Luna’s veins were filled with fire, body tense, and eyes wide as she stood alone in her quiet room. The draconequus causing her frustration absent, she strained to regain her composure. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath as she let the muscles in her face relax, allowing the angry fog to lift from her thoughts. She groaned softly coming to terms with the serious problem at hoof; yet another chore on her plate. She opened her eyes and scanned the room for Fluttershy, the first step of her new chore. The mare wasn’t anywhere in sight, causing the alicorn to search the room for any sign of her. However, Luna was impressed by Fluttershy. She was good at hiding when she wanted to disappear. Her skills notwithstanding, she was given away by her own shaking. The telltale sound of knees quaking, like bones rattling on the floor betrayed her presence. Luna followed the sound beneath her bed yet again peeking under to see a pair of frightened eyes staring back from the darkness. Luna lifted her head letting out another deep sedative breath. “Fluttershy, please remove yourself from under my bed.” Luna’s voice was laced with a reserved exasperation, as if she were talking to a child.
“Are you going to yell at me?” Fluttershy spoke shakily.
“No, Fluttershy. I will not yell at you.”
“You’re scary when you-” She swallowed. “Yell.” Still Fluttershy wouldn’t budge
“You have my word as a Princess that I will not raise my voice to you. Now will you please come out from under my bed?”
Fluttershy took a moment to mull over Luna’s proposition. She hesitantly crawled forward, out of the darkness underneath the bed, and stood up.
Luna had to look down slightly to meet Fluttershy’s gaze, the pegasus’s head only visible from Luna’s eye level. “Good. Now, let’s see the damage.”
Luna’s choice wording made Fluttershy’s heart sink briefly before she looked down to the collar wrapped around the base of her neck. It seemed harmless enough. She noticed at the front of the little strap there was a loop with a butterfly shaped tag. She recognized the design as a likeness of the pegasus’s cutiemark. Luna examined it closely for any sign of a clasp, first turning Fluttershy’s head one way and then the other. Luna gave a dissatisfied groan.
“There doesn’t seem to be buckle or clasp to take it off.”
“Oh, no..” Fluttershy’s eyes widened, but she held her ground. “ What do we do?”
Luna tapped her chin with the toe of her hoof. “We improvise.” Luna’s horn glowed as she grabbed the collar with her magic. She gave it a little tug which tugged Fluttershy sideways with it. Closing her eyes and planting her hooves on the floor, Luna tried pulling the strap apart. She grunted as she tugged at it without it yielding even slightly. “Goodness. What is this.. thing made from.” It would briefly slip from her grasp jerking Fluttershy’s head this way and that, but beared it in silence. After a minute of pulling without any success she decided it was futile. Luna was no slouch, but neither was the collar.
“Ah, dragon’s breath. It won’t break. Maybe I can cut it.”
Fluttershy’s heart leapt into her throat as Luna stepped away to her desk. She returned holding a letter opener in her magic; a very large letter opener. It was about half a foot long in the shape of a dagger. Luna walked up to Fluttershy and put a hoof on the side of her head holding her still. “Don’t move. I keep this sharp.” Luna carefully slid the small blade between Fluttershy’s neck and the strap. Pressing the blade against the collar she gave a hard, even stroke which was met by a shrill metallic screech and sparks. Luna pulled the knife away to find the edge jagged and dull, while the collar remained pristine without a single scratch.
“What in the name of Equestria is this.. absurd.. Nonsense!” Luna exclaimed, struggling to properly voice her frustration. She huffed and tossed the ruined blade aside, a startling clang ringing out as it slammed against the floor. Luna glared at the the unwanted accessory, projecting destructive thoughts at it.
“I wonder..” Luna trotted off again to her desk and retrieved a pair of scissors.
“Let's give this one more try.”
Fluttershy interjected. “B-but what if-”
“Oh, hush, Fluttershy. I have this under control.” she slid the collar strap between the two blades and squeezed them together as hard as her magic would allow. Despite her best efforts, the scissors wouldn’t cut. She grit her teeth and furrowed her brow but still it would not relent. Eventually the shears broke in half with a metallic CHUNK.
“Horse pies! It’s as if I’m trying to cut stone! Discord! When I-” She cut herself off there, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Fluttershy had shut her eyes tightly, Luna’s yelling in her ear making her noticeably distressed.
“So, I can’t tear it. I can’t cut it. Ah! I know.” Luna positioned herself in front of Fluttershy. “Alright, extend your neck please. We’re going to try sliding it off.”
“Princess, are you sure this is-”
Before she could finish her sentence Luna gave a sharp tug with her magic. Whenever she pulled it seemed to contract around the pegasus’s neck unable to slide over her jaw. Growing and frustrated Luna gave it a few extra hard tugs for good measure.
Luna pulled harder and harder with each try until Fluttershy cried out, “Ow! You’re hurting me!”
Luna threw up her hooves. She turned and walked out of the room, too frustrated for words. She instead resorted to pacing her bedroom grumbling to herself. “Ripping, cutting, pulling. Nothing is working! What does this thing want from me?”
After crossing the room half a dozen times a pink mane peeked over the bed at Luna. “M-maybe we should tell.. Princess Celestia?” Then her head quickly ducked out of sight.
Luna stopped and sigh. “Yes. Maybe we should.”
Celestia sat and stared, dumbstruck at the sight before her. Luna sat across a small dining table next to Fluttershy who sat crumpled up like a paper ball to avoid any sideways glances. The pearly white princess looked intently at the steam rising from her cup of tea while she thought and spoke again.
“May I see it?”
Luna lifted Fluttershy’s collar into Celestia’s site bringing the pony with it.
“What have you tried?”
“Well,” Luna started, “No spell or tool I’ve tried has worked. I’ve tried cutting it, tearing it. It can’t be removed by my magic, not without harming Fluttershy at least.” This bit troubled Luna the most making her pause in thought just a moment before continuing. “It doesn’t appear to be tight fitting, but even I can’t slip it off.. not without harming her.” With that Fluttershy rubbed her neck where it had been rubbed red with irritation. With each method Luna mentioned the memory of the attempt would flash through Fluttershy’s memory.
She remembered Luna telling her to stand still; never a good thing to hear. Having failed with magic, Luna walked up beside her and grabbed it and pulled up trying to slip it over her head. With each tug it got a little tighter to keep them from slipping it off.
“And it can’t be cut with a blade.” Fluttershy’s heart jumped to her throat and her eyes went wide as she flashed back to earlier that afternoon. Luna’s frustrated sawing less than an inch from Fluttershy’s neck frightened her a bit.
Celestia mused. “So, you’re saying that not even your magic can’t remove it.”
“It appears to be so. There’s some manner of powerful spell protecting it, but nothing like I’ve seen. ”
“So, what would you suggest?
“I say we track down Discord and force him to undo the spell!” Luna furrows her brow and clops her hoof on the table for emphasis, making it shake slightly.
“I hope it’s that simple. You know as well as I do that with Discord things rarely are.”
“It doesn’t matter. When I’m through he will rue the day he thought to make a fool of me,” Luna scowled.
“And if we don’t find him?”
“Perhaps Twilight Sparkle will know something of it. Her knowledge of magic is more academic than ours.”
A small squeak sounded across the table grabbing the Princess’s attention and drawing it to the yellow mare across the table. It was the first sound she made since entering the room.
Celestia sat up higher over the table to see Fluttershy over the edge. “Appologies, Fluttershy. Luna and I have hardly given you a chance to speak for yourself. Is there something you wish to say?”
“Um,” she squeaked, struggling to muster the strength to speak. “Princess, I don’t think Discord meant to hurt us.” She looked to the alicorn she’d been bonded to twiddling her hooves, her gaze averted. “I remember what he was like back in Ponyville, back when we imprisoned him, and again when he stayed with me not long ago. I don’t think he does things to hurt ponies. He can be.. rambunctious at times, but I don’t think he would do this to hurt us. Maybe he really thinks what he’s doing is right?”
Celetia tapped her jaw with the toe of her hoof in thought. “It is possible, but whatever his motives, the only thing it’s going to accomplish for the moment is making life more difficult for the both of you.”
Luna huffed.
“But maybe if we discover what he wants then we’ll learn the secret to the spell.”
Fluttershy stayed quiet, unsure of anything herself.
“I doubt it’s anything good. I think we would be best to rid ourselves of this predicament posthaste.” Luna groused.
“There’s only one thing I don’t understand,” Celestia thought out loud. “Why would he come to you in the first place? Did he say why he come to you? Luna averted her eyes, her gaze contrite while Celestia continued. “Maybe it can tell us what he wants.”
“Well.. I..” Luna’s breath caught in her throat.
“You what, Luna?” Celestia looked to her earnestly and Fluttershy was eager to hear as well.
“I may have been thinking about wanting a pet..” She almost mumbled the words. Her tone tinged with guilt.
“You.. what? If you wanted a pet all you’d have to do is-”
“I know. I know.” Luna was quickly becoming frustrated with the conversation, but knew that nothing she would say would keep it from happening. She had avoided the topic of her feelings in her account of what happened. It pained her to admit her weaknesses and being careless was almost as embarrassing to her as letting a little loneliness get to her. “I was derelict and foolish to listen to him. I should have trusted my better judgment. Could we focus instead on the task at hoof?”
Celestia let out a quiet breath, taking note of her hesitance, but not wanting to push her sister further. “We’ll track him down. It might not be easy but we should be able to find him before too long. In the meantime I suggest the two of you get to know each other. Who knows how long you will be stuck like this. Both of you still have duties to attend to.” Luna and Fluttershy exchanged sideways glances.
“Hopefully this will all be over soon and we can get on with our lives.” Luna said with a snort.
Celestia stood. “Well, I have some business to attend to. There’s a sun to lower and I will also be away tomorrow, so I must prepare. You two can take some time to get more acquainted. Perhaps give her a tour of the castle or the gardens.” Fluttershy perked up slightly at the mention of the gardens as Celestia’ continued. “It’s a pleasure having you with us for the time being, Fluttershy, and hopefully this will all be resolved soon.” She turned towards the door, but stopped. “Before I go, what was that riddle Discord gave you again?”
Luna looked to Fluttershy to see if she remembered but she shrugged. Luna looked up, digging deep into her mind for the memory. “Three words.. when.. spoken from the heart?”
Fluttershy chimed in with the rest, her memory jogged. “Three little words when spoken from the heart will bring you together and break you apart.”
Celestia paused and pondered the words. “Well, if you find the answer tell me. The sooner we solve this the better.” With that said she left the room leaving the two ponies in an awkward silence.
They sat quietly for a moment pondering and soaking in the moment. It was awkward to sit silently, but solving their dilemma would most likely be even more uncomfortable. Shortly after the pair could see the afternoon light fade into darkness as Celestia lowered the sun the sun.
Luna took that as a sign to act and wordlessly stood, turning to leave. Fluttershy wondered whether she should follow or stay there, but Luna reached the edge of the fifty step boundary and Fluttershy’s collar was tugged towards the door as if by an invisible leash and Fluttershy along with it. With a little yelp she was pulled to her hooves and trotted to catch up and next to Luna’s side.
“So,” Luna started though she didn’t follow through. The two were sitting on opposite sides of Luna’s lavish bed. They silently agreed that they need to have some sort of conversation though neither of them were quite comfortable starting it considering the frequent yet brief bouts of eye contact.
“Um..” Fluttershy looked meekly at her hooves.
“How are you faring?” Luna asked tentatively.
“Okay.” She squeaked.
“Are you well?”
“I guess,” she said quieter than before.
“And at home? Has Ponyville been prospering since my last visit?”
“I guess,” She whispered.
Luna let out an exasperated breath. “Fluttershy! Your brief answers are not helping.”
Fluttershy squeaked and shut her eyes, hiding under her forehooves. Luna put her hoof to her face. She quickly realized the direct approach wasn’t going to work. “My apologies.” She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. “So, how are you feeling?”
Fluttershy peeked out from behind her hooves and began to relax a little. “Um, tired I guess.”
“Tired?”
“Well, yes. It’s been kind of a long day..”
“Oh, of course. Well, you seem to be taking it well enough.” Luna encouraged
“I guess I’m just not sure what to do.”
“Well, what would you be doing if you weren’t here?”
"Um, probably would be at my house with my animal friends..” “Oh, goodness! Who will take care of them if I can’t be there?” Her eyes went wide.
“Don’t worry. My sister will make sure that they are taken care of. We just need to collect our thoughts so we can work on solving our problem.”
“Okay,” She said laying down on the bed. “What would you be doing if today would have been normal?”
“I’d be... oh no.”
“What is it?”
Luna looked at the clock against the wall with building worry on her face. “I have an important trade meeting with the griffin ambassador early tomorrow morning.” She groaned.
Fluttershy froze and her eyes went wide again. “Griffons?”
“Yes, Griffins,” She said as she walked towards the door. “I must go to the library and prepare. It’s going to be a long night..”
“B-but..” Fluttershy slipped under the covers, hoping to hide there until the whole mess blew over. She quickly realized that she was still magically tethered and slid out from under the covers, onto the floor, and down the hall. “Ooh..” she groaned.
When the pair entered the library they were met with warm the warm candle light and smell of old parchment. They passed through the maze of bookshelves making their way towards the center. The section at the front was mostly general reference material, text books, and even some story books. Luna could see the night sky through the windows and silently wished she could be outside enjoying it instead of working at all hours. She reluctantly turned her head towards the pony at the reception desk in the middle of the room. At the desk stood a unicorn with a pitch black mane and reading glasses.
“Ah, Princess Luna. I’ve been expecting you.” the unicorn greeted her jovially.
“Yes,” Luna sighed softly. “There’s business to be attended to before morning and I could use your help.”
The unicorn looked over to Fluttershy as she stepped out from behind the desk. “Brought some company I see.”
“Yes, this is Fluttershy. She will be accompanying me.. indefinitely.”
“Nice to meet you, Fluttershy. My name is Hoof Note. I am the night librarian, scribe, and advisor to the princess. Whenever she needs to know something she comes here. I know everything.”
“Everything?”
She turned to show off her flank. On it was a quill and a note card. “I remember everything I’ve ever written. It’s my talent.”
“Wow..”
“I normally aid the princess in her work, but I will gladly extend it to you as well. If there’s anything I can get you just ask and I will assist you in any way I can.”
Fluttershy nodded tiredly. “Thank you very much.”
Hoof Note levitated a large key ring from under the desk and held it next to her. “You’re very welcome. Now, enough show and tell. If you would please follow me.” She lead them down the rows of bookshelves until they stopped in front of a large heavy door. Hoof Note produced a large key ring and picked out one particular metal skeleton key, slid it into the lock and unlatched the door with a metallic CHUNK.
Fluttershy looked around cautiously at her gloomy surroundings as they entered the room.
“This is the Hall of Records. Pardon the dust. Some of the entries in here date back over a millenia. Luna frequents this place when there’s work to be done,” Hoof Note explained.
“It’s quiet and saves having to walk back and forth for scrolls,” Luna commented.
It wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as the entrance to the library had been. Every wall and available space on the floor was filled with shelves from floor to ceiling all filled with parchment or books and dated and most coated in dust. In the center of the room was a large wooden table covered in candles. As they neared the candles suddenly lit on their own and Luna quickly sat down while Hoof Note trotted off into the endless sea of old paper. Fluttershy sat down at the table a ways removed from Luna leaning heavily on the table.
Hoof Note quickly returned levitating stacks of paper and plunked the thick piles down in front of Luna. “These are the merchant reports, these are recent trade reports and cargo manifests with estimated losses. And this is a brief history of Griffin trade agreements in case you need to brush up.” Fluttershy’s eyes glazed over slightly just listening to her speak.
“Thank you, Ms. Note.” Luna picked the last stack and spread it out over the table, looking over the pages.
Hoof Note looked over to Fluttershy as she yawned quietly. “Can I get you anything, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy covered her mouth and shook her head. “No. I don’t want to trouble you. I’m fine.”
“Yes, thank you. Cushions and a few blankets for my companion and coffee for myself.”
“Of course, Princess.” Hoof Note turned and left through the door of the chamber. A reverberating boom sounded throughout the room, then quickly gave way to silence.
Luna sat quietly reading and shuffling papers around. On the other side of the table, Fluttershy laid her head down on the wooden surface, silently meditating over recent events.
First she was suddenly taken from her home to Canterlot, then had a magic spell placed on her. And if that wasn’t enough she’d been roughed up and dragged around the castle. Now she was locked in this dusty old room to spend the night. It had been a stressful day to say the least.
The Princess glanced over to her briefly. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” She breathed. “Just.. worried.”
“About?”
“I hope Angel and my animal friends are okay without me. I don’t want my pony friends be too worried either.”
“No need to fret, Fluttershy. Everything that can be done is being done. Everything is under control for the moment.” Her eyes never left the pages of lists of different goods: wheat, sugar, coal, along with enough numbers to make a pony dizzy.
Fluttershy sighed softly and laid back down on the wooden surface, her face seemingly unconvinced.
Just then Hoof Note returned trailing behind her the items Luna had requested. She sat down the cushions in a corner, laying the blankets over them while setting a pot of coffee and a cup next to the Princess.
“Thank you, Ms. Note.” Luna chimed while she read.
She sat across from Fluttershy and spoke quietly. “So, what brings you here? I know most everyone of Luna’s advisors and I haven’t seen you before.”
“Discord.. He put a magic spell on me and now I can’t leave Luna’s side.”
“Wow.. Sounds rough.” Her faces was blank except for wide eyes as if she didn’t quite know what to make of the story.
Fluttershy let out a long breath. “Yes.”
“Best of luck.”
“Thank you..” Fluttershy smiled politely at Hoof Note. “How did you end up here? Not everypony get’s to help the princess.”
“Well, fairly simple. I told you my talent, right?”
Fluttershy nodded in reply.
“Well, I discovered my talent when I started school as a filly. I always got good grades in my classes. I didn’t even have to study. I didn’t really like school though. The other fillies didn’t like me very much. When my parents found out my talent they sent me to the school for gifted unicorns here in Canterlot and I loved it. When I finished they asked me to come here and I’ve been working the library ever since.”
Luna kept to herself while Fluttershy listened, letting Hoof Note keep Fluttershy occupied while she worked.
“How did you get to know Princess Luna?” Fluttershy asked.
“Last year Celestia just came to me one day and asked me to meet someone. There she introduced me to Princess Luna. Some nights she would come to the library for something or another and I’d be here with nothing to do so I’d help her. She didn’t talk much at first, but now she comes here all the time.”
Luna kept sill but directed her attention to the pair talking about here.
“You mean she used to talk even less?”
Hoof Note laughed softly. “Yeah. I guess she did. She just takes a while to warm up to ponies, but she’s sweet if you get to know her.”
“I am standing right here beside you, you know.”
Hoof Note snickered. “Alright, I guess that’s enough for now. You get some rest. I doubt the princess is going to sleep anytime soon. I’ll be around if you need me.”
Fluttershy nodded and headed for the makeshift bed that the mare had laid out for her, soon falling asleep while Luna continued to read throughout the night.
Fluttershy awoke early in the morning and rubbed her eyes. “Oh Angel, what a strange dream I-” She opened her eyes to see the stuffy, paper-filled room around her and stopped not bothering to finish her sentence.
“No,” She said rubbing her tired eyes. “It wasn’t a dream. You are still here.” Fluttershy looked down and away quietly keeping any further comments to herself. “We will be meeting with the griffons in a few hours. We should prepare.”
An uneasy feeling grew in the pit of Fluttershy’s stomach upon Luna’s reminder. “Um, Luna? I don’t suppose I could skip the meeting? I don’t think it’s my place..”
“That won’t be possible. It took a miracle to get the griffins to agree to this meeting. With no way to break Discord’s spell, you are still tied to me. It can’t be avoided.”
“But, I-”
“Fluttershy, enough.” Luna snapped. “It’s pointless to argue what we can’t fix and I’m much too tired to do so.” Fluttershy stayed silent and Luna continued. “I’ve finished the preparations for the conference, so we may as well get cleaned up and have breakfast.”
Luna and Fluttershy sat down to the breakfast table, a modest vase of flowers casting a subtle odor throughout the room while the palace chef set out their food. Berry pancakes with honey drizzled on top and a side of haybrowns with tea.
“Couldn’t somepony else fill in at the meeting? Does it have to be you?”
“My sister told us that she’d be away on royal business today. We agreed that we need to make a good impression with the griffons. I have to be present at the meeting.”
“Is this meeting really that important? Would it really be that bad if we just.. didn’t go?”
“Fluttershy, this meeting is to negotiate trade between our two kingdoms as well as protect the merchant ponies who travel there. Do you understand how much the kingdom stands to lose if these negotiations break down?”
Fluttershy bowed her head in defeated silence for the rest of the breakfast.
As they were walking down the corridor to the meeting hall Fluttershy made one last attempt.
“Princess Luna,” Fluttershy begged looking up to the princess with the biggest pair of doe eyes she could muster. “Please don’t make me go in there. I’ll do anything.”
Luna looked back unimpressed. “Fluttershy, why must you fight this? Why do you not want to go so badly?”
“I’m.. scared.” she admitted shamefully “I’m scared of griffons.” Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut sinking to the floor.
Luna sighed and held her hoof to her face. “Now is not the time for this. You’re just going to have to endure it. They can’t do anything to harm you. You are in no danger. Calm yourself. Now, it’s time.”
Fluttershy’s heart dropped to her stomach as she quickly darted behind the princess, hoping that the griffins inside wouldn’t see her. The sentries outside the meeting room opened the door and they stepped inside. Luna and Fluttershy took their seats at the head of the table, Fluttershy sweating nervously in her formal dress while Luna kept her usual calm and collected demeanor.
Soon after a guard entered and announced the arrival of the second party. The doors glowed with the magic aura of the two guards adjacent to them and they opened to the reveal three creatures behind. They walked forward; two male and a female, tall, sleek. They’re faces looked weathered with icy stares. They were the three foremost traders of griffon goods. Had it been a century ago she’d be speaking with government officials, but griffon trade had since devolved into a free for all. Luna watched them approach their positions on the table. She’d always been wary of them; they were fierce and greedy, but quite shrewd and rarely hostile so long as relations were friendly.
“Sirs. Grey. Gael. Gwyn.”
“Princess Luna.” Grey replied. Their voices were gruff and gravelly though unique of each other.
“I trust we are ready to begin?” The eldest griffin spoke. It was Grey. He was plainly more grizzled than the other two. The feathers on his head were bleached white from the sun and he wore a patch over his right eye.
“Yes, of course. So, where shall we begin?”
Fluttershy crouched in her seat, the wood creaking slightly. All she could see was sets of legs with grumbly voices, but it was enough to frighten her. Legs ending in lion’s paws and wicked claws shifted while their long tails swished behind. Her ears were laid back and she was curled up as small as she could make herself.
“Who’s this?” Gwen spoke glaring at the pegasus.
The sudden attention made Fluttershy’s heart leap.
“This is Fluttershy, my advisor. She’s accompanying me through this conference.”
“I don’t like it. How do we know we can trust her? You never told us there would be other ponies joining us.” Gael growled as he glared at Fluttershy suspiciously making her freeze.
“Fluttershy is here to assist me. I swear that she won’t interfere with our negotiations in any way.” Luna raised her hoof as if swearing to an oath.
“As long as she doesn’t cause any trouble,” Gael sneared.
“There won’t be any trouble. Let’s continue.”
“Now, about these damages.” Gwyn started.
Luna turned to face Gwyn. “Considering most of the losses were Equestrian goods I think that-”
“No!” Grey slammed down a clawed fist on the table in anger. “We demand to be compensated. These are our livelihoods we’re discussing here!”
When the griffin hit the table it caused the demure pegasus across to jump with a loud squeak as she shook.
“What was that?” Gwyn queried, venturing a look across the table. “You’re a jumpy one, aren't you.” Fluttershy’s heart stopped and she froze stiff while the griffin’s eyes locked on to her for a moment before returning above the table.
“Your ‘advisor’s’ a little weak at the knees, Princess.” Gael snarked.
“It’s nothing. She’s just a little nervous around griffons. Now, about the” Luna tried to wave the thought away and get the griffons back on track.
“Oh! So the little one’s scared of us griffons, huh? What? Think the big, bad griffons are here to eat you?” The three griffons broke into roaring laughter.
Fluttershy’s eyes darted from side to side looking for escape. She couldn’t stay there any longer. They were angry and would only get angrier. Fluttershy crept out from her seat, around Luna and slowly inched her way towards the open door. Fluttershy reached the edge of her boundary ten feet from the door. She tugged lightly at her collar and Luna felt a little tug and looked towards the door cutting her off mid sentence.
“Fluttershy..” Luna glared at her as if to say ‘Get back here this instant’.
All bets were off. She couldn’t take it anymore. It was do or die, so she ran. She took a couple steps back and charged at the the limit of her collar. It tugged against her neck, but she kept pushing. A fraction of a second later Luna’s eyes went wide just before she was tugged from her seat, tumbling on her side and was dragged across the room, out the door and down the hall. “FLUTTERSHYYYYY!”
The three bewildered gryphons abruptly stopped their laughter and stood up, swiveling their heads to follow the seemingly possessed princess tumble out the door pulled by some unseen force. They rushed to the door and watched her scream down the hallway and out of sight. When her booming voice faded they stopped, exchanging wide eyed looks and shrugging their shoulders.
“Fluttersh- Oww! Stop thi- Oww! Instant!”
Luna’s hooves scrambled under her. Just when she’d almost fought her way to them she’d be swung into a wall or crash headfirst into a shelf.
Fluttershy only whimpered and kept running spurred on by the booming voice behind her.
The pair turned a corner to find four mares in robes walking down the middle of the hallway. Without enough space to stop in time she could only scurry around them followed by the yelling alicorn who plowed through the flock of scribes toppling them like bowling pins in the narrow alley of the hall before continuing on.
“SORRY!” Luna shouted.
Hearing a commotion a pair of castle guards clad in golden armor saw a small yellow pegasus run past the door. They stepped out and turned down the hall towards her. “HALT!” They commanded. Only too late did they hear the princess’s voice approach from behind before her struggling body swept their legs out from under them and flung them into the air like ragdolls. They landed in a heap and groaned for a moment before regaining their bearings and taking chase.
Further down the path a cook - who was a bit of a lush - was enjoying a mug of Equestria’s Finest cider in the kitchen. The sound of calamity broke his moment of peace as he stopped drinking to watch a flash of pink mane and yellow feathers pass the door. Moments later the princess’s voice followed. He jumped when the Princess was suddenly flung against the door frame. She grabbed the frame for her life, holding as tight as she could with her hooves just long enough for the tousled goddess to whisper, “Help.. me” before she was drug away again.
They were pursued by a pair of guards while they continued to shout. “IN THE NAME OF EQUESTRIA, STOP THIS INSTANT!”
The bewildered cook took his eyes from the door and looked back to his drink staring at it for a moment. Wide eyed, he picked it up and brought it to the sink, pouring it down the drain.
By now the group had reached the foyer. Fluttershy struggled more trying to drag the princess down the stone steps on her face. Finally up the steps Luna took advantage of the long straight stretch of wide open space and rolled onto her hooves, pushed herself up and unfurled her ruffled wings and gave a mighty flap. She pulled herself into the air and finally pulled against the pegasus who’d carried her through the castle and brought her to a stop. Fluttershy’s hooves skittered uselessly against the floor until fluttershy finally gave up and fell over on her side exhausted. By then the guards had caught up and were panting for breath and Luna landed gracefully back on her hooves before noticing Celestia standing at the Castle doors. “Oh.. Hello.. sister..” and finally collapsed on the soft rug.
Celestia covered her mouth with her hooves. “Oh, dear..”