//------------------------------// // ...and Normalities // Story: A Princess’ Conundrum // by CalmNQuiet //------------------------------// The punch was too sweet. No, that wasn’t quite right. The pink bubbly liquid rolled off Rainbow’s tongue in an undeniable saccharine tang which left her with inexplicable tremors at the base of her hooves. Shifting her weight from one side to the other only seemed to exasperate the tingling. For a brief moment, she considered the possibility of the punch having a little more than advertised, but a quick glance around the room seemed to indicate she was the only one afflicted. Frustrated, and perhaps a little annoyed, Rainbow downed the rest of her punch and discarded the empty cup in a nearby bin. Kicking herself mentally, she reminded herself to smile and have a good time. This wasn’t just any old party; this was a Pinkie Party, a Pinkie Party just for her and Twilight. She was a captain now. A captain with all the respect, power, and responsibilities a pony in her position ought to have. But aside from the weight of the armor which rested upon her shoulders, nothing felt different. Rainbow couldn’t quite figure out what there was to celebrate over. Sure, Pinkie loved to have a good party over any little thing, but from Rainbow’s perspective, nothing really changed. Twilight was still Twilight, and she was still Rainbow, one of Twilight’s best friends. Her eyes drifted across the room to her other friends laughing and having a good time. By the snack table, Pinkie tempted Rarity to sample another sweet treat, and although the unicorn liked to fret about her figure, she couldn’t resist a fresh baked Pinkie treat, hot from the oven. Applejack stood to the side gleefully encouraging Rarity to loosen up a little while partaking in a cookie herself. Naturally, Fluttershy was there, with her usual supportive smile full of warmth and sincerity Rainbow smiled and exhaled slowly. Yes, everything was just fine—even if the punch seemed too sweet. She shouldn’t feel so anxious over something as trivial as punch. Even as she assured herself, something still felt off. Her eyes darted to her friends and then around the room. Her heart pounded and she had to steady herself. Where was Twilight? The tingling in her hooves returned in an instant. She needed to find Twilight, to be there for her, to protect her. What good was she as a captain if she didn’t know where her precious charge was? Just as she was about to raise the alarm, she recalled they were in the middle of castle Canterlot, undeniably one of the safest places in all of Equestria. Even still, the nagging sensation in the back of her head made her wings twitch. She longed to see the glimmer of Twilight’s eyes, hear the light-hearted melody of Twilight's laugh, and feel the comforting warmth of Twilight’s presence. Even if Twilight was perfectly safe, she wanted, no, needed to be there for her. Anything less would be letting Twilight down. Convinced, Rainbow trotted to the nearby balcony and spread her wings. The skies were her domain, and she would find Twilight without fail. A few experimental flaps cautioned against flying with a full suit of decorative armor. Without another thought, Rainbow shimmied the heavy armor off her body and took to the skies. The endless expanse of the open sky greeted Rainbow Dash. The autumn colors of the impending sunset filled her vision and masked the obvious speck of purple she sought. Flying from cloud to cloud, she realized she took off without even asking any pony if Twilight was spotted leaving the party for a flight. She considered returning to ask, but as she searched the skies, she felt drawn to continue. Somehow, she knew, Twilight had to be out here. * * * “There she goes!” Pinkie exclaimed and rushed to the balcony only moments after Rainbow’s sudden departure. Pinkie’s sudden disappearance resulted in the sudden disappearance of the pony Rarity happened to be leaning upon. Which in turn, resulted in a chain reaction involving Rarity tipping over onto Applejack, who backed into Fluttershy, who yelped in surprise, thus alarming the guards stationed just outside the room. A brief five seconds later, the double doors were splayed wide open, three sets of guards jostled for position at the entrance each seeking to protect their respective princess, and three friends lay in a compromising heap. Curiously, a large bite was also missing from the cake. “Princess Celestia! We heard a scream—” The golden-armored guard pony’s words trailed off as he surveyed the room for any possible threats. Apart from the slight tilt of the triple-decker-cake, which seemed less structurally sound due a sizable bite in the middle tier, everything else seemed appropriate. Especially given that this was a royal party. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he cleared his throat and continued. “Is everything alright, princess?” Just behind the Solar Guard, the Lunar Guard called out. “Princess Luna! Hath thy sister purloined thy cake once more?” And, just to the right of the Lunar Guard, the Twilight Guard jostled for position. “Princess Twilight! Is everything alright? Did the captain tear another page in your book? We have book-paste and q-tips!” Celestia shook her head wordlessly, her mouth hidden behind a lacy napkin wreathed in golden light. She raised her right forehoof to silence the clamor. Faintly, she could hear Luna’s sniggering in the background but ignored it. When the guards seemed unsure, Celestia checked around the room for possible unseen dangers which might’ve escaped her keen senses, but saw none. In the absence of danger, Celestia motioned with her hoof to dismiss the guards. “We’re quite alright. Thank you all for being so diligent,” she declared firmly with a stern but benevolent smile which likely could have charmed a half dozen bickering nobles into silence. Silence was exactly what Celestia got. Aside from Luna’s consistent snickering in the background, every pony seemed to be staring at her in total silence. The guards nodded in unison and backed out of the room slowly, their eyes trying a little too hard not to stare at Celestia. She breathed out a sigh of relief when the door finally shut behind the guards with a uncomfortable creaking sound. Turning around sharply, she glared at Luna with as much rancor an elder sister can have for a younger sister. “Luna, must you snicker so loudly? Most ponies keep their amusement to themselves when unfortunate, but otherwise silly, accidents happen.” Luna looked up at Celestia and opened her mouth, but failed to express any form of a intelligible rebuttal. Instead, she fell victim to another series of giggles. Celestia’s lips trembled, the corners shifting down ever-so-slightly, just enough to suggest the beginning of a frown. Noticing the beginnings of a pout, Luna raised her forehoof to forestall the incoming lecture. “Now sister, don’t be upset. One certainly can’t blame you for wanting to snag the first taste after the unfortunate cake incident this morning. But...” A suspicious pause. Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “But...?” Luna’s eyes shifted upwards. A glimmer. It was faint, but if Celestia focused she could hear it in the background. Although Luna’s horn revealed nothing, wreathed in the shadow of her magic, Celestia only needed to look up to see the result. A touch of icing, a few crumbs, and just enough evidence to condemn her. Celestia licked her lips and shifted to her most diplomatic smile. “Luna, care to explain why you have a smidgen of cake levitated just above my head?” “You missed a spot on your cheek. Just being helpful.” Luna grinned back. A furtive glance around the room was more than enough to confirm the truth. Busted. Celestia smiled wider and grasped at the remaining crumbs with her napkin. “Thank you Luna, for being so...” She paused and sighed out. “...helpful.” “You’re quite welcome. Being nice to one another is important to keeping a truce together,” Luna responded quickly. “Perhaps you’d like to thank the baker for providing you with such a tempting target you were unable to resist in the moment?” “Yes, that seems appropriate,” Celestia responded stiffly. The napkin crumpled and popped out of existence. A few moments later, the lunar surface happily received a bit of the Greatest Cake Ever in the History of Great Cakes courtesy of Pinkie Pie and Her Glorious Majesty of the Sun, Princess Celestia. In a graceful sweeping motion, Celestia turned away from her sister, any hint of annoyance she might’ve had gone in an instant. After all, she wouldn’t have it any other way with Luna after being separated for so long. Striding forward, she made her way across the banquet room to the balcony. The attention in the room shifted to Pinkie Pie, the source of the whole fiasco. The pink party pony was just outside the banquet hall, on the balcony, next to a pile of discarded armor. Her front hooves draped over the golden banister as she craned her head upward toward the sky. Every few moments she uttered a few gasps of surprise and her tail would twitch. “Pinkie Pie,” Celestia began slowly, “I must compliment you on your baking skills. You’ve done a fantastic job with the celebratory cake.” Giggling, Pinkie craned her head back and looked at Celestia upside down with the biggest grin that somehow looked like a smile even though it wasn’t right-side up. “Oh, it was nothing. Only the very best for my very bestest friends. And it’s not nearly as amazing as the show Rainbow’s putting on for Twilight right now!” Pinkie gestured up at the sky. Sure enough, colorful rainbow trails stretched across the eventide sky. Applejack freed herself from underneath Rarity and trotted to the balcony. Propping herself up onto the banister next to Pinkie, she whistled at Rainbow’s colorful display. “Well, would you look at that? Can’t even sit still at her own party. Though, I don’t see Twilight anywhere. Are you sure Rainbow’s putting on a show?” Gingerly picking herself up from the floor, Fluttershy trotted to the balcony door and peeked outside up toward the sky. She gasped at the sheer number of criss-crossing rainbow contrails in the sky. “Oh my, I hope everything’s all right. Rainbow seems really upset.” “Whatever do you mean, dear?” Rarity joined her friends on the balcony.. “In fact,” Rarity looked up at the sky, “Rainbow’s trails are quite dazzling, amazing even.” “Well...” Fluttershy trailed off as she focused on the multicolored bands across the sky. “It’s the way she’s flying. For as long as I’ve known Rainbow, when she flies, she always loops and turns in the air. It doesn’t look like she’s having much fun right now...” The quiet but poignant observation settled on everypony gathered on the balcony and their smiles gradually faded. They couldn’t deny that Rainbow’s flying, though still impressive, lacked the usual brand of showiness. Unease filled their faces as the jubilation from the party faded. “We can’t just stand there! We got to go help her then!” Pinkie exclaimed, her smile quivering on the edge of turning upside down. “Worry not, my little ponies,” Celestia interjected. She draped a wing over Pinkie and smiled up at the sky. “I’m sure Twilight will come through. She’s never disappointed me in the past.” “Beggin’ your pardon, but we don’t even know where Twilight is.” Applejack looked up longingly at the sky. “I’d go up there and talk some sense into Rainbow, but I doubt any of us could catch her right now. She’s flying faster than a hot knife through butter.” “Perhaps.” Celestia smiled and glanced upward at the sky once more. “I’m sure Twilight knows where Rainbow is. And I’m fairly certain a display like this won’t go unnoticed for long.” * * * Twilight swayed to the left as she narrowly dodged one of the tall steeples of Canterlot Castle. Usually flying helped clear her mind, but as she flew around in circles just a few feet above the tallest tower, her mind kept drifting back to her responsibilities. Mentally, she noted she might’ve invented sky-pacing and added a note to do it more often to save on the significant wear-and-tear pacing did to her floors back at home. Home. She winced internally at the word as she passed her tower room for the forty-second time. Where was her home now? The room in the tower might have been nice before Ponyville, but where was Spike? Her friends? Princess Celestia and Luna were great company, but it just didn’t feel the same. She might not have managed to stay in Canterlot for so long if it weren’t for Rainbow. Rainbow. Twilight sighed, her heart pounding as she thought of her now Captain of the Guard. Realizing the sudden change in her physique, she scoured the sky in front of her for a cloud to take a small break on. Apparently all the sky-pacing was wearing her out. Unfortunately, the sky immediately before her was clear and cloudless. Sensible, considering the grand ceremony earlier. Arching her neck upwards, she squinted up at the dimming sky for a cloud and the sight before her tore her breath away. Rainbows filled her vision. The trails crisscrossed the sky in frantic unorganized brushstrokes of color. Conflicting emotions of surprise and yearning filled her mind, and she nearly forgot she was flying. It wasn’t until she felt the sudden drop in her stomach that she remembered to spread her wings and catch herself. She wiped the sweat from her brow with a forehoof and directed herself toward the nearest contrail. As she flew, she scanned the sky for Rainbow Dash, the only pony who could fill her world with so much color. A little exhausted, Twilight grabbed onto the first cloud which seemed big enough to support her and sank into the misty surface. She panted heavily, catching her breath and letting the moisture of the cloud cool her body. As she rested, she scanned the skies for Rainbow, but the sheer number of trails in the sky made it difficult to pinpoint anything, much less a rainbow- and sky-colored pony. Having caught her breath, Twilight pulled herself up onto her hooves and spread her wings. Just because she couldn’t see Rainbow didn’t mean she couldn’t find her. Always more than one way to solve a problem. In this case, she just had to chase the rainbow—figuratively speaking—and eventually the trail would lead her to her captain. Pushing off the cloud with a little hop, she spread her wings and sailed over to where the rainbow trail started to fade. She lined herself up and began to fly. The path was easy to see and somehow flying in Rainbow’s wake felt easier than flying alone. Experimentally, she flew directly into the contrail, and the colors warped around her body before fading away. In their wake, she felt the undeniable tingling of magic in her horn. It filled her with warmth like a bubble bath. She realized there was more to Rainbow’s contrail than color. There was magic too. Of course, Rainbow’s magic was latent, but for the first time she was feeling just how much latent magic trailed behind the pegasus when she left her tell-tale contrail in the sky. Momentarily, she wondered if she might be able to leave her own if she focused her magic, giggling at the thought of impressing Rainbow with her flying and magic aptitude combined. Banking to the right, Twilight followed the mostly straight trail. She pondered as to why the path was so easy, so free of loops, sharp curves, and rolls. It was almost as if Rainbow was leading Twilight in a dance in the sky. And because Twilight was a beginner, Rainbow carefully added only a little bit of difficulty so Twilight could keep up. Still, looking around herself, Twilight realized even if she flew at her fastest, the trail seemed to never end. She might never catch Rainbow. She wanted to go back to the castle and wait for Rainbow there, but she just couldn’t. She wasn’t the kind of pony to quit, she knew Rainbow wouldn’t quit on her, and she was determined to give it her all. Focusing her magic, Twilight felt the power seeping from deep within her heart to her horn before spreading through her body. She flapped her wings with renewed vigor and confidence. She may not be the best flyer, but if she had a chance, she had to take it. She smiled determinedly and surged forward. Her body lightened and she felt the forces of gravity fade from her. Feeling nearly weightless, every push of her wings sent her forward faster. Rainbow was at the end of this trail and Twilight was going to find her. * * * Failure. Rainbow shuddered at the thought and pushed herself harder. She wasn’t a failure. She’d come close to failing many times, but she’d never let herself fail. The universe always worked out in the end as long as she kept giving it her all, and this was no exception. But no matter how hard she flew and how hard she looked, she couldn’t find Twilight. Doubts clouded her mind, and she wondered if this was all for nothing. She should’ve thought things through and asked some of the guard under her command. Maybe set up a proper search party, coordinate a plan, all those things Twilight was good at. Shaking her head, she pushed those uncomfortable thoughts from her mind and focused on her flying. She wished Twilight was here. Twilight was good at those things Rainbow often overlooked. Together they shared an enthusiasm which few ponies could top. Maybe if she focused just a little, she could come up with a better plan than just flying around in the Canterlot skies looking for Twilight. She’d checked everywhere over the city, but the setting sun made it hard to see below her. Slowing down a little, she felt an odd tingling at her backside. Glancing back, she could see her distinctive rainbow trail glowing, thrumming with energy she’d never seen before. She squinted into the distance, and her heart did a little jump. Twilight was only a little ways away, her nose scrunched up in concentration, her eyes nearly shut, her wings flapping hard, and looking so very determined. She waved her hooves and beckoned to Twilight, but got no response. “Watch out!” Rainbow shouted. Bracing herself, she caught Twilight in her hooves and sailed backward through the evening sky. By a stroke a luck, the universe worked out for Rainbow once more and she landed comfortably in a large patch of fluffy clouds. Catching her breath, she reached up and brushed the curled hair from Twilight’s eyes away with a free hoof. “Hey.” A moment’s silence. “I was looking for you.” Twilight stammered and opened her eyes all the way. Right in front of her, inches away, was Rainbow. She blushed and tried to push herself away, but her tired muscles would not obey her. Instead, she found herself resting against the pegasus, panting and feeling warmer by the second. Bracing her forehooves lightly against Rainbow’s shoulders, she breathed out slowly and smiled. “I was looking for you, too.” Maybe more words were needed, but magic was a funny thing. Twilight felt it in her horn as she flew through Rainbow’s contrail as much as Rainbow felt it in her wings as Twilight’s magic surged through her rainbow trail. A deep connection both mysterious and powerful that poets have searched for ages to describe. It might’ve started that first night long ago when Rainbow ran into Twilight. Or maybe it was the time when Twilight ran into Rainbow in the infirmary. The universe might’ve conspired to bring them together. But, as Rainbow leaned forward into Twilight, their faces filled with a shared blush, their lips parted with anticipation, one thing was certain— “Woo hoo! Way to go, Dashie!” Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs, quivering the very foundation of Canterlot Castle. Celestia withdrew her wing from Pinkie in surprise and coughed politely. She took this opportunity to wipe the thin strand of saliva growing at the side of her mouth. Turning her back to look into the party room, she grinned at Luna. “I believe this means I win the bet. The sun is still up, as you can see.” “Nay!” Luna interjected, her muzzle buried partially in the now collapsed cake. “The sun seems to have set very slowly this particular evening. If anything...” Luna grinned and wiped the frosting from her mouth. “I believe this victory goes to twilight.” Celestia nearly choked on the terrible pun. She pointed an accusatory hoof at Luna. “Luna! I thought we agreed to set aside our punnic wars after the third one!” “Your blatant robbery of moon time to ensure Twilight and Rainbow’s amorous activities appear under the ambience of the sun dissolves said agreement! The puns shall last forever!” Luna cackled before quietly hoofing Pinkie twenty bits. Pinkie, of course, had summoned her usual green-rimmed dealer’s hat and was in the process of tallying up the bets—the winner, of course, being Pinkie. Though no pony understood what she meant when she bet, “At Twilight during Twilight on Rainbow after Rainbow pledges to Twilight.” No pony was surprised when Pinkie burst out of her seat with a huge grin. “This is perfect! I’m just short the one hundred bits and we’ll have enough for the biggest supertasticiffic party in the history of supertastic parties for Rainbow and Twilight.” She did a full one-hundred eighty degree turn and looked at Celestia. Coughing, Celestia forced herself to stop thinking about puns to slide a large bag of bits to Pinkie. She shrugged and smiled. “I thought I could win, but I didn’t expect intervention from Luna.” Luna grinned and raised her hoof to the ceiling, “No pony expects the Lunar Intervention!” “Indeed.” Celestia nodded. “In fact, you’ve eclipsed me twice already.” “Ha ha! I...” Luna paused before falling back. “An underhoofed attack, dear sister! A com-pun-ment with dark intent!” The mood utterly ruined, Twilight looked to her friends on the balcony, to her mentor enjoying the last of the cake, to Luna, before back to Rainbow. Both of them were still blushing heavily and rather startled by the sudden explosion of noise around them. She glanced up at her library tower just a few hundred feet away and winked at Rainbow. “Let’s make a tactical withdrawal, captain.” “Yes, ma’am!” Rainbow saluted, and in an instant they were gone. Safe and alone within the confines of Twilight’s library tower, Twilight snuggled up against Rainbow. Tracing back through the events of the past few months, she found herself amazed by how a little princess’ conundrum could lead to all this. She didn’t just find a captain of the guard, she found the bulwark to her life. And with her, she felt she could do anything and be anywhere and still be at ease. She grazed her hoof idly over Rainbow’s wings and found the feathers uncoordinated and messy. She grinned at Rainbow and lidded her eyes. “How about a preening, my captain?” “Only if you’ll allow me to preen you first, my princess,” Rainbow responded with a grin of her own. “How about we preen together, then?” “Sounds awesome.” ...and Normalities by lostzilla