Journey with a Batpony

Twilight barely paid any attention at how the Count’s quarters looked. And even if she were to dedicate at least some of her fading focus to the chamber, well, there was nothing really to look at. This was supposed to be a meeting room, yes, but it looked pretty much like any other mundane and secular place she would expect to examine at the Mountain of Sunfall.

Plain chairs, table, no decorations that one could speak of. Bland, elegant, oppressive minimalism. But, actually, Twilight didn’t mind. It worked with her mood to some strange degree. She didn’t really feel like thinking, like deciding anything important, like performing her duties. Every thought felt crushing. That happened when one’s expectations had been unfortunately dashed, despite one’s best intentions, and despite even having been prepared for the worst.

At least Twilight had learnt, in no small part thanks to the way she had been treated in this very country, how to hide how she was really feeling behind a mask of regal behavior. Though she wasn’t sure she wanted to reach even for that obvious chicanery.

The Count, having sat opposite her, hadn’t begun the conversation yet. For an obvious reason. Having just invited Twilight in and to take her place, he had pointed out the presence of one more pony in the room, even if her stay was to be brief.

There was a mare at the table, her wheat blond mane hidden almost entirely underneath a coif. She was sitting so humbly and still that a less observant pony could actually miss her presence entirely. She was also keeping her head so low that Twilight had a hard time discerning the color of her eyes. While her ensemble wasn’t telling, it was all too easy to figure out that this must have been the Count’s wife, and mother of Captain Sunfall Ordain.

A mare visibly younger than Twilight would have expected. She must have been married to the Count at a very young age. Twilight would wonder how their relationship worked exactly, finding brief and perhaps unhealthy focus on that exact topic, but Sunfall Decree spoke up finally, having taken his time.

“Honored Princess, as I have just said, this is my marite, Sunfall Glint,” the hrabiy finally began, pointing at the mare, though Twilight could have sworn that he hadn’t introduced his wife. Or maybe she just hadn’t been paying attention. “She will not be taking part in our further discussions, but she expressed her will to meet you. Which I found nothing wrong with…”

Twilight wasn’t certain if that was the case, as the mare’s form shivered a little at the stallion’s quite hard tone, especially at the end of that sentence. Just one more thing that Twilight had every reason to hate that night.

“It is my pleasure, Honored Princess,” came the polite greeting, spoken in correct Equestrian and without too much of an accent. Just a lot of uncertainty or maybe even meekness.

“Likewise, Countess Consort Sunfall Glint,” Twilight replied, turning to politeness to hide her current, stormy feelings. “I am happy to make your acquaintance.”

“Uhm… I’m not sure if I understand the expression, but I see that you are being tactful, th-thank you,” Sunfall Glint told her, still avoiding looking anypony in the eye. “I… I just wanted to see you, I was intrigued by you being our guest,” she explained in a quite shaky tone, before her head gently turned to her husband, “but I am not going to be taking up more time, especially that of my marit.”

That was most peculiar, as such a short meeting seemed very out of place, though… Twilight wasn’t sure if she would bother to touch on the subject. Not tonight, definitely, she felt altogether too tired and irritated.

Without further conversation accompanying any of it, the noble mare gently stood up, trying not to make a sound, then curtsied twice before quietly taking her leave. Twilight could have sworn that the batpony actually wanted to keep looking, assessing the situation, and her especially, in some strange way, but all the time Sunfall Glint was being followed by the Count’s eyes. And it wasn’t a loving look. It wasn’t even an interested look, actually, just something that bordered on saying ‘good riddance’ with one’s stare alone.

How sweet. The hrabiy either didn’t think that Twilight could spot it, or did not care for her opinion on the matter.

Perhaps he would at least care about the general situation. It would be beneficial, because Twilight truly didn’t feel like doing as much. She believed that she had her reasons to feel so detached, and though she wouldn’t reveal them to the hrabiy, as he had no reason for learning them, she felt that she was going to be soon giving him a piece of her mind anyway.

“Honored Princess, as per my father’s request, we shall have this conversation,” Sunfall Decree told her, conjoining his hooves on the table’s plain surface, sitting before her like an official and a bureaucrat, disinclined to enter into a proper discussion for any other reason than necessity and command. “I feel it would be prudent to tell you, to avoid wants of understanding and show honesty which is praised in my Rodine especially, that my interest in a new diplomatic deal with Ekwestriya is… marginal. With all due respect, I do not necessarily see a point of one.”

“I had figured out as much already, Honored Count. That and perhaps a little bit more,” Twilight told the stallion opposite, and she didn’t feel like embellishing her sentences in any way. Being diplomatic felt a little out of reach, and if he truly valued straightforward transparency, he was going to get it in abundance. “It should come as no surprise to you in return, that I find Noctraliyan ways most perplexing in comparison to the wider world. And… And actually, I would need to deem you unprepared to deal with the said wider world and enter its stage.”

“… unprepared,” the Count parroted, squinting and trying to discern if Twilight was playing some sort of a trick on him. “What exactly would you mean by that expression? I do not wish to make a false assumption based on it.”

“Honored Count,” Twilight replied, leaning in a little and only barely stopping herself from putting both hooves on the table in a confrontational way, “I have been in your country for quite a while now. I have witnessed many traditions open and obscure, I have endured slights subtle and not-quite-so, and I’ve experienced more about your culture and way of… life than I would ever imagine or want to imagine. Down to some very, very disturbing details,” she pointed out, with strength. “Despite my best intentions, my mission and calling, all of which require of me to seek the good and the worth in the ponies I meet, in the name of Friendship, I have to deem that Noctraliya, as it stands now, would hardly… hardly find a welcome place in the vast world.”

It felt so darkly liberating to say it.

The Count was clearly taken aback, and Twilight was almost glad that she managed to get some emotions to appear from behind his stoic mask. Other than the showing of ostracism and the like, of course.

“I… must admit that I am quite baffled,” he revealed, looking at her askance though without more reluctance than before. “You didn’t seem so… stern during the audience with my father. And before, at the Tuarie.”

“Perhaps you have grossly misjudged and underestimated me, Honored Count,” Twilight riposted with an empty smile. “Yes, I have every inclination to be civil and open, but I have already heard of your preferences and stance. Would you care to… perhaps, explain to me why I should extend my hoof, and that of Equestria, to your lands? I know that your view on the matter is quite clear. I want to be told why my mission would even still have a point.”

There was something wickedly satisfying about putting this stallion on his back hoof with these sentences. Perhaps he wasn’t the one responsible for making Twilight feel like she was feeling right now, perhaps it was just one, gigantic misunderstanding, but damn her if she would endure any more ‘inconveniences’ tonight. It had already been too long, too tiring, and the fact that even her very breathing seemed like a chore was really not helping her in preserving any good attitude. Yes, she could wear a polite and kind mask, but the lines would still come out in the same way from behind it.

“I… suppose that I could tell you, from my perspective that… it does not?” the Count uttered, blinking quite rapidly and trying to grasp what caused such a start to the conversation. “I know what the initial idea behind your very visit was – our gratitude towards you, for helping Neskaza Lunee… in the way you had done. It was repaid by the invitation, something unheard of before. I also know that my father was quite excited about the opportunity, even if I am not so sure if I can share his optimism in opening such direct communication with Ekwestriya.”

“Neither can I,” Twilight confessed, though that time it wasn’t irritation that was audible in her voice. No, it was something a bit more despondent. “Honored Count, I am not interested in political games, I have been saying that too many times and for far too long during my stay here. I know of Noctraliya’s plight, of your limited food supplies, and of your pain… over the Holy War, the loss of life and lands. I am willing, always willing to discuss what exactly to do about all of that. My question now is, and you are the pony to receive it currently – why would I?”

Sunfall Decree didn’t reply, not outright, just sitting where he was, in that official stance which made him look like a clerk. Or a petitioner, as Twilight was now the one making requests. But behind that neutral mask there was a turmoil, perhaps no lesser than what was happening in her own head.

“Honored Princess… I am of the noble blood of the Soleecedi. I carry the burden of that role, and my future role, should the Bogine see me fit. Perhaps sooner than I had anticipated,” he remarked with great seriousness and deference. “You must be aware that the ways of our Rodine are that of humble submission to the Will of Bogine. Which is why it is clear to me – there must have been a reason that you were chosen to help in Her return, alongside our ancestors. Which is why I am giving you the benefit of the doubt, despite my personal feelings, despite that my father placed me in such an unfavorable position by his suggestion,” the Count admitted, and honesty was still his policy. “We often see the outside world as selfish, goddessless, undisciplined. As prejudiced towards us, which the Cruziate proved. My personal view is that we can do well enough on our own, that we can provide for ourselves, and that any issues we have as of now can be overcome without interference that might cost us our traditions, our ways and our integrity.

“And yet,” he spoke before Twilight could interrupt him, “it was a soleerane who had been chosen to help in the return of the Bogine. The very same mare that is sitting before me right now. One that I think I would be willing to listen to in the end, if only she would tell me what she sees when it comes to our chances in the world. And… I am now told that we are unprepared for it.”

Twilight accepted his words as if her own conscience chastising her for the current behavior, but she wouldn’t listen. Not yet. “That is the truth, Honored Count, the thing you hold in such great value. At this moment, unless a great effort is undertaken, Noctraliya might remain on the very fringes, even if it would decide through the… the Lords of the Covenant to open itself up to other cultures. I have, for example, learnt of a selection of customary practices that would be seen, outright and immediately, as outmoded, undesirable, even brutal. And that first impression will be crucial, it will happen long, long before anypony decides to take their time and effort to understand you all better.”

The stallion grimaced, but he wasn’t stopping her from saying more. Nor did he look particularly offended. Perhaps, deep down, he understood.

“And the distrust that is being shown,” Twilight pointed out, oh so glad to arrive at this point. “Yes, I understand carrying a terrible scar of the past. But, without disregarding or belittling the pain and loss – that was a millennium ago. Nopony in Equestria, bar the Goddess and her sister, remembers about that Holy War,” she told the stallion, though omitting the crucial part of why it was so. “And the only lasting tale we have about noctrali is so fantastical that I had to deconstruct it, piece by piece. Were it not for the Nightguard’s presence in our lands, in service to the Immaculate Moon… you would be an ancient fable and nothing more.”

Sunfall Decree’s grimace deepened just a little at such a choice of words, even if his own seemed a touch hypocritical. “It would all sound vaguely insulting to me, were I to actually entertain pride.”

“It is what it is, pride or not. You have been, for the longest time, a myth to us, Honored Count. A far-fetched myth, even,” she let the stallion know, regardless of his opinion on that. “But still I feel, and it is a feeling based on facts, that you all believe that… that we hold you in such constant contempt and hatred, that we scheme and plot against you every waking moment.”

Sunfall Decree, for all of his calm confidence, was on the defensive. He was expecting a slightly forced exchange of opinions, maybe, but it looked like nopony talked to him like this for a very long time, if ever. And Twilight knew that the amount of conviction which she was putting into her words was more than enough to cause the right measure of discomfort.

Discomfort, by itself, expressed aloud. “So you say and claim, and even if it is the truth – do you blame a wounded animal that it is distrustful and doesn’t wish to hurt again?” the hrabiy asked in an almost philosophical tone, but Twilight had no patience for theoretical questions.

“I blame an ‘animal’ that lashes out without reason, that stalks without purpose other than entertaining some base instincts. I thought you all… better than that. And where else but here could it be understood that one can abandon impulses for discipline and control, and for the better,” she pointed out before the Count, considering all that she had felt and observed while walking the caverns of the Sunfalls.

“Point taken, Honored Princess,” the stallion replied with quite remarkable grace considering the whole situation. “I have a sense, and quite a strong one, that you feel that you have been greatly slighted in our country. For my part in it – I express regret over it. Never mind your previous aid to the Bogine, we have already learnt of your actions in the Dalli as well. We might be… ‘unprepared’ for the wide world, as your words claim, but it is hard to overlook that the outside world came to us with helpful words and actions, in your person…”

There was a pregnant pause, during which the stallion kept looking at Twilight intently, as if trying to discern something, guess an unseen riddle or reason through a conundrum. Maybe all at the same time, considering how thoughtful he sounded when he spoke up again.

“Noctraliya is an old nation, our ways are set in stone, as the expression in your tongue is. But we, also, are masters of stonework, even if sometimes it comes from vanity and the urge for useless embellishment,” Sunfall Decree mused aloud and in accordance with his Family’s philosophy, still looking Twilight right in the eyes. “Tell me, Honored Princess, am I to be misjudged for saying that I believe in our own strength, own perseverance and conviction, which could all push us beyond where we are now, allow us to better ourselves? If we are not meant to open up to the world outside here and now, should we be given more time to grow and prepare?”

“How? I don’t see it,” Twilight told him, withholding nothing. “You had your time alone, the time of the Eclipse, a millennium. One of sorrow and loss, that I understand. But I sometimes feel… feel that, instead of preparing for the Goddess’ return, foreseen in your prophecies that said that the ‘stars will aid in her escape’, you sat and did nothing but mope.”

“… ‘mope’?” the hrabiy asked, and it wasn’t the language barrier that caused him to repeat the word.

“Yes. I believe I can say it openly. You were wounded, bruised, beaten, bloodied and left alone. Unjustly, you will hear nothing else from me about that, for a grave crime was committed upon you. But what did… did you do all that time afterwards?” she asked, feeling incredibly emboldened. “Nursed your wounds or let them fester? Cleaned up the bruises or immortalized them as they were? Grew in necessary strength or lamented over the injustice? Wiped away the blood or prepared to spill it in return, when it… would be ‘needed’?” she presented these series of questions, with the muzzles of ponies she had met on her travels flashing before her.

Some of them were more vivid than the others. Much more vivid.

“I will ask you, Honored Count, for you must still remember all too well when the face of the Moon was marked by the dark sign of the Mare – when you all felt abandoned and alone, what did you do? Prayed for the Goddess’ release and… waited? Nothing else? You preserved what you already had… but have you added something significant? You held onto history, but did you weave new tales to regale the Immaculate Moon… upon her return? Your Bogine was gone, but you still had your lands, your dignity, your determination, even your complex traditions – all of those treasures. Have you invested them, refined them, multiplied them in the meantime? Or did you… did you hide yourself away in them, fearing every night that somepony might come again to take what little you have?”

“You’re in the wrong Iug to be talking about treasures,” the Count riposted, but there was no strength in those words.

“Oh, I don’t think so, Honored Count. And you know exactly what I mean, without the need to hide it behind sentiments like that,” Twilight’s response was much more accurate and piercing. “You value honesty, I’m glad. But I’ve seen around Noctraliya much more intrigue, scheming, double-talk, cunning, betrayal even… than in any other place I have visited. It reeks of hypocrisy, its stench reaching all the way up to the Argentee.”

Sunfall Decree leaned back, as if physically repulsed by Twilight’s words. For all of the irritation that she was harboring that night, all the afresh outpouring of long-contained emotion, it seemed that her arguments were finding purchase within this stallion, despite her tone. For some strange reason she felt that he wasn’t truly harboring bad intentions towards her, or Equestria, he just… was used to having only that little corner of the world, bathed in moonlight, in mind. Without outside perspective. And when it had arrived, it cut through his preconceived notions like sunlight cut through the dark.

The silence persisted and then began getting uncomfortable. Twilight almost found herself fidgeting on the not-quite-comfortable chair, but the Count finally spoke up, having deeply considered what he had just heard.

“I am a little conflicted, yes. But, at the least, I see why my father would ever consider turning to you for help, hwalba knaze,” the stallion pointed out, nodding to himself in further ruminations. “I don’t know if you have shared more words with him in the Tuarie, when I was not accompanying him, but you show conviction that one would expect from a pony touched by Bogine. And this is hardly me trying to engage in pointless, sinful flattery. But you speak loud and clear, to make visible to us our shortcomings and transgressions, and that is… worthwhile in my eyes.”

“I don’t feel like I have even started yet, Honored Count,” Twilight added, on top of the pile of remarks she had already made. “Do not think that I am sitting here with some dark happiness in my heart that I can elucidate on your flaws, Bogine’s design or not. Yes, perhaps briefly one can… feel this twisted pleasure from passing judgment and critique. But I would honestly prefer not to have anything to point out in the first place!”

“That’s true. And so… it would be actually better for us not to seek to open ourselves up to the world?” the Count asked, though it wasn’t as clear now whether he believed that to be the best scenario.

“Not… without somepony to be your friend,” she told him. She somehow found within herself enough self-control to actually reach for her calling, despite everything that had been happening. All the way from her very arrival, even before that. “But that choice, well… that depends on you. Equestria could be your friend, we aim to try and become amicable with everypony willing to extend to us the same courtesy. But first they need to see us as a potential ally, confidant. Could you actually do that? I don’t know, I really don’t. But that is hardly my fault, consider all that I have already done throughout my journey, for the sake of Noctraliya.”

Sunfall Decree didn’t oppose, though there was still great consideration in him. “But, you must tell me, if you are putting things that way, Honored Princess – could this theoretical ‘friend’ of ours understand that we are… oh, how to call it properly to stay connected to this topic…” He mused on the matter for a brief moment. “Very well, I will avoid sounding self-deprecating and instead just use the term ‘unique’. Or ‘specific’, maybe, that does not sound too vain…”

Twilight closed her eyes briefly to take a deep, calming breath. Then took another, once again because of the altitude. “Sometimes, when we find ourselves among amiable ponies, we can find out that we don’t… well, ‘fit’. Not entirely. That does not mean that there is something necessarily wrong with us, but sometimes it can give us the perspective to find that we could… still make ourselves better. Maybe in others we do see flaws, and many, but maybe we can then spot those also lodged deep within us,” Twilight tried to explain, simultaneously relieved that she could still actually be herself, despite all of the indignation underneath. “That way both sides can learn, can be granted a chance to become somepony more. Change… is a risk, but also an opportunity. Perhaps, instead of gaining something by losing touch with our foundations, we shall simply find our characters refined, like silver is refined… to give it shine worthy of becoming a symbol of the Immaculate Moon…”

Twilight hadn’t anticipated, so late at night, that she would be able to reach for those sort of words, to actually give herself and the Count an opportunity at talking, at arriving at a conclusion of sorts. At some point she had completely surrendered to the idea of throwing the conversation, because she simply had had the need to get some things off of her chest. One could carry only so much frustration. And yet…

As if by somepony’s design, it looked like the approach had actually worked. As if the timing had been made perfect by somepony’s intervention… or perhaps lack thereof.

Still, Twilight couldn’t feel happy about the place she was in. Sometimes, one just… couldn’t feel very well. It was a matter of withstanding such a moment of frailty and persevering.

Sunfall Decree, for his part, decided to take her words to heart, though it was obvious that he would need time to gestate them and the idea behind them.

“Thank you for… sharing that, Honored Princess. It is interesting to hear an ‘outside’ perspective, no matter how grating at the start. And I recognize how that word could be understood in our unique circumstances. Perhaps… Perhaps we have, indeed, fell victim to ourselves at some point over the last thousand years. Such is the fate of imperfect creatures,” he added, his eyes lifting up in piety. “Regardless, I am glad that we could have fulfilled my Lord and father’s wish. I do also hope that… that it was not his last one,” the stallion remarked with genuine sadness over the possibility.

“We share the hope for the Honored Lord’s well-being, Honored Count,” Twilight told him, sincerely. “Your father always struck me as a good pony, despite how little time I have spent in his esteemed company. But he acted as the voice of reason and of wisdom in the Covenant, especially during our… rougher meetings.”

“Thank you, those words I deeply appreciate. Our calling, as Soleecedi, is to be a reminder of the grand design of the Goddess, of pious dedication that goes above the rush and bestial impulses,” the stallion responded, looking back at her. “Perhaps Our Mother will allow my Lord and father to remain for a while longer. I know for certain that he deeply wanted to see this matter to its end.”

“As do I, Honored Count… I think that, sometimes, our own strength wanes despite our best efforts. Especially when we have to keep enduring more and more. Then, I suppose, it is good to have a patron that can motivate and encourage us…” Twilight remarked, finally bringing herself to smile. Sadly, but still.

“Quite so, Honored Princess. Let us hope that Neskaza Lunee… lifts us, sinful creatures, and pushes us down the right track. Maybe sometimes against our selfish wishes, but… that must still count for something,” the hrabiy remarked, nodding to himself. “But, morning is almost upon us, Honored Princess. Let us retire for the day, and we shall see what tomorrow night brings. I will ponder on what you have touched upon and, hopefully, this day shall be calm… and healing.”

Twilight wasn’t sure if Sunfall Decree was referring to the Honored Lord, his own deliberations or her own, current state. Yet all of those matters could use some aid, for sure, so she took his words as a good sign.

“Of course, Honored Count. I hope you find your rest as well, as this situation must be weighing on you a great deal. I will await the summons,” she remarked, ready to stand up.

“Thank you. Of course, as I am granted enough authority here – feel free to venture about the Iug, if you wish so. The public spaces are at your disposal, Honored Princess, as long as our ways are observed and respected,” he told her, though this reminder bore no malice. “Your presence in the herame is already a sign of the Goddess’ providence, I want to believe. I hope that my envoy didn’t interrupt any supplications you might have been offering to Our Mother…”

“No.”

That was all that Twilight could and wanted to say. But that was enough, and the Count didn’t press for more details.

She was awaited outside by her entourage, who had been patiently waiting for the end of the audience. As the hrabiy remained inside for a while longer Rowan Berry addressed Twilight outright. It was at least safe enough to do so in a whisper.

“How did it go, hwalba knaze? Was the Honored Count at least… interested in your stance?” she inquired, curiosity breaking right through her calm expression.

“He was, funnily enough. I… might have started the conversation rather strongly, but the final outcome looks to be favorable,” Twilight pointed out to the lupule, and then gave the stallion next to her a strong look. “I should thank you, Midnight Wind, for… inspiring me like so.”

He nodded, accepting that sentence and saying no more. Good, because Twilight didn’t feel like listening at the moment. She was too tired with everything that particular night. It felt too long. And with the air being as it was, she wasn’t sure just how restful her sleep would be.

“I think we can head back, to get some rest,” she told her companions. And, as the healer was wearing a singular expression, she decided to address that. “Rowan Berry? Is something the matter?”

“It wouldn’t be, no,” the mare remarked, her eyes escaping to the side. Twilight wasn’t sure what she meant, but it wasn’t going to be a mystery much longer. “But… there is a peculiar matter. I think that was the Honored Countess Consort before, leaving this very room? Was she partaking in the audience? Her exit seemed very abrupt.”

“Yes, that was Sunfall Glint. She wasn’t participating, she just wanted to… well, make herself acquainted with me,” Twilight pointed out, again thinking about that brief meeting. “And that was all, actually. She wasn’t keen on remaining. Perhaps…” she lowered her voice a bit more. “… she wasn’t wanted here. I felt a very peculiar atmosphere as I went in, I just didn’t feel like taking it up with the Count…”

The lupule nodded, leaning in a bit more herself. “Well, she was… observing us for some time. We were just talking, but we both spotted that she was around the corner, trying to be cautious. Not eavesdropping on us, actually, but just… there. She might still be present, or hiding at the next turn, we have a feeling.”

“Oh?” Twilight acknowledged the information, though her mind was telling her not to engage in more exchanges that night. For everypony’s sake. She had been irritated enough with the hrabiy. “Could we check whether she’s not…? If she’s trying to come into contact with me, fine, but… not tonight,” Twilight found herself remarking in a cold, disappointed tone.

Midnight Wind took that sentence to heart as he nodded and lead the way, scouting ahead to make sure that the corridors didn’t have any wayward onlookers, even of noble status.

Rowan Berry, in the meantime, remained with Twilight, accompanying her back to their small chambers. Recognizing that there was no mood for a conversation the healer stayed silent and trotted loyally behind.

And Twilight was grateful. She would be even more grateful for the opportunity to have a calm day. She needed… well, rest. For the next night to come. Who knew what could happen?

Actually, she reminded herself that there was that Trottinghamian expression – lather, rinse, repeat. Sometimes life was just about that. Withstanding challenges, disappointments, problems and then just… gathering oneself and persevering through. How else could one reach their destined future, whatever it was?

Just… why exactly it had to be so complex? So infuriating? Was it really so difficult to get one’s answers, so that one would know what to do, how to proceed? How to find an opportunity, a solution at making a better life work?

Plagued by these questions, Twilight arrived at their group chambers soon, finding only the warrior by the entrances.

“Nopony?”

“Nopony,” Midnight Wind spoke up in response, stepping back.

Rowan Berry mused. “So why was the Countess Consort lingering? Something is not right, but…” she stopped herself from following the thought, actually. “Should we keep an eye and ear out today? Just in case?”

“I just want a calm day, that’s all,” Twilight told the healer, meaning it with full conviction. “I’m sure that if the Countess Consort has business with me, she will try to make contact in a more regular way. Though, if you feel it prudent, you… do your thing.”

“Of course. Have a good day, hwalba knaze,” Rowan Berry wished her the best, with Midnight likewise nodding to support that.

Twilight didn’t respond, not with words at least, opening her room and trotting in, deep in thought. Over what had happened, over where she was, over where she would need to proceed. She hoped, nevertheless, that there would be no strange occurrences and peculiar meetings anytime soon. For hadn’t she had enough intrigue and deals in the shadows to last her a lifetime? Was it needed of her to drag everything out to the light by her own very hooves and horn?

Twilight sighed to herself, getting ready for bed and finding as little comfort in it as it could have been foreseen from the simple resting place. Maybe that was the reason why, after finally finding a position in which she didn’t feel cramped, she fell asleep with a few tears making their way down her muzzle.

Luna didn’t waste time raising the Moon that particular night. She had a very important visit to make, one that had turned out to be even more vital after the events of last night. After all, how often did one have a chance to converse in such a strange way with a being that seemed as ancient and primeval as the land itself? And as complex as a whole pious nation and race?

It had been a miracle that Luna had managed to keep this knowledge contained until she had finally fallen asleep, and that the first thing she had done after waking up from a restless day was not rushing to share things with another?

Well… She was doing it right now, but at least she had possessed enough self-control to make herself presentable first. For very specific reasons, as Luna felt that she was suddenly representing more than just herself. And to find once again a clear motivation to greet every night with energy? Oh, she wouldn’t let that go, however fantastical the said motivation was.

Because, yes, there still had been a moment when Luna deliberated that it had all been a strange but untrue vision that she had paid much too much attention and credibility too. But, no, it didn’t feel like it in the grand scope of things which had been happening lately. The moment felt pivotal, and so the world was reacting to it.

Still, when Luna arrived at her destination she felt her heart pounding in her chest, and there was this buzzing in her ears which must have come from the sheer excitement of having a chance to share what had occurred with a trusted pony.

Yes, the restless day she had was also due to deliberations on her choice. And it was hard, much harder than Luna would think, especially considering the lessons of her past. She had kept the truth, the pain, the fault close to her chest, too close, and it had seared its way right through, until her heart smoked and turned black.

This time, however, she believed that she would have somepony illuminating her way through any possible deceit and intrigue.

Luna was allowed entry to the hospital without a hassle, as per usual, though when she was ready to walk the down familiar corridor, she was stopped by one of doctor Silver Scalpel’s nurses.

“Your Lunar Majesty, mister Moonwarden is not in his room currently.”

“Oh? Why? Is he being tended to someplace else? If not, where is he then?” she presented the questions, letting herself sound a little too eager for the answers.

Not that the pony minded, answering with professionalism that would threaten lesser beings. “The doctor allowed for a short excursion for the patient, a trial to be conducted. To see whether his condition is stable enough to have him transferred as necessary,” the nurse explained, maintaining the sort of dry tone that all of them possessed, being burly stallions ready for anything. “My colleagues are accompanying him for the sake of safety, don’t worry, Your Majesty. They are in Hall 7, that way.”

Luna nodded as she was pointed in the right direction. She trotted calmly and regally to meet with her beloved unicorn, fighting a smile at learning that he had been regaining enough strength to be freed from the confines of that one hospital room.

She still found him in his bed, but at a gentle recline. And not far away from a window yet screened from direct sight. Intriguingly, he had a more compact version of one of the machines which had been monitoring him attached to a small platform, for transportation alongside the bed. As well as a container of some sort, ready to be utilized, perhaps to feed him more oxygen as necessary.

When Luna looked around, having privacy in mind, she did find it reasonably aplenty. The place looked like it had been locked for other patients for the moment. Again, for safety concerns more likely… or maybe Moonwarden’s whim. That was also possible, though Luna wouldn’t complain about that precisely.

The stallion’s eyes shone as soon as they landed on her, and it was a sight even more pleasant than coming into contact with an ancient entity of the lunar disposition.

“Greetings, my lady,” he spoke up when she approached. He then waited for the two nurses, standing by, to give them both some space for a more private conversation. “I am so glad to see you… though I must admit that I will have to… start with a complaint.”

“Good night to you, my servant,” Luna spoke, hiding much behind that particular word. And both her and Moonwarden were very aware of the fact, considering how soft the unicorn’s silver gaze became. “A complaint? Really? Let me guess – the hospital’s liquor list is not to your liking?”

“Even if they had one, it certainly would not… have anything I usually drink on it,” the stallion pointed out with an amused smirk. “No, my protest is more ephemeral in nature.”

“Oh, what is it exactly about, then?” Luna asked in genuine curiosity.

“I was hoping to, after all of those… those nights in that room to finally see your Moon rising again. Alas…”

Luna looked up, and it was folly to spot the night’s sky directly from where they were. But she also used this opportunity to fight the blush which threatened to manifest on her muzzle. “You do realize that it is due to your safety, Moonwarden? We wouldn’t want somepony to have a clear line of sight and the like…”

“Yes, I am well-aware,” the stallion told her, though she didn’t really believe that he had forgotten about that vital detail after all of his years of experience and the very recent events. “But one’s safety is one thing, one’s… well-being is another. And I wither when I cannot see your beautiful Moon. Although…” Luna found herself leaning in a little, as the unicorn’s voice lowered in volume even more. “I suppose that witnessing you instead more than suffices, my lady…”

Now she really had to fight the heat in her cheeks, as his words lost none of their power and impact alongside the loudness. “I’m… I’m now wondering if this means that you are feeling better or worse, my servant. If you are uttering sentences like these…”

“Admittedly, my lady, I am on painkillers,” Moonwarden remarked with the tone of a reprobate, because why would he give her a straight answer?

Very well. If he was in the mood for such schemes, then Luna would not mind participating. She gave him a small smile, then deliberately stepped back, so that she could stand by the great window of that particular hall.

Outside, the silver discus was moving regally up the sky, and despite the early hours of night, it already possessed enough power to have its rays visibly bathe her. And she could feel herself being invigorated after only but a second of this brief communion. Having counted on that, Luna looked back at her faithful unicorn, going through with an idea which had manifested in her mind.

He was paying attention, definitely, taking in her look, her sovereignty framed by the silver light. She felt her love for him grow from even such a small thing – that softening, deep gaze, one which appreciated her in ways that spoke of nothing else but adoration and respect, without an ounce of possessiveness.

Well, maybe a touch. But that one was coming from romantic adoration and that natural desire for exclusivity, if it would only be granted.

Yes, Luna was appreciating all that, but something else was more important. The nurses were still nearby and keeping an eye out… but not all the time. Not when Luna was right nearby, assuring Moonwarden’s safety with her own presence.

And so she used that right moment and let a portion of her power flow through her form, just like it had happened when she had visited Captain Sunfall Ordain once again.

She could easily tell that her semblance, at least when it came to her mane and muzzle, took on the nightly, cosmic aspects with ease and eagerness. Her mane flared ever so briefly with the dark majesty of the starry expanse, where the cosmic lights were the brightest hope, and the murkiness of the unknown was fascinating and terrifying alike. And Luna could feel that, ever so briefly, her eyes lit up with burning silver, betraying the welling, lunar power.

And Moonwarden didn’t miss a detail, considering the way that his mouth opened agape and his eyes widened as if compelled to watch, even for a breath longer.

Well, she couldn’t maintain that form. And not because of difficulty. The machinery monitoring the unicorn’s state began beeping a little faster and that would soon gather the attention of the nurses.

So Luna extinguished the manifestation and stepped out of the moonlight, approaching Moonwarden’s bed again. Feeling a little… abashed, actually, because she didn’t think she had ever received quite such a stare from the grey stallion.

“Did… that help, Moonwarden?” she asked, even though she was quite sure of the answer.

The unicorn didn’t reply outright, just kept looking at her as if transfixed. And briefly, ever so briefly, Luna was certain that she could actually see his gaze venturing from her own eyes to her lips as the stallion gently bit his lower one.

And so she felt herself growing more confident by the breath. If she could cause such a reaction… Come to think of it, she couldn’t be quite sure if she had ever managed to have such an effect on a stallion. It was… encouraging. Very much so.

Moonwarden did his best to get his heart under control briefly before speaking up. “My… my lady, what was that? What sort of… of power have you tapped into?” he asked with a little bit of healthy unease.

“Peace, Moonwarden. This is… This is me, actually. It is a little harder to explain, but this is something I recall from before. I have never gained the regal bearing of my sister, no, but I am familiar this might, this surge of power and connection within me. It is returning in force. This is me, and my Moon, again finding harmony after all of those years of Nightmare and despondence,” she revealed before the stallion, who was still looking at her in that intense manner which was causing her to hold back a blush.

“It is a good thing that you have mentioned the Moon, my lady, because I believe that… I have forgotten all about it here and now,” the unicorn told her with a small smile. “I thought seeing you before, upon your return, meant finding my purpose. You looked in need of… of a voice of advice. Of a loyal conspirator by your side. But this…? You are might and royalty personified, and… it makes my heart emit very, very weird rhythms…”

Luna tried to stifle a warm giggle before the nurses would spot it. “There must be a lot of painkillers involved to get such words out of you, Moonwarden.”

“Less than you might think, my lady,” the stallion told her with disarming honesty, and his smile only deepened. “I… vaingloriously hope that I had at least some small part in this… return to power,” he added, his gaze shifting between Luna’s eyes, mane… and lips, and that last bit of movement was really distracting for her.

“I… think that it is a given, my most faithful servant,” she nevertheless told the stallion, who beamed at the praise. “I see that you are trying to get yourself to breathe a little deeper. And I think you form sentences without too many breaks now. How’s the prognosis? Have you been told?”

“I have, yes. It is going steady and slow. I like the former, not so much the latter,” the unicorn remarked, shifting a little to get a bit more comfortable. “You are well aware, my lady that I like to be a… a busy pony. And now I feel like I am falling behind the whole country. How vexing…”

“Even so, Moonwarden, it is still standing, so at least don’t fret there. And nopony’s making any more stupid moves as of tonight,” Luna remarked, having both Equestria and Noctraliya in mind, something that the unicorn recognized without an issue.

“Oh, fantastic. I am actually glad not to feel an assassin’s gaze on me, yes,” he replied in a very faint whisper, though one could easily bet that the nearby nurses knew the stakes and the need for secrecy was lesser. “Still, being locked in here with mostly just myself for good company is a little tedious… We would both agree on that.”

Luna smiled and looked away briefly. She understood well how a mind like Moonwarden’s would find this situation as lacking the proper stimulation. Who could blame a spider for wanting to weave its web? Though, perhaps, for the sake of other ponies, it was better that her grey pony wasn’t roaming Canterlot for the moment.

Luna hadn’t forgotten her duty.

She would, however, first offer the stallion something else. Something that the circumstances had offered her, to share with a singular pony. And she had made her decision.

“Would you like to, then, be granted a piece of information that will put you ahead of everypony? And an insight into a matter that is definitely not tedious?”

“… oh?” Moonwarden immediately focused on her words and that all-too-recognizable spark of opportunism shined in his silver gaze. “Something else than actually knowing that you… have some peculiar feelings for me, my lady? I still cannot quite believe that, should I be granted even more?”

Luna’s gaze met Moonwarden’s gladly at those words. “Have you accepted the fact?”

“Insomuch as one accepts an inevitable fate that is hard to grasp. It is like standing in the middle of one’s living room and realizing that part of the roof has collapsed,” the stallion remarked, hitting that perfect balance between seriousness and ridicule. “It is not like I can just stop the moonlight for getting in, but there is stuff to clean up and repair whether I like it or not.”

“Never thought of a skylight, my servant, to let some of that illumination happen in the first place?” Luna asked in a slight tease that seemed to be much appreciated by the unicorn in some strange fashion.

“What a daring thought. And, risking sounding morbid – somepony tried to give my heart one of those, did he not?” he joked at his own expense. “Besides, I do not believe an old manor like mine would benefit from such an architectural design. The windows are wide enough to… enjoy the night’s hues and colours, including brilliant silver. It is just that I am used to keeping the curtains closed.”

“Are we still talking about your home, Moonwarden?”

“What else?” was the unicorn’s reply, though he certainly was letting Luna know that he wasn’t blind to the metaphor. “Regardless, my lady, you would want to indulge me more than even already sharing the… unthinkable with me? How fortuitous for good old Moonfred Nebulus Warden...”

She almost rolled her eyes at his tone, though she wasn’t displeased by it, not at all. “Observant… and accurate in wording as ever, are we? Calculating, even. Well, you… might be surprised about what unthinkable thing I’m about to tell you, Moonwarden. It certainly hadn’t appeared in my previous calculations about the situation that we are in,” Luna told him, taking her place by the stallion’s bed so that this conversation could be most private, without looking too intimate.

… she pondered about ordering the nurses. For them to get hence, now. And yet she decided not to put them in a difficult position just for fulfilling their assignment as necessary.

“We might have… an unforeseen ally, Moonwarden,” Luna began, actually wishing to enjoy the touch of conspiracy in tone and volume.

She knew that the unicorn definitely did. “An ally? When it comes to the batpony situation?” he immediately and quietly asked, showing both great interest and plentiful experience alike. “Sudden allies in tough moments should be seen with healthy distrust. They might have been… placed accordingly, by rival parties.”

“Astute thinking, my servant. And, in some way, this one had been,” Luna remarked with a knowing expression. “Before I say more – are you willing to suspend your disbelief until I explain everything that happened last night?”

Moonwarden actually smirked. One of his hooves lifted up briefly, then again landed on the bed as he sighed. “Are you willing to believe, my lady, that I have just adjusted my monocle to give this moment additional gravitas?”

“I think so,” Luna told him with a smirk.

And then told him more, much more. Without getting into too many details regarding the sheer feelings and the sensations of the communion, as those were rather private for now, she nevertheless revealed before her beloved stallion that eye-opening meeting that had happened yesternight. That unique and peculiar connection between those that the denizens of the world would mark as the Immaculate Moon, both. She told him of the way the conversation had gone, the hopes she had been granted and the warning that this whole situation had been.

And for his part, Moonwarden listened, with the attentiveness of somepony who had spent years dealing with convoluted conspiracies, schemes, intrigues. Though, perhaps more importantly, he listened like a loving pony, one who was taking upon himself a challenge and a burden alongside their beloved. He did so without judgment and without showing any sort of disapproval. Merely interest, and the will to make things less complex and easier to bear and understand.

Luna tried to convey everything before the stallion’s first question, as she had been expecting inquiry from the very start. And wanted to, by sharing it quickly, abide by the entity’s will of keeping this matter a relative secret. As she concluded her retelling, she was sure that Moonwarden believed her.

It was just that he had stipulations about the said conversation. “Something about this whole situation… concerns me, my lady. Call it a professional’s instinct. Or, perhaps, a liberal margin of error coming from me,” he pointed out, sounding like a true expert even while reclined in the hospital bed in a more or less relaxed position. “The way that this entity, this ‘Goddess’, communicates is most peculiar. I grasp that it might be an imperfect way of expressing her will when she is dealing with a distant recipient, but… simply echoing your words back at you, my lady? It is a fantastic way of twisting them without significant effort.”

Luna felt a little touched on behalf of herself and the being, but she wouldn’t expect anything else from her servant but this careful scrutiny. She knew that his caution was worth listening to. He hadn’t been her Royal Advisor for nothing all this time.

“It felt to me like that was the only way it could actually converse,” she explained. “I was waiting for replies in its own words, but that never happened. Perhaps it is limited in its means of communication that way. I know that my own children are given signs in prophecies, visions, omens. I suppose that is what the Immaculate Moon usually does instead of just… talking.”

“I am not an expert on matters divine… other than unsoundly venerating you, but that is another story,” the unicorn smuggled in a compliment that made Luna giggle just a little, “and yet having such troubles in making known its will puts into question the might of this allegedly otherworldly power,” he remarked, not without logic. “And, I must make it clear – a feedback loop like so, using a pony’s own words, ideas, expectations, is a foremost manipulation technique. Why bother going through a deliberate plot, if a pony believes what they already want to believe?”

“I understand that, of course. And yet, I have known the touch of insidious guidance. And, lately, I have tasted your own skills, Moonwarden, and they are suffused with the idea of dark machinations,” she reminded him, though that made the stallion look most guilty. Not that Luna was aiming at that here and now. “This presence… It really did not feel like it was trying to falsely guide me down some twisted path.”

“Which…?”

“… which by itself might mean that it is very good at manipulation, yes, I do accept the argument,” Luna finished the sentence for the unicorn, to his satisfied approval. “But… what spoke to me was that it didn’t order anything specific of me, to do something, to perform a task or abstain from an action. Other than encouraging me to try and fulfill this noble role, a destiny, one that I had left behind due to everything that had happened to me. And one I would only be regaining, maybe refining, instead of straying down a different path.”

“I would say that it said so because you had already began embracing this fate. There is still room for deviousness here, even if you are set on a path,” the grey pony remarked, and Luna was thankful for him trying to explore all of the possible angles. “However, were I to try and embark on such a plot myself, I would definitely tell you to speak of this to nopony. Not ‘one’ pony, ‘not one’,” he added, with audible emphasis. “An isolated target is favourable, as… you surely know, my lady.”

“That I do,” Luna admitted without shame as she reached into the past experiences.

“… unless, of course, it is a far more deliberate stunt. Unless it actually wants somepony to warn you, for yourself to work through this doubt, reinforce your own belief in this being’s good intentions, because you already want to put your trust in them,” Moonwarden mused, and she could see his eyes losing focus briefly. “How interesting… Unforeseen development of the spiritual kind? An overt tactic… Overt enough to be covert…? How dares it?”

“Moonwarden?” Luna asked, hearing the brief dialogue and finally having the chance at witnessing it while knowing who the unicorn’s dark partner in it was.

“My apologies, my lady, I was just… considering my small frustration.”

“About…?”

“About somepony or something daring to claim that it is the Immaculate Moon and the deity to the batponies, instead of you,” the stallion told her with a smile that conveyed a little more than just loyalty. “I see before me the one being worthy of that title and that calling. One pony that, having been born in moonlight and having tasted darkness both, now wishes to guide others in the bright, silver direction… or smother them in cosmic oblivion, should the need arise,” he claimed in a poet’s tone.

“How evocative, my servant,” Luna told him, shaking her head while fighting yet another blush. “Can I try and guess what your next sentence is, following such a declaration?”

“Please, my lady, if you so wish,” the unicorn permitted her with quite the curiosity.

“I think,” Luna told him back, trying to remember to whisper it all and yet not make it look like they were having too much of an intimate moment, “that you would be ready to claim that there has to be only me worthy of this vocation, because you would never allow your loyalty… and your love to be directed at anypony lesser?”

“… that… might have crossed my mind,” the stallion admitted in his very typical, reluctant way which actually served as a wonderful confirmation. Especially since he looked like he was about to blush himself.

Yes, now Luna really wanted to tell the nurses to vacate the hall. She felt like she was being drawn so very much to that insufferable stallion that not showing it in any more direct way was actually hurting both of them. Especially considering the looks he had been giving her, like the one he was wearing right now, that of an almost shy motivation and drive. Just acting upon that feeling felt much more normal… and that was exactly why it had to be suppressed.

They weren’t exactly ‘normal’ ponies and these weren’t exactly ‘normal’ circumstances. Not to mention that there were still matters to discuss, so Luna had to bring things back on track, even against herself.

“Regardless of your most admirable stance, Moonwarden, this is what happened to me last night.”

“Of course,” the stallion replied, sounding most serious. “Well, I think I should have actually begun by saying that I am most honored to be the pony selected as a confidant, my lady. A part of me really wants to add ‘obviously’ to that sentence, mind you,” he commented, rolling eyes at himself. “I also believe that we both need to muse on what transpired a little more. As a safety precaution and the like.”

“Obviously,” Luna responded with a touch of mockery that he visibly appreciated. “Still, all things considered, I… I think it can be a breakthrough. For me, in my situation, yes. But… not only me, and I think that is vitally more important to me.”

“I would agree. If it so happens that this contact was genuine and forthright in entirety,” the unicorn remarked with a knowing, scrutinizing look. “Far be it from me to deny you any destiny of your choosing, my lady. I believe that a part of my mission as your most loyal companion was to allow you to actually have a choice. I want it to be made in absolute freedom, both from the grim despondence and what could be encouraging falsehood.”

“If I am to restore myself, to step away from the shadows looming over me, originating from my past, then… I feel that this might be it,” Luna admitted, nodding to herself as she couldn’t deny the feelings that the communion had invoked in her heart, in her mind. In her very core. “Of course, I would very much like to be able to converse with the Immaculate Moon once again, and soon. I’m… not sure how exactly to achieve that, but I have more questions. Regarding myself, my future, my children…”

“All understandable. Not to even mention that desire for you to visit…” the unicorn reminded Luna, not that she would forget such a challenging request. “I would advise small steps in these matters. They corrupt most effectively… but they also lead one to self-improvement. Just depends on the direction,” the stallion commented, briefly becoming like a grey spider back in the Second Chance’s chamber. “But, speaking of visiting the place which your children call home, my lady, I… take it that the plan shall be implemented?”

Luna wanted to reply outright, but that little bit of worry stopped her. Moonwarden, obviously, spotted that, using this moment to shift a little in his bed, glancing at the nearby window.

“See, this is what I meant when I told you during our… very private talk, my lady, that I would have preferred some things to stay hidden,” he sourly remarked. “Believe me, I do not mind going through with it, even if it means risking my hide, if it only results in me leaving this place. Recuperating from injuries is such a waste, I have already spent too much time on it in my life,” he jested.

He moved again as he clearly was feeling the scars on his back, but also trying to show some levity over the fact, to break through Luna’s reluctance.

Despite her feelings on the matter, and regarding the stallion, she knew what needed to be done. Even the unicorn before her wouldn’t want her to doubt anymore. “Yes, the plan is being prepared accordingly, and it is going to be followed,” Luna told him, trying to sound confident, though she still dreaded the scenario. “And if you can be out of your bed… Well, out of your room so far, then we can go through with it sooner rather than later.”

The stallion nodded.

But he did so… stiffly. Just a little bit. It was such a discreet, minuscule shift of behavior, that it was clearly meant to be visible to her and only to her, as she was standing so close.

“Of course, my lady. Thank you for your best wishes,” he replied, but only partially on topic. His tone was different too.

He stretched his neck, though once more there was a difference from how he would usually do it. The way was peculiar enough to make Luna think that… he was suggesting that she focused someplace. And when his head went to the other side, despite the grimace of discomfort from the still healing neck wound, he whispered. His lips barely moved, not to give himself away.

“The window.”

Luna petrified, because she now understood.

There must have been an unwanted witness. An onlooker. Moonwarden was trying to make it appear like he had been just stretching instead of letting her know about it. He must have spotted something when he looked aside. Something that the nurses couldn’t have noticed, positioned as they were further down the spacious room.

This meant that Luna was the only one who could act. And she decided to do so, in her own way.

She closed her eyes, as her back was turned to the window and she didn’t want to move her head. But, instead, she reached for the presence of the Moon, high in the sky. She felt the connection in her heart towards the silvery illumination. For that light was in her core, as well. And, as it was a part of her… she could try and witness what it fell upon, at least if it was close to her.

She didn’t know how she could achieve such a feat, but… she could.

Luna kept her eyes closed and focused. On the silver light, on the sign of hope, on the great omen of things to come. And… And in the hues of white, pearl and argent, cast against velvety darkness, she spotted an outline manifesting, as if right on the back of her eyelids.

That of a muzzle, ever so gently peeking from the shades that otherwise screened the pony from sight. A stallion, most likely, of sharp features that peered from behind a… a thick coat. There was a portion of an ear illuminated, with a tuft of hair. And… a fang was sticking from behind the upper lip.

And he was looking at Luna. And the pony next to her. With some inexplicably focused intent.

That was enough for her.

She opened her eyes and looked at Moonwarden. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t need to, as the unicorn understood her gaze. He simply didn’t grasp what exactly she planned to do.

Luna wouldn’t call herself a specialist on all things magical, despite her own, alicorn and arcane nature. But the night was her domain, the Moon was her symbol, and so in the gloom and eventide, empowered by the blessed illumination, she would not find herself feeble in any way.

She tapped into the might she had already rediscovered. And with a wave of power, which was as if argent moonlight hiding and then reappearing from behind a thick cloud, she disappeared from where she was sitting… and manifested just outside without a sound. But with regal bearing and a presence terrifying to anypony weaving plots and dark schemes in her nightly domain.

With that one action Luna already managed to trap the spy between herself and the hospital wall.

No shadow would protect him now, as her very essence, infused by moonlight, dispelled the flimsy hiding place. Revealing, indeed, a batpony lurking in the gloom. His wings were plastered to the cold surface, his hooves braced against the wall to maintain his position from which he was overlooking the meeting. He had atramentous blue clothing on, which matched almost perfectly with the shadows, alongside a hood which hid his mane away. He had somehow managed to slip past the local Royal Guard perimeter, yes, but right now he was on full display.

Facing the gaze of an angered alicorn. And more, for in his own stare there was a yet greater amount of fear of Goddess manifesting

“N-N-Neskaza Lunee…” he managed to mutter. He swiftly dislodged himself from the previous position but only to brace himself against the wall in a stance that showed deference and shock, but retained a level of discipline that would allow him to pounce in an attack or attempt to flee.

Both of those scenarios were unlikely. First was made so by faith, and the second would be denied by Luna, for she wasted no time.

With a swift flaring of her horn, she reached out towards this interloper. With dark and argent ropes she struck, as they shot forth, aimed to capture and hold. And only the instinctive shift from the batpony made the situation a little more complicated.

For Luna’s anger at this child’s daring was great. Her spell hit the mark, yes, but the said mark moved to his side. So when the contact between arcane might and fleeing flesh was made, it wasn’t the brick of the building that took the brunt of the magic and the pony’s weight.

With a loud crash, the window that the spy had just been looking through broke apart and Luna’s might tossed the infiltrator right into the hall she had just been in. She would call it a dramatic entrance, even, as she followed the strike with a quick dive back into the said room, to remain in control of the situation, towering over the batpony.

The nurses, who had gotten up from where they had been as Luna had made the sudden exit, were right between the captured pony and Moonwarden’s bed, ready to take on whatever threat had just appeared. And the grey unicorn himself, while indisposed, was observing the situation with a keenness of an operative that would not give up if endangered.

But there was no need for this preparedness, even if it was appreciated by Luna. Despite the spontaneous dodge that seemed to have been caused by training, the caught batpony wasn’t actually fighting against the power holding him down. Perhaps he realized his position, perhaps he didn’t dare to do combat against the Goddess Herself. Or perhaps there was yet another reason, as Luna managed to spot veneration and acceptance aplenty in his deep amber eyes, but also a certain… readiness, for just this situation to occur to him.

It stayed her hoof and horn, definitely.

There was a moment of tense silence, of everypony looking at everypony and awaiting for another, sudden move. None happened, actually, so Luna nodded in the nurses’ direction and took two steps forward, stopping just by the captive in a regal, divine stance and manner.

“Kwi bid tu?” she asked of the batpony. “Kwo robit tu hic, dziet?” she asked, looking the stallion over and not seeing any blood on him. It looked like the fabric took more damage than the actual pony.

Who spoke up, in a calm, humble voice. “Umilu prodan u Tue, Bogine… Ia traz Tue, kwod Tue adiumae ia, ale ia timor blizwen, Neskaza Lunee…”

Luna tried not to scoff at those words, especially since that might have given a wrong impression to the other onlookers. She looked at Moonwarden, however, whose ability to read intentions could be of vital importance there and then.

The grey unicorn’s gaze went from her to the batpony, and then back to her. And in the stare she could spot lingering recognition. What exactly told enough about the captured batpony for him to recognize that it was the would be assassin was an enigma. Perhaps a lingering sensation, perhaps a detail that the unicorn’s mind invoked?

Regardless, in the short comment that Moonwarden let out there was a tone of great, almost vile satisfaction and ridicule, coming from both him and himself, surely.

“Well… It looks to me like the plan is a touch unnecessary now. A shame… and a delight.”

Yes, perhaps that was the case.

It seemed to Luna like it was best to skip to the aftermath, right away.