January 5th
"Windhover, can I ask a favour of ya?"
Windhover paused in mid-air as he finished placing a box full of tools down in the upper reaches of the barn. He hadn't expected to hear Applejack's voice again today, due to her dealing with 'the boring stuff' while he did his best with the tasks of the day and the fact neither of them had had much to say recently.
It had been a week and a half since Bounty had been readmitted to Ponyville Hospital after his latest outburst and spirits were low for everypony. Bounty had been kept in while doctors ran every test they could to try and figure out the truth of his condition. Applejack had become more withdrawn as well, the few occasions Windhover had been able to be around her for any extended time had seen her unusually quiet. Windhover himself had been left with many lingering concerns as well, even as he tried to distract himself by covering duties at the farm for the still rattled Arboreal. After everything he'd learned about Bounty, he couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for the change in the unicorn's behaviour. Migranges were one thing but the fact he seemed to shift after they first met...
Windhover gritted his teeth slightly and pushed the thought aside. Trying to blame himself for something that nopony seemed to understand was ridiculous. The best he could do now was wait for the right moment and then try to clear the air with Bounty. And then, maybe, finally come clean with Applejack. First things first though. He dropped back down to the floor of the barn where Applejack was waiting for him, pressing his wings in on landing to keep his coat from flapping out and kicking up straw. She had pre-emptively covered her face with her hat in case he did just that, quickly slipping it back into place as soon as she realised he had come down gently.
"Sorry, guess I'm still used to Rainbow Dash's way of landing." She said as he adjusted his beanie slightly and turned to face her.
"Fast and with nothing in the same place it was before, I'm guessing," Windhover replied, the two of them sharing a small chuckle at the thought before he straightened up slightly. "Anyhow, you needed a favour. What's up?"
"Well, firstly there's some good news relating to it, an' some not-quite-so-good news."
"Okay," Windhover adjusted his wings slightly and blinked a few times, hoping he looked like he was still calm. "Let's go for the good news first."
"Good news, Bounty's set to be discharged from the hospital this evening." Applejack couldn't help but smile slightly as she said it.
"They've figured it out? Great!" Windhover gave a small hoofpump at the news. Even with his reservations about the unicorn, it was a relief to hear that he might finally be past the worst.
"That's, the not-so-good news," Applejack replied quickly, cutting Windhover's celebration short. "Apparently they're having a mite more trouble figuring it all out than they hoped an', well, they'd like one of his friends to escort him home. Just in case."
"And you think that I'm that friend...?" Windhover tensed slightly as he realised what he'd said. Applejack simply nodded, though her expression had become slightly more unimpressed.
"Ah'm not blind. I know you two have had more tension than a tied up cable recently, but this'd be a good chance to try and overcome that. I'd go mahself, but I've got to finish up my export orders to Los Pegasus and Orlon today, an' none of the others could be told in time to get there."
"Say no more," He already knew from their past letters how important the farm's deliveries to both the jewel of the south and the minotaur capital were to keep running. Part of him wanted to offer to handle it for her, but he was useless at paperwork. "When do I need to be there by?"
"Uh, about twenty minutes from now."
"Right. I'll catch up with you back here once Bounty's home safe."
Windhover wasted no time, heading out of the barn at a run, flecks of snow kicking up around his hooves before his wings shot open and he took off into the cloudy afternoon skies. He hadn't anticipated the opportunity to try and settle things coming up so soon but he was grabbing it with both hooves. By the time Applejack had stepped out of the barn to watch his flight, he was already gone.
Windhover quickly wished he hadn't got there so quickly.
Hospitals came across as unnerving to him. Between the sterility, the sense of emptiness and the nagging sensation that somewhere within their walls, somepony was having to watch another pony die at any time, going into one anywhere put him on edge. Even though he likely didn't need to go any further than the reception, the increasing cold outside and encroaching darkness as evening closed in didn't help those feelings. As he landed at the entrance and shook his wings to get some warmth back into them, Windhover bit back his discomfort and focused on why he was here. Because a friend had asked him to help another friend. That thought helped fire him up enough to keep moving again.
He stepped through the front doors and relaxed at the feeling of conditioned warmth washing over him and bringing his shivers under control. Compared to outside, even this was welcome and let him relax enough to take in his surroundings. Compared to the hospitals back home, this entrance area was small with only a dozen benches and a receptionist's booth. Whether that said more about how little it was needed or the efficiency of the doctors here was up for debate. At present only two other ponies were here. A somewhat elderly earth mare with a white coat, pink mane and blue eyes behind the receptionist desk, and Bounty filling out some papers on the other side. The unicorn looked up on hearing the approaching hoofsteps and stopped for a moment as he saw Windhover.
"Windhover, what're you doing here?" Bounty asked as the pegasus lifted his goggles and came over. Up close, it was clearer that the unicorn's horn wrap had been removed and he had full use of his magic again. The fact he also had a quill held in his blue magic aura helped.
"Ah, well..." Windhover paused mid-sentence, wondering how he should go about this. If Bounty was still susceptible to flipping out then anything he said was a minefield of potential triggers. Then again, that meant he had nothing to lose by being honest. "Applejack was told you'd need somepony to stay with you on your way home and she asked if I could do it."
Bounty simply stared at him for a second before his expression softened slightly and he nodded.
"Okay, sure, that's sensible." He said as he turned back to the forms and finished ticking some boxes on them.
"Oh, speaking of which. If you do decide to consult with miss Zecora, be sure to have somepony with you when you go." The mare piped up, her voice carrying authority despite her ago.
"Of course. Wouldn't help if I blanked out in the middle of the Everfree, would it?" Bounty chuckled softly as he placed his quill down and passed the forms over to be checked.
"Alright. Stay safe, Bounty. I hope whatever you're going through is diagnosed soon."
"Thank you for that and all your help, Mrs Redheart," Bounty gave a small sigh as he stepped back and turned to Windhover. "Alright, let's go. I'm looking forward to some real food."
"Is hospital food really that bad?" Windhover asked as the two of them headed for the exit.
"Okay, not really. But everypony seems to make that joke."
The conversation momentarily died down as they stepped back into the snow, the biting cold staggering them both slightly. Fortunately any further snowfall had held off and it remained light enough to see for now. Bounty motioned the direction they had to take before leading on toward southern Ponyville. Now that Windhover had a proper chance to get a good look at him, he could see that he did look rough. That look of not sleeping well was back and his movements carried a slight hesitance to them. He still seemed perky in attitude at least, though there was no warning on how long that might last.
"So, was the rest of it as bad as the food?" Windhover asked, spreading his right wing to shield the two of them from an errant gust of wind.
"It was about what you'd expect from learning you have a condition that appears to have never been seen in ponies before," Bounty replied, lowering his head to make the most of the wind shield. "Lots of attention and tests, takes a lot out of you. It's not all bad news though."
"I can see, having your magic back and all."
"That's part of it. Since it's not onero syndrome I don't have to restrict my magic anymore. When I was being checked to see my horn was working properly I learned something else I can do with my magic. It's tough to explain to a non-unicorn but, it's like I can siphon off part of my magic and momentarily transfer it to another magic user. Not sure how much use such a thing is with my lifestyle but it's still pretty amazing."
"So, how exactly did you figure that out?" Windhover asked as he lowered his wing again.
"Pure accident during checkups, and I kind of couldn't keep up with the technical explanation the doctors gave me. I was more focused on the fact I was allowed to go home." Bounty admitted as he straightened up and slowed down.
"To be fair, I'd have the same reaction if they brought all that medical jargon into it after telling me I could go."
"Yeah, there was a lot of that too. Apparently my...Whatever I'm going through is something they've never dealt with before, enough that they're actually sending my files to Canterlot for study. Hopefully somepony in the archives can find something that'll help."
"I hope they do too." Windhover looked over at Bounty as he said it, silently gauging his reaction. He wasn't sure what he expected anymore, not with a mind as unpredictable as his had become. All things considered, it was almost surprising to see Bounty look back and smile thankfully.
"Thanks..." He replied simply. The two of them continued walking in silence for another minute before he spoke up again. "Listen, Windhover. I probably should have said this sooner but, I'm sorry for snapping at you about Applejack when we first met. I won't lie, I did feel threatened due to my feelings for her and seeing another pony with the same. But that was no excuse for what I did and I can't blame it on my...Instabilities, either. So, for what it's worth, I'm very sorry about that."
"Erm...You're forgiven," Windhover replied, pausing as Bounty sighed in relief. "But, how'd you know?"
"Because you're not the only one who went through clumsily trying to hide it."
The two of them shared a small chuckle at that, managing to defuse some of the tension from Bounty's comment. Windhover's mind was racing due to it though, his body on autopilot as they reached Bounty's house and made their goodbyes to each other. A small part of him had been wondering for some time if he was doing the right thing in trying to keep how he felt hidden. Bounty outright saying he had gone through the same thing put it in a new light though.
Either he could stay silent and risk losing his chance, or be open about it and risk the worst happening being a definite no. It was similar to what he had reasoned earlier, there was far less to lose by being honest. Yes, he would tell her the truth about himself. In more ways than one.
It took a moment for Windhover to realise that he had been so deep in thought that he had remained outside Bounty's house for a minute after the stallion had actually gone inside. He took off immediately and headed back toward Sweet Apple Acres. By now evening had fully set in and the darkness was worsened as fresh snow began to fall. He cut through the air as though it was a clear summer's morning though, his fresh drive burning through the chill that surrounded him. It only took a few minutes to reach the outskirts of the farm, though as he approached he noticed that none of the lights were on at the farmhouse and the perimeter gates had been closed. Windhover came in to land near the main gate, only to stop and hover in mid-air as he saw a sign that had been put up just above the lock.
Currently unavailable due to friendship duties, please direct any farm inquiries to Big McIntosh until further notice.
Thank you, Applejack.
Windhover blinked slowly as he took in the message, biting his tongue as he realised that circumstances had cost him his chance for today. He couldn't exactly follow Applejack to Celestia knows where and try to explain himself when she had far more important things to deal with. For now, he simply turned and began to fly back to his accommodations, silently cursing his timing and hoping for another chance to come along.
Hopefully sooner rather than later.