Luna locked her door and hopped on her bed. She let out a loud high pitched scream and started to cry. All her hopes and dreams, crushed by this one moment. She thought that the pain of rejection wouldn't be this bad, but was totally wrong. When Shackles told her no at the ball, she had felt her heart rip into a million pieces. Her sister had told her that she would be her wing pony and help her get a date. "That's the last time I trust her ideas!" She thought to herself.
She knew it was wrong to blame her, but she couldn't help it. Luna was perfectly comfortable sitting there and drinking punch. Even though she really wanted to go and ask him out she was afraid. She shook her head to clear it. She wished she could take back that moment but knew it was impossible. A knock came from her door, causing her to break out of her bad memories. She wiped away her tears with her hoof and gave permission to enter. Celestia came through the door.
"I'm so sorry Luna," She said.
"It's fine, I just can't believe he said no."
Celestia walked over and gave her a big hug. Luna hesitated but returned the affection, already feeling better. After a few moments they stopped and looked at each other.
"I must go now," Celestia started, "I have to go and write a letter to Twilight."
She headed out the door, leaving Luna alone. The alicorn used her magic to lift up her favorite novel: New Moon. It was part of the Twilight series. She had been reading it for several days after she finished the first book, hoping it would give her an idea on how to ask out Shackles but it was no use. These ponies were so weird with their vampires and werewolf issues. She opened it up and started reading. She had only read a couple of pages when she got bored.
Luna turned on the TV to see a new episode of Random Events on. She smiled when Derpy cheered over winning muffins.
"Maybe I should do that show," She said out loud.
Another knock came one her door. She sighed.
"Come in!"
Shackles came through the door. Luna wanted to hide but held her ground. He had a sheepish smile on his face, clearly feeling uncomfortable.
"I wanted to um.....apologize." He said
She gulped, "Why would you need to apologize?"
"When you asked me out, I thought you were playing a prank on me, so I said no. When I realized that you were serious, I wanted to change my answer."
"Oh."
"So is that offer on the date still open? I would understand if you said no....."
"That would be splendid!" She said with a smile.
Shackles smiled back. "That's great. So how about I pick you up at eight and we'll double date with Celestia and Thorn?"
She nodded. He left the room with a skip and a jump. Luna waited for him to leave the room, then gave a giant jump.
"Woo hoo!" She yelled happily.
Celestia walked out of the room and headed towards her own. When she got there she took out a quill, ink, and a piece of paper. She started writing a letter but got distracted with Luna's feelings. It felt like she had failed her sister. 'Maybe forcing her to ask him out was a bad idea.' Celestia heard someone clear their throat outside so she opened the door. Thorn entered the room, a small smile on his face. He bowed his head.
"Hello, Princess Celestia."
"Hello, Thorn. What brings you here?"
"I was wondering if you would like to double date with me and Shackles?"
Celestia took a deep breath. "Is Shackles asking out Luna?"
"Yeeeaaahh....."
'Curse me promising to be the wing pony!' She thought to herself.
"Of course I will go out with you."
Thorn gave her a wide smile. She couldn't help but smile back, glad that she made somepony happy tonight.
"Okay, I'll pick you up at eight, cupcake!" He said excitedly.
She nodded and he headed out the door. Celestia waited for a few minutes then exited the room. She found her hooves taking her towards Luna's bedroom. She saw Shackles leaving, then heard a loud cheer from her sister. Celestia knocked on the door and heard an excited 'enter'.
"Ooo, guess what! Shackles asked me out!" Luna said as she entered.
"I know, so did Thorn. I guess we're double dating."
Luna looked like she was gonna explode with happiness. Celestia was glad that her sister was in a good mood after her horrible night.
"I can't wait! Oh my gosh, it's gonna be eight in an hour. You better leave so I can get ready!"
"Okay, see you in an hour."
Celestia exited the room and headed back to hers. She opened her closet and started looking through her things. There were so many dresses to choose from that it made her head hurt. Finally, she decided on a rainbow dress with glass slippers. She chose a black hat covered in sequins to go with it.
"Maybe this won't be so bad." She whispered under her breath.
She wasn't so keen on going out with Thorn. He was really nice and had looks but he was just too perky. Maybe they could make it work but Celestia was afraid he may get on her nerves too often. She silently worked on combing her hair for tonight's date.
Shackles waited outside of Luna's door. It was almost eight and he was so excited.
"Are you almost ready Luna?" He called.
"Yes, just give me a minute."
After a few moments she opened the door. His jaw dropped wide at her beauty. Luna was wearing a dress that seemed to be made of stars. It had matching shoes to go with it. Her crown was black with a red jewel on the top. Shackles shook his head so he could clear it. He didn't wanna do anything to ruin this date and he couldn't think straight with her beauty coming at him in waves. She smiled at him, causing him blush.
"This is gonna be a really good date." He thought to himself.
He took her hoof in his and led her towards the other couple.