The violent whip-crack of the dragon's tail spade bought Dusk hardly more than a quarter second of warning, just enough time for his mind to process, yet not enough to erect a proper shield spell. He had done a botched job of it in that fraction of a second he had before the scaled spade, which was as wide as he was tall, struck his shield, and shattered the still-half-formed barrier, the impact’s force hurling him into the air, and back, back, back. The rush of the uncontrolled acceleration pressure blurred his vision, while he was hardly even able to think clearly enough to be glad he had stood lined up evenly with the cave mouth. A blurry filter obscured his vision of the world, yet some part of his mind that was ahead of the rest found it oddly comforting compared to the blackness that was still crushing the edges of his vision. And then he hit the tree, and all he could hear was the sickening cracking noise.

Fluttershy backed against the wall of stone near the cave mouth, tears running wild rivers across her cheeks. "I can't, Dusk! It's a dragon! I've come this far, but I just can’t go a step further! It’s a DRAGON!"

Closing her eyes and trying to catch her breath, Fluttershy didn’t hear the exasperated sigh or quiet talk between her friends, instead hands gently squeezed her shoulders, while a soft soothing noise tickled her ear. Dusk finally spoke up, pulling her momentarily from the edge of the well of fear, away from the nightmares that had tormented her for so many years. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. Just take cover with Applejack, alright? I’ll go in with Rarity, just take slow deep breaths, and remember, I’ll keep you safe.”

“Safe?!!! Nopony is safe Dusk!!” Oh how she wanted to scream at him, to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. To slap him in some vain hope he might finally understand why dragons could never be trusted. Instead, she felt Pinkie wrapping an arm around her hips and pulling her away, so she clammed up and shrunk back to hide from those memories of her father’s sickly twisted spine, and broken ribs, all of whom lived in that well of nightmares. Pinkie had been talking to her, but now she hardly remembered any of it. Instead she gripped the younger mare’s hand and spoke urgently. “Just… just try and keep an eye out for Dusk. Please!??”

Pinkie snapped her a salute, and for once, Fluttershy believed the mare was being somewhat serious. Stepping in behind the large rock outcropping with Applejack, she looked away, too ashamed of her failure to look at her stronger friend. “She’s only back here because I had her distracted. I’m so sorry, Applejack. You’re the real hero; I wish I had even half of your strength.”

As if she had spoken aloud, AJ slipped an arm around Fluttershy’s shoulders, supporting her, holding her close. “Now sugar, I’m scared too, so stop weeping, clean your eyes, and take a deep breath. I’m sure any moment now, Dusk will announce himself and you’ll see, we can head home tonight, no problem.”

The words, the touch, they all helped. So she did as ordered, and dried her eyes, watching as Dusk, Rarity, and Bronze Feather approached the cave mouth, the guard only letting him have back his paperwork as he stood on the breech of darkness. For a moment, she was distracted, the light whistling song of a bird in the lone tree on this cliff face pulling her attention from whatever Dusk said before entering the cave.

Pushing the sweet creature from her mind, Fluttershy turned to look back towards the cave, and realized AJ had stepped away from their rock, and was walking slowly along the wall of rock, approaching the others with a careful stride to keep quiet and avoid putting weight on her bad leg.

The bird, was it a thrush? Started its song again, and she felt her eyes creeping away from the cave mouth, to look to that tree once more. And then the world exploded into motion and noise, screaming and violence. The impact from inside the cave was followed almost instantly by Dusk being thrown out, hurtling backwards widely, the shattered fragments of a shield spell trailing through the air around him. In almost slow-motion, she watched him arc through the air, while Rainbow Dash broke formation with the other two flyers, swearing something and blitzing the cave.

At the same time, Applejack threw aside her careful stride, and rushed to follow Dusk’s flight through the air to the end of its arc. At the last moment before he collided with the trunk of that stout oak, a protective bubble, a shield that matched Rarity’s magic, wrapped around him and absorbed the blow with the tree. Bronze Feather was screaming orders at the top of her lungs, and the cadets began to move, but were miles too slow. Dash was suddenly out of the cave again, dodging and weaving to avoid the air splitting cracks of the dragon’s whip-like tail and that shovel-like spade on the end.

Everypony was on the south side of the cave mouth. Applejack, pulling Dusk to stand up, the stallion was still breathing, and somewhere inside of Fluttershy, a tiny voice she still didn’t fully know if she heard, exclaimed relief. Then the dragon emerged from its cave, head lifted skyward, and a roar of blue-white flame enveloped the air. It moved fast even when the world around her was in slow motion, only Dash was able to twist and bend, avoiding the searing heat.

Terror gripped her heart, and the tears were back again. The DRAGON was so large! Its hind legs extended so far, and in an instant it had encircled everypony, everypony but her, and Rainbow Dash, who wildly spiraled and spun, using every trick Fluttershy had ever seen her practise to stay ahead of the licking white flames that made the air itself boil. The cadets pulled back, overwhelmed by the raw power and violence on display.

Silk threw her spyglass away and screamed orders. “FLY FLY FLY! Every wing! Every pony! Go! Now, while we have a chance of saving anypony!” But she already knew it was too late. Dash was impossibly fast, and yet the dragon was nearly faster. A single mistake, a single slip up. A breath taken at the wrong time, and the mare would die. And all of it would happen long before a single one of her flyers could ever get close enough.

Dusk was leaning on Pinkie, and Applejack was on her knees again. “They can’t run! The cadets can’t get to them, and as fast as Dash is, if she tried to join them to summon the elements, she’d be fried! And I’m standing here sobbing again! All my friends are in danger! Why, why did it have to be a dragon! Why can’t I move! Why wont it-”

“JUST GO AWAY!”

The words had come from her own mouth. She didn’t even realize she had screamed them until the rock that was in her hand bounced off the dragon’s head. And suddenly everything returned to normal speed, the screams of her friends finally reached her, warnings, demands that she make a run for it. “I’m not going to run. I’m not! I wont leave my friends! Not for a dragon! No dragon will hurt them!”

She only realized she had a second rock in her hand when she threw it, the stone bouncing off the confused beast’s muzzle. It roared, twisted around and rushed towards her, but she was airborne now, and flying straight at it, faster and harder than she had ever flown before.

The blow hurt. She knew somewhere in her mind, that she had probably broken every bone in her hand, yet that voice was tiny and distant. The little one from before was now in charge, and had full control of her voice. She stood over the confused dragon, who was collapsed at her feet and pawing at the shattered scales on its muzzle. Its roars of rage were gone, and it now whimpered and mewled like a weak, pathetic kitten as Fluttershy stood her ground in the air over it, shifting moment by moment to keep between the dragon and her friends... her friends! The ones it had dared to try and harm! “How dare you... How dare you attack my friends! Dusk came to offer you gifts to leave, and you tried to kill him! I’ll never forgive you for that!” Some part of her mind screamed at her to run, but instead she lowered herself down, her good hand reaching out and clutching the dragon’s jaw.

With strength she never knew she had, she pulled its head to the side, so they were looking eye to eye. “You, will, leave. Forget your horde. Forget your territory. You lost that right when you attacked my friends! Go. NOW!”

The whole world went silent around her, but Fluttershy didn’t really notice the rest of the world. All that remained was her, and the dragon, whose visible pupil was as large as her body. Unblinking, she matched it stare for stare, and that fearful voice in her heart suddenly grew quiet. The dragon shifted, tried to pull away, and whimpered again, but she refused to release its jaw, holding it stiff and glowering a lifetime of fear and hate into it through their locked stare.

“I’ll go. Forgive me. I’ll never return! Please, just let me go!”

The leathery voice was panicked, maybe even sobbing. Guilt welled up in Fluttershy’s belly, and she had to bite back a sob that demanded release from her throat. Instead, she found herself speaking again, her voice still harsh, but her own again. “Then you may take your horde and go. But if you ever enter Equestria again without permission, I’ll return, and we will talk again... But next time, I won’t be so gentle.” As the dragon stammered out some kind of apology, Fluttershy let him go, lowering herself to stand, and trying to ignore how shaky her legs felt.

Dusk was shocked to see the dragon bolt back into its cave and when it emerged, it immediately turned away from Fluttershy again. Before Dusk could draw his next breath, the dragon lept to the sky, heading to the north at a blistering speed. Pinkie continued to support him as he tried to clear his lungs that still felt like they were on fire, but after witnessing the transformation of personality that had washed over Fluttershy, he couldn't waste time trying to catch his breath. Pushing forward, Dusk tried to step away from Pinkie and walk to join Fluttershy, who had started trembling the moment the dragon fled.

Two events delayed him, but neither would be allowed to prevent his advance. First, Pinkie refused to let go, but continued to walk with him, her attention now focused on Fluttershy’s sudden heroism.

The second was a sudden sonic boom of wings as bodies rained from the sky and hit far harder than Dash had crashed the day before. Yet as Dusk's brain finally kicked in, recognition at last dawned on him. These were practiced landings, every one taken at near top speed and all turned to form a protective ring around him, with even more above him, circling in the air. "But why the extreme altitude uniforms? Those had to be painfully warm to fly in at thi- no! Forget it. Fluttershy. Now."

Pushing his way through the gathered Wonderbolts and dragging Pinkie along since she continued to refuse to let go, Dusk pushed out of the ring of guards who were suddenly looking rather befuddled themselves, and stepped up behind the shaking, but just barely managing to stand, mare. Fresh wing-beats told him more 'Bolts were approaching, but he spoke up as calmly as he could manage, forcing away the quaking fear that lingered in his voice. "Fluttershy? Are you okay? You look pale. Do you want Rarity? Or maybe Applejack?"

The Wonderbolts were parting to allow said mares through to his side, and somewhere distant, three voices he recognized in the back of his mind were throwing around orders. But it was Fluttershy’s whisper that had his attention. "I need Heartsong, and Angel or Harry the Bear... or a hug. I'm... I'm pretty sure I broke my hand."

Dusk felt Pinkie peeling away and pushing at his shoulder, encouraging him to step forward. With care, he did, wrapping an arm around her hips from behind and resting his cheek on her shoulder. From behind he heard Pinkie’s voice rise, screaming over the din of dozens of milling pegasi. "Medic! Now!"

What shocked Dusk the most was that Fluttershy had stopped crying, and was breathing very slowly, and very carefully. When he hugged her, she drew a stiff breath, then relaxed, her voice quiet. "So you're all okay? I... I couldn't turn around and run. Not if it meant seeing black ash where you'd been standing."

Unable to help himself, Dusk nearly laughed. "Yes, Fluttershy. We are all okay. If only because you saved us all."

"Oh, my..."

Heartsong's arrival ended their quiet moment, her orders were suddenly making full Wonderbolts five or ten years her senior rush to obey, and soon a fire and a table had been set up. Senior medics with the 'Bolts had arrived, but instead found themselves assisting the younger mare.

Applejack arrived on the arm of a towering griffon with black tipped feathers, and somewhere in an underused corner of his mind, Dusk struggled to retrieve a name. Dash came to his rescue while the medics took Applejack to a second table and began addressing her leg. "You're Captain Gerard, right? You’re nicknamed Obsidian ever since you joined the Wonderbolts 'cause no other griffon has feathers such dark brown! I've heard all about you!"

The calm titan stood nearly two feet taller than Dusk, yet once his charge was taken from him, he knelt down on one knee before Dusk, giving Rainbow Dash only a small grin. He was otherwise all business. "Ambassador, forgive our late arrival. Princess Celestia called us back from the griffon border when it was discovered this dragon was much older than previously expected. I take full responsibility for arriving so late. And I bring reports from Major Spitfire and Lieutenant Fleetfoot, they encountered and dealt with their own dragons and joined my wing in our rescue mission. Currently, they are guiding patrols to insure the dragon has really left our territory, but our scouts are giving confused reports. Did one mare real-"

Still in his arms, Fluttershy started shivering again as the giant spoke, and the moment she noticed, Heartsong cut him off. "Excuse me, Captain, but you're in the middle of my makeshift surgery. I'll have to ask for you to refrain from bothering the ambassador until he leaves my patient’s side."

The griffon looked ready to bowl over the interfering cadet, but his keen eyes took in the crudely makeshift golden pip on her collar, and quickly did the math. From his kneeling posture, he shot up to his full height and snapped to a fierce salute. "Ambassador Dusk Shine, permission to collect all the uninjured cadets and take them on a proper field patrol while the medics take care of your wounded?"

Dash’s admiring giggle of glee momentarily distracted Dusk from the gentle hug he was still giving to Fluttershy, though he remembered himself in time to continue holding her close while she trembled with... fear? Rage? "Probably guilt," he realized, after analyzing the confused emotions pouring from her into his mind through the crown. They were unignorable, but so jumbled he strained to sort them out. "Captain Obsidian, that sounds like a fantastic idea. Collect reports from the other wings and the cadets for my consideration and get me any information on the dragon’s departure from Equestria you can collect."

The giant began to turn away when Dusk's voice pulled him up short. "And Captain, I would like you to take the Element of Loyalty with you. Rainbow Dash is a fine flyer and could be of assistance to you as a messenger."

Dash’s attempt to hide her joy was poor... at best. The whooping cry and leap into the air ended as she remembered Fluttershy and forced herself to land. Suppressing herself, she shook her head and stepped to Fluttershy's side. "Ah- As much as I would love to, I can't leave Fluttershy, not right now."

The griffon raised an eye but it was Fluttershy who spoke first. "Go ahead, Dash. I don't want to be a bother, really." For the first time since Dusk hugged her, she moved her head and gave her friend the smallest of smiles.

Dash hesitated for only a second before Obsidian's bellow caught her up. "Come on then, my courier. We have many miles to fly, and I won't let some wet-behind-the-ears filly slow me down!" Dash took the Drill Sergeant like bellow of orders with grace and bolted after the griffon, quickly taking to flight with the majority of the other Wonderbolts, leaving only a skeleton force to keep watch while they soared away. The griffon stood out from those who followed, his uniform was unique, blue and black instead of the yellow, and at his side was Dash, providing she could match his pace.

When Heartsong and the medics had finished with the other wounded, they gave Fluttershy a thick tea of dreamweed and the mare at last relaxed in Dusk's arms, slumping over in sleep. Assisting her in laying down and leaving Rarity to watch over her, Dusk followed when the three medics from the Wonderbolts motioned for him and Heartsong to join them in private.

For the first time in some months, Dusk found himself alone with people he knew nothing about, even with his talent for names and faces. With only the pips on their collars to go by, Dusk identified two 2nd lieutenants, a stallion and mare, and the one clearly in charge, another mare with the gold double bars of a 1st lieutenant. She was the one who had gestured for him to follow, and she spoke up first. "Ambassador Dusk Shine, forgive me, but I have to ask: Have you any hint of talent with healing magic?" When he froze up, she pushed on, the worry in her eyes clear to him now. "One of the cadets had broken ribs, and it pierced her lung. We've removed the bone fragment, but it'll be dangerous to move her for some time. We had hoped-"

Dusk lifted a hand and shook his head, to cut her off politely before he spoke. "Healing magic is nearly as rare as an alicorn, you all know that. Princess Cadence taught me a little, but the best I can manage is a papercut, healing somepony's punctured lung? I'd only do more harm then good."

The three older medics looked to one another and the stallion stepped up, his voice pained. "I... she’s my kid sister, sir. I... We don't think she can handle the wait for proper surgery. Is-" the stallion's voice broke, and so did Dusk's heart. He stepped forward and gripped the stallion’s hand, his voice whisper-quiet so no others could hear.

Heartsong gasped when the senior medic opened her medical bag and slipped Dusk the single small bloom of Black Lotus, dried and preserved in a glass vial. They had an oath, but this was a life they could save. She would keep this secret, like the others.

The wounded mare was taken from the sick beds and Dusk disappeared into a nearby cave. At the end of it, it had only taken an hour, maybe two, and then she was back in her sickbed and dozing peacefully. Dusk returned to camp much later, his skin pale, and slick with sweat. He was still delirious as the effects of the drug wore off, but left his mind floating far beyond the clouds, dancing among the stars, their distant whispers indistinct but calling for him.

Cursing herself for waking up so early due to a childhood at the rock farm, not to mention The Cake’s work hours, Pinkie started wandering around the makeshift camp, looking for something she could do to help. When Pinkie Pie came looking for Dusk in the wee hours of the morning, the medics informed her he was 'Busy with reports from the Wonderbolts’ and had been all night. Pinkie frowned when the head medic turned her away. Fluttershy was still sleeping, Applejack was laid up with her twisted ankle, and Rarity was watching over them both while catching occasional catnaps. "Even Dash is off with the Wonderbolts! I've already given a few of the injured ponies a balloon animal or a massage, but the rest are sleeping."

The rushing sound of water from a smaller cave set into the cliff face pulled her attention, as did the soft voices and the fact the 'Bolts had posted guards at the entrance. Not that they noticed Pinkie when she wanted in. Crawling across the roof of the cave, she made her way inside, and the voices got louder, a fight was going on.

"I'll take responsibility with Princess Celestia. She assigned me as his personal guard. I should have been there when the medics started questioning him in private."

Pinkie froze in place, dangling from a stalactite above the arguing mares. "That was Bronze Feather! And that means they must be talking about Dusk!"

Another familiar voice spoke up, Pinkie knew right away it had to be Silken Flight. "Laying blame does nopony any good. He is already coming down from the drug, the medic was right to tell me though. Save his sister, at the cost of his career? That's not a decision I can make. Take him back to Canterlot, let the princesses make that choice."

They fell quiet for a minute, then a third voice Pinkie swore she knew asked. "I've been reading his report. He keeps rewriting it, but the summary always returns to the same point. He failed to scout out the dragon’s species properly and they all probably would have died before the Wonderbolts arrived. Should I take a copy back for Princess Celestia? I've got a handle on teleporting and could be there by dawn."

Their conversation continued, but was growing more distant as they headed for the cave mouth. Pinkie dropped to the ground and continued deeper into the cave, gliding stealthily by pressing against the wall. Around one last corner she found the water, and Dusk, sitting alone under the chilly water, still fully dressed, crown and all. His horn was glowing as bright as a nightlight in the cave’s gloom, and the sound of a quill scraping across paper came from the dirt near her feet. Dusk was writing a letter, editing and revising it time and time again, all with his magic, and without watching what he was doing.

Intrigued, Pinkie reached out to put one foot into the water. When Dusk spoke up it made her freeze in place. "Pinkie, can you keep a secret?"

The source of the waterfall filled the silence, its roar of endless movement a soft white noise on the silence that hung between them. Then Pinkie smiled. "Of course, Dusk. I Pinkie Promise."

The trip home was shockingly easy. The Wonderbolts had acquired a chariot and ferried the wounded back to Ponyville as soon as the sun provided enough light. Applejack's cart and their supplies had been the duty of six huge pegasi and two even bigger griffons to carry, their tow straps straining, but not buckling under the weight.

Dusk had Pinkie retrieve fresh clothing from the cart before they left, and when the last of the wounded had been taken to town, he at last stepped out of the waterfall and changed. Pinkie’s playful voice cut through their shared silence. “I can make sure these are ‘lost’ and not found until after we get home. I’ll even have them properly cleaned if you want, Dusk.”

The mare’s eager look told Dusk enough, and he gave her a thin smile, any more would hurt too much. “Thank you, please do, Pinkie. Did Rarity go on the chariot with AJ and Fluttershy already?” The waterfall had helped, but he could still feel faint traces of the echoes of power that ran through even the water and rocks around him. Gathering his hair up, he tied it back with another of the small, but helpful, silk bands Rarity had now hidden in every one of his shirts.

Pinkie waited a moment, and when he was busy with both hands behind his head working with the band, she stepped in, and stood on her tippy toes, planting a brief kiss on his lips. When she finished and looked up into his eyes, she answered the question dancing there. “Rarity did. And I Pinkie Promised. You never have to worry, but if you ever want to talk, Pinkie Pie is here.” She smiled up at him and gave him a hug that lingered until footsteps started to come down the pathway.

Bronze Feather entered with that same look of trepidation she had worn all night. Come to think of it, Dusk half-remembered her coming once before Pinkie had arrived, with two other mares, but he had been so enraptured by the flow of magic through the world around him, he had hardly been able to identify Bronze before they left again. He wasn’t entirely sure they had even been all mares. “Amb- Dusk” She corrected herself mid sentence. “I did as you asked. The Wonderbolts have escorted all the wounded back to Ponyville. But we should really get you home now. Even with the dragon gone, it’s likely that this area won’t be safe for you. The ‘Bolts have missions and will need to leave as soon as you do.”

Dusk stroked one hand across the top of Pinkie’s head, and she at least released her hug, allowing him to step forward. “Bronze, you can relax. I’ll go now. And-” he looked back around the cave, shaking his head. “Whatever you thought you saw last night? Forget it. As a favor to me?”

The mare stiffened up as he stepped close, but relaxed as he spoke, grinning by the end. “I’ve no idea what you're talking about, sir.” She put extra stress on that final syllable before continuing. “I do have a copy of your report on this outing. Should I deliver it to Princess Celestia now, or do you wish to review it again?”

Glad that Bronze was willing to see things his way, Dusk accepted the offered scroll and read as they walked, wincing at times but in the end accepting it. “I was harsh on myself. But better to be honest and harsh, than to have Princess Celestia question how much I polished up my faults.” He rolled the scroll back up and passed it back to the mare. “Take it, Bronze, and if you’re ever in Ponyville, stop by. At the very least, you’ll be welcomed as a friend and given a decent dinner.”

Saluting, she stuck around just long enough to see him loaded into the chariot with Pinkie and sent back to Ponyville. Then with a wing of the Wonderbolts following her, she headed home for Canterlot.

Dusk watched the four Wonderbolts as they drew the chariot through the sky. This direct route cut their twenty-hour hike down to hardly more than two hours. The cold breeze helped though, driving the last whispers of heat from his flesh, and the afterimages of power finally fading their ghost lights from his eyes. Sitting together in the chariot with Pinkie, the heavy blankets wrapped around them both to drive off the cold. He found himself napping most of the almost too-short trip.

Pinkie’s voice pulled him from his doze, her cry of “Hello everypony! We’re back!” throwing his mind into overdrive. Gripping the wooden frame of the chariot and standing up, the sudden roar of cheering from below shocked him. All of Ponyville had gathered before the new hospital, and must have been gathering since the first few loads of wounded came in. They had known the dragon was a threat to their homes, now they had seen injured Wonderbolt cadets and a few of their neighbours being brought in. Had anypony even told them they were safe?

They needed a show, and he had better give them one. Waving one arm for the watching masses, Dusk bellowed to the Wonderbolts guiding their chariot. “Can you land us by the hospital!? I should address their fears!”

The ‘Bolts twisted the chariot around, and drew in to a clear spot before the hospital, giving the crowd enough time to spread a space to allow them to land. Immediately, the milling ponies rushed the chariot, and Dusk found hands everywhere, reaching out to touch, offering food, and every hand had a face behind it, asking questions, eyes wide with either hope or fear.

For a few minutes, Dusk shook hands, gave hugs, and yelled into those ears close enough to hear. But Pinkie’s insistence they move on made him leave them behind, and walk up the steps to the entrance of the hospital. Dash’s sudden arrival was a shock, her flight suit had been replaced by one of the cadets. Landing in a gap made by the crowd, she gave him a grin and a nudge, and helped Pinkie clear a path.

At last, he saw what they were guiding him towards. At the top of the steps, Mayor Mare stood with Rarity and Applejack, a hint of yellow feathers behind the towering AJ must have been Fluttershy. Glad to see them all standing again, Dusk left the crowd behind and stepped up to the mayor and his friends. First was a kiss from Rarity, then a second from AJ. The mayor shook his hand, and leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek, whispering something in his ear that sparked a nagging memory he had pushed aside days earlier. She had said “It’s an honor to have you home, Magistrate Dusk Shine.”

Dusk carefully leaned between Applejack and Rarity, finding Fluttershy exactly where he had expected to see her. Her right hand was bandaged and splinted, the fresh cloth applied by Nurse Redheart, her trademark style something Dusk had now memorized. He offered her his hand, and very slowly she accepted it with her left. Gently guiding her down to stand at his side, he looked over the gathered population of Ponyville, squeezing the wilting Fluttershy's left hand to show her support, and then raised their linked hands to the sky. At last he drew on his magic, and used it to magnify his voice. “People of Ponyville. Forgive me if I keep this brief. I know our return has not been one of heroes. But I want you to know, you are safe. The dragon is gone, and you can return to your normal lives. You owe us no great debt for this rescue, but we thank you for coming to see if we are well. I leave you again in the hands of your mayor. We have all had a long week, let us meet again next week, when we celebrate the start of the Running of the Leaves.”

Guiding Fluttershy back inside the hospital and sitting her down at a free chair, Dusk wasn’t surprised to hear the sound of several approaching mares. One he didn’t recognize went straight to Fluttershy, offering the flushed mare water. When Dusk turned to look at the others, he was glad to see Nurse Redheart had come. Shoving a clipboard to him, she crossed her arms over her chest when he took it. “I’ve requisitions I need passed on to Canterlot. Do you know a dozen injured Wonderbolts arriving unannounced is not a good way to start your morning?”

The question was clearly hypothetical, but Dusk enjoyed it for just a minute too long. Pushing that aside, he skimmed the notes and gave a shrug. “I’m sure they can have these supplies here before sundown. Did we…” Dusk had to know, he’d done the work, but he’d been drunk on power, half-blind from the raw magic that coursed through his veins. “Did we lose anypony?”

The nurse rolled her eyes as if insulted. “Not one. The Wonderbolts keep skilled medics on hand, I’ll give them that. I think Fluttershy’s hand was the worst of anypony. Dr. Horse examined it carefully and helped me re-splint it. She’ll probably have some numbness in her fingers on cold nights, but otherwise, she’ll be fine in a few months. The cadets? They’re already getting rowdy, I take it they rarely get to do field maneuvers this exciting with so many Wonderbolts around. Some of the stallions are already attempting to seduce every one of my nurses with tales of singlehandedly fending off the dragon.”

This got a small joint laughter from them all. Dusk drew a quill from the admissions desk just behind them, and scribbled a few notes and a signature on the page before handing it back to Redheart. “Send this with the afternoon express mail. If they want to call me magistrate, I’ll make use of the title to help somepony.”

An excitable voice from the door of the hospital might have been ignored, but for the sudden gasp that came from Fluttershy. Barb entered, looking around until she saw Dusk, and then cried out in joy. “Dusk! You’re really back! And you’re not even hurt this time!”

For a moment, everypony froze while Fluttershy’s grip on the glass of water slipped, her eyebrow twitching and her breathing froze. The nurse knelt before her was aware enough to catch the glass, but Fluttershy pushed past her and was suddenly on her knees wrapping Barb into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Barb! I didn’t mean it, I swear! I never meant to hurt anypony. Won’t you forgive me?”

Confused, but suddenly in the arms of a bawling mare, Barb suddenly felt very self aware. Lifting a hand and patting Fluttershy on the head, she looked for help before answering nervously. "It's, umm... I don't think you did anything wrong, Fluttershy. Besides, you're the nicest mare I know, so even if you did do something wrong, I doubt it was on purpose."

For a moment, Fluttershy fell silent, and leaned back so she could look in sudden wonder at the tiny dragoness. "I- oh... you really think I'm that kind?"

Barb turned a little in Fluttershy’s loose grip, and realized the rest of their friends were all motioning for her to continue. Delighted to be able to help, she began to nod enthusiastically. "Aww, shucks Fluttershy! I know it! You're so kindhearted, why I think you could give Princess Cadence a run for her money!"

Letting go of some internal tension, Fluttershy’s shoulders drooped and she gave the dragoness a kiss on the nose. "Thank you, I needed that."

With the tension relaxed, Dusk pointed a finger at Nurse Redheart. "Now about Applejack's ankle-"

As if this was the first volley in a new war, Applejack defensively crossed her arms over her chest and gave an indignant huff. "Ah told you before! I just rolled it, give me a few hours and I'll be right as rain."

"Twice. You rolled it twice. I can't have you limping around the farm if it's only going to make things worse." Dusk interjected, before turning back to the nurse.

Now properly annoyed at them both, Nurse Redheart pointed first to Dusk. "You're right. She did roll it twice. I'd recommend two or three days of peace and quiet with some gentle walks around town to let it heal properly."

Before Dusk could re-enter the conversation, she grabbed his jaw and inspected around his eyes. "And I'd say you're going on day four or so of another bout of insomnia? Now that your mission for Princess Celestia is over, I’m ordering rest and a focus on lowered stress for the next two or three days, and if you don’t start sleeping properly soon, we’ll have to take more serious steps.”

Deflated by Redheart’s quick assessment, Dusk gave the nurse a nod. She stared at him for a moment and returned it, turning away and marching back into the depths of the hospital. Turning to look at his gathered friends, Dusk gave a sigh, and leaned back against a nearby wall. “Alright, so we both take it easy. That’s fine, right AJ?”

Scowling to herself, Applejack turned her gaze to him, and she gave a sigh. “Alright, I’ll yield if you do, Dusk. But if I’m taking time off from the farm, I need somepony to take Big Mac a letter letting him know I’ll be staying in town for a few days. Pinkie, could you?”

Always full of smiles, Pinkie gave a nod. “No problem AJ! Besides, your granny always insists I stay for dinner, and she makes the best dinner!”

As things calmed down, Barb remembered herself and reached up with both hands to tug Dusk’s hand, pulling his attention back to her. “Dusk! You’ve got to come home, now! The new paperwork just keeps piling up! I think Mayor Mare has gone mad! Ever since you were named Magistrate of Ponyville, she keeps sending me more and more letters that need your approval!”

Shocked at her words, Dusk took a step at her pull and stood up again. But part of that comment brought back a smile. “Paperwork? She needs me to work through some paperwork for her? Oh, I can’t wait to see this!”

A joint groan of disappointment escaped the collected friends, save Pinkie who laughed and spoke over them all. “Oh come on! It’s paperwork! It’ll keep Dusk busy and happy! Don’t you see? He can have his fun and keep Nurse Redheart happy at the same time! No dragons, no griffons, and probably no new unicorns invading Ponyville!”

Dash folded up the Wonderbolt cadet uniform with nearly reverential care, her fingers lingering on the fine silken lapel, while her lower lip quivered a little. Rarity’s voice cut through the quiet moment, her quick hands had found Dash’s hairbrush in the mess of her bedroom, and had begun making quick movements to clean the dirt and grit from the younger mare’s hair. “See, this is why the ‘Bolts wear skullcaps as part of their uniform, darling! But still, why put it away? I don’t think I could ever craft a copy half as effective, let alone, half as beautiful!”

Pushing aside her feelings, Dash leaned into Rarity’s combing attention. “Nahh! That wouldn’t be right, you know? It was kind of Captain Obsidian to give me this suit to change into after I got soaked. But it’s special. It’s the first Wonderbolt cadet uniform I’ve ever owned. I want to earn the right to wear it again. That’s my new goal.”

Laughing at her friend’s determination, Rarity gave a nod and pulled the comb from her hair and moved it to her tail, her voice warm. “I know Dusk will probably be doing this new paperwork until we force him to leave it behind for dinner, but you should join us too, dear. You can’t always eat a bag lunch from Sugarcube Corner or rush and grab some silly fried toss-up for breakfast every day. You’ll end up having to run twice as far every day or risk growing a gut.”

Enjoying Rarity’s grooming attention, Dash gave the older mare a look, but lifted her tail to allow her to continue the grooming. “Please? With this body? I’d never risk getting fat!” Striking a pose, the fact she was naked, sweaty, and alone with a good friend sunk in, all while she admired herself in the mirror. A momentary playful thought danced in her mind. “Uh, Rarity. Feel free to say no, if you’re not interested… But I was wondering if you’d care to join me in the shower? I can’t clean my wing feathers that well, and you’re so good with your hands...”

Rarity stopped brushing at Rainbow Dash’s tail, and looked up for a moment, her mind split between two answers. A grin curved her lip and she reached out, fingers admiring the piercing in Dash’s nipple by applying soft pressure and rolling the tender flesh against her finger. “Your offer is a thrilling one, Dash. And on another day, I might even accept it. But Applejack is hurt. Dusk will be nose deep in paperwork for hours. Barb’s been home alone for days, and I should go see dear Sweetie Belle before anything else happens. I feel guilty for making her wait this long. Now give me that suit, and I’ll take it to get properly cleaned and stored.”

Dusk's eyes gleamed with delight as his eyes roamed across the wild stack of fresh paperwork Barb had been attempting to sort and process since his departure from Ponyville. Unable to help himself, he pulled a pair of his ebony reading glasses from the desk drawer and hesitantly lifted the top letter from the pile. "All of this is for me? And all from Mayor Mare?"

While Dusk poured over the letter in his hands, Barb rushed to support the heavy pile of letters above her head as it began to sway and shift. Dusk’s casual selection of the letter had set the stack off balance. "N-no! Much of the pile is letters from citizens of Ponyville who have requests for any number of things from Canterlot or Princess Celestia herself. About a fifth is the new hospital’s budget, which Mayor Mare said just needs an official confirmation, and the last twenty are all replies from different Canterlot administrators wanting to know why Ponyville is so behind on their mail, taxes, etcetera."

Adjusting the bridge of his glasses further up his nose, Dusk moved to sit at his desk, and found enough free space to put the letter he had been reading down on the desk. "And just how was she handling all of this up until now?" A few quick strokes of his pen and the letter was placed in the empty out tray. "And start taking notes so we don't have to reference the outbox letters. Apparently, Miss Cheerilee is asking for assistance in finding a part-time music teacher."

With the stack rebalanced, Barb rushed back over to grab a scroll and her own quill, jotting down that note before answering his question. "Oh! Well, she told me that whenever a magistrate came to visit Ponyville, she'd deliver the current backlog to their staff and normally nine tenths came back eventually with an answer. Then once a year, a special magistrate was appointed to Ponyville and together they processed the rest of the mess."

Dusk had to suppress the urge to laugh a little at how disorganized their system had become in Ponyville without a proper magistrate. Instead, he selected the next letter from the pile and began to read, channeling his joy into a grin instead. "Barb, let’s get to work."

Watching as he dove into the mundane pile of paperwork with quiet pleasure, Barb began taking notes, glad that the duty before her mentor wasn't something that was going to end up putting his life at risk for once.

The continued knocking made it clear. "By the Light! Is somepony hanging a sign on my damn door: 'Showering, please knock'?"

Leaning her head out from the flow of water Dash bellowed again. "Give me half a minute to finish or I'll kick your teeth in!"

When silence followed, Dash relished in it for nearly ten seconds, before rinsing the last of the shampoo from her hair. That done, she slammed the tap off and wrapped a towel around her body, tucking it in and in a moment of wishful thinking, shifted the towel just a little lower. "Maybe Rarity changed her mind? I’m sure Dusk's stuffy paperwork can't be that entertaining."

Grabbing a spare towel and using it to dry her hair, Dash made her way to the front door, skirting the pile of laundry she needed to deliver for cleaning with practised expertise. Attempting to strike a casual pose before the door, she pulled it open, only to scowl at the worried stallion on the otherside. "Thunderlane? I left you in charge. Don't tell me you messed 'sunny days all week' up so badly you needed to come bug me the second I got home!"

Shocked at Dash’s rather risque arrival at the door, Thunderlane took a one-two punch to the ego, when she started blasting him with questions. Attempting to recover, he shoved her ‘letter’ of orders back to her and attempted to put together a coherent reply, with his own notes now suddenly being studied to remind himself of the numbers he had spent the last few days trying to prove wrong. “That’s just it, Dash! I did order the others to keep it to sunny days! But then I found out you were behind on your paperwork for Cloudsdale! So I started trying to clear up the backlog. And when I did, I found out we’re nearly a month of rain behind schedule according to this week’s forecast! Now frost is scheduled to start in two weeks time and most of the plant life is too dry to survive the winter!”

Throwing aside her scribbled note of instructions and ripping his papers from his hands, Dash began to pour over his numbers before giving up and comparing the total at the bottom to the tacked-on forecast from Cloudsdale. Groaning, she shoved the papers back to him, and looked to the sky. “Did you show anypony else these numbers yet?

Shifty-eyed, Thunderlane looked around a bit to see if anypony was watching him before shaking his head. “Well, no. I figured I’d just missed something in your figures and sent in the backlog assuming everything was correct. I did have my brother check my math just to make sure, I wasn’t exactly top of the class in Mat-”

Relief pouring through her, Dash rushed forward and grabbed the stallion by the collar with both hands, pulling him in close and grinning wickedly. “Good! Then here’s what we do. Call up everypony on the weather team. All time off is canceled until next week, and all holidays are delayed. We’ve got a right proper storm to brew up, and fast!”

Wrapped up in her easy escape from this major screwup, Dash never noticed her towel had slipped loose in the excitement and fallen to her feet until the stallion’s eyes bugged out and he gave her a stiff nod before bolting away.

Dinner had been good, and Dusk had been glad for some peace and quiet. Except for the foul mood that had enveloped Rainbow Dash, it had been a fine dinner. Of course, she had refused to share whatever it was that had her concerned, but he was sure in time she’d change her mind. “That or I’ll discover the root of the problem.”

Now dinner had passed and Dusk returned to the diminishing pile of paperwork, with Barb taking notes. It was only a matter of time before he could make use of his desk again. But as Applejack grew restless, she began to pace, far too few of the questions in the letters ever called for her own expertise. Looking out the window, Dusk saw the golden autumn sky, and began to smile. “You know, the weather is still bright and warm, and the winds are down. We could go for a walk and stretch your leg? That’d be nice, right?”

Barb’s small gasp made the mare look to the dragon before turning to walk back, looking over the great pile of paperwork and watching him, before turning to the dragoness. “Let me guess, he’d never leave a project halfway finished back in Canterlot?”

Nodding a little and looking worriedly up at Dusk, Barb answered honestly. “Half the time, he’d only sleep a few hours when I’d gone to bed, and I’d find he’d re-written his own project requirements when I got up, and the smell of yesterday’s half-eaten daisy sandwich was coming from between two heavy stacks of new paperwork that hadn’t been there when I went to bed.”

Impressed, Applejack stepped around the table and let a finger slide under Dusk’s jaw, her finger lifting it up so she could inspect into the depths of his eyes. Happy with what she saw in those depths, she leaned in to kiss him, fingers dragging through his hair, her teeth raking across his lip and tugging a little. Satisfied, she released his lip and leaned back. “Then I suppose I can’t refuse, now can I? Coming with us, Barb?”

Looking from the thick stack of paperwork to the fading sunlight, Barb’s decision was made with only a moment of thought needed. “And give up sitting here and enjoying the glorious pile of paperwork? Just try and beat me out the door.”

Dusk gave a sigh and rolled his eyes, finishing the last letter he had been reading over, his quick signature drawn across the page before it was put atop the outbin. Standing slowly, he slipped an arm across Applejack’s hips and leaned against her, before revealing his thoughts. “I think I would be safe to say that most of these letters from the people of Ponyville are really just prayers to Princess Celestia. The longer I look them over, the more it reminds me that so many ponies see her as a god, and forget she is a woman as well. Did you know she likes two lumps of sugar in her tea, but only one in her morning coffee? She says it makes it easier to avoid drinking too much coffee and projecting a bad image, ‘The Sun Goddess who doesn’t want to wake up first thing in the morning? Nopony would ever respect me!’ And she really does worry about those kinds of things.”

They talked all the while as they walked out into the sun and began to take a lazy approach to touring the town, walking arm in arm while talking. Looking up to the sun, Applejack let her legs stretch, and ignored the small twinge that whispered in her ankle. “Princess Celestia can move the sun though, right? Do ya think you’d ever be able to move it?”

Joining the mare in gazing to the sky, Dusk’s eyebrow twitched, and he drew a breath as he focused, extending his will through his magic to even reach the sun. There was a pressure, a presence, a weight. He’d never thought to reach out and try to touch the sun before, yet now as he attempted it, he found that it wasn’t so unreachable, even if it took all his power he could casually muster. A voice whispered back to him, one he knew well. Releasing the attempt, he drew his power back and shook the words from his mind. “I don’t think she’d like me to try, even if I could. Besides, old legends from before the founding of Equestria say it took twelve unicorns, guided by Starswirl the Bearded himself, to raise and lower the sun every day, and the act was so exhausting that they needed two weeks of rest to recover.”

Shocked at that, Applejack looked from Dusk, and then once again up to the sun in the sky. “I’d never heard that story. That was when Princesses Celestia and Luna were both still only foals, right? Being raised by the Old Unicorn Empire, right?”

Impressed, Dusk gave her a nod. “Exactly. Estimates and records together are both rather sketchy, but it was during that time, before the Windigos invasion, that the Unicorns discovered the Princesses as young foals in the wilds. Nopony has ever figured out where they came from, and the other tribes were always threatening war back then over who should protect or raise the princesses as young foals. The infighting got so bad, the Crystal Empire grew tired of it, and their Queen channeled the full might of their kingdom into a week of night, to remind the other tribes their fighting would not be tolerated if it threatened the foals.”

Shocked, Applejack stopped him, and looked into his eyes. “That long? but ponies would go crazy with such an endless night! What happened next?”

Dusk laughed, and shook his head. “On the seventh day, the legends say Starswirl came to Princess Celestia, who was only a foal of maybe ten or twelve years. He admitted that the Old Unicorn Empire had spent the last six days straight attempting to force back the sun to its place in the sky, and that nopony remained with the magic to move it; they had exhausted their whole kingdom. Sad that her mentor was so torn by his failure to convince his king or their princess to admit they could not challenge the power of the united Crystal Empire, Princess Celestia asked him to teach her the spell to raise the sun… demanded it actually. When he refused, she kept on hounded him for the knowledge, but he refused time and time again. Finally, when it was past what should have been dawn of the seventh day she grew frustrated, and declared she would do it without his spell. Shocked, he attempted to tell her that every attempt to cast the spell with any support had killed the most powerful unicorns in the past. She stubbornly ignored him and took flight to do it anyways. That day, when she managed to do what the other Unicorns failed to do and rose the sun, she earned her cutie mark. That night, Princess Luna lowered it and raised the moon, earning her cutie mark. And only a day later, a crystal pegasus arrived, waving a white flag and carrying a letter of surrender. The Crystal Empire surrendered, not to the Old Unicorn Empire, but to the princesses themselves. That was the day the old kingdoms finally found peace, until the Windigo invaded, and that doesn’t even go into how the Zebra Nomadic Empire decided the Crystal Empire’s acts had destroyed the balance between the kingdoms. They choose to leave the old homeland and seek a new home in peace away from the other tribes’ wars.”

With being told so much all at once, Applejack needed a minute of silence to consider everything she was just told. During that silence, a door behind them was pushed open, and two mares stepped out into the street. With heavy sacks weighing them down, Lyra and Minuette began to head towards Ponyville train station. Just as Dusk started to wonder what was going on, Bonbon burst through the door, scrambling after the mares, and stopping only long enough to lock up. Seeing she was being watched, she turned, yelling after the unlistening mares. “Wait up, please! I’ll just be a minute!” Turning, she rushed over to Dusk, and the stallion was surprised to realize her eyes were red, and her cheeks were wet. Had she been crying? Cupping his hand, the mare gazed up to him, her lip quivering. “Oh, Dusk! It’s really terrible! Minuette’s scholarship to Starswirl University was suddenly withdrawn! Now she has to rush back to Canterlot to try and convince her uncle, or somepony else to sponsor her since she didn’t raise nearly enough money to cover her school fees! Do you know somepony who can help? I’d gladly let them stay rent free, they are such good friends! But that wouldn’t really make any difference anyways.”

Looking over her shoulder and realizing the two unicorns had not waited as she had asked, she sighed and took off after the retreating women, still calling for them to wait, and never giving time to really answer. Applejack watched them go, shaking her head. “A shame. Bonbon’s a good landlady, but she never really makes many friends, traveling to and from Canterlot for work all the time as she does.”

Dusk’s lingering thoughts danced in his mind, behind his eyes, swaying to the rhythm set by the harp case tied to Lyra’s luggage. His voice still distant, he called to the mare and the dragoness at his side. “Applejack, do you know where Derpy lives? I need to send a letter. An official letter, as the magistrate. We haven’t sent royal mail directly to Canterlot before, I’m sure Derpy would enjoy the extra pay for a rush delivery of royal mail, done through official channels and all.”

Confused, Applejack looked from Dusk to the harp case he seemed so focused on watching, but knew enough to trust him. “Course I do, she’s just a dozen houses over or so. But Dusk, why not have Barb send it, if it’s so important?”

Grinning and pulling a piece of parchment from his jacket, Dusk unfurled it and gave Barb the letter and a portable pot of ink he always kept on hand, ‘just in case’. “Because, Ponyville needs a music teacher, and that’s magistrate business. And magistrate business goes via royal mail, and Derpy’s our mare for that job.” Looking down to Barb as she settled the parchment and readied the quill, this time Dusk didn’t bother hiding his smile. “Barb, take a letter.”

As the guard stepped through a side door to avoid disturbing the meeting, the ring of voices in the throne room echoed in the nearly empty chamber. Trained in these matters, the stallion walked without looking at anypony, but rather stared directly at the wall ahead of him the whole time, crossing behind Princess Celestia’s throne, and walking up to the small table that sat between the royal sisters’ dual thrones. Neither mare payed him a moment’s attention, instead remaining occupied with the report of a young pegasus mare. Doing his duty, he slipped the letter to the table between the princesses, and placed it face down, so the signature and address were hidden, but the seal on the back was revealed. Then he left, with the same unblinking, unquestioning, uninquisitive care. Nopony acknowledged his presence, but that was simply proof he had done his duty properly.

Princess Celestia let two fingers touch the newly arrived letter, tracing the outer edge of the seal. Apparently finding it satisfactory, she folded her hands once more upon her lap, the golden jewelry that decorated her arms singing as she moved. That noise alone was enough to make the kneeling Bronze Feather fall silent, her eyes wide with mixed awe and terror, unsure of her fate and sweating with fear. Taking advantage of the silence, Celestia spoke. “So after everything was said and done, while you were helping the Wonderbolts coordinate a survey to make sure the dragon really did leave our lands, a trio of medics guilted Dusk Shine into using Black Lotus, and using that power, he saved the life of a mare, nay, one of the youngest cadets, on this very dangerous mission? Was he observed the whole time after taking the drug? Did you record every word he said, and quarantine everypony who saw or spoke with him during the fallout?”

Silk interrupted before Bronze could answer, speaking her own piece. “Except for a minute or two when Agent Three’s visit distracted her, Bronze stayed at his side. But he didn’t talk to anypony until after Pinkie snuck into the cave, and by then, he was out of the danger zone, your majesty.”

Luna was intrigued, and leaned forward. “But didn’t you say you’d both posted guards, a triple duty if we remember correctly? How could a mare like this ‘Pinkie Pie’ sneak past so many guards, into a cave with only one entrance, and get past you three to the waterfall? We’ve read everything you’ve written about this Pinkie. She has no military training, we believe she is a baker’s assistant?”

Bronze looked to Silk for support, but realized the older mare had no better answers than she did. She gave a shrug. “I can not say, Princess Luna, but when we looked into the caves, we could find no suggestion that she had found a different entrance. And her presence calmed Dusk, so we let her stay, since she gave no sign of noticing Silk’s presence, and she never saw Agent Three, her cloaking spell was secure throughout her whole visit. Plus, when Dusk asked her to keep his secret, she got very quiet and very serious. She might be the Element of Laughter, but I think she does secretly know when to be serious and when to throw a pie.”

Confused, Luna again cut in, her brow arched high. “Throw a pie? But why would we want to throw a pie at somepony?”

Suppressing her own laughter, Celestia looked to her sister, and gently patted her hand. “Because, dear sister, then the pony you threw the pie at would have pie in their face.”

Silence reigned in the chamber for some time, yet as the notion was considered, digested, and examined, Luna looked to the plate that contained her half finished dinner. “There is a piece of pie. And there…” She looked to a guard across the room who had yawned again, for the fourth time! “Is a pony whose face might gain some merit from the addition of a pie. So we add one to the other, and...?”

The room remained silent as the guard’s lips cracked, and his fifth yawn since this meeting started escaped his lips. Then in one sudden motion, Princess Luna cupped the plate with her pie and shifted her grip, hurling it across the room and squarely into the now very shocked guard’s face. The room remained silent, and slowly the pie slid down the guard’s face, chunks of apple sticking to his cheek, while the dry crust fell to the floor. Her experiment done, the lazy guard was now very awake and quite embarrassed before the other guards, let alone the princesses. Satisfied, Luna turned back to look at the mares kneeling before her, the shocked look of horror in both mares’ faces told her she had gotten it right. “A proper time to throw a pie... We like this idea. Continue.”

Still in shock, Bronze attempted to end this confusion. “Yes, so we kept the secret, and the medic who asked Dusk to take the Black Lotus turned himself in to me as soon as the last of the wounded was taken away on the chariot. I had him rushed back to Canterlot by Wonderbolts Silk had told me were trustworthy. Now we both await our fate, princess.” Her story finished, Bronze lay her face flat on the floor, her hands resting on either side of her face.

Realizing the meaning the mare had put behind her words, Celestia let silence return to the chamber, and she allowed the mare to sweat, since it was clear she felt guilty and wanted punishment. When she was sure that it had been long enough, she cleared her throat. “You were never ordered to keep watch on Dusk’s diet, and your orders were focused on the protection of his life from violence, not from traitors. I accept your story. You will take this as a lesson. But the medic who dared risk our most faithful student’s life in hopes of a miracle to rescue his sister? We are sympathetic, but such behaviour is unacceptable. Black Lotus is given to Wonderbolt medics only for the most dire of situations. Let this stallion serve a year and a day at Tartarus as a doctor, treating the prisoners. His rank will be held for him, and should he wish to return to the Wonderbolts following his service in Tartarus, we will welcome him with open arms.”

The scribbling of a quill over parchment by one of her attendants made sure that this was recorded for posterity. Celestia sighed, and gave a wave of her hand, signaling the scribe not to record what followed. “We have read Dusk’s letter. He admits his mistakes. That he rushed their deployment for fear of the dragon growing hungry, that he ordered Senior Cadet Surprise to break from her duty protecting him to go investigate what was taking Senior Cadet Misty Fly so long to return from dealing with the Diamond Dogs. He admits further that he should have had the scouts researching the dragon’s species and exact age, as such information might have prevented the near disaster that came from assuming it was one of the normal species. And he admits he rushed traveling to the dragon’s cave, worried delay might leave the wounded in a vulnerable position.”

When she fell silent, Luna cut into the silence, as if reading a speech they had prepared already. “We find, however, he glosses over his own achievements. He confronted one of the most violent dragon species, and the only pony hurt was the mare who broke her hand on the dragon's snout while driving him off. He did it without being forced to use the power of the Elements of Harmony, and he might possibly have saved the lives of Senior Cadet Misty Fly’s wing with his orders to Senior Cadet Surprise. We find all of this most impressive, and we wish to teach him to use his natural talents for strategy and command. We will expect you both to assist us in future operations with the same discretion you used these last few days.”

Realizing that they both had been given orders, as well as dismissed, Bronze Feather and Silken Flight rose, and gave the princesses a salute. Together, they left the chamber, followed by all of the guards. Feeling coy, Bronze made the guard who had been hit by Princess Luna’s pie stop by the door, so she could pluck a piece of the apple from his cheek. Chewing slowly she arched a brow at the guard, speaking carefully. “Will you report to Royal Guard Captain Shining Armor, or should I just tell him you’ve selected your own punishment? Say, thirty laps of the training field in full field pack a day for a week straight?”

Shocked, the stallion snapped a salute to the mare, even though she was his junior. Without a word, he turned and began to quickly march off to the barracks. Silk was impressed and laughed, linking arms with her junior, and guiding her from the chamber. “Very good. But next time, try to purr seductively as you eat the apple. It gives them hope before you cut their legs out from under them. Do you drink, Bronze Feather? I know a good tavern.”

With the mares gone, and their privacy now complete, Celestia at last looked down at the letter, her amusement at the mares now doubled by finally being able to fill in the question of the unfamiliar seal. A book crossed by two scrolls, she had never known any of her magistrates to use such an emblem. But one of her students did, and she used her silver dagger to open it. She couldn’t prevent her laughter as she read the letter inside, and passed it to her confused sister to read rather than attempting to explain. “Oh, my faithful student! I give you a new game to play, and already you find in the first hand dealt a royal flush. Keep it up my dearest Dusk Shine, we need ponies of your talent.”

Lowering the letter, Luna looked back at her sister, joining her at last in her mirth. “Ponyville needs a music teacher, and he remembers a student from Starswirl University whose talent was music. He asks if we know about her activities since graduation and if we might contact her to offer the mare the job.” Laughing along with her sister she folded the letter, and attempting to force a straight face, she looked to her sister. “So tell me, dearest sister, this Lyra Heartstrings, do we know where she is, and who she works for?”

Returning her sister’s coy smile, Celestia gave a nod. “I just so happen to have heard she was coming back to Canterlot, her last job ended poorly. I’m sure she will be delighted to find this new opportunity waiting for her the moment she arrives in Canterlot.”

“Let the stallion have, say, a week off? I’ve already found the next matter we should ask him to investigate. After all, it’s a magistrate’s duty to deal with any signs of black market smuggling inside their territory. And fortunately for us, the Element of Loyalty, Chief Weathermare Rainbow Dash, has recently discovered signs of somepony smuggling Black Lotus in the Everfree Forest well within his territory. Until then, we shall monitor all of their dreams, we need to know so much more about the elements.” The sisters shared a nod, and then turned to finish their dinners, Celestia splitting her slice of pie in half, and sliding it onto her sister’s empty plate.

Author's Notes:

Well, that was a massive chapter that I'd never expected to be so big o.O;;;

So, we now have a hint of the Princesses history, a few clues about the Old Empires before the Windigo invaded, and the birth of Equestria! We have hints about the Crystal Empire, and even Starswirl himself! And we have several upcoming storylines for Dusk and his friends to deal with.

Fist Rainbow Dash has to cover up for mistakes she made while running Ponyville's Weather team.
Applejack is staying in town as Dusk's guest to rest her injured leg.
And later? Dusk will have to deal with his new governmental duties, hosting the Running of the Leaves, and what of this Black Lotus smuggler?

And for those who don't follow my blogs! I have added a glossary of terminology used in my story! It is still a massive work in progress and your suggestions will be keenly accepted! So if any term, phrase, or concept that I've brought up in my story has confused you, go to the blog found here and let me know! I promise to continue to update it as much as I can to keep it as helpful as possible!