//------------------------------// // 7 - Special Holidays - Sunset // Story: Sunset Shimmer - Six Friends One Heart // by Babroniedad //------------------------------// Sunset “Sunset. Sunset Shimmer. Can you hear me? Nod if you can hear me, sweetie.” Sunset opened her eyes slowly. Everything was blurry, and her body hurt everywhere. “Wah… Where am I?” she asked, turning her head slowly to see who was talking. A nurse, with white hair and a gentle smile, looked into her eyes. “Hey, Sunset Shimmer. Good to see you awake. You were really out of it there. How are you feeling honey?” “Uhmm... “ groaned Sunset. “What happened to me. Where am I?” Looking around, she added, “How did I get here? What’s going on?” She saw a glass of water sitting by her bedside. She reached over to take it, but had trouble lifting the glass. “Hold on sweetie. Let me help you.” The nurse took the glass, holding it gently to Sunset’s lips. She sipped the water slowly. “Little sips honey. If you drink too much it will just come back up. Have to start slowly.” The cool water soothed her parched mouth, sore throat, and dry lips. “Thank you,” she whispered, then laid back against the pillow. “How did I get here? What happened?” “911 received an anonymous call. You were found just outside the gym at Canterlot High School. The ambulance brought you here. You were admitted and brought into trauma. If you want more details I can bring in the attending Doctor. Hang on a bit, I‘ll get her for you. So, how are you feeling? Do you need anything? Do you need us to contact anyone? We tried to reach your parents but no one answered. We left messages, but they weren’t returned.” Sunset turned in her bed. “Ugh!” she groaned, unexpected pain radiating from her chest as she moved. “My phone. Have you seen my phone?” “Uh, one-second dear. You came in with a backpack. It’s in the closet somewhere..” The nurse crossed the room, opened the cabinet door and pulled out a battered and dirty backpack. It looked to have been dropped and kicked a bit, but was still intact. “Okay, let’s see. May I open this for you and look for it?” “Yes please,” Sunset replied. “It’s in the front pocket.” The nurse opened the pocket and pulled out the phone. “Here you go sweetie… this it?” She handed the phone over to Sunset. Sunset took the phone. She winced… even that hurt. “Thank you.” She unlocked the phone and checked her messages. Sure enough. Over 30 new messages, the recent ones from the hospital. That figured. The phone number in her school file went straight to her phone. Everything else was forged - she had no parents, and until recently, no real address. She opened the messaging app and played the first message. “Sunset, you little shit! I know it was you. If I ever get you alone I am so going to make you regret ever being born. Share my secrets, will you? This will be the last mistake you ever make with me!” “Oh, heh… oops. Didn’t mean to play that one. Sorry!” she said. She deleted the message and scrolled through to the more recent ones. “Mr. and Mrs. Shimmer. Please contact us immediately. We have your daughter here at Canterlot General in Urgent Care. She’s undergoing emergency surgery. She needs her family, and we need you to help complete her paperwork. Please contact us as soon as you get this message. Thank you.” “Why do you have that message Sunset? That was supposed to go to your parent’s number,” stated the nurse. “Something you need to tell me?” “Hehe… yeah, about that…” Sunset blanched. Caught. “Yeah, I kind of don’t live with my parents. I’ve on my own. For a while now, actually. I’m actually an emancipated minor. Honest. I just never got around to updating my records at school.” “Uh-huh. Anything else you want to tell me hun?” asked the nurse. “Um… Sorry?” said Sunset. “Nice try kiddo,” the nurse replied. “I believe you, but it really feels like you're leaving a bit out here. Who’re you living with? Who takes care of you? Do you have any family?” “Well, no. But I have friends.” Sunset’s face fell. “Well, I had friends. I kind of lost them. We had a misunderstanding.” “This wouldn’t have anything to do with how you ended up in here now, would it?” asked the nurse. “Maybe?” said Sunset, with a pensive shrug. “Oww. Okay, seriously. Is that really supposed to hurt that much? Why am I so sore? What happened to me?” “Sunset, honey, what’s the last thing you remember before you came here? Do you remember how you got hurt?” “The last thing I remember was getting a text from Rainbow. She said we needed to talk and to meet her in the gym. I was headed there, but after that… after that… I got nothing. I don’t remember anything after that.” Sunset looked worried. “Why can’t I remember anything after that? What happened? Why am I here?” “Shhh… it’s okay, relax honey. Relax. That happens sometimes. You’ll be fine. I’m sure once you've had a chance to rest and recover a bit you'll remember everything. Don’t worry. It’s okay.” “But it’s not okay! What happened to me? Why am I here, and what’s going on?” Sunset tried to sit up, looking frantic. The nurse leaned forward and gently embraced her. “Hang on, Sunset. Deep breath. Sit tight for a second, okay? You okay now sweetie? Deep breath.” She took a deep breath; in, then out, slowly. “Okay, good. Good. One more. Deep breath.” Sunset took a deep breath. In, then out. In, then out. Slow. Relaxed. She laid back down on the pillow. The nurse took her hands with a gentle squeeze. “Okay, Sunset? Feeling a bit better now? Okay?” Sunset nodded. “Good. Here’s what I’m going to do. You hang tight here honey. And I’m going to get Dr. Quinn, and have her come and explain what’s going on to you, okay? Can you wait here for a few moments while I do that? You okay now?” The nurse squeezed her hands again and smiled. “Okay,” Sunset answered. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be fine. Just, please. I need to know. What happened? Why am I here? Please...” “Okay honey. Alright then, I’ll be right back. Just hang on, alright? Just breath in and out, and relax. It’s going to be okay.” The nurse got up and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Sunset looked at her phone again, checking her messages. The messages were all garbage, hate from her friends… former friends. They were messages full of anger, raging at her for betraying them after all they had been through together. There was an end to them at least; the last message from every one of them said something like ‘and we will never speak again’. A tear rolled down her cheek, then another. “But I didn’t do it,” she whispered to herself. “I would never do that. Why can’t they see that? Why can’t anyone see that? It wasn’t me.” She sighed, lowering the phone. “It wasn’t me.” She stared out the window. It was raining outside; a perfect match for the storm raging through her heart. Feelings of hurt and betrayal blew through her soul, leaving her spent and exhausted. Waves of anguish washed through her heart, stripping away everything smooth and gentle, leaving only rocks and boulders and jagged stones of hurt that cut and tore her soul with every pulse and wave. There was nothing left but pain and bitter hurt. Someone knocked at the door, breaking her anguished reverie. “Knock knock. Ms. Shimmer?” “Yes, that’s me,” replied Sunset. “Hi! I’m Dr. Quinn,” answered the young Doctor, entering. “I’m the attending for this shift. Nurse Redheart informed me you’d woken and were ready to discuss your case. That’s correct, yes? This a good time for it?” “Yes, please!” said Sunset. “Can you tell me what’s happened, and why I’m here? I can’t remember anything past yesterday afternoon.” “Okay. Actually, about that. You were brought in Friday evening. When you arrived you were unconscious and needed emergency surgery. We were unable to reach your parents. We obtained special permission to perform the surgery in their absence. There was some swelling to your spinal column, and to your brain. You were in a mild coma post-surgery and all day yesterday. You started to respond to stimuli this morning. Today’s actually Sunday.” Sunset blanched. “I was out for an entire day? What happened? How bad was I hurt? Okay, yeah about that… Why does everything hurt so bad? What the heck happened to me?” Dr. Quinn walked to the head of the bed. Pulling out the guest chair, she sat and held Sunset's hand. “Sunset, you were badly hurt. We don’t know the specifics, but it’s very clear from your injuries you were beaten. Severely beaten. Someone - or ones - beat you so badly you had a dislocated hip, and have two cracked vertebrae, broken ribs, and fractures to your leg, forearm, and left cheekbone. You also have a fractured occipital lobe and a hairline fracture to your skull. You have contusions - that’s deep bruising - over 60 percent of your body. The injuries you sustained caused inflammation of your spinal cord, and some mild swelling of your brain. You were fortunate. Someone called 911. We were able to treat you quickly. We’re not sure if the inflammation will cause any lasting damage. We won’t know for sure until the swelling subsides, at which point we’ll reevaluate and reassess the damage.” “What does that mean Dr? What are you saying?” Sunset shrank into herself visibly, worry creasing her brows. “How long am I going to be like this? How long until I can go home? I will get better, right? It’ll get better?” “Ms. Shimmer. I’ll be honest. We don’t know. We just won’t know until we can reassess the damage once the swelling subsides. We just have to wait.” “How long?” “How long what?” “How long do I have to wait? How long until I know? Can I get up? When can I leave? I don’t want to be here. I want to go home.” Sunset looked like she was about to cry. “I want to go home…” she breathed quietly. “Home.” Another tear rolled down her cheek. “The swelling should respond to treatment fairly quickly. We’re hopeful we’ll know something within the next week. We have you on an aggressive steroid treatment to address the swelling, as well as other anti-inflammatories. For now, let's do a quick assessment. Can you sit up?” Dr. Quinn took her hand. Sunset pulled, lifting herself off the pillow into a sitting position. “Good. Good girl. Okay. Let's start with some simple tests. I’m going to let go, and I want you to sit straight for as long as you can. We’re going to test your trunk strength and balance with this. Ready? Okay, I’m letting go now, don’t worry. I won’t let you fall. You’re safe. Okay. Letting go.” Dr. Quinn let her hands go, keeping her arms out to catch her if she started to sway. Sunset concentrated, trying to keep herself upright. But something was wrong… She couldn’t feel anything past her chest! She could feel pain… But nothing else! She was trying to keep her stomach tight - but there was nothing there, just the pain. She tried to flex her hips. Nothing. Looking down at her toes, she tried to wiggle them. Nothing moved. There was nothing. Just pain. She started falling back. “Talk to me Sunset. What’s happening?” asked Dr. Quinn, gently bracing her shoulders, lowering Sunset back to the pillow. “What just happened?” “Dr. Quinn. Something’s wrong!” Sunset blurted out. “I can’t move them. I can feel them sort of… I think I can feel them. But I can’t move them! What is wrong with me?” Sunset cast a worried glance at the Doctor. “I feel the pain! I know they’re there. But I tried to move my hips or toes, nothing happened. And my stomach won’t flex. But I feel pain! What’s going on?” “Okay. That’s not actually unexpected. That’s the swelling. We won’t worry about that right now, okay Sunset? You with me? Sunset?” Dr. Quinn gave Sunset a gentle squeeze. “Say something Sunset. You’re okay. This is normal for what you’ve experienced.” “So, I’ll be okay? This is just for now, right?” asked Sunset. “As I said, we won’t know for certain until the swelling goes down. But we’re hopeful. Okay, I’m going to test your sensations and reflexes. This will be a bit cool, I need to remove the blanket to test your sense of touch.” Dr. Quinn removed the blanket from her legs, carefully folded it up, and placed it on the table at the end of the bed. “Sunset, I’m going to gently run this wheel over your arms and legs. I want you to tell me when you can feel something. I need you to look away, so we only test what you can feel, not what you can see. We already know your eyesight works.” The joke got a brief smile from Sunset. “Always nice to meet a fan of my bedside humor.” Dr. Quinn grinned. “Okay Sunset, look out the window for a bit. This will only take a moment. Tell me when you feel something.” Sunset looked out the window. The rain was still falling, streaking drops across the glass. Brief flashes of light lit the grey sky, with occasional peals of rolling thunder. A few harried souls scurried through the rain, heading to and from the hospital parking lot in the downpour. “I’m ready, Dr. Quin. You can start whenever you want.” “Already have, Ms. Shimmer. Just let me know when you feel anything.” “What!?” Sunset turned back to stare at the Doctor. “I can’t feel anything! Why can’t I feel that?” She worriedly watched the Doctor gently rolling the pinwheel up her leg. “Now, Ms. Shimmer. No cheating. You’re not supposed to look,” joked Dr. Quinn. “Don’t worry, this is normal. With the inflammation to your spinal cord, it’s expected you wouldn’t feel this now. Just checking to be thorough. Be a dear please, and look away. Almost done.” “Okay,” she gazed back out the window. Dr. Quinn finished, and moved on to her other leg. Nothing. Up to her waist, then abdomen. Still nothing. “Okay, Ms. Shimmer. Almost done. Next limb… Ready, here we go.” She rolled the wheel down her finger. “Ouch!” flinched Sunset, pulling her arm back. “Sorry!” she said, offering it back, still looking out the window. “Felt that one.” “Good! Let’s continue.” Dr. Quinn rolled the wheel up and down her arm, across her palm, and up and down her other fingers. “Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch!” muttered Sunset, trying not to flinch from the constant painful pricks the wheel’s pins inflicted. “Well-done Sunset. Next arm.” Dr. Quinn switched sides, taking Sunset’s right arm and holding it out straight across the bed. Sunset turned and stared at the door, watching people pass through the narrow glass window set over the burnished metal handle. “Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch!” muttered Sunset, again flinching at the pricks of the wheel’s pins. “Almost done Ms. Shimmer. One last test.” Dr. Quinn put the wheel away and pulled out a little hammer made of a red rubber triangle in a burnished steel frame. “Let’s check out those reflexes.” Dr. Quinn started at her toes, gently tapping the hammer across Sunset’s shins, knees, wrists, and elbows, noting each time a twitch or pull accompanied the hammer’s strikes. “All done Ms. Shimmer.” Dr. Quinn put the hammer away, picked up her chart, and made notations for a few moments. Removing the stethoscope from her neck, Dr. Quinn placed it in her ears, then breathed onto the disk. “An old trick I learned from my mentor while in med school. These things can get rather chilly. A little bit of warmth works wonders. Okay, Sunset, let’s check your vitals, and then we’re done.” She moved the scope around Sunset’s chest, occasionally asking her to take a breath or hold her breath. When finished, she reached over and grabbed the blanket off the table. Unfolding it, she placed it snugly over Sunset’s legs and waist. “Wouldn’t want my star patient to freeze now, would I?” she joked, then pulled the blood pressure cuff over, placing it onto Sunsets left arm. After snugging the cuff, then hitting the start button on the monitor, she removed the probe and placed a sterile sleeve over it. “Under the tongue and we’re almost done!” she sang, slipping the probe into Sunset’s mouth then hit another button. Moments later, the monitor beeped, she removed the probe and cuff, popped the sleeve into the trash, and placed the probe back into the monitor. After a few more notations in the chart, she turned and smiled at Sunset once again. “Tell me, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Smiled Dr. Quinn. “Can I get you anything Sunset? Anything you need? No? Okay. If you do need anything, the red call button with the nurse hat on the remote hanging on the bed.. Yes, that’s the one. Right. Right there, uhm hm. Okay. If you do need anything, and I mean anything, you hit that button, and your nurse will be right in to help. And Sunset? That means anything. Do not try to get up. Do not try to walk to the bathroom or move around or leave the bed. I'm serious, miss. We don’t want our favorite people getting hurt. And right now, your legs are not in any shape to move you anywhere So if you need to use the bathroom, and you will - trust me, no one can hold that forever - you call. And we will come to help you. You are NOT to try to move or get in or out of bed on your own. Understand dear?” Sunset nodded. “Okay. Good girl. With that out of the way… I’m going to call down to food services and let them know you’ve woken and would like some food. They’ll send someone along in a few to get your food preferences and fill out your meals for today and tomorrow. Let them know if you have any allergies, food sensitivities, or preferences.” “Uhm. I’m a vegetarian. I don’t eat meat,” answered Sunset. “Noted. Yes, you definitely want to tell them that. Okay kiddo, like I said, if you need something - Anything - press that button and let us know. And stay in bed. Oh, also, the remote for the TV is on the same remote… yes, that’s it, right there. We have two movie channels as well as the normal TV lineup, though my personal favorite is our in-house hospital health channel.” Sunset smirked. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up girl. Trust me after watching the same 5 movies for the sixth time in days you’ll really come to appreciate the variety our health channel has to offer.” Sunset laughed. “That’s my girl!” Dr. Quinn said. “I’ll be back later to check on you before the shift change. Hang in there girl!” She waved and left. Sunset took the remote and flipped on the TV. ‘News. News. News. Game show. Daytime drama. News. Blech… Oh hey. This must be the health channel Dr. Quinn mentioned... ‘ Sunset settled in, engrossed in a documentary on ‘Your health and hygiene’. The next show had barely started when there was a knock at her door. “Come in.” Sunset called. An older lady with a clipboard and pen poked her head in. “Hi, deary. I’m from food services. I was told you woke up with a bit of an appetite? We have a few choices for each meal, and I’d like to get your preferences, if you have a moment.” “Yes please!” replied Sunset. Recalling what Dr. Quinn had told her earlier, she added. “Before I forget… I’m a vegetarian. I don’t eat meat.” “Oh good! Thanks for telling me that… I’ll note it right now,” replied the woman. She scribbled a note on her chart. “Okay. I take it you haven’t eaten anything yet, as you just woke up, yes? Would you like to have something sent for now? Lunch won’t be for a few hours, so might be a good idea. This late, I can’t offer anything fancy, but if a bowl of cereal or sandwich works for you, I can have that to you right quick.” Sunset’s stomach growled. “Oh, someone heard me did they?” laughed the lady. “I’ll take that as a yes. So what’ll it be? Here is our menu for today, and for tomorrow. Yes, flip it over. That’s tomorrow's menu. When you’re done let me know and I’ll take it. If you just want a sandwich, side salad, or bowl of cereal I can get that now while you’re looking over the menu.” “Really? That would be great. Can I have a salad please, ranch dressing on the side?” Sunset smiled. “You bet deary. Be right back.” The lady disappeared through the door and off down the hall. Sunset went back to the menu, using the attached pen to check off her choices. As she finished, the door opened, and the lady appeared with a food tray. “I picked out some mineral water for you too, deary. If you want something else, just let the nurse know and they can drop it off. They have all the basic soda flavors, tea, coffee, and of course the perennial favorite, cold water.” She set the tray down on the mobile table, rolled it under Sunset’s bed, then adjusted the bed so Sunset was sitting up and could eat comfortably. “Oh, I see you’ve finished. I’ll take that for you, sweetie.” She took the menu and left, calling out “You have a good day dear.” “Thank you!” Sunset replied, already pouring the dressing over the salad. Bored. Bored bored. Sunset checked her phone again. She had already listened to all her messages. She deleted the ones she didn’t want to keep. Which frankly, was just about all of them. Really, aside from the last few messages from the hospital, which she didn't want to deal with right now, and the messages from Flash Sentry and Vice-Principal Luna, she had no reason to keep the rest. How many times and in how many ways can you listen to yet another person tell you how much they hated you, or why, or what they planned to do to you when they got the chance? Good riddance. The message from Flash was a surprise. After so many messages of hate, rage, disappointment, or combination of the above, she hadn’t expected the message he’d sent. “Sunset, it’s Flash. Look, about this anon-a-miss thing… We need to talk. I mean in a good way. I mean… I mean… Huh…” Flash sighed. The message continued after a moment. “Look, Sunset. This isn’t you. I mean, this, it’s not you. Ugh! I mean I know anon-a-miss is not you. You would never do this! Even at your worst, you were never this. This is just stupid mean. And you were never stupid. Mean? Yes. But never stupid. And you’re not mean now! I know you’re not. So I guess what I am saying is, I know it’s not you.” Another pause. “I just wanted you to know. I know we’re not friends anymore. And you’ve moved on. That’s fine. But Sunset. You’re not alone. I just wanted you to know that, Okay? Okay? Ugh, message. I know you can’t reply. Okay, so… Just, hang in there. You’re not alone.” When she first played the message, she started shaking, then she cried her eyes out Someone finally believed her. Flash believed her. He would… He was a straight arrow. When they were dating, even after she used him mercilessly to improve her popularity, he was never critical of her. He never responded in anger to her constant jabs and taunts. Even when he finally broke things off, he was a perfect gentleman. He didn’t let her goad him into getting angry or petty. He just didn’t want to be part of what he saw her doing to the rest of the school. And he’d told her, in no uncertain terms. But even then, he was only disappointed. As he left, he still wished her happiness. And now, after everything she’d done, he was one of the last people she would’ve dreamed would stand in her corner. Yet, she had to admit to herself, she should be the least surprised he was the one who did. He was a good person, always willing to see the best in everyone. What a joy it was to know there was at least one soul who didn’t think she was the devil everyone else believed her to be. “At last!”, she cried out, shedding tears of joy. All cried out, tears dried, and hours later, she was bored. She had called Flash back, and left a message. No reply yet. Not surprising really - she’d heard he took a job delivering pizza for his uncle’s restaurant, and Sunday afternoon was one of their busier times. She wanted to call her friends… her ex-friends. But they were clear in their final messages about how welcome that would be. A few of them were graphically clear. She checked her journal once again, to see if Twilight had answered any of her messages. The last message Twilight had sent to her was something supposedly inspirational - ‘Friendship will prevail’ and other platitudes. It really seemed less than useful at the moment. Sunset had sent other messages, but really wasn’t surprised when she got no response. Twilight had mentioned she and her friends had been invited to Canterlot for their annual Hearth's Warming pageant, and was staying with the other Princesses. She likely hadn’t brought her journal along when she packed. Bless her heart, the mare would remember to bring extra scrolls and ink for her lists, but something out of the ordinary like her journal would be completely forgotten until she went to use it. ‘Hehe.. I guess there is a reason for all those lists, huh Twilight.’ Sunset mused with a chuckle. Knocking at the door. Dr. Quinn poked her head in. “Hello, Ms. Shimmer! How we doing? Everything going well? You get your meals straightened out?” She opened the door, taking Sunset’s chart and flipping it open as she walked in and sat down at the head of the bead. “Yes, thank you Dr. Quinn. I did - I ordered my food, and let them know I’m a vegetarian. I got a salad and a late lunch. They said dinner should be here shortly. Nurse Redheart helped me with the bathroom earlier, so like, whatever there. I’m still in a lot of pain, but they’ve been giving me some stuff that helps for that. Along with the other things you said were for my inflammation. It seems to help. I’m fine, thanks.” Sunset sighed. “Well, okay, honestly. Everything is not fine. But, you know what I mean.” Dr. Quinn nodded. “Sunset, I know this is awful. It’s a lot to deal with. But we’re here for you, okay? No one expects you to feel good through all this. This is a horrible situation you’re in, and you’ve every right to feel awful about it. But you don’t have to face this alone. We’re here to help you - every step of the way. And we’re not going to let you go through this alone.” Reaching over, Dr. Quinn placed a hand on her shoulder, and smiled. “We’ll get through this together, okay girl? You’re not alone, and you don’t have to do this alone. Let us help.” Sunset’s eyes misted. She reached over and gently squeezed Dr. Quinn’s hand. “Thank you. You’ve no idea how much I needed to hear that! Just, thank you.” She smiled, a tear rolling down her cheek. She reached up and rubbed the tear away. “Ugh. I’m crying like a little foal. Baby. I mean baby! Ugh.” She laughed. “Foal huh? Wow, bet there’s a filly story there,” laughed Dr. Quinn, smiling back. “You have no idea!” grinned Sunset. “Okay, you’ll have to tell me all about it sometime. Not tonight though. We’re coming up on the shift change, which means my chance to catch a few hours sleep before I’m back for my rounds again. I’ll be back tomorrow, and we can talk then.” Dr. Quinn smiled. “But, before I go, I need to go over a few things with you. Tomorrow, we have a few more tests lined up. And we’re going to start some therapy, mostly to keep your muscles moving and limber. We don’t want you tightening up while we wait for your inflammation to clear up. Also, several of our alternative therapists will be coming around. We encourage you to take advantage of what they offer. We care for your whole person here, so please, let them help you where you feel comfortable. I’ll check in on you tomorrow when my shift starts. Then you can tell me all about your silly filly slip.” Dr. Quinn gave Sunset a gentle hug, then got up and walked to the door. “Thank you, Dr. Quinn. Have a good evening. I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Sunset. “You too Ms. Shimmer.” Dr. Quinn left, shutting the door behind her. Sunset got out her journal, still no message from Twilight. Dinner came, then later, with a little help, Sunset got ready for bed. Turning the lights out, she drifted off to deep and dreamless sleep. Morning came early for Sunset, with a steaming cup of coffee, with creamer and honey. After her morning medications, wakend fully with the welcome cup of caffeinated warmth, she was helped through her morning ablutions, cleaned, and dressed for the day. The ‘dress’ in this case was a set of aqua scrubs, an appreciated upgrade from the dreadful patient smock she had worn since her arrival. Morning ablutions completed, breakfast arrived; eggs, toast with jam, orange juice, oatmeal with honey, and another welcome cup of coffee. Sunset tucked into the meal, making short work of it. Energized, she was ready to face the remainder of her day. Which at least at this point, was mostly waiting. Eventually, the PT therapist came in, ran through a few basic evaluations, and prescribed some basic movements to help keep her muscles toned and flexible. After a few practice runs, she left Sunset some light reading, leaving her once again to her own devices. Which, in this case, was her cell phone and the TV remote. Ugh. No relief there. Sunset rang the nurse, and was delighted to find they did have a library - sort of. They had an odd selection of periodicals and reading materials, as well as audiobooks, puzzles, and games. As for actual books the selection was very sparse. Unless you were looking for popular - but decidedly not recent - bodice rippers or over-the-top fantasy or science fiction titles, in which case you had several rolling small bookshelves to choose from. Fortunately for Sunset, the periodicals did include a few scientific and exploratory journals, which Sunset found intriguing enough to browse. ‘Hehe… guess Twilight isn’t the only egg-head,’ she grinned as she flipped through the pages of Equestrian Geographic, settling on an article documenting a study of a newly discovered tribe from the Applosian RainForest. Then there were the visits from the other therapists Dr. Quinn had mentioned. A pair of Zebrican Shamans came in - sisters actually - both garbed in the traditional black and white robes with bands of golden jewelry. They offered to clear her chakra and enlighten her inner being. Sunset, enchanted by their lilting, rhyming speech, begged them to please do so. They stayed for a while, chanting and holding their hands over different parts of her body, ‘clearing her channels’, and ‘allowing her inner energies’ to heal her body and psyche. She wasn’t sure if she believed it, but she did feel better. She thanked the sisters kindly, then to her surprise fell asleep for a bit before her lunch arrived. After lunch, a minister from the Church of Celestial Harmony arrived, offering to pray with her for peace and inner harmony. After a brief prayer, they chatted for a fair bit. Sunset learned more about their faith, and religion in general on this side of the portal. She had never really bothered to study religion before. After a final blessing and shared prayer to harmony, the minister left to continue her rounds. Sunset went back to her casual reading. More tests were scheduled for her afternoon. A cat scan, with some contrasting dye, was run to view the breaks and swelling in her spine. That completed, she was off to the MRI for imaging on her head and spine. There was a complication when the doctors realized that the contrast from the cat scan would interfere with the contrast used for the spinal MRI. They decided to postpone that part of the scan until the next day to allow the dye time to metabolize, and just ran the MRI scans of her head. Returning to her room, she found a respiratory therapist waiting for her. She had a weird little plastic pipe and ball toy she wanted Sunset to use. After teaching Sunset how to use the test ‘toy’, the therapist noted the readings from the small device. Sunset was instructed to use it several times throughout the day, using deep controlled breathing to move the ball between the lines the therapist had marked on the pipe. It seemed silly, but was apparently important for keeping her lungs healthy and free of fluids. So she practiced diligently, despite how ridiculous she felt playing with the little device. Dinner came, and Sunset welcomed it. Despite the fact that she was basically sedentary, and clearly hadn’t exercised enough to justify her healthy appetite, she tucked away her meal quickly, enjoying the food immensely. Dr. Quinn poked through the door. “Knock knock Ms. Shimmer. How’re we doing this evening?” She entered the room, removing Sunset’s chart from the foot of the bed and reading through the notations from the day. “You’ve been a busy girl, Sunset. How’re you feeling? Any better?” She pulled out the guest chair, sitting once again at the head of Sunset’s bed. “Hi Dr. Quinn. Yeah. Hehe… Busy day.” Sunset laughed. “Have you gotten any results yet from the tests they ran? Am I getting better like you said?” “Okay, first a question for you Ms. Shimmer. How’re you feeling? Do you feel better now than you did yesterday? How is the pain?” She reached over, holding Sunset’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m not sure the pain is any better. And I still can’t feel my legs, my hips, toes, or stomach. But I kind of feel better. I mean, I don’t feel as sad anymore. And my headache is feeling much better.” Sunset looked down at her hand, resting gently in Dr. Quinn’s. “That’s good, right? That means that I’m improving at least, and that’s progress, yes?” “Yes, Sunset. That’s progress. You are improving, and that is better, at least for your head and heart. Did you meet with the therapist making the rounds today?” “I did. They were… interesting.” “And helpful?” “Yeah. Yes, they were. It was different than I expected, but yeah, I think it helped. I feel a little better now. I’m not crying all the time, so there’s that.” Sunset looked up from her hand to Dr. Quinn. “I’m still sad. I feel like a huge, important part of my life has been cut away. But, I feel a little peace too. And I’m really looking forward to getting better and getting out of here. And going home.” “Still a ways to go for that Sunset,” said Dr. Quinn, squeezing Sunset’s hand. “But I’m still hopeful for you.” “So, did you get anything from the tests?” “It’s still too early to say much about the inflammation, and any damage it may have caused. But the latest CAT scan and MRI show your wonderfully young body is already healing the fractures and breaks, which is very good news. Your bones are knitting well, and we fully expect them all to heal completely in due time.” “And then I get my memory back, and can walk and get my life back, right?” asked Sunset. “Maybe. We’ll see. Again, I’m hopeful. And you’re healing quite well, so I really have no reason not to be.” Dr. Quinn gently pulled on Sunset’s hand. “Do you remember anything yet from the evening before you were brought here?” Sunset’s gaze fell. “No,” she sighed. “Not yet. Still nothing.” “No worries Sunset. It takes time. We’ll just keep waiting and checking. No worries.” Dr. Quinn smiled at her, then with a final squeeze, released her hand to reach across the head of the bed, retrieving the blood pressure machine. “Now let’s get those vitals.” The following days were more of the same. Sunset rose each morning, and with her nurse’s help, got ready for the day. Then, breakfast, tests, therapy, lunch, more of the same, all interspaced with large amounts of boredom, relieved by reading. No further messages came from her fellow students, nor her former friends. While a relief in many senses, it was also distressing. It hurt her deeply to be tossed aside so completely from her friends' lives, torn from the friendships that meant so much to her and defined so deeply who she thought herself to be. Even more frustrating was not hearing anything from Twilight. Sunset knew she was probably still busy with Holiday festivities and with family, as well as the duties that fell to her as a Princess and the element of magic. But it didn’t change the ache in her heart that when she needed her most, she wasn’t there. She really needed a friend right now, someone that really knew her, at her deepest, rawest level, and still reached out in love to embrace her. Someone to let her know that everything was going to be okay. To let her know she was still loved, wanted, and needed. That she was still a friend.