//------------------------------// // The Phoenix's Final Flight // Story: The White Phoenix // by Quick Fix //------------------------------// As her hooves skidded to a halt on the sidewalk, Sweetie Belle took the briefest of moments to catch her breath before heading inside the Harmony's Rest apartments. She was tired already but there wasn't any more time to lose, which made her wonder why she hadn't simply teleported here. Then again, they still had to face Coco herself and even if it was easier to cast now, she'd still need several days before she could do it again, it would probably be useful to keep it for when they confronted her. Besides, if it meant getting some extra help, she could take on a few more flights of stairs. Thankfully nopony was around at this time of night and she was able to charge up the stairwell without interruption. By the time she reached the fourth floor her legs were aching, her breath ragged, but her commitment unbowed. She quickly made her way to Bab's door and, taking a moment to compose herself as best she could, knocked gently in case Solo Act was in bed already. The moments she stood there waiting seemed to drag on forever with nothing but her own body's complaining at how she had pushed herself to listen to in the meantime. After what felt like forever but was only about ten seconds, the door opened and Sky Breaker appeared on the other side. "Sweetie Belle? Bit late for a social call but, what's up?" He asked, doing his best to hide how tired he sounded. "Long story, no time to explain, is Babs here?" Sweetie replied, managing to her breath under control enough to appear respectable at least. Sky nodded, judging that whatever she was here for was important before heading back into the apartment. After a minute of quiet talking inside, Babs came up to the door, rubbing her eye to try and shake some of the drowsiness. "What's going on, Sweetie Belle? You have any idea what time it is?" She asked, looking more like she'd just been woken up. "I know who the White Phoenix is and where they are. Rarity's alerting the others, we're going to need every hoof available though and you've done more for us in this than anypony." "...Ok, brief me on the way," Any semblance of tiredness Babs had seemed to dissipate at those words and she stepped back to grab her jacket. "Sky?" "Of course, I'll keep watch on little Solo." Sky affirmed. Babs nodded her thanks before rushing out, Sweetie right behind her. The only sound coming from either of them was the clatter of hoofsteps as they rushed back downstairs. The momentary break had provided little respite for Sweetie's energy though and she was pretty much exhausted by the time they reached the ground floor again. Babs looked back at her with some concern at how hard she was pushing herself but the unicorn waved it off and stepped outside, looking round for a taxi or anything else they could use to get moving on. To her dismay, the street was completely deserted. "So, where're we headed?" Babs asked as she stopped beside Sweetie, who had sat down for a breath, at a loss for what else to do. "Celestial Bridge, but I don't..." She started, only to stop and look round when she realised that Babs had run off to who knew where. She didn't have the energy to search right now, no energy for anything really. After a minute, she glanced up at the sound of an approaching carriage, hopeful that this might be the break she was looking for. As it approached from up the street, she first noticed that it was a taxi, then as it pulled up just a few feet away she saw that Babs was in the back and motioning for her to get in. "How'd you do that?" "Taxi rank on the other side of the apartment and MPD authority," Babs explained, offering a hoof that Sweetie took to help her clamber into the spare seat. Once the unicorn was settled she turned back to the driver pony. "Celestial Bridge approach please, quick as you can." As her hooves skidded to a halt, Rarity took a moment to make sure nopony had seen that rather inelegant stop she'd made. The dash to the Manehatten Police Department's north precinct had been a quick one and while she had managed to keep herself looking presentable, the pace she'd kept due to the urgency of the situation left her needing a moment to catch her breath. With that breath taken, she adjusted her hat and stepped into the front entrance, taking in the lobby for the first time. There wasn't much to hold her focus here, being a single reception lobby in blue and white with several chairs for waiting. As she crossed the length of the lobby, the same thoughts kept running through her mind. They say that those who are the closest are the ones who can see the least. I only wish that could have turned out to be false. For all that I've found, how much of this case I've unravelled, there's still one or two things that still elude me. Why is Coco doing this? And what does she stand to gain by going after Manehatten's food industry? Hopefully we can answer these questions when...If, we catch up to her. Rarity snapped back to focus as she reached the front desk, manned by a charcoal earth stallion. Hopefully he wouldn't give her too much hassle, it was relatively well known across the MPD that Sweetie Belle and herself were both prominent figures on the case by now. Fortunately the look in his eyes made it clear he recognised her through the outfit. "Evening, miss Rarity. What can we do for you?" The stallion asked cheerfully. "I need officers sending to Celestial Bridge immediately. The White Phoenix is there right now and a major attack is imminent!" She stated, glancing aside to check if there were any directions to dispatch visible. "Wh-what?!" The stallion tensed up, caught off guard at the statement before straightening up, knowing she wouldn't say such a thing if she wasn't serious. "Dispatch is in the left hallway, sixth door on the left." Rarity nodded and set off that was at as quick a walk as she could. She reached dispatch quickly and stepped inside without a second thought. A pair of unicorns were manning a set of desks that reports from on duty officers presumably came in to. The other three quarters of the room looked more like a staff room where at least a dozen night shift officers were on standby. Before she had a chance to stay anything, one of the dispatch officers looked up as a scroll teleported in in front of her. The officer took it in her cyan magic and read through before standing up quickly. "Ok, we've got a report of a stolen boat at the northwest waterfront, seen heading toward Celestial Bridge. Suspect is a very pale yellow earth mare, light blue mane and eyes, feathered hat cutie mark. We'll need pegasi on this one." The officer called out to the assembled crew. "You'll need everypony!" Rarity announced, removing her hat and glasses so that everypony that looked her way recognised her, and her authority on this matter. "That suspect is the White Phoenix. Send every available officer to Celestial Bridge and close off all routes approaching the bridge on both sides. I repeat, the White Phoenix is there!" The effect was immediate. Every single officer in the room scrambled up, the ones nearest the other door rushing out calling for any support they could get. Rarity grinned to herself before putting her hat and glasses back on, that had gone better than she'd expected. As the last of the waiting officers left a thought came to her and she turned to the dispatch officer. "Can you call for support from the other precincts?" She asked, getting a nod of affirmation. "Get everypony you can, there needs to be a significant perimeter set up on both sides." With that she went to follow the deploying officers. She needed a lift to the scene after all. "So yeah, we may have gone an...Unorthodox route, but that's how we figured it out." Sweetie Belle finished explaining as the taxi came to a halt. The trip had given her time to get her energy back and she was ready to get going again. "Right, not entirely sure how legal that was, but we'll deal with that after." Babs replied, looking outside to see what the situation was. They were on the main road that lead carriages toward Celestial Bridge before it dropped underneath the train lines for the bridge itself. Already she could see other police ponies setting up a barricade across the road, which had the unfortunate side-effect of starting to draw a crowd. The two of them dismounted and thanked the driver for the ride before heading forward. The sound of wingbeats made them both glance up, seeing pegasi officers moving toward the scene, likely the first response units from other precincts. They opted to avoid the crowds for now and made their way down the side streets to get to the waterfront. Things were only getting busier the further they moved down, with more ponies trying to see what was going on and more officers moving in on crowd control as a result. Thankfully the police perimeter was set up far enough away from the bridge that they were able to reach it quickly enough and pass through the security cordon with little more than a flash of Babs' badge. As they reached the docks, Sweetie felt less reassured by the sight of Market Match waiting for them with another police pony, an orange earth mare. "What happened?" She asked as they trotted up, more to Match than anything. "Well, me and Coco were walking down here, just a walk under the stars with the city lights for backdrop," He started, looking down at the dock. "I was just finally asking why she'd chosen to wear socks when it wasn't that cold when I realised that she was staring at the bridge. Just, staring silently, when I looked at her face I saw she looked really...I don't know how to describe it, vacant? I asked her what was wrong and she just shoved me away before running toward one of the docked boats. Before anypony could stop her she took one and started off for the support island for the bridge at full pelt." "That...Doesn't sound good," Babs commented before turning to the other officer. "Ardent, what's the situation now?" "The suspect started scaling the bridge using the maintenance walkways before we lost track of her movements. We've managed to lock down the bridge, stop all trains and set up checkpoints on both sides. She's got to still be on the bridge." The officer explained before glancing behind Sweetie and Babs. They looked back to see Rarity approaching, flanked by Gleaming Truth and Sky Eye. "Glad you made it. Didn't expect to see you two though." Babs commented. "We flew over as soon as we got the call that the Phoenix was here. Rarity filled us in." Truth answered. Match's jaw dropped slightly at that but before he could make any comment all seven present were distracted by a sudden glint of light coming from atop one of the bridge's nearest towers. An orange glint. "We're out of time, we need to get up there! Pronto!" Sweetie exclaimed, ears folded back and pupils shrunk in worry. "How'd she even start a fire up there...?" Sky commented before shaking his head slightly and eying up the tower. "Never mind. Gleaming Truth, how strong are you?" "I'm, err..." Truth started as she looked up at the tower and then back to the others, a small glint of recognition for his plan in her eyes. "Strong enough." "Great. Take us up to the train line. Any closer and we might be spotted." Sweetie said with determination, spreading her legs out further and bracing herself. "Wait, what's happe-" Rarity started before Sky grabbed her and took off, leaving her to finish the sentence with nothing more than a strangled gasp. Sweetie Belle glanced back as Truth did the same to her and took to the air moments later, the flyers heading for the bridge as fast as they could while hauling a unicorn cargo. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she focused in on the flame, trying to figure out just what she was going to say to her 'friend' once they'd caught up with her. She glanced over at Rarity and couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the sight of her sister trying to cling to Sky Eye despite her hooves being in the completely wrong place to do so. Hopefully she'd have her composure back by the time they landed, though between the four of them, surely it would be enough to bring the White Phoenix down once and for all. As she watched the others depart. Babs' eyes went back up to the glare of light coming from the tower. She could already start to hear the increased murmurs of the crowd as they noticed the what was most likely flames. They were the lucky ones though, thinking that this was just a regular, if seemingly misguided, White Phoenix attack. She had heard what seemed to be really going on from Sweetie Belle though, and it terrified her on the inside. She managed to remain looking unfazed on the outside however, as she looked back at the other two ponies remaining next to her. "We should probably move back to the safe distance." She commented, waiting for their agreement before leading them back toward the police cordon. As she took one final look back toward the bridge she silently mouthed her thoughts. 'Good luck girls...For everypony's sake.' Rarity gave a sigh of relief as her hooves felt solid ground again and Sky Eye let her go. Sweetie Belle landed next to her a moment later and they took stock of their surrounding. As intended, they were on the train tracks, right next to where one of the maintenance walkways joined the main bridge. The tower that Coco was on stood tall above them, looking a lot more intimidating from this angle. Both had faced worse though. As Sky and Truth landed just behind them, their attention was drawn to the part of the walkway that connected to the bridge. Sitting there, almost innocently on its own, was another of the gas canister bombs. As they trotted closer they could see another on the stairs higher up, and another further down. It was likely that all the canisters that Coco had made were laid out all along the walkways for a chain reaction. "How long did all this take to set up?" Sky panted, sounding a little worn out from the trip. Truth didn't look too much better. "Maybe we can ask Coco once we catch up to her," Rarity replied, eying their route up. "All the same, it might help if one of us did something about all the canisters...Just in case." "I'll take care of that," Truth said after a moment, looking back at the others as she moved forward. "Let's be honest...I'm probably the worst negotiator among us. I mean Rarity's charm is legend, Sky Eye, you always come across as likeable and Sweetie Belle, I've seen what you can do first hoof. One way or another, I trust you three to handle this." "Alright, good luck yourself." Sky replied as he headed for the stairs, keeping on his hooves on the ground for now. Truth watched them go before grabbing the canister and looking round for somewhere to safely place it in the meantime. "Alright so...How ARE we gonna handle this?" Sweetie asked as she followed Sky up, Rarity right behind her. "Rarity, you're Miss Pommel's best friend, any thoughts?" "You know Coco just as well as I do, darling." Rarity replied, wondering why she wasn't using her name until she saw the slight glare she was getting from her sister. "I thought I did..." Sweetie said quietly, unable to hide a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Well...Maybe you should go up to her first, Sweetie Belle. From what I heard about your talk with Vexation, you're good at getting the best out of ponies." Sky Eye interjected, shifting another of the canisters aside as they neared the top, eying a trail of smoke now just about visible in the night sky. "Alright, I'll try and get some answers out of her...And if I keep her focused away from the stairs, you two can jump her from behind. No time to waste, if she has a canister on that fire..." Sweetie moved past Sky and headed for the last set of stairs, silent except for the clank of hooves on metal. Rarity and Sky looked at each other and waited, giving her a little time to move her plan into action. Sweetie poked her head over the edge of the tower top, quickly surveying the situation. Flat concrete construction, about fifty square feet. Coco was sitting in front of the fire, facing sideways from the stairs but too focused on throwing what looked like the socks that Market Match had mentioned into the flames. The fire itself seemed to have been set on a saddlebag, likely filled with flammable materials for it to be going so strongly. Most distressing though was the gas canister sitting in the dead center of the flames. It couldn't have been there for long but any time at all was too long. Seeing it all with her own eyes was almost too much for her to handle and she took the last few steps quickly, stepping onto the tower top. "You..." She said coldly as she faced down her friend, though now she could only see her as the White Phoenix. Coco stood up to face her quickly, catching the gas valve on the canister slightly and knocking it just out of the fire. While what was left of the saddlebag straps kept it from rolling away completely, it wasn't going to keep heating up as quickly. "You found me?" Coco asked in return, her body illuminated by the hellish glow of the flames to her right. This was the first time they'd seen each face to face and it was enough to make Sweetie pause. Coco looked...Off. Her eyes were locked straight onto the unicorn yet at the same time they were completely unfocused. Her head was tilted slightly to the side and the rest of her body looked rigid, too rigid to be normal. If there were such things, she looked like what Sweetie imagined a real zombie pony looking like. Just...So wrong. Any anger she'd been feeling bled away at the realisation, she had no idea what she was looking at but this wasn't the actions of Coco herself, she could feel it. Had she been like this all the previous times too? Was somepony else involved with her behaviour? What in the name of Celestia was going on?...Questions for later, right now she needed to put an end to this, and not in the way she'd planned. "I did, the police figured it out and there's nowhere to go now," Sweetie stepped onto the concrete fully and circled round the fire, watching Coco keep her eyes locked on her. "Take a look out there." "Good, an audience." Coco said without any hint of emotion. Less than any emotion, somehow she was putting less emotion into her voice than Maud Pie. Come to think of it, she'd done the same with her earlier question. "Come on, Coco, this isn't you at all. Why're you doing this?" "You wouldn't understand her plan. Equestria will benefit from this though." Coco kept following Sweetie's movements, by now facing completely away from the stairs. Rarity and Sky Eye could just be seen observing from over there, now able to move in when ready. "Her plan? You...You're going to go up in flames for somepony else's deluded plan?" "Deluded...?" Coco turned and walked toward one of the edges of the top, knocking the canister into a slow roll with her leg by accident. It was now possibly far enough to be safe. The heated metal had burned her leg slightly from the contact and yet she didn't even flinch. "Seriously, what do you gain from all this? Aside from knowing what it feels like to lose everything?" Sweetie asked, lifting her hat off and putting it aside before loosening her coat. It felt like it was getting in the way now and even if Coco wasn't herself, she still wanted to try and get through to her, face to face. "I..." Coco looked back at her and for a moment she seemed to get a little more focus in her eyes before they faded again. "You know nothing about losing everything. But then, you don't know how to gain everything back. I will with this." "I err...Who am I even talking to?" Sweetie asked, starting to feel more than a little uneasy. She also had to keep fighting the urge to glance aside to watch the others progress, even though she could see Rarity steadily sneaking closer, Sky right behind her. "Me. Who else?" "Okay then," Sweetie rubbed the side of her head in confusion, trying to think of a new tactic. "Well...If that's all...I'd, like something to remember you by after this so...How about you hand over your hair clip and-" "No!" Coco snapped, finally putting emotion back into her voice. "Nopony's touching it! I need that if I'm going to keep from slipping. It's part of me!" "Yes, it is, but this insanity isn't." "It's..." She looked out toward Manehatten and winced. If that was reacting to the burn, then maybe she was starting to feel more normal. Despite her eyes still looking as weird as tartarus, she sat down and simply stared at the skyline. Quietly, the canister finished its slow roll toward fate and fell over the edge, toward the dark waters below. The bridge was saved, now the pony needed to be. "Coco, I know you can hear me in there. Just relax, put the fire out and come with me. I know we can explain this, you've clearly had somepony messing with your head." Sweetie glanced over at Rarity and Sky, who were only about five feet away from Coco now and looking back at her, waiting for any kind of silent confirmation of what to do. As they all tried to judge their next move, Sweetie tensed slightly. She'd felt something weird in that last breath of wind, unidentifiable, but yet she felt like her magic reserve had been momentarily blunted. She could see the same reaction from Rarity. Coco however, was clutching her head in her hooves, panting hard as her back hooves scrambled for purchase as she stood up. She smacked her muzzle on the floor as she got up fully, stomping her hooves and whimpering. "C...Coco?" Rarity finally asked nervously. "Not that room, get her away from me!" Coco shouted, shaking her head wildly and spinning round. None of the other three had the slightest idea what she was talking about but Rarity was first to notice that her hooves were still dangerously close to the edge. She moved forward to try and pull her back, managing to get a hoof round her shoulders. Coco yelped and backed up slightly, swinging her hoof out and managing to grip Rarity's foreleg as she backed up in panic. Sweetie realised what was happening a second too late and started to rush forward, only to see Coco's back hoof miss the edge of the tower and overbalance her. Rarity was caught in the momentum and the two of them had only the briefest of moments for what was happening to set in before they plunged over the edge, their terrified shrieks coming moments later. "Sky! Come on!" Sweetie Belle called to the pegasus as she rushed to reach them. It was only then that her brain caught up with and realised what her body had just done. She'd thrown herself off the edge after them. Her panic was only momentary as she remembered that she could still teleport, the question was if she could fall fast enough to catch up with either Rarity or Coco before they reached the waters below. Based on her rough knowledge of the Celestial Bridge and how far they'd dropped already, she had about two hundred and fourty feet. Her hooves pressed up against each other and she pressed her muzzle into her front legs, trying to minimise her wind resistance. Even so she could feel the rush of air to her right as Sky Eye dove next to her, naturally faster in the air. Two hundred and ten feet. She couldn't tell if she was gaining or not, they were still ahead and flailing too much, their cries adding a piercing tone to the wind that that buffeted her constantly. A small part of her felt even worse for the two of them, Coco had been confused even before she started plummeting to her doom and Rarity was in this situation for at least the fourth time in her life. She silently prayed that neither of them would have to do this again, for the right reason. One hundred and eighty. She was closing in but Sky was ahead of her now. He was going for Rarity from the looks of it, who had calmed down slightly now that she had her bearings and seem them coming, though her hat and glasses had been lost in the fall. That was the least of their issues right now though, especially since her coat billowing out slightly was slowing her down. That still left Coco to grab and she was still getting closer, though her window of opportunity was rapidly getting smaller. One hundred and forty. What if she couldn't live up to the claim she had made as well? It was only just setting in that her whole plan now hinged on getting hold of Coco and teleporting them both to safety, something she'd never done at the best of times. Freefalling toward a water surface that would be about as soft as the sidewalk to land on was far from the best of times. On top of everything, she was becoming acutely aware of the sounds of panic coming from the waterfront, likely the crowds having caught sight of what was happening. Considering where they were on the bridge, it was likely too far for any of the pegasi on crowd control to reach them now and Gleaming Truth could only have reacted in time if she saw the fall much earlier. This was all on her now. Ninety. Her horn glowed and she yanked her coat zip right up to her chin, desperate for any advantage. Sky had reached Rarity and was securing his grip on her now, their slowed fall meaning she was level with them again. Coco seemed to have given up any control he had left and was now falling limply. She was getting closer though, she could probably reach her back hoof at a stretch. That wouldn't be enough though. Sixty. Sky finished getting a solid grip on Rarity and his wings shot open, shearing off speed and sending the two of them shooting past Sweetie Belle with a major draft of wind. Fifty. The speed of the fall was making her eyes water and it was getting harder to keep her focus. She had to do this now. Her hoof reached out and managed to wrap itself round Coco's. She needed to still be closer though. Forty. She pulled herself in closer, managing to get her head to about the same level as Coco's stomach before wrapping her other hoof around her friend's body and looking up at the riverbank. There was a clear spot of the waterfront carriageway there, the same one she had met the others at earlier. It would have to do...Assuming she could do it. Twenty five. Her horn lit up, glowing brighter than ever before as she did her best to visualise the spot before pouring all her energy into the spell. Her eyes squeezed shut as she focused, then the world around her exploded in a flash of pale green. In that brief moment, she realised that she was still holding onto Coco. Then she felt wind and gravity kicking in again, dragging her down not headfirst anymore but sideways and back first. She hit the ground upside down, Coco landing on top and driving the air from her. Her grip loosened before she felt them bounce at speed. Her world span rapidly and her friend vanished from both grip and sight. A second later she hit the ground again on her right flank, gritting her teeth as she felt the friction tear through her coat and scrape at her body for a moment before a second bounce. Her vision became another breathless blur of sky, road, sky, building, very close road. She came down on the right side of her neck, her momentum sending her into a low roll before it could take any real damage. For another second she couldn't focus on anything until she felt something very solid slam into the back of her horn, followed by her back that brought her to a halt. Any pain she felt from the landing was almost immediately overridden by a sudden cutting pain lancing through her horn and into her head, like a spiking headache in the deepest reaches of her brain. Despite it she weakly lifted her head to try and see what had happened. There was still a glint of flame from the bridge tower but it was dying down quickly. Coco had come to a halt about fifteen feet back up the waterfront, unmoving and similarly banged up, but breathing. Even as Sweetie watched, her eyes slowly opened and she glanced up. Her pupils were shaking slightly, but they looked normal again, whatever she had gone through up there was over. Sweetie smiled slightly and let her head drop back down, the knocks the rest of her body were catching up with the pain in her horn by now and her everything was hurting. After a few moments the sound of hoofsteps became apparent behind her, as well as several voices. "Is that her? The White Phoenix?" "It has to be, Sweetie Belle got the scumbag!" "That's amazing, she's gotta be-" "Focus you three! Mandate, get us an ambulance over here! Ardent, make sure there's a clear path for it! Terra, secure miss Coco Pommel. Go!" She recognised that last voice. Even in her current state, she managed to crack a small smile as Babs Seed briefly came into view, checking her over with concern. "Damn, that ain't good...Alright, sorry about this Sweetie Belle, but...This is gonna suck." Babs said as she moved back out of sight. Sweetie had a few moments to wonder what she meant before she felt a hoof pressed against the spot where her horn had hit something. "Rrrghhh!!!" Sweetie hissed as the pain reached a near unbearable crescendo before fading to little more than a dull ache. "Gah! What the hay was that?!" "You, chipped your horn when you hit a lamp post during your landing," Babs explained, keeping her hoof pressed on. "It's not too big though, maybe two centimetres tall and three deep. I've tried to put it back in but, I don't know anything about how bad these things can be." It's bad," Sweetie said simply, trying to keep from moving. She'd learned a little about horn injuries, how the disruption to the natural channels within it could leave her magic unrestrained, how in the worst scenarios it could all discharge into the nearest conduit, typically the injured pony themselves. Her eyes widened slightly as she remembered the scant details about first aid. "Check my lower left pocket." Babs did as asked and pulled out the bottle of Condusin, slightly cracked in the landing but surprisingly in one piece. She looked down at her friend for a moment, silently asking how she got her hooves on this, before checking the instructions, opening the top and spreading some of the white salve onto the chipped section. After a moment several sparks of energy danced across it and the salve shifted colours to the same green as Sweetie's magic. It would help keep her magic in check until she could get some real help. "We'll have to talk about that later. How're you feeling for now?" Babs asked as she moved back round to the front. "Probably as good as you did after your muzzle got broken." Sweetie replied, getting a moments silence followed by a small chuckle from her friend. "Hurting like mad but proud of what I'd done? Sounds about right." "Exactly...We, really did it." She glanced over toward the bridge again, just about able to see the silhouettes of Sky Eye and Rarity heading their way. They'd all done it. The sound of further hoofsteps behind her heralded the arrival of the medical ponies and she let herself relax. With one small, final nod of confirmation to Babs that she was alright, she exhaled and simply tried to shun the aching across her whole body. As two of the medics lifted her onto a stretcher and began carefully carting her toward a waiting ambulance carriage, her gaze drifted over toward the cordon, visible further down the waterfront. She could see dozens, likely hundreds of ponies watching her behind a line of barriers and officers. Despite her condition, she raised a hoof to them, signifying she was alright. The response was rapid, every one of those ponies cheering her and stomping their hooves, celebrating her success. The sight brought a larger smile to her face. The past few months had been tough on so many and she was ending it with both her and Coco on their way to hospital. But to see all these ponies realising that they were free of the threat of the White Phoenix, that Manehatten was truly theirs again. To see them all smile like that... It was all worth it.