The little filly slowly walked towards Twilight, her blue eyes wide and innocent. Dread followed in her wake, and Twilight gave a tiny whimper, backing away on shaking legs.
“P-please…” The Princess whispered, shaking her head slowly, “P-please, I’m s-sorry… I couldn’t…”
“W-why Princess?”
Burns began to cover the filly’s face, and an eye went milky as the brand of an unblinking, glaring eye took its place. She raised her wings, and feathers began to blacken and crumble into dust. She reached out a hoof, and Twilight screamed at the broken, bleeding limb.
“Why didn’t y-you save me too, Princess?”
Twilight was still screaming when she jerked into wakefulness, her bandaged hooves holding her head tightly, eyes wide so they couldn’t see the lurking filly in the darkness of her eyelids.
“I’M SORRY!” Twilight sobbed out, voice hoarse and dry, “Oh Celestia please I’m so-”
Like a sudden blanket of snow on the autumn ground, a pair of white wings embraced Twilight tightly, and she gave the smallest of relieved gasps as she was tugged back into a warm chest. Turning as quickly as she could, Twilight buried her face against the soft fur of her mentor, smaller body shaking as she wailed and begged forgiveness. She had failed. Twilight had failed her friends, she had failed her subjects, and she had failed Celestia. All of this she pleaded to the alicorn of the sun holding her, tears soaking her side, and even this she apologized for. Stress and abuse clustered into one massive cry, and by the time she managed to regain a (shaky) control of herself, Twilight looked an utter mess. So she was quite surprised when Celestia leaned down, tongue gently dragging over the soaked fur of her face.
Where Earth Ponies had massages and spa treatments focusing on hooves, and where Pegasi had preening, Unicorns held fur grooming as its own intimate act. Along with their horn, the fur of a unicorn was unique in its ability to hold onto traces of magic and emotional energy. This kept their bodies fairly sensitive to tactile sensations and, as Twilight could attest, grooming was a uniquely pleasurable experience. Celestia’s firm muzzle carefully nudged Twilight into the crook of her side, followed by a long drag up the surprised alicorn’s side, gathering up the sorrowful energies that had gathered there and flinging them into the aether.
“You did what you had to do, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia told her firmly, and Twilight gave a tiny mew as Celestia’s pastel-pink eyes gazed warmly into her own, “None can speak ill of what you did.”
Her head darted down, and Twilight gave a shaky ‘aah’ as Celestia’s thick tongue groomed and lapped the fur of her neck, switching around to get both sides, and the sensitive nape. Accumulated guilt was brushed off her shoulders with soft brushes of a goddess’ tongue.
“You made a choice, as do we all,” she whispered softly, “In a situation with no good choices.”
“B-but the foals,” Twilight whispered, plainly imagining each of the screaming foals Velvet Tongue had tortured in front of her, only to toss them aside like trash when they passed out, “H-how could I-”
“Foals or friends, Twilight. There is no good option, and Velvet knew this. He played on that, to do this to you… we will take care of the foals. We will avenge them. It’s all we can do now.”
Finally, Twilight managed to close her eyes, trembling as Celestia’s tongue bathed each of her burned limbs and hooves, the saliva soothing the aching burns, even if just a little.
“I-I want… t-to kill the Caribou,” Twilight whispered, giving a faint sob, “I-it’s not… n-not me. It’s evil, and it’s these… these rings on my h-horn. I-I don’t want to be a m- aaaah…”
Celestia’s magical field was like a warm sauna; tender and all-consuming at once, warm like a summer sun. Around Twilight’s horn, the heat slowly built, and sweat rolled down Twilight’s fur, only to be lapped away by a brush of Celestia’s tongue. With a gasp, Twilight’s head leaned forward as a small pain burned around the bottom of her horn. Pain, but… good pain. A cleansing pain, like drawing the poison from a wound, leaving a pleasant emptiness in its wake. With a soundless pop, the dark magic detached from her horn, and Twilight gave a thankful sob, nuzzling closer to Celestia’s chest.
“You’re a good pony, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia whispered, a hint of pride in her voice, “Good and strong. We’ll get through this.”
With a lift of her leg, Celestia gently extended Twilight’s wing, leaning down to bury her muzzle into the fluffy down. With millenia of experience on the Solar Diarch’s part, Twilight’s body quivered as Celestia nibbled and tugged each and every feather, horn giving rhythmic flashes as she destroyed those that had been branded and burned by the Caribou. There were still painful spots around her bandaged wings, and tears sprang unbidden to Twilight’s eyes as Celestia worked around them. Surprising herself, Twilight found that she rather enjoyed- indeed, loved- flying. The holes left by the Caribou was rather large, and if she couldn’t fly… if Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash couldn’t…
“M-my f-friends are gonna hate me, C-celestia,” she whispered bleakly, body drooping in her grasp.
“Twilight, darling, we could never hate you.”
Twilight’s head jerked up instantly. Rarity was… dirty. Disheveled, even. Her hair was haphazardly slicked back, and her usually pristine fur was stained with dirt and sweat. Standing beside her with a limping Applejack, supported by a wheelcart around her midsection. She gave Twilight a weary smile, both eyes blackened from the abuse the Caribou had subjected her too before Twilight could teleport them out. Her hat had been replaced as well, but her mane was bunched up inside, instead of letting it hang loose in a ponytail. Twilight must have started to struggle to get to them, because both ponies rushed over to the bed: Rarity wrapped her legs briefly around Twilight’s neck before sitting back on her haunches. Applejack gave a small squeak as a golden glow wrapped around her, unlocking the cart and settling the farmpony on the cushiony bed.
“She’s right, Twi,” AJ managed once she had gathered what was left of her dignity, “Ain’t your fault. Damn- err… sorry, Princess. Darn Caribou tricked us. All of us…”
She sighed heavily, rubbing the back of her head.
“W-where’re… where are the o-others, guys?” Twilight asked softly, biting her lip worriedly, “A-are they o-okay?”
The two ponies exchanged sheepish looks.
“We maaay-”
“Kinda.”
“Had to knock RD out.”
“For her own good, of course. She had to see a doctor!”
A soft chuckle from behind made Twilight turn around, a blush coloring her cheeks; Celestia was smiling down at her warmly, a twinkle in her eyes.
“We’ll continue our session later, Twilight. Come, let’s get to Rainbow Dash before she attacks my medical staff.”