Hivemind Control

Celestia lowered herself into the warm water. A strong herbal smell rushed to her nose as her body was engulfed in the extracted oils. This was very relaxing, even if she still felt a bit of stress with Luna not having arrived yet.

"Don't worry, Princess," smiled Twilight. "She's here in the castle and she's agreed to join us. She's just taking a little bit of extra time in the shower, that's all."

Celestia rolled her head around to look at Twilight. "You're a princess, too, you know. Just Celestia is fine. Or Tia. We stand on equal ground, and this is not an official meeting."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't go worrying about it too much, either."

"Sorry."

"Twilight, take a deep breath."

She took a big breath in and held it, puffing out her cheeks.

"And let it out."

Slowly, Twilight exhaled. She was starting to feel a little better.

"Luna will come," affirmed Celestia. "I know she will. She was formerly a wielder of the elements of honesty and loyalty. It's not as though she would break her word. I just have to wonder what's taking so long."

After a few more minutes, the door opened and Luna walked in. Both of her front hooves were wrapped in bandages that extended up to her wrists. Trotting over to the edge of the bath, she sat down next to the basin. "You'll understand if I stay out of the water."

Celestia looked from the bandages to Luna's face. "I'm going to need you to explain yourself, Luna."

"Blisters," came Luna's response. "Nasty ones. Too much sudden strain on my hooves, according to the doctor. I don't want to risk them suddenly popping and contaminating your bathwater, so I wrapped them up nice and snug."

"What sudden strain?"

Luna lifted one of her hooves to examine the wrappings. "Apparently, it was an allergic reaction. I was unaware that I had any allergies, so this was news to me. Probably from the oil the stonemason used."

"At least we caught it early," smiled Twilight.

"Another reason I don't want to become too wet is the rash cream," continued Luna. "I just applied it, so I'll be soaking alone later."

Celestia sighed. "The reason I wanted to see you in here today is because I've been so worried about you, and I thought I might relieve some of my fears. Now we're just adding to them."

Luna reached over and placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tia. This isn't what I wanted. It's just a bad set of circumstances that led us here. All we can do now is make the best of what we have. And if these blisters and rashes don't go away soon, I may be restricted to the castle for a time. Until then, bigger shoes to hide the bandages."

Celestia rose partially from the water and hugged her sister. Luna did her best to hug back, but could only go so far as her elbows. Her hooves were still bandaged, after all.

"I'm going to see to it that this is solved," promised Celestia. "You will have the best medical care in Equestria. I swear to it."

Luna nodded, a tear running down her cheek. As she pulled away, Celestia sank back into the water. "Now, enough talk of my personal tragedy. This is meant to be a happy, healing discussion. Do either of you have any topics of joy?"

"I'm glad you asked," beamed Twilight. "I was cleaning out my laboratory and making sure I had what I needed for the next few months' worth of experiments, and I found out that the side table that I've been keeping my paperwork on was actually not a table with a tablecloth on it, but a delivery crate from last season full of extra equipment. It even came with a bottle of Sodium Pentothal, so I don't have to buy a new one to replenish my stock."

Celestia smiled at that, glad that Twilight was still the studious gatherer of knowledge that she'd always been. Her desire to understand was a shining beacon of hope for the future of Equestria.

Luna, on the other hoof, cocked her head to the side. "Why did you need barbiturates?"

"Sleep studies," answered Twilight, not missing a beat. "What about you two?"

"I've been seeing a stallion," responded Luna. "Tia has met him, though I don't think they started off on the right hoof."

Celestia sighed. "No, and I was meaning to apologize for that. I've been very defensive, perhaps a bit too much. My words that morning are no less true now. I care about you very much, Lulu. I don't like seeing you hurt. I was wrong in my actions, though. I should not have blamed him. I just can't help myself."

"I'm sure he will forgive you," smiled Luna. "And I'm sure he understands that you're only looking after my best interests."

"What about you, princess?" asked Twilight, looking to Celestia. Realizing that she'd just repeated her mistake from earlier, she shrunk down a bit. "Sorry, Celestia."

"Oh, I haven't had the stallion I'm seeing over just yet." Luna's jaw dropped. A moment after she said it, Celestia realized what she'd let slip. "No, wait, that's-- I mean, we're not seeing each other just yet. We've only met the once."

"And you already consider yourselves as seeing each other?"

"No, no, it was just a slip of the tongue. It's nothing more than a simple infatuation. Nothing more, I promise."

"Are you going to see him again?" teased Luna.

Celestia sighed. "Look, I know I have a country to run, especially with your hooves being hurt, but in all honesty, I have thought about him several times, and there's a part of me that wants to go watch him practise. Just thinking of him now has me all riled up."

Twilight smiled and placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder. "Why not? Luna might not want to show off her hooves, but she can handle the castle from behind a desk. Plus, you have me to help. I'll gladly take a load off your shoulders if it would grant you some happiness."

Luna nodded and placed an elbow on Celestia's other shoulder. "We all deserve happiness. But you should tell him how you feel. If he's into you as well, pursue him."

A tear of happiness ran down Celestia's cheek, dripping from the corner of her smile. "You two... I could not ask anypony else to stand by my side at Equestria's rule. Thank you, both of you."