falling//in reverse

by The Red Parade

deux//six

“Soarin?”

Soarin shot awake in his seat, startling the mare in front of him. “Wuh?”

Spitfire quickly recovered, offering him a styrofoam cup filled with brown liquid. “I, uh, got you some coffee.”

He glanced at the cup for a few seconds before processing her words. “Oh. Oh. For me. Thanks.” Soarin accepted it, but didn’t raise it to his mouth. He wasn’t thirsty.

Spitfire shifted on her hooves awkwardly as an indistinct voice rattled off an announcement over the public address system. “So… I’m guessing there's still no news?”

“No. They said they’d tell me. They said… they said they’d tell me.” His voice was hollow and his eyes were empty, staring at a set of double doors leading to some room unknown.

The white walls of the hospital were brutally foreboding. They invaded his peripherals and stood menacingly around him, leaving him a virtual island surrounded by seas of dread, or a fake ocean in a scorching desert.

Spitfire said something, but he didn’t hear it. He didn’t care to ask her to repeat.

The doors swung open and Nurse Redheart walked out. She pulled her medical mask off her face and eyed the waiting room wearily. She locked her eyes on him and made her way over.

He felt Spitfire take his hoof and squeeze it tightly. He felt himself squeeze in a quick breath and hold it. His mind formed a picture of an upside down silhouette, against a split orange and purple background. A stupid painting on a farmhouse wall.

Redheart’s eyes were filled with compassion, and the bags under her eyes felt more pronounced. She whispered something to Spitfire before turning to Soarin. Redheart took a deep breath and Soarin held his.

Then, she said two words and his entire world ended.