Once per Day

"Celestia?" Luna called as she poked her head through the private spa door. She hummed upon finding her sister, who was reclining on her back in a wide pool filled with steaming, bubbly water. Her head was rested on a silky pillow on the edge of the pool with a damp rolled cloth over her eyes. Beside her, to Luna's concern, was an open bottle of wine and a half-full glass.

"Over here, Lulu," the elder alicorn called back, spreading one of her wings out of the water as she adjusted her posture with a sigh. "Care to join me? The water is sublime." Instead of answering, Luna frowned and sat beside the pool, considering the wine and her sister.

"Would you care to talk about it?" Luna offered, causing Celestia to adjust the cloth on her eyes and fix her sister with a weary leer. Despite having mostly recovered from her brief bout with Blackbeard to the point she was mobile again, Luna was still a full head shorter than she should have been and her mane still lacked its ethereal qualities. Altogether, she looked almost identical to how she'd looked in the years just before their ascension to the throne.

The sight filled Celestia with nostalgia and brought a warm smile to her features as she sighed and rolled over to face her sister better. "Oh, just frustrated."

"About Fremont?" Luna asked, tilting her head.

"About Fremont," Celestia hummed with a snort before squeezing the cloth with all her magical might. "Sixty-six years ago we finally figured out which familial line in Equestria was tied to Princess Amore and sixty-six years we've been carefully cultivating their children to one day replace her." She bared her teeth as the cloth was condensed into a tighter and tighter ball.

"And he comes along and just sweeps it all away," she all but hissed, her horn flashing briefly as the cloth shrunk further and vanished from sight. Blinking, the sisters considered the space where it had been before the air began to vibrate and the water began to ripple toward that side of the pool. "Whoops." With another flash of her horn, Celestia banished the microscopic singularity she'd made into another dimension.

"Well on the bright side, he hasn't altogether removed Cadance from the empire, so she might still be able to steer it towards remaining on friendly terms with Equestria," Luna said before spreading her wings with a confident smirk. "At least until I've recovered enough that we can consider dealing with him directly." Celestia sighed and rested her chin on her pillow.

"Based on Caddy's letter, I don't think that would be ideal," she murmured. "The crystal ponies genuinely seem to idolize him to an extent, and so they wouldn't take us stomping in and obliterating him all too well." Luna closed her wings and rubbed her chin.

"If that's true, wouldn't the ideal course of action be to reveal his mischievous and untrustworthy side to them?" She offered, drawing a nod from her sister.

"I've considered that and have F.R.O.W.N on standby to help with dispelling the lustrous lens they view him through," she explained before closing her eyes. "But with Blackbeard still on the loose, Goldflame and his schemes, and the recent devastation of the Whole Grain Barony, it, well." She raised one wing just barely out of the water and began gently stirring the pool.

"Sadly I think it might be best to leave Mr. Fremont in the empire. At least then he's easier to keep track of," she said before jolting with a bitter laugh. "Oh yes! And the Alicorn Amulet, which we only just found, has gone missing." Luna winced at the revelation as Celestia fixed her with an exhausted smile.

"Apparently, the bit-pinching shopkeeper who'd promised it to our operatives for a small fortune sold it to some hooded stranger for, by our estimates, not even half of what he demanded, while we were busy consolidating the funds," her smile wavered and she flopped down again. "The sight of all the coins right in front of him was too much to pass up, he claims." Celestia conjured up another cloth and draped it across her entire face with a weary sigh. Luna wilted at the sight for a moment before clearing her throat.

"Well," she murmured, gently patting her sister with a wing. "At least Discord hasn't broken free yet?" Celestia quietly grunted in response with a shrug. Silence followed for a few moments, only to be broken when Celestia shot to a sitting position and ripped the cloth from her wide, shaky eyes with a hoof. She stared ahead for a moment or two before narrowing her eyes and turning to Luna.

"He hasn't?"

Discord's head was drooping off to the side of his petrified body, gently snoring when a light filled his chamber. Grumbling quietly, he yawned and smacked his lips before looking up to find Celestia and Luna standing before him, the former of whom had a towel around her lower body and a second balled up around her mane. He blinked and recoiled with a snort.

"Do you two make a habit of just sneaking up on people unannounced?" He accused, fixing the pair with a wry smile in response to their sharp glares. "Honestly, what if I hadn't been decent?"

"You're never decent," Luna shot back. Before Discord could respond, Celestia stepped closer, looking him up and down. His body was still petrified from the neck down.

"What?" Discord murmured, drawing Celestia's eyes to meet his own. Wordlessly, she extended a wing and plucked a single feather from it with her magic before floating it up to his nose. Discord's eyes widened and he strained to pull away. "Ah, I see! Torture is it? And to think I thought better of you! You expect me to talk?" He grunted as he twisted and craned his head every which way to no avail. After a brief and fruitless struggle, the tip of the feather arrived and began tickling the inside of his nose.

"No! Ah! Stop!" He wailed, struggling again to pull away only for Celestia to grasp his entire head with her magic and hold him still. He screwed up his face and groaned with his eyes going progressively wider before finally reaching up and frantically sweeping his claw and paw through the air, tripping over himself and tumbling away as he did. Celestia narrowed her eyes and Luna gasped as the stony body of Discord moved freely, allowing him to squirm away and rub his irritated snout.

"He's free?!" Luna cried, causing Discord to pause and consider himself and then the sisters. The three stared at each other for a few seconds, with Luna maintaining a look of shock, Celestia an unimpressed, critical glare, and Discord a wide-eyed uncertain frown. Finally, he meekly shrugged.

"Surprise?" He offered, causing Luna to glare at him, matching her sister.

"How long have you been mobile?" Celestia demanded. The spirit wilted with a defeated sigh.

"Since my new prodigy stole the throne from your darling little niece," he replied, before perking up with a grim chortle. "You know, I have to admit! He-"

"That was half a week ago," Celestia interjected, causing Discord to recoil. Rising to his full height, he looked off to the side and tapped his chin before counting off on his claw.

"Yes, I suppose it was," he finally agreed with a shrug.

"Why are you still here?" Celestia asked, tilting her head. Luna looked between the two as Discord hesitated for a few seconds. Eventually, he blinked and scowled at the pair.

"Oh! I see!" He huffed, stepping to the side and revealing a second Discord who glared at the sisters as he pulled a zipper on the first Discord's back, causing his stony shell to drop off like cloth. It and the second Discord disappeared in a flash, leaving the first to throw his hands up with a humph. "Fine, I know when I'm not wanted! I'll-"

"You could have been out there causing all kinds of chaos this whole time," Celestia explained, gesturing to him with a hoof. "But you chose to stay, and more perplexingly, you chose to hide the fact you were free." Discord froze at her accusation, and she tilted her head again.

"Why?" She added, drawing a curious look from Luna as well. Discord stood stock-still for a few seconds before slowly groaning and folding his arms.

"Fine. If I'd let slip that I was free you'd just send Twilight and her band of gremlins to petrify me again," he huffed.

"Obviously, but that doesn't really explain anything," Celestia said with a nod. A faint smile worked its way onto her features when she noticed an even fainter blush appear on the spirit's face.

"Well," he grumbled, tightening his arms around himself and murmuring. "I- If I-" He clicked his teeth and paced to the side for a moment.

"If I ran off or you sealed me up again, I-" He growled and bared his teeth, avoiding the sister's gaze as they watched him strain. "Wouldn't- Be able-" He clenched his eyes and sharply huffed.

"To talk with Fluttershy anymore," he hastily concluded before whirling around and throwing his claws up. "So I pretended to still be stuck. Is that a crime? Am I being detained? Am I free to leave?" He fixed the sisters with a scowl. Luna considered him with shock while Celestia's smile widened and she nodded.

"I see," she hummed, before offering a thoughtful look to the spirit. "Well, if keeping up with Fluttershy is your desire, have you considered simply not putting yourself in a position where we need to seal you up?" Luna smiled at her suggestion before Discord blanched with a squawk.

"What? Turn over a new leaf? As if!" He snorted with a wave of his claw. He turned away with his arms folded. "I'm the Lord of Chaos! Turning over a new leaf would mean giving up all the freedom and most of the power I've enjoyed up until now!"

"Which is different from pretending to be stuck in stone and sitting here in the dark, how?" Celestia retorted with a hum of agreement from Luna. Discord blanched again.

"That's," he murmured, holding his chin with a thoughtful expression. "That's a fair point."

"So?" Luna pressed. He furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes for a few seconds before groaning and throwing his arms up.

"Fine! You got me," he huffed, locking his claws behind his head with a hum. "New leaf it is." The sisters shared a smile before Discord moaned, throwing his head back as he did.

"Guess I'll have to talk to Winston about retiring," he murmured, rolling his head as he spoke. "That's going to be a mountain of paperwork." Celestia blinked and furrowed her brow.

"Who's Winston?" She asked, frowning when Discord waved his claw.

"Meta-cosmic bureaucrat. Nobody for you to worry about," he retorted. She raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Luna before nodding.

"Very well, but I know who we are worried about," she said, offering the spirit a smile. "And I know who you could handle as a way to prove to Twilight and the rest that you're sincere." Discord raised an eyebrow and slowly glanced down at the sisters. Celestia hummed a laugh and held a hoof up to him.

"I certainly am willing to take this development at face value, and I think we both know Fluttershy will as well," she explained before winking at him. "But they might-"

"Teach is a bit complicated, I'll be honest," Discord interjected, adopting a thoughtful smile. "He asked for 'a body that wouldn't fail him no matter what he bears it against,' and I was feeling generous after seeing his final performance in his world." Celestia winced slightly as he seemingly quoted the human with a perfect impression of the man.

"So it's not as if I can just magic him away," Discord added with a shrug. "That'd technically be his body failing him." The sisters both frowned at his explanation.

"Yet the Elements still bound him?" Luna mused with an incredulous look.

"Friendship trumps Chaos, as loathe as I am to admit it," Discord replied with another shrug.

"Very well," Celestia huffed, choosing to refrain from smirking at his admission. "Well, what about Victor Fremont?" The spirit's eyes lit up and he donned a sinister grin that caused the sisters to recoil.

"Ah! I wasn't feeling as generous with him, especially since he annoyed me while I was already irritated after your student managed to pull her friends out of my carefully cultivated depressive funk," he explained with a grim chortle. He bent forward to Celestia's eye level and nodded. "To that end, don't worry! The Fremont problem will solve itself soon enough." Celestia's wings bristled at his words.

"What do you mean by that?" She demanded.

"Which means," he replied, standing up straight and smiling. "I've technically already done what you asked!"

"Discord, what did you mean by that?" Celestia pressed. Instead, Discord turned away and clapped.

"Oh-hoh! Fluttershy will be so proud when she hears what a big help I was!" He snapped his claws at the sisters. "Thanks for the easy brownie points, Best-friendia. Ta-ta!"

"Discord!" Celestia demanded a final time before the spirit vanished completely, leaving behind a bouquet of yellow and blue flowers. She sighed hard and hung her head as Luna picked up the bouquet and examined it for a moment.

"What did he mean by that?" She asked, sniffing the flowers gently and drawing an annoyed leer from her sister.

Following my ascension to the throne, there'd followed a bit of a celebration. The crystalline equines called it the Crystal Faire and said it was a national holiday first established by the first empress, Princess Amore, during which the love and unity of the silly little ponies was renewed and fed into the Crystal Heart, keeping it strong for another year. Now, why she went by princess when she held the office of empress, I dunno, but regardless it turned out that my sudden appearance and liberation coincided with the actual date the Faire was supposed to fall on.

Sombra had banned the festival during the seven years he ruled the empire and so it was doubly welcome this year. I'd initially assumed he banned it to keep the Heart weak, but it turns out he banned it cause it was funny. Most of his misdeeds were motivated by his personal amusement, apparently.

Regardless, the Faire had taken a day to set up, another day to occur, and finally, a day for everyone to wind down. It was now day four of the Rule of Fremont, and according to Ivoryhoof the night before, it was time to get to the brass tacks of my rule.

And so, I found myself sitting at the head of a long, crystal table, full of shifting multicolored lights, with Sash at my right hand and a particularly pissed-off pink pony princess at my left. For contrast, Sash looked positively stoked. He had several folders laid out before him and was carefully reading through one while occasionally sipping from a mug of hot coffee he'd ordered. While everyone else had enjoyed the festival, he'd busied himself preparing for the coming responsibilities of running the Empire.

Because God and he both know I ain't got a clue what to do. However, I had a suspicion someone else also knew that fact.

Glancing at Clar- CADANCE! Sash said her name was Cadance. Glancing at Cadance through the corner of my eye, I was met with one of the top five hate-filled, murderous glares I'd ever seen. For who was apparently the 'Princess of Love' it was one hell of a contrast and a slight mark of pride as a villain that I could manifest such an expression without even really trying.

"So, how you doin'?" I offered, drawing an uneasy hum out of Sash.

"When are you gonna let Shiny out of the dungeon?" Cadance demanded.

"When I get your word he's not going to try to kill me or Scuttle," I replied with a shrug. He'd flipped out on me for taking the throne because he's an antidemocratic little shit, and then he'd flipped out on Scuttle for being a changeling because he's a racist little shit. Based on her groan of frustration, she and he were perfect for each other.

"Why do you even care about the changeling? Do you just not know what they are?" She spat, confirming my suspicion. Then she perked up. "Oh, scratch that! You probably don't." She leaned forward as I raised an eyebrow and she gently rubbed my hand with a hoof.

"Sorry! I forgot you were an alien from another dimension," she cooed with a pitying smile before tilting her head. "Hey! I got an idea!" She clapped her hooves together and donned a doe-eyed smile.

"Rather than waste your time here, why don't we get you back to Equestria so some nice unicorns can work on getting you home?" She offered with a seemingly genuine and sweet tone. "I'm sure your family and friends are awful worried about you." I screwed up my face with a shrug.

"Eh? Probably not," I replied, causing her expression to fall. "Didn't really have many friends and wasn't all that close with my family." While Cadance threw her head back with a groan, Sash perked up at my response.

"Really?" He asked, so I turned my attention his way.

"Yeah, I moved out when I was nineteen to get away from Dad's conspiracy sermons," I explained, frowning at the memories of birds being spy robots, the sun being a giant orbiting laser designed to blast dissidents with cancer, and Reagan secretly being an alien warlord. The jury was still out on that one. "I lucked out 'cause the brother of the shift manager at the store I was working at needed a cleaning guy at the university he worked in." I took a breath, now remembering the initial fears I faced following leaving home and how much of a Godsend the university had been.

"Paid almost double what I was making back then and with a little saving, frugal living, and being named in my uncle's will, I managed to afford a single-bedroom apartment on the edge of town," I said with a sigh before fixing him with a mildly manic smile. "Sure as heck don't hold a candle to my new duds though! That mattress in my room is fucking ten feet across!" Not to mention the fact the crystal floor of my suite fucking lit up and was temperature controlled. And the view, my God.

In any case, Sash chuckled at my glee while Cadance grunted. "Awesome! I'm sure your friends'll be stoked to hear about it when you get home!" She chirped, drawing another shrug from me.

"Nah, didn't really have many of them either," I replied, causing her eye to twitch. I furrowed my brow and tilted my head up in thought. "I mean, Jeremy next door and I were cool, but that was about it." Cadance fixed me with an even, drawn expression and slowly blinked.

"How'd an antisocial loser like you manage to become the ruler of the literal kingdom of love?" She asked with no small amount of sauce in her voice. I hummed, brushing my knuckles against my shirt, suddenly finding myself in my element, and therefore, braced for battle.

"I think it's the charming spectacles and the adorable sheep sidekick," I retorted, inspecting my nails and ignoring Sash's squawk of surprise. Instead, I fixed Cadance with a small, smug grin. "And the fact that my competition was criticized for, and I quote 'trying too hard to look the part,' while simultaneously 'lookin' like an oversized candy arrangement.' Subtlety is in, baby." I finished my retort with a wry smile leveled her way. In response, she held her even stare for a few seconds before fixing me with a narrow-eyed, venomous smile that caused my own grin to widen.

Before our battle could escalate and leave her pony princess pride even more polluted, Ivoryhoof came trotting in with a fully laden saddle bag, drawing our attention his way. "Good morning, Your Highnesses! Good morning, Sash!"

"Ah! Good morning, old chap!" Sash chirped in response, shuffling his papers into a neat stack.

"Mornin' Senator," I replied.

"Hey," Cadance groused. She winced with a quiet groan as Ivoryhoof trotted right past her and sat beside Sash, before placing his bags on the table.

"I hope you all got some rest because now that the Faire is over, we've got work to do!" He declared, retrieving several folders from his bag. He slid one to each of us before opening one for himself. "These dossiers cover most of what Sash and I discussed we'd be tending to as well as our ideal timeline for getting these tasks done!"

"Ah!" Sash huffed with no small amount of delight as he dug into the folder. "How nostalgic!"

"Alright, let's see here," Cadance murmured as she did likewise.

"Hm, yes, quaint," I mused with my lips pursed as I scanned the first page and got stuck on the first line. Lotta 'ergo ests' and shit in this one. Glancing up, I saw Sash was already several pages ahead while Cadance was smirking without looking directly at me.

"Having trouble?" She quietly cooed. I leveled a scowl her way before Ivoryhoof spoke up.

"Do you have some input on what I've presented my Emperor?" He asked. Blanching, I turned to see that he and Sash were seemingly finished and looking at me expectantly.

"Uh," I murmured, drawing a snickering snort from Cadance. Then, from nowhere, inspiration struck and I held up one finger. "Excuse me for one moment." Ivory tilted his head slightly but nodded.

"Of course. Hurry back!" He replied. I bowed my head to him before scooping up the dossier and scurrying out of the room, ignoring Cadance's stifled chuckling and Sash's confused leer. Slipping through the door and out of sight, I sat down on the floor and drew my magic tome before searching for a few spells.

"Shit reads like a whole other language and it's technically all one thing, so, here's hoping!" I said, quickly preparing a casting of 'Read Languages.' As soon as I did, I unleashed my spell which lit up the pages and scrambled the letters until they were dumbed down enough that I could make sense of them. In fact, it dumbed it all down enough that I was able to breeze through it and get the gist of what was inside. With a smirk, I strode back into the room where Sash and Ivoryhoof were having a muted conversation and Cadance waited with a smirk aimed my way.

As I entered, the former two turned my way and I thrust my arm forward. "This all seems fine! I have nothing to add!" I declared, returning to my seat and folding my arms with a curt, confident nod. "Let's get started immediately." Sash and Ivoryhoof looked at me in confusion as I fixed Cadance with a smirk. She blinked and looked between me and the dossier, narrowing her eyes as Ivoryhoof cleared his throat.

"Alright! So-" Cadance cut him off with a raised hoof.

"What's it say on page six?" She demanded.

"The Senator is proposing a method for reinvigorating our agriculture sector which was devastated by Sombra's mass crystal mining activities," I replied, brushing my knuckles against my chest. My spell had turned this into 'Sombra make farm bad so he dig rocks better. We fix farms.'

"Page two?" She pressed, tilting her head.

"A rundown on the Empire's general infrastructure," I explained with a snort.

"Which is what?" She all but hissed, drawing a curt laugh from me.

"The empire is divided into ten districts which are themselves divided in two," I said, tinting my fingers with a sage nod. "The larger sector is residential while the smaller is bureaucratic and closer to the palace. And of course, the main roads heading out from the palace are what divide the districts from each other." My spell had turned this into 'City chopped into ten chunks. Each chunk have two chunks. Little chunk close to castle government stuff. Big chunks further away where pony live. Road go between chunks.'

Sash hummed at my explanation as I fixed Cadance with a smug, expectant leer. She held her narrow-eyed glare for a few moments before averting her gaze.

"Fremont," she quietly hissed. Ivoryhoof blinked and gently shook his head at the two of us.

"Well! Whatever that was aside, Princess Cadance bringing up the Empire's infrastructure is a good place to start!" He declared, tapping his dossier. "As the last elections were supposed to happen just before Sombra invaded, it's about time we considered holding a new set." I nodded in response, as not only was this included in his handout, but it had also come up just before the Faire.

Each district had a senator and the two halves of each district each had a magistrate. Every two years, two senators and ten magistrates were elected by the populace and presented to the emperor or empress. They'd then select one senator and two magistrates for each district. Once that was decided, the magistrates would form small councils for their individual parts of their district and stabilize the lowest foundation of the Empire's government, granting the populace an office to hurl their needs and wants at, ensuring everyone was happy and healthy.

And as Ivoryhoof had said, Sombra had done away with the elections almost immediately. This isn't to say he didn't look into what the ponies needed to be happy and healthy, no sir. It just meant that when he found out, he made sure to do the opposite.

What a guy.

"How soon can we organize another election?" I asked, thumbing my dossier which was now illegible again. "What do we even need to make it happen?"

"Ah-hah! If you'll follow me to page four, I think I've got an answer for you!" He responded, turning in his dossier while I shot Cadance a wry smile.

"Way ahead of you," I cooed, causing her to glare.

Turnip scanned the glittering city behind him and the rolling verdant hills before him before whistling. "I gotta say, this is one heck of an upgrade," he chirped with a short laugh. "Definitely worth all the ice and snow to get here."

"Yeah," Sugarplum quietly replied. Noticing her tone, Turnip turned and saw his sister sitting and considering one of the many overgrown and poorly tended fruit trees that filled a long, carefully lined orchard not too far from where they'd walked. The sight called back memories that were sadly nearly lost after so much time away from home. Humming, he trotted up beside her and sat down, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Uncle Nectar'd love this place. Especially if he got a chance to work at those things," Turnip assessed.

"Yeah," Sugarplum replied. A silence followed as the pair watched some newly arrived teams of crystal ponies who began examining each tree. Following along, Sash the sheep appeared with a scroll and began writing something down. "I owe Mr. Fremont an awful lot." Turnip hummed and tilted his head.

"I dunno if he sees it that way," he said, casting a glance back at the palace in the distance. "But I'm right there with you." Sugarplum looked up at her brother who offered her a smile.

"I don't want to imagine where you'd be if it weren't for him," he said, drawing a smile out of her as well. The two shared a hug before returning to watching the surveying team in the distance.

Despite the Crystal Heart driving the horrible weather away, the night sky was still cast in a dazzling aurora that seemed to almost weave among the highest towers of the palace and then cast its light through the crystal structure like a prism. As a result, the nightscape from the balcony Honeysuckle sat upon was an absolutely gorgeous sight, almost hypnotic as the shimmering lights gently flowed across the sky.

So hypnotic and relaxing in fact that Honeysuckle found herself leaning against the balcony railing, resting her chin atop it as she observed the sky. Slowly, her eyelids drooped, lower and lower, until finally-

"Ah!" She yelped, jolting herself awake and to her hooves. Quietly panting, she stamped her hooves a few times before trotting at a mild jog around the balcony. As she exercised to ward off sleep, her ears caught the sound of more hooves approaching.

"Lieu- Honeysuckle?" Snowpea called as she and Violence appeared in the door, causing their former superior to stop her activities and wave at them.

"Bonjour, I'm here," she called, giving the pair her full attention as they joined her on the balcony. Only then did she notice they were in their armor. "It's awfully late. What are you two up to?" Snowpea hummed, smiling up at the aurora as she replied.

"We're looking for the changeling. Emperor Goober wanted to ask her something, but nopony's seen her," she said before looking at Honeysuckle and tilting her head. "Any ideas where she went?"

"We've been searching all day," Violence added. Honeysuckle blinked and furrowed her brow.

"Her?" She huffed. The pair shared a look before Snowpea meekly nodded.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," she offered, drawing a hum from Honeysuckle.

"Très bien, but more importantly, what do you mean Emperor Goobèr?" She snorted before fixing her with an incredulous smirk. "Don't tell me you two are doing what he asks?" The pair shared another look, this one more uneasy.

"I mean, yeah? Why?" Snowpea murmured, tilting her head again. "Aren't you two working together now?"

"Hah! Barely, and only when I permit it," Honeysuckle laughed, shaking her head at the suggestion. "But we're certainly not allies."

"Oh," Snowpea said, her head hanging at the declaration. Violence furrowed his brow before curtly nodding.

"Permission to speak freely," he requested, causing Honeysuckle to sigh.

"Go on," she said waving a hoof at him.

"What exactly are you doing, Ma'am?" He immediately asked. Honeysuckle recoiled at his question.

"Quoi?"

"You've escaped from the situation in Canterlot, but what now?" He pressed, shaking his head gently. "Private Snowpea and I followed you this far out of respect for all your hard work." He frowned and cast his gaze to the ground.

"But now you're saying you're not even really allied with Victor Fremont?" He looked back up at Honeysuckle. "Forgive me but I'm just a bit confused about what the plan is." Snowpea scrunched her muzzle before looking at Honeysuckle expectantly.

"I-" Honeysuckle grimaced and looked off to the side. It was a few seconds before she continued, and then shook her head as she did so. "Désolé, I wish I knew." A quiet rolled over the balcony as Violence considered his former superior for a short while. Raising his eyebrow at her when she stifled a yawn, he nodded.

"Well, we're still with you regardless, but until you do know I see no reason not to cooperate with Victor Fremont," he declared, drawing a grimace from Honeysuckle and a smile from Snowpea. "As for you, beg pardon, but perhaps you should get some sleep? As you said, it is very late and unless I'm mistaken you are not under any orders from anyone." Honey recoiled again and looked at the pair for a moment. Finally, she grunted and waved her hoof.

"Bien sûr. Good luck with your search," she declared before turning away and sitting down with her gaze turned skyward. Violence bowed his head before immediately withdrawing, while Snowpea lingered for a few seconds with her eyes locked on Honeysuckle. Eventually, she slipped away as well, leaving the grimacing unicorn alone. Once she was alone, Honeysuckle snorted and kicked at the ground. "'Get some sleep' he says. Like it's so easy. I had enough of a nightmare when I was snared by that trap, thank you very much."

She glared at the aurora for a little bit, failing to avoid dwelling on her recent experience with the dark magic door that had cast her into a nightmare. However, despite wincing at the memory, she then recalled how she'd been rescued. As she remembered the event in full, she found herself slowly looking upward at the highest tower.

Where he was.

Fixing the suite's window with a glare, she eventually grunted and stepped back inside.

I snapped awake and nearly tumbled out of bed. "FU-" And then fell into a coughing fit. I hacked for a little while longer until whatever gunk was bugging me finally broke up. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and sat panting and forcing myself to cough a few more times just to make sure my windpipe was clear. "Fuck."

Once I'd caught my breath, I brought my palms to my eyes and rubbed them down my face before reaching for my water glass on my crystal nightstand. Finding it empty, I smirked, put on my glasses, and slid out of bed. The second my feet touched the floor, the whole thing lit up in a nice, calm blue hue. It wasn't too bright, so it didn't hurt to look at, and more importantly, it immediately warmed up in the spots where I stepped.

Chortling quietly, I looked across my suite. It was pretty bare save for the absolutely fuck-huge bed, but it still kicked ass. Especially thanks to one other magical feature.

Waving my hand at the cloudy quartz sheet that fit across the entire wall, it gently hissed before splitting into countless thinner strips which then collapsed in on each other as the whole thing swept to the side, revealing my view. The nightly aurora was back, and the city below my room was glittering in response to it. Just like my floor, it wasn't too bright as to be annoying and when contrasted with the night sky around the aurora, created something like finding a dark cave full of shimmering treasure.

I basked in the sight of my city for a few moments before turning to the other primo feature of my room: The private bathroom, complete with crystal everything, and a fucking massive bathtub. Yeah, this sure was an upgrade from the old one bedroom on earth.

Filling my cup in the sink and taking a few drinks as I strode back to bed, I finally sighed aloud, and I mean really loud, once I sat down.

"May I take that to mean you are still awake?" A voice came from my door. I paused and fixed the door with a scowl.

"What do you want, Honeysuckle? Your mother and I are busy," I called back as I adjusted under my massive comforter which I think was made from clouds or something. To my surprise, I didn't receive so much as a grumble in response. I raised an eyebrow at the door.

"May-" She finally said. "May I come in?"

Huh.

"Uh, sure I guess," I replied. A brief silence followed before she opened the door and slowly stepped in. She looked around the room for a moment before straight at me. I adjusted in my bed to sit up and leer at her. "What do you want?" She frowned slightly and hung her head then approached the side I was closest to.

"I have a request," she quietly said, still with her head down. Oh, this should be good. I smirked and lay on my side with my hand supporting my head.

"And what would that be?" I cooed. She winced and averted her gaze entirely.

"Could you-" She flinched and took a shallow breath. "Could you cast it again?"

"Cast what again?" I hummed, tilting my head into my hand.

"The spell you used to save me. From the nightmare door," she replied, causing my smirk to vanish.

"Why? You planning on searching for more evil traps?" I asked, rubbing my chin with my thumb. "Cause I think the Heart already-"

"Non. I," she winced so hard her head drooped. "I want you to use it to-" She went quiet for way too long.

"To?" I urged.

"To make the nightmares stop for a night," she squeaked as soon as I did.

Woah.

I sat up slightly and furrowed my brow while she continued to look away. "What nightmares?"

"The ones that I'm scared-" She snapped her mouth shut and looked up at me. As I looked at her in surprise, her lip twitched. "The ones I'm scared of having if I go to sleep." I blanched and blinked as my head swam a little from her explanation.

"Oh," I finally huffed, before shaking my head, causing her to grimace. "Well, sorry, but that spell doesn't work like that. Like, I don't think it'll keep your nightmares away, it just keeps evil things away."

"Nightmares are pretty evil," she argued with a curt nod. When she spoke again, it was with a much lower tone. "These ones definitely are."

"I mean," I was about to retort when I considered her point. Was that true in Pony World? "That aside, I don't cast it on other people, I cast it on myself and it like, surrounds me in a protective aura." I shrugged at her with a sigh. She considered me for a moment before hanging her head.

"Can I sleep here then?" She whispered too quietly for me to hear. I leaned closer.

"What's that?"

"Can I sleep in here then?" She said, louder this time and still with her head down. "Just for one night?" A very uncomfortable quiet followed as I considered what she'd just asked, during which time I pulled back my blanket and sat up on the edge of my bed.

"How bad are these nightmares?" I finally gasped out.

"They-" She paused with a grunt. "Often keep me awake, like I said."

"How often?" I pressed, leaning on my knees with my hand on my chin.

"I haven't-" She cleared her throat as her response initially came in a squeak. "I haven't gotten a proper night's sleep in nine years." Once again I found myself sucker punched. As I considered if her words were even true, something popped into my mind. Something from a ways back, when I'd first met this semi-psycho little horse. Something Nettle had said.

Scary sword pony very attentive. Not sure when she sleep. Hear her throughout night.

"Is that," I attempted to say as I reeled from all of this. "That's why you were able to fight off my sleep spell?"

"I am accustomed to fending off sleep, oui," she murmured with a nod. I drew my hand over my head with a huff.

"This explains that and a whole heck of a lot of other stuff too," I said with wonder.

"Victor." My amazement was doubled when I processed that she'd used my first name. "Please?"

Huh.

With a sigh, I looked over and pulled my spell book from my nightstand, causing her to look up at me. I read over the spell she was referring to before frowning. "It's not that I'm not sympathetic. For once, I am," I glanced down at her with an eyebrow raised. "But I dunno if this spell will help." She frowned for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'd like to at least try," she replied, causing me to nod.

"Alright," I said, preparing the spell. Boy howdy was she lucky I'd only used Read Languages a few times today and no other spells.

"If it doesn't," she suddenly added, the confidence in her voice all but vanished. I locked eyes with her bangs as she scrunched her muzzle. "If it seems like it's not working will you wake me up?" I frowned and considered my spell book for a moment.

"Uh, sure, I can try to keep an eye on you," I said before glaring at her. "But I'm not staying up all night for you. You're getting like an hour of monitoring, tops."

"Merci," she sighed as I set the book aside and scooted back to where I'd been sleeping. She considered me for a moment before mumbling. "How- Close do I-"

"I'm casting the big one that covers ten feet," I said, folding my glasses and setting them on my stand. "So snooze wherever you like."

"Thank goodness," she gasped before trotting around to the opposite side of the bed and hopping up. Finding a spot a comfortable distance from me, she curled up with her back to me. I raised my hand to unleash my spell. "Have you cast it yet?"

"Yep," I replied as the golden aura washed across the whole bed.

"Good," she sighed. I rolled over with my back to her before pausing and rolling back to keep an eye on her. Propping up on my elbow again, I watched her for a few minutes as she just sat there, breathing.

"Thank you," she eventually whispered.

"Sure."