//------------------------------//
// Chapter 58 - Something's Up 
// Story: Twilight Daylight: Psera, The Legend of Legends 
// by thedarktome 
//------------------------------//

When Twilight came to her senses, she did not feel good. At all. Everything was tingling, her heart was beating so fast she was afraid she would die right here on whatever she was lying on. Her hearing was low thanks to the white noise ringing her eardrums. A noise she was not enjoying. Clarity of any sounds was impossible.

The eyes of Princess Celestia stared down into hers. Then she said something that Twilight couldn't make out before Triage and Madun poked in with her. Triage said something that was either, "Your highness" or her name. No response was given.

Triage shined a flashlight into her eyes. Then checked on her pulse. "Her heart is still off the charts, but has slowed. Her temperature . . ." Triage placed a thermometer in her mouth under her tongue with absolutely no resistance. Then waited a minute before taking it out. "One hundred degrees. Last time it was one o'two."

Cadance quickly asked, "That's good right? It's a good sign?"

Triage grabbed a towel from a pocket inside her coat and placed it on Twilight's forehead below her horn. She looked like she could use one herself. Her own violet fur had a sheen.

She sighed and quickly answered Cadance, "Well yes, of course. But that also let's me know Her Highness has gone through quite the experience inside of her spell. And just like His Highness said, she may be going through a form of withdrawal from being free of that magically infused substance."

Madun sat down and relaxed his mind. So Twilight was okay. But... "So what do we do?" He asked.

"Well when she comes to, I suggest her highness not leave the castle for a full week. Trust me, she will be entertained."

Madun smiled and looked back down into his wife's eyes. He placed a hoof on her head and stroked her mane."Oh definitely, she will not get bored."

Triage placed a hoof on Twilight's wings that flowed past her hooves. They shuddered on contact. "Her body is really sensitive at the moment now that the atmosphere of ten years has changed. It is as if she has the flu. It will take at least a week for it to fully adjust. The chemicals in her highness' body and brain will be in a constant state of adjustment during the process."

"And that means . . ."

"It means Queen Arcadia will experience flu-like symptoms, random stress levels, and maybe hallucinations. There's a low chance for that one, but still a chance. Temperature changes like we've seen so far, and changes in moods. Her body is balancing out the chemicals going through . . . Everything. So basically, keep her inside for at least nine days."

Keep Twilight home. Easy. Madun nodded and looked down when Twilight slowly raised her hooves up to stare at them. "What... The buck?" She muttered. Everything was weird. Her vision was swoony, she felt.... Like she could take on the world. She giggled and whispered, "This is so weird. Everything... Everything is weird."

Madun shared a look with Celestia then looked down to Twilight with only minor concern. "Twilight, how are you feeling?"

She looked up to King Madun and gasped deep and slow. "Whoa. You look like a fish, sweetheart!" She drawled. Twilight reached up and squished his cheeks together. "Like a cute pufferfish. A big ol' cute Pufferfish."

Madun sighed and politely removed her hooves. "We're going to keep you in the castle for a few days while your body adjusts to reality again, alright?"

"Yay, yeah, sure, isn't Madun so cute? Mmm, if only there were no ponies around."

"OOOOkay, sweetheart." Madun looked to Triage and that smirk she had on her face. "Is she safe to leave?"

She nodded and confirmed that she was. Then wrote a few things on a clipboard. "Make sure she gets plenty of rest, fluids, and exercise if you can. If I know the Queen, she'll definitely want some exercise when she's better, and will be utterly appalled if she learns she hasn't had any." She took the sheet off and passed it to Madun to fold up and hoof over to one of the Princesses. They wouldn't be able to read it.

Madun already had a small game plan in mind. So he nodded and focused back on Twilight with a smile. "Good news, baby, you can go home!"

Twilight made a face and asked, "Oh? Already? Okay." Then rolled over onto her front and jumped off the bed. Everything was still a little unstable, but a good walk back home should help her nerves.

Celestia placed a wing on her back and calmly led her towards the door while Madun handled the paperwork. He would join them shortly. Twilight looked around and asked, "Where's my baby? Can someone grab Dawn please?"

"No, no, I'll do it!" Flurry jumped out and jetted out the door to find Princess Dawn. her hooves clopped out then faded into the distance loudly among Guarded and marble castle floors. A good time away from all the weirdness will really help. That and she wanted to check out this humongous castle.

Queen Arcadia watched her jet away from the door before she herself could walk out. It's been years since she's seen Flurry this active. Her eyes darted up to Madun when he showed up with a nuzzle to her mane. A nuzzle she couldn't help but return. "Mmm what would I do without you?" She asked.

Madun had all the answers to that question prepared years before they were even asked. "Read yourself into a coma, run back and forth when you worry a lot, go through four booksortcations in a single week, come up with another spell, have a quarterly spending report ready before the Quarter was halfway done, hold court four times a week—"

"I get it." Madun laughed and kissed Twilight on the lips before they started to move after Flurry Heart. While they did, Twilight's mind began to wander. What was happening in Psera right now? How was the economy? How were jobs? 

Madun could see Twilight thinking. She always does that thing where she stares off into space while the weight of the world sits on her back. A weight she didn't need right now.

He was about to say something but a figure up ahead silence any impending retort. Something important just showed up sitting alone in the middle of this large hall. A large stallion with his shape and stature with a dark red coat, and a long feminine mane and tail. He was wearing a lab coat with a label on it they couldn't see from here, reading something inside a folder that hid his face. Directly in the middle of the hall. Whoever they were, they had clearance because the guards weren't doing anything.

Princess Celestia shared a concerned look with Princess Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor before Madun raised his wing to stop their movement. He hummed and asked, "Well, well, well . . . The Bringer of bad news has arrived. His wife must've left him."

The stallion reading slapped the folder shut and stared across to King Madun with absolutely no emotion. His red eyes held a look that would make the world run cold. He sighed in a deep voice and took a few steps forward to meet Madun halfway.

"You've always been a show off, Madun," he groaned. "Even in High."

"That's King Madun to you, Director." The two stopped less than one foot from touching muzzles. He snarled in his face, "Do not make me reinstate your position on the spot."

"Puh, it is not your decision to make."

"But I can call a meeting to have a motion ruled in a week's time. How would you like that?"

Madun and this stallion growled in each other's faces. Their eyes bore into the others with such a ferocity that the Princesses were wondering if they would finally see Twilight's husband fight. Then Twilight scoffed from back, "Oh please, you two are terrible at acting."

Looks like their cover was blown. Madun smiled and backed away so the Director could bow and greet, "My King."

"Director Foresight," Madun greeted. He let out a huff of air and whispered, "You have not changed."

"Why should I?" Once Queen Arcadia was smiling by Madun's side, he bowed again. "Especially in the presence of a wonderful lady. My Great Queen. It is a miracle to have you among us again." He rose to his hooves and nodded to her. "Many believed you were deceased. I believed otherwise. However, it is customary for an honorary service. How are you feeling?"

Queen Arcadia nodded back and answered, "Well the sun is shining, the air is amazing, and I can't go out in it until a week's time. Now I just want to plant my flowers and watch my filly grow up with her friends. It's a good day. My friends, please." She made a sweeping motion with her wing to her family waiting patiently behind.

Once they were close enough, Twilight introduced the new face. "Everyone, Director Foresight. Director Foresight, these are Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, and my brother, Prince Consort Shining Armor of Equestria, Captain of the Guard."

Director Foresight bowed to them and greeted, "A pleasure, your majesties. Rumor has spread that a 'Celestia and Luna' helped Queen Arcadia escape an unstable difficulty in the Queen's labs while attempting rescue."

A rumor? About them? On Psera? Princess Luna laughed nervously and tried to avoid eye contact. "There are rumors about us on Psera?" He nodded slowly. "Well it is true, but it goes deeper than what you may have heard, I assure you."

"I bet it does." He turned his red eyes to Queen Arcadia. But they changed from playful to serious. A dead serious. "There is also a rumor of a Stripe in the castle."

Queen Arcadia dropped her smile and stepped closer to whisper, "I am just as uncomfortable as you are, Director. But Psera does not treat our past enemies as if we are still enemies unless we have good reason. A few hundred years of absolutely zero conflict let alone contact will be a great deterrent of any conflict when we meet again."

"Do you trust her?"

"Absolutely not, but I am giving her a chance. With... Special limitations." She stepped back and changed her frown back to a smile. "Now why are you here?"

Director Foresight dropped his serious gaze and replaced it with a much prouder one before they began walking away from the medical bay. "I have come to give you an update on your second project since taking office. Your return was right on time. I couldn't wait to have the honor of delivering it personally."

Queen Arcadia and Madun smiled to each other then focused back on Director Foresight's red eyes. "Ayshool Lamee?" Arcadia guessed in Old Pseratopian.

He nodded slowly and answered, "Yes, ma'am. A Welcome Home gift. Just the way you like it." He lifted his wing and grabbed the folder hiding underneath it. He raised it gently in front of Queen Arcadia so she could hold it in her magic. Then quickly slipped it under her own wing. Ponies who definitely didn't need to see this were nearby.

She nodded and answered, "Great. I will review it this afternoon. And for the future, I prefer all my more pleasant gifts be wrapped up and topped off with a bow. Understood?" She winked for another meaning and continued walking past with her group while he stood still for another hallway.

"Purple? Or Red?"

"Whichever you prefer. Either way, we will receive it."

He laughed and bowed their way. "I will be expecting a match, Madun."

"Be careful what you wish for, Foresight," he said. Then smirked over his shoulder. "You know I'm more than happy to oblige."

After Director Foresight left their ears, Queen Arcadia leaned over to Madun and asked, "He seems more firmer than usual. What's his deal?"

Madun sighed and said, "Oh yeah. He's like that. Maybe because his wife actually did almost leave him." Madun looked back at the ponies behind them and explained, "My friends he is in charge of another science branch here in Psera."

Celestia hummed and asked, "So are there many science branches?"

While Madun answered their questions, Queen Arcadia focused her sights on Gardeen approaching quickly down the hall. At the focused staring she had on her face. She knew what the Queen wanted. Queen Arcadia nodded to her as she passed then swiftly opened her wing for Gardeen to take the package unseen. She slipped it into her feathers and whispered, "Top Sharma."

Gardeen nodded and quickly hurried down the hall. Her order? Top Secret. Stash the folder in her office. Gardeen had to pull out the big cards for this one. She looked over her back just to check on any eyes. Luna. She was watching her walk away. It was like the little time she watched her move, she was able to decipher that something was up. A look that Gardeen had on her face? Or the seriousness of the situation?

After Gardeen turned back to her task, Princess Luna faced forward and met the eyes of Twilight watching her. Watching her with a smile as they continued walking. Then turned back around while Madun recalled different things that have been happening on Psera in her absence. She still has a lot to catch up on.

Now as much as Luna knew that this was her country, her land, and her rules, she couldn't help but feel that Psera was doing something that involved everyone. All nations and creatures everywhere. And not just their advanced weaponry. There was something Twilight had created herself. She was able to have a library full of spells down below under their hooves that they couldn't see and would not have seen if it wasn't for her daughter. What else does she have hiding from them, her family? Let alone her own ponies?

Madun disturbed her own thoughts by making known a new discovery. "We have made a new kind of material as well. A material that actually withstands magical assaults."

Twilight shot her head up to him and asked, "Is there a limit?"

"In one batch. The other, no. You'll like it, I have a sample of it at home. Magic rolls off of it like water to a gossamer wing."

Shining Armor walked up and teased, "I imagine Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle is going to be studying it all day and all night."

Twilight blushed and playfully nudged him with her wing. "Not this time. I need my rest. Unfortunately for a week."

"I am sure Dawn won't mind keeping you company."

Madun placed a warm wing over Twilight and added, "Or your mother, father, and friends. I know how much you miss them, sweetheart."

Oh yes, she missed them very much. Her heart grew warm with longing when she answered, "Yes, are they okay? How is mom and dad, are they still alive?"

Shining nodded and answered, "Yes, they're still alive. They're waiting for news."

Twilight never enjoyed asking questions like that, for she will always fear the answers. But in Psera, you never knew. She let out a sigh of relief and mumbled, "That's good."

Madun led Twilight to the left where Dawn and Flurry Heart were waiting. They were holding a conversation they couldn't hear from this distance. But Dawn did say something that gave a clue. Oh, teenagers. "Sometimes you just need to swish your tail around to get his or her attention. But it never happens to me, so I don't know. I just hear things. Hey Dad, Hey Mom. How are you feeling, are you okay, are you hurt?"

Twilight laughed and soothed her worries with a nuzzle to her cheek. "I'm fine, my Veola," she assured. Once her fur was softly nuzzled, Twilight pulled away and straightened out her daughter's red mane. "But the doctor wants me to stay inside the castle for a week taking it easy. No rising in stress levels."

"Oh." Dawn's ears flopped down. She knew what that meant. "So . . . "

"No in field testing. But there will be texts that must be read. And I promise we can do some more small things in the castle too."

Dawn's ears perked back up before they began the movement back to the Suite. "Great! I have so many questions revolving around transfiguration, teleportation, and how they coexist together in the same exact spell at the exact same time."

"Oh now that is a tough question to answer that involves a small demonstration that I will show you later." Madun nodded to the Guards saluting at their Suite's doors and stopped after it was opened. Dawn and Twilight rushed in before he did. But that's okay, he needed to speak with the Princesses first.

Once they were in, he slowly shut the door and turned to face them. "Thank you so much for your effort in helping get Twilight out of the portal. It was truly helpful."

Celestia nodded to Madun with a pleased smile and replied, "We are happy to help. But can we ask you a favor?"

"Of course, what do you need?"

Celestia, Luna, Flurry Heart, Shining and Cadance looked at each for almost a second before focusing back on King Madun. Hopefully this wasn't a a large request. Cadance answered, "We want to know more about The Gold Wars. Where can we find the information?"

Ah, Psera's greatest war so far. The Guards standing nearby glanced to each other before they focused on them again. Madun smiled and answered, "Well the library in the castle has some pretty good recollections." Celestia feared he was going to give an answer like that. Then Madun sighed and said, "But..."

"But?"

"The best answer comes from the only pony living that was actually there since the beginning." He raised a hoof and pointed it towards the ceiling. "My mother."

Luna had a feeling Molten Ice shared her part in the wars. She took a step towards Madun and asked, "Can we speak to her?"

"Sure. Hold on." He turned around and walked back into the suite to grab a note for them. The Guards up there wouldn't let them pass if they didn't have a note.

While he was gone, Celestia asked her family, "Are we sure we want to know about The Gold Wars? Zebras are definitely a subject the Pserateps find taboo to speak of."

Luna sighed and answered under her breath, "We'll never know unless we try."

Their conversation ended when Madun walked back into their sights with a folded up letter in his wing. He swiftly raised it out for Celestia to take in her magic and instructed, "Show this to the guards at the elevator in the foyer, then to the guards on the top level. They'll let you pass. And she will answer the door once you tell her why you're there. She never gives up an opportunity to teach."

Celestia knew the feeling very well. Many a pony has approached her to ask about this and that. Retelling of tales. Molten Ice knew more tales. Celestia nodded and bowed to King Madun who in turn bowed back. "Thank you, King Madun," she said. "We wish you and Twilight a great day."

He nodded and replied, "Thank you. If there's anything you wish to know, do not hesitate to ask."

"Of course." The Princesses and Consort turned around and started the trek back to the offices hall. Looks like they had to travel the world once again with no map. Hopefully they'd find their way back to some stairs.



Queen Tarsafani's room was ready. Dark. Quiet. Spooky. Riddled with invisible runes that would keep even the Zenith of all spells from finding any scrying evidence. Twelve candles outlined a single black circle in the middle of the hardwood floor. Inside the circle were runes of different varieties, carved into different colored rings. The one closest to the outside was red, the next yellow, the next blue, so on and so forth. And directly in the center of all twenty rings was a single piece of steel.

A small stone with no carving or anything. Just basic metal.

Queen Tarsafani stared in trepidation at the stone with her cold blue eye. A curse. A curse she would place upon a child. Not yet an adult to begin her life. A foal who only wishes to know happiness, freedom and magic.

A foal who will bring us all death upon her return. The voices of her superiors rang in her ears. When she returns, Princess Fresh Dawn will be proof of Equus' failure to appease. They had to rid of the foal before she did. Narmeelah. And Tarsafani was not going to die because an Alicorn and Pseratep decided to have a foal together.

Queen Tarsafani closed her eyes and raised her hooves as if she were surrendering. Then started her murmurs. No louder than a hushed whisper that faded as fast as they left her mouth. Intangible words that escapes a listener's ears were they close enough to pick them up.

The runes in the circle around the steel gradually glowed in the colors of the rainbow. A glow that brightened the room in shifting hues of red, orange, green and more. Queen Tarsafani's stripes were bathed in these colors while the process of advanced transfiguration continued. Turning the rock into her goal. It would take a few more seconds, but time was all she had here at the moment. This was a life or death mission.

If she let Princess Fresh Dawn live, she would die anyway. If she didn't, Tarsafani herself would have all the time to her before she returned. But it still didn't feel right to make a child pay for the sins of her predecessors. Thus the reason Queen Tarsafani altered the spell slightly.

The instrument below her switched colors slightly. The Orange ring changed to red and the floating ghostly runes shifted to different positions. This is much better than death. She hoped. At least for the foal.