//------------------------------// // The Hallow Road and The Broken Abode // Story: The New Guy // by SilverWind102 //------------------------------// The rest of the trek to the castle was relatively uneventful. The only real disturbances were Ruppy constantly pointing out anything that so much as twitched, thinking that it was deadly or evil in some way, shape or form. Her antics were merely meet with a sigh and an eye roll each time, and once Onyx even popped her upside the head. Alas though, their journey came to an end as they reached the decayed fortress. Its ruins seemed unchanged from the last time Silver was there, even if it was only from the outside. Walking up to the castle first, Silver held a paw up, telling Twilight and the others to wait a moment. He poked his head inside the door and scanned the room. Using his wind magic, he did a brief sweep over the castle and its halls, looking to see if anypony was laying in wait. Luckily, there was none, so he pulled his head back out and motioned for the rest of them to come forward. “Alright,” Silver began as they all entered the main hall, “So, since I don't feel all that trusting of the forest anymore, two of you will actually be doing your jobs and standing guard. The rest of us will be helping with the research.” “I CALL GUARDING!” Ruppy shouted immediately, which was shortly followed by Sica yelling the same. The other two simply groaned and moped for a moment, making Twilight huff with a pout. “It's not that bad,” she said with a cross of her hooves, “If you'd just give it a chance.” “We did,” Onyx sighed, “For three straight days.” Just as the alicorn was about to rebut, she was interrupted by Silver, “Oh it's fine. Besides, at least you won't have to walk around a thousand year old, abandon castle that is known to house the remnants of Nightmare Moons black magic.” With each descriptive word the wolf used, Ruppy complexion became paler and paler to the point where one might mistake her for an actual ghost haunting the remains of the building. “Um,” Ruppy squeaked, a noticeable shake in her voice, “O-on second thought, maybe I should go with Twilight?” “Nope,” Onyx replied, a small but devious grin on her muzzle, “Now go on, shoo. Make sure no monsters and things try to kill us while we lay back and read some old bedtime stories.” The tan pegasus whimpered while Sica snatched her tail in her mouth and began dragging her along. “Come on, you big foal,” She mocked with a mouth full of hair, “I'm sure it's not that bad.” The rest of the group couldn't help but laugh at the mares misfortune. If only she had waited another few seconds, then Beats or Onyx would have taken her spot. While she still would have been stuck in the castle, at least she wouldn't have had to wander it looking for signs of trouble. But, what's done is done, and now she must scourer the ruins, despite how unsettling, creepy, disturbing, curse-ridden, eerie, and-- “CELESTIA DAMMIT, GET ME OUT OF HERE!” Twilight weaved through the halls of the castle, leading the three others to the library as none of them knew where it was. “Silver,” she said, looking to the wolf at her side, “Do you really think something's going to come after us?” The canine shrugged, “We were just attacked by Timberwolves, so yeah I'd definitely say it's a possibility. Why? Hasn't stuff like this happened before?” The mare matched his shrug, “In all honesty, the Everfree forest has been...well, tame when the girls and I come here. Sure, we've had some creepy encounters and a couple of attacks, but nothing too serious...except for that time Spike was attacked by Timberwolves. And that time with the poison joke. And the Usra Minor.” As she listed off each event, raised a brow a little further each time, “Okay! So maybe the Everfree is a little dangerous...” “A little?” Silver echoed, “The words 'Ursa Minor' just came from your mouth, did it not?” “It was fine! No pony got hurt and I managed to get it back to its home before it's mother came.” Silver actually stopped in his tracks and look at Twilight with disbelief, “You...you got rid of an Ursa Minor?” “Well, all I did was put it to sleep and levitate it back to it's cave.” Silver stood stock still for a while, his mind attempting to process the new information. Eventually, he shook himself out of his stupor and walked back to her side, muttering something about overpowered alicorns. Twilight simply chose to ignore his rambling and continue on. It was only another turn or two until the reached the library. “Alrighty,” She said, walking down the isle and scanning the books, “We all know what to look for so lets get to it.” Little did the couple know, a certain mare behind them was having a silent conversation of her own. “Um, boss?” Onyx's swords called as she roamed the shelves. “Yes?” “Now to be all whiny, but I think there may be something up with this place.” “Well we are in the middle of the Everfree, so there probably is.” “No, not that. It's like... I can feel that somethings moving, but not moving at the same time.” “That doesn't make any sense. Are you sure you're not defective?” “HEY! That wolf built me just fine! In case you hadn't noticed, I have a frickin conscious! I think he'd know if there was something wrong with me!” “Alright, I was kidding! Jeez. So what's this thing you're feeling?” “I don't know. I don't think it's even alive.” “...Zombies?” “I dunno! Maybe?! This thing's just freaking me out!” “Alright, calm down. We'll keep an eye out.” And with that, the study session resumed in the Castle of the Two Sisters, a pair of watchful deep blue eyes occasionally scanning the room. Ruppy and Sica roamed the halls of the ruins, one of them looking as though they were taking a casual stroll and the other looking like they were holding in the urge to scream....which she was. Every little shadow sent chills down the pegasus's spine. The halls would howl as the wind swept through them, and she could swear she heard Silver do it once just to screw with her. Nothing in this castle was, in anyway, pleasant. But hey, at least she had Sica. “Sooo,” the cloaked mare began, “I uh, couldn't help but over hear you and Silver the other day. You uh, don't really seem to trust me.” “Well yeah, I mean just look at you,” Ruppy answered with little regard for manners or tact, “No offense, but you're creepy.” Sica actually giggled, “Princess Twilight wasn't kidding, you are blunt.” The pegasus raised a brow, “You talked with Mama Twilight about me?” The assassin mare shrugged, not bothering to react to her reference to Twilight, “Yeah, a little. But it wasn't just you though, she told me a little about all of you guys when I was hired. Like how Onyx is super quiet and a little distant. She said you're loud, rude and flirty.” “Okay, that I kinda take offense to.” “Well she also said she knows you have a sweet side too.” Ruppy just blushed and turned her head back to the halls while Sica continued, “She said she didn't know much about Beats, other than he cares a lot about his little sister, and he's pretty laid back.” “Huh,” Ruppy hummed, “I didn't think she paid all that much attention to us. I thought she was focused mostly on Silver. But now I wonder,” the pegasus pondered, “You know about us, so why don't you share a little?” “Okay,” Sica agreed with a small laugh, “Let's see. I'm an orphan and have no idea who my parents are. I was raised in Blackberry Orphanage with about a dozen other kids. We weren't poor, but money wasn't exactly abundant. We had to share a lot of stuff, but luckily boys and girls slept and bathed separately. We did chores and a few odd jobs around for bits for ourselves. “When I was 18, I graduated highschool and left the orphanage. After that I just kinda wandered around from town to town, doing whatever jobs came by for money. I think this job my actually be the only legitimate one I've had.” Ruppy let out a hearty laugh as Sica finished her story, “I swear,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye, “That wolf has a talent for attracting the weirdest ponies.” “Ah yes, Princess Twilight also told me about your...previous affiliation, shall we call it?” Ruppy rolled her eyes, “It's fine. I was a gang leader, and now I'm not. I'm actually kind of surprised Mama Twilight didn't just up and reject us. I guess she just trusted Papa. What about you though? I still think you're an assassin, by the way.” Sica just giggled, “Well wouldn't you like to know?” “Uh, duh! That's why I asked.” “Well, you wouldn't be wrong,” the mare admitted, “My skills do lie in the art of stealth kills, but I can't disclose where I picked them up.” Ruppy eyed the mare up and down, “That doesn't really make me feel any better.” “We all have our secrets. Mine are just more...cryptic than most.” Ruppy continued staring at the mare for a moment, before sighing and dropping her head, “Yeah, he really does get the weirdest ponies possible.” “Well, it was actually Princess Twilight that hired me,” Sica corrected, “Silver actually made it very clear that I don't report to him, but the Princess instead.” The tan pegasus rolled her eyes, “Yeah, whatever you weirdo assassin. Come on, let's hurry and do these rounds.” As the hours dragged on, the ponies kept to their tasks. Ruppy and Sica went around the castle about every hour, while the others kept reading. As they flipped and turned pages, they found that the castle held more about The One Who Wanders than they had originally hoped, albeit not much more. “Hmm,” Twilight hummed, her eyes scanning over the words, “This is...odd.” “You're going to need to be a little more specific Twilight,” Silver sighed, “Everything about this guy is odd.” “Well it's just...I don't think it's only appeared in Equestria,” she clarified, “From what I can tell, it's been all over the world.” “What?” Silver questioned, getting up to look at the book over her shoulder, “How did you find that out?” “Well this story says that it's earned many names from the places its gone. The One Who Wanders is just one of them. Now that I think about it, Luna called it the Drifter, so that might also be from another land.” “Well what names does it list?” The wolf asked, “Maybe we can find more on those.” “Let's see, we have The Ghost of Virdan, The Lost One, one simply named Steps, The Hallow Road, Th—” “What, wait?” Silver interjected, “The Hallow Road? They're the same?” “Well, yeah. Why? Does it come from Houndland?” Silver shook his head, “No, but it's an old legend I heard about when I was in the Feline Republic. It's about a dirt road that leads to no where. It's not on any map, and appears out of no where. It says if you ever walk down it, you'll be forced to walk it for the rest of time, the road never ending.” “Hmm,” the mare hummed once more, “It doesn't sound quite like The One Who Wanders, but the similarities are there. Both involve walkin—huh?” Twilight snapped her up and stared at the door way that led to the hall. “What is it?” Silver asked, looking as well. She continued to stare at the door for a moment, waiting to see if anything changed, though nothing did. “Nothing, thought I saw something move. Must have been a spider.” Silver shivered at the mention of the arachnid, “Ugh, hate those creepy little bastards. Anyway, you were saying?” “Oh right!” she turned back to the book. After flipping a couple of pages, she stopped and scanned it, her hoof following along under the sentences, “Well this story depicts it a little differently. Instead of the road cursing the one who walks it, it's about the one who was cursed. I...I think it's about the first one who went down it.” “The first one?” Silver questioned, “There's no way. That story goes pretty far back, farther than we could find for The One Who Wanders. I'd say it's at least fifteen hundred years old.” “Well it doesn't give a date, but says it's about the first one.” “Well what's it say then?” Twilight cleared her throat, “Ahem. 'As the-'” she ended as soon as she began, her sharp gasp cutting her off. “What?” Silver questioned. He found her head now turned away from the book, and locked firmly onto the doorway. There was nothing odd about it, but of course, that wasn't what Twilight was staring at. No, she was eyeballing the creeping shadows that had slowly crawled their way up the walls surrounding the exit. With a shaky hoof, she slowly pointed and spoke, “Those....” Silver finally noticed the oddity, his eyes going wide with unease. “The Shade....” he muttered to himself, though he could tell something was off about it. He knew he killed the one in the castle before. Was this a new one? No, it couldn't be. The grimoire was gone, and there's nothing of significant power left in the castle. Even if that were the case, it still didn't put him at ease. These shadows, the way they were moving it was almost like... “Like it's coming from every shadow in the castle...”. So that's what it was. The Shade wasn't dead. It had infected every other shadow cast in the structure. Every broken vase, pillar, torn tapestry. Every. Last. One. But now wasn't the time for self-mumbling and analyzing. The wolf tapped his paw on the table and gained the attention of Beats and Onyx, “You two, slowly get out of your chairs and come to us.” Both put their books down, and slid from out of their spots. They crept along the table until they were at Silvers side. During their movements, they had noticed the two staring at the wall, and picked up on The Shade. “Our first priority is getting Twilight out. When we get her to the main hall, you two go find Ruppy and Sica, and get out any way you can. I don't care if you break through walls to do it,” Both nodded before he continued, “Twilight, get on my back and hold tight.” Twilight slipped onto him, careful not to make too much noise or movement. With her hooves firmly locked on, she felt Silver lean forward in a running position. “On three...” he informed, “One....Two...Three!” In a blur, all three were darting to the door. The Shade picked up on their movement, and quickly sought to cut them to pieces as it moved it's shadows in front and lunged at them. Onyx drew her blades and blocked the attacks, Beats bobbed and weaved through the strikes while Silver used his wing blades to deflect. They came bursting into the hall, shooting down it with the Shade chasing after them on all sides of the hall behind them. It's shadows caught up rather quickly, and sent one onto the floor beneath the wolf. A single spike was formed and pierced his paw, causing Silver to stumble and fall, sending himself and the alicorn on his back tumbling. Before either could get back up to run, it was already too late. The Shade had caught up, and now enveloped the two of them from every direction. Just as the blades of black came down, there was a quick blur, followed by a harrowing scream. Twilight laid in a ball on the floor, waiting for the pain of the shadows stabbing her body to come...but it never did. To scared to look up, she felt a drop of something warm fall onto her cheek. From the corner of her eye, she could make out a color. It was...familiar. A crimson droplet fell again, and this time she saw where it came from. Yet another familiar sight filled her eyes. It was fluff. A fluff she'd spent so many days with. A fluff she grown to love and yearn for. Silvers fluff. “No....” She could hear the sounds of flesh being sliced and ripped as a dozen shadow spikes pulled themselves out of Silvers body. The putter-patter of the leaking blood hitting the floor increased ten-fold as they left him, like raindrops of a storm. She could feel the waterfall of fluid wash over her body in a sicking, thick wave of warmth. It crashed over her back and trickled down her chest, seeping into her fur and burning the sensation into skin. His body went limp, his muzzle falling next to her ear. “Run...” he could wheeze out and lifted his head, “Take her and keep running!”. Before Twilight could even refuse, she felt something grab at her from behind. Snapping her head around, she found Beats wrapping a hoof around her waist before he hoisted her up onto his back, then turned and bolted down the hall once more. “NO! LET ME GO!” she shouted. “I can't!” Beats replied, “He'll kill me if I leave you here!” “HE'LL BE KILLED, NOW LET ME G—” Her struggles were silenced by a sudden blow to the back of the head, knocking Twilight unconscious as Onyx raced past them. Sure, she'd have hell to pay for doing that to a princess, but there wasn't much choice. No one wanted to leave him there, but like he said before. Twilights safety was their first priority. Besides, Silver was one of the most powerful creatures in Equestria. He couldn't be killed from something like this...right? Swiftly making their retreat through the castle, they soon entered the main hall. Onyx stopped for a moment and took in a deep breathe, “RUPPY!! " Not many knew but Onyx could be the loudest mare on the planet when she wanted to be. The answer was almost instantaneous as a wall was shattered, sending dust and bricks flying through the room. Before she or Sica could ask what was happening, Beats and Onyx were headed for the door. Figuring it's best to find out later, the two of them quickly followed behind and left the castle in a flash. Silver laid in a pool of blood for a moment. The Shade had continued to chase the others, though from his wind magic, he could tell they managed to escape the castle safely. “Hehe...” the wolf chuckled, rising to his paws with a bit of a wobble, “Well now. Looks like it's just you and me.” As if it understood his words, the shadows that had pierced him moments ago gathered once more in the hall. “Now that they're out of harms way,” he said, pausing to spit the blood from his mouth, “I can go a little crazy.” The words seemed to echo through the halls as a sudden magic pressure rose from the wolf. The castle shook and trembled as Silver stood, his wounds still bleeding profuse amounts of blood but his power still surging. His wings suddenly snapped out to his sides, a gust of wind tearing through the halls, and not just the one he was standing in. The entire castle whistled and shrilled as the winds swept throughout, as if a dozen trains had come running through the halls. This of course had no effect on the Shade as it was a shadow creature, and didn't have any physical form until ripped from the ground. But then again, that wasn't quite what Silver was aiming for. With a single, powerful flap, the winds converged and wrapped into a vortex. In mere moments, an entire tornado had appeared, though this one was not your average one. Along side it's terrifying wind speed, it carried with it sharp wind blades, ripping and shredding every thing around them. It also had an odd shape as it wasn't nearly as wide as a normal one, but instead confined to about thirty feet. The walls and roof collapsed instantly and were torn to bits and chunks before being lifted into the air by the tornado. They were flung and scattered across the forest seconds after being lifted, taking with them the Shade attached to it. A mere half a minute after the tornado was formed, it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. The ponies outside the structure watch in awe as the whole event unfolded, easily deducing the one behind it all. Just as the name crossed all their minds, the owner of it fell from the sky. With a heavy thud, his body pummeled into the ground, leaving a noticeable dent in the dirt. How he got up there was the biggest mystery, but one that would have to wait for a later time. Without a second thought, Onyx wrapped the wolf in her magic and floated him by her side. He was heavy, and certainly slowed her down, but she refused to allow that to keep her from darting through the woods. With Silver now with them, they continued sprinting through the forest, never stopping as they weren't sure if the Shade could follow. They ran until they were out of the Everfree, and continued until they were at the library. They bolted down the hall of the tree home, knocked over Spike in the process and flung open the door into Silvers home. “STAR SHINE!” Onyx shouted, hoping that the wolf may answer her call. She gently placed the Silver onto the sofa, eyeing the room for the other canine to show. With no luck, she didn't appear, “Alright, go get the med kit and some towels. Try to slow the bleeding. I'm getting Star Shine.” No one argued as they ran around the house to find the materials. Onyx ran to her room and floated over her key, the last door she used being the one in Canterlot. She bolted back out to the living room and ran to the door, quickly turning the key and rushing out into the castle. As she ran down the halls she stopped by a guard on watch. “You! I need help! Silvers been hurt and I need Star Shine! Where is she?!” she requested/yelled. “With Princess Celestia in her study, ma'am. Should we call for a medic?” he responded. The unicorn immediately turned and bolted, “Yes! Do it now! Send them to Silvers home!” she yelled as she raced down the hall once more. Once she finally reached Celestias study, she didn't bother knocking and simply pushed in, the guards on watch trying to force her out. “Star Shine!” she cried, her hooves flailing about as the guards pushed her back. Celestia snapped her head up from her desk while the wolf dropped in from hiding. “Let her go,” Star commanded, and the guards released Onyx. She stepped over to meet the unicorn, “What happened?” “We were attacked by something in the castle, and Silver's hurt really badly! H-He's loosing a lot of blood! He's at his home! Please, you have to--!” Before she could say another word, Star Shine had vanished, nothing but a gust of air rushing past to indicate she'd left the room. Celestia on her part, barely managed to keep up with the situation. A few moments had passed before she finally stepped from around her desk and approached the young, coal black unicorn. In that time, things had slowed down a bit, the rush of the emergency seeming to stop. With just a simple glance over, she could tell how distraught Onyx was. Her eyes were wide with panic and fear, her breathes were still sharp from sprinting all the way here, her hooves shook and trembled and the ivory alicorn could even hear the choke of a sob. “Oh my dear little pony,” she cooed, bringing the mare into a gentle hug, “There there. Silver will be alright, I'm sure of it.” Onyx shook her head and pulled away from the embrace, “How can you--?! You didn't see him! You didn't watch when he got--!” the mare had to stop and swallow to force the bile she felt rising in her stomach back down, “Do not tell me you know what will happen! You don't know a damn thing!” “Onyx, Silver has literally come back from death itself,” she reassured, “He's powerful, cautious and far smarter than he let's other believe. I might not know what happened, but I do know Silver. And I know it will take no less than the Reaper himself to kill him.” The scowl the little mare wore slowly softened and her eyes began to water. She clenched her eyes shut and let her face fall forward back into Celestias fur. “I-I'm sorry...” she choked out, “I didn't mean to yell.” “Shh,” she cooed once more, gently stroking Onyxs mane, “Don't worry about it. You're just wound up and scared, it's fine. It's all going to be just fine.” Just as the words left her mouth, the sound of hooves trotting down the hall echoed into the room. Soon, an ethereal, starry mane appeared in the doorway. “Sister?” Luna called as she came in, “Sister, what happened? I heard shouting.” Well...maybe not everything would be fine. Celestia sighed, giving her little sister a sympathetic look, “Luna, it's Silver. Somethings happened.” The midnight mare stood in the room while her sister explained what happened. For her part, Luna reacted rather calmly to the situation....or at least, that's how she appeared. Once the recap was over, she began trotting down the halls of Canterlot Castle. One wouldn't be able to tell that Luna was panicking by her pace, which was only slightly faster than normal. Her expression did show a hint of worry, though it was rather hard to see it. The reason why she was hiding her fear was completely unknown to the world. But to Luna, it made perfect sense. “I can't allow myself to panic. Twilight is probably distressed enough as it is, and acting the same way would only make things worse for her.” As Luna came to the door of Silvers home, she noticed it was closed. Summoning the key Silver had given her, she placed it in the hole and turned then entered. When she stepped in, she found a group of three ponies in the room. Ruppy was in the kitchen, a bottle of liquor sitting on the counter and a glass in one hoof. Sica sat in the stool across from her, her head in her hooves. Beats was over by the couch on his knees. When the alicorn came in, his head popped up over the back of the sofa. “Princess Luna,” he called, “What are you...oh, well never mind.” “W-Where is Silver?” she asked, her worry showing causing her voice to tremble slightly. “Star Shine just took him,” Ruppy informed, “She said she needs to operate on him and took him to her place. There's no point in trying to follow though, she won't let you in.” Luna shook her head, “I had no intention of following. If he's with Star Shine, then he's in good care. What about Twilight? She was with you, wasn't she?.” Ruppy simply pointed a hoof to the hall beside her, “When she woke up, she saw Silver was gone and just wandered into the hall.” Luna raised a brow at the information, but instead of inquiring as to why they didn't follow or check on her, she just went to find the mare herself. Since the hall on the first floor only had the two bedrooms and the bathroom, the bathroom being empty, she assumed Twilight must be down stairs. Skipping the second floor since there were no doors that could be opened, she reached the third and upon stepping into the hall, Luna heard a sniffle come from one of the rooms. She saw a light coming from the bathroom and quickly trotted over to look in. There she saw Twilight sitting in front of the mirror, the water running in the sink and a scrub brushing roughly against her fur. Luna immediately took notice of the blood staining Twilights fur and quickly ran over to her. “Twilight!” She exclaimed, “Dear, are you alright?” The lavender mare didn't answer and just kept scrubbing. It wasn't until Luna was as close as she was that she realized just how hard she was washing herself. She could see where the skin beneath her coat had become raw and red, some parts actually bleeding. “Twilight,” Luna tried, but only received a sniffle. She reached a hoof up and grabbed the scrub while Twilights magic kept trying to make it move. “Twilight, stop it!” Luna said firmly. With that, the scrub fell free and the smaller alicorn broke down. She started with just a sniffle, then choke and finally into a continuous stream of tears and sobs. Her loud wails filled the room, taking Luna by surprise. She closed the door with her magic and brought Twilight into her embrace. “Shhh,” she cooed, “I'm right here.” Looking into the mirror, she noticed Twilight was still covered in blood. Using her magic, she turned on the water for the shower and waited a moment until the it got hot. Once she saw the steam coming over the top, she walked Twilight over, gently sliding the glass door back and placing her under the water. She removed her own belongings and set them aside before stepping into the shower as well. Twilight simply sat under the stream, still sobbing as the water ran over her. Luna grabbed a rag and soaped it up before gently washing Twilight. The blood had gotten everywhere. It ran down her neck, back and chest. Much of her upper body had been dyed crimson, and there were even splotched of it in her mane and on her cheeks. After about fifteen minutes of washing, Twilight was finally clean, though still crying. Setting the rag down, Luna took her marefriend into a full embrace, peppering her with kisses and nuzzles. “Shh, shh. It's okay. You're okay now,” she soothed, trying to calm the mare. Twilight simply wrapped her hooves around Luna and bawled into her chest, muffling her cries. They sat like that for the next ten minutes under the shower, Twilights powerful sobs slowly becoming softer weepings. As she slowly calmed down, Luna had an idea. Poking her head out of the shower and using her magic, she turned on the water to the bath and allowed it to fill. By the time Twilight was reduced to smaller cries, the tub was already full. Luna lifted Twilights cheeks with her hooves to look her in the eyes, “Here, let's move to some place a little more comfortable.” The smaller mare made no protest as Luna shut the water off and lead her out of the shower. They moved over to the bath, sitting in it so that Twilight sat between Lunas legs, leaning her back against the cool mares chest. Luna wrapped her hooves around Twilights stomach, feeling her chest lurch and jump with each little cry that escaped her. While she had calmed down considerably, she was still crying. Hopefully, the warm water would help change that. It took another few minutes, but it eventually did. Twilight had stopped crying now, though she was still sniffling and shuddering. It was the only sound filling the room aside from the occasional drop of water from one of the fossets, though neither could tell which. Not that they really cared. After a few moments of sitting in silence, Twilight finally spoke. “How is he?” she croaked out, her voice hoarse from crying. “Ruppy said he was in surgery,” Luna informed, her voice softer than a butterflies whisper, “Star Shine's taking care of him.” She could both hear and feel the mare on top of her let out a long, tired and shaky breath. Luna simply tightened her hold a little more and pecked the top of Twilights head with a kiss. She took notice of the raw patches of skin under her coat from earlier, giving them gentle kisses as well. Twilight, for the first time since getting back from the castle, actually welcomed the gesture as the cool lips of Luna soothed their burning. They continued to sit like that for another few minutes until the lavender mare spoke again. “Everything just got out of control so fast,” Despite the warm water they laid in, Luna could feel her go cold in her grasp, “One minute we were researching, then that thing showed up. We ran, a-and when h-he fell...” another choked sob came out instead. “So much b-blood, and i-it was h-hi..--” was all the little mare could get out before she lurched forward. Twilight felt a pressure rising in her stomach and burning in her throat. She quickly scuffled and pulled herself from Lunas hold and out of the tub, scampering over to the toilet before throwing up. The sounds of retching made Luna cringe, and she felt more than a little guilty that she couldn't make her marefriend feel any better. Once Twilight finally managed to get her stomach back under control, she walked over to the sink and rinsed out her mouth before going back to the tub. This time, instead of laying with her back to Luna, she laid on her stomach, wrapping her hooves around the midnight mares mid-section and burying her face into her neck. “I'm so sorry. If this is too hard for you, we can just lay here.” Luna apologized, giving her marefriend a peck on the head. Twilight shook her head, “It's okay. I-I'm just shook up right now.” Luna used a hoof to lift Twilight head. She quickly pressed her lips against the purple mares, ignoring the slight taste of bile as she put as much love and passion as she could into it. Once they broke apart, Twilights muzzle went back to the lunar alicorns neck. “Rest dear, “ Luna cooed, stroking the mares mane, “We'll go see Silver when we can.” Twilight rested her head once more, allowing her eyes to close for a moment. That one turned into two, then three and soon she found her eye lids too heavy to open again.