“I… I don’t get it.”
Soarin stared at the papers he had been given before glancing up at Nurse Redheart, who nodded patiently.
“Just… just give it to me straight.”
“It’s his heart,” Redheart said quietly. “He has a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy. His heart has trouble pumping blood because of a birth defect.”
Soarin shot to his hooves and the clipboard flew out of his lap, clattering to the floor. “Is it… is it bad?”
Redheart hesitated. “Unfortunately, yes. It’s beginning to a be a problem now that he’s getting older, and--”
“Can you help him?”
“We can do our best,” Redheart affirmed. “But the heart is very tricky to heal. Magic and experimental surgery may help, but the fact of the matter is we are very limited in what we can do without risking further complications.”
The silence around them was deafening. Soarin blinked once, then twice. “I… damnit, just… just fix him.”
Redheart put a hoof on his shoulder. “I can only promise our best,” she answered.
“Is he going to live?” he whispered.
“I can’t say,” Redheart replied. “He wanted to see you.”
Soarin sighed, rubbing at his eyes. “Yeah, okay.”
He walked past her and entered the plain white room, locking his eyes on the bed.
Braeburn gave him a weary smile and tried to sit up.
“Hey, hey, easy there,” Soarin said, crossing the room quickly. “Stay down, buddy.”
“She tell you what’s wrong?” he asked weakly. Braeburn let out a weak chuckle. “Never figured it’d be my heart.”
Soarin sighed, pulling up a chair next to him. “Yeah. You’re going to get better, Brae. Trust me.”
“I do,” Braeburn replied, reaching for his hoof. “I do. But Soarin, if I don’t make it--”
“Don’t,” Soarin hissed as tears escaped his eyes. “Please, don’t say that. I can’t handle that right now.”
Braeburn nodded. “Okay. C’mere.”
They embraced, and Soarin held Braeburn as tightly as he could.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this, he thought. It just wasn’t. It’s upside down. Backwards.
“Can you stay tonight?” asked Braeburn, his voice trembling.
“I’ll stay as long as it takes. I promised you that much.” Soarin replied, trying not to shake himself. “As long as it takes. Forever and always.”