Alan Shoemaker: Detective

~~~Canterlot General, Main Entrance, 3:59 am~~~

Walking past the sliding, automatic doors, an annoyed, coffee covered Alan entered with annoyance on his face. He wished he could do something about his now wet, smelly clothes yet given his situation and why he was there in the first place, some things weren't worth the time. That still didn't mean he couldn't be a little bit angry.

"This was my favorite coat, you know." He said, toward one person in particular. "And this shirt was growing on me." Referring to his new and used, yet coffee-stained Slipknot shirt, he then looked up. "Plus, I'm not paying for that mess you made in your car."

Celestia wasn't paying attention to Alan's complaints, as she was holding the lapels of the secretary behind the front desk, half-demanding, half-begging for any form of answer. To her credit, the secretary was keeping her reaction down to a minimum and as professional as possible. She must have seen or been through this scenario many times.

"Please, tell me where she is!" Celestia said, hysterics slowly turning to unabashed commands.

The secretary, with her hands held up and eyes wide, was calmly trying to gain an understanding. "Ma'am, I can see you're under duress, but would you kindly just--."

"Tell me where she is!!"

Celestia was now yelling. Another sigh came from Alan. He stepped closer toward the desk, and started to gently pull Celestia away from the secretary. After being let go, said secretary turned toward her savior with nothing but relief.

"Detective Shoemaker. Thank you very much." A. Richards, as her name plate stated on her scrubs, said. "I was told you would be here with Sunset's---"

"Please, tell me. Is she okay?" Celestia interrupted, and was still beside herself, crying and yelling in the formerly quiet hospital. She was leaning over the desk, but was pulled back by a level-headed Alan. He turned Celestia toward him and slapped his hands on her face to get her attention.

"Celestia!" Now he was yelling. "Calm! Down!" Celestia was breathing ragged breaths. He'd never seen her so… vulnerable. "Breath in." He said, while doing so. "And out." Again, following suit.

It took a second for the woman to calm herself, which was made easier as Celestia looked up into the eyes of the man that brought her here. Alan, repeating the same mantra which grew softer each time, was patiently holding Celestia's head in her hands. She listened to the commands of the detective, and was slowly coming down from her overexcited fears.

"Everything is ok." He said softly, wiping away straggling tears with one hand while the other moved strands of frazzled hair out of her face. "Sunset is ok. YOU are ok." As she got a hold of herself, Celestia realized what kind of situation she was in.

Not only had she been close to the detective, but she was holding onto Alan's wrists, as though they were a lifeline. This confusion slowly turned to annoyance. She then gave Alan a weird look.

"What are you doing?" She asked as Alan noticed that he was, for some reason, acting weird and was too close for comfort. They then quickly separated, but that didn't hide the small blush that they both shared. "Thanks." She said off-handedly, and turned away with embarrassment.

"Don't mention it." He responded, then turned his attention toward the desk. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine," Nurse Richards said, giving the Principal a wary look. "The situation demands it. Plus, I wouldn't expect anything less from Sunset's mother." This gave the two visitor's pause. Celestia, wide eyed about the implication, was about to object when Alan went with it.

"Yeah! Mother bears and their cubs, am I right?" He said, nervously chuckling and doing his best to keep a no nonsense attitude, but was barely succeeding.

"Right." Unsure of what to say, Nurse Richards left it at that. "Since visiting hours aren't until later, you can't visit Sunset." The two were about to object. "However, since the circumstance merits a police officer's wellness check, as well as the fact that family should be together for the holidays, we can make an exception." She picked up the phone and started dialing. "Just let me page someone, and they will come and take you to---"

A loud thump could be heard from off to the side, by the door that leads to the stairwell. Looking toward the noise, they saw a person who was fumbling with themselves clumsily and managed to open the door, falling face first into the waiting area. At closer inspection, they could see it was a man wearing a lab coat, with brown hair, and their glasses off, which fell away from him to the side.

This came as a surprise to Celestia, wondering if he was okay, but annoyance and casual glee to Alan and the nurse respectively.

"Ah, Doctor Ludwig! I was just about to page you." The nurse said, as she went to help the German doctor up to his feet. He picked up his spectres, and put them on his nose. His kind of crazy looking eyes and handsome chiseled jaw really helped put one at ease in his presence. Yet it was his way of speaking that gave one pause.

“Nurse Richards?” The Doctor, now shaking away the effects of the fall, got a closer look at the one who had helped him up. “Vhy are you on zhe zecond floor?” He asked incredulously. “I zhought you vorked on zhe first?”

“I do,” deadpanned the nurse, with a look to match. “Where do you think you are?”

He looked toward her, then the desk, then the front doors and beyond, and then back to her. “Zhis izn’t zhe baby cages. Vhere did zhey go?”

Facepalming, Alison fought back a grumble. “Nursery. It’s called a Nursery.” She said, thinking about not being paid enough to babysit middle aged doctors. “And again, you are in the main entrance area on the FIRST FLOOR. Also, you have visitors.” She said, pointing to the two in question as she went back toward her desk.

The doctor had to look and study them for a second, and then revelation struck him. “Mommy… Daddy…?” he asked, with hope in his voice.

Celestia looked at Alan with nervous incredulousness, while Alan pinched his nose for the umpteenth time again. Without missing a beat, the nurse back stepped toward the doctor and quickly grabbed the Doctor’s glasses and flipped them right-side up, then put them back where she found them. This changed the Doctor’s look to a new realization which, to the surprise of none except Celestia, changed to an emotion that he seemed to be better than his previous.

“Vom Teufel, Detective Shoemaker!” He shouted with a laugh and a skip in his step as he grabbed Alan in a hug, much to the Detective’s dismay. This caused a little surprised chortle to come out of the Principal next to them, which added to Alan’s annoyance. “It’z zo gud to see you, mein freund. It haz been a vhile! How did it go? Zhiz iz a first, you know. I didn’t expect you to come here to---.”

He was interrupted by Alan clearing his throat, and getting out of the Doctor’s arms. “Vig, I’m here for Sunset. As is she.” He said, gesturing to Celestia. The Doctor turned, and it seemed that his eyes were going to bug out of his sockets.

“Mein Wort!” Doctor Ludwig exclaimed. “For being early in zhe morning, Dear Celeztia, you ztill are fairly beautiful. Tell me, fräulein, how did your parentz rezerve zuch genetic makeup to produce zuch a natural beauty such as yourself?” Celestia ignored the question.

“Please, Doctor. Tell me, is Sunset ok?” She asked, hoping that someone such as him would know anything about her status.

“Who?” He asked, a gleam of confusion in his eyes, much to Celestia’s dismay.

“Room C6, Level 3.” Nurse Richards said offhandedly, while focused on her cell phone.

“Ah! Mein Patient, Feuer Haare!” The Doctor said, which caused Alan to, yet again, pinch his nose and groan. “I vill take you to her. Follow me!” He said, turning toward the elevator, beckoning them to follow with a wave of his hand.

“Oh thank you,” Celestia said, her heart filling with some semblance of relief. Alan followed slowly, and begrudgingly behind.

“Ah, it iz in my bezt interezt to zee to the patientz vell-being.” He said, bowing a little and showing them entrance into the open elevator. He followed in behind them, and turned on his heel, facing away from the two to press the button to floor three. “By zhe vay, Principal Celeztia, vould you mind if I took a zample of your hair? I vish to know how it zeemz to zparkle like it iz.”

As the doors closed, Celestia could be seen looking at Alan with a look of confused alarm, as he just shrugged with a look of giving up.

~~~Level 3, ICU, Room C6, 4:09 am~~~

Silence permeated the room, as the sleeping figure began to be restless once again. Sunset's eyes opened to the waking world as she took in her surroundings. Everything was a dark, white blob, fuzzy even, as she looked around the room in a daze. Needless to say, she was out of it. She had no idea why she was in a random bed, in a white room, that smelled like a certain disinfectant that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

She turned to her left, and noticed artificial light coming through what seemed to be a window next to a possible door. Is this what Elysium is like? She thought, until a shiver went through her body, causing her vision to fade to the blackness of unconsciousness. Had she been awake a little longer, she would have seen and heard visitor's come closer to her room.

The sound of speaking came from the hallway, as shadows filled a portion of the room through the window, as the door handle turned and opened to the trio of people.

"Und zhat iz vhy you never mingle a hamzter and an F-Sharp tuning fork! And here ve are." Doctor Ludwig said quietly, motioning for them to enter.

Celestia slowly walked into the room, looking to and fro until her eyes met the sleeping form of Sunset Shimmer. To no surprise of the men, she started to tear up, as the sight before her was almost too much to handle. She could not imagine the pain that Sunset went through getting to this point, and it only proved even worse as she saw one of her hands. Wrapped in layers of bandages, Celestia saw the forearm of Sunset, laying there as still as it's owner.

Alan stood just outside the room, watching with a cool demeanor. He saw Celestia hesitate for a few seconds before she practically lunged for the other side of the bed to sit in the chair at Sunset's side while gently clasping her hand in her own, brushing some of Sunset's hair away. If the situation wasn't morbid enough, he might have been moved by Celestia's thoughtfulness toward the teen.

"I heard there was an issue with her blood?" Alan said, with very little emotion in his voice.

Ludwig sighed, "Ja. Zo much zo zhat I vas cloze to calling zhe Zee-Dee-Zee!"

This came as a surprise to Alan. "The CDC? Wait, did you?"

"Ha! No!" Barked the doctor. "Like zhey would know anyzhing about medicine!" He gave a big smile toward the detective, as Alan rolled his eyes, but smirked all the same. The doctor then slammed his hand on Alan's shoulder. "Alzo, I vas vaiting for you. I knew you'd be interezted in zhiz vittle… fräulein."

Gesturing again to the bed's occupant, the two looked at Sunset with a look of pity, as well as… caution.

"Where is the sample?" Alan asked.

"In my office, on zhe fifth floor." The doctor said. He then addressed Celestia. "My dear," she turned toward him, "if you need anyzhing or if Zunzet is troubled, pleaze feel free to call in zhe nurze." He then looked at the clock. "Alzo, zhey may come in zhortly to check on her. And please, keep your chin up." He finished with a warm smile.

Celestia smiled softly and nodded in kind, as the two men left, she made eye contact with Alan for a split second, as he nodded to her through the door and turned away. Yet, while she appreciated his gesture, she couldn't help but notice something peculiar about his look. Almost like he was… longing for something.

All those thoughts were pushed from her mind, however, as Sunset began to stir. Giving the girl her full attention, she scooted closer and waited for Sunset to speak. The teen mumbled to herself, eyes half-lidded as, and she turned her head to and fro. Finally, she opened her eyes just enough to look around. Still dazed, she noticed her hand was being squeezed and she turned to see someone next to her.

"Sunset," Celestia said softly, brushing aside some of Sunset's locks.

"Ce...st..a?" She was barely able to speak, and her mouth was terribly dry. "Pri...c...s Celes..ia…"

"Shh…" Celestia said, getting closer. She seemed so scared. "I'm here. There's no need to worry." Even though she said it, in her mind that's all she was doing. Hopefully Sunset didn't notice.

"P… Princess?..." Sunset choked out.

Celestia knew that, where Sunset was from, things were different. She didn't know to the fullest extent, other than 'she's from a mirrored world/dimension full of ponies and magic', from what 'Princess Twilight' said, but she knew enough about this certain thing to just go with it.

"Yes, Sunset?" She asked, choking back a small sob.

"Am… am I…" Sunset closed her eyes, trying to hold back something, but through a deep breath and a single tear, she uttered the phrase, "am I a good pony...?"

This was too much for Celestia, as another wave of tears came to her eyes, but that did not deter her from smiling and slowly leaning forward, and kissing Sunset on the forehead. As she pulled back, she reassuringly squeezed Sunset's hand.

"Yes." She said, trying everything she could to hold back her emotions. "Yes you are. And I am so proud of you, my…" she said as Sunset's eyes started to gleam with tears of her own. While thinking of the right words, she had a thought come to her mind, as though she needed to say it. "...my faithful student…" she finished with a smile.

Sunset's smile faded as her lower lip quivered, she then started to cry like a little kitten mewling for its mother.

"I'm s-so sorry, Celestia." She said weakly, stuttering through her cries of anguish. "I l-let you down. I'm n-not g-g-good enough. I hate m-myself. Every t-time I try t-to do something g-good I always fail! Why am I so stupid!" She couldn't say more as the weak sobs were taking their toll on her exhausted form.

"That's enough, Sunset." Celestia said firmly, as she looked down into the eyes of her student. "You are a strong, young woman. You can do anything that you put your mind to, no matter what anyone says." She then wiped the tears away from her own face as well as Sunset's. "And you have people that love and care for you. They would blame themselves if anything terrible happened to you. So please, please hold onto your strength and be brave. I'm here, and I'm not leaving you."

Sunset cried silently, gazing at her supposed sovereign with awe and admiration, as Celestia drew near again, and leaned her head against Sunset's, in a pseudo embrace.

"You... promise...?" Sunset whimpered, strength failing.

"Yes, my dear." Celestia whispered with a smile in her voice. "Always."

With an inkling of a smile, Sunset drifted back into unconsciousness. Celestia, pulling away from her student, couldn't hold back anymore, as she quietly cried into her hand, doing everything she could to not wake Sunset.

A small knock came from the door, as Celestia was startled to see a nurse looking pitifully at her.

"I'm sorry, may I come in?" The nurse asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Nodding in the affirmative, Celestia was quickly composing herself, wiping away tears as the nurse handed her a box of tissues, with a small smile. Smiling herself, Celestia took the offered box and took a few in hand. The nurse then turned to check Sunset's vitals and other such things that she needed. She then turned back to Celestia with a question.

"Are you Sunset's mother?"

This came up a few times already, and, after witnessing the pain of her student just recently, she knew that Sunset needed this. Needed her. She nodded, planning on taking full responsibility for Sunset's well-being.

"I'm sorry for what's happened. I wish you both well." The kindness was much appreciated by Celestia. "We would like to know if you would like her backpack?"

This caught Celestia's attention. "She… she had her backpack with her?"

"Yes. It was brought with the paramedics and Detective Shoemaker. Would you like me to bring it to you?"

"Yes, please!" Celestia exclaimed, which the nurse then left to fetch the bag.

After returning, the nurse said, "we didn't go through it, and Detective Shoemaker requested that we leave it be."

Odd, Celestia thought. Usually the police or hospital would rummage through the victims items in case of emergencies, especially with the lack of information on Sunset.

Noticing her confusion, the nurse helped her with her answer.

"He said that it was best to not look through it. That there may have been things in there that Sunset doesn't want anyone to see." She said with a shrug. "We were all confused, so we just let it be." She then turned to leave, but before closing the door, she remembered, "she may also have her phone in her backpack. It's been going off a lot the past few hours."

As the Nurse left the room, Celestia, simply just stared straight ahead. She didn't know what to do or think at this point. For the second time in her life, she felt utterly helpless. The first, of course, dealing with…

She slumped backwards as she dropped the bag on the floor next to her. She started rubbing her forehead from the excitable early morning she had so far. She met with an old acquaintance, as he dragged her into this rollercoaster of emotions, all on a day of good tidings and great joy. No joy was found within her heart so far, and she could only imagine the turmoil that Sunset has gone through.

This has all been causing a headache to start ringing through her head, and the vibrations of a phone didn't help none.

She snapped her eyes open! Shit! She thought as she dug through her purse to find her phone. All this craziness, and I haven't told Luna! Oh she's gonna…

There was no phone.

The realization slowly hit her that, while scrambling to get to the hospital, she forgot the one thing that would help her personally contact her sister and others if need be. And this moment was a 'need' to 'be' informed about.

She slouched again, and felt that achy pain starting to rise in her head, but was suddenly aware that the buzzing was still going. She looked around, thinking it was something to do with the hospital room, when she knocked over Sunset's backpack, and realized that the bag was the origin. Without hesitation, she started to go through the small pockets of the back pack, and found the thing in question that was making the buzzing. Or she thought, because Sunset's cheap flip phone was dead, and it seemed to be cracked on the screen.

Though she had a phone in her hand, the buzzing continued, which led her to open the main pocket. Unzipping it she noticed that there was a glowing object which was buzzing…

Like a phone…

A book… phone?...

Shaking the thoughts from her head she grabbed the book in question, and noticed that, once in hand, it stopped vibrating, like it knew that it was being held.

Flipping it over, she was wondering what made it do those things, when she remembered the events of the fall formal and rock concert, causing her to relent with said questions. Looking closer at the book, which seemed more and more like a diary, there was a silk bookmark sticking out from the bottom, and a little ways deep from the front.

Celestia gingerly took the bookmark, and hesitantly opened the book. She glanced at Sunset to make sure she was asleep, and the window, to make sure no one saw her. She then looked at the contents and started to read. What was written in Sunset's handwriting, that she could guess, really made her heart sink.

Dear Twilight,

I just want you to know how grateful I am for what you've done for me. I don't think I could've ever seen the beauty that is friendship without you having to, well, practically shoot me with it. Suffice it to say, it really helped me.

I also want to say that, no matter what happens, you'll always be the best friend that I always wanted. I wish I could tell you this in person but seeing as we're worlds apart, I'll just leave it here.

I hope that, someday, many great people will come around and really know how wonderful you are and that you will always be there for them no matter what.

Your friend forever,
Sunset Shimmer

P.S. If the other girls ask about something, tell them it's okay.

It was hard for Celestia to understand this at first, but from the events that happened that night, she could tell that Sunset had written her…

With a hand clasping over her mouth as she quietly sobbed, she read over the letter again and again. She wiped the tears away, and saw at the top of the note, she saw what looked like a timestamp:

Sent:

December 25, 2020 - 12:03 am

Received:

December 25, 2020 - 1:25 am

Mere hours ago. It felt like so long ago, but it just happened four hours ago, at least!

Looking toward the book, she saw that it was glowing a little bit from the next page. She turned it and noticed a time stamp, which read:

Delivered:

December 25, 2020 - 1:32 am

Viewed:

December 25, 2020 - 4:29 am

Celestia looked at the clock and noticed that the time was exactly at what the book stated. She then turned back to the book and read the entry, now in new handwriting.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

I'm glad you feel that way. I happen to feel the same. For you, and my other friends. If anything, we all tend to have many things in common.

In fact just the other day, Rarity and Pinkie said that…

And on and on it went. For five pages, it went on to recount the dealings of Princess Twilight and some of her escapades with others from her world. Celestia just skimmed through it and got to the end, which didn't yield any further inquiries from the messenger.

… and that's how that happened.

Well, I hope all is well with you. If there is anything that you need, and I mean anything, please, don't hesitate to ask. Even if you need to come to Equestria for help with something, my door is always open. After all, we are best friends, aren't we?

Your friend always,
Twilight Sparkle

P.S. I know it is different there, and correct me if I'm saying it wrong but, how do you say it again?

Merry X-mas?

Giving a sigh, Celestia turned the next page, and noticed that it was empty. Skimming through the other pages gave the same result.

Flipping back through to the beginning, she noticed that there were all kinds of different notes, not that she read them, but she noticed that Sunset's and Twilight's were not the only ones. She then thought about how she could help Sunset, when all she had was this…

Then she started digging through Sunset's bag and found a pen. Turning to the blank page she hesitated. What should she say? What can she say, this is a book. How can she communicate with a stupid---

She took a deep breath, steeled herself for something that probably wouldn't, but hopefully would work, and began to write:

Twilight.

This is Principal Celestia.

I need your help...