//------------------------------//
// Experiment Of Destiny 
// Story: Someone You Like 
// by AnnEldest 
//------------------------------//

It was still early when the clouds rolled in and gave their rain to the grass and trees. Outside, the summer flowers and leaves drooped under the weight of the droplets. Yet together, they brought such a soothing sound. A natural melody every bit as beautiful as a mother's soulful hum.
The morning rain clouded the window of Capper’s bedroom, keeping him from seeing anything beyond the glass. As he laid in his bed, he replayed the events of the Grand Galloping Gala so many nights ago in his head for the hundred-thousandth time. How so many things had gone right, and so many things wrong. Worst of all was the day after. Every time that Capper remembered the words he had said to her in his house, he hated himself just a little bit. However true what he said was.
Friendship wasn’t going to help him. None of his friends could have understood his situation. And worst of all, if he dragged any one of them into it, he knew he would lose them. And that same situation was already playing itself out again.
If there was one thing Klugetown had taught him, it was that being lonely and being alone were such very different things. So very, very different. In those streets, he was the only beating heart. The only being of warm blood and flesh. The walls around him were doubtless home to many in the fairly recent past, yet now it was an unfamiliar maze to all. The light fell on the words that spoke to nobody, unaware that their audience had vanished, or that the streets are in by own lay silent beneath no boots at all, save his.
Back then, there was nothing to alleviate his loneliness. Now, Capper had found a way to keep himself preoccupied as he holed himself away from the world. After listening to his new favorite song so many times, he decided to learn how to play it.
He reached beside his bed for the ukulele that he had bought the other day. For him, learning new skills was a necessity on the streets of Klugetown. Somehow, music was one of those skills that had escaped him. Still, that didn’t stop him from learning. Even if it was by ear.
For many minutes, Capper sat comfortably, strumming the strings and playing the same four notes over and over. Slowly at first. Then he steadily started picking up his tempo, until it sounded almost like the tune he had come to adore. In another moment, he began softly singing the lyrics to himself.
Any concert that could have been was interrupted by a loud knock on Capper’s door. The first in many days. His eyes alight and his heart aflutter, Capper quickly placed the ukulele on the floor and rushed to his door.
He stopped just short of turning the knob and quickly reached for his red coat. Then, he withdrew his paw, thinking to appear as he was. Before he fully withdrew, he reached for his coat again, then hesitated once more.

Dammit!! How do I look!?

A quick glance in the reflective bauble at the top of the coat rack, and he saw that he was a distorted mess on the round surface.
“Argh…!” Capper quietly growled.
There was another knock on the door.
“Hold on! I’m right here!” Capper said, as he put on his coat with lightning speed, and opened the door even quicker.
What greeted him made his smile change to a stupefied stare. There was a pony standing there, her drenched coat and hat both hanging heavily off her body. Even so, her ear to ear smile was perfectly visible beneath her hat.
“Oh…Trixie,” Capper said.
“So nice to see you too,” Trixie said. “Here, I trot thirty minutes through the pouring rain to see my friend, only to be greeted with a disappointed mumble!”
“I– Sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like that.”
“Yes. Would you let me in, please? If you keep me out here any longer, I may start to think you don’t want to see me.”
“Oh, no. Who wouldn’t be honored by a visit from the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Capper said, as he stepped aside and gestured Trixie indoors.
“At least somepony understands,” Trixie said, as she walked inside and hung up her raincoat. “Do you always wear your coat indoors?”
“Me? No. Just when I’m…You know…waiting…expecting…” Capper faked a cough and changed the subject. “So, what’s with the surprise visit?”
Trixie eyed him and looked him up and down. For a moment, Capper thought he could see a smirk on the very corner of her mouth.
“What?” Capper asked.
Trixie’s only answer was a hum before she took a seat on Capper’s couch and helped herself to the bowl of sunflower seeds that were set in a dish on the table.
“If that’s what you came over for, those seeds aren’t expensive. I’ll comp you some later if you want,” Capper said.
Trixie swallowed her seeds. And without turning, she spoke again.
“To be perfectly honest, I came because I was concerned,” she said.
Capper leaned against his door frame and crossed his arms.
“What about?” he asked.
“How after the Gala, you seemed to disappear. For all that time since nopony’s seen hardly a whisker of you. It’s…unsettling.”
As Capper listened, Trixie’s voice began to fade. For reasons that he couldn’t understand, his heart began to beat faster, and his head began to fill with a myriad of doubts, hopes, fears, and confusion. Like some unknown danger that wasn’t even there. One that, even so, waited to rear its head and strike.
“Capper!?”
Capper jumped as he was forced back to reality.
“Have you heard a word I said?” Trixie asked.
“Yeah. I’m just…It’s nothing,” Capper said, rubbing his eyes. “Could you, uh, remind me what it was we’re talking about?”
Trixie sighed loudly. “I asked you, ‘where did you go?’ Princess Luna said that you disappeared after Rainbow Dash’s brawl. And none of us could find you afterward.”
“Luna was looking for me?” Capper asked.
“So, she’s just ‘Luna’ to you,” Trixie answered with a smirk. “It seemed like she wanted to speak with you.”
Capper’s brain couldn’t work fast enough to process that. His whole face washed blank, and his body froze.
“She– She was…” Capper stammered, not knowing that a tiny grin had inched onto his face.
“She– She certainly was,” Trixie said, mimicking Capper’s stammer.
Capper’s whole body loosened as he leaned back against the wall.
“I guess that explains it,” he muttered.
“Explains what?” Trixie asked.
Capper sighed as he walked around the couch and took a seat next to Trixie, who scooted over to allow him room.
“After the Gala,” Capper hesitantly began. A look from Trixie goaded him onward, “After the Gala, she came by here.”
“She did!!?” Trixie loudly gasped, “Did she say why?”
Capper nearly opened his mouth to answer, only to realize one crucial detail about that night. Luna never did say what she had come over for. Some small part of him knew that it was about Needy and his gang. But, she may have wanted to talk more about their moment in the garden. Or for him to accompany her to another royal gathering. Whatever it was, Trixie was eagerly awaiting the answer.
“I guess to talk about the Gala. Before the fight, that is,” Capper said.
“Yes. That was quite the upsetting event. I was right in the middle of my story about our escapade across Eris’ roulette table when I suddenly heard Rainbow Dash screaming at strangers,” Trixie said.
“I only got there at the end of the fight. When Luna broke it up.”
“Then you missed quite a show. They looked like fighter jets with feathers,” Trixie chuckled. “Speaking of Princess Luna, you never did say what happened when you ran after our beloved Princess of the Night.”
Capper began to hear the notes of the ukulele playing again in the garden. The feel of her hoof on his shoulder. And the gaze of her teal eyes.
“We just talked,” he answered.
“That’s all?” Trixie asked.
“Well, we talked about one of the songs that played. And what it’s like being a princess.”
Trixie reached for another hoofful of sunflower seeds, but let her hoof slowly fall limp onto the table as she sighed again.
“I can’t keep this up anymore,” she said.
“Keep what up?” Capper asked.
“I know something is going on with you. Something's very wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong with me.”
“Then that’s why you stormed off from the Gala? Why you hide away from the rest of the world in your house? Why you’ve developed this gloomy attitude all of a sudden? This isn’t you, Capper. Whatever it is, I don’t like it.”
“Whatever it is isn’t your problem!” Capper snapped.
He stood abruptly from his seat and stormed into the kitchen. He turned on the sink and cupped his paws under the stream, before drinking heavily and splashing the remainder on his face.
Perhaps against her better judgment, Trixie followed Capper, waiting in the kitchen doorway for him to collect himself.
“Erm…” She began. “I’m not the best at giving advice. But, I can listen.”
“I told you. Nothing is wrong,” Capper said, his claws clenching into the wooden countertop.
“Maybe not. But, whenever you’re ready–”
“It doesn’t matter!!” Capper snapped. “None of it matters! The Gala! Luna! The fight! I already had my chance, and I fucked it up!!”
Trixie watched in mortified bewilderment. For only the hurt in her friend’s voice, she didn’t move from her spot as she watched him bend over his sink.
Capper stared, transfixed at the running water as it trickled down the drain.
“She tried to help,” he quietly said. “She was worried and wanted to help. And I just spat it back in her face! She’ll never want to see me again. So what does it matter? Everything’s just going to work itself out, and it’ll all go back to normal.”
“If you do nothing, things will never be normal for you again,” Trixie said, sterner than she meant. “If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine. If you’re trying to convince me that everything will be alright, it’s not going to work.”
“Heh…Heh-heh…” Capper pitifully laughed. “You sound just like Luna.”
“Because I’m sure she would say the same thing.”
There was a flash of green as Capper’s eye glinted when he looked over his shoulder.
“She didn’t,” he said. “After I told her to leave, she just left. And that was it.”
As if some outside force had possessed her, Trixie took one small step toward Capper. She hesitated when she saw his ear twitch before he turned back to the sink. Step after step brought her to Capper’s side, where she stood on her hind legs beside him, and turned off the water.
She glanced at Capper, who didn’t even turn an eye to her.
“It’s difficult, isn’t it? Being in love with a princess?” she asked.
Trixie watched Capper move, not a whisker. He remained with his head slumped over the sink, not even the green glint from his eyes was seen.
“What do you mean?” Capper asked in a low voice.
“I mean what I said. How it must be difficult for you to be in love with–”
“I’m not in love with Princess Luna. That much, I promise.”
“Oh? Then why don’t you have a chance with her anymore?” Trixie provocatively asked.
“Er–” 
“Why does losing your chance make you so upset?”
“...”
“I’ve seen this many times before. You, my feline friend, are in love with the princess of the night,” Trixie said.
There was only silence as Capper’s shoulders lowered, along with his ears. Trixie carefully put her hooves on his shoulders and nudged him away from the sink. Capper quietly complied and allowed Trixie to guide him to the table, where they both pulled out a chair. For just a moment, the grey light through the window silhouetted Trixie’s form, darkening her coat. All but her silver mane. By the moment she sat down, she returned to her normal self.
Capper blinked the image from his mind and took his seat across from her.
Only the sounds of the rain on the roof cut the silence in the room. For many moments, Capper and Trixie sat, barely looking at one another.
“Capper,” Trixie unsurely began, “For what it’s worth, I think it’s wonderful. That you’ve found somepony. It’s not who I would have expected. But, I think it works.”
“I told you already that I don’t have any feelings for Princess Luna,” Capper said.
“Now she’s ‘Princess Luna?’” Trixie asked. “We all saw it at the gala. As soon as you and she started talking, you had a spark. It’s why we encouraged you to pursue her. And if you had stayed, you would have seen how greatly you brightened Princess Luna’s evening.”
“What?” Capper asked.
“She waited for you, Capper. She stood hopefully by, waiting for you to show yourself again. When you never did, she left. And nopony saw her again for the rest of the night.”
Capper sighed heavily and put his face in his paws.
“I just don’t think it would work,” he mumbled.
“What do you mean?” Trixie asked.
“It just doesn’t add up. Look at her. Princess of the Night. Co-ruler of Equestria. Riser of the moon. One of the most important ponies in the kingdom’s history. Then, look at me.”
“Yes,” Trixie said.
“Does this not say it all?” Capper asked, indicating his surroundings. “A two-bit hustler living in a ramshackle house in the armpit of Canterlot, who’s only got the clothes on his back. Clothes he ripped off from somebody who could actually afford them.”
“You shouldn’t say such things, Capper. You’re the most charismatic guy I’ve ever met. You’re probably the only creature who ever trumped the goddess of luck at her own game! Who wouldn’t want you?” Trixie said.
For a moment, Needy’s rat-face flashed in Capper’s mind.
“It’s…complicated,” was all Capper answered.
“It isn’t. I already know your best chance to make everything right,” Trixie said.
For the first time, Capper held eye contact with Trixie. The way she was smiling, he knew exactly what was on her mind.
“No,” Capper said.
“You both want it,” Trixie said.
“No,” Capper repeated.
“Even if things don’t work, your feelings will be resolved.”
“No.”
“I already know how to make it happen.”
Capper said nothing when Trixie got out of her seat and left the kitchen. He sat, wondering what she could possibly be doing. Even as the seconds passed and he couldn’t hear her anymore, he wondered what Trixie was planning.
“Well, come on already,” Trixie said, poking her head back through the door, hat and raincoat donned.
Capper jumped out of his seat and followed Trixie to the door. Quickly grabbing an umbrella from the stand by the door and stepping out into the rainy streets with his friend.
“Come along. We haven’t any time to waste,” Trixie said.
“For what?” Capper scoffed.
“To meet with your princess.”
“You’re saying that like the castle guards are just gonna let in two of the most notorious grifters in the kingdom without an invitation.”
“That, my feline friend, is why we know a certain baby dragon who has a direct line to the princesses,” Trixie said.
As they splashed through the watery streets, Capper thought back to all of the relationships he had before. Sweet-talking rich widows. Picking an unsuspecting pigeon’s pocket. Even getting a date just to infiltrate noble’s mansions. For the first time in a very long time, he dared to hope that he could have something more. Something real.
“You sure this is gonna work? You remember how I said our last talk went, don’t you?” Capper asked as they trotted down a sloping street.
“That’s what apologies are for. Open with that, and everything will be fine,” Trixie said.
“How’s this: ‘Sorry for telling you to fuck off. Want to make out?’”
“It worked for my parents. It can work for you.”
“What?!”
They arrived at the curb at the bottom of the hill.
“It’s a long story. My point is that you can at least try something like that. Or you’ll be left high and dry,” Trixie said.
A carriage sped by, throwing up a massive splash that washed over Capper and Trixie both.
“And you, Trixie, are all wet,” Capper grimly said.
Trixie finished shaking the water from herself.
“O furball of little faith. I promise you that in three months' time, you’ll be sitting by a fire with your princess draped over you like a feather boa,” Trixie said, as she pushed Capper across the street.
Capper briefly imagined such a thing, before he had to hop up to the curb on the opposite walk.
They hurried down the path, loudly splashing with each step. In time, Capper found that they were at the train station. Trixie quickly left his side to talk to the pony in the ticket booth. Whatever they had said, Capper didn’t hear. He simply looked around and saw that he and Trixie were the only two creatures there at that time. Just as he closed his umbrella, he was pushed along by Trixie.
“We’re in luck. The first train to Ponyville’s this way, and it leaves in five minutes,” Trixie said.
Capper found himself suddenly facing one of the trains by the station platform, and yelped as he was practically thrown aboard.
“You’re very pushy, you know that?” he said.
“I’m efficient. Now, get up. The carpet isn’t a seat,” Trixie said, as she stepped over Capper.
By the time she was gone, Capper stood up and chased after her to an empty booth. The two sat across from one another and began their plan.
“Alright. We’re here. What do we do next?” Capper asked.
“We’re going to need to find Spike. He’s going to be either at the castle or at the school,” Trixie answered.
“What if he isn’t?”
“Then Twilight will know exactly where he is.”
“Does that mare ever give him a moment to himself?” Capper wondered.
“I suppose it comes from the whole ‘number one assistant’ job he was born into.”
Capper rolled his eyes, wondering how the little dragon could stand it. Just then, the wooden table between them was lifted and the support was placed beneath it by Trixie’s magical aura. Right after, a scroll, a quill, and an inkwell were magically summoned from Trixie’s hat and placed on the table.
“You did come prepared, didn’t you?” Capper asked.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is never caught off guard,” Trixie said.
“What’s the number on that carriage that splashed us?”
“Be quiet and help me with this.”





The rain pounded heavily on the crystalline roof of the castle in Ponyville. Somewhere within, loud clattering echoed into the hallways.
In the kitchen, a shaker of spices flew across the room. And it was followed by its shelf-mates.
Atop a stack of snack boxes, Spike balanced precariously as he rifled through the cabinet. He knew they had to be in there. Nobody else in the castle ate them. So, why was he having to practically rip apart each cabinet and cupboard to find them?
Then, he saw it. On the shelf just above him, there was a gleam of yellow. His topaz cream cakes were just there, in the place he put them to save them from himself. Now, his willpower cracked, he was straining his arm to collect them and satisfy his sweet tooth.
Just a little further. Only a millimeter more.
“Spike?”
The little dragon jumped, toppling his stack of boxes. Before he fell, he grabbed the shelf, leaving himself dangling high above the floor.
“I’m on my break! This is my time! It’s my business what I’m doing!” Spike said.
He suddenly realized who he was talking to. There, down on the floor beneath him were Capper and Trixie.
“What are you guys doing here?” Spike asked.
“Sorry to intrude, but we have a minor request to ask of you,” Trixie said.
“Okay. Sure. Happy to help. But, I have one first,” Spike said.
“Right here, little man,” Capper said, holding his paws out.
Spike allowed himself to drop into Capper’s waiting paws, nearly making the cat keel over under his weight.
“So, uh, what can I do for you?” Spike asked.
From beneath her hat, Trixie withdrew a rolled-up scroll.
“We need you to send this letter to Princess Luna,” she said.
“What’s it about?” Spike wondered.
“Just a friendship problem,” Capper said.
“A friendship problem? Why not just give it to Twilight?” Spike doubtfully asked.
“This one’s a little bit beyond Twilight’s normal area of expertise. I think that this is best left to a more experienced hoof,” Capper said, smooth and calm as ever.
“Exactly. Do you think you can send it?” Trixie asked.
“Sure I can,” Spike said.
Capper smiled internally.
“That doesn’t mean I’m gonna,” Spike finished.
“What?!” Trixie and Capper both said.
“If I do this, is it gonna become a regular thing? Because I have other things to do, besides become everpony’s personal maildragon.”
“I promise you that this is a one-time thing,” Capper said.
“Okay. You promise. But, if I do this for you, then I have to do it for everypony. And I’m not gonna let that happen,” Spike said.
Trixie was about to let Spike have a piece of her mind before Capper stopped her with a paw on her shoulder.
“Alright. Let’s make it an exchange. You send the letter, and you get those munchies of yours off the high shelf,” Capper said.
“Deal,” was all Spike said, as he took the scroll, blew a shower of green flames over it, and sent it away in a wisp of smoke.
“I’m glad we got past this impasse,” Capper said, as he jumped up to swipe the topaz cakes from the high shelf and dropped them into Spike’s waiting claws.
The moment that the sparkling pastries landed in Spike’s claws, he stuffed his face with them, grunting for air as he filled his mouth past its normal capacity.
“Er…What do we do now,” Trixie asked, staring in mortified awe at the piggish spectacle.
Spike held up a claw as he tilted his head up and bobbed his neck like a chicken that was nipping flies out of the air. Little by little, the topaz cakes slid down his throat, until he swallowed every last bite.
“It could be a bit–*cough*--depending on how busy Princess Luna is,” the little dragon said, as he toddled over to the refrigerator and took out some milk.
“Guess that means we wait now,” Capper said.
“Yeah. Make yourself at home. Scarf all the snacks you want. But, paws off anything with jewels in it. That’s my stuff,” Spike said, as he climbed up the counter and opened a cupboard. He pointed a claw at Trixie next. “And that goes for hooves too!”
“I think that goes without saying,” Trixie said.
Capper watched as Spike poured out his milk into a glass that he had retrieved. He watched as the white liquid swirled in the glass, thinking more and more about Princess Luna. Idly brushing his paws against the floor, his mind wandered to all of the different possible outcomes to his excursion. At the very worst, she wouldn’t respond at all, wanting nothing to do with a hustler who wouldn’t give her the time of day. But, at the very best…
The kitchen door swung open, and a familiar alicorn stormed into the room.
“There you are!” Twilight practically shouted.
“I’m on my break!!” Spike said, throwing up his hands, nearly losing his glass of milk.
“You’ve been on your break for two hours already!” Twilight said.
“Well, sorr-ee! But, you knew what you were getting into when you signed that contract with me. I’m entitled to an entire sixty minutes of downtime each day. If any of that’s infringed with work, chores, or even personal favors for friends, it counts as work time and I get to put my breaktime on pause. So, maybe you should let everypony else know about our arrangement, and I wouldn’t have to be hung up so long just to get my damn lunch!” Spike said.
Twilight moaned as she rubbed her temple, just before she noticed the company in the room.
“Trixie? Capper? What are you doing all the way down in Ponyville?” she asked.
“They needed me to send a letter to Princess Luna. Something about a friendship problem,” Spike said, as he poured himself another glass of milk.
“Why not just ask me? It’s my job to help others out with these kinds of things,” Twilight offered.
“They said it’s not in your area of expertise,” Spike said.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“Don’t know. I didn’t ask. They didn’t tell,” was all Spike said, before stuffing his face with another topaz cake.
“So, why did you need to send that letter to Princess Luna?” Twilight asked Capper.
“It’s…just a different kind of friendship problem,” Capper said, trying to keep his voice steady.
“Is this why she was looking for you after the Gala?” Twilight asked.
“No. Something just came up then. Right around after Dash’s fight with those other guys,” Capper replied, keeping himself from wincing by pricking his hip with a claw. “Anyway, though, that’s why I’m here.”
“Tell me, Twilight, what do you know about this? The fight, I mean,” Trixie asked.
“I don’t know. One minute, everything’s fine. The next, Dash is whaling on some stranger,” Twilight said.
“Oh, yeah. You missed one hell of a show,” Spike said through a mouthful of cakes, “Man, she was lucky Princess Luna showed up when she did. That mare was gonna make Rainbow Dash into Rainbow Mash.”
Capper didn’t doubt that for a second. Whoever those others were with Needy, they were sure to be tough. If they were in any way involved with Verko, they were going to be nothing less than the worst kinds of scum.
“Twilight,” Capper began, making sure he kept his voice steady and his face straight, “What do you know about those strangers?”
Twilight raised a brow at the cat’s curiosity.
“Why do you want to know?” she asked.
“No reason,” Capper shrugged. “It’s just that Princess Luna asked me about them, but I couldn’t tell her anything.”
For just a moment, Capper hoped that he wasn’t sweating.
“Really? Seems like she let ‘em off pretty easy for a group she was so curious about,” Spike said.
Twilight glanced angrily over at Spike.
“It’s true. Everypony there thought they got off practically scot-free. I thought it. Dash thought it. Even Princess Celestia thought so,” the dragon finished.
“She didn’t mean it like that, Spike,” Twilight defended. “All she wanted was that Luna tried to learn more about them, instead of dismissing them completely.”
For a moment, Capper’s brain stuttered. The idea of Princess Luna learning anything about the fight. About Needy. And especially about Verko. He could feel his stomach tighten at any connection that could be found between him and all of them.
“So, you don’t know anything about them? No idea how jerks like them got to the Gala?” Capper asked.
“Actually, now that you mention it, I don’t remember them being on the guest list. So, the only way they could have gotten into the Gala was if they were accompanying somepony who was already invited,” Twilight said.
“Like who?” Trixie wondered.
“That…remains a mystery. I can think of everypony who was on that list, and I don’t know that any of them would have invited those thugs,” Twilight said.
“You can think of everypony who was on the guest list?” Trixie doubtfully asked.
“Yes. Because I wrote it,” Twilight said.
“Believe it, Trixie. Twilight can read six pages in sixty seconds and memorize every word on them,” Spike said, guzzling down another glass of milk.
“The point is that we didn’t learn anything about them,” Twilight said. “I don’t know about any of you, but I really didn’t like the way they looked. I want to think that it was all just some big misunderstanding, but–”
“But, you don’t,” Capper finished for her.
“No,” Twilight said. “If I was there, I would have at least tried to find out who they had come with and learn about them a little bit. But, they were just…”
“It’s okay if you don’t agree with Princess Luna’s decision to let them go,” Capper said, earning an irritated look from Twilight. “Me? I agree with you. I’m a little upset with her myself that they weren’t dealt with a little more harshly.”
“I-I’m not upset with Princess Luna,” Twilight said, her eyes widened with shock.
“Twilight, I BS for a living. Don’t try BS-ing me.”
“I am not ‘BS-ing’ anypony! And I’d like it if you didn’t put words in my mouth!” Twilight snapped.
Capper’s only response was a low chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Twilight asked.
“Because, you, Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Celestia herself, have let others off for much worse crimes than disturbing the peace,” Capper said.
Spike’s eyes and mouth went as wide as they could go as he froze on the spot, dropping his last topaz cake. Trixie, who could think of at least one particularly egregious she had been slapped on the wrist for, pulled her hat over her mouth to hide her wry smile.
Twilight’s face wrenched as if she had bitten into a whole lemon as she raised a shaking hoof.
“That…What you…You don’t underst–What would you know!? You weren’t even there!” Twilight said, her face reddening by the millisecond.
Any response was interrupted as Spike belched a green flame that revealed a rolled-up letter.
Trixie’s eyes lit up at the sight of the arrived letter. Without even thinking to use her magic, she trotted over to Spike and took the letter from him by hoof.
It was beyond belief for Capper. After everything he had said, she was actually responding to him. It was too good to be true. Then again, what if it was too good to be true? What had she said in response? Capper stopped himself short of peering over Trixie’s shoulder and found himself grateful that she wasn’t reading it aloud. He felt a weight lifting from his shoulders when he saw the way his friend started to smile.
“Well?...” Capper asked, hoping he didn’t sound too eager.
“She wants to speak with you,” was all Trixie answered.
“Really!?” Capper said, more excitedly than he meant. “I mean, when does she want to see me?”
Twilight looked puzzled at Capper.
“Today, if we can,” Trixie said, before looking back at the letter. “But, she says that she doesn’t want to talk at the castle. She wants to talk at the address she mentions in her letter. So, if we want to meet her, we’d better get on the next train back to Canterlot.”
“Next train leaves in twenty minutes. You’d better get going if you want to make it,” Spike said.
“Then it’s a good thing we have no reason to stay,” Trixie said, as she trotted to the door, taking Capper’s paw in her hoof. “Come along, Capper. The Great and Powerful Trixie leaves nopony waiting.”
In her usual bombastic nature, she dropped a smoke bomb on the ground, filling the kitchen with a thick cloud of white as she and Capper made their exit.
Spike and Twilight coughed for a few seconds before Spike was able to inhale deeply, sucking up all of the smoke in the room until he swelled like a beach ball with eyes. Just as quickly, he deflated to his normal shape and belched out a ring of smoke.
“How do you put up with that garbage?” he asked.
“Same as Discord. You just have to learn to love it,” Twilight said.
“I’d rather learn to hang glide,” Spike said, before jumping off the counter and walking out the door.
Twilight followed after. When she turned down the hallway, she saw Trixie dragging Capper across the end of it.
“They would make a maze of this place!” Trixie loudly grumbled as she trotted on.
“Wrong turn,” Twilight called, “Come back this way to the end of the hall, take a right and keep going straight until you reach the stairs at the end.”
“Thank you dearly, Twilight. We’ve already lost thirty seconds because of these labyrinthine halls. Hurry up, Capper! Your princess is waiting!” Trixie said as she plowed past Twilight with Capper in tow.
“Yeah. Thanks,” was all Capper had time to say before he was dragged down the hall.
For several seconds, Twilight stayed to watch them go, until they were gone from sight.
“What the hay is he doing with Princess Luna?” she wondered.
“Even I know that,” Spike said, as he walked past her with a basketball under his arm. “Still on my break!”





By the time that Capper and Trixie returned to Canterlot, everypony else was up and moving, filling the streets and buildings. Those were among the busiest hours for Canterlot, and Capper was glad that he had gotten everything that he needed to be done before the morning rush. Even though Capper tried over and over to ask Trixie where they were going, she only kept replying with short answers about how he would see, or that they were almost there. After so long, Trixie triumphantly announced they had arrived.
Capper looked up and read the sign aloud.
“Pony Joe’s? The donut shop? Are you pulling my tail?” he asked.
“It’s exactly what was written in the note. She said that anytime you wanted to come by, she’d be there,” Trixie said, showing Capper the letter she received from Spike.
Capper took the letter and read it to the point where he was told to meet her in Canterlot. Right at Pony Joe’s. A strange thought occurred to him. What if he had decided to arrive later in the day? Would that have meant she would have been waiting for him in the donut shop all day?
“What are you standing there for? Stallion up and walk inside,” Trixie said, nudging Capper on.
“You know, they call my species’ males ‘toms,’” Capper said.
“Tom. Stallion. Reynard! Drop the bull and march!” Trixie said, jabbing her horn into Capper’s back, forcing him inside.
Capper’s entrance was less than graceful as he scrambled to stay upright. After finding his footing, he fixed his red jacket and looked around. There were only a few ponies inside. Most of them were waiting in their booths for their orders. After only a second, he saw a glimmer of silver.
There, in the far booth was Princess Luna, her nose in a book and a donut in her hoof. Waiting. Waiting for him. Of all the impossible things. In the light from the window, she looked even more radiant than she did the night of the gala. A thing of beauty in an otherwise ordinary shop.
“She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Trixie asked.
Capper muttered and nodded.
“This would be where you say, ‘yes.’”
“I just can’t believe it still. Her. Here. Waiting for me.”
“She is. So, you’d better start believing it. After all, you’re the one who convinced her to give you a second chance, aren’t you?” Trixie watched as Capper smiled slightly. “Now, go get her, tiger.”
“Tiger?”
“That’s a cat, isn’t it?”
Capper shook his head and focused back on Princess Luna. After a moment, he finally started to approach her.
This was finally it. The dreaded wonderful moment that he imagined. His steps were both careful and deliberate as he walked toward Princess Luna, relieved to see that she hadn’t yet noticed him. But, the way her ear twitched in his direction made him think otherwise. For only a fraction of a second, he stopped walking. Until a tiny smile began to blossom onto Princess Luna’s face.
Without the slightest apprehension, Capper walked all the way to Luna’s table and sat across from her.
“Princess Luna?” he said.
Try as she did, Princess Luna couldn’t hide the hint of a smile on her lips. Shifting slightly in her seat, Capper swore he heard her giggle softly to herself as she marked her page and laid her book down on the table.
“Well, well. The weather pegasi scheduled a rainy day. Yet, here comes the sun,” Princess Luna softly said with her eyes turned to the window.
“That’s just the thing about dark days. There’s always the sun hiding behind them,” Capper replied. “Are we really starting this by talking about the weather?”
“Small, Capper. The greatest things always begin very small,” Princess Luna said.
Capper returned the smile he was given before his eyes fell to the book on the table. Without a word, it was slid across the table toward him.
“Remember Me?” Capper read the title aloud.
“Of course,” Princess Luna said. “It’s one of my favorites.”
“Another one of your bits of ancient pony culture from your foalhood?”
“No. This one was only published fifty or so years ago. Although, reading it makes me feel like a filly again. Not that I’ve experienced what the characters do in this book.”
“What’s it about?” Capper asked.
If Capper had to guess, Princess Luna had hoped he would ask that question, judging by the way she was focusing her whole attention on him.
“It’s a coming-of-age story,” she began.
“Ah,” Capper said with a gentle roll of his eyes.
“I know. But, it’s a little more than that. It’s about these young adults who have lost those closest to them, and have to face their lives on their own. The mare has a strict, overprotective father who controls her very life after her mother was murdered. The stallion in this story, to be blunt, is a complete mess. A chain-smoking alcoholic who shirks all responsibility after his brother’s death.”
“That seems a bit extreme,” Capper said. “We all lose somepony in our lives. Sooner or later, they all go. Of course, you’d know that better than anypony, having been around for so long.”
Princess Luna paused for a moment to nibble on one of her donuts.
“It’s more than that, Capper. These ponies who were lost were like the guiding light to the characters. Something to guide them through their lives to help them along in their troubled times. Like a lighthouse, if you will. Lost without direction, these characters find that their lives have fallen into disarray. But, after finding one another they begin to realize that they must make their own way in order to move on, and finally live their lives happily. Together.”
Capper tapped a claw on the table, mulling over the story in his head. The plate of donuts was slid over to him, and he accepted one.
“I still don’t buy it,” Capper said.
“Mm. Well, I enjoy the story anyway,” Princess Luna said. “Although, I do wonder sometimes…”
“What about?”
“These characters. The lesson that they both learn is how to make their own way through their lives by taking control of its course. To stop feeling so sorry for themselves and to take responsibility for their actions. And yet, they seem to depend upon one another to be able to do so. Even as they struggle to overcome their problems, it’s as if nothing has really changed in them.”
Capper idly circled his claw around the hole of the donut he had taken, before he picked it up.
“I…guess that we like to think that being in love will fix everything. But, what most creatures don’t realize is that to keep that love, we have to solve those problems ourselves. Love isn’t some all-powerful force that will change the world. No, I think it’s more like…It’s a smaller force that’s a part of everypony that makes just that one creature change for the best,” Capper said. He glanced up when he noticed Princess Luna giggling.
“My, my. I had no idea you were such a romantic,” she said.
“Look who’s talking. The book. The song. Picking this intimate little shop over the royal patio. I got a feeling there’s a side of you that even your sister doesn’t know about,” Capper said.
Luna began to laugh but quickly stifled it as she took another nibble from her donut. “I’m sorry about the other day.”
“What?”
“The other day. At your house. I did…some things there that I’m not proud of.”
“Like?” Capper egged her on.
“When I was there, I didn’t mean to pressure you into telling me anything that you didn’t want to. I was only trying to please my sister,” Princess Luna said.
“What do you mean?”
“She thought that I went too easy on those troublemakers at the Gala, and wanted me to learn more about them so that she could investigate them. I’m sorry. I should have been honest with you. Can you forgive me?”
Capper sighed and shook his head. “You’re stealing my lines, Princess.”
The answer he got was a confused stare.
“Prin–Luna. I came here to apologize for yelling at you. And for just being a catty little bastard in general. I guess I judged your intentions a little too quickly and took my anger out on you. And I’m so sorry for that,” Capper said, hoping he sounded as calm as he thought he did.
Of all the responses he could have heard, Capper never expected laughter. Soft, melodious laughter that somehow raised his spirits when he heard it coming from Luna.
“I’m not mad at you, Capper. Nor was I ever,” she said.
“Same to you,” Capper said, finding himself joining the laughter. For a moment, he thought back to his dance in the garden, just before Needy ruined his night. “I’m just so sick of all this bullshit.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Luna laughed as she took a sip from her glass of milk.
“I guess this means we’re square now?” Capper asked hopefully.
“Water under the bridge,” she said. “That is the saying, right?”
“That’s the one.” 
For a moment, neither said anything, allowing nothing but the chattering of all the other ponies in the shop to fill the ambiance. In the deepest parts of his mind, something was telling Capper that his moment had arrived. The moment where he would take control and start making things right for himself. And she was allowing it. Waiting for it. Expecting it.
“Luna,” Capper began, “I have to confess. I didn’t come all this way from Ponyville just to apologize to you.”
Luna said nothing, but Capper could feel her silent urge for him to continue.
“I have also come on behalf of somepony else,” Capper bombastically said, “To assist her in an experiment unlike any other ever conducted.”
“Twilight, you mean?” Luna knowingly said.
“Not this time. As you can see,” Capper said, guiding her gaze to the table where Trixie sat, “Our little, blue friend is trying to make her acting debut by pretending to read a magazine.” He leaned toward Trixie’s direction and squinted. “About knitting? I had no clue she was so domestic.”
“If she could even pretend to be domestic, she’d get an award for that performance,” Luna said.
“Anyways, she wanted me to assist her in exploring something that she noticed.”
“And what might that be?”
Luna was surprised again when Capper put his claw on the plate of donuts and tilted it so that the topmost donut rolled off into his waiting paw, then broke it in two.
“I guess if there’s anything to take away from your literature,” Capper said, drumming his fingers on the cover of the book, “It’s that the universe is an unknowable, unthinkable strand of random, unrelated events that lead to something that makes sense in the end. Just like those two ponies who found one another, we come from very different places. Warmed and cooled by different summers and winters. Never meant to, and with no reason at all to meet. Yet,” he placed the two halves of the donut together, “here we are.”
Luna reached for another donut and fondled it in her hooves.
“It certainly sounds like an interesting experiment. Even if I still don’t know what it’s about,” she said with a smile on her face.
“Call it an experiment of destiny. To see if there was a reason why we had met the way that we did.”
Luna leaned forward with her chin on her hooves. “And how does she propose we test this?”
This was it. Capper chose his next words carefully.
“By spending more time with one another while learning about ourselves. Perhaps at the next big event in Canterlot.”
Luna’s silence was less than reassuring. Moreso was how she leaned back from him. “I…see,” she quietly said. “I do appreciate the offer. I’m flattered, really. But…erm…I don’t do so well in these types of experiments.”
“Why not? You have all the criteria. Intelligence. Talent. Style. Beauty.”
“I–” Luna stopped herself from laughing as her face turned red. “Do you really think this kind of flattery will get you anywhere?”
“I’ll admit that I wasn’t really prepared for this,” Capper shrugged.
“That’s surprising. I thought you would have been rehearsing what to say on the train ride over here. And, while I do admire your boldness, it was something of a foolish attempt.”
“Oh? Then, what did you invite me here for?”
Luna opened her mouth to speak but froze before the first syllable ever left her throat. Capper didn’t even bother to smirk as he leaned forward.
“Listen. Usually, when I meet a girl like this, it’s part of some scam. It’s what we in the biz call a ‘honeypot.’ But, I didn’t want to just take something that I didn’t earn this time. That’s been my whole life, up until I met Rarity and her friends. And I…I guess that this time I wanted something real. Not just another hustle.”
As Capper spoke, Luna’s face slowly morphed to a blank slate. By the time the last word was spoken, her eyes had fallen to the donut before herself. Her hoof broke off a piece of the glaze before she motioned Capper closer. A beckoning that Capper obeyed, as he leaned across the table. He was taken completely by surprise when Luna quickly leaned in and placed her lips next to his ear.
“Meet me in the palace tomorrow night at eight o’clock. I’ll let the guards know you’re coming,” she whispered.
“That–works,” Capper said, barely able to contain his voice. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t keep me waiting.”
When she leaned back into her seat, Luna was smiling sweetly before she stood up from the table.
“Everything’s already been paid for. Feel free to finish my leftovers,” she said, as she walked out of the shop.
Capper watched her leave and thought for just one moment that the way she was sashaying her hips was for him.
“Not bad,” Capper whispered to himself before he bagged up his donuts.
He got up from his seat and walked across the shop to where Trixie sat. Quietly as he could, he walked over to her and whipped the magazine out of her hooves
“Hey! I was reading that, asshole!” Trixie said.
“No, you weren’t,” Capper said, taking a look at the magazine pages. When he did, his eyes went wide. “Well, well. I never took you for a health nut,” he said, showing Trixie the second magazine that she had stuffed inside the one about knitting. The one with oily, muscular stallions showing the proper way to do a barbell squat.
“The–The Great and Powerful Trixie appreciates all things grand and–and–”
“Vascular?”
“Be quiet!” Trixie said, taking her magazine back and hiding it beneath her hat.
“So, things went well,” Capper said, as he and Trixie walked to the door.
“I know. I heard everything. ‘An experiment of destiny?’ Did lines like that really work on widows and naifs that you targeted before?” Trixie said.
“Nah. Usually, a quick compliment about their furstyle was enough for those sheltered airheads. With Luna, I guess I tried to be genuine for the first time.”
They left down the street toward their next order of business for the day. Unknown to either, they were being watched from a nearby corner by a certain princess, who watched them go until they both disappeared into the crowd.
“Ohhhh…What have I gotten myself into?” she said to herself.