It was a perfect night in the garden of Celestia and Luna’s family manor. Moonlight streamed through the trees, brightening small orbs of magic that bobbed on the breeze. Crickets and frogs chirped and croaked a song that owls and other night birds chimed into, creating a symphony of nature.
All of this beauty and tranquility was lost on Fluttershy as she hugged her knees tight to her chest and looked over a pond. It’s surface was pristine and still, a perfect contrast to the turmoil she felt bubbling inside of her. She almost felt jealous of it. If only she could have been that calm and collected before, maybe then things would be different.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
She jumped, a silent scream lodged in her throat as she whipped her head around. Her fear quickly gave way to irritation when she saw Luna standing a few feet away. She turned away.
Luna hummed. “I understand you don’t like me, but I am not here for myself. Please, at least listen to what I have to say.”
Fluttershy mulled it over for a minute before heaving a deep sigh and angling her face at Luna. She waved a hand in a ‘go on’ motion.
Luna smiled at her and looked out to the pond. “Rarity is a wonderful woman, isn’t she? So full of life and wonder, she sees beauty in almost everything.”
Fluttershy raised her head slightly, confused.
“Yes, she is one of a kind. It makes me wonder though, how much of that was influenced by her childhood with you.” Luna paused and shifted her jaw. “You know, I truly do believe you are a special person, Fluttershy. For what it’s worth, I am sorry for my harsh words before.”
Fluttershy was fully sitting up now, staring at Luna with no small amount of suspicion. “…Is that all that you wanted to say?“
Luna nodded. “Namely. But, if you would oblige me, everyone has a reason to dislike my business. I’m curious, what is yours?”
Fluttershy looked away again and Luna worried for a moment she had stepped too far. She hurriedly added, “If you don’t wish to tell me, I won’t pry.” She wrung her hands together. “Whatever your reasons, I only ask you give Rarity, and I suppose by extension me, a chance to prove our worth. It pains me to see a great friendship torn. I love Rarity, and for all the anger she displayed, I know she was equally devastated inside.”
She waited for a response, some sign of recognition, but Fluttershy was silent. Luna cleared her throat, suppressing a sigh of defeat. “Very well then, I suppose I shall be off. I hope you have a pleasant evening.”
She had taken three steps before Fluttershy spoke. “My father was seduced.”
Luna paused, waiting to see if she would elaborate. A lot could be gleaned from that simple phrase, and unfortunately it was far from an uncommon story, but she had a feeling it went a little deeper than that.
Fluttershy’s voice was quiet, but clear, sharpened by grief. “One day he just… left. Took all of his valuables and money and was gone.” She shuddered, squeezing her knees. “It broke my mother. They were high school sweethearts and had been in love for so long but then he…” Her voice hardened with anger as she suddenly stood, spinning towards Luna. “He left her for a whore!”
Luna winced, turning to face her. “I, I am truly sorry to hear that.”
Fluttershy pressed her hands into her eyes to stop the tears, trembling as she tried to keep her voice steady. “You haven’t even heard the worst part. She, she didn’t even love him. She just wanted his money.” She laughed. “I mean, that probably isn’t that surprising, but he believed in her.”
An uneasy pit formed in Luna’s stomach, gnawing and nagging that that wasn’t the end of the story. “What happened?”
Fluttershy let out a shaky breath and moved her hands to look at Luna. “She set him up.” Her tone was bland, but quickly gained emotion as she continued, “They went to a hotel in the Lunar District but she had men waiting for them. They took everything he had and then they–” Her breath hitched. “They…”
“…They killed him, didn’t they?”
“Mmhmm.” Fluttershy sniffled and wiped her face, “So, so don’t you see? I can’t have the same thing happen to Rarity. I just want her to be safe.”
Luna took in this information slowly, new understanding softening any offense that she might hurt Rarity. She brought a pebble to her hand with magic, running her thumb over the smooth surface to bleed off a bout of nervous energy. She had to be delicate about this– Fluttershy was allowing herself to be extremely vulnerable and the fate of her and Rarity’s friendship hung in the balance.
“Would you believe me if I told you I opened the Carousel in order to prevent such happenings?” Luna chuckled wryly at the incredulous look thrown her way. “It’s true. I had a very dear friend who was a woman of the night and she, too, met an… unfortunate end.”
Fluttershy looked to the ground now, hugging her arms tightly around herself. Even though Luna’s voice was steady, she could tell it hurt to talk about. “I’m… sorry about your friend.”
Luna smiled tightly, “Thank you. You know, you remind me of her. She was a wonderful and special woman, always with a kind word and look.”
Fluttershy cringed back, shame flushing her cheeks as she recalled her outburst. She lifted her head, “Luna, I—”
Luna held up her hand, her smile softening. “Don’t apologize for what you said, it’s quite alright. It wasn’t fair of me to play with the situation like I did, or to encourage Rarity as well. I should have told you about the Carousel later, under better circumstances.”
“Rarity could have told me.” Fluttershy tried to keep from pouting, but she wasn’t very successful. She shook her head and waved a hand, “She should have told me, whether before you got there or in a letter before all this. She obviously knew the truth.”
Luna nodded. “She did, I was sure to be honest with her from the start. However, I plead you don’t cast blame on her. Knowing what happened to your family… She probably didn’t want to upset you while you were at school.”
That didn’t make Fluttershy feel any better. Rarity had known. She looked in Luna’s direction, but her gaze was far beyond as she muttered –mostly to herself. “She knew. She knew yet she, she still trusted you.”
She thought back to how happy she had been reading about Luna’s ‘courtship’ of Rarity, how charming and romantic their outings were. How happy Rarity was.
Of course, Rarity also had to know how Fluttershy would react to Luna’s business, but she didn’t tell her before because she knew it would probably end up like this. And if Fluttershy had read it in a letter while away…
She stepped back with the realization that the girl she had grown up with, the one she called her best friend, was looking out for her like that. A fresh wave of horror of what she had said and done washed over her. “Oh… Oh, Luna, what have I done?”
Luna turned towards the pond and flicked her wrist, sending the pebble skipping across its surface. “You cast a heavy stone into the pond and are splashing in the waves. The ripples of what happened will be felt for some time. And yet…”
Fluttershy looked over, following Luna’s outstretched hand. The pond was already settling from the disturbance of the pebble, the water calmly swaying back and forth in shorter and shorter waves. Soon, it would be back to its perfect and pristine still surface.
“Given long enough, all things settle. I dare say we both know Rarity well enough by this point to say that what she mostly needs is time.”
“… Do you really think she’ll forgive me?”
“I don’t see why not, after all, I already have.”
They smiled at each other, and though uneasiness lurked beneath the surface, it seemed that an old friendship could be saved and a new one forged.