//------------------------------// // Chapter 29: Awakening 1 // Story: Piece by Piece // by Eltirions //------------------------------// 13 December 1008  By the Stars, what did I do last night? That was Rarity’s first thought. Her second thought was a realisation, namely the realisation that she was in bed, without even the faintest of clues as to how she’d got there. Yawning in a manner that was rather undignified for someone of her status, she tried to recall any details of the past night… ‘’Morning, Rares!’’ ‘’Stars!’’ Rarity exclaimed, shooting up in bed. ‘’Rainbow, what-’’ Rainbow was sitting next to her, grinning lazily. ‘’What what, Rares?’’ ‘’What happened last night?’’ ‘’Well, we were out on the balcony, and then we were kissing, and then-’’ It all came back to Rarity at that moment. The kissing on the balcony, being momentarily distracted by the guard, more kissing, and then- ‘’And you did this thing with your-’’ ‘’That’s enough!’’ Rarity yelped, blushing up a storm. ‘’I quite remember now!’’ Rainbow smirked. ‘’I can see that,’’ she quipped, before spreading her wings. ‘’So, up for another round?’’ ‘’Darling, it’s…’’ Rarity’s eyes searched and found the clock on the wall, ‘’almost eight in the morning!’’ ‘’And we have nothing planned, right? Not for a while anyway.’’ ‘’No, but Flurry will be here soon!’’ ‘’Actually, she already came by, just a few minutes ago. I told her that she would have to wait at least an hour.’’ Rainbow eyed Rarity suggestively, and damn her if it wasn’t working. ‘’Plenty of time, wouldn’t you agree?’’ ‘’I…’’ It was oh so very inviting, and only getting more so every moment as more and more of last night came back to her. She shuddered involuntarily as one particularly vivid experience drifted to the forefront of her mind. ‘’Is that a yes or a no?’’ Rainbow asked. If Rarity didn’t know better, she’d say Rainbow was enjoying this. ‘’Rainbow, we can’t just do this,’’ Rarity finally said. ‘’I enjoyed last night, make no mistake, but…’’ But what? She gestured helplessly with her hoof. ‘’Do you know what I mean?’’ Rainbow watched her for a moment. ‘’I do,’’ she replied. ‘’And I guess you’re right… We’re not exactly in the position where we can just slip in and out of each other’s bed.’’ ‘’Crudely put, but yes,’’ Rarity agreed. ‘’And I don’t think either of us wants that either.’’ ‘’Not with you, no,’’ Rainbow said. She moved a bit closer to Rarity, laying down next to her. ‘’I…’’ Nothing followed, and they were silent for a minute or so. Which suited Rarity just fine, as it gave her the minimal time required to fully start up her brain and think on what she was going to say next; both actions she desperately needed to perform so she could manoeuvre through this delicate situation without fucking anything up. ‘’I’ll just say it out loud,’’ Rainbow finally broke the silence. ‘’I think I’m falling in love with you.’’ ‘’I… think I am as well, darling.’’ Saying it out loud felt… weird and right at the same time. That was about all Rarity could realise before Rainbow was kissing her again, and everything derailed from there. |-x-X-x-| 13 December 1008 Sweetie’s eyes blinked open to see bright lights and an even brighter ceiling. Said ceiling dimmed a few seconds later to a more manageable shade of white. She was laying in a bed; that was what she noticed next about her environment. Then a black face appeared, diamond-shaped pupils looking down at her, obscuring the light.  ‘’I trust everything is all right?’’ Nightmare Moon asked. ‘’Feels like it,’’ Sweetie replied before she even fully realised it. ‘’Is she gone?’’ Nightmare Moon nodded, before pulling her head back to the side of the bed. ‘’I have purged all traces of Twilight’s magic from you,’’ she confirmed. ‘’And you appear to be in fine health otherwise. If I were a medical professional, I’d pronounce you free to go.’’ ‘’Well that’s reassuring.’’ Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. ‘’You’re mouthier than I expected.’’ Sweetie held the alicorn’s gaze, despite her internal realisation that maybe speaking to the being who’d just saved her flank and who was now the empress of all Equestria wasn’t the brightest idea she’d ever had. But she’d said her words, and she wasn’t taking them back. ‘’Not to worry; I don’t mind,’’ Nightmare Moon said a moment later, before casting a critical look at the bed. ‘’If you are ready for it, I will have some food delivered. You have been knocked out for almost 24 hours, a fact I imagine your stomach will soon catch up to.’’ Sweetie didn’t really have a reply for that, so she just nodded. ‘’Your friends have already been awakened; they are in different rooms,’’ Nightmare Moon continued. ‘’If I am not mistaken, they are already eating; perhaps they are already finished, even. Once you’re done eating, I’d suggest you take a shower and then go and visit them. Assuming they haven’t visited you by that point, of course.’’ ‘’And then what?’’ ‘’I would like to speak with you all today, but not for a few hours,’’ Nightmare Moon replied. ‘’Agent Twinkle Flower awoke out of himself about an hour ago and informed me of what exactly had transpired, but I would like to hear your account of it as well, if only for posterity. Following that, I would like to talk further with you three, and especially with you, Sweetie.’’ ‘’Me?’’ Belatedly, Sweetie recalled that Twinkle had originally been assigned to her because Nightmare Moon wanted to meet her in Crystal City. ‘’Indeed.’’ ‘’Why?’’ Sweetie could think of a few reasons; most of them involved Rarity. Perhaps Nightmare Moon wanted to take her hostage? Use her as a bargaining chip to ensure Rarity stayed loyal. Or maybe she wanted to use Sweetie as a propaganda tool; the Crusaders were somewhat-known, especially in the Heartlands.  Nightmare Moon’s face was inscrutable, as silence filled the air. It dragged on for a while - there was no clock in sight, so Sweetie had no way of tracking the time beyond guessing, but it was at least a minute by her estimate - before the dark alicorn spoke again. ‘’In case you are unaware, the position of Imperial Magician is currently filled by one Sunset Shimmer, a former student of my sister's,’’ she said. ‘’However, there is also a need to fill the position of Imperial Magician in the Crystal Empire, who aside from performing the standard duties belonging to said title would also be responsible for the magical education of my niece. I have decided that Sunset will be reassigned to handle this task.’’ Sweetie had no idea where the fuck she was going with this, but interested and with nothing better to do, she continued listening regardless. ‘’Of course,’’ Nightmare Moon continued, ‘’That means the title of Imperial Magician of the Lunar Empire will become available. And, to my regret, there are no good candidates for the role. Equestria has barely any mages with both a great deal of power and an equally-great knowledge of magic left. So, I am forced to look for other options.’’ Nightmare Moon’s gaze, which had been wandering around the room, fell squarely upon Sweetie. ‘’Provided you agree, I would have you be trained to take up the title.’’ What. Completely flabbergasted, Sweetie could barely keep her mouth from falling open. ‘’What?’’ ‘’Allow me to explain my reasoning,’’ Nightmare Moon offered. Before Sweetie could reply to that, she went on: ‘’I have reviewed Luna’s memories of the times she met you, and I spoke about you with Rarity as well during the war. Both my own observations and hers agree that you have above-average magical potential, more perhaps than Rarity herself, who is no slouch in that department. Another factor, perhaps even more important to me than your power per se, is that you are untrained.’’ ‘’How the Tartarus is that a benefit?’’ ‘’There are many magical schools around Equestria,’’ Nightmare Moon replied, ‘’but they all teach magic per the law, and per established traditions and guidelines which have existed for centuries, barely updated throughout the years. There might be potential there, but I would have to spend months untraining the things learned there. You, on the other hoof, have barely had any training with magic beyond the basics. This will make teaching you much easier.’’ ‘’Wait, wait, wait- you’re going to be teaching me?’’ ‘’Not always, but yes. Of course, my priorities as a ruler come first, and so I will arrange for a tutor - or several - to take my place when I am busy. But still, I do plan to give the majority of your lessons myself.’’ Sweetie had no idea what to say, but before she would have to reply to the information Nightmare Moon had just dropped on her, there was a knock on the door. ‘’Enter!’’ Nightmare Moon called. The door opened, and a Night Guard stepped in. ‘’Your Majesty, there is a communique from the Captain in Manehattan, regarding the prison riot last evening.’’ ‘’Very well.’’ Nightmare Moon looked back at Sweetie. ‘’Food will arrive shortly. Find your friends afterwards, and think about what I said. We will speak more later today.’’ And she vanished into a starry mist, darting out of the room before Sweetie could catch more than a glimpse of her. She sank back into the bed, thoroughly dazzled. What in the name of Caepasia just happened? |-x-X-x-| 13 December 1008 Shrouded had happily retired after leaving the Commander and the Governess to their carnal activities, and was now enjoying breakfast in the rooms the Night Guard had been given in the hotel. They weren’t quite as luxurious as the rooms of the Governess and the Princess, but still a good deal better than the barracks. There was nothing interesting in the newspaper, and so Shrouded had readily discarded it. Besides, even if there had been some actual news in the paper, he was too focused on savouring a breakfast of exemplary quality.  The door opened, and Darkheart entered, carrying a copy of the same newspaper Shrouded had laying on his table under his left wing and a cup of coffee in his right wing. ‘’Good morning, Shrouded.’’ ‘’Good morning, sir,’’ Shrouded replied, looking up from his breakfast for a moment. ‘’Already eaten?’’ ‘’Just got back from the dinner room,’’ Darkheart confirmed as he sat himself down at the table. ‘’Finished as quickly as possible. Too many rich people staring at me.’’ Shrouded could sympathise. ‘’You could have just ordered room service,’’ he pointed out regardless, because while he could sympathise he also wasn’t above pointing out the obvious when it suited him. Darkheart made a noise that could charitably be interpreted as an affirmative grunt. ‘’Unlike some, I’m not a lazy slob.’’ ‘’The room is just down the stairs,’’ Shrouded pointed out. ‘’One minute, tops.’’ ‘’All the more reason to go there,’’ Darkheart shot back, and that was fair. ‘’Drink your coffee,’’ Shrouded retorted with a chuckle. ‘’You’re not yourself when you haven’t had one.’’ Darkheart made another unintelligible noise, before taking a large sip out of his mug. ‘’Well at least the coffee is good here.’’ ‘’It costs 25 Bits,’’ Shrouded deadpanned, ‘’it had better be.’’ ‘’Fair,’’ Darkheart chuckled. He took another sip. ‘’So, I hear that the Governess and the Commander finally got it on?’’ ‘’Right in front of me,’’ Shrouded confirmed. ‘’Damn it all,’’ Darkheart grumbled. ‘’How much did you win?’’ Of course the other stallion would know about the betting pool. ‘’I’m not sure, truth be told,’’ Shrouded replied. ‘’Some of the staff in the Palace were also involved, if I remember correctly; I won’t know how much I’ve earned until we get back.’’ ‘’Well, good on you,’’ Darkheart complemented. ‘’Now, I think I am going to get more coffee once I’ve finished this mug. You up for that as well, or are you going to laze about here all day?’’ ‘’I’ll come along,’’ Shrouded replied, ‘’if only because I need to stretch my legs a little.’’ ‘’L-a-z-y.’’ ‘’I’m never going to live this down, am I?’’ ‘’Not a chance in Tartarus.’’