“Okay. I have a checklist. Things are… slightly more right with the world.” Twilight stood up and stretched like a cat, popping a few vertebrae and almost pulling a leg muscle. She was bathed in a dark golden light from her balcony as the sun was setting, along with the artificial light from the ersatz sun that was her chandelier.
List made and dinner eaten, she pushed open her doors and trotted down the stairs. Despite the chaos that was in the war room, the rest of the castle was as quiet as ever. It wasn't until she reached the medical wing that she saw significant activity, and even that was rather sedate.
Except, that is, for the immediate area around one room that looked like somepony had loaded a bunch of party paraphernalia into a cannon and fired it haphazardly at the door. Ducking inside, Twilight opened with “Let me guess. I missed Pinkie Pie.”
Rainbow, Spike, Cloud Burner, and Trixie were all in Rainbow's room, all wearing party hats. At least three dozen cupcake wrappers were strewn around, a punch bowl was on the table, and there was a mercifully silent record player with “Merry-go-round Broke Down” loaded.
“By about two hours,” Rainbow replied. “Nurses gave her ninety minutes this time before kicking her out. I think she bribed a doctor with pastries. She's on her way back to Manehatten, said there was a bunch of changeling victims that needed parties.”
“Can't argue with that.” Twilight took a seat next to Trixie. “But they'll be alright. Manehatten is the toughest city in the world. Nothing will stop it.”
Cloud Burner grunted in approval. “True. What I'm worried about right now is Gryphonia. It’s true that they’re behind us technologically, and they use old-school-style artisan weapons rather than our mass-produced guns. But gryphons fight hard. It could get real ugly.”
“And then some.” Twilight put her ears back. “But Princess Celestia has given me very explicit orders. We are to stay out of Gryphonia at all costs. We can't afford to have them thinking that Equestria is taking sides.”
Trixie munched on a cookie. “No argument here.”
“Or here!” Spike spread his wings in a stretch. “So, what is our next move?”
“Well, first…” Twilight looked to Cloud Burner. “You and I need to go see Tia to make your transfer official. You're still bound by oath to her, and as long as that's the case, you can't officially join the Evening Guard.”
Cloud nodded. “I figured as much. From what I read, a Grand Mage’s guards are treated like those in the service of the Sisters. You can't swear an oath to both at once. You can cooperate, of course, but our numbers are small specifically because we are loyal only to one thing: our sworn Princess.”
Rainbow flopped back in her bed. “I heard it's a really big deal to ask to back out of that oath. Like, something that's hardly ever done. You're supposed to only be released posthumously.”
Cloud shook his head. “There's an important exception, and that's if you're transferring to the service of the other Princess — or the Grand Mage, I suppose. Luna's initial cadre of Night Guard after her return were all volunteers from the Day Guard, so this isn't unprecedented.”
“Let's go get that done then,” Twilight said as she started out the door, Cloud close behind, before turning around for one last question. “By the—”
“Tomorrow,” Rainbow answered. “Doc cleared me for light duty starting tomorrow. Like, really light duty.”
Twilight smirked. “Paperwork it is, then!”
One could hear Rainbow deflate. “Oh. Joy. My favourite thing in the whole world.”
Trixie and Spike burst into giggles as the door closed, and Twilight shared in them a little as she walked. As they grew closer to the throne room, the number of ponies grew from a few to a crowd that looked more like one waiting for a concert. The waiting area was so packed that the line was spilling out into the hall. Two Day Guard pegasi were controlling the crowd, keeping more ponies from going into the already-crowded throne room.
“Huh.” Cloud Burner stood on his hind legs and gazed over the crowd. “Looks like she's trying to sneak in petitions to keep ponies calm. Give them a sense of normalcy.”
“Dang. I know she likes these. Should we wait for later?” Twilight leaned left and right, trying to see through the crowd, but there was one inescapable fact she couldn't get around. “Dangit, being short stinks sometimes.”
“Heh. You always were a little squirt. Leave it to me.” Cloud sucked in a breath, filling his lungs. “Hey, Hightower! Was that your mom I saw last night?”
The entire crowd hushed and turned to him, eyes wide and mouths silent. One particularly tall pegasus strode slowly through them, adorned in the ceremonial gold armor of the Day Guard.
“Is there a problem, Sir?” the pegasus said through clenched teeth.
Cloud smiled. “You heard what I said. Last night, was that your mom? Cause she was a classy lady who I had a nice conversation with.”
Hightower sighed. “Damn you, Cloud. Now I can't beat you to death and leave you in the gutter.”
“It's not my fault that's where your mind is!” Cloud motioned to Twilight. “Besides, I had to get your attention so our shrimp of a Grand Mage could get through without causing an even bigger ruckus. Seems everypony is focused on Her Highness today.”
“Lady Sparkle,” Hightower said with a bow. “I apologize for this idiot. It would be my pleasure to escort you to the throne.”
Twilight bowed her head back to him. “I would appreciate it. Hopefully she can spare a moment for me.”
“For the Grand Mage and Celestia’s faithful student, we would move heaven and earth to reunite you. Follow me.” Hightower turned to the crowd. “Make a path, ponies! Move!”
Ponies parted like they were getting tossed around like a wave. Twilight kept close to the guard, with Cloud following behind her. After they passed, the crowd closed the gap, filling the space to the equilibrium nature always favours.
Inside the throne room, it was standing room only until one arrived at the front desks where ponies petitioned the Crown, sometimes with two petitions on opposite sides. The open gap between those and the thrones — sometimes called the well — was a strict no-pony’s-land. Anypony that entered it without explicit permission from a Princess could expect to get tackled by Day or Night Guard — in the best-case scenario.
Unless you were the Grand Mage.
“Princess!” Twilight hopped up so Celestia would get a brief glimpse of her over the throng.
“Twilight?” Celestia made a motion with a hoof, and Day Guard pulled the two of them out of the mass of ponies and into the well. “My apologies, everypony, my Grand Mage takes priority.”
Twilight gave her a bow. “This'll only take a minute. I—”
“Cloud Burner!” Celestia’s eyes lit up a bit, even if only from taking a hammer to her boredom. “Oops, I'm sorry for interrupting, Twilight.”
Cloud Burner stiffened into the soldier he was, the silly, happy face vanishing into nothingness. He bowed down to the ground, spreading out his wings. “Your Highness. I hope you are well.”
Twilight stepped in front of him. “He’s actually why we're here. I want to steal him from you so I can make him my charioteer in the Evening Guard. But I can't do that as long as his oath is to you. Would you be willing to release him?”
Celestia smiled at them both, covering them in a warmth only the Princess of the Sun could bestow. “I would. But don't think this means you can just take whomever you want from my ranks,” she said with a wink, eliciting polite laughter from the crowd.
“I promise, it'll just be him.” Twilight crossed her heart.
“Very well, we can perform the ceremony immediately. Cloud, please kneel before me.”
Cloud stepped in front of the throne, bowing low with wings spread.
Celestia spread her wings as well, feathers alight with power. Golden magic traced circles around them both in a dance on the ground and in the air. It spread from the Princess, swirling an embrace with her Day Guard.
Cloud’s lip trembled. “Your Highness, this one has failed you. It is my eternal shame that I must beg you to release my oath. I shall forever walk this world in dishonour, separated from you.”
Celestia’s soft voice plucked notes on the heartstrings of everypony in the room, a song embedded into words. “There is no shame in your request. You are continuing your service to me in a new way. Go in peace and freedom, holding your head high, for you carry my pride in you at all times.”
Cloud stood and folded his wings, taking in a breath of air laden with the Princess’ power. “Thank you, Your Highness. I am surely not worthy of your mercy.”
“You are worthy of that and so much more. Your service has been exemplary. Henceforth, you are released from your oath, so sayeth the Princess of the Sun.”
The magic flared into a star, then burst into a shower of sparks that blanketed the room and everypony in it.
I know it's just for show, Twilight grumbled to herself. But how am I supposed to match that? I'm going to have to work on my version of that.
“Lady Sparkle?” Cloud turned to her. “I'm ready to take your oath.”
“Mmm.” Twilight nodded, shaking off her thoughts. “I'm ready. Let's do this.” She positioned herself next to the Princess, but carefully in front of the throne. Lighting her horn, she did her own impression of Celestia's magic. She didn't have the feathers or the gold colouring, but she did have the design in mind.
Magic poured out her horn, tracing the lines along the ground. One at a time she etched the first shapes into the ground. She layered on the magic for the outer circle, making it a barrier for the others. She put an inner circle just inside that one, filling the narrow space with a sufficiently fancy design.
The inside, though, was her real focus. In the middle she put the Luminar Nova, the center of her cutie mark. Around that were the starbursts. She didn't carve them into the ground, but painted them onto the air and gave them a nudge.
With the correct angle used, they bounced around inside the circle in an orbit around the center, eliciting a few noises from the audience. After a few more flourishes, it was time, and Cloud Burner bowed to the ground, the same as he did for Celestia. Words appeared for Cloud to read in the magic circles, and he did so, taking the oath.
“I, Cloud Burner, have heard the call of Harmony. I pledge my life to Grand Mage Twilight Sparkle, to take up her path, to protect her from our enemies, to shield her ponies from harm, and accept whatever may happen to me on this journey.
“I swear to follow the tenets of Harmony when I can, and to lead others to do so as well. I swear I shall use force only with wisdom and restraint, and only when I must.
“I swear to uphold the light of knowledge to banish darkness, of courage to banish fear, of will to banish weakness.
“I swear I shall do whatever I must to fulfill the promise Equestria holds.
“I swear all of this to you, Grand Mage Sparkle. My life, my will, is yours.”
The magic burst into a crescendo of light, thaumic glitter spreading through the hall. “Now rise, Lieutenant Cloud Burner!”
He stood in the midst of applause and ponies stomping the ground. If confetti had showered them, it wouldn't have surprised anypony.
Twilight walked up and gave him a little hug. “Welcome to the crew, Lieutenant.”
“I am honored, My Lady.” Cloud stiffened at the contact, but melted soon after and returned the hug. “I didn't expect a rank, to be honest. I thought I'd just be a charioteer.”
Twilight shook her head. “Nopony is ‘just’ anything in the Evening Guard. You're all special to me. Besides, the only other pony in the Evening Guard with anywhere even near your level of training and experience is Rainbow, my Captain. But, the day is just starting!” Twilight turned back to the Princess. “Your Highness, you wouldn't happen to know where Luna is, would you?”
Celestia glanced out the window at the sun. “Unless I miss my guess, she should be in a RGIS briefing. Planning to go rescue her?” she asked with a wink.
“Something like that. Thanks, Your Highness. Come on, Cloud, there's lots more on the checklist!”
“Heh. Checklists. Classic Twilight. Right behind you.”
Twilight poked her head out of the elevator, ears to the center of the Night Guard’s floor of the War Room. “Luna! You in here?”
“Oh, thank Mystery!”
Poof!
Luna popped into reality in front of her and dove to the ground, grabbing Twilight’s legs. “Save me!”
Twilight put back her ears. “Um, I was just going to ask you take teleport me to Manehatten…”
“Sovereign!” Obsidian Armor rushed up the stairs. “Sovereign, this briefing is important! I need to—”
Luna tumbled forward in a somersault, yanking both Twilight and Cloud Burner info the grasp of her forelegs. Wings spread and back against the wall, she was holding both of them like giant plushies. “Too late! Twilight needs me! Away we go! Mwuahahahaha!”
“Sorry, Shiny!” Twilight tried to make the apology sound sincere, though the bloom of teleportation swallowed up her words. When it faded, she was in the middle of Manehatten, near the Duchess’s tower.
“Oof.” Cloud rattled his head. “I did not see that coming.”
“Oh sweet release!” Luna flopped to the ground. “I've been in there for hours. It should be illegal to make anypony be in one of those meetings that long.”
Twilight blinked in the light of the sun. The afternoon was starting, and the city was hot as ever. “Luna, could you come get us in about an hour or so? I'm going to visit Vinyl, but it'll be a few before I find out where she is.”
“Awwwwwwww…” Luna groaned. “But if I leave I don't have an excuse to skip the briefing…” She flopped on her back.
“Luna…” Twilight chuckled. “Try taking notes.”
Luna blew a raspberry.
Cloud stretched out his wings. “Nah. Re-explain all the main points back to Obsidian using puns. You'll remember things better and annoy him.”
Luna’s pupils opened like a pair of black holes. “Oooohh… I like that idea!”
I'll have to remember that one, thought Twilight. “Okay, one hour. Deal?”
Luna grinned. “Deal!” She shimmered and vanished, likely back to the War Room.
Cloud flapped his wings a couple times. “Little trick I learned at my own briefings. As a Day Guard, I couldn't actually say the puns, but I got to amuse myself with them.”
“It's fair. Not everypony has the natural temperament to focus on something dry like that for long periods of time.” Twilight yawned. “So, first stop: hospital.”
“Mmm-hmm. Which one? There's, like, a hundred of them in the city, and hundreds more in the Duchy.”
Twilight smirked. “I know where she was found, so I know the list of possible locations, and I've ascertained probabilities for each. Come on, betcha five bits I'll get it in the first three.”
“Ha!” Cloud jumped and took off into the air. “If I've learned anything recently, it's ‘don't bet against Twilight Sparkle’!”
Twilight wrinkled her nose from the ever-present scent of antiseptic and the fading fumes of changeling goo. Rounding a corner, she entered a ward with several patients on beds on either side of the wall. The nurse's station in the distance was in front of some windows, giving the place some light. The curtains that could give “privacy” to individuals were mostly unused, with a few exceptions.
The fact that they were open, though, made it easier to find who she was looking for.
“Vinyl!” Twilight bounced forward, landing next to the musician's bed and giving her a hug. “You’re okay!”
“Oof!” Vinyl coughed. “Gentle! My everything is still sore!”
“Oh, don't listen to her,” Octavia tittered in a chair next to the bed. “She deserves a bit more soreness.”
“Heh.” Twilight let go after another squish. “And you're a bit sticky still. Guess they’ve had you for a while.”
Vinyl pressed her mane between two hooves, squeezing out some of the residue. “Yeah. Gonna need more baths. The more we get out, the more we find. I wanted to try setting the stuff on fire, but the docs won't let me.”
“Fire?” Cloud Burner asked. “I didn't think the goo was combustible.”
The three mares shared a laugh.
“Oh, I have a ton to fill you in on, Cloud.” Twilight cleared her throat. “For now, though, just know that Vinyl here is one of very, very few ponies in the world with a permanently overcharged wellspring.”
Cloud’s eyes darted around like they were looking for a definition. “Uh, yeah, I totally understand that.”
Vinyl and Octavia burst into giggles.
Twilight suppressed the urge. After all, there was explaining to do! “A wellspring has a normal point where it’s considered ‘full,’ and will stop generating new magic until some is drained. This cap usually raises over time.
“Vinyl’s is different. It keeps going past one hundred percent and just won’t stop, which overcharges the wellspring. She has to bleed off magic every so often or it could be dangerous for her, possibly damaging her wellspring.”
“Pfft!” Vinyl lit her horn, and it shifted from violet to an orange flame. “Apparently I almost set a few ponies on fire when they took me out. Lucky they all ran away so I could blast a hole in the pavement. Take care of that extra energy.”
”Even luckier that that's where the blast went, dear.” Octavia gave Vinyl a peck on the forehead. “But you can make all the potholes you want if it means you're home safe.”
“Thanks, Octy.” Vinyl all but melted into the bed, at least for a moment. Then she lit up like a firecracker. “Oh, oh! Idea for the club!”
She took in a breath, holding out her hooves as if putting her words onto a marquee. “Changeling-Themed Nightmare Night Bash!”
Octavia pulled the pillow out from under the DJ and wholloped her upside the head before pinning her head to the bed with it. “Doctor, I think you screwed up! This one is still a changeling!”
Even Cloud broke out into laughs with the mares this time, and a nurse had to come by to free Vinyl and tell them to keep it down. An hour or so passed, each moment filled with laughter and reminiscing. It was the best way to be in a hospital when one had no choice.
The goodbyes had to come eventually, though, but at least this one came with a warning that Pinkie Pie was inevitably on her way and would likely appear when they least expected her.
As Twilight and her new guard rounded a few corners to find an exit, they ran into a particular stallion with an entourage of at least a half dozen others behind him. Hospitals were always rather stark and sterile, but seeing this pony put a particular metallic chill into the air.
“Tailored Trade,” Twilight said as she approached. “I had wondered why you weren’t already there when I visited Vinyl.”
Trade held up a hoof to stop one of his bodyguards from advancing. “It’s no secret that my relationship with my daughter is… not as close as I would like. But her happiness is my greatest desire, and I felt it best that she be with her love for a while before I darkened her doorstep. But after all that’s happened, perhaps some old hurts can be mended.
“That’s neither here nor there, though. What’s more important is that the changeling presence in this city has been well and truly routed, at least for the time being. And with no pony fatalities currently known. I’m impressed, Lady Sparkle, and I do not impress easily.”
Twilight felt the shadow of Cloud Burner cover her from her left, a subtle message from her Guard containing a promise to remove the gangster if needed. “I didn’t do it to impress you, sir, though I appreciate the compliment. I do what I do in service to the ponies of Equestria.”
“Regardless,” Trade said, straightening his tie. “I consider what you need beneficial enough to me personally to be repaid through a debt of gratitude. I can assure you, my businesses have a wide variety of capabilities.
“And before you say anything, know that my ears are everywhere. I know that the needs of a Grand Mage are every bit as varied and extreme as anything in this world is, and someday you may well need my help. Know that I will be happy to oblige when that time inevitably comes. Don’t be afraid to reach out, even through an... intermediary.”
Cloud Burner snorted. “Let me guess, you’re still trying to find out how a Night Guard snuck into your safehouse and you want to catch them in the act next time?”
Tailored Trade’s eye focused in on the new Evening Guard, the taut green iris showing neither fear nor contempt, only a cold calculation. “Who she uses as an intermediary doesn’t really concern me any.”
Cloud snickered. “No, but how they got in def-”
“Cloud,” Twilight cut in. “I appreciate the offer, sir. I do not anticipate requiring your services, though if I find a legitimate need that only you can fulfill, I shall be in touch.”
Trade tipped his hat. “I look forward to it.”
Twilight nudged past him, Cloud close behind. She kept her tongue planted firmly in her mouth, despite the seething words burning a hole in the tip of it. Mercifully, they were soon out in the street and the relatively nice weather.
Cloud stretched out his wings. “I really don't like that guy. Not just cause he's a mobster. It's cause he's good at it and he knows it.”
“Agreed.” Twilight put her ears back. “His connections and power make it hard to stand against him directly. Worse, current intelligence suggests he actually avoids the kind of violence the others are known for. That's frustrating for three reasons.
“One, it means there's less pressure from authorities to topple him. Two, it means he gets to exploit others in exchange for their lives, getting him even more money. Third, each time a mobster does a hit, that's a chance to collect evidence and bring them down. Fewer hits, fewer opportunities for us.”
“Well, that does mean fewer ponies dying.”
“True. But you know what's scary? His file also suggests he's just a few years away from completely taking over the Manehatten underworld. He's doing that without resorting to a gang war. Another five years, he might just own it all through mostly financial moves.”
Cloud grew a few shades darker. “That's not good. A unified criminal element would be a much tougher nut to crack than one more focused on each other than on police efforts. Do you think the Grand Mage should shift her focus to him?”
Twilight shook her head. “Not after all my interactions with him this week. Too many questions could be asked that we don't want publicly answered. We'll have to rely on others for that one.”
“Gotcha. What’s the next move, then?”
“Find Luna. I want her to take me somewhere to visit a friend I made while you were gone.”
A chill swirled into Twilight’s lungs as the teleportation effect faded. The ice mana krene below the facility kissed her skin gently, a constant reminder that the building, even with all it’s wards, could only do so much She was in nature’s domain, and here, ice magic ruled the land. That didn’t stop the heating system in the building, though, and the vents along the wall were working full time to keep things reasonably comfortable.
As before, they had arrived on a relief built into the floor. A reception desk was on their left, and just beyond that an entrance to a hallway. Beyond that was something between a lounge and a waiting area, complete with seating and a grand piano. In between that and the reception desk was something like a tiny river, smaller than even a creek, running through the room. It wasn’t deep; probably a dozen centimeters or so, and was in a trench in the floor. There was even a bamboo bridge over it, and a subtle purple glow along the edge told of security barriers to prevent ponies from falling in.
The most important feature, though, was the pony seated on a cushion near the giant window overlooking the ice mountain range. Desert Rose had an art brush in her mouth, a paint pallet on a stand next to her, and a half-covered canvas in front of her. A blue blanket with red runes was wrapped around her, and a lightly steaming cup was on a nearby table. There was also a nurse reading a book nearby, no doubt keeping watch over her patient.
Twilight, Luna, and Cloud Burner were sitting down next to Rose by the time she noticed them.
“Oh!” Rose put down her brush, then stood for a bow. “I'm sorry, I didn't notice you. The medicine, it—”
Luna hushed her with an extended wing. “You need not stand or bow for us here, little one. This is a place where We honour our wounded heroes, not the other way around.”
Rose tilted her head. “But I'm not wounded, or a—”
“Yes, you are.” Twilight smiled at her, even though she heard the same kind of thing told to her so many times. “You fought the pirates at that mine against hopeless odds, and your mind was hurt by a drug dealer posing as a doctor. We brought you to this place to recover. You've earned the right to stay seated in our presence.”
“Um…” Rose put her ears back, looking around the room at anything that wasn't the three of them. Eventually she locked her sight to the nurse, who nodded like a kind old grandmother. “Okay, if you say so.”
Twilight sat next to her, but jolted up a few inches when her rear hit the floor. “Yow, it's like a toilet seat in Stalliongrad.”
“Hehe.” Rose's eyes went fuzzy. “Yeah. That's why they have these enchanted blankets. I've kinda been living in them since I got here. Though… I'm not sure when I got here.”
Twilight sighed. “You were captured by Farriér. They pumped you full of Everfree Elixir, and you wouldn't wake up. Rainbow Dash, my friend, was there with you because she was captured too. When she broke out, she took you with her.
“After you were stabilized at Fort Earthborne, we took you here to recover. It's the best help you can get, even if it is over an ice mana krene.”
Rose snatched her cup of hot chocolate and chugged it. “Yeah. About that… I stress out thinking about how much this costs.”
Luna's ear twitched. “You needn't. This place is run by the Crown. There's no bill.”
“I know.” Rose shuddered. “But I grew up in the desert. Everything costs something. Even if they say ‘don't worry about it; it's free,’ there's always a catch.
“I will admit, everypony here is really nice. And I feel a lot better than I did in a long time. But I also feel… like I'm not really here.”
Cloud Burner grunted. “That would be the meds they got you on. Calms you down, but messes with your head.”
Rose nodded and hiccupped. “Yeah, but it beats the voices.”
Twilight motioned at the nurse and the cup, and the nurse went to refill the drink. “What voices?”
Rose looked like her heart just twisted in two. “Uh, I hear—heard voices. They mock me and tell me to do things. I… I should have told you. But it's hard to get hired when ponies think you're crazy.”
“Elixir.” Luna’s feathers ruffled themselves. “The mental side effects are myriad, and can trigger issues that one is prone to but never actually experienced.
“Rest easy. The dealer who hooked you was personally captured by High Cardinal Obsidian Armor, and he cut down the pirates that tried to steal his supply.”
Rose nodded, then froze. “Wait, you said he posed as a doctor? He wasn't one?”
“No, he wasn't, though I'm told he put on a good show.” Luna laid down, bringing her head more or less to eye level with the others. “You need not fear Farriér anymore, either. Twilight saw fit to eliminate him by breaking a hole in space-time and turning him to ash. It was days before we found his bonded artifact, which was damaged beyond repair.”
Twilight's nerves triggered a blush worthy of countering the ice krene under them. “Yeah, well, it was him or me.”
Rose stared at Twilight for a few seconds. “You… I can't understand what she just said. Maybe it's my medicine.”
Cloud chuckled. “There's a hole in the sky over Farriér’s base. Her attack was so powerful, it opened something like a portal and now we have to guard it to stop anything going in or coming out. Though my buddy says that the mages that looked at it don't think anything going through would make it without being torn into tiny little atom-sized bits.”
“It wasn't my attack, Cloud.” Twilight rubbed her fetlock. “I went back in time through multiple instances to exist in six places at once so I could deliver one attack that could overwhelm his defenses.”
Rose's jaw dropped. “You… went back in time?! Now I know it's the medicine.”
“Lady, you don't know Twilight.” Cloud Burner sat next to the wall, looking up at the ceiling and back in time. “This is the mare that humiliated the old Duke of the Bittish Isles when she was twelve.”
Twilight blinked. “I did?”
Luna tilted her head. “She did?”
“Oh, Princess Celestia didn't tell you?” Cloud grinned. ”It was in the Empyreal Hall. Twilight here was studying next to the Princess, minding nothing but her book. The Duke objected to her presence, and Celestia insisted that she was fine and wasn't even paying attention to the proceedings. To prove it, she spent two whole dang minutes calling her name, a bit more loud each time, before Twilight looked up from her book.
“Then the Duke got all huffy that there was no way that an educational book was keeping a commoner filly’s attention so raptly. So Celestia had Twilight here summarize the content of it. I swear to my ancestors, I had no earthly idea what the hell she was actually saying. To me it was ‘Blah blah blah tidal wave blah blah blah magic theory blah blah blah mystical anachronism.’ And you know what? The unicorn Duke looked even more lost.
“I'm pretty sure that was the first time I'd seen a pony actually glow with pride, and on top of that, Her Highness had this grin that was somehow both her normal smile and wider than her wingspan. It was like some kind of Schrödinger’s grin, I swear.
“The nobles might have grumbled about a commoner being Princess Celestia's protégée, but after that, none of the high-ranking ones dared say she wasn't smart enough. The others would laugh them out of the room if one tried.”
Twilight shrank down into ball mode. “I remember that! But… I didn't know I humiliated him. I just answered a question from the Princess.”
Cloud laughed. “He retired three days later!”
“He was old!” Twilight turned to Rose. “I swear I thought he just retired because he was old!”
Luna threw open her wings and cackled with laughter, bringing thunder that rumbled their seats and probably caused an avalanche or two. “Oh, that's my sister, without doubt! I wish she had told me.”
“Wow.” Rose looked out the window. “So time travel is real?”
“Eh…” Twilight grumbled into her chest floof. “Kinda.”
Luna held up a hoof for quiet as the nurse returned for tea for the group, only resuming when she had ducked out. “Time travel is possible, but the universe loathes it. Doing it to radically change the past is nigh impossible, as things will almost always fall into place as they did before anyway. Worse, the spells are dangerous to cast. The power requirements scale exponentially with how far back you go, and you only have brief moments before the spells pull you back into your correct time. Staying in the wrong time means certain death as the universe shreds your atoms to get you back to where you should be.
“Time dilation is much easier. That simply makes your time move faster or slower than normal. However, the spells for that are delicate. You might not die from a failure, but the magic will stop working fairly easily. Mess up, and a moth will cough on you and the sudden adjustment to real time could send you tumbling into something unfortunate.”
Rose chewed on her cheek. “Princesses have a lot of secrets, don't they?”
“A ton.” Twilight said with a nod. “But I don't want you to worry about that. After all, that's my job. I just want to see that you're doing okay. See if you need anything.”
Tears welled up in Rose's eyes. “I… I want the nightmares to stop. Why can't the medicine make them stop?”
Luna's wings flapped open. “Are you saying they haven't? Even after the spell I put on you?”
Rose nodded silently.
“She did get dosed with a massive quantity of Elixir,” Twilight noted. “That's bound to mess anypony up. Not to mention what she's been through.”
Luna's muzzle twisted into a knot. “Even if my spell was insufficient to combat that drug, it should still be active at this point. The nightmares should be subsiding, at the very least. The fact that they aren't means something else is wrong.”
“Sooooooo… What do we do?” Twilight asked.
The Princess moved close to Rose, gently pulling off her blanket. “Hold still. I'm going to get to the bottom of this.”
Rose sniffled. “I don't deserve—”
“We disagree, and even if We didn't, no mere drug is going to laugh off Our sleep spells. We are going to get to the bottom of this so that We are not forced to wonder about it for the next thousand years.” Luna's horn flashed to life, beaming an inky stream of magic directly onto Rose's skin. A single rune was tattooed on her shoulder, shining bold and brilliant against her pinkish coat. “There. This will allow me to find you in the dreamscape. The next time we're both asleep, I'll be able to enter your dream and intervene directly.”
Rose was shaking as if the cold mountains had put her in a vice. “So, no more nightmares? What happens if it doesn't work?”
Luna deflated. “If I fail, I shall ask my sister. She doesn't have my magic with dreams, but she's still the best doctor out there. For now, try to get some rest, but know that I may or may not be there when you sleep. I'm very busy lately, and have little time to rest. But I'll still get some from time to time.”
“Thank you,” Rose whispered. Her legs shook, and ultimately gave out as she slid to the floor.
Twilight flopped down next to Rose, and pulled her into a hug. The pegasus had a thin layer of sweat covering her back, and was shaking despite being warm to the touch.
“Nurse?” Twilight called out, then waited for her to arrive. “Rose seems stressed; might be experiencing side effects. Could you please take her to her room?”
“Of course,” the nurse said with a bow. “Come on, young one. We'll get you to the doctor.”
Rose nodded and leaned on the nurse as she stood and walked off down the hall, one step at a time. Twilight followed behind, staying outside Rose's room to keep watch as her friend fell fast asleep in her bed.
Twilight tilted her head to look up at Luna. “Think you can jump in now?”
“Not quite yet.” Luna kept eyes on Rose. “My gut says she won't be in REM this time. Medicine can do that. Shall we leave?”
Twilight muttered in the affirmative. “I need to go back to the castle. All that's happened lately? I need to fill out a stack of reports for Celestia and RGIS, and catch up in my journal.
“Cloud? I'll need you, Rainbow, Trixie, and Spike for a couple things there as well. Bring them to my chambers when we get there. Rainbow should be good to at least move around the castle by now.”
Cloud snapped off a salute with his wing. “By your command.”
Twilight snickered. “And don't be so formal.”
As the teleportation bloom overtook them, Cloud twisted his face into something resembling an abstract painting. “Errr, yessie I will yer greaty Ladybugship!”
They spent three minutes somewhere a few hundred klicks north of Roan while Luna laughed her wings off.