Chapter 20: Red Painted Floors

"This... This can't be happening..." Pinky whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes. She along with Fluttershy have been sobbing constantly since they recieved the news of Walter's condition.

All six of the girls had showed up at the hospital the second they were informed about what happened. Immediately Fluttershy and Pinky broke down crying, both of them seeking comfort from Rarity who embraced them both, nuzzling their heads comfortingly while one of their closest friends Walter lies motionlessly and dying.

Walter's heart had been punctured by a 7.62 NATO round, which luckily passed clean through his body, however leaving behind all sorts of damage, including a hole in Walter's heart. If Celestia hadn't used a teleportation spell to bring Walter to the Canterlot Hospital immediately, he would've died in under a minute. The only thing keeping him alive right now is powerful forms of magic.

Walter's heart wasn't the only thing that was damaged; he had three broken ribs, a fractured forearm, torn muscles in his left leg, barely healed bullet wounds, a dislocated shoulder, and had lost three pints of blood out of nine that he has. It's a miracle that he survived long enough to push Celestia out of harm's way, let alone stay alive as long as he has after his heart was punctured.

His broken body lay motionless, multiple machines and powerful unicorns pouring everything they could to keep Walter from succumbing.  Rainbow Dash and Chrysalis simply sat on both sides of Walter, each of them holding onto his hands gently, their eyes red with tears. Applejack stood at the foot of the hospital bed, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Walter... You'd do anything to help others... Even if it threatened your life..." Chrysalis spoke softly, kissing Walter's limp hand.

"Walter... You idiot..." Rainbow Dash softly spoke, her eyes hidden behind her rainbow-colored mane.

Celestia was not at the hospital, instead, she was in Canterlot sitting at her throne with a solemn look on her face. Her eyes were a bit red and puffy, moist from tears she had been shedding ever since the incident. She stared distantly out through one of the vast windows that align the large walls of the throne room. It was dreary outside, the sun was blocked by storm clouds, rain pelted furiously as if the sky itself was crying as well.

"I'm supposed..." Celestia paused, looking down at her hands.

"I'm supposed to be the one to protect my subjects..." she whispered softly, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes.

Celestia stared blankly at her hands, the image of her hands being stained by Walter's blood haunted her conscious. She simply closed her eyes, cupping her face as tears began to stream down her face.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, silence consumed the hospital room where Walter lies dormant on the bed, surrounded by his friends. Before anybody could say anything, which is unlikely, the door to the room nearly flew off its hinges as a blur of flesh and golden blonde hair rushed inside, immediately darting to Walter's side.

Everyone jumped a bit at the sudden outburst of excitement, staring quizzically at the now weeping young woman by Walter's side.

"No! No no no no!" the young woman cried, hugging Walter's head closely to her chest, tears streaming down her face at the sight of Walter's bruised and bloodied face.

All the girls, excluding the strange girl crying by Walter's side, glanced at each other with confusion and uncertainty. Twilight then decided to clear her throat and make the first approach.

"U-Um, excuse me miss, who are you?" Twilight asked, catching the young human girl's attention.

The girl took a moment to collect herself, sniffling and stifling cries that were bubbling to the surface. Once she had regained her composure, the girl inhaled deeply and looked over at Twilight, her blue-green eyes glossed over with tears.

"M-My name is Jessica Barnes... I'm Walter's little sister..." she whimpered quietly, inhaling shakily as she directed her gaze back at Walter's unconscious visage.

"W-Wait, what!?" nearly all the girls exclaimed; mainly Rainbow Dash, Chrysalis, Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight- Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were still grieving quietly to themselves, although they did perk their ears up- acknowledging that they were listening.

"I didn't know Walter had a sister!" Rarity declared, sharing a look of shock with the other girls- excluding Fluttershy and Pinky.

"Did you ask?" Jessica replied, causing the girls to pause for a moment before a sheepish expression touched their faces.

"That doesn't matter right now... I want to know... What happened to my brother?" Jessica asked, looking up at Twilight from her crouched position beside Walter's bed.

All the girls, excluding Jessica, gave one another a brief glance before Twilight took a seat along with Jessica, pulling their chairs up close to Walter's bedside.

"Over a month ago, Walter was foalnapped by mercenaries hired by an unknown client, we're still trying to find out who hired them in the first place. They brought Walter to their base camp in Rambling Rock Ridge, where he was put through unfathomable torture based on what information HESA's research has provided us. After discovering the location of the mercenary base camp, Celestia lead a raid on them in order to bring them to justice as well as save Walter... However" Twilight paused, looking over at Walter's unconscious form.

"However?" Jessica looked at Twilight, eager to know what happened.

"We did find Walter- or rather, he found us. After reuniting I teleported us near Celestia's position to inform her that Walter had been secured... That's when Celestia was caught off guard by a spy disguised as a Royal Guard. The spy managed to keep Celestia in one spot long enough for a sniper to get a clear shot at Celestia... That's when Walter shoved her out of the way, and the bullet pierced his heart..." Twilight explained, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Walter... Sacrificed himself... In order to save the Princess?" Jessica spoke, her eyes a bit wide.

"He's a true hero..." Rarity spoke, a sad smile on her face.

"The best hero..." Chrysalis added.

All the girls nodded in unison, agreeing with the statement. Jessica simply gazed at them all for a moment, before chuckling softly, a small smile purging her lips.

"Walter has always been like that... Protecting others at the cost of his own safety" Jessica spoke, standing up so she could reach over and place her hand gently on Walter's cheek.

"Could you... Could you tell us more about Walter, i-if that's okay with you?" Fluttershy managed to choke out, trying to pull herself together.

"Sure, I don't mind" Jessica spoke, a smile touching her lips as she returned to her chair, staring blankly out the window across the room.

It had been many hours later; Jessica spoke about Walter's past, the things Walter has done leading up to the point where he moved away from Ricksford and searched for his own independent life. After night time came, and visiting hours were over, Jessica along with the other girls all decided to get a hotel near the hospital so they could all come and visit Walter tomorrow.

Walter lies motionlessly on his bed, the sound of the magically enhanced life support machines beeping echoed quietly throughout the atmosphere along with his heart monitor.

Walter's expression cringed softly as he began to physically twitch and flinch in his sleep, an obvious sign of a nightmare...

The dark of night filled the halls of the hospital with utter blackness. There were many guards posted in several parts of the hospital- considering that the notorious mercenary known as Red is still at large. Silence engulfed the halls, minus the ambiance of heart monitors and quiet footsteps that approached the door of Walter's room.

There were two guards posted at Walter's room, both of them standing at the door outside. When one of the guards started looking around for the source of the footsteps, he and his partner were both stricken with sharp daggers to the back of their necks, the only exposed part of their armor other than their faces. They both collapsed, as a mare dressed as a nurse sheathed the blades used to kill the guards and entered Walter's room quietly.

"Where's my tubby play toy at~?" the mare spoke, removing the doctor's mask she was wearing to reveal her face; it was Red.

Only to find that Walter wasn't lying in his bed.

Suddenly, a needle was driven into her neck, and a fluid was injected into her system. All she could make out before she succumbed to darkness was Walter, cords from the heart monitor and other machines hanging off his body, blood dripped out of them. His skin was much more paler, darker, as if it was slowly loosing its color. His hair was disheveled and shaggy, his teeth were sharp and jagged... And his eyes, were blood red, and the white of his eyes was a pale yellow shade.

"I'm right here~" Walter cackled softly, his voice sounding like two voices speaking at once.

"Just relax my dear, the true fun is about to begin~!" Walter's smirk stretched unnaturally from ear to ear.

Whoever, or whatever he was now... It was no longer Walter... But something else entirely.