The day of the party had arrived.
Armed with a cup of tea and a slice of toast, Rarity pored over the ledger book one last time. The number of red expenditures did little to brighten the mood. Fortunately, the deal she worked out with Shade earlier provided a generous loan of bits which paid for all of the expenses up-front. Everything they earned tonight from alcohol sales, food sales, song requests, and private entertainment would go toward repaying the loan. Anything extra would make P3 solvent again. It was a gamble, but Rarity was confident. Pinkie never failed when it came to parties, and this would be the best party ever.
Just below Rarity’s office, Twilight sat on the bed with Rainbow, the worn black journal she found the previous day between them.
“Well?” Rainbow asked expectantly.
Twilight smiled. “I have some good news. The beginning of the journal was mostly a lot of theory on how magic might be used to amplify the existing power of steam engines, including a number of very interesting passages about the dispersion of heat through two entangled magical fields set perpendicular to one another.”
Rainbow groaned. “Twilight, please. No science so early in the morning.”
Blushing, Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a forehoof. “Right, sorry.“
Throwing a wing around Twilight, Rainbow grinned. “It’s cool. So, tell me about what you found?”
“Oh yes. So, toward the end, there’s a lot of excitement about a prototype. It also mentions a test flight involving Shade and Dr. Eclipse.”
“The same test flight Eclipse never came home from?”
Twilight nodded sagely. “I imagine so. Though, I think that fact was never in doubt. Instead, the owner of this journal mentioned something odd.”
“Odd?”
“Apparently, Shade had asked him, or her, whoever this Fermi is, if they would be able to complete the research in the case where Dr. Eclipse resigned.”
“Yeesh, totally uncool,” Rainbow growled. “So, I guess we just have to find this Fermi pony and see if they know any more?”
“That’s about the short of it. If Eclipse worked as closely with her team as the journal mentions, I imagine Highwind might have an idea.” Twilight levitated the journal into Rainbow’s saddlebag. “Take the journal down to the Aerodrome and see if you can get any leads. I’ll ask Shade. As far as he’ll know, it’s just one researcher asking about another.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Not really, but I’m sure if I get into any trouble, our friends won’t be far away.”
Nodding, Rainbow hefted the saddlebags onto her back. Then she helped Twilight into her own saddlebags. “We can definitely count on them.”
Smiling, Twilight got off the bed and nuzzled Rainbow lightly. “I’ll see you in the evening. I think a walk back will do me good after riding in that bumpy carriage for weeks.”
“See you then, Twilight. Good luck!” Rainbow winked.
Twilight winked back.
* * *
Dr. Fermi was tired—dead tired. He cradled a steaming cup of coffee between his hooves and inhaled the intoxicating aroma. Shifting to one side, he adjusted for the heavy leaden weight tucked in his lab-coat pocket. It pulled down on his aching body and tormented his mind. For a brief instant, he regretted all of his life choices, his pursuit into science, his current choice of employer, and his decision not to get a stronger brew. He sipped the coffee—still delicious after everything—and sighed heavily.
The previous afternoon, just before wrapping up for the day, the communication gem in his office glowed to life. It flashed out a simple message: Shade wanted the magic suppression cone finished by morning. Luckily, the majority of the work was done already. He personally spent the entire night in the lab finalizing the completed product.
Testing the restraint led to a few unexpected results, including the slight cracking of his assistant’s horn. He wasn’t sure how Shade suppressed any media outcry or criminal charges, but his assistant seemed very pleased to stay at home to rest until the horn healed.
He gazed into the coffee and let his mind wander. All things considered, Shade seemed to have access to a lot of things normal ponies would not. Coffee was certainly not a common good. It required shipping across vast deserts on steam-caravans which depended on carefully mapped oases for water. Even at top speed, a single shipment took several weeks.
His random musings came to a sharp end when the door clicked open and he found himself looking up at a very grim-faced Shade Regent. He swallowed dryly and pushed the coffee to one side. Without a word, he gripped the metal cone resting in his pocket and levitated it onto the table.
Surprisingly, Shade seemed equally exhausted as he trotted to his desk and collapsed into the wide executive chair. Silence reigned for a few tense seconds before Shade finally cleared his throat and picked up the cone with his hooves. “Is it finished?”
Nodding, Fermi levitated a small instruction pamphlet out of his lab pocket and placed it on the table in front of Shade. “I’ve kept most of the mechanisms the same. It’s a little heavier to account for the additional alignment crystals, but the overall operation shouldn’t be different.”
“And what about costs? Can we automate the creation of these?”
Fermi paused and considered the countless hours he poured into the device the previous night. But one look at Shade’s face indicated there was only one answer here. “Yes. The initial development time was tricky at best. I’m confident it can be made simpler with time.”
Sighing, Shade placed the cone back down on the table and nodded. “Excellent. You’ve always done good work for me, Fermi. Even if the SonicCraft seems to have hit a bump in the market, ponies are always ready for new technology. This will please the board, and what pleases them, pleases me.” He smiled thinly. “And what pleases me is good for you.”
“Of course, sir.” Fermi shifted uncomfortably, unsure with the direction of the conversation. Vaguely, he could remember a similar conversation in the past involving a co-worker, but he was much too tired to dwell on it.
“Perhaps a vacation. Somewhere warm? It’s been dreadfully cold here lately, hasn’t it?”
“That does sound nice.”
“Splendid!” Shade extended a forehoof and pulled the cone across the desk into a drawer. “I’ll have my ponies take care of it for you. I know I’ve asked a lot of you this past week. Just speak to my secretary on your way out, and you’ll be relaxing on the beach by this afternoon.”
“Thank you, sir.” Fermi smiled and imagined the beach. It did sound nice, and he could really go for a nice long sleep in a comfortable airship cabin. As he rose from his seat, Shade interrupted him.
“Oh, and one last thing. The work you’re doing for me is very top secret. Just wanted to remind you.”
“Of course, sir.”
Fermi turned and left, Shade’s last words echoing in his head even as the secretary explained his company-paid vacation to him.
* * *
“Highwind!” Rainbow waved a hoof as she enthusiastically flew over to the older pegasus. Landing at his side, she gave him a slap on the back with her wing and grinned.
“Well, hello there Rainbow Dash. What’s got you smiling so much in this dreary old aerodrome?” Highwind wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and settled down on his haunches.
Ducking down, Rainbow glanced right and left conspiratorially. “Twilight found something in Shade’s research labs.”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What did she find?”
“Do you know a pony by the name of Fermi? Twilight thinks he might know something about what happened.”
“Fermi?” Highwind paused before a wry grin spread across his features. “Oh, I remember Fermi very well. He was always the awkward sort. I could tell he was sweet on Eclipse, but she wouldn’t give him the time of day. Not with this charming fella’ cooing at her from the skies.”
Rainbow waved a forehoof to try to dissipate the sudden air of nostalgia and mushiness. “Well, apparently Shade offered Eclipse’s position to Fermi prior to her disappearance.”
Highwind’s face darkened as his mouth pulled into a frown. “Are you implying Fermi had something to do with Eclipse’s disappearance?”
“Twilight isn’t sure, but from his journal, it sounds like they worked together closely. If any pony knows something, it has to be him.”
“Seems reasonable enough. Though I can’t imagine he’d do anything to harm her. He always seemed like a good-hearted pony. But if you think he might know something, we can swing by his old place and see if we can track him down.”
“Like, right now?” Rainbow flapped her wings and rose to the air.
“Sure, I’ve been working on this all morning. I’m due for a short break. It’s not like any pony is going to stop me. I’m the boss in my garage.”
“Awesome! Let’s go!” Rainbow bolted out of the garage down the hall.
Withdrawing into himself, Highwind followed at a more sedated pace. Eclipse was a long forgotten love at this point. He’d long since accepted what happened. He wasn’t sure he was ready to face it all once more.
* * *
“Fluttershy! We gotta go!” Applejack waved her hat in Fluttershy’s direction trying to get her friend’s attention. As far as she could tell, Fluttershy was absolutely swamped by the total menagerie of animals surrounding her on the train station platform. Spike was doing his very best to keep them herded to one side, but there’s only so much one small dragon can do. In the middle of it all, Fluttershy was gently nuzzling each critter, assuring them she’d be okay, that she would be back soon, and not to worry.
Applejack groaned as the animals chittered away, oblivious to the fact the train was puffing loudly at the side of the station. Luckily, the conductor seemed to notice this and a moment later a loud whistle from the engine startled the animals into attention. Fluttershy gave Spike one last hug and trotted over to Applejack.
“I’m so, so, sorry, Applejack. They’re just worried for me. I hope they’ll be okay without me. I mean, there’s so many animals. Even with Spike helping me every day we barely get it all done.”
Spike dragged a sizeable suitcase up to the pair of them and panted. “I think they’ll be okay. The buffalo tribe said they’d keep an eye on them, and they promised to all behave themselves. Can we get going already? I don’t want to miss the party!”
Nodding in agreement, Applejack put one hoof inside the train carriage. “We best be making tracks. We don’t want to be late, and I bet the rest of the passengers aren’t keen on being kept waiting because a buncha critters are nervous because you’ll be gone a few days.”
“Oh, I’m not sure...” Fluttershy gazed longingly back to her animals and then back to Applejack. “I know I should go, but I just don’t feel right leaving them all by themselves.”
Spike pulled the suitcase up to the carriage door and hefted it up to Applejack. Grunting with exertion, he tipped the large suitcase over the threshold with Applejack’s help. He climbed into the carriage and held out a claw to Fluttershy. “C’mon Fluttershy, we all agreed to go. You want to see our friends again, right?”
“Oh...alright.” Fluttershy sighed and flapped a few times off the ground and flew into the carriage. The conductor promptly shut the carriage door behind them and a few moments later the train whistled again. The huge steam engine ground to life. Fluttershy pressed herself against the window of the door and waved to her animal friends as they passed.
“Don’t worry about me!” she called out of the window. “I promise to write!” she added when some of the animals looked less than convinced.
Spike rolled his eyes and patted Fluttershy on the back. “Let’s get to our seats. It’s not safe standing in the corridor like this.”
With a great deal of trepidation, Fluttershy followed Spike to her seat and sat down across from Applejack. She looked outside the window at the frost creeping up the glass. “I sure hope they’ll be okay. It’s been a lot colder than usual lately. Some of my animal friends don’t do well in the cold.”
Applejack leaned back in her seat and pulled her hat over her eyes. “They’ll be fine, Fluttershy. Those animal critters of yours are a lot more capable than you think. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve had a rough couple of days, so I’m going to catch a little extra shuteye.”
Fluttershy nodded silently and stared back out at the rapidly passing scenery. She swallowed the pit of discomfort in her chest and leaned against Spike. Maybe Applejack was right. Everything would be alright. Even if it didn’t feel like it.
* * *
Grabbing onto the door-rail with both hooves, Twilight steadied herself as the carriage ground to a halt. She patiently waited for the driver to open the door for her. She stepped out carefully and nodded her thanks. The driver grunted at her but offered no additional recognition of her appreciation. Not about to let a grump ruin her mood, she trotted into the building and found Shade waiting for her in the lobby.
Twilight smiled and waved a forehoof—mentally reminding herself not to behave too strangely.
Shade smiled in return. “Good morning, Twilight Sparkle. I hope your ride was comfortable?”
Nodding, Twilight trotted up to Shade and glanced around the lobby, noticing it was suspiciously empty. “Very, thank you. Can I help you with something? I was just going to review the data I collected yesterday and do some correlation analysis.”
Shade cracked a grin. “Actually, I would like to sit down and just chat with you for a bit. I make it a point to talk with all the ponies I work with on a one-to-one basis. It helps foster friendships which can be very fruitful to the work we do.”
Twilight suppressed the urge to cock her eyebrow. Instead, she nodded in agreement. “That certainly makes sense. Though we usually meet on Mondays for status meetings, and today’s Friday.”
“Of course,” Shade easily countered, a hoof casually waving in the air as if to disperse the oddity. “This is less of a formal meeting and more of an informal chat. My schedule cleared up, and I realized we haven’t sat down and talked on a non-professional level since you started working in my facilities.”
Twilight nodded slowly. It was obvious Shade would insist on this meeting no matter what. She’d have to make do and try to casually question Shade earlier than planned. Readjusting her plan, she smiled. “I suppose. I would like to know more about you. Learning about a pony can really help foster friendships.”
“Wonderful. I’m sure we have a lot we can learn from one another. If you’ll follow me, we’ll talk over some coffee and pastries.” Shade turned and walked through one of the side doors to the rear of the lobby away from the labs.
Twilight cast one last cursory glance around the empty lobby, noting even the missing receptionist pony who she exchanged pleasantries with each morning. Something was obviously wrong—how wrong remained to be seen. She tightened her guard and followed Shade through the door into a well-lit hallway with lacquered white walls and no windows. Each step she took, she left a small magical imprint on the floor. She couldn’t risk getting lost in the building.
Picking her pace, she trotted up to Shade and casually glanced around. “I haven’t been in this part of the building before. I normally stick to the labs and research area.”
“Well, that’s a shame,” Shade responded with a little pep in his voice. “This is where the employee lounges are. I imagine after several hours of poring over figures, even the most diligent of ponies would like a break. I keep it on the first floor so visitors can make use of the facilities as well.”
“That’s very generous of you.” Twilight noted and tried to catch the nondescript labels on closed doors as she passed them. “This is quite the journey, though. I imagine this hall doesn’t just service the lounge?”
Shade grinned, obviously enjoying the self-appreciation. “Well, when you finance buildings as large and magnificent as this one, it tends to pick up a few extra features beyond the usual. We’re actually passing a number of private rest areas for some of my most senior employees. When you have as many brilliant minds as I do working under one roof, they tend to want a little space to themselves from time to time.”
“Can’t they just relax in their offices?” Twilight queried, trying to spot one labeled with the elusive Dr. Fermi.
“They could, but I tend to recommend separating work from play. It relaxes the mind far better, and I get to finance an extra large building to accommodate. It’s a win-win scenario. Well, usually.” Shade chuckled and tapped the floor quickly with his forehoof. “This building here was built by one of my associates, but they just couldn’t keep up with the payments for such a grand structure. In the end, my bank absorbed the company and their assets. I’ve taken good care of their employees, and I think they’re happier too.”
Shade’s grin grew wider. “Plus, I pay them far more. Bits can do a lot to brighten a pony’s day.”
Twilight nodded, not convinced, but she wasn’t going to press the issue.
At the end of the hall, the two ponies entered an equally large room beautifully decorated with plush sofas, soft carpets, and tables filled with delicious pastries. Off to one side on the counter rested a sizable coffee pot and all manner of creams, sugars, and flavorings which a pony might have desired. Twilight wondered at the cost to keep this place stocked, especially given the significant rise in Equestria’s population as the entire country industrialized. Shade was right; getting the very best wasn’t cheap.
Shade quickly furnished himself with a couple danishes and a cup of coffee. He magically levitated a small vial from one of his breast-pockets and tipped a creamy looking liquid into his coffee. Giving it a sip, he smiled and nodded. “Go ahead, help yourself. I’ll wait for you at the table over there.”
Twilight glanced over the selections before picking up an apple and following Shade to the table. “I couldn’t help but notice that the lounge is rather empty for this time of day. I thought all were welcome.”
Shade put down his coffee cup and smiled. “Oh, that. To be perfectly honest, I gave all my employees the day off. I wanted to talk to you and didn’t wish to be disturbed.”
“All of your employees?” Twilight shifted a little in her seat and glanced around. “I would have been quite alright talking to you in your office.”
“Ah, you don’t quite understand.” Shade chuckled. “It’s because I didn’t want you to see every pony so very happy. It would apply unnecessary peer pressure on you.”
Seeing Twilight pause, Shade continued. “You see, this is a very delicate situation, which is why I want to get to know you better. We’re discussing this purely from a casual standpoint. Nothing written down, nothing formal.”
Twilight set the apple down, untouched, having noticed Shade had not touched his danishes whatsoever. “Alright, given that you’ve emptied a whole building for me, I guess I should hear what you have to say.”
“Splendid. How goes working so closely with Princess Celestia? Her royal highness doesn’t seem to want to directly interact with the industrialists. She tends to let designates speak with us and convey her desires.”
“Princess Celestia works very hard to ensure I’m happy and to provide me with challenging assignments,” Twilight responded tersely, choosing to leave the comment regarding Celestia’s methods of rule alone.
Nodding, Shade leaned into the table, closer to Twilight. “And I imagine those years spent in the Ponyville library kept you equally occupied and fulfilled?” His mouth curved ever so slightly upward into a smug smile.
Twilight instinctively leaned away from Shade, her mind reflexively shoving down memories of loneliness and coldness of the Ponyville library. “Celestia knew I needed some personal time. It’s uncommon for ponies to request a sabbatical from time to time.”
“Indeed.” Shade responded all too quickly, apparently satisfied that Twilight could not come up with a better defense for her former mentor. “That being said, a pony of your significant talents shouldn’t be left whiling away the time in a small town library. In fact, given your abilities, I would be honored if you would be willing to join my research team. Even part-time. Imagine the good you could do for Equestria given my financial capital.”
Inwardly, Twilight relaxed in relief. All of this for a job offer? Even if it was a little odd he went to such extremes to impress her, she figured it fit with Shade’s penance for extravagance. It was almost worth accepting, given the amount of access she could gain for her investigation.
Almost. But, in the end, Shade’s dubious background wasn’t worth the risk. Shaking her head, she put on her best smile. “I’m sorry, Mr. Regent, but as impressive as your offer is, I can’t accept. I have to finish my current assignment and return to Ponyville.”
Chuckling, Shade shook his head sadly. “I expected as much. Let me sweeten the offer just a little. I’m willing to let you finish your current assignment, and I’ll even spend the bits to build a small facility in Ponyville. I just want you on my research team.”
Twilight’s ears perked upwards. “Research team?” She checked her enthusiasm—after all, this was the information she needed to get out of Shade. “I’ve heard a fair bit about your research team. Would I be working with Dr. Fermi?”
The gamble paid off.
Shade grinned widely and nodded. “Indeed! Dr. Fermi is one of my best researchers. With the help of Regent Research, he helped finalize the SonicCraft technology which is used in a majority of Magitek engines these days. I didn’t know you were that interested in Magitek, Ms. Sparkle.”
“Oh, only as a hobby,” Twilight responded casually, trying to formulate the next question in her head. “To be honest, I’ve always focused on a purer magical approach. The MechaMagiWings work is just something on the side for a friend.”
“Of course. Speaking of the MechaMagiWings, I actually have a little surprise for you, if you’d be willing to follow me into the labs. We’ve been doing some work on the sidelines with the progress you’ve accomplished. And I think we have a prototype which combines both SonicCraft and MechaMagiWing technology.”
Twilight nodded. “Sure, I would love to see it.” She rose from her seat slowly. By all rights, Shade should have nothing even close to her work with Apple Bloom, but his statement didn’t sound insincere. Begrudgingly curious, she followed Shade out of the lounge, down an elevator, until she found herself in front a pair of steel doors at the end of another long well-lit corridor.
Shade pressed his hoof against the crystal plate at the door and spoke his name, “Shade Regent.” The door chimed and opened, the lights flicked on, and Twilight found herself staring at a very rudimentary copy of her MechaMagiWing design. Wasting no time, she probed the gems inlaid in the structure and found them wildly out of control. A nonfunctional copy.
“Impressive, isn’t it? Everything seems to be in place, but it just doesn’t work at all.” Shade waited for Twilight to enter the room before closing the door behind him. He sighed heavily and waved a forehoof at the prototype. “Can you imagine how many ponies this could help? All I need is one more brilliant, beautiful researcher to help it come to fruition.”
Twilight took a step toward the prototype and eyed it critically. Something wasn’t quite right. The majority of it looked like it was quickly put together in a few hours, not days of work. Even the most junior of unicorns in the field could at least align the gems’ magic fields. Instead, they were haphazardly stuck into the frame by force.
She didn’t notice Shade until his forehoof draped over her back.
“Twilight Sparkle.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “You’re an amazing pony, an amazing researcher, and an equally amazing mare.” His grip tightened on her back. “It’s been so long since I’ve had a challenge like you. I think I’m just drawn to scientific ponies like yourself.”
The alarm bells went off in Twilight’s head. Before Shade could get any closer, Twilight executed the contingency plan. She charged her horn in a second and blasted the entire room with a blinding light.
Shade screamed and grabbed at his eyes with his forehooves.
Twilight turned to the door and found it would not open. Casting a quick glance over to Shade and noting his current immobilized state, she called forth her inner magical reserves to teleport out of the building. She searched frantically for a safe place to lock onto, but the entire building pulsed with the same annoying magic dampening field which she found on the SonicCraft, probably to prevent magical accidents. Briefly, she wondered why she didn’t detect the field when she first entered the building—Shade must’ve activated something when he opened the room.
Finding no alternatives, she balled up the magic within herself and blasted the door right out of its frame. The metal door clattered to the corridor, and she scrambled over it and away from Shade. She charged down the hallway, and followed the trail of magical breadcrumbs she had left for herself in the case something like this happened. She reached the elevator and stopped to catch her breath. She reached out to press the call button for the elevator when the door opened suddenly.
Twilight was always a fast spell caster, but not fast enough to stop a forehoof crashing into her head. She stumbled backwards and fell onto her side, her head pounding. Twilight’s blurry vision barely made out a couple of ponies in dark suits descending upon her. She struggled for consciousness, but a magical force invaded her mind and pressed against her will. She drifted off, filled with regret.
* * *
Twilight was late. Twilight was never late. Rainbow paced back and forth in front of Regent Enterprises. She was already in a bad mood. Highwind had brought her to Fermi’s place only to find no pony home. Apparently the scientist was on vacation or something equally stupid. So, having nothing to do, she made her way to where she was supposed to meet Twilight—only to find the building was closed, too.
So, Rainbow found herself pacing back and forth in front of the building waiting for Twilight to come out. She arched her head up and looked at the dim light in the sky just beyond the glass ceiling above the street and then back to the empty building. Whatever Twilight was doing, it had to be pretty important if she was going to be late. The least she could do was send out a messenger of some sort to let her know.
As if on cue, a pony in a dark suit stepped into the lobby. Rainbow spotted him immediately and waved several annoyed gestures at him. He didn’t respond and instead walked up to the door and opened it before stepping to one side. “Ms. Rainbow Dash? A Twilight Sparkle sent for you.”
“Finally!” Rainbow exclaimed, fluttering her wings in annoyance and stepping into the building. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting out here? And where’s Twilight?”
The pony grunted and closed the door. “If you’ll follow me.”
Rainbow nodded and followed the the suited pony into the building and out of sight.
* * *
Soarin’ sighed and stepped away from the window.
“You’re sure, she walked right in?” Spitfire commented without even looking up from her book.
“Yep.” Soarin’ groaned and slumped down into the chair next to Spitfire.
“And Twilight’s in there too.”
“Yep.” Soarin’ double groaned and banged his head on the table.
“And it’s been a few hours and they haven’t come out?” Spitfire continued to deadpan.
“Yep.” Soarin’ didn’t bang his head a second time because it hurt, so he resigned himself to another groan.
“So, basically, we’re looking at infiltrating a building with no backup to retrieve two very important ponies before everything goes to horseapples.” Spitfire chuckled and closed her book. “Beats sitting on our butts all day, right?”
“It also sounds like an opportunity to get ambushed, captured, and utterly fail our mission.” Soarin’ raised his head off the table and snorted. “I can’t believe how oblivious ponies can be some time. It’s an obvious trap! Everything is an obvious trap.”
Spitfire laid a hoof on Soarin’s back and patted him. “It’s okay, Soarin’. You can’t expect civilians to be looking for danger around every corner. That’s our job.”
“Well, we’re doing a pretty awful job at it right now. The two ponies we’re supposed to be protecting are locked away in a building which we can’t easily infiltrate. It’s been hours! Who knows what’s happening?”
“Probably nothing. Shade doesn’t strike me as the impulsive type. He’s probably working out the details of how to get what he wants without endangering himself.”
“So, you’re saying we have time to swing by the garrison and pick up a company of royal guards and storm the building?”
It was Spitfire’s turn to snort and laugh. “And violate a number of laws doing so without a warrant? We’ll need something a little subtle, and a little backup wouldn’t hurt.”
A knock came from the door of their hotel room. Spitfire eyed Soarin’, and he returned her look with a look of confusion and concern. Nodding, Spitfire quietly trotted to the side of the door and motioned for Soarin’ to open the door.
Soarin’ nodded and carefully eased the door open. He gasped and stumbled back just in time for Spitfire to throw the full force of her hoof into a golden magical aura. Both of them fell back into the room as the door clicked shut.
“Princess Celestia!” Spitfire gasped.
The Princess winked at Spitfire. “I see you’re as strong as ever. It’s a good thing I wrote training manuals with Luna, otherwise you’d certainly would have left a bruise.”
“S-sorry,” Spitfire mumbled. “I just wasn’t expecting—”
“I’m quite aware that I’m not exactly supposed to be here. Given the severity of the situation, I took it upon myself to make the trip out here. Not a moment too soon, it seems. I’ve read the briefs you’ve delivered to Luna, so I came here immediately when I began to suspect something was amiss.”
Soarin’ sighed and wiped his forehead with a hoof. “It’s good to have you here, Princess. You’re one hell of a backup unit to call in.”
“I hope you aren’t implying I have the weight of a whole company of royal guards.”
“In terms of force, I mean, not as in the weight of, you know, I didn’t know you heard that on the other side of the door...” Soarin’ stammered and looked away.
Celestia giggled briefly before her face dropped into her usual neutral expression. “Now then, Captain Spitfire, please brief me on the situation. I think we have a lot of work to do before the night is over.”