//------------------------------// // Princess Pranks // Story: Luna Looks for Love // by zyr1987 //------------------------------// When the castle staff came by to awaken the six visitors the next day, the came with a strange request from princess Luna herself: “No matter what you see, act natural and do not stare at anything unusual.” Natural pranksters that they were, Rainbow and Pinkie (and, by virtue of being their roommates, Fluttershy and Applejack) quickly realized that Luna was playing a prank on her sister, but Twilight and Rarity were left a bit confused. Still, they decided to play along. Over breakfast, Princess Luna, like her sister made idle chatter with everypony at the table, while holding a teacup with her magic. Unlike her sister, though, she was holding something else with her magic, and Rainbow and Pinkie were both struggling to keep from snickering at the sight of it. As Celestia ate a cinnamon roll, she felt something large and fuzzy touch the top of her head. She shook it, trying to get it off, but it held firm. She grabbed it with her magic and brought it before her face. When saw that it was a spider, seemingly very much alive, she screamed and threw it against the wall, blasting it once with her magic and sending a few ponies present (but especially her dear sister) into raucous fits of laughter. Celestia said, “Very funny, Lulu.” “It is no worse than that coconut cream pie you had smashed into my face.” “Except you're not liable to destroy something when you end up being pied. You know how I am with spiders, Lulu.” “Indeed I do, and now so does everypony else as the table.” Celestia looked around at the ponies eating with her, then said, “Well played, Lulu, well played.” Following this, in what was quickly becoming a routine happening, a few letter formed out of green fire in front of Celestia. She looked at who they were addressed to and passed them out accordingly, glowering at her sister all the while. One of the letters' recipients spoke up after reading through hers. “Oh, um Princess Celestia? “Yes, Fluttershy?” “Could you let my pet bunny Angel stay with me? He's not getting along with the town vet and she wants him to come here.” “I guess I could allow that. Just make sure he stays with you or in the garden at all times.” “Okay. I'll let her know to send him over.” “Just give me the letter you write, and I'll ensure Spike receives it,” Celestia said. “Okay.” Luna then asked, “How is your grandmother doing, Applejack?” “She's about the same as yesterday. They're going to move her to Ponyville Hospital later today to see if the doctors can find out what's wrong with her.” “I see. I hope it is nothing too serious.” “I hope so too,” Applejack said. “So, what was in yours, Twilight?” Rainbow asked. “Oh, just the usual stuff that comes with running a library. Books checked out and returned and fines paid and owed. Nothing to be concerned about. Though, while we're on the subject, someone owes me twenty bits for ten overdue books in the Daring Do series.” “Uh...heh heh heh. Can I get back to you on paying those? I'm not exactly rolling in the bits at the moment.” “Fine. Just remember, I'm not going to let you check any more books out until you pay up,” Twilight said. “Fine.” Rainbow knew Twilight had her by the tail, since the new Daring Do was going to come out next month Now she just had to find a way to make 20 bits before then. Luna then produced a small bag of bits and said, “I seem to recall hearing that your birthday is next week. Consider this an early birthday gift.” Twilight took the bits and counted them out. “That's twenty,” she said. By the way, when is your birthday, Fluttershy?” “In September,” Fluttershy said, “the same month as Pinkie Pie.” “So it will be a few months from now.” “Yes.” Luna made a mental note of this and said, “Also, Rarity, I have made my decision on what dress design I wish to wear tomorrow night,” floating a piece of paper over. “Oh, this will be wonderful. I'll start on it right after breakfast.” Luna smiled and turned back to the rest of the table, and to her dread, Celestia wasn't glowering at her anymore, meaning she had already come up with a plan for her revenge, and chances were that it would be very unpleasant. Later in the day Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were talking with Thunderfly about how their lives had gone since they had last seen each other. “So, wait. The riot that Ponyville had the week before Nightmare Night happened because your friend enchanted her doll with a 'want it need it' spell?” “Yeah. It was hardly her shining moment. Still we've all had our moments. By the way, you wanna hear about how Fluttershy met Luna?” Rainbow asked, as Fluttershy tensed up a bit. “Okay.” Fluttershy spoke before Rainbow could, explaining everything that happened between her and Luna in that first meeting right up until the point where Luna hugged her. “What happened then?” “I don't really know, since I fainted when she hugged me.” “Better than I would have done, I think. I probably would have died of a heart attack,” Thunderfly said. “I can imagine,” Rainbow said. “By the way, how did you get accepted on a Le Pones team?” “By winning a 12 hour semi-pro event at Trottingham's parkway by over two laps. Apparently there were some recruiters in the audience on the lookout for new talent, they approached the three of us after the race and offered a spot at the next 24 Hours of Le Pones.” So, which team are you racing for?” “Rebellion Racing,” Thunderfly said, “We're not expected to win, but we are expected to at least stay ahead of the entire earth pony class.” “And who are your teammates?” “Staying Power and a newbie I picked up along the way by the name of Red Streak. You'd like her.” “I'm sure I would. I'll try to get us tickets to the event. I would love to see you race, and I'm sure Fluttershy would too,” Rainbow said. “Oh, yes, I would love to go,” Fluttershy said in a neutral tone. She wasn't one for racing but, regardless of her familial issues, she wanted to support her brother and traveling abroad with Rainbow sounded fun. “So, do you have any plans for the rest of the day?” Thunderfly asked. “Well, we're supposed to meet our friends and Octavia Melody for lunch later but not much else. You?” “Not much. Staying Power and Red Streak are coming down to Canterlot later today, though, as part of an unofficial vacation. Officially, we're doing 'high altitude training' for endurance, but...” Thunder said “Clever. Does this have anything to do with Luna paying for your hotel?” Rainbow asked. “Maybe... My room does have two double beds after all.” Rainbow chuckled and said, “have fun with that.” Twilight, meanwhile, was still in the castle conversing with her mentor. Since it was the weekend, day court was not in session, so Celestia was free to do as she please for the day. Twilight was talking to her mentor about history at the moment, asking “So, why was same-sex marriage banned?” “To put it simply, appeasement. 800 years ago we were coming off of a long war with the Griffon Kingdom, and, through some underhanded political maneuvering, the nobility had become extremely powerful. They threatened to turn me into a figurehead if I didn't meet several hundred demands, including banning same-sex marriage. Why that was added, I have no idea.” “And you didn't reverse it later?” “No, for two reasons. One, for the longest time the ban was extremely popular, and two, they included language in their demands that made it necessary to get the support of two-thirds of the noble unicorn houses to repeal of them, which is a large part of why it took a year of work on Lulu's part to overturn the ban,” Celestia said. “Oh, so that's why the nobility is still around.” “Well, that and inertia. I should point out, though, that some of the laws they made me sign, such as no one being above the law, are now cornerstones of Equestria's law system, while others I simply pretend don't exist anymore like any other odd or outdated laws.” “And how long did it take for you to get your power back?” Twilight asked. “About 200 years.” “Wow, I thought it would have been longer.” “I know what I'm doing, and I had a few lucky breaks along the way. Anyway, why don't we go see how the servants are faring in their work?” “Sure.” After a particularly embarrassing incident where she had transformed a dinner plate and the toy that landed on it into a burning pile of dust, Celestia had told Luna if she pulled any more pranks involving toy spiders, she would see Luna's collection of them destroyed. Now she was making good on that promise. Unfortunately, Luna had around three hundred toy spiders in her closet and they had to be destroyed individually to avoid filling the palace with the stench of burnt rubber and putrid smoke, so it was taking a while. “So, how many of these awful things are left?” Celestia asked the nearest servant. “About 250. I don't think we'll be able to finish before your sister awakens.” “That's okay. If she discovers what we're doing and gives you any trouble, come find me.” “Yes, princess.” “Do you really think she'll try to stop you?” Twilight asked. “I have no doubt she will, as she loves using them. Still, she knows I hate those things, and I did tell her not to prank me with them ever again if she wanted to keep them, but...” Celestia said. “True. Also, I was wondering.” “Yes?” “Why are you afraid of spiders?” “Well, there was this incident about two hundred years ago where...” Rarity was window shopping with her new friend, Fleur de Lis in one of the most expensive districts of the city. They had just finished laughing at Upper Crust's terrible fashion choices after spotting her wandering the shops herself when Fleur asked, “So, if I may so bold to ask, have you lined up another date for Princess Luna? She did say she would see other ponies.” “Actually we have. Have you ever heard of a stallion named Mile High?” “I know him, though not all that well. I also believed I said that Luna would choose a pony like him when we spoke at the spa.” “What's he like?” Rarity asked. “He's the quiet, friendly sort, with all the hallmarks of a high class stallion, and the advantage of noble birth. He always did strike me as a bit of a yes pony, though.” “Well, that might be a problem. I think Luna would prefer her mate have some spine.” “Perhaps, she did strike me as that sort when we met for our date,” Fleur said, then “Ooh, look at that!” Rarity turned to look at what Fleur was pointing at and saw a very detailed oil painting of a meadow with deer and rabbits wandering around. “Wow, that's amazing.” “Don't you think it would be the perfect gift for Fluttershy?” “I'm sure she would love it, but what would be the occasion?” “Uh...when is her birthday?” “In a few months,” Rarity said. “Well, if I need a special occasion, I guess I can hold on to it until then.” “I didn't say you needed one, though you might want to wait until we're ready to head back to Ponyville at least, since we don't have a place to put it at the moment.” “True...Tell you what, I'll come by to buy it tomorrow and when you're leave, just let me know and I'll give it to her then. Sound good?” Fleur asked. “Sounds good.” Later the six were sitting at a table with Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, much to the former's chagrin. She had actually hoped just to have Twilight and Fluttershy eat lunch with her and Vinyl (because, as she put it, they were the more calm and relaxed than their friends, which was more conducive to a quiet meal), but the DJ insisted that Pinkie be allowed to come along, and when Fluttershy heard, she asked if Rainbow Dash could come too. It snowballed from there, and eventually all six element bearers were going to the lunch. Octavia accepted this, but not without some unhappy grumbling. To hopefully not have to talk to seven ponies at once, she got straight to the point. “I actually asked you guys here not just because I wanted to have lunch with you, but because I have a little gift courtesy of Pony Floyd: seven tickets to the show's opening tomorrow night.” “Cool! So what's the show's theme?” Rainbow asked. “I'm not supposed to tell anyone anything, but I'll tell you one thing if you keep it quiet. The show is supposed to tell a story about a stallion's life through music.” “Interesting,” Twilight said. “Also the show is sold out already. It took a lot of negotiation to get those tickets for you guys.” “Thanks.” After a short lull, conversation resumed and much to Octavia's delight, or as much delight as she showed at any time, it wasn't all focused on her. Shortly into this round of renewed conversation, Vinyl, having briefly broken off of conversing with Pinkie, nudged her and asked, “Aren't you going to ask Twilight about the schedule?” “The schedule? Oh yes, I almost forgot. Twilight, if one were to go on a date with Princess Luna as you say you can set up, could one be expected to get out before seven thirty or so?” “Probably. She ended her first date with Fleur at about that time, and I'm sure she would be accommodating. Why?” “Well, I have my schedule for the show, and I'm supposed to be backstage by eight and ready by eight forty five. Even if I don't have a chance with her, being an earth pony anda commoner, if I could go on a date with her and be out before then...” Octavia said. “I'll talk to her and see what she can do.” “Thanks.” “By the way, how long will the show be?” Twilight asked. “About two hours. It starts at nine because they say that's when all the special effects work at their best.” “So it'll be a late night, then.” “Yes,” Octavia said. Later that day, Fluttershy was walking down a tree-lined parkway talking with Fleur de Lis about the former's adventures in the Crystal Empire. “So, you actually jousted with your marefriend?” Fleur asked. “Yes. I hated it, but we had to keep the crystal ponies happy somehow and the armor and lances were designed with pegasi in mind.” “Weren't there any other pegasi in the Crystal Empire?” “No there wasn't, which is why I ended up jousting her,” Fluttershy said, shuddering at the memory. “Well, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do, but still, that doesn't seem very healthy for a relationship.” Preventing further conversation was a speeding blue blur that was heading right towards Fleur. Fortunately for both the blur and Fleur, it hit the brakes hard enough to avoid turning both of them into two bags of broken bones, but, unfortunately, not enough to avoid sending them both tumbling. It took a second for the two dazed ponies to come back to their senses, but when they did it was to find their lips touching. They quickly and roughly pushed each other away, causing the blur, now easily identified as Rainbow Dash to end up on her back in a comical fashion. Standing up and brushing her fur out, Fleur asked, “Are you trying to kill me?” “No. Sorry, I was trying to practice my super speedy strut and I didn't see you there.” “Okay...anyway, thank you for not killing me in front of my friend at the very least.” “Your friend?” Rainbow asked before she looked and saw a rather scared looking Fluttershy standing nearby. “Oh, uh, hi Flutters.” “Are you two okay?” “I'm fine. What about you?” “Well, I do need a bath but otherwise, I'm just peachy. I would ask that we never speak of our collision again though. By the way, you look familiar,” Fleur said. “Agreed. Also, I'm Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy's marefriend. We met when you asked Twilight to set up that date with Luna?” “Oh, yes, now I remember.” “Why don't you want to speak of this again?” Fluttershy asked, curious. “Because we may have accidentally ended up kissing when we came to a stop,” Fleur said. Fluttershy gave a bemused, though relieved, look and asked, “How did that happen?” “Uh, I dunno,” Rainbow Dash said. “That's just how we ended up,” Fleur said. Fluttershy didn't say anything, but her face showed confusion, rather than anger or disappointment, to both of the other ponies' relief. Rainbow filled in the silence by saying, “So I guess I'll let you two get back to what you were doing.” “Actually, Rainbow Dash, I was hoping to get to know you better. We haven't had a chance to speak, and I would love to get to properly know Fluttershy's marefriend,” Fleur said. “I guess I could stick around a while. What do you want to talk about?” “Well, I guess we could start with your plans to become a Wonderbolt...” Meanwhile, five minutes in the future (A/N: I always wanted to do that), Vinyl and Pinkie were bugging a certain earth pony about her plans for her potential date with royalty despite the fact that...well, she says it best. “I don't know yet, okay?” Octavia said in a rare outburst of frustration, “I don't even know if this date is going forward yet, so how would I know where it will be or what I'm going to wear or any of that? Seriously, stop asking!” “Well, you gotta plan ahead, just in case,” Vinyl said rather enthusiastically. “I guess...” Octavia said with a sigh, “Pinkie?” “Yes?” “Rarity is staying in the castle with you, right?” “Yep! She's staying in a suite with Twilight!” Pinkie said, in her usual giddy fashion. “Okay, when you see her again, could you ask her to make a dress for me if the princess agrees to go on a date with me?” “Sure. What do you want for your dress?” “”Hmm...Well I don't have many bits at the moment, so I would prefer it be something simple and inexpensive, without offending Princess Luna's sensibilities. Also I would prefer it be in the same shade of purple as my cutie mark. From there the rest is her decision,” Octavia said. “Okay, I'll tell her.” “Thank you. By the way, if this does go forward, what's she like?” Vinyl listened as intently as Octavia when Pinkie started describing the night princess. Meanwhile, not five minutes in the future, Twilight and Rarity were walking with Fancypants, going only he knew where and Rarity was asking, “So what is Mile High like?” “He's the quiet, respectful sort, not really trying to put himself out in the spotlight or try to gain everypony's respect unlike certain ponies you most certainly have met. If you had a chance to talk with him, you'd probably like him.” “Could we talk to him?” Twilight asked. “Unfortunately not at the moment. He's spending the day visiting family in Las Pegasus, though he said he'll be back around three tomorrow. “Oh, that's too bad. Oh well, maybe we can see him afterwards,” Rarity said. “I can arrange that I'm certain.” “Please do.” They then arrived at Fanycpants' home and, as he pulled out his house key, he said, “Anyway, I wanted to show you my newest collection of artwork. I bought a few pieces while I was visiting Espoña on business a few months ago.” “Sure, sounds fun, right Twilight?” Rarity asked., seeming mostly interested. “Of course,” Twilight said, sounding less enthusiastic than her good friend, though still interested. That evening before dinner, the six friends were sitting in the dignitary receiving room, waiting for Luna to arrive. Celestia had said that she intended to play a prank on her sister, and instructed them not to say anything as they had done when Luna pranked her. They saw what the prank was already: there was an illusory clown pony waiting just outside the doorway, causing a bit of discomfort for Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Celestia noticed this but said nothing. As they waited they chatted, and Pinkie broadcasted Octavia's request to Rarity, who immediately agreed. Within a few minutes, they could hear hoofsteps, and Celestia, looking down the hallway, said, “Oh, Lulu, could you come here? I have a surprise for you.” “Oh? What sort of surprise?” Luna asked, sounding slightly suspicious, “Come here and I'll show you.” “If you insist.” Once Luna reached the end of the hall, Celestia's fake clown jumped out and declared in a comical voice, “Hello, Princess!” Luna screamed and ran back down the hallway. Celestia dissolved her clown and looked down the hallway, saying, “Huh. The last time we had a clown here, she got so scared that she attacked him. The poor stallion was in the hospital for a week.” “I think we should go check up on her, make sure she's okay,” Twilight said. “I agree. Let's go see if we can find her. I obviously owe her an apology.” They split up, with Celestia taking the much smaller southern half of the West Wing (relative to where they entered) while Twilight and friends looked in the northern half. Fifteen minutes later Applejack found Luna cowering under her and Pinkie's shared bed. “You okay, princess?” “Is-is the clown gone?” “Yeah. It was an illusion your sister made. It's gone now. You're safe” “Are you sure?” Luna asked. “Positive.” “If you say so,” Luna said as she crawled out from under the bed. Meanwhile Applejack called out onto the hallway, “I found her! She's in here!” The still on-edge princess of the night heard a number of hoofsteps approaching and braced for an assault by clowns. What she saw, instead, were the other five elements of harmony. Calming down and assuring herself there was no clowns nearby, she said, “I am fine. I just do not like clowns.” “Well, that was obvious,” Rainbow said, hiding her own discomfort with them. Luna ignored her friend's snarking, asking, “Where is 'Tia?” “the southern part of the wing. She should be here soon. Also, Mayor Mare was dressed as a clown when you came for Nightmare night. Why weren't you scared of her?” “She did not have the creepy, corpselike face paint. Without that, she seemed more silly than scary.” “Oh, I guess that makes sense.” “Oh, and you'll never guess what happened in Canterlot,” Rarity said. “What?” “We got you another date!” “Really? Who?” Luna asked. “Well, to be a bit more specific, my friend Octavia is in town and was wondering if you would go on a date with her,” Twilight said. “Octavia...where have I heard that name before?” “She played at the Grand Galloping Gala the year we got banned.” “Oh, her. I believe you mentioned her yesterday over breakfast as well, now that I think about it,” Luna said. “Yep. She's in town for a concert. She asked me to see if you would go on a date with her, but she said that you needed to end it by seven thirty so she could get back to the concert hall in time for the show.” “I believe we can manage that. Do you believe she will be available the night after tomorrow?” “She should be. Her only arrangement in Canterlot, as far as I know, is the concert series this week,” Twilight said. “Okay, next you see her, tell her that I will make the arrangements and that she should not be late for her concert. I assume this is a classical concert?” “No. It's for a rock band called Pony Floyd,” Rainbow interjected, “I don't think any of us know much about them.” “I see. I may have to ask her about this when I get the chance. Anyway, with that out of the way, please retrieve my toy spiders and my sister. I have to enact my revenge.” “Actually, Celestia is having your spiders destroyed, since you used on to prank her again,” Twilight said. “Ah. I had forgotten about her threat to do that. I wonder how many I can still save,” Luna said as she made her way out of the suite. ...And bumped into Celestia. “Oh, hello sister. I was actually going to find you. And my collection of spiders.” “Well, I feel I must apologize before saying anything else, Lulu. I didn't expect you to react so badly to the clown's appearance, and I apologize for any harm I may have done. Are you okay, by the way?” “I am fine, 'Tia, though I now realize that I should amend the law banning clowns from the castle to include illusory ones as well.” “Yes, if you do that, I will have to ban toy spiders from the castle walls as well.” Luna thought about this, then said, “So be it,” while wondering if she would be able to find any loopholes in her sister's spider ban.