Celestia warily eyed the clock. Day Court would be beginning soon, and even if Midnight Oil had had no issues during Night Court, having him successfully oversee both would be nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps she should have appointed a second acting regent for the daytime. It was unreasonable to ask any normal pony to take on both in one day. Granted, she’d had no intention of being gone this long, but that did not excuse lack of planning.
The reasons for her being so scatterbrained sat across from her at the research table. Twilight was studying what little was known about magic transferal (or at least, that which was publicly available for research) and Pinkie Pie appeared to be coloring in the drawing of a balloon-shaped Rarity being held by a smiling Fluttershy.
Between the two, she wasn’t sure which of them was accomplishing more.
“Twi-twi, do you have any more white crayons?” Pinkie asked.
“I told you those were left behind by a foal who likes to color, Pinkie. I don’t have extras.” Twilight said over her book. “What are you coloring, anyway?”
“It’s Rarity!” Pinkie exclaimed happily.
“Rarity’s more of a grayish white...” Twilight said distractedly as she turned the page.
“Well, do you have any of those?” Pinkie asked as she pawed through the crayon box, apparently seeing every color but what she wanted.
“Just... give me a moment.” Twilight said, picking up a crayon at random and altering the pigment to the desired color.
“Wow! That’s neat!” Pinkie squealed, excitedly continuing her drawing with the new crayon. However, it wasn’t long before she poked Twilight in the side with it, trying to get her attention.
“What now?” Twilight asked grumpily.
“I need purple.”
“How did you run out of purple?” Twilight demanded, pulling her head out of the book for just a moment. “You have every color in the spectrum right at your hooves!”
“Well... I had plenty, but then you changed the color.” Pinkie grabbed the crayon in her teeth, displaying her brand-new grayish white crayon, which was clearly marked as being purple on the side.
Grumbling all the while, Twilight eyed the crayon box critically for a moment. “Is there some other color you don’t need?”
“Um... I guess I can do without yellow, for now?” Pinkie said, looking at her drawing.
“Fine!” Twilight replied, flaring up her horn and aiming at the yellow crayon. Satisfied that Pinkie was happy for the moment, she dove back into her book with a vengeance.
A few moments later, the crayon was poking at her ribs once more. “What?”
“I need yellow.”
“Gah!”
Celestia shook her head, though a small smile adorned her lips. It was good to see that not everypony was experiencing a crisis.
She glanced down at the small pile of books in front of her, knowing the answers were not to be found there. There simply was no precedent for what had happened to Rarity. She idly considered whether to ask Twilight to write a textbook on the subject, but was uncertain how useful it would be. The likelihood of Luna making a mistake of this nature a second time was fairly low, and a unicorn wouldn’t have the sheer power necessary to mangle the healing spell so completely.
Perhaps for the private archives, she thought wryly. I can break it out every hundred years or so to remind Lulu about irresponsible magic use.
She wondered how Luna was faring with Fluttershy and Rarity. Surely they were capable of making sure that nothing happened to her, but she couldn’t help but worry about her little sister. She would have liked to have had Luna close at hoof, just for her own peace of mind.
She also wondered about what was going on with those three. Her sister had mentioned in passing that she’d taken a keen interest in possibly courting a couple for a much longer term relationship than she now enjoyed, mentioning those two in particular, in fact. She had then come to Ponyville with both of them in tow, having thoroughly destroyed a healing spell for the purpose of attending a party with both of them.
If Luna had made good on her intent, that was fine, but it seemed very impetuous to Celestia. Then again, Luna had always been the one to leap into action, while she herself liked to plan for every eventuality. While her own methods tended to be more sound for battle, and governing, love was... different. You could not plan for it.
Her eyes flicked to Twilight.
Even trying might drive one to madness.
She poured herself another cup of coffee, idly considering having another statue commissioned for the pony who had first brewed the drink from the bitter beans. She then added sugar, smiling as she recalled when she’d discovered these simple crystals that made nearly everything in the world better.
While the history books would forever credit the earth pony she’d gifted the secret to, sugar had been her own find. She’d discovered it when she’d first smelled the sweet aroma coming from a field that had been set on fire by a lightning strike. Prior to that, only the limited supply of honey had been available for baking. There had been much celebration from all that day, excepting only the beekeepers, who had been horribly upset.
But ruminations were getting her nowhere, besides getting her an excellent cup of coffee.
Celestia’s ears perked up when she heard a peculiar sound; a book being closed and put down. She set her own down, wondering if everything were all right, but Pinkie seemed to still be happily coloring, having gotten the colors she’d needed. So if there was a problem, it was not because of Pinkie.
Twilight rubbed her temples, stretching her neck and back muscles after a long period of being hunched over. “I think I have the solution,” she said, treating Celestia to a tired smile. “If we inject a high dosage magical burst into the spell matrix, we can destabilize it long enough to destroy it.”
Celestia took that in with mild surprise, realizing she should have compared notes with Twilight to save her the trouble. “I thought of that too, my faithful student, but what about Rarity? Any mistakes could send her into cardiac arrest, assuming we don’t vaporize her. And the sheer amount of energy going into her is going to have to go somewhere.”
Twilight stared at her mentor, but said nothing for a time, her gaze thoughtful. “Pinkie?” she asked at length, “Could you find me Medicinal Magic volumes one and three?”
“Oki Doki Loki!” Pinkie jumped up from her seat and ran off, and was back before Celestia could blink twice. “Anything else, Twilight?”
“Pony Physiology volume three hundred and four, Body Builder Back Breaking volume two, and the big tome on spell matrices on top of the bookshelf in my room.”
The second trip took Pinkie significantly longer, mostly due to her lugging the enormous tome that was bigger than herself down the stairs. Twilight grabbed the first tome as soon as Pinkie came within hoof’s reach and began flipping through it. She came to a halt three chapters into the book, closed it, and looked at the title.
“Explosions and You: Keeping all four hooves attached...?”
“Yuppers!” Pinkie exclaimed happily. The table let out a prolonged groan when she hefted the colossus of a book onto it, and once again when she leaned over to catch Twilight in a mostly unwanted hug. “I thought to myself: ‘Pinkie, what is the one thing Twilight forgot about the spell.’ And then I thought, ‘Nothing, because Twilight is a smartie pants and she wouldn’t forget anything.’ but then I interrupted myself and thought—”
Twilight silenced her with a brief kiss and smiled. “Thank you, Pinkie, it was just what I needed.”
“It was?” Pinkie asked incredulously.
Celestia’s echoed “It was?” trailed by half a second and both of the smaller ponies looked at her, making her fight against a wave of warmth that spread across her face. She cleared her throat and composed herself before asking, “And what is this going to accomplish, Twilight?”
“Sorry,” Twilight said with a sheepish grin. “Could you look up leylines in Pony Physiology, Princess?”
“Of course, but it would help if I knew why.” Celestia prompted gently.
“Why?” Twilight asked in surprise. “Oh, sorry, I guess I thought I was saying what was rattling around in my head. We’re going to recreate the process from the ground up.”
“And then it ran away with its stinger between its legs!” Sweetie piped out excitedly as they trotted along the path to Ponyville. “I was sooo scared but as soon as I saw it go after Scootaloo it was like... I dunno. I couldn’t let anything bad happen to her, and I just picked things up and threw them!”
“Well, that sounded horribly dangerous, but I’m glad you came through all right.” Rarity replied, forcing a cheery grin. Inwardly, she was seething just a bit. Assuming this was not some elaborate flight of fancy, her own little sister had proven more combat effective than she had. She mollified herself somewhat when she recalled that she had easily subdued a manticore herself, but then, magic was rather easy when you had the strength of an alicorn to back you up. “However, I think mother and father would not like you going off unsupervised. Even assuming you don’t encounter any more manticores, that was very unwise.”
Sweetie blinked, looking at Rarity in a new light. “You’re... not going to tell on me, are you?”
Rarity shook her head. “Of course not. I’m your sister, that’s not my job. Besides, I got up to more than one little escapade myself when I was younger,” she chuckled, recalling one occasion in particular that would have had her poor mother in a fit, had she known. But a filly needs her dreams, and she’d been dying to see Canterlot, so she’d stowed away in the baggage compartment of a train. She’d seen him that day, he’d been just a shy little colt all dressed up and proper, and she had swooned...
Ugh. Too bad he grew up to be such a jackass.
She smiled ruefully. At least her sister had been accomplishing something useful with her adventure. “It’s clear you came out no worse the wear for it, but I’d rather you not risk that again, please.”
“Oh!” Sweetie said in relief. “That’s fine. We already promised Applejack, so I don’t think it would hurt to promise to you, too. But it was important! Scootaloo really really wanted to help Rainbow Dash!”
“So you’ve said, and I can certainly understand the sentiment.” Rarity replied judiciously. “Still, much as I can appreciate her worry, little fillies shouldn’t have to risk themselves like that.”
“Sorry...” Sweetie said, her ears splaying back on her head.
Rarity stopped in her tracks, enveloping her sister in a long hug. “Nothing to be sorry about, just have a care for your poor sister. I don’t fancy being an only child again. I’d get lonely. And mother and father aren’t likely to want any more after the two of us.”
That earned a chuckle from the filly. “I’ll be more careful.”
Pecking her sister on the top of the forehead, Rarity squeezed Sweetie a little tighter. “That’s all I ask, Sweetie.”
They sat like that for a time, until Sweetie squirmed out of Rarity’s embrace. They stood, smiling at one another, and began walking once more.
As they passed Sugarcube Corner, Rarity remembered that she had wanted to buy croissants earlier that morning, and went in to rectify that oversight. She emerged moments later with several dozen of the piping hot pastries, swinging the bags around in her teeth, looking very pleased with herself.
Sweetie just stared at Rarity in utter confusion. “Why are you carrying them in your mouth?”
“Hmmf?” Rarity replied. She looked down at the bags, setting them carefully on the ground. “Well, temporarily I’m not to use magic. It’s a bit of a story, but that’s the short of it.”
“What happened?” Sweetie Belle pressed, looking up curiously. “Did you hurt your horn?”
“Well...” Rarity paused, wondering how much she should go explain, then decided there was little harm in explaining most of it. She sat down on her haunches, her sister taking the opportunity to sit down next to her and lean against her. “I... I was very foolish... You see, while at Canterlot I wanted to meet Fluttershy’s parents, and it didn’t go terribly well...”
Her little sister seemed rather surprised to learn what Rarity had put herself through, but then, Rarity herself could scarcely believe it herself, now. She was very careful to leave out or soften Silver’s language, saying only that he had been a bit harsh, and unconvinced that Fluttershy had chosen the right mate. She was still angry at Silver for his attitude towards unicorns, but so long as he kept his opinions to himself in the future she saw little need to expose her sister to such nonsense. Thankfully she was able to talk about Posey easily enough, and didn’t have to color the truth whatsoever when she told Sweetie how much she’d admired and grown to like Fluttershy’s mother.
She finished with the final visit from Fluttershy’s parents, having had a lot of fun retelling the tale of her slog through the obstacle course, her fight with Charmer, and Fluttershy’s subsequent match against Posey in her place.
Sweetie’s eyes boggled. “Wow. So... you can’t use magic because of the crack in your horn?”
“Well, no.” Rarity admitted. “We went to the doctor, and they cast a healing spell on me, but then Princess Luna came by later on and... she did something that... gave me a lot more magic. It was supposed to help me heal just a little faster, only it all went wrong. The healing spell is... overcharged? It’s hard to explain. Twilight and Princess Celestia are working on a way to fix it all. Basically, if I use magic things will get worse.”
“Oh. So... you’ll be okay?” Sweetie asked, looking no less bewildered.
“It’ll all be fine, Sweetie. Don’t trouble yourself over it. So,” Rarity said, quickly trying to change the subject before she had to get into the whole possibly-dying thing. She had every faith in Luna, and in Twilight and Celestia, to fix things before they got that drastic. Besides, thinking about it too much only made her feel helpless, so she chose not to dwell overlong on it. “How are things with your two paramours?”
“Paramours...” Sweetie repeated, eyes widening as she recalled what that word meant. “I-it’s not like that!” she insisted, blushing furiously. “We’re just... friends, but you know... It got... weird.”
A wide smile grew on Rarity’s face, and she reached up to tussle Sweetie’s mane fondly. “Well, I’ll say they’re going fairly well, then! Just have a care that you don’t rush things, and don’t let it affect your friendship with them.”
“Don’t rush? What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked, perplexed.
“I just mean don’t...” Rarity stopped herself before she put her hoof in her mouth. Telling Sweetie Belle she was not old enough for something would practically guarantee she would try it, hoping for a cutie mark. And Celestia forbid her sister actually get one for doing something untoward with her friends! But she made note to tell mother to give Sweetie the talk sooner rather than later. “It’s not important. I just mean enjoy yourselves, and don’t put too much pressure on each other.”
Sweetie Belle eyed her sister suspiciously, clearly wondering if she was being treated like a foal. At Rarity’s guilty-looking smile, she huffed, but let it go for now. “Sure.” Another day, she might have pursued it, but she had other concerns on her mind. “So... it’s not weird that there’s two of them? It doesn’t have to be just one special somepony?”
That gave Rarity pause, as it was something on her own mind quite a bit recently. “It’s... unusual,” she allowed. “But there is nothing wrong with it. You may earn a few curious looks in public, should you be overly blatant in your affections to each other, but you should know by now that public displays of affection will earn you that.”
Sweetie Belle breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I... I just don’t know what I’d do if I had to pick just one of them!” She sniffed loudly, snuggling closer to her sister’s chest.
“When did you three...” Rarity hesitated. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry, but I’m assuming this development was fairly recent. Or you’ve been extremely adept at hiding it.”
Sweetie nodded. “We... a few days back, we had a sleepover, and... we were playing some games, and during truth or dare, Scootaloo dared me and Apple Bloom to kiss. Then she freaked out when we actually did.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Rarity pressed a hoof to her chest in shock. “Whatever did you do?”
“Well, she ran away, and me and Bloom chased her down,” Sweetie replied, lowering her voice to a whisper. “She was crying, and saying we were gonna forget all about her, because we had each other, and... we didn’t want that. So we kissed her, too.”
“I take it that went over well.” Rarity replied, whispering also. She marveled that, in addition to reacting quickly in defense of her friends, her sister also seemed to react better to finding out her best friends had feelings for her than she herself had. Perhaps feelings were simply more pure and uncomplicated at her age. Was it odd that she envied her little sister just a little?
“Yeah, but... it’s weird. Like... they keep making me mad, and sometimes I think I might just stop kissing them because they did something stupid. Then they do something nice and I get frustrated because I want to be mad but—”
Rarity put a hoof up to her sister’s lips. “I know that feeling well, trust me.”
Though I know it from the opposite side. I think I owe my darling a few kisses to make up for my boneheadedness of late.
“But try not to withhold affection for something petty. Just tell them they did something that upset you, instead.”
And for goodness sake try not to hold it in till you explode over something silly.
Sweetie shook her head. “I never actually do it. But sometimes it feels good to think it.” She sighed wistfully. “ I think... I think maybe that word you used might be right.”
“Then I am very happy for you, little sister.” Rarity said. “Now, perhaps we should start heading back before these get cold?” She stood, making ready to grab her bags once more, only to see Sweetie Belle had already picked one up in her teeth, having tucked the other in a saddlebag. “Thank you, Sweetie! Well, let’s go have some lunch, eh?”
Luna regarded the yard full of animals with distaste. The various creatures were keeping a safe distance, thankfully, but she still felt displeasure at their presence. Distantly, she recognized that her mood was affecting her perception, but she could not help how she felt even knowing the cause. She wanted to frighten these creatures, and her aura reflected that.
She walked amongst them, taking some pleasure in the way they parted before her. It seemed she could still intimidate others after all. Perhaps that would make her feel better, going back to Canterlot and telling off pompous idiots for the day. Then iced cream. Many gallons of it. And then a nap.
That sounded splendid. She wished to take her leave of this squalid hovel and share her mood with others. Misery did so love company, after all.
She flapped the wings at her side experimentally, uncertain if she’d be able to make it back under her own power. It would be a perfect end to this day if she had to take a train back to her own castle like some peasant. She wondered how long it might take to get word to Canterlot to send a carriage.
Wait... If I am here, and Tia is here, then Middy...
She felt a pang of unwanted guilt at that thought. Yes, it meant that Middy was having to run Day Court for Tia. She would gladly take on that task right now, if only to deny some of those simpering idiots their various requests that they plagued her sister with day in and day out. But she refused to acknowledge that Middy was being inconvenienced. She didn’t want to feel sorry for anypony but herself right now.
Fie on Middy! She thought angrily. His day can hardly be going worse than mine! We are hours past our normal rest time, we feel weak and tired... and everything is ruined.
She sat down with a slump, staring at the ground in exhausted displeasure. Being angry took energy, and she had little to spare. The world was going to have to settle for her despondency for a time, until she could work up to anger once more. Then let it quail in fear.
She sighed, blowing a stray lock of light blue mane from her face, resenting it for not being the lustrous deep black of the night sky.
Behold Luna, Princess of the Night, Ruler of Dreams, and Haver of Bad Mane Days. Fear her, world.
“Luna?” A voice called out from the hovel behind her.
She knew who it was, of course. But she was trying very hard to will the world out of existence. She had willed stars into existence in the past so it followed that she should, in theory, be able to unmake things as well. However, the world refused to dissolve under her hooves, selfish thing that it was.
“P-princess Luna?” The voice tried again, sounding unsure of itself.
“Speak, Fluttershy. Thy Princess hears you.” Luna said with a resigned sigh.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I...I didn’t even know I felt this strongly, until...I hate being like this, I hate that I hurt you, and I...can we just try talking again? Please?”
Luna looked up at her subject, who was in the process of biting her lip anxiously. It would seem she was able to intimidate ponies, as well.
“There is nothing to try, Fluttershy.” Luna said with a patience she didn’t feel. “We promised ourselves that if either of thou were uncomfortable, we would not pursue thee further. Thou art clearly feeling threatened by the idea, so that’s the end of it.”
“But—”
“Enough. Thy Princess is tired, and wishes to be alone.” Luna said as she lay her head down on her forelegs. “We will not trouble thee further, rest assured.”
There was a small squeak from the other mare, followed by the sound of hooves walking back to the hovel. Luna paid it no mind.
Some time later, a pair of voices could be heard coming from up the path. Luna’s ears flicked up, but she otherwise remained motionless.
“Well, we can certainly have more than one flower girl, of course!”
“Can we get matching dresses?”
“Hmmm, maybe you should talk that one out with your friends. Their tastes may differ a bit.”
A door opened, and the voices became muffled. Luna breathed out heavily, thanking the heavens above that she would not have to contend with yet more discussion at the moment.
A curious feline dared venture closer to her. She could hear it creep forth, and she slowly raised her head to regard the foolhardy creature. They exchanged glances, speaking in a language that had no words. It was an imperfect thing, nowhere near as useful as what Fluttershy enjoyed, for it conveyed not intent, but raw emotions.
The cat was unhappy, and wished to know why Luna was laying in her favorite sunny spot. Luna conveyed that she cared not where she lay, and the feline was welcome to take her normal place. To illustrate this, she moved aside, out of the sunlight.
The feline responded with a feeling of contentment, and slowly curled up in its accustomed place. Luna followed suit in her new, unsunny, spot. The shade suited her mood better.
The murmurs in the hovel took on a distressed tone, two of the voices were more strident, the third sounding confused.
“—that’s no reason to have her sitting out there in the dirt!” Rarity’s voice rang out as the door to the yard burst open. “Our interpersonal relationship issues aside, she is a guest!”
“I tried to invite her back in!” Fluttershy protested. “She wanted to be alone, and I felt bad enough that I snapped at her, I wasn’t going to try to make her come back inside.”
“Luna? Will you be a dear and join us in the living room, please? I’d very much like to hash this out like adults and I can’t do that without you two in the same room.”
Luna merely stared at the ground, hoping if she didn’t respond she would not have to contend with them.
“Princess Luna?” A squeaky voice asked.
Luna’s ear perked up anew. She had a soft spot for foals, ever protecting them from nightmares. Much as she wished to avoid the world and all in it, she did not have the heart to deny a little one. “Speak, child. We hear thee.”
“Are you okay?”
“We are fine. We merely wish to be alone.” Luna replied stiffly.
“Hello? Rarity here, can you hear me?”
Luna ignored her, she had no wish to converse with anypony.
“Um... Luna?” Fluttershy asked after a moment.
Luna again ignored the voice, steadfastly staring at the ground, having no interest in anything else.
After a time, the third, much higher voice spoke up. “Princess Luna, is it okay if I talk to you?” The foal asked.
This again made the princess hesitate. Surely speaking with the little one would do no harm. “If it pleases thee, child.” Luna replied.
“Oh, I see how it is. Sweetie, would you mind telling Princess Luna she’s being very foalish? And maybe then she’ll come in for a little talk.” Rarity said with bitterness, her hoofsteps walking back in the direction of the cottage. A moment later and a second set of hoofsteps followed her inside, and the door swung closed.
“H-hi, Princess.” The child said, seeming nervous with the other adults gone.
“Hello, sweet child.” Luna replied. She raised her head, having grown bored of trying to unmake the ground, and took in the visage of the young unicorn. She was quite the adorable little foal. Luna had been attempting to stay out of the way when she’d seen the filly earlier, but now that her view was unobstructed by others she could very easily see the family resemblance between the two sisters. “How fare you this day?”
“Oh! Um... good? I just got back from a walk with my sister, so that was really nice. We brought back croissants, did you want some?”
Luna considered for a moment, but found herself not in want. “Thank thee for thy kind offer, but neigh, child.”
“Oh.” The replied seemed to be disheartened, as if a gift had been rejected as unworthy. That would not stand.
“Please don’t misunderstand.” Luna said, reaching out to touch the child’s foreleg. “We are simply not feeling very hungry at the moment. We are certain thy baked goods are most satisfactory.”
The young unicorn stared at Luna for some unknown reason, seeming incredulous. “I didn’t make them!” She exclaimed with a giggle. “We bought them from Sugarcube Corner!”
“Ah.” Luna said, nodding in understanding. “The workplace of the pink one. She spoke well of it.”
“Yeah... they make good food.”
“Aye, we are certain they do. We would call their confections the equal of our own chefs. And though we have not sampled the croissants, we have no reason to doubt the quality.”
“Yeah, I wish I could make things like that. I just burn them...” The child trailed off, her countenance darkening in remembered sadness.
“Ah, we know that pain well, little one.” Luna winced as she recalled ‘The Kernel Incident’. “Our own forays into cuisine left much to be desired. Celestia to this day refuses to allow us to pop the corn.”
The unicorn just looked at her for a moment, apparently trying to suppress a giggle. Luna nodded solemnly. “There was much cleaning afterwards. The smell lingers on in her bedroom.”
That finally got the filly into a proper giggling fit. Luna suffered the indignity in silence, not wishing to deprive her of her fun.
Eventually, the little one calmed down, and finally asked the question weighing on her mind. “Why do you talk so funny?”
Luna simply blinked at the impetuous foal. She wondered for a moment at the sheer temerity of questioning such a thing, then laughed. It was a small chuckle at first, but as it continued it built into the uproarious laughter of one who had seen much stress and too little sleep in the previous day. It was half crazed, and much needed.
The filly looked confused, and a little frightened, but as she saw that the princess was not angry, she eventually joined in, laughing with the princess for all she was worth.
In time, Luna calmed down, and as the last peals passed her lips, she smiled warmly at the child. “We thank thee, little one. We needed that.”
“Uh, sure.” The little one replied. “So... are you mad at Rarity?”
“We... are not. With the world at large, perhaps, but that is not to say any onus lies with thy sister. We simply erred in judgement, and are regretting it.”
“Oh.” After a few more moments of silence, the small one spoke up once more. “How?”
“We... we asked for something which we had no right to ask for, and we were punished for our conceit.” Luna laughed again, bitterly. “Fear not, we are more angry at ourselves than any other.”
“So... like when I ask for cookies before dinner?”
That brought forth another genuine outburst of laughter from the princess. “Somewhat...” she gasped out. “Aye, tis rather the same. It was a selfish request, made by a selfish princess. One who has since discovered she is not quite adorable enough to get what she wants just by asking. One who wishes she had not spoken of things not earned, and had instead focused on the friendship offered. Even nigh-immortal princesses can be impatient, sadly.”
“Huh. Maybe you should tell them you’re sorry?” the child offered. “That usually works.”
Luna chuckled once more, wishing it were so simple. But the suggestion had an unfortunate effect on her, making her do at last what she had tried to avoid for the duration of her brooding: she thought. There was, unfortunately, only one outcome to this once she began. She came to the unwanted conclusion that she had wronged her two new friends, and worse, had pressured one of them into an outburst, then had the gall to be upset about it afterwards.
She railed against this at first, not wanting to admit, even to herself, that she was in the wrong. But one could only deceive themselves for so long. Unfortunately, mere apology would not set things aright. She’d been offering them all night, after all. No, to make up for this error she would need to be a responsible princess.
She had offered friendship on her terms, and if she truly desired to change, she would need to begin by allowing others to set their own terms, and live within them. Another, and even more unwanted voice pointed out that her actions while running her country could likely stand to be examined as well, but she willfully suppressed it for the moment. One could only bend so far at once.
“Thank you... Sweetie, did she call you?” she said at last.
“Sweetie Belle, yes, Princess.” Sweetie replied, looking a little pleased.
“We... I ask that you call me only ‘Luna’, Sweetie. And I thank you for talking with me.”
“Sure, Luna!” Sweetie said, her voice cracking slightly in her excitement. “Did you want to go inside, now?”
“I think... that I do, yes.” Luna said as she stood up. It was time to apologize for wrongs committed. And do so in actions, not mere words. Time to see if a friendship could be salvaged.
“All right,” Rarity said as she closed the door. “What exactly happened while I was gone?”
“I...I already told you.” Fluttershy replied, not quite daring to meet Rarity’s eyes. “Luna and I... she asked me what was wrong, and... I told her.”
“So you said! But now she won’t talk to either one of us! What exactly did you say?”
Fluttershy hesitated, unsure how to respond. “She... she wanted to know why neither of us were mad at her, and I told her I was.”
Rarity took that in for a moment, eventually shaking her head. “It had to have been more than that! Come now, darling, we talked about this. Please don’t start holding back again!”
“I...” Fluttershy’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I may have told her she couldn’t have you.”
“Excuse me? You said what exactly?”
“I said she couldn’t have you!” Fluttershy burst out, louder than she intended.
“Couldn’t have—” Rarity stopped, her eyes boggling as she realized what Fluttershy was saying. “Where is this coming from? Since when have we been worried about that?”
Fluttershy looked away. “We haven’t been worried about it. You haven’t been worried about anything since she did that thing to you, and that’s been a big problem, too!”
Rarity huffed in irritation. “Well I am now, darling!”
“Oh, now you worry,” Fluttershy muttered darkly.
“I am worried about you!” Rarity exclaimed, causing Fluttershy to shoot her a disbelieving look. “We talked this over in Canterlot, for goodness sake! Nopony is going to steal me away, and that wasn’t Luna’s intent to begin with!”
“Wasn’t it?” Fluttershy demanded. “She offers you money to fix your home, she wants you to make her a whole line of clothes just so she can look even sexier, and when you got hurt—”
“When I got hurt she did her earnest best to aid me, even if things went badly!” Rarity cut in, waving a hoof as if to blow away smoke.
“I don’t think it went so badly for her!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “She made you need her, and now she’s here, in my home, telling me she wants what I have, and she can’t have you!”
“Please,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes. “As if it was some diabolical scheme to deprive herself of magic to the point where the poor thing lost her stature and lovely mane! If that was planned it was the worst plan ever!”
“Oh?” Fluttershy pointed outside to where Luna was huddled on the ground, talking to Sweetie Belle. “She got even cuter!”
“That’s what this is about? That I said she was adorable? Didn’t you see how down she looked? She needed some reassurance!”
“Of course I did!” Fluttershy replied back, angrily. “She even fooled me! I just wanted to snuggle her!”
Rarity sat down, holding her head with one hoof. “Darling, where is this jealousy coming from, exactly? Have I looked twice at any other mares or stallions since we kissed?”
“Yes, her!” Fluttershy shouted. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed! I teased you about it, asking if you wanted to have a threesome!”
Rarity looked up at Fluttershy, trying to keep her voice calm. “Yes, that’s true, and I also carefully avoided her advances in kind, as you’ll recall. The only reason I began to entertain the idea was I noted you were attracted to her as well. Don’t think for a second I would act on that without your enthusiastic approval and participation.”
Fluttershy paused for a moment, seeming slightly mollified. “But she’s... she’s so pretty, and she’s a princess, and—”
“So what if she is?” Rarity cut her off testily.
Fluttershy’s mouth quirked into a small, angry frown. “The prince was all you would talk about for a year! Every spa date you talked about marrying him, and being a princess—”
“Oh, don’t you dare bring him up!” Rarity said quickly with a look of distaste. “I do not give a fig about royalty since I found out what a cad he was!”
“You kissed Princess Celestia’s hooves!” Fluttershy shot back.
“Yes, in gratitude, not out of some lustful advance!”
“You’d kiss Luna’s hooves if she asked you.” Fluttershy said quietly.
Rarity put her hooves on her hips, locking eyes with her marefriend. “Are we still arguing over whether I find her attractive? Let’s set the record straight, I do find her attractive, and so do you! But that doesn’t mean that I would pick her over you, darling!” Rarity’s expression softened. “Why would you ever think such a thing?”
“Because she’s... not me!” Fluttershy exclaimed with a sob. “I can’t help thinking about it. She’s just so... I tried to get over it, but every time I think about you and her...” she looked away, unable to meet Rarity’s eyes. “I can’t lose you.”
“And you won’t!” Rarity insisted, putting a hoof under Fluttershy’s chin to draw her eyes up. “Do you think I went to all that trouble trying to impress your father only to run off with a mare I barely know? You are the one, Fluttershy. The one I pined for, the one I dreamed about. Not only would I not leave you, I forbid you to think about leaving me!” She chuckled lightly.
Fluttershy’s eyes hardened. “Don’t make fun! I watched you through Snow, and all those stallions I can’t even remember the names of... Every week it was the same. You were madly in love, then the next week it all went wrong. And I had to hold you, and tell you it would be okay, and then you’d go try again, looking for the next one. Always somepony who was connected, or pretty, or rich. Well Luna has all of that! And I... don’t.”
“Well, I think you’re gorgeous, but about the connections or riches... So what?” Rarity asked. At Fluttershy’s incredulous look she smiled. “Don’t get me wrong, connections are wonderful, and money helps with a great many things, but I was never after those ponies for those reasons.”
“But... I thought...” Fluttershy trailed off, a huge blush on her face.
“You thought I was dating them for their money or power?” Rarity chuckled. “Darling, forgive me for making you think that, but think of my dating pool! I picked attractive or charismatic suitors. Those who weren’t physically perfect specimens such as yourself I tended to date because of meeting them as clients or buyers from other cities, and of course those tended to have lots of bits and connections in the industry. But I was looking for love, not ways to advance my shop. Why else do you think I am still struggling at times? I’ve never compromised love for gain, why on earth would I start now?”
Despite her evident fears, it was clear the reassurance and praise was getting to Fluttershy. She hated thinking these things about Rarity, and it was true that if all the unicorn had cared for was money, she could have settled on any one of the numerous stallions she’d tried dating because they’d asked her out while getting their measurements done or while they were placing an order. But she couldn’t stop being afraid, there was too much at stake! “B-but you didn’t really like those stallions, and you like Luna...” she protested feebly.
“Yes.” Rarity nodded. “Yes, I do like her. She seems like she needs a friend or two, and I would love for us to be that for her. And yes, again, she’s gorgeous. If the relationship were to become physical, I would find that wonderfully exciting.” Seeing the fear return in Fluttershy’s eyes, she was quick to add: “I would find it exciting for both of us. I could easily see a wild romp or two with a close friend spicing things up in times to come. But leaving you for her? Never, love. I spent years trying to find somepony I could love half as much as you. I finally found her, and you’re mine now. Just as I am yours.”
“You are mine...” Fluttershy echoed softly, smiling through the tears forming at the edges of her eyes. “You are mine.”
Rarity held out her hoof. “Yes. Now, if you feel you can trust me, I was hoping we could go talk to Luna?”
Fluttershy hesitated for the briefest of moments before meeting Rarity’s hoof with her own. “I’m... I’m so sorry...” she said, tears streaming down from her eyes.
Rarity drew Fluttershy close, enveloping her in a gentle hug. “Shhhh. There is nothing to be sorry over.” She drew back, brushing Fluttershy’s mane from her eyes. “Well, except for you holding this back from me,” she amended, frowning slightly. “Please try harder to trust me with your fears, darling. I might not always be able to assuage them, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know about them!”
The pegasus nodded, saying nothing more. Rarity then drew her back to her breast, stroking her long pink mane.