"Is she going to be alright?" Tonya asked for about the twentieth time.
Rosetta groaned. Seriously, did Tonya expect the answer to change in the short amount of time since her last time asking about it? It was understandable that Tonya was worried, but some duct tape over Tonya's mouth would really make this whole experience more bearable.
Lavender looked up from her treatment of Sunset to glare at Tonya. "Just like the last however many times I told you; she may have a mild concussion, and I'm busy detail checking her horn over for any possible cracking and weakening of structure. It's a very painstaking examination that's very important I get right. If you don't shut your muzzle and sit quietly so I can do it without distraction I'm going to have you wait outside."
Phobia pulled Tonya into a hug and Tonya gripped her friend tightly, and started crying again. Phobia gently patted the pegasus's back with a hoof and laid her head on Tonya's shoulder. Phobia was also crying.
Rosetta felt a pang of guilt that she wasn't feeling more distressed about Sunset's health. She and her future mother-in-law could be very caustic with one another, and she didn't like Sunset at all, but both Tonya and Phobia cared very deeply for the unicorn. Rosetta was sitting here like this was an inconvenience and her future wife and one of her friends were both worried sick. It made her feel heartless.
She walked over to the two and then reached around the two as best she could to give them a brief hug. This earned a tiny bit more crying from them, but the crying was just a further release of emotion, not a negative reaction to her. After a moment she she released them and spoke softly. "Come on you two, we need to wait out in the lobby. Lavender will tell us when she's done. We need to make sure she isn't distracted."
Rosetta was fairly sure that Sunset was going to be fine anyway. Crystal Dreams strike didn't look like it had come near Sunset's horn. Getting bucked in the face by a crystal pony certainly wasn't a good thing since they were just as strong as an average earth pony, but ponies were built sturdier than humans and could take more of a beating as a result.
"But I want to be right by her bed when she wakes back up," Tonya whined. Rosetta stiffled another groan. Tonya was nothing if not devoted to Sunset.
Phobia, likewise, didn't seem too thrilled about the idea of leaving her mother's side. It was easy to forget how much Phobia really did love her mother, and the fact that she was as ardent in defending Sunset Blessing as Sunset Blessing was ardent in defending Phobia.
The mother and daughter didn't see eye to eye on many things, but if Rosetta was being grudgingly honest Phobia's personal beliefs weren't that far off from Sunset Blessing's. It was just Phobia had a passion for fear and no real passion at all about her Shimmerist leanings. It was like having a person who said they were Christian but never prayed, never went to church, never cited God about anything, and didn't even own a Bible--much like Rosetta or Phobia. That was about Phobia's level of Shimmerism, and that made it so it wasn't a point of contention between Rosetta and Phobia.
Rosetta decided to reprompt the two. "Phobia, we need to be going to sleep soon. I'm pretty sure that stunt you pulled out there makes it so you have to follow through with what you said. We need to break that nightmare shell of yours and get you training again."
Phobia looked up at her and just stared for a moment before releasing Tonya and wiping her eyes. "You're right. I need to get that done as soon as possible. I also need focused training with as little interruption as possible. If Luna isn't available to train me constantly while I sleep then one of my counterparts will do just as well."
From what Rosetta had seen of the Dreamwardens and Luna she thought the the other Dreamwardens taking up Phobia's training might be for the best. The Dreamwardens were rough in how they did things, but they were effective. Luna took far too much time and unneeded care with her methods. It might be because she wasn't a night pony and didn't think like one, despite dealing with them more than any other non-night pony. She was also over a thousand years old and probably trapped in routines, or was just used to taking her sweet time with things since months didn't seem as long to her as everyone else. Her experience was valuable, and she likely would have dealt with the situation earlier today far better than Phobia did, but that didn't mean the Dreamwardens couldn't be more effective at other things.
Tonya sat where she was and sniffled. "Can't I just wait here without you two? I really don't want to leave Sunset's side."
Phobia touched a wing up to Tonya's side and spoke. "No, I need you to help me. Rosetta's right, I need to follow through with what I said would happen to Shadow Dancer and I'm going to have to beat this nightmare to do so. I want you to help me put what happened behind me."
Tonya stiffened and Rosetta did as well. Was Phobia serious? Was Phobia really going to have Tonya mess with her mind just to overcome her nightmares?
"I'm not sure that's a good idea...," Tonya said slowly. "I don't know what I'm doing. There could be side effects because of that. I'm not even sure it lasts. Even if I did know what I'm doing, aren't you supposed to be judging me for doing exactly this kind of thing?"
Rosetta wasn't thrilled with this idea either. She had made progress today after leaving Sarah. Today she had actually penetrated past the mass. With some more time she could help Phobia get this under control without resorting to something like this. The idea that there could be some nasty side effect from Tonya doing this was also a serious matter to consider.
Phobia seemed undeterred. "From what I've heard you've done so far I don't think your judgement will be too severe. My mom was consenting, and the singing thing had some consent--even if it wasn't informed consent--fix that in the future. The matter with your human family is the issue that earns judgement, but considering that you did it on accident, have repented it, and have taken steps to prevent it happening again since it happened the punishment for it'll be far less severe than you might think." Phobia paused and gave Tonya a raised eyebrow. "Is there anything else I should know about? Now's your chance to tell me and earn some mercy for those things."
Tonya sat quiet for a moment. "When Sunset was doing all her organizing for the food drive I kind of made the humans less worried about the fact she's a Shimmerist. They were already wanting a pony that could take charge, so I didn't impact that; I just made them less worried about ponies that understand that ponies are superior to humans. I didn't even take all the worry away, just made it less of a big deal to them."
"Which is probably why a pony like Shadow Dancer was even given the time of day by them," Rosetta said slowly. She wasn't going to even comment on the fact ponies weren't strictly superior to humans, only different; she already knew there was no way she was changing Tonya's opinions, and only a little chance of changing Phobia's. It wasn't worth the time to argue about right now. The point was Tonya had set the stage for ponies like Shadow Dancer to come to power.
Phobia nodded. "That will be taken under consideration as well as you having been honest with me about it. Do no more of that. It borders on mind control. Is there anything else?"
Tonya sat still staring at her hooves. "No, nothing else." She said quietly.
Both Rosetta and Phobia raised skeptical eyebrows at that. Tonya had done something else and she didn't want to say what. Rosetta thought back to her earlier time asleep today. Right before her finally succeeding she had learned from Luna that John--she still couldn't automatically call him Swift Strike in her mind--was dead and Tonya had something to do with it. She had told Phobia about that after getting into the dream as a means of trying to make her feel safer. Did Tonya somehow kill him with mind magic? If that was so that could mean a severe judgement, even if John deserved it in Rosetta's opinion.
Phobia looked at Tonya sadly and shook her head. "Tonya, if there is something else, something worse, it's better if you tell me now."
Tonya just shook her head. "There's nothing else."
Phobia sighed. "I hope you're telling the truth. If there's something else it'll come out sooner or later and it will be bad for you."
"There's nothing else," Tonya repeated, she didn't look Phobia in the eyes.
Phobia and Rosetta shared an reserved look between them. They didn't know what it was, but they both knew Tonya was lying. Rosetta's heart went out to Phobia; she didn't want Phobia to be forced to be in this kind of position with her best friend. She felt herself getting angry at Tonya for putting Phobia in this kind of position. This was going to hurt Phobia a lot.
Phobia turned back to Tonya. "Very well...since you insist you've done nothing else we can focus on what needs to happen now. Shadow Dancer's justice has to come to him, and since I declared it's coming I need to be there for his judgement or the Dreamwardens will lose credibility. Use your powers to help me get past the rape. You have my consent."
Tonya gave a nervous wiggle where she sat and looked at Phobia. "Are you sure about this? I told you I'm not sure what I'm doing."
Phobia nodded. Rosetta wanted to scream an objection. She didn't want Tonya messing with Phobia's head. If Sunset Blessing's temperament was any indication this could go very wrong. She didn't want Phobia to resemble her mother in any further ways. The only thing stopping her was the time table. Phobia needed every moment of training she could get. Not getting enough training meant Phobia could die while being bound. Phobia's possible death was not something she was prepared to face.
Tonya looked dubvious about it, but accepted it. "Alright, if you say so." She stood to her hooves and pulled the medallion off from around her neck, dropping it to the floor. "Now, look me in the eyes and let's talk about what you want to leave behind you."