//------------------------------//
// 35 -- Lost, and never found 
// Story: A Method to his Madness 
// by Luna-tic Scientist 
//------------------------------//

"Gryphons coming!"

Equilibrium's ears twitched, sweeping the space outside the fabric shelter, hunting for the sound of talons tearing at the grass. She stood, leaning closer to the loose flap, unconsciously shifting one hind leg when she felt a delicate touch at her belly. The contact intensified, and the soft, tiny muzzle worked its way along her underside, before closing around one nipple. Still listening, she stretched the leg a little more, feeling the tickle of his fuzzy ears on the sensitive skin under her thigh as the little colt pressed closer. There was a slight pressure and a feeling of release.

"You're getting good at that, Tumble," Libi said softly, bending and running her teeth along his back, nibbling gently. The sounds were getting closer and she froze as a shadow fell across the tent flap; it was a familiar collection of long, curved shapes, that of a set of talons, and she nervously backed away. Tumble made a slightly annoyed noise, shuffling sideways to retain contact. More questions? How many times do they want to hear the same story?

The gryphon scratched at the tough synthetic of the door and Libi blinked. "Yes?" she said, confused. Since when do they ask to come in? Tumble flinched at the unexpected sound, head coming up with ears cocked.

A beaked head pressed through the flap, large orange eyes glancing at her then flicking down to stare at Tumble. The foal reacted as if shot, jumping backwards and wheeling to run. Libi made a little nickering sound and remained absolutely still, fighting to keep her own body relaxed. He cantered to a confused halt a few paces away, then turned again and crept back to her side, tucking under her belly and peering back at the gryphon from between her forelegs.

"Ah, I should have realised; sorry. Is it okay if I come in?" the gryphon asked in a low voice.

Against her flank, Tumble twitched but didn't run, so Libi took a slow step backwards, then another. He stayed glued to her side, staring at this new and monstrous intrusion into his previously inviolate personal space. "Can I say no?" Libi asked softly, flicking her tail over the foal.

"Actually, yes. I'm not a member of the Talons." His beak opened and he made a quiet hissing noise that might have been laughter. "No one is a member anymore, thank the stars."

"Strange days... come in. Slowly, please." They've not been into the camp for weeks, and when they do, they are polite; what's been going on out there?

"Thank you. My name is Waits Until Sunrise. I know you, Equilibrium, but who is this?" He made a tiny gesture with his beak, settling down onto the expanded mesh flooring.

"This is Tumble; I was pregnant when I was on the Express." Libi moved to the far corner, wedging the foal between her body and the shelter side.

Waits blinked, then shook his head. "So he's less than a month old? That's his... milk name, I think you call it?"

"He'll be a week old tomorrow." Libi turned her head, nuzzling between the colt's ears. He leaned into her touch, eyes still fixed on Waits. "He'll get his adult name when we get some idea about what he is interested in."

"So mobile so quickly! A chick can't even stand until six weeks or so."

"Oh, he can run nearly as fast as me; he just doesn't want to, yet. Still falls over a lot, hence the name. That time will come in a couple of months... hopefully it won't be into that razorwire fence."

Waits winced, lowering his head a little. "You won't be here much longer. There have been changes at the top... and not a little civil unrest when it became clear just how completely the Talons were controlled by Discord. There has been something of a counter-coup, and it's taken this long to get everything sorted out. There were assassinations." He made that hissing noise again, then sighed. "Because of that, and the level of control exerted over individual people, there is a general amnesty, subject to investigation."

"And that's where you come in."

"Yes. A number of those affected are now field agents for the URC -- the Unity and Reconciliation Commission. I went into the prison Discord was using as a base, so..."

"Then what do you want from me? This sounds like a thing for gryphons."

"Mostly, but there are a number of people in that prison who might not deserve to be there, those disappeared by the Talons for their own purposes. I am trying to corroborate some of the stories."

Libi nodded slowly. "Fair enough. What do you want to know?"

Waits reached back into a set of slim panniers, momentarily showing her a flash of breast feathers. In the middle of the russet plumage was an angry red scar, about the size of a hoof. "You were shot?" she asked.

"Impaled. Discord's idea of a little joke." He held a block of black plastic up in one set of talons, making it light up and display the image of a dishevelled-looking gryphon, quickly followed by two more: an angry female and a frightened juvenile. "Do you recognise any of these people?"

"I don't know their names... but I think so. If it is them, they tried to help me avoid the Talons. I'll be honest; it was dark and I was half dead from the cold. If you are looking for any others, there was also my liaison, Stoops From High Places."

"We know about her; she was never imprisoned." He reached back and brought out a transparent plastic case, inside of which was a single, long feather, clipped off at the end. "Since you ponies are more scent oriented than sight, would this help?" He half opened the lid, then slid the box across the floor.

Tumble flinched, struggling to rise, then sank back down when Libi didn't move. Carefully, she nosed open the box, sniffing delicately at the feather. Straw, mud and the pungent tang of cow. The memory came back, hard and strong, of being dragged out of a barn into bitter cold by the scruff of her neck. She closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, that was the farmer who hid me."

There was the faint thud-thud of many hooves on earth, and Libi whipped her head around, biting down hard on Tumble's crest, half way between withers and poll. The foal, who'd heard the siren drumbeat at the same time she had and had started to rise, struggled, letting out a startlingly loud whinny, then slipped, back end falling to the composite flooring. Waits started, eyes wide in shock, beak open to protest, but she ignored him. "Oh no you don't," she mumbled, mouth filled with short and downy mane hair.

The hoof-beats ended with a sliding stop and an out of breath Neighmann barged through the loose opening. At his back were at least half a dozen other ponies, all with similar expressions of determination. "Libi, are you--"

She released the squirming foal and he exploded from her grasp, diving headlong at Neighmann, who broke off whatever he'd been trying to say with a grunt. Trembling, Tumble hid between the stallion's legs, and Neighmann twisted, placing his body between the foal and Waits and the other ponies. There was a look of confusion on his face, one that Libi was getting very familiar with, one that said 'I don't recognise you or this foal'. Neighmann lowered his head to sniff gently at Tumble's flank, the expression of uncertainty vanishing.

The gryphon, now open-beaked and switching his gaze between her and Neighmann, cleared his throat. "Was that really necessary?" he asked weakly.

"Galloping away isn't always the best answer to a problem; we are not on the plains of our ancestors anymore," Libi said with a sigh. "Back in Equestria this wouldn't be an issue, but here... He's operating on pure instinct, and will do until his brain catches up with his legs. Better a bit of discomfort now than a broken leg." She stood up, trotting over to Neighmann, sandwiching Tumble between them. "Nothing to worry about; Waits here was asking, not demanding. He says we'll be going home soon." She gestured to the gryphon with one foreleg, then bent her head to nibble behind Tumble's ear while making quiet nickering noises.

He relaxed and the other ponies moved away, many taking up positions where they could keep watch. "Home? Really?" he said, ears pricking up.

"Yes. There's supposed to be an announcement over the camp's address system in a few minutes, but it won't hurt to give you a head start. Another of your aircarriers, the Diplomacy in Action, is on its way. They are going to start loading transports at first light tomorrow."

===

Princess Luna, blank-faced, stared out through the thick artificial sapphire wall at the ponies, zebra and gryphon assembled in the narrow corridor outside her room. Cell, call it a cell. There had been some attempt to make it more comfortable, removing the inner partitions to open out the whole set of cells into a single chamber, but nothing could take away the deadness in the air, or the sense of disconnection. She shook her head, jaw clenching at the unnatural feeling of having a mane composed of actual hair for only the second time in centuries. No chiropt to get me out this time.

This should be done in the old throne room; everything to do with the diarchy always was, she thought, gloomily. The brief chance she'd had to look around the Palace had shown that that was never going to be the case, even if she was free to move where she wished. In the month since Celestia had fired the first shots in their short-lived struggle, little in the way of repairs had been carried out. The rubble had been cleared, and the burned wall coverings removed, but the large chamber was still open to the elements through its large stained-glass windows, now nothing more than gaping holes.

"Well, Praetors? Have you reached a decision?" Luna asked, her voice as distant as her gaze. As if I didn't know. Cloudwalker glanced at the other two, then shifted uncomfortably, his damaged wings still strapped into their discreet support harness. His gaze flicked around the rim of the spotless crystal wall that separated them from her, and Luna almost smiled at his discomfort. I will not make things easy for you; this is the path you have chosen, completing the events my sister set in motion all those years ago.

Thoughts of Celestia in her final moments, a confused look in her eyes, made Luna's chest ache, but she kept any emotion from reaching her expression. She's the one they wanted, and then she went and failed them. They never wanted me, and I no longer want them. The thoughts brought back the old anger, twitching in her mind like a metal fragment under long-healed skin, and Luna finally smiled, ever so slightly, something that made the leaders of the three clades a little nervous. No... don't lie to yourself, you stupid nag. After all we gave they will cut us adrift from their lives.

You destroyed us in the end, Discord. Killed my sister and provided our ponies with proof that we could not be trusted. Luna's mouth twisted into a sneer. Of course, they never really trusted me. "Out with it, Praetor."

"We have," Cloudwalker said, then sighed. "I'm sorry, Princess. We have deposed you in absentia. There will be no state funeral for Celestia and--"

The words, though half expected, were like hot steel being thrust through her vitals. "Do you know how many years Celestia gave to the service of ponykind?" Luna hissed, leaning forwards to stare at Cloudwalker. At the back, the Ambassadors from the Zebra Alliance and Goldenwing shuffled nervously, taking a cautious few steps further away. "She was around at the dawn of your whole species, not just you, Cloudwalker, but Farasi Jasisi and Talons Sheathed In Steel as well, and she gave everything to keep you all safe, including her life! Do what you like to me, but you will leave her memory alone!"

The pegasus swallowed, but looked defiant. "That is our decision. There will be a memorial in time, but right now there is a lot of anger... We will have a clean break from the past and try and remember your sister the way she was, and not what she was going to bring down upon us all." The other two Praetors, Green Flash and Kimberlite, nodded in support of Cloudwalker.

"There are plenty who will never believe she's gone," Kimberlite said softly, "despite the evidence from the unicorn who saw you teleport and the testimony from the Institute. Far better that there is no definite ending." He looked up at her, ears drooping. "We have been through so much and the healing has only just begun... ponies need to remember the good, not the bad. She was our rock, the mountain upon which we built our nation, and she crumbled... better she's dead than alive as a symbol of our misplaced faith."

The unfairness of it all coiled up inside her chest, threatening to burst out in screams and threats, but in the end Luna just laughed, a short bark of sound devoid of humour. "That explains the extension to my own quarantine time." First ten days, then forty, supposedly at the behest of the Zebras. Will they ever let me out of my box? "Don't worry, I won't contest your decision. I have no desire to be a constant reminder that all they have left is the second best princess."

"Actually, no, your Highness," the zebra, Farasi Jasisi said, her head dipping in a shallow bow. "That was part of the revised terms agreed to by your government."

"Yes, quite," Kimberlite said as Luna snorted. "Well, P--" He looked downcast and shook his head. "That's going to be a hard one to break." His head came up and he looked her square in the eye. 'Luna, we thank you for giving up your freedom; we know there is nothing we could really do to force you to do this."

"I may not be my sister, Kimberlite, but I am not a sociopath--" Not now, at any rate. "--and I am bound by the same chains of duty. We started this whole mess, so long ago that the world was a very different place, and we... I am still responsible for it, whether you like it or not." The ponies looked increasingly nervous as she spoke, and Luna shook her head. After all this time, you think you'd know when to keep your mouth shut. "I learned my lesson half a millennium ago. I will not have anybody suffer for the sake of my ego."

The earth pony nodded. "I believe you, I really do. Still, what you did allowed us to normalise relationships with the other states--" Here he glanced at the gryphon and zebra, who nodded in return. "--far faster than might have been possible otherwise. Trust is increasingly hard to come by, these days."

"I have been told very little, so I will have to take your word for that," Luna said, dryly. "Is there anything else? I would much rather be alone."

Green Flash stepped forwards and cleared her throat. "There are hints in the School for Gifted Unicorns’ oldest records that we once were able to control the sun ourselves. Is this true?"

Luna blinked, then nodded slowly. So this is what they really want... and when they get it, what use will there be for me? She tasted the notion of being disposable, something they could actually achieve in her current state, and realised with some shock that the idea was actually attractive. "Yes. It is not easy, even for me, but a sufficiently dedicated team of unicorns could manage the task." She cocked her head and smiled at the unicorn. "You do realise you'll have to let me out if you want me to help, yes?"

Green Flash smiled sadly back. "Yes, Luna, I realise that. It will be soon; the sun has already drifted off by over a degree. Much more and it will retard the arrival of next winter in the northern hemisphere. We will make some requests -- how many do you want to train?"

"Twenty-five, at a minimum. Larger and faster adjustments will require more ponies, but that will do for the start."

"Thank you, Luna. This is our last big stumbling block... the team will be part based overseas, to counteract some of the accusations about holding the world to ransom."

"Hostages." Luna made a disapproving face and Green Flash nodded.

"If you like, but I prefer to sell it as a spreading of responsibility. The plan is to form them into a new organisation, one without national ties... tricky, when all the staff have to be unicorns, but Farasi Jasisi tells me that some of the Alliance's spellcraft may be able to help, once they understand the process."

"It is a dangerous thing, this knowledge, but I will train your ponies." At least I won't have the constant reminder of doing my sister's work. Luna closed her eyes, willing them away; they must have taken the hint, for when she opened them again, she was alone.

===

The final training session had gone well, and Luna had watched with some satisfaction as the sun drifted the two arcseconds back into its proper place. She couldn't see it -- the training was being carried out in a hastily dug chamber adjacent to her prison -- but that was scarcely necessary for the process. The reason for it being here was obvious from the first moment she stepped into the room: some industrious pony had wired the place to the trap-and-suppress systems around the cell block. If she was ready for them they were no real threat, but a number of blank-faced unicorns were watching her every move, ready to sound the alarm should she act.

It's almost tempting to try it... can I break the system before it gets a hold on me? She shifted slightly, maintaining her own blank expression. I don't think it would get me a second time, but there are all those ponies... All around her, the ranks of unicorns let out a sigh, the sudden loss of effort required for the combined spell making them sway on their hooves, and the noise brought her out of the reverie. "I am satisfied with your performance, but do not try too much too quickly. The key is to make small, regular adjustments."

The group leader, a dazed looking palomino stallion by the name of Flare, nodded, trying to get his breathing under control. "Thank you, Luna. We understand the gravity of this responsibility."

"See that you do," she said, sternly. "The sun is not like the moon... it is a fragile, complex thing, and if you try to experiment with it, it could be extinguished."

The unicorn's ears flattened and he nodded, but Luna had already turned away, all the better to hide the sudden surge of emptiness that filled her belly and threatened to break the blank expression she'd assumed for the last three months. That is my last link to you, Celestia. Nothing left but my memories. Her current mixed species of minders noticed, though, and were slow to take her back to the shielded cell.

The door slid shut behind her rump, the sense of connection to the cosmos cutting off. "That's it, then. They don't really need me anymore." She turned, lifting her head to stare at one of the discrete cameras. "Now we find out your real intentions." Will they have the nerve to look me in the eye when they do it?

"You know what? I don't think I care." She lay down on the sleeping pad, staring out of the transparent door.

===

It was halfway through the night cycle when the little noise awoke her from a dreamless sleep, the quiet tapping of a hoof on something immensely strong and thick. The light was dim, but Luna had excellent night vision, and she regarded the chiropt standing in the corridor outside the cell with open curiosity. "Hello, Chirr. Have you come to play the dark knight and rescue me from my foul prison?"

Chirr smiled slightly. "It looks pretty good -- nicer than my apartment -- but I guess royalty has elevated tastes."

"No longer royal, I think."

His smile vanished. "No, Mistress. I'm sorry it has taken so long to reach you... do you want to be rescued?"

"A dangerous question to ask, considering the totality of surveillance in this block."

"They may have disbanded the Night Guard--" Luna's head came up in shock, and Chirr nodded. "The whole Guard organisation has been rolled up into the conventional forces; casualties among the chiropt were especially heavy." He sighed, then fluttered his wings. "It's not important. We all did our duty... anyway, you still have friends here, some of whom are in the security station at this very moment."

Tears welled up in Luna's eyes, and she blinked them away. "Not this time, Sergeant. I need to be here for a while longer. If I'm still here in another decade... hold that thought." She stood up, walking the few paces to the transparent wall and lying down so her flank rested against it. After a moment's hesitation, Chirr did the same, and the pair lay side-by-side, separated by the impenetrable sapphire wall.

"I understand. We... I had to see you, make sure you were alright. There has been little in the way of news of you; just that you were in seclusion."

"The time alone with my thoughts has been... it was hard at first, but I have seen many terrible things in my life. I have become very good at packaging up the pain and storing it out of reach."

"What will you do, when they let you out?"

"Seclusion actually sounds quite nice. Fitting. I am the last of my kind; perhaps it is best if I just go away, vanishing from sight and mind." Luna trailed off, lifting her gaze to the ceiling, hunting for the touch of the moon and failing to find it through all the shielding.

"Mistress, please--" Chirr's ears folded flat, and his wings flexed and shifted with unconscious desire.

"Don't worry about me, Chirr. A few years, a few decades, are nothing. Now go, go and live your life -- find a nice mare and settle down to make lots of little batponies. Think of it as my last order, if it helps."

"Yes, Mistress," the chiropt said forlornly, standing up and dropping his head down to her level. He brushed the tip of his muzzle against the wall and, on the other side, Luna did the same. "Goodbye, Luna. I won't forget you."

"Nor I you. Goodbye, Chirr."

===

It was the middle of the night, but the skies were filled with hazy streamers of red and green light, great curtains that hung from horizon to horizon and shifted with a speed that belied their size. No normal aurora, not this far south, but the product of multiple, high altitude nuclear detonations in the previous few hours. The Castle of the Pony Sisters, its carefully preserved and reinforced ruined towers jutting up above the tree line like the stumps of broken teeth, was a dark and brooding mass against all the bright colour and fast motion.

The carefully maintained grounds around the old building were now trampled, great divots dug out of the perfect meadows by careless hooves, but the Castle had survived the wave of insanity that had overrun the staff, unlike the burned-out shells of the visitor buildings at its base. Light flared from the windows, and the Castle's stones shifted with a groan under the gravitational shear.

Deep within the wide spaces of the great hall a light flashed, a brilliant pin-point that jumped from a dimensionless dot to a three-metre sphere in less than a microsecond, then vanished. In its place was a six-limbed shape, made blurred and indistinct by a velocity that hurled it diagonally across the floor at head height, to vanish through a set of glass doors marked 'Gift Shop'.

More magic flashed, ethereal tentacles that reached out for walls, pillars, merchandising display stands and anything else within reach, grabbing, holding and dragging to slow the shape's terrible speed, and it finally came to rest within a maelstrom of dark-furred pony dolls.

===

There was movement in the little corridor beyond the door. This is it. Luna tensed, wondering how it would happen. Gas, perhaps? Then why bother to show themselves at all? She blinked, then released the breath she was holding in an explosive grunt of surprise. "Chirr? What are you doing here?"

He waved up at the camera cluster and something under the door went thunk, then the whole panel slid to one side. Luna stayed where she was and frowned. "I thought I made myself clear--"

He flinched, shaking his head, then gestured with one wing down the corridor. An earth pony stepped forward, and she finally recognised Praetor Kimberlite. "I'm sorry it's taken so long, Luna, but you are free to go," he said.

Luna stood up and ruffled her wings. Without any effort, she reached for the moon, and the sensation of cold mass moving at tremendous velocity filled the void in her mind like water being poured into a trough. A pulse of violet light travelled from muzzle to tailroot, turning mane and tail from hair to something other. While this was happening, she stared down at him in silence. "Just like that," she said, finally.

"With certain restrictions." He gestured to Chirr, then back down the corridor. "You will have a multinational escort detail. You may go wherever you wish, but we ask that you don't travel without them." There were other people in the darkness; a pegasus and a gryphon, the latter wearing a slim light amplification visor.

"I see. Well, you can be assured that I have no intention of reentering public life." She stalked out of the cell, forcing the others to back away rapidly.

"Where will you go?" Kimberlite called to her rapidly disappearing hindquarters.
Luna paused, turning to look back at him. "It is night-time out there, and I want to see the sky with my own eyes. After that... when I arrive at a suitable answer, I will let my minders know." She gave him a cold little smile, then walked away with long strides, making the others trot to keep up.

Director Krett joined her at the outer entrance to the cell block. "Luna, I would not presume to know your mind, but--"

"No, Topsy, you should not," Luna said, not sparing her a glance.

The earth pony's ears twitched and she swallowed. "I can understand your desire to retreat from the world, but I really think you should hear me out--"

"Listening in on me, were you, Topsy? Did you glean any other subtle insights from my night time mutterings?" Her voice was hard and caustic, the sorts of tones that could reduce twenty-year veterans to trembling wrecks.

"Of course, Luna. It's my job." Director Krett showed no concern and her ears twitched again, and this time the pattern penetrated. Enemy action; ambush imminent.

That's a variant of waggle language... The code was old, predating the mare's birth by at least fifteen centuries, and was a last-ditch emergency signal passed from chiropt to chiropt. Supposedly it was never written down or mentioned in the presence of any of the other clades. She came to a halt and stole a quick glance at Chirr, who was staring back at her with unnerving intensity. His ears flicked as if trying to dislodge a fly, then came forward and were attentive. This code was more common, although still in the chiropt dialect.

Friendlies. Listen.

Paranoid thoughts of some buried nuclear trap, a terrible accident that would remove her from Equestria permanently, fled at that little flicker of communication. Stupid filly; if they wanted you dead they would have killed you when you were helpless. What does the code mean in this context? Luna bottled up her excitement and anger, allowing only resignation to the surface, then cocked her head. "Fine. Topsy Krett, what do you want to tell me?" she asked, maintaining the sarcasm in her voice. And why don't you want the others to know?

===

Luna walked down the wide central path of the Canterlot medical health triage centre's 'Sunflower' site, moderating her pace to match that of the pony at her side. Once one of the many parks that had dotted the extensive suburbs of the city proper, it had been fenced off and seeded with small prefab structures for the many little groups and singletons that wandered the grounds. It was still a tranquil space, with the new structures placed in a dispersed and concealed manner, the many planted paths providing private ways and gathering spaces for the patients.

The earth pony stallion, a doctor by the name of Thalamus who had overall responsibility for this site, glanced up at her, and seemed to be on the verge of trying to start a conversation. Luna ignored him, her mind focused on examining the many ponies in this place while simultaneously maintaining her disguise, that of a pale blue unicorn. Even without the odd hints from Topsy, this has merit. All around her were minds that didn't fit the normal patterns of pony, missing the casual trust and feelings of togetherness that she remembered since she was born.

She looked away, scanning the dispersed herd, then up at the sky, picking out the distant bird-of-prey silhouette of her gryphon watchers, ostensibly acting as scouts in support of the repair teams. With those shapes was another, slightly alien for Canterlot's daytime skies: a scallop-edged set of membrane wings. I hope you put sunscreen on all that exposed skin, Chirr. I didn't really build you for this much daytime flight. She smiled, but the change in expression was so slight as to be nearly invisible.

"So, Selene..." Thalamus said, looking up at her hopefully. "Before all this, we would not normally take a pony without a long history of clinical work, but--"

"I have a lot of experience in dealing with disturbed ponies," Luna said in a distracted manner. "Many years, in fact."

"I appreciate that your records are sealed; the Panopticon made it very clear that you were highly recommended, and that no questions into your past would be answered. However... I have a duty of care to my patients." He let the words hang for a few seconds, obviously waiting for Selene to fill the silence. When she did not, he sighed. "As one professional to another, can you give me something?"

Luna halted, shifting the whole weight of her attention on to the earth pony. He seemed to wilt a little, shifting his weight nervously, but stood his ground. "Your dedication does you credit," she said, with a shallow nod. "My experience is with invasive mind magic; it is both personal and through third parties. More than that I cannot say, as the information is both damaging and of no use to you."

Thalamus nodded slowly, seeming mesmerised by her words. "That will have to do, I suppose. Needless to say, I will be monitoring your progress; if there is any evidence of harm it won't matter who vouches for you, because I'll throw you out myself."

She smiled at him, but it was a fleeting thing and without warmth. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Doctor. Now, you mentioned I'd have an assistant?"

"Yes, of course. You will be working with one of our ad-hoc nursing staff; she will get you up to speed on our more challenging cases. She has been here for several months -- came in off the street as a patient and never left, even after she was fit enough. Kept saying she was of more use here than at what she used to do. No qualifications, of course, but she has a knack for drawing ponies out of their shells... and these days we need everypony willing to help. It is sad that so much fear still exists within the population at large; many of our patients just need somepony to talk to."

Nerves make him ramble, Luna thought, then nodded. They continued walking, stopping again when they encountered a small herd of ponies lying in a loose circle a few metres from the path. In their midst was a pale cream, long-legged pegasus with a light pink mane and tail, who was leading a group discussion. They settled down at a respectful distance, waiting for a lull in the conversation. Presently, one of the other ponies gave the pegasus a nudge, and the mare turned to look at them, then hastily rose to her hooves and came over.

Luna's mouth dropped open, then closed with a snap. It can't be! She blinked, then closed her eyes, shifting to shadow sight. A normal pegasus, silhouette of a body flanked with the crystalline shimmer of wings, nothing more. Am I seeing things? She looks so like-- A delicate touch of magic, full of sorrow and not a little fear, brushed against her mind. She recoiled as if stung, a sudden blast of fury making the world swim and shimmer. Her own power surged, forming phantom shapes in the shadow world that begged to be made real; there would be enough energy and gravitational shear in the magic to turn half of Canterlot into a column of burning debris that would reach into the stratosphere.

"Selene, are you alright?" Thalamus asked, reaching out to touch her neck with his muzzle. The approaching pegasus had frozen at that instant, eyes wide and staring, one hoof held off the ground and wings half raised.

The contact broke the patterns and Luna struggled to her hooves, pushing back the urge to lash out. "Yes, Doctor," she said, voice tight and strangled. "Just a sudden memory; the last few months have been very stressful." She breathed deeply, fighting to clear her mind as she studied the other mare. Celestia, if I am not hallucinating and you really are alive, I'm going to kill you! Her expression went blank.

"Yes, Doctor Thalamus?" the pegasus asked, but her eyes were still on Luna. A complex series of emotions passed over her face, an odd mixture of joy and shame.

Thalamus looked between the pair of mares, brows knitted in confusion. "Ah, right. Sunny, this is Selene, the new mental health practitioner I mentioned. Selene, this is Sunny Skies." He nodded to them both, then cocked his head to one side. "You two aren’t related are you? There's quite a similarity..." He trailed off, taking an unconscious step backwards when both ponies turned to look at him. "Sorry, Selene. I'm not supposed to ask any questions, am I?"

Luna smiled, another cold, mechanical thing, born out of politeness and habit. "Perhaps we are, in some distant way. Sunny, it will be a pleasure working with you. We have much to discuss, I think. Doctor, if you will excuse us?" She turned back to Sunny, but watched from the corner of her eye as the other pony retreated hastily.

'Sunny' was staring at her like a rabbit caught by a gryphon. "Lu--" Mouth obviously dry, she swallowed, casting a nervous glance at the discussion group. "I'm so sorry... I had no idea it would take this long."

"Three months in a cell under the ruins of the Palace. Before that I nearly started a war looking for you." Muscles tensed in Luna's forequarters and she pawed the ground, kicking up a spray of gravel and attracting frightened stares from the closest patients. She turned and trotted away, ponies scattering before her as if repelled, heading for a secluded spot on the grounds. Sunny was right behind her and, as soon as they were out of sight and under one of the larger trees, Luna wheeled to face the pegasus. "How could you do this to me!?"

'Sunny' leaned forward into a tentative nuzzle, but Luna stepped back out of reach. She slumped, wings drooping. "He got to me, at the end. Got inside my head and was trying to pull me apart. I think he was trying to change my mind, to bend it into something more to his liking." She looked away, gaze captured by the leaf litter. "Not fury and rage, like he did to you, but something cold and... mechanical. A machine to torment the world in his name."

Her head came up, tears glittering in her eyes. "I don't think he managed to do anything permanent, but I can't be sure. Couldn't trust my own mind, couldn't think straight, couldn't put myself in a position where another bad decision might ruin lives. So I ran and left you to face the consequences."

Some of Luna's anger subsided and she edged a little closer. "But why didn't you tell me? We could have got through this together--"

"Right now I'm only a little hazy, but back then... I very nearly misjumped. Old memories intruded and I went to the wrong place; I ended up at the site of our last big fight, in the Everfree. That old castle is even more of a ruin now; the gift shop killed my velocity... those stuffed dolls won't be the same again. All I could think of was that I was vulnerable and had to hide... so I did. Changed my form and returned to the capital, but by the time I got here I--" She broke off, breathing fast.

"By that point the Triumvirate had made a bargain. You were gone and they had never really trusted me... my freedom for peace. They said they were searching for you... did they?" Luna took another step closer and Celestia tentatively lowered her head, reaching out to brush the ersatz unicorn's neck with her muzzle, leaning closer when she didn't retreat.

"I think so...but I have massive gaps in my memory. Whole days that are just blank." She shivered, pressing the side of her head against Luna's neck. "That scared me... I thought that whatever he'd done to me was taking hold. What was the other me doing during that time?" She shivered and sniffed, and Luna felt tears soaking into her fur. "My disguise must have held, because nopony took me away."

"They declared you dead," Luna said, throat closing up on the last word. "I... I gave up. Let them do whatever they wanted." She twisted, backing away to look the pegasus in the eyes. "You are obviously better now... so I'll ask you again. Why keep up the ruse?"

"Our ponies had a chance, their first real chance, to look after themselves. If I was dead and you were... in retreat, then they would finally be able to step forwards without being in our shadows." She hung her head, voice dropping to a mutter. "And I wanted out. You had your independence already, but they had me bound in chains of duty and government. That's the one thing he made me realise... that I was so insulated from our ponies that I could no longer act to help them. So I was selfish, and I left you alone." She sniffed, fresh tears running down her muzzle. "I'll never know if those thoughts were mine, or some early manifestation of his plans."

"You did... it's going to be very hard to forgive you for that." Luna sighed and started to nibble at the junction of the pegasus' wing root and shoulder. "I should have known, really. You were always the master at teleportation; the idea that an error in that spell would be the thing to kill you... ridiculous." She closed her eyes, losing herself for a moment in the feeling of fur and feathers between her lips. "...and you always were one to put our ponies' needs before your own -- or mine, for that matter. No more masters, I seem to remember."

"The logical conclusion to all our plans, right from the very beginning. I contacted Topsy and swore her to secrecy, so I could discover where you had gone... and also so she could check up on me. There are security teams watching the centres, in case a unicorn loses control. I left orders about what they were to do if I..." She paused, moving the wing so Luna could get to the underside. "...but obviously I didn't."

I wonder what that team was told? They can't have known the truth. "Who else knew?"

"Just Topsy, and whoever else she thought had to know. That mare lives by the principle of 'two ponies can keep a secret if one of them is dead', so probably nopony."

"Chirr knew -- eventually, anyway. I'm certain that the Triumvirate doesn't."

"Your favourite chiropt? I'm not surprised. I know I've seen one circling, playing tag with the gryphons. I assume they are here for you?"

"They are. That was the deal; if I stay quiet they'll leave me alone." Luna paused in her ministrations, head still buried under the cream wing and frowned. "Tell me... towards the end of my confinement, when they called off the search, I was visited by Haygen, from the Institute. He, more than anypony else, convinced me you were dead. Was that part of your plan?" She resumed grooming, working through the small feathers on the leading edge.

Celestia shifted uncomfortably. "Nothing specific; Topsy wanted to get you out of there as fast as she could... they had to think you had given up."

"You wanted me broken." Luna bit down on Celestia's wing, hard enough to make the other mare inhale sharply. I can be pragmatic, but that felt good. "It worked," she said, relaxing her grip, "that pony has the mind of a dark poet." 

"So what do we do now?" Celestia asked, after a short and uncomfortable silence.

"You stayed here for months, even after you were better... do you like it here? You don't think you'll get bored?"

Celestia was silent for a moment. "I only ever wanted to help ponies, and here I can make a difference. Call your minders; I'll come back with you," she murmured, sounding defeated.

We set them free, and in doing so they have set us free, whether they realise it or not. Luna stepped back, placing her mouth next to the other mare's ear. "You always were the planner, 'Tia, but you are rubbish at mind magic. As if you could ever do this without me." There was a look of dawning joy on the pegasus' face, and Luna snorted and butted the other mare with the side of her head. "Back? Why in Tartarus would we go back?" She smiled, her first genuine smile in a long time.