//------------------------------// // Handling Changes (Feather Bangs) // Story: The Prince and the Poet // by BrawnyBold //------------------------------// Feather slowly opened his eyes to see a bright light. His vision cleared to see that he was in some kind of hospital room. Feather attempted to get up, but he collapsed from a large jolt of pain on his chest. A mare dressed as a nurse entered the room and rushed to Feather. "Easy now." said the nurse mare as she readjusted Feather to lay back down. "Try not to hurt yourself while getting up." "What happened?" Feather asked quietly. "You took quite a hit from a magic blast, Prince Blueblood" The nurse mare replied. "You were very lucky that the doctors treated you before you felt any more pain." Feather looked down to see that his chest was completely covered with some bandages. Feather recalled that he pushed Rarity from getting hit by the robber pony's horn blast. "You just rest easy while I tell the doctors you're awake." As the nurse exited the room, Feather was laying down while thinking about his current situation. Feather was concerned as he just let Prince Blueblood's body get injured for saving Rarity. Who knows what Prince Blueblood will do if he finds out? Feather decided to rest to calm his nerves. A few minutes passed before the doctor entered Feather's room. "It's good to see that you're awake, Prince Blueblood." The doctor said with a smile. "I appreciate that." Feather said with a weak smile. "Your injury wasn't too severe, just a minor burn on your torso. It will heal after a few days. For now, it would be best that you stay here and rest for the time being." "Thank you, doctor." Feather said. "It's what I do, just get some rest." As the doctor trotted to the door, he stopped and moved aside. "By the way, you have your first visitor." When he said that, Princess Celestia entered the room. "Auntie Celestia, what a surprise." Feather said to the princess. "How could you act so reckless and get yourself hurt like that?" Princess Celestia said. Feather noticed that the look on Princess Celestia's face showed some concern towards him. Feather couldn't blame her as it wasn't often that her nephew gets attacked and sent to a hospital. "I-I'm sorry that I worried you, Auntie." Feather replied. "I had to so I could save Rarity." "Yes, one of the royal guards informed me of what happened after the robbers were arrested. I grew worried while you were getting treated. Please don't put yourself at risk next time." "I promise," Feather responded. "How is Rarity?" "Rarity is safe." Princess Celestia replied. "After the robbers were taken away, Rarity and Sassy Saddles exited the royal garden along with the other guests. My guess is that Rarity went back home." "That is good to hear, considering that she was taken hostage by one of the robbers." Feather said. "Try not to worry too much." Princess Celestia said. "Rarity and her friends have taken on evil beings and a robber wouldn't scare her one bit. I must return to the castle to make sure there won't be any more robbing attempts. I have some of my royal guards here to keep you safe from any unwanted guests. Try to rest up while I'm gone." Princess Celestia said as she exited the room. The day went on with Feather continuing to lay on his bed while recovering. The nurse came by every now and then to check up on Feather to see if he was alright. The next pony who visited Feather was Bellhopper. "Greetings, young prince. It is good to see that you are recovering." Bellhopper said as he entered the room. Feather noticed that Bellhopper was being his usually calm self in contrast to how he felt when Feather was shot. "Um, thanks Bellhopper. I appreciate that." Feather said. Bellhopper used his magic to carry a small blue vase with yellow flowers in it while making his way to Feather. "I brought these to help you feel much better while recovering." Bellhopper said. "Oh Bellhopper, you shouldn't have." Feather said while feeling touched by the butler's gift. "I insist, young prince." Bellhopper said as he placed the vase on a nearby nightstand. "I know that you already have a nurse taking care of you, but I am still willing to assist you if you need anything." "Thanks, Bellhopper." Feather said with a smile. "Perhaps you can help me send some letters to yesterday's party guests to apologize for what happened yesterday. I know that incident wasn't my fault, but I just wanted to let them know that everything is fine." "If that is what you want, I will get right on it." Bellhopper said with a bow and trotted out of the room. The next day came and Feather felt much better. The nurse and doctor checked up on Feather to see that he was making good progress on his healing. Feather was also starting to receive flowers, get-well-soon cards, and balloons from his associates and most of the guests who came to his garden party. 'I guess word must've spread about my injury.' Feather thought while reading some of the cards. The door opened and the nurse entered the room. "Hello, Prince Blueblood, you have new visitor today." The nurse said as she moved aside to reveal Rarity as she trotted through the door. "Rarity?" Feather said in surprise. "What are you doing here?" "I came here to see you, of course." Rarity replied and turned to the nurse. "Would you please give us some privacy?" "Of course, but be careful. There are royal guards at the doorway." The nurse said as she trotted out of the door to show a pair of royal guards standing on each side. When the door closed, Rarity turned back to Feather. She gave Feather a stern look that wasn't too menacing. Feather stayed silent while looking at Rarity as he had no idea how he should respond to a mare who completely hates Prince Blueblood's guts. "The reason I came here is to see if you were really injured." Rarity confirmed as she looked at Feather's bandaged torso. "I have to say, those bandages look really convincing." Feather was confused from Rarity's words. "Wasn't it just a coincidence that the moment I trotted away from you, those robbers just popped out of nowhere and grabbed me to make me a hostage? Was that robbery a part of some sad attempt to impress me?" "Rarity, I had no idea those robbers would appear at the party." Feather responded. "Of course, of course." Rarity said with sarcasm in her voice. "To tell you the truth, I was really surprised that you actually took a blast just to 'save' me." Rarity continued. "Normally, you would just cower behind some ponies or throw a pony to take your fall. But taking a hit for me only proved that you were really desperate." Rarity started to slowly clap her hooves in a mocking way. "Bravo, Prince Blueblood. That was quite a performance." Feather could tell that Rarity was still not convinced that he was innocent. "Whether you believe me or not, I'm just glad that you're safe, Rarity." Feather said. Rarity huffed and turned away to avoid eye contact. Feather decided to continue speaking. "Since you're still here, I also want to apologize for making you uncomfortable for the past few days." This caused Rarity to raise her head as Feather had caught her attention. "I admit that I did attend most of your events whether I was invited or not. But it was to make amends and show that I support you. I had no idea that it only made things worse for you. I also must admit that it was completely rude of me for what I did that night during the Grand Galloping Gala." Rarity turned back to Feather to give him an extremely angry glare that startled him. "You were beyond rude during that night, Prince Blueblood." Rarity said. "It was really foolish of me to go look for you to find out if we were meant to be together. After we met, I was a bit appalled from your behavior because it was completely opposite of a fairy tale prince. Even though your behavior was a bit rude, I thought those were just small things about you and I tried to respect that. My breaking point was when you used me as a living shield when that cake splattered in front of us! Let me tell you, I had no regrets shaking that mess on to you!" Rarity panted heavily from all of her yelling. Feather was lost for words from how much anger Rarity released. Feather may have already heard about what happened between Prince Blueblood and Rarity, but hearing it from Rarity made him feel really terrible for her. 'Maybe it's best to drop this,' Feather thought in realization. Feather now understood that Prince Blueblood didn't want to do anything with Rarity as the prince burned away any chances with her. Feather also thinks that Rarity wouldn't have it any other way. "You're right, I'm not good enough to be forgiven. Try not to worry, I swear that I won't attend any more of your events." Feather said. Rarity was surprised to hear Prince Blueblood to say that, but she quickly shook her head and turned around. "You better keep your word, you spoiled prince." Rarity said before she slowly trotted out of the room, leaving Feather feeling defeated.