Chapter Eighty Four
Rainbow Dash mumbled to herself as she rested comfortably, in that state on the edge between being awake and asleep, where one was simply too comfortable to commit to anything, and simply wanted to burrow deeper under the covers draped over them, without a care in the world.
There was just one small detail that kept her from being able to do just that. That being the fact that she distinctly remembered not covering up at all as she laid down for the night. That was enough to make her open her eyes, sit up, and take stock of her surroundings.
Like she was when she went to sleep, she was in Ulquiorra's quarters, on his sofa, with Tank slumbering away in the corner of the room. That much was the same.
What differed from what she remembered, was being covered up, and the Espada being nowhere to be found. In simple terms, he'd abandoned ship on her while she slept.
"Where'd he go?" she asked herself as she kicked the covers off.
As she did, she realized that it wasn't a sheet she'd been covered in while she slept, but a jacket. More specifically it was Ulquiorra's jacket. What exactly was going on around here?
This was getting really weird, really fast. Ulquiorra abandoning his post without explanation, using his own jacket as a blanket for her? What else was happening?
She sat up straighter as she looked around the room again, and then noticed something else out of place. A piece of paper sitting on the desk, folded in a manner that made it really conspicuous, and hard to not notice being out of place. She climbed off the couch, and went over to read what it had to say.
Called away on potentially urgent business. Will return as soon as possible.
Rainbow Dash read the note, and chuckled to herself as she did, shaking her head. So much for his claim that he was a heartless monster. Unapologetic jerk perhaps, but not a heartless monster.
Of course, now she was faced with another mystery to deal with. That being what to do now? She really wasn't feeling all that tired right now, so going back to sleep didn't hold much appeal.
She could step outside and see if she could figure out just what sort of potentially urgent business he was referring to. But she really doubted Luna would be all that forthcoming with information, out of fear of her trying to tag along on some damn fool mission. And she'd probably be right too.
There were an awful lot of books from the library still present, either on the shelf or on the desk. Maybe she could browse through one of them until she dozed off from utter boredom, as she knew he wasn't reading any adventure novels.
And then she noticed something else out of place in the room. That being Ulquiorra's satchel, hung over the back of the chair at the desk. Probably to let him get out of his jacket. He'd been wearing that damned thing everywhere he went, ever since he got it from Rarity on his third visit to Ponyville. It'd been as constant a companion to him as his sword. And he'd just left it hanging there, totally unsecured...
The Espada was almost always writing down something in that notebook he carried with him. And whatever he wrote, he tended to write fast; fast enough that his pencil made more noise than Twilight's own quill when she was in a writing hurry. But what was it that he spent so much time writing about? What could be so fascinating for him?
She knew that what she was considering doing could be a massive invasion of privacy. But if whatever Ulquiorra had to write was so important, he would've done a better job at securing it against accidental discovery; he was way too careful to just leave stuff like that to chance.
Her eyes glanced left, and then right, and then left again, before she lifted the satchel's flap, and saw the main compartment was left unzipped. Glancing left at the door again, she reached inside with her hoof, and pulled out a random piece of folded up paper, before unfolding it, and reading what it had to say.
Wednesday, June twelfth, second year of the new calendar: After Nightmare Moon
Observational notes pertaining to the mysterious concept known as "friendship" and other curiosities in the world of Equestria
Entry Two
The unforeseen developments pertaining to yesterday, have led to complications to the overall objectives of the mission at hand.
Originally the goal was simple and straightforward; use whatever methods that were needed to lead these ponies to believe that I took a genuine interest in the concept of friendship, in order to make them drop their nonsensical approach to a non-issue, and refocus their efforts on looking for any clues that may lead us to identifying when and where the next attack on Equestria may be coming from. The more warning signs that can be identified, the better our chances of emerging unscathed.
What wasn't anticipated with such an approach, however, was these ponies actually taking an unpredicted course of action that would leave me far more fascinated, and interested in them than I was previously. And their decision to exploit my impaired condition from poison joke exposure has done just that. Because of such developments occurring, nothing remains so straightforward any longer.
Despite this being a ruse to exert compliance from them, there is no denying that their actions have inspired a great deal of curiosity on the whole concept of friendship, and how they can reconcile their beliefs with their actions, when the two would logically seem to run contrary to one another.
Rainbow Dash stopped reading around that point of the report, unprepared for what she'd just found. Ulquiorra had been using them? All that talk about coming to have a greater understanding of what friendship was, was just bullshit to get them to do what he wanted?
But if that was the case, then what about everything that had happened since then? What about all the care he'd been providing? The tough love approach of telling her to pull herself together and stop whining? Was that all because he needed her to get back into fighting shape, and not for any other reason?
She turned back to the report and read it over again, scanning the page for anything that would indicate that wasn't the case; anything that would suggest he held friendship in some regard of importance. But there was nothing to find within. Nothing but a cold, analytical approach to how the concept of friendship -while fascinating enough to warrant further study- was a low priority on his list of things to do. Something that was meant to be studied, but not necessarily practiced?
But if that was the case, what about the jacket? What about the note? Those stuck out to her as unusual for someone who was merely using them for his own goals.
Looking back at the report again, she saw that the date was the day after the manticore attack. And it was only the second report he'd made? Maybe something really had changed since that time, and was documented in a different report. If that was the case, then it was just a matter of finding it.
Now that she thought of it, the date was the same as her episode. Meaning it was probably written at some time during the night when the rest of them had been asleep. That might explain a lot of it actually.
Before she could search through the satchel for anymore reports on the mysteries of friendship, and see what revisions of thought he might have committed to writing, a loud scream sounded, causing her to jump in surprise and drop the piece of paper, looking about frantically as if she'd just been caught doing something she shouldn't have; which was technically true.
Realizing that she was still alone in the room did nothing to slow her heart down though. Whoever was screaming was still at it, indicating that whatever had been going on was still happening, and...
"Oh no..."
She recognized the voice that was behind that scream. It was Celestia's! And this time around she seriously doubted the scream was from her being startled by being poked in the back while being deeply engrossed in reading something. This couldn't be good.
Running over to the door, she grabbed the knob and pulled, only for it to refuse to open. She quickly realized that it had been locked from the inside; likely by Ulquiorra as he left to tend to whatever problem had arisen, so whatever tried to get at her would have a harder time doing just that.
Undoing the lock, she flung the door open, and took off galloping down the hallway towards Celestia's quarters. But as fast as she was, she realized that galloping was way too slow to reach her destination in an adequate amount of time. So she did what any self-respecting pegasus would do, unfurling her wings and giving a mighty flap to propel herself off the floor.
Her daily exercises had kept her wing muscles from atrophying from disuse, but that did nothing to keep them from hurting at their first real use in so long. This wasn't some sprint meant to satiate primal species instinct that demanded flight, but rather a serious use as she soared down the hallways at top speed towards her destination. Under different circumstances, she'd be thrilled at the familiar sensations that were rushing over her. But right now she was far too focused on getting to Celestia's quarters in hopes of finding the distraught alicorn, and figuring out what was going on.
"Make a hole! Make a hole!" she yelled at anyone who entered her field of vision, anxious to avoid plowing into them as she hurried along. After so long without the option of flying like she usually did, the finer points of control were rustier than she cared to admit, meaning she'd need time to work back into performing tight maneuvers. And any crash, clipping, or other form of collision was just going to slow her down to an unacceptable degree.
Flying up through the stairwell to get to the appropriate floor presented its own sort of challenges that had to be overcome. But she did just that, through a combination of tenacity, and sheer dumb luck, as she made her way to the floor Celestia's quarters were positioned on.
By the time she reached her destination, her wings felt about ready to completely fall off. But regardless of that fact, she'd made it to Celestia's quarters. And much to her surprise, she didn't even have to contend with the doors, as they were already open. And she was late to the party, as she was apparently the last one to arrive, with Luna and Ulquiorra beating her there.
All at once the smell in the room hit her like a kick to the face, giving her an idea what had happened here, but it was only a piece of the puzzle; there was still the matter of what had made Celestia wet the bed in the first place.
"What happened here?" she asked Ulquiorra, seeing as he was the only one present who was currently unoccupied. She discounted the notion of the guards being able to give her a sensible answer, based on previous experience in similar circumstances in the past.
"We don't yet know," Ulquiorra replied as he turned to address her. "But it's reasonable to conclude that Princess Celestia has fallen victim to the terror fog as well," he added.
"Oh no," Rainbow Dash groaned, knowing that it went without saying just how bad this whole situation had become. "We need her for stopping that fog. Whadda we do now with her down?"
"Proceed as originally planned, while substituting Princess Luna for Princess Celestia. She's just as capable of condensing the terror fog into a condensed block of ice, and ending the threat it poses. From there we simply wait for Twilight Sparkle and the others to finish the cure, dispense it to everyone that's been afflicted, and close this chapter," Ulquiorra stated, seeing no reason to believe otherwise.
That was all assuming Princess Celestia's degree of affliction was substantial enough that she couldn't get her head together in the next few hours. And until he saw something that would convince him otherwise, Princess Luna was merely a backup, serving as a contingency plan to be called on in a worst case scenario.
"I fear that will not be a possibility, however," Luna spoke up as she held Celestia firmly while she bawled. "I cannot leave Celestia while she is in this state. Especially when we do not know for certain just what her state is," she pointed out, idly noting how Celestia seemed to cling to her even tighter at the mention of being left. Even if she was willing to leave her sister, she truly doubted that said willingness would be reciprocated.
"Alright that's it! We're going to Ponyville, right now!" Rainbow Dash stated forcefully, slamming one hoof against another and producing a loud clopping noise in the process.
"Ultimately for what purpose?" Ulquiorra asked, completely unimpressed with the sudden display of bravado. What good could possibly come from such an endeavor?
"For the purpose of kicking this fog's ass, that's what. Forget sealing it away in a block of ice, we're gonna destroy it! We're gonna go to Ponyville, get everyone together, get the Elements of Harmony, and we're gonna waste this fog like we have every other villain we've used them against!" Rainbow Dash stated. She'd had enough of this nonsense about recovery, and cures, and airtight containers, and all the rest of this technical sciencey bullshit. They were going to deal with this mess the old fashioned way, and they were going to emerge triumphantly once again!
"... I am afraid that will not be a possibility, Rainbow Dash," Luna said slowly as she cradled Celestia.
"What? Why not?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked over at her.
"When you were afflicted by the fog, your sense of loyalty was severely compromised, leaving the Element of Loyalty nothing to resonate with. It currently lays dormant like a useless piece of granite, rendering the others unusable," Ulquiorra explained.
Luna nearly gasped at hearing Ulquiorra's statement. The only ones that knew about the state of the Elements of Loyalty were herself, Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike. They had all agreed to say nothing of this development to Ulquiorra, out of concern over how he might choose to address the matter. She knew that neither she, nor Celestia, would have said anything to him about something so sensitive. That left only two possibilities, and a lingering question of just how much he knew.
"Wait, seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. "Can't we... I don't know, give it to somepony else so it'll work again?"
"That, too, is equally impossible. In their current state, once an Element of Harmony has bonded to an individual, they remain linked for life. The only way the Element of Loyalty could be reassigned to someone else, would be if you were to die," Ulquiorra explained.
Luna bit back the response she had, afraid of what might happen if she were to actually say what she was thinking right now. She couldn't lose her composure right now; not with Celestia being in the state she was in, and certainly not with everyone so close to panicking. The fact that Ulquiorra was in possession of this information confirmed that there was a leak somewhere. But beyond that was something with the potential to be even more startling; that Ulquiorra knew all of this, and yet had refrained with engaging in such an approach.
They had kept this information from the Espada, out of the concern that he might kill Rainbow Dash, reasoning that it was more logical than providing care for her, with no prospect of it even working, while Equestria was in danger all the while. Now here she was confronting the fact that he hadn't done anything of the sort, despite being in the perfect position to do just that. Once again, he had surprised all of them.
"... How dead would I have to be for that to happen?" Rainbow Dash finally asked.
And that broke Luna out of her thoughts.
"I... I do not understand what you are saying," she stated.
"Even I'm lost," Ulquiorra added.
"You said that as long as I'm alive, the Element of Loyalty won't work for anypony else. What if I wasn't?" she asked. But before anyone could offer up a response, she was already talking again. "Hear me out on this, I know what I'm talking about. Twilight once told me that the pony brain can go without oxygen for four minutes before brain damage set in. We go back to Ponyville, you stop my heart just long enough for the Element of Loyalty to read me as being dead, and break off contact with me. Then you restart my heart to bring me back, and then we can find somepony else to wield it while I'm down. Maybe somepony like Derpy; she's not the brightest around, but she's pretty loyal to her friends."
"What? No. No!" Luna objected forcefully, horrified by just how casually such an idea was being tossed about. Just thinking about it made her feel ill.
"What other choice do we have?" Rainbow Dash asked, her voice rising in volume as she spoke. "If Celestia can be vulnerable, then nopony's safe from this fog. You, Ulquiorra, everyone's at risk. What're we supposed to do, sit around and twiddle our hooves, waiting for things to get better? Waiting for Celestia to get better? We need to try whatever might work," she stated firmly.
"Rainbow Dash, we are not stooping to such a strategy! Never! It is too dangerous, there is no guarantee that we would be able to revive you. Beyond that there is no guarantee that the idea would even work. You could be putting yourself in jeopardy for absolutely nothing!" Luna stated.
"And how's that different from any other time when Equestria's been in danger, and we had to rise to the occasion? We don't get to have a say in when we defend Equestria from danger, we just go and do it!" Rainbow Dash stated, feeling herself growing more and more agitated with every word. They could've been halfway to Ponyville by now if they weren't spending all of their time talking. "And when we do, we know that we might not all be coming back home, that's just how it is. So what makes this any different from any other time?"
"Because this is a suicide mission you are volunteering for!" Luna practically shrieked, unconsciously holding Celestia tighter than before. "Rainbow Dash, I cannot, I-I will not, put somepony at risk for what may be nothing more than a pipe dream. Please do not put me in the position of having to choose between my sister, and my friend; it is a decision that I refuse to make!" she stated, barely able to hold onto what little composure she had right now. She couldn't take all of the screaming, the prospect of a suicide mission, and her sister being in a near-catatonic state right now. It was all far too much to take all at once.
"Please. Leave us for the time being. And please, do not make me have to make it an order," she said as calmly as she could manage.
Rainbow Dash wanted to protest, and loudly. She wanted to argue that now wasn't the time for such an approach to doing things. But a single look back at Ulquiorra told her that he wasn't going to be supporting her position; that if she was going to argue the merits of proceeding, she'd be arguing such alone.
She looked back at Luna, then back at Ulquiorra, not seeing support from either one of them right now. All she could do was sigh in defeat, and slowly hover her way out of Celestia's room.
Ulquiorra followed Rainbow Dash's lead, stepping out of the room without another word, leaving Luna behind with Celestia to do as she saw fit. If she was unwilling to rise to the situation, there was very little he could do about that.
In their absence, Luna did her best to calm herself, her mind racing with thoughts she'd much rather not entertain at all. The fact that Rainbow Dash had actually suggested such a desperate measure was just too horrifying to consider. It was far too much to think about right now.
And then the smell stuck in her nose came back to her.
"Guards. Prepare a bath immediately, and then contact the janitorial staff," she instructed. She would tend to things as best she could. That was all she could do right now.
"You know that I'm right," Rainbow Dash stated as they made their way through the hallway.
"And precisely what is it, that I know you're right about?" Ulquiorra asked as he shifted his attention to her. She'd been saying a lot of things lately, so without clarification, he didn't have a clue whether she was right or not.
"That we need the Elements of Harmony to resolve this crisis. With Celestia down, we can't afford to wait anymore; I don't even know how we waited this long," Rainbow Dash elaborated.
"So far you're correct," Ulquiorra replied as he stopped walking in order to better face her as she spoke. He could certainly see the logic in her statement. Without the Elements of Harmony they were vulnerable to attack from any number of unknown threats. The simple fact that they hadn't been yet, was either due to coincidence, or being toyed with by the responsible party.
"Meaning that we've gotta do whatever needs to be done, to avert a crisis, regardless of what the price might be," Rainbow Dash stated.
"What you are saying is understood. But it must still be asked if you are truly willing to put yourself at risk of dying for others," Ulquiorra pointed out.
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash stated quickly. Too quickly, she realized. She didn't need the disbelieving look Ulquiorra was giving her right now, as even she didn't believe her own words at this point. "Alright. Maybe not so much. Sure, the idea of dying sucks a lot. But what am I supposed to do; ask Scootaloo to go in my place? Tell Twilight and the others that I'm too scared of being killed to help those in need? It doesn't work that way. Like I said, we know the risks whenever we're called to action, and we go out anyway. There's too many ponies counting on us, for us to be selfish," she stated firmly, before sighing and slouching. "Luna just doesn't get that fact."
"That assessment is highly unlikely," Ulquiorra replied. Being royalty, that fact was likely very understood by Princess Luna. "Your delivery, however, left much to be desired."
"What? How?" Rainbow Dash asked as she stopped in place to look at him.
"Let's start with your proposed solution to the problem at hand; stopping your heart to reassign the Element of Loyalty to a worthy pony, so that the Elements of Harmony can be used."
"What's wrong with that? Isn't that what you would do?" Rainbow Dash asked quickly.
"Perhaps if I was prone to acting without thinking. However that is something I'm not prone to. It's true, if I believed the solution to protecting Equestria from harm was as simple as killing you, I would do so readily. But knowing what I know, I don't believe it to be the proper solution to the problem. It would cause far more harm than good," Ulquiorra explained.
"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash asked. She considered asking just what he meant by that, or what he knew that led him to his conclusion. But she didn't want to get distracted; she'd save it for another time. "But we're not talking about permanent death here."
"And that fact, combined with the fact that we know next to nothing about how the Elements of Harmony work, is another reason to approach with caution, rather than rushing off without a second thought. You said it yourself, the pony brain can only survive four minutes without oxygen, before permanent brain damage occurs. What if it takes longer than four minutes for the Element of Loyalty to no longer read you as alive, and disconnect from you?" Ulquiorra asked.
Rainbow Dash paused, uncertain of what to say in response. She didn't want to admit it, but she hadn't considered that as being a possibility. And now that he'd actually put that out there, she couldn't help but think about it. What if it did go like that? Would they be waiting to see who would have to blink first? Seeing how long they could hold off before reviving her because the Element of Loyalty was being too stubborn to cooperate?
Worse than that, what if the resuscitation efforts weren't instantaneous? What if they took time to kick in, and get her heart beating again; time that they didn't have?
She couldn't help but swallow the nervous lump that was forming in her throat.
"Even if the separation occurred in a matter of seconds, and you could be immediately revived, there's nothing to say that the Element of Loyalty won't read you as alive again, and immediately reassert its connection with you, meaning it would've been for nothing," Ulquiorra pointed out.
"Then we'd just have to hold off until we got it to resonate with someone else. If we gathered every possible pony together, we might be able to do it before you've gotta restart my heart again," Rainbow Dash suggested.
"Possible. But there's the distinct possibility that this wouldn't work due to incompatibility. Knowing so little, there's no way of knowing if a certain degree of loyalty is needed for proper resonance to occur. Your own measure of loyalty to others may be a barely passing mark, or it may be exceptional. And not knowing which is more accurate, it would be best to assume that you're the minimum standard of passing. Anyone else who we may approach as a candidate, may simply not be able to measure up against you," Ulquiorra explained.
"I... I-I didn't think about that," Rainbow Dash stated. The more she heard, the more this seemed like a bad idea she had been ready to engage in. That must've been why he'd been so silent the whole time she and Luna were verbally jousting over how to proceed; while she was trying to sell the idea, he was busy picking apart all of the ways it could've gone horribly wrong.
Once again, he'd just saved her blue butt.
"So... if we can't get the Elements of Harmony working again to stop the fog, what're we gonna do now?" she asked, hoping he had something in mind.
"Twilight Sparkle has a reputation for being a night owl. I intend to expedite completion of the antidote if at all possible, to facilitate Princess Celestia's recovery, and get the operation back on track," Ulquiorra explained as he started walking away.
"Awesome. What about me?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You remain behind and apologize," Ulquiorra replied.
"Cool. I can do that," Rainbow Dash replied and nodded. "Wait, what? Apologize to who? For what?" she asked, confused now that she stopped to think about it.
Ulquiorra nearly sighed. As intelligent as Rainbow Dash could be at times, she continued to remain as dense as a block of solid marble, and oblivious to important matters going on around her. He nearly walked off and left her unanswered, intent on letting her figure it out on her own. But that was a crap shoot, and he risked her following him all the way to Ponyville if he went with that course of action.
"Out of everyone that has been providing you with support during your recovery, Princess Luna has been the most devoted of them all; even more so than Princess Celestia. At times, she has acted as if you were her own, rather than some unrelated stranger who fits the definition of a friend. And you suggested, to her face no less, that she should more or less just kill you, as if it were nothing," he explained bluntly, cutting right to the heart of the matter.
"Oh..." Rainbow Dash replied slowly, feeling the weight of Ulquiorra's statement setting hard on her withers. "Sh-it! I really fucked up, didn't I?" she asked.
"Indeed. That's why you're remaining behind, and following the standard pattern by which these instances tend to play out; transgressions are realized, apologies are issued, forgiveness is had. It's something you ponies seem to do best," Ulquiorra replied, before continuing his walk. There were more important things that needed to be tended to right now.
"Hey, Ulquiorra, hold up!" Rainbow Dash called from behind, before deploying her wings to hurry and catch up to him, maneuvering around front to face him. "I just wanna say thanks. You saved me from making a couple of really big, dumb mistakes; even stopping me from possibly killing myself for no reason..."
"Try not to overthink my actions. I was merely saving myself the resulting paperwork that would be involved in the event of your death," Ulquiorra explained.
Rainbow Dash blinked in response to Ulquiorra's statement. She had been expecting a number of possible responses that he could've given, but that certainly wasn't one of them. It was just so weird to hear, that she couldn't stop herself from snorting with laughter.
"Whatever ya say," she replied with a chuckle, before thrusting her right hoof forward towards him.
She was grateful when Ulquiorra finally slipped his right hand out of his pocket, and bumped his knuckles against her hoof. That made the whole situation a lot less awkward to her.
Beyond making the whole thing less awkward, with not having to explain the concept of the hoof bump, it helped at least suggest that the earlier report wasn't his current default position.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
That was essentially the entirety of Celestia's coherent speech abilities. Over and over again, little more than mumbled, shaky apologies being issued for some unspecified transgression. This didn't change even as she soaked in the bath, and was being expertly washed down by Luna, ensuring that she didn't possibly slip and drown in the tub; as bad as her sister was right now, that couldn't be ruled out as a possibility.
"Yes, dear sister, I know. I know that you are sorry," she said as she went to work at scrubbing Celestia's back with a brush. "I only wish that I knew of what transgression you are apologizing for, so that I could tell whether or not you are forgiven."
When the responsible party for this attack was found, they had guaranteed that the severity of their punishment would be doubled. Or potentially squared, all things considered. Attacking Rainbow Dash, and crippling her had been bad enough. But Celestia was a different story. Much as Luna hated to admit it, she was more furious over her sister being crippled as she was; that was a far more personal level of hurt than anything else she'd experienced as of yet.
"I'm sorry..."
Luna simply shook her head, and focused on scrubbing Celestia. She'd get her cleaned up, and then she'd see about getting her stable once again. If her sister couldn't deal with the fog, then that duty would befall her. But in order to do that, she'd need to get Celestia able to do without her for however long it would take; not the easiest of prospects under present circumstances.
Despite the sound of water being most prevalent, her ears still twitched at the approaching sound of hooves against the marble flooring.
"I am not in need of assistance at this time, guard," she stated without even bothering to turn and face the doors.
"Okay, I'll let 'em know if they ask."
That definitely wasn't the voice of any guard. She turned her head and saw that it was Rainbow Dash who was strolling into the room, rather than any member of the palace staff that would have reason to assist in this endeavor.
"We need to talk," she stated as she approached the edge of the in-floor tub.
"I am not in the mood for talking with you just yet, Rainbow Dash," Luna stated curtly and returned her attention to Celestia.
Rainbow Dash groaned in response. "Sis' I'm sorry!"
It wasn't a term that Rainbow Dash ever used lightly during their interactions, and Luna knew that quite well. That was enough to motivate her to turn back around and face the cyan pegasus once again.
"I didn't mean to hurt you like I did. I didn't think about what I was saying until it was too late. I just... I just panicked when I heard that Celestia was down. You two have been walking through this unscathed, and then suddenly this happens? Yeah, I wasn't thinking at the time," Rainbow Dash admitted as she sat down on her haunches for addressing Luna. "That's no excuse though. I shouldn't have told you to kill me. But even thought I shouldn't have, I did, and I'm sorry for that."
There was a pause in the room, silent except for the sound of water sloshing in the tub, and the incomprehensible mumbling of Celestia.
"You've been way more supportive and caring than I've deserved. I've been nothing but horrible to you, but you never stopped caring. Even after all the yelling, the cursing, you were always there when I was suffering from nightmares, or when I really needed a hug, or when I was so torn up inside I just needed to bawl my eyes out. You've done so much for me, I couldn't ever begin thanking you enough for it all. I-"
"You are forgiven, Rainbow Dash," Luna stated. But there was little else she could think to say at the moment, as her focus had to turn back to Celestia as she started whimpering. "I know that you did not mean what you said; or at least not in the way it was presented."
She appreciated the fact that Rainbow Dash had thought to seek her out to offer up an apology. But she would tell her that fact later, after she was calmer, and Celestia was properly tended to.
For a while the room was silent, nopony saying anything, and only the sound of the water being heard as Luna went about washing Celestia. She knew Rainbow Dash hadn't left, as she hadn't heard her leave, but at the same time she hadn't spared a glace over to see what her friend was currently up to.
"Hey..."
The next thing she became aware of was Rainbow Dash climbing into the tub with them, and making her way over to where they currently sat.
"I know you said you didn't need any help. But then again I'm not a guard, so... yeah. I'm here."
Luna didn't say anything at first, internally debating what would be the best response. She really doubted that telling Rainbow Dash to go back to sleep would prove to be a useful exercise. And she was already as wet as the rest of them.
"Start with her wings," she eventually replied and levitated a cleaning brush over to her.
Rainbow Dash nodded, accepting the brush as it was slipped onto her right hoof, before moving over to Celestia's side to get access to her large wings. She hesitated as she unfurled the wing, knowing that this was going to be more difficult than cleaning her own. But she'd offered to help, and she wasn't about to turn back now.
"I never noticed before, but these feathers are huge," she stated, partly to make conversation, and partly because this was the first really up close look she'd gotten at said feather before. "You could use these for writing quills."
"It has certainly been done in the past," Luna replied as he worked. "Although it is often reserved for high-level dignitaries that have reason to engage in frequent correspondence with Equestria."
Rainbow Dash nodded. She could certainly understand that.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," Celestia mumbled, not once having looked up.
Luna just sighed and shook her head in response.
"I don't get it. What's she sorry about?" Rainbow Dash asked, pausing her scrubbing as she did to look at Luna for clarification.
"I do not know. For all of her willingness to apologize, she will not elaborate on what she has supposedly done wrong, or even to whom," Luna replied. Nothing but constant, muttered apologies were all that she'd been given.
"Oh," Rainbow Dash replied, before returning to her work on Celestia's wing. "Well hopefully when Ulquiorra gets back from Ponyville, we'll be able to get some definite answers."
"Ulquiorra Cifer has departed for Ponyville?" Luna asked, now being the one to pause her work as she looked at Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah. He said he was gonna see about lighting a fire under Twilight's butt to get the antidote ready faster, so we can get Celestia back on her hooves," Rainbow Dash stated.
Luna's eyes went wide at hearing this. "He intends to subject her to immolation?"
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but snort at hearing that. She'd asked with such genuine seriousness, it was all too much to resist.
"I doubt he'd take it that far. That's extreme even for him," she replied as she tried to keep from laughing. "Anyway it's just an expression. He's just going to explain how serious the situation has become, and motivate her to work at it harder, so we can get Celestia straightened out in short order. Or something like that."
Luna just listened and nodded in response. She knew that the Espada had good reason for his actions, although she was uncertain of just what those reasons were. She could speculate and hypothesize for hours on end, but ultimately it wouldn't get her any closer to a definite answer. Even if she asked him directly upon his return, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't try and play it off as being duty-related, even if by some chance it weren't the case.
"I hope he gets back soon. I've got a bad feeling about all this," Rainbow Dash commented.
"How do you mean?" Luna asked.
"Celestia hasn't been in Ponyville for like three days now. If the terror fog was going to get her next, wouldn't it have been then, and not now?" she asked. She let Luna think on that for a moment before continuing. "Granted I don't know anything about terror fog, so I don't know for sure. It just strikes me as really odd. Really coincidental, you know? Almost like this was something deliberate. The timing is all wrong, it's..."
"It is what, Rainbow Dash? What is on your mind?" Luna asked.
Rainbow Dash mulled over what to say, uncertain of how to respond to the question. It was a sensitive, tricky subject to approach, but it needed to be approached.
"I think Celestia was just a distraction; making us focus on the right hoof so we don't know what the left hoof is doing," she eventually stated.
"A distraction?" Luna asked.
"It's the only thing that makes sense in all this; at least to me anyway. We already know that whoever's responsible can come to the palace without being detected, and is possibly spying on us. They'd know how important Celestia is to the whole operation, and how she'd be a top priority for us. Now we're distracted, and our strength is divided," Rainbow Dash elaborated. "It's like what Ulquiorra was saying when that guard got murdered; we're wanted to think that Canterlot is the next target when it's really Ponyville, or we're wanted to think that, so we'll focus on Ponyville, only to be outsmarted with Canterlot being the real target. It's... I... ugh! I don't even know what to think anymore!" she yelled, frustrated by it all. She hated not having answers that made sense.
Ulquiorra had a way of explaining things that made sense to her. But despite them making sense when he explained them, she couldn't think like he did. She wasn't an idiot, but she still knew that he outclassed her when it came to thinking up these possibilities.
But even though she couldn't explain it, it all still felt so wrong to her! It felt like something was at the back of her mind, nagging to be let out and remembered because it was important. But so help her, she just didn't know what it was.
"Then if that is a possibility, we will proceed as was originally intended," Luna spoke calmly. "Once we are done here, assuming the janitorial has completed their duties, we will reconvene and secure ourselves within our sister's room until such time that Ulquiorra Cifer returns. If something or someone intends to come for us while he is away, then the guilty party shall find itself facing an uphill battle the entire way."
"Now you're talkin'," Rainbow Dash stated, liking that idea a lot. If they found themselves put between a rock and a hard place, then they were going to kick some major ass.
All the while, Celestia remained distant and silent, looking downward at the water.
Ulquiorra didn't need his eyes to know that the fog was present in Ponyville. Despite it being invisible to the naked eye, it was in full view of his pesquisa right now. Or rather the mystery reiatsu that they had attributed to the responsible party was in full view to him right now. Right now its presence was almost palpable; almost like the odor of stagnant pond water. There had certainly been intense pockets all over Ponyville and the surrounding area for some time now, but that which was present in the middle of Ponyville was more concentrated than previously.
Whether that was from a simple culminating effect of multiple exposures, or possibly from the responsible party being in the vicinity, he simply didn't know. Nor did he have the time that would be necessary to investigate the matter; he'd already wasted enough time waiting for a response to knocking on the library's door.
The amount of light that was plainly visible through the closed and blinded windows was indicative of those present being awake. But the several minutes that had passed since his knocking firmly on the door was indicative of everyone being asleep or absent. And since he could detect four specific and familiar reiatsu patterns within the library, he knew that wasn't a possibility.
The urgency of their circumstances was enough to make him consider forcing his way into the library, reasoning that Twilight Sparkle could easily repair the damage afterward. The simple latch currently in place would never prove sufficient to stop him. His actions would certainly be understood, as now wasn't the time for pleasantries and social restraints.
Before he could actually proceed with forcing his way inside, he could hear the sound of the door being unlocked from inside, and swung open to reveal Applejack standing there.
"Mr. Cifer? What're ya doin' here at this time o' night?" she asked.
"Trying to prevent a bad situation from getting worse," Ulquiorra explained as he stepped inside, not even waiting for Applejack to move aside before doing so. "Princess Celestia is the latest victim of the terror fog, and her stability is currently critical. We need the antidote now if we're to have any chance of remaining on schedule with the operation," he stated as he shut the door behind him.
The frown that crossed Applejack's face in light of this news was enough to tell him that there was more at issue than they'd first assumed. He'd seen it before when bad news was presented in an already bad situation.
"Ah reckon ya'd best follow me," was all she said as she walked off.
The situation at hand became more and more curious. Seeking answers, Ulquiorra followed after Applejack to see where she led him, and what she had to show him.
This was the first time Ulquiorra found himself in the library's basement. But first time or not, he knew for certain that the level of disarray he was seeing, wasn't commonplace for the setting. Overturned, broken and unrecognizable equipment littered the damp flooring, while a foul, pungent odor lingered in the air.
Spike occupied one side of the room with a very distraught looking Twilight Sparkle, who appeared to be in the process of rocking herself, while Spike simply did what he could for her; he assumed it was an effort to calm her down. On the other side of the room was Zecora, who looked a great deal like she had just taken the same beating Rarity had received weeks ago, only having fared better. A cut lip, black eye, and various other signs of surface injury were in full view, as she nursed herself with a cold compress.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"As your eyes can plainly see," Zecora winced as she spoke up first, "Twilight went and beat the shit out of me."
"An' destroyed all of our hard work in the process," Applejack added, the annoyance in her voice as hard as any knife's edge.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Twilight whimpered as he continued rocking herself. "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it."
Ulquiorra regarded the whole scene in silence, before walking over to where Twilight was currently perched, crouching down to look her in the eyes. He waited until he saw evidence of her actually regarding his presence before doing anything else.
"What did you see?" he asked, making no effort to beat around the bush, or ask about her condition. It stood to reason that she was too had fallen victim to the terror fog if she had done all of this.
"I... I-I..." she stuttered as she tried to get the words out, but couldn't. After several more efforts, she finally became fed up, her frustration clearly evident on her face, and her horn started to glow brightly, before discharging.
The lavender flash of light that materialized in the room drew everyone's attention to it, Ulquiorra's included, where they saw what looked like a patch of fog forming in front of them. The immediate indicator that it wasn't a normal form of fog, or even the terror fog, was that it had a lavender hue to it that closely matched Twilight's coat.
And then they started to see something take form within the fog.
The smell that permeated the library's basement was unpleasant to experience, but it was an unfortunate side effect of the work they were doing. Beyond that simple discomfort, it was evidence of everything slowly coming together.
The distillation process of the cherubic root had been long, and quite labor intensive, but it was finally over. And with it completed, the arguably most difficult part of preparing the antidote was over with. Now it was just a matter of mixing the ingredients in the right proportions, sized up to a level sufficient for treating the entire town, and then letting them simmer over a low heat under the right conditions.
Zecora had insisted that a cast iron cauldron was the proper vessel in which to season the concoction. But she hadn't though to include such on the list of supplies that Ulquiorra needed to retrieve from her hut, and with him gone there was no way of actually retrieving it in a timely manner. So they had to make due with a fifty gallon steel washtub obtained from Barnyard Bargains; hardly the same thing, but it was the best they could do if there was to be any hope of actually staying on schedule.
"So we jus' gotta let this stew simmer 'til dawn?" Applejack asked as she examined the tub's contents, while at the same time not getting too close to the mix.
"That's more or less what Zecora said," Twilight replied, more willing to be in closer proximity to the antidote than Applejack and even Spike had been. "Technically though it's not right to call it a stew. Stews are much thicker than this. If anything the antidote would qualify more as a broth," she added.
Applejack just chuckled and shook her head in response. She should've expected that one.
"So're ya comin' up ta bed? It's getting perdy late," she pointed out.
Twilight shook her head in response. "Not just yet. There's a few things I want to confer with Zecora when she comes back down. I just want to make sure that we're doing everything properly before we turn in; so we don't wake up tomorrow and find our broth has spoiled."
"A'right," Applejack replied and nodded. "But don' be stayin' up too late. Or Ah'm gonna come back down here, toss ya up on mah back, an' cart ya off ta bed whether ya like it er not," she warned.
Twilight laughed at hearing Applejack's threat, before simply nodding and waving her off. "I'll be up, I promise."
"Ah'm gonna hold ya to that, Twi'," Applejack stated, before yawning and stretching, tired from the day. "G'night, Sugarcube, Ah'll see ya upstairs."
With Applejack now departed to rest, Twilight returned her attention to her notes as she waited for Zecora to return. Despite everything there were still some subjects that she felt needed to be further explored, before she could actually rest for the night. Otherwise she'd just lie awake, her mind racing a million miles a minute with doubts and uncertainty. They might've been minor, and not worth the focus they were being given, but it was best to address them while they still were minor, rather than waiting under the assumption that everything was alright.
The sound of the stairs creaking from use made her smile, as it was obvious that Zecora was coming back down after getting ready for bed, to make one last check on the potion. That saved her the trouble of going up to find her.
"Twilight..."
Her blood suddenly ran cold, and her heart nearly stopped beating when she heard her name spoken. That wasn't Zecora's voice.
Slowly she turned around to confront the one that was addressing her. And as she did she nearly screamed in response. Stepping off the stairwell, was none other than Queen Chrysalis herself!
But this wasn't the same Chrysalis who she remembered invading Canterlot with an overwhelming level of arrogance and overconfidence about her. This Chrysalis was walking with a limp from an injured right leg that put her at risk of falling over. This Chrysalis looked like somepony had beaten Tartarus itself out of her hide, with a huge crack easily visible on the front of her horn. This Chrysalis had eyes that looked so dull and listless, like all the life and hope she had, had been driven right out of her.
Most telling of all, however, was that the Chrysalis that stood before her, had a huge, gaping hole in her barrel that went straight out her back; Ulquiorra's handiwork from what she'd been told about the incident surrounding the changeling's death.
"How? H-how can you still be alive? Ulquiorra killed you himself! The coroner cut you apart for an autopsy! How the fuck are you still around!?" Twilight yelled frantically.
"Twilight..." Chrysalis wheezed as she began limping her way over to where the distraught unicorn currently stood. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you..."
Twilight's eyes darted back and forth as she backed away, trying to put distance between herself and Chrysalis. Unfortunately in doing so, she'd backed herself into a corner, and had no way of escaping.
"We invaded Canterlot because we needed to, but Shining Armor was different," Chrysalis continued as she limped her way closer. "I loved your brother. And I loved you, too. I was so looking forward to having you as a sister-in-law; we would've been so happy together."
"Go away! I don't want to hear this!" Twilight shouted, some of the effect lost as her voice cracked.
"Our two kingdoms could've had peace. Total, lasting peace," Chrysalis continued, unfazed by Twilight's outburst. "You would've been royalty, just like your brother. And you would've been aunt to hundreds, thousands of nieces and nephews, all of whom would've loved you so dearly."
Twilight didn't say anything in response, opting to hang her head instead, looking at the floor. She couldn't offer a rebuttal to Chrysalis.
"I'm so sorry it came to this, Twilight, it never should have progressed to this point..." Chrysalis continued as she stood before her, barely able to stand under her own power at this point.
"... I'm sorry," Twilight spoke softly, "but I can't accept your apology. You're not the real Chrysalis," she stated as she looked up, a deep scowl on her face as she did.
Chrysalis looked taken aback by this. "But... but Twilight-"
"Shut up. You're not allowed to speak," Twilight barked forcefully. "The real Chrysalis is dead and buried, killed by Ulquiorra himself! He would never leave such a job half done. You're nothing but rank imitation; an illusion brought about by exposure to the terror fog that's permeated Ponyville, drawing on my own subconscious guilt in an effort to break me!"
She was seething right now, furious.
"And another thing, I'm deeply offended that you'd even think to take on Chrysalis' form to do that, in an effort to play on my guilt with all this talk about love and family! Am I sorry for the plight of her and her hive? Yes I am. I'm sorry that they suffered needlessly for so long, but that's Chrysalis' fault, not ours. It's not our fault that she was so prideful in her position as a ruler, that she couldn't put aside her ego and actually ask us for the help they so desperately needed. It's not our fault that she let things get so bad, that the changelings had turned to cannibalism to survive. But you're not her, and I'm not going to feel guilty over something that's not my fault, just because you're playing on the thoughts that I've had since the revelation!" she yelled as she stood firmly. She was no longer backing away in an effort to avoid confrontation.
"You're nothing but a cheap illusion. A chemical-based hallucination, that any disciplined mind can shake off by clinging to what's known as the truth. And the truth is that you have no place here!" she shouted as she angrily gestured with her foreleg at Chrysalis' form. "In a few hours you'll be nothing more than an unpleasant memory for me. Now begone from my mind, and never darken my subconscious again you foul pile of fuck!" she roared.
She felt proud of herself right now. She had recognized the situation for what it was, and failed to succumb to it. Rather than running from what she had seen, she charged it head on to cut off whatever mind screw had been intended for her.
Chrysalis' expression darkened in response. "You think you possess a disciplined mind that can protect you from a chemical reaction? You know nothing, and you have seen nothing, you arrogant little foal! Applejack thought she could resist, and you saw how well she fared!"
"You're not real!" Twilight yelled back furiously. "There's nothing that you can do to actually hurt me! All I have to do is ride this out until morning, and keep reminding myself that none of it is real!"
Chrysalis chuckled evilly in response to this. "That's easier said than done, little pony. It's not so much what is or isn't real, but rather what we perceive as being real. There's a lot of hours left before morning, and the perception of the mind itself is very hard to argue against, when everything is broken down into nothing but one chemical reaction after another..."
"Perceive this!" Twilight yelled and charged forward.
The two clashed in the middle of the room, rearing up on their hind legs to grapple with one another. As far as illusions went, Twilight would admit that this was a very convincing one. The fake Chrysalis' chitin exoskeleton felt rough against her fur, and she smelt as foul as any changeling she'd ever been close enough to smell. There was firmness to the barrel as she wrapped her forelegs around the illusion's midsection. There was even pain when she felt herself kicked in the cannon; a gesture which she returned readily and willingly. The fake Chrysalis even had substantial weight and mass that felt believable when she lifted it right off the ground, and flung it across the room, where it crashed into the far wall and fell to the ground.
"Tell me something. Do fake illusions feel real pain when their intended victims harm them?" Twilight asked.
Instead of getting an answer, she was met with a grunt as the fake Chrysalis started climbing back onto her hooves.
"Oh no you don't!" Twilight stated and charged forward, slamming into the illusion and knocking it to the ground, before sitting atop its barrel to hold it down. "You're not real!" she stated as she started to beat on its face with both front hooves, each landed blow being punctuated and emphasized with her repeating "You're not real!" despite the force of the impact clearly registering against her hooves. "Say it! Say you're not real! Say it, damn you!"
The next thing Twilight knew, she felt herself roughly grabbed from behind, and sent flying, followed by crashing to the ground. Before she even had time to react, a heavy weight pinned her to the ground, followed by an eruption of white-hot pain washing out her vision, as she was slapped across the face with a hoof.
"Wha' in Tartarus do ya think yer doin'!?"
That yell. When Twilight's vision cleared, she saw a very confused, and very angry Applejack pinning her to the ground, and staring down at her.
"Applejack?"
"Ah come down here 'cause Ah hear a commotion upstairs, an' wha' do Ah see? Ya beatin' on Zecora! What's gotten inta ya!?" Applejack yelled at her.
Twilight blinked at hearing this, and looked past Applejack, only to recoil in horror at the sight of Zecora laying on the ground where Chrysalis had been, looking like she'd gotten the hell beaten out of her.
Beyond that fact, she was now aware of the fact that the portion of the basement that served as a makeshift laboratory was wrecked. Everything that had been stacked on the table was now smashed on the floor, and the washtub that had contained the concoction had been turned over, spilling its contents all over the floor.
Ulquiorra wasn't certain of what he'd just seen. It almost looked like Twilight had come up with a method of mimicking the less invasive level of his Solita Vista, and used it to give a point of view display of what she had perceived occurring around her. The exact mechanics behind it were a complete mystery, but it was a mystery that could wait and be solved another time.
As the display stopped, Applejack moved quickly to Twilight's side and proceeded to hug her tightly. Now that she had seen what her friend had been put through in her own experiences, she was regretting having been so rough on her this whole time, even if it was for Zecora's sake. Chrysalis has been a sore subject ever since they discovered the truth behind that whole episode, and the fact that she'd been used in such a way was just downright despicable.
"I thought I could resist," Twilight whimpered, barely registering Applejack's firm embrace. "I thought that I could actually overcome the hallucinations by simply focusing on what I knew was real. That it was just mind over matter..."
There were a great many things Ulquiorra could focus on right now, ranging from how Twilight Sparkle's hallucinations referenced Applejack's suffering, to the idiocy in her belief that she could overcome chemical reactions within her own mind in the same fashion she might be able to a physical situation. But while he could certainly do all of that, none of it would change the fact that it was far too late for any of it to do any good. Analyzing the situation wouldn't bring them any closer to doing what he'd set out to accomplish tonight.
"Then this whole trip has been for nothing," he stated as he weighed his options. "It appears that I'll simply have to return to Canterlot, and literally slap some measure of sense back into Princess Celestia instead."
Twilight looked up at hearing that. "C... Celestia? What happened?"
"Seems that Celestia's down wit' the sickness as well," Applejack explained, "looks like there ain't nopony whose immune ta terror fog."
"Oh no..." Twilight stated in response. This went so far beyond being bad news, it was difficult to calculate and codify in proper terms.
"Oh just wonderful," Spike grumbled and threw his hands up in the air in response. "Celestia's down, Twilight's down, the antidote's been ruined... just what exactly are we supposed to do now?" he asked.
It was a legitimate question to be asking as far as Ulquiorra was concerned. All of them, even himself, had pinned so much on things going according to plan, only for this to happen. As far as he could see, there was nothing left to salvage this operation, not without resorting to measures that would be considered more drastic than most would be willing to engage in.
"Actually... I think I have an idea," Twilight spoke up slowly, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "Spike, I need you to run upstairs and fetch me a spell book, quick. I need to look up what I'm about to try. If I'm right, all hope for the cure isn't lost just yet..."
Even if Celestia was inclined to speak, it was quite impossible to get a word in edgewise right now, as she was in the middle of having a towel vigorously worked over her horn by Rainbow Dash, who stood on her hind legs to make up the height difference; which was still significant even with the alicorn sitting down at the time.
The bath had been concluded, having fulfilled its intended purpose of getting Celestia clean. Getting thoroughly dried off was another matter that was being addressed right now, with Luna observing the entire demonstration in confusion.
"Where exactly did you learn your horn buffing skills?" she asked curiously,
"From Rarity," Rainbow Dash replied, pausing to pull the towel off to vigorously huff on Celestia's horn, before wrapping it back around and continue her previous actions. "Also from watching a bartender clean glasses," she added.
Luna just shook her head in response. That was hardly the proper way to go about buffing a horn; hooves perhaps, but not horns. But she opted to stay silent, and focus on finishing with drying herself. There would be time to teach Rainbow Dash about proper care later on. And with Celestia showing no signs of physical discomfort from the rough treatment, there was no pressing need right now.
"So what're we gonna do once we get back to Celestia's room? Bar the door? Lock the windows? Procure a few spears and such from the armory in the event of someone or something trying to force entry?" Rainbow Dash asked in an effort to make conversation.
"I doubt the last one will be a necessary step for whatever amount of time we have to wait for Ulquiorra Cifer to return from Ponyville," Luna replied as she stopped to examine one of her wings, making sure the dark blue feathers were all in proper placement. "We will secure ourselves, but there is no need to go overboard."
"Oh," Rainbow Dash replied, a touch of disappointment in her voice as she did so.
A wry smirk played out on Luna's face in response to Rainbow Dash's apparent disappointment at not getting to raid the armory that housed the weapons of the guards. It shouldn't amuse her, but it did regardless.
"So am I gonna have time to go back and get Tank? I don't wanna leave him alone if we have to be there all night," Rainbow Dash stated as she finally ceased her impromptu horn buffing, and set back down on all four hooves.
"I do not see why you would not," Luna replied as she examined Celestia's horn. Improper technique or not, it did appear to have some measure of luster about it.
"I'm sorry..."
Those were the first words Celestia had spoken since they'd gotten out of the bath. And despite their best efforts at helping her relax, there was no change. Luna sighed in frustration and disappointment at this lack of development. Rainbow Dash growled in annoyance.
"Alright. That does it," she stated, before reading up on her hind legs again, ignoring the burn in the muscles as she tried to look Celestia in the eyes better. "Celestia, look at me," she said as she placed her hooves on either side of her head. "Look at me," she repeated.
Slowly, very slowly, Celestia responded to Rainbow Dash's instructions, focusing her eyes to look at her directly.
"Do you know who I am? Can you say my name?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Celestia didn't say anything in response to the questions she'd been asked. Despite a few utterances as she opened and closed her mouth, not a single word was had. It was enough to make both Luna and Rainbow Dash frown in response.
"C'mon Celestia, you're my friend. Just say my name. Please?" Rainbow Dash asked, switching to more of a pleading tone now.
"R... R... Rainbow Dash..."
It was little more than a rough whisper that escaped Celestia's lips, but it was still audible. It was enough to make Rainbow Dash smile and hug her around her neck.
"Yeah, that's it, awesome!" she stated as she pulled back to look her in the eyes again. "We're friends, right, you and me? You'd help me if I needed it, right?"
Celestia managed a weak nod in response. "Right... friends. We're... we're friends..."
"Good, because I need your help in a big way right now, I can't do this on my own," Rainbow Dash stated as her tone grew more serious. "I need you to tell me what you saw. Tell me what happened."
Celestia had a blank look on her face at hearing this. But that soon ended as she started whimpering and squirming to try and get away. But try as she might, Rainbow Dash wasn't one to be defeated so easily, and hung tight to her.
"Come on, Celestia, you don't get away that easily," she stated as she tried to keep the alicorn from pulling out of her grasp. "You need to tell us what happened! I know it hurts, it hurt for me too when I had to say it. But keeping it all inside just makes it hurt a lot worse; it's like trying not to fart. You've gotta get it out so the healing can start!"
Luna could do little more than watch the two struggling with one another, which soon turned into Celestia tumbling and falling on her back, with Rainbow Dash sitting on her chest as a result of being pulled from refusing to let go.
"Come on, Celestia, just talk to me already! What you went through can't possibly hurt as bad as thinking your friends raped and tortured you for three days! Now talk!" Rainbow Dash yelled furiously. She'd been trying to do this nicely, but he was quickly getting fed up with the lack of answers.
Celestia could do little more than whimper in response as she was pinned down by Rainbow Dash, who was currently staring at her intently.
"If you don't tell me, then you can tell it to Ulquiorra when he comes back and asks you himself, and he's a lot less pleasant to be interrogated by. Now Talk!" she ordered.
Luna frowned. Rainbow Dash's rapid escalation of hostility towards Celestia was entirely uncalled for, regardless of whether or not she was frustrated by how things were developing. She was certain that this was just going to make the situation worse than it already was. She needed to intervene for her sister's sake.
"I murdered my niece!"
However she stopped in her tracks at hearing what Celestia had to say, shocked by the revelation. The look on Rainbow Dash's face suggested that she was just as shocked. They were both wide-eyed and slack-jawed in response, neither one of them certain of just how to respond.
"I murdered my niece! I murdered my niece!" Celestia wailed as she bawled openly, unable to maintain her composure.
Rainbow Dash tried to apologize, and make at least some effort of consoling Celestia. But she barely even got a syllable out before she was grabbed and held onto like she was a stuffed animal, caught in Celestia's tight grip.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't mean it!"
"Oh, dear sister," Luna sighed sadly as she approached and nuzzled the side of Celestia's neck.
She didn't care who or what was responsible for this entire mess. Whoever the guilty party was, the severity of their punishment had just been doubled...
"Are you sure this is gonna work, Twilight?" Spike asked as she studied the passage of the requested spell book currently held aloft by her magic, her mind obviously hard at work trying to properly piece everything together.
"No I'm not, Spike, but we don't really have much choice in the matter," Twilight explained, before closing the book and setting it aside on the table off to the side. She'd analyzed and memorized everything as best as her frantic mind would allow her. Now it was time to put the information into effect, and see if it would actually work. "Here it goes."
Ulquiorra watched at Twilight's horn started to glow, uncertain of what sort of magic she was attempting to work. The glimpse he'd caught of the spell book had been less than useful, with the runes included going well over his head; like everything required a third -or even fourth- dimensional approach to thinking.
It was during the interim of being unable to understand the spell in question, that he observed Zecora's condition. Knowing so little about zebra anatomy, it was difficult to tell anything. But based on what he could see, it would be safe to assume that the physiology of her species was similar to that of earth ponies, as most of the damage she'd incurred from Twilight's assault seemed to be superficial. A cold compress would never be sufficient if she'd suffered any serious injuries. Despite the savagery of having her face pounded with hooves, it appeared that the majority of Twilight's fury was show rather than substance.
Or maybe she simply lacked the physical strength necessary to overcome Zecora's natural durability. Whatever the reason, they were quite fortunate to not have yet another one down with serious injuries.
"Look..."
Applejack's statement brought his attention back to what Twilight was currently attempting to do. It looked like her magical aura was actually bubbling up out of the wood flooring of the basement.
"Get a container," Twilight instructed, "this is harder than I thought it would be."
Spike nodded and hurried over to one of the few locations that still held undamaged equipment, and grabbed a quart mason jar off the shelf, before making his way back over to where Twilight stood. As he did, more of Twilight's aura was bleeding through the flooring, and slowly rising up off the ground.
It didn't take long for the aura to assume the appearance of a sphere as it hovered in the air. As Spike brought the open jar over and held it directly underneath, the aura cut out, causing what looked like water to fall inside of it. And as it cut out, Twilight's posture sagged in response.
"A lot harder than I thought it would be," she panted, repeating her earlier statement.
"So wha' were ya tryin' ta do?" Applejack asked in an effort to get to the bottom of the mystery.
"Draw the cure back out of the wood of the floor," Twilight explained, before frowning at seeing what amounted to the fruits of her labor. All of that effort in concentration had yielded what amounted to barely a full cup worth of concoction. "Unfortunately it looks like I got the idea too late for it to do any good. There's no way that'll be enough for everyone that needs it."
"Will it be enough to cure Princess Celestia?" Ulquiorra asked. Right now that was all that was really important. Once she had recovered, and could dispatch the fog, it would be a simple matter to procure more ingredients for another batch of the cure. There were still plenty of death blossoms in the Everfree Forest that could be harvested.
At the question being asked, Zecora quickly found all eyes in the room were on her in search of an answer.
"The answers that you seek, I fear I have not. What you see in the jar, it is all that we've got," she explained as she held the cold compress to her bruised eye.
"Wonderful," Ulquiorra commented, not the least bit pleased by this news. "Assuming the amount is sufficient, how long will it take to see signs of it working?" he asked.
Zecora mulled over the question for a bit, chewing her bottom lip as she attempted to come up with an answer, based on what she knew. "Assuming the brew is serviceable in its unsimmered state, fifteen minutes may be all that is needed to save Princess Celestia from her current fate."
A fifteen minute wait time to conclusively find out not only if they possessed sufficient quantities of cure for Princess Celestia, but also if it was properly prepared, and able to do what they needed it to do. The level of dissatisfaction this night was taking on just continued to grow as far as Ulquiorra was concerned.
"This don' really strike me as bein' a good idea. Is it even gonna be safe ta drink since it came outta the floor?" Applejack asked uneasily.
The resulting look on Twilight's face was enough to tell the others that she hadn't even considered such a possibility before now.
"That... that's a very good point. We never stopped to consider sanitizing the floor in case of something like this happening," she admitted. Now she was mentally kicking herself over that fact. But then again, even if they had sanitized the floor, it would've only covered the surface. Below all that where the potion had accumulated, it still would've been in whatever dirty condition it was. "But... b-but I don't think we have much choice right now. Trying to sterilize it by boiling risks hurting the chemical composition, and we don't have enough time to make another batch. If she's going to get better, Celestia is going to have to... drink what we have, no matter how disgusting it might be," she explained.
"That will be of no issue," Ulquiorra stated. They could deal with any potential issue relating to food poisoning that arose later on, after the current crisis had been adequately dealt with.
Before he could actually take the jar from Spike, he stopped as he sensed something; something out of place.
"We're about to have company," he stated, "Time Turner is approaching the library quickly."
"Time Turner? But what would he-" Twilight started to ask, but then stopped before finishing her question, and teleported away in a flash.
"Now wha' was that all about?" Applejack asked, hopelessly confused by everything that was going on.
"A question best reserved for Time Turner himself, as he would know better than any of us," Ulquiorra stated. There was no point in random speculation, when they could get the answer right from the horse's mouth in this case.
...
That was a bad joke if ever he'd heard one.