— Twilight —

She sat up next to the window facing the apple orchard below. Tied to one of the trees she couldn't see from here was a zombie Daisy. She had eventually woken up, and the rope proved strong enough for Twilight to spend some time observing her. However, she didn't pick up on a whole lot like she hoped. Communication attempts failed, attempts at gestures failed, attempts to hypnotize her fell short, and overall, the pale mare was simply driven by a wicked virus that took complete control of her. Twilight knew it had to effect their brain somehow, but this only brought about more questions in her mind. She eventually left Daisy to herself against the tree, as there really was nowhere they could safely store her yet.

More papers were scattered about the desk on the other side of the room, but her mind was running awry. Twilight sighed as she gazed out the window, eager to focus her thoughts on the next steps. She had hypotheses ready to experiment on, but she was too overwhelmed to figure out where to start.

Sat beside her was Ty. Not long ago, she had quietly made her way inside, careful not to wake Cloudchaser sleeping behind them. Twilight originally wanted to bombard the mare with questions about why she was bothering her at a time where she needed to focus, but ended up sitting in solace with her. They sat for so long just staring out the window that she had not noticed Cloud waking up.

“You two playing ‘I spy’?” she asked from behind.

They both turned around to see Cloud stretch before she got off the bed to come and join them. She observed the mare’s dangling foreleg and struggled to figure out how the mare was walking so casually. There was a hop to her step, but it was hardly noticeable. It reminded her of Devan, who was one of the thoughts freely swirling in her overcrowded mind.

She had gotten in a brief argument earlier with Dash and Fluttershy about the situation, still uneasy about the thought of Devan, with a missing leg, heading straight into the epicenter of this disaster with only two mares to protect him. They tried to reassure her that he would be okay, but she still did not agree. While she knew in the back of her mind that she should set thoughts about Devan and Pinkie aside, she could not help but worry about them.

“We are,” Ty said, “I spy with my little eye … something … red.”

Twilight looked over at the mare, who was smiling gleefully back at her. She sighed, looking out the window at the orchard in front of them.

“Is it … an apple?” she replied dryly.

“Yes! Gee, Twilight, you sure are good at this game,” Ty playfully responded.

Twilight turned back to Cloud, who walked between them and eyed her carefully. She had yet to talk to the mare, as most of her day was spent either alone or with Dash, Fluttershy, or AJ. She appreciated their company in a time like this, but she struggled to find time away to solve these new worldly problems. It did not help that the farm seemed so crowded with ponies.

“Are you alright, Twilight?” Cloud asked.

“I … am. I’m just trying to work through some things right now. Clear my head a bit.”

“I understand.”

Ty dropped her playful demeanor. “Are you still thinking about your missing friends?”

Twilight sighed. As much as she wanted to lie, she knew they already knew.

“Yes. I’m just worried, that’s all.”

“I am too, Twilight,” Cloud said, “your friend Devan is very sweet. I don’t know if the others told you, but him and I grew close. He even saved me at the Canterlot gate.”

Twilight was surprised by this information. “He did?”

“Yes. I figured they already told you, but I guess not. The bridge that crosses the river in front of the gate was up, and nopony was there to let us in. So we crossed the river, but Spark lost her grip on me. It’s really hard to swim against a current with a missing leg. But Devan risked his own life and slipped down the current to grab me before the waterfall. I owe him my life,” she explained.

Twilight turned away from the mare and stared out the window again in an effort to hide a few tears that were starting to form. Both of them noticed, however. She felt Ty’s hoof on her shoulder while Cloud continued.

“My bad, Twilight. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay,” she said, wiping her tears away, “I’m glad he was there for you.”

“I am too. That boy is tough. I would be more concerned for the zombie ponies he and the others encounter.”

Twilight could tell Cloud was trying to ease her mind, but she seemed to be exaggerating to do so. She still believed Manehatten would bring nothing but trouble to Devan and his two mare friends. They explained to her the supposed safe zone the royal guard mentioned, but she wasn't keen on believing there was one.

“They have quite a battle ahead if Manehatten is what I think it is.”

“Come on, Twilight,” Ty replied, “Maybe they're at the safe zone already. Manehatten might not be that bad.”

Cloud added, “Even if it is, he’s got the two best mares he could be with right now. Spark and Candy will keep him safe, I know they will.”

Twilight finally felt a bit of relief from her words. While she still worried about Pinkie, at least Devan seemed to be in good hooves. In the meantime, she needed to find a cure for her cure.

“Thank you, both of you. I feel a bit better now.”

They both smiled before leaving the room so she could focus. As they did, Celestia walked up and stood in the doorway.

“May I come in?” she asked.

“Of course,” Twilight answered.

The tall princess walked in, observing the rest of the room until she sat down where Ty had. She, too, gazed out the window, watching the apple orchard slowly darken as her sun set. Twilight looked up at her former mentor, struggling to understand what emotions she was feeling. The only time she could tell clearly was when they had lost Luna. Even now, just a day later, the princess seemed contempt again.

“How are you doing, Twilight?”

“I’m okay …” Twilight said unconvincingly. Celestia gazed down at her, reading her intently, and probably more successfully than she ever could to her.

"Please, if you do need to get some things off of your chest, do not hesitate in getting me. We've been through a lot, Twilight, and I'm sure there's still more to come. A mind at ease is one of the most powerful tools you can have at a time like this."

Twilight looked up at her former mentor with a new sense of comfort, as well as confusion. She knew the princess was strong, old and wise, and generally handled herself pretty well, but was she not shaken by any of this? Was it all a façade?

“I'll be okay ... eventually. But ... Celestia … what about you? You’ve been through the same crap that I have. Aren’t you at least a bit disturbed?”

The princess continued gazing out the window, not so much ignoring Twilight’s question as trying to find an answer for her. She was deep in thought, which Twilight knew all too well. They sat together for a moment in silence.

“I am. I am troubled,” Celestia replied, continuing to stare out the window, “but we have to be strong. I have to be strong. There are so many ponies counting on us right now that we do not have the time to be weak.”

"I ..." Twilight sighed. "I don't want to be the one to bring up hard subjects, but ... what about Princess Luna?"

She noticed a glimmer of sadness flash through Celestia's face. Twilight continued.

"I know we haven't gotten the chance to look for the moon or anything, but she could still be alive, you know?"

Celestia sighed. "I know, Twilight. It just seems unlikely. I do wish to return to the train station to find her body, but it doesn't make sense risking others' lives to do so. I miss her dearly, I do, but I must set aside my emotions for the good of the group."

Twilight set a hoof on the princess's front hoof, causing her to shed a tear.

"I'm sorry, Celestia."

The princess wiped her tear.

"Thank you, Twilight. Though, I came here for a different reason."

“Why is that?” Twilight asked.

“Show me what you have done so far. Let’s try to solve this thing.”

Author's Note

Hey y'all. Hope you're doing well so far, and still enjoying the book. Just wanted to hop in and say that I will likely be returning to daily chapter releases. The next chapter is hefty, and was the primary reason I needed to fall back a bit on the daily releases.

This ain’t really a spoiler, but if you’d like to continue with a fresh mind, please ignore:

The book is approaching it’s climax. Things are about to get pretty dicey now.