//------------------------------// // 10 Feather Fall // Story: Dear Feather Fall // by Keywii_Cookies55 //------------------------------// And I don’t think the city is working for me anymore. I know you wanted me to make it out here on my own, but nothing like any of this happened while I was at home with you. Things happened, but nothing this big or crazy. My life is becoming a movie - or already is one and it’s getting harder and harder to stay grounded and not lose myself to the colours. So when morning comes, I’m going to mail this to you and then come home. I’ll see you soon, Feather Fall. -Your Friend, Forever --- “What?” a voice spoke out in surprise. Across a well-lit room another voice replied, just as confused. “It sounds like she’s coming back.” The first voice belonged to a pegasus, one with a deep orange coat and a short windswept mane of blond. He sat near the window of the room, with a bed to his left and two doors adorning the light blue walls. Standing across the bed was a muted pink unicorn holding a letter before her with a light green glow. The mare wore scrubs and a nametag that read Soothing Care. “Feather Fall,” she said tenderly, walking over to the window, “We can’t stop her from coming back.” Feather Fall turned his head to look out the window. “Mmm…” The nurse sat on the bed beside him, “I know you’re disappointed that things didn’t work out, Feather, but you should be proud of her. She might not be staying, but she lived in the city for two months. She had a job, and made several friends with complete strangers.” The pegasus sighed as he watched a bird in its nest outside. “I am proud of her. She’s made everyone proud, but I just wished it could have worked out, you know?” He turned to look into Care’s eyes, “She’s been dreaming of bringing positivity to the entire country for years, and as soon as she takes her first step she gets wrapped up in some morning cartoon and ends up kidnapped.” The nurse tossed her head back to look at the ceiling, “Yeah, that’s something. I can’t believe she got caught up in some mad scientist experiment.” She chuckled, which Feather Fall briefly joined. Silence dominated the room as the pegasus turned back to the window and contemplated his thoughts. The only sound that cut through the air was the ticking of the wall clock. “I just…” Feather Fall began before he faltered, sighing in thought. Care looked back over to him, waiting for him to collect himself. “I don’t know. I suppose I was just hoping she’d stay out there for good.” Care nodded and got up from the bed, joining him by the window. “She’s a free spirit, that’s all there is to it. It’s a crime to keep her here, but it’d be even worse to force her away.” The face reflecting back on Feather Fall screwed up before he turned back to Soothing Care. She didn’t have to turn away from the sight of the bird nest to know he wanted her to elaborate. “Think of it this way, if she-“ “NEED TO SEE HIM!” a voice suddenly yelled, slicing through the moment and drawing both their attentions to the door. They shared a look of confusion before they heard more shouting, though not as pronounced and easy to understand. Soothing Care walked towards the room door, nodding to Feather Fall for him to stay in the room. He agreed with a nod of his own; neither really knew what to expect. Care opened the door to see another nurse doing the same. Both looked at each other from across the hall, closing their respective doors behind themselves. They spoke to each other using only facial expressions, asking what was going on and reaching a confused consensus. Care motioned to walk down the hall, which the older nurse agreed to and they walked side by side towards the shouting. “Think it’s a patient?” Care asked her superior. “Mmm, no, not likely.” They weren’t the only ponies walking down the hall towards whatever was making the racket, several other nurses and at least a couple visitors were on their way down the hall as well. “Haven’t heard a commotion like this in a while, and if it were one of ours, we’d hear it far more regularly.” Soothing Care nodded at this, but continued wondering who the noise-maker was. She didn’t have to wonder long however; when they both turned the corner, they saw who was behind it. Care raised her eyebrows at the sight. The receptionist pony looked about ready to end his shift; he was being bombarded by questions from a golden yellow unicorn mare. She wore large, circular frame glasses, and had a two-toned blue mane and tail. A nick was missing from her left ear, and her cutie mark showcased a talent based in rocketry or another. She had an unpleasant look on her face, which leant well to the yelling, but more than any of that, Soothing Care recognized her. “Is that…?” the older nurse asked, her eyes narrowing in scrutiny. “No, she’d never yell like that,” Care whispered back. “But I have a good idea who that might actually be.” “No! I don’t care about your stupid rules!” the mare screamed at the receptionist, “I need to know where Feather Fall is! Get this through your thick skull! He’ll know where to find her!” the crowd was growing. Standing next to the unreasonable pony was a much more regretful looking mint-green unicorn quietly whispering words of apology to anyone close enough to hear them. The look on her face was tell to those outside of hearing range, however. The receptionist didn’t look scared, but definitely wasn’t in a confrontational mood. “Ma’am, please, you’re making a scene…” “A scene?! If I were making a scene there’d be far more property damage. I just want to know where my friend is!” “I…I just can’t-“ “Just tell me where he is and I’ll leave.” Soothing Care had heard enough, if she could stop her hospital from having somebody screaming at the top of their lungs, she would. She walked close enough not to need to yell herself and cleared her throat. “If you’re looking for Feather Fall, I can help you.” Both the visiting unicorns turned to look at her, and a part of her regretted drawing attention to herself, but she knew this was probably the best method to getting them to quiet down. The yellow mare scoffed dismissively, “Unless you know the room he’s in, I doubt you’ll be much help, thank you though.” Care raised an eyebrow, “I’m his nurse.” That finally shut her up. The mare opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again, likely thinking better of herself. With the shouting done with, she noticed that everyone around her was whispering amongst themselves while staring at her. She had the good sense to be embarrassed, a slight blush forming on her cheeks as she walked over to Soothing Care. The older nurse gave a stern expression, but Soothing dismissed it, “I take full responsibility.” That seemed to get the point across, and she left Care to tend to the two visitors. She looked them up and down, briefly studying them. “You must be Sun Ray and Lyra.” The mint green unicorn, Lyra, took a step back, her eyes shooting open. “H-how do yo-you know my name?” Care could tell Lyra’s mind was thinking up new conspiracies based on the name call and mentally chastised herself for making a mistake not two minutes after meeting them. She didn’t have to backpedal, it seemed, as Sun Ray turned to her. “This is Feather Fall’s nurse, the same pegasus that’s been writing letters for the last two months, obviously she knows our names.” The nurse exhaled before putting on a bit of a smile; it wouldn’t do to handle things poorly. “My name is Soothing Care, it’s nice to meet the both of you. If you’ll follow me, please, I’ll lead you to his room.” She turned back in the direction she came from - noting that most of the crowds had dispersed - and started walking without a second thought. Sun Ray didn’t need to be told twice, following the nurse, with Lyra close behind. “I’ve never heard of Deerbill before, how long has this town been around?” Care refrained from raising an eyebrow; was this what counted as small talk in the city? Bluntly ask questions without even a passing interest? “A few hundred years, I believe.” She didn’t actually know her town history, but that seemed about right. “Have you lived here your whole life?” Lyra asked. “I have, yes, it’s my home.” “Oh.” Care tried not to laugh at the awkwardness in an effort to stay professional. She reached the door to Feather Fall’s room and knocked lightly to announce their presence before opening the door for the three of them. Sun took a step through the door and saw Feather Fall for the first time. He was by the window wearing a calm smile. His coat was orange and mane blond, reminding her of autumn, just like he’d been described to her. He was also in a wheelchair, the sight halting Sun. She was expecting someone friendly based on how much he’d been talked about, but not once had a wheelchair been mentioned. He seemed to notice her hesitation and chuckled. “C’mon in, I won’t bite,” he offered. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect you to be…” she paused, not entirely sure how to proceed, “…in a chair.” Feather Fall chuckled further, “I never expected to end up in one either, but life is a series of interesting stories.” Suddenly, Sun had no idea what she was doing anymore. Several hours prior she was prepared to fight hell or high water to get her friend back…again. It’d have been the second time in the same week, and she had the same energy as during the Changeling heist…but here she was, in a hospital of all places, yelling at orderlies, rushing past injured ponies, and generally disturbing the peace of everyone around her. She assumed she’d given up her villain life; it was behind her. So then why was she ruining everyone’s life like this? Sun looked at the smiling face of the Feather Fall, the same pony she’d heard about nonstop for multiple months, and he was handicapped. She was every bit the despicable rust of society she’d always been. Sun Ray lowered her head in shame. “I’m sorry,” she barely whispered, “I just wanted to find my friend.” A wave of sympathy washed over Feather Fall, he spoke calmly, “I haven’t seen her yet.” Sun looked at Lyra and nodded sadly, signifying that she was ready to leave. Lyra sighed, but gave a comforting smile in return. The two unicorns turned back towards the door. “Thank you for your time.” “You know,” Feather Fall spoke just before the door closed behind the two visitors, the motion stopping on his words. He rolled himself from the window, “I’ve known Forever for most of my life, and she’s never sounded as happy as she has in her letters.” As he spoke, Sun Ray slowly walked back into the room, Lyra closing the door behind them. “We grew up together, went to the same school, and had the same circle of friends. She wasn’t always the mare you know today; when we were kids she was scared of almost everything.” Feather Fall let out a small chuckle. “I still remember the day I met her, she was a jittering mess that couldn’t stop stuttering. “It was just after we got our cutie marks that she started opening up more, trying everything she could to open up and face her fears. The bags under my eyes can attest to the countless nights she practiced small talk with me. But she was struggling to keep up with everyone; It probably didn’t help that she always had her nose in some new book. “It wasn’t until a year later that we learned that she struggled so much because she suffers from depersonalization disorder.” Sun held a hoof to her mouth, her eyes widening. Lyra looked confused however, “I’ve never heard of that, what does it mean?” Soothing Care leaned forward from her sitting position on the bed, “It’s a form of disassociation. Forever has moments where she has trouble differentiating between what’s real and what isn’t.” “It also stopped her from connecting with the world around her,” Feather Fall drew attention back to himself. “Some days she’d be completely fine, and the next she’d forget what emotions she was supposed to have.” “I thought only ponies that suffered from trauma experienced disassociation,” Sun said, a distant stare in her eyes. Any joviality that Feather Fall had speaking up to this point had disappeared, replaced with a deep-seated sorrow. “It’s not my place to say, you’ll have to ask Forever what happened with her father.” The silence that followed was deafening. Sun was almost afraid to speak, what could she say to something like that? Luckily she didn’t have to; Feather Fall let out a breath of air and looked at her and Lyra. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so serious there,” Feather took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before smiling lightly. “So, growing up for her was difficult, but no matter how much she struggled, she still wanted ponies to be happy. She didn’t like when the adults around her were frowning. It was a tangible thing she could latch onto – smiles. “Well, she had trouble learning how to improve everyone’s moods, but for years it was all she focused on. No matter how much it hurt her when she met someone that wouldn’t give her a smile. She made it her life goal to be as nice and friendly as she possibly could. Even when…” Feather’s face saddened again as he paused; Sun saw him looking down at his legs, she could almost feel the regret radiate off of him. Soothing Care picked up the silence, “After the accident, Forever took it upon herself to cheer him up.” “She’s done so much for me…” the pegasus whispered, more to himself than for the benefit of the others. Sun was blisteringly curious: there was a lot being said, and it made so much sense now that it was being put into perspective, but she had no idea what to say. She was a super villain because she grew up in the streets and thought life was unfair. She was under the assumption that she was justified in trying to break down society and rebuild it for the better. But as she’d been learning again and again recently, there were better ways to fix the world. You don’t need to rip everything apart at the seams with explosives or robotics, most ponies couldn’t even do that. Instead there was a yellow earth pony having a life significantly more unfair than hers, and that same pony dealt with her pain by spreading as much positivity as possible. How many baristas had Sun failed to tip? Or doors had she not held open for other ponies? By all accounts, she was horrible; a waste of potential. All her intelligence to see the faults in different social systems and she’d failed to notice any of her own. “You’re a genius?” Sun thought, “give me a break, you’re an arrogant idiot that doesn’t know how to smile.” She glared at the floor in front of herself, stewing in her own self-critique. So angry she was at herself that she almost missed the conversation moving on. Feather Fall was looking directly at her, his mood having improved in the last few minutes. “Have you ever wondered why Forever reads books but doesn’t watch any movies or tv shows?” “I never actually thought about it, if I’m being honest.” Lyra rolled her head back and forth, considering it, “I did wonder about that.” With a nod, Feather turned to Lyra, “It’s because of her memories; they’re the one thing she can trust. At the end of the day, books are just paper with text on them, it’s easier to keep track of what’s real when you remember seeing words versus seeing a movie actually showing you different scenes and events.” “If she struggled so much with new things, and memory, why did she move to the city?” Everyone in the room turned to look at Sun. “It was her idea,” Feather admitted, “I tried to talk her out of it at first, same with most of the town, but she wanted to broaden her horizons.” “Her treatment,” Care elaborated, “is a mix of therapy and being surrounded by familiar things to give her a safe location; Somewhere to feel comfortable. But she didn’t want to depend on everyone, and especially didn’t want to stunt her ability to grow by staying in Deerbill for the rest of her life. “So she prepared herself for almost a year, studying different places she could go, asking her therapist for advice, going to anyone she could to help get her ready to leave.” Feather Fall nodded, smiling at Soothing Care for being so helpful. “Everyone in town was sad to see her go, in a way she’s family to everypony.” He looked at Lyra and Sun Ray distantly, “I’m really proud of her, she worked so hard and actually left. I was worried about her, but I knew she could make it.” His eyes refocused and he looked directly at Sun, “It’s easy to tell she means a lot to you, from the way she writes about how you’ve changed in just two months, to everything you’ve said today. But while she means that much to you, she means equally as much to everyone in town. We all saw her off at the train station that day. So I want you to know that as long as you make her happy, we’ll all support her decision.” Sun knew that he wasn’t just giving some blessing to be friends with the town’s favourite pony. There was more to it than that. “But you worry about her.” Feather Fall nodded, knowing there was no reason to hide it. He sighed as he turned back to the window to watch the birds in the nest. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop worrying about her. Forever is my best friend, I may not love her – like some have suggested.” There was a cough from Soothing Care. “But she still means the world to me.” Taking a moment to catch his breath, he turned back to the front of the room, looking at Sun and Lyra. “If she wants to move to the city, or make friends-“ He suddenly smiled as he eyes drifted to the door itself, “Or even come back home, I’ll support her decision. I’ll support her no matter where she chooses to go.” Sun narrowed her eyes a bit, what was he looking at? As she turned to follow his line of sight, she heard a sniffle from behind her. She turned her head faster than she ever had, before shooting to her hooves, gasping. Standing in the doorway was a goldenrod yellow mare staring directly forward with tears rolling down her cheeks. It hurt Sun to see such beautiful fuschia eyes filled with pain and suffering. The purple ribbon in her seafoam mane drooped due to a mix of gravity and deep sorrow. This was her friend, her neighbour, her lab assistant, and her… …her Forever Free. Feather Fall opened his forelegs for a hug. “Welcome home.”