“Scootaloo, would you like to go back?” Luna asked, her voice slightly softer than her usual royal Canterlot voice.
“Um…yes, your Majesty.” Scootaloo stuttered.
“Wonderful.” Luna clapped. “Would you tell them what you saw?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Scootaloo replied. She must be crazy. Scootaloo thought.
“Well, then we’d better get going. They need to know the truth. ”
Scootaloo wasn’t sure if the Princess was desperate, afraid, or both. She was a mess though. Rainbow must’ve been worried sick.
But now she did have an idea of the truth. And it wasn’t what people wished it to be.
Celestia wasn’t as good as she had let on, and Luna was just painfully misunderstood and in solitary confinement. Sombra was simply a break in Luna’s loneliness, and she had clutched onto him like a lifeline.
Maybe Luna’s choices weren’t the best, but they were the best she could make on her own. She didn’t have a mentor or a figure she could really look up to, because long ago, she already saw her sister for what she were.
But something didn’t fit. How could a bit of love turn a pony into a monster? Or was her love really obsession?
Scootaloo didn’t dwell on the problem. Her mind was filled with too many thoughts. Right now, she had to inform her sister.
No, her mother.
~~~
Chapter 21 Special – Pinkie Party
It was not time for a party, but Pinkamena Diane Pie had had enough.
~~~
As soon as the clock struck twelve, Pinkamena (now Pinkie Pie) put her plan to action. She brought out her party cannons, the streamers that she missed, and lots of balloons.
Lots and lots of balloons, in different shapes and colors and patterns, glowed in the dusky, almost artificial sunset. The normally muted colors were too bright, and the sky was a saturated hue of purple.
It didn’t matter to Pinkie, because she was going nuts over her party, fussing the details, and bringing out appetizers and cakes and candy. Lots of the colorful, crystalline shards of sugar flavored with anything she could find.
Rainbow wasn’t having it thought. At Pinkie’s insistence, she begrudgingly attended. The sour mood she was in disappeared as she gazed at the splendid miracle Pinkie had performed.
It was unlike anything she had ever seen, but it was…beautiful.
A small touch of beauty in an otherwise unforgiving world.
Rainbow felt a single tear slide down her cheek. It was utter beauty. Pinkie’s happiness and talents were utter beauty within themselves. In a world where war had robbed ponies of their joy, she could bring it back.
“Isn’t it splendid, sis!” A very familiar voice sounded.
“SCOOTALOO!” Rainbow turned around in surprise, and embraced her sister. “Where have you been?” Noting that there were no injuries, she assumed that nothing bad had happened, and Scootaloo’s usual carefree expression confirmed that indeed there was nothing to worry about.
“Sis, I need to talk to you. After this, okay? I need to find Spits.” Scootaloo said, and left as quickly as she had came.
Something wasn’t right. Rainbow shrugged it off. She was being paranoid.
“Hello, Rainbow.” Soarin’s cheerful voice resounded against her ears. She turned around and found herself in an embrace. “I was so glad you could make it.” Soarin wore one of his crooked smiles. “Pinkie was trying to have me convince you to come.”
“No doubt she’ll put you up to hell if you refused,” Rainbow smiled. “But she didn’t, did she?”
“I told her that I would be her backup plan, and she was all like ‘I’ll do it, sure but if you don’t hold your end I will curse you with eternal constipation…ETERNAL CONSTIPATION!!!!’” Soarin chuckled at the memory. “But to be fair, as silly as it is, it’s probably a painful promise. I swear, if I turn into a ghost and still have to deal with constipation, I’ll go crazy!”
“Well, count me in!” Rainbow smiled at the total absurdity of the situation, “I would have done anything Pinkie asked if I could avoid that.”
“Hmmm….” Soarin was silent for a while. “How about cursing Sombra with the wretched eternal constipation?” He held back a laugh as Rainbow nearly tumbled over from laughs.
“Sombra? Constipated for eternity?” She gasped between laughs, “I can’t imagine!” Soon they were rolling and laughing, forgetting about the pains of the war.
“We should give Pinkie the idea.” Soarin smirked. “We’ll see the great and mighty and immortal Sombra deal with…”
“ETERNAL CONSTIPATION!” Both of them said at the same time, and returned to laughing fit they were having before.
Laughing until her stomach hurt was something Rainbow enjoyed, and laughing with Soarin…well, who wouldn’t want to laugh with someone they loved?
It felt strange.
Love.
Something she should have avoided for good.
But yet the rational side of her was gone. Probably for good.
A year ago she had been such a rational person, a robot even, who was capable of anything that would help the war efforts.
Now, who was she?
Some mare in love?
She scoffed at the idea, and mentally berated herself.
“Soarin, do you think Pinkie’s back to pre-war her?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, if she’s not, then we’re not either!” He laughed. “I’ve never seen one so happy right now!”
For some reason, his words rubbed her in the wrong way. It seemed that he liked Pinkie…could it be?
“Soarin, do you like Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow asked, trying to mimic Lightning asking her if she liked Soarin, and smirked. “Are you turning red?”
“No, I don’t like Pinkie Pie.” Soarin said, confused. “She’s not the one I like. It’s true she is nice but I don’t like her that way. Besides, why you asking?”
“I just wanted to find some happiness for you…you are, after all, one of my best friends.” She laughed, giving him a nudge in the ribs. She was glad that the sky was dark and he couldn’t see the blush on her face.
“Rainbow, do you have someone on your mind?” Soarin’s tone was teasing, but he meant it and Rainbow could tell.
“Um…” Rainbow’s eyes darted around, trying desperately to find something to focus on other than Soarin and her stupid blush. “Yes…but…I’d rather not tell.”
Soarin frowned. Was it someone he disliked? Rainbow knew very well who he didn’t like and could she be fond of someone he didn’t like?
“Not that it’s someone you don’t like, it’s just I’d rather not say his name…” Rainbow trailed off, unsure of what to say. That conversation was awkward at the very least. “How about I write the name of pony I like on paper, and you write the name of the one you like on paper? Then we exchange them.”
“I’d rather not.” Soarin said, knowing that the name he would have down was Rainbow Dash, but the name Rainbow Dash had down would not be him.
“It’s fine…but I WILL find who you like.” Rainbow copied Pinkie’s signature “detective” stare and went off. “I still need to talk to Scoots. She had something to tell me earlier.”
~~~
“Squirt!” Rainbow smiled, relived to be back in the tent.
“Rainbow!” Scootaloo hugged her sister as tightly as possible. “I missed you so much!”
“Where were you, though? Are you okay?” Rainbow’s voice changed into a concerned tone.
“I’m fine, really, it was nothing.” Scootaloo shrugged.
“What do you mean? I was worried sick!” Rainbow exclaimed, hugging her sister again.
“Well, Luna took me in.” Scootaloo admitted, looking away.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow was baffled.
“She took me in after everything. I don’t know what happened before, but she took me in.” Scootaloo babbled, afraid that her sister was going to be mad at her.
Rainbow sighed. “I would like the whole story, and don’t spare me from any details.”
~~~
After Scootaloo finished her entire tale, Rainbow wasn’t satisfied. She knew next to nothing and what she had told her was extremely vague and useless.
She needed answers, and quickly.