Beep... beep... beep...
Noises from electronic monitors sounded throughout the halls of Canterlot Castle's Medical's wing, as a nurse carried a clipboard from her various hourly rounds, making sure things were as orderly as possible.
The past 3 hours were anything but orderly.
Making a slight turn down another hallway, Nurse RedHeart had noted the single guard at the doorway when she flashed her badge showing her clearance to enter a smaller room, where Princess Luna was recovering, but deeply shaken at what happened at the throne room earlier that evening. Redheart had been summoned by the staff from Ponyville Hospital, having gained a reputation for herself in the medical field all way to Canterlot.
"A coffee, Princess?" RedHeart had sat down beside Luna, who was currently staring at the floor, either in a daze or deep in thought, having not noticed the medical pony enter the room.
Redheart had placed the coffee down onto a small side table, and grasped a small blanket and placed it around the Princess's shoulders. As soon as Luna felt the comforting blanket cover her form, her sides started heaving deeply as a panic attack started. Her own eyes were opened wide as she replayed the events from the throne room. All Nurse Redheart could do was place a foreleg over the princess's shoulders as Luna wept openly, and try to reassure Luna everything was going to be ok.
Luna's appearance was frazzled, frenzied, and frantic when she had arrived suddenly in the emergency ward, carrying a frozen stasis bubble containing herself and a male gryphon who was severely wounded. Another two ponies popped into view maybe a second after Luna arrived.
"Doctors, we need help !" Wind Shear had called out, catching the attention of 2 doctors and a nurse in the same hallway. An orderly had also appeared from a side hallway, hearing the commotion.
As Doctors hurried to assist Luna, they couldn't get the Princess away from the downed gryphon. More precisely, the gryphon's throat. After placing the gryphon onto the bed, doctors tried pulling the Princess back, so they could work. But Luna relented, keeping her teeth clamped on the downed gryphon's neck. Blood had streaked thickly against Luna's face and eyes, making her appearance seem almost frightening.
"You BIT a Gryphon Princess?" A doctor pegasus named Wing Mender had almost yelled as he tried moving Luna aside with his wings.
"Nuuu.. Whef drrrnhnng tuu CAAVHH hmm !" Luna sideways glared at the Doc, lips drawn back from her teeth.
"She bit the gryphon's neck to Stop him from bleeding Out !" Wind Shear clarified sharply as he pointed to the artery wound "She clamped the artery shut with her teeth, then she bubbled the gryphon directly here !"
As soon as the realization hit, the staff sprang into action, making certain the gryphon's wound was then stabilized with magic, and not the Princess' teeth. Luna had turned just as a nurse started washing the blood from Luna's face, neck, and hair, just as another nurse started cleaning the mess from the gryphon.
"Ok Princess, I think we can take over now." One of the orderlies had started leading Luna out of the emergency room as the doctors started working. "If you would kindly wait until we get the patient stabilized, I will let you know how things go." Looking over to Wind Sheer, the orderly gave a nod. "Sir, be sure the Princess knows that was some very quick thinking, and may have saved their life."
Wind Shear then led Luna to a room slightly down the hall, where she could recover. "I will just be outside the doorway your majesty. Do you need anything?"
Luna just shook her head weakly.
Wind Shear simply nodded and assumed his post.
Before Princess Luna knew it, a coffee mug had appeared beneath her nose, and a voice was strangely attached to it. "Coffee, Princess?"
Luna had blinked owlishly and replied. "Hmmm, a coffee mug with a princess' title? We wonder if there is an cup of tea that our sister can befriend as well? Strangely, Equestria seems to hand out Princess titles to any that asks these days." Luna had hiccupped as she grasped the offered cup in her magics. "So tell us Princess Mugs-of-Coffee, are thee unnerved in the grasp of a monster, that monster that can burn foals from the moonlight alone?" She had sipped the heated bean flavoured liquid, and made a slight face. "Not a bad taste really, but we are vastly thankfull for 'some' coffee finally this night."
Nurse Redheart was suprised at Luna's response. With a side smile, Redheart replied. "Actually Princess, you can admit it, the coffee tastes like somepony dregged it from the bottom of the bog in Everfree Forest. I'd acutally love to try some of your coffee mixes some night, if possible."
"What is thou name, kind nurse that brings us coffee? We like thee wit... ? It's fun to laugh with somepony sometimes." Luna had finally looked up at Redheart, her eyes were tear stained, puffy, and red from crying nearly non-stop since her arrival.
"It's RedHeart, Princess. And I'm happy to meet you finally." Nurse Redheart had bowed her head low. "And a small comment Princess, I love having my coffee breaks during my night shifts at Ponyville Hospital or when im at home late in the evening. I'd even just lounge outside my bedroom window some nights when the moon is high. I find your evenings quietly beautiful."
"Oh you are humouring us, Nurse Redheart, bringer of lowly princess' much needed mugs of coffee." Luna had smiled with a tired giggle. "Tell us, which part of the night sky is your favorite, besides the moon?"
"Oh that's easy, I have a liking for Geminus, the twin ponies." Redheart had nodded as she took a sip of her own coffee. "My mother is a twin to her sister. And if I can speak openly Princess, after you returned and you started raising the moon, I feel the night sky with the constellations are more... ahhm... complete? Princess Celestia did do a good job, but the patterns I see in the stars seemed rushed. I know it's a small point, but... don't tell Celestia? I don't want to insult you or her work in the very least."
After a few minutes of silence, Redheart brought up another point Luna had said earlier. "Princess, you had called yourself a monster earlier, but in chatting with you, I can safely assume that is not the case. In my treatment of ponies, I had met some mean, nasty, and quite foalish ones. But you Princess, are none of those traits. You bring a sense of honour to the crown as far as I'm concerned."
Luna had kept looking into the mug, the coffee level near the bottom. However it did reflect the face of the deeply troubled mare that held it's cup. "Kindly tell that to the gryphon if he survives. He was so completely frightened, what would possess such as one to seek absolute end to their precious life?"
A knock on the doorway had announced the Doctor's arrival, carrying some notes, and a sizable box on his back. Wing Mender had pulled back the cloth mask from his muzzle as he entered the room. "Princess Luna, Doctor Redheart, the gryphon has survived despite their heart stopping twice on the table. The neck artery had been repaired magically and you Princess, your quick thinking had indeed saved their life. The right arm was quite a bad break though, and may require further treatment and therapy for full use again."
"Doctor Redheart, I thought you were a nurse?" Luna looked to her companion questioningly, where Redheart did nod accordingly. "I actually am certified as a Doctor, but I prefer the title of Nurse. It seems a lot of ponies get lofty thinking of themselves after getting their Doctorate in medicine. No offense Doctor Wing Mender of course."
Wing Mender had then slid the box off his back and placed it down onto the floor. Inside it were the length of chain and the collar that was fitted to the neck and wrists of the gryphon. "However, two things are now in question, we don't know 'who' the gryphon is, but we may know where the gryphon is from, and it's not from the Gryphon Empire. However they resided here in Equestria. These chain receivers on the wrists and the neck are from the EMMRS Institute. Equestrian Mental and Medical Research and Science Institute."
Princess Luna looked up, and nodded slowly. "Oh thank you for saving their life. Please be sure to share the information of the EMMRS to me or my court scribe Quill Feather. Also, make a full list of the medical costs to myself, as there is a party that will be held responsible for the gryphon's injuries. We will pay for the medical care, so you need not worry about the cost. Just be certain the gryphon recovers as well as they can."
"No need to doubt that, your majesty." Wing Mender had given the charts to Nurse Redheart. "He will be in the best of care. Just allow him to rest for the next day after the anesthesia wears off. Should be 24-48 hours before he wakes."
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