Chapter 4: Rest and Recovery

You were staring at a white ceiling in a hospital bed. The last thing you remember was Fluttershy getting some birds to help her carry you, and then you were in this bed, alone. At first you were worried about Fluttershy, having already picked up on her sensitive nature, but she came to visit you a few hours after you woke up. She even managed to get Angel to apologize for breaking your wings, but you were able to tell it wasn't sincere even though you didn't understand bunny. She left around two hours ago, and so far nopony has shown up to see you except one of the nurses. Nurse Redheart, if you could remember correctly. She was flirting with you for a few minutes before another nurse came in to get her. She hasn't come back yet, but you have seen somepony's mane pop up through the window in the door.

You were about to say come in when the door opened, but much to your surprise it wasn't Nurse Redheart. It wasn't even Fluttershy. It was Applejack.

"Uh, howdy" she said as she slowly walked into the room, surprised to find you awake.

"Hi" you replied, confused as to why she would be here. You followed her as she pushed a chair up to your bedside and sat on it, looking down at the floor before she finally spoke up.

"Look, I heard what you were doin' from Twilight," she said, obviously mentioned your failed attempt to prove you work well with animals, "but you don't need to do it"

"Why not? It's the only way your brother would let me work on your farm" you said in a somewhat angry voice.

"I know, but you don't need to work at our farm" Applejack said sternly.

"Why not? I heard about the Applebuck incident" you said, causing Applejack to flinch as she remembered what happened.

"Look, I know you just want to help, but we don't need it" she said as she got up, "And nopony needs you killing yourself over it"

"I'm not going to kill myself..." you muttered as Applejack left the room. You threw your head back into the pillows in anger. Why won't they just let me work there, you thought as you rolled over to look out the window, ironically facing the farm, It's not like it would hurt anypony.

Knock, knock

"Come in" you said glumly as the door opened.

"Nice to see you're in a good mood"

"Oh, hi Med" you said as you sat up to greet your friend. When you saw him in a lab coat holding up a chart you realized he wasn't there to see you as a friend, but as your doctor. He scanned your sheet as he moved to your bedside, putting it back in it's holder a few minutes later.

"So, mind telling me what horrible monster did this to you?" he asked.

"A bunny named Angel" you said angrily, remembering how the whole thing went down.

"Seriously, a bunny did this to you?!" Med asked in disbelief, all the while trying not to laugh.

"Oh shut it" you said as you laid back down, "He was upset that I was getting close to Fluttershy"

"Wow, here for two days and you already got your ass kicked over a girl" Med said as he took of his lab coat, "Must be a new record!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up" you said as you sat up again.

"So, want the good news or bad news first?" Med asked, his voice adopting a more professional tone.

"Uh, good news first" you said, somewhat afraid of what he was about to tell you.

"Okay, good news first" Med said as he cleared his throat, "The good news is your wings are going to heal, so we didn't have to amputate them, which means you will still be a Pegasus"

"Wonderful" you mumbled.

"The bad news is you can't fly for six months, and you will have to come here every two days so we can check on you" Med said as his voice went back to normal, "Of and you've been here for two months already"

"Oh how per-" your brain finally registered the last part, "TWO MONTHS?!"

"When Fluttershy arrived with you on her back you were comatose. We quickly operated on your wings and put you in here, waiting for you to wake up" Med said, remembering the day you arrived, "Oh and by the way, that was most interesting way anypony has every come to a hospital". He laughed to himself, but stopped when he realized you had rolled over, turning your back to him.

"Oh cheer up, I have one more bit of good news for you" Med said as he shook you.

"What" you asked, trying to get him to go away so you could wallow in self pity for a while.

"Everyday Applejack showed up to check on you after Twilight told her what happened" Med said just before leaving the room. Your mood suddenly changed at that. Applejack came to see me?, you thought as you got up, Why would she do that if she was so angry at me for wanting to work at her farm?. You were trying to figure out Applejack's reasons when Nurse Redheart came into your room. She slowly walked over, a seductive look on her face. As she got closer to your bed she took off her hat, putting in your bedside table while shaking her flank in your face.

After turning around she pulled the sheets back, and climbed onto your bed. You tried to move, but she pinned you down, and she slowly slid down to your nether regions, but on her way down she pinched your wings and caused you to pass out from the sudden and sharp pain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You woke up in the middle of the night, alone again when you noticed your bed sheets were still pulled down. Looking around you tried to find any sign of Nurse Redheart, but she was definitely gone. You were looking out the window when your door opened, making you quickly look over to it. Applejack was standing in the doorway, and before she turned on the light you turned over and pretended to sleep.

You heard the chair being pulled back over to your bedside. When you heard Applejack sit down you prepared for the worst, but instead you felt her put her head down on your side. She didn't say anything for a few minutes, but eventually she sat up and started to talk.

"Nopony's ever wanted to work at our farm as much as you" she started as she voice began to crack, "No matter how many times we've allowed an Earth pony a chance to work at our farm they always run away after their first day, and yet you...". You heard her sniffle, and saw her wipe her face with her hoof before she continued.

"You're not even an Earth pony and yet you're willing to do anything to work at our farm" she said as she lowered her head down again, "If only you were an Earth pony...". She didn't say anything after that, instead she just slowly cried. After a little while she stopped crying, and ended up falling asleep. You fell asleep a little while later.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You woke up, alone again, only to see a small wet spot on your sheets. Luckily it was high up enough that the Nurses wouldn't think you pissed yourself, so you didn't worry too much. You sat there for a few minutes before Nurse Redheart came in with a tray that had eggs and toast on it for you.

"Good morning" you said, trying to be courteous.

"Morning" she said as she pushed the cart to your bedside. She slowly started to put the food in front of you before she leaned in, giving you a small kiss on the cheek.

"I think you aught to change your name to Big Mac" she whispered before she left with a giggle, leaving you sitting there confused.

"Wait, does that mean..." you mumbled as you tried to figure out what she meant. You had started to eat your eggs when you finally figured it out.

"Wait, does that mean that she, and I..." you mumbled in disbelief. That was everypony's dream, and you were passed out for it! You were about to start to mentally berate yourself over it when Med walked in.

"How's it going?" He asked as he sat down.

"Good, I guess" you said, trying to hide what you know happened.

"So, I'm going to have to give you a new nurse" Med said flatly.

"Why?" you asked, already knowing the answer to that question.

"Well, considering she basically molested you..." Med said in a sarcastic tone.

"Wait, she really did, uh, you know, it?" you asked, not sure if he was pulling your leg or not.

"Yeah, but apparently she only did it because you looked good" Med said with a grin, "And since she only told me I decided to let her off with a warning and assigned her to a mare"

"You sure she only told you about it? No demonstrations?" you asked jokingly, knowing that she would have normally lost her job.

"Yeah, no demonstration, or we both would have lost our jobs" Med said flatly, "Oh, and I have some news for you"

"What, have you decided to take my wings off so I can be an Earth pony?" you asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"No, we're letting you out today" Med said while giving you a confused look, "Why would you want to lose your wings?"

"No reason, just thought that maybe you would get a kick out of it" you said, trying to lie about the real reason.

"It's about the whole farm thing isn't it?" Med asked, obviously seeing straight through your lie.

"Yeah..." you said while looking at the spot on the bed that Applejack had cried on, "But it doesn't matter! Wings or no wings I'm going to work on that farm!"

"Nice enthusiasm, but remember, no flying for six months" Med said as he moved to help you out of the bed, "Now, let's get you checked out". Med helped you out of bed and brought you down to the hospital's lobby where he helped you fill out the paperwork required to let you go. After everything was filled out you said goodbye and began to walk back to Ponyville, only to be interrupted by a certain cyan Pegasus.

"I see you got let out finally" Rainbow said as she landed next to you, "How's the wings?"

"I can't fly for six months, and I have to come back here every two days" you said as you nodded to your still bandaged wings.

"Ouch, that's gotta suck" Rainbow said as she took the air again, "Here I know what'll cheer you up, follow me!". She quickly shot away, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. It took a few minutes for her to come back to you, after she realized her mistake. She looked apologetic, but you waved a hoof at her.

"It's fine" you said as you started walking again, "So where are you taking me?"

"Sugar Cube Corner, it's-" she started before you cut her off.

"The bakery" you said, turning to face her, "Why are we going there?"

"Well, a friend of mine throws parties for everypony that's new to town, and since you're still technically new..." Rainbow said as she remembered why you didn't have a party earlier, "Sorry about what happened by the way"

"It's fine, Fluttershy already apologized, and she tried to make Angel, but it was obvious he didn't want to" you said as you picked up the pace.

"Okay, well, for what it's worth, Fluttershy said she would have liked to see you again if Angel wasn't so against it" Rainbow said as she matched your speed.

"Oh, well, it doesn't matter" you said as you remembered what happened last night, "I have a different mare that I have to work for"

"Who?" Rainbow asked, eager to find out.

"You'll see..." you said as you broke into a run, "Race you!". Rainbow didn't respond verbally but instead took off into a sprint, passing you almost instantly. You continued to run at a comfortable speed for around half and hour until you caught up to a very tired looking Rainbow. She had obviously used up all her energy in her started and didn't have enough to sustain her speed, and hit the wall fairly fast. Luckily when you caught up to her the two of you were on the edges of Ponyville, Sugar Cube Corner in sight.