Fleetfoot flew high above the clouds that were the Wonderbolts' training grounds. She and the rest of the group had a show coming up in Los Pegasus, and she was going to be performing an aerial acrobatic move she had never done before - a corkscrewing, quadruple loop-de-loop.

As Soarin watched from below, he saw his teammate flare her wings outward and begin to fly upwards, resulting in the beginning of the first loop. At the same time, he saw her twist her body to the left, beginning the long corkscrew. She did this for about five seconds before the stunt was complete, and she soon landed next to Soarin. "Nice job, Fleetfoot!" Soarin said, "Not bad for your first time! Just make sure you're beginning the corkscrew before you make the first ascent."

"Got it. Thanks," Fleetfoot replied. She turned away to begin flying again, but before she took to the skies, she turned back to Soarin and asked, "Hey, I never got to ask you, how's married life treating you?"

"Not too badly," Soarin replied, "I mean, Rainbow and I have been married for only a month, but it's been an amazing experience. I'm just glad that we're together and happy."

"Soarin, please report to my office immediately," came Spitfire's voice over the intercom on the side of the building.

"I wonder what that's about," Fleetfoot said, looking slightly concerned.

"Ahhh, it's probably just a note from Dash saying that she wants me to pick up another layer cake on the way home."

"Is she still eating a whole lot of them?" Fleetfoot asked with a slightly sarcastic grin.

"Not as much as before, but they've been her favorite 'craving condenser', as she calls it, since the beginning of the pregnancy. Anyway, hopefully this won't take too long. See 'ya!" Soarin finished, waving to Fleetfoot as he went inside the building.

When Soarin reached Spitfire's office, he opened the door, only to find both her and his mother waiting for him. "Mom?" Soarin said, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Soarin, there you are," Wind Glider replied in a sad tone, reaching out a foreleg and hugging her son.

"What's wrong?" Soarin asked.

"It's...It's your father," she continued, beginning to shed a few tears, "He...hnnnf...He was in a construction accident at the cloud factory, and...hhhh...he's at the hospital right now."

Soarin's eyes went wide, as anypony would have suspected. "What?!?" he replied, "Is he okay?"

"He's...well...hhhh...He was unconscious when I left, and...hnnnf...both his wings are broken..." she finished in a quiet tone.

"Oh no!..." Soarin exclaimed silently, his volume decreasing while he put a hoof to his mouth. His eyes narrowed in sadness, and he was very close to shedding tears of his own.

The room remained silent for several seconds before Spitfire spoke up. "Soarin, you can have the rest of the day off so you can go see your dad. I won't dock your pay."

Soarin turned to face the yellow mare and replied, "Thanks." He then turned to his mom and said, "One of us should go get...oh, wait, is he at Cloudsdale General?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Shoot...Dash can't be on clouds right now. But...I really want her here."

"Please," Wind Glider responded, "Let me go talk to her. I want you to go and see your father."

"Okay," Soarin replied, his tone remaining a sad one. "See 'ya, Spitfire," he said to his boss.

"Bye, Soarin," she replied, "Hope things get better soon."

"Me, too," the stallion replied as he and his mother left the office and eventually flew away in different directions.

Soarin walked through the entrance to the Emergency Room at Cloudsdale General Hospital and immediately trotted up to the front desk. "Excuse me," he said to the pegasus mare behind the counter.

"Yes, how can I help you?" the mare responded.

"Is my dad in this part of the hospital? His name is Grey Nimbus."

"Oh, him. No, they just moved him up to Intensive Care."

"Oh no..." Soarin said to himself, silently.

"Don't worry," the receptionist said, reassuringly, "The doctor said his vitals were okay, so he's not in any immediate danger."

"Is he still unconscious?"

"Last I heard, yes, but who knows? Maybe he's woken up by now."

"Where can I find him?"

"Just head down that hallway," the mare continued, pointing to her right, "And make a right at the fork. There'll be a staircase to your left that will lead you to the ICU. Your father's in room 209. Here," she finished, holding out a plastic hoofband with the number 209 in her writing, "I just need you to put this on."

"Sure," Soarin replied, holding his left forehoof up. The receptionist then fastened the plastic band onto his wrist. "Thanks," Soarin replied.

"No problem. See you soon!" the mare finished.

"Bye," Soarin replied, turning to his left to follow the directions he had been given.

After navigating the hallways, Soarin finally reached the Intensive Care Unit, and he went up to the reception desk. "Is there a stallion named Grey Nimbus here?" Soarin asked, "He's my father."

"I'm sorry, he's up in Radiology getting an MRI," the mare behind the counter said.

"But...the mare from the ER said he was up here."

"She probably meant that he would be here soon. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be here shortly," she replied, trying not to sound worried, "Right now, you can just wait in the waiting area over there, if you'd like."

"Okay. Thanks," Soarin replied.

"And your name is...?"

"Soarin."

"Okay, Soarin. I just need you to sign in right here, okay?"

"Will do," the stallion finished, taking a pen in his mouth and signing his name on the sign-in sheet. After putting the pen down, he made his way to the sitting area, sitting down in a green chair. A few seats away, there was a pegasus mare silently crying while a stallion comforted her. Soarin had no way of knowing if he was her brother, father, son, or just a friend, but he knew that the way the mare was acting could have been just how his own mother was acting when she'd heard the news.

Pretty soon, a nurse called Soarin's name and guided him to room 209. The stallion gulped, not looking forward to seeing what was on the other side. Slowly, he opened the door, growing increasingly nervous as he did. Once it was opened, Soarin saw his father and another female nurse. To his relief, his father's eyes were open, and the nurse was checking his vital signs, all while slowly rubbing his cheek as he regained consciousness. However, the top of his head, plus both of his wings, were encased in long, white bandages. The were also several bumps and bruises that were visible either on his face or his forelegs.

"Dad!" Soarin exclaimed, his voice not being too loud.

"Oh, hello!" the nurse said, "Are you this stallion's son?"

"Yeah. I'm Soarin. How is he?" Soarin asked, getting closer to his dad's bed.

"Well, he regained consciousness a few minutes after arriving in Radiology. We've already taken x-rays of his wings and we're awaiting the results of the MRI of his head."

"How bad is it?"

"Well, we don't know yet. We'll just have to wait and see. Other than that, his heart rate and blood pressure are fine, so as far as his internal organs are concerned, he's alright for now, unless we find a bleed somewhere in the brain."

"What exactly happened?" he asked.

"From what the paramedics told us, there was a crane near him holding a steel beam. The crane somehow malfunctioned, and while your father was hovering by a wall and hammering a few nails into place, the beam struck him across the head, which we believe knocked him unconscious instantly, and then he somehow turned in mid-air and slammed his back against another wall, crushing his wings.

Soarin shivered slightly, realizing that his father may never be the same after this. "C-Could I have some time with him alone?" he asked.

The nurse checked the vital sign monitor one more time before replying, "Sure. Let me know when you're done, okay? We need to keep a close eye on him."

"That's fine. Thanks," Soarin finished as the nurse began to exit the room.

Soarin then focused his attention on his injured father. It was hard for Soarin to look at him in this state. He had always pictured his father being very active and sometimes being the center of attention. Now, he was lying on a hospital bed, barely conscious, his wings shattered, and his head partially wrapped in bandages. It was a sight that Soarin hoped he would never see happen to somepony in his family.

"Dad?" Soarin asked, silently.

Grey Nimbus' eyes were already open, and he turned them to his right and noticed Soarin standing over him. "Uhhh...'Dad'?" he asked in confusion.

It was then that Soarin's body began heating up with adrenaline. "What? D-Do you know who I am??" he asked, frantically.

Grey Nimbus squinted his eyes for a second, and then replied, "You don't look familiar to me."

Soarin began hyperventilating as he made a beeline for the door. Once it was open, he turned his head to the right and screamed, "NURSE!!"

Within a few seconds, the same pegasus mare who was treating his father earlier came rushing down the hallway and asked, "What's the problem?"

"My dad lost his memory!"

"Oh, I'm not surprised," she replied, "He had quite a blow to the head."

"No, I mean, he doesn't know who I am! I'm his son, for crying out loud!"

"Oh, that's what you mean..." the nurse responded, a concerned look on her face, "For now, we'll have to wait until the MRI results are in. That way we can determine how long he'll be like this. Let me go check and see him for myself."

"Okay," The stallion replied.

"Soarin!" came a voice that Soarin didn't expect to hear. He lifted his head, only to find his wife, along with his mother, trotting quickly toward him.

"Dash?!?" Soarin asked in surprise, "How did you get here?"

"Twilight was at the castle and I had her cast a cloud-walking spell on me after your mom told me about your dad, but that doesn't matter right now. How is he?" she asked.

Soarin lowered his head. He wasn't at all eager to tell them the news, but he knew he had to. With a deep breath, Soarin said, "He's conscious and his vitals are okay, even though we're still awaiting the MRI results, but...he's...he's got amnesia. TOTAL amnesia. He doesn't remember who I am."

Both mares gasped silently. "G-Grey..." Wind Glider said, tears forming in her eyes.

Soarin took a few steps forward and drew his mother into a hug as she started sobbing, Rainbow joining the embrace soon after. None of the pegasi spoke a word. The only sound they heard was that of Wind Glider's sadness leaving her body through her mouth and eyes. After about a minute, they broke the embrace, and while Wind Glider continued sobbing, Rainbow asked, "Can I go see him?"

"I...don't know if you want to see him like this," Soarin replied, "It was hard for me to see him the way he is now."

"I think I can handle it," Dash replied, walking past Soarin and poking her head through the door. She took one look at her father-in-law, and her face cringed slightly upon seeing his injuries. It briefly reminded her of the time she spent in Ponyville's hospital, waiting for her own wing to recover. This, however, was much worse.

Rainbow pulled her head away and faced Soarin and his mom. "Wow..." she replied, "I'm really sorry, you guys."

Finally ceasing her sobbing, Wind Glider replied, "Thank you, Rainbow Dash." She then drew her daughter-in-law into another hug, but only a brief one.

Once they were apart, Rainbow turned to Soarin and asked, "You wanna go home?"

Soarin sighed, a depressed look on his face. "Yeah..." he replied, "I doubt my dad will remember who you are, anyway." He then gave his mother one more hug and said, "Bye, mom. See you soon."

"Bye, honey," Wind Glider replied in a slight whisper. She separated from her son, and then went back into her husband's room as Soarin and Rainbow made their way toward the hospital's exit.

Soarin and Rainbow Dash were soon back inside Twilight's castle. Throughout their flight back to Ponyville, which Rainbow was happy to be able to do for once during this stage of the pregnancy, Soarin had been holding back a large amount of tears. Never in his life had he feared for one of his parents, and now that it was actually happening, his mind was flooded with emotions, despite being a rather authoritative stallion at times.

Soarin and his wife lay on a couch in the front living room. By now, Soarin was well into emptying his tear ducts, but he wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. Rainbow was sitting up, her husband's head on the top of her distended belly. She held Soarin's head with both her forelegs, gently caressing his mane as he let his emotions out. All she could do right now was comfort her husband, and she was more than willing to do so.

Eventually, Soarin ceased sobbing, and he took a few deep breaths before he heard a voice. "Soarin?" Rainbow asked, slightly whispering, "How do you feel now?"

Soarin sniffled. "hnnnf...I feel awful, Dash. Just...totally awful," he replied.

"I'm sorry," Dash responded, gently caressing the back of his neck, "I feel bad, too. I may not have really known your dad for long, but he's a really great guy, and I understand why you're so sad."

"It's...It's not just my dad, Dash."

"Huh? What else is wrong?"

"It's...hnnnf...It's the fact that this is happening so early in our marriage. Remember how I said I wanted us to be happy and worry-free until the foals arrived once we got married?"

"Yeah."

"Well, now look what's happening. This. My dad almost died on the job." At this point, Soarin's tone shifted to one of both frustration and sadness. "You know, for all I know, they could be going crazy over a brain hemorrhage that they found on the MRI, and maybe he's dead by now."

"Soarin, no! Don't jump to conclusions like that."

Soarin grunted out of slight guilt, realizing how much his tone had changed. "Sorry, Dash," he replied, "I just can't believe that were only a month into our marriage and already something's going wrong. This isn't what I wanted to happen..."

"Soarin, that's why we're here for each other," Rainbow continued in a warm, motherly tone, "At our wedding, we promised that we'd be here for each other through bad times. In fact, we started doing that even before we got engaged. You were there to comfort me after I found out I was pregnant, and again when I realized that I would be giving away two foals for adoption. Now, I feel like I'm returning the favor, just like any kind, loyal wife would do for their husband. I guess what I'm saying is, I won't let you go through this alone. We're family now, and family always sticks by each other in times like this." She then took one of Soarin's forehooves in hers before continuing. "Soarin, if we stick by each other during this ordeal, we can make it through. All we need to do is remain optimistic that your dad's gonna pull through."

"But...what about his amnesia?"

"Well, we can tell ourselves that it's only going to be temporary, and that'll keep our hopes up, especially yours, for sure." She then moved their hooves to the front of her belly. "Your dad's a tough guy, Soarin, and I'm positive that he's gonna pull through and be able to meet his grandkids."

Soarin glanced at where his hoof was. Having it against his wife's belly, against his own children, slowly made his thoughts change. From what Rainbow had said, he concluded that he shouldn't be losing any confidence throughout this ordeal. He had to remain strong for his wife, his unborn foals, and especially his mother and father. If he was even the slightest bit sad, mainly in front of his mother, one or both of them could lose hope completely. On the other hoof, if he remained confident and strong, he could help his mother through this situation much easier. It all made sense to him now, and he was happy that Rainbow had been the kind, supporting wife she'd promised to be. At the same time, he couldn't believe how a pair of unborn ponies could give him so much confidence. Now, unless the medical result suggested otherwise, Soarin was not going to lose any hope.

Soarin looked his wife in the eyes and kissed her on the lips. He pulled away shortly after and said, "Thank you, Dash. I'm so happy to have you in my life. Not just you, but the foals as well. You three have really changed my life, and even though my dad's in rough shape, I know now that it's best for me to stay positive and hope for the best for him."

Dash smiled, "You're welcome, but he is your dad, so it's okay if you're not feeling happy."

"I know, but I don't want my mom to have to suffer emotionally like this. I want her to be just as hopeful as I am, and now I know just how to do that."

"I'm glad," Dash finished before pecking her husband on the lips.

Soarin remained silent for several seconds, looking his wife in the eyes before saying, "I know I already said this, Dash, but thank you. I really needed this."

Dash leaned in closer. "You're welcome, Soarin. Any time you feel sad about anything, let me know as soon as you can so I can help you through it. It's what I'm here to do." With that, Soarin's smile fully returned, and he brought his wife in for a loving kiss as a generous amount of his sadness melted away into happiness, giving him the hope that he needed to carry on while his father remained in the hospital. He didn't know for sure whether or not Grey Nimbus would be the same stallion in the end, but either way, thanks to the loving support of Rainbow Dash, Soarin wasn't going to give up any of his newfound hope.

Author's Note

We'll find out in a later chapter how Grey Nimbus is doing. I didn't want everything to begin and end in one single chapter.

As for the next chapter, let's just say it's gonna be reeeeeeeaaaaaalllly relaxing.