//------------------------------//
// Week 4: Another Chance 
// Story: Shattered Notes 
// by Crimson Ink 
//------------------------------//

Monday
Swift Note woke up the the sound of hoofsteps that were coming from outside of the room and then with a slight start he jumped off the couch and looked around his eyes shining bright for the first time in what felt like months.
He found himself posed besides the table stiff as a board waiting for the door to swing open.
Waiting for the doorknob to turn.
Waiting for whatever was beyond that door.
Waiting.
Slowly the doorknob turned with a white magical aura surrounding it.
Slowly the door was pushed open.
Slowly a timid mare as white as snow walked in shivering soaked from the rain "h-h...hello? is anypony here...she um said that someone might be here" cautious as he was Swift Note couldn't help from walking up to her "oh hi...um I'm S-soft Hoof... and um I was asked by Ch-h... Chrimson Verse to um... something about torn off wings..?" visibly Swift Note fell back with the look of pure agony on his face "ohCelestiaI'msosorryIshouldn'thavesaiditthatway!" the rapid fire way of speaking made Swift Note's jaw drop "s-sorry..." she shut the door and Swift Note was still skeptical about this mystery guest known as Soft Hoof.
"It's fine..." he couldn't help but look aside trying to see his wings that he knew weren't going to be there "... my name's Swift Note... you look cold, if you want you can use the bathroom and take a shower or dry off or something like that" his memory of those three weeks on the streets still haunt him and bring the desire to help those in need.
"T-thank you, are you sure though?" she smiled softly and it brought a strange thought to Swift Note's mind; she's really cute.
Slightly embaressed Swift Note went and started making some coffee and when he spoke up his voice was slightly higher than normal "o-of course, I'll start some coffee or whatever it is you drink."
"um I like coffee..." it was hard for Swift Note to hear her but he smiled none the less as she went into the bathroom and shut the door.
After a few moments Swift Note had the coffee maker going and then a few minutes after that Crimson Verse walked through the door but she was so silent that Swift Note didn't notice watching the coffee maker do it's magic to make his favorite drink in the world "I'm guessing that Soft Hoof is here Swift Note?" startled he spun around and nearly swung at her but stopped before it had happened "oh sorry... I thought you knew I was here."
At first Swift Note nodded trying to come up with words "um err... ya she's taking a shower" he couldn't help but blush when he thought about her in the shower "she looked cold from the rain and um I know how much I e-e-enjoyed it when you brought me here after being on the streets for so long..." she snickered slightly seeing his blush spread further.
"It's alright little one, she may have a roof over her head but it's barely better than your own living experience... if she were willing to live with me or Dark Tone we would let her of course but... it's a choice and it's hers to make..." she looked around a look of regret in her eyes that Swift Note wanted to ask about but was afraid of the answer so they ended up standing in silence watching the coffee maker.
Shortly after Soft Hoof had gotten out of the shower and had a towel around her body as she walked behind Swift Note and Crimson Verse who being in deep thought each only stared at the coffee maker "um" -neither of them heard her soft voice "is the coffee almost done?" Swift Note and Crimson Verse turned surprised which in turn startled her causing a slight yelp to come from her mouth "s-sorry, just thought you knew I was there..." Crimson Verse gave her a soft pat and then with the coffee being finished started to grab cups and other various things.
Swift Note looked at Soft Hoof and couldn't help but stare slightly drinking all of what she was physically; the soft white fur, the deep pink eyes, the eyelashes that were barely noticeable and of course the cuttie mark of a set of bandages "is there anything you want special about your coffee Swift Note?" confused he just blinked "are you okay Swift Note?" he shook his head and blushed noticing that they were both looking at him but his only rational thought was if Soft Hoof had noticed him staring or not.
"Um I just prefer it black..." he hoped that had been the question she wanted an answer to, Crimson Verse nodded with a slight wink pouring everypony around a cup and adding sugar and a bit of honey to hers while only putting a bit of cinnamon in Soft Hoof's coffee.
"Swift Note we should probably talk real quick" Swift Note just tilted his head in question sipping at his coffee still a little too hot for his tastes "I asked Soft Hoof here because she works with Dark Tone when helping pegasi who have broken, weak or in cases like yours ripped off wings..." she cringed seeing Swift Note cringe at the word ripped off "she's going to dress where your wings are so that um... after you talk with Dark Tone tomorrow he can start working on new wings for you..." he cringed again but nodded "so um whenever you're ready we can get that started then" slowly he found himself staring at his coffee.
In a few moments he stood up and started pacing and then took a deep breath "w-whenever you're ready I am..." Crimson Verse was up and led him the couch and started to undo the bandages with her magic.
"We'll make this as quick as possible Swift Note" she was slightly putting a disinfectant on the wound that would work better than the rubbing alcohol from when the wound ripped open when Dark Tone had been around.
Swift Note's body was tense and when the shy Soft Hoof came over and started to softly cut at the wound to revel the wound he nearly screamed but the soothing magic from Crimson Verse made it bearable "I'm sorry... but um... this is probably going to hurt a lot but um I'll do my best so that it doesn't..." with that she pulled out a strange set of metal parts that she then secured with screws to the bone and found herself nearly in tears as she had to drill into the bone at the top "this um process will let us put the new wings in... it will make them work like any other pair of wings... it's just going to sting for a few hours..." she let out a slight sob when he let out a muffled scream into a pillow.
After what felt like hours they left Swift Note to get used to the pain and hopefully for it to reside slowly into a dull ache or even disappear all together "um Verse... Dark Tone would like for him to spend the night so that if any um problems came up he could prevent anything serious..." Crimson Verse nodded with a soft sigh already knowing "and um... I know how he is... when um... colts are around who um have been around you alone... so um I'm going to be there to watch over him... plus um" the soft smile from earlier appeared as well as the faintest blush "he seems really nice" with a soft smirk Crimson Verse hugged her and thanked her softly.
"I'll help you guys there... I need to stop by the um store to get something..." Soft Hoof gave her a slight doubtful look "sigh... yes I'm going to get alcohol... and yes it's because of my missing brother..." she was slightly disappointed but gave her a soft hug understanding "thank you" softly she brought Swift Note to a sitting position before sitting besides him "Swift... is it okay if I call you that?" -he nodded once- "tomorrow you're going to be meeting with a pegasus with a doctorate on pony anatomy and engenering... now he never actually went to school... but his impact on modern medicene for various injuries has earned him the honoray degrees... he's a close friend of mine and he wants you to stay at his house until he has finished with your wings... are you going to be alright if you're there alone?" he was motionless for a long moment but shortly after he nodded his head "alright... can you get ready or do you need some help?" silent Swift Note went and grabbed his hoodie and pulled it on, seeing this Crimson Verse had gone to the closet and pulled out a few hoodies and a jacket designed for the purpose of having multiple pockets "Soft Hoff you're jacket isn't quite fixed up but with the weather outside you're going to need it" she pulled it on and they walked out the door.
Crimson Verse's horn came to life with magic to create slight shields against the water but it wouldn't keep them warm only dry, they walked on and after an hour or two they split off with Swift Note and Soft Hoof going into an apartment complex and up a few flights and from there into Dark Tone's spacious living space that was cluttered with various pieces of equipment and articles on biology and a lone computer in the corner that seemed to be out of the future.
Crimson Verse took a different path home stopping by the liquor store and bought a few various drinks before heading home ignoring her spell to stop the rain she went home and started a bath while sipping at some of her various drinks, relaxing in the bath she let her self lose herself in memories of when she was young... back when she was a part of a royal family... when she had two daughters... back when she and her brother were safe and considered the most skilled... then it flashes away... a bag over her head... a knife in the chest... the sound of her brother's ungodly screams... screams of more than agony... screams of the danger his sister was in... and then blood pouring from her mouth... she screamed and nearly broke her neck on the tub... slowly though the memory fades and she finds herself wondering what had happened to her daughters... if they had even existed in the first place, and then the memories of her mother filled her mind and she felt calm and relaxed as nothing but joy filled her mind.
She sat in the tub until the water was cold and then went to bed in a slight stupor with the thought of being at peace allowing her to sleep for the first time in weeks.

Tuesday
The scent of smoke and oil filled Swift Note's nostrils and then woke up quickly and then started to look around trying to find the source of the scent and saw the red pegasus that had scared him a few days ago in front of some mechanical device and was swearing under his breath.
Mystified by this strange machine Swift Note found himself watching over Dark Tone's shoulder while he was ranting to himself "for the love of Celestia this piece of crap doesn't work unless I'm not looking at it" Swift Note found himself watching and wondering what he was doing.
Not wanting to scare Dark Tone he slowly went forward on his side and found himself looking at a gear that didn't seem out of place at first glance "um is this gear supposed to be motionless" he was pointing at it and with a slight sigh of relief Dark Tone went and pushed it back and it started and the machine became silent running smoothly.
"About bucking time" Dark Tone got up from his seat and found himself looking at Swift Note "do you know how to work with machines?" Swift Note just shook his head "well either way that greatly improved my mood today, are you're um... are the wing holders feeling okay? any discomfort?" Swift Note found himself moving his wing joints to see how they were feeling and let out a soft sigh.
"They... they only hurt my pride" Dark Tone hearing this started to examine them "um do you need me to sit down?" no answer and after a moment Soft Hoof came from the kitchen a plate stacked with pancakes was balanced on her nose "do you need help Soft Hoof?" she grunted in response and he was over there helping her set it down on the table and then fallowed her to the kitchen to grab anything left but she turned around shortly after going in, they ended up tripped over each other and ended up on the ground blushing badly and both apologizing profusely.
A laughter came from above the stumbling ponies that stopped them dead "careful you two love birds, we have private rooms for that kind of stuff" embarrassed badly they untangled and went to the table and just started to eat the breakfast that had been prepared for them all.
It was a half hour later that Swift Note had finished eating and found himself gazing at Soft Hoof something seeming to be distracting his thoughts "hey Swift Note are you listening?" something that was borderline insanity "hey?!" something that was scaring him "you're freaking me out!" suddenly he turned from the chair running as if chased by the hounds of hell "whoawhoawhoa!" he was tackled to the ground in a state of confusion.
It took ten minutes before Swift Note returned from his state of flight "w-what happened?" he got no answer both Dark Tone and Soft Hoof to nervous to say anything.
Breathing deeply Swift Note got up and suddenly gasped a pain spreading along his side, terrified he looked and saw nothing confused he continued to stare until it faded with no reason what so ever about why it had hurt after the longest time they all tried to speak up but that only caused the silence to last longer before Dark Tone was the one to speak "can I talk with you alone Swift Note? I have some questions about your old wings" Swift Note physically tensed at the memory which only got him a soft pat on the head from Soft Hoof, after a second he went with Dark Tone into a bed room and the door was shut behind "sit down if you'd like.
Looking around Swift Note noticed a single chair he sat there "thanks..." he felt nervous and on edge especially after their first meeting.
Dark Tone didn't sit down and went to Swift Note's side and put his hoof between his shoulders "I'm going to slide my hoof back and I want you to tell me where the tips used to reach" he started back and about half an inch before his tail when Swift Note stopped him "that's an impressive wingspan," -he put his hoof at the base of one of the wing stubs- "I'm going to slide my hoof down until it's reached the point where your wings would stop in the resting position of the bottom part of your wings" with that he slowly went down and about two and a half inches down Swift Note stopped him "well um wow that's the first time anypony has ever had these measurements... well except for the princesses" he was in a slight stupor but was quickly writing down the information before turning back to Swift Note "was there ever any physical problem with your wings?"
Swift Note scratched his neck "um the rounded part sometimes would rub against my neck and it caused my muscles to go raw" Dark Tone wrote down a few more notes before pulling a measuring tape from a drawer.
"Okay, well that's something I'll alter slightly from the measurements to avoid, alright I need to take a few of them" with that Swift Note got up and with very little conversation took various measurements such as torso length and the barrel, the legs, and his neck length.
After the final measurements were taken Swift Note was ushered out of the room and he found himself alone with nothing to do but read some of the random magazines lying around and them being mainly about engineering Swift Note couldn't understand half of what they were talking about but did find them entertaining and a bit educational.
He didn't notice Soft Hoof's return or that she was reading over his shoulder when she started to doze off and had rested her head on his shoulder, in that moment aware of her he blushed but softly shifted her around so she was laying on the coach he had made his reading spot next to him.
After reading for a little bit Swift Note started to doze off himself and ended up using her as a pillow in turn and even though she woke and noticed he was using her as a pillow she just smiled softly and cuddled a little closer resolving that after they woke up she would take him on a date or something like that.
Through the remaining hours of the day and through the night Dark Tone was locked in his bed room working on designs and planing out the needed materials for the new wings and even when Soft Hoof knocked he didn't open the door until she said that he should at least eat his dinner in the room if he must and even after that he barely touched the food to absorbed with the design and various variables that he had never had to deal with before, it's a rare event when a Pegasus has wings that are longer than his or her legs.
It was going to be a long night but at least Dark Tone could hear Swift Note and Soft Hoof talking which is something he hadn't heard from either unless asked a question or telling him something he needed to know.

City Demons
It was raining when he was pacing outside of a door that held no markings or even a door knob and he found himself wishing that it hadn't been a call for his service at such short notice, it meant he would make a sizable sum but if Shadow Wing needed him it wasn't something that would be easy.
Shadow Wing has a reputation for doing dirty work for various mob bosses or others as long as they can meet his prices and were willing to cover the expenses of his tools for the job.
It took what felt like hours before the door was open and he was bid in by a raspy voice "brother..." it was hard to understand half of what came from in the room that seemed to be buzzing with machinery and it was just as hard to see his brother behind the various machines but a cluster of IV's seemed to focus where he assumed his brother must be and what he saw made him rush to his side.
"For the sake of tartarus, what happened to you brother?!" his brother was in a state it was no wonder he couldn't understand anything that he had said "h-how could you get into such a state?! this... this... this is impossible!" it was driving him mad with fear that his brother could die "sigh... are the files of cases in the same place as always?" he received a node and looked them over before finding the one he was working on that read "Target 627, Swift Note, Hired by an anonymous source, paid in full. Is this the one brother?" he saw his brother's eye twitch and that was the only sign he needed "I'm going to make him pay for what he did to you brother" he saw a set of other cases that were in a to do pile and flipped through them and sighed "but I can't let you get behind the few contracts you have at the moment... I'll have to finish these before this Swift Note" he went to his brother and stroked his hair "I'm going to bring you his head" he turned and walked for the door.
It was silent outside and Shadow Walker found himself in a state of rage but nopony would be able to tell by looking at him, he walked along content to think of how to tackle the targets that were on a schedule before getting to this Swift Note and if that meant that he would also get to collect his brother's rewards that was fine by him.
Slowly a plan started to form in his head and he couldn't help but smile; that stallion wont know what hit him.

Thursday
Swift Note woke up to the frantic shouts of joy coming from Dark Tone's room and what sounded like a chair falling over, before he could get up and find out what was going on Dark Tone broke from the room "I did it! I finally can get started!" at that point Swift Note gave up any hope of figuring out what was going on and sat up rubbing his sore eyes and wished that Soft Hoof wasn't gone until later tonight.
It had been two days sense they had started talking about what was on their minds instead of just minor subjects and it had felt like they were two halves of the same coin, very similar to how he got along with his sister Synth Note. That's somepony he hasn't thought of for a while, it brought him to worry that she might be in danger for being left with mother alone.
Before he could worry anymore Dark Tone was pulling him off of the couch "get up lazy bones we need to go and get materials" stunned Swift Note stumbled up and followed behind the ecstatic pegasus as he went outside to the bright and sunny streets of Manehatten as if Dark Tone's mood were able to control the weather.
It's a good thing that Swift Note's mood wasn't controlling the because that would have been quite a shift from the happy go lucky sunshine and lingering puddles all around, it was taking a lot for Swift Note to have the desire to try and keep up with Dark Tone.
They went down a street and Swift Note almost had a heart attack and feel over knocking Dark Tone down, it wasn't long before he was being helped up by the confused Dark Tone "hey are you okay?" the question remained unanswered as Swift Note was staring off into the distance "what are you looking at?" still silence.
Slowly Swift Note calmed down and shook his head "huh? oh nothing" the rest of the way of the walk was silent but after a while they reached a store that had various materials and Dark Tone looked like he was a filly in a candy store "what are we doing?" Dark Tone turned to him a look of confusion on his face.
"This my friend is where we will start the first steps of getting you back into the air" Swift Note when stiff as always at the mention of wings, especially his own old or the new ones they were making for him "anyway let's go find something already so we can make them!" it was hard to keep up with the ecstatic behavior of Dark Tone especially when he was looking through materials from logical to improbable at best.
It felt like days before they were in line buying the materials and then finally heading home where Swift Note looked forward to curling up on the make shift bed and lay there hopefully falling asleep in the process but he knew that was unlikely with the demons that were taring at his mind.
It became impossible though when they were home, as soon as they had gotten inside the room a letter on the table made him stiff, he took it quickly before Dark Tone got the chance to see it "I'm going to make dinner if that's alright Dark Tone" he received some comment about not going to eat until later so he only made himself a cup of coffee and then sat down on the couch and once he was alone started to read the letter.
"Oh dearest Swift Note, you really did me a good deal of harm recently. I lay in bed, with machines keeping me alive while a skilled doctor his going through the process of bringing me back to my old self and I dare say even better than before. When I do I'll be paying you a visit, not a messenger but my presence but until then I hope this message will suffice. Sleep well swift one."
He was terrified by the letter and laid on the couch in silence forgetting his cup of coffee, he fell asleep but it was far from restful.

Inner Demons
The eerie laughter of a synthesized voice fills my ears.
The laughing grates on my nerves but I can't cover it up or muffle it no matter how hard I try.
I scream and suddenly I'm not alone.
He looks back at me, no not he... me.
I stare at my once beautiful reflection, long and powerful wings and a devil may care look to his eyes but suddenly it changes and I find myself staring at the reflection of my body nothing but a shadow it watches me.
It studies me with unblinking eyes; black and soulless eyes.
It smiles at me darkly and rolls it's shoulders a mechanical mess of gears and metal where my wings should be.
I strike forward but it only passes through air and the shadow engulfs my body, hurting my body.
I scream and fight trying to escape.
I cry as it does nothing to help me.
I stop fighting but the pain continues to spread.
"What did I do to deserve this?!"

Saturday
Swift Note woke in a fit of hysterics and found himself surrounded by darkness and the sounds of rain and thunder, and then stumbled looking for the light switch but stopped sensing a presence in the room "who's there?" it was barely a whisper but he needed an answer.
Something passed him but he couldn't tell if it was living or not he couldn't be sure "I know somepony is in here" still nothing responded when all of a sudden the flash of lighting gave him a sight of the creature that had invaded his idea of safety and made it a mockery of what he needed more than anything.
"What the buck are you?!" he fell back as the lightning disappeared concealing the pegasus he had fought a week or two ago, in fear he backed up trying to get his hooves under him "get away!"
He felt a sharp pain along his side and then along his mouth suppressing the scream that had started to escape his lips, and then a hoof covered his mouth and a voice reached his ears "just giving you a taste of what you did to me" and with those words the hoof was removed and another cut was made along his mouth, it was enough to bring the scream out of his mouth louder than he had thought possible.
Suddenly a crash filled the room and the rain outside found it's way inside and then a flash of lighting reviled the room to be empty and a window open, slowly silence settled into the room except for the beating rain around the building, Swift Note crawled to the window with intent to shut it but the rain coming through felt good on his fresh wounds.
It was hours later before the sound of a key in the lock and a doorknob turning was heard to the battered and barely conscious Swift Note, and then the lights flashed on causing a scream of agony from Swift Note shortly fallowed by the scream of fear from Soft Hoof "what happened?!"
Swift Note was barely able to move his head to look at the unicorn he had come to call his friend "Dark Tone!!!" it surprised Swift Note to hear her yell so loud and shortly after a startled and barely awake Dark Tone came from the room headphones blaring around his neck "what the hell happened?! why is Swift Note bleeding and soaked from the rain?!"
Dark Tone looked with wide eyes at Swift Note "for the love of Luna..." he was quick to action first shutting the window and pulling Swift Note up "okay... let's see nothing major... but nothing minor either... he's shivering badly... umm..." at that point he went dumb trying to do something, anything to help him.
He was wrapped in a blanket by Soft Hoof who then started giving orders to Dark Tone that shortly lead to Swift Note covered up from head to hoof and a set of various impromptu medical supplies laid out near him "I need you to get as many blankets as you can find Dark Tone" he was off quickly finding ever blanket in the apartment while Soft Hoof was working on fixing up the bleeding and shivering Swift Note "what could have done this to you?" no response and shortly after she just found herself talking about what she was doing to help "well I can make sure it's not going to get infected with my magic but I'm not sure I can keep it from scarring... especially these marks on your mouth... well, not much more I can do until you're conscious..." she stayed at his side throughout the night hoping he'd wake up in the morning perfectly fine.
Sunday
Swift Note woke up engulfed in blankets and with the sleeping Soft Hoof using him as a pillow "what happened last night?" she stirred and looked at him and his heart sunk seeing tears in her eyes as well as a hallow look from a lack of sleep "are you okay?" she mumbled something he couldn't quite understand and then she walked off.
Swift Note tried to get up so he could fallow her but a sharp pain shot through his side causing a yelp to escape his mouth, it caused Soft Hoof to rush to his side "are you okay?!" startled Swift Note just looked at her with eyes open "oh... um are you okay?" he only nodded and slowly inched out of the blankets and from there off the bed and looked at the line along his side and winced "um, about that... sorry... If had been here sooner... I... could have at least kept it from scaring... sorry..." it pained him emotionally to see her so upset luckily it only pained him physically to hug her.
His voice was thick with emotions "it's nothing I can't live with... please don't cry" she was stock still and he could feel her tears on his neck but she just couldn't return his hug "are you okay..? you can talk to me."
His voice was filled of slight pain but the firm tone brought the tears rushing out and the hug to be returned in full "you were hurt... I could have done something if I was here..." after those words everything became impossible for him to understand because of the tears that were making the words impossible to decipher as well as how fast she was saying them.
They sat there in silence, neither of them knowing how much time has passed or caring; one needed to let out her sorrow and the other didn't want her to be sad but as all good things do it had to come to an end.
They went about their lives as if everything was fine, sharing a meal with Dark Tone, working on various parts of Swift Note's wings to be and then small chat while they were getting ready to go to bed.