Chapter 42: The Answer
Twilight ran through the forest, unknowing and uncaring of where she went.
She should have known; Pinkie had been trying to talk to her on the way home. Something had been bothering Pinkie, but she’d been too stupid to pursue it. And Applejack had been evasive about something that had happened after she’d left, something between Rainbow and Pinkie.
You did this, you moron! You broke Celestia, and you drove Pinkie away to somepony else’s bed, all because you’re horrible at everything to do with other ponies! Pinkie was a big reason you even had these friends; she lead them all to you when you needed them most! And now, and now—
And now it was over. She couldn’t go to Celestia again. She couldn’t seek comfort from her friends; they were busy comforting Pinkie. She wanted to resent that, she wanted to be angry, or hurt... But she just felt numb inside. She didn’t feel, she just ran; hoping against hope that the ground would open up and erase her mistakes from the world, taking her along with it.
Roots tried to trip her up, branches attempted to scratch her. Without conscious thought she threw up shields to deflect, and walls of force to move the roots. In her wake she left a hole in the vegetation, the ground littered with broken branches and fallen leaves.
A manticore caught wind of her as she passed, and she was silently stalked for several minutes. After seeing her tear through carnivorous plants without pausing, however, it decided that perhaps there was easier meat to be had elsewhere.
She charged on, past scenery that seemed strangely familiar. It wasn’t until she passed a particular grove of trees that she realized where she was going.
She put a hoof up against one trunk in particular, remembering a happy face springing forth from a horrifying visage.
When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...
Twilight leaned up against the tree, sobbing.
The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown...
She wondered, was that the spark? Pinkie had always been an enigma. She was like a maze that only twisted more as Twilight explored, so of course she had been interested from a purely logical standpoint. But was it here in the darkness, where that silly pony had broken out in song in defiance of fear, had it been here that she’d first felt a stirring of what she’d first identified as friendship, and later became something far more?
She punched the trunk with a hoof. It didn’t matter now. What point was there in thinking about it?
Picking herself up from the tree, she trudged further into the vegetation.
Elsewhere in the same forest, a small grove lit up with the light of the noonday sun as a princess and an earth pony teleported with relatively flawless accuracy. There had only been a slight miscalculation regarding the elevation, which caused Celestia to suddenly need to snap open her wings to gently float down to the ground. A few seconds later, Pinkie landed in an unceremonious heap, laughing hysterically.
“Again!”
Celestia landed gracefully, assisting Pinkie to return to her hooves. “Give me a moment to get my bearings. I need to get a better read on where she’s gone.”
“Awww!” Pinkie whined, but she allowed herself to be lifted to her feet, staring resolutely into the darkness surrounding them as if she would somehow see Twilight through all of the trees. But that was silly, she'd left her x-ray specs at home, and those didn't work anyway.
She liked to believe that she knew Twilight well. But what would Twilight do in a situation like this? Where would she go?
Well, if something upsets her, she’d go to the princess!
Pinkie nodded to herself meaningfully, only to then realize that if that were the case, they’d have found her already. So, if I’m Twilight... she tapped the side of her head with her hoof and stuck out her tongue, trying to think like her marefriend. It didn’t go so well, or rather... it went too well.
Okay, I’m a smarty unicorn who is coming to tell my marefriend about something... but she’s snuggled up with two of my friends! Oh no, she doesn’t like me anymore! I... I don’t know what to do. I wish I could go to the princess, but I’m super stressed out that maybe I weirded her out the last time I saw her. I want to cry, but I don’t want to cry here, I want to be away, far far away, where I can cry and nopony can see me. I wish I wasn’t here anymore!
Celestia turned back to her, just in time to see her expression crack and break into little bitty pieces. “I can make out traces of her magic deep inside the forest. She seems to be moving quickly—” She stopped, taken aback at what she saw. “Pinkie? What’s wrong?”
“S-she doesn’t have anypony to go to!” Pinkie sobbed out, grabbing hold of Celestia’s leg. “She’s sad, and alone, and I made her that way!”
Celestia looked down helplessly at the inconsolable earth pony. She had been about to suggest that Pinkie climb onto her back to make better time, but she doubted Pinkie was in much of a condition to make decisions. And so, she simply plucked Pinkie from her leg with her magic before depositing her between her wings.
“Hold tight. I can see where she’s going.” she said as she aimed her horn at the canopy. A large circular hole was blasted through the leaves, giving her just enough room to launch herself through to sky above.
She swept her gaze in the direction she had seen traces of Twilight’s magic. A red hot, and very recent, trail of magic lead from the direction of Ponyville straight into the heart of the Everfree, which was worrisome enough in and of itself. Worse was the knowledge that Twilight had never handled failure particularly well and would commit to some stupidity sooner or later. The insight into Pinkie’s mind that their conversation had afforded her was invaluable, and yet she wished she had waited until after making sure Twilight wouldn’t hurt herself.
Still, at least she was focused. She would have been little good to Twilight as she had been. She wasn’t sure how, but even a brief time in Pinkie’s presence had helped set her turmoiled mind to rest. She glanced back at the other mare, concerned about the look of abject misery she’d seen.
“Faster!” Pinkie called out through the cutting wind.
Mercurial little thing, isn’t she?
“Feeling any better?” Celestia called back.
“Just take us to Twilight! I’ll be fine!” came the reply.
Celestia nodded, circling around the forest, looking for a break in the treeline. She wanted to avoid unnecessary destruction if possible, since she had no idea what was below the leaves.
“Do you think she’s okay?” came the voice again, sounding very lost and afraid.
“I think I’m more worried about the local wildlife,” Celestia replied, willing a little levity into her voice. In truth, she could not be sure of anything right now, but she hoped with all of her might.
“Rarity, are you sure you’re all right?” Fluttershy asked once again.
“Perfectly fine, love. The colors were a bit distracting at first, but once you get used to them, it’s not so bad,” Rarity replied. She hopped daintily over a root, giving it the stinkeye. “You thought I didn’t see you there, didn’t you? I’m onto you!” She then stopped in front of a tree, staring intently at it for several moments.
“Um... did Twilight do something to the tree?” Fluttershy inquired, slightly confused and even more concerned than ever.
“Hmmm? Errrr, no,” Rarity said, turning away. “It’s just amazing to see the natural energy flowing through it. The soil glows with the stuff. It’s very powerful, and more than a little chaotic. Makes me wonder if Discord meddled with the forest before he was bested.”
“He did,” Luna confirmed tiredly. “He besieged our castle for months, tampering with the local flora and fauna as he taunted us from outside the walls. We never were able to rid the Everfree of his influence. I suspect that’s part of the reason Tia left the castle and built Canterlot.”
“Ah, that would explain it,” Rarity said. She looked around once more, picking up Twilight’s trail. “She went this way,” she said, pointing to a large and obvious hole in the vegetation.
Fluttershy looked surprised and Luna looked concerned when they noticed the size of scorched vegetation, which had somehow gone unnoticed by either of them until Rarity made them aware of it. “Uhm, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked. “Does the spell tell you how far away she is?”
“I’m afraid not. I can see her trail, as it were, but not her. It’s not exactly a tracking spell so much as enhanced vision, you see.” Rarity paused, reconsidering, and tittered at her own phrasing. “Well, I suppose you don’t. But I do.”
“Rarity, please be serious! We need to get you to Twilight so she can fix you!” Fluttershy said, locking eyes with Rarity.
Rarity looked surprised at the outburst, and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, love. I didn’t mean to be flippant, but it’s not like worrying is going to help us find her any quicker. I can fret a little, if you’d like.”
Fluttershy thought for a moment about asking her to do just that, but Rarity was right; it wouldn’t help. Still, Luna’s explanation of what was happening to Rarity had worried her more than she tried to let on. And while Luna had told her what she’d wanted to know, the princess looked positively drained, and was doing a bad job at hiding it. While Fluttershy didn’t know much about spells, she had spent enough time around Twilight to know that exhaustion was usually a bad thing. If Rarity was using up so much magic that Luna was having trouble keeping up, who knew how long Rarity would last as soon as the magic Luna had given her ran out? “Nevermind. Just take us to Twilight, please.”
“Will do, love!” Rarity said, leaning close to Fluttershy to kiss her on the cheek. She then proceeded to skip down the path that had been torn through the forest.
Fluttershy watched her go, following along eventually. Everything just felt wrong right now. Rarity was skipping when she should be galloping... or fainting.
Is this how she felt when I was listening to Iron Will?
She winced. Most likely it was. It was strange to see somepony else go through what she had. So this was Rarity when she was energetic and free of worry. She thought she could come to enjoy this side of Rarity, if it didn’t happen as a result of a magical mishap.
But she didn’t think she’d enjoy it for very long. It was healthy to worry a little about things, just as it was important to worry about the feelings of others, but not so much that you let yourself get stepped on so others wouldn’t have to feel bad.
Still, some part of her was glad that Rarity was happy, even if it did make her worry all the more because Rarity would not.
“I won’t let her come to harm,” Luna said from behind her.
Fluttershy’s ears flicked back, and she turned her head to the side to look at the princess. Luna looked exhausted, and plodded along with her wings drooping to her sides. “Oh, sorry. Was it that obvious I was worrying?”
Luna flashed her a very tired grin. “I’d be shocked if you weren’t. But this is my error, and I’ll rectify it”
“She’s going to be all right, isn’t she?” Fluttershy asked. “Don’t... don’t tell me she will be if she won’t.”
Luna opened her mouth to retort, closing it with a snap, her ears going back in evident shame. “You have every reason to question me, and I am sorry for that,” she said, dropping her eyes from Fluttershy's gaze. “I had hoped I could solve the problem without you even knowing what it was. I... I am making a horrible impression as a friend.”
Part of Fluttershy, the petty, jealous part, wanted to agree. But it was a very small voice in her mind, and she managed to ignore it. “Luna... don’t do that,” she said. “Don’t pile everything on yourself. You couldn’t have known.”
“And yet I did it anyway,” Luna replied, shaking her head at her own hubris. “I... I used a technique meant to save a life from the most grievous of wounds on an otherwise healthy pony, because I wanted to go to a party!” She snorted angrily. “Tia would never have acted so rashly.”
“Yes, you did,” Fluttershy replied. “But I could have stopped her from being injured. Rarity could have listened to me and not done that stupid testing at all!” Fluttershy stopped, trotting closer to Luna and wrapped her forelegs around the princess’ neck. “There’s more than enough blame to go around. You have to share.”
Luna’s eyes widened as she was embraced, and she stiffened slightly before nuzzling Fluttershy’s cheek. “We thank thee, dear Fluttershy. But we shall not feel absolved until all is made well.”
“Well, then we’d better make sure that we find Princess Celestia and Twilight before anything else happens,” Fluttershy whispered back, looking down the path and sighing as she realized that Rarity wasn’t moving either. “Could you give me a hoof? I think she’s gotten herself distracted by a tree again.”
After managing to pry Rarity away from the tree, they were finally moving again. It still felt too slow, though. What if Twilight was hurt? Or if she’d stumbled into a cockatrice again? Fluttershy was pretty sure she could handle it, or Luna could, but it would be better if they found her before anything happened.
She glanced sidelong at Luna, seeing to her satisfaction that the princess was no longer slumping in dejection, but Luna still looked far too tired for Fluttershy’s liking. Whatever she was doing to herself when she gave away magic was not good for her, and while Fluttershy was grateful that it was helping to keep Rarity from getting worse, she didn’t want Luna to get hurt as a result.
Unfortunately, the small jealous voice came back with an angry retort, almost wanting Luna to be hurt so she couldn’t become a rival for Rarity’s affections. She tucked it back away in her mind with a sigh, but the thoughts persisted. She still didn’t know what to think about the idea that Luna wanted to... court them. Was that even okay? Did she want that to happen? Luna was a nice enough pony and would probably make a good friend, but she wasn’t so sure about anything beyond that. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to try. Rarity was hers. She’d always wanted Rarity and had tried so hard to bring herself to say the words that Luna had just casually said to them.
She noticed that she was gnashing her teeth together and that her wings were restless on her back. She stilled them, peeking to the side to see if Luna had noticed anything. Thankfully, she hadn’t, and Fluttershy let go of her train of thought. If only she had said ‘no’ when Luna brought it up the first time, she wouldn’t be thinking about this right now. It wasn’t fair, though; she’d been chasing that purple tail for years, just aching for a chance—
She blushed furiously.
Bad thoughts, not now. Not now.
But it was true! Luna didn’t have the right to ask that! Maybe... maybe for a night, as a present to Rarity, but more than that... she didn’t know if she was okay with that.
She took a deep, calming breath. Luna wasn’t inviting herself to their bed; she’d said so. She wanted to be friends, and that much was okay. But if she thought she could just breeze her way into Rarity’s bed, much less her heart... Well, she was going to find out that Fluttershy wasn’t going to give up without a fight. Maybe even literally.
“Can you still see her trail?” Fluttershy asked Rarity, trying to shake off her feelings of guilt and worry and maybe just a little jealousy if she was being honest.
“Yes, lit up brighter than a Hearth’s Warming tree!” Rarity replied, sounding slightly miffed. “I daresay anypony could find her with this destruction following behind, spell or no.”
Luna chuckled. “So you risked damage to yourself to cast a spell we didn’t need.”
“Well, forgive me if I was excited to have a spell that would be useful for this occasion!” Rarity snapped back. “Usually Twilight gets to do this type of thing, and I was thrilled to be able to say ‘Wait, I have a spell for this!’”
“Um... Rarity, Twilight usually says that right before she casts something that either doesn’t work or makes things worse,” Fluttershy observed. “And you know Luna said you shouldn’t be using magic.”
“Yes, well... I forgot,” came the less than apologetic reply. Rarity sighed heavily. “Sorry, that was... not very smart I admit.”
They walked together in silence for a time, each lost in their own thoughts.
Luna was dreading her sister’s reaction to the mess she’d made of things. It was hardly fair; how was she to have known this would happen? She found it hard to believe she’d botched things so badly! Hardly the most auspicious way to begin any sort of relationship.
Hello there, friends! I was wondering if maybe we could talk about possibly being more than friends someday, and to mark the occasion, I thought I’d present one of you with an untimely demise!
She took heart that at least Fluttershy didn’t seem to be unduly angry with her, although she’d felt the back of her neck prickle a few times as they walked, as if somepony was staring at her.
It made her wonder if she might be making a mistake. Her involvement in their lives was not having a very positive impact. True, she’d offered financial assistance in time of need, but that was something any friend with the means would do.
Her ears laid back in shame. Perhaps it would be best to simply fix her error and absent herself from them in the future.
She teetered on the precipice of that decision for a time, filled with self-doubt.
It was an ugly feeling. She resented it. She willfully straightened her back, leveling her eyes to meet the world. So she’d made an error! So she’d ruined the first impression. So what? She was Princess Luna, Keeper of the Moon and Ruler of the Land of Dreams! She would make it right, and then prove her worth as a friend.
And when she’d earned that right, they would talk of what was to come.
“Can you see her yet?” Pinkie called out to Celestia in the wind.
“Not yet, but she is down there,” Celestia replied, tracking the smudge of magic in a sea of slurried magical chaos.
She had forgotten just how ugly the Everfree looked in magesight. The very ground was steeped in hostile magic, perverting everything that sprang from it. The only reason she could detect Twilight’s magic at all was her familiarity with it. Nearly a decade spent teaching a filly that could teleport how to control her magic did not come without some tricks to keep track of her, after all.
“How long till we can land and find her?”
“I just need to find a clearing, Pinkie,” Celestia replied.
“Can’t you just blast another hole? That worked great!” Pinkie’s voice carried with it a hint of excitement and happiness, making Celestia feel a little relieved.
“I could, but I might hit something below. As dangerous as this forest is, the creatures are not inherently evil. I’d rather not injure or slay them.” Celestia banked left, spying a break in the treeline.
“Oh, is Twilight in the spooky old castle?” Pinkie asked, peering over her shoulder.
“I doubt that, Pinkie—” Celestia replied, cutting herself off as she realized Pinkie was correct. Below them was indeed her castle, looking much the same as it had when she’d left it: that being half destroyed and overrun with vegetation.
The last time she’d been to the old castle voluntarily had been shortly after banishing—
“I can see her! I’mmmm coming, Twiliiight!” Pinkie shouted as she dove head first towards the ground.
Celestia just stared at the receding pink dot for a moment, unbelieving that Pinkie had just leapt from her back with no visible evidence of anything to prevent her from becoming a pink pancake when she landed. The next instant she followed Pinkie’s example, folding her wings to her sides and letting herself drop like a stone. She did as much as she could to make herself more aerodynamic in an attempt to overtake the earthbound earth pony.
Or, you could do the sensible thing and slow her gravity down.
Celestia gritted her teeth into the wind, trying to focus on her target as she plummeted at breakneck speed.
So, what have we learned? The next time we take a grief-stricken pony onto our backs, we secure them in some way first.
“Not... helping.”
Oh, forgive me, you’ve clearly got matters in hoof.
Pinkie glanced back at her, smiling with her cheeks blown out and floppy. She turned around, swimming in midair to get closer to Celestia.
You know, if you’re serious about wanting Twilight to yourself, you really only have to let gravity do its job.
“Isn’t... this.... fun?!” Pinkie screamed out over the rushing wind.
“No!” Celestia shouted back. She finished her spell, causing Pinkie to lose momentum as her gravity was reversed. Celestia aimed for Pinkie, catching her in an embrace, and soon they were falling together at a rate that was slightly less than lethal, gradually losing speed as the ground rushed up to meet them.
“Oh, sorry. I thought it was fun, though. You should have just said you needed a hug; hugs make everything better!” Pinkie wrapped her own hooves around Celestia’s barrel, a feat that should have been impossible. Celestia simply held on, even at their current speed attempting to get her wings under her would be an extremely painful and quite possibly fruitless experience.
Far below, Twilight Sparkle stood in the courtyard of the old castle. It seemed a little more inviting now that she knew there was no evil princess waiting for her, but her loneliness was only compounded by the realization that none of her friends were here standing besides her.
It had been here that she’d realized just how important each of the girls were to her. But she was having a severe crisis of faith, wondering how important she was to them. Would it have mattered if Celestia had chosen another protege? Somepony with fewer emotional issues, less prone to panic?
She felt sure the girls would miss her. That was just how wonderful they were. But they were all talented, and social, and... well... saner than her. Even Pinkie seemed normal compared to her, and Pinkie was the strangest pony she’d ever met!
Twilight lay down on the cold cobblestone path that lead to the castle, slumping down in dejection. She had no idea what to do anymore. Was it worth going back, only to be confronted by Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow? Could she just... forget about Pinkie being more to her? They were all friends; surely she could... could...
It hurt too much to think about. Maybe it would be best to just live here in the forest like a hermit. She found herself wondering if some of the rooms in the old castle might still be inhabitable. She could probably get Rarity to decorate. Surely all of her friends would—
It wasn’t right! She shouldn’t feel this way! Applejack and Rainbow were her friends, and... and so was Pinkie. She needed to be happy for them, show that she was still their friend, even if it hurt.
But first, she wanted to lay down and cry for a good while. That was okay, wasn’t it?
After all, this was what she had wanted, right? Pinkie would be happy now. She just wished that it could have been with her. It just didn’t seem fair; Pinkie had come to Canterlot, had broken into the castle just to see her! But maybe that was because Pinkie was a friend? Yes, the best friend anypony could ever hope for. That was what they’d been to start with, after all. Friends who snuggled and—
But Pinkie didn’t need her for snuggling anymore. She had Applejack and Rainbow Dash for that now.
Maybe... maybe she could go back. Everything hurt right now, but given time, it would hurt less. She’d gotten over her crush on Celestia, right?
No, no, you didn’t. You just repressed it so much it started giving you nightmares.
Okay, so that hadn’t worked out so well. But maybe, given enough time, she could get over this too. Maybe love wasn’t all that important. After all, it never turned out well for her. She just needed to focus on being a good friend. Friends were wonderful; you could laugh with them, play games with them, even hug them on occasion. And they were always there for you when you needed comfort. It was love that caused pain.
She wondered how Rarity and Fluttershy were doing. Rarity always had the best ice cream. Maybe she would be allowed to take some of it home, after she came back, in a day... or two. What she wouldn’t give for a few gallons of fudge ripple...
Or vanilla, even. Vanilla was a very simple, uncomplicated flavor. It didn’t impose itself on other flavors. Vanilla was wonderful on a nice warm slice of—
Stupid brain, stupid heart.
For just a moment, she could swear she was hearing a giggle from far away.
Stupid ears.
“Now please calm down, Mr. Manticore... I know you’re hungry but I’m afraid you can’t eat us,” Fluttershy said, shielding Rarity and Luna with her own body and locking eyes with the manticore in question.
Luna was again feeling something she resented utterly: being helpless. The animal in question could do little that would cause her harm, but in her current state there was little she could do to it, either. Her two friends were considerably less immortal and invulnerable than she and as such were her primary concern.
“Darling, I really don’t think he can be reasoned with,” Rarity said from over Luna’s shoulder.
“Rarity speaks truth, Fluttershy. Stand aside, please. I’ll fend him off while the two of you make your escape,” Luna said, steeling herself for the inevitable attack. She was reasonably certain that she could grapple with it, at least. She decided when the current crisis was over she would take a nice week-long nap to recover.
Fluttershy held up a hoof, her head shaking almost imperceptibly but not breaking eye contact with the manticore. “He’s too hungry to leave, but too scared to attack. He doesn’t know what to do.”
“We can’t just wait here forever while he makes up his mind,” Rarity said. She would have laughed if not for the creature roughly three times her size trying to decide if it wanted to try and eat them.
Luna took a shaky step forward, coming up alongside Fluttershy “I’m afraid I must agree. The longer we wait the greater the chance of—”
“Stop! You’re going to frighten him more—” Fluttershy warned her, her eyes briefly breaking contact to look at Luna.
The manticore decided at that moment to make his attack, charging at Fluttershy with his claws flashing out for a deadly swipe. For the briefest of moments, Fluttershy flinched, waiting for the impact that never came.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the creature covered in a fine network of vines. It was visibly straining to break free, but seemed totally unable to do so.
“There, shall we move on?” Rarity said, prancing past them as though her marefriend hadn’t just had a near death experience.
Fluttershy stared at the manticore, not quite believing what she was seeing. “Rarity, what did you do?”
Rarity stopped, turning her head back. “Well, I couldn’t very well let him gobble you up, could I? So I wrapped him like a present.”
“But... we can’t leave him like this!” Fluttershy protested. “He didn’t mean any harm—”
“Excuse me,” Luna interrupted, feeling horribly drained. “Perhaps we could argue over the fate of the carnivore after we locate my sister?”
“Darling,” Rarity replied to Fluttershy, apparently not even hearing Luna: “I understand you empathise with the poor creature, but he was in fact trying to eat you. I think that qualifies as ‘meaning harm.’”
“He’s defenseless like this!” Fluttershy said, gesturing to the weakly struggling manticore. “What if another predator finds him?”
Rarity stopped to consider that for a moment. “Well, then, I suppose he’ll consider that horribly ironic.”
“Rarity—” Luna said, trying once more to get their attention.
“You have to let him go!” Fluttershy demanded, stomping a hoof down.
“I most certainly will not!” Rarity replied, pointing an accusing hoof at the manticore. “He was trying to attack you! If I let him go, he’ll do it again.”
“No, he won’t. He’s tired, and scared, and hungry. He only tried to attack us because he thought we were weak. He knows you’ll just wrap him up in vines if he tries again.”
“I don’t think that would be wise. Luna said I should avoid using magic...” Rarity’s eyes widened. “Oh, right! I shouldn’t have done that...” She turned to Luna, a sheepish grin on her face. “Um... sorry?”
“There is...” Luna faltered in her stance almost imperceptibly “...little point in worrying about it now. Leave the beast here. He’ll assuredly break free of his own accord in time.”
“Luna?” Fluttershy asked. “Are you all—”
“I am—” Luna wobbled for a brief moment, barely managing to avoid her knees buckling. “I am fine, dear Fluttershy. But we waste time we should be spending finding my—”
There was a sudden surge in power which, to Rarity’s eyes, flooded the sky with vibrant colors. “Excuse me... I... I think that might be her,” she said, pointing in the general direction of where she’d seen the explosion of power emit from.
“You can see her?” Luna demanded, visibly straightening her posture and seeming considerably more awake at the mere mention.
“Well, not as such... but somepony or something just let out a lot of magic all at once...” Rarity’s eyes followed a trail upwards that only she could see. “Ah, she seems to have... blasted something above her. I think she decided to take to the air...” The scintillating colors of Celestia’s magic were fascinating, entrancing—
“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, shaking Rarity gently.
“I think gold would do quite nicely for my next... fifty or so designs… Hmmm? Oh, sorry. I just...” Rarity’s eyes drifted back to the glorious display. She tore herself away with some effort. “She seems to be flying...” She turned, following the trail of magic. “That way,” she finished, pointing back in the direction that Twilight had been headed.
“Again!” A happy voice reverberated through the old castle.
Celestia picked herself up from the pile of rubble they had landed in, grimacing at the fact that they’d punched yet another hole in the ceiling on their way down. The old castle had held up surprisingly well over the centuries, despite the fact that she’d never fixed any of the damage caused during Lulu’s incident.
She looked around for Pinkie, having lost her grip on the other mare as she’d landed. A few moments proved fruitless, however, until Pinkie spoke up.
“Um... I think I broke something,” Pinkie announced, sounding horribly guilty.
“Pinkie? Where are you?” Celestia called back, looking around frantically for the injured mare.
“Up here!” Pinkie said, the voice coming from above Celestia. “I can’t get down!” There was a pause. “Or up? I don’t know!”
The princess looked up, seeing Pinkie standing on the ceiling, hopping up and down—or down and up—frantically trying to leap back down to earth.
The princess silently cursed, realizing in her concern for the other mare she’d forgotten that Pinkie’s personal gravity was reversed, and thanking all that was good that Pinkie had not fallen upwards through one of the many holes in the roof. She pulled Pinkie down in her magic, slowly undoing the gravity reversal on the mare as she did so.
After Pinkie landed on her own four hooves with a thump, she scrambled down flat on the ground for all the world looking as if she wanted to hug it. “Hey, ground! I missed you!” She sprang back up, a look of determination in her eyes. “Where’s Twi-twi?”
“I believe she was in the courtyard—” Celestia stopped as she realized she was addressing a Pinkie shaped dust cloud, turning around to see the mare making a mad dash for the courtyard. She smiled indulgently, trotting after at a slightly more leisurely pace.
“Twiiii-light!” Pinkie called out, a bright pink contrail following in her wake as she barreled forward at breakneck speed.
Arriving in the courtyard, she looked around frantically for her marefriend, frowning when she spotted her lying on the ground. “There you are! Get up, silly!”
Twilight stayed stubbornly immobile, mumbling something Pinkie could just barely make out. Why Twilight thought her ears were stupid was anypony’s guess, but she didn’t think any part of Twilight was stupid.
Since Twilight wasn’t getting up, Pinkie did the next best thing and lay down next to her. “Hey! This is kinda nice! The ground is cool and there’s just enough grass growing between the cobblestones that it doesn’t feel too hard! Do you want to roll around with me?”
Pinkie peered curiously in the same direction Twilight was staring at, but saw only ground. “Twilight?” she asked, “Are you okay?”
Twilight didn’t answer, covering her head with her hooves and whimpering softly.
Pinkie’s smile faltered, and she scooted closer to Twilight. “Twi?”
“I can’t...” Twilight whispered, tears running down her cheeks. “Why can’t I just let her go?”
“Let who go?” Pinkie asked, inching closer to Twilight’s side.
“Pinkie?” Celestia asked as she entered the courtyard. “Did you find her?”
Twilight’s ears perked up, and she raised her head in disbelief. “Princess?” She simply stared at her mentor, not able to process that she was here. And if she was here, and Twilight’s senses weren’t playing tricks on her, then that meant—
“Heya!” Pinkie said from Twilight’s side as she finally turned to look. “I was getting worried! I mean, at first I was all ‘Maybe she can’t hear me?’ But then I was starting to wonder if I was here at all, and it was starting to feel like the whole world was coming apart!” Twilight gasped for breath as Pinkie proceeded to squeeze the stuffing out of her. “Thank you for seeing me!”
“Pinkie... need... air...” Twilight wheezed, taking in a large breath as Pinkie eased off just a little. “W-why are you here?”
The question seemed to startle Pinkie, and she blushed as she answered: “Um... well... my mommy and daddy loved each other very much, and one night they—”
“As fascinating and potentially disturbing as I am sure this story is going to be, I think she meant: Why did you follow her, Pinkie?” Celestia said quickly, cutting Pinkie off before she could say any more.
“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed, her expression clearing. She turned her head back to Twilight. “Because you ran away! You promised you would stop doing that. I mean, it wasn’t a Pinkie Promise but I didn’t think I needed to make you swear. Do I need to make you swear, Twi-twi?”
“I...” Twilight looked at Celestia helplessly. “I’m sorry, I saw her—”
“Twilight, you saw Pinkie giving comfort to a sick friend, nothing more,” Celestia said patiently. “Applejack told me of some... inappropriateness, but there is no romantic involvement between them.”
“There... isn’t?” Twilight replied, feeling faint. “I... I just... it hurt so much...” She slumped against Pinkie, clutching at her just as hard as Pinkie had been hugging her. “I’m sorry!”
Celestia watched them embrace, fighting off a sudden urge to sweep them both up in her wings.
And there you have it. They look happy, don’t they? Job well done, you can go back to Canterlot now.
“Perhaps not just yet,” she whispered to herself.
Oh? Not ready to go then?
“They may need more guidance. Twilight is very fragile right now.”
You can’t exactly nursemaid them through their entire relationship. They’ll be fine.
Celestia had no useful response to that. She was finding it difficult to watch these two. It felt like she was intruding on something very private, yet she couldn’t look away either. It made her heart ache.
Or perhaps you want to stay for a different reason?
Celestia shook her head, looking away respectfully. She would give them a moment, then escort them home, and have a long talk with both of them. Then the healing could begin.
And you will make yourself obsolete.
“Psst.”
Celestia’s ear twitched, turning to the sound. She glanced back over her shoulder. Pinkie was watching her as she held Twilight, a look of disappointment clear on her face.
Twilight was merely holding Pinkie, quietly sobbing, her whole body shaking. Celestia’s chest felt tight at the mere sight of it, but there was a time and a place for a mentor to comfort a student, and—
Pinkie gestured emphatically, motioning for her to come closer and join in the embrace.
Do you need an engraved invitation? Perhaps a singing telegram? She does those, if you recall.
The princess cursed silently, wondering once again where this self-loathing came from and how she might exorcise it.
Oh, that’s easy. Stop being an idiot.
She forebore to even attempt to answer that, choosing instead to come closer, and enfold the two of them in a careful, completely platonic embrace.
Whatever helps you sleep at night, Your Highness.
Shhhh,” Celestia murmured. “No more tears now, Twilight. And I’m afraid I’ll have to agree with Pinkie... no more running.”
“I didn’t mean to... I... I just needed to get away...”
“You were hurt, and perhaps a little angry. Anypony would be,” Celestia replied, nuzzling the top of Twilight’s mane.
“Yeah! The princess was super angry, like ‘blast-things-to-smithereens’ angry!” Pinkie confided to Twilight. “I’m so sorry, Twi-twi. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”
The three of them simply embraced in silence for a time, Twilight slowly gathering strength from the other mares. As she calmed down, she finally remembered a key detail that had been forgotten in her haste. “Rainbow Dash!” she exclaimed, wriggling free of hooves and wings alike. “We need to accelerate the growth of the Wither Root so Zecora can make the potion!”
Pinkie whined piteously as Twilight squirmed away, but upon hearing what Twilight said, she became alarmed as well. “You found a better way to make her faster?” Her face screwed up in confusion at her own words. “Wait, no, um...faster...better? I mean she won’t be sick anymore?”
“Yes, I was coming to tell you all when I—” Twilight’s face crumbled into a look of deep shame. “I’m such a selfish idiot! I was so wrapped up in myself I forgot about my friends.”
“Enough, Twilight. No immediate harm was done. We just need to make haste to the farm and all will be well.” Celestia stood, folding her wings to her side. “Gather close, I’ll take us to the tree and we can—”
“Hello? Twilight, Celestia, Pinkie? Is anypony there?” a voice called out from beyond the courtyard entrance.
“Um... maybe you should call louder. They might not hear you if they’re inside the castle,” another voice said.
“Rarity? Fluttershy?” Twilight said disbelievingly. “What are you doing here?”
Rarity skipped merrily into the courtyard, all smiles, wearing a hat that seemed to have been made from the local flora and at least one part of the local fauna, which only held up for about three seconds. “Ah, there you are! And there’s the other two as well! I told you there was no need to fret, love.”
Fluttershy followed close behind, her expression considerably more worried. “Well, at least we found them.”
Rarity waved excitedly at Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie! Darling, how are you? I am so sorry I missed you in Canterlot, but I hear you made quite the stir!”
Pinkie dashed forward to talk with Rarity while Fluttershy walked past them to see Twilight and Celestia. Behind Fluttershy, an extremely animated conversation was happening, though the speed that the two ponies were talking at made it nigh undecipherable. The occasional snippets Twilight could make out made very little sense.
“—right there in the royal baths, and then Luna walks in—”
“—hid on the donut truck, I got so full I nearly didn’t have room for breakfast—”
“—socked him a good one right in the nose! Let me tell you she was livid—
“—princess was so mad at me—”
Twilight eventually had to tune it out. They actually seemed to be talking at the same time yet neither seemed to be missing anything the other was saying. She turned to Fluttershy, hoping she might be able to explain. “Fluttershy... what’s wrong with—”
Fluttershy fell to her knees, flinging her forelegs around Twilight’s neck. “Please, we need your help! Rarity is... well she was hurt, and Luna... but it all went wrong and now she’s...” she gestured helplessly to Rarity as the unicorn laughed uproariously at something Pinkie had said. “Help?”
Twilight looked helplessly to Celestia. “Did you understand any of that?”
Celestia, meanwhile, was doing something more productive. She was examining Rarity with her mage-sight, and very much not liking what she saw. “That’s... impossible.”
“What is?” Twilight asked, trying to console her distraught friend.
“I’ve never seen a spell-matrix so badly warped as that... It’s consuming magic at a phenomenal rate. How she hasn’t collapsed is beyond me...” She looked more intently, and what she saw made her even more confused. “That energy...”
Another familiar voice came from the courtyard entrance, though the pitch seemed higher than it should have been. “Tia, we require your assistance, please!”
Luna stumbled forth into the moonlight, and for just a moment, Celestia did not recognize her.
“Lulu, what have you done?” Celestia asked, breathless.
“I... I have made some errors in judgement,” Luna admitted. “It has left me... diminished.”
Celestia nodded distantly, not quite sure what to say.
Her sister’s mane was limp, lacking the ethereal glow. That alone was alarming, but still more so... she had gotten considerably shorter than when Celestia had seen her last.
“I am sorry, sister mine,” Luna said as she collapsed bonelessly on the courtyard. “I may need you to take up my charge again for a time.”
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Quite the mess that needs to be untangled now, Tia. O_O
Great stuff, as always. Looking forward to the next chapter!
A solar goddess' work is never done.
Celestia: *sigh* So, in the course of two days my sister casts a spell on a seamstress that saps all of her magic and most of her life, the fastest pegasus in the land has caught a grievous ailment, my faithful student's marefriend has cheated on her with both halves of an outside couple, and my own faithful student caught all three of them in a compromising position and her first response was to teleport deep into the Everfree. Am I gonna have to give each of you a surveillance detail from now on? I thought you each were responsible enough to live your lives all on your own; but if I need to, I can assign a company of guards for the sole purpose of keeping you out of trouble.
And just think, this whole mess started as a simple RariShy shipfic.
(Not saying it's not still a high quality story, but it seems like we've lost track of a goal or two.)
Welp Luna is Diminished badly, but at least Twi and Pinkie are talking
I do hope that Celestia fixes Rarity 
Which I'm sure it will be fixed 
I WANT MOAR SOON 
If that is alright with you 
5334397 I agree on that
Kyaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! this was a great chapter!!!! Twilight and Pinkie and Celestia need to talk about everything. Poor Luna, I hope she can be fixed... Rarity too! Fun chapter, intriguing chapter, romantic chapter. Next one please!!!
I still want to know how Pinkie got in the castle XD but I gonna call that Pinkie deux machina XD (did I use it right?)
See you!
Wait!!!! Does this mean that the next chapter will be on january 2015??? O.o noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!
This is why Twilight's parents should told her about love and relationships.
5334734 Then she wouldn't be gay. jk
5334840
I...don't really see how that follows.
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Well this was a good chapter. Now we get to see how the Princesses do in their perspective (attempted) relationships, and I wonder what AJ and Dashie are going to be with TwiPie. If AJ had to take a kiss to make things right, then she owes Twi one, and then everypony ca have an adorable, snuggly ponypile.
5335239 Many people claim that gay people are only gay because their parents never taught them about love or were bad role models. Well, not anymore, but it happened.
5335741
Many people claim all sorts of ridiculous things. Myself, I don't generally feel the need to state them in public as though they were fact. And as a parent, I found your statement rather offensive.
5335922 I said Jk. As in I was joking. I don't believe or like any of that crap. You asked me to explain, so I told you what I was referencing. Don't shoot the messenger.
Commence read.
Finally everyone has converged together.
Hm. Now Luna is left underpowered.
5336124 Ah, yes, I missed that jk there. To be fair, it was quite small. Sorry about that, no harm I hope?
5334635
Wouldn't it be deus ex Pinkie?
5334397
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So, CMC next time?
5337197 as a matter of fact...
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5337256
I apologize. Let's see if I can address your issues point by point.
Doing and saying nothing. Well, I suppose I could have simply had everyone meet together at the castle. But would it have been as satisfying if I went from Ponyville straight to the castle showing no progression of events? Would you have had the slightest idea of what was happening to Luna or why she regressed to her season one state? Character moments between Pinkie and Celestia are not important?
Perhaps. But I am a sucker for inner turmoil.
Pinkie is not an idiot, and has not been throughout the story. I'm not sure how else to say this, so I have to repeat it: These concepts do not come easy to her. All Applejack told her was that kissing and snuggling were probably a bad idea, but not why. Celestia was the one to help her put the various pieces together and realize what she was doing, and how Twilight would react to it.
Well, I suppose one chapter out of 43 that didn't click for you is not a bad ratio.
Actually no. Perhaps it wasn't clear, but this was the same manticore that attacked our other trio later. And he didn't fail to attack because he was lazy, he was scared off by the fact that his prey was dangerous.
I'm sorry you feel that way. All I can do is try to tell an interesting story, I have failed you this time, and I am sorry for that, but everything here had a purpose.
Ah, woona returns!
5336485 I have no idea!
5337791
Deus ex machina is Latin for "god from a machine", and refers to ancient Greek theatre, where actors playing gods would be lowered onto the stage using a machine. So I believe Pinkie ex machina (Pinkie from a machine) would make the most sense.
I believe that there is a typo... "That wraps up this arc. Next month: Interlude 10." I think it should read "Next week: Interlude 10!" In all seriousness love the story keep up the great work and quality.
5338275 Thanks!!!
5347718 10 is just the closest approximation we have. She's off the scale.
5347718
5347733 I'm fairly sure Fluttershy's adorableness is something that can never truly be measured, just by the amount of digits I'd have to count on my screen before it runs out of room.
In other words, imagine pi, but with no decimal point.
Also, I'm trying to catch my breath after your comment made me picture my dream girl kissing me and then handing me a shovel, Steel... HOOOOO, that was good!
5348878 I adore those three. Puppy love is just the cutest thing.
...that spell matrix sure is hungry.
5356044 Luna gave it a taste for real magic, and it liked it.
Crossing my fingers for poly endings for all around…
Well, ended up reading this late.
Loved the chapter. You do such a great job at describing the characters feelings. Guess I have to wait for next month now. 
5374460 Not so long now, the month is half over.
I was hoping with the title "Resolutions", the whole magical fiasco with Rarity would be resolved. Oh well, at least Pinkie and Twilight resolved their whole thing for now. Seems there will be a bit of a wait with next month being an interlude and such. I just have to wait then. Anyway, I look forward to the next installments. Keep up the good work.
Ouch those internal conflicts are brutal.
I am always amazed that you can make the internal debates flow just right in the paragraph without it being overbearing.
Each character seems to have the best example of a typical "can't make up their mind" personality....possible reason for their connections in life?
ohh and a Merry Christmas btw!
41.media.tumblr.com/9b58f286b56523732b9f810cc24964fe/tumblr_mya0iee4Fz1ra2mteo1_1280.png
5414156 I love internal conflict.
derpicdn.net/img/2013/9/29/437985/medium.jpg
5415078 I adore Posey. She's been my favorite character to write.
Hee hee! Loved this chapter as well. I read the rant against it, but I have to disagree with the points for much the same reasons that you gave in your reply. Personally, this chapter did NOT strike me as filler, but was the... whatever part leads to the finale. Crescendo? I think that's it. The point is it's the last bit of suspense building before the big conclusion where everything gets out in the open and everypony has to buck up and deal with their shit, and it was done very well.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to more.
Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!
Oopsie poopsie, looks like Luna's gone and screwed herself over again.
Well, at least Pinkie was a bit less annoying this chapter.
5503995
Ugh... sometimes Twilight, I just want to slap you.
STAHP WITH THE SELF shites.
Nice job tho! :D
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*tsks* A whole lot of errors in judgement going around. But at least Luna is super adorable, and Tia's on the road to getting a little bit of pie for herself.
6090451
She needs a RariTuna Smack.
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