Hospital rooms were always the same. Green ceilings. Blue walls. White curtains. There was never anything special. Snowy didn't mind too much; to her it was like she was looking down at the world from high above. Below her, great fields of green stretched out from horizon to horizon, and when she rolled her head to the side she caught glimpses of the blue sky and the white sheets of clouds separating her from it. The setting sun’s light shone in through the window and bathed everything in a golden hue that warmed her beneath her fluffy cloud blanket.
“Hey lass, care to push the curtain aside? I like watching the sun setting and it’ll warm my chilled old bones.”
Snowy was plucked from the imaginary world she had taken refuge in and was back in the same dull room. No more endless fields below or soaring skies above to lose herself in. She painfully managed to push herself up to sit at the side of the bed, her blonde mane falling across her eyes as she reached out a hoof towards what was moments ago an enormous puffy cloud, now nothing more than a simple sheet of plain white cloth that hung from a metal railing above her.
As the curtain whisked aside Snowy saw an old Earth Pony lying in the next bed along. The weary wrinkles across his aged face echoed the many paths he had walked and storms he had weathered throughout his long life, but in his deep green eyes was a look of peace and contentment she had only ever seen once before. An image seemed to flicker in her memories: a pale blue filly was crying, watching her old grandfather’s smile fade as he drifted off to sleep for the last time. She had only been young then, but she had understood what was going on, and her grandfather had told her that to pass away feeling anything but content was a life wasted. Never regret and never be afraid, he had told all their family earlier that day. Her eyes focused again on the old buck before her now. Where her grandfather had been a pale grey colour with almost no mane left, this buck was dark brown with silvery whips of mane that clung to his head like the last survivors of a long and adventurous journey.
“Thanks, lass. There’s something special about the sunset you don’t find in other places. You shouldn’t ever take it for granted, especially at my old age.” He chuckled to himself. Why had he not said anything before now? Was he feeling ok? Snowy’s soft spot had been kindled, she wanted to know more about him, why he was in here and to make sure he was well.
“Are you alright? Do you need me to call a nurse or anything? I didn’t think there was anypony in here but me.”
The old brown buck gave her a warm smile. “Thanks, but don’t you fret about me. I’m just old is all, not exactly the kind of thing any nurse or doctor can fix just like that.” His smile remained and got wider as his gaze drifted slowly from her face to her wings. It was as if a sparkle seemed to suddenly appear in his eyes, where beforehand there had been simple peace and comfort. “So you’re a Pegasus eh? You must be the only one here, come to think of it. The nearest town seems to predominantly be full of earth ponies. What’s your name, lass?”
“I’m Snowy. And you’re right - I’m not from around here. I live in Rainbow Falls and I’m on my way to visit my parents in Cloudsdale,” she said softly, as she gently sat back on the bed and grabbed a pillow to cuddle while they spoke. “What’s your name? I take it that town you mentioned is your home?”
“Nice to meet you, Snowy. And yes, that was my home before I was brought here after falling over and injuring my leg. The name’s Berry Juice. Ain’t the most stallion-like name you ever heard, but you’d never have tasted a finer drink back when I was still brewing.” His expression seemed to change then; he looked towards the window and the sunset that lay beyond the horizon. The red and orange clouds stood tall and proud like great mountains upon fields of gold. Slowly he spoke again. “Tell me Snowy, what’s it like to fly?”
The question left her slightly off balance. She had been expecting small talk, questions such as what she did for a living; what home was like; or why she was in hospital in the first place?This, however, caused her to spend a good few moments tripping over her words in confusion, before finally finding them again. “What do you mean?”
It wasn’t something she ever really thought about or had been asked before. Most of the ponies in Rainbow Falls were Pegasi and Cloudsdale exclusively was, except for the odd Griffon or two. But they also knew what it was like to fly, so, no. In all honesty she had never been asked this before.
“Caught you off guard with that one, eh?” Berry Juice laughed and the smile on his face was so infectious that Snowy could feel herself smiling too. “Well, there are just some things no Earth Pony can do in this life. I ain’t got wings to fly with, and I don’t see no magical horn on the top of my head. I guess I’m curious, is all. Been meaning to ask somepony for some time now, but you’re the first Pegasus I’ve seen here. Figured now was as good a time as any, seeing as you weren’t sleeping.”
Snowy thought about it. When she tried to stretch out her wings a sharp pang ran throughout her body. Looking back at the bandages binding them she was reminded of why she was here: she had broken her wings in a fall.
“I guess on any other day I would have said it wasn’t anything special. It was part of my every day life. I ended up here because the rain was heavy and I thought I could make it just a bit further. But the storm stopped me seeing the trees looming ahead of me and I crashed into the canopy. When I hit the ground I landed on my wings and broke several of the bones, the doctor said. It’s…” A tear had appeared in the corner of her vision. She wiped it away with her foreleg and looked back at Berry Juice. Concern had replaced the sparkle his eyes had held before. “Now that I can’t fly, I feel like I had been taking it for granted. But, even more so, the reason it left me all shaken was because it was something I never thought I would lose.”
He gave her the same warming smile, banishing some of the sorrow that seemed to have darkened the room. “Now I think it’s my turn to ask if you’re feeling ok and need a nurse.” His eyes turned again to the window and the sunset that still brightly lit the entire sky outside. He sighed as he turned back to look at her. “Tell me then Snowy - now that it’s gone, does it feel more special?”
“Oh, yes!” Snowy could hold it in no longer and she began to cry. The tears ran down her cheeks and onto the floor. Sitting on the edge of the bed all she could do was put her head in her hooves and sob. It felt like something that could never have happened, one day she was as free as a bird and now she was stranded. Stuck in this hospital until her wings had healed and, even if they did heal, the bones would never be as strong.
“Come on now, Snowy. There’s no need to cry. Lie back down and take a moment, there’s a good lass. Now, don’t think about what you’ve lost, but what you had back then. It will all come back soon enough. You can’t hurry up the healing in the body, I’m afraid. Trust me.”
Snowy thought about it and before she could collect any of her thoughts into a coherent reply, words began tumbling out of her mouth.
“‘Wondrous’ just wouldn’t do it justice. Way up there in among the clouds all you can feel is the rush of the wind and the biting of the cold. But inside it makes you feel more alive than anything you can imagine, Berry Juice. To soar as high as you can and be as free as you dare before suddenly stopping. When your wings would stop beating, all you would hear was the gentle whistle of the wind as you came to a stop, then, a moment of silence before you turn and plunge back towards the ground. You could let yourself fall for what felt like an eternity before catching yourself and gliding away to do whatever you wanted next. Inside the clouds you could rest and snuggle up amongst the puffy cushions before doing it all again if you wished. There is nothing up there stopping you. For a few moments it makes you feel free from all your worries and problems to do as you will. You feel invincible.”
Berry Juice’s eyes were sparkling brighter than ever, the smile across his face once again had Snowy smiling too. He seemed so happy while he lay there and listened to her, then alongside the sparkling the same look of contentment she had seen when they had first spoken came back. He closed his eyes and quietly said, “Thank you Snowy. You’ve given me a piece of something I could never have felt in this life. I am glad I met you, even though the circumstances could have been better. I am glad I was able to share this moment with you, at my last sunset.”
At those words a stone seemed to sink in Snowy’s stomach as her chest tightened up. His eyes were shut. His breathing was shallow. Then it stopped, and he lay still as a statue. His smile, though, didn’t fade. Snowy sat for a moment, not sure what to do. For those few minutes they had spoken and shared something together more like friendship that simple chatter. Her previous feeling of having lost something was back, but stronger. Berry Juice was gone.
Pushing herself out of bed she moved towards the blurring door, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she tried to hold down the sadness. As she neared it the door opened and one of the nurses came in. The moment their eyes met a knowing look crossed over the nurse’s face and she held out a hoof to offer Snowy a hug. Snowy collapsed onto the comforting shoulder as the sorrow overcame her. She could tell he was old and was nearing the end, but that didn’t make it easier. Berry Juice was such a kind-hearted and sweet buck, it seemed odd that a stranger he had never met before was the one to keep him company in the last few moments.
“Its ok, sweetie,” the nurse said as she stroked back Snowy’s blonde mane and held her back as she looked straight into her eyes. “I heard the two of you talking from across the hall and I can tell you that he wouldn’t want you to be upset. You granted him his final wish, which might sound silly, but you shared an experience with him he had always hoped for. Every sunset he would tell us how he wished he could just fly away up high into the sky and watch the sunset in all its beauty as his worries vanished away from beneath him. You did that for him, sweetie, he didn’t have any family left to come and visit him. You were the last pony he had the chance to become friends with, and it was your friendship that helped him pass on in peace. Remember the lessons he has taught you. Enjoy the things you might take for granted in life, and never forget the magic that can be found by being there for somepony who needs a friend to help them along.”