Broken Wings, Broken Spirits

by Darkblaze15

Chapter 2: The Aftermath

The next time I regained consciousness I was lying on my back, staring up at a set of harsh white lights. At first, I thought I was reliving the horrible experience yet again, and I bolted upright on my bed, feeling the stinging on my back. As my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, I relaxed slightly after realizing that I was only in a hospital bedroom looking up at the lights on the ceiling. My sudden movement awoke two slumbering forms to my immediate right, and I looked over to see my parents huddled together on a bench, sleeping with interlocked hooves.

“Mo-om? Da-ad?” I croaked, surprised at how hoarse my voice sounded. Upon hearing my voice, their eyes shot open and gasped when they saw that I was awake, as well.

“Oh, my poor baby!” Mom exclaimed and pulled me gently but passionately into a tight, heartfelt hug, holding on as if I would disappear if she let go at any moment.

“How are you feeling, son?” Dad asked as he ran his hoof through my unkempt mane, looking at me with eyes filled with concern.

“My back hurts,” I responded honestly, reaching around to rub the spots where I could still feel the pain.

“Does it?” Mom said, laughing nervously, as if she was trying to hide something from me. Dad puts his hoof around her back to calm her down.

“Where’re Jacob and Riley?” I asked, remembering what happened and how they were both by my side before I blacked out.

“Jacob’s home with Magnum,” Dad explained briefly, “and we sent Riley to Nana and Papa’s for the day.”

“Your brother was so brave when it happened,” Mom said, “Going to fetch your dad when he must’ve been feeling so scared. He also said that Jacob never left your side until he and your dad got back, even after you blacked out.”

“Wow, really?” I said, awestruck over Riley’s heroics and Jacob’s perseverance, “Wh-what even happened?” I finally asked the big question of the day.

“Well, Riley and Jacob told us that you flew into a storm cloud,” Dad explained, “Something about a cloud-mixing mistake and faulty procedures. I swear, when I get my hooves on whoever’s responsible for this…” he added menacingly, a sudden glare overtaking his normally soft expression.

“Now don’t go wishing harm on others,” Mom scolded lightly, “Nopony purposefully targeted our son, and we should be grateful that he’s still with us after everything he went through yesterday.”

“Wait, yesterday?” I asked, looking over to the jet-black sky through the lone window in the room, “How long have I been out?”

Mom looks down slightly, almost in shame, “Almost twenty-four hours, sweetie,” she said, “T-There was a l-lot that they had to d-do,” she stammered, nearly breaking down into tears.

“What do you mean?” I asked, “What did—” was all I could say before the door into the room opened up revealing a red unicorn stallion with silver mane and tail wearing a traditional doctor’s overcoat.

“Ah, hello there!” he greeted us, “Glad to see you’re up and moving again so soon, John! How are you feeling today?”

“Fine, I guess,” I responded politely, “Back’s a little sore, but I’m sure it’ll wear off.”

“Ah yes, well,” the doctor suddenly stammered, “I-I’m sure it will. How long has he been awake, Mom?” he then addressed my mom.

“Only a few minutes,” she responded, inklings of tears still in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment.

“Good, good. Well, allow me to introduce myself,” he said, “My name’s Doctor Sparrow Flight, and I’ll be your doctor during your stay here at Ponyville General Hospital.”

“Ponyville?” I pondered curiously. Cloudsdale did have their own hospital facility, albeit smaller than most in Equestria, and the doctors and nurses knew us well throughout our many years of visits, especially after Riley accidentally broke both his forelegs on a dare. It sounded ridiculous to me that the hospital chariot “Why Ponyville instead of Cloudsdale?”

“Ah, well, you see,” Doctor Flight stammered, “According to the delivery ponies, there were not enough resources at Cloudsdale Memorial to patch you back up. I’ve been told that the damage—” he paused, searching for the right words, “—was quite extensive.”

“What damage?” I asked inquisitively, stretching my wings to try and relieve some of the soreness; only, when I flexed them, I felt nothing. Perplexed, I peered around to look behind me, only to do a complete double take at the sight I saw; I threw the bed sheets immediately off me, vaulted over the edge, and rushed over to the narrow floor-to-ceiling mirror in my room. Sure enough, my eyes weren’t deceiving me, my wings were truly and completely gone, with two little stubs, covered in thick gauze, sticking up off my back as the only indication that I had wings at all. I stood rooted in my place, unable to speak or move, just trying to process my current state.

Out of the corner of my eye, within the mirror, I saw Mom completely break down in sympathy for my situation, with Dad hanging his head low and holding her tight against him. Doctor Sparrow stood off to the side, nervously adjusted his glasses, as the scene unfolded in front of him. “I’m sorry it had to be this way, John,” he said sadly, “but we did everything we could possibly do here. The thing is, since you’ve already entered adolescence, fusing the bones together would not have been as successful than if this happened in early foalhood…” he continued to spout some scientific explanation, but most of it fell on deaf ears as the realization that I would never fly again crashed down around me.

* * * *

A series of knocks echoed on the other side of the door to my room; “Come in,” I called out as I sat in my room alone. After the initial shock of the news I received wore off the other day, Mom and Dad left to stay with Riley up at our grandparents’ house, promising to return the next day with everypony else in tow. The pony currently waiting outside my door, however, turned out to be somepony I’d been aching to see ever since the accident.

“Hey John,” Jacob Braveheart stepped anxiously over the threshold.

“Hey Jake,” I greeted brightly, beckoning him inside, “How’s it going?”

“Well, I’ve been better, I guess,” he said honestly looking down at the ground, “What about you? I can’t believe they did that to you,” he adds, gesturing to my wing stubs.

“Yeah, I guess it hasn’t really caught up with me yet, either,” I admit, even though I told my parents the other day that I would be fine while they were gone. As soon as they left, however, I had slowly made my way back over to the mirror and just stared at the emptiness left behind by my missing wings. Nopony else knew this, but I had cried myself to sleep last night, thinking about how I’d never feel the rush of the wind against my feathers, or the liberating sensation I would get every time I took to the skies.

“I’ll bet,” he commented, still staring at the ground.

“Well, on the bright side,” I said, trying to lift both of our spirits, “The soreness in my back is gone, and Doctor Flight says that we can take the bandages off sometime to..day…” I trailed off as I heard some faint sniffling coming from the only other pony in the room, “Uh, Jake, you okay?” I asked my best friend.

Without warning, Jacob broke down right in the middle of the room, “It’s all my fault, man! It was my stupid idea to race to the weather factory; I didn’t warn you about the storm cloud in time; it’s all my fault!”

“Wha-huh? Hey, don’t think like that, dude!” I rushed to his side and patted his shoulder as he fell back on his haunches, wiping tears from his eyes, “This was all just a freak accident, nopony here’s at fault. If anything, it’s my own dumb fault for not paying attention to where I was going.” Jacob’s sobs lessened a bit, but they still wracked his sturdy frame, “Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I don’t blame you for what happened any more than I blame my own brother. That’s not at all, in case you were wondering,” I whisper in his ear. That seemed to lighten his mood as he stood back up and gave me a quick hoof bump and hug combo.

Not long after Jacob’s emotional outburst, Riley, my parents, and my grandparents entered the room bearing small gifts and warm welcomes. Nana and Papa were pleased to see that I made it through the wing removal surgery relatively in-tact and were especially happy to offer me some of my favorite books to read while I stayed in the hospital. Mom and Dad were happy to see that Jacob had come to visit and, upon learning of his self-proclaimed guilt, gave him heartfelt hugs to reassure him of his innocence. Although I put on a happy expression for the remainder of their visit, deep down I couldn’t help but wonder about my seemingly-bleak future as a pegasi without wings.