A humming resonated from the ceiling. A light in a corner of the room flickered, unstable unlike the other light bulbs hidden behind their glass frames. A pony’s cry sounded out, like she was sobbing her eyes out. Twilight turned her attention to this fixture and steadily watched it blink on and off in a rapid fashion. Precarious. A word she felt would fit the situation they were all in at the moment. From the unending hum, Twilight returned her attention to Fluttershy, who had been in this sad and sob-like state since they had arrived in the Canterlot hospital.

“There, there, Fluttershy,” Rarity murmured as she ran a hoof through her shaking friend’s mane. “Rainbow Dash will be alright. I am sure of it.” Yet Rarity’s eyes drooped lower. She looked like she was about to tear up as well, but Fluttershy, from the sound of it, seemed to be doing all the crying for her friends..

“She’s got to be alright.” Pinkie Pie twiddled her hooves together. She rocked back and forth, her mane still in its deflated position. “And Applejack too. They can’t die...”

Twilight could only sigh. She rubbed her eyes with a hoof and took a deep breath in, and she slowly exhaled out in an effort to keep calm. The plan, the idea that she, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Shining Armor had come up with, had been a success. They discovered that this being, the Xenomorph, was in fact an alien life form. And it all could have ended with no casualties or injuries. ‘But it didn’t… and it’s all my fault.’

There was nopony else to blame for this tragedy but herself. Her suggestion of splitting up had cost the lives of three ponies. And it could have increased by two if they had not saved Applejack and Rainbow Dash in time. Sure, they had revealed more information, but if Twilight had not proposed that foolish idea, then maybe her friends would not have been nearly killed, and those guards they had lost would have retained their lives.

“Twilight?” She looked up to face Rarity, who sat on the opposite side of the waiting room with Fluttershy in her hooves. “Are you alright, darling?”

She glanced away for a moment. Twilight had kept her emotions bottled up, although she could swear that there were a few times that she had come close to tearing up. Returning her gaze, she said, “I’m fine… at least, I think so.”

The waiting room door opened. A maple-brown stallion who wore a white doctor’s coat stepped out with a clipboard in his hoof. He scanned the room until his gaze rested on Twilight. “Princess Twilight? Are you here f--”

“Yes.” Twilight quickly stood up and trotted over to the stallion. “Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and I are waiting on the news about Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

“Right, yes.” The stallion cleared his throat. “My name is Dr. Needle Pin. And I was hoping to find you, Princess Twilight.” He bowed his head until he stood straight up again. “I have the information you looking for about your friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

“Yes, can you please just tell us already?” Twilight leaned close to where his own muzzle was. She frowned and tried to hurry him along. “We’ve been waiting since they were being operated on.”

“Y-yes, yes. Of course, I am sorry, Princess.” Pin bowed again and turned his attention to the clipboard. “Now, first off, Applejack is alright.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “She will make a full recovery. The four claw marks that were scored across the left side of her muzzle will heal, only barely visible once fully mended. Other than that, her stomach wound has healed, although there will still be a bit of scarring.” He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “However, I am afraid to say that her shoulder was… compromised.”

“Compromised? B-but what are you saying, Doctor? Will Applejack be unable to ever walk again?” Rarity fretted. She frowned and raised a hoof to her muzzle.

“No. She’ll be alright. What I mean to say is that she is lucky she didn’t lose it. Whatever you all encountered, it almost ripped her shoulder from its socket.” Twilight and the others stood silent. Fluttershy pressed her muzzle into Rarity’s shoulder, her loud cries muffled as Rarity brushed a hoof through her mane. “Yes… we were able to reattach the bone. However, due to the amount of damage that was caused, she cannot overexert herself. If she does, I am afraid she may break the shoulder bone herself if she doesn’t let it heal properly.”

Twilight shuddered. She frowned and felt her heart ache. ‘Never work as hard as she is used to? Then… that’s something else that is my all my fault.’

“Yes… but she is lucky for not losing her entire leg.” Doctor Needle Pin flipped a page on his clipboard. His eyes scanned over it before he returned his attention to the girls. “And as for Miss Rainbow Dash.”

“Yes, go on,” Twilight urged. She nodded and shook where she stood, waiting for the revelation.

Needle Pin looked down and gulped. “Rainbow Dash… well…” He hesitated, looking up between the clipboard and the girls.

“Please.” Fluttershy raised her muzzle from Rarity’s shoulder, trails of tears still visible upon her face. “J-just t-tell us…”

“Well… you are all very lucky, then.”

“What do you mean by that?” Rarity asked further, in hopes that he would finally stop beating around the bush.

“Rainbow Dash, as I said, is very lucky. After an examination of her internal organs, we discovered the full extent of the damage.” Pin paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “All I can say is that she is the luckiest pony alive. Whatever struck her barely missed her heart by a few inches.”

“I-is… that all?” Twilight pressed on, shaking her head and stepping forward; the doctor backed up as she closed in. “Please. Just stop stalling and tell us. How bad were her lacerations?”

Needle Pin shook a little under the princess’s intense gaze. He stood up and pushed his glasses further up his nose. “O-okay then. The damage was… incredible, to say the least. Whatever struck her… ruptured the top area of her colon, ripping the top area of her liver as well, although thankfully they were not severely damaged.” He gulped again. “But… her lungs were punctured straight through the middle.”

Fluttershy cried out once more, burying her muzzle into Rarity’s shoulder again. “Wh-what?” Twilight uttered only one syllable. The damage that was being described was much worse than severe.

“The damage done to her lungs is what put her in such a critical state. The lower part of her trachea that connected to her lungs was also damaged. Another factor that put her in such a dangerous position.” Pin sighed. “The object… whatever punctured her body almost made it to her spine. Which, unfortunately, if that were the case, she would either have instantly been killed…” He flinched as Fluttershy cried even louder. He shook even more at the sight of the other girls, as tears finally trickled down Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s muzzles. “Or… she would have been crippled for life. Unable to walk or fly ever again.”

Twilight brought a hoof to her muzzle. The dam that had held her own tears back had finally broken. ‘This… this is completely awful.’ And the full extent of this damage was all thanks to the Xenomorph. ‘No wonder those humans didn’t stand a chance… that… thing is so vicious.’

“Yes… well, luckily, Rainbow Dash will be fine. Her liver and colon have fully healed thanks to our healing magic. As well as the lower half of her trachea.” He sighed once more. “Unfortunately… her lungs are another problem. We ended up with a diagnosis. From now on, Rainbow Dash will have to use an inhaler every three to four hours.”

“But… weren’t you able to fix all the damage?” Twilight murmured. ‘Didn’t they try hard enough? Maybe they could have done something… anything…’

“I am afraid, Princess Twilight Sparkle, that we were unable to fully heal the extent of the lacerations done to her lungs. With that concluded, we know that she will be dealing with this condition from now on.”

The waiting room only echoed with Fluttershy’s crying, which drowned out Pinkie and Rarity’s sobbing. Twilight stood there, mouth agape. This information was just too overwhelming. How Rainbow Dash could survive such a fatal blow was almost pure luck. Yet at the same time, she felt relieved that her friend made it through such a horrible ordeal.

The doctor cleared his throat, turning his attention to the door behind him. “Rainbow Dash has been put on a couple heavy sedatives. She won’t be waking up until possibly the afternoon of tomorrow.” Pin returned his gaze to the girls. “But… there is a small sliver of good news in this mess. Your other friend, Applejack, is currently awake at the moment.” Twilight felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She smiled and replaced that frown, although she shook a little. “She has asked for you all to come back. So if you will all follow me, I’ll take you to her room.”

Twilight watched as her friends walked past. As she followed, her ears swiveled at the echo of hoofsteps behind her. Twilight turned around and smiled at the sight of her sister-in-law and older brother. “There you are,” Princess Cadance said when she approached Twilight, smiling as she wrapped her hooves around Twilight.

“It’s good to see you both.” Twilight pulled away, still clinging to Cadance’s shoulders. “Where were you two?”

“Cadance and I were waiting for Princess Celestia. She wanted us to let you know that she would be here soon.” Shining Armor stepped forward and hugged his little sister. “Right now, Princess Luna is taking Princess Celestia’s place. So she’ll watch over their old home for the night.”

Twilight felt a hoof move up to the right side of her muzzle, turning her gaze to her sister-in-law. “Hey… are you alright?” Cadance asked, looking over her to see Twilight’s friends heading down the hallway. “How… are Rainbow Dash and Applejack?”

“We spoke with the doctor that is overlooking their recovery,” Twilight replied. She rubbed her eyes with a hoof and wiped the tears away. “Applejack… she’ll be fine. But her shoulder was badly damaged.” She paused, watching their eyes widen. “H-he said that she can’t overwork her body at the moment because he fears that she might break her shoulder if she isn’t careful.”

Shining Armor snorted and frowned while he stomped a hoof on the floor. “I still don’t understand why she and the others stopped. They should have kept running.”

Cadance sighed when she turned to face her husband. She returned her gaze to Twilight. “And… what about Rainbow Dash?”

“Rainbow Dash was... critically injured.” Twilight shook a little. The pain that weighed down on her was almost too overwhelming. “Doctor Needle Pin said that everything else had healed, but her lungs were the most severe of her injuries. And now with this… he surmised that she’ll have to use an inhaler for every four hours.”

“This is just terrible…” Cadance looked down at the ground. She frowned and closed her eyes. “How could a creature do something so terrible to them?”

“I don’t know why it seeks to destroy…” Shining Armor raised his muzzle up, looking to the two mares in front of him. “But this further proves that the Xenomorph is dangerous. We have to get rid of it as soon as possible before it attacks again.”

“What did Princess Celestia tell you?” Twilight asked while she pulled away from Cadance.

“Celestia said that the Xenomorph has been captured.” Twilight sighed in relief. “And at the moment, she doesn’t plan to attack it. She suggested that it might be safer to wait it out and try and starve it, so if we do kill it, the Xenomorph will be easier to handle.”

“Sure waiting is fine.” Twilight looked over her sister-in-Law’s shoulder at Shining Armor. “But we don’t know how long it will take. Although it may be risky, I believe a small infa--”

"Shining. I understand how eager you are to see this creature's death, and how angry you are at the number of Royal Guard members that have fallen because of the Xenomorph." Cadance turned around and walked up to her husband. "But let's just follow Celestia's orders.”

Shining sighed and closed his eyes. “Alright. We’ll continue with Princess Celestia’s original plan.” He relented and walked up to his wife. The two hugged one another in a gentle embrace.

Cadance separated a few moments later, turning around to face Twilight. “Shall we go see Applejack?”

Twilight quickly nodded, then turned around and trotted at a quick pace. It was a minute until the three ponies stumbled upon the others; the doctor glanced over his shoulder before he slowly rotated himself. “Do not worry. We were just waiting for you, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” As she approached, his eyes widened slightly, and he bowed. “It is good to meet you, Princess Cadenza Mi Amore.”

“Please, Princess Cadance is fine.” She smiled, nodding to the doctor.

He stood up and moved over to the door, turning the knob and peeking inside the room. “Applejack,” Pin said into the room, “your friends are here.” He stepped back and ushered everypony in.

Twilight watched her friends file into the room, following behind Fluttershy and Rarity. She glanced over to the side and caught her sister-in-law’s shadow moving towards the far corner of the room, shifting her gaze to see that they stood a little farther than her friends. ‘They must be giving us some space.’ Twilight smiled and silently thanked them for that.

“I’ll leave you all to speak.” Doctor Needle Pin bowed and closed the door. The room went quiet.

Not a word was spoken within that first minute. Twilight blinked, looking over her friend. The four scratch marks that were on the left side of her muzzle were bandaged over, and the hospital gown she wore on the front of her body hid the other wound on her stomach, possibly covered with wrapping as well. Yet her gaze never wavered from her right shoulder and her foreleg firmly wrapped in a cast, resting against the right side of her chest.

Applejack gazed at her, switching from Twilight to everypony else in the room. She frowned, her chest slowly rising and falling. “H-howdy, y’all.”

“I’m so glad you’re alright!” Pinkie Pie ran up to her injured friend, hugging her and crying.

Applejack yelped, shaking as the pink mare squeezed her tight. “Ah, Pinkie! Ah’m st-still tender!”

Pinkie pulled away, smiling as she stepped away. “Sorry. I… I’m just so excited to see you.”

“We all are excited to see you still functioning, darling.” Rarity smiled as well while she took a step forward. “When we first saw you after your skirmish with that beast, I… well, we all were terribly frightened. How such a monster as this one fights is far beyond brutish. It’s an animalistic abomination.”

Applejack slowly nodded. She turned to Twilight and asked, “S-so… where d-did that critter get to?”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but stopped and turned around to hear her brother say, “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have informed Cadance and me that they were able to capture it.”

Twilight then returned her attention to her friend. “You see? The Xenomorph has been contained. There’s no need to worry about it at the moment.”

“And…” Applejack began, she turned her gaze to the side of her bed, “what about Rainbow Dash? Is she gonna be okay?” Fluttershy hid behind Rarity with a whimper escaping her. Everypony gazed around the room; an eerie silence fell after Applejack had spoken. “Wh-what’s wrong?”

“Applejack…” Twilight said while she walked up to the end of the bed. “Rainbow Dash is fine… but her lungs were… damaged.” She watched as AJ’s eyes widened, closing her own when a few tears trickled down her muzzle. “The doctors say she’ll need to use an inhaler every four hours each day.”

“W-what?” Applejack stuttered. She looked down to the sheets covering her legs.

“I-It’s all m-my fault,” Fluttershy whispered, crying while she tried to speak, only to find it difficult. “I t-thought t-t-the stare w-would work… but I l-let you and R-Rainbow Dash down.”

Applejack raised her muzzle and shook her head. “No, sugarcube. It’s all mah fault.” She frowned and gripped the side bar of her bed. “Ah was the one who suggested that yah use the Stare on that monster. It’s still just a surprise that it didn’t work.”

Twilight’s mouth slightly went agape at the information she received. ‘Fluttershy’s Stare… it didn’t work?’ She had known her friend’s ability, however unnatural at times it was, had the ability to freeze an animal in its tracks. Yet she would only use it on creatures that misbehaved. But to find out that they had attempted it on the Xenomorph, and that the conclusion that it could withstand that intense gaze... she gulped and feared what else it could resist.

“But why did you stand and fight?” She turned to see her older brother step forward. “Applejack, you know that you were ordered to run at the first sight of the Xenomorph. Why didn’t you continue to retreat?”

Applejack tilted her head at the name she heard. “A Xenomorph… is that what that freaky Alien’s called?” When she received a nod from Shining, she let out a quiet sigh. “Look, Ah knew we were supposed ta keep on goin’, but after how fast it moved and how it caught up to us faster than a jackrabbit could, Ah just didn’t know if runnin’ was an option anymore.” Applejack looked away from the stallion’s gaze. “Besides… once Rainbow Dash was pierced by its tail, Ah think Ah kinda fell into a rage there.”

Twilight stood still, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. “But… it’s not your fault you were thrown into that predicament,” she said while meeting Applejack’s eyes. “I’m the pony who decided it was best for us to split up. The tactic had worked… but when I saw how severely you and Rainbow Dash were mauled, I felt my heart sink.” She breathed in and out. “If anypony is to blame… blame--.”

“Stop!” Twilight flinched at the volume Pinkie Pie’s voice reached. She turned to her energetic and happy friend, only to see that her coat had darkened and that her mane had fallen flat from its usual puffy form. “Everypony just stop blaming each other.”

It had been some time since Twilight had seen Pinkie in this state. She looked back through her thoughts and an image appeared: the day that everypony, including herself, was going to celebrate Pinkie Pie’s birthday. However, she had thought that they were constantly avoiding her for the entire day and had come to some random conclusion that they were kicking her out of the group. Yet that had not been the case, and Twilight had explained that to her, which caused her friend’s puffy hair and brighter coat to return. “B-but… I-”

“No buts, Twilight!” Pinkie rushed up to her. Twilight flinched and took a step back when they were almost muzzle to muzzle. “It’s not fair that you all keep blaming yourselves. Sure, you made a few bad and wonky calls, but just get past that and move on from it.” She hissed the last few words through her teeth before she backed away from Twilight.

Twilight just stood there, wide-eyed and surprised that Pinkie’s normal and happy demeanor had changed so suddenly. She looked down, nodding with a sigh. Pinkie breathed in, and with an audible ‘poof’, her mane had returned to its puffy state and her coat was a tint brighter once more. “You all are not the ponies to blame. If anything, you should blame that walkie-talkie doctor on the video.”

“Walkie-talkie doctor?” Fluttershy asked, sniffling a little before she rubbed her eyes.

“Yeah!” She frowned. “He was that cuckoo doctor we saw in the that spaceship, or at least him on some screen from the past.”

“Twilight.” Twilight turned to Cadance, who met her own gaze. “Is this part of the information you were going to tell us?”

She raised a hoof, but Twilight turned around at the squeak of the door opening behind her. A smile replaced the frown at the sight of Celestia. “I am sorry I am late, everypony, but the process of switching my magic with Luna’s took a little longer than expected.” Princess Celestia walked through the door and closed it behind her. “Now then... “ She turned to Applejack, who slowly waved with a sheepish smile. “Applejack, I am glad to see that you are alright. But it was simply foolish of you to confront the Xenomorph.”

“Ah know, princess… but when Rainbow Dash’s life was on the line, Ah didn’t really think before Ah jumped in ta help mah friend out.” Applejack rubbed the back of her head, frowning while she averted her gaze from the princess’s.

“I understand.” Celestia turned her attention to Twilight. “How is she doing?”

“Applejack’s stable, but her shoulder is what was critically injured.”

Princess Celestia sighed, shaking her head while she closed her eyes. “Then this is a lesson we can all learn from this day. However, I am thankful to know that you and Rainbow Dash are still alive.” She opened her eyes again and let her mouth hang open while she shook, struggling to let the words come out. “Yet… I can’t say the same for the three royal guards killed today. Their families will grieve over this day.”

Twilight and the others turned to Applejack, whose eyes were closed. The covers shook while her hooves clenched parts of the bedding. “They never should have lost their lives… Ah couldn’t save them… Ah just was too scared ta confront that monster.”

“But you did all you could, Applejack.” Princess Cadance moved up to the left side of the bed. “You were worried about your friends, and nopony would have done any more than you.”

“Besides…” Shining Armor spoke up, breathing out as he spoke. “The Royal Guard members know that their lives are on the line. They are ready to give them up… yet it still hurts to hear that we lost good ponies in a battle.”

“So although they died, you did all you could,” Cadance reassured her, resting a hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “And in the end, that’s all you can do.” She pulled Applejack closer and hugged the farm mare, the gesture returned as Applejack wrapped her hooves around the princess.

Twilight noticed Pinkie move and watched as she joined in on the hug, who was followed by Rarity and Fluttershy. She smiled, walked over next to Fluttershy, and wrapped her hooves around Applejack as well. Shining and Celestia watched the group hug, the two smiling as they watched this precious moment. It might be one of the very few they would get.

The group split up. Twilight rubbed a hoof through her eyes as she wiped the tears away. Applejack waved to everypony in the room as the group dispersed in a silent goodbye. “Twilight.” She looked to Rarity and met her gaze while they walked down the hall together “Would you care to show everypony else the footage?”

“I… I can’t.” Twilight sighed and closed her eyes.

“Why not?” Twilight turned her attention to Pinkie Pie, who walked on the opposite side of Rarity.

“Because… I don’t want to show them something that I fear may cause some sort of side effect. Who knows what type of mental break any one of them could have if they learned about what we saw on the video?”

“Well… you make a good point there, darling.” Rarity looked away, humming until she returned her attention to Twilight. “But while the footage does contain some very abhorrent and vile images, it does contain vital information that even I believe our friends should know.”

Twilight turned her gaze to the ground, looking back and forth from each opposite side of the hall until she sighed. “Maybe… tomorrow. I can try and gather everypony up to see it… or at least not Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Not yet at the moment.” The two nodded to her before Twilight focused her attention down the hall. Today had been the worst time she had ever experienced. Not even the near end of Equestria at Discord’s hooves, or hands in his case, was as terrifying as this. ‘Please… let it just be over soon…’

Author's Notes:

Another two part chapter. Hope everypony enjoys this.