Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started with a headache. Cadance usually, having worked in childcare most of her life before becoming a princess, wouldn’t be too concerned about that. But Varian wasn’t a pony, and every time he got sick she got concerned. Usually, it was fine, Quirin had warned her that Varian was a sickly child and sure enough he’d had small colds and flus pretty consistently for the first year or two. But after that he’d gotten healthier, and now that he was seven he was rarely sick. So the headache had worried her, but she’d assumed it was only a cold congestion causing it and that she was worrying too much. 

Varian’s headache had been persistent for two days, but he was still energetic and bright like usual once given some medicine. Still, she was being cautious and decided she would keep an eye on him and have him stay home with her while Shining Armor went with Flurry to visit Twilight. Varian was a little upset he couldn’t go, but he didn’t seem to mind once Cadance promised they’d spend time together. When Sunburst came to tell her Varian was sick in bed the next day, she’d expected to go in and find her son sleepily ill but mostly fine. She’d intended to just check in on him throughout the day, ensure he was made some healthy soup, and just spend the evening with him until he was able to sleep.

But he’d been far sicker looking then she’d expected. He was a little pale, he was lethargic, and when she pressed one of her wings against his head she could tell he was warm. But she had things she had to do as a princess, and she had convinced herself that he’d be alright in Sunburst’s care until she was free. It would only be a few hours of paperwork, and then she could take care of Varian herself, and even then she knew that Sunburst would take good care of him. She’d finished all the things that absolutely had to be done before she went to check on him again, but she could tell by Sunburst’s worried facial expression that things had gotten worse.

She sent Sunburst to get a doctor, deciding then and there that she wasn’t going to risk him getting any worse without a doctor taking a look. She sat at his bedside, closing the blinds on the room when she realized it seemed Varian’s headache was being egged on by the light.

“Thanks mom…”

“How do you feel sweetie?”

“Really cold.”

She frowned, even though she wasn’t surprised considering how feverish he was.

“It’ll be alright sweetheart, you just have a fever.” Cadance knew Varian was a smart enough boy to already know that he was sick, but he seemed comforted by the words still. 

She kept talking with him until Sunburst and the royal family physician arrived. She was a kirin named Pepper Bark, and she’d been with the family since Varian was little and had worked hard to understand the differences in human anatomy compared to all other creatures. She put one of her forelegs against Varian’s forehead and frowned, looking at Cadance.

“This started with a headache?”

“Yes. It went away with medicine and I thought it was just because he was getting sick, like usual. But this isn’t a cold or flu.” Cadance answered.

Pepper nodded, before she got into her doctor bag and began checking his vitals. Cadance and Sunburst watched worriedly, before Pepper seemed to come to some kind of conclusion and relaxed slightly.

“I think he has meningitis.” She explained, looking at them. “The symptoms are the same.”

“Isn’t that bad?” Sunburst asked.

“It can be, but I’m sure we’ve caught it in time.” Pepper explained, heading to the door. “I need some more equipment, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I’ll come with you to help carry anything you need.” Sunburst insisted, the kirin nodding and the two leaving again.

Cadance was even more worried than she’d been before, but she did her best not to show it since Varian, while he was feverish and seemed somewhat confused, was still awake and might notice if she seemed upset. She wasn’t aware humans could get meningitis, otherwise she might have tried to have someone make a vaccine for it for Varian, most foals were vaccinated against it, she had been and while Flurry was still too little for it, it was scheduled. She hadn’t thought to ask Quirin about such things, if the man would even know. Pepper Bark had worked hard concocting vaccines for him based on illnesses she theorized humans could get. Even if Pepper was concerned about meningitis, Varian was still too little for a vaccine for that too. 

Varian tried to look over at her, presumably to ask her something, but he seemed to get dizzy or nauseous and went quiet. Cadance moved closer and helped him sit up, just in case, but it seemed the wave of nausea wore off.

“Mom?” He looked up at her, clearly a bit scared.

“It’ll be alright sweetheart.” She nuzzled him a little, gently out of worry of causing him any pain. “You should try to rest, you look tired.”

She helped him lay down, pulling his blanket up and singing a lullaby in an effort to ease him to sleep before Pepper Bark and Sunburst could return. She knew Varian was hemophobic, he didn’t really seem to like shots when he did get them, and she knew he was definitely not going to like the treatment for meningitis. Cadance looked as the door opened again, Pepper and Sunburst back and Sunburst looking at Cadance.

“I know none of us have gotten sick from Varian’s illnesses before, but I’m going to write to Shining and Twilight to take Flurry in for a check up just in case.” He said, Cadance nodding.

“Please do. Thank you Sunburst.”

Pepper set up the IV next to the bed, and Varian clearly recognized what it was because he looked up at Cadance fearfully.

“It’s just antibiotics sweetheart. It’ll be okay.” Cadance assured, getting into the bed and putting him on her lap.

She was trying to offer him any comfort she could, and Pepper waited until Varian relaxed a little before asking him to see one of his arms. Varian only hesitated for a moment before he held out the arm closest to her, burying his face into Cadance as he felt Pepper sterilize his arm. Cadance held him, holding his head tenderly and, recalling something that had brought him comfort in the first year or so of his life with them, unfurling a wing to cover him and blocking out his ability to see what Pepper might be doing. He relaxed a little and sniffled, eyes looking up at Cadance who gave him a small smile. Pepper got the IV feed in, Varian wincing a little but relaxing that it seemed over, though when he looked at his arm he whined a little seeing the tube.

“I know honey, I know.” Cadance used her wing to make him look up at her. “But it’s the only way to make you feel better, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Mama’s going to be right here with you.” Cadance promised, brushing his bangs out of his face. 

Pepper gave her more pointers about what to look out for, and Cadance had a temporary room made in the castle for Pepper to stay in for the next few days. Cadance had no intention of leaving Varian’s bedside until she knew for certain everything would be alright. She carefully moved out of the bed once it was clear Varian had fallen asleep, pulling the blanket up and sitting by his bedside.

The next few days were hell, she’d never been so afraid in her life. Defending Equestria was easy in comparison, she had actions she could take to do it. But all she could do now was sit and try to comfort Varian when he was awake, and try to keep his fever down. Pepper came in periodically to do more tests, and kept insisting things were going overall well all things considered, but it didn’t make Cadance feel any better.

She felt that she should have realized sooner it wasn’t just a headache, but Varian had only complained about the headache. He was always hard to wake up in the morning, and he never complained about any neck pain. Cadance had her head resting on the bed, it made it easier for her to know when Varian woke up, which had been rare over the past few days. She had tired herself out trying to ensure his comfort and safety, keeping the room dim, reading to him when he was awake, trying to keep him cool, anything she could do for him. She woke up feeling Varian stirring in bed and lifted her head, Varian rubbing his eyes and looking at her.

Despite having slept for most of the past two days, he still looked exhausted. At the very least, he seemed less confused than he’d been the day prior.

“Hey mom…”

“Hey Varian… how are you feeling?” Cadance put a foreleg against his forehead, relieved that at least the fever seemed to be a little lower then it had been the day prior.

“Uh… still not great.” Varian admitted, looking up at her. “But I am kind of hungry.”

He hadn’t expressed hunger over the past few days, Cadance felt a wave of relief before getting up and going to the door, asking the nearest servant to bring some food. She then returned to the bedside, pouring a glass of water from a pitcher of ice cold water that had been brought earlier. Many of the maids, and of course Sunburst, were also clearly worried about Varian and likely about Cadance herself as well. She knew she wasn’t taking the best care of herself, she’d only eaten occasionally, whenever he was asleep, and she’d only left the room briefly to use the restroom and other small errands. She didn't want him to feel pressured to eat when he wasn't feeling well. Sunburst had taken over checking over the paperwork, luckily he’d been working for them long enough that he knew the Empire as well as she did. 

She helped Varian get sat up to drink and soon eat, and he looked at his arm with the IV with a small frown.

“... It’s pretty serious huh?” Varian looked up at her, despite still being so young he was of course smart enough to know that if it were just a cold or flu he wouldn’t have that.

“It could have been. We caught it fast.” Cadance assured, setting up a small table meant for the bed. “You’ll recover just fine, in a week or two.”

Varian nodded a little, and they both looked over as a maid brought in some food. Cadance felt a wave of relief seeing Varian actually eating with some intent for the first time in a few days. He’d nibbled a little here and there, seemingly in an effort to ease her mind. This was the first time he seemed to be eating because he was both hungry and wanted to eat. 

“How many days has it been?” Varian asked.

“Four.”

“Really?”

“You’ve slept through most of them, but yes.”

Varian rubbed his eyes before he looked up at her, though he winced a little.

“My neck still hurts.”

He'd only complained about it a day or so in to the treatment, which made Cadance feel immensely better because it meant they had caught it early.

“I’m sorry sweetheart. That’ll go away soon, I promise.” Cadance gently pet his hair.

They both were a little startled when the door swung open, though it made sense once a frazzled Shining Armor stepped into the room.

“Hey dad.” Varian greeted, though his tone revealed how tired and ill he still was despite how happy he was to see the stallion.

“Hey, son.” Shining came over, giving Cadance a kiss on the cheek before he leaned over to give Varian a hug. “How do you feel?”

“Uh… better than yesterday.” Varian answered after a moment.

“That’s good.” Shining gave him a smile before looking worriedly at Cadance.

She knew she probably looked like a mess, and he was probably now worried about her, but she wasn’t really willing to leave Varian while he was awake.

“I’m alright.” She insisted gently, picking up the Daring Do book she had ready. 

She read out loud to Varian until he fell asleep, she and Shining quietly going to the door to talk.

“Hon, you should take a break. Now that I’m home, I can watch him for a bit.”

“I know I should but… where’s Flurry?”

“Twili insisted she and Spike would watch her until Varian was doing better. She knows we’d want to focus on Varian until he was in the clear.” Shining explained.

Cadance made a mental note to thank Twilight, before Shining insisted she go shower and eat. She did, but returned as soon as she could, sitting down at the bedside again. It was the first time either of their children was seriously ill, and it had her on edge. Even with Pepper insisting he’d be alright. 

“Cadance, there was no way we could have known or predicted this.” Shining nuzzled her, and she gave him a weak smile.

“I know… but… I still feel like I could have done more. Maybe… maybe if when he told me he had a headache the first day I should have-”

“You did what any parent would do, Cadance.” Shining insisted. "He's not exactly a stranger to headaches, with how much trouble he has sleeping."

She sighed, looking at the sleeping child again.

“I promised I’d keep him safe. Not just to Quirin, but to myself. I told myself I’d show him as much love as I was shown when I was adopted.” Cadance brushed his bangs out of his face.

“I know, Cadance. But there are just some things we can’t protect him from. He’s not even old enough for a vaccine for this.” Shining mentioned, Cadance sighing.

“I know…” 

“You’re doing great, dove.” Shining insisted, pulling her closer.

She felt reassured, though she still had no intention of leaving the bedside still. If she could offer even just a little comfort to Varian while he recovered, she was going to be there to do it.

It was the longest two weeks of Cadance’s life, but as Pepper Bark took Varian’s temperature once more she could tell Pepper was pleased. Varian had just been happy the intravenous antibiotic feed had been removed. He’d been more of himself the past few days, awake more and fully aware. Cadance only left his side briefly still, but the fact he hadn’t been completely miserable and had almost seemed like he’d just been normally sick and was recovering from a cold or flu, not the serious ailment he’d had made her feel much better. Pepper Bark did a few more tests, but every test she only seemed to get more relieved as she went over them.

“It looks like you’ve made a full recovery.” Pepper explained, getting into her bag and handing Varian a lollipop. 

“Thanks Doctor Pepper.” Varian smiled, putting the lollipop to the side.

It wasn’t surprising he wasn’t really feeling up to sugar yet, but Cadance was just relieved that he looked mostly back to normal.

“Everything is okay?” Cadance asked, Pepper nodding.

“He’ll be alright. He might need to take it easy for a few more days, but you caught it early. There shouldn’t be any lasting effects.” Pepper said, smiling at Varian. “Now we know something important about humans though. I’ll make sure a vaccine is prepared for when he’s old enough to have it.”

“Thank you, Pepper.” Cadance sighed.

“Now you need some rest.” Pepper insisted, Cadance smiling a little sheepishly. “I know better than to tell a mother not to spend every waking moment caring for their children when they are sick, but now that it’s passed I have to insist you get some rest now. He’s probably still a little sleepy himself so take that opportunity to nap yourself.”

“Right. I will, Pepper.” Cadance promised.

She waved the physician off, looking as Varian tapped her to get her attention.

“Yes sweetheart?”

“I’m sorry for scaring you so much mama.” Varian hugged her, and Cadance hugging him back.

“It’s not your fault Varian. I’m just glad you're feeling better.” Cadance rested her head on top of Varian’s, feeling for the first time just how tired she was. “I’m just sorry we couldn’t do anything while your father and sister were gone after all.”

“It’s okay mom.” Varian picked up one of the books and sat in his bed, looking up at her. “Can you sit with me a little longer?”

“Of course.” She smiled, sitting in the bed next to him. “Daring Do and the Masked Thief of Marapore.”

Shining saw Pepper leave, seeing as he was outside with Flurry and Twilight, and the mare had stopped to let him know that Varian was alright and should recover totally. He was relieved, and felt as though a huge amount of stress immediately left him. He was a little concerned, though, come dinner time when Cadance and Varian didn’t arrive. He peeked into Varian’s room and smiled a little seeing Cadance sound asleep with Varian, who was also sleeping peacefully cuddled into Cadance. He smiled and closed the door carefully, content to let the two sleep. He knew they both needed it.