Pain. That was all Pharynx could feel. Pain in his wing; pain in his back; and a horrible pounding headache. He struggled to drag himself out of the black void he was trapped inside. His eyes opened a crack, but all he could see was blobs of color. He blinked in an attempt to focus his vision, also trying extra hard to make out the faint, mumbling voices he was hearing.
"Poor Pharynx," the yellow-green blob moped. "His wing and wing-case sure didn't look too good after that fall."
Pharynx groaned. "What… my wing…?"
"You broke your wing and cracked your wing-case when you crashed into Echo," the same voice answered. Pharynx could now tell that it was Thorax as his vision cleared.
"We crashed?" Pharynx tried to recall what happened, only making his head hurt. "All I remember is that beam hitting my side. What about Echo? Is she alright?"
"The doctor said she badly sprained her wing and damaged her ankle," Twilight explained as Thorax put a towel-covered ice pack on the teal Changeling's forehead, easing the headache. "You both got a little scratched up, and a slight concussion when you crashed."
Pharynx looked down at his side to see his evidently cracked wing-case bandaged against his side, covering his broken wing. He caught a glance of Echo's violet coat in his peripheral vision. He turned his head to see the Bat Princess sleeping in the bed beside his, her wing wrapped up and tucked against her side. She had a wet washcloth on her head, and the crown and leg-rings she usually wore were stacked on a side-table.
"We're so sorry about Flurry Heart," Cadence apologized. "She can't control her own power, so huge blasts can be let off just by sneezing. That's what hit you're wing, unfortunately."
"You both will have to stay here to recover from your injuries," Starlight notified. "The concussion definitely won't let you go anywhere anytime soon; you got it worse than Echo did."
Pharynx reclined into the bed, grimacing in disappointment. She'll never like me now.
Thorax narrowed his eyes at seeing his brother's expression. "You can go meet up with your friends. I'll catch up with you."
The princesses and unicorn nodded in understanding before they left.
"You like Echo, don't you Pharynx?" Thorax stated once they were gone.
Pharynx's ear twitched and he met his brother's eyes. "I… guess I do a little," he replied. "But we are alike. We stick out because we're dark colors against all these pastel ponies. We both have seen things nopony else could dream of. And we've had to deal with some serious meanies in our lives."
Thorax smiled. "No wonder you've been so distracted and trying to impress her. I get it; Changelings are new to love, and you obviously have a thing for Echo. But don't think she'll throw you off because of an accident; she just doesn't seem to be like that. You two will have all the time you need while you get better." Thorax turned around and headed to the door. "I have to leave you alone so you can heal. I'll come back tomorrow morning; promise."
Pharynx nodded slowly as the taller Changeling disappeared behind the door. He looked over at the quiet, relaxed expression gracing the features of the Bat Princess. "You're really something else, Echo."
Echo's ear twitched in his direction. The Bat alicorn stirred in her bed with a slight yawn as she opened her eyes. She looked over at Pharynx with a kind smile and a softened look in her lavender eyes, dilated by the low light. "You're not so bad yourself, Pharynx," she murmured.
"You're up," the Changeling mused. "Echo, I'm… really sorry about crashing into you earlier. I was being stupid and didn't realize that beam of magic heading for me. I just wanted to catch up with you and my brother and everypony else. I should've made sure nothing would be coming towards me before flying over. Now thanks to me, you sprained your wing and hurt your ankle and even strained your back. Of course I got my own punishment with my broken wing, shattered wingcase, and also straining my back."
"Pharynx," Echo's soft voice silenced the other. "Slow down. I understand that you must feel guilty about crashing into me like that. But you don't really have to be, though. It was an accident; it happens to the best of us." She gave a yawn. "We should get some res; it's really late, according to the clock, and the crash-landing gave us both a rough day. I woke up a few hours ago before you did, and it was sundown."
Pharynx hummed, trusting the Bat pony's words as he could barely see the analog clock hanging above the door. "Not surprised you can see it, being a Bat pony. Goodnight," he whispered as he turned to face the ceiling, closing his eyes.
Echo nodded slowly, following suit. "Goodnight… Pharynx…"