//------------------------------//
// That which walks in the light... 
// Story: Coming to terms 
// by The Infinity Doctor 
//------------------------------//

"Wait a minute" I said, stopping her from exiting the Tardis.
"What?" Dusty asked.
"Something's been bothering me, you said you and your mother were digging in that cavern, so what happened to her, and where is she?"

Her ears slapped against her head.

"Your mother didn't know you were digging in there, did she?" I smirked. 

She smiled sheepishly.

"I thought so, well no matter, come on"

I poked my head out the doors of the Tardis, and noticed no immediate danger.

"It's safe Dusty, come on- let's head for the throne room" I said, motioning for her to follow.

"Are you sure it's safe?" she asked, hesitantly stepping away from the safety of the Tardis.

"Er, no- but it's a shot, right?"
She gave me one of those looks and followed me down the hall.

"Awfully quiet tonight, isn't it? No guards or anything are around" I said, suspicious.

'Weird, I thought I set the controls for morning...' 

"Maybe they're on a break?" 
"I don't think so...something's off here..."

We soon reached the doors to the throne room.

'Weirder still...shouldn't there be at least two guards here?'

I pressed my ear to the door, and heard arguing on the other side.

'Please tell me we're not where and when I think we are...'

I silently cracked the large door open, bits of rubble fell from the edges of the large hole in the ceiling, revealing the moon and stars above. In the center of the room was Princess Celestia on the floor, laying on her side, breathing heavily with her eyes closed, the 
elements on the floor around her. I checked her with the Screwdriver, her vitals were dropping, and dropping fast.

'This doesn't make any sense, she should be fine...unless...'

I carefully took both of her forehooves and lifted the alicorn's front half off the ground, at the same time shoving the Elements into my pockets.

"Dusty, take her back legs, we need to get her back to her room" I said, struggling under the weight of the alicorn.

Thankfully, her altered-size made it easy for her to do heavy-lifting, as she almost effortlessly lifted Celestia's hindquarters (shut up perverts!).

She and I lifted her into the Tardis, and rematerialized in her room. Dusty and I set Celestia on her bed as comfortably as possible, setting her head gently on one of the fluffy pillows decorating her bed.

"What happened to her?" Dusty asked, nodding to the princess.
"You ever hear of Nightmare Moon?" I asked.
Her eyes widened.

"I take it you have?"
"Yes" she said breathlessly "That was today? It happened? Just now?"
"Eeyup, history in the making- could you keep an eye on her? I need to get a damp cloth and some medicine supplies...maybe I can find some in the Tardis..."

Dusty nodded and kept a close eye on the sleeping alicorn.

X X X X X X X 

I dunked the washcloth in the bowl of cold water and placed it on Celestia's forehead, just below her long, spiraled horn. Her ethereal mane billowed as she gave out a soft groan, barely audible.

"She's waking" Dusty whispered "What do we do?"
"Into the Tardis, we'll see if we can't activate the cloaking device"
"And if you can't?"
"..."

She and I bolted into the Tardis, I glanced at the screen as three guards entered the room as Celestia slowly raised her head.

"Highness? Is everything okay?" an armor-clad pegasus asked.

Celestia, still tired for her part, responded by laying her head on her pillow.

"Highness?!" 
The pegasus turned to the unicorn guard.
"Quickly, go and fetch the hoof-maiden, tell her the princess is injured!"
The unicorn saluted and dashed out of the room, his armor clanking as his hooves thumped against the stone floor.

I sighed in relief as I flopped into the chairs in front of the console as the White House scene from 'The Impossible Astronaut' flashed through my head.
"That's one crisis averted..."

'And they'll be none the wiser' I thought, watching the princess recieve proper medical attention.

"What happens to her now?" Dusty asked, watching the screen.
"Same old, same old" I replied "She'll mourn the loss of her sister, she'll go on ruling Equestria, and until we can find an opporitunity to ask her to use the Elements, we'll have to sit back and see what happens"
"So...we just wait?"

"Unfortunately..."

X X X X X X X 

Three days. Three days have passed since Dusty and I have watched the goings on in Celestia's chambers, waiting for the right moment. Three days of staring at the ceiling. Three days of being close to driving myself insane.

I boredly stared at the monitor as two guards exited the room, leaving Celestia alone. Or so she thought.

I poked my head out of the Tardis, Celestia's attention was diverted out the window. I slowly closed the door as to not make any noise, and silently walked closer.

I nervously pulled at my tie as I cleared my throat.

'First encounter with a grown pony, please let it go well' I prayed.

Celestia's gaze shot to me, eyes wide.

"Wh-what are you?" she asked, genuine fear in her voice.
"Nopony you need to worry about, you have my sympathies concerning your sister"
One of her eyebrows quirked in suspicion.
"What do you know of my sister?"
"Almost nothing" I replied honestly "But I've come regretfully, to ask a favor of you"
"You have managed to break into my chambers undetected, I believe that must warrant some form of congradulations"
"I need you to use these" I said, removing the Elements from my pocket.
"How did you manage to get ahold of those?"
"Very carefully"
"Why should I do this for you?"
"In all honesty, you shouldn't, but it isn't for me, it's for a friend of mine"

I turned to the Tardis.

"You can come out now!" I called
The still-cloaked Tardis door opened, giving the impression of Dusty stepping out of thin air.

"She's been greatly affected by chaos magic, we need the Elements to return her to her natural form"
"I see..."

"Dusty, this is Princess Celestia, Princess Celestia, this is Dusty"