"A-and then, she just flew away!" Fluttershy said, sniffing loudly and wiping at her eyes. "She pr-probably never wants to see me again!" A fresh wave of tears rolled down her face, and Rarity reached forward to pull the sobbing mare into a tight embrace.
"You poor thing..." the unicorn cooed, lightly stroking Fluttershy's mane. "I can't believe that Luna would just leave without saying anything! Being confronted like that..."
"A-a-actually, she d-did say something." The pegasus cleared her throat before continuing. "She looked really angry, a-and she denied that she felt anything for me, and she said that we're friends, and that she'd never think of me as anything else!"
"Hmm..." Rarity hummed. She raised a hoof to her chin and scratched it. "Rainbow, be a dear and keep Fluttershy company, would you? Twilight, a word, please." She led the alicorn to the other side of the room while Rainbow occupied her distraught friend.
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked. "I mean, besides the obvious." She waved a hoof in Fluttershy's direction, where Discord had moved over to join the two pegasi.
"If Fluttershy's account is accurate, then the way Luna reacted doesn't make sense." Rarity beckoned the alicorn closer and lowered her voice so that nopony else could hear her. "If somepony came up to you and accused you of being in love with me, how would you react?"
Meanwhile, Rainbow had been given rabbit ears à la Discord, an act that drew a choked giggle from the crying pegasus.
"What?!" Twilight exclaimed with a grin at the notion of being romantically attracted to one of her best friends. She released a few chortles before clapping a hoof over her mouth.
At the same time, Rainbow glared at the dragonequis when he turned her tail into that of a giant, poofy bunny. A small smile appeared on Fluttershy's muzzle as she tentatively reached out a hoof and batted at one of the blue mare's floppy ears.
The alicorn gave her friend a shamed glance. "I'm sorry, Rarity, I didn't mean—"
"No, dear, that's good! You're proving my point exactly! That's how I would expect you to react! What I wouldn't expect is for you to flee the scene. In fact, I don't think Fluttershy was correct in saying that Luna was angry; I would bet my mane that she was actually panicking, because this 'May Shower's' accusations were too close to the truth!"
"Wait, you think that Luna actually does have a crush on Fluttershy?!"
"All signs point to—"
"Alright, that's it, buddy!" Rainbow shouted at Discord. Her front teeth had been elongated so that she more closely resembled Angel bunny than a proper pony. "I'm gonna give you some bruises to keep those burns company!" By now, Fluttershy was laughing uncontrollably.
"At least somepony is having luck making her feel better," Twilight said. "Let's go tell Fluttershy the good—"
"No!" Rarity exclaimed, pulling her friend back. "We can't get her hopes up before we know for certain!"
"I suppose it would be a letdown if you turned out to be wrong..."
"Well, at least I know how I should proceed. I shall do everything I can to discern Luna's true feelings towards Fluttershy!"
"Oof!" Discord slid on his face across the floor with an angry pegasus standing on his back.
"Turn 'em back!" she yelled at him. "I don't wanna be a rabbit!"
"...Although maybe I should break these two up, first."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celestia's eyes darted back and forth, uncertain as to which of the two choices would be most proper for a pony of her stature. A line of sweat trickled slowly down her neck while indecisiveness plagued her very being. What should it be? she thought frantically. That would be improper for me to pick; it's not very princess-like, is it? However...
As if a switch had been flipped, her face lit up with steely resolve. She lifted a leg and dashed the perspiration away with a single swipe of her hoof.
"Very well, I have decided," the white alicorn proclaimed. "These types of choices are not always easy to make, but in the end, a ruler must always do what she thinks is right. Therefore... yes, I would like sprinkles on my sundae." A mischievous smile spread across her muzzle.
The chef rolled his eyes at the melodramatic little speech. "Sprinkles on the sundae, understood. Now, what about a cherry on top?" Celestia's expression froze as new, wonderful avenues revealed themselves to her. However, just as she opened her mouth to speak, a loud klaxon alarm belted out its cry, filling the air with ear-splitting wails.
A state of emergency? But the only ones who can declare that are myself and Luna! That means... "If you would be so kind, please leave my dessert in the freezer while I take care of some important business."
"Of course, princess." The chef snapped off an impressive salute, considering his lack of military training. "Forgive me for the presumption, but I shall take the liberty of applying a cherry."
"I knew there was a reason I didn't have you fired!" Celestia called over her shoulder as she cantered from the dining room.
"That was a joke, right?" he shouted at the retreating monarch. When she didn't answer, a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Right?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the help of loyal Hamfist, Celestia soon learned that the main source of the commotion was located in the courtyard outside of the guard barracks. She arrived in no time at all to find Luna standing on a pedestal, belting out orders.
"Step up patrols in the southern portion of the city!" she shouted, relying on her subordinates to determine who specifically should do what. "Bring Us as much information on obscure cults as the librarian can muster. Investigate the laboratory to see if the specter is still there! Take—"
"Ahem." The dark alicorn stopped talking immediately when she saw that her sister had arrived. "Luna, what is the emergency?"
"Dear sister, We have discovered the existence of an evil organization that We had thought vanished long ago. Thus, We are taking steps to ensure the safety of Our kingdom."
"That does sound dire... however, would you step down from there and take a walk with me?"
"...Very well."
Within moments, the two alicorns plodded slowly through a garden maze. "Now... what exactly is this cult that you thought destroyed?"
"Certainly you will recall the Cult of Dromus, a vile collection of vermin in the service of an even viler monster."
"And that monster is..."
Luna raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Er, its name is Dromus. Do you not remember?"
"It rings a bell..." Celestia said musingly. "But I'm afraid I cannot bring any details to mind."
"Dromus is the half-pony demon who, at the peak of his power, nearly toppled the kingdom!"
"Sorry, it's not coming to me."
"Do you remember the year I was entirely absent from the castle?" Luna asked. "I had to remain in the field to lead our forces against his invasion."
"Still nothing."
"Dromus is the one who called you, 'Hot-Plot'."
Celestia's eyes lit up with divine fury. "HIM!!"
"Yes, of course that's the part you remember," the princess of the moon said sarcastically, sighing and smacking a hoof against her forehead.
"But, tell me the details of what happened," her sister said. "Weren't you spending the day with Flutt—"
"I encountered them in Ponyville," Luna interrupted. "There were two of them, a mare and a stallion, both unicorns. On her back, the mare bore the sign of Dromus."
"Is that all that happened?"
"Of course not!" The dark alicorn tossed her head indignantly. "She threw a pellet at my feet that encompassed me in a cloud of smoke, preventing me from pursuing them while they escaped."
"Well, what were they doing in Ponyville in the first place?" Celestia asked. "And how did you encounter them if you were with Flutter—"
Once more, Luna cut her sister off. "I happened to run into them. I know not what their goal was."
She's hiding something, the princess of the sun realized. That's the second time she didn't let me finish when I started to mention Fluttershy. "So let me make sure I have this right. You ran into two ponies, one of which had the sign of a centuries-old cult on her clothing." The other alicorn nodded. "And you don't know what they were there for." Another nod. "And they threw a smoke-bomb at you and escaped." Nod. "And there were only two of them." Nod. "Luna, I'm afraid that you may be overreacting."
"But—"
"It's clear to me that something occurred which upset you," Celestia continued. "Tell me what's wrong; are you alright?"
Luna stepped back and fixed her sister with a cold stare. "Nothing is wrong. I am merely fulfilling my responsibilities as a ruler of this land."
It's never easy, is it? "Very well, I'll let you keep your secret, but I insist that you call off this state of emergency. There is no concrete evidence that the Cult of Dromus has returned, nor that they are harboring any ill will towards Equestria. All we know is that somepony is walking around with their symbol, nothing more. As things are right now, you will only cause panic in Canterlot."
Like a balloon with a hole jabbed into it, the dark princess deflated, and the aura of purpose that she had been giving off dissipated. "Yes, sister..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hold on, Angel," Fluttershy said tonelessly while putting together his dinner. "Mommy's almost finished." The rabbit tapped his foot impatiently as his stomach rumbled. "There, all done." She placed the bowl in front of him with far less grace than normal.
Looking inside, Angel grimaced at the sight that met him. His usual salad, carefully crafted with the utmost precision, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he found a sloppy mess of lettuce, tomato, and dressing; she had even forgotten to add the carrots. The bunny almost pushed the meal away in disgust before he remembered that his owner had recently gone through some sort of traumatic event. With a look that said, "The things I put up with for you," he dug in halfheartedly.
The pegasus hadn't even waited to see if her Angel was eating before shambling into her sitting room, where Applejack waited. "Sorry to keep you waiting; I'm finished."
"Ain't nothin' to 'pologize for," the earth pony replied. "Ah was just stoppin' by to check in, see how things're goin'."
"Things are going fine." She sat down and rested her chin on the ground.
"No offense, suges, but that wasn't exactly the most convincin' sentence Ah've ever heard."
Fluttershy sighed and gave up the pretense of being alright. "You girls shouldn't worry about me; I'm not worth your time."
"Now you stop that quitter talk right now!" Applejack scolded. "And Ah ain't gonna just sit around while one of mah best friends is down in the dumps. Ah actually had another reason for comin' by, as well." She paused to give her friend a chance to reply, but continued when no response was forthcoming. "Ah figure some hard work'd be good for ya, help keep yer mind off things. Why don't ya come down tomorrow and let me see what Ah can find for ya to do?"
"I'm sorry, Applejack, but if it's okay with you, I'd rather stay here for a while."
This immediately raised a red-flag in the orange mare's head. None of her friends would refuse a request to help out at Sweet Apple Acres unless they had a very, very good reason. This's worse than Ah thought... "Alright, well, you know where to find me if'n ya change yer mind. And Ah'm goin' to keep thinkin' of ways to help; Ah really hope ya feel better soon... we all do. We miss our Fluttershy."
For the first time, her words seemed to reach the pegasus. "I'll... I'll try," Fluttershy said. "Thank you for thinking about me."
After Applejack departed, Fluttershy flopped down on a couch and stared at the ceiling. "Should I try to do something?" she wondered out loud. Her eyes wavered uncertainly while her thoughts whirled. "Sweet Apple Acres," she finally decided. "Maybe, if I get better, I can see her again, after all."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Twilight yelped in fright when the library door slammed open without warning. "Twilight!" Rarity exclaimed, galloping in without preamble. "I know how to fix it!"
"Wh-what?" the alicorn stuttered, still trying to catch up. "What do you—fix what now?"
"I know how to find out what Luna's feelings are!"
"Oh. Oh!" Twilight bounced up and down with excitement. "What is it? How do we do it?"
"First, I need you to help me do some research."
If Rarity had said, "You just won a lifetime supply of candy, money, and books," Twilight wouldn't have been any happier. "Research?! With a friend?! Yay! What are we looking up?"
"I need to find some kind of event in Canterlot that involves dresses or fashion, one that preferably is going to occur within the next few days. Do you have a periodical of some kind that would list such items?"
"That's easy, the library gets free issues of Canterlot Life every week! We can go through the past two months' worth and see what there is!" With that said, the two mares got themselves drinks and sat down to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luna yawned deeply as she made her way through the castle corridor en route to her mid-day meal with Celestia. She was just about to round a corner when she heard voices.
"...act like a ruler."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. She's just running around like a little schoolfilly, doing whatever she pleases."
The princess poked her head into the intersection and saw two guards, each standing with his back to her.
"It's embarrassing, really," one said. "And I heard that she's mooning after some random pegasus in Ponyville, while her sister takes care of all the important work."
This accusation had little merit, because Luna had taken on plenty of duties that formerly belonged to Celestia before her sister's return from the moon. Apparently, not every pony knew this.
"And what's with that whole 'possession' thing? Kind of like Nightmare Moon all over again."
"You're preaching to the choir."
A few days ago, Luna would have stepped forth and confronted the two stallions. She would have given them quite a few things to contemplate while they recovered from a lecture of epic proportions. However, the dark princess of the present couldn't muster the willpower to take any kind of direct action. Instead, she turned and walked in the other direction. A third stallion joined the other two, and his words caused her steps to falter.
"What do you two think you're doing?" the newcomer said in an angry tone.
"J-just talking, sir! We have no other duties assigned us, sir!"
"No other duties? I see, I see. I understand, when you get some free time, it's only natural that you'd want to spend it in a leisurely manner, is that it?"
"Yes, sir. Exactly, sir!"
Luna looked around the corner once more, and her eyes went wide—Hamfist had appeared and now confronted the two other stallions.
"Hm, yes, indeed it makes sense." His next words took the relieved smiles off of the unnamed guards' faces. "If you've got free time, then as your superior officer, I should find something for you to do, shouldn't I? Go clean the third floor latrines, if you would."
"...Latrines?"
"If that's not enough, the second floor's could use a scrubbing as well—"
"No, sir, the third floor is more than enough!"
Hamfist waved them away, but spoke once more before they left. "Oh, and if I hear either of you speak ill of Princess Luna again, you'll be begging me to let you wash bathrooms for the rest of your careers. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood, sir!"
"Now get out of my sight," the senior guard barked. He stood stock still for a second more before leaving to take care of his own duties.
A surprisingly-touched Luna tried to make sense of what had happened. Perhaps I've been a bit too hard on the stallion, she thought. However, the positive feeling soon left, and once more, depression reigned supreme.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Terrible!" Rarity cried dramatically, throwing another magazine aside. "We've been through nearly half a year's worth of material, and there is nothing good at all!"
"Well, the further back we go, the less chance we'll find any mention of anything useful to us." Twilight turned a page and ran her seasoned eyes over the text.
"I know that, but still." With a sigh, the unicorn rolled onto her back. "The soonest thing I could find is a conference on casual-wear in two months. Have you still not found anything?"
"...No," was her friend's answer.
"You paused!" Rarity said. "You clearly paused! You did find something, didn't you? Don't hold out on me, Twilight, what is it?"
"Well, umm..." Twilight coughed nervously. "It's true that there is an event involving fashion... kind of."
"When is it?"
"Two weeks from tomorrow. But... I dont think you're going to like it."
"Nonsense," the white mare scoffed. "Is it stallions' fashion? I admit that I'm a bit inexperienced in that, but this is for a friend; I will make do."
"No, it's not stallions' fashion." Twilight's face showed clear apprehension. "I really don't think you're going to like it. Like, really really really not going to like it."
"If it helps Fluttershy, then I must simply grin and bear it. Now, please tell me what you've found."
Instead of speaking, the alicorn opened a magazine and slid it over for Rarity to look at. The unicorn stared at the page for a full minute before she looked back up, expression blank.
"You have got to be kidding."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hooded ponies threw themselves aside in order to stay out of the path of a dour May Shower as she trotted purposefully down the corridor. Her expression promised swift retribution to anypony who needlessly held her up.
Why am I in such a bad mood? she wondered. Her eye twitched in irritation with herself. Ever since I split up Luna and that pegasus, I've felt like... "Gah!" she shouted out loud, causing a nearby stallion to flinch.
She finally arrived at an unassuming wooden door and, without waiting, pushed her way inside. A young unicorn stallion sat at a desk, intensely focused on drawing something.
"Sir, why aren't we doing anything?" May demanded angrily. "The princess is in a slump, we might not get a better chance than this!"
"Kidnapping an alicorn is going to take more than that," the stallion mumbled. "Go away, I'm busy."
"If we need to do more, then why don't we?" she asked. "Just lazing around like this isn't getting us any closer to our lord!"
"Are you deaf?" he said, looking up for the first time. His horn flared, and a giant, green hand appeared and pushed May out the door. "I said I'm busy." The door slammed shut in her face.
The mare stood, shaking nervously from the force of the magic that had just been used on her. He really is our secret weapon... she thought. I couldn't have done anything to stop him if I wanted to. "Fine. If things go poorly, it's your head," she said to the closed door, before turning and stomping off indignantly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luna was moping on her bed when a puff of green smoke heralded the arrival of a letter from Twilight; she was so out-of-sorts that she almost didn't open it. The mare unrolled the scroll and began to read, soon realizing that the note wasn't from Twilight after all.
Dear Princess Luna,
I would like to offer my sympathies to you. We heard what happened, and it must have been an awful ordeal to go through. If you need anything, anything at all, know that we are your friends, and will do whatever is necessary to cheer you up.
On a different note, I am planning on visiting Canterlot two weeks from tomorrow in order to attend a certain event that is taking place at the Tri-Mane Convention Center. I mention this because I was wondering if I could spend a day with you while I'm in town. Also, would you be able to recommend a place where I could find accomodations for a few nights?
Again, we all sincerely hope that you feel better, and I hope to see you in two weeks.
Sincerely,
Rarity
"Tri-Mane Convention Center..." Luna mused out loud. "Is that not a two-minute walk from the castle gates?"
"That is correct." Celestia entered the room, closing the door behind her.
"Sister, is there any royal protocol that prevents a princess from having a 'sleepover'?"
"A sleepover?" the white alicorn asked; her expression showed genuine surprise. "I-it should be okay..."
"Very well! I shall invite Rarity to stay here!" For the first time in days, Luna's face was split by a wide smile. Suddenly, she recalled a specific passage from the letter. ...in order to attend a certain event. "Celly, you have knowledge of the happenings in Canterlot, do you not?"
"I do, because of all the petitions that are brought before me in court," Celestia replied. "Is there something happening that you wish to know about?"
"Yes. What event is taking place at the Tri-Mane Convention Center in two weeks?"
"Wait, wait... are you planning on attending that?"
"Perhaps I am. Rarity is going, after all, and it could be fun." When her sister began to snicker, the lunar princess gave her a confused look. "What do you find so humorous?"
"I hope you can find somepony to make you a costume, Luna, because it seems like you're going to be attending a comic book convention."