A few days had passed since Hearth's Warming and the little snowball fight in Ponyville. Princess Luna was walking through the palace, headed for the armorium. Celestia had spent the entire morning there, and now Luna - although a little sleepy - was curious what her sister was up to. When she found her sister, she was absorbed in no less than three books simultaneously.

"I see you are trying to out-Twilight Twilight, dear sister" Luna greeted with a smile.

"Hello, Luna. I'm just having a little problem controlling the volatility of the Land Speeder fuel," Celestia answered without looking up.

Hmm, perhaps Luna could help. She scanned the room and found Antonius' workstation where he had begun building a small jet engine to test the new fuel. On another table, there was a series of laboratory flasks containing a multicolored liquid.
Bingo.
Luna stepped up to them.

"Now let us see what is wrong with you..." Luna mumbled and picked up one of the flasks with her magic.

"LUNA! NO!" Celestia cried.

Too late.

Antonius had just entered the imperial base and was walking towards the armorium.
A few minutes ago, he had finished breakfast with Stormy, Moonlight and Blackwing. They were going to spend their day in Ponyville looking for a house, while he was about to spend most of the day constructing a jet engine before it would be time for a new training session with the princesses. All told, things went pretty well.
He had barely thought this as he heard an explosion.

"Of course," he mumbled and started running.

As he arrived at the armorium, he could see that the explosion had happened here; while the room itself was not damaged, one of the tables was blackened and swept clear of equipment. Behind that table, he could see Celestia's hair flowing in the air.

"Tia?" he asked, approaching said table,
"what happened? Are you okay?"

Celestia raised her head. Luckily, she didn't seem to be injured, but her expression told Antonius that something very unfortunate had happened.

"Antonius," she said, and he could hear worry and fear in her voice,
"Luna is injured."

Oh shit.

Antonius dashed around the table and saw her: She was lying on the ground, her head supported by Celestia. She had her eyes closed and several cuts all over her face. A shard of glass was even embedded in her horn.

"What in the Emperor's name has happened here?" he inquired.

"A fuel sample detonated," Celestia hastily told him,
"Antonius, go and get a doctor!"

"We can save time if you teleport directly to the hospital, I'll take care of Luna in the meantime."

"I can't leave my sister alone!" Celestia protested,
"but I can teleport the three of us directly to the hospital!"

"Make it so," Antonius nodded, then he realized that he had just agreed on magic being used on him.

Well, he would have to bite that bullet. Celestia lit her horn and they were engulfed in her magic.
The next moment, they materialized in a hallway of Canterlot General, directly in front of a very surprised Rapid Cure. He was barely able to shout

"Whoa!"

as Celestia quickly told him what had happened.

"Get Princess Luna in here!" he said and opened the door to a treatment room.

Antonius picked Luna up and put her onto the room's examination table. Rapid Cure called a nurse and started examining Luna. At that moment, she groaned and asked:

"What happened?"

"You picked up one of the experimental fuels," Celestia told her,
"unfortunately, the sample you choose was unstable and quite sensitive to magic. That's the problem I told you about. It exploded."

"Ah, great," Luna grumbled and opened her eyes,
"oh, have I destroyed this nifty artificial lighting in here or why is everything still dark?"

Antonius could hear Celestia swallow and the doctor immediately examined Luna's eyes.

"What...?" Luna asked, but Rapid Cure said:

"Don't worry, Princess. I'm just taking a look at your eyes. Please open them wide."

"My eyes?"

Antonius saw Luna's expression change. She had looked tired and slightly annoyed before, but now she looked terrified.

"ARE WE BLIND???" she shouted.

"Please, Princess, calm down and wait just a few seconds," Rapid Cure pleaded and continued his examination.

"'CALM DOWN'? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO 'CALM DOWN' WHEN WE JUST LOST OUR EYESIGHT???"

"Just one more second... ah, yes, good, I can't see any physical damage. It seems the flash of the explosion overloaded your optic nerve. That means your blindness will highly probably be only temporary."

"'Highly likely'?" Luna asked, quieter now,
"does that mean I could stay blind?"

"Well... theoretically, but I really don't think so. Now please hold still, I'll put a blindfold on you so that your optic nerve can properly regenerate... and I have to remove that shard of glass from your horn."

"OUR HORN, TOO? I mean, how bad is it? It is not too bad, is it?"

Rapid Cure pulled the glass out of Luna's horn and examined the notch it had left.

"This is not trivial," he told them,
"this injury is severe enough to be taken very seriously. Fortunately, we have the means to heal it. Chances of recovery are good. You must, however, not use your magic for about a week. If you keep using your magic, your horn might fracture."

"How am I supposed to raise the moon, then? Or watch over my subjects' dreams? I have duties!"

"I will take care of your moon, Luna," Celestia assured her.

"And ponies will have to deal with possible nightmares the old fashioned way for a week," Antonius added,
"should not be fatal for them."

Luna did not look very enthusiastic about that.

"Well, I am not fond of this. Can we use magic to fix my horn - and my eyes?"

"Luna," Celestia said,
"you know that healing magic does not work that way. It is..."

"All right, all right!" Luna interrupted her,
"then, I guess I will have to forego my sense of sight and my magic for a week."

"Yes, that is the only practicable way," Rapid Cure told her,
"and to make sure that you don't use your magic accidentally..."
he turned to a nurse
"... please bring me the largest horn splint we have and the horn repair balm."

"You want to put a splint on my horn?" Luna asked.

"I know this is unpleasant, but believe me, it's for your own best. If you accidentally use your magic, your horn might shatter, and then I can't do anything to help you."

The nurse returned with a dark grey, conical metal cuff and a tube and gave it to Doctor Cure. He opened the splint - with his hooves - and squeezed balm into it - with his magic.

"Okay, Princess, I'm going to apply the splint now. Please remain calm," he said and picked up the splint - again with his hooves.

"Tony," Luna started,
"do you remember when we talked about darksteel? Now you will see its effect."

Rapid Cure closed the splint around Luna's horn, and her hair immediately lost the flow- and night sky effect, turned light blue and followed gravity. Luna shivered.

"Okay," Rapid Cure said,
"now, we can take care of the minor wounds. Here, we can use healing magic."

"I'll do this," Celestia stated and healed the little cuts in Luna's face.

"Good. We can keep you under observation until tomorrow, or you could go home..."

"I want to go home!" Luna immediately proclaimed.

Rapid Cure nodded.

"Okay. You can go home. Call me if something happens. In any case we will meet again tomorrow when I'll change the balm inside the splint. Goodbye, and get well soon."

Antonius picked up Luna, wrapped her up in a blanket, and Celestia teleported them back to the palace right into Luna's quarters.

"Okay, Luna, we're back in your room," Celestia told her.

Luna just nodded.

"Now, what do you want to do?" Antonius asked.

"Oh, maybe I will read a book, or create some nice new constellations," Luna grumbled.

"Luna..."

"Just put me into my bed! The more time I sleep away, the sooner this week will be over!"

Antonius sighed quietly and put her down onto her bed. Luna successfully managed to take of her shoes and tiara, but she had some problems with her necklace. Celestia lit her horn and helped her. It was really impressive that Luna, despite being blindfolded, could glare at somepony.

"I'll take the day off to take care of you," Celestia said firmly.

"What?" Luna shouted,
"oh, no no no. What do you think I am, a helpless little filly? You go and do your duties. I will be fine."

Celestia sighed:

"Are you sure? I could..."

"Of course I am sure!" Luna interrupted her angrily.

Celestia looked at Antonius.

"I'll stay here," he offered.

"I thought you had some engine to build?" Luna snapped.

"That's not really critical at the moment," Antonius answered calmly.

"Could you still go?"

"Nope."

Antonius knew that Luna used her anger as a shield against her vulnerability - he really got good at this social stuff - and since exposing the vulnerabilities of aliens was more or less his job, he would keep on annoying her until she set her emotions free.

"I do not want you to see me now!" she shouted, her voice starting to crack.

"Why?"

"Because... I am helpless, like a little filly," she finally sobbed,
"and it is my own fault! I have been stupid!"

"Well, you're not perfect. Neither am I." Antonius told her.

"And neither am I," Celestia said,
"Luna, it was an accident. Such things happen. You just wanted to help."

"What if I stay this way? Blind and without magic? What will I be good for?"

"Luna, your chances of recovery are excellent. Listen to your big sister: You will be alright."

"What if you are wrong?"

"Well," Antonius started,
"if you really want some sort of worst case scenario: Let's say you will stay blind and without magic. You would still be yourself. Your experience, wisdom and intelligence wouldn't be affected by that. I'm sure you would find ways to contribute to your society. You would adapt to your condition."

"You think?"

"I'm sure. Let's have a look at the case 'Antonius Varus': I was used to hating xenos and magic. I was used to directly fight the enemies of mankind. Now, there are no enemies I can directly fight, so I do my duty indirectly by training friendly magic-wielding aliens how to fight said enemies. I would never have thought something like this to be possible, yet here we are, and I cannot find any flaw in my decisions. While we all try to change things we cannot - or do not want to - adapt to, we also have to adapt to things we cannot change. And do not forget: Staying blind and without magic is a highly unlikely worst-case scenario. You chances for full recovery are overwhelmingly good."

"Antonius is right," Celestia agreed,
"and Luna, no matter what happens, you can always depend on me - and on Antonius, too. Am I right?"

Antonius grinned:

"You can bet your fluffy little flank on that."

Luna smiled again and said:

"If you tell me where you are, I will pull you into a group hug."

"No problem, sis," Celestia smiled and shoved Antonius towards Luna before joining in on the hug.

"Such sappy episodes happen quite often around here, don't they?" Antonius asked, still grinning.

"Sometimes that's just necessary," Celestia told him with a wink, then she continued:
"Now, Luna, what are we going to do now?"

"If you do not mind, I would like to get some sleep," Luna answered.

"Shall we both stay?"

"No, that's not necessary. It would be nice, however, if one of you could stay."

Celestia turned to Antonius:

"Okay. Do you want to continue working on your engine while I stay here, or do you want to stay here while I go to do my duties?"

"I'll stay here for the time being."

"Okay. I'll still try to look after the both of you as soon as I can. Later!"

Celestia left. Luna snuggled into her bed and was soon asleep. Antonius just waited.
Some time ago, Luna had done the same when he had been incapacitated by the poison joke. Now, it was his time to return the favor.

Luna slept fitfully, until she suddenly sat up and shouted:

"Cellie! Tony! Are you here?"

"Of course I'm here," Antonius answered calmly.

Luna sunk beck into her sheets and turned towards him.

"Damnit," she mumbled,
"this is most unnerving. I am the Princess of the Night. I usually like darkness, but not this kind. Not at all."

"Don't worry, this week will be over quickly, and in the meantime, just use me as a replacement for your eyesight and magic."

"Oh, that will get especially interesting when we try to move the moon. Perhaps we could try something impact-based?" Luna grinned.

"Shut up and sleep," Antonius laughed, then he put his hand on Luna's neck and stroked her a few times.
"Thank you for staying at my side," Luna mumbled and fell asleep again.

Well, her injuries had really taken a toll on her. He would stay at her side and try to cheer her up until she felt better again. A little bit of silliness would probably do wonders in that regard.

As Luna woke up again, she could still feel Antonius' hand on her neck. He must have stayed beside her for at least... how long?

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Almost time for dinner," he answered.

"Good. I'm somewhat hungry. Has my sister been here?"

"Several times."

"Have you taken turns?"

"No, I've been here the whole day."

"You missed lunch?"

"No. Celestia brought something and we ate here."

"What did she say about your hand on my neck?"

"Nothing. But she really is capable of a suggestive grin."

Luna snickered, then there was a knock at the door.

"Probably dinner..." Antonius opined and pulled his hand back.

Not being able to see, Luna perked up her ears and listened. First, steps on the floor, then, the door.

"Dinner for Princess Luna and you," a voice said.

"Thank you," Antonius answered.

The door was closed and there were steps again, then Antonius stated:

"Dinner for two."

"What's for dinner?" Luna asked.

"It's..."

A pause.

"It's..."

Sounds of sniffing?

"It's..."

Now it sounded like he was chewing.

"It's green!" he finished.

Luna laughed. She wasn't sure if he really had no idea what it was, or if he just goofed around. She did not even care.

"As long as it is not furry or trying to run away, I will give it a try," she said.

"Okay," Antonius answered.

Luna could hear the sound of metal on porcelain, then:

"Freighter 'Fork' to station 'Luna': requesting docking permission."

What?

"Tony, seriously, I am not a little filly - and I can eat myself."

"By stuffing your muzzle into your food?"

"Umm... well... crap. Okay, I guess feeding me really makes sense, no matter how embarrassing it is. Just one question."

"Yes?"

"Station 'Luna' to freighter 'Fork': What is your cargo?"

"Some green stuff," Antonius said flatly after a second.

"Sounds delicious," Luna smiled.

Antonius shoved the fork into her mouth and - having 'delivered the cargo' - pulled it out again. Luna chewed.

"Mmmhh... some kind of vegetable puree. Not bad. I am just surprised there were no docking sound-effects."

"You know, there's no sound in space," Antonius told her.

"In movies, there is."

"You have movies about space?"

"Yes, for all I know. I will try to get some of them once I can see again if you would like."

"Yes, definitely. Seeing how your species imagines space to be would certainly be interesting."

After they had had dinner, Luna got up.

"Now, Luna," Antonius asked,
"what do you usually do after getting up?"

"I take a shower."

"A shower?"

"Yes."

He-he. There was no way Antonius would give her a shower.

"Well... umm... okay. A shower it shall be."

Wait, what?

Luna felt that she was lifted and carried around. According to the sound of Antonius' footsteps, he had really brought her into the bathroom, where he put her down again.

"Wait a second, I'll be back in a moment," Antonius said and darted out of the bathroom. He soon came back and mumbled:
"Step 1: Tie up horse using a quick-release knot...".

WHAT? He couldn't be serious...

"... nah, I'll go for 'place pony in shower / bathtub'. Completed," he announced.

"Better, but actually, I do not think this whole thing is really necessary," Luna said, a little intimidated.

"Okay, but... one week without a shower? Or a bath?"

"Oh... you are right... well, then... umm... continue."

She could hear him rummaging about, then he said:

"Hmm... 'Mane and Tail'... 'Fur and Feathers'... hey, that's almost like another instruction manual!"

Another?

"Keep your eyes closed, Luna, I'll remove the blindfold during this procedure."

He was really going to pull that trough...

A moment later, Luna could feel a little whiff on her eyelids again, then Antonius said:

"Okay, pony ready for shower, brush ready, shower gel, -foam or whatever is also ready. Then, let's begin."

He was REALLY going to pull that trough!

"Step 2: Comb horse to remove dirt... also not necessary, you're not really dirty."

Why did Luna get the feeling that he was following some obscure list?

"Step 3: Wash horse's face."

"Tony, you know I am a pony, right?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry."

Now Luna could feel the soft touch of a wet sponge on her face. Once Antonius had finished wiping her face clean, he declared:

"Done. Step 4: Wet the... pony."

Luna could feel the shower's water jet, first on her front legs, then on her hind legs. Finally, the rest of her body had a turn.

"Done. Pretty easy. Step 5: Clean the pony's an... oh."

"What?" Luna demanded to know,
"what are you doing? Why are you always talking about 'steps'?"

"I stumbled upon a manual how to wash horses in the ancient book we discovered. It was lying on your desk. I didn't read that part at first, but now I'm following the list."

Luna wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. She choose the former.

"Tony, forget that list. Just use a little common sense. And hands off the part you just almost mentioned!"

"Okay, you're the boss."

Antonius started washing her mane. Except for a comment about 'a whole lot of hair', nothing weird happened - aside the fact itself that she got a shower. Having her tail washed was a bit more embarrassing, but she ignored that feeling. Antonius wanted to help her, she couldn't be too sensitive.

Now he started washing her neck, then her back and wings. It was still awkward, but Luna had to admit that the warm water combined with the massaging effect of the brush were also quite relaxing. When Antonius reached her tail, he stopped.

"Well, Luna, I think I need your specific permission to go on now. Or should I get Tia to do this?"

"Huh? You want to go to my sister, into the throne room, and declare that you need help washing my hindquarters? That would be even more embarrassing than you doing it!"

"Well, try to look at it that way: It certainly won't be as embarrassing as waking up sandwiched between two ponies."

"Oh... the poison joke incident... can you tell me why we are always getting into such situations? I mean, it is almost as if the innuendos are deliberately looking for us!"

"Hmm... if I didn't know that the universe is uncaring, I'd say it wants to make fun of us. Now, what shall I do?"

Luna sighed:

"Just go on. I will pretend not to be present."

"Okay, and I will pretend that you are... a pet? Perhaps a dog?"

"I certainly will not say 'woof'."

"Uh... then I'll just add it to my list of weird things I'll never talk about. I'm just thankful for that skinfold... In the meantime, you could think about the heat dissipation of plasma reactors in different environmental conditions."

"I could do whaAAAAYYYYIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!"

"Done!" Antonius proclaimed,
"the worst part is over. Was my distraction successful?"

"Not entirely," Luna answered flatly.

That had definitely been embarrassing. And awkward. But Antonius was right: compared to the things that had happened to him, it was barely worth mentioning.

After that, Luna's legs were quickly done and she could feel the warm water as Antonius rinsed off the foam.
Now she was clean. Wet, but clean.

She climbed out of her bathtub, guided by Antonius, then he started to rub her down - including more slightly awkward moments.

"Done!" Antonius finally said,
"now, do you use hair dryers or something?"

"Yes, there is such a device in the cupboard," Luna told him.

She heard how Antonius opened the cupboard, then he exclaimed:

"Holy Terra! What is this?"

"What do you mean? Is something wrong?"

"This is the first hair dryer ever to emit melta vibes!"

"Umm... it's size?"

"Yep. I somehow feel heavily armed now."

"Well, as a pony I do have hair and fur all over my body. I need something powerful. It was actually one of the first gadgets I bought after I returned from the moon. A thousand years ago, we did not have electricity, but nowadays, I find this dryer to be really useful."

"Okay," Antonius snickered,
"then, Luna, be prepared to be blown away!"

Luna could be wrong, but she thought that Antonius had quite some fun using the hair dryer on her. He really could be silly sometimes. Too bad she couldn't see him.

When he had finished and the dryer went silent again, he chuckled:

"Nice. Oh..."

"Is something wrong?" Luna inquired.

"Your fluffiness is currently off the scale. I need a comb or something..."

After this last step, Luna was ready and Antonius put the blindfold on her again. Then, they left the bath. A little 'thud' told Luna that Antonius had returned the book to her desk, then he helped her into her necklace, tiara and shoes.

Now, Luna heard the door open, followed by her sister's voice:

"Ah, Luna! I just wanted to check on you before going to bed. How are you doing? Your moon is in the night sky and will stay there till morning. Any plans for the night?"

"I am fine, sister," Luna answered,
"but I honestly have no idea what to do now... Tony, are going to keep me company?"

"Of course," Antonius answered.

"Hmm... what about you continue your work on this new engine? That way, its completion will not be delayed too much, and it is irrelevant if I sit around in my room or in the armorium."

"Well, if you want to," Antonius said.

"Okay, you two," Celestia said, and it sounded as if she smiled,
"have fun."

Antonius led Luna down into the armorium and started working on the engine. He kept an eye on her, though. She was sitting at his side and waited. Damnit, this had to be incredibly boring for her. He tried to change that by describing what he did, and Luna listened patiently.

A few hours later, they decided to take a break and Luna insisted that Antonius took a little nap. He tried to tell her that that was completely unnecessary, but his success was somewhat limited. So they went back to Luna's room and Antonius had his prescribed hour of sleep. And he had thought he took care of her...

Antonius woke up again as he felt some pressure on his chest. He immediately opened his eyes and saw Luna, lying on him and smiling. Was that her way of waking him up?

"What...? he started, but Luna interrupted him.

"Oh, good, you are awake," she said in a soft voice,
"you know, Tony, I realized that I have a... specific desire, and you are the right one helping me to satisfy it."

WHAT? Judged by the situation, Antonius had an idea what she meant, even if it was impossible in more than one way. Was that a side effect of her injuries?

Luna lowered her head a bit and continued, her voice almost seductive:

"What would you say if the both of us, you and I..."

Antonius wished he had his armor.

"... go to the kitchen to get some chocolate cake?"

"HUH???"

Now Luna started laughing:

"Gotcha!"

"Luna!" Antonius groaned,
"that was not really funny, you know."

"Of course I know. I could not see your startled expression, after all."

"Luna..."

"Hey, I am sorry, but I just wanted somepony else to be in a bit of an embarrassing situation, since it happened to me all day. Now, we can be embarrassed together!"

In Antonius' opinion, bonding over embarrassments was a really strange idea, but at least Luna had laughed heartily.

"Fine," Antonius sighed,
"as long as you don't get carried away with it. Just don't ask again why we always get into such situations."

Now they went to the kitchen and found the cake Luna was 'desiring'. After sharing it - Luna had to be fed again - Antonius put his hand on her neck and led her back through the hallways of the castle. This was the method he had used for guiding her for the whole day if he hadn't carried her. Now, he had an impractical idea, but he was sure it would be good for a joke and allow him to get back at Luna:

"You know, Luna, I think it would be easier to guide you if you wore your bridle. I could hook my fingers into it and steer you much more precisely."

"What?" Luna asked, slightly appalled,
"and then, you will realize it would be even better to put me on a leash, huh?"

"Wow, you're right! I hadn't even thought about that!"

"Being dragged around on a leash? In public? No, thank you! I definitely prefer it the way it currently is."

"Gotcha!" Antonius grinned.

"What? You... oh, that was good... I really fell for that," Luna admitted with a smile.

They had barely walked a few meters as Luna continued:

"You know, if you want to put me on a leash in private, we could talk about that..."

"WHAT???"

"GOTCHA!" Luna cheered.

Antonius decided not to try to get back at her this time. The chance of further escalation was too high.

They spent some more time in the armorium and Antonius continued his work. Then, when the night was almost over, they headed back to Luna's quarters.

After sunrise, Celestia visited them and they had breakfast together. Not long after the princess had left, they were visited by Rapid Cure.

"Hello Princess Luna, hello Antonius!" the doctor greeted as he entered the room,
"how are you feeling? Any complaints?"

"No, doctor, I am fine," Luna answered,
"except for my already known ailments, at least."

"I'll have a look at your eyes, just a moment."

Rapid Cure took off her blindfold and examined her eyes.

"Doctor, is it possible that the black has become sort of... grayish?" Luna suddenly asked.

"Yes, that's possible, and it's a good sign. You should still wear the blindfold for a few days to favor your eyes. Now, let me have a look at your horn... and Princess: Please resist the temptation to use your magic once the splint is off."

He wrapped a new blindfold around Luna's head and removed the splint from her horn. Then, he examined the notch in Luna's horn.

"Good. It's healing," he told them with a smile.

Luna breathed a sigh of relief and Rapid Cure cleaned the splint and filled it with new balm. Having done that, he put it back to Luna's horn. She shivered again.

"Well, that's it for today," the doctor said,
"I'll come back tomorrow. If you need me sooner, call for me."

He left and Antonius and Luna were alone again.

"Okay, what now?" Antonius asked.

"A nap," Luna answered.

Good, that meant that they had survived the first night of Luna's convalescence.
Only six more to come.

The next two days went quite similar to the first one, with one noteworthy exception: When Rapid Cure took off Luna's blindfold on the second day, she was able to see again. Her horn also made good progress.

A few days after she had regained her eyesight, Luna was standing in the shower once again. Antonius washed her, as he had done the past days. The first time had been really awkward, even for him, but it was amazing how quickly they had become sort of accustomed to that procedure. Now, it was probably the last time they had to do this.

Once Luna was washed and rubbed down, it was time for one of Antonius' favorite parts: the hair dryer. He liked that wannabe meltagun. The way it made Luna's mane and tail fly, moved by something more mundane than her magic, was somehow funny, let alone how she looked after that procedure.

"You know, I think I'm going to miss that once you can use your magic again," Antonius told her with a grin.

"Well, I will certainly be happy once I can take care of myself again," she answered,
"I have to admit, though, that being pampered to such an extent has its advantages once you get used to it."

When Luna was ready to leave her quarters, they had dinner with Celestia. According to her, the new possible fuels for the Land Speeder were ready for the first tests. After that, Antonius and Luna went to the armorium and he continued his work on the jet engine.

"Done," he finally proclaimed,
"now, we can test Tia's fuel."

"In the middle of the night?" Luna pointed out.

"Oh, right. What about tomorrow morning? Won't Rapid Cure take off the splint then? What better way to celebrate that than with a little, potentially dangerous and definitely loud test?"

"I can hardly resist this proposal," Luna laughed.

They spent the rest of the night preparing the test, then they returned to Luna's room.

In the morning, Rapid Cure came around, accompanied by Celestia.

"Good morning, Princess Luna, and good morning, Lord Varus," he greeted,
"let's have a look at your horn, Princess, and see if we can remove the splint permanently."

"I really would welcome that," Luna opined.

She held still while the doctor removed the splint and examined her horn.

"Okay, looks good. Outstanding, even. There are no visible traces of the notch left. Now, Princess, please slowly reactivate your magic."

Luna nodded, and a faint glow surrounded her freed horn. This glow intensified, and with a grin from Luna, it became a blinding light.

"Princess! I said 'slowly'!" Rapid Cure shouted, but it was unnecessary:

Luna's horn held, her mane and tail returned to their usual night-sky look and started flowing again, and she exclaimed:

"HUZZAH! THY PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT HAS RETURNED!!!"

Rapid Cure looked a little dazed now.

"Swell," he mumbled and shook his head to clear it.

Luna picked him up and hugged him, which did not improve his condition. When she put him down again, he looked dazed and mangled.

"Always at you service, Princess. Goodbye, everypony," he babbled and staggered out of the room.

"I wanted to ask how you feel," Celestia smiled,
"but I think I already know the answer."

"Indeed, sister," Luna cheered,
"I feel great! I am ready for anything! Some potentially dangerous testing of your new fuel, for example!"

"Do you really want to..."

"Of course!"

"Then, the engine is ready, I guess?"

"It is," Antonius confirmed.

"Let us go down!" Luna said enthusiastically and took the lead.

"Give me a minute to put on my armor," Antonius said.

When he was ready, they went down to the imperial base.

As Celestia entered the armorium, she could see the jet engine Antonius had built mounted on a rack on one of the workbenches. Next to it, a little elevated, was the empty fuel tank, connected to the engine by an injection system - she had had a look at Antonius' plans some time ago. The setup was completed by an anemometer at some distance behind the engine.

"Tia, would you please get your fuel samples? I'll check the engine one last time," Antonius asked her.

Celestia nodded, fetched the first sample and went over to Antonius.

"While, according to my calculations, all samples should work, this one is the least volatile," she told him.

"Okay, thank you," Antonius answered, finished his inspection and poured the fuel into the tank.

They all retreated to a safety distance, then Luna asked eagerly:

"May I?"

Celestia had to smile. Now that her little sister had her magic back, she couldn't wait to use it.

"Just as discussed, Luna. Everypony ready?" Antonius inquired.

Oh, they had already made plans for this test. Well, they had had quite some time while they had been down here.

"Yes," Celestia answered.

"Then, let's start."

Luna lit her horn, and the fan of the engine started spinning.

"Fuel and ignition in 3... 2... 1..." Luna told them.

Then it got loud.
The engine sped up and emitted a deafening scream. At its rear end, a constant jet of flame darted out, together with rainbow-colored fumes. Celestia had been quite impressed by the little combustion engine, but this thing was insane.
And loud. Really loud. Antonius and Luna were still louder as they cheered, though.

The test was over after a few seconds and Antonius, noting down the results shown by the anemometer, said:

"Excellent work, Princesses. Now, let's give the engine some time to cool down, then we can test the next sample."

"Okay, I will return to my duties for... let's say an hour, then I will return. See you," Celestia said and left, proud of her work.

"In the meantime, you can explain to me how this Land Speeder works," Luna grinned.

"Sure," Antonius answered and they went into the hangar.

Luna immediately hopped into the vehicle and seated herself on the passenger seat. Antonius looked at her and noted:

"I just realized we have another problem to solve."

"What problem?" Luna asked.

"We need some sort of restraint system to prevent you from accidentally falling out of the Speeder. My armor locks itself in place, but you..."

"Hmm... what do you suggest?"

Antonius scratched his head:

"You know, there is an option that somewhat springs to my mind. Even if it's slightly unsettling. Do you remember that I told you I did NOT want to put you into a harness? Well... such a harness would be a solution."

"Are you sure this is not just a burst of uncontrollable passion?" Luna chuckled.

"Luna. No. Do you have a better idea how to prevent you from possibly getting hurt?"

Luna thought about that, then she answered with a grin:

"Well, it would certainly work out - if we can find anypony capable of making such a harness. And it would really be a return to the original usage of such a harness if we used it to NOT get hurt."

"Luna... damnit," Antonius sighed.