Strider stood outside of the Everfree Forest, the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze accompanying the vaguely noticeable sound of wildlife moving through the underbrush. He'd made sure to approach the forest from a less obvious section, staying a short distance from the main path outside of Ponyville.

He stepped past the treeline, hooves crunching some underbrush as he walked. Just three minutes into the wild growth, he spotted another pony hiding up in a thicker-looking tree, the slight sound of his hooves shifting against the bark warning Strider of his presence.

He smiled and gave a short whistle to the pony in the tree, causing him to jump down from the branch with an almost unheard tap of his hooves against the ground. Strider nodded to him, the much smaller and more slender stallion bowing his head in return.

The clearly younger pegasus stallion was athletically built, yet far more slender than one would ever expect from a member of the guard. He clashed with the surrounding greens and browns, his sky-blue fur and white mane making him stand out compared to Strider's brown fur and pitch-black mane. Dark blue eyes completed the gentle and deceptive look the stallion carried with him, his effeminate figure telling all too false a tale of what Strider knew he was capable of.

The rattle of Shadow's hoofblade drew his attention to it after his landing. He brought it up and examined the straps for a moment before taking the time to tighten them.

"Morning, sir."

Strider glanced around, only to be pointed to a nearby tree by his associate. "Morning, Shadow. You look tired."

The stoic stallion simply shook his head. "Nothing I can't deal with, sir."

Strider had to admit, Shadow's no-nonsense demeanor really clashed with his overall appearance. One would think a pony so brightly colored would have more of a sunny disposition.

"You know you don't have to be so formal with me," he said, walking around the tree and picking up his armor, giving it a quick once-over as well as spotting the enchanted hoofblade and lure that had been provided to him along with his armor. "No one else in the pack talks to me like that."

"Unless we're on assignment," Shadow quickly noted, glancing further into the forest. "Which we are."

"I suppose so. Where are the others?" he asked, slipping his helmet on, then his armored horseshoes, checking them with a small trot before going to pick up the torso of his armor.

Shadow walked over while his superior worked the buckles on his armor loose, enough for him to slip the armor onto himself. The section of the armor covering the back of his neck was secured with Shadow's help, and his assistance made it easy to secure the armor around Strider's body once more. As any guard or soldier knew, putting one's armor on alone could be a real hassle.

"Sharp Eyes and Heavy Load are keeping an eye on Twilight Sparkle from a distance, as per your orders. Red is currently meeting with the Mayor to inform her of the current operation. She has the royal seal." he explained clearly and concisely, standing at full attention once Strider's armor was properly secured on his side.

He nodded a little to that and trotted back and forth a few times to test the straps and buckles before standing up on his hindlegs and taking a few swings at the air to make sure his horseshoes would stay in place. A few flaps of his wings easily lifted him into the air, where he fluttered for a solid minute before coming down and walking around in front of Shadow once more.

"Good. I want you to take up watch just outside of the Everfree near the main entrance, keep an eye out for me. If I'm not out by one this afternoon, assume the worst and report back to Princess Luna immediately."

Shadow stared at him for a moment, his blank expression hiding an uncertainty that he didn't often feel about anything. The world was very black-and-white in his eyes. He looked deeper into the forest again, then back to his superior.

"Are you sure you won't require assistance?"

Strider quickly shook his head and stretched out his wings. "If the worst-case scenario comes to pass, the pack's going to need a new Alpha. That'd be you, obviously," he said while one of his wings popped at the base. "I'll be fine as long as they're simple Shadows and nothing else. You know me."

"Very well, sir," Shadow said, giving a quick salute. "See you in an hour or two."

Shadow made for the main path while Strider worked to get his hoofblade into the correct position on his right foreleg. His mind wandered as he fiddled with the straps and buckles, returning to the moment in Luna's tower that led to a solid week of time for himself. For his entire pack, really.

"You said 'time off'?"

"That would be correct, Princess."

Luna looked up from her papers, staring at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "Rainbow Dash, I assume?"

He walked around the lab table with a beaker in his mouth, setting it down next to her. "Yes, your majesty."

"Please don't use my title. Why are you using my title? You should know better than to use my title in the sanctity of my tower."

He shrugged a little. "Can't help it sometimes, what can I say?"

"Yes you can. You are just trying to be manipulative and, oh what was it? Butter me up?"

He walked around the table and across the room to a second one, retrieving a small flask she quickly pointed out to him, her magic busy stabilizing a compound she'd already mixed together. He picked it up and brought it over to the station she was working at, setting it down across from her.

"You know me far too well, and yes, that's the correct terminology!" he said with a cheerful smile.

She thought on the idea for a moment before bothering to refuse him. He didn't make the grade as one of her personal guards because he was handsome, though that was certainly a small bonus for her. He deserved some time to himself, if at all possible.

"I can give you time off, on one condition," she said, setting her instruments down and turning her attention to a sealed chest near her desk, away from her lab equipment. "I have an assignment for you."

He looked to the royal seal on one of the rolled-up parchments that she levitated out of the chest, then back to her. "On top of what I'm doing already?"

"The Shadow Guard do not get vacations. You know this, yet you asked for a vacation anyways."

"...Point taken," he admitted, standing at attention and taking a deep breath. "How may I serve?"

She nodded once and motioned him closer, unrolling an unsealed scroll and setting it down on a clear section of the lab table, her magic turning a burner off so she wouldn't have a spontaneous burst of chemicals all over the both of them.

He walked around the table to stand at the end of it, glancing over the paper from an angle. He read over the top section of the paper, confusion set on his face. "A scouting report?"

"Correct! These are the scouting reports from various branches of the Equestrian military that operate around Ponyville. Ever since the Elements of Harmony were recovered, pegasi scouting parties have been given patrols over the Everfree Forest on a weekly basis," she explained, turning the paper to face him with her hoof, pointing to a specific point. "Things were normal until this exact moment."

He scanned over the upper section of the reports, then gave the part she was pointing to a more detailed read. "Increased activity of Wild Shadows...that's unusual, sure, but what's the significance?"

"Do you recall the incident, with Twilight Sparkle?"

"I do...ah, I see," he said, scanning over the paper again. "The day immediately after. Right here, early morning."

"Indeed," she said, shaking her head a little. "While it is entirely possible that this is merely a coincidence, I cannot dismiss the possibility that these two issues are connected. Twilight Sparkle is a bright, sharp and focused mare, who loves to study and learn. I cannot imagine it was merely the pressures of advanced schooling and tests that made her snap, not even a full steady year of it."

He frowned a little and looked towards one of her open windows, in the direction of Ponyville. "That seems like quite a stretch, especially with her all the way in Canterlot at the time. How could anything from the Everfree influence her?"

"After reading about some of the incidents that have occurred within Ponyville, I would believe just about anything, and I am a millennia-old Goddess!" she said with a small giggle, her magic breaking the royal seal on another rolled-up document, opening it. "In any case, your mission is as follows..."

He focused his attention on her, standing tall and firm in place while watching her turn to walk towards the open balcony next to the stairs that led to the storage area of the tower, where a multitude of alchemical ingredients were stowed away for the Princess's personal use in her tower laboratory. If she wasn't creating, she was delving into the intriguing art of science, and he enjoyed his nights standing guard in her tower if only to watch her work with all the enthusiasm and interest of a mad scientist.

Luna opened her balcony's blinds to let the moonlight shine in, smiling more as the cold rays of her divine charge bathed her in the energies of the Void. She looked back to him and motioned for him to join her.

Strider smiled at the invitation and walked calmly over towards the balcony, taking a seat next to her after she sat down, gazing over the city of Canterlot and the nightlife it seemed to have nowadays. The Red District in particular was very bright and active, despite it being one in the morning. Not surprising, since DJ-P0N3 ran her own club there.

"You are to infiltrate the Everfree Forest at ground level, and force a confrontation with the numerous Wild Shadows that seem to be running more rampant than usual. You will be allowed the assistance of your pack, and you may use their skills as you see fit as long as your activities are not brought to the attention of the public," she explained calmly, glancing over to him. "Destroy any Shadows you encounter with the lure that will be provided, and use that keen mind of yours to glean any intimate details in their behavior from the encounter."

He nodded to her and grinned. "Shadows are easy as can be to me, Luna."

"Indeed, but the sudden increase in their activity speaks to something being outside of the usual behavioral patterns. I fear someone may be attempting to control them. Perhaps even someone using dark magic to control the souls of the dead sealed within the Shadows," she said, frowning a little at the thought of such a vile thing. "Regardless, this increase in activity indicates that the souls of the dead are restless. Put them at ease, Strider."

He snapped a quick salute, nodding once to her with a cocky smile. "As always, you can count on me, Princess!"

She smirked and tapped her chin in mock-thought. "Normally, this task would take little more than a day, but since this is a sensitive situation...I believe that thou shalt be given a full week to carry out thine mission," she said with a small twinkle in her eye, glancing over to him with a bemused expression. "Does that sound like a satisfactory vacation for you?"

"You're aware that if I get injured, there will be questions? Specifically from Rainbow Dash, and probably the rest of her friends as well?"

"More than likely."

"And I'm unable to tell them the truth on the matter?"

"Manticore attack should suffice. You can tell them you had some scouting to take care of, but you must absolutely not go into specifics," she said, glancing over one of the lab documents on the table. "Secrets of the crown, and such."

He pretended to really think about it for all of ten seconds before grinning wide and giving another salute to her. "I accept the assignment, Luna. Your Vesari shall serve!" he stated happily, then tapped his hoof against the tiled floor of the lab area. "By the way, your Equestrian slipped."

"W-I am well aware!" she stated indignantly, her snout wrinkling in irritation.

He held up a hoof to placate her, as if defending himself from her irritation. "Just making sure, your majesty!"

She humph'ed and looked away from him, casually motioning a hoof at him in lazy waving motions. "You leave in the morning. Go and get some sleep so you are awake and rested for your mission. You will be performing this assignment during daytime."

He stood and turned to face her properly, bowing to her. "As you wish, your majesty. I'll be back before you know it!"

She smiled a little at that and looked back to him, nodding once. "I am aware. Ah, and Strider," she said quietly, locking eyes with him with a dead-serious tone. "Come back alive. That is both a request and an order, from your friend and your Princess."

He stared back at her for what seemed like a full minute to him, but in fact were merely a few seconds. He smiled more at that and bowed his head, foreleg crossing over his chest in a more formal bow.

"As the Night commands, so shall I obey."

She rolled her eyes at that and gave him a light shove with a forehoof on his wither. "Oh, just hush and go sleep! I swear, you intentionally talk that way to mock me."

He stood up and grinned once more at her. "As I said, you know me far too well!"

He smiled a little to himself as he finished securing his hoofblade, a quick push of his forelegs lifting him up to stand bipedally on his hindlegs, left forehoof pushing on a small section of the sheath of the hoofblade until a click sounded off, the blade itself extending out rapidly until it was a good seven inches past the hoof it was mounted on, the runes engraved in the metal glowing dimly as he examined them.

He gave a few testing swings to make sure there were no faults with his weapon, flourishing and flapping his wings to take to the air with it before he was sure it was in proper working order. Every swing of his weapon caused the runes to glow a fiery yellow-red, the blade seeming to coat itself in fire as it sliced through the air, only for the fire to dissipate and fizzle away when the blade ceased being swung around.

He landed and pressed the same small section of his hoofblade's sheath, the clicking sound heard again as the blade slid back into its sheath and the opening of the sheath slid shut as well, to avoid the hassle and potentially deadly possibility of a malfunction in the hoofblade's internal construction.

His chestplate was the final piece of his arsenal he wanted to be absolutely sure of. Instead of the large draconic eye and ornate design of the Night Guard, his chestplate instead consisted of a series of engraved lines in the metal that all connected to small circular sections, the entire design taking an X-like design all throughout. All in all, he counted thirty-six of the circles, the 'Spell Shells', that he could use in the event that the natural magicks of the Everfree wouldn't be enough to support him during the inevitable combat.

Satisfied with the status of his arsenal and his armor, he lowered himself down to all fours again and went to pick up the lure for the Shadows, a single black ball of raw spiritual energy, sealed in an engraved glass bottle. It looked like a shadowy alchemical bomb, and Princess Luna had clearly explained that it was meant to be used in exactly the same way: throw the bottle where you wish its contents to scatter, and wait for the Shadows to arrive!

He tied the string around the neck of the bottle to one of his armor straps, then began his trek deeper into the forest, moving towards the main path once he'd gotten far enough away from the main entrance so as to not be so easily spotted by anyone. At least the main path was far easier to walk on compared to working his way through the underbrush, flushing out insects and little scared critters of all sorts!

He gave a quick glance back to Ponyville to make sure no one spotted him and/or took a particular interest in him or his out-of-place armor, then turned back towards the forest and started his trek deeper into the untamed wilderness.

It was time to get to work.

The pitter-patter of small reptilian feet filled the library today. It was one of the few days Spike didn't get sent out to shop, and on top of that, he had the almost daily task of looking after Twilight until one of her friends came around to see how she was doing. Today they all seemed pre-occupied, so it was his job all day instead of just in the mornings.

Right now though, his focus was on breakfast....well, breakfast and getting Twilight to get out of bed instead of trying to sleep the day away like she usually did.

"Y'know Twilight, it's been ages since you've had me re-organize the books and make sure they're all in order....you sure you don't want to do that?" he called out to her.

"Neh...s'fine." she responded half-heartedly from upstairs.

Spike walked over towards the door leading into the kitchen that had been built into the library after he and Twilight had originally been given the place as their home away from home. He grabbed his apron off of the hanger next to the door and slung it around himself, trying to think of something else to goad her into action. Any kind of action.

"Well, what about going to see if Applejack needs any help with harvesting apples? You usually enjoy getting to test out your magic with that sort of thing," he shouted up to her. "I'm sure she'd appreciate the help!"

"No, I'm sure AJ's doing just fine...."

Spike scratched the side of his head after tying his apron off behind his back, hmm'ing for a moment and tapping his claw against the side of his head. "Erm....mmmaybe go visit Zecora? She hasn't seen you since you came back from Canterlot. You two get along pretty well, I'm sure she'd enjoy your company."

"No thanks Spike, I'm just gonna stay here today...." she said, a quiet sigh accompanying her voice afterwards.

He couldn't think of anything else, the little dragon grumbling a little more audibly and slumping his arms at his sides, staring in her direction, unable to see her from downstairs. "How about me shutting up and leaving you alone to wallow in your own misery?" he asked, his voice and expression a mix of annoyance and deadpan frustration.

"....That'd be nice. Some aspirin would be even better."

"URGH! Alright, fine." he growled out while tossing his arms straight up in frustration, throwing the kitchen door open soon after and closing it soundly behind himself.

The sound of him rustling around the kitchen could barely be heard over the throbbing headache she had. It wasn't a fake-out either, she genuinely wanted to stay home today because her head hurt. Though at the same time, she knew a little medicine would likely make it go away. Okay, so maybe she was using it as a cop-out....that didn't change the fact that this headache felt abnormal. It wasn't throbbing in time with her heartbeat, it was aching in time with someone else.

All at once, she groaned and the pain got even worse for a moment, and her ears twitched, hearing a high-pitched sound, not loud, but just very high-pitched. She couldn't figure on the origin of it. It wasn't coming from within the house, it wasn't the tea kettle in the kitchen or anything like that, so where was it coming from? She quietly slipped out from under the covers of her bed and walked over to her window and pressed her ear up against the glass, and it wasn't that either.

Her head spun as she peered out of the window, a hoof rubbing the side of her head in a vain attempt to make the ache and vertigo go away. Rainbow Dash was already doing her morning training regimen, though her usual boisterous and loud nature was lacking this time around. She found that odd, but only in a vague sense, everyone had their off days. At least her knack for noticing the more subtle oddities of everyday life was still intact, despite how she felt right now.

Bon-Bon and Lyra were up and about, both of them trotting along excitedly towards the marketplace. She turned her head to look at her clock on the table near her bed, and found it to be close to opening time for most of the stalls. Perhaps she could go and do a little shopping? No....she felt too heavy. She didn't want to go anywhere.

She hated this, not being able to will herself to go anywhere, her body giving her plenty of physical reasons not to if her mentality couldn't get her down enough. Phantom aches and pains wore her down while her snapped, negative mindset tore apart any ambition or motivation she managed to work up within herself. Everything felt so forced, even things she enjoyed still felt like chores and jobs, thankless and pointless jobs at that!

She was about to turn away from her window, but a sudden pang of fear shook her as that high-pitched sound suddenly picked up. The sound seemed to be drawing her in, forcing her to stare, gazing into her own eyes, glaring into her own reflection. She felt angry, but she also felt afraid. More than afraid, she felt terrified! Her heart began to race as the sound got louder, the world around her fading into the background as the irrational fear consumed her.

She blinked once, and her library was gone. There was nothing but darkness. She lit her horn, and all around her, blood-stained walls and glass windows surrounded her. She looked through one, and dead, eviscerated ponies were scattered all over the self-contained laboratory.

She jolted away from the glass and spun around once, a feeling of panic disorienting her slightly as she tried to take in her surroundings. All along the hall, on the floor and slumped against the walls, dead and decomposed ponies in some sort of uniform were laying in large numbers all around her along the corridor. Dried blood clearly marked the paths they followed to their deaths.

She should have been afraid. She knew that, on some level. Why wasn't she afraid?

She felt almost disconnected as she began to walk, only just starting to notice that she was panting rather heavily. Gasping even. A feeling of alarm began to take her as she stumbled against the side of the corridor, the stairwell leading down to the next level just a few steps away.

No air.

There was no air here. No matter how many breaths she took, she wasn't getting any oxygen! She pushed herself away from the wall and rushed for the stairs, her muscles rapidly beginning to burn as she descended. Something down here was going to save her. It had to!

CAN'T BREATHE

"Suh-Spike...!" she stuttered weakly as her body began to protest and panic, a small part of her clouded mind wondering why Spike would be in a place like this. She staggered on the stairs for a moment, her hoof scraping at the wall before she forced herself further on.

Not going to make it. I'm going to die.

She was going to die here. The thought rang clearly to her as her vision began to fade, her horn sparking and fizzling as her concentration waned. She had to make it to the bottom! She almost tripped over another dead body in her weak rush to make it to the next stairwell.

I don't want to die.Something's wrong here.I DON'T WANT TO DIE!

She just...just a little further, she had to make it! With a determined push, she charged down the corridor with her vision going wobbly and distorted, managing to get just a few steps down the stairwell before her legs gave out and she tumbled down with several sickening cracks, including one to her horn that jolted her entire body with agony.

Laying in a limp and exhausted heap against the floor, with a dead body bracing her head, she felt her senses slowly fade away, one by one. Her body went numb and her attempts to breathe slowed, until she fell terrifyingly still in the darkness.

Not going to die don't want to die THIS IS WRONG I'M NOT HERE I-

"Did you hear me, Twilight?" Spike called out, pushing the door to Twilight's room open while he stepped in. "I said breakfast's re-hey!"

Sitting on her haunches just inches from the window, Twilight was breathing heavily and gasping for air, her gaze locked with the outside. Her motions were heavy and panicked, sounding close to hyperventilation.

He rushed over to her and tried to get in front of her. "Twilight? Hey, Twilight! H-hey c'mon, calm-nnrgh!-down!" he shouted to her while trying to push her back.

She wouldn't budge. He was too small to push her around, and she seemed entirely ignorant of his presence. He ran around behind her and quickly scurried up onto her back, grabbing hold of her mane and pulling it in a desperate attempt to draw her attention.

"Come on, Twilight! What's gotten into you?!"

A startling and sudden relaxation of her entire body almost sent him tumbling off of her, the mare's head hanging down as she took a few deep gasps of air. She wobbled to and fro, feeling intensely dizzy for some reason.

A sense of urgency made her quickly look around the room. Her room. Her bedroom. Not a corridor. She swayed a little as she tried to stand up, only to freeze in place as she glanced at the window again.

Sharp, reptilian eyes in her reflection. A wicked and far-too-wide grin. Long corridors lined with bodies, no oxygen in the air I can't breathe I CAN'T BREATHE-

Her mind rejected it this time, and with a scream, she raised up onto her hindlegs and sent Spike flying off of her, stumbling a few steps backwards before falling onto her back and rolling to her side, curling up in a fetal position.

She moved to cover her head reflexively in fear, but she couldn't look away from the window. Without thinking, she cried out for help.

"SPIKE!!!"

He was up in an instant and at her side. "I-I'm right here! Holy moly..."

She finally glanced away from the window again when she felt tiny claws on her cheek, and she instantly began to cry as she snatched the small dragon up in her forelegs. Her grip was vice-like and desperate, and she buried her face against the side of his neck in her sideways position.

Spike wasn't sure what was going on at first. It wasn't until he swore he felt one of his ribs pop that he realized his face was buried in lavender fur. He wriggled a bit in her grasp and tilted his head up to get his face off of the base of her neck, glancing over when he felt her snout against his neck instead.

The quiet sobbing and the feeling of her entire body trembling in genuine fear made him reach to gently pet over the side of her head. He really wasn't good with these sorts of things, but he couldn't stand hearing her so distressed either.

"Hey, Twilight...c'mon, it's gonna be okay." he stated quietly, but she wasn't pulling away.

Resigned to his fate as a comfort pillow-dragon, he wrapped his small arms around her neck as best he could in his position and hugged her back. They stayed that way in relative silence, aside from Twilight's crying and Spike's soothing words, for several minutes. He didn't know what else to do aside from letting her just get it out of her system.

When she finally seemed to be done, he stepped back a bit and she let him go. He looked her over for a moment and reached down to grab his apron at the bottom, lifting it to wipe the tears and icky mucus from his neck with a small 'blech'.

Twilight managed a weak little brief laugh at that. "Sorry, Spike..."

"Eh, it's fine. Scales wash pretty easy. C'mere," he muttered, stepping closer to her again and wiping her muzzle clean. "There."

She sniffled once and smiled more genuinely at him. "Thanks."

He smirked and shrugged a little. "It was nothin'!" he said while taking his apron off, balling it up and tossing it towards the laundry bin next to the door. "What was that all about?"

She slowly sat herself up, glancing once at the window and fearfully darting her gaze away. "I-I don't know," she muttered, swallowing audibly. "I really don't know!"

"It looked like a panic attack," he said, resting a hand on one of her forelegs. "You were really hyperventilating. I thought you were gonna pass out when I came in!"

She could see the concern on his face and in his eyes. It was the Spike she knew, when no one else was around. That concerned and sensitive little dragon she'd grown up with riding on her back, always there to help her and give her a second perspective on everything. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him.

She lowered her head and nuzzled the side of his head with her cheek, hooking a foreleg around him to give him a small embrace. "I-I'm fine, Spike. Really. But..." she said, biting her lip and motioning over to the window. "Can you see anything in the window? Anything wrong with it?"

He glanced to the window, back to her, then shrugged and walked over to it, hopping up and looking through it. He took a full minute to look around outside through it, Twilight's hooves curling and rubbing together nervously while she watched. She let out a quiet breath of relief when he hopped back down.

"Seems fine to me," he said, turning to her and shrugging a little. "Just the same as it's always been."

She warily walked towards the window, her head turned away from it as if looking at it would harm her in some way. It was reflexive, her intense desire to leave the room and never return. Through the window laid a corridor of bodies, and a slow oxygen-deprived death....!

When she was close enough, she looked through it again, and...nothing. Just Ponyville, her own plain, normal, non-psychotic reflection. Still, she felt like she was being watched again, but no one outside was giving her the time of day. It made sense, it was common courtesy not to look into someone's home if you're just sort of passing by.

She looked up towards the sky, and stopped. There was something right at the edge of the Everfree's treeline. Nervously glancing back down and towards the untamed forest, she spotted it once again. A little pitch-black pony, sitting on top of the forest's canopy, staring right back at her. She couldn't make out any details, but the pang of rising fear in her chest felt all too familiar the longer she stared at whatever it was.

"Hey, Twilight?"

She glanced over at him, having forgotten he was even there, then quickly looked back out of the window. It was gone, a single black hoof disappearing into a sea of green leaves. She had to know what that was.

"I-erm...I'm going out for a while, Spike. I'll be back soon, okay?" she said as she turned to trot towards the door.

"Whoa, hold on!" he said while quickly grabbing her tail and hopping onto her back. "You're just gonna head out after freaking out like that? No way!"

"But-"

"Nuh-uh!" he said while hopping down in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're still trembling, you look frazzled and you haven't even showered or anything. Since yesterday!"

She blushed and rubbed one foreleg with the other bashfully, saying nothing. She knew she hadn't showered. She just hadn't been able to get the energy up, and she hadn't felt very gross at the time, but now...eugh.

Spike stood resolute. "Look, just take some time to calm down, go take a shower and come downstairs for breakfast. Then you can head out, alright?"

She stared at him for a moment, then quirked a brow. "Since when were you my caretaker?"

He smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Since you were twelve and you accidentally broke Princess Celestia's porcelain tea kettle from Saddle Arabia. How many more of her kettles did you break trying to fix it before you curled up into a ball and had a panic attack again?"

"Well-"

"And who was the one that had to calm you down before you tried to teleport to Saddle Arabia to find a replacement with a makeshift Array you started burning into the carpeting in her room, which caused you to have a whole 'nother panic attack when you realized what you did?"

"...You win this one."

"Oh, I know. Now then," he said, smiling smugly as he turned and headed out of the room. "See you in a bit!"

She sighed and moved to head into the bathroom, her magic reaching out to get the water running. Then a thought occurred to her: she could just teleport out and he might not notice-

"And no teleporting away!" he shouted out to her from downstairs.

With a resigned sigh, she stepped into the shower and got busy.