Rainbow had never been squeamish at the sight of blood. She would be in the wrong line of work if she was. When performing a brand new trick for the first time -or second or third- crash downs were a regularity and she would often cut and bruise herself.

Applejack was the same, for similar reasons. Working on a farm with hard physical labor sometimes translated to accidents. Rainbow and Applejack would often be the one to patch up each other when either of them needed help but didn’t feel like going to the hospital. Which in the case of them both meant almost always.

Rainbow didn’t really have anything against hospitals. But come on! She doesn’t need to have every little bruise checked out. Every check-in so far had been a whole day’s waste for her, half of it just reciting every small nick and cut she had received in the last week. It was major boredom and endless lecture from doctors and nurses. What the hay is masochitisminisiwhatever supposed to mean anyway?

Fluttershy, contrary to what ponies would think, could face any injury without the slightest flinch, excluding her bouts of worrying. Being an animal lover that lives at the edge of the Everfree Forest meant she had seen the end results of many animal fights. Broken bones, bites, deep cuts, you name it, she would just hum comfortingly over it as she examined it casually. Rainbow always thought that was awesome.

Rarity didn’t have the same fortitude like the rest of them, but after finishing the drama queen part she was practical about it. Something about “sharp implements of pain” she mumbled. Rainbow always suspected the prim white unicorn had a hidden wild side, but she never would have guessed BDSM. Live and learn, huh?

Pinkie Pie found the sight of blood -or any wound, no matter the size- gross and nasty. Which, since this is Pinkie we are talking about, meant she glued her eyes to the sight, mixing oohs and ews over it, making constant remarks in her random way.

The great surprise after the revelations of the last couple of days was Twilight. She had been practically raised by the most violent guy Rainbow had ever met and according to their stories she had caught bits and pieces of his fights first hoof -although, apparently he was responsible enough to order Twilight and Spike away when he had the presence of mind or, more often, drag his victim out of sight.

Spike handled himself fine if it wasn’t something serious at least. But Twilight couldn’t even make herself look at blood if she had the choice. And, whoo, boy, Raegdan was really covered in the red stuff under his armor.

Raegdan had apparently figured Twilight out a long time ago and that was why the first thing he did after his armor was taken off and had sat down was to lift her like a filly and cradle her to his right side, facing her away from the cleanup that was performed on him. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie called the way she huddled against him, with his arm pulled like a blanket over her chest, “super adorable”. Mmm, yeah, maybe it kind of was, Rainbow secretly agreed.

The sudden switch from violence to fawning over Twilight and Spike kept throwing Rainbow out of a loop. It was sweet, sure, but… Rainbow rattled her head to bring out the thought that was forming inside her. It was like… like…

He expected every time to be the last time he saw them.

Princess Celestia had called for a break in the Tournament. Severe injuries were nowhere near unusual, but they couldn’t just continue straight after a pony died.

Luna and Raegdan had retreated -though most would say paraded- back to Luna’s tower. Twilight and Spike ran after them and the rest of them followed. Luna brought Raegdan into her own bedroom and had them help him remove his armor so they could tend to his wounds.

Most of them tried to convince them he should go to the castle’s infirmary instead, but Raegdan refused on the grounds that he would not be a welcome sight at the moment. So, it fell to them to make sure that somepony, whose body they knew nothing about, would not fall over dead on their watch. Fun stuff. Luckily, all Rainbow had to do was pass the bandages.

Luna and Fluttershy both examined Raegdan’s pierced side that was obviously the most serious injury he received. Fortunately, his armor did its work and stopped the pick from digging in too deep and with too much force, though it left his flesh ragged and bleeding profusely. Fluttershy feared there was internal damage, but Luna dismissed her concern, claiming greater familiarity with his body. Raegdan may have been acting cool and reserved, but Rainbow saw how he relaxed after Luna’s assessment.

“I need better armor,” he told Luna that was examining the hole at his armor’s side.

“It was the best we could do at the time,” she answered. “We need to have one either properly forged or get our hooves on better quality metal. The large amount of shaping spells weakened the metal and I cannot increase thickness without it ending a brittle mess. I hoped you would face blades anyway, not armor piercing weaponry.” She dropped the piece she was holding back to the ground.

“A longer handled weapon would be nice too.”

Luna snorted with amusement. “You did well enough with a pony fitted hammer. But, indeed. We will need proper equipment. I am more concerned with your performance.”

“Ah. Yeah, I made some mistakes there, didn’t I?”

“That’s an understatement,” she told him severely. “I will let the bungle of your initial hesitance to actually strike back slip aside. Your blood on my bedspread says enough. But the way you actually disarmed yourself on your own… I am trying to find the words, but the only ones I can think of are not to be used in mixed company.” Raegdan winced at Luna’s criticism. “You got underestimated, like we hoped,” she continued judging, “but now everypony knows what you are capable of. More blunders like today’s are unacceptable. Hrmf, you got bruised too much. Your kind’s armor needs more padding than we thought underneath, it seems.”

Applejack had been sent to retrieve a bag of Raegdan’s blood that Luna kept stored in another room in her chambers along with tubing and needles. Turns out that if you keep fighting and then jump around while carrying an Alicorn is not so good for keeping blood in the inside when you have a couple of holes in you. Raegdan had trouble climbing the stairs up the tower even with Luna’s help.

Rarity, to her dismay and Rainbow’s eternal amusement, had been selected, in honor of her seamstress skills, to stitch him together. Rainbow watched like a hawk, enjoying the way she gulped every time she threaded the needle through Raegdan’s flesh and waited to see if she would try to stitch her monogram after she finished.

His left arm had been less serious if only because his armor and stiff padding under it had been able to hold it tight enough to keep him from bleeding out. The unorthodox hoofblade hadn’t managed to cut completely all the way through, but it left a great gashing hole and cut veins. Raegdan had been able to hastily tighten his arm brace at some point and that was probably the only reason he hadn’t fainted from blood loss yet. Luna held it closed and wrapped some gauze around it until Rarity could turn her attention to it.

Fluttershy and Spike were rubbing a salve over his bruises. The earth pony’s kick had resulted in the entirety of his chest becoming blue and landing on his back didn’t help either.

They all worked silently. Rainbow and her friends weren’t keen on starting a morbid discussion about what happened in the tournament. The way Raegdan and Luna kept grinning at each other, drunk in their own victory, wasn’t a great motivator to do so anyway. None of them were eager to hear their feelings about the outcome.

Princess Celestia had a different mindset.

The bedroom door was kicked open and an angry Princess marched in while Rarity was applying the last stitches on Raegdan’s arm.

Rainbow had never seen the Princess angry before. Celestia’s eyes were glaring at Raegdan, eyelids half closed and her lips were stern. Her mane didn’t move like it used to, in those gentle waves it was known for, but seemed to spread and whip around like a flame. Rainbow could see her wing muscles tremble from the effort she put to hold them in place rather than spread them open in an instinctual act of intimidation.

Rainbow Dash and the rest of the girls moved slightly, opening a path between the angry Alicorn and her apathetic target.

“Celestia,” Raegdan with a cheery smile inclined his head at her, incredibly unaware of her mood, both arms too busy to move like they usually did when talking. “You came to celebrate victory with us? We are kinda busy at the moment, patching my sorry as- self up, but when we are done I thought we might go and raid your wine cellar! How long has it been since you got wast-”

“A pony is dead,” she interrupted him.

Raegdan faltered. “I… noticed? I don’t get it, I thought we won.” He scooted along the bed, leaving Twilight behind him, and sat on the edge.

“Is there a problem?” he said, looking curious.

Celestia’s eyes widened in disbelief. Rainbow herself could not comprehend the sheer callousness of those words.

Celestia walked forward till her face was only centimeters away from him, Raegdan unflinching before her stern gaze. They stood still, measuring themselves against each other.

And then Celestia slapped him with her golden horseshoe, hard enough for the metal to break his skin.

“There is a family down there right now,” she hissed, “crying over the corpse of what used to be a loving father and husband. You tore a family apart today and all you have to say for yourself is “is there a problem?” Should I bring his widow up here so you can repeat that to her? Or maybe his orphan? What in heaven’s name were the two of you thinking? You were practically celebrating on top of his body! I have seen many things, but such sheer cruelty was just...” she looked at her audience for a couple of second before turning back to the cause of her anger. “We are going to talk about this, in detail, later.”

Everypony lowered their eyes. Fluttershy and Pinkie were tearing up, side by side. Raegdan spent a few seconds looking at the blood he wiped from his cheek.

“I see your problem,” he told her, “things didn’t go well today. Finally had a change of mind and decided it would have been so much better if it was my fuc- my corpse down there instead, right?”

Celestia inhaled sharply. Behind Raegdan, Twilight and Spike gasped in horror.

“I never said that, you complete idiot. Stop trying to get out of this by twisting the meaning of my words, Raegdan. You killed a pony and put two others in critical condition. Leaf Stream will never fly again with the damage you caused to her wings. You are lucky Steadfast Ray claimed responsibility for today’s events.” Rainbow shuddered. She had hoped it wasn’t so bad. Losing her flight… what was left for a pegasus without the sky?

“You know, it just came to my attention that you are being rude,” Raegdan changed the topic with sudden hostility.

“What are you trying to do now?”

“I might be wrong because I am an uncultured, stupid, savage monster, but isn’t it considered good manners to ask after someone’s health when he has been hurt?” he asked sarcastically.

Celestia huffed. “You are fine. We both know it takes a lot more than that to kill you.”

Raegdan agreed with her. “Yes. I have taken worse, you would certainly know how much. But how much more can I take, really?” He pointed at the stitched hole at his side. “Somehow, I doubt those ponies knew about what kind of damage I can survive or where my vital organs are located. Take a good look Celestia. What do you think would have happened if that blade landed higher? Would it have pierced just a lung or was it long enough to hit my heart? What about a bit deeper or sideways? Is dying by perforated intestines and stomach as painful for ponies as it is for my kind? Keep in mind, of course, that I can’t rely on your magic painkillers.”

“If you are implying, after everything, that I don’t care-”

“I am saying that I didn’t pull my punches. But neither did they.”

Celestia kicked the ground, her anger returned. “You knew from the beginning they would try to really hurt you, Raegdan! They dedicate themselves to my protection and they have seen you try to kill me twice.” Hold on, did she just say-

“I’ve warned you to stay away from them, again and again. How much longer can I protect you from your own actions? How many more of my ponies do I allow to be hurt because you are my friend? Where do I draw the line? You could have stopped this anytime, I foolishly trusted you to do the right thing for once, and you did not!”

“I did stop it!” he shouted, “it was three against one and they still wanted to play hard. Well, I gave them what they fu- damn wanted. It was the only way it could have ended.”

Celestia shoved her face to his, the beginning of tears in her eyes, her forehead almost touching his. “You just can’t understand, can you? It could have ended otherwise. I let it go on, and I am to blame for it as well, because even then I kept hope that you would not sacrifice my faith in you, once again, over a meaningless fight! I know what you have been through, Raegdan. I know you could hardly be blamed for what you had to turn yourself into. I have shown patience for years, forgiven crimes done in ignorance, and allowed you freedom. If not for Twilight and the lives your gifts have saved, then because of our friendship and I selfishly couldn’t lose that, despite all the pain and beatings you personally delivered to my subjects. But I don’t have much patience left, nor can I keep granting favors to keep ponies from demanding your head. Not when all your promises to control yourself prove false time after time.”

“They tried to kill me first if you-”

“I know, I am not blind! This is not about whether or not you were justified in your actions to defend yourself. If something like this had happened at any other time, I would be supporting you wholeheartedly. But this was not a life or death situation. You could have refused to fight against three of them. You could have surrendered. You could have called for a stop when you got hit. You could have been less you! Nopony had to die. Your actions are not excused this time, not when you had options left.”

She pulled back. Raegdan leaned back on his right elbow, half lying on the mattress.

“I could have surrendered,” he mused darkly. “An interesting notion. But that was not going to happen, Celestia. Either I came out of there with a win or I died. Those were my options.”

“You conceited, sadistic, prideful-”

“Would you like to know why?” he interrupted her with a wide smile, as if everything was forgotten and he had something very interesting to share. To Rainbow, he looked like Rarity when she had a straight flush at poker.

Celestia waited for him to make his point.

“Pinkie Pie, come over here, please,” he beckoned. Pinkie came to his side and sat next to his legs. “Now, Pinkie, I want you to do something for me.”

“Point at the Princess,” he said.

Pinkie Pie blinked and exchanged a confused look with the rest of them. Slowly, she lifted her hoof to point at Celestia.

“Still trying to dodge the issue. What is your point this time, Raegdan?” Celestia asked, her anger still evident in her voice.

“Oh, nothing much,” he answered, patting Pinkie Pie’s head. “Just drawing attention to the fact that she unthinkingly pointed at you when there are actually two Princesses in the room.”

They all turned their head to look at Luna who sat silent next to the bed, completely forgotten, watching them passively.

“Funny how not even you thought about that.”

“Luna is my little sister! Just because that stupid misdirection caught me off gu-”

Suddenly enraged, Raegdan got up and pushed Celestia back with one of his arms. “Maybe you should think of her less as your little sister and more as your equal! Maybe you should stop taking for granted that others have your-”

Luna put a sudden stop to him with a lifted hoof. “That is far enough, Raegdan.”

Raegdan sat back down, his eyes filled with scorn as he looked at Celestia. His lips were pulled back and he was gritting his teeth. Rainbow was reminded of Timber Wolves.

Celestia turned to her sister. “Luna, we are a Diarchy, despite Raegdan’s attempts to get me sidetracked. What is mine is yours. There is no need to-”

“Did you notice any guards outside my chambers, sister?” Luna asked.

“I- what?”

“Your guards will not accept my orders,” Luna said, anger in her voice, “they might bow and call me their Princess, but at the end of the day nothing will be done of what I asked. By anypony. My doors are left unguarded. My rooms left uncleaned. If I wish to eat I have to personally visit the kitchens and wait for my meal or it will be “lost in the bustle”. The treasury will not release funds to me unless they get a direct order from you. I am not a Diarch here, sister. I’m just an unwanted guest.”

Celestia was visibly shocked, the last remains of her anger evaporating. “Luna, if you had told me before I-”

“You would have done what, sister? Order them to obey? Is any authority I am going to have only because you ordered it so?” Luna said bitterly.

She jumped on her bed and sat next to the still fuming Raegdan. “Raegdan has been the only one to unquestioningly stand by my side since my return. A complete stranger to our land has been more accepting of me than our own subjects. He has been doing everything in his power to aid me and you saw the result in the tournament. Jeering and insults. If you wish to punish him for today’s events, then let me tell you that you can’t. He is under my command and I rule today as an accident in the heat of battle. Overrule me on this and you will have to admit that the so called Diarchy, is a farce. ”

“I need ponies by my side if my plans to prove myself as a Princess are going to work, sister, not you having to approve to the maids my request for tea. I need the unmitigated loyalty of a Lunar Guard.”

Rainbow had to point out the flaw in that. “Uhh… sorry Princess, but… one guy is not really much of a guard, is it?”

“There will be more,” Luna insisted, “especially after today. There are ponies who will wish to reach their full potential. They will come to us. There are ponies who will see the desperate need we have of more members. They will come to us. We have proven we are just as good, nay, better, than the Solar Guard and ponies will cling to that.”

“Or you might get ponies who will come to you because of the violence Raegdan portrayed,” Celestia pointed out. “What about those?”

“I will have them too. They will be shaped like clay and proper use will be made of them. Between Raegdan and I, we will forge out of all of them an effective military force.”

To Rainbow, this sounded rather dodgy. It looked like Luna planned to give permission to put the fear of her in her subjects, and considering who her first guard was, she had an inkling of how they would go about that. Did Celestia really feel so guilty for her sister that she would allow that?

If Luna thought she would be able to turn that fear into loyalty, she was off her rocker. How would you convince somepony to trust his former bully? Rainbow still hadn’t forgiven Gilda and she had been her friend, not her victim.

“Why?” Celestia cried out, “what do you want soldiers for, Luna? What is this vaunted plan of yours?”

“What do we have the Guard for, sister?”

“To keep the peace,” Celestia professed, “to keep our ponies safe. Not to endanger them and hurt them.”

“Then they are unfit for what we need. Soldiers are used to fight. To kill. To remove threats. How many monsters roam our countryside, Celestia? Ponyville is but a stone’s throw from Canterlot and even approaching Everfree’s edge is a gamble.”

“Ponyville is protected just fine,” Celestia said, her eyes running over Twilight and the rest of them. Heck yeah, Ponyville is protected. Rainbow’s chest puffed with pride.

Raegdan was not happy with the answer. He moved to stand up again and was held back by a single hoof gesture from Luna.

“Others do not have this protection. I plan to create a proactive force. You have been Equestria’s wisdom and morality. I cannot be that, not anymore. So I will be its sword and,” she chuckled, nodding towards Raegdan, “shield.”

Celestia sighed, finally dropping down on the carpeted floor. “You are imagining a non existing threat or underestimating our ponies. I am not sure which, Luna. When the need calls, the Guard answers. The Solar Guards often engage those missions themselves when I take a personal interest.” Celestia glared at Raegdan once more. “Ask your friend, maybe. He can tell you about that.”

“He has,” Luna answered with no pause, “and that is why we intend on that course. Once we have a solid force, our efforts will begin. I am sorry, sister, but today was the best chance we had to prove our worth.”

“Prove your worth? Did those poor ponies have to pay that price for the Lunar Guard to prove its worth? Did Raegdan have to kill and maim them? Did you have to perform those horrid actions?” asked Celestia sorrowful.

“There was no need for anypony to die, sister,” Luna answered her.

“Yes,” Raegdan growled, “they could have surrendered.”

Celestia decided to table the discussion for later, when both sisters were in calmer spirits. Raegdan insisted there was no need for a discussion and according to her own words Luna had the authority to do as she damn well pleased as long as they weren’t breaking their own laws. Both Luna and Celestia ordered him to shut up.

Princess Celestia left, deeply disillusioned with both of them. She… she wasn’t the only one.

Twilight waited until Princess Celestia was surely gone before asking. “You tried to kill Princess Celestia?”

Raegdan was still angry and he didn’t seem to be able to calm himself down, no matter how he tried. “Twice,” he spat.

“Why?” Twilight wailed.

“Why does someone attack one who commands an army, moves the sun, and is stronger, faster and can burn him to cinders with a thought?” He grinned. “I got jealous of her room. She has a bigger bed.”

“This is not a joke!” Twilight screamed in rage. “Things are obviously worse than I thought. Worse than you ever told me. What have you done, Raegdan? Are you really feeling no guilt for what you did today?”

“Those are heavy questions, little one,” he chuckled. “Ok, fine. You are a big girl now.” He turned to address Spike. “Little flame, go to your room.”

“What? No, I want to stay,” the young dragon whined.

“Please leave, young dragon. You have already been party to too much for one so young, even for someone of your heritance. It has been foolish of us to allow you to linger for so long,” Luna supported Raegdan’s order.

Raegdan waited for a grumbling Spike to leave Luna’s rooms before answering Twilight’s questions with barely contained anger.

“I’ve done some things that you do not know about. That you will never be told about. Some of the Guard knows. The Solars know. Celestia knows. Luna knows. But if I have my way, you will never know. I have my differences with Celestia at the moment, but I am thankful to her beyond words for keeping it a state secret from everyone else.”

Applejack popped the question in their minds. “What could you have possibly done that was worse than killing somepony?”

Raegdan didn’t answer immediately. He just looked sad and turned his face away from Applejack. “Something pretty similar to today, in a way. I have done worse things in my life, but not here.”

Rainbow cursed her mouth. Why did even her tongue have to be faster than her brain? “What’s the worst thing you have done?” Oh, she did not just ask that, somepony tell her she just thought that…

“RAINBOW!” Ah, shoot, judging by Rarity’s tone that was not to be.

Raegdan scratched his chin, depression and regret all over his face. He was actually going to answer her? Should she cover her ears? She wasn’t sure about hearing what he considered-

“I tripped a little girl once, on purpose.” What? What kind of answer was that? Should she ask him for more details? Uh oh, Rarity was looking at Rainbow’s way and the way she smoldered said no.

“You haven’t answered Twilight’s second question yet, Raegdan.” Luna, of all ponies in the room, brought them back on track, her posture screaming resignation.

“Fine.” He leaned against the bedhead, defeated. “I don’t. It just doesn’t register, I think. Not him, not his family, nothing. I told the truth to Celestia. “Is there a problem?”. She is right. Right about everything. I screwed up today, we both did. It was not supposed to be this way. Poor Celestia just wants us to feel guilt for this, at least. Have some empathy. But, compared to everything else, what’s so bad about the clean death of someone we don’t know? I was alive, he wasn’t but I was, and it felt amazing. I know it sounds monstrous. It is. But…”

“I am sorry, little one, I am so sorry. I am trying my best, I swear.”

...when it blows, it’s really gonna blow hard, won’t it?

Rainbow got up from her bed. It was useless. She spent half an hour on that darn thing and all she managed to do was make a mess out of it with all her tossing and turning. The sweet nap she craved was out of reach.

She knew what the problem was. She couldn’t get today’s fight out of her mind and she couldn’t stop thinking about Nightmare Moon.

They had been lucky, Rainbow knew. Nightmare Moon could have crushed them at any point, but she didn’t even take them seriously until it was too late. Discord had done the same, but the Spirit of Chaos took nothing seriously. Nightmare Moon was a different mare however. If she had truly thought of them as a threat… Rainbow gulped.

She was brutal in the stories. She made sure that nopony would even think of challenging her by spreading terror the likes of which had never been seen. There were tales about ponies who refused to sleep by the thousands, the nightmares she unleashed terrorising them to death. Ponies she caught that would be found later in flayed pieces. Monsters she commanded that would obey her every whim, hurting everypony they got their claws on. Rainbow’s childhood was full of nights huddling under her covers after hearing or reading that stuff.

And it seemed to Rainbow that there were too many similarities between those stories and what Luna wanted to start doing right now.

That fight… she felt sorry for the dead stallion and his family, but that could be attributed to sheer accident. It happened. A hit too hard or at the wrong place and BAM, it could end for you right there.They were fighting with real weapons and the Solars pushed him too far. Raegdan himself practically admitted he could have easily died instead.

What was scaring her most was what he did to that pegasus. He could have taken her out of the fight with so many ways. A simple knockout would be so easy. Instead… instead he casually did the cruelest thing she could imagine. She had been too far away, but she almost believed she could hear the bones shattering and slashing through the mare’s flesh as he did his best to pulverize her wings in the short time he had. And he didn’t care at all. He admitted he should be feeling guilt for the dead, but he had completely forgotten about her during his “apology”. It didn’t even manage to stick in his mind. He regretted that he was like this, and it felt like it should count for something, but…

Raegdan was starting to scare her, she admitted to herself. And she certainly didn’t want to see what he would do if given actual provocation. Or orders. Because if Luna ordered him to do something questionable, Rainbow knew that he wouldn’t flinch from doing it. She felt her throat. How strong were those fingers of his? How hard would it be for him to break her neck?

Let’s face facts. Luna, like Nightmare Moon, already had one monster under her command now, didn’t she? Celestia obviously had no control over Raegdan, if she ever did, and he felt no guilt or remorse for his actions. All he cared about was Twilight and Spike, and they couldn’t be around him all the time, or temper him down all that much. Luna might not be Nightmare Moon anymore but her screws were just as loose. And who could keep her under control if she went off the deep end again? Rainbow didn’t want to have to face Nightmare Moon again. She was certain, that if they did, this time she would play for keeps.

Rainbow needed someone to talk with, share her thoughts, and have them laughed off like the silly ideas they were. Ok, not laughed off, that wouldn’t be cool, but…

She went off to find Fluttershy.

Fluttershy was not in her room. In Rarity’s room she found the unicorn nodding to whatever Pinkie Pie was talking about, her attention clearly somewhere where there was no unending prattle, by the glaze of her eyes. Rainbow was heading to ask Applejack if she saw her when she saw Fluttershy coming out of Twilight’s room.

“Hey Flutters,” Rainbow greeted her oldest friend.

“Oh, um, hello Rainbow,” Fluttershy answered. Rainbow had accepted Fluttershy’s timidness as a fact of life by now. It still kille- hurt her a little on the inside however whenever she acted like that to her even when they were alone.

“Were you talking to Twilight?”

“She actually spent more time talking to me. She… needed to vent a few things.” Fluttershy was quiet and moved away from Twilight’s door, leading Rainbow to her own room.

“Like what?” Rainbow asked, genuinely interested.

Fluttershy waited until they were in Rainbow’s room before speaking. “She is afraid about Raegdan.”

Rainbow snorted. “I think she should be afraid for everypony else rather than him.”

“That’s, um, that’s the problem,” Fluttershy explained in more detail. “She told me that Raegdan always had problems keeping himself under control. Now that he is actually trained and armed, she is afraid that things will get so bad that Princess Celestia might have to do more than just lock him in a dungeon for a few weeks the next time he loses control.”

“Oh. Yeah, that is a disaster waiting to happen isn’t it?”

“She is also scared about what Princess Luna and Raegdan have planned.”

Rainbow was puzzled. “They… already told us. They want to set up a Lunar Guard like Princess Celestia has and start killing monsters.”

“Yes, Rainbow, but… then what? Twilight says that Raegdan is smart in his own way. She described him as furiously impulsive and rash, but if he spends the time to think things through enough he can sometimes figure out things that even Twilight or Celestia might miss. And Luna is an Alicorn like Princess Celestia. They surely have more things in mind than just getting a few ponies on their side like this and try to gain Equestria’s respect by going on needless hunts.”

“How is going on monster hunts needless? I’ll admit, we are doing ok in Ponyville, but it would be nice if we didn’t have to worry about Timber Wolves and other nasties prowling too close.”

“Princess Celestia gets reports from all over Equestria for everything,” Fluttershy informed her, “and Twilight took a look at some of those. Things are calm. Things have been calm for centuries actually. There is the random attack, but nothing that would merit what Luna and Raegdan claim. Oh, I just don’t know what to think. I want to believe that they are just desperate for some way to be helpful, but letting them do that seems a bad idea.”

Rainbow considered what had kept her awake along with what Fluttershy told her. “Raegdan is mighty pissed at Celestia for some reason, isn’t he?” Fluttershy nodded and Rainbow continued, “and Luna… Luna does have some excuses to be moody with her too.”

“Right. But one of the things Twilight thought was that… that they might have something more risky planned that what they told us. They might have something bigger in sight than just some loose chimeras… things like Discord.”

“No way! Twilight thinks that they want to mess with that guy?”

“Twilight doesn’t know what to think!” Fluttershy was almost in tears. “She is driving herself crazy with scenarios. Maybe they plan something involving Raegdan’s people, maybe they are going to leave Equestria, maybe they are just grasping at straws for the sake of doing something. She kept going on and on like this. I had to force her to go to bed. I- I don’t like using… that on my friends.”

Rainbow did not want to have her fears confirmed. She still had to ask. “You don’t think.... Twilight didn’t say anything about… Nightmare Moon or something?”

Fluttershy smiled relieved. “No, thank goodness. She says Nightmare Moon was gone for good when we used the Elements. Luna was basically stripped completely of her magic for weeks. No magic entity can survive that.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Rainbow said in relief before jumping back on her bed, her major fear now debunked, and almost ready for an afternoon power-nap. She tired herself with worries long enough. As long as they didn’t have to deal with Equestria’s greatest terror they would manage. What was she thinking? She had faith in her friends. Twilight would find a way to keep Raegdan in check. Princess Celestia would find some way to reason with Luna. Fluttershy would find her own way to the door. Although…

“Hey, what time are we having dinner with them, again?”

“You have to be kidding me, Twilight! What kind of crazies have dinner at midnight?” Rainbow griped.

“Apparently, Luna is more of a nocturnal pony and she and Raegdan tend to stay up for a big part of the night…” Twilight said apologetically. “They really wrecked their sleeping schedule to accommodate us yesterday, I think. I couldn’t ask them to do more than they have already.”

They climbed up the empty tower, the absence of guards making itself painfully clear now, and walked through Luna’s unguarded doors. Applejack scoffed, sounding amused, as they did for some reason. There was nopony there to welcome them in.

“Maybe we should just shout out for them?” suggested Rainbow.

“Rainbow,” Rarity objected, “one does not simply call out for their host in their own home.”

“We do that all the time when we go to Twilight’s.”

“No, you do that all the time. I won’t have you yelling like a yokel inside a Princess’ personal chambers.”

Applejack patted Rarity on the shoulder to get her attention. “This here yokel would like to know how y’all planning to find the Princess then. Unless it’s all fine and dandy to snoop around when in high society.”

“That would be very rude,” agreed Fluttershy, causing Pinkie to guiltily close the drawer she was opening and get back to her place next to Rarity.

“Well, they are probably in the dining room, waiting for us. We will just knock on the door and if they are inside, they will answer us,” Rarity said with a flourish of her mane.

“Ok, Rares. Nice plan,” Applejack complimented her.

“Why, thank you, Applejack.”

“Which door leads to the dining room then?”

Rarity’s face fell. “Oh, uh… it’s probably…”

Twilight took the lead. “If those rooms are designed like Princess Celestia’s it’s probably this one. Come on.”

Twilight didn’t bother knocking on the door. She just walked inside and called out, breaking both of Rarity’s pleads to decorum in one fell swoop.

“Princess Luna? Raegdan? It’s us! Are you in here?”

Rainbow wondered if Princess Celestia’s rooms were the same as her sister’s. The dining room was… small. Oh, they would all fit just fine and have room to spare, but even the guest room where they ate so far was bigger. It was very cozy however, much like the rest of Luna’s rooms, and a pair of glass doors led to a large balcony.

Luna and Raegdan were rushing inside the room from there as Rainbow and her friends were making their way through the door.

“We apologize,” Luna said. “We lost track of time and forgot about our appointment this night.”

“What were you two doing out there?” Spike asked.

“We were just stargazing, little flame. I know it sounds very surprising to hear that we of all people are into that, but- oof.” Raegdan stopped his lame joke when Luna used her back leg to kick his shin.

Rainbow supposed that they were both dressed... formally. Luna was in her own regalia as she was during the Tournament. Crown, ebony neckpiece, and crystal shoes. Raegdan wore his repaired armor, which was now probably his official uniform, but without his shield. His helmet hung from his belt, which she now noticed had been supplemented with a couple of long daggers.

Luna asked them to take their seats at the round table, while Raegdan moved to a cabinet and started bringing glasses over along with a bottle of wine. It appeared that there would be no pony waiters tonight, just like Rainbow thought.

Rarity was looking towards the balcony outside, her mouth gaping like one of those fish Fluttershy fed some of her animals. Rainbow tried to see what was so astonishing about it, but all she saw out there was a fluffy blanket discarded on the balcony. Rarity was probably having a heart attack seeing a Princess leaving something lying on the floor.

Rainbow wondered if it would be ok to ask. She had to ask, didn’t she? Someone would anyway. “So, uh… what’s for dinner?”

Raegdan exchanged a look with Luna. “Wondering where your meal is coming from, Rainbow Dash? It’s ok, we get it. Luna made tonight’s dinner actually.”

Seven pairs of eyes widened and seven heads swiveled towards an amused Princess.

“I am an immortal Alicorn whose life is measured in millennia. Is it so surprising that among all that time I managed to learn how to cook?”

“We are sorry, Princess Luna,” Twilight tried to backpedal their reactions, “but we weren’t expecting you to spend your time at the Castle’s kitchens cooking for us.”

“She didn’t. We have a kitchen right here,” Raegdan said.

“I- what? You have a kitchen in here?”

“It was less of a hassle converting one of the rooms than waiting in front of the kitchens everyday to make sure they actually prepared what we asked for,” Raegdan explained.

“Where did you get the appliances and stuff?” Applejack asked.

“I took them from the Castle kitchens,” he said. “They have plenty.”

“And they just let you move anything you wanted up here?” Twilight said skeptically.

Raegdan chest puffed with pride. “No.”

Applejack, Pinkie, and Spike laughed outrageously at his answer. They both acted like nothing happened hours ago. Was this because they wanted to put everything behind them or did neither of them care? Ugh, this “reasoning behaviours” stuff was hard and left her doubting everything. Luna and Raegdan were being- ok, they were total jerks to everypony else, but they treated Rainbow and her friends just fine. She could, at least, rely on that, right?

“Sure, as long as Raegdan knows that you are his kid’s friend and Twilight is around, you won’t get your wings broken for letting one rip in the same room as Luna,” her mind challenged her mental effort to calm herself. Shut up brain, you don’t get a vote.

Raegdan left to retrieve their dishes. He returned pushing a trolley filled with closed plate domes and started placing them.

“Ours are the two in front, Raegdan,” Luna instructed him.

He nodded and kept serving. After he placed their plates in front of them, he distributed the silverware -Luna seemed to have a special place in her heart for silver- and then poured wine in everypony’s glasses.

He did all this while keeping a folded towel across his left arm, with overdone bows after placing each utensil down, which led to some hissing when he pulled at his stitches, and speaking nonsense in a very bad Prench accent. It was done a thousand times before, but seeing Raegdan of all ponies doing that in his intimidating armor was a blast. Rarity even answered him in perfect Prench.

They all waited for him to take his own seat before removing the domes from their plates. Rainbow liked what she found under hers. Steaming soup and salad. It looked simple, but oh gosh, the smell of it! She was practically drooling. Luna was good! Forget what she thought before, Luna was best Princess!

She was directing a grin to Twilight that was sitting in front of her so she had a clear view of what happened when Raegdan unveiled his own meal.

Twilight flinched back so hard she almost fell down. Rainbow quickly turned her head to see what the matter was and saw Raegdan, holding the cover still in the air, looking at his meal in front him, frozen still. Rainbow recognized what was in his plate due to her long friendship with Gilda.

Twilight was trying to stammer an apology, but Raegdan was not paying any attention to her. He was looking at Luna who stared back at him with what had at first been a proud, self satisfied expression, slowly turning sour and guilty.

Finally, he picked up his plate and stood up. “Ladies,” he said to all of them, “Spike, I’ll be at the study. I’ll return once I have finished my meal.” He didn’t wait for anypony to answer. He rushed out as fast as he could walk without running.

“Whoo, boy, awkward…” Rainbow thought to herself. Everypony else seemed to share her thoughts, except Luna. She was staring accusingly at Twilight.

“I can’t believe this is what it was about. I am sorely disappointed in you, Twilight Sparkle,” she said while taking a sip of her wine.

Poor Twilight was still off her game. She acted like she had no idea what she was actually hearing.

Luna continued to speak, her glass held in the air by her magic. “We have shared so much with each other. But not the reason you abandoned him,” she said with venom. “He saved you. He raised you. He bled, suffered, and stayed for you. And was this all it took, Twilight Sparkle? That he eats meat? The simple nature of his species, his diet?”

Luna’s stern gaze passed over each of them, judging them. “Does this revelation disturb the rest of you, too?”

Rainbow was the first to speak up and defend herself. “Hey, I used to hang out with a gryphon. I even tried meat once.” That had been really yucky actually and up to this day, Rainbow still hadn’t figured out how she got herself to do that. She never asked what the meat was from and never wanted to find out.

She pointed at Fluttershy next to her. “And Fluttershy here has taken care of carnivores. I doubt she minds if Raegdan has to eat meat to survive.” Fluttershy hid her face behind her hair and mumbled an affirmation. Atta girl! So brave.

Applejack and Rarity were hesitant, but supportive. “It’s not like we didn’t get the idea that he ate meat from that story he told us yesterday… It would be really weird to see him eating it in front of me, but as long as it ain’t one of mah animals or a pony, ah guess that I’m fine with it.”

“Indeed. One cannot change his species nature and even now Raegdan acted as a gentleman to accommodate our perceived sensibilities. I would never be so crass as to hold something so small against him. But Rainbow, dear, remember to thoroughly brush your teeth next time, for me?”

“Hey! That was years ago.”

“Dragons eat meat,” Spike said. “I don’t, not yet, but I will have to start at some point.”

“I got a pet alligator!” Pinkie Pie chimed. “His name is Gummy and I feed him fish, but he doesn’t have teeth yet so I have to cut them in little pieces, but I don’t mind cause I love him and I bet Twilight and Spike love Raegdan too and I think you are wrong!”

“Am I?” Luna switched her attention back to Twilight. “Your friends have made clear their acceptance, Twilight Sparkle. But what about you?”

Twilight had tears hanging at the edge of her eyes. What’s more, Rainbow noticed the subtle shaking and pulsing vein. Uh, oh, Twilight wasn’t getting upset. She was getting pissed!

“How dare you? HOW DARE YOU!”

Twilight’s magic was crackling around her. Rainbow hoped it was done on purpose. “Raegdan, I think she did pick up a couple of things from you,” she thought.

“I have known he was an omnivore since I was eight! I’ve known about his hunts and I’ve been down in the dungeons where he does his butchering. And you accuse me of being so shallow? That I would abandon him because he eats meat? What kind of pony do you take me for?” Twilight was enraged!

Luna calmly took another sip, emptying her glass. “I do not know, Twilight Sparkle. Let’s find out. Why did you bereave him the company of the two individuals he loved most?”

Twilight’s anger deflated. “I- I do not want to talk about this.”

“Why did you recoil when you saw meat at his plate?”

“It had… it had nothing to do with… it just- I remembered something.”

Spike, his eyes wide and begging, did his best to make Twilight open up. “Come on, Twilight. You can’t keep it hidden forever. I lost him for too long already. Don’t repeat what happened.”

“I won’t, Spike. It- it was a silly thing. Just some stupid idea that got into my head and I believed it.”

“Maybe it wasn’t so stupid if it drove you to such measures, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna suggested, calmly. “What idea was that?”

Twilight kept silent, staring at her plate. She was taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She would actually do it, Rainbow realized. She was curious, very, very curious, but… maybe now wasn’t the right time? Maybe they all had enough revelations today.

“I thought… I believed that… I accused Raegdan that he butchered and ate a pony.”

Rainbow was speechless! That- that was a rotten thing to do when Raegdan was nothing but sweet with Twilight herself. Granted, she could almost believe he would do something that far-fetched but for Twilight to say something like this… How did Raegdan just forgive something like that so easily yesterday? It’s not like Twilight just broke a vase or something.

Luna seemed to take it in stride. She just refilled her wine glass, calmness all over her face, and removed the dome cover from her plate, letting them see she had the exact meal Raegdan had.

“Right. That was a stupid idea.”

Dinner became a quiet affair afterwards. Twilight kept silent and avoided everypony’s eyes. Spike kept looking sadly at the empty seat. Luna was concentrating on her meal, expertly cutting small bites and bringing them to her mouth. The rest of them tried to keep from staring… Rainbow was confused. Was this something she should call hardcore or plain disturbing?

Oh thank Celestia, Raegdan finally returned. He placed his empty plate on the trolley and sat down. That was some really fast eating. At least now that he was back they could get rid of the awkward silence. All they needed was something to break the ice.

“So, you ever ate a pony?” she asked him nonchalantly.

Oh, shoot, she did not just- bad brain, bad! Twilight’s magic lost the grip on her spoon from the shock. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were gaping at her, not believing what she said. Fluttershy had gone beet red and her eyes were looking somewhere else, probably the safety of her own home. One of Rarity’s eyes was twitching. The other promised fire and pain when she had Rainbow in her hoofs.

Raegdan unfroze for his surprise and looked at all of them. “Little one,” he said, gulping, “did you-”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Twilight was blushing worse that even Fluttershy ever did.

Raegdan, thank her lucky stars, decided to drop it. “Alright. We will- we will ignore that, then.”

Despite Rarity’s forbidding shake of the head, Rainbow decided to take another shot. “Raegdan, uh, you think you are gonna get in trouble with the Solar Guard now that you- I mean, eh, hehe…”. Why? Why? She blamed the lateness of the hour. She was usually asleep by now, that was the problem.

Raegdan didn’t seem to mind the topic. He took his glass away from his lips and answered her. “I have been in trouble with the Solar Guard forever. Steadfast has actually been petitioning Celestia to permanently imprison me every few months. Except the last couple of years. He changed his petition to giving me the death penalty instead.”

Twilight left her stupor with the aid of sheer outrage. “He has been doing what?”

Raegdan waved her down, drinking the rest of his wine and refilling his glass. “Don’t mind old Steadfast,” he appeased, “he has valid reasons, to speak the truth. He is tremendously devoted to Celestia and considering what I’ve done… I could almost like him, to be honest. At least, he is being straight in his dislike, but not actually hostile as long as Celestia tugs on his chain and he doesn’t give her much trouble. I know what to expect from him.”

“Except today,” he frowned. He turned to Luna. “I guess the opening there was too tantalising not to take.”

Luna grinned. “Hopefully this defeat will keep him in check for a while. We need no further complications.”

Rainbow finished her soup. It truly was the best soup she had ever tasted. She would love to ask for seconds, but she wanted to leave, more than she wanted to fill up her stomach. The clanging of more silverware on empty plates followed shortly after. Raegdan rose up once again to gather them on the trolley and wheel them out. He returned soon, bringing a wide tray bearing a tea service and plenty of cups.

“I guess some tea wouldn’t go amiss before you leave for bed?” he asked them.

Rainbow would prefer to be on her way, but tea would help her sleep much better, she guessed. She waited for Raegdan to get to filling her cup too.

“Dad,” Spike asked, “what are you going to do next? Are you gonna take part in the tournament again tomorrow?”

“Nah. We are done with that for now. Celestia will kick my a- behind if I show up anywhere near, anyway.” Luna chortled, thoroughly amused. “I think for now we wait, stay quiet for a while, and see if we can get some recruits, right Luna?”

“Indeed, that is the next step,” she concurred. “Barring any exceptional opportunities forcing us to divert our course.”

Rainbow reached for the sugar. She hated cream in her tea, but she wanted it as sweet as possible. She frowned. Where was the…

“Pinkie!” she shouted.

The thieving pink pony looked at her all innocent, the area around her mouth covered in white. “What is it, Dashie?”

“Pinkie, did you eat all of the sugar?”

“Sugar is bad for you, Dashie. Rarity said so this morning, remember? I am just looking out for you, like any good friend should.”

Rainbow heard Rarity’s snickers behind the cover of her hoof on her face.

Luna was addressing her guard. “It was kind of you to prepare this tea, Raegdan. I know you don’t really enjoy it yourself.” Raegdan answered her, but what he said and any further conversation from them was lost in the loud, droning voice of Pinkie Pie.

“Besides, this wasn’t good sugar for tea,” Pinkie continued, “somepony mixed confectioner’s sugar with it. Let me tell you, it doesn’t taste as good in tea as you would think. Or milk. Or chocolate milk. Or…”

There were two simultaneous crashes. Rainbow looked over to see Raegdan had smashed Twilight’s and Spike’s teacups before they had a chance to take a sip.

Rainbow noticed Pinkie’s rant fading behind her head. She couldn’t blame her. Was Raegdan finally snapping even at Twilight and Spike? She got up from her seat. He might be armed, but she wouldn’t let her friend get hit by any bully no matter who he was. She eyed his side, where the stitches were located.

“Did you drink any of it?” he yelled.

Twilight was staring at the broken shards, confused. “What?”

Spike was extraordinary calm. He was wiping the spilled tea off him with a paper towel. “Kind of hard when it’s all over you,” he said.

Raegdan let out a deep breath, looking relieved. “Ok. That’s good… I think you should all go now.”

Applejack wasn’t keen on letting this go without an explanation. “What exactly is the problem here, big guy? This tea can’t be that bad.”

There was a thump behind Rainbow. She turned around to see what Pinkie was up to now, but she wasn’t on her seat. She looked down.

Pinkie was lying on the floor, her whole body trembling violently, white, thick saliva drooling from her open mouth.

Rarity and Applejack saw her too and rushed to her side.

“Pinkie!” Rarity was terrified. She tried to hold Pinkie still and move her head to the side.

“What the hay is wrong with her? Twilight, give us a hoof!” Applejack called out.

Before Rainbow could fully turn her attention to her fallen friend she noticed among the pandemonium Raegdan slump in his seat and in a hushed voice say to Luna. “Well, Luna.”.

“That’s certainly a way to go about it.”

Author's Notes:

This chapter has not been edited at its entirety so far. EDIT - It has now! Many thanks to Requiem17 for his amazing tenacity!