//------------------------------// // Let the Meddling Begin! // Story: Luna the Matchmaker // by dlazerous //------------------------------// Luna the Matchmaker Chapter 1 "Let the Meddling Begin!" By Steven Little My Little Pony © Hasbro Life is a risky business and not for the faint of heart. -S. Little A lonely sparrow glided on thermal eddies created by the last few rays of the setting sun, in its endeavor to catch a passing insect that inhabited the rocks of its mountain home. Chasing an elusive midge, the plump bird flew over the crest of its rocky home and found itself flying over the golden spires of Canterlot, the royal city of the Alicorn sisters. With its intended target in plain sight, the small bird chased its prey down into the city below. Dodging towers, lampposts, and the strange four-legged creatures that lived there, the sparrow slowly gained on the unfortunate insect. Finally catching the midge in its beak, the plump bird unknowingly lit upon the windowsill of Canterlot's Royal Library to enjoy its meal. "Hello there little friend" the bird was startled at the sudden acknowledgment. Turning towards the unexpected noise he saw the smiling face of one of the unusual four-legged creatures that inhabited this area of his mountain. It was dark purple in color, had a long horn in the middle of its forehead and possessed a pair of large wings on its back. "Owloysius, is this an acquaintance of yours?" The dark amber owl studied the bird for a moment then shook his head. "I should say not your majesty." He said. "I do not make it a habit to associate with song birds and I do wish you wouldn't use that name Princess." "Why ever not, it's so cute how Twilight named you after one of the foremost practitioners of ancient magic. You should feel honored to be named after Owloysius the Wise." Princess Luna told him as the sparrow flew away. "Indeed your majesty but I feel we should continue before my presence is missed at the Library; night has begun and Twilight will expect me soon." "Twilight or the female of your breed you met at the sanctuary behind Fluttershy's home?" She asked with a knowing smile. "Uhm yes, about that." He said, attempting to explain. "No need to explain, I of all ponies know how strong the pull of attraction can be. I hope you and she are very happy together and I'm pleased that you did not let your romantic interests interfere with your duties." She said. "As always your majesty, I am but your servant." The owl said with a small bow. "Now, Owloysius, I must commend you on the detail of these reports but there is some information missing here that I was hoping to obtain." The Princess said. "Missing information?" The owl asked indignantly. "I spent countless months compiling anything and everything I could find out about these six; what could be missing?" "Well, for starters, there's nothing here about their relationships." She stated. "Don't get me wrong, you have quite a bit here on their personalities and their abilities, even though I find half the report on Pinkie Pie hard to accept, but nothing here about romantic interests of any kind." "You can thank the Pink One for that. Every time I tried to observe any of the targets engaged in any kind of romantic reminiscing, she would appear and blow my cover. The only one I could get any information on is the unicorn known as Rarity but then you already know everything about her and her mate." "Indeed." She acknowledged with a loud drawn out yawn. "Princess, are you alright?" Owloysius asked concerned. "It's not like you to be so tired this early in the night." "You worry too much, cup of tea and I'll be as right as rain." She told him. "Princess, I've been reporting to you once a month for the last four years and never have I seen you so weak. Have you told your sister of this?" "No, and I have no intention of doing so. It's fine Owloysius, I've been trying to reorient my time awake during the day instead of the night." She explained. "Can you do that; doesn't the moon and the night need your constant guidance?" "Between you and me; no, all I really need to do set the moon and the stars on their nightly journey and once I've locked them in their orbit, they no longer require my attention until the dawn. I've been staying up at night to hold court for whatever pony needs guidance during the night hours but they are far and few between and the issues are nothing of any dire importance. I've been meaning to talk to Celestia about discontinuing the practice. Ponies have become too accustomed to our constant presence and the idea of instant conflict resolution should be discouraged in my opinion." "Hmm, I see. As you wish your majesty though, if you don't mind me saying, I think you should come up with a better excuse lest somepony think your changing things so you can spend more time with a certain pony I've been keeping an eye on for you." The owl said before flying out the window of the library. Luna raced to the window after him. "Get back here you overgrown feather duster!" She shouted after him as he flew off towards Ponyville. Luna sat there superficially wounded by the bird's comment. She had tried hard to conceal her ulterior motive for the owl’s mission but it seemed that he had figured it out. 'No, he was just guessing; there's no way he could know the truth.' She thought to herself. Looking out in the direction of Ponyville, she could make out the lights of the homes burning brightly and the glow from the street lamps as they were lit one by one. Pulling out the silver locket she normally kept hidden beneath her breastplate, she opened it revealing the engraved portrait of a pony she longed to be close to. "Soon," she spoke aloud before gathering up the final reports Owloysius brought her and the numerous other materials spread across one of the library's tables. Packing them away in a set of saddle bags she was almost always seen with, she made her way back to her personal chambers unknowingly followed by the eyes of every royal guard she passed; each of them with an expression of worry upon their face. =============================================================== Bright light from another beautiful Canterlot morning came streaming into the bedchamber of the younger of the two rulers of Equestria. No matter which way she slept, the sun always seemed to shine directly into her eyes. "Just once Tia, I wish you'd let me sleep in; just once," the dark purple alicorn said to herself. The alicorn Princess stretched her wings and legs fondly remembering the dream she had just woke from. 'Why do I do this to myself? The same dream every night.' She cursed herself. Luna dragging her weary bones out of bed and walked to her dressing table. More and more she had been feeling weak but she believed it was due to her constant studying and the late night reports she obtained from her faithful servant working undercover in Ponyville. She always seemed to feel weakest when she raised the moon and in the mornings after lowering the lunar body for the day but after a while it went away on its own. Luna dressed in her royal finery consisting of her black crown and chest piece along with her blue silver shoes. She never much cared for the trappings of royalty but wore them anyway as a matter of the public's perception. Before leaving the room she made sure to hide the precious silver locket she wore around her neck. The Princess walked down from her chambers, passing the various ponies that worked at the palace. This new castle that was built during her exile always felt cold and sterile to the younger Princess. 'I miss the old castle.' She thought to herself. 'The old castle was smaller and felt more like a home than this overly large building. Celestia, why did you have to make it so big?' As she walked through the palace she noticed that many of the pony officials and members of court bowed and nodded politely but Luna knew it was not because they liked her or particularly cared for her but because she was a Princess. As cold as the palace was to her, she felt that the looks and mock reverence the other ponies held for her was far more chilling. The Princess tried to put those constant negative thoughts aside as she made her way through the corridors and halls to the kitchen. "Good morning Princess Luna. You didn't have to come to the kitchen we would have brought out whatever you liked." "Thank you Chef Scoltsburg." She said, trying to smile for one of the few ponies in the palace that actually seemed happy to see her. "Please, I've asked you many a time to simply call me Max. I'm just your cook; I'm nothing special like you and your sister, Princess." "Oh stop that, you're going to make me blush." Luna said, teasing the earth pony stallion. "I only came down for a couple of apples; I have much work to do and little time to perform it." "But Princess Celestia is awaiting you in the main dining room." He said. "We've tried to serve her but she insists on waiting for you." "Please inform my sister that I will not be joining her this morning. I'm sorry, uhm, Max but like I said before, I have much to do. Don't worry about Tia, she doesn't bite." Luna told him as she left to return to her room. Princess Luna spent most of the day in her private chamber, sequestered from the other ponies in the palace as had become her habit of late. Scattered around her on the floor were maps of Ponyville, Cloudsdale, and the surrounding area. On her right was a select collection of letters written to her sister by Twilight Sparkle on her adventures discovering the power of friendship. Luna loved reading Twilight's letters. Each correspondence was filled with adventure and suspense and at the end of each one, Twilight would reveal some lesson she learned or a valuable secret of friendship she had revealed. Luna had always thought it a guilty pleasure but her favorite letter out of all of them was the report about her visit to Ponyville on Nightmare Night four years ago. It didn't go as well as planned but in the end everything worked out for the best. Amongst the stack of letters was a select few written after Spike returned to Ponyville after his short but unfortunate time as a Werepony. At the end of each of these letters was a short postscript that was never in the previous correspondences. 'P.S. Say hello to Princess Luna for me. P.S. How is Princess Luna doing these days? P.S. I recall when you visited and informed us of Princess Luna's suggestion to help Spike with his financial situation; you said that your sister was working on a special project. Can you tell me what that project might be, I'd love to help out if I could.' She read to herself. It was that last postscript that made her want to write to the lavender unicorn but she though better about it. Luna told herself that if Twilight wanted to correspond with her, she most likely would have written a letter to her directly. Princess Celestia silently crept into Luna's room. "I missed you at breakfast today sister. Indeed I've missed your company most of the day. What have you been doing up here all by yourself?" Luna squeaked with fright and rapidly gathered up the documents she had laid out. The purple alicorn quickly stuffed the documents into her pack. "I'm sorry Tia I did not intend to abandon you today. I've been doing research, the last few months have revealed to me that I have much to learn about our subjects; six in particular." She said. Celestia noticed how her sister quickly hid the silver locket that was hanging freely around her neck. "Luna, did that locket of yours finally open?" The Princess of the sun asked her little sister. "Is that why you've been hiding yourself away, trying to figure out what to say to that special stallion?" "It opened about a little over a year ago actually." She said blushing. Before Luna could stop her, Celestia levitated the locket over and opened it. The image she found inside caused her mouth to hang open. "Why Luna, I'm sorry for my earlier comment, I never knew you were like that." "Like what, a fillyfooler?" She asked, hanging her head. "You know how much I dislike that term. There is no shame in liking mares; I was simply a bit shocked at which mare it was." Princess Celestia explained. "You say that like you didn't know." Luna said in a huff. "You gave me that locket, I assume you were the one who put that image in there." "You are incorrect in your assumption my dear little sister. I may have given you that locket, but it was mother who made it." She informed her. "Then, the image, what you said when you gave me the locket. Does that mean…" "Yes my dear sister. That mare is your true love." Celestia said, smiling. "Do you think I have any chance?" Luna asked hopefully. "I don't know sister. The only way you'll find out is to follow your heart and do what you believe to be right." Celestia hugged her sister tightly. "I have no idea what you've been planning for all this time but with how little I've seen you and how much you've worked; I have no doubt that you will be successful in your mission." Slowly walking to the balcony, she called back to her sister. "Tia, I'm going to be gone for a week or so in Ponyville. Could you possible take care of the moon while I'm away?" "Of course sister. Have a good journey, wherever it may lead you." Luna bounced up and down twice then flew out of the palace, waving goodbye to her sister. =============================================================== With all her responsibilities as a Princess, Luna rarely had the opportunity to really stretch her wings and fly like many pegasi did. Reveling in the freedom she felt in the air, she tucked her wings in tightly and went into a controlled dive. As the ground rushed up to meet her, she extended her wings and pulled up doing a series of loops and rolls. Luna hadn't had that much fun in such a long time and the clear summer day was perfect for flying. After spending some time to simply enjoy the feeling of the wind blowing through the delicate dark purple feathers of her wings, the Princess reoriented herself toward Ponyville when she recalled the whole purpose of her mission. The ponies embodying the Elements of Harmony had freed her from her prison of hate and nightmares. She wanted so badly to repay them and after the incident with Spike and Rarity, she finally knew of a way. The trees and fields unfolded below Luna. She knew she was getting closer when she could just scarcely see the top of town hall. 'Okay.' She said to herself. 'If I read Twilight's letter correctly, all I have to do is fly over the town and head for the north east corner of Sweet Apple Acres.' Not wanting to be seen, Luna flew north of town and west toward the large Apple farm. Flying quickly over a small cottage near the Everfree Forest, she dove swiftly into the dense apple orchard. Luna pulled a map from out of her pack and consulted it. "Let's see now." She said aloud. "It should be around here somewhere." The Princess lowered the map and in the distance she could see the pink tree house she was looking for. For something built by fillies, the Princess was impressed. The clubhouse was two-stories tall, taking up a great deal of the apple tree it was built in. The lower floor was obviously where the girls spent most of their time but an open air staircase went up the tree to another floor containing what looked like a telescope though Luna didn't think they used it to look at her night sky. "I only hope they're in there." The Princess cautiously walked over to the clubhouse and peaked through the window. Inside she found the three young fillies she was looking for. From Twilight's letters she could tell who each was. The filly with a red mane and tail, and a yellow coat was Applebloom, the group's leader. Luna could immediately recognize her from the red ribbon she wore. The little white unicorn with a lavender and pink mane was Sweetie Belle, Rarity's younger sister. The last of the three, an orange pegasus with a fuchsia mane, was Scootaloo. Princess Luna did not know much about her and she was never spoken of at length in any of Twilight's letters. Her own informant had little information on the young flyer but she knew that the three of them couldn't be more than eleven or twelve years old. The dark purple alicorn knocked her hoof against the side of the clubhouse to get the fillies attention. Scootaloo turned around, her jaw dropped at whom she saw outside. The three fillies zipped out to the tree house and came to a screeching halt in front of the Princess. "Princess Luna!" They shouted in unison. "Hello little ponies. How are you all today?" She asked them smiling. "Great!" Scootaloo answered. "Well," Apple Bloom said. "It would be better if we had our cutie marks." "But other than that, I guess we're fine." Sweetie Belle finished. "What brings you to Ponyville Princess?" Luna looked around to make sure nopony was within hearing range. Lowering her head to the little ponies she spoke softly. "Let's go inside. You never know where Pinkie Pie may be hiding." They all walked into the tree house with Luna bringing up the rear. The Princess closed the door slowly until she heard the latch click. Standing as regally as she could, she addressed the fillies in front of her. "I need the help of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. My royal guards could not accompany me on my mission and so I need some brave resourceful ponies to attend me during my stay in Ponyville. Can I count on you three? Are you up to the task?" The faces of the three fillies lit up like the sun. "We're up for anythin' you need Princess." Apple Bloom announced. "What can we do for you?" Scootaloo asked. Luna lied on the ground, bringing her eye level down to theirs. "Do you three remember a year ago when Spike and Rarity came back from Canterlot?" Sweetie Belle bounced up and down. "I remember that. Rarity was sad for a while and told me she missed Spike a lot. I asked her why and she told me about what happened." She said. "I wish I could have seen what Spike looked like as a pony." Apple Bloom said. "Rarity has a picture back at home you can see." Sweetie Belle looked back to the Princess. "We stayed with Twilight for a while because Rarity's dress shop was being worked on. That's when Spike moved in with us. And then my sister had a foal. That was two months ago. You haven't seen him yet have you?" "No, I haven't seen the new foal yet but I'm eager to do so. I was planning on paying Rarity and Spike a little visit later on." Luna addressed all three of them. "You may not know this but I had a small hoof in bringing Spike and Rarity together. It gave me such a good feeling that I wanted to do something like that for the others." "Awwwwwwww." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom said together. "Not more mushy stuff." Scootaloo complained. "This has nothing to do with being mushy Scootaloo. Love is a very powerful and natural force. It is possibly the most powerful thing ever, even more powerful than me or my sister." "Really?" The orange pegasus asked amazed. "Indeed my little flyer. Now, to accomplish my mission what I need from you three is your help gathering information." "What kind of information?" Apple Bloom asked. "I need to know everything about Twilight and her friends. I need to know if any of them already have a special somepony. Is there anypony they like, does anypony like them?" "Oh we know that already Princess." Apple Bloom told her. Luna was a little lost for words. "You do? It took me nearly a year just to get what little information I have. Even the agent I have here in town hasn't been able to get me much information past a detailed breakdown of each of the mares. I know about some of their strengths, weaknesses, behavior but nothing on relationships." "Agent?" Sweetie Belle asked confused. "My apologies, you know him as Owloysius. He's been living at the library as Twilight's pet for some time now. He's grown so accustomed to Ponyville that I told he could stay if he wished." Princess Luna informed them. "Now, I must know how you three have been able to obtain this information?" "Well, it's not that hard." Scootaloo said. "Most ponies don't notice us because we're too small. They tend to ignore us and so we hear and see all sorts of things." "Please, enlighten me of your observations. What have you heard, I'm interested to hear any information you have." Luna said. "Apple Bloom, do you know much about your sister's interests?" "Yeah, my sister Applejack is completely nuts about our orchard's hired hoof Caramel." "And does this Caramel return those feelings?" The Princess asked. "I think so. Caramel doesn't say much but I've seen him starin' at her from time to time, I think that means he likes her." She said. "I've heard my sister cursin' up a storm in her room. From what I heard, every time Applejack tries to get up the nerve to ask him out Pinkie Pie keeps interruptin'." Apple Bloom explained. "You don't say?" Luna inquired. "You don't think Pinkie is intentionally trying to get in between Applejack and Caramel do you?" "Oh no Princess, Pinkie has a crush on Apple Bloom's cousin Braeburn in Appleoosa. She's always going on about how nice he was and how she'd like to hang out with him more." Sweetie Belle clarified. "She's always bugging Applejack about when she may be going for another visit. She came to Rarity's shop the other day wanting to know if she could make a hat that looked exactly like his but a darker brown I think. She wouldn't say why but I think it's a present for him." Luna thought for a moment. "That would make sense. I recall one of Twilight's letters talking about how Braeburn always seemed to find a way to spend a little extra time with Pinkie Pie. But, I don't understand, if Caramel likes Applejack then why doesn't he ask her out on a date? I thought it was supposed to be the stallion that asks first anyway." "I think poor Caramel is scared of my sister. She can be kinda' scary when she gets frustrated." Apple Bloom said. "I see, and what about Fluttershy? I know she's a terrible shy mare but do any of you know of anypony she fancies?" "I'm not sure but I've seen her blush and try to hide every time my big brother Macintosh looks at her or tries to say hello." Apple Bloom offered. "She does that a lot but I've seen her comin' around the farm more often. She doesn't talk to a lot of ponies so it's hard to tell. Big Macintosh doesn't talk a whole lot either." "That's something I'm going to have to look into. Scootaloo; I know you're particularly close to Rainbow Dash. Is there any help you can give me?" Luna smiled at the filly's exuberance. "You bet I can!" She proclaimed. "Dash is a lot like Caramel and AJ. She likes Soarin, he's a member of the Wonderbolts. Rainbow took me to a show last year and I got to meet him. He's so cool but not as cool as Rainbow Dash. When they were talking, Soarin seemed nervous like he didn't know what to say. He was blushing really hard, Rainbow too." "Thank you girls, you've been most helpful." Princess Luna seemed hesitant with her next question. "By any chance, would you girls happen to know about Twilight Sparkle? Is there somepony she likes? Do you know of any pony that likes her?" Luna had asked the question rather half-heartedly. She didn't wish anything but happiness for the lavender mare but secretly Luna hoped that Twilight had feelings for somepony in particular. The three fillies looked at each other and shook their heads. "Sorry Princess Luna." Apple Bloom apologized. "We haven't heard anythin' about Twilight. We don't really spend all that much time in the library." "I think it's because she's so busy trying to help out other ponies. She's always stopping some disaster or something. She doesn't seem to have time for herself." Scootaloo added in. "I bet Spike would know, he lived with Twilight for nineteen years. If anypony would know, it would be Spike. You said you wanted to see the new foal, you can ask him about it when you visit." Sweetie Belle said. The young unicorn looked out the window and noticed the sun going down. "You know, it's getting really late. We should be going home anyway. You wanna' come over now Princess?" "I suppose I should. I'm long overdue looking in on those two." The Princess and the three ponies exited the clubhouse. "Would you three like to watch me raise the moon before you go home? I asked my sister to look after it while I was gone but I suppose I could do it tonight." "Yeah, that would be awesome!" Scootaloo answered for all three. Luna walked out of the orchard onto the country road that ran between the farm and Fluttershy's house so she could see the horizon. Closing her eyes she concentrated on her task, her horn glowing brightly. Luna reached out with her magic until she could feel her mind take hold of the celestial body, anchoring her magic to the moon. 'Hello old friend.' She thought to herself. Guiding the moon along its unseen path, she helped it rise above the horizon to begin its nightly journey. "There we go. It should be fine traveling by itself till morning. What did you girls think?" The Princess asked them. "That was amazing!" They shouted in unison. "Thank you. Sweetie Bell, shall we?" Sweetie Belle and the Princess headed for town. While Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walked back toward the Farmhouse. Without intending to, Luna overheard a quick conversation between the other two fillies. "You want to stay over again?" "Sure Apple Bloom, I'd love to." Scootaloo said. "Do you need to go home and ask your parents if it's okay?" She asked. "No, uhm, my parents let me do pretty much what I want, I don't have to ask them." Luna found something about the conversation slightly disturbing but it was something that would have to wait for another day. =============================================================== Sweetie Belle led Luna back to the Carousel Boutique. While Sweetie Belle walked out in the open, Luna did her best to hide in the shadows until they reached the door of the Boutique. The shop was much different than it was last time Luna saw it during that one Nightmare Night four years ago. One of the most obvious differences was the size of the building. Since her last visit to Ponyville, the boutique had at least doubled in size. Luna and Sweetie Belle quickly stepping inside then closed the door behind them. "Do you think anyone saw us?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I hope not. I don't want too many ponies to know I'm in town just yet." Luna smiled and winked at the little filly. "What happened to your sister's store? I remember it smaller than this. Is this what you meant when you said her store was being worked on?" "Yup, when Mom and Dad moved to Trottingham so Dad could manage their soccer team, Rarity insisted that I stay here with her. It worked out for a while, and then she and Spike had the store rebuilt bigger to make room for the baby and to expand the store. The upstairs is home now while the store is down here." She explained while they climbed the stairs to the apartment above the shop. "Sweetie Belle, is that you?" The question came from a familiar voice in the kitchen as Luna and her escort entered the home. The upstairs apartment was nearly the same size as the shop below. The home was open and circular in shape. The kitchen, washroom, bathroom, and laundry room were off to the left of the front door while three bedrooms made up the left. Sandwiched in between was a large family room furnished with sofas, a radio, and an oval coffee table in the center. "Yeah, It's me Spike. I brought a guest with me that I think you should meet." The little purple dragon walked into the front room. "Princess Luna!" Spike ran and hugged Luna around the leg. "How are you? What brings you to Ponyville?" Luna looked around the room. "We can talk about that later. Where are Rarity and your little one?" Spike pointed to the back left corner of the apartment. "She's in the bedroom feeding Garnet. Sweetie Belle, if you look after dinner for a moment I'll take the Princess back to see Rarity." "No problem Spike." Sweetie Belle rushed off to the kitchen. As Spike led Luna down the hall, the young unicorn could be heard in the kitchen. "Oh, my favorite!" "You certainly are good to her Spike." Luna said. Spike smiled. "Even though she's Rarity's sister, I kind of feel like a dad to her also. I don't know, I guess becoming a father does something to a guy." Spike knocked on the door and slowly poked his head in. "Dear, Princess Luna is here to see you." "Oh my goodness, why are you making her wait in the hall?! Let her in." Spike opened the door allowing the Princess to enter. "Hello Rarity. I'm sorry I could not be here for the delivery; I was unavoidably detained. How are you holding up these days?" The Princess asked as she walked over to the bed where Rarity lie. The nursing unicorn let out a contented sigh. "I'm doing just fine your majesty. I must admit though there are times I believe little Garnet here has inherited his father's appetite." Spike crawled up on the bed next to Rarity. Luna looked down on the unicorn foal as he feed from his mother. His mane was the same royal purple as his mother while his coat looked close to the light violet color of his father's scales. "Has he opened his eyes yet?" She asked. "Yes, he opened them a few days after he was born. Like his appetite, he has his father's emerald eyes too." While they were talking, Garnet had released the hold he had on his mother's teat. Spike scooped up his son. Placing him over one shoulder he patted his back, burping the little foal. The baby unicorn gave out a loud belch. Spike chuckled. "That's something else he got from me I guess." "May I?" Luna asked. Spike placed Garnet in Luna's forelegs. The Princess was very careful to support his head while she held him. "He's so tiny." Luna looked at both the happy parents. "I do have to ask, is everything okay with little Garnet. The doctor didn't say anything about abnormalities or development issues?" "No, but the doctor said the delivery was a bit odd because it happened so fast. He was quite impressed with Fluttershy. With how expertly she had performed, he couldn't believe she had never delivered a foal before. He did say that Garnet was a bit underweight but despite that, he's a perfectly healthy foal." Rarity reassured her. "Out of curiosity, why do you ask?" "I just wanted to make sure. You did conceive him while Spike was a werepony. I just wanted to be certain there were no problems. I can see you two have things well in hoof. To be honest I was a little worried about how you would handle a baby now that Spike was a dragon again." Spike put the sleepy foal to bed in the nearby crib. Rarity hugged Spike. "It's been an adjustment but I think we'll be okay." "Sweetie Belle said you had come here for a very special reason. I assume that means other than seeing our son?" Spike asked. Luna sat next to the bed. "Yes, there's something I want to do in Ponyville but I need information from you Spike." Luna filled them in with her plan and everything she learned from the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Well, that is quite the ambitious plan your majesty and it's all so romantic. For my part I can tell you that everything the girls told you is correct. I don't know how they came about the information but I can't fault it." Rarity confirmed. "I must admit I've tried something similar in the past but I suppose my encouragement may not carry as much weight as that from royalty." "There's only one last bit of information I need. As you know I have some information on the others but my data on Twilight Sparkle is quite lacking. Spike, is there anything you can tell me about her. You lived with her for at least nineteen years; surly you must know if she's seeing anypony? Is there somepony who's caught her eye?" "I'm sorry Princess Luna but Twilight's never really talked to me about anything like that." Spike Informed her. "However, from time to time I've caught her looking at a silver locket that she keeps hidden in her mane. She doesn't go anywhere without it." 'A silver locket,' Luna thought to herself. She reached back into her mane a pulled out her own. "Did it look something like this?" "Yeah, except it didn't have stars on it, it had a full moon obscured by two clouds." Spike informed her. "Twilight let me see it once; it was a gift from Princess Celestia when Twilight first came here. That was before well, you know." "I see. Well, I must be going. I've kept you long enough I don't want to keep you any longer tonight." Luna turned and walked toward the door. "Thank you for your help Spike." Rarity and Spike looked at each other. "Princess Luna, if you don't have a place to stay while you're in town, you can always use our spare room." Rarity offered. "Thank you, your offer is most gracious." Luna accepted cordially. "I'm actually quite tired and if it's okay, I think I'll just turn in now." Spike led her to the guest room and quietly shut the door behind him. Luna lie on the bed trying to sleep but lost in her own thoughts. 'Celestia gave me this locket when I returned from exile, when I was freed from Nightmare Moon. Tia said when I discovered my true love; the locket would open and reveal to me the truth. Is Twilight's the same? If it is, did Celestia make it or did mother somehow know about Twilight all the years ago?' Princess Luna opened her locket and set it open on the nightstand beside her so she could easily see it. Slowly, she fell asleep looking at the picture of Twilight Sparkle held inside.