• Published 24th May 2013
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To Swoon the Stars - LucidTech



When the chilling winds of harsher trials whip through their lives, can Luna and Hendrick find the strength in each other to endure? Sequel to 'To Befriend the Night'

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Chapter Twelve

Luna stood still, her muscles relaxed. This was very impressive to the two stallions flanking her. As the whipping winds lashed against the ponies, Luna alone was unaffected. Her guards braced against the gusts, muscles fighting every force against them, but they managed to stand firm all the same. Between them all, only Luna’s mane dared to move, but it did so with impossible ease, seeming not to know the wind at all.

This was, of course, the biggest liability of the Canterlot castle, its height putting it often in the path of extremely turbulent gales. Down in Canterlot proper, the buildings acted as wind breakers, but here at the landing for the pegasus chariots, they had no such luxury. They worked with it as best they could, finding special fliers who could handle the elements.

It was common knowledge that the fastest pegasi would be welcomed to the Wonderbolts, but the slow and steady would find themselves pointed to the sister campaign: the Royal Escorts. These pegasi spent a large portion of their job transporting the princesses, all the princesses, and brought in enough pay doing so to support themselves and their families. It was their normal fare. On occasion though, they were called to bring others to the castle at the princesses’ request. Today, they had the opportunity to provide both of these duties.

Against the howling wind, Luna heard the sound she had been waiting for and snapped herself from her thoughts. A chariot whipped and snapped madly through the air before landing with a crash of noise, braking to a sudden halt on the stone. As the passengers recovered from their whiplash, Luna moved towards the flier of the craft. She knew him well; they had met on more than one occasion since her return, and he had proved invaluable time and again.

“Thank you, Steel Pinion,” Luna offered simply.

“At the rate you’re paying me,” Pinion began with a smile, “I should have brought twice as many ponies just to even it out.” Before the princess could respond at all, the driver had gone with the carriage, his passengers having stepped off of their ride, if only just. Luna shook her head for a moment before turning back to the arrivals. They bowed, as was common etiquette, and then they ran towards her to wrap her in a group hug, which was not common etiquette, but was greatly appreciated all the same.

“Thank you for coming, all seven of you.”

“When Princess Celestia said she needed us here to present a united front, we weren’t going to pass it up!” Twilight Sparkle shouted over the winds, the ponies all pulling away from Luna, Pinkie doing so only after another tight squeeze. “I mean, it’s not everyday that—” Luna’s hoof raised in a bid for silence as Twilight’s voice was forced louder and louder by the background noise.

“Perhaps we’d best go inside to continue this discussion,” Luna shouted, actively trying to avoid slipping into the Royal Canterlot Voice. The mares and dragon all nodded in agreement, though the whipping manes made almost any movement completely indistinguishable.

The group began their walk towards the entrance to the castle, the guards joining them as they approached. Luna spotted a form of pink slowly edging into her view until she glanced over, curious. There, she saw Pinkie Pie fighting against the wind to close the distance between them. With each step, she seemed to gain more ground and was alongside Luna before too long. Luna raised an eyebrow at this, but remained silent. Pinkie Pie seemed to be holding in the desire to shout and so Luna waited for her to speak first. When Pinkie did at last speak up it came as an excited whisper, barely contained.

“If you need a wedding planner,” Pinkie rasped, somehow audible against the wind. “I’m totally up for thaaaaat.” Luna locked eyes with Pinkie for a moment before nodding curtly. Pinkie began to hop happily, the wind catching her and slowing her down until she was even with the rest of her friends, at which point she fell back into a trot. Out of view of the other ponies, the princess allowed herself a simple smile.

Upon their entry into the castle, the winds abated and the guards all but sighed with relief. A peaceful quiet replaced the howling they had been steeped in only moments before, and as if in relief and respect, none of the group made any noise to break it. Luna stood still for a moment, just inside the threshold, as Twilight closed the doors behind them. They stood there for a moment, long after the awe had faded from the seven guests. With a deep calming breath as a prelude, Luna descended down the stone staircase laid out before her and into the castle proper with guards once again flanking on either side, though they left and moved out of sight into the rest of the castle once they met the floor.

The seven followed her, still silent, as she led them through the castle to their rooms. Twilight had teleported the baggage ahead to ease the trip, but she was not quite in the state of mind to try a mass teleport of seven individuals across such a long distance, nor did she ever expect to be in such a state of mind for a long time.

After all but chewing through her lower lip in nervous anxiety, Twilight spoke up in a soft voice. “I just wanted to thank you for inviting us to Canterlot. It’s not everyday we get the opportunity to visit you both.”

Luna glanced back, her face impassive. “I am sorry it could not be under better circumstances, Twilight. As it stands, I do not know how much enjoyment you will find here.” Luna turned her gaze forward, but her voice kept a grave tone. “In addition to the duties already asked of you, my sister has insisted that you remain in the castle until tomorrow’s announcement. She hopes that you and your friends will provide a symbol of unity to all the ponies watching and prevent, or at least hamper, any acts of undue anger. By keeping your arrival under wraps, she hopes to add some element of shock to it.”

“So, what decision did she come to?” Rainbow asked, a biting tone to her words. “Is she gonna just let the changeling go free?” She crossed her hooves in front of her and let her eyes fall half way in disapproval. Rainbow’s gaze began to wander among her compatriots before stopping at Fluttershy, who looked at her with poorly hidden spite. Rainbow made to apologize as Fluttershy flicked her gaze away, but she was interrupted.

“She would not tell me. Truthfully, I know as much about the decision she will make as anyone else does.” Luna’s tone was unreadable as she spoke, but the words were more than enough to stir worry in the seven who followed her.

Twilight glanced at her friends, all of whom looked uneasily at Luna in return. Each of them wondered about what had just been said, about how Celestia hadn’t even told her sister her plan. It seemed… strange. But none of the seven had the courage to speak what was on their mind for fear of incurring Luna’s wrath.

Luckily, none of them were forced to speak. Luna seemed to have guessed their reaction by the absence of a response. “Everyone seems to be keeping secrets lately. I can only trust that there is a good reason for it, because there has to be.” Luna looked at Twilight, who tried her best to hide the look of uneasiness on her features. “You have known my sister more than I. Surely, you understand that she would not make the wrong decision.”

“I do trust in Celestia, but with all respect, Princess Luna, wouldn’t you have known her longer? Before your… uh… leave of absence, I mean.” Twilight glanced to and fro briefly before looking back at Luna, one eye twitching in worry.

“She was a different pony then, Twilight. It is clear that she has changed since that time. Her ego and philosophy appears to have been rebuilt over the past millennia. It was torn away by my actions, and the reaction she was forced to make in response. Built again by her students, of which you are no small part.” Luna smiled to Twilight. “And I thank you for that.”

Twilight stared back in silence and shock for a moment before Luna continued. “We have arrived at your rooms.” They all turned to look at the hallway before them, three doors on one side and four on the other with a set of luggage resting in front of them indicating who was to be sleeping where. “You are free to move around as you will. And if one of you does not desire a separate room—” She glanced at Spike. “—he… or she, is more than welcome to work something out with the others.” Spike looked back bashfully in response.

“Now I must be going, but if something does not suit you or you need a change, do no hesitate to have a guard contact me. I will sort it out as best I can.” She smiled at each of her friends again before continuing. “I will see you later, and until then, I ask you try and have a good visit.”

“Princess Luna, wait,” Rarity called, her friends pausing only briefly in curiosity before they went to settle into their rooms. Luna looked at her with a curious gaze, waiting for her to continue. She seemed to be struggling with her words for a moment before she moved her gaze away from the inquiring eyes of the princess. “I was just wondering. I mean. I know not to believe everything I read in the magazines of course, but… well, while I’ve only met Hendrick in passing, he certainly left an impression at the Grand Galloping Gala. I was just wondering…. How’s he doing? I’ve heard… some things.”

“Rarity,” Luna began, her voice soft and her face stoic. “the unfortunate fact is this—” Rarity moved her gaze back to Luna, who waited for a moment before continuing. “—Hendrick suffers from the same problems that have plagued me in the past, and it is far too deeply rooted in far too serious a memory for him to be rid of it easily. But he is willing to work through it, and I have faith he will. In time.”

Rarity looked blankly onward for a moment, her mind busy cataloguing the information she’d just been given. It was only a moment before she nodded in understanding. “Ah. Alright. I was… I was worried about some rumors I’d heard is all.”

“You know, Rarity, there’s a local newspaper that tries to avoid rumor milling. I’ll see if I can get you a subscription form. If you want one, that is.”

“I’m already subscribed to Front Page’s paper, Princess Luna,” Rarity said with a half smile, “but I think with Hendrick editing it, it is prone to an unconscious bias. I wanted to get the report from an outside group.”

“A fair desire,” Luna said, a shadow of a smile on her face for a moment. “All in all, I can assure you, Hendrick is working through it. You have a lot more on your plate right now to worry about, after all.” Rarity seemed to agree with that, but didn’t seem to eager to speak up. When no response was forthcoming, Luna brought a teleportation spell to mind, casting a soft blue glow onto her surroundings. “I wish you the best, Rarity.”

“Thank you, Princess Luna,” Rarity said, bowing her head in response.

“And thank you for caring,” Luna said with a bow of her own.

There was only a flash of light to indicate the cast of a spell, and where Luna had been, there was suddenly nothing. Rarity stayed motionless for a moment in the silence before moving towards her friends to settle in for the stay, unable to shake the shard of doubt lodged in her heart. She trusted Luna, of course, but Rarity found her worries were very hard to quell.

Author's Note:

Edited by Staple Cactus. Produced by LucidTech. Made possible by viewers like you. Thank you.