Orchid's Flower Emporium [Dead]

[orchidbloom]

Sunlight streamed through the east window, sending rays of golden color around the small room. Orchid Bloom reluctantly fell out of bed, stumbling to the mirror on her dresser. A blurry-eyed, frizzy-maned mare looked back at her. Sighing greatly, she levitated a brush from the tabletop next to her, her eyes blurring the shimmery green light around the object. After thoroughly combing her blue streaked purple hair and shaking the last bit of sleep from her eyes, Orchid Bloom set out.

Today was a special day. A very exciting one, at the least. Her hooves clip-clopped on the cobblestone road outside her house. She was set at a fast pace to get to the marketplace. Orchid owned a flower shop, believe it or not. Her father had one way back when, and helped her build her very own not long ago. Orchid had a passion for all things nature, and she had to hold in an excited squeal about what was happening today. A new shipment of flowers; all new kinds and colors, all for her own little shop. She was ecstatic, and on these kind of occasions, she regretted living os far away from the marketplace. 

At this time of morning, few ponies were out setting up their colorful awnings over shops here and there. Orchid moved right on along, smiling and good-morning-ing to the other sales ponies. Her shop was nestled in a grassy patch away from most of the hustle and bustle, but still surrounded by shops nonetheless. She grinned when the four white columns came into view. Her shop was special in the sense that there was only one wall. The roof was open, allowing sunlight to warm her face as she walked around the area. All her bins were empty, awaiting the arrival of the new specimens. Finding the large cart behind the one back wall, Orchid suppressed another squeal. For the next couple of hours, she would be busy, that's for sure. There were roses, dandelions, sunflowers, tulips, lilies, daisies, carnations, and other assortments of tropical flowers spilling out of the cart. Orchid grinned. 

It was now later morning, and flowers were spilling from her shop. Orchid sighed. "Today," she said, is going to be a good day."

[Carmine]

Strong gales ripped and roared in the towering heights above Ponyville, causing the many altocumulus clouds to migrate away from the quaint ponies they watched over. And yet, through the wisping winds and the grey foliage, the sunlight remained strong, determined in its mission to provide all creatures with warmth. It was here that Carmine Blitzfire tended to stay, taking up rent in the puffy clouds near Ponyville while she looked for a steady job. She had moved from the far-flung city of Stalliongrad, where most of her family resided. The place was a sprawling mass of snow-encased buildings and tough ponies, all of which Carmine had had enough of. At the insistence of her parents, she had ventured to Ponyville. It was a crossroads sort of town, with all types of ponyfolk living together as one. Hopefully, Blitz thought, she could be a part of them. 

 It was also in the clouds that Carmine loved to practice her art of high dives. In Stalliongrad, she was infamous for climbing to lofty heights before plunging down towards the ground at blistering speeds. Her windsiren, a device that wailed at an alarming rate as wind blew through it, propelled her to even more renown, but only perhaps with the older generation of the city, whom she loved to pull pranks on. 

 The snow-white pony teetered on the edge of her small cloud, licking her lips in anxious concentration. Her first dive in the morning was always the most critical, because it set the tone for all the others. If Blitz bombed this one, her mood would drop and she'd have enough of her tricks for the day. In contrast, a spectacular first dive would be followed by dozens more, lasting well into the dusk hours of Equestria. 

 "Davai... here goes nothing!" 

 Her eyes closed, Carmine let herself fall forward, dropping off the cloud headfirst. Immediately the wind screamed at her lithe body, threatening to bully her into losing control. But she held fast, keeping her wings glued to her sides and her legs behind her to pick up speed. It wasn't long before she did. 

 'Odin... '

The pegasus squinted open her eyes, taking in the magnificent scenery all around her. The clouds were zipping past her in grey blobs, making her chuckle with a jubilant, adrenaline-filled glee. It was good to have wings.

 'Dva... '

 With a tremendous amount of strength, Carmine managed to stretch her limber wings out horizontally on both sides of her flanks. Not one to lose, the wind viciously fought back, making its opponent struggle with every second passed. The pegasus continued to plunge from the sky like a solid rock.

'Tri! '

 Using all of her power, Blitzfire twisted her wings and rolled rapidly to the left. Now the world was a spinning blur of inanimate objects. The young pony smiled to herself with supreme confidence; she was alive! 'No pony is as fast as me... not one! Let there be a challenger who thinks she can dive faster than this one! ' Her thoughts ran rampant with images of grandeur. The sky was her playground. And as she shot down at Ponyville, Carmine knew that this was where she belonged. 

[Lightning Clash]

It was sunny once again in Ponyville. The warm rays of Celestia's sun gave everyone a comfortable feeling. It seemed everyday was as cheerful and great for the town. Even when it was raining the town seemed to make you forget about it. Lightning Clash was hovering above thee town looking at everything in sight. The sight of the cheerful town below would never get old for Lightning. He was just above the marketplace as he watched the ponies below him sell goods to others or just talk. It was only late morning yet every pony seemed to be awake. From where he was he could see his house from his position. It was just north of the marketplace. The white pegasus started to think of what to do next. He thought of visiting the marketplace and view the many stores it held. Maybe he could meet some of the ponies that were down there or maybe just fly somewhere else.

As he was thinking he could hear a faint sound in the distance. He looked all around and below, trying to find the source but he didn't even start to think of looking above him. At that moment a figure seemed to fly inches by him, diving towards the marketplace at extreme speeds. Lightning was pushed a metre or two from where he was originally since the force of the wind the figure made was so strong. He started too hover again and looked below him. The figure seemed to be a blur but Lightning could recognise it as a pegasus. He was very impressed at how fast it could fly but also worried, seeing the pegasus was diving straight to the marketplace.

'Could they slow down in time?' Lightning thought. He decided he should try and follow to see what happens. Lightning began to dive towards the ground and attempted to keep up with the pegasus, that wasn't going to work...

[Carmine]

 "Aaaghaa!!!"

 Tearing her way through the air like a rocket, Carmine's eyes widened with panic as another pegasus came into view. She was going to crash! There was no way she could pull up or stop in time, so the fiery mare braced herself. She tucked in her head, tensed her legs, and then viciously rolled to her right. Her wings folding under the extreme force, she blasted right past the unsuspecting pegasus, missing by a few hooves. 

 Carmine opened her eyes. She was now spiraling out of control; the wind taking absolute control over her as she failed to right herself. "Come on.. come on.. COME ON!!!" she snarled as she attempted to cast her wings out once more. It didn't work. She was getting frighteningly closer to Ponyville. For a second, the wild pegasus thought about her windsiren and how loud things would have been. She almost laughed were it not for her dire situation.

 Blitzfire had to calm down. Her heart was racing and her equilibrium was understandably tangled. With grim determination, the white mare threw her legs out on all sides, as if she were stretching on the ground. Arching her back in, Carmine leaned as far backwards as she could, and tried to open her wings once more. This time it worked! With the sky still ripping at her body, Carmine felt herself begin to gain control of her trajectory. And yet, the Stalliongrad native could feel her wings shaking. They burned and ached with the gargantuan amount of force that they were fighting against. If Blitz couldn't slow down in time, she'd be in trouble.

 The descending pony could see Ponyville a lot more clearer now. There were little colorful specks that Carmine figured were other ponies, and brown square shapes all around. She licked her lips and grimaced. She was going too fast to stop!!

[orchidbloom]

Three shiny gems plinked into a brown, clasped box with a satisfying thud. Flipping the box closed with one hoof, Orchid waved with the other. "Have a lovely day! Thank you for shopping!" She called after the colt leaving he shop. He turned and tipped his bright blue hat before walked out with a bouquet of assorted flowers floating close on his trail. The first customer of the day was always the most exciting, because from there on out, you know that you at least made one pony happy.

Orchid came out from behind the short, wooden counter that backed against the only wall. In this time of year, she could smell the beautiful scent of blooming citrus all around her and she was grateful for the open shop. Weaving between bright baskets full of all kinds of plants and flowers, she selected bright carnations and yellow daisies, mixing some pale green ferns and pink tulips into a large, ornate vase. After thoroughly moving them around, she magically lifted a pitcher of water off of one of the many tables stuffed in the small space and filled the vase up to the middle with water. And for the piece de resistance... Orchid grabbed bright blue glitter from a shelf and ever so gently stirred it with clear glue. Picking up a popsicle stick with her magic, she glopped some glittery-gluey substance and smeared it around the mouth of the vase. She stepped back and admired her work. Now, to dispose of the extra glitter glop before it gets over everything else...

A faint whistle caught her ear. Like the sound something makes when you move it through the air really quick and it makes a little whistle sounds. Like something was falling...

Orchid's first instinct was to look up, which ended up to be a bad idea. She didn't really prepare herself to see a pegasus falling head first towards her shop... her shop. If that pony landed in her shop, it would surely crush the things inside it where the pony landed, not to mention hurt the pegasus. She danced around on her hooves, thinking. What to do when a pegasus pony is diving at quite a high speed towards your stuffed flower shop? Somehow, she had never really thought through this scenario before. Couldn't they just slow down? They looked to be struggling quite a bit already, ad getting closer fast. Orchid Bloom scrambled around the shop, pushing tables as hard as she could to move them to the side, but to no avail. And she had nothing remotely soft if they were to land hard...  

Orchid scoured her shop, searching for anything that would help this situation. However, looking down doesn't really tell you when a diving pegasus is going to land in your shop. Orchid thought she heard a voice, but didn't look up. Too late...

CRASH!

[Lightning Clash]

Lightning continued to fly after the pegasus that was still sprawling towards the ground. He could see that the pegasus was making every possible method of slowing down. It stretched its legs out to the side and arced is body up as much as possible. It even got its wings to come out surprisingly. This all created resistance to the wind, slowing the pegasus down. Yet, it didn't do enough for it to gain control. Now that the pegasus was like this, impact with the ground would be... well very painful, of course it would be.

Lightning tried to think of anyway he could help. After a moment of thought, all his ideas involved getting close to the pegasus, but, those ideas were chucked away since Lightning could not catch up with an out of control dive. He now could see that the pegasus was heading towards the marketplace and still was diving. It was too late, it was going to hit the ground and no one can stop it. Lightning hoped that it landed on something soft or something that won't injury it majorly. The pegasus then seemed to go in a shop, it had no roof it seemed from Lightning view up high. A second past and then...

CRASH!

Lightning heard the bang from the ground impact. He could see a small dust cloud from the impact rise from it. 'Oh no, what do I do!' Lightning shouted in his mind. He flew as fast as he could towards the ground, towards the point of impact. "I hope their ok..." Lightning said to himself.

[Carmine]

 Carmine felt her heart sink with despair. She knew that there was no way to escape this. Yes, the pegasus was losing speed in her fall, but the distance from the ground was too close to have any real impact on her ability to land without injury. The wind continued to roar at Carmine; her vermilion hair flailing wildly, brightened by the sun that still beamed down on the land.

 With the last few ounces of her dwindling power, Blitzfire pitched her upper body up, desperately attempting a final effort to pull out of the careening dive and back into relative safety. She tilted her wings up, which were still locked out away from her sides, and tucked in her hooves once more. During regular dives, an upwards pitch was utilized with her wings kept out and body tucked tight. With a slight tilt in the wings, the pegasus would start pulling up or down, depending on how her wings were orientated. It was as easy as making a hayburger.

 But those dives were practiced thousands of feet above where Carmine was now dropping. And at her break-neck speed, the only thing she could have done was to roll to her side, tuck her bottom wing against her body, and hope for the best. Which is exactly what she did.

 Looking down at the town, a certain building with an open roof was rapidly rising to meet her. It was almost like she was getting swallowed. There was somepony down there.. moving at an erratic pace back and forth inside the building. Did he or she have a clue what was going to happen?

 "LOOK OUT!!"

 Only a few seconds remained. Like a brittle leaf in the breeze, Carmine swung her left legs out and to the right; the momentum turning her on her left side. She nervously shielded her body with her left wing, gritting her teeth as the helpless pony imagined the pain that would soon come. Covering her face with a hoof, Carmine felt nothing but the cold, wailing gales for a moment.

 Then she hit.

 The pegasus ended up skidding off the side of the open roof with the left side of her body; her wing absorbing most of the impact. She was lucky that she had not plowed into the roof head on, for the fortunate ricochet muffled the crash and taken away her dangerous speed. But she still hit the ground floor with a loud and cracking CRASH!

 Carmine blacked out.

[orchidbloom]

Orchid jumped, yelping a little like a hurt animal. As if she was the one hurt!
A pegasus was skidding across the beam that connected two of the four columns, before she tumbled hard to the floor. The pegasus then lay motionless underneath a collapsed table, all kinds of flowers lying around them. The water pitcher had careened off the table, colliding with blue glitter mush that now was spread everywhere. A light breeze blew through, lifting away the stemless flowers. 

"Oh- oh my goodness are you alright?" she practically yelled, galloping over to the sprawled pony. She was breathing, but her eyes were sealed up tight. "oh dear..." Orchid trampled across layers of blown and knocked over flowers, which she cursed herself for doing, but hunted nonetheless for another water pitcher somewhere. Digging behind the wooden counter, she threw things out of the way with magic before finding a water bottle deep behind other objects on a low shelf. She grabbed a roll of silky gray ribbon that she would tie around vases as decoration, incase anything on this pony needed to be wrapped. She felt like that was a pretty high chance. 

Galloping back to the pony, who wiggled a little, but not much more, she set down her objects. A mare walked up to the shop, but quickly turned seeing the mess and the flustered owner and walked away. Orchid sighed at the loss of customer, but focused on the task at hand. Uncapping the bottle, she said sorry to the mare in advance before splashing around half of the bottle onto her face. Orchid flinched, waiting to see what would happen. 

[Lightning Clash]

Lightning, now close to the ground, spread his wings to stop suddenly in the air and started to hover. Lightning could hear a scream from where the pegasus crashed. 'Oh no! Did they land on something hard? Was that the pegasus who screamed or did they land on somepony else!' Lightning's mind seemed to be shouting all the possible conclusions giving him a headache. All the thoughts stopped arguing when Lightning came back to reality. He needed to stay focus. He looked at the shop of where the pegasus had hit. He flew over to the shop and hovered above the open roof.

He could now see everything. Dirt and flowers were scattered across the ground and many other things were broken. Lightning noticed a violet unicorn with purple and bright blue hair was splashing water onto the crashed pegasus from a bottle. It didn't look good at all. The pegasus was a creamy white colour with a dark red mane. The pegasus was still breathing and was under a collapsed table. Her eyes were sealed shut and Lightning guessed she was unconscious. Could he help in anyway? Lightning decided to fly down into the small shop and slowly approached the two ponies. Dirt and flowers became stuck in his hooves. It seemed the unicorn had splashed water on the pegasus as an attempt to wake them up.

"Um... Hello" Lightning said shyly. This situation wasn't easy to approach. He didn't know what to say or couldn't think of anything he could do to help at the time. "Is there anything I could do too help?" Lightning asked. He looked at the pegasus seeing if the water did anything too help. Maybe he should have went to find help. Yet Lightning's choice was to stay and see if the unicorn needed help with the pegasus or see if the pegasus would wake.

[Carmine]

 "Oh-oh my goodness, are you alright? Oh dear.. "

 ......

 "Is there anything I can do to help?"

 ......

 A wet and cool sensation exploded over Carmine's mucky face, causing her eyes to quicky unbolt from their comatose state. She shuddered painfully, using a dirty hoof to wipe away the water that had soaked her mane. Immediately she groaned in discomfort, covering her eyes as she let her head drop to the floor. "Ugh.. my head.. " Pain throbbed in surging waves throughout her whole body, and the pegasus quickly became dismayed as she realized she couldn't feel her wings. Raising her head, Carmine squinted her eyes, staring at her surroundings. There was a worried-looking unicorn gawking at her, as well as an equally concerned pegasus stallion next to her. The unicorn, a mare, was a luscious violet color, with her wavy mane a darker hue of purple. The stallion was similar to Carmine in coat color, although his mane was a piercing aqua color. After a few seconds, Carmine realized that this pegasus was the same one she had almost collided with in the air. 

 Casting a furtive glance at her back, the Stalliongrad mare recoiled in shock. Her left wing was completely battered; the sleek and soft shine reduced to a mucky dirt pallor, and the joints were agonizingly twisted in the wrong spots. Chunks of pottery and dirt fell to the floor as Blitzfire attempted to stand up. But her legs began to shake violently, and she collapsed with a weak whimper. This was absolutely ridiculous!

 The fiery-maned pegasus turned back to glance at the other two ponies, her vibrant red eyes burning into theirs with a desperate intensity. Carmine's wing was probably broken, her ability to walk was gone, and she had just broken a bunch of anotherpony's property. Another wave of intense pain zapped through her body like electricity, and she bit her lip, groaning.

 "I am so sorry about this.. I was flying up there when I lost control and couldn't pull out of my dive. Are you two alright?" she croaked in a tight, brittle voice.
 

[orchidbloom]

Orchid wasn't expecting this other Pegasus, although, she was thankful for their soft entry. This stallion seemed rather timid, however, Orchid was glad that she wasn't alone with an unconscious pony anymore, even if the Pegasus was coming to her senses. 

"Oh, hello there. Uhmmm..."  Orchid pondered the question. "Do you know how to properly wrap injured wings?" This Pegasus's left wing was horribly figured, making Orchid cringe. The pony now had her eyes open, wiping water from her face and groaning. "Oh I'm truly sorry about the water, I just didn't know how else to wake you... Oh dear dear...." She could only imagine how painful this was for the pony. Orchid grabbed various herbs from a small case off in the very back of the shop, pulling out a bowl and pestle as well as the last of the water. Splashing a small amount in, she tossed the herbs into the bowl and began to mash the ingredients. No matter how much she was laughed at for being a "medicine pony" and a "witch", Orchid couldn't help but learn all about plants and their qualities. She knew that a certain flower mixed with a variety of herbs and water, when mixed correctly, could be a great painkiller. Plucking a vibrant pink orchid from a bouquet, and sighed and smashed the beautiful petals until the mixture was quite done. She heard the Pegasus apologize, her voice cracked and brittle. As orchid walked back over, the bowl floating by her head, she shook of the apology. 

"No no, we can worry about the shop later. Right now, you should drink this. It won't taste particularly good, but it should do the trick for the majority of your pain." Orchid didn't care what these two thought of her at the moment; instead she smiled as she levitated the drink to the Pegasus, who's eyes blazed with so many mixed emotions, that Orchid looked away, to the other pony present. "I'm Orchid Bloom, by the way. As long as we are here, which is as long as it takes for you to feel as good as possible, we might as well learn names." After seeing the Pegasus trying to stand, Orchid feared they could be here a while.

[Lightning Clash]

Lightning thought of the question the violet unicorn had asked. He knew how to wrap injured wings but he wasn't confident with this type of damage to a wing. Lightning looked again at the injury of the white pegasus. The joints were in the wrong places and if he were to bandage it up, if he even had bandages, it would cause lots of pain. But he wouldn't knew, he wasn't an expert. "Sorry I can wrap damaged wings but... I'm not confident with this type of injury, sorry" Lightning told the unicorn. She then apologised to the pegasus cause of the water she had splashed onto her face and then gathered up many types of herbs. She seemed to be making some type of mixture.

The pegasus had than said sorry about losing control in the air with a brittle voice. The unicorn just replied saying it was fine as she levitated the mixture she had made to the pegasus with a smile on her face. She seemed too be handling the current situation well. Lightning looked around the small shop, he could now see all the damage. Pots were shattered, flowers flattened, dirt everywhere yet she seemed to take no notice of this. Lightning's thoughts were interrupted as he heard another groan from the pegasus and looked at the wing again. It was surprising that her wing absorbed most of the fall damage but she still was in intense pain. The unicorn then turned to Lightning and said her name was Orchid Bloom.

"Nice too meet you, I'm Lightning Clash" he replied "Sorry for flying in unexpectedly but I just saw the crash and I couldn't just forget about it an fly away. They might of needed help" he added. He started wondering if he should ask the other pegasus's name but hesitated knowing she must be in a lot of pain to answer, but he decided to anyway. "And what is your name if you don't mind me asking?" Lightning asked the injured pegasus.

[Carmine]

 Carmine watched as the unicorn hurriedly trotted away, disappearing within the dusty confines of the flower shop. The pain throbbing in her wing and hooves made her cringe. The mare suddenly felt very vulnerable, and looked down at her forelegs in embarrassment. 'If only the pegasi back in Stalliongrad could see me now.. how they would laugh at me.. ' she thought to herself despairingly.

 The two pegasi watched as the unicorn returned with a mortar floating in the air above her horn, encapsulated within her magic. Carmine's nose scrunched up, and she smacked her lips in disgust. That bitter smell! The fiery pony's stomach sank as she eyed the thick bowl, a strange liquid filling its hollow cavity like a lake. The unicorn brought the foul concoction close to Blitzfire's quivering lips. "Right now, you should drink this. It won't taste particularly good, but it should do the trick for the majority of your pain, " she worded gently, fitting the image of a reassuring doctor. Tentatively, the injured pegasus creeped forward, letting her mouth graze the surface of the potion for a few seconds. Quite immediately, Carmine brought her head back from the bowl, coughing and shaking her head. It was disgusting! Casting a glance at the other two ponies, she sighed with resignation. 'Better get this over with quick... ' 

 Closing her eyes, Carmine began gulping the bitter brew, furrowing her eyebrows in repugnance as she emptied the bowl down her throat. The bowl clattered to the floor, followed by a crisp and tiny burp from Carmine. Her face looked flushed and tired as the potion worked its magic inside the mare's body. Repulsive, icky potion. The unicorn spoke up.

 "I'm Orchid Bloom, by the way. As long as we are here, which is as long as it takes for you to feel as good as possible, we might as well learn names." 

 Before Carmine could respond, the stallion piped in, staring from one mare to the other. "Nice too meet you, I'm Lightning Clash.. what is your name if you don't mind me asking?" His face was friendly and warm.

"Umm.. I'm C-Carmine. I appreciate the help, Orchid. And nyet.. I haven't the slightest idea how to bandage my wing the right way."

                           

[orchidbloom]

Orchid had to hold back a giggle. It was a serious situation, after all, but the poor pegasus's face was humorous towards the mixture of hers. 
"Lavender, blueberry leaves, and carnation with some other herbs... I wouldn't offer it to you unless I knew it would work. Forgive the taste..." She smiled as she finished the cup with a clatter. Lifting it up, she placed it on a table still relatively unaffected by the whole ordeal. Orchid then looked apprehensively at the roll of silky, gray ribbon still rolled up near the pony. The stallion... Lightning Clash, was it? Said he wasn't confident with this type of injury. Orchid hardly knew about wraps and injuries; what if she tried and did something wrong? She would feel awful...

The pegasus then introduced herself; Carmine. Nice name, seemed to suit her.  And surprising enough, she hadn't the slightest idea how to bandage her wing. Orchid sighed, defeated for the time being. She shuffled her left hoof across a broken piece of brown, clay pottery. The lump of dirt sat around a foot away, a single sunflower flat pressed against the ground above it. Other pottery pieces were scattered around here and there... but there was no way she could be mad at Carmine at the moment. She looked defeated; as if this kind of thing shouldn't happen to her.


"Your wing..." she said, stepping closer to examine the oddly bent joints and worn, tattered surface. "Here looks like the worst..." she pointed to a particularly outspoken bend, but didn't touch it. The potion wouldn't start to numb up that sort of pain for a couple more minutes.

 Taking another look at the gray ribbon, she turned to Lightning. The ribbon floated upwards, into her hoof. 
"Would you just like to take a look? Even if you aren't that experienced... it's better then me," She said. She knew of no professional doctors or nurses in the area, but she was sure she could run and grab one from Ponyville Hospital... Orchid sighed. "Carmine, would you like me to go and get a hospital nurse? I don't mind the run..." she said, kicking dust out from under her. 

[Carmine]

 Carmine teemed inside with humiliation, her cheeks blushing a deep red. They were probably laughing inside at her troubles! She scoffed a bit, pursing her lips and lifting her chin up in mild opposition. 

 "Hfft. The taste does not bother me. I'm merely shaken up from the crash, that's all."

  Her demeanor swiftly changed to one of discomfort as she tried to stand up again. A steady, burning pain resonated from within Carmine's legs, but she managed to push herself up with a grunt of exertion. The pain subsided after a few seconds, as did her pulsating headache. All but the mare's left wing were soothed. Orchid Bloom moved up to Carmine, studying her battered wing with concern. She followed the unicorn's gaze, cringing at how bad the damage was. It would definitely be a long time before the blitzing buccaneer ever flew again. But, thanks to the help of these two ponies, that time would be shortened greatly. 

 "Your wing.. here seems to be the worst, " she indicated towards a rather gruesome part of the injury. Carmine hid behind her mental shield, and continued to scorn the situation. "Oh, come off it, Orchid. It hurts a bit, but thanks to you guys, I'll be fine! I can handle myself, honestly. I just had a bit of a mishap."

 The unicorn didn't hear her. Instead, she turned to Lightning Clash, with a spool of gray ribbon floating into her hoof. "Would you just like to take a look? Even if you aren't that experienced.. it's better than me." There was no way Carmine was going to let this stallion touch her. He was the cause of all this! 'If they even think for one moment that this second-rate pegasus is going to treat me, well they've got another thing coming, ' she brooded angrily. The Stalliongrad mare's ardent eyes glowered at Lightning as she hauled herself on one of Orchid's tables; her hind legs dangling off the side.

 "Carmine, would you like me to go and get a hospital nurse? I don't mind the run.. "

  Blitzfire quickly turned to Orchid Bloom, a look of panic spilling across her agitated face. If she went to the hospital.. then everyone would see her and come to know Carmine as the pegasus who went to the hospital because of a little pain. She gulped nervously as sweat began to bead down her forehead. The dismayed pony brought her fore hooves up, swishing them from left to right in an emphatic "no" sign. But her weight shifted considerably to the front, and she lost balance. Kicking and flapping, Carmine fell head-first back onto the floor with a loud smack. 

 "Ughh.... " The mare lay there for a second, contemplating her situation. There was no other way this could be done. Looking up at the two ponies, Carmine held her breath, gazing at them again with her hopeless stare. "Please don't do that.. Lightning, do you think you could look at my wing for me? Could you bandage it?" she pleaded in a soft, dejected murmur.