Princess Luna stomped down the hallway with a scowl plastered on her face. Behind her were Applejack, Big Mac and Spike, each wearing similar expressions. The alicorn found their recent discussion enlightening to say the least. At first, she had to calm Spike and Applejack down, as their initial tone was more accusatory than she expected. Once they told her of her sister’s re-commissioning of the telepod system, she was stunned. The earth pony mare and dragon didn’t believe the princess at first, but after she explained that she was attending to other duties all evening, the tension between them ceased. It reignited, however, once she was told about Applejack’s conversation with Fluttershy, and how her sibling wasn’t allowing anyone into the throne room. As they walked in silence, the moon princess felt a twinge of regret in her heart after reacting the way she did. She’d been trying very hard to keep the use of her Royal Canterlot voice to a minimum, and she slipped once she heard that particular piece of information. She shook the thought from her head as the group approached the guards outside the main throne room doors. She had to admit, it surprised her to see six guards, and not the usual number.

‘She really is serious,’ she thought to herself as she approached the guards slowly.

“I would speak with my sister. Open the doors, please,” Luna said quietly.

The stallion in front of her gulped, but remained steadfast. He cleared his throat as he replied to the order.

“I…I’m sorry, Princess Luna, but Princess Celestia has order that no one be given access to the throne room without her express permission,” he stated.

The alicorn’s eyes narrowed as she leaned into the royal guard’s muzzle. She could see the perspiration appearing on his brow. Nervous as he was, however, the stallion did stand his ground. She was impressed. Angry, but still impressed.

“That was not a request! Open those doors immediately, or step aside!” Princess Luna seethed through her teeth.

“Princess, please! You don’t understand, she specifically ordered us…” the guard began only to be interrupted.

“I said move!” Luna shouted, causing the guard to close his eyes.

“Princess Luna, our orders were to keep you out! You, and the element bearers specifically, as well as anyone else without express permission! We…we apologize!” he stammered, still not giving ground.

Princess Luna huffed as her scowl deepened. She was getting in that room, no matter what the guards said. She needed to speak to her sister, regardless of her orders.

“I will give you one last chance to open those doors or step aside, Lieutenant! If you do not comply with MY order, I will remove you by force!” she shouted, as her horn began to glow.

The rest of the guards stood their ground, but she could tell they were scared. Their eyes went wide at first, but then they closed tight as they prepared themselves to receive whatever blow the moon princess saw fit to bestow upon them. After a few moments, Princess Luna spoke up again.

“Very well! Have it your way!” she exclaimed, as she surrounded the troops with her magic.

They tried to thrash about, but could not move within the confines of Luna’s ethereal grip. Applejack, Big Mac and Spike watched in awe as the guards flew to the other side of the room, where she dropped them unceremoniously to the ground. They each grunted, as their bodies struck the floor with a resounding thud. With that distraction taken care of, Luna once again activated her magic, slowly opening the large ornate doors. The group walked in, and gasped at the sight. Before them were machines attached to wires and cables, ordaining the throne room like sterile decorations. Random tools and tool chests were scattered throughout the chamber as well. It looked more like a mechanic’s shop than a throne room now. The telepods were also there, just as Fluttershy said. Applejack felt her knees quake at the sight. Her brother quickly recognized the fear in his younger sibling and was at her side in an instant, his hoof stroking her back.

“It’s alright, A.J. We’re here, nothing is gonna hurt you,” the stallion whispered into his sister’s ear.

As the group made its way further into the room, the sounds of clanging and twisting of metal became more prevalent. The angry look that Princess Luna wore a minute ago returned as she found her elder sibling fixing what looked to be the door of one of the telepods. Princess Celestia was completely fixated on what she was doing, and hadn’t looked up once to acknowledge her sister or anyone else.

‘I…I can’t believe this! She doesn’t even know we’re here!’ the moon princess thought to herself as she cleared her throat.

“Ahem!” she choked loudly, startling her older sister.

“Ah! What?!?” Princess Celestia shouted as she jumped from her position, startled.

The elder alicorn turned around, meeting the angry gaze of her sister and the others. Surprise quickly turned to anger as she straightened up, composing herself, although everyone could tell she was still quite flustered at the unannounced arrival.

“What is the meaning of this?!? I ordered no interruptions! No one other than a few workers and doctors are even supposed to know what is going on in here? How did you find out? Where are the guards, Luna?!? Please don’t tell me you did what I think you did?!?” the princess of the sun asked forcefully.

“What I…Tia, what in Equestria are you doing?!?” Luna pressed, ignoring her sibling’s inquiries.

Applejack, Big Mac and Spike were witness to a rare treat, as Celestia’s jaw dropped like a foal who was just caught lying to a parent. Normally, even with this crisis, she was the most cool, calm and collected pony that anyone had ever laid eyes on. Spike couldn’t help but smirk a little at the elder alicorn’s predicament. Even with Twilight’s return, he still hadn’t forgiven her for taking him away from his surrogate big sister. He liked seeing her uncomfortable, even if it was only for a few moments, which it turned out to be, once Princess Celestia got her bearings. She sighed heavily as she straightened up, and addressed the small assembly before her.

“Please. I understand what you all may be thinking and feeling right now, but I can assure you, we have a good reason to be...” she started before being cut off by her pupil.

“Princess, I think I found the…” Twilight said before she let out a gasp, as she came around the corner of the telepod on the other side of the room.

Everyone turned to eye the new arrival to the conversation. They each felt their heart break at the sight. Twilight had removed her hooded coat, revealing her true mangled form. Applejack whimpered, as her knees started shaking again. The memories of the threats and beatings came back to her as she just stared wide-eyed at her former friend. Big Mac just closed his eyes and turned away from the deformed mare, as if he was willing his mind to do away with the image he’d just seen. Spike’s smile dropped as he took a few steps towards the unicorn. She could see that he was trying his best to stop himself from crying, but he couldn’t help the tears welling up in his eyes.

“Oh…oh…” Twilight muttered as she sat on her haunches, her head drooping.

If the unicorn’s cheeks could still change color, they would be beet red. She brought her right hoof across her body, a nervous reaction to her newfound self-consciousness. Humiliation permeated her being, as she shut her eyes tight, turning away from everyone and whimpering slightly. Princess Celestia used the momentary silence to take back control of the earlier conversation.

“I know this looks bad, but please, let me explain,” she began, as she walked over to her student.

“After Twilight came back, I began looking into her research on this project. Regardless of the results, she did an amazing job putting these together, and it is far beyond anything in Equestria we’ve ever seen before. With magic not being an option, I believe the answer to saving Twilight Sparkle lies within these machines,” she said evenly.

“But…but…princess, they did so much damage! What in the world makes you think that these…things…will help Twilight?!?” Applejack shouted nervously.

“It is…difficult to explain, but essentially, if the telepods can be used to fuse creatures together, then it may be possible to reverse engineer the process, and use them to separate two beings that were previously fused,” the princess continued.

Luna, Big Mac, Applejack and Spike thought hard on the royal alicorn’s proposal. It actually seemed quite logical. That did nothing to diminish the emotional links they all had with the telepods. Applejack couldn’t stop shivering as she stared at the large metal compartments, and her brother was once again at her side, doing his best to keep her calm. After a few moments of silence, however, Twilight heard a soft voice speak up, as her eyes shot open.

“I…I want to help,” Spike said just above a whisper.

Twilight Sparkle sighed as she stood up. She looked into his eyes, eyes so full of determination and sadness. She was going to have to disappoint him again, and it broke her heart to do so.

“No, Spike. What I….we…are going to have to do to make this work…is going to be…challenging. Only Princess Celestia and I will be able to do this, Spike. I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“But…but Twilight, I’m your number one assistant! You…you need me! Now more than ever!” he said his voice cracking.

“Spike, I’m sorry, but Twilight’s right. You are still a baby dragon. This isn’t the place for you,” Princess Celestia interjected.

“I AM NOT A CHILD!” he shouted back, glaring at her.

“Spike, please…” Twilight started before being interrupted by her assistant.

“Twilight, I can’t leave you alone again, you know that!” Spike said, doing his best to keep his voice even while talking to Twilight.

“Spike…” Princess Celestia started.

“No! This is your fault! I’m not going to listen to you!” the dragon yelled, cutting the alicorn off.

“No, Spike! This is MY fault! I…I did this to myself, and I’m the one that has to deal with it, and with the princess’ help!” Twilight screamed back.

“It’s only your fault because I wasn’t there to stop you!” Spike retorted forcefully.

“Spike…you…you couldn’t have stopped me,” the unicorn said in a softer tone.

Spike sighed, walking right up to his best friend. He stood there, meeting her eye to eye. She could see how much he’d grown, as he was a little taller than her now. His eyes held a maturity, an experience that she never thought she’d see from him for a very long time.

“Twilight…you know I would have….you KNOW I would have,” he stated slowly.

Twilight’s head drooped again at the words. He was right. He was always the one who grounded her. If he saw what happened to Angel that day with Fluttershy, he would have alerted the princess, or tried to talk her out of continuing her work. He definitely would not have let her experiment on herself. However, she also knew how her own mind worked, and shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if he was around. She knew that in order to do what needed to be done, Spike could not be involved. She would spare her dragon friend any more pain than what he had already endured.

“Spike, please. I…I’m begging you, please leave this to the Princess and myself. Please. For me?” she said as her own voice began to crack.

Spike sighed deeply as he turned away from her, shutting his eyes tight. No one moved or said a word as the dragon contemplated his decision. He opened his eyes slowly, shooting Celestia a glare before turning back to Twilight.

“Alright, Twilight. Just, please be careful, ok?” he whispered.

“Oh, Spike!” Twilight cried as she leapt forward, hugging him tight.

He reciprocated her embrace, as they stood holding each other for a few minutes. Again, silence fell over the room, as they all watched the two close friends hug. Applejack’s gaze eventually returned to the telepods, as she shuddered involuntarily. Despite what the princess said, she was still skeptical.

‘Ah…Ah gotta talk to the others. They need to know what’s goin’ on here!’ she thought to herself.

Finally, the others began filing out, seemingly satisfied with the princess’ explanation, as the sun princess watched them. The looks they wore, however, shown nothing but worry. Applejack and Princess Luna in particular still seemed quite disturbed at the development. Once they were gone, Spike and Twilight broke the hug, and did their best to smile at each other. The unicorn turned around and went back to work. Spike shot Princess Celestia one more dirty look before exiting himself. The princess frowned, but did not say anything. His blame was justified, at least somewhat, and arguing with him would do no good. Shaking those thoughts from her head, she walked over by her student, who wore a look of melancholy.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” she inquired softly.

“I just…I just didn’t have the heart to tell him, Princess,” she answered.

“What do you mean?” the alicorn pressed.

“When…when he said ‘you know I would have stopped you,’ I couldn’t help thinking, ‘no, no you wouldn’t have stopped me, because…because I would have…’ she broke down in tears as her mentor embraced her.

“What is it, Twilight?” she whispered.

“Knowing me…he would have been Angel, Princess…he would have been Angel…”

-

Pinkie Pie’s bleary eyes strained to read the first few lines of the scroll in front of her. She’d been at it all day, in the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing of the Canterlot Castle Library. After crying for hours in front of Discord’s faux statue and then later in her room, something snapped inside of her. She was tired of crying. She was tired of the misery and the helplessness she felt, so she decided to do something about it. The earth pony calmed herself and began thinking. Thinking about options and what she could do to help her friend. She promised to no longer use her energy to wail, but would instead focus on solving the horrific problem that Twilight faced. Searching her mind, she thought hard about what they’d all been through, and if there was anything that could help. She realized that the answer had been in her head the whole time. The time spell. It was so simple. Even if Twilight couldn’t cast it, certainly one of the princesses would be able to, and then they can stop this nightmare from ever happening. She rushed to the library as fast as her legs would allow, and immediately started going through scroll after scroll. After a few hours, the pink party mare’s eyes became heavy, however. Perhaps it was time for a break. She was still waiting on the request she made of the library curator on the whereabouts of the scroll, but she couldn’t just sit around, not with her friend’s time running out. With a long sigh, she stood up from the table, stretching her legs and her back, as she made her way to the exit. Just as she was about to cross the threshold of the room, she heard a familiar voice.

“Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash said as she approached her friend.

The earth mare gasped, startled at the voice coming from her side. Her rainbow-maned compatriot’s presence sullied her mood as she frowned. She was still mad at her friends for treating Twilight the way that they did.

“Wh…What am I doing here?!? What are you doing here?!?” she inquired defensively.

“Chill out, Pinkie! Princess Luna told me about a book on ancient flying techniques used by the Royal Guards from back in the day, and I thought I’d check it out, since I still have some time before I can start my rehab. What’s with you, anyway? Why’d you snap at me?” she pressed.

Pinkie Pie was livid. Twilight Sparkle, someone she called a friend was a mere few rooms away dying, and the only thing Rainbow Dash could think about is flying? Her eyes narrowed as she stomped towards the pegasus, a determined look in her eye.

“What?!? Twilight just got the worst news of her life, and all you can think about is yourself?!? Oh, way to go, Ms. Element of Loyalty! You’re the worst friend ever!” she shouted while poking Rainbow Dash’s chest with her hoof.

The young flyer knocked her fellow mare’s hoof away, as a scowl quickly found its way to her face. She leaned into Pinkie Pie, gritting her teeth.

“Oh, yeah, I’m gonna be real loyal to the unicorn that tried to kill me! Multiple times now! I’m going to stay away from her, and let the princess handle this, just like we should have done the first time around!” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“What happened to you, Rainbow?!? Do you even remember any of the good times we had with Twilight? How we were all best friends? How could you just give up on her like this?!?” Pinkie Pie inquired forcefully.

“Oh, you want to talk about memories? Fine, how about I tell you about my last vivid memory? I woke up on an operating table surrounded by doctors telling me that everything was going to be ok! And how about another one? When I woke up, I was told that Twilight, the mare who we were ‘best friends’ with hit me, held me down and BIT A HOLE THROUGH MY WING!” the pegasus shouted in Pinkie Pie’s face.

The pink party mare gasped, startled at the flyer’s aggressive behavior. Her head drooped as she looked away, unable to meet Rainbow Dash’s gaze.

“I…I just don’t understand why you all hate her so much! It…it’s not her fault!” Pinkie stammered angrily.

“You know, I’m getting really sick and tired of your attitude, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash shouted, unmoving.

“What?!? MY attitude?!? What are you talking about?!?” Pinkie inquired defensively, as she backed away slightly.

“Ever since I’ve known you, Pinkie, you’ve never been able to see anything from anyone else’s viewpoint! You see things your way, and to hay with everyone else! It was amusing when you were just getting others to like you, but in this situation? Come on, Pinkie! I’m standing in front of you with a bandage around my wing because Twilight attacked me! Do you really think I’m going to have the same opinion on this nightmare as you do? Not everyone thinks the same way as you do, Pinkie! And if you don’t start respecting, or even acknowledging that your friends actually have good reasons to have a different perspective on this whole thing, then pretty soon, you’re gonna start finding yourself without any friends at all!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

Tears soon found their way into Pinkie Pie’s eyes, as she took in the pegasus’ words. These weren’t tears of sadness, however. They were tears of anger. How dare Rainbow Dash make such an accusation? Pinkie Pie always went out of her way to make her friends smile, to be there for them, and to support them, no matter what, and here was someone who was supposed to be her friend telling her that she was in fact doing the opposite. It infuriated her to be thought of in that way, especially after everything she and Rainbow Dash had been through together. She stomped forward, jutting her nose into the flyer’s. Their eyes narrowed, neither giving an inch.

“Well, you know what? If you keep going around and hating the ones who are supposed to be your friends, then pretty soon, you’ll be the one who ends up alone! What do you think about that, element of loyalty?!?” Pinkie Pie seethed.

“You didn’t even listen to a word I said, did you, Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“They weren’t worth listening to!” Pinkie Pie shouted back.

The pegasus grimaced in disgust as she turned away from the earth pony. It amazed her how stubborn she was. Most of them thought that Applejack was the most obstinate of them, but in reality, no one could touch Pinkie Pie as far as sheer pig-headedness was concerned. She turned around in a huff, and began walking away from the pink-haired mare. She stopped and turned, glaring at her.

“You know the best way to stop a friend from being loyal? Betrayal, Pinkie! That’s what kills loyalty, no matter how strong that loyalty is! Maybe you should think about that before judging me and how I feel!” Rainbow Dash snapped angrily.

“Ah hope Ah’m not interruptin’,” a voice rang out from ahead of them.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash turned around surprised. Applejack was standing in front of them with a worried look on her face. The flyer and party mare soon turned red in embarrassment as their friend approached them.

“We were just…talking, A.J.” Rainbow Dash said.

“It looked to be a little more than just talkin’, R.D.” Applejack said with a frown.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and huffed. She really didn’t want to go through another argument right now.

“Did you want something, Applejack?” the pegasus asked flatly, as Pinkie Pie approached the two.

The farm mare shook her head. She needed to stay focused. Whatever issues Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were going through, it was between them, and she didn’t want to pry. She was there for a reason and it wasn’t to get between the two if they were having a problem.

“Look, Ah got some news that yer not gonna like,” she started.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash both turned to each other with a curios look and then turned back to Applejack.

“What do you mean?” Pinkie Pie pressed.

“Ah can’t believe Ah’m sayin’ this, but Princess Celestia is gonna try and use the telepods to help fix Twilight. She set them up in the throne room real hush-hush. She ain’t lettin’ anyone in ‘cept her and Twilight,” the orange earth pony stated.

“WHAT?!?” Rainbow Dash shouted, as she flexed her wings, causing her to wince.

“Easy, Rainbow, Ah know this is big, but don’t get too excited,” Applejack said as she put her hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

“E…excited?!? How…how about mortified?!? Terrified even?!? Why in the world would Princess Celestia do something like this?!?” Pinkie Pie yelled, as her knees began to shake.

“Easy now, sugarcube. It ain’t gonna do ya no good gettin’ yerself all worked up,” Applejack said, trying her best to calm her friend.

“That doesn’t answer her question, A.J. What in the world is the princess thinking?!? And how they hay did you find out about it?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously.

“Ah…well, Ah had a run-in with Fluttershy. She…she was tryin’ to run away. She told me that she found out what the princess was doin’. It scared the poor thing outta her mind! Ah knew Ah had to see if for mahself, so ah got Spike and Ah went to see Princess Luna. She was as surprised as we were. Sure enough, we went to the throne room, and there they were. Princess Celestia said that since they couldn’t use magic to fix Twilight that if they could somehow reverse the operation of the telepods, that it could separate out Twilight’s good atoms from her bad ones…or somethin’ like that, Ah ain’t exactly a science wiz,” Applejack explained.

For a few minutes, silence hung in there air. Applejack didn’t say anything, as she let her friends absorb what she just told them. Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“Does Rarity know yet?” the pegasus asked.

“Ah was actually on mah way to see her now. Care to come along?” Applejack asked.

Rainbow Dash nodded, as they began to make their way down the corridor. The farm mare turned around when she realized that Pinkie Pie wasn’t following them. She eyed her curiously, but before she could ask if she wanted to go with them, she ran back into the library.

“What was that about?” Applejack asked.

“Nothing. Let’s just go, ok?” Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack knew that whatever happened between the two was most certainly more than nothing. However, she and Rainbow Dash simply turned and began their journey once again.

‘Ah guess Ah’ll just let it go, for now, at least. Maybe R.D. will open up once we get away from Pinkie Pie,’ the earth pony thought to herself.

Just as Pinkie Pie was about to dive back into her research, she saw the librarian approach her from the corner of the eye. She turned around and did the best to compose herself after the news she just received. She couldn’t believe how much had happened in only a few weeks, but she was more determined than ever to find a way to help Twilight. As she saw the expression the librarian wore however, her mood darkened even further.

“Were you able to find the scroll?” Pinkie Pie asked with hope lacing her voice.

“I’m very sorry, Ms. Pie, but I have some bad news. It looks like that particular scroll was taken from this library for transfer to our Manehatten branch. With the wedding, many scrolls and books were moved around,” she said.

“So, it’s in Manehatten? Ok then! Thank you so much!” the earth pony said her smile slowly returning.

“Ms. Pie, there’s more. Unfortunately, there was an accident at the Manehatten branch right after those items were delivered,” the unicorn librarian continued.

Pinkie Pie felt her heart stop as a feeling of foreboding washed over her. She gulped before asking her next question.

“Umm, what kind of accident? Nothing too bad, right?” Pinkie Pie inquired, trying her best to keep her positive tone.

“There was fire, Ms. Pie. It was right after the delivery, so we are certain that the documents and books that were delivered were all destroyed. This includes the scroll you were looking for. I’m very sorry,” the librarian whispered.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes welled up with tears involuntarily. She almost collapsed right there, but she held it in as best she could. She felt the tears stream down her face as she tried to speak.

“Th…thank you very much for all of your help. I…I won’t bother you anymore. Thanks,” the pink mare whispered as her voice began to crack.

Not wanting to disturb the librarian further, she ran out of the library, down the hallway. After a few steps, she collapsed onto the marble floor beneath her. Her quiet sobbing echoed through the chamber as she buried her face in her hooves. She broke her promise to herself as she just laid there crying. She just wanted to help Twilight, but how could she? This was her last hope, and it literally evaporated. She knew that Princess Celestia wouldn’t let her help with any of the telepod research. Besides, what good would she be? She didn’t know anything about science, let alone the advanced subjects needed to even comprehend something as complicated as the telepods. She was stuck. There was nothing she could do now, cut off from the one pony she would do anything to help.

‘I’m sorry…I’m sorry…’ she thought to herself as she curled into a ball, pulling her legs in as tight as she could.

-

Princess Cadence turned over again, having yet to find a comfortable position. She brought the covers closer to her body, in a vain attempt to settle in. She sighed as she opened her eyes slightly. She’d been trying for the past hour to fall asleep, but she was getting nowhere fast. It had been about six months since her and her husband moved into Luna’s castle. They knew the arrangement was temporary, of course. Luna had to take care of the rest of the elements of harmony and her sister, leaving her palace unattended. Considering what occurred all those months ago, a change of scenery was welcomed, even if Luna’s castle was a bit dreary. At times, it could even be downright scary, especially at night. It didn’t matter, though. At the beginning, the scenery was the furthest thing from their minds. Cadence turned again and buried her face in her pillow. The news of Twilight’s death was such a shock. They had been barely back from their honeymoon when the summit started, and once Shining Armor became busy with that, time just seemed to blur together. Then the news of Twilight’s demise came. She could still remember that night vividly. After attending to some royal duties for the conference, she’d gone to Celestia and Luna’s room just to spend some time with them while they were on a break. She entered the chamber smiling, but her expression changed once she saw Princess Luna. Upon hearing the news of Rainbow Dash’s arrival, she mirrored Luna’s worried look as she relayed the tale to her. Deciding not to wait any longer, they teleported to Ponyville, only to find a bustle of activity. There were royal guards walking around the library and unicorn scientists putting all kinds of equipment and papers into boxes. It didn’t take too long for a lieutenant to recognize the pair and he approached them swiftly. He couldn’t relay that much information, but he did say that her husband and the elements of harmony were taking to the hospital by Princess Celestia. That was all the two alicorns needed to hear, as they took to the air as fast as they could. It was one of the worst feelings of her life, as time seemed to slow down to a snail’s pace no matter how fast she flew. Her new husband was in the hospital. He’d been hurt, and she needed answers. It was hard to fly straight with that knowledge in her head. After what seemed like an eternity, they landed in front of the hospital, and ran into the waiting area up to the front counter. Before she could even get a word out the nurse got up and just said two words.

“This way,” she stated.

The feelings of worry bubbled up insider her again during the run down the corridor. They turned with the nurse into one of the rooms, and lying in the bed at the center of the room was Shining Armor. Cadence held her breath, her mind racing as she tried to will out a sound, but nothing came. The nurse saw this and turned to her.

“Your husband will be fine, Princess. He suffered a blow to the head, but he should come around in a few hours. We have been monitoring him since he arrived, and he is stable,” she said.

“Wh…what happened?!? How did he get like this?!?” Princess Cadence whispered as she felt tears forming in her eyes.

“All we know at this time is that there has been an accident at the library. We do not have the full details of the situation, but we have been told to prepare for the arrival of Princess Celestia and the elements of harmony. They should be arriving shortly,” she answered.

Cadence and Luna both approached Shining Armor’s bedside, sitting next to the unconscious stallion. The light colored Alicorn choked out a sob as she heard the beeps of the monitors echo throughout the room. Even under the caves of Canterlot, she’d never been this terrified. The sight of his unmoving form attached to wires and devices was too much for the mare, as she broke into a fit of sobs. Luna put a wing over her shoulders doing her best to comfort her.

“Princess Luna, would you like me to alert you when Princess Celestia and the others arrive?” the nurse asked from across the room.

The moon princess must have nodded as all Cadence remembered after that was a solid hour of tears. Finally, she heard a strained groan, as her husband’s eye fluttered open.

“Huh? Wha?” he mumbled as he stared straight up at the ceiling.

Cadence almost collapsed as a wave of relief washed over her. She kissed Shining on the cheek before whispering in his ear.

“It’s ok, Shining, I’m here. You’re in the hospital. You were hurt in some sort of accident. You…you were just knocked unconscious is all. You…you’ll make a full recovery, you’ll be fine,” she said reassuringly.

The stallion groaned again as she felt his wife’s hug. They stayed like that for quite a while. At some point, she heard voices and hoof steps as Luna left them for a few minutes. Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind them.

“Cadence. How...how is he?” Princess Celestia whispered.

Cadence and Shining Armor both sat up, as they looked over at the sun princess. They gasped at the sight. Celestia looked like she’d been crying, her eye red and puffy. She slowly walked towards them as Shining Armor spoke.

“Well, the back of my head is gonna be sore for a few days, but other than that I should be fine,” he uttered semi-cheerfully.

The mood suddenly changed as Celestia’s expression changed. She sat down on the floor next to them as tears streamed down her face.

“You…you don’t remember, do you Shining?” she asked, sniffling.

“No, I…Princess, what’s wrong?” Shining asked worriedly.

“Shining, Cadence, I’m sorry, but I have terrible news,” Celestia stammered.

Once Celestia finally told them, they both broke down into uncontrollable wailing. They hugged each other tight, but it did nothing to comfort either one of them. She was dead. His sister, his blood. The little foal that she helped raise. It was too much for them, and was quite a strain on their young marriage. So, when the offer came to house sit Luna’s castle, they decided to take it. They thought that by getting away from everything for a bit would be good for them, and give them time to heal. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out quite the way they had planned. She felt them drifting apart under the weight of such a terrible tragedy. Shining Armor was closing himself off to her more and more every day. When they were together, it was difficult for them to even make small talk anymore. Things came to a head when she tried to initiate some intimacy between them last month. Not only did he spurn her advances, but the screaming match that followed sent her off to another room crying her eyes out. She hadn’t meant to be inappropriate, but she was just trying to get him to think about something else. He was spiraling downward, and she felt powerless to help stop it.

“Shining?” she whispered.

There was no answer, so she called out to him again. After a few more moments of silence, she turned over in the bed, only to find that he wasn’t there. She sighed heavily as she got up and left the bedroom in search of her husband. She could hear the faint sound of grunts and exhaling, and soon found Shining Armor in the main hall wielding a spear. She had to admit it was quite impressive. Since he was a unicorn, he could have simply used magic to use the weapon, but not her Shining. He was using his front hooves, to whirl the spear through the air with speed, strength, and precision. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He was, after all, the Captain of the Guard. After a few more minutes of quietly watching, she decided to speak up.

“Speaking as your wife, honey, I can already tell you that you’re a master at wielding your lance,” she said in a sultry voice as she leaned up against the large ornate door frame, offering her husband a seductive smile.

Stopping his practice for a moment, he took a second to catch his breath before turning to his spouse.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t wake you, did I?” he stated evenly.

The alicorn frowned at the response, as she stood up and made her way over to him slowly.

“Shining, I’m worried about you. Look, I…I know this has been hard on you. It’s been hard on all of us, but you need to start letting go of your pain a bit,” she answered.

He turned away from her, staring out the lavish palace windows which ordained the main room. He stared up at the moon, with a look of heavy contemplation plastered on his face. He sighed as he felt the hoof of his lover touch his back.

“Please. Talk to me,” she whispered.

“It’s just…Cadence, I miss her so much. And…and I’m so angry at myself for not doing better, I guess” he whispered as his head drooped.

“Doing better? What do you mean?” Princess Cadence pressed.

“Look, I didn’t tell you this, because…I wanted to protect you, but…I think I have to now. I’ve…I’ve remembered what happened that night right before I was knocked out. What I saw. It…it took a lot of magical healing, but I was determined to fill in the gaps. Cadence, it was horrific. The monster she became was so grotesque, and yet…she recognized me, Cadence. She…she called out to me right before…before…” he stammered.

“What is it? Tell me, please?” she begged.

“The…the telepod transported her right after she reached out to me, and when she…when she reappeared…she still alive, but she was…cut in half,” he continued.

He heard Cadence gasp and pull away from him. She knew the history of the incident, but she never pressed for details of that night. She just knew that Twilight was killed because she experimented on herself, and everything came to a head when she tried to cure herself using her friends’ DNA. Therefore, when Shining Armor stated that Twilight was in fact cut in half, she knew he was being literal.

“My sister. My baby sister, was crawling towards me…with…with shards of glass and pieces of metal sticking out of her body…her…her legs were missing, and…and I could tell that she knew where she was. She was in so much pain, Cadence! She just wanted the pain to go away and…and…there was nothing I could do…NOTHING!” he shouted through the sobs, as he smashed the spear on the ground making it shatter.

Cadence yelped at her husband’s action. She’d never seen him like this before, and his temper scared her. She soon felt tears of her own form in her eyes. She wanted so badly to help her husband, but how could she? Especially after hearing this. She had no idea that Twilight’s death was so graphic, and she gained a new found understanding of what her husband was going through. The question remained however; would he let her in?

“Shining, I’m so sor…” she started before he cut her off.

“I’m going to bed now,” he stated flatly, as he turned and walked right past her.

Her head drooped, as she closed her eyes tightly. She had no idea how to handle this. She was lost, and unable to even begin to contemplate how to help her husband. She wanted so badly to be there for him, but she kept pushing her away. She was scared now more than ever about the future of their relationship, and its strength to endure. She sighed as she brought her neck up, staring at the moon. She whispered to herself through the tears.

“Sunshine…sunshine

Lady bugs…awake.

Clap your…your hooves

And do a little shake”

She collapsed to the floor wailing. Everything was falling apart around her, and she couldn’t do anything about it. She didn’t even know where to begin, and each passing second was drawing her away from the stallion she loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The realization hit her hard as she crossed her front hooves and sobbed into them.

‘Oh, Twilight! I miss you so much!’ she thought to herself as she cried.

-

Well, another chapter in the books! I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend! So, quick question, just something I’ve been wondering about. I have this story marked as “mature.” Do you think the content warrants the “mature” rating, or do you all think I’m being paranoid? Any thoughts on this?