A loud scream pierced through the dungeon, interrupting the interrogation.
"What was that?" asked House.
"I-I don't k-know..." stammered Twilight. "Do either of you know?" Twilight questioned the guards.
"Probably one of the maids dropped whatever they were carrying, no need to worry Miss Twilight."
"No need to worry? Why on earth would a maid scream like that when they only dropped something?" mused House.
"Oh they think they will be sent to the moon," laughed one of the guards.
"It's actually quite funny really," chuckled the other.
"I don't get it."
"I-it doesn't m-matter, H-house, lets just c-carry on with..." Twilight gulped hard, "this." Twilight took a few seconds to compose herself before opening her mouth to speak.
Knock Knock
"Ahhh! What is it with these interruptions? Can either of you found out what's happening?"
The guards looked at each other for a second before one of them turned, opened the door and headed outside. The remaining three waited in silence for the guard to return. He did so, moments later, looking far more solemn.
"Miss Sparkle, you presence is immediately required at the royal infirmary."
"I'm a bit busy interrogating the prisoner, can't it wait?"
"I'm afraid this is a little bit more important, Miss Sparkle, it's about Princess Celestia."
"The Princess? Why? What's happened?" The guard bit his lip and looked down. "What has happened to the Princess!?"
"... There's been an accident." Twilight's eyes went wide, "There's no need to worry, Miss Sparkle, she is unconscious but at the same time she's stable."
For a moment, the room was silent apart from the rapid hyperventilation Twilight was performing. Eventually she managed to get herself under enough control to talk between breaths.
"I... Want... To... See... Her..."
"That's understandable, Miss. The infirmary is already expecting your arrival."
"All right," said Twilight, now composed enough to breath properly. "I guess you should probably escort the prisoner back to his cell until I'm able to resume interrogation."
"Actually, MIss, he has to come as well."
"What?!"
"Princess Luna has requested an audience with him."
"Why?!"
"I'm sorry, Miss Sparkle, she hasn't given her reason. She only said it was important."
"Fine... he comes with us! But make sure he doesn't do anything silly."
The two guards saluted and moved to flank of House as Twilight came over to release him.
"Right, I'm going to let you go now, but you have to promise not to run off or cause any problem, okay?"
House rolled his eyes.
"Really? You have Mario and Luigi here, and your magic as well lets not forget, and you think I'm going to run off? I know I look strange to you guys, but do I look that stupid?"
Twilight chuckled for a second.
"You woke up in a strange land and the first thing you did was try to ride the Princess, of course I think you look stupid."
"Uh, I told you guys I thought I was hallucinating - still do actually - besides how was I meant to know she was some kind of royalty?"
Now it was Twilight's turn to role her eyes.
"The big crown? That might have been a clue."
"Okay, I understand your point, I still reject it but I understand it. Now can you just free me so I can get out of here?"
"Ooh, desperate to see Princess Luna then are you?" Joked Twilight.
"No, but I do admit that it would be able to stretch my legs and get away from all this grey."
"Okay, give me a second." Twilight's horn flashed violet for a second and the chairs bindings became loose allowing House to move. "There you go, now be a nice little... 'colt'... and go with the guards. They'll take you to the Princess." She began to walk out of the room, turning back just as she reached the door. "And I look forward to interrogating you later."
With Twilight gone House turned to his guards with a cheeky grin, "Lead on."
Having left the guards behind her to deal with 'House', Twilight ran full speed ahead. It had been some time since she had last been to the royal infirmary, but her childhood memories of being whisked there by Celestia after one of her many magical mishaps left the directions firmly ingrained in her mind. In fact it wasn't all that far from the prison cells and interrogation areas.
As she skidded round the final corner before the infirmary, she had to quickly teleport to avoid hitting the wall. She came out of the teleport in a tumble and rolled forwards through the doors; landing just inside, in a heap. Picking herself up, she dusted herself off and turned to see a familiar face.
"Applejack!" She latched onto her friend in a vice-like grip. Her friend returned the embrace through gritted teeth. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't ya remember? Ah had my meeting with the princess to discuss some purchase orders." Twilight smiled.
"Ahh, of course. Sorry, just so hard to imagine something has happened to the Princess."
"It's okay, sugarcube. I can imagine how you feel, she was your mentor after all."
"So, do you know what happened?" Applejack shuffled her hooves nervously.
"Ah do indeed, Twi. Saw it happen myself. It was as I was walking into the palace, I had just looked up and seen the Princess up on her balcony and glanced away for a second. The next thing I knew there was a thud and the princess was lying on the grass near me."
"Eeep." Twilight's eyes began to fill with water. "How... how is she?"
"Ah don't know Twi, she was picked up pretty quickly and they haven't let anyone in there yet."
"Oh..." Twilight's ears flattened against her head and she released her grip on Applejack while looking down. "That doesn't sound good." Applejack looked at the ground, her ears also flattened.
For a short period of time, the two just stood there silent. Twilight; playing with her hair and Applejack; spinning her hat around on her hoof.
"It'll be alright, Twi." Applejack broke the silence, "The Princess has been through worse things than a fall. Remember her big fight with the Changeling Queen?"
A small smile broke its way onto Twilight's face, of course she remembered. It was a fight that Celestia had lost, thanks to the love that creature had stolen from her brother. But Celestia had recovered.
"I guess, but even then we were allowed to see her in the hospital. Why not now?"
"Ah don't know, but I'm sure there's some reason. Maybe the Princess is just tired and needs a rest?"
"Maybe..." the small smile flickered on her face for a moment to be replaced by a frown again. "I don't know Applejack, I'm just worried. Falling; just isn't like her. I mean she's probably the most experienced flyer in all of Equestria."
"Twilight, ah..."
A door opened and a doctor came out of one of the rooms.
"Ahh, Miss Applejack, there you are. And you must be Miss Twilight."
"H-how is she doctor?"
"It's hard to tell, Miss Twilight, all her vital signs are where we should expect her to be, so she's stable. But she's still out like a light. Hasn't been conscious since the fall."
"Is that bad?"
"It's hard to say, while it's not unheard of for a patient to be out cold for as long as she has, the Princess usually recovers quickly from any mishaps she's had in the past. I guess we just have to wait and see."
"Alright... Can we go and see her?"
"I'm afraid not, we're still running some tests at the moment. Maybe later." With that, the doctor turned and went back into the room, leaving Applejack and Twilight alone. Applejack moved over Twilight and brought her into a tight hug.
"It'll be alright, Sugarcube, It'll be alright."