It's nothing to worry about, Lulu!
I'm worried; it's not like Lulu to up and disappear suddenly. She did mention that she was going to go out, but it's been an entire day since she left! Surely she doesn't need that much time away from the castle, even if it's inhabited by crazy alicorns like ourselves.
As Celestia was thinking about whatever plight may have befallen her sister, over to her right, Cloud Kicker was munching on a bowl of popcorn, while Sassaflash on her left was playing Ponymon X, both of them clearly not worrying about whatever might have happened to Luna, Minuette, and Heartstrings, the latter two having accompanied Luna on what was supposed to be a short trip to a nearby mall to obtain a slurpee. A movie was playing in front of her, though Celestia didn't pay any attention to it, as focused on worrying about her sister as she was. The complete lack of anypony else worrying other than her baffled Celestia, who was fretting over whatever might have happened to her sister and the Background Ponies.
Unable to bear it any longer, Celestia spoke up. "Erm...Should we try to find Luna, Heartstrings and Minuette? They've been gone for an entire day, and I'm getting a little worried about them."
The answer Celestia received was not one that she wanted or expected, as Cloud Kicker belched loudly, causing Sassaflash to wince. "Kicky...You're so disgusting."
"What? The popcorn tastes like buttery heaven, and I heard that you can show your appreciation for good food by burping very loudly. I'm doing just that!"
"Please!" The two background ponies looked up at Celestia, who had made the outcry and was obviously in distress right now. "I'm worried about Luna and your comrades! Shouldn't we be trying to help them?! They could be in danger right now while we're just sitting here on a sofa!"
"Doubtful." Sassaflash said, returning to her game. "At the very most, Luna is very scared right now while Minuette and Heartstrings are trying to calm her down over the unbelievable phenomenon she just witnessed, so there isn't really any real need to go out and find them; besides, we still got a mental link to Heartstrings and Minuette, and they're fine, so there's no need to worry about them for now, assuming Minuette and Heartstrings are still the amazing ponies they were a thousand years ago. I have no reason to doubt them now, and they haven't contacted us for help, so there's no need to worry about them."
I forget about that mental link so many times...And it is true that Minuette and Heartstrings are extremely capable ponies. However, what phenomenon is she speaking of? Confused, Celestia tried to think of any supernatural phenomena that would occur in Canterlot that would only scare Luna and not the rest of Canterlot, who seemed to not be afraid of whatever Luna currently was in. In the end, she was completely stumped for an answer, as the ponies of Canterlot could easily be excited by simply blowing bubbles in their general direction. "What do you mean, Sassaflash? I know not of any phenomena that would scare Luna and not the rest of Canterlot, and I'm sure you know just how excitable some Canterlot ponies can be."
Cloud Kicker set down the mostly-empty bowl of popcorn, and exchanged a sad glance with Sassaflash before looking up at the worried alicorn seated between them. "Tia...You...Do know what day its today, right?"
Duh? I'm not drunk, sleepy, or under the influence of anything that might cloud my judgement, which, sadly, seems to happen far too often to me nowadays. "...Friday. What does that have to do with anything, Cloud Kicker? I didn't notice anything unusual."
Sassaflash sighed, and took a moment to wonder how Celestia of all ponies did not know what made this Friday special. How could she just notice today? It had been set in place for years, and Celestia, of all ponies, didn't notice what happened to Canterlot and other major shopping areas in Equestria? Such a thing boggled Sassaflash's mind. "Well, you see..."
"...It's Black Friday."
Luna was currently holed up in a hotel room with Minuette (who had just stated the name of the terror she just went through), and Heartstrings (who was snoring loudly on the bed). They were unable to make their way back to the castle last night due to a sudden flood of ponies and changelings in Canterlot beginning to run around like crazy, shoving each other out of the way in order to reach various stores. Minuette had quickly diverted them into a hotel, and they had spent the night there. However, upon awaking, Luna saw that there was still a massive crowd of ponies and changelings outside; in fact, it looked like it only got bigger since last night!
"Black Friday? It sounds like a terrible day indeed! What must I do in order to stop the madness that has befallen the ponies and changelings outside?!"
"Erm. As bad as it sounds, Black Friday isn't actually a very bad event at all."
"Not bad?!" Luna promptly got up from the sofa she was sitting on, and strode on over to a nearby window, pulling the blinds up. The first (and only) thing Minuette and Luna saw was a sea of ponies running around through Canterlot. "In all my years, I have never seen so many ponies and changelings packed in Canterlot!"
I really wish Lulu would take the time to learn a little bit more about the new things that happened during her one-thousand year absence instead of having fun and goofing off with the other alicorns. Minuette's thought process was interrupted when a very cranky-sounding Heartstrings began speaking through their telepathic link.
Minuette...Please...For your love of me...Find the screeching cat and make it go 'way...I wanna sleep...
...There is no cat, and there is no love, Heartstrings.
...Ugh, must be Luna, then...And w-what do you mean no love for me, I'm a perfectly lovable, huggable, snuggable cuddly pony! Heartstrings yawned as she dropped down from the ceiling of the hotel room where she had spent the night (a habit she picked up from some bat-ponies), and instead of landing on her feet much like a cat would and without much pain at all, she instead collided with Minuette painfully, causing both ponies to fall to the floor in a tangled heap full of pain.
OW. I knew! I knew something like this would happen, because it happens almost every single time she sleeps on the ceiling! Land on Luna next time! A very annoyed Minuette was but an inch from smacking her partner absolutely senseless, and it was only the fact that she needed Heartstrings to help her defend Luna from any possible threats that she did not do so immediately. "For the love of...Get OFF, Heartstrings!"
"...Heck of a way to wake up..." Heartstrings murmured as she got off Minuette, and offered her a hoof. Minuette grudgingly accepted it, and looked over at Luna, who was looking at the two with some amusement.
"Well...That was...A nice distraction. The distraction cannot last forever, however! You cannot say that there is no solution to this; there must be something that I can do! Tia must have had some method to ensure that something like this does not get out of hoof! Tell me what I must do to cleanse Canterlot of this madness!"
Heartstrings stepped up to Luna's side at the window, wondering what she was making a fuss over. Upon seeing the massive crowds running around to and fro outside, she gave a low whistle, always having been amazed by crowds of this magnitude that this day always seemed to bring. "Oooooooh, that's one heck of a Black Friday crowd gathered in Canterlot today!"
Luna stamped a hoof insistently, causing the two Background Ponies to look at her. "You two keep mentioning this 'Black Friday'! I know not what it is, and you two keep mentioning it like I'm supposed to know! Tell me, this very instant, what Black Friday means, and why I should not be worried about the ponies and changelings out there, because it looks like it's the end of the world, with how they rush about!"
Tia, you need to supervise Luna's learning...She's obviously not learning anything. Sighing, Minuette tried to ignore the slight pain in her back due to her failure of being unable to support a falling Heartstrings, and began to explain a little bit more about Black Friday to Luna. "Calm down! It's nothing to worry about, Lulu! Black Friday is the Friday right after Thanksgiving; at around this time, companies are in the 'black', which means that they are making profit, compared to being in the 'red', where they usually reside in for the rest of the year. It is a tradition of sorts to put items up on sale at incredibly low prices on this day, and lots of ponies enjoy shopping on this particular day. That is why it's called Black Friday, and it's also why we have a crowd outside that could easily start a riot, but as long as there are plenty of items for them to buy in the stores, we should be fine."
Well, that has cleared up things for me. As much as it troubles me to see such a large crowd outside, as long as it seems to be a 'tradition', I suppose there's nothing I can do about it. With a sigh, Luna watched the ponies outside scramble around, like bees in a hive. "Very well, then, at least I know I have no cause for alarm just yet, as badly as things seem outside. So, this 'Black' Friday, many things are put up on sale today, as you described?"
Heartstrings nodded, poorly attempting to stifle a yawn before speaking to Luna. "That's right! We get so many things put on sale on Black Friday at such a low price, it's absolutely unbelievable until you see for yourself! You cannot possibly believe what goes on sale during this time of year, even I can't believe it myself!"
Unfortunately, Luna took Heartstrings' words as a challenge. "What? You think I couldn't possibly grasp the idea of things being on sale?! You mock and hurt me, Heartstrings! I shall prove you wrong by facing the crowds myself to get myself breakfast!" After firing off one of her evil glares at Heartstrings, Luna made her way to the door, determined to prove Heartstrings wrong. Minuette quickly got in Luna's way, determined to stop her from leaving the nice, cozy, and safe hotel room they took shelter in, but Luna trampled on her, leaving behind a scared-looking Heartstrings, and a very annoyed and roughed-up Minuette, who looked up at her partner with a glare that rivaled Luna's.
"Luna's gone."
Heartstrings nodded warily, trying her best to look away from her partner's gaze, to no avail. "...Y-Yeah..."
A blue hoof pointed out the window. "Out there. In the crowds."
With much work, Heartstrings pulled free from Minuette's chilling gaze, and looked at the window, before turning her gaze over back to her partner. "...So?"
Heartstrings got slapped promptly by Minuette before dragged outside of the hotel. Due to the nature of the situation they were in, Minuette sent out a message to Sassaflash and Cloud Kicker, confident that Celestia would be safe alone in the castle with just the Royal Guard, though she took the opportunity to insult her partner first. Heartstrings is useless! USELEEEEEEEESS! Luna is now somewhere in this forsaken crowd and we can't find her now!
Grumbling, Heartstrings looked away from Minuette, offended. Meanie.
Sassaflash was the first to actually answer Minuette's question, though she responded with another question that sounded very cautious. Uh, you...Lost Luna in the crowds out there, Minuette?
Uh, no, I didn't, but Heartstrings did, and now we need help to bring her back before she finds out that slurpees are virtually free today!
Well then...I was actually going to ask you for help as well, because, you see...Cloud Kicker here...
Cloud Kicker interrupted Sassaflash, and from the sound of her thoughts, was agitated. Look I SWEAR I didn't know she'd take it that way okay?! How was I supposed to know that would happen, of all things?!
Minuette stopped dead in her tracks, feeling her blood run cold. ...Tia is out in the crowds, isn't she?
There was silence from the two ponies, but Sassaflash managed to muster up the courage to say one word. Yep.
For the first time in countless generations of Black Friday, all who were present in Canterlot were still as they paused to shudder and look at one another with fright as a shrill scream of anguish and despair sounded out, by one Minuette.