It was a few hours after Princess Luna had departed, and Ice found herself standing by the window looking outside. It was starting to reach dusk in the Crystal Empire, and normally this view would be amazing. It was still quite beautiful, the orange rays of the setting sun reflecting off of the shards of crystal that made up the many buildings of the Empire. However, the sight was tarnished a bit from the buildings that had been damaged by the attack.

One thing that she had noticed though, was that there were caribou that had returned to the city. Ice instantly grit her teeth at them. She immediately assumed that it was as she feared until she saw them speaking with other ponies and apparently taking direction from them. She watched intently for a while trying to get a judge of these bou. These caribou had access on them, but they were more akin to those a pony would see in a wood cutting shop. She also could see other tools that would be used for building. These bou appeared to come to help. That either meant that they were a different… she wanted to say clan, but wasn't sure that was the right word… or that they were part of WRAITH'S plan all along and we're only helping rebound as part of their point. She wasn't sure which yet

She watched them a little longer until she heard a knock at the door. "Miss Storm, it is approaching the evening. I came in to get your vitals and get you changed for the night. Unless the notes in your file were incorrect, and you no longer suffer from Nocturnal Enuresis?"

Ice couldn't help but blush from that, and it only intensified as she remembered that she was still wearing the protective garment from when she woke up from being out of it. She looked back at the nurse. "No no, I do… thanks to a combination of my magic and what my father did to me, it's something I've been told I'm going to have to deal with for the rest of my life…"

"My apologies, Miss Storm. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. I'll try to make this as quick, and as comfortable as I can," Ice heard the nurse say patting the bed. She was going to ask if she could leave the fresh garment on the table and she'd change herself, but with the injury on her side it was likely to be more difficult and painful than she'd like. Reluctantly, Ice laid on the bed on her back, blushing profusely while the nurse started changing her. She didn't want to admit it, but it did feel kind of nice to not have to worry about it herself. She twitched a bit as she felt the cold worse wipes before the new garment was secured under her hospital gown.

"There you go. All set for the night. Also, Princess Twilight is here to see you. She was actually getting ready to know just before I was," she said, seeing the look on Ice Storm's face. "Don't worry, she doesn't know. We leave these in the cabinets in the rooms for that reason," the nurse said, visibly seeing Ice relax.

"Thanks. I appreciate that… the less that know that I have to wear a diaper at night, the better. I would hate to have to try to explain that. Everypony would either think I'm either a freak, or weak."

"Nonsense Icy," the nurse protested. "No pony would honestly care. Sure there might be a few that if they found out would try to tease you about it or try to hold it over you, but most would still see the same pony that I see. A strong, confident mare looking to make Equestria a better place. No pony can judge you for things you can't control, and medical conditions are among those things. Besides, you are kinda cute like that," the nurse said with a wink, making Ice blush a bit again.

"Thanks… moving on," she said, pulling the covers up since she was about to have company.

"Is there anything else I can get for you tonight?" The nurse asked.

"Maybe some dinner. I haven't had anything to eat since I woke up and I'm kinda hungry… am I allowed to have a salad?" Ice asked.

"You should be able to. I don't believe you're on any food restrictions, but I'll double check. I'll at least get some food up here soon for you," the nurse said, opening the door back up and heading out, leaving it open for Twilight.

Ice watched the purple alicorn come into the room and smiled. "Good to know that my efforts weren't in vain, Princess."

"Oh, Twilight is fine. After saving my flank from certain death, I'm pretty sure we're well past that formality," Twilight smiled. "I just wish I would have been somewhat conscious when you were using your magic. I've never seen another unicorn with the abilities that you have."

"I appreciate it, Twilight, but I'm nothing special. All I did was create and shape ice. Nothing more. Probably one of the most basic spells a unicorn can learn really," Ice admitted.

"Are you kidding me!? Most unicorns might be able to make anywhere from a few snowflakes, to a snowball or two, and you just made what amounts to a mini glacier down fifteen flights of stairs! That is most definitely not average unicorn magic!"

"Perhaps not, but seems pretty basic for an ice mage, not to mention… it did come at a pretty hefty price…" Ice Storm commented, pointing to the ring on her horn and the bloody crack-like cuts around it's base.

"Ah yes, aether fatigue. A case like that according to the books I've read, with proper care and treatment should heal within a couple weeks. Probably won't be able to use your magic again until then," Twilight said, rambling slightly.

"Gee, thanks for the words of encouragement there… I'm totally looking forward to being magicless for a couple weeks…" Ice said sarcastically. "That being said, I am kinda glad that you showed up tonight. I have a few matters that I'd like to discuss… first… this is probably a silly question… but do you know the silence bubble spell?"

Twilight just kind of raised an eyebrow, as if the answer would have been obvious before casting said spell. "I must admit… I am intrigued to know what you would want to talk to me about that would require a silence spell."

"I wanna know more about WRAITH, and how to fight them. Princess Luna said that you were the one in charge of the task force assigned to dealing with them. Equestrian Protection information whatever it was… I. Want. in," Ice said with a fire in her eyes. "Knowing now that I can effectively use my magic to protect others, I want to help make sure this can't happen again."

Twilight stood there flabbergasted a bit. Both that Ice knew about the secretive nature of this topic, and the fact that she knew about it to begin with. Then she remembered that she was a pupil of Luna and also front and center of the attack. Realizing that it came of little surprise that Luna would have informed Ice about EPIC, especially with the role that she ended up playing in the battle. "You definitely have the ability, but there's still a protocol I must follow. Background checks, health checks, make sure that you have nothing going on that could be a problem. But other than this incident, you've always seemed in perfect health, so I'm sure that won't be a problem," Twilight stated, noticing the blush that Ice Storm was wearing now. "Is something wrong?"

"Might as well get this cat out of the bag now… if you go through medical records you're going to find out anyway," Ice said, throwing her covers down, exposing the protective garment that she was wearing. She saw Twilight look down and then back up to her.

"Interesting… has a cause been identified?' Twilight asked. "It wasn't something you sustained from this fight was it? I can get the very best from Canterlot on it."

"Yes, a cause has been identified, but no it wasn't from the fight, though I doubt it helped matters… I was thrown through a wall when I was a filly, and it caused some permanent damage. Then, the stronger my magic became, the worse it got… thankfully it's only an issue I have to deal with once I fall asleep," Ice admitted through her blush.

"That is…rather unfortunate, but quite interesting at the same time! The way that magic interacts with the body has been a mystery in Equestria, and just when we think we're getting closer to a breakthrough we find something else that raises more questions. I've never heard of magic causing or strengthening bedwetting issues. It's something that I personally would like to study at some point. Perhaps we can find a way to reverse it," Twilight responded.

"I have to admit… that wasn't exactly the response I was expecting to get… also at least the nurse used the scientific name for the issue..." Ice replied.

"Sorry... though we are getting off topic here, and no this won't jeopardize your entry. However, I can't promise it will remain secret with it's other members. Now, what were you looking to find out? What I can tell you here is limited. What did Luna tell you about them, so I know where to start?"

"Well, I know what the acronym means, and I know that they wish to bring about a reign of tyranny. Otherwise that's about it."

"Really, that's about all there is to tell. Many of its members are misguided ponies that think that harmony is a sign of weakness. That just because our land is harmonious, we can't defend ourselves," Twilight replied.

"But they are right Princess," she said, getting a look from Twilight. "Sorry, habit… but as I said, they are right. At least in a sense. Harmony may make us stronger, but we are still woefully unprepared for things like this." Ice interrupted.

"But you're wrong. You yourself are living proof that you're wrong. Because of the harmony that we have, ponies can find ways to make themselves stronger. Ponies have access to avenues of advanced studies like The School for Gifted Unicorns and the Canterlot University of Magic, both of which you graduated from, am I correct?" Twilight asked, getting a nod. "It's ponies like you that step out of the shadows like this and help protect Equestria. We bind ourselves together and while we might end up bending, we will never break."

"This time, and only because they were going easy on us. If they wanted to, they could have flattened the Crystal Empire with their cannons, taken what they wanted afterwards, and by the time anypony figured out what was going on, the entire city would have fallen." Ice said.

"You're right about one thing, those cannons would have done damage, but they wouldn't have gotten much more than a few buildings, much as they did. Ponies, like you did, would have found a way to protect themselves," Twilight said.

"That would have been a tall order Twilight. Unless the Crystal Empire has crystal cannons hidden somewhere, those ships were essentially magic proof. If the Red Jarl outfits them with anything like that, they could overpower Canterlot easily."

"Not likely. That's not their style. They target from behind the scenes. This whole situation is actually very unusual for them."

"Which means they are getting bolder," Ice commented. "And after a successful attack like this their confidence is going to be high."

"It probably will be, but now that they've played their hand, we can prepare. We know that they are now working with this Red Jarl, outside of Equestria, which means they are going to have things that absorb or eliminate magic. However, they wouldn't be able to accomplish that on all sides at once. No matter how invincible a foe may seem, there's always a weak point. Between our intell, and the might of our guard, we'll be fine."

"Speaking of, I had one of my friends go to the library. She's going to pull everything she can on the Crystal Heart. I'm trying to figure out how all of our guards got brainwashed to begin with." Ice explained.

"I don't know how successful she's going to be. Not because that information is protected, but because we simply do not know much about the relic. We know that it's powered with the love and unity of the Crystal Ponies. Prior to a couple years ago, most of Equestria didn't even know this place existed. Because of that, we don't have anything in the Canterlot Archives on it either. However, those are questions that I to, want answered. Cause you're right, the heart should have stopped it," Twilight confirmed.

"I'm planning on looking into that as well. Since I can't use magic right now anyway, I was going to use this time to assist the guards that weren't affected in the investigation. Do something productive while I can't run my shop." Ice commented.

"Well, there is always the observatory. I know Luna gave you a key, and there's always something to do there," Twilight countered.

"True, but you should know that without magic, dialing those telescopes properly is neigh impossible. To do it right you have to turn the different knobs at the same time and I've only got two free hooves to work with," Ice said to the princess.

"That may be, but it would be in your best interests to hold off until we finalize your affidavits for EPIC, for which you have to be in Canterlot to fill out. Those forms aren't just something that we hoof out willy nilly. Then we'd have ponies trying to infiltrate us… Not that they probably aren't already trying," Twilight said with a huff…

"Yeah, Luna mentioned that as well. Something about being a member granting higher privileges."

"Exactly. But if you want to look around a bit once you get out, I won't stop you. I just can't promise you'll find much. To be honest, we haven't even found much. Many of the guards that were affected are stricken with amnesia, and don't remember anything starting from a few days before. They still think it's last Tuesday and that the Faire hasn't happened yet," Twilight commented.

"That… sounds like an intentional reaction from whatever they were under. Hopefully they aren't getting reprimanded too hard though...I imagine just knowing that they have blood on their hooves was hard enough for them. Can they really be held accountable for actions not of their own?" Ice asked.

"Unfortunately, there is still a layer of accountability. If anything it falls onto myself and the other princesses for not managing things correctly. I mean, we had no idea anything was wrong until everything started! The guards will be reassigned outside of the Crystal Empire and probably go through retaining. Surviving members of families from this probably won't have to work very hard for the rest of their lives after we compensate them. I know it can't bring anyone that was lost back but…"

"But we can prevent this from happening again, and prevent it we will. It might take some behind the scenes work, but Equestria is strong. Of all the mistakes that WRAITH made with this, the biggest was showing us where our weak point was," Ice said. "Now we can fortify it," she added, pounding her front hooves together with conviction. Then wincing a bit as the movement sent stinging lines down her side. "That… Want one of my smarter ideas…"

"Well, you did just wake up after getting stabbed and using an unprecedented amount of magic. I'm not shocked that you're a bit tender," Your said before there was a knock at the door and the nurse came in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Miss Storm, I have that salad that you wanted," the nurse said before pulling the mare's covers back up for her own modesty.

"Oh, thank you very much! I'm starving," Ice said.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can get you," she said before continuing her rounds.

"Well Icy, I think I'll let you go ahead and enjoy your dinner. I mainly came to make sure that you were doing okay and to thank you for getting not only myself out of the spire. But everypony else that you managed to get out as well. Equestria owes you a great debt," Twilight said with a smile. Have a good night!"

Ice Storm nodded, as she munched on a few leaves of lettuce. "Thank you for stopping by!" She said, swallowing what she had in her mouth. "It means a lot that you would stop by and pay a visit. Though after getting visited by two princesses in one day, I doubt I'm going to get a moment's rest in the waking hours."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much. Hospitals like this one are generally good about respecting the privacy of their patients no matter who they may be," Twilight smiled. "I'll see you back in Canterlot," she finished before exiting the room to let Ice Storm eat.

The next morning, Ice woke up with a stretch and a wince as she stretched just a bit too far. She also felt the familiar squish between her legs. Habitually, she tried to take the garment off with her magic so that she could shower, but was then reminded about the ring when it cancelled out her aether. "Oh… right… just when I thought my little issue couldn't make me feel even more like a foal…" she says to herself before pushing the button for the nurse.

While she was waiting she began thinking about what Twilight had told her last night. It appeared that WRAITH had covered itself pretty well from how it had staged this. Twilight and her team had found very little useful information and they have avenues of getting that information that most don't have.

"The guards don't remember anything… And Twilight said that there wasn't much of a warning or anything left over to find…" she said, feeling a familiar twinge in her lower region. She let out a sigh before cutting loose. It wasn't like she wasn't already wet anyways, and she went back to thinking about important matters. "I wonder if Pressy was able to find anything… she's been gone for a while," Ice said to herself.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and the nurse had come in. "Good morning Miss Storm."

"Please… just call me Icy. Being called Miss Storm all the time makes me feel like an old pony," she said with a giggle.

The nurse gave her a smile and then nodded. "Right. So Icy, I presume you slept well?"

"About as well as I could. I'm usually a side sleeper and I kinda can't do that at the moment. Otherwise I slept decently. I can tell I'm still feeling some effects of the medication though, as it was a dreamless sleep."

"Ah, that happens. We're you needing something this morning? If you're hungry, breakfast is in about an hour," the nurse said.

"Actually," Ice said, blushing. "I do need your help a bit," she added, pushing the covers off. "Normally I'd take care of it myself but I can't use magic at the moment, and bending like that is more painful than I would like at the moment…"

"Oh right! I actually almost forgot about that. The overnight nurse mentioned I'd probably have to do this for you in the morning!" The nurse said happily, closing the door to give them some privacy.

"You seem… a lot happier about that than I would expect." Ice admitted.

"Na, the perfect amount! I love any opportunity that I get to help others, big or small. That's why I became a nurse to begin with. Helping tend to the care of others is my special talent, and I'm always happy to help," she said breezing through the clean up. "Now, since you're getting up. Do you need or want another? We won't judge and will let you get more bed rest."

"I think I'll be okay for now, though if they give me meds later for pain I might need it. Anything that affects my state of mind affects that so…" Ice explained.

"Alrighty then. Just let us know. Despite what most may think, we are here for your comfort," she said, tossing the soiled garment into the trash.

No sooner did the nurse leave, Icy spotted Presteza coming into the room. "Sorry Icy! I would have come back last night, but I spent hours searching through the books in the Crystal library, and the only thing I found on the heart was what was in the history of the Crystal Empire. And by the time I found that, it was already later into the evening."

"That's perfectly okay. I had a rather full day of visitors yesterday as it was. Both Luna and Twilight both came by." Ice smile.

"Oh wow! You must be the talk of the hospital then! Having been visited by two princesses and having saved one of them? I bet everything is absolutely buzzing right now!" Presteza says with excitement. "Hey, you might even get a stained glass window in the palace!"

"While I don't doubt there will be a medal or something. I'm not an element bearer. Just a regular old unicorn. I doubt they'd spend that much money on a pony as simple as me. I just make ice cream and frozen treats." Ice stated.

"Icy, you are anything but a simple regular old unicorn. Not everypony can even come close to doing what you did. And as one of your best friends, I can tell you with absolute certainty that you are every bit as loyal as Rainbow Dash, and every bit as generous as Rarity. You could have easily been either one of those elements. You're always trying to brighten someone's day and it takes a very special kind of pony to stay positive in light of everything you had to go through," Presteza said, giving her friend a very gentle hug. "And now, whether you believe it or not Icy, you're an Equestrian Hero. Let yourself shine a bit! Show the ponies of nobility what it truly means to be noble!"

Ice smiled a bit as she thought on those words and gently returned the hug that she was given. "Showing nobility how it's supposed to be… I do kind of like the sound of that. And don't worry. After what Twilight told me last night, I wasn't expecting you to find much. In fact had I known we had that little information on the heart itself, I wouldn't have asked you to do that. I'm sure you had other valuable things you could have been doing with your time."

"You see!! Right there! Even laying in a hospital bed you're more concerned about others than you are you. Simple unicorn my flank."

"Careful Pressy, or once we're home I might have to take you up on that offer," Ice commented, making Presteza blush a bit and then lightly bap at Ice with her hooves.

"Icy! Bad! This is a hospital! What if somepony else heard you!?"

"And?"

"And what we do at home isn't anypony else's business!" Presteza said while Icy stuck her tongue out. "Anyway did they give you any better of an answer as to when you're going to be let out? I kinda wanna go home soon, and I don't wanna leave my best friend here all alone here."

"Don't know yet. I just woke up a bit ago and the nurse just finished cleaning me up from overnight. She was the only pony other than you to show up, but I know that they wanted to monitor this gash for a bit to make sure it was actually healing properly" Ice said as there was another knock at the door. "Oh, speak of the devil. Here's the doctor now."

"Good morning Ice Storm. I am Doctor Heartbeat. How are you feeling this morning?" The Doctor asked.

"About as good as I can be, I suppose. There's always a way to be better when you're in a hospital bed," Ice said, getting a laugh from the doctor.

"Well, I can't really argue with that. At least for most, but at least there are ponies like us here to help," Doctor Heartbeat started. "How's your range of movement? If you're able to stand, I'd like to get these bandages off and see the progress the salve has been making and apply new dressings," he added.

"I was up yesterday looking out the window. It was a little bit painful, but it wasn't unbearable. Felt about like when it happened," Ice replied, pushing herself out of bed. Hey friend looked as if she were ready to pounce at her with the slightest slip. She felt the doctor untying the gown, and she was suddenly quite happy that Pressy was here with her. It wasn't that she didn't trust the Doctor, but it still made her more comfortable.

She felt him pull the fabric away and he found the start of the wrap that held the bandages. He then slid a pair of scissors under the end and cut straight across. She couldn't help but wince a bit when the cool air hit the wound. "Oh yeah, this is healing up nicely," she heard the doctor start. As more was removed about a seven inch gash along her side was exposed. There was quite a bit of redness around the wound itself, but only very little in the way of swelling. The salve was keeping the tissue healthy and preventing it from becoming scar tissue. "As long as you remember to keep it covered and keep the salve on it, at least until the wound is receptive to actual healing magic, this should clear up without anything close to even a blemish within the next couple days," he finished.

"All that's left now, is to get you wrapped up, and to get a couple drops of blood to check your aether levels. While I doubt we will be able to take that off any time soon, this will give us a better idea of how long that recovery will take. Still, if this is anything to go off of, that shouldn't be too long either," Ice heard the doctor explain. "That said, would you be more comfortable if I had the nurse come in and reapply the bandages and the wrap? I know most mares aren't really comfortable with stallions around their underside," the doctor offered.

"It's fine. I trust you to be professional. Besides, if you tried anything funny my friend would blow you away. Literally," Ice told him. "How do you need me?"

"The easiest is either an upright seated position, or leaning with your forehooves against the wall. The seated position is usually the most comfortable and least revealing," the doctor admitted.

"Well as much as my best friend would love the show," Ice started, getting the biggest 'I'm going to kill you later' look from Pressy. "I think sitting will probably be best then,” Ice Storm said with a smile as she took a seat back on the bed.

Doctor Heartbeat nodded and then moved up to the mare and began to carefully apply a new coating of salve, making Ice Storm wince a bit. “You know… I’m glad that I was out the first couple times that this would have been put on…” he heard the mare say.

“Yeah, this stings quite a bit during application, but that’s because there is magic in it, and it’s keeping everything fresh and healthy. You know, so we don’t scar that pretty coat of yours,” he said, causing Ice to blush. He also noticed the snicker from her friend as she watched before he started applying the gauze and the new wraps. “Alright, there we go. Good as new. Now just need to see your hoof here for a second,” he said holding what looked to be a small meter like thing.

“Now, you're going to feel a small stick here as this pulls out a bit of blood,” The Doctor said once again before pushing the needle to her hoof and letting the needle hit the frog.

“Yeek!” Icy squealed as she felt the stick, making Pressy burst out laughing.

“You… you can take a shot from a spear… but you can’t handle a small prick from a needle?” Presteza said teasingly.

“In her defense, the frogs of the hooves have more nerves than anywhere else in the body,” Doctor Heartbeat said, siding with his patient. “Besides, a small yelp is hardly the worst reaction I’ve had to a needle,” he added, watching the meter and looking at the charts. “Let’s see… according to what I read in your chart… your aetherium should be sitting around the three-tens, three-twenties as far as your aether goes… and right now you are sitting… at right around eighty three… That’s not bad over the course of four days, and I think once we hit about one fifty we should be able to take the ring off. So as long as you don’t do much more than levitation or minor spells for a while afterwards, you should rebuild pretty quickly.”

“Does this mean that she can go home?” Presteza asked the doctor.

“With everything healing up this well, I don’t see why not. Besides, Canterlot has some of the best doctors in Equestria. They might be able to help her with some of the other issues that she has,” The Doctor said knowingly.

“It’s a good sentiment Doc, but they can’t. They’ve already tried,” Ice admitted.

“Worth a shot, and hey, you’re still one of the strongest mares I know. Nothing changes that,” The doctor responded. “I’ll begin the paperwork to have her discharged. With any luck, you two should be free to leave in an hour, though I guess technically your friend could leave at any time,” He said walking back out the door.

“Yes! Finally we can go home! I’d book the next train, but let's be honest here… we’re going to be here for a bit yet. He said an hour… in hospital talk that’s more like three…” Presteza said.

“Oh Pressy, they aren’t that bad.”

“Says the pony that was just yesterday complaining about how long she had to wear that ring on your horn! Though… I’d probably complain about that too… but that’s beside the point!” Presteza countered with Icy laughing.

“Oh, some of the procedures are awful, but with everything that happened, I imagine they need the extra rooms right now. So if he said an hour, I’m more leaning towards forty-five minutes,” she said, feeling and hearing her stomach grumble. “Once we’re out though… The Hay Burger… Ithink they had one by the station, and I could use a double hayburger with cheese, and a pound of fries.”

“Deal, I’m kinda craving the same,” Presteza said as they waited for the doctor so they could leave.

Author's Note

Hopefully this was worth the wait for everyone. There is a minimalist depiction of nocturnal incontinence from previous issues in the character's backstory. While it only plays a minimal role in the overall story, it plays a major role in character developement and some of the opportunities that open up for her later on from these, and other issues that come later in the story.