Arc and his friends appear on the sigil in the Main Hall. Rainbow Dash frowns as she tugs at her dress.
“I still don’t like wearing this thing!”
Twilight turns to her. “It’s only for a few days.”
Pinkie bounces around. “Come on, Dashie! We all look so colorful now!”
Applejack sighs. “Well, I’m with Rainbow Dash on this one.”
Rarity smiles at them. “But you all look wonderful!”
Fluttershy blushes slightly. “Thank you. Your dresses are very nice, Rarity. But I’m not looking forward to this meeting.”
Arc sighs. “Neither am I. But the princesses can’t really do this on their own.”
They arrive at Arc’s quarters. The guards part to allow them to enter. Twilight smiles and walks over to the couch.
“Cadance? Where’s your dress?”
As she approaches her friend, Twilight notices she has apparently dozed off. She nudges her friend affectionately.
“Come on. Time to wake up.”
The alicorn’s eyes slowly open as she turns to look up at Twilight. Cadance’s eyes appear unfocused as they rest on the purple unicorn before her..
“Huh…?”
“You must be pushing yourself too hard. We found you asleep”
“Where… am I?”
Twilight look her friend in the eye. “Cadance? What…?
The pink alicorn’s eyes drift slowly around the room as Twilight slowly takes a step back.
“Arc! I… I think something’s wrong with Cadance!”
Arc and the others rush over as Twilight steps aside. He frowns and pats Cadance’s face.
“Princess Cadance? Can you hear me?”
Her head slowly moves to look around the room as she slurs her words. “Wha…? Where… where is… Twily…?”
“I’m right here, Cadance! Somepony get help!”
Rainbow Dash hurries toward the door. “I’m on it!”
Arc turns around. “Wait!”
Rainbow Dash screeches to a stop. She turns and raises an eyebrow.
“Come again?”
Fluttershy looks at the princess. “We need to help her!”
Arc continues to look Cadance over. “I don’t see any marks on her. Everyone stay here and don’t let her get up.”
Rarity frowns. “What?!”
“I think I know what’s going on. Just wait here.”
Arc hurries over to his Bedroom. He knocks lightly. Hearing no response he quietly steps inside. Luna is sitting on the floor leaning against the dresser. Arc kneels down in front of her quickly.
“Luna? Can you hear me?”
The Princess of the Night does not open her eyes, but makes a few light moans. Arc touches his earring.
“Arc to Rose.”
“Go ahead, Arc.”
“I need to see Shining Armor aboard The Equinox as soon as possible.”
Rose sounds confused. “Your ship? But my sensors show you to be inside the base.”
“Trust me, Rose. Arc out.”
He severs the connection and casts the Matter Compacting spell. When Luna is roughly the size of a filly he stops casting and carefully picks her up. Returning to the Living Room the others look to him clearly frightened. Rarity gasps.
“Princess Luna as well?!”
Fluttershy cowers behind Twilight. “What is going on here?!”
Arc frowns. “I’m not fully sure. But we need to get these two over to The Equinox for some tests.”
He raises a hand to Cadance. She begins to shrink as well. Finishing his spell Arc turns to the others.
“Can someone carry her please?”
Rainbow Dash nods soberly. “I got her.”
Twilight shakes her head. “No. I’ll carry her.”
Applejack nods. “I’ll help you.”
She carefully puts Cadance on Twilight’s back as Arc opens a portal and turns to the others.
“Follow me.”
Passing through the swirling energies they arrive in Arc’s room aboard The Equinox. Twilight runs toward the door.
“We’ll get you some help, Cadance! Just hang on!”
“Wait, Twilight!”
Twilight stops and turns to Arc. “Huh?”
Arc walks over to the bed with Luna in his arms.
“Bring her over here.”
Twilight frowns as she does so. “What?! But aren’t we going to get them some help?!”
“We are.”
He touches his earring.
“Arc to Lemon Hearts.”
“Go ahead, sir.”
“I need to see Nurse Redheart alone in my quarters aboard ship right away for an emergency physical examination.”
“Right away, sir.”
“Thank you, Arc out.”
Rarity turns to him as she covers Luna with a blanket. “What is going on here?!”
Pinkie looks the princesses over. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were drunk!”
Applejack frowns. “They certainly look to be.”
Twilight shakes her head as she covers her friend. “Cadance would never let herself go this far!”
Arc sighs. “I’m really hoping Redheart can give us some insight into this. Can someone please go to the Main Hatch and make sure Shining Armor comes here instead of heading to the Infirmary?”
Applejack raises a hoof. “I’ll go.”
As she opens the door to leave Nurse Redheart arrives and hurries over to Arc.
“I came as quickly as I could, sir. What seems to be the…?”
Redheart stops dead in her tracks as she sees both princesses lying in the bed.
“What in Equestria…?”
“Nurse, please.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
She walks over as Arc casts the counter spell on the princesses. They return to their normal size as Redheart gets to work.
“What happened?!”
Rarity shrugs. “We found them like this!”
Arc nods. “From what I can tell, they’re conscious, but only semi-aware of what’s going on around them.”
Redheart leans in close to Cadance’s face. “Have they been drinking? I smell alcohol on their breath.”
Twilight shakes her head. “Cadance wouldn’t have gotten so tipsy she couldn’t move. But I’m sure Shining Armor will know for sure.”
Applejack and Shining Armor enter the room.
“Sir, you wanted to see…”
He spots Cadance and immediately rushes over to her nearly, knocking Redheart over, and takes her hoof in his.
“What happened?!”
Rainbow Dash sighs. “No idea!”
Pinkie sighs. “We were hoping you knew.”
Arc nods. “Pinkie’s right. Why don’t we start with last night?”
“Well, the diplomats wanted to celebrate… uh… not dying, I guess. Princess Luna ordered champagne be served along with some light refreshments.”
Rarity frowns. “This is difficult to ask, but how much did they drink?”
Rainbow Dash nods as she looks at the state of the monarchs. “Right. They’re really out of it.”
“One glass each.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“Very. Princess Luna made a special point about wanting to keep a level head during the evening.”
Twilight turns to her brother. “What about Cadance?”
“Like I said, just one during the initial toast Princess Luna raised.”
Arc turns to Applejack. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but how powerful is the alcohol here in Equestria?”
“The stuff we make at Sweet Apple Acres will mess you up good if you’re not careful. But that fancy stuff is certainly nowhere near as potent as my family’s cider.”
Rainbow Dash drools slightly. “Anyone else thirsty?”
Pinkie frowns at her. “Somehow I get the feeling now isn’t the time for that.”
Arc nods. “Right. Now were you with them all night, Shining Armor?”
“I stood guard outside your quarters, sir.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “All night?”
“No, sir. I had my guards take over for me before first light so I could sleep. But I did not leave.”
“What? How…?”
“I slept in the corridor, Twilight.”
Rarity thinks for a moment. “Could somepony have snuck by you?”
“Not likely. I’m a very light sleeper. That and the other guards there on duty would have seen them.”
Twilight nods. “My brother is right about that. When I was a filly, every time I would try to sneak to the Kitchen in the night for a snack he’d catch me.”
Applejack frowns. “There were guards outside the window and door though, right?”
“Yes. I set a schedule for two hour shifts.”
Fluttershy looks to him, nervously. “Could they have fallen asleep, or wandered off?”
Shining Armor shakes his head. “Not a chance. They were my best and most trusted 10soldiers. I wasn’t taking chances on a rookie mistake.”
Twilight turns to Arc. “Maybe Rose’s scanners picked something up.”
“Good idea. Let’s find out.”
Arc touches his earring.
“Arc to Rose.”
“Rose here.”
“Did anyone enter my quarters in Light’s Hope last night.”
“Yes.”
“What?! Who?!”
“Captain Shining Armor and the princesses.”
“Okay. Other than him and the princesses.”
“No.”
“How about outside the windows. Anything there?”
“Not even a robin.”
Arc sighs. “Alright. Thanks, Rose.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you about it later though. Arc out.”
He touches his earring and severs the connection.
“Nothing.”
Pinkie taps her forehead with a hoof. “What about invisible enemies?! OH! Or really small ones!”
Twilight shakes her head. “No. Rose’s upgraded scanners allow her to pick up cloaked life forms.”
Rarity turns to Twilight. “What if they were invisible AND not alive?”
Applejack gasps. “Like a robot?”
Fluttershy runs to hide behind Rainbow Dash. “EEP!”
“Even that should have been picked up. Trust me, nothing got past her.”
Rainbow Dash grins. “Wait a second! I think I got it!”
Arc turns to her. “Good. What is it?”
“Nopony could have gotten past Rose’s sensors, right?!”
Twilight nods. “Right.”
“Isn’t it obvious? She must’ve LET somepony in!”
Rarity glares at her friend. “Rainbow Dash! That’s Twilight’s creation you’re talking about!”
Rainbow Dash shrugs. “Well… maybe somepony reprogramed her!”
Pinkie shakes her head. “Wouldn’t somepony have seen them do it?! I mean, she’s been in Arc’s office for days now!”
“Right. That and I’m certain Twilight took precautions to see to it that couldn’t happen.”
Twilight nods. “Right. Only you and I can change her directives, Arc.”
She turns and glares at Rainbow Dash.
“Unless you think I did it!”
Rainbow Dash sighs. “Sorry.”
Arc thinks for a moment. “Okay. Let assume that no one got into the room. How about last night’s gathering then?”
Shining Armor turns to him. “Just the other guests were there along with a handful of servants.”
Rarity looks to Arc soberly. “Maybe we should speak to them.”
Arc nods. “It’s all we have at the moment.”
Redheart clears her throat.
“I’ve completed my preliminary analysis, sir.”
“Find anything?”
“No physical trauma. However that’s complicated by the fact they’re alicorns.”
Pinkie nods. “Yeah! They would’ve healed up by now, right?”!
Twilight shudders. “Yes. After all, Cadance regenerated pretty quickly from stabbing herself with a spear.”
Redheart opens her black bag and removes two syringes as she turns to Shining Armor.
“Sir, with your permission I’d like to take some blood samples.”
Shining Armor looks confused. “My permission?”
“With the princesses unable to speak for themselves you must be the one to make decisions for them.”
“Of course. Anything to figure out what’s wrong with Cadance.”
Arc turns to the bed. Luna and Cadance are looking around, dazed.
“Can they hear us?”
“Most likely. Whether or not they understand is anypony’s guess though.”
Shining Armor holds Cadance’s hoof as he looks into her unfocused eyes. “Cadance. If you can hear me, I’m going to make sure you’re made whole again.”
She looks away and begins to drool slightly. Twilight levitates a tissues over to her friend and wipes her mouth.
“This is hard to watch.”
Arc grimaces. “Agreed. We can’t let anyone see them like this. They’d be humiliated.”
Fluttershy shudders. “But what about the summit?”
Shining Armor sighs. “We have no choice but to cancel it.”
Rainbow Dash gasps. “What?! But everypony’s getting along really well!”
Applejack nods with conviction. “Right. We might not get another chance.”
Rarity turns to Shining Armor. “Yes. When they hear about the state of the princesses they’ll be too frightened to ever come back.”
“That may be. But the summit can’t go on as it stands.”
Twilight sighs. “I suppose that’s right.”
Arc turns to Redheart. “Is there any chance all they need is some bedrest?”
Redheart shakes her head as she puts the filled syringes in a case. “It’s too early to tell, sir. But my gut reaction to this situation says no. If you’ll excuse me though, I need to get to work analyzing these samples.”
“Alright. Let me know the moment you discover anything.”
“Yes sir.”
Shining Armor puts Cadance’s hoof back under the covers and sighs as Redheart leaves the room. He whispers to her.
“I’ll be right back.”
Cadance looks at the wall behind him as Shining Armor walks over to Arc and removes his helmet before kneeling respectfully.
“What are your orders… Lord Regent?”
“Huh?”
“With both princesses out of commission, you now rule the land again. Unless you refuse, that is.”
Arc shudders. “I really don’t want to do that job again.”
“Understandable, sir. I know you have painful memories associated with that time. Shall I take the mantle of Lord Regent?”
Twilight gasps. “Wait a minute, brother! Are you volunteering to lead the country?!”
“Somepony has to. I suppose Sunburst could do it when we get back to Canterlot.”
Shining Armor sighs.
“Might I speak freely, sir?”
“Please do.”
“I… honestly don’t believe I’m capable of leading our nation as you did in the past. That and there’s still the matter of the summit. You have the respect of every ruler in Light’s Hope. I don’t.”
Rainbow Dash nods. “He does raise a good point.”
Applejack smiles at Arc. “And you did a great job last time.”
Rarity giggles. “That and you filled out your raiments wonderfully.”
Fluttershy looks to her. “What do you mean?”
Rarity blushes as everyone turns to her.
“Oh! I, uh…”
Twilight clears her throat. “I think what Rarity’s means is Arc had the look of a ruler back then.”
“Y-yes! Of course!”
Arc sighs. “Alright. I’ll take care of things for now.”
Shining Armor nods. “Yes sir. That’s for the best.”
Pinkie grins. “What should we do first, LORD Arc?!”
“The princesses continued safety and recovery is our primary concern. However, we can’t do anything else for them until Nurse Redheart gives us something to go on. So in the meantime I want to know who did this to them and why.”
Rainbow Dash frowns. “The ‘why’ part is pretty obvious. Somepony didn’t want this whole thing to happen!”
Applejack sighs. “Makes sense. But who?”
Arc walks over to the window and looks out. “One thing’s for certain. Whoever did this must be in Light’s Hope.”
Twilight gasps. “That’s right! Rose would’ve detected somepony trying to leave and raised the alarm!”
Fluttershy looks to Twilight nervously. “So you’re saying the culprit is hiding in the base?!”
Arc frowns. “Yes. Or more likely… they’re one of the diplomats themselves.”
Shining Armor sighs. “That would make sense. Our own support staff and guards were personally vetted by both myself and Princess Luna.”
Rainbow Dash grimaces. “So it HAS to be one of the leaders!”
Rarity sighs. “Yes. But whom?”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “It could be any of them really.”
Shining Armor sighs. “Or none.”
Arc clenches a fist as he looks to the bed. “Let’s hope for that, Shining Armor. But either way, SOMEONE hurt the princesses. So I’m going to hurt THEM!”
Twilight steps forward. “We’ll help you any way we can, Arc.”
“Thanks everyone. First we should probably interview everyone inside and get their side of the story.”
Fluttershy looks at the others in their dresses. “Um… so… should we change first?”
Arc nods. “I suppose so. But keep those Elements handy just in case.”
Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow. “Uh… why?”
Rarity moves to join her. “Yes. They can’t be used to hurt anypony.”
“Right. But the guests don’t know that. With any luck we can use that to our advantage. Now I want all of you get changed and meet me back here as soon as you can.”
Applejack gestures to his attire. “You going to change out of those clothes, Arc?”
“Sadly, no. As the Lord Regent… again… I have to keep up appearances.”
Rainbow Dash flies toward the door. “Great! I can’t wait to get out of this thing!”
Rarity hurries after the blue pegasus. “Careful! Don’t wrinkle it!”
Twilight hurries toward the door. “Come on, girls. Let’s get moving.”
The mares leave the room together. Arc turns to Shining Armor who is staring at Cadance.
“Shining Armor. I want you to stay here and watch over the princesses.”
“But what about the investigation?!”
“I’ll take care of it personally. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
“Yes sir.”
“Head to the Bridge and tell Lieutenant Trixie to station as many guards as she can spare outside this room. I’ll watch over them while you’re gone.”
Shining Armor silently nods and leaves the room. Arc walks over to the princesses and pulls the covers back. Sighing, he removes their hoof protectors and chest plates. Putting them safely on the table he turns back and carefully covers them back up before slowly removing their crowns.
“I’m really sorry about this you two. Taking your crowns… it just doesn’t feel right!”
Cadance’s head flops from side to side as Luna touches the tip of her own nose with her tongue. Arc takes Luna’s hoof in his hand and gives it a quick squeeze.
“I don’t know if you can understand me or not, Luna. But… we’re going to figure this out. I promise. Twilight and her friends will be helping me, so you’ll be back to normal in no time.”
Cadance makes a face and burps loudly.
“You too, Princess Cadance. Just rest now and don’t worry about a thing.”
She looks all around for something.
“Don’t worry. Shining Armor will be back in a bit. I’ll look after you until then.”
A short time later Shining Armor returns and approaches the bed.
“She’ll have guards over here in a few minutes.”
“Did you tell her why?”
Shining Armor shakes his head. “No sir. I only said it was on your orders.”
“Thank you. The princesses deserve better than the guards gossiping about their condition.”
Shining Armor walks over to the bedside and takes Cadance’s hoof.
“I’m right here. You’re not alone.”
“She seemed to become agitated when you left.”
“Sir?”
“Her eyes were blankly searching for something. She didn’t stop until you walked over just now.”
Shining Armor hangs his head. “She must be very disappointed in me.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “How do you figure that?”
“Somepony was able to get to both of them. I failed in my duty.”
“Not necessarily. We don’t have any idea how this was done. I’m guessing you couldn’t have stopped this even if you knew about it.”
Shining Armor sighs and shakes his head. “I never should have left them.”
“Left?”
“This morning Princess Luna told me to take a walk and check on security. She wanted to have a private conversation with Cadance.”
“Something wrong with that?”
“No. After all, they do spend quite a bit of time alone together every day talking about matters of great importance.”
Shining Armor’s eyes grow wide.
“I just thought of something! They were fine when I brought them breakfast!”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes! But doesn’t that exonerate the other leaders?”
“Not really. I mean, they could have done something covertly. Maybe even magically.”
“But wouldn’t Rose’s scanners have picked that up?”
“They should have, yes. But if it was some kind of unknown magic… maybe not.”
Shining Armor frowns. “The other nation’s leaders might have some magical powers we don’t even know about.”
Arc sighs as he turns back to the bed. “I’ll admit it’s kinda an out there idea. But at this point I’m not dismissing anything.”