//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven; Nawwwwwww // Story: True Flight // by Dasponi //------------------------------// Twilight appeared in the hospital foyer with a pop and then immediately fell to the floor, next to the still unconscious Rainbow Dash. Nurse Redheart heard the commotion and was with the plethora of ponies that had suddenly appeared in an instant. She was trained enough to go for Rainbow Dash and call for further assistance with Twilight. More medical ponies appeared with stretchers and took Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo straight to an emergency room. It wasn't everyday that an injured pony just popped into the place and given who the patients were, none of the other waiting ponies were about to lobby a complaint. The way Twilight had appeared and then suddenly collapsed unnerved a lot of them. Chief amongst which was Star Shine and Rarity. “Will she be okay? What's the matter with her?” Rarity asked in a panic. She and Star Shine had followed the medics into the emergency room and watched as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo were examined. It didn't take very long to work out what was wrong with Twilight. “Poor dear's just exhausted, that's all. She'll be fine after some rest. Don't worry about her.” Nurse Redheart explained. Twilight had huge magical reserves but those teleportations had really taken it out of her. “Why don't you go take her down to ward 3 and wait with her until she wakes up?” she asked Rarity with a reassuring smile. Rarity nodded dumbly and followed Twilight's bed as it was pushed out of the emergency room. “Come see me later and tell me what happens!” Rarity called back to Star Shine, who was stood besides Rainbow Dash. Star Shine nodded at Rarity as she got shushed by the doctors pushing Twilight's bed. It was a hospital after all, and Twilight was trying to sleep. “It's Star Shine isn't it?” Nurse Readheart asked Star Shine. “Err...yeah. How'd you know my name?” Star Shine asked sheepishly. One thing in life he'd never wanted to be was famous. “Oh please, I think the whole town knows your name after that stunt a few weeks ago.” Nurse Redheart replied, smiling at the memory of Star Shine giving a speech to the whole town about Scootaloo and then taking them all to see her. Nurse Redheart sighed as she examined Scootaloo. It wasn't hard to tell what the injury was. “What...what happened to her? Who'd do something like this?” she asked Star Shine. “It was...her real dad.” Star Shine began. Nurse Redheart gasped. “Rainbow Dash got hit first. She fell through the clouds. Scootaloo jumped down after her without a second thought. Such a brave little girl. If the brace came off she probably knew she couldn't fly but she did it anyway. Scootaloo gave her wings to save the one thing she wanted more than them.” Star Shine explained. “What's that?” Nurse Redheart asked. She was also slightly confused about his comment about Scootaloo not being able to fly. Pretty much all of Ponyville had seen her fly. “Her loving mother of course.” Star Shine replied, giving Rainbow Dash's cheek a little nuzzle. Nurse Redheart could tell that he'd started crying. It almost sounded like he was mourning the dead. “Please...please save Scootaloo's wings. I don't even know for sure if they can be fixed but please, do your best.” Star Shine begged Nurse Redheart. He was crying harder now. Rarity and Twilight were gone and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were unconscious. There was no one around to witness him showing his worries and fears and so he felt no need to keep them bottled up. He had talked big in front of Grey Feather and he'd reassure everyone to the moon and back. It didn't mean he actually knew for sure if Scootaloo could be healed. He couldn't do anything for her if her wings weren't healed. Nurse Redheart went to put a foreleg around Star Shine to comfort him but he winced and recoiled when she touched him. “You're hurt aren't you? Stand still and let me get a look at you.” Nurse Redheart commanded. A pony wasn't about to get away with being injured on her watch. She lifted up Star Shine's wing a little and saw a large bruise on his side where he'd been hit. He quickly retracted his wings and let out another gasp of pain as they hit his sides. “It doesn't matter. Just make sure Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash are okay. I'll be fine. What I went through is nothing compared to what they went through.” Star Shine replied. He stared down at the ground to steel himself and stopped crying, lest his tears be mistaken for a sign of physical pain rather than emotional grief. “They must really mean a lot to you.” Nurse Redheart said as Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were carted out of the room. They were on their way to the operating rooms now that their injuries had been ascertained. “The world.” Star Shine said quietly. The memory of Rainbow Dash kissing him was still burned in his memory. “Just wish I'd said something sooner.” He'd practically told the whole of Ponyville how he felt except for the one pony who really needed to hear. She was now fighting for her life and might never hear what he had to say. The thought was almost too much. Add to that the little filly whose dreams had been shattered along with her wings and it was actually too much. Star Shine collapsed to the ground. He was completely mentally drained. Nurse Redheart hurried next to him and talked to him but he didn't hear her or what she said. The world had gone just a little bit fuzzy. He barely felt her moving him around and trying to examine him to see what was wrong. She wouldn't find anything wrong. Nothing serious at least; maybe a bruise or two. Nothing to cause a collapse. He had just become completely unresponsive. He was barely aware that somepony was talking to him, asking him to do something. It sounded like they wanted him to lift his wing. He wasn't even aware it was still closed so tight against his body. Star Shine relaxed his wing and felt it being lifted up. A few seconds later it fell down and the process was repeated on the other side. This time after his wing was put down he was left alone for a few minutes. He heard ponies come back into the room and felt himself being lifted into the air. Part of him realised that he was being moved, most likely by a Pegasi. He'd essentially become dead weight and it would be tough to move him without aid. He was deposited on a bed and moved through the hospital into a room of his own. He wasn't too injured but they could hardly leave him lying around in the way. His ears barely caught somepony saying that he was in a state of shock. That sounded about right to him. “Is there a way to snap him out of it?” Twilight asked Nurse Redheart. Star Shine had been out long enough for her to have recovered. It had been a few hours now. She was leaning against Star Shine's bed and looking at him. His eyes looked incredibly vacant. He was alive, his chest was moving and he occasionally blinked, but for all intents and purposes there was no one home inside his mind. “'Fraid not. The best thing to do is to just wait it out, let his mind process everything.” Nurse Redheart explained. “Shouldn't be too much longer.” Rarity was leaning over the other side of Star Shine's bed and looked just as worried as Twilight about his behaviour. “There must be something we can do...” Rarity said quietly. She'd never seen Star Shine look so depressed. No matter how sad he got it, or what happened to him, he'd laugh it off and get others laughing too. He'd never admit it, but he was very much like Pinkie Pie in that regard. “Wait, how are Rainbow and Scootaloo doing?” Twilight asked, as an idea sparked in her mind. Nurse Redheart picked up on where Twilight was going with this. “You know, I think he might like to visit them.” Nurse Redheart replied. Rarity blinked in surprise. She was sure that, just for an instant, Star Shine had smiled a little. Twilight used her magic to move Star Shine's bed to the recovery ward. Nurse Redheart insisted that Twilight not use her magic and Twilight insisted that she was fine now and would use magic as much as she wanted, or until she collapsed again. It was a case of whatever happened first would be what happened. They found Rainbow and Scootaloo and dragged Star Shine's unresponsive flank over to them. “Hey, Star Shine, look. It's your marefriend and Scootaloo.” Twilight teased, lifting Star Shine upward so that he could see them. Rainbow Dash had some bandages on her, as well as some that were covered by sheets and bedclothes. Scootaloo was a little bandaged up and her wings were in a cast. She was laid on her side to prevent her from applying unnecessary pressure to them. Star Shine recognised what Twilight said and was brought back to reality enough to process what he was seeing. Seeing Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo helped bring him back to reality fully. “Are...are they okay?” Star Shine asked, slowly and quietly. They looked fine. That didn't make them fine. Nurse Redheart nodded at him and smiled. “Both operations were complete successes. They'll both need time to recover but Scootaloo's wings are going to be fine, as is the rest of her, and all of Rainbow Dash.” Nurse Redheart said. Star Shine practically leapt out of bed. Rarity and Twilight giggled; partly at his behaviour and mostly at the good news about their friends. Star Shine hurried over to Rainbow Dash and started nuzzling her cheeks. “You're going to be okay. I'm so glad you're going to be okay. I love you, so damn much.” Star Shine said quietly, suppressing his joy to not make too much noise and disturb them. He was crying again too. This time out of happiness. Unfortunately for him, Rainbow Dash didn't really need him to be loud to be stirred from her slumber. The wetness on her cheek saw to that. She stirred and only caught him saying “love you, so damn much.” “Who loves what now?” Rainbow Dash asked quietly, smirking at Star Shine. He gasped and pulled away from her. Rainbow Dash slowly and carefully pulled herself up and adjusted herself in the bed. Star Shine was too stunned to speak. In a good way of course. Not so much for Twilight and Rarity. “Oh you didn't hear? Why he loves you of course!” Rarity exclaimed, rushing over and giving her friend a careful hug that would, hopefully, not cause further injury. “So damn much.” Twilight teased in a faux Trottingham accent. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine looked away from eachother and felt their cheeks burn. “I'm gonna need more morphine...” Rainbow Dash said, burying her face under her pillow. “I can't believe I kissed you...” she added quietly, burying her face even more. Even Star Shine's ears turned a shade of red. Rarity was close enough to hear what Rainbow Dash said. “She kissed you? Oh I knew it!” Rarity hissed, trying to contain her excitement. “What, they kissed?” exclaimed a magically appearing Pinkie Pie. If a doorway into a room counts as a magical portal. She had heard that Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Star Shine were in the hospital and came to see them. If they thought about it, they would have thought it took her far longer than expected to turn up. “Oh no. Sweet Celestia no.” Rainbow Dash whimpered. “Awww shucks, ain't that just the cutest thing ever? Rainbow Dash went and got 'erself a nice little coltfriend.” Applejack teased as she entered the ward too in an explanation of what had taken Pinkie so long. “I...I don't think it's nice to tease her about it...” Fluttershy said timidly as she too entered the room. “We ain't teasin' her none.” Applejack said defiantly. The kissy faces and noises she made after that disagreed with her. The rest of the ponies gathered (minus Nurse Redheart who was accepting she had lost all control and was on the verge of going into a state of shock of her own) also started chatting away and teasing Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. Star Shine knelt down next to Rainbow Dash; he could tell that she was getting annoyed and even a little upset about the teasing. “Hey Dashie, are you okay?” Star Shine whispered. Rainbow Dash was still covered by her pillow but Star Shine could tell she nodded. “I just wish it had been a little more private...” Rainbow Dash said with her voice muffled by mattress. Star Shine chuckled a little. “I can stop them if you want, but you won't like what I do to stop them.” Star Shine said. “If it involves hurting them I think I'm all for that.” Rainbow Dash replied. Star Shine laughed again. “Afraid not, but it will shut them up.” Star Shine said. He tore Rainbow Dash's pillow away from her and nudged her on to her side and, without waiting for any kind of permission, leaned in and gave her quite the kiss. “AWWWWWWWWWWWWW” chorused Rainbow Dash's friends. Even Nurse Redheart joined in. They were quiet after that, so Star Shine was proven right. Rainbow Dash reached her forelegs around Star Shine and pulled him into her chest. He was able to stop himself before he hit it and did any damage to her. Instead, he leaned in to it gently and smiled as he felt Rainbow Dash's chest move under him as she breathed. “I'm so gonna kill you for that.” Rainbow Dash threatened. “Later though...I need sleep.” she added, closing her eyes. “'sides...it wasn't that bad. This feels...nice...” she admitted reluctantly. She leaned back into her bed and gently fell asleep, unknowingly stroking Star Shine's mane a little as she did so. Star Shine stayed right where Rainbow Dash left him and smiled as he heard Rainbow Dash's heartbeat calm down as she fell asleep.