//------------------------------// // Crisis Averted? // Story: A Royal Problem // by Wearin Hat //------------------------------// “Don’t panic, you can’t panic. Stay calm. The last thing Ponyville needs is another crisis. We can handle this. We. Can. Handle. This.” Unaware that her thoughts were being vocalized, Twilight kept as steady of a pace she could with her mind running over the possible outcomes of the situation she was suddenly finding herself in. Not feeling reassured by his friend’s hushed words, Spike kept in line with her to find some form of relief. Of course he was usually the more level headed one of the two when it came to reading too much into the Princess’ letters, but this time was different; this time Twilight was right. At first he hadn’t wanted to believe her, no, he couldn’t believe her. A war in Equestria, nonsense if had ever heard any. However, as he considered it further the baby dragon came to understand a very basic truth. Defeating Nightmare Moon had solved nothing. Oh how he wished that wasn’t the case. Why can’t defeat mean the end of the issue? There shouldn’t be a reason for this very reasonable fear. He thought that being put in her place by the Elements of Harmony was enough. That, perhaps, just being overpowered was lesson enough. Wishful thinking, that’s what that was. Deep down Spike knew otherwise. What did being defeated solve? Sure, Nightmare Moon was stopped and reunited with Celestia in what Twilight had recounted as being genuine regret and love, but that didn’t solve the problem that created Nightmare Moon in the first place. The problem between the two royal sisters was not something that could be simply wished away as the young dragon continued to hope against logic for. Celestia and Luna had fought over something those thousand years ago, an issue that the younger princess obviously felt strongly about. Why else would she up and challenge her sister? The old tale told that Nightmare Moon had rebelled over jealousy. Was it that simple? Could it be? No, not if it was still a problem. If Luna no longer felt jealous then great, but what led to her envy? “How does Princess Celestia think we can help? I don’t get it, this is a thousand year old problem they are having. Twi, how are we supposed to stop them from-“ A hoof silenced the younger of the two effectively. It wasn’t that Twilight was afraid that somepony would overhear, the problem lay more with the fact that she didn’t think her nerves could handle hearing Spike freak out. “Everything will be okay Spike. I promise you that. The Princess is the wisest being in all of Equestria, which means she wouldn’t tell us to do something without believing completely that we can handle it. Just stay calm, that’s all we need to manage for now.” Once again neither of the two felt any better with her reassuring words. The weight of the situation was too real to shake off. Though paying attention to where she was trotting to, the unicorn couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation. Spike was right in a way. There was only so much that she could do without detailed information as to what Luna was feeling and what she was doing that was upsetting the Sun Princess so much, understandable considering the category of the message being a cry of help. Such things were rarely thought out ahead of being written. So any lack of information could be easily excused. However, Twilight knew her response must inquire as to those important details she would need to really help. As if hope was put manifest upon the edge of their sight, the two travelers felt their fears begin to falter as the Carousel Boutique came into view down the road. Never before had Twilight felt her hooves carry her with such a speed so as to surprise her. It seemed like every other day she trekked for one reason or another past the home of their friend. Despite the familiarity with how long it should take her to get there, the purple unicorn enjoyed the surprise she felt at seeing her destination so close so quickly. “Don’t worry Spike; you know how Rarity and Sweetie Belle are! There’s hardly something that doesn’t cause them to fight! So she’s bound to know a thing or two about this kind of situation!” Unaware of excited she was to finally feel her anxiety wane with her continued attempts to calm both of their hurried hearts. Green eyes looked Twilight over carefully. Though still matching her speed to the best of his ability, Spike couldn’t help but disagree mentally as he recalled the many times he observed the sisters whenever he helped out his not-so-secret crush with whatever she wanted. Of course there were arguments rather frequently, most often stemming from the older unicorn becoming frustrated with her sister’s seeming inability to help with anything without causing a disaster. These spats were really bad sometimes, including one where the younger of the two decided that she deserved a better sister. However, none of these problems ever proceeded for long without being solved in some manner. Spike liked to think of it as a rough kind of coexistence the sisters shared. Hope stayed strong within his being as he scoured his thoughts for some remnant of a memory showing the sisters in some sort of squabble over ones jealously over the other. Very few came to mind. There was one, however, that stuck out in his mind. Rarity had needed help in putting the finishing touches on some dresses and she required the assistance of the baby dragon as a pin cushion. Whilst remaining mostly in the background that day, the dragon couldn’t help but overhear the duo go at it over Sweetie Belle’s envious disdain with which she often turned herself into some sort of unworthy filly in Rarity’s presence. That was one issue that didn’t get settled, at least not in front of him, and it was surely one that would offer at least one piece of advice from his beloved crush. Practically right on top of the establishment, the two skidded to a half and calmed each other with meaningless offerings of reassuring wishes. Both knew them to be fruitless. Though one could hardly blame them for wanting to retain some form of hope with such a crisis they had to prevent. Being the first of the two to regain her composure, the purple unicorn attempted to enter the shop only to find the door locked. Initially confused, Twilight quickly recalled that it was a Saturday morning and it was likely that few other residents in Ponyville were as awake as she and Spike were at the current moment. Hesitant at first, the pony knocked quickly in a quick succession of three rough rattles on the door. Glorious noises were within as the purple unicorn felt assured her friend was not disturbed from her sleep by the knocking, unless, of course, the hard-working unicorn passed out at the sewing machine again. The sounds of the lock being gently undone came forth from the door to the Boutique. A flash of purple curls greeted Twilight as the door swung inwardly. “Twilight Sparkle, to what do I owe such an early surprise today?” Her voice sounded almost magical with how calm she sounded despite the hour and circumstance of their visit. Though Twilight immediately tossed away the mental compliment as she reminded herself that not everypony was aware that they were on the brink of war. “Hi Rarity, please forgive me for dropping by unannounced. I just have to talk to you about something really important. Mind if we come in?” In her growing anxiety the unicorn managed to completely mangle her sentence in terms of tone. All the wrong parts received emotional emphasis while the more important parts barely got above a whisper. Curious as to the strange behavior, the white unicorn stepped out of the way to allow her friends to enter her home. “Of course, make yourself at home.” Looking for a bit of a decently normal greeting, Rarity turned her eyes happily upon the baby dragon as he strode in behind his friend. “And good morning to you my little Spiky Wikey!” The response she received was one of almost indifference as the dragon secretly continued to fight the battle against his nerves. Suddenly aware of the severity of the issue Twilight wished to discuss, the white unicorn closed the door behind them. “So, if I may be so bold, what is the problem? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen either of you two looking so disheveled and frazzled.” Not wasting a moment, Twilight spun immediately to face her friend. “I got a letter from Princess Celestia this morning telling me that she is having some problems with Luna and that she needs our help in sorting out everything!” Once again the unicorn’s inflection was all over the place as her voice cracked with nervousness. The only saving grace was that the familiar scent of Rarity’s home helped to calm the nerves of the stricken purple pony. “Oh my, well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint the Princesses. What kind of problem are they having that Celestia is willing to entrust the solving to us?” “Luna’s apparently still feeling sore about being locked up for a thousand years or something…I don’t know…I kind of think that it has something to do with the problem they had in the first place...” Though his response managed to make the generous pony jump in surprise, the baby dragon wasted no time with focusing on the normal pleasantries he typically bothered himself with when addressing the object of his affection without being directly spoken to. Nodding in confirmation, Twilight decided to expand upon her assistant’s explanation with a renewed confidence, “We were kind of thinking that it had to do with something about jealously or something like that. You know how the legend goes, but what if that issue never got resolved? Do you think, you being a sister, that being reunited after all that time didn’t solve anything?” Understanding slowly why she was sought out so early in the day, Rarity sighed as she moved to a more comfortable position near her fainting couch. Agitation seethed beneath her skin as both of her visitors were demonstrating very annoying character traits. Spike was being uncharacteristically nonchalant with the way he just spoke up without ever responding to her greeting. Twilight’s was worse, especially considering that the studious pony was rarely ever to allow her more unstable aspects of her personality to shine through in front of others. It took a mental slap to the face for the white unicorn to return herself to the current issue as she decided to just ignore the, hopefully temporary, character flaws. “Well, I can definitely attest to the fact that punishment is often the start of problems rather than the end of them. It is understandable that Luna might still feel inadequate to her sister. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to go into further details, so please forgive me of that Twilight dear.” It was rather unfortunate that she was unaware of how jealously could affect a relationship with a sibling. “However,” the white pony cleared her throat as she caught onto an idea that could prove helpful to her friend, “I can think of two ponies who just might be of some help. Sweetie Belle might have some insight that you could use in regards to her side of our relationship. As for the other pony, he has a very rocky relationship with his brother that you could definitely learn from.” Impressed at how quickly her own mind worked, the generous unicorn beamed as she saw the previously tense faces of Twilight and Spike relax a bit. “And you’re in luck, Sweetie Belle and the other Crusaders had a sleepover at his studio last night. So they’re both conveniently in the same location. You can even come with me to pick Sweetie up in a moment.” “Wait, are you talking about Big Macintosh or somepony?” Confusion was evident in the nervous dragon’s face as he considered what Rarity had said. Though he knew many ponies throughout Ponyville, Spike couldn’t place a name on the pony that she had spoken of. Surprised once more to hear the dragon speak, though for vastly different reasons this time, the white unicorn looked to the her admirer with a sense of disappointment. “Now you must be joking Spiky.” A moment passed as a strange tension arose between Spike and Rarity while Twilight began to feel slightly uncomfortable to have to watch this little issue develop in front of her. Feeling that the baby dragon was indeed not playing dumb, the white pony sighed angrily as she stomped away to gather her saddlebags. “In that case, you can stay here and watch after my Boutique for me Spiky Wikey. I know that Chrome would be less than pleased to know you have somehow forgotten about him.” Not wasting another second, the generous pony trotted out before an argument to the contrary could be made. Concerned over the sudden animosity that Rarity was displaying, the purple unicorn turned a worried eye over her shoulder to Spike as she followed her friend outside. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll get this all sorted out Spike. All you need to do is just sit tight for now, okay?” A pleased smile came over Twilight as her close friend nodded in response. “Twilight dear, it would be rude to keep Sweetie Belle waiting.” Hearing her cue, the purple unicorn departed with high hopes that the power of friendship would prevail once more.