Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

Down in the clearing, Glitterball and Sparkplug were keeping themselves occupied by keeping an eye on things by the carriages.

The biting cold was the least of their worries, between the unconscious alicorn in front of them and the pale mare in one of the other carriages. And that was without even considering the kids and the danger looming in the castle above.

Sparkplug cringed a bit as her foreleg stung. She then turned to her companion, only to see the white mare staring out of the window up at the clifftop castle, more than a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Hey," Sparkplug nudged the unicorn. "Everything’s gonna be ok." She assured.

Glitterball looked over to the gray mare, forcing a more neutral look to her face. "I know…" She sighed, the corners of her mouth falling briefly. "I just can't help thinking the worst sometimes… and this is one of those times."

Sparkplug wrinkled her mouth, unsure of what to say to that. She glanced over to Princess Celestia, a pang of sadness tugging at her heart as she saw the lifeless appearance of the once kind alicorn. "I know what you mean."

Off in the next carriage, Scootaloo and her two friends watched as Spike stared out of the window anxiously. The dragon had barely paid any attention to them or his surroundings since the others dropped him off.

The young pegasus shared an uneasy look with her friends. Sweetie and Apple Bloom seemed just as concerned as she was, but they weren't sure what to say without bringing up something that might make him feel worse.

"Spike… why don't you take a blanket?" Scootaloo offered.

"Yeah. Your scales are turning blue." Sweetie fretted.

Spike glanced over to see the fillies offering him sympathetic smiles. He muttered to himself and rubbed his shoulders before turning back to the window. "I'm ok." He said, though his words didn’t sound confident.

"You don’t look ok." Apple Bloom frowned. She unburied herself from the mound of blankets she and her friends cocooned themselves in and started digging through it. After fishing around for a moment, she produced another fuzzy-looking blanket and hopped over to the other seat. "Here." She offered, taking the blanket and wrapping it around the dragon’s shoulders. He reached up and pulled both ends close, figuring that it was best not to resist. "Now ain't that better?"

"Yeah…" Spike managed. "Thanks."

The fillies shared a bit of a smile with each other. At least now the dragon wouldn’t catch his death from cold.

"So…" Sweetie Belle started, moving aside as Apple Bloom raced to plop back into her position in the corner with her blanket fort. "Are you going to tell us what's wrong, Spike?"

"Why would you think something is wrong?" Spike asked.

"You really think we need to answer that?" Apple Bloom replied plainly.

Spike sighed and averted his eyes. "I guess not."

Scootaloo softened her expression. "Nopony has told us anything since we've been here. Sparkplug looked hurt… and then they bring the Princess down here on Sunspot’s back!"

"Didn’t she kind of look like Scribble does?" Sweetie Belle chimed in uneasily. "You know… all pale and stuff."

Scootaloo shared a hesitant glance with the unicorn before turning back to Spike. "There’s that too… but my point is that we're in the dark here. You at least know something… can’t you please tell us?"

Spike felt an uncomfortable knot in his stomach as he saw the worried looks on the fillies' faces. They deserved to know, but simply talking about it seemed like an impossible task for him.

"Well…" He started, trailing his eyes down.

Just then, a noise from outside interrupted the dragon. He and the fillies paused as what sounded like the cries of a familiar mare carried across the clearing.

"Twilight…?!" Spike blinked before widening his eyes slightly and racing to the window. The fillies joined him in looking outside, just in time to watch Rainbow Dash, Sunspot, and Fluttershy landing just ahead, carrying Twilight, Shining Armor, and Rarity respectively.

"NO!" Twilight shouted hysterically, seemingly struggling against her friend to get loose. "LET ME GO!"

"Twilight… there’s nothing we can do." Rainbow Dash said, tears streaming down her face. Everyone seemed like they were crying to some degree, but the purple mare was distraught.

Twilight jerked and kicked and sobbed, trying to get free and head back towards the stairs as if she would climb them in mere moments to get back to whatever the group was forcibly removing her from.

"Twily." Shining Armor said softly, taking his sister from Rainbow Dash and briefly struggling to keep ahold of her. "Twily, I'm sorry… we have to go."

Twilight nearly jumped free from the stallion, only to be gently pulled back by a magical aura. "NO!" She cried, her voice trailing off into a drawn-out sob as she was half escorted, half carried toward the carriages. "PLEASE… please… don’t make me go!"

Shining Armor glanced up to see everyone, even the teams of guards, watching them uneasily. He then looked back to Rainbow Dash and the others. "Go get the others." He instructed, barely keeping himself together.

The three pegasi watched the group for a moment longer before hanging their heads and flying back up.

Spike and the Crusaders watched as Rarity walked over to them while Shining Armor escorted the purple mare away.

Rarity did her best to ignore the cries of her friend as she climbed into the carriage and sat down next to the children. Her face was damp with tears, and all of the energy was gone from her eyes.

"Rarity… what’s wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Wh… why is Twilight crying like that?" Spike added, though the slight tremor in his legs hinted that he already suspected the answer, no matter how much he hoped he was wrong.

Rarity could hardly bring herself to look at the dragon. She could already tell that he knew what her silence meant as tears began welling up in his eyes. All she could do was open her forelegs and hug him close, letting him sob into her fur as her own emotions came flooding back to her. The three fillies could only wonder and watch the pair, though they knew that something terrible had happened.

Meanwhile, Glitterball watched with her mouth agape in shock as Shining Armor walked Twilight past her carriage. The purple unicorn was now sobbing quietly into her brother's shoulder, too exhausted to resist with her trembling body.

Soon after, Sunspot landed with the others and started walking towards the carriages. Pinkie was clinging to Fluttershy and crying into her fur. Applejack was hanging her head as she walked alongside the group. Even Glimmer Shine looked like he had been crying. It was a sight Glitterball hadn’t seen since the stallion’s brother and their friends died months ago.

"Where’s Tom?" Glitter asked, turning to Shining Armor with a desperate look on her face that only deepened as he remained silent. "Shining… where's Tom?!"

Shining Armor glanced to the unicorn, and then at the others as they all filed into different carriages, before trailing his eyes down. He walked away, unable to even face the white mare.

As he walked Twilight over to their carriage and handed her up into the waiting hooves of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, he climbed onto the step before turning toward the teams of guards around him.

"Take us home… and fast." He instructed, stealing a tense glance up to the castle, where the pale stallion was still hopefully trapped.

"Yes sir…" One of the guards said after a moment of somber realization.

Soon after, all four carriages took to the sky and left the castle behind.

Minutes went by in relative silence for many of the ponies, save for the sobs and cries. They should have been feeling joy and cheer now that they were back together again, but they all felt like they had left a piece of them behind.

Rainbow Dash kept her eyes to the floor, hiding her face as much as she could as she silently tried to keep from breaking down. The pink mare bawling into her side was making it difficult for the pegasus to keep her emotions suppressed.

Pinkie had been clinging to her ever since they got into the carriage. Applejack and Rarity were in the other carriage with their siblings, Fluttershy was having a hard enough time by herself, and Twilight had finally passed out in her brother's lap, so the cyan mare was Pinkie’s only option for comfort.

Rainbow Dash slowly reached a foreleg around her pink friend and squeezed slightly. "It's gonna be ok, Pinkie…" She muttered, though the words leaving her mouth felt hollow. How could she tell the grieving mare something she didn’t even believe in?

Pinkie took a few shaky breaths between sobs. She lifted her head up, revealing puffy eyes rife with tears. "He…" She hiccuped softly. "He Pinkie promised…" She muttered, either out of consideration for Twilight or from her own exhaustion.

If Rainbow Dash was getting by with a trembling lip and watery eyes before, that sent her over the edge. She bowed her head forward and clenched her eyes, letting a slight sob pass as Pinkie nuzzled back into her side.

Shining Armor looked up to the three mares, only to feel a tug at his heart as he saw the state they were in. They were all exhausted and heartbroken, much like he was. Losing his human friend was bad enough, but now he had to watch as his sister dealt with it.

Looking down to the purple mare asleep in his lap, tears still dotting the corners of her eyes, he almost couldn’t keep a stiff expression. She still had a loose grip around his waist, clinging to him like she was a little filly again, scampering into his room after a bad dream. However, as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t just hold her close and tell her that it was just a nightmare.

A few hours passed as the group crossed the vast Equestrian skies on their way back to its capital city. Despite their sorrow, many of the ponies finally succumbed to their fatigue and slipped into an uneasy sleep. Those that stayed awake almost envied them.

Eventually, however, the lights of Canterlot could be seen fast approaching as the carriages descended from the air once more. After everything that had happened to them, after everything they suffered through, they were finally home.

The teams of pegasi gently came in for a landing right in front of the castle, where a small crowd of other guards quickly gathered.

Inside of the carriages, the ponies that were asleep gradually started to stir. Rainbow Dash looked up, and Fluttershy lifted her head out of the corner she had been sleeping in, while Pinkie fidgeted and muttered before finally stretching and yawning.

Shining Armor frowned a bit as he looked down to see Twilight still passed out. She looked somewhat peaceful now. He gently nudged her until she crinkled her eyes and lazily lifted her head. “It’s time to go, Twilight… we’re here.”

Twilight stared at the stallion for a moment, still half asleep, before her eyes clarified slightly. As she became aware of her surroundings and everything that had happened before she fell asleep, her expression fell. “Ok…” She muttered, receiving one last embrace from her brother before pushing herself up.

The purple mare and the rest of her friends all gradually stepped out of their carriages to be met with the much welcome regality of Canterlot castle.

In particular, Scholarly Scribble and Blank Page were taken aback by the sheer beauty and architecture. Glimmer Shine and Sunspot recognized that look of wonderment as they stepped out alongside the siblings, as it reminded them of their first time seeing the castle.

“Never been to the palace before, I take it?” Glimmer Shine inferred, managing a slight smile for the first time in what seemed like forever.

“You can say that again.” Blank Page said, still gawking at the sheer size of the structure.

Sunspot wrinkled her expression sympathetically as she looked to Scribble. “Unfortunately, the tour will have to wait. How are you feeling?”

“Still ok… for the time being,” Scribble said, trying her best not to notice the many new bodies full of blood around her. Thankfully, it took a few days for her hunger to return the last time, so hopefully, she would be fine until they could find a cure.

Applejack and Rarity gently stepped out of their carriage, a very exhausted trio of fillies slumbering on their backs and a young dragon that had woken up during the landing beside them. They were relieved that the children were finally safe, even if sacrifices had been made.

“What comes next?” Rarity asked, looking to Glimmer Shine and the others with a worried frown. “That Dusk fellow is still out there. When he gets free, I’m certain that he will be looking for us again.”

“Well,” Glitterball said as she hopped out of her carriage with Sparkplug. “Our first priority should be to cure the Princess and Scribble. Once we do that, the sun can be raised and we should have some time to think.”

Just then, the group looked over as three guards walked up to Shining Armor. Two of them were average rank and file guards, but the one in the middle seemed to be of a higher status judging from the color of his armor and helmet plume.

“Captain Shining Armor, welcome back sir.” The middle guard spoke, offering a brief salute with the others.

“Silver Spear… thank you. It’s good to be back.” Shining smiled at the trio before looking behind him and adopting a more stoic expression. “Get somepony to help transport the princess and have a room prepared to Glitterball’s specifications. I also need you to get some medics on standby. We’ve got wounded ponies with us.”

“Yes sir, right away.” The center guard nodded, looking to his two companions and gesturing for them to go help the two vested mares struggling to move the unconscious alicorn. He started trotting off to go complete his orders until Shining spoke up to stop him.

“Oh, and Silver…” Shining said, softening his expression a bit. “Where’s Cadence?”

“She’s in the medical wing watching over Princess Luna.” The stallion reported.

“Princess Luna is in the medical wing?” Twilight asked, looking a bit alarmed at the sudden news. At least it was sudden for her. “Is she ok?”

Shining Armor turned to his sister and rested a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “She was attacked when Dusk came and took all of you.” He explained before turning to Silver Spear. “Any updates on her condition?”

The guard softened his stoic stare ever so slightly. “Princess Luna is… in rough shape, but she was stable, last I heard.”

Shining smiled with relief. “That’s good at least…” He turned to Twilight, his expression falling again as he thought about informing the two alicorns about what happened. “Come on. Let’s go see them.” He suggested.

While the rest of her friends split off toward their own destinations, Twilight followed after her brother with Spike in tow.

Through the grand halls of the castle, Twilight and the others hurried toward the medical wing. Away from the more public areas of the castle, through a series of connecting corridors leading to guards' quarters and the armory, there was a decently sized area consisting of curtained off bays full of beds, medical equipment, and movable cabinets of supplies and tools.

There were various mares in nurse regalia trotting to and fro, caring for some guards wounded in the initial attack. There were even a few doctors and combat surgeons on staff, but most of the ponies dotted around were nurses.

Twilight frowned sympathetically as she saw the few stallions being tended to. She had been to this area once or twice as a filly when she got sick, but she had never seen these beds full before.

Shining Armor led them through the main floor, past all the medical bays, and over to a secluded section, where a few actual rooms sat that were reserved for medical emergencies involving one of the royal sisters or members of staff.

Inside of a room bearing Luna’s insignia, the trio was immediately greeted by the steady beeping of a heart monitor as they opened the door, revealing a small gathering of ponies around a hospital bed.

One of the ponies was immediately identifiable as Princess Cadence. The pink alicorn turned around and quickly brightened her expression as she saw Twilight and Spike alongside her husband.

"Shining, Twilight, Spike!" The alicorn exclaimed, eagerly rushing over and wrapping the three up into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you too, Cadence." Twilight smiled.

Hearing bedsheets shifting, the group looked over to see Luna turning to face them. The pair of nurses tending to her stepped back a bit to give the ponies room to move closer.

"Princess Luna…" Twilight frowned softly as she saw how poor a shape the alicorn was in. She had a few bandages around her waist and on her hind leg and face. Her eyes were dull, and her movements were sluggish and jittery, despite the i.v bag full of blood connected to her foreleg.

Luna managed a slight smile through her exhausted features as she looked up at the purple mare. "Twilight Sparkle… thank goodness you are safe." She said, taking slight pauses to breathe.

Twilight flashed a bit of a hollow smile to the alicorn before looking to Cadence. "How is she?"

"Believe it or not, she's improved a lot since we first found her," Cadence said, suppressing a shudder as she thought back to when the blue alicorn was rushed to the medical wing. She spent the first few hours wondering whether or not Luna would quietly slip away right in front of her. "If he isn't too tired, do you think that Tom could heal her some more?"

Like the flipping of a switch, all the color left their faces. Twilight in particular darted her eyes away, hoping to hide their shimmering fragility. Spike and Shining looked to the purple mare with sympathetic frowns.

Seeing this, Cadence’s jaw fell open. She reached a hoof up partway to her mouth, looking to Shining Armor desperately, hoping for him to tell her that what she was thinking was wrong.

Luna watched the trio's gloomy faces, her own neutral expression falling as she realized that what she had been fearing had actually happened. "No…" She muttered to herself, lowering her head somberly.

Twilight wiped a stray tear forming in her eye, though she couldn’t wipe away her heartbroken frown. “I… should have gone with him.”

“Twilight…” Shining frowned, walking up and resting a hoof on her shoulder, though she didn’t react other than a slight head movement toward and then away from him.

“I failed him. Part of me knew something like this would happen… but I just left anyway. Does that make me a bad friend?” Twilight trailed off, struggling to keep from sobbing or breaking down crying again. Her bottom lip quivered, forcing her to press her mouth into a line to stop it.

“Nonsense,” Luna spoke up.

Everyone looked over in surprise as the alicorn sat up in bed with a slight groan. Luna cringed briefly at her own condition before turning to the purple mare with a sympathetically stern expression.

“I might not know much about what happened out there, but I know you, Twilight Sparkle. I know you would never leave a friend behind willingly. There was nothing you could have done… am I right?”

“I guess that’s right…” Twilight admitted, crossing a foreleg and still hiding her gaze from the alicorn. “But-”

“Enough. I will not hear any ‘buts’ on the matter. You aren’t a bad friend, Twilight… and you certainly did not fail him.” Luna interrupted before softening her expression. “If anyone here failed him… it was me.”

“What?” Cadence narrowed her eyes in confusion.

Twilight looked up to see the alicorn wearing a regretful frown, much like she had been. “Princess… what do you mean?”

Luna felt a pang in her heart as she looked at the unicorn, taking a moment before sighing. “Tom confided in me about his… situation, last night. I wanted to tell my sister about it so we could help him…” She looked away, letting her ears fall flat. “However, he convinced me to refrain from telling anyone. I thought I could resolve his problem myself before he would even need to fight something again… but then Dusk attacked the city. If I had told my sister sooner… then perhaps things would have ended up differently. I’m sorry, Twilight.”

Hearing this, the others all frowned sympathetically as the alicorn avoided looking at them. Spike in particular looked more upset than sympathetic as he lowered his head and gripped his arms to his chest.

Twilight softened her features and walked up to the bed beside the alicorn. She put a hoof on Luna’s leg, or at least on the bedsheets, and managed a slight smile. “You couldn’t have known something like this would happen, Princess. You were only trying to help him.” She assured.

Luna wrinkled her mouth, her eyes threatening to shimmer as she saw the unicorn showing her sympathy and concern instead of outrage and disdain like she was expecting. “Your words are too kind, young Sparkle… You remind me of my sister.” She said before adopting a more concerned expression as she thought about the white alicorn. “Speaking of which, how is Celestia? You found her, yes?”

Once again, Shining and Twilight grew quiet and somber, which immediately set Luna on edge. Seeing this, Twilight decided to speak, even if she didn’t want to bring it up.

“Princess Celestia is…” Twilight paused, trying to find the best way to say it and failing. Finally, she sighed. “That alicorn changed her… She’s a vampire now.”

A soft gasp rang out, but it was from Cadence instead of Luna. The blue alicorn herself was speechless as she stared ahead with mouth agape in shock.

“Oh… gosh, no.” Cadence brought a hoof up to her mouth. Shining walked over and put a foreleg around her in a comforting gesture, but she was still lost to her own thoughts.

Luna silently processed her thoughts and emotions for a moment. She swallowed dryly and took a steady breath before facing the purple mare once more. “Has she… fed on anyone?” She asked, seemingly dreading the answer.

Finally, Twilight was able to tell some good news. “No. She almost fed on me… but Dusk stopped her.” She said, reaching a hoof up to her neck protectively at the memory of her mentor holding her down and trying to bite into her. “I think he wanted her to stay herself… to make her suffer. He seemed like he had history with her.”

“Who is that guy, anyway?” Shining asked. “Do you know anything about him, Princess?”

Luna could only shake her head. “I’m afraid not. Celestia has never spoken of him… but from what I could gather, he does indeed have some sort of history with her.”

“Can’t we ask her?” Cadence suggested hopefully. “You said she’s still herself, right?”

Twilight frowned at this. “Tom had to knock her out so we could take her with us. As far as I know, she still hasn’t woken up.”

“I trust Glimmer Shine and the others are working on the cure?” Luna asked.

Cadence perked up slightly. “There’s a cure?”

“If I recall correctly, yes,” Luna said. “We came upon it when we were inventorying books from Raven Feather’s collection, but I’m afraid that I do not remember the details or which tome it was in. It was buried within walls of text on numerous subjects.”

“I hope you’re right about that,” Twilight said. “And not just for Princess Celestia’s sake… Apparently, the others found another mare that Dusk turned. I don’t know how, but she hasn’t fed either.” She noted, frowning a bit as she imagined the struggle the earth mare must have gone through.

“Is that so?” Luna skewed a brow. “How curious… What is her name?”

“Scholarly Scribble, I think.” Shining Armor explained. “I heard Glitter and the others talking about her. Apparently, she helped save the Crusaders and kept them safe until we got to them.”

Cadence’s expression fell. “That poor girl…”

“Indeed,” Luna noted somberly. “We must ensure that her bravery and compassion do not go unrewarded. Once we find that cure, we can have her and Celestia returned to normal, and then we can have a discussion about what is to be done about this Dusk character.” She had a bit of intensity return to her eyes as she thought about all of the horrors that the brown alicorn had brought with him.

The thought of the future made near everyone in the room uneasy, but they were at least in agreement about one thing. Dusk had a lot to answer for.

Meanwhile, Glitterball finished escorting Celestia somewhere she would be safe. She tried to keep anyone from seeing the alicorn in such a dreadful state, but the few shocked looks she saw from guards and staff alike only made her feel worse.

After she left her guard companions posted outside to monitor the alicorn, she sighed as she realized that her night wasn't over just yet. She was now tasked with the most important objective on their agenda.

Finding the cure.

The unicorn opened the door to the secure study and stepped inside. The almost cozy space was familiar to her and her team after all the time they had spent there studying monsters and magic.

Sunspot walked in behind the white mare, followed closely by a certain pale earth pony. The pegasus watched as Scribble looked around the room, a glint of wonderment in her eyes that told of how much she enjoyed reading.

“So this is where you keep all your books on magic?” Scribble asked.

“Yep.” Sunspot replied plainly. “Everything we know on vampires, ghoulies, demons, and everything that goes bump in the...” She paused, holding up a hoof to catch a yawn. “... night.”

Glitterball offered her friend a sympathetic frown as she saw her struggling to stay alert. “You sure you don’t want to go to bed, Sunspot? I can manage until Glimmer wakes up.” She suggested in a concerned manner. She barely managed to convince the stallion to get some rest, but she knew the pegasus was just as stubborn, if not moreso.

“And leave you alone with her?” Sunspot asked, glancing at the peach mare before softening her expression. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Scribble sighed and lowered her head. She hated that she had to be watched like some kind of wild animal, but it was a necessary evil.

“I think I can handle Scribble. Besides, we should still have some time before she starts getting thirsty again.” Glitter said.

“Just go get the books so I can pass out on one later.” Sunspot narrowed her eyes.

“Alright, alright… don’t say I didn’t offer.” Glitter sighed and shook her head at her friend before turning and heading toward the door at the back of the room that led into the actual storage for the books.

Scribble took a seat on a cushion near the central desk and watched as the white mare disappeared into the other room. She caught a glimpse of a shelf full of glass containers, each with different-looking tomes and scrolls locked away inside.

Sunspot grumbled to herself as she settled in as well, propping her head up with a hoof and tapping the other on the desk in front of her. “You like to read?” She asked, glancing over to the pale pony.

Scribble nodded, fiddling her hooves together uncomfortably.

“Good… ‘cause you’re helping us out.” Sunspot stated, lazily trailing her eyes over as the door to the next room opened again and Glitterball came out with a small stack of books floating nearby.

Scribble blinked as the unicorn deposited the stack of books onto the desk in front of them. Just one of the leather-bound tomes was the size of a small dictionary. “Oh boy…”

Glitterball stretched before sitting down with a huff. She passed two of the books to her companions before taking one herself and opening it up. “Let’s get started. The faster we find that cure, the better.”

And with that, the three mares began reading through their chosen books, and kept reading…

And reading…

And reading some more.

Time was a painful crawl in the silence of the study. The only thing keeping them from dwelling on their exhaustion and the ever-present anxiety that Dusk would break free of his prison and fly right up to Canterlot castle and flay them where they sat, was the walls upon walls of text in their books. Occasionally, they would find an artistic rendition of some horrifying creature or locale, but they did their best to ignore them, only stealing glances out of the corner of their eyes before shuddering and returning to their work.

Eventually, Glitterball found herself struggling to keep from nodding off. She had to prop her head up, and even then she nearly fell face-first into the desk a few times. She looked up to see Scribble continuing to be the most productive one between them, and Sunspot barely processing reality, before her eyelids obscured her vision.

As her foreleg fell out from beneath her, Glitter shot awake with a less than becoming half stammer-half snort. She darted her eyes around, only to sigh as she realized she nodded off briefly.

Turning her attention back to her book and flipping the page, the unicorn kept reading, expecting to slog through more off-topic information, until she leaned in closer as something stood out to her.

“Hold on… I think I found something.” She announced eagerly.

Sunspot looked up, forcing herself awake as she watched her friend reading more intently. “You did?”

“Yes…” Glitter muttered, more of an exclamation than a reply, as her eyes brightened. “Yes! This talks about the cure for vampirism!” She stated eagerly, picking the book up closer and continuing to read.

“That’s great, Glitter.” Sunspot smiled, getting up from her seat. “What’s it say we need?”

“Uh…” Glitter mumbled absentmindedly. “Silver shavings… the blood of the afflicted… bitter melon leaf… cow’s foot.”

“Cow’s foot?” Scribble stammered.

“It’s a plant.” Glitter said, looking up briefly. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed, and then her expression fell as she continued reading. “Oh no…”

Sunspot wrinkled her expression as she saw a familiar uneasy look spreading across her friend’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Glitterball looked over the text in the book before glancing up to Scribble, her ears flattening against her head. “This isn’t good…”

Eventually, Twilight found herself wandering back toward her room. Her head was no longer held low, but her eyes were distant as her thoughts.

Shining Armor had stayed behind with Cadence, despite offering to walk with her. No, she needed to be alone for a while.

Alone, save for her number one assistant.

Spike was walking alongside her, lagging behind ever so slightly. He had barely spoken since they returned, and any and all communication ceased after they went to see Luna.

Twilight glanced back to him, and although he played it off like he had been looking there the whole time, she could see him avert his gaze from her. Her own emotions were a wreck right now, but even in her current state, she was starting to get worried.

“You doing ok?” She asked softly.

The dragon glanced at her before folding his arms and returning his attention ahead. “I’m fine.” He muttered, flat as a board.

Twilight curled a lip downward. Still, she couldn’t rightly blame him. She would probably sound similar if she had to say she was fine.

"You know… I'm still here for you if you want to talk." She said. He remained silent for a few moments, goading her to continue. "I know you must be just as sad as I am, but it's ok to be sad."

Spike lowered his head slightly, an uncomfortable feeling welling up inside him. Although he didn't intend for her to hear, the unicorn could barely catch him say, "I should have done something."

Twilight slowed her pace, allowing the dragon to catch up as he stared at the floor and kept walking at the same speed. She put a hoof on his head, letting it linger as he looked up in surprise, only to see her wearing a sad smile.

"There’s nothing any of us could have done, Spike." She said, though her eyes seemed to disagree with her words. "Sometimes… bad things happen. We just need to hold onto what we can and wait for things to turn around."

Spike stared into her vibrant orbs briefly before forcing his eyes down again as they started to shimmer. Much to her surprise, he gently pulled away from her and kept walking.

The purple mare watched her young assistant, her mouth agape slightly and her eyes furrowed with worry. She would have started to say something, but around that time they rounded a corner and spotted a familiar yellow pegasus sitting up ahead.

In her mindless wandering through the route ingrained into her head leading to her room, Twilight didn't realize that she was heading to the temporary rooms where her friends were staying. However, it was odd to see Fluttershy sitting outside the door to her own room.

The pegasus was staring at the floor, a forlorn look about her that Twilight knew all too well. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, and the pair could even hear a few sniffles.

Hearing the dragon and unicorn approaching, Fluttershy looked up briefly before wiping a foreleg around her face and sniffling once more.

"Oh… hello Twilight," The pegasus murmured, making an attempt at brightening her expression. She turned to greet the dragon approaching her, only to pause as he started walking past. "And… Spike?"

Spike turned and flashed a slight smile to the yellow mare. "Hey, Fluttershy…" He said before glancing back to Twilight, still walking ahead. "Sorry… I'm gonna head on to bed. I'm really tired."

Twilight and Fluttershy watched as the dragon picked up his pace a bit and walked to the end of the hallway, where he turned off and vanished from sight.

"Is he ok?" Fluttershy asked with worry crossing her features.

Twilight knitted her brows together as she briefly stared at the empty hall where the dragon just was before turning to Fluttershy. "He's… taking this really hard."

"Oh," Fluttershy softened her expression and nodded. She understood perfectly.

"I thought you were with Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy glanced to the door behind her. "She’s asleep… finally," Her expression fell slightly. "I don’t think she slept at all on the trip back… or on the trip up."

Twilight frowned as she thought about how the cyan mare and her friends must have been handling things. Her frown only deepened as she realized that Rainbow also had to deal with her on top of everything else when she was having her episode.

"How is she?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

"Not good." Fluttershy trailed her eyes down. "After… a-after what happened to Blue… I think she was coping by telling herself that she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to anyone else. She didn't want me to see her crying… but after she thought I was asleep, I could hear her."

The more she thought about everything that had happened, from her normally steadfast friend's broken heart, to losing both Blue Bolt and Tom, the more Fluttershy’s eyes started watering.

Twilight’s mouth dropped and her ears drooped as the yellow mare hiccuped and bit her lip, trying to fend off the wave of emotion she had been letting out before she was interrupted. The unicorn reached forward and wrapped her forelegs around the pegasus, who finally let loose sobbing and accepted the embrace.

A few moments passed as Fluttershy wept softly into Twilight’s shoulder. Soon enough, her shaky gasps and hiccups faded, and she sniffed a few times before pulling back.

"I'm sorry…" Fluttershy said, her voice trembling still, as she wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Twilight assured softly, wiping a stray tear herself. "I don’t know how yet… but it will get better."

Fluttershy managed a smile, and although it didn’t last long, she nodded to show her agreement.

Just then, a set of hoofsteps came from behind them. The pair turned, only to see a guard walking around the corner, whereupon he paused as he noticed the unicorn.

"Ms. Sparkle," The stallion spoke, trotting up to the two mares with purpose.

"Yes?" Twilight twitched an eyebrow curiously.

"Sir Shining Armor asked me to inform you that Princess Celestia is awake." The guard explained.

"She is?" Twilight shared a joyous look with Fluttershy before that look shifted to one of unease the more she thought about it. Still, even if the alicorn was still feral, she wanted to see her. "Where is she?"

"She’s in her chambers. Ms. Glitterball left her in there." The guard said.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy, who silently communicated her own desire to come along with a slightly curved smile before the both of them turned and started trotting off.

"Thank you!" Twilight called behind her at the guard.

Much to her surprise, the guard called back.

"Wait… Ms. Sparkle!"

The two mares slowed to a stop as the stallion rushed back up to them. He panted for a moment, surprised at just how fast they could move when properly motivated, before looking to Twilight.

"I… realize now that this may be a tad upsetting for you," He started, adopting a sympathetic frown. "But… I have a package for you."

Twilight watched, more than a bit of confusion on her face as the stallion produced a small box wrapped in blue cord and handed it to her. It didn’t have any tags or identification of any kind.

"Wh… why would this be upsetting? Who is it from?" Twilight asked.

The guard started to say something, only to pause and exhale softly."He told me to give it to you… in the event that he didn't get back to me."

As she drew her eyes along the box in her hoof, the blue cord catching in the light, a moment of realization struck her. And, even though she didn’t allow it to reach her face, Twilight’s eyes wavered briefly as she felt how oddly heavy it now was.

“R-right…” Twilight’s lip trembled before she forced it to stop. She inhaled sharply and floated the box beside her. “Thank you…” She said sincerely, before turning and walking away again as the guard gave her a stoic nod.

Fluttershy watched the unicorn leaving with a bit of surprise, before trotting to catch up with her. She was keeping the box in her magical grip, but otherwise, she seemed to be ignoring it.

“Twilight… aren’t you going to open it?”

Twilight paused for a moment to look at her friend, and then at the box, her eyes falling as she did. “I’ll open it later… I just… can’t right now.”

Fluttershy softened her expression as she saw a familiar hurt in the unicorn’s eyes. She looked like her body was here, but her mind was still back on that hilltop, reaching out for a friend she had failed to save, that they all had failed to save.

“I understand.” The pegasus said.

Twilight let her eyes linger on the box for a moment before setting her mouth in a line and tearing her gaze away. She then shifted her thoughts to her mentor, and to all the trouble they yet had ahead of them.

“Come on… let’s go.” She suggested, picking up her pace once more and rushing toward Celestia’s bed chambers. Fluttershy followed close behind, hoping against all hope that there wouldn’t be any more bad news on this endless Nightmare Night.