Internal Changeling Affairs

Chapter Three:

Life Support

“Excuse me, ma’am” said Twilight Sparkle to the mare sitting at the receptionist desk.  “My name is Twilight Sparkle and I’m looking for a patient being treated here named Shining Armor”

“Are you a member of his immediate family?” asked the unicorn mare at the desk.

Twilight replied “yes, I’m his younger sister.  I’d like to find the room he’s in”

The receptionist then reached her hoof over to one side of her desk and pressed a small green button in a line with 9 other ones.  “Doctor Studsward” the mare said into a microphone attached to a pager.  “A family member is hear to see guard captain Shining Armor.  Could you please send a pair of guards to escort a miss Twilight Sparkle to his room, number 211?”

“thank you, ma’am” said twilight to the mare at the desk.

The mare replied “certainly, miss Sparkle.  Your brother is going to be ok.  He’s being cared for by some of the best doctors in Equestria”

A stern voice spoke up from behind.  “Twilight Sparkle?” a Stallion wearing a dark blue guard uniform standing next to another asked the purple alicorn.

“yes, that’s me” she replied.

The guard then said “my partner and myself will escort you to your brother’s room.  I will explain why we need to do that when we get there”

The trio then entered an elevator and the stallion who had not yet said anything pressed a button for the 12th floor, the very top floor.

After the door closed and the elevator began to scale the building, the guard who pressed the button began to speak.  “I have worked alongside your brother for quite some time” the Pegasus stallion said.  “he’s a fine guard captain and I can’t think of anypony I would rather have the pleasure of working with”.

“thank you, sir” Twilight replied.  “he’s always been a good brother to me as well.

“I can tell” the stallion said.  “he’s always spoken very highly of his little sister”

The other guard then interrupted “we’re approaching the top floor”

As soon as he had finished, the door slid open and there was another pair of guards standing there waiting for them.

“you’re probably wondering why all of us guards are here, miss Sparkle” said the guard in the elevator.  “the event involving your brother pertains to a matter of Equestrian security.  We don’t know who exactly his assailant is yet but we know it wasn’t just some small time thug.  We understand it was somepony who plans on compromising the safety of Equestria on epic proportions”

Twilight was speechless and too mortified for words.

“that’s enough!” retorted one of the guards to the one who told twilight about the threat.  “this poor filly has been through enough already!  Just shut up let her see her brother!”

Walking down towards the end of the hallway, Twilight, bracing herself for what she was about to see, they approached room 211 with yet another pair of guards standing on both sides of the door.

“he’s in here, miss Sparkle” one of the escorting guards said.  The guard reached his hoof over towards the door and placed it on the knob.  Before unlatching the door and pushing it open, he looked back at Twilight.  “be brave, miss Sparkle” he said to her no longer able to control the tears from rolling down his face.  Slowly pushing the door open, the guard revealed a room occupied by four different ponies.  The first one was Princess Celestia, next was Princess Luna and then Princess Cadence all standing at the side of a bed with the fourth pony laying in it.

“Twilight!”  the frantic Princess Cadence exclaimed, running over to her, embracing her in a hug.  They both stood there in their embrace for a moment soaking each other with their tears.  It was not like them to neglect to perform their secret hoof shake upon greeting each other, but they both would agree that now was not a good time for that.

Twilight sparkle could no longer let anything get in here way.  She was going to do what she came to do and nothing was going to distract her.  She let go of her sister in-law and looked at the hospital bed in which her brother lay in.  what she saw was what her big brother best friend forever had been reduced to.  The once strong and proud young stallion was now a nearly lifeless body accompanied by a heart monitor, a fluid iv inserted into his left foreleg, and an oxygen mask hooked to his face with a hose leading to a machine with bellows moving up and down in a clear glass cylinder.  That machine was keeping Shining Armor Alive.  On his chest, was a large scar approximately four inches long with a smaller half inch long scar just next to it both stitched shut.

“wha…what happened to him?”  Twilight Asked turning to Princess Celestia.

“He was shot, Twilight” the Princess replied.  “He was rushed here for an emergency surgery afterwards.  They removed a .38 caliber slug from his chest”

“has he improved at all since the surgery?” Twilight asked, desperate for answers.

The princess had then done something that Twilight Sparkle had never seen nor ever thought the princess would do.  The Princess looked twilight right in the eyes and began to shed tears of her own.  being well over one-thousand years old and probably dealt with the deaths of more friends than anypony else in the world, Princess Celestia did not cry often, but attempted murder was not something she was willing to accept as a normal occurrence.  Judging by what Twilight saw in Princess Celestia’s eyes, she knew that the answer to her question was no.

“does anypony know who did this?” twilight asked, each word after the other becoming less and less audible.

Princess Luna answered “we don’t know who did this to him.  He is not able to tell us either because he is in a coma.”

Unable to find anything else to say, the four alicorns all embraced each other in a group hug.  As the tear soaked princesses held each other tight crying for their fallen friend and loved one laying in the hospital bed being kept alive by machines, a hospital security alarm broke the silence. End Chapter Three