//------------------------------//
// Someone You Like 
// Story: Someone You Like 
// by AnnEldest 
//------------------------------//

      The sun had not yet risen on that day.
Capper woke up to the steady patter of rain upon the windowsill. His eyes cracked open and were greeted by the sight of droplets upon the glass, which had yet to scatter the nascent rays of the rising sun. From his view out the window, Capper watched as the birds claimed dominion of the morning. Heralds who were the ones to soar with love along with the sunrise. Their chirping brought a calmness to the atmosphere of his dusty bedroom. A soothing melody. A natural lullaby. With eyes as restful as they could get, Capper laid still on his bed, trying to enjoy the blessed moments of solitude. 
He felt as if he was drifting on calm seas, aimless as a child on summer vacation, paddling at ease with the fluidity of time along that ocean of serenity. The song of the rain continued its percussive melody with the birds singing their sweet choir. In the distance, the croaking of frogs joined in with the morning symphony. Though the song played was unrehearsed and impromptu, anyone listening would have been impressed with the performance.
It was a beautiful thing to wake up to. At least to Capper, it always was. Sometimes he would picture himself singing along with them. Standing on the rooftops, watching the world come into focus as each soul tried to convince themselves of whatever reasons they needed to wake up. Capper didn’t have that kind of trouble, because he knew exactly where he wanted to go.
After listening for so long to the song of the morning, Capper sat himself up, stretched any part of him that hadn’t yet woken up, and stepped out of bed.
Though short, the walk to begin his morning routine was invigorating. He went to his bathroom and washed up for the day. Then, he enjoyed a simple breakfast of toast and jam with catnip sausages. For many minutes, Capper sat in silence, slowly eating his breakfast. Just as the last bite was finished, he looked out one of his dingy windows and saw the rain had cleared. In the distance, the first lights of the sun were rising into the sky.
A tiny smile inched onto Capper’s face as he slowly stood up from his empty plate. He put his dishes in his sink, then walked to the door, where he put on his favorite red jacket, grabbed his bag, and stepped out into the morning sun.
The moment he stepped out the door, the sun bloomed on the horizon, shining its golden petals ever outwards into the rich blue. And with his bag slung over his shoulder, Capper began walking down the street. At that hour, hardly anyone was awake. And as sparse as the morning commute was so early in the day, Capper knew where to find true solitude.
He walked along the same path he had always taken. Past the edge of town, up a trail that led into a small wood. It wasn't a long walk from his place. Maybe twenty minutes, but he never minded walking. For him, it was always a good way to clear his mind and was the best way that he could think things out.
The waterways of the woods, the blues and white lace of flowers amid the earthy hues, and the dance of green grass all came together as a kind of visual poetry. One read by the naked soul. Among the golden light that warmed fur so soft and brown, in the tree-filtered air with an aroma both pure and earthen, a new foal was born. A new beating heart and soul to live in that forest home.
There in the center of a million grass blades stood a small tree. Her bark patterned as if carved by her own rain-born flash rivers. She stretched up, proudly standing under the sun in any weather. Capper had arrived.
He sat down in the wet grass, admiring the peaceful atmosphere around him. For most of his life, he never had a spot like that, where there wasn't a single sound that announced incoming danger. Maybe that was what brought him to it. Just for even an hour every day, he could escape the hardships of the world and just appreciate what it could be.
Capper pulled out a notebook from his bag and wrote a few things down. Nothing in particular. Just his thoughts as they came to him. Time passed, and Capper soon packed up his bag. Normally he would have spent a few hours there to relax. However, his time had to be cut short on that day. Many things had to be done before his appointment in Canterlot that evening. And Capper was never one to be late.





That night on the streets of Canterlot, music could be heard from the palace. And if one went closer, they would have heard the happy chatter and laughter of the guests at the Grand Galloping Gala. And if they were to peer in through a window or a crack in a door, they would have seen how the ponies danced, regaled, and made merry with one another. Among them, they would have spotted a cat in a red coat wearing a black cloak and hat with a drink in each paw.
“Pardon me,” Capper said, as he slipped between two dancers.
As he wove his way across the dance floor, he had to dodge his way around everypony else who was there. Finally, he reached the edge of the grand stage at the end of the ballroom, where his friends were waiting for him.
“They can only serve drinks at the other end of the room?” Capper quipped as he passed one drink to Starlight Glimmer.
Starlight muttered in response. Whatever Capper said, she didn’t hear it, as she was busy tuning out Pinkie’s inane bantering to her side.
“Where’s Rarity?” Capper asked.
Starlight nodded to her right, where Capper saw Rarity dancing with her younger sister on the dance floor. With her were Applejack, who danced with Apple Bloom, and Rainbow Dash who danced with Scootaloo.
Nearby, Discord and Fluttershy were engrossed in their own conversation. But, Capper couldn’t be bothered with what they were talking about. His focus was up on the stage itself. He joined the group of ponies who had gathered there and sipped his drink as he listened to Trixie regale the crowd with her usual fantastical tales. Though her tales impressed nopony, Capper always had fun listening to them. Especially the ones that were exaggerated beyond disbelief.
It had been some time since they all had last seen each other. Not since Princess Luna had her powers stolen by Eris, Discord's cousin from another dimension. Without her powers, she enlisted the help of Capper, Tempest Shadow, Trixie, and Stygian to infiltrate Eris’ palace and casino.
Some time had passed since that night, and they all had agreed to never mention it to anyone. Sadly though, Capper hadn't seen any of them since he left. So, it was no surprise that Trixie was excited to find out that he was going to go along with them to the Gala. Some small part of Capper was hoping that he could speak to Princess Luna, if only for a short time. He had heard that she was planning on attending that year, but he felt like he wouldn’t be surprised when she didn’t come for some reason.
Capper never saw himself ever going to the Grand Galloping Gala. He knew that it was by far the biggest party of the year. Anyone who was someone was invited to these things. To his surprise, however, he actually had received an invitation from the princesses. And of course, he wasn't going to decline to join such a big event.
Most of the night had been spent talking with the others and watching them dance. As for himself, he wasn't in the mood to dance. He simply minded his own business and listened to his friend blow her exploits out of proportion.
The song came to an end, and the group by the stage was joined by the others from the dancefloor.
“And so, the great and powerful Trrrrixie was out of the manticore’s stomach unscathed!” Trixie finished her story.
She stood awaiting applause but only then noticed that her audience had diminished down to her friends.
“Oh, that’s a great story. As if we haven’t heard that one…” Discord began counting on his fingers.  “Let’s see…One…Two…A million times!” he said, suddenly growing extra limbs with extra fingers on each hand.
Trixie groaned as she gave him a sharp glare. “It is a great story about The Great and Powerful Trixie. Or perhaps you have a more interesting story to share?”
“Hmm…Let’s see,” Discord pretended to ponder. “I am literally the Lord of Chaos. Anything about me is interesting beyond interesting. Beyond anything that any one of you could comprehend.”
“You mean like how you tried sending one of the party guests to another dimension because he didn't like your jokes?”  Trixie smirked knowingly.
“Please. I sent him on a luxury trip, all expenses paid,” Discord attempted to defend himself.
“Tell that to the guy you did it to. He came back all sticky and smelling like orange juice and cotton candy,” Rainbow Dash chimed in.
Scootaloo giggled and Apple Bloom covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud.
Capper also let out a small laugh, but nopony heard it.
“Well, I thought it was loads of fun,” Pinkie jumped up and down with glee. “I mean, sure, the room full of goo was super scary.” She stopped jumping as she put more thought into what she was saying. “And seeing you send somepony into another dimension…and everypony being scared and not having fun…”
Discord crossed his arms.
“Alright, girls. That’s enough,” Fluttershy finally spoke up. “He already apologized for that. And has Pinkie Pie mentioned that we all ended up having a good time anyway?”
“Why thank you Fluttershy,” Discord wrapped his arm around her neck. 
“In my defense, you did start this by getting upset by me wanting to share an amazing story with others. All you had to do was just keep quiet and listen,” Trixie said.
“You all know I’m the last pony to agree with Trixie, but she’s right,” Rainbow Dash nodded.
“I thought it was a good story,” Capper finally chimed in. 
“See. Capper knows a quality tale when he hears it,” Trixie pointed at him.
“So we're just going to gang up on poor, innocent Discord tonight?” Discord said, twiddling his thumbs as an inmate’s striped uniform morphed onto his body.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Trixie and Rainbow said in unison. 
“He’s right. He hasn’t caused any trouble tonight.” Fluttershy smiled at him. “And I’m very proud of him for that.”
A halo blinked into existence over Discord’s head.
“Yet. He hasn’t done anything yet,” Trixie whispered, receiving small nods from the Crusaders.
Discord glared at Trixie, as the halo over his head blew a fuse and smoked malevolently. He then tossed it away, where it disappeared in a burst of confetti.
“Now seems like the time to walk away from whatever this is. How about I get us some more drinks?” Capper laughed as he started to walk away. His first step was stopped completely when he bumped into Pinkie. “What’s the holdup, Pinkie?”
Her answer was something that he hadn’t expected to hear.
“Is…is that Princess Luna?” 





Luna set down her hairbrush on the bathroom counter. After looking in the mirror and holding her mane up, then trying it down, she decided to keep her mane down for the evening.
She magically grabbed a canister of dye from the nearby shelf and sprayed another layer of silvery-white spray into her mane. Turning her head side to side, she watched her glistening mane swing pendulously from the weight of the curlers on the end. One lock of her mane swung around and jabbed its curler in her lower lip.
“Ow!” she sharply said.
Grumbling, Princess Luna grabbed a pair of shears and clipped off that one lock of her mane, letting it drop to the floor with all of the other locks she had snipped off. When she turned her head the other way, she coughed and sputtered as she got a faceful of her own mane dye.
Luna slammed the canister into the nearby waste bin, along with all of the other canisters she had emptied that night, and wiped her face off with the nearest towel she could reach. When she finished wiping her face off, she looked at herself in the mirror. Nothing had gone particularly wrong, except now the fur on her face had a slight silvery sheen.
She grumbled again and turned to leave out of her bathroom. Only, she had forgotten that she had closed the door and hit the door face first. As she held her throbbing nose, she quickly looked back into the mirror and was greatly relieved to see that she wasn’t bleeding. For another moment, Luna looked at herself in the mirror, analyzing her mane and makeup again.

It will have to do.

She then tried to leave again, and almost walked into the closed door again.
“Oh! For…”
She hastily took her evening dress from the hook on the back of the door, before she magically took the door off its hinges and stepped through to her bedroom.
Once she was back in her room, she tossed her dress onto her headboard. She looked at the clock. The hour was almost upon her. The most dreaded hour of her life. She began to pace back and forth, racking her brain about every little detail of the night.

I could tell Celestia I’m not feeling well. Surely she would understand.

And what would Celestia say? “Come along. We’ll get you some medicine before you have to meet anypony.” Or something to that effect.
Princess Luna’s nose twitched when the faint scent of burnt fabric reached her nostrils. Looking over her shoulder, she yelped when she saw the sleeve of her dress was dangling an inch over the flame of one of her scented candles.
She rushed over to her bedside and threw her dress down to the foot of her bed. Out of caution, or perhaps irrationality, she blew out the candle, then jammed the glowing wick into the soil of her nearby flower pot.
When she examined the dress, she saw that the cuff of the sleeve had only been stained with a little bit of soot, which was easily wiped off. As she held up her dress Princess Luna looked it over. It was a gorgeous black dress, embroidered with organza lace and sequined stars that were pressed on. To go with it, she had bought a pair of black pumps that were made from a material that glistened like water.
She slid the shoes onto her hooves, then held the dress up in front of herself as she looked into her mirror. What would everypony think of her if they saw her in such a thing?
The ticking of the nearby clock drew her attention again. The minute hand inched ever closer to the dreaded hour. An hour she had been dreading for nearly five weeks by that time.
The stress was enough to make her wings molt. And she nearly lost a few feathers when she jumped at the sudden knock on her door.
Princess Luna turned her back to hide her sweating forehead.
“Enter,” she called, hoping she didn’t stammer.
She heard the door open behind her.
“Your highness, Princess Celestia was…Why are you staring at the wall?” said the voice of one of the castle maids.
“There was a stain here I’ve been trying to remove. What does my sister want?” Princess Luna said.
“She was wondering if you were ready to trot with her to the gala.”
“Tell her to go on without me and that I will join her soon. I’m not quite ready yet.”
“Of course, princess,” the maid said. And too quietly for the lunar princess to hear, she muttered, “That must be one serious stain.”
The door closed, and Princess Luna felt some of the tightness in her chest loosen.

That should give me at least twenty extra minutes. 

It was forty minutes later that Princess Luna peered around the corner to the ballroom, where she saw the guests all engaged with one another. 
Then she saw the face she was looking for. Celestia was at the other side of the dance floor talking to Twilight. Twilight, who had worked so hard at putting the event together. Luna assumed it was because of the disaster of the last Gala Twilight attended, which turned out to be the most chaotic gala yet. 
Though it was something that she and her sister looked back on and laughed about, Twilight only remembered it as one of her biggest blunders. The night was still young and it seemed so far that things were working out very well for the young alicorn. It was one of the many reasons she convinced herself to go. 
Taking a deep breath, Princess Luna emerged from around the corner and made her way through the crowd, uncomfortably aware of the many eyes on her.
She smiled as she approached her older sister.
“Sister?” she began
Celestia turned to greet her sister, and her mouth dropped open. “Luna! My goodness. You look so beautiful.” 
Luna bit her lips. “Thank you.” 
“Your dress is so gorgeous,” Twilight agreed with her former teacher. “Rarity made it, didn’t she?” 
“Erm…yes, she did.”
Luna stared back out on the stage, seeing Rarity still dancing with Sweetie Belle. Her eyes drifted to the others off the stage. Only this time there was a new face in the group and it was not one that she was expecting at all.
Sitting on the stage laughing and joking with some of Twilight’s friends was none other than Capper. She hadn’t seen him since he left Canterlot, and had sometimes found herself wondering how he was doing. Then, she caught herself wondering if he could see her. Only, the more she looked, Capper kept talking with no signs that he saw her.
"Breathe, Lulu."
Princess Luna exhaled sharply when she heard her sister's voice, and quickly snapped her gaze to her side.
"Starting the evening with a little whiplash, are we?" Princess Celestia joked.
“Huh?... I mean, no. I just saw an old acquaintance of mine, and I hadn't expected to see him here. Because, after all, he never struck me as the type to attend such a formal gathering. Not that he's uncouth, or some sort of ruffian. He's just--” 
"The guests look like they’re having fun," Princess Celestia said, looking off to the side.
Following her sister's gaze, Luna thought she was looking directly at Capper. For some reason, the way her sister was smirking made her uncomfortable.
Not knowing what to say, Luna simply nodded. 
“I’m just glad everything has been working out so far,” Twilight said.
With a silent nod of thanks, Princess Luna found her voice again.
“Well, with Discord here, we’ll see what happens,” Luna said. She noticed Twilight’s smile drop and she cleared her throat. “I’m just teasing you. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Oh...I knew you were," Twilight said.
“I think I speak for everypony when I say we're glad you decided to come,” Celestia said with a smile. 
Luna felt her chest tighten up. Her one chance to take attention from herself was blown. Even still, she tried to pull a convincing smile. “I am glad to be able to join you all,” Luna said, shaking her head softly. 
Celestia tilted her head and raised an eyebrow as she examined her sister's painted smile.
Luna in turn kept a hold of her grin, hoping that her sister wouldn’t notice anything was amiss.

She knows something’s wrong. I don’t want to ruin her night. She looked like she was enjoying herself before I showed up.

“I’m going to see how the others have been,” Luna quickly said before trotting off. 
Celestia and Twilight both watched her go. Twilight stared, confused.
"Did she seem a little bit...off to you?" Twilight asked.
"No more than normal," Celestia joked. "However, I'm sure her unexpected acquaintance will take care of her worries for her."
Twilight looked at her former teacher and wondered just what she had meant.
Princess Luna trotted across the dance floor and stopped short of bumping into a dancing couple.
“Erm–Excuse me. Pardon me,” she said, as she walked around the couple.
Whatever the dancing couple said to her, she heard none of it as she nearly bumped into another pair of dancers. This time, she didn’t bother apologizing and simply walked around them. With every step she took, she became more and more aware of the eyes on her. Her steps grew heavy, and her heart felt as if it were going to stop at any moment.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she did end up bumping into somepony’s side.
“Ouch! Hey! Easy with that horn!” a voice said.
“Oh! Oh my! I’m terribly sorry! I–” Princess Luna stopped speaking when she found that she was right in front of the group she had wanted to approach in the first place. Directly in front of herself was Pinkie Pie rubbing her sore side.

Goodness! They’re all staring! I’ve hurt Pinkie Pie, and I look like a complete disaster! Dear, I’m a walking faux pas!

Swallowing hard, the lunar princess decided it best to make amends. Hoping her bangs weren’t too ruined by her perspiring forehead, she carefully began to speak.
“It’s good to see you all again,” she waited for an answer but was met with silent stares, “I apologize for bumping into you, Pinkie. And for…Well…looking like this at a formal gathering.”
“Actually, you look kind of awesome,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Mm-hm,” Fluttershy quietly agreed.
“Perfectly stunning. And your hair. Such an underrated color, if I do say so myself,” Trixie said, flaunting her own silver mane.
“Who cares if you almost poked a hole in my side. You’d just look too good doing it for anypony to care,” Pinkie said.
“Thank you?” Princess Luna unsurely said.
Any other words she could have said froze in her throat when she saw Capper approaching her from the back of the group that greeted her.
“Is something wrong, princess?” Capper asked.
“No. Everything is fine,” Princess Luna assured.
“Oh. I just thought you looked a little overwhelmed.”
“I’m fine,” Luna said, realizing how curt she just sounded, and quickly recomposed herself. “It’s…I just wasn’t expecting everypony to like my ensemble so much. It’s a great relief that you like it so much.”
“It’s great. The new look really suits you,” Capper said.
“I just– It’s only for tonight that I chose this dress,” Luna said, hoping that her face wasn’t as red as it felt.
For the first time that night, Princess Luna felt a genuine smile across her face.
“As Rarity would say,” Pinkie began, forcing Luna to snap back to reality. Pinkie cleared her throat, “Everypony can wear a dress, but not everypony will look good in it.”
“Of course not. Do you think Discord could pull off that look?” Trixie teased.
Nearby, Apple Bloom and Rainbow Dash giggled loudly.
“Alright! That’s it!” Discord said as he stomped into everypony’s view, wearing the exact same dress and mane style as Princess Luna. “First, I find out the princess is wearing the same dress as me! Then you all think she looks better in it!? Time for this bird to fly!”
Discord reached down to the ground and pulled up a zipper that zipped him right out of existence.
They all stared at the empty space where Discord once was until Fluttershy spoke up.
“Trixie! Why did you say that?” Fluttershy said.
“You mustn’t take it so personally. I was only teasing,” Trixie said.
“But, you know how Discord is around others. He still feels terrible about what happened at the last Gala he went to.”
Trixie tried to defend herself, but only nodded slowly in response.
“I’ve got to go look for him now,” Fluttershy said, before trotting off.
They watched her go until Rainbow Dash chimed in.
“I thought it was funny,” Dash said, shrugging.
“Have I missed something?” Luna asked.
“Don’t worry about it. The less you know, the better,” Capper chuckled, as he stepped right next to her. “Anyway, word was that you weren’t coming.”
Luna bit her lip again and nodded.
"I made a promise to come. So here I am," she said.
“I admit, I was kind of hoping you would.”
“Y–You were?”
“Well, we haven’t seen each other since that thing with Eris. And we had kind of a rapport going on, but we didn’t get to talk much. So, I just thought it would be nice to say hi. You know, just to see how you’ve been,” Capper explained.
As she watched, Rarity’s eyes slowly widened as she mouthed her dawning comprehension. Subtly as she could, she nudged her friends further away. All but Rainbow Dash, who resisted Rarity’s gentle push.
“Hey, wait a second,” Dash said, stepping between Capper and Luna, “Since when do you two know each other? And what’s this about Eris? Who’s that?”
“We’ve met once before,” Luna explained. She glanced at Capper and felt a wave of nerves crash down on her. Quickly, she glanced over her shoulder. “I think my sister’s looking for me. It was nice seeing you again.”
“Wait a second,” Capper said. But, she was already gone.
Capper never took his eyes off of Princess Luna, who quickly trotted back across the dance floor. Even as she was dodging the other dancers, he could see a kind of poise and grace that most felines strived to have. As well as she would have done on the dance floor, she was far too uncomfortable to do anything about it. And for the promise that she had made to be there, she could do nothing about her situation.
“Ahem.”
Capper turned around and saw Rarity standing with her hoof barring Dash’s path. She gently twitched her head in Luna’s direction.
At first, Capper didn’t know what to make of the message. But, a sharp nudge from Trixie got him out onto the dance floor, where he quickly dodged around a dancing couple, then made his way quickly after Princess Luna.
“Well, I could have done that!” Dash said, pushing Rarity’s hoof to the floor.
“You, Rainbow Dash, lack the gentle touch called for in these situations,” Rarity said.
“What do you mean? I’ve got the gentlest touch! I could have gotten him to the other side of the room with it!” Dash said.
“Rainbow Dash?”
“What!?” Dash snapped, before she quickly got a hold of herself, “I mean, what is it, Scoots?”
“Me and the girls are getting kind of hot here. Can we step outside for some fresh air?” Scootaloo asked.
While Rainbow Dash was taking care of the foals, Capper was still making his way across the dance floor.
His view of Princess Luna was repeatedly blocked and uncovered by the other dancers. Each time, she seemed to get further and further away from him. For a moment, he thought that she would stop when she met with her sister. However, she only stopped to exchange a few words, before she started walking again.
“Where is this mare going?” Capper thought to himself.
There was a bowl of cider set on a table nearby. He watched as Princess Luna marched out of the ballroom and into the garden beyond. Glancing over at the empty glasses, he knew what he had to do.
By the time she was in the garden, Luna felt the weight of the evening lifting from her shoulders. She sighed to herself as she took a seat on a bench that was set in the center of a ring of tropical flowers.
Next to her personal chambers, the garden was the only place that she could ever go to relax. The grounds crew had long since retired for the night, and the guests were all too busy with one another to want to step outside. The entire place was hers for the night. And she was glad for it.
The hundreds of eyes upon her were just too much for her to bear. She had told her sister that she would only be out for a few minutes but didn’t feel she had the nerve to face the ballroom crowd again. And the gnawing guilt of not keeping her promise to her sister made all of that weight settle back onto her.
“I was a fool to think I could handle this,” she muttered to herself.
Her ear twitched when she heard a soft footfall to her side, and glanced over. To her surprise, there was a glass of cider held in a paw. Looking up, she was at once surprised and relieved to see who had joined her.
“Moonlight and cider. It’s a winner at a party like this,” Capper said.
Luna smiled and nodded as she took the drink and sipped slowly from it.
“So, I’m guessing the party was a little overwhelming for you?” Capper continued.
“Was it so obvious?” Luna asked.
“I don’t think so. Nopony else noticed.”
Luna managed a small chuckle before her light sip turned into a speedy guzzle. Capper looked at his own drink and offered it to her.
“You’d better take this. You look like you need it,” he said.
Luna readily accepted the drink and guzzled it down just as quickly.
“I thought I could do it,” she said, after finishing her drink. “I don’t know why, but I thought I could handle it this time.”
“This time?” Capper asked.
“I never liked going to these galas. Or balls. Or formals, banquets, and soirees. Not even a festivity. All the expectations of me. What clothes to wear. What shoes. How my mane should look. And just knowing that every single mare in the crowd is being compared to me! I’d rather be in my chambers, reading my novels,” Luna said, nearly dropping her glass.
“So, why don’t you? I’m sure your sister would understand,” Capper said.
“I already told you. I made a promise to come,” Luna said, staring at the ground. “It’s no matter. You shouldn’t concern yourself with my problems. I already kept my promise, so I’m going to bed now.”
“And waste all that preparation you did?” Capper said.
Before she even finished her first step, Princess Luna stopped.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean, do you always go to all the trouble of styling your mane, putting on makeup, and picking out a gorgeous dress like that just to say hi and disappear? That doesn’t seem very lady-like to me.”
“How ‘lady-like’ it is is not your business,” Luna said, her face flushing red.
She was about to leave again until she heard Capper’s voice behind herself.
“Think of it this way: you, without any hesitation, asked two ponies and a cat you hardly knew to go into another dimension to outwit the goddess of luck and chaos to help you retrieve a power that you lost to her. Yet, here you are at a party full of primping, preening nobles, and you’re about to have a heart attack. How can this be any worse than what you’ve faced before?”
As if against her own will, Princess Luna reversed her steps and sat back down. The moment that she did, Capper sat beside her. For reasons she couldn’t understand, she felt perfectly at ease with him sitting so close to her.
“I know that it’s not really the same thing. Facing down the deity who holds your fate in her hands, then being put on a pedestal in front of every pony in the kingdom. Still, in the grand scheme of things, wouldn’t you rather be loved and adored by everypony?” Capper said.
“I…suppose it is something of a comfort. Knowing that I’m still loved, even if I feel like a disaster,” Luna said, managing a small laugh.
For many moments, the two of them sat in silence, looking at the flowers and listening to the music from inside the ballroom. Slowly, the song that played faded out, and a new one was begun. One that started with a ukulele solo, which was joined by a stallion singing.
Capper glanced over and saw Princess Luna gently bobbing her head along with this song.
“You like this one, huh?” he asked.
“Yes. It’s one I heard as a filly. It’s one of my favorites,” Luna answered. She continued bobbing her head to the tune until she saw the way Capper was looking at her. “What’s that look?”
The only answer she got was Capper’s paw sliding over her hoof before he stood up from the bench.
“Capper, what are you doing?” Luna asked, her face growing redder.
“I just thought that since this is your first Gala since you returned, you might want to unwind a little bit,” Capper said, before bowing slightly. “Before you leave the party, may I offer a dance?”
“I don’t dance,” Luna said, taking her hoof from Capper’s grip.
“And I never land on my feet,” Capper muttered.
“What was that?”
“Let me show you how.”
Luna was taken by surprise when Capper grasped her hoof again and pulled her from her seat. She quickly righted her hooves beneath herself and allowed Capper to keep a hold of her left hoof and place his other paw on her right shoulder.
“Alright. Now, step this way,” Capper said.
To his surprise, or perhaps to his expectation, Princess Luna followed his steps as smoothly as a seasoned dancer. Not even when they changed directions did she fumble or falter.
“Is this your plan? To keep me out longer than I wished?” Luna asked.
“You make it sound so sinister,” Capper laughed. “I’ll tell you what: how about we keep this up until the end of this song? If you do, you can at least tell your sister that you truly made good on your promise and mingled with the crowd. Even if it was with a lowlife like me.”
“Hmph,” was all Luna said.
A gentle pull was felt on her shoulder, and she rose up to her hind legs so that she could place her free hoof on Capper’s shoulder.
From the ballroom, the song continued. The stallion stopped singing, and a mare sang the next verse. The moment the new verse began, Capper noticed Princess Luna’s movements becoming more energetic. She was swaying her hips in time with the music and moving her shoulders in tandem.
“And you said you didn’t dance,” Capper chuckled.
“I’m putting up a good performance to get rid of you,” Luna said.
“Do you think it’ll work?”
Luna smiled slyly.
“Not really.”
For the rest of the song, the two of them danced around the garden. Capper reached out to the side and placed a flower he plucked into Luna’s mane. And for once, she didn’t mind it when she felt her face tinting red again. Of all the surprises she could have had that night, this was surely the greatest.
The last lines of the song were sung by both vocalists. The last of the ukelele’s notes played, and the song ended with Capper twirling Luna around until he let her hoof go.
Princess Luna twirled on her own, before she stopped, facing her partner with a dainty curtsy of her skirt. As if somepony had tapped her on the shoulder and whispered in her ear what she had been doing, her face reddened once more. She raised a hoof, hoping she could cover her ruddy complexion.
"Thank you...I needed that," she said.
"The pleasure was mine, Princess," Capper said, taking a gentlemanly bow.
For another moment, they stood in silence. Princess Luna felt Capper’s paw softly grip her shoulder, and she became aware that there was almost no space between them all of a sudden.
"Shall we make our way back to the party now?" Luna quickly asked.
"Of course," Capper said, motioning toward the door to the ballroom.
With his paw still on her shoulder, Capper escorted the lunar princess back inside. A small part of him couldn't help but smile as he walked her back to the gala. Inside, however, he was beaming.
"By the way, what was the name of that song?" Capper asked.
He waited for an answer.
"Don't tell me you're nervous again all of a sudden," Capper joked.
When he looked to his side, Luna was gone. Looking behind himself, he saw her staring off into the distance.
"Princess? Are-"
"Do you hear that?" Luna suddenly asked. 
"Hear what? The music," Capper joked. He was about to approach her when she suddenly took off. "Oh... great. This again." 
Capper followed her out of the garden. He followed her down a path that led out to the main entrance of the castle. He finally caught up with Luna when she came to a stop. There, he noticed a very large crowd of ponies had gathered at the front of the palace. Even from where he was, he could see the worry and anger on some of their faces. From the middle of the crowd, loud shouts were heard.
This doesn't look good.
"What’s going on over there?” he asked.
“I don’t know. But, I won't let it continue,” Luna said. 
The two pushed through the crowd as the shouting got louder. As they got closer, the sound of a blow landing was heard. And they soon recognized one of the voices.
"Just try and put another hoof on these foals!" Dash growled as she rushed in for another strike.
The other pony, a pegasus, ducked as Dash’s buck went right over her head.
The second Dash missed, both pegasi were pulled back to the edge of the ring by their friends. Behind Fluttershy, the Cutie Mark Crusaders watched in terror at the spectacle.
"There’s always some jerk who tries to crash these things," Capper sighed.
When Capper looked to the group that had pulled the other pegasus back, his heart froze. There, behind the other creatures who held back the pegasus was a face he hoped he would never see again.
Needy was always more rat than a cat. His tiny ears picked up every whisper. His beady eyes saw every detail of misdeeds. And his pointed snout got into everypony’s business. And when he knew others’ business, it became Verko’s business. And now, it seemed, Verko's business was there at Canterlot Palace.
Quietly as he could, Capper shrank back into the crowd, as Princess Luna stomped into the middle of the fight.
"Enough!!!" She shouted in her royal voice, her horn threateningly ablaze.
The entire crowd went silent. All but one.
"So, arrest them already!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Us!? You started this, cupcake!" the other pegasus shouted.
"Don't you dare take the name of cupcakes in vain!" Pinkie shouted back.
"You're the one who terrorized these foals!!" Dash retorted.
"And who threw the first punch?" said the griffin by the other pegasus' side.
“Quiet!! All of you!!” Princess Luna shouted in her royal voice again. Once the arguing was silenced, she resumed her normal speaking voice. “Now. Somepony tell me what happened here.”
“Umm…”
Princess Luna’s attention was drawn to the source of the voice and was surprised to see Apple Bloom timidly stepping forth.
“I can explain,” the filly said.
“Then, please do,” Princess Luna said, calmly and patiently.
“Well…we all kinda got hot, an’ we decided to get some fresh air. Then Scootaloo had to use the bathroom, so Rainbow Dash went back inside with her. An’ then–” Her gaze twitched to the group of strangers who fought with Dash, “Then that pegasus over there walked up an’ asked us what we were doin’ out here without an adult…”
“Is that all?” Luna asked, wholly expecting that Dash had overreacted.
“No,” Apple Bloom continued. “They just kept talkin’ to us. That’s when Rainbow Dash came over. She started talkin’ with the strangers, an’...Things got ugly pretty quick after that.”
“I see. Who actually threw the first punch?” Luna asked.
“Dash did,” Apple Bloom said.
“Yeah. But only after that cloud sucker pushed her!” Scootaloo interjected.
The other pegasus glared daggers at Scootaloo, who stuck her tongue out at the stranger.
“Your highness. If I may explain,” a smooth, calm voice chimed in. One that Capper had no trouble recognizing.
“You may,” Luna said to the stranger.
“My friends have had too much to drink tonight, and I was helping them away from the party. We simply were intercepted by one of the more temperamental guests and had a small misunderstanding,” the stranger said.
“You shook Scootaloo by her shoulders, jerk!!” Dash yelled before she was silenced by Princess Luna flapping her wing in her face.
“I would rather not have anypony arrested tonight. We will leave it as a misunderstanding, and all go our separate ways. If for any reason our paths cross again on this night, the repercussions will be far more severe,” Luna said.
“Lovely. Perfectly gracious of you,” the stranger said, his arms spread to guide his company away.
The crowd parted to allow the three strangers to depart. Once they had gone, the crowd slowly dissolved and went back to enjoying the party as best as they could. Dash herded up all of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and guided them back inside.
As the crowd left, Capper kept an ear turned to the strangers.
“What the hell were you thinking!?” the griffin said to the pegasus.
“I wasn’t, I guess. Must’ve lost my cool there,” the pegasus answered.
“If you lose it again, we’re dead! Let’s just get out of here, before we draw any more attention!”
First, Verko’s personal stool pigeon showed. Now, there were strangers conspiring on the palace grounds. Capper knew something was wrong but didn’t know how much deeper he could get involved. Especially with Verko.
“Isn’t this just the perfect way to top off the evening?” Luna sarcastically said as she rejoined Capper.
“Huh?!” Capper jumped, before recomposing himself. “I mean– Yeah. Moonlight and cider. A little dancing. And an obnoxious guest as a cherry on top. Let’s go back inside before anything else happens.”
“Well! Either I’m hitting the catnip too hard, or that’s Capper Dapperpaws!”

Shit!!

Luna watched as a smile forced its way onto Capper’s face before he turned around to face the cat behind him.
“Hello, Needy. Looking for a handout?” Capper said.
“Oh! Oh ho ho! Capper, you think too little of me. I don’t ask for handouts. I collect them. And as for you? Rubbing elbows with the royals! My, how you’ve come up in the world. I’m sure the rest of the old gang would love to hear about this.”
That shrewish smile on Needy’s rat face made Capper want to scratch it right off. But, after the brawl that was just broken up, he forced his unsheathed claws into his pockets.
“You two know one another?” Luna asked.
“Oh, yes. Capper and I go way, way, way back. Back in his glory days of hobnobbing with all the social elite. If I recall, me and the boys helped him get that spiffy red coat he’s sporting,” Needy said, rubbing his paws together.
“What brings you to Equestria anyways? Looking for any new ‘business partners?” Capper said.
“No, no, no. Not this time, Capper, my friend. This is purely a pleasure visit. Equestria’s glorious scenery’s well known even in little old Klugetown. And the ponies have all been so nice to a tourist like me. It’s not everywhere that you find folks who are so trusting,” Needy chuckled. “And when I heard that tonight was the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, of all the lucky times to visit, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to poke my nose in.”
“Well, poke it out. You need to get your friends out of here before they cause any more trouble,” Capper said.
“Of course. I wouldn’t dream of ruining this enchanted evening for the kingdom’s best and brightest. So, I’ll be taking my leave of you, and your lovely ladyfriend,” Needy said, taking a false bow as he backpedaled. “I do hope to see you around, Capper. We all miss you back home.”
Capper watched him leave, until the very last moment that he was gone from sight.
“If I may,” Luna began, “How do you know that scoundrel?”
Capper sighed heavily and waved his paw as he turned to leave. It wasn’t something that concerned anypony else. Especially not her.
It seemed that no matter where he went, he couldn’t escape from Klugetown. Wherever he went, something came back to haunt him. And whoever he got close to suffered for it. Sometimes in a way too great to reconcile. In the back of his mind, he felt that he should have known that it was too good to last, even in the land of friendship.






The night had been long and restless. But the morning came with its normal routine, oblivious of the troubles before.
On that foggy day, dew had soaked the entire forest path beyond the town. Drops traveled down the end of a leaf and gathered to form a single large drop of dew. The leaf bent, and the dew fell to the path below. Before it ever hit the ground, it was swiped out of the air by a flash of brown fur.
Capper looked at his wet paw, and watched as the trickles of dew slipped through his fingers and fell to the ground anyway. Shaking those thoughts from his head, he wiped his paw on his leg and continued on his way home.
He hadn’t slept at all the night before. Even as he walked the path he had taken so many times, his paws dragged through the earth, and his mind jumbled with the encounter with Needy. Not even his spot beneath the tree in the grove pushed those thoughts from his mind. As far as he knew, his life in Equestria was over. All the friends he knew. All the lives he had touched. And Luna.
Long after they stopped dancing, he still remembered her face when that song started to play. That sweet melody of the ukulele twanging in his mind like the voice of an old friend. He wondered how he had gone his whole life without hearing it before. And how Luna had danced with him to her favorite song. He wished he could hear it again if only to remember the feeling he had when he danced with her.
He was in the town now. And Capper began to hum the melody of the song to himself. Even then, hardly anypony was awake. And even if they were, nopony would have seen him on those foggy streets. Without even knowing it, he started singing the lyrics to himself. Until he heard somepony else singing them.
His ear twitched, and Capper realized that the song was coming from the direction of his own home. Following the song, the shadow of his house appeared in the fog. And as he walked nearer to his porch, he could see that it was occupied by another dark shadow. The moment that he stepped onto the porch, he saw who had joined him that morning.
Capper announced his presence by placing his weight over his paw, making the wooden porch creak.
Princess Luna gasped quietly as she turned to face her company.
“Hello,” she simply said.
“Hello, yourself,” Capper said, unsure of what else to say. “What– What are you doing here?”
“This is your house, isn’t it? I’m just here because it’s yours,” Luna joked.
“It’s not exactly the ‘it’ place. But, if it’s good enough for royalty…” Capper said, playing into the joke.
Luna stood up and stretched her wings out. Then her legs and her back.
“Why don’t you come in?” Capper said as he unlocked his door.
“I believe I will,” Luna replied.
Once they were inside, Capper took off his coat and hung it up on the rack by the door. The moment he had, he caught Luna looking at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. It’s just…Hm…You don’t look at all how I imagined you without your jacket on,” Luna replied.
“If you were expecting a first-class bodybuilder, you should make friends with my cousin, Lionel.”
A small laugh was shared between the two, and another length of silence.
“Coffee?” Capper asked.
“Please.”
The pot was still warm, and the cups were still out. Capper poured a cup for them both and sat across from her at his table.
Capper only gently batted the cup in his paws as he looked up at Luna. The wafts of steam swirled around with her mane as she lifted the cup and sipped the drink from it. Once she finished, a contented sigh drifted from her mouth.
“I guess I should apologize,” Capper said.
“For what?” Luna asked.
“For leaving you like that at the Gala. I know it was tough for you to even think about going. But, I guess things got too hot for me.”
“You mean with your friend?”
Capper shifted in his seat.
“He’s not really what you’d call a friend. He’s more like an acquaintance that you can’t get rid of. The kind of guy you’re stuck with for life, no matter how badly you want to get rid of him. I’m sure you know the type, being in the friendship business,” he replied.
Luna nodded knowingly, then took another sip of her drink.
“But, exactly how do you know him?” she asked.
She watched as Capper froze across the table before he lifted his head.
“Why would you ask that?” he wondered.
“It seemed interesting to me that somepony like you would ever be involved with somepony like that rat-faced cat.”
“It doesn’t matter how I know him. Just that he’s a jerk that I can’t get rid of.”
From where she sat, Luna could see Capper’s claws unsheathe ever so slightly, and a twinge of worry tremored through her skull.
“Is he…” Luna hesitated to ask for a moment, “Has he caused you any trouble?”
“Not directly. He’s just a backstabbing hairball-hacker who doesn’t know when to keep his big mouth shut,” Capper said, his claws unsheathing more.
“Capper. If he’s going to be trouble for you or anypony, I feel I should know about it,” Luna said.
“You didn’t seem to think so last night. Why is it any of your business now?” Capper asked.
Luna clenched her eyes shut and squirmed slightly in her seat.
“I simply feel that if there is a criminal in Equestria, I should know about it. Surely you understand my concern in the matter.”
“Well, it isn’t. I promise you right here, right now that Needy and his motley little gang aren’t going to be any trouble for anypony else,” Capper said.
“Nopony else, but you?”
Luna jumped as Capper’s claws fully unsheathed and dug into the tabletop.
“What are you trying to drag out of me?” Capper asked, his voice as steady as ever.
“I’m not trying to drag anything out of you. I’m just trying to help,” Luna said.
Capper loosed a long, low sigh as his claws receded back into his paws.
“You shouldn’t bother yourself with things you can’t help,” he said.
“Capper, don’t say that–”
“You can’t help!” Capper said, his voice gradually rising. “Nopony can! It’s something that only I can take care of! And no amount of love, or friendship, or caring is going to do a damn bit of good!”
Luna watched as the cat she saw last night disappeared entirely. Whatever it was behind those slit pupils, it wasn’t the cat she had danced within the garden.
“I see,” Luna said. She placed her drink on the table and slid her chair backward, “I suppose then that I’ll take my leave of you.”
For just a moment, she thought she saw Capper’s face change as she stood up, but she didn’t stop to wonder about it. By the time she reached the door, she paused and glanced over her shoulder.
“Last night, you wanted to know the name of that song. I never got the chance to tell you then. It’s an old song, traditionally sung as a duet by lovers,” Luna said.
“What’s its name?” Capper asked.
“Someone You Like. I thought you’d like to know that.”
And without another word, she left Capper’s home. All he heard then were the sounds of her hooves on the porch, followed by the flapping of her wings. And that was the last he heard of her.
Long after she was gone, Princess Luna lingered in Capper’s mind. Every word she had said replayed over and over in his memory. Every detail of her face, from her bright-eyed arrival to her crestfallen departure. If things had been different for him, she could have stayed. If only he weren’t a lost cause. 
Once again, he started humming Someone You Like to himself. Only this time, he couldn’t remember any of the lyrics, and the melody was different every time he tried to remember it. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t get it out of his head. There was only one thing that he knew to do for that.
By the time his day was done, he went to the nearest music shop and meandered through their entire collection. Though it was only a short time, it felt like hours by the time he found the song he was looking for. It was a single track on a cassette tape, which was sold for a price that didn’t do the song any justice. In no time, he was back at home.
The moment that he reached his house, he scrambled to find his cassette player. Amid the clutter, he was able to find it, open it up, and put the tape inside. Quick as he could, he pressed the play button. Seconds passed, and the ukulele solo started playing. As if a projector had turned on, he began to see images in his mind of himself in the garden with Luna, dancing to the simple strings and the lovers’ duet. Each lyric brought new meaning as he listened to the song over and over, bringing new depth to Capper’s understanding of it.
Capper had to admit, it was probably the best song he had ever heard.