The tone of the walls in the deployment room matched the slate grey of Granite's coat. It was a bit odd, given the rest of the military rooms were coloured either gleaming white or pitch black, for whichever branch of the Guard used them. This room was shared between the Night and Day Guards though, and so the colour was kept carefully neutral to not favour either one. They had to work together to transition between the daytime and the nighttime shifts after all. Whatever friendly competition (or animosity, in some cases) existed between the two branches of the Guard, it was not tolerated within this room.
Granite's already strained mood had continued to sour when the Lieutenant-Captain on duty (Cloudsmasher, a red-coated pegasus) had given him his assignment for the day. “You are to be part of the Element of Magic’s detail. She is going to be assisting Flank Lloyd Wright with repairs to Canterlot. You are to escort them along with a small team of specialists. When they are finished, you are to report back here.”
Great. The unicorn of unicorns. It could only be worse if it was the Archmage of Canterlot Tower herself (which Twilight Sparkle was no doubt destined to be someday). His Captain’s little sister too. So if Granite goofed even a little bit, it would probably get back to him.
Probably all smug about being the one to rescue Princess Cadence and thus single-hoofedly stop the changeling invasion.
The things I do in the service of Equestria. Granite thought wearily. He saluted the lieutenant crisply, before turning away and beginning to march out towards his assigned meeting spot. “Hold a moment, Corporal.” came the voice of Cloudsmasher. Granite stopped and turned, standing at attention. “Sir?”
“New regulations are coming into effect to ensure safety from changelings. Sergeant Crescent Glass here,” Cloudsmasher motioned to a pale blue unicorn who was standing guard at the doorway. “will be casting a spell to check you. Orders from the Princesses themselves. All guards and palace staff are to be checked before and after their shifts. Even the Princesses are to be checked regularly."
“Yes, sir.” Granite replied unenthusiastically. Great, now he would be subjected to magic twice a day. He moved to the offending unicorn and stood still and silent, waiting for the pale blue Sergeant to cast his spell. There was a small tingle which ran through Granite’s body as Crescent Glass’s horn flared to life. The tingling faded after just a moment. “You’re clear, Corporal.”
Damn right he was clear.
* * *
Granite’s golden-tinted armour gleamed under Celestia’s bright sun. The early daylight was working hard to burn away the morning mists which clung to the streets at this altitude. Granite took a deep breath as he waited patiently for his charges to arrive. The scent of the morning was somehow both tranquil and refreshing. He had arrived several minutes early, just outside the tall, enchanted steel gates that separated the Palace from Canterlot proper. At least the view here was good. The sun bathed the whole city in a warm light, reflecting back the greens of Canterlot’s many parks and the whites of the painstakingly crafted marble structures which dominated the city. Granite was dreading the rest of his morning. He would rather be standing motionless somewhere in the Palace, going out of his mind with boredom, than spend the morning with a bunch of unicorns showing off their magic to repair Canterlot. Not that he didn't want Canterlot to be repaired, but of course it was up to the unicorns to save the day by cheating their way through hard work.
The palace gates opened behind him, their well-oiled hinges making nary a sound as the heavy steel swung inwards. Out from the gatehouse courtyard trotted a purple-coated unicorn mare, smiling brightly in the early morning sunlight. She stopped just outside the gate and glanced around. She spotted Granite standing stoically at the appointed meeting place and gaily cantered her way over to him.
“Good morning, sir!” Twilight said happily, though she paused to inspect the insignia of rank on Granite’s breast. “Erm, Corporal!” she corrected smilingly.
Granite kept his face impassive as she greeted him. He dipped his head slightly in return, a small sign of deference. She was, after all, one of the most important ponies in Equestria. Whatever Granite’s feelings on unicorns, pissing off his Captain’s sister (and the Princess’ personal student) couldn’t be a good plan. “Good morning, Miss Sparkle.” he replied, perhaps a bit more gruff than he’d intended.
Twilight’s smile faded as she cocked her head slightly to the side, wondering momentarily why royal guards tended to be so taciturn. Shining Armour was about as outgoing of a pony as Twilight knew. Maybe they just needed a little nudge. She straightened and beckoned her smile return. “You have me at a disadvantage, Corporal.” she said, with a raised eyebrow.
Granite shifted uncomfortably in his armour. Why couldn’t she just leave him be? “Corporal Granite Clash at your service, Miss.” he rumbled, looking her right in the eye as he did. “I’ll be escorting you and your team this morning.”
“Nice to meet you, Granite.” She responded promptly. “Though I don’t see why we would need an escort in Canterlot of all places.”
Granite arched an eyebrow at the unicorn. He almost coughed in disbelief at her naivety. “Really? I mean, no offense, Miss Sparkle, but all of Equestria is on high alert right now. We may have repelled the changelings from Canterlot, but it would be really stupid to assume they won’t be back.” he said bluntly, turning back to look over the broad view of the city. He was fighting to keep his tail flicking in annoyance. For all her gifts, Twilight was clearly not military minded. Probably thinks if she knows enough magic it’ll solve all her problems. Granite could see a few other ponies trotting up the hill to meet them. Must be the rest of his charges for the morning. Unicorns all of them. Granite resisted the impulse to make a face.
“Well, we beat them once, we can beat them again.” Twilight said after a moment of quiet contemplation. “We didn’t even need the Elements!” she said, stomping a hoof with a self-assured grin.
Granite just shrugged. As long as he didn’t get covered in that damn goop again. “Just remember that means you and your friends are priority targets for any enemies of Equestria. That’s why I’m escorting you today. I would anticipate a few guardsponies being stationed in Ponyville from now on.”
Now that took Twilight aback. She just stared blankly at the grey earth pony for a few moments, completely dumbfounded. A cold, fearful chill ran down her spine as she thought of the implications of what he had said. It was simple and logical, both things which usually brought warmth to Twilight. Not now. How had she possibly missed that notion? Of course being the Elements made them targets. Just look at Discord! He had focused all his attentions on breaking the six of them before doing anything else.
She didn’t know many defensive spells! She barely knew any combat magic! The blasts of energy she had flung at the changelings the previous day were crude and inefficient, and had ended up completely exhausting her! She desperately wanted to abandon the repair project and dive into Research Mode. The Royal Archives had whole sections on defensive and offensive magic which Twilight had barely touched (thinking she’d never have need of them)! She needed to send a note to Spike to change the books to borrow…
“Good morning!” a chipper male voice said from a little ways ahead of Twilight towards the city proper. A trio of well-dressed unicorns crested the hill and cantered over to stand in front of Twilight and Granite. The voice had come from a pastel green unicorn with a yellow mane. He was flanked by a white-coated black-maned stallion and a mare with spotted chestnut and roan colouration throughout her body.
Ignoring the royal guard completely, the lead stallion stopped in front of Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle needs no introduction, of course.” He began, extending a hoof to shake, “Flank Lloyd Wright, at your service. Please, call me Lloyd.” With the hoofshake finished, he motioned a foreleg to introduce his companions - Slide Rule and Rosewood. Rosewood's horn was alight with pink magic - a clipboard floated just behind her.
"Very pleased to meet you." Twilight replied a little tersely, nodding to each as they were introduced. "And this is Corporal Granite Clash, he's our escort today." she said, still trying to keep her focus on the morning's task (though the call of the Archives was strong!).
"Uh huh." Lloyd replied, barely sparing Granite a glance. "Why don't we walk while we discuss what spells we'll need today."
Twilight casted a forlorn glance back up at the palace before turning and nodding in determination. "Alright."
As the quartet of unicorns set off down the hill, Granite fell in behind them, keeping his eyes open and his ears firmly shut. He knew there was no point in trying to listen in as unicorns discussed magic. It was all spell matrix that and thaumic resonance this. Might as well listen to a pegasus talk about air flow and thrust-to-lift ratios. Just because you understood the words didn't mean you could grasp what it meant to have wings. At least pegasi didn’t have the same tendency as unicorns to rub their magic in your face.
* * *
Excitable. After a couple hours of walking around Canterlot, Granite decided that was a good word for Twilight Sparkle. Lloyd had shared some of his architecturally-minded spells with her, and when she had succeeded to cast them she had practically pranced with joy. It was a little grating - she just fixed a damn crack in the wall after all. The biggest repairs were ones were blasts of changeling magic had gouged out holes in walls or streets. Even these 'specialist' unicorns needed raw materials to fix those gaping wounds. Somepony had been thinking ahead though, and there was usually a stack of stone nearby to be used in the repairs.
At least they were more than halfway done, according to Rosewood's checklist. Their first priority had been buildings that were structurally compromised by the damage. Lloyd himself had handled those personally, saying he didn’t want to risk an amateur repair job. For the larger gouges he had Twilight and Slide Rule join him in a ritual-casting, the energies provided by the other two unicorns allowing him to cause the stone to meld and flow. When the castings were finished, the marble-work looked brand new.
Granite thought it was terribly ironic that Lloyd's cutie mark was a set of stoneworking tools, seeing as how the unicorn had apparently no need for such tools.
For Twilight's part, she couldn't have been enjoying herself more if she was in the library. The team she was with was knowledgeable and capable, and was even teaching her new magic! She consoled herself that she would have all afternoon to dig through the Archives at the pace they were going. The only thing that even registered as a blip of negativity for her was the seemingly subdued atmosphere inside the city.
Twilight had grown up in Canterlot, and she knew this place. While it might be a bit snobby, it was usually bustling with ponies going about their day. Ponies gossiping away, or rambunctious foals playing noisily in the city's green spaces. It wasn’t so today.
Barely a blip though, as she was focused on learning and being as helpful as possible.
The hushed tone of the city - and the fact that he was tuning the unicorns out - were probably the only reasons Granite heard it. The distant sound of something hard smacking against flesh and bone. Granite stopped in his tracks, his head coming up and around to point back, his ears focused towards the direction of the sound. He strained to hear, cursing the fact his charges were still clopping merrily along the cobblestone streets. He turned and took a step towards the source of the sound - an alleyway running between two shops. For a long moment, there was nothing. Granite was about to chalk the noise up to his imagination and turn back to catch up with the unicorns when there was another smack, followed by a barely audible whimper of pain.
“Hold up a moment!” Granite said sharply to the unicorns. trying to keep his voice low while still getting their attention. They stopped and glanced back at him. “There could be trouble. Get indoors! I’ll be back as soon as I can.” he said, motioning to a nearby cafe before turning back to the alleyway.
His charges tended to, Granite dashed forward, his armour clanking and his hooves making a racket on the stone. Twilight looked around in confusion as their escort vanished around a corner into an alleyway. Rosewood sighed and looked to her companions. "Earth ponies and their inferiority complex. Always have to play the hero." she quipped sarcastically, obviously not impressed at the guard's willingness to ditch them. None of them made a move to get indoors. Rosewood’s racist comment threw Twilight slightly, looking at Rosewood in shock while her brain tried to figure out whether to obey the guard and get indoors or chase after him to indulge her curiosity.
The sight which greeted Granite as he rounded the alleyway sent his sense of justice into overdrive. It made him angry. At the other end of the alleyway were a pair of unicorns, a teenaged colt and a stallion approaching middle-age. The colt was cowering against the wall of one of the buildings and the stallion was towering over him with a hoof raised. Both ponies were wearing clothing which hid their Cutie Marks - not uncommon in Canterlot. What really set Granite aflame was how the colt was holding a foreleg close to his body as though it was injured, and his lips looked bloodied. Both unicorns had turned their heads to look at Granite, their attention drawn by the clattering racket of his armour.
"In the name of Celestia, stand down!" Granite shouted, his deep voice lending an authoritative rumble to the command. He was charging down headlong the alleyway towards the deplorable scene when the older stallion turned fully to face him, horn flaring to life. Granite felt his front hooves tug backwards mid-gallop, dumping him face-first into the hard stone of the alleyway. Pain shot up Granite’s muzzle as he connected. His momentum didn’t stop, and the pain in his muzzle was soon mirrored throughout his body as he rolled several times before coming to a stop, momentarily dazed with hurt and disorientation.
Luckily, Granite’s shout had galvanized Twilight Sparkle who rushed around the corner just in time to see the Corporal’s clattering roll come to a stop, and the pair beyond. She stopped short, trying to figure out exactly what in Tartarus was going on here when the older unicorn swore and turned tail to flee in the opposite direction.
“Hey!” Twilight sounded indignant, still unsure what she could do. Granite was just now clambering to his hooves and beginning to charge once again, not caring that it would only take another flick of magic to send him sprawling again. He could taste blood running into his mouth from his injured muzzle, but he wasn’t about to stop now!
There is something I can do! Twilight thought as she gathered energy into her horn, focusing the energy to a point… and vanishing with a pop, to appear at the opposite end of the alley. She was boxing in the fleeing unicorn between herself and the Royal Guard. She held her head up high, momentarily proud at her quick thinking skills.
It was Granite’s turn to swear as the criminal unicorn didn’t even slow at Twilight’s appearance, only lowering his head so that his horn pointed straight forward. The suddenly very lethal weapon was pointed straight at Twilight, glowing ever so slightly.
Twilight’s thoughts exploded in a myriad directions at once, but she had seen this same horn-flaring charge from the changelings yesterday and Granite’s earlier words echoed in her head. Her thoughts coalesced to a point. “Changeling!” she shouted, bringing her own horn to bear, sending a blast of powerful magic at the charging stallion.
The aggressor was hit hard by the blast and was knocked backwards, bowling straight into Granite, and the pair landed in a heap with Granite on the bottom.
Seizing her advantage, Twilight galloped forward and leapt on disguised changeling. She called forth the same magic she’d used yesterday to strip changelings of their disguises and daze them…
It didn’t work! The spell failed! This wasn’t a changeling!
Too late did Twilight realized her blunder and the horrible position the maneuver had put her in as the unicorn’s hind legs bucked her hard in the stomach. Pain erupted where his hooves connected and she staggered. Her enemy used the momentary weakness to level his horn at her breast in an attempt to remove an obstacle from his escape.
Meanwhile, Granite was reeling. Two hard falls wasn’t enough to put the stubborn earth pony out of commission completely, and even disoriented he saw the danger to his charge. He kicked hard and just managed a glancing blow to the criminal’s shoulder, deflecting his attack enough that the potentially mortal blow was instead just a bloody slash along Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight whimpered painfully and collapsed onto her uninjured side, stunned by the wound.
With Granite still dazed and Twilight no longer blocking him, the unicorn tore his way out of the alley and down the street, magicking his horn clean of blood as he did.
A few seconds later, Granite did the same. After a short distance down the street, Granite flagged, his battered limbs screaming at him. He cantered to a stop. As much as he wanted to catch the criminal, he knew he couldn’t leave the scene. He watched as his mark disappeared into the green of one of the city’s many parks.
“Fuck.” Granite cursed quietly, taking a deep breath and turning back. He knew the Captain was going to tan his hide for this mess. It wasn’t even his fault! He had told them to get indoors!
By the time Granite had gotten back to the alleyway, Lloyd and his entourage had finally gotten off their flanks to help (Granite noted that none of them had gone inside as he had said). Slide Rule had helped the colt up while Lloyd and Rosewood were kneeling down next to Twilight, who had managed at least to roll onto her belly. One look at Twilight’s face told Granite that the unicorn was deeply shaken and in pain. The gash on her shoulder wasn’t deep, and Granite doubted it would scar, but use of that foreleg was going to be limited for some time. Rosewood had torn a strip off her clothing and was using it to stem the flow of blood.
“Are you both alright?” Granite asked with his trademark rumble, looking between the colt and Twilight.
Surprisingly, it was Rosewood who spoke, snapping harshly as her tail lashed violently in anger. “Of course she’s not alright! You let somepony almost run her through! Some Guard you are! Give me the name of your comman--”
“Hey,” Twilight whispered. “He saved my life.” Quiet as the whisper was, it cut through Rosewood’s tirade leaving her to fume silently. Lloyd and Slide Rule exchanged glances but said nothing.
Seeing as how the architect ponies didn’t seem to have a clue what the next step should be, Granite took charge. “Miss Sparkle, can you walk? We need to get both you and our young friend here to a hospital to get those wounds looked at.” Twilight nodded numbly.
“And you,” he said, turning to the colt he had… Granite hesitated to think that he had rescued him given how badly the scuffle had gone. “Do you know that stallion?”
The teenager nodded mutely in reply.
“Good. The Guard will need to know everything about him. Assaulting a Royal Guard and Attempted Murder will make the search for him a high priority.”
Twilight was still deeply shaken that somepony had tried to kill her, but Granite’s authoritative rumble encouraged her to stand. Bracing against Rosewood, Twilight stood slowly, holding her injured foreleg aloft so as to not put any pressure on it. Even without pressure, the burning pain was washing out everything else around her, and her stomach ached badly. Even the colour seemed to be sapped from the world. In spite of all her adventures… this was easily the worst wound she’d ever received. And it was from a pony. Not a changeling, not Discord, and not Nightmare Moon.
She could stand on her own, at least. Any attempt to walk would be an awkward hobble at best, and she could barely think which way was the closest hospital. At least the blood had been stanched by Rosewood’s quick thinking.
Granite could see the unicorn wobble slightly as she tried to keep balance on three legs. Ugh, this was going to be a long walk. Unless...
“Here, climb on.” Granite said with surprising gentleness, having pushed himself in between Rosewood and Twilight and laid down next to the injured unicorn. Twilight desperately wanted to object to that treatment. To tell this guardpony that she wasn’t a foal, she could walk herself. But her shoulder really hurt, and walking pretty much guaranteed to make it hurt more.
There was a moment of internal debate before Twilight relented, choosing to be practical rather than stubborn. With an awkward hop-hobble, she positioned herself and rested some weight on the guard. His armour was hard and uncomfortable (and pinched a little), but Twilight was glad not to risk further damage to her injured shoulder.
With the mare settled on his back, Granite straightened out, standing back up. All things considered, she was lighter than expected. Unicorns just didn't have the muscle mass that earth ponies did. He was being careful not to jostle her injured shoulder much lest the wound open again, keeping his gait smooth and level. Her neck was resting on his withers with her head hanging over his shoulder.
“Let’s go.” Granite rumbled, mostly to the colt than to the other unicorns. It annoyed him that none of the three unicorns had even offered to carry his burden with magic, especially after he’d seen Lloyd effortlessly float several hundred pounds of stone earlier. Slide Rule at least was helping the colt to keep up.
As they exited back out into the open, Granite silently thanked Celestia for small favours - the streets were still blessedly quiet. He suspected that carrying an injured and bloody Element of Harmony through the streets would’ve been somewhat more of an ordeal if the streets had been bustling as they typically were at this time of day.
“What’s your name, kid?” Granite asked, his question clearly directed towards the colt despite the fact that Granite was in the lead and keeping his head forward and posture straight to lessen any strain on Twilight.
“Midnight Punch, sir.” the colt replied quietly, subdued. That almost caused Granite to stumble, and might have had he not been so focused on keeping straight. “Midnight punch” was, quite frankly, the name of an extremely stiff alcoholic fruit drink. That somepony would name their child after it… was frankly a bit disturbing. Granite felt a rush of pity for the young colt, unicorn or not, suspecting immediately that his parents may be or have been alcoholics. He didn’t pry though. “Once we get your leg looked at, I’ll need to get a statement from you. We’re going to catch the pony who hurt you.” Granite said firmly, still looking forward and keeping an even pace.
Midnight said nothing in reply, merely focusing on keeping up with the group.
* * *
They were a block away - just one more block! - from the hospital when Granite turned a corner and his solid frame plowed straight into a yellow pegasus walking in the opposite direction. There was a muffled "eep!" as the mare stumbled back (why was a pegasus walking around on her hooves?), and Granite only barely managed not to dump Twilight unceremoniously on the ground. The shift was painful though, and Twilight whimpered.
"Apologies, Miss." Granite rumbled automatically, before his eyes went wide. He recognized this pony. And she obviously recognized Granite's burden.
"Oh my goodness! Twilight!" Fluttershy exclaimed, alarmed. Her wings spread and she flitted gracefully to hover next to the pair. She carefully peeled the makeshift dressing away, inspecting Twilight's wound. The rest of the morning's entourage had rounded the corner without running into anypony and were waiting impatiently. The hospital was just down the road after all.
Twilight tried to put on a brave smile for her friend, but the pain made her smile look wan and forced. Her brain still was refusing to process that the closest she had ever come to death in all her adventures was at the hooves of a fellow pony.
Having finished her inspection of Twilight's wound, Fluttershy carefully pulled away the bandage, and fished into her saddlebags to draw out a jar of some sort. "Hold her still, please." Fluttershy said demurely to Granite as she opened the jar. It seemed to filled with cream of some kind, which the pegasus began to scoop at with a hoof.
"Now this will hurt for just a moment, Twilight." The gentleness in Fluttershy's voice was a soothing balm... but what she put on Twilight's wound was not! Whatever that stuff was, it stung! Worse than the slash itself! Twilight couldn't help taking a sharp breath and feeling tears forming behind her tightly shut eyes. Twilight wanted to shout, but suddenly the pain began to fade away, numbness suffusing the area around the wound.
"There." Fluttershy said softly, closing the jar and stowing it away. For a moment longer she was content to smile warmly at Twilight. But with her friend's pain eased, the pegasus seemed to suddenly become aware that she was the center of attention for five ponies she didn't know (a few of whom were looking rather impatient).
She landed softly, folding her wings and shying away slightly. Her voice was small, her body language supremely uncomfortable: "Um... she still needs to go to the hospital."
Granite was forced to suppress a small chuckle at the pegasus' swift mood change, and began once again to walk. The hospital was only a short distance away.
* * *
Loneliness.
Loneliness was something with which Luna was intimately familiar. Probably more familiar than any other creature in existence. Even dragons, who spent decades at a time alone, were novices in comparison to what Luna had experienced. They had not spent a thousand years trapped in a place where literally no other life could survive. It was only the magic of the Elements that had kept her alive on the Moon - airless, and heatless as it was (not to mention the lack of food or water).
There were times during Luna's banishment went the rage and madness of Nightmare Moon had faded away. The first time, it took with it the memories that led up to her banishment, leaving Luna afraid and alone with no memory of where she was or how she'd gotten there. She had wandered across the bleak wasteland of her prison, helplessly trying to call out to her sister, to her guards, to anyone at all. The only answer she had ever received was a whisper in her head that told her she had been abandoned, left here without anyone or anything. In her desperation for someone, she had even called out to Discord. The bleak grey landscape around her had remained cruelly silent.
She had cried for a long time. She had begged and pleaded with the emptiness around her. Nothing helped.
Trying to dredge the memories of what brought her to that fate had only brought more pain, as flashes of the ponies she had killed in her madness invaded her brain.
And that had just been the first year of her banishment. The madness came and went in cycles, just as the moon did. Sometimes Luna was lucid, but when the pain and fear became unbearable, madness would return. Always it would return.
Not this time. That was what Luna had swore. She would never allow herself to become that again. Twilight and her friends had shown Luna that even fear could be turned to joy.
The Princess of the Night rubbed the last of the sleep from her eyes as she stared into her mirror. The magic which transformed her light blue mane and tail into the shimmering ethereal field of stars had faded while she slept, and she had yet to renew it. Celestia insisted on it, saying it made them look the part. Luna just thought it made her look like Nightmare Moon.
It was late afternoon, time for her to be awake. And despite her earlier exhaustion, she had not slept well. She grimaced into the mirror as a small corner of her mind chuckled darkly at the irony. Part of her purview as the Princess of the Night was to help her subjects overcome their nightmares. Which meant, of course, that there was nobody to help with her own nightmares.
With a glance towards her treasured garland, Luna swept magic through her mane and tail. Doubt was still gnawing at her, in spite of Sapphire Star's reassurances. There was very few ponies who were a party to Luna's plans, and all those except Sapphire Star had ulterior motives for wanting her to succeed. The fate of so many ponies should not rest on so few.
A familiar adage (perpetuated by her dear sister, no doubt) said that wisdom came with age. Luna didn't feel that was true. She remembered when she and Celestia had first Ascended. Along with Star Swirl, they had repeatedly struck down the enemies of ponies - beginning with Discord and then the Windigos, but there were others as well. Celestia and Luna had consolidated the various fiefs, city-states and splinter factions of Discord’s Equestria into a united whole. Meanwhile, Starswirl the Bearded and his apprentice, Clover the Clever, had struck out across Equestria, banishing monsters and evils in the name of the Alicorn Princesses. They could do no wrong. They had been like Goddesses.
Now?
Now Star Swirl and Clover were long dead, and the world seemed to be an intricate tangle, with very few right answers. The paths that seemed the best - the most natural - tended to have vicious and unforeseen consequences. She had followed her heart freely before, and that had only led down a slow path to Nightmare Moon.
If the best intentions led down those roads, if she and Celestia were not perfect, ideal beings what right did they have to rule? Why should they be elevated above other ponies? How were they different from Discord, who crafted the world in his singular vision?
For the second time in as many nights, Luna pulled herself out of her dark and brooding memories. She shook her head and turned to the door. She had appearances and duties to keep up. Doubt was a luxury that she could ill afford now. The act was done, the stage set. In just a few days, Equestria would have one less Princess. All she could hope was that it was the right thing to do.