Dark Days

After assuring Spike that she wasn’t tired from teleporting supplies and Ponies all over the country and into the Crystal Empire, Equestria did only have so many ER’s equipped to deal with severed limbs and broken spines, Twilight warped her assistant and Rumble to Canterlot Palace.

Rumble stumbled off of the Teleportation Pad in a haze, “Uuurgh, sweet Celestia,” Before loosing his footing and falling on his stomach.

Twilight blushed, “Sorry Rumble, I always forget how disorienting teleportation is the first time around.”

Spike helped the dizzy Pegasus to his hooves and looked around the Throne Room, “Hey Twilight, no one’s here.”

“I know,” Twilight replied as she stepped off the T-Pad, “I figured that Luna and Celestia would cancel court sessions for a while and I wanted us to come in some place where we wouldn’t be in the way.”

“So, all we need to do is track down two Ponies in the largest building in the whole country, no problem,” Rumble replied sarcastically.

Twilight smiled at him, “There’s only so many places they would be during a crisis like this. I’m going to guess that they’re either in the Royal Conference Hall, outside giving a public statement, or in the dining hall stress eating while they discuss this fiasco.”

Rumble chuckled as he remembered Gabby Gums’ article on Celestia. Fortunately for the Sun Princess, Ponyville wouldn’t even be on maps until after Princess Cadence and Shining Armor married. The local librarian suddenly becoming royalty got plenty of attention from the press.

Opening the doors out of the Conference Hall negated the Two-Way Silence enchantment on the walls and doors, a necessity for anyplace where affairs of state were discussed, letting in the sounds of palace staff and media Ponies rushing to where they needed go, arguing, or demanding answers to their questions.

Barely a whole second had passed after Spike closed the doors when the media amassed on the trio.

“Princess Twilight! Is it true that the Angel Wing crashed?”
“Princess Twilight! Is that Mare responsible for destroying the Angel Wing?”
“Princess Twilight! Why hasn’t the Diarchy given a public statement?”
“Princess Twilight! Will insurance cover the shattered windows in Northern Canterlot, or will the crown pay for them?”

Twilight covered her eyes to prevent camera flashes from blinding her as she tried to accomplish the impossible feat of answering all of the questions being asked at once. She felt pressure from the inside of her horn, a telltale sign that magic was being used nearby, as a kaleidoscope shield was raised around the Princess and her companions. Uncovering her eyes and looking past the media mob revealed several Royal Guard Unicorns with their horns ignited and a Pegasus Stallion in a Royal Guard Captain uniform.

“MAKE WAY FOR THE PRINCESS AND HER ENTOURAGE AT ONCE!” Cpt. High Sky managed to scream over the media Ponies, “FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN PROSECUTION ON THE GROUNDS OF IMPEDING BUSINESS OF THE CROWN AND HARASSMENT OF ROYALTY!”

While the mob did move aside with surprisingly few exceptions, they still yelled their questions at Twilight as she and the others rushed past the line of Royal Guard Ponies and through the open doors Cpt. High Sky was standing next to. The doors to Throne Lobby closed behind Cpt. High Sky and the trio let out a collective sigh of relief.

Now that the lens of the mixed shield was no longer present, Rumble and Spike and were able to take a closer look at the current Captain of the Royal Guard. High Sky was a well-built Pegasus Stallion, standing somewhere between the average Stallion and Big Macintosh, with a Royal Blue coat a gold colored mane and tail. His eyes were a unique pale gray color that neither of the two guys had ever seen on a Pony before.

“Thank you for your quick response,” Twilight said to the Captain, “But I am issuing pardons for those three media Ponies that the Royal Guard arrested.”

Twilight having issued a universal and indefinite ‘At Ease’ order when speaking with her, Cpt. High Sky simply nodded before speaking, “That’s nice of you Twilight, but Celestia herself issued that command for anyone who got in the way.”

Rumble adopted a confused expression, “Isn’t Twilight her equal?”

High Sky completely lost his composure as he stared at Rumble wide eyed, “Damn lady! You know they put cigarettes in packages so you don’t smoke all of them at once, right?”

Twilight and Spike couldn’t help but chuckle at the Captain’s reaction to Rumble’s voice, “First off,” Rumble started, “I am a Stallion. Second, I have asthma. And Third, that did not answer my question.”

While Rumble usually laughed with the many people, Pony or otherwise, who mistook him for a Mare, he was sensitive about smoking. A natural attitude given the attempts at peer pressure he faced in high school.

“I didn’t want nepotism to be an issue,” Twilight explained, “So I purposefully declined most of the authority and rights that came with becoming a Princess.”

“Accusations of nepotism or the possibility of having to choose between your friends’ interests and the interests of the nation itself?” Rumble asked.

“Both,” Twilight replied happily, “I’m happily surprised that you thought of both possibilities!”

“Er, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Said High Sky, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Rumble was a Stallion, “But the Diarchs want to speak with you immediately,” He glanced at Rumble, “Is he actually with you, or did we make a mistake in bringing him in with you and Spike?”

Twilight nodded her head, “No, the others will want to speak with him. They will probably want to hear what he has to say before me.”

High Sky raised a brow at that last remark, “Very well, please follow me.”

The hallways leading to the Diarchs’ private meeting room were polished to a shine like the rest of the castle. But even Twilight and Spike, who were both raised in within the walls of the palace, were unnerved by the stagnancy and quiet. Silence was indeed deafening to the trio. While Twilight and Spike spent much of their childhood enjoying the peace and quiet the halls not open to the public provided, they had both spent the last two decades attending meetings, press conferences, and a great number of social gatherings. The two of them were used to the noise of the palace coming short on causing hearing damage, to be so far inside the castle with no noise save for their hooffalls and the stationed guards offering salutes to their Captain and Princess was unnerving and eerie.

Though no more than ten minutes had past, it had felt like hours to the three Ponies being escorted, and all three let out simultaneous sighs of relief when the last pair of doors being opened revealed the Divine Duo.

Never even having been within Canterlot Palace before, Rumble couldn’t help but try to take in the sights provided by the room that he would most likely never see again. While Princess Celestia and Princess Luna far and away outshined everything in the room, Rumble couldn’t help but be underwhelmed by the room he was led to.

The platinum chandelier was easily the most impressive piece of furniture in the room, and it was the first thing that caught Rumble’s eye. It was constructed so that, when lit, the candles it held caused it to take on an enchanting glow as the polished metal reflected the lights of the flames. Someone who was educated in the arcane arts would note that, from directly beneath it, the parts of the chandelier formed an eight-pointed, the universal symbol of magic, when assembled. Aside from the fancy chandelier, the room just looked like a fancy living room. Though the marble and obsidian tiles on the floor did mesh nicely.

Cpt. High Sky cleared his throat to get the attention of his Princesses, “Princess Twilight Sparkle has arrived your majesties, and she brought guests with her.”

“Twilight, Spike!” Princess Celestia exclaimed, “How goes the recovery of the Angel Wing?”

Spike stepped forward taking out a stack of papers from his satchel, “Everything has gone better than we could have hoped for,” Spike placed the papers on the table in front of them, “These have the specifics, but everything is under control.”

Celestia gave a sigh of relief, “Thank the Fates,” She then realized a failing on her part, “Where are my manners? Please sit down.”

When everyone was seated, the Princess of the Sun noticed that the Pegasus was an unfamiliar face to her, “I do not believe we have meet before,” Celestia extended a hoof to Rumble, “What is your name madame?”

Rumble took the Princess’s hoof and kissed her pastern with a subtle grin, “I am Rumble, Your Highness.”

Celestia’s eyes went wide and she blushed as the others, including Luna, chuckled, “Oh! Please forgive me Rumble, I did not mean to-”

Rumble lifted a hoof, “It happens all the time milady. Though, if it’s any constellation, that shade of pink does look good on you.”

Twilight and Spike both had to cover their mouths to keep themselves from laughing as Princess Celestia, the perfect model of composure and grace, went completely red in the face. Luna laughed freely at her sister’s expense.

High Sky glared at Rumble from his place at the side of the door How dare he talk to her like that.

Luna spoke when she managed to get ahold of herself, “As happy as I am to see you, what are you doing here Rumble?”

Rumble adopted a series expression, “Your Majesties, I was the Captain of the TMV Angel Wing. And I believe that I am wholly responsible for its crash landing.”

Sun Strider awoke slowly. Yawning and rubbing the sleep sand in his eyes, he groggily got out his bed. He was about to head to the bathroom when all of the commotion outside got his attention. What’s going on?

Giving one last yawn he looked to where the door out of the room should have been, only to see that he was in a tent. Confused, he undid the zipper and looked outside to see all kinds of Ponies running about, most of them in uniforms that Strider didn’t recognize. His heart stopped when he saw the wreckage of the Angel Wing. His breathing became labored as he remembered the body of his mother, his father presumably having been completely crushed under the broken metal that claimed both of their lives.

Strider fell to his haunches and put his forehooves over his heart as he slowly descended into another panic attack. The distressed Colt didn’t even notice the Mare galloping towards him. The Mare in question had a white coat with a soft pink mane and tail, her white coat making the red cross outline and red hearts on her flanks very noticeable. The only article of clothing she wore was nurse cap.

Nurse Redheart had just walked into the lobby of the hospital and was about to clock in when none other than Twilight Sparkle appeared in a blinding flash of light, using her limited authority as Princess to draft medical Ponies with specialties in treating broken bones and burns. She had also recruited Nurse Redheart for her ability in pacifying patients suffering from mental breakdowns, a vital skill for working medicine in a town where borderline apocalyptic events happened at least every two weeks.

Knowing it was unwise to give Ponies bear hugs while they were having a panic attack or any other kind of episode, Redheart stopped at ten paces from the Colt before getting on her stomach, “Hey, Sweetie? Can you hear me?”

Having spent most of her professional life dealing with Ponies who were uncooperative at the best of times for various reasons, Redheart was able to give an authoritative yet loving tone to her voice. Redheart felt relieve when Sun Strider turned his head to look at her. He was still breathing hard and his body was shaking, but the experienced nurse was able to get some of his attention. This was a first and crucial step to getting his mind off of his trauma. It wasn’t like anypony could help him while he was breaking down.

“Sweetie, can you take a few deep breaths for me?” While Redheart wanted to help in any meaningful way that she could, keeping him from hyperventilating was more important than his feelings.

Redheart wasn’t sure if the poor Colt nodded was shaking but either way, he started taking deep breaths. Redheart smiled as the Colt went from shaking to wobbling, “Good job sweetie. My name is Redheart, what’s yours?”

“S-Sun Strider,” He managed to choke out.

“That’s a nice name for a nice Colt,” Redheart replied.

Redheart had been appraising the Sun Strider’s body since she approached him. There were no bandages or braces on his body, he was either incredibly dirty or he simply had a dirt brown coat, though she thought his pale-yellow mane needed a trim. So, while Sun Strider wasn’t hurt, Redheart could tell that he was hurting on the inside whenever she looked into his fiery orange eyes.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Asked Redheart. While he didn’t seem to be injured, he was in an area designated for people with medical needs. Of course, the unconscious needed to be sent to a medical ward for treatment and examination. And if his parents had been warped to an E.R., then there would be no one to tell the medical staff that he had something like Diabetes or a Seizure disorder, so he needed to kept here just in case.

The Colt sniffed before he spoke again, “No, but my parents,” He sobbed and hiccupped some before he continued, “My parents got cr-cru-CRUSHED!”

Redheart gasped and dropped her jaw in horror as Sun Strider broke out into tears again. She lifted her body slightly and stretched out her forelegs. The young Earth-Pony rushed into Redheart’s waiting embrace and she picked up and raised the orphan.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry,” Was all Redheart could say. A lot of people would try telling him he would be okay. But Redheart wasn’t going to lie to him. He didn’t have his Cutie Mark and now he was without parents. He was not going to be okay.