Back on Duty

Luna was waiting for Gregory when his carriage landed back at the Canterlot Castle. He was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Celestia, but still happy that the flight was over.

"Hi there," he greeted once the pegasi had brought his carriage to a stop.

"I saw you approaching from the balcony," Luna explained. "Sister is speaking with the Council in the meeting room. She should be done in an hour."

As far as Gregory could recall, this wasn't a scheduled meeting of the pony leaders. Perhaps Celestia had uncovered something new about Blossom's enslavement and was acting on it? It would have been rude to barge in and she would undoubtedly tell him all about it when she was done.

"Okay, I could use something to eat, though."

Luna turned to follow the man into the Castle and only remembered at the last second to pause and thank the guards. "Oh, thank you kindly for your service, uh- corporal."

Gregory noticed her moment of uncertainty. "Silverwing," he whispered.

"Corporal Silverwing," Luna repeated more loudly. She flashed Greg a grateful smile while the four pegasi were saluting. She was really trying to remember all the names of staff ponies, but sometimes they would slip from her memory. Everyone who knew her didn't mind.

As they resumed their walk the Princess spoke up: "There is some lunch left in the staff dining hall, I believe, or you can wait for dinner."

"Dining hall will be fine. Anything new from Blossom?" It wasn't likely that Luna would know, but it was something to fill the silence so Greg asked anyway.

The Princess shook her head. "Fluttershy has spent the whole day with Blossom. I believe Sister wishes to speak with her and you after her meeting."

"Okay. Do you want to join as well?"

"Perhaps it would be wise."

It occurred to Gregory that he hadn't really heard Luna's opinion on the whole 'Blossom affair'.

"What do you think about it all, though?" he asked. "Slavery in Equestria? I still think there's a human behind it all."

"It might also be a griffin or a dragon. Tartarus, it might still be a pony," Luna said, even if her muzzle scrunched up in distaste at the words. "Whoever it is, rest assured that we will find them and punish them." The mare stopped and turned to face Gregory. Her wings spread out and her expression was nothing short of fierce. "Then I will personally make their every sleeping moment a nightmare!"

Her voice held dark promise that made Gregory think about Nightmare Moon. He'd only heard stories of that, but seeing Luna angry like this made it all the easier to imagine.

"Celestia might not want you to take it too far, though."

"What Sister doesn't know will not bother her!" Luna muttered. She relaxed somewhat and sighed. "You are probably correct. I should try and not let my anger rule my decisions."

Gregory acted on impulse and stepped closer so he could lay his hand on her withers. Luna leaned into his touch and he slid his fingers through her mane until he found an ear to scratch. It really did help her relax.

"Thank you," Luna said simply.

A clatter of hurrying hoofsteps sounded from the other end of the hallway and a unicorn in golden armor galloped into view. Even before he was around the corner he was shouting: "Princess Luna! You must come quick!"

Gregory and the mare froze at the sudden intrusion. "Princess!" the guard repeated. He spotted Greg and added: "You come as well, Sir!" The guard slid to a stop a few paces away from both and pranced nervously in pace. "There has been- it's-" he tried to say, but remembered something just in time and clamped his muzzle shut.

Luna took a hesitant step forward. "What is the matter, private?! Speak up!"

"It's B-Blossom, ma'am!" the stallion answered, glancing around uneasily and chest heaving from the effort of running.

"Blossom!? What's wrong?!" Gregory exclaimed.

"There as been an attack! You must come quick!"

Luna started to trot and the guard, relieved, took the lead. "Has Sister been summoned?" she asked.

Gregory broke into a brisk jog to keep up with the pair. The guard pony had said 'attack' and it made the man worry. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash should have been with her at all times, so nothing should have happened to her at all! There were guards! Any kind of action against the mare had been unthinkable just five minutes ago! He hoped like hell Blossom hadn't been hurt. The guard had said 'attacked', not 'killed', so Gregory let his mind seize onto that.

"Sergeant Tail has gone to fetch her directly!" the unicorn answered Luna's question.

Luna thought for a few seconds, then asked: "Where is Blossom? Is she alive?!"

The guard had turned down a different corridor and barely dodged a maid who was staring at them, before he could answer: "East wing, second floor, near the guest suites, Princess! She is wounded, but not seriously."

It was both a relief and worry. If she'd been hurt, Blossom might revert to her mistrust of everyone around her. Hopefully she would still trust Gregory, but he wouldn't blame her if she didn't. He had promised her everything would be fine.

Luna's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Private! Sergeant Silverwing and his squad are putting the flying carriage away in the courtyard. Go and find them. Tell him to send one flier to find Captain Fire Fly. He is to immediately lock the Castle down!" It was a good plan and Gregory nodded to himself as Luna continued: "Nopony is to leave or enter the Castle. Send word to all the gates and watchtowers and make sure anypony leaving Canterlot, whether by road or by air, is noted!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the unicorn stopped and saluted. He seemed relieved that a Princess was in charge and giving orders.

"Follow me," Luna told Gregory and increased her pace. Gregory found speed he hadn't known he even had. He wouldn't be able to run like that for long, but at that moment the only thing on his mind was Blossom.

"Right behind you!" he gasped.

The guard turned and ran the way they had come and was quickly out of sight.

Celestia and Doctor Sherbert were already there, as were several guard ponies. Gregory recognized Fire Fly and Longstride, but barely spared them a glance as he was trying to see inside the room. He could hear Celestia giving orders inside Cadence's guest suite, so Greg simply pushed past the crowd.

Luna stayed behind to speak with Fire Fly. "Send guards to lock down the castle!" she ordered. "Whoever had done this must be caught!"

"Rainbow Dash is in pursuit, Princess," the guard Captain explained. "I've sent a team of pegasi after her."

It sounded like they had everything in hoof, so Gregory stopped paying attention. Celestia was in the antechamber with doctors Wellhoof and Sherbert. She looked up and relief flashed in her eyes for an instant.

The two medics stepped aside so Greg could give the Princess a quick hug. "How is she? Where is she?" he asked.

"Blossom is fine," Celestia assured him. "It was a minor injury, thanks in no small part to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. She is resting."

He didn't need to ask and all three ponies stepped aside when Greg pushed onward into the bedroom. Blossom was indeed there, a pristine white bandage wrapped around her foreleg and Fluttershy sitting beside her on the bed. Both stared at him for a second, but then Blossom brightened up and started lifting herself. Luckily Fluttershy pressed her gently, but firmly down while Gregory rushed forward.

"Don't get up!"

The mare obeyed and just waited until Greg was there. He cupped her muzzle with a hand and she gave it an urgent lick.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there, Blossom. This shouldn't have happened!"

The mare just shrugged a little. Perhaps she was in shock? Gregory looked at Fluttershy, who just gave him a faint, worried smile.

"T-They mis-missed," Blossom explained.

"What happened?" Greg asked Fluttershy.

The pegasus closed her eyes and folded her ears down before replying. "Two ponies. We were going to the room from lunch. One of them had a spear."

"Did you see them? Who were they?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm sorry, Gregory. They were all in black, even their faces. It happened so fast. If it weren't for Rainbow Dash..."

He would have asked more, but talking about it was reminding Blossom and the mare was starting to sob. Gregory crawled up on the bed and the mare threw her hooves around his waist. He patted the back of her head. "It's over now. I'm sorry, I won't talk about it anymore, sweetie. You're safe. We'll make sure you stay safe, okay?"

He made sure not to sound doubtful, even if he wasn't entirely certain of what he was saying. Blossom was in the middle of Canterlot Castle, presumably the safest place in Equestria, yet this had still happened.

Princess Celestia raised her voice in the other room: "... don't care! Luna and I will interview every single guard, understood? Where is Lemon Slice?"

Gregory didn't hear the reply, but then Luna said: "Search the city! Find her!"

It sounded as if his hunch about the mare had been correct, not that it brought him much joy.

Blossom seemed to be calming down, so Greg carefully pried her away. "I have to go and talk with the Princess in the other room, Blossom. I'll be right here, okay? Five minutes."

Her eyes were large and brimming with tears, but the young mare nodded. Luckily Fluttershy took his place, patting Blossom on her back and wrapping her up in her soft yellow wings. Even as he left, Greg couldn't help looking back several times to make sure they were still okay. He rejoined the two Princesses, the guard Captain, and the doctors in the antechamber. It felt quite crowded, but Gregory was happy about that. The more ponies, the less chance anyone would try anything.

"Ponies dressed in all black. They had a spear," he said, even though they probably already knew it.

Fire Fly gave him a nod, but his expression was grim. "We found the spear. It is standard guard issue."

"So it were some of the guards? Is anyone missing?"

The stallion looked even more troubled. "Lemon Slice, so far. We are checking the roster."

Gregory sighed and sat on the couch, where he put his face in his hands. "Okay, that's good. Some of them may stay undercover, though."

Celestia came closer and gave Greg a gentle nuzzle. "We will interview everypony in the Castle, Gregory. This has gone beyond spying now. This is no longer subterfuge, it is an attack!"

"I will get to the bottom of this!" Luna said with conviction. "If Rainbow Dash catches the- those scum I will interrogate them personally!" She stomped a hoof for good measure.

"Blossom- how bad..." Gregory asked, looking at Dr. Sherbert.

The earth pony doctor glanced at his unicorn colleague, then stepped closer. "Just a nick. Don't worry. We checked the spear for poison, but there wasn't any. Blossom didn't even require stitches. I gather that Rainbow Dash knocked the attacker away in time."

At least that much was good news.

"The guard will be stepped up," Celestia instructed Fire Fly. "I am sorry, but we cannot trust any single pony with this. There will always be multiple guards near Blossom and their rosters will be chosen randomly." The Princess walked around the room as she thought and she glanced into the bedroom. "I will personally put a barrier on the window and the door to the balcony. Furthermore, Blossom will not leave this room without either myself, Luna or Gregory, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Fire Fly saluted. Then he slumped a little and pulled his helmet off. His ears were completely flat. "P-Princess?" he began, then swallowed as both of them looked at him. "I can't help but feel like this is partially my failing as well. Traitors in my guard!" Fire Fly said and shook his head in saddness. "Perhaps if I had learned more from Captain Shining Armor..."

Celestia interrupted him. "We will not assign blame at this time, Captain. I do not doubt your loyalty. Just make sure something like this does not happen again."

Luna thought of something and her ears folded down. "Sister, there will be rumors. An assassination attempt in the Canterlot Castle. It will be a scandal."

Celestia sighed, but nodded. "You are right, of course. I will prepare a statement so that we may get a jump on these rumors rather than the other way around. Captain, send somepony to my clerks to organize a press statement."

"What do you need me to do?" Gregory asked.

"Stay with Blossom. There has to be a reason she was attacked. She either told us something important or was about to."

"If she already told us, what would be the point of trying to kill her? It's a lot of danger for petty revenge."

Celestia thought this through. "Perhaps whoever is behind this didn't hear about Blossom in time. Maybe the earlier rumors that she was your... mmm, 'squeeze' worked in our favor. I think this was the earliest they could have organized this attempt."

"More importantly," Luna added, "it means that Blossom can lead us to them. Otherwise they wouldn't have risked something so... public."

"Good thinking."

"Did you learn anything at the Baltimare garrison?" Celestia asked.

His trip felt like a million years ago and Gregory had to think for a second to remember. "Oh, that's right. Comet Roll is in solitary confinement and isn't allowed any visitors. I tried, but the commander wouldn't hear anything about it."

At this news Celestia spun around and stared at Fire Fly, who shuffled uneasily. "Captain, have Comet Roll released immediately and escorted back to Canterlot. He obviously knows something which somepony does not want us to hear!"

Luna added: "And, in the future, if a Castle Guard is charged with a crime which warrants imprisonment, do not have him locked away without a hearing."

The stallion saluted. "Of course, Princess. I will see to it myself. I will take a flying carriage and go fetch private Comet Roll personally!"

Celestia inclined her head in agreement. "Good. We're past the point of trying to hide our knowledge of this conspiracy. Luna, take command of the Guard while the Captain is away. Investigate this with alacrity."

"Yes, Sister."

Greg added: "I'll stay with Blossom, but I also want to help."

The Princess gave this some thought. "You should proceed with the investigation among my clerks. There is still the question of why Ember Wishes left in such a hurry and why the report I asked for was as lacking as it had been."

"Will do."

"If that is all, Princesses," Dr. Sherbert said after a short silence, "I will make sure my patient is okay and then take my leave." At a nod from the Princess he grabbed his bag and walked into the bedroom.

That reminded Celestia and she gave Gregory a meaningful look. "Blossom has reverted to her fear of unicorns. Can you find out why?"

"I'll try," Greg promised, looking at Dr. Wellhoof.

"She had a panic attack when she saw me," the unicorn explained. "I checked her with a spell to make sure she wasn't in mortal danger, then I sent for Dr. Sherbert to bandage her up."

"Was it unicorns who attacked her?"

"No, Fluttershy said it was two earth ponies," Celestia shook her head, "but her fear of them is probably connected to the whole mystery. I wish we knew more."

"I'll do my best to find out." Another thought occurred to Greg: "Maybe it would be a good idea for me to sleep here. I'll take the couch, just in case Blossom has nightmares or something. We don't want her running around the halls at night in a panic."

"Very well," the Princess said, with only a slight tinge of disappointment in her voice. Gregory doubted anyone else had even noticed it.

He gave her a small smile and went to check on Blossom. The doctor was just finishing with his examination, peering intently into Blossom's eyes while he listened to her heartbeat.

He dropped the stethoscope in his bag and closed it with a quiet click. "I think everything is okay, young mare. Take it easy with your leg for a day or two and you'll be right as rain."

Blossom just nodded, looking down at her hooves as soon as the stallion moved away. Doctor Sherbert walked past Gregory with a polite nod and left. That just left the three of them. Blossom looked hopefully at Greg, who obliged by going to sit on the bed by her side. He put a hand around the mare's withers and heaved a sigh. It had been a worrying mystery before, but now it was also a dangerous one. Hopefully Celestia and Luna would weed out the bad guards, if there were any left, and Comet Roll would be able to tell them something about the stone mine where Blossom had been kept. If they found that, it would probably lead them to whoever is responsible. Once the head was cut off, the rest of the operation would quickly fall and they could go back to a world where the scariest problem was late paperwork.

"Sweetheart?" Gregory asked.

Blossom shifted a little so she could look at him.

"Can you tell me why you are afraid of... horns?"

Her lips tightened and her ears folded down. Blossom would have looked away, but Greg had gently brought his hand up from her withers to cup her muzzle. She didn't fight his touch.

"It's okay, they won't get you. I need to know so I can help."

Her eyes were already filling up with tears, but then Blossom drew a shaky breath and said: "They b-beat me..."

"The unicorns? I mean, the horns?"

She nodded and Fluttershy put her hoof on Blossom's in a show of support. "They s-said if I told, they'd..." Blossom began, but a frightened little whimper interrupted her words. "They'd... f-flay me," she finished.

"I promise they'll never get close to you. You don't have to be afraid of them anymore, okay?"

Blossom didn't look too certain, but Fluttershy stroked her leg and asked: "What mustn't you tell?"

Gregory held his breath as they waited for what the mare would say next. She opened her mouth, but then shook her head. "I m-mustn't!" she whispered.

"We need to know, sweetheart. It'll help us keep you safe."

Unfortunately Blossom just closed her eyes, shook her head and started to sob gently.

"I think that's enough for now," Fluttershy said with finality, glaring a little at Greg.

He felt like shit, but they had to have some answers, and soon. Blossom would have all the time she needed to heal once the crisis was over. He still deferred to Fluttershy's wisdom in these things and let it drop for the momrnt, though. "You'll keep trying?" he asked quietly.

"I will, but not now," Fluttershy assured him.

That had to be good enough. If he tried to pressure the soft-spoken, timid mare, she might decide to use the Stare. Gregory hadn't been the target of that yet, but he'd heard it was pretty terrifying and had no desire to experience it himself.

"Thanks."

He shuffled higher up and grabbed a pillow so he could lean more comfortably against the headrest. As soon as he became still, Blossom also wiggled closer until her hooves were around his legs and her head in his lap. She sniffled a few more times and fell silent. Only the rise and fall of her barrel proved she was still alive.

"It's going to be a long afternoon, I think," Gregory commented.

"You'll stay with us?" Fluttershy asked, a smile returning to her muzzle. "She's a lot calmer with you around, you know?"

"Yes, but I'll sleep in the other room on the couch, okay?"

"That is fine."

Gregory sighed again. "Good thing I forgot my toothbrush here..."

The admission made Fluttershy giggle softly. A moment later Blossom also chuckled. He put his hand in her mane and tickled an ear until the mare flicked it in annoyance. "We'll catch the bad guys and put them in prison. I promise, sweetheart."

Blossom just nodded against his belly.