Canterlot Castle
Early Evening

Royal guards are stoic. Royal guards are brave. Royal guards show decorum and dignity. Most of all royal guards do not ever, ever get bored. Or at least they don't show it.

"...And so Princess, as you can see on chart 14, there have been relatively few lingual shifts in the relevant defining words in the treaties you had me examine", pronounced Twilight Sparkle, now well into the fourth hour of her presentation titled, "Equestrian Treaties throughout History, A Linguistic Analysis". In classic Twilight Sparkle fashion, she had delivered a detailed, exhaustive examination of over 1200 years of treaties and trade agreements with particular focus on the languages used and their relative meanings.

Celestia, glorious Princess of the Sun, demonstrated the true power of an alicorn as she continued to be fully engaged and involved with the presentation, even asking questions at appropriate moments. These questions would inevitably trigger long, detailed answers from the presenter which only an uncharitable boor would say triggered a shudder from the royal guards as they continued to hold themselves at attention.

Just after sunset Princess Luna had opened the throne room door to greet her sister and ask why she had been forced to lower the sun instead of Celestia. Without a word she had taken in the scene, nodded her understanding from the door and then had left on silent hooves before she could be noticed by anyone other than Celestia.

"Chart 14 also shows that there have been practically no linguistic shifts at all with two groups in particular", Twilight continued.

"Specifically, the Dragons of the South Celestian Ocean and the Diamond Dogs of the Equestrian Badlands". Uncharacteristically, Twilight paused in her presentation. She had forgotten something, something important. If she could just put her hoof on it.

"Twilight?", prompted Celestia. "Is something wrong?"

"No, Princess", Twilight replied. "Well, I'm not sure. There's something I'm forgetting here...." Her voice trailed off.

"Maybe that the rest of us aren't alicorns and us mere mortals occasionally need a bit of rest?", thought one guard pony.

Gathering herself, Twilight continued, "I'm sorry, Princess. I'm a little tired, whatever I've forgotten isn't part of the presentation and it will come to me in time."

"Very well, Twilight", Celestia assured her former student. "Please carr..." Celestia paused as a familiar wisp of flame flowed in through a window and materialized into a scroll in front of her. Celestia caught the scroll in her magic before it could fall to the ground.

"A moment Twilight", Celestia said raising a hoof and opening the scroll. "I'm sure Spike wouldn't be sending me a message without good reason."

"Dear Princess Celestia,

I hope Twilight has finished up by now and is getting some rest. Can you please let her know when she wakes up that I still can't get in touch with Rarity and I'm getting even more worried now?

Fondest regards,
Spike"

"Twilight, is something wrong with Rarity?", Celestia asked the purple alicorn with some concern in her voice.

Twilight facehoofed. "That's what's been bugging me! Spike's lost contact with Rarity. She's off on a gem hunting trip in the Badlands."

Twilight Sparkle always had a first class mind. Only mental exhaustion and laser focus on a different subject had caused her to miss the connection between Spike's previous letter and her research project earlier. Now however, her words triggered a cascade of thought as her research and Spike's letters were slammed together in her thoughts. It was a credit to both teacher and student that they both came to the same conclusion at the same time.

"Rarity is in danger!", both Celestia and Twilight blurted out at the same time.

"I think so", Twilight said in a worried tone. She started to wring her hooves. "She's in a land where she isn't a person. She's property! Ponies are considered chattel there. And, according to Spike, she's missed two check-ins now. Oh, why didn't I pay more attention to Spike?", Twilight began to tear up. Celestia rose off her throne and wrapped Twilight in her wings.

"You couldn't have known before now. If anyone is at fault it's me. I should have issued a proclamation when I first found out that the Diamond Dog nation intended to resume enforcing the terms of that old treaty", said the solar princess with shame in her voice. "And I definitely should have banned all travel in the south after what was given to us two weeks ago."

"Walk with me, Twilight", gently commanded Celestia. "Guards, we are going to go visit Aerius." Several acknowledgements snapped out from the guard. Several fell into formation around the two alicorns while the others began closing down the throne room.

"Aerius", Twilight asked, "who is that?" "And two weeks ago is just before you asked me to come research those treaties and the terms in them."

"Exactly Twilight", said Celestia, turning a corner and walking toward the medical wing of the castle. "I called you here because you are the best students I ever had and I wanted what information you could gather before I acted. I hesitated and now my ponies are in danger."

Twilight tried to comfort her mentor saying, "But Celestia, it is every ruler's responsibility to learn all she can before deciding on a course of action."

The alicorns and their escort approached a door that had a member of the Guard at it.

"Sometimes a ruler must act with haste, Twilight", pronounced Celestia. "Beyond this door is a consequence of my inaction. Once we step though you must take care to not say or do anything unless I tell you to."

"Do you understand, Twilight?", asked Celestia.

"Yes, Princess", responded Twilight. "I am to remain silent and do nothing but observe unless you command otherwise."

"Good. Brace yourself, this may be hard for you to see", warned Celestia pushing open the door and leading the Princess of Friendship through.

The door opened into what appeared to be a standard hospital private room. Perhaps somewhat larger than most. Pale blue paint covered the wall and ceiling, which had realistic fluffy white clouds painted onto it. In the room was a dresser with a small bag on it and a hospital bed with its upper half elevated. Lying on the bed was a tan pegasus stallion with a grey and white mane and tail. Upon seeing the alicorns enter the room the stallion threw himself off of the bed and prostrated himself before Celestia.

"Great Mistress! This pony has done all you have asked of me. Please give me a command so that I can please you!", he begged Celestia, literally crawling on his belly until his front hooves nearly touched the solar princess.

Twilight had never seen such display of subservience before. Certainly Celestia was worthy of worship for her leadership and all she had done for Equestria. But this was far beyond anything Twilight had seen before and something about this display struck her as intensely wrong. This was more cringing than worship and the request more of a cry for mercy than asking for something to do. It was almost as if he expected Celestia to beat him for the slightest misdeed.

"Please stand, Aerius", Celestia asked in a tone as gentle as any Twilight had ever heard. "I would like to ask you a few questions, if I may."

"Of course, Mistress", said Aerius, shooting to his hooves. "This pony only exists to serve you."

"What is your name and how did you receive it?", said Celestia in her calm, gentle voice. But Twilight had spent more time with the solar diarch than many others and she could hear the masked pain in Celestia's voice.

"This pony was given the name Aerius by his trainers. But in truth, my name is is whatever you decide it is", Aerius quickly added at the end. Fear passing over his features.

"Be at ease Aerius. There is nothing you can say that will make me upset with you. Now, who am I?", Celestia asked.

"You are my Owner, my Mistress", Aerius answered her with joy on his face. "You became my Owner two weeks ago."

Twilight's eyes by this time had already grown to the size of dinner plates. At Aerius' last statement her jaw had practically dropped to the floor. This pony wasn't just being subservient to Celestia. He had just said that he was a thing, a possession and worse, he meant it. In Twilight's mind the 1200 year old treaty had just snapped into terrible relevance. Twilight understood. This pony had been changed in some way by the diamond dogs from what he had been, into a cringing tool. What was worse is that it had been done under the legal framework of a treaty that had been meant to end suffering.

Twilight caught Celestia's eye as the Sun Princess looked over her shoulder. Celestia saw the understanding in her former student's eyes and motioned her forward.

"Aerius, this is Twilight. She serves me much as the others in the castle do. I wanted her to have a look at you", Celestia said to the pegasus.

"Of course, Mistress", said Aerius as he turned to face Twilight. "She is very lovely Mistress. After she is done would you like me to service her so she can provide you with foals to increase your stables?"

Twilight was stopped cold by that. Anger flared in her at first until she took in the tone and demeanor in which the question had been asked. Ever since becoming an alicorn she had been a target for romantic advances by almost every available stallion, and more than a few mares, in Canterlot. All had them had done so from some obvious desire. Either for her body, the power she represented, or even the status to be had from bedding an alicorn. Aerius wasn't demonstrating any desire. All he was doing was asking a question. He didn't desire Twilight. All he wanted was a command he could obey.

"Yes, she is quite lovely", Celestia answered Aerius tapping her chin with a hoof, as if she was considering the idea of mating Aerius to Twilight.

"Your suggestion has some merit Aerius." The pegasus glowed with pleasure at the slight praise. "Remain where you are while Twilight and I step outside to consider it", said Celestia as she began to drag a dumbfounded Twilight back out of the room.

The moment the two alicorns were back in the hallway with the door shut behind them, Twilight immediately rounded on her mentor.

"Princess, if you th-", was all that she got out as glowing yellow light firmly closed Twilight's mouth.

"No, Twilight. I'm not going to ask you to let him mate with you. But this is an opportunity", said Celestia quietly while looking directly into Twilight's eyes.

"What do you mean?", Twilight asked with more than a little suspicion.

"The pony that Aerius was had something of a reputation. He couldn't keep his hooves off any mare that caught his eye to be perfectly honest", Celestia said. "Not only that, but for the first time since the griffons gave him to us he actually referred to himself in the first person. Twilight, right now he is focused on you. I want you to examine him and see if you can reconnect him with his identity."

"Princess, I wouldn't have the first idea on how to do that", Twilight protested.

"Twilight, you are one of talented mages of your generation and you are a Princess of Equestria. You can do this. My only advice is that you let instinct be your guide. You have a good heart. Do what feels right and you won't be wrong", Celestia assured the Princess of Friendship.

"I won't let you down Princess", declared Twilight. Celestia smiled down at her with complete faith.

"Doctor", she said nodding to a medical pony hovering nearby, "if you would accompany us inside. This is very likely to physically taxing for all of us."

With that Celestia opened the door and together the three ponies went back into the room.

"Okay Aerius, I'm going to give you a command now", Celestia said to Aerius.

"Yes Mistress!", said Aerius. "Thank you, Mistress!"

"Um, yes", Celestia hesitated. "I want you to hold very still while Twilight examines you and then I need you to do whatever she asks of you."

"Of course, Mistress", said Aerius as he focused on Twilight as she moved forward.

Powering up her horn, Twilight wrapped the pegasus in her magic. She carefully examined him both physically and magically. For several minutes she deeply probed Aeruis' magic field and physical body. What she found brought tears to her eyes.

Physically he bore several, mostly healed wounds under his fur. None of them were severe, but there were so many of them. Particularly on his rump and flanks. Mystically, she could see several fading traces of dark magic around Aerius' barrel and wings. But around his head there were the mystic equivilent of open wounds. Some form of dark magic had driven spikes into his very mind and spirit.

Starlight Glimmer had managed something similar when she had 'equalized' the ponies of Our Town. But those ponies had still remembered who they were, still knew what they were. What had been done to Aerius was an entire order of magnitude beyond those ponies. In a flash of insight Twilight realized names were the key. She already knew Aerius was not his real name. If she could reconnect him with his name she could reconnect him with his identity. Nodding to herself, Twilight took a deep breath and looking the pegasus pony in the eye she asked, "What was the name your parents gave you?"

Aerius stared at Twilight, as if the words hadn't made sense. "What...what did you say?", he asked.

"What was the name your parents gave you?, Twilight repeated in a firmer tone than before.

"I...I, my trainers gave me this name", Aerius stammered out. His body began to shake as his mind tried to obey his training and break it at the same time.

Something did break inside of Twilight. Her heart. A bitter, weeping rage rolled through her that someone could so change a pony as to take away who and what they were from them. Twilight's horn ignited fully and her wings spread wide as her rage and her sorrow let her tap into the full strength of her alicorn power. Even though she could not see it she could feel Celestia behind her, bringing forth her own aura of power.

"Thrice I say unto thee, and done!", Twilight shouted, instinct shaping her words. "What was the name your parents gave you?"
She poured forth her power into the mystic wounds in Aerius' head as she spoke. Closing and sealing them with her power. With that power she tried to bridge the gaps in his psyche for him.

"Side...Side...Side", the pegasus stallion stammered, his whole body shaking. Twilight poured forth even more of her power into the pegasus. If he could not bridge the gap in his thoughts, SHE would be that bridge for him. She knew that she was right. That this was the focal point. This was where they had broken him.

Sweat began to pour freely from the two ponies. The pegasus, as he struggled to re-connect the broken portions of his mind and Twilight who was reaching the limits of her power. Seconds passed, then minutes. Both ponies falling silent except for laboured breathing marking their struggles. The issue hung in the balance. Then, as Twilight reached her limit, she suddenly felt the warmth of the sun on her back. Celestia, with complete trust and love in her student poured forth her power into Twilight, allowing her student to use that power. Reinforced by the solar wellspring Twilight doubled her efforts. And finally the connection was made.

"I. AM. SIDE SLIP!", screamed the pegasus with the voice of a tortured soul, who immediately collapsed shuddering to the ground.

Twilight instantly withdrew her power from Side Slip's mind as the severed mental connections snapped back into place. As he fell she cushioned his body as it fell to the floor. And a moment later she at his side covering his body with her wings, tears from her eyes wetting his fur. A second after that Celestia covered them both with her own wings. From beneath two sets of alicorn wings came Side Slip's quavering voice speaking an old prayer.

"Help me, O Princess, for I am lost in the night,
Help me, My Princess, for I am trapped in darkness,
Help me find my way home."

Author's Note

This chapter was originally broken up into 2 parts but I decided to break off this first portion and let it be a chapter on its own. I actually found it pretty hard to write the last scene with Aerius/Side Slip. As some of you may notice I'm still struggling with sentence structure particularly when it comes to dialogue but I hope I've made some progress on that front.

Constructive criticism and tips are appreciated and taken to heart.