Dethronement

by cajunbrony25

Chapter 2

The nightmare that kept haunting Stencil Sketch would never waver. Like an annoying insect in the ear, it would always be there, hindering his sleep, but perhaps there was something more to it. He wasn’t sure; it was, after all, just a dream.

It started with a sunny day in Canterlot. The sky was blue, the clouds rolled gently along a calming spring breeze and the birds of the grand garden would sing with delight. Everypony, from filly and colt to stallion and mare would be about their daily business, unaware of the shadow that slowly began to loom in the distance, and along with it came distant, escalating laughter.

The sky darkened, redden like a sea of fire as smoke - black, icey smoke - suddenly poured from the horizon, washing all across the land, shrouding all its beauty in a sickly black veil as a large ship, something almost otherworldly, descended upon Canterlot, its massive size and plumes of flame torching the very sky to a deep hellfire hue as atop it. The sudden laugh of a creature of pure evil and hatred descended upon the castle, only adding to the air of laughter already thick in the smoke, as the ship suddenly smashed down into the once-vibrant city.

Great buildings and grand archways crumbled into the rising void to the cacophony of the infernal laughter. Laughter that only grew increasingly disjointed, as if fed by the destruction of something once beautiful. The darkness surged upwards, both crawling and racing, as if searching. The swirling clouds of smoke in the darkness enveloping Canterlot became darting eyes, all turned inwards. Towards Canterlot. Towards the light atop the castle.

No, not a light. A pony, a shining beacon, warring with the black, losing against it. A beacon that cried out as darkness rushed past its last resistance.

Stencil Sketch shot awake, the sweat upon his brow gently cooling his forehead as he drew a forehoof to wipe it away. His heart was racing, he had been seeing that dream ever since he had started his journey back to Canterlot from his last expedition around Equestria. He had recently begun his return from the far west when he decided to stop over in Hoofington to see his friends, Alnna and Aerohead. However, each night since he returned to his homeland he had been suffering sleeplessness night after night, with the same dream of such a devastating cataclysm befall his world. Why was he to be told of this in his dreams?

He huffed, shaking his head as he drew himself from the bed within his cart, gently landing on all four hoofs beside it, coming face to face with a framed photo. There stood a smiling pony, teeth yellowing with the paper it was printed on, with a short, unkempt mane somehow staying as grey on paper as it was in life. In stark contrast to the messiness of his mane was his armour, the obviously dark hue’s exact colouration lost to the black and white photo, one black wing extended around a mare, her smile matching his. Her grey horn seemed to twist, mirroring a similar aura around the top of the photo. She wore a white doctor’s coat, slightly ruffled yet clearly loved. They both stood in front of a large cart, almost a trailer, emblazoned with the sign ‘PARAMEDIC’ in bold letters.

Stencil glanced around. The cart, the same cart in the background of the photo, had changed over the years. Before, it had been a bare-bones cart used only for medical support and transport. It still bore the signs of those years; when Stencil glanced to the ceiling, he could still see old marks in the wood, where gurneys would have hung. The bed he had just stepped out of had been repurposed for his needs, yet was clearly still suited for medical work. Adjoined to the bedroom was a room that had once held the surgical tools and medical instruments essential to any paramedic and the pony they’re helping. It was now a makeshift library, fitted with shelves cluttered with books. The soft hue of the glowing crystal near the end, crammed haphazardly into its holster, illuminated the library without the need for the magical lights scattered throughout the rest of the cart. It flickered, dulling slightly as Stencil switched on the few lights around the bed.

The sun had yet to even rise towards dawn when he woke, and his clock pointed to the time being only four in the morning. He would not be able to easily fall back to sleep. He sighed, trotting over towards the kitchenette as he began to fill a kettle with water and place wood in the stove. With a huff, the unicorn stallion trotted to the washroom, slowly opening the door as he settled inside, flicking on the light as he looked at himself in the mirror.

He was a wreck, his mane unkept, his grey coat disheveled in places, and his tail a coiled mess of untended hairs. With a brilliance of his horn, he levitated a pair of brushes as he began to fix up his appearance, splashing a bit of water onto his face as he wiped it clean, and even polished the tip of his horn with a tiny bit of salve. His thoughts returned to the dream. The ‘dark storm’ he had seen since he arrived back in Equestria was haunting him; what sort of disaster was coming? Something certainly well beyond what a simple stallion like he could handle, that was for sure. He was no protege of the great Princess Celestia like Twilight Sparkle was, nor was he any great magical wizard like Star Swirl the Bearded. However, he had read that in time, some ponies had been given a chance to see something others may not. Perhaps it was his turn for such a thing? The stallion pondered a bit more before shaking his head.

“Preposterous!” he muttered “I’m no magical element or great wizard, why would something like that bother me?”

His rhetorical question however was answered by a shuffling and a yawn as from beneath his bed, a reptilian creature crawled out. Slowly it stood, standing equal, if not slightly taller, than Stencil as it stretched its arms out and let out deep groan.

“Comrade.” it said in a deep, feminine voice, “Vhat you yamming about to vake Cermina up?” the drakess said, slowly stepping forward into the light as Stencil turned to face her.

Cermina, Cermina Aturaburn Talos, a long time friend of Stencil from the South Lands and his ‘bodyguard’, as she had put it. He had been with her ever since their meet-up in the Scorched Lands and, since then, they had been almost inseparable. She gave a calming smirk.

“Sorry, Cermina.” He scratched his head, an apologetic smile on his face, “Just been having a bad dream.”

The drakess snorted “Dat same vone you mentioned before?”

The unicorn nodded “One and the same, about Canterlot being engulfed in darkness.”

“Since vhen is Canterlot not, vhat vith all dem villains in the past.”

“I beg to differ...” Stencil muttered “The elements of Harmony stopped Nightmare Moon, Discord, Crysalis and King Sombra. I don’t even think there’re any other villains left to put danger towards it, aside from the Griffins.

Cermina laughed “Bah, griffins do not have stomach for major var, dey are too afraid of dere own leaders to bother.”

Stencil chuckled, smirking as the familiar tweet of the kettle signaled its readiness to brew as he trotted over and began to prepare to mugs of tea.

The pair sat at a small rounded table, cups of tea for each and a small plate of biscuits and gems as the drakess took a handful of the precious stones and ate them.

“Tell me comrade about dis dream again, it seems dat it vill not leave you to sleep a full nights, yah?” she smirked “Must be important den.”

Stencil chuckled “I don’t know about that. I’m not a strong believer in visions, but… But you could be right.” he sighed “It's always the same, something from high above Canterlot comes down and washes it into a deep, dark cloud, then there’s this diabolical laughter” he shivers “I feel it could be a warning... but there...was something different this time, something I never heard before.”

‘What, Comrade?’ Cermina asked, sipping her tea.

“A cry…”

“A cry?”

“A cry… For help.”

Cermina blinked as she looked at Stencil, but slowly began to smirk. “Vell, perhaps dere is a mystery mare dat vishes for you to come and save her, valiant knight Stencil Sketch, haha! Perhaps dream says of you rescuing fair maiden from evil monster, yah?” She started to laugh as Stencil huffed in disapprovement,

“C’mon Cermina, this could be very serious.”

“Yah, serious enough to be a relationship guide!” she started to crack up, falling back off the chair as she let her tail twitch about in humour as Stencil rolled his eyes.

“I doubt I’d be any noble steed to save a maiden in such a dire situation but...” he paused,, “Perhaps you’re right.”

“Hrmm?” Cermina said, slowly turning upright “Vhat you mean?”

“There was something fighting from Canterlot castle. Perhaps… Perhaps what I saw might have happened, or maybe there is something that has been able to free itself from it. It may all be mad speculation, but perhaps somepony is trying to warn us of something, and she’s asking for help.”

Cermina hurrmed, slowly easing up and fixing the chair she sat on.

“Perhaps, comrade, but, dat is a very strange ting to consider. If, say, Canterlot is in danger, den vhat is stopping it from happening? Or vorse, vhat if it already happened?”

“That would be quite…” Stencil twirled a hoof in thought, “Far fetched if Canterlot indeed has been invaded already, wouldn’t we see Guard Ponies from all corners of Equestria flying over to it now?”

Cermina was about to respond when the sudden beating of wings broke the silence. The pair looked up, gazing out the moonlight as they could see a large swath of Lunar guards overhead, their dark armour almost making them invisible to the night sky.

“Look!” Stencil said, “Lunar Guards? What?!” He shook his head rapidly, pulling his thoughts to order, “What are they doing around here?” he asked, watching them sail along the sky towards the horizon.

Cermina growled as she sniffed the air.

“I can smell der fear from here.” She followed their path to the horizon, towards Canterlot, “Dey are scared.”

“Scared? How can you tell?”

Cermina tapped her nose “Dey are in hurry, comrade, dat much is certain, but dere is fear among dere bodies, dere blood runs quick and dere hearts race, something is vrong. Perhaps… Perhaps your dream is not much dream after all.”

Stencil looked at the horizon, gazing out to see a fait, yet very large glowing off in the

distance as he furrowed his brow, “Perhaps you’re right, but we can’t be certain, we’re still almost two days away from Canterlot, and we still need to stop over in Hoofington to see Aero and Alnna. Perhaps we will hear news of what's happened there.”

Cermina let out a thoughtful hum, slowly finishing her tea as she took the plates, cleaning them both with a few gulps and then placing them in the sink nearby.

“Is not ours to consider yet, comrade, perhaps… Ve get some more sleep, sunshine vont be for anoder few hours.” She yawned as she crawled back towards the bed, “I vant my beauty sleep, I need to keep complexion good, yah, comrade?” she said before slipping under the bedding and went back to her quiet slumber.

Stencil sighed, gazing outside as he looked over to the horizon. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of a chill down his spine as he too slowly went back to his bed and tried to get some sleep.

--

Stencil didn’t have much time to sleep when he was woken by the pitter patter of rain against his roof. His eyes slowly opened as he looked across his cart to the window, seeing the sky, still rather dim, a haze-grey horizon now filling his view. He sighed lightly, slowly getting up as he looked about, easing off his bed and trotting to the window. With a magical push, he opened the frame to look out, seeing the sky a pale grey as the rain fell down from the heavens.

“C’mon, Cermina, we better get a move on. I think it might start raining soon.”

The drakess growled “Bah! Rain is not friend of mine!” she muttered, keeping herself tucked under the bed. “Vake me vhen it is not...” she muttered as Stencil bit her tail and dragged her out with a groan of effort.

“C’mough, Cermingha.” He spat out her tail, “C’mon, you’re going to help me pull the cart, we’re only a few hours away.”

The drakess growled as she huffed, slowly getting up as she snatched her tail back, rubbing it as if it were a child, and walked towards the door as Stencil teleported in a pair of rain cloaks for him and her.

--

The rain came down harder and harder as the duo pulled the cart, Cermina muttering under her breath seemingly each step, as Stencil held his map magically before him.

“Hrm, I don’t remember it being this bad yesterday. Perhaps the pegasi are slacking,” he spoke in between grunts of effort, as he continued to pull the cart along the path. The mud was thick and wet, slowing their progress. Cermina groaned in exasperation.

“Dis is madness, comrade, dis rain is insane! How can ve keep going in dis veather?” she muttered, tugging the cart firmly as she and Stencil began to slow, mud caked on the large rubber tires of the cart.

“Hmm… Then we’d better pull it off the road, get on to some dry ground so I can lower the pressure in these tires,” He said with a sigh, shaking off his harness and trotting gently over to the tires. Glancing back, he saw Cermina stride up a small hill, peering out into the forest with an intense, powerful stare. He lit up his horn, embracing a small lever along the rim and easing it open to a gentle hiss as the tire flattened somewhat, moving to do the same to the other three tires.

“Help...”

Stencil faltered, missing a step. That voice, more in his head than not, yet clearly alien, echoed again, “Help…”

“Help...” it came again. Stencil perked up his ears, standing stock still. At the edge of his vision, he could see Cermina doing the same, “Help me... Somepony! Anypony!”

“Cermina, stay with the cart. I think somepony is out there.” he spoke quickly, darting off into the forest with a nervous trot.

“Vhat do you mean ‘Stay vith da cart’?!”

“I think somepony’s in trouble, I need to go and see!”

“And just who do you think vould be out here, crying for help?” she called, not able to stop him as he rushed off into the woods.

“Cyka!” she muttered, glancing between the cart and the forest before righting herself, breaking into a jog after her friend.

Stencil panted, rushing through the forest to the sounds of rain and ankle-deep mud squelching around his hooves as he made his way to the voice. He cried out, “Hello!” in a breathless voice, narrowly dodging another thorny branch.

Nothing. He called again, but louder. The pale light of the setting moon cast through the leaves of the spindly trees illuminated only the vaguest shapes or moves.

Nothing. Another call. The still of the forest chilled him as he broke out into another sprint, searching wildly for any sign of life, any sign that the pony calling him was still there, still with him.

“Help…” There it was again, barely a whisper, “Help me…”

Stencil whipped towards the voice, “Hold on!” Urgency boiled in his heart as he broke out into a gallop, heading straight towards a copse bathed in pale moonlight.

Bursting through the undergrowth, he caught his leg on a wayward vine. Tumbling roughly onto the dew-soaked grass, he rose slowly, wincing slightly as he picked a skinned knee off the ground. The copse sparkled in the pre-dawn moonlight, drops of dew shimmering as if they were the brightest stars in the sky. And there, in the very center of the field, was a mare.

The deep blue coat, star-filled mane blowing to a wind that only she could feel and sickle-shaped crescent moon mark on her flank could only belong to one mare, and one mare alone.

“Princess Luna...” Stencil mouthed, barely audible even the the calm of the copse. A soft crunching of fresh grass broke the silence as he took a step towards her.

Stencil winced slightly as he took a step, his raw knee crying out as he moved towards the Princess, his eyes widening slightly at each cut, gash, bruise and twist he saw in what should have been a serene, regal figure. She lay at an odd angle, twisted uncomfortably as if to avoid putting any weight upon her tattered wings. Her regalia, usually as smooth and pristine as the darkest night sky, reflected the light oddly as beams struck it’s many dents and scars, a mirror to the state of her flesh.

“Princess Luna? Vhat is night time maiden doing here?” Stencil gave a start, spinning towards the drakess as she strode towards Stencil’s side. Cermina, ignoring his startled expression, crouched down, examining the Princess with a raised eyebrow, “She is hurt, Comrade. Time for you to shine, yah?”

Stencil crouched down next to the Princess, his horn lit up as an aura focused on the Princess, running over her body, gently waving and pulsing as she shied away, wincing unconsciously as it pushed slightly upon her injuries, “She has multiple lacerations, ranging from mild to severe, all over her body, several bruises. Ribs number 3 and 7 are partially fractured, and her left wing experienced a full fracture just before her radiale. Her horn even shows signs of magical burnout. Uncommon injuries even in a normal pony, let alone an alicorn.” He shook his head with a sigh, “She needs medical attention, the cart will have to do. A hospital would be great right now, but she needs assistance stat.”

Cermina smirked, an air of confidence clearly passing over her, “Yah, den let me, Comrade. I shall find no trouble in carrying her.” She reached out, working her arms under Luna’s unconscious form, pausing every time the Princess winced, and slowly raised to her feet. Her arms held the Princess’s unconscious form in a near-effortless manner, yet still careful to avoid her injuries. She turned slowly as Stencil walked towards their entrance to the copse.

Luna’s eyes shot wide open with a shout, staring wildly, violently, at Cermina. Her pupils glowed with rage as her face frantically morphed into a startled glare, while she fought Cermina’s grip, “Thou shalt not touch the royal visage!” Cermina’s grip weakened as Luna twisted violently, screaming ancient vows of death and horror. Her horn lit up as bright as the full moon, before exploding into the firework of a failed spell, cascades of black starlight falling out of her horn, along with her energy, “I… shall not… be defeated… by you…” she whispered before falling into a restless sleep.

“Cyka! She’s gone mad!” she yelled, tightening her arms around her now-still form as she looked down warily, hardening her posture in readiness at each unconscious jolt Luna gave, “It will be harder that I thought, bringing dis madmare back, Comrade. Is a good thing I lifted her, she is much stronger dan you could handle.” She gave a burst of laughter, “But she is still veaker than me.” Stencil looked back at her impish grin as he left the copse, the drakess following him.

--

The whistle of a kettle woke the Lunar Princess as she blinked painfully against the light streaming onto her face. She furrowed her brow, forcing her eyes open and casting her gaze around. Strange, this was not the forest. The bed she found herself on was a sharp contrast to the cold, a snug, if slightly too small, thing that seemed bolted to the wall. A skylight above, angled so that the rain slid off it instead of pooling, let in what mild light could filter through the overcast rainclouds. A pony to the side, working a kettle on a small stove with practiced ease, caught her attention with his soft muttering. The kettle whistled again.

“Coming, coming!” the pony sung to himself, trotting over to a tray with a black kettle caught in his magical grip. He poured the boiling water into two teacups, tags hanging out their sides, and set the kettle back on the stove. Turning, he made to bring the tray over to the bed, stopping and smiling as he saw Luna looking at him,

“Ah, you’re awake! Good, hope you slept well. You were a mess when we found you.” he said, levitating a teacup to the bedside table and bringing the other to his lips, “No milk, I assume?” He set down his cup next to hers as she only stared. “Still in shock? Well, I was going to ask you how on Equis did you end up in the middle of nowhere, so far from Canterlot? And, more importantly, how did you get those injuries, your highness?”

Luna started to sit up, wincing as the bandages wrapped around her rubbed against her injuries. Her whole body ached as she twisted around, eyes widening at every bandage, cast and brace she saw. Her wings were encased in casts, and were bound to her back, nearly blending in with the white of the bandages covering her barrel. She made to light up her horn, stopping with a small cry as a migraine seemed to erupt from nowhere. Looking back to the stallion with what she hoped was a thankful smile, she awkwardly grasped her teacup with both hooves and took a drawn-out sip, “I t-thank thee…” she glanced around, fumbling with her memories, “I am grateful for any help I receive. May I inquire as to your name, dearest subject?”

“Oh, well we found you in a heap in the woods, so we took you in and I treated your wounds... Ah! Where are my manners? I’m Stencil Sketch, your majesty, and this is my home.” he eased his foreleg around, showing her the place before he smiled and levitated the mug before her. “Now… what exactly happened that brought you all the way out here?”

Luna was about to speak when foot steps rang outside the door. Not the usual rhythm of a pony, but instead a simpler, heavier beat of a biped. The door opened and Cermina stood there, imposing in the dim light.

“Comrade Stencil, I did a check around, dere is notin’ else here but vild animals, I say ve are clear,” the drakess said. Luna’s eyes went wide as she suddenly got up on all fours, standing atop the bed and knocking the mug aside.

“NO!” Luna suddenly cried, trying desperately to spread her wings, nearly swatting everything over as she struggled in the bed. “We shall not be returned to whence we came!” she barked, trying to fly but suddenly crashing down in the bed as her wings were still bound tight, thrashing a bit before, going numb as Stencil shielded himself from the flapping of her wings as it slowly subsided and the mare lay in a heap.

Cermina only blinked as the Princess fell back in suprise. The drakess walked over, her stride closer to a hunter on the prowl than her expression would denote, to the bed the mare falling into a tangled mess of sheets and bandages.

“She’s high-strug, perhaps ve keep her asleep?”

Stencil huffed, slowly easing his guard down as he looked at the mess that was Princess Luna; she had fallen back to her sleep. He sighed, magically pulling the sheets free from her and nodding as Cermina gently reset the mare to her original sleeping position.

“She’s really spooked; something got her good...” Stencil muttered “I never even considered the Lunar Princess could be so frightened...” he turned to Cermina. “She certainly doesn’t seem relaxed when you’re around.”

“I find dat insulting, Comrade, everypony can relax vhen I am here, Cermina knows how to take care of ponies,” she chuckled, looking at Luna, “Perhaps dere is something she has been through. Maybe…fight with Sister?”

“I doubt that; the two are closer than either of us could figure. Something…” he circled a hoof in the air, fishing for an answer, “...else must have happened, but I doubt we can figure out what with her half-insane like this, best we wait ‘til we get to Hoofington and figure this out.”

Cermina shook her head “She’s on bout something, comrade. It is not often Princess of Night gets scared, hardly ever do the majestic alicorns find fear in figure...” She glanced down, observing the Princess with a slight shiver,

“She vas scared of Cermina, dat vas for sure.”

Stencil sighed, shaking his head as he trotted outside. Cermina soon followed as they stood under the overhang of the front door as the rain slowly began to let up.

“We better press on, c’mon, let the princess sleep. We have a ways still go to to Hoofington.” Stencil said, slowly levitating the harnesses into place against his body as Cermina grabbed a second pair, and the duo began to pull.

Stencil sighed, finally seeing the “Welcome to Hoofington” sign just ahead as the day had finally cleared. The sun hadn’t shown itself and the sky still remained a slate gray from the dawn which drew some concern to Stencil. First the finding of Luna in the middle of the woods, now the sun was not shining? Certainly something was up as the stallion pressed on into the city.

He had been to this place before, Hoofington was almost a second home to him as both his friends Aerohead and Alnna Allenkey lived in this city. He had spent time during their wedding here with them before departing on his own adventures. That was almost a year ago.

Before reaching the city, they stopped for Cermina to unharness and get inside the cart. She had to refrain from showing herself there as many of the populace still thought of dragons as savage beasts. Hurtful, yes, but it was what needed to be done to avoid a scene. So, with a grunt of effort and the knowledge he had some very precious cargo, Stencil laboriously tugged the cart alone into the city.

Something was subtly off about the city. Almost eluding the senses, there seemed to be an air of uncertainty about it. While ponies mingled and spoke, Stencil couldn’t help but feel something was...off. Something was missing as he pulled his cart through the street and eventually came to a stop in front of a very impressive building.

Ever since the escapade with Aero’s and Alnna’s wedding almost a year ago, Alnna’s family, which had tried to marry her off without her consent, was quite gracious in repaying the family they had so wrongfully debited. Alnna’s entire family now owned an impressive 5 story apartment, renting the rooms for buyers while their mechanic’s shop took up the entire basement level of the building. Aero and Alnna themselves lived in the penthouse while the rest of the family took the rooms of their choice for own.

It was a pleasant ending to a rather unsettling journey, and it was a stroke of fortune the pair were able to make it through it, all with the strength of the love Aero and Alnna had for one another, something even Stencil wished he could claim.

“Stencil Sketch?” came a familiar voice as the stallion looked up to see a very familiar mare.

“Alnna? Alnna Allenkey!?” Stencil said as he suddenly was embraced by the large blue mare.

“Oh, Stenca, so glad y’all could come back ta see us!” She exclaimed, squeezing the stallion tightly.

“Ack!” Stencil wheezed as the mare nearly crushed his spine, “Still as strong as ever, huh, Alnna?”

“Oh darn it, shug!” she said suddenly releasing Stencil “Sorry ‘bout that. Been so riled up waiting on y’all to return at ah nearly done ya in.”

Stencil coughed a bit, chuckling “Hehe, nah, takes more than that, but my ribs may need some attention. Ah… how’s Aero?”

Alnna smirked, “He's fine, just caught a bit of a cold recently. He’s been sleepin’ in bed fer days, but ah think he’s just upset y’all left. He ain't been much in the way of socializing since ‘en. Ponies round here ain't the same as Ponyville or Canterlot, but ah keep trying ta push him ta get out more.”

‘Does it work?” Stencil asked

“Most of em time, but many ponies dun’ seem to see ‘is betta features, but we’re workin’ on it.”

Stencil huffed. Aero was very strong-willed, he was just timid and at times quite shy. He knew Aerohead was a good companion to have so it bothered Stencil he’d have this much trouble.

“What brings ya’ll here anyway sugh? Ah hope yer travels was rewarding?”

Stencil huffed, “Yeah, much more than I expected...look...you don’t have a more secluded entrance to this place?”

“Secluded entrance? Sugh, what ch' y’all gettin’ at?”

Stencil sighed, “I have some… special cargo, and I wouldn’t want anypony to see.”

Alnna was skeptical, but Stencil carrying something unusual wasn’t uncommon; he had done it before with them at the Canterlot bank, taking her and Aero into an ancient vault where his parent’s treasures were kept. What an adventure that spun into.

Alnna slowly turned, motioning Stencil towards a pathway along the side of the building. “Theres a shipment door n’a back where mah pop gets his goods, sure he won't mind ya using it,” she sighed.

She eased alongside him in the reigns, and the pair pulled the cart to the back end of the building. It was much easier with the mare’s added strength; being almost twice Stencil’s size, she had a lot of muscle behind that pretty face of hers. Buildings surrounded them as they pulled the cart through the rather wide back alley until they came to a large metal door at the back end of the building. Alnna approached it and tapped a small panel to its side. The large door slowly lifted, exposing a massive freight elevator.

“Ah sure dun’ mind you bringing whateva yah gotta bring, but ah gotta ask, fer safety sake, whatcha got that’s so important.”

Stencil sighed as he removed the reigns, easing to the door and ushering Alnna to follow.

“Keep quiet, she’s...a tad temperamental now.”

“She?” Alnna asked “Y'all got some mate or-”

She stopped short. As soon as Alnna entered the cart, all she could see was Cermina, standing by the bed with Luna, Maiden of the Night, sleeping within it.

The mare was speechless as Stencil approached the bed.

“We found her in the woods along the way here. She was banged up pretty bad, nothing major, but who… or whatever happened to her before she escaped, it certainly wasn’t good. She was awake earlier, but when Cermina came in, she flipped out. Would’ve attacked her had she not floundered and fell unconscious.”

Alnna simply blinked, unsure of what Stencil was going on about as she approached the bed, staring at the dark blue and black alicorn resting there.

“Stencil… Ya’ll gotta be mad! Whatch y’all doin with Princess Luna here? Shouldn’t she be up in Canterlot?”

“Dats vhat I thought too, Comrade,” Cermina replied, “but Stencil’s found her in voods, far from Canterlot.”

“I don’t know why she was there.” Stencil added, moving to a small table where a few medical items had been placed before he eased over to Luna, draping a warm cloth upon her forehead. “But it was bad, real bad, how she was when we got her, something…” He shivered at the thought, “Something must have happened in Canterlot...” he sighed, “I can’t bring her to a hospital, that would cause all sorts of a panic. That’s why I need to use your penthouse and take care of her there.”

Alnna looked at him in bewilderment. She had thought their last adventure would be all they needed to worry about, and that Aero and she could relax with their family, but now there was this.

“Stencil...” Alnna began, before smirking with a shake of her head, “Ah never understand how ya’ll get into this, but ah must admit ah would do anything ta help tha Princesses of the night n’day. Bring her up, we can take a lookin’ at her once we settle her down in a proppa bed.”