Chapter Three: The Awakening
Third POV
The Next Day...
Twilight and her friends were waiting anxiously at the train station, looking for the midnight-blue pegasus mare that Princess Celestia had mentioned in the letter. It was 3:05pm and the group of friends were getting worried that they would never find the mare, when Rarity cried out,"I think that's her, over there!"
Everypony else looked in the direction Rarity was pointing her hoof at, and sure enough, there was the midnight-blue pegasus mare Princess Celestia described. The group of mares walked over to her.
"Hello there! We were told to look for you." Twilight says cheerfully to the Pegasus.
"Yes, I was sent here by you-know-who." the pegasus whispered. Twilight's eyes widened and she gasped as realization struck her.
"Are you perchance Princess Luna?" The intelligent mare asked. The pegasus nodded.
"Yes Twilight Sparkle. I am here to deal with the problem. Do not tell anypony who I am, as I am trying to be discreet here." Princess Luna says.
"Ok princess" The group of mares chorused at the same time. Princess Luna smiled at this.
"Let's get going, shall we?" The princess says, walking of towards Ponyville, the rest of the group looking at her before following quickly.
They got to the hospital in reasonably good time, but Rainbow was complaining about them going too slow. Everypony rolled their eyes everytime she complained smiling a little.
"Excuse me Nurse Redheart, how is the unknown mare doing?" Twilight asks the nurse as Nurse Redheart was leaving the mares room.
"Just about the same as before, Miss Sparkle. It looks as if she has been having nightmares, however, based on how much she has moved in her sleep." Nurse Redheart replies, pointing her hoof inside the room. The group of mares peeked inside, and sure enough, the mare was twisting and turning, her face scrunched in what looked to be unspeakable terror, yet she was still clearly asleep.
The group murmured quietly, before Princess Luna walked towards the mare. When she came up to the mares bedside, Princess Luna placed a hoof on the mares forhead. Almost instantly, her face became calmer, almost serene. The mare stopped moving and went into a dreamless sleep. Princess Luna smiled softly, glad that she had managed to calm the poor mare down.
Very quietly, almost silently, Princess Luna heard the mare whisper one word. "Luna."
Princess Luna stared at the mare, shocked that she had remembered her when Luna had gone into her dreams. Princess Luna gazed at the mare for a few moments before standing back up and walking over to the mane 6.
"She should be fine for a bit girls. You are dismissed. Go home for now, and I will call you when the mare awakens." Luna tells them, causing them to look at her incredulously. "Go on, shoo!" Luna says, causing them to get out quickly, including Nurse Redheart, who had been watching Princess Luna.
Princess Luna sighed. "You will awaken soon young one, and I shall greet you into this new world." she whispers to the sleeping mare. Luna resigned herself and sat down. This was going to be a long wait.
At Twilight's Library...
"How long do we have to wait!" Rainbow complained at the mane 6 lounged in Twilight's home.
"Who knows Rainbow? It could be a few minutes, few hours, a few days, etc. Princess Luna will tell us when something happens. I'm sure of it." Twilight responds carefully, wanting her meaning to be known. The other mares grumbled a bit, but quieted down after a few minutes.
"Now, onto the next order of business. We need to make sure we have the Elements on us when she awakens, in case she's a danger to us all." Twilight explains.
"She doesn't seem like she would be the violent type, even while asleep Twilight." Fluttershy protests quietly, but no one heard her. She sighed quietly, wishing they listened to her a bit more often.
"Gosh, Twilight, you really think that the young mare would be a threat to us? She would be too weak to do much damage at all, although she might be a handful were she fully healed." Applejack mused.
"Still, though. We don't know who she is, where she came from, or how she came to be near death lying in a crater. For all we know, she could be possessed by Nightmare Moon!" Twilight exclaims. At the mention of Nightmare Moon, Fluttershy whimpers and tries to hide behind the couch. "Sorry Fluttershy, but it's true."
"Whatever. Let's just be ready for when Princess Luna comes to get us." Rainbow Dash snapped.
"How about a slumber party then? It's getting late and I had so much fun the last time we had one. And anyways, this way, we will all be together for when Princess Luna comes to get us." Twilight said, secretly hoping they would agree.
"Sure, but no mamby-pamby stuff Twilight, got it?" Rainbow Dash said.
"It would be a delight." Rarity says.
"S-u-u-u-r-r-r-e-e-e." Fluttershy stutters.
"Course, sugarcube. We could use some fun right now anyways." Applejack says.
"A party?! Fun!" Pinkie Pie exclaims happily, producing a bunch of sleeping bags from behind her back.
"Where did you...oh never mind." Twilight mumbles.
And so that was how the girls spent their first night in four days away from the unknown mare. Meanwhile...
"Oh, how much longer must you sleep, young one?" Luna moans to herself. She had been keeping vigil over the mare for several hours now in her true form and it was beginning to take a slight toll on her patience. Princess Luna wasn't exceptionally known for her patience. Princess Celestia often joked to her that she had very little patience, always wanted everythignt obe done quickly. Luna sighed. "Tomorrow she awakens." Luna thought to herself. "I shall help her get in this world."