//------------------------------// // The Next Morning // Story: Unicorn Attack! // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// The sliding doors to Maretime Bay General Hospital slid open, and Hitch Trailblazer trotted in at 6:15 in the morning, with the first rays of the sun barely peaking above the early morning sky, and retraced his steps to the admissions desk. "Good morning, Sheriff Trailblazer," the nurse at the desk greeted. "Doctor Wellhoof told me you'd almost certainly be by this morning. I assume you're here for an update on Sprout and Phyllis Cloverleaf." "If you have an update to give," Hitch responded, sipping at his cup of coffee. "I know you were very concerned about the gash on Sprout's head that was bleeding profusely, but he's lucky; it was just a flesh wound; those bleed pretty bad, but other than that, it should heal up fine. Unfortunately, his left front leg is fractured, and that will keep him out of commission for a few weeks. But again, thankfully, there doesn't seem to be any permanent injuries." Hitch breathed a sigh of relief. "Very glad to hear that, nurse. What about Phyllis?" Hitch asked next. "We've been keeping her sedated with restraints, per your orders to not let her out. Her injuries were far less severe, just some minor bruises and a few cuts." Hitch gritted his teeth for a moment behind his closed lips. Phyllis didn't deserve to be that lucky, especially compared to Sprout. "I can take you to see him if you like, Sheriff," the nurse told him. "I would appreciate that very much, thank you." Sunny woke up in the same position she had eventually fallen asleep in on Hitch's couch last night. She looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was nearly 7 am. The fact that she had not moved in all that time was a sure sign that she had badly needed a good night's sleep after the events of last night. It wasn't a night and day difference; she still felt lost and confused when she glanced over at the set crystals on the coffee table, before looking over at Izzy, who was still snoring in the recliner. Leaning up into a sitting position, she gave a full body stretch, then quietly got to her hooves, and sauntered over to the kitchen. The half-empty pot of coffee suggested that Hitch had already been up and out, no doubt going over to the hospital to get an update on Sprout and Phyllis. She poured a cup of the warm coffee for herself, then started a new pot for her friends, who would probably be getting up within the next half hour or so. They hadn't set any alarms, but this was when that had gotten up almost every morning on their journey to Zephyr Heights to Bridlewood and finally to Maretime Bay. She had to figure they would be here for at least the next two hours. They probably wouldn't go anywhere without Hitch, until his town meeting at 10:00. The last thing they wanted to do was accidentally start another panic. But if Hitch's demeanor the last ten hours was anything to go by, he would be nipping that in the bud this morning, along with a lot of other things, and Sunny really hoped it would make for a marked improvement. She still wasn't sure what to do, so was absolutely willing to let Hitch take the reins. She had been the one who wanted a backup plan in case the crystals wound up not doing anything, and now here they were... And she didn't have a clue. But Hitch had considerably more clout with Maretime Bay's populace than she had, so if anyone could bring the town around, it would be him. As she continued sipping at her coffee, she figured the smells and sizzling sounds of breakfast being made would get her friends up in a timely manner, and started digging in the cabinets looking for some pans. "Psst, hey, you in there, pal?" Sprout heard the soft, muffled sound of somepony asking him a question, and he quickly paid it no mind as a dull throbbing on his head faded in as he returned to the waking world. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, and realized that he couldn't wipe his eyes clear of the morning gunk because his front left leg was in an elevated sling, and he was on his back in a hospital bed. Using his right leg to wipe his eyes as best he could, he finally turned towards the source of the voice, and saw Hitch. "There's my favorite deputy. Glad to see you're finally awake," Hitch greeted with a soft smile. Sprout managed a soft smile as he began to stretch, but winced in pain. "Easy there, pal. You took quite a few bad hits last night," his friend told him. "Hey there, Hitch. How long have I been out?" he asked, his voice raspy as he cleared his throat. "All night. We pulled you and your mom from the wreck after it went off the side of the cliff. That was a very stupid, foolish, and brave thing you did, Sprout. I'm proud of you. You probably saved some lives." Sprout smiled again, but was having trouble recalling exactly what had happened after he had lunged for the controls of the Roverleaf, and maybe the bandage wrapped around his head had something to do with that. "Is it bad?" Sprout asked, motioning to the bandage and his left leg in the cast. "A flesh wound on your head and a broken leg. All things considered, I'd say you got off pretty lucky," Hitch told him. "So... Paid time off, right?" Sprout replied, chuckling lightly, and his sore ribs ached in response. "We'll figure that out, don't worry. I'll be able to manage while you recover. I'd like to immediately offer you my spare bedroom, but my place is pretty crowded at the moment, and I'm not sure for how long, honestly. But if you want to, one more couldn't hurt." The red stallion took a couple more breaths. "What about mom?" He asked. "Not as badly hurt as you, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not sure how I feel about that yet," Hitch answered. "No, I mean..." Sprout paused for a moment. "I mean what are we going to do about her?" Sprout asked. Hitch considered his words carefully before answering. "Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't gotten that far yet, mentally. I've called for a town meeting in a couple hours, and I'm going to call for some sweeping changes. For now, she's staying here. If I have to cuff her to the bed, so be it. Depending on how well this meeting goes, well, the next part might depend on her. We'll see. Like I said, I haven't figured it out yet." Sprout nodded. "Whatever you decide, you have my full support... Sheriff," Sprout answered. "Now stop worrying about me, and go get ready for this town meeting. Set this town straight." "I'm going to try my best. And for the record, Deputy, worrying about my friends is what I do, and for you, it's literally part of my job description," Hitch answered with a slight smirk. With that, he turned and left the deputy's room, turning and headed down the hall. Luckily, Phyllis' room was well out of earshot of Sprout's room, and Hitch didn't hear her indignant protests until well after he had turned the corner into the next wing. "No, you listen to me. If you are not going to inform me of what I have been charged with, then I demand that you remove these restraints immediately and take me to see my son!" Hitch didn't even wait until he was through the doorway to begin speaking. "How about destruction of historical property, reckless endangerment, assaulting an officer, and attempted murder?" Hitch asked, finishing the sentence just as he came through the doorway to Phyllis' room. "As a start." Those words did indeed bring a halt to the CEO's words, as well as changed her expression considerably. "Would you excuse us, nurse?" Hitch asked the mare who had been getting yelled at by the restrained patient. "What makes you think you have the authority to keep me here like this?" Phyllis asked, her indigence quickly returning. Hitch merely raised a hoof and tapped the sheriff's badge, before reaching back with a rear hoof and tapping the door shut, leaving them secluded and alone. "Let me make something crystal clear; your position at CanterLogic doesn't give you any authority over me, or anypony else in this town. Do you think you're empress of Maretime Bay or something? If that lighthouse can't be repaired, I've got half a mind to demolish it, replace it with a solitary confinement unit, and put you there for the rest of your life," Hitch began. Phyllis' indignant look once again melted away. "And make no mistake," Hitch said, glaring at the mare as he stepped menacingly towards the bed. "After what you did to my deputy, my friends, and this town, making an example out of you is well within my authority." Phyllis' mouth barely opened, but no words or sounds came out as the sheriff continued to stare daggers into her. "Here's what's going to happen; your son and I are going to do our very best to undo what you have done to the mental wellbeing of this town. Once we've set that in motion, then we'll figure out what to do with you. Until then, consider yourself detained, and removed from any decision-making processes; at CanterLogic and anywhere else." With that, Hitch Trailblazer turned on his hooves, and headed for the door, opening it, and leaving the CanterLogic CEO speechless and restrained to her medical bed.