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Trotting at a steady pace, Twilight left the train station at Canterlot, to head for Canterlot Castle. Princess Celestia was awaiting Twilight's notes on her first session with Pinkamena, and Twilight wasn't about to disappoint her old mentor. As she continued on the path to Canterlot Castle, a few thoughts went through Twilight's mind.

I'm still thinking about the talk Pinkamena and I had. She's definitely insane, but also exceedingly intelligent. Even more so than Pinkie was, or at least pretended to be. After all, she did have her secret party cave, and had everypony in Equestria listed and documented, their traits, likes and dislikes, when their birthday's or special occasions were, everything!
Yet, for anything other than parties, she always seemed either naive or clueless. Now, however, Pinkamena seems unbelievably intelligent. I should talk about that with Princess Celestia. See what her thoughts are.

Heading across the drawbridge, Twilight was met at the gate by Princess Luna.

"Good afternoon, Princess Twilight. My sister has eagerly been awaiting your report on Pinkamena. What were your general findings?" she asked.

"She's clinically insane, no doubt about it, and yet she's...intelligent. Strangely more intelligent than Pinkie ever was, almost..philosophical in her intelligence. I'll be honest, it scared me a bit," Twilight said.

"Yes, I was given that impression as well. As you know, I watch over the realm of dreams, and my sister specifically tasked me with watching Pinkamena's dreams. You are correct, Twilight. She IS clinically insane, but at the same time, she is immensely intelligent. I witnessed one dream where peace was brought to the Dragon Lands, though the method of which that peace was attained was a bit...unorthodox," the Princess of the Night said. Twilight's eyes widened. Luna had witnessed Pinkamena's dream about the Dragon's. She could tell her what Princess Celestia did at the end.

"Princess, did you witness the ENTIRE dream? Even the end?" Twilight asked. Luna stiffened a bit, turning her gaze away from Twilight.

"Twilight, clearly Pinkamena told you of the dream, but did not disclose the ending. I beg of you, do not mention it to my sister. Simply give her the report and wait for her answer. I will get her to give you another session, but do not mention Pinkamena's dream to her, Twilight," she said. Luna's response shocked Twilight a bit. Why was she so concerned with Celestia not knowing? The answer to that could wait, Twilight had to get the report to Celestia.

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Twilight headed down the hall of Canterlot Castle to the throne room, where Princess Celestia waited. The large doors opened for the Alicorn as she saw her former mentor staring at one of the stain glass windows that adorned the wall.

"Um, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, wanting her mentor's attention. The white Alicorn turned around, smiling at Twilight.

"Ah. Twilight Sparkle, my student. You have returned from White Tail Asylum I assume with the report from your session?" she asked.

"Yes, Princess," Twilight said, levitating the pages to Princess Celestia. The monarch took them, her eyes skimming the pages.

"Hmm. Well done, Twilight. Are you interested in another session with Pinkamena?" she asked.

The Princess of Friendship nodded. "If that's alright, Princess. I think I could get more out of her."

"Then you have my permission, Twilight. I'll arrange it with the director of the Asylum," Princess Celestia said. Twilight smiled, bowing in thanks to her former mentor and turned to leave.

"Before you go, Twilight, this dream that Pinkamena had. Did she tell you what the conclusion of it was?" the Princess of the Sun called. Twilight stopped cold. Princess Luna had told her not to speak of it, but Princess Celestia had directly asked her.

"N-No, she didn't, Princess. She actually said to ask you what you'd do," she said.

"Well, what do you think I'd do, Twilight?" Princess Celestia asked. Twilight smiled.

"Well, obviously you'd accept their offer right, Princess? I mean, if THEY offered peace, you'd accept it right?" she asked. Princess Celestia nodded, smiling.

"Why, of course, Twilight. Any who wish to extend a hoof or claw in friendship to us will gladly be accepted. Now, you should return to your castle, my little pony, and get a good night's rest. You've had a long day. I'll set your next session for a week from now," she said. Twilight nodded, turning to leave as Princess Luna entered. She nodded in goodbye to the Princess of the Night, then left the throne room.

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If there was one pony Pinkamena did not expect to see outside her cell, it was Princess Luna. Granted, the pink pony didn't expect ANYONE outside of her cell these days, but the Night Princess was certainly not expected. A bored expression plastered on her face, Pinkamena stretched and got off her bed, approaching the plexiglass that Luna was on the other side of.

"Princess. To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked, smirking sarcastically. Princess Luna's expression was unamused, taking a seated position in front of Pinakmena's cell.

"What did you tell Twilight during your session?"

"Nothing that didn't answer Celestia's pre-written questions. Why?"

"Sister has been..agitated as of late. The crimes you committed made her begin to reevaluate her ruling style, even begin to wonder if the Elements of Harmony are flawed. I had originally volunteered to talk with you, but she felt that Twilight would be a better candidate, given your friendship," Princess Luna said.

"I'm flattered," Pinkamena replied, flashing an insincere grin at the Princess of the Moon.

"It's no laughing matter, Pinkamena. Twilight has been given another session with you a week from now. Along with the questions from Celestia, I will add a few questions of my own, and Twilight will be REQUIRED to have you answer them. They will be a priority, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, Princess. Is there anything else I can help you with?" the former party-planner asked, clearly enjoying this conversation. The mere notion that Celestia was questioning things tickled her to no end. The gears began to turn in the pink mare's head. The end of the last session told her that she'd gotten to Twilight, perhaps not fully, but she'd gotten to her. Before that, she never would have thought that Twilight would be of any use, but now? Now, the lavender Alicorn DEFINITELY had a purpose for Pinkamena.

"Just remember what I've said, Pinkamena, or the next visitor you receive may be Celestia," Princess Luna said, getting up and teleporting out of the Asylum. Pinkamena grinned, laying back down on her cot. She had a week to prepare for the 'questions' that Luna and Celestia would make Twilight ask, and she'd definitely make use of that time. She also was going to prepare to deepen her grip on Twilight. Clicking her hooves together, the light's turned off, as Pinkamena closed her eyes to fall asleep. She needed her strength to prepare for her next session.

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Luna returned to Canterlot to the sound of her Sister's anger. The Princess of the Night frowned. Celestia losing her temper was becoming far more frequent.

"Did I not give you a direct order to keep to the sidelines, Spitfire?! When I give you a direct order, you follow it! Leave the Griffin's and Dragon's to their own affairs!"

"Princess, the Wonderbolts and I can make a difference in this war! We can make sure that there are fewer casualties than projected! Why don't you want us to help?!" Spitfire asked, clearly exasperated by Celestia's actions. The Princess of the Sun turned her gaze to the Wonderbolts leader, her pupils seeming to burn with the heat of it.

"I will not have my command questioned, Spitfire. The actions I make in this war will serve as an example to the rest of Equestria. If you cannot follow my commands, I will find somepony else to lead the Wonderbolts. Do I make myself clear?" Celestia asked, her tone even. The air seeming to get even colder in the throne room, Spitfire backed up a bit, terrified of Celestia's evident anger.

"I...I apologize, Princess. I shouldn't question your orders. I'll tell the rest of the Wonderbolts to pull out," she said, bowing to the Solar Monarch and turning to leave. When the door to the throne room closed, Luna cleared her throat.

"Sister, if you keep this up, soon we won't have a military force to protect us," she said. Celestia grumbled, getting off her throne and approaching her sister.

"You know I try to be as kind as I can, Luna, but something that could threaten the safety of Equestria must be dealt with accordingly." Luna nodded, sighing. Her Sister had been getting a lot more serious about dealing with infractions to Equestria's 'Safety', such as when she went on a tirade against the Royal Guards for sleeping on duty, citing that without constant vigilance, Canterlot and Equestria would be in grave danger. However, the punishment was worse than the crime. Celestia had sentenced the accused guards to being flogged in the dungeons.

"I understand that, Sister, but why condemn the Dragon's and Griffin's before any offer of peace is made?"

"Even the smallest peace can be broken, Luna. The Dragon's and the Griffin's have long been confrontational to us, it would not take much for them to break a peace that they establish with us. No, I am afraid the Dragon's and the Griffin's are a lost cause. Now, to more pressing matters. Pinkamena, what do you think should be done?"

"Should we not wait to see if Twilight can get more out of her? Perhaps it could yield the answers you seek," Luna said.

"You may be right, Luna. But, we should keep her on high surveillance. If what Twilight's report said is true, Pinkamena will be even more dangerous now. I must confess, I've always been cautious of Pinkie Pie. Ever since Twilight met her, I've known about the power she holds. At first, she merely thought of it as another facet of her 'Pinkie Sense', simply an addition to the effects from the Sonic Rainboom, but something told me that the horseshoe was going to drop. That at some point, Pinkie would just as easily become an enemy. But, I never imagined it would have happened like it did," Celestia said.

"With the urgency in which you had White Tail Asylum built, it's obvious you wanted it dealt with as quickly as possible, but recently you have been contemplating the subject of execution. Why not simply have that be the first solution?"

"If I executed one of the Elements of Harmony, the pony's of Equestria would question my ability to rule. If they saw one of their saviors executed at the guillotine, there would then be questions about the other Elements, and then there would be questions of if the Elements still work, and THEN there'd be questions on why I'd kept using them so long! No, I need to deal with Pinkamena delicately. We will see what answers Twilight brings back from her next session." Luna nodded, but something in the back of her mind telling her that things were about to go from bad to worse.

Author's Note

Next chapter is Patient Observation 2, more of Pinkie and Twilight and some deep feelings that will surface between the two. May have an appearance from the other members of the Mane Six, but mostly it will be about Pinkie and Twilight, essentially the beginning of their 'Mad Love'. Stay tuned guys.