“That’s it? That’s all you can find out?” Leo asked.
“Yes, my friends.” Shinigami calmly replied. “I believe that this Celestia truly means no harm. Other than mentioning something about ‘Equestrian magic’ once or twice, she seemed pretty normal and innocent.”
“Are you sure?” Raph asked.
“Yes. I’m sure. But why did you not just look her up on the Internet?”
“Not every online source is reliable.” Leo answered.
“So now what?” Donnie asked.
“Maybe… maybe all we can do now is support Sensei.” April chimed in. “He does seem pretty excited to meet up with this woman.”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time.” Leo commented.
Just then, Mikey had an idea. “Wait! I just thought of something!”
“Whatever it is, it’s bound to be stupid.” Raph rolled his eyes.
“What if we could help Master Splinter get ready for his date tonight?” Mikey asked.
The room quickly went silent. Leo, Raph, Donnie, Casey, April, and Shini all looked at each other and then back at Mikey with wide eyes.
“That’s… actually not a bad idea.” Donnie said.
“Yeah, I have my moments.” Mikey said proudly.
“Don’t let it go to your head.” Leo said just as Master Splinter walked in. He walked up to his father. “Hey, Sensei. We just wanted to say sorry for yelling at you earlier. We were just worried about you.”
“I understand, Leonardo.” Splinter said. “And I apologize for acting so childish earlier. I was out of line and being immature, and I’m sorry for that.”
“It’s okay, Sensei. We all get like that sometimes.” Leo said.
“And you know something? We’ve decided that we’re gonna help you get ready to meet with Celestia.” Raph added.
Splinter raised an eyebrow. “Get ready?”
“Yeah. Don’t you wanna look your best for her?” Donnie asked.
“Well, yes I do, but…”
“Then let’s get a move on.” Mikey chimed in.
Before Splinter could say anything else, he was already being led to where the tire swing was hanging. Shini had grabbed a bottle of soap and emptied its contents into the water beneath as Leo and Donnie removed their sensei’s robes and the cloth wraps around his wrists and forearms.
“My sons, there is no need for you to do this.” Splinter insisted. “I assure you that I am perfectly fine. Besides, I have not had a real bath in a long time and my fur usually gets tangled when I’m all wet—”
Then, Splinter felt himself being pushed from behind and he fell into the water with a splash. It took a few seconds for him to emerge from the soapy water; he coughed and furrowed his brow at his students.
“Never do that again.” He hissed.
“Less talky, more scrubby.” Mikey tossed his father a large bath brush, which he reluctantly took.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the hotel up top, Celestia was getting ready as well. She thoroughly washed, dried, and brushed her hair, did her makeup, and tried to pick out an outfit when Luna came into the room. She found her big sister wearing her bathrobe and trying to decide on an outfit to wear that night.
“Do I want to know?” Luna asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“Oh, Luna. I’m glad you’re here. I’m torn.” Celestia sighed in relief. “I need a second opinion here. Which one do you think Yoshi would like best?”
“Yoshi? Oh, you mean that stranger from last night.” Luna replied.
“Yes. Should I go with a simple white dress with silver sandals or a golden yellow sweater with—?”
“Stop. Who cares?” Luna looked at her sister with a stern look on her face. “…I don’t think you should go.”
Celestia was taken aback. “What? Why not?”
“I don’t trust this Yoshi, and I don’t think you should either. Who knows what he’s up to? I’m not sure Yoshi is even his real name.” Luna replied.
“He may be different, but he is a good person; I can tell.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
“When I looked into his eyes, they were gentle and kind. He means no harm, I assure you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“And that’s why I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. And I don’t care that he’s a rat either.”
“He’s a WHAT?!”
Celestia froze and looked back at her sister. “…I said that last part out loud, didn’t I?”
Luna nodded, but remained silent; she furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes at her big sister, expecting a proper explanation. Celestia looked back at the clothes that were laid on the bed and smiled; she picked up the clothes and headed back into the bathroom.
“I have an idea.”
She closed the door behind her; Luna pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is going to end so badly…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It took a while and quite a few bottles of soap, but in the end, Master Splinter was all clean and fresh. His fur was combed, his teeth were brushed, his beard was trimmed, and even his robe was washed and dried; he looked like a new rat.
“Not bad.” Casey commented, scratching his chin.
“Not bad at all.” Shini added with a nod.
“Wow! Looking good, Sensei.” Raph said with a thumb’s up.
“Yeah! I bet Celestia’s gonna be really impressed.” Mikey grinned.
“I hope so, my sons.” Splinter said, looking at himself in a mirror. “I do not think I have ever felt so refreshed.” He turned to face his family. “Thank you.”
“Of course, Sensei.” Leo said with a smile.
“We’re glad we could help.” April beamed.
Splinter smiled before he remembered something. “What time is it?”
Donnie took out his T-Phone to check the time. “It’s exactly 11:00 pm.”
“Oh no. I must meet Celestia at the movie theater by 11:45. I cannot be late.”
“Well, you’d better get a move on then.” Casey said.
Splinter grabbed his cane and a T-Phone and turned to head out before Leo put a hand on his shoulder.
“Sensei… be careful. And have fun.” The turtle said.
“I will.” Splinter said with a smile before finally heading out.
“…He’ll be fine.” Donnie commented.
“So… who’s up for some Chris Bradford?” Mikey suggested, hopping onto the couch and turning on the TV.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Oh, I’m going to be so late!” Celestia said as she grabbed her coat, purse, and cell phone.
“I still say this is a bad idea.” Luna commented as she was sitting on the edge of the bed; she rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
“I don’t care, Luna. It’s rude to not show up to a date you’re actually looking forward to. Besides, Yoshi is already expecting me.” She grabbed her room key. “I’ll probably be back late. Don’t wait up.”
And with that, Celestia was already out the door, leaving Luna by herself. She took out her own cell phone and dialed before raising the phone to her ear.
“Hello? Sunset Shimmer? I need to talk to you and the Rainbooms.” Luna said. “It’s about Celestia.”