Comet watched. He listened. The single pony his sovereign bid him follow even over herself lay in a bed, and nopony knew when she would awaken. Even though her condition was self-inflicted, the blame for it lay at Celestia's hooves.
Sweetie Belle fussed over her, making sure she would be comfortable. Applebloom put her effort into preparing snacks. It was apple-based items that emerged from her saddlebags, of course, not the superior mangos, but it was the thought that counted.
He thought he had known what the pinnacle of loyalty and the bond between comrades was when he had just been a Night Guard. Then he was thrown to the four fillies. They might not understand it in quite the same way, but that did not stop their bonds from being stronger.
A light brush of feathers turned his attention to Scootaloo. She nodded to him. That one little motion said so much. She understood, she knew what it to be a warrior. What it was to take it upon yourself to protect others. Should anything happen, they would let whoever reacted first take the lead.
Despite his thoughts wandering, he still kept his focus on the here and now. It was a simple trick, but it took years to master, to let your whims do their thing and yet not let them distract you.
The sovereign taught that sometimes they would provide the insights needed at a critical moment, but none of his had been that useful yet.
Past his duty, it was the chosen pegasus that inspired his insights. The many hours of drilling and sparring floated through his mind. She had been brash, reckless even, but he had refined it to assertive action guided by a pegasus innate ability to assess a situation in a heartbeat.
It was always the goal in small unit tactics, but so rarely achieved. All it would take would be a simple look. A motion or a single sound for either of them, and they would both know the plan.
Scootaloo was going to grow into a warrior that they would still be telling tales about in a thousand years.
"How is she doing?" Applebloom asked.
Sweetie Belle rested her horn against Little Star's. It was still amazing to see not a single scorch mark on it. The filly's head had been on fire. With the accompanying scents of cooked meat, there had been no mistaking it for a mere display of power.
"I can't feel anything wrong with her." Sweetie Bell's ear twitched. "It's like her magic is singing but forgot the words, and the backup singers are arguing. "
"But she's alright?" Comet asked before he even knew he had opened his mouth.
"I think so… it's like what happens when I get my magic lessons wrong, and she has to stop my magic for me."
Comet's body relaxed muscles he did not even know he was tensing. Inducing disharmony in a unicorn's magic was no joking matter. But as it was the main way unicorns lost duels, it was studied even in the distant past. So, there would be no way the sovereign would have left her daughter's side if it had been a serious case.
Scootaloo tilted her head.
Comet nodded. "Yeah, she's going to be fine."
"Anything we can do to help her?"
"Just moral support. She has to solve this on her own."
"So, I know I'm not my sister, but Ah can tell when there keeping things from us," Applebloom accused.
"Applebloom, I think we all know that," Scoots said.
Sweetie Bell looked up. "So what is it?"
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "The next big bad, obviously."
More the first… Comet thought to himself as he took slow, even breaths. Now was not the time to let it slip that it was Princess Celestia that was the 'next big bad'. "Whatever it is, theres nothing we can do about it right now."
"So why did Star's mum give us these knives? We kind of have enough weapons already, don't we?" Applebloom asked.
"There a badge, like the one we got for defeating the hydra," Scootaloo said.
Sweetie Belle looked subtly at her dagger. "They feel like they are too magical to just be a medal."
Comet nodded. "These ones are old, very old, but the Night Guard has weapons like this."
"So? What do they do?"
"They can be used to pin anything in place with their shadow."
"How?"
"Just stab it into their shadow, and it holds them in place."
Scootaloo eyed hers thoughtfully.
"Just be careful, as it will hurt the target, so no going for the head or heart."
"So we can attack something's shadow to hurt it now?" Scootaloo asked.
He nodded. "Yes."
"Awesome, we are going to need to add this to our training."
Something in the quality of the background sound changed. His ears perked up and then swirled to the source. Little Star's breathing had deepened a little, and her heart rate had picked up a few beats a minute.
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle did not notice, but Scootaloo did. She might not have heard it but they had trained together so much she caught and understood his ear movement. She flicked her eyes to Little Star and then back to him. He nodded "She's waking up." That got the others attention.
Applebloom dumped her snacks and rushed over to the bed, and Sweetie Belle nearly pounced on Little Star. All their senses were focused on only one thing.
Scootaloo's body tensed as if she was about to rush over, but she held herself in place, keeping most of her attention outwards to where possible threats. As proud as that made her of how far she had come, now was not the time for it.
"I have the watch." He shoved her with his wing and continued in a softer tone. "Go to her."
She did not need to be told twice.
The first thing those magenta eyes would see would be three friends crowding her.