Recovery II
Applejack burst into the Dodge City Hospital’s lobby. She lurched over to a desk where a wide-eyed nurse, like all the other ponies in the lobby, stared at her.
“Big… Mac…” she rasped between gulps of air. A bit of crimson spittle flecked the corners of her mouth.
“I… I think he’s still in surgery,” the nurse gulped. The hospital, while better equipped than anything in a frontier town like Appleloosa, was still relatively small, so the staff were all well aware of what was going on. The desperation in Applejack’s eyes sent a shiver down the nurse’s spine. “His injuries were severe, so he’ll be in surgery for some time. We got a transfusion going, so he’s stable, bu—”
Hearing the word “stable,” Applejack let her muscles give way and she collapsed to the ground. The nurse rushed out from behind the desk and began administering first aid. Applejack’s explosive entry had only allowed the nurse to notice Applejack looked exhausted and covered in dust. Closer inspection revealed the dust was only the outermost layer. Underneath, her mane and fur were matted and gnarled with sweat and mud. A few dehydrated leeches clung to Applejack’s legs, alongside thorns and needles.
The nurse recognized the needles from local cacti, but there were no bodies of water that hosted leeches nearby. The thorns were also unfamiliar; no plants in the surrounding area took in enough water to form thick thorns like the ones stuck in Applejack’s legs and sides.
Taking Applejack’s pulse, the nurse found it matched up with somepony having gone through an extended amount of strenuous exercise. The nurse recalled treating merchants for severe exhaustion and dehydration after they were pursued by marauders. She gauged Applejack was in an even worse state.
Lighting up her horn, she sent out a message to get a bed and an IV ready.
~~~
Twilight awoke the day after the Sports Festival as well rested as was possible with her legs still bound in casts and her horn coated in a pungent healing balm. From her bed, she called out, “Dad!”
Night Light galloped into the room. “What is it, sweetie?”
“Could you help get me downstairs for breakfast?”
“Of course, of course.” He lit up his horn and tenderly grasped Twilight with his magic. Levitating Twilight down the stairs, it took Night an extra bit of time to make it to the table as he made sure not to unsettle Twilight too much.
Velvet was already in her chair. She took a bite of toast, but her eyes were locked on Twilight while Night seated her.
Night dared not look in Velvet’s direction. Instead, he asked Twilight, “What would you like, sweetie?”
“Oatmeal with the supplement marked ‘emergency recovery’ mixed in and topped with a banana, please.”
“Gotch’ya.”
Night moved over to the stove and pulled out the ingredients from the cupboard above it. As he cooked, Twilight and Velvet stared across the table at each other. Velvet took a sip of her tea and then floated the newspaper at her side across the table. “You’re mentioned a few times, but it’s not going to net you any points for internships.”
“Mom…” Twilight grumbled.
“Not my words, it’s theirs.” Velvet went back to eating her toast but kept the paper floating in front of Twilight.
With a slight twang of pain, Twilight managed to grasp the paper with her magic and spread it across the table. Sunset and Spike’s final attacks clashing dominated the center of the page. Several other pictures from the fights orbited around it, including one of Twilight spreading out the wings she had created in her match with Dash.
“Unprecedented! First-Ever Dragon Student Wins First-Year Sports Festival!” read the headline. Below the pictures, the story started, “It was another memorable Sports Festival and Equestria now stands poised to expand who counts as a ‘hero.’ Spike is the first-ever dragon student at Equestria’s premier Hero school, but also the first non-pony to win the Sports Festival. Some are expressing concern about what this means for future Festivals though…”
The piece was already souring to Twilight, so her eyes drifted to the stories in the corner. Her eyes went wide at the bottom right piece. Its headline was “Big Mac in Big Trouble?”
With her heart beating faster, Twilight tore into the story. Big Mac had been attacked and seriously injured in a fight with a villain dubbed the Black Griffon. The rest of the story was just speculation as that was all the Apple Agency, Big Mac’s agency, had been willing to comment on. Twilight closed her eyes and prayed for Applejack and her family.
~~~
Sunset glared at the letter sitting on her desk. Its edges were brittle and black from her first read of it. She had almost burnt the whole thing to ash, but the loss from the other day extinguished her initial perception of the letter. She had taken some breaths and re-read it. She considered the sender and the writing-style— even with the rough hoofwriting, Sunset guessed it was likely a third or fourth draft. With each retread, Sunset’s opinion shifted until she sighed and summoned over a piece of paper and an envelope.
The letter Sunset had received took up about a quarter of a page, but Sunset’s response was a single line:
Fine. I’ll meet you in two days at eleven.
From,
Sunset
With help from her father, Sunset had the reply sent off. Reading the letter and writing the reply left Sunset’s eyes heavy. In truth, the gnawing feeling since she had had since she regained consciousness after her loss had robbed her of a good night’s sleep. Yet, she had powered through the day into the afternoon until the letter arrived.
With a yawn, she maneuvered onto the bed with her casts making her movements blocky. While the fight still replayed in the back of her head, the meeting now occupied the front of her mind. In the past, she had always put together meetings. At least, that is how it had been since she got her cutie mark. Reflecting on her response and thinking about what may come up, Sunset fell fast asleep.
~~~
Rainbow Dash had spent most of the first day after the Festival asleep or talking things over with her parents. Both sides had said much, and it left them all tired yet content as far as their family matters were concerned. Awakening the next day, Rainbow Dash, in addition to preening like she normally did, took additional time to comb her mane, brush her fur, and be extra extensive in cleaning her teeth. She looked in the mirror and took a breath to steel herself. She set off for the train station.
Sitting on the train, the thought that had bothered her since the conclusion of the Festival once more popped up, Should I have sent a letter first?
Watching the landscape roll by with Canterlot shrinking further and further away, she reaffirmed her choice, No, if I’m going to do this, it’s going to be face-to-face. That way…
She always stopped herself before her thoughts could go further down that path. She stared out the window and drifted back to thinking about her fight with Twilight and the words they had exchanged. Replaying the fight in her head, she nodded off to sleep.
A conductor awakened Dash when the train reached its stop. Giving her neck a crack and rolling her wings around, she stepped off the train and into the bustling station. Weaving through the crowd, she eventually made her way onto the streets, which were also flooded with ponies on the sidewalks and carriages in the road, many of them colored yellow. Above the street soared carriages of an identical hue with their reflections rippling across skyscrapers. Before now, the only building Dash had seen that rivaled the towers that lined the streets was the Castle.
In the moment she took to gawk at her first view of Manehattan, several ponies bumped into her.
“Watch it!” one yelled at her.
“Tourist,” another grumbled.
Dash snorted back at them and moved along. When the crowd freed up a little, she took to the air and sped off. Her flight lasted until a cop pulled up to her and made her land beside a hay-dog cart. “You realize how fast you were going?”
“Pretty?” Dash winced.
“Dang tourists.” The cop pointed to a nearby sign displaying a hoof and a wing above the number fifteen in large bold print. A similar sign but with a wheel painted on it stood next to it. Identical markers lined the streets. “Flight and gallop speed is fifteen miles per hour. I clocked you at fifty.”
Dash bowed her head. “Sorry, I was ju—”
“Wait a minute.” The cop took in Dash’s vibrant mane. “You’re the third-place winner of the Sports Festival, aren’t you? Rainbow Dash, right? Sheesh, already getting calls for interviews, eh?”
“That’s no—”
“Okay, okay. I’m just giving you a warning this time, but keep the speed down until you’re patrolling the streets.” The cop took to the air and tipped his cap to her. “Looking forward to working with you in the future.”
Dash watched the cop disappear into the stream of ponies and vehicles. A few other ponies were now looking in her direction. Lifting off the ground, she made sure to stay under the speed limit and continued on her way.
Every couple of blocks, she would check the map she had bought the day after the Festival. She looked at it in shorter and shorter intervals until she came to the steps of an apartment building. Despite the butterflies multiplying in her stomach, some relief washed over her seeing the well-cleaned windows and walls that faced the street. Matching the address in her head with the one emblazoned on the front of the building and confirming the name was right, she climbed the stairs.
The front led past a leasing office and into a small courtyard with some tables set up for residents to enjoy on a nice day like today. A few colts were playing a game of marbles when they caught sight of Dash. They watched her crest up to the second floor, whispered to each other with wide eyes, and then scampered up the stairs. They peeked around a corner just as Dash reached a door.
Dash paused. She once again considered if she should have sent a letter. Even as she thought this, she lifted up a leg. Her heartbeat drummed in her head. The knock of her hoof against the door seemed to echo.
She waited. She tensed when she heard a deadbolt slide out. The doorknob turned. For what felt like an eternity, the door creaked open.
Purple eyes peered up at Dash. Her heart caught in her throat. The filly half-hidden by the door was taller now, but her violet mane and orange fur were just as Dash remembered. Her flank was still blank. Dash and Scootaloo stared at each other for a precious moment.
Scootaloo broke the silence. “Rainbow Dash?”
Dash had had time to think of all the things she wanted to say, but now even a single word got caught in her throat. “H-hey.”
~~~
“Thanks for setting this up, Pinkie.” Twilight took a sip of hot cocoa. Pinkie and Rarity had steaming mugs in front of them as well. All three sat around Twilight’s living room.
Pinkie glanced at the bandages that had replaced the casts around Twilight’s legs. “No-problemo! It’s a bit smaller than when we got accepted, but I’m still so happy with how well we all did!”
“And I don’t mind a little additional attention,” Rarity chuckled. “My word, you should have seen how ponies were looking at me on the way here.”
All three of them glanced at an empty seat. Twilight bit her lip. “I hope th—”
Everypony’s ears perked up when a door opened up. Hearing the patter of feet, they all looked toward the back of Twilight’s house. Save for the purple claws poking out of a trenchcoat, Spike was completely covered with said coat draping over his legs and tail, a wide brimmed hat concealed his head, and a pair of oversized sunglasses and a scarf hid his face.
Unwinding the scarf with one hand while rubbing his back with the other, he sighed, “Sorry I’m late.”
“Your hero costume got quite the update!” said Pinkie. “I definitely wasn’t expecting you to go for the noir look!”
“It’s not an update,” said Spike. “Even at the castle, the crowds and press are crazy trying to get to me. I had to walk on all fours here just to keep up my disguise.”
Rarity glanced at the stained sleeves of the coat. “Ah, well, I’ve heard worse reasons for dirtying up a coat.”
Removing said coat, Spike stretched and spread out his wings. He jerked a claw back at them. “And that’s not even getting into these things. I don’t get how pegasi deal with them.”
“They’re born with it,” Pinkie quipped.
“Speaking of pegasi, where are Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?” Spike asked while he took a seat. He seized up a moment when he leaned back and bent a wing at an odd angle. Lying back at a slower pace, he managed to get comfortable.
“I checked in with Fluttershy this morning, she’s doing much better, but said she wanted to take it easy until tomorrow,” Pinkie answered. “As for Dashy, I guess she’s with her family. I haven’t seen her for the past two days.”
“And Applejack?” Spike asked. Everypony turned their heads down.
Pinkie’s mane lost a bit of fizz. “Nothing.”
“I just can’t believe the Black Griffin was able to hurt both Big Mac and Braeburn.” Twilight’s mug shook in her magic’s grasp, so she set it down. “They’re both high-ranking heroes. Griffins are known for having a lion’s strength but it’s still hard to believe just that and an aerial advantage would be enough to take out two pros.”
“I’ve read it started with targeting lower ranking heroes, but it’s growing bolder.” Rarity shuddered. “What in Equestria could it want? You’d at least expect a villain to steal something.”
“Creepy,” Spike murmured. He blinked and a pink hoof holding a mug of cocoa with emeralds in place of marshmallows was in front of him.
“I’m sure it will be fine,” said Pinkie. “Applejack and her family are some of the strongest ponies I know. They’ll get through this.”
Twilight forced a smile. “Agreed.”
“I just hope Applejack is back by tomorrow. It’d be a shame to miss school.” There was a glimmer in Rarity’s eyes. “Oh, speaking of which, I’ve got some wonderful news regarding Coco…”
~~~
Fluttershy’s eyes darted left and right every couple of seconds. She could feel the attention focused on her. Her ears twitched when she thought she heard her name or the name of the pony sitting across from her at the café.
“You chose to meet here,” Sunset snorted. While just as aware of the stares and murmurs around the two of them, Sunset leaned back in her chair and perused the menu after shooting a glare at Fluttershy. “So, what’s good here?”
“Oh, um, well.” Fluttershy stiffened when she saw a waiter approaching. “The, uh, avocado toast is really good!”
“ ‘kay.”
After ordering, Sunset directed her gaze at Fluttershy, who was still alert to the occasional attention she and Sunset garnered. Sunset furrowed her brow. “If you’re going to be jumpy like this, how are you going to handle actual work?”
“I… I’ll get over it,” Fluttershy quibbled. “How do you deal with it, Sunset?”
“I don’t care. Getting the job done is what matters.” Sunset lowered her eyes to her coffee. “That’s why I don’t lose.”
“I see. I can’t do that. I lose a lot. I get scared… I get weak.” Fluttershy took a sip of her tea. When she looked up at Sunset, the air seemed to shift. “But I always try to get better because there’s somepony out there I need to get stronger for, somepony I have to protect.”
Sunset took in Fluttershy’s words, but a reply could not form in her head. An unfamiliar sensation of emptiness sank into her gut. She understood what Fluttershy had said, but when she applied it to herself, she found herself lacking. For years, she had lacked for nothing: strength, popularity, prestige, but now there was something missing.
A poke at her side drew Sunset out of her thoughts. The smell of fresh eggs and kale from the plate in front of her finally reached Sunset. Fluttershy bowed her head and backed away. “Sorry, you looked really focused, but I didn’t want your food to get cold… did I say something wrong?”
“No,” Sunset sighed while Fluttershy went back to her seat. “I’m just a little distracted with recovery and the fight. Thanks for bringing me back to reality.”
“That’s what friends are for.” Fluttershy smiled, but it quickly receded. She blurted out, “I mean, if that’s okay with you to call you a friend… I just felt natural since you were kind enough to come out and I just wa—”
“It’s fine,” said Sunset. “You’ve earned it after that fight.”
“W-well…” Fluttershy summoned up a smaller grin between her blushing cheeks. “Why don’t we enjoy brunch then?”
As the two commenced with eating, Sunset felt her stomach fill not with just food. It was only a little bit, but the feeling that had driven her into deep thought shrank. Plus, the food was actually quite good as well. She made a mental note to thank Fluttershy for showing the place to her.
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That's, not good.
This should prove to be interesting.
Not exactly.
This should be fun.
Wonder if this is our Stain equivalent?
An actual thanks from Sunset 'Bitch Queen' Shimmer. Goddamn.
So, it seems Fluttershy is going to be playing the Kirishima role of being Bakguo's friend.
Great warm up and transitional chapter to the next series of events that is going to go down the road with the next arc. I am honestly liking this time you are making more than even the canon because we have MULTIPLE character with interesting paths happen and not just the two from the canon. Like of course I am super into what will happen with Spike with him now becoming the poster child for other races becoming heroes, his own development, his dragon identity, and other things. I can't help but see him as the other star of the story with all the great stories happening at once. There is also Twi who she will intern with, I am thinking the old Bearded Unicorn himself will be her mentor. It will be something with the old team being like legendary heroes of the past and some of them taking up the next generation as mentors. There is also Sunset's development happening of her now having to processes what is her hero and personal identity when she has to come to terms she ISN'T unbeatable and she has room to grow in not just powers but as a person. There are so many more I can talk about but I will save that for later and my own thoughts. Overall great happy and happy to see this story alive once again.
High altitude reporter pegasi still cant see the full length of the straight line of destruction AJ carved running to the hospital. the curve of the planet keeps getting in the way?
Sunset and Fluttershy? Why am I getting Loki and Hulk images?
Be glad you can even fly in the city, Dash. Some Equestrias have cities with power lines strung all over the place. Minimum obstacle clearance and controlled airspaces are a thing in those cases.
Man I missed this fic and your details so much! Literally the best.
Lol it's amazing seeing the others helping Twilight get around because she banged up her body so much. XD
Seeing everyone and what they're up to is pretty intense. I can feel how tired Sunset is, how concerned Twilight is, and how out of place Rainbow is. It's really enjoyable. :)
This was some seriously good set up! Looking forward to where things go from here a LOT.
I really enjoyed the conversation between Fluttershy and Sunset the most. It's a lot of little things that make this chapter as great as it is. :)
When I hear The Black Griffin. I always think.
"Why did Gabriel have to hurt Big Mac?"
Is it just me or my mental image of Spike just got upgrade from elementary school student to college student?
Didn't expect that.
Hell of a recovery chapter
10112709
Yeah. I thought that too, and got a bit of a laugh at that thought.
Good to see this story updating again.
Looks like the fact she lost and it isn't the end of the world is sinking in slowly for Sunset. She's so used to being top of the heap with little effort fighting others who can stand up to or even beat her is a tough reality to come to terms with.
Huzzah! An update! And wow, things are happening. That was a lot of recovery and set-up, narratively.
I still think fluttershys Talent is both creative and so over powered if it ever fell into the wrong hooves
Yayyyyy!!!