"Bananas, oh bananas!"
Valey skidded into the archive room at top speed, vaulting over a pile of debris and staring with wide eyes at the wreckage. At least half the room was trashed, Princess Celestia standing in the most devastated section with Gazelle bound thoroughly in her aura, leaning over something on the floor. Valey soared closer, the floor impossible to walk on without cutting her hooves on broken glass.
It was Starlight, laying in a heap. Her hooves and one of her forelegs were bloodied, and her horn gave off heat enough that Valey could feel it even just by lifting her. She glared up at the captive Gazelle. "What did he do?"
Princess Celestia shook her head. "I arrived less than a minute ago to much the same scene you see before you. We will investigate thoroughly." Her voice was shaking. "Though this was clearly Gazelle's doing. I spoke to Meltdown about his condition when I first arrived, and she bade me leave him be. As she is the acting leader of the Griffon Empire and he is its prince, this could carry serious consequences for our relations with..." Her voice wobbled, and she trailed off. "That filly and several students are among the injured. I am still searching, but have not yet found any dead. We must get them to the hospital as soon as the university staff arrive to take over investigations."
Valey frowned, slack-jawed. "Like, I could go on ahead, if you're busy." She glanced down at Starlight. "Or search myself, if you're faster. This stuff is-"
"This could be a major international incident in the works, my little pony," Celestia tensely replied. "I would not advise you to wander off on your own."
Valey winced and awkwardly stood still, holding Starlight and brushing her forehead to check for further injuries. Her horn sparked a little, and her eyelids flickered unconsciously.
"Bananas, kid," Valey whispered. "Haven't seen you this bad in a while."
Celestia looked up, poking through further piles of rubble. "She is with you?"
"Yeah, she's..." Valey blinked, not trusting herself to move when the floor was so treacherous. "She's pretty unlucky. Probably tried to fight him." She glared at Gazelle, who had passed out as well from the force of Celestia's aura. "She's got a horn condition that makes her magic stronger than usual, but using it hurts her. It's a sensitive subject, so don't ask her later. She really went all out, though..."
"Your filly fought a sphinx?" Celestia frowned incredulously at the pair.
Valey shrugged. "Hey, that's how we roll up north. You never know who the next catastrophe is going to happen to. Maple? Dusty mare with the broken ribs? She had to kick around an entire troupe of trained mercenaries once. And I killed Yakyakistan's evil yak ambassador in a duel."
Celestia didn't look pacified.
"It happens to everyone," Valey repeated. "Harshwater had a real bad time with a bunch of batponies once. And the stuff that happens to us just doesn't care if you're a legendary hero or some random kid. We just do what it takes to survive." Her gaze turned toward a corner of the room that felt slightly more dangerous than the others. "If you wanna tell us that we're legitimately under a curse that makes this happen all the time, and you know a way to break it, please, go ahead. But don't try to pretend this is normal." She narrowed her eyes. "You're a goddess, and I can tell you're shaken. For me? Bananas, this is just day after stupid day."
"...I would talk with you more later," Celestia said. "But more ponies are here."
There was a commotion outside the door, and a squad of mixed university security ponies and royal guards stomped in, heavy boots protecting them from the wreckage. Every last one of them looked taken aback, the Kinmari guards much more so than the Canterlot ones.
"Y-Your Highness!" The Kinmari guards bowed low, though the Canterlot ones skipped the formalities and immediately adopted formation. "What is the meaning of this?"
Celestia looked sadly at the unconscious sphinx in her aura. "It would seem High prince Gazelle went on a rampage," she said with a small voice. "I must see to international affairs, as well as the wounded. President Kinmari will undoubtedly want a meeting post-haste. I want half of you to search this room for more ponies as thoroughly as possible." She bisected the guard crowd with a wing. "The other half, guard this room and do not let anyone unequipped for hazardous situations enter. That includes the students awakened by the noise. There are quite a few of them outside." She turned to Valey. "You will come with me."
"Yeah, one sec..." Valey was rooting toward a corner, following her cutie mark. There was something somewhere around...
There it was. Starlight's moon glass sword. Lacking a good way to carry it both safely and without Celestia asking what in the world she was doing, Valey kicked some smashed shelf boards over it, trusting it would take long enough for someone to clean up that room that she could come back and swipe it again later.
"Right." She hovered back toward Celestia, again avoiding the treacherous floor. "Where are we going?"
Celestia's horn enveloped herself, Valey, Starlight and Gazelle in a burst of light, and they teleported away.
They reappeared in the lobby of the hospital, where some of the injured students were already being treated by nurses who hadn't bothered to take them up to rooms. The mare on duty grimaced when she saw her. "More?"
Celestia shook her head. "Only this filly, as far as I could find."
"Careful with her horn," Valey added, carefully presenting her. "See if you can cool her down."
Celestia watched the exchange. "How are the others?"
Another nurse nodded. "Out of five students, two are shaken but mostly unharmed. One has significant hoof lacerations and won't be comfortable walking for a while, and another has scratches all over her face and frontal body. The last... well..."
"You might need to see for herself," the nurse with Starlight replied, leading the way toward a staircase. "With me, please."
Valey and Celestia followed to the second floor, where another pony was refilling wash basins and antiseptic bandages. The nurse took a tray of them for Starlight, and pushed open a door on her left, gesturing inside.
A young stallion was sitting by an occupied bed inside, a doctor and a nurse working dutifully inside. "Uh... h-hi," he greeted shakily, seeing who was there.
"This is the one who was worse off?" Celestia asked, pacing toward the bed. "I fear I know which one you mean."
The doctor looked up, the room brightly lit enough that he didn't even need a headlamp. "Your Highness," he greeted. "Yes, this is Meadowglade. She's suffering from blood loss and a severe number of lacerations. I've never seen something cause cuts in this pattern in my entire career before. It's like they were opened at random along her coat... but what's even more explicable is this."
He pointed to her flanks. They were bare.
The nurse with him frowned up at Gazelle, still bound in Celestia's aura. "They're saying he's the culprit," she scolded. "Forgive me for speaking freely, but do you have to bring him in here?"
Celestia shook her head. "If that is true, you've seen the damage he has caused. Would you feel safer with him out of my sight?"
The nurse winced. "That's... a good point. It's still hard for me to concentrate."
"Is there anything you can do?" the stallion by the bed whispered. "Meadowglade... She's my marefriend, and..."
"You were there too, buddy?" Valey softly asked.
"I thought I was going to die," the stallion replied. "We heard laughter and came to investigate, but I didn't think he would attack us. We all thought he was broken and harmless. And then he was like a demon, with dark energy... I've never felt so... so mortal, you know?" His eyes unfocused. "Please help her..."
"We're doing the best we can, son," the doctor sighed. "But whatever these wounds are, they're something else..."
Valey sighed too . "Too bad we don't have any of that Varsidel healing potion around anymore." She glanced back at Celestia. "You don't have that stuff in Equestria, do you?"
"I am afraid not." Celestia shook her head. "How are her vitals?"
The nurse refreshed her rag from the basin, going back to cleaning Meadowglade's injuries. "Not yet critical. The one good news for her is that none of the cuts are particularly deep. But this had to happen on a night with no unicorns on night shift... She has so many injuries, we have to lay her on some to tend to the others."
"But she hasn't woken up," the coltfriend insisted.
"She's in shock, son," the doctor growled. "Which you're this close to yourself. Focus on your breathing and get some air."
"S-Sorry..."
He got up to walk to the window, but paused when he passed Starlight. "...Is she going to be alright too?"
"We'll see. Sure hope so." The nurse who was dabbing Starlight's brow with wet rags frowned. "Her wounds are going to hurt in the morning, that's for sure. One leg, and she's been walking on broken glass. But if she's a tough little kid, she'll get through. Why does she have a fever, though?"
"Over-taxed her horn." Valey shrugged. "Sore subject for her. Don't press."
The stallion was still staring at Starlight. "She saved us," he managed. "I don't know how she didn't run away or die, but she stood up to him. She was hitting him and zapping him and running around the room so much it even looked like she was in two places at once for a while. You couldn't even keep track of her! She was, like..." His eyes unfocused. "You adventurers really are the real thing, aren't you? Even your kids are tough as nails..."
Valey winced. "Yeah, well... if I'd been there, maybe we could have ended it a whole lot quicker. Don't be hard on her because she couldn't save your girl. Maybe you didn't notice, but she's a kid. Not supposed to be fighting evil. Any of us would have acted, but she was the one unlucky enough to be there at the time."
Celestia stood with her head bowed.
"Just so you know?" Valey raised an eyebrow at her. "When we talk about settling down and getting a normal life for our kids, the point is to avoid garbage like this happening. Usually, I'm around and can beat it up myself, but sometimes we don't even get that luxury. So-"
"This is not the time for that conversation," Celestia apologized. "My apologies. But all offers regarding your future will have to temporarily wait until I have a better idea of where relations with the Empire stand. After all, some of what we discussed could suddenly become inappropriate for me to grant, depending on the status of our bond with Garsheeva's lands."
Valey swallowed. "...Yeah. What's that waiting on?"
"Meetings with President Kinmari and Meltdown. And likely another with both at once." Celestia shook her head. "What is the status on your airship's restoration?"
"Uhhh..." Valey paused. "Pretty sure the hull's complete, but the whole insides are opened up while Sparky redoes the wiring. Don't think it's stocked or furnished. Why?"
"Pondering the safest place for you and your friends to stay until we've had a better chance to evaluate the island's feelings toward you in light of the current situation."
"Hey!" The coltfriend stepped in, trembling. "J-Just so you know... if I'm following right, and they could be in trouble for being foreigners when a foreign leader attacked us... I-I'd vouch for them. That filly saved my life, a-and maybe Meadowglade's too."
Celestia nodded at him. "I appreciate it, my little pony. But panic and herd mentalities are almost as difficult to control as regional laws and regulations. If you wish to make your voice count for something, I would advise finding a student newspaper and sharing your experience as soon as possible." Her eyes drifted to Starlight. "Though I would advise referring to Valey and her friends in a more general sense when recounting any heroics. I get the feeling this child did not save you for the sake of the spotlight."
"Yeah," Valey insisted, stepping in. "She'd be really cool with it if she got as little attention from this as possible. Either say we busted them up as a team, or, like... I don't wanna tell you to say I did it, but don't let the pressure get on her. She's had it rough. Please?"
Shaking, the colt nodded. "I-I'll try to remember."