//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Brave little sister, brave little heart // by Mesme Rize //------------------------------// The next morning, Night Light came in, woke both ponies up, and told them to get ready to go. Twilight was sent into a state of panic and Shining immediately threw himself in front of his sister. “Hey Twily, look at me, it’s going to be okay, you hear me? Remember what we did last night? Deep breaths, it’s going to be okay.” When Twilight had calmed down, Shining Armor helped Twilight to comb her mane, brush her teeth and sent her out to Night Light who had made her breakfast before getting himself ready. It was a twenty minute walk from the house to the nearest foal hospital. Night Light and Shining where about to head in while Twilight remained motionless beside the nearest street lamp. "Let's go get you checked out, Twily," Night Light sighed, trying to pull his younger daughter away from the street lamp. Twilight held on as tight as she could, but her father was stronger. "Daddy, no!" the little filly wailed, "I don't wanna!" She kicked her little hoofsies furiously, but Night Light held her firmly and carried her inside. He plopped Twilight into a chair in the waiting room, and Shining climbed into the seat next to her. "Look after your Sister for a minute," he instructed, going to the receptionist's desk to sign in. The small fillys cries broke off into a painful-sounding cough; her older brother rubbed her back until the fit was over. "Shhh, Twily, I know you don't feel good, but this will make you all better again soon, okay?" "Sh- Shiny, I don't like it here," she stammered, sniffling as her nose began to run. "It's okay," the older colt leaned to hug her. "You're okay, I'm here," he whispered into the embrace. Twilight climbed over the arm of the chair and into her brother's lap. Shining hugged her close while the younger filly snuggled her head into his chest. "Do you hear that, Twily? That's my heart helping you be a brave filly." He ran his hooves through Twilights baby-soft hair and felt her nod encouragingly. "Remember what we practiced? You know everything that is gonna happen so you don't have to be afraid, okay?" Shinings words and the gently thumping heartbeat against her cheek helped soothe the little filly, and she slowed her breaths to match the ones her brother puffed against the top of his head. Night Light looked back at his children, feeling quietly proud of how good his oldest was, and thought his youngest was going to be okay. Soon the trio were called back into an exam room. nurse redheart opened the door for them, but Twilight balked and buried her face in Night Lights hip, a death grip around his Hooves. "C'mon Twily, you're getting a little too big for this now," he urged, trying to be kind but beginning to lose his patience. "No, Daddy, look! No!" Twilight screamed, pointing into the room. Shining tugged on his father's coat. "Dad, that's a clown, Twily can't go in there!" He gestured to the cartoonish figure painted on the wall. It was not having the desired effect of making the room foal-friendly. Night Light sighed and picked up the frightened filly. "Can we have a different room?" he asked the nurse. "There's one more open down the hall," she replied, smiling. She waved to her right and they followed her into another room of the same size and shape, but this one was painted with friendly looking fish. "Wait here just a minute for the doctor please," she said and left the room, closing the door behind her. Twilight had her eyes squeezed tightly closed, and all that could be heard in the silent room was her small sniffles. “Twily you can open your eyes now - no clowns. It’s all fish; you like fish, right?” Shining encouraged. Twilight slowly opened her eyes and peered around the room before heaving a sigh of relief. “See, nothing to be afraid of Twily!” Shining smiled brightly to his little Sister. Not long after, nurse Redheart came back with an empty file which was meant for Twilight. “Okay, which one of you is Twilight Sparkle?” she asked. Shining gently nudged Twilight, and she raised her hoof. The nurse bent down to her level and smiled. “It’s okay sweetheart, we just need to measure your height and weight because you are new to us. We need some records." Twilight looked back to Shining for confirmation and the eldest boy nodded. Twilight walked forward to where the Mare was standing and was brave enough to have both her height and weight measured. “Okay, that’s good! Well done Twilight, I’ll just go get the doctor,” she said as she walked Twilight back over to where her family was. Twilight started to tense up again, so Shining gave her a reassuring smile. Twilight slowly nodded her head, trying to be brave. nurse Redheart left the room, and five minutes later the doctor arrived. He was a Lamia Pony which Twilight heard about. He was about 20 feet long and had pony hooves and a pony face. He looked friendly, but Twilight was still very unsure. “SSSSSSo Twilight, what seems to be the problem with you today?” the doctor hissed, approaching the young filly. Twilight slowly stepped back closer to her father, seeking comfort. Night Light picked her up and sat her on the examining table. “Nothing to be sssssscared of,” the doctor said as he approached, smiling to ease Twilights fear. The doctor turned to Night Light and asked him for Twilights symptoms. He missed a lot of them, so Shining interrupted where he could, telling him how Twilight was feeling. Doctor Mesme grabbed two test kits from one of the many drawers in the room. “Okay, first things first, I need to put thissssss cotton swab in your mouth and just rub it around; is that okay, Twilight?” Twilight leaned as far back as she could, trying to get away from the doctor. Night Light tried to hold her in place but Twilight turned her head. “Okay, I have to do one on SSSSShining too," Doctor Mesme informed them. "Since you have been in clossssse contact with each other, it's possible you caught what she has." Shining walked forward and jumped up next to Twilight, holding her tiny hooves in his larger one. “How about I go first, Twily, and show you everything is going to be okay. And then it is your turn, and if you get scared, you can hold my hoof,” he suggested. Twilight nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks. She watched the doctor carefully, and searched her brother's face for any signs of pain. When it was her turn, she sat as still as possible. She was coughing and getting agitated, but Shining held her hoof tighter, and it was over before she knew it. nurse Redheart came back shortly after to take away the tests. “We should get the results of those in a few minutes; our clinic does rapid testing as we know a lot of people move through town quickly or on business and don’t have time to come back for results," she explained. Doctor Mesme returned to the younger filly with Shining remaining next to her. He checked Twilights temperature, which was quite high; Twilight was covered in a light sweat. Next was blood pressure. Twilight didn’t like that, and once again Shining offered to go first, but Twilight wanted to be brave and try it for herself. doctor Mesme slipped on the small cuff and began squeezing the pump. Twilight started to squirm. “Shinyyyyyyyy, it’s too tight,” she whined, beginning to sniff again. Shining soothed Twilight the best he could without getting in the way, trying to keep her still. “Twily, it’s okay, it will be over soon - but you gotta stay still, otherwise the doctor will have to do it again. Can you be really still, like when we play musical statues?” Twilight sat as still and quiet as possible and the doctor was able to get a measurement. She smiled at Shining, admiring how such a young colt was so wise and so good for his younger sister. Doctor Mesme continued on with his exam reaching for the stethoscope hanging over his shoulder. Shining could hear Twilights breath hitch. Her hooves squeezed her older brother's tightly as the doctor approached the exam table, stethoscope in his snake tail. "Do you know what this is, Twilight?" the doctor asked. The little filly nodded. "It'ssssss my stethoscope, and it helps me hear your heart and lungs. The sounds tell me if everything is working inside you." The doctor put the ear pieces in his ears. "May I ussssse it on you, Twilight?" The young filly shook her head vigorously and sniffled again. "Make him go away, Shiny," she whined quietly to her brother. "Twily..." Night Light said from across the room. "You gotta cooperate!" "It's okay Twily, you know it doesn't hurt, and it will be over quickly," Shining encouraged. "May I?" Doctor Mesme asked again. The little filly didn't respond, so he carefully brought the stethoscope to her chest. Twilight jumped. "It's coooold!" she yelled. Doctor Mesme withdrew his hoof apologetically. "Let'ssssss warm it up for you, alright? Can you hold out your hoof for me?" Twilight refused. "I'll make it warm for you, Twily," Shining volunteered, holding out his free hoof for the chest piece. He rubbed around the cool metal for a minute until it felt less like an ice cube. "Okay, it's better now," he assured his younger sister. "Very good, let'sssss try again," doctor Mesme suggested. He put the stethoscope back on Twilights chest and listened to her heart, moving the device around to hear all the different sounds. The little fillys heart beat quickly, but was otherwise normal. He glanced at the watch for a minute to count the pulse. "Great job, Twilight," the doctor praised. "Now I would like to check your lungssss. Can you take a deep breath in for me?" he asked. Twilight inhaled sharply and began coughing. "Doesssss that hurt?" "A little," she admitted. The stethoscope slid to the other side of her chest. "Deep breath again," doctor Mesme instructed, "and out. Good! Again," he continued listening in several different spots. He removed the stethoscope and slithered to Twilights side. "I'm going to lisssssten on your back now, is that okay?" he asked. His patient seemed calmer now. "When you feel the stethoscope, I want you to take a deep breath each time, like we did before. Can you do that for me, Twilight?" doctor Mesme moved the stethoscope over Twilights back and Twilight took in a deep breath each time, occasionally coughing, causing Shining to wince. Doctor Mesme finished. He gave her a reassuring pat on the back and returned to his desk to write in Twilights file. Nurse Redheart returned with two pieces of paper, handing them to the doctor before leaving. The doctor glanced over the test results and began to speak. “Okay, ssssso the good news is Twilight and Shining are both clear of strep; but the bad news is that Twilight hassssss quite a nasty chest infection." Shinings eyes widened in shock; the doctor noticed before replying, “It’ssssss okay, she just needs lots of rest and to take all of the medicine I am going to give her." This time doctor Mesme turned to Night Light. “She’ll also need to drink plenty of fluidsssss - you can try her on food if she feels up to it." He turned to Shining again. “As long as Shining doesn't have any ssssssymptoms, I’ll write the prescription and you can be on your way. Just make sure Twilight takes all of the medicine and keep an eye on her. If anything changessssss, bring him straight back or straight to a hospital." Shining nodded and hopped down from the exam table before lifting Twilight off and putting her down next to him. Night Light exchanged a few more words with the doctor as the boys looked at the fish painted on the walls. Twilight was pointing out all the fish he knew, impressing Shining. She made up a few names on the spot when she didn’t know what type they were. As soon as Night Light was done, the doctor called Twilight over and put a sticker on her head for being so brave.