Thunder Strike slowly opened his eyes, and immediately knew that something was very wrong.
He was standing in the middle of a hallway he recognized as being one in the west wing of the palace, but it wasn't his station for the day.
He was standing in the middle of the hallway like some tourist, rather than where his post would otherwise be if this had been his issued assignment.
The colors weren't right. They were dingy and washed out rather than bright and vibrant, like he was trying to look through a smoky haze that'd clogged his vision. It wasn't smog, as there was no foul odor of charcoal or sulfur, but there was definitely a variable that made his surroundings look dull and lifeless.
"This isn't Discord's work, he favors bright and vibrant colors that clash with one another. This is far to blasé to be his doing," he noted as he scanned his surroundings. "so what factor am I seeing here?"
He knew that something was wrong, just not what that something was. And he knew that if he didn't recognize what the problem was, he should immediately report the matter to a superior.
But first he had to find a superior in order to report to. And he knew that he wasn't about to find one just standing around here. So without further hesitation on the matter he turned in the direction that would take him back to the center of the palace and set off in a gallop.
Doing so, he nearly ran headlong into Princess Luna standing behind him.
Stopping forward travel in time to avoid colliding with her wasn't a possibility at his speed; even if he face planted into the ground, he still would've ended up slamming into her at full force. So instead he did the one thing that he could do in the available moment and tucked his right legs in to unbalance and tip himself while pushing with his left legs to send himself toppling to the side to avoid her, before tucking into the roll to quickly get back onto his hooves in order to throw her a salute.
"Apologies, Your Highness!"
Luna returned the salute. "Apology accepted, Lieutenant, but please be at ease."
He nodded and slowly lowered his hoof to the ground again, but continued to remain standing at attention regardless.
"I suppose that is better," she sighed, "but that is not important at the moment. Right now I am simply relieved to be seeing you right now. I was getting quite worried."
"I don't understand, Your Highness," he admitted.
"I suppose that is to be expected. But rest assured I will do my best to explain the situation before us, Lieutenant," Luna assured him. "You have been unconscious for over fifteen hours. Not merely sleeping but outright unconscious, trapped within a dreamless state. I have been trying to make contact with you for the last hour, and have been wholly unable to do such. I actually had to wait for you to reach a point of merely being asleep in order to get here," she explained.
"I apologize, Your-"
Thunder's attempt at an apology was silence as Luna gently pressed her right forehoof against his lips and shook her head.
"You have no need to apologize for something that is far outside of your control. And especially not while you are dreaming. Rarely do ponies have any control over the when or what they dream about, Lieutenant, and even then that control is extremely limited," she explained calmly before removing her hoof from his mouth.
He nearly apologized yet again, but stopped himself and simply nodded in understanding.
"Your Highness, what exactly happened? Why am I here? Why was I unconscious? Did... did the changelings invade us again? Did I get cocooned a third time so I couldn't sound the alarm?"
Luna shook her head in response. "Nothing quite of THAT magnitude, Lieutenant, but whatever did happen is certainly not good. We are still trying to piece together all of the details to get an accurate picture, but what we do know is that you were found in the showers this morning, unconscious, injured, and freezing. For a while we were not even certain you could be saved. Had Lieutenant Slam Fire not found you when she did, we might not even be having this conversation right now."
The vague implication that he'd been so close to death without even realizing it sent an unconscious shiver down Thunder's back and underneath his armor. Somehow it being alluded to rather than outright stated had made it even more uncomfortable to hear. But as uncomfortable as that had thought had been, something else was sticking out in his mind at the moment. Something that felt a bit more pressing and worth addressing.
"Your Highness, you said that I was found this morning?"
Luna nodded. "Correct."
"But you also said I was found by Lieutenant Fire. But she's on the morning shift, just like I am. She wouldn't have found me in the showers until the late afternoon at the earliest when her shift ended," he stated.
"Lieutenant, I just informed you that you were almost dead when you were found," Luna stated slowly as she tried to emphasize the last part. "Ponies usually react much more physically, even viscerally, when they find out they were so close to meeting their end."
"I apologize, Your Highness, I'll be sure to do better in the future," he replied quickly.
"Lieutenant that is not what I-" she stated, before giving up and letting out a frustrated sigh. "I did not mean that I expected you to react in such a manner. You are free to take the news however you wish. I simply did not anticipate your reaction to be one of asking about your coworkers and their respective schedules."
Thunder nearly apologized yet again, but one look at the expression on Luna's face was enough to put an end to that endeavor before it could even be attempted. Leaving him simply standing there, silently and still at attention.
"No matter. Lieutenant, you apparently have quite the reputation when it comes to being punctual; to the point those I have spoken with have said they could set their watch by you. When you did not report to receive your assignment this morning, your fellow guards knew that something was amiss and began searching for you. I cannot say for certain just how many guards were involved in the search, as I have not been privy to such details and did not witness if for myself. But to hear others talk, makes it sound like the entire morning shift was turning the palace upside down as they tried to find you," Luna continued.
"That's to be expected, we're taught at the Academy to be vigilant of anything out of place. We're tasked with ensuring pony's safety. If we see something we're supposed to respond accordingly; investigate, alert, and respond. Otherwise ponies could die," he stated.
"Of course. As to be expected..." Luna replied slowly, almost sounding annoyed as she spoke.
"Your Highness," he spoke up slowly, "is there anything that I can be told about my condition? I remember slipping in the shower, but I don't understand how that would be enough to leave me practically dead."
"I wish that was possible at the moment, Lieutenant, but I cannot tell you anything," Luna replied as she shook her head. But she was quick to follow up and continue. "Not because you do not deserve to know, but because even I do not have that information. The doctors at Canterlot General Hospital have yet to inform us of the cause of your predicament."
Canterlot General Hospital? Had he really just heard her right? One little slipping in the shower had been enough to land him in the hospital, practically on death's door?
That couldn't be right. Something very confusing -and concerning- was going on around here, and it didn't seem like anypony had a clue exactly what that something was. That really didn't sit right with him. That didn't sit right at all, and he had to do something about it.
"Your Highness, you have power over sleep, right? Can you wake me up in the real world? I'd like to assist in the investigation however I can."
"I am sorry, Lieutenant, but I cannot do that. I may watch over the dream realm, but I have no control over when and how ponies sleep. Even if I did, your body is currently under heavy sedation so you do not stir and injure yourself further. Even if I could awaken you, I am afraid it would leave you trapped inside your body and unable to do anything but listen," Luna explained and shook her head.
He would agree, finding himself in such a position didn't sound particularly pleasant to experience. It sounded downright maddening. Given the choice, being in a dream he couldn't wake from was definitely the preferable option to trying to fight against sedation.
"I admire your dedication and sense of duty, Lieutenant, but you are simply in no condition to be doing anything but rest right now. Your body does not even have enough mana to power the spell that would heal your broken leg, the doctors instead had to wrap it in a cast."
That wasn't a statement he'd been prepared to hear. Had his efforts at healing himself failed because of not having enough mana to fuel the spells, rather than being a matter of simply not being able to focus his magic at the time? And if that was the case, what did that really mean for him? What was he supposed to do, just laying here in bed, unconscious with a broken leg and no magic? What good was he as a Guard to anypony right now?
"Rest, Lieutenant," Luna instructed. "Do not concern yourself with matters beyond your control. Your dedication to service and strength of character are admirable qualities, but even the strong need to be helped. Let us deal with these matters while you heal."
Thunder tried to speak up, but no words would come. As much as he wanted to insist that there had to be something that he could do, something that would allow him to contribute, something that would prove he wasn't useless to them, nothing would come. No retort, or denial, or refusal could get past the look she was giving him right now, with an expression that was practically daring him to try and deny the facts that'd been laid before him.
He had been rendered useless to any of them, and there was nothing that he could do about it other than accept his fate for what it was.
"As you command, Your Highness..."
The hour was quite late, but Celestia had found herself unable to contemplate resting right now, consumed by a gnawing sense of anxiousness as she paced about her office. All the while wishing that she had some sort of distraction upon which she could focus the nervous energy that presently possessed her.
She didn't recall exactly when the news about Thunder Strike's predicament had reached her. Nor did she care to try and remember when she'd first heard, as it would only add to her anxiety.
Sitting on her haunches in the middle of the room was Luna, eyes closed, horn alight and head held up, doing whatever it was that she did when it came to dreamwalking. All the while never saying a word as she sat still as a statue. Were it not for the occasional rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, she might've been mistaken for a statue.
Joining their little duet was a pony who was obviously just as tired as she herself was, but who didn't have the benefit of an alicorn's constitution on her side.
A casual observer would be forgiven for thinking that Spitfire of the Wonderbolts was currently in their company, as there was more than a little similarity between the two ponies. Both were pegasi, with almost identical fur/feather colorings to them, perhaps enough to suggest a familial connection existed between the two when one simply wasn't there. The only real way to tell them apart if they ever stood side-by-side was to look carefully at their individual mane styles, and see if they were looking into either orange eyes or green eyes.
Lieutenant Slam Fire had been the one to find Thunder Strike this morning as he laid in the showers, unconscious, badly injured, and trembling under the constant stream of cold water that'd soaked him to the bones for who knew how long.
She was also arguably the one responsible for making it possible to save his life, literally hoisting the unconscious stallion up onto her back -nearly buckling under his weight- and galloping as fast as her legs would carry them to the infirmary, and all but plowing through the swinging doors and collapsing after crossing over the threshold.
She might've been able to keep a stony, expressionless face as well as any guard, but her body language did much to convey just how anxious she was, despite her own exhausted state. Frankly the only thing keeping her awake right now was said anxiousness, and a stubborn unwillingness to go to bed until she had word on his condition.
"It could be two in the morning before we receive any word, Lieutenant," Celestia gently warned her, "you'll be exhausted by morning."
"That's why ponies invented coffee, Your Highness," she retorted as she continued her uneasy pacing.
"I could order you to bed, you know? The only reason you're in here with us is because I granted you permission to be in here. I could easily throw you out," Celestia pointed out.
"Wouldn't do you any good, I'd perform a boomerang up sweep loop and be right back in here before you could shut the doors," she stated.
If she weren't so tired, Celestia would've smiled. At least the Lieutenant's sense of humor was still intact throughout all of this. If she were tense and snappy, she might've been worried.
"Just so long as you're aware of what you'll be getting yourself into come morning," she said as she relented.
"Strike's one of us, Your Highness. He's always been there to offer a helping hoof when my wings need preening and I can't do it myself. I'm not going anywhere until I get word on how he's doing," Fire stated firmly, before finally letting out a yawn.
Celestia smiled at the camaraderie on display. But any further discussion was prevented as Luna's horn ceased glowing and her eyes opened again, and then proceeded to leave them both waiting with baited breath as she slowly stood up and stretched before finally speaking up.
"Lieutenant Thunder Strike is both alive, and presently dreaming."
"Huzzah!" Fire yelled excitedly.
Luna frowned in response. "That is my line, Lieutenant," she warned.
Fire's good mood immediately ceased out of fear, suddenly feeling like a foal who'd been caught with her hoof in the cookie jar.
"O-oh..."
Luna nodded, before holding up her right forehoof.
"Huzzah."
"Huzzah!" Fire yelled again as she shared a high-hoof with Luna.
"Now go. Tell the others who are still awake the good news, so that you can all get to sleep," she instructed as she set her hoof back on the floor.
Fire nodded, before hastily saluting and breaking for the door.
Luna smiled as she watched her leave, before telekinetically shutting the door behind her, and then turning to Celestia with a far more serious look on her face.
"Sister. We need to talk. There is something wrong with that stallion. And I do not mean something relating simply to his physical condition."