//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 // Story: Living Nightmare // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 25 ___________________________________________________________ Luna nuzzled Stellar as the little filly lay in her hospital bed. The head doctors at Canterlot General were scanning her with their magic, to see if the outburst of magic Luna had sensed from the injured foal worsened her condition in anyway. “Wait,” Doctor Stethoscope said, frowning as the results wrote themself out on the enchanted paper. “That... how is that even possible?” “What is it, doctor?” Luna asked, looking to him as he and his fellow doctors ceased their spells. The beige unicorn shook his head, before levitating the results over to the Alicorn. She looked them over, before her eyes widened and she looked to the doctor, who nodded. “But... how?” she asked, both stunned and relieved, as well as very confused. “Stellar’s horn is still regrowing. A magical surge of that size should have done more harm. How... how is this...?” He shook his head, his expression an odd mixture of firm and confusion. “I... honestly can’t say, princess. Frankly, when it comes to Alicorns, very little is known, as yourself, your sister, Princess Cadance, Princess Twilight and your daughter are the only Alicorns known of, so any medical knowledge of your kind is sorely lacking.” “But... but, how?” Luna looked down at her sleeping daughter, pure bafflement on her face. “She... she should, by all counts, be worse than before, but... she... she’s better?” Stethoscope nodded, scratching his neck as he shook his head. “Well, as can be seen, her wings and horn have partially grown back,” he indicated to the slumbering filly. “We tested her inner magic, like you told us to, but we didn’t see complete disconnection like you said we would.” She frowned slightly. “What do you mean?” He shook his head. “It’s... odd, Your Highness. I’m not really sure I can put it into words.” Luna glanced down at her daughter, before lighting her horn and cast her magic around her, so she could see her daughter’s inner magic. At once her eyes widened at what she could see. Before, where the magical connections had been strewn about all over the place, two had completely straightened out and were now connection directly to Stellar’s inner magical core. What shocked her the most were the colours of the magical connections. Whilst Stellar’s main magical cords were all a dark-blue, the same as Nightmare Moon due to her body being one of Nightmare, these newly straightened out cords were two different colours. One was a cyan, whilst the other was white. A knock came from the door and Luna, on reflex due to being so focused on Stellar, called out, “Come in.” The door opened and Rainbow Dash and Rarity hurried in, stopping by the bed when they saw the slumbering filly, both breathing a sigh of relief. “She’s alright,” Dash said, before glancing at Luna. “Um, she is alright, right?” Luna was pulled from her thoughts and blinked a few times, before looking to Dash and nodded. “She’s... better than alright.” “Huh?” the Pegasus cocked her head. “From what we can figure out, a third of her horn and wings have grown back,” the doctor said, before frowning at the results again. “Even with what little we know of their biology, for Alicorns this seems incredibly fast for regeneration.” Luna was about to speak, when there was another knock on the door. Turning, she saw several guards standing in the doorway. “Your Highness,” the one at the front said as they all saluted, “the prisoners are secured. They have agreed to give what information they can in exchange for a lighter sentence.” “Lighter sentence?!” Dash and Rarity gasped, glaring; however, an extended wing from Luna held them back. “We must know why those two were after my daughter,” she said firmly, though there was an underline of anger everypony could tell was directed at the Pegasus and Earth Pony. “Worry not. Their sentences will still be heavy, even after assisting. They attempted to foalnap my injured daughter. They will not be let off so easily.” The guards nodded. “Princess Celestia wished to be involved personally,” one said. Luna smirked. “They are lucky I shall only be watching.” With that, the Lunar monarch headed out the door, her magic closing them behind her. “Mmm?” the small voice caused the two mares to turn to see Stellar slowly opening her eyes. When they fell on the two of them, they expected the same anger and pain as had been seen since Hearth’s Warming. Instead, they saw happiness. Tiredness too, but happiness. “Hey, Dash. Hey, Rarity.” She gave a small smile. “Thanks, big sister.” ___________________________________________________________ Wind Rider just sat back in his chair, smirking at the Royal Guard stallion sitting across from him. They were sitting in an interrogation room. It was not too big, the walls painted grey. Nothing stood out in the room aside from the door, which was closed. “So, as agreed,” the guard said, laying a hoof on the table between them. “Your sentenced shall slightly lightened in exchange for what information you can provide.” Wind Rider nodded, his smirk still in place. “Can I get a drink? A fresh martini would be nice about now.” The guard’s eyes narrowed. “You think you’re going to get a martini? This in an interrogation, Mr. Wind Rider.” The Pegasus just chuckled. “Yeah? And I’m the most famous Wonderbolt in history. I should get some respect, ground walker.” The Earth Pony snarled. “What did you just called me?” A knock on the door halted their talk. The guard walked over and spoke through a slot in the door, before he nodded and stepped back as it opened, revealing Spitfire, dressed in her Wonderbolts uniform. Wind Rider chuckled. “See, guard? What did I tell you? Took you long enough to get me out of here, Captain,” he said, speaking directly to the Pegasus mare. Spitfire’s eyes narrowed and she came over. “I didn’t come here to get you out.” Wind Rider blinked, frowning in confusion. “Um, come again.” “For your crimes against the crown and endangering an innocent and already injured foal’s life,” Spitfire said, grabbing the Wonderbolts pin on Wind Rider jacket, before ripping it off, “I hereby strip you of your Wonderbolts status!” “What?” he cried as she turned and began to leave. “You can’t do this to me! I’m one of the greatest Wonderbolts that ever was.” “Were one of the greatest,” she replied coldly as she stepped out the door, before turning her head to somepony in the hallway. “He’s all yours, Princess.” Wind Rider blinked, before his eyes widened as the regal form of Princess Celestia walked into the room. However, something was off, very off. Celestia was always known for having an air of calm about her that would put any she was speaking with at ease. Now, however, he was feeling something that sent chills down his spine. Whereas the first time had come across Celestia during his youth in his time as a Wonderbolt he felt an ease in her presence, now every nerve in his body was screaming to fly away from danger. It was honestly a feeling he’d never encountered and it scared him to death. “Leave us,” Celestia said calmly, though it also felt like she’d shouted it, causing the Pegasus to shudder. The guard nodded, before giving a slightly pitying look to Wind Rider, then left, the door magically sealing shut behind him. Celestia moved to the table and sat down across from Wind Rider. For several long minutes, there was silence, all throughout which, Wind Rider’s mind screamed at him to get away. It felt like at any second he was going to be mauled by a wild animal, yet it was Princess Celestia sitting across from him. “Why?” The Pegasus flinched as if stricken. That one word, that single word was laced with anger the likes of which he never would have expected to her from the Sun Alicorn. “I... I, um...” he tried to talk, but his throat was closing up. With each second his body screamed louder and louder to get out as Celestia stared at him with eyes that were known for always having compassion, yet now held none whatsoever. “Why did you agree to abduct my niece, when she is still recovering from her last time held by another creature’s clutches?” she almost snarled, yet not doing only made it more terrifying. “I... um... well...” Wind Rider quaked where he stood, wishing the guards were now in here to give him some sense of safety. How could you feel like your life’s in danger when it’s Celestia in the room with you and you want her guards to protect you from her?! Celestia’s eyes narrowed and he whimpered. “I failed to save my sister over a thousand years ago and now I have failed in protecting the only child she has!” Was it his imagination, or was the room getting hotter; a LOT hotter? “And now I find somepony was working for another who wishes harm upon the second pony I care most about that I wasn’t able to protect!” Celestia stood, her mane starting to move a little more erratically. “But I will not allow my niece or my sister to suffer again because of my own inability to do anything! Who hired you, Wind Rider?! Who dares to hunt my own family as if we were wild beasts?!” “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” he cried, curled up on the floor as the white Alicorn loomed over him. “W-we never knew their names, I promise! All they told us was how to get the filly and where to bring her!” “WHY?!” Celestia demanded, damn-near just avoiding the Royal Canterlot Voice, the room now feeling to Wind Rider as if he were in the pits of Tartarus itself. “They said to make you and your sister pay for your crime a thousand years ago against their ancestors!” he screamed, hiding his face under his wings. “That’s all I know, I swear, princess!” “My crime against... a thousand years ago?” Celestia murmured and Wind Rider breathed a small sigh of relief as the feeling of danger lessened, if only slightly. For several moments they stood that way, Celestia frowning, as if thinking about something long thought past, before she closed her eyes. “How...?” she sighed, sounding saddened suddenly. “I had hoped he was just... and after all this time that... I guess some apples will never fall far from their tree.” Wind Rider chanced a glance up to blink in confusion. Celestia did not answer his unasked question and turned to the door, speaking into the slot, before it upon. She glanced back at the still shaken stallion. “As agreed, your sentence shall be lessened slightly for your aid.” “P-princess?” he asked, shakily getting up. “Your story matches what Miss Polomare already told us,” she said firmly, before sighing and whispering, “I had honestly hoped, after what she told us, it would not.” With that, the doors closed behind her, leaving Wind Rider to await his fate and to ponder just what the princess had been talking about. ___________________________________________________________ “Is everything in place?” the mare’s voice asked. “Yes,” a stallion’s voice answered. “All will be ready upon her return.” The first voice chuckled. “Soon, daughter, you shall return to your rightful place, and those horrid Alicorns will pay for taking us from our rightful places so long ago”