//------------------------------//
// Divided Attention 
// Story: Being of Two Minds 
// by cosmofur 
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Within five minutes of Princess Celestia’s comment, Red Wood was on a gurney and being rushed to a private room in the hospital proper. Twilight used her ‘I have several doctorates’ Card again and ordered the hospital apothecary to prepare a course of mood stabilizer potions, though she knew that the staff Doctors would have to approve her diagnosis before Red Wood would be allowed to take the medication. 

Word came from an orderly that Doctor Somnolence was finishing up a second round of treatment for another one of the original stable of cult victims and would meet them in a few minutes at Red Wood’s room. 

Seeing that the immediate needs of Red Wood were being taken care of by the nurses and orderlies, Celestia pulled Twilight aside and let the crowd of medical ponies move out of hearing.

“Twilight, “ she said, “we have too much to do for both of us to be tied up here. You have to start to take care of the other issues, now. I’ll stay here and talk to Doctor Somnolence about Red Wood condition, as well as my own. We’ll keep is discrete, the official word is I’ll be organizing an evacuation of Cult victims out of Canterlot.”

“Evacuate?” Twilight asked confused. 

“Yes, we have hostile forces just a few blocks away at the castle. I doubt they will give up without a fight, and we can’t afford for any of the tiny hoof-full of doctors and nurses who know how to treat Cult victims be put at risk. Once I've talked to Doctor Somnolence I’ll start arranging for the patients to be transferred to smaller facilities in the towns and cities outside of Canterlot.”

“OK that makes sense.”

Celestia added, “The most important things we need to address. It’s critical we retake control of the castle as soon as possible and keep the affected staff from leaving. We can’t afford any of them escaping. Even if they abandon the castle, as trained soldiers and government workers privy to all our high level planning, they are just too valuable an asset for the Cult to be allowed to claim them. While I cringe at the idea of deadly force, they can’t be allowed to defect to the Cult.”

Twilight asked, “But how, they could be trying to escape right now.”

“I heard that most of the castle pegasi were sent home due to food contamination. With luck the illness will be something they can work though. We need to get them back as soon as possible and get them to form a blockade.  In addition there should be several hundred city guard who are not part of the Castle’s battalion, they should be scanned for Cult contamination, and once cleared set up as a line of defense around the castle’s parameters. More re-enforcements should be summoned from Cloudsdale and other Pegasi cities.”

“How can we scan for the Cult’s spell? It didn't show up for the Guards when they were here yesterday.” Twilight wondered.

“No, it did show up, several of the doctors and nurses noticed it, and asked my opinion about it, foolishly I disregarded it as it didn't look exactly like the Cults older style spells and I was blindly certain the guards couldn't fall under the Cult’s influence so fast. Had I been less blind, or even asked you for a second opinion, we could have avoided this entire mess. I seem to be blundering over and over again. I’m feeling very foal-ish.” Celestia Frowned.

“Princess!” Twilight protested, “stop blaming yourself!” then after a moments thought Twilight added, “The Spell! It’s starting to use it failsafe mode on you, magical depression!”

Celestia looked offended, “Princess Twilight! I am still very much in control of my own mind! I know the fault is mine and I will not allow others to manipulate me NOR will I allow others to assume blame for my actions!” Celestia started looking very angry and lifted her wings high over her head.

“Princess Please!” Twilight cried out as Celestia’s wings started to raise over her, the powerful wings of the alpha Alicorn’s wings, many times more powerful than any birds could easily break bones, or a neck.

"NO! Don't tell me what to do! I'll not be ordered around! I will be the master of my own fate!" Celestia's eyes were glowing red now, and she sparks of anger seemed to be running along her mane. Her wings started to come down, crackling energy.

Twilight ducked expecting to feel the blow on her back. There was a crack and like that of a whip as Celestia’s wings clipped the air over Twilight’s head. 

With wide eyes Celestia cried “No! Nononono!” and danced backwards, unstable and shaken. Falling to the hallway floor, she curled up like a ball under her wings and rocked back and forth mumbling “no!” over and over again.

Cautiously Twilight stood up and nuzzled her mentor. “Princess please!” she begged. 

Through tearful eyes, Celestia parted her wings just enough to look out though the feathers, “Twilight the spell, its nearly got me that time. I was so angry, so mad at myself I almost hurt you. I can’t put off seeing the Doctor much more.”

“It’s OK Princess, I understand, let me walk you to the Doctor then I’ll start a blockade of the Castle.” Twilight held a hoof out to Celestia.

“First two more things.” Celestia let Twilight help her to her hooves.

“You have to contact my Sister, I’m sure Luna got away, I called out to her a warning and I told her to meet me at the ‘usual’ place. She’ll know I was referring to the courtyard of our old castle. Send a message to Spike and have your Ponyville friends meet her there to explain what’s happening. Once she’s on board, she’ll be a great asset to defend the Castle.”

While they were talking, Twilight had helped lead the stumbling Celestia down the hall and towards a busy patient room where a number of doctors nurses and orderlies were working on Red Wood. As the two Princesses arrived they could see Doctor Somnolence standing by Red Wood’s bed and administering several vials of potions to the stricken pony. 

Twilight gave Celestia a friendly nuzzle and told the elder Alicorn, “I better get going.” 

But before she could do more than turn away, Doctor Somnolence spotted them and with a cough called Twilight back. “Princess! A word please.”

“Sorry Doctor.” Twilight started to apologize.

Before Twilight could explain she had to go, the Doctor interrupted, “I should be very angry at you for endangering the life of my patent, but I've been told your quick action saved the lives of at least fifty colts and fillies.” He looked back to Red Wood with an angry frown, “Damn spell even makes hero’s doubt themselves. The mood stabilizers you ordered will help, but we have to find a way to break through the blocks to remind him of his own self worth.”

Twilight looked towards Celestia, and the elder Princess understood her thoughts, “Don’t worry Twilight, I’ll take it from here. You go.”

Twilight turned to Spring Kicker who was still standing off to the side, looking contrite and sullen since his chewing out by Celestia. “Guard Kicker, I need you to go to the home of the top pegasus officer on duty. Tell him the situation and have him summon as many of his squad that can fly to the cross street in front of the main bridge entrance of the Castle. I’ll meet him there with how many ponies he can raise in twenty minutes.”

With a serious look Spring gave Twilight a salute with a “Yes! your Highness” and then charged at full gallop towards the hospitals main stairs.

Twilight next grabbed a clipboard and pen from a nurses cart and quickly wrote a note. Then she paused, “Princess Celestia? How can I send this to Spike? I don’t have a vial of his dragon breath with me.”

Celestia looked out the nearby window, “And my vial was in my chambers. We’ll have to trust to regular mail for now.” Celestia asked one of the orderlies, “My little pony, will you please take Princess Twilight's message to the mail courier, special royal express to Ponyville Library, have the charge sent to the Castle’s account.”

“Yes! your majesty!” The earth pony orderly galloped off, having to double back for the note, having forgotten it the first time he started to run.

Celestia then nuzzled her fellow Alicorn goodbye, “Be careful  Twilight.” then she led Doctor Somnolence back into the patients room.

With no more reasons to delay Twilight walked over to a nearby hallway window. This time rather than bucking it, she carefully slid it open and while hovering with slow wing beats, closed it behind herself. 

Once in the air and climbing over the Canterlot Hospital she took a few moments to take stock. Her magic had recovered over the last hour or so and Twilight felt confident she could match any spell the Cult infected guards could cast at her. She had no intention of testing her alicorn physical strength against any of the earth pony guards, so if it was going to become a battle, she would have to stay out of hoofs reach. Rely on her magic and flight and avoid any thrown spears. 

With that she flew up to a decent height above the castle’s towers and started circling the main battlements. She had spent much of her life in the area and felt she knew the layout of the Castle very well. Unlike the older abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest, Celestia’s Canterlot Castle had never been a true war machine. It had always been more of a political palace, designed to impress, it’s main defense being too high on the mountain to be easily attacked by ground forces. But in terms of defensive constructs, it lacked many basic features of more practical Castles. 

There was no moat and main entrances were airy and open, with no murder holes or thick gates. Worse, there were several smaller and even less guarded entrances. The back gates which most of the daily work ponies used, not far from Red Wood home was one, but not the only secondary entrance. There was a smaller private garden off the kitchen wing, meant as a practical herb and vegetable garden for the Castle’s chefs. Twilight knew there was a winding path from that garden to some private pools that fed the waterfalls below the castle.  

Circling the Castle Twilight flew over each entrance, looking for any sign of any pony coming or going. 

To her relief there seemed to be no ponies trying to make their way up the paths to or from the Castle. Word must have already started to get out and most ponies were staying away. 

There were some ponies, curious onlookers, Twilight guessed, on the roofs of nearby townhouses and on the walkways facing the Castle. She could see many curious and frighted ponies looking towards the castle, trying to get a glimpse of the commotion. 

Disturbingly none of the usual guard posts where ponied. Nor could she see any of the staff near the entrances or exposed windows. Twilight wondered to herself, ‘Was anypony left in the castle? Did they flee already?’

Her answer came a few moment later, Twilight was circling over the roof of Luna’s tower when out of the corner of her eye she spotted a flash of green light. She had been overconfident and stun spell came at her from behind. She didn't have time to charge her own horn for a shield spell.

Twilight dodged, but not enough. The green light of the spell raked over the feathers of her left wing.  Immediately her wing was numb and she couldn't flap it. 

With a cry of “OH NO!” her wing hung limp and she started to fall!

Down she fell, more than ten stories to the ground below, screaming in anger and pain the whole way. 

But though Twilight was in pain, she hadn't given up, when her wing stopped responding to her muscles she desperately tried her magic. Her horn flickered and sparked because she hadn't time to select a spell and organize her thoughts, by gut instinct she gripped her own numb wing with her magic. 

Her feathers were all over the place and Rainbow Dash would have taken off points for lack of control or grace, but by pure will and magic power she forced her wing to flap, just enough to allow her to pull out of the fall and tumble in the center of the pathway in front of the castle.

Shaken and hurting from multiple impact points, Twilight lay on the ground, numb and dazed for several long moments. 

In her stunned state, she noticed in the darkness beyond the gate into the castle, there were a hoof-full of palace guards. Her vision was blurry and unfocused but she numbly observed them looking at her, at first their faces were surprised and curious. 

They were getting closer, and the way they seemed to jump forward made Twilight realize she had passed out for a moment. Part of her mind was screaming, “Get up! Move!” but that was a very distant part. Everything was spinning and there were stars filling her vision. 

Twilight thought, “There something about the guards, something important. Why are they all dancing around like that?”

Then as the smiling guards were nearly on top of her, a clear thought broke through, “Their faces, they’re not concerned or worried or scared, no they are leering at me!” 

Then suddenly there was a flutter of motion and noise and Twilight’s vision was blocked completely by pony bodies.