The Stereotypical Necromancer

by JinxTJL

Intermission - Recovery and Loss

"Your... Majesty?"

For the awestruck secret agent who, regardless of her extreme passion for serving the Crown, felt a bone-deep wear in her every muscle, there was hardly any indication that the stoic figure had heard her at all.

As it was, there was only the slightest twitch at the corner of her pristine smile, which she was sure might've been the smallest possible movement.

It was emboldening to see Her Highness act so discreet on her behalf. It provided her the needed impulse to slide her eyes out of Her impressive shadow and past the table before her. Across the myriad scented treats begging for her attention, and toward the idling and growing crowd presently nibbling on her sense of danger.

A slight grimace rose over her cheeks. "Isn't this position... compromising?" Bon Bon managed, quietly, because the very real thought that somepony might've been able to hear her was currently overpowering her sense of decency.

She flicked a glance to Her placid Highness as her tongue darted out to wet her lips, then returned to scanning the crowd for prying eyes. "The sense of security here isn't exactly... emboldening."

Princess Celestia always seemed to smile, gazing upon Her subjects. And it was no surprise that She smiled then as She gently raised Her ever-present porcelain teacup to Her mouth for a soft sip. As She finished with a soft murmur of enjoyment, Her lips parted barely wider to eke out the softest of sweet whispers.

"Fear not, agent." She couldn't help the slight shiver that ran through her at the sound of Her breathy words, even moreso as the barest touch of feathers wisped across her withers. It was all Bon Bon could do to just to keep breathing as the phantom comfort of a warm wing folded around her far shoulder, and Her voice tickled at her ear once more. "As far as anypony is concerned, there's nothing at all to Notice."

Bon Bon's eyes fluttered open with a faint gasp, though she didn't quite remember closing them. She might've been exhausted, but she knew she was better than falling asleep on the job.

Oh, but how serene the works of Her Highness were. To embrace... to weave... to whisper a pony away...

A true miracle.

She almost wished she could quash the analytical half of her mind that affirmed that there were unmistakable traces of a Notice-Me-Not spell in the air around them. The minute glowing golden haze at the corner of her vision, the gradual erasure of her own presence to note, and even the faint greying of the world around her would all be far more romantic as beautiful facets of Her Highness' heavenly miracles.

Faith and practicality were a constant balance with no clear middle or rightful answer. That was alright; she'd save the romance for when she next saw Lyra. She had something very romantic- or unprofessional- planned for the occasion.

The thought of it almost made her blush.

"Oh, yes, 'twould be a tragedy indeed for the naïve masses to catch wiser."

She was brought out of her reverent haze in a blink, and the faint, benevolent presence of Princess Celestia at her side seemed to grow ever fainter as Bon Bon turned a weary eye to the grim Goddess at her other side.

She was sitting closer to Princess Celestia than Princess Luna with Her Highness' wing draped most of the way around her, but it was still only a short hoof-length or so that separated her from the Deity currently reclining improperly onto the table.

She was taking lazy sips from a glass rapidly draining a bottle dry, Her aimless cyan gaze straying somewhere to Her side as She spoke tonelessly. "If thou were to be caught so sadly soon, we may never bear witness just how deeply thy reverence seeds."

The oblique phrasing sunk in over a moment, and Bon Bon finally balked as Princess Luna slowly slid a piercing eye to land on her. She raised Her glass to Her mouth, but only silently bit at its rim for a moment before it floated away.

"And how we should relish such a chance," She murmured, and at that, slid Her uncaring gaze back to Her empty side.

She'd been insulted in a lot of different ways in a lot of different words over the years, and even once through a very emphatic interpretive dance by a captive Changeling that shortly after died of malnutrition, but never had Bon Bon been told she was boring in such an evasive way.

It boggled the mind how finely Princess Luna had refined the innocuous insult. If the idea of speaking out of turn hadn't been completely run out of her in training, she'd have half a mind to sling a few back.

Bon Bon's unsettled attention was only on the spiritless sovereign for a second longer before the soft weight on her shoulder shifted, and she was gently slid away from the dour Princess. Warmth brushed across her side, and she gasped softly as she jerked to stare widely at the smiling Princess newly pressed against her. One sparkling magenta eye out of the haze of Her mane fixed humorously down at her.

"Don't fret over the sorry spirit of my sister, Sweetie Drops." The sweet sound of Her hum murmured into a soft laugh as Her eye raised higher, behind Bon Bon. "She is still well within the rights of recovery. We will only have to bear her burden for the time being."

An irritated grunt tugged at her ear, though her worry was easily kept at bay as Her Highness turned to show more of Her soft, joking smile. It was only a joke. Good.

As much as her time served in the guard may have instilled a somber reflex into her, Bon Bon found it hard not to smile back. Her Highness simply inspired a fulfilling sense of warmth in even the coldest temperament.

She'd heard it was hell to maintain the typical soldier's stern protocol for Her assigned personal guard, to the point that Her Highness' occasional attempts to make light of them had given them a reputation as Her entourage rather than an elite force devised to preserve Her safety.

Not that they were here now or ever really necessary. Among many other feats of strength and diplomacy, Princess Sol Celestia was the sole reason dragonkind even acknowledged the border. In a truly dangerous situation, She was more likely to save their lives.

As she'd once pointed out to a particularly uptight member. To this day, it was still the highlight of her eternal quest to rub every breed of official the wrong way. Just for how red-faced they'd become... oh, what a day that'd been.

A markedly rosier spirit was beginning to fill Bon Bon. Remaining in Princess Celestia's presence in any position other than a bow still went against everything she'd ever learned, but she was hard-pressed to not feel singled-out while wrapped in the finely-feathered embrace of Her wing. She was literally touching Divinity; was there any point in pretending she wasn't favored?

With the tight knot in her chest loosening by the second, Bon Bon faintly smiled out into the joyous crowd as Princess Celestia did the same. Her kind, caring gaze taking in every detail of Her subjects defiantly making merry in spite of last night's upheaval.

"Take heart from the bright day upon us, and the persisting spirit of those we protect." Princess Celestia murmured, Her reverent intonation helping all the more to bolster Bon Bon's spirit. As ponies ate and sang and drank, and her mind drifted to that which she held dear, Princess Celestia's hoof gently rose to lay on her shoulder.

"Tell me of your report, Agent Sweetie Drops." Her voice carried the barest hard edge of a commanding officer's well-tuned order, yet it still kept the most wonderful songlike accompany. As though She were composing a melody of Her instructions to incite compliance all the more strongly.

A tune she'd been dancing along to for her entire life, and one that she would never fail to join.

Special Agent Sweetie Drops may have been sandwiched tightly between the living Sun and Moon unjustly resting on ordinary park benches, but she was undoubtedly ready to comply.

Now and forever, at Her command, she would attend.

Her hoof rose to her head at instinctive salute, and with the knowledge that nopony unimportant in the faintly grey scape around her could see it, she allowed her chest to puff sternly and proudly outwards.

"Agent Sweetie Drops, E.I.A extra operative signed 647 in service to the Crown under the direct command of Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia, reporting!" she barked by rout, wincing slightly as there was an instant scoff to her side, almost as though it had just been waiting to let loose. She tried not to turn to look at the disapproving Princess, and instead towards the approving Princess who gave the slightest nod without turning her way.

Knowing Her Highness was at the ready, Bon Bon sucked in a breath, and found her reporting voice. "Following Your Highness' last orders to keep watch over and contain Extraneous Magical Threat sign 382C11, codenamed: Necromancer, I brought Light Flow to a populated area and woke him with the given trigger word as instructed!"

Between breaths and a momentary hesitation she took to let Her Highness ponder, Bon Bon was interrupted by a quiet hum. "Is that truly the moniker you've assigned him? Necromancer?"

Disconcerted cerulean and surreptitious magenta gazes alike tracked to the other Princess regarding them with sudden interest, who had shockingly set her half-empty glass down to sit barely straighter. It was immediately unsettling to see Her so attentive for once, and Bon Bon found herself lacking a reply.

Princess Luna turned towards them with an unusually expressive, dubious leer, landing first on her, then focusing on Her Sister in sequence. "Dost thou not see it as shameless in the slightest?" Her leery pout fell to Bon Bon again, though she barely had time to squirm under it before Her gaze was on Her Sister again. "Is it now our norm to label our citizens of interest by titles of distaste out of common fear?"

Bon Bon's guard was thrown further off as Her Highness' wing pressed closer, nearly obscuring her in a blanket of combed feathers. Shielding her from the Lunar Princess' advance as Her tone grew hotter. "Had it not once been our method to deign practical denominations such as merely applying a numbered threat level?"

Her hoof slid across the table as She spoke until it bumped against the edge of a plate, and Her gaze narrowed. "Have those days seen their end?"

Had that once been the method of classifying threats to the nation? A numbered threat level? Princess Luna would have to pardon the unspoken slight, but that seemed more or less archaic. Titles were about as arbitrary, but internally it was more common to collate a record of previous actions and possible future threats into a well-kept file to reference for a nuanced understanding.

The given title was more about filing than anything else.

It was a half-hearted gripe she kept to herself, as Princess Celestia seemed to voice it instead. "I'm sorry, Luna," She began with a sour note of regret; Bon Bon looked up to see Her frowning apologetically toward Her simmering Sister. "I abolished that legacy of denomination six hundred years ago when I founded the EIA."

Her nerves were once again tested as the weight of a hoof rested on the shoulder she shared with the Goddess. "It seemed prudent to develop a more intuitive system in light of the growing complexity of threats arising both without our borders..." Bon Bon chanced a glance upward, to catch Her Highness' eyes just as She offered a small smile down to her.

"..and within."

The slightest note of strong pride in Her Highness' voice had Bon Bon's heart swelling, and she managed to quietly return Her smile. Together, they offered small expressions of triumph to the raised eyebrow of the doubtful, blue Princess, whose critical stare restlessly flicked between them.

"Besides," Princess Celestia continued, a slightly cheerier tone to her voice. "It isn't as though we never assigned titles in our reign. You remember how we announced the dangers of our enemies to our subjects, don't you?"

Princess Celestia's hoof slid off her shoulder and raised to the air: Her voice continually cheery, but gaining a slightly grandiose tone. "We referred to Sombra as the Shadow King, did we not? And Lord Tirek the Conqueror?"

Bon Bon stared in quiet reverence for a moment at the causal invocation of two of Equestria's greatest historical threats, before she shook it off and paid attention as Princess Luna went quiet. Only sternly returning Her Sister's kindly gaze for a few silent moments, before giving an altogether hefty sigh and turning swiftly away. The tension breaking at once as the Princess seemed to... pout.

"We recall that Tirek declared himself as such to as large an audience as he could find, but we suppose we can see thy wisdom in these matters..." She sighed, forgoing her usual lean to rest Her head atop Her reclining hoof. "Very well, we are satisfied. Continue with thy recollection, Sweetie Drops."

Her order- that was most definitely an order- was punctuated with the wave of Her free hoof, and at that, Princess Luna once again seemed entirely disinterested in anything but how quickly She could raise Her cider glass.

How... cultured. It seemed as though Princess Luna was going to fit right into Canterlot life.

Bon Bon managed to tear her apprehensive gaze away from Princess Luna and up to Her Highness, still frowning slightly towards Her snide Sister. Only for another moment, though, as She quickly turned a beatific smile back down to Bon Bon. Nodding gently towards the agent sheltered under Her wing.

It was like an unspoken condemnation, though she was sure She hadn't meant it as such. Whatever the meaning, she was being rude. Not out loud, but still; she shouldn't be so hard on Princess Luna.

It must've been a great source of stress to forget everything She knew to integrate into the modern world. Whatever She must've picked up from Her time dreamwalking as Nightmare Moon- and that entire concept seemed a mystery to her- there must've still been so much that remained so foreign to Her.

She couldn't imagine. For the life of her, she couldn't even begin to relate.

Luckily, that wasn't her job. Princess Luna had access to any therapist in the world if She wanted them.

Bon Bon did not envy the one She picked.

Her Highness' expression said that the lapse in duty was over for her, so with a blink and a breath, Bon Bon returned her hoof to her head. With her gaze returned forward, she dutifully scanned the crowd as she spoke. "During his awakening at just after 1400 hours, Light Flow showed no signs of recollection of our actions in the slightest, though obviously displayed some significant discomfort as several intervals."

She thought back to the previous day's afternoon, as she'd followed Light around on his tumultuous tottering. She'd used the word discomfort as a pretty thin veil to mask just how jarring it was to see him seize up or just... stop for minutes at a time. In her professional opinion, he'd been anything but fine.

But she wouldn't tell Her Highness that. She shook off the faint melancholic memories, and set herself straight again. "Light's movements during the day were fairly standard, if noticeably beleaguered, and the presence of the Nightma-"

She bit her tongue as something dawned on her, and a deeply foreboding sense of clarity crept up on her neck as she dared to chance a peek at Princess Luna. The unwilling host of the almost named parasite, who at her near-invocation was... sitting and staring off into space.

With Her drink held in a sparkling, blue haze swirling in indolent circles, Princess Luna's every relaxed muscle painted Her as the picture of uncaring.

As was habit for her, Bon Bon frowned. Was it alright to speak of Nightmare Moon in Princess Luna's presence so soon after Her defeat? Wouldn't it be disrespectful? Or bring back bad memories? Alienating the new Goddess on the block was the last thing she wanted to do.

As in all things, she looked to Her Highness for guidance. And as in most matters, Her Highness provided her with a smile. Kind, understanding eyes, and a slight nod.

With hesitation none the lesser, Bon Bon let out a breath she'd held unconsciously, and shut her eyes. "-the presence of the Nightmare Queen seemed to have been entirely... suppressed. There was... no sign of a dangerous relapse- nothing that your spell wouldn't account for, at least."

She took to focusing on her breathing; in and out, repeatedly and firmly as Her Highness contemplated in silence. Only in silence for a moment, though, and Bon Bon was brought out of her brief meditation as She shifted. "Luna, do you have anything to say of Light's condition?"

Her Highness clearly held no fear of agitating Her Sister's temper, which Bon Bon felt was extremely courageous. Or, more likely, Princess Celestia just understood Her Sister more than she did. Either way, the situation felt charged with tension as Princess Luna turned slightly at Her Sister's words: what little showed of Her face behind the drawn-forward pomp of Her mane seeming torn with indecision, and... something that was a little harder to place.

Sadness? Anger? Something like... regret.

All the same, it was the scarcest show of emotion that smoothed out to an impassive mask as She blinked, and turned to face Her Sister. "We fear anything we may say could only seem unflattering, sister, so we would rather not," She answered dully- monotonously- as She soon turned away again. The total blankness in Her eyes unwavering as she grimly took solace in Her drink, as it was made for.

Bon Bon felt as though that were truly that, but she was surprised once more as the weight of Her Highness shifted against her, smothering her into downy wing as Princess Celestia leaned towards Her Sister. "Lulu, please," She murmured lowly, a gently pleading note to Her voice. "-I don't wish for you to feel reservation in how you speak to me."

The growing sense that she was only a third wheel in a larger-than-life drama between Deities oddly grew as Her Highness' hoof brushed against her face on its journey to lay upon Her chest in an earnest, emphatic punctuation. "If there's something you wish to say, then please speak your mind. I won't take offense, I promise."

For a long moment, Bon Bon, slightly suffocated as she was under Princess Celestia's overbearing barrel, thought the plea fell on deaf ears. It seemed far too hopeful; simply far too gentle for the hard-edged Princess out of time. Stoicism on that level was not easily broken.

She was barely able to see Princess Luna out of the small gap above Princess Celestia's wing, and as She turned and Her face came back into view, she was sure she was seeing wrong.

Gone was the Goddess' constant mask of dispassionate disapproval: replaced by the ordinary, feeling face of a mare struck by a deep sadness. Every line of Her expression seeming sunken from the weight of whatever laid behind Her drawn, cyan gaze, while her mane seemed all the more limp against Her sullen cheeks.

She regarded Her Sister through narrow, guarded eyes for a long moment before She sighed, and set Her drink to the table. Staring down into it for a very quiet moment as though there were something to see in its shallow depths.

"It was... very effective, sister mine," was Her eventual, quiet response. Though there wasn't a single other pony paying attention to anything going on at the table, it seemed to grow oddly quieter as Princess Luna brought Her hooves together at the rim of Her cup. The Goddess' head sinking lower, while the sound of her own heart grew in her ears.

"At the time, we found it... aggrieving, to no end: such was the strength of thy spell. We were unable to speak to him... at all. He was... deaf to our pleas." The obvious melancholy grew diminished as a harder tone crept in, and Her cup shifted slightly. "...To our anger, as well."

It was quiet for a moment, until Princess Luna let out the smallest, dry scoff: shaking Her head as She raised it. Allowing all eyes to clearly see the slightest shimmer of moisture at the corner of Her eye as it caught the light.

"We hurt him," She stated bluntly, though to her straining ears, it was a forced tone of unfeeling. Keeping Her tone and Her eyes straight as She continued. "Throughout the day, we tried many times to regain contact with him, and in our every useless ply, we only ever hurt him."

Until it wasn't anymore. At the very tail end of Her sentence- at its very last syllable, Her voice caught, and Bon Bon let out a small, instinctive gasp. The Lunar Princess covered it quickly with a sharp breath, and for a moment, the overwrought agent wasn't sure the raising of Her glass wasn't just for Her obvious vice.

But it was reaffirmed in the moment as Her Highness stiffened ever so gently beside her. She felt it as the barest twitch in their pressed-together coats- but she was sure. Princess Luna had faltered, and Princess Celestia had noticed.

The relationship Princess Luna held with Light... wasn't something she'd considered before. Her first impression had been that of control, and when she'd interrogated Light, his obviously distraught recollection practically confirmed it. He hated Her for what She'd made him do, and She'd practically been the cause of all the distress in his life that she knew of- what she wasn't personally responsible for, anyway.

So why did Princess Luna seem to regret it? They'd been Nightmare Moon's actions, and the reigning explanation was She wasn't the same mare as Princess Luna. Did She really feel so responsible for the things that weren't technically Her fault? Where was the sense of separation between them?

It was all still very difficult for Bon Bon to adjust to. Princess Luna hadn't been anything like she'd imagined; rather than an imposing figure of scorn and gravitas as befitting the countenance of the Warrior Princess, She was instead... withdrawn. Dispassionate and melancholic, as though... She was depressed.

Princess Luna seemed deeply and profoundly depressed. Not at all befitting a Goddess.

Why did it set her so on edge?

For whatever reason and however she felt about it, it simply wasn't up to Bon Bon to interpret. If anypony, it was to Her Sister's discretion whether to address it.

Discretion that was left unanswered, and Bon Bon's gut feeling chilled to uncertainty as Princess Luna set Her empty glass back to the table and cleared Her throat. Her eyes were dryer than they were moments before; for all appearances, She seemed completely as self-assured as She ever was in Her melancholy. Recovering quickly and returning to stoicism: that was something Bon Bon could respect, at least.

The Lunar Princess' face clenched for a split second as She took a breath, relaxing as She gently slid Her hoof onto the table. "It was... not until we set hoof upon Equus that we were able to break thy barrier and direct him as we pleased," She recounted slowly, pushing Herself back by Her exploring hoof as She spoke. As it stretched to Her plate-marked boundary, She nodded: Her face gaining a sober quality.

"In truth, 'twas not long before we met thee in anger, sister."

That had Bon Bon's ear twitching, as Princess Luna took a moment to rest Her eyes.

So they had physically met. With the ambiguous magical methods involved in imprisoning a creature in the moon, she hadn't been entirely sure whether there'd been any confrontation at all. Filling in the blanks helped to scratch her investigative itch, though now she was well and truly worried about the state of Canterlot.

The royal guard was disciplined enough, but there hadn't been that much conflict in this lifetime, and yesterday night's events were entirely unprecedented. If there'd been a fight- a fight hadn't been confirmed- then the public must've been in an uproar. If peace was disturbed, then it would fall on the guard to quell panic, but that hinged on whether they were in order, and if the guard wasn't in order, then the nobility wasn't safe, and if the nobility wasn't safe- what if Her Highness hadn't been the only target- then the other branches of the government might've been in disarray- the chain of command would collapse- and if the government was-

Bon Bon took a sharp breath, stepped back from her thoughts, and chose a focal point on the horizon.

Stop. It wasn't her business. Her business was here in Ponyville and in the immediate present. Canterlot's captain of the guard may have been tasked with sequestering the Princess' niece into hiding, but the entire rest of the EIA was headquartered nearby- not to mention several other organizations. If any of them had been unable to keep the peace, then they were all failures, and Canterlot had more than a few riots to worry about.

It was not up to Bon Bon to organize relief squads. It wasn't her duty to discuss what came next. It was not her job to save the world.

All she had to do was give Her Highness her report, and she could go home and do naughty things to her marefriend. That was it.

With her mental calisthenics performed exhaustively, Bon Bon let out a sigh and watched as Her Highness nodded narrowly, an absent expression of deep thought on Her face. It fled to lucidity as She focused Her gaze to Her Sister, and in a motion that literally crushed Bon Bon, gently extended Her hoof to touch upon Princess Luna's.

Though it was difficult to breathe or to see at all, she could clearly hear as Princess Luna sucked in a disturbed breath at the contact. Through the ever-narrowing gap in the vice known as Princess Celestia, the elder Sister smiled at Her startled younger Sister, meeting Her eyes with genuine thankfulness.

"Thank you for being honest with me, Luna. I know it must have been difficult for you."

Though Princess Luna still seemed caught in Her own moment, the shock of contact with Her sister faded to weary acceptance- muted gratitude- as Her expression softened. "Yes... sister mine," She echoed, then Her voice steadied as presence returned to Her eyes, and She straightened. "We wish not to hinder thine investigation. Any question on thy mind, we are..." She hesitated a moment, then shook it off. "..we are only too happy to answer."

It was a tender moment... that lasted way longer than Bon Bon was comfortable with. It was a true blessing to enjoy the company of Her Highness, but being sheltered under Her wing and pressed to Her rock-solid figure as She held hooves with Her Sister might've been a step to spiritual enlightenment she'd rather miss out on.

If touching Divinity meant sacrificing her personal space after a week of consciousness, then she guessed she just wasn't that devout.

Thankfully, the awkward- for her- contact ended as she caught a glimpse of something from beyond the table. There was a moment of confusion as Her Highness shifted and Bon Bon was left blind but for white, but then Her wing fanned slightly, and she could see the top of a figure before it dropped below the table.

There was a quiet murmur of Your Majesty that she placed as a mare's voice, which she realized was sort of familiar after a moment, and by the time red mane and purple fur crept back over the table's edge with hesitation written on its unstained face she'd pretty much already realized it was Berry Punch.

It struck Bon Bon as... sort of odd to see Berry giving personal prayer to the Princess, given that... she wasn't really the most religious sort. There'd been a few times she'd heard the habitual drunk raise a glass to 'that big old white hen for raising that brightass sun', but that was more of a Drunk Berry kind of a thing than a Sober Berry kind of thing. Those two didn't often see eye to eye- but what did Bon Bon know? She barely ever saw Berry when she wasn't drunk.

Except for lately, because she'd actually been pretty good about giving up drinking this time. Even then, though she seemed sketchy and nervous as she jerkily turned to lower into a bow for the apathetic Princess Luna, it was a stable state of weird and jerky rather than the inebriated sort she was usually friends with.

She was happy for the mare- she really was. They didn't always get along, but Berry was a decent friend when she wasn't blind drunk on her own product. She deserved to be happy, and to not wake up hungover in her own vomit every afternoon.

Her friend's nervous eye briefly roved over her, but it was only briefly, and Bon Bon was assured of Her Highness' spellwork as the purple mare passed over her to hesitantly address Her Highness. "Uh... Your Majesty, I was... hoping to receive your blessing today." Her eyes averted as Her hoof raised behind her head, and her voice dipped shamefully. "About... um, my journey to sobriety. It's been... kind of rough... um... lately."

Oh, Berry.

Damn her bleeding heart, but pity was beginning to edge out her general reluctance to care about her cover friends. She half-wished she could give the obviously uncertain mare- well in the midst of a crisis of confidence- some sort of condolence without breaking cover and causing an incident.

Her Highness, at least, seemed amenable. She looked down at the former seven-time drinking champion with no less kindness in Her serene gaze than She'd done for Bon Bon. The one constant in the life of a devout was the love of The Pure Goddess.

"Of course, my beloved subject," She assured softly, Her melodious voice seeming to bring some comfort to the unsure mare. Bon Bon was shifted as Princess Celestia leaned forward onto the table, though at Her height She was still sitting mostly straight. "Why don't you tell me what brought you to this epiphany?"

The question seemed to petrify her poor friend for a moment, though her stuck look gradually faded to general incertitude before she swallowed heavily, and shuffled her hoof into the ground. "Well, I've got a little sister at home, and- and there are ponies that... you know, that love me, I... guess..."

She managed to raise her head to catch Her Highness' gaze, and the genuine plea in her voice shone especially brightly through her unsteady stare. "I guess... I just... don't like how my hab-" She caught herself, then sighed. "-my illness was... hurting them."

Bon Bon knew very well that Berry couldn't hear her, but she still tried to muffle her sigh by biting her lip. That Berry had her sister in mind wasn't surprising to hear in the least, only that she was admitting it.

Though Berry was a very mellow drunk, she was usually pretty noncommittal when it came to talking about her problem- at least, when Bon Bon was around. One of the only times she'd ever seen the chill mare actually lash out was when... it'd probably been Carrot Top that tried to bring up Ruby.

It was quite the scene. She'd adamantly denied that her drinking affected her sister in any way, then when she'd tried to angrily throw her empty mug, she'd fallen out of her barstool and passed out on the floor. She... was pretty sure. It was either that or Bon Bon had trotted away. It was a little hard to remember that night given that she'd been drinking, too.

Either way, everypony knew it was a heap of horseapples, and she'd been right in thinking Berry did too.

It was only then that Bon Bon realized she'd zoned out for longer than she'd meant to, and Berry was already giving Princess Celestia a wiggly half-smile in response to something She'd said. She made a mental note to stay up an extra hour after she was in bed, because inattentiveness was a punishable offense.

The situation seemed at an end, and Berry was already turning to walk away with whatever affirmation Her Highness had given her. The mare looking glad to be done with the affair, though her speedy trot suddenly froze mid-step, while Bon Bon's heart skipped a beat at the raised voice she'd almost forgotten was there.

"What is thy name? Thy sister's name?"

All eyes turned, and Bon Bon gnawed at her tongue in worry as the Princess who had stayed silent up until then straightened. Her posture at once becoming stern as She regarded the poor mare before her, who looked to be seconds from bolting: her head low against her tense shoulders, and confused eyes fixed on the once-vengeful Deity.

"Um... well, my name- that's..." After a few stutters from the surprisingly sober mare, she must've learned to swallow her spit before opening her mouth, and finally managed to get around to the point. "Berry, your- uh- Your Highness. Berry Punch. And my sister's name is- well- it's Ruby Pinch."

Poor Berry was usually so full of confidence and swagger. Now, saddled with all her inhibitions, she could barely look Princess Luna in the eye. Well, she wasn't, actually- but Bon Bon didn't blame her. It wasn't so long ago that she was the one cowering and choking on her tongue before that petrifying cyan stare.

A stare silently levied on the increasingly upset mare for much longer than she was sure any of them were comfortable with, and it was only as Princess Celestia gently cleared her throat that Princess Luna finally blew out a short breath, and nodded stoutly.

"Very well, Berry Punch. We shall watch over thee and thy kin." Her sudden statement was punctuated by a quick motion of Her cup that She raised to drain the last sip from its bottom, before She placed it solidly onto the table and cleared Her throat. She further straightened in Her seat, Her striking eyes narrowing as a spectral light crept up the length of Her horn: glinting to a point and then growing at the tip.

It took everything she had not to leap to action. It was her first instinct to leap to her friend's defense- magic against a civilian was dangerous- but she had to clamp it down. Bite her lip- hold herself closer to Her Highness- look very pointedly at Princess Luna's wings and horn to remember who She was- anything she needed to not do something she'd regret.

Princess Luna was a trusted authority figure, and as long as Princess Celestia was calm and relaxed- as She was- then there was nothing to fear. She had to keep her too-focused gaze from twitching to the Lunar Princess, because there was no need to monitor Her.

It was honestly incredible that Berry managed to stand Her ground, however reluctantly, as a misty haze of manifest mana swept slowly through the air from the Princess towards her. Bon Bon holding her breath in anticipation as Berry took a half-step back from the encroaching cloud; the mare seeming to steady herself as it grew closer, finally shutting her eyes and buckling down as the mist began to sparkle. Each minute point of light blinking out, until the entire haze coalesced to a single, twinkling star.

As the pinprick of light drifted forward and finally made contact with Berry's nose, Princess Luna began to speak in a deep, powerful intonation. "In thy dreams, thou shalt find sanctuary from thy troubles. When thy hooves land in our Domain, thou shalt find naught but a great peace in slumber."

The glowing speck of magic trailed up the bridge of Berry's muzzle as the trembling mare sucked in a breath, then stopped for a moment at her forehead. Lingering curiously, before it finally pressed forward in time with an exhale from Princess Luna, and the speck of mana dispersed in a mist around the spellbound mare's head. Vanishing in scant seconds over her ears, that gently twitched as the energy blew over them.

With that, the Princess nodded once more: seeming satisfied. "Go now, and know that thee and thy kin walk with our blessing."

Berry slowly peeled her eyes open with a bleary blink; in the moment after, she stumbled dizzily backwards. Shaking her head as she turned unsteadily, she sent one last confused glance towards Princess Luna before she cantered quickly away. Very quickly.

Bon Bon watched the retreating mare until she vanished into the crowd, finally letting her relieved breath out in a sigh and resting her hoof over her pounding heart. The number of times warning flags had popped up and she'd been milliseconds away from trying to smack Princess Luna in the horn was... overwhelming. It had all been overwhelming.

If this was what it was always going to be like around Princess Luna, then Bon Bon was just fine staying on Princess Celestia's retainer, where blessings were spoken without straddling the line of magical safety laws.

Bon Bon's disgruntled leer morphed into a grimace as Her Highness once again loomed over her to lean towards Her Sister. The rigid younger Princess breaking her stare away from where Berry had disappeared to meet Her Sister's eye, and as Princess Celestia's hoof slid across the table, Princess Luna readily met it with Hers.

"That was beautiful, Lulu." Princess Celestia's murmured whisper had Bon Bon straining her ear, as there was something almost... choked about it. Immediately disconcerting to hear the fallible emotion, but less than it usually was considering she was presently being crushed under some hundreds-pound Goddess.

She was having a little trouble following everypony's lead at the moment, but she was pretty sure she heard Princess Luna let out a small sigh. "We... thank thee, sister, for saying so." There was the subtle sound of tinkling and the not-so-subtle sound of liquid being poured, and then an empty bottle being carelessly dropped into ice. "The proper ritual for a blessing is long lost to us in our absence, but we tried to... speak from the heart, as it is said."

There was a silent moment of quiet swallowing, then Luna began to speak again: slightly more abashed than before. "In truth, sister, we... we are still struggling to accept all that thou expect of us." Her next breath sounded like a word that died in her throat, then She sighed, and spoke in a mutter. "It seems to be... ill-considered."

Princess Celestia murmured softly- Bon Bon felt it vibrate through her- as Princess Luna took what sounded like three sips past decency. "I understand that it's difficult for you, Luna, but all I'm asking is that you consider it. You don't have to give me an answer now."

There was a pause, and finally- finally- Bon Bon could breathe again as Her Highness leaned off of her. "Take your time. It's a big decision," Princess Celestia murmured as She straightened, and raised Her own cup of tea. Her wing fanned out on what she hoped was on purpose, and Bon Bon was free to wipe the clammy feeling off her forehead.

After so long spent smothered into Her body, she'd finally managed to place what Princess Celestia smelled of. Dew. Faintly like fresh rain.

It was a pleasant smell, and she was happier for having recognized it, but it was ultimately a distraction from the matter at hoof. She could finally see Princess Luna again and found Her half-slumped forward onto the table with a hoof on Her cheek, the last of Her cider swirling contemplatively above Her.

The tempestuous Princess- she was assuming- spent the next few moments staring dully up at Her floating drink, swirling the auburn liquid around Her cup in wide, dangerous circles. The cycle finally came to an end as She closed Her eyes and took a breath, lowering the half-full cup to the table as She straightened. Sitting with Her back to an imaginary rest as, for what might've been the first time that she'd seen, She gazed out at the crowd.

Scanning the masses of smiling ponies drinking and having fun... as something in Her expression softened. Sobered.

"...We enjoyed giving that well-drainer our blessing."

The quiet admission was hard to hear as Princess Celestia immediately snorted back a noseful of tea- and Bon Bon forced herself to remain neutral. The terribly improper mistake made at Her Sister's slur covered in the next instant by a white cloth that had seemingly come out of nowhere, while the Deity covering Her mouth took to glaring at the shockingly placid younger Princess.

"Luna! That is very improper speech!" Princess Celestia chided somewhat nasally, and Bon Bon was further forced to hide her flushing face with a hoof as Princess Luna only subtly raised an eyebrow. Not seeming concerned in the slightest as She rocked back on the bench: stretching Her hooves up around Her bouncing mane as She yawned mouthily.

Through her effort to look anywhere else, she heard the sound of thousands-year old lips smacking, and then a sigh. "Pray forgive our improper speech, sister. We are as yet unlearned in this age's proper degradation." Her voice lightened from a dead monotone: edging into clear mocking as Her tone grew stilted. "Tell us, sister dearest, which insult wouldst thou use?"

The urge to make her growing irritation known was beginning to edge into need, though Bon Bon was slightly mollified by Her Highness' clear aggravation. Her weighty sigh as She leaned forward into a hoof almost making up for the insult against her friend by a timeless Goddess of unknown experience and power.

"Luna, I swear," Her Highness muttered lowly- frighteningly lowly. The sort of voice Bon Bon had only heard once, during a meeting with an insufferable member of the nobility she'd tried very hard to forget. If she hadn't already been on edge from the insult, the way Princess Celestia growled Her next words would've had her on high alert. "In this and every age, you are nothing but a brat."

Her Highness' anger fell on deaf ears- impossibly- as Princess Luna only scoffed slightly. "And as we have been long aware, thou art far too perfect for thine own good." She slipped out snippily as She raised the last of Her drink to Her lips. Leaning Her head back to sip victoriously at Her cider that-

-was lifted at its bottom by an innocuous sparkle of golden magic, tipping past Princess Luna's lips, and spilling dark-golden liquid onto Her chest. The blue Princess with a new, amber stain on Her chest pushed Her drink up and away with a strangled cry as Bon Bon made a very similar noise, but the damage was already done. Her cup was newly emptied, and no matter how hard She glared at Her chest, there was no un-tipping the drink onto it.

Heavens help her. Deliver her from the fallen Goddesses about to come to blows right over her head.

The far too innocent, humming laugh brought both ponies' attention back: one mortified stare from Bon Bon, and one irked glare from Princess Luna towards the white Princess hiding a smile behind a teacup. The situation seeming all the more impossible as, when She caught Princess Luna's eye, She raised Her teacup with a sunny little hum.

"If I am perfect, then you must just be clumsy." At that, She let out another murmuring laugh, and turned away as Her Sister banged Her hoof into the table. Not very hard- it didn't explode- but it was enough to draw Bon Bon's alert attention to the possibility of danger, though all she found was pout on Princess Luna's face.

A pout that grew poutier as the spurned Princess turned Her glare to Her own chest, before the expression wiped as She took a deep breath and closed Her eyes. In another breath, spectral light spiraled in a flash- far faster than the spell before- up the grooves of Her horn. As the shining, blue light grew to an apex at its tip, Bon Bon found she had almost become accustomed to clamping down on Her protective urges.

With another breath and a very noticeable increase in the pressure of the air around them, faint droplets of liquid began to bead on the tips of Her chest fur. Her breathing fell to an easy rhythm as, over the course of only a few seconds, the beads gradually bubbled in from themselves in size until they disconnected from their strands of fur. Replaced again and again by yet more amber dew until Her chest was dry and there was a smallish bubble of alcohol floating in the air before them.

A bubble that, before her amazed stare, burst inward and dropped into a stream that perfectly filled Princess Luna's cup to where it had been a minute ago. The Lunar Princess seeming nonplussed at the advanced show of Aquamancy as She merely brushed a hoof through Her now-dry chest, and shot another glare towards Her still proudly smirking Sister.

"If we had not learned to seep alcohol from fur three nights hence our first encounter with Rabble Rouser, we would be very cross with thee, sister," Princess Luna muttered scathingly, huffily turning to down the last sip of the drink that had- it was just all over Her fur.

Sorry- it was just a little difficult to conceptualize.

Of course she understood that magic was able to perform an act like that. She understood the theory behind Aquamancy. It was just- she'd never seen anypony do... anything like that so deftly! It was nothing short of incredible to levy that kind of magical prowess without even using drawn sigils!

She just- okay, Bon Bon, shake it off. The Princesses were both very skilled- that might as well have been explicit. Princess Celestia had once killed a Dragon Lord, and one of Princess Luna's surviving historical depictions labelled Her as the Warrior Princess. They were good at magic.

With a literal shake and with her eyes feeling less popped out of their sockets, Bon Bon finally felt as though now would be a good time to speak up. She cleared her throat, drawing Princess Celestia's eye down, which she frowned questioningly towards. "Um- Princess?"

As if Bon Bon's tentative address were a great shock, Princess Celestia drew in a sharp- yet still somehow dainty- gasp. "Oh! Sweetie Drops, please forgive us!" Her Highness' wing shifted to free the constricted space around her shoulder, and She faced her with a fully apologetic expression. "I became so distracted speaking to my sister that I nearly forgot you were there."

Ouch. That was... a little hurtful. It wasn't easy to suppress her frustration or to hide her hurt as a perfect white hoof landed on her shoulder, and she looked up at Her. "Why don't you finish your report, and you can be on your way home," She offered kindly, though a little quickly.

Had... had She actually forgotten she was there? She'd seemed engrossed in conversation and hijinks, sure, but outright forgetting there was a pony under Her wing was a serious lapse in consideration.

Maybe it was just... Godly circumstance. Her Highness was ancient enough that... that the current moment was impossible to fully focus on, and some things just naturally passed Her by. The buzzing of flies; the breeze through the grass; the... pony She was sheltering.

Yeah. Yeah, that hurt a little less. She could pretend that was the answer.

Bon Bon kept her wary gaze on Her Highness' increasingly benevolent smile for a few moments, her face gradually falling into a grimace as she glanced towards the... returned to apathetic Princess Luna. Her drink was finally finished, and now Her preferred method of indifference seemed to be just ignoring everything around Her.

Alright. She guessed... it was time to keep reporting. She could work with that. On the clock, as it was.

Though she felt as though the atmosphere was a little too... brief, she still cleared her throat, and straightened as much as she could with Her Highness' wing still laid over her shoulders. "I'll continue my report, Highness," she affirmed stoically, and that seemed to please Her if the small pat on her shoulder was anything to go by. Kind of made her feel a bit foalish, but whatever. Princess Celestia was more or less the mother of the nation, anyway.

Her thoughts were straying too far into strange places, so she cleared them out of the way with a well-placed mental image of boot camp. No time for fanciful delusions; Sweetie Drops had a duty to uphold. "During..." She cleared her throat, because wow. "During the course of the day, Light came into contact with several high-profile characters, most notably Twilight Sparkle and her aide Spike."

The slight falter she made and hid went unspoken as Princess Celestia made a small hum of understanding. "Yes, Twilight said as much when we spoke a few hours ago." She nodded gently to Herself, then turned a curious eye back to Bon Bon. "I'm given to understand that much of Light's time yesterday was spent with Spike?"

Bon Bon felt her tongue sitting in her mouth a little too much just then, but she was still able to nod and use it just fine. "Yes, Highness. After their initial meeting in which Twilight and Spike ran into Light and Twilight left to oversee the Celebration's preparations, Light helped Spike look for her for the remainder of the day."

Even then, Bon Bon dwelled on how odd it had been to trail them without having to hide at all. Princess Celestia's Notice-Me-Not spell had been effective enough to allow Bon Bon to walk close enough behind them to hear their conversations with little trouble, and to very personally observe Light's rapid decline.

As the aide to the Princess' Personal Student, Spike's troubles were officially her responsibility to feel badly about, and how she did.

It still boggled her mind that, out of anypony Light could have happened to walk into- to actually bump into on the sidewalk, it had been Twilight Sparkle not an hour and a half after stepping off the chariot from Canterlot. If she didn't know any better, she'd almost say Nightmare Moon had purposefully steered him toward her.

...She knew better. Her presence had been too suppressed to allow for that at that time.

Either way, it'd been shocking and she'd been on the verge of stepping in and getting Light away from Twilight, but he'd just stared at her and she'd walked away and everything sort of worked out in the end. No extralegal intervention required, thank Her. Or... not thank... the other Her. Or something.

She shook the confusing pronouns off with a blink, and raised herself up to speaking posture again. Her Highness was waiting. "During my time trailing Light and Spike, it became clear that the effects of the mind-altering were causing him to act erratically." She stopped to take a slightly guilt-tinged breath, before continuing. "I believe Spike, as well as the recently ascended Elements of Generosity and Honesty, took notice of his condition."

She'd felt so nauseatingly powerless with each high-profile pony Light met with, knowing that blowing her cover wasn't worth anything but the most severe circumstances. With every familiar sight and soon-to-be savior he'd seen, Bon Bon had felt the impending end loom closer and closer.

Almost as if She could feel the turn Bon Bon's thoughts had taken, the Princess' general jollity had mostly faded, replaced by a glimmer of worry in Her distant gaze. It only grew brighter as Bon Bon finished, and She raised a hoof to Her chin in a consummate thinking pose.

"...To what extent would you say he was noticed?" She asked after a few moments of silence, all the while Her tangible concern crawled on the secret agent's prickling coat. A dire, dreaded tone of disquiet.

Bon Bon's throat gradually went dry, and she swallowed as it came time to speak; thanking the sense of security Her Highness was providing, even as... She also stoked every single one of her worries at once. "To... be concise, Highness..." She trailed off for a moment as she thought through her wording, then took a breath, and committed herself. "They believed he had contracted amnesia, though they weren't sure of the method."

She instinctively braced for rebuttal as they plunged into murky water, but her worry turned to a quiet concern as Princess Celestia didn't seem to react at all. Her hoof stayed rigidly on Her chin as She stared into the distance for... a while, and just as Bon Bon contemplated turning to ask Princess Luna for help, She finally nodded. A prompt bend of the back of Her neck.

"Continue, agent," She instructed, Her tone suddenly turning stern. The stout command of an army general commanding the troops- or the steely order of the Princess who stood above them all. Not loud or abrasive, just simply powerful. A tone that knew its existence. She'd considered the implications, and She knew the circumstances called for it.

Even for as long as it had been since the events, the dire attention the Princess was giving her recount was enough to reignite a spark of worry in the secret agent's chest. The danger to the kingdom was long past, she knew, but... there was still a lot to own up for. Though it had been a state of emergency, the things that had happened still had consequences.

Bon Bon slowly closed her eyes as she shrunk into a tired sigh, rising after a moment with her hoof climbing resolutely, if slowly, to her head. Though Her attention had long faded, she couldn't deny how the presence of Princess Luna at her other side seemed to play at her growing insecurity. The figure that had, in another life, been the exact cause of everything she was about to admit to.

It seemed almost poetic to be forced to admit her failures beside the mare that had caused them.

"Highness... I'm afraid..." Bon Bon faltered for a moment as words failed her. Once again, a nagging sense of insecurity trailed over her spine- but she shrugged it off. She took a breath, and forced herself to sound as steely as she could. "I failed you."

There was no immediate reaction from Princess Celestia, though she couldn't say whether that was any better. Without the knee-jerk condemnation she'd expected, she was left in the tense silence of Her quiet stare forward. Not narrow nor angry, nor did it seem to carry any emotion at all. For every appearance, Her gaze was simply and ruthlessly calculating.

It was worse than a condemnation. It was... colder.

She... had to continue. There was more unsaid; she hadn't actually explained how she'd failed. She had to stop feeling so sorry for herself, and give her report. Maybe Her Highness was just waiting to know the facts before She gave Her judgement. There was every possibility that she could earn Her forgiveness.

Despite how lowly she'd made herself feel, Bon Bon raised her head, and set her jaw. Reaffirming her salute- because it felt like she'd need the confidence- she spoke again. "My mission to watch over Light until dawn was unsuccessful."

She grimaced as she recalled the moment she'd realized her charge had disappeared, frantic memories of the panic brimming once more. "During a party thrown by the recently ascended Element of Laughter for Twilight's arrival in town, Light... escaped."

She took a short breath, and spoke with as much fading confidence as she could muster between blinks. "I... have reason to believe that he was once again under instruction from Nightmare Moon at that time." She licked her drying lips in a pause, trying to rouse her sense of diligence before she spoke again. "When I followed him outside, I observed that the moon had lost Her shadow, which lead me to assume that..."

The next word didn't come; it faltered in her throat, and Bon Bon sat with her mouth open for a few quiet moments before she swallowed, and slowly lowered her gaze.

She'd continued out of a sense of duty... because she'd thought Her Highness had fallen. How could she admit the lull in her faith to Her face? At the time it had been all that drove her, but in the hours following their victory over Nightmare Moon, she'd begun to doubt whether it had been the right thing to think. It made logical sense, and the firm voice of practicality she'd built up over her tenure as a member of the EIA confirmed that she'd made do with what she had, and that should've been good enough.

But good enough wasn't good enough. Faith... she should've committed to her faith. The belief in an unerring higher power.

So why hadn't she? Why hadn't she kept her faith?

"...It's alright, Sweetie Drops."

Bon Bon's eyes flew open with a gasp, and her head whipped up from its discontent hang. She found Princess Celestia staring sadly down at her, a knowing, tired smile over Her face. Unaccented and startlingly lonely; it was the first time in a while that Bon Bon had really noticed the lack of Her regalia.

How... graceful She seemed, even without it. Serene... and gentle.

Once again, Princess Celestia laid her unadorned hoof onto Bon Bon's shoulder, still matching her gaze. "I know you did the best you could, and you did what you thought was best." As the agent stared widely back at Her, wishing for the three, magical words that would bring her solace, something in Her gaze... changed.

A shadow fell over Her expression, and Her smile slowly fell. "Last night brought... many mistakes."

The far-off emotion in Her eyes deepened for a moment, and for that moment... Bon Bon really thought She was going to scowl.

But She didn't. The look in Her eyes lightened, and She was suddenly smiling warmly again. "I forgive you your transgression, agent." The trance in the air shattered to dust as Her Highness' hoof returned to Her, and She tilted Her head towards Bon Bon. "Their meeting did not come to pass in the end, so as long as Light was returned to town safely, there was no harm done."

Her voice was so soft, so soothing that Bon Bon almost nodded in relief. It would've been easy to move right along with Her Highness' effortlessly kind words and forget the intense moment of discomfort. That now, she was supposed to continue her report.

After that one, single second of relief ended, there was nothing except a sobering sense of dread.

Princess Celestia must have noticed- how could She not- and Bon Bon cursed herself as Her smile tipped down at its ends. "Agent? Is there something the matter?" The wing over her back tried to usher her closer, but a sudden sense of indecisiveness made Bon Bon scooch back into its press, and away from the Princess with the growing frown.

This was bad; she was exhibiting all the classic signs of a liar. She couldn't keep her eyes straight on Her Highness- every time she tried to meet Her questioning gaze, she instinctively averted her eyes sideward. She just couldn't help it; she wasn't ready yet. She'd figured that, by the time it took her to get to this part, she would've figured out a way to tell Princess Celestia that Light and Nightmare Moon had met!

In the moments that followed, Bon Bon would regret looking over at Princess Luna.

With Her constant loaded silences, she hadn't been sure that the moody Deity had been listening. But as she caught a shocking glance of Her suddenly hunched-over posture, holding Her hanging head in Her hooves, it was clear She had been, and something dawned on her that she should've realized earlier.

Princess Luna knew everything that had happened to Light last night, probably even better than Bon Bon did. So why was everything she was telling Princess Celestia new information? Why hadn't Her Sister told Her what happened?

As startling as the realization that Princess Luna was essentially keeping secrets from Her Sister was to Bon Bon, there was still the matter of keeping those secrets, and judging by how she could feel Her Highness stiffen, they weren't going to be kept for much longer.

Bon Bon expected an immediate flurry of questions towards the both of them, acting so unwarrantedly suspicious. The way Her Highness' critical, magenta stare roved from Bon Bon to Princess Luna, she was sure She must have had a few. She could actually almost tell, with each heavy furrowing of Her brow, as every new question popped into Her head.

But then, it was just as clear when each question answered itself. One by one by one; a chain of realizations and connections that each took the millennia-old Goddess mere fractions of a second to answer.

Until Princess Celestia had no more questions to ask Herself, and Her face hardened into a sheer slate of steel.

"Luna," She addressed Her Sister lowly, and Bon Bon had to wince because she'd never heard Her Highness' voice waver like that. "-why did you lie to me?"

The reaction was immediate.

Princess Luna's hooves fell from Her head onto the table with a bang that rattled every dish on it, and Her wide, shockingly wet eyes swerved to Her Sister. "I didn't lie to you!" She cried out- loudly.

The moment caught up as the Lunar Princess' hoof flew to Her mouth as She turned quickly away, and Bon Bon focused herself forward as Princess Celestia quickly raised Her teacup to Her mouth.

There were many heads turned their way, and each of them turned in a different direction as Princess Celestia looked out into the crowd.

The panic that had risen in Bon Bon's chest began to abate as everypony attending seemed to go hurriedly about their business- for good reason. If it had been her, she wouldn't have been the only pony to keep looking with Sol Invictus burning a hole in their general direction.

As the Celebration continued and the agent let out a sigh of relief, Princess Celestia gently set Her cup back onto the table. "I needn't remind you of appearances, Luna," She murmured quietly- intensely- to which Her Sister, returned to holding Her head in one hoof, sighed.

"I... we know, Sister, we just-" She sighed again, seeming completely frustrated if Her grimace was anything to go by. Finally, She took a firm breath, and slowly lowered Her hoof to the table. "...We do not appreciate you casting an aspersion upon us as you did." She answered stiffly, staring fiercely forward.

The Lunar Princess went silent, and the Solar Princess took to speaking in Her absence. "Then tell me the truth." Her voice lowered even further, to a whisper that Bon Bon had to strain to hear. "I asked you if you met with Light last night, and you told me you hadn't."

Her Highness' tempered accusation came to an end, and Princess Luna's jaw tensed as clear frustration warred over Her stiff face. "If you recall," She began tersely, barely turning Her head towards Her sister while keeping Her gaze forward. "We said that he held no part of last night's events. He was not important."

Their dialogue hushed as a filly came running by, and Princess Celestia smiled warmly down at her as she passed. Princess Luna did not turn from Her stare forward: a view which everypony had conveniently exited.

As the filly passed out of earshot and far enough away not to see, Princess Celestia's face fell again. "Luna, that is not the same." She took a deep breath, and Her voice managed to regain an edge of composure. "I asked you whether you had met, not whether he was important. You omitted the truth."

The air had become unbelievably thick with an aura of tightly-wound tension, and Bon Bon found it hard to breathe in the following silence. Both Deities on either side of her sitting tall, stiffly, and with Their eyes firmly and unwaveringly forward. A staring contest which neither of Them seemed eager to start.

"...It no longer matters."

That was the final word from Princess Luna, who without another word then craned Her head up towards the sky. Shutting Herself completely off from anything further, even as Her Sister turned to stare at Her with a furrowed, nearly affronted brow. It remained that way for as long as the next few minutes, as Princess Luna remained completely still in Her sky gazing.

Bon Bon was still waiting for Her to blink by the time Princess Celestia spoke, startling her out of the conversational deadzone she'd been in. "...Agent," She began without taking Her hard eyes off Her Sister. "-you followed Light Flow after he left, correct?"

The quiet hang after Her question continued for a moment before Bon Bon realized what was happening, and snapped to attention. "Yes, Highness!" She answered quickly. "He left for the Everfree forest, and I pursued him with all haste!"

Her Highness did not react. "But you did not catch up with him."

Bon Bon balked at the abrupt statement for a moment, then sagged as a sense of shame crept tugged at her ear. "...No, Highness. It took me several hours to navigate the Everfree." She sighed, and lowered her unworthy gaze to the table. "By the time I reached the ravine around the castle, Light had already crossed the bridge."

It was quiet for another moment as Princess Celestia only continued to stare deeply at Her Sister. Eyes narrowing. Her jaw barely clenching into a grimace. It was only as She finally broke the stare that She spoke, looking out into the crowd with a grim expression.

"So, how was it that you escaped with him?"

And at that, Bon Bon didn't know what to answer.

It was clear Her Highness had a few ideas about what had happened, the most predominant being that Bon Bon had somehow exfiltrated Light from Nightmare Moon's presence. That Her Highness had so much faith in her was heartening, but she could be forgiven for not preening at the implication.

No, Bon Bon only laid her hoof onto the table, and frowned down at it. The one slightly stained hoof that had, several hours before, been completely lame. The hoof she'd injured while climbing the cliff after the bridge collapsed- but Her Highness hadn't asked that. She'd asked how she'd gotten Light out.

She'd wavered in her faith, and now, with the deeply flawed Lunar Princess poised to rule, she was questioning the motives of the Divine.

It was her duty to tell Her Highness the truth, no matter the consequence.

"...I carried him out, Highness," she answered quietly, and faintly, she could feel a quiver ripple across the feathers along her back. It nearly made her stall in her recollection, and the only way she managed to continue was by closing her eyes. "I followed the compass I requisitioned from MR&D to the center of the castle, where I found Light in the ruins of the city under the tower of the Moon's Throne."

She swallowed, listening to the quiet sound of her beating heart for the last time. The last moment of solace before she broke the silence.

Before she broke the tension.

"...He was dead, Highness."

There was a gasp as the feathers trailing over her back went rigid, and then, nothing more.

Gently, Bon Bon opened her eyes, but did not raise her gaze from the table as she continued speaking lowly. "I observed at the... scene that... he had likely fallen from a window. I was... unable to confirm from the remains if there had been a struggle."

She took a quiet, shuddering breath with another blink, and in that blink she could see the red. Spattered like paint across the pavement, yet pooled so deeply around his body. What... was barely even identifiable as his body. She'd known in the pit of her stomach as soon as she'd seen him, but it was still hard to ascribe his name to that bundle of shattered bones and broken skin.

With another cool, steady breath of clean air, Bon Bon continued quietly. "I... recovered what I could of his remains, and left the site. By the time I was leaving the castle and crossing the bridge, it was... dawn."

She took a breath, intent on continuing further, but was stalled as something along her back shifted. She finally turned to look as the ever-present cloak of feathers Her Highness had provided her gradually fanned back and folded in until it was flat along Her back.

And Her Highness... wept.

No more than a single tear crept down Her cheek from Her closed eye, but all the more stunning was its impact as it rolled to a bead on Her chin, and fell. The impossible show of grief from the Goddess who had birthed a nation shimmering in the light as it disappeared, and She sighed.

"...No longer is this a day of celebration," She whispered faintly, and gently, She peeled Her sorrowful eyes open to stare forward at the crowd. Her grieving frown drawing Her face down in such immensity that it seemed impossible for the serene Deity, all the more so as She spoke. "Today marks the death of an innocent colt cruelly manipulated by forces beyond his control."

Bon Bon was left completely speechless at the quiet show of regret, yet somehow, the feeling intensified as a voice sounded from her other side.

"'Tis not your burden alone, sister." Bon Bon jerked around just in time to see Princess Luna take a breath, and on that breath, the smallest line of a shimmering tear trailed down Her cheek. A vulnerable show of emotion on an otherwise stoic face staring intently forward, unwavering in Her vigil as She continued. "No matter how we may run from our involvement, there is no escaping what has been done."

At that, Her head began to slowly crane down. In the corner of her eye, she saw Princess Celestia begin to do the same.

As one, the two Goddesses shed a tear, and bowed in grief.

"Light Flow is gone from this world of our actions, both," Princess Luna intoned deeply.

"We can only hope we learn from our mistakes, after so many made," Princess Celestia murmured gently.

In the silent moment after, even the noise of the Celebration seemed to quiet. The entire world seeming to take a moment of solace, to honor a colt not worth honoring for the simple cruelty of his death.

So Bon Bon bit her tongue, and waited for the right moment.

To let them know that Light Flow was alive.

Author's Note:

Well. After all this time, here it is.

The stick.

Now wait for the carrot.

But seriously, sorry for the month-long absence! I'm gonna be completely transparent and say the first week or two was because of the new Zelda game coming out- and how that ate my free time- but after that, I just had a little trouble with writing! I... forgot how to! Don'tcha hate when that happens?

Thankfully, due to a recent project I undertook in part with someone else, I've tentatively regained my mojo! probably for like a week I still feel like my style needs... revision, because I've been unhappy with how I naturally write for a while now. I wanna change, but change is hard!

That's all internal stuff, though. This chapter- whoof! Talk about friction! the non-explicit kind. i haven't put my ideas about that to paper yet

The drama between the Princesses is especially juicy, isn't it? It seems to me that Celestia is trying to overcome their long separation by acting overly familiar with Luna, and for the most part, it seems to be sort of working! I mean, who knows how either of them actually feel, but Celestia doesn't want murderous persecution and Luna doesn't want to rip her sister's head off, so that's probably good enough! Let them rule!

Bon Bon is overtired to the maximum and idly questioning the tenets of her faith, which seemed to have been built on a basis of placing Celestia on an unbelievably tall pedestal. Seeing how obviously flawed Luna is- and how Celestia seems to be around her- might be making her wonder what she's devoted her life to.

Or, maybe she's just grumpy! It could be either~ Hey! Here's a fun game: try to count how many times Bon Bon was a hypocrite in this chapter! It's probably more than you think!

Luna is... tired. She's so tired. So many regrets. How could she lead the nation after all she's done?

Well... all she thinks she's done.

Do you see what the Elements have done to her, yet? What drove her before that she's given up on, now? What she's regained?

I'd meant for this to be the last of the BonXCelestiaXLuna junction of close quarters suffocation, but oh well! Needs just one more part- and I'm gonna kill it, I just know it.

Uhm... that's it! See you in another month!

But seriously, I'm gonna try to get the next chapter out at a reasonable time.

Comments

[Simplyreader]

Thanks for the chapter!

I absolutely love the dynamic between the two Sisters and how it was portrayed from Bon Bon's perspective of a mortal watching the two Gods interract.

And now a list of random questions that this Chapter made me think about:

1) Is aquamancy actually as hard as Bon Bon describes it in her inner monologue or is there like a hidden trick that was censored by Celestia after Luna's banishment?

2) Are the alicorns actually gods in this univers? Because Luna gave Bery Punch an actual blessing which she herself called a blessing.

3) How is Celestia so much outside of the loop?

4) What is the real reason for changing the numbered classification on dangerous entities?

5) How much autonomy does Luna actually have at the moment?

Also i just want to say that I your writing style so much, like I don't think that i have enjoyed reading something as much as this in quite some time.
Once again thanks for the chapter and good luck with writing the next one, also just a lot of good luck in general.

[JinxTJL]

11617588
Aw, your comments are always so sweet! And such incisive questions, as well! You get a

I'm gonna answer your questions to the best of my ability, and without being so annoyingly coy! Well- just a little less coy. If I answer every question with a straight face, it'll take all the intrigue out of the story.

So, when it comes to Aquamancy, it's important to focus on whose perspective this is from. Though Bon Bon seems generally well-versed in magical affairs as we have long been aware, she is still an earth pony, and Aquamancy as it is shown here is unicorn magic. She doesn't have personal experience outside of whatever she's seen others do, so she's ultimately working off inconclusive data.

What she recognized is that, though she's familiar with the theory, the speed and proficiency with which Luna performed that act was evidently astounding, and it is an apparent abnormality to have done so without the unexplained aid of sigils. There've been a few mentions of sigils before this, but only in reference to artificing; we can assume whatever alternative role that Bon Bon is alluding to here must be important in some way to spellcasting.

With all that said, I'm sure the advanced theory behind unicorn spellcasting and how it relates to sigils will be illuminated in the future~

When it comes to whether the Alicorns are actual gods- well... you've seen how Bon Bon speaks of them, haven't you? Their society has clearly been heavily influenced by a religion with Celestia as the figurehead, ostensibly styled as a living, breathing Goddess. Whether that's genuinely true is yet to be seen, but we can make some early connections.

When they give 'blessings', it's undefined whether they're actual effects. When Bon Bon calls Celestia a Deity, it's undefined what that means in this universe. A God in our definition is an almighty being, exempt from flaw or wear. So, having seen them in universe, would you say that Celestia and Luna are Gods?

Bon Bon's started to wonder.

As for why Celestia appears to be out of the loop, we can just about trace her activity throughout the crisis based on various snippets from throughout the chapters. By morning, just before Light woke up without his memory, she'd traveled from Canterlot to deal with his condition. Afterward, it was said by Bon Bon that she returned to Canterlot to await Nightmare Moon's return. If we take that at face value, then that was where she stayed until Nightmare Moon confronted her- which was confirmed to have definitively happened in this chapter.

So, Nightmare Moon confronts her, and she is purportedly locked into the moon in her place... or something. That's undone when Nightmare Moon is defeated, after which assumedly canon events take over and she appears at the Castle of the Two Sisters. From there, she heads straight to Ponyville to present herself and her sister publicly, which is where she seems to have stayed until Bon Bon arrived. It's unknown exactly how much Luna told her, but it certainly wasn't much.

That is how her movements have been presented so far, and the logical progression of them. With having been locked into the moon, and with Bon Bon being the pony she trusted to relay the events she missed, she seems to know just about as much as anypony else would. Whether she did anything sneaky whenever nopony was looking, well... it's important to remember we're not seeing inside her head.

About the numbering system mentioned in the chapter... who's to say? Maybe it's as Celestia said, and the system was updated to be more flexible than something arbitrary like numbers. Maybe Luna was onto something, and it's an unnecessary form of fearmongering. Maybe, even though it's fun to speculate, it doesn't really have a deeper meaning. All I can say for sure is... there was a certain sense of ambiguity in the numbering system, and at the time, Celestia wanted that to change.

Without knowing anything else, we can only interpret from there.

Finally, on the topic of Luna's autonomy... what do you think? We've spent a decent amount of time with her so far, so how free does she seem? Is she allowed to do as she wishes? Is she allowed to speak as she wishes? If she's shown restraint, is that for appearances' sake, or is she literally unable to perform certain actions? When you read how she acts and how she speaks to her sister, does she seem trapped?

Physically or magically, does Luna seem coerced?

There'll be an actual answer eventually, I promise, but it's up to your own interpretation for now. Think critically, and decide when it's best to solidify your assumptions.

Thanks so much for commenting! It really means the world to me!

[Laeri]

11617644

About the numbering system mentioned in the chapter... who's to say?

You're to say. You're the author!

[jaceblackfire]

Very tense chapter at the end! Loving the dynamic of the princesses. Good bit of awkward and familiarity, plays the idea of two people trying to reconnect well imo.

[Rundown]

Yay! Your alive! Great to read another chapter.

[Samellan]

Fucking zealots, mare.
Thanks for the chapter!

[SolitariLupus]

Shit, meet fan. Have a good day.

[duckmagee]

Bit harsh of luna to say he not important, when he sacrificed himself to stop nightmare moon from winning

[Witchery]

The entire world seeming to take a moment of solace, to honor a colt not worth honoring for the simple cruelty of his death.

Wow. Nice, BonBon.

To let them know that Light Flow was alive.

Well that's going to stir some shit.

It feels like BonBon is being somewhat manipulative in her report given she's not giving the full context of why Light fell. Or its just the end of the chapter and we havent gotten there yet.

[ChakatRedstripe]

Huh, I wondered why they hadn't gone to see him. Good chapter

[JinxTJL]

11617941
Well, in the end, he wasn't, was he? Nightmare Moon wanted him to stop the Elements, but in the end, he didn't. He didn't have any relevance to the end result at all. The Elements came, blasted Nightmare Moon, and the ordeal was over just as it was always meant to be. Light's entire sacrifice was that he made himself unimportant.

Of course... that Luna would say that to her sister is an interesting detail. Celestia obviously doesn't know anything about NMM and Light's relationship, and that there was far more to it than 'Queen' and 'Pawn'. She doesn't know how NMM confided so much in him, or that he tried so hard to get her to stop, or that there's a larger than average chance a great deal of Luna's current grief is over what she did to him.

Bon Bon noticed as well. Luna's not saying a word more than she needs to about Light.

I can only wonder why.

[JinxTJL]

11618048
I don't know if it's manipulative or subconscious or if there's just an order of events when it comes to report-giving. Bon Bon was about to say something else before she was stunned into total silence by Celestia shedding a tear, so she probably meant to keep going. I mean, if she just outright blurted 'Light jumped from the window to save Equestria', she'd look kinda... insane.

Whether a small part of her is relieved for the additional time to gather her thoughts and somehow explain that Light Flow miraculously resurrected without looking like an idiot is still up in the air. We'll see next time!

And... yeah, it's no secret that Bon Bon is mean to Light. She's thankful for what he did, but still pretty disgruntled by his personality and choices. Hey- maybe that's why she always feels so conflicted when it comes to ultimatums regarding him. She just doesn't want to lose her punching bag.

[duckmagee]

11618213
im expecting Luna to end up being like a unwanted mother constantly visiting and pestering light non stop

[Screw]

I love the ending! It is almost cartoon-esque how Bon Bon's inaction and deeply shooked awe at witnessing two goddesses grieving has dug her a deeper grave than any others she thought she had.

Either we get her to spill it, or Light casually, as much as he can with Luna and Celestia present, strolling up to the party. Maybe dragged by his friends to meet the mid-grieving princesses. Very awkwardly long for the princesses, agent, and Light himself too.

I love the humours you pull off! Considering this is mostly serious, those moments are all the more perfect.

As for your writing, I see you are still having issues with less internal thought provocations. The last chapter has lesser internal struggles than here, but this seems like it reverted back to how chalgers normally go. At least, until near the end.

Forgetting your writing style. Yikes. Well, congrats on getting it back! If there is any consolation, all these drawn out thoughts do serve to make the payoffs much larger and extravegant.

Ps. Friction? On paper yet? I hope it is not just about Bon Bon and Lyra since it is supposedly Light's story. But I can't say no since your writing is thought captivating enough.

[Double_Bubble]

11618048
I was surprised that she followed Luna in her choice in omission, even if only briefly, since she will inevitably have to disclose all of it.

11617941
She thinks he is dead. She is trying to keep his memory as honorable as possible. Uninvolved.

11618213
Jinx, you absolute tease, why must you dangle your big juicy carrot of literature in front of me so?
I hope that sentence was sufficiently cringe-inducing. It is amusing to imagine the Jinx-reader relationship in that way. And everyone loves it. Wait... Did someone else say he exact same thing before?

11618232
She will leave a Luna-shaped hole in the wall and a sonic rainboom on her way to Light.

[Veo Skride]

They are going to be thrown for a loop when Bon Bon reveals what happened.

One question I have tho, is that since Light Flow is well known as being a driving force in the future of the world through time travel/clairvoyance, why is it that both Celestia and Luna are so... how to say, why don't they seem more worried about his apparent death? I understand that they are in mourning of the loss of what is essentially a innocent person used as a chess piece that they both played, but I assume they would perceive a greater threat when said piece was also one destined to have great impact on the world outside of this short game they played (relative to them short).

I can't wait to read about Luna's reaction to him still being alive especially, given their 'unique' relationship. I can almost see her trying to mother him as a form of fighting the guilt she has from all she did to him, but it is very obvious to us the readers that that would go terribly due to Lights own thoughts on Luna (cough cough, manipulative god surely still playing tricks).

It also occurs to me that Celestia and Luna both immediately assume that he is dead for good, which is strange given that they know he is a necromancer. I love the implication here, that even with both of their long history, not even a necromancer has been able to ressurect themself. Which begs the question of how powerful Light really is, given that he is still a complete novice at the art, yet able to do feats unheard of previously.

Hope you're well~
Make sure Bon Bon gets some good recovery and a sweet scene with her love, just for me

[JinxTJL]

11618839
Of course Bon Bon will eventually tell Celestia everything about the night's events. You know... Light's resurrection and how the injury she already didn't mention caused her to break down in the middle of the forest, causing Light to have to perform dark magic on her... which she consented to...

I'm sure that'll go swell. I'll bet Bon Bon's looking forward to it!

Thanks for commenting, and for making an oblique double entendre that genuinely made me laugh out loud! I would apologize for being so damned coy after having recently promised not to be, but I'd be lying! I love yanking my readers' chains! nudge nudge wink wink hue hue

[JinxTJL]

11618927
Gosh, what a fantastic comment! Your kind words brought me a real sense of heartfelt appreciation, and made me glad I spent three extra hours past when I should've been in bed last night working on the next chapter. I'll do my best to answer your questions in a satisfying way!

As of now, it's uncertain just how much Celestia knows of Light's future. We don't know if she's the one writing him letters- though she's probably not- and we don't know if she's been opening the boxes before they're sent to Light. We know at least one of the boxes was tampered with, and Light assumed that it had been the first one he received. If we take that at face value and we assume that, at the most, Celestia has read the first letter that Light had sent to him, and she hasn't received prophecy in any other form, then we can make a fairly sensible conclusion.

She probably only thinks that Light was important up to her sister's return. That his uncertain future, able to cause heretofore impossible alternatives, was tied to whether Nightmare Moon won. In a large way, it was, and it's possible that's Celestia's assumed extent of his influence. Whether he was a hero or a king or a vengeful maniac, it would've shown at this junction.

With the night over and her sister returned to sanity, he was free to be unimportant, and of course, he died. Looking at it through her lens, it seems all the more cruel. That as soon as his destiny was over, he was simply discarded.

That's an interpretation with a lot of ifs, though, and it could just as easily turn out to not be true. Maybe Celestia knows more than she lets on. Maybe she's lying about any number of things. Maybe the boxes are her doing. These questions and more, to be answered: in the future! probably^TM

I'm equal parts excited for and dreading Light and Luna's eventual meeting, because it's just gonna be so painful. Luna wants... I'm certain she wants nothing more than to beg his forgiveness, and it's clear that, though Light still feels a great deal of pity for her, he doesn't want to forgive her. He doesn't trust her. He still clearly feels the pain of everything she's done to him, all the more so knowing how it affected Applejack.

It won't be an easy road. Wherever they end up in the future, it's going to take a lot of yelling.

As for Light's abilities, well... I think a quote from Nightmare Moon that's probably been forgotten at this point says it best.

"But you... You are no mere practitioner, Light. Necromancy... you need not chase after it blindly; the art tailors itself for you. It seeps into your very being. You are not dictated as those, the masses of the world would be. You are special."

It seems to hold true, to an extent that even Luna didn't expect. It remains to be seen just how impossible Light coming back to life was, and how special he truly is.

Thanks again for the incredibly kind words, and for commenting! It makes my day!

bon bon and lyra are gonna kiss and it's gonna be cute as hell

[BleuBlooms]

This was soooo good! Bonny's thought's and the play by play of her faith versus pragmitism was just a lovely bit of writing. And congrat's I both respect and dislike your princesses and that's no mean feat!

[JinxTJL]

11623852
Aw, thanks for saying so! I'd really thought I'd done a horrendous job and completely bungled the journey of Bon Bon's gradual disillusionment, but hearing that you found it believable enough to praise warms my heart! Knowing your mixed feelings about the Princesses is similarly heartening; it makes me feel as though they're suitably complex! On every front, your words gave me a fuzzy feeling!

Thanks for reading! I hope you stick around for what's coming next!