wait." Rarity replied, standing up.

"Yeah, so can Sugarcube Corner." Pinkie Pie added, standing up as well.

"There's no real reason for me to leave either." Fluttershy said sleepily from her chair. Rarity let out a giggle of adoration before kissing her on the head. Rainbow looked over at Twilight, who merely sat where she was, her head propped up on her hoof.

"I'm not going anywhere." The princess said, shaking her head. "We're here for you guys. Whether you like it or not. I'll arrange for some pillows and blankets."

"Twilight, you're a princess..." Applejack uttered, looking at her friend with a slightly stunned expression. "You can't just drop everything-"

"Why not?" Twilight asked, regarding Applejack almost jovially with a cocky smirk. "I'm a princess. I'm sure Celestia and Luna can hold things down for me while I'm here. Besides, Spike and the girls look pretty comfy where they are." She nodded toward the younger members of the group, who'd all fallen asleep in an adorable pile in front of the tv.

"You guys, this is...I don't know what to say." Rainbow said, her eyes filling with tears that for once weren't fueled by sorrow or despair.

"Don't say anything." Twilight replied sweetly, standing from her chair. "I'll go arrange for the pillows and blankets." Before long, silence had descended on the waiting room. The television droned on, having been turned down almost to silent. Applejack absentmindedly watched a commercial for some kind of skin ointment, her eyes heavy and her muscles tired, yet unable to fall asleep. She knew it was due to the stress she'd been through recently, both Granny Smith's serious heart attack and Rainbow's recent infidelity, combined with her pregnancy which was in full swing. Being momentarily reminded of her wife, Applejack looked over from the television to see Rainbow looking at her wistfully. The pegasus quickly looked toward the TV in a vain attempt to play it off.

"What're you lookin' at?" Applejack asked, taking care to keep her voice lowered so as to not wake her sleeping friends and family. Rainbow jumped slightly at her question, but coolly continued to watch the TV.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rainbow replied, not moving her eyes from the screen, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, if you say so." Applejack quietly chuckled. Rainbow shuffled in her seat for a moment. Predictably to Applejack, Rainbow couldn't resist piping up again.

"What, I can't look at my wife?"

"Ah didn't say that." Applejack said, giving a small shrug.

"Applejack, we need to talk." Rainbow said, after a few more seconds of silence, prompting Applejack to sigh through her nostrils.

"Ah don't think so, Rainbow." Applejack said, not taking her eyes from the TV. "At least not right now."

"Please?" Rainbow pleaded, laying her hoof on Applejack's. Applejack looked at her wife's hoof and then into those beautiful rose irises she fell in love with, which were glistening with tears in the TV light. "I don't know when we'll get this chance again. Please Applejack. I feel awful. Everything that's been going through my head, the questions, what I did, I feel like my insides have been melting."

"Okay." Applejack said with a small nod. Rainbow breathed in deeply through her nose, letting out the breath through her mouth quietly.

"I'm so sorry. I hate myself so much for what I did, I can't stop thinking about it. You're the most important pony in the world to me, and I let some sexual frustration lead me into hurting you in the worst way that I could." Rainbow said, her emotions quickly bubbling to the surface, despite her efforts to calm herself. "It was a horrible thing to do to you, and I will never forgive myself. You're pregnant with our foal, bearing this burden for us, and I've been so impatient and childish about things. This last day has been the worst in my life, and not only because of what happened to Granny. I've just....I've been so scared..." Rainbow's voice broke with the last word.

"Rainbow, Ah appreciate you sayin' those things. And Ah see you're truly sorry, so of course Ah forgive you." Applejack said, laying a hoof on Rainbow's. The pegasus smiled at Applejack hopefully.

"You do?" Rainbow breathed.

"Yes, Dash, Ah do." Applejack said as she shed a tear.

"Do you..." Rainbow said before pausing to gulp, her ears lowering. "Do you still love me?" Applejack ran a hoof through Rainbow's mane, and she nuzzled into it letting out a deep breath.

"Rainbow, Ah will never not love you." Applejack replied, feeling intense love and pity for Rainbow as she truly realized just how much the pegasus had been tormenting herself over what she'd done. "But-"

"Oh, no..." Rainbow sighed, as she held Applejack's hoof to her cheek. "Oh please, no, not the but."

"But" Applejack continued. "Ah don't, and Ah want to be honest here with you, Rainbow. Ah don't know...if Ah can ever trust you again." Rainbow looked at Applejack, somehow stunned when she knew she shouldn't have been. "Ah love you so much, Dash. But after this...it's just really hard to know where Ah'm gonna be when all this dust settles. Ah just...Ah just can't stop picturin' you with her..." Applejack fought back tears as she said this. Rainbow let go of Applejack's hoof and turned toward her.

"Applejack, I-" Rainbow began, looking as if she intended to resume pleading. However, Applejack could see on her face that she'd thought better of it. Rainbow Dash wilted slightly, and sat back in her chair. "I...I understand." Rainbow didn't make it for three seconds before she started to cry. It wasn't hysterical, it wasn't frantic, it was a defeated crying. Rainbow simply hung her head, the only sounds coming from her being the occasional involuntary whimper. Applejack teared up as well, and couldn't help but wrap her forelegs around Rainbow as she herself began to cry. It wasn't long before Applejack lay against Rainbow, sleep falling over the two of them.

Applejack was lightly nudged awake by Rainbow, and the orange earth pony found the doctor waiting for her. She took a second to look around, and saw that she, Rainbow Dash and Big Mac were the only ponies of the group to be awake. She rubbed her eyes and blinked at the doctor, who gave her a polite nod.

"Good morning." He said to her in a pleasant tone. He was a young earth pony stallion, clearly a newly anointed doctor, and quite attractive. Applejack felt a slight cut of guilt in her gut, but she decided that for that moment to not beat herself up for thinking so, given the circumstances.

"What time is it?" Applejack asked.

"It's a quarter to four a.m." He said to her, and she blinked at him, surprised. "Yeah, we've been working pretty hard." He said the last sentence with a hint of joviality, which Applejack could only barely appreciate.

"How is she?" Applejack asked, taking just a smidge longer than her brother and wife to stand.

"She's...stable. We're keeping her under close watch, but for now at least, she should be alright." The stallion explained. "But I don't want to lie to you. It took a good bit to bring her back from the brink. In my professional opinion, I'd remain guarded for what could feasibly happen." Applejack choked down a sob and nodded, trembling slightly.

"Well how is she...right now?" Applejack asked. "She's not in pain or anything, is she?"

"No, she seems...tranquil right now." He said with a smile. "In fact, I was about to say...She's awake, and I don't think there's anything wrong with a few visitors. Just you three, though." Applejack let out a small gasp and looked at Rainbow Dash, who smiled through tears back at her, giving her a nod.

"Let's go." The pegasus breathed. Without another word said, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh followed the doctor toward the room housing their grandmother. Surprisingly quickly, the doctor stopped and quietly opened the door.

"Granny Smith? You have some visitors." He said, maintaining a quiet tone of voice.

"Well, let 'em in, already, ya done went and said you were gonna do it when ya left the room." Granny rasped in reply. When Applejack heard her grandmother's voice, her heart jumped, and she gripped Rainbow's hoof. They entered, and the three of them joined Granny Smith at her bedside.

"My babies." Granny breathed from her bed. "Ah wanted to see y'all three more than anypony else. The only reason Ah don't want Applebloom here is because she's growin' and needs her sleep." Applejack, Rainbow and Big Mac laughed as Granny's ever-present snarkiness made itself known once again.

"How're you feelin'?" Big Mac asked.

"How do Ah look?" Granny asked, and Big Mac smiled at her.

"You look beautiful." He replied.

"Don't you lie to me boy." Granny scolded, earning another laugh from the three ponies at her side.

"We're gonna beat this, Granny. Ah know we will." Applejack said, lightly placing a hoof on Granny's.

"Yeah, you can look forward to the straight-up royal treatment when you get home." Rainbow added, and Granny Smith let out a weak chuckle.

"That truly sounds amazin' girls. Ah'd love that, but...Ah think we need to-"

"Don't." Applejack cut her grandmother off, the word barely eeking out over a sob. "Don't you say that. Ah can't lose you."

"Applejack, we just have to be realistic-"

"Granny, Ah don't want to hear it. You're gonna be alright, Ah'll see to it." Applejack asserted once again, and Granny could see Rainbow almost say something, but think better of it. Letting out a small sigh, Granny looked at her grandchildren.

"Big Mac, Dash, Ah love y'all more than I could possibly put to words. However, Ah think the staff're gettin' a little impatient to have me all on my lonesome tonight. Ah have somethin' that Ah want to say to Applejack one-on-one, so if y'all could give us the room, that'd be nice."

"No problem." Rainbow said before giving Granny Smith a kiss on the head. She squeezed Applejack's hoof for a moment, and nodded before departing. Big Mac hugged his sister and grandmother at the same time before leaving them as well. Applejack patiently waited until the door had closed behind him to continue the conversation.

"What's this all about, Gran-"

"You think entirely too much in the now." Granny Smith cut her off, almost in a scolding tone. At least it was as close to she could get to scolding, given the condition she was in. "You're like a dog. You can't see anything beyond what you've got right here in the room with ya." Applejack was stunned silent by what Granny said.

"Ah don't mean to call ya a dog, sweetie. Ah didn't mean it like that. Ah'm just tryin' to say, you would benefit from widening your view a little bit." Granny continued, placing a shaky hoof on her granddaughter's foreleg. Applejack raised a confused eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Granny?"

"Like with staying so set on the outcome of me leaving this hospital." Granny said, and Applejack immediately welled up. "Now, now listen to me baby. Please listen, can you do that?" Applejack nodded. "Ah'm just tryin' to say that you're so focused on the here and now, you can't look forward or back. Look back now with me. Ah've lived a full, wonderful life. Ah'm pretty goldarned old, aren't Ah? Been through the ringer, Ah have." Applejack nodded.

"You have lived a good life." Applejack said before looking downward. "Ah just don't want to lose hope."

"Ah know, baby. Ah love you for keepin' it, and trust me, Ah feel it. Ah just want you to be prepared. Now in terms of the lookin' forward part, Ah'm gonna tell you a secret." Applejack looked up at Granny Smith, intrigued despite her sorrow.

"A secret?" She asked, prompting Granny to give her a small nod.

"Eeeyup." She mimicked Applejack's older brother, and the orange mare gave a small laugh. "It's somethin' Ah've never told anypony as long as Ah've been in this world. Not your daddy, not your brother, not anypony." Applejack nodded slowly.

"Alright, Granny. Ah'm listenin'."

"When Ah was around your age, maybe a little older...Your granddaddy did somethin' pretty similar to what you told me Rainbow did." Applejack gasped and gaped at Granny, who merely nodded knowingly. "Came home from work one day and confessed."

"Oh, Goddesses...Did he...Did they..."

"All the way." Granny deadpanned, nodding. "Ah know, it's hard to believe. And Ah also know you know what it feels like." Granny said. "The agony it wreaks on your soul. It made me so angry that it stung, but all Ah could do was cry. There is somethin' truly special about the agony of hatin' somepony and at the same time loving them so damn much."

"What'd you do?" Applejack asked.

"Well, first of all, Ah probably slapped him four or five times...Then Ah let my anger make the decision to let him dangle for about a week and a half. But eventually Ah had to let him back in, because Ah loved him and all he did was torment himself. He didn't make a show of it or nothin', though." Granny explained. "He continued to do that for the rest of his days, until the day he died. Even long after Ah'd forgiven him, and our relationship was stronger than it'd ever been, Ah'd stumble upon him now and then, just weepin'."

"Granny, Ah-"

"Just let me finish, sugarcube. Please." Granny continued. "Ah went on to have a life with him that Ah have loved beyond words. He gave me so much happiness, so much love, and he gave me your daddy. So he also gave me you, your brother and your lil' sister. What Ah'm tryin' to say, was that he was flawed, just like all of us are. He made a mistake in a moment of weakness. Ah could have left him that day, and nopony in the world woulda blamed me. But in doin' so, Ah would have lost out on everything we had and experienced together. Ah would've lost out on you." She breathed in shakily for a moment, tears spilling down her face. "Please, please don't throw away this beautiful love you've found. You have so much ahead of you, and she loves you so much...You need to look forward..." Applejack sobbed, and felt her grandmother squeeze her hoof.

"Ah know." Applejack said as she struggled to maintain her composure.

"Your baby..." Granny said, taking in a sharp breath.

"Oh, Ah forgot to tell you, we found a name we like. Honeycrisp Flash. Honey or Flash based on what she prefers." Applejack said with a small laugh, tears steadily falling from her eyes. "Rainbow thought of it." Granny Smith's wet cheeks pulled up into a sweet warm grin, and her eyes brightened up. She opened her mouth to reply, but as the heartrate monitor went to letting out irregular and terrifying beeping, Granny's face contorted into an expression of pain. A sharp jolt shot through Applejack's chest, her heartrate spiked, and she repeatedly pressed the help button on the bed's control panel. As Granny's mouth parted in a groan of pain, the scream that had been crawling up Applejack's throat exploded forth.

"HELP!"

The nurses and doctor were there within a few seconds, but by then, the EKG had already been flatlining for a second or two. Two nurses struggled to move Applejack backward, both murmuring words that were supposed to calm her down, but Applejack could barely hear them over the EKG's horrid squeal. That, and her own anguished squalling drowned all other sound out.

"Get a defib kit, now!" She heard the young, attractive doctor shout. She watched the nurse whom the shout was directed at sprint from the room, and the farm mare couldn't help but feel a small pang of sympathy for the poor mare through everything else. The nurses continued to push on her, and the sensation was driving her insane. She knew that the nurses were just doing their jobs, but she was preparing to do whatever was necessary to get back to her grandmother. Rational thought had begun to fade from her mind, and she began to push back harder against the nurses, and their strength began to fail. Suddenly, Applejack felt a pair of hooves much stronger than either of the nurses wrap around her and begin to pull. She saw glimpses of cyan as they wrapped around her. She fought harder, but somehow she was held back and she heard a familiar voice say, as it broke,

"I've got her."

Applejack collapsed backward into Rainbow Dash, sobbing hysterically, her wide eyes focused on her grandmother as the group prepared to resuscitate her grandmother. The young stallion doctor held the paddles up, barking the customary "Clear!" before discharging the electricity through Granny Smith's body, causing it to seize up violently for a moment. Applejack jumped herself, before letting out a gasp and spinning around to bury her face in Rainbow's chest as the pegasus stroked her mane.

"It's okay, AJ. It's okay." Rainbow said, staying strong through her own tears as she began to pull Applejack out of the room, giving her a small kiss on the head.

"No change." One of the nurses said after a moment. As the doctor prepared for another discharge, Rainbow pulled her wife from the room completely. Applejack saw her Grandmother's body seize up once more through the door window, and something snapped within her. The hysterics came back full force. She screamed her grandmother's name, and pulled harder toward the door, yanking herself loose from Rainbow successfully for a moment. Rainbow luckily regained her hold on the farm mare just in time.

"Applejack, stop!" Rainbow cried, breathing heavily. "Please! We have to let them-" A stray hoof connected with Rainbow's face, sending her stumbling back. Applejack didn't seem to notice at all, and moved toward the door. Applejack was grabbed by a couple more nurses and one gave her an injection deftly. Gradually, over the span of about forty seconds or so, Applejack's cries had died down to small whimpers, and her powerful legs were only capable of small, weak movements.

"What'd you give her?" Rainbow asked, rubbing her nose.

"Something to calm her down." The nurse replied before letting out a small gasp. "Your nose." Rainbow noticed at about the same time that the nurse said this that the hoof she'd used to rub her nose had become virtually soaked with blood.

"Whoa. Guess she got me pretty good." Rainbow said with a small chuckle, despite the sorrow in her heart.

"Here." The nurse said, hurriedly grabbing several pieces of tissue. Rainbow nodded gratefully, and plugged her nose for her trip to the bathroom. "Thanks. I appreciate it." The nurse nodded and smiled at her, and Rainbow recognized her in that moment.

"Nurse Redheart?" Rainbow said, and the nurse turned, giving a small nod and a smile. "I'm sorry, I totally didn't recognize you."

"It's alright, you're under a lot of stress." Redheart replied and after making sure the other nurse could escort Applejack to the waiting room, approached Rainbow. "I'll be honest, I wouldn't have thought Applejack would act like that. She's usually so-"

"So what?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow at the nurse.

"I'm sorry, I was speaking out of turn." Nurse Redheart said promptly before giving a small bow. "I'll take my leave."

"No, wait. I'm just stressed out, and you never did anything but care." Rainbow sighed. "Go on."

"I just remember how she was with you when you were here after the Timberwolf attack. I wouldn't have thought she'd hit you and not even notice."

"Well, she's pregnant, for one." Rainbow said, and the nurse nodded. "And...Well...There's been other really stressful things that have happened to her lately...."

"Like what?"

"I'd rather not share, and I'm sure she wouldn't want me to either." The nurse nodded in understanding.

"Well, I'd be happy to send you to the female's locker room we have in the back to wash off. You kind of have blood all over your neck and chest." She said. Rainbow looked down at herself, and exhaled, her cheeks puffing up for a moment.

"Oh, yikes. Yeah, I guess that'd be nice." Rainbow replied before looking at the door to Granny Smith's room. "It's...It's hard to believe. I don't know what we're gonna do."

"Well, Applejack didn't know what she was going to do after she brought you in when you were close to death." Nurse Redheart said, looking at the door with Rainbow, before putting a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "I hope that helps."

"It does, I guess...I dunno, a little." Rainbow replied, giving the nurse a small smile. "Thanks for talking to me. It was nice to talk to somepony not wracked with grief tonight."

"No problem. You know me, I love to help ponies. Come on, let me show you the locker room. Normally it's employees only, but I doubt anypony would object, considering the circumstances. Hold on a moment-" The nurse grabbed the speaker for the hospital intercom. "Sanitation to intensive care for body fluid removal." She nodded at Rainbow and they began to walk, passing ponies going back and forth, rooms that were open and closed, each with their own frantic or grief-stricken ponies whose stories were entirely separate from hers and her family's.

"I've seen many ponies losing loved ones, you know." Nurse Redheart said to Rainbow, as they neared the employee section. "They all react to it differently. I've certainly seen ponies react like Applejack did, but I've also seen ponies react as you have."

"And how's that?" Rainbow asked, pretending not to look at the pale, emaciated stallion laying in one of the rooms whose forehoof was held by his apparent wife.

"You've been strong. You've been there for Applejack, and you are going to be her rock through this." The nurse said sweetly. Rainbow appreciated her sentiment, but given what she'd done, she had her doubts about that outcome. "I just wanted you to know that it wasn't lost on me."

"Thank you." Rainbow said, the both of them standing outside the showers.

"Alright, well, towels are over there, use the showers as long as you'd like. Can you find your way back to the waiting room? If not, I can stay behind-"

"I think I can manage. Thank you." Rainbow said, giving the nurse an earnest and much needed hug. "This means a lot."

"I like to do what I can for everypony I see here." The nurse said curtly before raising a coy eyebrow at the pegasus. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit biased toward you and Applejack." With a small bow, Nurse Redheart left Rainbow to cleanse herself. Sighing deeply, and wiping some straggling tears from her eyes, she entered the shower and turned one of them on. It heated up immediately, which Rainbow appreciated. The water was an instant relief from the deep chill she always felt after walking through a hospital. She rinsed herself off, scrubbing her neck and chest, watching the mostly dried blood dissolve into a crimson dye that ran down the drain slowly. Breaking herself from the trance the flowing blood put her in, she shook her head. She chalked it up to her intense exhaustion, and continued to wash off. Showers were normally where Rainbow was most comfortable crying. It was where she'd vent her emotions away from the prying eyes of any pony who wasn't Applejack. This shower was different, though. She'd cried more in the last day than she had in years, and the tears simply didn't come.

Rainbow returned to the waiting room more tired than she was when she'd stepped into the shower. Her friends and family, save for Applejack and Big Mac, were still asleep. Rainbow was thankful that the earlier commotion hadn't woken any of them, as explaining the situation would have only further contributed to her exhaustion. Big Mac seemed to be quite sleepy, while Applejack simply sat in her chair and stared forward, the drug given to her earlier still in full effect. Rainbow walked slowly across the waiting room and sat next to her wife. Applejack looked over at her, seemingly only then noticing her presence. Applejack's mouth turned upward in a slightly goofy smile, which Rainbow returned half-heartedly.

"Ah didn't hit you too hard, did Ah?" Applejack asked, and Rainbow shrugged.

"I wouldn't care if you had." Rainbow sighed. Applejack shook her head and put a hoof on Rainbow's.

"Ah would." Applejack replied. "Ah never like seeing ya hurt. Ah'm sorry Ah hit you."

"It's okay." Rainbow replied simply and Applejack shook her head.

"No, it's not...Here, lemme look at you." The words were slightly slurred and the farm mare took a hold of Rainbow's face, moving it to where she could look over it well. Rainbow almost chuckled, and settled for a weak smile.

"Those drugs are hitting you pretty hard, huh?" Rainbow asked, wondering if her wife was so high that she'd forgotten Rainbow had cheated on her. She was deathly afraid to ask.

"Yeah, Ah guess they-...Hold on, what's this?" Applejack asked, moving Rainbow's mane away from her forehead. Her stomach leaping in fright at what Applejack would almost certainly see, she attempted to move her head away. The cyan mare was too late, though, and as she moved her head she heard Applejack gasp.

"Rainbow....Did you...Did you hit yourself?" Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash was incredibly thankful that everyone present, including Big Mac, were still asleep. The pegasus looked downward in shame before giving a slight nod.

"Oh baby...." Applejack said, her voice breaking and withering as she began to cry again. "Why would you-"

"You really have to ask why I did it?" Rainbow asked, tears coming to her eyes again. She felt a sob welling up in her throat, but she angrily forced it back down. She was damned tired of crying. "I hate myself more and more every time I think about it." Applejack didn't have Rainbow's current aversion to crying, and broke, pulling Rainbow into an embrace.

"Please...Don't do that to yourself anymore..." Applejack cried.

"I...I wanted to, though. I still do. I ruined...everything." The sob tried again, and Rainbow forced it back down. She was prepared to fight with it for the rest of the night.

"You gave up your dream...The dream you had since you were a filly...You actually made it happen, and you gave it up." Rainbow looked into Applejack's eyes and nuzzled her before laying her forehead on the farm mare's shoulder.

"Only for you." Rainbow said quietly. "If staying with them means I can't have you, buck the Wonderbolts." Rainbow said the words with a small hint of acid for Spitfire. Applejack wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash, Rainbow doing the same, and they held each other. Time seemed to stand still, as neither one of the mares wanted to leave the hooves of the other.

About an hour passed, and Applejack, still under the effects of the drug, had long been asleep. Suddenly, a massive headache filled Rainbow Dash's skull with fire. Not wanting to wake Applejack, she simply stretched her neck, trying to alleviate at least some of the intense pain. Though there was tension in her neck, it wasn't the cause of the terrible discomfort in her head. It was at this point she realized she was incredibly nauseous. She held a hoof up in front of her face and saw that it was trembling quite severely. Rainbow Dash lay her head back and attempted to relax, but there was absolutely no relaxation for her in the position she was in. Just when she began to get angry at the sudden and seemingly causeless headache and nausea, she felt her stomach begin to bubble violently. Whatever was in there, it was coming up, and fast.

"Ugh... Applejack...Applejack, I-" She was cut off by a gag. "Applejack, I have to get up...I'm gonna puke." Applejack, fast asleep, did not move. Rainbow breathed deeply and evenly as she could, but the situation with her nausea was getting worse.

"Apple-ulp" She felt it working its way up her esophagus and she forced herself out from underneath Applejack, which succeeded in waking her.

"What the hay-" Applejack slurred before she saw Rainbow running for the waiting room door. "Rainbow? Are you okay?" Rainbow didn't answer as she turned in the hall toward the bathroom, now running. As she realized she wouldn't make it, bile spewed up and out of her mouth all over the floor. She retched heavily, her muscles tensing up violently as her legs buckled underneath her. The taste was foul and sour, which only made Rainbow Dash gag more. As she sunk to her belly, another bout of bile came from her mouth. Within moments, Nurse Redheart was next to her.

"Rainbow Dash, are you okay? What feels off?" The nurse asked. Rainbow looked up at her, trembling violently, her coat now an even lighter shade of cyan. "You're so pale. Have you eaten?'

"I...I guess I haven't...Haven't really had much of anything to drink either..." Rainbow breathed before retching again, though nothing came out.

"Since when?" Redheart asked.

"Since my hangover...This morning...Well, I guess it's yesterday morning, now..."

"Is Rainbow- Oh, Goddesses! Rainbow, are you alright?" Applejack asked frantically as she quickly came to Rainbow's side.

"She is severely dehydrated." Nurse Redheart said. "She says she was hung over yesterday morning, and didn't eat or drink anything. Would you know anything about this? Hey, bring me a stretcher! And get the janitor in here." Redheart yelled at a candy striper, but there was no malice in it, just urgency.

"No!" Rainbow cried, attempting to stand. "I'm...Staying with Applejack..." Applejack stroked Rainbow's mane and the power left her legs, the cyan mare flopping back to the floor.

"Dash, baby you have to go to a room. How could you not eat or drink?" Applejack asked.

"I...I guess I didn't care." Rainbow rasped, laying her head on the ground, next to the puddle of bile. "Or forgot. Or whatever..."

"We have to get you up, Rainbow." Nurse Redheart said as she attempted to pull. "I haven't seen someone this dehydrated in years. You need an IV drip immediately."

"I can take the IV in the waiting room. I'm not. Leaving. Applejack." Rainbow growled the last words and as they left her mouth. Nurse Redheart thought she looked like a cornered animal in that moment, and she froze. Cornered animals almost always bit.

"Rainbow, you've got to-" Applejack began.

"I said no!" Rainbow snapped.

"Dash, Ah'll pull you in there by your tail if Ah have-"

"It's alright. We can do it in the waiting room. It isnt normally something we do, but Rainbow seems pretty steadfast in this." Nurse Redheart said. 'Steadfast like a rock.' She thought. "Come on, help me get her up." With little effort, Applejack and Nurse Redheart picked the cyan pegasus up off the floor and held her up as they slowly moved toward the waiting room.

"I keep getting body fluid on your floor." Rainbow breathed and let out a small chuckle. "You gotta apologize to the janitor for me."

"It'll be fine, Rainbow. He gets paid for it." Nurse Redheart replied as they sat Rainbow down in the chair. "Now don't move anymore, alright? Applejack, could I speak with you privately for a moment?" Applejack followed the nurse out into the hallway, and after requesting an IV rig to be delivered to the waiting room, she turned to Applejack and sighed.

"I really don't want to overstep here, and I don't want to sound accusatory, but aren't the two of you married? How did Rainbow not drink or eat all day, especially considering how much heavy drinking depletes the body's resources?" Nurse Reheart asked, clearly trying not to sound angry or confused.

"Ah don't owe you an explanation." Applejack almost snapped. Nurse Redheart recoiled slightly.

"I'm sorry. I just care about the two of you, is all. I don't mean to overstep. You don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to." Applejack thought about what the nurse said for a moment.

"Well...Ah suppose there's no harm in you knowin'...Just please don't tell her Ah told you this, she'd be humiliated. Rainbow and Ah hit a pretty huge bump in our marriage the other night." Applejack explained. "She got a little too drunk and....Well, she got intimate with another pony. She came home and confessed, and Ah made her leave."

"I...I don't know what to say. I guess now, her being so dehydrated makes sense." Nurse Redheart breathed, realizing that this was the external stressor that Rainbow had mentioned earlier. She could see why Rainbow hadn't wanted to speak of it. "Wh...Why would you kick her out?"

"Are you kidding? Ah was furious." Applejack replied, raising an eyebrow. "Though, it's true, lookin' back now, she wasn't in a state to be thrown out."

"You love her, don't you?" Nurse Redheart asked and Applejack sighed deeply.

"With all my heart. Look, Ah'm already blamin' myself for what just happened...and to be honest Ah think Ah'm still a little too high from those drugs y'all gave me to talk about this further. Please don't think me rude, but-"

"O-Oh, of course. Yes, go get some rest. I'll keep you updated on your grandmother."

"Thank you."

Applejack sat back down next to Rainbow Dash, who still trembled underneath her blanket. Her head lay limply on the pillow behind her and she looked at Applejack, on the verge of sleep. Applejack opened her forelegs and Rainbow moved the pillow so that she lay on Applejack's chest.

"I'm sorry." Rainbow said, pain and regret in her eyes, the sight of which made Applejack's heart hurt.

"What for? The other night?"

"Just...Everything. I'm an awful wife. We were so happy together, and I ruined it..." She replied weakly as her eyes drooped more and more with each second. "I...I love you so much...I know you probably don't want to...stay with me, but I would wait forever...for..." Before she could finish her sentence, she was fast asleep. Applejack kissed her wife on the head and began to stroke her mane. The drugs still coursed through her system, and she felt herself becoming quite tired as well.

"Ah love you too, Rainbow." Applejack whispered. She decided in that moment, that even though Rainbow Dash would have to regain her trust, that she would take Granny Smith's advice, as she had so many times before.

Author's Notes:

This set of chapters has been emotionally exhausting to write, lemme tell ya. And I know, the updates seem to be getting more infrequent. That's because...well, they are. I've had a lot of stuff going on in my life, but I still work on this story, little by little. I truly love these characters and I've grown quite attached to this long form story that I've constructed. Thank you guys for reading. Let me know what you think of it so far! Cheers!