//------------------------------//
// Debriefing 
// Story: Re-earning Your Cutie Mark 
// by Ractrin 
//------------------------------//

A loud pop reverberated through the great halls of Canterlot. It's piercing scream loud enough to shake the stained-glass paneling of the throne room that Oz, Nova, and more importantly Luna appeared in. they appeared within a sharp light, quickly flashing and then winking out of existence as soon as it had appeared. The three winged ponies floated to the floor with grace. Pride beamed from Oz, even though it was stunted by his helmet. Nova was glad to see all the guards in the room having a look of admiration towards him. Luna…collapsed. As soon as her hooves touched the solid granite flooring, she fell limp. Many of the guards rushed to her aid; even one that had been talking with Princess Celestia at the time of their arrival. This particular guard stood out to Oz, as they all stood over the fallen form of their Princess of the Night. He looked at the guard's dark armor, and noticed that the Unicorn's eyes were aglow in a soft white hue. When Princess Celestia pushed her way through the circle of ponies, Oz returned his attention to his fallen co-ruler. "Get her to the hospital wing right now!" Celestia exclaimed with a sense of urgency. One of the Unicorns gladly obliged as he lifted the motionless body of Princess Luna into the air, his magenta colored magic dancing across her fur. A precession of ponies followed them as they headed out of the throne room towards the hospital wing across the castle. Nova walked to the right of Princess Luna, while Oz trailed behind Princess Celestia. The Princess of the Sun trailed behind the guard holding her sister, so as to keep an eye on everything. With her sister in a weakened state, she didn't know if anypony would try to attack now. Oz had chosen this place because he could observe something that seemed to bother him. This dark guard that stayed at the Princess's left, why hadn't he noticed him before? Where had this overly concerned guard come from?

Finally movement was seen from Princess Luna. It was subtle, but it existed. She momentarily opened her eyes and looked at the Dark Guard. It was as soon as she opened them that they were shut once more. Oz found her current state out of place. He pondered what her mind was experiencing at this time. It seemed to him as if she was under the influence of great amounts of fatigue. She continued to barely open her eyes, look at one of the ponies near her and then go back to what seemed like a deep slumber. 

Nova watched her with anticipation. He wasn't sure which to worry about more, if she was going to wake up, or if this long walk to the infirmary was going to end. Each step closer almost made it seem as if they were no closer to being at their destination.  However, every time she glanced up at him, even giving him a subtle smile, it made him more at ease. As they walked, the thing that kept running through his mind the most was the kiss. She kissed him. It wasn't the other way around. She had willingly leaned in and planted her soft moist lips right onto his. He looked at her and noticed her usually free flowing mane seemed to now hang without motion, actually letting gravity's clutches wrench it downward. How he felt at this moment was conflicted. He now knew she had feelings for him as well, but this was too fast. They had just met only yesterday, and now they were kissing. Also, he had to return to Tesorias. If they had a relationship, what would become of it? He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. He had to remember why he came to Equestria in the first place.

The Dark Guard continued his watch on his beloved Princess. He vowed so long ago to keep her safe, and the one night he actually chose to leave her side, was the night she was harmed. He cursed himself as they finally pushed through the doors leading into the hospital wing of Canterlot Castle. Tears were not shed however; he had no time for such feeble actions. He knew he had to apologize as soon as Luna was capable of forgiving him of his fault. The Dark Guard did not fear her chastising him; after all, he had known her for some time now. He knew she would simply ignore him for a little while. 

Oz stood at the door way, watching as Luna was laid upon a hospital bed, her mane slowly floating to the ground around her. It was an odd sight for him, to see one of the most powerful Alicorns to be in this state. As he looked on, he thought of the fight just a few moments ago. The battle surged in his head. As he thought about it, he realized that if it wasn't for Luna, the very pony they had gone to save, Nahimana may have destroyed them. She was definitely was powerful and he suddenly became concerned that she might be stronger than Twilight. He watched as Nova and the Dark Guard stood over the Princess, both seeming to have the same look of concern. Oz had noticed Nova's signs of romantic feeling towards Luna, but he had no idea that this guard would show the same body language.

Just as Nova began to peer down on Princess Luna's sleeping face, Nurse Redheart came from the back room and began to shoo him away. "Leave her alone, she needs to rest." Redheart stated as she mockingly shooed a hoof at him. He stepped back, partially confused as she turned to the Dark Guard. "And you're sick, get out of here too!" he stepped back from the bed a little, looking at the nurse. "Who knows how weak she is, I don't need any of you getting her sick." she turned to Celestia and bowed. "I'm sorry your highness but I must ask you to leave as well. I will tend to your sister as best I can."

"I understand" Celestia stated with a nod and soon meandered out the door. Nova followed closely behind her, but the Dark Guard lingered. He stood there, watching his mistress sleep.

"Off with you." Redheart demanded again. With his head hung low, he turned and walked out of the room. As the swinging doors shut behind him, he was taken hold by the shoulders and spun facing the area next to the door. There he saw a young blue Pegasus starring suspiciously at him.

"How dare you!" The Dark Guard exclaimed starring down at the pony as if he were his lesser.
"Who are you?" Oz demanded.
"I'm a member of Luna's personal guard, now leave me-"
"I'm not buying that garbage. You're more than any regular guard. Your eyes, they're pure white. In fact they look kinda like Twilight's eyes when her magic erupts unexpectedly. So, who are you?" the guard looked deep into the stubborn Pegasus's eyes looking for a way out, anything to deter attention from himself and maybe get this pony to forget his curiosity.
"I'm a member of the royal guard and personal guard to Luna herself, there is nothing else you need to know, Oz." The Dark Guard turned and continued down the hall. When he had said Oz's name, this had thrown him into a complete confused state. Oz was stuck there, watching the guard walk away as he pondered how he had known his name. Maybe it was a spell? However, Oz hadn't seen his horn light up, and all magic cast, great or small, was always indicated by a glowing horn. Maybe Celestia had told him, that made since right? Oz shook it off. He had to get some sleep after taking his armor to Twilight to be repaired. The spot in his chest-piece that had been hit by Nahimana's attack was partially dented in, and was rubbing against his chest. This eventually would rub in a sore that will most likely be highly uncomfortable. 

As he walked from the hospital wing towards the center of Canterlot Castle, he found himself in the center entryway with the y-shaped staircase. He had come in from underneath the right side of the room. As Oz walked from under the staircase he noticed Nova sitting in front of the flowing cloth mural depicting Luna's image. He walked over to the apparent lonely stallion and sat next to him.

"She kissed me" Nova said without any questions from Oz.
"Lucky for you?"  Oz quipped in jest. Seeing his remark had no positive effect on the Alicorn, he continued. "Who kissed you?"
"Princess Luna" Oz's eyes shot wide in surprise.
"Why? I-I mean that's good I guess but-"
"-But she's a Princess of Equestria, and I'm a Tesorian." he looked down at Oz and let his one good eye fall on the young Pegasus. "Do you think I have a chance?"
"Well, you're an Alicorn…and she's an Alicorn…" Oz looked down the hall, uncertain of what to really say. He took in a deep breath and faced his friend.
"I don't think the chances are great…"
"Just like your chances with Rainbow Dash?" Nova said looking Oz in the eyes with a halfway smug grin. Oz's ears flopped to his neck and he looked at the floor.
"Yeah, something like that." 

"Oz, Nova!" said a guard from the landing of the staircase, between the two sets leading off to elsewhere in the castle. Both ponies mentioned looked up to the one who had called their names with genuine curiosity. "Princess Celestia would like a formal debriefing in her throne room. Please follow me." he continued as he turned up the left stairway.
"Of course." Oz said as he stood fully and joined the guard on the landing. "I'd really like to talk to Twilight though. You see my chest piece here is damaged and is causing me to be a bit uncomfortable."
"She will be attending the debriefing" the guard said as he took a step. Before he continued he looked down to see Nova still sitting there, starring at Luna's image. "It will be there tomorrow, Nova, I assure you" The scarred Alicorn glanced at the unicorn guard, his one eye glaring at him from under his mane.
"I will join you soon, I'm still a little tiered from the fight." he said finally.
"Do you know the way to the throne room?"
"I only had a free ride just the other night, so I'm sure I can find it…" with a nod, the guard continued up the stairs and through the door with Oz following him closely.

"You should be careful of how close you get to her" said a dark voice from behind Nova. With haste, the young Alicorn looked over his shoulder to see two white orbs glowing from under the stair case Oz had meandered from earlier. The dark figure stepped out and Nova could see it was the Dark Guard.
"What do you mean by that?" Nova barked as he fully faced the black pony. He then thought about it for a second and changed his expression to confusion. "Who are you talking about anyway?" The Dark Guard walked slowly from under the staircase and began to approach Nova, a deep scowl written across his face. Nova, finally taking in the appearance of this guard, shot his eye wide when he realized the Unicorn before him had a broken horn, just like him. The black figure glared deeply into Nova's eyes and made a low growl.
"You, Tesorian, stay away from Luna." he said after a short while.
"Who are you to tell me what I can do?"
"First of all, Nova, I'm a royal guard of Equestria. Second, I'm Lun-" he stopped speaking suddenly, his face contorting in pain as he brought a hoof to his throat. He let out a few wheezing coughs and then regained his composure just as fast as his coughing had come up. "As I was saying, I'm Luna's personal guard. And since I don't trust you, I'm not letting you anywhere near her."
"Try it, freak. I'm sure she'll be calling in me-"
"Just because she kissed you, fucker, doesn't mean she's yours. Stay the fuck away." The Guard interrupted shoving Nova backwards and then shuffling up the staircase. He then turned to the right and continued through the door. 

Nova had been shoved with enough force that he had been pushed onto his romp. From there he had watched the Guard disappear through the door, a maddened glare following the jet black pony. "Fucking ass hole" Nova spat as he stood back up. He walked up the stairs and turned towards the Throne room. He passed through the doors, using his magic to open them and then close them after he had passed through.  As he meandered down the hall towards the guarded door on the other end of the hall, his gaze never left the slightly moving banner of Princess Luna. He didn't stare at it just because of her beauty, but because he felt a sense of remorse. Luna herself had to defeat Nahimana. Nova dropped his head as he remembered looking up past Luna and watching her banish the spiritual beast from Oz's body and the room itself. As he approached the double doors that lead to the Throne room, he noticed there was no sound indicating movement. He looked up and noticed both of the Unicorn guards were simply scowling at him. His eye danced between the two of them as their subtle look of disdain dug into him. "Let me pass, the Princess is expe-"
"Did you hurt her?" the guard to Nova's left said. He looked at this guard and noticed he was wearing dark armor similar to that of the Dark Guard. It occurred to the Alicorn that this was another one of Luna's guards. How had he not noticed him before? Wasn't this guard one of Celestia's before? Then again he had been distracted with being stuck in a magical sphere last time he had passed through these doors.

"No I didn't hurt her." Nova finally said, insulted. "Why the Tuataras would you think I'm responsible for her injuries?"
"You are a Tesorian. Your kind is well known for your violent tendencies"
"What the fuck do you mean-!?" Nova began to yell, his hoof reared back to send in a strike at the guard.
"Nova, you're not helping your case any." Oz said, as his head poked through the door. Nova's eye darted to the blue armored Pegasus, lowering his hoof as he did so.
"How did you know I was here?" Nova asked as he pushed passed the two guards and joined Oz in the room.
"I happened to peek out to see if you were coming. After all you've had us waiting a good ten minutes." Oz said as they trotted towards Celestia's throne. She sat there, watching the two come closer with Twilight Sparkle at the base of the stairs; her snout buried in a book. Her horn was aglow with a vibrant indigo hue as more books hovered over her head. Rainbow Dash was sitting next to her, watching the duo draw near. 

"Oz has already informed me that it was Nahimana that had possessed my sister." Celestia said after Nova and Oz had stopped at the base of her throne. "Is she much of a threat?" Oz looked at Nova as he spoke, "I told Celestia how Nahimana had said she was your mentor at one time." Nova glanced at the Pegasus and then looked back up at Celestia.
"I don't remember much about her. I know she was killed, but I don't remember how. She said something about me tearing her in half…but I had no idea what she was talking about. When I lost my Cutie Mark, a lot of my memories went with it."
"I might be of some help, Princess" Twilight spoke up, walking next to the Alicorn, a specific book held in front of her with her magic. Nova looked down at the cover of the book and read its title. Tesorias and its Historical figureheads. His eyebrow rose with curiosity and wondered how it was that Twilight had managed to obtain this particular book. She looked down at the page she had flipped open before her and then back at Celestia. "Nahimana is claimed, according to this book at least, to have been the oldest Unicorn alive." she looked down at the book to read straight from its pages. "Nahimana used the forbidden spell of Longevity to extend her life span far over five hundred years."
"I don't see any problem with that kind of spe-" Oz started to say till Twilight interrupted him by continuing.
"It says here that spell was made forbidden by Starswirled the Bearded himself after discovering that after many years or many uses of the spell, the pony under its effects begin to lose their mind."
"Oh great, so Nahimana is an undead, super fucking powerful, psycho bitch?" Oz quipped with unenthusiastic sarcasm. Twilight looked at him with a sullen look.
"It would seem so." she looked back at Celestia. "Princess, Nahimana is one of Tesoria's arch-unicorns. If she is that powerful, but has no restraints of a physical body…then…to answer your question, she is a hug threat!" Celestia sat silent for a few moments, her eyes bouncing back and forth every so often as if to let the words Twilight had said settle into her mind and take effect. After a short time, she looked at her at-one-time pupil with a stern furrowing of her brows. 
"Twilight Sparkle, I want you to contact your Ponyville friends and get them here as soon as they can be." she looked at the cyan Pegasus that was fiddling with her hooves uncaring about the events happening around her. "Rainbow Dash, you are to go to Cloudsdale and retrieve the summoner's monocle." Rainbow looked over her shoulder at her ruler.
"A-are you sure Princess?" Rainbow asked nervously. "No pony's ever been able to control the power of that old thing."
"I know the dangers, Rainbow, but right now my Kingdom is more in danger than it probably has ever been. So, please, go and get it. Tell the guards that I personally sent you."
"You can count on me, Princess" Rainbow said with a salute and then in the next second was out of the room with a rainbow trail following her.

"Forgive me, Princess Celestia, but what is the Summoner's Monocle?" Oz asked, curiosity clearly written on his snout.
"The Summoner's monocle is a gateway to any pony's horrors. It is said that should one harness their nightmares, they can use it to unleash a torrent of nightmarish dreams upon any target they wish." Twilight said as she held another book in front of her.
"She is right. If I can use this on Nahima-" Celestia began to say, but Nova put up a hoof to stop her.
"I mean no disrespect, Princess Celestia, but I believe that if I am the one who killed her once, then I should be the one to kill her again." he said.
"Are you trying to earn extra points with me, Tesorian?" she asked with a suspicious glair.
"It's possible, but does it really matter? I may not remember it, but I have fought her before. Besides, if we can gather the Eulanar Crystals and have Twilight restore our Cutie Marks, then maybe I can remember how to defeat her, and this time for good."
"Then I pass the task of harnessing your worst dreams to you, Nova. Should you succeed, you can use the Monocle to destroy her forever." Celestia said as she stood.
"Now Twilight, gather your friends, and wait for Rainbow Dash to return. Tomorrow we will meet on this matter. We may need to power of the Elements of Harmony to destroy her."
"Are you saying you don't trust me to master the Summoner's Monocle?" Nova barked as his single glair landed on Celestia's eyes.
"I'm only being careful. I will protect this kingdom if I have to, but risking my life…or the life of my sister would preferably be avoided. Without us, this world would fall into chaos."
"You're not immortal Celestia…and you have not always been around either. This land was without you once, I'm sure it can live agai-". Oz slammed his hoof into Nova's snout.
"Shut up dumb ass, before you get yourself killed."
"He is right" Celestia said as she walked down the stairs before them. "It is a little selfish of me to ask others to protect this land for Luna and myself. However, neither of us have heirs, so there would be nopony to take our place should we fall." she stopped right in front of Nova and stared into his eye. "Protect her. She loves you." she then continued walking past them and out of the throne room. 

All the ponies in the room stared at the door, unsure of what to do. Princess Celestia hadn't dismissed them and this was the first time Twilight had seen her once mentor act like this. "She's acting so…sullen." Twilight verbally observed. She then turned to Nova, putting all the books she still had hovering above her on the floor in a neat pile behind her. "Sorry for not telling you two that Luna was down there." she said with an innocent smile. "She passed through our testing facility a little before you both came to the library."
"Wait…you knew she was down there?" Nova asked a little surprised.
"Yeah…it slipped my mind…"
"SLIPPED YOUR MIND!? She's your princess and you FORGOT to tell us!" he jumped forward and grabbed twilight under her fore arms, slamming her into the wall behind her. "You sent us in there blind, fully aware of what was going on! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you."
"Nova, what are you doing! Stop!" Oz demanded from behind him. Twilight's horn lit up, and before Nova could respond, a bright violet eruption blew out from her horn and shot him across the room. He landed on his back and slid across the tile floor. Oz looked to see where his friend had landed just to turn back to Twilight and see her floating in the air. Her eyes were bright white and an indigo hue flowed around her entire body. The guards that had been running for them now stopped in their steps to watch what was happening.
"I did not do it on purpose you shit head!" she yelled as she slowly hovered over to him. Nova sat up slowly, watching the Arch-unicorn hover mere meters from him. "I did not mean to forget, I'm sorry for that. You though, you need to learn to control that temper!" the magic around her faded as she gently floated to the floor, her hooves making a soft clop upon touching the hard surface. "Look, Nova. We're doing everything we can at the moment to ensure Equestria's safety. After Discord's release, the invasion of the Changlings, King Sombra's return, and now the crisis in the Crystal Kingdom again; Celestia is stressed to make sure that we are all safe." she reached down with her magic and helped Nova to his hooves. 

"I'm sorry Twilight. I have a hard time trusting Arch-Unicorns. I knew a few others in Tesorias that were worse in some ways than Nahimana. At least I think…I can't really remember her anymore." He put a hoof too his head and looked at the floor as if trying to drive the memories of Nahimana to the surface of his mind. 
"Nova, don't worry about it. We'll get those Eulanar Crystals and get our Cutie Marks back."  Oz said walking up next to Twilight. 
"I'm not worried Oz. I know we're going to get them." he looked deep into Twilight's eye that correlated with his own good one. "So long as your spell works."
"It will work. I assure you." Twilight said with a small smile.
"C'mon Nova. We need to get some sleep." Oz turned to leave and then stopped. He pulled off his armor and dropped it on the floor in front of Twilight. "By the way, these guns work great. I just need the chest piece-"
"We have upgrades ready for this piece of gear Oz." Twilight said as she picked up the set of armor with her magic. She then began walking for the door as she continued to talk. "We have a new helmet in mind for you as well as better hydraulics."
"Oh really?" Oz asked as he started walking with Twilight.

Nova watched them leave the room, he watched the door shut, and then waited for the clopping of their hooves to fade away. He turned to the window that was nearby and meandered to it. There he found himself starring at the night sky. "I wonder when it became night." he pondered as the twinkling night sky danced across his ocular. His mind drifted. It bounced around from home, Luna, his future. He found himself thinking about her again. Would they be a good couple? Would it work? Would she be willing to come back to Tesorias with him? He realized he was leaning on the window seal and sat up. "I should go check on her." he said out loud, a little louder than he had intended as he heard his own voice echo off the walls. He did a small embarrassed grin at the guards that were now looking at him funny as he walked out of the throne room and down the long hallway. 

The Dark Guard sat at the window of his chambers, starring at the moonless night. He knew that Luna was injured, but for Celestia to also forget to raise the moon was very odd. He stood, and walked over to his coat tree. There sat his armor, shining with the candle light from his nearby dresser. Using his magic he lifted the purple metal off the tree and lowered it onto his shoulders. He then levitated the purple tabard from his nearby dresser and let it hover over his back for a moment. He draped the tabard over his back to make sure he was well covered, and then walked out of the room. He was going to go talk to Princess Celestia and remind her to raise the moon since Luna was incapacitated. He knew where Celestia's quarters were, but he felt himself drawn to Luna's hospital room. "It's on the way." he said to himself as he followed the corridor that led to the hospital wing from the housing wing. As he approached the hospital wing, he saw Nova come from the other hallway that leads from the foyer. He galloped to ensure he beat the blue Alicorn to the doors of the wing. When he reached them he slid to a stop, facing the Tesorian with a glair.
"Oh for fucks sake, you again?" Nova said irritated.
"I told you to stay away from her, Tesorian." The Dark Guard grunted.
"I'm sorry for being concerned for her wellbeing."
"No you're not. All you care about is ensuring Celestia gives Tesorias more lambs to lead to the slaughter."
"What does that have to do with Princess Luna?"
"Everything. If you mislead her into falling in love with you and then get her approval for the soldiers than Celestia will not go against her wishes and allow it. I've seen this before and it tore Luna apart. I WILL not let it happen again."
"I'm not like that."
"And all I have is your word."
"Yeah, I guess, now get the fuck out of my way, whoever you are."
"My name is Corvus." The Guard said as stepped closer to the Alicorn to block his path into the hospital.
"Well, Corv-"
"Would you two shut up!" exclaimed Redheart from the door. "Princess Luna is resting and you two are not helping." Corvus looked at her with an apologetic expression. "If you two are here to check on her you may, but keep the arguing away from here." The two ponies shared a glair with one another and then simultaneously walked through the double swinging doors. Nova and Corvus noticed that Luna had been moved. The room they now stood in was shaped like a crescent moon as it arced away from them. To their immediate right sat Nurse Redheart behind a desk filling out paperwork.  Luna had originally been the very first bed, but now as Corvus looked along the wall, he could not see any sign of her.
"Where is she?" Nova asked.
"She is three beds down, inside the curtain area. You see this is a limited healthcare facility. It is not a true hospital. All we do here is take care of the mildly sick and wounded. That being the case we have hidden Princess Luna from the sight of her subjects because we don't want them to know how badly injured she is.
"Is it that bad?" Corvus asked, looking over at her. Redheart looked at him, sullen.
"It would seem so."