Green

by Steel Resolve


Chapter 55: Talks With Friends

Luna made her way through the castle in mist form, stopping occasionally to hide in the shadows when large groups of ponies transversed the halls. This form was normally quite good for avoiding notice, but a dark cloud of swirling starlight had a tendency to make itself known in broad daylight. Fortunately, being a large castle, there were plenty of dark hallways or statues to hide behind. It was a bit of a thrill, truth be told.

Having escaped out of the castle proper, she stole over the rooftops, traveling in the shadows cast between buildings, forbearing to take to the skies directly. Her people were troubled enough, it seemed. Seeing a dark mass of mist flying through the air in the middle of the day might disturb them further. She had been too free with her magic of late, and it was causing troubles for the ponies she cared about. She had to have more care.

One area she had always shown care about was in her private life. Nopony was allowed to know whom she was having trysts with as a matter of course, but especially not the press. It was bad enough they had the gall to slander a princess, they would surely not think twice about ruining the lives of her friends should they become aware of her activities with them. Her playmates were special to her, and must not be allowed to suffer inconvenience on her behalf.

It was with this in mind that Luna entered the home of Fancy Pants not through the front door, but through a crack in the guest bedroom window. Sir Pants and Dame De Lis trusted their staff implicitly, of course, but better not to offer them the dilemma of keeping their employers’ secrets if possible. They could not reveal what they had not witnessed.

This would not be the first time she had come in thusly, though it was a first for the time of the visit, as previously she had always come to them at night. There was greater risk in her doing so at this hour, but she had need of companionship, and consolation. Furthermore, the Dame had specifically asked for her presence when she was available to speak, which made this visit a bit of an obligation, albeit one she was more than willing to meet.

Thankfully, once inside, she had nothing to fear with regards to encountering anypony but the Dame and Sir Pants. The guest bedroom was that in name only. The only guest to ever have occupied it was Luna herself, when she had consumed too much wine during a visit with her friends here, and had elected to sleep over rather than attempt to go home in that state. She had been invited to share their bed to sleep in, but something in her had thought that idea wrong. Sir Pants had not pressed the issue, and had instead led her to this room, declaring it hers whenever she wished to use it.

She took a moment to return to physical form, looking herself over in the mirror critically. She had no wish to appear unduly needy. Her relationship with Sir Pants and Dame De Lis had been one of mutual respect, and while she was perhaps seeking something more along the lines of emotional support at the moment, she would not do so looking like a wreck of a pony. She was not some poor filly who had lost her ball, she was a princess. She needed to act with poise and grace, even when she might wish to lash out at her persecutors, or alternatively to lock herself within her chambers, never to emerge again.

She eventually decided that she didn’t look too terribly petulant. Fleur had already commented that she could see Luna was troubled, so there was no need to hide that fact. It would also be counter-productive to attempt to hide it, since she was here seeking solace and counsel.

She slipped out of the room, looking up and down the hallway for servants, finding none. She was uncertain if her friends were even going to be at home, as they were socially active much of the week. A tittering laugh made her ears perk up, and a smile rose on her troubled visage. They were here. She had chosen wisely.

Stealing up to their door without making a sound, she quietly opened it, peeking through to the couple inside.

“And so he said, ‘What do I look like, a waiter?’ and let me tell you, I was quite embarrassed. I explained that I meant no offense, of course, but the chap was dressed quite nicely and seemed mollified when I said so.”

That was Fancy Pants, apparently recounting some tale of frivolity to Fleur. Despite herself, Luna stayed at the door and listened.

“After a bit of chat I invited him to join me for lunch. Turns out he has family in the construction business, and after a glass or two he was telling me about a rather large problem his cousin was having with getting his workers paid. You remember all that repaving they did months back?”

“Yes, of course. Troublesome to get around for a time,” Fleur replied.

“It was, it was! But they’ve just stopped in the middle now because the workers can’t get their paychecks honored.”

“Oh dear. That’s going to really slow things down.”

Luna’s breath quickened. It seemed her little embezzler was causing even more fallout than she’d previously thought. She’d need to talk to Middy about getting somepony appointed right away to finish the roadwork. And apparently, she’d need to issue new paychecks to those workers.

As much as she wanted to hear more, Luna knew it was rude of her to spy on them thusly. She raised her hoof to give a knock on the door, to warn them of her presence.

“Do you think we should mention it to the Princess?” Fleur asked just as Luna’s hoof was about to connect.

“No need to trouble her about it. I don’t doubt she already knows,” Fancy Pants replied, chuckling. “She has a good head on her shoulders. And while she can be a little hotheaded at times, that might actually be a good thing for the kingdom. Goodness knows how complacent the nobility has gotten with Celestia around.”

Oui!” Fleur replied with a musical laugh. “Not to mention how much of an experience it can be in more... intimate circumstances, don’t you think, mon cheri?”

“Quite. A wonderful thing, passion. We could stand to have more of it.”

Assurément, although it pains me to see her troubled so. Perhaps not being like her sister is not an entirely positif thing? Ponies would be so much more at ease if she were a little less... aggressive in her dealings.”

Fleur’s argument made Luna uneasy. It was too much like what Middy had said, and rang true in her mind. As infuriating as it was, she may have been a bit harsh in her reactions. So, executions were perhaps unwarranted. She nodded determinately. Floggings it was.

“Ponies are already at ease, Fleur. Too much so, I would say. Court is full of idiots with their self-serving demands, and Celestia has long given up trying to change their ways. Our feisty little princess won’t let them get away with it.”

Her chest swelled with pride. Finally, somepony understood! It was not right to allow ponies free reign with no fear of reprisal. If they dared treat their princess thus, what chance did the common pony have? They would learn respect, or they would be educated.

“Hmmm, I suppose you are correct, mon cher. But I do wonder about one more thing.”

Fancy Pants let out an appreciative chuckle, making Luna’s ears perk up. Surely they did not mean to— While she was listening? She began to panic, uncertain how to deal with her predicament. She could leave, of course she could. But she must be very quiet. So very quiet. Bad enough she had spied on their casual conversation, if she were to stay and listen while the couple made love, that would be far, far worse! The fact that she’d joined them in such activities did not excuse—

“Yes, I’m beginning to wonder as well. How long do you suppose she intends to stand at that door?”

Luna froze in place as she crept slowly away from the door, her eyes wide and confused.

What?

Ma petite princesse, won’t you please join us? We promise we aren’t upset.” Fleur called from inside the room. Her voice held a measure of amusement, but also seemed conciliatory, as if she was sorry for having revealed that they knew she was there.

They knew. They knew the whole time.

The urge to flee grew ever greater, and with it came shame. She wished to be gone from this place, and to never return.

“Princess, I’m terribly sorry if we startled you. We’d much rather praise you to your face, if you don’t mind.”

Luna held her breath, unwilling or unable to speak. What did one say in such a situation? Did they beg for pardon, or act as if no wrong was done?

“Or, if you wish, we could paddle you for being a naughty princess.” Fleur said, tittering. “Actually, that might be fun.”

“Fleur, you’re embarrassing our guest, that’s hardly polite.” Fancy chided, then raised the volume of his voice to speak to Luna once more. “We could join you in the hallway if you prefer. I made certain the staff knew to stay out of this floor for the afternoon, so it’s only us in here. But we did have a nice repast prepared if you chose to join us today.”

That finally spurred Luna into motion, and she slowly crept back towards the door, inching it open with her hoof. She did not like this feeling of being caught flat-footed, yet she could not be angry with Fancy Pants or Fleur De Lis for having caught her in the act of casual espionage. Her only recourse was to be furious with herself, which she indulged in with a vengeance.

Luna, thou art a well and proper fool.

“Hello,” she said quietly as she entered, too abashed to properly express her greeting in the way she might normally wish.

“Oh, look at that, she is pouting!” Fleur said, and in moments Luna felt the other’s mare’s long, elegant hooves wrapping around her neck. “We meant no harm, ma cherie. Fancy has wards to alert him when somepony moves within our bedrooms. We knew you had arrived the moment you entered.”

“Yes, do forgive us, please. I had thought only to have a bit of fun.” Fancy said, approaching as well but giving the two mares space, ever the proper gentlecolt. “Come, sit and join us, I have a nice hot pot of coffee waiting.”

Luna did as she was bid once Fleur released her, still uncertain what she was meant to say. After a moment or two of their expectant silence, she finally asked a question that was weighing on her mind. “The wards. Were they... because of me? Do my visits... trouble you?”

Both of her friends looked at each other in surprise, then Fleur began to guffaw loudly, followed shortly by Fancy Pants.

“Oh, goodness no, Luna.” Fancy said when he’d calmed down. “You know how it is. One must know when somepony is about.”

Luna’s confused expression cleared instantly. “Ah, in case of assassins. You are wise, Sir Pants.”

“Errr... well yes, I suppose it would serve that purpose.” Fancy said with an oddly shocked expression. If Luna didn’t know better, she have thought he had never had anypony make an attempt on his life before. “But it’s more for the assurance of privacy. You’d hardly be the first pony to be curious about what Fleur and I speak of in private.”

“Or what games we play, and with whom, no?” Fleur added, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at Luna and blowing Fancy Pants a kiss.

Luna found herself somewhat ill at ease once again. She had been comfortable with such casually affectionate displays before. But something was different now. Something she could not put her hoof on, and it vexed her to think thus.

Fancy Pants regarded her with a slightly raised eyebrow as he noted her reaction. “Perhaps such talk is best left for another time.” He floated a large mug of steaming liquid to her, and she reached out with her magic to accept it. “Black, with four sugars, if I recall?”

Luna nodded gratefully, trying to shake the unwanted feeling from her mind. She had spent many a night in the arms of this couple, and never felt any question in her mind that she was unwelcome or that she was not desired. And... that was not quite what she felt now. She should have felt.... happy, and excited. Instead she was... worried. That was it. She was worried that her friends would expect their usual games, and she had no appetite for such.

She desired their companionship, and their counsel, but as wonderful as they were, she... felt no heat in herself when viewing them now, whereas before she would have been impatient to wrestle Fleur to the bed. Now, the prospect seemed... wrong, somehow. A flash of a face framed by a pink mane angrily yelling at her came to mind, and she dismissed it, trying not to think overmuch about it.

She took a deep draught of the liquid, feeling it burn its way down into her gullet, relishing the rush of wakefulness it brought. These hours were truly not to her liking, that was all. Her sister’s convalescence could not end soon enough. But much as she willed it, she could not bring herself to believe it.

Staring deep into the cup, she pondered her change in attitude. That was what had occurred, after all. They were no less attractive, nor affectionate. Eventually she came to a conclusion that satisfied her: she simply did not wish to indulge. The last few days had proven excessively stressful, that was all. A romp might have made her feel better normally, but she felt at that moment it would prove ineffective. She needed comfort of a different kind, and trusted her friends to understand that need.

“Is something troubling you, Luna?” Fancy asked politely.

Luna finished her coffee, setting the cup down. She nodded in thanks when he poured her another. “Many things, Fancy.” She paused, gathering the cup to her and simply holding it in her hooves. There were in fact several things bothering her, and one thing in particular that was... easier to talk about than angry mares accusing her of a theft of hearts. “I assume you have read what passes for news this morning?”

“Ah, yes. They were a little vindictive, but that’s hardly unusual.” Fancy Pants chuckled lightly. “Tomorrow they’ll have caught wind of some other scandal and your display will be quite forgotten.”

Oui!” Fleur piped in, sharing in Fancy’s amusement. “You mustn’t be too worried about them. I think perhaps your sister throws them tidbits and false leads to keep them occupied. It works well enough.”

“They... do this to my sister?” Luna asked, her visage growing darker as she stared down into the cup. The surface of the coffee rippled slightly as her hooves trembled. Bad enough they had embarrassed her, but the idea that they did similar things to her sister was much more infuriating.

As if sensing her change in mood, Fancy’s tone went from jovial to conciliatory. “Princess, I never meant to imply that the press causes your sister trouble. She plays them like a fine virtuoso. Indeed, I’ve long suspected the headlines are more or less hoof-chosen by her.”

Luna continued to glare at the innocent coffee, then in a swift motion ended its short life by pouring it down to the waiting fires in her stomach. She grunted unhappily. “My sister was ever thus, having the people eating out of her hooves. Whereas I am forever vexed by them.”

Princesse, would you have them eating out of your hooves as well?” Fleur asked, sitting down beside Luna and drawing her into a half-hug.

“I would have them all flogged.” Luna replied decisively. “Actually, I would have preferred execution, but Middy says we don’t do that anymore. And imprisoning them just means we feed and house them indefinitely. It seems an unworthy punishment.”

“Well, it wouldn’t really serve to help them learn much of anything.” Fancy allowed, setting out a plate of something he called biscuits, but to Luna were known as a cookie, albeit not a terribly sweet one. She took one, gingerly placing it in her mouth and wishing it was of the chocolate chip variety she favored, or at the least the ones made with that ‘peanut butter’ ponies had developed while she was gone. That was a cookie. Still, these were pleasant, if a little dry.

Much like Fancy’s sense of humor, she thought wryly.

They simply sat together for a time, munching on the biscuits and passing innocuous pleasantries. Fancy told them both of a recent business deal that had gone sour, and Fleur regaled them with tales of backbiting during a recent fashion show. Luna, for her part, told them a heavily edited tale of speaking with her sister in her dreams, omitting most of the details other than that she was doing better, and would return as soon as she had fully recovered.

“I think it best she take as long as needed, and then a little more besides.” Fancy said, taking the plate from the table and placing it on a nearby serving trolley. From the same, he produced a tray of watercress sandwiches from under a heavy silver lid. “Goodness knows she is the most dedicated civil servant in existence.”

“Celestia?” Luna asked, honestly confused. “She is a princess, not a servant.”

“I meant in the most literal sense of the word, Luna. Yes, she is the Princess, but she’s dedicated several lifetimes to her people. She kept the skies themselves moving, and somehow prevented three very different tribes of ponies from devolving into open warfare for even longer. She is, perhaps, the most wonderful servant to have walked the earth.”

“Only because she allows herself to be treated thusly.” Luna groused, taking a sandwich and angrily biting into it. “There was a time we were feared, and with good reason. But they came to us when Discord set himself upon the world. They begged us for aid to battle Sombra. Celestia was ever the kind-hearted one of us, and bid me to join her.”

“But... you did. Join her, I mean.” Fancy said, his eyes twinkling with some joke he was apparently not going to share.

“Aye. But not for them. For her. I had no love for them, nor they for me. If not for that bleeding heart of hers, we may not have come to blows, and I would not have spent many centuries trapped within my own charge.” Luna primly picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth. “And little has changed since, it seems. They are ever her ponies, and not mine.”

“Oh?” Fleur asked, pouring herself a cup of tea from another decanter. “That little filly seemed quite taken with you, did she not?”

“The little ones are different.” Luna replied, taken aback. “They are innocents, for the most part.”

“Yes, they are,” Fancy replied judiciously. “But they will grow up loving you, just as their parents grew up loving Celestia.”

Luna thought about that for a long moment, frowning. “They will still see my sister as the Princess. For generations, it was only her.”

“That is true, for generations it was only her. But then you returned, and the young Princess Cadence was also shown to the world.” Fancy sipped at his tea thoughtfully. “But she is beloved as the Princess of Love, and you—”

“I am the Princess of Night.” Luna interrupted. “The night that few enjoy. And further, the princess who raises the moon, which is a task Celestia herself can and has done in my stead.”

“Luna.” Fleur said, reaching across the table to gently touch Luna’s silver-shod forehooves. “That little one spoke of dreams, not the moon or the sun.”

The princess looked down at the carefully manicured hoof, her expression lightening slightly from its former dourness. “I favor the little ones during my patrols, aye. The adults can generally fend for themselves, but foals can be their own worst enemies, creating nightmares of true horror,” she shuddered very slightly. “It is something We work to spare them at all costs.”

“That... is something your sister has never done.” Fancy said breathlessly. “It is no wonder they speak of you so reverently.”

Luna’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Truly?”

Fleur De Lis nodded. “It is true. Amongst the young, you are well-favored. Fancy keeps track of such things, rumors, gossip. All of it can be useful to the right pony. And that would certainly explain why they love you so, Luna. Never has there been anypony to watch over dreams. At least, not in living memory.”

“They... they would not be so quick to thank me if they knew why their dreams had no champion.” Luna replied, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “My realm did not take kindly to my departure, and was left tumultuous and hostile until I was able to soothe it upon my return.”

Fleur nuzzled her gently on the side of her check. “Ma petite princesse triste... Why must you always do this? Surely you do not think you were the only pony to have taken the wrong path?”

Luna laughed bitterly. “No, but I had enough power to cause serious and lasting harm in my wake. I do not wish to cause that now. I had thought only to punish the wicked, and bypass them entirely to reassure... my ponies... that all was well. But it seems the direct methods are too much, and the wicked can still be heard very loudly.”

Fancy Pants joined Luna on the large couch, merely laying a single hoof on her knee in an attempt to comfort her. “As I said, your sister plays them well.”

“I do not know the paths of diplomacy my sister has paved over the centuries. I left a warrior, and returned as one.” She shrugged helplessly, her wings fluttering out at the tips. “My people do not need that, it seems. The enemies I face cannot be destroyed by force alone.”

“Well, the press can be a problem, to be sure,” Fancy replied. “But they are a tool, and like most tools there is a right and wrong way to utilize them. Threatening to crush them under your hoof, while understandable, was perhaps the wrong approach.”

Oui, though it was très amusant,” Fleur said, tittering into her hoof and giving Luna a little squeeze with the other arm wrapped around her. “But you do little but give them an excuse to call you a tyrant for it. They are immune to threats, as they hear similar things from your nephew quite often.”

“I do not threaten. I merely tell ponies what will occur if my will is not carried out.”

There was a long, uncomfortable silence, which Fancy ended with an awkwardly forced-sounding cough. “Well, be that as it may, the point is that the press won’t change their ways so easily.”

“Oh, We understand that, at least. Midnight is going to replace them all with their juniors, to teach them a lesson in humility. It seems a fine plan, though We still wish to test how pens fare against swords.” Luna sighed heavily. “Another time, I suppose.”

“Excuse me, did you just say you were replacing—” Fancy Pants began, before being cut off by Fleur.

“Tell me more about the pens and the swords! That sounds le plus excitant!”

Luna nodded, a slow grin growing on her face. “I was going to stage a grand exhibition! My guards with swords, and the press corps with their pens!” At Fleur’s look of pure unadulterated joy, she went on, happy to finally find another pony who could see the merit in her plan. “I had thought to use the Coliseum, but Middy said they would just fall and die,” she concluded with a pout. “Still, with the aid of a cloudwalking spell—”

Fancy Pants coughed loudly, his face turning a little blue, and after a few seconds spat out a chunk of biscuit. “I...” he took a huge breath, exhaling noisily. “I am sorry, Luna. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Fleur shot him an annoyed look, rubbing his back slowly. “Please, Luna, continue, if you would. The spell?”

Luna shook her head ruefully. “No, it’s just as well. Executions are not common anymore, and I was perhaps overly wrathful in my pursuit of justice. My sister... has always been there to dissuade me from the most direct course. I always resented that. Now... now I see she was the wiser of us, in many respects.”

She lay back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. There was still another matter weighing heavily on her mind. Perhaps... perhaps she could talk with them. After all, this was a social situation they were familiar with. “In truth, while I value your counsel about the press... I had wondered if perhaps you might have some wisdom to share about a problem of a more personal nature.”

From either side of her, she saw Fancy and Fleur exchange confused glances. Fancy was the first to speak, saying: “Well, of course we’d be glad to help in whatever way we can, Luna.”

Certainement!” Fleur said with a grin. “Tell us what troubles you so.”

Luna sat forward, throwing an arm around them both, drawing them close in a grateful hug. “Thank you, my friends. I... I truly thank you.”

With that, she began her tale. “Firstly, I think it important to explain where things may have gone wrong. I... do you recall the couple I brought to your party?”

Fleur’s face scrunched up a moment, but then cleared as she remembered. “Ah! Rarity and her new belle, the shy one. I liked her very much.”

“We... I do as well. But I seem to have erred greatly. She was quite wroth with me for nearly causing Rarity’s untimely death, of course, but it was more than that. I think I began badly when I found them post-congress in my bathroom—”

“Wait, get back to the part about the untimely death,” Fancy interrupted, his eyes wide.

“Actually, I wish to hear about the bathroom, that sounds fun.” Fleur said with a wide grin.

“Both in good time. Let me just say that ‘shy little pegasus’ is anything but when she wishes to be...”



Rainbow Dash had screwed up.

She didn’t know exactly how, but that much was apparent. It was actually driving her a little crazy, because she didn’t think she’d done anything stupid lately. There had been the thing with Pinkie, of course, but as far as she knew, she and AJ were cool about that.

But there had to be something, because at night, when Rainbow would snuggle with her, AJ wouldn’t snuggle her back. She’d been like that for days, and wasn’t up for anything fun, in bed or otherwise. She hadn’t actually kicked Dash out of bed, though. So, AJ was mad, but Dash wasn’t being punished. At least, not being told she was being punished.

She kind of wished she was being punished. At least then she wouldn’t be so worried all the time. She so badly wanted to ask what she had done, but she feared the obvious response: Dash should already know.

That was the worst part: She should know. She didn’t consider herself a very smart pony by any means, but she was also not a dumb one, so figuring out what it was should have been easy, if she was paying enough attention.

So she’d been watching AJ, while they were together, while AJ was working and Dash pretended to be napping, while Dash was supposed to be working but had in fact rushed the job so she could keep an eye out.

And she’d found out... nothing. AJ hadn’t talked to Apple Bloom, Mac, or Granny about it, either, whatever it was. Apple Bloom had been confused why she had even asked, and Mac... Mac had been Mac. Granny had been the worst, only cackling at her and wishing her luck.

So, AJ was unhappy, Dash couldn’t miss that if she tried, but she had no idea why. While she struggled to figure it out, she was still trying to act like everything was normal, because there was a very, very small possibility that whatever was bothering AJ wasn’t actually something Rainbow had done, and if she acted guilty, AJ would ask why. Then she’d be in the very special kind of torture of trying to come up with something she had done that would account for acting guilty, because denying any wrongdoing might actually lead to getting into trouble anyway.

Having a marefriend was hard work.

She was trying very very hard not to resent that. Because it wasn’t supposed to be work, it was supposed to be awesome. Two really hot ponies got together and made each other happy until they kicked the bucket at roughly the same time, easy peasy. But now she’d gone and screwed it up, and it was becoming like work to un-screw it up. Her ears wilted back, and she shifted uncomfortably on the branches of the tree she’d been trying to catch a real nap in. But sleep taunted her, remaining just out of reach.

Normally she loved sleeping in the branches. They smelled like AJ, after all. Or AJ smelled like them... whatever. Apple trees and AJ were two of her favorite smells. Plus, they were soft and hard in all the right places, that went for both the trees and AJ. And they provided just enough give to be comfortable but also enough firmness that she wasn’t afraid of falling out while she was napping. That one was just about the trees. She’d never actually tried napping on AJ. She imagined it would be lumpy and kind of awkward for them both. Trees were better for naps.

Unless AJ herself kicked her out of the tree, but that was okay, since she usually caught Dash when she did that. Assuming of course that she wasn’t mad at Dash... which might have been the reason sleep refused to come.

So, napping was out. She thought briefly about trying to catch up with AJ while she was selling apples in the marketplace, but she couldn’t just be around AJ every second, or she’d notice and want to know what Dash was doing and then say she was acting guilty and—

Dash had to consciously slow her breathing down as she looked down at herself and found she was huddled into a small unhappy ball of pony. She couldn’t keep doing this, whatever she’d done. She needed to figure it out fast so AJ could either punish her, or stop being so mad all the time, at least. She picked herself up, leaping up into the sky and spreading her wings wide to take flight.

Getting some air under her wings immediately made her feel better. She zipped around a cloud bank, briefly swirling it around and leaving a Tank-shaped mass in her wake. She stopped briefly to poke some eyes and that little smile of his into the head, then carefully hugged around the neck. It wasn’t him, of course, but it made her feel better.

Hey, yeah!

She didn’t have to hug some Cloud-Tank, she could go and visit the real deal instead! Then they could go flying and Dash could stop feeling like a dope for a little while. She nodded with determination, still stopping briefly to nuzzle the Cloud-Tank’s face. Even when he wasn’t around he made her happy.

She made a beeline for Fluttershy’s cottage, feeling more carefree than she had in days. Tank wouldn’t give a feather about whether AJ was mad or not. He loved her, and that was all that mattered. The hardest thing to figure about him was where he wanted to be scratched, and Rainbow always figured it out eventually.

Along the way, she made a brief stop at a field just outside Ponyville to gather some daisies and dandelions as a treat. Fluttershy always fed him hay, of course, but Dash had seen him snacking on flowers while she and the girls had their playdates. Tank had good taste in flowers.

Her arms laden with a bright floral bouquet, she took to the air once more, smiling all the while.

She had a plan. It wasn’t really going to help her with AJ, but maybe she could clear her head a little and figure things out afterwards. It was better than trying to nap in trees and failing miserably.



She found him in the middle of Fluttershy’s yard, with several cats perched on his shell batting at his head whenever he would stick it out. He didn’t seem bothered by this, and the cats seemed to have their claws sheathed, which was good, because Dash had been ready to be very upset and possibly violent, even if they were Fluttershy’s animals. But she might have known the big guy could fend for himself.

“Hey, buddy!” she exclaimed as she landed in front of him.

The cats immediately scattered, yowling and hissing at Dash as they ran. Tank poked his head out slowly, and seeing Dash extended his head fully, followed by his legs. He began a slow and ponderous pace towards her, which she cut short by sweeping him up in a big hug. Normally she tried to avoid great big emotional junk. It wasn’t cool. But the only pony ever here normally was Fluttershy, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell anypony on her.

She set him back down, patting his head fondly, which elicited that goofy tortoise grin he had. He was a huge dork, but she loved that. “Hey, you wanna go flying, boy?”

He just smiled at her, offering no visible opinion other than that he was happy to see her. Tank was just cool like that. He didn’t care if they were flying or just sitting on a cloud watching ponies pass by and occasionally setting off lightning strikes to scare them. He was the perfect guy to just chill out with.

Basically, the answer to anything she ever asked him was ‘yes’, but she still asked, because she liked to see him smile. Plus it was really, really cool to have a buddy that was down for anything, any time. He had Applejack beat in that department, hooves down.

“Yeah, I figured.” She said, flashing him a big grin of her own. “Sorry I haven’t been by in a while, things got weird for a bit, then this thing with AJ...” she trailed off, shaking her head. “Sorry, you don’t need to hear that. Lemme get your harness and we’ll head out.” She picked herself up from the ground, trotting towards the cottage—and bumped snout first into Fluttershy.

“Oh my goodness! Did I hurt you? Are you all right, Rainbow?”

A flurry of pink and yellow accompanied the stars Dash was seeing out of the corner of her eyes. She rubbed her nose gingerly. It was sore, but not very much. “Yeah, I’m okay. How about you?”

Fluttershy was a little busy looking at her in alarm, which was confusing, but also kinda expected from Shy. She rushed to the nearby end table to grab a box of tissues. “You’re bleeding! Hold on, let me help you...”

“No I’m not!” Rainbow protested, touching her hoof to her nose once more and then looking down at her hoof.

Oh. Huh.

Okay, she was bleeding. No biggie. She’d had worse. She’d just get the blood to stop and then head off with Tank.

Whoa. That’s a lot of blood...

What followed was a bit of a blur as her friend fussed over her. The bleeding did stop around the time her nose started swelling up to about twice its normal size, so that was good. Some time later, the swelling was finally going down thanks to the ice pack Shy had given her, and she was nodding gratefully as a tall glass of iced tea was put in front of her.

“Rainbow, I am so, so sorry. I was just going out to check on the cats. I didn’t know you were out there—”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing, Shy! I was just excited. I haven’t been flying with Tank in a while and I really needed to clear my head.” She put down the ice pack for a moment, picking up the tea with both hooves and gulping it down, wiping her mouth with her hoof when she was done. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Fluttershy nodded earnestly, worry still very pronounced on her face despite Dash’s assurances that she was fine. “Yes, you hit my cheek. It might bruise just a little, but I think it’ll be fine,” she replied, rubbing the cheek absently. “You should probably get your nose looked at. I think I heard something crunch.”

“Eh, probably just my neck cracking. I mean, my nose hurts, but not broken-nose kinda hurt.” Rainbow demonstrated by flexing her neck in a series of stretches, and indeed, several audible pops could be heard. “Doc says it’s okay, but he keeps complaining about me learning to land better,” she shrugged. “My landings rock! He’s talking about crashes, and you can’t really plan for those.”

“I wish you would be more careful, Rainbow.” Fluttershy said quietly. At least she didn’t look like she was planning to cart Dash off to the hospital, so that was good. “ If not for your sake, then for your friends who love you.”

Way to lay on the guilt trip, Shy, she thought, feeling more than a little bad for making her friend worry. It wasn’t like Shy didn’t have enough to worry about in her day to day life.

“Heh. I’ll try, Shy,” she said with a forced nonchalance. It wasn’t like she was a klutz or anything, but offering to be more careful seemed to mollify her friend a little more.

Dash touched her nose, flinching at how tender it was. Maybe Shy was right. It wouldn’t hurt to have it looked at. “Ugh. Stupid nose.”

“I... I guess you’re doing better after Twilight got you that potion?” Fluttershy asked, looking her over curiously as if trying to gauge her health, which she probably was.

“Hmmm?” After a moment Dash realized what Shy was asking about. “Oh, the plant thing. Yeah, slept a lot. Took a couple days to shake it.” That seemed to satisfy Shy, but her bringing up recent health issues, and a lack of a certain unicorn hanging around, made Dash uneasy. “Hey, how’s Rares?”

For a heart-stopping few seconds, Fluttershy didn’t answer, and Dash was beginning to re-live her fears about Rarity in the burning remains of the Boutique all over again. Twilight had mentioned they were going to do some magic mumbo-jumbo to fix things... had it screwed up?

“She’s fine,” Fluttershy answered finally, and with that Dash exhaled a long held breath. “She’s... she’s forgotten a few things from the last few days, but she’s okay.”

“Forgot?” Dash asked, confused. Could magic make you forget things? It had helped them remember things when Discord had worked his mojo on them all. She had a brief thought about how cool it would be if Twi could just magic away AJ’s memories of the last week or so, then immediately felt bad about it. She was pretty sure it wasn’t cool to think about messing with her marefriend’s head just because it might make things easier for her. “Like what?”

“Nothing really important.” Fluttershy said quickly. "Just some things. It's probably better if she forgot about them anyway.”

That made Dash’s ears perk up. It wasn’t like Shy to be evasive about... well about anything. Her way of evading things was usually to never ever mention them. So when she did mention something, but didn’t seem to want to talk about it... it usually meant it was something she wanted to talk about. Shy was weird like that.

“Things like what?” she dutifully prompted, hoping she wouldn’t have to press too hard before Shy broke. She started off easy, of course, but sometimes you had to push Shy a little before she’d say what was going on.

Fluttershy looked away, and Dash sighed internally. It was gonna have to be the hard way after all. “Shy, it’s just us here, right? Well, your friends too, but they won’t talk to anypony else, right?”

Fluttershy nodded, not saying a word.

“Kay, then spill. Did you do something that you’re glad she forgot about?”

That got a flinch out of her, letting Dash know she was on the right track.

“Right. Um...” Rainbow floundered, at a loss for anything that Shy could have possibly done that she’d want Rarity to forget about. Maybe some weird thing in bed?

Nah, not Shy. I bet she’s quiet as a mouse and twice as timid.

So, something else, then. The trouble was, Dash had no idea what that might be. “Look, I don’t mind listening, but... I can’t read your mind. If you wanna talk about it, that’s cool, but I feel bad trying to pry it out of you. Can’t you just... you know, tell me?”

“I...” Shy squeaked, snapping her mouth closed again.

“You... what?”

“I... I got mad.” Fluttershy finished, not looking at Rainbow at all.

Dash waited for something more that would justify that reaction, finally getting frustrated and demanding: “Okay, you got mad. Why?”

“I was afraid,” her friend replied quietly. “I didn’t want to lose her.”

“Gonna need a little more to go on, Shy.” Rainbow said, trying not to get mad herself. It was getting to be like trying to pull teeth. What was Shy so worried about? “Who were you gonna lose?”

“Rarity.” Fluttershy replied, her voice just barely audible despite how close Dash was to her friend.

Oh. Okay, that’d do it.

“Right, the whole magic thing.” Dash replied, nodding in understanding. “Okay, so you got scared. That’s cool. Who’d you get mad at?”

“Princess Luna.”

Rainbow tilted her head to the side, giving Shy a dumbfounded expression. “Um...”

“I... I thought she was trying to steal Rarity.” Fluttershy said in a rush. “She’s just so... princessy, and Rarity really likes that. But I can’t be that, Rainbow! I’m just me and I love her so much but I think maybe I hurt Luna’s feelings and then I lied to Rarity and—”

Dash’s eyes grew wider with each sentence. Stealing Rarity? Where was that coming from? “Wait, hold on—”

“But if I’m right then I don’t care if I h-hurt her!” Fluttershy said, her voice cracking as it rose in volume. “Well... I... I still care,” she continued in a slightly lower tone. “It’s... it’s just hard when somepony wants to take somepony from you and you’re just a pegasus who takes care of animals. I guess I could ask Harry to hit her but he’s very docile and I’d hate to do that to him—”

“Shy, I really, really need you to slow down—”

“Oh, Rainbow, I’m a horrible pony!” Fluttershy exclaimed, rushing around the table and throwing her arms around Dash, letting out a torrent of sobs into her mane.

Dash wrapped her arms around Fluttershy in turn, not sure what else to do.

She was really, really bad with this stuff.