As the clock in the hospital lobby struck midnight, Impact woke up from a nap she never realized she was taking. As she blinked the sleep from her eyes, she realized two things: she was leaning something soft, and something soft was leaning against her. She lifted her head from the wall and something fell to the floor. She looked and saw a small, fluffy pillow, somehow placed between her head and the wall while she slept. She looked up toward the front desk and saw Nurse Tenderheart walking toward her.

“Oh… You’re awake,” she said, slightly startled.

“How did I…?” she began to ask, unsure of the situation.

“You cried yourself to sleep, dearie,” she elaborated, “as did she.”

She looked down at her chest and saw her close friend Twilight Sparkle sprawled across her lap. Her coat was still a dull, lifeless gray; a monochromatic tragedy born of hopelessness and misery. Her mane was equally gray, frizzy and unkempt from the rain and the stress of the ordeal. Her face held an aura of absolute sadness. The areas around her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her muzzle had been rubbed raw from wiping her nose constantly, and you could see the path where her tears ran down her cheeks. She was twitching and weeping and mumbling apologies in her sleep. Her appearance was nothing short of a train wreck, but considering the circumstances, it was understandable. Impact was pretty sure her own visage hadn’t fared much better. Lifting her friend’s body up with her magic, she slid out from underneath her, moved the pillow under her head, and set her down gently.

“What…happened?” she asked quietly.

“After you brought your little friend back to life, you two looked so exhausted,” Tenderheart explained, “Eventually, you fell asleep. Redheart brought out a pillow for you and a blanket for her so you both could get a nice, long rest. You must be really comfortable, considering how fast she fell asleep…” The medical mare laughed a little at the idea.

Impact looked down and smiled at her sleeping friend, now snoozing into the pillow.

“I still think you should have left it to the professionals," she continued, "but speaking as a professional, that was an incredible thing you did back there. That bionic leg of yours is quite resourceful.”

A pale pink blush spread across her silver cheeks.

“Well, it is designed to transform into any mechanical device I can imagine…” she admitted.

“So I’ve noticed…” Tenderheart replied with a smile and a nod.

As the haze of semi-consciousness lifted, the rush of memories came flooding back. The rainstorm, the lightning, Spike and Apple Bloom… Her eyes lit up with panic.

“Are they alright?” she wondered desperately, a lump forming in her throat.

“Spike is stable, but Apple Bloom’s injuries were a little more serious.”

She gulped nervously.

“How serious?”

“I’m afraid I can’t discuss the severity of their injuries until members of both patients' families are present. Are you one of the next of kin?”

“No. I’m not… I’m just a friend,” Impact said as she looked down. Part of her now regretted sending Applejack home, but the other part knew her big brother was sick and she really needed to be home with her family, or at least part of it. “I’m just… nopony,” she muttered, hanging her head.

“Nopony?!” Nurse Tenderheart asked with disbelief. “Missy, you are far from nopony. Not many ponies would think to conjure a defibrillator on the fly and I’m pretty sure even fewer could actually do it. You thought fast, you acted fast, and you helped save a life; two lives, actually. You did the right thing.”

“So why does it feel so wrong?” she asked, her ears drooping as she plopped into a nearby chair.

“It’s called survivor guilt.” Tenderheart responded, “You’re blaming yourself for something you couldn’t control.” She draped a comforting hoof over her shoulder. “What happened to them wasn’t your fault.” She explained with a soft, compassionate voice. “If you hadn’t been there, those two might not have made it. You’re a hero, Impact Hammer. Plain and simple.”

She sighed with relief.

“Thanks, Nurse Tenderheart. I needed that.” She paused as an ethereal wave suddenly overwhelmed her. She felt a burning desire. She panted as her body temperature began to rise. She crossed her legs to keep her condition hidden, but the fire burned on. An aching desire that only one thing could quench. Finally, she just couldn’t hold her feelings inside any longer. She stared deeply into the nurse’s eyes and let it all out.

“May I use the restroom, please?” she asked with a wince.

Nurse Tenderheart laughed for a second, then stood up and gestured to a set of doors.

“Follow me,” she said with a smile.

Impact followed the nurse through the double doors, and as she passed through, her nose curled with displeasure. The air was thick with various aromas; the pleasant scent of the freshly laundered sheets, the acrid smell of cleaning chemicals on the floor, and of course, the underlying stench of death that permeated every corner of the area. She couldn't help but shudder at the smell, for she'd danced this olfactory tango too many times before. Sure, the subtler scents varied from city to city, but the general blend of death and chemicals always stayed the same.

She tailed Nurse Redheart as she cantered down the hall at a brisk pace. After rounding a corner, she gestured to another door. “The little mare’s room is right over there. You can’t miss it!”

“Thanks!” she replied, trotting over to it.

“I have to do my rounds now, dear. Do you…?” she started to ask.

“Yes ma’am,” she replied with a smile, “I know the way back to the waiting room.”

“Wonderful! In the morning, you and all your friends will be allowed to see Spike and Apple Bloom, but I can’t permit anypony to visit them until then, OK?

Impact chuckled. “I understand.”

She slowly trotted into the restroom, closed the door behind her, and set about her business in silence.

“Such a nice mare.” Nurse Tenderheart said warmly as she stood outside the restroom, oblivious to the chaos inside. She smiled and trotted back to her post, ready to begin her rounds.

As the sun rose over the horizon to signal the start a new day, Twilight Sparkle awoke from her slumber in a panic, clutching her head with discomfort.

“Ohh, sweet Celestia…” she groaned, her eyes snapping shut as the sun drove invisible daggers into her retinae, “I had the most horrible nightmare. Spike and Apple Bloom were…”

“Struck by lightning?” A voice finished for her.

Twilight whipped her head around to see her silver friend sitting across from her, staring at the floor.

“Were… were we having the same nightmare?” she asked, a pained expression on her face.

“I wish it was a nightmare,” she said with a sigh, “Everypony does. I certainly do.”

Twilight stared at the mare in horror as the pieces of last night’s tragedy clicked into place in her head.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight.” Impact said with a wince as she hugged her friend. “I’m going to get us some breakfast… Do you want anything?”

Twilight responded with a firm shake of her head.

“I’ll at least grab you some water. Is that OK?” she asked.

A slow nod was her response.

“Alright. I’ll be right back,” she replied, flashing a friendly smile before trotting down the hall to the cafeteria.

As she watched her friend walk away, tears started to well up in her eyes. She jumped out of her seat in fright when the hospital lobby doors suddenly burst open so fast they were almost torn off their hinges.

“Where is she?!” cried a mare’s voice, “Where’s mah little sister?”

“And my Spikey-Wikey!” squealed another.

“Please let this be a bad dream… Please let this be a bad dream…” said a third as she bit her pink foreleg and yelped, then set it to the floor back with a heartbroken whimper.

“H-h-hi girls…” Twilight squeaked, gesturing with a hoof and staring at the floor.

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash turned to see their despondent friend. In the blink of an eye, they rushed over and enveloped her in a group hug. Big Macintosh followed close behind, a gaze of true despair etched in his eyes, a disposable dust mask strung across his muzzle to keep his fellow ponies from getting sick, and a despondent Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo slung across his back.

“Thanks, girls,” Twilight said with a sniffle. The warm feelings of love and compassion from her friends restored her colors, but failed to heal the agony in her heart. “I didn’t expect you all to show up so soon. How did you-?” Rarity pressed a hoof to her muzzle to cut her off.

“You don’t need to say anything,” she interjected softly.

“Nope.” Big Mac added morosely, trying his best to keep the fillies on his back as calm as possible.

“Applejack told us everything,” Rarity continued. “Fluttershy personally flew to Canterlot to inform Princess Celestia.”

That last bit of information sent everypony reeling.

“Fluttershy flew to Canterlot?” Twilight asked with a dumbfounded stare as she passed Applejack her hat back, having forgotten she was wearing it all night long, “By herself?”

“Totally!” Rainbow Dash said with a cheer, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her zoom like that. She flew faster than she did while gathering water for Clousdale last year!”

“Yeah…” Fluttershy said with a blush, “I kinda lost my head a little… It was so late when Applejack broke the news that I was running on adrenaline and garbanzo beans. I was so terrified that I took off like a rocket.” She rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “Almost everything between the cottage and Celestia’s chambers is a blur.”

Suddenly a new voice rang out, soothing and melodic, yet stern in its delivery.

“You single-hoofedly blew two solid oak doors clean off their hinges, knocked out four Royal Guards, and scared Prince Blueblood to the point of him soiling his nightclothes.”

Everypony gasped and turned around to see the unexpected arrival of the Sun Princess herself, immediately bowing in her presence.

“It took a dozen guards to bring you down, Fluttershy. I was truly impressed.” Celestia said with an almost-elated smirk. Fluttershy’s blush darkened from pink to crimson, but then Celestia’s face fell into an expression of anxiety. “However, I'm willing to overlook your rampage through my palace because such desperate measures from the Element of Kindness can only spring from desperate times.” Fluttershy squeaked and hid her face behind her mane.

It was at this point that Twilight and Applejack burst into tears and rushed the princess, burying their sobbing faces into her chest; their attempts to explain now muffled by her pristine white coat.

“It’s Spike and Apple Bloom, Princess,” Pinkie Pie tried to say, blinking back tears, “Last night…they were… *sniff* they were…” She too started crying, hugging a weeping Rarity for support.

Applejack and Twilight, their eyes still wet with tears, raised their faces from her coat and spoke in unison.

“They were struck by lightning!”

Celestia gasped and raised a hoof to her mouth as her heart shattered from the sound of such terrible news.

“Oh no...” Celestia whimpered. She wrapped her wings around the two distraught ponies and nuzzled them sweetly, “I…I’m so sorry…”

“It all happened so fast…” Applejack moaned.

“Please, Princess Celestia, please!” Twilight begged, as tears streamed down her face, “Tell me this is all a bad dream! Tell me it’s all some kind of sick joke! Wake us from this cruel, cruel nightmare!”

“‘Tis not a nightmare, Twilight Sparkle,” said Princess Luna, who stood by the door, wiping away tears with a kerchief, “as badly as We wish it was.” She smiled weakly in an attempt to lighten the mood. “We would not permit such bad dreams to befall such good friends.”

All around them, several dozen ponies went about their business in the hospital, be they nurses, doctors, patients, or visitors. All were caught completely off-guard by an ear-splitting scream, one whose tone rested on some middle ground between panic and euphoria.

“TWIIIIILIIIIIGHT!”

Out of nowhere, a silver blur erupted through the double doors and skidded to a halt in the middle of the room.

Everypony turned around to see Impact standing there, gasping for breath. Her heart was racing, her coat was slick with sweat, and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

“It’s Spike…and…Apple Bloom!” she croaked between pants, “They’re…awake!”

The entire lobby ground to a halt as all eyes fell on the silver alicorn.

“WHAT?!” Twilight shrieked in disbelief as she wiped tears from her eyes, “I swear to Celestia, Impact. If you’re pulling my hoof-”

She yelped in surprise as her entire body was wrapped in a white aura and literally pulled across the lobby floor.

“Run now! Talk later! Let’s MOVE!” she shouted.

Twilight nodded and two mares took off down the hall at breakneck speed with their friends in hot pursuit.

Author's Notes:

P.S. The working title for this chapter was "Dream On." However, the chapter got a little too Impact-centered for my tastes, so I revised it, reworked it, and tweaked it in just the right ways to create "Nightmare."
Coming Soon: Chapter 6 - Bandages