A Heart of Change

by SilentBelle

Chapter 20 - The Burden of Responsibility

“You can't just walk into our room and watch Bloom and Scoots while they sleep!” Sweetie's voice called out sharply from somewhere nearby.

Apple Bloom listened. Though with the leaden weight of fatigue bearing down from behind her eyes, she decided to stay covertly beneath her covers. She tried to relax and let the pressure behind her eyes pass as the conversation continued.

“I, in fact, do have permission to enter any and all rooms within the palace, save for the Prince and Princess' royal chambers,” an amused voice replied, a voice which could only belong to Sky Chaser. “However, if I wanted to watch a couple of mares while they were sleeping, I'd just scry on them from my own room. It would be less likely that I'd be caught that way.”

“Except that I'd stop you as soon as you tried that, just like the other day, when we were traveling through the city.” Sweetie Belle's voice was sour. “Spying on ponies isn't nice, you know.”

“Nice?” Sky asked with a dismissive snort. “No, it is not. However, it is my job, and it is for the greater good of the Empire that I keep my eyes ever watchful.”

Sweetie Belle let out a disgusted snort. “Sure. Voyeurism for the sake of the Empire.”

Sky only laughed in response. “Well, I may as well enjoy the job in what small ways I can. After all, I am stuck with it.”

“So then, why are you here anyway?” Sweetie Belle's voice sounded a little disappointed and slightly strained. “The sun's not even up yet.”

“You mean aside from trying to catch a glimpse of a young sleeping mare?” Apple Bloom could just imagine the stallion's grin as he spoke. “Well, we have a busy day ahead of us, and I figured that we might as well start bright and early. And the fact that it’s earlier than it is bright is all for the better. I thought you'd be more excited to see that I have come to help you find your body, Sweetie Belle.”

“Find her body, and wake us up,” Apple Bloom muttered, peeled back her bed covers, and opened her eyes.

She peered through the gray darkness of the room and saw a soft golden glow from the open doorway. Sky Chaser was standing there, grinning as always, wearing a sequin-lined outfit that nearly made Apple Bloom wince as she looked at it. Sky's horn sparkled with life, as he maintained a small light spell, and before him, Sweetie Belle's amulet hung in the air, the emerald catching and dispersing stray rays of his golden spell.

“Oh, I am sorry if I awoke you, Apple Bloom,” Sky Chaser said with a deep bow.

“If you're sorry, ya could do a better job of lookin' the part,” Apple Bloom said, as she suppressed a yawn. She grabbed a nearby brush and a ribbon before walking over to them.

“It is just that I'd be even more sorry to not get the chance to wake you up, is all,” Sky Chaser amended, then raised an eyebrow in amusement. “So much to do, and so little time.”

“Then, by all means, don't let me stop you two.” Apple Bloom sat on a chair, affixed a hoofbrush to her forehoof, and began to work away at her mess of a mane. As she did so, she cast a small glance toward the other bed in the room. Scootaloo's sleeping form remained undisturbed, offering a quiet rhythm of relaxed breaths, a soothing sound that nearly brought a smile to Apple Bloom's lips. Apple Bloom nodded toward the bed and whispered to the other two, “Try not ta wake Scootaloo up. She needs as much rest as she can get. Though, it probably wouldn't 've hurt ya ta bring some breakfast.”

“Oh, there's no need to worry about that,” Sky replied in a whisper as he moved over to another nearby chair and took a seat. “I've already had breakfast.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. Ugh, it's too early for this.

“Well, then.” The blue stallion smirked at Apple Bloom’s expression, then turned to face Sweetie Belle, who had remained hovering only a few feet from him, clearly staring him down as stonily as she could, given that she had no body.

For a moment, Apple Bloom idly imagined creating a few golden bands to cover the majority of the amulet, leaving only two small slits of emerald as scowling eyes. It was an expression she was sure Sweetie Belle should have been wearing.

“Shall we get started then?” Lord Sky asked Sweetie Belle. The amulet's hovering 'stare' had done little to make the Sky Chaser take on a more serious tone.

Sweetie Belle sighed, and with a flash from her amulet, Apple Bloom noticed a soft glow emanating from Sweetie's nearby saddlebag. “Here's one of my hairs. I hope you can find where my body is. Last time I tried—”

“If it's out there, then I will find it,” Sky assured her. For only a moment, his smile disappeared, and his golden eyes stared straight into the emerald's depths. “After all, I am a scrymaster for a reason.”

“Hey, if you think that you're bett—”

“It's not a challenge, Sweetie Belle,” the stallion interjected as a smile sprung back to his lips. In the next second, his horn's light spell faded, and a deeper golden glow overcame his horn. “It is simply a matter of fact and experience.”

Before Sweetie Belle could rebuke him any further, Sky's magic spread out from his horn. Apple Bloom saw that the single white hair that had been held in Sweetie's aura was now fully wrapped in his golden glow. There was a frown of concentration on the stallion's face, and Sky's ever-humorous expression became naught but the slightest upward twinge of a single corner of his lips.

Apple Bloom felt the slightest shiver crawling up her spine as she worked idly on her mane. She always attributed this sensation to unicorns using magic near her. However, she was well aware that it did not always happen whenever any spell was cast. Perhaps, she thought to herself, it's just a matter of knowing how much hinges on this spell.

For her part, Apple Bloom made sure to keep her silence as she stared at the blue stallion and waited to see what would happen. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for or what a successful scrying spell would look like, given that, this time, he held no mirror before him, just a simple strand of hair. Would there be a popping sound when he found it? she wondered. Or is it just a feeling? Or is he seeing something that we can't? Her curiosity was beginning to gnaw at her, and it took no small amount of effort for her to stop herself from asking Sweetie Belle. She made a mental note to check out a few books on magical theory when she next had a chance. She may not be a unicorn; however, knowing a bit more about how magic worked certainly couldn't hurt. Especially in times like these.

Sky Chaser's narrowed eyes stared off into the middle distance for what seemed like an eternity. It was enough time for Apple Bloom to have finished combing and braiding her mane and tail. The room grew brighter, as the first light of dawn began to reach out from the horizon outside and filtered subtly through the translucent crystal walls of the room. She found herself idly taking in Sky Chaser's colouration: his mane the clouds, his coat the sky, his eyes the sun, while his magic auras were the sun's rays. And it’s all ruined thanks to that sequin emblazoned outfit. She sighed and not for the first time, wondered just what sort of cutie mark Sky Chaser had hidden beneath his gaudy exterior.

Just as Apple Bloom affixed the last of her pink ribbon to her tail, Sky Chaser blinked suddenly, and his horn stopped glowing. A moment passed, and the room remained silent until Apple Bloom dared to speak. “So, is that it?”

The stallion sighed with a tone of weariness, and his usual smile did not return as quickly as Apple Bloom had been expecting. Instead, Sky Chaser turned to Sweetie's floating amulet and reluctantly looked into the emerald jewelry. “It is most unfortunate,” he began, his voice surprisingly devoid of its typical ebullient tone. “However, I could not locate your body anywhere within the scope of nearly two hundred miles of here. The only responses that I received were your hairs, most of which were lodged to the underside of your saddle. And, of course, the spell linked to your amulet, which I have no doubt you were able to sense. If your body is out there, it is either under heavy magical warding, or it is beyond the scope of my spell.”

“So then, he could have it?” Apple Bloom wondered. That would certainly be the worst possible outcome.

“I-” Sweetie's voice was slow and quiet, “I don't think he has my body. I think my body just might not be here anymore. At all.”

Apple Bloom felt her lungs tighten at the thought. “But you and Scootaloo sounded so sure yesterday.”

“I know,” Sweetie Belle said with a shaky laugh. “But that was just bravado on my part: wishful thinking, denial. But I don't know anymore. I'm alive, right? Because of that, I was sure my body would be out there. But can I really be alive without a body?”

“I am sorry,” Sky said in a near whisper. “I wish I had better news, truly.”

“No,” Sweetie Belle said, almost more to herself than to anypony else. “It makes sense. My body is gone. I have to face it. That other Sweetie, when she took my place, I lost my body. If my body had stayed around, I should have been pulled back into it afterwards, I'm certain, I—”

“Sweetie,” Apple Bloom said quietly into the dark chambers. How Apple Bloom wished she could throw her hooves around Sweetie and pull Sweetie into a hug, to do anything to comfort her. The amulet hung in the air, the golden chain hanging limp, while the shard of Discord floated around it lazily.

Apple Bloom frowned at the fragment. Discord and that nameless voice. If it weren't for them... They caused all of this. She felt a cold anger rising in her chest and forced herself to look away. But anger never solves anything, darn it. All we can do is face the facts and do what we can from here.

“No,” Scootaloo's voice called out in a quiet yet firm tone.

The pegasus rolled out of her bed, slower than Apple Bloom was expecting the pegasus to move. With the way Scootaloo winced slightly when her hooves hit the ground, Apple Bloom could only begin to wonder at how exhausted Scootaloo’s body must have been from the previous day's ordeal. Both of them have been dragged into worse situations than either should ever have to face. And here Ah am, right next to them, powerless to actually do anything. Darn it all!

“Sweetie, remember. I promised you I'd help you find your body,” Scootaloo said simply as she walked up to the amulet. “I'm not going back on that promise. We'll find it! You can't give up on it!”

“But if it's not there—” Sweetie began.

“Then we'll find out where it is. If he has it, we'll fly over to him and beat him up until he gives it back! If it's somewhere else, we'll find it. There has to be a solution, Sweetie! It's only really over once you give up on it, unlike how you didn't give up on me!”

“But how will I find it, Scoots?” Sweetie Belle shouted back, her amulet glowing brightly. “Where do I look if scrying can't even find it? What do I do?”

“We do everything we have to,” Scootaloo stated simply. “We'll find it!”

Apple Bloom shook her head. For all the hope that might have been born from such wishful thinking, Apple Bloom knew that chasing after something so impossible would just end in disappointment. She was about to open her mouth to tell off Scootaloo when a series of knocks at the room's door interrupted her.

The room fell silent, and they all turned to the door. “Come in,” Apple Bloom called out.

The door swung gently inward to reveal a single crystal pony with a cart of food. Apple Bloom squinted at the crystal pony for a second before she recognized the amethyst mare as Prism, the steward that tended to these chambers.

“I'm sorry to interrupt,” Prism said demurely as she pushed the cart through the door, “but I got a message from Lord Sky,”—she bowed to the stallion—“that you required breakfast to be delivered to Lady Apple Bloom’s room.”

“That is actually rather thoughtful of you, Lord Sky,” Apple Bloom said with mild surprise. “And thank you, Prism. We appreciate it.”

“Well, I did tell you not to worry about breakfast, did I not?” Sky Chaser let out a small laugh.

Prism bowed to each of them in turn. “My lord. My ladies. I'll be back in an hour to collect the cart.” With that, she turned around and left, closing the door behind her.

“Hmm,” Sky said and looked at the closed door. “She's a little too obsequious for my tastes.”

“Nopony asked for your opinion,” Scootaloo muttered, giving the stallion a dirty look. She then pointedly turned her back on Sweetie Belle, as if to emphasize her earlier point by refusing to talk any further on the subject. Scootaloo walked over to the cart to check out what was for breakfast.

Apple Bloom decided that it would be best not to bring the subject up again so soon, as much as she disagreed with Scootaloo's blind determination. Dwelling on it is not going to solve anything right now; it will just cause our tempers to flare. We might as well get some food in us first.

Once she got to the cart of food, Bloom was quite pleased to spot a wide variety of fruits tossed into a salad as well as a hot container of vegetable soup and a loaf of sliced brown bread. This certainly beats oats and dried apple slices.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom got themselves some breakfast and began to eat. For a time, silence reigned in the room. Sweetie Belle seemed content to keep her thoughts to herself as she hovered in the corner of the room, and Sky Chaser stood in a different corner. His horn was glowing as he looked into the depths of a standing mirror. More scrying? Apple Bloom shrugged as her own innate curiosity fought with her hunger and lost.

“So,” Scootaloo began, glancing at the sunlit walls of the room, “I think Princess Luna should be here by now.”

“What?” Apple Bloom said, as she finished swallowing the last of her meal. “She's headed here?”

“Yeah. Last night, she spoke to me and decided to make her way here. There's a lot going on, and by the sounds of it, it's happening all over Equestria.”

“Ah,” Sky Chaser said from the corner. “Now that would explain it.” He nodded and turned to them. “I was wondering why Princess Luna had suddenly arrived in the courtroom.”

“What's happening all over Equestria? The strange unicorn's attacks?” Apple Bloom asked.

Sky Chaser nodded. “So it would seem. However, the best way to find out is to ask the princess. Shall we go pay her and the prince a small visit?”

“But didn't we agree to work on the prince's task?” Apple Bloom interjected. “Y'know, we're supposed ta work on tracking down that unknown unicorn's influence and see where he's hiding.”

“Ah, yes.” Lord Sky nodded in agreement and made his way to the door. “However, objectives do change, and if our good friend Scootaloo is speaking the truth, then the problem is indeed affecting not only our nation, but also all of Equestria. Any information we can get may help us narrow our search. And trust me, Princess Luna is bound to be a treasure trove of information.” He opened the door and gave Apple Bloom a smile. “Care to take part in another boring meeting?”

Apple Bloom sighed, left her cleaned plates on the cart, and moved to follow him. Scootaloo followed suit, and a few second later, Sweetie's amulet took up the rear, hovering slowly with Discord's fragment in tow.

Scootaloo walked along the corridor as she let Apple Bloom and Sky Chaser take the lead. The two were talking about the application of scrying spells or something. Scootaloo hadn't really bothered to listen beyond a sentence or two. Apple Bloom had that gleam in her eyes as well as a tonal fervor as bright as sunlight, which showcased her determination to figure out how Sky Chaser’s magic worked.

Sky Chaser, on the other hoof, just offered jovial answers to her questions. Though from the deepening furrows of Apple Bloom's eyebrows, Scootaloo was beginning to think that the stallion was offering some answers that were less than satisfactory.

Scootaloo shook her head before looking back over her own shoulder. A few feet behind her, Sweetie Belle's amulet slid gently and quietly through the air.

“Sweetie,” Scootaloo called out quietly.

“What?” Sweetie Belle replied bitterly.

“It's not like you to be so quiet,” Scootaloo ventured. “Are you okay?”

“Okay?” The amulet shook in irritation. “Okay! Of course I'm not okay! The only chance I had at finding out if I could get my body back has just been dashed to the ground! I'm going to be stuck inside this amulet forever! My body doesn’t exist anymore.”

Scootaloo felt a small pool of anger welling up inside of her, but she kept her voice calm. “And you're going to let that stop you? Since when did you ever give up on a magic spell because it was too hard?”

“It's not a matter of a spell being too hard. It's a matter of impossibility!” Sweetie retorted.

“So you're just going to let Discord's magic trick wreck your life forever?” Scootaloo asked, and she couldn't stop a tone of accusation from coating her words. “You’re just going to stop struggling against it? That's not the Sweetie Belle that I know. I know you're not okay with losing your body, and I'm not okay with it either! You can't give up on it! If magic caused it, then magic can fix it! Where has your determination gone?”

“I-I haven't given up.” Her voice was a quavering echo through the empty hall. “I don't want to, more than anything. But what if there's no way to fix it? I can't just blindly believe that—” Sweetie suddenly stopped. “Wait. What was it you just said, Scoots?”

This time, when Sweetie had spoken, her voice wasn't a desperate and heartbroken sound, but there was a certain, surprised vigor behind her words. It was the familiar excitement of a young mare who was on the verge of finishing a new spell or of a filly who had just gotten the perfect idea for how she and her friends could get their cutie marks. This was Sweetie's real voice, and it shimmered a faint emerald across Scootaloo's vision.

“I said that you can't give up on it,” Scootaloo said tentatively.

“No, no, no, before that. About Discord.”

Scootaloo frowned for a moment and thought back. “You shouldn't let Discord's magic ruin your life forever?”

“Yeah that! What did you mean by that?”

“Discord got rid of your body, right?” Scootaloo proffered. “At least, I'm pretty sure that's what happened.”

Sweetie hummed for a moment. “There was that dragon-thing that was about to eat me. Then there was magic all around me as the world shifted, and I lost all my senses. After a few minutes I began to decipher the world around me. I think it was right when you, Bloom, and the other Sweetie all fell through the floor. So, I don't really know what happened until that point,” Sweetie admitted. “Was Scoddri involved?”

Scootaloo nodded. “I think so. That damned snake said so when it happened.” Scootaloo cleared her throat. “'Discord? You'd use teleportation to try and save the girl?' He said something like that. And if it wasn’t for Discord's interference, you'd have died. I couldn't reach you in time.” Scootaloo cast her eyes at the blue crystal of the floor. “I wasn't fast enough.” I never am.

“So Scoddri actually did that? Then this changes a lot of things.” Sweetie let out a small laugh, not a laugh of despair, but rather a laugh that should have been accompanied by a pair of sparkling, silvery-green eyes and a soft, secretive smile.

There were no such eyes for Scootaloo to share her own smile with. Though the multiple facets of the gently glowing amulet were almost a worthy replacement. “So you have a plan then?”

“You know me so well, Scoots,” Sweetie said amicably as she used her magic to maneuver the amulet and latch it snugly around Scootaloo's neck. “You'd better believe it.”

“Hey, you two!” Apple Bloom called out from around a corner at the far end of the palace's main hallway. “Hurry it up, would ya?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sweetie's voice called out. “We're coming.”

Scootaloo gave a light, almost nervous chuckle as she walked towards Apple Bloom. “And I assume it's a dangerous plan?” Scootaloo asked quietly.

“Hah,” Sweetie laughed. “I'm not sure how dangerous it is. I'm hoping my hypothesis is correct, and I'll have my body back by the end of this. But it will take a little while for me to figure it all out. At the very least, I know I can't give up until I've tried a few more things.”

Scootaloo smiled and stole an affectionate glance down at the amulet. This is what makes Sweetie who she is, Scootaloo thought with certainty. It's not her cutie mark, her magic, or even her voice. It's her tenacity, her optimism. It's how she always follows through and takes me with her. Scootaloo shook her head. “So you're doing this all by guesswork then?”

“More like educated guesswork. I dare say, I am an educated mare, Scoots, not some run-of-the-mill unicorn.”

“I suppose Twilight must have been able to work miracles if you're educated in spite of your best attempts to bail on her at every turn.” Scootaloo snickered and finally reached the end of the hall where Apple Bloom stood, a single raised eyebrow betrayed her own curiosity.

“I was not avoiding her at every turn!” Sweetie Belle argued back. “She just wasn't allowing me to practice useful spells.”

“So you'd sneak into the library as soon as she left and search for the, what was it, 'real magic books' while telling Spike that Twilight had sent you to find those books.”

Apple Bloom let out a sad sigh and nodded towards the large double doors fifty feet ahead of them. Sky Chaser stood by the door, talking quietly to the pair of the guards who flanked the door. The three mares made their way over toward the council room.

“Seriously, Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. “You were stealin' books from the library behind Twilight's back?”

“Does that really surprise you, Bloom?” Scootaloo asked.

“Hey! You both make it sound like a crime! First of all, I never stole the books. I just borrowed them. And second, I was pursuing an education of my own volition! Twilight should have been proud to have a student as eager to learn as me!”

“Well, if she was proud, she sure was having one heck of a time showing it,” Scootaloo said with a devilish grin. “I wonder, how many times did she singe her hair while lecturing you about losing those borrowed books?”

“Geez! It was only once!” Sweetie rebuked, and Scootaloo couldn't help a devilish smile from springing to her lips. “Hey, the other two books weren't lost.”

“They were just burned to a crisp!” Scootaloo finished with a laugh.

“Slightly singed,” Sweetie corrected darkly.

Scootaloo considered how much further she could tease Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom shook her head, although a small smile did play on her lips for a moment. “C'mon girls, knock it off. We're 'bout ta enter the council chambers. Quit horsin' around.” She nodded to Sky Chaser.

“Very well then,” the unicorn began and smiled to one of the guards, “if you'd be so kind.”

The guard in question simply nodded and opened the door to the antechamber, where an opalescent crystal mare awaited them with a clipboard affixed to her foreleg.

“Ah, Slate, how are you this morning?” Lord Sky asked in his overly chipper voice.

“Awake,” she responded dryly. “I was told to expect your arrival. Follow me.”

“Why do I think she's likely funner asleep than awake?” Sky Chaser asked in a hushed tone to the three mares beside him.

It was clearly still spoken loudly enough for Blank Slate to have heard, for Scootaloo noticed that Slate rolled her eyes skyward and muttered something under her breath.

'The things I put up with'? Scootaloo guessed. Something along those lines. Scootaloo gave Lord Sky a sidelong glance. He sure likes to get under other ponies’ skins.

Blank Slate pushed the door open quietly and waved for the four of them to follow her.

Scootaloo moved past the large, opaque doors and was surprised by the chamber on the other side. The morning sunlight lit up the room spectacularly. There was some sort of crystalline pattern hidden within the ceiling, which caused the room to be graced with a subtle sprinkling of prismatic light that added a bit of flourish to the otherwise sparse room. There was only a large table in the center of the chamber, and this served to immediately draw Scootaloo's attention to the ponies who formed a crescent around one-half of the table.

Luna caught Scootaloo's eye immediately. The princess looked exhausted; her eyes held creases of fatigue around them, but otherwise, she struck Scootaloo as a rather impressive and majestic figure, sitting tallest in the room in the rightmost position at the table. As Scootaloo looked at the princess, Princess Luna caught her gaze and smiled slyly. Feeling slightly unnerved, Scootaloo decided to turn her attention back to the rest of the table.

All of the members turned to face the arriving ponies. Scootaloo gave each of them a quick glance. Shining Armor she knew, of course. He looked as though he hadn't gotten much sleep, if any. He was seated in a chair to the left of the vacant center seat of the table. To his right, an alabaster crystal pony sat tall and proud in his sparkling, blue armour. His Captain of the guard. Snowball? Snowfall? Something like that. Aside from them, on a chair to the right of Princess Cadence's empty seat, there was a single orange crystal pony mare in fiery-red robes. She wore a pleasant smile.

“Announcing Lord Sky Chaser, Lady Apple Bloom, and Lady Scootaloo to the council,” Blank Slate's voice called out clearly.

“And what am I?” Sweetie Belle muttered just loudly enough so that only Scootaloo could hear her. “A bale of hay?”

“My prince!” Sky Chaser called out across the chamber as they approached the council table. “We came as soon as we learned of the the princess' arrival with the hope that her expertise and potential knowledge of the situation might help us narrow our search.”

“I thought as much,” Shining Armor said with an approving nod. “And I am glad you brought our three guests with you as well. Princess Luna desires to speak with them. Please, take a seat, all of you.”

Not feeling entirely comfortable with so many eyes on her, Scootaloo followed Apple Bloom and Sky Chaser to three remaining seats on the opposite side of the council. This placed Scootaloo directly across the table from none other than Princess Luna.

“How very peculiar,” the princess began, “that we should see three ponies when four are present. I had hoped that Sweetie Belle's unfortunate situation was not so.”

“That makes two of us,” Sweetie Belle said with a small laugh.

Apple Bloom gave the amulet a warning glare while the guard captain's frown deepened, but Luna only nodded at the remark.

Lord Sky sighed lightly as he idly spun his staff around in the air in front of him. “Indeed, we could not find her body anywhere, even with my profound scrying magics.”

“It is a condition that I have never seen before,” Luna admitted. “The closest I've seen was my own... absence from Equestria. Even then, I do not remember time passing for me during my exile, only a moment of darkness.” It looked as though the princess was trying not to wince as she spoke those words. “While I may not have a specific solution to your predicament, Sweetie Belle, I would speak with you in private and discuss some of the nuances at work, and perhaps we can figure out a solution together.”

“Yeah.” Sweetie said with a hint of doubt in her voice. “But we have more important stuff to discuss right now. Right?”

“As unfortunate as it is, yes, that is the case. We shall talk in private about your predicament later this evening,” Luna said solemnly. “And now that we are all gathered here, without further delay, we shall review the outlines of our plans.”

“Of course,” Shining Armor spoke up. “As we were discussing, Princess Luna has informed us that the nameless unicorn's influence has spread far beyond just the Crystal Empire, and numerous ponies are being influenced, unbeknownst to themselves.”

“These afflicted ponies do not appear in the realm of dreams anymore. Or if they do, I can no longer see their dreams. It is most disturbing. I have already discussed this with Scootaloo.” Princess Luna nodded to the pegasus. “And I have come to suspect that this is mind magic of the foulest nature, manipulating ponies at their very core. If they do not bend to his magic, then the magic will break them.”

“How many are being influenced, I wonder?” Sky Chaser asked lazily as he tilted his chair back absentmindedly.

“It is powerful and subtle magic to influence ponies so strongly. Thankfully that means it is no easy feat for him to spread his influence. I imagine no more than fifty or so ponies across all of Equestria are under his control. I will admit that those missing ponies from the dreamscape would have gone unnoticed before my own eyes had I not been specifically concerned for a specific pony.” Luna looked straight toward Scootaloo and gave her an easy smile. “I am glad that you are unharmed, Scootaloo.”

“I—” Scootaloo shook her head. “It's thanks to Sweetie. She saved me. If she weren't there—” She shivered at the memory of the snake's oily skin, piercing fangs, and hissing voice. It was almost as if she could feel him inside, still lingering in the recesses of her mind. No! she told herself firmly. He's gone! And I'm never letting him in again!

“Then you have my thanks, Sweetie Belle, student of my sister's student. We are most fortunate that you are proficiently gifted with the skill to shrewdly help your friends when they need you most.”

Sweetie Belle's amulet glowed slightly. “That's, uh, thanks. I guess.”

“Indeed, we all find Sweetie Belle so endearing,” Sky Chaser said and waved his staff in an arc above his head. “However, it might be most prudent to return to discussing the task at hoof. Seems like we have ourselves a bit of a spider web across both our nations, and the obvious solution is to squash the spider by tracing the threads back to their source. However, the web is, as the visiting princess said, very subtle. We likely will not see it unless we know exactly where and whom to look for.”

“Precisely.” Luna nodded. “I shall start with a subject whom we know for certain has been affected: a guard named Bulwark, who collapsed from looking at Scootaloo, correct? I believe I may be able to pull him out from the influence of the spell, given enough time. However, I am not certain that we can discern our attacker's location from Bulwark as the spell's influence seems far less active than it was within Scootaloo.”

“Active?” Apple Bloom asked. “You mean that he wasn't trying to control the mind of Bulwark as he was with Scootaloo?”

“Yes,” Luna affirmed. “The guard was caught by the mental magic that was intended to subdue Scootaloo. The magic afflicting him is akin to witnessing a powerful nightmare that belongs to somepony else. And I believed that tracing that spell back to its source would lead us to Scootaloo. Since Scootaloo has since been purged of such maleficent magics, we cannot effectively or successfully or remotely locate the original caster anymore.”

“But how did Scoots manage to cast the spell then?” Scootaloo heard Sweetie Belle mutter to herself. Sweetie Belle then hummed and gave a sharp gasp. “But wait! We just need to find another pony who is playing the puppet to his spell. Right?”

Luna nodded.

“Well, that's easy. We just need to go find Azure then.” When all the other ponies in the room frowned at the amulet, save for Apple Bloom and Lord Sky, Sweetie let out a small sigh. “He's the colt who abducted me the other night. He was definitely being controlled, and he didn't have any memories of the event either. He must have been asleep while his body was moving.”

Luna leaned forward and scowled, her forehooves resting on the table. “This foul unicorn preys upon children as they sleep. We must save this child.”

“We can send the guard to secure the child, once we know where he is.” Captain Snowfall said eagerly. “And then the princess can break the spell that's over him..”

“Only after we chase it back to its source,” Sky Chaser added. “This Azure child will be instrumental in our efforts to track down the spell's source.”

“And now we just need to find out where this child is.” Shining Armor nodded to Sky Chaser, who responded with a smile and drew his staff close as his horn lit more brightly than before.

“To reiterate,” Luna said as she got out of her chair, “we all agree that the first course of action after this meeting is to help Bulwark, and I shall do so.”

Shining Armor stood up in response, and every other pony in the room followed suit. “But of course, Princess Luna. Captain, please escort the princess to the infirmary.”

“Hey! But isn't Azure more of a pressing issue?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“All ponies are important to us,” Luna said evenly, looking directly at Scootaloo and Sweetie's amulet. “However, this magic we are dealing with influences the mind. Helping a pony recover from such an ordeal will take time and a great deal of effort from both the victim and those who wish to rescue them.”

“How long?” Shining Armor asked worriedly.

“Well, Sweetie was helpin' Scootaloo for what must have been over an hour by the time Ah woke up half the palace, found Sky, and got to where Scootaloo was held. And it ended a little bit after that.” Apple Bloom looked worriedly at the translucent wall that revealed an expansive cityscape of glistening buildings.

“That's not too long,” Sweetie Belle said.

“It varies,” Luna stated, and she started to walk across the room toward the other side of the table. “In your case, Scootaloo, it was a quick rescue, I surmise, because of your bond of friendship. But to rescue a complete stranger? I would say an hour is too optimistic.”

“Even for you?” Scootaloo asked. “You're an alicorn, and you walk in dreams every night.”

Luna smiled affectionately. “An alicorn I may be, young Scootaloo, but a pony’s measure to help another in need is not born from such status. Helping another is an act borne from both ponies. While I may have spent untold time within the realm of dreams, that gift is not what determines how effectively I help another. What does matter is your wish to help the pony in question, their determination to save themselves, and the bond of trust built betwixt each other. And forging that bond takes time.”

“So we'll have to wait hours, then?” Shining Armor asked while frowning. “With how fast this has spread in just a single week—”

“Worry not, Shining Armor, for I am not the only one who can help in this task.” Luna spread her wings wide, and Scootaloo thought she saw the ghost of a smile play on the princess' lips. “For I shall task my faithful student to help rescue Azure.”

“Your faithful...?” Scootaloo muttered under her breath and felt a sudden leaden weight in her stomach when she noticed that Luna was staring directly at her. “You mean me? But Princess, I—”

“Scootaloo,” Luna said firmly. The princess was standing only a few feet away from Scootaloo and was peering directly into Scootaloo’s eyes. “Calm yourself.”

“But I can't help Azure! I don't have magic or—” Scootaloo stopped short as she felt a pressure close in around her, and the air left her lungs. The world fell away into darkness. The council chamber, the council members, Apple Bloom and even Sweetie Belle's amulet, all faded from sight. All that remained was Princess Luna and herself, surrounded by a void of darkness.

In an instant the void changed, and Scootaloo felt a familiar sense of nostalgia descend upon her. A spongy softness of cloud formed beneath her hooves, and a limitless dark blue sky suddenly spanned above her. The full moon hung openly in the air, glowing softly. Three stars, one purple, another green, and a final one of fiery amber, formed the points of a triangle around the moon. Aside from the astronomical features, a large arching rainbow shimmered beneath the moon, faint but proud. Those were the only features. No other stars or distant clouds could be seen. She felt a soft, warm breeze flow upward from the very cloud she stood upon, like a soft thermal that she somehow knew would never cease blowing while she drew breath.

“Where—”

“—are we?” Luna finished the question in a voice that shot a radiant wave of opalescence across Scootaloo's vision. She brought her eyes back to the princess. Luna’s blue coat was just a shade lighter than the sky behind her, and the stars in her mane only served to emphasize how surreal this place was. “We are in a shared mind-space, Scootaloo. A place formed from our shared subconscious. It's a place only available to those who can control their dreams freely.”

“So, it's like a dream then?” Scootaloo frowned at her surroundings. She concentrated on the pool of cloud beneath her hooves and willed it to spread outward, but it didn't expand as she was expecting. It just remained the same, a small pool of clouds that fell to an endless deep blue on all sides.

Luna smiled softly. “No, this is no dream. It is not something one can change simply with a stray thought or decision. This is a place built from deeper thoughts. From the things that we hold deep inside, how we truly regard each other. Beneath conscious thought and fleeting emotions, that is what this place represents.”

Scootaloo shivered as she looked at the dark world, and a feeling of unease settled upon her shoulders. The place felt empty to her, as though it were missing something, Lots of 'somethings', but Scootaloo couldn't figure out exactly what. It was something more than just the stars that should have been there. “So why are we here?” Scootaloo asked and nervously ran a hoof through her mane.

“To explain the situation to you without all the other ponies overhearing. While I could have pulled you aside to talk to you in private, words are as fleeting as a dream. I believe first-hoof experience would help you to understand.”

Understand? This only makes things more confusing! Scootaloo kept her thoughts to herself and simply frowned as she waited for the princess to continue her explanation.

“You have a rare gift, Scootaloo,” Luna said quietly and turned to look at the false night sky around her. A gentle silence fell upon them, and Scootaloo followed the princess' gaze up to the shining, distant moon. It was unmoving, eternal in its watch over her. And yet the light was gentle, comforting even.

“A gift? Yeah, I'm a Lucid Dreamer,” Scootaloo said quietly. “You've told me many times before: ‘I need to have power over my dreams’, ‘My nightmares are stronger than most ponies'’, and ‘I need to be strong enough to face those fears and dispel them’. It's more like a curse than a gift.”

“So it might appear,” Luna agreed dourly and kept her eyes trained on the moon. “But there remains a simple fact: Were it not for your rare ability, I would never have had the opportunity to have my first student.” Luna looked back down to Scootaloo with an affectionate gaze. “I have watched over you for nearly five years now, Scootaloo. I've seen you face your greatest fears, grow to reach those pure dreams you have now, and become the strong mare you are today.”

“But, Princess, I'm not—”

“An alicorn? Able to use magic? A princess?” Luna shook her head. “No, of course not. But you are my first student. I have taught you how to shape your dreams so that they would not hurt you, to respect the emotions that fuel such dreams, and to understand the importance those emotions have to the dreamer.” Luna gave her a gentle smile. “I taught you all this with the hopes that you would find peace while you slept, so you could find time to dream, as all ponies must.”

Scootaloo sighed softly. “Well, it worked, Princess. You saved me from years of nightmares.”

“And for that, I am most glad,” Luna gave her one last small smile and turned her eyes back to the moon. “But those things you have learned were not just the fundamentals, Scootaloo. You needed training, fortitude, control, for you were a danger, not only to yourself, but also to those around you.”

Scootaloo frowned and turned to face the princess and met Luna’s gaze. “What do you mean, ‘I was a danger to those around me’?”

“I never explained to you the true extent your gift entailed and the reason why it was, in fact, a gift to treasure and not a shortcoming to curse. A Lucid Dreamer is one who can, not only control their own dreams and emotions, but also project themselves into other ponies' dreams, into their minds.”

An image flashed into Scootaloo's mind of a pair of guards blocking her way. She remembered looking into one of their eyes and in her blind rage, imagined that the serpent that had wrapped its way around her own mind was constricting that pony as well. Then he collapsed. Scootaloo shook her head and banished the scene from her mind. So it wasn't that damned snake's magic that caused it. It's because I'm a Lucid Dreamer. A sickening sensation filled her gut. I was the one that put Bulwark into a coma? Just like that?

“Yes,” Luna said, pulling Scootaloo's attention back to her. “Projecting one's emotions, dreams, or even nightmares into another pony is a terrifying power. I think you can see why I would have been hesitant to share such knowledge with the young filly that I had met in a dream nearly five years ago. It's a power I was not willing to share with you until I felt you would be able to bear the responsibility it entails,” Luna's voice held a very grave tone as she spoke. “Even now, I am hesitant to admit this information to you.”

“I—” Scootaloo looked away and pressed her eyes shut “—I can't do it. It's wrong to enter another pony's mind, to influence them like that. It's just like what that damn snake did to me! I can't do it! I won't!”

“You shall, Scootaloo,” Luna said sternly. “It is because I trust your judgment, and I know your strong sense of right and wrong. Regardless of desire or skill, it matters little at this point.” She offered an apologetic smile. “No, it is not a kind thing, demanding this of you; however, time is not a luxury we have. I know the filly I saw five years ago. She was a pony who dreamed of never letting anypony else be picked on or to be exploited. A naïve dream, as most children are wont to dream, but there was a pure passion within it, a cry to stop those situations of bitter unfairness from being experienced by anypony else.”

Scootaloo recalled those dreams she'd had, of standing up to bullies and stopping them from picking on the innocent, as if she were some sort of hero like Rainbow Dash. Often the bullies in question were Diamond Tiara and her crony, Silver Spoon. Thinking back to those darker moments, the teasing, the name-calling, and the constant looks of disgust, all born from naught but petty differences. It had come to a boiling point: A couple of black eyes, a bloodied lip, and a near-indefinite suspension from school.

Lingering memories of those days had been an ever-burning fuel for the eventual nightmares, which still haunted her dreams every other week, and Scootaloo was fairly certain they were not the type of thing that would ever end up leaving her alone. So long as she lived, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's voices would call out in stereo, listing all of her shortcomings. They'd tease her about how she'd never be like Rainbow Dash. They'd mock her for having a flightless childhood. And worst of all, they'd call her an orphan, leeching off her dead parents' modest fortune.

She had struggled with each insult, every day, for more years than she could remember. She found ways to refute every single one, but they never truly went away. As much as she told herself that the past was in the past, she knew better. The past made her who she was currently: her choices, her haunted memories, as well as her friends.

“The very idea of manipulating another to do your will, against their very own, it is indeed repulsive, and I am most heartened to know you find it as unjust as you do,” Luna said. “It is that empathy you hold for those who suffer so greatly, as well as your conviction to call out that injustice when you see it, which is the reason I know you will use your gift to help those around you. I have no doubt that you are my faithful student, Scootaloo. I'm placing this task on your shoulders because I trust you.” Luna looked Scootaloo once more in the eyes and offered a soft smile. “Can you agree with my decision?”

Scootaloo swallowed a retort that ached to be shouted out, and instead she scowled for a moment and let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine! Darn it! I trust you too, Princess. You know me even better than I do. Considering what would have happened had you not helped me with my dreams, I guess I'm your student, though I've always been a pretty lousy student. Just ask Miss Cheerilee.” Scootaloo let out a defeated sigh. “So you really think I can help out that kid? Azure, was it? How am I supposed to do it?”

“The child's mind will likely be confused, scared, or even broken, as the oppressed often are. However, each mind works differently, and the only way to help a foal through such an ordeal is to enter the mind and help the child fight against the foul magic. If he has a strong enough will, he should be able to break free. If he does not, then your own willpower will have to be strong enough to overcome the serpent within.” Luna grimaced slightly. “And if even then you fail to persevere, then at least know that you tried.”

So if I mess up, I can just add to that my heaping pile of shortcomings?

“There's no need to disparage, Scootaloo,” Luna said kindly.

Scootaloo must have inadvertently let her thoughts express themselves on her face, and she blushed with slight embarrassment.

“Indeed, not every goal in life can be accomplished, not even close. However, we must still try when we can. Count your successes, not your failures, my student. There is much we can hope to save and little time to act. Come. We have left the material realm for long enough. I am certain that most of the council members are fussing over us as we speak.”

As Luna spoke her final words, her form became transparent in the moonlight and then transformed into a lucent beam and shot away into the full moon. When the flash of light faded, Scootaloo noted that the faux-moon had changed. There, etched with dark grey lines into the pearlescent surface, was her cutie mark, a triangle with two wings embracing it.

She only had a moment to register the change before she felt the world dissipate around her.

A sudden flash caught Sweetie Belle's attention as Scootaloo stopped in mid-sentence. Sweetie Belle would have gasped if she had a mouth to do so. There was complex, intricate pattern of magic, which had shot forth from Luna's eyes. The magic was of a deep blue hue. The arrangement of nodes of magic energy, as well as the flowing lines strung between them, reminded Sweetie of her own use of mind magic just the other day.

This spell, however, was different. The magic itself had formed and was cast forth quicker than Sweetie had ever seen just about any spell produced. Even simple spells, such as telekinesis, still took even the most practiced of unicorns a fraction of a second to properly prepare. But for a high-end spell like this one to be formed with such spontaneity, it boggled her mind.

While the initial display of magic left her dumbfounded with wonder, what happened next was even more phenomenal. She felt another spell, one which mirrored Luna's own pattern save for the colour, which was instead a deep violet, shot forth from Scootaloo's eyes and collided with Luna's spell. The two patterns meshed together to form a whole, sphere-like collection of magic.

Then, just as suddenly as the magic had appeared, Sweetie felt as if the world shifted around her, and she realized Scootaloo was falling. The pegasus hit the ground with a sound that must have been a fairly loud thump, if the sudden burst of auditory patterns were any indication.

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom shouted in surprise and rushed over to Scootaloo’s side. “What happened?”

The other ponies in the chamber quickly hurried after Apple Bloom’s outburst, and soon a ring of ponies surrounded Luna and Scootaloo. Sweetie was surprised to notice that Luna had not fallen down as Scootaloo had. Instead, the princess stood there; legs locked stiffly; and her eyes closed shut. Undisturbed by Scootaloo's sudden collapse, the bright web of flowing purple and blue magic remained before the two catatonic ponies.

“I think she's—No, they are doing something that I've never seen before. It's some kind of mind-magic,” Sweetie explained as best she could. She considered for a moment as to what would happen if she decided to copy the pattern herself and tried to mesh her own spell with theirs. It's mind-magic, she reminded herself, even as she reflexively began pulling magic out of Scoddri's shard. She stopped herself short of copying the spell's pattern. That's not something that I should experiment with. So instead, she used the drawn magic to keep talking.

“But the spell is weird. I've never seen Scootaloo's magic do that before. It shouldn't be possible without a horn or some other way of concentrating and controlling the magic.”

“What's she babbling about?” Captain Snowfall asked pointedly, sneering at Sky Chaser, as if expecting an answer. When Sky Chaser didn't supply an answer right away, the captain moved as if to prod Scootaloo.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Captain,” Lord Sky replied with a simple smile, and the captain stopped his action, looking up to meet Sky’s eyes. “Although, if it is mind-magic, as Sweetie Belle claims, and the magic is also Princess Luna's, then I do believe it would be in our best interests to not interfere with them. Mind-magic is quite dangerous, as disrupting it can often damage the mind as readily as the spell itself.”

“It is also unseemly to prod our guests, Captain,” Shining Armor added. The Captain quickly retracted his hoof and stood alert. Shining Armor continued, “But it's strange. You claim it is mind magic, Sweetie Belle, and yet I did not see the princess use magic at all. Are you certain about this?”

“There's no doubt that it's mind magic of some sort,” Sweetie said even as she continued to focus her attention on the meshed magical patterns. The spell was strange. It held a recognizable pattern, and she was certain she would never mistake it for any other spell in the future. However, the pattern was constantly shifting, similar to an argyle textile being twisted and swirled about. With all her knowledge of magic, such a spell should be impossible as shifting the pattern of a sigil too much would invariably cause the energies to break free and cause the caster to lose control of the spell. In her experience, such an action was often accompanied by a sharp feedback as the raw magic shot away in every direction. But this spell spun about, its nodes shifting in position, as if each meeting connection of the spell's tendrils were in a perpetual game of tug-o-war. A spell in constant flux?

“I'm not sure how it works though,” Sweetie Belle admitted finally. “Mind magic isn't something that most ponies are even allowed to study. Hay, before yesterday I never even saw an ounce of mind magic used in the flesh.”

“So did Princess Luna cast the spell then?” Apple Bloom asked as she looked down at Scootaloo, mildly confused.

“I think so. Kind of?” Sweetie replied. “Luna certainly did something, and the spell shot forward in an instant, almost as if the spell were somehow pre-made. Luna spent absolutely no time forming the spell before that. It just happened. And that's not even the weirdest part.”

“Oh?” Sky Chaser asked jovially. “Do tell.”

“It's just that in the next moment, or maybe it was even the same moment, Scoots did the exact same thing as Luna. The two spells met, and now Scoots is hugging the floor.

Sky Chaser let out a small laugh. “A pegasus casting a spell? I certainly was right, you ponies do bring about a most interesting series of events and situations.”

“Ah don't see exactly why it is that you keep attributing all this excitement to us,” Apple Bloom said blandly, tossing the stallion an annoyed look. “We didn't have nothin' ta do with half the stuff goin' on here.”

“Oh, leave me to draw correlations where none exist,” Lord Sky replied in turn. “Good luck is worth nothing to the eyes of a skeptic.”

“We don't have time for this,” Captain Snowfall said with an unmitigated scowl directed at both Lord Sky and Apple Bloom. With the two other ponies falling silent, the captain turned to face Shining Armor. “My prince, what should we do?”

“Unfortunately, I must nod to Sweetie Belle's expertise. She's a student of my own sister, the Element of Magic. If Sweetie Belle says we should not interrupt them, then we should not. Instead, we should focus on following through with our plan. Captain, prepare a small escort of four guards for our guests when they head out to the city to work on the investigation.

“Lord Sky, I'd like you to find that child, Azure.”

“Ah, already done, milord.” The unicorn waved his staff lazily through the air. “The child is in a hospital. It would seem that he hasn't awoken from our little ruckus yesterday. It looks as though his mother was watching over him as he slept.”

“I see.” Shining Armor sighed. “Make sure to get the mother’s name and figure out how their family is holding up when you arrive there, Lord Sky. I'd like to help them out if they are in desperate need of it. It will compound their stress when you do arrive after all. I think you should take a small token of assurance with you.”

“Ah? A token of coin or one born of a noble's promise?” Sky Chaser asked and smiled at Sunrise.

“We have little in terms of finances,” the fiery mare reminded Shining Armor in a tone that was reminiscent, in Sweetie Belle's mind, of those times when she had asked Rarity a particular question that had already been answered only moments before but had somehow slipped her mind at the time. “Being kind with the crown expenses is fine and all, my prince, but you should take more care with our rather limited supplies. For something this small, though, I should be able to work something simple out of the budget.”

“Alright, I will leave it in your capable hooves, Sunrise. I think a letter of assurance and a small sum of money shall be in order. That should help them get by, so they won’t need to balance the demands of their work against the needs of their child while he recovers,” Shining Armor said and pulled a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink off of the council’s table. “Sky, we'll have it settled and sent to you by the time you and the others are ready to leave.”

“Of course,” Sky Chaser replied with a smile. “We will set out right away once our royal guests awaken.”

“In that case, I shall take my leave.” Shining Armor nodded to them and carried his bundle of supplies with him to the door. Sunrise followed him, while carrying with her a clipboard that held numerous papers. Shining Armor remarked as he was leaving, “Please inform our royal guests that I most sincerely apologize for not awaiting for their return. If Princess Luna wishes to find me, she need only head to my chambers.”

Shining Armor received a final “Of course” from Sky Chaser, and then the prince exited the council room through the rear door, presumably to his chambers.

“It must be hard to run an empire while your wife is indisposed,” Sweetie voiced her thoughts aloud.

“The princess protected the entire city for three whole days!” Captain Snowfall barked back and moved toward the amulet, scowling. “I will not suffer your disrespect to either her or the prince.”

If Sweetie Belle had eyes to roll, she would certainly have sent them spinning. “Hey, big guy, I meant that in an impressed way. I'm not being condescending here. Princess Cadence did a great job protecting this city, and Shining Armor is doing far better handling the situation than I ever could. Hay, if I were in his position, I'd probably be doing everything I could to track down that snake guy and personally beat the tar out of him.”

“Which means that it is most fortunate that you are not the princess of our empire,” Sky Chaser said wryly.

“Or that I don't have a spouse who has been incapacitated whom I want to get revenge for,” Sweetie replied just as jovially. “Because with what that unicorn's already done to our sisters and to Scoots,” she trailed off, “I can assure you that when I find him that I'm not going to go easy on him!”

“It would be best to capture him if we can,” Apple Bloom suggested. “Maybe we could figure out why he's doing this.”

“Seriously, Bloom?” Sweetie Belle asked as she unlatched herself from Scootaloo's neck and floated before the earth pony. “After what he's done to our sisters and to Scoots, you want to just capture him? What about giving him a solid bucking to his face? Surely he deserves that much.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “It's not up to ponies like me to decide what another pony deserves,” she stated simply. “That's best left to ponies who are better trained to make such decisions. I'm just a farmer looking to be a craftspony. And Sweetie Belle, you're just a unicorn lookin' to be a jeweler. Neither of us have the right to determine another pony's fate.”

“I may be 'just a unicorn', but he's attacked 'just' my sister, and 'just' one of my best friends. I won't be satisfied until he gets his due. Don't you get it?”

“Of course, I do!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Darn it! AJ's caught in his damn spell just like Rarity! Hay, Ah'd give everything Ah have to save her. No Apple would ever abandon her sister to something like that.”

“Which, I am most certain this mysterious unicorn is well aware of,” Sky Chaser observed while he moved his staff through the air and absentmindedly prodded Scootaloo's prone form, as if his touch might break the tight spell that still bound her and the princess' minds together. “And that means any advance we eventually make upon him, supposing, of course, that we do in fact find him, is going to be right into any number of traps he might have placed. It could take months, as well as the entirety of the guard to corner him and deal with him.”

“That's right,” Apple Bloom agreed. “This guy is nothin' if not tricky. He'll stop at nothin' if you get in his way.”

“As if I need a reminder,” Sweetie said acidly as she focused once again upon Scootaloo's form and the spell it maintained. There was a shift in the magic within, and she saw Luna's half of the sigil begin to slowly dissipate, leaving Scootaloo's lone magic pattern to flounder in the air for a moment, stretching outward towards Luna, grasping for the missing other half of the spell, but fell short of the princess and slowly began to fade as well.

“The guard will overcome him, regardless of his tricks. Once we know where he is, we'll hunt him down and bring him to justice,” Captain Snowfall said with a cold certainty, his armour sparkled in an icy blue. And Sweetie Belle had to admit, he did strike a more daunting figure than the royal guards in Equestria with their gleaming gold armour. “The Empire's guards are no pushovers.”

“Ah imagine,” Apple Bloom said honestly. “Ah just wonder what form justice will take—”

“The decision will be one made by the highest of courts of the Crystal Empire, no doubt,” Luna said suddenly as she opened her eyes. Sweetie Belle noted that the magic pattern, which had issued from the princess' eyes only moments before, had entirely dissipated. Scootaloo was left with her lone spell, which was still cocooned before her, as though it were a violet net that ensnared her consciousness. Luna gave a soft yet amused smile to Scootaloo's limp form before her, and Sweetie realized the pegasus' half of the spell was still dissipating.

The whole scene reminded Sweetie Belle of some of her earliest attempts at replicating the rare, higher-level spells that Twilight had been willing to show her. Manipulating magic at the time had been a very uncertain process. While trying to create some of the more complex spells was fascinating to her, and it still was for that matter, the magic often didn't react quite in the way that Sweetie had imagined the sigils and patterns should have. Sometimes those glowing streams would mix to form new nodes as she tried to maneuver them, and the whole spell would suddenly disperse light across the room or explode loudly as it fed its own energy back upon itself. Sometimes, it had just felt as though she were trying to tie a knot with her hooves instead of magic.

It took years of frustrated practice to truly gain any real semblance of finesse with the magic and to tweak existing spells into others, rather than just breaking down the spell into its components and then reforming it from scratch. Eventually, she began to understand the way in which the flowing patterns would affect the world around her. It was a struggle that she had had to learn for herself. Without Scoddri around to give her advice and every other pony unable to understand what she saw, it was up to her to learn to understand and to memorize the myriad patterns. Twilight wasn't much help in that regard, however, even if Sweetie was loath to admit it, the unicorn did understand the danger that Sweetie Belle's unique ability presented, both to herself and to the world around her.

Seeing Scootaloo's current state, surrounded in a tangle of her own magic as it slowly bled off harmlessly through a few separate tendrils, the body's natural mechanism for quickly ridding itself of excess magic, Sweetie never expected to see the phenomena in any pony save for a unicorn or alicorn. The idea of Scootaloo struggling with magic made Sweetie feel the need to smile in nostalgia. It’s a shame I don't have a mouth to do that with, she thought with a mental chuckle.

Luna continued talking, “But the eventual fate of our enemy is currently not of import. What does matter is that we must stop the one behind these foul magics.” Luna reached out a hoof, just as Scootaloo awoke from her stupor and dispelled the last threads of her spell.

Scootaloo blinked a few times at the hoof and then allowed the princess to help her up to her hooves.

“And we'll track 'im down through this Azure colt, right?” Apple Bloom supplied.

“It should be simple enough,” Sky Chaser said with a shrug. “In theory, anyway. If the unicorn can be tracked through scrying magic, then I assure you that I shall find him.”

“Very well,” Luna agreed and cast a short glance to Shining Armor's empty seat. “Time is short. I believe the good Captain was to escort me to one Bulwark, correct?”

The captain bowed. “Of course, Princess. Right this way.”

“And Scootaloo,” she said sternly, though there was a hint of a smile in her eyes. “Do your best, my faithful student.”

“I,” Scootaloo let the word die before locking eyes with the princess. The pegasus' stare was wide with unbidden fear.

Sweetie Belle remembered seeing such an expression on her friend only once before. It had been just before Scootaloo's first aerial race, and it had never fallen from the pegasus' face for that whole day. Even after flying the race and managing to secure a second-place finish, she seemed like a ghost of herself, not willing to meet anypony's gaze. Sweetie had always chalked it up to Scootaloo being overly nervous, but in this moment, seeing that same expression once again, she wasn't so certain. There was something dark lingering in those shivering eyes that ran far deeper than simple nerves should.

But to Sweetie Belle's surprise, Scootaloo let out a sigh, and those trembling eyes steadied. “I understand, Princess. I'll do my best.”

Luna nodded. “And that is all I can ask of you.” With a wave of her hoof, Luna signaled for the captain to lead her out of the council room.

“Captain,” Sky Chaser called out in a singsong tone. “I'll grab a couple of your guards on the way out of the castle. Have no worries, you shall be informed of all my misdeeds over the course of the day.”

To his credit, the surly captain simply barked a laugh as he led the princess out of the chamber.

Sky Chaser smiled in response and turned to the remaining trio, two ponies and floating amulet. “Well, that certainly was a most peculiar meeting.”

Apple Bloom nodded and looked worriedly at Scootaloo. “Ah'll say. Scootaloo, what in the hay happened anyway?”

When Scootaloo cast an apprehensive look to the ground instead of answering, Sky Chaser stepped forward and waved his staff dramatically toward the exit. “Let's talk about it on the way, shall we?”

Sweetie, for her part, decided to stay silent. Sweetie knew Scootaloo well enough to know when Scootaloo appreciated silence over prying questions. So Sweetie took the opportunity to reattach herself around Scootaloo's neck. Well, it may not be much, Sweetie thought, but it's as close to a hug as I can give.

Just by the palace gates, the party of three bodies reconvened, and Sky Chaser had a small parcel in tow, which Apple Bloom was quite certain held a letter and some form of monetary worth. The crown supporting a family through troubled times? It's a kind gesture.

Shortly, outside the gates, two guards met up with them to escort them through the city. They had been sent by Captain Snowfall and seemed to be casting curious glances at both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. The guards wore their typical crystal raiment and helmets, which caused Apple Bloom to wonder how effective such armour could be against a foe who wielded magic and struck from the shadows.

Those dark thoughts quickly left her mind as they walked the magnificent streets. “Wow,” Apple Bloom said breathlessly to herself as they moved past large translucent buildings and small crowds of ponies going about their days. She had seen the buildings just yesterday, but there was a certain majesty about the city that kindled a pure sense of wonder within her.

Many of the ponies that they passed by were moving wagons filled with building materials from a depot in the center of the city toward the outskirts where most of the rebuilding was taking place. There were a few other carts as well, delivering supplies of food, cloth, and some other odds and ends to the palace, but for the most part, it seemed the onus of the city was on rebuilding the outlying buildings. “We've only been here two days, and some o' the buildings out there look completely fixed up. Ah mean, sure, Ah've seen a barn raised over the course of a day, but that's gotta be at least a dozen houses completely fixed over three days.”

“Ah yes,” Sky Chaser agreed. “It is remarkable work, indeed. I dare say, the tenacity of the crystal ponies is only matched by the most stubborn of earth ponies. Although, I will admit that having a few diamond dogs lending their crafty hands has most likely helped the process a great deal.”

Apple Bloom nodded as she managed to catch sight of Jaden amongst the crowd. He had a crystal pony pulling a cart behind him while he was shouting what sounded like orders in an irate voice to a few of the guards-turned-construction-ponies. Jaden kept gesturing to his load of crystalline building materials and then toward a half-constructed building. Apple Bloom wondered how much the city was offering for his participation in the rebuilding.

“Yeah, we were in the Black Snout's underground city,” Apple Bloom said. “They made that in half a dozen years, they said. Their skill with stone and crystal is unbelievable.”

“Indeed, they are a worthwhile ally for the Empire to have.” Sky Chaser gave the scene a small smile as they passed down the street toward the small hospital.

“Ah do have a question though,” Apple Bloom began. “It's not about any of this building going on but more on the topic of our discussion in the council room.”

“Fire away, my lady.” Sky Chaser bowed and shot a smirk at her.

Apple Bloom cast her eyes skyward to dispel her annoyance. “What is going to happen when they capture this unicorn?”

“A trial and a decision,” Lord Sky offered plainly. “Luna said as much, did she not?”

“But what sort of decision and action would that be?”

“Imprisonment, I suppose,” Sky Chaser said thoughtfully, “if he's just a normal, yet dangerous stallion. But if there's something darker about him, they might have to bring in the Elements of Harmony and use their purifying magic to deal with him. I cannot say what that would entail, though, as I have not studied the Elements. However, the Elements did seal Discord away in the past, as well as save Luna from the clutches of her own nightmare. If there is some unusual evil at work here, then the Elements would certainly be an expected answer.”

“Only if we can save our sisters in the first place,” Sweetie Belle said. “He's the type of guy that would realize just how dangerous the Elements are to him. He's not going to let us just retrieve them and use them on him.”

“We, we, we,” Apple Bloom stomped a hoof in irritation. “Sweetie, you make it sound like we're gonna be the ones to stop him.”

“Aren't we?” Sweetie responded, flashing vigorously from Scootaloo's neck. “He has our sisters, Bloom. I said it before; I'm not going to be satisfied until I give him a solid thrashing.”

“Oh, come on, Sweetie. Be rational here. He's a crazy-powerful unicorn. He almost made Scootaloo lose her mind, and you've already lost your body, and you almost died saving Scootaloo. Hay, if we get any more mixed up in this—” Apple Bloom sighed in frustration “—what would our sisters think if they knew we died riskin' our foolish necks to try to save them?” Apple Bloom looked up at Scootaloo, hoping that the pegasus would add her voice to Apple Bloom's reasoning. Apple Bloom hated to admit it, but in spite of Sweetie Belle's insistence that Apple Bloom was the most levelheaded of the group and the pony whose opinion Sweetie said she really wanted to hear to balance out her own, Apple Bloom just couldn't see it. She knew Scootaloo was the one pony that Sweetie paid the most attention to, whether or not the unicorn would ever admit it. Although the pegasus did often take a noncommittal stance whenever it came down to an argument.

This time, as usual, Scootaloo sighed and let her wings spread wide in defeat. “We have to do what we can, Bloom. I know we aren't heroes or anything like our sisters. But Luna's counting on us to do this. Our sisters are counting on us, too. ”

“Hmm, so you and Luna had a chat, right?” Sweetie asked. “What did you two talk about? And she called you her faithful student. What's all that about?”

“Ah, the princess gave me a task,” Scootaloo said apprehensively and cast her eyes skyward. “And I agreed to do it.”

Sweetie Belle made a snorting sound. “Well, yeah, we all gathered that much. But why the Faithful Student bit, huh?”

“The hay if I know why,” Scootaloo said sourly.

“Though it's a great honour, surely,” Sky Chaser added. “The only other 'Faithful Student' I've heard of was Twilight Sparkle as Celestia's pupil. Quite the honour, indeed.”

“You think I want this honour?!” Scootaloo hissed at all of them. “You think I want to be able to enter other pony's dreams?! Well, guess what? I don't! I don't want to enter other ponies’ nightmares and face that damned snake again! It's the last thing I want to do, damn it!”

“So you can use mind magic, Scoots? Actually control it? How?" Sweetie asked.

"Damn it, I don't know. I don't want to do this!"

But you are still gonna do it, aren’t ya?” Apple Bloom asked hesitantly.

“Well, yeah, because I have to,” Scootaloo explained dumbly, her frustration still burning brightly in her eyes.

“Scootaloo wouldn't be Scootaloo if she didn't try her best to help a pony whom only she could save,” Sweetie Belle said in voice that Apple Bloom could imagine was accompanied by an honest and pure smile. “Remember her cutie mark, it's a part of who Scootaloo is.”

Scootaloo cast an uncertain glance back at her own flank and cutie mark with its violet triangle and curved wings.

“Ah guess you're right,” Apple Bloom agreed and tried to look the pegasus in her eyes. Scootaloo was looking away, almost guiltily. There really are no other ponies Ah'd trust more to help me out than my family and probably Scootaloo. But Ah just wish she'd be a little more confident in herself. Apple Bloom gave her friend what she hoped was a comforting smile. “Well, if you have ta do it, then Ah'm certain you'll pull through, no matter what the challenge is.”

“Yeah! So, what do you have to do?” Sweetie asked.

Sky Chaser nodded as he led them down a one of the city's thoroughfares. “I am curious as well. What is it that the princess taught you to do?”

“She didn't teach me anything specific to this.” Scootaloo ran a hoof through her disheveled mane, which only served to untidy it further. “I'm supposed to enter the kid's mind and save him from that snake's magic. And if I fail, then at least I tried,” she spoke the last part bitterly.

“But you won't fail,” Sweetie said confidently. “You never fail when it really matters, Scoots.”

Apple Bloom nodded, hoping to raise the pegasus' spirits. “Besides, Princess Luna sounded real confident when she said you'd handle it. And land sakes, she's a princess. Ah don't think she's the type ta send ya in if ya couldn't.”

“Oh, and if you need help, I can jump in there too, like I did with you last night,” Sweetie said excitedly. “It might be easier with more of us to fight the snake.”

“No!” Scootaloo said, aghast. “There's no way I'd let you do that. Luna warned me about what happens to those who enter dreams without having a body to anchor them. You could be lost forever in there.”

“But I could make it easier overall, you know? Strength in numbers and all that—”

“No!” Scootaloo repeated. “Sweetie, a pony's mind is a dangerous thing to be in. The only reason you made it through my mind is because you're my friend. And even then, I almost erased you completely. If this kid manages to defy me, then I won't just disappear as you could have, I’ll fall back into my body.”

“But—”

Scootaloo shook her head fiercely.

“Well, fine!” Sweetie said petulantly.

Apple Bloom frowned at the amulet. She was almost certain that Sweetie was already crafting a number of plans to jump in and aid Scootaloo the moment it looked as if the pegasus were struggling. “And that's a promise, Sweetie. Don't meddle with Scootaloo when she's tryin' to save the kid,” Apple Bloom said warningly. As if Ah could actually stop her.

“Just do keep in mind,” Sky Chaser said, pointing to the small hospital with his staff, “we do need to get that scrying information before you banish that magic spell with your boundless enthusiasm.”

Apple Bloom scowled at the unicorn, but if he saw her, he certainly didn't respond to it. His golden eyes were looking past her towards his hovering staff. Scrying, Apple Bloom determined. But what is he scrying, Ah wonder?

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, her voice a mere whisper as the trio of ponies, the glowing amulet, and their two escorting guards approached the door of the hospital.