//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Dreams of Loyalty // by Professor Coruptus //------------------------------// Dreams of Loyalty Chapter 6 In which puzzles are solved, unicorns are cuddled, and we learn a bit more about Luna and the Element of Loyalty. It turned out that the answer of where Luna was sleeping was easier then she would have thought. Some months before the fateful one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, Princess Celestia had ordered construction to begin on a new “observatory tower.” The new addition to the palace was to be taller than any previous expansion, and was also to be connected to the same hall as her bed chambers. This was understandable enough, but then she began making stranger and stranger demands about the tower such as the inclusion of a large bedroom near the top in case she became tired while looking at the stars, or that it also be fitted its own bathroom complete with shower and tub. The Princess had also stressed that the tower had to be completed and completed properly before the night of the Summer Sun Celebration. It was widely gossiped about amongst the servants and guards that the tower was actually meant as a permanent residence for Twilight and that the Princess was intending to crown the unicorn as her successor during the celebration and perhaps even make her an Alicorn. In truth, Celestia was preparing for the long awaited return of her beloved sister. The tower had been the Alicorn’s way of showing she had not forgotten her younger sibling’s return and had kept the faith that she could be cured of the corruption that had twisted her mind and body. Being welcomed back with a new room decorated and built just for her had brought the long lost Princess to tears. The inclusion of a personal observatory with the latest and most powerful telescope available had been a nice touch as well. After making her way to hall leading to the Royal Chambers, Twilight immediately spotted the doors leading to “Luna’s Tower” as it was referred to now. It was impossible to miss really. On one side of the hall were the large ivory double doors leading to Princess Celestia’s private rooms, all done up with shining gold with a large familiar sun engraved over the center. Almost directly across from it was another set of double doors, colored a deep, midnight blue and adorned by what looked like black iron mixed with glittering specks of silver that stretched over the entrance like clinging ivy. A single large waning crescent moon adorned the middle of the doors and unlike its golden counterpart there were no handles to open it. Twilight approached the midnight doors slowly. They seemed so out of place compared to the rest of the castle, almost as if they marked the entrance into another world. After giving the doors a gentle push, followed by a much harder push, she reached out with her magic to feel if they were controlled by some magical enchantment, such as the one she had seen protecting the Elements of Harmony in Canterlot Tower. She felt no magic within the doors or in the room beyond. If push came to shove, she could probably teleport around the obstacle, although she was always wary of teleporting anywhere she couldn’t see. Besides, the lack of traditional handles without any magical barrier had piqued her curiosity. Taking a step back, she examined the entrance again. Her attention was pulled immediately toward the waning crescent that held the two doors together, almost like the lock on a chest. Experimentally, she put out a hoof and slid it over the lunar emblem. To her surprise it rotated easily against the door and the image slowly changed to that of a waning half moon. Enthralled with this new puzzle, Twilight thought back to when she had last seen the Princess at the Nightmare Night Festival and turned the lunar dial until it showed a waxing crescent, the symbol of Luna’s cutie mark. Nothing happened. She glared at the lock. She had been sure that was the answer, it was Luna’s door after all. Closing her eyes, she again called up her mental photograph of the younger Princess. She focused her attention of the mare’s flank trying to clearly see the symbol that rested there. Despite the blush she felt creeping on to her cheeks as she tried to keep from focusing too much on the Princess’s royal curves, she was able to clearly envision the white waxing crescent moon painted there, set against a black night’s sky which spilled over the Princess’s flank and down her leg like drops of trailing ink. The crescent was thicker than the actual phase of the moon and differed in another way as well… it was tilted! Opening her eyes, she reached out and felt around the outside edge of the moon this time. After a moment she found a shallow groove and used it as leverage to twist the dial clockwise. She felt it click forward into an engraved notch and watched the crescent tilt upwards slightly. Smiling in triumph, Twilight clicked the dial a few more time until she was certain it rested at exactly the same angel as the symbol on its owner’s flank. Still nothing happened. With a grown, Twilight leaned against the door and its puzzling lock in frustration. To her surprise, she felt the dial slide inwards under her weight and heard the soft click of some kind of mechanism. Stepping back she watched in awe as crescent separated in two halves and the sparkling iron and wood doors glided open to allow her entrance. Just beyond the archway, a flight of spiraling stone steps wound up and around the corner. Stepping inside Twilight made her way up the dark steps as quietly as she could. It really was as if she had stepped to another world. There were no torches or windows along the stairway; instead, the dark walls were speckled with thousands of scattered pinpricks of light that cast the winding stairs in a soft glow. As she examined the tiny specks, she realized she was looking at a recreated strip of the night’s sky, each tiny dot of light in exact correlation to its fellows as the artificial stars formed recognizable constellations. Traveling higher and higher, the amateur astronomer quickly realized she was also traveling across the night’s sky as well, passing by the symbols of the zodiac and their neighbors with each step she took in the ethereal glow. Just when the unicorn was beginning to feel that the stairway was almost as endless as the actual night’s sky, she came to a trap door bearing the same tilted crescent she had made below. Gingerly pushing on the symbol with her hoof, the door swung up easily and silently. Peeking over the side, Twilight’s eyes widened with delight as she took in the personal chambers of the country’s second Royal Alicorn. The floor and walls of the circular room were made of large grey stone blocks reminiscent of the architecture she had seen within the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. These walls, however, were covered in posters and charts depicting not only the night’s sky, but unexpectedly the terrain and settlements of Equestria and its borders along the frontier. A few thick, violet rugs covered the stone floor and an elegantly designed desk and cushion sat near two large midnight blue curtains, drawn shut block out the light of the day outside. The only sources of light were a few magically powered lamps that sprouted out from the walls and emitted a soft dusky pink and violet glow; giving the impression that the room was in a perpetual state of late twilight. A large Gothic looking four-poster bed dominated the room, its frame made of the same glittering iron/silver alloy she had seen on the doors below. The expensive looking satin curtains were drawn around the frame concealing its contents, but several stacks of books lay on the floor within easy reach from the bedside. As quietly as she could, Twilight crept up to the bed side to examine the books. Using her magic to lift each book and bring it closer to the dim light so she could see their titles, the unicorn began searching for the volumes she had been sent to retrieve. After going through each book in the pile she was able to find two of the three titles, but after double checking the stack again and looking on and around the desk as well as everywhere else in the circular room, she was still unable to locate the third. The sound of rustling sheets behind the satin drapes caused Twilight to freeze. She faintly heard the sound of soft murmuring, and then the room fell silent again. Letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she'd been holding she was stuck by an idea. It was absurd, and risky, but it seemed the only possibility left. Tiphoofing back to the bed, she slowly peeled apart two of the drapes and peered inside. There, half covered in a sheet of almost liquid black silk, slept the ruler of the night and creator of the stars themselves, Princess Luna. The sleeping face of the Alicorn was blank and emotionless, and she was devoid of her usual chest piece and black tiara; letting her enchanted mane spill freely over her neck and velvet pillows. Her hooves were also free from the elegant shoes she had worn to the festival, and between them, hugged close to her chest like a teddy bear was a book entitled “Dreams and Dream Walking.” The unicorn swallowed involuntarily as she watched the sleeping Princess. Using magic to retrieve the book was out of the question. Aside from the glow and shimmering hum that came with her telekinesis, the Alicorn would undoubtedly sense the foreign magic if used so close to her. No, the only way to retrieve the book without waking the sleeping midnight beauty would be to get up close and… personal. Unfortunately, the bed was enormous; far too large for any one pony, even one of an Alicorn's size, and Luna was sleeping right in the middle of it. Carefully, Twilight poked her upper body through the gap in the drapes and gingerly put her weight on the bed. When the Princess gave no sign she detected the unicorn's presence, Twilight slowly began to lean forward to grip the book in her teeth. Everything seemed to be going well, until Luna suddenly frowned and turned over with an unhappy groan, taking the book with her and curling up into a tight ball as if to protect her treasure. She made a few more indiscernible mumbles as Twilight silently cursed and tried to decide on her next course of action. Since moving around to the other side of the bed would be futile with the Princess curled up around the book so defensively, the unicorn had little choice but to swallow again and ever so slowly begin lifting herself up onto her hooves until she had stepped completely onto the gigantic bed. After close to three minutes of agonizingly slow movement, she was finally standing behind slumbering Alicorn. Looking down on the Princess, Twilight couldn’t help but note that the stubborn pout on Luna’s lips was unquestionably adorable. Clearing her head of such thoughts, the amethyst-eyed unicorn slowly leaned down and stretched her neck out over the Alicorn’s side. Taking the book in her mouth, Twilight very slowly started to lift it free from the Princess’s grip. She froze when Luna suddenly mumbled something under her breath, but once she had fallen silent again Twilight quickly lifted the book completely out of her grasp and held it up with a proud smile. Now, all she had to do was get off the bed, retrieve the other two books, and get back to Spike and Celestia. Her moment of triumph was short lived however when Luna, feeling the absence of the object she had been cuddling, reached out and found Twilight’s outstretched neck instead. Wrapping her powerful forelegs around the unsuspecting unicorn, she pulled Twilight down into an awkward hug. The position didn’t last long however, as after finding that a warm and soft pony made for a much better cuddle buddy then a cold square book had, the slumbering Princess smiled happily and turned over, pulling her new bedfellow right off her hooves and onto her side so that the Alicorn could snuggle into her back. Gripped round the neck by a pony that could easily snap her like a daisy stem if she tried to escape, Twilight’s mind was somewhere between the grips of panic and denial. This was simply not her day. True, the bed was the most comfortable she had ever lain on, and the feeling of Luna’s embrace wasn’t entirely unpleasant either, but she had an important job to do and she had already gotten sidetracked once before. Not to mention the threat of being caught in such a compromising position with Equestrian royalty was not only embarrassing and probably scandalous, but could also prove to be very detrimental to her health and continued existence beneath a lunar orbit. At least she had managed to keep from dropping the book. Granted her teeth marks would never come out of its binding, but still hurray for small victories. Any further musings on her predicament were interrupted as Luna snuggled a little deeper into the unicorn’s back. Griping Twilight around the chest the Alicorn pulled her up so that she could better nuzzle the somewhat smaller pony’s face and neck. A wing stretched out to cover her like a blanket and Twilight felt the warm breath of her captor against her ear as the Alicorn unconsciously began mumbling again. This time however, Twilight was finally able to make out some of what it was Luna had been saying. As the Princess’s unconscious words filled her ears, Twilight stopped worrying about trying to escape. She stopped worrying about being discovered. She stopped worrying about everything. In fact, she just stopped thinking all together as she tried to process not only the words, but the voice that had just whispered into her ear. The book fell out of her mouth as she simply stared at the dark satin drapes in front of her, eyes wide as saucers, while a very happy Princess cuddled her limp body. She was so preoccupied with coming to grips with what she had just heard that her mind didn’t register the light tap of gilded hooves as they climbed through the trap door outside the bed. Nor did she notice when the dark curtains behind her were pulled apart slightly and a royal eye peered inside. After a few minutes the eye disappeared, only to return again a few seconds later as if to confirm what it had just seen. Neither pony in the bed noticed the eye, or the stifled giggling of delight that followed. After a few minutes to regain her composure, Princess Celestia fully drew back the curtains with her magic, finally attracting the attention of her shell shocked pupil who looked back at her in panic as the Alicorn smiled lovingly down at her and reached over to gently prod her sister with a gilded hoof. “Luna? Luuuna?” The smaller Alicorn began to stir and stubbornly hugged the now confused and terrified unicorn tighter as her sibling continued to gently prod her awake and almost forcing the air out of Twilight’s lungs. “Luna, I apologize for waking you so early, but I’m afraid there is an urgent matter with which I require your assistance.” The younger Princess blearily, and grumpily, looked up at her sister. The white Alicorn smiled kindly before adding, “And I also need you to return my protégé. I know you mean to be gentle but I require her assistance and she seems a bit… overwhelmed by the strength of your affections.” Now confused, and even grumpier, the midnight blue Princess glared up at her sibling until a weak wriggling drew her attention to the pony under her wing and forelegs. Teal eyes quickly widened as they met amethyst and the Princess realized what, or more exactly: who, she was cuddling with. “Ah, hello again… Princess Luna…” her bedmate said nervously as she strained for breath under the Alicorn’s embrace. The speed at which the two separated could easily have been entered as a passing entrance time for the Wonderbolts. “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” the younger Alicorn declared, making use again of the Traditional Canterlot Voice. “WHAT ARE THOU? HOW DID?” “Luna, please stop shouting,” Celestia calmly chided. “I’m sure it was just an innocent misunderstanding, isn’t that right Twilight? Twilight?” Between the speed at which Luna had departed, and the almost Nordic power of her lungs, the unfortunate mare had been spun into the air and flung off the bed in a tangle of satin drapes. “I’m okay!” the Unicorn wheezed as she tried to make sense of what had happened, and if in fact she actually was okay. A golden glow encompassed her body and the dark cloth, freeing her from its confines and gently levitating her down to sit (perhaps a little too closely) next to Luna. She felt her mentor’s magic flow briefly through her body and mend any bruising her ribs and neck had sustained before dissipating. “Princess, I swear I didn’t mean to-“ Celestia held up a hoof. “As much as would like to hear how you two found yourselves in such a… position, I need you to tell Luna your reason for coming to Canterlot today.” Twilight blinked at her mentor but did as she was told, though she was careful not to make eye contact with the younger Alicorn next to her. As she told her story for a second time, Luna’s expression became almost identical to Celestia’s when she had first heard it. “And then Princess Celestia sent me to your bedroom to get the books and… well you had one of them in bed with you and when I tried to get it-“ “Later, Twilight,” Celestia said, stopping her again. Then she turned to the other royal with a serious expression. “What do you think, Luna?” The midnight blue Alicorn was silent for a minute as she reviewed Twilight’s story. “I… shall admit that the similarities are far too striking to be ignored,” she said hesitantly, her gaze not moving from the dark corner of the room she had watched while listening to Twilight’s story. “However…” “You are unsure as to why it would have taken so long to take effect?” Celestia finished for her. Luna’s gaze finally rose to meet her sisters and gravely nodded. “As am I, though I feel that this may not be connected to Discord’s return and may have been triggered by chance.” “I wouldst agree with thou, sister.” “Wait a minute!” This time it was Twilight’s turn to interrupt. “What are you two talking about? What’s Discord got to do with Dash’s nightmares?” The royal sisters looked at one another gravely. “Forgive us Twilight Sparkle, but thy friend’s ailment dost bear a frightening similarity to… to how I became Nightmare Moon.” Twilight gapped at the Elizabethan mannered princess. “What?” “When Luna and I first discovered the Elements of Harmony, they were split evenly among us. I took on the Elements of Kindness, Honesty, and Laughter,” the elder sister explained. “Whilst I was chosen to bear the Elements of Generosity, Magic, and… Loyalty.” Luna spat the last word as if it were a bitter piece of crabapple. “Once we took on the elements and had defeated Discord, we both noticed a change in each other’s mannerisms and personalities. In my youth, I was actually quite the trouble maker; I would tease and annoy Luna to no end when we were fillies.” “Thou teased me even after thou took on the Elements,” Luna grumbled. “Though admittedly thy pranks did become less malicious, if one may call lemon juice in my tea less malicious than chili extract.” “As I was saying,” the white Alicorn quickly continued, “I began to exhibit the traits of the elements I possessed while Luna began to exhibit the traits of hers. Or at least, she tried to.” The younger princess gave an indignant "harrumph." “I didst take on the attributes I had been empowered with. However, my position as ruler nocturnal didst make it difficult to properly demonstrate either generosity or magic as few ponies were awake to accept them most nights.” “But what about Loyalty?” Twilight asked. When Luna did not answer she continued, “What is it about that element you seem to dislike?” Luna paused for a moment before responding. “Loyalty is a most… treacherous element,” she said finally. Twilight blinked at her. “… I don’t understand.” “It is an element biased around sacrifice,” Celestia explained. “As is generosity and kindness. Your friends Fluttershy and Rarity represent the truest balance of those elements, rather than their truest embodiments. Rarity understands that her generosity, while it may come with some personal sacrifice, will often pay off for her in the end. That is why she is such a skilled business pony; she has an innate understanding of give and take, which makes her the perfect bearer of the Element of Generosity. A pony who gives all she has, will soon find she has no more left to give. “Fluttershy, however, while I have sometimes wondered if she perhaps embodies her element too well, has attracted some fiercely protective friends, such as Rainbow Dash and her pet rabbit, who keep her from being taken advantage of. Her kindness attracts her protectors, and she in turn is very protective of them. She represents the balance of her element, not as a single pony, but as part of an ever continuing cycle,” Celestia concluded. As Twilight took in what her mentor had explained, Luna spoke up. “Though thy friend Rainbow Dash’s impressive ego may be irksome and, judging from thy reports, even unbearable at times, it is that same ego which allows her to balance the tremendous devotion she feels towards her friends, country, and ideals. In the darkest of hours, and when given the choice between her own salvation and that of her friends, she is able to see clearly and calmly all options before her and choose the best course of action for all involved. When I didst tempt her in my guise of the Shadowbolts, she fell under my spell and believed whole heartedly that I was who I portrayed myself to be and that my promises of fame and power were real and absolute. However, she was still unable to betray her friends, and within her heart she knew that she couldst still achieve her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt if she turned down my offered position as captain of the Shadowbolts. “Within the Element of Loyalty however, there exists a most inevitable flaw. The Elements drive thin bearers to exhibit the qualities of each as best thine can and in the manner of thy bearer’s choosing. Loyalty dost drive a pony to be passionate and unshakably committed to the groups or ideals of her choosing, and in there lies the flaw.” Twilight looked at the mare in confusion, unable to see the paradox. “Whilst the bearer may judge with complete and perfect clarity between her own hearts desires and her loyalties to friend and ally, to where do those loyalties ultimately lie? The Element dost drive its bearer to be completely passionate and committed to everyone and everything which she believes in or holds dear. If there is ever a confliction, if ever she is made to choose between two groups or ideals she has pledged her allegiances to, the force of the Element pushing her towards both sides at once will strain the mind of its bearer until it shatters, just as mine did…” Luna finished, looking away in either shame or pain. Celestia took over in their explanation. “Before we imprisoned Discord completely in stone, he made one final attack against us. He attempted to convince Luna and I that eventually one of us would become too thirsty for power and overthrow the other. We both easily dismissed his words as nothing more than a last futile attempt to create some spark of chaos between us, but I believe Discord knew of the strengths and weaknesses of the Elements even then, for with those words, he planted the seeds of corruption in Luna’s mind. “At first, we were both hailed as equals and our subjects laughed and played under both moon and sun. But, as is the nature of most ponies, they eventually settled in to a more diurnal schedule. In truth, I believe they loved Luna more than me. She was their guardian, their protector from the terrible beasts that once hunted them from the shadows so that they could sleep in safety. They even took to leaving food out for her as a way of showing their appreciation.” “So that’s what you meant when you said you wanted to turn Nightmare Night into a ‘feast!’” Twilight realized. Luna nodded. “Yes, I wouldst also ensure that nopony was out in dangerous territory during my reign as well. Some of the more adventurous young foals wouldst sometimes attempt to hide from me so they might sneak about in the dark of my night. It never worked, and I wouldst send them back to bed immediately. One night a young pegasus whom had tried to hid herself amongst the low branches of a tree refused to come down after I had discovered her by explaining that she was a nightingale. She was so adorably persistent about it that I decided to play along and insisted that I take her back to her “nest.” The next night, several of the other young ponies had dressed up as various other night creatures in an attempt to “hide” from me. I suppose that was how the custom of dressing up on Nightmare Night began, though it seems that a thousand years time has muddled its history.” Twilight smiled and nodded. Thinking back to Zecora’s story of Nightmare Night’s beginnings, it was easy to see how its origin could have become so misconstrued over the centuries. It must have been terrible for Luna to find out how feared she was as Nightmare Moon, after being hailed as Equestria’s most loved protector in the past. No wonder she tried to change Nightmare Night. “But I dally in reminiscence, let us return to the topic at hoof,” Luna continued. “Even though I didst love my sister dearly, that… vile element wouldst not allow me to forget Discord’s poisonous words. In my heart, I knew that Celestia would never harm me or any of our subjects, but in the back of my mind the voice of Discord whispered that she couldst become a threat them if ever she desired power. A threat which I mightst not have the strength to stop if I dallied to long. “It started with the nightmares. At first, they were nothing more than unpleasant dreams of Celestia becoming a tyrant and lengthening the period and intensity of her sun. Though with each passing day my visions became more exaggerated and terrible. I began to see Equestria burning under an unsetting sun. Lakes boiled away into wastelands whilst crops and villages were consumed by fire. I tried to hide my nightmares from my sister and my subjects. At first I felt ashamed and did not want to admit that I could feel such distrust for my beloved sister, but then I… I began to worry that she might believe I suspected her. “To add to my tortures, once I had begun to believe that my sister could be capable of the atrocities my mind told me she was planning, my nightmares began to alternate between her unending day, and the eternal night which I almost brought to pass. My loyalty towards my sister had fallen into question, and my ever so helpful Element of Loyalty saw it fit to enlighten me as to what might occur should I listen to its previous advice. I hid myself away from all of Equestria, attempting to flee from the never ending visions that burst forth, each more terrible than before, every instance I dared shut my eyes. I became delirious and sick of mind, and by the time Celestia finally found me, my nightmares had become my reality.” Luna bowed her head as tears began to form in her eyes. Celestia was at her side in an instant, wrapping a wing around the smaller Alicorn and nuzzling her cheek. “It wasn’t your fault, little sister.” “I know,” Luna whispered. Her whole body began to tremble as memories of her horrific visions began to resurface. “But I couldst not stop myself. I suspected you would… that I… the screaming…” Celestia shushed her sister as she held her close. The scene reminded Twilight of a similar event she had been a part of earlier that day. Once Luna had recovered, the unicorn spoke up. “I’m sorry but, Luna, are you saying that Rainbow Dash is going to turn into… into another Nightmare Moon?” The younger princess breathed deeply and shook her head, both as a negative and to clear her head of her terrible memories. “No, that wouldst be quite impossible, Twilight Sparkle. The corruption which took hold of me twisted my magic as well as my mind to change me into that monster. When Celestia discovered me, I was a madpony wreathed in magic and evil that lashed out at her like a wild beast. In the end, she had no choice but to call fourth the Elements of Harmony against me, but while I couldst not wield the three which I possessed in my insanity, she couldst not wield them either nor bring fourth their full power. Instead of releasing me from my magic and curing my mind, they simply severed my bonds to the elements I once held and imprisoned me within the moon I had so faithfully tended.” “If I had known that the Elements were going to rob me of my only sister I would never have used them,” Celestia confessed as she held the smaller mare under her wing. “Once I activated them, I couldn’t control what they did.” “You had no choice, sister. You had to protect yourself, and our people. To think of what might have happened if I had succeeded… and what almost did happen when I broke free…” Watching the love show itself between the two sisters as they apologized for their pasts in front of Twilight not only made her own element radiate throughout her entire body but it also reminded her of her own friend and the pain she was going through at that very moment. Rising to approach the sisters, she put a hoof gently on each of their shoulders and spoke softly. “Discord’s evil is even more twisted than I thought, if it could drive apart such devoted family.” Luna chucked grimly at Twilight’s observation. “Yes, though his sense of revenge seemed just as twisted when he escaped and immediately imprisoned me within the moon again whilst I was sleeping.” “So that’s where you were! We all wondered.” “Yes, and I apologize for being absent during your commemoration ceremony, but the blackness of space is much colder when one is not wreathed in several layers of magic and insanity, and the warm waters of the royal baths were attempting to thaw my unprepared body from its penetrating chill.” Celestia looked down at her sister with guilt evident on her face. “I will never let him harm you again, little sister. Even if I have to hold him in his granite prison with my own hooves.” “Thou shouldst still have spent thy time assisting Twilight and her compatriots in putting him back within his prison; rather of spending that time attempting to bring me home.” “After leaving you there for a millennium, I wasn’t about to let you spend another second there longer!” “Princess,” Twilight interrupted again, though seeing her wise and regal mentor fret over her younger sibling like a mother hen was very amusing, “what I don’t understand is why Discord would attack Rainbow Dash like this if she can’t become another threat? If anypony, he seemed most focused on Pinkie Pie while he was loose. I still get shivers when I remember going into Sugar Cube corner to rescue her.” “Discord delights in any manner of chaos, Twilight, but as I said I am not convinced he is behind this.” Her mentor clarified. “As Luna said, Loyalty is a very unstable element. It’s possible that Rainbow Dash may have encountered some challenge to her loyalties on her own which forced the Element to begin corrupting her mind. We secretly kept a very close eye on Rainbow Dash in the months after Discord’s escape, but all reports were that she was, if anything, even more boisterous and self-confident then before.” “I can attest to that.” Twilight added with a roll of her eyes. “So if Discord isn’t behind this, and she can’t turn into another creature of darkness, what is going to happen to her?” “If she is unable to silence the conflict within her mind, then the nightmares will become darker and more horrifying until her mind shatters beneath the strain, or… she may simply give in to the oblivion of an eternal sleep.” Luna answered sorrowfully. Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth in horror. “You mean?” Luna nodded gravely. “A mortal life is only made to bear so much.” “Is there anything we can do to stop this? A spell of some kind or maybe emotional therapy or something?” “I believe both of those options have merit, Twilight. I have already sent word to the finest counselors I know to be ready to leave for Ponyville, and I believe one of these books may also hold-“ Celestia’s words were cut short by an avian screech echoing up from the spiral stairway. A second later, a fire colored bird flew up from the trap door and landed on Celestia’s crooked foreleg with a rolled up parchment in one of its golden talons. “Philomena!” Twilight exclaimed, recognizing Celestia’s mischievous pet. Celestia took the scroll in her magic and unraveled it before her. “Yes, I sent her to Ponyville to request that your friends keep Dash close by. A Phoenix can make for almost as good a mail carrier as a dragon…” The Solar Princess’s voice trailed off as she read the letter. Her expression became dark. “Oh no…” “What is it? What’s happened?” Twilight had returned to an almost panicked state as she watched her mentor’s expression darken. “It’s as I feared. The response isn’t from your friends; it’s from the Head Nurse of Ponyville Medical Center. She says Dash collapsed within her home and had to be “air lifted” to the hospital, whatever that means. She has suffered a mild concussion and she is in a state of near coma. Your friends are all with her, and she is being given the best care possible, but her health is failing rapidly.” Twilight felt her heart stop. She had heard her mentor’s voice, but she just couldn’t understand the words. How could Dash have collapsed? What did she mean “her health is failing?” Hadn’t she seen her fly off that morning? She just couldn’t make sense of what Celestia had said, it was worse than when Discord had taken over. Discord. The thought of the wicked draconequus made her recall all the pain he had brought her and her friends, and to her mentor and Luna. While there was a chance the spirit of Disharmony wasn’t behind Dash’s illness, Twilight knew in her heart what she had to do, and more importantly, where she had to be. Jumping off the bed, Twilight silently made for the trap door. “Twilight Sparkle? Where arest thou going?” “Back to Ponyville. Dash needs her friends right now, and I’m sure the other girls are going to need me too.” At the top of the stairs, she stopped to look at the royal pony sisters. “If you find something that may help, send it through Spike. I need to go to my friends.” Celestia looked at her once unsocial and reclusive student as if seeing her for the first time. Then she closed her eyes and nodded, smiling proudly. “Then go, my faithful student. If that is where you feel you should be then you have no reason to tally here. I’ll send you in my personal carriage, you should return within the hour.” “No, we shall take mine!” The younger princess said jumping out of her sister’s embrace and using her magic to fish out her shoes and glittering chest piece from beneath the bed. “We?” both student and teacher asked skeptically as they watched Luna fasten on her royal accessories. “Yes, "we." As a both an Alicorn and as a former Element of Loyalty I may be of some help.” “Luna I don’t think-“ “Sister,” Luna interrupted, giving her protective sibling a determined look. “…Celestia, since I returned I have done almost nothing for the ponies I once protected. I have hid myself away in this tower and studied every subject I can find in our library, while stepping out only to raise the moon. I have rarely left the palace, and both times were at your behest. Besides, I am the most qualified mare in Equestria to help Rainbow Dash outside of the other Elements of Harmony and thou dost know it!” Celestia looked doubtfully at her little sister’s unwavering stare. Finally she sighed and gave her blessing. “Very well, but don’t do anything foalish! You are to watch and advise only!” Luna smiled and hugged her sibling before joining Twilight on the stairs and disappearing out of sight. Celestia sighed and let herself descend fully onto the enormous black bed. Her avian companion trilled at her inquisitively. “I don’t know, Philomena. It seems as if I’ve only just gotten her back and she’s already running off on adventures with my favorite protégé.” Then she smiled. “I think I may need to keep an eye on those two in the future.” The bird made a few casual whistles which caused Celestia to huff indignantly. “I don’t know that you’re talking about. I’ve never “manipulated” anypony. I just sometimes give my students a subtle push in the right direction, that’s all.” She was replied to by a disbelieving squawk. “Don’t make me send you to the moon, bird.”