Battery

by RockStarMLP

Rating: teen
Tags: Crossover, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Rainbow Dash, Other, Romance, Original Character
Length: 53969

A new trial of challenges faces the Sparkle family

A new challenge faces the family of Princess Twilight Sparkle when a protest leader and his group decide to confront and attack Nyx, the princess's daughter with a past identity. Throughout the aftermath, the family tries to remain strong for each other, but not without the help of their closest friends, those from beyond Equestria, and one mare's especially more caring actions and emotions. Will the family manage their way through to the end, or will the trials be more than anypony can take?

This story is inspired by multiple real life events and the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and also continues with the MLP + Taismo series following after Twilight's Kingdom: Unite & Ascend. The title and theme is inspired from the song "Battery" by Metallica.

Teen rating and Dark tag used for content of child abuse and attacking. Romance tag for romance between already established and newly developing couples.

Tails and Cosmo belong to Sonic X and Sega.

Nyx belongs to Pen Stroke and Past Sins.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit belongs to Dick Wolf and NBC

All other involved characters belong to their respective owners and franchises.

Published 2015-08-18 02:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-11-28 01:29:43 UTC

Chapter 1: A Heinous Act

Chapter 1: A Heinous Act

The lobby doors of Ponyville Hospital were forced open with tremendous force. The clerk at the front desk jumped out of her seat in surprise when it happened. She was occupied with usual desk work as it happened, so she failed to notice how exactly the doors opened, which was by magic. More specifically, a purple aura of magic.

The clerk stumbled back on her hooves as she heard a voice cry out "Help! Help!" The voice echoed with despair and overwhelming worry, tones that wouldn't surprise anypony to hear when having to rush into a hospital. When the clerk finally caught the voice's source in her vision, she was surprised to find that it was no ordinary pony who had burst into the lobby. There were two alicorns in presence of the facility, one of which the newest titular member of Equestrian royalty.

"Princess Twilight!" the clerk yelled in shock.

"Help me, please! My daughter has been attacked!"

/)∞(\

Noises faded in and out, coming in clear at some points when muffled most other times. The sounds depicted seemed to be the sounds of wheels turning as fast as allowed, as numerous voices spoke in swiftness and urgency.

Sight came and went, mainly because of struggle on the part of eyelids to stay open for so long. As with most of the body, pain coursed around the eyes which made it all the more difficult to keep open for so long.

There was movement, but by an unknown source. Where the body was in a place of stillness, it still felt as if it was racing down a path, but to where was a mystery. Then again, there was so much pain that the body could do nothing to alter the motions from happening.

"Her body is covered in bruises, most likely from hard forces of battery. Her breathing is irregular and bleeding is not slowing down yet."

"Any broken bones?"

"Will she be okay?! Please tell me she'll be okay!"

"Several, and her wings look torn along each base. The assault took so much for her to take."

"Get the filly to the ER. We need to operate immediately."

"NO! OH CELESTIA, NO!"

Nyx was being raced through the halls of the hospital as two nurses, a doctor and her mother raced alongside her. The poor filly fell victim to an act of cruel violence towards her, and was placed in a critical condition. All because she was who many ponies once feared her as, none of whom thought being pardoned or forgiveness was the rightful consequence of her past actions.

"Mm... Mom?..."

Nyx tried to speak, but was too weak to say a few words if not anything. Her mother was racing alongside her, refusing to leave the filly's side.

"It's ok, Nyx," Twilight told her, "I'm right here."

"Doctor," said one of the nurses, "we're approaching the OR."

"Right," replied Doctor Monitor. "Nurse Redheart, stay with the princess and escort her to somewhere private."

Twilight felt herself stopped by the nurse as she watches her daughter being rushed through the double doors into the operating room. As it happened, she tried to push herself passed the nurse as her hoof reached out towards Nyx and calling her name in distress.

"NYX!"

"Princess Twilight, please come with me," Redheart said as kindly as possible. "We have a room you can wait in that's close by, so you'll be the first to know about everything that happens. I do need to ask you a few questions about what happened to your daughter."

Having gone through such procedures at the hospital before, most times for Ponyville's resident daredevil/Wonderbolt Reserve, the purple alicorn tried to keep herself together. This proved difficult as she never dealt with anypony being as hurt as Nyx was, and that it happened to a member of her family made everything worse. She only nodded and walked alongside the nurse towards the lobby to get a medical folder and pen, and to quietly give instructions to the clerk. They then went back up the hall and walked into a room three doors down from the OR.

This room was reserved for only the highest in Equestrian society, most notably royalty. Being on the building's ground level, it was a surprise to Twilight that they walked into a spacious room filled with furniture to give it a living room feel, and a staircase. "This way please, Your Highness," Nurse Redheart said, leading the Princess of Friendship down the steps. They arrived in a more private room, only big enough to house a couple doctors and a full royal family compared to the room above.

"Please make yourself comfortable," the nurse said. Her hoof gestured towards one of the seats sitting on the other side of a beautifully designed desk as she took the seat on the doctor's side. Twilight took her seat and watched as the nurse opened the folder to reveal the contents inside being medical information about Nyx. The sight caused her eyebrow to arch in curiosity.

"You had Nyx's records on the front desk?" she asked. "I wouldn't think you'd keep records so... Open, like that."

"This isn't all of Nyx's documents. We keep a small portfolio of all members of the royal family available, locked away under the front desk for more immediate needs," Redheart explained. She then turned a couple pages of paper in the folder until her eyes stopped at a certain section. "It also directs us to your daughter's full medical history, or even yours or your royal peers."

"Oh... I see," Twilight replied.

Using her magic, the nurse opened one of the desk's drawers, and levitated another folder, this one much bigger in size, onto the desk top. After shutting the opened drawer, she opened the second folder to where the needed information was, put a notebook next to that and levitated a quill with her magic.

"Alright now," Redheart said, "we need to start talking about how Nyx ended up in her current state."

"Yes. Of course," agreed the alicorn, but her collective composure was weak, and not holding up well.

Showing sympathy, Redheart said "I know this is difficult for you, Princess Twilight, but I'll try to help make this easy for you." She lowered her quill to about a quarter inch from the paper and asked "Can you start by telling me if you know where it happened, and if you were there as well?"

Twilight nodded, tears building in her eyes, and began to explain what had happened. "I was there, yes, but not immediately near Nyx. It took place in front of the Castle of Nightmare. We were relaxing at the park after running some errands around town, and to enjoy some reading outside. One of my friends was calling out to me, and I saw her flying towards us with..."

Ponyville life was going good for many ponies that day. Business kept them just so busy that it wasn't overbearing, children were enjoying their day off of school, and those who didn't have to work enjoyed their day as they pleased. Every so often, a pony would notice two alicorns walking throughout the town, each wearing saddlebags filled with books and miscellaneous things, and give them a respectful bow as they pass on by. After all, Ponyville had become the kingdom of the Princess of Friendship and its Royal Court.

Princess Twilight Sparkle and her little filly Nyx were making their ways around town to take care of a few chores on their checklist. They had already stopped at Sugarcube Corner to pick up a fresh batch of cupcakes, and then Quills & Sofas to place an order for new quills, and some window browsing of in stock sofas. Then there was a stop at Carousel Boutique to drop off old gowns from the Grand Galloping Gala to be 'recycled' and share some cupcakes with Rarity and Sweetie Belle. It was no surprise to find Spike there as well, as he was gone since early morning, and answering to the fashion mare's every call of assistance.

As the mother and daughter would walk down street after street, they would pass fellow Ponyvillians. Whenever they would, most of the townspeople would kneel down to bow in respect to the passing alicorn princesses. A gesture she was still trying to get used to, Twilight just smiled in return, but awkwardly after seeing so much of it. She appreciates the respect ponies had for her, but their respect towards Nyx has never been the same.

Ponies would treat their bows as respect for both alicorns, showing that they are glad to see the filly as much as the mare. But there were several cases when ponies would stroll by the two without showing any gesture, at least of the more positive display. Some just ignored them while others stared crossly at one or the other, or both, and others would give a distasteful grunt or sound. Unfortunately it was easily identified to be all towards Nyx, as even though it has been a couple years, many ponies still find the filly's freedom and existence a disgusting sight to be reminded of.

As the two walked by some of the market stands, there was a stallion who eyed them from afar. His eyes narrowed with a glare as he fixated on the filly, while his mind thought of what he needed to be done and act on it. He was going to take care of Equestria's ongoing problem with Nightmare Moon once and for all.

With only a couple errands left to do with no rush needed, Twilight and Nyx walked over to the park. They found a nice tree with some flat ground underneath it and unloaded their saddlebags off their backs. The purple mare used her magic to pull a blanket out of her daughter's bag and spread it out on the grass, and then the two laid down on their stomachs.

"I think now's a good time to enjoy some reading," Twilight said. "We don't have to pick Spike up until after lunch, and we'll have that when Fluttershy is done helping her animals." She used her magic to remove her book, which was about Equestrian law and order, and open it in front of her.

Nyx read the title of her mother's book aloud; "'Laws & Declarations of Equestrian Government; Revision #26.' Why are you reading that, Mom?"

"Just some new knowledge for me to learn more about," Twilight explained. "As a princess, part of my responsibilities includes knowing what laws have been decreed since Equestria began, and any and all adaptations that were made since. This way, if something was to ever happen, I will have the knowledge to help resolve the situation."

"Sounds like a lot," Nyx said with hidden optimism. She let it show as she smiled with a hunger for knowledge and asked "Can I read with you and learn it, too?"

Twilight chuckled and teasingly replied "I don't know. I need to really focus on this..." She then noticed her daughter giving wide sad eyes and her front hooves together in pleading. It was a fun gimmick the filly would deploy, and the mare started to play games like this every so often. After another chuckle, she said "Alright, just let me see where I'm at first."

Nyx squeed a little and crouched down next to her mother excitedly as Twilight opened the book. She opened to a page she had bookmarked with a lavender ribbon, the same shade as her purple coat, and with her cutie mark sewn on one end, and Nyx's on the other. After a look at the next section of the book's subject, the mare expressed an uncomfortable look on her face. Her moment of staring broke as she began to hear Nyx read the opening sentences of the section.

"In the criminal justice system, pony violation and sexually-based offenses are considered incredibly hanis. In Equestria, the dedicated detectives that investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. This division of law enforcement was founded by Detective E..."

"That's enough Nyx." Twilight had to interrupt her little filly from reading any further. She had little recollection that this would be her next section to read, and given the nature of the crimes, wasn't comfortable with Nyx learning about these for another few years. "I don't want you to read anymore of this."

After giving a complaining sigh, Nyx asked "Why not?"

The purple mare tried to find the best words to explain, and settled for a simple truth. "Because there are some things about these laws that fillies shouldn't need to know about, not until they're old... I mean, mature enough to understand them."

"Are they bad laws?"

"Well, not bad as in they're bad laws to have. They're about very bad circumstances that can happen sometimes." To help give some clarity, she pointed her hoof to the name of a pony Nyx almost read aloud. "It was founded by this stallion, Detective Eli 'Stabler' Stable, the first pony who set the laws and organized order for these crimes. He worked cases about such horrible things that helped put away the worst of criminals."

"The worst of ponies? You mean like Nightmare Moon?" Nyx asked as her head bowed and ears lowered.

"Oh, no no no, Nyx, not ponies like you," the purple alicorn assured the filly. "These ponies weren't sorry and didn't want to be good no matter what. You're the kind of pony that apologizes and makes up for whatever mistakes you might make. Never think otherwise."

Feeling a little better, Nyx looked up at Twilight and gave her a small smile. "Okay, if you say so." She got up to move a couple feet away and laid down again, and then used her magic to levitate a old, worn book out of her bag. It was a book of spells her mother gave her to study that were within her abilities to relearn and practice, one that was once handed down from Princess Celestia to the alicorn's former protégé.

"It's a good thing I still brought this book. I can keep practicing to get better at using my magic. Sweetie Belle has been so impressed with what she and I have been doing during our time with you that she wants me to help her with her magic too. I want to study all I can to get better at my magic and help teach her, too."

A smile crossed Twilight's face after hearing Nyx say that, the filly's hunger for knowledge wanted to not only better herself, but to use it to help her friends as well. It filled the mare with pride to see just how much her daughter reflected her so much. "I'm so proud of you for that, Nyx, and I'm really happy that our Twilight Time has been helping you and your friends learn so much."

She then paused for a moment and thought about how the original trio of the Cutie Mark Crusaders caused a little trouble on their part with their classmates a little while before the Breezies ordeal, and couldn't help but chuckle again. "...Even for the better or worse of reasons." Both alicorns had another chuckle before gluing their eyes onto the printed text of their books, and began to study their contents.

As one page was read, the books turned to another, and then another, and so on, only pausing a couple times for each of them to reread certain contents. It was quiet and peaceful in the park with the beautiful weather on top of it, making their study time all the better and more enjoyable on top of learning new things. They were lost out of time into their books, failing to notice that nearly two hours passed by quicker than Applejack in an applebucking race, and that farmer could really move in such a challenge. Mother and daughter studying new things together, a truly wonderful bonding time between two of the most infamous Ponyvillians, for better or worse reasons.

Unfortunately, the worst of reasons had interrupted a well-enjoyed afternoon. Nyx had completed studying a new spell, second level transfiguration magic that, when properly applied, can allow her to change objects or beings that average the size of a typical child pony into almost anything. She shut her book and got her mother's attention to give it an attempt, and decided to transform her saddlebags into something else entirely. Twilight gave her full attention to this, but was interrupted by somepony from afar calling out her name.

"Twilight! Hey, Twilight!"

Turning towards the direction of the calls, the two ponies found the most loyal pegasus in Equestria, Rainbow Dash, flying towards rhem and closing fast. The cyan mare landed right next to them with a thudding pounce of her hooves into the grass, her wings still extended out as if ready to take off again. After catching a quick breath to speak again, she told her friend "Twilight, come quick! Ponies are rioting at Night Stone Castle right now!"

"A riot?!" Twilight said.

"Yeah, and it's not exactly one you can ignore like others there have been. They're yelling awful things about you and Nyx, and you need to get over there to settle it! Now!" Rainbow added.

A stern stare crossed the princess's face, standing up and using her magic to put all of the things taken out of the saddlebags, and put them back in the correct bags. She extended her wings out, ready to take flight, and said "Let's go, Rainbow Dash." She saw her friend take off in a dash, as her name would describe, but before taking off herself, felt something jump onto her back. She turned her head and found Nyx standing there.

"Are you ready?" Twilight asked. Nyx gave her a nod with a determined look on her face. "Alright, Nyx, hang on!"

With a strong flap of her wings, the princess took off to follow Rainbow Dash. Flying as fast as her abilities would allow her, the two set off to investigate this riot and settle it immediately. In her newly established kingdom of friendship, Princess Twilight refused any sort of negative outbursts such as this, and planned to use the best of her authority to find a peaceful end to this new trouble.

/)∞(\

"No longer must Equestria have to allow the worst of criminals to roam free! Our princess are betraying us by jeopardizing our lives to the life of Nightmare Moon!"

In the front yards of the Night Stone Castle, a large group of ponies had gathered in a protest. For those who couldn't yell strong compared to others, they held up signs that showed their dislike of some particular ponies. The crowd was faced towards the castle, watching as one pony stood atop of an empty crate of soap. It was a stallion who was making multiple proclamations for a while now, which drew more and more ponies in from the nearby town, including an overhearing pegasus. Letting another cheer from his watchers die down, he continued to address his audience.

"Equestria does not deserve to endure the ongoing possibility that Nightmare Moon will plunge our world in eternal night again. Day after day, she roams our streets, plotting her next scheme in her mind to reestablish her Children of Nightmare. Our 'glorious' alicorn princesses allow this to continue, well I say to you this-

"No more!" The crowd cheered again in agreement. "No more endangering ponykind, and no more endangering Equestria! This castle behind stands as a visual example of allowing evil to rise again, and so I say to you, my fellow ponies, we start a new era of peace where an era of darkness was the capital! I say we demolish this castle to the ground and be rid of its sight, and then make our way to stop Nightmare Moon!..."

"Sorry, buddy! That's not gonna happen!"

The crowd turned around to see Rainbow flying in and landing on her hooves a few meters away. A less than pleasurable look was across her face as the mare said "If anything should stop it's that big mouth of yours from talking." She earned a mad glare from the entire group, including the stallion.

"And who are you to judge what I say? For all I know you're nothing mo..."

The stallion stopped talking as his sights caught the approach of the resident princess. Twilight landed next to Rainbow Dash, but gently as compared to the pegasus's stomping of a landing, as she had Nyx riding on her back. She closed her wings and allowed her daughter to jump off her back onto the ground next to her, and then setting her sights at the crowd before her.

"What is going on here? What is the meaning of this?" Twilight asked her questions in a tone that was firm, but soft, much like how her mentor would approach some circumstances.

The stallion stepped down from his soap box and began to walk through the crowd between him and the new arrivals. "Well if it isn't one of our betraying leaders, 'Princess' Twilight."

He emerged through the crowd and revealed himself to the alicorns; a strong-bodied unicorn with a dark tan coat and a silvery mane and tail, wearing a formal black vest and slim glasses on his eyes. On his flank was his cutie mark, which showed an open book with red pages and a thin, bright outling around it. His dark blue irises stared at the three newcomers in a pose that made him feel like a ruler at the highest podium. His face showed an especially disgusted frown as he saw the little black filly standing next to the alicorn princess.

"And there stands the greatest threat we ponies tremble in fear of. Hello, Nightmare Moon."

A cold shiver went along Nyx's back, and her ears lowered at the sound of her former self. But what got to her the most was how the pony said it to her, as if she was loathed more than any other thing possible, and it instilled a little fear in her.

"Hey! Her name is Nyx!" Rainbow shouted at him.

"Sorry, that name is for a filly, not a monster," the stallion coldly replied.

Twilight glared at him angrily, wanting to pounce on him like Pinkie Pie on a cake, but she kept herself restrained physically. Watching how much temper she'd let out, she said "How dare you speak to us that way! Who are you, and why are you here?"

The stallion raised a hoof and adjusted his glasses for a better fit. "My name is Silver Lining. I am a pony who tries to look out for the better living of ponies across Equestria, no matter the situation," he said. "Today I've come to Ponyville for my most important mission to date, and that is the guilty criminal you and your fellow princesses allow to roam free!"

Silver Lining pointed his hoof at Nyx during his accusation. The crowd behind him cheered with their mutual distaste, making Twilight and Rainbow Dash all the angrier. "There is no criminal here. The ponies of Ponyville are all good, innocent, and well-respected citizens, who would never want to do wrong," the purple alicorn said.

"Says the mare who used her magic to cause Discord levels of chaos on multiple occasions, and the 'caretaker' of a pony who once enslaved all of Equestria," Silver Lining said insultingly. "You're willing to tell me - to tell everypony - that you're taking care of that threat, who has violently attacked and imprisoned ponies, including yourself, and call her a good pony?!"

"B-but... But I am a good pony," Nyx said in a quiet whimper, mostly to herself.

"That is enough!" Twilight said, stomping her front hooves hard against the ground.

"Yeah!" added Rainbow Dash! "You better leave them alone!"

"Oh yeah?" Silver challenged. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Keep on insulting my friends and find out!" Rainbow lashed back, standing in front of the two alicorns.

Silver Lining just turned his head away in disgust for a moment, and then turned his attention back to the crowd behind him. "Take a good look, my friends, for that there is a true example of a traitor!" He extended his hoof out and pointed straight at Rainbow Dash.

"A WHAT?!!" The mare exclaimed.

"She is willing to stand against her fellow ponies to serve the undeserving. The so-called Element of Loyalty faces the wrong direction as she has her back turned on you, on me, on all of us! Who's to say that the other Elements of Harmony stand alongside her and try to protect Nightmare Moon! Harmony is endangered by not only the princesses, but by those who represent it for everypony!

"The Elements of Harmony are all traitors!"

The crowd began to voice their own opinions until they all rambled in angry unison. Twilight couldn't belive what she was hearing the stallion lie to everyone about, insulting her best friends and her daughter and such ways. She began to hear the other ponies cry out terrible things about Nyx such as "She's a monster!" "We need to protect ourselves!" "Be gone, Nightmare Moon!"

Twilight's ear caught the sound of Nyx starting to whimper, and the filly ducked herself behind the purple mare and under her tail. It was certainly not the first time this had happened, but it was never easier for a child to have to endure so many times. Seeing her daughter hiding her cringing sadness put the Princess of Friendship into, against her title, a less than friendly mood. As her angered flared, so did Rainbow Dash's as the pegasus jumped herself right into the rude stallion's face.

"THAT'S IT!" She yelled. "I'LL MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS WHEN I SHOVE MY HOOF STRAIGHT DOWN YOUR..."

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled, and used her magic to pull her friend back to her. "Don't even think about retaliating to him. You'll just be giving him what he wants."

"Are you kidding me? With all those lies he's saying about us, and about Nyx? Somepony needs to shut him up!" Rainbow tried to argue, but the absolutely livid glare Twilight was giving back began to scare her, which she wouldn't ever willingly admit.

"Believe me, I hate this as much as you," the alicorn mare said angrily, trying her best to lighten her voice up, "but by reacting with anger only fuels his cause." She then turned her attention back to the group, and began to address them again.

"Everypony, if I may be allowed to speak, I need to remind you all that what you fear and believe is nothing but lies and misconceptions. I am aware..."

"Are you saying that the actions of Nightmare Moon were lies? Or that her punishment is misconceived?" Silver Lining interrupted in a very rude manner.

Twilight could feel her wings trying to flare out as if they were sharp razor blades, but she could feel Nyx hiding behind her still. For Nyx's best interests, and in some ways her own, she forced herself to resist any outbursting urge. She then asked her friend to stay close to her daughter and tried to step forward, but the filly tried to keep herself hidden under the heavily purple colored tail. It took a minute to convince Nyx to stay with Rainbow, but she did so, and Twilight retook her turn to speak.

"I am not saying what you asked isn't true, but I will defend to the end that they are justifiable. Nyx was responsible for many terrible things inflicted on everypony, including myself, but what you fail to see blinds you from the truth. Nyx surrendered to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna after she informed me on how to free them from the sun and moon, respectively, and after a series of investigations and question, it was Luna who passed judgment on Nyx for everything that transpired during Nightmare Moon's reign. Since then, she was put into my care to live a full life that she was reborn with, but not as Nightmare Moon. As Nyx Sparkle,who I adopted as my own after getting to know the true filly who she tries to be every single day.

"What you fear of her, as I was trying to say, I am aware of why you would continue to have that fear. We all tend to fear the worst case scenario for many things, whether we try to fulfill a dream, or accomplish a task in a self-established time period, or any other reason one can imagine. But being here, what you gather for and preaching what you fear, is like you have no faith in those who wish to redeem themselves for their actions. Who are we to say that a pony who's willing to fix what they have damaged is permanently guilty for it? Princess Luna did not see that and allowed Nyx a second chance not out of fear, not for Nyx being Nightmare Moon for a time, but Nyx wanting to be Nyx and do the right thing.

"On behalf of your princesses, and the six who represent the Elements of Harmony, what you fear is a lie. Nightmare Moon is gone and will never return to threaten Equestria again. What you misconceive is a filly who only wants to be the best pony she wants to be; a great pony and a great friend to whoever would want her friendship. Her punishment was given to her with fairness and justification by those who only want what is best for everypony, not only a certain few. Anything you see of Nyx's, whether it is her former castle or just her living her life, is what it is now, and not what it was then.

"I ask of everypony here to try and understand this, and end this continuing hate. We can forgive events of Chaos, so why can't we move forward from Nightmares? As a Princess, and a mother, you have my word that my daughter is no more a threat to you than a gentle breeze a pegasus can fly with, or a blooming flower in a garden. Nyx is a pony that just wants to be good to you, so I ask you, you don't have to be directly involved, but at least allow her to continue to prove it to you as she has been for the last two years."

The protesters were silent as they let what Twilight said to them sink in. Behind the alicorn, Rainbow Dash was really impressed by how Twilight had handled things so surprisingly calm. Her friend didn't even entered a rage shift when looking that livid. Then again, having Princess Celestia as a mentor and two other peers guiding her has a helping hoof.

Nyx just stared up at her mother with an inspired gaze. Yes, it wasn't the first time Twilight had to come to her rescue, but every time was a moment she'd never forget, because of how much her mother showed devotion and care to preserve a peaceful life for them both, and everypony. At that moment, she just felt like the conflict was over, and that she had the greatest mom in Equestrian history. Then again, she always felt that Twilight was the most amazing pony ever, even going as far as thinking of her as, as some of the hippier ponies put it, 'Twilightlicious.'

Silver Lining pondered to himself for a couple minutes as he thought deep to himself. He broke the ongoing silence and said "I see... It all seems clear now..." Twilight, Rainbow and Nyx all began to smile, believing what the princess had said ended things.

"I see what's truly going on here now. I had my hunch it could be true but now it's clear as day..." Silver then pointed his hooves at the trio and made a new proclamation-

"The 'Princesses' and Elements of Harmony have been Blessed by Nightmare Moon! They're under her control as the new Children of Nightmare!"

"Oh my Celestia!"

"Could it be true? Are they Blessed?"

"No wonder they're protecting Nightmare Moon!"

The protesting ponies started to believe that Silver Lining's theory was correct. The Children of Nightmare did serve Nightmare Moon loyally after being Blessed by the evil mare's dark magic. Twilight, Rainboiw Dash and Nyx just stared at the group dumbfounded, their jaws hanging open in surprise at suck a thought of the Blessing controlling them. Twilight never felt that shocked, or enraged, by the thought since Shining Armor said the same thing about Nyx during the filly's first Hearth's Warming with her family.

"It is clear now more than ever that Equestria is in peril, my friends!" said the insulting, muscular unicorn stallion. "Our leaders and protectors are Blessed by the very dark magic that created the Children of Nightmare. Instead of banishment, they are enslaved to the evil force that is the so-called 'filly' you see there! Nopony is safe now!"

Rainbow Dash then said "WHY YOU LITTLE..."

"ENOUGH!" Twilight exclaimed, becoming so infuriated that her wings opened up and her horn sparking magical energy. This caught everypony's attention easily. "Your Princesses are NOT Blessed by dark magic! That evil power was destroyed by Nyx herself, and it was her who freed all those who were Blessed. I will not have your accusations continue on, Silver Lining. I tried to be nice and calm, but now I am DONE with this! No more of your lies!"

"Lies? What you still call lies, I see as the truth," the stallion replied, and boldly stepped forward to face the purple alicorn. Their muzzles came just within a couple inches of each other. "And regardless of being Blessed or not, you are put in peril to be harmed again. Broken, beaten, and scarred like a criminal. You remember all too well about that happening to you, so why enable it to happen again? Come to your senses and see the truth like us, and abandon that freak of ponykind and sentence her to a permanent new home."

The purple mare growled furiously at the stallion, and her patience finally running out. Never would she abuse her royal title to make things her way, but for this case, she found an exception to banish that pony out of Ponyville forever, and shut him out much like how Trixie did to her a while back. Her eyes burned with rage, and her mane began to shift, but it didn't last for more than a moment. The voice of another pony spoke up and broke her out of her enraged trance. This voice was Nyx's.

"Stop it! Just stop it!" The filly yelled with much anger, and bravely stepped up to stand next to her mother. "I would never hurt my mom, or put anypony in danger! I made a lot of bad decisions, and I apologized for them, and the Princesses let me have another chance to be a better pony, which I always try to do! I'm not Nightmare Moon! I'm not plotting to take over Equestria, and my family, friends, and the Princesses are NOT Blessed!" She then let a lot of her upset emotions out in one more exclaim, right up at Silver Lining's face-

"I'M NOT EVIL! NOPONY THREATENS YOU! NOW LEAVE ME AND MY FAMILY ALONE!!!"

Everypony just stared down at the outbursting filly, some scared and others surprised, but Twilight, Rainbow and Silver were just speechless for the moment. The trio expected to hide behind whichever friend or family member was closest to try and hide from having attention on her. Instead, she let herself have a temper tantrum, and for the first time, right in the face of who was causing her problems, the fact that left the alicorn without words more than anypony. Silver Lining, however, found some words to motivate his movement further.

"How dare you, Nightmare Moon," he said as coldly as he could. "Enough of your lies and deceit! It is time you face the responsibility for your crimes, and get what you deserve!" The crowd behind him cheered in agreement as he did the unthinkable next; he raised a front leg, and threw his hoof down against Nyx, punching her right across the face onto the ground.

"Nyx!" Twilight started to panic, her anger started to blaze within her. Before she could do anything, the filly was caught in the aura of the stallion's magic.

"Now is our chance, my friends," Silver Lining told the group. "Take this villain and give her what she deserves!" Using his magic, he levitated her behind him and used his rear legs to buck her into the crowd.

Nyx cried in pain as she felt his hooves hit her spine, followed by her muzzle slamming against another stallion's chest. Before she could do anything, she felt hoof after hoof kicking, hitting, and pounding any available area they could aim for. She began to cry out with every strike of pain as pony after pony assaulted her. With what she could gather in a single breath, she cried out for help. "MOM! HELP ME!"

Both Twilight and Rainbow had finally snapped. The alicorn began to race around the stallion that caused this chaos, but he managed to keep her back by not reverse his bucking technique, using his front hooves to slam into her upper chest. It had enough force to knock the wind right out of Twilight, freezing her where she stood as she tried to catch her breath. Rainbow Dash's anger was only fueled even more by his actions, and she had her sights set to knock him out cold.

"That's it! I'm going to make you eat dirt until you choke!" As the cyan pegasus began her attack and tackled into Silver Lining, Twilight tried to speak to her in between her gasping for air.

"Don't... Rainbow... Nyx... Save her."

Rainbow knew that there was no time to argue over actions at this point, and kept herself to her Element of Harmony and listened to her friend's plea. She darted for the endangered filly, but ran into trouble herself just as she was in reach, for Silver used his magic to kick dust off the ground into the air. The dust got into her eyes, causing her vision to blur and make her crash into the group of ponies attacking Nyx. It wasn't exactly how he wanted the result to be, but he didn't complain with the new opportunity he had.

"Hold back that disloyal mare! Make sure she aids nopony!" As a few ponies shifted their attention from Nyx to Rainbow Dash, Silver turned his sights back to Twilight, who was still trying to catch her breath. "As for you, 'Your Highness,' I will make sure that your controlled state of mind will not assist in Nightmare Moon's inevitable cease of living. You will be cured of your mental plague; I promise you that."

Silver's horn began to glow, casting a spell to keep Twilight inside a shield of his magic. It was only to be just long enough for his deed to be done; to end Equestria of the mare that threatened all ponies with eternal night. "Once she is done, ponies will rejoice and celebrate, knowing that her evil being no longer walks among us," he said, mainly to Twilight and himself. "I will be honored a hero, the hero that did what the Elements of Harmony won't. Today, I have lead ponykind to the death of Nightmare Moon!"

Twilight froze, but only for three seconds. The first second was the shock of hearing what Silver Lining had spat out of his mouth. The second one marked when she was able to breathe again. And the third second was when she drew in a good breath of air and began to cast a magic spell of her own.

"STOP!!!!!"

Her voiced bellowed with what could be mistaken for the Canterlot voice, powerfully enforcing and echoing as if it could reach the next town. At the same time, she casted her magic to cancel out the stallion's magic and freeze everypony in their place. Getting back on her hooves, she kept the spell going in order to walk around Silver, giving him a livid glare, and walk into the crowd of ponies. She made her way through to find Rainbow Dash being held down on the ground by two ponies, and worst of all, her daughter curled up into a ball on the ground. She was covered in many bruises and stains of blood, setting Twilight's panic levels to an even higher level.

"Nyx!" Twilight cried, tearing up in building panic as she raced up to her. To make everything worse, the filly's whimpering faded into silence as she began to fade in and out of unconsciousness. "No! NYX!" She immediately lowered her head to Nyx, seeing and hearing her still, but only barely, breathing. "Hold on, Nyx," she said, starting to cry. "I'll get you out of here."

Using levitation magic carefully, she lifted Nyx into the air, and then turned to face Rainbow Dash, freeing the mare from the holding spell. "Rainbow, I need to get Nyx to the hospital. Are you-"

"I'm fine," Rainbow replied, shaking her head to regain her focus. "You get Nyx away from here. I'll make sure these freaks stay put."

"They're in a holding spell," the alicorn said, "so they can't escape. Find the mayor and Spike, report what happened, and have the guards come here."

"I'm on it. Now go!"

With that, Rainbow took off into the sky and back towards town. Twilight turned back to her daughter, her horn beginning to glow brighter. "You'll be okay, Nyx," she said, hoping that the filly heard her words. With the power of the Princess's teleportation magic, they both disappeared, leaving Silver Lining and the entire crowd frozen in their place for their upcoming arrests.

"...and that's when Nyx and I got outside the hospital and came in the doors. I tried to focus on getting inside, but I couldn't concentrate to a specific spot and focus my magic on that."

Twilight concluded her explanation of what happened. There were several points towards the end where she had to stop and collect her emotions before starting to cry, and she had finally reached her limit. She needed to stop there, bow her head, and let out the sadness built up inside her through semi-controlled sobbing. Nurse Redheart continued to jot down some notes from what Twilight had said, and then looked over some of Nyx's medical records for a few seconds.

The nurse got out of her seat, and walked up to Twilight's side and put a hoof on the alicorn's shoulder. Since the events of the Everfree Invasion, she became one of the many ponies who saw through the Nightmare Moon form Nyx once had, and accepted Nyx as a good pony who answered for her actions to the other Princesses. Bias set aside, she felt sorry for the Sparkle family.

"We will do everything we can for your daughter, Your Highness," she said with kind softness. "I need to take this information upstairs and address this with the other doctors. Please remain here or in the lounge upstairs until we come for you, and we'll provide you anything you need."

The purple mare raised her head, looked at the nurse with a depressed expression and said "Just help Nyx. Please, help my Nyx."

"We will," Redheart said. "I will return as quickly as I can." With that, she walked back upstairs and through the lounge, the sound of a shutting door echoing down to the Princess, who remained in her place, and continued to cry.

Author's Note

Well, here it is, the start of my newest story!

I know I said I would try to get this out on my birthday, which was the other day and never got the chance to debut. I apologize for the delay, but unfortunately internet issues and some mistakes in plans forced me to have to wait until I could even submit this new tale to share. To make up for the delay, I combined both of my first two chapters into one long chapter for your reading pleasure and help give everything a strong start.

Since grammar is a picky subject for most, if there's a spelling or grammar error you may notice that I may have missed, send me a message regarding to the mistake and I'll try to fix it at the earliest chance. I hope you forgive me for the delay and enjoy this brand new adventure!

Chapter 2: Road to Recovery

Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne discussing matters with members of the Royal Guard. Apparently, a recent request by the Princess required more than she had originally thought was intended, and was making sure that her mistaken foresight would be fixed for the better of her guards and her intentions. When one of her guards concluded speaking, she found herself unable to say anything when a letter magically appeared in front of her. Knowing the means of how she received this letter, it was without question that it was sent by Spike's magic fire breath.

"Excuse me for a moment, gentlemen," Celestia told the guards, who did not argue. She used her magic to open the scroll and read what was written. But the more she read, the more her face turned to a combination of panic and despair.

"Your Highness," one of the guards said, "is something wrong?"

"Yes," Celestia replied firmly, rolling the scroll back up with her magic. "Gather however many available guards you have and report to Ponyville at once. There are those at Night Stone Castle to be arrested immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the same guard answered, and the group of soldiers left. All but one.

"Wait, Lieutenant," the Princess said, stopping the only lieutenant, a gray pegasus, in his tracks.

"Yes, Princess?"

"I need you to report to the Canterlot Police at once. Inform one of the detectives there, Detective Benson, to meet me outside the castle gates at once," Celestia ordered. The guard saluted, and immediately rushed off. With that, she pulled up a blank scroll and a writing quill to begin writing a reply. She began to recite what she needed to write as she began to use her magic to have the quill start writing.

"My dear Spike,

"Thank you for informing me of this emergency. Please let Twilight know that help is on the way at once, but I need you to relay a message to my sister and Princess Cadance..."

/)∞(\

Nurse Redheart opened the door into the waiting room Twilight was in. It was a while since she left to talk to other doctors, and since then the alicorn appeared that she's been walking in the same circular path, as shown by the worn out floor.

"Princess Twilight?" she said, catching her attention.

"Yes? Is everything alright?" Twilight asked, hoping for good news.

The nurse gave no expression as she replied. "Nyx is still in surgery, and will be for a longer time. Doctors are looking over all her injuries as we speak, so we'll know if any damage was made permanent." Even though the purple mare looked down in sadness, the nurse gave a small smile. "In the mean time, you have some visitors who would like to join you."

The door opened wider to reveal the five most familiar mares and one faithful dragon Twilight was happy to see: her friends. Rainbow Dash led them all into the room, and the group immediately surrounded the alicorn at all sides with concerned and worried looks. Rainbow and Spike got to her first, and both gave her a hug, which she gave in return. Before anypony could say anything, Redheart spoke again and said "I'll leave you for now, but a doctor will come by to check on your own health, Princess." With that, she left and shut the door behind her.

Twilight put her attention towards her friends and said "How did you all know that..."

"Rainbow Dash flew around Ponyville as fast as possible to tell us all to meet her here," Rarity explained. "The moment she told us what happened to you and poor Nyx, we burst through the front doors. I regret to say that the front clerk fell out of her seat, and looking quite annoyed when getting back up."

"Twilight, how is she? How are you? Was anything broken?" Spike asked, with tears glistening in his eyes.

Twilight looked down at the little dragon with the strongest face she could possibly express. "I'm fine, Spike. Nyx is in surgery right now," she told him.

"That's what the nurse told us on our way to you," Applejack stated. "It shook down my spine fierce when I heard that."

"I just can't believe all those ponies hurt Nyx," Fluttershy said sadly. "How long has the poor dear been in surgery?"

Twilight bowed her head and shut her eyes. "I don't know," she replied. "I lost track of the time since I got here, but it's felt like far too long. What the doctors said when she was rushed in, all of the injuries she has, I... I-"

Pinkie Pie wrapped a leg around the purple mare's neck for comfort, and unintentionally interrupting her. "Don't you worry about a thing, Twilight. Nyx is a super fightin' little filly. She'll come out of this just fine and be surprised with a 'We're All Glad You're Okay' party!"

"Pinkie, now is not the time to worry about throwing a party," Rarity said to the pink pony.

"I know, silly. That's for after we make sure Nyx comes out of this just fine and make sure those nasty ponies get nowhere near her again," Pinkie said, leaving everypony in the room a little taken aback. They didn't expect her to just jump shift from party master to caring best friend; then again, they're both qualities of the same actions for her. She put her focus back on Twilight and said "Now you tell your little filly's Aunt Pinkie Pie who hurt her so bad that they have a bite of my party cannon."

"Pinkie Pie!" Practically everypony in the room yelled that, saving Twilight who was just stunned, and Spike as he just shook his head. Rainbow, however, was on the agreeing side with the party pony.

"Those ponies deserve a few good blasts from a cannon if you ask me- right in the direction those Changelings went off to," the cyan pegasus said angrily. "There is no reason grown ponies should hurt a filly like that. If I had my way I'd buck every one of them square in the face. With brass horseshoes."

"Take it easy, Rainbow," Applejack told her. "We're all as upset as you but it's not draggin' yourself down to their levels."

"Oh come on, AJ. You'd buck them in two if it was Apple Bloom being beaten on like-"

"Stop it, Rainbow," Twilight said firmly, interrupting her friend. She didn't want to hear any arguing, not now. "I don't need to hear that right now. All I care about is Nyx being okay." Her firm tone faded into a depressive volume.

"We all do," Fluttershy said softly, "and that's why we're here. We're all worried about her."

"I couldn't agree more, and we will not leave your side during this terrible time," Rarity added. "Nyx is important to all of us, and we'll do whatever we can for her, and her family."

The alicorn managed to crack a small smile and allowed herself to cry some. "Thank you girls," she said. "I knew I couldn't handle this without you, and Nyx could use her aunts and friends, too."

Pinkie, still having a leg around Twilight's neck, pulled her in for a caring Pinkie Pie-grade hug. Most of the group surrounded the two and joined in on the hug as well, but not Rainbow Dash. She hesitated to move, continuing to think about that group of disgraceful ponies, and what they did to put everyone in the hospital at that moment.

"Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow had herself facing away from her friends as she kept herself in her thoughts, but Twilight's voice broke through. Keeping herself hidden didn't work for as long as she desired, but for more than just those ponies on her mind. She had a greater grievance on her mind that she was trying to keep inside, and out of sight. " I should've done something sooner..." When she finally decided to turn around, the ponies saw not just anger in her eyes, but what looked to be her own sadness.

"What?" Spike asked.

Fluttershy followed with "Rainbow Dash, what's-"

"I didn't stop those ponies sooner. I should've taken out Silver Lining before things went that wrong. I'm supposed to be loyal to my friends, and what did I let happen?" She began to break out into some anger. "I let Nyx get hurt! I let my niece get trampled like a bug! Why didn't I do anything sooner? Maybe we wouldn't be here right now. Maybe-"

The pegasus then found herself being pulled by a lavender shade of magic, right in front of Twilight. The alicorn spoke to her with the most understanding and caring voice she could allow herself to make.

"Rainbow Dash, you can't blame yourself for what happened. You have absolutely nothing to blame yourself for because none of this is your fault. If anything, this is my fault for not being more protective of Nyx-"

"But I was the one who told you about them, and led you and Nyx right to them," Rainbow interrupted. "If I didn't do that-"

Twilight then interrupted her with "If you didn't find us and informed me of what was happening, then they could have found a way to find Nyx themselves. Silver Lining put all his focus on finding us and do exactly what he did no matter how our paths would have crossed. But that's not important right now, Rainbow Dash.

"What matters right now is that we hope for the best for Nyx, and that she has us by her side. She needs us, and I need you and everypony, so stop blaming yourself over something you had no responsibility with, please. For her, and for me."

The cyan pegasus just showed a flinching expression for a moment, not saying a word. Instead, she let herself get 'sappy,' as she would call it, and let out some tears she had built up in her eyes. She then leaned her head down onto Twilight's shoulder, and wrapped a leg around her neck.

"I'm sorry," she said sadly. "I just wish this didn't happen."

"I know, Dashie. Me too," replied the alicorn, who leaned her head against her friend, as well as wrap a leg around her neck. The entire group shared the hug together, all of them sad for the reason they were there, but happy that they were together to help support the Princess and her daughter.

When the hug broke off, they all tried to make themselves comfortable; sitting in a chair, laying on the floor, standing on their hooves, whatever made themselves most comfortable. Most of them tended to change their positions from time to time as they continued to wait, but not Twilight, who remained sitting on the room's loveseat the entire time. This was partially forced because of Rainbow Dash, who sat next to her without getting up once, refusing to leave her friend's side after everything. At the same time, they needed each other for the most support.

But unknown to Twilight were Rainbow's particular feelings that have been left an unshared secret among the group, but shared among friends from beyond Equestria's borders.

All of them failed to recognize the time. What felt like hours were in reality minutes, and it made time feel like it had stopped in place. It took over two hours before the door into the room had opened, and Doctor Monitor had stepped inside.

"Your Highness?"

Twilight sat up onto her hooves and met the doctor halfway between the door and the loveseat, gazing him with worried eyes. This was where she feared that where she hoped for the best would result in the worst, and she didn't know if she could handle the latter. She saw him levitating a clipboard with slips of paper and a large envelope, ideal for holding x-rays, held onto it. There was only a couple seconds of silence that passed before he began to speak.

"I am here to inform you that Nyx is currently out of surgery as of fifteen minutes ago. Needless for me to say that you are very lucky to get her to us when you did."

"How is she, Doctor? Will she be alright?" Twilight asked.

Dr. Monitor took a deep breath before going over the paperwork he had. "I was not part of the surgery myself, but all of our available doctors and surgeons were there to mend your daughter. Both of her wings were torn at the base line and bent out of shape, which were truthfully the worst parts of her condition. We did find several spots of broken or fractured bones around her body; a couple ribs, her front left leg, and fractured areas all around underneath the most revealing bruises. One of her ears, however, looked to have been torn at one of the tips by over one inch, and her right eye took a hoof directly to it. Anything else, fortunately, was minor injuries to put it best, and she was incredibly lucky to not have any significant damage to her organs."

"But how is she already?!"

All eyes turned around to Rainbow Dash, who made that exclamation. It was indeed what was on everypony's mind, but it still didn't need to be shouted out like that, even if Twilight wanted to do the same. The alicorn maintained what little composure she had to ask herself "Doctor, is she going to be okay?"

"Well, Princess Twilight, it will require some time," he replied. He then began to show a reassuring smile as he continued with "But she is expected to recover from her injuries; some faster than others, of course. Her wings will require some physical therapy, but they should be as good as new if healed correctly. I should add that it's fortunate her horn was only scratched or she would be without magic as well as flight. Then again, I saw nothing in her paperwork about her flight capabilities, but that's off the topic. The point is, Your Highness-"

"She's going to be okay! She's going to be okay!" Pinkie Pie chanted.

The doctor chuckled, and then concluded what he was trying to say. "Yes, Nyx will be alright."

Relief felt as if it crashed down onto the group like a tidal wave, especially on the Sparkle family and Rainbow Dash. This was the news that would bring peace to the horrible, horrible day. Twilight looked at the doctor to say "Thank you, Doctor, and many thanks to your fellow doctors as well. May we go see her?"

"Of course you can," Doctor Monitor replied. "She is still resting right now so you won't find her awake until the spell used to leave her unconscious, but that should wear off in a matter of hours, depending on how she recovers. I'm also afraid that I cannot allow all of you to go at once; only a few at a time is allowed. The rest of your friends will have to wait until visiting hours tomorrow, but as you are her mother, you are permitted to stay as long as you wish."

"That's alright with us. We're just glad Nyx will be fine," Applejack said.

"Of course," added Rarity. "Besides, I feel we should get our little Cutie Mark Crusaders and tell them what's going on. We'll bring them by tomorrow after class."

"Good thinkin'. I didn't even think of that," the orange mare said. The Crusaders didn't even come to mind before to her surprise; the fillies were all best friends after all.

"We should get going then," Fluttershy said, making her way towards the door, but not without stopping next to Twilight first. "Is there anything more we can do for you, Twilight?"

"Not really," the alicorn replied. "You've done so much by being here with me. Thank you, girls. You're the best friends I could have ever asked for."

"We know," Pinkie said flatly, but amusingly. "That's because you're one of the same."

All of the girls and Spike shared another group hug before the majority of visitors made their way out the door; all but Rainbow Dash. Twilight looked down at Spike and motioned the two to follow the doctor to Nyx's room. It wasn't until she was one hoof out the door when she noticed the pegasus standing still in the room by the loveseat, where she was since the doctor came in.

"Rainbow? Why aren't you going home?"

Rainbow hesitated to answer, mostly worried that she'd get another 'sappy' explanation that she didn't need to stick around. Regardless of what Twilight had said before, she still felt like she should be around for her friend.

"Twi," she finally said, "I know what you said, but I still want to... I mean, I feel like I should... if it's fine with you, I... I want to check on Nyx, too, just to see for myself."

Giving a gentle smile, Twilight walked back to her. She opened up one of her wings and wrapped it around Rainbow's back. "Of course you can. Thank you." That was all she said before the two mares and little dragon walked out of the waiting room. As they were on their way to Nyx's room, Twilight failed to noticed her friend's cyan's face starting to glow a new shade of red.

/)∞(\

In a private hospital room, a little black filly was resting on her bed, with multiple needles poked into her front legs. On the left leg was an IV of fluids that kept her blood cleansed and blood cells in higher count, and another needle with a pad that monitored her pulse rate. On the right leg was only one needle, connected to an IV bag of water to keep her hydrated until she would wake up out of the unconscious spell. The filly's overall appearance was dreadful with all the bandages wrapped around various parts of her body, and the bruises that showed around her body, but as she continued to sleep, she looked peaceful.

Peaceful; a description that some wouldn't normally think of if in Twilight's position. The moment Doctor Monitor opened the door into the room, Nyx was shown laying in her bed asleep, resting from the surgery she had just undergone. The purple mare kept some control of her speed as she walked up to Nyx's side, her eyes teared up as she nuzzled the side of the filly's face, and then gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Rainbow Dash and Spike followed her to the bed, standing at the same side and looking down at the resting filly. The Doctor closed the door behind him, not before telling the group to inform him if anything was needed, and left them be. Following that, Twilight looked around to find something soft, and found a spare pillow that she used her magic to set on the floor under her and sit on. She placed herself right next to Nyx, allowing her head to rest down on the bed whenever she would choose, but for now, she just remained seated, looking down at her daughter with much relief. All of them just stayed in their places for a long while, just watching the little pony rest, until one of them spoke up.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Twilight turned her head from her daughter to the pegasus, who had taken a seat on the floor next to her. "Nyx has to deal with ponies like that almost daily, but she toughs it out every time. She'll never give up on herself, and always try to stand tall." She paused, thinking about the mare partially responsible for the filly's attitude. "Yeah, she really is your daughter."

Twilight was slightly taken aback by that comment. Normally the cyan mare would be sarcastic or humorous when it came to jokes like that, but with how she was acting since arriving at the hospital, it could have been read as seriousness. "What are you saying about Nyx, and for the matter, about me?"

"Nyx is strong and will strife through this to the end. She's a tough little filly; tough like her mother." She let herself stop for a moment, a dramatic pause to allow Twilight to hear and absorb what she just said. She meant every word of it sincerely, but for the sake of having a sliver of humor try to make things a little more postive in the atmosphere, she added "Nyx is also smart like you, too. I guess that makes eggheadedness run in your family."

The alicorn blinked at first, and then started to chuckle, her hoof covering her lips. Rainbow's personality and humor was never always the kindest, but it was truthful and articulated in her sense that made it meaningful. The 'egghead' comment may have been one she's heard for years, but it stopped being an insult a long time ago and more of a compliment, which she appreciated. After letting out her chuckle, she laid her hoof down gently on Nyx's forehead.

"She is a tough little 'egghead,'" Twilight said. "I'm just glad it's not as worse as it could be." She paused, allowing the images of worst case scenarios to appear in her mind. It only lasted a moment after shaking them away. "I'm going to stay here and wait for when Nyx wakes up. Spike, Rainbow Dash, you can go home and wait until I-"

"No way," interrupted Spike. "I'm not going anywhere until I know Nyx wakes up and is fine."

"That goes for me, too," added Rainbow Dash.

Knowing that there was no worth arguing, Twilight just smiled and said "Alright. Thank you."

And from there they waited. It was mostly silent so that they wouldn't disturb Nyx, with an occasional comment here and there from anyone. Two different nurses came in to check on the filly, each stating that those outside of the family, more specifically Rainbow Dash, were staying past allowed visiting hours, but Twilight told them both that the pegasus was indeed family, and requested available pillows for all three to have and rest on. The first nurse honored the request and the other brought them to the room, allowing the baby dragon a comfortable place to pass out on when his body decided to go on 'automatic rest,' as Rainbow joked.

Twilight didn't move from her position once, even when the nurses visited. She sat in the same place next to her daughter's bed, sitting on her pillow and her body refusing to budge. She held onto the hope that the worst of everything was over, and hoped much more that Nyx would wake up without pain.

Rainbow Dash, however, did not fair well in terms of getting rest. She walked around and hovered in the air for a while to give her body a stretch, and then decided to get some rest on her pillow. As for her mental state, it did not slow down, and it resulted in not being able to get a slumbering state like Nyx. Her head looked as if she was resting, but behind her closed eyes were visions of what had happened, and how she's seen Twilight.

Twilight...

The last several months have been a whirlwind of thoughts regarding Equestria's newest princess. She couldn't think of exactly why - or didn't want to think of why - but there were these strange feelings that began to stir in the pit of her stomach; the feeling of being smitten, in admiration for, having a crush on somepony. It was accidentally let out during the Equestria Games with non-pony friends, but she was better at keeping her feelings to herself since. Since those feelings began, she found herself at the library more often, outside of when she met with everypony there or was dragged in by her- the royal egghead, and spending more time with Nyx and all the Crusaders rather than Scootaloo a lot of times. The pegasus and alicorn's time together made their friendship even stronger, as would any time with anypony else, but for Rainbow Dash, she felt that taking affect a lot more than she could admit.

Rainbow couldn't deny that she liked Twilight more than just a friend; she was smitten by her. With this ordeal in place, it hurt her more than anything that the Sparkle family was having to deal with such a tragedy, and she didn't want to leave them and not be constantly supportive. She may be the Element of Loyalty, but she felt her loyalty exceeding what she's been before, and part of her started to fear that. So far she has played it cool, but there were limits, except to her awesomeness and flying of course, and she didn't want to go so far that she would ruin not just the bond she has with Twilight, but with everypony else as well.

"Rainbow Dash..."

The cyan mare looked up to see Twilight. Right next to her, the purple mare had her head crooked down to eye level. This caught Rainbow off guard, seeing that the mother of the ailing filly accidentally left her position, to come to her. Her magenta eyes shrank to nearly nothing as she just stared back stunned.

"Rainbow, are you okay? You haven't said a thing for hours and I saw you squirming. I was wondering if..."

The knock of a door interrupted Twilight before she could finish. The mare began to feel annoyed with everypony and their mothers getting interrupted for one reason or another, but collected herself before using magic to open the door. When the door was opened enough, a taller, white pony stood on the other side. Standing right there and then starting to walk in was Princess Celestia, who looked as elegant as ever, but a sign of great concern that was shown with her eyes.

"Celestia," Twilight said, both shocked and relieved, "you're here?"

"I am," Celestia replied. "I got here as quick as I was allowed. I'm sorry that I haven't arrived sooner." She walked up towards her peer and leaned her neck down to nuzzle with Twilight. "How is Nyx?"

Twilight gave a brief summary of how the filly was doing. She tried to explain what exactly happened, but Celestia dismissed that necessity when she reminded them that she received the letter from Spike.

"This is indeed a terrible circumstance. I was aware that ponies were still resentful towards Nyx, but to go as far as violence..." Celestia paused, bowing her head as if she was defeated. "I did not expect my subjects to retaliate at these lengths. How many did you believe were a part of this rally, Twilight?"

"Two dozen at least, perhaps three, other than Silver Lining," twilight replied. "I didn't take the time to count."

"I see," the white alicorn replied back. She then took a look at Nyx before continuing with "Twilight, you are aware of most Equestrian laws for criminal action, correct?" Her former student nodded as Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I am sure you are already aware that the protestors will stand trial for their crimes, but seeing as this involves your family - a Royal family - it automatically moves the case from civil court to the Royal Court in Canterlot. Silver Lining and his followers will have their first hearings here in Ponyville before the Guards transfer them to Canterlot. However, before any of that, there are officers who will need to look into the matter; the Special Victims division."

Twilight couldn't help herself to look depressed. That very division of law enforcement that she forbade Nyx from learning too much about, now having to be called to their aide and show Nyx what those officers deal with in more definitive ways. She didn't like the thought of it, but it was what was needed at the moment, so the purple mare could only do what she could with it.

She looked up at Celestia and asked "When do they have to begin? Don't they need to talk to Nyx directly?"

"Yes, but I already have somepony who will handle things," Celestia said.

Before she could say anything else, the sounds of other voices were heard outside the room. They were too muffled behind the closed door to hear specifically what was being said, but it seemed that there was one trying to stop several from making their way down the hall, with a couple voices arguing back. It wasn't until they were near the door that words were better to understand.

"For the last time, you're not allowed in private rooms. Leave now or I'll have to place you under arrest."

"How dare you try to arrest the Doctor. He's come all the way here to help."

"And was recommended by those who know your Princesses know quite well."

"I don't care who he is exactly. He's not a part of the Royal family and is NOT allowed in!"

"I've come here to do what is needed, so I'd like to see you try and stop-"

Celestia used her magic to open the closed door, revealing four very different figures. The only one she could easily recognize was the one pony among them, as the other three were clearly not Equestrian. The being that stood right in front of the door was a tall creature with an egg-shaped body, a head with a bald cranium and a wildly long red mustache, who had to bow down in order to step into the room. Following him here two shorter beings like him, except without fur and more metallic bodies; one taller and colored gold, and the other shorter with a silver color. They stood on each side of the tallest figure, and the aforementioned pony entered around them.

The pony was a pegasus mare that wore a collared shirt and a brown coat, both three-quarter sleeve-length. She had a shade of blue that was just a couple tones darker than Rainbow Dash, a wavy mane and tail that were both a brunette color with the former in a ponytail, and emerald green eyes. Her cutie mark was a gray-colored shield of the Royal Guard with a pink heart in the center. On her coat was a badge with the same shape of the cutie mark's shield, brightly colored with Royal Guard colors with her identity across the near bottom.

Once she had entered the room, the pegasus addressed Celestia. "I'm very sorry, Your Highness. I ordered them to not enter several times, but I'll place them under arrest immediately."

The Princess raised her hoof to stop the pegasus. "It is alright, Detective," Celestia said. "This person wouldn't be here if they did not have a good reason. Besides, he is an acquaintance of Princess Twilight's, if I'm not mistaken."

"I... N- I mean yes, yes he is," Twilight replied, stuttering from the surprise of new visitors. Her attention turned to focus on the tallest of the new visitors, and then said "I haven't seen you since we met on Mobius weeks ago. I'm afraid your last name escapes, Doctor..."

"Eggman," he corrected. "Dr. Eggman, at your service." He then held up what appeared to be a metal briefcase in his hand.

"Service?" Rainbow asked.

Dr. Eggman nodded with a grunt, and then turned to face the white alicorn. "I believe it was you that sent a message to some colleagues of mine from one of your sources; Spike, if I'm correct, was the messenger." The little dragon stood in his place proudly, rubbing his knuckles against his chest as a small boasting gesture. "There was a letter sent with information regarding one of your subjects that was in critical condition. Naturally they turned to me in order to assist with my egg-ceptional expertise."

"You are from Team JAG," Celestia said.

"Yes, Your Highness," he confirmed. His eye then caught the sight of the unconscious filly. "I am safe to believe that this is where I am needed, so with your consent I would like to start before waiting any longer."

"I may grant you that permission, but I'm afraid it isn't my place to approve of your actions," Celestia replied, motioning to her former student. "Nyx is Twilight's daughter, so of course she has the final say."

The purple alicorn hesitated. Although she and her friends were associated much closer to Team JAG than most of Equestria, she wouldn't just openly invite the help after what the hospital's doctors have already done. She looked up at the Doctor to ask "Dr. Eggman, what exactly do you plan to do to Nyx?"

He snapped his fingers, and held his briefcase out in front of him again. His two assistants, Decoe and Bocoe, took it from him and to Nyx's bedside opposite of where Twilight was sitting. As they opened it up to reveal its advanced technology within it, he explained his motives.

"This is a health monitor and rejuvenation system of my own creation. It will keep track and maintain Nyx's overall health and increase her healing process, so long as it has the proper energy source. Tails was kind enough to supply me with that."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gem that Twilight was most familiar with. Its shade of purple and bright glow of energy reminded her of when she first came across the item earlier that year. She took a good look at it and said what it was aloud- "That's one of the Chaos Emeralds."

"That is correct, Your Majesty," Bocoe said from behind her.

Decoe then added "Dr. Eggman's equipment will use the Chaos Emerald's energy to fix up Nyx in no time."

Before Twilight could say anymore, Dr. Eggman added "Tails and Cosmo were unable to bring this to you themselves, but they send their best wishes for your daughter. It was them who made the suggestion for me to come here and provide my services. If I'm not mistaken, they should be arriving to Ponyville within the next few minutes to see you and your friends." Without saying anything more, his attention turned to another pony.

The mare that tried to stop him from entering was giving him a cold stare. Her look gave the impression that she was not as open-minded to allowing the strangers to openly treat a patient, especially a filly, after ignoring her and forcefully letting themselves towards royalty. The longest reigning princess had noticed this during the conversation, and addressed the matter.

"It is alright, Detective. He means no harm to my family," Celestia said, and then turned back to her peer. "Twilight, I would not have called out to Team JAG if they did not prove to be valuable help. I hope you are alright with-"

"No, no, not at all," Twilight responded, accidentally interrupting her former teacher. Turning back to Eggman, she asked "And you're sure Nyx will be alright with this treatment?"

"You have my word, Princess," he replied.

She took a moment to consider this plan of action before making her final decision. "Very well, Doctor, you may do what you wish."

A grin hid behind his mustache as he said "I assure you that you will enjoy the results. Now if you excuse me..." He walked between Twilight and Rainbow Dash to make his way to his machines. The latter, who kept herself quiet as much as she could, leaned in to whisper to her crush's ear.

"Are you sure about this, Twilight? What if he's wrong and makes Nyx worse than before?" she asked.

"I'm not a hundred percent about his myself," Twilight whispered back, "but if Tails and Cosmo believe that he can help, then it's worth the chance. They've shown Nyx a lot of care since they met her and wouldn't do this unless they believed it could be helpful." She then turned to Celestia and said "Thank you," and then repeated that to Spike, but with a cheek-to-cheek nuzzle with him.

"Hey, I'm looking out for family. I'd like to say that I'm pretty darn good at it," Spike said after the nuzzling, to which the alicorn could only smile.

Although she didn't want to interrupt the moment, it was important to focus on matters that second in importance to Nyx. "I believe it is time for an introduction," she said, and then gestured her hoof towards the pegasus that gave Eggman the cold stare.

"Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Spike, allow me to introduce Detective Benson. She is the finest officer of Equestria's Special Victims Unit, and the highest recommended for all child-related crimes; public and royal cases. I have personally hired her to lead in Nyx's case and see to it that the ponies responsible for their hanis actions receive the highest consequences deserved. Whatever is needed, she will assist you."

The detective stepped forward and kneeled before Twilight. "It is an honor to meet you, Princess Twilight," she said with great kindness and sympathy. "I am so sorry for what your family is going through."

Twilight responded with "Thank you, Detective. If Princess Celestia picked you personally, then I am sure Nyx has the best of help." The detective then stood back up straight on her hooves, only to have her attention diverted.

"So what is it you're going to do, exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked, having a tone of uncertain belief. "If you're not going to give those scum of ponies a good buck on each side of their faces like they deserve,..." Twilight put her leg up against her, and she turned to see two purple eyes stare at her disapprovingly, forcing her to stop.

Detective Benson focused on Rainbow and said "Well to start, I'll need to talk to you and Princess Twilight and ask about what happened. At the first available opportunity, I'll need to talk to Nyx as well, for a statement from the victim. When all the ponies involved in hurting Nyx are registered into the SVU, I will hear what they have to say for what they've done. The goal will be to make our case against the criminals before we go to court with all statements possible."

Only caring so much, the cyan mare said "And then what?" She made it seem that she was hell bent on seeing that ponies were to be punished, and she meant every word.

Twilight listened carefully as the detective explained further, nodding her head from time to time. From what she could understand, and with the knowledge gained from her studies, the legal process would not be too easy. Even an 'open-to-shut' case, as it was worded, like this would require a lot of patience and hard work to make a proper presentation. When the detective had finished, the purple mare addressed her with a question.

"Detective, how soon will you need to talk to Nyx?" All heads turned towards the mentioned filly, who was just connected to Eggman's yet-activated equipment.

"As I said, the sooner I get to speak to her, the better," Benson replied. "My goal is to make this case closed as quickly and easy as possible for you and your family. I'll need her quote to help make our case."

Celestia joined back into the conversation saying "I am certain that you'll have your opportunity soon enough." She then motioned towards where Dr. Eggman was and added "Am I correct, Doctor?"

"Of course," he replied, "and I must commend on your world's medical experts. This kid has been treated quite well, if I say so myself. Now, let's add a little interdimensional egg-ceptional know-how to it."

He grabbed the Chaos Emerald out of his pocket again, and then placed it in his contraption in the appropriate spot. After it was installed, he pressed a button that activated it, as shown with multiple different sounds coming from it, and the emerald glowing bright. Two IVs from the device that fed into Nyx's right arm began to show a glow as well, much dimmer than the emerald, as it began to treat the resting filly. The sound of a health monitor began when the glow had reached to the IV needles, and the Doctor grinned.

"The healing process has started," he stated. "It should only be a matter of hours before your daughter makes a full recovery, Twilight. Of course it would be best if I stayed close by to monitor the progress, rather by interdimensional means."

"Interdi-what?" Spike asked, confused. The concept of how different dimensions function was something he had yet to understand, or just give up trying for the most part.

"Interdimensional," explained Decoe. "It means that Dr. Eggman can do what he needs from his main laboratory remotely."

Bocoe followed that with "His machine was used for critical healing before, but under the care of those who know how to use it, thus he'd like to stay somewhere in Ponyville."

Celestia nodded in agreement. "I am sure we can find you some accommodations, Doctor. How close would you like to be to the hospital?"

"The closer the better," Eggman replied, "simple as that."

The princesses took a moment to think of their options, and Twilight was first to speak her idea. "The royal waiting room is vacant, and I doubt anypony would be using the entire area. You may rest in the main lounge, but the lower level remains off limits unless said otherwise. I will ask a nurse to provide all three of you whatever you may need, so long as it is within reason of course."

"That is a good idea, Twilight," Celestia said. "I do intend to speak to the doctors along with Detective Benson for better understanding of what they had to do with Nyx. The lower level is the ideal place for that." Her attention shifted over to the detective. "Does this work for you as well?"

"If it is what you want, then it's fine with me," Benson replied. "But for now, I'd like to speak to Rainbow Dash first for her statement on what happened. Afterwards I'll get Princess Twilight's. Miss Dash, if you would kindly follow me..."

"Will it be quick? I don't want to miss Nyx waking up," Rainbow said, with an arguing tone.

Detective Benson, maintaining a collective composure and trying not to instigate the mare further, only replied "It shouldn't be too long, but we'll have to be somewhere private."

"I'll request a place for you from the hospital staff, Detective," Celestia said, and motioned her hoof to the door that she used her magic to open for them. Benson gave her thanks before leading herself and her accompanying pegasus out, with the latter glancing back at Nyx. As the white alicorn began to make her exit, she turned her head towards Twilight and Spike to say "Twilight, if you need me for anything else, I'll be just down the hall."

The Princess of Friendship shook her head. "You've done so much already. I couldn't ask for more from you," she said, stepping up to her former teacher. She reached her head as far up as she could and nuzzled at Celestia's neck with a warm-hearted "Thank you," and the goddess gave a nuzzle in return. Celestia left the room with a kind smile, gently shutting the door behind her as she departed.

Twilight then walked back over to her spot beside her daughter, with Spike right next to her. She sat down on her pillow as he remained standing to look over the bedside with her. From the corner of his eye, he noticed how her smile shifted back into a frown as she looked down at Nyx. Spike couldn't help but follow suit, seeing his family in the shape they were in regardless of all the positive reinforcement was just given. He couldn't help but feel infuriated about everything, and it was taking all he had to keep that in control before his inner-dragon, his inner-rampaging-vengeful-dragon, would be let out on anypony of the wrongdoing. To make sure of that, he kept his supportive side first and foremost, not leaving his family's side to set the nearby jail in flames. As for Twilight, her mind knew of the brighter side that was promised out of that day, but her heart still felt as if it kept sinking every time Nyx and her current position came into sight.

"That's some kid."

The alicorn and dragon snapped out of their thoughts to look up and realize that they still had the company of Dr. Eggman and his two robots. Both began to feel a little embarrassed at the guilt of forgetting that, but Twilight kept herself collected as she said "I'm sorry?"

"Your daughter is quite the strong one, having to taken a beating like that without using any of her power to protect herself," Eggman elaborated. "I can't believe I haven't sestained that much damage myself before enlisting to Team JAG when first fighting the Metarex."

"Huh?" Spike said, both he and Twilight lost at what he meant, which Eggman could clearly see and started to explain further.

"Back when I was fighting against that blue blur of speed Sonic and his gang of friends, I sought out to create my own Eggman Empire. I went after cities, nations and continents, even going as far as a galactic-wide conquest, with all attempts being stopped by that hedgehog or some other force. Every time I tried, I managed to walk away, or fly with my technology, with majority of times without broken bones. Then came the Metarex, and every side took on damage during those wars, but in all truth, I got off lucky even then. Arm in a sling, bandages on various areas, mental scarring, it all came as a result of what I've chosen to be and do, but it still came nothing for Sonic's ever-growing gang."

The Doctor then rested a hand on his invention. "It was even because of them that my genius expanded further into inventions such as this. When our second war with the Metarex arose, so did this. My first patient was in fact the very two-tailed warrior you and your friends had met at the start of the year."

Both Twilight and Spike had no need to think carefully about who he met. There was only one two-tailed fox that they knew of; in fact, only one fox that they ever had the pleasure of calling their friend. "Tails needing this," Twilight started, but pausing herself for a couple moments. "That doesn't surprise me, with what I've come to learn about his past."

"It shouldn't," Decoe said. "Tails used all the strength he had to fight against an old enemy of ours that the Brotherhood of Darkness brought back to try and destroy us, plus another foe from the alien race called the Glorft."

"He used up every drop he could allow himself, and thanks to Dr. Eggman's ingenious inventions he healed up quick enough to throw everyone a party and concert," Bocoe added.

"Really?" Twilight said, an eyebrow arched in intrigue.

"It is true. In fact, he healed in just under a night, so I would imagine your daughter's physical wounds to be mended in a very short time," said Eggman. "Although I can't say the same for her mental and emotional states. I'm afraid she is on her own in those departments."

A few minutes of silence fell onto the group, a time both awkward and acceptable, as little sense as most could make such a description. Spike broke off the silence by saying "She's got a lot of friends, and her family to help her out. So long as whatever goes on in this trial goes smooth..."

"Trust me, kid, it won't," said Dr. Eggman, and then motioned towards the door with Decoe and Bocoe close behind. He grabbed the door handle before turning back to say "I will be down in your special lounge if needed, but I doubt there's much you'll further need from me from this point." The purple mare simply replied with a 'no.'

"Very well. I'll inform of our Mobian mutuals of the current statuses. In the mean time, I hope for the best for your daughter." With that, the Doctor and his robots exited the room, closing the door behind them.

Twilight and Spike resumed watching Nyx, hoping to see the Doctors' efforts making accomplishment in the short future.

Chapter 3: Waking Up

An open waiting area on the hospital's top floor was the best place Detective Benson and Rainbow Dash found to talk. Rainbow was asked to recall everything that happened, which she did with how her day started and leading up to finding the group outside Night Stone Castle. When that explanation was done, the detective asked about any other protests in recent weeks, only to be informed that there were only a few select ponies in Ponyville that were still disapproving of Nyx in their town and not banished, mostly just giving glares or the occasional vocal times. There were a couple ponies the cyan mare knew about and saw in the group, but did not know them by name.

"Can you explain what this Silver Lining did to you and Princess Twilight more specifically?" Benson asked.

"I told you already, he front-bucked her in the chest and knocked the wind out of her," Rainbow Dash explained. Her tone showed her loss of patience with answering all the questions she had been asked. "Then he used magic to throw dust in my eyes which made me crash land, and then two other ponies held me down."

Benson paused to write down some notes. Like any detective, she carried a notebook and pen in her coat pocket to write down all her acquired information without solely relying on mental memory. When those notes were written, she asked another question. "You said you saw first-hoof of Nyx being punched and magically thrusted into the opposing group. Were you able to see what exactly they were doing to her?"

"They beat her," the cyan mare said angrily. "They bucking beat her. They treated her like she was less than nothing, or did you not see Nyx in that hospital bed and miss the sight, Detective B-?"

The detective was taken aback by that, but only barely. It was clear that Rainbow misplaced her name, a minor detail. To work in Special Victims means having some thick skin when it comes to how everypony react to such cases, and it was clear that Rainbow Dash was outraged, with a slight hint of verbal hostility. Years of training and experience helps any law officer handle their given situations, and since the Elements of Harmony and royal family were involved, this was the most important of times to be understanding, but also firm.

"I am well aware of Nyx's condition, Miss Dash," said the detective, "and it's Detective Benson." Rainbow Dash said nothing. "I also request that you try to calm yourself down. I understand that this is difficult, bu-"

"Calm down? How do you think I can calm down?" snapped the cyan mare. She got up on her hooves, stomping around and occasionally putting her eyes back at the detective. "I've dealt with bullies tease my friends simply for how they are. I've seen bullies mock other ponies for reasons their targets can't control. My friends and I have had to deal with freaks that threatened our well-being, if not worse, more times than most ponies have their entire lives! But this... this is the worst that I've ever seen! It's one thing to attack another pony, but going after a foal is the WORST thing anypony could do! Now I'm stuck on the sidelines watching my best friend wait for her daughter to wake up and there's nothing I can do to make it right! This whole thing isn't right! It's not fair!!"

When her rant was done, she froze in place, her head bowed as if defeated. Her teeth clenched in a snarling style, and her eyes shut in narrow anger. Not even her strong will could stop her from starting her wall of emotions break open more and let out some tears, nor her mane could hide her face completely.

The detective got up and stepped forward, just close enough for her hooves to come in Rainbow's lowered vision. "Rainbow Dash, I might not know from personal events, but I know from my working experience that this isn't easy for anypony," she said, sounding sympathetic. "I've seen children hurt - sometimes worse - and it never gets easier to see it happen over and over again to any foal. I am also well aware of Nyx's past and Luna's judgment onto her, and a firm believer that our Princesses know best for everypony's best well-being. How you feel is completely normal, and it shows me that you truly care about those closest to you. Seeing this shows me why you best represent the Element of Loyalty.

"I may not be able to tell you how to feel or react, but I do ask you to try and be what your friends need you to be. They will also be what you need them to be as well."

Rainbow responded with "I have my doubts," and then slowly raised her head to show her face of despair. Benson couldn't put her hoof on what she was seeing, but there was more to Rainbow Dash than she was willing to admit, just by judgment from her tones and acting.

"Miss Dash, go wherever you wish and calm yourself down," said the detective. "I have a good amount of information for your statement. If I need to know anything more I'll ask for you."

Rainbow nodded and said "Sure." She turned and started to walk away, but not before turning her head back around towards the detective. "Sorry. I didn't mean to let out my anger on you. I'm just... Lost about this, about this whole thing."

"It's alright. As I said, I have experience with these kind of behaviors. You're not the first pony to feel this way," Benson replied.

The cyan pegasus took that into though for a moment, before replying back. "I'm sorry for that, too." She then began to walk away, making her way towards a nearby window that was open. For a few seconds, her wings flared out as if she was about to take off, but she didn't. For the first time in her life, Rainbow Dash didn't want to fly off somewhere and be alone. She hated being alone. She hated leaving Twilight even more.

A gust of wind blew through the window, making the surrounding curtains wave inside. The gust came from the outside in other than the other way around, meaning that the rainbow-maned pegasus instead walked away from the window instead of leaving through it. Where she was going the detective could not guess; Rainbow Dash couldn't say either.

/)∞(\

"Let the rainbow remind you,

That together we can always shiiiiine..."

Three hours have passed by, and Twilight had just finished singing a song to Nyx. She began to do that to help time pass by, and if the filly could hear, to give her something to enjoy. After meeting Team JAG and their associated band, nearly all of Equestria began to enjoy the music that was being shared in their world, and after concerts at the Crystal Empire and the Seedrian city of Synthesis, Nyx grew to love it, too.

The alicorn had sung five songs she knew by hearts, a couple of which her Mobius friends introduced her to. If her memory was correct, one the songs was called 'Final Masquerade,' one that both mother and daughter loved after first hearing it. Spike just sat by and listened as he enjoyed Twilight's singing, jumping in to sing with her during one song. At one point, he could swear he saw Nyx's eyes twitch and her mouth crack a smile, but not long enough for Twilight to see herself.

While trying to think of another song to sing, Twilight looked over at all the equipment Nyx was hooked up to, primarily Dr. Eggman's contraption. Her vitals were shown to be steady, and the Chaos Emerald was still shining brightly as its energy could be seen still being fed into her. From what he said, the purple mare and dragon thought that the little black filly would have actually waken up by now, but they then thought their hopes were set too high and growing impatient.

Then, there was a gentle knock at the door. Spike got up and ran over to answer it, revealing the knocker being Nurse Redheart, with Detective Benson behind her. He opened the door further to let them both in, as the detective stepped up towards the bed's footer, and the nurse standing at the bed side opposite of Twilight.

"Don't mind me, Princess," Redheart said, "I'm just here to double-check on Nyx." The purple mare smiled and nodded. As the nurse began to check, she noticed the new device that was in the room, something that Princess Celestia had told her superiors and peers about just a couple hours ago. She thought to herself of how it seemed so strange, especially the gemstone glowing inside it, and what it was supposedly doing to Nyx. She didn't question it, however, and just continued with her work.

Her main focus was checking all the IVs and bandages, with only the former doing alright. "It looks like Nyx could use a few fresh bandages," she stated. "I'll run out to get some more medical supplies and be right back. Can I get anypony anything else?"

"A glass of water," the detective requested, "if you could please."

"Make that three, please," Twilight followed. The nurse nodded and made her way out the door. Once it was shut, the purple mare turned towards the pegasus to ask "Are you done with Rainbow Dash? Do you know where she is?"

"Yes, a while ago actually," Benson replied. "I'm afraid I don't know where she went off to. She almost left the hospital during my questioning, but instead stayed in the hospital."

Twilight nodded, but wore a sad expression. Rainbow was acting strange, and she couldn't put a hoof on exactly what or why. The more she would think about what was wrong with the cyan mare, the more concerned she was for her well-being. Nonetheless, she kept in mind that there were times that Rainbow Dash, as much as she would hate it, isolates herself for her own reasons, and there was no point in causing personal space invasion unless it was absolutely necessary. Twilight decided to focus on the most likeable reason for the detective's return.

"I assume you would like to start questioning me about what happened, wouldn't you?"

"Yes I would, Your Highness," said the detective.

"Alright, but..." Twilight paused to look down at her daughter. "Would you please mind waiting a few extra minutes? I'd like to sing Nyx another song, and find a pony to sit here with her."

"Don't worry about that, Twilight. I'm here and don't plan to go anywhere. If anything happens, I'll make sure you're first to know," Spike said. The Princess's number one assistant never let her down before, and he'd always step up for his family.

The alicorn smiled gratefully down at her assistant. "Thanks Spike, but I would still like to wait for that water anyway. Plus, as helpful as you are, you've barely slept since you got here. You deserve to rest as well."

To the three's surprise, the door began to open. They didn't think it would take a nurse that short of time to get what she needed, not if a patient was stable. When the door opened, a familiar rainbow-maned pegasus walked in, closed the door behind her, and stepped up to Twilight and Spike. Yet as she walked, her body language made it look as if she completely ignored the other pegasus and dragon, focusing solely on the Princess of Friendship.

"How's Nyx?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Still resting," Twilight replied. She also mentioned her starting to sing to her, and what Spike noticed during so.

Hearing that gave the cyan mare some well-needed relief, but only a small amount. She was hoping to find Nyx awake by the time she came back in. She decided to ask why Twilight started to sing some songs, and got an explanation on how they grew to enjoy music a lot more since what happened when they met their interdimensional friends. That made good sense, considering how most of Equestria had rapidly grown to enjoy what the Team JAG Band do, and why they do it.

"Have any other songs in mind to sing next? Maybe I can help out and sing with you, if I know the words at least," Rainbow offered.

The purple mare grinned at her friend's offer, appreciating so much care that was being offered. Rainbow Dash was truly the Element of Loyalty, even if it did become to feel more enhanced lately. "None off the top of my head, honestly. I'm trying to think of a brief song so I can start answering Detective Benson's questions," Twilight said, pointing a hoof towards the aforementioned pony. "I do appreciate the help, Rainbow. You're a true friend."

Just then, an idea came to her mind. She thought of a song that she remembered singing with all her friends when their cutie marks were swapped by accident. It was the perfect song to sing with some help.

"A true, true friend helps a friend in need..."

Twilight started to sing with a beautifully sweet singing voice, something that Rainbow Dash really saw in her at that moment. The pegasus then joined in with the next line.

"A friend will be there to help them see..."

Then, the two mares looked at each other, and starting to sing together.

"A true, true friend helps a friend in need

To see the light..."

"From a true,... true friend..."

All eyes in the room widened and all ears pointed up at the sound of a voice that didn't belong to anypony already conscious. Twilight and Rainbow's head both turned to the hospital bed so fast that you could hear their necks pop. What they all saw then was the biggest relief they were waiting for after hours of wearing patience and worry; the filly's two eyelids struggling to open with a small yawn. Then, they lifted over halfway up to reveal two turquoise eyes with narrow black slits that immediately seeked out Twilight. "M-Mom..."

At long last, Nyx was finally awake.

"Nyx..." Twilight smiled and started to cry happily at the sight of her awakened daughter. "Oh Nyx..." She leaned her upper body over the side of the bed, nuzzling cheek to cheek and wrapping a hoof around Nyx. "Thank Celestia you're awake."

Nyx, however, did not hug back. She remained still as her body felt tired and sore, her mind confused about what was going on. "What's going on? Where am I?"

The purple mare picked her head back up and looked down at Nyx. "You're in the Ponyville Hospital. I brought you here as quick as I could after getting you away from that crowd. You had surgery hours ago and are in recovery right now."

"That explains the needles," Nyx observed, her tone flat. The memories of what happened at the Castle of Nightmare started to come back to her, and her eyes turned sad as she looked over at her mother. "But what about you and Rainbow Dash? When I last saw you, y-you were k-kicked in the chest. I tried to say something, but then they... t-they..."

Twilight immediately leaned back down to Nyx to hug her again, receiving a tight hug in return this time. She let the filly cry on her shoulder to let it out, trying hard not to cry in sadness herself. "I'm fine, Nyx. Those ponies only knocked the wind out of me; nothing more. All that matters is that you'll be alright; you're alright now, and-"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mom." Nyx began to cry harder as he clung onto her mother's neck. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. It was my fault that this happened, just like every time somepony sees me. I'm still causing you trouble. I'm sorry that I keep hurting you and everypony. I'm-"

Twilight, trying not to remove the IVs out of Nyx's arms, cautiously picked her up to hold her in her forelegs, keeping herself supported by her rear legs and the bed. She then opened her wings to wrap around her and her crying filly. "Nyx, none of this is your fault. You weren't one of the ponies trying to hurt us. Don't blame yourself for what they did, because you did not make them do it," Twilight said with a nurturing tone, trying to comfort her upset daughter.

"B-but I..."

"But nothing. You're not what those ponies saw you as; you're far greater than anypony, or any mother, could ever imagine being."

Nyx continued to cry as she kept clung in her mother's embrace. As clear as her mother sounded, her emotional pain could only heal so barely. "I- It's still not fair. You shouldn't be hurt b-because of me," she blubbered softly.

The purple mare didn't respond with words, but instead with quiet hushing sounds; anything to help calm down the crying filly. When she began to feel the grip around her loosen, she set Nyx back down on her bed so that the two can look tearful eye to tearful eye. She used her hoof to lift Nyx's head up to her and say "All that matters to me is making sure you're alright. Besides, it's taken the worst of Equestria to try and keep both of us down, but in the end, we still stand strong together. With our family and our friends, we stay strong."

"That's right," Rainbow Dash said. The cyan mare took the open door Twilight had made to help as well. She too looked at Nyx with tears in her eyes, but just a fraction compared to Twilight. "It's good to see you up, Nyx. How are you feeling?"

Nyx collected herself enough to talk clearly, but still looked as if she was crying. "My body feels a little sore, but I'm alright," she replied. This raised an important curiosity in her mind. "What kind of surgery did the doctors do?"

"They had to look over all your wounds," Twilight explained, trying to not into complete detail from Doctor Monitor's explanation. "Your wings were damaged and some bones are broken, but luckily they managed to help not make it permanent. They said recovery would take a while... That is until some of our friends sent some help."

The Princess then motioned her hoof towards Dr. Eggman's device, which Nyx took a good look at for the first time. The filly saw the IV from it run into her front right leg, and the glow that was from the energy of the Chaos Emerald. When she asked about where it came from, both Twilight and Rainbow Dash explained how Team JAG asked Eggman to help with his invention, leaving another pony to frown crossly at how that went about. Nyx felt grateful for her friends from Mobius looking out for her, more so than Twilight, but again, happiness could not be found as other thoughts flooded her mind.

"What about those ponies who attacked me?" she asked, with fear in her voice. "What if they try to hurt me again? What if they try to hurt you?" She was about to start crying again until another pony spoke up.

"You won't have to worry about that again."

All eyes turned towards the room's pegasus law officer as she stood over by the door. The little black filly looked at her strangely as she had no recollection of who this pony was. "Who are you?"

The mare wore a kind look on her face and spoke with a nice tone. "My name is Olivia. I'm a detective who will be helping you and your friends."

"Help us?"

"Yes," the detective replied. "Princess Celestia has asked me to make sure the ponies who hurt you will get punished as they should. I'm here to make sure that your family, friends, and most importantly you, will be safe."

Nyx looked up at her mother with a confused expression. "Mom," she said with much nervousness, "are we still in danger? Am I still causing-"

"No, you're not causing us any danger," Twilight assured. "The detective is here to make sure this doesn't happen again. Am I right, Detective?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "Nyx, I promise that those ponies will never hurt you or your family again. You're all in good hooves with my law force." She then looked towards Twilight to add "And Princess, you are more than free to call me Olivia, as your daughter can."

The purple mare smiled and nodded, but replied "You are very kind, Detective. Now, I know you'd like to talk to Nyx and me about what happened, but does-"

A few knocks on the door interrupted Twilight, who used her magic to open it and reveal a pair of Royal Guards. One of them stepped forward to say "A thousand pardons, Your Highness. We are here to inform Detective Benson that all of the arrested ponies are registered in criminal records and ready for interrogation." The guard then looked at the detective to say "We have come to escort you to them and begin interrogations at once, following informing Princess Celestia."

"Thank you," Olivia replied. "Report to the Princess at once. I will join you shortly."

"Of course."

The second guard noticed the filly and added "It is good to see you are alright, Nyx Sparkle. If you require anything, the Royal Guard is at your service." With that, the two departed down the hall towards the royal waiting room.

Olivia turned around to direct her attention towards Twilight and Rainbow Dash. "I have to leave Ponyville for a short while, no more than a day. I would like to meet with you, and again with Rainbow Dash, once I return, so long as you are alright with those plans, Princess."

"It is," Twilight replied. "Thank you, Dete- Olivia. Right now I wish for Nyx to rest calmly before you collect your needed statements. You may report to my castle when you return to find myself, or another who can send you the right direction."

The detective nodded, but had to say "With Nyx awake, I will have to talk to her first and foremost about what happened."

Nyx clenched into her bed sheets at the thought of having to remember. She fought against herself not to openly react, but did feel the necessity to ask "Do I have to?"

Before Twilight could reply, Rainbow Dash answered the filly with "It will help her take those punks down when that time comes in court. If you tell her all you can, then that stinkin' Silver Lining won't get anywhere near you or say all that crud to other ponies again."

Nyx looked down as she thought about what her mother's friend said, thinking about how hard it could be to think about what happened to her, let alone talk about it. How could she even try to think about it? Next to being separated from her family, it was the worst thing she would every try to handle. She didn't want to at all, but did she have a choice? It felt like she had to no matter what she'd try to argue with.

"I don't know if I can," Nyx said weakly. "I'm scared. I don't know if I can say what exactly happened."

"All she needs is your description; nothing more," Twilight said assuringly, and motioned both her own and Nyx's attention back to the detective.

Olivia wore a kind smile for the filly and said "Nyx, if you're brave enough to protect Ponyville from creatures from Everfree, then you can face these bad ponies easily. Now I must be going. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Detective Benson exited the room and made her way down the hall.

Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow turned towards Nyx to see the filly looking around her body. She felt around with one of her hooves to find what sore spots were worse than others, any pain to distract her from mental strain. Her eyes then returned to the IV that connected her with Dr. Eggman's device, which did give her a successful distracting thought.

"Mom, how did Team JAG know about what happened?" she asked.

Twilight motioned a smiling nod towards Spike, who gave Nyx her answer. "When Princess Celestia heard about you, she told me to inform Luna and Cadance about what happened. Then, she knew that our Mobius friends would want to stay informed too, so I sent a letter to Tails and Cosmo last. They told the Master Four and suggested that Eggman help out."

"You did a great job, Spike," Twilight said to him, and gave the little dragon a little hug.

When the hug broke, he added "Leave it to Spike to get your letters where they need to be," with a bragging tone that only made the alicorn's eyes circle around.

As Rainbow Dash smirked at that, she then added "That reminds me; Twi, maybe we should see if they're at the castle." She then noticed an unexpected flinch from Nyx. "Your castle, I mean, not Night Stone Castle."

The alicorn princess gently smiled, resting a hoof on Nyx's shoulder. "You can go ahead if you want, Rainbow Dash," she said. "I don't want to leave Nyx, not unless it's absolutely necessary. Besides, everypony else said they'd check for us anyway."

"Check for who?" Nyx asked curiously.

Twilight looked down at her daughter with the same smile. "Your best friends from Mobius, of course."

/)∞(\

"Doctor, is something the matter?" Decoe asked. Both he and Bocoe just watched Eggman stare at his laptop screen.

"You haven't taken your eyes off your screen for a little while now," Bocoe said.

"It would seem that our patient has reached near full recovery," Eggman stated. He and his robots were informed of Nyx waking up from overhearing Detective Benson tell Princess Celestia about it a short time ago. Up until then, he checked her vitals on occasion as he shared the room with Equestria's ruler, on-and-off conversation engaged between himself and her. When she left, his focus remained on Nyx's vitals via wireless connection between his computer and his healing device through Chaos readings. "Interesting creatures, these ponies; Nyx seems to have adapted to the Chaos Emerald's energy better than my knowledge acquired by Tails predicted."

"That sounds like a good thing, Dr. Eggman," Decoe said.

The Doctor nodded with a grunt. "It is, but it seems that the alicorn race has better adaptability with the emerald's energy than other ponies."

Confused by how the Doctor addressed that, Bocoe asked "Why is that?"

Before Eggman could reply, his screen changed from reading Nyx's health rates and vitals to a red screen with black letters that flashed two messages: 'Incoming Transmission,' and 'Team JAG Headquarters.'

He adjusted his position on the pony-sized sofa for comfort before setting the laptop down on his legs and adjusting the screen so that the built-in camera would focus on his head and shoulders. Following that, he entered a keycode that allowed the transmission to make its way through. The screen's image then changed to four different squares, each revealing a member of the Master Four of Team JAG, who were all in actuality sitting in the same room.

"Dr. Eggman," Gohan said first, "how are things in Equestria?"

"What? No 'hello' or 'how are you, Doctor'?" Eggman said sarcastically.

Jason only smirked at him and replied "We’re sorry, Eggman. Nyx is our main concern right now, a safe excuse to ignore some 'formalities' if I say so myself."

The Doctor just nodded with his usual, devilish grin. "Your small equine friend woke up about an hour ago, almost at full recovery. She should be able to be released from this hospital within the next twenty-four hours, but I think these doctors here will keep her for at least forty-eight."

"I think that's fair,” Ash stated. "We did send you unannounced, an act of haste on our part. It is best that we follow their direction if Nyx shows signs of being alright."

"More so than you think," Eggman said, his tone turning very serious. He then went on to explain about how his surprise at the small alicorn's adaptation to his device and her recovering with the Chaos Emerald aiding everything. He also explained Celestria's personally chosen law officer to investigate what happened and take the case to court. The last thing he mentioned was the confusing behavior of a certain cyan champion flyer.

"So Rainbow Dash is acting nervous, paranoid and fierce, but also devoted and caring for Twilight and Nyx?" Jason pondered aloud. "Sounds to me like her Element of Harmony is being put on display, even if others have told us some things..."

Eggman arched an eyebrow at the dark warrior's last comment. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm afraid we can't say too much about it," Yugi replied. "We were asked to make a Pinkie Pie Promise to keep it secret."

"I see," replied the Doctor. His mind still pondered what exactly was going on with Rainbow Dash, but he diverted the conversation to another topic. "In regards to my 'contributions,' Princess Celestia has agreed to excuse my sudden intrusion because of that bookworm Twilight's approval, but in exchange asked that it would not happen again. We agreed that a notice of arrival must be done, unless we're summoned."

His two robots looked at him confused. "But Dr. Eggman, didn't we come here because the Princess did send for us?" Bocoe asked.

"Technically, no you weren't," Gohan said. He then explained how they were just informed of what happened, and that it was the Master Four who had Eggman report to Equestria.

"That makes sense now," Decoe stated after Gohan had finished. "But now what do we do with Nyx almost healed?"

The Master Four pondered the question themselves for a moment, but it was Jason who spoke up first. "When you're all set and done, you're free to return home, but if they require your expertise, Dr. Eggman, would you be willing to stay longer?"

Eggman pulled up the screen of Nyx's vitals to check on, and made it so that the Master Four could see it as well. "According to my calculations, she won't need more of my assistance in just a short while. By the time I need to go, Tails and Cosmo will be able to see her. Speaking of which, I assume they're already in this dimension, correct?"

"Yes," Yugi replied. "We'll let them know that they can visit the Ponyville Hospital when they see fit."

"Eggs-cellent," punned the Doctor. "Now, is there anything else that should be covered?"

The four looked at one-another for ideas, and it was Ash who nodded to have them turn back to face Eggman. "Actually, Doctor, we were wondering if you learned anything about the ponies who attacked Nyx, or their leader Silver Lining."

/)∞(\

A hoof tapped on the table inside of a small room where a pony began to show signs of impatience. Silver Lining had been escorted into an interrogation room after being registered at Canterlot's law enforcement headquarters, the Equestria Police Department, or EqPD for short. It was established for law enforcers who were not of royal guard title, serving under princesses and guard captains alike, and only a select few was chosen for the multiple divisions; this included the Special Victims Unit.

Olivia flew towards the room, reading a folder of paperwork filled out by the arresting guards. By the time she reached her destination, she had read all she would need to know and landed on the ground with the folder tucked underneath her wing. She walked through the entrance and found Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing by a large window, where they were looking at Silver Lining inside the interrogation room.

"Your Highnesses," greeted the detective.

Luna replied first with "Hello, Detective Benson. We assume you are here to speak with Nyx's architect of assault." The detective nodded. "Excellent. Now we can look deeper into the reasons this stallion chose to disregard our judgment and make his proclamations against the Royal Court and the Elements of Harmony."

Celestia rested a hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Yes, Luna, but let us only spectate."

The dark blue alicorn's head turned to show a confused look. "Why, sister? You are well aware that royalty can stand within the borders of an interrogated criminal, if the actions of the latter specifically targets royal family."

"I am aware of that, little sister, for I helped officiate these laws," the older alicorn replied. "The reason I don't want us to get too involved is the borders of the court. It has been a long time since some laws were established, and not all ponies look at that law justifiably anymore. If either of us get too close to this, then it can hurt us in the long run."

The younger sister frowned. She really wanted to get herself involved in bringing Nyx's attackers to justice, especially so for Silver Lining. After all, it was because of her that Nyx remains an Equestrian resident and not banished to the moon as Nightmare Moon, thus making those who harmed the filly doubters of a decision she made. Nyx may have been born from the ritual by the Children of Nightmare, but Nightmare Moon came to be by the jealousy and hatred that manifested in Luna's heart, which made Nyx's judgment Luna's responsibility. Seeing other ponies disagree with her decisions, without fitting reasons, made her mad and try to find the reasons they had.

The princess sighed defeatedly and said "Very well, I will only spectate." Her attention then faced Olivia to say "If I may say, Detective, I have no doubt in your abilities seeing as my sister hired you personally. However, I implore you to use any and all of your tactics to get all the information you can."

"Of course, Princess," Olivia replied. "I only try to do no less than my best." After calling for a guard to stand by the door, she stood at the window, staring down at the hoof-tapping stallion. She saw him in that earlier in the very same position, without his tapping hoof, which told the detective that he began to feel bored or impatient. Following another minute of watching him, she entered the room, and slammed the door shut with a hindleg.

"Silver Lining, correct?" Olivia said, throwing her folder down on the table with his records open. "So you're the one who's made a name for himself rallying ponies in protest across Equestria lately."

"I wouldn't refer to all of my gatherings as 'protests,'" Silver replied coldly.

"Really?" She dug through a few sheets of the folder's content and put some out for full display. "Just last week in Las Pegasus, a group of ponies walked down the streets and repeatedly saying that 'Nighmare Moon must fall' while led by a pony with your description. Two months before that, you were identified disturbing the peace in Appleoosa when you claimed 'this one filly will force your crops to wither away right after you.' Right in between those times, in Manehattan, you stood on top of a soap box in Bridleway trying to discredit upcoming shows because of connections with a fashion designer connected to Princess Twilight."

The stallion looked down at the presented paperwork for a brief moment, turned his focus back up at the detective to say "I was well within my rights."

"Yes, but your reasons don't exactly support your actions."

"I beg to differ. Equestria has a dangerous threat roaming around and nopony is raising the needed concern."

Detective Benson stared coldly at him and said "And that threat is a filly? The daughter of Princess Twilight-"

"The 'adopted' child of the possessed 'Princess'; Nighmare Moon." Silver Lining's rude interruption continued on as he said "Someone had to remind ponies that this problem exists to look out for our safety."

"Confronting a filly, her mother and a friend outside to the point of attacking a defenseless child isn't the ideal way to deal with a problem," the detective said. "There are better ways to handle threats, but not when it was already dealt with."

"You mean the judgment passed on from the mare that was once the threat to Nightmare Reincarnate?"

"Exactly. Why don't you tell me you didn't just accept that and take it in your own hooves to attack royalty?"

"Like I said; nopony else was doing anything about it, so I did. It isn't a secret that the pony who passes herself off as a filly named Nyx was the same villain that imprisoned Celestia and Luna in the sun and moon, conquered Equestria as its new Queen and brought forth eternal night for weeks, imprisoned her 'mother' and 'friends' in a dungeon, and brainwashed hundreds of ponies to follow her command. After so long I couldn't accept the reality of it all anymore, how that monster did all that and was just slapped on the forehoof in the end. I decided to do my part for my fellow ponies and bring the truth to light, that we are in danger every single day as Nightmare roams among us, and I wasn't alone thinking that."

When Silver Lining concluded his little speech, Olivia stared down at him again. She put on the most disgusted attitude she could allow and say "So you gather ponies on private property - property of royalty - and declare the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses under a 'blessing' that open an imaginary door of terror, and assault a defenseless filly?"

The stallion wore a grin, a devilish and satisfying grin, allowing himself a moment to bask in the accomplishment of his actions. It wasn't exactly what he had dreamed of, but progress of any kind was better than his efforts never showing worth. "She brought it upon herself. I only did what I could to keep us ponies safe from a relapsing nightmare."

Olivia then began to show a grin herself, one that would help put the stallion scum in his place. "Well, would you like to know where she is now? She's in the hospital, awake and healing well. Your actions earned what they deserve; nothing but what you deserve."

The smirk on Silver Lining's face withered into a cross frown, and his eyes narrowed as if he was bested by those who didn't deserve success. He knew that his work wasn't done, but now he knew he was in no position for success since Nightmare Moon was not in any likeable condition. He had to play a trump card held in his hoof just in case things would go so far down that he couldn't play a better hand in the future. Calmly, collectively and coldly, he stared back at the detective and said the words that would end the conversation right there and then-

"I want a lawyer."

Chapter 5: Trying to Look Ahead

The door opened and Twilight and Detective Benson entered Nyx's room, where her visitors were still there. The former wore a small smile, partially forced because of what was coming up for her daughter, and she wasn't entirely pleasant with the thought.

Tails could see right through it, having seen such an expression from others, and having done so himself on a small number of occasions. He knew that their visiting time was almost over, and decided to wait until the opportune moment for he and a few others would take their leave, Cosmo and himself returning to Twilight's castle until the next day.

Nyx, who was still surrounded by Cosmo and her three best friends, looked at her mother with a smile, happy to see her return. "Are you done talking to Olivia, Mom?" she asked. Her mother nodded and hummed a confirming answer.

"We were just talkin' about somethin' new for Nyx to do durin' Twilight Time, and we wanted to see if it was possible," Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah," added Scootaloo, saying determinedly. "Nyx should try learning super alicorn magic! She can have superpowers like what you had against that big bully Tirek, or even go Super Saiyapony or something. That way if anypony tries to mess with anypony else, and since Nyx's cutie mark means she'll help protect everyone, she can be prepared to-"

"No, girls, I won't teach her that," Twilight said, some firmness in her tone.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," Cosmo said to her friend, "I tried to tell them about how your powers then were from the combined magic of you and the other princesses, but it seems only Nyx and Sweetie Belle could understand that."

"It's quite alright. You're right, I managed to accomplish such powerful magic because I had the power of four alicorns with me at the time. But even if Nyx had such abilities, she needs to learn to handle her magic naturally and maturely, and that means waiting to learn to use it."

"See, I told you!" Sweetie Belle taunted to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, neither taking that easily.

"Hey, we're just watching out for Nyx!" Scootaloo argued.

"Chill out, Scoots," Rainbow Dash told her. "It isn't magic that keeps ponies safe. It's good friends watching each other's back to bring out the magic to keep ponies safe."

Twilight just stared at the cyan pegasus stunned, nearly dumbfounded. It never fails to feel that way with what can come out of that pony's mouth from time to time, even for Pinkie Pie, the most dumbfounding pony in all of Equestria (or the entire dimension according to members of Team JAG). With what Rainbow would call 'sappy' or having some 'feels,' it just flowed out of her as if it was nothing for the 'coolest pony in Ponyville.' After mentally shaking the stun out of her, she addressed to everyone what had to happen.

"If I may interrupt," she said, making her way into the conversation, "Nyx, Olivia here needs to ask you a few questions. Unfortunately, that also involves privacy..."

Nyx's face fell saddened and scared, knowing her friends' time with her was up. Trying to speak bravely, she asked "D-do I have to answer them alone?"

Olivia shook her head as she replied "No, Nyx. Your mother, and only her, is welcome to stay with you. However, I'll need you to answer my questions yourself, with your own words."

"Okay," replied the filly weakly. She then found herself pulled into a brief but tight hug to the side from her Seedrian friend. Welcoming it, she hugged in return by wrapping her forelegs around her waist.

"We'll see you tomorrow when you're released, Nyx, right outside the front doors," Cosmo said to her sweetly. "If there's anything you might need, just call for us and we'll be here in a flash."

"And that goes double for us," Sweetie Belle added, including Nyx's trio of Crusader friends in the promise.

Tails, putting a hand on Cosmo's shoulder to break apart the hug, wore a forced but kind smile and said "Come on, let's leave them be and get going. We have to get you Crusaders back to your homes anyway, or your families are going to wonder where you are."

Knowing there was no way arguing against it, the trio just nodded and let their ears flop down, sad to leave their friend at what felt too soon. In an attempt to cheer them up, Twilight offered them a suggestion that they could do with Nyx a couple days after returning home: a slumber party. The fillies' attitudes turned around so quick that their excitement began to explode, and Tails had to begin to try and force them out of the room peacefully, even relying on the smallest fraction of his power to do so. Fortunately, getting them out the door wasn't as hard as one would predict, if Twilight didn't suggest the slumber party of course, as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said 'goodbye' and 'see you tomorrow' as they trotted out of the room.

Tails and Cosmo followed, the latter getting up off of Nyx's bed when her loved one began to corral the Crusaders. She stepped up to Detective Benson first, saying it was nice to become acquainted and wishing her the best of luck in her investigations. She then stepped over to Twilight, both the Seedrian and alicorn wearing friendly, caring smiles, and the former leaned down for a hug, to which the latter welcomed with her right hoof wrapped around her friend.

"Thanks for coming here," Twilight said. "It means so much for you to do that."

"Of course," replied Cosmo, breaking off the hug. "Is there anything at your castle or around Ponyville that we can for you before tomorrow?"

"You've done more than enough already. Make yourselves comfortable at the castle," said Twilight. She then decided to enlist her number one assistant's services to her friends, and looked over at him. "Spike, why don't you go with them and relax yourself? You deserve it as much as anyone else, and if Tails and Cosmo need anything, please help however you can."

Spike didn't hear a word Twilight had said. He didn't even hear the sounds of the CMC or Tails and Cosmo. He was out cold the entire time, sleeping in a nearby chair and sleeping like a rock, something he occasionally manages to pull off no matter what would be going on. The only reason no one mentioned about him was because both Tails and Cosmo noticed him asleep and decided that their arrival was no need to interrupt his favorite relaxing pastime.

Twilight rolled her eyes in an unsurprising motion, not so disappointed that he didn't hear her as she felt foolish of even trying. Knowing what was about to happen, she knew she needed him to go back home and allow all privacy possible, so she would have to wake up the sleeping 'beast.' She then heard a chuckle come from her two-tailed fox friend, who walked over and picked him up into his arm.

"Don't worry, Twilight," Tails said, "we'll get him back to the castle." He then walked back out into the hall to the three waiting fillies and said "I need everypony together, a hoof on each shoulder with one hoof on my hip, please."

Knowing what he had planned, Cosmo walked over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. The Cutie Mark Crusaders did as Tails requested, and the group found themselves all connected, in a way of speaking. Using his free hand, Tails held two of his fingers up as the others clenched in his palm, and set the two fingertips at the center of his forehead. With a concentrated stare in his eyes, he focused himself until he found a satisfying mental image of a location.

"See you tomorrow, guys, and we're glad to see you safe, Nyx," Tails said, and before a reply could be made, the group of six disappeared in thin air.

This left the four ponies in the room, with Rainbow Dash knowing that she would have to exit next. Judging by the detective's tone before, she couldn't stay with Twilight and support Nyx in explaining what had happened. She was stubborn at times, but she did know better when it was best to stand firm on her hooves against whatever or whoever opposes her. In this case, going against Detective Benson - an officer of Celestia's decision - was not a time for that.

"Guess I should get out of here, too," Rainbow said. "I still have to talk to Detective Benson later anyway, so I'm heading to the lobby."

"Rainbow Dash, would you like to wait in the private room? You've been here longer than anypony else, and more than welcome to stay in there," Twilight offered to her friend.

Before the cyan mare could reply, a loud rumbling sounded from her stomach. Dedicating her time to staying with Nyx and Twilight didn't leave too much room for her to get a decent meal, or a full meal for that matter. All she really thought about was being with her friends and staying beside the mare that she felt strongly for... Or about.

Repressing a chuckle from coming out, Twilight stood beside her friend and said "I think you could go for a bite to eat. Why don't you go by the Hayburger? I have some bits that Spike brought over to help cover hospital expenses that you can us, if you wouldn't mind picking some up for us when you come back."

Without even a moment of thought, Rainbow replied "No thanks. I'm not leaving here until Nyx does tomorrow. I'll just go find the hospital's cafeteria and grab something there." She couldn't help but let out an unpleasing shiver down her spine, thinking of the somewhat edible food the hospital offers for meals and how it took more energy to suck it down than the meals did to fuel her.

A slightly confused look crossed the purple mare's face. "Well, alright, if that's what you want to do." She let her expression become more relaxed with a gentle smile and added "if there's anything I could do for you..."

"Nah, not for me. You need to focus on Nyx right now, not me," Rainbow said. Her conscious began to cringe about what she just said, but that subsided for what was more important. She began to make her way out the door, but not before turning her head back towards the three ponies to say "I'll see you guys in a little while, and you're in good hooves with the detective, Nyx." She then made her way out of the room, shutting the door behind her and began walking down the hall, but her head having fallen. She felt a little defeated, thinking about what she just said to Twilight.

As the door shut, Olivia turned her sights over to Nyx. She saw the filly looked nervous, as any victim would, but she knew that part of her job was to help relieve nervousness, and whether she would be successful or not was always up for chance. With an attempted kind smile, she stepped over to the right side of Nyx's bed, and Twilight took the opposite side.

"Alright, Nyx," said the detective with a tone that was soft but firm at the same time. "I want you to answer my questions as honest as you can, and explain everything that happened at Night Stone Castle from what you remember. Can you do that for me?"

"I- I can try," Nyx replied nervously.

The filly grew more and more tense as the next several silent seconds passed. She knew she had to talk about it, to remember what exactly took place, but she didn't want to. It wasn't unfamiliar for her to fear the thought of pony after pony approaching her and wanting to attack her for the actions of the reincarnated Nightmare Moon, and she couldn't blame ponies for feeling that way towards her. To have it actually happen, to have the protection of her princess mother and so many friends attempted but left incapacitated, it hurt her heart too much to face.

Olivia spoke again, trying to be firm but reasonable at the same time. "Nyx, I need your statement to help my investigations and our case. I know you're a strong little pony who wants to protect others, so please be that now to help protect yourself, and protect your family and friends, too."

Twilight wrapped a forearm around Nyx's upper back to help comfort her daughter. She didn't enjoy forcing Nyx to do anything she didn't want to do, and after the first Hearth's Warming with the then two new alicorn additions to her family, Twilight stopped doing that. But in this case, there was no choice in the matter, and she was always a pony who would support justice when needed.

"You can do it, Nyx," she said. "I know it's hard, but we need you to talk about it."

Looking up at her mother saying that, Nyx remained tense, but searched in her heart for her inner strength. After a moment of silence, and a long deep breath, she found enough of a relaxing feeling to find the needed motivation. "Okay," she said softly, and then turned back to the detective. "How do I start?"

"Let's start from when you first arrived at your castle," Olivia replied.

"Alright," said the filly, and then she began.

"It was Rainbow Dash, my mom and me, and we found the group of ponies outside of my- well, Nightmare Moon's castle, Night Stone Castle. They were there listening to the one pony who said I was dangerous, a monster and a criminal. He said that I Bl-Blessed everypony to believe I was still a good pony, but I am a good pony. He said the Elements of Harmony were betraying ponies for me, but they really support me, and nopony more than my mom.

"Mom tried to reason to them, and much calmer than I thought she would. I was starting to cry before she did, hating what that pony was saying about me, and my family. But when it didn't work, I couldn't hear it anymore. I stood up for myself and my family, begging him to stop saying all those lies, but he didn't, and he... He hit me!"

Nyx began to tear up and gently cry, but the more she talked, the harder her crying became. "He punched me, and used his magic to throw me at the other p-ponies. They all kept on hitting me. They punched me, they kicked me, they stomped on me, they j-just kept going on and on. I tried asking them to stop, but I couldn't. Th-they just kept hitting me so much, and I could barely breathe! I thought they were going to kill me, and I felt like I would... I would...

"I felt I was going to die! All I could feel was pain, and I couldn't tell if they even stopped. Th-the last thing I remembered, I c-could hear my mom panicking as I was somehow m-moving. And then... And then I woke up here."

Nyx stopped herself there and tried to control her crying. After having explained all of that, it left a painful feeling inside her and she had to let it out, all that she could. Twilight used the leg she had wrapped around her to pull her close, the filly nestling herself in the crook of her mother's neck and sobbing.

Detective Benson took her time writing down some notes in her notebook, allowing Nyx the opportunity to become more collected before being asked more questions. What she had heard was matching up to what statements she gathered from the other ponies interviewed or interrogated, with the addition of what the ordeal had caused the filly to be. Her notes were brief, but she did use a couple pages’ worth of space to record the statement. Following that, she flipped to another blank page and jotted down a few key words that would help her connect all of the statements together, a better attempt to put together her puzzle of information.

By the time she placed her pencil back into the notepad's coil, Nyx's crying had decreased from audible to fairly silent, the soothing sound of her mother's nurturing voice having a hoof in calming down the filly. This was her opportunity to ask more questions, regardless to her dislike of possibly upsetting a foal even further. "That was brave of you to tell me, Nyx, but can you tell me a couple more things?"

"Like... What?" Nyx asked.

"Well," said Olivia, cautioning what words to say next, "it's about your former identity, and what they did. Did anypony who hurt you formerly become... 'Blessed' by Nightmare Moon?"

Nyx's eyes widened at the question, and Twilight was shocked as well. The thought of that never even crossed their minds, and it would explain a lot about the ponies who took part in that protest. Unfortunately, it was so long ago, and neither could recognize those who were Blessed, even though Nyx saw several of them such as Spell Nexus and several of the guards before she removed the Blessing from everypony. Other than possibly remembering a couple of the Ponyville citizens, the filly couldn't recall everypony specifically.

"I- I don't know," Nyx finally answered, very unsure. "I don't remember every pony that was Blessed."

"That's alright, Nyx," replied the detective, and she took quick and brief notes. "How about the ponies from around Ponyville? Did you recognize anyone from here?" The filly shook her head negatively. "Okay then. Now, I need to explain to you and your mother one of the procedures that we'll need help with from you."

"What procedure?" Twilight asked, an eyebrow arched in confusion.

The detective explained with "We will put ponies in lineups, each holding a different number. If you, Nyx, can immediately recognize any of the ponies, all you'll have to do is point them out by saying the number they would hold. These would be the ponies who attacked and hurt you. Would you be able to do that for us?"

Almost immediately did Nyx reply with "No. I can't."

"Are you afraid to do that, Nyx?"

"It's not just that. I can barely remember anything after they b-began to hit me. I don't know their names, or their faces. I c-can only remember Silver Lining, because I yelled right at his face, but I couldn't point out any other pony."

Olivia felt some disappointment in what the filly said. Pointing out the specific ponies would make the case all the easier for her, the Sparkle family, and everypony involved in general. Nyx's uncertainty meant that the wrong ponies would be pointed out, making the actual ponies involved an easier chance of being pardoned of their own actions without harder evidence to support the case. Nonetheless, there was the one open door she had to work with.

"Nyx, would you still be willing to at least try helping me this way? It doesn't have to be the moment you leave the hospital tomorrow, but the sooner we can do this, the better chance we can make sure those ponies never hurt you again," Olivia kindly pleaded.

Unsure of what to do, Nyx looked up at Twilight, in hopes she would help provide an answer for her. The purple mare looked back down at her daughter, trying to hide her uncertainty that her eyes couldn't hide.

"Will she be permitted to have me there next to her?" Twilight asked.

The detective then explained "Yes, but we would have to exclude you from doing the same thing yourself. You and Nyx would have to do it at separate times, and in most cases I would have to make it strict that you couldn't, but given your position in Equestria, I can adjust actions only so much."

"I want to be by Nyx's side for this, so I'm afraid that means my role for you is less than useful. I'm sorry, Detective," Twilight said, trying to be apologetic.

"It's quite alright, Your Highness. I understand," Olivia replied, and jotted down a couple quick notes again. "Alright, Nyx, I have just one more question for you. Have you been threatened by anypony recently before when you were attacked?"

Nyx shook her head quietly, which was all the answer left to be needed. After jotting down a last few notes in her notebook, the detective put her things back in her jacket. "That will be all for now, Nyx. Thank you for being brave and answering those questions," she said.

A wave of relief crashed over her upon hearing that. The questions were over, and it felt like it went on for so long as compared to how much time it actually took. Her body relaxed from her tense state as she slouched down a little, and then began to try and lay back on the bed's headboard, but her mother's wing still wrapped around her made that unable to be done.

Twilight then asked "Is there anything more we need to help you with for now?"

"Answering my questions was all I needed right now. I'll be returning to Canterlot soon and will stay there for a while unless something has me brought back to here. I'll make sure to have a message sent to you when we're ready for you and Nyx to come to the SVU offices," Olivia replied.

The alicorn princess nodded and said "Alright then, and thank you Detective." She then looked down and said "Say thank you, too, Nyx."

"Thank you, Detective Olivia," Nyx said.

Olivia gave the filly a kind and gentle smile, replying in return "You're very welcome, Nyx." She bowed to the princess and added "And the same to you, Princess Twilight. Rest assured that I won't let you or your family down."

"I'm sure you won't," Twilight replied.

Olivia stood back up and made her exit out of the room, leaving the two alicorns alone for some well-needed rest of their mental and emotional states. She got all the answers she could get, a lot of which would make her work on the case all the easier to serve proper justice to those deserving. But before she could fly back to Canterlot, she had one more piece of business with a certain cyan pegasus to finish with.

/)∞(\

In the castle that Twilight and her family now reside in, there is nowhere that is as quiet and tranquil as the royal library. It was the princess's personal sanctuary, shelves filled with all the books a pony could possibly imagine, and still so many open shelves yet to be filled. Unlike the old library, it was open to only a selected amount of ponies as it did not serve as a public business, but there were some exceptions.

Tails had set up a computer on a table in the library in order to contact Team JAG Headquarters. The purpose for this was to have a private conversation without any interruptions, a conversation that should be brief if nothing else but a few specific subjects would be talked about. The two-tailed hero of Mobius activated the computer and its programs that would allow interdimensional connection, and then put in the codes for the necessary connections to contact his required audience: The Master Four.

Only a minute was needed before the connections were made to allow Tails to make contact with them. The screen he was using was a hologram projection beamed from the computer itself, one large screen divided into four parts to show each of them. What came to view was Jason and Yugi in their offices at the headquarters, Ash appearing in the PLH, the Pokémon Laboratory Hub, and Gohan in one of the small and private conference halls. Each of them looped pleased to see their fox friend on the other end of their respective viewing points.

Ash spoke first with "Hey, Tails, what's up? Didn't expect to hear from you this soon."

"Hey guys," Tails replied. "We got back to Twilight's castle sooner than expected. I figured now's a better time than later to give you guys an update on what's happening here."

"How are things going?" Yugi asked.

"Good, in fact very good. Nyx will be discharged from Ponyville Hospital tomorrow morning. The doctors wanted to monitor her for the night to make sure she has recovered enough, even with Dr. Eggman's device having fully healing her already," Tails explained.

Half of the four nodded, with Gohan saying "Makes sense to me, given what Eggman told us previously. Speaking of which, where is he?"

"I'm here," said an all-familiar voice. Dr. Eggman was putting a book back on one of the shelves, having himself a good read prior to Tails's decision for a semi-private call. Knowing that concentrating on his read was no longer possible, he closed the book once the call started. "Quite the impressive collection of information Princess Twilight has here. If only she knew when enough books are indeed enough."

Choosing not to respond to his comment, Ash stated "Have you and your robots been comfortable during your time in Equestria, Eggman?"

"Other than the little scrambled egg of running into that Detective, we have," he replied. "I told the two bucket of bolts to help attend to things around this castle whenever I wanted to be alone, so they've been busy helping that little dragon friend of ours. Last I checked, they were with him and Cosmo helping to prepare for some guests."

"I see," said Jason, maintain an attitude that mixed positive with serious inquiry. "Speaking of meeting ponies, did you and Cosmo meet this detective, Tails?" The fox nodded, and briefly explained about being questioned at the hospital. "She seems dedicated to her position, and very kind to her clients."

"She is. I can tell she's still a little hostile of us, but she does mean well. If Celestia appointed her herself, then who are we to judge?" Tails said. Each of the Master Four nodded in agreement.

"That reminds me," Yugi went on to say, "we haven't thanked Princess Celestia for informing you guys in the first place. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have gotten involved."

"Even if we, in the best way to word it, weren’t exactly gentle with deciding to help our friends," Jason commented. It wasn't a secret that Team JAG would always get involved with any situation possible, regardless of subject or dimension, but it was still a vice for the organization to not exactly ask to get involved most times.

Ash then said "Even so, Twilight Sparkle is a close friend of you and Cosmo, Tails, and no one would expect any less from you for wanting to help."

"I know," Tails replied, "and that's why Cosmo and I will be staying in Equestria until this is done and over with. As of right now, we're looking at this case going to the Royal Court in Canterlot, and we'd like to be here for moral support."

"Absolutely," Gohan said. "We can ask Sonic and the others if they'll look over your home while you're with Twilight and Nyx. Doctor, about your time there..."

"Do you feel that your stay has ended, or do you wish to stay in Equestria longer?" Yugi asked.

Dr. Eggman considered the thought for a moment before giving his answer. "Well, according to my data, Nyx has fully healed thanks to my invention, even having increased magical abilities. Other than her emotional state, I don't think there's much left to tend to, at least on my part. I think it's time for me to return home to my lab and continue with my own responsibilities."

"Very well then, Eggman. Feel free to head back home whenever you wish. Thank you again for helping out our Equestrian friends as swiftly as you did. If there is any way we can repay you for this, feel free to ask us anytime," Jason said respectfully.

"But before you go, Doctor, we should discuss another part of this entire situation," Yugi stated.

Everyone knew what he meant and gave their own respective nods. Ash then said "When it comes to what these ponies have done, it's shouldn't be wrong to believe there are still all the others who would agree with this Silver Lining, for better or worse reasons. I remember Princess Luna having told us about what she had decided for Nyx's consequences when she was Nightmare Moon, how facing the judgment of other ponies and their viewpoints of those times was something Nyx would have to live with."

"But there's a line between being unaccepting, and displaying it with cruelty," Tails added. "No one worth redemption deserves brutality to certain degrees, but especially for a kid."

"And it has been made very clear that the word of royalty has only so much worth in Equestria. Celestia has existed for over a millennium, Luna being her equal in ruling their land, Cadance and Twilight having their earned titles and given domains, and none of their good names can convince ponies for the better of Nyx. None of their authority seems to be remembered when those ponies did what they did," Gohan added.

"You're saying that these four ponies have near worthless positions?" Eggman inquired.

"No," Yugi said, sounding stern. "We're saying that, as honored and respected the alicorn princesses are, they are wise enough for ponies to live and think for themselves. They cannot convince every single pony to follow their beliefs to the letter, just like how you can't always tell an Eevee how to evolve."

"Or play a Duel Monsters card they'd rather play when you have an alternative idea," Ash followed.

Silence followed for a couple moments, the statements and metaphors sinking in each of their subconscious. Much like the majority of worlds Team JAG has discovered and connected, Equestria was a place of free beliefs and no absolutes on single matters of any given importance. Where there are compliant beings, there are also defiant ones, the worst of the worst making up the Brotherhood of Darkness. Equestria has proven that the same exists in their world, as peaceful and tranquil as it is, and it was apparent that children weren't ruled out of being looked down at apathetically.

But that left a question on each of their minds, a question that made themselves consider even further involvement with a world still fairly new to them. Tails broke the silence by verbally saying the question: "We can't force these ponies to think the same about anything, so how can we make sure Nyx doesn't have to suffer what she has had to face again?"

"We can only try," Jason stated. "Given what we learned about her, Nyx will have to face these kind of challenges for the rest of her life. She'll be able to handle it better as she gets older, and better with her magic, but even then there's no telling what she would face during the rest of the life of an immortal alicorn."

"But that doesn't help Nyx now," Tails said, almost arguing. "We need to make sure she's safe now. We need to know that, even with her family and friends for help and support, she has something to make her feel more at ease about her safety."

The Master Four sensed the hostility in their fox friend's attitude, and attempted to approach it calmly. "We understand, Tails. We know the ponies mean a lot to you and Cosmo, and we want to help however we can, but you know as well as us that there are some things that can't be controlled as we would want them to be," said Gohan.

"Then think of something that's temporary, but at least acceptable," suggested Dr. Eggman.

Ash then said "There are limits to what we can do, temporary or not. The worlds connected together by Team JAG was made possible with the permission to use the technologies at our disposal to monitor and detect events in each dimension. Princess Celestia has asked us to not influence her subjects with those technologies existing in Equestria, and we must honor her wishes."

"Which means that Tails and Cosmo being in Equestria is our best option for now," Jason added.

Each of them took a moment to think to themselves, mentally going through options that could be possible to Equestria standards and involve them at the same time. Tails thought very carefully, very eager to help his young friend. He had thought of a couple ideas, but he wasn't entirely sure they would go against the ethics and subtlety Celestia, perhaps even Twilight, would approve of. There had to be something, some way he could keep Nyx guarded when needed.

That last thought gave him the answer he could easily use.

"I've got it! What if we can get Celestia to let Cosmo and me be Nyx's official guardians? Like how most of us are guardians of our own dimensions, we can be hers if she ever needs us."

The Master Four each looked at him with their own looks. "You mean, like her official bodyguards?" Ash asked. The fox nodded.

They all considered the thought, and it did seem to be the most logical direction to take. The couple did have a good relationship with the Princesses, and they have the closest bonds to the ponies as compared to anyone from any other world, so getting them approved wouldn't be an issue. All they would need to do was make the request to Twilight and see what the approval stages were. But regardless, a few minor details about this idea had to be addressed.

"Tails, that's a good idea, but won't it be possible that such a commitment would be too much for you?" Yugi said. "You both have so much going on as it is getting the wedding prepared. On top of that, you have your own business and your Team JAG commitments."

"So you're saying he can't do it? I must say that's surprising to hear from you," Eggman said.

Gohan shook his head and then said "Not at all. We are more than confident that he is capable of doing all that he chooses to do, and we just want to make sure he isn't given too much to do. All we want is for him not to be over-extended, as many feel he already is."

"I do have my commitments, and I always intend to honor them. Cosmo will always be my number one commitment in every way I can possibly offer her, but even she would agree to go along with this, and the Sparkle family mean too much for us not to help out that way," Tails said to the group, firmly and confidently.

Silence fell again, but for a brief moment as the Master Four took the fox's words in. Their questioning of the idea was reasonable, but they began to feel foolish for doubting it. Tails had proven time and time again what he was capable of from the day they met him and Team Sonic over a decade ago, and this was really no different than many of the adventures he had gone through. They could tell there was no changing his mind over the idea, so that only left them one course of action.

"Tails," said Jason, "you and Cosmo continue with your current commitments in Ponyville. We will try to request an audience with the Princesses before this supposed trial."

Before anymore could be said, there was a faint yelling coming from somewhere else in the castle. It was too muffled to be heard clear enough, but it sounded as if a pony yelled out "Where's Nyx?!" or "What's this?!" The yelling continued for a small moment before no noise was heard.

"It seems that company is here," Eggman said. "Perhaps it's time to adjourn and for me to take my leave."

"Very well," said the warrior of Darkness. "Thank you again for helping our pony friends, Dr. Eggman. And Tails, if you or Cosmo need any help from us..."

"I'll let you know," Tails said. "Thanks, guys. I'll keep you posted on how Nyx and Twilight will be."

"Sounds good. We'll talk to you guys soon," Yugi said, and then his transmission was cut. The remaining Master Four said their goodbyes and then disconnected following him, the computer Tails had used to contact them cutting their displays one by one before going on standby mode.

As the fox closed the computer and prepared to store it elsewhere, the Doctor asked him a question. "How smoothly do you think this trial will go?"

Tails didn't reply immediately. He didn't know for certain if this case the detective was working on would actually go to trial, but given what it was about, it would be no surprise if he ended up sitting in a Canterlot courtroom to see what would happen to the ponies who attacked his young friend. Such instances only happened only so often throughout the dimensions he had seen through Team JAG, and unless there was fatality involved by the accused or victimized, it usually ended up settled in a court of sorts. As much as he would hate to see Twilight watch Nyx have to go through that, it just felt inevitable.

"It won't be easy," he finally replied. "Not for Twilight, especially not for Nyx, not for anyone really."

"I'd imagine, and if I were you, I'd keep a third eye open for the purple princess, her daughter in distress, and a certain cerulean cloud kicker," the Doctor stated. Without another word, he began to make his way to the exit, fetch Decoe and Bocoe, and then return to his main lab on Mobius. Before he could step out of the library, he was stopped as Tails took a turn to ask a question.

"Rainbow Dash isn't holding up well?"

With any nod or head shake, Dr. Eggman answered with "She's up to something, and I have a feeling you already know why, compared to the oblivious princess at least."

Without another word, the Doctor made his way out, leaving Tails to stand still for a minute in thought. He did know about Rainbow Dash being part of this, but he also knew that there was more to it and what that was. He began to develop the confident feeling that the cyan pegasus would do something that may change things more than was currently needed.

Chapter 6: Welcome Home (Sparkle-tarium)

Sitting at her desk at the SVU offices, Detective Benson was going over some paperwork that required documentation, mainly the statements she collected in Ponyville. Upon her return, she had requested a couple officers to prepare a few of the suspects for a second interrogation and question them with the new information she obtained. That would take some time, so she decided to take advantage of the time in between to catch up on her paperwork.

As she did, her mind thought hard and carefully about everything regarding the questioning she did with the ponies on the defensive side of this case. She thought of the worry the Princess of Friendship had shown, the determination the two-tailed fox showed for helping out, and the unsurprising amount of fear and pain Nyx had shown in that hospital. It wasn't the first filly Olivia had ever worked with, but it never got too much easier to see and hear the little pony's pain.

It was all part of the job for her. Helping ponies who have been hurt in most of the worst possible ways was her destiny, and her cutie mark was proof was that. Helping ponies was something she has always done, all the way back to her foalhood. Even with the heartache that can linger from what horrors her job made her see, she drove herself to help whoever needed it.

But there were a couple firsts for her career this time around.

This was her first case having a direct involvement with the Royal Four, most specifically Princess Twilight. She was hoofpicked for several cases by Princess Celestia herself, mainly for the successful record and name in Equestrian law enforcement, but none of the previous victims had direct relations to royalty, only mutual or close relationships. Never had the detective needed to work on a case specifically towards royalty, let alone the newest crown alicorn princess no less, making this the highest profile of cases an officer had worked with.

Another was the victim she was working for, the former Nightmare Moon herself, Nyx Sparkle. This challenge put Olivia in a position where she had to help a pony that, for the most part, was the source for the crime to begin with, and thus had the likely chance of dealing with more ponies who did not like the former Queen of Equestria still amongst everypony. Add the good chance of seeing this case taken to court, who would know how many anti-Nyx citizens would fill a courtroom, if the public could attend the court in audience. She would have to carefully tread over thin ice to make sure more trouble doesn't rise, for the filly and her family's sake.

But even all that didn't shake off another thought of a first-time curiosity she had about the involvement of Rainbow Dash. Before leaving Ponyville, the detective made sure to stop and find the pegasus for a restarted session of question, given how the first attempt went. Rainbow Dash gave a more thorough and detailed explanation of what her involvement in everything was, but that wasn't what bothered the detective. What was really bothering her were the emotions she read.

Olivia could tell that there were definite strong emotions from Rainbow Dash, more so than what could be expected from another involved pony. The cyan mare showed a lot more care and concern that previous ponies in her position have expressed in similar cases, especially with how often Twilight Sparkle was mentioned. She judged how there seemed to be strong emotions shown for the princess, more so than Rainbow being known as the Element of Loyalty. What could provoke such strong compassion a friend had for her friend and said friend's family, unless...

"Olivia?"

The detective snapped out of her thoughts and turned her head to see a strong-built earth pony next to her desk. He was a stallion just beyond being middle-aged, bronze in color with a darker brown tail with strands of gray in it, wearing a collared shirt and tan coat. His cutie mark was a set of handcuffs, one end open and the other looped shut.

"Yes, Captain?" Olivia asked, addressing the highest ranked officer of Canterlot's entire police force, and the middle link between the police and the Royal Guard.

"Forgive me for interrupting your train of thought, but the lawyer for your current plaintiff's has arrived," said the captain.

"The offense lawyer?" Olivia inquired. "You mean for my next meeting with Silver Lining."

Captain nodded and replied "She's here to help see if we can avoid your case actually go to court. Unfortunately, I've come to understand that he has full intentions to take this to court."

"There's still no harm in trying," said the detective. "Please send her over."

The captain nodded, turned around a waved his hoof to motion the attorney to come over. A mare trotted her way to the desk, an emerald green unicorn with a briefcase carried by her magic. Her mane and tail were straight strands of light red hair with blonde highlights, and her cutie mark was a barely open scroll with thin lines representing text. Olivia recognized this lawyer all too well, as she was the SVU's district attorney, and one of her best friends.

"I heard you got the most royal case of your career," said the mare, smirking as she spoke. "Thought I'd join in and give you a hoof with your fun."

The detective smirked back and gave her sarcastic reply. "Yay. Now I don't get to have all this fun alone."

"I'll leave you two to work," said the captain. "For now I must be off to a meeting with the Princesses and the Royal Guard at the castle. I'll be back afterwards." With that, he took his leave.

The attorney set her briefcase next to the detective's desk, and then used her magic to pull over a nearby open chair to sit on. Sitting the chair to the left side of the desk and making herself comfortable, she opened her briefcase to take out its contents. During the latter, she said "So Liv, how much fun are you having with this? Word spread around quick that you were personally investigating a princess's family."

"It's as fun as ever, I suppose," Olivia replied. "This is one of the more difficult cases for me, specifically the royal family that's involved. It's the family of Princess Twilight Sparkle, but more specifically her adopted daughter-"

"Nyx." The unicorn mare cut her off literally at the end of the last syllable of 'daughter.' The tone of it sounded very mixed. "That news didn't make it to my office. Heck, I just got some of the documents regarding this case when I walked through the door coming in."

The detective knew why she sounded the way she was, but unlike with her clients, she didn't ease into the topic. "I know you're not as forgiving of Nyx as others, but a case is still a case, and she's going to need your help. Let's start with negotiations with the stallion that caused all this in the first place..." She pointed a hoof at one of her papers, a file of the statement by Silver Lining.

The lawyer read over the copy of the statement, seeing how he flat out said he did what he did. Statements like this, a flat out confession, would make things easier in her world, but most times it doesn't work that way. During those times, the culprits would make their confession without remorse or care and expect their actions to be justified as acceptable before a judge or princess. However, this just meant that she had to work hard to expose the culprit's words in the twisted ways they envision.

After reviewing the statement, she set the paper down and said "At least he's smart enough to admit to doing it. Hopefully he'll be the same when I offer him a deal."

"Hopefully," Olivia stated with little enthusiasm. "I still need to bring Nyx to Canterlot to try to identify him and a few other ponies involved in attacking her. Even if he points him out, he won't go down without a fight."

The lawyer didn't say anything, and the detective could easily see why. After allowing a moment of silence pass, she added "Legal Justice, you won't be cold at her when she comes here, will you?"

The lawyer didn't reply immediately, but did so when she found the right words to say. "No. Only professional, and nothing more."

Olivia did not like that tone, as much as she understood why. It was as cold as she expected her friend to be at the filly; the victim of the crime. There were times to not have a keen eye towards somepony, given the circumstances, and this was definitely not one of those times as it would hurt not only who would be targeted, but justice itself in the long run. The detective furrowed her eyes and spoke sternly at her best friend.

"L.J., look at me," she practically ordered, getting a fairly cold stare in return. "I love you like family, but I will not let you near Nyx or anyone in her association if you can't- no, if you won't be at least a little compassionate to win this case. It's not exactly easy remembering what happened when Nightmare Moon was in power, especially you practically broken until that time was over, and I know it's nothing compared to how you were. However, it still gives you no right to be disrespectful to your client, a filly victim of battery, in any way whatsoever. Nyx, Princess Twilight and their friends and family will be looking towards you to help prevent Silver Lining, or even anypony, doing this to them again, and you need to be the dependable attorney you are to them. I can't make you promise me anything, professionalism and all, but can I at least know that you will be a reliable resource here?

"Or do I have to go get your brother to convince you?"

/)∞(\

"Good morning, Your Highness, and good morning to you too, Nyx."

Doctor Monitor and Nurse Redheart had entered the filly's hospital room, the latter pushing a wheelchair in and the former levitating a clipboard in his magic. He was a pony Twilight and Nyx were both becoming anxious to meet with all morning. Around breakfast time, a couple nurses came in to check on Nyx's condition, and a little while after that was one of Ponyville's pediatricians as a double-check. They were giving their patient one last round of tests of her health before acting on a promise made to her yesterday, and everything they tested came back in results greater than originally anticipated.

And for the first time since Nyx was admitted into the hospital, Rainbow Dash was nowhere nearby. Twilight had requested, and with some unneeded convincing, the pegasus to fly over to the castle and let Nyx's 'escorts' know that they were almost ready. It was agreed that they would meet in the lobby, and it was around the time that they all thought would be the likely time.

"Good morning, Doctor," Twilight said.

"Good morning," Nyx said as well.

Both the doctor and nurse had a smile across their face as they approached her bedside, the opposite side from where the purple mare sat. As they approached, the doctor said happily "I've got some good news for you, Nyx. After a final set of tests, all of your stats have come out perfectly. It looks like all the care you've gotten has had its payoff, so congratulations, you get to go home today!"

"Really?!"

"Really."

Nyx wore the happiest grin and jumped out of her bed, finally freed from the constraints of needles stuck in her forelegs and replaced with a series of colorful bandages. She was waiting for this the moment she woke up, and now it could finally happen. Nyx can go home with Twilight, and a little selfishly, have a sleepover with her best friends, something she could really use after everything that had gone on the last few days.

"Now hold on there, little filly," said the nurse, cutting off Nyx's joyous display. "Don't get too jumpy just yet. You still need to be wheeled out of here before you go in full gallop."

Nyx let out a whine in displeasure and looked up at Twilight. "Do I have to? I've been on my flank for days."

Twilight nodded and replied "I'm sorry, Nyx. Those are the rules." The filly retorted with a 'humph' and a kick of her hoof, just what she was expecting. "It's only for a few minutes, just to get you out the doors safe and sound. Isn't that right, Dr. Monitor?"

"Yes, Princess," he responded. "Also, I saw some of your friends returning to the hospital on my way here, so they should be waiting for you in the lobby right now."

Hearing about that did crack a smile on Nyx, but she still felt upset about the wheelchair. She thought that she would be walking out the door with perfect horse health, not having to be strolled out. She was going to feel like a foal, something that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would endlessly make fun of her about if they caught the sight, but she didn't expect to be anywhere near the hospital when she'd exit.

Looking up at her mother, she saw her motion her hoof towards the wheelchair with a warming smile to try and cheer her up. Nyx, however, did not feel any better as she climbed up and sat in the chair. She positioned herself and kept a disapproving pout on her face.

"Now don't be like that," Nurse Redheart said with attempted optimism. "It's only a two-minute ride down the hall and nothing more." With that she began to move the now occupied wheelchair out the door and down the hallway.

Twilight was beginning to follow when Doctor Monitor stepped alongside her at the door. "Princess Twilight, may we have a talk during your way out?"

"Of course," Twilight replied. She imagined it was more specific details about Nyx's overall condition and nothing more to worry about, which she really hoped. The two began their way down the hall as the doctor began to speak.

"As I told your daughter, she is in perfect health. All of her vitals are in check and her body recovered just as it should, and I would be grateful of having such friends as yours to help accelerate the process. However, one of our tests did show a different result as compared to our original predictions. Are you familiar with an MRS?"

Twilight replied "Yes: The Magic Rating Spell. Unicorns use that to check on the magical quantity a pony has in their body, to make sure it isn't completely depleted."

"Correct. Well after our last MRS of Nyx, we discovered that her magic has increased in level, and for a filly her age- or size, as it were, it is far above greater than the average foal unicorn's would be. This isn't like when you first found her and having Nightmare Moon's level of magic, but it is great enough for me to caution you to help sure her magical abilities are kept in check.

"Other than that, you have nothing to worry about. Just make sure you bring Nyx in for a checkup by next month. The front clerk will give you a copy of all the medical information you'd like to take."

"Thank you, Doctor, for everything you've done," Twilight said kindly. They had reached the main lobby as she said "And thanks to your entire team for helping my daughter. I know she has been in good hooves with you all."

Dr. Monitor bowed to her as he said "No need to thank us, Princess. It was our duty and our honor to service you and your family." When he raised himself up, he leaned in to quietly mention "But on a more personal level, consider this our way of saying thanks to Nyx for saving us during the invasion of Everfree. You should be proud of yourself for being the mother of such a brave pony."

The purple mare grin and watched the doctor make his leave. She turned her attention to Nyx and found Rainbow Dash standing by the door, her friend looking ready to open the door outside. Twilight quickly turned to the clerk's desk and got the medical records she asked for and levitated the folder containing them inside one of her wings. She then walked up to Nyx's side, the two alicorns smiling, as she began to use her magic to open the front doors, only to be stopped by Rainbow.

"Here, Twi. I'll get it," the pegasus offered, and pushed the door open with her head.

The reveal of the other side showed a bright and sunny day, with barely any clouds in the sky. And standing just a few feet from the doors were Tails and Cosmo. The sight of them brought instant joy to Nyx's face, and the moment the nurse said she could get out of the chair, the filly did to run up to the couple. It was a sight that made Twilight very happy, seeing her daughter smiling and joyous with being with their friends. Both alicorns could really use that, especially for the many days to come if a trial was to take place.

Following wishing everypony a good afternoon, Nurse Redheart took herself and the wheelchair back into the hospital. Nyx, on the other hoof, didn't hear a single word of the farewell as she was too busy hugging Cosmo. It took a moment, but the Seedrian finally managed to break the hug and speak.

"Good to see you out of that bed, Nyx," she said happily. "Are you feeling all better now?"

"Yeah! I feel wonderful," replied Nyx. "Thank you for keeping your promise to meet us here."

"Oh of course we would," Cosmo said in return.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked up from behind, catching a glance from Cosmo but the two's attention being drawn from Tails.

"I managed to talk with the Master Four, and they agreed to Cosmo and me staying here until your trouble with those others ponies are officially left behind. Twilight, I hope it's no intrusion if Cosmo and I-"

"Don't even bother asking," Twilight interrupted. "For what you and your friends did to help Nyx, you both are more than welcome to stay in our home, just as I promised before. I'm just so grateful that you came to walk with us back home."

Tails motioned one of his hands towards the cyan pegasus standing next to the alicorn. "You can thank Rainbow for letting us know when exactly Nyx was discharged. Hell, she even made sure today's weather wouldn't dampen the trail."

Twilight turned to Rainbow to see the pegasus's cheeks glow with a blush of red, and her mouth grinning a less than innocent smile. At the time of year they were at, the Ponyville pegasi would have started some of the season's rain showers to help water the plants, and their next shower was due around that day. The only reason Twilight knew this was because of her friendship with Rainbow and getting the weather forecast a little farther ahead than most other ponies in town every now and again.

"Well," Twilight said, "what do you say we get going then? We can use a nice stroll to get back home, wouldn't we Nyx?"

The filly nodded happily, and the group began making their way from the Ponyville Hospital. Twilight led as her daughter closely followed, with Tails and Cosmo just behind them, and Rainbow Dash flew just over the alicorn family, all making their way back to the Sparkle family castle.

/)∞(\

The stroll came to its end as the group came up to the final stretch of path leading to the crystal castle. It was very uneventful compared to the last few days, but it was nice and peaceful. During their walk, townsponies bowed to their resident princess, told Nyx they were glad to see her alright, or both for most. Nyx may have known of the ponies who were not happy with her being around, but those who did like her and didn't mind in the slightest were showing their colors and that made her all the happier.

But even for a peaceful stroll that it was, Tails wore a smile in front of a vigilant state of being. He kept his eyes open for anything that, f his experience, would deem suspicious or a potential misdeed by anypony. Deep in this thoughts he knew he was probably take things too seriously given the place he was in, but he didn't want to take any chances. Harm an adult friend was one thing, and harming his beloved was the worst of all, but somewhere in between, harming a child, especially one he knew personally, made him angry enough to be the way he was acting.

Then again, he wasn't the only one acting like that, as Rainbow Dash kept her focus up the same way. She, however, was asked by Twilight to settle down after the cyan mare went face-to-face with Filthy Rich, claiming she saw his daughter stick her tongue out at Nyx when the group was walking by Barnyard Bargains. Honoring her friend's request, Rainbow backed off and rejoined the group, getting on her hooves and walking alongside Twilight for the remainder of the trek.

By the time they had reached the castle's front doors, both Cosmo and Twilight calmed Tails and Rainbow Dash down, both of whom agreed and did so. Nyx was completely oblivious to what they were doing, and didn't even think a second thought about the entire walk, as she was finally home. Getting through those was all she wanted to do all day, and see if her mom's promise for a sleepover with her friends would still happen. She ran through the center of both doors like a battering ram and entered the castle.

"Hello?! We're home!"

"Oh, Nyx, you're finally back!"

The group was met by a voice that, when Twilight last thought, belonged to someone who wasn't always around Ponyville. Racing around a corner into the foyer was Twilight Velvet, who showed no sign of slowing down until she reached Nyx. She immediately embraced the filly in her hooves and hugged her tightly.

"Oh my sweet, sweet little granddaughter. Thank Celestia you're safe. I couldn't believe the news when the Princess came to our house and told us. Are you still hurt anywhere? What horrid brutes did this to you? Tell me and your Nana Velvet will find them and-"

"Mother!" Twilight yelled and cutting her off. "Calm down, you're suffocating her!"

With what little breath she had in her lungs, Nyx managed to let out four little squeaks. "Grand... Ma... Can't... Breathe..."

Twilight Velvet noticed what she was causing, and released Nyx from her suffocating embrace. "Oh goodness. I'm so sorry, Nyx," she said, waiting for the filly to regain some air in her lungs. "We were so worried about you, your grandfather and I. The moment we found out, we packed our bags and caught the soonest train to Ponyville. We were scared you weren't okay... So, so scared." The dam holding her tears in her eyes began to break as two small streams went down her face.

Nyx nuzzled herself into Velvet's crook and wrapped her hooves around her neck. "Don't cry, Grandma. I'm all better now," the little pony said. "I'm happy you and Grandpa came."

"And so are we," Night Light said, who had run up behind Velvet along with Spike. The blue unicorn stepped over to his daughter and gave her a hug, which the alicorn returned. "How are you feeling, Twilight?"

Wearing an assuring smile, Twilight replied with "I'm fine; a little sore from being bucked in the chest, but fine."

Hearing what her daughter said made Velvet's eyes open wide with pin-sized irises. "Bucked?! You were bucked?!" She jumped on her hooves, the filly hugging her hanging onto her neck to avoid falling. "Who hurt you?! You tell me who he is so I can go find him and give him ten times the-"

"Velvet, calm down," Night Light said to his wife, trying to keep her out of rage shift levels of anger. "They're home now, so let's not worry about what happened right now."

"But they got hurt," the grey mare argued. "Your daughter and granddaughter got hurt, and you're not going to bother about it at all?!"

The stallion shook his head. "If it means spending quality time with my family, then I won't." He helped Nyx get off of Velvet and on her hooves, and then decided to play an old trick he does every time he sees her. "I think I noticed something. What's this behind your ear, Nyx?"

Nyx smiled cheek to cheek, knowing what he was going to do. He pulled his hoof back from behind her ear to reveal a chocolate chip cookie. She took it and devoured half of it with one bite, and her smile grew wider as her taste buds discovered that the chocolate chips were dark chocolate. After swallowing the first half, the second was devoured just as greatly before meeting its timely end.

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Nyx yelled as she wrapped her hooves around his front legs.

Night Light chuckled and said in return "You're welcome, Nyx," and returned her hug. When the two broke apart, he then added "Now what do you say we go make some lunch and go-"

"SOLDIERS, ATTEN... TION!"

Near one of the entrances into the foyer, the sound of several marching hooves was heard. It only took a moment to reveal Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo marching and stopping in a single file line, all of them facing out towards Nyx and everyone else. Stepping in front of them was Shining Armor, whose voice was heard making that exclamation, and everyone watched him act as a general towards his pretend soldiers.

He paced back and forth in front of the trio, monitoring the focused looks they shared. "Alright, listen up! We have been training for this moment over and over again. Now, the time has come to act! Are we ready?!"

"Yes Sir!" Yelled the trio.

"I can't hear you, little fillies. I SAID ARE WE READY?!!!"

"YES SIR!"

"Very good! Now tell me how we are going to take on our mission!"

"With focus and determination, sir!" Apple Bloom responded.

"Full of energy, sir!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

"Without surrender, sir!" Scootaloo followed.

Shining Armor nodded and said "Again, very good! You are ready for the mission!" He then turned towards the group from not so far away and said "Private Nyx Sparkle, front and center!"

As happy as Nyx was to see her uncle and best friends, she couldn't put a hoof on why they were putting up the military act. The last time she remembered him acting in his commanding form was back when she was Nightmare Moon and controlled him with the Blessing to command her former military, and that wasn't a time she'd like to have remembered. She began to trot up to the group, leaving behind a confused Rainbow Dash and Twilight, but everyone else caught on to the fun facade being portrayed.

When Nyx reached them, but keeping herself just so distant, she looked at them with a brow, trying to get a read of them. It wasn't until Shining Armor gave a smirk only lasting two seconds that she got the idea something surprising was about to happen.

Focusing on the trio of fillies, Shining Armor gave the command. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, proceed with the attack on my count!" With a raise of a hoof into the air, and a quick glance at who was approaching from down the corridor, he gave them his countdown.

"3...

"2...

"1...

"ATTACK!!!"

The CMC began to charge towards Nyx once their commander gave them the order. All three collided into her and knocked her down onto the ground. It took her a second to realize it, but Nyx was tackled and being hugged by the three as they all said "Welcome home," and other things over each other. When the trio got off their friend after the hug began cutting off her oxygen, she stood back up to see her uncle, now with her Aunt Cadance and cousin Skyla, and he began to speak to her as he did with her friends, but much gentler.

"Good to see you home again, Private Nyx," he said. "Now I have a mission for you..." He then dropped the authorative tone and lifted a leg open in a welcoming way. "Come give your favorite uncle a hug."

Nyx galloped up and jumped at him, wrapping her forelegs around the lower part of his neck for a hug as he wrapped his open leg around her. Following a couple seconds, she told him "Shining Armor, you're my only uncle."

"And that makes me your favorite, doesn't it?"

Many of the older ponies' eyes rolled at that, but no one paid no mind to it. "Don't mind him, Nyx. He's just glad you and Twilight are safe and sound," Cadance said as the two separated from their hug so the filly could hug her aunt next. That hug was short as a little foal jumped onto Nyx and hugged her tightly.

"Neex! Neex!"

Nyx giggled and hugged her little cousin next. Little did they notice Twilight and the others walking up behind them, the purple mare greeting her brother and sister-in-law with their own hugs, and Tails shaking hand-and-hoof with Shining Armor.

"Mission accomplished, Captain," Tails commented humorously. "You have quite the squadron in your service, if I say so myself." They both shared a good laugh, with Night Light and Twilight Velvet joining in as well.

"Oh that was just adorable. I wish I wasn't in such a rush packing or I would have remembered to grab my camera," said Velvet.

Grinning as happy as she could, Twilight added "Yes, that was quite the little 'ambush' you organized. Thank you, BBBFF."

Before he could say anything, everyone heard the foal of the group start yelling again. "Neex! Dance!"

Everyone looked down at Skyla, who was looking at her cousin with wide-open eyes and the most excited smile a foal could try to make. For those outside Twilight's family, they weren't familiar with what was meant by this, but they didn't know that, after Skyla was born, Cadance and Twilight handed down their old greeting for each other onto their daughters. Every so often, Nyx did it with her aunt, but that stopped around the time Cadance was too pregnant with Skyla to do it anymore, and in trying to be a good cousin to the newborn filly, Nyx began to do the dance for her.

"What's she yellin' about?" A curious Apple Bloom asked.

"You'll see," Nyx replied, and space was cleared for her and Skyla. The two stood across from each other and began to do the dance, or with the younger cousin attempting it as well as a foal could.

"Sunshine sunshine, lady bugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

They shared a laugh following the dance's completion, and Skyla leapt into Nyx for another hug. Nyx gladly returned the hug until putting her cousin back down on the ground before she looked up and around her extended family. "When did you all get to Ponyville?"

"Not that long ago actually. When we got the message about what happened to you, Shining Armor practically charged through every pony standing between him and the train station. I had to use my magic to levitate him into the air before he was out of reach and talk him down a bit," Cadance replied.

Twilight looked over at her older brother with a look of near disbelief. She knew he cared about his family, and was more than willing to do whatever he could at a moment's notice, but even disregarding that one Hearth's Warming where Nyx met the rest of the family she did not expect him to just charge on like that.

"You tried to get here without questions asked?" She asked him.

"Well, I tried, yes," he replied, letting some slight embarrassment show. "The moment I heard you and Nyx got attacked and beaten, I had to act fast." He then put on a more serious and authorative tone and posture. "If anypony dares to mess with my family, they'll have to deal with me, too."

"But what about the Crystal Empire? Won't they need you or Cadance there if something comes up?" Rainbow asked.

"The crystal ponies were informed of our departure and that it will only be for a few days at a time. We are here to support Nyx and Twilight, even if it means going against the best interest of the Royal Guard and spend my time as a personal guard," replied the captain.

It didn't take too much for Tails to see what the stallion meant by his last statement and addressed it himself. "I take it it's looked down upon by some ponies to see soldiers take it upon themselves to guard their families," he said.

"It is a lot of times," Twilight answered. "It's considered selfish to put one's family before everypony else in the Equestrian military, especially if not requested by the highest ranked soldier or a member of the royal family."

The purple mare then turned to face her big brother, a soft but firm tone formed so speak to him about his intentions. "Aren't you setting a bad example for the Royal Guard by being here as Nyx's personal guard?"

"Don't worry, Twilight," Cadance told her. "Celestia has given Shining Armor her own approval to be here and help, to monitor ponies' actions in Ponyville that could show any danger to you or Nyx."

"I see..."

"Don't be upset with him, Twilight," Night Light said. "If it was up to me I'd do the same for you, too. Your brother is, of course, far more experienced and knowledgeable of Equestrian Law and how to handle things than I could ever be."

"It's not about that, Dad."

"Then what is it?"

"Because Tails and Cosmo are here to do what Shining Armor is doing," Rainbow Dash answered for her friend.

A curious expression crossed the faces of Twilight's extended family, all of whom turned towards the mentioned couple standing by their friend. Cosmo nodded as she added "It's true. We'll be staying in Equestria until the end of the trial."

"Trial?" said Velvet, to which Twilight nodded in return.

"I see," Shining said, his eyes mostly focused on the two-tailed fox. He was aware of Tails and his unique abilities, learning most and seeing a portion of it back during the Equestria Games, and heard what had happened during the final battle with Lord Tirek. His issue was, as much as he respected what he knew and witnessed, this matter put in his perspective the necessary requirements that most of Equestria's Royal Guard couldn't take on. "That's very noble of you two to do, but-"

"Shining, don't start," advised his wife. "This is a family matter, but having help from outside the family is good to have."

"Yeah, I'm glad they're here." The adults almost didn't acknowledge the fillies' presence during the conversation until Nyx spoke up. "They're here to help us stay safe, Uncle Shining, just like you."

All of a sudden, a sound was heard from a distance inside the castle. Velvet knew that sound, belonging to a timer she had set back in the castle kitchen for the oven. Not too long ago, she was starting to prepare a big dinner for everypony to enjoy to celebrate Nyx's release from the hospital. "Oh horseapples, the oven's already preheated. I swear, the appliances in these castles work six times faster than the new stove we have at home. I'll be right back!"

Before anyone could say anything, Velvet was rushing to the kitchen to continue cooking. Nyx chased after her, calling out to say she wanted to help, and with her three friends running behind her. This left everyone else standing in the castle foyer as Twilight smiled seeing her daughter run off happily. Having her family with them was indeed a wonderful surprise to have, to have their support right there with her. Sadly, it still didn't change the fatigue she developed from the last couple days, and finally being home again, she wanted to relax.

"I think we should go relax somewhere until dinner. Anyone want to join me in the library?"

"Sure, Twilight," Cadance said, "anything you and Nyx want to do." She then called for Skyla, who quickly tried to jump up on her mother's back but found herself magically lifted up by Shining Armor.

"I'll go prepare some tea," Cosmo said, "and make sure Velvet doesn't have her hooves full with the girls."

She made her way to the kitchen as the others followed Twilight to the castle library. As the three mares took the lead, the two stallions and one fox followed behind. This was intentional for Shining Armor, for he still had a few words to say that he wanted to tell his interdimensional friend.

"Don't take it the wrong way, Tails. Having you two here will make Nyx and Twily more relaxed, but this is still a delicate matter. I want to see to it that this doesn't-"

"Escalate into my brand of fighting experience." Tails cut off Shining, knowing what he was getting at. "You want to keep things at Equestria protocol, to prevent things from getting out of hand- sorry, hoof."

Night Light chimed in and added "Remember that the Princesses asked them here, son. They wouldn't if they didn't feel it was right."

"I know, father," the son replied, "but like I said, this is a delicate situation, and not to doubt how Tails will handle it, I don't want any more violence than what already happened."

As understanding as he was, Tails didn't want to be known for reacting violently. Granted most of his defensive actions in Equestria have been along those lines, he knew better of how to act. "How about this, Shining Armor. Let's sit down and you can explain how you would handle this. I'll follow your instructions to the letter and will exercise my position as a guardian for Nyx within reason...

"But if danger through violence is imminent, I'll do what it takes to protect your family."

The Captain considered this offer carefully. It was not often, or more so ever, that the protocol of the Royal Guard was just handed over to, for lack of his better description, 'foreign' beings. His decision, though, was made reasonably easy. "You have a deal. I'm sure Twily has a book we can reference."

"Sounds good," Tails said smiling. By that point they had reached the library, where tens, possibly hundreds, of thousands of books sat on the shelves that lined every wall inside. As they entered, a BBBFF asked his LSBFF where there was a book on the Equestria military.

Chapter 7: Evening

"You call that a fair offer? My client isn't a serial killer."

"No, but he is viewed as a foal batterer in the eyes of his victim and the Princesses, especially the two that were hospitaliz-"

"One. One was hospitalized."

"...I still believe thirty years to life would be easier than seeing what the Princesses will decree."

Silver Lining budded in and added "I was only trying to protect our three Princesses."

Perhaps three minutes had passed, certainly not five. Inside on of the SVU's interrogation rooms, Legal Justice was going back to back in negotiations with Lean, Silver Lining's defense attorney. Nopony could figure out why he came in as a representative, for he was one of Equestria's most successful and higher-ranked lawyers, but all they were informed was a mysterious 'benefactor' that hired him.

But regardless, he was giving Legal uneasy nerves. Between the two facing each other in a court room countless times, they were evenly tied with who succeeded in their respective cases. She saw Lean carry himself with great confidence in his position against her, even after knowing of what exactly took place. It wasn't until Silver Lining, even after being warned to say little if not nothing, spoke up that it was helpful to her.

"Your client seems out of date on recent events, Lean," she said. "Last I checked there are technically six, if you include the adopted and born daughters of the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Lean spoke back with an eased voice. "Forgetting of a recently born foal is a mistake, and of course there's my client's claim of Nightmare Moon taking control of the Elements of Harmony. There's a possibility for that."

"Unlikely," she deadpanned.

"It still doesn't change thirty to life in a dungeon can be seen as excessive. Ten years in a correctional facility, one you or the Princesses can decide yourself, with early release in five if my client shows good behavior."

"That's a slap on the wrist for attacking royalty, Lean. Thirty to life, or face the Princesses. That's my only offer; nothing more, nothing less."

"Mr. Lining, your thoughts?"

His attorney looking at him, the unicorn pointed his eyes towards him. "Neither." was his only response.

A smug grin crossed Legal's face as she told Lean "Looks like your client will be a stubborn brick for you to break, Lean." She then gathered her documents on the table and added "Guess we'll see each other in court."

Lean sighed annoyingly. "Very well. A waste of time it will be, but I'm sure the proper punishment will be determined given the circumstances." He began to get up on his hooves. "Come now, Silver, I will have you taken back to your ho-"

"Not so fast," Olivia spoke up. She remained in a corner of the room, keeping herself silent unless she had a place to speak. "Your client remains here for another night. His victims will be here to identify him in a lineup tomorrow and I don't want far out of my sight until they arrive."

"Come now, Detective," Lean said, "you have nothing to worry about. My client will return in the morning, and you can retrieve him yourself whenever you wish. What's wrong with him leaving-"

"Sweet Celestia you're absent minded," the detective snapped back. "He does not leave. Not now, not tomorrow, not until his arraignment after the lineup. I thought a lawyer with your time would remember those laws."

Lean frowned crossly. He knew he wasn't a favorite attorney to some officers, especially to those in Special Victims. "I'm well aware of rules and regulations, Detective. At least allow my client to assure his home will be taken care of until he may return."

Olivia frowned herself as she turned around to open the door. "The suspect still has his one letter to write. He may write to a friend or relative, but only under close supervision," she said, and then turned her head to call out into the Unit. "I need a Guard for escort; unicorn please."

A white unicorn guard stepped up from around the corner and to the open door. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Please take this suspect to an open desk for his one letter. Monitor his actions and bring the letter to me for mailing when he's done, and then place him in a solidary holding cell."

"Yes, ma'am," and with that the guard took Silver Lining out of interrogations. As Lean took his briefcase and set it on his back, he walked out without as much of a word to Olivia or Legal, but just an unpleased glare. After his exit, the two mares looked at one-another.

"Looks like you're in for quite the trip. He's not going to go lightly on this," said the detective.

Legal nodded. "I know. I can handle him in a courtroom, but how he got to be the defense attorney is beyond me. Who thought of hiring Silver Lining a lawyer in the first place? Lean's records don’t exactly make him cheap to afford."

"Doesn't matter," Olivia added. "Once Nyx arrives tomorrow we'll have the last thing we need to give the case a good start. That and the suspect's statements will keep him behind bars from now until after his sentencing."

"Sure..."

It was clear that Legal wasn't as confident in her tone as Olivia sounded with hers. She was walking through the viewing room that looked into the interrogation room with a look of focus to work on the case more. However, personal ties and thoughts of Nightmare Moon's reign soured her just enough to set Olivia uneased.

"Legal, you have to keep your personal feelings in check about this," she said sternly. "I don't need to tell anypony that you'll be biased over your client."

The attorney turned herself around and said back "I thought we were over this already. I will defend the Sparkle family as any other clients and get them the justice they deserve. What happened with Noble Knight will be kept in the back of my mind." With that, she turned around and trotted away, leaving a concerned pegasus standing in her place.

“Don’t get too wrapped up ‘bout it, Liv. She knows where the line is.”

Olivia turned her head to face the desk of one of her fellow detectives. Her co-worker was a stallion a couple years her senior, but having served in the Illegal Magic division of Equestria’s law enforcement prior to a transfer opening to SVU. He was an earth pony with a light chocolate brown coat, a faded goatee and buzzcut mane, and a cutie mark with a nightstick cutting through the opening of a gold horseshoe. Sitting on his desk was a nameplate that read ‘Det. Final Level’ on a gold plate, but those he worked with just called him Fin.

“I know,” she said to him, “but she’s never come face to face with the former Mare of the Moon before now. I’m just concerned how she handles that encounter tomorrow.”

“How she should, I hope,” Fin commented.

“Confident as always,” Olivia said dryly, causing him to grin and chuckle. She decided to shift the subject as she saw Lean depart from the SVU offices, not saying a word to anypony. “Any ideas how our suspect could bag our worst chance to incarceration?”

The stallion detective only shook his head negatively. “Nothin’. Only info I could get out of anyone was that some mysterious benefactor offered to cover his legal fees until the case closes.” His eyes showed an annoyed glare as he added “Supposedly Lean signed a confidentiality deal so that his paycheck’s name doesn’t get dropped.”

Olivia raised a hoof to rub the temples between her eyes. Circumstances such as that were just one of the detectives’ worst nightmares to deal with for any given case. There was somepony who had something to say about the matter, but rather than face it like a grown pony they choose to hide in the shadows and out of public eye. It was yet another annoyance to be added on with her day’s stresses, but it wasn’t entirely over yet.

“Detective Benson.” Both she and Fin turned to see the white unicorn guard who had Silver Lining in custody, and an open scroll in his magical tow. “The stallion has said he’s finished his letter, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” she replied. He levitated the letter over to her, and she grabbed hold of it with her left wing. There was no sending address on it, nor was there some kind of greeting to whoever was the recipient. All there was to read was the message, so she went ahead and read it aloud.

“Stuck in Canterlot Jail until the trial starts. Take things over for me until I can get back in full swing and I’ll make sure to repay you when this is over.”

/)∞(\

Peace and quiet. The last thing anypony taking care of four little fillies would expect is a time of peace and quiet. If something had broken, noises were beyond volume control or some tsunami of madness would crash down, the source of it would usually come from four certain Cutie Mark Crusaders. It was no surprise for anything they'd do to have near disastrous results, but even the Princess of Friendship had her limits.

An impromptu Twilight Time had caused enough damage that involved Shining Armor using a shield spell to protect his family from obliteration and Tails having to use his Super Saiyan power to blast a hole through the crystalline castle's front doors. After chasing down a magically fueled abomination and reverting it back to one of Spike's comic books, the fillies' sleepover had officially gone out of hoof. Fortunately for Twilight, Cosmo had helped her stay calm and practice Cadance's special breathing technique for composure, but it didn't save the fillies from a lecture from Twilight Velvet.

And that's how most of the CMC learned where Nyx's mother got her anxiety and temper.

To keep things under control, Twilight still allowed the sleepover to take place, but on one condition: it had to be tamed to near silence. She was fortunate her mother was there, for she made the suggestion of looking through the photo album Twilight had in her library. Velvet never had a good chance to look through it herself, so she offered to be the one to show all the fillies the album and see what pictures her daughter had collected.

"Oh, here's a funny one. Twilight told us about this after Shining and Cadance's wedding," Velvet said, pointing a hoof at one of the photos. Nyx and Scootaloo looked over from her left and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to her right, with a witnessing Tails, Cosmo and Rainbow Dash behind the five sitting on the living room couch. "Apparently, she beat Rainbow Dash and Applejack in a running competition during the first fall she was in Ponyville. She came in fifth as the two came in dead last. Apparently, they took competition too far to end up having a... oh, what did Rainbow Dash say? Oh, yes! Having an 'egghead' win a race over them."

"Second to last," Rainbow Dash stated, trying to save herself from embarrassment from four chuckling fillies. Even Tails had to try to keep himself under control as he thought about his fast-paced friend back home. "AJ and I figured that out after our second run through the forest."

"You mean when your competitive spirit ignored what Pinkie Pie and Spike told you?" Twilight asked, her eyebrow arched with a smirk on her lips. Her friend just huffed and looked away, causing her to sound off a light laugh. She always found it cute how stubborn Rainbow Dash could be at times to keep up her pride.

She then realized what she was thinking of.

Velvet skipped over a couple pages, stopping at one photo from just before a certain draconequus was a hoofful. "This was from when the first Grand Galloping Gala the girls ever went to. You should have seen your mother, Nyx. She surprised us with a visit the next morning, tattered up just like here, and told us the whole story." Her face then became cold. "Your grandfather never wanted to get involved in such things, so he and I have never gone to one before."

"Why not?" Nyx asked.

"I was never interested," Night Light said, his eyes locked on one of Twilight's books. "Your grandmother and I have been to plenty of banquets and events hosted by her publishers, there was no need to attend. Sometimes we had another banquet to attend, or something was going on with Twilight and Shining Armor, or one of us was too busy with work to go."

"That and your grandfather doesn't like staying a stiff in public for too long. He wouldn't be able to let his mane down and enjoy himself," Velvet whispered to Nyx, but not keeping the CMC out of earshot. "Deep down inside him is a party animal like your mother can be." Her magic flipped a couple pages further into the album, showing a familiar lavender pony dancing around in her birthday dress at Fancy Pants's garden party.

The fillies erupted with laughter as Night Light just tried to cover his face turning red with his book and a cough of slight annoyance. Twilight paid no mind to it, only rolling her eyes as she was used to her dance skills being teased about from time to time. All she cared about was seeing Nyx happy, regardless of how, and her daughter was happy. With family and friends surrounding her, it would be hard for Nyx not to be happy.

When the laughter quieted down, Tails took notice of a picture on the bottom right corner of the right page. "What's that from, a play?" he asked, pointing one of his fingers at the picture.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said, "that's from our first Hearth's Warming Eve performance in Canterlot. It's considered one of the best plays ever put on stage."

"I bet it was from you playing Commander Hurricane, Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said to her idol.

"Most likely," boasted the cyan mare, giving the pegasus filly a playful nuggy. "Thanks, Squirt."

"Oh, Hearth's Warming. That's right," said Tails. He began to recall some of the holiday-related traditions he learned about Equestria from Twilight and the others. "Hearth's Warming is to here as what Christmas is to our worlds and many others."

"You mean you celebrate Hearth's Warming where you're from, too?" Nyx asked.

"Well, in many ways yes, but it's called Christmas," Cosmo explained. "It’s a joyous time of year when our family and friends get together and enjoy various traditions. Both holidays are similar with singing carols, joyous music, giving gifts to loved ones...

"Come to think of it, they also share a similar history, but Christmas is mainly based around..." Cosmo stopped as she saw Nyx craning her head forward, practically as if she was a giraffe. Her eyes were widened and her hunger for knowledge was in full view. Cosmo knew of this look, and feared that she would take up too much focus from the photo album, knowing that Nyx would ask question after question. "I'll tell you all about it another time. Why don't we see what pictures are on the next page-"

"What was your first Christmas like?" Nyx managed to squeeze out a question before Cosmo could close the subject for another time.

"Our first Christmas was... eventful," Tails laughed. "We ended up going to another world where there was trouble on Christmas Eve. Some villains from Kim and Ron's dimension got their hands on the Chaos Emeralds, so we learned about Christmas while battling."

"That's a pretty normal Christmas for us," Cosmo added, both of whom began to laugh together, even if they didn't exactly like that truth.

Before Nyx could get another question out, Velvet intervened and got the focus put back on the photo album. She did so by turning a few more pages that led up to two pages of very different events. On one side, there were four photos of everypony at Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding, including one of the then six members of Twilight's family that Velvet called one of her favorite pictures of all pictures. There was also another photo of the Mane 6 and the newlyweds together, bringing out a couple comments from Rainbow and Twilight after Sweetie Bloom mentioned how beautiful everypony looked.

"Yeah, I know how to make a good picture. Twilight looked pretty good herself."

"Well you're not that bad looking yourself, even if you practically blew the dress Rarity made you right off when you did your Sonic Rainboom."

Both mares immediately went silent and turned red at what they just said. Perhaps, in their minds, that such comments weren't needed to describe one-another, but sometimes anyone could say anything. How close to truth that was lied in the ears of the beholder, and where Twilight began to ask herself why she said what she did, Rainbow felt worse for letting out words that she would save for flirting.

Not that she would ever flirt. She wasn't some kind of flirting filly-fooling pegasus after all.

But the four CMC paid no mind to it for more than a few seconds. Instead they looked at the photos on the second page that began Nyx's timeline in the Sparkle family. It started with a picture of everypony that took part in the play they put on depicting how Celestia and Luna reunited after a thousand years of the latter's banishment as Nightmare Moon. The one on the bottom right was from the Learn & Play Day, the four fillies united with first place ribbons from their tug-of-war competition and their prizes of choice.

The next page turned were very different memories. Jumping right over Nyx's reign as Nightmare Moon, it started with the 'thank-you' party for Nyx after she saved Ponyville from the Everfree Invasion. A few pictures later, there was one of Twilight with Nyx to her left and Spike to the right, herself holding the official document of Nyx's legal adoption. It was one of Twilight's favorites, considering it was taken the day after she came back from Canterlot with the documents officiated. Velvet did make one comment about the photo that no one could forget.

"You know, I questioned this picture very much when I first saw it," she said. The words managed to break in and get Nyx in her heart at how she knew that her extended family did question Twilight's decision to adopt her. "But seeing my family since then, I was never happier to be wrong. Especially to one of my favorite two granddaughters."

"Wait," Apple Bloom said, "you only have two granddaughters, don't ya?"

"Yes," Velvet replied, "but that doesn't mean she isn't one of my favorites."

"Ooookay," Scootaloo said, and the focused her eyes back down on the pictures. She immediately spotted one of the family's most 'interesting' moments following the Crusaders’ attempt to help bring a better Hearth's Warming to Shining and Cadance. It was the Sparkle family in Cadance's hospital room, not too long after her pregnancy was announced. "I remember that day. Who knew putting a princess in a hospital gets you all those weeks of being grounded."

"I know," Sweetie Belle added, groaning at the memory of her own punishment from that mishap. "I never want to spend Winter Wrap-Up working what I did ever again."

Cadance found this wrongfully funny to herself, trying her best to hide a cracking smile behind her hoof. She knew what the fillies meant to do, and she never was upset with them, especially after learning of Discord's 'involvement' with the mistletoe. She was intentionally a victim of a plan gone wrong, but she was glad it ended the way it did as it helped her and Shining Armor.

"Now, now, let's not be upset over an accident," Velvet told the fillies. "Here, let me show you another picture." Using her magic to turn the pages, she found some of the more recent ones placed in the album. It was of the trip everybody took to the Crystal Empire for the Equestria Games. There were several pictures, all showing those of the various groups that were there for the Games from all different dimensions.

But the one Velvet was looking for, one of her new favorites, was from the last day of the trip. It was from that morning before going out to tour the Empire in the royal nursery, and it was an important moment for Velvet. It was the first full family picture since Skyla was born, sans Celestia and Luna. She began to tell why this one was truly special to her, unknowingly that she was going to push boredom on a few fillies began to let out yawns.

/)∞(\

In the confines of his cell, Silver Lining laid in his bunk still awake. He was a little tired, but not enough for him to get some sleep as his eyes gazed out his iron-barred window. It wasn't the biggest window, just open enough to allow the rays of the moonlit night enter his cell, providing him what little light the room had. Luna did indeed provide another blissful night to Equestria, the moon emitting a grand glow as the stars twinkled around it. It was the kind of night that ponies would enjoy soothingly as most slumbered and some living the late-night lifestyle.

Silver did neither of those. All he thought about was what the next few days had to offer: his self-claimed injustice. Nightmare Moon would pick him in tomorrow's criminal lineup, and then he'd be presented before the corrupted Princesses for the start of his trial. Then the trial would take place, and they'd most likely find him guilty for his crime against royalty. That's when his case, and his hired attorney, would be put into action before the eyes of Equestria.

Months traveling around the nation would prepare him for this. This was the ultimate opportunity for him to tell his fellow ponies - to tell the world - of the dangers Nightmare Moon and Twilight Sparkle will cause. He would present his cause before the court and have them bring the proper criminal to justice for endangering ponykind. The only thing needed was the filly to-

"Silver. Silver Lining!"

The unicorn's ears pricked up at the sound of a fairly loud whisper. The volume, easily getting his attention, wasn't quite quiet enough to keep him on alert if any of the guards down the corridor heard it as well. He got up from his bunk and walked to the window, stretching his head up as close as his mouth could reach.

"I see you got the letter. Now watch your volume out there. You're a decibel away from getting caught," Silver snapped.

The voice on the other side hmphed. "Is that a way to treat the one who's trying to keep your flank in one piece? You're the big name in Canterlot right now, but not the way we'd prefer it."

"That's no surprise to me," replied Silver. "However I am surprised you didn't get your attorney to me sooner than he showed up. Considering your connections in the Court-"

"I got you a lawyer, did I not?" snapped the voice on the other side. "You wouldn't even have your traveling or rallying funds if not for me, so don't be telling anypony what to do or how to do it!"

The unicorn behind bars said back "Then watch the volume out there. Any louder and the guards will catch you, and you'll have a hard time explaining yourself for this." He waited until the other pony showed to be silent, and then went on speaking.

"Now look, we're in a good setup right now. The defense attorney isn't offering a deal to accept, and the court will most likely not allow the Princesses preside in a trial because of bias for that filly. That means there will be a judge to preside over it and we can milk this as long as it takes for all of Equestria to stay in the loop. The media will be all over this worse than those reporters that caused the Hearth's Warming catastrophe a couple years ago. I'll preach our minds out to everypony, and we'll make sure Nightmare Moon does no more harm, and the Princesses and Elements of Harmony will fall with her for their foolishness."

"Fine," said the outside pony, "just don't screw this up. I want to see that filly and her mother pay for insulting me and my reputation. I can't be seen during the trial, unless I'm asked by my aunts, so I won't be there to watch things."

"Rest assured, there's nothing to worry about." Silver Lining's ears perked the other direction at the sounds of a door opening down the corridor. "Somepony's coming. Be quiet and get out of here. We'll continue this another night."

Silver quickly got back to his bunk, making sure to make the lowest sound as he got back on his bunk and rolled on with his back facing out. By the time he got himself completely still, the light from the unicorn horn of a Royal Guard emitted into the cell. The Guard walked passed the cell, a quick glance inside the cell for anything out of the ordinary, and then kept going on their way.

Author's Note

Happy Nightmare Night!

Here's a quick new update to end another wonderful Halloween night! This was going to be posted sooner in the day, but unfortunately I got distracted by a couple fantastic holiday videos for two hours, causing a lazy delay, to best put it. This chapter is just meant to be short and sweet while progressing the story some more, and I hope you enjoy it. If all goes as planned, expect a new chapter come Thanksgiving!

Chapter 8: Love in the Mid-Night

Twilight laid comfortably in her bed, her head rested on her pillow as she had her back to the mattress without her wings popping out. It was late into the night, and she could no longer hear the echoing voices of four fillies after she told them to go to bed a few hours ago. The rest of her guests, her family and Tails and Cosmo, all retired to their respective guest rooms shortly after what has been an energetic sleepover for her daughter and her friends. Her castle was in a calm, cool and quiet state.

She, however, could not fall asleep. Try as she might, Twilight could not get herself to sleep, and it bothered her greatly. She had her reasons - several good reasons - to not be able to fall asleep, but it still annoyed her that her entire self wouldn't rest. Her mind had many thoughts racing around it as if her head was a race track. She was concerned with how Nyx was going to handle being in Canterlot tomorrow, or if any criminal pony would pose such a threat that Tails and Cosmo would have to act. The fear that Silver Lining could be a hoof's reach from her family was slowly building up more and more, even though she knew that he couldn't do anything.

But Twilight knew better, and she was fighting those thoughts with more optimistic and realistic reminders. Silver Lining and his followers were locked up behind bars under the watch of the Royal Guard and the SVU. Nyx's injuries were healed and nopony was going to do more to her. They had the protection of Tails and Shining Armor, and the support of all of their friends and family. Twilight had her parents and Cosmo to help provide a calmer atmosphere, and Rainbow Dash was sticking around all she could to help out. Rainbow kept her company, provided her the most support, and offered to do whatever she could to lend a helping hoof. Rainbow showed why she's the pony representing the Element of Loyalty, showing how much she cared. Twilight had her for a shoulder to lean on, a pony to talk to and help keep her in check, to make her feel safe and warm and lo-

Twilight shook her head before her thoughts continued on. She was thinking about Rainbow Dash a lot more than usual, and the cyan pegasus continuously showing up lately, and for some time before, didn't help with that. Those thoughts stuck in her mind for several weeks, but now was not the time for such thoughts. Her main focus was her family and the potential legal ordeal to come, but for that moment especially, to rest for the next day coming. Sadly, the latter focus was not coming easy, and the whirlwind of thoughts would not subside by just lying awake in bed.

"I need a book," she thought to herself, and got up from her bed.

She made her way through the castle, making her way throughout its crystalline corridors towards her personal library. As she walked along, her hoofsteps provided the only audible noise to be heard as each bedroom door she passed gave no sound. Except, at least, the light snoring sounds of Spike as he slept like a rock. It gave Twilight a reassuring smile that everypony else was able to allow themselves to rest, especially Nyx. She did notice the room for Tails and Cosmo cracked open by a mere sliver, but she paid no mind to it other than that.

As she walked down the stairs, her stomach gave an audible growling sound. She would've thought a meal cooked up by her mother would have satisfied her stomach until lunch tomorrow, but it seemed to be otherwise. Twilight decided to divert herself to the kitchen and prepare a small snack to take with her.

To her surprise, she found a light glowing out from the kitchen entrance as she approached it. Until that sight, her only source of light came from a small magical glow on the tip of her horn, illuminating her surrounds in a familiar shade of lavender. When she got closer, she stopped using her magic and let that light guide her the rest of the way. Twilight turned the corner into the kitchen to find a certain pegasus mare at the counter chowing down on a plate of leftovers with a pint of cider to her side.

"Rainbow Dash? What are you still doing up?" Twilight asked, unintentionally startling her friend.

"Whuh?" The pegasus turned her head surprised as she had her mouth full of food. She forcefully swallowed to clear her mouth and replied back. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to have some of your mom's awesome cooking." She took a quick drink of her cider to quench her thirst.

"Oh," Twilight said, "that's alright. I just assumed you were either asleep or you went back to your home."

Rainbow said back flatly "Nah. Like I told you, Twi, I'm gonna stick by your side until this whole thing with that pain-in-the-flank Silver Lining is over with. I'd do it for anypony, especially for my friends and their families."

The purple mare smiled hearing her say that, seeing the Element of Loyalty being worn on Rainbow's chest like a medal. It meant so much to have those frequent reminders of how close their friendship was. "I know you would, Rainbow. Thank you."

She then felt her stomach two different things. First, it began to feel as if she had butterflies at the knowledge of how dedicated Rainbow was to anypony, to her family... to herself. Then it began to give off an audible rumbling sound, reminding her of her hunger from her trip down in the first place. That caused her to laugh embarrassingly and say "Hehe, sorry. I almost forgot why I'm here."

"You hungry, too? I still have some of the leftovers out if you want a plate."

"No thanks, I'm not that hungry. I was only getting a snack and then going to read in my library for a little while." Twilight paused briefly, thinking of how nice her friend's company could be. "You can join me, if you'd want to that is."

"Sure," Rainbow replied, doing her best to keep her own butterfly-filling stomach in check. "Grab your food and I’ll follow you."

After nodding, Twilight made her way to the kitchen's super-sized pantry that held enough foods to be able to provide a great feast if an event called for it. She found her cravings - half of a whole carrot cake made by Pinkie Pie and the Carrot clan - and cut two slices to put on a large plate. After preparing that and getting the necessary silverware, she levitated it all in her magic and led herself and her mare-

Twilight walked her way to the library with Rainbow Dash behind her. The walk wasn't as long as the way from her room to the kitchen, just far enough to not be caught in the hustling sounds of the more active castle space. The two mares entered the library, and the alicorn used magic to ignite a few candle lanterns that hung around the room for some light, and then she did the same with her fireplace. When that was lit, it was giving off a special kind of flame that glowed a shade of lavender. But it was Rainbow that noticed the fire's more intriguing action other than its glow.

"Does that fire... smell?"

Twilight chuckled, and then replied with "Yes, it is. It's a special kind of fireplace log Lumber Jack gave us as a gift for my Princess coronation. These logs are infused with lavender oil and emit a scent when lit, so I always have Spike put a fresh log in here when it's empty because I'm the only one who'd want to use the fireplace when reading."

"Really?" Rainbow said curiously. "But what about when it's cold out?"

"We'll compromise if Spike, Nyx and I use the library together. 'Jack gave us such a great deal on different logs last Hearth's Warming that we brought back a few extra logs of our own to Ponyville. Nyx got the candy cane logs, and Spike... I think he got the ones that were a shade of white." Twilight paused her explanation to try and recall what exact shade of white Lumber Jack said it was. "Royal White... no. Moonlit- no, wait! Marshmallow white."

A teasing smirk crossed the pegasus's mouth as her eyebrow arched. "Marshmallow white, huh? You mean like Rarity's coat color? He hasn't given up on her yet? That chase isn't going to end well if he keeps going for-"

"Rainbow!" Twilight practically scolded her friend for her statements, but paused herself in order to keep a laughter from escaping. "I didn't even make that connection. He just chose his logs and I didn't think second of it."

"Well, for an egghead you certainly are oblivious," teased Rainbow again. Her humor, however, didn't reward her with a laugh from her friend.

"Ha-ha, very funny," the alicorn said, sarcasm heavy in her tone. Her tone lightened up as she added "Make yourself comfortable while I get a book."

The pegasus mare laid down on a rug that sat near the fireplace, placing herself in front of the plate with the carrot cake. Twilight set the plate there so she could navigate with better focus to find her desired book, a book that she had left in her saddle bag for the last few days. When she found her bag and got her book, she returned to Rainbow Dash, who already took a good bite from her slice of cake. She paid no mind to it, only a playful roll of her eyes and placing herself on the rug to Rainbow's left. The book was still hovering in magic, the front facing both mares.

Laws & Declarations of Equestrian Government; Revision #26.

Rainbow read the title, and the commented with "That doesn't sound like an action-adventure book."

"It isn't: it's the up-to-date laws for all of Equestria. I was reading this when you came to tell me about those ponies at Nyx's castle. Maybe some more knowledge on this information could help me relax enough to get some sleep soon," Twilight explained.

"Only you could relax by the rules, Egghead," teased the cyan mare. Secretly, she thought it was cute to see Twilight look so enthusiastic to read a book.

The alicorn paid her friend no mind about the joke and focused on opening her book to where she left off before. She reached the desired pages quickly - the Special Victims Unit section - scanning the words to where she could pick up again and began to read. The knowledge before her was important, and she wanted to learn it. She wanted to read all she could that night, to put her focus on expanding her always thirsty knowledge for a better understanding for Equestria's law and order.

It did not help to have Rainbow Dash right next to her overlooking.

Nevertheless, she pushed her attention onto her book. Nyx could need the new knowledge to help with what was to come the next day, and Twilight Sparkle would not fail her daughter. She got through most of the more adult-related crimes and regulations, having read most of it already. It was only a couple pages before she reached the next section under the SVU section: child-based crimes. This was now very unfamiliar territory for her to go through and mentally ingest. It made her spine crawl and body shiver, the goose bumps hidden underneath her lavender coat.

Rainbow was finishing off her slice of carrot cake with one more big bite, savoring the flavor. Her cheeks were still stuffed with the cake when she noticed her friend's shiver down the spine. It didn't make sense to her, not with the fire that was so close to the two mares. At the same time, this gave her a window to work with, to show a little more open care. She had an idea, a great idea to do more for her special somepo- her best friend. Without much thought of hesitation, she acted.

Rainbow scooted closer to Twilight, the alicorn not noticing, extended out her left wing, and had it lay across Twilight's back.

Twilight had her attention shifting from her reading to the cyan wing now across her back. This wasn't the first time she had a friend drape a wing on her, especially during the rougher moments of her life. In this case, though, she felt her heart race a little faster than usual. A quiet library, a roaring fire, a book of new knowledge, and her beautiful mare-

If she didn't know better, Twilight believed she was experiencing a moment of romance with Rainbow Dash. She didn't know how to react to this except to turn her head to her right, unknowing becoming muzzle-to-muzzle with her friend. Both mares turned to look at one-another at the same time, and when their eyes met, they shied their focuses away almost immediately. They also felt their faces turn red as their cheeks began to feel warmer out of embarrassment.

Rainbow braved herself to speak up first. "Hope you don't mind putting my wing over you. I thought you were cold from that shiver you had."

Twilight felt her cheeks get even warmer from hearing that, but she shook it off so she could say something back. "Thank you, but I wasn't shivering because I was cold. It was from something I was reading."

"Something you were reading?"

"Yeah... it's the child abuse laws."

Rainbow's eyes widened upon hearing that subject. "Oh," she managed to say, trying to fight the urge to shiver herself. "I guess that can make anypony's skin crawl."

"I know," agreed Twilight. "Normally the knowledge of these laws would just be good to know, but right now... I need to make sure I know everything I can to make sure what happened to Nyx doesn't happen again. Plus, it will help me understand what can happen if this goes to court."

"That makes sense," Rainbow said. An uncomfortable silence fell as both mares didn't know what to say next. Twilight's eyes managed to find their way back down into her book, her attempt to get back to her reading, while Rainbow Dash looked around room trying to find something to say. There was one question she had in mind, although hesitant to ask it at all. Still, she did want to know what her friend was thinking about what could happen soon.

"Do you think it will?"

Twilight's reading was interrupted again as she lifted her gaze back to rainbow-maned pegasus. "What?"

"This whole thing going to court. Do you think it will happen?"

"Well, it could but..." Twilight paused, her expression shifting into sadness at the mere thought of a trial. "I hope it doesn't. I couldn't make Nyx goes through with that."

"Well, me too," Rainbow said, "but I don't get why it would. Silver Lining was caught red-hoofed and as far as we know isn't denying anything. If he's saying he did what he did he's straight-up guilty, right?"

"Not exactly. There are several ways he could try to work around being punished. If he can then court would be the best way to fight his claims. He could fight that what he did to us was justifiable and not wrong, but it would be up to a judge or jury to decide that after hearing what everypony would have to say," explained the lavender alicorn.

"Wow. That's..." Rainbow was about to make her comment when her friend readjusted herself. Her wing was still extended over Twilight's back, and she had made herself more comfortable, snuggling deeper down and allowing more of the wing to drape across the back. It was a long time since she could recall having her wing lay down across a pony's back, so long that Rainbow couldn't even remember who her last special somepony.

"That's what, Rainbow?"

Twilight's voice snapped her back to their current conversation. "Oh, um, I was saying... that's... that's dumb. Yeah, like really dumb. Some dumb, stupid pony like Silver Lining shouldn't have any good reason for doing what he did. That's so dumb I can't compare it to anything else," Rainbow responded, speaking swiftly and nervously. Her cheeks blushed bright red and most of her body tried to twitch, all saving the draped wing.

"Ooookay?" was all Twilight could reply with as she looked at her friend curiously. Reading Rainbow wasn't always difficult to her understanding, but now she just couldn't figure it out. What was going on with the pegasus mare was a new complexity of actions and emotions she had never seen before. Rather than put herself in a mental strain to understand, she decided to say to her "Look, Rainbow Dash... I don't know how late I plan to stay up and read, so if you want to go to one of the guest rooms and sleep before tomorrow, don't mind-"

"No! I mean, no, no..." Rainbow responded, almost panicking again. "I don't mind staying up with you, Twi. It's all up to you, of course, but I thought that maybe you'd like the company. I can listen to all the egg-he-" She cut herself off, trying not to sound insulting about the alicorn's intelligence, at least not presently. "I can be a lending ear for you to talk to, maybe help out." She then mused with "My wing's starting to feel numb draped across your back, anyway."

The lavender alicorn laughed a little before replying. "Well your wing does make a nice blanket. I learned that pegasi wing is a pony's most comfortable and natural blanket, especially for when they care about somepony a lot. I can't say I know that from experience myself, but it does feel nice to be on the covered end, as it were." With a heartfelt smile, she said "Thanks, Dash. I'm glad you've been there for me and my family."

"Hey, no big deal."

"It is to me. Thank you."

"Sure thing, Twi. I'll always be there for you."

The two mares began staring at each other, the pegasus's cheeks becoming redder and hotter as the alicorn's cheeks began to react the same. If their minds could read one-another's, they would be sharing the same thoughts and feelings for what their eyes were staring at. In their eyes, they each saw a caring, loyal, beautiful, amazing pony. Little did they notice were their heads leaning in, slowly getting closer and closer as their upper eyelids began to slowly droop down, their hearts rapidly increasing in pace. They came within an inch between muzzles before they realized what their unconsciously intentions were becoming and snapped them back into reality, becoming wide-eyed as their pupils became pin-pricked. They each darted their heads in opposite directions, avoiding contact for several moments or however long it felt like until they felt themselves calm down as much as possible.

"Sooo..." Twilight said, sounding very awkward in her tone, "I was about to move on from the descriptions of crimes and offenses and move on to the consequences and punishments established into law. You still don't mind listening?"

"What? No! No, go ahead. I'm all ears," Rainbow answered, acting just as awkward.

Using her muzzle, Twilight flipped the next page of her book to the next section of laws she had mentioned about. She began to read her book aloud as Rainbow tried to follow reading the text in the book. However, as proven during her studies for the Wonderbolts Reserves exam, neither reading nor listening would help her mentally ingest everything, yet she did not care. All she cared about was helping Twilight. It would probably split her mind in half just trying to comprehend all this information, but she was willing to try. Every now and again reiteration was needed, but the intellectual alicorn showed no mind of breaking down the information or even providing an example.

The two mares would get little sleep that night as they studied and talked into the wee hours of the night, all the while Rainbow Dash's wing stretched out over her friend's back, and eventually Twilight Sparkle leaning her head against the comfortable cushion she found against her friend's soft neck.

/)∞(\

"Well they're almost there. Seems like they're still too nervous."

"You're eavesdropping, aren't you?"

Tails and Cosmo were laid on top of their bedspread comfortably in one of the castle's spare bedrooms. Where they were was directly under Nyx's room, and it wasn't until a little while ago that they could overhear the four fillies staying up after being told to go to sleep. The couple didn't mind the muffled noise above, but Tails still took it upon himself to quiet the fillies down earlier with the harmless threat of using his "Super Saiyan magic" to force them to sleep. The tease, and the knowledge what a powered-up kitsune like him could do, was enough to have the girls fall asleep willingly.

When Tails had returned to the suite and gotten comfortable with Cosmo again, he sensed movement. It was one of the benefits of his training to feel the energy and magical aura of those who emit great strength. Since his time in Equestria, he had managed to do something unprecedented and adapt that sense with Equestrian magic. What he was sensing that night was the natural magic of two awake ponies, and noticing how one was significantly stronger, he knew one of them had to be Twilight. As for knowing who the other pony was, he was familiar enough with the other energy source to know it was Rainbow Dash.

His sense was confirmed with one last trick of his, and that was using his own energy to enhance his naturally inclined fox hearing. The voices still sounded muffled like the four fillies upstairs, but not enough for him not to translate. This was a talent of his that his beloved flower was never too keen on since she learned about it during a previous adventure, a mission against the Metarex in the world of the samurai simply known as Jack. Having such abilities, however, never changed his beloved's views on his occasional misuses. Tails was familiar with that tone, a very rare tone he's only heard once if not twice before: Cosmo's disappointment.

"What did I tell you about eavesdropping with your enhanced hearing?" she said to him, her head slowly rising up from resting on the fox's chest. "That's an invasion of property, Tails. They're our friends!"

Tails wore a forced and worried grin as he remaining on the bed. "Cosmo, I was only-"

"No buts, Miles." Tails's smirked disappeared and he almost gulped in nervousness. "Twilight and Rainbow Dash are not your focus for entertainment right now. Nyx comes first, and you shouldn’t need to eavesdrop on something that's none of your business. You know better than that."

Tails was about to reply nervously, but in one of the rarest moments of their relationship, he pulled out his trump card for defense. It wasn't his usual tactic, but in a case such as this, he felt best to shed some of his own light. "You mean like how you overheard Sonic and I having a chat in the workshop?"

Cosmo became stunned, her cheeks beginning to blush out of embarrassment. She hmphed, turned her head to the side and crossed her arms.

"You were curious about why Sonic was over for what was probably the tenth time that day, and you walked down part way of the stairs. We didn't hear you come down, but you were listening to us: eavesdropping on us. You heard about Sonic's plan to propose to Amy, and the next day you accidentally spilled the beans and told the girls what you heard." The fox leaned himself up, trying to angle himself to look towards her face. "You're just as guilty for listening into things as I am, you know."

"Well... well, this is different!" Cosmo attempted to argue. "You're intentionally listening with your powers from across a giant crystalline castle."

"And you did the same thing on the stairs," Tails rebutted.

"And I'm starting to notice that you're becoming too much like Sonic, which isn't exactly who the Miles Prower I love is," she replied with a glare.

With that, the fox felt taken aback. It was true that his older brother had an influence on him in more ways than one, for it was partly how he developed his own bravery and perseverance. On the other hand, he knew that not all influences are entirely positive on his own actions. Seeing what his love had meant, he leaned himself all the way up, looking for the sight of her beautiful, even when angry, blue eyes.

"Alright, I get it," Tails said, "maybe I was being too snide with what I said. I'm sorry for that, but there's something I want you to understand. My eavesdropping isn't entirely to know what's going on between Twilight and Rainbow Dash for kicks. Those two have feelings for each other, and it's starting to show during this whole conflict with Nyx's attackers. Doesn't that remind you of another couple who became close during a conflict? Us?"

Cosmo's attention turned from disappointed to curious. She returned her focus onto her fox, only to find his eyes half-shut and looking downward as he continued. "I know we're here for Nyx, but we're here for them, too. When we fell in love is not too different than how those two downstairs are right now. They were both already abused by those ponies by Night Stone Castle, and I can bet they'll come closer together if this whole thing ends up in court. I don't want them to reach a point where they're down to a last resort to change the outcome, and one throws themselves out there as a martyr for everypony. I don't want one of them to lose their life in some way, like how the Brotherhood of Darkness intervened and took you away from me. It could break them apart and no one deserves that heartache, especially their friends or Nyx.

"I get it, though. What I'm doing with my abilities is unnecessary and wrong. Call me some paranoid fox, but I just see myself being alert. Besides, they're not my only focus." His ears began to flicker a couple different directions on their own, as if randomly navigating. "I'm keeping my eyes open throughout the whole castle. No one will get in or out without me knowing."

Cosmo didn't say anything right away, taking in and thinking over Tails's explanation. It was usually the same kind of conversation the couple would have from time to time, especially when caught in some kind of conflict. Most times the fox would have a good reason for his behavior, but this time was a very rare instance of using his abilities beyond needed. He also made a valid defense about eavesdropping on others, and she still felt some levels of regret for snooping in on Tails and Sonic a few weeks ago. With that in mind, Cosmo was one to argue about the subject.

Yet the more detailed reasons he had for listening in on Twilight and Rainbow Dash were given a justification she never thought of before. She didn't see what could be blossoming romance between their pony friends as similar to how she and her beloved fox became an item, with all the tragedies and heartaches thrown in. For a moment, the idea of eavesdropping to protect others sounded like the right thing to do, to make sure it wouldn't have more than negative results. Above that, him having his hearing always monitoring for unseen problems was a smart and clever tactic for their friends' safety. It never ceased to amaze her just how selfless and reliant of a friend and warrior Tails makes himself for those he cares about, and he would go the farthest beyond just for her.

Deep down, she knew what he was doing, and after considering his words and reasons, her eyes and turned upon the fox sitting up next to her. "Fine. You have your reasons for keeping your hearing abilities up," she said, a gentle smile forming on her face, "and I'm proud of you for doing that. That reassures me how safe Twilight and her family will be until this matter is settled. But Tails, please just leave your hearing for security purposes, and not for listening in where you shouldn't. Deal?"

Tails nodded gently in agreement. "Deal," he replied, and the two leaned in to each other. Their lips came together for a brief and love-filled kiss, a small romantic way for them to put their quarrel behind them. There have been a multitude of disagreements they've had with each other, but never have they escalated their problems into full-blown arguments. In all the time they've spent together, there were never really fights, just the butting of views that involved finding compromise.

When their lips parted, the two looked into one-another's eyes for a moment before he broke the silence. "Let's try to get some sleep. We've got a long day in Canterlot tomorrow."

"Alright," Cosmo replied soothingly. She waited for her love to lay back down on the bed before making herself comfortable. She snuggled against his left, her left arm draped across his chest and her head within the crook of his neck. "Good night, Tails."

"Good night, Cosmo," he said, a relaxed grin across his face. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied, and the two began to drift off to sleep.

Chapter 4: Nyx's Last Visitors

Nyx sat up in her hospital bed crossly. According to the doctors of the hospital, and the aided data from Dr. Eggman, she had made a full recovery hours ago, and she could feel it. Nothing felt broken anymore, her soreness had faded away, and she didn't feel any single thing out of the ordinary; except, that is, the increased strength in her magical and physical health. The doctors still questioned how this was possible, mainly because alicorn health was barely outside of their expertise. They requested that she would have to stay another day or two, three at the maximum, for further study and observations.

Nyx was not happy about this at all. She felt fine, better than ever in fact, but she couldn't leave. She wanted nothing more than do something that didn't involve sitting around and feeling useless in her actions, something the Children of Nightmare did for her back when she believed to me Nightmare Moon. At least she was not without company, as not only did Twilight not leave the hospital at all and was visited by some of the princess's best friends, but Spike and Rainbow Dash took turns sticking around while having their own responsibilities to uphold. Sadly, even that didn't elevate Nyx's negative mood.

"It's not fair," Nyx whined as her forearms were crossed and wore a pouty expression. "If I feel all better, then I don't need to be here anymore. I want to go home."

Twilight, understanding the filly's frustration, looked at her with a sympathetic look. "Nyx, you heard Dr. Monitor. He just needs to look over you for just a while longer and nothing else, then you'll be able to go home."

The filly just looked up with the same expression. "But I'm tired of being stuck in this stupid bed. I want to go home and read, go back to school and learn, and see my friends and have fun. We were going to do some crusading and have a sleepover."

"I know, Nyx," the purple mare said, nuzzling her daughter's cheek in hopes to cool down the noticeable rising temper. It did little help, but enough to change the filly's pout into a calm, but still sad, expression. "I'm sure your friends miss you, too. The last few days have been long for everypony, and I'm sure they're worried about you." She quietly thought to herself about how her friends broke the news to the other fillies, not once asking about it when her friends stopped by to visit. Breaking out of her thoughts, she added "They know you'd need your rest, and will wait until-"

A sudden knock on the door caught the alicorns off guard. They then the muffled voice of Rainbow Dash, asking if anypony was awake, which Twilight confirmed and allowed her friend to enter the room with the door open just enough to allow Rainbow through. The pegasus stood by the open door and looked over at the pouting filly.

"Hey, Nyx, feeling all better yet?"

Nyx humphed at Rainbow's unintentional question. Twilight replied to her friend with "She is, but she still has another day or two before she can go home."

"Still not fair," Nyx grumbled to herself.

Rainbow's face went from showing concern to smirking a devilish grin. "Hey, cheer up, kid. I was stuck in here a few times, too, so I know how much it stinks to sit around. I'm glad I had your mom help me out by finding a way to pass the time. Plus, I did have something else that helped out a bit from time to time."

Curiosity getting the best of her, but still acting cross, Nyx looked back up and asked "Like what?"

"Well..." Rainbow teased around with a pause for dramatic effect. She knew she was playfully getting under the skin of both alicorns, and a few others not inside the room.

"Come on, Rainbow Dash! We want to see Nyx!" A voice yelled from the other side of the door, with a very identifiable squeak as it spoke.

Still wearing her grin, the cyan mare used a hind leg to kick the door wide open to reveal Nyx's best friends; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, the former wearing a saddlebag, and the latter being the one whining to be let in. The biggest smile crossed Nyx's face as the trio raced into the room and surrounded each side of the bed. It was great to have her aunts/godmothers visit so often, but she was beginning to doubt that she wouldn't see her friends until she would be released from the hospital.

"Howdy, Nyx," Apple Bloom said. "How are you holdin' up here?"

"I'm fine. I'm stuck here, but I'm pretty much all better," Nyx replied.

"Wait, you're better, but you can't leave?" Scootaloo asked. Nyx gave a quick summary of what the doctors wanted to do with monitoring her. "That doesn't make sense. But, whatever, I'm not a doctor."

"We're just glad you're alright," Sweetie Belle said. "Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash took us to your house, and we were told about everything that happened to you. We were so worried about you and wanted to get here sooner, but we had to wait."

Twilight became a little confused. She knew that they had to wait until Nyx was awake and wouldn't be interrupted of rest, but she thought that they'd actually visit sooner than this. "Rainbow, do you know why they waited so long?" she asked.

Still wearing her grin, she motioned her head towards the still open door and replied "Well, we thought it would be best to have a chaperon for each of them."

Then, two others appeared on the other side of the door. Their presence put both Twilight and Nyx's faces in the happiest expressions possible at the sight of who walked their way in. With smiling faces and much needed relief to see the little black filly alright was Tails and Cosmo, heroes of Mobius and Equestria, and best friends of the Sparkle family.

"Good to see you're alright, Nyx," greeted the two-tailed fox. He then began to bow to the princess and say "Twilight, We-"

"Don't even bother bowing," Twilight interrupted with a demanding, yet happy, tone in her voice. She walked up to the two and added "I'm just glad to see you here," and gave each of them a welcoming hug.

"We wouldn't want to be anywhere else," Cosmo said kindly. "The moment we heard about Nyx, we wrapped up things we were in the middle of at home and got here as quick as possible."

"And we thought we'd double the surprise with both the Crusaders and us coming here at the same time," Tails added humorously.

Twilight wore the strongest of smiles. It meant the world to have her five best friends from home be right by her side for support at the start, and it felt the same to have her best friends from beyond Equestria there for support as well. "Thank you."

Cosmo smiled back before making her way over to the hospital bed. She stood in the spot where Twilight had parked herself for most of the last few days, looking down at the filly with the brightest turquoise eyes she'd ever seen. Nyx, looking back up as the happiest pony in the world at the moment, fought herself from jumping out of the bed and hug Cosmo, but the couple IVs still hooked up to her held her back from doing so.

"How's my favorite little pony feeling? Dr. Eggman told us you were as good as new now," said the Seedrian. "I did overhear that you were back at full strength."

"Yeah," Nyx replied, "just stuck here for another day or so."

Still smiling, Cosmo said "Well I'm just glad to see you alright. Tails and I were very worried about you, but now we're here to help." She then leaned down, and she and Nyx shared a tight hug together. "Now we're not leaving your side until this whole thing is done and over with. If there's anything you need, just say the word and we'll help make it happen."

"And that goes double for us," Scootaloo added, followed by the trio of fillies to jump up and join in on the hug. It wasn't hard to hear Nyx sniffling at the emotions from the levels of support she was being given.

Tails, Twilight and Rainbow Dash stood where they were watching the adorable moment. The purple mare couldn't help but allow a couple of tears to slip out of her eyes, managing to brush one of the sides away with her hoof. The other, however, was cleaned off with the aid of a noticing Rainbow Dash, whose control of 'sappiness' was starting to slip again, with the use of a wing tip. Tails, who kept himself collected like Cosmo, caught the moment in the corner of his eye, trying to hide a knowing grin.

"Twilight, if you don't mind me asking," said the fox, "I heard you got bucked. Are you feeling sore or-"

"No," Twilight interrupted. "Just... upset, but more on the angry side. I can tolerate how some ponies feel about Nyx, but what he did..." She paused, her words starting to seethe out of her. "I never tolerate abuse."

"And neither do we," Tails stated. He also spoke with a mad, almost unsettling tone. If the fillies weren't in the room, he would've let his mood out fully other than barely. "We've seen this kind of behavior before, and that includes away from fighting an enemy in battle. It almost never gets easier, but the sad thing that's made it easier is dealing with it so much with our friends by our side." He made his tone change to a much lighter, more determined sound. "And that's why we're here now. Cosmo and I have decided that, until this whole mess is taken care of, we're staying in Ponyville to help however we can."

"You are?" Rainbow asked.

"Absolutely," Cosmo confirmed, she and Nyx overhearing.

Twilight then said "That means so much for you to offer that, but I couldn't ask you to do that. The fact that you're here now and sent your friend to come here and help Nyx means so much as it is. I wouldn't want you to have to leave Mobius and stay here. There's no telling how long this could last."

Tails didn't say anything at first. Instead his mind recalled the memories of when he first met the love of his life, and how her calling for heroes lead to the first war against the Metarex back in their home galaxy. It was a war with the bitterest end, yet contained some of his favorite memories of the time spent with Cosmo, in both best and worst situations.

Then he thought of the message they received from Spike, forwarded by Celestia. There was a new crisis going on, a near unthinkable one for the dimension of friendship-empowered ponies, and knowing how close their two worlds have become, the Princess wanted to make sure they were informed. He knew that no amount of heroes and warriors in Team JAG could prevent every single crisis that can occur, or the said team wouldn't exist, but it didn't stop him from step up and make sure the current crisis was put to rest, once and for all at best.

"Twilight," Tails began again, "you're one of our best friends, and Nyx and your world mean so much to us. We don't want to leave. We want to stay and make sure our friends get through this, and do whatever we can to support."

Twilight grinned, touched by how the support her friends were giving just kept building. Before she could reply to him, Nyx spoke up and caught her attention. "Mom, can they please stay? I really want them to."

The purple mare nodded. "Of course they can stay." That put a grin across her daughter's face bigger than before, a shine of happiness that meant a lot to have. It was also a big sense of relief, knowing that two friends that were greatly known for being interdimensional heroes, including Equestria. As much as the thought wasn't wanted, knowing that they would be around for a while made Twilight feel much safer, especially for Nyx.

Then, a thought that was barely lingering in both Nyx and Twilight's curious minds became stronger. They both noticed the saddlebag Apple Bloom was wearing, unsure why she had it, unless it had something to do with the hospital visit. Twilight asked Rainbow Dash about it, but the pegasus only wore a smile and said nothing. Nyx then decided to ask her friend "Apple Bloom, why do you have a saddlebag?"

"Because we brought a gift for you," replied the little earth pony. "When we found out that you were in the hospital, we wanted to do somethin' that would help you cheer up a bunch."

Sweetie Belle, using her magic, opened the saddlebag and lifted out what was inside. It was a closed, but not sealed, envelope that was larger than a normal-sized envelope and decorated with little things that Nyx would like, mainly crude drawings of books and smiling pony faces, with a couple stickers that included a guitar, for her enjoyment of Tails and his friends' interdimensional music group. The alicorn filly smiled as she took a moment to look at all the different images on the envelope, until Sweetie Belle encouraged her to open it up.

Nyx lifted the flap and pulled out what was inside with her own magic. It was a card - in actuality, a folded half-cut piece of white poster paper - that had the words "Dear Nyx," written in script on it, along with drawings of her cutie mark and the Cutie Mark Crusaders logo in the bottom two corners. It was all surrounded by a trim of pink construction paper, which had a familiar six-pointed star cut out around it every inch or so where the inner trim pointed, modeled after the top few points of Nyx's shield.

When she opened it up, it was like looking at a Sonic Rainbomb as almost the entire inside was covered with all different colored words and drawings. What it shared with the cover was the pink trim, but this time with no cut-out stars, and elegant script in the center, most likely written before the poster was folded in half, that read "We all miss you. Get well soon!" She noticed the same script underneath that and just right of the crease. It was a signature, more specifically Miss Cheerilee's signature, and a pen drawing of a smiling flower, much like what she had on her cutie mark.

That's when Nyx realized where this card was from, and that was her classmates and friends from Ponyville Elementary School. Her eyes darted around at all the different drawings and signatures, all of them different colors that helped each one stand out on their own. She found signatures from Twist, Ditzy, Snips and Snails, Feather Weight, Rumble, Snowstar; all of them and more had a place on the card. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo signed it as well, taking up the whole top left corner for their names and drawings of all their faces and Nyx's. Judging by the art style, she assumed it was Apple Bloom who drew it, since it looked similar to the drawing her friend made after she saved Ponyville from the Attack of Everfree.

The more she looked around at the card, the more she loved it. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that ponies were worried about her being safe, unlike the ponies who were worried for her repeating Nightmare Moon's actions. After giving it a good look at every corner, she let it down low enough so she could look at her friends.

"This card is great," Nyx said happily. "I love it!"

"We were expectin' you would," Apple Bloom replied. "We couldn't leave ya stuck in here without somethin' nice to look at."

"Yeah, and when we told everypony at school about it, they wanted to help too," added Sweetie Belle.

"Well, almost everypony," Scootaloo stated with a sour, mad look on her face.

Nyx's face began to wear a curious look. "Almost everypony? Was someone unable to-" She stopped herself as she took another look inside the card, swearing she saw all her friends from school sign it. Turns out she was right, but there were two classmates whose names were completely absent. "Oh... Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They didn't sign the card."

"That's putting it lightly," Sweetie Belle commented. "Those two kept on being jerks the whole time."

It was a sad understatement about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They never liked Nyx, not ever since she starting going to class, and it got especially worse after Nightmare Moon's reign. They would bully and insult her at any given opportunity, whether it would be in school or not. It didn't help that Diamond Tiara held a grudge towards Nyx for taking her father away to serve the former queen, nor did she care that the classmate she loathed was hurt.

In fact, she praised it as good news.

/)∞(\

After finding out about Nyx, the trio of Cutie Mark Crusaders felt horrible. One of their fellow Crusaders, one of their best friends, was beaten and was sitting in the hospital; none of them could understand it, even with what they knew about their friend. Worst of all, they felt helpless, unable to go to Nyx and help solve such a problem. That, however, changed when they reminded themselves that Crusaders always stick together, and always find a way to help each other out.

It was during school when they got the idea of making an art project for Nyx, something bright and colorful to cheer her up. They asked Miss Cheerilee if she had any blank posters to use, and explained their intentions. Their teacher loved their idea, and she pulled out a large folded poster from her desk, in a drawer where she kept extra drawing supplies for big class projects, and cut the poster in half and gave it to the trio. With their blank canvas in hoof, they grabbed some of their art supplies from their desks - crayons, colored pencils, stickers, everything they had - and went outside to join the rest of their classmates for recess. They got themselves set up on the picnic table and got right to work.

Their work soon grabbed the attention of other fillies and colts, the first of whom being Twist. Others began to follow suit and asked what was going on, being told by one of the Crusaders, and then asked to join in, too. Halfway through recess, nearly all of them were packed around the table and either waited for their turn or to see the ongoing work and overall project. That was all put to a halt the moment Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked over.

Immediately, the two were bothersome as they asked what lame thing was going on, which Scootaloo explained how Nyx wasn't feeling well and they were making a collage of drawings for her. Diamond Tiara scoffed at the idea, having heard that the alicorn filly was at the hospital from her father talking to some customers at the family's store, Barnyard Bargains. She then went on to say how it was a 'Blessing' that 'Nightmare Moon' was out of school, and how Nyx deserved what she got.

Apple Bloom jumped out of her seat and walked over towards the two bullies, telling them that nopony deserved to be treated like a punching bag. Silver Spoon, however, responded with how Nyx didn't deserve any attention, but deserved to be forgotten about like the 'Nightmare' she said Nyx is. Scootaloo jumped in and said that they didn't care about what they thought, told Apple Bloom to come back to working on the poster, and asked the two bullies to leave them alone.

The yellow filly turned around and made her way back to her seat, but not before giving the two a glare that said "Get lost." The Crusaders and their classmates began to resume work on Nyx's gift, but Diamond Tiara was not done with them yet. She didn't like how all her classmates were trying to do something nice for the alicorn she despised so much, nor did she like being ignored. Unknown to her, an open window nearby caught somepony's attention from inside the schoolhouse.

Then, Diamond Tiara found her tools to make sure the class couldn't finish their project. She instructed Silver Spoon to bring over a large rock that sat nearby, and then found an opening to jump in between a couple fillies, and took another good look at what the poster had so far. It was bright, colorful, covered in positivity, and anything that could make Nyx smile; it made her sick to her stomach. She seized her opportunity to pull her dirty trick, with emphasis on dirty.

She grabbed the poster and yanked it off the table, and then jumped back down on the floor and ran over a few feet away. There was a mud puddle left behind from a recent rainy day, and even though it had dried for the most part, there was still a fair amount of mud still wet sitting in the center. Silver Spoon stood on one side of the puddle with the fetched rock as Diamond Tiara came up to it and dropped the poster into the mud face down, ruining all the hard work the class had put into it. To add onto that, she walked around next to Silver Spoon, and both picked up the rock and threw it on top of the now muddy poster.

"Nyx doesn't deserve care, she deserves nothing. You're all losers for calling her a good pony, because she's, like, the farthest from that. I hope she stays in that hospital and doesn't come back out."

With those words said, Diamond Tiara's plan came to reality. She ruined the now infuriated Cutie Mark Crusaders' present for Nyx, and now the injured filly would get nothing. It took everything that four classmates had to hold Apple Bloom back, even more for Scootaloo, but Sweetie Belle didn't try to pick a fight, for she decided to try and fight herself off from crying and run inside the school house for their teacher.

Little did any of the fillies and colts know was that Cheerilee had overheard, and saw, everything that happened after Diamond Tiara first began to talk.

The mulberry mare had immediately walked out the door, and sternly and crossly yelled out Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's names. This caught everypony's attention and left the entire playground in silence and speechlessness. After telling the two bullies to go in the schoolhouse and wait for her, she stepped over to the muddy poster frowning, pulling it out with a hoof and seeing that it couldn't be cleaned off and redone, let alone repaired. The rock put a hole in the middle and left seems of crumple marks spanning around it. It chipped heavily at her heart, such a wonderful gesture having to now be thrown away.

But, she took a good look at the trio of friends Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, all of whom looking the same. Their eyes were dilated and saddened, tears under each one as they fought hard not to cry, with the little white unicorn caving in and broke out crying. Their best friend was hurt and their efforts to make her feel better was now a muddy mess. Seeing that, and the rest of her saddened students, did not settle well with her, especially with what she'll have to talk about to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

But she decided that instead of looking on the negative, she would do two things: report her two troublesome students to their parents, and provide the items needed to start the project anew.

/)∞(\

The trio didn't want to bother Nyx with the details of what Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had done, so they decided to keep the focus on the card and not on what almost wasn't. "So, Nyx, what do you think? You like it?" Scootaloo asked.

"I already said I love it," Nyx replied, slightly confused by her friend asking that. She shook off the feeling as she looked at the card once more before folding it and setting it down in front of her. "Thank you so much, girls. This means so much to me."

"Of course," Sweetie Belle squeaked. "Anything for our fellow Crusader, and friend."

"Let me see the card, Nyx," said Twilight, walking up to her bedside and next to Cosmo. After a confirming nod from Nyx, she took the card in her magic and opened it up to look at its contents. Words couldn't describe how thoughtful and wonderful this gift was, seeing so many colts and fillies worked together to make this for her daughter. She saw a candy cane colored with the blues of Nyx's cutie mark next to Twist's signature, one of Snowstar's snowflake drawings, no doubt trying to carry on her ancestor’s legacy, and so many other drawings that made the alicorn smile.

It was good to see how most ponies had grown to accept Nyx and were willing to forgive her. Seeing this from classmates spoke volumes of how even children were able to forgive Nyx, whether it was from the help of their own parents or just from themselves, and it gave Twilight a small restoration in her faith. She wished other ponies could be like that, but she did understand that not all ponies are the same, them taking longer to do so or not at all. Nevertheless, symbols like the class's card was more than anyone could ask for, and she owed Cheerilee a lot of gratitude for having a hoof in this.

Both Tails and Rainbow Dash looked over Twilight's shoulders to look at the card as well, both enjoying the sight as well. "That's a cool card you guys made," said the cyan mare.

An excited little orange pony turned her head around almost immediately. "Really? You like it too?"

"You kidding? This card is awesome, one of the coolest things anypony would do for a friend. That's a sign of loyal friends if I ever saw one," Rainbow said, nuggying her hoof in Scootaloo's mane.

"It's a good thing we had practice in doin' big art projects. Miss Cheerilee still remembers how big our card was for her on Hearts & Hooves Day," said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, I think I heard about that," Tails said, remembering a previous conversation he had with Cheerilee during one of his previous visits. Part of him was glad they didn't repeat, if not go beyond, that size of a card for Nyx, otherwise he would have needed to carry it in and through the hospital instead of putting it in the fillies' saddlebags. It wasn't that he wouldn't be up for doing so, but he would admit that it would've served better as a surprise gift for Nyx when she would return home, where the card wouldn't be, for lack of better thought, obstructive.

Twilight set the card back down in the bed in front of Nyx, leaving it left open for all to see. Before anyone said anything else, a knock came from the door, and then opened a moment later. A familiar pegasus began to walk into the room, but one only familiar to Nyx, Twilight and Rainbow Dash: Detective Benson.

"Hello, Your Highness," she said, greeting Twilight specifically. "I hope I'm not disturbing you at a bad time."

"Not at all, detective," replied the purple mare. "We were actually beginning to wonder when you'd come back from Canterlot."

"I actually returned a little while ago, but was told by the clerk that visitors arrived just a few minutes before me. I decided to speak to your doctors before coming back into here," explained Olivia. She then turned her attention over to the awake and healthy filly in the hospital bed. "I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better, Nyx."

"Thank you," replied the alicorn filly.

"Since your doctors said you're at full health again, I'd like to ask you about what happened at Night Stone Castle. Seeing as you have company..." Before the pegasus said anything else, her eyes fixated on two beings that she vaguely recognized, and they looked like a fox and a flower, respectively. She has heard about two friends of Princess Twilight around her office and Canterlot, but never came face to face with these 'heroes of Mobius,' not counting the intruding Dr. Eggman. "Your Highness, are they friends of yours as well?" she asked, motioning her hoof towards the two.

"Yes," replied the princess proudly, "yes they are." Knowing introductions were needed for both sides, she introduced her two friends first. "This is Tails and Cosmo, very close friends of mine and my family. They are from their home dimension of Mobius and will be staying at my castle until this entire ordeal is resolved.

"Tails, Cosmo, this is Detective Olivia Benson, the lead detective of Equestria's Special Victims Unit. She was personally hired by Princess Celestia to handle our legal case against the ponies that hurt Nyx."

The three crossed their respective sides of the room and met in the center, where Tails let his hand out to shake Olivia's hoof. As the two shook, they wore greeting smiles, but the detectives wasn't as sincere as Tails's, mainly because of how he and Cosmo were tied with the 'interrupting' Dr. Eggman.

"It is nice to meet you both," she said. "You are the same Tails who sent that doctor here to help Nyx, aren't you?"

Tails nodded his head and replied "Yes, but I did hear that he was a little less than subtle with his arrival here. I apologize if he caused you any trouble, but if there was any doctor who would make his way to Nyx in a hurry, it was him." He turned his head around to face Nyx and add "And as you can see, his help was proven successful."

"Perhaps," Olivia said, barely agreeing, "and I do thank you for your assistance." She paused as an idea came into immediate consideration, and decided to follow along with it. "If you have a moment, I would like to ask you a couple questions in private. A statement from you may be helpful before I sit down with Princess Twilight and Nyx."

"Questions about what?" Cosmo asked.

"About your involvement with the Royal family. It will only be a few minutes, and one of you can stay here if you wish. I do not need to speak to both of you at this moment."

Tails took a second to think to himself before he nodded again, agreeing to go talk with the pegasus detective elsewhere. "I'll answer whatever questions you have the best I can."

After hearing what her loved one said, Cosmo gave her answer next. "I'd like to stay with our friends for now, since both of us aren't needed."

"Very well," said the detective. She then reached her head around to view Twilight and say "Princess, I'm afraid to say that I can't wait too much longer for statements from your daughter and yourself. Following my discussion with him, I'd like to talk to you next. I believe it would be needless to say that your daughter is in good hooves to allow that."

Twilight knew this was inevitable, and she wished it could have been when Nyx was out of the hospital and back home. She knew from what she studied about SVU cases was that child victims could allow one parent to sit with them and the investigating detective, but not the other way around, including the ponies of royal status. It was great relief to know how Rainbow Dash, who barely left her side since what happened, and Tails and Cosmo, who intended to stay by their sides for the duration of the trial, were there to stay by Nyx and make sure she felt safe.

"Of course," said Twilight. "I know Nyx is in good hooves - and hands - with my friends here."

Olivia nodded with a grin, and then she said "Alright then. Tails, if you would follow me, we'll be going just down the hall."

"Lead the way," replied the fox. The detective exited first, and then he stepped out. After turning around to give a happy smile to everyone inside, he closed the door behind him.

Silence that followed was broken by Rainbow Dash, who said "About time she got back. I thought she said she would be back in less than a day, not more."

"I'm sure she was very busy back in Canterlot. If she interrogated Silver Lining and everypony that was with him, then that would have taken at least a day," Twilight said, trying to defend the detective. "She did say she came back shortly after Cosmo and the others arrive and waited a while before coming in, so when you think about it, she was on time. For the most part, at least."

The cyan mare continued her disgruntled mood and said "Whatever. I just want to see Silver Lining thrown in Tartarus, right next to Tirek. That jerk should have his magic taken away."

"Rainbow Dash," snipped Twilight, "that's not needed right now."

The alicorn motioned her eyes towards the fillies standing right there near them, who were looking up at Rainbow Dash with strange looks. Nyx's look was different, hers being sadder at the thought of what was suggested. Rainbow just let out a deep breath, snarling the air through her nostrils, and apologized. However, even before she said anything, the three Crusaders' curiosity was provoked.

"Who the hay is Silver Lining? Is he the pony who hurt Nyx?" Scootaloo asked.

"And what does Special Victims Unit mean anyway?" Apple Bloom added.

"It's a police force," Nyx answered, explaining the latter question first. "They investigate crimes that are worse than ones like stealing. Ponies that are hurt very badly are looked into by detectives who help make sure it doesn't happen again to ponies...

"Like me."

Nyx's face fell, and for a moment Sweetie Belle thought her friend was going to cry. The little unicorn jumped her forehooves up on the bed to stand herself up so she can see better, and with a concerned look on her face. With no intentions to ask the wrong thing, she asked "You mean like that pony, Silver something, was he the guy who hit you?"

"Sweetie Belle!" snapped the other two crusaders, but the damage was done.

"Y-yes," Nyx answered, starting to whimper while fighting herself not to cry. "He hit me, he hit m-my mom, and then, everypony else began hitting me, and-"

Before she knew it, her best friends jumped up onto the bed and surrounded her for a group hug. Nyx still kept fighting herself from crying, but she welcomed the caring embrace by trying to hug them back. Unfortunately, the IVs were still in her front legs, and she couldn't move them without pulling them out.

"Please don't cry, Nyx. We hate to see ya sad," Apple Bloom said caringly.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset," apologized Sweetie Belle. Her tone expressed how awful she felt, and she felt absolutely horrible.

"Yeah, forget about that Silver jackplot," Scootaloo added.

"Scoots!" Rainbow Dash said, never thought she'd hear such language coming from her number one fan.

"Hey, I'm sorry but he is one," said the filly, defending her actions. "Anypony who thinks they can hurt Nyx or Twilight are not only-

"Wait, he hurt Twilight, too?!"

The trio's eyes shot over to Twilight, and without much options, she solemnly nodded to confirm it. "I guess you didn’t hear Tails ask me about it before. Yes, I was bucked in the chest, but like Nyx I'm fine. It only knocked the wind out of me, nothing more."

Scootaloo scowled once again, disliking that bully of a pony all the more. "That settles it! He hits a filly and bucks a princess, so that makes him a great, big jackpl-" She found herself silenced by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who both covered her mouth with a hoof.

"We get it," said the yellow filly, "he's a big jerk. Don't get yourself in trouble by swearin' again."

Knowing her friends were right, Scootaloo forfeited and kept her anger to herself, but she still didn't look too happy. The trio then loosened their hug around Nyx and instead sat around their friend, all as a shroud of silence fell amongst the group. It was broken when an unpredictable chuckle came from Cosmo, one that was soft but just loud enough to hear.

"Cosmo?" Twilight said, confused about the sudden chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude," replied the Seedrian. "It's just that how Scootaloo acted is similar to how my friends tend to act when they're distressed or angry. Whenever something severe happens, there are times when their attitudes, and on several points language, turn quite livid and explicit. I can recall several occasions when Tails was like that."

"You mean like how he said he was against Tirek?" Nyx asked. Both he and Cosmo came to help everypony fight the magic-siphoning villain during the climax of his actions, but only knew of how Tails acted towards Tirek through conversations following that fight.

"Well..." Cosmo tried to reply, but had to think about how to carefully word it. Her love did manage to reach high levels - very, very high levels - of such an attitude from time to time, mainly when she or their closest friends were put in harm's way. Her best way to answer the filly was "...not even close. Tails... has developed quite the temper when he has to fight, ever since we fought the Metarex War."

"Tails? The same two-tailed, Super Saiy-something, perhaps the calmest fox thing I've ever seen, Tails?" Rainbow said, unsure if she could believe that. Sure she saw a little of his anger out first-hoof, mainly against Tirek and months before that when they first met and had to save the Crusaders against a trio of teenage dragons, but never thought he would get that...

"You mean during that final battle you showed us?" Twilight mentioned.

That brought a specific memory back to both the purple and cyan mares. When the couple first arrived at Equestria and reunited, they agreed to use Zecora's potion to see past events and see what happened during the climax of the for-mentioned war. They remembered what happened to Cosmo, how Tails and their friends reacted, and what he pulled off against their foes. It was too hard to watch, even harder to believe that it was true, but considering all who the ponies came to know in the last several months, it was a series of events they were used to having to deal with.

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said weakly, "yeah. I almost forgot about that."

Cosmo, who wore a smile regardless of the haunting memories lingering in the front of her conscious, nodded her head and took a seat next to Nyx and the Crusaders on the bed. "There were a few moments before that, but less temperamental and more defensive when dealing with enemies. Following that war, however, he had developed that temper, and it would ignite every now and again after that. Disputes between friends, battles and wars that followed the first war with the Metarex, anyone or anything that tries to threaten me, he opens up an anger that I never thought could come out of him."

"That's a bunch of rotten apples," protested Apple Bloom. "He's one of the nicest people I've ever met. How could HE of anyone get so mad!?"

"Yeah," agreed Scootaloo. "I don't see that happening."

"Then I'll let you in on a secret," Cosmo said, "but this doesn't leave this room unless Tails and I mention it. Promise not to tell anypony?"

"Does it have to be a Pinkie Promise?" Nyx asked. That kind of promise was something she could never understand, yet her friends do and would make from time to time.

The Seedrian shook her head and told the filly "No, just a regular promise is fine."

"Then we promise," the four fillies said at once.

"And so do we," Twilight added, speaking on behalf of herself and Rainbow Dash.

"Alright then," Cosmo said, and then told the ponies her secret. "When we found out about what happened to you, Nyx, Tails and I were both upset. But Tails let out how he felt in his anger, and clenched his fist to..."

/)∞(\

"So following your involvement in the Tirek attacks and your music festivals, Princess Celestia agreed to make sure you were notified of any and all circumstances with any of the princesses and Nyx?"

"Correct, if not able to be done by Twilight that is."

"I'll have to double check our records with the Equestrian government to verify the Princess' decree, but I do believe that it wouldn't be true if you didn't send for your friend. Now, you arrived in Equestria about a day ago, according to what you said. Why didn't you visit Nyx or Twilight sooner?"

"We didn't want to intrude on them with Nyx in recovery, and the hospital would allow only so many visitors in and out their doors."

Detective Benson was wrapping up her questions for Tails to better understand why he and Cosmo got involved in her case. They were both sitting on a bench down the hallway from Nyx's room, a bench that sat just a couple yards away from the royal lounge. It didn't come across the detective's mind to go in there for a more private questioning, but with the rule of nopony allowed inside with the company and consent of an Equestrian princess, it was nothing to bother about. She wanted to get this questioning finished so she could finally talk to the victims of the crime.

"Alright then, Mr. Prower," she said, using the fox's formal name after learning of it minutes ago, "I have one more question for you. You said you volunteered to stay with the Princess until this case is closed. Are you planning to serve as a Royal Guard, or act on your own accord like how you sent Dr. Eggman here?"

"Cosmo and I are both here to serve as moral support to Twilight and Nyx, and will act appropriately, given time and place. If anyone tries to harm them or any other pony, I will step forward and defend them as I know how, but if any of the princesses disapprove of my actions, I will change my actions to their standards."

Olivia nodded her head and sat up from her seat, and Tails followed suit. Although she still questioned the thought of allowing a being with 'unique' powers, she couldn't deny the loyalty he was serving to the victims of this crime. She reached out her hoof and said "Thank you, Mr. Prower. That will be all." He respectfully returned her hoof with his hand to shake, a confident grin across his face. "You may return to your friends, but if you would please ask Princess Twilight to meet me here..."

"Of course," Tails said, "I'll make sure to do that." He began to walk down the hallway back to the room everyone was in, but only made four steps before stopping and turning around. "Detective, my friends from Team JAG and I are willing to help in any means possible. We've only known of Equestria for a short while, but we care about you all very much. If there is anything you, your police force, or even the princesses need help with, never hesitate to ask.

"We've seen a lot of tragedies, better ones I can count with only one hand, and we want to make sure your home doesn't deal with anything like this again, like we work for our homes."

The detective didn't say anything at first, and stayed quiet until she settled on the right words to say. "I'll try to make sure of that. Thank you." After a quick exchange of small smiles, she watched Tails make his way down the hall a few yards before turning her attention down at some notes.

These were notes that were started the moment Princess Celestia asked her to take the case. She jotted down all the brief info she could onto a small, pocket-sized notepad, including names of certain ponies she interrogated back in Canterlot and what they said, and the statements from Rainbow Dash and the newly added ones from Tails, all behind the first sheet of the pad that listed the victims, the accused and the charges at hoof. It was a style of organization that Twilight Sparkle would adore seeing another pony uphold, but for the detective, it was all to make sure she would get her job done, and have it done right. She needed to take whatever she writes down in the notepad, and piece it together, much like a puzzle; a puzzle that, when pieced together correctly, will end this entire ordeal sooner than it started.

She read through a few key notes that connected everything together, specifically the start of when the ponies started to pummel the alicorn filly. Several ponies that were interrogated admitted to how it started with Silver Lining, and how they matched up with Rainbow Dash's statement. However, she was still lacking a key piece to the puzzle: Silver's motive to attack Nyx. Her notes said he was looking out for everypony's 'well-being,' but there was more to it, there always was, and she needed to make that connection.

Her train of thought stopped as she heard hoofsteps coming closer, and turned her head to see Twilight walking towards her. Upon seeing the approaching princess, she closed her notebook and set it in a coat pocket for a moment, and then bowed briefly. "I'll try to make this quick for you, Your Highness," said the detective. "Before we start, do you require anything, and may we discuss this in a more private location, if you would prefer that?" She motioned a hoof to the royal waiting room.

"That would be nice if we went inside there," Twilight answered, "and no, I do not require anything. Yourself?"

"No thank you. Please, after you."

The princess and detective entered the private room, the latter closing the door behind her before making herself comfortable on a chair as the former sat herself on the adjacent sofa. Detective Benson took out her notes from one pocket, and then took out an envelope from inside her jacket that contained some of the medical records that officers were permitted to view. She looked over those contents before turning her focus back to her notes to see how well the two matched, and then looked at Twilight professionally.

"Princess, I understand this may be hard for you," said Olivia, "but I need you to tell me in your own words what happened at Night Stone Castle. Please start from the beginning, and up until you entered the hospital."

Twilight couldn't immediately begin her explanation. She felt rattled at the thought of thinking about what happened, and she took a long deep breath to calm her nerves. It was the same breathing method Cadance taught her before, back when she and her friends helped have the Equestria Games hosted at the Crystal Empire. Little did she admit how it began to fail working for her since then, but she still tried with the hope it could.

"Your Highness," Olivia said, trying to sound as soft and kind as she could, "I don't mean to force pressure onto you-"

"No, no," the purple mare interrupted, "you're not. I'm just... I'm having a hard time..."

"I know, Princess. This isn't easy for any mother, but I promise you that the more you talk about it, the easier this will be for you. I'll need your statement for court, and you'll be called to repeat this again when court starts. Take your time... You can do it."

With another deep breath, this time without the hoof motion of Cadance's technique, Twilight found the will to recall and speak of what happened. She explained that Rainbow Dash informed her about what was going on, finding Silver Lining and his 'followers' at Nyx's castle, the for mentioned unicorn's accusations and how she and Nyx retaliated. Then came the violent moments, which she struggled to speak in any way other than quick bursts at a time that took her emotions in ranges from sad to livid. After explaining how she used a holding spell on everypony and getting Nyx to the hospital, she stopped as there wasn't much more to elaborate.

The detective finished writing down notes in her notebook before looking back at the princess to start asking a few questions. "Princess, have you had any past confrontations with Silver Lining, or any of the ponies who attacked Nyx?"

Twilight shook her head as she answered with "No, I didn't recognize any of them. Silver said he's traveled all across Equestria doing what he was doing at Nyx's castle, so they may have come from all different cities as far as I know."

"Okay then," said Olivia. "Have you heard us or witnessed any other rallies or protests outside of Night Stone Castle before this?"

"Not the castle specifically," Twilight replied, shaking her head again, "but there have been instances during town meetings where ponies would protest the castle still standing."

"I see, and how often has that happened?"

The alicorn thought carefully, but it was an easy to recall just how often that would happen. "Almost every meeting since Nyx was pardoned for her actions. It was annually at every meeting until I became a princess, where I decided to let the castle stand and give it back to Nyx, when she's earned it that is. Ponies were not happy about it, but no one fought it as often as before after that. I guess that because I'm now a princess, they didn't want to try and fight royal authority. It's only once every now and again that somepony tries to argue my decision."

The detective continued to write down a few notes, trying to summarize Princess Twilight's words specifically. When she wrote down what she could, she then asked "I understand that there has been verbal disrespect towards you and your family since Nightmare Moon was, if I'm not out of line to say, extinguished by Princess Luna. Is this the first time your daughter has been attacked, physically?"

Twilight began to nod, but immediately stopped because her nod wasn't a fully truthful answer. "There was the incident at Canterlot when a news reporter chased her on the catwalks during the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant two years ago, but the most that happened was him removing her headband, and he pleaded guilty. Over a year later, when Tirek was stealing everypony's magic, he found and captured her, threatening to potentially take her life if we didn't agree to surrender to his rule." The more she explained those events, the more anger she began to seethe out of her, all the thoughts of what others have done to her daughter piling into a list of hateful acts she could not stand for.

Seeing a nerve struck, Detective Benson only wrote a few words in her notebook before saying "I'm afraid that neither of those events rule into battery, Princess. The first you mentioned had no intent of abuse, but even though Tirek intended to do so, he did not take your daughter's magic." She tried to hide a shiver down her spine when she recalled the villain cornering the entire SVU and stole their magic, including her own. "Princess, if I may confide to you..."

"Yes, Detective?"

"I consider Nyx lucky. She didn't have their magic taken away, her abilities fueling that of a monster who wanted to take control of Equestria. Even though she was once... Well, you know, she was given guidance to be someone better and use her talents to help others rather than live as a conqueror."

Trying to smile, Twilight replied with "Thank you, Detective. I only wish she was accepted enough by ponies to not cause this whole mess in the first place." She bowed her head in despair, as if displaying herself breaking apart once again. "I don't think there's enough luck in Equestria to change that."

"Perhaps," sighed Olivia, who decided to try and shift the conversation back to questioning. "Princess, I only have one more question to ask for you. According to you, Silver Lining claimed that you and the Elements of Harmony are under the Blessing of Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia has told me that all six of you have medical records testing negative for being Blessed, but during trial the defense will question it for being out of date, given the time between then and now. Would you be willing to allow a psychologist to reexamine yourself and your friends for an up-to-date record?"

The purple mare opened her mouth to immediately answer, but no voice came out. Instead she paused to think about the proposition at hoof, and how it conflicted with what she had already studied about Equestrian law and order. According to one of her books given to her by Celestia after moving into her castle, evaluations of the psychological variety are valid for a maximum of five years - or as read, one thousand, eight hundred twenty-five nights; sixty full moons - and the previous evaluations for everypony that had been Blessed had taken place less than three years ago. If it were more extreme circumstances, new evaluations would have to be conducted yearly.

This left Twilight in a conundrum of what to do, because where between the two timelines the Blessed evaluations fell under was unknown to her. Since there were no fatalities involved, it wouldn't have to be yearly to be checked again, unless a pony chooses otherwise, like her older brother. However, his case was different as he fell insecure with himself, and Nyx, when he had the follow-up evaluation shortly before a certain Hearth's Warming Eve.

Not knowing which way at this crossroads to lean to, she stopped her train of thought and asked herself a question: what did she believe was right?

Author's Note

Finally a new update!

This is a long, looong overdue update, and I'm sorry for making it such a long wait. Unfortunately, this was an intentional wait, as I found myself not putting as much focus onto this story as I was with another that's almost done with its writing. To show my appreciation for those who stuck around for this next chapter, it's been made especially large in size as I chose to combine the next few chapters together. I hope you enjoy this new chapter (working title 'Here to Stay' for those who'd get a metal reference) and let me know what you think in the comments! Expect a new update sometime around spring break!