It finally is finished!

Thanks to the awesome support of Sweetolebob18 I was able to finally finish the chapter.

Panic.

A sudden sensation of fear, so strong as to dominate one’s mind and to prevent reasoning and logical thinking. An emotion causing overwhelming anxiety and frantic agitation often combined with an animalistic fight-or-flight instinct.

Twilight knew what panic was, after all, she had studied it thoroughly.

There had been times in history where panic had saved the day. Admittedly though, there had also been times where panic had done much the opposite.

As a matter of fact, Twilight knew every last event in recent history in which panic had been the reason or consequence of major actions ponies had partaken in.

And if someone were to believe her friends and family, Twilight herself was prone to panic.

Briefly remembering when she was young, Cadance had always lectured her how panic would not help her with her anxieties and that she had studied hard enough if an eventual surprise test came from her mentor.

It never helped.

Though, the tests never came either.

Admittedly, panic had also been the cause of one of her greatest mistakes, yet, while having many negative examples at hoof, Twilight didn’t dare to count the number of situations in which panic would have helped her or other ponies.

Besides, panic was a natural reaction to stress and uncertain situations. It helped the one experiencing it through enhancing their fight-or-flight instincts and had been one of the main reasons ponykind survived millions of years ago.

To make matters short, her fine-tuned sense of herself sounded every alarm it could possibly do.

To add to her supposed mania a faint echo of her mother’s voice sounded through her head as she observed the situation, “don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic…”

Yep, now was definitely the right time to panic.

Finding herself at a loss for what to do, as flight was no option while Princess Luna had buried herself in the back of her head and was currently squeezing her to her chest, and fight was, for obvious reasons, no option either, Twilight settled for an awkward chuckle.

While normally this would have been the pinnacle of her dreams, Twilight found that she could not enjoy the current moment as much as she would have liked.

Squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for her eventual combustion in shame, Twilight suddenly felt the sensation of another’s muzzle gently teasing alongside her own.

“It is good to see you awake, little one,” Celestia said, her voice near one of her ears and carrying with it the motherly tone which had always helped to calm her in the past.

It didn’t help now though, and to make matters worse, it did much the opposite.

Chuckling awkwardly once more, Twilight carefully opened her eyes to find the white muzzle of Celestia gently nosing against her own.

She was so close, so tantalizing close, her lips so inviting, so perfect and yet so far away as they seemed to call out to her.

Being regarded with what felt like relief washing over Celestia’s beautiful face, her attention flicked over from Celestia’s face to that of her sister periodically before a quiet chuckle, restrained yet still present, escaped her lips.

“Sister dearest, I do believe you might need to let her go for now, or I am afraid that blush of hers might become permanent,” she said, her voice normal, yet carrying a teasing note which was definitely not for Twilight’s liking.

A whine of disappointment sounding from behind her, Luna slowly let go of her shoulders and settled back into a lounging position, her pout visible as she regarded her sister with a glare. “Canst we not simply be happy that our friend is finally back among the living, sister?” she asked, her voice full of disappointment.

The blush her former mentor had mentioned, was now suddenly in the forefront of her mind in which Twilight briefly wondered if it was possible to blush even more. As she felt the sensation of blood rushing to her cheeks, a quick and even more embarrassing answer was swiftly found.

Not daring to move, Twilight glanced from one Princess to the next, her gaze flicking over to the door and mentally calculating if she would be able to reach it before either of them could do anything against it.

As if reading her thoughts, Celestia, too, resettled into a more comfortable position, her front hooves stretched before her, effectively placed in Twilight’s path and her hind legs gently tucked to her side.

Celestia’s wings gently brushing against her own, Twilight shuddered slightly as her former mentor looked her over with care.

Neither Princess said anything for a time, both just looked at her to see what happened next as an air of silence slowly settled into the room.

Still tense and on edge, Twilight felt the seconds ticking by, each and every one of them feeling like hours upon hours without end. Her gaze flicked between both Princesses, Celestia was giving her her full attention while Luna idly dozed beside her, only her perked ears betraying her attention. And while Twilight had of course heard the expression of dying of embarrassment, the hope of herself having a merciful and quick end, if it ever came to it, was now slowly withering and dying a painful and horrible death in her mind faced with the realization that embarrassment would surely only do this particular job very, very slowly.

Her ears falling flat on the back of her head, another awkward chuckle escaped her lips and she slowly tried to find a position in which the scrutinizing eyes of both Celestia and Luna wouldn’t find her.

To her great dismay though, there wasn’t one.

And while Celestia’s glance only conveyed her worry for her, Twilight couldn’t help but feel intimidated and judged by it, backing away slowly like a scolded cat before bumping into Luna and almost jumping out of her fur in shock that she had forgotten that she was still somewhat trapped in between both Princesses.

Awkwardly shuffling around and forcing herself to relax, she let herself sink onto the mattress, her thoughts racing, while her head felt emptier than it had ever felt before.

Why was she here?

Why had she been sleeping, out of all possible places, here?

What happened?

As the shock of her awakening slowly ebbed away, she forced herself to forget about the here and now for a moment and tried to piece together what had happened. Her mind helpfully supplying her with bits and pieces, she mentally went through what happened yesterday.

Skipping forward, the first jarring thing that came to mind was that she hadn’t enjoyed what Aloe had done to her, not that it was Aloe’s fault or that this was helping her right now, so she shook her head and moved on.

Then, there had been Spike.

And a letter.

The letter had caused her to be angry.

Then, everything had been white.

She remembered a sensation of shattering glass, of confusion and then the sudden sensation of falling.

There had been Canterlot. There had been her family’s home.

And a shield.

A fight.

Her parents.

The last thought echoed through her head. They had been in danger! Twilight’s breath hitched.

Had they been all right? Trying to remember, her heart started beating faster and faster for every second she couldn’t remember.

Had she been able to save them?

She had tried, she remembered, but had it worked?

She had exchanged them for herself.

“Had it worked?” The thought once again echoed through her head.

She remembered fighting, and anger.

But after that, the last thing she remembered was Celestia in tears and Luna in shock.

Had she been able to free her parents? Had she been able to free herself?

She remembered being bound, yet now she wasn’t.

Everything felt so real, yet so surreal at once. What if this was all a hallucination? If she was still trapped with those terrorists? What if this was a dream or… or an illusion? An illusion to keep her calm?

Her breath hitching again, Twilight instinctively lit her horn and tried to channel magic through it, determined to get out of…

Yet, as soon as she did so, a head-splitting sensation of pain shot through her forehead.

Crying out in agony she forced her hooves to her head, futilely trying to dampen the pain with the pressure of her hooves as she tumbled to her side and curled herself into a ball, intent of shielding herself even further.

“Ow,” she whined, the pain only slowly ebbing away as she rubbed the base of her horn.

Somewhere in her brain a realization slowly struck, the fact that she felt pain made it painstakingly clear to her that she at least wasn’t in a dream.

One out of three possibilities ruled out.
Would she not have to hold her head in agony right now, Twilight would have smiled.

The silence broken and her concern piqued at seeing Twilight curl up in sudden agony, Celestia glanced to her sister for a second, “Is everything all right, Twilight,” she asked, the teasing voice from before gone and replaced with worry.

Shaking her head, Twilight pressed her eyes shut, “It hurts,” she quietly whined, feeling as if thousands of needles had simultaneously been sunk into her scalp.

Raising an eyebrow, Celestia carefully crept closer and laid a hoof to the trembling forehead of her former student. It was warm to the touch, but not too warm. Yet Twilight still pressed her hoofs against her head in agony.

She frowned.

Before Celestia could ask any more though, Twilight slowly shook her head and forced her eyes open, her gaze all but piercing through her with its intensity, “How… how are my parents,” she asked, her voice strained but determined.

Trying to bury her concern for now, Celestia stopped for a second before she replied softly, her voice lowered, “They are fine, Twilight, you saved them,” she stated, her gaze glancing to her sister pleadingly.

Luna, who had already lit her horn and conjured up a glass of water, was currently busy with carefully offering it to Twilight through nudging it against the tip of her nose, “Thou shouldst drink, Friend,” she calmly said, her expression of boredom gone and replaced with worry as well.

Shaking her head to clear it from the illusion Luna would know more, Celestia carefully nuzzled herself closer to Twilight, offering a space under her wing which the young alicorn almost happily seemed to take. Her worries piqued, Celestia let her wing gently fall onto the younger pony and regarded her with concern, “Do you… remember?” she carefully asked, trying to keep her voice low so as not to add any further to her friend’s misery.

Draining the cup of water like a pony leaving the desert, Twilight almost overlooked the question. Clutching the empty glass between her hoofs, she regarded it for a second before she held it up to her forehead as she softly nodded and replied, “I think so, yes,” she said, her voice raspy yet calculated.

Looking up from the glass and staring at Luna for a second, Twilight’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, “H-how do I know that you are real?” she asked carefully, trying not to offend anyone if her suspicion proved to be wrong.

Raising an eyebrow, Luna looked at Twilight and then to her sister with confusion. While Celestia just stared back at her, a bemused smile on her lips, Luna almost followed her urge to question Twilight on what she meant.

While she had dealt with many oddities over her years, that particular question was nothing she had to answer often enough to have a reliable phrase to use. Yet, pondering over the sudden inquiry and remembering that it was Twilight, the personal student of her sister, who had asked that question, a sudden realization slowly blossomed in her mind.

What if her sister had somewhat trained her for the event of her being abducted? It made sense, seeing that many could harbor ill intentions towards the personal student of a Princess.

Looking back at her sister once more and only seeing the self-satisfied smile of her once again, Luna had to suppress a sigh and a sudden fit of chuckles before she could answer, “Oh, dear Twilight, that is certainly the question, is it not?”

Having a hard time suppressing her chuckles as well, Celestia nodded, “Well, it is a valid question, I suppose,” she thought aloud. “After all, we could simply be an illusion or something alike, supposed to keep our friend here company and trying to figure out state secrets,” she said, her smirk almost audible in her voice, “this though, begs the question on how we ought to prove that we are real, and by extension not an illusion.” She concluded, wrapping her wing tighter around Twilight’s mid-section.

Nodding along, a quiet “eep” escaped her lips as Celestia tightened her wing.

“On one hoof, I should be proud,” Celestia continued, making Twilight suddenly blush anew. “On the other, I do believe I should be agasp too, because if this is the first thing to think about when you wake up next to us, then I am all but certain I did something wrong when teaching you,” she said, making Twilight shake her head frantically.

“No, no, no, I… I just, I am sorry, I just thought…” Twilight tried frantically, but Celestia paid it no mind and simply continued.

“Though, this still begs the question on how we are supposed to prove that we are real,” she explained, looking to her sister, who poorly hid a fit of chuckles behind her hoof.

Looking away, she made a show of thinking over the question for a moment before she gave Twilight a sidelong glance, “Well, I suppose I always could prove it this way,” she said, and quickly but gently pushed Twilight to the side, making her roll onto her back and bare her belly while the already forgotten glass rolled harmlessly to the edge of the bed before Luna absently picked it up and placed it on the nightstand.

Assaulting the now exposed underside of her former student, Celestia quickly flicked her right-wing up and down Twilight’s chest fluff and upper belly, making her squirm and gasp in irrepressible laughter.

Effectively trapping the young pony in place, Celestia continued to think aloud, “Though it is oddly common for ponies to be ticklish somewhere and it proves to be poor evidence for the matter, especially at their most vulnerable places like the belly,” she stated dismissively and proved her point by spreading her feathers wider, making Twilight laugh even harder and not giving her any breathing room to escape as she continued to assault her with her wing, her gaze still turned away and upholding the pretense of her thinking over the question, “A more solid proof would be to tell you something only I would know, which would range from knowing your favored dish, which would be all sorts of sandwiches or dishes with daffodils, to the sort of books you always asked me to read when you were young, which would be one of the Star Swirl the Bearded collection,” she continued, one hoof thoughtfully hold under her chin as if to think.

Sniggering and having to actively stuff a hoof into her muzzle, Luna had to work hard not to break out in roaring laughter herself as she watched her sister make Twilight kick and flail helplessly under her ministrations. Twilight’s attempts at holding back her own laughter had already been given up in hopes of easing her breathing and/or escape.

“Ha… I… ha… I yield… I… I yield” Twilight gasped aloud between laughs, her breathing growing quicker and her sides starting to hurt, “I yield, I believe, I… stop… I can’t… I yield… please.”

Ignoring Twilight’s remarks, Celestia continued as if nothing had happened, yet her mind quickly filed the fact away that Twilight had kept her habit of giving up like she had done when she was a filly and had to have been tickled into submission to either calm or reassure her, “Yet, I also could bring out one of the many things you made for me over the years, as nobody would ever be able to get their hoofs onto those things.” She continued, watching Twilight attempting to flee from her offending appendage, “I could, just to prove my point… also move the sun, yet this could be imitated by the one casting the illusion by simply changing the lighting of said illusion,” she explained, finally letting go of her former student, who by now was gasping for breath next to her, “Besides, that would only serve to make me seem fake even more as you would know I would never do something like this without a very good reason.”

Shrugging and turning around, Celestia carefully laid her head down onto Twilight’s chest, as she had done so in the past, again trapping Twilight under her and looking into her former student’s eyes directly, “Or, I could tell you of the many adventures you and your brother had in my castle and the gardens when you grew up, or the silly little dance you and my niece always performed when you two met.” She said, grinning at her former student, who only slowly got back to her senses. “I could also recite the many situations in which you have attempted to rob me of one of my forehoofs with your absolutely adorable attempts at giving me a hug when you greeted me when you were younger,” she finished, smiling at Twilight and causing her blush to find its way back onto her cheeks.

“Tia, thou are cruel,” Luna stated, laughing.

All Twilight could do though, was nod and blush at Celestia, who wasn’t about to move away so she could possibly stand up.

Closing her eyes, Celestia exhaled through her nose, “But if I may ask, am I correct in my assumption that you tried to figure that out through your magic?” Celestia asked, her expression turning serious for a second, “Possibly, for example, with a four-dimensional location spell?” she asked, grinning anew and drawing a nod from the pony beneath her.

Humming, she sighed again and got up, “Well, I presume that this might be the aftereffect of the poison you so readily swallowed, my dear,” she stated, looking down at her former student and changing the subject.

Already missing the warmth and the contact with her former mentor, Twilight slowly turned around, one hoof absentmindedly reaching to her forehead and gently rubbing under her horn, “But I thought that we… didn’t you say once to me that… well… we are immune to poisons?” she asked, her voice thoughtful and slowly regaining its normal quality.

“We are not,” Luna stated, as a matter of fact, drawing a surprised glance from Twilight, “it is simply that our bodies are able to recover from what would normally be a lethal dose of poisoning. We do not die from it, nor come close to the effects we hath seen some alchemical brews hath wrought upon other ponies,” she said, a barely visible shudder going over her body, “yet, we are not immune to them either,” she explained, waiting for her sister to nod in confirmation, “while we do not perish from such simple concoctions, or from the complex, for that matter, they can, quite effectively so, harm us in other ways,” she gestured to Twilight’s horn.

“I assume that whatever you have taken was not intended to kill you,” Celestia helpfully supplied, “but rather to stop you from using your magic and therefore restrict you in your capabilities to fight,” she added.

Nodding along, Twilight laid her ears back, “Which, well, seems to have worked as intended,” she said, lighting her horn in demonstration but wincing as soon as her magic flowed through it.

Politely clearing her voice and drawing the attention back to herself, Celestia continued, “While I suspect that our bodies do not react negatively to something unless it would truly be harmful to us, my sadly many observations have shown that we seem to react differently to what would normally kill a mortal pony,” she explained, thoughtful, “I think that our magic is somewhat helping our bodies to cope with such substances, seeing that it is also responsible for our enhanced regenerative capabilities,” she added.

Shrugging, Luna smiled, “Said in other words, we are simply too stubborn to perish from poisons,” she joked.

Rolling her eyes, Celestia shook her head, “Which is not to say there aren’t consequences, though,” she said, turning back to Twilight, and suppressing an involuntary shudder, “Cyanide, for example, will manage to make it hard for us to stay conscious,” she mused, growing a distant look, “as I can personally attest to as I have spent multiple days tied to my chambers, barely able to get up and half-unconscious the rest of the time after consuming a dose able to fry half an army,” she said, her tone normal as if speaking of the weather.

While Twilight’s mouth fell open, Luna sniggered as she remembered, “Though, thou hast to admit the faces of our guards and the assassin were priceless as thou chucked down half a bottle of that stuff right in front of them before sending him to jail,” Luna said, barely holding her composure.

Shrugging, Celestia smiled at Twilight, who stared back at her, her mouth hanging half-open in disbelief, “Such feats every once in a while, do certainly help in reducing such attempts in the first place though,” she stated, barely holding the laughter back herself.

“B-but isn’t that dangerous? What if it would have k…”

“Oh, hush now, Twilight, my sister and I have survived much worse than that,” Celestia said, slowly pushing Twilight’s mouth shut, “besides, right now, I am more worried about you than I am over what we have done thousands of years back,” she explained, moving her hoof so as to cup Twilight’s cheeks.

Blushing, Twilight only managed to stare back at Celestia, involuntarily leaning a bit into the touch and hoping her former mentor simply wouldn’t notice.

Celestia though, noticed just fine, but opted not to say anything and rather looked into her former student’s eyes, seeing what seemed like an affectionate quiver inside of them. Letting her hoof linger on her cheek just for a moment longer, she drew her hoof back, letting it fall back onto the mattress and looked her over. “Hmm, how about you, my sister and I take a nice long bath together?” she finally said, breaking the silence and glancing at her sister, who perked up at the suggestion.

Her silent hope that Twilight would do the same was quashed though, as her ears fell back onto her head and she looked down at her hoofs, looking for all the world as if she was haunted and shaking her head slowly.

Raising an eyebrow, Celestia cocked her head for a moment, yet, before she could say anything, Luna spoke up. “Why ever not?” she asked, her own head laid askew, and her wings rustling.

Blushing even more, Twilight glanced to both ponies for a moment before looking back at her hoofs, frantically thinking and searching for a good reason to deny the request as she feared that seeing both her crushes bathing with her would make her already lewd dreams only worse, “I… I can’t,” she said, her voice small and uncertain, “I… I need to see my parents first,” she said, stating the first thing that came to her mind.

Rolling her eyes, and sighing, Celestia nodded slowly, “I see…” she said, her voice purposefully carrying her sorry tone with it, “I do believe we have no right to hold you back from that,” she explained, nodding to the door.

Ducking her head as if struck, Twilight couldn’t believe that this actually worked as she slowly got up from the bed, “I-I am sorry, b-but I need to see them,” she said, the worry in her voice all too real.

Sharing a helpless glance with her sister, Luna sighed as well, “We do believe thou wilt find them in the dining halls, along with thy brother, sister in law and possibly thy companion Spike,” she explained, her head still turned away from the young pony.

Getting up herself, Celestia slowly made her way over to her desk, her tone still holding a disappointed touch to it as she settled down and fixed Twilight with a determined look, “Before you go though, I would ask you to pay doctor Heart Petal a visit.” She said, drawing a slow yet confused nod from Twilight, “She is our personal physician and she tended to you yesterday night as well,” Celestia explained, “and she has expressed health-related interest in you visiting her when you wake up so she can check up on you,” Celestia said, her gaze fixed on Twilight to forestall excuses.

Nodding and turning around, Twilight wordlessly left Celestia’s chambers and pulled the doors shut.

Once Twilight had left, Luna luxuriously stretched on her sister’s bed, her wings flapping and her back arching like a cat before she let herself fall to her side to look at her sister expectantly.

While Celestia pulled out multiple pieces of paper, an ink-pod and one of Philomena’s feathers, and was about to go to work, Luna arched an eyebrow, “It is Sunday, sister, what is so important that thou wouldst start to work at such an hour?” she asked, her head slowly sinking between her hoofs as she regarded her sister.

Not stopping in her writing and not looking up either, Celestia cleared her voice softly, “If you remember, Luna, we gave to certain ponies a promise that we would notify them when Twilight woke up,” she stated diplomatically.

“Ah, so thou art writing to her friend’s now,” Luna asked.

“Among other things, yes,” Celestia confirmed, a smile spreading over her lips, “besides, I fully intend to have her treated to a bit of relaxation when she is finished with her appointments,” she added, making Luna’s head perk up, “after all, the doctor has stated she is supposed to take it easy,” she said her grin spreading, “and knowing my former student, I know that she will need some help with that.”

Intrigued, Luna got up and jumped from the bed to walk to her sisters’ desk, fully intending to help in the creation of such a plan.

Hours later, Twilight trotted along the halls of Canterlot Castle, her mood best described as annoyed by all the fussing that everyone seemed to see necessary around her.

Visiting the great dining hall had been a less than stellar experience. While it had been of great relief to see her parents up and running just fine, her annoyance had started as everyone seemed to feel it necessary to inquire of her wellbeing.

She felt just fine, well…mostly.

After multiple reassurances to her parents, later to Spike, Cadence and last but not least her brother, Twilight was annoyed. Having to answer the same questions over and over again, each one of them more concerned than the other, all that Twilight wanted to do now was to get to her chambers and either have a bath, or to curl up right away with a good book.

Her visit to Heart Petal had been much the same. While she had not been as insistent as her parents or her brother had been, the young doctor saw it as necessary to have her go through a multitude of tests and exams.

Adding to her annoyance, even though Dr. Heart Petal had given her something that would speed up her recovery to allow her the use of her magic quicker, she was still unable to cast even the simplest of levitation spells without her head feeling as if it would split apart. And after Heart Petal had, what felt after hours, also confirmed that she seemed fine, she had finally let her go after a half-hour long explanation that she was supposed to take the next week and, if possible, even the week after that, off.

Yeah, not gonna happen.

She was a Princess now; she couldn’t just take a week off of her royal duties. What would ponies think?

What would Celestia or Luna think?

Yeah, while she fully intended to have a lazy day today, after the one yesterday had been stolen from her, Twilight wasn’t about to let such an event slow her down.

Besides, she still had a couple of things she needed to research now, and her recent experiences only added onto her list.

Lost in her thoughts and rounding the corner leading to her personal royal chambers, a “small” gift from her former mentor as she had put it, she bumped muzzle first into what felt like a pony.

Already annoyed enough and even more so at still not being able to use her magic properly, Twilight didn’t even glance up as she mumbled a halfhearted apology before making to continue her way.

The pony who she had bumped into wasn’t about to let her go so quickly, though. “Well, if that isn’t our dear Princess of Friendship I see,” a male voice carried to her ears and she stopped mid-step, her blood running cold.

Why, of all ponies, had it had to be this one? She mentally cursed fate.

“It is good seeing you up, Your Highness, you have quite startled us all with your little stunt yesterday,” Blueblood said, his distaste for her probably intentionally poorly masked.

Clenching her mouth shut, she ground her teeth against one another before replying, “For what it is worth, I am sorry for making you worry,” she said, still turned away and her voice bordering on annoyed.

If she snapped at him or dismissed him directly, he would surely round up the papers against her again, and while bad press was not her biggest concern right now, she wasn’t willing to have to deal with all of that adding to her list of worries right now.

Walking around her and stepping in front of Twilight, Blueblood looked her into her eyes, “Oh, you misunderstand, Your Highness, I had full confidence that you would succeed,” he stated, nodding to himself, “yet I cannot deny that certain rumors have already begun to spread,” he said, mocking shock, “some of them even expressing your untimely demise, and others telling that you have willingly traded yourself,” he let his voice trail of and made a circular motion with his hoof, “to free a couple of… lower ponies,” he said, punctuating his words with a snort of disgust.

Closing her eyes and inhaling through her nose, Twilight tried to stay calm and composed before opening her eyes again, “What do you want?” she asked, her already crumbling façade cracking slowly.

“Oh, I? Well I was just about to make sure that our youngest Princess was on the way to recovery,” he stated as if not noticing her patience running thin.

Before he could continue with anything else though, another voice rang along the hallway, “Ah, Princess Twilight, there you are,” Celestia said, making Blueblood’s head turn back to look at her, a flick of disappointment running over his face, “We have already been looking for you,” she stated, Luna following her through the hallway.

Reaching where Twilight and Blueblood were still facing, Celestia bowed her head slightly in greeting, “Ah, and good day to you too, Blueblood,” she said, making both motions and tone only as friendly as absolutely necessary.

Kneeling in front of Celestia curtly, Blueblood’s tone shifted to a much friendlier one before replying, “Good day to you, Your Highnesses,” he stated, alternately nodding to Celestia and Luna in respect.

“While I am terribly sorry I have to interrupt this way, I do believe I have to steal Princess Twilight from you, as we have urgent matters to discuss,” she explained, unwaveringly looking at the prostrating stallion in front of her.

“Oh, this is no problem at all, Your Highness,” Blueblood said, “I was just here to wish her a good recovery from her injuries,” he said, waving a hoof.

Unseen to him, Twilight rolled her eyes but otherwise chose to remain calm.

“I do not doubt that,” Celestia said, nodding and slowly starting to continue her walk, opening one of her wings to usher Twilight along, “Twilight, would you please follow us?” she asked, watching Twilight fall in step next to her.

Seeing the relief of being rescued from That Stallion flash over Twilight’s features made her smile and as all three of them had rounded a corner, leaving Blueblood standing in the hallway, Celestia lowered her wing and tucked it back against her side, “Taking from your expression, I saved the morning press right now, didn’t I?” Celestia asked lightly.

Ducking her head and nodding ashamed, Twilight heard both princesses giggle beside her.

Still self-tasked with having a bit of alone time, Twilight looked up at Celestia, “Um, Princess, if I may ask, is there really a reason you wanted to talk to me, or… um… can I go now?” she asked carefully.

Letting a small pout flow into her expression, Celestia cleared her voice, “In a hurry, are we?” she asked, an eyebrow raised.

Hesitating but shaking her head, Twilight chuckled awkwardly, “Well, not directly,” she said, glancing away and at the passing windows, “but, I, well, I was about to go to my chambers to have some time to myself,” she explained.

Falling back and speeding up again, Luna fell in trot next to Twilight, effectively making the young Princess walk between both of her elders, “We were about to go to the royal spa ourselves,” she stated, gently nudging Twilight with a wing, “and we would greatly enjoy thy company as well,” she added.

Chuckling awkwardly and suppressing a blush, Twilight mentally searched for a reason to again deny the request, though this time, her former mentor spoke up first.

“Oh, I have to attest to my sister, it would be nice if you would come along,” she said, her voice trailing off, “if our company is not too much of a bother to you right now, of course.”

Eyes widening, Twilight instinctively shook her head, “Oh no, never, it would never…,” she said, mentally cursing her own inability to contradict Celestia, “I would be happy to come along,” she said, looking up.

Mentally congratulating herself for having got ahold of Twilight that easily, Celestia nodded in acceptance, smiling at the smaller pony and continuing her stride through the long halls of the castle. Not willing to let the conversation die down, she gently nudged Twilight with one of her wings, “So, how went your appointment with Heart Petal?” she asked honestly interested, after rounding yet another corner.

Silently sighing at yet another attempt at acquiring about her wellbeing, Twilight nodded, “It went well, I think,” she said out loud, keeping her eyes straight ahead and avoiding eye contact.

Seeing both Twilight’s suppressed sigh as well as her attempt at avoiding eye contact, Celestia raised an eyebrow, “That is good to hear,” she said, glancing to her sister, who merely shrugged as a reply.

Looking back from her sister to her former student, Celestia added, “And your meeting with your family?”

Mentally stopping at the fact that the question wasn’t directed at her health, Twilight smiled slightly as she replied, “Well, that went better, to be honest. It is good to know that both my mother and my father have survived and that they feel at least good enough to walk around,” she explained happily.

“Tis certainly a good outcome of yesterday,” Luna added, drawing a small nod from Twilight.

“And while I would have been happy to see Flurry as well, it is good to see my brother and Cadance for a change, even though Shining is currently blaming himself for not being there in time to help,” Twilight added.

“Well, the breakpoint of a fight or the resulting situation and mood are probably not the best place for a young filly of her age,” Celestia said, a fond smile on her lips at thinking of her grandniece,

Nodding, Twilight continued, “Yeah, you might be right,” she said, looking up and at Celestia, before blushing and quickly averting her gaze.

Rounding yet another corner, Celestia and Luna came to a stop in front of a large wooden double door, Twilight barely realizing that they had stopped walking and coming to a halt two meters further ahead, “Here we are,” Celestia said, lighting her horn and enveloping the door in her magic.

Opening the door wide, Celestia beckoned Twilight closer while Luna all but jumped in, a childish “Wuhuuuuuu” coming from her before a watery splash could be heard from the inside.

Following her former mentor and smiling at Luna’s antics, Twilight shook her head and sheepishly grinned at Celestia when she noticed her trailing behind.

For what it was worth, the room could hardly be described as a wide bathroom. White tiles framed both the walls and ceiling, the floor was a smooth solid and warm marble. Lavish basins filled with water had been seemingly carved out of the walls and decorated with elegant mosaics of sun and moon. A constant stream of water, fed by a spring hidden deep inside the mountain, refilled them and kept their water crystal-clear while simultaneously causing them to gracefully overspill their content into an indent in the floor.

Multiples of those small tubs, each still big enough to comfortably hold more than 10 ponies, all overflowing with water, constantly refilled, cascaded together into an enormous pool in the center, its outline forming a giant half-moon cradling a smaller sun in its midst.

And while the room and every water-filled body could probably hold more than one hundred ponies at a time, it was completely empty, save for Luna who was currently submerged in the pool in the middle, diving from one end to another.

Stepping into the room, Twilight gasped as never in her life had she seen this room before and could not remember hearing anyone ever talk about such a giant construct in the middle of the castle’s belly.

Mentally going through the list of corridors through which they had passed, she realized that this enormous room had to have been carved out of the solid rock of the mountain. Looking up at the high ceiling, a multitude of yellow-glowing gems had been embedded into the arched ceiling and were now illuminating the steaming room below.

Celestia, stepping in behind Twilight and having closed the door behind them, leaned down to whisper into her ears, “Impressive, isn’t it?” she asked.

Simply nodding, Twilight stared, in between every tub next to the walls, small shelves had been let into the walls, holding scents and soaps and filling out the rest of the space. Solid marble benches, which stood throughout the room, allowed anyone to perch atop and to comfortably rest away from the waters while not being too far away as to hinder one to mingle with those inside.

Chuckling at Twilight’s dumbfounded expression, Celestia continued walking, drawing one of her primaries slowly over Twilight’s back before looking back, “Come now, or do you want to gawk here all day?” she asked, smiling.

Eyes wide and blushing from Celestia’s touch, Twilight sharply shook her head and trailed after her former mentor, who made her way over to one of the entrances to the pool in the middle, “P-Princess? How… why… this is…I have never heard of this room before,” she finally managed to say.

Giggling lightly, Celestia swept her hoof around, “This, my dear, is the royal bath,” she explained.

“B-but, how come I have never heard of it before?” Twilight asked, still looking around in awe but slightly discontented at not knowing something like this. She had lived here half her live, after all.

Chuckling softly, Celestia leaned her head closer to Twilight’s “Because it wasn’t used for over one hundred years,” she explained, “I had it built around 700 years before you were born to hold court here,” Celestia said, looking up and gesturing at the far side of the room where Twilight could see a large bench placed upon what seemed like a dais, “back then, the custom of social baths had not yet been forgotten and I held day court here.” She said, a glimmer of remembrance shining in her eyes as if she would see the room as it had been in the past, pony filled and a place of joy.

Blinking the memory aside, she smiled down at Twilight, “Though, if I have to be honest, I didn’t account for the rising amount of bureaucracy at the time, so even though I was the one commissioning the build, I had to abandon it after only around 20 years of use,” she said, her small smile cracking a bit wider, “over the years, it has found its use as a social gathering place and even as a public relaxation room every once at a while, but around 300 years ago, Ponies started to forget its… existence,” she explained, her grin akin to sheepish, “And while it could be argued that the maids would remember, they too forgot why it was there in the first place and I never bothered to remind them of it, nor did Cadance.”

“Cadance? She knew?”

“Well, of course, she was the one who came up with the idea not to remind them in the first place,” Celestia said, a warm smile on her lips, “and she was the one who suggested that we should finally take something like this as our own,” Celestia said, shrugging, “besides, no one needed it any longer.”

Reaching the pool in the middle, Celestia stood before it, watching her sister and waiting for Twilight to finally step beside her, “And while I usually do not use public funds to have something of that grandeur to myself, or to only us,” she gestured with her hoof to Twilight, Luna and herself, “I found that if the royal family could keep a hold on this little secret of ours, we could have a place to retreat to every once in a while.”

Trotting closer to her former mentor, with her head still spinning around in awe, Twilight nodded, “This surely sounds wonderful,” she said, coming to a stop next to the pool and carefully poking the tip of her hoof into the water, watching the ripples she created intermingle with those Luna made.

Shrugging, Celestia nodded as well, “I’ve started to enjoy my hours here,” she finally admitted, “it reminds me of a simpler time.”

Perking her ears, Twilight looked up and at Celestia, “But, if I may ask, why have I never heard of it before either… I mean, I have studied the castle’s layout, I memorized the floor plans and at the very least, I lived here half my life,” she asked, a slight worry of underperformance embedded into her voice which only Celestia was able to decipher.

Her smile growing sly, Celestia glanced down her muzzle and peaked out of the corner of her eye at Twilight, “Oh? Is that so?” she asked, her voice growing firm.

Gulping at Celestia’s sudden change in tone, Twilight laid her ears back, “I am sorry, Princess, I…”

Slowly opening one of her wings, Celestia laid it softly onto Twilight’s back, making her stiffen up suddenly as well as postponing her apology, “Well, I suppose that there is much of this castle you don’t know, little one, after all, since your ascension you have barely spent a day here,” she said, her grin growing wider, “and stop ‘may I’ or ‘Princess’ing me, for crying out loud,” she finished, sweeping her wing forwards and shoving Twilight into the crystal clear water.

Not even being able to utter a surprised “eep” before having a mouthful of water in her lungs, Twilight found that not only was the water warm and inviting, but that speaking, and by extension apologizing, underwater was rather difficult.

Reflexively flailing her wings and squirming around, she resurfaced and coughed up the gulp of water she had almost inhaled.

While Celestia herself slowly made her way into the water through a gradually descending slope, her golden horseshoes, peytral and crown neatly settled into a pile to her left, Twilight thought she saw a satisfied smile on her former mentor’s face.

Swimming to the edge of the pool and trying to get a handle on her breathing again, Twilight managed something akin to a glare which she directed at her former mentor.

And while the target of her glare looked only too smug for her liking, Twilight almost missed it as a dark blue horn, which stood out of the water like a shark fin, slowly grew closer and closer to her before Luna jumped out of the water, splashing her and forcing her to close her eyes.

Through Luna’s surprising surfacing, Twilight reflexively tried to hold her wings before her head. Yet before she could do so, a soft hoof pressed onto the tip of her nose, accompanied by a mirthful and excited, “Tag”, before it redrew and Luna, laughing joyously, vanished the same way she came, splashing water in her wake.

Going cross-eyed, blushing and glowing like a lamp switched on, as the water finally settled around her, Twilight blinked. Looking around, Luna was nowhere to be found. Only Celestia, with half her body submerged, opting to gracefully swim in the middle of the pool seemed as if nothing had happened.

While a melodic chuckle reminded her it was better not to stare, Twilight tried to fight down her blush as Celestia slowly turned around to swim in a circle, “I believe you have been tagged, my dear,” she said and even though Twilight was unable to see her face, she could swear she practically heard Celestia’s smile.

Lying on top of a warm marble bench, Twilight lazily stretched. Most everything she did was meticulous, thought-out and rationalized, yet the last two hour or so stood in complete contrast to her usual behavior.

After Luna had challenged her to a game of tag in the pool not even 10 meters from her, and after Twilight had finally let go of her resolves not to indulge, the two had chased each other through the water for what felt like hours.

And while Celestia had never actively participated and tried to continue swimming in a lazy circle in the middle of the pool, after Luna had used her very sister to hide from her chaser, even Celestia had not been spared from the splash fight that had ensued.

Though, if she had to be honest with herself, starting a splash fight when she could barely use her magic and against the two best known tacticians, strategists and fighters in pony history, the outcome of what felt like the gentlest crushing defeat in her life was not surprising.

To simply say she got drenched was the understatement of an understatement.

Yet still, it had been great fun.

After managing to extricate herself out of the water and perching herself on top of the very bench she now sat atop, she was currently watching both royal sisters continue their watery fight without her.

Though, even that was slowly coming to an end as both Celestia and Luna could not fight and laugh at the same time.

Blinking lazily, Twilight briefly marveled at how lucky she was to be able to see both royal sisters completely relaxed and at ease with the world, not hidden behind pretense, masks and social standings. Though, this thought quickly led her back to the reason why she had to be careful around them at all times, as seeing them act like normal ponies led her heart foolishly believe that she possibly had a chance for the love she held in her heart for both of them.

While Twilight’s attention was directed at herself to check that she would not let anything slip or do something that could upset them, Celestia, with Luna draped over her shoulders, slowly climbed out of the water, still laughing and levitating a couple pieces of Luna’s attire which she had simply dropped once she jumped into the water.

Seeing her former student relaxing on a bench in front of her, Celestia stepped closer and opened her left wing to let Luna fall from her back and onto the bench next to Twilight.

While Luna “eeped” in surprise at the sudden relocation, Twilight tensed immediately.

Luna, with her starry hair, which due to being drenched was now affected by gravity, and her short, yet soft, coat was again touching her. Because the both of them were still drenched and dripping water everywhere Twilight got a perfect view of the muscular, slim and yet still incredible curvy outline beneath her fellow princess’s coat.

Having to clamp her wing muscles tight against her sides not to shudder involuntarily, Twilight looked suddenly almost pained for a second before she got a handle on it.

Yet still, both Celestia and Luna could clearly see Twilight’s sudden stiffening and the fleeting glances that roamed over either of their bodies before she finally looked away.

Smirking and winking at her sister, Celestia turned around and looked into the pool once more, her horn alight and fishing for the missing pieces of Luna’s attire.

Finding them and levitating them next to the others which she had already brought out, she nodded in satisfaction before making her way over to Twilight and her sister, “I have to admit, I didn’t expect it to be that much fun,” she declared, slowly striding in front of the bench and laying herself down before Twilight.

As Twilight now also got a perfect view of Celestia’s curvy, yet still muscular and elegant body only framed by the fact that her slightly longer coat and her down hanging rainbowy hair now hugged her in addition, she inadvertently gulped and stiffened up even more.

Feigning curiosity, Luna softly poked Twilight stiffened back, “Though we believe our friend’s back will sooner or later be listed under casualties of The Great Water War,” she declared out loud, drawing Celestia’s attention to her.

Looking at Twilight and how she had cramped up by now, Celestia chuckled, “Stiff muscles, huh?” she asked, waving a hoof, “It happens to the best of us,” she added.

Chuckling awkwardly at the sudden attention she got to her stiffening up, Twilight franticly tried to relax her back which only made it stiffen up even more, “He he, yeah, happens sometimes,” she awkwardly said, cursing her inability to control her body.

An amused smile on her lips, Celestia leaned closer and whispered into her ear, “You know, I can personally attest that my sister is the very best when it comes to massages,” she softly said, looking over at her sister and blowing her a raspberry.

Rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue out at her sister, Luna slowly got up and carefully prodded at Twilight, which was only met with minor resistance, to coax her to roll onto her belly before she sat down next to her and kneaded her front hooves into Twilight’s back.

Suppressing a groan, Twilight couldn’t even comprehend how she had gotten herself into this situation while Luna started pressing on her back, making it almost certain to the young alicorn that she needed a moment alone in the next couple of hours.

Or rather, sooner than that.

Clamping her tail down with one of her hindlegs, Twilight tried to redirect her thoughts to something not so dangerous and settled for silently counting the tiles framing the pool.

Watching as her former student tried to hide her arousal from the both of them, not that it helped in any way, Celestia had to admit that she surely had to have been oblivious for not previously noticing how Twilight looked at them when she thought she could get away with it. Admittedly, she was both too smart as well as too kind to be crude, but still, she found it now to be obvious.

Parts of her were still screaming in her head that it wasn’t proper, or at least not so soon, yet other parts of her wanted to jump around like a schoolfilly at the prospect at having someone to spend her life with.

Though, she had to actively remind herself that they hadn’t crossed that bridge yet.

Looking at her sister and how happy she looked while massaging Twilight, she silently underlined it in her head to at least help Luna to a relationship with her former student. Though, the thought of anyone but herself holding the affection of this little bundle of happiness made her heart ache.

Shaking her head, Celestia mentally scolded herself for getting distracted and looked over the pool where small crystal-clear waves still danced and rippled over the surface.

As Luna pressed down onto Twilight’s wing joint, the young alicorn was entirely unable to stop what was about to come now and a throaty moan slipped past her lips.

Chuckling softly, Celestia turned her head back to Twilight, whose head lay on the bench, her tongue poking out slightly and a bright red blush spread all over her face. Flicking her mane out of her eyes, Celestia cocked her head, “Our fight seemed to have taken more out of you than I had expected,” she said, smiling.

Unable to confirm or deny anything, Twilight settled for a small groan as Luna made it very hard for her to think coherently.

Nodding as if understanding, Celestia hummed, “Well, seeing what you have undergone yesterday, I would say that this would have to be expected,” she added. Looking over to the pool, a small smile crossed her lips as an idea struck, “Ah, by the way, how is your magic coming along?” she asked innocently, “You didn’t seem to use it very much during our fight,” she added, watching Twilight’s eyes go wide.

As Twilight tried to answer though, Luna pressed once more down onto her wing joint and another moan snaked its way past her lips.

Shooting her sister a glance and noting that Luna seemed all too happy with what she was doing, Celestia shook her head slightly, “Again, please, I have to admit I didn’t quite catch that,” she said, amused.

Before Twilight could try to say anything, Luna repeated her action, though this time, she managed to keep the moan to herself and instead hissed a breathy, “It’s fine.”

Tsking at Twilight’s answer, Celestia shook her head, “I thought you knew better by now,” she said, “you never have been good at lying to me, my dear,” she added.

Lighting her horn and scooping up a glob of water in her magic, Celestia gave Twilight a sidelong glance before propelling it at her, “Catch”, she said and watched Twilight instinctively light her horn and wince immediately.

As the glob of water didn’t come to a stop and instead found its mark right in Twilight’s face, Celestia sighed. “You don’t have to hide something like this from us, you know,” she softly added, watching as Twilight looked away in shame.

Glancing at her sister and conveying to her to hold back a bit, Celestia sighed and looked down, “You’ve been by Heart Petal this morning?” she began, waiting for Twilight to nod slowly, “care to share with us what she recommended?” she asked knowing full well what her doctor had said and watching as Twilight’s gaze grew distant.

Giving her former student the time she needed, Celestia waited.

After a short while in which Luna had let up on how much she kneaded Twilight’s back and was now only softly pressing down here and there, a small voice cut through the silence, “She gave me some medicines I am supposed to take,” Twilight said meekly.

Nodding, Celestia looked up and smiled, “Good,” she said, her tone gentle but expecting Twilight to continue.

As another silence settled between them, both Celestia and Luna glanced at each other in worry. Nodding to her sister, Luna directed her gaze down to Twilight once more and continued her massage, making the young alicorn relax further and further under her hooves.

After what felt like a pregnant silence ready to deliver, Twilight’s voice cut through the silence once more, “And she said I am supposed to take it easy for a couple of weeks,” she added.

Smiling, Celestia shuffled around a bit to make herself comfortable and looked at her former student, “Also a good advice,” she added, smiling at Twilight.

“Wilt thou take some time off then?” Luna asked, her attention not wavering from Twilight and noticing her stiffen slightly.

After thinking for a second, Twilight shook her head, “I don’t think so,” she said, her voice tentative.

Raising an eyebrow, Celestia cocked her head, “Why not, little one?” she asked, already having a good idea on why Twilight would not pay heed to that advice when she remembered how her former student had always struggled when she had fallen sick when she was young and was told that she wouldn’t be learning anything today.

Drawing her head in as if feeling that what she was about to say was not what they wanted to hear, Twilight spoke softly, “I can’t… I have… duties to perform when I get home,” she explained.

Snorting as Celestia had expected just that, she softly shook her head, “You don’t have to do anything, Twilight,” she said, smiling at her and leaning closer, “the only thing you have to do is to get better.”

“Our sister is right. What task hath such importance that it canst not wait a week or two for thee to fulfill?” Luna asked.

Holding up a hoof and forestalling Twilight’s response, Celestia cut in, “If you say now either ‘paperwork’ or ‘royal duties’, I swear I will never share my workload with you ever again,” she added, half joking, half serious.

Thinking it was better to say nothing, Twilight waited.

Nodding, Celestia smiled, “To be expected,” she laughed.

“This does not make it less important,” Twilight muttered, pouting.

Snorting herself, Luna nodded, “Well there thou art right, it is important,” she explained, “yet not so important that thou canst not take a break,” she added.

“If anyone in this Kingdom deserves a break, it’s you, Twilight,” Celestia added to the remark of her sister.

Blushing, Twilight glanced away, “But I don’t even do that much,” she tried to defend herself.

“You don’t do that much?” Celestia repeated aloud, her voice half disbelieving and half amused, “Twilight, you govern Ponyville and the surrounding villages and cities alone, you form trade treaties and contracts in the name of all Equestria, you are the sole librarian of your town and you still hold court in addition to your studies and your friends,” she recounted, “for crying out loud, in the last decade alone you saved Equestria more times than I am willing to count!”

As Twilight was about to mutter that she didn’t do that alone, Celestia shook her head, “Twilight, if it weren’t for you, none of your friend’s would have been able to accomplish what they have, and yet you still refuse to acknowledge your role in anything,” she sighed.

As Twilight’s blush only grew and she looked away, Celestia gently turned her head back with one of her hooves, “If I have to be honest, Twilight, I sometimes worry you will burden yourself with so much that one day you will do nothing more than sleep and work,” she explained, her voice growing softer, “Throughout my life I have seen too many ponies do just… that,” she added, her head falling for a second, “being a Princess is more than just working, Twilight, and I swear, I will not let you throw away what little life you have to yourself because you think you have to uphold anything, it is not only not good for you… it… it hurts others around you as well…” she finished.

While Celestia spoke, Twilight could see the sadness in her former mentor’s eyes well up. Not willing to upset her even more, she settled for a small nod which made Celestia smile at her before the white alicorn drew closer and hugged her around her neck, “Please, I cannot force you any longer, but consider taking at least this week off from your duties,” Celestia said, her quivering voice no mask, which was all too clear to both Twilight and Luna who herself had grown thoughtful.

Nodding again, Twilight relished Celestia’s touch, “If you insist…” she said before Celestia hugged her even tighter.

“I do,” the white alicorn said without letting her finish the sentence, drawing back and smiling at Twilight, she cleared her voice, “consider it a homework assignment,” she said jokingly to lighten the mood.

Giggling softly, Twilight nodded, “Anything special I have to take into account?” she asked jokingly.

Giggling herself, Luna stopped the last pretense of her massage and laid herself across Twilight’s back, making her blush anew, “Thou hast to fulfill thy assignment of relaxation here in Canterlot, thou can leave, but at least the nights thou hast to spend here to be able to get a good grade on thy work.”

Suppressing a shudder yet still chuckling, Twilight nodded, “Do I have to write a report of it later then?” she asked, jokingly.

Shaking her head, Celestia gently ruffled Twilight’s mane, “Never change, little one, never change,” she said, before chuckling herself.

As all three of them enjoyed the comfortable silence settling between them, a loud gurgle came from Twilight’s belly and a heavy blush spread over her face.

Raising an eyebrow, Celestia looked suddenly worried at her former student, “Please tell me that is not what I think it is,” she said, her ears falling flat on her head.

Chuckling lightly before a sudden sting rushed through her body, Twilight nodded.

Worried, Luna looked to her sister, who was already on her hoofs and running to the door, “GUARDS! FETCH ME CHALK AND ALERT THE KITCHENS!” she yelled, rushing out of the room.

Before Luna fully understood what was going on, Twilight had curled into a ball under her, groaning and holding her belly, “Ugh, I had almost forgotten what hunger feels like,” she whimpered in pain.

Realizing what was about to happen, Luna’s face paled.