Cold. Lifeless. Sterile.
Had anyone asked Shining Armor at that moment to describe a hospital in three words or less, those were the words that readily came to mind as he walked through its halls. His hooves clicked against the floor tiles as he walked, the fluorescent lights overhead beating down on him and causing a bead of sweat to drip down his brow as he walked past rows and rows of identical doors. His entire body felt like it was on autopilot, his legs carrying him to his destination automatically while his mind lay elsewhere.
After what felt like hours of walking, Shining finally stopped in front of one of the doors, the numbered placard on the front the only indication that he was in the right place. Rather than step inside, Shining Armor stood frozen in front of the door, his head dipping as his eyes focused on the floor instead, anywhere but directly in front of him.
Having been in the Royal Guard for many years, Shining was no stranger to hospitals. Sustaining injuries ranging from the mild to the serious where just in the job description for being a Royal Guard, and Shining had been no exception. Even before that he had visited friends and family alike in hospitals like this one, like the day he had gotten to meet his adorable little sister for the very first time for instance.
But this was a visit Shining had never wanted to have to make, nor was it one he had ever considered needing to make. And yet, here he was, standing frozen outside this particular door like it was the entrance to a deadly dungeon occupied by a deranged warlock.
In truth, Shining would have taken the warlock over this any day.
After stalling for long enough, Shining finally raised a hoof and pushed the door open, the old hinges creaking as he stepped inside and gently closed the door behind him. Like the rest of the hospital, this room was painted in a sterile white, but Shining’s eyes were drawn instead to the pink mare lying in the hospital bed in the center of the room, lifeless if not for the steady beeping of the monitor beside her.
With a heavy heart, Shining walked up to the side of the bed and gazed at his loving wife’s face, her eyes shut and an oxygen mask placed over her muzzle, though in no way any less beautiful than the day he had first laid eyes on her.
“Hello, Cady,” he said, brushing a strand of mane aside so he could look at her face. “I’m back, just like I promised…”
Cadance said nothing, the sleeping mare giving no indication that she had even heard him. The monitor beside her continued to beep uninterrupted, each beep sounding like the heavy fall of a hammer against metal to Shining’s ears.
Choking back a sob, Shining refused to break down, determined to stay strong and hold onto hope that Cadance would wake up again, no matter how long that took. Not for the first time, Shining found himself transported back to that fateful day, wondering if he could have done something, anything, differently to have prevented this from happening.
It had started out like any other day, with him, Cadance and Flurry Heart all enjoying breakfast together. Flurry Heart had been particularly fussy that morning, refusing to eat her oatmeal and instead deciding painting the walls, the floor and just about everything else with it was a better use of her time. He could still hear his daughter’s giggles as crystal clear as they’d been during that day while they had worked to clean her up.
He also remembered how Cadance had raised a hoof to her head with a wince, complaining of a growing headache briefly before brushing it aside. Oh, if only he had known, but how could he? What could he have possibly done in that moment that would have made any kind of a difference?
After Sunburst had come to look after Flurry Heart, Cadance and him had gone to take care of the usual tasks necessary to make sure the Crystal Empire remained up and running smoothly, mostly consisting of one tiring meeting after another with one or more representative from the different districts of the empire. On an on they had gonef, and Shining couldn’t help but repeat the image of Cadance rubbing at her temples again and again as the day went on, unable to do anything as tragedy inched ever closer.
For years, Shining had joked that he was living in a fantasy. Married to the love of his life, and a princess no less, having a wonderful daughter in Flurry Heart and living the dream of a prince. On that day, however, the fantasy finally came to an end and Shining’s world all came crumbling down around him.
It had finally happened as they were walking to another meeting, this time with the Emerald District. Shining had been walking alongside her when he suddenly noticed her fall behind, her hoofsteps become more and more strained.
“Cadan—” He had glanced behind, just for a moment, to check on her, when the words died on his tongue. Until the end of his days, the image of Cadance’s eyes turning lifeless and hollow before she collapsed in a heap against the crystal floor would forever haunt his nightmares.
What followed was utter chaos. Shining remembered calling out her as he rushed to her side, but received no response as she lay lifelessly in his hooves. He remembered calling out for help, he even remembered every minute as they rushed her to the closest hospital and the doctors had immediately carted her off into surgery.
Then, came the waiting. Shining could still remember every second of it as he waited, his mind of typhoon and worry as he wondered if he would ever see his wife again. He’d felt utterly numb after that, especially after one of the doctors had come to him and said something about a “cranial embolism” and “possible brain damage”, Shining had felt like the world was ending in that moment.
That had been over a week ago, and Cadance had yet to show any signs that she would ever wake up.
Back in the present, Shining rubbed at his eyes as he struggled to get the words out. “Please, Cady… Please wake up…” he pleaded again and again, praying that his words would reach through to her somehow. “We… we all miss you. Sunburst, the Crystal Ponies, Flurr—Flurry Heart has started wondering where you are, and why her Mommy hasn’t come home yet…” This time the tears began to leak down his face as he buried his face in the hospital bed sheets. “Please… please wake up…” He said nothing further as his tears soaked into the bed sheets.
Light knocking against the door made Shining glance up as a nurse stuck her head into the room. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said delicately, “but I just came to let you know that visiting hours are almost over, Shining Armor. Should I come back later, or—”
“N-No, I was just about to leave,” Shining quickly replied, wiping the tears from his eyes. Leaning forward, Shining planted a quick kiss on Cadance’s forehead. “Sweet dream, Cady.” With that, Shining walked back towards the door, sparing one final longing glance at his sleeping wife before stepping outside and quietly closing the door behind him.
***
The moon had risen in the sky hours before, the silvery moonlight filtering into Cadance’s hospital room window. As the moonlight illuminated the heart monitor, the readout on the machine abruptly spiked for a brief moment before falling back into a steady rhythm once more.
From her bed, a weak grunt could be heard as Cadance’s eyelids twitched slightly, growing still again for a moment before they slowly opened up.
“Shi… Shining… Flurry… Flurry Heart…”
