Twilight levitated the tea out to her esteemed guests. The CMCs had been reunited at the library since Fluttershy's place was still too close to the last known site of the largest invasion force, and Applejack's house needed to be rebuilt from scratch before it would be livable.
Princess Luna, having taken her position as regent of the moon was once again nearly as tall as Celestia but had normal pupils, and her color was a comforting blue of a well light night sky. But her mane seemed made of stars, and her eyes ... were almost crying.
Celestia had gone back to direct the war effort and taken her fidikken with her. Luna had placed spells at the barn to alert her if someone stepped into it, and they'd also left some pony-class hay, and a note. Jack would just have to go back out and hunt. Meanwhile, Twilight felt powerless to comfort the princess, who wanted all this violence to end.
Luna breathed deeply, let it out slowly as she looked down at the dainty cup of black tea placed before her, and the sugar cubes, and their utensils for a long moment before levitating a single cube into her tea, and she thanked Twilight for it. "You know, a small part of me wants to scream. To call down thunder and set fire to the whole forest to expose them." She lifted the steaming cup to her lips, sipped daintily. "Even poor Fluttershy shooing her small friends inland to reduce their risk. This has all been just horrible and I don't know how Celly does it. Court by day and war council by night."
Twilight had always sort of wondered if alicorns needed sleep, or only chose it for the pleasure, or perhaps to reduce concerns among the masses that they weren't equine. So perhaps she revealed some of her curiosity in the intensity of her gaze, ears perked and pointed at the sudden reference to her teacher.
Luna turned those midnight blue eyes to the smaller unicorn and explained "Not the never-sleeping we can, well you know because we're alicorns but I guess not much is said about that. But just to keep going as if this was business as usual. I want to tear things apart, to sleep until winter wrap up ... several years hence. I want to." She sighed again, closing her eyes.
Twilight levitated her own cup of tea, wishing she'd had a longer nap, being no alicorn at all. She looked out the window, where Luna had been watching the edge of the Everfree forest and spoke comfortingly "We all feel like that your highness. I'm sorry you haven't had much chance before this to meet my friends, even as much as Celestia has known them. Wonderful bunch of mares and I hope we get through this."
The forgotten clouds drifted from the Everfree into the edge of Ponyville, not to be addressed by a weather patrol until at a much safer distance from the front. So the stars winked in but mostly out as the two concerned mares waited for word of their friends.
Luna put her tea down, stood upright and shook her whole body, hair and feathers drifting off her. She sat back down and still looking without hardly even blinking out that window, explained "When I was ... on the moon, I could spend time worrying, or planning. Some other things. But I got to where I shut out the memories of Celly and me, and how much I liked hearing the crickets, and the wind through the trees. Hurt so much to lose all that. I started trying to convince myself Equestria was the moon and I had always been alone on a dust covered wasteland called Equestria.
Twilight saw another tear form, and mentally searched what she knew of Fluttershy's somewhat crowded abode for where a tissue or hanky could be found. But Luna used her prehensile mane to wipe her eyes, and sniffled.
"I hope I'm not being too sappy or overbearing dearest Twilight but I know you and Celly are close and I need a friend too. If that can't be you and Celly knows you're just a talented unicorn, just ignore me, ok?"
Now Luna looked away from the window for a moment of eye contact, and Twilight was going to say something encouraging for friend.
A window to their left squeaked, slid open, and a neon pink blob rapidly oozed through the window. Pinkie Pie apparently had been ease-dropping and wanted to quickly add her thoughts. But Twilight's first thought was that window was awfully high for an Earth pony to just crawl though.
"Hey there's a thing they teach fillies about stuff being there when you can't see it. When you play peekabo you teach it. Haven't picked out the music yet but here's a poem about that concept I've been working on all week:
"So long since I’ve known:
Seen, touched, smelled; all cold.
what of these memories I own?
Are you a lie, to myself I’ve sold
Forgotten only or vain delusion?
I'd extinguish every star!
to forget the pain from that illusion"
She still held her head in that neutral stance, implying she was reciting but she was silent now. Luna pointed her ears at the brightly colored party pony, and still no response came.
Twilight thought she knew the answer since the rhyme wasn't finished, but started to ask anyway. "Is that al"
Pinkie whipped her head towards the front door
"Oh, hi! There you are!"
And slid back out, closing and locking the window as she did so.
Luna chuckled and it was about that time they both looked out the window and saw forms rapidly approaching. A single sergal, carrying a very large load on his shoulders and a pony, running for all she was worth carrying an awkward looking sheaf of something in her mouth. Luna whipped the door open before Twilight could make any further questions.
And Spark Impulse and Sprintpoint, on either side of the door, jerked awake. "Eh?" was all Spark could say.
Rainbow Dash was panting and sweating like she'd single hoofedly dropped every leaf in the autumn race. The sergal's claws suddenly became dim, revealing that wasn't moonlight a moment ago but a magical aura. He dropped to his knees, and panting tried to speak.
"Would. One. Unicorn. Heft. This. I can't. Now."
Twilight, technically the only unicorn present, realized mid breathless tirade that was Applejack. Her head was up -- she was alive! And before the more powerful pony could offer, Twilight levitated her friend of Jack's shoulders, and set her down as carefully as she could.
Applejack hobbled around to face her friend with an exhausted smile. "Thanks a heap Twi I caint begin to tell you. And I hate to add to the burden but ain't nopony eaten in forever. Ah'm so hungry I could eat a sergal! But Ah don't know what to suggest fer Stack here but maybe he cain eat somethin' besides rabbits?"
"Dirt, apparently." Luna expressed, noting the know unconscious sergal had faceplanted once his burden was removed. Mouth slightly open, he was even snoring, sort of. Princess Luna carefully levitated him over onto his back and the snoring stopped.
Next outburst was from Sprintpoint. "Dear sweet Celestia why are you carrying those?" Both guards stared open mouthed at Rainbow Dash, who was just now setting down the sheaf of blue ... feathers. Twilight did a double take, and then triple took just to be sure the first two times weren't total misreads of the situation.
Twilight's heart was pounding and she could scarcely imagine the emotional pain the guards, pegasi both, must be going through. "Dash, I... I don't. I mean. I wouldn't know how at all." Turning around to Princess Luna she pled her friends case. "Luna, your majesty, can you ... You're stronger and better learned than me can you? Have any chance, I mean?"
Princess Luna had exited Fluttershy's cottage with pity in her face for the fallen, but the longer she looked at the two wings, tied together sitting on the ground in front of Rainbow Dash, the closer to blind rage her facial expression drifted. Finally she looked away, up to examine her moon. Hidden behind some clouds and currently only three quarters full it could still be found. Could still, Twilight thought, remind the princess not to lose control.
The princess looked back to Rainbow Dash, and spoke to Twilight. "Not well enough that she could fly. They would bend, and flap but I dare not say they'd be strong enough to fly." Extending her head to emphasize her sincerity, she spoke now to Dash. "I apologize on behalf of the alicorn race, that I am neither skilled nor strong enough to give you your wings back."
Still panting, still dripping with sweat, Rainbow Dash had held a neutral expression, reminding Twilight of a filly biding her time 'til the parents finished their little rant before letting her stay with a friend for the night. Or perhaps like a mare waiting for a simple filly to finish expressing how many colors she could count in her rainbow'd mane.
"S'okay, I think. He said he could do it. Said I should carry them because he'd reattach them." she pointed her muzzle at the furry bundle now starting to pant again as he woke. "And if he screws up to where I can't fly, well ... at least it's nothing on the alicorn race even if it's not any better. So let him glue the suckers on."
And with that, Dash bowed briefly before meandering past the princess into Fluttershy's home, wings still on the ground, mute testimony to the level of cruelty common to the invading army.
Fluttershy stopped back in long enough the next morning to eat breakfast, and thank Luna for fighting this horrible fight. Jack was asleep but had been up in the night and about cleared out her stash sunflowers but hadn't found anything else bipedal body could safely consume. Fluttershy said to pass along her thanks for not hunting on her property, and where some other nut types were in case he could eat those too.
Twilight had Owlicious carry a note to Spike explaining new developments, but left out the specifics of her friends injuries, in case they really were healed by the time her friends could all meet at once.
Twilight tiptoed past Dash's wings that had been brought in, then past the sleeping guards who were arranged so as to make a sudden assault assured of losing surprise as they tripped over the sleeping forms.
Jack was nearly three times as tall as Fluttershy's back, and would have to crawl in places to clear the things hanging from the ceiling. But he had done so without waking any one in his search for water.
Absently she noted that his mug was actually a large pitcher, but it seemed sized well for him. She tried to feel even a moment's pity as she watched him slurp from his mug. His face was so ill suited to civilized life that he spilled nearly a third of his drink onto his chest.
"Is your Luna still present? I wish to ask a question of your god-kings."
Again Twilight took a long moment to rethink what she just heard. God-king? "My what? The princess isn't in the house no." She tipped her head to the side, pointing her ears at the friendly monster. "What do you need? I have some simple answers since I'm Celestia's protege and study directly under her."
He rotated his bulk around to face her with his pale gray triangle of a face, yellow eyes finally moving to indicate the front door, to which he pointed with his 'mug' of water, still dripping.
He was nearly whispering "When I examined the spells on the barn, I found where their caster lay, but I also felt how that magic, well. It tried to intrude on my tracking spell. My own magic is not like yours but I can use yours too. But it was hampered by the moonlight. Not so much in this case but I will need freer flow to fulfill my promises.
"This morning I have stepped outside, and tried again to examine random things, and what spells that might be on it, and found the sunshine interfered with me again." He waved his mug to indicate Fluttershy's cottage. "I will need more height than that to heal your friends, but for strong spells, exposure to the realm of a god-king" he hefted his mug skyward. "may prevent me from finishing. So I need to perform this away from both sun, and moon. A cave, or perhaps a barn again, or perhaps there is scheduled a lull when they might not either of them look upon my work."
This made Twilight wonder about the other casters that still intended harm. She asked "Would shade be enough? We're not far from the forest they're hiding in." And as she spoke she felt a breeze, smelled the free range fungus and wild unkempt growth blow through the air from that forest. She knew it could get very dark under the Everfree canopy.
Pitcher now empty, and a small puddle at his feet he handed the mug to Twilight, who levitated it behind her, and watched as the griffin-dog excused himself, then ran off to find the nearest shady patch to perform experiments.
She went in to wake her friends, Applejack first. The orange mare tried to stretch before getting up, but a cramp in her injured leg made her cry out. "Tweren't a nightmare then. Kinda hoping, you know. How're you holding up sugarcube?" But she was too busy moaning from attempts to stand to hear any answer.
Rainbow dash was still out cold. Twilight walked around to the other side of the bed they were sharing, and shook her shoulder gently. "Dash? Jack wants to fulfill his promise this morning. So come get some breakfast."
Her brilliant violet eyes opened, focused, and found Twilight's eyes. One deep sigh, and the injured mare made some motions to get up.
A call to attention, 'ten-hup!' came from downstairs from one of the guards. In case the other didn't notice presumably. Thinking Luna was back Twilight ran down the stairs heedless of scurrying mice that had opted to stay, and found the guards at attention for none other than Celestia, who was carefully squeezing through the small doorway. "Princess! Good morning but who's holding court I thought you couldn't get away!"
Practically throwing herself at her mentor's legs she suddenly saw the horrible state of housekeeping and gasped for the faux pas. It was one thing when Luna stayed at a friend's house who explained there simply was no place to put things but when the ruler of Equestria and her own teacher arrived ... quickly she tried to levitate things into piles so it would look less crowded.
A chuckle came from above her. "Overzealous as always, Twilight. This house is a bit of a tight fit for one my height anyway so why don't I lower your stress level and invite you outside?"
Twilight agreed, and told Celestia about Jack needing to not be in open ground when he reattached Rainbow Dash's wings. A look of surprise crossed the royal visage, closely followed by a hint of terror. Finally settling on serenity and love she replied to Twilight with "Well that certainly makes my worst fears all come together, doesn't it?" Leaning down to hug her pupil tight and added "Don't worry about it but thank you very much for telling me. I'm going to fling coherent light at that encampment so you'll likely have a grand battle tonight. Tell Jack to be as ready as he can. To rest once he's offered his help."
And with that she excused herself, and flew off with her small entourage. Four pegasi pulling her chariot, and four one-pony chariots around her each with blood-orange eyed guard-unicorns, those who had chosen service even if it meant they died: the fedaykin, or death commandos. This whole entourage, veritable army in itself, floated away.
"Well, if that don't beat all. Solar flare orbital bombardment, hay?" Applejack had meandered out, and was now watching the princess leave. Behind her, Rainbow Dash was carrying her wings, looking around presumably for their sergal rescuer.
"Where is that wingless excuse for a gryphon anyway?" But Twilight could see the movement. Running towards them was a single sergal, gray of many shades, pale blue feathers catching in the sunlight.
"I think your ride is here girls. Let's see what he can offer you." And with that, the three of them walked toward the approaching figure.