Redemption for a Cloverleaf

“UGH, OW!” Zipp grimaced in pain, as the doctor, Dr. Hoofington, looked over her injured eye. She was currently sitting on a hospital bed, Pipp next to her the whole time, while he felt her eye for any abnormalities in the eye socket area.

“So, you got into a fight, and the other pony punched you so hard, he blackened your eye? Is that what happened?” Dr. Hoofington asked.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that.” Zipp said, trying to save face.

“I see.” He said, continuing to look over her injured eye.

"How bad is it, Doc?" Pipp worriedly asked.

Dr. Hoofington stepped away from Zipp for a quick second, facing the both of them.

"Well, your eye looks pretty bad. Whoever it was that hit you, he got you good." He told Zipp, making her feel frustrated and angry. She still couldn't believe that Sprout Cloverleaf of all ponies ACTUALLY gave her a black eye. From what she's heard from some of the townfolk, Sprout was a major wussbag. So, him punching her that hard would look bad for her image.

"Don't remind me, please. Just tell me what's up so I can get outta here." Zipp said, rather rudely to him. That surprised Pipp a little bit. Zipp indeed have a sarcastic and sassy streak to her, but she never saw any disrespect or rudeness in her. Not even when they were fillies.

Dr. Hoofington also didn't appear to like that either. He just gave her a raised eyebrow look.

"Well, Miss Storm, I can tell you now that your orbital socket has taken some damage. I would need to look over you more to find out if it's just a fracture or flat out broken. However, there's something else I'd like to know as well."

"What's that?"

"I would like to see if you suffered a concussion as well. You did say that when you got punched, you swayed on you hooves a little bit, am I right?"

Pipp covered her mouth in shock. She didn't want to hear that. She just hoped it was a black eye that would heal in a few months. This? This was something different now.

Zipp groaned. She hoped the same thing as Pipp. She didn't know a punch from Sprout Cloverleaf would hurt her that much.

"So, what are you proposing?" She asked in an unhappy tone.

"I ask that you stay here for the night. So, I could monitor any more symptoms of a concussion if there are any."

“What? Are you serious?” Zipp asked, sounding surprised.

“Yes. If there are symptoms of a concussion, I would need to let you know what you would be facing. Concussions need to be taken with absolute seriousness.” Dr. Hoofington told her, not once showing any signs of giving her shit. He was as serious as ever.

“Ugh.” Zipp groaned again. “Is it really necessary?”

“Yes. Also, it’ll take about 12 to 18 hours to figure out wether your eye socket is just fractured or broken. So, if you stay here for the night, not only will I be able to determine that, but I’ll also know wether or not you have a concussion. So, please Miss Storm, I highly advise you stay the night.” He explained his reasoning to her.

Right before Zipp could give her answer, Pipp turned to face her.

“I agree.”

“What?” Zipp asked, looking at her in disbelief.

“Look, Zipp, I know you wanna find the killer, but if you’re gonna do that, you NEED to be healthy enough to do it. If you have a fractured eye socket and a concussion, you’ll just slow down Hitch’s investigation. You should take a day or two off from this. Help clear your head.” Pipp said to her.

“Pipp, come on, I-“

“Don’t “Pipp, come on”, me.” Pipp interrupted her in a motherly like tone. That surprised Zipp a little bit. She never expected her little sister to have their mother’s sternness in her.

“You are hurt. Injured. And Dr. Hoofington here is giving you the best outcome here. If you stay the night, you’ll know if you’re okay or not. It’s just one night, okay? So, please, just stay and get looked at.” Pipp said to her.

The more she talked, the more she started to think Pipp might be right. Zipp didn’t want to be to injured and not know about it, then go out there and get hurt again and make things worse. Plus, she could just tell Pipp was worried about her. She just wanted to know if she was gonna be okay or not.

So, again, Zipp decided to relent.

She groaned for a third time. “Fine. I’ll stay the night.” She grumbled.

Pipp smiled in relief. “Good. And I’ll stay here with you to keep you company.”

Before Zipp could say anything else, Dr. Hoofington seemed to agree with Pipp’s statement.

“I’ll make sure a bed is ready for you to sleep in tonight, Miss Petals.” He said, leaving the hospital room to go find her a bed.

Zipp just shook her head in frustration. Why was she in this situation?

After the whole fiasco at the Sheriff’s Department, Sunny was now home at the Crystal Brighthouse. As she walked in, she was greeted by her unicorn friend, the bubbly, Izzy Moonbow.

“Hi, Sunny.” She cheerfully called out, while crafting a few bracelets together. Sunny guessed they were new friendship bracelets she was gonna give to her and her friends.

“Hey.” Sunny said in a flat tone. Everything that happened was still fresh on her mind. She still couldn’t believe that Zipp and Hitch almost came to blows with each other. If her and Pipp weren’t there, they certainly would’ve thrown hooves at each other.

Izzy looked away from her bracelets and up at Sunny. She saw Sunny looking down.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She asked, putting her crafting materials down and walking over to her friend.

Sunny knew she couldn’t keep this from her. Especially after she was asked by her about Sprout earlier today. She had every right to know.

She sighed. “Sit down. I have some really bad news.” She told her.

Izzy knew this looked serious. So, she did what she was told and sat down on the couch with her.

After Sunny sat next to her, she then proceeded to tell her everything that just happened recently. From Zipp accusing Sprout of murder, to her assaulting him, to Sprout punching Zipp in the face, to Zipp and Hitch’s really bad argument, to Pipp then escorting Zipp to the hospital. To say Izzy was shocked would be an understatement. Because, she looked like she just couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“This is all so crazy.” Izzy said, still letting the events she was just told sink in.

“I know. This is all just a mess.” Sunny said, looking worried for everypony involved.

“So, is Hitch interviewing Sprouty right now?” Izzy asked.

Sunny looked caught off guard with that nickname she gave her old friend. But, she quickly shook it off. She probably has nicknames for all her friends.

“Yeah. I wonder what those two are talking about.” She said.

“Did you get a chance to talk with him?” Izzy asked.

Sunny shook her head. “No, but Hitch promised me I would talk with him one on one when I get the chance. I have been wanting to speak with him for a while now.”

Izzy looked excited. “You have? So, does that mean you still consider him a friend?” She asked.

Sunny didn’t answer. She had a hard time coming up with one.

“Well, do you?” Izzy asked, looking concerned.

Earlier today, Sunny didn’t get a chance to answer Izzy’s question. Because, her break had ended and she needed to get back to customers. Now, her shift was over. She was home. Now, there wasn’t an excuse to get out of this.

“I don’t hate him.” She began. “I really don’t. I don’t think I can hate anypony. No matter what.”

Izzy nodded, encouraging her to go on.

“And I’ve known Sprout since I was a little filly. Me and him and Hitch have been friends for that long. I can’t just forget everything we’ve been through. Even if he teased me a lot, he was still my friend.” She said, before pausing again. Though, this times, she inhaled through her nostrils before she continued.

“But, now whenever I think about Sprout, and it isn’t all the time, I also think about…” She started to say, before her lip started to quiver.

When Izzy saw this, she felt sad. Because she knew why. She knew why she felt like this.

“Your Dad.” Izzy finished for her.

While being choked up, Sunny nodded her head.

“I know he didn’t do it intentionally. He did look really remorseful for what happened. But, he still destroyed my home. A place I lived in for so long. It’s…” She paused again, this time sniffling while a few tears of sadness ran down her face.

Izzy looked at her with sympathy. She put a hoof around her friend in comfort.

“I know.” Izzy said sadly.

“It’s all I have left of my Dad. And he destroyed it.” Sunny said, crying in sadness.

All Izzy could do was continue to comfort her friend. She let her rest her head in her shoulder and just cry. Openly weep for the memory of her father.

As she continued to let her tears out, she surprised Izzy with what she said next.

“I chose friendship.”

Izzy pulled her head away a little bit to look at her friend.

“What do you mean?” She asked Sunny.

“I don’t want to bitter. I don’t want to hold grudges against anypony. I just want ponies to be friends with each other. I want ponies to be able to live in happiness together. But…” She trailed off again.

Izzy, again, urged her to continue.

“How can I think that when I still think about what Sprout did? I don’t want to kick him out of my life. I really WANT to still be friends with him. But, what would my Dad think? Would he agree with me? Would he…” She paused once more, but was instantly able to finish her sentence without Izzy’s help.

“Would he still be proud of me?”

Izzy couldn’t help but let out a few tears of her own. She hated seeing any of her friends like this. She wiped the tears away as she spoke next.

“Your Dad would always be proud of you, Sunny.” She said, causing Sunny to look at her.

“Your Dad loves you, no matter what choices you make. No matter what decision you decide. He’ll always watch over you. Cause that’s what a Dad is supposed to do.” Izzy explained, with a tear running down her face as well.

Sunny did the same, while wiping her own tears away. She hugged her friend, who gladly returned it. They stayed like that for about a half a second before breaking the hug.

“Thanks, Izzy. I’ve been wanting to get this off my chest for a while now.” She said, as the two stood up from the couch.

“No problem, Sunny. And, just to let you know, Sprout DOES feel tremendous remorse for what he did. I could tell. And I really think he wants to talk to you too. To apologize for everything.” She said, causing Sunny to look glum. So, her thought was correct. Sprout really did feel bad for what he did.

“Now, I’ll always have your back, Sunny. But, if I’m being honest, I think Sprout DOES deserve a second chance. And since he does feel guilt, don’t you think he should at least try to show he’s a different pony now?” She asked in a humble voice, unlike the Izzy she knows today.

Sunny thought about that. She did agree that ponies, in hindsight, should be given a second chance. And, if Sprout was willing, should he be given a chance to show it?

She did agree to that…until she remembered the murder from yesterday.

“Well, what about the partial match?” She asked.

Izzy snorted in laughter. “Oh, come on, Sunny. You’ve known Sprout forever. You don’t really think he’s capable of that are you? I don’t see it.” She said in an upbeat tone.

Sunny thought on that. In all the years she’s known him, Sprout was always a talk first, then run away from a fight kind of pony. He’s the kind of guy who’d go find Hitch and ask him to fight his battles for him. He was a wussbag.

Him committing a murder like what Zipp described wasn’t like Sprout at all. Even if she WAS angry and bitter at him for destroying her home, she’d highly doubt he would commit a murder like that.

It was then she knew her mind was made up about this.

“No, you’re right. Sprout wouldn’t do something like this.” She said, feeling silly thinking that Sprout would commit a crime as horrible as that.

Izzy giggled. “Yeah. He’s WAY to cute to do that.” She said, not realizing what just came out of her mouth.

Though, that did get picked up by Sunny. Her eyebrow raised with a grin on her face.

“Izzy, do you-“ She started to ask slyly, before she was interrupted.

“Oh my, look at the time. It’s time to hit the sack.” She gave a big yawn, which was obviously exaggerated.

“I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Sunny.” She said, trotting up the stairs, humming a little tune to herself.

All Sunny could do was chuckle at her friends behavior. She didn’t expect Izzy to find Sprout cute. It was, honestly, kind of adorable.

She continued to laugh internally at Izzy’s behavior while she trotted up stairs to get ready for bed also.

“I’m not one for fashion sense, but this is the ugliest hospital gown I’ve ever seen.” Zipp commented, while looking over the gown she had to wear. It was all white and had horrible looking pink flowers on them in a pattern.

Pipp couldn’t help but snicker. She had always wanted Zipp to at least try a dress on all her life, and now she was wearing one that looked so ugly, even Pipp wouldn’t livestream it.

“It looks so bad.” Pipp said before bursting out laughing.

Zipp grumbled in anger. “You take any pics of me in this, I’m gonna shave your mane off while you sleep.” She said.

After Pipp’s laughter fit, she managed to compose herself. “No problem, big sister. You’re here to heal up, not look like you dress up like Mom back when she was younger than us.” She said, before laughing again.

Zipp blushed in embarrassment. “I’m going to bed. And I am serious about the mane shaving, sis.” She said, as she climbed into her hospital bed. She did wince in pain as she layed down and pulled the covers over her.

“Okay, Zipp. I think I’m gonna get some shuteye too. Tell me if you need anything in the middle of the night, kay?” She said to her, while on her side, pulling the covers over herself.

“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Goodnight.” Zipp grumbled, before laying down.

Pipp giggled. “Goodnight.” She said, doing the same.

As Sunny and Izzy were sleeping in their respective beds, the former was awakened by a sound she though she heard.

She groaned a little bit as she groggily sat up in her bed. After rubbing her eyes, she was startled at what she saw.

There was a large yellow light that was beaming at her bed. What she found strange, was it seemed to only be illuminating on her bed. She looked to her right and saw Izzy was still fast asleep. No light illuminated her bed.

She was also surprised that Izzy didn’t seem to stir. She was completely out like a light. Not even noticing the light illuminating Sunny’s bed.

She slowly got out of her bed and followed the light. It was leading downstairs. Now she was worried. Was there an intruder in the Crystal Brighthouse? Or, did Pipp come back from the hospital with Zipp?

As she descended the staircase, the light started to fade away from her and to something in the middle of the downstairs foyer. She was to the middle of the staircase, when she saw what was downstairs. And what she saw, she couldn’t believe it. She just could not believe what she was looking at.

“Hey, Sunny.” Argyle said with his kind smile on his face.

After a few seconds of her just standing there in the middle of the staircase, Sunny felt tears roll down her face. Emotional sobs escaped her throat. And with that, she ran down the rest of the staircase.

When she made it to the foyer, she ran into her dead father’s open hooves. She cried hard for a minute or two, relishing being in her father’s embrace again. A feeling she missed so much.

“Daddy.” She sobbed as she hugged him tighter, not wanting to let him go, like she was forced to the last time.

“Hey, sweetheart. How’s my little ray of sunshine doing?” He asked, hugging his daughter back.

Sunny, begrudgingly, let go of her father’s embrace, while wiping the tears away.

“I’m doing good. I did it. Me and my friends. We brought magic back to Equestria. All the ponies are united again. Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns are all living in harmony. We did it all. And I’m glad I was able to make your dream come true, Dad.” She said happily.

Argyle smiled. “I know. I saw everything. I’m so proud of you, Sunny. I knew you could do it.” He said.

Sunny sniffled a little bit, clearly emotional about her father’s approval.

“But, I see you’ve been having some troubles lately.” He said, causing Sunny to look at him in confusion.

“About one of your old friends, I believe.” He said.

When he said that, she knew who he was talking about. She knew who he was referring to.

Sprout Cloverleaf.

Sunny began to look sad. “You saw what happened?” She asked him, even though she knew the answer.

Argyle nodded. “I did. I did.” He said. “And I can see that it’s been on your mind for a little bit. You don’t know what to think or feel. Am I right?”

Sunny looked away in shame for a quick sec. “Yes. I don’t know what to do. I don’t think Sprout meant to do anything bad. Or hurt ponies. But….that lighthouse…it-“

“You feel it’s all you have left of me?” Argyle interrupted her. She was surprised he knew that. But, then realized she shouldn’t be. He’s always watching over her. Like a good father does.

Sunny nodded. “I miss you, so much. I wish you were here. I wish you could meet my friends. And…and let me know how you feel about Sprout.” She said.

Argyle sighed through his nostrils. “I wish I was there too, Sunny. Your friends sound like nice ponies. But, there’s a reason I’ve come here.” He said, now putting his hoof on her shoulder, surprising Sunny a little bit.

“I’m here to tell you…that you need to let me go.” He told her.

Sunny was shocked to hear this. Her father telling her to let him go?

“Dad, I-I can’t—“

“You can miss me everyday. You can think about me in the toughest of times. But, don’t let my death define who you are. Don’t let me not being here tell you what to do and not do. I want my daughter to live happy and freely with all her friends. Even the ones she’s confused about.” He told her in the most wise tone she’s ever heard from him.

Sunny felt her lip quiver. She couldn’t believe what her Dad was saying. It felt almost surreal.

“I forgive him. And if I can do that, can’t you let it go, too? I mean, after all, you have a new house to create new memories with. And with new friends to share it with. Do you really want to hold onto something that’s in the past?” Argyle asked her.

Sunny listened to her late father’s words. What he was saying, he did have a point. Even if she lost her lighthouse home, she had a new one. And with great friends to share it with. She had, in a lot of ways, a family. A family to create new and great memories for future days to come.

Did she really want to hold onto the past? Constantly keep thinking about stuff that happened before, when you could worry about now?

Did she really want to hold a grudge against a lifelong friend?

She sniffled. “You always were right, Dad.”
She said.

Argyle smiled wisely.

“I promise.” A determined Sunny said. “I won’t dwell on the past anymore. I won’t hold grudges. I’ll learn to value friendship. Just like the great Twilight Sparkle did. I’ll keep honoring your memory, by forging my own path. I swear I will, Dad.” She said, new tears spilling out of her eyes.

She then felt a hoof placed on her head. She looked and saw Argyle’s smiling face.

“That’s my girl. Thank you, Sunny.” He said.

It was then that Sunny noticed, Argyle’s body was starting to fade. His body was starting to erase.

“D-Dad!” Sunny said, worrying at first, before seeing his calm face.

“It’s okay, Sunny. I’m sorry, but I’ve gotta go now.” He said.

She felt her lip quiver. “You’re leaving already?” She sadly asked.

“Yes. But, I will always be watching you. Always supporting you. And always guiding you in the right direction.” He said, as his body was now fading completely. His spirit was now floating out of the Crystal Brighthouse.

“I love you, Sunny.” She heard his spirit echo to her.

She sniffled as tears of happiness ran down her face.

“I love you too….Daddy.”

Sunny woke up in her bed. Looking around at her room. She saw Izzy still sound asleep. Muttering things about glitter and unicycling.

She couldn’t help but smile at her friends antics. Even in her sleep, Izzy Moonbow was as random as ever.

Sunny got out of her bed, and then walked toward the window nearest to her. She looked up at the sky and saw a star twinkle at her.

It was like her father was wishing her goodnight. Watching over her and making sure she had good dreams. Just like the one she had just now.

As she put her hoof to the window, she gave her answer to what her Dad said to her in her dream.

“I’ll try my best, Dad.” She said softly, before hopping back into bed and going back to sleep.

”Ugh, why am I having trouble falling asleep?” Zipp softly asked in a frustrating tone, trying not to wake up Pipp.

She tossed and turned a few times before groaning and sitting up in her hospital bed. She looked on in envy at Pipp, who was out like a light, sleeping peacefully.

When she looked away from her, she started to feel a bit creeped out. It was completely dark in the hospital. She looked toward the window and saw it was dark outside too. What was worse was just how silent it was here. Not a single sound to be heard.

Until she heard a hoofstep.

Zipp felt like her heart just jumped into her throat. There was somepony here. There was somepony in the hospital after visiting hours were over.

Although, Zipp felt whoever was here wasn’t here to VISIT her. She didn’t know why, but she felt this pony was coming for her. She also had this feeling that it wasn’t a doctor or a nurse. So, who was it?

She heard the footsteps getting closer. Closer to her and Pipp’s room. Closer to them.

Her heart was beating tremendously. Her fear was skyrocketing. Who was it?

She heard the footsteps now outside her door. The pony then walked in. Zipp’s fear intensified even more. She knew who it was now.

It was Lilac Summer. The dead mare on the beach.

Zipp tried to speak, but she couldn’t. It was like some malevolent force had taken away her ability to speak. Or, it could just be the fear she was feeling.

Why was she seeing this mare again?

Lilac Summer slowly trotted over to Zipp’s bed. Zipp wanted to try and get out of there, but she couldn’t move. Her body was frozen to this hospital bed.

Zipp was now face to face with Lilac Summer. She saw the mannequin store blank expression on her face again. She almost was waiting for her to spit out the chunk of blood and fur in her mouth.

After Zipp had gulped down a huge amount of fear in her heart, she finally found the courage to speak.

“W-W-What do y-you want from m-me?” She stammered while shaking.

All Lilac Summer did was blink at her. Zipp didn’t know why, but that blink sent a chill down her spine.

She quickly looked over at Pipp for a second. She was still fast asleep. Not knowing the horror that Zipp was seeing.

She looked back and was, once again, greeted by the bruises and blood on Lilac’s body. She almost jumped from the scary surprise she saw. But, she was still frozen in her bed.

Then, her worst fear coming true, Lilac opened her mouth. Out fell the chunk of fur and blood. Though, this time, it fell directly on her lap. Granted, she still had a blanket over her body, but she still felt sick to her stomach just looking at that.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Zipp cried out in frustration.

After she asked that, she heard the sounds of the sharp knife again. SHINK-SHINK-SHINK.

“He’s coming.” Zipp heard Lilac say to her. She felt her blood run cold again, hearing her speak.

Though, this time, it was HOW she spoke. When she said that, she almost felt a demonic presence come from her. As if it came from the depths of hell itself.

Was Lilac Summer some kind of demon? Was she in Hell? She certainly hoped not.

Then, she heard the sharp knife sounds getting closer to them. Zipp started to worry. Because, now Pipp was here too. Whoever that thing is, he’ll hurt her too.

Her worry turned ice cold again when she heard Lilac Summer say this:

“Run.” She said, now getting closer to Zipp’s face. Zipp could smell the stench of death and decay on her.

“Run…Run…RUN…RUN…RUN!…RUN!…RUN!…RUN!!!…RUN!!!….RUN!!!!” Lilac Summer bellowed and screamed in Zipp’s face. She covered her ears to avoid any chances of becoming deaf from the loud and demonic tone coming from the dead mare.

She managed to open one eye and see something even more terrifying.

The black figure with the sharp knife(possibly the grim reaper?) had entered the room. As Lilac continued to yell at Zipp to run, the figure came up behind her and put his knife to her throat.

That’s when Lilac stopped yelling “RUN!” at her and then yelled something else:

“ZIPP! ZIPP! ZIPP! ZIPP! ZIPP!” Lilac screamed in terror as the black figure pulled her away to Celestia knows where.

Zipp just stared in terror. How did Lilac Summer know her name? Why was she yelling her name?

“ZIPP! ZIPP! Wake up! WAKE UP!” Pipp yelled at her, trying to get Zipp out of her nightmare.

Zipp then awakened. Sweat poured down her body. Shaking profusely. Not knowing where she was anymore.

She looked up and saw her little sister looking down at her with extreme worry on her face. She was on the ground. Her pillow and blankets scattered all over the floor. Thankfully, she didn’t feel hurt or anything. Physically at least.

Mentally and emotionally, Zipp felt scarred at what she saw.

Why couldn’t she help her? Why couldn’t she do something? Why couldn’t she do anything?

“Zipp, speak to me. Are you okay?” Pipp tearfully asked her.

Seeing Pipp worriedly cry for her was too much for Zipp. So, after seeing that, Zipp felt tears run down her face too. She reached up and embraced her little sister and cried onto her shoulder, like she did when she first saw the body.

Pipp was surprised at first, but then embraced Zipp as well. They both lay on the ground just hugging each other and crying.

Like what Zipp saw, this case may just turn into a nightmare for all ponies involved. And they still were just getting started.