//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: Visiting the Moon // Story: Blank // by GameMakingOtaku //------------------------------// Chapter 21 Visiting the Moon A few weeks later, Inn is finishing entering in some final information about three new travelers. She was interrupted by the sound of the bell. Fluttershy was coming into the inn. “Oh, h-hello Fluttershy. How are y-you?” greeted Inn. “Oh, ah, I'm fine. Me and the others are going to the gala tonight. I simply can't wait! All the animal and plants that will be there will be so nice!” said Fluttershy, with a hint of enthusiasm. “Oh, ah, are you w-wairing that dr-” “That dress from the fashion show? Oh my no. Me and the other girls learned that we have bad fashion taste, and should leave it up to Rarity,” she interrupted with a shy little smile. “So, ah, w-when is the gala? I may be there tonight.” Inn started to twirl her hoof on the floor. “Oh, you have a ticket too? That's good to hear. It will start at 6:00 tonight. Hope I see you there!” said a shocked and happy Fluttershy. “Well... I-I don't have a ticket. But I can still go right? I-It's me w-we're talking about!” responded Inn, as she stopped twirling her hoof, and gave a big cheshire smile. The yellow pegasus's eyes widen. “What? But, but, but that's theft! You have to buy a ti-... well, I have a ticket. One not stolen! Don’t know what the princess would so if she ca-” “Luna is a friend of m-mine. She would b-be happy to see m-me. On the other h-hoof though, her sister Princess Celestia. I don't know what s-she thinks of me. I-if she would punish me, she'd go e-easy because me and L-luna are friends.” Inn seemed a bit full of herself to Fluttershy, but Inn did not care. She knew that she was right, and could get in to the gala easily. “Oh, um, sorry I said anything.” Fluttershy looked down for a few seconds, then back up at Inn. “Wait, what about Inn inn? You can't just leave it all by it's lonesome, can you?” Inn shivered. “That's why I-I want to go. I just g-got these crazy g-guest. I've o-only known t-them for a few hours, and can barley s-stand them.” Inn looks at the inn roster. “The w-weirdest one is Inquisitive P-pony. He says the m-most bizarre things I-I've ever heard. Then t-there's Relic Naysayer. He... he is j-just odd, and angry. Finally Bum... at lest h-he's happy and ch-cheerful.” Inn shivers again. “Oh, dear. Sounds like you have your hooves full.” ============= Inn got into her gala dress at 4:30. She was ready to go to the biggest gathering she had ever seen. She made her way to a large gathering of ponies traveling to the castle. It was a long walk to there, but they got there before 6:00. This gave Inn some time to explore. Inn sees an unguarded spot that just called out to her. This open roof with a stairway going down into the gala's neighboring room seemed too easy. On Inn's way to the gala room though, she bumped into a tall white unicorn with a long blond mane and tail. As he regained his footing, and composure, he said in a rude tone, “Watch where you’re are going! Do you know who I am?” Inn brushes herself of, and then glares at the rude stallion. “Well excuse~ me. How am I suppose to look out for a bumbling idiot like you anyway? You, with such large stature, seem so un-noticeable, oddly enough. If you were more important or something, maybe just more descent, I may have noticed you. Well, that's all in the past.. The very recent past, but the past nonetheless. By the way I'm Inn Cog Neato, The Great Unknown, just who might I ask are you?” said Inn in a calm tone, keeping her angry glare fixated on the stallion. Stammering a bit before replying, he finally says, “I'm Prince Blueblood.” He sounded so proud in the title. “Wow, so they make princes lame now ha?” said Inn as she walked past him. ============= Inn looked around the gala, trying to see if Luna was at the party. After not seeing her, she left to go explore the castle. There was a small problem though, the closest and possibly best way up to the royal chambers, was being blocked by Princess Celestia, and Twilight. The attention was mostly focused on the group of ponies going up the the gala. If Inn could use that... wait... she could just go out the way she came in. There was another set of stairs that went up, and it would let Inn bypass the princess's watchful eye. So after she uses the stairs outside, she can see the room in which she was being interrogated in a few months back, just down the hall. It would not be long until Inn found Luna's room. She finds Luna just reading in her room, books about the new world that she has missed. “Inn?” said Luna as she looked up from her book to find Inn in her doorway. “Yep, long time no see, ha?” greeted Inn. “How did you get in here? Aren't there guards?” “What? What guards? Have you ever had guards?” said Inn with a big smile. “Oh, yes, you can blend into anything. That's right. So how have you been?” said Luna with a slight giggle noticing what she had forgotten. “Oh, y-yes. I had a rematch with t-the fastest flier I-I know. I lost again. But it was still fun to spread out my wings and fly like that.” ============= The two just sat there talking and reading books. They read a book about pony that would chop up other ponies to learn about them, and how he was banned from all towns. It was an old book, where it's print date dated back over three hundred years ago. They read magic books that had vital information in how to make learning a new spell easier. Inn liked these books the most. She had been having some trouble learning a twenty third spell, and these books are just what she was looking for. “So, ah, you still don't know much about why you are missing thirty years of your life?” Luna finally asked, looking up from her book and at Inn. For a few minutes there was just silence. “No.” Inn did not look up from her book. “There is good in what happened, even if it is overshadowed by some gave horrors. Do you think you even wish to know?” Luna's eyes had sorrow, pity, hope, and fear in them. “I-I don't know. I'm fine with n-never knowing w-why it all happened actually. It's w-what I came to after having m-many long hours a-alone in the inn these few m-months. I-I... I don't u-understand the intent behind it. Is it s-sinister or s-sincere? If it was s-some sort of evil i-intent, I may do something m-more horrible than anything I-I have done before. Now keep in mind, pr-princess, I have dramatized fillies for doing t-the same to me, k-killed monsters so I can have a home, and one o-of those monsters I practically t-taunted. I-I wish to move away from all this. Learning why I have l-lost that time will make m-me go back to how I use to be for sure. M-maybe... even worse than before.” The stuttered rant by Inn, who did not even look at Luna, made Luna understand just how hard this hits Inn. “Okay, well in that case... I hope you don't find out. So we can be friends like this for a long time,” said Luna with a forced smile. ============= The night was growing old, and the two ponies were not tired in the least. Luna seemed to be a little antsy about what had been said by Inn earlier. She was shifting around more and changing books more often. Inn finally looks up at Luna, curiosity getting the best of her. “What's wrong, L-luna?” “Well... ah... sorry if this is too forward, or hits a nerve, but well... I love learning. It just pains me to not know something, especially something big. I've been thinking about your missing thirty years for the last few months, and was hoping that when we met up again... I could try something.” Luna seemed a little unsure about saying this. “Ah... o-okay...” Inn looked a little worried and intrigued. “Well ah... I was going to... try teaching you how to make your own spells... by showing you how to dive into your own mind.” Luna kind of shrank back a little, fearing that she may have just lost her first friend since she came back from the moon. “And, well, ask if you'd mind if I looked, or if you told me. Well... like you said, it would be a bad idea for you to find out if there was any ill intent.” “Oh, ah, well, um...” Inn walk up by Luna. “You c-can look if you w-wish.” Luna looked up, a little shocked. “Really.” Inn nods, “Yes, i-it's okay. It's only me that can't know right?” “Oh thanks Inn! You have no idea how much this has been eating me up.” Luna got into position. “Okay here's how the spell works; I dive into your mind going backwards in your memories able to see all that happens, even what is happening around you. In other words, it's much more than mind diving. You won't have all the memories that I will see. This will let me see just what happened. Okay?” “Okay, r-ready when you are.” ============= Inn found herself shaking in a corner. She could not look up. Nothing seemed to make sense. Why was Luna yelling at her? “I demand that you explain why you are in our room! Why does thou not answer when addressed?!” Whimpering was the only response from Inn. “Why does thou shake and whimper when we speak? Now, we demand that you speak now!” The sound of many hoof steps drew the attention of the two ponies. “Oh b-b-buck, P-princess Celestia's g-going to b-be mad when s-she see you l-l-like th-this!” Inn finally said. “What? Tia? Just what is going on here? I demand answers this instant!” Luna seemed to calm down a bit after hearing her sister's name. “What is going on in here Princess Luna ma'am? We all can hear you all the way down the hall and there was a boom,” said one of three guards that came to the aid of Luna. Just behind the guards was Princess Celestia. “Luna what is-” the princess notices her little sister's physical form. “What is up with your mane? Are you taller?” Worry grew in her voice. “Tia? What are... no there's nothing wrong with our mane. We are the same height as always. What's wrong with you? Can not thou see that?” Luna goes from looking at Princess Celestia, to looking at Inn. “That pony there seems to know something! She will not comply to our demands of answers!” Whimpering again. Princess Celestia looks at the pony in question, only to see it's Inn. Now she knew for sure that something was going on. “Oh, Inn. Come with me and explain what is going on.” ============= Inn and Princess Celestia went to that room again. This time, there was four guards in the room, and a curious ear resting on the door. The tension was thick in the room. Inn thought it was so thick, she may be smothered to death by the tension before the princess could do anything. A long silence was broken by a sharp voice speaking. “Tell me what has happened to my little sister. She speaks and sounds just like she did when she got back from the moon. She almost looks like she did when she was banished. What can do this?” demanded the princess. Inn whimpers and stutters, not really saying anything. “I gave you my trust because my student has such trust in you. If you don't want that trust to whither away, answer me.” Seeing that Inn was still too shaken, Princess Celestia changes her approach. “I see you are in a dress. Were you at the gala?” “Y-yes. Kinda.” In was still shaking. “Where were you? I didn't see you in the room.” “Well, I, ah, I-I was visiting Luna.” The shaking seemed to get a little worse. “How? I did not see you walk past me or Twilight in the hall.” “How do y-you think I s-single hoofedly s-slay dragons? I'm good~.” Inn’s ego was showing. Princess Celestia looked like she was caught, her eyes went from wide and shocked, to a 'Da, why didn't I think of that answer first?' face, complete with blushing. “Well yes, I guess you really are Inn Cog Neato, aren't you?” chuckled the princess. “We, just t-talked for a while. Then we r-read books, and she asked m-me about my m-missing past.” Inn pauses for a little bit. “I told h-her that I don't think i-it's a good idea for me t-to know about it. A-after some more books, she said that s-she wished to kn-know for herself, if that wasn't a p-problem with me.” Inn pauses for a few minutes, shaking as she tries to say just what happened. “Okay, that's enough.” Inn jumped, but after a few seconds, she started to shake less. “I think I get it now, even if it does not make that much sense. Luna is good at magic. She would not fail a spell so badly. What was she trying to do?” The conference chamber doors cracked open slightly. In Luna's voice, Inn repeats what Luna told her about the spell. “D-does that help?” said Inn back in her own voice. A purple cloud came up behind Inn. “What is this? How can thou change thy voice with such ease?” asked the cloud. It soon formed into Luna, making Inn jump a little. “Luna, Inn. I think something happened in your mind,” said Princess Celestia, looking at Inn. “And that would explain why you are acting the way you are little sis,” said the princess, looking at Luna now. “I know that you don't fail spells so badly, even such advanced ones. It's the only explanation.” After some more talking to Luna about what happened, and who Inn is, it had became early morning, and time for Inn to go and sleep. But as Inn had her back to the other ponies, she had a wide, mad, twisted smile planted on her face.