Diseased

by Mysterious Stranger

Chapter 4: This isn't awkward at all

Night Mist adjusted his position on top of the bookcase in Princess Celestia's bedroom. It had been a pain to get all thirty of the coffee cups up there with him, but now he was ready. He snagged the top of a cup between his teeth, tilted his head back, and then set it down again.

Before too long Princess Celestia came through the door. Night Mist could tell from the way she walked she felt as terrible as she looked. Her mane, which usually was in a constant state of flowing around as if there was wind, hung limp around her neck and shoulders. Her head was drooping and she was coughing loudly. Floating behind her was a bottled potion and a box of tissues. Princess Celestia took one of the tissues and blew her nose. Night Mist watched silently as she set the potion and the tissue box on her nightstand and proceeded to remove her crown. Next her crest floated off her shoulders and she kicked off her gilded horseshoes before she allowed herself to collapse on the queen sized bed with a groan of misery.

It struck Night Mist as wrong that he saw her without her usual royal attire on. But surely he was justified wasn't he? He was here in her room because he was trying to save her life. Perhaps he should have allowed Twilight Sparkle to take his place after all. Princess Celestia floated the potion to her muzzle and downed the contents. The effects were instantaneous. She sighed with relief and stopped sniffling. Clearly the potion was very powerful, yet according to Twilight Sparkle the sickness would return in the morning. Night Mist took another sip from his coffee as quietly as he could. He still felt like he was intruding, but it wasn't as awkward as he feared it would be.

"Are you there, detective?" Princess Celestia asked suddenly.

Night Mist wasn't sure if he should feel glad or horrified that the princess had chosen to acknowledge his presence. He would have to respond, least the situation became too awkward.

"I'm here your majesty," he answered causally.

Princess Celestia glanced around the room.

"Where?" she questioned.

Night Mist bought himself some time to come up with the proper answer by taking another sip.

"I'd rather not say."

"Why not?"

"Well, if you turned into a rabid manticore at midnight or something I would prefer that you would not be able to find me too easily."

"Do you really think that's a possibility?"

"No, but I don't take chances with magic."

"Everypony keeps saying magic must have something to do with my sickness, but all of my symptoms feel like a more natural cause."

"If I were to disguise a curse as a natural illness that's how I would make it seem too."

"But I've had many unicorns talented in magic check me and they couldn't detect any signs of a spell."

"Yes, that's the rub. However, I still think the cause is magic. I find it hard to believe that a sickness as powerful as yours wouldn't be contagious. You're the only one who has gotten sick. Furthermore, we have a potion that gives temporary relief during the day and full relief all night long. That's not natural."

"It doesn't make any sense."

"That's why I'm here."

"So you're just going to stay wherever you are and watch me sleep all night long?"

"Pretty much."

"As much as I appreciate you sacrifice, I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep knowing I'm being watched."

"If I could think of another way to find the cause I would do it."

Princess Celestia didn't respond. Night Mist couldn't help but smile at the ironic timing of her falling asleep. She must have been really tired. He finished off his first cup of coffee and started on the next one. It would be a long night. The hours passed by slowly for Night Mist. He mostly watched Princess Celestia's sleeping form, with occasional sweeps of the bedroom. Night Mist knew that his body would pay for keeping himself stimulated for an entire night. But with the stakes so high, he couldn't afford to be anything less than completely alert. At any given moment something might happen that would solve the mystery.

After he had spent many more hours in this state of attention, Princess Celestia finally awoke. She yawned, stretched, and then dragged herself out of the bed and went out the large door to the balcony. Her horn glowed painfully bright as she summoned the sun. Before Night Mist's eyes it slowly appeared on the horizon, casting its dazzling light over the land and then spilling into the bedroom. It was a sight to behold. Having succeeded it giving the sun the push it needed to make its course across the sky under its own power, Princess Celestia yawned again and came back inside. She did a double take when she spotted Night Mist on top of her book case.

"I had forgotten you were here," she remarked. "What did you think of the sunrise?"

"Amazing," Night Mist responded honestly.

"Glad you liked it. Do you have any coffee left? I could use a cup, or three."

"I'm afraid I only have two left. You're welcome to have them both of course."

Night Mist silently thanked the princes in his heart for treating the entire situation like it was normal. Doubtlessly they both knew how bizarre it was, but neither made any comment about it. They could still pull this off without having it become too awkward. Princess Celestia floated both of the remaining cups towards her, drank them both, and proceeded with the morning routine. Night Mist silently observed her as she brushed her teeth and combed her mane. Once again the situation was beginning to feel weird. Night Mist tried to think of something to say to strengthen the illusion of normalcy, but came up with nothing. Night Mist knew the longer the silence went on the more awkward the situation would become.

Princess Celestia finished getting ready in record time. Whether it was because she sensed the urgency or because she was simply faster than the average mare at getting ready, Night Mist would never know. Finally, she donned her royal accessories, acknowledged Night Mist's presence with a slight nod, and casually escaped out the door. Night Mist breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. Extreme awkwardness had been avoided and professionalism had been maintained. Nopony had sneaked into the room at night and there had been no signs of any spell casting. Was it possible he had prevented something with his presence, or had he been completely wrong about something happening at night?

Night Mist exited the royal chambers. To his dismay, he noticed that Princess Celestia had stopped on the spiral stairs that led down to the rest of the castle and was in the middle of a sneezing fit. The healthiness from last night was already gone. She had been out of sight for mere seconds. There was no way sompony could have done something to her and then vanished so quickly, and he would have heard something if they had. Basically, the sight before his eyes was impossible. Princess Celestia was now leaning up against the wall and had her head drooping really low again. Feebly, she turned her head to face Night Mist.

"It was a noble effort, detective," she said with a weak smile.

"It's like this every morning?" Night Mist questioned.

"Ever since they discovered the potions last all night."

Several servants poked their heads through the door at the bottom of the stairs.

"Does the sickness still plague you, your Majesty?" one of them asked.

"Yes, and it still feels worse than the day before," Princess Celestia called down hazily.

Night Mist had jumped back into the bedroom when the servants had opened the door. He was fairly certain none of them had seen him. He had no intention of letting it be known where he had spent the night, for various reasons. Princess Celestia went the rest of the way down and departed with the servants without so much at a glance at Night Mist. He was confident she would make no mention of it, so he was safe in that respect. Too late, Night Mist realized the doors would be guarded on the other side. If he wished to remain discreet he would have to find another way out.

Night Mist mentally kicked himself as he gave the room a once over. Perhaps there would be a secret passage?

"Trapped in Princess Celestia's bedroom. That's a rather unusual predicament don't you think?"

The voice came from Sharp Wing, who was sitting on the balcony with a wide grin on his face.

"There's a first time for everything I suppose," Night Mist replied with a smile.

"First time for you anyway. I can't help but wonder how may slumber parties our princess has had over the centuries."

"There are some things nopony should ever know. I would think that's one of them."

"Did she say?"

"No she didn't, and I would prefer not to give the idea any more thought."

Sharp Wing studied his friend closely with exaggerated scrutiny.

"You're not telling me something."

"Could you please stop?"

"Sorry, couldn't resist. But seriously though, did you learn anything?"

"I didn't see anything peculiar, except that she got sick again really fast when she left the room."

"That's weird all right. Anyways, do you need a super stealthy way to get down from here?"

"You got up here without anypony seeing you?"

I think so. I used my wings and walked up the side of the tower like a freaking spider. Most of the royal guards are actually facing away from the castle."

"You're not going to be able to do that holding me on the way down."

"Yeah I know. That's what free falls are for."

Without any warning Sharp Wing hooked his front legs under Night Mist's and dove off the balcony. Night Mist had to clench his teeth to prevent himself from yelling. After three terrifying seconds Sharp Wing's gray wings snapped open and they glided to another balcony and landed relatively smoothly.

"You couldn't have warned me you were about to do that?!"

"I did warn you, I said we were gonna do a free fall."

"That was hardly a-"

"Night Mist!" another voice interrupted.

This time the voice belonged to Twilight Sparkle, who was standing beside Frazzle Spark in the balcony's doorway. Both of them looked very worried.

"I really hope you found out what's been making Princess Celestia sick," she said.

"What happened?" asked Sharp Wing.

"The doctors are saying she has less than an hour to live."

Comments

[Barbecue Sauce]

The plot thickens.

[Chaos Light]

Well shit.

[Brony Tom]

I- but- you can't-

Garrrrrrr. Talk about a cliffhanger at the end there.

Anyway, this chapter wasn't that bad. There were a few mistakes in dialogue, like missing " and lack of commas in speech.

I wait for the next chapter. I expect it tomorrow, okay? Such an ending is just mean.