Fulfilling

by PegasusMesa

Ch 8: In Which Pinkie Returns, Fluttershy Avoids Talking, and Luna Gets Overly Depressed

Three days later, Luna once more alighted in front of the Ponyville library. "I seem to be coming here quite often, recently," she mused. "Not that that's a bad thing, I mean." I wonder if Fluttershy has arriv—no, it does not matter! We're friends! Friends! Nothing more! To think anything else is—

"Um, h-hi, Luna."

"UWAHAhaha!" the princess shrieked, spinning defensively and adopting a fighting stance. Her face burned with embarrassment when she saw that it was just Fluttershy who had come up behind her. "Erm, *cough*, good evening, Fluttershy! How farest thou?"

"Happy that you're here," the pegasus admitted. "I-I'm sorry to have frightened you."

"Do not fear, thou didst not truly alarm Us! That—it was merely a move We have been practicing!" Curses, why can I not speak normally? "It is good to see th—you."

"I thought I heard voices out here," said Twilight, poking her head past the now-open door. "C'mon in, everypony else is waiting!"

The moment Luna stepped into the room, all noise cut off. Rarity, Applejack, and even Rainbow Dash (although she tried to hide it) all stared at the newcomer with uncertainty in their eyes.

"Greetings?" Luna said nervously. She threw on the most charming smile that she could muster.

The tension in the room was so taut that a knife could have cut it. Finally, Rainbow broke the atmosphere. "So, um... have you ever heard of the Wonderbolts?"

"Rainbow! What makes ya think the princess'll care about that?" Applejack snapped.

Once the first question had been asked, all reservations were discarded almost immediately. Twilight re-introduced the mares to the princess, and they began to ply her with questions.

Rainbow was by far the most inquisitive of the bunch. Earlier, Twilight had mentioned to her how Luna was well-known as the general of Equestria's armies, and the pegasus's thirst for more knowledge had only sharpened over time.

"Technically I am still the leader of the grand Equestrian army, but it is an empty title," Luna explained. "There has not been any need for such a force in decades, and thus the army only consists of the castle guard."

"But still," Rainbow said, "you probably know all sorts of cool fighting moves and stuff!"

"Well, I... yes, I do know quite a bit about things pertaining to combat."

A full hour passed before Luna realized that one mare was missing. "Twilight, is there not another pony who is part of your group? Pinkie Pie, the element of laughter, if I remember."

"Yeah, that's... we're not really sure where Pinkie has been—she just disappeared a month ago. I'm actually getting a litle worr—" The doorbell cut the young princess off.

"Ah got it," Applejack said, trotting to the door and pulling it open. "What can Ah—Pinkie!" The mare in question stood in the doorway, her face sporting a passive expression.

"Pinkie! We were just talking about you!"

"Where have you been?"

"What have you been up to?"

"C'mon in, siddown and tell us what ya've been doin'!"

As the pink mare serenely took a seat, Luna leaned towards Fluttershy. "Is she not well known for always smiling and being joyful? Why, then, is her expression so bland?"

"I noticed that too," the pegasus whispered back. "I hope nothing's wrong."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'm fine," Pinkie said, apparently having heard what their quiet exchange. "I just spent the past couple weeks in the mountains, training under a master in the ways of parate."

Twilight frowned. "You mean 'karate'?"

"No, silly, I mean 'parate'. I learned that the true party master keeps her emotions on the inside. I'll be right back; I have to go to the little fillies' room."

"This is bad, girls," Twilight said as soon as Pinkie left.

Rarity frowned in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

"You know how Pinkie is always acting... hyper? I can't think of a better word... Anyway, what would happen if she restrained all of that energy?"

"I don't get what you mean," Rainbow said.

Applejack coughed to get everypony's attention. "Ah think Ah understand... If she's not lettin' the 'hyper' out, then it'll build up like crazy, so that when she does let it out, it'll be a lot stronger than usual."

"Exactly! You know, AJ, I think you've got a bit of a scientist in you..."

Hoofsteps announced Pinkie's return. "Now," she said, "shall we get this party started?" Nopony saw her move, but a bright pink flash lit the room, blinding all present. As soon as their vision returned, they gasped in amazement.

Streamers hung from the ceiling in intricate patterns. At least a dozen assorted types of food lay on a table that had not previously been in the library. Balloons floated in the air, games sat open and ready to play, a bright-red punch swirled in its glass bowl... It was too much to have been done by an earth pony in just the blink of an eye.

"I never..." Luna started, gazing blankly at the festive array. "When did... this is..."

"This is Pinkie Pie," Twilight provided helpfully, as if that explained everything. "Actually, I kinda like this! Usually there's more of a mess for me to clea—"

"I FORGOT THE CONFETTI!" Pinkie shrieked happily. Explosions of color appeared at the ceiling, and what must have been a forest's worth of multi-colored confetti floated down. Miraculously, none of it contaminated the food or beverages.

"Why did I say that?" the purple alicorn moaned. "Of course there's a mess. There's always a mess!"

Rainbow saw the party master grin to herself while bouncing in place. "Hey, Pinks, I thought you were trying to be emotionless, or something."

"Oh I was, but that got so boring!" she chirped.

The next few hours were some of the happiest that Luna could remember. She talked, she laughed, and she joked, and the whole time, Fluttershy sat beside her. They conversed with each other constantly, sharing opinions and ideas, and generally enjoying each other's presence. The alicorn found that her friend had plenty of insight, and that she noticed quite a lot—all one needed to do was listen.

"Um, you've got some..." the pegasus said, pointing at Luna's cheek, "...you've got some icing on your face."

"Oh, Luna, I just remembered!" Twilight said. "Did you have any luck finding whatever creature it was that attacked you and Princess Celestia?"

The dark princess's face sobered. "Alas, the specter has eluded our best efforts. Likely, it is not even in Canterlot anymore. In fact..." Her eyes widened, as if disturbed by a troubling thought. "Its goal was to possess my body, but it is possible that any alicorn would satisfy its needs. Tell me, how learned are you in magic that defends the mind?"

"I understand the basics, but I've never tried to apply them..."

Luna sighed sadly. "It is regrettable, but I believe it to be very important that I teach you how to properly shield yourself from mental invasion."

"Right now?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I... I understand." Twilight turned to her other friends, eyes immediately fixing on the disappointed look that Fluttershy wore. "Um, girls—"

"It's ok!" Pinkie said. "We'll be alright until you're done!"

Luna and her fellow princess separated themselves from the rest of the group. "Now," she began, "the most important thing to remember is that you must maintain this spell constantly. Never release it, even when sleeping. Do you understand?"

"I—I think so."

"Very well. To cast it, you must first clear your mind, then..." Her horn glowed and she wove the magic into exactly the form she desired. "...just like so."

Twilight imitated Luna's example, and on the very first try, successfully created a barrier to protect her thoughts. "Whoa, this is... I can already feel it sapping my strength! It's going to be tiring, keeping this up all the time, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately, that is the case," Luna replied. "However, it will become easier, both as you get used to it and as your own abilities improve. If you're ready, I am going to test the integrity of your spell." When Twilight nodded, Luna's pupils vanished, and the purple alicorn felt something bump against her barrier. Suddenly, the shield was rent asunder and cast aside before Luna's voice echoed through her head. As you can see, it is not perfect yet. However, I judge that your skill is adequate for the time being.

"Is there anything else I need to know about this?"

"There is one thing to keep in mind," the dark mare said. "The strength of your barrier is dependent upon your resolve. If you have a strong mind, then the shield will be strong as well. However, if you lose the will to protect yourself, then an enemy will have no problem at all in breaking through."

"Wait, does that mean that the spell fails if I get really sad? That's a pretty silly weakness, if you ask me."

Luna opened her mouth to elaborate further when, from across the library, she heard Pinkie say, "Wait, what?! Fluttershy, you've been dating?!"

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Fluttershy watched as Luna and Twilight held their hushed conversation. From time to time, their horns would light up, making it clear that they were casting spells.

For the first time in her life, the pegasus found herself wishing that she, too, had the ability to use unicorn magic. Perhaps then Luna would take her into a corner and—

...What? Fluttershy wondered. I've never thought something like that before! Am I... jealous of Twilight? It did make sense—after all, the youngest princess got to spend quite a bit of time with Luna. Even more, Twilight was the dark princess's very first friend. But why does that even matter? Luna's my friend anyway, no matter what Twilight is to her. I have no reason to be jealous of anypony. She forcibly banished all thoughts of jealousy from her mind.

"So, Fluttershy, I haven't gotten to see you in the past few days," Rarity said, dragging the pegasus out of her reverie. "How did your big date go?"

"Wait, what?!" Pinkie exclaimed, jaw dropping. "Fluttershy, you've been dating?!"

Luna visibly flinched, but only the yellow mare noticed it, so absorbed were the rest of them in her answer. "Um, I-I have..." Fluttershy said. She didn't enjoy being in the spotlight under normal conditions, and the current topic only made things worse.

"Who?! When?! Where?! Why?!" Pinkie stood nose-to-nose with the pegasus.

"A b-bunch of p-po-ponies, over the p-past few weeks."

"Pinkie, you're making her nervous!" the white unicorn said admonishingly. "Let her breath, at least."

"Oh. Sorry..."

"It's okay." Fluttershy became suddenly aware of Luna's presence. The alicorn, who hadn't made a move to cross the room, didn't say anything, but she was clearly listening. I shouldn't discuss this where she'll hear me...

"But do tell us the details of your date," Rarity continued. "It would be wonderful if you and Mac got together, after all."

"Why do you say that?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, he is one incredible hunk of a stallion—"

"Hey! That's mah brother y'all are talkin' about!"

"That doesn't change the truth, dear."

"Um..." I can't tell them how it really went, not yet! But I can't lie and make something up either. What do I say, what do I say... "It was... n-nice."

For a moment, nopony said a thing, and only after a very uncomfortable few seconds of staring did Rainbow voice what was on everypony's mind. "'Nice'?"

"Yes. 'Nice'." There, problem solved! she thought proudly.

"Funny, that's what Big Mac said when I asked him," Applejack mused.

Fluttershy glanced at Luna, strangely nervous over what she thought of it. "L-Luna...?"

"I must thank all of you," Luna said, not even looking at the pegasus. "I know that you gathered here to make me feel welcome, and I appreciate it greatly. I hope that you consider me a friend, as I do all of you. However, I just recalled that there is something in Canterlot that requires my immediate attention. Again, thank you, and farewell." The silence was pregnant as she abruptly walked out, shutting the door behind her with a little more force than was necessary.

"What crawled up her plot?" Rainbow asked.

"Rainbow!" Fluttershy said in a raised voice, which surprised everypony. She put her nose right up against the other pegasus's. "That is not how we talk about our friends! Think about how you would like it if we said things like that about you when you weren't here!"

"I... I guess I wouldn't..."

"Luna is our friend, and we should trust her! If she says that she has work to do, then that's the truth!" She suddenly noticed how all her other friends were staring at her, and she cringed backwards. "W-wait, that's... I m-mean... oh, I didn't have to be so angry about it... I'm sorry..."

"Nah, it's alright," the blue pegasus said bashfully. "That was a pretty rude thing for me to say, so..."

"Hey, let's all cheer up!" Pinkie shouted. "Nopony meant anything bad, so we can forget about it! Now, howsabout we eat up some of this cake..."

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Shadows littered the road that connected Ponyville and Canterlot. The wind blew lightly, causing the tree branches to dance. However, one spot of murky darkness moved separately from the myriad shadows. It slithered from tree trunk to tree trunk, searching for the prize that it knew had to be here.

It knew that it was close.

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Luna flew through the night sky, performing acrobatic stunts in order to blow off some steam. She knew that if she exerted herself, she wouldn't have to worry about thinking.

She wouldn't have to worry about her.

The princess turned downwards and dived, spinning in a corkscrew as she plummeted towards the ground. Only at the last moment did she open her wings and pull up, thus avoiding meeting her end as an alicorn pizza. Luna felt her muscles begin to tire, but she refused to take a break. If she stopped, her mind would start moving again, and that was to be avoided.

She conjured a series of glowing hoops in mid-air and proceeded to navigate her way through them at high velocity. The hoops began to move, which meant that more coordination would be required in order to fly through them. Luna didn't even pause as she pushed herself to her limits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A pair of eyes, watching from afar, narrowed, before the owner turned and darted away in a rainbow-colored flash.

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"Another fine evening with our friends," Rarity reminisced to Fluttershy as they walked together. "And I'm so glad to have met Luna at last! She's simply marvelous! Such grace—such poise—such confidence!" Her eyes sparkled with admiration.

You don't have to tell me... Fluttershy thought. "She seemed unhappy when she left, though."

"Perhaps it was just because she had to leave early? You would know better than I." The unicorn nudged her friend playfully. "You kept her to yourself all evening!"

"I did?!" The pegasus's face grew apologetic. "I-I'm so sorry, I d-d-didn't mean to! I was j-just—"

"It's fine, dear, I was just teasing," Rarity assured her. "Although it's true that you two were nearly insep—"

"Hey!" shouted Rainbow, landing between the two mares. "Rarity, you mind if I borrow Fluttershy?"

"We're nearly at the boutique anyway, so feel free! Good night!" She waved farewell as her friends took to the sky.

"Wh-what did you want me for?" Fluttershy asked.

"C'mon, there's something I gotta show you."

Within a few minutes, the two pegasi arrived over a field along the borders of the Everfree Forest. "I'm not..." Fluttershy started, confused. "What am I looking for?"

"Over there," Rainbow answered while pointing at a low-hanging cloud. "See who's sitting on that?"

"I don't—" The yellow mare gasped when she realized that it was Luna, lounging around after having told her friends that she was leaving to do work. "Rainbow, I—I guess you were right."

"Naw, that's not it," the other pegasus said. "I didn't bring you here to get her in trouble or anything. Look, see how exhausted she is? She's sweating and panting like crazy!" Sure enough, Fluttershy could see that Rainbow was right. "You didn't see her before, but she was going through one hay of a workout."

"I don't understand..."

"Isn't it obvious?! Something's bothering her! Look, whenever I get down about something—not that I ever let anything get me down—I do things that'll tire me out. It keeps me from having to think about whatever the problem is."

Fluttershy put a hoof up to her chin thoughtfully. "And you're saying that Luna did all that exercise just so she wouldn't worry about something?"

"Yup."

"Then—why did you need me, if you already know all this?"

"Come on, are you gonna make me explain everything?" Rainbow whined. "I may not be the most 'touchy-feely' pony in Ponyville, but even I could see that she's a lot closer to you than to me."

"So..."

"So, you have the best chance of cheering her up!"

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Out on the cloud, Luna sprawled on her back while her chest rose and fell heavily. A full hour of intense flying left her with almost no energy, but unfortunately, as soon as the workout ended, her thoughts turned themselves back on.

Fluttershy is dating... they whispered in her head. Dating a stallion... a real hunk of a stallion...

"Stop—*pant*—it—*wheeze*—" Luna ordered. She belatedly noticed the presence of tears on her cheeks.

She's dating... their date was nice...they're very happy together...

"L-Luna?"

When she heard her name, the princess scrambled to her hooves, nearly falling from the cloud in the process. She managed to stand up straighten her tiara before regarding the visitor; although she hadn't been expecting anypony to find her, she was still surprised to find that it was Fluttershy.

"Ah, no! This isn't—I'm not—" She sighed sadly. "You caught me... I-I don't actually have anything important that needs to be done right this instant..."

"It's ok," the pegasus said, landing on the cloud to sit beside the blue mare. "I'm sure you had a good reason for making it up."

Instead of answering, Luna swallowed heavily and sat down as well.

"Why are you crying?"

"I am not crying!" the alicorn insisted.

"But, your face—"

"It is but sweat!"

The yellow mare decided not to press the point. "So..." Fluttershy started when she saw that her companion wasn't going to speak further, "do you want to talk about what's bothering you? I m-mean, only if you d-don't mind."

"Wha?! Why—why dost thou ask that?" Talk like a modern pony, Luna. "Sorry, I meant, what makes you think something is wrong?"

"Well, um, Rainbow kind of saw you flying, and, um, figured out what you were trying to do, so she brought me here."

"She—she was worried about me?"

"Any of your friends would be worried!"

"...Very well, I shall admit that there is an issue that is... troubling me." Why am I telling her this? "But it is something that I must overcome on my own." Although I know not how I shall accomplish that...

"Some problems are easier to solve with help," Fluttershy said, thinking of a time when Applejack had tried to solo-harvest her entire orchard.

"I understand, but this is not one of those problems. It is very... personal, I suppose is the best way to describe it."

"I-I'm sorry if I'm prying," the pegasus apologized. Her head tilted downwards. "I d-didn't mean to make you unc-comfortable—"

Well done, Luna, now you're making her feel bad, too! "Do not make that face, please; I truly do appreciate the offer. If I change my mind, you shall be the one I speak with about it. How is that?"

"I'd be more than happy to help you with any problem!"

For a few long minutes, the two mares simply sat and observed the night sky. Luna inspected it for any flaws, while Fluttershy merely enjoyed the sight.

"B-back at the library, when the girls asked me about my date..." The pegasus's hesitant words startled Luna so badly that she once again nearly fell from the cloud. As soon as the crisis passed, Fluttershy continued. "I'm not, um, actually with Big Macintosh. We agreed to be friends early on. It was a nice dinner with a friend, but that was it."

"What about him did you not like?" That is a relief... Luna shook her head to clear it of the unwanted thought. No, it's not a relief! Not a relief at all! Why would it be a relief?

"It wasn't him. He's actually a very nice pony... I'm the one who..." Her voice trailed off before the sentence's end.

Luna almost asked about what Fluttershy didn't want to say, but at the last second decided against it. If she wanted to tell me, then she would. I must respect her privacy, since she is respecting mine. The alicorn turned her gaze back to the stars, but looked back down immediately when something bumped into her side.

"I'm sorry," the pegasus said, trying to stifle a yawn. She was wobbling a little bit, which had caused her to lean into the other mare for a moment. "I should be in bed and asleep by now, but—" She yawned again. "—it's just so nice out here, I would hate to go inside." Luna felt her heart melt as a third yawn came.

Surprised at her own audacity, the princess stretched out a wing and wrapped it over Fluttershy's back. A friendly wing! This is nothing more than that! "If you wish to sleep, you may do so here," she said in answer to the yellow mare's uncertain glance. Fluttershy accepted the offer, and she was soon asleep, head burrowing into Luna's chest.

Friends do things like this, right? I'm sure friends cuddle all the—oh, who am I kidding? Watching tenderly over her slumbering companion, the alicorn sighed in resignation. I...I guess... Discord was right the whole time. I'm in—

"'I guess Discord was right the whole time', you're probably thinking," said Discord from above. "You're in love!"

"Y-you!" she exclaimed, craning her neck to look at the dragonequis. "Stop doing that! How long have you been up there?!"

"Long enough!" he said gleefully. "Haa, just try to argue with me now—I dare you! No, wait, I double diamond dog dare you!"

"...Very well. I shall admit that perhaps there is the smallest kernel of truth to what you say, just this once."

A giant, glowing sign burst into existance directly in front of the stunned princess. In bold words, it read, I TOLD YA SO!'; a loudspeaker, shouting "Nya nya nya nya!" completed the effect.

"What a relief! I almost thought that this billboard was going to go to waste in my warehouse of unused props, but thanks to you, I get to use it at least once!"

"Be silent!" Luna hissed. "You'll wake her!"

"Pssh, an earthquake couldn't wake this one when she's sleeping," Discord scoffed. "I should know—she slept through every single one of my 'good morning, sunshine!' pranks. What a waste of time that was." He tugged Fluttershy's mane lightly, then rapped her on the head with his knuckles. "See?" Instead of waking up, she just gave a loud snore and dug herself further into her "pillow".

"It is amazing how she can make even a snore seem adorable," the alicorn noted.

"Yes, I never did figure out how she does that..."

Luna realized that she was having an almost-civil conversation with this vile creature. "Fine, my secret is out! I have feelings for this pegasus! What do you intend to do with that knowledge?"

"Well, I was planning on leaving you be and doing nothing, but if you want, I can put up posters... maybe take out an ad in The Equestrian Times... ooo, what about a documentary about this forbidden love?"

"Doing 'nothing' will suffice," Luna said with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Discord let out an exagerated yawn. "But as much as I love hanging out with a cow as boring as you, there are actual important things for me to do, so I'll bid you adieu!"

"Who dost thou name, 'cow'?" she asked angrily to the space where he had disappeared. "Fiend..."

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On the underside of the cloud, green eyes glittered wickedly. The specter had heard everything said above, and it finally knew what to do in order to make the blue one its own.

Comments

[Phaoray]

I feel the spectre could avoid all this trouble by simply possessing a cake and getting Celestia to notice it.

[PrincessLunaTheGamer]

3446051 unfortunately, everything must have drama. Although... Maybe they could borrow Vinyl Scratches shades! Try looking at their eyes then, Spectre!