Splitting headache, stinging wings, and overwhelmed ears. The world did not make itself gentle to her. "She's back. Good day Rainbow Dash, welcome back amongst the living," said a stallion's voice, quiet as a whisper over the noise in her head. "Seems to be normal that far. Monitor her, do your thing, and tell me if anything is not as expected. I'll be around later in the day."
"Yes doctor," replied a mare's voice. She sounded younger, though that did not need to mean much with how Rainbow's felt. "Oh, why was it you."
Somewhere, somehow, Dash found her voice, "I'm supposed to be blind, right?"
"Blindness is not too common, except in ponies that recently landed a gigantic fall on their face. You did. Your vision should be back in a few moments. Tell me if it is not." Light hoofsteps moved away from her and through the room. "I am not leaving you, by the way."
Rainbow laid back – at least as far as she could tell – and tried to relax. Her situation was not all terrible. She was lying somewhere comfortable, it was warm, and the pain was receding. Before too long, the world pushed through the darkness that filled her vision. White surrounded her on all sides; A river of light flowed in through the half-draped windows, caught in motes of dust in the air. Off to the side, a unicorn mare was adjusting the sole picture along the featureless walls. "That's better." Dash could not complain much. At least she already was in the hospital, so it was not going to get much worse. It could even be quite comfortable, except for the pain.
The mare turned around and came back to her bed. "Told you. That voice you may have heard was our local doctor, he likes to get out before patients notice that he is not doing much since he is only a pegasus. Anyway. Looking towards your left, you will see why you are still here." Dash looked over, instantly remanding her statement that things could be worse. Her left wing was spread out and fixed to clips at the top of her bed; A lightning scar mocking her cutie mark ran across it.
"What happened to me?" shrieked Dash. She instinctively tried to retract the wing into safety, but found it held firm by the clamps. During the struggle, her other wing folded open, throwing the cover aside.
"Let's have a look at your file then." The nurse took out a small piece of paper from the foot of Dash's bed. "Heavy muscular damage, bones destroyed in area, nerves severed, chance of regaining flight capability low. Well that's just nonsense, isn't it." She crumbled up the paper and threw it somewhere out of sight. "Calm down, you'll be fine. During your rapid descent towards the ground, you managed to hook a sharp edge here," she set a hoof at the base of Rainbow's scar; The mere touch sent jolts through her body, "and drag it all the way across, almost ripping off your wing in the process. Fortunately, our newest princess has made some research into the depths of magic."
"What's now, then?" Dash resisted the urge to slap away the hoof brushing over her wing when it retreated on its own. "Can you do something or can't you?"
The nurse tugged at the bed's covers with aqua magic. "Birds are always so impatient. Yes, we can help. There's a spell that can knit bones and even reconnect nerves. The thing is, your wings need to accept it, and I can't allow you to use them until they do. You will have to take a paralysing agent in that time."
"And how long is that gonna take? Can't you just support it from the outside?" Some of her pain returned. Would she be able to move, she would certainly be doing it to escape the room, that pony, her situation.
"Well, either you leave it numbed at your side, or it gets fixated in stretched position. Experience tells us what you want. As for time, it depends on your affinity, the actual depth of the injury, and the magisolar cycle." The nurse bent in on Dash's wing again. Did she see something more, or was she just pretending? "Could be a day or a few months. Magic is shifting like that. You'll know when it has happened. If you don't want that, I can euthanise it for you right now because it is not going to heal naturally."
Her wing twitched, though the motion did not run through all of it. "Can I see an actual doctor about this?" She tried to spread the outmost feathers. Little but more pain resulted. "Ah, whatever. It's the best outlook. Do what you said." She rolled her head to the other side and tried to focus on what was through the window. Nothing could ever keep her out of the sky for long, nor would this.
"As you wish. We are obliged to warn you that side effects may include dry mouth, nausea, indigestion, paralysation, partial or complete phasing, flareouts, wing growth or shrinkage, exploding the sun, coma, death, and halitosis. Magic is not for everyone. Consult a doctor before use. Well you missed him, so tough luck." Rainbow kept her gaze fixated on the window. She remembered the white that still covered the silent world outside. Any routines would likely leave her covered in kicked up snow, and the air would be crisp and empty. Still she wished for nothing else; Birds only ever obstructed her anyway, making Fluttershy complain if she accidentally collided with one. "You may feel excruciating pain, but probably not."
She heard the start of a powerful spell; A heartbeat later, it washed over her wing cold as ice. Her mind remained focused on the great outdoors and how soon she would rejoin them. Her wing filled with needles and shards of ice. Then, nothing but a rustle of air as the clamps released her. It was over at last. "Nh, it worked. Give me those pills then, I'm out. Gotta get my house grounded."
"As you wish. Wait here."
Rainbow Dash awoke to birdsong falling in through the windows. Finally it was warm enough to keep the wind running through the house, she remembered. She had dreamt of the night sky, again with the odd sun she knew was not there. It would not even emit light as it floated amongst so many tinier stars. Perhaps her imagination had combined a few constellations into one. Either way, she had to stay up and get back into the sky one night. Maybe she could convince Fluttershy or Flitter to come along. There were certain things that could not be shared but by two pegasi, and she already knew where she would go.
Rainbow turned in her bed, spotted the bottle of pills on the night stand, and sighed.
