Pinkie Pie had a rule. It was a pretty big rule and she always made sure she followed it no matter what, rain or shine, milk or juice. She had others rules too; always eat the cherry first on a piece of cake or if you have the choice between a chocolate cookie and an oatmeal cookie always eat two chocolate cookies and save the oatmeal one for later, and so on. But this rule was different, though no less important. This was a friendship rule!

If a friend makes a baddy, you don’t get huffy, you get huggy.

Pinkie Pie reaaally didn’t feel like getting huggy with Twilight now for one. Not that Twilight wasn’t an amazing friend, she totally was! She was smart, motivated, and always kept trying to explain things to Pinkie that she didn’t have to -Pinkie might not be book smart but everypony knows that you can’t supersede momentum by planting your hooves in place and going all “boi-oi-iong!” with your mouth; Pinkie just didn’t have time to care about that when she was busy going all “boi-oi-iong!” with her mouth. Oh, and Twilight had this one great slumber party one time where she didn’t invite Pinkie, but Pinkie Pie didn’t mind as long as the rest of her friends had a splendid, good ol’ time!

...Pinkie would have invited her....

Anyway, trends in the superficial romance of the Equestrian Robin aside, Pinkie Pie had to really fight the urge to not get all huffy with Twilight. Ok, so Raegdan did a major doodoo. A very big one. Maybe one of the worst Pinkie Pie had ever heard, imagined, or heard scary tales about. The worst one was the one that those ponies did.

She did her best to not think about that. Balloons, think of balloons, red and blue, yellow and green, with smiley faces drawn on them. Going all poing and sproing, bouncing everywhere, reaching the top of the ceiling, a little filly crying alone in a room, hurt and used, balloonsallaroundandconfettiandthere’samariachibandcakeand…

Balance restored on the razor’s edge, Pinkie continued on her way, lightly skipping along as she headed towards Luna’s tower.

For two, she was in quite a bit of a huffy with Raegdan too. Pinkie didn’t know what he should have done but she wished he had done something else that worked better, where everypony said they were sorry and meant it, all the fillies went back home with nothing ever having happened to them, Twilight didn’t hate her step-dad, and Pinkie ruled over Candyland with a tyrannical iron fist that could transform into a fondue pot. How hard could that have been?

Ok, so her expectations might have been a tiny, whizy, itty bitty high.

Didn’t matter anyway. It had stopped and it was over with. Well, it did matter and a little part of Pinkie was tearing up inside, saying it would never be over for some. Okie dokie, so it stopped enough. It was like a hoof scratching on a blackboard. The blackboard and the scratches were still there but the hoof and noise was gone. Maybe the hoof had been slapped away too violently and Twilight might have been right saying that Raegdan hadn’t filed all the necessary papers to be the class’ Blackboard Monitor but here’s where Pinkie was getting into the stickie with Attendance Taker Twilight Sparkle.

Raegdan was going to the School Principal soon enough to explain himself. Principal Celestia would do the punishment for his icky, not Twilight.

So why did Twilight decide to be such a meanie mean and hurt him so much worse than Princess Celestia ever could?

Pinkie stopped her skipping, which had at one point become normal walking -so pedestrian!- , to spare a thought for the poor baby dragon. Spike didn’t need to hear even what little Twilight decided he should know, but at least he hadn’t been forbidden from talking to his dad again. Good thing that Aunty Pinkie had a talk with Probable Crush Rarity and had scheduled an uplifting visit to Raegdan for Spike sometime after Pinkie had her talk with daddy numero two.

Daddy. Huh. The girls thought Pinkie was mostly joking around but Pinkie really liked the idea of Raegdan as a dad. When she was all sick Raegdan held her in a way that her own dad rarely did. He was so much bigger that she felt as if she was in a warm snuggly cave where nothing could ever touch her and she would be safe forever and ever. Raegdan might be a big liar with asbestos pants -Pinkie certainly wasn’t blind or deaf- but he didn’t lie about loving his family. You can’t lie with hugs.

Which was what really made Pinkie get all huffy with sister Twilight. Raegdan was her family. Even more important, Raegdan was her adopted family. Raegdan had no blood ties with Twilight, Spike, or Pinkie -he called her little pink so it was ok to include herself there, right?- and he could have just been friends with them, which would be super duper awesome, but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to love them like family. It was like he was their friend, then became their dad, then became their friend again and it all got mixed into this bowl like oats and hot water making delicious gruel. No, wait! Wrong analogy! Brain Police, catch that wayward thought and lock it in the slammer. Yes, that’s the place, right there, next to that despicable criminal called Sense of Personal Space. They will never see the light of day again!

Where was she? Oh, yeah. You don’t give up on family, you don’t give up on friends, so you certainly don’t give up on somepony like Raegdan. Ok Twily, he was wrong and never should have done that and should have instead gone to the Princess first, and he will go to super jail now, which even if he could avoid it would choose not to because you asked and he will do as you asked.

You never, ever, stop loving family. That’s cruel. Twilight had told him before that if he told her the truth it wouldn’t change a thing and she would trust him. Twilight should change her name to Twiliar, cause that’s a big fib that she told him. Despite what he did or not, Twilight should not have done her best to rip his heart out to offer it to the old gods so that they would raise the sun u… huh, that was a stupid thought. Where did that come from?

Pinkie Pie was on the case however! She would march up those stairs, find him, and tell him that she wuvs him, Spike loves him, and that when Twilight stops being a doodoohead she will remember that she loves him too.

That’s a lot of stairs by the way. If Pinkie was a princess -one day Candyland, one day- she would have her room on the ground floor. The view, on the other hoof, might be totes worth it. She frowned. Hold your ponies, Luna has wings, she doesn’t need to have a room up high to get a view. Pinkie gasped. She had wings! She didn’t need to climb the stairs, that’s why she didn’t mind them. Pinkie furrowed her brows in thought. Did that mean that this tower was her roost? Dashie liked to stay up high too. Was it a pegasus thing? There are a lot of races with wings so maybe the politically correct term was flyer? Or featherly inclined? Did they all have a secret life, far away from the prying eyes of the wretched ground-dwellers? What crazy adventures did they get into up there, where the heart widened to be as broad and welcoming as the endless horizon itself?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyr1s8Ktqe0

Pinkie Pie knocked on the dark double doors, a simple rhythm of a song she had been humming yesterday, and then kicked at them with both of her hind legs since she misplaced her cymbals. Whooo!

One of the doors creaked open slowly -Pinkie made a mental note to bring some oil with her next time- and half of Luna’s face looked out at her suspiciously. Her visible eye kept trying to shift to Pinkie Pie’s neck only to roll back in position. Pinkie had noticed her doing that every time they met.

“Have you ever been on a date with an Equestrian Robin?” Pinkie asked Luna’s left side.

The eyebrow on Luna’s face that Pinkie could see rose up, an eight or maybe a nine on the I-B-row scale. Applejack would be glad to hear she was still the undefeated champion.

“Not to my knowledge, but I have been doing some heavy drinking on occasion lately so who can really know?” Luna answered. “Why are you here Pinkie Pie?”

“Oh, Twilight told us that Raegdan tortured and killed fifteen bad po- Wheeeee!” Luna’s magic opened the doors wide, grabbed Pinkie and threw her inside, closing the doors shut with a very cool metal clang.

It went all “doooooom!”.

“Are you playing at being insane or are you really that crazy? You don’t talk about this kind of thing out in the open you-”

“Were you going to make a sandwich?” Pinkie pointed at the very, very large knife -someponies might call it a sword if they weren’t notorious experts of the culinary art like Pinkie was- that hovered next to Luna’s head.

“Hmm?” Luna seemed to notice she was still holding her butter buster sword in her magic and she carefully put it down by letting it lean on the wall, the sharp edge glinting with promises of jammy goodness. “I was planning to if the right, or wrong, individual showed up. Now, why are you here?”

“This little sister wants to talk to big daddy!” Pinkie answered cheerily.

Luna’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Pinkie. She seemed to be doing that a lot. She’d get wrinkles if she kept it up. Do Alicorns get wrinkles? They might find out soon enough. “I believe Raegdan has had enough for a while. Maybe you could give him some time to heal himself before you ponies try to completely crush his heart beneath your hooves?”

“Huh? Don’t be silly.” Pinkie shooed away the ridiculous idea of doing that with her hoof. Raegdan was following a hammer motif after all. “I didn’t come here for that!”

“Then, once again, I ask. Why are you here?”

Pinkie stood straight and saluted. “Corporal Pinkie, present for daily hug rations, sir! Where do I deliver the payload?”

Luna shook her head in irritation but at least seemed to give it some thought instead of denying Pinkie outright which was a pretty good thing. Ponies always were upset when they said no and Pinkie still went ahead with whatever she wanted. It was better for everypony involved if they just said; yes, ok, do what you want, I’m not sure, or go ahead if you think you have the- hey, where are you going?

“I will… allow you to see him. You don’t mind if I take some precautions first?”

“Like what?” Pinkie sat back down, relaxing.

The dark blue Alicorn approached Pinkie Pie with her horn lit. “You know first hoof how we need to be extremely careful. I just need to make sure you are… clean.”

Pinkie raised one of her front legs and sniffed loudly at the pit between it and her torso. “I took a bath. If you see anything suspicious it’s just leftover chocolate, Pinkie promise.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“I meant that somepony might have placed a type of monitoring spell or something similar on you. I’d rather not take chances considering what you might discuss with him, ok?”

“Oh. Okie dokie. Commence with the cleansing!” Pinkie cheered her on. Luna closed her eyes and Pinkie could almost feel a little tickle somewhere near her left ear.

“Done?” Pinkie Pie asked when Luna opened her eyes again.

Luna slowly raised her hoof to point at one of the doors. Pinkie winked at Luna -careful to give her No. 23 “Gotcha!” and not No.32 “Cya later hot stuff”- and gleefully hopped her way through the door. Maybe she should have opened it first but headbutts didn’t hurt at all. Poofy hair stands for victory and endless headbuttingness.

Ooh, new room. This one brought the cozyness up to twelve, which was crazy since everypony knows cozyness can normally go only up to nine point marshmallow. It was a comfy and neat living room. The pillows on the couches and chairs were so plushy they looked like they could swallow you up. Pinkie didn’t want to chance the maws of the dreaded couch hounds that could be hiding in that softness but somepony had to find out if they had good, springy springs and she was the mare born for the job. Oh, Raegdan first, focus Pinkie, focus. Where was he?

Right, he was sitting in front of the fireplace. Strange to have it lit on such a warm day, but he didn’t have a coat like they did. He had his normal clothes on, though Pinkie saw him way more often in his armor, but Rarity was right, they did look to be pretty thin and old. No wonder he sat in front of the fireplace. Nevertheless, no armor was a good thing. It pinched.

He hadn’t noticed her yet despite Pinkie hopping her way in and around the room behind him. Raegdan was focused on the fire. Every now and then he picked up a large sheet of paper from a stack next to him and stared at it for a while. Then he would loudly glug a couple of swallows from a dark bottle, crumple the paper, and throw it in the fire. He kept a small pile of random stuff in front of him. Pinkie Pie only recognized his own helmet from the whole stash. It looked like he had been smudging it red, starting from that stylish starburst.

Pinkie Pie, tired of being ignored, or not being noticed, after the tenuous wait of whole eternal seconds, jumped on him from behind, latching on his back with her hooves around his neck, holding on as tight as she could. Two seconds later, and a failed attempt to breathe in, they had combined into the fearsome form of a lumpy heap on the floor.

Raegdan crawled his way back to his bottle, only turning to see his attacker after he made certain there was still more liquid inside. “Ah, littl- Pinkie Pie,” he slurred. “What are you doing here?”

“Came to see you,” Pinkie answered simply, trying to ignore what he didn’t say. “What are you drinking?”

“Alcohol.”

“Why?”

“Cause there’re things I’m trying to stop feeling. Are you allowed to be here?”

“Twilight isn’t my boss. She might be, but if she is then she really pays badly. I haven’t seen a single bit yet and I’ve been working my cute tush off. What are you doin’?”

“Burning stuff.”

“Why?’

“Cause there’re things I’m trying to stop feeling.” He tipsily got up to his knees. “I think I just had a deja vu for some reason.” Raegdan fell back down on his rear and brought the bottle back to his lips.

Pinkie took the opportunity to peep at one of the papers he was burning. Her peep led her to an eep and then a pirouette on her hip. “That’s one of Twilight’s and Spike’s drawings! It belongs on a fridge,” Pinkie Pie whipped back at him.

“They all belong in the fucking fire, that’s where-” Raegdan gasped out in surprised pain. His eyes followed the movement of the ruler that Pinkie waved in front of him. He looked back at the bottle suspiciously.

“Don’t swear!” Pinkie Pie said with authority.

Raegdan shuffled on his knees to the side to pick up a handkerchief that had fallen on the floor. He kept it in the tight fist of his left hand. Pinkie Pie noticed the color shifting to red but she didn’t allow his cool, color changing powers to distract her.

Raegdan fell back down, leaning his back against a couch. “Twilight told you everything, didn’t she?”

Pinkie nodded and scooted closer.

The bottle rose once more and emptied more of its contents in Raegdan’s stomach. “Did she tell Spike?” he asked.

“Yes. Well, not really. She told him you hurt some ponies and that when everything is over you are going to be on trial and might not get out of it this time. He didn’t want to believe her but he asked Rarity about it and Rarity gets too emotional sometimes and she couldn’t stop herself and she cried and then Spike started crying too and-”

“Alright, enough. I get it,” Raegdan interrupted her.

“Don’t be mad at her,” Pinkie pleaded. “She is very confused right now.”

Raegdan snorted a single, loud laugh noise hard enough to rock him as he sat. “I’m not mad at her,” he explained after another swallow of his elixir. “I’m damn proud of her. I always was the bad example, the way to not do things. I used to be utterly terrified she would someday copy the way to go about doing things from me and not Celestia. ” The bottle’s bottom went high then low again. “Keeping Spike away from me is the right call. He is a dragon after all. He must stay away from bad influences.”

Pinkie brought her hoof to her chin. There was a retort she should make to this kind of thinking. Something Raegdan would understand. Hmmm… oh, yeah. The answer was in her hoof all along.

The ruler went “twaang!” on Raegdan’s hand holding the bottle, causing him to reflexively drop it. Lucky enough for the carpet, there wasn’t much liquid left in it and nothing spilled.

“Now, you listen to Miss Pinkie Pie. Spike’s an amazing friend and I won’t stand for any accusations against the one who raised him-”

“But I’m the one who-” The ruler vibrated twice in a row on both of his hands.

“-and if he wants to spend more time with his dad, despite what he may have done, then that’s what he will do.” Pinkie Pie raised the long ruler in the air. “By the power of Grey Plum School Supplies, I have the ruler. I shall use it to make this happen.” A surge of power and light failed to emanate from the wooden metric device. Pinkie shook it to make sure it was a dud.

Raegdan looked at her impassively for a few seconds, mulling over her words. He picked up the bottle, drained it, and answered. “No.”

“Huh?”

He used the couch as support to rise up. It took him a couple of tries. He swayed as he stood, and his speech was almost imperceptible. He did try to make up for it by sheer volume, though Pinkie’s fluffy ears were not really ready to be deaf yet. “Get out! Get out of here and don’t you dare come back! I ain’t gonna be a reason for ’em to fight among themselves. Little flame lives with Twilight now. He isn’t seeing me again and that’s final!”

“Hey now dad,” Pinkie tried to calm him back down, “that ain’t true! Spikey loves you and-”

“Don’t call me that! I’ve ruined everyone who called me that!”

Pinkie made her eyes widen and made her lip tremble as she gave him her best puppy look. “You saved me.”

“That’s how it fucking starts. No more! I won’t kill more of you!” His hand took hold of the paper drawings and threw them into the fire. Pinkie gasped in shock and rushed to save as many of them as she could.

Luna had walked into the room and took a seat next to Raegdan as he was setting himself to go on a rant. She interrupted him by levitating a short glass in front of him. “Drink this,” she told him simply.

Raegdan took it from where it floated in front of his face and swallowed its contents in one go. He coughed once as the burning drink went down his throat, carefully set it down on a table, blinked, swayed some more, and fell down unconscious.

Pinkie Pie poked him with her ruler a couple of times after she set down the few drawings she managed to pull out in time. “So…” she asked curiously, “do we put him in a barrel and bury him in the garden now?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “He is unconscious, not dead.”

A small gust of wind tousled Luna’s mane as Pinkie nodded fervently. “Do you roofie him often? I don’t think that’s appropriate, and it needs a thematic setting like a party with crazy lighting at the walls and loud music to really work.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Luna shook her head. “I gave him a double shot of one of the stronger drinks I keep around. He is a lightweight. Could you help me get him to bed, please?”

“Ok. Do we arrange turns with a coin toss or do we go by age?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Just… I’ll take the top, you take the bottom,” Luna said annoyed.

“Oooh, I like the way you think,” Pinkie cooed.

“What?”

“Huh?”

Luna lifted Raegdan and let him sprawl on her back. Pinkie crawled beneath his legs and rose up. “That’s not lightweight. That’s not lightweight at all!” she whined.

The route to Luna’s bedroom was out to the hall, up the stairs, down the corridor and into her room. Not an easy task for two ponies carrying a biped. The stairs especially. What was it with Luna and stairs? Did she even consider that most ponies cannot fly? Sure, it was fine for her and her Robin sweethearts but the rest of them... It was a good thing they figured out how to best secure him on their backs after he fell off them twice while still relatively low on the staircase.

Pinkie Pie tried to give them a rhythm to coordinate with. Luna was ecstatic with the idea and added her own spin to it.

“Boom. Boom. Boom.”

“Shut up.”

“Boom. Boom. Boom.”

“I said shut up.”

“Boom. Boom. Boom.”

“By all that is holy, I will haunt your dreams for eternity.”

“Boom. Boom. Boom.”

“Shut up.”

They finally managed to throw him on the softness that was Luna’s very large bed. Raegdan was softly snoring and he had immediately set off on making a drool puddle on the pillow he was sleeping on.

“Why didn’t we just lay him on the couch downstairs?” Pinkie asked.

Luna did a momentary enactment of a statue. “Because… this is better.” She levitated a sheet over him and let it float down and cover him. “Anyway, Pinkie Pie, may I ask a favor of you?”

“Sure,” Pinkie replied happily.

“There are some things I need to do. Could you please stay here until I return, and look after Raegdan?”

“Okie dokie.”

Luna nodded satisfied. “Good. I’ll lock the doors behind me. If somepony tries to come in make it clear to them that both you and Raegdan are in here but do not let them realize he is unconscious. Don’t open the door no matter who they claim to be. Understand?”

Pinkie Pie saluted Luna once more. The Alicorn seemed to be uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Pinkie Pie behind to stand as guard but that was probably because she hadn’t heard of her exploits against the invading forces of diet soda in the battle of Sugarcube Corner’s Soda Corner. Many packets of good sugar were lost that day in service of a greater cause.

Luna turned to leave, halting to speak to Pinkie Pie one more time. “You have my thanks for trying to help him through this. He is not as strong as he claims.” Luna immediately vacated the room without waiting for an answer.

When she heard the distant click of the twin doors shutting close Pinkie moved to Raegdan’s side and watched him as he slept. She felt sorry for him from day one. Him and Luna both. It was because of their laughter. Oh, they laughed, and made jokes, and teased each other or others, but… all this laughter and she still hadn’t heard a laugh that gushed all the way out from inside of them. A true, happy laugh. It would be kinda hard to hear one from them now after this.

Some of his hair had fallen over his face, almost getting into his mouth. Pinkie brushed it away. Her head guiltily swiveled around, already knowing nopony could see her but still double checking her triple check.

“You know,” she spoke to Raegdan’s sleeping form, her hoof stroking his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his lungs. “There were always some… things I wanted to do to my dad. Things a.. proper daughter shouldn’t be thinking of, and he wouldn’t tolerate. But you are different, aren’t you? I don’t think you will get really mad at me, even now, and you are close enough to a dad for me to make this work, to enjoy it almost as much.” She leaned closer, reaching for his face, the tip of her tongue slipping out of her mouth, a drop of saliva dancing on the edge.

This… this was better than she could dream of. His hairless skin was so smooth… It was like finding a piece of heaven to work her own unique brand of pink magic on. She was careful and gentle, like a dandelion that brushed your muzzle as the wind carried it past you, making sure not to awake him, not before she was done.

“Oh, this is going to be perfect,” she murmured softly and excitedly. She carefully lifted his shirt, exposing his torso, its surface so wide and muscled, confident enough to move lower now that she had finished with his lips. She would save his arms for later. The sheer thrill and anticipation was making her shiver.

The bright pink marker started tracing hearts, balloons, teddy bears, and happy, sappy words. The slight tickling caused Raegdan to smile, curving the curly pink moustache Pinkie had drawn on him.

Rainbow sauntered in the Royal Guard training hall. It was almost noon but Guards were still practising on rings paved with blue, rigid mattresses. Pegasi were flying up in the air, dodging softballs and colored harmless spells that the unicorns were throwing at them. There was a flurry of activity from every corner.

That’s what it looked like until she took a closer look. Nopony there seemed to be putting himself or herself through the same rigorous standards that Rainbow did for herself. Everything was mechanical, an obligation to be fulfilled, a part of the workday that they were looking forward to be done with. They were practicing, training themselves pretty well admittedly, but they weren’t pushing themselves.

She had an inkling of a thought that things were different in the Solar Guard training hall. Rainbow was also certain that if Raegdan and Luna managed to get the Lunar Guard off the ground it would be even more different. What would happen to a Lunar guard that Luna or Raegdan caught not trying hard enough? Probably a rousing session of “fight and/or run for your life”. Good thing that Rainbow had already decided to go the Wonderbolts route. She was too disenchanted with the whole Guard corps so far.

Alright, off to work. Spymaster Rainbow Dash was set to…

What the hay was she supposed to do?

Ok, that would take a little bit of noggin’ use. Rainbow wanted the guards to trust her and think she didn’t like Raegdan and Luna. So, she had to diss them in front of them. That left quite a bad taste in her mouth, especially considering what had happened with Raegdan. So maybe Raegdan crossed a line but hey, at least he did do something. Nopony seemed to be going after these fillies anytime soon if it wasn’t for him. Wrong way to do it? Sure. Better to do the wrong thing as far as Rainbow was concerned however than just sit on your flank twiddling your feathers.

Twilight turning so viciously against him rubbed Rainbow wrong too. It could be her Element talking or urging her, but he did do… that for Twilight’s safety, didn’t he? That should count for something apart from a vicious cold shoulder.

Ah, well, Twilight knew the guy better. She probably had gone through the same before… oh right, that’s why they had come here in the first place after… two years when she wasn’t entirely sure about what he had done? Ponyfeathers. Raegdan was screwed.

Rainbow turned her attention back to the task at hand. Ok, dissing Raegdan and Luna. She could do that, they told her to do that themselves after all. Uh… pretend she kicked his ass, which she almost did when he wasn’t even trying to really hurt her, and then if it came to that she would just have to chip in her talk with… actions.

She was going to have to fight, wasn’t she?

That was totally cool, Rainbow was always up for a good spar against… trained soldiers… Ok, she had this. She would have felt a bit more secure if a certain princess had actually shown her flank yesterday when she was supposed to be preparing her for this stuff. On second thought, considering what went down, if Luna had shown up Rainbow would now be on a bed next to that other pegasus, playing solitaire and waiting for her next dose of painkillers.

“Hey, weren’t you with Ni- Princess Luna and her… her guardsman at the tournament?” Three guards had closed up on Rainbow while she was too busy staring around like a total loser. This was it. The moment of tru- spying artmastery!

“Yeah.” Totally got it. Don’t mess this up.

“Must be nice being friendly with… a princess,” the only pegasus in the group said. Rainbow had noticed their pauses and swift switches to what they said. This group was exactly what she needed.

“You’d think so,” she answered, acting out being bored, “and it might have been true if she wasn’t such a raving lunatic. That Raegdan guy too. I even got into a fight with him.”

The female unicorn eyed her critically, looking for any signs of injury on her. “You don’t look as if you have been in a fight with that monster.”

“Totally have,” Rainbow defended herself. “I just didn’t let him get a hit on me.” The trio looked disbelievingly at her. “You saw how he got nailed on the side at the tournament, right? I got a couple of good kicks there and down he went, like a dumb tree.” The mare that had challenged her story laughed out loud, the other two joining in. Gosh, she felt deplorable.

“And you got out of a fight with him unscathed? I’m not sure I believe that,” the male unicorn said, being obviously skeptical.

“Ok, he did get me once. Punched me right on the head. My skull turned out to be harder than his fingers though.” Rainbow smirked.

The unicorn stallion snorted a laugh. He addressed his comrades. “I’ve seen her pet run around with its hand bandaged. I think she is telling the truth.”

“Sounds like you know your way around a fight then,” the mare guard smirked. “Care to give us a sample of your skills?”

“Anytime, anywhere, sister,” Rainbow cried out, her hoof poking the guard on the chestplate. Horseapples, that looked to be pretty tough! She hoped she was either going to get one too before heading into the fight or her opponent would take it off. “Who am I going against?”

“Me,” the mare answered. She headed towards a spot on the wall where practice weapons had been laying on racks. Her magic grabbed a long blade and she swiveled around it in a dizzying speed, bringing it around her in slashing and spearing motions, creating a wall of moving steel.

Rainbow was pretty good with her hooves, relied on her amazing speed and reflexes, and knew she was in a very bad spot right now. This guard mare was good. The good news was the blade was blunt and could only give her bruises, maybe break something at most, or give her a concussion. The bad news was she was probably getting bruises, something broken, or a concussion in a few minutes.

She took a deep breath and stood in front of the rack to make her choice. The unicorn guard had range, technique, skill, and experience. Rainbow would have to counter those paltry advantages… somehow. Ok, wingblades are right out, don’t even look. Blades...Rainbow imagined herself trying to block that whirlwind of metal with a piece of metal that she held with her teeth, her soft, breakable muzzle right on its path. Nope. No weapons she had to hold with her mouth. The best she could figure out was a choice between combat horseshoes or a spear. She decided to go with the spear. Maybe if she charged fast enough she could nail her before she got a chance to hit back. She pulled one of them from the rack. Wow, they, uh, didn’t have a point but something like a knob at the end. Boy, that would be so devastating against her guard armor.

Horseapples.

“So, uh, what’s your name by the way?” Rainbow asked.

“Lotus,” the mare said. “One of the rings is free now. Shall we?”

“Yeah, sure. Can’t wait,” Rainbow lied through her teeth. She always was up for a contest but having already seen what can happen to limbs, like her precious, precious wings, she was understandably shying away from the thought of that chunk of metal having a go at her when she had never actually wielded a proper weapon in a fight before. She needed to figure-

“Already itching for another fight Rainbow Dash?” A cold voice spoke behind her. Rainbow quickly whirled around to come face to face with Luna. The three guards that were with her took a short step backwards. Lotus dropped her sword and was trying to creep in front of Luna’s line of sight to prevent her from seeing it.

“Ah, having a friendly spar I see.” Luna pointedly stared at the spear Rainbow was holding while her magic brought the sword that Lotus failed to hide in front of her, a frightened squeak emerging from the guard’s lips. A series of cracks filled the silence as Luna performed a series of motions similar to Lotus but much faster. “The balance is off. Somepony could get... hurt with this,” Luna deadpanned.

“I was just about to have a friendly spar with Lotus here,” Rainbow said, trying to accentuate the word “friendly” just right enough for Luna to get the meaning that she could do with some help here.

“Really? Hmm…” Luna threw the sword towards the racks, treating it as a piece of junk. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, my loyal guard, but I cannot allow this.” Oh, thank Celestia, Rainbow thought. She wasn’t getting her flank split in- “I would like to have a turn with Rainbow Dash myself. We have… something to settle.”

...what?

The spear levitated away from Rainbow’s weak hold. “Swords with blunt edges and spears with no tips are not weapons. They are toys meant for children,” Luna lectured them. “We shall fight barehooved.” Luna kicked off her shoes, removed her neckpiece and crown, and dragged Rainbow towards the empty ring, leaving the shocked guards behind them.

What was Luna playing at? Was she… was she taking the chance to give Rainbow a beat down for what happened between Raegdan and her friends? Ah, shoot, she had gone into their secret armory herself, she was the one who found it. Well, that’s it, she was dead. Time to place her head between her back legs and kiss her-

“When you feel a flick on your left ear,” Luna whispered, “stop whatever you are doing and kick straight behind you, as hard as you can.”

-or maybe Luna had a plan. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad- oh shhhhh-

When a pegasus took to the air there were some motions they usually had to go through, notably when they launched themselves at speed. A small crouch was the customary form that allowed the pegasus to use his or her legs as a makeshift spring to give themselves a burst of speed.

Luna spat on the very idea of giving her opponents a warning of what she was going to do.

One moment Luna stood all casual like at the other end of the ring, the next instant one of her front hoofs was about to smack Rainbow right on the kisser. Rainbow somehow avoided that hit, don’t ask how, she had no clue, and took to the air herself.

She tried to gain some distance via altitude but when she stopped and turned around Luna was right on her face again, about to give her the appletree treatment, Applejack style. Rainbow’s wings reversed the direction she was flapping at, something extremely hard, draining, and painful. Assisted by gravity she went down to the ground, Luna’s legs barely brushing the top of her head.

She should have stuck with Lotus! Luna was not playing around.

Luna landed in front of Rainbow moments after, not allowing Rainbow a single second to get her bearings back. Rainbow decided to go on the offensive. With a push from her wings to give herself a boost, she tried to punch Luna’s face. The princess merely leaned her head to the side, her features bored as she watched the hoof completely miss her by mere centimeters.

Second verse, same as the first. Luna was playing around. Rainbow just happened to be the chew toy. It was time for Rainbow to shake things up. Luna thought she was fast? Rainbow would show her what fast meant.

Rainbow turned her body around, as if to kick with her back legs. She heard the clop of Luna’s hooves as she casually took a single step back. Didn’t matter. Rainbow didn’t intend to kick at her but at the floor. She was in the air once more, faster than anypony, even Luna could realize.

She needed to build up speed. She flew in a wide arc, each beat of her wings enhancing her velocity to greater heights. She aimed right for Luna. Even from this distance, that she was now closing fast, Rainbow could see her smirk. She thought she could easily dodge or strike back at Rainbow easily, just like Raegdan did, didn’t she? Well, Luna had either forgotten or didn’t know something very important.

Rainbow Dash was a stunt flyer.

One of her wings came up as the other sliced the air downwards. Her pegasi magic grabbed hold of the law of motion and kicked its flank upside down. It was one of the sharpest, tightest u-turns Rainbow ever did. It was as if the cyan pegasus had mastered the teleportation spell. Where before she was heading for Luna’s front, now she was heading for her back, only a meter away from her target.

Correction; Luna was one meter in front of her and less than half a meter below Rainbow. Luna had ducked -she actually yawned and stretched like a cat while she did so. Rainbow sailed past right over her, her sweet stunt wasted. She kept going, maintaining her speed until she could turn around and try again. That was the plan, if at first you don’t succeed try again harder and faster.

She heard another pair of wings beating right behind her. Luna was after her already! If Luna thought that Rainbow would allow her to beat her in a contest of speed then she was totally out of her gourd. She would head for the line of columns at the other end of-

Rainbow felt her ear being flicked. Luna’s whispered advice roared in her mind. She halted mid-air, her wings straining to break down her momentum, and dedicated all the considerable strength of her muscles to a double kick backwards with every ounce of force she could muster. She felt her hooves connect hard with something!

Oh, horseapples, she felt her hooves connect hard with something!

She rapidly twisted around just in time to see Luna crashing on the ground head first, blood flowing from her muzzle and mouth, dripping on the ground right after her, a crimson drizzle that followed her painful, downward arc. Luna pushed herself back on her feet and wiped her mouth with her hoof, turning the color of her coat to a dark purple. The Royal Guard Training Hall was silent. Every guard had been paying attention to the fight taking place and now they all gapped at the sight of Luna bleeding.

“So, uh, does that mean I win?” Rainbow asked.

Luna’s horn lit bright, her ferocious glare locked on Rainbow. Her magic grabbed Rainbow out of the air and shoved her down to the ground in front of Luna, none too gently at all.

“I may have made a mistake in treating you like the so called “guards”, Rainbow Dash, but make no false assumptions. This was just a spar. In a real fight…” Luna’s magic pressed around Rainbow, making her skin itch and shiver. Her head twisted on her neck until it reached the limit where it could comfortably turn and pressed further just enough to get the message across with the creaking sound of her bones. Rainbow felt an urgent need to scratch her left ear. Luna’s magic threw her to the wall like a ragdoll. “We will have a rematch soon,” Luna promised. She turned and headed for the exit, leaving Rainbow crumpled against the wall and every guard staring wide eyed between her and Rainbow.

When Luna was gone Lotus and her two friends rushed over to help Rainbow get up, their smiles wide and gleaming. “You actually bled her!” the pegasus guard uttered bewildered. The crowd around them broke the silence with a cacophony of cheers and hoof stomps.

“Congrats kid,” Lotus screamed in Rainbow’s ear under the echoing applause of the guards. “Nopony has managed to do that! So far she has been beating each and every one of us to the ground. First her monster and now her? You’re on fire!” They dragged her towards the exit. “This calls for a drink. Let’s go celebrate!”

Rainbow gazed around as they pushed her in front of them. Guards were shouting their congratulations, many of them clapping her back with a hoof. Everypony seemed ecstatic. She hoped that was mostly the high of watching the underdog gain an unexpected victory and not the sight of Luna’s face broken and bleeding.

It seemed she was going to have a harder time with this spying thing that she ever guessed at. She flexed her pained wings. Luna might not have actually laid a hoof on her, but she pushed her right to her limits to do so.

At least now she had some nice cold cider to look forward to. Perks of the spy business, she guessed. She just wished she had company she could enjoy.

It was almost noon. Fluttershy hurried through the stone pathways that had been set on the ground to reach the furthest side of the huge palace gardens. She had to hurry or she would be late but, oh, that family of birds was just so beautiful. She lost track of time watching the parents teach their young how to fly and now she had to trot faster than she would have liked, attracting unwanted attention.

Fluttershy looked up, her legs unheeding of the lack of attention she paid to her path and unerringly finding their footing. The sun had almost reached its zenith. Ooh, she would be cutting it close. This just wouldn’t do. She sped up, her wings delicately pushing her forward in a false flight that still left her comfortingly grounded.

She finally made it to the place she had chosen yesterday. It was so peaceful here. This part of the gardens was almost deserted; the only other occupants in sight were two Solar Guards guarding one of the entrances that was too close to Princess Celestia’s tower where her private chambers were located. They were far off enough that she could easily dismiss them and pretend she was completely alone. There was such silence too. A quirk of the castle’s architecture and the way the well pruned, tall bush walls had been planted gave this place a silence unlike anything else in Canterlot. She loved the chirping of birds and the animals calling all around, but there was something to be said about a solitude as this, where the only sound was the breeze passing through the leaves of the trees around her.

It was almost time. She took her carefully picked position. The wind was blowing just the right way too. Fluttershy closed her eyes and lifted her face upwards, the sun’s brightness making it through her eyelids and making her eyes ache just a little bit. She waited for the right moment when the sun reached its absolute highest point.

“Risen the sun,

upon my soul it shines.

The shadow leaves me,

fearful of Her light.

Risen the sun,

through me flows Her light,

making me pure,

worthy of Her sight.”

A second voice joined her, speaking the words in perfect sync.

“Risen the sun,

higher than all.

I fear not the Moon,

shielded by Her hold.

Risen the sun,

upon my soul it shines.

To Her Divine Radiance

I offer soul and life.”

Fluttershy fluttered her eyelids, trying to rid herself of the burning glare that had been imprinted in her sight. She could only see blurs when she turned to the stallion that stood behind her.

“Miss Fluttershy! For a minute I was afraid you’d decide not to join me today.”

“Oh, no. I would never do that!” Fluttershy denied the playful accusation. She accepted the offered hoof and walked into the gardens with her companion.

Twilight paced in front of Princess Celestia’s door. The Solar guards standing by the golden double doors did not bother asking her the purpose of her visit. Even if Twilight hadn’t been granted free reign to knock on these doors any moment she felt like, all guards that had taken that post while she was still around knew that sometimes it took her a few minutes to gather up her courage to do so.

It wasn’t an instance of lack of courage now. It was anxiety. It was stress. She had questions that she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask, answers that Twilight feared to get.

She also feared she might spill something she should not. The mere thought of Princess Celestia knowing what Twilight meant to keep from her until it was the proper time brought her shakes. The idea of telling her mentor everything she heard last night was liberating and terrifying at the same time.

She knocked on the door, a quick, desperate rapping, before she had the opportunity to reconsider for the twentieth time. The door clicked and opened just a smidge almost instantly. The princess was inside and somehow knew who was outside her door, but couldn’t afford the time to come out herself. Twilight was used to this. Celestia often allowed her to make her own way inside. The guards grabbed hold of one of the gold and white doors to open it for her, closing it behind her.

As soon as the door was shut Twilight heard the princess calling for her. “In here, Twilight.” Twilight followed the familiar voice to Princess Celestia’s personal study.

Celestia was sitting in front of a large, simple desk that was so laden with stacks of papers Twilight was often amazed it didn’t break under their weight. Celestia often spent a large part of her day toiling over this very desk.

Twilight had yet to see the stacks lessening in volume.

“Hello, Twilight. I’m so glad you came to visit,” Celestia giggled merrily, “you’ve been spending so much time with Luna and Raegdan that I was afraid that you forgot about little old me.”

Twilight smiled. Being in the presence of her teacher already lifted her mood. “I’m sorry Princess. There’s been so much going on that we-”

“Oh, Twilight. There’s no need to apologize,” Celestia shushed her down, her magic simultaneously pouring a cup of tea for her visitor from the ever present teapot while setting down a soft, magenta colored pillow for Twilight to sit. “Sweet Fluttershy has told me about the nighttime event you have been organizing for tomorrow evening. A magnificent idea, and one I can hardly wait for. I’ve missed Raegdan’s stories.”

“Thank you Princess. We are trying our best,” Twilight answered simply.

Celestia’s smile brightened. “Now, where have I heard this line before? I must thank you Twilight. Your presence and that of your friends has really made a difference on how Raegdan has been acting lately. It’s in the way he moves and talks. I believe he hasn’t gotten in anything worse than an argument this past week. I feel like we are getting his older, softer self back. Well, not really that soft but you understand me. If that wasn’t enough, your selfless efforts to help Luna… Twilight, there are no words to describe how happy that makes me.”

Twilight’s hoof scrawled on the floor. “It is the least we could do Princess. They both saved Pinkie Pie and we could not just leave without offering our help.”

“That is admirable but it’s not what I was talking about. I meant your efforts to make my sister more approachable. She never had friends you know, at least not any that I knew about apart from myself,” Celestia explained wistfully.

“Well, she has Raegdan now.”

The smile returned on Celestia’s lips. “Yes, she does. It may have brought so much trouble and… hurt some ponies, but if I may be utterly selfish? I am joyous to see Luna has someone she can rely on. Especially if it’s Raegdan when she needs protection.” Celestia’s eyes were filled with elation. “And now that my favorite student and her capable friends are here I see my two greatest friends, slowly but assuredly, switch their stance already. I have such great hopes for the future…” Celestia shook her head. “But you didn’t come to hear me sing your praises, Twilight. Is there something I can do for you?”

Twilight saw the sense in what Raegdan had claimed. Even if she hadn’t been resolute in keeping Raegdan’s deeds hidden from Princess Celestia until the proper time, Twilight would really have to harshly push herself to utter the words that would shatter this honest, brilliant smile.

Twilight nodded towards the Alicorn’s workload. “I… don’t think I should be wasting your time. You have so much to do…”

“Nonsense,” Celestia said gleefully and pushed the papers she was reading away from her. “Anything to get a break from this.”

Twilight giggled. She put her hoof over a stack of paper that had been yellowed out by time. “I don’t know Princess. Maybe you should keep working. Some of these seem to have been in your in-tray for too long.”

Celestia gasped theatrically, bringing her hoof to her chest in mocking shock. “Twilight! You wound me! I’ll have you know that I am very diligent in keeping up with the paperwork. Why, there have even been a couple of times in my centuries old reign where I have finished half of it in time to still be relevant.”

Teacher and student let their laughter join together, relaxing them from their respective tensions.

After they calmed down Celestia continued in a more sober tone. “No, this little paper tower isn’t part of today’s work. Just some old reports I am looking into.”

“Oh,” Twilight had always been interested in the princess’ side projects. They always tended to be something very interesting. “May I ask what these are about, Princess?”

“Guard reports.” Her words made Twilight freeze, though luckily Celestia wasn’t looking at her to notice. “What Luna said the other day… It made me wonder. There are certain inconsistencies. What’s strange is that this seems to go way back, maybe two centuries or more.”

“What kind of inconsistencies?” Twilight couldn’t help herself but ask.

“Numbers.” Celestia had turned her attention to the stack in question, her hoof scratching her chin in thought. “They don’t match. There’s a certain number of monster attacks yearly, which I noticed is suspiciously steady. However, the number of confirmed threats that have been neutralized is lower. I could write it off as the guards simply being able to only drive the monsters responsible back rather than take them down or ponies avoiding their areas of activity; it would certainly explain this difference…”

“There’s a but in there, isn’t it?”

“Life multiplies. Monsters breed. With their number culled so little there should have been more attacks every year, enough to make Luna’s fears a reality according to this.”

A simple discussion with Applejack would be all it would take to confirm everything. Why did Princess Celestia need to reach this conclusion on her own? How come somepony like Applejack or Rainbow Dash hadn’t come forward and let her know already?

“What keeps throwing me off is the Everfree Forest. I haven’t been able to even scratch the surface yet, but so far it’s the only place where the numbers have matched up properly for the last year. It is very puzzling.”

“They do?” Twilight asked in wonder.

“Yes. All the reports agree on this. Almost zero activity in the last year from the side that faces Ponyville, up to a number of kilometers to the north and south. It seems you and your friends may have been doing more good than you even knew,” Celestia mused. “At least that’s what I hope. The Everfree obeys no rules but its own. It may just be a lull or something similar.”

“What do you think is the reason behind this discontinuity, princess?”

Celestia stared through half-lidded eyes at the huge paper load that waited for her to read it, sign it, authorize it, and do it all over again the day tomorrow. “I believe I might be getting hoodwinked. I thought I had systems in place to prevent this, with councilors, spells, and the input of the common pony, but somehow this may all have failed, in this aspect at least.” Celestia sighed. “Or I may be reading too much into nothing else but clerical sloppiness. I will keep digging, though it will take me time until I can be certain of anything. If it is the latter I am going to have a good laugh at my own expense. If it is the former though…” Celestia’s eyes brightened with an inner fire. “I am not going to laugh, and the expense will be on others.”

Celestia took a deep breath, followed by a slow sip of her tea. “Once again, here we go talking about my own problems. Tell me Twilight, how can I help you?”

Twilight let her head hang low to avoid her mentor’s eyes. “There have been some things I am curious- no, not curious, I need to know this. Princess… why i- was Raegdan so cruel at the arena?” She couldn’t straight out ask her in a way that revealed what she knew but she could mask her question this way and still get her answer.

Celestia visibly hesitated. “Twilight… Twilight, you know he doesn’t want me to tell you about his past.”

“But surely there is something you can tell me?” Twilight pleaded, her want for understanding clear on the set of her features. “A reason, an explanation, why? The things he has done- at the tournament he just ripped those ponies apart for no reason.”

“Twilight, I know, I was there.”

“Why did you allow i- him to stay here? Why didn’t you just send him back from where he came from? You knew what he was like. Why?” All the frustration, all the heartache that she had ever been put through demanded an answer. Twilight’s eyes threatened to mist and her voice tried to betray her. The assertiveness she had claimed as her own just yesterday was pulling away from her like a scared child. She once again gathered her resolve, forming it into her own version of steel armor that would protect her heart and weigh down more than her body. She needed to know why Princess Celestia, virtue personified, let something like Raegdan loose in her own home?

Princess Celestia calmly strode next to her student and pulled Twilight into a hug at her side with her wing. “Twilight… I can’t tell you specifics about his past. But I can tell you what happened between him and I. But you must remember, this is not the same Raegdan we are talking about anymore.”

Twilight took a deep breath, letting the scent of the white Alicorn bring out memories of happier times and the feeling of warmth and security. It was what she should have done from the beginning. Princess Celestia trusted Raegdan for a reason. Twilight would be proved wrong and everything would turn all right with the world again.

Princess Celestia drank deep of her cup, checking the dregs she had left at the bottom with a longing for something more substantial. “Let’s see. At first... we thought he was nothing more than a monster that made its way out of somewhere, maybe the Everfree or another similar location. The Solar Guard and I were going to... take him down.”

“You mean kill i- him.”

Celestia sighed. “Yes, that’s what I mean. Forgive me Twilight. Sometimes I still think of you as a little filly that should be protected. It’s hard to let this feeling go in its entirety.”

“It’s ok, princess. What happened then?”

“I had reached the location where he had made his camp along with four of my Solar Guards. I believed them to be enough. But you know how surprising Raegdan can be. He overtook them easily enough. They were not prepared to face such a savage yet intelligent opponent. In the end I managed to corner him myself and it was all going to end right there but… it was then that he spoke. I didn’t understand him but it became obvious he was something more than a simple beast. We brought him back to Canterlot to keep him alive and interrogate him.”

Celestia tightened her hold on Twilight. “It took time but we taught him enough to make him understand us. Between the few words he learned to speak and the drawings he resorted to when his extremely short vocabulary failed him, he told me enough. It was a confession of shorts. Something horrible had happened to him that made him desperate for someone to know, to understand what had happened to him.” Celestia took a trembling breath. “I failed him on that. I stopped him, before he could tell me everything. I couldn’t bear to hear more and he didn’t have to tell me. I had made my decision. I was going to have him executed.”

Celestia’s words were a heavy stone thrown into the previously calm waters where her expectations had pooled, shattering the previously unbroken surface and casting ripples that would reach further than this particular lake. This… this wasn’t what Princess Celestia was supposed to say! “W-what?”

“This is the past now, Twilight, so don’t judge him according to it. Based on what he told me himself… he…” Celestia swallowed heavily before continuing. “He used to be something alike to a demon. Before he arrived on Equestria… the things he did… The only one I could even compare to what Raegdan had become is the thing that took over Luna.”

“He- he killed… people you mean?” Celestia nodded. “But… how many? Why?”

Celestia shrugged. “I can’t give you a number Twilight. He doesn’t know and I don’t want to ask him to guess. As for why… some things he did because he believed he had no other choice or to defend himself. There were times in his life were he was driven insane, he isn’t sure himself what he did then, and at other times… he hurt others as much as he could on purpose. If he was pushed enough, if he was given sufficient reason, he lashed out with unimaginable brutality. I think it might have been a way for him to feel back in control,” Celestia speculated.

“Then… he is still the same, isn’t he? He did exactly that in the tournament.”

“No,” Celestia turned down that assertment. “No, I don’t think he has been cruel here, not as he understands it anymore. What he did at the arena, the way he was thinking as he was at the time, was just a way to keep everypony else from challenging him. It was an act of intimidation. It came to him as natural as breathing in that state.”

Celestia returned the conversation back to its original track. “I believed he had nothing left in him, apart from bitterness and hate. There was still a small spark of regret which I was afraid was not enough. He didn’t ask to become this but all I felt I could afford to give him was a quick death. He thanked me when he heard my sentence,” Celestia remembered with grief.

“But- but you changed your mind. Something happened to make this change, didn’t it?”

Celestia nuzzled Twilight until she calmed down enough. Twilight had been too lost in hearing Celestia’s words to notice how frazzled she herself had become, her vaunted will to stay in control evaporating without her notice. “You did, Twilight. You changed him. I was terrified when I saw he was gone from the hospital wing. I thought he changed his mind and escaped to hurt my ponies, to be cruel and vengeful, maybe even that he was the one who took you. Instead, he saved you. Something about you… you may not believe me but the difference was outstanding. It was like seeing a dragon donate his hoard or Discord suddenly decide to use his powers to keep the streets clean. You changed him. You made him feel something apart from hate and brought him back to sanity. He didn’t ask me for it but it was plain what he wanted. I gave him a chance. I watched him closely for months and he only kept getting better. There was still violence in him but considering how easily he could have done much, much worse... Twilight, he needs you. He is trying, he is failing often, but he is. If someone like Raegdan can still attempt to absolve himself, find some way to repent and live with what he has done… then there is hope for everypony.”

“Like Luna,” Twilight said in understanding.

Celestia recoiled suddenly at Twilight’s sudden epiphany into her mind. A small reluctant smile soon returned. “Yes. I… admit there was some personal motivation. But I do not regret my decision.”

Twilight understood Celestia’s reasoning. It was a matter of morality, of belief into the ability of inherent goodness to prevail over even the worst of sinners. Condemning Raegdan while it still had a chance to change its ways, when it evidently was trying to, would be to spit upon everything Princess Celestia believed in.

How would her beloved teacher fare when she found out what Raegdan had done behind her back? Especially if its motivation for performing torture on them was not just to pull the truth out of them but if it was its desire for cruelty against what it believed to be a deserving target? If it had been its true nature clamoring for a reason to break through? How would Princess Celestia feel then?

Princess Celestia tried to quell what she believed were her student’s fears. “Twilight, I know you are still affected by what you saw at the tournament. I should have gone ahead and stopped it, but I hesitated because there are rules. The fight could not be interrupted until a winner emerged unquestionably.”

Twilight had wondered about that. The Solar Guard tournament had always been a violent affair. “Why do you allow something like this anyway?” she asked while pushing herself against the soft white coat.

“The Solar Guard was needed in Equestria. I am quite powerful, if I may toot my own horn, but there’s only one of me. Things were different when Luna was… was with me. She used to be relentless in her efforts to make the night safe for everypony. Sometimes I didn’t see her for months or years at the time. When she was- When she was lost to that demon… what Nightmare Moon did with her own hooves was only a part of the terror she brought to our land. The Solar Guard was what kept Equestria from falling, even after... Nightmare Moon was gone. Over the following years monsters and other threats emerged. I tried, but I couldn’t be everywhere and guide my ponies at the same time. Only with the aid of the Solar Guard was I able to make a difference,” Celestia explained.

“The Solar Guard used to have so many casualties. It may seem harsh but the tournament was the solution to that. It was better to make certain only the best would make it into the dangerous role of the Solar Guard through combat trials in an environment where we could at least provide immediate medical aid than have them prove if they had the mettle for it in a true life or death situation. They lessened their numbers but increased the quality of their training. The tournament has stopped far too many lives being lost in return for the occasional heavy injury or rare death. It’s why I was able to let Raegdan off the hook so easily. Technically, he did nothing wrong in accordance to the rules.”

“Morally though…” Twilight said.

“Another issue altogether. As you might be able to see clearer now, Raegdan was amazingly lenient with them at the start of the fight, so I foolishly allowed it to go on, as it made me think he had a better hold of himself. We all shared responsibility for what happened, me, Steadfast, and Raegdan, but I insist that Raegdan should have been the one to back off and stop it, despite him being the one who actually tried to keep it civil. He risked more than his life, he risked everything he had been trying to change in himself for something that he and Luna could accomplish in a number of different ways. You saw how angry I was with them.”

“I did.”

“I mean, I’ve had to make so many concessions for his sake. Then, right in front of me, he almost went back to his old ways in a matter of seconds while he knows this is exactly what he should be trying to avoid. He couldn’t even recognize what he did wrong when I confronted him afterwards, not even enough to try and lie at least.” Celestia sighed. “Maybe Luna has the right idea.” She turned her gaze back to her office. “Maybe a Lunar Guard would serve him better. If he can’t let go of what he was in its entirety, he could be using his skills against proper targets, away from Canterlot. I just wish… he could go back to what he was before everything happened to him. I would love to meet that person, just once.”

The truth was going to destroy her, Twilight realized. She still believed in Raegdan, still thought it was trying to become something it wasn’t.

“He is like an addict that is verging on falling back to his old habits, isn’t he?” It made a strange kind of sense.

Celestia brushed her cheek against the top of Twilight’s head. “An imperfect example but one close enough. There is no need to worry about this anymore however, is there my student? Not with you and Spike back in his life,” Celestia perked up once more.

Twilight hated herself. “No, Princess Celestia. There isn’t.” It was the hardest smile of her life.

It hadn’t helped, it had been no use. Twilight felt more conflicted than ever. If Raegdan was as dangerous in the past as Princess Celestia claimed and it was returning back to his old ways… There was the matter of those reports, these omissions, misleads, and lies that were being told to the Princess of the Sun. Raegdan and Luna knew more, far more than they revealed. It felt as if two parts of her were at war and worst of all she wasn’t certain which part she wanted to win. She wanted her step-father back but as she kept getting answers she wondered if she ever truly had one or just a carefully constructed persona. The memories of her young life were being torn apart and revealed themselves to be made of nothing but lies.

Should she be supporting Luna in the creation of a Lunar Guard? What if the violence that would certainly entangle Raegdan once again became the tipping point that turned it back into something that even Princess Celestia thought was irredeemable?

A door at her side silently slid open and a field of magic pulled her inside in the span of a second.

Twilight fought off the dizziness from the sudden tug and found herself staring into the eyes of a furious dark blue Alicorn. “What. Did. You. Tell her?” Luna asked her vehemently.

“I- nothing. What are you doing Luna? You are scaring me!”

“Good. You should be scared. What did you tell her?” Luna’s hot breath tickled Twilight’s nose. It didn’t make her want to laugh at all.

“Nothing!”

“Lies!” Luna screamed. “I don’t trust you, I don’t have any reason to trust you! You told Celestia about Raegdan didn’t you, you traitorous worm?”

Twilight was starting to become genuinely scared. She tried to discreetly cast a teleport spell to escape but found her efforts to shape the magical field harder than they should be and the spell slipped away from her. She gazed upwards at her horn. Something made of white and red cloth was impaled on it.

“Luna, I didn’t tell Princess Celestia anything, I promise!” Luna’s mouth turned into a thin, harsh line. “If I had told her she would be rushing out to imprison it, right?”

Luna took a deep breath, her anger leaving her along with the air in her lungs. “I’m sorry. You’re correct. I am too agitated and lack of sleep isn’t helping my case,” she confessed. Twilight finally took notice of the slight lisp in her voice. Her muzzle was swollen and… yes, there were a few red stains around her mouth that hadn’t been cleaned well enough. “If my sister knew she would not waste time in making sure her subjects are “safe” and would-”

The world halted in its tracks. Luna’s lips mouthed a string of words. She was looking stunned.

“It?” Luna asked disbelieving.

“It?” She spewed out not sound but ice and frost.

“It?” Her roar was fire. It was pure rage and magma, it was light and darkness, it seared Twilight’s ears and spirit and the absolute hatred it carried pierced her through the heart. Luna was on Twilight in an instant. Her teeth ripped whatever was blocking Twilight’s magic but before Twilight had a chance to do something with her short freedom Luna’s horn lit up, brighter than ever.

“So what happened then?” Applejack asked a tipsy Rainbow Dash. She had to steady her and straighten her back on course as they walked back to their rooms so that Rainbow Dash could sleep off her “spying expenditures”.

“Weell…” Rainbow Dash slurred proudly, “after I showed them g...gua… guys a thing or two about how a pegasus really fights, they took me out for drinks!”

“Ya don’t say? Well, ah never would have imagined. And then what?”

Rainbow puffed her chest and tried to fly upside down into a wall before Applejack pulled her back down. “I drr-aaaank them aaaall under the- the table!”

“That is very impressive Dash,” Applejack said to Rainbow’s off-beat nods. “Considering it’s barely the afternoon ah think you might be well on your way to alcoholism. Good job.”

“Hey, you are just- just jealous, aren’t you?” Rainbow Dash accused her lifelong friend while poking a door at chest height.

“Over here Dash. Ah didn’t know making a spectacle out of yourself was something to be jealous of. How did you even get back to the castle?”

“I flew. Maybe. I don’t know actually.” She looked around. “How did I get back?”

“Pigeon instincts. Ah bet ya share the same talents with the rest of them birdies.”

“We prefer the term “featherly inclined”. Anyway, you are jealous cause I’m an amazing spy and you are not!”

Applejack looked around, hoping everypony was out of hearing range as well as their sight. “You might have been a better one if you didn’t yell that out,” she chastised.

“Ask me what I found out. Come on, ask me, I dare ya.”

Applejack sighed. “What did you find out Rainbow Dash.”

“Nothiiing! I ain’t telling you nothing cause I’m an awesome spy and I only report to my superiors.”

”Oh? Pray tell, if I happened to be one of your “superiors” what would you possibly have to report?” Applejack challenged.

Rainbow Dash gestured to the invisible pony at Applejack’s left to come closer while holding the one to her right away. “Ok, get this,” Rainbow whispered conspiratorially. “Turns out the guards are kinda divided about Luna and Raegdan.”

“Ya mean some of them like them?” Applejack asked hopefully.

“Oh no. Celestia, no! They all think they are both pretty much psychopaths that will pummel them all to the ground at the slightest provol- provota- reason they get. But, you know, some of them think that since Celestia says jump they should jump with no questions asked. They just kinda feel scared about jumping Luna and Raegdan… wait…”

“Ya mean they want to actually do their job but are scared of those two?”

“Yes. No. I mean- oh, let’s hurry it up, I think I might hurl in a bit- I mean yeah, Luna and Raegdan don’t really want to do much with random guards around them but turns out those guards that don’t like theeeem? They outnumber the other guys a lot so they are not all really keen on getting the stinkeye and a big old beating for being Nightmare Moon supporters. Was your mane always blonde?”

“Luna is not Nightmare Moon,” Applejack said automatically.

“Preach it sister. Just, you know, not to me. Ok, here’s our stop. Help me get into the bathroom.”

Applejack considered the benefits of visiting a bar herself in order to forget the splashing sounds, heaves, and swears Rainbow cried to the skies. When Rainbow got out she quickly made a beeline for her bed that included two loops and a trip on her own hooves. She sunk into the soft mattress with a deep sigh.

“Before you head to dreamland, on whose side were those guards you were with?” Applejack asked.

“Uhhh, they were camp “Luna is Nightmare, Raegdan is a monster” but I’m pretty sure Lotus and Skyline are mostly going with the main flow so that’s why. It’s that sneaky guy, Smoke Ring who-” Rainbow yawned loudly. “Who, you know, who…” Rainbow Dash let out a loud snore as she descended into the dreamlands with the conviction of the heavily inebriated.

“Well, ain’t that a sequel hook if I ever heard one,” Applejack said to herself. She tried to coax Dash under the covers until a strong wing smacked her on the jaw making her reconsider and let the pegasus be instead. If she was fine with apple tree branches she could deal with no blanket over her.

Applejack left Rainbow Dash’s room, making as little noise as possible. Unneeded as it was for somepony like Rainbow it was how she had been taught. Applejack pulled the door close as gently as possible, hearing the “clink” sound of the bolt coming from the door in front of her and… her left?

Applejack turned her head to that direction to come face to face with Luna doing the exact same thing with Twilight’s door. They both blinked at each other.

Luna looked terrible. Rainbow had said that Luna had allowed her to get one solid kick in making her bleed, but this… this was much more! Luna’s left eye was so swollen it could not open at all. Her mouth was bruised too and covered in dried blood. White cloth that had turned pink was tied around her torso and one of her legs.

“Are you… ok princess?” Applejack asked when she finished looking the wounded Alicorn up and down.

If Luna looked fazed before it was gone now, leaving her aloof as she usually was. “Nothing that can’t be fixed when I return to my room. Can I help you Applejack?”

“Uhh, yeah. What were you doing in Twilight’s room?”

Luna’s eyes pointed at Rainbow’s door. “The same thing I suspect you were doing in Rainbow Dash’s room.”

Applejack blushed fiercely. “Hey ho now, Rainbow and I ain’t anything like that, we are just good friends and-”

“My stars, is everypony’s thoughts dwelling on nothing but coitus lately?” Luna cried out. “I like innuendo jokes as much as the next mare but I draw the line at making assumptions that I slept with Raegdan’s adopted daughter!”

“Well, it would have to be quite a kinky affair if ya ended up looking like that,” Applejack couldn’t help but rib on Luna.

“I was just helping Twilight Sparkle to her bed, same as I assume you were doing with your friend, unless you were busy plucking her feathers instead?”

“No, no, message received loud and clear. No more jokes... for now.”

“Good. If we are done I will be taking my leave.”

“What happened to Twilight anyway?” Applejack asked before Luna could do more than turn away from her.

“She… is just exhausted. There was an incident and it took a lot out of her.”

“Ah. So… are things somewhat quite settled between the two of ya?” Applejack dared to hope.

Luna walked in front of Applejack and shrugged. “I guess we will know how successful I was once she wakes up.” Luna’s open eye was looking at something on Applejack’s head. “Was Rainbow Dash drinking?” she asked.

“Yeah. How did ya know?”

Luna’s hoof pointed behind Applejack’s left ear. “You seem to have some proof of that there.”

“Ah, horseapples. How did she even manage that?” Applejack said in disgust. Her hoof moved to swipe at the offending spot but she stopped herself before she could spread the mess.

“Allow me,” Luna said. Her magic ripped a small scrap of the cloth she had tied around her leg and wiped away the unseen “Mark of the Drunk”.

“Ugh,” Applejack scratched her mane. “Ah feel so itchy, it’s almost like it’s still there.”

“I promise you, there is nothing there.”

“Say, Luna, what happened to ya anyway? You and Twily didn’t get into a fight, did you?”

“Not to worry, Applejack. I promise you, my wounds are nothing but the product of my own stupidity. I need to return to my tower. I will see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. See ya tomorrow Luna.” Applejack waved her off. Something stunk here. She wished she just knew exactly what.

Apart from Rainbow’s projectiles that is. “Oh Celestia, ah feel all dirty. Next time she can sleep it off in a gutter.” Applejack headed to her own room and the sweet release of the bathtub.

There was nothing. Existence had faded long ago, swallowed by a darkness that swirled and moved in a freezing wind. Bright lights had briefly twinkled in the void, only to be savagely smothered by a raging presence that devoured any sense of warmth in this desperate gloom.

“You wanted to know, didn’t you? You wanted to know how a monster is made? Fine! Have a taste of the kind of life that you are so quick to dismiss,” Luna’s voice echoed in Twilight’s head mockingly.

There was a light in the world again, revealing a scene where everything was frozen in time. A strange lamp was hanging from the ceiling of an empty room. A thick wooden table was in front of her. Everything seemed so tall and short at the same time. She felt like a giant. Twilight’s mind filled with senses not her own. She could smell the room and the acrid smell of smoke permeating it. The light was weak but still hurt her eyes as if she had spent hours in the dark. She could feel the limbs of her body and with it came the realization that it was not her own. Her back legs were straight below her torso while her front ones hung from the side. Her ribs burned like fire, her back felt as if shards of glass had impaled her and her limbs were made of lead, exhausted beyond anything she had ever felt or even imagined.

She had no control over this body. She was a prisoner behind a pair of unblinking eyes. Her head, or the head of the puppet she was now placed into, was killing her, throbbing with a pain that was red and angry. Her tongue could taste the blood that had pooled in her mouth.

Luna’s voice filled her being again. “He told me this while he was drunk. He thought- he thought the pun was funny! He doesn’t even think of it as a noteworthy bad experience anymore, just something that simply happened!” her voice snarled with hatred. “Let’s see if you will think the same as “it” did after you go through this.”

Time continued and sound returned. Dust was floating in whirling patterns in front of her and the lightbulb was swinging on a thin white cord. She could hear the wind howling outside and a strange mechanical sound came from a pale yellow rectangle at the top of one of the walls near the ceiling. The agony in her borrowed body intensified. She tried to move but it was useless. She was still just a watcher, no, not just a watcher. Whatever was going to happen she was going to feel it.

The drowning sense of fear she was wallowing in was all hers. The body she occupied felt anger, defiance, and a strange acceptance, but little fear.

Twilight barely had time to analyze the situation, to observe everything that was around her, before something came down brutally on her back, inflaming the pain that was nesting there to new incredible heights.

The body she was trapped into clenched its teeth trying to stifle the grunt that escaped it. She fell forwards to the wooden table, her upper body sprawled violently on it. The hands she had no command over futilely struggled to raise her battered body back up. There was no strength left in them, she could feel it. This body was exhausted beyond its limits, running on nothing but fumes, kept awake by willpower and the waves of agonizing pain that washed over it.

There were scars over the arms. Only one or two but she recognized the shape and location. She had seen them so many times before.

A hand grabbed her- no, Raegdan’s hair, pulled him up a few centimeters, and smashed his face on the hard wooden surface. Twilight wasn’t sure if she should be thinking of it as her or his jaw, but she was certain it had cracked at least.

Whoever it was that was inflicting that kind of pain on her- them- talked from behind them. Twilight wished she could see who it was but her eyes were closed, too absorbed in trying to ignore the pain. “Stop fighting me, boy,” it hissed.

The voice was strange. It sounded like a myriad of people talking at once while at the same time it was definitely a single voice. Twilight thought she could hear traces of Raegdan, Luna, Celestia, Commander Steadfast, herself, her friends, maybe a few guards she thought she recognized, and others she could not. She wondered if this was how whatever was behind her really talked or this is how Luna portrayed that person’s voice.

Raegdan did not obey the order. His palms fell flat on the table and tried to push himself up. Twilight could feel the muscles shake and tremble, the burn from their own toxins flooding them and breaking down his attempt.

A large carpenter’s hammer broke Raegdan’s right forearm. A scream came roaring out, followed by a whimper, and he fell back down on the table, his legs weakly scratching the floor as if trying to push himself away from the pain. His left arm took hold of the broken forearm, trying to coax it to quiet down.

Twilight screamed in her own head. The pain was unreal.

She felt the tormentor push against Raegdan’s body from behind. A hand reached out from behind their back, cloaked in darkness despite the light from the ceiling above them, and pulled Raegdan’s left hand over his right side, pulling him so that his back laid against the table. The edge was digging into her backside and the way Raegdan’s body was lain was painful. A form was in front of her, featureless as all light was swallowed by it before it reached it. She could only verify that it was biped and shaped like Raegdan. It deliberately pushed Raegdan’s top of his palm down on the table’s surface as if signifying he had to keep it there. The shadow arm left their sight for a moment and returned from the creature’s side holding something steady over Raegdan’s left arm.

It was an extremely long iron nail. It shined menacingly in the white light, promising nothing good to come. Twilight felt Raegdan’s eyes widen and for the first time during this ordeal their mouth moved and spoke. “No…”

The hammer came down on the nail’s head, driving it in Raegdan’s flesh. A part of Twilight’s brain that wasn’t busy screaming in pain and terror recognized the small circular scar that this would form later. The nail scraped the bone, adding a different level of pain. The hammer came down again. She felt the nail slip along the bone, luckily not trying to go through it. The hammer kept striking until the nail pierced all the way through the arm and was buried deep in the wooden table, immobilising the arm. Twilight thought that Raegdan might have been screaming in pain too but she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t tell if that was him or her.

The shadow arms moved again, pulling at the broken arm. There was no mercy. Another nail was produced and the process repeated. It was even worse. Every strike made the broken bone grind against itself. Raegdan vomited raw bile. Twilight was pleading for Luna to make this stop but there was no answer from the Alicorn.

Finally, It was over. The hammer was thrown to the corner by its wretched owner and Twilight had never felt more relief than when she saw that torture instrument away from her. Raegdan’s lungs were working overtime. Even now he was still trying to lift his arms up but he was so weak that Twilight wouldn’t be able to spot his attempts if she couldn’t feel the muscles trying to work in vain.

At least it was done. Twilight had truly underestimated what Raegdan had gone through, she admitted this out loud, or at least with thoughts as strong as she could make them, hoping Luna could hear her. If that’s how he had gained just those two pinpricks of a scar… She wanted to know nothing more. She just wanted to go back home and forget that kind of pain even existed.

She waited. It wasn’t fading or disappearing. Whatever this was… it wasn’t done, was it? What could follow, what else could the dreaded tormentor in the shadows do? She pictured Raegdan’s ravaged body in her mind, the countless scars covering it. No, please no, she screamed for Luna to not let her go through something like this.

Whatever part of Raegdan’s life this was, this kind of torture would not continue today. She once again felt the torturer on her- them, pushing himself against Raegdan’s body, his movements bringing small eruptions of pain from the nailed down arms. She felt hands reach around Raegdan’s waist and fiddle with the clothing, pulling violently. She heard the breathing, quick and short.

“No, no, no. This didn’t happen to him, that’s a lie. This cannot be, this is not real, that’s a lie. Luna, you are lying, this is just an attempt to make me forgive him for what he did. I refuse to believe this happened.“

The clothing on Raegdan started getting ripped and torn.

“This isn’t real. This didn’t happen. It can’t. Luna, stop this! I don’t want to go through this, I can’t. I… I can’t… please… no, no, no!”

Two hands tore off the shirt and ran over his body. Raegdan was still fighting, trying to pull at his arms, refusing to give up. Twilight could feel him wresting control from his body that was trying to blackout. He wasn’t… he wasn’t going to escape this, neither by his own strength or blessed oblivion.

Twilight screamed with all of her soul. The pain had been nothing, not compared to what was going to follow.

“Luna, please, I beg you. Stop this. Stop this!”

“I don’t want to see this happen to my dad!”

“Wake up.”

Twilight opened her eyes. She was back in the room that Luna had dragged her in, lying on the floor. A small cushion had been placed beneath her head. She no longer felt her body be on the verge of being ripped apart and the memory of how it had actually felt was quickly fading away like a dream -or a nightmare. Luna was sitting on the floor at her side, scowling at her.

“What- what did you do?” Twilight croaked. Her throat was parched. She was thirsty. How long had she been here?

“I put you to sleep,” Luna’s chest trembled as if she was hiccuping and her breathing was short with the occasional deep, trembling breath. “Then I took control of your dream and shaped it.”

“Why did you do this? Why did you make me go through this?” Twilight cried.

“Why did you do this to Raegdan?” Luna asked back. “What you saw? That was nothing. He has nightmares of the first time you left him but never this. You… what you are doing to him is going to destroy him!”

Twilight wished she could calm herself down but the “dream” was still fresh in her mind. “He should know better. I love him, I do, but he did similar to what you just showed me to those ponies, didn’t he?” Twilight defended her actions.

“He does know better, you sheltered, ignorant child,” Luna roared, losing her patience. “That’s why he did everything. He will never allow you to go through anything that even slightly resembles what happened to him. That’s what they would have done to you, you moron. He knows first-hoof what would happen to you. He protected you!”

“I never asked him to do something like that!”

“He loves you, you idiot. He will sacrifice everything in a heartbeat for you!”

“I don’t need him to do that!”

“Of course you say that now! You can afford to when you are the bearer of the Element of Magic and not a whore locked in a cell waiting for your master to get horny enough to ride you until he exhausts himself!”

Twilight took a deep breath and made sure the cloth, that she was certain now had been stained with Raegdan’s blood, was away from her. “Speaking of which, I wonder what he will do when he finds out you raped my mind.”

Luna’s eyes widened in realization and her horn brightened. Twilight was ready however and had calculated her move long before. Her magic gripped a glass cabinet from the right of Luna’s position and launched it at her, breaking it apart on her body before she could even attempt to evade it.

Luna stumbled but did not fall. One of her legs had a large piece of glass embedded in her. She snarled and her attempt to strike back was interrupted by a chair coming down on her face. Her wound from Rainbow’s kick reopened and widened, dripping blood on her chin.

Twilight didn’t dare to let down. She didn’t bother with fancy spells or anything. She needed to be efficient and she needed to put Luna down as fast as possible. She couldn’t afford to waste time shaping anything more complicated than simple levitation, not while she still had ammunition. The couch at the other end of the room rose up and cruised for Luna. It was heavy and Twilight put all of her considerable magical strength into it. It crashed into Luna and carried her all the way to the wall where it impacted and shattered, Luna’s body right between it and the wall.

Twilight picked up another chair and waited. That had been a serious hit. If Luna managed to get up after that she would have to get another faceful of the castle’s furniture.

She did not. Twilight carefully moved the rubble off Luna. Luna was unconscious and Twilight guiltily noticed a jagged piece of wood was sticking out of her torso. Twilight moved closer to inspect the wound. It didn’t seem to be that deep. That was good. She didn’t want to have to tell Celestia that she killed her sister in self-defence.

She had won. Twilight barely believed it. She needed… she needed to tell Celestia what Luna had done but… Should she? The answer was yes, so why was she hesitating? Maybe she should just tell Raegdan instead. The question of course is what could or would he actually do.

Twilight didn’t want to go running to him. She could deal with this on her own. First, she would make sure Luna didn’t bleed to death on her watch. Then… she would tell Celestia that her sister... entered her mind uninvited. If Celestia pushed to know more… Twilight would have to tell her what she really-

The chair she had previously been holding hit her on the side of the head.

“You do not let your opponents just lie in front of you,” Luna said as she got up on her legs. “You either finish them,” the chair dented itself on Twilight’s head again, “or make sure they can’t get up again.”

Twilight was captured in Luna’s magic. The Alicorn brought Twilight in front of her while simultaneously ripping off the offending foreign objects from her own body.

“I am simply astounded by everypony’s ability to turn on those who would defend them, citing their moral superiority when they themselves are incapable of being anything but victims. Is it really so hard to just accept that he loves you and wants nothing more than your safety? Must he be crucified for it?” Luna spat blood on the floor.

Twilight’s patience vanished. “I know he does. That’s what makes what he did my fault. If it wasn’t for me then he would have told Celestia and I wouldn’t be the cause for what happened!”

Luna’s anger washed away instantly. She simply stared at Twilight while she was trying to control herself and stop her tears. “I see.”

“I was… I was just…”

“You believe you are the reason he didn’t have those ponies investigated by my sister but tortured them so savagely instead. That he resorted to his bloodthirst because of you.”

“He is better off with just Spike. I was the one who always brought him trouble. Celestia told me that… I am right, he was trying to become better and he didn’t because of me!” Twilight started crying again. Luna made a jerking motion forward as if wanting to approach Twilight but instantly regretted it.

“You two, stupid…” Luna whispered. “Twilight Sparkle, Raegdan would surely disagree with you. He loves you and Spike equally, and the loss of even one of you would break him once more. The two of you are what pushed him to control himself as much as he was able to. What do you think will happen if he loses you? Do you think he will keep trying or let himself revert to something uncaring and emotionless to forget his pain?”

Twilight stayed silent for a while. “I don’t… Too much has happened. He… I love him, but I’m angry, and disappointed, and hurt… I… I… need some time to think. This is all too much.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m honestly sorry for… what I did. I was angry and wasn’t thinking. But I assure you, everything will be all right now.” The bright light that emanated from Luna’s horn washed over Twilight’s mind.

“That’s... I’m sorry for interrupting you Luna. I should have knocked.”

“It is fine Twilight. Next time you hear sounds of violence don’t just rush into it. Scout ahead if possible, and a shield is always a good idea as long as you don’t rely entirely on it. Are you feeling ok? My spell did not harm you when it flailed out of my control, did it?” Luna asked concerned.

“I’m ok. Just a couple of bruises and a major headache,” Twilight said, rubbing her head with her left hoof. “But you are bleeding. We need to get you to the hospital wing.”

Luna hesitated. “I’m going to be fine, Twilight. I worry more about you. Allow me to escort you back into your room. The half-shaped fields are probably to blame for your pain. Some rest will do you good.”

“Thank you. Some sleep sounds really nice right now… I’m sorry for barging in on you like that.” Twilight looked guiltily at the destroyed furniture. “I should have realized you were… having a moment.”

“Furniture is easier to replace than the damage I do to my reputation. I’ve learned my lesson thanks to you.” Luna stepped to Twilight’s side and started walking while binding her wounds on the go. Some ponies that they ran into stared with their mouths open at the bloody princess while Twilight smiled apologetically at them.

“Twilight,” Luna said when they next were alone again. “I promise you that I will fix this. I’m not letting my friend get hurt again.”

“Thank you Luna but really, it’s my fault. I just need to learn to knock.”

Luna hummed and nodded at her. She didn’t talk again and seemed lost in thought until Twilight went inside her room.

The pair of eyes that had followed her ever since she pulled Twilight Sparkle into that room had fled. Their owner didn’t want to push their luck too much.

Pinkie Pie hopped outside to greet Luna. “Hello Luna. Me and dad had a wonderful time, though he won’t know it until he wakes- oh my gosh, are you ok?”

“No. I believe I have just discovered that I am an idiot.”

“Huh? Don’t be silly, you are brilliant. You are a princess!”

“Is Raegdan awake yet?”

“Pappa is still on a nappa,” Pinkie Pie said.

“I need to wake him up,” Luna said while heading for her bedroom. “He has work to do. Could you find your own way out, please?”

“Sure! See you tomorrow princess.” Pinkie Pie waved at Luna.

“Goodbye,” Luna answered simply and closed the door.

Today had not been a good day all in all. She achieved what she had set out to do, all the spells had been reinforced, but she managed to turn what was supposed to be a simple interaction with Twilight Sparkle into a disaster. She should have kept calm but that was easier said than done. Twilight Sparkle was right. What Luna did to her was despicable for more than one reason, and the only way to fix it had been with more of the same. The cause was worth it though. If Twilight and the rest succeeded in aiding them, and it all ended as planned, it would be of no matter, less than inconsequential really. There were worse betrayals to come anyway. She let out a pained breath. Twilight almost crushed her with her last attack.

Twilight and her friends would never know what she did today. Luna would tell Raegdan however. No secrets. There might have been a couple of occasions where they both professed their reluctance to revisit them by speaking of them but even so all it would take would be to ask again to know. Both of them had done so. She wouldn’t try to keep this from Raegdan this way. It would only lead to a true fiasco.

Maybe trying to regain Twilight Sparkle’s affection for him was a lost and senseless cause that had no meaning in the long run, but Luna had thought she could give him a little bit more time with his daughter before she and the rest of them turned against them for good. They still had time until that happened. Surely, she couldn’t be blamed for wanting her friend to savor some happiness before then? Too bad she failed.

Luna created a pale soft light to see her companion’s state. She hoped that Pinkie Pie hadn’t-

The view left her speechless. After a few seconds of simply staring she managed to chuckle a bit. She wished she was in a better mood so she could appreciate Pinkie Pie’s “artistic endeavors”. No, what she really wished was that Raegdan was in a better mood and not… bitter, like he was before, and they could laugh at himself together. She could really do with a reprieve right now.

She had to wake up Raegdan. He had a job to do but… it was still early. They had plenty of time to talk and explain herself before that. Luna climbed on the bed, careful not to disturb him, getting under the covers, and winking out the light she had conjured. Raegdan, though still deeply asleep, sensed her proximity to him either through her weight moving the mattress or her own warmth. His arm rose up as if it had a will of its own. Luna scooted to the vacated space, letting her head rest on that perfectly shaped pillow between his chest and shoulder, mindful of her horn. When she had nestled in her familiar place the arm descended on her back, pulling her to his embrace.

She could do with some rest. They had an hour or two available to nap.

She’d missed this. They barely slept lately at all. Too much work, too much planning, too many fears. They had to take what little sleep they could in shifts in order to make as much as they could out of their limited time. They could properly rest tomorrow at least. She intended to spend most of tomorrow right here, just like this, both of them healing together.

She’d really miss these peaceful moments when they’d be too busy keeping themselves alive as long as possible while all of Equestria screamed for their heads. Oh well, it would be fun in its own way at least.

Luna’s physical pains and mental fears melted away as she drifted off, both sleepers’ dreams finally safe, guarded by each other’s reassuring presence.