Hivemind Control

Cadance sat outside the bedroom with Dip, waiting for the examination to end. Dip had fallen asleep on her shoulder, exhausted from the day's events. He'd passed out right in the middle of eating, meaning there was half of a burrito on his thigh.

Cadance desperately hoped that Shining was doing better than she was. She hadn't sent him a message about this yet, wanting to confirm whether or not this was the same thing Luna had gone through, first. The only pony she had contacted by mail about this was the physician in Canterlot who had examined Luna, and he had not responded yet.

The door opened and the local physician stepped out. "Have you heard back yet?"

"No," answered Cadance, "Not yet. How is she doing?"

"She's stable for now, but we can't be certain if it's the same thing that has been plaguing Luna until we look at her bloodwork, as well as Luna's. For now, she needs rest."

Cadance nodded. "Is there anything I can do to assist? This is a lot, and you probably want all hooves on deck."

"She's stable," repeated the doctor. "We don't need to do any big operations, just keep an eye on her and make sure things don't go from bad to worse. We gave her a cream for the rash and drew a blood sample. We also took some scrapings from her skin to examine. I'm going to go downstairs and see if I can glean anything with my limited equipment, but if you really want to help, just watch her and let us know if anything changes."

Cadance nodded and stood up, gently picking Dip up with her. "What about him?"

"He's passed out and dehydrated," analyzed the doctor. "We can put him in a bed and give him an IV drip, but it's not necessary that he receives treatment. Let him sleep, give him orange juice when he wakes, and he'll be fine."

Cadance nodded and handed him off to a guard that had heard the instructions. There were a few spare cots in the barracks, and anypony could handle giving him a glass of juice. With him taken care of, Cadance made her way into Celestia's room. She was curled up on the bed with the remaining guards cleaning up, and the captain making his way out.

"How do you feel?" asked Cadance.

"All the joy I felt before dinner is gone," grumbled Celestia. "I can't believe Luna would be so petty as to infect me with her weird disease."

"We don't know that," reasoned Cadance. "It may be something different that presents the same way. We don't know for certain yet."

"It's almost certainly the same thing."

"Well, it probably wasn't Luna that gave it to you. It could have been something else entirely."

Celestia rolled over and scowled at Cadance. "Nopony else but Luna has this ailment in all of Equestria. Who else could have done this?!"

Probably the pony that gave it to Luna in the first place," scowled Cadance. "I have my doubts that she gave it to you, moreso that it was intentional, and even moreso that she would infect herself with something that brings her great bodily pain for the sole purpose of spreading it to you. Do you really hate your sister that much?"

Celestia curled up and huffed. "I don't want to, but I can't help it. I don't want to think ill of her, but every fibre of my being is screaming that she's behind this."

"I understand that you feel that way, but it's not true. Luna would never hurt you of her own volition. I know she wouldn't."

"She already has," answered Celestia. "Do you not recall the return of Nightmare Moon?"

Cadance took a deep breath. "I know she did that, but it was not of her own making. I know that, you know that, and most of Equestria knows that she did not come to that decision on her own."

Celestia rolled over and glared at her niece. "Are you saying that it was my fault?"

"No," answered Cadance, "I'm just saying it wasn't all Luna's fault, either. It was a moment of weakness from her that she's fought against ever since."

"I did not weaken her," growled Celestia. "I gave her everything she has, and she spat back in my face! How dare you infer that I had anything to do with that! I protected Equestria by cordoning her battle off and locking her away for a thousand years. I'm the reason Equestria wasn't destroyed!"

Cadance took a step back, as did the guards. "I'm not trying to infer that yo--"

"I don't have to put up with this!" snarled Celestia. "All of you, out!"

"Aunt Celestia, please, be reasonab--" Cadance ducked as a lamp crashed against the wall behind her. Not needing to be told again, she ducked out of the room with the guards in tow, closing the door behind her. "I think her stallion friend is right," she said to the guards in a hushed tone. "She needs some sleep. New orders: do not let her leave this room until she's had a nap, and especially don't let her go to where Luna is."

With a fervent nod from the guards, Cadance made her way to the map room and opened the door. Much to her shock, the guard she had invited back had already arrived. He had a presentable blouse, a small bouquet of flowers, and had combed his mane. She'd completely forgotten that she'd called him back, and he'd been waiting so long that he'd fallen asleep.

As she tried to move him to a more comfortable position, he yelped and fell out of bed. "I-I'm sorry, princess! I didn't mean t-to... please don't fire me!"

Cadance placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Relax. I'm not going to fire you, I called you in here to fool around. However, given the circumstances, for once, I don't feel like it. I think, for tonight, I just need a hug." The guard, not sure how to react to the whole situation, extended his front legs slowly. Seeing how nervous he was brought a smile to Cadance's face, and she wrapped her legs around him. "Would you like to sleep in here with me tonight?"

"If that's what you want."

Releasing him, she climbed into bed, lifting the sheets and inviting him in. Once he was situated, she doused the lights and drifted off in his warm embrace.