Sunburst to the Rescue

by David Silver

62 - Reinforcing Structures

Spike looked up from his comic as someone knocked on his door. "Yeah?" Twilight was studying with Moon and Sun, making any of the three unlikely to be the one at his door. "Who is it?" Maybe Luna? The other ill ponies?

"Just a silly mare," called a familiar voice. "May I come in, dear?"

Spike tensed, looking around wildly. His room was, well, its usual self, which was alright, but not up to par for...

The tension faded, replaced with a frown. It wasn't as if Rarity had any interest. "What am I worrying about?" He climbed to his feet and flew at the door. "What is it?"

The handle of the door glowed with her magic as she opened it gently. "I just wanted to speak to you. We left off on... uncomfortable tones."

Spike crossed his arms, landing not far in front of the door as it opened. "Yeah, admitting you've been being a jerk tends to do that."

"Oh, Spike, I deserve that perhaps." She stepped forward with a little smile. "You are a dear friend, and one I would like to not lose for my foolishness. I should have been clear and forthright from the start, even if it hurt, it would have been a lesser pain than what I created."

Spike snorted, a bit of flame escaping with his emotional state. "Did Twilight send you?"

"What? No, dear, no... I came on my own prompting." She raised a hoof to her chest. "I've been thinking about that awful moment, replaying it over and over, wondering what I could have done better... But the answer always comes back the same."

"Yeah?" He hiked a brow. "What answer is that?"

She rolled a hoof. "What answers can there be? You know as well as I do... Either I agreed and lived a lie, or I hurt you because I already lied the sweet lies, unspoken though they were."

"You were a jerk," he stated bluntly, glaring at her.

"I do not argue this."

"Then why are you here?"

Rarity smiled gently. "Because this jerk still wishes to be your friend. Dear, I've done wrong, but would not wish for this to be the end of our fabulous friendship."

"Short a pin cushion?" he asked with acid tones. "Or maybe you're looking for a replacement ponyquinn?"

"Spike, stop that, kindly." She reached for him. Despite his anger he didn't stop her from gently cupping a cheek. "I would be satisfied with my friend back, who owes me no labor he does not wish to do. I am dreadfully sorry for what I've done, but I cannot take it back. How can I make it up to you?"

"Make it up?" He turned away from her. "How do you... make that up? I mean..." He had meant to be angry and fumey, in proper dragon fashion, but tears began to sting in his eyes. "It's not fair..."

An arm reached around him, hoof pressing to his chest as she drew him backwards, suddenly in her embrace. "I am so very sorry..."

There would be no easy answers, but at least Rarity had thrown a rope over the divide, that a bridge might one day be re-built there.

---

"Mmm?"

The door swung open, revealing a cautiously smiling Sunburst. "I'm here to check on you. How are you feeling?" A tray floated beside him, held in his magic. "I also come bearing gifts."

The lump on the bed that was Sassy stirred a little. A part of it raised just to fall, just to raise again. It was an impotent display, but she eventually dug her way out from beneath the blanket that covered her, revealing her face. "Is that you, Sunburst?"

"Yup." He trotted over and set the tray on the small table beside the bed. "I brought something tasty for you."

She cracked open one eye with a faint smile. "You're all being so nice. I'm dreadfully sorry for holding things up." She sat up slowly. "I do feel better, a little... But... I can't do this. I mean, if we're being precise, I won't do this. That was awful and I have no desire to continue."

"We were looking into that." His magic plucked up the cover of the tray, revealing a bowl of soup, wafting gently with appealing scents of the vegetable broth. "After you've eaten, we'd like to help, if you'll let us. We have an idea what went wrong, and maybe we can fix it?"

She shook her head very slowly, as if her head could fall free if she did it too quickly. "I just want to get better and go home, dear... I'm sorry, I really am, but this dress will not be altered any further." She leaned over with the same slow lethargy, suddenly falling, her face plunging towards the hot soup.

Sunburst caught her just in time, the very tip of her nose brushing the fluid, glowing his his magic. She was still a moment, recovering from the surprise of her fall. "I really am a mess..." She flicked out her tongue. "Mmm, quite nice at least." She began drinking, held there in Sun's magic.

He guided her back to bed when she was done drinking. "I would like to, at least, do a reading and make sure you're alright."

"That's alright." She yawned as she curled there in her covering of blanket, eyes on him tiredly. "Do I have to do anything?"

"Just relax," he assured, starting to perform an updated sketch of the inside of her horn. By the time he was done, she was quite asleep, soft breathing filling the room. He slipped away as quietly as he could, leaving the remainder of the soup behind in case she wanted it.

---

"How is she?" Moon adjusted her glasses. "Any improvement?"

Twilight nodded in agreement. "Did you get a new sketch?"

"Right here." He set the newest beside the others that belonged to Sassy. "It's just as Moon feared."

Moon clucked her tongue, frowning at the pictures. "Her horn's gone unstable. She lost so much of the spurs at once because it basically all came loose in there." She tapped at her chin softly. "We need to act, now, or she could be worse than when we began."

Twilight pointed at Sunburst. "You had an almost equal amount of clearage. Are you suffering any side effects?"

"I feel fine, and we've checked." He pointed to the line of sketches that showed his own progress. "I suppose I'm an ideal case, and she's the worst case scenario, with Snips and Fancy fitting in the middle."

Twilight nodded lightly. "Snips showing more progress, and Fancy experiencing basically no vertigo. All three of you recovered overnight." She drew a breath in a soft hiss. "I can see why they didn't rely on this method of clearing the problem, when they could even detect the problem to begin with. Still, let's focus."

"Indeed." Moon nodded firmly as she pointed to Sassy's last sketch. "That cannot be left as it is. We need to get her to a surgeon. We wanted to avoid open horn procedures, but we're past the point of considering alternatives."

All three of them flinched in sympathy. The idea of having one's horn cut open for any reason was a powerfully repugnant one for any unicorn. Sunburst raised a hoof. "I'll stay with her... This was for me, to start. I won't feel right if I don't give her my all."

Moon set a hoof on his shoulders. "I imagine if you tell the others, they'll be right beside you. You're all in this together."

Twilight took Sassy's latest sketch that displayed the advanced and advancing collapse. "I have no objection to that, but she has to go, now. I will get her to the hospital while you tell the others. I doubt they'll start before you get there. In either event, I should imagine this removes her from this exercise. They'll do their best to help her, and if they're already in there... they can finish what we clumsily began."

Sun sighed deeply, already moving for the door. "I'll tell the others. Meet you there."

Moon looked to Twilight once he was gone. "They're going to be sad."

"They're already sad... We all had a good idea where this was headed." She reached up behind her head. "We'll have to figure out a way to proceed with 3 ponies, or an entirely different strategy."

Moon raised a hoof. "What if... Hmm... I'll consider a few alternatives. You take care of Sassy."

"On it." She vanished from sight.

Moon turned back for the table where the massive tome they were studying rested. "If this was easy, you would have solved this moons ago," she sighed at it, though its author was not polite enough to reply. "Still, we're closer... What if...?"

---

Twilight, Sunburst and Fancy Pants all sat in a row in the waiting room of the hospital. Twilight had her arms crossed, leaning on her hind legs in a squat. "As if we weren't experts in this emerging field..."

Fancy adjusted his monocle with a little smile. "I'm afraid even royal privileges do not get one past this point while a pony is being operated on. How did she... take the news?"

Twilight sagged at that, falling to proper haunch-sitting position. "She was terrified, and who can blame her? I informed her, and the doctors, that we would be here. We may not be able to be in the same room as they work, but we're not leaving her."

Sunburst frowned at the idea. "They'd have to drag me away in chains." He brought his forehooves together with a loud clop. "I'm mostly glad this... won't be as needed of a thing, in the future."

"Hm?" Fancy inclined an ear towards Sunburst. "You've found an easier cure?"

Twilight quickly bobbed her head "We have. But it's only safe on young foals, around a year old and working from there."

"After that, things begin to harden," added Sunburst. "And you get into... what Sassy is experiencing right now. You'd have to break into the horn to begin work, and you'd be left with an injury that... Well... I'm not jealous of Sassy right now."

"I should say not." He brushed his hoof along his other foreleg. "I just feel terrible, considering I had urged her to continue that very night, not knowing how terribly injured she had become. I was a complete cad, and I need to make it up to her."

He reached behind his head. "Speaking of that, where is Snips?"

Twilight pointed off. "He's at school. Besides, there wouldn't be much for him to do here. He's still willing to proceed, how are you two feeling? I'll understand if you want to stop."

Sunburst put a hoof to his chest. "I'm almost fixed, and my horn doesn't look like it's ready to collapse if we keep going."

Fancy pointed up at his horn. "You've been taking measurements by the day. How do I look?"

Twilight's careful expression brightened to a little smile. "Perfectly healthy, I'm pleased to report. Your structure is lacking in sharp angles and delicate structures, implying you'll not be a master sorcerer even without the spurs, but it's also rugged and solid. I don't foresee issues."

"I never dreamt of being a 'master sorcerer'. I'll leave that to Star Swirl. Simply knowing I am performing at my best would be more than sufficient." He nodded softly as he glanced towards Sunburst. "Unlike you, young stallion. You have the marks of somepony who could become quite the spellcrafter. Are you looking forward to being able to pursue that properly?"

Sunburst sat up as he was addressed, looking around the waiting room at the other ponies waiting patiently to be seen or to be reunited with others who were being treated. "Hm? Yes! Of course... I'm not giving up, and... yes. I want to be Twilight's peer, not just an assi--"

Twilight bonked him on the head suddenly with a rapidly extended wing. "You already are a peer, Sunburst."

Author's Note:

Things do not go according to plan, so new plans need to be drafted.

Rarity reaches a hoof out to Spike.

Twilight and Sunburst remain adorable together.

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Comments

[Late_Night]

odd
you usually only update on wednesdays
not unwelcome, but an anomaly regardless

[David Silver]

9638809
I crossed what day it was, oops!

[Sherlock Hooves]

Poor Sassy

[terrycloth]

I mean, "it fixes the ones it doesn't kill" was kind of a red flag even before they started.

[JD McGregor]

You might have wanted to actually identify Rarity at the start of the chapter. I was wondering who was at the door for a few lines before the context clued me in.

[David Silver]

9639067
The second line had ", dear" as a verbal tic. Not tooo many choices there.

[Booster Spice]

So far, Sassy is living, but will she be able to work even as she was, or after long rehabilitation, leaving her so far behind in her paying work?

[FanOfMostEverything]

Ouch. I suppose ponies don't quite have orthoscopic surgery yet. (And even then, the awkward angles involved may prevent that from working well.) At least Spike and Rarity's relationship will be slightly easier to repair.

[lordelliott]

The scar could be covered with a veneer covering the entire horn or some enamel paint.

Edit: Painted horns the next Canterlot fashion trend?

9639683
Internally, things might not fit back perfectly smooth, but I imagine that with practice she'll be better than ever, considering it wasn't perfect to begin with. I think Twilight already guaranteed they'd be covered for expenses all during rehabilitation. It sounds like Fancy Pants will help her out, probably directly and indirectly by getting her more business. She started working for Rarity in season 5, so I'm not sure if she's doing that yet in this timeline, but if not Rarity would probably help her out with a partnership offer, as long as she's ready to expand business. Maybe the three of them will work something out, since Rarity is already a friend of Fancy Pants.