> For the eyes of a sentry > by TwiwnB > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > For the eyes of a sentry > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “I’m so glad you could come visit us.” Cadance said. Twilight smiled. She was happy to have been able to come too. Seeing both her brother and Cadance had been like a vacation in the middle of a storm of papers to read and sign about pretty much everything a pony’s mind could have come up with. Being a princess had its good and bad sides. Also, Twilight had another reason to be happy to have come to the Crystal Empire. A reason in the form of a certain guard. “By the way.” Suddenly added Cadance, “Will you be able to be present for the ceremony tomorrow? I know Flash Sentry would love to have you attend, he is such a fan of yours after all.” Twilight had no idea what ceremony they were talking about, so Cadance explained: “The wedding of course. Flash sentry is marrying Faith Full. She is a nurse, I don’t think you’ve met her yet. They probably didn’t invite you because they thought they would only bother you. Will they ever learn?” “Flash Sentry is getting married?” Twilight asked. But already, her mind had gone blank. She could see Cadance's mouth moving to form words her ears weren’t paying any attention to. There was only a long, very nerving ear-piercing sound that was getting louder and louder by the second. There just a moment ago, the ground suddenly disappeared from under her hooves and Twilight found herself floating in front of Cadance, levitating in a state of semi disappearance. It felt like she was losing contact with the world. Afraid, lost, she ordered her eyes to look around for an escape, but her pupils refused to obey. She ordered her mouth to say something, anything, would it even be a scream, but nothing responded. She realized she had ceased to breath and she couldn’t hear her heartbeat anymore. Her head began to feel very light and she saw a bright light in front of her, as well as something wet in the corner of her eyes. She was about to cry. “I’m so happy for him. For them. For her. For anypony. I am so happy.” She suddenly shouted in panic, regaining complete control and focused on hiding her feelings. “Twilight… are you feeling alright?” Cadance asked, as Twilight’s face was going from white to red and back to white again under the pressure of the blood transfers. “I am so happy!” Twilight replied with as much conviction as she was able to muster. “This is wonderful news. Of course I’ll attend. I just need to go. Right now. Because of…” She took a millisecond to think about a good excuse to flee but found none. “… because of stuff.” “Stuff?” Cadance asked. “Yes. Stuff.” Twilight confirmed with more assurance than any sane pony could have provided at that moment. “Sorry, I’ve got to go!” she added, running away even before she had finished her sentence and leaving behind her a very confused Cadance. There are two problems with running away. The first one is that it doesn’t allow you to escape the world, so you always end up somewhere, and rarely where you would have wanted to go. The second one is that, at some point, running tends to exhaust you. So, after having run for a few minutes through the castle and partly through the streets of the Crystal Capital, Twilight found herself exhausted in the middle of nowhere, unknowingly at the exact place she would have liked to avoid. She stopped there, sat, then lay down and caught her breath while trying to catch up with the events. “Your majesty?” said a voice behind her. She knew that voice. The tone was very distinct from any other to her. It had that little bit of something that made it so special. So very special. So precious. “Are you alright your majesty? Can we help you?” asked another voice. This was avoice she didn’t know. It was a caring voice, a very gentle, nice, kind voice. The kind of voice that you know you can trust, because nothing but the upmost goodness can lie behind it. And of course Twilight instinctively hated every intonation of that voice from the moment she heard it. She turned her head and here they were. Flash sentry and his future bride, side by side, seemingly very worried about her. She looked at Flash’s eyes, and the ground under her seemed to crumble once again, undermining her strength. “She doesn’t look alright at all dear.” Faith Full said to her groom. “I’m okay.” Twilight said, rejecting the idea of accepting any pity from that particular mare as jealousy had already consumed her entirely. “Still, your majesty, I think it would be a good idea if you accepted to come to our home to drink or eat something.” Flash Sentry proposed. Twilight looked at him and smiled, then at Faith full and lost her smile, then at Flash again and she found her smile again. She knew she should refuse. The whole thing had gone too far already, she was making a mockery of herself. She was, after all, more than a princess, simply a smart, honest and well educated mare. She understood she was acting over petty emotions, mean emotions, jealousy, resentment and hatred without any other reasons than the most selfish ones, the same ones she would have reproached to anypony else. She sighed. The best course of action was to cease acting like a rotten child, thank them both for their kindness, refuse the offer, walk away, take the next train to Ponyville to avoid any other recklessness and call it a day. That was the wise thing to do. Or was it? Was it really the best thing she could do? Where was it written that she should simply walk away and forget about it? Nowhere. It is written pretty much anywhere else, however, that you should always fight for your dreams, fight for your future, fight for what is dear to you and most importantly, fight for those you love. Unable to decide what she should really do, Twilight gave up and chose the middle road. “It would probably be a good idea, yes.” She told both Flash Sentry and Faith Full. “I wouldn’t want to impose on you however, and nevertheless, I probably won’t be able to stay very long with you, so I fear I might be abusing your hospitality.” Flash’s face lit with a giant smile, as did Faith Full’s. They were both big admirers of the princess of friendship and were therefore not only very happy to be able to receive her in their modest home, but hugely honored by the idea of her presence that evening. Even more, they were, each on their own, considering that, maybe, they would have a chance at some point to ask the princess to attend the ceremony, or even, but that seemed crazy, preside their wedding, which would have looked like the best blessing they could have ever imagined. Five minutes later, Twilight was sitting in a very comfortable a cozy living room, sharing a cup of tea with Flash Sentry and his bride. “I heard of your wedding by Cadance.” Twilight explained. “She was asking me if I was going to attend.” “Are you going to attend?” asked Faith Full, so excited at the idea of Twilight being present that she had interrupted her. “I still haven’t planned it yet, as I had no idea you two were getting married before Cadance told me about it.” Twilight replied, trying to avoid blaming her two hosts while still helping them realize the weirdness of their question. “I am so sorry.” Faith Full said, suddenly understanding her mistake. “We thought you wouldn’t want to be bothered by us little ponies. We never imagined you would be interested to attend our simple little wedding.” “Believe me, I would be more than interested to attend Flash’s wedding.” Twilight bit her tongue. Had she said that out loud? No. She had only thought it, but her meanness had stayed on the inside. Where its place was. Once again, she thought of going away. If she could still have such thoughts, it was probable that she was less mature than she had believed herself to be. On the other hoof, she was supposed to be able to handle situations like these. And if she were to make a deep mistake, it would only mean that, in the end, she wasn’t fit to be a princess after all. She could see it as a challenge of some sort. A test. And she had never fled any test before, she couldn’t just begin right now. “Don’t worry.” Twilight finally said with her most genuine smile. “I certainly can’t blame you for being so considerate. As for me attending, I just happen to be as interested in any wedding as the next mare and I would be very happy to attend yours.” She could have told them she was giving them immortality, eternal youth and their own weight in gold without obtaining less joy. “Thank you so much your majesty!” said Faith Full. Twilight felt proud to have shown kindness to a pony she actually deeply hated. She was mature after all. “Thank you! You have no idea what this means for us!” said Flash Sentry. Twilight blushed a little. It was feeling so great to have him show gratefulness. It meant she had done something right. She felt her mind melting out of pleasure, just like a child that had been congratulated for her drawing. But at that moment, somepony knocked at the door. Faith Full went to open it and came back with what she considered as a bad news. She was needed at her workplace, even if she had received some days off for her wedding. All the others had already been called and still weren’t sufficient. “I am deeply sorry your majesty. I wish I could have stayed with you.” She told Twilight. “I understand.” Only replied the alicorn. She was slowly realizing she was going to stay alone with Flash Sentry. The idea of going away too went through her mind, but she violently chased it away. There was nothing wrong with staying a little longer. It wasn’t her fault Faith Full had to go. It was destiny’s doing. And there was no point fighting against destiny’s doing. Flash Sentry and Faith Full kissed while Twilight pretended to ignore the. They told each other some sweet words that lovers like so much, until, eventually, the bride went away to her duties. Flash sentry came back to Twilight, sat, and an awkward silence ensued. “I’m so glad you have decided to come to our wedding. I really thought it was impossible you know.” Said Flash, trying to break the silence. But Twilight didn’t respond, because she didn’t really want to talk about the wedding anymore. In fact, she had no idea what she wanted to talk about. Well, she knew what she wanted to say, but wasn’t sure she wanted to allow herself to say it. So the silence continued. “Did you know I was there when princess Cadance came to Ponyville the last time. I even waved at you from the train, but I don’t think you saw me.” Flash tried again. His attempt failed. It was slowly becoming very weird and both Twilight and Flash knew that something wrong was going on. Flash was feeling guilty because he couldn’t entertain the princess, and Twilight was feeling guilty because she knew she should say something. “You’re looking taller than last time.” Tried Flash in pure desperation. “Not that it is a bad thing of course.” He was sweating. He had no idea anymore of what he should say. At this point, he was thinking he had antagonized the princess for some reason and she not only wasn’t going to come to his wedding, but he would probably end up in a cell or something. By chance, this time, Twilight reacted. “Do you remember the first time we met?” she asked him. “What?” he responded, surprised. Not that the question in itself was that surprising, but because his instinct had caught on that the tone the princess had used was strange: too emotional for a casual talk. “Do you remember the first time we met?” she asked again, with a touch of anger that was almost frightening. “Of course I do.” He said. “I had been ordered to announce the arrival of the new princess Twilight Sparkle, you entered the throne room as expected, then bumped into me.” “Yes, that’s it.” Twilight said. “And then I bumped into you once more into the corridor.” “I remember it like it was yesterday.” Replied Flash, who not only did remember it very well, but was happy to have something to finally discuss with the princess. “You just came back from a great adventure if what I was told is true, right?” “Did those two moments feel special to you?” bluntly asked Twilight. “Special your highness?” Flash asked back, not sure to understand the question. “Of course they were special. You are the one and only princess of friendship after all!” he joyfully answered, certain that Twilight would appreciate the flattery. “This is not what I meant!” sharply replied Twilight, making the temperature drop by three degrees instantly. She understood she had gone too far, sighed, took a good breath and then tried to correct her ways: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout at you. You did nothing wrong.” “I am the one who is sorry, your majesty.” Flash said. “I’m certain you had a very good reason to feel mad at me. I was stupid: I was incapable of understanding your question.” This was becoming ridiculous. Twilight realized how far away from the truth Flash actually was. They weren’t discussing, they were merely exchanging words, but there was no way she would reach him as long as he would only see her as a princess. Because he was clearly only seeing her as a princess. Not as a pony, not as a friend, not as a mare. She decided to change that, whatever the consequences. If she were to obtain would it be only one thing, it would be for the truth to prevail. “No Flash.” She said, startling him by the use of his name. “I am the stupid one here. I should have been clear from the very beginning: I’m in love with you.” “That’s very nice your majesty.” Flash replied, laughing casually. “It is?” Twilight said, unable to understand that he hadn’t been able to process her words yet. But the concept slowly went through his brain. Still, it was so incredible, so far away from anything he could have ever imagined, so impossible, so problematic on so many levels that he was just refusing to believe it. Twilight finally saw his resistance to the concept of her love and felt hurt. He was clearly fighting to reject the loving one she was and keep that perfect figure of authority he wanted her to be, but that she simply wasn’t at all. “I love you Flash. From the very moment I laid my eyes upon you.” She knew those words were hurting him, piercing the veil of illusion that he was hiding behind. Forcing him to face the truth. Forcing him to accept her as she really was. “I’m getting married tomorrow.” Flash said. Those words were like a safeguard for him. It was the part of the reality he liked, the part that wasn’t attacking him, or challenging him. He, indeed, was getting married the next day, and that was making things very easy. Also, indirectly, it was asking Twilight to back down, to accept that there was another mare, that it was already too late. “I have no intention to prevent you from getting married” sort of not lied Twilight. “I just wanted you to know that I am in love with you.” She tried to drink a sip out of her teacup, but ended up spilling half of it under the stress that was making her hooves quiver. “Now that you know the truth.” Twilight said, giving up on her attempt of tea drinking, “Let me ask you again. Did those two moments feel special to you?” The answer was obvious. Twilight already knew it. She had her plan in head. As soon as he would have said the expected words, she would thank him for his honesty, then apologize for all the drama, assure him she would leave them both in peace and then she would simply walk away, knowing she had tried and failed, but failed with some honor in the end. And then, there was the madness. Deep inside, burning wildly, eating every corner of her body, was the crazy hope that Flash might actually give a different answer. It wasn’t impossible. What would she do then? She had no plan, no idea whatsoever. It would create so many problems and, at the same time, it felt like everything would suddenly become possible. And just as Flash was answering, she understood, with fright, that it wasn’t hope burning inside of her: it was her love for him. “I am sorry your majesty. I really am.” Said Flash, caught between is confusion and his deep respect for Twilight. “I like you a lot, but not like that.” As Twilight didn’t react, he added, to be as clear as possible without it being to awkward: “No, those moments didn’t feel any special to me.” It was as far as Flash Sentry felt he could go without becoming impolite or disrespectful to the princess. At this point, he was pitying her and trying to handle Twilight as carefully as possible not to hurt her, as the inexperienced one he was. “Thank you.” She said. “For being honest with me.” “I think I should thank you too for having been honest with me too.” Flash replied, still trying to be as polite as possible, but not thankful at all. Still, as he was feeling the whole thing was coming to an end, he began to find some good points to the whole thing. He would probably keep the whole thing as a secret, but he would live with the pride of having had a princess hitting on him. He was, after all, a stallion. Twilight knew it was the moment for her to leave, but nothing happened. Flash thought Twilight would leave, but she was staying there, looking straight at him in a manner that was very quickly becoming pretty creepy. “So, I guess I should accompany you, your highness.” He told her, to hint that she should better go. But she just stayed there, still looking at him. “Your majesty?” he asked, suddenly worried about her, and a little bit upset too. “Would it be a problem if I were to stay just a little longer?” she suddenly asked him with tears in the corner of her eyes. “Just a bit longer, before I lose you forever.” He really didn’t want her to stay. Still, she looked so sad and pathetic that he felt obliged to agree. “Thanks.” Twilight said. “I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble.” “It’s nothing.” Flash lied. “Would you…?” Twilight began, interrupting her sentence in the middle. “What?” Flash asked back, regretting immediately to have shown any interest to a new request. “Would you accept if I were to kiss you?” Flash went pale, but his heartbeat doubled instantly. “No!” he almost shouted. “I mean, it wouldn’t do any good. You should better go back to the castle.” “I only mean a kiss on the cheek. Just so that I can keep a soft souvenir of you.” She was lying, but wasn’t even aware of her own lies. Deep inside, only the fire was controlling her. And that fire was telling her that if she could kiss him, or simply make contact with him, then he would feel the flames of her affection and he would obviously succumb on the spot. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.” Flash defended himself. “I’m only asking for a simple kiss on the cheek. And if you’re so afraid of me, maybe you could give me a kiss. You may not love me, and I understand that, I’m okay with it, but you said you like me.” “No. Just go back to the castle already.” Twilight began to cry. It wasn’t even part of any plan whatsoever, she wasn’t trying to manipulate him. She was just feeling so bad, so hurt, the rejection was so painful that tears had come up again and she couldn’t prevent them. She tried to hide it, but only achieved to look even more miserable. It was literally heartbreaking to see her in such a pitiful state, and Flash was a stallion that came with a golden heart to begin with. “Wait, please! Look, if you promise to go back to the castle after that, I’ll let you give me a kiss if that’s so important to you.” It took some time for Twilight to take back control of herself, as she had almost entered a phase of violent convulsion and hadn’t been faking any of that. Still, Flash’s words helped her simmer down. “Really?” she finally asked with a grateful tone. “You’ll let me take that souvenir with me?” “If you promise to go back to the castle after that.” Flash repeated. "I promise" Twilight said with a grateful look, as the pain was slowly going away. She approached her head to his and, very slowly, very carefully, went to his cheek and put down a simple tender and gentle kiss that made Flash blush against his own will. But to his surprise, Twilight’s head stayed near his and she lay down another kiss on his neck. And another one on his ear. Afraid, he pushed her away with all his might. “What are you doing?” he asked, furious. “Shut up!” Twilight shouted. “You are a stallion, I am a mare, why is it you even resist?” “You promised you would go back to the castle, it is time you leave.” “You can have me right now. Just look at me!” Twilight said, taking the most suggestive pose she could imagine. “I’m all yours, just take me!” It was clear, at the sight of Flash’s wings, to know that he was interested. Still, he was a stallion of honor, and he kept a strong control over himself. “Your majesty.” He began. “You’re shaming yourself. I’m asking you once more to leave my home.” “Oh come on!” Twilight replied with her most sensual voice. “I can do things for you that she will never do. Any phantasm, even the most degrading, I don’t care.” Her attempt was counterproductive at this point. Not that Flash wasn’t clearly aroused, but she was actually insulting him by degrading herself like that. He had her in such a high esteem that he couldn’t accept to have her behave like… he had no words for that. None that he was ready to use anyway. This simply wasn’t happening. Seeing that Flash wasn’t responding to her solicitations, Twilight became upset. “What? I’m not beautiful enough for you?” she said with so much rancor that her words felt like acid thrown at Flash’s face. “I’m so ugly you won’t even consider touching me, is that it?” Flash didn’t even get the time to explain himself as Twilight’s horn began to glow. Her magic enveloped her and her shape began to change. In a matter of second, Twilight had disappeared to let place to an Equestrian magazine top model. “Am I more to your liking now?” she said, trying to sound suave, but still full of resentment. “Or do I need to take another shape.” And saying those last words, she changed her shape again, to look exactly like Faith Full, copying up to the cutie mark. Flash wasn’t ready for that. For a moment, he stayed completely startled and Twilight took the opportunity to come near him. “Is it what you wanted, dear?” she asked with way to much wrath. “You do love what you see now, right?” she accused him. But once again, Flash Sentry’s honor allowed him to regain his composure and he pushed her away, making her take back her original form. “You’re sick!” he shouted. “I’m going to be a husband, and I intend to stay faithful to my wife. I tried to be nice and understanding with you, but it is time you leave and if you don’t do it on your own, I’m going to throw you out myself!” Twilight stood up. She was almost burning externally from the violence of her passion. She just didn’t understand why he was acting the way he was. At that point, she had totally lost her link to reality and had simply forgotten he wasn’t in love with her and was actually going to get married. In her mind, she was convinced he was lying to her, trying to hide his true feelings, and had invented that whole wedding thing as a pretext to push her away. So, she just couldn’t understand him. Under that perspective, it just wasn’t making any sense. “What is it going to take to make you admit you love me?” she asked, desperate. “What is it you stallions want from us?” She looked around, and saw a bouquet of flower Flash had offered to hid bride that very morning. “Flowers?” she asked. And instantly, as her horn began to glow, flowers grew all over the room, on the floor, on the walls, invading the whole space in a profusion of colors. “Gold?” she asked. And under the glowing of her horn, calling for powers even she didn’t know she possessed, Twilight made bits literally rain from the ceiling, covering every inch of the floor with three feet of gold coins. “What is it you want? Just tell me!” she almost ordered him. “Whatever it is, I can give it to you. If love isn’t enough, then maybe you want power? Just ask, and I can make you a prince. Or even more, a king. One word from you, and I promise I’ll defeat all the other princesses and make you the emperor of all of Equestria. And if Equestria isn’t big enough for your ambitions, I’ll turn it into a powerful warmachine and conquer the whole word for you!” There are little words that would be able to describe how shocked Flash was at that point. “You want the sun and the moon to obey your very whims? Believe me, I’ll find a way to turn you into an alicorn, and I’ll give you every bit of magic I possess.” There were even less words able to achieve that description. “Or maybe you simply want the world to burn. Please just ask me, and I’ll destroy this world. It’ll perish into the flames of hell until only we remain, only the two of us, for the rest of eternity. Is it what you want?” she begged him. Now there wasn’t any word left that could have been enough to explain how shocked Flash was. Or how lost. He had no idea how to react. This was becoming too big for him to handle. If Twilight wasn’t going to leave, then there was only one alternative left. He took his decision. This had gone too far. Not only would he have to flee his own house, but he would have to report immediately to princess Cadance and hope that the princess would be able to handle Twilight in her delusion state. He began to flee, but as he was about to reach the door, his body stopped completely, caught by a force he wasn’t able to get free from. “What are you doing?” Twilight asked. “Why would you want to go away from me? I’m offering you everything, absolutely everything, even myself. I’m offering to become your slave, to satisfy to every desire. And yet, you still refuse to love me…” There was no point in responding. Flash Sentry had understood that. Too late, but still understood it. But under his terrified eyes, Twilight’s face changed from confused to more and more violent. “You won’t love me…” she stated, having finally realized that love cannot be ordered. “Then I guess I have to accept it.” It would have seemed like she had become wiser, if her tone hadn’t sounded completely mad. “I won’t let you go!” she shouted. “You belong to me! You will make me happy, no matter if you like it or not!” Flash could feel the force of the magic surrounding him beginning to crush him under Twilight wrath. “I don’t care if you will never accept me. Or if nopony is going to accept my love for you. I’ll destroy anything that stands on my path. I’ll destroy anypony that might try to take you away from me! And if I fail, I’ll destroy you for nopony but me has the right to possess you. I'll force you to like me, I'll force you to say you love me, I'll force you to smile at me!” Flash tried to escape once again, but Twilight’s magic was way too strong for him. He only ended up attracting her attention on his attempts to flee, triggering her, to his sheer horror, to come near him with a very concerned look. “Do not be afraid dear.” She told him. “I am going to be a very good wife. You will have a most wonderful cell and always plenty to eat, and I’ll come to see you everyday and you’ll learn to like it over the course of time. You’ll see, it is going to be great.” And from the tone of her voice, from the touch of hope that lay into it, it was clear she was really believing every word she was telling him. Then, she came very close to him and, carefully, lay down a gentle kiss on his cheek, then kissed him on the mouth during a moment that felt like an eternity. “You see, it isn’t that bad.” She said. “Now the only thing that is left to do is to dispose of your former bride and everything is going to be perfect.” “No!” Flash shouted, suddenly understanding what was probably going to happen. “Why not?” Twilight asked, genuinely incapable of understanding his resistance at this point, caught up as she was into her sheer lunacy. “Please, do not harm her.” Flash said. “I’ll do everything you say. I won’t try to flee, I’ll obey your every word, I’ll do as you command, but please, just don’t harm her.” “Why not?” Twilight asked again, still unable to understand. “Because I love her.” Flash replied, without really thinking about his own words, just expressing his deepest feelings in pure desperation. Those words hit Twilight directly in the stomach. The reality appeared before her eyes and she understood in absolute horror what exactly she was doing. She moved back a few steps under the violence of the blow, then fell on the ground as the growing pain was taking over her whole body, extinguishing the fire that had previously been burning. Her magical grasp on Flash disappeared, but the whole house began to shake as Twilight was losing control. The gold began to melt, the flowers to fade and cracks began to appear on the walls. Having retrieved his freedom, Flash Sentry opened the door and rushed outside, then ran a good hundred meters until he finally stopped and looked back. His house was there, but he could see the light coming out of the windows, and the cracks everywhere. The neighbors were coming out as it was clear something weird was happening. More importantly, Twilight was still inside the house as it was about to collapse. Flash sighed. He should have kept on running, towards the castle, or towards his bride, and just forgotten about the whole thing. After what had happened, nopony would have blamed him for that. He should have, but he was a guard and a very honest pony. More than anything else, he was loyal to his princess. Cursing himself as he did, Flash ran back inside the house and, in the middle of a truly apocalyptical decor, he found Twilight, curled up upon herself, crying. She wasn't a threat anymore. “Come on, your majesty. We have to go.” He said. But she didn’t even hear him. He tried to move her, but she was stuck there under the pressure of her magical powers. “You majesty!” he shouted. But she still wouldn’t respond. “Twilight!” he shouted. She suddenly looked at him. But her eyes were telling him to go away and to let her meet her end there. She just didn’t want to wake up tomorrow given it would be a world without him. She had decided her life would end there. Lead by his instinct, Flash decide to do the only rational thing he could think of. He approached his head form hers, and kissed her on the chick. She blushed. “Time to go.” He told her. She nodded very lightly. “And that’s an order.” He added. “You highness.” It was about time too. They hadn’t even passed the doorstep that the whole house just collapsed in one go, leaving only a giant ruin in its place. Twilight felt Flash running under her, as he was transporting her along the streets, and she asked where he was taking her: “To the castle.” He answered, like he knew what he was going to do once there, which he actually didn’t really… That was a good thing. At least Cadance would make sure she wouldn’t be able to harm anypony anymore. It wasn’t all she had hoped for, but it was better than what had almost happened. Still, Twilight was wishing none of this had ever happened. And as she was losing consciousness, her horn glowed one last time. ... “How are you feeling?” asked a voice. Twilight painfully opened her eyes, but she couldn’t see more than a blur. Still, she knew that voice. It was her former foalsitter, Cadance. “You should stay quiet. Your body is still quite weak.” The voice of the princess explained. “Where?” asked Twilight, as the first of a long list of questions. “You are at the castle, your castle actually, back in Ponyville. Your friends are waiting for you to recover. They are just behind the door. Everything is fine, you don’t have to worry anymore.” “I’m so sorry!” Twilight painfully said. “I didn’t want to cause so much trouble. I just couldn’t prevent myself to.” Cadance’s voice sounded surprised: “Come on now, it is not your fault you fell down those stairs. Don’t be so harsh on yourself.” “What?” asked Twilight. “Do you know that you fall might have been caused by a localized earthquake. It even destroyed a house in the crystal capital. Quite a strange phenomenon, but still, nothing that couldn’t be fixed.” Twilight’s mind caught up, but she couldn’t remember any fall into any stairs. “It’s not possible!” she said, trying to confess her crimes. “I was there, I told him I love him, I covered his house with flowers.” “Do not worry.” Cadance replied. “We will take care of this too.” She then turned to a pony on her left and told him: “Guard, I count on you to keep an eye on the princess. Call me as soon as she gets any better or if the delirium get worse.” “Of course you majesty.” Replied the voice of Flash Sentry. “She is a good pony, I won’t leave her side.” And he gently added, for himself: “I shall always stay loyal to my princess.” [THE END]