Warning: The next chapter contains violent scenes or explicit sexual content. This chapter contains a significant amount of Gore, so the reader's discretion is adviced.

Moonbeam

Chapter 32 – Between Life and Death.

The Sun deity said goodbye to her sister by giving her a kiss at the base of the horn. Luna's gentle smile remained firm on her face.

-I'll see you in a few weeks sister-, Celestia said, though she could feel like her body didn't want to leave the room.

Noticing the insecurity of the pearl-colored alicorn, Luna approached the base of her sister's neck caressing her soft white fur with the tip of her nose.

-I'll be fine Tia, you have nothing to worry about-, replied the youngest of the monarchs as she continued nuzzling her older sister’s neck. -I'm a grown-up mare, I can take care of myself-, she added, stepping lightly away from Celestia so she can look her in the eye.

-I know Luna, it's just that... -I can't help but worry about you, no matter how much you are grownup you are still my little sister-, said the eldest, placing her forehead against her sister's, her noses touching slightly and her horns intersecting with each other.

-I know Tia-, replied the indigo alicorn. -But, it is not the first time that we have separated for a long period-, she added with a sweet smile.

-The last time we were separated for so long, it was at the beginning of a war-, Celestia added.

-Yes, well… he, he, he… at least this time it's not even remotely similar-, Luna said, pulling away caressing her own neck with a hoof as she looked away.

-Even so, I hope you are a cautious sister, although the soldiers and sorcerers guard the castle, it does not hurt to be careful-, said the Princess of the Sun. Lunajust nodded. -If you need anything don't hesitate to contact me-, she added.

-We will Tia-, replied the younger sister, waving her hoof amicably, a gesture that the pearl-colored alicorn responded.

Luna continued waving her hoof until her sister disappeared behind the doors of the throne room. Then, she lowered her leg, her friendly expression changing for a completely serious and devoid of emotions one. Merak, who had remained motionless at the bottom of the throne,approached the ruler after noticing the sudden change of attitude.

-Princess... -He said in a soft voice.

-As soon as your brothers return, we want to talk to them-, Luna's voice had a neutral tone, however, the pony could notice some annoyance coming from the princess of the night.

-Of course! your majesty-, replied the pony bowing.

Outside the room, Celestia continued with her walk escorted by Caramel. The captain of the royal guard looked at her somewhat worriedly.

-Are you OK, your majesty?-, asked the captain.

-I didn't tell Luna that we suspect Chrisy is the same creature Zephora described-

-Don't you think it is necessary for her to find out? after all, it is someone close to her-, commented the Pegasus as he continued his walk next to the deity.

-Yes, but until I am sure, I cannot risk it, I could notice that between them there was a good chemistry, I find it hard to believe that Chrisy is the same creature that Zephora warned us about. I really hope it isn't-, Celestia added, looking at the ceiling.

-And... What will happen if it is? -, asked the captain without looking away from the deity.

He could notice that the question caused some stress to the ruler, although she hardly showed signs of it. Celestia closed her eyes before looking directly at him.

-If it turns out to be a threat to Luna, I will have no choice but to convince her never to approach my sister again, although it is not something I really want to do-

-And do you think she will accept? You know that Princess Luna will be against that-, the captain said.

-I can't say it's the best, but I think it's the right thing to do. No matter how much they love each other, if their relationship is a danger to any of them, they must understand and accept it. A relationship that causes pain to the pony you love is not healthy and the longer they continue, the greater the damage. I'd rather they both suffer for a moment than do so for the rest of their lives.

-I understand-, the stallion replied.

They continued to walk down the hall quietly for a while, both of them seemed completely immersed in their own thoughts.

-Is everything ready for tomorrow's meeting? -, asked the alicorn resuming the conversation.

-Yes, your majesty. The letters were sent, there is no doubt that the remaining nobles will be present, the only one who will not be present is Lord Wine, however, he assured that there would be a trusted pony in his place.

-Good to know. What about Hurricane? Had she told you something about the attacks?-, the pegasus shook his head. -I understand -, added the deity of the Sun.

-The investigation teams are reviewing the mansions that were attacked, trying to find some clue, no matter how good the murderer was, it is certain that he must have left something, with so many victims it would be impossible for him not to do so, especially taking into account that the estimated intervals between the attack of one mansion and another, are not extensive enough, I doubt very much that the killer managed to cover all its tracks-

-I hope so... Keep me informed of any update regarding the situation-, added the deity receiving a salute from the soldier in response.

-I've already spoken to Clover, to keep me informed of her findings regarding the ponies that were attacked in the back gardens of the castle during last night's events-, the deity commented, continuing her advance.

Upon reaching the main hall, they both noticed the creature standing in the middle of the corridor. She had a long mane raised like a crest over her head, her fur sported a monochromatic color and on her back she wore an old layer of a wood-colored cloth.

-Zephora... -, said the alicorn noticing the unexpected visitor.

-Your Majesty, can we have a word? just the two of us alone?-, said the zebra pointing to the room to her left.

After nodding, the princess followed her into the room while the captain stayed outside the door.

Celestia took a seat on one of the sofas in the room, while Zephora took a seat on the other side of the tea table where two cups were already served.

-Princess... -The zebra said, drawing the ruler's attention to her.

The zebra took an old book that was within reach of its hooves, which she subsequently placed on the surface of the small table that separated them. Celestia looked at the book’s leather cover. On the cover she could see a white fire ring.

The princess levitated the book to her and looked at the back cover, none of them showed any title or hint of the name, only that white fire ring that contrasted with the black background, although it certainly seemed familiar.

The white-pearl coat alicorn opened the book browsing the pages carefully, the contents of the book recite seven children's stories that Mistmane enjoyed telling them each night before they went to bed, when she and her sister were just a couple of fillies in the care of Starswirl and her companions.

Those stories that her mentor's friend told them, were full of adventures that the different characters lived, embarking on a journey of self-discovery to save their villages and fulfill their dreams, while facing the demons of darkness.

At that time, the princess had managed to appreciate each and every one of the stories feeling quite identified with some of them, however, that book seemed to contain some changes compared to Mistmane’s the bedtime story book.

-Why do you give me this? -The somewhat confused princess asked.

-A certain truth Every legend has, many of them change and adapt. Some are even forced to alter their truth in time, mainly when the facts are far cruel than we can surpass... I thought it might help to open up your mind-, the zebra said.

The mare nodded, she thought it was curious that the zebra asked her to see her alone to give her a book of children's stories, but knowing Zephora, she knew there was something else that had to do with that book.

-Zephora, have you heard anything about the recent murders that took place in several of the mansions of the noble families of the boundaries of Manehattan?-, The princess asked.

The zebra shook its head.

-I can’t deny is a concern I am unable to rely-, Zephora Replied. -Though I must say it is something I can try-.

-I understand, I was hoping you give me some clue to lean on-, said the deity of the Sun somewhat sadly.

-If my advice is what you seek, only one thing I can give. The answer you’re looking with such anxiety, perhaps hiding is, inside your dreams-, said the zebra pointing to the book. -But cautious you need to be your majesty. Cause the truth is not always easy to find in a clouded mind indeed.

Celestia nodded once again before the zebra stood on her four hooves approaching the princess.

-Remember that the strongest magic in this world is not the one ignites by a foe-, said the zebra by placing a hoof on the monarch's chest. -But the one that rise when you stand to protect those who your heart treasure inside-, the zebra added.

With that said, Zephora bowed before leaving the room. The words of the zebra remained in the mind of the monarch for a long time.

Celesta located her carriage by moving her body automatically, without thinking much about what she was doing. Her mind was full of questions and issues that she had to take care of early the next day, so she had to make sure he got enough rest that night, even though she felt that strange sense of discomfort from separating from her sister. Traveling on the carriage, which was pulled by two Pegasus, Celestia was observing the night sky absent mindedly, not paying much attention to the winter clouds that gradually covered the night sky dropping their cargo on the kingdom.

After some time in the air, Celestia managed to notice a flash of green spark followed by a plume of smoke beginning to emanate from somewhere in the forest that lay at the foot of the mountain on which the capital had been built. After realizing that her guards were also looking in the direction of the smoke column, the deity decided to ask them to descend in the vicinity to investigate what had happened.

Obeying the order of the monarch, both Pegasus begin their descent.

When consciousness returned to her, the first thing she felt was the icy sensation of the snow carpet under her stomach, followed by the heat she could perceive in the parts of her body that were not covered by snow.

Her hooves hurt and her wings felt as if they were made of glass, fortunately the winter piece of cloth that Epsilon had given her, along with the scarf placed around her neck, brings her warm in some extent.

Enduring the pain that ran through each of her limbs, the changeling began to stand up, something that turned out to be quite a complicated job considering that her four hooves trembled every time she applied pressure on them. So, she chose to simply sit on the snow. While recovering a little more of her senses, Chrysalis managed to focus on the light source that illuminated her surroundings.

Her eyes widened completely upon seeing the scene in front of her. The cabin was completely shattered, and the pieces of wood burned intensely in a sea of green and yellow fire.

-Oh no!-, the Changeling Princess said, trying to stand up again to approach the place, putting all her will into knowing if the mare that had tried to save her was okay.

Chrysalis advanced on the snow to the heat of the flames trying to remove some of the debris, in order to break through while searching for the unfortunate Night Knight.

-Please, you have to stay alive-, the changeling pleaded as she dug through the rubble removing pieces of burning wood and pieces of coal.

The movement of the debris behind her caught her attention. She ran to the pile of charred material before starting to remove some of the weight so that the creature could get out of her prison. The unmistakable green glow that came from under the pile of incandescent materials made her take several steps backwards. A small burst of energy slammed away the remaining debris, throwing Chrysalis to the ground while covering her head with her own hooves to prevent any of the pieces of wood from hitting her in the skull.

AAAAAARRRGGGGGGGHHHHH

The queen's cry froze her flesh despite the heat of the flames that still danced around her.

Cocoon’s flesh was partially burned and had several wounds caused by the blows and splinters that were embedded throughout her body, one of her fore hooves had been cut under her elbow, he had two daggers on her shoulders and her wings sported cuts that would surely prevent her from flying properly. The changeling Princess also noticed that the holes in her mother’s legs were now filled by a material similar to pieces of emerald that sported several cracks, some had even been partially broken.

The Queen's eyes focused on the young changeling who was crouching in front of her.

-It seems that your little friend could not survive after all-, the queen mocked by tearing the daggers from her shoulders using her telekinesis. Miraculously the weapons had not inflicted damage on the nerves or tendons of her body, so the queen could still move her shoulders with some freedom.

Immediately her horn glowed, closing the superficial wounds of her body with the exception of her leg, which still shed some blood.

The queen used her magic to break the hilt of one of the feather-shaped daggers before placing it in the flames. Subsequently Cocoon smiled from side to side and forcefully embedded the fiery dagger in the stump of her wounded leg, immediately, she let out a scream as the flesh was cauterized as the steel dagger adhered to her skin.

The Changeling Princess looked at the queen in horror, as Cocoon casted a spell over the weapon causing the steel been corrupted adapting a black color, while the material began to combine forming an artificial limb in the shape of a completely deformed dagger permanently attached to her foreleg. Luna had told Chrysalis, that those kinds of spells, can be made just made by very capable dark magic users. The princes could sense the dark magic used on the pieces of muscle, bone, and flesh, while combining them with the blackened blade of steel.

After observing her work, the queen transformed her new limb a couple of times to make sure it worked properly. A smile formed on her lips when she noticed that the limb took the desired shapes at will, in the same way that any other part of her body would, then she looked at her daughter. Chrysalis felt as if the queen's gaze was able to cut her skin.

-The decision is yours dear... -, commented the queen with a more sensual voice than she remembered. -You can give me the heiress of the empire in exchange for the secret to save your beloved or you can continue to flee for the rest of your life-, the queen's gaze was diverted to the forest. -You do not have much time, when you get your answer, you know well how to contact me-, Cocoon told her by throwing four insect shells at her hooves.

After wrapping her body in a green glow, the queen took the form of a timberwolf and then entered the forest at full speed.

“Why don't you just destroy Princess Celestia now?”, said impatiently Cocoon’s voice inside Vice's mind, Cocoon had managed to feel the trace of the magic of the princess of the sun approaching them moments ago.

-Because that damn mare forced me to use a big amount of our power in that battle-, replied Vice who still controlled the body of the changeling. -I had no idea that her blood was capable of inflicting so much damage on us-, Vice added while one of her sides was still bleeding. -I have not been able to heal all the wounds that that fucking bitch caused me, it's a shame, my sister certainly found a soldier who was really worth to keep around-, Vice continued without stopping. -Too bad that captain had the courage to mock me-.

Chrysalis continued to push away debris in search of Epsilon. After removing a particularly large charred wooden pillar, she was able to catch a glimpse of the pony's face lying under the rubble, her face was almost unrecognizable, the pieces of melted metal from her helmet seemed to have cooked the pony's skin, her mane had burned almost completely exposing the battle wound in her left eye, parts of her flesh had been burned exposing small pieces of her skull. The blood gushing from her body spread across the boards, snow and dirt producing a hiss-like sound as he melted the materials it came into contact with, making it impossible for the changeling to get it out of that place without running the risk of suffering damage when touching the liquid.

Among the rubble Chrysalis could visualize the piece of hoof that the mare had cut off her mother, near which was one of the night knight's curved daggers. Without thinking about it, Chrysalis took the weapon with her hoof and after soakingthe edge of the blade in the pool of spilled blood of the pony, she proceeded to cut the ring that kept her magic sealed.

The ring material on its horn quickly gave way to the corrosive liquid, producing a small explosion as it broke. Although it was not particularly powerful one, the changeling horn resented the impact causing a terrible migraine to Chrysalis.

After recovering from the daze caused by the explosion, the princess could hear a group of voices approaching from the forest.

-AROUND HERE! -, shouted a stallion galloping on the snow.

Noticing the arrival of the royal guards, Chrysalis quickly took the form of a giant mantis and proceeded to move away from the place, she could not let the guards discover her there. As soon as she made sure she was at a safe distance, the princess returned to her real form while staying in the shadows. In the distance she could observe how the pyre of fire was extinguished suddenly by a fountain of shining magic, leaving everything in total darkness, with the exception of a small light that remained glowing near Epsilon.

Chrysalis turned around, closed her eyes tightly at her new dilemma, she could not continue to flee for the rest of her life and now she was sure that her mother was willing to take her secrets to the grave if necessary, so she had no choice. She had only one way of knowing the method to save Luna's life and to do so she had to be ready to do anything.

The sun deity advanced through the forest, her senses alert at all times as they approached the light source in front.

AAAAAARRRGGGGGGGHHHHH

The scream accompanied by a small explosion caught the attention of the princess. The two stallions looked at her. After nodding once, one of them advanced smoothly flapping to make as little noise as possible, the second remained by the princess's side closely following the first pegasus to provide reinforcements in case of being surprised by any danger.

They advanced several meters as the light source intensified, until a second cry of pain caught their attention again, those sounds coming from the same direction in which the light source was located. So, the soldier who was at the head of the group advanced with greater speed. As soon as the light emitted by the flames was close enough, the pegasus was forced to descend on the snow. The glow of the hugging flames prevented him from seeing clearly and the intense heat they gave off made it difficult for him to keep her gaze on the light source.

The movement of some debris inside the embracing fire caught her attention, there was something trapped in that hell.

-AROUND HERE! -, shouted the stallion beckoning her companion and the princess who approached quickly.

A flash of green color could be perceived from its position, probably caused by some chemical exploding due to the temperature.

-It seems that there is somepony there-, said the stallion unable to get any closer to the flames.

-Step aside-, said the princess, igniting her long horn with a golden aura that enveloped the flames. After a blinding glow, the flames were instantly quelled, pulling the forest into gloom, the only source of light coming from the princess's still bright horn.

-It must be under the rubble, look for it carefully-, the princess said as she and her two guards began to remove the debris trying to find the victim.

The bright horn hardly helped them to improve their eyesight a little, however, the abundant smoke that emanated from the charred wood made the task difficult for them.

-Here it is! -, the other guard called.

The deity of the sun approached slightly increasing the light of its horn. Noticing the silhouette of the creature buried under the rubble, she couldn't help but let out a choked gasp, the pony's face was quite battered, but although crooked, the figure of the helmet and the color of the pony made it impossible for her not to recognize it.

-STOP! -, the deity sentenced when she noticed that her guards were trying to approach the mare to reach the victim.

-But princess... -, reproached one of them.

-Do not approach her-, she commented, surprising both guards. -That pony’s blood is corrosive, if you touch it, it could seriously hurt you, I will take care of taking it out, please stay behind-, both stallions obeyed by stepping aside. -We are not far from the castle, I need one of you to fly to the hospital and warn that I will take a mare in a really bad state, ask for the support of Dr. Red Heart. Tell her that it is Epsilon, she will know what she has to prepare for our arrival-, with no reason to refuse, both soldiers nodded before one of them took the flight at full speed back to the capital.

The second soldier stared as the deity began to carefully levitate the debris so that it would not rebury her. The task was arduous, she could not simply teleport the pony until she was sure where and how her body was. If she made a mistake, she could teleport only one part of the body and accidentally tear off another, although considering the number of debris and the position of the pony it was almost certain that much of her body must have been severely damaged.

The alicorn continued to levitate the heavy pieces of material by pushing them away as quickly as possible, without running the risk of a collapse.

The soldier remained nearby, helping the princess to keep a wooden column stable or removing some specific debris. He watched in horror as the hoofshoes protecting the deity’s hooves were slowly melted on contact with the mare's blood.

In the end and after what should have been a couple of hours Celestia raised a last wooden board exposing the body of the mare.

At the scene both the guard and the princess couldn't help but feel a sense of nausea. The armor she wore on her back was completely shattered, pieces of metal were embedded in her body. Part of her exposed back had a huge wound that bled abundantly, you could see the flesh of the mare trying to regenerate as the bloodshed continued to open the wound, through which you could see several bones of the mare's back, and the living muscles that throbbed as if inside they had a balloon of water that was constantly inflating and deflating.

One of its sides had a deep wound from which drained not only blood, but also a liquid of a turquoise blue color. That wound exposed part of the internal organs of the pony, as well as several of its guts, which did not leave their place because the opening was not large enough to allow it. One of its front legs sported a cut along exposing muscles, bone and ligaments, while one of its hind helmets was rotated, the wound had caused the chipped bone to be exposed opening a huge fissure in its hind leg through which the piece of bone was sticking out. All that without counting the pool of blood on which the pony was lying, which surely had already damaged much of the skin that was in direct contact with it.

Ignoring the soldier's words, Celestia placed both fore hooves on the surface next to the mare by lighting her horn while performing a spell to lessen the bleeding.

Celestia felt the metal protecting her hooves, been quickly damaged by the liquid. While still casting the spell to lessen the damage, the Princess watched the pony's chest rise and fall extremely slowly, knew that she was on the verge of death, and must act immediately.

With her aura she wrapped the body of the pony levitating it slightly on the ground making sure not to alter the position of only one of her hairs.

-Come closer-, the deity demanded to her other soldier.

Hearing the deity’s authoritarian tone, the pegasus approached her side still surprised by the state of the mare.

Concentrating her magic, the princess casted the spell, after a sonorous PUFF, the three ponies disappeared as well as the light that had been illuminating the place, leaving only a pair of hoofshoes covered in blood.

Outside Canterlot's general hospital was a group of ponies, waiting impatiently as the night's snow continued to fall gently. At the head of the group, which was made up of ponies of the three races, was a fairly particular mare, her baby pink fur color and cream-colored mane was distinguished by a cutie mark with the shape of a red heart, which was crossed by a line that resembled the pulse of a heartbeat.

How much longer do you think the princess will take? -One of the doctors said.

-The princess said it was urgent so she shouldn't...-

Before finishing the sentence, a flash created by a blinding white light appeared out of nowhere. After dissipating, the Doctor clearly saw the silhouette of two ponies and a third that seemed to be floating at the height of the larger pony.

Without the princess having to explain anything, the mare was horrified by the state of the creature that was floating in midair, still wrapped in a telekinetic field of a bright golden color.

-Princess, put her on the stretcher immediately. We will take her to the operating room-, the doctor said in a hurry.

The princess placed the pony on the stretcher that quickly began a race through the corridors of the hospital.

-Step aside! -, ordered one of the doctors at the head of the group.

-I need two special IDs-, said another of the medical ponies as they injected into the mare's healthy fore hooves a syringe that they had magically protected to lessen material damage upon contact with the pony's blood. Another of the needles was inserted directly into the heart of the pony by injecting blood directly into the main artery.

-How could this happen to her?-, Red Heart asked to the princess.

-I have no idea, we saw the explosion from the air, when we arrived at the place, she was already under several rubble in the middle of fire-

-I am surprised that the bleeding is minimal-, said the doctor, while the rest of the experts continued to place tubes and needles in the mare's body preparing her for interventions.

-I casted a spell to stop the bleeding temporarily, I assumed it would give you some time to work-, said the princess advancing to the step of the doctors.

-That will be very helpful-, said the pink-fur unicorn. -I want a quick diagnosis-, Red Heart added.

Another mare approached as she levitated a notebook with the notes she had been pointing to.

-We have traumas in the chest and abdomen, the back has 5th degree burn damage and an opening of 20 centimeters. More than 30 percent of her bones are damaged or fractured. We have an exposed fracture in the hind leg and an incision in the entire fore hoof. There is a 5cm diameter wound on one side, we do not know to what degree the internal organs are damaged, but some venom has been identified on the surface of the skin. The armor received most of the impact of what looks like an explosion, but the heat melted it with the skin so we will have to cut to remove it. The face has several lacerations and burns except for the previously damaged eye. The other seems to be in good condition, but we cannot be completely sure. The wings have minor burns on the membranes and recent scar marks. We only have two of the four legs of the body without significant damage and it seems that the helmet did not suffer further damage so the skull and brain must be intact, although we cannot rule out a contusion caused by the explosion on the back-, When the mare finished reading Celestia's gaze was completely terrifying. Red Heart had both eyes fixed on the patient; it was a real miracle that with such damage she continued alive. Finally, the doctor asked the same thing that everyone in the group was silently wondering.

-How the hell can he stay alive?-

-Maybe her regenerative ability is the reason, her body heals faster from wounds than the body of any creature I've seen before-, the princess said.

-Her own body may have diverted most of the amount of her inner recovery magic to the vital organs-, said one of the doctors at the head of the group.

-Doctor! -Said another alarmed pony calling for Red Heart’s attention.

-What is it?-

The stallion pointed to the mare lying on the stretcher. Who seemed to try to articulate something, apparently the mare was partially conscious. The princess brought her ear to the mare's lips carefully enough not to get in the way of the doctors' work.

The mare's lips moved letting out a name in a whisper barely audible to the princess. It was clear that the mare was not fully awake, but perhaps the voice of the princess as well as that of the doctors had managed to bring her back temporarily to warn them of what had happened.

-She is losing consciousness!-, announced another of the doctors when he noticed that the patient's heart rate was beginning to decrease.

Without worrying about requesting permission, Red Heart pushed the princess aside to start tubing the mare down her throat to plug in an air filter and start providing oxygen directly to her lungs.

-We don't have much time, she's barely alive!-, We must operate immediately, ordered the doctor, hastening the passage. The Princess slowly came to a stop until she was in front of two large metal doors.

Once the group crossed the room, a pony located on the side of the door activated a spell to light a little light on top of the doors with a deep red color.

-Princess...-

The voice of the royal guard pulled the princess out of the trance state she was in. The ruler looked at the soldier with tears in her eyes.

-Go for a messenger, we must warn Luna and the members of the night watch as soon as possible-, Celestia spoke trying not to let her voice break.

-Let's get started! -, Ordered Dr. Red Heart while washing her forehooves. She advanced on her hind hooves by lighting her horn to approach a metal table on which were several surgical instruments, most of them developed during the war against the crystal empire.

-I want her in constant observation and a warning to any change in the magic fluctuations inside, whether for better or for worse-, said the surgeon as she stood on the side of the operating table.

-Of course Dr. Red Heart-, replied the rest of the specialists, immediately, a group of unicorns began to execute spells to monitor the patient's vital signs.

-I don't think I need to tell you this, but it's imperative that you take extreme care not to come into contact with the patient's blood-, Red Heart added, looking at the rest as she put on her mask.

Quickly and in total sync, the group of doctors was distributed throughout the patient's body, beginning the intervention.

They first used a pair of mechanical tweezers to open the steel plates of the armor that was attached to the mare's skin. With the scalpels they began to cut the damaged skin by removing it from the body while using the tweezers to slowly open the plates so as not to tear off the skin by force. The procedure lasted several minutes until they were finally able to separate the steel plates from the mare's back. They repeated the process with the helmet and the pieces of armor on their hooves, the latter turned out to be the easiest to remove.

As soon as the mare was freed from the metal pieces, the group of doctors proceeded to lay the pony on one side to begin treating the various wounds by separating into several groups.

One of the groups began working on the elongated wound that ran through one of the front legs, reconnecting the nerves and ligaments using magic spells they had developed to treat the numerous wounded they tended daily at the boundaries of the crystal empire during King Sombra's rebellion.

Another group began working on the mare's hind leg, which still showed the exposed bone fracture.

-We will have to cut to adjust the bone in place-, said one of the surgeons while examining the wound on the hind hoof.

The doctor moistened the coat covering the wound using a liquid consisting of benzalkonium chloride and chlorhexidine digluconate to disinfect the area. Later, he took a knife, with which, he began to remove the fur from around leaving the skin completely exposed, after applying a little more of the antiseptic liquid, they began to make some cuts on the skin that, strange as it seemed, had managed to partially heal without the help of any of the doctors.

The doctor was forced to cut the ligaments and muscles again, before breaking the bone that had begun to heal in the wrong position. Subsequently, they began to attach the bone in place using screws and plates to attach the bone together before rearranging it into the correct position, while other doctors used spells to speed up the reproduction of bone cells and a calcium paste to weld the bone quickly. The team then began reconnecting the ligaments of the hind leg, eventually suturing the muscles before coating them with the layer of skin, which they sutured using a thread of silk fiber built from achromantula’s web, a type of arachnid whose web could withstand blood corrosion long enough for the skin to reconnect before the fiber was completely disintegrated.

The team headed by Red Heart was the largest. As soon as the armor was removed, they began to clean the areas damaged by the explosion, forcing themselves to open incisions as the internal damage looked much worse. They worked quickly exposing the bones of the spine while executing the correct spells to heal the inside of the damaged bones and nerve connections. Red Heart noticed that some of the spells even seemed to have a much faster effect and recalled Princess Celestia's comment, perhaps the regeneration ability could help them save her life before it was too late.

As soon as the wounds of the legs and back were sutured and closed, the team turned the patient face upleaving the pony’s abdomen exposed.

Together, the group of doctors began to tend to the wound on her side by opening a new incision with the scalpel, subsequently introducing a hose to suck the poison residues into her system while using a pair of magnifying glasses and light spells, to inspect the damage suffered. After noticing that the poison residues had invaded much of the mare's interior, the team opened a horizontal incision to extract the pony's intestines, making enough space to be able to clean the poison residues from inside her body.

The team again began to divide into sections, one of the new groups began to clean the intestines, extracting food residues and fecal waste from inside the viscera of the captain, before performing sutures at the points where the intestines were perforated or torn.

Another team used the incision on the side to begin working on the liver, cutting a section of the organ, which had been damaged and was slightly blackened by the effect of the poison.

As soon as the doctors finished carefully checking the pony's guts and the intestine; the group of doctors returned the exposed intestines back to the inside of the pony's abdomen before starting to suture the incisions using the achromantula’s thread.In a similar way the team working on the side of the pony began to close the wounds making sure that the liver had been well sutured.

Red Heart, meanwhile, focused on analyzing the blows the captain had received to the skull and neck while her unicorn team did an analysis of the mare's brain electric pulses, to make sure that the connections made in the spine were still working correctly.

The operation was long, they worked on the mare breaking and rejoining each section of her body.

They extracted soil, coal, venom residues and wood chips that were inside before they were sure that any trace of impurity had been successfully removed. Fortunately, vital organs such as the heart, brain, lungs or liver had not suffered significant damage.

Unfortunately the toxicity of the blood and its corrosive power began to delay them enormously. Surgical tools ceased to be useful after a few minutes in contact with the terrible liquid even after being protected by a spell of resistance.

The intravenous needles had to be constantly changed increasing the risk of not providing the body with enough nutrients caused by blood loss.

There were several occasions when the mechanical tweezers that kept the ribs apart to give doctors access to the organs had to be changed because of the damage that the steel received under constant exposure to the scarlet fluid.

They were even forced to request a second operating table because the blood that managed to fall on the table on which the mare stood had begun to damage the structure of it, forcing them to make a last-minute change before the table collapsed under the weight of the mare.

To make matters worse, the patient had fallen several times into a total coma and her heart had failed more than once forcing doctors to massage her directly with magic spells to revive her.

There was a moment when one of the doctors was splashed by a stream of blood that was triggered when making a cut to rearrange a couple of damaged bones, apparently one of the bones had passed through one of the secondary veins causing a stagnation in the blood that was released after the cut of the pony.

Fortunately, the liquid only splashed part of the uniform and gloves that protected her leg giving him time to execute a spell on the garments to teleport them out of her body. However, after the incident the rest of the doctors began to work with slower speed, afraid that a similar situation would happen to them, clearly afraid that they would not so lucky. Afterall, they knew how dangerous that liquid could be, for they had been part of the group of elite doctors sent to the battle lines in charge of the first royal division commanded by the princesses, so they knew how dangerous the mare's blood was thanks to the need to memorize the records of soldiers who possessed some special condition to be able to treat them correctly in case of receiving any serious wound.

After what seemed like an eternity, the groups slowly began to separate, while the various wounds finished being treated, leaving only the main team working in forced marches trying to repair the mare's most serious wounds, while the secondary teams, made sure to monitor and constantly check the patient's condition, as well as applying blood transfusions and saline solutions.

Fortunately for the surgeons, the mare's regenerative factor quickly began to work in her favor as soon as the number of wounds began to decrease.

By the time Red Heart and her team finished closing the last of the wounds, more than 36 hours of uninterrupted work had passed.

With all her wounds closed, the mare's body began to regain her heart rate stabilizing slightly below normal, which was an excellent sign.

Unfortunately, the monitoring spells also marked a significant decrease in the mare's brain waves, telling the medical staff that the mare was in an extremely deep coma, probably caused by the stress her body had been subjected to for hours.

-That's it, we can't do more for her, now everything depends on her own will power-, said the doctor. -I’ll talk to the princess, put on the bandages, immobilize the back and plaster the hind leg. We will prepare the patient for transfer to one of the intensive care rooms-, Red Heartordered leaving the room followed by some of the other doctors while a couple of them remained inside the room to prepare for the mare's transfer to what would be her hospital room.

Red Heart could feel her magic reserves completely depleted by the constant effort. Her head began to suffer the effects of the decrease in adrenaline in her system after having finished her work. The doctor left the room, her hooves barely supporting her own weight, her body felt sore, and she could feel her stomach's claim due to the lack of food.

However, all that was left behind as soon as she saw the ponies located in the waiting room. The first to jump out of their place were Merak and Siegfried. Who, like Alcor, did not wear their armor and had swollen and irritated eyes, as if they had been crying all the time.

Caramel was sitting next to Princess Celestia who looked quite tired. But something caught her attention more than anything else. The gaze of the indigo alicorn behind the group was cold, extremely cold, you could feel great pressure when looking at those eyes devoid of any emotion, as if something had swallowed part of her soul.

That feeling Red Heart had learned to notice after her assistance in Pony treatments that had ended up in the hospital after having tried to commit suicide without success. The princess of the night looked quite normal in the eyes of any pony, plus the lack of emotions in the mare greatly puzzled the doctor. After all, even Celestia looked affected by what happened, while on the other hoof, the princess of the night not only looked unchanged, but even seemed that she had not spilled a single tear.

From what the doctor knew from the patient's history, the princess of the night was one of the ponies closest to the captain of the night watch, so seeing her there unchanged made her fur stand up to the coldness of the monarch.

-How is her? -, asked the two youngest brothers. The doctor took some air before answering. Her voice sounded exhausted from constantly giving orders.

-We managed to treat her wounds and repair the damage-, everyone present began to look at each other, small smiles forming on their lips while looking at each other. -However, the damage and traumas were extremely severe-, the surgeon announced looking at the albino alicorn who had seen the state of the mare upon arriving at the hospital. -I am afraid that, although we managed to connect most of the nerves and re-establish the structures of her column and bones, it is possible that the trauma was too strong for her brain. We were forced to revive her several times during the operation-, upon hearing the news, rest of the ponies with the exception of the deity of the night, remained looking at the doctor with fear in their eyes.

-But she will be OK, right? -, Insisted Merak getting even closer to Red Heart, her voice trembled with fear, her eyes looked at her hopefully and began to fill with tears anticipating the surgeon's response.

Red Heart closed her eyes and shook her head. Although giving this kind of news to a patient's relatives was quite common for a doctor, it was something she could hardly get used to.

-It is impossible for us to know how serious the damage of the mental trauma was, although her body seems to be recovering well from the damage, your mind is in a total coma, so I must warn you that, if the situation does not improve in a couple of days at most, it will be highly likely that you will need to diagnose brain death-, announced the mare.

-NOOOO! -Merak shouted, falling to the ground.

Alcor approached his younger brother crouching beside him as he wrapped him in his wing protectively. Siegfried looked away as he dropped his flanks on the cold surface of the hospital floors, from his eyes were dripping tears that fell incessantly, he kept her jaw firmly closed full of rage, and his lips trembled.

The Sun deity landed on her flanks, her gaze firm on the three brothers in front of her, several tears fell from her cheeks as she shared the pain of the ponies. Caramel approached by placing one of her wings as high as she could from the waist of the albino alicorn.

Luna just looked at the scene, her face unaltered, her serious and cold look remained firmly in place before asking in a dry tone.

-When can we visit it? -, asked the youngest of the monarchs surprising everyone with that tone.

-At the pace at which your body recovers, tomorrow you can visit it, but I must notify you that no more than three ponies can enter at a time-

-I will return in the morning-, announced the princess, turning around and withdrawing from the place.

-Sister-, Celestia murmured as she watched her sister leave the hospital after two full days of sleeplessness.

Author's Note

It seems that Epsilon's life is still on a tightrope.

Hopefully I will be developing the book’s stories of in future chapters, as they are of importance and will provide an important clue to what is happening behind everything that is seen with the naked eye.

I know I already said this but, translate Zephora’s dialogs from Spanish to English is a pain in the back Cause I had to correct the rimes with out getting out of the original context of the dialogs.

Also, for this chapter I had to make a lot of corrections about the operating scenes, cause there were a lot of errors in the narrative that made the scene even less understandable. Jajajaja hope it was corrected just enough. I’ll be really useful to get some comments about those scenes.

I really don't have much to add right now, but I hope you're having a great time, the story is escalating pretty fast in situations.

At the moment it's all see you in the next chapter.... ALLONS-Y

In memory of Victor Fidel Amado grandfather and mentor.

March/1938. - October/2018

In memory of Carolina López Beloved aunt and life's example.

May/1947 - February/2020