“Thank you both for coming when you could,” Doctor Time told the two unicorns as they ran their horns over the sleeping, blanket covered form of Sarah Summers.

“Our pleasure, Doctor,” Sunset Shimmer replied, her horn a steady glow.

“Yes, our pleasure,” Twilight Sparkle agreed, though her tone was a bit downcast. “I’m not finding anything too abnormal, except for the fact that she has next to no magic of her own running through her body.”

“Right then, thank you for the help,” Doctor Time stated with a shake of her head. “This poor mare-woman sorry, has been through the wringer.”

“Well, there’s nothing else magical that I can find other than a small bit of chaotic magic,” Sunset Shimmer said with a small sigh as her horn’s glow dimmed. “Call us if you need anything else Doctor, we’ll always be happy to help the Queen’s consort.”

“Yes, yes we will,” Twilight agreed, nodding her head as the pair began to head for the door.

“You’re free to do whatever you’d like for the rest of the day, Twilight,” Sunset said with a smile as they started down the hallway, Rainbow Dash falling in behind them though she kept herself back a bit.

“Thank you, Master,” Twilight said with a nod of her head, her voice still a bit melancholy. Sunset stopped in her tracks and gave Twilight a searching look.

“Twilight, my apprentice, what is wrong?” Sunset asked the younger mare shrewdly. “Ever since we received word that the Queen’s consort had been rescued, you have sounded depressed. Surely you are not unhappy about our having located Sarah before something awful could happen to her?”

“No, no that’s not it,” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “It’s just... I was put in charge of finding a way to bring her here and... I was beaten by Chrysalis of all ponies.” She let out a sigh. “It’s just disheartening to know that my mind wasn’t good enough to find the answer even though I’ve had two and a half years to work it out.”

The mare looked down and a depressed breath made its way out of her chest. She looked up in surprise when a comforting muzzle nuzzled her and she looked up to find Sunset Shimmer giving her a soft, almost motherly look.

“Twilight, as my apprentice I can tell you that no mage succeeds all of their knowledge checks,” the Archmage said, motherly look still in place. “And believe me, you won’t always be behind, just keep up at the rate you’ve been going and I’m sure you’ll eclipse even me in your accomplishments.” She then gave Twilight another nuzzle. “If you haven’t already.”

“I... thank you, Master,” Twilight said, a small smile appearing on her face.

“Any time,” Shimmer replied before glancing at Rainbow Dash. “Help cheer this mare up, Rainbow Dash, that’s an order.”

“Aye Aye, Ma’am,” Rainbow replied as she walked forwards and pulled Twilight into a wing hug.

“Very good,” Sunset said with a smile as she looked between the two before vanishing.

Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash who was smiling at her. “Cheer up, Twi, Sarah’s here, Luna’s safe, and Celestia is out there right now turning that Hive to glass, what’s there to be sad about?” she asked, giving her a nuzzle.

“I... I guess you’re right,” Twilight said, leaning into the nuzzle.

“Good, that’s what I like to hear,” Dash said with a grin. “So, want to go rob the pantry?”

Twilight’s expression brightened. “That sounds... fun.”

“You bet it will be,” Rainbow replied. “And after that maybe we can find something to do eh?”

“Yeah, yeah, that sounds good,” Twilight agreed with a nod before she gave Rainbow a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, Rainbow.”

“You’re welcome, Twi,” Rainbow replied, kissing her right back. “Now then, let’s go get us some food!”

Sarah awoke to the feeling of her bare skin rubbing up against something soft and fluffy. Wait a minute, soft AND fluffy? Nothing in the Wasteland was soft or fluffy. Her eyes snapped open only to be blinded by a shockingly bright light.

The woman let out a shriek of surprised pain and jerked her right arm up to cover her face but felt something tugging against it, holding it back and causing a lance of pain to run up to her shoulder.

Before she could do anything else she suddenly felt her body flop back to the bed, it was definitely a bed. The pain in Sarah’s eyes also faded away as if a wet cloth had been thrown over them.

“You’re alright, you’re in the Canterlot Castle’s Medical Wing,” a calm, british sounding voice spoke quietly beside her head. Sarah closed her eyes and took a moment to process the words, slowly breathing in and out through her nose as she adjusted.

Nim, are you awake? she asked quietly.

I awoke the moment you did... there’s so much magic in the air, he must be telling the truth, Nim replied almost instantly.

Sarah opened her eyes again and thankfully the lights were no longer blinding, though she could obviously tell that they were still very much on. Instead, her vision had become shaded by a dull green glow. The woman frowned and then turned in the direction of the voice. She found herself looking at a kind faced brown stallion with a foppish mane.

The woman suddenly realized just how sore her throat was along with how empty her stomach felt.

“Could you get me some water?” she asked, her voice scratchy.

“Of course, Miss Summers,” the unicorn said before looking over his shoulder and saying. “Nurse Oss, please fetch this young woman a glass of water.”

“Of course, Doctor,” the nurse chirped back and before she knew it there was a glass of water being slowly tipped up to her lips.

The water touched the woman’s lips and the woman’s eyes widened. It was better tasting than the water she’d gotten from the changeling! She tried to greedily drink it all down but the nurse, or perhaps the doctor took it away before she could.

“Careful, Miss Summers, don’t want to drink too much at once,” the doctor said with a kind smile. Sarah blinked twice and then nodded.

“Where is Luna?” the woman asked, her mind clearing as the most important question popped into her brain.

“Right here,” Luna’s soft voice spoke gently on her left.

Sarah turned to her left and found herself looking into Luna’s dark blue eyes from across the span of a single inch. Luna... her beautiful Luna. The alicorn’s mane was aestral and full of stars, her face a bit worn, and Sarah could see dark circles beneath her eyes. The woman felt her eyes begin to water and before she realized it she was crying, reaching out for the mare with the arm that wasn’t attached to the IV. Luna responded by bringing her great head down against Sarah’s so that they were eye to eye, her eyes beginning to water once again as well.

“Luna...” the woman let out a breath.

“Sarah...” the mare replied as their tears intermingled on the woman’s face.

“God I missed you,” Sarah whispered softly, so many emotions filling her mind that she was almost unable to speak.

“And I you,” Luna murmured quietly in return. “I looked and looked for a way to bring you to me... I... I failed you.”

Sarah blinked, that had not been what she’d expecting. She was silent for a long moment. And then a moment longer. Finally, she knew what to say.

“I don’t give a single fuck.”

Luna blinked. “What?”

“Exactly what I said,” Sarah stated. “I fucking love you, Luna. I know that you fucking love me. We’re together now and you got me out of that hell hole, so honestly why should I give a single solitary fuck about whether or not you got me here first?”

Then without a single thought Sarah pulled Luna in for a deep kiss. The alicorn stiffened in surprise for a moment before she softened and leaned into the passionate embrace. They stayed locked together for almost a full minute until Sarah finally broke the kiss and fell back against the pillows, feeling immensely weaker than when she’d started. Luna meanwhile took in a deep breath and glanced at Doctor Time and the various nurses, many of whom were staring at the two with wide eyes and blushing faces.

“Ah, young love,” Doctor Time said with a small chuckle. Then the Doctor glanced back at Sarah. “Though I’m afraid that that’s all the kissing you’re going to be doing for today, Miss Summers.”

“Yeah... that took a lot out of me,” Sarah said, letting out a large yawn as she leaned back against the pillows. Then something occurred to her. Nim, why haven’t you said hello yet?

I was... just trying to figure out what to say, Nim replied before addressing Luna. Hello, Luna.

Luna blinked at the short, almost wintery reception. Hello to you as well, Nim, I missed you greatly.

Which is why you’ve mentioned me so many times in the last few minutes, Nim replied dryly. I can just feel the love.

Luna was silent for a moment before she bent down and placed a tender kiss on Sarah’s forehead. There, that is for you, Nim, I apologize for forgetting you.

It’s... a start, Nim replied slowly before quietly adding so that Sarah couldn’t hear. Though we still have things to discuss once Sarah is up and about.

Alright, Luna stated before looking down at Sarah one last time, to her surprise, the woman’s eyes were closed already.

“How long will she be stuck in this room, Doctor?” Luna inquired.

“Given how little we know about whatever was injected into her bloodstream, we can’t say,” the doctor said uneasily. “It would be best that she is kept under observation for at least a month, maybe more. We can’t risk feeding her too much, either, she’ll have to be weaned on to proper meals.”

“I’m right here,” Sarah croaked indignantly. “No one falls asleep that fast. And really? A month?”

“Sorry,” the doctor replied, clearing his throat. “And a month is an optimistic estimate. Most likely, you’ll be stuck in bed even longer.”

“I’d argue with that... but I’m too tired,” Sarah grumbled before turning to Luna. “Will you... will you stay with me?”

“Of course,” Luna replied before casting a sour look at the Doctor. “I’d be in the bed with you but ‘somebody’ decided against that.”

“If a little discomfort now helps accelerate the healing process, then it’ll be worth it,” Time replied flatly.

“Very well,” Luna replied, rolling her eyes and then giving Sarah a nuzzle. “At any rate, I shall wait right here beside you until you are better, bathroom breaks excluded of course.”

“Of course,” Sarah agreed with a small nod before shaking her head. “I... I really am tired,” she added with a yawn. “G-night.”

“Good night,” Luna replied, giving her a final nuzzle before her horn glowed softly and she turned to the doctor. “Be honest, how long do you expect?”

“Three months, maybe more. It all depends just what effect the stuff that changeling was pumping into her,” the doctor muttered.

“Oh dear... I do not believe that Sarah will be capable of waiting that long,” Luna said worriedly. “She is not the type to enjoy ‘bed rest’.”

“Yes, she struck me as the sort. Still, it’ll be for her own good.”

“I know, I know,” Luna agreed with a small nod. “Whatever the case, I will be here with her until the end of it. Thank you for your service, Doctor Time.”

“My pleasure, Your Majesty,” the stallion replied with a small smile. “I’ll leave you two alone now, call if you need anything at all.”

“I will,” Luna promised before her horn stopped glowing and she set her chin down on Sarah’s stomach, letting out a slow breath.

Celestia sagged into her bed, letting out an absolutely exhausted sigh. She hadn’t done anything which required that much power in a long time. The mare’s glowing ethereal mane fell flat against her back and the mare was suddenly in the awkward position of knowing that she desperately wanted to take a long bath, but also possessed the knowledge that doing so would require getting up from the bed.

The alicorn let out a sigh and rolled to her side, meaning to start the painfully slow process of starting to get up. However, instead, she was met by the concerned gaze of a familiar black pegasus.

“Tia, are you alright?” Tornado asked her quietly.

“Yes... just bone weary,” Celestia replied, shaking her head despite, though a small smile did appear on her face at his concern. “It has been a long time since I used that much magic.”

“Ah,” Tornado replied with a knowing nod. “Would you like me to get the bath started?”

“I’d love you forever,” Celestia said, smiling radiantly down at him.

“You don’t already?” Tornado asked feigning surprise, raising an eyebrow questioningly at her.

“Just go start the bath for your Queen,” the alicorn retorted archly, though she ruined it by letting a giggle slip from between her lips.

“As you wish, your Royal Majesty,” Tornado said with mock formality before he strode over to the bathroom and entered it.

Celestia rolled her eyes slightly, but couldn’t help the smile on her lips. She lay there for a few more minutes before Tornado returned to her and bowed deeply.

“My most beloved of Queens, your bath has been prepared, would you like me to escort you?” he asked, still being formal in his quiet deadpan voice.

“By all means,” Celestia replied as she willed herself off of the bed, unable to keep herself from letting out a tired groan. “I suddenly feel as old as I should.”

“Are you sure you don’t need to see Doctor Time?” Tornado inquired, his charade disappearing to be replaced by real concern.

“No, no, it’s just magical exhaustion,” Celestia replied, leaning slightly against the shorter pegasus who easily supported her great weight. “You can’t melt a city without feeling like death warmed over.”

“I understand,” Tornado said with a small nod as he lead her into the bathroom and to the great walk in bath that took up the center of the chamber’s floor.

The water was steaming hot and Celestia let out a blissful sigh as she took a stride or two and then sank up to her ears in the water. When she surfaced, the mare let out a further sigh and waded over to the edge where a shampooed buff puff was waiting. She glanced at Tornado who was over by the door, looking very formal despite the occasional glance he shot in her direction. Celestia shook her head and began to soap herself down.

As she did so, her mind wandered back to the reason she was so tired. Chrysalis summoning Sarah was not something she’d ever thought would happen. In fact, it had begun to look like no one would ever be able to bring her to Equestria. But there she was, plain as day, lying in a hospital bed with her sister laid up beside her.

Celestia hadn’t had time to talk to Luna since she’d returned, all she’d been able to muster up was a quick scrying spell and even that had almost fully exhausted her, but to her delight, her sister looked overjoyed. Beneath all the worry and concern in her eyes, the elder alicorn could tell that her sister was bursting with joy. And that... that made Celestia happier than she’d been since she’d first seen Luna on the night of her return.

After watching her sister suffer for the last two and a half years, slowly becoming moody and depressed again the way she had been before her... banishment... had been excruciatingly painful for Celestia. She may not have repeated her mistake of neglecting her sister’s feelings as she had before, but the elder alicorn had begun to worry that Luna may have been on her way back down the slope of depression.

Another sigh of pleasure left Celestia’s throat as a sudden bucket of warm water was dumped on her back and she looked up to see Tornado standing there, a smile on his face.

“Pardon me, my Queen, but you seemed in need of assistance,” he stated with a smile.

“Thank you very much, good sir,” Celestia replied with a smile. “Once we are done here would you like to escort me on the way to visit my sister and her lover?”

“I can think of no better way to spend the evening,” Tornado answered, smiling as he leaned down and laid a soft kiss on her lips.

Celestia thought about replying with a joke, but instead decided to simply smile and then give him a kiss of her own before she returned to cleaning herself. She had to be presentable when she finally got to meet Sarah Summers, after all, this was to be the FIRST time she’d ever gotten to meet someone who had ensnared her sister’s heart... she had quite a bit of sisterly payback to deliver.