//------------------------------//
// 30 - Aid 
// Story: First Hoof Account 
// by TCC56 
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In stories, Sunset would have passed out. Her eyelids would have  fluttered for a moment before she keeled over, only to regain  consciousness in a hospital bed. 

She did not.

No, she had   the pleasure of being awake for every moment. Sure, the memories were  hazy - circulatory shock does that to you - but she was awake and aware  throughout the entire ordeal. It wasn't until the doctors started with  the anesthetic before surgery that she finally passed out. 

Her  life had been saved by one of Princess Celestia's bodyguard - an earth  pony member of the Household Battalion who had trained as a medic. While  everypony else had panicked, the mare had surged down from the  bleachers and to Sunset's side. Precisely what she had done was unclear -   Sunset had bigger things on her mind at the time - but there was   pressure and there was pain and there was survival. It had bought  enough time for Princess Celestia to snap out of her shocked daze and  teleport all three of them to Canterlot General's emergency room. 

From  there? Panic and shouting and surgery, with a quick spell putting  Sunset under as the doctors swarmed over her. She came to several hours  later with heavy bandages across her barrel and Cadance dozing in a  nearby chair. 

The wound had been bad - but not as bad as it could  have been. Blueblood's strike had pierced her just above the right  deltoid, cutting into the supraspinatus before entering her chest  cavity. The muscle took the brunt of the strike and only a little had  penetrated her right bronchial tube. ('Only a little' was all the  doctors would tell Sunset, and imagining how much steel that might  constitute made her now unperforated guts writhe.) Battlefield medicine,  prompt delivery to the ER, and the kind of medical aggression that only  a fearful Princess could cause had ensured the damage was minimized.  They said Sunset would be in the hospital for a week and have at least  another month beyond that to recover - but she was expected to fully  recover. She would likely have a small scar where she had been stabbed  but no other long term damage was expected.

The interim would be a  little awkward, however. To let her lung heal, she was on a ventilator  for several days - which proved the first time in history where  something made Sunset Shimmer shut up.

Visits were awkward. Both  Princesses came by frequently - Cadance more often than Celestia - but  neither was willing to talk about what was going on outside her hospital  room. When Sunset had used a piece of paper to demand details, Princess  Celestia had gently admonished her with a simple "Concentrate on  healing, my brilliant student. The rest of the world can wait." And that  did nothing for Sunset's attitude.

After five days, she finally had the tube removed. Doctor's orders were to minimize talking, but the moment Cadance came in? 

"Hey." Sunset's first words were croaked out, throat dry and cracked even beyond the deep soreness. 

Cadance  didn't care. She rushed over to hug her marefriend, wings tenting the  hospital bed. Sunset hugged her back, and then there were tears for both  of them. They eventually separated but Cadance's look of mixed joy and  concern didn't go away. "Do you need anything? Something to drink? You  sound parched."

Sunset shook her head and motioned to a cup of ice chips at her bedside. "So. What's up?" 

"Um.  Classes are going okay, but I don't think that's what you mean."  Cadance bit her lip, visibly mulling over just what to reveal. "Okay.  I'll tell you if you tell me one thing first. Was this your plan?"

For   a moment, Sunset hesitated. She knew she would have to walk a careful  line with this and stay truthful. (The truth was easier to keep straight  than a lie, after all.) "Being stabbed? No." That was mostly true, at  least. "Losing? Yes."

There was relief on Cadance's face, then confusion. "Your plan was losing?"

Sunset  nodded before rasping out an explanation. It took her some time -   frequent pauses were unavoidable with her current condition.   "Blueblood's strength was his status. Nobles follow titles and lineages  first. If he had that, he was always going to be dangerous. Nopony  wanted to get involved when we were equals. But if I was weak and he was  beating me up, opinion would turn against him. The Princess wouldn't  protect him, and nopony at court who wants her favor would support him."

The  gears turned in Cadance's head as she grasped what Sunset had done.   "...So you took him on in a fight when you knew he would beat you  badly."

Another nod from the unicorn. "And he looks like a bully. He couldn't help but gloat, which is what I wanted."

'Happy'   did not apply to Cadance's expression. But at a stretch, 'accepting'  could have. "Well, you'll be pleased to know it worked."

Sunset tried to respond, but it just came out as a rasp. 

Cadance  levitated her over a few ice chips to suck on before continuing.   "Obviously there was an investigation into what happened. Princess  Celestia led it herself and I don't think I've ever seen her this  determined about something." She paused to lift a few more ice chips -   which Sunset declined. "In the end it was decided that what happened was  just a terrible accident. If Blueblood did something to the rubber end  of his foil, there's no proof. The best guess is that there was a  manufacturing defect that made it break, since Princess Celestia  analyzed it herself and said there was no evidence of physical or  magical tampering."

That made Sunset's heart stop for a moment. She knew - knew   - there was no way that the Princess could have missed the melted  rubber. Sunset had been careful and any evidence that she'd magically  affected the foil could have been excused as her lifting to examine it  prior to the match - but for the Princess to declare there was no  evidence at all? It meant that Celestia had to suspect what Sunset had  done. Or maybe that she thought Blueblood had done it and she was  covering for him. Either way? Not ideal. 

But Cadance didn't  notice that her marefriend had frozen up for a moment. "So no charges.  But you were right and Blueblood lost a lot over this. Everypony saw how  he was acting and things only got worse when Auntie started the   investigation." A brief flash of annoyance crossed Cadance's face. "One  of your friends at school, Clear Sky, testified she overheard a  confrontation between you and Blueblood a few months ago."

It took  a moment for Sunset to remember - then she connected the dots with the  pink mare who had witnessed Blueblood threatening Sunset after the  harvest festival date. (A little voice in the back of her head scoffed  at the term 'friend'.) "Oh, uh, yeah..."

"A confrontation you told me was no big deal," Cadance thunderously reminded. 

"It  wasn't!" Sunset's voice broke painfully as she reflexively shouted. Any  further objection she had was overridden by her now uncooperative  throat - she could only grimace and rub her neck to try and soothe the  pain.

Cadance took pity and didn't push the subject further. "Add  to that your other fights with Blueblood and everypony thought it looked  suspicious. He threatened you then provoked you until you lost your  temper. Since you challenged him, he got to pick a contest he knew you  couldn't beat him in." She hesitated. "Then there was how the pony who  taught you how to fence and was your second also happened to be his  assistant captain."

"Gliding?" Sunset barely managed the word.

And Cadance grimly nodded. "I know she was only trying to help, but from the outside it looked bad."

Those dots were easy to connect. If Blueblood had   coordinated the whole thing, who better to teach Sunset than somepony  who knew Blueblood's strengths and was loyal to him? Gliding could  easily have taught Sunset bad habits to leave her vulnerable or neglect  key parts of the sport to undermine her already poor skills. And as  Sunset's second for the match, Gliding could have easily been part of   Blueblood's theoretical conspiracy to sabotage the equipment. 

Of course she wasn't because the conspiracy was Sunset's rather than Blueblood's, but that was beside the point and not something an outside observer would know.

Sunset tried to say something again, but her still raw throat didn't let anything out but a rasp. 

Cadance  offered up more ice - which was taken - before continuing. "So there  might not have been any evidence that Blueblood did anything, but public  opinion found him guilty anyway." She hesitated briefly. "The castle  staff have been talking, since it's all the nobles have been gossiping  about for the last week. Most of them think he's guilty because it's the  sort of thing they would have done."

"Sounds right." Sunset managed, at least, to chuckle normally. 

"So  Princess Celestia handled it." Cadance frowned. "I don't think it's  right since there's no proof he did anything, but she suggested he leave  Canterlot while the rumor mill cools down. She set him up as a part of a  diplomatic mission to Farasi. He leaves tomorrow." Her voice softened  at that, dropping to a near-whisper. "He won't be back for at least two  years."

While Cadance seemed sad? It was all Sunset could do not  to cheer. (Or probably try and cheer before croaking and hurting  herself.) Blueblood was gone. By the time he could return, she'd be a princess.

Cadance  caught Sunset's smile - and frowned more. "There's others who suffered,  too. Gliding doesn't have Blueblood's connections and everypony's just  as suspicious of her." The pink princess fixed Sunset with a piercing   glare. "She's gone. She left two days ago. Officially, she's taking a  sabbatical for her mental health after the accident and will come back  to classes at the start of next year.  But I talked with her while she  was packing and I don't think Gliding is going to. She's afraid this is  going to follow her around and ruin any chance she had for a normal life  in Canterlot."

Both the news and Cadance's stare made Sunset grimace. "Did she say where she was going?"

"She  mentioned joining the Guard." Cadance's voice was even - too even, in  much the same way Celestia's often was when she held her emotions in  check. "By the time what happened is forgotten, she's going to be too  old to come back to Celestia's School. Blueblood was about to graduate  and will probably get his diploma, but Gliding had another two years and  now she's lost that."

It was regretful but not unexpected. Sunset  had always suspected Gliding would be caught in the fallout. She'd  hoped it wouldn't be this bad but reality disagreed. Mentally Sunset  made a note that once she became a princess, she would summon Gliding  Moth and make a public announcement to clear her name. (Perhaps even  give her a position of status, if she had joined the military. Being  part of the honor guard of a new princess would rehabilitate any  lingering issues.)

"Professor Trilby is gone as well." Cadance  continued to frown and lock her accusing eyes on Sunset. "When Princess  Celestia was questioning him about what happened, he confessed that he  had seen the broken tip on Blueblood's foil before the last point."  Something flashed across her face - Sunset couldn't tell  if it was  anger or pity. "He tried to defend himself by saying both of you  insisted on continuing but that just made Auntie angrier. She said..."  Cadance paused for a breath, eyes closing at the memory. "She said that  the only reason he wasn't being arrested as an accessory was that you  were going to heal. But that he was fired and that if she ever heard of  him teaching in Equestria again, that she would personally visit anypony  who hired him and recount why he shouldn't be allowed near students."

That,  Sunset felt significantly less conflicted about. She barely knew Trilby  - aside from that he was a weak-willed and  unremarkable teacher - but  that also meant she didn't care what happened to him. The destruction of  his career was barely worth a mental shrug.

But not to Cadance.  She paused to take in Sunset's lack of reaction before summarizing  things with accusatory intent. "Your plan got rid of Blueblood, and  maybe that's a good thing. But you destroyed the lives of two innocent  ponies, terrified Princess Celestia and I, and you could have died if you weren't so lucky."

There  was a lot  to unpack in that sentence: the concern for the danger  Sunset had been in; the accusation of what she had indirectly done to  Gliding and Trilby; the half-hearted acceptance of Blueblood's fate...  But those weren't what struck Sunset first and foremost. It slipped out  without her even thinking: "Princess Celestia was terrified?"

And  Cadance's tone softened to surprise and pensive concern. "She was,   Sunset." She reached out, setting a gentle hoof on Sunset's uninjured  shoulder. "She wouldn't say it, but I could tell how scared she was for  you. And afterwards she put everything else aside to investigate what  happened."

The image - of Celestia pacing in the hospital,  awaiting word of Sunset's condition and of her leading an inquisition  with fiery eyes - rolled back and forth in Sunset's mind, trying to  square itself with what she knew of the Princess. It didn't quite work:  Princess Celestia was impassive at the best of times. Her reacting like  that had to have been a show. There was no downplaying blood being  spilled in a fight between her personal student and her 'nephew', so she  had opted instead for the worried maternal route. It made sense. It was  politically sound.

But it was still heartwarming, no matter what Sunset's cold calculations said. 

That  brief heart-flutter went unnoticed by Cadance, however. She had other  issues on her mind. "When I thought it was an accident or that Blueblood  had caused it, that was one thing. But was this really your plan,  Sunset?" There was that even tone again - the neutrality of holding  herself back. 

Sunset could have reversed course. She could have  denied it. Convincing Cadance of that would have been difficult but it   wasn't impossible. (Not for Sunset Shimmer.) That was not, however, the  path she chose. "I didn't plan all of it. Not getting hurt. Not  Gliding." Those parts, at least, were true enough. "But yes. Blueblood  had to go. I had to dig out his roots."

"Maybe he did." It spoke  volumes that soft-hearted Cadance allowed that much. "And maybe you had  to be aggressive to be sure. But you didn't have to hurt other ponies to  do it, Sunset."

"Sometimes ponies get hurt," Sunset rasped before she reached for more ice chips. 

That  did little to placate Cadance. "That doesn't make it right." She bit  her lip, caught in hesitation before pulling off the bandage.  (Metaphorically.) "And I'm not okay with it, Sunset. I need to think  about things."

Sunset swallowed the ice abruptly - it hurt all the  way down her throat. "Things?" Her scratchy voice couldn't fully  express her concern - more accurately her fear - at those words.

"All  of this," Cadance said with ominous vagueness. "Your plan. About the  plan when you betrayed your dads, too. What you intended to do, what  actually happened, all of it. I need some time to think." She stood,  stopping Sunset's heart.

Quickly, the unicorn's mind scrambled to  retake control of the situation. "Princess Celestia would have done the  same."  And it was true - Sunset was sure of that. Celestia had been the  one to teach Sunset the brutality of politics, after all.

The  accusation-slash-defense got Cadance to pause before the door. She  thought on it for just a moment before responding simply. "Then I'll  have to think about her part in my life as well."

Then? She was gone.