//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 - Lullaby 
// Story: Every Half is a Whole 
// by LCranston 
//------------------------------//

	Hours later, back in Ponyville, most of the parents had taken their foals home to sleep.  Dr. Hooves had confirmed that the disease was in remission, so there was nothing else the hospital could do at the moment.  Extra doses of the medicine from Canterlot were dispensed and check-up appointments were scheduled.
It was after midnight that perhaps the most unusual of sights in Ponyville had ever happened.
The doors to the entrance room of the hospital burst open.  The doors swung open and slammed hard enough into the walls to leave dents in the wall.  But that action paled in comparison to what happened next.
Princess Celestia strode forth into the entrance room powerfully, shouting forcefully in the old-fashioned royal voice.
“EMERGENCY!  TWO MARES ARE DYING AND NEED SURGERY RIGHT NOW!  DOCTOR HOOVES, WAKE UP!”
Suddenly, everypony not only in the hospital but throughout Ponyville woke up and began wondering what was happening.
Nurse Tenderheart woke up from her station halfway down the hall.  She galloped into the entrance room of the hospital and demanded, “What happened?!”
The royal alicorn softened her voice and listed facts.  
“Twilight Sparkle has a broken neck.  She’s delicate and unresponsive, as well as out of strength.  Trixie has been impaled completely through the chest and heart.  She’s bleeding fast and should be seen first.  I have surgeons who are on their way and will assist.  Where is Doctor Hooves?”
The stallion in question trotted sleepily from his office and stumbled into an operating room.  He called over his shoulder, “I’m here!  I’m here!  Nurse, where’s the soap?”
Nurse Tenderheart rolled her eyes and said, “Send Twilight Sparkle to Operating Room Two with one of your surgeons.  I’ll rouse Nurse Strongheart to assist.  Send Trixie to Operating Room One with the other surgeon.  I’ll be there.”
Celestia nodded her understanding and stood near the doors to direct the flow of expected traffic.  She heard an unreassuring sound from down the hall.
“Doctor, that’s the soap, not the coffee!  WAKE UP!”
The sound of slapping was heard.
“Huh?  What?  Nurse!”
“Doctor, wake up!  You’ve got lifesaving surgery to perform right now!”
“Of course!  I’m awake, nurse.  Thank you…Where am I?”
Suddenly, a low-flying squadron of Royal Guard Pegasi came in for a smooth landing while carrying two gurneys.  Their training afforded them the ability to land as softly as a feather when demanded.
Celestia pointed with her wing to the hallway and barked in military fashion, “Trixie first!  Take her to Operating Room One with Dr. Hooves!  Doctor Sharpeye, you will assist!”
Four white pegasi, clad only in cloth uniforms as they deferred to their previous injuries, carried the gurney to the operating room.  
A white unicorn stallion followed, saying, “Yes, Your Majesty!”
The white alicorn then ordered, “Twilight shall go to Operating Room Two.  Doctor Healtouch, you will perform the procedure!”
Another four white pegasi carried the second gurney to the designated operating room.  
A brown unicorn mare following, saying, “I’m on it!”
After seeing the ponies disappear into the operating rooms, the silence filled the hospital.  Princess Celestia then realized that she could no longer do anything to help tip the scales in anyone’s favor.
She sat down heavily upon the floor, not caring that there were chairs to sit in.  Celestia always prided herself on her self control.  Never in a thousand years had she lost her perfect control over her body.  Even if her mane would flap in anger, she allowed it to.  But now, she released a clear sign of her anxiety for anypony to see.
She began to cry.
Suddenly, she felt her mane being gently tugged.  Opening her eyes, she saw a little earth pony filly in a hospital smock looking up at her with a miserable expression.
The ruler of Equestria wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke, “Yes?”
The filly grabbed a hold of Celestia’s leg in a powerful hug and she whimpered, “I don’t want her to die.”
Celestia wrapped her wings around the filly and gave a gentle squeeze.  She replied, “Neither do I.”
The filly asked, “She’s my friend.  Is she your friend, too?”
The white alicorn nodded her head and replied, “Mmm-hmm.”
The filly sobbed, then pleaded, “You won’t let Trixie die, will you?”
Taken off-guard, Celestia asked, “Trixie?  Is she your friend?  What’s your name?”
The filly nodded vigorously and said, “Rainbow Sprinkles, ma’am.  Trixie’s the nicest pony that ever lived.  She rescued my cousin from being lost forever.  She’s gotta live!”
Princess Celestia decided that if this little filly could open her heart to Trixie, then a royal alicorn could also.
She declared, “I will do everything in my power to make it so.  However, now we have to let the doctors do their work.  That’s their best chance for their survival.”
Another powerful, serene voice spoke, “I think that is wise advice.  Perhaps my sister should heed these words.”
The filly looked up to see a tall, dark alicorn standing behind Celestia.  She gasped in surprise.
Celestia turned to her sister and stated for the filly’s benefit, “I am so glad to see you here, my beloved sister Luna.”
Princess Luna smiled and said, “I could not stay away when you are so hurt.”  She then glanced at the fearful filly.  She hoped she would not have to explain the end of Nightmare Moon all over again.
Rainbow Sprinkles waved her hoof at the Princess of the Night.
Luna waved her wing back comically, causing Rainbow Sprinkles to giggle with delight.
The sound of galloping announced the arrival of Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie into the hospital.
One look at the hospital doors and the farm pony exclaimed, “Tarnation, what happened here?  Another attack?”
Mirthfully, Princess Luna said simply, “My sister is quite frazzled over the fate of her favorite student.  It seems she is stronger than we give her credit for whenever her heart beats.”
Princess Celestia turned her face away to save any shred of dignity she could.  She said, “That’s quite enough.  I shall have the doors repaired.  Currently, Twilight Sparkle and Trixie are in surgery.  There is no more we can do except to wait.”
Rainbow Dash nervously trotted in a circle over and saying, “Twilight will pull through.  Yeah, that’s it.  No way she’d ever die from a simple broken neck.  No sir, Twilight won’t die.  No chance.”
Rarity primped her mane into a frazzled mess while saying, “I have full confidence in her ability to heal.  I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.”
Fluttershy just tried to curl up into ball and whimper incoherently.
Pinkie Pie put her hoof around the miserable pegasus and tried to soothe her.  “Twilight’s not gonna die.  We’re the Elements of Harmony.  If one of us died then we’d the Elements of Messed-Up.  Since messed-up elements don’t save the world, she can’t die.”
The shy, yellow pegasus replied sadly, “I wish we were the Elements of Healing.”
Applejack thought long and hard about the situation.  She summed up her strengths and weaknesses.  She thought about the desired end result and the obstacles in her way.  She mapped out every possibility of how to get from the start to the finish and listed all of the required items to have to get there.  She compared that list against what they all had to share.  The resulting answered was repeated out loud for the benefit for all.
“Oh horsefeathers, I don’t know what else to do.”
Nurse Tenderheart came out breathless, asking, “Is there anypony here with type-A-negative blood?!”
Applejack piped up, “Yes, ma’am!  What’s wrong?”
The nurse pony took a breath and explained, “Just like we feared, both mares have lost too much blood.  We need instant transfusions or they may die.  I need type-A-negative and type-O-negative.”
The farm pony trotted down the hall, saying, “Rarity, get yer tail moving!  Twilight needs us!”
The fashion pony stood up and followed, “Eeewww!  Somepony please blindfold me when you take it!  But, yes, take as much as you need for Twilight!”
Nurse Tenderheart looked a little relieved and asked, “How about you others?”
Fluttershy replied, “Um, I’m B-positive.”
Rainbow Dash sulked and said, “B-negative.”
Pinkie Pie stated, “Same.”
The nurse pony looked up with hope at Princess Luna, who replied, “I am sorry, but my blood is not suitable.”
Rainbow Sprinkles shouted, “You hafta!  Trixie might die if you don’t!”
Princess Luna explained, “My blood type is AB-positive.  Trixie cannot receive my blood.”
Rainbow Sprinkles buried her face in Celestia’s chest and cried hard.  Nurse Tenderheart looked crestfallen and began to meet up with Applejack and Rarity.
The dark-coated alicorn princess pointed out, “However, my sister is opposite to me in more ways than just our duties.”
Celestia smiled gratefully and stood up regally.  She declared, “I have type O-negative.  I can give blood to both mares.  Also, my special nature allows you to take more blood from me than you normally are capable.  First, give to Trixie and then share with Twilight after you run out of any other blood.”

=====================

She opened her eyes slowly.  She heard the strangest sound over and over.  It reminded her of wind moaning through a tunnel in a mountain that she had visited.
As her eyes adjusted, she wondered why she was not in her cave.
The cave!  The crystal!  Discord!
She tried to sit up, but there was a heavy weight on her chest.  Her ears focused on the sound and sounded like weird breathing.
Turning her head left and right, she felt a strange mask upon her face.  Suddenly, it made sense.  She was breathing into a machine!
She began to panic, she tried to wrestle around and free herself.
Suddenly, a tiny voice called out, “NO!  Auntie Trixie, you’ve got to rest!”
Her brain locked up.  Why would anyone call her ‘auntie’?
The voice persisted, “You’re safe now!  Auntie Celestia made you all better again!  You’ve got to get better.”
She looked over to her left slowly to see a familiar face.
She greeted, “Hello, Rainbow Sprinkles.  Where am I?”
The filly smiled widely at the sound of her name.  She reached up and hugged Trixie gently, sobbing softly into the bedsheets.
Trixie absently ran her hoof through Rainbow Sprinkles’ mane and asked, “What’s this about ‘Auntie Celestia’?”
Rainbow Sprinkles said excitedly, “She was here last night and gave you some of her blood.  I told her to save you and she did.  Yay!”
Trixie’s face fell in surprise.  She tried to speak but nothing understandable came out.
The filly kept talking, “Princess Luna was here and all of Twilight’s friends.  They gave her their blood and Auntie Celestia gave you her blood and everybody was saved!  Then Pinkie Pie came back with cupcakes for everybody and we threw cupcakes at each other and Princess Luna cheated.  She conjured up shadow cupcakes and splattered everybody.  Mom said I’ve never been so messy in all my life!  I just had a bath.  How are you feeling?”
The blue unicorn asked fearfully, “How’s Twilight?  She saved my life.”
The filly’s smile persisted, even though she had some sadness creep through.  “Dr. Hooves said it’s going to be a while before she can walk again.  She lost a lot of spine-stuff on the way over here.  Still, she’ll be all better eventually.”
Trixie miserably said, “I saw it.  I saw Discord break Twilight’s neck.  She was telling me how to beat Discord and he broke her neck for it.”  Tears began dripping down her face on both sides.  “I was so scared.  I’ve never been closer to anypony than Twilight, except my mother.  Somehow, when I was dying, she gave her last bit of life to me to make sure I survived.  I don’t deserve it!”
Rainbow Sprinkles argued, “Yes, you do!  If Twilight wants you to live, then you need to live!  I want you to live, too!”
The blue unicorn looked shocked and asked, “You?  Why do you want me to live?”
The filly insisted, “I wanna see you do more magic!  You’re awesome!  You’re the best magic-mare in all Equestria!  Get better so you can do magic, okay?!”  
Rainbow Sprinkles began hopping up and down enthusiastically.
Trixie’s heart melted at the display.  She reached out to pat the little filly on the head and acquiesced, “Okay, kid.  If you say so.”
A masculine voice sounded from the doorway, “Words to live by, Miss Trixie.”
The mare and the filly looked over to see Dr. Hooves looking in on them.  He was writing on a clipboard.
He stated, “Well, the good news is that you’re going to survive.”
Trixie fearfully asked, “What’s the bad news?”
Dr. Hooves stated authoritatively, “Your heart was permanently damaged.  We had to put in a mechanical plug fixed to a chestplate fused to your ribs to keep you alive.  I’m afraid that you have more mechanical parts to show the world.  You can get rid of the breathing mask in a day or two.”
Trixie looked under her bedsheet to see the chestplate in the center of her chest, right where she was impaled.  Her face fell to an expression described as ‘nonplussed’.
She said, “Oh.  Well, at least it matches my face.”
Dr. Hooves added carefully, “Seeing that the royal family has deemed that your injuries were in the act of saving all of Ponyville from annihilation, your bill is paid in full.  However, I’m under the impression that you need a place to stay.”
Trixie’s face screwed up in anger.  How dare this stranger talk about her situation?  In front of her number one fan?
Dr. Hooves had seen that facial expression before.  He slid one hoof out of the door, ready to run away.
Suddenly, an image of the green crystal flashed in Trixie’s mind.  She let go of the familiar, bad feeling.
She answered, “Yes, Doc.  I’m homeless.  What of it?”
Dr. Hooves stepped into the room, relived at the change of heart.  He offered, “Well, Twilight Sparkle has vouched for your, ahem, excuse the expression…’change of heart’.  She told me about that trick you did for little Rainbow Sprinkles here.  I was thinking of offering you a part-time job here at the hospital.”
Trixie arched an eyebrow inquisitively.  She inquired, “What kind of job?”
Dr. Hooves described, “Part-time entertainer.  I’d like you to go around and do your magic tricks for patients who need cheering up.  You’d have to memorize the hospital schedule to know when a good time to perform your act is.  Your pay will be room and board.  You’ll have three meals a day in the cafeteria and a private room to sleep in.  If you want, it will leave half the day open if you want another part-time job elsewhere for money.  What do you think?”
Rainbow Sprinkles begged, “Do it!  Do it!  Do it!”
Trixie smiled and tousled the filly’s mane.  She playfully asked, “What will I do once you’re gone and back home?”
The filly shouted, “I’ll visit you every day and you’ll make everybody so happy and you gotta do it!”
The blue unicorn said, “Okay, I’ll do it.  Somebody’s gotta keep the frogs in check.”  She discreetly charged her horn with a small amount of energy and projected it outwards.
A frog hopped out from under the bed, croaked, and hopped into the hallway.
Rainbow Sprinkles’s eye lit up in delight.  She chased the creature, calling out, “Froggie!”
Dr. Hooves’s jaw swung open freely at the sight.  How could a frog get inside the hospital?
He looked at Trixie, who had a big smile of her face.  He said rhetorically, “What have I done?”
Trixie smiled wickedly at the doctor and said, “You hired the best.  Now I gotta work up my routine for the next couple of weeks.”
The doctor left, saying, “Just don’t stress yourself too hard.  You need rest to avoid stressing your heart.”
As the doctor left, a tall stallion peeked inside the room.
He asked, “Rainbow Sprinkles?  Are you in here?”  He saw Trixie in the bed, hooked up to a breathing machine.
Trixie’s eyes lit up in recognition.  The brown coat, the dark brown mane, the eyes!  She smiled widely in rememberance.
He asked her, “Have you seen a little filly?  White with a red and orange mane?”
Trixie sighed, “Yeah.”  After a moment, she realized that was a question.  She added, “Oh!  Uh, c’mon in.  She’ll be right back after the illusionary frog disappears.”
The stallion came into the room.  His flank symbol was a large chunk of chocolate fudge.
Trixie decided that heaven could indeed be sometimes on the earth.
He said, “I remember you.  You’re the mare that fought the manticore.  I heard you cured the disease in town.”
The blue unicorn drowned in his rich, brown eyes and said, “Uh-huh.”
He introduced himself, “My name is Fudge Square, but my friends call me Brownie.”
Trixie mused, “I suddenly want marshmallows.”
Brownie asked, “Huh?”
Flushing with embarrassment, she tried to salve her dignity, “I mean, when I get out of the hospital, you want to get some dessert some time?”
The dark brown stallion asked suspiciously, “Aren’t you the mare that attacked Twilight Sparkle outside of the library?”
Her face fell in shame, but she confidently said, “Yes, that was me.  I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to scare you.  Twilight and I were having an argument and I thought she was attacking me.  That was my fault.  I shouldn’t have done that.”  She pleaded with glassy, wet eyes, “Please don’t be afraid of me.  I really like you.”
The stallion smiled a little and said, “Well, maybe.  We’ll see when you recover.  If Rainbow Sprinkles likes you, then you must not be all bad.  She’s my little sister, you see.”
Trixie’s mind went into overdrive.  It started with the idea that she should name a magic trick after his sister.  All’s fair.

=====================

A few minutes later, in another wing of the hospital, Dr. Hooves entered a room that held all of the Elements of Harmony, as well as one baby dragon.
Twilight Sparkle was still wrapped in a thick neck brace in her bed.  The rest were standing around, waiting for the doctor.
He reported, “She accepted.  It’ll be a week before she has the strength to do it regularly, but I think with bed rest, she’ll recover.”
Twilight smiled gently and said, “That’s good.  She really needs this, doctor.  I messed her up more than she needed, so this will make up for it.  Please don’t tell her it was my idea.”
The doctor said mysteriously, “I think she’s changed her opinion of you a little bit.  Once you’re able to get up, you should ask her.”
Pinkie Pie said, “Yes!  Now we just gotta plan Twilight’s welcome back bash and get all the stallions to line up and smooth her one right after another!”
Twilight panicked in her bed, “WHAT?!”
The other chuckled at the reaction.  Applejack and Rainbow Dash high-hoofed each other.
The purple unicorn groused, “What are you all laughing about?  She’ll do it!”
Rarity suggested, “Pinkie, dear, don’t you have more pressing matters to plan?  Like Trixie’s recovery party?”
The pink pony waved a hoof and said, “Oh, I planned that last night when we had the cupcake fight.  I just need to stock up on marshmallow icing.”
Fluttershy mentioned, “I think it’s nice that Trixie has a job helping ponies.  That’ll really do wonders for her self-esteem.”
Rainbow Dash harrumphed, “Pfft.  I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Twilight said, “That reminds me.  Spike, take a letter.”
The baby dragon produced a quill and scroll.  He said, “Okay, shoot.”
Twilight dictated:
“Dearest Princess Celestia,

It’s only been a few hours since I woke up from the operation.  However, I couldn’t sleep without knowing if Trixie was okay.  Dr. Hooves has said that he had to reinforce my neck bones with metal plates to keep them strong enough to not break under their own weight.  Seems like Trixie and I will share something else after all.”

I think I finally learned what it is like to be a real teacher.  You sacrifice so much for your student because you want them to succeed, even if it means you might not.

I was awake for pretty much the whole fight, regardless of what the others might have thought.  When I saw Trixie try to smash the crystal to weaken Discord, I was so proud of her.  She could have sided with him and kept all of her power, but instead she gave it all up to save the foals of Ponyville.

But when I saw Trixie get impaled through the chest, I…I…”
Twilight began sobbing.  The others each placed a hoof on her back to give her support.  She continued:
“I felt torn apart inside.  I blamed myself for not preparing her to anticipate magical ice sheets.  I know it sounds crazy, but I blamed myself for any of her failures.  I just knew that I had to make sure she survived.  I transferred as much of my life energy to her as I could, even if it killed me.  

I also understand how you didn’t want me to take an apprentice just yet.  I think I would like some lessons on how to teach.  I should finish her training eventually.  I think she’s putting down roots here and maybe magic school is not right for her right now.

By the way, I learned that you gave blood to both of us to save our lives on the operating table.  Words cannot express how grateful I am you gave for both of us.  The gift of life is surely one of the most precious gifts there is.

I’ve never said this to you, but even since you took me under your wing, you’ve been like a second mother to me.  You’ve always been there to support me when I struggled and catch me when I fell.  Don’t be surprised if I start calling you ‘Auntie Celestia’ like Rainbow Sprinkles does.  After all, now we share blood like family, hee hee.

As for Discord, I think we really wounded him.  You should have seen Rainbow Dash combine the Elements of Harmony into her body and completely kick his ass!”
The group gasped.
Applejack stated, “Twi, I’ve never heard you use any kind of strong language!”
The purple unicorn proudly stated, “I’ve also learned that life is too short to be too polite.”  She smiled widely.
Pinkie Pie smiled devilishly and declared, “Great!  Now me and Rainbow Dash can teach you how to really swear!”
Rarity swatted the pink pony with her tail and said, “Oh, no you don’t!  Twilight is a lady!  The shock of the attack just confused her.”
Rainbow Dash and Twilight shared a wink.
Twilight finished the letter:
“I think Discord went back to his statue.  I think maybe that hunk of rock in more of a base of operations rather than a prison.  Maybe you should investigate sending him to an alternate dimension, assuming that he couldn’t just teleport back.

Finally, I think maybe I need to ask a favor, once I’m well again.  Write to me later about it.

Your faithful student, 
Twilight Sparkle.”

=====================

Two weeks later, in front of the hospital, a royal procession had halted.  The fully-healed Royal Guard escorted Princess Celestia to a speaking platform constructed for such an occasion.  Their bronze plate armor gleamed in the sun.  They had been repaired and polished to perfection.
All of Ponyville had turned out to hear the proclamation.  In places of honor surrounding the white alicorn were Princess Luna, the Elements of Harmony, Trixie, and Dr. Hooves.
The Princess of Daylight addressed the crowd, “Citizens of Ponyville!  We are here to commemorate the heroism of these noble souls before you.  The foul menace of Discord had escaped from his stone prison again and then tricked a destitute mare that all of us had misjudged.”  
The crowd looked away sheepishly, not wanting to admit its mistakes.
“Our own callousness had driven her to desperate measures just to survive.  Discord had taken advantage of this to trick her into helping him unleash a foul plague from over a thousand years ago.  This was his plan for a long time.  He did not succeed!”
The crowd cheered wildly.  Previously sick colts and fillies jumped and shouted, tumbling on the ground with health and vigor.
“Today we thank the Elements of Harmony for their continued efforts to save Equestria from enslavement and annihilation.  But today we especially thank a mare who has endured more hardship than we might care to think about.  Starvation, thirst, homelessness, unfair judgment, and even betrayal.  Through it all, she kept her sense of self-respect and mercy towards those who would call themselves her enemies.  I speak of The Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Stallions and mares all stomped their hooves loudly in honor of Trixie, who was finally exonerated.  Fillies and colts flooded the stage to take turns hugging her with reckless abandon.
When Celestia looked over to Trixie, the blue unicorn knew she was expected to make a speech.
She stood up in front and opened her mouth.  However, her brain locked up.  She was so flooded with emotion that she couldn’t speak.
At length, she said, “I don’t know what to say.”
Pinkie Pie teased, “There’s a first!”
Everypony laughed heartily at that.
Brownie came up next to his marefriend and leaned up against her.  He placed his foreleg around her foreleg and kissed her neck. 
Trixie blushed furiously at the attention, but she liked it.
Rainbow Sprinkles raced up to hug Trixie’s foreleg, laughing with delight.


THE END