Assist me!! Princess Luna!

by Hallowedsoul

Ch. 7: The Kind But Shy Pony... If That's Alright With You.

Please Help Me...
Princess Luna! (You don't have to if you don't want to...)

The lights dim as the curtain rises, revealing a room regally decorated in dark blue with a large bed covered in fine silk sheets, and an elegant wooden desk set up across from it. It appears to belong to some kind of royalty.

A spotlight shines down from above on an equine-like creature with a dark blue coat, a mane and tail that flow as if being blown by a calm breeze, both of which also appear to have been taken straight out of the night sky, along with a pair of large wings on her side and a long horn on her head. The hair on her flank is black with a white crescent moon and a single white star on it, and she is also wearing an onyx tiara and neckpiece along with silver slippers on her hooves.

She looks straight ahead when the spotlight shines on her and smiles sweetly.

“Greetings, wayward foals.” She begins soothingly “I am known as Princess Luna; Raiser of the Moon and Ruler of Equestria alongside my sister, Princess Celestia.”

Luna glances around for a moment before returning her attention to the front.

“Though we are not physically present in Equestria at this time; we are merely projecting our bedchambers in the Royal Canterlot Castle into the dreamscape.”

As if seeing this was met with confusion, she began to pace slowly in the room in a manner one would if giving a lecture, her head turned slightly to the front.

“To assist you in understanding, ‘tis a mysterious room; a room where you can do as you please.”

She stops and faces forward.

“In all honesty, ‘tis a sanctuary for the sad, wayward foals are unable to attain their true purpose in life; ‘tis an ‘Avalon’, so to speak.”

She begins to pace back slowly toward the center with a grimace on her face.

“If you are one of those fools who believes they do not require assistance, or who only wishes to discover hidden secrets, THEN BEGONE FROM THIS PLACE!” She stated, ending with a slight exclamation in the Royal Canterlot Voice and jabbing a hoof offstage.

She sighs and faces forward again.

“Wayward foal of the night, I grant you entry.”

And with that, she trots over to the left side of the room and sits upon a cushion, facing the other side. A butter yellow Pegasus with a light pink mane and tail trotted in, saw Princess Luna, gave a startled squeak and began to back away quickly.

"Oh no, Nightmare Moon! I-I-I don't have any candy, I'm sorry! If you let me go, I'll go straight to Bon Bon's and get some!" The Pegasus squeaked in terror, attempting to hide behind her mane the entire time.

Luna wasn't going to pretend she heard anything the Pegasus had said, instead glancing to her right with a deadpan stare that suggested she was rather tired of this. However, she coughed into one hoof and turned a warm smile to the terrified Pegasus, who'd made it to the curtain only to be pushed back out by a glittering icy-blue hoof.

"Dear Fluttershy, you need not be afraid of me here." Luna said sweetly, attempting to calm her down "I promise nothing will happen to you here."

"You're not going to eat me?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Um... could you repeat that, dear Fluttershy, I'm afraid I did not quite catch it." Luna said, a strained smile on her face.

"Oh, umm... you're not going to eat me?" Fluttershy squeaked again, only slightly louder and Luna gave an exasperated sigh and turned her to head to look behind her.

"Miss Dust, could you bring me a microphone, please?" She asked and after a moment, the glittering icy-blue hoof reappeared on Luna's side of the room holding a small device, which Luna took in her magic "Thank you, Miss Dust."

She levitated the device over to Fluttershy, who was cowering on the ground and trying to hide behind her mane as Luna magically clipped the device to her mane just in front of her muzzle.

"Okay, would you care to repeat what you have said, dear Fluttershy?" Luna asked sweetly again "I believe we should be able to hear you this time."

"O-okay. You're not going to eat me?" Fluttershy asked once more and this time Luna gave a warm chuckle.

"Of course not, dear Fluttershy." Luna replied with a warm smile "You are here because you need help with something. Do you mind telling me what it was you did before going to bed?"

"O-okay." Fluttershy said and looked up slightly at Luna "I-I was out in the market t-t-to buy some ingredients for a dish that Angel wanted, b-but I wasn't able to get the last item; a cherry to go on top. My friends wouldn't let me buy it at the price the merchant was asking for."

"I see." Luna nodded sagely, a pair of reading glasses on her muzzle and a notebook and pen floating in her magical grasp "And for what reason would they not allow that action?"

"They, um... they told me I need to be more assertive." Fluttershy replied quietly.

"And why would they say that?"

"Oh, um... it's because the entire time I was shopping, I would let other ponies ahead of me and also pay whatever prices the merchants set for their goods. I mean, they did work extra hard to grow it so I guess it's reasonable to set their own prices..." Fluttershy said and Luna looked at her over the rim of her glasses.

"But were the merchants' prices reasonable?" Luna asked.

"Not really, but I was okay with it." Fluttershy replied, looking away from Luna with a light blush on her face.

Luna sighed and stared at the butter yellow Pegasus a moment, trying to come up with something helpful to tell her, but ultimately came to the conclusion that she would have to be slightly harsh to the timid pony.

"Very well, I have come to a conclusion, dear Fluttershy." She said and fixed the Pegasus with a piercing stare "You are, unfortunately, a doormat."

Judging by the fact that Fluttershy merely hunched lower in an attempt to melt into the floor, Luna assumed she had been told as much by the other Elements.

"You simply cannot continue to allow other ponies to bully you around." Luna continued, setting aside her glasses, pen and paper "Being kind does not mean you have to be weak. If anything, Kindness is a far greater weapon than any sword I have seen. Have your friends given you any recommendations on how you can be more assertive?"

"Well, Rarity and Pinkie Pie tried to teach me some of their tricks, but it didn't work out so well for me..." Fluttershy replied, but then her ears stood straight up as she remembered something "Although... I did receive a pamphlet earlier talking about an assertiveness seminar being held by a minotaur called 'Iron Will'. I was going to go to it after taking a small nap."

"Hmm..." Luna said, a hoof up to her muzzle in thought "I do not believe trying to use somepony else's methods of assertiveness are going to produce the results you desire, but getting different views on the matter certainly helps. Very well, I have some advice for you, dear Fluttershy, would you care to hear it?"

"Um... do I have a choice?" Fluttershy asked and Luna gave her a sweet smile.

"Not particularly." She replied "Fluttershy, the key to assertiveness is to put your hoof down when another attempts to cross a line with you. As I have said, being kind does not equal being weak; there is a way you can be kind while being firm in your decision."

"Do you mind telling me, I mean, if that's okay with you..." Fluttershy asked quietly as the device was wrapped in a midnight blue aura and unclipped from her mane, levitating back over to Luna's side of the room and past the Alicorn into the waiting glittering icy-blue hoof of Diamond Dust who continued to remain largely unseen.

"I am afraid that I cannot." Luna replied sadly, shaking her head "It is something you must discover for yourself."

"Oh... okay then." Fluttershy said and began to back away again "Goodbye, Princess."

"Farewell, dear Fluttershy." Luna replied with a smile as Fluttershy disappeared behind the curtain on the side. There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of a knob being fiddled with but not a door opening.

"Oh... I'm not sure how to open this door." Fluttershy's quiet voice came from off-stage "This handle does not appear to work."

"Miss Dust, could you please help Fluttershy with the door?" Luna called out with a sigh as the curtains fell and the lights dimmed, signifying the end of the broadcast "And who's brilliant idea was it to use doors that are not pony-friendly?!"

Author's Note:

Guess who's back... back again... Luna's back... tell a friend!

Okay, just kidding, here's a special Fluttershy chapter for you, I hope you enjoy it! And thankfully, there's no non-pony characters to this one either; no Kokonoe or Lambda or Tager or Ulala (though don't count them out; if I can turn a giggly situation into Pinkie Pie-level hilarious, then you bet I'm gonna do it. That's what this story is about after all!)

Take care, and stay tuned for my next chapter!

Comments

[Dirty Bit]

T'would be hilarious to see Fluttershy return after her whole 'assertive' debacle

[Some random Rapidash]

Yes a new chapter! *fist pumps*

LEEEEEEROOOOOOY JEEEEENNNKKKKIIIIINNNNNSSSSSS!

[Hallowedsoul]

3047797 I aim to please, my friend.