Celestia's Sick Day

by Smithawits

Nights Are Darkest...

Luna walked into Celestia’s room with Shining Armor following close behind. Celestia lay in her bed under some blankets trying to sleep; the only part of her body that showed was her head which lay on several pillows. Luna tried making her way to her sister’s bedside but was stopped by Shining.

“Princess Luna,” Shining whispered, “I would be careful getting too close.”

“Why?” Luna whispered back, “What’s wrong?”

“She is very sick with a rare virus,” a voice quietly said around the corner. Luna soon discovered the origin of the voice as Nurse Redheart walked around the corner, holding a bottle of medicine in her hoof.

“A virus? What virus?” Luna asked.

“Right now, we are calling it the 4N4S virus.” Nurse Redheart set the medicine down on the counter, took out a syringe from her first aid case and walked to Luna, who was looking at her sister. “Please hold still.”

“What do you-ow!” Luna looked down at the syringe in her left foreleg held firm by Nurse Redheart’s hoof. “What’s this?”

“I’m giving you some medicine that should make you immune to 4N4S, at least temporarily.”

“Well, if you can do this, you should be able to heal Tia right?”

Nurse Redheart emptied the contents of the syringe into Luna’s bloodstream, took it out, and quickly covered up the wound. “I’m sorry,” Nurse Redheart continued, “But the only thing I can do is to make her as comfortable as I can. Once the 4N4S virus has fully infected its host, it cannot be cured. It has to run its course until it goes away.”

“Well, what about magic? Can’t she, I don’t know, banish it or something?”

“Normally yes, magic does work against viruses and bacteria, however this virus is so strong, it has affected her magic. She can barely do the simple task of levitating an item. Besides, 4N4S is a special virus, the only thing magic will be able to do is delay it, even if it’s still weak.

“You say that as if this has happened before,” Luna said.

“That’s because this has happened before. Sometimes, not very often, a pony will get infected with 4N4S; it completely drains its victims of their energy and strength. It is extremely hard to detect because, at first, it doesn't really have any symptoms, other than minor things like a cough or a sneeze. Somehow, it can infect the entire body unnoticed, and then, once it has reached full strength, it strikes relentlessly.”

“At full effect, its symptoms are exactly like the common flu: with nausea, vomiting, headaches, and lack of strength. We’ve tried many times to magically cure it, but in a few months, the virus comes back usually stronger than before. If that happens, and if the victims are not medically treated right away, there is a very high chance of the victim dying.”

Luna looked at Celestia, who was shivering even though she was laying under several heavy blankets. Her hair wasn’t waving as it usually was, but instead was messily spread out on her bed; some of her hair was drenched with sweat and plastered to her forehead. Her face was extremely pale, almost like a ghost, as if something had sucked out all of her color. Luna started to get scared at the grim sight. Seeing her sister like this was almost too much for her.

“No, this isn’t right,” Luna thought, “Celestia is the strong one; the one who never gets sick or lets anything set her back. She’s supposed to overcome anything. It’s not fair. Why did this have to happen to her? What’s going to happen to her? Is she going to die? No, no, no, no, no; that can’t happen. What is Equestria going to do if we lose her? What am I going to do if I lose her?” Luna felt tears start to fill her eyes.

“Is…is she going to be ok?” Luna asked, finally finding her shaky voice.

“Yes, I have given her some herbal medicine and it has helped. I will stay here and do what I can; however, she will still need to stay in bed for at least another twenty-four hours.”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked at Nurse Redheart, “Twenty-four hours? But-but she has her duties to perform tomorrow.”

“That’s why Celestia wanted to see you,” Shining Armor said. “She has something she needs you to do. We will leave you two alone.” Shining and Nurse Readheart walked out of the room and shut the door behind them.

Luna suddenly felt very nervous as she walked towards her sister’s bedside. As she approached, Celestia violently coughed and slowly opened her heavy eyes.

When Celestia saw her younger sister, her eyes instantly brightened with joy and she slowly lifted her head up.

“H-hello Luna,” Celestia said with a weak smile.

“Hello sister,” Luna said with a teardrop making its way down her cheek.

“Now don’t-” Celestia swallowed a lump in her throat “-don’t worry about me dear sister. Thanks to the nurse, I will be fine.”

“I know you will be; you always will be in the end.” Luna finally smiled.

“Luna, I’m sorry if I took you away from anything important-”

“It was nothing Tia,” Luna interrupted, “you are more important than anything I could’ve been doing.”

“Thank you Luna, but let me guess-” Celestia cleared her throat “-you were playing Haylo right?”

Luna blushed, “How did you know?”

Celestia laid her head back onto her pillows and closed her eyes, “there have been several times when you’ve walked out of your game room with a certain gleam in your eyes-” Celestia cleared her throat again “-and whenever I peeked into your game room, it was always Haylo on the screen.” Celestia opened her eyes slightly and looked at Luna, “You have that same gleam in your eye right now.”

Luna looked at her sister with amazement, “I've always been impressed on how observant you are.”

Celestia smiled and closed her eyes again. There was several seconds of silence before Luna spoke.

“Um…Tia, Shining Armor said you have something you need me to do?”

“Yes-” Celestia swallowed another lump “-Luna, because of this illness, I won’t be able to perform any of my duties as princess tomorrow.”

“O-okay…” Luna said, nervous about where this conversation was going.

“I need somepony to take my place for tomorrow.”

Luna’s heart began to beat faster.

Celestia opened her eyes as much as she could and looked at her younger sister. “I need you to rule in my place tomorrow.”

Luna took a few steps back and stared at her sister, wide-eyed and mouth agape. Several seconds passed before Luna could find any words to speak. “Tia…I…you…this…” Luna shook her head to try to regain her composure. “Sister, I…I can’t. Surely there is somepony else who can take your place. What about Princess Cadence?”

“Princess Cadence is away in her hometown. She’s not due back for a few more days.”

Luna looked at Celestia with a terrified expression on her face. “W-well, w-what about Twilight Sparkle, can’t she do it? She’s your student after all.”

Celestia gave her sister a stern look, “you know she’s not ready for that yet. Maybe someday, but not right now.”

“B-but...but…but I…” Luna’s jaw was trembling, “S-s-s-sister, really…I-I-know you think I can, but-but-but I’ve been gone 1,000 years and-”

“About that,” Celestia interrupted, “you know, while you were gone, I had to raise the moon as well as the sun. It wasn’t easy at first, but I eventually got the hang of it.”

“Yeah but you had years to learn and adapt; I only have a few hours to learn what to do!”

“Don’t worry; I am going to have Shining Armor shadow you all day. He knows a good deal about what I do, so he will be able to help you if you have questions.”

“But what if somepony decides to attack Canterlot?”

“Shining Armor has all of the guards working on overtime until this whole thing blows over. Right now, Canterlot is on a silent ‘Red Alert.’

“Silent?” Luna asked.

“Yes, we-” Celestia cleared her throat “-we need to keep this whole thing as quiet as we can; the more ponies who know what’s happening, the more likely panic will spread throughout Canterlot; and the more likely a villain might hear and get the idea to strike. Right now, only the guards, Shining Armor, Nurse Redheart, and a few ponies who will meet tomorrow, know about what is going on.”

“I…I just don’t know Tia…”

“Luna, look at me,” Celestia’s expression dramatically changed. “I know you have what it takes to lead. I wouldn’t have asked you to do this if I didn’t think you could.”

Luna felt a chill creep down her spine as she looked into her sister’s eyes. They seemed to be unaffected by this illness. They were filled with so much power and love; it always terrified Luna, but also comforted her at the same time. After a few seconds, Luna sighed and looked at the floor.

“Alright Tia, I…I will do as you ask.” Celestia breathed a sigh of relief and laid her head back on her pillows.

“You should get some sleep,” Celestia suggested. “Sunrise will need to happen in a few hours. I assume you've checked on the ponies of Equestria to make sure they are sleeping well?”

Luna nodded, “Yes, nearly everypony is sleeping comfortably; those who aren’t, are awake and enjoying the nightlife.”

“Very good; will you please send the nurse back in?”

Luna nodded and opened the door. Nurse Redheart walked in, bowed to the two princesses and then walked to her first aid kit.

“Sister, do you need any help sleeping?” Luna asked.

“No thank you Luna, I will be fine.”

Luna nodded, then walked towards the door to leave, but was stopped by Celestia calling to her.

“Luna, good luck; if you ever feel as though you need me, do not hesitate to come to me for help. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I love you Luna.”

“Thank you Tia. I love you too.”

Luna walked out of the room, shut the door behind her with her magic, and headed for her room; Shining Armor walked beside her. The two walked in silence; the only noise coming from their hooves and the occasional guard saluting in their armor. The two eventually walked into a big hallway, where Luna’s doorway to her room stood at the end; finally, Luna spoke.

“So, I understand that you will be with me tomorrow if I need your help.”

Shining Armor nodded, “yes ma’am. I will be able to give you advice throughout the day.”

“Alright, sounds good.” The two walked closer to Luna’s room. When they were about halfway down the hall, Luna spoke again.

“You and Princess Cadence are getting pretty serious huh?”

Shining armor blushed at the random question. “Uh…yes ma’am, I-I suppose we are.”

“Have you told your sister about you two yet?”

“No not yet, I haven’t had much time.”

“Understandable, but you better tell her soon. I hear she can overreact a lot.”

“Oh believe me Princess, I know. I had to live with her.”

Luna laughed lightly as she opened the door with her magic, and walked into her room.

“I will have two guards stationed outside your room later tonight; I will wait out here until then if you need me.”

Luna nodded and made her way to her bed. Shining shut the door and stood attentive outside Luna’s room.
Luna took off her crown, necklace and shoes; she levitated them on her nightstand and crawled into bed. She looked at her alarm clock which read 2:00 a.m. Sunrise was in four hours; there was no way she could get a good night’s sleep, especially with her mind racing the way it was. Thankfully, Luna knew a spell that puts ponies straight to sleep and makes two hours of sleep feel like eight.

As she lay in her bed, her horn glowed with a beautiful blue color that slightly illuminated the room as she casted the sleeping spell on herself. After a few seconds, her vision blurred and faded into darkness as Luna shut her eyes; her body sank into the bed as she relaxed, and the glow of her horn slowly faded away. After a few seconds, Luna was asleep; silently snoring in her bed.

Author's Note:

I realized that there hasn't been a lot of funny moments in the story so far; don't worry, that will change in the next chapter ;)

FUN FACT: 4N4S stands for the different sections of my college dorm. For the last two years, I've lived in 4N (Fourth floor, north sections) and next year, I will live in 4S (Fourth floor, south section).