Phantom Wings

The plan was simple: call up anyone listed as ‘Star Mapper’ in the phone book and ask them if they have a daughter named ‘Indigo Zap’. If needed Soft Sell could mention ‘Maiden Voyage’ or ‘Lightning Dust’. If asked, he could explain how he learned these names. The answer would let him know if he had the right person, and then he could further explain the situation.

Unfortunately for Soft Sell, things were rarely that easy.

There was not a single ‘Star Mapper’ listed in any ‘Ponyville’, so unfortunately that lead would take him nowhere. Perhaps Indigo simply didn’t know the name of the area, he’d surmised. But if so, that meant he had nowhere to really start. So instead, he decided that the most effective route would indeed be calling the nearest ones first.

The first ‘Star Mapper’ that Soft Sell went with lived in Fillydelphia, the closest possible city to Baltimare. He was in his 60s and only had a son.

The second was in Dodge City, a smaller town, but still not too unreasonable a drive. However, she was a woman, and not married.

The third was in Manehattan, with Soft dreading having to go farther out than that. This ‘Star Mapper’ had a wife, but her name was not ‘Maiden Voyage’.

So on and so forth, and it only got worse from there. Trottingham? Widower. Appleloosa? No children. Los Pegasus? Many children, but not a single one named ‘Indigo Zap’.

The well was running dry, and now he was down to two more. And in places as far away as Vanhoover, no less. Could he really expect them to be there, while Indigo was here? Well, even if he couldn’t, he had to try. There were questions that needed answering, and by Faust, he intended to get them.

And besides that, Indigo was counting on him. That alone made it worth the effort.

It was in between the second and third rings that someone answered.

“… Hello?” a distinctly male voice asked.

“Hello,” Soft Sell answered back. “Am I speaking to a Mr. Star Mapper?”

“Who wants to know?”

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Soft Sell, and I’m calling on behalf of Baltimare Children’s Hospital.”

“If you’re calling about donations, I’m sorry, but I don’t even live in Baltimare.”

“I’m aware, and I’m afraid I’m calling for a very different reason. Do you have a daughter named Indigo Zap?”

“I’ll reiterate: Who wants to know?”

This time, it sounded more like a threat than a question. A sign that he’d found the right Star Mapper, perhaps?

“Okay, let me explain,” Soft Sell answered calmly. “This might sound crazy, but a night or two ago, my wife and I found a little girl in the woods near our house, and we took her to the hospital. She said her name was Indigo Zap and she claimed to be the daughter of Star Mapper and Maiden Voyage.”

A brief silence settled between the two, just long enough for Soft to wonder what was going through the other man’s mind. If this was the right Star Mapper, then Soft had effectively just told the man his missing daughter was on the other side of the country. Such a thing surely could not have been an easy pill to swallow.

“… What?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“I know, it was a shock for us too,” Soft told him, now certain he’d found the guy. “But this is good, we can just arrange a flight an-”

“What kind of sick, twisted bastard are you, pulling a stunt like this?”

That response, coupled with the sheer outrage behind those words was enough to stun Soft Sell into silence. Never before had he heard such visceral disgust from another human being, especially not levied toward him.

“Look, I know it sou-”

“My daughter is safe and sound,” said Star Mapper, venom laced in each syllable. “You’ve got some nerve trying to pull whatever this little con of yours is.”

“I’m not pulling a ‘con’ here!” Soft Sell protested.

“Then how did Indigo get from Vanhoover to Baltimare? You want to answer me that?”

He did want to. Desperately, in fact.

But unfortunately, the only thing he could answer with was a weak stutter and moments of dead silence. Unless they somehow missed that one of their daughters was not with them on the return trip, what answer could there be? He didn’t believe any man would be so cruel as to lie about their own daughter, and the sheer distance and timeframe just didn’t add up, loath as Soft was to admit it.

And yet, Indigo’s sincerity invaded his mind again, reminding Soft Sell of why he needed to do whatever he could.

“Exactly,” Star Mapper told him harshly. “Don’t ever call here again. Understand?”

“Wait, but sir! She did ask for you by name! How do you explain that?”

“Assuming this girl even exists, she’s either lying to you, or she’s crazy.”

The line disconnected only a moment later.

And just like that, their one lead had fizzled out. Apparently, Indigo Zap was in Vanhoover, and the one in their local hospital was either more confused than they initially thought, or she was lying through her teeth. No part of Soft Sell wanted to believe it, but right now, the options were really wearing thin.

But of course, that just left one question: Now what?

The soft click of his wife’s heels against the tiled floor alerted Soft Sell of her appearance. Bringing a plate with two cups of coffee, Social Butterfly sat down, taking a sip from hers, and merely glancing his way. No words needed to be exchanged; she knew him better than he knew himself sometimes.

“We’re going to see her this evening, right?” he eventually asked.

“Of course,” Social said. “But are you sure you’re ready for that? Seems like the search has been… less than stellar.”

A lone sigh escaped his mouth, the venting he did during lunch still fresh in his mind. “Well, we just got an answer. But… I’m not too eager to tell Dr. Goodvibes about it.”

“Just Goodvibes? Not going to tell Indigo?”

Soft Sell found himself rather interested in his own shoes, taking a small sip of his own coffee. “Oh yeah, absolutely. Just look that innocent lost girl right in the eyes as I break her heart. Easy!”

Social placed a hand on his shoulder, offering a comforting smile. “Sarcasm isn’t your style, darling.”

“I know… this whole thing just has my head spinning,” he admitted. “Where do we go from here? We can’t just leave her like that, without a home to go back to.”

“That’s a tough one, I’ll admit. But I think we need to clear the air about her being human as soon as we can. You heard what little Indigo said, after all.”

“I did,” he mused. “But that’s why it worries me so much. The last thing I want is to overwhelm Indigo. She seemed pretty confident about the whole ‘pony’ thing.”

“It might be a lot to take in, but I think that’s better than giving her false hope. And besides, I’m sure it’ll make her stronger for it. Just like… you were…”

The room got quiet, as that same guilty look came over Social Butterfly’s face. She couldn’t even look him in the eyes, as her gaze turned elsewhere. However, that didn’t last very long. Within mere seconds, his hand cupped her face, and she was brought to meet his eyes once again.

“You really need to stop doing that,” he told her softly. “If I’d ever been upset about it, we wouldn’t be married right now.”

“I know, it’s just…”

“Hits a little too close to home?”

She nodded, and Soft Sell couldn’t help but answer in kind. His own bout with amnesia was a topic they seldom discussed anymore, but the girl’s trauma stirred up the old memories. Even if it wasn’t quite the same problem, Indigo was struggling, and there was something the two of them could do about it.

But was it really the right move to do what they were considering? Sure, they couldn’t keep lying to her like that, but it would crush her spirits to know her perception was false. Part of Soft wanted to believe that maybe they were being too hasty; that perhaps, with time, her perception issues would fix themselves, much like how some of his lost memories returned on their own.

Of course, there was no telling if that was the case, or how long that would even take. Maybe it was better to just rip that bandage off, and let her rebuild? But was that even their call to make in the first place? What right did they have to force that on Indigo?

Soft Sell took another sip of his coffee. So many questions…

The gray skies outside her window had Indigo’s undivided attention, eyes locked on the clouds’ edges, desperately searching for somepony moving them.

Ever since Dr. Goodvibes mentioned another storm later tonight, it had been all the poor filly had thought about. Her only break from her watch was when the doctors brought her food, and even then she had tried to scarf it down as quickly as her still-fumbling hands would let her.

It had been a day since that ‘hooman’ couple visited her, and in that time, she’d learned one big thing about her situation. During his last checkup on her, Dr. Goodvibes had said she was in Baltimare. Something like that should have been comforting, but instead, it only distressed her more. It might have been half a year since she’d been there, so she couldn’t quite remember the city, but she knew she’d been there with Mommy and Daddy.

Why had she never seen a ‘hooman’ before? Or had she, and she just wasn’t remembering right?

Indigo shook her head, returning her eyes to the clouds above. She couldn’t second-guess herself. Nothing about this was right. If she doubted that, then…

“Indigo?”

Her breath hitched in her throat as the voice of Soft Sell filled her ears. She knew those adults said they would visit again, but was it already that time?

She looked back, and sure enough, they were there, with Dr. Goodvibes in tow.

“H-hi,” she stammered, taking her attention away from the window for the first time in what must have been hours.

“It’s so good to see you,” Social Butterfly chimed in, taking a seat near Indigo’s bed. “Are you feeling any better, sweetie?”

The filly shook her head. “Not at all. My back’s been hurting all day.”

“Your back?” questioned Dr. Goodvibes.

“Y-yeah. Right where my wings should be. It’s been driving me crazy.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone? I’m sure I could have had one of the nurses get you something.”

To that, Indigo brought her knees to her chest, looking away with shame in her eyes. “I-I didn’t wanna be a burden. Everypony’s doing so much for me, and… and…”

A strong hand grasped her shoulder, drawing Indigo’s attention to Soft Sell. His smile brought her small comfort, reminding her of Daddy. But that comfort was immediately replaced by sadness, for the very same reason.

“Don’t think like that, Indigo,” Soft Sell told her. “You’re here to get treatment, and that means if something’s wrong, you should tell the doctors.”

“I know, I just…”

The roar of thunder interrupted their conversation, and once again, Indigo returned her focus to her previous endeavor. The storm would be starting soon, she was sure of it.

“Is something the matter?” Dr. Goodvibes asked.

“No, I’m just… I wanted to see the weather ponies.”

“... Weather ponies?”

She didn’t like the way the doctor said that. He said they were in Baltimare, right? So how did he not know about the weather teams? She knew, and she was just a filly. Maybe these ‘hoomans’ were new to Equestria? That would explain why she’d never seen them before.

Maybe explaining would help her get some answers.

“Pegasuses like me and my family can control the weather,” she told them. “So we do, all over Equestria. I was hoping that maybe I’d see somepony out there doing their thing, but…”

She paused for a second, watching as the rain rolled in, the frown on her face a mixture of confusion and disappointment.

“I didn’t see anypony at all. And… this storm is weird. It moves so slow, and the clouds aren’t keeping their shape. What’s wrong with them?”

“That’s just how storms move around here, Miss Zap,” Dr. Goodvibes told her, coming closer and taking a seat beside the bed. “We have no weather ponies either.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “Th-that can’t be! You said this is Baltimare! They have a weather team! My uncle Gale Force helped them out when we were there!”

“Uncle Gale Force?” Soft Sell questioned. “So, you’re saying… he worked in weather?”

A resolute nod of her head was her first answer, before she elaborated further. “Daddy said he was the best of the best! He even let us help with a storm, and that’s where me and my sister got our Cutie Marks!”

The room became deathly still, as the others took in Indigo’s words. The filly tried to keep her anxiety down, but the worry that they might not believe her was starting to take hold. Especially so for Dr. Goodvibes, as when she looked at him, his eyes were wide, like he was shocked at what she said.

‘D-did… did I say too much?’ she questioned, before shaking away the thought. ‘NO! I have to be strong! I can’t back down! Lightning Dust wouldn’t!’

“‘Cutie Mark’?” Dr. Goodvibes finally asked.

With very little hesitation, Indigo lifted the side of her hospital gown and revealed one of her hips to the three grown-ups. Sure enough, they were still there, the little lightning bolts she had earned for her efforts. Pride swelled up within her as she saw them again, but was almost immediately snuffed out by the looks of abject horror on the adult’s faces.

“Dear Faust, where did you get those!?” Dr. Goodvibes asked incredulously. “Who let a little girl like you have tattoos!?”

“They’re not tattoos!” protested Indigo. “They’re Cutie Marks! Mommy said they mean we’re super good at controlling storms!”

Soft Sell looked down, expression hardening for some reason. “... Did she now?”

Now all the grown-ups seemed to be upset about something, and Indigo hated that. Why was everyone getting so sad? Why didn’t they understand what she was saying?

“She did,” Indigo said. “And Mommy’s always right.”

Both Soft Sell and Social Butterfly winced, which did not go unnoticed by Indigo.

“I-is something the matter?” she asked hesitantly. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no, Indigo,” Soft Sell said, barely above a whisper. “It’s just… I remembered my wife and I needed to talk to Dr. Goodvibes about something. We’ll be right back.”

“Oh…” the filly looked down, a little disappointed. “Okay.”

“Don’t look so down, Indigo,” Dr. Goodvibes told her, putting on a consoling smile. “When we come back, I’ll bring you something for your back, okay? I’ll just need you to tell me what the pain feels like.”

That was something she had to think about, admittedly. The pain wasn’t the same during each flare up. Sometimes it felt like a very bad itch, while other times it felt like her back was actually on fire. Hard to say which she felt more, but at the very least, the underlying theme was that where her wings were supposed to be, it felt irritating.

And so, she conveyed that.

With a solemn nod and a promise made, the three left the room, and Indigo was all alone once again. The rain pelted away at the nearby window, prompting the poor filly to place her… hand on it. She looked to the dark clouds longingly, the burning coming back with a vengeance as she thought of the storm.

How she longed to be up there again, like she and Lightning Dust had been not so long ago. But without her wings, how could she?

‘I hope somepony can find me a unicorn soon,’ she said to herself. ‘I can’t take it. None of this makes any sense. And those grown-ups are being so weird about everything. Why is it that everything I say makes them look at me funny?’

… ‘Why’ indeed.

A horrible thought hit Indigo, as she thought back to their previous conversation. She was far from the most social filly around, but she was smart for her age. And everything about the way they reacted just seemed weird. Like they were taken aback by what she knew, or what she knew wasn’t right to them.

And the sense of dread this gave her was immeasurable, as a conclusion formed in her mind.

‘Do they… not believe me?’