Harmony on the Winds

Chapter 4 - Drastic Measures

written by Fire Soul and Samantha Sprocket

It wasn't until the very next day that she'd actually gone and left for Canterlot, her friends (minus the hospital-ridden Fluttershy) having talked her into staying with them at the library one more night before she left for her stay in Canterlot. They all promised to do as she'd told them, giving her at least a small bit of relief as she'd boarded the train.

The quiet beep of Spike's heart monitor filled the train car, the entire caboose of the train requisitioned both for heightened security as well as packing in all the equipment necessary to keep Spike alive and as well as he could possibly be all things considered. His small draconic claw was holding Twilight's hoof, the mare staying by his side during the entire ride, every little bump making the young dragon grimace from sharp jolts of pain to his insides.

She slowly laid her head down over where his legs were, the majority of his body covered up by fairly thin bedsheets. Even though he was incapable of speech for the moment, he reached down to lightly pet down over the top of her head, earning him an understanding smile from his caretaker.

She was worried about him still, he knew it. She'd put up a good front up until they'd loaded him onto the train. He found it funny that the moment he first winced in pain when the train jostled him in the bed, she started darting around the instruments to check for any abnormalities. He'd known that she was basically self-taught beyond the basics about medical terminology and biology that the Princess had tutored her on, and he trusted her to know exactly what she was doing when she began to fiddle with some of the machines.

She smiled up at him when she felt his clawed hand petting through her mane, his familiar
touch a source of comfort for the distraught pony at the moment. It was nice to know that her little brother was still worried about her well-being even now, when he's the one stuck in a hospital bed.

Noting her bloodshot eyes and the tired look in her eyes, he pointed to the couch nearby with a more neutral expression, then pointed to her. She tilted her head at him in confusion for a moment, but then her tired mind hit the power and let a few gears turn.

He smiled when she smiled at him, the tired mare moving away from Spike's secured bed, resisting the urge to return to his side when he groaned in pain from another hard jostle along the tracks.

Twilight slumped down onto the couch with a sigh, her body's aches finally becoming very apparent once her muscles finally went slack. Joints ached, muscles protested their unjust treatment, and her mind was screaming 'FINALLY!' and flooding itself with the unstoppable desire to sleep.

As she laid her head down and closed her eyes, her thoughts returned to her friends in Ponyville, and their reaction to the news she gave them....

"What?! Protective custody?"

"Darling, why-"

"And you're running off to Canterlot on top of all that?!"

"Girls...."

"Twi, ah can't be under lockdown! Ah got a farm t'take care of!"

"Girls!"

Twilight just sat, shrinking away from her friends, specifically Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, as they shouted at her.

Fluttershy tried to get them to back off, but being bound to bed with her head wrapped up and an ice pack against the back of her head and neck, she was an unfortunate sight. Still, she was far better off than most. Certainly, she was better off than Spike right now!

Rarity refused to let up on her, however. She and the others were very upset at Twilight's desire to put them under protective custody, which could very well restrict them to their houses until a more permanent solution arose.

"Twilight, I regularly have to go to Canterlot to meet with and speak with various high-profile clients! If I am restricted to my own home, why....I-I could be put out of business! How could you even think of doing such a thing to me?!"

"Not to mention I wouldn't be able to continue my flight training! If I can't leave my house, the best I can do is wing-ups and various stretches and stuff. I'd totally get all soft and flabby, plus I'd get really rusty with my stunts and tricks!"

"Mah farm would wind up goin' under eventually without me there! Granny can't do any applebuckin', an' Big Macintosh can only do so much....Apple Bloom's too young....no, no way Twilight, ah can't let'cha-"

"GIRLS!!"

They all went silent, the frowning but very adamant Twilight turning her attention to the wounded Fluttershy, who rubbed the side of her head after shouting loud enough to get the attention of her friends.

"Twilight....you had more to say, right....? Because I, well, I have to take care of my animals, and I can't do that very well from the safety of my cottage....so, um, please....if you could maybe, e-explain what else you had in mind....?"

Twilight took a deep breath after that, all of her friends looking to her expectantly. She really wanted to tell them exactly what she had in mind, but it was too risky. She didn't want to give them a chance to argue against the idea. No, she had to give them no other options. Fortunately, she'd already put plenty of thought into what could be done to alleviate their concerns.

"Applejack, I fully intend to talk to the Princess to get a royal stipend set up that would allow you to pay an employee or three to do your work in your place. If she can't allow that....I'll take money out of my own royal account to do so for you."

"What?! Twi, ah can't-"

"It would be my fault you can't work, it would be my responsibility to fix the problem."

She and Applejack shared a very firm, silent stare, looking into each other's eyes for what seemed like an entire minute before the farmpony backed down.

"Twi....a-ah don't know what t'say, ah mean, this seems really...."

She didn't give AJ much more time to think on it, turning her attention immediately to the timid pegasus laid back in the bed next to her.

"Fluttershy. I'll try to get a new caretaker hired and moved to Ponyville to do the outside work and shopping for you. One employee working an entire animal sanctuary on her own isn't supposed to be allowed by the government anyways, no matter the size. You should've had an assistant a long time ago."

"W-well, really, the animals usually assist me...."

"Still, another should be there to help you in case you fall ill, among other things."

"Oh, u-um, okay...."

She turned her attention to Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash next. She quickly focused her gaze on Pinkie, since she was easiest to deal with.

"I know you won't really be able to throw anymore parties Pinkie, but you can still help the Cakes with work, as long as they're okay with customers being checked by the guards at the doors. I'll talk to them about it before I leave."

"Fine with me! I can put my parties on hold if it'll make Twilight feel better! Not to mention if somepony kills me, I won't be able to make ponies smile more, and Rarity wouldn't be able to make her dresses, and-and Rainbow Dash wouldn't get to be in the Wonderbolts, and....y'know girls, why are we arguing with her?"

They all stared wide-eyed at Pinkie for a moment, the pink mare looking over to Rarity with a grin. "You do all your work from inside your house anyways, just like me! Plus Rainbow Dash, you'd always be up in the sky! As long as you don't go too far away from the guards, I'm sure you could afford to leave your house to practice."

They all looked between each other for a moment, their gazes lacking confidence in the resolve some of them had built up, their knee-jerk reaction to suddenly being restricted to their homes seeming foolish now compared to guaranteeing their safety.

After a long, extensive moment of silence, Twilight decided to speak up once more.

"Girls, I know this seems....really extreme-"

"Not really, Fluttershy almost died. I'd totally expect this from you Twilight." Rainbow said quickly.

"-BUT....I need you all to trust me on this. I don't...."

Fluttershy's eyes fluttered open from their closed state, the timid pegasus still feeling very tired from her ordeal.

"I just keep seeing one horrible scenario after another every time I close my eyes, some different way they might get one of you! Poison, animal attack, buckling structural braces bringing your barn down on top of you Applejack, an errant lightning bolt hitting you mid-flight, Rainbow Dash....!"

"Twilight, please! We get it darling, calm down!"

"No, you don't get it!"

They all recoiled from that, Fluttershy cowering behind her own mane. Even Twilight seemed jolted by her tone, her ears flattening against her skull and her head ducking lower in a mix of shame and worry towards the possibility of being yelled at by the resident nurses. Fortunately, this didn't come to pass.

"Sorry. Sorry girls, I didn't....just please, trust me with this. I just need one month, and I'll have a much better final solution ready for this whole thing. That's all I need, just one month."

They looked amongst each other, all six of them, the final conclusion coming quickly, with Applejack's hoof resting down atop Twilight's shoulder, patting it a few times.

"Ah think I speak for all of us when ah say that we understand why yer askin' us ta go through with this. Yer not th' only one that's scared sugarcube, I'd be lyin' through mah teeth if ah bothered to try an' convince anypony in here that ah ain't scared o' ponies tryin' ta kill me when I don't expect 'em."

"It's just that it's kind of sudden, and extreme for us. At least, I think so...." Fluttershy said to them, rubbing the side of her head and laying her head back slowly.

Twilight nodded a little to her friend, then turned to leave the room. "I need to go get ready. I know you're all apprehensive, but I just....can't let this happen, to any of you," she said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm going to fix this."

Her friends just looked to each other as she left, feeling condemned to being imprisoned in their own homes. They didn't like it, but they knew just as much as they couldn't dissuade Twilight from this decision that this was entirely necessary for their safety.

Twilight, however, was utterly determined to do far more than just keep them safe. "I have to fix this....!"

That was the conversation leading to their sleepover last night, though Twilight felt that it had been much longer. She wished it was longer still before they arrived in Canterlot, but she knew she couldn't avoid presenting her ludicrous plan to her teacher for much longer.

That was the whole reason for this trip after all, this crazy plan of hers. It was easily the boldest thing she'd ever decided to do in order to take care of what she felt was the worst of possible problems.

The train slowly lurched to a stop as they arrived in Canterlot's train station. She stepped away from Spike when the doctor and nurses came in.

It was a surprisingly vague spectacle, having a royal escort watching over them as she walked with Quick Cure up to the castle, the trip taking around ten minutes after a quick ride in a carriage straight to the castle's front steps.

"Why are you here, by the way?" she asked, turning her attention to the doctor, who was doting over Spike's various medical machines.

Quick Cure moved away from him as they wheeled him into the castle and moved quickly for the Medical Wing. With his attention turned away from his patient, he focused moreso on the next important individual: his patient's caretaker.

"I believe in forming bonds, Lady Sparkle. I am his doctor, I know the most about his case and I'm the one that operated on him. I should be the one that continues to treat him regardless of the situation."

She just stared at the doctor as they walked along, Cure's notepad and quill scribbling away rapid-fire next to his head. Then she chuckled and just shook her head.

"If I weren't such a scientist, I'd say your timing in coming to Ponyville is nothing short of Providence!....However, I know Princess Celestia. At least now I know what I want to ask her first when I reach her."

"Oh, you're here to speak to the Sun Diarch? I thought you'd come along simply to oversee your assistant's transfer from Ponyville to Canterlot's Royal Hospital."

"Huh, not many ponies call her that anymore," she said, a quiet sigh escaping her. "Y-yes, well, we have a few....very important things to discuss. You'll probably hear about it in around a month or so. Talk to you another time, Quick!"

"Er, sure, al....right, then."

Twilight was off at a brisk pace before he even had a chance to say goodbye to her.

It didn't take much time for Twilight to reach the Princess's chambers. The guards recognized her immediately, and since the standing orders were to treat Twilight as a guest of the Princesses at all times, they immediately nodded to her and let her knock on the door.

"Enter!"

The guards were already in the process of moving to open the door for Twilight by the time the Princess spoke up from the other side.

Within, the familiar opening sight of the pristine Princess Celestia could be witnessed, leaning over a table covered in legal papers. Tax reform requests, nobles whining about their neighbor or not being able to afford a five-star vacation instead of four....until somepony like Twilight showed up, somepony important, many days those papers were Celestia's entertainment, and Twilight knew it. Nobles could be downright hilarious sometimes, with the things they whined about!

She could never not be happy to see Celestia! Both mares were quick to move, one towards the desk and the other away from it, both of them meeting closer to the center than anything else.

A quick nuzzle as a greeting later, and they were quickly catching up on recent events. For Twilight, however, their small talk was mostly an act, and Celestia seemed to pick up on this. Quickly.

"Now then, Twilight....this visit is certainly a sudden one. I can only imagine it has something to do with what happened to Spike for you to rush him here so urgently," she said, motioning towards the bathroom. "A moment to ourselves sounds like a good idea. Care to join me?"

Ah, the baths that the royal suites had. Obviously every room in the castle, even for Ambassadors, couldn't incorporate the special traits of the mountain's internal, hot spring water supply. The water itself seemed to have a certain rejuvenating effect all its own, so even the Princesses didn't get to use such water for their daily bathing, but when entertaining company or after a very hard day's work, it often became something they awarded themselves.

Not to mention, it was a great way to just kick back and relax with a friend or two!

She and Celestia had often taken time at least twice a week to just relax together, discussing Twilight's most recent studies and lesson plans as the Princess's student while she was growing up, and even as a filly they often bathed together. She'd grown out of the habit as she'd gotten older, and instead just used the royal baths as a place to rest and relax with one of the most important ponies in her life.

It only took a little over two or three minutes to siphon in the water from the mountain's internal hot spring, the distinct scent of minerals wafting into the air of the bathroom as the steaming hot water beckoned both of them.

Celestia entered first, a deep sigh leaving her as she sunk her larger form down into a laying position in the large spa. Twilight moved in next to her, taking a seat a very short distance away from the Princess.

For a time, only the gentle sound of the magic runes humming within the construction of the tub itself could be heard, quietly swirling the water around them and gently buffeting their bodies with wide streams coming from various directions.

Twilight was the first to break the silence, which was in and of itself unusual between them. Whenever Twilight was so urgent about talking to her, she always became very subdued and nervous about voicing whatever the problem was in Celestia's presence. The fact that Twilight showed little hesitation in this matter told her just how important this really was to her.

"Did you hear about what happened yesterday?"

Celestia perked up.

"Hm? What happened Twilight?"

Celestia could almost see Twilight's face pale as she got lost in her thoughts. She quickly snapped herself out of it though, making the Princess blink when they gazes suddenly locked, Twilight's eyes carrying a somber tone to them, the life within dimmed and afraid.

"When we were all leaving Sugarcube Corner, the decorations and the sign over the entrance fell and almost crushed all of us. We only managed to get out of the way thanks to Pinkie's weird Sense and my magic."

"My goodness! Twilight, I'm-"

"That's not all," she said quickly, making Celestia instantly go silent. "They almost killed Fluttershy, in her own home."

Celestia's figure went rigid at that news. Her stern, alarmed gaze said all it needed to.

"She's doing better now. Moderate concussion and a broken rib, couple of bone fragments in the wall of her lung. They fixed her up quick, she just has to take it easy for a while. Pretty neat that magic allowed them to remove those bone fragments without having to open her up! Just some tiny incisions, and they could ease them out through the small slits in her skin."

"I am....very sorry to hear that, Twilight. If I had known....!"

"I came here to ask you if you could do something, or several somethings, to help me."

"You know there's very little I would ever deny you, Twilight. You have but to ask, especially when it comes to your friends and the safety of their lives!"

Twilight seemed very tense at that point, looking away from the Princess and staring down into the wavy water, becoming pensive as time passed. The silence grew between them once more.

Should she show Celestia exactly what she planned to do? She'd spent all of her time since Spike had been hospitalized trying to think of ways to keep herself safe, and she always came back to the same problem: being in one location.

The issue of being ambushed and killed before knowing what happened was the main problem, but the only solution she could see that actually worked with any degree of guaranteed, repeating success was keeping on the move, as much as possible. Every time she remained stationary in her mental scenarios, she could easily move the evil little creatures and things into position around her and they would just....tear her to shreds before she even had a chance to defend herself.

The same issue became even more serious once her friends became involved. The solution remained the same: they had to keep moving. She had to tell Celestia of her plan if she was ever going to make it happen within a single month.

She took a deep breath and met the Princess's gaze. "I need a crash course in martial and magic combat, along with a refresher course on military doctrine and protocol."

Celestia stared at her student for a moment, unsure if she'd heard the lavender mare correctly. Was she...?

"Twilight....you are of course aware that getting a few quick lessons in martial discipline, or joining the Royal Guard-"

"What? No, that's not my intention. Besides, according to what I understand of Equestrian law, us Element Bearers are already considered a part of the military forces keeping Equestria safe, we're just ambiguous at the moment."

Celestia stared at her student for a moment, the silence lasting for only a few seconds.

I must trust her. She will reveal her plans, if she believes she can trust me with this.

Celestia took a deep breath with her eyes closed, looking to her student with a faint, serene smile a moment later.

"....Very well, Twilight. What about the lessons on military protocol and doctrine?"

"That....well, once we're done in here, I have something I need to give to you. Well, that and a list."

They shared a long silence together, Celestia looking down to the lavender mare who seemed fully intent on avoiding her gaze. She was beyond nervous. Celestia knew that Twilight was afraid she would say no.

Her student had proven to be dependable and forthcoming about almost everything that she'd put in front of the studious young mare. Whatever this was, she was sure she could trust Twilight's wisdom.

"Very well, Twilight. For now though, let us simply enjoy ourselves as best we can, given the circumstances."

It was an awkward silence that enveloped them, or so Twilight felt. Celestia seemed unfazed by the current situation. That was just her mask though: Twilight had gotten to know at least a large part of the mare beneath. She knew that Celestia was trying to think of a way to break away from the awkward atmosphere that seemed to be smothering them both.

"So Twilight."

"Hm?"

She looked away for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. She was trying to think of a way to properly word her question.

"....Are you alright?"

Twilight frowned and stared down at the water. Was it that obvious that something was really bugging her? Well, moreso that she was just feeling apprehensive. Fearful.

"Well....I'm feeling nervous-"

"No," Celestia gently said, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Not right now. I'm talking about the events leading to this meeting."

"But I don't-"

Celestia quickly lowered herself down to be eye-to-eye with her student.

"Twilight."

"Yes....?"

The lavender unicorn's gaze couldn't be more erratic. She looked scared, afraid of what was happening to her. She'd already been getting agitated with the silence, and her teacher had chosen the perfect time to try to get under the surface of her thoughts.

Celestia stepped closer, placing a hoof over her withers. "Twilight....have you opened up to your friends about what happened?"

Twilight twitched. "O-of course! We all sat down and talked about it, we-"

"You were one bite of food away from dying."

Twilight went silent instantly, her head hanging low to the water. Celestia could feel her entire body beginning to shake like a leaf.

"I know you have faced danger before Twilight, but not like this. When Nightmare Moon struck, she wished to toy with your mind, break you. The same goes for Discord. Only Chrysalis seemed intent on harming you directly, and even then, she never got the chance," she muttered, resting a hoof on Twilight's wither. "This was not something you could face. This was something that snuck up on you, and attempted to end you without giving you a single chance for survival. It was not something that you or your friends could face, and this fact has not changed."

Twilight's tears began to join the water, disappearing beneath the undulating waves of the spa, her withers quaking with the silent, barely-restrained sobs of a terrified mare.

"Why are you suh-saying all that?! Please stop!"

"No."

Twilight's sadness quickly shifted to anger. She turned suddenly and backed away from the Princess, having rarely ever heard such harshness in her tone. Celestia knew what this was doing to her, why was she pushing it?

"What do you mean, 'no'?!"

"Because you are afraid."

She said it so matter-of-factly that Twilight couldn't bring herself to refute it, mostly because it was true. She wasn't just afraid, she was terrified. This was the only safe option. It was either this, or doom herself and her friend's futures to the fickle nature of pure chance. It was pure chance that Spike took a bite of food before she did, after all.

"....But why are you pushing me on it if you already know....?"

"Because I know you, and I was there when it happened, Twilight. I know you haven't approached your friends about this, not all of it. You have put up a front, as you did when you were a little filly. I also know that that incident has everything to do with why you're here, alone, without your friends."

Celestia took a small step closer to her student, the young mare shrinking back, as if this Princess she trusted with her life had just attempted to strike her.

Twilight didn't know why she was panicking. She felt cornered, laid bare and helpless before her teacher, and there was nothing she could do about it. Celestia had blitzed her, and she was utterly unprepared to handle what she was feeling. It had gotten buried so deep that she thought if she just kept busy it would stay there, but right out of left field, the one pony that knew her best was ripping it right out of her and making her face it, whether she liked it or not.

Her body shook violently, like a foundation crumbling under the weight. Even as the tears began to flow unrestrained and she cried like a little filly that had just the absolute worst nightmare about the monster under her bed, she wondered how she could possibly hold up to the strain the next month and beyond was going to bring her if this was all it took to make her crack.

She felt deceptively powerful forelegs envelop her, the sound and feel of perfectly-kept wings moving around her giving her a deep-rooted feeling of safety and trust as the Princess's warm body seemed to surround her own. Her withers quaked with every sob, every hiccup and sniffle that sounded off as the floodgates tore open and her forelegs gripped around Celestia's middle and clung for dear life to her.

The Princess couldn't help but shed a few tears herself, feeling her strong, smart and confident student reduced to such a terror-ridden mess. It broke her heart to hear Twilight crying so, but there was little she could do to avoid it. Right now, it was best to help her student past this, so she wouldn't break under the strain of it all later.

"Yes, I'm scared, I'm so scared....!" she struggled to say. "I thought that if I just....k-kept wuh-*sob*-working that I wouldn't have to think about any of that....!"

She gently ran a hoof up and down Twilight's back while the young mare buried her face in her teacher's perfect, immaculate coat of fur, right at her chest. She would have felt bad about ruining Celestia's fur, given the kind of attention needed to keep it in such a state, but her teacher wasn't complaining, and it just felt so good right now....so safe.

The Princess stayed there with her for however long it took, gentle caresses and calm words accompanied by the intense sobbing and wailing of a lavender unicorn that had been reminded of and terrified by events both past and present.

Twilight felt tired, but much lighter once it was all over, a noisy and unladylike sniffling vaguely echoing through the bathroom as she backed out of the Princess's grasp. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself down, the Princess waiting patiently for her to collect herself before speaking up.

"I assume you feel a bit better now?"

Twilight faintly laughed, barely able to hold a smile for a second before it fell away.

"Nnnnot as much as I wish I felt better."

Celestia just smiled at that and nodded. "I do apologize for that, Twilight. Anypony that knows you could have easily seen how nervous you were. When it comes to having one's loved ones at mortal risk, I couldn't let your fears influence your decisions."

Twilight quickly shook her head, rubbing the tears from her eyes before looking up to her.

"If I wasn't afraid, I wouldn't be approaching you about this! I know this is a big decision, but it has to happen."

The Princess quickly nodded to that, standing in the tub and walking over towards the short steps leading out of it.

"I know you well enough to believe that, as well! Now then, let's take a look at those papers you brought me...."

Twilight quickly followed her mentor and dried off, the comparatively quick soak in the spa-like bath doing more to release the tension in her muscles than she thought. Or, maybe letting out all of those pent-up emotions did more for her than she thought, either way.

Once they were back in the main room, Celestia took hold of the two papers that Twilight levitated out of her own saddlebag, reading over the information contained within. Her eyes slowly widened as she made it to the end of the first page, then quickly switched to the list Twilight had put together.

Twilight sat there, nervous and unsure as to what Celestia would say. It was such an outrageous thing to ask for, so out-of-nowhere and of such a grand scale....how could she ever have expected the Princess to acquiesce to her request?

"I-I know that it's a lot to ask for-"

Celestia held up a hoof and took a deep breath, then smiled widely.

"This is a very big decision, Twilight. You would be using almost every last Bit in your personal treasury. Are you sure you want to fund this?"

Twilight stared into her mentor's eyes, swallowing hard before answering her.

"It's....the only answer that guaranteed any semblance of safety for myself and all of my friends. I-I can keep them safe with this, just please, please let me do this!"

Celestia nodded slowly. "Very well, Twilight. Work will begin immediately!"

"Will it be ready by the end of the month?!"

Celestia looked up to the ceiling in thought, exhaling slowly while she crunched a few numbers in her head. She looked back to Twilight with a quick nod.

"I am fairly sure that it should be done by the end of the month. Perhaps a little before, but I assume you can make the most of the time."

Twilight sighed and seemed to visibly slump in relief, glad that this, at the very least, was going right for her. It was the first step, the only way she could guarantee any amount of safety for them, and it was actually happening....quite literally, she could say 'thank Celestia' and mean it as a personal thank you instead of a saying like most ponies used her name.

"Th-thank you so much, Princess! With all of that out of the way, I have to admit, I'm feeling really exhausted. If there's nothing else, I'd really like to go to my room and get some sleep."

"Well, there is one thing, Twilight....you forgot it, when you made your list."

"Hm? Wh-what, what'd I forget?"

Celestia chuckled softly. "Well...."