Golden Age of Apocalypse - Book III: Legacies

by BlueBastard

Chapter 19 - Calamity

Despite having been born a pony and spending the majority of her life to that point as a unicorn, Sunset really hadn’t had it driven home how different her native civilization was to her adopted human culture until she finally was walking down the streets of Fillydelphia—the high vaulted openings in Canterlot for Celestia’s great (by pony standards) height were on par with human sized openings and so it had gone without notice for Sunset. And the majority of time she’d spent in Ponyville had been in pony form, too, so she hadn’t noticed the difference then, either. Plus, she’d decided that it probably would be for the best if she, Ushanka, and Pinkie spent time in the museum before giving the speech that had been arranged for later that day in front of said museum. It had been years since Sunset had last been here and, having met her grandmother herself upon her own ascension, the newest alicorn felt it prudent to revisit the museum. 

The entrance to the Faust museum, where Sunset would make her speech calling for ponykind to embrace humans, was very imposing.  The museum’s entrance facade was done up in some kind of Greco-Roman style, like the Parthenon in the human world, if only from the big Corinthian-style columns on either side of the entrance. More noticeable was the big stained glass circular window, in which was cast the image of Faust herself, though it was unusual to see the archalicorn wearing her full regalia—in this case, a grand tiara, torc, and hoof guards made from pure platinum or what was supposed to look like it in stained glass form.

It was a stark contrast to Sunset’s current attire which was far more modern. A simple herringbone blazer and skirt, with a red tie over a white shirt – Rarity’s expert opinion on businesswear had proven as perfect as always and ideal for a reserved, formal appearance. Part of her debated going to pony form and donning her full regalia but decided against it, given the whole point of this outing was to plead the case of her adopted species.  In fact, the only hint of her true identity, aside from her hair and eye color, was the addition of a cloisonné pin in the shape and color of her cutie mark.

But as far as the entrance was concerned, it was almost dwarfed in and of itself by the impromptu bunting, banners and balloons Pinkie was setting up—how in the hell did that pony ever find the time to get all this prepared? Sunset merely shook her head and approached the landmark.

Unusually, Sunset wasn’t attracting much attention from the ponies milling about. Nor was she attracting any attention by simply being human alongside another human, the ever emotionally blank Ushanka, who really should have been putting the fear of Faust into them with the fact she had a sidearm at her side – and given her hand motions, it was clear she already knew how to speed draw it. Maybe it was the other ponies were respectfully keeping their distance—Twilight had made mention about a disastrous free air cruise her family had been given a year ago which had turned out to have used Twilight’s entire immediate family as a marketing ploy for obsessive ponies, a scam led by some minotaur named Steel Grip (and who apparently was a cousin to the crown prince consort Iron Will, who Twilight had stressed had been super apologetic about the matter once he’d heard about it and promised to handle the repercussions very assertively)—but if it was actually respect or fear, Sunset wasn’t sure.

“Princess Sunset,” said Ushanka.

“Yes?” replied the princess, turning from the display of old archeological artifacts believed to date back from the time Faust herself had been an infant.

“Forgive me if this is overstepping but, you are not truly Princess Celestia’s biological child, yes?”

Sunset sighed. “She is my biological mother in the same sense that she and I are of the same species in this world, but no, she’s not my dam.”

“Then why are you listed as such here?” Ushanka pointed to a large display of a family tree, showing how the complex nature of the royal family worked given so many ponies could call Celestia aunt but Celesta herself had no true biological offspring known.

Sunset walked over and looked at where Ushanka was pointing. To her delight, she saw that the display had been updated and now she was listed as a direct daughter of Celestia.

“This wasn’t here last time,” said Sunset, beaming and feeling her eyes water. “I know it's probably because I’m the newest princess and unlike Twilight or Cadence, the only connection I have to anything nobility is Celestia, but...yeah, thanks for pointing this out to me, Ushanka.”

“Of course.”

Sunset’s eyes drifted from the display of the royal family tree and scanned over the other works of art around it, her gaze finally falling upon a depiction of Queen Faust herself.

The painting was titled The Bells Shall Ring No More and depicted the tragedy of Queen Faust learning of the death of Star Swirl the Bearded. The resplendent queen, dressed in her platinum adornments, was depicted sitting on her grand throne in regal majesty, but with her head hung low. Her expression could not be seen save for a single tear running down the side of her muzzle, subtle but masterfully depicted by the artist. Surrounding her are a legion of guardsponies, all dressed in a style of barding that had been replaced long before Celestia and Luna would take the reins of government. They, too, looked despondent. Overall, it was a true masterpiece of art.

“The death of Star Swirl was a great loss for Equestria,” said Ushanka, unprompted.

“Yeah,” was all Sunset could say in reply. In truth, her mind was wandering as it often had of late to Pinkie Pie back in Canterlot.

Looking at the depiction of her grandmother’s mourning, she couldn’t help but draw parallels to how she herself had taken the news that a close friend...maybe a bit too close...had potentially been killed. According to Celestia (who had been a mere filly when her Swordbearer passed), Star Swirl had died in battle with the goat necromancer Grogar, using up the last of his power to seal him away and banish him to another world. He had died before he’d even gotten to be a proper Swordbearer for Celestia. Would that be Pinkie’s fate too? Cut down before her time?

No, I’ve got to stop thinking like that! Sunset urged herself.

Suddenly, an electronic jingle started playing in Sunset’s pocket and Sunset immediately summoned it to her hand—she didn’t actually need to teleport it the equivalent distance of two feet but it was an instinctive reaction. She also didn’t think about how exactly she was able to get service in Fillydelphia given that Castle Canterlot was the only place that had a local wi-fi network set up...unless Sonata had managed to actually construct that insane global network system from those few civilian satellites she’d asked Sunset to ask Luna to put into orbit earlier that week. Regardless, she knew it had to be a message regarding the result of that operation, and so without paying much attention to the subject line of the email, Sunset immediately opened the message:

To: sunset@aeoffice.sgo.go.eq
From: softwing@aeoffice.sgo.go.eq
Subj: OPERATION LOST CHORD

1 Atch

Your highness, I write to you regarding the preliminary report that I just received from the Royal Equestrian Navy. While details are scarce due to the nature of it, I feel that it would be imperative that you and your retinue return to Canterlot at once.

Sincerely,
Softwing, Seneschal to Princess Sunset 

––-
ATCH BEGINS
––-
To all parties involved,

The vessel Super-Electric is enroute to return and Operation LOST CHORD can, despite the logistical odds and unusual means of how it was carried out, be considered successful. However, due to not following recognized protocol and appreciating why such protocol exists, the team that executed the mission suffered heavy casualties. A further report will be detailed, but the executive summary is as follows:

1. The majority of the human contingent who also happened to be the entire command structure of the Special Initiative (SIREN) form the entirety of the aforementioned casualties, Agency Asset 1 and one of the SIREN members are the only confirmed survivors. A terrible loss, to be sure, but the destruction of the Covenant along with the capture of one of Equestria’s greatest enemies, as well as the recovery of all the suspected Scions—guilty of dark magic abuse on the highest level—means this was not a loss incurred in vain, but instead a strong victory for crown and country.
2. The responsibility of this failure is likely due to Vice Adm. Aviso’s fraternization and favoritism of the methods used by humans.  Without vetting them for fleet standards and without ensuring that the Super-Electric and her crew was familiar with them, she counted on the humans to just bulldoze through the issues like a minotaur in a porcelain shop.  This is by no means standard policy or practice and I will refer the vice admiral to a board of inquiry to determine whether court-martial is necessary.
3. Contrary to the above, the Super-Electric and her crew should not be faulted by the many failures of this operation.  Given her adaptive nature, Capt. Easychord most likely directed her crew to belay the unique situations of the operation and to fall back on tried and true techniques, and I firmly believe this is likely what saved the operation in the end.

Again, I will have a complete record to the Crown within a day and once that occurs, I humbly request that Princess Luna, in her capacity as Defense Leader of Equestria, convene the surviving military heads for a board of inquiry.  The sooner we put this tragedy and farce behind us, the sooner we can get back to the business of defending the nation as it should be.

Respectfully,

Tumblehome, Admiral, REN
First Lord of the Fleet
––-
ATCH ENDS
––-

Gradually, but noticeably, everybody in the Faust museum could feel the very atmosphere begin to get noticeably colder. And Sunset’s expression became a mirror image of her grandmother’s as immortalized in the painting behind her.

All things considered, the concert went pretty well if Fluttershy did say so herself. Considering how last-minute the whole thing had been, she was impressed that the ponies of Dodge Junction were able to put together a decent soundstage complete with stellar lighting and even a dry ice machine (or something like that. Fluttershy saw what appeared to be an actual cloud backstage). And even though the concert was only an hour, the ponies in the crowd seemed to love it, just as they had in Ponyville.

If only Octavia was here to share this with me, Fluttershy thought sadly. They’d talked about starting a band together, but circumstances had kept her away from Ponyville when Fluttershy made her debut there, and now…. Well, hopefully the triplets had her safe and sound by now.

As well as the concert had gone, however, there was one thing that nagged at Fluttershy even after it was over: namely, the two empty seats in the front row. The ones that had been reserved for Sunny Side’s father and sister. To make things worse, Fluttershy clearly wasn’t the only one to notice their absence.

“No security threats to report,” Sunny Side stated without any of the warmth or friendliness Fluttershy had grown accustomed to. “Oh, and here’s your phone back by the way.”

Sunny had asked Fluttershy if she could borrow her phone between her first and second set, and considering she hadn’t looked at it once since leaving Canterlot (no reason to when the only source of wi-fi on the planet was there), obliged without even asking why. She had been too busy preparing for her next set to think about it, figuring she’d ask Sunny why she needed it after the concert was over. Now, seeing how disappointed the humanized earth pony looked, Fluttershy again put her curiosity on the back shelf of her mind.

“I’m sure your family had a perfectly good reason not to show up tonight, Sunny,” Fluttershy said softly.

“Yeah? Like what?” Sunny asked. She didn’t sound especially bothered by it, but Fluttershy could tell it was because she was trying very hard not to.

“I wish I could tell you, but I do know that… sometimes with family, not everything is what it seems.” Fluttershy thought back to another, far larger concert; one that she would likely never forget. “Family is complicated like that.”

“Yeah, well I don’t think things are very complicated this time,” Sunny said. This time, she did sound bothered. “You heard the way my dad talked at dinner last night. The things he said about humans.”

“Ah thought you ‘an yer pa settled things,” Applejack said, the stocky little earth pony walking by with a large amp securely strapped to her back. She wasn’t a part of the stage crew, but if she was anything like the Applejack Fluttershy knew, she wouldn’t have been able to stand idly by while there was work to be doing. As far as the crew knew, she was just another unpaid intern doing work she should honestly be making money off of.

“Yeah, I thought so too, but my dad’s always been the kind of pony to say one thing and do another.”

Stopping to set the amp down, Applejack took a momentary break from volunteering her services to set teardown to face Sunny. “That’s a mighty small amount of faith you have in yer family, Sunny.”

“Maybe, but… I dunno…” Sunny said, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. “If it’s not that, then I don’t know what else it could be.”

It was at that moment that a rather frantic looking earth pony with an earthy brown coat and green mane and tail found them, and galloped up to them panting.

“Sunny! Thank the stars I found you, I’ve been looking all over—”

Sunny’s dour mood brightened immediately. “Oh hey, Sod! I didn’t know you would be here!”

The problem with the main head of security not knowing someone was supposed to be backstage immediately became evident as a pair of burly security ponies tackled the hapless stallion to the floor.

“There you are!” one of them yelled.

The other approached Sunny and said, “Sorry, ma’am. This one tried to get backstage without a pass, and when we tried to turn him away, he rushed past us.”

“Please, wait! I need to talk to Sunny!” Sod shouted as one of his hooves was twisted painfully behind him. 

“This isn’t necessary, Shades,” Sunny said to the security stallion (evidently named Shades). “Let him up, he’s a friend.”

After some hesitation, Sunny gave the security stallions a glare that conveyed the seriousness of her order plainly, and the stallion holding Sod down begrudgingly complied.

“Thanks, Sunny,” said Sod. “Now—”

“No problem, Sod. Oh! Intros,” Sunny said, not giving poor Sod a chance to speak. “Sod, these are the VIPs I’m here protecting, Fluttershy and Applejack. Girls, this is Fresh Sod. He’s been working on my family’s farm for…” Sunny paused to think as Sod desperately tried to get a word in.

“Sunny, listen—” 

“Has it been four years now?”

“Uh, maybe? But Sunny—”

“Sod and I go back way further than that, though. Remember second grade, when we stole the teacher’s house key and put it in the aquarium?”

“Sunny,” Fluttershy said with an amused smile. “Maybe you should let the guy speak?”

Turning thoroughly red, Sunny ducked her head and motioned for poor Sod to continue. The color in her face drained as quickly as it came when Sod said, “Sunny, your sister’s in the hospital!”

“What?! Why?”

“I don’t know, your father just told me to come find you and then took your sister to Dodge General as quickly as he could.” Sod swallowed hard. “I think it might be serious.”

Her own heart fraught with worry, Fluttershy put a hand on Sunny’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Sunny looked at her with listless eyes. “But… you still have the fan meet and greet….”

“This is more important,” Fluttershy said, earning a resolute nod from Applejack.

Sunny nodded much more nervously. “Okay, let’s go.”

So, the four of them went with full haste. As they did, Fluttershy wondered whether this was a better or worse reason for Sunny’s family not to show than her initial suspicion. She figured it would depend on what state Bright Side would be in when they arrived.

Behind a partition just to the side of where Sunset was to make her speech to the ponies of Fillydelphia, the princess in question tapped her foot, groaning for what might have been the fifth time that minute. This did not go unnoticed.

“Is something the matter, your highness?” asked Ushanka, ever deadpan but at the same time clearly aware something big had been in that message. The information on Operation: Lost Chord was need-to-know, so Sunset hadn’t told anyone else.

Being here was infuriating. Her cousins were dead, and as far as Sunset was aware she was the only member of her family who knew it. She couldn’t do this.

“We have to leave,” said Sunset affirmatively, already turning toward the exit of the building. 

“We do? But your speech—"

“The speech can wait!” Sunset wheeled around to face Ushanka and the Staliongrad native could tell that the princess was quite obviously emotional about something. This was confirmed by Sunset thrusting her smartphone toward Ushanka, the as-of-yet undisclosed email content still displayed on its monitor. 

Taking the device, Ushanka momentarily had trouble operating it given touchscreens were not something normally found in Equestria, but didn’t take long to get the hang of it and soon had read the entire report.

“You understand why this whole charm tour thing needs to be called off, right?” To Sunset’s surprise, Ushanka shook her head.

“No, quite the opposite—this is all the more reason you need to give this speech.”

“But my family—"

“You are not military so you might not be aware, but just because this message indicates the worst does not automatically mean that is the case. This report in all likelihood is assuming initial vague information as fact and you acting in response in this way is simply making you guilty of the same. And even if it is accurate, the fact remains that your duty is to be here and not run off to mourn the dead.”

Ushanka took a deep breath and Sunset could have sworn she saw something wash over the normally unreadable unicorn-turned-human. “It is not the easiest place to live where I come from; Staliongrad. Ponyville makes a big deal about the dangers of the Everfree Forest but they are not the only ones whose ancestors were dumb enough to park a town next to a haven of predators and worse. And you were not here to see the war. Everyone you know came out of your conflict alive. The same can not be said of those who I was close to. But I did not drop everything to mourn when death came to call again and again, because it was my duty to fight. Maybe it was for as hollow a cause as simply fighting for the ability to mourn openly once the fighting was done, but mourning during the fighting was only going to get more killed.

“You are a princess of Equestria as much as you are the Alicorn of Earth. This is part of the duty that you accepted. Comes with the wings, given what happened with Princess Twilight.” For the briefest of moments, Sunset thought she caught the ghost of a smirk on Ushanka’s mouth. “There will be time to mourn later—for now, you have to be the leader ponies need you to be.”

 Sunset, taken aback by the truth in Ushanka’s words, opened her mouth to speak, but she paid it no further heed as something else demanded much greater attention.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” shouted Pinkie from the stage, having hijacked the rather bewildered looking stallion who originally was going to introduce Sunset, “The moment you’ve allllllll been waiting for has arrived! I present to you the princestliest princess who ever princesses this side of non-ponykind, Sunset Shimmer!”

Well, if anypony would be able to pull that corny intro off, it would be Pinkie, thought Sunset who quickly checked the time on her smartphone. Damn! I wasn’t paying attention to the clock! She glanced up at Ushanka, who simply nodded with what almost had to be that ghostly smile in the corner of her lips. Nodding back, Sunset quickly teleported away into the main foyer before walking out onto the stage erected in front of the museum. 

“Ah, yes, thank you Pinkie, and thank you to everypony who has come today. I know I may not look like it, but I am the newest princess of our country: Sunset Shimmer. And I am here to tell you about the truths behind humanity…”

After raising the sun, Celestia found herself in an unusual situation she’d long forgotten was possible—having absolutely nothing requiring her presence. Luna had been made acting regent in light of the impeachment case leveled against the elder alicorn; further advice by Fancy Pants suggested Celestia should keep a low profile and appear in public as little as possible.

But as the alicorn sat at her private desk trying to find anything interesting to read that wasn’t work-related, her mind kept drifting to how things could have reached this point: Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria for a thousand years and under her reign the country had prospered like never before...but all the good that had been done over the years had been swiftly wiped away—largely in part due to Celestia’s own actions no matter at what point one examined the situation.

Charge One: Humanity. Regardless of what possible interactions in the past had occurred by individuals such as the Megan (as suggested by research done by Sunset on both sides of the mirror), the fact was, Celestia had indirectly led to the reputedly ancient monsters appearing in Equestria in modern times. 

That, of course, was a result of the second charge she laid against herself: not having been as good a mother for Sunset growing up as she should have been and instead trying to mold the filly into something Celestia herself could never be—the means by which Nightmare Moon would be vanquished and her sister Princess Luna restored.

This, naturally, led to Charge Three, the possible ur-charge, if one would: Celestia not having been as supportive of her sister in their early years of rule, when the night was thought of at best as rest time and at worst as the hunting period for predators and worse. Nothing quite like today, where ponies, not just batponies, practically were nocturnal, thanks to the existence of things such as nightclubs, theaters and more.

Every single thing Celestia reflected on, every major disaster which happened to have reached its climax in the recent past, stemmed from mistakes she had made as ruler. It was almost amusing how the period between her early rule and just before everything went to Tartarus with Tirek seemed inconsequential, even though she couldn’t think of any major faults that occurred in that period.

Now the nobility wanted her out and no doubt would try to implicate the ruling House Faust was unfit to rule; a blatantly naked attempt to re-establish Unicornia, no doubt. And unless there was some magic or legal loophole worked into Equestria’s constitution, Celestia’s ageless wisdom failed her in how this could possibly work out.

“Your Majesty?” 

Celestia almost lifted off the ground, caught off guard—she’d been so worked up about her own inner turmoil she hadn’t heard the approach of one of the Hooves.

“Ah, uh, yes, Miss Symphony Rise, I apologize, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I understand you are concerned, my lady, but I suspect that is what your visitor is here to help with.”

“Visitor?” asked Celestia, getting to her hooves.

Rise nodded, and then stepped aside as, much to Celestia’s surprise, Fleur de Lis walked in.

“Pardon the assumption, my liege,” said the Prench-born noblemare, “but I figured you’d be in an advanced state of self-disrepute.”

“Guilty as charged,” said Celestia with a shrug. Like Fancy, Fleur was one of the few nobles who genuinely were interested in the well-being of their fellow, less well-off ponies, and as such could be trusted around to let one’s guard down.

“Indeed. Well, I asked Fancy if that was something you’d need to worry about what with this ridiculous impeachment thing, and he said it would be best if I took you around town—you’re free from duties, so maybe you should get to experience the finer things in life. You’re a workaholic as it is!” the unicorn said with a smile.

“Hmmm, perhaps you’re right,” agreed Celestia, who promptly then cast a self-transformation spell. Gone was the alabaster alicorn and in her place was a bright cream yellow pegasus with rich gold locks—save for the slight purple tinge around her right ear. Fleur was amused at how the “pegasus” had a cutie mark of a sun with an opera mask over it...and was less amused at this pony’s hair style.

“Fitting form, My Princess, but...I can’t say your style works much.”

“Ah, yes, well,” said Celestia, blushing slightly, “I haven’t updated my ‘Golden Feather’ disguise for a long time, admittedly.”

“A long time? That manestyle went out of fashion back before I was even born!”

“Well, that was the last time I ever really got to sneak out and be a normal pony—you can probably understand that.”

“As much as I can for being a mere unicorn. Anyway, it’s clear where we need to go first,” Fleur said as she turned to leave, with “Golden Feather” following suit, “Onwards, to the mane salon!”

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, the six human adults sat around for breakfast, whereupon Night Light and Twilight Velvet had been given the barest of essential information about the operation to rescue Octavia.

“So we aren’t even being allowed to know just what happened with the raid?” asked Cadence—her lawyer mind already trying to work its magic in deciphering any loopholes she could exploit for the benefit of her family.

“As the legal guardians of both Tavi and the triplets,” said a frustrated Velvet, “we have the right to know about their condition, and she’s alive, thank God. But that’s literally all that the Equestrian navy is willing to tell us - they’re citing some bullshit about operational security about the triplets.”

Shining looked at his father; unfortunately, both he and Cadance understood both sides of the equation, though it didn’t make it any easier.  “Remember, they’re still in an operation, so they can’t afford to give out critical details,” he explained.  “It works that way for police business, and I don’t doubt the military is much different.”

“That doesn’t make it right, Shiny,” Velvet told him.

“That might be the case, Velvet,” Cadance added, “but it is what it is.  Trust me: they don’t divulge critical information unless they have to.  Otherwise, it’s a need-to-know situation.”

“And I suppose ‘Mission success: heavy casualties inbound’ is a perfectly good example of that?” Night asked glibly.

Both Luna and Celestia gasped at how...callous Night seemed to be about the matter, given the words he’d just spoken would imply that he somehow no longer cared that his triplet nieces might possibly have been killed in action. 

“Night!” admonished Luna, “This is your own family we’re talking about here!”

“I know, I don’t mean to sound callous, but we all heard what the navy messenger said,” he said, looking far older than his years in that moment. “We have to be prepared for the worst.”

“All due respect, Night, but fuck that,” Celestia said.

“My, you’re sounding callous today, sister,” remarked Luna.

“Luna, you’re forgetting just who the SIREN commander is,” Celestia said with a hard look. “I am not giving up on Sable that easily. Remember how you felt when Moonshadow died in the old timeline?”

“I do,” said Luna, not appreciating the pang of pain and loss she still felt when she even thought about an event which had now never happened, as evidenced by the engagement ring she wore.

“Which reminds me,” said Night, “has any of us thought of what we’re going to tell Cup and Carrot if Pinkie...well, doesn’t recover?”

“I haven’t even had that on my mind, dear,” admitted Velvet, “I’ve been so preoccupied worrying about the triplets and Tavi.” The unspoken additional part of it was still understood by the rest of the present group—that Velvet was still unsure about the whole “Pinkie-Sunset” relationship given the latter of the involved pair still seemed to be struggling with her own sexuality.

“I’m debating whether we should tell them anything even if she does,” Night admitted.

“I’m of two minds about it,” Cadance chimed in.  “On one hand, the lawyer in me is saying that withholding that kind of information is going to get us in very legal hot water no matter what happens to Pinkie.  On the other hand, none of my legal training has ever prepared me for this kind of situation at all.”

“Suffice to say, none of us have,” admitted Celestia. “Especially this ‘Swordbearer’ business – it certainly doesn’t help.  I still don’t understand what Sunset was talking about and how Pinkie somehow is linked to her.”

“Maybe we’re just worrying too much,” suggested Luna, trying to lighten the mood and calm everyone, “After all, this is literally a land of magic and friendship and whatever, and if what happened to Pinkimena is true, then she should have by all rights died instantly. As it is, she’s hanging on by a thread but clearly something’s working to keep her alive with this magic business. Maybe we just need to trust things will work out in the end?”

The five looked at Luna skeptically, not entirely convinced by her case. And in truth, Luna wasn’t entirely convinced of her own argument, either.

The newly constructed Dodge General Hospital stood as a shining beacon of civilization in the middle of downtown Dodge Junction—yet another sign of just how much the small town had grown over the last several months. Before the war, the town of Dodge only had a single clinic operated by a single doctor and a handful of nurses. Now, that very same doctor was likely one of many on staff at Dodge General.

Of course, none of this mattered to Sunny Side as she raced into the reception area. The sight of what appeared to be a full-grown human woman barging into the hospital drew some curious looks from ponies waiting in the reception area (and the janitor seemed to be giving her the evil eye), but again, this didn’t matter to Sunny in the slightest.

“Excuse me!” Sunny called out to the pony at the front desk as she approached. The desk-pony’s ears folded back as she looked up at the seeming human, who said, “My name is Sunny Side, my sister Bright Side was admitted here about an hour ago, is she okay? Where is she, what’s wrong with her?”

The desk-pony looked at her, rattled by the onslaught of questions from the decidedly non-pony creature. “Uh….”

But Sunny didn’t have time for this mare’s verbal stumbling, and slammed her hands on the desk. “Don’t just sit there, answer me!”

“Sunny!” 

Her father’s voice brought Sunny out of her blind panic. She turned and saw him coming out from deeper in the hospital. Sunny immediately ran to her father and embraced the smaller pony, who hugged her back without hesitation. Fluttershy and Applejack, who had been trailing behind Sunny all the way from the concert, joined them, giving Sunny’s father a kind “Hello there,” and a single solemn “Howdy” respectfully.

“Your sister’s okay for now,” Iron Side said as soon as they parted. “She’s not in any immediate danger anymore.”

“Anymore? Dad, what happened?!”

Looking at her with red-rimmed eyes, Iron said, “When she got home from school, Bright was feeling a little under the weather. Runny nose, cough, the works. I-I thought it was just a cold at first, gave her some cold medicine and told her to get some rest. Then, when we were getting ready to go to the concert, she sounded worse. Told me she couldn’t breathe, and when I heard the wheezing noises….”

Iron didn’t finish, but Sunny didn’t need him to.

“Got her here in the nick of time,” Iron concluded. “Doctor said it was strep… er, streptococka… no….”

“Streptococcus equi, more commonly known as the strangles.” Sunny and the others all turned to see a stallion wearing a white coat in front of them. Immediately apparent was just how large and fit this doctor was. “It’s a contagious bacterial disease most commonly found in young foals. Primarily affects the lungs, so we’ve got her on a ventilator. State of the art technology we had shipped straight from Canterlot last month, and good thing too.” The doctor looked at Sunny seriously. “I won’t lie to you, this is probably the worst case of the strangles I’ve ever seen, so we’re keeping a very close eye on her.”

“Can we see her?” Sunny asked.

“Sure.” Then with a loud sharp whistle like he was calling a dog, the large doctor shouted, “Newbie!” and just like that, a rather meek looking stallion wearing blue scrubs appeared like a dog to his master.

The big doctor firmly planted a clipboard with what were presumably Bright Side’s charts in the mouth of the smaller pony. “For once in the sad, miserable existence you call a life, make yourself useful and take these people to the room we’re keeping little miss Bright Side.”

“Sure thing, Dr. Pox!” answered the pony in blue scrubs in a voice that was as nasally as it was gratingly cheerful. “Ooh, me and some of the other interns were thinking of putting some bits down for some lottery tickets, you in?” 

Dr. Pox looked insulted, flashing his medical junior a condescending smile. “Well gosh, Newbie, I’m thrilled that you asked, but I’m gonna have to decline for two main reasons. Reason numero uno: I already chucked a cart full of money over a cliff today, so the lottery just feels superfluous. And Two: the thought of interacting with you any more than I already have to on a daily basis fills me with such existential despair that I actually regret not going over the cliff with it.”

Newbie opened his mouth to interject but the bigger doctor stopped him with another sharp whistle. “If the next words out of your mouth aren’t ‘see you later, Dr. Pox’ I may find myself blinded by a white-hot rage, during which I simply can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

There was a pause as everyone waited for Newbie to respond. “See you later, Dr. Pox.”

With that, Newbie turned to leave, and Sunny and the others could do nothing else but follow him, leaving the strangely aggressive Dr. Pox behind them. Although, Sunny couldn’t help but wonder if “Newbie” was widely disliked at this hospital, based on the way the janitor from earlier had leveled his evil eye at the pony in scrubs, who visibly flinched under his gaze. If nothing else, the whole series of weird exchanges was a welcome distraction from the current situation.

Eventually the group reached Bright’s room, and Newbie shuffled off, leaving them alone. Sunny’s heart wilted at what she saw inside. Her eternally energetic sister was lying in the hospital bed with a clear plastic mask over her face connected to a large machine making rhythmic hissing sounds as it breathed for her. Sunny had never seen her look so frail.

Yet Bright’s eyes lit up when she saw her enter the room. “Hey, Sunny!” Her voice sounded weak, yet still held that youthful joy Sunny knew and loved. At least, at first. “I missed the concert, didn’t I?”

“There’ll be other concerts,” Sunny said, kneeling beside her bed and running a hand through her mane.

“Are you gonna stay in town until I’m better?” Bright asked hopefully.

Sunny winced. “Sorry, sis. We’re heading back to Canterlot first thing tomorrow.”

“And then you’re going on your deployment?”

Sunny just nodded, and the look of disappointment on Bright’s face was crushing. “I really wanted to show you all the new stuff around town….”

“I know,” Sunny said. “But y’know, by the time I’m home again, you’ll be better, and there will probably be even more cool new stuff for you to show me, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Bright said, looking down at her sheets. “Still really wanted to see that concert though.”

At that, Sunny smiled. “Well, you’re in luck.” She then turned to Flutershy and Applejack, who had been standing respectfully at the threshold of the room. “Fluttershy, could I borrow your phone again, please?”

Fluttershy silently obliged, and Sunny unlocked it with the number combination Fluttershy had given her when she first borrowed the phone between sets at the concert. Fluttershy then learned why Sunny had asked to borrow it in the first place. 

“When it looked like you and dad weren’t coming to the concert, I thought I’d bring some of the concert to you instead.” Sunny motioned for Iron to join them, cued up a video, and an image of Fluttershy on stage, her trademark soft-pink 60s Jazzmaster Lacquer ringing out thanks to the magic Sunset had imbued on it at Fluttershy’s request; it allowed the guitar to sound out without an amp or electric power.  Playing an easy, funky melody, Fluttershy sang out, enthralling the audience with her music: .

“If the sun refused to shine
I don't mind, I don't mind (yeah)
If the mountains fell in the sea
Let it be, it ain't me
(Alright, sing a song),
Got my own world to live through an’ all –
Ain't gonna copy you

“Now if a 6
Turned out to be 9,
I don't mind, I don't mind
If all the hippies cut off all their hair
I don't care, I don't care
Dig it – 
Got my own world to live through
Ain't going to copy you…”

“Whoa… what kinda magic is this?” Bright asked, her weak raspy voice filled with the childlike wonder of her old self.

“Not magic. Technology,” Sunny said. “Apparently, every human has one of these back in their world.”

“They built this without magic?” Iron Side asked, sounding genuinely impressed.

Sunny nodded, and the family of three sat silently for a time, watching the videos Sunny recorded of the concert. She only managed to get the second set, and even then the iPhone’s speakers paled in comparison to actually being there, but her sister and father sat, enraptured, just the same.

As the last video came to an end, Bright looked up to Sunny and asked, “Are you gonna get your own, uh….”

“iPhone.”

“Eye-foam when you go to the human world?”

Sunny laughed. “Probably.”

Her sister looked at her with eyes as bright as her name. “You’re amazing, Sunny!”

“Bright and I are gonna miss you while you’re gone, Sunny,” Iron said. “But you really are doing something amazing. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Sunny said, giving him a warm hug. She then gave Bright the best hug she could around the tubes and breathing mask. “And you know I’d do anything for you, sis. Anything.”

Fluttershy and Applejack had walked back to the main reception area of the hospital when Sunny and her family had started watching videos on her phone. Applejack had suggested they give them some privacy, and Fluttershy wholeheartedly agreed.

“Jus’ goes to show you can’t take yer loved ones fer granted,'' Applejack said to her. Or, perhaps to no one in particular.

Fluttershy took a sidelong glance at the little farm pony, noticing once again that her thoughts had taken her on another distant voyage. 

“You can talk to me, you know,” Fluttershy said kindly. “About whatever has been bothering you since this whole trip began.”

“Goes a little further back than just the charm tour, Fluttershy,” Applejack said, but nonetheless looked at her with a reassuring smile. “But I’m fine, sugarcube. I know what I have to do now.”

Fluttershy wasn’t entirely sure what the farm pony meant, but she had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with her Applejack. She didn’t have long to think about it though as familiar red and yellow colors suddenly appeared in her peripheral.

“Sunny?” Fluttershy asked, surprised, looking not at Sunny Side, but at Sunset Shimmer. The SIREN recruit who had escorted her on her leg of the charm tour was with her, and Fluttershy struggled to remember her name (only that she sounded weirdly Russian) as she asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Fillydelphia?”

“No time to explain, Flutters, but I’m teleporting everyone back to Canterlot,” Sunset said. “Where’s Side?”

“Inside with her family.”

“Bring her out here, I’ll teleport you all back to Canterlot.”

“Sunny, what’s going on?”

Sunset looked at her and Fluttershy could see something she hadn’t seen in her friend’s eyes for a long time: sheer, utter heartbreak. “Something changed – rescue mission’s over and all pertinent personnel and their escorts are to be pulled back to Canterlot immediately.”