"Poison Joak?" Rarity asked, incredulous, "That couldn't be the culprit. Could it?"
"What's Poison Joak?" Gale asked.
"It's this blue plant that grows in the Everfree," Spike explained, starting to fight down laughter, "It… heh, sorry. When it gets on you, it does something inconvenient and funny to you." He chuckled for a while as Twilight and Rarity both rolled their eyes.
"It's only funny if it doesn't happen to you," Twilight said, "My friends and I all got it the first time we met Zecora, and it did something different to each of us. It made my horn limp and useless for magic, turned Rainbow Dash's wings upside down, gave Rarity a very… interesting coat..." The white unicorn shivered at the memory as Spike's laughter increased. Twilight glared at the dragon and then looked back up at the others. "Anyway," she said, "as I looked back afterward, I realized each of us had been affected in a way that poked fun at what we held to be important, but wasn't particularly dangerous. Except to Rainbow because she insisted on trying to fly anyway, and it made AJ tiny…"
"But, could it really make Princess Celestia unable to set the stars right?" Rarity asked.
"It makes sense to me," Gale said, "I mean, when you get right down to it, the exact positions of the stars aren't vital to the well-being of Equestria, right?" Celestia nodded slowly. "And of course making the sky look right is very important to both Celestia and Luna," Gale continued, "So, if she did wind up getting some Poison Joak on her, what better way to poke some harmless fun than to mess up the stars?" Everypony thought this over and seemed to agree.
"If that's true," Celestia said, "How do I fix it? Will it just wear off?"
"Let's see," Twilight said, walking to the books. She looked for a few minutes, and then said, "Ah ha, here it is! Super Naturals." She pulled the book out and brought it back to the group. "The cure's in here," she said, flipping through the pages, "Zecora showed it to me after showing us how wrong the rumors about her were." She blushed for a second as she found the right page and showed it to Celestia. "The cure is an herbal bath using certain herbs from the Everfree Forest. Zecora should have what we need, and if she doesn't she can find it."
"Well," Celestia said, looking at the book, "It won't hurt to try. Twilight, go see Zecora and get the herbs." Twilight nodded and trotted off with Spike on her heels. "Now," Celestia said, "Somepony needs to find Ashen Blaze. I… may owe him an apology."
Zecora regarded her guest, who'd arrived rather suddenly a short time ago, with some trepidation as she poured tea for the both of them. She set down the kettle and said, "Although your face is always a pleasure to see, what brings you the Everfree?"
Ashen Blaze smiled as he picked up the cup and sipped the tea. "I needed to get away," he said, "and the only teleport way-point I established outside of Canterlot is way out here."
"You're not fleeing, are you?" Zecora asked, "That is not something you're known to do."
"I don't usually tick off a physical goddess," Ash retorted. Zecora stared at him speechlessly, trying to determine if he was serious.
"Surely you jest," she said at last, "If the Princess is angry with you, to run now would be best."
"You're quite right," Ash said, and then gulped down his tea, "Even though I can't really hide anywhere, I'm sure, I'll leave now to keep Celestia from your door." He smirked at Zecora's critical reaction to his rhyming. A knock at the door stole the smile away and he leapt into the empty cauldron in the middle of the hut.
"I hear you at my door," Zecora said as another serious of knocks sounded from the door, "You do not need to strike it anymore." She opened the door and smiled as she saw Twilight and Spike standing outside. "My dear friends Twilight Sparkle and Spike," she said, "what can I do for you this late at night?"
"Sorry if we woke you Zecora," Twilight said, "but Princess Celestia is in need of your Poison Joak remedy."
"Ah ha!" Ash said, popping up from the cauldron and scaring the daylights out of Twilight, Spike, and even Zecora, "You figured that out from the clue I gave you, didn't you?" he asked in a triumphant voice.
"Ashen Blaze?" Twilight exclaimed, "How in Celestia's name?"
"Answer the question," Ash demanded, pointing a hoof at the lavender unicorn.
"Y-yes," Twilight said, still reeling from the shock.
"Ha! Justified!" Ash shouted in triumph, throwing both front hooves in the air. His back hooves slipped on the interior of the cauldron and he fell inside, banging his head against the side. "I'm ok," he announced, his voice echoing inside the cauldron, "nothing broken."
Zecora stared at the cauldron for a moment before turning back to Twilight. "I can get you the cure within a day," she said, "I hope the Princess will excuse the delay."
"Thanks Zecora," Twilight said with a smile. She turned to leave, but then stopped and glanced at Ash, who had poked his head out of the cauldron again. "Do you have any paper?" she asked the zebra, "I should probably let Celestia know we found the renegade Ashen Blaze."
"Feh," Ash muttered.
Soul Mage and Gold Heart once again found themselves barred from the theater while Luna and Trixie worked out that night's performance, so they went back to wandering the city for a while before returning to the suite, finding the honor guard captain lying on his back, bored out of his skull. "Ok Cap'n," Soul said, "you need to get some air."
"Don't talk to me," the captain said, "This entire week has been a disaster for me, and you two are part of the problem."
"In our defense," Soul said, "Luna kidnapped us that first night. We've just been tagging along with her because she wanted us. And now she's dumped us for the Great and Powerful Trixie."
"I see that," the captain said, not moving from his spot, "That Stella Moon from the performance, that was the Princess, wasn't it?"
"Yep," Soul said.
"She was having such a great time up there," the captain moaned, "She'll never want to go back to Canterlot now! I'm going to be stuck here in this stupid suite for the rest of my life because I can't go back home without Princess Luna! I'm doomed!" The poor guy was on the verge of tears.
"Ok," Heart said, walking over and pushing the captain onto his side, "You're hysterical; probably suffering from cabin fever or something." She dug her head under the captain's side and tried to lift him. Soul went over to help and the two of the managed to get the captain on his feet, although he was quite unsteady. "You are coming with us sir," Heart said, fixing the pegasus with a stare, "we are going for a walk so you can clear your head and loosen up a little."
"But…" the captain protested weakly.
"Luna's only helping Trixie until her magic comes back," Soul said, moving to stand on the captain's left side, "just keep that in mind." Heart moved to the captain's right and the two of them guided the wobbling pegasus out onto the street.
After walking for a few blocks and listening to the Impossible Twins chat amiably, the captain started to calm down and think rationally. They were right, he realized, this was only temporary. Luna was having fun, but she'd go back to her duties at the end of the week. Unless that Trixie filly wasn't done with her by then… the captain shook that thought away and focused on his plans for the future. He probably wouldn't ask for time off when he got back, but he did have some vacation time coming up soon. Sadly, his reverie was broken as they passed a newsstand and Soul noticed the headlines.
"Oh… that doesn't look good," the golden-yellow unicorn said, taking a closer look. The stand owner cleared his throat and Soul tossed him some bits before grabbing the paper. The three ponies moved out of the way of the other pedestrians as Soul held the paper up for them to read. "Panic reported due to mis-aligned stars," he read aloud and then continued down the page in silence. The article reported on an outbreak of rioting in Trottingham as a result of an outspoken advocate of the "terrible omen" theory ranting about his fears loudly in the middle of a crowded park. The reporter seemed to be of the opinion that this was only the first of what would be a series of panics if the stars were not restored to their rightful places.
"The Princess has to act soon," Heart said, worried, "She can't possibly ignore this."
"Yes," the captain agreed, "we must tell her at once!" He ran off before the others could stop him.
"What do you think his chances are?" Soul asked.
"You have the paper," Heart pointed out, "So, not good. We should probably go after him." Soul nodded and the two ponies galloped after the captain.
They found him banging on the front door of the Silver Halter, demanding entrance in the name of the Princesses. The door opened and he went in, only to walk out several minutes later with a hopeless look on his face. "She didn't believe me," he said as Heart and Soul joined him, "She told me to go bother somepony else."
"We'll talk to her tonight," Soul said, "for now, let's go get you something to drink." The captain nodded, or was that just hanging his head in defeat? Either way, he allowed himself to be lead away to the nearest restaurant, where he spent the rest of the day hovering over a series of malts.
Gold Heart and Soul Mage debated for a while over whether or not to watch that night's performance and ultimately decided to go for it since they had nothing else to do and most of the other shows they considered let out much later than Trixie's. Plus, the show was still free for them. The performance went much like it had the previous night, although Luna's skill with the illusions during Trixie's act had improved considerably. For her part, Luna put on a smaller-scale version of her premier performance, including a reduced version of her starlight and moon finale. The whole thing was still amazing, but Heart and Soul weren't as impressed. As Trixie and "Stella" took their final bows, it took every ounce of Soul's will to stop himself from bolting up onto the stage to shove the newspaper into the taller pony's face. Once the house lights went up, the two ponies didn't even bother to wait for an escort to take them backstage. They ran straight to the Princess's dressing room and met her coming from the stage.
"What's the matter?" Luna asked, seeing their expressions. Soul simply held out the paper. Luna read the article and then, to their horror, tossed it away and laughed. They stood slack-jawed as she went into her dressing room and stayed there until Trixie showed up.
"Move aside," the blue unicorn said impatiently, "I must give Luna her notes for the night." She walked into the room and closed the door.
"What," Soul said weakly, staring at the door, "what is wrong with her? She doesn't care. How could she not care?" Eye twitching in suppressed rage, he walked to the dressing room door, stared at it like he expected it to run away from him, and then kicked it open and ran inside.
"You've done something to her!" he shouted at Trixie, who stared nonplussed at the crazed unicorn, "I don't know what, but you have! Hypnotism, mind control spell, something to make her care more about your stupid show than the fact the stars are out of position and it's making ponies go crazy with worry!"
"How dare you!" Trixie shot back, "The Great and Powerful Trixie can barely lift a stack of books right now, and you accuse her of using mind control on Princess Luna, of all ponies?"
"How do I know you're not lying about not having your magic?" Soul asked, "You're an actress, a… an illusionist! You could make any claim you want and make it hold water for a short time! Well, that time is up Trixie! Your time is up!"
Trixie opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again when Luna stepped between the two ponies, her Stella disguise gone and her mane billowing out with the appearance of a starry sky. "That's quite enough you two," she said gently, "There's no need to argue. I am quite in control of myself."
"But, the stars," Soul protested, "There's panic in the streets of Trottingham."
"There was panic," Luna said, chuckling, "but not anymore. The stars are back where they belong."
"Huh?" Soul said, not comprehending.
"Come," Luna said, walking out of the dressing room, "I'll show you. You too Gold Heart. And you can come as well Trixie, if you want."
"I will stay here," Trixie said huffily, "I have had quite enough of that stallion for one night." She shot Soul a glare, causing him to hang his head in shame.
"Sorry," he muttered, turning to follow Luna. The Princess and her two golden-yellow escorts went outside, and Luna lifted Soul onto her back.
"Hold on," she said. Soul threw his front legs around Luna's neck as she spread her wings and took off. Heart followed, flapping hard to keep up as they ascended above the level of the buildings, above the haze of light cast by the street lights and theater marquees. "Look," Luna said, pointing with her horn. Heart and Soul looked up. Neither was very familiar with the night sky, but as they looked at the stars spread across the sky, something told them what they were looking at was the ways things should be. The sky was perfect.
"Well, I feel like a jerk," Soul said glumly.
"Don't worry," Luna said, "you were concerned about me and the peace of Equestria. I can't guarantee Trixie will forgive you, but I do."
"Trixie's a drama queen," Soul said, "So long as she doesn't try to get back at me, that's forgiveness enough. Can we go down now please? I'm getting queasy." Luna and Heart laughed as they spiraled down to the street.