Throughout the whole exchange, Sunny has sat and held Solar. Both of their spirits had been lifted by the arrival of their guardians, but they knew they weren't out of the woods just yet.
As Celestia made her way through the barriers. Sunny realised something; Splendid was still sealed in the corner, where no-one could get to her. Getting to her hooves, Sunny got ready to run. She didn't know what was going to happen when the last barrier fell, but she wasn’t going to leave Splendid on her own.
Time seemed to slow as the last barrier came down, Celestia punching though with the intention of hitting Well Kept in the face. As it fell, Sunny took off, sprinting across the room. At the same time. Well Kept aimed her horn at Splendid.
Just before she released the shot, Sunny slammed horn first into the mare’s flank. Using her horn like a lance, she sent the mare sprawling, a fresh wound just below her cutie mark. As she tumbled, she lost control of her magic, and it fired off into the ceiling, raining down chunks of stone.
At the point of impact, Sunny had both felt, and heard a crack. She had hit Well Kept’s hip bone so hard she had cracked her horn. The pain was excruciating, and when Sunny landed, her hooves gave out on her, and the world went black.
“SUNNY!” Splendid had finally come to, just in time to see her strike, and then go down. Pushing off the wall, Splendid slid along the floor and caught Sunny before she hit the floor. She pulled her head around to talk to her, but her eyes had rolled back, and there was a nasty crack through half of her horn.
“Sunny, Sunny talk to me. Sunny, please, I can’t lose you!”
By this point, Well Kept was restrained and in the care of Princess Luna, while Princess Twilight and Celestia were hugging the life out of their son.
Sunset and Adagio ran over to Splendid. They tried to hug her, but she pushed them back.
“No, Sunny needs help!” Both of her parents gasped when they saw the filly in her arms.
“Princesses!” Sunset shouted.
Luna and Twilight came over. Upon seeing the condition of Sunny’s horn, Twilight vomited, while Luna took a closer look.
“This is not good. Come with me into the hall, we will teleport straight to the infirmary.”
Luna cast a glance at the mare, but Blueblood walked over tapped her. “I will take her to the guard station. It will give me the chance to have a long needed talk with her.”
Luna nodded, and the group moved into the hallway, before disappearing in a flash.
Sunny slowly regained consciousness, and she slowly opened her eyes. The light levels in the room were turned down low, but even that amount was enough to make her body remember the headache that was waiting for her.
Her forehead felt as if someone had tried to crack it open, which in reality, she almost had. She brought her hooves up, intent on feeling her horn, but her hooves got caught in magic.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
The voice sounded familiar, but in her groggy and pained state, she struggled to place it. She struggled to turn but found herself strapped down.
“Sorry about that, we couldn’t have you rolling over onto it.” Adagio walked around the edge of the bed so that Sunny could now see her. “How’s the pain? I can get the nurse to up the dose.”
“No. Hurts, but… manageable.” She forced out, finding her mouth rather dry. Adagio brought a drink of water over in her hoof.
“Here.” She held it out for her to drink from. Placing the empty glass on the nightstand, Adagio untied the straps holding Sunny in place.
“How long?”
Adagio grimaced. “About a week. They had to keep you under a magically induced coma so they could work on your horn. Apparently is unbearable otherwise.”
Sunny didn’t seem particularly phased by all this. “Where’s Splendid?”
Adagio smirked, while she worked on getting another glass of water. “She’s in our room, sleeping if she has any sense. She spent the first three days by your bedside, refusing to move or sleep.” Adagio laughed. “We had to wait for sleep to finally claim her, and we carted her out. Since then, she spends all day here and then swaps with someone when she sleeps. It was my turn tonight.”
A smile settled across Sunny’s face, and she lay back. “Damage?”
“In a week, there will be none.”
Sunny blinked, unbelieving.
Chuckling, Adagio moved closer. “According to the doctors, the crack in your horn was one of the worst they had ever seen. But, and here is the weird part, because you don’t live here, meaning you haven’t used it much, the condition of your horn is almost as new as a babies would be. Apparently, this meant that this was an extremely clean break, something they were able to put back easily. All that is left now is for it to slowly knit back together, and then the rings on your horn can come off.”
Sunny looked up and saw a cage made out of rings on her horn.
“Other than that, if you are near magic, you will experience slight headaches.”
Sitting there slightly stunned, Sunny didn’t notice the door to her room had opened until someone shouted;
“SUNNY!”
She was then assaulted by a yellow missile, only a few shades darker than herself. With an ‘oomph’, Sunny found herself wrapped in hooves, with a muzzle crushed against her shoulder. She could feel tears too.
Sunny looped her forelegs around her and pulled her close. She positioned Splendid’s muzzle into her neck, and she rested her chin on her head. Rubbing up and down on her arms, Sunny managed to get Splendid to stop crying.
“Why?”
“Why what?” Sunny asked in confusion.
“Why did you put yourself in danger to save me?” Splendid was looking at her now, tears in the corners of her eyes.
Sunny pulled her close again. “Because I know you’d do the same for me.” Sunny surprised Splendid, by leaning in and quickly kissing her nose. Splendid’s face exploded in a blush.
“That’s it!” Adagio walked towards the door. “There isn’t enough medical alcohol in here for that. I’m out!” And with that, she left the room.
Sunny laughed. Her head was killing her, but it felt good to laugh, and she pulled Splendid close again, the poor girl still sputtering from the kiss.
“Sign here, here and here, initial here, hoofprint there, and magic print here. And, we’re done!” Celestia exclaimed happily. She set the giant, three hundred page legal document down, and turned to the others in the room. Other than herself and Twilight, everypony else on the room was basically asleep.
She chuckled, “Not that anyone seems in the mood, but I would like to celebrate the fact that Prince Blueblood is now the legal brother of Sunset Shimmer, and Splendid is his legal heir.”
Sleepy cheers met her ears. “Ok, I get it, this took a while. Tea and Cakes should already be on the way.”
Once the refreshment had arrived, everypony became more animated, and Blueblood called for attention. Everypony moved to listen, and he ensured they all had a drink, be it tea, coffee, or something harder like his brandy.
“I’d like to start off by letting you all now that I now consider you all my family, and after the events of the last two weeks, I’ve realised how important it is to remind people how much I love them. So I do - I love each and every one of you.” Everypony in the room had a different reaction, ranging from a loving smile to an embarrassed blush.
“With that out of the way, I want to give my thanks to a very special set of mares. For years now, I looked into the future, and the only thing I saw was the death of my family, the end of a lineage. I was haunted by the idea that my family, it’s name, my bloodline would disappear into the silence.” He quieted before continuing, “And now, through an unfortunate turn of events, two wonderful mares persevered, forging magic in a world where there was none. And through their kindness, I no longer have to fear.”
He turned to face his new niece. “And Splendid. It fills me with an indescribable joy, and an undying gratitude, that you have accepted to continue your family’s legacy. So here’s to Splendid.” He raised his glass, and everypony else did the same with their drinks.
“To Splendid, the heir to a silenced blood!”