Razorwing felt the earth beneath his claws and hooves as he sprinted through the field. His heart was pounding, not in exhaustion but in fear. His limbs ached and his right wing seared with pain at every impact his limbs made with the ground. It didn't matter. The pain was nothing for the fear of being caught by the angered mob that pursued him. He took a quick look to the sky and spotted a pegasus headed straight for him. He leaped to the side when the pegasus was nearly upon him. He rolled in the untilled earth, feeling loose stones and brambles scrapping his skin or catching on his fur or feathers. He got back up and continued his sprint.
His mind barely registered the voice from behind him shouting to the crowd. The voice was telling them where he was and was guiding them to find and most likely kill him. Whether the reason was because they didn't know what he was or the fact he had escaped the crowd when they accused him of theft. To him it didn't matter, all he had to do now was run as fast as he could and hope that the crowd of angered ponies didn't catch him.
Razorwing spotted a forest off to his right and turned to it. He could escape the eyes of the pegasi in the air if he got within the trees. He was moving as fast as his limbs would allow when he felt a sudden impact on his back. He fell in a pile and felt strong limbs grab his own.
"Gottcha ya thieving monster! Over here I got 'em!"
Razorwing struggled for a moment and did the only thing he could. He spotted the closest bit of the pony's flesh and clamped his sharp beak onto it. His mouth was flooded with the foul taste of blood as the air was split with the poor pony's screams of agony. In his pain the pony let go of Razorwing, allowing him to sprint toward the forest once more.
The fleeing creature spat out the blood in his mouth and looked back at the pegasus holding his not injured leg. "I'm so sorry."
Razorwing made it to the forest just as the crowd reached the pegasus. From his hiding spot Razorwing could see them tending to the pony's wound and moving towards the forest. He moved in the shadows of the trees as far into the forest as he could without losing sight of the tree line. He didn't want to get lost in a forest with a broken, no shattered wing and no food.
Hours pasted as he walked in the forest. Pain was his only companion as he walked through this dark forest. He walked to the edge of the forest and looked around. In the time he had walked he was now miles from the town and the angry ponies. He walked out into an open field and headed off toward the hills he could see.
He lost track of how long he had walked but what his mind refused to let him forget was the stabbing and throbbing pain that was shooting along his back with every pain filled breath. The only thought that was louder than the pain was his almost obsessive need to keep moving. He had to keep going or else he would be caught.
He came upon a dirt path and stopped for a moment in wondering if her should follow it. Paths means that something went this way regularly but how regularly was unknown to him. He was going to risk it by following the path but as he lifted his front claw he looked down and saw that it was drenched in his own blood. The fact seemed bizarrely amusing to him as his mind began to shut down and his body crumpled on the side of the dirt road.
"Now Spike I really must thank you for coming along with me for this gem hunt. You really are growing into quite the gentlecolt, or rather gentledragon."
The snow white unicorn turned to her companion with a small smile. The dragon in question was pulling a small red wagon in tow with little effort. He had grown rather handsome, and much taller over the last few years, and was nearly the same height as she was.
Spike wiped some sweat from his scaled purple brow. "Think nothing of it. I couldn't let you come out here after what happened with the Diamond Dogs. Besides you know I love to help you out."
The mare walked back to the small dragon and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Spike, but that Diamond Dog fiasco was a long time ago."
Spike had a hard time keeping his mind on pulling the wagon as he blushed as red as the rubies in the wagon. He let out a small hum as Rarity giggled at him. She looked ahead on the path they were following from the hill and spotted something that wasn't there before.
She pointed to it. "Spike do you see that?"
Spike looked dreamily over to it then scratched his head as the dreamy state of mind faded and was replaced with curiosity and a small amount of fear. "Yeah. What is it?"
Rarity's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the strange shape. "I haven't the faintest idea. I think we should go check just in case it’s a pony in need."
The pair set off down the path much faster than they already had in the fear that the unknown shape was an injured pony. As they came closer they could make out details. The first of which was that it was covered in feathers. The second was that it was covered in blood.
Rarity gasped. "Spike go get help from town NOW!"
Spike looked at the mess of a creature in front of him then to Rarity. "What about you?"
She moved closer to the antlered creature that was bleeding into the dirt. "I'll try to do something to stop the bleeding. Leave the wagon and get help quickly!"
Spike dropped the handle and sprinted towards Ponyville as fast as his tiny dragon legs could carry him. Rarity watched the dragon for a moment then returned her attention to the creature that really needed her help.
She crouched beside it and gentle touched the shoulder not covered in blood. "Hello? Can you hear me? I'm here to help you."
The creature didn't stir. Rarity walked around and inspected the wounded being. "Oh dear, you have been through something horrible haven't you. Alright I think I've found the worst bleeder."
Rarity's horn lit up with a light blue aura and focused her magic around his leg. She pressed the magical seal as tightly as she was willing to go to prevent the bleeding. She hoped that her impromptu medical skills would be enough to buy them some time until help arrived. She kept her focus on the magical bandage as she looked for another bleeding spot but as she inspected the back of the creature she noticed the wing.
"By the Sisters."
She could only look at the horrible injury and place her hoof to her mouth in shock. The wing was absolutely broken in what looked like no less than three separate places. She was afraid that even touching the wing would cause more damage than good.
"What can I do with you?"
She looked over to the wagon filled with jewels. I could put him in the wagon and start moving towards Ponyville. She bit her lip at the thought of abandoning the wondrous bounty she and Spike had uncovered. She shook her head in disgust that the thought that the gems were worth more than this creatures life. How could I even think that? He's bleeding here in the dirt and I'm worried about a few worthless gems?
She settled on her course of action. She used her magic to throw the gems onto the side of the road and moved the wagon next to the wounded being next to her. She grimaced at the next action as it was undoubtedly going to cause pain to the creature. She focused all her might into lifting the being off of the ground and placing it into the wagon on its side that was relatively uninjured.
As she lifted the creature it let out an agonized scream and started to thrash about. Rarity walked next to the creature and spoke to it in the kindest voice she could muster.
"Everything is going to be alright. I'm trying to help you. Please just relax."
She lowered the creature down into the wagon as slowly and gently she could. With the creature now in the wagon, though with its hind-legs and head hung over the sides, Rarity let her magical aura fade over its body except the injured leg. She placed the creatures head on her shoulder.
Its eyes opened and stared into hers with a frantic and terrified manner. It began to thrash in her grip. "Get away from me! Get away fr-from..."
Its eyes rolled up into his head as Rarity tried her best to keep his head on her shoulder and to avoid being gored by the antlers. "No! Stay with me! Please don't sleep I need you to tell me your name."
The creature fell back into unconsciousness despite Rarity's pleas. All that she could tell from the small outburst was that it was male and he was scared. For what reason she couldn't really fathom but now she was all the more determined to get him to proper help.
"Just stay with me and I promise that you'll be okay." She gave the wagon a mighty pull and only managed to shift it forward a few meager inches. "Oh this is just not going to be a going to be easy task now is it." She gave herself a small chuckle as she griped the handle with both her hoof and her magic.
Progress was slow as she pulled the male antlered creature along the road. She looked him over, memorizing and studying every little detail as her designer eyes went to work. His beak was of a dark brown like mahogany wood. His feathers were jet black except on his wings. The tips to a quarter of the way down were steely silver in color. She shifted his head slightly to look at the antlers. They were of a light tan color and rather sharp looking but that wasn’t what caught her attention. Hanging from one of the lower points was what looked like a small, clear gem of some kind, held by an intricately carved wooden spiral. She moved down the lower half of his anatomy and discovered that it was much closer to home.
His legs and lower back was that of a pony, light orangeish brown in color and his tail matched his feathers. Out of curiosity she shifted so she could look at his flank and much to her surprise there was indeed a cutie mark there. It was a white wing with a black claw griping something that she couldn't make out. The creature let out a low moan and she turned her attention back to his head and upper body.
She stopped moving the wagon so that she could look at him. "What's your name? Please stay awake for me. Talk to me."
His eyes opened and she was amazed by the sharp brass color of them. He spoke in a weak voice, a surprising contrast to his screaming from earlier. "W-who... are you?"
She gave him small smile, happy that he was awake. "Rarity. My name is Rarity."
He glanced around without moving his head. "Where... what..."
His sentence was stopped by her hoof. "Stay silent. You need all the energy you can get. Just tell me your name. Please."
He glanced around him and his gaze stayed downward for a moment than returned to her eyes. "Razor...Razorwing." He gasped in pain and his speech was broken up by ragged breathing. "I'm bleeding... all over y-your... coat."
Rarity glanced down and nearly became sick. Her legs and a good portion on her chest was slowly becoming covered in Razorwing's blood. She looked at him and noticed that one of his eyes had closed.
She swallowed fighting the need to revisit her lunch. "I'll be fine. A small shower and I'll be right as rain."
He gave a faint murmur of a laugh and his second eye closed. Rarity bit her lip as she felt the need to keep his eyes open but the want to keep him alive and comfortable overrode that need. She resumed pulling the wagon, stopping every few minutes to check him to make sure he was breathing.
She lost track of time as she half carried, half pulled the barely conscious creature along the road she heard a voice from above her. She looked up and spotted three pegasi descending quickly. Leading them was none other than Rainbow Dash.
Dash landed a few feet away and ran over to the pair on the road. When she got to them her face paled a little. "Oh geez. Spike said it was hurt but this is nuts." She looked up at the other pegasi landing nearby. "Thunderlane you carry its front half. Snowflake, take the lower half and be very careful of that wing."
The grey pegasus merely nodded as he tried not to look at the blood and the large white stallion gave a small salute. "Yeah! Er... Yes mam!"
Rainbow would have rolled her eyes or even facehoofed but the fact her friend was covered in blood and holding a wounded creature forced the minor annoyance of Snowflake’s enthusiasm aside. The three pegasi lifted the wounded creature out of the wagon and placed him across both of the stallions backs.
Thunderlane and Snowflake took off as Rainbow looked at her friend. "You alright? You look terrible."
Rarity watched as Razorwing was carried off in the direction of the hospital. "No. I need to get to the hospital. I promised that he would be fine. I can't sit by and not know."
Rarity set off down the road at a brisk pace. Dash had to jog to catch up with her. "Rare you need to wash up. You're covered in blood."
The fashonista stopped and looked at the flier. "I can wash up once I know that he'll be alright. Now please let's just get to the hospital."
She started off again but was surprised when she felt a strong hoof on her shoulder. She turned and saw Dash lowering her shoulder. "Hop on. It’s faster to fly."
Rarity shook her head. "I'm covered in blood. I don't want to ruin your coat."
She had only just finished her sentence when Dash tossed her onto her back. "'I can wash up once I know he's okay.'" She mimicked. Rarity gave her friend a grateful smile as they lifted off into the air. Rarity tried her best to not smear any blood on her friend but no matter how she positioned herself she made Dash dirty with Razorwing's blood.
Dash called back to her. "We'll be at the hospital in a minute or so. Just sit still." She looked ahead and pointed. "I can see the others. We're catching up to them."
Rarity looked ahead and spotted the trio ahead of them. Thunderlane and Snowflake were flying rather low to the ground and constantly checking Razorwing to make sure he was doing fine. To Rarity every little twitch Razorwing made her nervous and every time Thunderlane or Snowflake slowed down she wanted to move to next to them and make sure Razorwing was fine.
The journey to hospital was barely a minute but to Rarity it was a small eternity filled with endless nervousness and fear. The group landed in front hospital as Spike ran out followed closely by a pair of stallions pulling a gurney, Nurse Redheart and a few doctors.
As Rainbow Dash and Rarity landed they saw Razorwing being placed on the gurney. Rarity moved over to comfort him but was stopped by Nurse Redheart.
"Rarity you need to stay with me. I need to ask you some questions."
Rarity tried to get around the nurse to the injured creature being pulled away into the hospital. "Can't it wait? I need to make sure he's okay."
The nurse refused to let her pass. "I can't let you do that for two reasons. First, you're covered in blood and second, I need to know how you found him."
Rarity watched the last trace of Razorwing disappear and sighed. She looked at the three pegasi and noticed that they all had some blood on them, whether it was from Razorback directly or from Rarity. "Alright. He is in good hooves now."
The three pegasi, Rarity, and Spike followed the nurse into the hospital. The nurse led the small group to showers for the hospital workers. She handed them each a small bottle.
"Make sure you shampoo at least three times." She turned to Rarity and gave her a small apologetic smile. "You may want to use the whole bottle. If you need help, I can help you—"
Dash walked over and grabbed the bottle Rarity was holding. "Don't worry about it. I can help her."
With that the nurse nodded and led Spike out of the locker room to give the four ponies some privacy. Rarity and Dash hopped into the same shower stall and turned on the water. As the water warmed up Rarity looked over to the cyan mare.
"Why did you offer to help me? Not that I'm not thankful for your help but I thought you would be busy cleaning your feathers."
Dash shrugged. "You need help with all this blood on ya and I wanted to talk to you about him. What's his name? What is he?"
Rarity used her magic to open the bottle of shampoo that Redheart had given them. "His name is Razorwing and to what he is I have no clue. He looks like a griffon mixed with a pony. Maybe he's some sort of half breed?"
Rainbow Dash started scrubbing the shampoo into her back and feathers as she thought for a moment. "Maybe, but I've met some griffon-pony couples and when they had foals they came out as the same breed as the mother. I've never heard of something like a half breed happening."
Rarity began scrubbing as well. "Hmm... could you help me with my back? I can't quite reach."
Dash gave a small nod and moved over to her friend. The rest of the shower pasted in silence for the friends and after almost a half hour the pair was clean. They grabbed some towels and noticed Redheart waiting for them.
The nurse walked up to the white mare. "Rarity I need to know everything that happened out there. How did you find him? Please be through and precise."
Rarity told Redheart everything she had seen and said after she had found Razorwing. The nurse, Spike, and the three pegasi listened with interest and concern. She finished a few minutes later nearly in tears.
"He was more concerned about not getting blood on my coat than he was about himself."
Dash walked over to her and wrapped her wing around her crying friend. "Don't worry. The doctors are helping him right now. He'll be fine, right nurse?"
Both Dash and Rarity looked at the nurse expectantly. Redheart nodded. "Of course he his. Razorwing will be just fine. The doctors are working on his wing and have bandaged his leg and cuts. He'll be good as new very soon."
Rarity gave the nurse and her friends a smile. "That's good to hear."
Nurse Redheart walked over to the white unicorn and placed her hoof on her still wet shoulder. "I think it would be best if you went home and got some rest. You have been through quite the ordeal finding him the way you did."
The fashion designer shook her head. "No. I promised to help him however I could and that means I shouldn't leave his side until he's well again. I'm staying here until he awakes."
Rainbow Dash looked at her friend like she was crazy but was concerned for her friend more than anything. "What? You can't just stay here. You've done more than enough to help him today. You should head home and get some rest. By the visiting hours tomorrow he should be awake and able to talk."
Rarity didn't budge. "No Dash. How can I rest knowing that he's in pain? I can't do that and if it means I have to stay here to help him than so be it."
Dash looked into her friends determined eyes and realized that arguing with her friend was pointless. "Okay. It's your choice. If you need any help just let me know."
Rarity gave her friend a warm smile. "Thank you. There is one small thing, if you don't mind that is."
The pegasus cocked an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Could you get a few of my things from my home?"
Dash rolled her eyes as she knew this would mean a trip lugging a lot of make-up, frilly things, and useless items, but she smiled anyways. She had grown used to this from her friend.
"Sure thing."
Night had fallen over Ponyville and the stars and moon had risen in fully glory but Rarity could see none of that from the small hospital room she was sitting in. It was a double room in the Intensive Care Unit but they had allowed Rarity to use the second bed for herself so that she could be in the same room as Razorwing. Much to Rarity's surprise Spike had decided to stay with her in the hospital.
"Spike I appreciate this, I really do, but you don't need to spend the night here."
Spike shook his head and unpacked a small bag next to the cot he was sitting on. "Yes I do. We both found him out there and I think we both should be there for him when he wakes. Besides there was something I wanted to talk to you about and I had planned on asking you this when we got back to the boutique but things kinda happened."
"What is it?"
The dragon shuffled for a moment before looking at the mare. "Well... I know it's been a few years since we met..."
Rarity smiled. "It's been almost eleven interesting years."
Spike chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... and well... I know that you know I have a crush on you... so I was wondering... um... if maybe you would like to go on a date with me?"
Rarity could only smile at the dragon and hug him. "I would be delighted, but after we make sure Razorwing is okay. You are defiantly worth waiting for."
