As the sun began to sink slowly beyond the horizon, four ponies followed the path leading to a small cottage on the outskirts of the forest.
"Oh, I hope she isn't too bothered," Twilight whispered, glancing at Rarity. "If she reacts the same way you did, this might just backfire; I'm not sure how much longer Princess Luna's patience will hold out."
Rarity's ears folded back for a moment as she cringed in response. "Perhaps one of us should run ahead and warn her? I'm sure the poor dear would appreciate a bit of advance notice anyway."
Twilight quirked an eyebrow. "Won't it seem suspicious if we do that though...?"
Waterwing glanced back at Luna trailing a few paces behind them. Though she faced toward the setting sun, it didn't seem like she was staring intentionally at anything in particular, instead thoroughly lost in her own thoughts. <Maybe not...>
After watching Luna apprehensively for a moment, Twilight turned to her companions and nodded. "Alright. You two go ahead, then; I'll keep an eye on her."
Before long, Rarity and Waterwing found themselves on the front porch of Fluttershy's cottage, checking periodically over their shoulders to see how long they had until Twilight and Luna caught up.
"Oh, I do hope this works..." Rarity quickly rapped her hoof against the door.
Several seconds passed in silence, during which the two shared worried glances... but soon enough, the door slowly creaked open, revealing a yellow pegasus smiling at them.
"Rarity! Waterwing!" Fluttershy backed up a few steps, pulling the door open wide to allow her guests entry. "Um... please, come on in!"
Waterwing fluttered her way inside, landing beside Fluttershy just long enough to gently nuzzle her cheek.
"Ever so sorry to pop in unannounced, dear," Rarity explained, "but we were hoping to ask you for... a favor of sorts."
Fluttershy's smile broadened. "Oh, of course! I'd be happy to help. What is it?"
Rarity took a deep breath and spoke rather quickly. "Twilight accepted a visitor to town on behalf of Princess Celestia but the poor dear has been having a rough go of things and we thought perhaps your particular brand of hospitality might be just what she needs!"
"Oh gosh..." A look of concern crossed Fluttershy's face as she raised a hoof to her mouth in contemplation. "I mean, I'm still definitely here to help, especially if it's also for Princess Celestia, but..." She glanced out the window, but saw no sight of the mystery guest just yet and turned back to her friends. "Um... who is it, exactly?"
Waterwing hesitated for a moment before responding. <Moon pony.>
Fluttershy's eyes stretched so wide in instantaneous comprehension that Waterwing was impressed they didn't immediately free themselves from the confines of her head.
"N-N-Nightmare M-Moon??" Fluttershy shuffled backward in alarm, stopping only once she'd bumped into the couch a few paces behind her and emitted a startled squeak. Without missing a beat, she spun around, covered her head with her forelegs, and ducked beneath the couch for shelter.
Sighing silently, Waterwing took a seat next to the trembling Fluttershy and began brushing her side with a gentle hoof.
"Fluttershy, dear, there's nothing to worry about!" Rarity took a seat opposite Waterwing. "We defeated that nasty brute, don't you remember? Princess Luna is back to her old self again, and she has you to thank for it!"
"That... that's true," came a voice from beneath the couch. A moment later, Fluttershy made her way out from under it and sat up, glancing between Rarity and Waterwing before sighing. "Okay... I'll do it."
<Thank you thank you thank you!> Waterwing barely finished signing before wrapping her forelegs around Fluttershy's neck.
Smiling once again, Fluttershy carefully nudged at the enthusiastic Waterwing to encourage her to let go. "Why don't I put the kettle on for some tea then?"
"That sounds marvelous," Rarity agreed.
A knock came from the front door just as Fluttershy returned from the kitchen. Visibly nervous, she glanced at her friends once again, both nodding to her in response. Steeling herself, she approached the door and slowly drew it open. "H-Hello...?"
Two faces greeted her. The first was Twilight, wearing the most artificial smile Fluttershy had ever seen; the other, only vaguely familiar yet still ostensibly Princess Luna, her expression entirely inscrutable. Fluttershy's eyes flitted between the two of them and the floor, what little confidence she'd managed to summon quickly ebbing.
Waterwing flew to Fluttershy's side and waved at the pair standing on the doorstep.
"O-Oh..." Composing herself as best she could, Fluttershy pulled the door open the rest of the way to let them inside. "Please, um... come in, Princess!"
Luna soon found herself curiously examining the cottage's modest interior, her eyes shifting from the numerous bird houses hanging from the ceiling to a comfortable-looking couch flanked by end tables.
"Um, h-have a seat, if... if you want," Fluttershy stammered, gesturing toward the couch Luna had been eyeing. "The tea should, um, be ready soon."
Luna gingerly sat down as offered and glanced back up at the ceiling. "Do... you collect bird houses, then?"
Taken aback by the unanticipated question, Fluttershy's gaze fell to the floor.
Twilight gently put a foreleg over Fluttershy's shoulders. "Fluttershy is our resident animal expert. She helps care for a number of needy animals that aren't sick or injured enough to require a vet."
Fluttershy's expression brightened somewhat. "Things have been... a little quiet lately though. It's just me and Angel in the house today."
Luna blinked. "Angel?"
"Angel Bunny. He's, um... my bunny," Fluttershy clarified. "Do... you like animals, Princess?"
Luna looked pensive for a moment. "...I cannot say. Truth be told, I never had much occasion to spend time with them."
"Why don't you go find him then, Fluttershy?" Twilight suggested. "I think the Princess will like him."
"I could do that..." Fluttershy had hardly made it two steps toward her objective before stopping in her tracks and glancing back toward the kitchen. "Oh, but the tea is - "
" - already taken care of, darling!"
Rarity waved her hoof toward the kitchen as Waterwing emerged from it, carrying a large tray laden with a tea server, several dainty-looking ceramic cups, and a sugar bowl. Fluttering her way over to the couch, she held it out toward Luna, whose magic quickly filled one of the cups with tea and a small spoonful of sugar and stirred for a moment before lifting it to her lips for a sip.
"Hm...?" It was then Luna noticed that Waterwing appeared to be watching her carefully, and spent a moment staring back in reply. Was she waiting for something? "Er, thank you...?"
Whatever it was, her slightly deflated expression suggested that apparently wasn't it.
Luna glanced away for a moment, hoping for a diversion. Why was this pony paying so much attention to her all of a sudden? She was used to being waited on, but this felt... different. "Is something wrong?"
Waterwing shook her head, busying herself with gently placing the tea tray on the nearby end table. Before the princess could ponder the matter any further, however, Waterwing's smile returned as she waved over a pleased-looking Fluttershy, a white rabbit perched on her back. Waterwing immediately scooped up Angel in her forelegs and gave him a friendly nuzzle, prompting the bunny to squirm uselessly in an attempt to free himself from her overly enthusiastic grip.
"Say hello to the Princess, Angel," Fluttershy suggested.
This apparently got the little bunny's attention, as he ceased squirming to look up at Luna. Had he understood what Fluttershy's words meant? She wasn't sure whether or not asking for clarification would be impolite. Before she could decide, however, she realized Waterwing was now holding Angel out toward her.
Fluttershy's gaze shifted rapidly between the bunny and the floor. "Um, would you... like to hold him, Princess...?"
Would she? It was a simple question, but Luna found herself without an immediate answer. In obvious encouragement, Waterwing inched forward, the proffered bunny now nearly in Luna's lap already. Slowly, she magically set down her tea cup before reaching forward with her forelegs and taking hold of Angel, who began sniffing at her curiously.
It was only as she looked up to see Waterwing with that expectant look on her face once again that it finally dawned on Luna: the quiet at the edge of town, the warm tea, the soft bunny now cradled in her lap, and the gaggle of ponies who had been caring for her all evening...
She liked it. In spite of the awkwardness - both hers and theirs - she was comfortable. In fact, she hadn't been this comfortable in so long that she'd all but forgotten what it even felt like. It was delightful.
And she couldn't take it anymore.
"...I must go. Now," Luna whispered, magically lifting Angel and dropping him unceremoniously onto Fluttershy's head as she leapt from the couch and marched toward the door.
The color immediately began draining from Twilight's face as she scrambled to keep up. "P-Princess? What's wrong? I'm so sorry if we offended you!"
"Offended...?" Luna stopped, the door knob already glowing in her magical grasp. "No, Twilight Sparkle. I am not offended."
Twilight gasped as she watched a tear roll down Luna's cheek.
"You four have spent this entire evening doing your best to make me feel welcome... and I am not so foolish as to believe that it has been purely at the behest of my sister," Luna explained. "So, then. Why? Why do you do this for me?"
"W... Why?" Twilight echoed, ears folded back. She turned to her friends, her heart sinking as she saw them looking just as shocked and confused as she felt. "Why wouldn't w - "
"Because I tried to kill you, Twilight Sparkle!" Luna bellowed, whirling around to face Twilight. "You and all your friends! You should hate me even more than the townsfolk do - I tried to take their beloved sovereign away, and now they slam doors in my face! Yet you act as though I have done nothing wrong, offering me dinner, and dresses, and... bunny rabbits." She fell backward onto her haunches, looking exhausted. "I deserve none of this."
Silence followed this proclamation. No one knew what to say, if there was even anything to be said. Unfortunately, it was soon broken by Luna.
"I should have stayed up there."
Without waiting for a response, the distraught princess climbed up on all fours, willed the door open with her magic, flared her wings, and took off.
"Wait! Princess Luna...!" Twilight galloped to the doorway, but by the time she reached it, Luna was already out of earshot, fading into the darkening sky.
The room fell silent once again. Twilight staggered backward, showly shaking her head in disbelief; only when she felt Waterwing's hoof brush her side did she snap back to attention.
"I... I'm sorry, everypony," Twilight muttered. "This is all my fault..."
"Twilight, it is not and you know it," Rarity insisted. "She just has to work a few things out on her own, that's all. It's not something we can fix."
<Not fix, but can still help.>
Fluttershy tilted her head at Waterwing's claim. "What do you mean?"
Waterwing turned to Twilight. <When is train?>
Twilight wiped at her watery eye with her foreleg and glanced at a nearby clock. "The train to pick her up will be here in less than an hour."
<Good!> Waterwing pointed at the doorway. <Back to tree. Must write!>
Twilight blinked. "You... want to write something?"
Waterwing nodded. <Too much word, not enough sign. Must write. Purple friend help.>
Twilight scratched her head. "I'm... not sure I understand."
<No time! Hurry!> With that, Waterwing hopped into the air and flew out the door, trailing three perplexed ponies in her wake.