3. No Remorse, No Compassion, No Hope
The Last Nightguard
No Remorse, No Compassion, No Hope
“In the event of long-term disability, your personnel office will need to fill out Form 17-Stroke-427B Request For Disability Appraisal for you, which will need to be signed under seal by your commanding officer and sent to the Office of the Princess for approval. The process should take between six to twelve weeks, during which your pay shall continue at the current rate, deposited into your account biweekly. In the event salary adjustments need to be made after preliminary approval of the appraisal and before final adjudication, four additional forms have been created for your convenience…”
— Manual of the Royal Guard, Volume Four
Celestia hated hospitals. Nothing good ever happened there, and far worse, her little ponies constantly tried to drag her into their disasters. Heart attacks, pancreatitis, kidney disorders, liver failure, cancer, cancer, cancer… Every time one of the palace servants had a loved one come down with one disorder or another, they got that pensive expression that she knew came before the hesitant request to visit their ailing aunt or stricken parent.
She went, of course. And smiled. And said The Words.
“So, Doctor Hurwitz. Will he recover?”
Their meeting with the doctor was only a few lengths outside what she was starting to think of as the room holding ‘The Anomaly.’ She much would have preferred to have been somewhere with cake, huge squishy piles of it with enough sugar to drive her oversized metabolism into a coma. But no. Hospital cake was not cake at all, and she knew better. The elderly doctor in front of her looked like he needed a few cakes of his own to fill out his wrinkles, although he had treated the… creature quite well, as far as she knew.
She did not want to use the creature’s name. It was bad enough she knew it.
“You have to understand, Your Highness… That is Your Highnesses,” the doctor corrected, giving a trembling Luna a polite nod of his horned head. “This pony has been through a terrible time. Really, we were amazed he survived this long. His armor is practically dust, the hairs of his coat flake off like glass fibres where he is touched, and every organ in his body has shrunk until they are nearly unrecognizable. We’ve pumped him as full of fluids and nutrients as equinely possible, but he is living on a thread. It could really go either way, and I don’t think he will ever make a full recovery.”
“I want to see him.” Celestia held the falsehood to just a hair shy of command. She most certainly did not want to see him, but there was no way she could ever tell the doctor to quietly unplug the machines and let the dead die in peace. He objected to their visit, of course, in a way that made it obvious that he was only going to allow their presence once he had properly established his position as physician, then opened the door to the chamber of horror beyond.
It was far too warm inside the room instead of the usual hospital chill, most probably because the physicians did not want to cover the naked stallion with anything that would keep them from sticking a needle in wherever they wanted. She had seen practitioners of acupuncture with fewer needles, although his bare wrinkled skin showed every scratch or flake of dryness which made it look worse. Stomach tubes in his mouth, oxygen tubes up both nostrils, several bottles of unusual fluids dangling over the bed, and to top the indignity, a catheter.
To their credit, the nurses and physicians in attendance did not slow their attention to the failing patient, and the sight brought a faint hint of relief to her heart. The growing sense of urgency in the room was familiar; she had seen far too many times when a pony no longer clung to this mortal coil and slipped away. This, at least, would be a mercy to both the living and the dead.
“Blood pressure is still dropping,” said one nurse, pumping away at a small red ball like it would somehow return the patient to life. “We’re losing him.”
“We’re too late,” said Celestia, trying to hold back a relieved sigh. “Goodby, fair stallion.”
Obviously, the creature heard her quiet words. His red eyes snapped open, locking onto Celestia as if she were the only thing in the room, then sliding sideways to glare at Luna, who was trying to hide behind her. Toothless bloody gums fought against tubes, and a wheezing gasp escaped from his efforts. He struggled to the limits of his feeble strength, barely able to rattle the bars on the hospital bed and certainly in no danger of breaking his restraints, although his motions set the hospital attendants to a frantic panic.
Doctor Hurwitz gently urged his royal visitors out of the room, then held himself at the doorway so he could see both his patient and the suddenly upset Celestia.
“He recognized you. What is his name?” pressed Doctor Hurwitz. “What happened to him? I have to know about my patient to treat him.”
“He is… was a Royal Guard,” admitted Celestia reluctantly. “Many years ago.”
“I didn’t realize,” whispered Luna at her side. “I thought he looked… Oh, my stars. Eb.” Her little sister trembled like a leaf and drew closer to Celestia, who put a wing over her regardless of the blockage they were causing in the hospital corridor.
“He must have been caught up in the Elements of Harmony’s magic,” said Celestia. “He was nowhere to be found afterward. We thought he was… dead.”
“Like the rest,” murmured Luna. “So many.”
“Doctor,” said Celestia, placing a hoof on the elderly unicorn’s shoulder and looking him in the eyes, since bad news was best to be given quickly. She reminded herself that the words she was about to speak were the absolute truth, even if their true meaning was obscured.
“The magics of the Elements and imprisonment in the moon are too severe to be borne by mortals. He may be alive at this moment, but his fate is certain. It may be tonight, or sometime tomorrow, but no matter how much effort you put forth, his fate is certain. He is going to die.”
“Not as long as I’m his physician,” said the elderly unicorn with a spark of ire. “We have some of the finest specialists in magical damage flying in tomorrow from all corners of Equestria and beyond. We’ll save him, Your Highnesses.”
“No, you don’t understand,” said Celestia quickly. “His family, his guardmates, everypony in his history. They’re all dust now. Besides, even if you can keep him alive, his mind is gone.”
For just a moment, Doctor Hurwitz was about to respond, then hesitated, giving both Celestia and Luna a long look. After a few short breaths and some consideration, he nodded at them both. “I understand,” he said simply. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must see to my patient.”
* * *
Celestia waited, but there was no word of Ebon Tide’s death in the next few hours. His dark spirit seemed to hang heavily over the palace instead, bringing a chill and terrifying air to what she had hoped to be an uplifting family reunion.
Not that the uplifting family reunion had happened yet, but Celestia had expectations. Her sister had been away for so long, and changed so much, but she was still her sister. Their ties could not be broken, because if they were…
“Luna?” Celestia knocked ever so gently on her sister’s door, trying not to think of the guest quarters it had been for the last few centuries, or the relatively few actual guests it had seen. Sunset Shimmer had filled it like sunlight in a greenhouse, with an overwhelming drive and warmth that had blinded Celestia to her hidden lusts for power, much like Nightmare Moon had lurked in the shadows waiting for a chance to strike.
The chance that Celestia had delivered on a silver platter.
Perhaps she had over-reacted when Sunset showed her weakness. If Celestia had opened her heart, told Sunset about Luna, maybe she could have been guided to greatness instead of swearing vengeance before vanishing into Starswirl’s Mirror, never to return, not even in a thousand years like Luna.
“Please open the door, Luna.” The noises beyond showed that she had been heard, but was being ignored again, so much like before. Was she repeating her mistake again? Would Twilight Sparkle be forced to use the Elements of Harmony to send Luna back to the moon for another thousand years? Her heart had been shattered by betrayal the first time, and it had taken centuries before Celestia could even feel again. She had stumbled through her routines of government only half a mare, not caring or reacting while Equestria languished. It had been the only way to survive until time could place a scab across the bleeding wound in her heart. A scab which had torn itself free so she could feel the cold blood dripping inside her breast once again with every plea.
“Luna, please!”
The door gave a quiet click and opened a crack. Luna held herself just barely inside the opening, and did not meet her eyes, although it was difficult to tell with the way her mane was knotting up over her face. Worse, she had been crying, and damp tracks traced their way down her neck in erratic clumps of matted hair.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Luna moved to close the door, only to stop when Celestia’s hoof blocked its path. “I said I don’t want to talk about it. I can’t talk about it. Not with you!”
“I know you’re angry with me,” started Celestia, only to be cut off as Luna jerked her head up and stepped into the doorway with a snarl.
“Is it any wonder that my perfect, precious sister knows everything about me? You’re the only pony who knows everything!”
“Not everything, you ungrateful brat!” snapped Celestia in return, only to cringe as the familiar words escaped her mouth. “Oh, no. I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t mean it! Don’t—”
The door slammed, and all of Celestia’s pleading and begging could not open it again that evening.
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With great power comes the ability to make great mistakes. Repeatedly.
Truly, Celestia has a rare gift for kriffing up interpersonal relationships.
I guess foals don't usually get born in Equestrian hospitals then?
great chapters
Hell yea! I’m loving how we’re seeing this real side Celestial who can be selfish, and that slip of the tongue is chef kiss. Real characters trying to adapt.
Oh, Celestia, you silly mare. Don't you know that telling a doctor they can't save a patient only gives them the determination to prove you wrong?
Never forgive Never forget.
11395529
This coming from the immortal alicorn...
11395608
I do like this Celestia, as well. As you said, she's flawed, and she has a bit of a god complex. And now I shall wait for it to gloriously explode in her face. Or, in Luna's case, "door slammed."
Hm, this Celestia is pretty unlikeable so far.
Good chapter
If this works it will either be the fire of this anger or possibly the 1000 years of backpay which drives him onward... the later may be more applicable to a modern pony but I get the feeling the first will be what appeals to Eb’s mindset.
11395529
Celestia prefers not to think of their existence.
Personally I like to think of Luna, ironically, being historically seen as the mother figure (or Mater Selene) in the past, where as Celestia made the Canterlot Voice first known when she told those quote unquote "mewling little c
nts" to get out of her garden. Thats right, Celestia is a cranky old bat who demands the kids stay off her lawn. Except for Dinky of course.
11395769
Yes, but that makes her likeable, if that makes sense.
11395529 Of course foals are born in hospitals. But to get the Sun Princess to visit normally means said foal is in the neonatal intensive care unit, and the parents are desperate for any kind of assistance. Read some of Estee's mental musings about Princess Celestia in Blessing to understand better.
11395467 It's about 66% in alicorns of the present age.
11395763 Hey, I've written about alicorns giving birth. Twice, actually.
11395764 Understandably, being an immortal alicorn who raises the sun and moon for a thousand years can give you a bit of a god complex.
11395664 It also makes alicorn sisters prove her wrong.
11395769 Thank you.
11396676 I prefer to think of the 'World of Cardboard' speech for that.