Fluttershy paced up and down the train car. It had been two days since her and her friends had gathered to decide what to do with Quintus. Worry had gripped her both days, holding her in its suffocating embrace while she waited for word back from Princess Celestia and tried not to panic at the thought of Quintus being rejected by her majesty. Then, after what seemed like weeks of waiting, Twilight had shown up that morning with train tickets and a summons from the princess.

Oddly enough they had the entire cart to themselves, and Fluttershy would bet anything that Celestia herself had arranged it. She’d sent the tickets herself and the departure time would put them in Canterlot after dark. It made sense. Why scare people with a changeling? Still, she stamped the floor every time it popped to the front of her mind. Quintus wasn’t a threat to anyone. It wasn’t fair that he had to hide. How long would he have to do this?

She paused her pacing and looked to Rainbow, who was lightly snoring on a cushioned seat in the corner of the car. It was a large seat, long enough to lay down on and almost wide enough for two ponies, and Rainbow was sprawled out as if it were her own bed at home. Fluttershy wanted to join her in sleep, to drift off and wake up in Canterlot, not hours, but moments later. She’d actually tried, but thoughts ran through her mind faster than she could fly, and even though she’d gone to bed late and gotten up early she was unable to drift off.

She resumed her trot back and forth through the car, occasionally stopping as Quintus ran in front of her. He hadn’t been in a train before. Not if his behavior was any indication. He was a colt at the fair for the first time, marveling at the wonders he hadn’t known existed until now. He would stare out the window at the passing landscape as it flew by, pointing to different animals and land features as the countryside gradually changed to the mountainous terrain Canterlot sat upon. Then, with no warning, he would turn and scramble to the other side to point something else out to her. The ground was mostly snow covered, and had little interest to Fluttershy, yet up and down the cart he ran, never staying still for more than a minute or two.

Luckily his wounds were healing well. He still wore bandages on his three worst injuries, his right shoulder, right flank, and his throat, but they had healed well enough to where she wasn’t concerned about all the physical activity. And even though she worried a little that he might stumble and hurt himself each time the train bounced or swayed, it wasn’t Quintus that she was really concerned with. It was Twilight.

The unicorn had barely spoken a word since they’d departed Fluttershy’s house. It was obvious to Fluttershy that Twilight hadn’t yet gotten over her fears of Quintus, as every time he would run by her seat she would draw her legs up close to her body and put her ears down.

But it wasn’t really Quintus himself she was scared of, it was the past. Twilight had been right. She was the only one whose entire world had nearly been destroyed at the royal wedding. Her entire family, all her friends, and even most of the people she knew growing up had been in danger when the changelings attacked. And the worst part was that she’d failed. She hadn’t been able to protect them. Only by the magic of love itself had her brother, Shining Armor, and his bride to be, Cadance, banished the changeling Queen and her army out of Canterlot.

The train shook and one of Twilight’s books fell from her seat and thumped to the floor. She didn’t notice and continued to stare out the window at the distant horizon.

Fluttershy approached her. “Um, Twilight?” When the unicorn didn’t answer she again said, “Twilight? Your book fell.” Twilight still didn’t answer, so she reached down and picked it up. It was large and heavy, and she had to use two hooves to lift it onto the seat where she flopped it down beside Twilight, who finally registered someone was talking to her.

“Huh? Oh. Thank you,” she said. Fluttershy waited for a moment but Twilight was back to staring out the window.

“Are you okay Twilight?”

Twilight nodded but didn’t look at her. “I’m fine.”

“Oh. Umm, okay then.”

She waited a few awkward moments and then lay down on the seat between Twilight and Rainbow. She had just settled down when Twilight spoke.

“I-I meant to ask you a few things about...him.”

“Quintus?”

“Uh, yes, him.” She levitated a scroll and quill out of one of her bags. “Umm...” She paused and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. When she opened them she looked into Fluttershy’s. “I’m sorry...just give me a moment.”

Fluttershy was at her side in an instant. “It’s okay Twilight. I know it’s hard for you. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“No, I need to do this. I can’t let some irrational fear of a tiny changeling do this to me, right? You’ve got to face your fears, isn’t that what they say?”

Fluttershy lay down beside her on the seat and said, “Oh Twilight, it’s not irrational. It’s perfectly normal. And yes, I think facing your fears is exactly what you need to do. Well, if you want to that is.”

Twilight nodded and then spent the next half hour asking her questions about Quintus. What he ate. Whether he had performed any magic yet. Whether he could fly. She started slowly at first, and Fluttershy could tell she was nervous, but she gradually fell into her normal groove and by the end she sounded almost like the normal, checklist-loving unicorn that Fluttershy knew and loved.

When the last question was done Fluttershy went back to her seat and laid down. She closed her eyes and just listened to the sounds around her. The thump of the wheels on the track. The creaking as it swayed back and forth. But something was missing.

Quintus. She didn’t hear his hoofsteps. She rose up and his name was in her throat when she saw him. He was with Rainbow, who was on her stomach with her legs stretched out beyond each end of the seat and her wings half open. Quintus had crawled underneath one and was asleep with his mouth open, his tiny body mirroring the larger one next to him. Her wing covered him almost completely, with only his head and hooves visible as they poked out on each side, and each breath he took would cause the tip of one of her feathers to sway back and forth slightly.

Fluttershy smiled at the sight. She couldn’t believe how well the two had taken to each other. Rainbow had come over the last two nights after her work with the weather was done and spent several hours with them. She’d even insisted on accompanying them to Canterlot this morning. Well, if ‘insisted’ meant flying into the train car fifteen minutes after they had left the station, saying, “Quint isn’t meeting any princess without me.” And then she punched Fluttershy in the shoulder, saying, “That’s for not telling me you guys were leaving.” So here they were, off to the throne room, with no idea what to expect.

They arrived in Canterlot hours later, well after Luna had raised the moon. Fluttershy watched snow covered rooftops pass by and had to force herself to exit the train once they’d stopped.

They stepped off onto the platform and five guards came forward through the otherwise empty station. They were as professional as ever, with their polished golden armor, silver spears, and rigid posture, but their eyes had bags under them and they were half-lidded. One of them, a large white pegasus with sergeant stripes and a mangled wing stepped ahead of the others. He looked around their small group and Fluttershy shrunk from his large armored form, nearly hiding herself with her mane.

“Magic...” He nodded at Twilight.

“Kindness...” A nod to her. When he did the light from a nearby lamppost fell on him just right and she noticed a scar running from the outside corner of his right eye to somewhere under his helmet. Her eyes widened at the sight but he didn’t give any indication of noticing.

“And...loyalty.” He actually saluted Rainbow, who stood a little straighter, raised an eyebrow, and gave an awkward salute back before he continued, “Welcome to Canterlot. Now, we were expecting a changeling. Where is he?”

Rainbow spoke. “He’s right here. What do you want with him?”

“I want to see him so I can get this over with and get me and my boys out of the cold. Mind cooperating?” His tone was a little stern, but not harsh, and Fluttershy found his voice mildly pleasant, like her father’s.

Rainbow hesitated a moment, then took a step to the side and Quintus squeezed in between her and Fluttershy. He wore a dark blue scarf, or ultramarine as Rarity termed it, and a purple coat that was too large for his frame, both given to him by the seamstress. The scarf was his, made by her the day before, but the coat had belonged to Sweetie Belle when she was younger, and both had the effect of covering up the bandages he still wore.

He looked up at the sergeant and yawned.

“That’s him?” the sergeant asked. He pulled out a piece of parchment from a small bag attached to his armor and spent a few moments reading over it before putting it away. Then he looked back at Quintus and laughed, his chest heaving in and out in a hearty roll of laughter that Fluttershy was sure could be heard in Ponyville.

“You gave us quite a scare, boy!” he said. His face was friendly and he was grinning at Quintus. “I brought four of my best guards down here for you, a welcome that most visiting royalty don’t get. So you better appreciate it, you understand me?”

Quintus nodded.

Twilight took a step forward. “Is everything alright sergeant? We weren’t expecting an armed escort to see Princess Celestia. This is highly irregular.”

“And we weren’t expecting to pull double shifts when we got out of bed yesterday morning. Life’s always got little surprises like that, don’t it?”

One of the two unicorn guards came forward, levitating a set of manacles in front of him and looking at Quintus. “Uh, sergeant, do you want us to...” he said, nodding towards the manacles.

The sergeant scowled and said, “I don’t put children in chains, so get rid of those.” The guard nodded and put the manacles away. Turning back to Quintus the sergeant asked, “What’s your name, son?”

Quintus opened his mouth and poked at his throat a few times. When the sergeant raised an eyebrow Quintus turned and looked at Fluttershy with a frustrated look on his face.

“He umm, he can’t talk.” Fluttershy told the sergeant. “He was injured when we found him. Right at his throat. It’s healing, but...” she trailed off. It was too painful to say he may never speak again in front of Quintus.

The smile on the sergeants face disappeared at the news and he looked down at Quintus. “Accident?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to say she didn’t know, but Rainbow spoke first.

“No. Not an accident. Someone did that to Quint.”

One of the guards put a hoof to his mouth and turned away, shaking his head and saying, “It ain’t right...”

Fluttershy’s heart fell to her stomach at the revelation. What?! How did Rainbow know that? She wanted to turn and ask, but the sergeant was talking again.

“That true, son? Someone do that to you?” Quintus made to turn to Fluttershy again but the sergeant said, “Don’t look at her, answer me.”

Quintus quickly turned back. He met the sergeant’s eye for a moment, then looked down and pawed at the ground. When he looked back up he found the sergeant still staring at him. Then Fluttershy found herself shaking her head back and forth as Quintus slowly nodded his own.

No. It couldn’t be true. Who would do something like that? The thought of harming a child was utterly incomprehensible to her and she closed her eyes, trying to will away the memory of that little head with that little nub of a horn nodding in affirmation of the terrible truth. She had hoped that it had been an accident. Even an animal attack. Anything but this.

“Was it someone close to you?” The sergeant asked.

She opened her eyes. Quintus was staring at the ground.

“Son, did someone close to you do it?”

Fluttershy wanted to grab Quintus, to tell him he didn’t need to answer. That it didn’t matter who had done it to him. She wanted to sweep him up in her arms and take him away to someplace warm and gentle to spare him the pain. But she didn’t. Like every other pony there, some part of her simply had to know.

Quintus was shaking. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he stared at the ground, and Fluttershy couldn’t seem to breathe as she tried to force herself to say something. Then a voice spoke up.

“Sergeant.” It was Twilight. “You and your guards are cold and I’m sure Princess Celestia would like to see us as soon as possible. I think we should head to the castle now.”

He looked at Twilight and his face turned to a gentle smile. “Yes ma’am. I think that would be best.”

Fluttershy let out the breath she had been holding. Thank Celestia for Twilight.

Then the sergeant reached up, pulled off his helmet, and gave it to Quintus, saying, “I’ve had this a long time and it’s done me good. You wear it anytime you’re feeling afraid and it’ll protect you. Okay?”

Quintus took it and immediately put his head inside.

The sight of his head disappearing into the far too large helmet sent the sergeant bursting into laughter again, and somehow Fluttershy found herself laughing with him. She reached down and picked Quintus up, head still in helmet, and carried him as the sergeant led them away from the train station and into Canterlot. She heard Rainbow whisper to Twilight as they fell in behind the sergeant, “Thanks Twilight.” If Twilight responded, Fluttershy didn’t hear it.

They had made it out of the train station and onto the snow covered stone road in front when Twilight asked, “Sergeant, where’s our carriage? I believe proper royal procedure is to have arriving guests or... prisoners, transported to the castle in a carriage, correct?”

“Yes ma’am, it is proper procedure. But it looks like doing things the good, proper way has been thrown out the window tonight.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know the whole story, and probably don’t know even half. But supposedly Princess Celestia got a letter a couple days ago about a changeling. Since then half the royal guard’s been mobilized and sent out on patrol, the castle’s been locked up tight, and the people of Canterlot barely leave their homes. Rumor has it Celestia’s locked up in the throne room, and the only time she leaves is to raise the Sun. On top of it all, the guard ain’t been running like it should either. Orders have been mixed up, incorrect, or not given at all. In short, it’s a right mess we got here.”

“That’s odd. That doesn’t sound like something Princess Celestia would let happen. What about Princess Luna?”

“As far as I know she’s been gone for a few weeks, off on some diplomatic something or another, and just got back today. I’m not sure she knows anything.”

Rainbow spoke up. “Sounds like everyone is flying scared.”

The sergeant nodded. “Scared like you wouldn’t believe.”

“But why? Quint’s just a kid, he couldn’t harm a fly even if he wanted to!”

The sergeant thought for a moment before saying, “It ain’t the little guy himself that’s got everyone worked up, I think it’s the bigger picture. If one changeling is found, who’s to say there aren’t more? How would you know your neighbor ain’t one? Your spouse? Your child?”

“I-I guess.”

“I was transferred here right after the changelings attacked, and I’ll tell ya I ain’t never seen a city so distrustful in my life. The attack, well, it hurt the city bad. Put a scare in them that was fiercer than anything I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s terrible!” Fluttershy suddenly said. “No one should be afraid like that!”

“No, they shouldn’t. But it ain’t about what life should or shouldn’t be, but about what it is. And what it is, is that the news of changelings being back has...” He trailed off.

“Has what?” Fluttershy asked.

He sighed. “I was gonna say the news ripped open old wounds. But I don’t reckon those wounds ever closed at all. They were just covered up and forgotten, left to fester in the dark until something like this rips the bandages off and throws salt on them.”

No one said anything further as they walked into Canterlot, surrounded by four guards. The sergeant had fallen back and was walking next to Rainbow in silence. Fluttershy noticed her eyes kept going to his maimed wing and hoped it didn’t bother her too terribly much. The sergeant seemed like a nice stallion.

Still, even though they had been treated well, Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel like the were prisoners being escorted through the streets. The normally bright and cheery buildings were dark and grey in the moonlight, only turning to some semblance of their normal color whenever they passed a streetlight. Instead of hearing thousands of ponies going about their day to day business she heard only the clop of their hooves on the stone road and the occasional passing pony.

After a few minutes they turned onto a wide street that led through the middle of the city and straight to the castle gate. As soon as they rounded the corner the guards in front stopped.

“Uh, sergeant?” one of them said.

A crowd was gathered in front of them, blocking the street. There was a mix of ponies, from high class royals with expensive cloaks to the food stand vendors wearing more moderately priced coats. No class separation existed here and Fluttershy clutched Quintus tightly at the sight of their scowling faces.

“They don’t look too happy to see us.” Rainbow said.

More ponies spilled out of a nearby alley behind them and cut off the route they had come from.

“To the corner boys, now!” the sergeant said. They took off towards a nearby L shaped building, piling into the corner with the sergeant and his guards taking position in front.

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy whispered to Rainbow, who merely shrugged in response.

Twilight looked around and asked, “Why are we backed into a corner? Shouldn’t we be running?”

One of the guards spoke. “There was nowhere to run to. All the exits were blocked.”

“Should I teleport us out of here?

“Do it!” The sergeant said.

“Okay! But it will take a few moments for the spell to charge!” she said as her horn began to glow.

Through the spaces between the guards Fluttershy saw a unicorn, orange in color and dressed in a dark, regal cloak, step forward out of the crowd. He glared at them through one eye, the other hidden behind an eyepatch. A long horn, adorned with a silver ring, erupted out of his slicked back blue mane. It began to glow as he channeled magic through it and deep red, elegant scripture appeared on the ring. Twilight and the two unicorn guards gasped and grabbed their horns as a shimmering, pink bubble suddenly burst into existence around the group.

“Are you alright Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. She was worried now. Her stomach felt like it had shriveled up to a tiny ball and even though her wings were already folded they shook from exertion as she tried to pull them even tighter to her body.

Twilight had two hooves on her horn and her face was a grimace of pain. “Feels like it’s on fire...” She said through clenched teeth.

“We’re here for the changeling. Where is he? Is he one of you?” The unicorn in the crowd asked. When no one answered he continued. “He can’t pass through that force field and you can’t use magic inside it either, so do the smart thing and tell me where he is.”

Fluttershy tightened her forelegs around Quintus, who did the same around her neck.

“I ain’t telling.” The sergeant replied.

“That would be a mistake. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.” The unicorn’s eye moved over them. When he came to Fluttershy he stopped and squinted. “What is that?” He pointed to Quintus.

“Nothing!” she squeaked.

He took a step forward. “Show it to me.”

When she made no move his horn glowed again and she felt him pulling her forelegs apart. She resisted, straining against him, but he slowly overpowered her, finally winning as Quintus dropped to the ground. The helmet fell from his head, bouncing and rolling a few feet before coming to rest under the sergeant.

The unicorn eyed Quintus. “Is...is that him?”

The sergeant nodded, picking his helmet up and placing it back on his own head. “Yeah. That’s him. He’s just a colt.”

A murmur ran through the crowd and more than a few of their faces softened at the news. The unicorn looked around at the crowd, saw their reaction, and then in a loud voice cried, “Wait! How do we know one of you aren’t a changeling?” A few heads in the crowd nodded.

“You don’t.” The sergeant replied. “You’re just gonna have to trust us.”

“Why should we trust you?”

“Why shouldn’t you?”

The unicorn laughed and turned to the crowd. “Why shouldn’t we trust him, he asks! Why shouldn’t we trust the royal guard!? You really want to know? Because you failed! You let an army of changelings take over the city with practically no resistance. What happened? Did you forget where your shiny armor was?”

“That wasn’t anyone’s fault other than the changeling queen’s. She took control of Shining Armor and-”

“That’s right!” The unicorn yelled to the crowd. “She did didn’t she! She took control of the Captain of the Guard himself! So why don’t you tell us. Why should we trust you?”

The sergeant said nothing and the crowd started to get rowdy again at his silence. Suddenly he ducked behind the line of guards and went to Rainbow.

“Rainbow Dash, you up for a little flight?”

“You bet!” she said, spreading her wings.

He pointed to the castle in the distance. “You see that tower there? Third from the right?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah.”

“The barracks is at the base. Go there, tell someone what’s going on. Get help. Then get Luna. Her tower-”

“Yeah yeah! I know where it’s at!”

“Good. Remember, guards, then Luna. We need Luna or there’s gonna be a lot of ponies hurt tonight,” he said. Then he was back in the front.

Rainbow crouched and looked at Fluttershy. There wasn’t a trace of fear on her face as she said, “Hang tight. I’ll be back in no time.”

Fluttershy gave her a weak smile. “Ten seconds flat?”

“Not even.” She winked and then jumped, launching herself into the air and racing through the sky towards the castle.

Fluttershy felt like the last bit of courage within her had flown off with Rainbow. She wanted to run and hide somewhere, to just curl up somewhere warm and pretend this wasn’t happening. But she couldn’t. There was no way out. Not without giving Quintus up and she absolutely couldn’t do that. It wasn’t even a choice. She had made a promise to herself to let absolutely nothing harm him, and whatever the crowd, and especially the unicorn leading them had in mind, it could only be something terrible.

The unicorn was speaking again. “Give him up and no one has to get hurt. We just want to keep Canterlot safe.”

“And just what are you gonna do to him? Throw him a party?”

“Something like that.” The unicorn brought a hoof up to his face. He lifted his eyepatch and Fluttershy was suddenly staring into an empty pit. “They took my eye. I think it’s only fair I take one of theirs. So in the interest of fairness why don’t you stand aside.”

When he spoke the sergeant’s voice was almost a growl.“That ain’t gonna happen,” he said, and then, after the slightest pause, added, “Boy.”

The unicorn’s face contorted and Fluttershy was amazed anypony’s face could look so angry. He turned back to crowd and cried, “You see! They protect that which endangers us!”

They responded to his cries, and whatever fleeting compassion they had upon realizing Quintus was a child evaporated as rocks and rotten foodstuff pelted the guards in front of Fluttershy.

She grabbed Quintus and leaped over to Twilight’s side. Twilight was grimacing, and she opened one eye when Fluttershy put a wing over her. Through grit teeth she said, “I...am...magic...itself!” Her horn erupted in purple light and the bubble around them momentarily flickered.

The unicorn in the crowd cried out in pain as the ring on his horn flared brightly. He shot a hoof towards them. “They're trying to escape! They are a danger to everyone in Canterlot! Get them!”

The crowd rushed forward and Fluttershy’s stomach felt like it was trying to push up and escape out her chest. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the terrible scene as it unfolded in front of her. There was a crash as the first ponies hit the line of guards. Several bodies went flying. One of the guards reared up on his hind legs and came down on a pony in front of him. Hard. Another, the sergeant, slammed into a unicorn, throwing him to the ground, and then turned to jab his spear at a pony that came forward.

Screams of anger and pain filled the air as guard battled citizen. The noise was deafening. It was five against a hundred and Fluttershy thought they would be overwhelmed nearly instantly. But again and again the line of guards threw back their attackers and held their ground. Even the two unicorns, who must have been in just as much pain as Twilight was, were fighting as hard and with as much skill as the other guards.

A pegasus swooped in and tried to tear Quintus from her, but one of the guards reared up and snatched him by a wing, slamming him down on the street before throwing him into a cluster of ponies that were charging forward. A few stumbled over the downed flyer but the rest crashed into the guard. Yet their charge was for naught, as he was large, armored, and strong, sliding only a few inches before throwing them back, yelling a ferocious war cry that would’ve made Fluttershy’s ears pin themselves to her head had they not already done so minutes before.

Suddenly something in the air caught her attention. Acting only on reflex she shoved against Twilight’s side, knocking her up against the building as a rock the size of Quintus’s head ploughed through the air where they were just standing and crashed through the wall behind them.

Twilight cried out at the impact, but didn’t stop. She was locked in battle with the other unicorn, and both were shaking with exertion as magical energy flitted in and out of existence around them. The bubble started to flicker and for a moment it looked like Twilight would win the duel.

And then one of the guards went down.

A unicorn, seizing the chance, barreled through the opening and leaped at her with a snarl on his face. Fluttershy stared up at him as he came towards her. She could see every detail about him, from the whites of his eyes as they stared down at Quintus, to the tense muscles of his chest and legs, ready to stomp them out like they were old candles being extinguished for the last time.

She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. She could only watch as death came down upon her. Then something hit her and the world ended.  Not in blackness, nor in the white light she had often heard of, but in a spectrum of pure colors that blasted out from the street. The shockwave sent the unicorn smashing into the wall behind her and she held tightly to Quintus and Twilight as they were nearly tossed backwards.

She looked up.

Rainbow Dash was back.

“You like Sonic Rainbooms!?” Rainbow yelled to the ponies below as she hovered above the street. “I can do this all night!”

She was breathing hard. Her face was pure determination. Fluttershy had always been impressed by her. Always admired her fearlessness. Her loyalty. And at this moment she couldn’t be happier that Rainbow Dash was her friend.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy yelled.

Rainbow came down and landed next to them. “You guys alright?”

Fluttershy looked at Twilight. She was holding her horn and seemed to be in pain, but nodded. Quintus still had his forelegs wrapped around her neck and was shaking, but otherwise he was uninjured.

“I-I think so.” Fluttershy said.

“Where’d that unicorn go?” Twilight asked.

That’s when Fluttershy noticed the rest of the street. There were ponies scattered everywhere. Most were sitting or lying on the street with a dazed look. But a few...a few were lying motionless. Like the guard in front of her. The sergeant was over him, calling his name and slapping lightly at his face. She looked for the unicorn in the crowd, but couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Rainbow asked the sergeant, pointing to the downed guard under him.

“Dunno. He’s barely breathing and I ain’t a doctor,” he said, not looking up as he wrapped a ragged cloth around the guards bleeding head. “You get help? You find Luna?”

“Yeah. They’re on their way. Luna-” She was cut off as a small rock struck her face.

It came from a pony, barely old enough to be called a mare, who cradled the head of fallen stallion in her arms. She met Fluttershy’s gaze and stared at her with tears of either sadness or rage in her eyes, which one Fluttershy didn’t know. It could have been both. Then Fluttershy ducked as the mare threw a rock at her too. Again and again the crying mare reached down and picked up the nearest rock, pebble, or anything else within reach and hurled it at them. They weren’t hard throws, just barely strong enough to reach them, and the guards simply let the small missiles ping off their armor.

“You’re the elements!” she cried to them. “You’re supposed to protect us! Not bring those...things here!” She pointed to Quintus.

“I...we...” Rainbow started. She had a hoof to her cheek where the stone had struck and was staring wide eyed at the mare in the street.

With a sob the stricken mare made a final, feeble throw that landed a rock at the sergeants feet and then collapsed into a sobbing mess.

Around her the crowd was pulling itself up. A stallion followed the mares example, kicking loose a large chunk from the already broken cobblestone and hefting it in one hoof. Another had produced a broken spear from somewhere and was slowly walking towards them.

“Sarge! We need to get out of here!” One of the guards said. Fluttershy heard a hint of fear in his voice.

“Where’s Luna? Where’s our help?” she asked.

“Don’t know, darling.” The sergeant said. He looked to Twilight, who was still clutching her horn. “Can you teleport now that that bubble is gone?”

“I’ll try!” She staggered to the center of the group. “Everyone gather around!”

Her face contorted, and her horn lit up with purple light that glowed brighter and brighter as the seconds passed.

“Anytime now, Twilight.” Rainbow said as her eyes danced around the crowd. Most of them were back on their hooves and approaching slowly. A few pegasi circled above like vultures.

“Don’t. Rush me. Rainbow.” Twilight said through her concentration.

“Yeah. No rush. We got all day. There’s only a hundred ponies about to pound our flanks into the ground. No problem!”

The light from Twilight’s horn grew brighter.

Something hit the sergeant in the helmet and pinged off. “Spears out!” he yelled. The remaining guards raised their spears towards the crowd.

“Come on Twi! Come on!” Rainbow was dancing in place now.

“Almost. There.” Twilight managed to get out.

The seconds passed at a crawl. Fluttershy adjusted her grip on Quintus and, before she realized what she was doing, threw the other foreleg around Rainbow’s neck and squeezed tightly.

Rainbow returned the one foreleg embrace and said,“Hey, we’re gonna be okay. Alright?” She sounded confident, but Fluttershy could feel her shaking a little.

Still, she managed to nod and then watched as the crowd closed in. They were but a few feet away from the tips of the spears when they stopped, each looking to the other as if wondering who would be the first to run in and take the spears.

The street suddenly flooded with purple light and Fluttershy was pulled inside out, backwards, upside down, and back again. Then the light faded and they were somewhere else. It was warm and there was no light. The hard cobblestone street was gone, replaced by something softer. But the smell was...familiar.

“Where are we?” Rainbow asked.

One of the unicorn guards lit his horn up, casting a soft white glow that lit up the area. They were surrounded by green trees and plants, their flowers folded up as they waited for daylight to return. A few critters scampered away from the light and into the safety of darkness. Fluttershy inhaled again and suddenly she placed the scent.

“We’re in the Canterlot gardens!” she exclaimed. Somehow, even though it was winter, the gardens felt like it was a sunny spring day. Then she noticed Twilight nearby. The unicorn was holding her horn and almost crying.

“I’m sorry! I tried to get us as close to the barracks as possible!”

“It’s fine.” The sergeant said. “We’re inside the castle walls, that’s close enough.”

The guard he was tending suddenly shuddered and convulsed. The sergeant cursed and yelled to one of the standing guards, “Go get help!” The guard ran off into the darkness, apparently knowing his way. Then, turning to another guard, he said, “Get them out of here. Take them to the throne room.”

The armored pony nodded and then led them out of the garden and into the castle, taking them through the twisting corridors at a brisk pace. They had been walking for a minute or two when the other guard came rushing past with two medics in tow. Fluttershy pressed herself to the wall as they passed and her gaze followed them as they ran out of sight. Would that guard be okay? She hoped so, it was already so terrible, and she didn’t want it to get any worse.

She caught up to the group and heard Twilight whispering to Rainbow, “Tell me this is a dream, Dash. Tell me I’m asleep and we didn’t just get attacked by a hundred other ponies in the streets of Canterlot.”

“Uh, as much as I like other ponies having me in their dreams, this time I think it’s real.”

They continued through the castle, taking a dozen or more turns and a few minutes later the guard led them into a small waiting room.

“Wait here.” he told them, shutting the door as he left and leaving the four of them alone in the room.

Fluttershy set Quintus down on one of the long couches that were scattered around the room. He sat there looking around and breathing as if he had just ran a marathon.

“Quint? You alright buddy?” Rainbow asked him.

He looked up at her and then with a quick huff he flopped on his stomach and lay there panting.

She gave a weak smile and patted him. “I totally agree little guy.” Then she turned to Fluttershy. “You guys alright?”

“I think so.” Fluttershy said. The ordeal in the streets was barely over, yet, like Twilight, it almost felt like a dream to her. A horrible, terrible nightmare of a dream that her mother would wake her from when she was a filly, offering a cookie and a hug before tucking her back in for the night. But there wouldn’t be any waking up from this nightmare.

“I-I don’t know.” Twilight said. She closed her eyes and put both hooves on her horn. “I think it’s temporary, so I should be okay.”

“Still hurt?” Fluttershy asked.

She nodded. “Definitely. But I think whatever spell that unicorn used is fading.” She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "Who was he anyhow? Have either of you seen him before?”

Fluttershy shook her head and Rainbow said, “No, but I noticed he had some kind of ring around his horn. You see it Twi?”

“Yeah. It appeared to be some kind of magical artifact. I think it was enhancing his magical powers, similar to what that amulet did for Trixie. I’ll do some research on it as soon as I get a chan-” she winced suddenly, and after seeing their worried faces said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be okay. Just hurts.”

Fluttershy nodded and then reached back to take off her saddlebags before struggling out of her coat while her companions did the same nearby. Quintus barely moved as she removed the oversized purple coat he wore, but she had to force him to give up his scarf so she could check his bandages, as she was worried his wounds had opened up in the commotion. He made a weak, desperate grab for the blue cloth as she threw it in her bags before he sighed and settled back down.

As she worked she noticed Rainbow striding back and forth across the room while Twilight lay on a nearby couch. Both were silent. The unicorn gave her a weak smile when she looked over, but her eyes spoke of immense worry. She knew because she felt it too. The tightening in her chest. The way she’d blank out unless she was doing something. She knew worry well.

It took a minute or two, but then she was done with Quintus. His bandages were fine. He seemed to be far more resilient than she’d ever imagined. He hadn’t bled at all after the first day and his injuries were healing far quicker than she had ever seen. It hadn’t even been a week and the wound on his flank was almost fully healed. For a moment the hope that his throat would heal and bring back his voice pushed her own worry aside.

She rubbed his back when she was done, saying, “You’re healing up so fast! Pretty soon you won’t have to wear those awful bandages anymore! What do you think about that?” He simply shrugged and lay his head down. She smiled and curled up next to him.

They waited in silence, and Fluttershy was sure that neither of her friends wanted to talk about the fight. She didn’t. It was too soon, and she was sure the other two felt the same. A half hour rolled by and she found herself fighting to stay awake. They had arrived late, and she considered following Quintus and Rainbow’s example and nodding off. The latter had given up pacing fifteen minutes before, saying, “Wake me when we see Celestia.”

Another five passed and Fluttershy had just laid her head down when just as she expected the door opened. It was the sergeant who had escorted them here. His eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw them.

“Princess Celestia hasn’t seen you yet?” he asked.

“No. Should she have?” Fluttershy replied.

“Guess not.” He shrugged and took the couch between between Rainbow and Twilight.

When he turned to sit down Fluttershy had to hold in a gasp. He wasn’t in his armor anymore, and she now saw the full extent of the scar she had seen earlier. It was a long, ragged scar that ran from the corner of his eye, down his neck, and ended somewhere under his good wing. And that wasn’t the only thing she noticed. Now that they were in the light, and he was out of his armor, she could get a good look at him. He was older than any of them and his dark blue mane, just a bit darker than Quintus’ scarf, had a few grey streaks beginning to show in it.

And then there was his other wing. Even folded up as it was she could tell that it was horribly maimed, and she doubted he could fly at all. She realized she was staring and quickly looked away when he turned his head towards her.

“Is that injured guard going to be alright?” she asked.

“Dunno. Too early to tell,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she told him.

“For what?”

“For getting everyone into this mess. If I hadn’t brought Quintus here none of this would have happened.”

“Darling, there’s a lot of ponies to blame for this mess, but you ain’t one of them. Besides, weren’t you summoned by Celestia?”

Rainbow, who’d awakened when the door opened, said, “Yeah, this isn’t your fault. It’s those crazies out there who attacked us for no reason.”

Fluttershy nodded but only half believed them. Before she could say anything the door opened and a guard entered. He looked at Fluttershy.

“Princess Celestia is ready for you,” he said. When Rainbow and Twilight started to get up he added, “Uh, the Princess specifically said only you.”

Fluttershy’s stomach felt like it had been teleported away by one of Twilight’s spells. Princess Celestia wanted to see her and only her?

She heard someone lightly cough and realized she had been frozen up for several seconds. Taking a deep breath she pushed away a little of the fear and followed the guard out. It was a short walk to the throne room, only one turn and past a few hallways, but for her it might as well have been across the whole of Equestria given the amount of time she felt had passed between leaving the waiting room and arriving at the double doors.

There were two guards standing outside. They nodded at the guard escorting her before each one heaved a door open. Then Fluttershy was inside.

Celestia was there, sitting on her golden throne, a red carpet leading from the doors and up the steps where it stopped at her feet.

She was looking at Fluttershy and...eating cake?

Fluttershy blinked a few times, almost thinking she was seeing things, but it was true. A large piece of chocolate cake sat on a table next to the throne. A fork floated down and lightly clattered on the plate as Celestia gently set it down. She took a moment to chew, swallow, and then wipe her mouth with a nearby napkin before she acknowledged Fluttershy.

“Hello, Fluttershy. It is good to see you.” Her voice was just as it always was, calm, regal, and gentle, and it almost put Fluttershy at ease. Almost.

“Um...Hello.”

“Please, come closer and do not be afraid.” When Fluttershy had come close she added, “Would you care for a slice of cake?”

Fluttershy shook her head ever so slightly and Celestia shrugged before continuing.

“I received Twilight Sparkle’s letter. Is there anything you wish to add?”

That caught Fluttershy off guard. Add? What could she possibly add that Twilight wouldn’t have told the Princess already? Unable to think of anything she shook her head again.

“I see.” Celestia said. She took a moment to have another bite of cake before speaking again. “Then I am afraid the changeling must be removed from Equestria.”

“What?” Fluttershy cried. It took her several seconds to register that she had even spoken. “But...why?”

“He is a changeling. He is a danger to the kingdom and all its citizens. I cannot allow him to stay.”

“But...where will he go? Who will take him in?”

“That is not our concern. Let him take care of himself.”

“But he’ll freeze! Or starve! Or-”

She was interrupted by a tiny cough from Celestia. It was barely loud enough to hear, yet to Fluttershy it was as loud as the rainboom from earlier.

“He must go. Let him feed on love somewhere else.”

“He has nowhere else! He’s injured and lonely! He can’t even spea-”

“The guards will treat his wounds. Then they will take him away.” Celestia said.

“Aren’t you even going to meet with him?”

“Fluttershy.” Celestia’s voice rose just a hair above its normal volume. “I have made my decision.”

She was about to ask why Celestia had summoned Quintus if she wasn’t even going to grant him an audience, but an image of the guard carrying manacles popped into her head and she suddenly understood. She never meant to see him, only arrest and banish him.

Fluttershy couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. All she could see was a small black creature, dirty and shivering between two nests in her henhouse.

The scene changed and he was staring up at her with his big blue eyes as he was left in the snow to die.

His mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

She was calling to him, screaming his name as she was dragged away. But only the faintest of whispers emerged from her throat.

His face. He was crying tears. She hadn’t seen him cry tears before. Not once. Not even the first time she held him and he wailed silently in her embrace.

Again she called out. Nothing. Why wasn’t anything coming out of her mouth?

He held a hoof out, reaching, straining with all his might to reach her. To touch her. To curl up under her warm wing and do nothing but dream.

Once more she yelled, screaming with everything she had. Her lungs burned from the effort.

Nothing.

Then she gasped, inhaling a sudden breath and the burning in her lungs disappeared. She was still in the throne room. Celestia was looking down at her.

“Please leave.”

Numb, she turned and made her way to the double doors. She was halfway there when someone burst through and rushed past her. A dark coat and mane, wings, horn. Luna. Fluttershy turned and watched as the younger princess bounded up the steps to where Celestia sat.

“Tia! What is going on?” Luna cried.

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean?! I mean there is madness in the city! Rioting! Looting! Even my personal intervention has barely stopped it!”

“Then all is well now?”

“No! The city is ablaze with fear and hate and I cannot put it out myself!” Luna suddenly looked around, as if just now aware of her surroundings. Her eyes went to the cake and she took a step back.

“Cake, sister? The city is on the verge of chaos and you are sitting here eating CAKE!?”

“Please, quiet yourself, Luna. Remember, the Royal Canterlot Voice is no longer in use.”

For a moment Fluttershy thought Luna might slap her sister. Rage seemed to ripple through her body, as if a great battle were being fought inside the Princess of the Night. Her whole body was quivering. Then, order seemed to win out and she slowly stopped shaking.

“Tia. What is wrong?”

“Nothing. Why do you ask?”

“Because,” Luna said, her voice rising as she spoke. “You are sitting here in the middle of the night while the capital city falls apart around you, EATING CAKE!” Luna slammed a foreleg into the cake and sent it flying across the room. Fluttershy gasped and hid herself behind her mane. There was a sound of breaking china. Chocolate crumbs littered the stone floor when she looked out.

“Dear Fluttershy, is that you?” Luna suddenly asked. She had turned to inspect the mess and her eyes were now on Fluttershy.

“Um...yes?” she said, still peeking out from behind her own mane.

Luna looked between Fluttershy and Celestia a few times before saying, “What is going on?”

Fluttershy glanced at Celestia and for the first time ever she saw an emotion other than calm serenity on her face. She looked...upset. Angry almost.

“This.” Celestia’s horn glowed and a scroll popped into existence. “A letter from Twilight Sparkle.” She gave it to Luna, who spent a minute going over it.

When she was done she said, “The changeling... he is here?”

“He is.”

“Have you seen him yet?”

“I am not going to see him. I have already made my decision. He is banished.”

‘You...you sentenced him without even seeing him? That is not the sister I know! You must grant him an audience!”

“It is already done.” Celestia said.

“Nothing is done. Not yet.”

“Please Luna, I have made my decision and I would expect my own sister to support me.”

“Not until you see him. That is the proper procedure, is it not?”

“Not this time.” Celestia replied. Her voice was a little louder and more agitated now.

Fluttershy could only watch and listen as the argument heated up.

“Grant him an audience, Tia!” Luna said again, her voice stern now.

“No.”Celestia said, louder and angrier than before.

“Give him an audience!” Luna was nearly yelling now.

“No!”Celestia cried.

“Yes! I do not know what is wrong with you tonight but you must see him, Tia!”

“No! I will not! I cannot!” Celestia nearly shrieked.

Fluttershy recoiled and backed away a few steps. Celestia was shaking, quivering in her seat and Fluttershy couldn’t help but stare at her. The beautiful, calm princess she knew had ceased to exist. And then...

And then it clicked. Fluttershy knew exactly what was wrong with the princess. Before she realized what was happening the secret was tumbling out.

“She’s scared! She’s scared of him!”

Luna’s mouth fell open and she stared at her sister.

“Tia...Tia is this true?”

Celestia said nothing. Her eyes were closed and she was still shaking. All traces of anger disappeared from Luna and her voice got quiet.

“Oh Tia...dear Tia...” she said, gently wrapping her forelegs around her sister. “I am here...”

Fluttershy stood there and watched as the two celestial sisters embraced one another. Several minutes went by as the two hugged and talked in low voices. While they spoke Fluttershy’s mind dredged up unwanted memories of that battle during the wedding. It made sense now. The changeling queen had beaten Celestia. Easily beaten her. And now she was absolutely terrified of them.

“Guards!” Luna suddenly cried. When the doors opened she told them, “Bring them in. All of them.”

A minute or two passed before her companions arrived and, surprisingly, the sergeant was with them. But it was Quintus who caught her eye. He had retrieved his scarf from her bags and wrapped it around his neck again. The sight of the blue material swinging back and forth with each of his tiny steps managed to bring the slightest of smiles to her face, despite the circumstances.

Once her friends were beside her Fluttershy turned back to the two sisters. They were still talking in hushed voices and Celestia was blocked by Luna, but the last look on the princess’ face was burned into her mind.

Fear.

How could Celestia herself be afraid of anything? It was almost unimaginable!

“Have the changeling step forward,” Luna said.

Quintus looked up at Fluttershy. There was fear on his face as well. Fluttershy nudged him, telling him it would be okay, and he took a few slow steps out, head down, before he increased to a trot that took him halfway to the throne steps before he stopped. There he sat, head bowed, as if he knew he was awaiting judgment.

Then Luna moved aside and both sisters got their first look at Quintus.

For the second time that night Luna’s mouth hung open. She looked back and forth between Quintus and Fluttershy a few times before saying, “That is him?!”

Fluttershy nodded. To be honest she barely registered Luna’s voice, as Celestia’s reaction had grabbed her attention and she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

The Princess was staring at Quintus with a look on her face that Fluttershy couldn’t interpret. Her mouth was a slit that revealed clenched white teeth and she looked down at Quintus through wide eyes from atop on her throne. Wordlessly, she rose and took a step forward, stopping at the edge of the top step for a brief moment before stepping down. Slowly, haltingly, the princess descended from her throne until she was on the floor level with them.

She moved towards Quintus and when she got close Fluttershy could see the details of her face. Her eyes and mouth were quivering, just enough to notice, as one does when they are trying to hold back strong emotion. She danced her gaze between Fluttershy and the changeling in front of her a few times and then spoke. When she did her voice was higher pitched than normal, as if she were afraid to speak for fear of what might happen.

“He is...a child?” she nearly squeaked. Her voice broke on the last word and she squeezed her eyes shut as her hoof covered her mouth. Moisture leaked out from behind her eyelids and wetted the corners, staining the pure white with subtle darkness.

She spoke again and the words were almost inaudible from behind the hoof on her mouth. “I-I almost banished a child...”

The sight of the princess sitting there, holding back tears with all her might was almost too much for Fluttershy. She found tears of her own on her cheeks and when she glanced at her companions she saw that while Rainbow managed to hold back tears, both the sergeant and Twilight were crying. The former was staring at the scene before him with merely a small smile and moist eyes. However, seeing her long time teacher, friend, and regent like this must have overwhelmed Twilight. She was an imperfect mirror of her mentor, with two hooves to her mouth and tears cascading down from her open eyes and dropping to the floor.

For long seconds Celestia remained in her solemn position before she suddenly breathed in a single, sniffling breath. A moment passed and she collapsed to the floor as a muffled sob escaped her lips. Quintus leaped from his sitting position when she fell and took a step back, one small black foot held to his body.

He looked quickly between Fluttershy and the huge creature on the ground before him, as if uncertain what to do. Before he could do anything Celestia spoke. Her watery eyes were open now and she had a small smile on her face. Her voice was calm and soft, completely lacking the fear and anger of earlier, and had Fluttershy not been able to see the exchange before her she could have believed the princess was speaking to a tiny foal, fresh into the world on its day of birth.

“Hello little one...” Her voice seemed to calm Quintus, as he slowly set his foot down and visibly relaxed. “What’s your name?”

He huffed and hung his head for a moment. Then he sat, opened his mouth, and brought both front hooves up to gesture at his throat. When she only looked on in confusion he pulled his scarf away and showed her the bandage underneath.

It took a moment but realization appeared on Celestia’s face.

“He cannot speak...”

Quintus shook his head back and forth a few times.

A small noise escaped her lips and the princess again had to cover her mouth at this news.

Then something odd happened. Quintus, perhaps seeing Celestia crying in front of him, stood and took a few steps towards her before stopping in mid step as something caught his attention.

Her horn.

Long and with shallow recesses that spiraled up it, her horn angled up above him, and it occurred to Fluttershy that he’d probably never seen any ponies horn up close before, let alone the one belonging to the Sun goddess herself.

The tip of it was directly above him and he cocked his head to the side just a little as he stared at it for a moment. Then he rose, standing up on his hind legs, stretching out to touch the horn above him.

Not a sound came from anyone in the throne room. Fluttershy knew that if she looked around she would find every eye locked onto the little changeling reaching for the horn of a princess.

He was close, only inches away.

Stretching further, his right foreleg moved to within an inch or less, and not even the most glorious garden, filled with hundreds of beautiful, exotic animals could have ripped Fluttershy’s gaze from the spectacle in front of her.

Further he stretched, bringing him so close that a single strand of her hair could barely have fit between that little black hoof and that wondrous white horn.

Fluttershy spared the briefest of glances to look at Celestia’s face. She was completely still, her teary eyes wide open and staring at him as he reached up to touch that terribly precious part of her.

He was so close, yet it seemed that he wouldn’t quite reach it. With a huff he gave a final effort, coming down slightly before pushing back up in an attempt to use his momentum to carry him the rest of the way.

And then he stumbled, losing his balance and tipping over backwards.

Fluttershy gasped, and she was certain she wasn’t the only one. Her body seemed to react on its own as she lurched forward to catch him, regardless of the fact that she was much too far away. But then a spectrum of colors nearly blinded her and she paused.

Was it Rainbow? Then the colors faded and she could see again.

He was up on his hind legs with his little wings spread open to either side, their thin membrane reflecting the light from the chandelier above and turning it into a dazzling chromatic dance on the walls as they lightly fluttered.

And he had reached it. The tip of Celestia’s wonderful horn was in his hoof. His wings kept him balanced as he inspected the object he had been reaching for.

At that moment, that one glorious instant in time, he was everything to her. He was a butterfly on her flank. He was a young colt on the playground, reaching a hoof up to the heavens as if the Sun itself was what he dreamed of. He was even the kindness in her heart she gave freely to all things. He was all of this and more.

And then it was over.

Seemingly satisfied, he dropped back down. Then, as if seeing his wings for the first time, he reached out and flicked one once before smiling widely. He looked back at Fluttershy with excitement on his face and then turned back to Celestia.

The princess was smiling. A genuine smile, one of relief and happiness. Calm serenity seemed to emanate from her again as she gazed down upon Quintus. Then she looked to Fluttershy.

“His name?” she asked.

“Quintus,” Fluttershy told her.

“A beautiful name...”

Then Quintus was moving again. He stepped forward until he was barely a foreleg’s length away from Celestia and sat down before holding one hoof up to her. Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and she looked to Fluttershy and her companions.

A cough sounded out. Rainbow Dash brought her hoof down from her mouth and held it out towards the sergeant, who brought his own into contact with hers in a hoof bump. Celestia looked back down at Quintus and slowly brought her own golden-shod hoof towards his. A low clack sounded and she let out a single soft laugh that brought a wide smile to Fluttershy’s face.

“Luna,” Celestia called to her sister in a calm voice.When Luna was beside her she said, “Please see that Fluttershy and her friends are given rooms for the night. I’m sure they are tired from the days events.”

“Of course, sister,” she said. She motioned for one of the nearby guards to come forward but the sergeant suddenly spoke.

“I’ll do it, your highness. I’m the one assigned to them,” he said, leaving the throne room when she nodded.

Luna turned her attention back to her sister. Celestia was talking to Quintus but her voice was too low for Fluttershy to make out the words. She could only see him occasionally nod or shake his head in answer to her questions.

Then Luna tore herself away and approached them, saying, “Twilight Sparkle, it would have been most helpful if your letter had included more details on the changeling. Why did you not tell us he is a child?”

“But-but I did! It was all in my letter!” Twilight replied.

Looking confused, Luna levitated a piece of parchment over from the table near the throne. She gave it to Twilight, who looked at it, turned it over once, and then spoke.

“Where’s the second page?”

“Second page? There was only one page.”

“But I sent two! I remember giving Spike both pages!”

“Then I would recommend questioning your assistant when you return, as my sister only received one page.”

Twilight sighed, shook her head, and then said, “I’ll be sure to do that.”

With that Luna returned to her sister. Several minutes passed before Celestia had finished with Quintus. She sent him back to Fluttershy, watching him trot away with a sweet smile on her face that disappeared when she looked up to Luna.

“A child, Luna...I almost banished a child,” she said, barely loud enough for Fluttershy to hear.

Luna lay down beside her sister and embraced her. “But you didn’t, Tia. You didn’t.”

Luna continued to talk, but whatever she said went unheard by Fluttershy as the sergeant returned and ushered them out of the throne room. They retrieved their belongings and then he led them through the castle hallways and up several levels until they stopped outside a set of double doors that were far smaller than those that led to the throne room.

“Royal suite. I hope y'all like it,” he said with a smile before opening the doors and leading them inside.

Fluttershy nearly gasped when they entered into the main room. Plush furniture and decor adorned the suite and two glass doors led to a balcony that overlooked all of Canterlot. Rainbow Dash plopped down on an expensive looking couch and sighed.

“Now THIS is royal treatment,” she said, sounding far more tired than she looked. “I should've come here sooner...”

Twilight stuck her head into one of the four bedrooms adjacent to the main room. “Not that I’m complaining, but why didn’t we all receive individual rooms, sergeant?”

“Security reasons Ma’am. It’s easier to guard one big room than three smaller ones.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“I think it is.”

Fluttershy spoke up. “But why? Surely we’re safe inside the castle, right?”

“Normally I’d agree. But with things the way they are I think I have to say no.”

“But...why not?”

“I’d rather not tell you this, but I think you should know seeing how you’re the one carrying around the little guy there,” he pointed to her feet where Quintus was before continuing. “I think we have a traitor in the guard.”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe it. A traitor in the royal guard? But they were supposed to be the best and most loyal soldiers in all of Equestria! Lost in her worrying she almost missed when Twilight spoke.

“Is it because of that ambush in the city?”

“Yes Ma’am. Only the guard knew when and where you would be, so to have that many ponies in one place and acting with that kind of coordination speaks of conspiracy.”

“That’s unbelievable,” Fluttershy said. “What should we do?”

“For now, sleep. I’ve got guards posted outside the doors and pegasi watching the balcony. I know them all personally. I’d even trust them to leave my poker hand alone if I had to leave for the bathroom.”

“Is that supposed to be reassuring?” Twilight asked.

A small laugh came from the sergeant. “Don’t you worry now. The guards have orders to get me if anything out of the ordinary happens, so y'all just head on to bed and I’ll see you in the morning.” With that he turned and left.

Twilight shrugged and took the first bedroom while Fluttershy ushered Quintus into the second and put him to bed. She was tired, but after the days events wasn’t quite ready to sleep. Unfortunately Twilight had already gone to bed and Rainbow had apparently passed out on the couch moments after lying down. With nothing else to do she opened the glass doors and stepped out onto the balcony.

The view nearly took her breath away. The lights of Canterlot were spread out before her, lighting up the city in multicolored hues that reminded her of the mane and tail of a certain pegasus asleep on the couch. It was cold and a little windy, but she leaned on the railing and let her thoughts roam for a while. The day's events were difficult to accept. She’d been there, the entire time, watching both terrible and wonderful things unfold before her eyes, and yet she almost couldn’t believe they’d happened. This was truly one of the strangest days in her life. Which, after all she’d been through over the past few years, was saying something.

Sighing, she pushed the thoughts away and closed her eyes. She meant to only rest them for a moment, but she was shivering when something woke her. It was one of the pegasus guards assigned to watch the balcony.

“Are you alright, Ma’am?” he asked.

“Oh! Uh, yes. Thank you. I’ll just be off to bed now.”

With that she went back inside as he took off and disappeared into the night sky. Rainbow still lay uncovered on the couch so Fluttershy fetched a blanket from one of the other bedrooms and draped it over her. As she did so she noticed Rainbow quiver as a soft mewling sound came from her throat. A few seconds later it happened again. Smiling softly she reached for her friends hoof, holding it until Rainbow stopped shaking and only her breathing sounded in the dark.

Finally she returned to her room, curling up around Quintus and hoping that she wouldn’t get kicked in the stomach by a small hoof tonight. Next Chapter: Chapter Three Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 33 Minutes