Twilight and her friends sat impatiently in the waiting room at the hospital’s lobby, inhaling the familiar hospital scent of antiseptics and chlorine. All this hectic travelling, basically hanging on for their lives on the chariot as a blur of pegasi Royal guards were passing the reins to another team, and then another team, and then… There were a lot of pegasi, that’s what she was getting at. A lot of guards flying them to their distant destination, a lot of tying themselves on the rails every day so they wouldn’t fall off from sheer exhaustion, a lot of worrying, and only after regretfully learning that when Pinkie Pie says she can’t hold it in anymore she means it, a few bathroom breaks.

All that turmoil, and now they had to wait for somepony to come and let them up on the hospital’s last floor, where Raegdan and Princess Luna were being treated. It was kind of annoying, true. Actually, it was about to drive her stark raving mad, but at least, finally, it seemed Princess Luna and her step-dad got something they wanted. Somepony was actively looking out for their security. From what she got, Leaf Stream, Solid Charge, and Cast Iron were doing an outstanding job.

Maybe they should have stopped and rested a little on their way here. Arriving in the middle of the night wasn’t helping anypony. Not that they had been waiting long. It only felt that way. She had been watching Rainbow Dash flick her tail left and right, and she could almost swear it took minutes for the multi colored hair to settle before Rainbow moved her tail again.There was time enough to count each individual strand and sort them by length and color. Dandelion seeds were meteorites compared to what her tired eyes followed. How could such a fast pony have the perception of time altered so radically near her? Twilight pondered for a minute if perhaps this was how Rainbow Dash saw the world when she flew with her incredible speed, as if everything floated slowly, like a dream that bled into reality. This was either a glimpse into Rainbow’s pegasi magic or a misadvertisement of that so called “energy drink” at their latest stop.

Say what you will, but Rainbow Dash had been the calmness in the eye of the storm since they got the news. She was so absolutely certain that nothing tragic would happen. “If somepony like Princess Luna and Raegdan doesn’t buy the farm straight out then they won’t wait till they get to a hospital to kick the bucket. They’re gonna be fine. A little hurt maybe, but fine.” Coarse and rough, but it had the advantage of not feeling like empty words designed to make them feel better.

Pinkie Pie had been as worried as Twilight herself was, only she was keeping it under much better control. This control slipped a bit as soon as they arrived in Baltimare. They couldn’t see the Leviathan’s corpse, not during the night, but they did see the silhouette of what they had managed to drag off shore. It was only a few small pieces they told them, each of them as large as Ponyville’s square. There were more down the shoreline, gathered together like the remains of a village that had been birthed instead of built. The rest, almost the entirety of the Leviathan, had sunk beneath the sea. She wondered how it’s remains would affect the region. Pinkie had quieted up. No jokes, no smiles, not a single word. Twilight feared that Pinkie’s own stay at the hospital wing was making a re-emergence in her mind. Knowing Pinkie, she was really hurting that the one who helped her was here and she couldn’t return the favor.

Fluttershy had almost gone into tears by seeing the signs of destruction at the port and the mass of still injured ponies at the hospital. Lines were remaining unbroken in their staggering length as ponies were taken behind a small curtain, emerging with a small wad of cotton against their leg.

As for Twilight herself… A lot of things had happened. Many things were still unclear in her mind. Sometimes, she still got confused, though that was not the right word. She understood that suddenly finding out that Raegdan could really do such things, infinitely darker than what she had ever thought was possible, made its mark on her. Out of all of this, out of all the fear, the confusion, the sudden bouts of hate and tremors, the whispers at the end of her hearing, despite it all, she knew one thing for certain. She loved her step-dad, and she didn’t want to lose him. She hated what he had done, not him. She had to keep reminding herself constantly against the insidious doubts, but it worked so far. She still loved the biped who would stay up all night when she was sick, whispering songs and stories to her, holding her hoof.

So she waited. She waited and hoped Rainbow was right. That her last words to him weren’t a half-hearted goodbye he probably didn’t even hear.

Pinkie shook Twllight’s shoulder, pointing towards the stairs. Rarity was coming down to greet them. She looked… the best way Twilight could put it was that she looked distinctly un-Rarity. Her mane was, while not a mess, certainly not up to her usual standards. There was red in the white of her eyes, and the skin beneath them had gone saggy and dark. Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow got up and walked to the end of the stairs to wait for her. A thestral was standing guard there, and she quickly raised her bat wing to block their passage.

“It’s ok dear. They’re with us. They can come up anytime,” Rarity told the thestral mare, her exhaustion apparent.

“Jeepers, Rarity! What happened to you?” Rainbow asked as they made their way up the stairs.

Rarity sighed. “I wish I could say it was the Leviathan, but that would be a lie. It’s the “aftershocks” that have exhausted me. I left Applejack sleeping by the way. Poor mare has been running herself ragged. In between the reporters, the “authorities” here, the populace, the guards, and everypony screaming for answers we don’t have… Thank Celestia for- Princess Celestia I suppose.” Rarity sparked a small smile at her little joke. “I don’t know how she’s doing it. Seemingly she’s spending as much time as she can at her sister’s side, but-”

Twilight interrupted her. “Rarity. How are they?”

Rarity coughed and stopped at the second floor. “I need some water. I’m awfully thirsty. Anypony want something? There’s a cafeteria right here, and there’s-”

“Rarity.”

“Oh, alright.” Rarity started moving up the steps again, almost dragging her hooves. “They’re alive and getting better. We don’t know what happened in that… thing. Luna’s been hurt badly. Broken bones, internal bleeding, lacerations, bites, you name it, she’s got it. Her magic was completely drained, and she’s also gotten a nasty infection on top of everything, courtesy of the monstrosity she killed. Some of her wounds were cauterized. Presumably Raegdan did that somehow while they were still in the Leviathan. It kept her from bleeding out, but left her even more vulnerable to whatever was running free in there. It almost killed her, even without the bodily harm she acquired.”

“That doesn’t sound good at all,” Twilight said.

“She’ll make it. It will just take time, Alicorn or not.”

“How’s dad?” Pinkie Pie asked anxiously.

Rarity stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. She cleared her throat, hesitated, and coughed again. “I don’t know for sure.”

“You don’t know?” Twilight asked, incredulous.

“Somehow Raegdan got… burned by something like acid while in there. Luna’s fine however, so we don’t know what’s up with that. I myself will bet my bits that your former guardian shielded her with his own body. They kept rinsing him for a day to make sure it was all off. He was still sizzling in parts when they brought him-”

Twilight felt dizzy and had to support herself on Rainbow’s side for a second, lest she fall down the stairs. Rarity bit her lips hard enough to almost bleed as she panicked at the sight of what she caused.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry dear. I don’t know what I was thinking saying such a dreadful thing. I- I should stop.”

“No. No, I’m- I’m fine. How is he now?”

Rarity looked at her sadly. “Not good. On the bright side he hasn’t caught what Luna has so far. There are some salves they are pretty confident will help, and the antibiotics are based on his kind’s knowledge so Princess Celestia assured as that these at least will definitely work. It’s just that... I’m sorry Twilight, there’s nothing they can do, but-”

“But?” Pinkie asked in Twilight’s place. Twilight didn’t want to hear what she suspected ever since she heard he got burned.

“There are no painkillers for him. Nothing that works. Maybe the Zebrican salve will help, they say it mutes pain quite well for ponies at least, but… he will have to endure the pain for- for a long time. Twilight, I’m so sorry-”

“He’ll be fine.” Twilight stopped Rarity from going further into her condolences. She didn’t want to hear them. “He’s always been able to endure pain when he had to. Remember the wound at his side? He never uttered the smallest complaint or groan of pain… unless he got hit right there,” she tried to joke, mostly for her own benefit, with a sideways glance at Rainbow.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean- You know what? You’re totally right Twilight.” Rainbow spread her wings and hovered above her. “He’ll be totally fine when he’s up and about.”

They had reached the top floor of the hospital. Twilight had heard about the thestrals, she had read about them, and she always wanted to meet some of these rare ponies. Her wish was certainly getting fulfilled now. There were no guards here, only thestrals walking the corridors.

“Right,” Twilight agreed, choosing to ignore Rainbow’s covert glance to Rarity. She may have meant it as a morale boost, but that didn’t make it any less true. “Have these thestrals decided to join the Lunar Guard? Is that why they’re here?”

“No, the majority are only here until Luna is out of the hospital. There are too few of them you see. A couple of them will join up however, thanks to Spike.”

“Spike? What did the little guy do?” Rainbow asked.

Rarity’s tired face lit up with a small, but brilliant smile. “You’d be proud of him Rainbow. There was a moment when Luna asked for us to trust her and to our shame we did not. Not little Spike however. He stuck with them to the very end. Silverwing, that’s the thestral leader, felt so ashamed afterwards that he swore that Luna wouldn’t leave Baltimare without some of his ponies by her side.”

“Way to go for Spike!” Rainbow cheered along with Pinkie Pie and a smiling Fluttershy.

“Rarity, when can we visit Luna and Raegdan? In fact, is Princess Celestia here?” Twilight asked.

Rarity answered absentmindedly. “Hm? Yes, the princess is here. She’s been spending most of her time in Princess Luna’s room. I think she sleeps in there with her. Luna hasn’t gained consciousness yet for more than a minute or two, but she’s still having… nightmares. You know what I’m talking about.” Rarity stopped before a door. “We can go in and get some rest. Applejack and Spike are sleeping inside though, so we should finish up first and not wake them.”

“So, having her big sis around helps Luna with her nightmares?” Rainbow asked. “It’s so weird to think of somepony like Luna scared of dreams…” Rainbow muttered.

Rarity blushed and awkwardly scratched her shoulder. “Not really. She must have gotten used to having Raegdan around, so to help her with that little problem we, um, we threw most of his clothes on the bed with her.”

“Huh?”

“Well, you have to understand,” Rarity continued. “He wears them all the time, his smell is all over them, and it makes her think he is there with her… It was no fun at all explaining to Princess Celestia why this worked or how we knew it would.”

Rainbow chortled in amusement. Twilight was quick to cut her off. “That’s not funny Rainbow. Luna has a real problem and…” Twilight stopped, sighing deeply. She almost verbally attacked her friend to distract herself. “I’m sorry Rainbow. Can we visit them tomorrow morning Rarity?”

“I guess we can visit Luna, though she is still kept under sedatives. The doctors want her to get as much rest as possible. Princess Celestia will be glad to see you however. But I’m afraid that until Solid Charge gives permission we can’t visit Raegdan.”

Twilight frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He’s the only one who went in to see him so far, apart from the doctors and nurses,” Rarity explained. “He won’t allow anyone else to go in and see him. He even stood up to Princess Celestia to stop her from going inside.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy whispered, amazed.

“He’s got no right to do that!” Twilight started yelling before quickly lowering her voice when Rarity made quieting gestures, pointing at the door through which Applejack and Spike slept. “We’re his family, and if I-”

“Twilight, please, listen to me,” Rarity soothed her. “Solid Charge is only trying to look after you. Raegdan’s hurt real bad, and honestly, going in to see him now won’t help anypony. I’m certain that when Raegdan is awake we’ll be able to visit. Until then, let’s wait, ok?”

“I- I guess you’re right. I’m just so… so worried. I want to see him, make sure he’s ok.”

“We all do Twilight. Now, let’s go inside and get some sleep, ok? Trust me, you will need it for tomorrow. Applejack can help me tell you the rest after breakfast.”

Twilight made a tremendous -if poor in choice- effort to swallow half of an unchewed bagel. The pastry got stuck in her throat, and she coughed to dislodge it. It came up again, bringing some friends it waved along from her stomach. Her cheeks bulged as she tasted the unholy dough, now drenched in stomach fluids. Knowing her only sane option was to spit it out, she swallowed once more. It went down easier this time, soaked in saliva as it was -among other things.

“Good mo-morning Princess,” Twilight greeted her mentor with barely a stutter. She did her best to not allow her voice to croak, or her wide smile to wither. She believed she did a good enough job. Inner Twilight hoofpumped in perceived victory.

“My goodness Twilight. Are you ok?” Princess Celestia asked with worry as she took a seat at the full table. Her friends scampered to make space for the large Alicorn.

“I’m fine, princess.” Twilight’s throat burned with regret. For the next few days she’d have to take small, dainty bites. She held back a shiver from running down her spine. Rarity would now believe she was dieting again, and she’d try to help once more. “How is Princess Luna?”

Celestia gave her a small, sad smile. “Better each day. At least that’s what the doctors tell me. She needed some surgery, but for now the greatest concern is the disease she picked up. Luckily, the antibiotics help immensely.” The princess half-lidded her eyes as she used her magic to stir her morning tea. “Bread mold. Who could have guessed?” she chuckled.

Twilight examined her mentor more carefully. Princess Celestia’s eyelids were drooping, her wings hung low, her feathers were disarrayed, and she didn’t seem to be able to hold her usual stance, neck straight and high.

“How about you? Are you alright Princess?” Twilight asked with increased worry.

“I must admit I haven’t slept well, or long enough lately. There’s so much to do, while what I want to do most is stay by Luna’s side,” Celestia said, scowling slightly as she thought of the work that was waiting for her. “Twilight, I know you are worried about Raegdan, but could you please look after my sister every now and-”

Interrupting her teacher was something she would never do under normal circumstances. She did so without thinking about it, which might have been the only reason Twilight managed it. “The girls and I are here for both of them Princess. We will look after Luna, we promise.”

“There never was a question about it.”

“Shoot, of course we will.”

“Can’t wait for her to get up and tell us all about her adventure!”

“Oh, we should head there immediately after and make sure she is comfortable…”

“I need dry macaroni to make cards! Glitter! Glue! Markers! Balloons! We need to stockpile candy for when she wakes up! She’s a fellow chocofiend, she needs chocolate to liiiiiive!”

“Hey, anything for dad’s marefriend.”

Twilight’s hoof dug into her ear. It was just an expression, she couldn’t have heard a record stopping like that. There wasn’t even any music. More importantly, why, how, and why, and let’s not forget, why did Spike just say that?

“Twilight,” Celestia said with a unusual smile. “Can I ask you a question?”

No, no, no, nonononononono, noooooooooooo-

“Yes, princess?”

Celestia took her time putting butter on a small croissant. “I may be Luna’s fellow diarch, but I also consider of some importance the fact that I am her sister. Her concerned, older sister.”

“I understand princess,” Twilight answered. She wished she had a notebook. She may have just made an outstanding discovery. Apparently, ponies were able to, on demand, force their sweat glands to suck back the treacherous drops when under the direst of pressures.

“Here’s my question then Twilight. I only ask that you answer honestly.”

Twilight’s legs couldn’t move her fast enough to put that incessant, half yelling, half whining, behind her, but they certainly tried. Oh, if only she wasn’t in a hospital, where she wasn’t allowed to perform any moderately powerful spells, she would have teleported out in an instant. She tried a silence spell first, but of course The-One-That-Hounds knew how to dispel that.

“Just really good friends? Friends? Darling, you had a chance there, a golden, jewel encrusted chance, and you threw it away!” Rarity’s piercing voice mercilessly drilled into Twilight’s ears. “How will romance be fashioned, how will love be allowed to blossom and bloom if I- I mean we, don’t step in to-”

Alright, she had enough. She turned around to face her pursuer. “Rarity?” Twilight said with as much sweetness as she could concentrate on every syllable. “You do realize that Raegdan, my step-dad, is in this hospital with horrific injuries? I don’t know if you have ever had a second or third degree burn. To be honest, neither have I. What I do know about them however is that they hurt. A lot. I also know that burns that cover a large area usually require specialized care. Care which Raegdan cannot receive in its entirety, not with magical means, which are what we mostly have. So maybe, love, and the blossoming and blooming of which, are not really my top priority at the moment. Now, if you understand this, maybe we can put romance plots on hold?”

Twilight’s breathing hastened as she talked. She was saying things she didn’t want to think about. Nopony wants to think like that when you sit in a waiting room or visit a hospital bed.

Rarity however stood dauntless before Twilight’s most menacing stare. “I’m afraid not.” Rarity tapped her chin with her hoof as she thought. “You know what I think? We should arrange for a celebration when they are up and about. Only we could make a reservation for them at a local restaurant, I hear magnificent things about the local cuisine, and encourage them to have a private “party” for themselves. Oh, we can pre-arrange the menu! A red wine that is a little too strong, scandalous, I know, but a small nudge might be due, and perhaps some-”

“Rarity, stop!” Twilight yelled. She ran her hoof down her face, trying to regain her calm. “Why? Why are you so insistent on this, now of all times?”

Rarity stood silent for a few seconds, looking sullen. “I should make some clothing for Raegdan. I have a few ideas of my own, of course, but some insight into what you know of his culture would be-”

“Rarity!”

The white unicorn huffed and turned her head, looking away from her friend. “Well, I thought you’d prefer this to go well rather than belly side-”

Twilight struck the floor with her hoof. “Rarity…”

Rarity turned her back on Twilight. “I saw them going in there you know. Down the maelstrom,” Rarity said.

And now she felt like a Twijerk. She was just thinking about this exact thing, but she only applied it to herself, as expected of this world’s most selfish pony. She moved to stand to Rarity’s side, closer to her friend.

“I counted the minutes while they were inside,” Rarity continued, sorrowful. “I didn’t panic at all. Not even when I started counting over sixty one minutes. Spike was there, and I couldn’t… All I could think of was what a sad pathetic life they’ve been living. How much of it they spent alone, and how much they glowed when they were together. I couldn’t help but think about it, and how wrong it felt that they looked so immeasurably happy sometimes only because they sat together, as if that’s the best they could ever get.”

Rarity inhaled deeply from her nostrils, regaining her usual regal stance as air filled her chest. “I know I’m getting tiresome, but honestly, I’d rather think of ways that might never work, or I never actually have the chance to try, to make them happier if possible. It’s far better than keep thinking that even if they lived, Luna will always have a scar under her coat where something ate a part of her, or how Raegdan will have even more scars now… They did something incredible, and while they may not have done it for the right reasons, I have no doubt they did it for each other, and-”

Rarity brought a handkerchief over her eyes. “Gracious, I am barely making sense,” she sniffled. “I’m so sorry darling. You have every reason to be upset. Here you are, worrying over your family, and I’m-”

“Black,” Twilight said, sighing in defeat.

“...I’m sorry?”

“Black. It’s what he likes, and what his kind often prefers on formal wear. Almost all black. I think dark blue works too, but Raegdan always fancied black more.”

“Oh. Oh!” Rarity dabbed carefully around her eyes one more time. “This could work I guess. Too sombre for me, but it would give him quite the striking appearance. Like his armor. A little white to accentuate, and a dash of color wouldn’t be amiss. Red perhaps?”

“It could work. On his tie I think, and I’d go for silver instead of white. Luna would enjoy that better too,” Twilight suggested, and Rarity clapped her hooves happily in agreement. “The wine wouldn’t work by the way. Raegdan doesn’t handle alcohol that well.”

“Hmm, yes. I can foresee trouble if that’s true. He might end up sleeping through his date, or even worse, get too… forward for a first date. Can you even imagine?”

“Yes, but I really, really don’t want to,” Twilight answered.

Twilight opened the door to Luna’s room. Inside, her friends were already gathered around the sleeping Alicorn. Twilight and Rarity joined them. Nopony was talking. She took a look around the room. She counted six beds, the rest of them empty, one of them blocked from view with a curtain. She wondered if that was the one where Princess Celestia slept.

It didn’t really make sense to Twilight. Luna looked so large and intimidating when she wanted to. Yet now, here on the hospital bed, covered with white sheets and IV tubes feeding her veins with fluids… Luna looked tiny. She had bandages wrapped all over her torso, legs, and even her head. Each of them hiding a stitched gash, as she knew. It wasn’t the first time she had been through similar. Twilight vividly remembered her story on that failed nighttime event. Especially how nonchalant she had been about her injuries, as if it was an occurrence as common or noteworthy as tripping on your own legs. Dear Celestia, this was what her so-called duty was? To go out there, fight alone, end up like this, and do it all over again, forever? The existence of Nightmare Moon was making more sense each day.

She spotted a strand of Luna’s mane laid over her eyes. She leaned forward to gently coax it back into place. As she got closer Twilight noticed once again how Luna’s coat grew. Swirly in places, in hypnotic zigs and zags, circular splotches, and curving lines. She had been amazed the first time she saw her up close. She remembered thinking how outstanding it was that even Luna’s coat growth was perplexing and filled with abstract designs, another reminder of Luna’s connection with the night sky.

She covertly facehoofed at her stupidity. There hadn’t been anything like that. She finally understood that it was merely the scars on Luna’s skin, under her coat, that made it grow in these patterns. She had as many scars as Raegdan did. Nopony ever noticed them though -no, they probably thought something stupidly poetic as Twilight did herself. If she had a pillow in her hooves she’d hide behind it.

She tried to imagine Luna, returning to her castle in the distant past, after another successful “adventure”, marred with another healed wound. Only, nopony would see it, or notice it for what it was. Did Luna know? Did she realize that almost nopony ever saw these marks for what they were? That none truly saw her wounds, but only thought that there was something… Alicorn-y about her midnight blue coat? Or did she live through her life believing that nopony had ever cared how many scars she got or how she earned them?

Rainbow Dash pulled her out of her grim line of thought. “So what happened Twilight? Is Solid Charge letting us visit Raegdan?”

“We didn’t find him,” Twilight answered. “We searched the whole floor. He’s not here.”

“He’s probably downstairs, doing “public relations” ah reckon,” Applejack told them, yawning. “Not really, but ya get mah drift y’all. Letting ponies see them, telling them everything is fine.”

“How’s the city holding up?” Twilight asked. “We didn’t manage to see much of anything when we arrived. What’s gonna happen with the Leviathan?”

“Welp,” Applejack said, stretching her neck with a pop, “Baltimare’s doing well enough for now. In the coming weeks… not so much. Neither will a lot of ponies around here. Ah sent the money Raegdan gave me back home, and warned Big Mac to stock up on things we might need in the coming months. We’re gonna feel the sting all the way to Ponyville in some way or another.”

“That bad?”

“The seaport is in ruins, darling. Thank goodness you didn’t get to see it. It’s a horrible mess,” Rarity said.

“Yep,” Applejack continued. “The Leviathan’s remains don’t help matters either. It left a green sludge behind it, it’s like tar in the water. Small boats actually get stuck in it.”

Rarity took her turn again. “That thing’s disgusting remains need to go too. They keep finding dead fish floating in the sea. They believe it’s poisoning the water around it, and it will only get worse as it… decomposes.” Rarity shivered with disgust.

“Oh, those poor fishies,” Fluttershy mourned. “Can’t they clean it up?”

Applejack snorted. “Good luck doing that anytime soon. It weighs thousand of tons and it’s down at the bottom.”

“I’d love to get a sample of it, see what’s it made of,” Twilight half muttered.

“If ya do, there’s plenty of it to go around. Ah wouldn’t recommend it though. Princess Celestia had some ponies go over it, and after the first ones got sick nopony is allowed to approach it without getting covered head to hoof with spells and special uniforms,” Applejack said.

“It’s spreading a disease? Is it airborne?”

“Not from what they tell us,” Applejack answered. “It’s easy to treat, which is a blessing since it’s in the water now. One of the first researchers to get it asked to be left unmedicated for a bit, see how dangerous it actually is. Really brave of her. Turns out it’s a woozy if you don’t take care of it immediately. Thankfully she’s ok, though barely.”

“In a few words,” Rarity said with deep sadness, “Horseshoe Bay is ruined. Baltimare won’t be able to operate as a trading hub for some time, and most the villages around the bay were sustained by the fishing trade with the griffins and the minotaurs.”

“Wait, so… it was all for nothing?” Rainbow asked.

“I doubt that,” Twilight said. “The Leviathan would have destroyed every ship and ravage the local ecosystem either way. At least now it can’t do the same to everywhere else. We got off easy. A free roaming Leviathan is one of the worst scenarios that can happen. Imagine the same happening all along the Equestrian coast.”

“It’s not over yet,” Rarity said. “Princess Celestia is very worried about what’s going to happen in the next few months. You weren’t there to see it, but trust me Twilight, the explosion that killed the Leviathan was like nothing you can imagine. Can you fathom what everypony will do if they believe that Luna is capable of doing that at will?”

“Is she?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We don’t know! Nopony has any idea what they did yet. Maybe she is. Between that, and the fact that Luna and Raegdan have killed a Leviathan…” Rarity let the sentence hang for a second. “A lot of very important people are gonna be very nervous, and I don’t think they were seeing Luna with a good eye before.”

“That’s dumb,” Rainbow declared. “So what? She killed a Leviathan, she didn’t set fire to anypony.”

“At least most ponies here understand that,” Applejack said. She pointed at the sleeping Alicorn between them. “A few of them are utter boneheads though. They blame and accuse Luna for… Ah don’t even know what. Whatever idiocy decides to fly outta their mouths at the moment.”

“That isn’t fair!” Pinkie Pie protested, pouting and crossing her hooves across her chest. A series of knocks on the door stopped her from saying more. Twilight used her magic to open it, revealing Leaf Stream.

The dark green pony ran her eyes over the room before getting inside. “Princess Celestia ain’t here?”

“Hello Leaf Stream. Princess Celestia is in a meeting with the mayor I believe.” Twilight scooted on the bed she was sitting on to make space for Leaf Stream but the pegasus ignored it and stood next to the door instead.

“Yeah, hello. Good luck to the princess with that. Everypony’s busy pointing hooves while she does all the work. Seriously, I think Princess Celestia is the one who might have been shafted with the hardest part of the job,” Leaf Stream joked. “Are you looking after the heroine of the week in her stead?”

Twilight flashed her an angry look. “I would have thought you’d have stopped being like that by now.”

Leaf Stream was taken aback. “What? I’m serious. That’s what everypony calls her here now. You think I’m joking? Here, take a look at this.” She walked to the curtailed bed and pulled the sheet aside. Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow, were left speechless at the sight.

The wall and the bed in front of it were covered with cards, letters, flowers, photographs, and various presents. They were stacked on each other, reaching almost ceiling high. Twilight approached and lifted a hoofmade plushie made in Luna’s likeness.

“These are all… gifts from ponies? All that?”

“Nope,” Applejack laughed. “That ain’t even half of what they sent so far. There’s more. We left the rest in another room. These are some of the more personal ones we chose.”

“We check everything before letting it in here,” Leaf Stream said. “If anything’s got even a bit of magic on it we leave it for Princess Celestia to look over. The other stuff we check for is ponies sending accusations and other mean stuff. There’s been some, but even that was surprisingly little. Besides, from what I hear, bad mouthing Princess Luna is a big no-no in Baltimare at the moment. There are some politicians who try to turn that around cause it’s easier to blame somepony most ponies didn’t like much rather than admit they got no idea what should be done now.”

“Oh, that is just cruel,” Fluttershy said.

Leaf Stream smirked. “Eh, it could be worse. Besides, they are simmering down. Turns out somepony might have been spilling the beans on who does that, and where they can be found. Mobs have been going after them because of that dastardly leak.” She took a moment to inspect her hoof with extreme self-satisfaction.

Twilight couldn’t stop staring. She could almost feel the gratitude wafting in waves from the piles in front of her. She put down the doll and disbelievingly picked up another one. Somepony had sent a Raegdan doll! It looked nothing like him, but who else could it be? Whoever made it had tried to do his or her best out of a description. It looked more like a thin minotaur painted black. She put them down, arranging them to sit side by side. There were drawings by colts and fillies, as well as letters. So many letters.

“Luna’s not going to believe this,” Twilight said, breathless.

Fluttershy had picked up the plush dolls and hugged them both close to her chest like a little filly. “Oh, these are adorable. I bet they will be so happy to see all this. Do you think Luna will let me keep these two if I ask her?”

“Oh my gosh, check this out!” Rainbow called. “She’s already got a fan club. Look at this picture.” Little fillies were running around with moon themed cutie marks taped over their own, while young colts were rushing behind them with wooden weapons in their hold and paper mache black helmets covering their heads almost to the point of blindness.

Behind them, Luna started stirring and making noise. Twilight and the rest of the girls instantly stopped fidgeting over the bundles of gifts.

“Is she waking up? Should we call a doctor?” Twilight asked.

“Nah,” Leaf Stream said. She moved to the other side of Luna’s bed and pushed a small pile of clothing nearer the Alicorn’s head. Luna turned her head, almost burying her face in the stack of Raegdan’s clothing and slowly went back to sleeping peacefully. Leaf Stream readjusted the covers over Luna before backing off.

“Now, I’m not trying to be a jerk, but that’s some pretty creepy behaviour,” Leaf Stream said as she went back to standing by the door.

“I, for one, think it’s romantic,” Rarity claimed.

“Yeah, if you are into stalking,” Leaf Stream countered. “I wonder if she’s tried to- what was that?”

There was a muffled shout from outside. Rainbow Dash headed for one of the windows while Leaf Stream slightly opened the door and carefully peeked outside before moving out into the corridor.

“This darn window doesn’t open,” Rainbow Dash complained.

“Princess Celestia blocked them off with magic,” Rarity informed her. “There’s no way to open them now.”

Rainbow pushed her muzzle to the glass, trying to get the bottom of the hospital in her line of sight. “Hey guys, there’s smoke coming out of some windows! That ain’t supposed to happen, does it?”

“Did you really just ask that question right now?” Leaf Stream yelled.

“Where’s the smoke coming from Rainbow?” Applejack asked.

“Uh… hard to see… Floor below us I thi- yep, I see flames coming out the windows. Definitely the floor below. Somewhere towards the stairs we climbed yesterday,” Rainbow said. Twilight could smell the smoke reaching them even now. An alarm started ringing from below.

“Horseapples,” Leaf Stream cried out, looking back at the unconscious Luna. “We could move the princess, but I’d really rather not do that if we can help it.” Leaf Stream sighed. “Right when I was gonna head for a nap…” She ran towards the stairwell. Twilight and her friends followed along.

It was a haven for chaos on the floor below. Doctors and nurses were rushing in and out of rooms, wheeling patients away from the smoke and fire. Guards and thestrals that tried to reach the fire kept having to back to the wall to let the gurneys and wheelchairs pass them by. A thick smoke cloud was already forming at the ceiling, burning their eyes and throats.

“Where is the fire?” Leaf Stream shouted over the commotion.

A guard answered her, pointing further along the corridor they were in. “A storeroom over there. It’s spreading already.”

“Why aren’t you taking it out? What are you waiting for, marshmallows?”

The guard ducked to avoid a IV stand that rolled next to a wheelchair from hitting her in the eye. “Pretty hard to do so when this is going on!”

“Then help them get done a minute sooner you idiots,” Leaf Stream ordered. She turned to Twilight. “Know any spells that can help with the fire?”

“I can contain the fire for some time at least,” Twilight answered. “Maybe even put it out if it’s not too large already.”

“Alright. You’re on. Get there and do what you-”

“We got this!” Rainbow shouted in excitement. Before Twilight knew what was happening, the agitated pegasus had her in her grip and flew her over the mass of ponies filling the corridor. The last she heard from Leaf Stream was her giving orders to organize the evacuation.

Rainbow was zipping left and right, avoiding hanging lights, IV posts, and the occasional flier who was heading the other way. The air heated up considerably as they neared their target, and Twilight could hear the crackling fire as they approached. Rainbow finally landed near the burning rooms. Red shadows were dancing in the corridor.

“Rainbow! Some warning first next time. I got smoke in my eyes,” Twilight griped, trying to blink the tears away.

Rainbow turned her blackened, sooted face towards the direction of her voice. “Yeah, I should probably have given that a little more thought,” she choked out, coughing. “Any chance you could push me towards a water cooler? I can’t see.”

“Later,” Twilight vaguely promised. The corridor at this point had become a fireplace. Twilight racked her brain, trying to think of the best way to put out this inferno. She didn’t have access to a large enough quantity of water, and there was a limit to how much water she could wring out of the surrounding humidity with a water spell.

The easiest way at this point would be by depriving the flames of oxygen. From Rainbow’s comment about flames coming out the windows however, she figured that she couldn’t just block the corridor and call it a day. She couldn’t see the windows either. She could try a larger shield that would contain the rooms in their entirety, but it might give the fire long enough to break her shield before it dies down. Damage to shields, especially continuous like that of a fire, drained the caster, bringing the spell down.

“So, um, Twilight, you gonna do anything?” Rainbow asked. “I don’t hear you doing anything, and it’s getting kinda hot, so, uh, maybe do something before the others come here only to find us roasted?”

Ego much, Twilight? She didn’t have to stop the fire on her own. She just needed to keep it from spreading. Leaf Stream and the guards would be here soon enough to help. She cast the spell and concentrated on holding the shield in place. Soon enough the smoke started lessening and the air cleared.

It wasn’t long before Leaf Stream and her friends appeared, along with a whole bunch of guards, thestrals, and orderlies, forming a bucket chain. Twilight let the shield spell fade with a relieved sigh. She could almost feel the fire burning at her own skin even through the weak feedback link. She tried not to think how it would actually feel in reality.

When the fire was extinguished at last Leaf Stream had Cast Iron, who made an appearance while Twilight was busy holding the fire back, check how the fire begun.

“Seems like a supply storeroom. Plenty to burn here,” the minotaur said, checking the remains with the handle of a spear. “It’s full of flammables. No wonder it flared up so fast.”

“But how did it start?” Twilight asked. She looked at the burned husk of a room. There was a large window. She wondered if it could have been a bottle or other glassware being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, working like a lens. She suggested the possibility to the others.

“Could be, could be,” Cast Iron agreed. “It’s just that… ah, here we go.” He pushed half melted glass and ashes around. “That’s where it started. See? I think these were bottles of ethanol.”

“And the rest?” Leaf Stream asked, reaching for the ashes herself.

“I don’t know. Sheets or gauze? Whatever it was it burned up completely.”

Fluttershy’s hesitant, quiet voice reached them in the momentary silence. “There are more bottles over here. Are they the same?”

Cast Iron approached her position at the far wall. “Oh yeah. I think so at least. Same shape, and it all burned quick. That must be the shelf where they stored them.”

“Wait, what did you say?” Leaf Stream asked, suddenly flustered. “That’s the side where they normally keep them?”

“I guess,” Cast Iron said, shrugging. “I don’t know how hospitals do it, but in my line of work at least I usually kept everything in order.”

Leaf Stream looked around her. “Did all of you come down here?” she asked Twilight.

Twilight glanced around her for a quick headcount. She knew that Rainbow was outside, still pouring water over her eyes, with Rarity bemoaning the condition of her multi hued mane over her, and trying to turn the eye-washing into a mane wash and styling. “Yes. Spike went back to bed soon after breakfast. Should I go wake him, or…”

Leaf Stream ran outside, and Twilight, feeling slightly panicked now, followed her. Leaf Stream seemed to have her eyes locked on the thestrals that were still there, waiting to see what would happen next. For half a minute it seemed she had lost the ability to blink and close her mouth.

“Hey, hey. Hey!” Leaf Stream yelled loudly, causing everypony to stop whatever they were doing. “Who’s guarding the princess if you’re all here?”

Nopony answered. Some tried to, but paused when they saw the one they were about to mention was also down there, often right next to them.

“Please tell me we’re not that stupid…” Leaf Stream moaned and ran for the stairs.

Princess Luna was gone. The bed was empty. Even the sheets were missing. IV tubes and needles were thrown astray, with tiny drops of blood hanging from their end. Leaf Stream was starting to panic, climbing on the bed itself, as if expecting to step on an invisible Alicorn, and even checking underneath the mattress.

“No, no, no. Oh, come on! Where the hay did she go?”

“You don’t think someone got up here and…” Cast Iron crossed his thumb across his neck.

Leaf Stream looked terrified for a few seconds before forcing herself to calm down. “No, somepony took her. It would be too much of a risk to kill her and then drag her body around just for… I don’t know, a trophy?”

“How did somepony manage to get her out though?” Applejack asked. “It’s the top floor. If anypony came down the stairs carrying Luna they would have been noticed.”

“Oh, this is a whole can of worms you opened up now,” Leaf Stream said, rubbing her forehead. “Let’s see. They could have taken her to the roof and flew her out, or they could have teleported her out. They could have used a spell to disguise her and carry her down along with the rest of the patients we were getting out. Horseapples, we might have escorted them out ourselves! I’m gonna get lynched when word gets out. They’re gonna string me up in the middle of Baltimare, and everypony will bring a large stick to have a go at the new public pinata...”

“We need to find her,” Rarity shrilled. “She’s wounded and sick.”

“Let me know if you have any idea where to start,” Leaf Stream said in a tone of surrender. “Damn it, this can’t get any worse.”

“Ya know, ah’ve been hearing variations of this a lot lately, and it turns out it’s not a smart thing to say,” Applejack commented.

Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow, walked into the room. Solid Charge was walking behind them, the large minotaur appearing to be in pain.

“Welcome back sleepyhead. Had a nice rest? Join us in this new game we made. It’s called ‘peek-a-boo, where’s the princess? Not here’,” Leaf Stream mocked him.

“Raegdan is gone too.”

Leaf Stream glanced at Applejack accusingly. “Great. We have an extra player. They took him too?”

“Didn’t I just say that?” Solid Charge said, sitting down on the empty bed while rubbing the back of his head. “I was in his room, checking up on him before turning in. I was looking out the window when I heard something behind me. I didn’t have time to turn around. They hit me on the head. When I came to my senses I was tied up, gagged, and Raegdan was nowhere to be seen.”

“This is horrible!” Rarity wailed.

“No, this is great!” Twilight yelled, getting excited. The others looked at her as if she was insane. It occurred to her that she was getting that stare pretty often. “Don’t you see? They took Raegdan too. They can’t teleport him, they can’t disguise him with spells, and pegasi can’t fly carrying him unless they use something to carry him in-”

“-and if something like that had happened then somepony would have noticed them. But since they didn’t…” Leaf Stream continued in Twilight’s line of thought.

“Then they’d have to carry them out some other way. Something slower. I’ll get the thestrals to help us. They’re completely cuckoo about Princess Luna. No way somepony gets past them… you know, twice.”

“I’ll go find Princess Celestia,” Twilight volunteered. “We will get the local Royal Guard and the Solar Guard that came with her to lend a hoof.”

Leaf Stream stopped her from leaving with a hoof. “I’m not quite sure that’s the best idea.”

“Why?”

“Ok, see, if it was just Princess Luna I’d say it’s fine. I never got the why, but contrary to what you might think of them the Solar Guard is pretty adamant about not hurting her. They’ll not go out of their way for her in any way, unless ordered by Princess Celestia, but you get my drift.”

“Then what’s the problem here?”

Leaf Stream chewed on her lip for a few seconds. “Let’s say that if they get to them first we might get told something along the lines of saving Princess Luna but being too late to stop their captors from slicing Raegdan’s throat.” Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie gasped at the mere idea.

Twilight was ready to denounce the very thought before rethinking it. Leaf Stream was a Solar guard, even if only an initiate. She certainly knew more about her former colleagues that Twilight did. It was no secret that the Solar Guard abhorred Raegdan. Still, she wasn’t all that certain that they would do something like this, not now. It would be too obvious an opportunity for them to do that. Everypony would be suspicious. She had to admit though that it would indeed be their best chance yet to get rid of what they considered a dangerous pest, and without proof suspicions couldn’t really hurt them.

Solid Charge suddenly got up, silencing her inner debate. “It doesn’t matter. We’re calling on the Solar guards to help. Our first concern must be Princess Luna, not Raegdan, and if he was here he’d agree with me. We’re losing time. Find Princess Celestia and tell her everything. In the meanwhile we’ll start searching with the thestrals’ aid.”

Twilight looked out the window, towards the setting sun. A whole day of searching with nothing to show for it. Baltimare had half emptied as ponies took to the streets and the surrounding area, searching for the lost princess when news spread. Hundreds of ponies on the streets and the countryside, and not a single trace.

Princess Celestia herself had tried to coordinate the search at first. As the hours passed with no trace she couldn’t control her worry anymore, and went out to search herself, speeding across the sky faster than any other pegasus. She was like a daylight star, streaking through the blue with golden rays shooting out of her horn as she cast chains of spells, hoping to find one that could help her locate her sister and her friend.

Twilight had remained behind, along with her friends, and the three lone members of the Lunar Guard, trying to keep a semblance of control over a search that was growing more and more hectic as time passed. A map had been pinned next to the bed where Luna used to rest. Leaf Stream was sitting in front of it, morosely spending her time staring at the map or the bed. Solid Charge was sitting nearby, his eyes vacant, lost as he was in thought. Cast Iron was pacing, briefly stopping at periods to glare at the map. Black x’s had been drawn over every area that had been searched. Baltimare was almost entirely drawn in black by now.

Her friends were not doing much better. Rarity and Fluttershy were resolute on looking over Spike at first, only for the tables to turn around and the little dragon being the one having to keep their spirits up. Spike’s faith in Raegdan and Luna couldn’t be shaken, no matter what. Rainbow kept flying out, gathering the reports that said nothing of use before the ponies who committed the search had a chance to bring them here themselves. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were standing next to Twilight, like silent guardians.

It made no sense to her. Even if they couldn’t find Luna they should have found Raegdan by now. How did they manage to hide him and transport him without being seen from a hospital full of ponies situated right in the middle of Baltimare? There was no ship that sailed, even if they had been able to reach the port. There had been no flying carriage, balloon, or anything of the like. All the carts leaving Baltimare had become a priority. Pegasi and thestrals flew to the city’s limits and searched them all.

“Let’s try to take this from the start,” Twilight announced, rubbing her aching head. “Our kidnappers want to take Luna and Raegdan. So the first thing they do is set up a distraction.”

Solid Charge shook his head. A nurse had put a gauze on the back of his large skull. That, along with the cast on his broken arm, made him look like he should be resting in a bed as a patient here instead of standing around. “No, they took Raegdan first. I was tied in his room for some time. I even heard the fire alarm go off.”

“Do you know how long you were unconscious for?” Twilight asked.

Solid Charge shrugged. “A few minutes?”

“Ok, so then,” Twilight continued, thinking hard. “They take Raegdan first. Then they set up a distraction afterwards? Does that make sense to you?” she asked around her.

“It was six of us in Luna’s room,” Applejack reminded her. “Then, there were the thestrals in the corridors. Too few of them to get a decent chance of catching them in the act, but there were plenty scattered around even so.”

“I should have put them both in rooms side by side in a corner of the floor and cordon off the rest,” Leaf Stream criticized herself. She had been kicking herself all day long. “And how could I just leave the thestrals to wander around on their own instead of setting them up on guard rotations? I can’t believe how much I messed up…”

“They are not trained as guards. You did the best you could with what you had. What’s done is done,” Twilight tried to console her. “Let’s continue; One or more of them go downstairs and start the fire. We all go downstairs-”

“Like idiots,” Leaf Stream added.

“-leaving Luna alone-”

“Like idiots.”

“-yes, thank you. Like idiots, true. They take Luna and…” Twilight looked around her, begging for somepony to come up with something of use. “Come on! How did they get out?”

“Magic is out, right?” Rainbow asked.

“Maybe they disguised Raegdan somehow?” Rarity suggested. “Maybe they just put him in a sack?”

“Would have to be a pretty big sack,” Cast Iron said. “While there was a fire going on? How would they excuse that? Throwing out the trash or taking the laundry while the hospital was burning?”

“Somepony would have said something if they saw something weird like that,” Leaf Stream agreed.

“I can’t think of anything,” Fluttershy apologized.

Spike climbed on one of the empty beds to lie down. “Dad would have figured it out,” he said. “Hey Twilight, remember how he could go anywhere he wanted if he put his mind to it? Like Princess Celestia’s room?”

Twilight couldn’t help but snort at the memories Spike invoked, despite the severity of the situation. “Yeah. Nopony ever figured out how he could move around the castle without being seen, or get in there. I remember Princess Celestia dared him to try it once while she was ready for him.”

“Did he do it?” Rainbow asked.

“Yes. Princess Celestia waited for him almost all night. We were spending the night there with her too. Time was passing by, and he wasn’t making an appearance, so Princess Celestia decided he must have quit and went to bed. She laid down and almost reached the ceiling a second afterwards. Raegdan had gotten inside without anypony noticing, and hid beneath the bed. He was waiting for her to relax so he could give her a scare.”

“I can guess how he moved around the castle without being seen,” Rarity said. “He’s almost invisible in the dark with these dark, patterned cloaks of his. It’s easy to lose sight of him, even if you know he’s around.”

“Predator species,” Twilight said, thinking aloud. “His kind either pursued their prey to exhaustion, or set traps. It makes sense that they put some thinking into figuring out how to effectively camouflage themselves too. I don’t suppose I could see one of these cloaks?”

“You can help yourself anytime,” Cast Iron said. “There’s an empty small building in the hospital grounds. They use it as a warehouse for furniture and other stuff. We put the cart with all the gear they brought in there. We left the cloaks there as well. I, uh, took one of his armor sets into my room to examine in my spare time. You don’t think they’ll be angry, will they? I wanted to take a look at the steel it’s made from.”

“This is all delightful, but can we get back to work?” Leaf Stream complained. “Otherwise all we’ll have of them is memories and knick knacks while lamenting our lost kneecaps.”

“I really can’t think of anything,” Twilight admitted. “I’m trained in magic. All I can think of are ways involving magic, and they can’t have used any of them.” It irked her to no end how her area of expertise was now the one that limited her. Raegdan kept complaining about her dependence on magic, and now she finally saw how right he was.

“What about super magic?” Pinkie Pie asked, hopping towards the map. Leaf Stream shooed her away like a buzzing fly before she tried to draw all over it again.

Twilight sighed. “Pinkie, there’s no such thing like super magic.”

“Sure there is. Discord could do super magic,” Pinkie Pie argued.

“That’s an interesting suggestion,” Rarity added. “Could Discord’s magic affect Raegdan?”

“I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. Discord is a stone statue now.” It was interesting to think about, but she needed to concentrate. She had to focus on the matter at hoof. That’s what she did wrong when facing Discord. She let him get to her and she failed to realize his -obvious in hindsight- riddle. She went back to the map. If she couldn’t find how they took them, then perhaps she could figure out where. They had already searched everywhere however. They had expanded their search beyond the city, going further and further away, though they were still searching homes one by one. They had looked everywhere, except-

“Discord!” Twilight yelled, suddenly. Everypony turned to stare at her. “It’s obvious. It’s so obvious!” She approached the map with haste. “There’s one place we haven’t searched.”

“Probably quite a few,” Leaf Stream said, tired and disappointed. “There’s no shortage of basements and warehouses in Baltimare-”

“No,” Twilight interrupted her. “I know where they are hiding. It’s just like Discord. Back at the beginning! Remember girls?”

“Well, duh,” Rainbow said. “He hid the Elements in- no way!”

Twilight stabbed the map with her hoof. “The one place we haven’t searched, because we assumed they were gone. The hospital itself. They are still here!”

“Whoah, wait, wait, wait,” Leaf Stream shouted. “We did search the hospital. Every room. I searched this floor by myself.”

Twilight only had to think about it for a second. She already had the answer. “Did you search the old building that Cast Iron mentioned?”

Leaf Stream looked at the minotaurs for an answer. “Well guys? Did we check the proverbial shed in the back?”

Solid Charge scratched the back of his head, wincing as he touched the sore area. “Uh… I don’t think so.”

“Son of a bitch! We are a bunch of morons!”

“Hey, I can see that building from here,” Rainbow said. “I can go check it out in a jiffy.”

“Me first!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she opened the window in front of her and tried to jump through the opening. Fluttershy was the first one to reach her in time to stop Pinkie from becoming a stain on the stones below.

“Pinkie Pie, what were you thinking? You don’t have wings, remember? We’ve talked about this,” Rainbow Dash scolded the pink earth pony before stopping to look at the open window with wonder. “How did you open that? Hey, I thought the windows had spells on them,” Rainbow said.

“Maybe you’re just unclear on how windows work. I guess even Princess Celestia’s spells gotta run out sometime,” Leaf Stream suggested as she headed towards the nearest window. She tried to open it to no avail. The window remained stubbornly closed. “Or not. This one doesn’t open.”

“Neither does this one,” Applejack said from her place at the second window.

Curiosity peaked now, Twilight checked the windows for magic spells. The ones that were still closed were glowing with enchantments, still strong and a long way from fading. The one that Pinkie Pie opened… “There’s absolutely no trace of magic at the one Pinkie Pie opened. Pinkie, how did you do that?”

Pinkie Pie gasped loudly, looking at her own hooves. “It is happening! I can feel it. Raegdan’s blood runs in my veins, granting me his powers!” She started laughing maniacally. “Now no witch will be able to avoid the judgement of Inquisitor Pinkamena Diane de Pieda-”

“Should we be worried?” Solid Charge asked Twilight.

Twilight watched the spectacle that Pinkie Pie was putting on, unamused. “Just ignore her. Hopefully she’ll get bored of that soon.” She preferred to take a glance at the window instead. They didn’t have much time. Ok, they had an unknown amount of time, which meant it might have ran out already. A quick peek to satisfy her curiosity couldn’t hurt though, could it?

Nothing wrong with the window, unless you count the complete absence of magic on it. Nothing wrong with the glass. Burn marks on the sill and the iron bar that hung like an extension outside… hello!

“Take a look at this,” Twilight invited Leaf Stream to share in her findings. “Somepony burned something out here.”

“Somepony made a spy check?” Pinkie Pie shouted, astounded.

Leaf Stream examined the marks, and turned back to examine the room once more. “Did anypony else notice that all the sheets are gone?” she asked.

“Now that ya mention it…” Applejack drawled.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s how they got out,” Twilight said, excited. “They made a sheet rope to climb down. Then they burned it to erase their traces. Ethanol! They probably soaked them with a bottle from the storeroom before climbing down to burn it faster so it wouldn’t get noticed. That’s why there’s not even a small scrap left.”

Solid Charge examined the window. “Kind of improvised, don’t you think?”

“Raegdan’s magical immunity isn’t really something widely known,” Twilight explained. “Most ponies who saw spells fail on him often chalked it up to mere resistance or a fault of the caster. There isn’t anything else in the world apart from him that can do that after all.”

“She’s got a point,” Leaf Stream admitted. “Even in the Solar Guard most ponies consider the idea of him being immune ridiculous. The common consensus is that he simply hasn’t been hit by a strong enough spell yet.”

“So whoever did this got this far and found their plans derailed,” Solid Charge speculated. He looked out the window. “They’d probably have no choice but to hide at this point. Probably exactly where you said.” He pointed at the low separate building next to the one they were in that Rainbow spotted before.

“Everypony ready?” Leaf Stream whispered as she leaned on the wall next to the door. Solid Charge and Cast Iron nodded next to her and from the other side of the door respectively. There were two entrances. A large rolling door situated in front, probably installed when the hospital converted this building to a warehouse. They were going to attempt sneaking in through the side door.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t call for reinforcements?” Twilight asked, feeling extremely worried now that they were about to “bust in” as Rainbow called it.

“Yes!” Leaf Stream hissed, getting impatient. “I’m not gonna hinder the search when we have no idea if they’re still here. I’ve screwed up enough already. We’re enough. Just stay behind us, be quiet, and cast your freaking spell already.”

Twilight cast a silence spell over the door. One over all of them would be ideal, but a silence spell worked both ways. If somepony was outside the spell’s radius they wouldn’t hear them but those inside the spell couldn’t hear outside either. Leaf Stream settled for opening the door without noise.

Solid Charge nodded, and carefully opened the door to peek through. After a couple of seconds he strode through, his impressive bulk having difficulty making it through the doorway without touching the sides of the threshold. Leaf Stream followed immediately behind with Cast Iron coming behind her. Twilight and the girls, minus Spike who was under explicit orders to remain in his room, waited for a half minute before going through.

The silence unnerved Twilight. She wasn’t sure if she had to take it as a good sign or bad. The inside of the building had been converted into one large single space with corridors made of box stacks and tarp covered furniture at the sides. Twilight was in front of her friends, a shield spell burning ready in her mind. Fluttershy followed in the end of the line.

Solid Charge’s voice rang out from the dark ahead. “It’s clear.”

A light from a lantern flared out from their location, its source out of sight yet with the glow easily visible even from that distance despite being hidden by a corner. Leaf Stream’s order not to attempt any light spells made glaring sense now. Twilight had contested it at first, though Rarity had eagerly agreed.

They arrived at a cleared out space. A cart, laden with boxes, was situated right in the middle of it. Cast Iron had removed a tarp cover from a rusted, old hospital bed, and laid it over something in the corner. Solid Charge and Leaf Stream were watching from the sides.

“Nothing?” Twilight asked, feeling extremely disappointed. “I was certain they were here.”

Leaf Stream smiled bitterly at her. “Oh, you were right. They were here. We must have missed them by an hour, maybe even half that.” She pointed at the covered lump at the corner. “Too bad. Who knows where they’re now.”

“What’s this?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy sniffed the air at her side. Her smooth puzzled features quickly changed to horrified. “Oh, oh no. I don’t want to see this. I’m sorry, please, excuse me.” She moved behind the cart and turned her back to what was hidden beneath the dusty, brown fabric.

Twilight smelled the air, in an attempt to make meaning out of her friend’s actions. She smelled mold, stale air, and something else. It made her think of basements and closed spaces. It reminded her of Raegdan. She tried again. It smelled so familiar, though weak. If it was stronger, a lot stronger, she would have thought she was in-

Oh dear Celestia. Please, don’t let it be either of them.

“Who’s that?” Twilight asked, feeling scared now.

“It’s a griffin,’ Leaf Stream said to Twilight’s immediate relief. “Haven’t seen her before, but I’ve got a pretty good idea why she was here.” At her signal Solid Charge lifted his arm towards Twilight, letting her and her friends get a good look at a griffin crossbow.

It was a small thing, meant to be used with one of the griffin’s clawed hands. From what Twilight knew Griffins favored them for their ease to reload them with their short lengthed bolts while airborne. It was broken, the bow in front missing almost in its entirety, and a large crack running down the length of the weapon.

“Did your friends tell you what happened after we left the train? The griffin there?” Leaf Stream asked Twilight.

Twilight nodded. Applejack and Rarity had shared everything that had happened, though in portions. The greatest part of the story was told while waiting in Luna’s room for news from the search parties.

Leaf Stream turned to the covered body. “Right then. The gal here had a rough ride. Broken wings, limbs, some cuts… I can’t tell how she died, maybe her injuries-”

“Broken neck,” Solid Charge answered her.

“Ok, now I do. Here’s what I think; The A-hole team found their target at last. Thing is, they found Princess Luna and Raegdan wounded and unconscious. They got greedy. Instead of killing them, if that was their goal at first, they decided to capture them alive. The plan goes whack thanks to mr. kill-o-magic, and they have to hide here. At some point one of their captives manages to get loose, at least for a little while-”

“Raegdan,” Applejack said with complete certainty.

“Have I ever told you guys how much I love interruptions? I adore them. Keep them coming. Yes, I think so too.” Leaf Stream pointed at the corpse once more. “He has quite the recognizable M.O. doesn’t he? He gets the drop on them and kills this one -eventually- before being subdued. Here’s hoping he broke some of the bones of the rest too.”

“And then what?” Rarity asked. “Where are they now?”

Leaf Stream shrugged. “Beats me. They probably decided to ditch this hideout. The search parties have mostly moved outwards so they felt confident enough to move.” Leaf Stream addressed Twilight. “I was hoping you’d have another bright idea. Where would they go next?”

Twilight drew a blank. If she had any ideas she would have offered them before. “I don’t know. Maybe- maybe now that they have a relatively clear field they’ll go back to their original plan?”

“Wasn’t the original plan to kill ’em? Or did we get that wrong?” Applejack asked.

“It might have been. However,” Rarity said, “if abducting Princess Luna and her bodyguard was a spur of the moment decision then it stands to reason that they don’t actually have a plan for what to do next.”

“Excuse me.” Fluttershy inserted herself in the conversation. “Um, if Princess Luna isn’t here then I think I should go get some antibiotics and first aid supplies.”

Leaf Stream swiveled her head between Fluttershy and the dead griffin, bewildered. “What, you’re afraid of germs?”

“Oh no. Well, um, a little. What I mean is, Luna is sick and hasn’t been with her meds all day, and Applejack said that-”

“Horseapples, I didn’t even think of that!” Leaf Stream urged Fluttershy towards the hospital. “Go, go. We’ll wait here for you. Get the doctors to give you some strong stuff.” She watched Fluttershy leave before droping on the floor. “I should have asked her to get some happy juice for me too. I’m feeling trapped in a spiraling nightmare.”

“What do we do now?” Applejack asked.

Twilight shrugged and dropped on her flank, letting herself lean tiredly on one of the wheels of the cart. “Find them… somehow.”

“Oooh, that should be easy!” Pinkie Pie said, hopping down from the cart she had climbed on.

Applejack breathed out a humorless snigger. “How is that easy sugarcube? They could be anywhere.”

“Nuh-uh.” Pinkie Pie shook her head in refusal like a double pink blur. “They are still hiding. If you want to win in hide-and-seek you gotta think how the other ponies think, and Pinkie Pie is the hide-and-seek champion.”

“You know where they are hiding then?” Twilight asked, hope blossoming anew.

“Yep.” Pinkie Pie leaned in, conspiratorially, and whispered. “They’re hiding where nopony will look. They don’t have to get back to base to win, which seems very cheaty to me.”

“This isn’t that helpful Pinkie,” Rarity told her.

Rarity was right. There was a whole city out there they could hide in, and if they were good enough to dodge them so easily so far, they had a good enough chance to escape capture entirely. Not to mention that if the griffins believed they couldn’t succeed they might decide to kill their captives and make a run for it.

Oh, and let’s not forget; Luna was dying of an untreated infection all the while. Another headache to consider. Twilight could appreciate Leaf Stream’s sentiments. How far had the infection progressed? How long could Luna stay healthy without medical care? What about her other injuries? She just made it out of surgery, plus she had broken bones. She doubted the griffin’s holding them would be very careful with her. What if she had broken ribs and they dropped her on the ground, causing one of the ribs to pierce her lungs? So much more to worry about, layered over the threat of a Leviathan borne disease…

...Where nopony will look…

“Ya got an idea, didn’t ya Twily?” Applejack asked, proudly.

“I believe so. Oh, you’re not going to like this,” Twilight announced.

Cast Iron barked out a small laugh and elbowed the older minotaur on the ribs. “Heh. It’s funny how she says that as if we’ve been having a good time so far.”

“Darling, I adore you, and I have complete faith in you. I must say however that if you drag me through tons of rotting carcass for nothing I will have a swift and terrible revenge on you.”

“What are you gonna do? Trim the ends of her mane by force?” Rainbow Dash egged Rarity on. “Cuz as far as revenges go that would be pretty terrible indeed.”

“Can you all, please, shut up?” Leaf Stream quietly requested, whispering. “We’re getting close, and it’s pretty quiet in the night. Do you have any idea how well sound travels during-”

A sharp scream coming from the direction they were heading interrupted her.

“Oooh, I know, I know. Ask me, ask me, I just learned it!” Pinkie Pie said, raising her hoof.

Solid Charge moved in front, holding a long handled axe. “Stay behind us. Keep one of your shield spells ready. Stay together.”

“Let’s go!” Leaf Stream ordered. “Solid Charge, you’re leading in front. Cast Iron, you’d better make good use of that bow.”

“I’ve never used one before,” Cast Iron said, now completely out of familiar territory.

“Learn fast.”

Greenie hooked her talon over the string and pulled it back in position before setting the bolt in place. Her muscles worked on their own, almost without any input from her. Her eyes were frantically searching the ground, looking for the creature. She couldn’t believe they lost it again. It was right there in front of them, and then it was gone. How could such a large target vanish like that, or so quietly? It was covered from head to paw in armor. She should be able to target it by sound alone. Instead, she was forced to randomly move in the air, hoping she wouldn’t get hit by the stolen crossbow.

She sped over one of the hideous carcasses in an arc, hoping to catch a glimpse of the creature in the act of lurking behind it. No luck. She hated this place they found themselves in. They were surrounded by hills of meat. It almost was a glutton’s dream come true, but it wasn’t. It was a nightmare. It smelled wrong. It felt weird to the touch. As she flew above she could almost see a foul mist rising, as if it rotted and polluted the air with its blasphemous miasma.

Ever since they came here this place felt… wrong. A threat loomed over, both figuratively and literally. She had heard about the disease spread by the Leviathan’s remains, but this was more. Was she still in Equestria or was she somewhere else? A place where the eyrie hunters were lower on the food chain?

The creature hunting them- no, the creature they hunted, made it all the worse. It didn’t fight like a pony or a griffin. It didn’t fight like a minotaur or a dragon. It fought like something else. It crept in the shadows, stalking its own predators, unbelievingly silent. Until it decided to attack. Then would come the explosion of violence, suddenly curtailed by a fake quiet before they had time to process what had happened .

Eighteen griffins against Nightmare Moon and her borrowed pet. She was weak, they told them. She’s still powerless, otherwise she’d have attacked by now. Then came the Leviathan, and its death, making them reevaluate what they were told. Miracle of miracles however, she was wounded, defenseless. That’s what they thought. Celestia’s former pet wasn’t considered a serious threat.

Six of them lied dead among the Leviathan’s gore because of it. Their stupid notion of underestimating the creature because it had no natural claws or other weapons was quickly dispatched.

It couldn’t be as strong as it made itself be. It was already wounded, everyone knew that, and he hadn’t taken the lives of her flightmates without repercussions. Armor or no armor, she saw bolts sink into it. Even now it must be bleeding. It must.

Movement.

A bolt flew towards Greenie. She moved out of the way, exuberant. Its aim was too far off! It couldn’t hold on for long. They’d put it down any minute now and force it to tell them where it hid the Nightmare-

Grosser fell dead. The bolt wasn’t aimed for her at all.

She screamed with rage, and unloaded her weapon. Ten crossbows fired in a united volley against the bastard that would simply not die. The majority of them failed to penetrate the metal, but not all. It had lifted its arms to protect its head, and she saw one bolt pierce through one of its palms. Another sunk into its thigh, and one more into its chest.

It moved slow this time. It wavered on its feet, and almost lost its balance.They had an opening for once. Granar ordered them to attack. Greenie was too far in the back to participate in time. That didn’t stop her from soaking in the view. Granar and three others collided with the creature, throwing it down on the ground. Greenie perched over them, on the Leviathan’s remains, to witness how her flightmates would rip everything they wanted from it, including its guts.

They held it down, one of them per arm, while Gird stood above holding the creature’s own hammer. Granar stood on its chest, his imposing physique holding it down. He was a giant among griffins. There was a reason he was the one who led them.

Granar leaned down, holding his sharp beak against the metal helmet, smirking in victory. Greenie copied him from above. Granar was in a mood to play with his food. This would be lovely. It would learn its place on the food chain before dying.

“Give me the Nightmare little pet. Give her to me, and I might decide to slit your throat before I open up your belly.”

The creature didn’t answer. Granar waited only for a few seconds before his smirk widened. He grabbed hold of the bolt on the creature’s arm, pushed it deeper and twisted. They all laughed at the small grunt it let out.

“Why make it harder on yourself? We have all night. We can find her even without your help. She can’t be far, but I’m not in the mood of smelling this crap all the while we search,” he said, thrusting the bolt deeper. “Do you have nothing to say to my generous offer?”

The helmet turned sideways as it took in its odds. It was outnumbered and surrounded. Greenie felt disappointment. She hoped to see it howl. She noticed with the edge of her eyes the look of relief in the faces of Garter and Gabbage. Weaklings. Always too afraid to celebrate a kill, even one of a thing like that.

“Have something to say,” its voice whispered from beneath the black metal.

“Then say it!” Granar growled, getting angry at the creature’s apathy for his painful ministrations.

The creature lifted its neck. The horned helmet almost kissed Granar’s beak.

“Spikes on knees were added with reason.”

Granar’s scream reverberated around them as his pride was devastated in a single blow when the creature’s leg bent in a way none of them expected, with unerring accuracy. The griffin holding down its right arm flinched back when he witnessed the savage attack on a male’s most vulnerable spot. The force that held down the armored creature’s arm lessened for an instant, and it took advantage. Its arm moved like a snake, and it slithered behind the griffin’s head. Blood leaked down the griffin’s feathers, a mix of the creature’s wound on its palm and the griffin’s own when the bolt head still embedded on the hand cut the skin beneath his plumage. The creature pulled the griffin’s head down as it itself rose up as much as it could, and whipped its armored skull forward.

The griffin fell back with a cracked beak, leaving the creature’s arm entirely free. The creature rolled over and targeted the griffin on its right, climbing over his back in one smooth impossible move, turning the hold of its arm into a grapple. Greenie’s crossbow was on its way up, aiming for the scene below, as did every griffins’ around her, but she was so slow. Every one of them was so too slow.

The creature rose up, its arms around the griffin’s neck forcing him to stand on his back legs in front of it.

Quarrels were left loose before they could be stopped.

The creature’s arms twisted his prisoner’s neck, even as six shafts sunk into its makeshift griffin shield.

Gird attacked with the creature’s weapon. He could have used the hooked side and finish it off quick, but the idiot just swung without checking how he held it. The armored creature tried to avoid it. Greenie noticed its stumble and the way it swayed. She could hear the deep wheezing even over this distance. It was exhausted. They had it, they had it! They had to kill it now!

The hammer side landed on its back, knocking it down. The creature tried to lift itself up on its arms. Gird, fool he may be, but he was persistent. He stood over the creature and brought the hammer down again. The creature fell down. Gird hit it again. She heard it groan loudly, followed by a wet cough. The hammer hit again.

It was delicious to watch justice served, but the creature had proven how dangerous it was. Even with the hammer it would take more than a few hits to kill it this way. “Gird, you moron. Use the hook side! Finish it off!” she yelled. Gird looked back at her, and nodded. He shifted his hold on the weapon and raised it over his head. Greenie hoped he was smart enough to aim for the head.

Lightning erupted from a cloud from the calm sky above them, zigzagging its way across the night sky for a place to strike. It found it on Gird. His legs and wings worked on his own and threw his away from his victim.

“Headshot!” A blue pegasus with- what kind of mane was that?- flew off the offensive cloud. Before Greenie had a chance to even figure out what had happened, a large minotaur stepped in view. A sharp axe gleamed in the starlight for a moment. Blood erupted from Gird’s body.

An arrow launched from another minotaur killed Garter.

Granar’s voice pierced through the confusion, filled with pain and determination. “She’s there! I saw her. She’s there. Kill the Nightmare- urk.” The creature had found the strength to lift itself around enough to grab Granar’s neck, sinking its clawless fingers in his windpipe. Granar tried to fight him off, but his talons scratched ineffectively against the thick armor.

Greenie left him to his luck. They all saw where he had pointed. She was in front of them all along. A dark shape was sheltered beneath an alcove of flesh. They all charged for their target. It was all that mattered.

Most of them had no more bolts to use. Only Gabbage did, as well as Gudder. They aimed for the Nightmare. The creature behind them screamed. Greenie closed her eyes for a moment, relishing the despair she could sense in that call. The pet was crying out for its doomed master.

A rainbow streak fell on Gudder, and then bounced on Gabbage, throwing off their aim. The meddling pegasus started flying circles around Gudder, kicking him whenever he tried to reload. Gabbage had a moment of peace before a screaming, terrified yellow pegasus clamped on her back. Gabbage fought to retain her height while the shrieking pegasus unleashed painful decibels into her ears.

A purple cloud of magic caught the griffin flying next to Greenie. It overpowered him and brought him down on the ground with force. A dark green pony was on him right away.

A hail of stones, driven by cerulean magic, fell on the griffin in front of her. The stones flew and danced, hitting soft tissue and joints with unnerving accuracy. Greenie couldn’t help, and she didn’t intend to. She had a job to do.

Two of them were left. They lowered to the ground to avoid the stone hail. A pink blur fell from somewhere above, and it landed on her sole remaining flightmate’s head, dropping him like a piledriver. Greenie could almost swear she heard an insane giggle.

It didn’t matter. The Nightmare was right in front of her. They hadn’t been able to stop her. It was going to end here, now. She raised her razor talons for a deadly blow. One slash across her throat. Greenie was the griffin who was going to save the world.

A trio of red apples appeared to the side of her vision. A sharp pain erupted like a volcano on her temple. Darkness took her.

Twilight didn’t stand and watch. She caught one of them in her magic and threw him on the ground. Leaf Stream, hungry for a target to work her frustration from the day off, took advantage of the unexpected gift.

Rarity might not have known a slew of spells, but her command of levitation was almost unparalleled when used as she was to orchestrate dozens of small items around her. She also had an outstanding aim. Another griffin fell under the continuous assault of a storm of stones.

She caught a glimpse of Pinkie Pie hopping from the top of a Leviathan piece, causing the griffin she landed on to fall like an anvil when he was suddenly burdened with the extra weight of a candy loving pony.

The last griffin was holding no weapons, brandishing her sharp talons instead. She landed in front of Luna and raised her claws, smirking wildly in the anticipated victory.

Applejack’s hooves wiped that smile off her face. She had headed straight for Luna and defended her with tree-shaking strength. The griffin never had a shot at standing upright after a single hit.

With the immediate threat to Luna resolved, Twilight turned her attention to the two griffins still wrestling with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Between Rarity’s magic and her own, along with a few kicks from Rainbow, they were able to get them down quick. Leaf Stream, Solid Charge, Cast Iron, and Applejack tied them down, perhaps giving a concussion or two to some of them in the process.

Fluttershy went to Luna’s side, dragging her out of her hiding hole with Pinkie Pie’s help. Twilight decided to check on her first before turning her attention to Raegdan, who was slowly dragging himself to them.

“Is she ok? Did she get hurt?”

“I don’t know,” Fluttershy said, her attention focused on the Alicorn. Her usual hesitation and awkwardness was gone. She swiftly ordered Pinkie Pie to hold one of Luna’s hooves straight, and Rarity to cast a light over her. Fluttershy stabbed a syringe into one of Luna’s veins and pressed steadily on the plunger. “I’ll do what I can, but we should get her back to the hospital. The casts are cracked, she’s bleeding, and I don’t think she can breathe easily. Rarity, bring your light closer please. I want to make sure nothing is obstructing her throat.”

“I can fly her there,” Rainbow offered.

Fluttershy refused the offer immediately. “She is hurt too bad. We need proper transportation. I’m sorry Rainbow, but throwing her on your back will only make it worse.”

“No biggie. I can go get help then,” Rainbow said, jumping in the air. “I’ll be right back.”

Twilight watched Rainbow Dash streak across the sky for a second before running to check on Raegdan, leaving Luna to Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Applejack stuck by her side. Raegdan was breathing heavily, barely able to make it to his knees even with Solid Charge’s help. Some of the wooden shafts had broken when he fell down. She hoped they didn’t get pushed any deeper.

“Luna… is she safe? Is she hurt?” He struggled to speak, barely forming the words. She could see how his chest heaved and shook, and how his body trembled. He must have been in agony. Twilight hadn’t forgotten about his injuries, even if she hadn’t seen the extent of them yet.

“We think so. Rainbow’s gone for help. We’ll be back in the hospital soon. What about you?”

Raegdan forcefully pulled his arm out of Cast Iron’s hand. “I’m fine. The arrows didn’t go deep, and I’ve been hit harder. You need to go. Get to the hospital. I’ll… I’ll take Luna myself and follow behind.” He almost fell flat on the ground again as soon as he finished his sentence.

Solid Charge scoffed. “Yeah right. A calf could outwrestle you right now. We need to get you out of your armor. It can’t be good for your burns, and we need to treat these puncture wounds. You must be bathing in blood in there.”

“When did you manage to find the chance to put it on?” Cast Iron asked.

A good question. There must have been quite the story behind it. He must have been able to get his hands on it when they were hiding in the warehouse. He probably regained his senses and…

He chose to don his armor instead of getting his hands on a weapon? Didn’t he have his explosives there? What stopped him from using them to escape while still on hospital grounds? He must have had time, heavy armor takes time to… That didn’t make sense. She must have missed a step. When was he able to put his armor on? How did he do so without being stopped?

Twilight’s gaze ran over the bodies and the captives. Griffins. Why did they burn the makeshift sheet rope? One of them could easily fly up and take it down- why use it at all? Only reason they’d need something like that would be to get Raegdan down to the ground, and they wouldn’t have done it by tying one end there like that. How did they beat Princess Celestia’s enchantments on the window? How did they lose control of Raegdan and Luna?

She must have been wrong. It couldn’t have happened like that. Maybe their assumptions had been entirely false. It was a wonder they managed to get to the right place in time if that was true. The only way the outcome could line up with the clues she had was…

...Was…

“You- you complete and utter idiot!” Twilight hissed, anger flooding her. Without exerting conscious control, her magic grabbed a large rock the size of a hoofball, and drove it to Raegdan’s side, throwing him down to the ground. She couldn’t believe that somepony could be so stupid.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Solid Charge and Cast Iron tried to stop her, but they were not immune to her magic like her target was. She easily pushed them aside.

“Twilight, what the hay are you doing? Didn’t you see what they did to him? It’s a wonder they didn’t break his spine, don’t go crazy yourself now!” Applejack yelled.

Raegdan weakly pushed himself up on his arms and lifted his covered face towards her. Twilight took advantage of the low position he was in to kick him. She got an intense sense of satisfaction from the metal clang, and even more from the groan that came from inside.

“This moron,” Twilight explained, “was never captured by anypony. He’s the one who started the fire! He’s the one who abducted Luna! What the tartarus were you-”

“He did what?” A familiar voice echoed loudly behind Twilight, filled with disbelief and shock. She turned around, almost growling as she tried to contain her anger, and saw Princess Celestia looking stunned with Rainbow Dash standing sheepily next to her.

“Hey guys,” Rainbow greeted them, feeling awkward. “Guess who I flew into. Pretty lucky, eh?”

“Twilight? Could you please tell me if I heard correctly? Did Raegdan kidnap my sick sister from the hospital and-” Celestia looked at the scene around her, her features getting harsher and her voice more threatening. “Delivered her right into the claws of these... assassins I presume?”

“Pretty much,” Twilight said, ruthlessly.

“Oh fuck me,” Raegdan whispered, exhausted, as he tried and failed to push himself up. Everypony had moved away from him, no longer in any hurry to help him, and unwilling to risk getting between him and the Sun Princess.

“Fluttershy,” Celestia addressed the yellow pegasus without taking her eyes off the crawling biped. “A medical team is on the way, along with my personal guard. Make sure the medics take Luna to the hospital immediately and tell the rest to wait until I’m done with this idiot here before they pick him up.”

“Y-yes princess.”

“Now, as for you…” Celestia took a deep breath that didn’t seem to help. “How hurt are you?”

“...Left shoulder blade might be broken. Ribs too. Some blood in lungs. Spine’s ok. I don’t think I lost too much blood. I’ll live.”

“As if you’d say otherwise. I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself. Make it count.”

“I was trying to help her. I had to get her away from here.”

Princess Celestia closed her eyes and took a few slow breaths through her nose. “Get her away? How would that help Luna?” she asked with abnormal calmness.

“I was supposed to keep her safe but I can’t do it, not this way. I’ve got to take her away, let me take her away.” Raegdan voice broke as he talked. If Twilight didn’t know any better she would think he was doing his best not to cry.

“How. Would that. Help.”

Raegdan gave up his attempts to lift his body off the ground. He remained as he was, the side of his head against the dirt, looking away from Celestia and Twilight. “It won’t work,” he whispered loudly. “She almost died and it was for nothing. They’ll blame everything on her again. They won’t care what she went through. Celestia, please, you can’t let her do this to herself. I have to get her out of here. You must let me take her away. I was wrong, I must have been wrong, there’s no reason to stay here-”

“Enough,” Princess Celestia ordered. “You had no idea what you were doing, did you? You just ran. I don’t even know where to start with you. The vast majority of the ponies don’t blame Luna for anything. On the contrary. Do you have any idea how many gifts ponies have sent her? How many ask about her each day?”

Raegdan turned his head with some effort to look at the white Alicorn. “Stop lying! You can’t tell her that. If she believes you it will destroy her when she finds out the truth,” he accused, vehemently.

Fluttershy landed near the Princess before she could retort. “Princess, your guards and the medics are here. They’re putting Princess Luna on a stretcher right now.”

“Thank you Fluttershy. Tell my guards to arrest these griffins. I want them interrogated immediately.”

“Um, should I tell them to come check on Raegdan? He got awfully hurt…”

The brief smile vanished from her lips as she turned back to the target of her ire. “No. He doesn’t mind being hurt. He thinks it gives him vindication, don’t you Raegdan? Tell me, when you tried to steal my sister from me, did you even glance around the room she was in? Did you not wonder what those letters and gifts were there for?”

“I- those could have been anything! You could have made them your-”

“That will be easy enough to settle later so let’s leave it aside for now,” she said, ignoring his outburst. “I’m actually looking forward to rubbing your pessimistic face in them. What about the IVs that dripped into Luna that you are so worried of getting hurt? Did you even spare a second to see what they were? To read the labels? Did you consider the fresh stitches on her as worthy of any concern?”

“It was more important to get her-”

“Killed? Because that’s what you would have done if not for these brave ponies and minotaurs,” Celestia shouted, now letting her anger show. She loomed threateningly over Raegdan, wings spread, looking ready to bring her hooves on his head at any moment. “She has broken bones and she had been hemorrhaging internally you idiot. She had just come out of surgery. She has been infected by whatever lurked in the Leviathan. Even if you had made it away from here, as you so brilliantly planned, she could be dead in a day!”

“No! Luna is tougher than that. You’re lying-” Raegdan stammered.

Angry tears were rolling down Celestia’s cheeks. The air around her crackled by her magic, like a furious, burning pyre. Twilight had never seen her mentor like that before, though she could empathise a little with how she felt. “Do I look like I’m lying? You almost killed Luna!”

“I- I would never- I’m not… I’d never hurt Luna-”

“Yet you did! You never mean to hurt, but you always do. You weren’t trying to save Luna from anything! Don’t try to give me any of your excuses. I’ve heard them before.” Celestia’s leg hit the ground so hard that Twilight thought she felt the earth shake. Raegdan flinched away. “You were scared so you did what you always do. You ran! You ran just like you ran from everything else that was too hard for you, that you were too afraid to face. Like a coward!”

“No… I swear, Celestia believe me, I’d never do anything to hurt Luna-”

“You almost killed my sister!”

“I’d never-”

“Just like you did everypony else you failed to care for!”

Celestia’s last screaming words echoed around them. Twilight didn’t know what the princess meant, but Raegdan understood her message all too well. His fingers clawed the earth. The iron point of the bolt on his right palm bent as it was impaled in the ground and dragged backwards until it violently snapped. His body started shaking. She had trouble telling what that noise he was making was, until it grew loud enough in the reigning silence.

Raegdan was crying. He was sobbing, not unlike a small foal that had been terribly hurt and needed a grown up to comfort it. The projected image of the intimidating, fearless warrior was torn apart, leaving behind the tortured being who would still pine for his mother in his quietest moments.

Twilight was assaulted by sudden guilt. Raegdan had lost control like this only once before to her knowledge. She had an urge to go to him, hug him, and tell him everything would be alright. She drowned the thought immediately. His actions almost killed Luna. Let him cry. He wasn’t getting a free pass out of this.

Celestia continued her assault, unmoved by his tears. “And what exactly was your plan? Take her through the rift, the one you evidently lied about when you told me you didn’t know where it was? Did you really want her to suffer through the same torment you did? A pariah, stumbling through infinity, unable to find her way back again? Steal her away from her family and home?”

“No! Oh heavens no, I just- I just- I wanted to… I thought I could… I’m sorry. I don’t- I’m not sure- I- I- I… I don’t know. I don’t know…”

“Raegdan, I’ve always been honest with you,” Celestia said after a few seconds of watching the increasingly sad display, using the break to calm herself down again. “I’ve done my best to help you. To be your friend. I thought you were my friend too. The last few weeks however I’ve been doubting whether you ever thought of me as such. Ponies have been hiding things from me. My guards are being bribed. Ponies who seek my aid are being unheard. It hurt me to realize how much I’ve been lax in my duties, accepting things at face value. How much I failed my little ponies. What hurt the most however was the realization that you knew this was happening. That you knew for years and you never told me.” Celestia’s voice broke.

“And now I learn that you hid even more from me. My sister is being tormented by nightmares. Assassins hound her. A Leviathan was heading straight for my ponies, and you wanted to hide it from me. You were going to make me lose two members of my family. You are lying to me. You and Luna both. Why, Raegdan? Why don’t you trust me? Why can’t you speak to me?” she pleaded.

“I can’t…” he whimpered.

“Why? Why not?” The pain in Princess Celestia’s voice was all too real. Raegdan, for all his faults, had been the closest friend she had these last years. Too often they reminded her of siblings that loved to tease one another. They were friends. Family.

“I can’t understand you!” he howled. “I can’t understand any of you! You- you let me live.” Raegdan’s tone was accusing through his cries. “You let your enemies live, you forgive them, you try to make them your friends… and it works! Why does it work? How can it work? Are you- I sometimes wonder if I’m just imagining you. You can’t be real. The world isn’t made like that. You don’t think properly! If someone hurts you, you should hurt them back, stop them from doing it ever again, put an end to it, and make sure everyone knows they shouldn’t try to mess with you. “

He rolled himself to his side with great effort and pointed at Leaf Stream. “Just like I did to her! I broke her, I loved every second of it, and she knows it. I was laughing in her ears as I hurt her as much as I could. I gave her a ton of chances to kill me! I kept turning my back to her while unarmed, and she never tried anything. Why? Why doesn’t she want to kill me?”

The dark eye slits turned to the two minotaurs. “I was going to kill them. I was going to beat them to death, taking my time to enjoy it. They had a chance to kill me, they even had an excuse no one would blame them for, and they did nothing!”

He tried to turn so he could see Twilight’s friends. He slipped and overdid his movement, causing more of the shafts to break between his torso and the ground. He grunted in pain, but apart from that didn’t give it any more attention.

“I’m a murderer and they know it. They saw me in the arena. They- they should have left running, but instead they- Why do you stay? Why are you still trying to help? How much more-” He pounded the ground with his bleeding fist in frustration. “I can’t understand how you think! You’re all going to die if you continue like this!”

“Everypony deserves a chance for forgiveness Raegdan.”

“Not everyone. Better to kill them and be done with it.” Twilight wondered if he was thinking about the ponies he killed when he said that. “What happens when it won’t work Celestia? What if I had arrived a couple years earlier?”

Celestia didn’t answer immediately. She chewed thoughtfully on her upper lip, mulling over the question. The Alicorn approached the alien and sat by his side. She offered him her hoof.

“Take it. Try to sit up.” Cast Iron tried to approach and help but Celestia gestured him to stay in place. Raegdan managed to sit on the ground with Celestia’s help. When he did so the white wings enveloped him in a hug.

“Are you happy with your ways Raegdan?” she asked, gently.

“I- I don’t understand-”

“Are you happy with your choices? The ones where you didn’t take risk. Where you took the easy way, where you lied, where you abandoned mercy?”

“...I’m alive because of them.”

“I’m not going to dispute that some times you were given no choice. What about the times you did however? What about the few times you risked? What about your children Raegdan? Were they worth it? Was your life here worth it? Me, Twilight, Spike, Cadence, Night Light, Twilight Velvet, Shining Armor, Blueblood, Luna?”

Raegdan’s shaking body tried to escape Celestia’s embrace, but he didn’t have the strength anymore. “Yes,” he answered, tears in his voice once more. “Yes, you were worth it. She was worth it.”

“So were you,” Celestia said. “You saved Twilight. You gave Spike a father. You treated me like family. You stood by Luna’s side, guarding her. Even now many of my subjects are alive because you were here. More will stay alive because you spent half an hour talking to me about your kind’s drugs. It would have been so easy to have you executed. I didn’t do it because I refuse to fall into the trap of sacrificing what is right in the name of fear.”

“You should have done so. You have a kingdom to look after. Your family.”

“I do. There’s more to being their princess than managing taxes and raising the sun however. I have to give an example, to show them the right way. Sometimes I fail, I am not perfect, but I always try to stand right by my beliefs as much as I can. I’ve been trying to show it to you for so long too. No, it doesn’t always work, but when it does… it’s always worth it Raegdan. Do you understand me?”

It took so long for Raegdan to answer that Twilight had started believing he had fallen unconscious from blood loss. When he did he was hesitant. “I’m not sure I do. I… I understand what you mean, but I can’t- I can’t understand how!”

Celestia sighed in disappointment and smiled sadly. “You’re still running. One day you’ll stop, and it will make sense to you then.”

She let him go and rose up on her long legs. “You have a special place in my heart Raegdan, and I believe I understand why you did everything today, even if you don’t. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any consequences. You know that.” She addressed the minotaur with the arm still in the cast. “Solid Charge, isn’t that right?”

“Yes princess,” he rumbled.

“Since my sister is indisposed I take it upon me to deal with the borderline treasonous acts of Raegdan. You are now in command of the Lunar Guard.” Leaf Stream looked like she could have fainted out of sheer relief. “Whether Raegdan remains a member at all, or even free, is something to be seen. I presume Luna won’t accept losing him. I will leave the decision whether I should fight her on this or not to you. Twilight, I want you and your friends to help Commander Solid Charge in this assignment. If Raegdan won’t speak to me then he will speak to all of you, or go back to Canterlot with me to stay in the dungeons for a very long time.”

“Excuse me Princess Celestia. If I understand correctly, you wish us to interrogate him?” Solid Charge asked.

Celestia shook her head. “No. I want you to decide if you can trust him or not. His freedom rests with you.” She looked at Raegdan for any signs of response, but he only stayed sitting as he was and watched silently. “You don’t have to tell me anything he shares with you, or what you asked of him. You have already earned my own trust, and I will accept your decision. Just as I have to accept that Raegdan and I can no longer trust each other.”

“I’m sorry, but you forced my hoof Raegdan. You have to make a choice now. You won’t be allowed to run this time. You have until tomorrow morning. I wish it hadn’t come to this.” Celestia left him behind and ordered the waiting medics in the distance to pick him up. She left along with the guards who were carrying the prisoners.

The medics put Raegdan on a stretcher carried by two earth pony guards. More guards arrived as they prepared to leave, preparing the bodies of the slain griffins for transport. One of them told Leaf Stream that they found Raegdan’s hammer. She asked them to bring it to her after they cleaned it up.

They walked some distance behind the stretcher as they returned to the hospital. Twilight felt her stomach getting queasy on the way. She wondered if the reason was the disease that emanated from the Leviathan’s remains. She didn’t really believe it.