Chapter 8: Stormwing.
Magical machines bleeped and whirred as Blueblood and Stormwing's parents walked through the hospital. Doctors and nurses darted from room to room, trying to take care of everypony around.
Blueblood swallowed.
The guard hadn't given Leather Loafer anymore information than the fact that Stormwing was in the hospital and what hospital it was.
I shudder to think what might have-
Blueblood's trail of thought was interrupted by Leather Loafer's voice.
"Here's his room. One twenty-two."
Studious knocked softly.
"Come in," came an unfamiliar voice.
The door opened to reveal Stormwing, lying on a hospital bed, and a unicorn guard.
"Leather Loafer, Studious?" he asked, "I am Commander Knight Sky, your son's commanding officer."
"Mom... Dad?" Stormwing said, as he woke up from his medically induced sleep.
"We're right here son," said Studious, holding her son's hoof.
Blueblood surveyed the damage to his friend.
Nothing but bruises mostly. There was a cast on his left hind leg.
Then Blueblood saw it.
Celestia, no.
Stormwing's right wing was bandaged, broken and bent.
"What happened?" asked Leather Loafer, drawing Blueblood out of his horror.
"Well," said Commander Knight Sky, "We were on a raid into griffon territory and those barbarians had us surrounded. Their leader was just about to strangle me to death," he indicated to the claw marks around his neck, "When your son dropped down from the sky to save me. As he was detaching the griffon's claws from around my neck though, that blighter threw him into a stone cliff. It bruised him up a bit, broke a leg and a rib, but it also mutilated his wing. I'm not sure if he'll ever fly again."
"Oh my poor baby," said Studious, beginning to cry.
"It's, it's only a flesh wound," said Stormwing, trying to comfort his mother.
"But I must say thank you," said Commander Knight Sky, "Without your bravery Stormwing, I might not have been here today."
"Glad to have been of help sir," said Stormwing, saluting his commander.
Knight Sky left the room to leave the family by itself.
Stormwing hugged his mom and dad. It was then that he noticed Blueblood.
"Blueblood! How did you get here?"
"I was, uh, coming for a visit," said Blueblood, trying not to look at his friend's bandaged wing.
"Hm," Stormwing said, "Well I guess you got back at just the right time."
"Or the wrong time."
"You're such a pessimist."
"There's not really an optimistic way to look at your best friend getting injured."
"I get some time at home. My next leave wasn't for six months."
Blueblood couldn't help but smile at that.
"What you'll do for a vacation Stormwing..." he teased.
The two broke into laughter.
"When do you think they'll let'cha outta here Stormy?" asked Leather Loafer.
"They've already bandaged me up more than an accident-prone foal," joked Stormwing, "They want to keep me tonight for observations. Observations, what do the want to observe me doing? Choking on my dinner?"
"The food's that bad?" asked Blueblood.
"It's a hospital; cooking's not really included in their job description. Well anyway, they said I could come home tomorrow and begin my six week recuperation period."
Blueblood tried to hold back his enthusiasm.
On one hoof, he felt horrible that Stormwing might never fly again, but on the other, HE WAS GOING TO GET TO HANG OUT WITH HIM FOR SIX WEEKS!
"Well we'll let you get some sleep then," said Studious, dragging her husband and Blueblood from the room.
"See ya tomorrow," said Stormwing.
Blueblood, Aneighdeus and Lily Blossom pulled up to the hospital in a cart pulled by Studious and Leather Loafer. Aneighdeus and Lily had skipped school to see their brother.
"I've nevew pwayed Kooky befowe," said Lily, smiling.
"It's hooky," said Aneighdeus, "And this is a new experience for me as well."
The hospital door swung open to reveal Stormwing, in a wheel chair, being pushed by a nurse. The doctor was giving him some last minute instructions.
"Now no strenuous activities for a while,"
"What?!" asked Stormwing in an obviously mocking tone, "No tennis?"
The doctor rolled his eyes.
"You know I'm glad you're going home."
"Me too," said Stormwing, maintaining the sarcasm, "There's my family, friends, good food."
"Well make sure you stay up on your medications and rest. Oh, it looks like your folks are here."
"STOWMWING!!!" screamed Lily, bolting from the cart, making a beeline for her big brother.
"LILY!" screamed her mother, halting the filly mid-dash, "Remember what I told you. Stormwing's hurt. Don't squeeze the daylights out of him."
"Sowwy," said Lily, gently hugging Stormwing and getting back into the cart.
Blueblood helped Leather Loafer put the ramp down in the back of the cart and load Stormwing in.
"I'm exuberant that you are okay Stormwing," said Aneighdeus in a bored drone.
"Not too excited, is he?" Blueblood whispered.
"On the contrary," Stormwing answered, "I haven't seen him this excited since the Neigh York Fillyharmonic announced a reunion tour."
"I mithed you," said Lily Blossom, "Stowmwing, Why ith youw wing wapped up?"
"I hurt it Lily Blossom," Stormwing said to his innocent sister.
"Do you want me to kith it all bettew?"
"I'm good."
"How's the house?" Stormwing asked Blueblood, "Still there?"
"Unless somepony moved it while we were gone!" Leather announced.
Stormwing smiled.
"Hopefully not dad. Once was enough."
Stormwing turned back to his friend.
"So what really brings you all the way to Manehattan?"
"Oh," Blueblood said, "You know how boring Canterlot gets."
"Yeah, with all the high society parties and pretty mares."
The friends laughed.
"I just needed to see you guys."
"Coolness. Well, you saw us."
The cart out of the traffic into a parking space next to Stormwing's family's house.
"Everypony out!"
"Wheee," said Lily, jumping off the side, "Stowmwing, I want to sow you my garden!"
"Sure thing," Stormwing said, clambering out of the wheelchair.
"Should you really be walking around?" asked his anxious mother.
"Yeah, it's fine mom. They just put you in a wheelchair to make you feel like you need to be more careful."
Stormwing winced as he put weight on his broken hoof. Flapping his good wing, he could just barely get around.
"Let's go see that garden of yours Lily," he said, half-hopping, half-hovering inside.
"Dis way," she said, completely oblivious to her brother's pain.
"Stormwing-" began his mother.
"It's fine mom, I'll just go see her garden and then I'll get back in the wheelchair."
Stormwing allowed his little sister to drag him up the stairs to see her rooftop garden.
"He hates to disappoint her," said Studious to Blueblood, with a look of sadness on her face, "And I swear it'll be the death of him."
Blueblood and Stormwing sat before the fireplace, one reading and the other whistling absentmindedly.
Blueblood looked up from his book.
"Is my whistling bothering you?" asked Stormwing.
"Nah, I was just looking at the clock. What time did they say they'd be back with dinner?"
"Seven. But I know what ya mean. I'm starving."
Blueblood returned to his book.
"Hey," said Stormwing, "Ya know what we should do while you're here?"
"What?"
"An intense all-Manehattan tour!"
Blueblood looked at him in shock for a moment before he realized Stormwing was joking.
"Very funny."
"I am aren't I?"
Stormwing's expression became more serious.
"Well, what's eating at ya this time?"
Blueblood looked at him slightly bewildered.
"Does something have to be wrong for me to come see my best and only friend?" he asked.
"Yes."
"That's stereotyping."
The two friends laughed.
"But something usually is," Stormwing said, "So what is it this time?"
Blueblood looked at his hooves.
"You have more important things to worry about Stormwing. I mean, what if you never fly again?"
"I can walk," Stormwing said, sensing Blueblood's hesitance to talk about himself, "Flying isn't the only thing that defines me Blueblood. There's also my rakish good looks."
Stormwing flipped his mane.
"And your overactive imagination," retorted Blueblood.
"But anyway, it's like me defining you as a 'unicorn', and nothing else. But I know there's a lot more to you than that."
"Thanks."
"Anytime," said Stormwing, he leaned back and put his front hooves together, "Now that we've got that out of the way, what's eating you?"
"Well, if your sure."
"You got a captive audience Blueblood," Stormwing said, indicating his broken appendages, "Go ahead."
"Well,"
Blueblood recounted all the incidents of the past couple of weeks.
"The Canterlot ponies treat everypony else like scum and I don't know what to do."
Stormwing smiled.
"Maybe I should be charging you for psychiatric help. Look Blueblood, if something feels wrong, chances are it's wrong."
"But I need to be respected in Canterlot society."
"You're a prince right?"
Blueblood nodded.
"Then why don't you use your power to instigate change. You know, when I first joined the Royal Guard all the soldiers were lax. Being that Equestria hasn't really been at war in a while, well, everypony was extremely comfortable, we didn't need to fight and be brave. Me and a couple of buddies decided we were gonna change all that and thank Celestia we did! We started acting better and slowly our whole battalion had changed. Following that were other battalions. Blueblood, when you live life correctly, everypony wants to be like you. If my buddies and I hadn't decided to be weird, I know we wouldn't have been prepared for the wars in griffon territory and we'd have had our flanks kicked when Somb-"
Stormwing cut himself off when he remembered who his friend was.
"Sorry."
"It's fine," said Blueblood, "And you're right Stormwing. I need to be a role model."
"Well," said Stormwing, "Now that that's cleared up, I guess you can leave."
"No," said Blueblood, "Our friendship is more than you counseling me. I want to stay here and help take care of you. Which reminds me, you should get some rest."
"Thanks Nurse Blueblood," Stormwing teased as a door opened, "But it sounds like dinner's here."
"WE'RE HOME!" yelled Studious, as she, Aneighdeus and Lily walked in with bags of groceries, "I hope you boys weren't too bored."
"Not at all mom," said Stormwing, "Not at all."