I flew behind Show Off still somewhat in a state of shock. One minute I was flying along looking down at a canyon for orientation and the next thing I know we were set upon by two full enemy squadrons as well as anti-aircraft fire. I wasn’t exactly sure how we all got out of there unscathed.
The twins were now making their final approach on the landing pad. Show had sent them on ahead to get them out of the line of fire, while we covered their retreat. We engaged the enemy fighters briefly before diving to the ground. Whatever we did must have confused the fluff out of the bears because they didn’t follow us. We announced our landing and set down on the pad, the ground crew quickly rushed in to take our gear.
“Show, what buck happened out there?” I asked, taking my helmet off. I wiped away the sweat dripping down the side of my face.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out!”
Show Off was hot; I had never seen him so angry. As soon as his guns were removed he stormed off of the pad, heading in the direction of our officer’s tent. I shed my guns and tossed my flight helmet to the nearest crewman and chased after my wingman.
“Show Off, I know what you’re thinking, this is a bad idea.”
Either he didn’t hear me, or he was ignoring me because he just kept on walking. Other ponies scrambled to get out of the way of the fuming sergeant; I didn’t blame them as I followed in his wake.
“Quill!” Show yelled out as we approach the lieutenant’s living quarters.
I caught up to him, and tried to keep him from doing anything stupid.
“Show, you’re just gonna…”
He rounded on me, a look of fury behind his eyes.
“I don’t care, that skirmish never should have taken place; someone bucked up big time.”
I couldn’t find any words to sedate his rage.
“QUILL! Get out here!”
The lieutenant stuck his head out of the tent door, a very confused look on his face.
“Quill darling, what is it?” An elegant mare’s voice resounded from inside the tent.
I suddenly realized that we had interrupted an intimate moment between our CO and his mare.
“It’s nothing, Marshmallow,” Quill said, leaning briefly back inside. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Buck it, Sarge! It’s not nothing! We were almost killed today!”
I knew what was going to happen as soon as Show called the Lieutenant “Sarge”. Quill slammed the door and strode up to my wingman. He stopped inches from Show, getting nose to nose with him.
“You forget your place, Sergeant!” he threatened.
Show Off didn’t give an inch.
“My place? When in Faust’s name did you become such a bucking officer? We almost died today, and you are worried about my place. I guess we’re just numbers to you now, like back at Fort A!”
Quill faltered, he had obviously been caught off guard by Show’s comment. We had been forgotten at the old fort, reduced down to a casualty count. It would be enough to shake any soldier. I took the opportunity to step in between the two feuding stallions.
“Sir, what the Sergeant is saying is we ran into heavy resistance on patrol. Not just a random encounter, it was an assault size force.”
The Lieutenant shook his head to clear whatever thought had invaded his mind. He turned to address me.
“Is it possible that you flew into their line?”
I could see Show Off’s nostrils flair; I started debriefing the lieutenant before my wingman could start shouting again.
“I don’t know sir; we were on a long patrol, flying southeast. We weren’t warned of any enemy emplacements. ”
Quill cocked his head at me.
“Well that’s it, latest intelligence reports state that the main enemy force is set up southeast of our sector but I don’t know why they would send you in there.”
“I do.” Show said, turning to storm off again.
I was about to charge after him when he stopped and looked back. I almost ran him over.
“And Lieutenant…sorry.”
I glanced at Quill, worried that another argument was going to erupt. Quill didn’t seem to be in the mood to argue and simply nodded.
When I turned back around Show off was gone. I caught a quick glipse of a brown tail as it rounded a set of tents. I knew where he was headed.
After about a week of living with Rairty, Famosity had enough of the prissy unicorn and the two started bickering constantly. The loud, nightly arguments resulted in me sleeping on a cloud most nights. In the following half-month, the officers from each unit in our immediate vicinity all signed a petition to get the general to rescind her “bunk with your buddies” order. Thankfully, the General complied and, for the morale of the unit, Famosity was moved to different quarters.
I ran as fast as I could to Famosity’s tent, mud from the recent rain storms splattered into my flight suit as my hooves displaced the soft earth. Sliding around a corner, I saw Show striding purposefully to her tent’s door.
“Show Off, stop right there! Don’t do this!” I shouted at him.
My wingman stopped at the door, I had hoped that he had come to his senses, but as he turned, his rage was still evident on his face.
“No, you know how lucky we are to escape with our tails intact! Someone is to blame for this and I know who!”
He kicked out with his back legs and the tent door shattered, breaking off its hinges and falling to the floor of the tent.
I galloped to Show, trying to stop him from entering the officer’s quarters. My wingman stepped over the splintered wood into the tent.
“Shoford! What the buck are you doing?” Famosity asked, her voice quivering with fear and anger.
“You were the IO in charge of our patrol today! I saw your name on the duty roster!” Show shouted.
“What does that have to do with my door?”
My wingman walked up to her, and the mint green unicorn cowered under his glare.
“Where is the enemy supposedly encamped?” he asked.
“N-northwest,” she replied quietly. “It was on the map.”
“Draw it.” Show ordered.
“What?”
“I said draw it.”
Famosity’s horn glowed and a magical pencil appeared in mid air. Show swatted it away with a hoof and the magic dissolved; Fam’s magical ability wasn’t strong enough survive another pony touching it.
“No…with this.” Show said tossing a pencil and pad to the floor.
Fam took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she began drawing a map on the pad from memory. The unicorn looked down at the map and gasp.
“Show…I’m sorry.”
The jet black pegasus stood, glaring at the notepad.
“Useless,” he muttered darkly.
“Huh?” Famosity asked.
“You heard me, you are useless!”
“Show, back off!” I yelled.
“Shut up!” He shouted back at me. “This is war; we almost got splashed because our IO couldn’t read a bucking map!”
“I’m sorry,” Fam squeaked, tears welling in her eyes. “It was a mistake.”
“A mistake that almost got us killed!” He exclaimed.
He stood over her; I wasn’t sure what was going to happen but I was scared.
“Sergeant Offington! Stand Down!” I shouted, trying to take control over the situation. “For Faust’s sake, you’re going to land us in the brig!”
“I mean it!” He ranted, snatching the pencil from Famosity. “Without this she’s useless!”
He threw the pencil to the tent floor and smashed it to bits underhoof.
“She can’t cast a lightning spell, she can’t fight, her magic is so weak she can’t even levitate a bucking ferret. If it wasn’t for her talent, if you can call her little parlor trick that, she’d just be more canon fodder. We go out and face death everyday and she gets to rest her rump back here because she can draw a bucking map, even if she can’t read them.”
Famosity had gathered her courage enough during his rant to take offense to his words. She rose, facing him eye to eye.
“Sergeant, I am your superior officer and you will not talk to me in that insolent manner or I’ll see you in the stockade!”
“Resorting to threats now?” Show asked, turning to leave. “You aren’t my superior, merely a higher ranking officer, and I think it’s time I transferred out from under your command.”
With that parting shot, he galloped out the door. I wanted to chase after him, tackle him and hit him; to punish him for what he said. But at the moment, I had a much more pressing matter.
Famosity was standing there, tears streaming down her cheeks. The poor mare was shaking with rage but seemed to be helpless to do anything. I walked over and hugged her. Whatever defenses she had crumbled the instant she fell into my embrace and she sobbed into me, her tears soaking my flight suit.
“He didn’t mean it,” I whispered to her, trying my best to comfort her. “I swear to you, he didn’t mean it.”
My words did little to stop the flow of tears. I saw the note pad laying on the ground next to the remains of the broken pencil, the map that caused all this still sketched on its surface. Something didn’t look right about that map, the canyon was there, the enemies were to the southeast of our position and our camp was in the right place but something wasn’t right. I just couldn’t place it.
“He’s right,” Famosity said, snapping my attention away from the map. “I am useless.”
I looked down at her, and frowned.
“No he isn’t. You remember Fort A? All those battles we lived through? If it wasn’t for you we never would have survived.”
“But, the map…”
“You made a mistake Fam, that’s all. It happens to all of us.”
“I’m sorry.”
I looked down at her and sighed.
“I know.”
“Maybe I should transfer…” she whispered distantly.
“No, you are our captain; we’d be lost without you.”
“But…”
“No ‘buts’ Fam, you’re fine. I’m going to go talk to Show.”
Our conversation was interrupted by a burley looking earth pony, a black and white strap on his leg with the letters MP embroidered on it.
“What’s going on here?”
Famosity quickly composed herself.
“Nothing.” She stated flatly. “Now leave.”
The MP looked around at the destruction my wingman had wrought.
“Doesn’t look like nothin’.”
The mint green captain strode up to him authoritatively.
“Corporal, if those stripes are holding you down, I’m sure I could remove them for you.”
“Yes ma’am. I mean no ma’am,” The colt babbled. “I was just leaving.”
He quickly jogged off before the captain could take any action.
Stepping over the smashed door, I headed outside tent.
“I’m going to go find Show Off,” I told Famosity.
“Don’t hurt him,” She replied.
I smiled at her, even after all this she still cared for him.
“Too badly,” She added as an afterthought, as I left.
My mind was in a panic as I walked; my family, the only family I ever really had, was falling apart at the seams. Both Show and Famosity were threatening to transfer away, Quill was growing more distant and everything seemed out of control. I had to do something; I couldn’t just sit by and watch my friends hate each other.
I noticed Silver Lining having a conversation with one of the ground troops; she seemed to be blushing as she talked with him. I trotted over and asked if she had seen Show.
“Last I saw he was headed toward the showers, sir.” She replied at attention.
“Thanks private,” I looked over at the tan colt she was talking to. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“It’s nothing, sir. Sure Lock and I was just, um…”
“Planning for leave time,” the colt next to her finished.
I smiled at the two of them.
Young love, I thought.
“Carry on.” I ordered and left the two to their “planning.”
I headed back to my quarters, Show and I had stayed together in the same tent, so he would have to be back there some time.
I sat in my rack, trying to think of what to say. I didn’t want to get angry but I didn’t want to be complacent. I reached into my flight suit and pulled out my good luck charm, a pearl white dragon scale.
“What do you think I should do?” I asked it.
Like always, the dragon scale remained silent, but I certainly felt better. It was that moment that Show walked into the tent. He didn’t say a word, and something about that infuriated me. I expected an apology or at the very least an explanation. I jumped off my bed and grabbed him, throwing him forcefully against one of the support beams of the tent. He winced in pain when his back struck the timber but I didn’t care. I held him there, making sure that he was looking in my eyes.
“What the buck is wrong with you?!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.
He stared at me defiantly for a moment before his eyes shifted to the floor.
“Yeah, I know…I’m an ass,” He muttered.
That was a start, but it wasn’t good enough.
“Answer the damn question!”
“I don’t know alright!” He shouted back at me. “I just lost it, I’ve never been so angry.”
I let him up; he gingerly rubbed his back as he sat down on the tent floor.
“If she transfers I’m holding you responsible.” I told him.
“I know.”
“You are going to have to apologize.”
Show looked up at me.
“Can’t I just avoid her for the rest of the war?”
He meant it as a joke, but I wasn’t in the mood to laugh. I glared back at him and he looked back down at the floor. I sighed; more shouting wouldn’t do any good so I tried to keep my voice even.
“You and I both know that life is too short to hold grudges, especially when we have to fly out there everyday. Do you really want your last words to Fam to be that she’s useless?”
Show let out a weary sigh.
“No.”
“Then get out there and say you’re sorry.”
“It’s not that simple…”
My wingman’s hesitation infuriated me. Before I started shouting again, I looked down at the dragon scale.
“Sure it is, start out with an apology and just speak from your heart. She’ll understand…I hope.”
Show Off gathered himself, and trotted slowly out the door. I fought the urge to follow him, I wanted to keep everyone together but I knew they would have to do it on their own. I jumped back in my bunk and lay down; thinking about the current situation. I felt helpless, I hated that feeling. One thought did strike me as odd; Show Off could take on an entire enemy squadron head on without so much as batting an eyelid, but you throw him in front of an angry mare and he shakes like a lost foal. I peered at the shimmering white scale hanging from my neck.
Well, I thought. They always have a hold of our hearts.
I waited for Show Off to return; minutes bled into hours and I began to worry. I was about to go look for him when he walked back, looking rattled.
“How’d it go?” I asked apprehensively.
“Okay…I guess.” He said, not meeting my eye.
“You guess?”
“She’s not transferring if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I sighed, he really wasn’t getting the point.
“I’m not just worried about her; I’m worried about us. Maybe I’m being selfish, I’m sorry. We are all we got, right?”
He smiled at me reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, we’re okay.”
“Good,” I said, relieved.
He jumped up on his bunk, taking the blanket and wrapping it around his body.
“Hey…Snap?” he asked, trying to get my attention.
“Yeah,” I responded getting into my own bed.
“Thanks for giving me a push out the door.”
I rolled over on my cot and looked at him.
“You remember the night when we first met?”
He was obviously was confused by my question, his tail swished back and fourth under along side his cot as he thought back.
“Um…yeah, it was back in basic, you were distraught. I found you back behind the barracks.”
“I needed a friend and you stepped up. Now we’re even.”
“Heh, fine.” He said, rolling over. “Goodnight.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“That’s what I get for trying to be philosophical,” I told his back sarcastically. “Goodnight.”
***
Morning broke the horizon with a fire of orange and red; the rising sun and my spirits were bright. Another crisis averted, our little family was whole again and we were getting set for a new mission. I went through my ritual prep work and all the time I could feel the twins’ eyes following me. I knelt down and flapped my wing to make sure everything had its proper range of motion before I heard giggling behind me. As soon as I looked up, the twins suddenly became interested in the various other ponies going about their daily tasks.
“What’s with them?” I asked Lunatic as we waited for clearance from flight control.
“If I had to guess; they think you are cute.” He replied with a silly grin plastered on his face.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint them.”
Lunatic’s grin melted into a frown. He lifted his visor to look at me unhindered.
“Snap,” he said, his voice filled with compassion. “It’s been almost a year and a half. Maybe it’s time to move on.”
I rounded on him, the fury in my eyes hidden behind my helmet’s visor.
“You of all people should not give me relationship advice. Especially after last night!” I said angrily.
Show couldn’t meet my gaze.
“Sorry,” he said pawing at the launch pad with a hoof.
“Friesian Flight you are clea…”
I didn’t wait for the controller to finish his sentence and took to the skies, leaving the rest of the squad to scramble after me.
We flew in silence for the next hour, heading North-East this time. The quiet gave me a chance to be alone with my anger; which was turning and building with each flap of my wings.
Show’s got some nerve telling me to “move on”. I felt the dragon scale against my chest. He doesn’t understand…He can’t understand. I just can’t forget her.
I did a roll trying to vent some frustration; it didn’t work.
And then that fight yesterday. Why did he have to shout and make Fam cry like that? Even if she did misread the bucking map.
Something about the map still bothered me. I couldn’t quite place it, we were flying southeast over the canyon.
…the canyon!
The map showed the enemy encampment fifty clicks from the canyon but we were right over it when we were attacked. There’s no way we ran into their territory, the enemy force was too large to be a routine patrol; either it was an attack battalion or…
“Luntatic! They know we’re here!”
“What?”
“We didn’t fly into the main enemy camp yesterday! They were waiting for us.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! We need to fall back before…”
As if my words brought them down on us, a shell exploded in front of me. I felt a sharp pain in my left wing and I fell out of the sky.
I was falling and I couldn’t stop myself. My wing felt like it was on fire as I tried desperately to slow my decent; panic began to overwhelm me as my attempts proved futile. The wind rushed by me as my heart pounded in my chest. One of the twins’ screams echoed in my headset.
Oh no, I thought; then the ground rushed up at me.
***
I was surrounded by a pale mist, almost like I was trapped inside a cumulus cloud. It was warm and inviting, as though it were welcoming me home. I took the opportunity to simply curl up and enjoy the feeling. The white vapors swirled around my body, dancing with a life of their own. Suddenly the fog shifted, and the faint outline of a pony appeared; I couldn’t believe my eyes. I knew who she was as soon as I saw her. She was just as I remembered, her silver coat accentuated by her blue-streaked golden mane.
I got up and ran to her, embraced her and kissed her.
“I’ve missed you so much,” I said, tears running down my cheeks.
She returned my embrace and I never wanted to let her go.
“I’ve missed you too,” she whispered in my ear. “But maybe it’s time you moved on.”
Her words shook me to my core. I broke from her embrace, shocked at her statement. I was about to shout, but the tears welling in her sapphire eyes told me everything.
“I-I can’t…” I said, looking away from her.
“Why?”
“I can’t forget you.”
She sidled up to me and draped a large silvery wing across mine; nuzzling me gently.
“I’m not asking you to forget me; I just want you to be happy.”
She walked around in front of me and kissed me again; deeply, passionately.
“I know I will always have a special place right here,” She said, placing a hoof on my chest. “I’ll always be there and we will meet again someday.”
I looked in her eyes, and knew she was right.
“I will always love you, no matter what,” she whispered. “You will make some lucky filly very happy…but first, you have to wake up.”
My eyes snapped open; they were sore, as though I had been crying. It took a moment for me to realize where I was. I was lying in the bottom of a trench, covered in mud. The soft earth must have absorbed much of the impact from my crash. As I gingerly got to my feet, the only true sensation I had was pain. Everything hurt, I had an abrasion on the side of my face, and my entire side ached. Looking back over my shoulder I could see my wing was in tatters. It was definitely broken, evidenced by a pink bone protruded out of the leading edge and the streams of blood that ran down my blue feathers. The slightest movement brought forth so much pain I saw stars.
Not good, I thought.
I knew I was up against a clock now, if I didn’t hurry I might lose the wing. I had been laying in muck for who knows how long, and while the mud plastered on my wounds probably kept me from bleeding to death, it could also lead to infection.
I pushed the call button on my radio.
“Friesian Flight, this is Sergeant Snap Shot, Friesian Flight come in.”
Silence was the only reply I received. I pressed a button and changed the radio frequency.
“Mayday, Mayday. This is Sergeant Snap Shot broadcasting on the REA open Channel. Any friendly forces please respond; this is a distress call.”
There wasn’t even the crackle of static; my radio must have been damaged in the crash.
“Mule Fritters!” I swore out loud. “Looks like I’m hoofing it.”
I pressed the emergency release button and the guns slid off my back and spattered into the mud. I winced as the movement jarred my broken wing. I removed my flight helmet and dropped it next to my guns, the thing probably kept my skull from caving in when I crashed, but now it was useless weight.
I started walking, my pace was slow but at least it was moving. Keeping the sun on my right, I moved south through the trench. After about a mile, I found what I was looking for. Ahead of me a pony sat with his back against the trench wall basking in what little light was produced by the setting sun. I staggered over to him as quickly as my injuries would allow.
“Soldier!” I coughed out as I approached.
He didn’t hear me; I moved closer to the point I could see the stripes on his sleeves.
“Private, I need…”
I noticed a large red stain on his uniform, and felt my hopes dashed; he was dead. I was left staring at a corpse, if it wasn’t for the blood on his jacket, he could have been sleeping. I sat down dumbstruck, the body shocked me. I was no stranger to death, but for some reason I couldn’t move past him. I stared at him for a few minutes, nothing but a still silence to keep me company; then the stillness was broken.
My ears perked to a series of growls from the other side of trench; an enemy patrol. I frantically looked for a place to take cover, but everything was exposed; I had nowhere to hide. Suddenly, I got a flash of grizzly inspiration; it was a long shot but it was the only option I had.
I lay down in the mud next to the dead soldier. The scratching and growls came closer; I could almost feel the CB’s on top of me. A low grumbling resounded from directly above me, I didn’t dare to breathe. The Bravo stood there for what seemed like an eternity. My heart was dancing in my chest and I was sure he knew I was alive, but after one last snort he trundled off in search of more lively prey. I waited, barely breathing, until I was absolutely sure that the enemy had moved on, before once again staggering painfully to my feet.
“Thanks private,” I said nodding to the body.
I kept walking along the trench, I didn’t want end up like that poor colt; alone and forgotten. I had to keep moving, I had to keep putting one hoof in front of the other. I was beginning to feel light headed, as though I were spending too much time in thin air. My side was starting to hurt badly and it was beginning to affect my vision. To get my mind off the pain I focused on my other problem, there had to be a mole in our unit. That’s the only way they could have known about our flight path and patrol route. I thought about the higher ups first, they had access to the maps and would know when we were out on patrol.
My knees buckled and I used my good wing to steady myself against the trench wall. There was one flaw in that theory, Famosity sent us in the wrong direction. If someone in rear echelon was involved they would know about our flight plan, but not our directionally challenged IO. That narrowed down the possibilities to someone in the unit that knew the fight plan and when we were being misdirected; flight control.
I limped on; the screaming pain in my side slowed my progress even more. It was becoming increasingly harder to breathe; it felt like a chimera was sitting on my chest. I coughed and my hoof came away bloody.
That can’t be good, I thought.
I took two more steps and my legs finally failed me; I collapsed. I felt helpless; there was nothing I could do but to wheeze into the dirt. The pain in my chest was excruciating, I pulled out the dragon scale and gave it one last kiss.
“Looks like I’m going to see you again sooner than you thought.”
I closed my eyes and listened to my own rasping breath, each draw of air caused pain to rake my body. I could hear my heart beating, echoing around my ears like a bass drum. Then a new sound, a simple “clip-clop” that echoed the steady rhythm of a walk. Then another joined it, and another after that; it was a patrol.
Get up! A voice rang out in my head. Get the buck up!
I rose shakily, moving over to the edge of the trench. I climbed up the side, catching a brief glimpse of a group of ten ponies walking in uniform before sliding back down to the bottom of the trench. The walls were too steep, I couldn’t get out…It was over.
“What was that?” I heard a filly ask.
“Huh?” A colt replied.
“I thought I saw something,” the filly said.
“It was probably nothing. You’re always seeing things Stargazer.”
I tried to cry out for help, but I couldn’t gather enough strength to do it. Just trying to keep breathing was a Herculean task.
“I know I saw something.”
Please, I pleaded. Go look.
“The sarge is going to be mad if you wander off again.”
There was a brief pause, as though she were considering, then there was the sound of hooves approaching the trench.
“Well, I’m not wandering off to horse around with you this time, Java. It will just take a second…road apples! Sarge! Medic!”
“What is it Corporal?”
I heard the sound of a pony sliding down into the trench.
“Injured pony! Medic!”
I looked up to see a jet black pony with emerald eyes staring down at me with a worried look on her face. Two more ponies joined her; a red unicorn and a golden earth pony.
“He’s barely breathing, can you save him Doc?”
The red unicorn threw the medical saddlebags off his back; unfurling it on the ground.
“Cut his shirt off,” he ordered the obsidian unicorn, levitating a pair of scissors.
I felt my eyelids begin to droop, I was so tired.
“Soldier!” the medic said. “No, stay awake. Look at me, stay awake.”
I forced my eyes open, as they finished removing my flight suit. Doc scowled at what he saw.
“Buck it all, severe Hemothorax.”
“Wha?” Stargazer asked.
“He’s bleeding into his chest, it’s putting pressure on his lungs and he can’t breathe.”
The medic was right about one thing; I felt like I was drowning. My head started to spin and the world was slowly beginning to darken.
“Stay with me, Sergeant!” the medic shouted, “We have to relieve the pressure…number ten scalpel.”
Stargazer levitated a curved blade the medic.
“Hold still Sergeant.”
Doc used the blade to carve a line in my side, blood spilled out of the incision. The initial pain from cut was masked by the ache in my side, but I felt myself breathing easier.
“Medivac inbound, Sir!” Java said to his sergeant.
“You hear that flyer,” Doc said, flashing a false smile. “They’re coming to get you, just hold on a little longer. Corporal, pressure bandage on here, try and control the bleeding.”
Stargazer pressed a bandage on my wound, causing me to cry out in pain.
“Sorry sir,” she said. “Please bear with it; I have to keep you from bleeding out.”
I gave her a brief nod of understanding.
“Tell…Agent Snow…Universal Exports…it’s the flight controller.” I coughed out.
“Don’t try to talk,” The filly said. “Sarge you get that?”
The sergeant nodded.
“Yeah…” he said darkly.
The medivac ponies arrived, four tall, strong pegasi that loaded me onto a stretcher and flew me, in all haste, back to the main camp. I was unloaded at the hospital and rushed into an operating room.
Ponies in white coats and masks huddled all around me. Tubes were inserted in my arms and jars of water and blood hung above me; dripping the lifesaving fluid into my body. I lay on the gurney under a blazing light and the nurse placed a mask over my face.
“Just take a deep breath.” She said in a soothing voice, though there was a hint of urgency in her eyes.
There was nothing to do but followed her order and slowly, I drifted off to sleep.
***
I was awoken by a grinding sound which was adding to my splitting headache. I opened my eyes to a blurry white room, I blinked a couple of times and the world came back into focus. I felt groggy and a little light headed as I took in my surroundings. The hospital bed I was laying in had been made up with several blankets to keep me warm. I had mask over my face helping me breathe and my throat felt scratchy. The grinding sound was emanating from a jet black Pegasus who had fallen asleep in a chair, his head lolled back as he snored. I wondered how long Show had been sitting there.
A doctor walked by and noticed I was awake, he flashed a disapproving look at my noisily sleeping wingman before walking over.
“Oh good, you’re up, Sergeant Snap Shot,” he said as he trotted over to my wingman, giving him a sharp prod as he read the chart on the end of my bed. “Sergeant Offington, if you can’t sleep quietly, I’m going to make you stay in the waiting area.”
Show woke with a start, and quickly tried to reposition himself in the chair. He looked over at me and a huge smile crossed his face.
“Snap! You’re awake!”
I tried to respond but couldn’t because of the mask.
“Well, this makes things easier,” the doctor addressed to me. “We were going to remove the intubation tube today anyway.”
He undid the mask, sliding the straps off around my ears.
“Okay, exhale.”
I followed his order and as I did he pulled the mask away taking with it a long tube that had been shoved down my throat. It sent me into a coughing fit that wracked my body with pain; I suddenly remembered why I was laying in a hospital bed.
“Sorry son, you had a punctured lung, two broken ribs and several internal injuries. It was a tricky surgery but luckily you had me for a surgeon and I was able to stop the bleeding and…”
I didn’t care about the doctor or his rant; I needed to know if I was ever going to fly again.
“My wing doctor, what about my wing?” I asked in a gravelly voice.
“Hmph,” the doc huffed. “You flyers are always thinking with your wings instead of your brains.”
He still didn’t answer my question, and I couldn’t bear to look behind me and find it missing.
“Is it still there?”
“Oh, yes your wing is fine. It had been broken in a few places but it should heal up just fine after the reconstruction. We had to remove a couple primary feathers but they have been replaced with synthetics, they haven’t been painted yet but we’ll be able to match your natural feather color.”
I looked back at my wing; it was wrapped in a split, but it was still attached. I could see the silver, magic crafted feathers that were fixed to my wing bone. I tried to rotate them, like I would if I were maneuvering in the air. They rotated perfectly, as though I were born with them; I truly was amazed at the craftsmanship.
“Wow,” I said with my mouth ajar.
“And that is why synthetic feathers can stay flying in the REA and synthetic wings can’t,” Show said with a yawn. “The fake wings will let you fly, but not with the control you used to have.”
“Will my old feathers grow back?”
“Possibly.” The doctor said off handedly.
“We’ll get ‘em colored as soon as you can get out of bed.” My wingman said cheerfully.
“Leave them.” I said quietly.
“What?” Show asked confused.
“Leave them…as a reminder.”
The doctor began to tap his hoof impatiently.
“Is they anything else I can help you with?”
I looked up at him, and couldn’t help but smile. I thought about coming up with some smart remark, then I decided against it. He might have been an arrogant son of a mule, but he kept me from dying. I at least owed him a little gratitude.
“Thanks Doctor. Just some water, please.”
The stallion smiled broadly and stood up straighter.
“I’ll have a nurse bring you some ice chips.” He said before moving on to another bed.
“The twins! Are the twins okay? I heard…”
“They are both fine, just banged up a bit.” Show said, the fatigue evident in his voice.
I looked over at Show Off; my wingman looked exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes and seemed like he was about to fall out of his chair.
“How long have you been there?” I asked him.
“As long as you’ve been out.”
“How long has that been?”
Show looked up at the clock hanging on the wall.
“Well, let’s see. It’s 1400 now…”
He paused for a beat.
“Three days.”
I stared at him, shocked.
“I’ve been out for three days?”
“You were really bucked up when they got you in here. The doctors said that by all rights you should be dead.”
I pulled out the dragon scale that was till hanging around my neck. It was pristine; I guessed Show Off cleaned my blood off it while I was asleep.
“I was given a second chance…and a message.”
“What was the message?” Show Off asked, leaning in.
“Maybe…maybe it is time to move on…” I said with a sigh.
My wingman just sat dumbstruck for several seconds.
“What brought this on?” He asked confused.
I didn’t respond; I just stared at the dragon scale as a tear rolled down my cheek. That seemed to be all the answer Show needed.
“Well, you certainly could have your choice out here. Maybe Silver Lining?”
“She’s a little young for me, besides she’s seeing Sure Lock, that colt from the 2nd infantry.”
“Hmm, I could talk to Fleetfoot, I think Misty and Blaze might still be single. Maybe she can hook you up with one of them; I know you have a thing for fillies in uniform.” He teased.
I felt myself blush, but he was right. Show smiled at my reaction, knowing he had hit a soft spot.
“If all else fails,” he continued. “I’m sure Quill will have some ideas.”
I rolled my eyes.
“If Quill is getting involved, I’m better off staying single the rest of my life.”
“Good point,” Show laughed.
“How did you ditch flying duty for the last three days?”
“Ah, you see…I’m sick too. I got the feather flu.”
I regarded his complexion; aside from sleepless eyes he seemed fine.
“Feather flu?” I asked him.
“Fam and Quill are covering for me…just so long as I report back to them every half hour.”
The nurse arrived with the ice chips; she also adjusted the medication in my IV. Whatever she did made me groggy, and I slowly lost my grip on consciousness.
***
I awoke in the middle of the night, surrounded by the dark room and a sharp pain in my side. Show Off was curled in a ball on his chair, fast asleep. Another visitor was standing at the foot of my bed.
“Visiting hours are over Agent Snow.” I told her begrudgingly.
The pearl white unicorn shook her pink mane as she addressed me.
“I’m sorry but this the only time I could talk with you in private. After all, this is a hospital.”
“What about Show?” I said, nodding to the sleeping pony.
“Oh, he’ll be out for a while. He needed some sleep, he’s barely left your side since he found out you were brought in.”
I felt myself grow angrier.
“Great, you drugged my wingman and now you expect me to talk with you. What the buck are you after?”
“Just checking on you.”
I refused to make eye contact with the agent.
“Did you get the flight controller?”
“He was gone by the time we go there.”
“Gone?”
“AWOL, went on leave for two days and then didn’t return. Whoever he was working for is covering their hoof prints.”
This was some disconcerting news, he could have led us to the pony who nearly got my wingman and I killed twice.
“Buck it all.”
“My thoughts exactly, sergeant.”
“So if it’s not to ask about the flight controller then why are you here, and give me a straight answer.”
The mare paced back and forth, apparently telling the truth wasn’t something she was used to.
“I was ordered by the Princesses. They wanted a report on how you two were doing.”
I wasn’t quite sure how much of that was true and frankly I didn’t care.
“Whatever frosts your cupcake, Agent Snow.”
The tall mare stopped and smiled at me.
“You know Snap Shot, you’d make a pretty good agent. Smart, inquisitive, witty and a knack for when things smell like the cow pasture. Good work on the flight controller, you saved lives.”
“I would have never known if our IO hadn’t sent us in the wrong direction.”
This didn’t seem to change her opinion of me at all.
“Well Sergeant, I’ll let you get some sleep. You might want to let your wingman sleep in; he’s going to have a bad headache when he wakes up.”
She left as quietly has she had come; I was left staring at the white ceiling of the hospital room. It didn’t take me too long counting tiles before I drifted off to dreamland.
***
The next morning, I used the excess time I had for recovery to do some house keeping paperwork. Show Off woke up and needed a hospital bed of his own; whatever Snow slipped him had left him with a severe migraine.
Quill and Rarity stopped by to check on me, they kept their visit short. It was obvious that they had been pulling strings to keep Show Off in the medical ward, and they didn’t want to give the game up. The Lieutenant acted as if he were simply visiting a subordinate, but I knew the truth; he was worried about me. It must have been hard for him, trying to maintain the balance of being an officer and a friend at the same time. I could tell that it was tearing him up inside, he definitely seemed saddened as he left.
Famosity came in behind them; I guessed she was waiting in the lobby for Quill and Rarity to leave. She probably didn’t want to run into Rarity and cause a scene in the middle of the hospital. The captain checked in on me, it was sweet of her to come in. Though she did take the opportunity to draw all over my hospital room walls before the nurse came in and stopped her. Fam asked about Show briefly before leaving. Even if her relationship with my wingman was a little rocky at the moment, she still cared about us.
The rest of the day was spent either sleeping or settling debts. I wrote a letter to the unit that found me in the ditch, thanking Stargazer and Doc specifically. I also wrote a letter to Graves Registration, letting them know where the dead soldier was. The poor bastard saved my life; the least I could do was see that he got a proper burial. After that there was nothing I could do but wait.
I looked down at the dragon scale.
“Well,” I told it. “I’m not sure where we are going, but at least we still have our family right?”
