Surge

by Zvn

Sonic Boom

Chapter Seven

Sonic Boom

My head throbbed with pain. Groggily, I propped myself up with my forearms, and observed my surroundings. A light haze, potions and concoctions, a cauldron; I relaxed back against the cot when I realized where I was. Before I could muster the strength to get up, a figure pushed through the door.

“I feared you’d stay asleep for days, but apparently, patience pays.”

I rubbed the back of my head with my hoof, and whimpered in pain. I looked at the hoof, and the bandages that wrapped around it.

“You took quite a grisly shot; I suggest you drink that potion while it is hot.”

Zecora pointed to a vial on the desk next to me. I couldn’t remember a time when Zecora led me astray, so I drank down the vile liquid without question. I couldn’t help but cringe at its bite.

“It’s not known for its taste, but it will heal that wound with haste.”

I placed the empty vial on the desk, and turned to my caretaker.

“Thanks Zecora. But, how did you get me out of Honeysuckle’s house?”

“That would have been something to talk about, but it wasn’t me who got you out.”

“Who—”

Zecora walked back through the door, and let a cyan hoof catch it from closing again. Its owner came through the doorway, and left me struggling to find words.

“Hey Twilight.”

“Rainbow Dash? I thought your title was stripped?”

Rainbow gently nodded her head.

“It was, but Celestia let me work with the Canterlot Police instead.”

The events of the night before suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Did anyone else see me?”

Dash began removing her police utilities.

“No, I was the scout. I got you out before the team came in—you’re welcome by the way.”

Certainty.

“And Honeysuckle? What happened to her?”

There was a stifling silence in the room.

“I… took care of it. Honeysuckle won’t be a problem anymore—”

“You ‘took care of it’? What does that mean?”

“I was pressed for time, Twilight, I couldn’t just—”

“Is she alive?”

Rainbow froze with her mouth hanging open. I didn’t like the look in her eyes.

“Twilight; she was already dead when I got there. I checked for a pulse...”

I leaned back into my cot and slowly closed my eyes. The night’s events unfurled once more before me.

Certainty.

“...Where is the body?”

Dash took a long time to answer.

“They’ve got it.”

“And what did you tell them?”

I could hear Rainbow’s breath grow ragged.

“I—I told them that she attacked me, and that I disarmed her and—”

I opened my eyes again, and turned towards my friend.

“Do you know what she did?”

Rainbow Dash, with tear-glazed eyes, nodded her head. I extended my healthy arm, and held Dash closely against my coat as she fought back the urge to cry, whispering gently over her shoulder.

“It’s over… we’ll be alright...”

We stayed there for a lengthy period of time, until Rainbow’s sniffling ceased, and I released her from my grasp. After wiping her eyes with her forearm, and briefly attempting to fix her mane, Dash began to walk towards the doorway.

“Oh… and I found this on the floor next to you back in Ponyville…”

After rummaging through her bag, Rainbow Dash removed my crown, and placed it on the table next to me. I looked from the crown to my friend.

“Thank you, Dash.”

Rainbow gave me a small nod, then turned and left the room. I sat alone on my cot, staring into my reflection from the star-shaped jewel embedded into the crown. My anger towards Honeysuckle still lingered, and I was upset at myself for not being more bothered by all of this.

I buried the pain, and placed the crown atop my head.

* * *

The chilling wind hit hard against my coat, as I made my way back over Ponyville to Canterlot. I watched the blur of life beneath me, including a glimpse of the raid’s aftermath. I only ever had to avert my eyes of the events below when I flew over the library.

After reaching the castle, I landed on my balcony and pushed through the doors. Inside, I paced feverishly, trying to formulate a plan, and get to the bottom of it all. I was interrupted by the guard peeking into my room.

“Princess Sparkle…”

I stayed facing away from him, and kept my bandaged hoof up against my chest.

“Yes?”

“You have quite a few letters waiting for you.”

I exhaled and stared up at the ceiling.

“Yes I’ll get to those soon; first some time alone please.”

The earth pony grabbed the door and began closing it.

“Of course.”

I walked to the large window overlooking most of the castle, and peered through its glass. Honeysuckle’s misfortune replayed in the back of my mind, and nothing could stop the mental agony that accompanied it. Then another memory took precedence; a discovery I made while in the killer’s house.

With newfound energy, I cantered out of the room.

* * *

The room was uncomfortably bright, with only the pony behind the desk and me to endure it. The unicorn straightened her stance when she saw me walk in, and gave me a cheerful smile with her greeting.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle! What can I help you with?”

I approached the desk with a well practiced display of formality, eyeing a few of the framed photos of famous humans around the room.

“I’d like to see the records for the Medicinary Department. Who, and what came out.”

The young mare began to sort through several stacks of paper on her desk.

“The… Medicinary Department—here it is. How far back do want to know about?”

I leaned back to consider.

“Past two months.”

The unicorn looked to the files then back to me.

“There are a lot of check-ins—”

“Past week, then.”

The mare flipped through several sheets.

“Luna retrieved some documents on the 18th, Celestia did the same, a day later; Velvet came in—”

“You don’t have the specifics on the documents?”

“I’m sorry Princess, I just have retrievals and drop-offs. I can inform someone of your request, if need be?”

“No—no, that won’t be necessary. Just, send a copy of the full two months up to my chamber, I’ll look over it then.”

“Right away. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, thank you, that’ll be all.”

I turned from the desk and towards the door, thankful my bangs shielded my eyes from most of the light.

Upon re-entering my room, I pulled the newspapers sitting atop the pile of mail waiting for me. Once in my bed, I slowly unraveled the bandages on my hoof, and stared in amazement at the nearly healed skin underneath. It would probably be impossible to tell there was ever a wound in the first place, by tomorrow.

I fell back against my pillows and telekinetically unfolded the newspaper. It was nice to see some perspective on events every now and then, especially considering how limited mine was at the top of Canterlot.

A Revival of Humanity’s ‘Internet’ Service?

If sources in Canterlot are to be believed, ponies may have access to one of the humans’ most impressive technological feats in just a few years. The internet, an invisible communications web connecting machines within a large region, grew significantly from its conception into a mass social and commercial portal, with the development of the “World Wide Web”. A quote from anthropologist Dr. Trowel offers more insight into the push for reviving such a technology:

“The manner in which you would see the Internet and its many daughter projects resurrected would accurately reflect our society today, and the changes it has gone through since the demise of man. But this isn’t to say it’s unrealistic to be able to access services from the Internet less than a decade from now.”

Trowel went on to draw comparisons between this unearthing, and the one of firearms, a heated source of debate.

“It’s unfortunate that the simpler technologies, the ones easier to refit for our standards, were the weapons the humans developed. But I’m confident that in due time, the High Council will have an unshakable grasp on that situation.”

Unsurprisingly, most of the news delivered after the vault was opened pertained to the many pieces the humans left behind. I only skimmed the rest of the passage, already well aware of the issue the Council faced. The next header my eyes stopped at was a small block off to the side of an article on the relentless fight on guns.

Good news from Las Pegasus

Many of us are still shocked from the attack on Pegasus, but now that the dust has settled, the lack of a death toll can put many ponies at ease. Two individuals have been seriously harmed during the attack, both of which are apparently on a speedy road to recovery. And although the bill from the damage is not as uplifting, it’s nevertheless nice to see a lack of fatalities.

This seemed strange to me. I could remember the panic in Luna’s eyes as she rushed into the room to announce the attack; the Royal Guard was effective, that was certain, but this was a surprise attack. We’d suffered more devastating repercussions before ponies even knew what a firearm was. I placed the paper on the bed next to me, and dug through the older issues. After a minute of flipping through pages, I found the article I was searching for.

Cloudsdale Damage Recoverable; no Deaths

Equestria collectively breathes a sigh of relief today, as results of the investigations into the attack on Cloudsdale reveal minimum damage. The coliseum, a cultural icon for the city, has been defaced, but is already undergoing repair.

I sat up in the bed, and placed the paper on top of the other.

How could things this far out of hoof conclude this smoothly?

I rotated around and looked out the window. Memories rushed back of my confrontation with Chestnut, and I cringed when they concluded with me standing over a broken colt and an enraged friend.

At least her rage didn’t cost him his life…

I flexed my wings as I walked out onto the balcony. I could see the lights from Ponyville in the distance.

...No, Chestnut is still very much alive…