Author's Notes:

Let me just say now that I am so sorry about that terrible joke title. But...how could I not make that joke?

Hospitals. While all of them provided a much-needed service to those with illnesses or injuries, there was no escaping the fact that most ponies would just rather not be there. Because, being in that place meant one of two things; either you were in a bad state, or someone you care about was in a bad state. And today, Twilight and her friends found that they were very much in the latter category. In the confines of Ponyville General, the young unicorn and her companions waited patiently in the hall, with some pacing up and down in anticipation of what they knew they had to be here for. Pinkie, so used to being active, had grown so tired of the waiting that she’d actually resorted to counting the tiles on the wall. Looking around, Twilight bore a look of concern, which was appropriate, given what happened. She noted that, nearby, Rarity was looking at their location with some apprehension, for which she could not blame her for. With her friend being such an avid fan of aesthetics, it was hard to condemn her for being in a place that, despite its usefulness, was not exactly the best place to look at. As for Fluttershy, she just meekly sat down in the corner, her eyes never straying from the door beside them. Sighing, Twilight spoke to her in a soft manner.

"Fluttershy...she's going to be okay."

The timid Pegasus looked to her friend, seeing the honesty with which she'd spoken those words, and put on an appreciative smile. However, the relative silence of that moment was interrupted when, at long last, the nearby doors swung open. All five of the mares turned their heads in unison to see that one of the doctors now entered the hallway. It was an earth pony stallion, clad in the usual clinical white garb of the staff here, holding a clip-board and staring at it intently. There was silence for a few moments before he finally looked up, at long last realising that there were ponies waiting for him. Putting the board away, he cleared his throat slightly before giving them a nod, standing aside and giving them silent permission to enter the room. The mares gave each other looks of concern before taking the stallion up on his offer, making their way inside. When they did, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief, for there, lying in bed, was their dear friend, Rainbow Dash. Now wearing a mint-green shirt, as standard for patients of the hospital, Rainbow was lying in a bed, her wings covered in many bandages. At first, she seemed both annoyed and unhappy, but, with the arrival of her friends, she broke out into a smile, waving her hoof and inviting them over. As the mares walked forward and surrounded her bed, Twilight was the first to speak.

"How are you feeling, Rainbow?"

Smiling to her friend, the young pegasus answered, though her voice was devoid of a lot of the usual self-confidence she was known for.

"I've been better. Still...it'll take more than crashing headfirst into the ground to finish me off."

There was a general quiet laughter amongst the group after hearing that dark joke, which did a lot to put the six friends at ease with the situation. But, Rainbow, after the laughter died down, looked to her bandaged wings. In a move that was, perhaps, not the wisest, she stretched one out slightly. As one might expect, this caused her to wince with pain, leading to the others all moving forward briefly, ready to lend her some aid. However, after chuckling nervously, she raised a hoof, stopping them and silently letting them know that she was okay. But, as she looked to her wing again, she sighed before speaking up again.

"Then again...it does kinda suck that I can't fly for a while."

"Indeed, Miss Dash."

Their ears perking up, the mares all turned to see the stallion doctor re-enter the room, having picked up his clip board again. After looking over it for a while, he spoke to Rainbow in a quiet manner.

"Your incident left several bones slightly cracked, and a few more out-of-place. The other doctors and I put everything back where it's supposed to be...but you'll still need to stay still and in bed for a few days to truly recover from it. And you certainly shouldn’t be trying to actually move your wings while you wait."

Blushing slightly at having been caught out, Rainbow looked away from the doctor. As for the stallion himself, he placed the board on the side of Rainbow's bed, giving her friends a casual nod as he made his way out of the ward again. With a look of curiosity upon her face, Twilight leaned in closer to the report the doctor had left, squinting her eyes slightly. In time, they widened as she looked up to her friend again.

"Oh my! The doctor's right, Rainbow! You really did a number on yourself out there!"

Rainbow nodded a little.

"Yeah...guess my reflexes aren't as good as I thought."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that, surprised at hearing such a negative assessment of Rainbow's abilities coming from the mare herself. However, before she got the chance to speak further on the matter, she was interrupted when Pinkie stepped forward and spoke up.

"Jeez, Dashie! Whatcha gonna do all cooped up in here?"

The cyan pegasus just shrugged her shoulders at that.

"Dunno. Guess I'll just turn the lamp on and off until it gets boring...ugh! That sounds boring even before I've started it!"

Twilight giggled at that before looking to a pair of saddle-bags she'd been wearing the whole time. Many of the group turned to her with confusion, which then became genuine interest as she used her magic to levitate an object out of the bags. To their surprise, it was a book, which now carefully floated over to Rainbow. Although confused at this, Rainbow nevertheless accepted it as Twilight offered it to her. She looked upon the cover, bearing a picture of a pegasus mare swinging on a jungle vine through a dangerous temple. It was clearly some kind of adventure story, and Rainbow looked up with a raised eyebrow. With enthusiasm plastered all over her face, Twilight spoke up.

"It's part of the Daring Do series, one of my favourite books! I figured you might want something to occupy yourself while you were here."

Silence followed those words as Rainbow looked from Twilight, to the book and then back to Twilight. As for the latter, while she wore a smile, she knew deep down how this would go. However, her smile faded somewhat when Rainbow did something quite unexpected. Instead of offering the book back, snorting in an annoyed manner or even badmouthing the book itself, she placed it on her lap and gave it a brief pat with her hoof, after which she looked up to Twilight with a genuinely appreciative smile.

"Thanks, Twilight."

The look on Twilight's face made it clear she was taken aback by that, but, before she had the chance to enquire further about it, she was beaten to that goal by Applejack, who seemed just as disbelieving about it as she was.

"Now hold up there, Dash. Ah that y'all hated books?"

Rainbow nodded at that briefly before looking to the book in her hooves, smiling slightly.

"Yeah...that's true. I mean, normally, I'd probably just say I don't wanna read it because it's "egghead" stuff and all, but..."

Her expression changed, becoming more thoughtful for a moment. And through that silence, Twilight looked on, still somewhat surprised at her friend's current behaviour. Eventually, Rainbow's face became one of contentment.

"...lately...I figured there might actually be something to all that stuff. I mean... everypony else loves books and reading and stuff...so where would be the point in me going against that just to keep up some "cool" or "I'm too awesome" image?"

Needless to say, Twilight was shocked by what she'd just heard, as indeed were many of her friends. However, yet again, she was prevented from saying anything when Rarity stepped forward and spoke up instead.

"Well, Rainbow, I must say that I'm happy to hear you’re being so mature about this."

The young pegasus gave a smile and a nod at that, but, soon afterwards, let out a massive yawn. When that died down, she laughed nervously before looking to her friends.

"Well, it's been great having you guys visit and all...but I'm kinda tired."

The other mares all looked to each other, giving silent nods before turning to their friend, Pinkie and Fluttershy approached her and gave a gentle hug to their friend, making sure not to touch her wings or otherwise hurt her. Rainbow showed an appreciative smile at this after they parted, and when they did, all five of the mares began to leave the ward. However, Twilight was the last one out, and she stopped briefly to turn around and give her injured friend a final look. Rainbow looked to her, still smiling, and gave a simple wave. Smiling back, Twilight returned the wave before finally making her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. Now in the hallway with her friends, Twilight looked around before gesturing to the direction of the exit. Silently nodding once more, the group moved together to head out of the hospital. However, as they walked together, Twilight noted Rarity looking to her, after which she spoke up.

"Isn't it marvellous that our dear Rainbow is acting so sensible these days?"

Although she initially smiled at that, Twilight soon turned away from her friend before putting on a more thoughtful expression.

"Yeah...marvellous."