Twilight Sparkle had awoken to find herself tucked snugly in bed, a small candle offering dim illumination and a plate of cookies on the nightstand. Nearby, a pitcher of water sat on a coaster with a half full glass within easy reach. The drapes had been pulled and what looked like a few small piles of books had been used to pin them to the walls blocking any light from outside. All in all, it was a mercifully quiet, dark, and comforting room to nap in.
With a start, she leapt from the bed, getting caught in the sheets, and fell promptly to the floor.
"SPIKE!" she hollered as she struggled for a moment against the confining fabrics, "SPIKE! What time is it?!?"
From outside, the muffled sound of her number one assistant approached, pausing just before the door opened.
"Hey Twilight.... yheah... um... you missed breakfast but lunch is almost ready."
"Spiiiiike... You know I need to be up in the mornings to -" she started, only to stop when Spike raised a small clawed hand to silence her.
"No, you don't. Number one, you're a princess now... you get to set your own timetable. Number two, you're so organized, it would take weeks of mistakes to create any kind of realistic issue. And number three, you need sleep."
With a huff, the little dragon turned his head and crossed his arms.
After a moment, he felt himself gently lifted off the ground, turned around and embraced in a hug.
"What would I do without you Spike?" the princess asked as she smiled softly in the dark room.
"Probably fall asleep while cooking and light your mane on fire again," he chuckled.
"That only happened the one time."
Spike grinned before blinking and pulling out a scroll from somewhere. "Oh... I almost forgot. You got this last night."
With a roll of her eyes, she set the little drake down and plucked the scroll from his claws before lighting the room with her horn and unrolling the scroll.
As she read, her smile faded quickly, only to be replaced with an ever darkening frown.
"Spike, go pack some of that lunch. I'm not sure if I'll be back in time for dinner."
Confused, and not a little bit worried at the rapid mood swing, Spike nodded but paused at the doorway. "Um, should I get the girls?"
As a magenta glow quickly untangled her hooves from the blankets and pulled the windows open, Twilight Sparkle squinted into the bright, early-afternoon, sun. "I'm.... I'm not sure. Just bring me some of whatever you were making and let them know I'll be heading to Canterlot to help with a problem. I'll send word if they need to come."
With a slight nod, Spike turned and raced from the room, his little footsteps echoing in the hallway as the Princess of Friendship took a moment to breathe.
Twilight turned to the window, watching as a few light puffy clouds drifted by, the pegassi pushing them taking a moment to wave. She forced a smile as she watched, noiselessly placing the scroll upon the nightstand where its ends curled slightly.
I'm sorry to trouble you Twilight, but Luna and I both agreed that you should be made aware of the situation: Somepony has disturbed the grave. We are looking into this, but your thoughts, as always, would be appreciated.
Come at your leisure,
Princess Celestia
Somewhere, in some as-of-yet-to-be-discovered room deep in the bowels of the castle, a white-hot hammer fell from a hole in the air as a burning creature screamed.
-~oOo~-
The trip had been as uneventful as could be. Train rides generally were. That she had a car all to herself, that the attendants had shied away after asking if she had needed any refreshments, and that a royal guard had been stationed at each carriage door (there was now apparently a small detachment stationed in Ponyville... who knew?) had probably all contributed to that uneventful quality.
Or, it could have been the result of the drawn, almost desperate, look that had settled upon her face the moment she had left her castle.
Whatever the cause, Twilight Sparkle was remarkably relieved to finally set hoof on properly maintained cobblestone again. Not that she didn't like the train... she had used them for most of her life after all... but more that anything else, since she had opened that scroll, she had been suffering with a minor bout of nausea.
The cool mountain air was, thankfully, helping some.
After a brief moment to settle herself, Twilight Sparkle looked to her small entourage of guards and nodded. Immediately, a light gray pegasus took wing and flitted off towards the castle. Moments later, the remaining Guard took trailing positions around her as she stepped off the landing and started a steady trot towards one of her favorite bookstores.
It wouldn't do to keep the Princesses waiting, but it would be even worse to meet them and waste their time if her mind was elsewhere... and there were very few things that were as calming to Princess Twilight Sparkle as a new, hardbound, book.
-~oOo~-
"Announcing her Royal Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle von Twilight, of Ponyville. Princess of-"
A soft cough, barely more than a whisper, arrested the herald as Princess Celestia nodded politely towards her former student, concealed behind the throne room doors. "Thank you Herald, but I am fairly certain we are all quite familiar with my former student... and she with us."
The light gray unicorn nodded primly before opening the doors to the hall and revealing a young alicorn who, for all the books floating around her, resembled nothing more than a familiar purple unicorn known to have frequented the throne room for years.
Princess Celestia stifled a giggle... something that she wouldn't normally do around Twilight, but seeing her so focused again brought back memories she was loathe to disturb. Instead, she waited patiently as the youngest Princess of Equestria strolled slowly through the throne room without even looking away from the plethora of books around her.
Princess Luna watched with a half-amused look as Celestia humored the young mare.
After a few moments, Twilight slowed to a creep, a number of pages turning simultaneously, before inelegantly leaning back until her rear sat comfortably on the carpet leading up to the thrones. Luna raised an eyebrow quizzically, before glancing to her sister for direction and receiving only a barely contained blurt of laughter. Confused, she looked back to Twilight, only to choke back her own chuckle as she witnessed the young mare nonchalantly flop to her side and roll onto her back, the books spinning expertly around and assuming a much more.... efficient formation above her.
Silently, Celestia's magic ushered out the herald and closed the throne room doors.
It was, perhaps, four minutes before a number of the books closed as one while the remaining number simultaneously found themselves accepting identical silver and lavender bookmarks before the lot quickly sorted themselves and floated to a neat pile precisely upon a small plinth behind one of the many decorative planters in the room. Moments later, Twilight Sparkle seemed to realize that the ceiling of the throne room was an unusual thing to be looking at after finishing a book and slowly tilted her head back to look up the steps at the pair of now giggling princesses.
With a bright blush, she scrabbled at the carpet and, with a very quick twist, righted herself with a "Sorry!"
"It's quite alright Twilight," the still amused Celestia smiled. "We all get caught up in our own little worlds every now and again."
"'Tis correct. We have, upon occasion, perhaps extended the night some mere seconds for such a reason ourselves." Luna's smile grew briefly as she looked towards her sister. "And I do believe even my dear sister has, on occasion, lengthened her 'bubble bath' if I am not mistaken?"
Celestia's slight eye roll brought a smirk to Luna's face.
With a somewhat less embarrassed smile, Twilight patted down her mane before trotting up and nuzzling both Princesses. "I'm sorry Princesses, I was just so.... so..."
"Distressed?" Luna offered helpfully.
"um, well, I was really considering saying 'on edge', but distressed does sound better." Twilight finished with a somewhat forced smile.
Celestia shared a quiet look with her sister before both stepped down and began descending the steps with Twilight following.
"Shall we assume that our failed rescue is what has been 'distressing' you?" Luna's voice, while quiet, carried a firmness that spoke of shared troubles.
After the trio reached the bottom of the steps, Twilight finally drew a breath and stopped. It was a few moments before the princesses paused and turned, confusion on their faces.
"Twilight?" Celestia asked, concern clear in her voice.
"Princess -es...." Twilight amended after realizing her old habits naturally excluded Luna,"... what we did... we were trying to help right? We didn't mean for it to turn out like it did and we were trying to help, but it still happened. It, it still died. All we really managed to do was shorten its life and give it pain even though we were trying to help." She paused as she lowered her head, "That doesn't make us bad ponies does it?"
The three stood quietly for a moment, Twilight waiting with her head down, Luna looking off towards a stained glass window, and Celestia watching her faithful student-turned-princess.
"Twilight, what you must understand, what all ponies with skill or power must understand, is that the ability to help does not always mean that those efforts will succeed. No doctor can cure every ill and no guard can stop every crime. No matter the skill or power or pony, all we can do is try our very best and hope against hope that we can do good in the world." She slowly extended a wing, drawing a long ivory feather across and down Twilight's cheek. "No pony is perfect, not you, nor Luna, nor myself. We all make mistakes and have our faults, but that does not make us bad ponies."
A soft ruffling of feathers drew Celestia and Twilight's attention. Luna looked back at her companions as she resettled her wings. "It is as my sister says, Princess, for all our power, we are but simple ponies in our own arts. Were it not for my sister's glories, We would not have become as We were. Were it not for our own insecurities, We would not have been absent for so long." She looked down for a moment before turning fully to face Twilight. "And were it not for your own foolish devotion to our sister's image, We would not have been spared a second time."
Tentatively, Twilight looked up as she felt a pair of silver clad hooves pull her gently into an awkward, though not insincere, hug.
"So you see Twilight, we are not bad ponies, not a one of us, where even our flaws make us the ponies that we are."
-~oOo~-
The Earthpony stallion watched with an intensity that Arcane Barrage found unnerving. He had taken off his armor the moment he had returned to the Marshaling Office, pulling a well sealed crate behind him. No fewer than a dozen Guard, all alert and bristling at any sudden movement, had silently followed him in. Not a one had spoken or lessened their concentration even since the door had closed. Had the stallion pulling the crate not been originally armored as the Guard, Arcane would have assumed he was a high priority prisoner with an escort like that.
But after opening the crate, he simply didn't know how to respond.
He sat back, looking between the crate and the strange procession that had brought it in. Even now, not a single one of the Guard looked ready to stand at ease, preferring to spread out and check the blatantly clear office as if it were a war zone. Idly, Arcane wondered how many of them had seen any actual combat.
Finally, the unarmored stallion spoke up. "Arcane... I'm not going to mince words here and I'm not expecting any red tape either. Do I make myself clear?"
Blinking at the commanding tone from someone who, technically served under himself, Arcane Barrage nodded professionally. "Aye Magnus. Why the show?"
Magnus frowned as he stepped closer to the long desk upon which the crate currently resided. "It isn't a show, Arcane. Somepony broke in, snuck by all of you on-duty officers, robbed a bloody grave three of the four princesses declared to be guarded at all times, and I had to come back to fix things. No disrespect sir, but you all should be ashamed of yourselves." His frown deepened as he looked back towards the crate again. "I'm ashamed of myself."
The room was silent except for the soft creaking of armor straps as the escort continued its vigil.
"Magnus, I don't have to tell you that protoco-"
"If you say one word about protocol when THAT is sitting on your desk as opposed to resting in the ground after serving our great nation, Celestia help me, I will put you in the ground with it to make sure it's not disturbed next time..."
The anger dripping from the powerful Earthpony was nearly visible to the unicorn. For a few heartbeats, the two looked at each other, silently weighing their next words.
Finally, Magnus stepped back, turned his head to look slightly above his superior officer, and saluted. "...Sir!"
Arcane took a moment more before he responded. "Magnus, I'm not pleased with your lack of decorum but, all things considered, I'm not going to report you for this one. Nopony disrespects the dead, much less a hero of Equestria. You find that bastard and you bring him in, do you understand me?"
For the briefest moment, Arcane could have sworn he saw something that he knew couldn't exist.
Magnus snapped off a "Sir!" before pivoting and marching out the door, the escort following a moment later save a unicorn and one of the Nightguard.
With a sigh, Arcane released the tension he hadn't realized had been building as he carefully resealed the crate and started penning a missive to the Princesses.
After a few moments though, just before signing the letter, he placed his quill back into the inkwell and took a sip of water from a bottle he kept below desk.
"Must be getting tired... I could have sworn I saw Magnus smile."
The room seemed to dim faintly for a moment, causing Arcane to look up and stifle a startled yelp. Directly above him, the fanged muzzle of the Nightguard waited, a serious expression discernible once he looked past the unexpected sight.
"Don't mistake that smile for a dream, Barrage, I've never seen Magnus smile and I doubt it's a good thing."
Turning his chair to look up at the hovering batpony, Arcane Barrage nodded. "Aye. He's a good Guard, but that attitude will keep him from ever moving up."
For a brief moment, the Nightguard seemed to hesitate before responding. "You know what? I'm actually kind of glad I don't serve under you, Barrage. You just don't get it. This isn't just a job to us, to Magnus. This isn't just a paycheck or a pin for service. This is a way of life. This is a path of honor and respect."
"Don't lecture me about what the Guard is. I don't care who you are or where you come from, no one disrespects the Gua-" Arcane's reply was cut short by a wet glob of saliva as it splattered across the bridge of his nose, shocking him into a flinch.
"You really are one arrogant little colt. We were all chosen specifically to be the best of the best, the ponies all other ponies can look up to and call on for help. We were all given a great gift: to be trained and guided, to stand against the horrors and the evils that the world throws at us. We were all chosen by Celestia or Luna personally to defend this nation and these ponies, with our last breath if need be - and you, YOU are worried about rank when something like THIS," the Nightguard flicked a hoof towards the once-more-sealed crate, "happens under our noses? It was bad enough with the Changelings... we didn't know they were there, but THIS? We were guarding it."
The Nightguard drifted back, almost protectively over the crate, as Arcane Barrage suddenly felt the weight of every gaze in the room fall on him.
"We were guarding the grave of a hero of Equestria. When you or I die, we'll likely get a little plot out in the country or a plinth with the family name in the Guard Cemetery if we're lucky. We're the Guard, Daywatch, Nightwatch, Royal Guard or Long Patrol, it doesn't matter. We are the Guard." Once more, the batpony paused before snapping a coal-black hoof towards the crate below. "But this one? This one was a hero. A HERO of Equestria. Do you get that yet? Do you? This one was somepony who was so respected by the Princesses, not just one, but three personally, that they declared them to be somepony that should never be forgotten."
The batpony flapped, and a split second later a black muzzle planted itself upon Arcane Barrage's own. "That pony is what the Guard was meant to prevent. The NEED for other ponies to stand in the line, to be the last defense, to weather the storm or ever have to even imagine fighting the good fight."
With a flap of wings sharp enough to make a whipcrack, the Nightguard darted out the door.
Arcane Barrage blinked as he slowly wiped the spit from his face. It took a moment longer for his mind to process that the Nightguard who had just lectured him into silence had been a mare who's voice he had never heard.
"For what it's worth, sir, I'd rather suggest a careful wording in that letter to the Princesses. From what I hear, they've been pretty upset ever since that plot had to be dug."
Arcane looked over towards the unicorn stallion still dutifully guarding the room.
"I... I think I have a few things to consider. I've got things handled here. Dismissed," Arcane said as a sudden wave of weariness seemed to flow over him.
"Thank you sir, but I'm not on duty and I'm perfectly fine right here, watching that," the Guard replied, never taking his eyes off the crate and never losing his vigil.