"Princess Luna!" The guard hastened his banging on the superior blue door. "Princess Luna! Your Royal Highness!" His bronze eyes were dilated, and sweat matted his once groomed white fur.

The guard behind him had removed his helmet to straighten his disheveled blue mane with a trembling hoof. Breathing in and out, he took a nervous glance around the obsidian hall and at the black curtained windows that obscured any sunlight.

Gazing at the blue fire that flickered into a menacing dance in the lanterns hanging from the pillars, he returned his helmet back to his head, and turned to his fellow guard still attempting to awake the Lunar Princess.

"Your Highness! Your High—"

*BaNg!*

The door violently swung open, revealing a tangled mass of a mane, puffy eyed, astronomical twilight alicorn, glaring down at her slumber disrupter.

"WHY HATH THOU SQUAWKS OF SCREECHING BOARDS WAKENETH US?!!"

The guard shrunk under her sharp cyan stare.

"WE HATH PLACED UTMOST CARE AND PAINS TO NEVER BE AWOKEN, AND THOU DARE TO— to..." Luna, realizing her blunder clamped her mouth shut, *cough* "I mean..." she smiled (though it came out like a grimace) "...how could I be of service to thee, my dear subject," a royal blue light engulfed her horn, surrounding her ethereal mane to be restored of its untangled glory. Averting her head, and performing a faint yawn in her hoof, Luna blinked away the blur in her eyes, to see that the guard had already fainted, and so faced the other. "I seem to hath… disturbed thy fellow, oh warrior. Tell me, what troubles hath come nigh?"

The guard blinked out of his stupefied gawk. Striking at attention under his ruler, he calmed his nerves. "Your Highness, as of now... Princess Celestia has... f-fallen."

She blinked, her eyes growing wide and soon staring down at him with a sceptical look. "What is thy name and rank?" Her horn alighted, and the unconscious guard disappeared.

He saluted, "Private Sector Light, Your Royal Highness!"

Exiting her room and slamming the door, she ran past the guard and yelled in her loudest Canterlot voice, shaking the pillars that supported the hall. "TAKE US TO HER!!"

"Y-Yes!" Sector teleported to her side to even out the distance.

"Explain Private Sector, how hath this waxened!"

"We...We don't know, Your Highness! At first, it seemed as if she was exhausted." They made another sharp left turn— "But then… then her mane just, stopped!" —and pushed past the large wooden door, both squinting their eyes at the brightness of the light from the stagnant sun shining through the openings of the pillars of the Lunar Path.

"That, 'tis strange." Luna trotted off the stone path, and onto the grass to stare up at the sun. "Come, Private! Let us continue!"

Under the afternoon sun, Luna's muted hoofsteps landed heavily on the paved brick ground. With every step, she had to be conscious of her speed, as to not outrun the guard leading her towards the crowding Royal Medical and Rehabilitation Center.
"What?" What matter of madness is this?!
She and the guard skidded to stop at the sight of nobles demanding to be given access into the wide, white building.
Luna witnessed four mere guards holding off what seemed to be thirty or forty ponies moulded body mass, while simultaneously struggling to not fully lay a hoof on the aggressive mob — as to not suffer the wrath of demotion, a lawsuit, or worse unemployment. Heat rose to her head from their misconduct.
"SILENCE!" she banged her hoof on the ground.

All present froze and turned in fear at their Princess's harsh, downcast gaze. Without a second lost, the nobles scrambled to bow before her.

A unicorn stallion in a bright yellow tailored suit spoke. "Your...Your Highness! These guards refused to allow us entrance to visit Princess Celestia, denying of our noble rights," he glared back at two of the guards, causing a short flinch, and looked up at Luna, "please, gift them a proper punishment for this crime, Princess Luna."

Her right eye twitched at the agreeing nods of the others. "Have ye all not noticed that thine rowdiness would disrupt the ponies caring for my sister, your Princess'," she said, making her way slowly to the group.

"B-But—"

Her wings flared, "NO BUTS!" she banged her hoof on the ground, cracking it.

"Hiiii!" the noble skittered away.

"This, 'tis a place for the ailing and troubled," she approached the group and gestured her hoof over at them— "not a BATTLEFIELD!"— glaring with a look of disdain as few in the middle row hid their snort. Holding her head high she huffed. "My sister hath fallen, my slumber trotted on, only to witness ye all acting like foals tantruming for thy MOTHER?!"

Their heads fell. Most of their heads fell.

"For shame," she sneered. "Ye shouldth all be ashamed for thine actions." Luna split the group in two without magic nor hoof, but with guilt.

Standing by the door, she turned to the silent guards trying their utmost best to hide their distraught emotions, guards who could not stop the small ticks in their neutral faces, guards who had held back the nobles despite the high risks, "Ye hath fulfilled thy duty— come Private," Luna called out as the nobles turned to his direction.

He flinched and carefully trotted to her side.

Luna jarred open doors of the main entrance and paused mid step in the lounge, looking wide eyed over at the crying foal and his mother coaxing him, whispering something in his ears, and an older couple comforting each other and turning towards her.
She had thought visits were canceled today due to the foreign diplomat's visitation, yet here they were.
She breathed in and nodded to their bow and made her way to the unicorn mare receptionist, stationed at her desk, head in her hooves.

"Excuse me," a calm whisper called the mare out her own anguished world.

The mare's eyes widened, "Princess Luna, you're finally here!" hope brightened her entire face, and she stood for Luna to see her ID card on the chest of her white scrubs.

"I wish to see my sister," she searched behind the desk and eyed the two empty seats, "art thou the only one minding the desk?"

She flinched and faced the floor with shame, "yes… actually. The second floor was..." she huddled down back in her seat and sighed, "was in need of more assistance than down here...."

"Doth that so explain the guests we have here?"

Settle Task, as it had been so written on her ID flinched, "We made sure that Princess Celestia was carried in from the back entrance, Y-Your Highness!" she didn't think to hide the news with a lowered tone, "But...."

"The foals standing in their crib refused their binky, even before we uttered such revelations outside?" she huffed.

"Yes?"

Luna huffed once more before looking at Private Sector Light. "Private, guard this place with thy life, ensure that none so passes those doors, nor arrives at the second level."

"Of course Your Highness!"

"Settle Task, please enlighten us of the situation on the second level."

"...it's...."

She avoided the two galloping nurses rolling a bed through the double doors she entered from and towards the right wing. Even her trained eyes had to look in wonder at how coordinated the front desk was conducting the scattering staff members trying to get towards one section of the building to the next with furious ease.

"I need a nurse and anesthesiologist on sight in room 103! Room 103! The patient is in need of immediate care!" Amongst the two ponies in white scrubs and two in blue, all managing the desk, a mare in a white coat yelled into her microphone at the front of it all.

Seeing that the desk had enough work on their hooves, Luna decided to wait out the storm then ask the whereabouts of her sis—

"Where's the other janitor?! What do you mean he fell down the stairs?!!" A pegasus stallion in wet blue scrubs argued with the mare in white scrubs at the desk, "I've got a bathroom flooding the room and towels won't hold for long!"

An older unicorn stallion came from the other side next to the nervous mare. "Sir, Mr. Cool Sweeps' already fixing the problem in the basement and—"

*Beeep*

The soft beep noise called the stallion back to his section of the desk to pick up a phone. "Nurse in room 224! Nurse in room 224!"

*Beeep*

A mare with a pencil behind her ear picked up a phone and turned to the unicorn stallion. "Chief! Phone call!"

"Hold it, Safe Route!" the stallion, Chief, responded as he switched between answering phones and directing nurses and doctors towards the rooms they needed to make haste into.

"Sir, we may have a Code V on our hooves!" she pushed the phone onto his chest with a defiant head nod ordering him to take it.

Luna's ears turned up at the title unheard of before, but whatever this Code V could be, it meant that maybe she couldn't wait this out, and may need to intervene in something that she was not tasked in.

"Needle Point!" he turned to the microphone mare, "I can't watch the desk! It's Dr. Saline! I'll be back!" Luna could only stare in the sidelines as the unicorn stallion galloped out from behind the desk, leaving only four ponies.

"Chief—!"

Luna snapped her head towards another unicorn stallion, but in a hospital gown galloping towards the desk, a second after Chief vacated the waiting area through the white double doors next to the desk.

"It's the changelings, the changelings are taking over! They're taking over! They're back I tell you, they're back!!" Said unicorn stallion, if she looked closely, was wearing a black ring on his horn pleading for the microphone mare, Needle Point, to release it.

That, 'tis a magic suppressor! Luna thought as she readied her stilled muscles to arrive to the desk if need so be. What exactly occurred that was connected to the reformed changelings, could hath brought on such a last resort?

"Where is Mr. Look's guardian?" Luna craned her neck back as the mare didn't even flinch, nor the scattered staff come to resolve the apparent problem. She spoke clearly in the mic, the composed voice echoing from the speakers was almost reassuring in the fast paced chaos; not giving a chance for Luna to breathe, but instead signaling for a frazzled stallion in light green scrubs to run out of the left wing with a relieved smile.

"There you are!" With gentle care, he helped the disoriented stallion off his hindlegs and dragged him towards the area he came through.

"Let go! I need to fight!" Luna flinched when the stallion caught sight of her, "Your Royal Highness!" he cried, "Please! I must protect Canterlot!" The demands could not even echo through her trembling heart upon the ear scratching ringing of an alarm, and the yells of Needle Point, who was unable to strike a glance at her once she realized her presence.

"Everypony stop!!" The scattering had already ceased once she stood from her chair and snatched a paper from Safe Route, alarm still ringing, her neon green eyes skimmed through whatever type of terror could have occurred. Passing the paper back to the mare, she leaned into the mic. "Code Violet! I repeat, this is a Code Violet!"

In a matter of seconds, Luna watched as all the mares in the hall— except for Needle Point— galloped pass her, not once blinking at her presence and lined up to guard the doors she came through, three out of the group already standing tall in front of her. The stallions still in their spot, taking on a defensive stance. Blinking away her focused stare, she turned to the middle mare, "What goes—?" she paused once Needle Point continued.

"Patient Barb Wire has just attacked her doctor and is heading towards the right wing! I need all available male staff to subdue her with vigi—!"

*BANG!*

"It's the end of the WOOORLD!!" A mare in a hospital gown barged through the white double doors, wearing a plastic helmet atop her head, and holding an IV stand like spear... as two scalpels were tied at the end with bandages. Chasing her were a group of male nurses and a doctor leading the crusade, said doctor was levitating a syringe.

"Missus Barb Wire!"

The stallions that were already in the hall ran towards her, causing the rouge patient to drop her weapon on its wheels and twist her body around on its axis, sending the group on their backs with a spinning kick. Returning the weapon under her foreleg, Luna snarled when the mare slipped from the coming grasp of a nurse behind her, ducking down low, and rammed the ends of the IV stand hard into his chin, knocking him out.

The mares in front of her acting as a shield had flinched at the crack.

Something snapped.

The air went cold.

And her mane flared.

"WARRIOR!" She flew into the air and summoned the hoof made weapon out her hold, causing the mare to gasp a name she didn't care to hear.
Horn alight and glare of fiery aimed at the shell shocked mare, she did not adhere to the yells of the three mares, Needle Point, nor the doctor's call to stop, as she aimed a beam of magic into the vulnerable mare's body, sending her to fall on her side, that is, was it not for the doctor sliding across the floor, catching her in the nick of time, before her head hit anything other than soft air.

And then, everything was silent.

Dead silent.

Until Luna's hooves fell heavily against the tiled floor, until those three mares could only pale their faces at h e r , then the unconscious mare. And the double doors being guarded by the mares behind her slammed open, and the connected consciousness was switched off.

"Doctor Atropa!" Needle Point gasped at the unicorn stallion.

"What the hell is going on up here?!"

Her heart was unable to reach a calming point at what just occurred, at what she just did; as she could only stare widely at the unconscious mare and nurse being carried into the right wing. 'Twas but a sleeping spell, she convinced herself.

“You’re late.”

"Of course I’m late! I had to deal with a herd of crazy ponies trying to stop me from coming in here!"

Luna flinched and eyed the stallion putting a final hoof in the sleeves of his white coat, wondering how he could have went against the royal guards and Private Sector. There was a teleportation seal inside this place and embedded into the bricks grounding the building, not to mention the outside perimeter.

"Then I hear there's a Code V?!" He trotted behind the desk and pulled a covered switch on the wall, stopping the alarm. The doctor turned to the fire-hazardous nurses already off the floor then at Needle Point.
"And all this—” he gestured to the almost full hall, “—for one admitted pony?!"

The mare shrunk in her seat, something Luna wouldn't have thought to see after witnessing her extraordinary leadership skills.

"Dear Doctor," she lifted her head high, "this brave mare hath faired well with her team in conducting the staff."

The doctor only blinked at the praise she gifted the mare, but then his brows furrowed, almost confused at finally understanding what she said. "Excuse me, Your Highness," he came to the sitting mare's side, "but I was speaking specifically with Doctor Needle Point."

Her right eye twitched at his blunt, and highly rude statement. "Excuse us?"

"I was trying to make sure nothing disastrous happened," he adjusted the pens in his white coat's pocket, "Your Highness."

Wings tensing, her hoof dug into the floor. This was not a mere pony. Celestia had fallen, so of course there is a disaster stricken upon them! But even so, this doctor barges in here and now acts such as this, towards her, towards them all?! "Thou were yelling at this mare!" she pointed at Needle Point.

The still untroubled doctor only gave her a silent look. "I'm only raising my voice because the nobles outside had not been dealt with, by sending them back to court until further notice."

Her breath hitched at finding out that the nobles were still out there. "I—"

"And that somepony had not informed the new receptionist or even you, Your Highness, as soon as you entered, that I would be arriving."

"That is—"

"Lastly, it's protocol that all highly volatile patients are to be given their weekly shots, which would prevent these types of incidents," he glared at Needle Point who inhaled a heavy breath.

"The patient had attacked her doctor, Sir."

Luna nodded, a sense of her pride returning when he was silenced, "That is but correct, Doctor."

"And what was the trigger?" he asked.

Yet that question made all the remaining staff in the hall still. And the unicorn doctor needed only to look around the area to receive his answer.

He blinked, closed his eyes and lifted his head as if asking for divine intervention, "Haah, I get it," he faced the staff, scrutinizing their still faces, "somepony couldn't keep their mouth shut and spooked the entire facility, including not just one patient but all the patients who were once guards protecting the Princesses, I get it," he nodded with a calm smile that didn't reach his eyes, "you're all dismissed."

The atmosphere sunk, and the hall gradually emptied until there were only three left.

"I'm sorry... Sir," Needle Point bowed her head low, remorse clearly etched in her core.

*sigh* "It's not your fault, Doctor Needle Point," he patted her withers, "as long as the situation was handled in a decent manner—"

Luna gulped.

"—and the patients are safe, and had been taken care of without much fault—"

Both mares just listened.

"—Then there's no need to worry."

"...."

"...."

He glanced between the both of them, "I hope I don't need to sign a death certificate."

"No pony passed before your arrival, Sir!" She peeked an eye at Luna with caution.

"Before?... So I should look out for when it happens during my stay?"

"Not at all, Doctor Atropa." Luna breathed out slowly, "And if so may to happen, then let it be by my fault."

His head tilted in thought or maybe interest, "...I see," then he turned to Needle Point, "I want a report of the events ranging from the last five hours 'til now, after I've examined Princess Celestia's condition and run a diagnosis."

"...Yes Sir, of course Sir," she opened her draw and pulled out a pack of papers and a typewriter from below. "Princess Celestia should be in room 221r, with Nurse Warming Heart, Doctor Atropa, Sir. Nurse Safe Route may have already received her checkup status by now."

"Good, a leisurely stroll," he sighed and faced Luna. "I'm sure you're ready for a visit, Your Highness, but it may take at most a few minutes or an hour, depending on what we're dealing with, so you'll need to wait more than what you wanted... somewhere by her door." But a dull smile shined on his slim and proper face, "but of course...."

Her eyes narrowed at the suggestion, she did not wake up earlier than she was meant, to get only this, waiting even more. And who was this doctor to voice such a thing in that sullied, rotten tone?

"I see... I guess we're cutting corners for you," he arched a brow, "well, we should be going?" He nodded at Needle Point, and she back at him. Moving around Luna, he made his way towards the right wing, Luna hot on his tied, and trimmed, long white tail.

Receiving a clipboard from the joyous mare, Safe Route, of the chaos storm, who greeted them both with a refreshing smile from her desk, it was indeed a leisurely stroll, a quiet one, not the rude doctor nor Luna opened up a friendly conversation, which gave the small hellos, and respected nods from the rest of the staff, a meaningful look of intrigue from Luna.

He may quite be of great quality in his profession if he does so receive such attention, but… if one were to include his rude and blunt way of speech, and his sickeningly fake smiles he gave her… she does not see how. Also, these ominous marvels will not excuse why this doctor was not rushing with her towards her sister's room to conclude her situation, and yes, she would love to push pass this doctor and make her way onwards towards Celestia's resting place, but what good would that so do? She had already went against her words to those nobles, and....

Luna's head sunk low.

"Dear Doctor," she called, extracting a faint back glance from said stallion.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"Art thou the one meant to forever care for my sister?"

"...I am... her attending physician, yes."

"Why hath we now heard of thee?"

"I'm sure you haven't once came into contact with the staff here until now?"

"...Yes."

"Then it only makes sense you haven't—"

"Doctor," she snarled, silencing his next words, "thy tongue seems to favor bitter speech, tame it."

He only blinked and tilted his head in a puppet like way, in what was definitely, interest, “You’d have to ask Princess Celestia, Your Highness.”

Luna prevented her mane from flickering from his avoidant response, from his mockery. She could not see how this stallion could be a doctor here if he acted such as this towards her, so how could she expect him to do good for her sister who had fallen?! And the stars know what could be her troublement!

“You.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

She huffed. "Why is it so that thou doth not make haste towards our sister?"

He blinked, "She is being well taken care of by a good nurse, Your Highness,” he flipped through the papers on the clipboard, “and based on her status, there doesn't exist any type of critical condition, as her brain scans for damage came out negative, and her Blood sugar level is normal."

This...This colt! "But she is thy princess! She hath fallen! Her mane hath ceased, and her sun doth not shine as bright as it once so did!"

"That part was very much easy to notice, Your Highness, and based on that alone I can deduct that it may just be from overworking, I was told she did appear to be tired and fighting to stay awake. I’m sure you have experienced this before?"

"...That...That is true." But not to the point where one’s light struggles on the line of luminosity.

"But even fainting from exhaustion should be carefully dealt with. So, I'd have to see her myself...." He and her paused at the loud clopping of hooves in the relatively empty hall.

Both watched a mare fall out a room a few doors down and spot them, but only to get up and gallop towards the doctor while calling his name.

"Doctor Atropa!” tears fell down her soft magenta cheeks and Luna felt the urge to pull the crying mare from the rude doctor’s coat, but there was no need, as he did it himself.

He does not even comfort a crying mare?!

The heartless and rude doctor looked upon the mare as she sniffled behind her foreleg.

Eye twitching, Luna turned to the mare and pushed up a kind smile, “Young mare, art thou hurt? Thou hath fallen a great fa—” the young mare flinched upon laying a soft hoof on her withers.

“Your Highness?!” complete dread refocused on her face, “You can’t...You can’t be here,” she backed away from her.

Her head craned back in surprise, and she furrowed her brows. “We have full intentions in meeting our sister. And as the doctor hath said, she hath been but overworked, so she shall quickly recover.” She hoped that he was reliable in that decision, even if it was a deduction.

The mare’s wide eyes drifted over to the doctor, “Doctor Atropa?” Everything about her screamed anxious fear, and that brought Luna’s attention.

“What happened Warming Heart?” he asked, trotting in front of her, formality dropped and clear to the point. And the mare’s name shot a chill down Luna’s spine.

Warming Heart gulped, glancing at Luna and back at the doctor, and sighed, “It's the Princess,” her voice was calm, but Luna’s heart instead fell deep down into the cold wrapping around her body, “sh-she's shrinking.”

Author's Note

And Chief was never seen again.