//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Plans and Plotting // Story: Moamer's Return // by bonamb //------------------------------// Celestia lay on the bed, still, and Twilight stared at her. Celestia. Her teacher, her mentor, the mare who had become her second mother. Celestia. The mare who had not given her everything, but instead shown her the path from which she could work to be the best pony she could be. Celestia. The mare who had seen her potential as a filly and helped her realize it. The mare to whom Twilight owed everything. The mare who was lying. Still. On a bed in front of her. Twilight’s tail twitched and brushed her hind legs. Jumping into the air and letting out a startled cry her wings spread in a flight or fight response before she remembered where she was and what she was doing. Calming herself and flicking her tail a few more times to reassure herself that it was still hers, as was this hoof, that hoof that one and this one. The wings, surprisingly, felt the most attached. Celestia groaned, eyes still closed, then shuddered, her shockingly thin frame looking almost as if it would shake apart. Twilight’s brain split off into three directions. One panicking, one reassuring and one working as she processed the situation the only way she knew how. Scientifically. Dangerously low fat percentage. Malnutrition? Yes. Stomach cramps? Maybe. Is the princess of the sun cold? Susceptibility to cold results in abnormally low body temperature - possible hypothermia? Symptoms: Shivering, occasionally. Slurred speech, no. Slow breathing, no. Clumsiness, yes. Fatigue, yes. Confusion, not noticed. Loss of consciousness, yes. Conclusion: Unlikely. Magical exhaustion? Symptoms: Headache, not noticed. Inability to utilize simple magic, yes. Sleeping for long periods of time, possible. Loss of consciousness, yes. Weight loss, yes. Conclusion: Very likely. Diagnosis: Extreme magical exhaustion and malnutrition from burnt body reserves. Solutions: Keep warm, and resting. Provide nutrition via IV or provide a high concentration of ambient magic and feed when awake.   All of 0.21 seconds had gone by before Twilight leapt into action. Her horn lit and without pausing to consider what she was doing she lifted Celestia just up from the giant cushion that passed for a bed, spun the sheets out from under her and rearranged them to be as comfortable and provide as much heat as possible. Heat and rest, check. Next, Twilight, still unmoving, checked the weatherwards on the windows and balcony. Mentally diving into the palace wards, and finding the relevant matrix she quickly created a very specific hole in the Palace wards around Celestia’s room. As she flung open all the entrances into the open air - allowing the magically charged Canterlot atmosphere to seep in - the tang of magic saturated the room, overpowering the previous softer scents of the flowers which Celestia kept by her bed and the warm ones of Celestia herself. High concentration of ambient magic, check. Still within the wards, she shifted her magical presence over to the infrastructure as a whole and activated the signal to the kitchens and Distinguished. Food, check. Checklist executed and the slight satisfaction of doing so still bubbling, Twilight stood and waited, mind finally processing what she had just done. She would never have been able to lift Celestia normally - Starswirl’s first principle of physical magical interaction decreed that a magical object or being emits a concentrated field of ambient magic, with its size depending on the respective power, size, and shape of the object. Along with this, his third principle decreed that an object or being with a field of sufficient strength cannot be influenced magically by another object or being that possesses less than half the power of the object or being. But if the being in question had exhausted their magical reserves, the field would weaken sufficiently to allow manipulation… Oh Celestia. A knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts, and she moved, at last, opening it for Distinguished. “You called, your Highness?” “Yes - ah” Twilight mentally ran through the symptoms again. “Could we have some oats and water and a bottle of syrup separately please?” Distinguished took the odd request with a reassuring smile. Glancing past her towards the unconscious Celestia, he asked. “Magical exhaustion, your Highness?” Twilight shrugged. “The symptoms line up, and I remember how Shiny was after the changeling attack - nothing like this though.” “Indeed.” Distinguished nodded. “Oh, your Highness, a couple of other things. First, may I recommend porridge with chopped hazelnuts? It has the correct balance of vitamins and fats, and it is warming. The Princess has had me provide it for students who suffered from mild magical exhaustion while in a test with her. I can bring it up when you next use the bell.” Twilight nodded. She remembered Moondancer had received it, as well as a few others whose names she wouldn't have bothered to remember then. “Secondly, Mr Edge has sent a banana shortcake, which may also help her Highness. I can have that sent up with the oats if you wish?” Twilight recalled Luna’s recommendation of liquids but knew from experience that sugar was a good source of quickly burning fuel for magic. “Yes please, thank you so much Distinguished! Celestia will probably really appreciate that when she wakes up.” He huffed a short laugh. “Yes, I know her Highness’s predilections towards baked goods. I will return shortly. Princess.” He gave her a smile and closed the door. Distinguished had been a fixture of Twilight’s life for years, as when she was personal student to Celestia, he had almost never left the princess's side. Him and Raven made the perfect team and ensured the princess of the sun was fed, slept, knew where she was supposed to be, and didn’t work herself into a stupor. Come to think of it, Twilight couldn’t recall many occasions at all which didn’t have at least one of them standing silently in the background, ready to help. She had to admit, she did prefer Distinguished, as he was always willing to slip an excitable little filly a treat or two if she asked really nicely or cheered Celestia up if she was having one of her down periods. Celestia almost definitely knew, but as Twilight knew her now she had probably thought it was sweet. Twilight returned her attention to her mentor, still lying on the bed but now more comfortable in the blankets and no longer shaking. As Twilight watched, her hair shifted slightly, still long and damp, but a ripple moved down it, being barely noticeable but still there. Celestia. It still hadn’t sunk in yet. Even after the mess with the changelings. Even after Tirek. She was Celestia. With some difficulty, Twilight wrenched her thoughts away from that internal conflict. The food would come soon, and sometime after that, she would awake. She appeared to be getting better already but Twilight would call a professional without hesitation if she seemed to deteriorate at all. She knew that Celestia wouldn’t welcome uninvited intrusion into her private sanctuary, barring the most dire of circumstances. So, as somepony needed to keep watch over her, and Twilight wanted to be that pony, she resolved to stay. But what to do… Her eyes fell on a bookshelf - with some very old books - and Twilight involuntarily let out a little “squee” of excitement. Yes, this is exactly where she wanted to be. Levitating the first one in what looked to be a collection over to her and trotting over to the end of Celestia’s massive bed she poked it gingerly with a hoof. It was either here or the oversized chair and desk so… Twilight screwed up her courage and sat on the very comfy bed. Settling into a more comfortable position, she opened the book to the first page, and glancing at Celestia, began to read. Luna sat in the middle of the hedge mage, rubbing her temples. The council had broken for recess, a half hour for Luna to lower the sun - something that had not helped her headache - and to eat something. She hadn’t slept since the evening previous, and despite having an alicorn physiology she was starting to feel drained after hours of caring for and stabilizing her sister and then the subsequent non-stop meetings wearing her down. There was a reason, after all, that Celestia took the day and she took the night. She shook her head. Pathetic. In the early days of her reign she had once stayed awake for nigh upon a week, single hoofedly leading a small merchant fleet of her ponies through a gargantuan storm after they had been foolish enough to search for the lost city of marealantis. But as the stabbing pain behind her eye flared, she winced. Of course, any physical task was far easier than bureaucracy and paperwork any day of the week. She loved her ponies just as much as Celestia did - but by her own mane, she was on the verge of declaring a state of war to give her immediate and unopposed administrative power! While Canterlot Command did usually take the best path, they took an age to get there - and Luna had lived through enough of those already. The belltower chimed, and Luna sighed, weaving a teleportation matrix and throwing herself back through space to appear outside of the council chamber. None of the waiting command jumped, much to her disappointment. Checking her face was in place, she nodded cooly to them and trotted through the double doors into the meeting room with its round table, letting the officers file in after her. Both the Equestrian army and Guard division had representatives in the meeting - the army having Army General Hard Hoof - a solid, dark green unicorn - who sat on her right along with her subordinates: Lieutenant General Long Shot - a reddish unicorn with a distinctly non-regulation mane, who was in charge of eastern foreign military action and had only just arrived - and Chief Warrant Officer Cloud Cover, who was a pale pink pegasus with very blue eyes. Luna knew her as one of the officers who had personally helped her own reintegration into the military. The guard - on Luna’s left - had a tall, graying earth pony titled Guard General Barricade, and his subordinates: Colonel High Flier - a deep blue pegasus - who took care of Canterlot county, including Ponyville and Whitetail woods, and Captain Kinetic Edge, who commanded the palace and house guard, sitting next to his counterpart, Captain Shining Sky - a bright blue female unicorn - who was in charge of the general Canterlot city guard. Colonel Flier and Captains Edge and Sky all wore solar plate, while Lieutenant General Shot wore steel, army issue plate - Luna was told that this was out of preference, not necessity. Chief Warrant Cover, and Generals Hoof and Barricade were all in uniform - deep blue - with their respective ranks sown into the shoulders. None of the night guard were here, but they were likely busy. She would speak to the Night Guard General Swift Eclipse after the meeting finished. As Luna sat on the cushion at the far side of the table, she ran over the previous half of the meeting in her mind. Captains Edge and Sky had been placed under investigation - while still on duty - for the lapse in security that had allowed the bomb to get into the palace proper (what about city guard). Edge’s plan had, however, been followed, and they had dragonfire jars ready to message wherever the package had come from before Ponyville, once the guard’s investigative squad found the source. Twilight Sparkle’s findings with the bomb had also been confirmed by a team of the military’s magical talents. For now, all they could do was wait, and bolster their defenses. Twilight felt a faint tapping on the side of her barrel. It was irritating. Spike knew how she was in the mornings, and approachable wasn’t it. It came again, more insistent this time, and she mumbled a bleary “gerraway”. Suddenly the poking sensation became a tickling one as the monster who was waking her switched tactics and Twilight yelped, falling off the bed. Wait - my bed is against the wall. As she sat up and opened bleary eyes to glare at her aggressor, Princess Celestia’s sideways face swam into view. If thought processes were audible, Twilight could’ve sworn her brain just went ‘crunch’. As she sat there, mind catching up with reality, the Princess spoke. “Good evening Twilight.” “Good evening Princess. Uh.” “Well, now that’s a title I haven't heard in a couple of years.” “Princess?” “Uh.” This really wasn’t helping with the whole business of waking up. Twilight shook her head and looked again. Nope, the Princess was still there. Not a dream then. Celestia, still lying on her side, nodded seemingly to herself. “Do you think you could summon Distinguished with some tea?” Twilight, still on autopilot, telekinetically pressed the button and continued to stare. As they sat there, Twilight blank and Celestia faintly amused, the events of… before whenever she went to sleep came filtering back. The storm, the restless train ride, Canterlot damaged and Celestia hurt. Her eyes moved to the dip in Celestia’s bed where she had been lying, and the - ohno the book where her head had been. Sleeping on the Princess's bed, and her priceless books at the same time. If there ever were an offense to get her banished to the moon, this was it. A knock came from the door and Celestia quietly called for them to come in. Distinguished, to Twilight’s relief, entered. He had a tray suspended in his aura which, from the aroma, carried two large bowls of porridge and a teapot of spiced tea. “Ah, perfect. Thank you, Distinguished.” The butler placed the tray on the bedside table and bowed, backed out of the room. As Twilight’s gaze moved back to the food, she noted that A: The two bowls were different sizes, and B: She hadn’t eaten since… uh. That sandwich before she went to bed on the night of the storm? Her stomach rumbled agreement and, Celestia, who had pushed herself upright and was already reaching for the tea chuckled softly. “You don’t need to restrain yourself on my behalf Twilight.” Twilight laughed nervously and levitated the smaller bowl and spoon over to herself. They sat in silence and ate, both mares too hungry to talk. Celestia finished first. Bowl not quite empty but considering it was more than twice the size of Twilight’s, it was still an impressive feat. Putting it down and picking up the tea again, she spoke. “So Twilight, I would hazard a guess that Luna put you up to this?” “Um. Well, she did ask me to get you to eat something.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Oh, she did? Well. Once again, I am grateful for you going above and beyond what was asked of you. Although…” Twilight’s heart felt like it stopped. Or filled with porridge. One of the two. “Although?!” “Did my first edition copy of Pillony’s treatises on magical flying creatures really need to be drooled on?” Celestia held up the book Twilight had been sleeping on with a teasing smile. Oh good, straight to the moon. A large wing gently batted her face and Twilight nearly fell over as she was abruptly brought straight back into the cruel grip of reality. Celestia had leaned closer to her with a concerned look, wing outstretched. “That was a joke. Twilight?” Twilight shook her still foggy head to clear it. “Sorry, I just- I don’t know what’s happening right now.” Celestia folded one hoof over the other and settled into a more comfortable position.“Let's see. You came here because somepony attacked Canterlot, and I spread the bomb’s effects over the countryside. You are in my room, right now, because you decided that you needed to take care of me, which I very much appreciate. You fell asleep because you had exhausted yourself defending Ponyville. We are currently both eating porridge because we are both very hungry. Did I get everything?” “Yes- I.” Twilight’s eyes flicked to Celestia’s mane as it shimmered faintly, before returning to its inert state. “I think so?” “Hmm. Coffee.” “Coffee?” “Coffee.” Celestia shifted over on the bed and patted the space next to her with her wing. “There is a press in my personal kitchen, and I know your predilection towards that particular beverage.” A flash of violet light and the press, along with a couple of cups appeared on the bedside table. As Twilight sat down beside mentor on the bed and prepared the coffee, Celestia nursed the teacup held between her two forehooves, gaze drifting away before it flicked back down to her fellow princess, her gaze a touch more serious. “I’m sorry about the jokes Twilight. Luna tells me I have a tendency to be facetious in the worst of circumstances.” Twilight, her brain sharpened by the fumes emanating from the press, smiled. “Oh, you don’t have anything on Applejack or Rarity. I swear, if we didn’t have the elements, they’d just snark everything into submission.” Celestia let out a soft laugh. “Indeed.” As Twilight automatically poured the coffee, her limbs gradually gave way until she was leaning against Celestia’s side, staring into nothing until the cup nudged her lips and she snapped back to herself, quietly taking a sip. She looked up when Celestia indicated something. “Is that the cake from Sabre?” Twilight’s mind threw her an image of Distinguished mentioning he would bring it up as she looked in the direction indicated, and replied on autopilot. “Yep. Either that or another bomb.” Celestia looked down at her with a raised eyebrow and Twilight quailed. “I’m sorry I just thought because you were joking I could -” Celestia raised the eyebrow higher. “-I’m sorry!” They stared at each other for a second before the corner of Celestia’s mouth twitched, and she broke down into dignified giggles before lifting a wing and wrapping it tightly around Twilight. “Oh Twilight, if I’m allowed to joke about something, you are more than welcome to join in.” As Twilight’s heart slowed, she shook her head and smiled at herself. “I don’t think Spike would know how to react if I started acting so flippantly all of a sudden.” Celestia huffed. “I’m sure he’d be more than happy to contribute.” The cake levitated over to them, enspelled in a purple aura, and Twilight made a show of considering Celestia’s words before nodding with a smile. “Yep. He’d give as good as he got. Cadence rubbed off on him all too well when we were all in Canterlot. Cake?” Celestia gave her a look and Twilight rolled her eyes back, the barrier of formality broken all of a sudden as she floated a plate with a large slice over to Celestia’s forelegs. Celestia looked at it for a second before shrugging and picking it up with her hooves. Twilight studiously pretended not to notice, focusing on cutting herself a slice while draining the last dregs of her coffee. Celestia seemed even more relaxed now that had woken up and was able to eat - something that Twilight hoped was a good thing. They sat there and continued to eat cake in a companionable silence. Tomorrow, Twilight would get to research, because she knew there was something wrong with the bomb’s magic - how it seemed to pull at her own, and she knew she should know why. But for now Celestia was looking almost well again, and she was satisfied, for now. Luna blinked as green fire flared before her and a scroll flashed into being. This was the second one of the night. The discussion at the table fell silent as she unrolled it and began to read. “Report by Lieutenant Rock Hammer - Hollow Shades Guard. After receiving the information from the Ponyville squad, we searched the post office records and found the sender - a young weatherpony named Cloud Berry who was with her fiancée, a similarly aged gryphon called Caledia. We acquired a warrant, detained her, and searched her home. We found nothing suspicious - barring that she had recently been traveling - visiting the eastern coastline of Equestria, and Gryphonoia, where she met her fiancée. Barring immediate family, neither of them have many contacts from Gryphonoia, and none from Ponyville, and neither of them seem to be able to recall a package being sent to a Far Seeker, or even knowing he existed in the first place. They have both been released in line with protocol, and returned to their home. The guards that were going through the postal records found that a package of the same description but with a different magical tag came from Baltimere. Our investigation concluded here, and we await further orders. Equestria Eternal.” Luna laid both the documents on the table, skimming through the other as she did so, then looked up to the assembled military ponies, giving them a moment before asking: “Your thoughts?” Guard General Barricade cleared his throat, speaking with a voice that seemed to resonate. “The description of the ponies responsible matches the report from Lieutenant Private Eye. No recall of the package, sender, or recipient. And both senders have recently traveled Equestria’s eastern regions.” Luna nodded at the graying earth pony. “Indeed. The package’s signature also changed. We know little of the postal service, so…” “As she’s a pegasus, the tags would have likely been swapped.” Chief Warrant Cover cut in “If we can find the other package that the ID belonged to then we will be able to find where it came from before Baltimere, but that will take at least a week. Longer if it changed IDs there too. I can speak to Prompt Delivery to begin investigative proceedings immediately.” “Please do” Luna said. “In the meantime, we would send a preemptive company to Baltimare, as we can likely assume that it came from across the eastern sea - from Gryphonoia. All evidence seems to be pointing in that direction.” Privately Luna knew Celestia would disapprove of this act of open hostility towards their neighbors, but if they weren't complicit, they had no reason to worry. If they were though… Army General Hoof spoke up, a visibly repressed smile hiding behind her eyes. Luna was not the only one angered by Celestia’s state. “May I recommend two squads of pegasi and a squad of unicorns? If we are to be fighting gryphons, then aerial supremacy and firepower would be necessary.” Luna was preparing a reply before Captain Edge at the other end of the table broke in. “Unicorns proficient in teleportation should be there, for while the pegasi would be able to retreat in unfavorable circumstances, the unicorns would have no earth pony squad to fall back on.” He paused. “As such, I recommend myself to lead the squad.” The assembled personnel blinked at the input from the relatively lowly ranked Edge before General Barricade nodded. It made sense, as his magical talent was almost as powerful in its own way as the previous Canterlot captain’s, who had managed to shield the entire city for almost a week. Luna could also see Edge wanted to redeem himself after his perceived failure in allowing the package through his defenses. “That should work,” General Barricade said, before raising an eyebrow at his counterpart, who was still seemingly lost in thought. “General Hoof?” “We will have to reshuffle military personnel,” she said. “And it might ruffle a few feathers along the way, but it’s the most logical course of action, especially for such a small company.” Luna hummed. “They are mostly there in an investigative capacity, and to hopefully speed up the process- ?” she raised an eyebrow at Chief Warrant Cover, who nodded. “- Excellent. Now, unless anything else needs to be discussed, I believe we have been in session for far too long a time already, and we should break to begin preparations, and rest before another meeting tomorrow.” She internally winced at the last statement, but outwardly kept her cool as the assembled command voiced their affirmation. “Very well. I bid you all a good -” she glanced at the clock “-morning, and will see you later today.” She lit her horn and began weaving the matrix to teleport away. As it took her, she saw Colonel High Flier heading towards the Captain with a thunderous look on his face and she smirked before blinking and seeing only her bedchamber. And her bed. She sighed. It had been a long day. But she needed to write Swift Eclipse a memo, then she needed to check on Celestia. Her sister should be well rested enough to sign a few documents, especially after Luna had entrusted her care to Twilight Sparkle. But if she was not, Raven and Luna’s own secretary, Starshine, could easily head the Canterlot administrative processes between them while Luna slept, and would collate all non-urgent requests made of the crown until a time in which one of the sisters was in a state to receive them. But before then, Luna simply needed to see her sister, who was probably eating cake right now despite express instructions on the contrary, and then she needed to sleep. As she turned to the door, a small, unintentional grumble escaped her. “Back in my day…” Oh she really needed to sleep.