Love is Like Gravity

Numb.

Swift Repairs felt numb envelop him in a warm glow. In his current mindset, slipping back and forth from life and death, he found this funny. He always thought getting hit by lightning would burn, or at least hurt. He lifted his face from the mud to examine his surroundings. He was in a clear field, yellow flowers growing around him. Rain fell in steady sheets on his crumpled figure, deep rumbles flowing through the sky announcing the bright flashes that struck the earth. He looked over his right shoulder, in his blurry vision he saw a small pillar of smoke rising from the base of his wing. He moved his hand to touch it, but when he made contact, a flaming sword of pain stabbed through him. He retracted his hand and let it fall where it may.

He let his face fall in the mud once more, slowly breathing shallow breathes. It felt like decades passed, and he only subconsciously noticed when the rainbow pegasus landed to his left while a purple unicorn knelt to his right. As they began talking, Swift strained his mind to understand the distant, distorted voices. To his left,"... dead? Is he..." A tomboy voice asked concerned. From the right,"... barely breathing... time left..." A softer voice said, unsure of it's words. Back to left,"... hospital... now..." determined. He lost his fight against the blackness licking at the edge of his mind and gave into sweet bliss.

***

Swift opened his eyes, seeing dark storm clouds rush past. Rainbow hair, rain drenched, cling to their owners face. He bounced softly at their footsteps as they rushed forward. He felt something bump against his right wing, causing pain to flow through him hot as boiling oil and swift as a hot knife through butter. In his weakened state, all he could do is clench his teeth and release a weak moan before unconsciousness claimed his thoughts once more.

***

Swift awoke again, feeling pain, hunger, and confusion. That was good, in a way; it meant he was alive. He opened his eyes and looked around at his new surroundings. White corkboard roof tiles, white walls, medical machines, countertop with a small sink and drawers: he was in a hospital. He brought his hands to his face and pinched his palms a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Pain was felt, so this was real life. Next order of business: find out how he got here. He thought back to where he was prior; storm clouds, rainbow hair, pain; no, this wasn't far enough. He thought harder, the memories slowly funneling back, blurry, but back.

A feeling of free fall, followed by a dull *thud*. A clearing with yellow flowers, storm clouds again, bright flashes followed by loud rumbles. Conversation... about him? Yes, but from two alien voices. Human, but not place able to anybody he knew. And that list was small. Numbness and a warm feeling of sleep, throughout it all. Pain when his right wing was touched... wait a minute.

Pain.

Upon touch.

Swift sat up and shot his hand behind him to feel where his wing would be. He expected to feel its soft feathers and toned muscle, but instead was greeted by a small nub of flesh and bone that jutted out from his back. He rubbed it absentmindedly, in total shock at the fact that his wing was gone. This couldn't be real. This wasn't reality; this was some kind of hell. He felt his nub for another few minutes, extending his left wing and slowly moving it about, feeling its life-long partner vainly attempt to copy its motions.

An elderly Earth doctor walked in and leveled his milky blue eyes with his blue and gold eyes. "You’re awake. How 'bout that." The doctor said, sadly, looking down at a clipboard. Swift looked at him, still absently feeling his nub. "Well, I suppose introductions are in order. I'm Doctor Heart; I saved your life." Dr. Heart said as he looked back down at the clipboard. "I also see that you noticed your wing, or rather, lack-thereof. I'm sorry. Truly, I am." Dr. Heart said, putting his hand on Swift's shoulder.

Swift snapped out of his trance, if just barely enough to speak, “What happened?" Swift said, still staring blankly ahead, his hand now just resting in the nub that remained of his wing.

Dr. Heart sighed, “Well, you got hit by a bolt of lightning. Rainbow Dash there..." Dr. Heart motioned to the rainbow pegasus in a recliner by the window who had gone unnoticed by Swift,"... ran in here with you in her arms and Twilight Sparkle close behind her 'bout a week ago. She demanded that we do what we can and came in here and sat down without a word once we allowed her in." Dr. Heart looked down at Swift.

Swift was shocked again. After what happened to his parents so long ago, he never let anyone get close to him. Ever. The fact that a complete stranger would not only save his life, but wait for him to wake up, stunned him into complete silence. Dr. Heart gave him a small pat and left the room. Swift simply stared ahead, hand on nub, dumbfound. "Hey." Came a tomboy voice to his left. Swift turned to face her and noticed she had just woken up. "How are ya holding up?" She asked, sorrow and pity plastered to her features. Swift stared at her for a moment before letting his hand fall to his side and lying back down.

"I..." Swift began, but lost his train of thought. He thought he would be angry, but couldn't. He thought that he would be sad, but numbness flowed in his blood in its place. Rainbow shuffled in her chair awkwardly, not knowing what to do. She wanted to comfort him, throw her arms around him in a big hug and tell him everything would be okay, but she didn't want to freak the poor guy out. After a long time, Swift spoke up again. "I feel... numb. This... this just can't be happening."

Swift sat up once more. He felt tears well up in his eyes as reality whispered in the back of his mind, “You’re fucked." Rainbow looked at him with pity and sympathy. Tears fell, one by one, onto the pale blue sheets of his bed. "I'm sorry. Really." Rainbow said, feeling her eyes sting as well. Swift wiped the tears from his eyes, remembering that he wasn't alone.

Without moving his head, Swift asked, “What’s your name? Rainbow Dash right?" Rainbow looked at him, wishing he would at least face her.

"Yeah, that's me." Rainbow said sadly.

"Thanks." Swift said calmly. Rainbow blinked. After a few moments, Swift looked at her. "I haven’t told you who I am yet, have I?" Swift said.

Rainbow was still caught a little off guard by his sudden turn-around, but he had a point nonetheless. "No. What's your name?" Rainbow asked, curious.

Swift looked back to the door to the hallway, eerily silent for a hospital. "I'm Swift Repairs. You, uh, might've heard of me." Swift said, looking back to Rainbow.

Rainbow stared in shock with her jaw dropped at his response. "You're Swift Repairs, the guy that invents everything?!?!" Rainbow almost yelled.

Swift managed a small chuckle. "The one and only." He said with a small smile as Rainbow still stared with him mouth agape. The slow and methodical *beep* of the heart monitor (made by him) filled the room.

"I... I guess I always thought that you would look..." Rainbow trailed off, still star-struck at Swift.

"Look what, exactly?" Swift asked with a small, teasing smile.

"... I don't know. Like more of a... egghead." Rainbow finished with a small blush.

"Egghead, huh? Did the muscles throw you off?" Swift said playful, giving a small flex.

Rainbow giggled, "Yeah, you could say that." she said admiring his arm as he flexed.

"Heh, I didn't think the person that would save my life would be a cute pegasus." Swift said. Rainbow gave a small laugh, while Swift smiled. 'Who is this? This isn't the anti-social Swift that woke up today...' Swift thought to himself as silence (save the *beep*ing) filled the room. Swift was about to try his hand at small talk again when Dr. Heart entered.

"Ah, Dash, you're up. Glad to see you started talking." Dr. Heart said, moving to the machines to Swift's right, powering them down. Swift looked at him in confusion.

"Uh... Doc? What're you doing?" Swift asked, relief flowing through him as the *beep* cut out.

"Getting you ready to go home." Dr. Heart said with a smile. Confusion level increasing Swift looked at Dr. Heart with furrowed brows.

"Look, I know I'm supposed to stay in the hospital a few days after I wake up... right?" Swift asked, recalling any hospital setting he ever read or saw. Dr. Heart removed his IV cable and placed the bag gently on the counter next to the sink.

"You seem to have forgotten that you were in a hospital for a week." Dr. Heart said, stopping at the end of the counter. Your clothes are in here..." Dr. Heart gave the counter a pat,"... top left drawer. And the changing curtain’s just behind the monitors there. Unless you and Rainbow really hit it off." Dr. Heart said with a smile and left before Swift or Rainbow could finish their futile attempts at explanations.

The two looked in defeat after the doctor, turned to look at one another, and then quickly looked away. "So, uh, I'll see you down in the lobby, okaycoolbye." Rainbow said before nearly dashing [A/N Heh...] out of the room.

"Wait, Rainb- ah, damnit." Swift called after her. He sighed and looked over at where Dr. Heart said his clothes were. 'Might as well get out of this gown...' Swift thought to himself as he climbed out of bed. He closed the door to the hallway and walked over to the counter. He opened the drawer and his heart skipped a beat at what he saw.

The black, ragged hole in his blue tee shirt was a grim reminder of why he was there. His hand flinched for his nub before he stopped himself. With another heavy sigh, he took his clothes out and began putting them on. First his boxers (hospitals are cold), next his normal pale white cargo shorts, and finally his blue shirt that read 'WUB WUB WUB' in bold white letters across his chest. He slid his left wing through the slit on the shirt and reached back to inspect why his right didn't follow suit and remembered what happened. 'That’s gunna take some getting used to...' Swift thought, his hand falling to his side.

He was about to head out before his reflection caught his eye. He stood in front of the mirror, looking himself over. Blond hair, blue/gold eyes, toned body... left wing. He slowly spread his wing, expecting his right to appear along with his left, sighing when it failed to appear. He opened the door and made his way for the elevators. Pressing the down button, he waited patiently for the elevator car to reach his level before the *ding* and sliding doors announced its presence. Swift stepped inside, pressing the button for the ground floor.

'I designed these...' Swift thought to himself, as the elevator took only a few seconds to reach his destination. He had taken the idea of an express elevator's speed and a passenger elevator's room and smooth ride and combined them to create a spacious, speedy ride to quickly transport people in critical conditions. According to his statistics webpage, they had saved collectively 734 lives. A self-satisfied smile graced his face for a slight moment before it disappeared to its more common social emotion: disinterest and shyness.

Swift walked over to the main counter to a red-headed nurse typing on a keyboard. "Uh, I'm here for my admittance paperwork..." Swift said.

"Ah, right Mr. Repairs. Here you are. Just have them back within the week." She said handing him a folder.

Swift grabbed the folder and made his way for the door, remembering Rainbow said she would wait for him when he heard someone call his name. "Swift! Wait up!" Rainbow said, jogging up to his side.

"Hey Rainbow. Where are we headed?" Swift asked opening one of the glass doors.

"Well, you live in Cloudsdale, right?" Rainbow asked stepping through.

Swift paused halfway through the door. "Yeah... I do." Swift replied, remembering that getting home would be impossible with his disability.

"Well, I know a place that you could stay. For free." Rainbow said, following Swift as he began walking for the market square.

"For free? Really?" Swift asked, skeptical at his good fortune. "And where would that be?" He asked, stopping to face her.

"Do you remember that other girl that was with me when... y'know..." Rainbow trailed off. Swift thought back to that night, "Yeah... I remember another voice... barely." he said slowly.

"Well, you can stay with her!" Rainbow said proudly. Swift was paralyzed in fear. Social interaction wasn't his strong suit, or something he cared for. The idea of staying in a total stranger's house, one that aided in saving his life for that matter, was not the most appealing thing to come to mind. Rainbow saw his worried look and quickly added, “She’s really nice! And a total egghead, like you." Rainbow said.

Swift sighed. "Guess I don't have much a choice, do I?" Swift asked, looking at Rainbow.

"Nope! Let's go!" She said happily dragging Swift a giant oak tree.