As Stars Above, so Crystals Below: And the Depths that Hide Them.

Few had to endure such hideous fates as these, fewer were made subject to such boorish wickedness, and even fewer were required by their mere association with the Princess of Friendship to be doomed to an evening of unfortunate formal drudgery. Still, as her assistant and counselor of her school, perks a plenty were never far. Free food certainly being up there. She loosened the collar of her dress as subtly as a sparkling turquoise aura would allow. Painfully, she played it off as adjusting her lavish necklace. Rarity had insisted politely at first then kindly demanded she don the whole ensemble, hefty gems and all if she were even to be seen at this event.

"Believe me, being seen at this thing in any capacity is the last thing I want to do."

"Darling, don't be so childish groaning like that. I can't understand why you don't see it as an honor. Attending the Grand Crystal Commemoration Ball as the official attaché of the Princess of Friendship? Twilight is our friend and all, but such a privilege and you being the pony chosen for it. If it were me in your place, I could hardly contain my gratitude. That's what this corset...," she paused to latch onto one of the straps with her teeth, giving it a firm yank and forcing a grunt from her victim, "...is for! Now please, stow that sour expression away. Consider what it is you're really doing, dear." With a gentle nudge from her hoof, she directed Starlight to look in the mirror. "You are destined to succeed Twilight after she's been elevated. These things are part and parcel to the position she holds now. The one you're to hold in the future. It is truly a wonderful blessing, one that makes all that you call 'dog and pony shows' worth enduring. Don't you think?"

Her memory wandered through that conversation again, the sweet firmness of Rarity's words, the extraordinary display she saw in that mirror, the dread that held all daydreaming of glory at bay. Could she really assume such a mantle? Fill the massive horseshoes Twilight would be leaving behind? It seemed so daunting, nearly impossible. Magic and its endless pursuit was one matter. She'd had hiccups, yes, but overall small trouble with mastering the art. But such grandiose administration that essentially all of Equestria looked to for guidance? How could she stand before it all and risk disappointing any of them? Especially her mentor, her friend, the only pony who saw she was worth saving, let alone loving. Tonight, she would have to prove to them all Twilight's choice those years ago was not made foolishly. A fair many naysayers still retained serious doubt about her being let off the hook. There were even those in that same group who'd cried her horn be broken and herself paraded to the gallows. Yet, there had only ever been one who'd tried. That someone was actually executed. In fact, the very heinousness of their actions demanded the resurrection of the archaic practice. She was there for it, unwillingly too. Far more so than here.

A wandering mind always plagued her with memories when dread roiled her insides. Possibly a gut response to distract her from the butterflies, but this was no time to retreat into herself. It was no use. She couldn't shove the horrible scene away. The concoction of dread paired with disgust turned her stomach worse than she could ignore. She'd need something to settle it. She'd bypass her utter lack of appetite with sheer iron will. She'd force herself directly to the concession table, down something solid, and follow it with a bit of punch. Hopefully then her nerves would soothe enough to get her up on stage. As casually as she could, she trotted over to the table, greeting the few who she passed close to, politely ignoring those who called from farther away. Not much further now. It was getting close. Dandelion sandwiches with little olives skewered through, cinnamon-sugar-sprinkled hay-fries, roasted butter-pears, zap-apple pies! Her mind wanted all of it. Her body wanted none of it. Something lighter, something lighter! Come on! Wait, were those seaweed chips? Perfect! Not ideal, yet enough to hold her over. Her gait quickened. The additional bounce from her steps was of little help and littler concern. Time was short. Eat now or lose her lunch. And finally! She- was interrupted suddenly by a random unicorn.

"Starlight!"

"Uh, hi! Do I... know you?" She said this trying to scoot around the pony who somehow failed to see the urgency of the situation. He followed in scoot.

"You do, actually. Little Miss Miracle's Academy for the Surprisingly Gifted. We were classmates, remember? I sat behind you. Was a part of that study group for end-of-year exams. I even lent you my notes that one time."

Starlight had no time for more memories. Now or never. Chips in guts or guts in toilet. "Sorry, not ringing any bells." She'd no time for courtesy either, pushing the fellow out of the way to get at her quarry. An abrupt tug on the hem of her dress stopped her again. Her eyes turned to find that the unicorn had caught it in his magic. A fiery glare burned deadly toward him in a violent blue gleam, daring him to keep the dress in his clutch. Fortunately for them both, he wasn't that ignorant. His horn sparked out. For a moment, though, something about him held her gaze. Starlight noticed then, if only briefly, a strange glint in the crystal hue of his eyes. A glint in them that seemed... familiar. Before she looked away, he'd one more thing to say.

"Sorry about that. Those seaweed chips aren't exactly fresh. I saw one of the sous-chefs tote it in here sometime after everything else was laid out. A few have already eaten them. They've been in the restrooms since over an hour ago. I checked them myself and," he added this last remark with his snout crinkled in disgust, "I actually think I saw some moving." He paused, slightly gagging, and collecting himself said with a wink , "Wouldn't want you to miss your big day."

She shook her head in disbelief, but couldn't refrain from taking a cursory inspection of the late-arrived dish. Horrified, she saw it. Teeny, twig-like feelers jutted from one of the chips that appeared to haul themselves toward her. That was it. The last straw. "I think I'm gonna be sick," she managed to burp out. Then it was a race to salvation at the porcelain throne.

"Don't be too long in there!" The unicorn called out. Not a mite of her cared if she spent the whole night heaving her insides up. It was a decent excuse. Still, there was a new dread to face. The pain of anxiety forcing itself out of her system. So many eyes clicked to the galloping attaché of the Princess. Somehow, she'd handle all the press, all the questions, and hell maybe even turn this whole scene around where the bad parts would be remembered with a laugh in the future. Maybe even Twilight... Oh Celestia, could she handle Twilight? Surely it was just the butterflies, but the devastatingly disappointed face of her best friend seared itself starkly in her vision. That nearly took her out. BAM! BAM! Restroom and stall doors flung open before Twilight could watch her completely lose it in front of everyone. Terrible sounds of retching, sloppy splashes of loose wet chunks carried out through her esophagus in fits of choked coughing by torturously contracting muscles. One round. Another. Celestia's sake, another! Now everything solid was out, but her body switched to dry heaving at round four. Round five. Round six. Celestia, she prayed for a knockout. Then, a pause. Moments passed in waves marked by her now steadily pounding head. Was it over? "ULP!" No! Wait... *buuurrp*. That was the last of it. Thank goodness. Whatever failed to land in the toilet, she managed to clean up with a simple spell and then concluded the miserable experience with a flush.

The strain of casting out demons left her too tired to magic open the door, so she settled for poking it open with her horn. There above the sinks hung the gleaming mirror, determined to reveal all to whomever gazed deep enough into it. Maybe more than she'd be willing to find out. Streaked eyeliner, mucus dripping from her snout, a trail of spittle on her chin, bloodshot eyes, mussed hair. From another pony's perspective, one might say she'd just had a good cry. She did, sort of. Hard to hold back tears when your stomach refuses to hold back anything at all. "*Gasp!* Oh no, the dress!" she exclaimed. She thought she'd been careful enough, but those stains were damning. Considering she could just use the cleaning spell again, it wasn't that big of a deal. The real matter lay in the reflection. How what in it privately exposed what pomp and circumstance hid in public. A messy failure of a unicorn who couldn't keep the barest minimum of composure for more than five minutes. A unicorn without respect nor care for all the effort her friends put into loving her. To correct it all in a simple magical gesture seemed... dishonest. "A lie will remain a lie," she found herself lamenting aloud. Now she really began to cry. In fitful whimpers and heaving sobs, she shivered as her body drained the last of its fluids out through her eyes.

Groooooaaannn! A different cry from another stall caught her attention. An educated guess suggested it was one of the poor ponies who'd eaten the bad seaweed. Still, how embarrassing! She'd performed that whole scene with an unexpected audience. Just another mark of shame for tonight. Apologizing now certainly wouldn't alleviate the blush that filled her tear-stained cheeks. She opted to quickly spark her horn for the cleanup and make her exit without disturbing the other mare further.

GROOOOAAANNN! "Oh, sweet Celestia! Please, make it stop!!" The mare cried again far louder, her plea filled with a mournful desperation. She sounded like she was in actual agony instead of only suffering from a worse than usual case of indigestion. Starlight was caught in a bit of indecision. It was a fair chance this girl was in serious pain, but would it be a social faux pas to intrude on her while she dealt with her own "exorcism?" Possibly, but she herself wouldn't have minded if someone had knocked on the stall door earlier to ask if she was ok. Couldn't hurt, she thought. The Princess of Friendship helps everyone where she can. Wheeling around, she cautiously made her way to the stall that echoed those wails.

She called out, "Excuse me, miss. Is everything all ri-"

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!! IT HURTS! IT HURTS *GROAN* SO MUCH. JUST GET OUT OF ME! GET *URP* OUT!"

Oh no. Starlight felt that mare's panic radiate into her. "Just hold on! I'll get a doctor. I'm sure there's about five of them out there."

"Unnhh... I'm *ulp* s-sorry. I... can't, ugh, hold....uunnhh." The feebleness in those words betrayed how much trouble she was truly in.

"Yes you can! I promise, I'll be right back. No more than five seconds. Just-"

Never had Starlight heard such a noise as ghastly as what interrupted her. Some devil-possessed gurgling of gastric gasses rumbled the whole restroom for an eternity of a moment. Faintly following it was the poor girl's strained reply.
"Oh... bad."

Tartarus, it's said, existed in a single plane. She'd been there. She'd seen it. Breathed its rank air. That theory was called into serious question in that once crystal clean space built for relief and refreshment. All at once it became as that wicked place's foulest depths. She was reminded even of what the foals back home did after Nightmare Night: they'd round up all the rotten (and some not) pumpkins to catapult them at crudely fashioned targets. That barely describes what she heard, what she saw, what she smelt. It'd be easier imagining those pumpkins were pregnant with blistering, puss-filled sores whose membranes could no longer withstand the growing pressure. Eventually, their thin prisons could repress the fluids no longer. They exploded. Messily. Continuously. Until there was nothing left that could identify the vegetable viscera as pumpkin. Except here, they didn't explode so much as be violently expunged in a horrendous gastrointestinal eruption garnished by muffled wails. Her ears flattened against her head. Her body reeled back from the unnatural disaster. Whatever exhaustion she'd felt earlier washed away in the spike of panicked adrenaline. It kept enough of her wits swirling about for her to erect a magical barrier. Not a moment too soon, either. It stood stalwart, blocking the onslaught of biological debris cascading out, over, between, and under.

Everywhere there flew sickeningly green-orange splashings of some foul, viscous slime. Oh Celestia, these were moving too! Hundreds, no, thousands of those same small unholy creatures crawled along every surface they'd struck. Each one stretched their thin, stick-like phalanges towards her, quivering in anticipation of invading her body like they did the others. How could there possibly be so many from a few chips?! Did they rapidly multiply inside that girl until... oh no. If this happened to her, it'd certainly happen to the others. She'd need to find more than the attending physicians. She needed Twilight. Hell, Cadence too and every other bright-minded, determined, preferably iron-stomached individual that could help contain - and hopefully cure - this nightmare. Further inspection of the wriggling green masses revealed an additional horror, making her wonder if there was even a pony left to cure. Giblets and gobbets of crystal flesh trimmed with streaks of splattered blood littered themselves appropriately among the living-dead debris. Some morbid curiosity briefly welded her to that spot. Yet wiser, far more urgent thoughts prevailed, setting herself to first quarantine this restroom then fetch someone more qualified to handle this. The current barrier would hold plenty long enough so a seal could be placed on the entire restroom.

With a couple of firm taps on it to reassure herself, she did her best to put her squeamishness out of her mind and hastily leave for more pleasant scenery. Fates willing, she'd find somebody immediately. On second thought, better she scream for help instead of discretely asking for it. That pony needed saving now! To and through the door then out before she'd vomit again. It was still, however, a night of hold-ups. A new sound sputtered guttural in what she swore was a cry for, "...h-heeeh...heeell...hhhelp." Pity nearly moved her in the wrong way, but she resisted that urge to help where it wouldn't make sense. The door was opened. An ominous creak screeched terribly, sending a sordid resonance down her spine, standing her fur on end. Her ears in perfect alert. Her body in petrified movement. Her eyes in locked contact with the wrong portal. Every moment carried in slow motions. Sweat droplets coalesced on her forehead, her face, travelled down her chin and drip, drip, dripped onto the crystalline tiles. That sonorous creaking ceased, revealing sinister, tendrilled shadows writhing inside the stall. In the middle of it lay what Starlight figured was the silhouette of the poor mare, shattering all her optimism. At least it had the courtesy to kill you, she thought. She muttered a brief prayer that her soul would find peace and again went for the exit.

On the other side, she reignited her horn, superheated the crystal down the door jamb, melting the gap closed then sat right down while the seal cooled. Just a few seconds for a breather. I've got time. No pony to save now anyhow, she reasoned to herself. Now that she was back in the ballroom, she didn't recall the party being this quiet.

"...starlight..." Her ears perked up, catching what she thought was the muffled sound of someone calling her name. Strange, she was hearing just fine earlier. She'd definitely cleaned her ears out well after her bath today.

"...Starlight..." A little louder now, just enough for the voice to be distinguished as...

"Twilight!" Starlight shouted. She hadn't realized how much she needed to see her friend in that moment. Tears welled up again as she looked to embrace that wonderful alicorn and... darkness. Oh no, was she losing her vision too? Was she infected? Did one of those feelers get on her? Did she fail to get the barrier up in time?

"Starlight." That wasn't Twilight.

"Starrrrllliiigghht." There was some nascent fear that hadn't managed to grip her yet. With the adrenaline wearing off, it consumed her in full unrelenting force. Paralyzed, quivering, speechless, the oppressive voice echoed deeply from within and without.

"You have forgotten the seas, Starlight. You have forgotten me."

Forget?! She never forgot! She wanted to rebuke the accusation, but no words could she find. Like the very atmosphere restricted her speech, forced her mouth shut. It made her tongue as stone. Stopped up her nostrils. Stole her breath. Breath! She couldn't breathe! Panic swelled within her. No air, no air! No ground!, she panicked. Her hooves suddenly found nothing solid beneath them. And sinking, flailed, begged her mouth to open, her nostrils to unclog, but all felt as water. The voice answered her anguish.

"You have broken your word."

Whatever had latched her lips shut immediately released. In irrational desperation, she inhaled deep only for her lungs to fill with saltwater. Yet, and how strange it was, whatever stress had been assaulting her simply vanished, replaced by a peace so deep it was like... the dark. Breathing came naturally. Surrendering to the waters felt... simple and never before had she felt sleep come upon her so easily. Too easily. Then a final call from the voice reached what remained conscious of her drifting mind.

"You shall not abandon me again. Be still, and let the sea claim its due." Somewhere in that black ocean above her a triplet of jade lights emerged, then exploded into glimmering view. Pain. Excruciating. Abysmal. It enveloped her the moment those lights appeared. A thousand, thousand stinging pricks coursed over her. Tiny bumps grew then burst on every inch of her flesh to reveal branching feelers. She was helpless but to watch them increase in size, burrowing along the centerline of her abdomen. If she could scream, she'd have split her lungs to match her splitting skin, ribcage, stomach, and... Twilight!, she shouted frantically for her in her head. Twiiiliiight! Please! Help me! Nothing, no answer. Save for the rippling of the water and muted sounds of brutality. No pony to save now anyhow. Her own words replayed in her head hopelessly.

"Starlight!" Was that actually Twilight? No, a hallucination. Part of her still thought she could escape.

"Starlight!" The vision evaporated instantly. In its place was the worried face of that precious purple pony shaking her awake.

"Twilight?"

"Starlight!" She embraced her friend. What happened after she left the restroom? "You're ok! I swore, I thought I'd lost you. One of those things lodged itself in the back of your neck. I had to zap it off. I'm guessing you were in contact with one of the infected in there. It must have shaken you up pretty badly if you forgot to cast a health ward on yourself. I threw one on you when I was sure you were ok."

"One of those things...," Starlight repeated. There on the floor beside her smoldered the remnants of a feeler, no longer twitching. Twilight read the horrified expression on Starlight's face.

"Don't worry! I promise, you're not going to end up like whatever you saw in there. We're not sure why, but single feelers can only induce hallucinations during the initial thirty seconds of contact. I caught it before it could..." she paused looking for the right way to explain it. "...burrow itself deeper. Looks like it goes for the spinal cord at the withers. Celestia knows what happens inside a pony when they consume it. All we know are the results."

She found it hard to believe, but when it came to Twilight, she couldn't help but trust that reassuring look. Still, it didn't keep her from touching a hoof to the back of her neck only to snap it away at the stinging of singed flesh. Twilight looked guilty.

"I'm so sorry, Starlight. After seeing what happened to those other ponies, I was just so afraid. I didn't think to hold back. Oh Celestia, if you'd ended up like one of them..." she trailed off, attempting to choke back tears.

Starlight quickly reassured her friend. "Twilight, look at me. That didn't happen. It almost did, but it didn't. You saved me before it could." Starlight managed a half-hearted laugh. "You've done nothing but save me. I'm not sure if I can repay any of it."

Twilight gave her friend a gentle smile, something that spoke volumes. "You have more than you realize, Starlight. But if you want to do more, I'll need you to follow me to the temporary hospital we've set up."

Starlight nodded, following after her friend. The gathering was no longer the pleasant scenery Starlight had hoped for. Devoid of all festivities, now lay only a dismal ballroom. No ponies chatting, feasting, dancing, smiling, no sign whatsoever of a merry evening. What little life did remain were hazard-suited cleaning teams, probably dispatched by the Praetorian Guard, scrubbing and burning away at the floors, the walls... Celestia's sake, it was practically everywhere! The same sickening substance that expunged itself from the dead mare littered the whole room. Those teams were doing their best to excoriate it in its entirety and effectively so from what she could tell. What in the Hells happened while she was in the restroom?!

"It was awful, Starlight. In Rarity's own words, it really was the worst possible thing." Twilight must have read her thoughts. "The ceremony was about to start. No one could find you. A few of us, including myself, went looking right before everything happened. I guessed the nerves had gotten to you. That you were trying to calm down a little before your speech. I was just about at the restrooms when some stallion stormed out screaming for help. He was... spewing all that stuff you see everywhere uncontrollably. A few ponies came to help him. I know this sounds horrible, Starlight, but they should have let him be. Quarantined him right then, right there. Maybe even… Oh Celestia, I never want to see anything like that again. Even telling you about it is almost too much."

"Twilight," Starlight set her sights ahead, pulling them away from the warzone that surrounded them. "I guarantee you that whatever you tell me isn't anything worse than what I've already seen. I need to know."

The mare in front of her sighed. Her trot steadied to a walk as they came up to a tent fashioned from the ballroom drapes and stage scaffolding. "I suppose you have that right. I can better explain everything once we're inside. Oh, and forgive me for not mentioning this earlier, but you're going to have to submit to an examination. After that, we can go about resolving this mess." There was profound sullenness in both her face and voice. "Ugh! I hate that I have to do this to you. I hate that this happened tonight of all nights! I hate that I'm so helpless to do anything about it! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!" She stomped her hoof with every repetition of the word "hate." Several seconds of silence passed while Starlight watched her gaze mournfully at the tent before muttering quietly, "What an absolute nightmare."

"Hey," Starlight began, playfully nudging Twilight with her shoulder. "Do you know how much you and I have been through? How many times you've saved the world? You've been up against so much always coming out on top." A chuckle escaped her lips, "Believe me, I should know. And every time you've had something in your corner guaranteeing you the win."

"Yeah?" Twilight's eyes met those of Starlight's. It was inspiring, what was in them. The same look she'd supported her own friends when things were at their worst.

"Yeah! Being the Princess of Friendship, you should know exactly what that is. This is no different. You have me. You have ever since you pulled me from the brink. You are my best friend, my sister. There will never be a day you don't have my love or my support."

Her words broke the damn behind Twilight's eyes. The same with Starlight's. They took a moment to wrap their forearms around each other, cry, then pull away for a few sniffles and to dry up the watershed.

"Ok," Twilight said. "Let's head to the front. We need to check in first." Beside the entrance stood a podium, the same from the stage, with a suited pony behind it along with a unicorn and dragon. Starlight had to appreciate the scene. With limited resources, they'd done pretty well making use of what was available. Maybe all those stiff-necked officials held the positions they did for good reason. At least a few of them, anyway.

"Your Highness!" called the stallion holding down the stand. The two made their way toward him. "So glad to see you safe and, thank the Fates, you found Ms. Glimmer. Everything turn out alright?"

"As well as it could have," replied the Princess. "I found her right before a feeler had fully burrowed into her neck."

The suited stallion flinched. The other two creatures assumed a ready stance on either side of Starlight.

"Is... is she safe to be around... unprotected?"

This miffed Twilight something fierce. Knowing full well the condition of her friend of the ward she’d cast on them both, and adding the stress she was under nearly set her off. Still, she maintained her royal composure. Her response was measured, deadly cool, "I am a Princess. A well-studied Princess. A princess who's talent is magic. Not to mention Starlight's personal friend. If anyone would know to be concerned over her state, it would be me. All three of you can see clearly that I'm wearing no protective gear, because I used my magic to cast a health ward on the both of us. If that doesn't assure you of how safe it is to be around her, I'm not sure what will."

"Aha, c-certainly," stammered the stallion with a nervous chuckle. "I'll take your word for it, Princess. Nonetheless," he cleared his throat before continuing. "We must submit Ms. Glimmer to a full medical examination." Then adding said, "With an escort, of course. Can't be too careful, you know."

"Very well," snorted Twilight.

"And Princess." He still had more to say.

"Yes?" snapped Her Royal Highness.

"Having been in direct contact with a potential infected-"

"Go on."

"We, uh, must as well submit you to another full examination. Can't be too careful, you know."

So nice you had to say it twice, mulled Starlight.

Had she glared at him any longer, Starlight swore Twilight would have burned two holes straight through his eye sockets. The fellow looked like he was shaking.

"Very well. On one condition."

"Y-yes, Princess."

"I will be Starlight's escort."

"B-but, Your Highness!"

"That's final."

"But policy! Regulation! In times of crisis we can't just-"

"I said," Her Highness was face-to-face with him, ensuring he missed none of her words. "That's. Final."

There was still protest in his eyes, desperate to give her orders answer, but he was not an immovable object against this purple unstoppable force.

"As you wish, your highness," he relented. "The nurses are just inside. They'll direct you where to go."

"Thank you. Have you got our names marked in the log?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Very good. Carry on."

Watching Twilight act out the "princess" side of being the Princess of Friendship made Starlight wonder if she had it in her to exert such authority. True, she'd done so back in that town. The difference was her authority spawned from malevolence. Twilight's was from duty. No better time to learn than in a time of crisis, she thought. No better pony to learn from than Twilight. Silver linings were found in any situation. Catching the trim of the tent flap in her magic, Twilight held it open so they could enter. Inside two nurses met them, exchanged brief introductions and led them through the tent to where a doctor would see to them. Eerie the atmosphere, solemn the ponies that waded in it. Several spots were cordoned off by magic barriers. Some empty, most containing ponies with frightened, uneasy looks. None there had a glimmer of hope written somewhere in their destitute faces. That same question rattled all about her skull, growing ever noisier, ever demanding. Their march eventually halted at one of the reserved sections, where one of the nurses gestured toward Starlight. A cell meant for her with no other soul to share it with. How lovely.

A nurse treated and dressed her wound. Before lighting her horn, she was interrupted by Twilight. "Thank you, but I'd rather be the one to do it. Should she somehow... lose herself, I need to ensure she can't escape."

Thanks, Twilight. She couldn't help the sarcasm in her thoughts. There was nothing she wanted to say, regardless. Nor could she help the apprehension affecting her steps. There was the sound of horn ignition, the buzzing of the forming box accompanied by a low magical warble. She turned to look at Twilight, unable to hide the worried questions that flicked about behind her eyes. Twilight gave what encouragement she could:

"It'll be alright. I'll see you soon. Then I'll tell you everything."

"The doctor should be by in less than an hour," the nurse informed her.

"Thank you. See you soon, Twilight," Starlight replied. Twilight smiled, leaving with a small wave. Starlight's gaze followed the detail as it marched away, remaining a while after they'd disappeared. Solitude was nice when one created it for themselves. Having it forced on you was another matter. Though a patient, she felt a prisoner. In some ways, she was. Not just physically, either. Nothing to be done for it, she thought. With little to do save be alone with her thoughts, Starlight resigned herself to take the time to rest. Her eyes shut without protest. Her mind quietly drifted away. Sleep found her, gave her up to a sea of dreams. There, the ocean carefully cradled her tired conscience. It sang her lilting lullabies from rolling waves. Dirges of gentle currents. She breathed deep, forgetting all which troubled her. Somewhere in the waters, an unknown warden watched silently over the mare, ensuring nothing disturbed her slumber.