Charity Kindheart Memorial Hospital
April 11th
While the events at Celestial Bridge had blown by so fast that most ponies could barely keep up, the following week had dragged on for an eternity for Sweetie Belle. The following hours had, despite the beating taken by her crash landing, required her to stay awake while the city's best keratologists examined her damaged horn and performed the surgical treatment needed. Beyond that she had been confined to bed rest with nothing more than periodic check-ups to look forward to. She wasn't allowed visitors at all because it was very likely that she'd end up mobbed for hours if she did, she was a local hero now for her direct actions in uncovering the White Phoenix, as well as saving Celestial Bridge. The doctors had been willing pass along some letters of thanks from ponies though, which had made for welcome reading in the meantime.
Once the doctors were satisfied that her body hadn't taken any serious or lasting damage from the landing, she could get up and move about. The days passed a lot quicker when she could stretch her hooves and spend her free time visiting other patients. Considering she'd been in the same situation as them, having to stay in bed with nothing to do, it only felt right to try and cheer them up. She found that she was surprisingly good at it, just her presence had an uplifting effect on many ponies and she enjoyed the conversations they struck up so much that more than once she had to be reminded by the nurses that she had her own check-ups to attend. Mercifully, progress had been good thanks to the efforts of the doctors and she didn't have to spend as much time with them anymore.
"So, how's it looking?" Sweetie Belle asked as her horn specialist, an olive coloured unicorn mare by the name of Channeler, carefully undid the bandages around her horn and examined the damaged spot.
"Well, not sure if anypony's mentioned it yet, but you having that Condusin at hoof was very lucky, kept things stable for us," Channeler commented, sounding professional but chipper as she studied what were now merely thin cracks around the surface of the formerly chipped spot. "As it is, you'll still need to avoid any heavy magic use for several months to avoid exacerbating the area but the rest of that is down to your own body's healing now. And yes, you can still hold your microphone."
Sweetie chuckled as she moved in front of the room's mirror and waited as Channeler brought up a smaller one behind her to let her see it for herself. She had no idea how the professionals knew what to look for or how they'd fixed it, but she was thankful they did. Her horn looked almost good as new from a distance. While she could see the hints of the chipped spot from where she was standing she knew that it could have been a lot worse too. As Channeler moved back round to the front she placed the hoof mirror down, waiting for her eye matching cyan magic to disappear from it before motioning toward it. Sweetie understood and gripped it in own magic, blinking at the slightest hint of an ache in her horn before it faded a second later, leaving her to lift the mirror up and levitate it around. After a minute of doing so, complete with a little twirl of it in mid-air, she put it back down and looked back at Channeler.
"No problems?" She asked, getting an affirmative shake of the head from Sweetie. "Alright, well they said they'd let me give the good news if that was the case so...Sweetie Belle, you're cleared to be checked out of the hospital today. I'll be pencilling you in for a check-up to see how things are going about two weeks from now but if you follow the guidelines the Baltimare doc gave you, you'll be back up to normal in no time at all."
"All right!" Sweetie couldn't help herself and punched the air in glee. With how long she'd been stuck in here, she couldn't wait to just get some time to herself, some quiet to get everything back in order and focus on her own life again. She darted out of the examination room to get back to her ward and start packing, leaving Channeler standing there dumbfounded for a moment.
"...You know we need to finish this session right?"
Three hours and one finished check-up later, Sweetie Belle was ready to go. Wincing slightly as she finished attaching her saddlebags, having forgotten that her flank was still bruised, she double checked that she had everything and took one last look round her ward. It was part of a private wing that ponies who needed to recover away from even the hustle and bustle of the hospital were treated in, so it was reserved for more severely injured patients. She had been its only occupant for the last few days, which had only helped drive her to go talk to patients elsewhere. As she was finishing up, her attention was caught by the sound of hoofsteps coming into the ward. She thought it was likely just a doctor with a last minute change to her plan, so she gave it a minute before turning back toward them. As soon as she saw who it was, she stopped in place.
Staring back at her was Rarity, without her detective's outfit on and back with her regular red glasses on. The two of them simply stood at each other, letting their little reunion soak in. Sweetie Belle had already been carted off to hospital by the time Rarity and Sky Eye had landed back on the waterfront and the blanket ban on visitors had included her own sister. This was the first time either of them had seen each other safe since they had stood atop Celestial Bridge. The same thought crossed their minds at the same time and they both rushed forward, meeting midway and embracing each other simply as sisters who'd finally been allowed to alleviate their fears.
"I'm sorry I couldn't see you sooner," Rarity said simply, hugging Sweetie Belle a little tighter. Her eyes were squeezed shut and from the sound of her voice, she was barely fighting back tears at seeing her little sister was alright. "Was it...As bad as they're saying?"
"Several sprains, one scuffed flank and a horn chip. So, probably...I'm ok though."
"Good...Good." Rarity whispered as she hugged her a little tighter, stopping when she heard a small grunt coming from Sweetie.
"I'm okay," She reaffirmed before breaking the hug and stepping back slightly. "How's...How's Coco?"
"She's still being held, mostly for her own safety at this point. Enough ponies saw her and, the public isn't happy. It's taken a lot to ensure proper damage control for the poor dear. Though between the testimonies of me and Sky Eye, as well as everything she's told us, I'm hopeful we can soon have her pardoned and released on grounds of mind control. We can go visit her if you want."
"That sounds good, and I'm all done here." Sweetie shifted her saddlebags forward so they didn't rub on her sore spot and followed Rarity toward the ward exit.
As they passed through the doors she came to a halt, staring in surprise. Waiting for them just outside were Babs Seed, Gleaming Truth and Sky Eye. She had no idea how they'd all been gathered at such short notice but she appreciated it all the same. Getting a good look at Sky though, she remembered that night. How he'd followed her into the dive without hesitation, saved her sister since there was no way she could teleport all three of them out. She'd never had the chance to even show her gratitude and before she knew it, she'd run over and hugged him as well. Sky looked down at Sweetie Belle in surprise at the action before gently returning the hug. Babs chuckled slightly at the sight while Rarity and Truth just watched in relative confusion.
"Thank you, for all your help at the bridge." Sweetie managed to say as she looked up at him, getting a small smile in return.
"Dla ciebie wszystko," Sky replied in Zebra. "It was no trouble." He followed up in Equestrian before she could question it. Truth eyed him for a moment, picking up on something none of the others had but deciding not to comment.
"Still, for all that, I think you've earned a lifetime pass to my shows at least." Sweetie replied, pulling off the hug and taking a step back.
"Well, I don't know how much time I'd have for them. The White Phoenix case is officially closed and I'm heading back to duty in Canterlot later today."
"Ah...Well, I'll just have to come by when you've got a day off and make sure you get to see a performance."
"Sounds good." Sky's smile grew at that offer and he gave a small chuckle, his eyes shining slightly as he glanced up, imagining it.
"Actually, I also want to take the time to thank you, thank both of you again," Truth said as she stepped forward, smiling at Rarity and Sweetie. "I get the distinct impression that without you two jumping in to help us. We'd have been kicking our hooves and making no progress on this case until it was too late. As it is, you saved a major landmark of the city and probably a lot of lives in the process."
"And we wouldn't have made all those discoveries without you three helping. So thank you for all that," Rarity replied with a smile of her own. "You three really deserve some more credit for your parts in this."
"Every story has its unsung heroes. Besides, you two may be the big names the media's singing all the praise about, but we've been getting notice from the top brass all the same. Hopefully now I can get a bigger office at least." Babs commented. She looked over at Sweetie and raised her left hoof, smirking slightly. Sweetie stepped forward and did the same, hoofbumping her friend before they each wrapped their hoof around the others pastern and pumped their leg down, pulling each other into an embrace. They didn't need words to thank each other for their parts, their crusader bond said it all for them.
"I hate to break this up but, we should probably get moving if you two are going to see Coco before visiting hours finish," Truth told Rarity. "Plus, I think I've got an idea." Sweetie heard her and nodded, pulling herself free from Babs' hold and following Truth and Rarity down the hallway. Sky and Babs followed them up shortly after.
"Duch przewodnika pokojowego jestes, Kochanie Pieknosc." Sky said as they walked, quietly and seemingly to himself. He kept staring at Sweetie Belle the whole time though, a fact Babs caught onto as she walked beside him.
"Something you're not telling us, Oka?" Babs teased, nudging her temporary colleague. Sky blushed slightly at being caught out, still not taking his eyes off her.
"...Maybe."
Coco Pommel shifted slightly in her cot, staring straight forward at the cell wall. It was all she'd done since she had woken up today, or any day really. One minute she had been on the Manehatten waterfront, debating on asking Market Match if their time together counted as a date, the next she'd lost all coherence and was in freefall, only taking long enough to register that before blanking out. When she'd come to, she was in this cell. She hadn't been able to get many of the police to even speak to her, though what she had learned scared her even more than the silence the others had given her. The idea that she had been the White Phoenix...She shivered slightly at the thought again and curled up on herself, praying that she might wake up from this unrelenting nightmare.
Her ears twitched as she heard the cell door opening, though she didn't look back at it. It was probably just a warden bringing her food again. This was the only real break in her routine now, she didn't leave the cell for so much as exercise since she felt that if somepony like her went out of her cell and the other inmates realised who and what she was, she wouldn't be coming back. Her ears twitched again as she picked up more than one set of hoofsteps coming into the cell, though it still wasn't enough to make her turn around. She didn't want to hassle anypony by giving them the wrong look or something.
"Miss Pommel?"
She recognised that voice slightly. One of the officers who'd been willing to talk to her, one of the nicer ones about it too. Gleaming Truth? Was that the name? It didn't matter, she likely was here because she was in trouble. Maybe if she looked like she was asleep, Truth would just let her be, let her stay safe with her worries for company.
"Miss Pommel, we need to talk to you."
Ok, that wasn't going to work. She couldn't help them though.
"I've said everything I knew," Coco said quietly and dejectedly, folding her ears back, still staring blankly at the wall. "I...I may be the White Phoenix, but that wasn't me. Starlight Glimmer brainwashed me. I swear..."
"That's not what we're here for, Coco."
Wait, that second voice...It couldn't be. Coco slowly rolled herself over and paused at the sight. Gleaming Truth was indeed there, flanked on her left by the second speaker. It was indeed, Rarity. On the right side was Sweetie Belle, smiling reassuringly at her. Despite everything, all the fear she felt, Coco couldn't help but crack a small smile at the sight of some friendly faces. That smile only grew further as Sweetie opened her mouth.
"Actually, we've got some good news."