The Blank Flank Adventurer

by Sapare

Mending Wings

The Blank Flank Adventurer
Part 4
Mending Wings

Still nothing... it has been hours since that teleportation spell went wrong. How can this forest be getting even darker? I wonder if I am going to die here...

Dream Feather's hope of being rescued by Twilight and her friends had almost completely faded. He didn't even know what had happened to the five mares, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. Once the sun was up he would use his last option. Picking a direction at random and walking till he escaped from this dreadful forest.

His heart skipped a beat when his thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "What are you doing here? And who are you? Don't turn around until I say you can."

Dream Feather had been excited to hear another pony, but their hostile tone froze him in his tracks. The voice was strangely familar and his mind struggled to place it to an owner.

"I am Dream Feather. I'm um... I'm lost and-" As he attempted to explain himself, his curiosity got the better of him and he tried to sneak a peak at the pony behind him. He didn't expect the immediate and violent response that he received. Dream Feather's head ached from the newest injury in his recently formed collection. He was not at all accustomed to pain.

"I told you not to turn around! And don't lie to me! I know you were with the others. Why are you all hunting me?" the strange pony shouted. This pony didn't seem to realize that Dream Feather couldn't form a response in his current state.

As his vision faded Dream Feather caught his first glimpse of his assailant.

Rainbow mane...

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Dream Feather awoke to pain, the hard ground, and a hoof pressing his head into the previously mentioned hard ground. He groaned and tried to remember how he had ended up in this position. Concentration was nearly impossible with his mind clouded by the agony he was experiencing.

"Are you going to talk now?"

Dream Feather was confused by the demand. He couldn't remember how he got into this situation, let alone what this pony wanted him to say. He struggled to piece together the thoughts and memories drifting through his mind.

A rainbow coloured mane? Ugh... why is it so hard to focus? Okay this should be simple... there aren't really that many ponies with rainbow manes. The only one I've ever met was... Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash! What happened?" he questioned. Corralling his thoughts was still very difficult, but he was beginning to get ahold of them. The dazed pegasus couldn't believe that Rainbow Dash had been the one to attack him. Why was she being so hostile towards him? He was hardly all that threatening considering the shape he was in at the moment.

"I'm the pony asking the questions here! Why are you helping those ponies that are trying to hurt me? And why do I feel like I've met you before?" Rainbow Dash's questions only managed to make him more confused.

"What? What ponies are trying to hurt you?"

"The ponies you are helping. I don't know why, but they are trying to find me. Tell me why and I'll let you go." The pegasus mare removed the hoof holding him in place and backed away, giving Dream Feather room to stand up. Finally able to move around, he adjusted his sore body and examined the mare. She wasn't in much better shape than he was and the expression on her face spoke of panic and fear.

Whatever happened to her, it must have been very traumatizing. She seems so scared... she's not acting anything like the confident pony Spike described, nor the brash filly that I remember. Remember... how come she can remember me, even just a little bit, but she doesn't remember her friends? Some kind of amnesia? Or could it be...

"They are not trying to hurt you, they are trying to help you. Those ponies I was with are the Elements of Harmony. They are your friends. Do you remember any of that?" Dream Feather hoped that his words might help the confused mare recall something, but it seemed that she was only becoming even more puzzled.

Her mind must have been toyed with, just like mine.

"Everything I know about those ponies, the Elements or whatever, feels weird. It's like I'm trying to remember a dream. But I can kinda remember meeting you before. And even though those memories seem really old, they feel a lot clearer than most of my other memories. Who are you?" Rainbow Dash spoke with a mixture of suspicion and hope. Clearly, having some lucid recollections was a relief, even if it cast the rest of her perceptions into doubt. Dream Feather knew exactly what she was referring to, he felt so uncertain about yesterday's events that he could no longer tell what had actually happened.

I guess that whoever messed with Rainbow Dash's mind did not bother to change older memories? I think I met her before she met the Elements, or at least before she became friends with them. I need to convince her to meet with them. If anypony can fix this, it's Twilight.

With that objective in mind, the would-be writer spoke again, "How much do you remember about me? I am Dream Feather, a pegasus that wants to write books. I write on that 'strange metal thingie', does that ring any bells? The pegasus who's house you crashed into?"

Dream Feather actually surprised himself with how well he could recall their previous meeting. Rainbow Dash stared at him for a moment and then, for the first time in the conversation, she smiled. It was little more than a silly grin, but it was definietly better than the fear and anxiety that she had embodied up to that point.

"Now that you mention it... that strange metal thingie.. yeah I remember that, I think. But crashing into your house? That doesn't sound like me at all."

The good cheer of the cyan pegasus seemed to make the forest brighter. Dream Feather couldn't stop the smile that spread acrossed his face.

That's much closer to the pony that I expected. But we can't get distracted now. We have to get back to Twilight and the rest of the Elements, somehow. I really hope that Twilight knows some way to fix, or at the very least, mitigate the effects of this mind magic.

Dream Feather studied the mare in front of him, hoping that she was in better condition for travel than he was. She was covered in small injuries, scratches and bruises mostly The worst of the damage seemed to be centered around her wings. As he looked closer, he realized that something seemed terribly wrong with their shape. She shifted, obviously uncomfortable with his sudden scrutiny and he had to suppress a wave of nausea. Her movements had helped him realize exactly what was so strange about her wings.

So many breaks... and in such strange places. And the directions they're facing... I can't believe this.. somepony must have purposefully set those wings wrong! I can't even imagine how much agony she must be experiencing right now! How is she moving around at all, let alone standing tall and acting like nothing is wrong?

Rainbow Dash must have noticed the terror and revulsion in his gaze, because she quickly turned around to see what he might be staring at. Finidng nothing out of place, she spun back to face him.

"What's gotten into you now? Is this some kind of trick?" the rainbow maned pony questioned suspiciously. Now that he was aware of the scope of her injuries, he was able to hear and see the pain that she was struggling to hold back with every word and motion.

Though he regretted the loss of her lighthearted attitude, Dream Feather did not have the willpower to take his eyes off of her mangled wings. It was another moment before he could bring himself to speak and Rainbow Dash's patience was very clearly running out.

"Your... your wings. By Celestia, they're ruined! What happened to them?" He realized almost immediately that he could have been a bit more tactful. Rainbow Dash, who had up till this point seemed almost oblivious to her own wounds, froze and slowly turned her head to look at her wings. Although her expression was now stone cold, Dream Feather could tell that she was doing her best to keep from breaking down from the pain.

"A few days ago I crashed in this forest, because somepony attacked me. And that crash busted my wings up really bad. I've been grounded since then. I'd probably be dead if not for the... help I received." To Dream Feather it seemed like it was even more difficult for Rainbow Dash to admit to having received help than it was for her to talk about the damage she had sustained. After another short silence Dream Feather pulled himself upright, standing as tall as he could in spite of his own injuries.

I cannot be such a whiny pony! If she is standing proud even with two completely ruined wings, then I can hold myself together too.

"So, you think that your crash was caused by the ponies I was helping? Is that it? They told me that some other mysterious pony attacked you. And even though I do not know them very well, I must say that they do not seem like the type that would attack anypony. But that's not what we need to worry about right now, your wings are much more important. Could I have a look at them? I might not be a doctor, but I have read my fair share of medical texts." He wasn't sure how much good he could actually do, but he had to try. He was also hoping to get a closer look at the damage, as it seemed unlikely to him that a crash landing could break and twist wings in that manner.

Rainbow Dash was understandably cautious. "What do you plan to do? There's no way you can fix this. Like I said, I already had somepony help me and he did all he co-"

"Please! Just let me take a look. Maybe there's nothing that I can do, but if they mend as they are right now... you might never fly again. I only met you once, a long time ago, but even I know that you would be miserable without your wings." Dream Feather interrupted, surprising himself even more than her.

Rainbow Dash took a step back from the suddenly determined stallion. The confict between her thoughts and emotions was obvious. It seemed she couldn't bring herself to trust Dream Feather completely, she was just too scared. Whether it was fear of betrayal or of false hope, it was impossible for him to discern.

"Never fly again? I don't think I could handle that. I know you're telling the truth, my wings don't feel right at all." she muttered. The pegasus mare tried to shift one of her wings, but had to stop when the movement pulled a gasp of pain from her. Dream Feather watched silently, feeling awkward but understanding that he couldn't push her into this anymore than he already had.

"Alright you can take a look at them. I'm putting my trust in you here, but if you try to attack me you won't even have ten seconds to regret it." Rainbow Dash stated.

Dream Feather felt strangely energized by her agreement, even the pain from his wounds seemed to vanish. The Element of Loyalty was putting her trust in him. That's not something everypony could claim. He would do his best not to disappoint her.

He approached her side and began inspecting her broken wings. The sight was even more sickening up close, but he forced himself to concentrate on the task at hoof.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash. If you are willing to lie down I will be able to more easily inspect your wings. And you really don't have anything to worry about from me. Even lying down, you could knock me out before I stood a chance. I have never stricken another bei- er well, pony before." Dream Feather spoke in his calmest, gentlest voice, though he stumbled slightly during his last statement. Realizing that he could no longer be confident in such a claim of nonviolence was an unexpected blow to his composure. He wished he could muster up a comforting grin.

Rainbow Dash tensed up for a moment at the request, but then complied and lay down on the hard forest floor.

She seems a lot more cooperative now then only a few moments ago. Those wings must have her deeply worried and yet she hid all of her pain and fear from me so well. Spike really wasn't exaggerating when he talked about her strength. Spike... Did I really hurt him? What if I do something li--

"You don't seem to be doing much. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Thankfully, the prone mare had interrupted his thoughts before they could spiral out of control.

Dream Feather blushed at her remark. He started thinking of an excuse, but decided not to waste his time when there were more important matters to tend to. He resumed his inspection, using his head to probe the wings and check the damaged areas while holding the wings in place as gently as he could with his hooves.

"You know... that pony who helped me after the crash, I don't really trust him. It seemed like he made my wings worse, or at least didn't do much to help. But those ponies you were with, how much do you trust them? What if they've been lying to you?" Rainbow Dash asked, genuinely curious.

Dream Feather frowned, they were reasonable questions and he didn't actually have any answers. He trusted Twilight, but didn't really have a good reason for that trust.

Rather than completely ignore the questions, he decided to think aloud while he continued examining her wings. "Why would they be trying to hurt you though? If they're lying about being your friends or the Elements of Harmony, then why would they care about you? What possible motive could drive them to search for you?"

Rainbow Dash seemed to become lost in her thoughts for moment, before she muttered, "Maybe because I'm the only pony to ever perform a Sonic Rainboom?"

Dream Feather didn't really know what a Sonic Rainboom was, but he remembered her mentioning the same thing the first time they met. He also remembered making a very unkind comment about it being 'some special type of crash.' He shifted uncomfortably for a second and thought about trying to apologize for his offensive words, but couldn't bring himself to speak.

I guess it doesn't really matter at this point. And no matter which side of this is actually trying to hurt Rainbow Dash, I know who's side I'm on... hers. And that starts with fixing these wings. This is not going to be pleasant, but if I'm careful I just might be able to help. At least I didn't read all those books for nothing.

Dream Feather had learned all that he could from inspecting the wings. And though he hated to talk about the horrific injuries and the only treatment option he could provide, he knew he had to tell Rainbow Dash everything.

"These breaks couldn't have come from the crash. Your wings have been forcefully broken by multiple impacts. This damage seems to be of a magical nature. I can think of no other explanation for so many clean breaks. There's not a single crushed or shattered bone, which might mean that something stopped your fall before you hit the ground. And on top of all that, the bones were set incorrectly. I'm pretty sure that whoever 'helped' you isn't somepony that you should trust. Setting them like this... I will probably have to rebreak them and then set them correctly or you might never fly again."

Dream Feather had gotten carried away during his explanation and one glance at the injured mare's sickened expression was enough for him to realize his mistake.

Slightly less details would have worked better. I'm talking to a real pony with real injuries here, not debating some theoretical condition with myself!

The stallion was still berating himself for his careless words when Rainbow Dash finally spoke, "Forcefully broken by multiple impacts? With magic? Are you saying that the pony who helped me did all of that himself? He also set my wings. And you say they are set wrong. So, he probably set them wrong on purpose? And you have to break them to reset them? But-"

She was obviously panicking and losing her composure. Dream Feather decided to interrupt before she could get even more carried away.

"Dash, none of that matters right now! We can't do anything about whoever did this, at the moment. The only thing we can focus on now is fixing your wings. And yes, I will have to break them in order to set them. I am not going to lie, it's going to hurt a lot. But if you can handle it, your wings might heal well enough for you to fly again one day." Dream Feather tried to sound as reassuring as he could. In his own thoughts, he had to admit that he was nowhere near as confident regarding the procedure as he was pretending to be. He had no real experience after all, but at this point he knew that he couldn't make things worse. Even if there was only a small chance of this working it was still better than leaving the wings in their current condition.

"I fly too much to not know the basics about wing injuries. I know that what you're saying makes sense. I can't just leave my wings like this. There's no way I'd be able to fly with them like this. So, yeah. Go ahead." Rainbow Dash sounded certain, but she was also cringing in anticipation of the predicted pain.

He was glad she had agreed, but he couldn't ignore the pressure that being responsible for her well being now placed on his mind.

I can do this. But it's not going to work if she's this tense. She'll probably end up beating me over the head before I can get a single wing set. If I am going to do this, I will have to calm her down first.

Dream Feather gently placed his hoof on Rainbow Dash's wing and spoke with the same reassuring tone he had used before. He was probably less ready for this than she was, but he had to try his best.

"Alright all you have to do is hold still, I'll handle everything. Just don't move too much and you'll be fine."

Dream Feather didn't think it wise to rush through this, even if that would spare his 'patient' some of the pain. He took the first wing into his hooves and started by finding the best place to turn it, then began to put pressure on it. It made an sickening noise before finally moving. He did not even have to look at Rainbow Dash's face to know that she was in immense pain. He wrestled with feelings of nausea for a brief moment before continuing his dreadful work.

It was a short eternity of horrible cracking noises and careful twisting before he was finished. He wasn't certain he had done everything right, but the wing at least looked like a wing was supposed to look. If you ignored how damaged it was anyway.

Only after he was satisfied that he had done what he could for that wing, did he take the time to look at injured mare's face. His heart sank when he saw her expression, she was in pure agony. Her mouth was opened in a silent scream. Dream Feather couldn't help but feel impressed by her ability to remain still through what must have been torture.

"I am really sorry, but... there is one more left and I should probably get it over with now before you change your mind." he whispered, mostly to himself as he didn't believe that she was in any state of mind to understand him. He was suprised when she nodded and for a brief moment flashed him a confident grin. As if she was saying, "Oh this? This is nothing that I can't handle."

I can't believe this! She is by far the strongest pony I have ever met. I probably would have passed out by now. This is inspiring. If she can hold together this well, then I have no right to complain... just one wing left.

Slightly more determined than before, he moved onto the remaining wing. Much like its twin, this wing had many clean breaks and no splintered or crushed bones, which meant all he had to do was bring the wing back into the correct position. He began to twist and turn it just as he had the other one. The snaps were just as loud and disturbing as before, but he didn't give them a moment's thought. Rainbow Dash was handling the pain so well, he couldn't let some grisly noises and sensations affect him.

After both wings were set, he let himself fall backwards to the forest floor. The process had been exhausting, completing the gruesome work had strained the limits of his willpower. After a short rest he managed to bring himself back to a sitting position. Rainbow Dash hadn't moved at all and he couldn't tell whether she was still awake or not.

"It's all over. I can't tell you how impressed I am. I don't think any other pony could have gone through that as well as you did. With any luck, your wings should heal in due time."

She didn't respond at first and Dream Feather felt quite silly for talking to the likely unconscious mare. He decided to take another look at her wings and immediately noticed that he had forgotten about one very important thing. He would need to put splints on both of her wings otherwise his work and her suffering would be pointless. He also needed to remind her not to move her wings at all until they could get a real doctor to say they were fine. He slowly stood up, ignoring the protests of his tired body. After a relatively short search, he managed to find a good number of thin branches on the forest floor. Several of them were likely a result of his earlier struggle to escape the forest.

It was difficult work, not helped by the fact that his body and mind were falling asleep, but in the end he managed to create some crude replicas of the wing splints he had seen in his books.

He had no way of knowing how good he had done. Most medical ponies would have been impressed considering his inexperience, but Dream Feather just felt bad that he could not do more to help Rainbow Dash. Examining her closer, he could see that she seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

That's probably for the best. She'll need plenty of rest to recover. And with how well she handled that, she definitely deserves some sleep. I must admit, I could use some rest as well. But can I really just lie down and pass out? What if something attacks us while I sleep?

Even though his mind was still debating the dangers of slumbering in such a hazardous place, he found himself lying on the ground. His eyes began to close against his will. Between the uncomfortable floor of Twilight's library and his nightmares, he had not slept very well the previous night. So it was no surprise that he fell asleep quickly, although he had never settled his internal argument. His mind faded away from the gloomy forest, images of Rainbow Dash's horribly disfigured wings flashing through his thoughts alongside gruesome snapping sounds.

Tonight's dreams would be even worse than yesterday's nightmares.

Comments

[Artimba]

I am really liking this story so far!
Also, it seems that you have decided to go with a balance of chapter length and update speed. This chapter is over four thousand words, but you released it just over a week after your previous chapter. That seems like like an okay compromise to me.
This chapter had a lot of Rainbow Dash in it. In my opinion, that's a good thing!
She's fairly well written. Kind of an interesting blend of her familiar personality and what I would expect from an amnesiac that thinks she's being chased by strange ponies.
Only one big problem I had with this chapter: I'm pretty sure bones don't work that way. At least you never went into great detail about it, so I suppose I can forgive it this one time. But that part is going to use up some of my SoD for this story, just so that you know.
I cannot wait for the next chapter!

[Artimba]

Sorry for the double comment, but I just realized something. If Rainbow Dash still has her memories from when she met Dream Feather, then shouldn't she remember Fluttershy too? She did her first Sonic Rainboom while racing the bullies that were picking on Fluttershy.

[Sapare]

96219 Thankyou for the comment(s) and I am going to try to adress both of your questions.
To the bones. What exactly are you refering to when you talk about them not working that way? I must admit that I am not really studyed in pegasoi body structure, but I assume it is very much like classical avian structure. And while my descriptions probably were not perfect the general idea of a bone/muscle being twisted and setting falsly should be very possible on any type of bird.(There is only one bone, and that is along the top of the wing, the base of this bone could easily be broken and twisted sideways. Or at least probably should be, if you studied this feel free to correct me) But yea, as you already said I did tryed to keep out the details. Both because details would have only made it drag and because I am no doctor or biologist.

The second question is very good and I like knowing that my readers thought about it that much. There are a number of ways this can be explained though.(I am not going to commit to one outside of the story itself as I might end up thinking of some better reason at some point, but once I commit to one I will not switch rules on it halfway through, I promise)

1.Her general memories of THE ELEMENTS and not a general timespawn could have been ruined. Remember that the whole time thing was DF's reasoning and concusion, DF is not unfailable and is guessing as much as the reader is.
2.We don't actully know how much RD and Fluttershy know each other from back then. We really only have the sonic rainboom ep and we do not know if Fluttershy and RD ever often(or ever)again after that ep till Season 1. I can support this reasoning by the fact that RD seemed not to have known that Fluttershy was affected by that sonic rainboom.(Correct me if I am mistaking, probably have seen these episodes less then some others on here)

In the end I will probably fall back on a mixture of those two unless I end up discovering a mistake in one of those logics.

Again, thank you for the comments and I must say both were really nice ones. They were thoughtprovoking and interesting to read.(It is not that I have not thought this whole thing through myself, just that Fluttershy detail kinda half slipped my mind)