It took three days before Long Jump’s bad foreleg could take any weight, and one more day before he could take more than an awkward three legged step or two, since his right hind leg was completely useless from his injuries. He knew he was beat up, but right now, that more meant he couldn’t get home than the fact he was in pain. Red Ink kept making him potions and casting spells to ease it, but they needed to be monitored continually. Occasionally the pegasus felt more like a magical experiment than a soldier on the mend, but he definitely couldn’t complain about the unicorn’s results. He was feeling better, marginally, and he could limp around the cabin for exercise. If only he could still fly, this whole endeavor would have only resulted in a few scars.

However, it took the Royal Guard a week before he could look himself in the mirror. The only mirror in the little cabin was in Red Ink’s bedroom closet, and that meant walking through a room strewn with discarded clothes, piles of paper, spilled ink, and dried herbs. Without more control over his gimpy movements, he’d crash to the ground again. He knew, or at least suspected, the extent of the cuts down his side, and he really didn’t want to see what was left of his wing after the crash. Those concerns aside, he knew he needed to, if for no other reason than because it might not be as bad as it was in his head. So, after Red Ink left for the morning to collect herb samples and do some spell research out in the open air, the pegasus carefully hobbled into the unicorn’s bedroom to use the full-length mirror, and started by pulling off the antiseptic-smelling adhesive bandages from his legs and barrel.

Well, when he just stared at them, the injuries weren’t too bad; just ugly to look at. Lots of scarring and missing fur, but he had expected that. He turned back and forth as best he could to survey the damage. There was a large gouge high on his right haunch, which would explain the trouble he was having. It might heal over time, but he wasn’t going to hold out hope. The cutie mark on his right side had been practically scraped off as well. Would magic to restore it, would be just have to twist around if someone wanted to see it? Maybe now wasn’t the time to worry about that. He sighed, and after mentally bracing himself, flexed his left wing hard enough to pop the tape holding down the bandages wrapped around his midsection.

Overall, he had to admit it was not as gruesome as he’d expected, thanks to the unicorn’s medical attention. Rather than a mess of broken feathers or plucked skin, it looked like the cliff face had precisely shorn off his right wing. All that was left was a short, heavily bandaged spar sticking out from behind his right shoulder, and though he could wiggle it without much pain, it was otherwise useless in his eyes, finally cementing in his mind that he’d be ground bound for the rest of his life. Fighting against his body’s protests, he craned his neck around to poke at the stub with his muzzle, hissing at the pain. He now understood the bandages around his middle to help his maintain his balance; even now, he had to concentrate to stay upright, since any subconscious movement of his remaining wing threw off his equilibrium.

“I can always sew you a corset or something,” Red Ink said from behind him. The pegasus was so startled he reared up, whinnying, and twisted painfully to the side thanks to being so unbalanced. Magic engulfed him, and his vision clouded with purple sparks for a few seconds. When all four hooves touched the ground again, he was facing the unicorn. Also, he watched a fresh set of bandages begin to float around him.

“A corset isn’t particularly…stallion-like,” he muttered, but that comment just caused the unicorn to grin.

“Well, what do you think a back brace is? It’s just a corset without frilly bits attached.” The bandages tightened slightly, and the pegasus found his wing restricted again. The magic faded completely now, leaving him to slowly follow the unicorn when the other stallion walked back toward the living room.

“I found something of yours out in the woods,” Red Ink said. Before Long Jump looked around, morbid images popped into his head. He dismissed them. As far as he could tell, the unicorn wasn’t that macabre. He hoped the unicorn wasn’t that macabre, anyway.

However, the pegasus did smile when he saw what was waiting for him on the unicorn’s desk: his saddlebags. Losing all that gear would have been awful, so he dived right in to see if anything was missing. Red Ink took a step back and sat down, apparently content just to let Long Jump have his fun. Well, it might not be entirely fun, but he needed to make sure he still had a compass, his survey map, and hopefully his personal notebook. As he expected, forest creatures had eaten his rations, but that didn’t matter. Where was the notebook, or any of his heavier gear?

“There’s stuff missing,” the pegasus said, but then he found out why when his hoof slipped through a hole in the canvas. Apparently he hadn’t been the only thing ripped up by the storm.

“We can go look for it,” Red Ink suggested, “if you think you’re up for it.”

“Sure,” Long Jump said. The pegasus did feel he could do for a little exercise. As long as they moved slowly, Long Jump felt he could probably assist in the search. It was his notebook, after all. Red Ink nodded and pushed open the back door, holding it open with his flank for the both of them. Long Jump limped out ahead of him, fighting down a blush when the unicorn flicked his flank with his maroon tail.

Red Ink had been flirting with him these last few days, and there was really no point in denying he enjoyed it. Before meeting Red Ink, being considered romantically interesting from someone else had been rare, and mostly those advances had come from mares trying to get into events where he was on security detail. An occasional stallion might try to flirt with him, but most of those had felt disingenuous. From Red Ink, the friendly nuzzles, casual compliments, and shy smiles felt very natural.

After only two minutes walking in the woods, the pegasus already felt exhausted, but he didn’t want to say anything. He was a soldier, and that meant toughing it out through any and all obstacles. The pain in his right side started to throb instead of just being a slight distraction, but he’d been sleeping and resting for days. He could deal with it.

“I think I found something,” Red Ink said. He was muzzle-deep in a pile of leaves, and came back out with a very grubby-looking notebook between his teeth. It didn’t look damaged, but then again, who knew what condition the pages might be in. The unicorn set it on a stump, took a look around, and then pranced deeper into the woods. He must be trying to find anything out of the ordinary, since Long Jump hadn’t told him any other specific objects.

Once the unicorn was out of sight, Long Jump gratefully slumped down on the forest floor next to the stump, panting. He could take a minute to try and get his breath back, and he didn’t want Red Ink to see how winded this made him. It might be best to walk back to the cabin, wrap up in a blanket, and just read of one of the many books there, but he was a soldier. He needed to be active. He needed to get his strength back, and sipping cocoa while learning about Equestria’s history wasn’t going to fix that, especially with the unicorn doing his best to distract him at every moment.

Long Jump rolled over on his back, just looking up at the canopy and waiting for his pesky limbs to stop shaking. He’d flown hundreds of miles without even becoming sore and this brisk walk had taken it out of him. Would he be able to return to the Royal Guard after all of this? There were older guards with eye patches and scars, sure, but none who couldn’t keep up with the best of them. Maybe he’d end up a quartermaster, or part of a training crew. He might not like newbies that much, but it sure beat retirement because of one accident. His pay was low enough as it is and if he had to bet, Bulwark would bust him down to ensign before signing the discharge papers, leaving him even more destitute.

Could he return Red Ink’s obvious advances? Probably, he told himself, but it wouldn’t be a fast process. This just hadn’t happened to him before, and he wondered if the unicorn’s crush would continue once they got back to the city, or after Long Jump was able to take care of himself. Was this just a flight of fancy for the unicorn, or was it something more? He’d heard from other Royal Guards about nurses falling for the ponies they took care of; this might be like that. Then again, there wasn’t anyone else to talk to out here. Maybe Red Ink was just lonely and didn’t want to admit it. The pegasus falling out of the sky might have been inconvenient for the unicorn, but Long Jump knew his host was enjoying the company. Perhaps there was something mutual here, something nice, but the pegasus’s worries filled his mind. He’d like this to continue, if it were real.

“Are you alright?” Red Ink asked. He was standing over the pegasus, smiling down at him. He was handsome, Long Jump had to admit, and the sun was starting to set. They probably needed to get back to the cabin anyway, since Long Jump was in no condition to ward off anything dangerous out here.

“I’m fine,” he said, moving to roll over, but failing, since he started on his right side and a stab of pain flared up his right shoulder. After taking a deep breath, he tried again on his left, but he just didn’t have the strength at the moment. Honestly, he knew he could ask the unicorn to magic him up on his hooves, but that felt more like cheating.

“I’ll help you up,” Red Ink said, smirking, “if you close your eyes for just a second.” He leaned down a little more, and their muzzles were only a few inches apart. Long Jump blushed hard, figuring out pretty fast where this was leading. He could say no, of course, but secretly he didn’t want to. So, he took a deep breath, and shut his eyes.

The unicorn kissed him, softly, tenderly, as though he thought Long Jump was something fragile that might break. Maybe he was, come think of it, but it was nice for a single, precious moment to not have to worry about appearing like a guard or soldiering on like nothing was wrong with him. Right now, in the empty woods where he’d crashed, where he was slowly working his way back to being healthy, he could have a single second of peace.

After Red Ink broke the kiss, he stepped over to Long Jump’s left side and helped him get back up on his hooves. Even after they started walking back to the cabin, the pegasus’s notebook between his own teeth and his compass dangling on a chain from Red Ink’s, he couldn’t stop blushing. He’d been kissed before, sure, but never like that. It had never been something warm and perfect. He shouldn’t think like that, he told himself. He should focus completely on recovery and then returning home. Right now, though, he was happy. For the first time in a long time, he felt happy.

They set Long Jump’s recovered possessions down on the unicorn’s desk, and Red Ink nuzzled him. Long Jump nuzzled the other stallion back with some trepidation, having to angle and go slow in case the muscles in his next pulled again. However, it did feel good to reciprocate the affection for once.

“How’s your pain level right now?” Red Ink asked. “While we were out in the woods, I had an idea.”

“Not as bad as before, but still irritating,” the pegasus admitted.

Long Jump watched as the unicorn pulled open a drawer of his desk and retrieved a long strand of faux leather. Just when he thought he was done blushing, the heat crept back up his throat; it was a collar, complete with a little silver tag. It started to float toward him, and the pegasus instinctively took a step back, his rump bumping into the cabin door. Why a collar, of all things, and more importantly, why did the unicorn just happen to have a collar sitting around in his cabin, sized for ponies?

“I have to enchant something with the pain suppression spell I’ve been researching and perfecting,” Red Ink explained. “I figure this is the least bulky piece.”

“Wh…” Long Jump stuttered. A collar? He didn’t really mind the look of the thing – the sleek black leather would go with his fur quite well. Why did he care what it looked like? He’d never cared about fashion before. More importantly, why did he want the collar to look good with his fur? He didn’t have anyone to impress. Did the tag read ‘Property of Red Ink’? He hoped not. It clicked around his throat, and the pegasus’s blush nearly reached his ears. It was comfortable, at least. When had Red Ink gotten so close to him?

Red Ink stood in front of him and inclined his head, pressing the tip of his horn to the thin leather. Purple streams of magic pulsed into the collar, and Long Jump involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. The pain, all of it, was gone. Sure, he probably still couldn’t canter very far, but it would be nice to sleep for once without having jolts of pain travel up his flanks.

“Why did you have a collar in your desk?” Long Jump asked. The lack of pain certainly helped him clear his mind.

“You never did tell me what your cutie mark meant,” the unicorn said. Touché. They could both have secrets.

Long Jump looked over at his right flank. Scars and missing fur cris-crossed his side to the point that if someone looked at him from his right, he might as well be a blank flank. “My special talent is running into sharp rocks.”

Red Ink snorted, and then his whole body started to shake. For a second, Long Jump thought something was seriously wrong, but then the unicorn fell over, laughing so hard he was having trouble breathing. Long Jump pawed the ground with his good forehoof and rolled his eyes. While the unicorn tried to recover, he sank down on the largest couch. Silly unicorn.

Author's Note

Revision 1