Chapter Six: Jade Bolt
"Pleeeeeaseeee, Mr. Nurse Gold Cross, sir!"
How Gold Cross could look down at Starry's bright eyes and tiny lower lip pout and not immediately crumble to her demands, Smolder couldn't even guess. Maybe he'd been a dragon in a past life. Only a maybe, though. The look he gave her was nowhere close to what a dragon would give a begging child. Nah, back home they'd just take the gem their hatchling wanted and eat it right in front of them. Here, in the land of ponies, at least the adults tended to hear the kids out before they said 'No. Get lost.'
Starry widened her eyes to the size of wagon wheels. “Please, Mr. Dr. Nurse Gold Cross sir.
"Starry," Gold Cross groaned, moving the papers around on his desk, checking the order of the pens in a cup, looking anywhere but at the little foal staring up at him with her one foreleg raised as though it were clasped with the missing one to form the ultimate pleading attack. "I have patients to attend to, paperwork to fill out, and no time to even consider helping you in such nonsense. There is simply no way."
"But why?" The filly stuck her lower lip out more. If Gold Star took a step forward, he was likely to trip over it. Suffice it to say, he was keeping himself safe behind his desk, opening a file cabinet, and dropping a folder on the table. Followed by another. Followed by another.
"We're a busy hospital, Starry." Gold pointed at the files. "These are three new patients I have to check on regularly. Combine that with established patients like yourself and potential emergencies, and I have just about a dozen foals I'm working with right now. Not only is that going to take away any free time, but that's a lot of foot traffic in these halls as well. If I tried to clear the halls, how would these new foals get the help they need?"
"Maybe they could watch us?"
"It's not happening, Starry." He shook his head, finally glancing towards Smolder and Gallus. "Not to mention, even if I could, it's dangerous."
Smolder raised a claw. “Look, it’s just the garden, Goldy. Just open the gate for us and we’ll be fine. Come back in a few minutes. No biggie.”
"Ah, yes. The garden." Smolder did not know Gold Cross as well as, say, Nurse Redheart, but she'd gotten to know him well. Overall, he was about as laid back and kind of a pony as you could meet, but he had his moments, and he had his tells. The pegasus nurse leaned forward on the desk, leaning his cheek against a curled wing as he looked straight at Gallus. Incoming. "Ah, yes, of course. The garden. The garden that is full of roots that a wheelchair can hit and flip over at speed. The garden that is full of rocks that could tear one's stitches open and mess up their nerves if they're landed on just right. The garden where a certain dragon--"He lowered his wingtips to point at Smolder "--could easily crash and ruin her recovery."
Somewhere down the hall, a filly coughed. A nurse wheeled a gurney by, hunched over as she glanced at Gold Cross' station.
"Sheesh, I get it. You didn’t need to lay it that thick. I got it at the ‘roots’ part. Also, think it’s a dumb take. I mean... we'll be careful, Seriously." Gallus offered.
Smolder slammed a claw against her face and snorted, smoke snaking out of her nostrils. "Look,” she jumped in. “this hall’s a no-go. The garden’s a no-go. I get it. But, come on, there's gotta be a stretch of hallway in this place that has, like, no doors we can crash into, right? Like a connecting hallway? I’ve seen a few heading back and forth to get X-rays and stuff. Starry just thought you’d wanna come along, but you obviously can't, so… like, it’s nothing you'll have to worry about, dude," Smolder said. “Just point us in the direction and we’ll be on our way.”
"Dude?" Smolder winced as Gold stood up, one folder now on his clipboard which he draped under his wing. "Smolder, you've told me about this idea you have. It's my job to worry about it now. Especially when you could get hurt even worse. This isn’t a carnival. You’re here to get better, not to have fun."
"We'll take it slow." Gallus gestured with his wing. "Like... real slow. And if a door opens, we'll stop. Easy."
"Show me."
Gallus blinked. "Show you?"
Gold Cross nodded, pulling an empty wheelchair around the desk and patting the seat. "You say you can stop easy?" He pointed at Smolder. "I trust her. She has practice. You on the other hoof... well, I'd probably get in trouble for even suggesting you so much as sit down on hospital property that you don’t need, but if my point is made I'll gladly take the chewing from the director."
Gallus gulped. He looked at Smolder. Smolder shrugged and nodded towards Gold Cross. "Hop to it, Birdboy. I believe in you."
Gallus sighed and sat in the wheelchair, muttering “Me and my big mouth,” under his breath. He leaned forward, placing his talons on the wheels.
Starry giggled beside Smolder. "Mr. Gallus looks funny when he's nervous, huh Smolder?"
"I know, right?" Smolder chuckled, but when Gallus made eye contact with her she smiled at him. Bless him, he was trying, but the wheelchairs the hospital used were clearly not built for quadrupeds to push themselves in. Nah, they were meant to be pushed from behind. Gallus was clearly struggling to lean forward enough to grab the wheels in his talons without falling face-first on the tiles.
He looked up at Gold Cross. "Uh... is there a trick to this I'm missing?"
“Shouldn’t you be telling me?” Gold Cross shook his head, walking over to a room across the hall from his station, about ten feet away from where Gallus sat. "Okay. Start rolling towards me," Gold Cross said.
"Towards you?" Gallus said.
Smolder groaned, rolling her eyes. "Just do it." She slapped the side of Gallus' chair. "I believe in you."
Gallus took a deep breath, muttering under his breath as he pushed the rims forward. Of course, his talons were all out of sync, the left one turning harder and farther than the other and causing the chair to wobble and turn in place. Gallus tried to course correct and was at least able to avoid slamming into the nurses' station, but his hard left had him careening right for a wall of flowery meadows complete with smiling daffodils. Before Gallus could eat a faceful of the wall, Gold Cross halted his chair, shaking his head and frowning, but also doing a poor job of suppressing the chuckle rumbling in his chest.
"That was... something. At least you didn’t break anything," Gold said. He motioned for Gallus to stand up with a wave of his wing. "Look, you all, I see where you're coming from here."
"Do you?" Smolder said, crossing her arms.
"No need to get snarky." Gold Cross opened the door to a room, leaving it cracked open for a second to lean in and say a quick, "I'll be just a minute," before closing it again. "If I'm being honest, it sounds like a fun idea. Taking your wheelchair out and showing your stuff by racing it around? That sounds fun and awesome, Smolder. No joke, I'd buy tickets to see you do that someday. But that’s someday. Not now."
Smolder's arms remained crossed as she frowned and stared holes into the crooks of her elbows. Giving her a taste of her own medicine, Gold Cross rolled his eyes before taking Smolder’s wheelchair by the handles and rolling her away from Gallus and Starry’s hearing range.
"How many days are you from starting PT?" Gold Cross asked in a hushed voice.
Smolder shrugged. "Six? Seven?" She snorted. "Too long. I feel good to go now."
"Then you should keep it that way. Feeling good to go is what you want. Do you want to risk making that wait time another week? Another month? Never because you mess up and re-broke your back and you’re out of luck of ever recovering at all?” He patted the armrest of Smolder’s chair. “You have to take it slow."
Smolder continued to frown at her lap, but sighed and let her shoulders slump. He had her there. That would suck. But then again, things sucked anyway. "Alright."
Gold Cross smiled, reaching over and patting her on the shoulder. "Good girl." He sighed, stealing a glance at the clock at the nurse's station. "I have to get to my patients. You can take Starry for a loop around the hall; getting out of the room and getting some fresh air would be good for her. But, please, please, please. Promise me that you won't do anything dumb. Around the corner, maybe out to the butterfly garden if there’s a nurse already out there, but then straight back to her room."
Smolder forced a grin. "Promise. Stick a cupcake in my eye and all that."
Gallus flashed a thumbs up. "Roger that."
Starry pouted. “Fine.”
Gold Cross nodded and opened the door, taking one last glance at Smolder before singing, "Good afternoon!" in a cheerful voice to his patient.
Once the door was closed, Smolder sighed. "Well, let's move. You got Starry?"
Gallus nodded.
“Let’s go!” Starry pumped a hoof as Gallus took hold of the smaller wheelchair’s handles in his talons. Smolder, in typical dragon fashion, rolled her eyes and rolled up the hall. She didn’t get Starry sometimes. The filly was pouting, what, five seconds before? Now, she was smiling as though someone had just put on her favorite movie.
Smolder maneuvered her way past passing ponies and nurse's carts with relative ease. The hospital wheelchairs were bulky, yeah, but a little bit of practice and she bet she could hit a wheelie if she wanted to. She’d had maybe a week of practice, and she had to admit she was kind of getting used to it. It didn’t make it feel right or natural, but movement was movement, and she refused to spend another day laying on her back from dawn until dusk.
Still, her shoulder muscles weren’t totally used to doing all the work yet. As they rolled through the wide doorway separating the foal’s ward from some offices, Smolder’s throat tasted of copper. Wiping her forehead, she made a hard right to the nearest water fountain. Even dragons needed to cool down every once in a while.
“So, what happened to your back?” Starry suddenly asked, sending the water down Smolder’s windpipe. The dragon sputtered and coughed as she turned her chair around.
“What are you talking about, squirt?” she asked, wiping a trail of water off her chin.
Starry shrugged. “I told you about what happened to me. It was scary, but I feel a little better now after talking about it. Maybe it’ll make you feel a little better. So… what happened to you?”
Smolder shook her eyes skyward, then glanced at Gallus. As was typical for the griffon, he wore an expression somewhere in between concerned and calmness. He raised a talon off the little pony’s wheelchair in a half-shrug. ‘It’s up to you,’ it felt like that one expression was saying. ‘Tell or not.’
Screw it. Smolder rolled forward, slowing her wheels as she rode up beside the filly. “Promise me something, Starry.”
“Yeah?”
“You won’t laugh and think I’m a total dork if I tell you.”
Starry giggled. “Why would I think that?” Smolder narrowed a glare at her. Maybe too narrow of a stare, going off the way the filly curled into herself, but this was serious. Smolder was not a dork. Period. Exclamation mark. “I promise,” Starry said softly.
Smolder sighed, gripping the rims tight as she rolled forward, signaling Gallus to follow. “I had an accident… during cheerleading practice.”
Even through her peripheral vision, Smolder could see Starry’s mouth fall open. “You’re a cheerleader?”
“That a problem?” Smolder asked flatly.
“No. Just a surprise. Push me faster, Mr. Gallus!” Smolder looked over her shoulder as Starry’s chair came into view, the little wheels rattling on the floor. “I don’t see why you’d think it was dorky. Cheerleaders are fun and nice and pretty.”
“Well, you proved my point right there. For dragons, that’s practically a crime.” Smolder glanced out the window. Clouds had rolled in, leaving her reflection a dull shadow on the panes of glass. If she squinted, her gown almost looked like a dress. She bit her lip. Maybe she could talk Silverstream into bringing in some of her normal clothes. Something to make her feel more like herself. Even if she’d have to kick Gallus out of the room before he caught a glimpse of her in something pink or purple. She could bring in some of her other clothes too. Maybe some of her black jackets. Something cool for when Garble finally showed up. If Garble finally showed up.
He has to, she repeated to herself, her chair slowing. He’s going to be here. Soon. Then why hadn’t he shown up yet?
“What happened?” Starry pulled her from her thoughts with a hoof over her claw. Only then did Smolder realize she’d come to a stop. “Did you fall?”
“No. Got fell on. By a yak. Like stepping on an ant. Me being the ant, obviously.” Smolder let go of her wheels and clapped her claws together. “Splat! Just like that.”
“Ouch.” Starry’s ears fell flat against the back of her head, as though trying to hide under her messy blue mane.
“That’s putting it lightly.”
“Were they okay?”
Smolder slowed down, the filly rolling past her for a second as the dragon titled her head. “Huh?”
“The yak who fell on you? Were they okay?”
Smolder bit her lip. “I… I don’t know. I hope so.”
“You should check.”
Smolder sighed, staring at Gallus. He reached down and patted her shoulder. “I want to. I really do.”
"Ooh. Mr. Gallus! Turn right, turn right!" Starry suddenly piped up, pointing down a hall.
"The gift shop’s over that way! Maybe they’ll have something nice to make Smolder happy.”
Smolder blinked and raised an eyebrow. Was she really that obvious? Gallus stared down at Smolder as he took Starry's smaller wheelchair handles in his talons. For a griffon, he had the gentlest eyes sometimes. If Smolder couldn’t see any other part of him, just his eyes, she’d think he was a pony. “Sounds good to me. You?” he asked.
Smolder shrugged her shoulders, “Not a problem with me.”
"They could have candy," Starry added. "You always need candy! There’s no way anyone can be unhappy when they have candy!"
"Point taken." Gallus chuckled, ruffling the filly’s frizzy mane. Even the toughest of griffons weren’t immune to Starry’s charms, it seemed. "But still isn’t that strange? Calling something in a hospital a gift shop?”
Smolder tilted her head to the side, letting the vertebrae in her neck click out. Getting out and about definitely felt good. All her joints would turn to concrete if she spent another day just lying in that bed. “Eh, I’ve been there. Typical visitor stuff. Snacks, flowers, cards, balloons. Definitely saw a few last-minute purchases some ponies brought up to my room those first couple of weeks. Shows how much thought they put into it, eh?” Smolder shrugged, claws not leaving the rolling rims. “Still, they were cute, I guess.”
“Oh, I get it, but that doesn't change that the name sounds a bit weird to me.”
Smolder chuckled. "No arguing from me, but honestly, a coffee definitely sounds like a gift right now," Smolder clenched her jaw, damming back a yawn. “Reins has been waking me up at, like, 6 in the morning to do stretches.”
"Yikes. I thought this was a hospital, not a torture chamber.” Gallus leaned down, crossing his forelegs on the handles of Starry’s chair as they marched on. “Wanna grab one?"
"I wish," Smolder said, smiling over at the griffon. "But coffee's a no-go. Can really screw with my... well... you know..." She made a circle over her lap.
"Right. Right." Gallus nodded.
Starry raised an eyebrow at Smolder. The dragon waved a claw at her and smiled. "Nothing you need to worry about," she said. The filly deserved to keep what little bit of innocence she had left.
Smolder rolled along the hall. Starry had gotten to playing twenty questions with Gallus about how griffons lived (how many toes they have, could they purr, etc.) and Smolder had started to tune them out. The filly had pulled the same thing on her not long after they'd met. Some of them were easier to answer than others. What's your favorite flavor of ice cream? Pistachio, eight days of the week. Hoofball or Hockey? Neither. In the Dragonlands, lava wrestling was king.
If only the other ones were that easy.
'Did you wrestle with your friends?'
'Eh, I didn't have many friends back then. My brother and I got pretty good at it though."
'Who's your brother?'
'His name's Garble.'
'Oooh! Is he as cool as you?'
'Nowhere close.'
'Can I meet him when he visits?'
Smolder's right claw slipped between the spokes, causing her chair to bobble and swerve. She braked to a stop, waving her claw in front of her to shake the sting out of her fingers.
"You okay?" Gallus asked.
Smolder sighed, glaring at the offending wheel. "Yeah. Fine. Just lost my grip." She glanced over her shoulder at Starry, who looked up at her with her big golden eyes, curiosity gleaming in them.
'Can I meet him when he visits?' she had asked.
Ha. When? No, if. If he visited. If he cared enough. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. Of course he did, she chided herself. Yet her gut twisted into a triple knot and it felt like steam was about to spew from her eyelids as she clenched them tighter and tighter. The pressure thumping against her skull shook her claws against the rims. She took a deep breath, opening her eyes.
For a second, smoke clouded her vision, wisping out of her nose as she let her breath out. As it cleared, she thought she was imagining things, but a few good blinks brought the hall into focus. It stretched far to the right, curving towards a distant building in the back of the Starswirl campus, lined with glass. "Woah," she said, rolling her wheelchair forward to get a better angle on the hall. A smile stretched across her face as she flashed her fangs at Gallus.
“Where do you think it leads?” Gallus asked. “Outpatient?”
Smolder shook her head. “Nah, that’s near the emergency lobby, remember? This is… I don’t know It’s perfect though," said Smolder, pointing down a forking hallway flanked on both sides by large windows occasionally interrupted by boring gray walls holding paintings of ponies Smolder had never met and lists of names she hadn't heard of for things she didn't care about. Yet, she wished she did so she could find them and thank them for giving her the absolute, most awesomely perfect hall she could imagine. "You seein' what I'm seein', G?" she said.
Gallus nodded. "No doors?"
Smolder nodded. "No doors. No carts. No nurses. No patients. Just pure hall." Smolder ran her claws over the rubber, feeling the points bounce over the treads. “Definitely could get some serious speed.”
"Wait." Starry turned her head towards Smolder, her eyes wide. "Mr. Gold told us not to race."
Smolder wanted to counter that, but the fact was that filly was simply too smart for her own good sometimes. No quip or snark could snake its way out of Smolder's mouth that Starry couldn't easily counter. Smolder reached over to pat the other wheelchair's armrest. "Don’t worry. I won’t let Gallus get his little cat butt anywhere near a chair. We’re not racing. I’m just wanting to test out the speed. Think of it as practice."
"You promised though..."
Smolder bit her lip. Starry had her there. A southern accent flickered through the back of Smolder's mind as an Honesty lecture from Applejack’s of School Days Past played out in her head:
'If ya break a promise, what message is that sendin' to someone? How could anyone rightly believe anything ya said afterward. Ya promised not to do what you were told not ta do and did it anyway, hm? So what happens next time? Ya promise someone you'll be there for them? How can they believe ya, when ya proved ya couldn't keep your word the first time? Oh, ya might say, but that was someone else. You're different. How can I know that though? How can I know that ain't just somethin' ya say to everyone without ever meaning a cotton pickin' word of it?'
Ugh, typical Professor Applejack. Straight to the point, but also completely right. She sighed, scratching her claw along the rubber treads of the wheels. "You're right. I’ll be safe. Keep it slow," Smolder said. Metal tickled the tips of her fingers as she pushed her chair forward. "I still wanna take a quick look. See where it goes, ya know? This hall could work when they allow us to race."
Without waiting for another word, Smolder rolled farther and farther down the hall, peering left and right as she went. To the right, the windows looked out on boring patches of grass marked by dumpsters and handless doors. Deliveries perhaps? On the left, an empty field of long grass and trees, beyond them a dozen houses complete with backyards, and beyond them, if she squinted, she could just about see the School of Friendship up near the hills rising above Ponyville. A sidewalk lazily ran along parallel, marked by the occasional trashcan or bench. A brown earth pony stood in a wheeled frame near one of the benches, smoking a reed. Smolder waved at him, but he didn’t seem to see her through the darkened storm windows. That or he didn’t care. She couldn’t blame him.
She pulled to a stop as she rounded the slight turn in the hall. The panes of glass continued on for a while on the left while the boring gray wall overtook the right. A metal rail ran along the wall, broken up by the occasional hallway. At the end of the long path, there was a wall with a cubicle holding a mail dropoff box and a single chair beside it. That was all that made up the entire back end of the hallway. As she rolled on, she took note of the doors along the right of the hall. All of them looked more like small doors to offices rather than actual means of taking patients from section to section. Another point in this hall’s favor.
She reached the chair and desk. To her right, the hall continued on, some doors and benches dotting the flanking walls. She turned her wheelchair around, staring back down the hall. It had to be a hoofball’s field in length. Maybe more. And that was just leading up to the small curve near the end. Gallus and Starry had rounded the corner, heads tilted in curiosity. Starry raised her unbraced foreleg and waved down the hall. Smolder grinned. This was it. The perfect hall for a race. Nothing in the way. No excuse for anything but pure speed. Nothing but a chance to show that she still could be awesome. The spokes of her chair clinked in a detuned chime as her claws strummed the thin metal. It took everything in her power to sit still. To not say screw it and take off as hard and fast as she could.
"Oh, this is gonna be good," came a new voice. Smolder cocked an eyebrow and glanced up the hall. A dark green pegasus mare stood in a doorway, peering out into the hallway, staring straight at Smolder. There was something familiar about this pony, Smolder knew it, but she couldn't put a claw on what. It was the eyes. She swore she'd seen those eyes before, but where?
"Excuse me?" Smolder said, a little rougher than she'd intended.
"Oh, you're excused," the pony said with a hearty laugh, stepping out of the door, the sound of wheels trailing behind her as she paused in the hall, the overhead lights reflecting off the metal of the harness the mare's hind legs rested in. It took a minute, but it clicked in Smolder's brain. She knew this mare. The green coat, the lighter green mane, the teal eyes. She'd seen her when Gallus had wheeled her down the hallway the first time. The room they'd passed, the look of pain and familiarity. It was like looking in a mirror. It still was, but...
Smolder swallowed a lump in her throat. "Wait," she said. "Hold up. I saw you walking!" Smolder shook her head. Not the best phrasing in the world, but still, it had been a good sign back then. A hopeful one. The universe couldn't just tear that away from her by just making this pony a cripple too, could it?
"Ah, I was wondering if you’d remember me," the mare said with a laugh, taking another step forward. The chair trailed behind her, its wheels clacking against the floor. "But ya know, I kinda still am walking. Some may say no, but, eh, I disagree. I mean, I'm standing, my forelegs are tapping away just like anyone else's. Would you not call that walking?"
Smolder shook her head. "I... huh... wait, no stupid riddles!" Smolder pointed a claw. "I know you. I looked you right in the eye. I... I thought you weren’t like… me… ugh." She sighed. "What's it matter? I don't even know what I'm saying."
The mare chuckled. "Nah, it's fine. No need to get so worked up. I understand exactly what you mean." She chuckled and looked back at her harness. "Really, I do. Kinda wished I could still get around like that. Frickin’ crazy what a week’ll do."
"So... what's wrong with your legs then?"
The mare let out a loud sputtering laugh. "Excuse me?! Jeez, straight to the point. Lesson for ya dragon: you can't just ask a pony what's wrong with her legs!"
Smolder blinked. "I mean, I just did. What? Does this need to be some story time? I can tell you all about what's wrong with me."
The mare laughed. "Joking, joking. Just putting on a show. Heh, I like you." She stepped forward, rolling her chair along beside her. "Yes, what you saw... well, you were not wrong. I was walking. With braces. Those things are slower than Hearth’s Warming, and about as comfortable as dinner at my house. Think I want to be limping around at negative five miles per hour while some twisted metal is squeezing my ass all the time? I don’t think so.” The mare shook her head, looking down at her foreleg. She lifted it a little off the tile. Smolder noticed it shaking. "Look, enough of that malarkey about legs and braces and all that stuff. Boring." She walked up beside Smolder and looked down the hall. She raised her foreleg up to her chest and waved to Gallus and Starry. "Hey, you two! Stay right there."
Gallus raised an eyebrow but gave a thumbs up nonetheless. Smolder echoed his expression, raising her claws in a shrug. "Planning on going bowling or something?" the dragon quipped.
The mare laughed, her laughter ringing through the hall. "Cool idea, but no." Her brow furrowed into a determined glare, her smile stretching from cheek to shadowy cheek as she eyed the dragon. "I want a go."
"A go?” Smolder said. “A go at what?"
"Beating you in a race, of course. And don’t give me that look. I was your first audience member, remember?"
Smolder scoffed. “Pretty sure I didn’t even get across the finish line on that one.
“Another advantage to me,” the mare said with a smirk. “And maybe if you looked in front of you instead of back at your favorite bird over there, you’d have noticed.”
Smolder crossed her arms as the mare pressed a forehoof against the wall, pushing down to stretch out her flexors. She moved from one hoof to the other, spinning her neck to a series of pops. "All I gotta say is that I hope you’ve been working on your braking a little.” The mare’s wings waved outward. “You're undefeated, but, well... your competition was certainly not the strongest." She waved at Gallus who waved back, slower this time.
"Hey!" Smolder growled. "Only I get to talk smack about Gallus."
"Oh, that was far from talking smack, my scaly friend. It is clear he is quite athletic." A playful smile crossed her muzzle. "But you've been in that chair long enough to know that athleticism is not the main part at play." She looked over to the left, at the open floor of the hall. "Experience is key, as is balance and fortitude. That kind of determination glows brightest when you have no other choice."
Smolder glanced down the hall, her claws twitching at the rims. "That sounds all well and good, sister. Really hokey too," she said. "But… it’ll have to wait. I promised I wouldn't race anyone today.”
"So you're scared, hmm?"
Smolder felt her scales heat up. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," the mare said, trotting in place, the contraption holding her hind legs rattling behind her. "You don't want to get beaten on your first real go around. I get it. Failing’s pretty scary, yeah?"
Smolder blinked, her gaze locked on the mare. "I..." Her claws tightened around the rims of her chair, fangs bared. "I'm nowhere close to scared of that," she growled.
"Then what?"
Smolder glared daggers at this pony, a smirk poking at the corner of her lips. "I'm scared I'll wipe the floor with you. That every pony in this hospital will keep on saying I didn't prove jack 'cause oh you just beat little ol' what's her name.'"
"Jade Bolt."
"Yeah, Jade whatever." Smolder rolled forward, the wheels clacking along the tiled floor. "I had a bet going with Featherbutt over there." She pointed to Gallus. "I win, you owe all three of us pizzas."
"Deal," the mare said, trotting forward to join Smolder at the end of the hallway. "Do I get to choose what I get when I win?"
Smolder smirked. She liked this Jade. She had a dragon’s fire. Definitely not what she expected when she had caught sight of the mare a few weeks earlier. "Sure."
Jade nodded, smirking down the hall. "I’m not sure yet. But when I win… I dunno, maybe getting to ask that griffon friend of yours--Galephus, right? Yeah, asking him out sounds like a good wager, yes?."
Smolder raised an eyebrow. "You... huh?" She chuckled. "No frickin’ way am I agreeing to that deal.”
Jade smiled. “Oh, I’m definitely considering it now.”
Smoke tendrils drifted up out of Smolder’s nostrils. She half-expected a fire alarm to go off. “Aren't you a bit old for him?"
"Are you assuming my age?"
Smolder's smirk widened even more as her claws squeezed the rims hard enough that she swore the metal was about to twist beneath her grip. "Yeah. I am. Jade Oldt."
The mare laughed. "That was a good one, Orange Crush." She leaned forward, hoof outstretched. "From here to the end of the hall. That griffon--"
"Gallus." Smolder shook her head. "At least get his name right, Oldt."
"Yes. Gallus will be our finish line." She raised a hoof to the side of her muzzle. "Gallus?" she called out. The griffon cocked his head like an adorably confused cat. Smolder tried to fight back the smile, but then he had to tilt his head forty-five degrees in the other direction. Scales, he could be cute sometimes. "Do you mind moving that little sweetheart there back a few feet?"
Starry looked up at Gallus, her confusion evident in her planet-sized eyes. Gallus shrugged and took the handles, taking a few steps backward. "Good!" Jade called. "Now step back up where you were." Slowly, the griffon walked forward, eyes on the tiles as he stepped from square to square. "Closer. Closer. Back! Annnnd stop. Right there. Perfect!"
"That's a little bit closer than he was," Smolder whispered.
"Exactly," the mare said, winking. "But you must agree that the sunlight from that angle does wonders."
Ugh, Smolder thought. That Jade was right yet again. The sunlight from that window shone upon the griffon's spread primaries, reflecting brightly as they twitched at his sides. With the angle he held his head, the shadows on his face were next to non-existent and his eyes glowed like gems in a freshly opened mine. She could have looked further, but the blush on her face was no doubt obvious enough already, what with how Jade side-eyed her and smiled coyly at the dragon.
Smolder squeezed the wheels harder. This girl talked a lot of smack, but she would be damned if she let her embarrass her in front of Gallus. "You wanna do the countdown or me? Or... hey, hey, Gallus!"
Gallus perked up. "What's up, Legs?"
"Do the countdown for us, will ya?"
"Legs?" Jade practically laughed out the word. "That's... quite a nickname."
"It's cute! Gotta problem with it?" Smolder growled. She nodded to Gallus, who looked rather confused. "Featherbutt. Give us a countdown, would you?"
Jade chuckled. "Feather--"
Smolder’s fangs clenched. "Don't. You. Even."
"What..." Gallus blinked. "What am I counting down for?"
"Just give us a countdown!"
Gallus scratched the back of his neck. "From five or three?"
"Eight,” Smolder grunted.
Jade cocked her head, that smug smirk finally drooping. "Why eight?"
Smolder rolled her eyes. Whatever nerve she had left, this girl had gone and torn it out. "Why not?"
"Okay," Gallus said. "Eight... seven... six..."
"Could you raise your wings?" Jade said.
"Why?" he asked.
"It's a flattering look for you," Jade chuckled as Gallus' cheeks turned from blue to crimson. "And you were at five. When you reach zero, give those wings a wave so we know to go."
"R-right." Gallus took a deep breath, stretching out his wings to their fullest length, glancing at them awkwardly. " Um... Five... four... three..." His eyes met Smolder's. "Two..."
He said 'One.' He had to have said 'One,' or Smolder would have sat at the end of the hall for the rest of eternity, staring at him. And that would have been okay. But Gallus did, of course, finish the countdown; it was just that the words were silent. Years of gym class and friendly races with the griffon had taught her that the first rule of any sprint was to watch for the signal, be it a flag waving, a magic blast, or--as was this case--a quick drop of wings.
It was on.
An interesting fact about wheelchair races: they're quite quiet, especially if one's used to races on a normal track. In a hallway like this, there were no pebbles to kick up, no roots to stumble over and send your feet through a pounding stumble as you regained your balance. There was only the scratching of claws against the spokes, the pulse shoving blood into her head faster than she could spin it all around. In a perfect race that would be it: the sound of rattling wheels and the sight of Gallus getting closer and closer.
But not this race.
Jade had gotten as perfect of a start as a pony could get. The mare was past the first window pane before Smolder had gotten her wheels rolling. With each push on the rims for Smolder, it seemed Jade got in around four steps out of her forelegs. Smolder clenched her teeth, shoulders feeling like they were being ground to bits of dust as she jerked the rims forward. And the worst part was, they were good rolls. Not once did Smolder's chair make a hard left or risk flipping with over-correction. No, each rotation was not just quick but straight-on. It gave her the perfect view of Jade's harness as it loomed two tiles ahead, then stood a good five tiles ahead, and at last steadied itself at a comfortable ten-tile lead.
Dragon pride burnt hot enough in Smolder's gut to keep her arms pumping away at the wheels. Jade's contraption grew closer. As they neared Gallus, Smolder could make out the well-polished chrome of the harness, and could almost see her sinking expression reflected back at her as Jade passed Gallus' again-outstretched wing with at least a doorway's distance to spare. Smolder let out an exasperated grunt as she passed Gallus' wing, sending a small spark of flame off her tongue as she clasped her claws tight on the wheels.
This was the difficult part: stopping without making an idiot of herself. She'd already proven herself a loser; the last thing Smolder wanted to do was flip herself out of her chair and permanently cripple her pride. Things were already embarrassing enough.
She made eye contact with Jade as she slowed her chair, the wheels jumping as she tightened and loosened her claws in sequence. The mare shot her a smile, barely breathing above a normal pace as she stood straight and tall, stretching out her forelegs one at a time. Smolder leaned forward in her chair, arms crossed on her lap. Her spine might have been screaming out; she couldn't tell under her thundering gasps for air. The ache in her shoulders and forearms seemed to be providing a welcome distraction from the typical back pains.
On the flip side, Jade’s chest rose and fell as if she'd just taken a gentle stroll through a dog park. Her stupid dark green mane remained perfectly brushed without even a hint of matting nor a bead of sweat on her muzzle. Jade reached into a pocket that Smolder hadn't noticed until now was built into the side of the harness and pulled out a hoof towel, tossing it to Smolder. Thank Scales, she was able to catch it. If she'd dropped it, that'd be the end for her no doubt.
"Thanks," Smolder said, wiping her damp forehead.
"No prob," Jade commented, turning in her harness to face Gallus. "Not a bad job, G man."
"Um... thanks?" Gallus replied, head tilting. "Heh. G man. I like that one."
Smolder smiled. "I kinda like that one too." She shot Jade a glare. "Jeez, girl, you just kicked my ass in a race and now you're beating it down in the nickname department too?!" A small gasp echoed from in front of Smolder's chair. The dragon winced. "Pardon the language, Starry." Scales, she had forgotten Starry was even there. The filly stared at her with wide eyes. Smolder didn't note any looks of betrayal in those dinner plate pupils, so she supposed the race had--hopefully--been awesome enough to make the filly forget that Smolder had just kinda, sorta, completely broken a promise.
"Wow..." Starry said, turning to Jade. "You're really fast!"
Jade shrugged. "Eh, I'd be lying if I said these babies didn't give me an advantage." She nodded to her forelegs, then turned to Smolder. "You got skills, Smolder." She looked up at Gallus. "But you really gotta work on your starts, G-man." She winked. "Don't think I didn't notice you give your dragon the green—or, well, blue—flag before me."
Gallus snorted. "Okay, okay. That was a rookie mistake. Won't happen again."
Smolder leaned back in her chair, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, well..." It had been how long since she’d last lost a race? She poked and prodded at the back of her mind, to days of working legs and sunny days. Senior year had stolen a solid chunk of their 'free time' in Coach Dash's gym class or weekend trips out to the plains outside of Ponyville. She knew she'd kicked the tails of those juniors in a self-imposed foot race the practice before she... well, yeah. Man, she'd been good then. Running laps around anyone who so much as looked at her funny. Now? She could barely catch her breath after what? Thirty yards?
"You good, Smol?" Jade asked, strolling over, her gaze soft and bright. "How's your back feeling?"
Smolder shrugged. "Eh. pretty sure I didn't screw it up. Shoulders are killing me."
Jade laughed. "Well, that’s a good thing. Means they’re gonna get stronger. Practice makes perfect."
"Oh please," Smolder said. "You've been in that thing about as long as me. Maybe less. And already you're kicking my tail."
"You’d be surprised. How long have you been in that?" Jade asked. "Two weeks?"
Smolder snorted. "Feels like you need to add a dozen to that. But yeah, something like that: two or three weeks?" She glanced at Gallus, searching for confirmation but receiving only a shrug in return. Thanks, Birdbrain. "In this boring place, it might as well be forever."
Jade laughed, her eyes crinkling up. "Hear you there, Sister." She lifted a foreleg and gave Smolder a light punch in the arm, causing the dragon to wince. Scales, she was stronger than her too. That was just great. Jade tapped her again, waiting for the dragon to look up to her before continuing, "And don't beat yourself up. I've got about... sixteen times your experience, give or take. Math wasn't my major." She laughed again, nodding back to her harness. "Four months I've been in this thing, off and on. Mostly on, unless I’m lucky."
"Sixteen times would be more like eight months," Gallus added. Jade glanced over at him, smiling and nodding, then back to Smolder.
"And he's smart too." She grinned, looking between Gallus and Smolder, then nodded towards the window. "But yeah. Jeez. It has been that long.”
Smolder followed her gaze. The stallion from earlier still stood next to the bench, his reed now down to a nub. Though he held a book open in one forehoof, she could see, even at a distance, that the stallion's eyes peered over the cover, directly at Smolder. Even through the pane and bushes, she could see his pupils shrink as he quickly shoved his muzzle back into the book.
"Looks like we got a fan," Jade chuckled.
Smolder gave her a sideways glance. "Maybe we should start charging for this." She narrowed her gaze. "'Cause I'm definitely demanding a rematch."
Jade chuckled. "Wow. Sore loser, much?"
"You're the one who didn't tell me you had like a million more seconds in a chair than me."
"Gotta keep your cards close." Jade patted her harness. "If I hadn't, you'd have turned me down in an instant." She smirked at Gallus who looked around awkwardly to Starry who shrugged. "Walk with me," she whispered to Smolder.
"That's kinda impossible," Smolder said, crossing her arms. "And why? So you can gloat some more?"
Jade shook her head. "Just follow me." She looked over at Gallus, who was staring at her like an awkward chicken. "The girls need to talk, Gallus," she said. "Why don't you take--Oh my goodness, how could I be so thoughtless?!" In a flash, Jade had drifted over to Starry, leaning down. "All this time, and you being so kind to me and I haven't even introduced myself properly. I'm Jade Bolt."
"Starry River," Starry mumbled, looking away, suddenly an adorably shy filly again. Then the filly's brow creased as she looked up. "Wait. Jade Bolt?" Her eyes widened. "As in the Jade Bolt?"
Jade laughed. "Wow. ‘The.’ That's quite a title. Can’t say I’ve heard it before, but I appreciate it" She unfurled a wing, shaking the filly's hoof with her pinions.
"You're a Wonderbolt!" Starry whispered, looking between Jade and Smolder. " You raced a Wonderbolt, Smolder! That's... That's so cool!"
"Now, now, Miss Awesome, let's not build too big of a tower." She turned to Smolder and Gallus who looked at her with equal parts confusion and wonder. Smolder had never heard the name, and she'd been to just about every Bolts show this side of the Badlands. "I was on the Practice Squad. Reserves. Only filled in once at--"
"Baltimare! I remember!" Starry said. "You were so cool!"
Jade laughed. "Well, thank you. If only Spits felt the same way. Still, I'm glad to know someone else remembers me." The mare's voice shook and she cleared her throat. "That deserves a hug." She opened her wings, wrapping Starry up. Smolder noticed a streak of darker green running down Jade's cheeks as she closed her eyes, letting out a breath. "Thank you," she whispered. She held on for a moment before leaning back, lifting a hoof to dab at the corners of her eyes. "Gallus. Be a gentleman and take Starry here to the gift shop. Any fan of mine is entitled to the biggest chocolate bar she can find." She tossed a few bits to the griffon.
He nodded while Starry bounced in her little chair. "Thankyouthankyou. I haven't had chocolate in forever."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Smolder asked. "She's kinda hyper as is."
Jade chuckled. "It'll keep them occupied. Now, come on."
Smolder blinked, her brow raising. "Wait. Where are we going?"
"To have a chat." Jade turned around and walked back down the hallway, Smolder following after her.
"Hurry along," Jade said as they rounded the corner, giving Smolder just enough time to get one last look at Gallus and Starry before they made their own turn to the gift shop. Smolder raised her claw to wave at Gallus. Before she could see him wave back, Jade spoke up again. "You were right, by the way."
"About what?" Smolder asked.
"I'm far too old for him."
Smolder's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Then why did you think about betting..."
"Because I wanted to see how much you cared about him. Definitely gave you some extra speed. What can I say: I'm a bit of a romantic at times."
Smolder blinked. "Are you trying to set me up?"
"I don't think I even need to," Jade said as she turned into her room. "You two will be together eventually with or without my help."
Smolder opened her mouth to argue, but whatever she was about to say drifted out of her mouth as she rolled into Jade's room.
The room was larger than the one she'd spent the last few days in. It was also significantly more decorated and almost furnished. There were pictures all over the walls, from portraits of what seemed to be friends and family members, to magazine covers, to posters of races and other events. A couch sat near the window rather than a single thin chair, a blanket, and a pillow messily laid out on it. On the counter, rather than a thousand cards and flowers, Smolder noticed a toaster and a coffee maker. She looked at the mare and blinked.
"Wish I could get this stuff in my room."
"No, you really don't," Jade said, stopping near her bed and unhooking the straps on her harness with her wingtips. She frowned. "Can you get that back one there, Smolder? If you can reach."
"Yeah, sure." Smolder rolled up and reached for a strap near the mare's flanks. Claws made the action quick and easy. Probably too quick and easy as, the moment Smolder unclipped the strap, Jade's hind leg shot and twisted outwards, sending Smolder rolling back a few inches.
"Sorry about that," Jade said. "Kinda hard to control those things." Jade pressed her forelegs against the mattress and pushed herself up. "Um... could you give me a little boost? I don't want to bother Dr. Herd about this. Believe it or not, Smolder, doctors tend to chew out full-grown adults as well."
Smolder nodded, moving behind her. She got a grip on the mare's back half. She'd expected the hind legs and lower half of Jade to be completely limp. That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, the mare's hind legs were completely rigid, and so stiff that Smolder could barely get a grip on them. Rather than lying dead, the muscles in Jade's thighs twitched and spasmed with each movement as at last Jade was able to pull herself up into bed and roll over, pulling the covers up over herself.
"It's rude to stare," Jade said. "Kidding, dear," she quickly added.
"Sorry. I'm just so used to..."
"Paralysis. Dead legs. Pure lifelessness from the waist down. Probably assumed that's what was up with me, hm?"
Smolder nodded, noting the covers twitching.
Jade chuckled. "Well, they're not dead, I'll tell you that. Far from that. If anything they're too alive. All the nerves and muscles and whatnot are firing off faster than I can keep up with, just a constant locking of my muscles." She shook her head. "Moves a little further every day. Usually, it starts near the chest, being a unicorn disease and all that. Something about magical centers or some crap. But for me… I guess I was lucky for my muscles to start rebelling in my lower body first." She snorted, raising her wings and making air quotes. "Lucky." She closed her eyes, sighing. “They say it’ll give me a little more time that way, so that’s something.”
Smolder frowned, glancing down at her legs. The room grew quiet, only the gentle hum of a mini fridge Smolder hadn't noticed sitting next to the couch. "So... I gotta say I'm still lost."
"That's fine. I won't bore you with the details. They're long and boring and knowing them won't change a thing." Jade shook her head. "All you need to know is that my body hates me and is going to inevitably take and take and take until I'm just a pair of blinking eyes. And even those will stop eventually." She paused, her eyes widening. "Oh. That was rather grim." She shook her head. "Sorry."
"Don't be," Smolder said, glancing out the window. "So this room, is it like... one of those places they send ponies who… well, aren’t going to…"
“Live long? You can just say it, Smolder. I can handle it.” Jade shook her head. "But, a hospice? No. I'm not there yet, thank Celestia. But this is long-term care. Basically a nicer way of saying ‘nursing home’ I guess. Not many ponies in this building, and they’re all around my age so at least they’re nice enough to not throw the ‘nursing home’ title.”
Jade leaned back against the pillows. I've been in this room for... it was back in July. The months bleed together in here and I freakin’ hate calendars. They're like counting down to the end." The mare crossed her forelegs. "But I didn't bring you down here to discuss my problems and write crappy poetry or something. Not really. No, I wanted to talk about the terms. The terms of our bet. So about that Gallus…"
"Hold it!" Smolder crossed her arms. "You just said you were too old for Gallus. So no date. Or... whatever. That's it. Not even considering it."
"Are you really trying to boss me around on a bet that I made and won fair and square?”
"Yeah! No. I mean… Ugh, you can’t date Gallus!"
"That’s not for you to say. What if you had won and you wanted mushrooms on your pizza but I refused because we only agreed on cheese?"
"That doesn't even make any sense!"
Jade chortled and rotated her neck to a series of pops. "No, it really doesn't make sense. I’m just messing with you, girl. Fear not, your precious bird boy is safe from me. In fact, since you just gave me the best minute I’ve had in months, I’ll actually let you choose." She pointed her hoof at Smolder. "A choice of which price you’d prefer to pay for losing to me. Option one: You go on a date with Gallus."
"Wait... what?" Smolder blinked and blushed.
"Or Option two: you have to race me whenever I ask between now and whenever you get out of here or I kick the bucket. Whichever comes first."
Smolder frowned. "That got dark quick."
"I figured you'd prefer me to be blunt. I've known some dragons through the years." Smolder couldn't argue with her there. "Honestly, it doesn't matter which option you choose. Both will happen eventually."
"Wait... what do you mean by that?"
Jade blinked. "It’s obvious, Smolder. You're gonna ask him out eventually. Or he's gonna ask you out. I’ve known you guys for, like, a minute and I can already tell that. And I also can tell that you're never going to turn down any race. You have already demanded a rematch, after all. Then, if I won that: best three out of five, then best four out of seven, and so on and so forth."
She had her there. Smolder snorted out a thin plume of smoke. "Yeah, well..." She smiled. "I mean, that race was pretty fun."
"Agreed." Jade nodded. "Though I'd suggest stretching out your arms a little more before our next sprint. You ran out of energy way too quick there, girlfriend."
Smolder glanced at the door. "Is that hall usually so deserted? Or did you pull a few strings?"
Jade shrugged. "Unless there's an emergency that overflows the hospital, I don't see that being anything but empty. Most ponies just use it as a quick way to get back to where their ride’s picking them up. Sometimes the doctors roll a gurney down it to get to radiology or move us between these rooms and the hospital rooms when we have an emergency, but that’s like three times a week, tops. The whole point of this hallway, this whole section of the hospital really, is for things to be… quiet. It'd be a good place to meet back up for another go."
"Right. And you swear this isn't a..."
"A trick? A ruse?" Jade snorted. "The last thing you need to worry about me doing is snitching, okay?" She yawned and rolled her head to the side. "That race took a lot out of me," she mumbled. "I'm beat."
"Well, then you'd better rest up so you can keep your eyes open while you eat my dust tomorrow," Smolder chuckled. Jade returned it. "I'm messing. That was fun. I needed it. Thanks."
"You have a great smile, Smolder," Jade said. " I can't say I've smiled that hard in a while myself. I hope you swing by again tomorrow. Oh, and don't forget to bring those friends of yours along again next time. They seem like they'd be good company. Especially Gallus. Wouldn't you agree?"
Smolder blinked, then blushed. "Oh, come on!" She threw her hands in the air, grumbling as she rolled to the door while Jade chuckled away behind her. “Every damn pony I meet,” she muttered as she made her way back down the hall.
She caught sight of the stallion by the smoker’s bench. He’d placed the book face down on the wood. This time he waved back.