ck~” sung Mare gleefully.“So what’s she like, Applejack?” Twilight asked conversationally.
It was the evening after, and Celestia was leading Twilight and friends to see the western watchtower’s current incumbent, Mare. As usual, Twilight’s curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she started questioning Applejack, the only one so far to have actually talked to her.
“Ehhh, she’s… how do ah put it?” Applejack wondered aloud, trying to find a polite way of putting it, before giving up. “She’s… grumpy and pretty rude, to be honest.”
“Rude?” Twilight asked.
“Yup,” Applejack said. “I got the impression that she wasn’t particularly happy ta see me, maybe she jus’ don’t like new people. Treats her maid alright, though.” Applejack’s face turns ponderous. “Honestly, I don’t know why she even agreed ta see y’all.”
Celestia had been wondering that herself, she didn’t seem particularly keen until…
“Why?” Mare’s response was blunt and to the point.
“Well they seemed interested in meeting you is all, so I thought I might ask,” Celestia said.
“I don’t see why I gotta entertain her friends just ’cause they’re curious, I’m a Reaper, not a circus monkey,” Mare said dryly, continuing her needlework.
Celestia sighed, it was the response she expected, it would probably be disappointing to the girls, but as she turned to tell Applejack…
“Actually…” Mare seemed to stop and think about it, and a little smirk seemed to be trying to pull at her lips. “Sure, bring the whole lot, make a day of it, sure.”
Celestia had a sinking feeling in her gut…
...Which persisted to that night.
Mare was obviously plotting something, that much was obvious, exactly what, however, is what had Celestia wondering. Mare has an imp of mischief, that much she knew, but how big, and how devious she can only guess.
Celestia had a feeling that whatever it was would be tasteless.
As they climb the tower, Celestia’s musings are interrupted by a muted conversation from above. It sounded like Mare and Cherry were arguing about something, which is rare in and of itself.
She made a shushing motion to Twilight and friends and made her way up quietly.
“I still don’t think this is a good idea, it feels… wrong,” was Cherry’s complaint.
“Look, if you don’t want to help, just go hide somewhere. I’ve always wanted to try this, and I’ll be pissed off if you blow this for me,” was Mare’s response.
With a sigh, Celestia climbed up quickly, and pushed the door open before Mare could finish whatever she was attempting, already preparing a dry retort to whatever tomfoolery Mare was indulging in.
However, her remark died in her throat when she caught sight of Mare.
The girls piled in behind her, most froze when they saw Mare, and, as expected, Fluttershy fainted.
Mare stood in the middle of the room, her expression caught halfway between ‘deer in the headlights’ and ’hand in the cookie jar’. She was wearing a simple sheet like a toga, and both her and it were doused in libral amounts of bright red liquid. It was only after a moment that she noticed the large bottle of what appeared to be tomato sauce.
Celestia took a deep breath. “Mare, what do you think you are doing?” Celestia’s words were tinted with disappointment and disbelief.
“Errrrr… modern art?” Mare tried weakly.
“Were you really going to play dead, just because you didn’t want to meet some people?” Celestia asked, looking unimpressed.
“Not quite, I just…” Mare went into mumbles, it seems she was being made nervous by Celestia’s demeanor.
At this point though Celestia felt it justified. “What was that, couldn’t quite catch it?”
“I thought it would be funny,” mumbled Mare.
Celestia took another deep calming breath, and then said, in a very icy voice, “Mare, I am very, very disappointed.”
Mare actually flinched.
“This is too far, even for you. I can’t believe you would try and pull something like this,” Celestia scolded.
“It was just a prank…” mumbled Mare, who had started looking at her feet.
“Is death funny to you, Mare?” said Celestia, losing patience. “Is the thought of finding someone you care about lying injured or dead funny to you?”
Mare flinched again.
“Try and Imagine how we might feel seeing you like that, myself or Luna, to see you in a pool of what initially appears to be blood?” Celestia, having vented her initial anger, walked over to Mare, and lifted her chin with her hoof, so she can look her in the eyes. “I personally couldn’t think of anything more terrifying. Death is never something to be trivialised Mare, you should know better than this.”
Mare just stared back, wide eyed.
“Please never do something like this again. Now go and sit on your rock for a while, and think about what you were going to do.”
Mare, surprisingly, did just that, she walked over, stilll wide eyed, still coated in sauce, and sat down, with her back to the group.
Celestia released a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and turned to Cherry, who looked positively terrified.
“Cherry, could you please get some cleaning supplies, I don’t want the sauce staining the carpet,” Celestia said, attempting to put on her normal calm manner of speech.
“R-right away Princess!” Cherry said, retreating from the room, passing the girls without so much as giving them a glance.
Following Cherry with her gaze, she settled on the thoroughly gobsmacked party of six, sans Pinkie, who is currently helping Fluttershy up off the floor.
“Sorry you had to see that. I knew she had some mischievous tendencies, But I didn’t think she was this bad.” She then gestured to the sitting girl’s back. “While it might be a little late for introductions, I suppose I should introduce you anyway. Girls, meet Mare.”
“Celestia scolded me.” Thinking it to myself doesn’t really make it any easier to comprehend.
“Celestia scolded me.” Try as I might, I can’t really fit the fact into my worldview, its like someone told me the sky is green.
I haven’t been scolded in like… ever. Not since I’ve been in Equestria, at any rate, even Maria only ever lightly chided me. And she’d been the only one to ever try.
But it did happen, Celestia had told her off, she scolded me, and then told me to sit down and think about what I had done, like some disobedient five year old.
And to my growing horror, I listened! The minute Celestia had started showing her displeasure, I had folded like a house of cards and took my (admittedly mild) punishment like a good little girl.
When did I start listening to Celestia? When did she start thinking she had authority over me? When did I start thinking she had authority over me?
I mean, this is her house, I guess, I’m only really staying here cuz she moved me here. But it’s not as if I asked her to. And there is all the food… and the fabric… and the protection from the dark… helping me with my hobbies… putting up with my sense of humor.
I try to squash that little guilty feeling that is starting to flow unbidden from somewhere I refuse to acknowledge.
I start resting my chin on my hands, only to be reminded of the wet slimy feeling of tomato sauce I had decorated myself with. It’s more unpleasant than I had expected. Despite it being a welcome distraction, the sensation is really starting to bug me.
Standing up, I turn around to Celestia, who looks at me expectantly.
“I gotta go wash this off.” I mumble, coming off more meek than I intended.
She sighed. “Very well, off you go.”
“It’s not as if I need your permission,” ...is what I want to say, but I couldn’t really get the words past my mouth, so instead I nod and vanish on the spot, stalking out of the tower, past a bucket wielding Cherry and downstairs to the workroom.
Reappearing, I stare at the washtub that was my makeshift bath from about a week ago. Cherry had run me a bath and laid out my outfit to change into afterwards.
“Maybe I should make her more outfits…” I mumble, as that little knot of guilt grew.
“What-where did she go?” Twilight said, looking around.
“Mare is a… spirit, of sorts, by her own admission. Vanishing like that is natural for her, as easy as breathing,” Celestia explained.
“Well, I must say she seems quite rude,” sniffed Rarity
“That… is also quite natural to her. I had hoped otherwise, but she probably only invited you all to pull that trick.” Celestia sighed, she was doing that a lot today. “Please don’t take it personally, I did warn you she is difficult with strangers.”
“Why did you let her leave?” Twilight asked, while looking at the odd rock that sat dead centre of the room, for reasons she didn’t know, but it seemed important. “Didn’t you tell her to sit and reflect?”
“It was honestly a miracle she listened in the first place, let alone stayed for as long as she did,” Celestia admitted. “I probably should have done more to warn you just how abrasive Mare can be when she has a mind, she probably just remembered herself.”
Further discussion is halted when a still thoroughly cowed Cherry gently made her way into the room, shyly avoiding eye contact with Celestia, and set about cleaning up what little sauce spilled on the floor.
Celestia sighed again, and addressed her. “Cherry.”
The maid flinched.
“Cherry, I don’t blame you for Mare’s behaviour. Controlling her is not in your job description, the fact that you tried at all is good enough for me.” Celestia gave a wry smile. “If it was your job, I’d probably have to pay you more. A lot more.”
“You already pay me plenty…” Cherry mumbled, but she seemed to calm down a little, if the sigh of relief was anything to go by.
“Hiya!” Pinkie says suddenly in Cherry’s close proximity, making her jump. “My name’s Pinkie Pie. What’s yours?”
“Ch-Cherry, Cherry Red,” Cherry said, clutching her chest. Pinkie isn’t quite kind to the highly strung.
“Hey, our names match, only in reverse!” Pinkie said.
“Eh?”
“You know, Pinkie Pie, Cherry Red. Both have colours and food, only in different orders – Ooh! We even have the same amount of letters! We should be best friends!” Pinkie excitedly exclaimed.
“Eeehhh? Isn’t that a little fast?!” Cherry exclaimed in a panic. “I mean, we don’t even know each other. How do we know if we have similar interests?”
“Don’t mind Pinkie, she’s just... really enthusiastic about making friends,” Twilight said, walking up to join the conversation. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, by the way. I used to live in the castle.”
“I have heard of you, Celestia’s last student. Nice to meet you,” Cherry said, still feeling a little awkward, but Twilight seemed a lot easier to talk to.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you new? I don’t remember seeing you here when I was here,” Twilight asks.
“Oh, quite new.” Cherry said. “I was hired with the new night staff after Princess Luna returned. Mind you, I was assigned to be Mare’s maid from day one, so you probably wouldn’t have seen me anyway even if you were here, I spend most of my nights up here.”
“You are her personal maid,” Rarity says, also joining the conversation. “I must say that is a surprise.”
“Well, age aside, she is still a child,” Celestia says in explanation. “She needs someone to look out for her, for when myself and my sister are not available.”
Applejack gave Cherry a sympathetic look. “My condolences, doesn’t seem like an easy job.”
Cherry actually pouted. “Don’t say it like that, while I admit it has its challenging moments, Mare really is a nice girl deep down, she has just had a rather rough go at things is all. Besides,” Cherry added as an afterthought, “she really is quite low maintenance. All she really wants is the occasional hot cocoa. She even cleans up after herself without being asked.”
“Hmm, surprisingly, that sounds easier then my sister,” muttered Rarity, and Applejack nodded in sympathy.
“I mean it. I actually really like my job,” Cherry said. “And Mare deserves someone to look out for her with what she’s going through.”
“What do you mean, did something happen?” Twilight asked.
“Ehhhh,” Cherry realised she might have said too much. “Well, I’m not sure I should say…”
“Oh come on, don’t leave us hanging, sounds like something interesting.” Rainbow butted in.
“Would you kindly stop interrogating the maid,” Mare says dryly, walking back into the room. “Besides being an invasion of privacy, it’s just rude.”
Cherry shot her a thankful look before returning to cleaning the carpet.
The girls are half taken aback by the sheer audacity to call them rude, and half by just how well Mare cleaned up.
Undecorated by tomato sauce, with her floaty, shimmering hair, and clad in her trademark dress and ribbons, Mare cut quite a stunning figure. Rarity likened her to a doll, without blemish or imperfection, to the point of feeling unreal.
Mare then walked up to Celestia, and the Princess noticed that she is still avoiding eye contact.
Then after a moment of shuffling her feet, Mare mumbled “Sorry,” before walking briskly away to her work bench.
Celestia almost didn’t believe her ears. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” she asked incredulously.
“I’m not saying it twice!” Mare said much more loudly, before going into her sewing, stabbing the cloth with her needle as if it had offended her.
Celestia sighed again, but was smiling. Maybe Cadance was right after all.
Cherry just looked at Mare with a hint of pride, before returning to work.
Pinkie however, being Pinkie, decides to introduce herself. “Hiya!”
Mare spares her a glance, and a single “Hi,” before continuing her work.
“My name’s Pinkie Pie.”
“Charmed,” came Mare’s monotone response.
Pinkie was undeterred. “Whatcha doin?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Mare said dryly.
Unfortunately for Mare, Pinkie is immune to passive aggression, and thus answers seriously. “Hmm, it looks like you’re making a dress!”
“Your powers of observation are astounding,” Mare deadpanned.
Unfortunately, Pinkie doesn’t get sarcasm either. “Ohh, Thanks!”
Rarity, after deciding this was too painful to listen to, and as she wanted to talk to Mare about her dressmaking anyway, decided to intervene. “Err, hello, Mare, was it? My name is Rarity, I am a dressmaker by trade.”
Mare spared her a glance. “Charmed.” Then she finalised an embroidered zigzag onto a skirt.
Rarity grimaced briefly, she probably should have expected this, Mare doesn’t seem like much of a conversationalist.
Deciding to examine what she was working on, she finds a skirt of the brightest red, with white inlays and accents. Deciding to inquire, she asks. “I say, this is a very vibrant red, what made you decide to go with such bright colours?”
“Because It was the right shade of red,” is Mare’s lackluster response, as she picked it up to examine it, her eyes searching for imperfections.
“...Excuse me?” Rarity asked, nonplussed.
Mare put down the dress and handed Rarity a piece of paper, before cutting out a pre measured piece of yellow cloth into some sort of ribbon. “Her name is Reimu Hakurei, her outfit is supposed to be that shade of red.”
Rarity looked down at the sketch, it showed a creature not unlike Mare, only seemingly taller, and she wore a simple voluminous red skirt with white ruffles and a white zigzag. She also had a sleeveless shirt with a white, red-patterned collar tied with a yellow ribbon, with curiously detached loose fitting white sleeves, somehow secured halfway up the upper arm. In her hair, there was a curiously familiar ribbon (now that she thought of it, Cherry currently wore one just like it), and weird… hair tubes on her forelocks.
“Eh, who is this?” Rarity asked, feeling even more confused.
“Perhaps I should explain, Mare is not a traditional dressmaker or tailor, but more of a costumer, she designs other characters’ outfits so she can wear them for fun,” Celestia added, sympathetically.
“Oh… so you don’t design your own outfits?” Rarity asked, feeling slightly disappointed.
“Never had the patience for it,” Mare said. “I mean, apart from cosplay, I never really cared about what I wore, I just don’t get why people care about all that fashion junk.”
“O-oh, really?” Rarity said, awkwardly.
The reaction wasn’t lost on Mare, who smirked. “Don’t tell me you do? I mean, I admit that I don’t really know that much about Equestrian clothing culture, but where I’m from the fashion industry is just one big circlejerk, what is and isn’t fashionable being arbitrarily decided by a bunch of elitist pricks, and I figure it wouldn’t be too different here. I’d figure a dressmaker would be aware of this. Just wear what you like, you get much more out of life that way. The less you care, the happier you will be.”
Rarity sputtered, torn between indignation and shock. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash snickered in the background.
“Mare, language please,” Celestia chided.
“I can do worse, you know.” Mare said, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“Please don’t,” Celestia pleaded.
“Iiiiiif its longer than its wide its a dck~” sung Mare gleefully.
“MARE!” Celestia shouted. Rarity, completely scandalised, retreated to the backdrop of both Mare and Rainbow Dash laughing, Applejack snickering, and Twilight and Fluttershy blushing.
“I don’t get it,” said Pinkie, confused.
“Don’t worry your little head,” Mare said, patting Pinkie on the head, in considerably better spirits.
“Well… Okay!” said Pinkie, cheerfully.
“Sorry for that, I keep forgetting how vulgar Mare can be,” Celestia said. “I have no idea where she gets that from, because It was definitely not me.”
“I should hope not,” mumbled Rarity, suddenly stuck with the mental image of Celestia singing dirty songs.
“Ehh, don’t worry, I was expecting her to be more stuffy, but she seems pretty cool,” Rainbow said.
“If my granny would hear me singing like that, she’d probably get the soap,” says Applejack, although she seemed to smile wryly. “It’s hard to imagine them bein’ pals.”
“Hey Cherry, its done!” Mare said enthusiastically. “Come and look.”
“Hmm? Oh, coming!” Cherry called back. The girls just noticed she had finished cleaning, and had been leaning against one of the room’s bookshelves reading. She rested the book on the nearby bed, and walked over. “I must say, I didn’t think you’d be done this soon.”
“I’ve always been told I can do anything I put my mind to,” Mare preened, before grabbing Cherry by the forehoof, and dragging her behind a large screen. “Now come on, I gotta show you how to put it on.”
Everyone looked to Celestia for explanation, who only sayid, “Mare wanted to try making an outfit for Cherry, as she’s never made pony clothes before.” Applejack nodded, as she was there when she decided to make it.
("Hey stop squirming, it’s hard enough to get this over your head.")
“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Pinkie cooed, “Making an outfit for her maid, I knew she was a nice person.”
("Sorry, this is just kinda embarrassing.")
("Why? we are both girls, and it’s not as if you ponies have nudity taboos.")
“Yes, I guess?” Twilight commented, blushing in sympathy for the maid.
("Well, it’s the principle of the thing, dressing and undressing is a private thing.")
("You ponies are weird.")
“Am I like this?” mumbles Rarity.
Eventually, Mare emerged, pulling out an embarrassed Cherry. With a flourish, Mare presented her. “Tada! May I present you Cherry, as the priestess of Hakurei!”
Cherry shrunk under the attention, but the girls had to admit, she wore the outfit well, the red complimented her eyes well, and her dark coat and hair created a pleasing contrast. Rarity even grudgingly admitted that the outfit was very well made for someone who had never made pony clothes before, she even got the skirt length right so it wouldn’t drag on the floor. She was also holding a stick with a string of square papers on the end for some reason.
“Isn’t she adorable? Ever since I saw her cutie mark, I knew she would make a great Reimu,” Mare starts gushing. “I’ve always loved the Touhou project, it’s full of really cool ideas, characters and outfits, but Reimu’s is a classic. A non-traditional twist on the standard shrine maiden outfit, it’s a perfect fit for such a lovably laid-back miko. And while Cherry can’t really manage the same ‘don’t fck with me’ aura that Reimu has, her gentle earnestness isn’t bad either.”
Cherry somehow got redder.
“Wow, I didn’t think she was such a nerd,” Rainbow whispered to Applejack, causing the latter to roll her eyes.
“Well, she is passionate about her work at least,” mumbled Rarity, before saying out loud, “I must say, I am impressed by your craftsmanship. Do you have anything else we can see?” Despite her rather vulgar mannerisms, she seemed to know her way around dresses, maybe there might be some interesting designs that might make good inspiration.
Mare radiated smugness. “I’m wearing one. And what’s more, I made this with only scraps I found in the orphanage attic. That’s how good I am. Although if you want to see more…”
She turned to her wardrobe, and started rummaging, ignoring the rather concerned air that Twilight and the girls had taken. Picking out an outfit, she disappeared behind the screen. Far quicker than it took to dress Cherry, she popped out again, striking a pose.
The outfit was unmistakably a witch, it had a voluminous black skirt with white ruffles around the base, adorned with a frilly white apron on the front. The top was a black vest decorated with four brass buttons worn over a white blouse with poofy short sleeves. To top it off, she wore a massive pointed witch’s cap, that sagged stylishly near the top, while still remaining stiff. It had white ruffles on the underside and was tied above the brim with a large white ribbon.
It was quite possibly the most poofy thing any of them had seen.
“Presenting Reimu Hakurei’s best friend Marisa Kirisame, the kleptomaniac ordinary magician from the forest of magic ze! A counter to Reimu’s easygoing laziness, Marisa is bursting with youthful energy and wild abandon, and is a thief of both other people’s property and the hearts of innocent maidens. One of Gensokyo’s strongest magicians, she believes if it ain’t flashy, it ain’t magic.” Mare gushes some more. “I love how cute this outfit is, and its blatant cutesy girliness contrasts with her boyish mannerisms and her rough and tumble lifestyle. And what’s more…”
She walked over and put a hand around Cherry. “It’s a set with Cherry’s, the red-white and the black-white, Touhou’s dual protagonists.”
“Aww you look adorable together,” Pinkie says. “Those outfits are so cute!”
Even Rarity privately admitted that Mare’s enthusiasm was endearing, even if she had earlier blatantly criticized her entire profession.
Celestia just watched happily, she had a feeling that Mare didn’t get many chances to show off what she made back at her home, either that or she didn’t have much to show off. It made her happy to see Mare so expressive and enthusiastic.
It’s then that she noticed that Twilight’s party seemed to be short one mare. Looking around, she spots her by the bed.
Mare, as if sensing the lapse in attention, followed Celestia’s gaze, only to find Fluttershy reading the manga Cherry had put down earlier. Breaking away from Cherry, she silently glided over, and started looking over the distracted Fluttershy’s shoulder.
After a few seconds, after being sure Fluttershy hadn’t noticed her, she spoke. “Ya know, it’s usually polite to ask before looking through other people’s stuff.”
Fluttershy jumped, nearly dropping the manga, having to fumble to catch it, before nervously turning to Mare. “Oh I’m sorry, I was just, well, I didn’t really want to cause a fuss-”
“Ehh, don’t worry about it,” Mare said, while mentally adding her to the bullying exemption list, the second pony to make it there. “They’re not mine anyway, Cherry is just letting me borrow them.”
Cherry, whose cheeks had finally stopped burning, also walked over after hearing her name. “Oh do you read manga, Miss..?”
“Fluttershy,” she said shyly, hiding behind her curtain of a mane. “Yes, I read a little, but it’s hard to get them down in Ponyville, so when I saw all these, I couldn’t help myself.”
“Oh I hear you, it can be pretty hard to find,” Cherry said. “That said, I know a guy I went to highschool with, he opened a specialty store… Hey how long are you in town? I can introduce you, I think he does mail orders.”
“Oh I wouldn’t want to cause a fuss…” Fluttershy said, shrinking back a little bit.
“No trouble, I go there regularly anyway, I think he just got in the latest issue of ‘Huggable Alien’ in.”
“Oh I love that one! I have the first five issues.” Fluttershy said enthusiastically, suddenly straightening up, forgetting her own shyness. “It’s just so cute, whenever I have a bad day, I read one to heal.”
“Is that the one with the mute alien with the electric antennae?” Mare asks. “That was soo sweet, like diabetes sweet.”
“I know, right?” Cherry says.
“I wonder if there is an anime for it?” Mare wondered.
“What’s an anime?” Fluttershy asks, tilting her head, “I think I heard the term in manga before, but I don’t know what it means.”
“Oh yeah, you probably wouldn’t have them since no one here has a television,” Mare said. “But they are like moving cartoons based on manga. Back where I’m from there was heaps.”
“Oh That sounds so cool, like a moving manga,” Cherry said enthusiastically.
“I wish I could see something like that,” Fluttershy said wistfully.
“Yeah, I miss it sometimes… But yeah, one of my favourites was about this guy with a yellow afro who fought with his nose hair…”
Celestia blinked owlishly along with Fluttershy’s friends, as the three started chatting animatedly about their favourites, recommendations and just Japanese/Neighponese culture instead.
Celestia shook off her surprise and shook her head ruefully. Of all the girls who Mare might have hit off with, she honestly wasn’t expecting…
Well, she supposed it wasn’t a bad thing, She was glad that this exercise bore fruit-
“Oh Mare~ We’ve got a surprise for you~”
But Celestia’s attempt to end the chapter was interrupted by her niece Cadance bursting into the room, with Shining Armour bearing a package and Princess Luna in tow.
She then noticed the packed room. “...Am I interrupting something?”
“Cadance!” Twilight says, running over, before exchanging their little greeting ritual.
“Hey Twilight, didn’t expect to see you up here,” Cadance said, ignoring Mare’s snickers.
“Princess Celestia introduced us tonight, what about you? How do you you know her?” Twilight asks.
“Oh I don’t know, Celestia just needed Equestria’s best foalsitter to look after the little hellion at one point,” Cadance says.
“I don’t need a babysitter!” came the indignant call from across the room. “I’m nine hundred and thirty two!”
The main six looked at her in shock.
“Then start acting like it~” sung Cadance, unphased. “If you act like a brat I’ll treat you like a brat.”
“Why I oughta...” growled Mare.
“So what are you doing here right now?” Celestia said, hopefully cutting off any tomfoolery. “You said you had a surprise for Mare?”
“Well I don’t really, they do,” Cadance said, gesturing behind her to Luna and Shining. “I’m just tagging along. They’ve been working on an extra special project for her, and I’ll guarantee she’ll like it.”
“Hmmm, bold claim. Sure you can back it up?” Mare says, but her curiosity was piqued.
“Oh I’m certain. Not to steal their thunder, but it’s something to help with your Dar–” was all Cadance got to say before she was silenced by a pair of hooves in her mouth, one each by both Shining and Luna.
“Pwah!? Hey, what gives-” Cadance said, extricating herself, before Shining put a hoof around her and quickly pulled her away to quietly explain the need for secrecy.
“Apologies,” Luna said to the gobsmacked main six, to further drown out the hushed conversation behind her. “The subject is a rather personal matter pertaining to Mare, so we shouldn’t really discuss it while you are all present.”
Mare raises her eyebrows. “I mean what’s so private about it? I’m pretty sure half the castle staff have heard about it by–” before she too is muzzled by Celestia and also taken aside for some hasty explanations.
“So that’s it, sorry about that.” Luna said, awkwardly poker faced. “Don’t mind us, we’ll just wait until you retire.”
“Oh, ok…” said Twilight, feeling... honestly kinda left out. Still, privacy was privacy. But even then, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on...
It took Twilight until she finally went to bed for the night.
“Wait a minute!” Twilight exclaimed to the guest room, “Didn’t Shining and Luna’s project have something to do with Darkbane?!”
Oh dear.