Chapter 25: Let's Not Go to Canterlot. (It is a Silly Place)
“Rookie!”
Stardust bristled at the insulting nickname. He’d been in the Guard for a few months now, and had survived long enough to be called something other than—
“Rookie! You daydreaming or what?”
He sighed and gave his senior a look of annoyance. “I have a name you know...”
“Yeah, yeah. Some mail came in for the Sarge. Directly from Princess Celestia. Needs to get to her five minutes ago.”
“So why aren’t you taking it to her?” Dust would never admit it but the Sarge scared him, in a way not even the princesses did.
“Because you’re here. Now march it up there like a good rookie.”
Dust grabbed the envelope in his muzzle and stalked off, grumbling around it. What in the hay was so important that it had to come from the Princess directly? Somepony like the Sarge wouldn’t normally even be on the Princess’ radar. What could this possibly be about? She was scary enough, but knowing the Princesses were sending her a message made him wonder just what it would take to make that necessary. It wasn’t like the changelings were back...
Oh ponyfeathers, what if they are? He’d heard the rumors; who hadn’t? But if even half of them were true, he wasn’t sure how she’d survived. How exactly does one lone pegasus take down a squadron of griffons and live to talk about it? That was completely ignoring the impossible tale of her making a fully-grown drake back down. He was certain that one was true, as he still broke out in a cold sweat whenever he remembered the look she'd given him the first time he'd messed up in a big way. Looking her in the face was dangerous for more than one reason; if she caught you staring at the fine network of scars you were in for a hard week of kitchen work, assuming she was in a good mood. But if all of those rumours were true, she might be getting a directive to return to active duty instead of this semi-retirement she’d chosen for herself. Enemy movements would account for that.
He shook his head in agitation. If that was the case, he would be informed. He did not need to know. He marched resolutely to the Sarge’s office. He was a good soldier, and good soldiers did not read letters not addressed to them, even if they might contain details of changeling activities. Besides, that would require opening the envelope, which was already coming open because it wasn’t sealed properly—
Wait...
He dropped the envelope in shock, and out slid a folded letter. He looked down at the offending missive, averting his eyes from the actual contents therein. Reading an officer’s mail was a good way to get one’s self in deep trouble. Reading the Sarge’s mail... He’d had to face her disapproving stare once. That’s all anypony needed. It was like having somepony strip your soul bare and point out every flaw.
He was busy trying to scoop the letter back into the envelope, failing miserably and generally cursing his heritage as an earth pony when he heard hoofsteps approaching. It could have been anypony, but with unshakable certainty he knew that it was the Sarge. He had clearly done something wrong in a previous life, and this was his punishment. Two sets of hooves stopped in front of him. Maybe I punched a kitten? I hope that was it. At least that would account for why life seems to hate me. Despite his best efforts, as the letter flopped open, he ended up reading the very last line involuntarily.
I love you both,
Shy-shy
“Who’s Shy-shy?” he blurted out in panic. His brain was trying frantically to tell him to run from his approaching doom, and had apparently missed the message the eyes had just passed directly to his big fat mouth.
“That... would be my daughter, recruit Stardust.”
Oh buck me... I murdered somepony, didn’t I?
His foreleg snapped upwards into a hasty salute. “Ma’am!”
“Recruit, if that letter is from my daughter, clearly it’s addressed to me. Why is it open on the floor?”
“Ma’am! The missive was improperly sealed and peeled open from the heat of my mouth!”
There was silence above him. He kept his gaze locked on the offending letter, unable to move for fear of meeting her eyes.
He heard her sigh heavily in front of him. “Just go. I’ll get it myself.”
He hastily snapped her another salute and turned to go, trying not to gallop on the way to the door.
“Recruit.”
He stopped dead in his tracks. “Ma’am!”
“I recognize it was not your intention to read any of this. If I thought you had been reading my mail deliberately I would have you kicked from this unit so quickly your grandchildren would be born with their head spinning.”
“Yes ma’am! I would never—”
The voice lost some of its harshness for a half-second, and it was all he could do not to stare in wonder at the speaker. “I know you wouldn’t, Dustie. You’re a good kid. You’re worth more than ten of your seniors, who undoubtedly saddled you with this little chore to avoid having to deliver the message themselves. This is a personal matter, so I can’t order you, but I would prefer it if the name ‘Shy-shy’ didn’t make its way around the barracks.”
He gulped nervously. “Never, ma’am!”
“Good. Now go hit chow.”
He turned in her direction and snapped off one last salute, then used every shred of willpower not to break into a run as he made for the door again.
“Oh, and Dustie?”
He stopped dead once more. “Ma’am?”
“Don’t allow a little praise to give you the mistaken idea that I’m going to go easy on you. I expect the best from those who show promise. You’d better live up to my expectations.”
“Yes, ma’am, thank you, ma’am!”
“Dismissed.”
He marched away, making double time. I guess I only punched a kitten after all.
Fluttershy watched her fillyfriend comforting Pinkie, trying to suppress a twinge of jealousy. She shook the reaction off. This was a scene she remembered well. When she herself had needed comfort and forgiveness, these two had enveloped her in a group hug. Now, she waded over to the pair and enfolded them both in her wings.
Unfortunately, as before, it was she who felt the need to ask for forgiveness. “Pinkie... I’m very sorry.”
Pinkie looked up from inside their little huddle in surprise. “You didn’t do anything, Shy!”
Fluttershy squirmed a little, but did not back away from the embrace. “I don’t think it’s something I did... it’s something I said...”
“Darling, you only tried to help her. What could you possibly have said to provoke what happened?” Rarity asked.
Fluttershy allowed her bangs to fall more completely in front of her eyes. “Well... you see, I didn’t know exactly how to help her, so I told her maybe she just needed to let go and stop stressing so much. Then I said I trusted her to figure out how to do what was right for her and Pinkie... I think maybe she took the wrong message from that.”
Pinkie processed that information for a moment. “What did you do?!”
Fluttershy flinched away from the accusing tone. “I-I’m sorry, I was trying to help.”
Rarity quickly intervened. “Pinkie, I know you are very distraught right now, but Fluttershy meant well. Let’s hear what Twilight told her, it might help us figure out why everything went wrong.”
“—and then I had to go.” Fluttershy finished.
Pinkie was bopping herself on the head repeatedly. “You’re such a dummy, Pinkie! I should have told her how I felt, or maybe I told her too much. I keep expecting her to fix things and now she hates me because I can’t just be happy for her! I was so pushy that I pushed her right away from me!”
Rarity was trying to restrain her friend from self-injury, without much success. “Darling, please stop this. It’s going to be all right!”
“No it’s not! She’s gone now and it’s my fault! I should have stayed in character for her. But I was upset! I can make anypony smile, so why couldn’t I just be quiet and smile for her? She needed me, and I let her down...” She finally let her hooves fall, and wrapped them back around Rarity. “I failed my Twilight...”
Rarity stroked Pinkie’s mane, murmuring soothing inanities. “Shhhhh. It’s really going to be okay. You just need to talk it out with her, so let’s go find her. Do you know where she went?”
Pinkie shook her head into Rarity’s mane. “She just asked me to talk with her in my room, told me she had to let me go, and then poof, no more Twilight.”
The fashionista looked a bit concerned at that revelation. “I do hope she is all right! I cannot say how a pony of Twilight’s caliber would react, but when I am distraught my magic can prove... erratic.”
“Erratic?” Fluttershy asked, curious.
Rarity nodded emphatically. “My gem-finding spell starting pointing out common fool’s gold. I was a bit upset at the time. I had almost managed to tell you that I loved you that morning, then Aloe came in to give us some towels and I froze up.”
Fluttershy nuzzled her softly. “I’m sorry, I never meant to cause you such worry.”
Rarity blushed and stammered for a few moments before she continued. “The point is, that was a relatively simple spell. Teleportation is much more complex and apt to go wrong to begin with. I think I should go check on her; hopefully she ended up in the library. Fluttershy, perhaps you could take Pinkie back to Sugarcube Corner for now?”
Fluttershy nodded, stroking Pinkie’s mane absently. “Um... we should probably wash off first.”
Rarity looked down. “Oh yes, I suppose we should.”
Rarity bid the two of them adieu and walked quickly to the library. Outwardly she was her usual calm and self-possessed self, but inwardly she seethed with self-reproach. She had known that Pinkie and Twilight were on the rocks, but was so wrapped up in her own budding relationship that she had missed a clear opportunity to help her friends before it could come to this.
Arriving at the library, she was alarmed to find the door wide open and a hole where the doorknob and lock would normally be. “Hello? Twilight? Are you in here?”
A voice called to her from across the library. “Rarity?”
“Spikey?”
The dragon rushed to the library door.
“Have you—”
“—seen Twilight?”
They blinked at each other in consternation for a few moments before Rarity hesitantly spoke up again. “You haven’t seen her either?”
Spike frowned and glanced over his shoulder. "She was here for all of three seconds. She walked in, told me that I was in charge of the library and just teleported!" He picked up a couple of books and started reshelving them on autopilot. "I hope it's not as bad as I think it is."
"Do you have any notion where she would have gone? Pin— somepony was very upset by her leaving so abruptly, so we were hoping to talk with her and maybe get her to see she is overreacting."
"Pinkie Pie?" Spike flipped over a blackboard containing a series of complex calculations as well as a fairly accurate image of Pinkie Pie. "I found this just after Twilight left. What happened?"
Rarity hemmed and hawed for a moment, trying to decide how best to explain without breaking her promise to Pinkie and Twilight. "They... have been having trouble with their friendship of late. There have been some problems defining how they wish to be... friends. Apparently it came to a head and Twilight told Pinkie she would rather they end... what they were doing."
"Being marefriends?" Spike arched an eyebrow. "I already knew that. I live in the library, remember?" He pointed to Twilight’s bedroom door with a thumbclaw. "They're not exactly quiet..."
"Oh thank goodness. It is not easy to explain without revealing things about which I was sworn to secrecy. Pinkie and Twilight... well they weren't marefriends in the traditional sense. They sort of started with the... well, the physical aspects of love and went from there. Twilight apparently picked up on how unhappy Pinkie has been of late and made a very rash decision." She looked over the chalkboard with growing horror. "Very, very rash. She seems to have come to the conclusion that she is the problem. Where could she have gone if not here?"
Spike looked at the floor in concern. "I don't know." He groaned and started pacing, looking more like his foster sister than he'd prefer to believe. "She has this... 'thing' where she teleports randomly when she's upset; last time we found her in the Canterlot caverns and I had to talk her out of trying to make a home there."
Rarity fretted; this was the moment when she would normally run to Twilight and ask her what to do. “How do you normally find her?”
“Celestia uses a scrying spell. We should probably just send her a letter and ask her to find Twilight before she ends up on the castle roof or something.”
“Wait, wait, scrying, you say?”
“It’s advanced stuff, though Twilight mentioned it’s kinda like your gem-finding spell. It lets you see the residue of a particular magic signature, and any spell a unicorn uses leaves some trace of magic behind. Then you just track the direction of the trail.”
“Well then, since she started from here... it would be more useful to check from this location, would it not?”
“Well yeah, but I’ve only ever seen the Princess cast it. Like I said, it’s advanced stuff.”
“Spike, I may not be a magical savant, but my talent does relate to finding things. Maybe I could give it a try? It seems better than bothering the Princess unnecessarily.”
Spike hesitated, then nodded slowly. “If anypony can do it, it’s you.” He pulled the ladder over to one of the bookshelves and climbed up to get an old but lovingly-restored tome, laying it flat on the table for her. “Okay, here we go.”
Rarity flipped through the pages, trying to find the correct spell. “Let’s see... ‘Read Magic Runes’, no... ‘Reveal?’ Not quite... ‘See Invisibility?’ Interesting, but not useful here... Aha! I went too far. ‘Scrying.’” She looked over the entry, nodding. “Twilight was right; in principle this works very much like my gem-finding spell.” She noted the specifics, making the necessary changes to the runes she envisioned when casting. “Spike, you may wish to stay back... this requires a larger charge of magic than anything I have tried before. Actually, it would be wise to move everything easily flammable at least five hoofsteps away from me.”
Once everything was moved to safety, Rarity attempted to cast the scrying spell. Frowning slightly as she let the requisite charge of magic build up in her horn, she concentrated carefully on the unfamiliar runes and was gratified when the spell successfully shimmered into being around her before fading into the air. It was supposed to show her the residual magic of anypony who had cast a spell in the vicinity. Needless to say, she was rather shocked to find the library awash with traces of glowing purple light. How am I supposed to sort this out? Rarity squinted for a few moments as she left her gaze wander around the main room. Oh, I see. Having adjusted a little to what she was seeing, she could make out a much stronger residue in the center of the room. Whatever had been cast there was therefore quite powerful. She could see a thin line of power leading from that spot and away from the library. Following it outside, she found that the tendril of light pointed directly towards...
“Canterlot... She teleported all the way there?”
Spike followed her outside. “Oh boy. She must have been really upset if she went there...”
Rarity said her goodbyes to Spike, promising to meet him at the train the following morning. All along the way to Sugarcube Corner she noticed splotches of color dotted everywhere she looked. How do you turn this off? The effect was troublesome, but not quite as bad as the library had been.
As soon as she pushed her way through the shop’s front door she looked around eagerly for Fluttershy and Pinkie, but didn’t see them seated at any of the tables. Seeing Mrs. Cake at the till, she waved hello and trotted up to the serving counter. “Excuse me, is Pinkie up in her room?”
The baker nodded. “Fluttershy is up there with her. Did you have any luck finding Twilight?”
“Well, yes and no. We know where she went now.”
“You’d better go tell her, then. She’ll feel better if she knows Twilight is all right, at least.” Mrs. Cake frowned worriedly. “It’s bad enough that Pinkie has to deal with a breakup like this, but if she thought Twilight didn’t want to see her ever again it would crush her.”
Rarity nodded knowingly. “It’s definitely not that bad, Cup. Twilight is very confused at the moment and has somehow convinced herself that it’s best for Pinkie if she ends their relationship. I’ve talked to both of them, and I am convinced that they really do care for one another. I’m certain Twilight just needs a friend to talk her through whatever is going on in that head of hers.”
“I hope you’re right. It breaks my heart to see my little Pinkie so upset...”
“I’ll do everything I can to ensure that Twilight sees reason, have no fear. I need to go tell Pinkie the news.” Rarity trotted upstairs, trying to look as confident as she had been attempting to sound. She certainly hoped she could fix things, but that would largely depend on getting a certain panic-prone unicorn to see that she was not making things better by her actions.
Entering Pinkie’s room, she was once again astonished by the sheer amount of purple everywhere, no small amount of which seemed centered on Pinkie; especially around Pinkie’s lower body. The fashionista blushed at the implications.
Fluttershy and Pinkie were both huddled on the bed, the former embracing the latter in a warm winghug. Both looked up at Rarity’s entrance. The fashionista smiled at the sight; sad though this occasion was, they did look adorable together. This of course brought unbidden images and improper suggestions to mind, which had to be beaten back into the closet where they belonged with a mental broom. It is hardly the time for that, Rarity.
“Is she okay?” Pinkie asked quietly, seeming afraid of the answer.
“She seems to be, although I think getting her back might prove more of a chore than I’d originally envisioned. She appears to have teleported to Canterlot.”
“Oh my... Twilight loves Ponyville, why would she leave?”
Pinkie put her head in her hooves and sobbed. “She hates me! She hates me so much she had to leave Ponyville to get away from me!”
Rarity rushed to her other side and hugged Pinkie fiercely. “No! It’s not that at all! Twilight is just confused. Look, Fluttershy and I have to go to Canterlot tomorrow; we’ll find her and talk some sense into her. In the meantime, I want you here planning the biggest ‘Welcome home, Twilight’ party ever. Can you do that?”
“But... I want to go to her! I need to get her to ask me out again, you can’t wait too long with these things, and she did it all wrong.” Pinkie looked at her pleadingly. “Don’t you see? I need to be there so she can ask!”
Fluttershy hugged her a little harder. “Pinkie... I don’t think that’s what she was doing. It will be okay, we’ll send her back to you. Just cheer up until then, okay? It’ll be all right.”
“You promise?”
Rarity smiled wryly. “I already Pinkie Promised. Now, start planning. Actually, you may as well make it a party for all of us.”
Pinkie smiled weakly. It wasn't one of her usual smiles but at this point Rarity would take what she could get. "Sure, Rarity, I'll make it the best party ever."
Exiting Sugarcube Corner with her lover, Rarity mentally ticked off the remaining things they would need to do to prepare for their trip. Fluttershy would need to arrange for somepony to watch her home and feed her animals for a few days. Then came packing. After that, they would need a good night’s rest, then allow sufficient time the next morning to get ready in order for them to be at the station to catch the noon train. Looking up at the position of the sun, she realized that somehow she had let a good chunk of the day pass by, as it was nearing sunset. Odd, I don’t recall spending very much time in the kitchen with Pinkie... Come to think of it, that all seems rather a blur. Ah well, I am suffering from a little heat exhaustion perhaps; I am sure it will come to me.
“Darling, we should find Rainbow and Applejack. Surely one of them could tend to your animals in your absence, if that sounds agreeable?” She looked back to Fluttershy, who seemed very distracted all of a sudden.
“Darling?” She waved a hoof in front of her fillyfriend’s face.
Fluttershy looked dazed for a moment longer, blinking as she finally acknowleded Rarity. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I miss something?”
Rarity clucked her tongue in irritation, then looked closer at her fillyfriend. “Darling, are you quite all right?” She looked in the direction that Fluttershy had been staring, but saw only Canterlot in the far distance.
“I’m fine...” She winced as Rarity gave her a doubtful look. “Okay... maybe not so fine. Um... do you suppose, if it’s not too much trouble... maybe we could just go see my father instead? He’s a very nice pony, I’m sure he’ll love you. My mom is very busy and I don’t think she’ll be able to make time.”
Rarity put a steadying hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulders. “Darling, I need you to stop worrying about this. Believe in me, won’t you? I will do whatever it takes to earn her approval.”
The pegasus took a long, steadying breath, then exhaled quietly. “You’re right. I’m worrying over nothing. It’s going to be fine. She’s going to love you, too.”
They chatted quietly on the way to Sweet Apple Acres, Rarity carefully avoiding the subject of the upcoming visit. It was early evening now, and they were searching for Rainbow and Applejack to ask them to cottage-sit for a few days. Upon arriving at the Apple family home, however, they were informed by a weary-looking Big Macintosh that neither had been seen since this morning.
“How curious! I do hope everything is all right... Well then. Thank you, Big Macintosh.”
“Eeeyup.”
Turning from the front door, Rarity collected herself for the moment. She had really counted on finding the two and getting their help for a few days. Fluttershy didn’t need the additional issue of whether her animals would be tended to on top of her worry over the coming meeting.
“Dangit! No more tonight! Aintcha tuckered out after all that? Mah family’s gonna hear us!”
Rarity looked left, right, backwards and forwards, but could not find the source of the voice. Finally, on a whim, she looked up, and found a rainbow tail entwined around a blond tail, both trailing over the edge of a low-hanging cloud.
She called upwards, hoping they could hear her from below. “Ahem, girls? I hate to interrupt... whatever you are doing, but I have been looking for you both.”
“Was that Rarity?”
“Dash, keep your hooves to yerself, we got company!”
A moment or two later found both the pegasus and the farmpony landing on solid ground. Rarity looked in surprise at the semi-opaque cyan wings attached to Applejack’s back, wings which she was even now attempting to force into a closed position at her side. The earth pony’s cheeks were adorned with twin spots of red the color of her brother’s coat. “Dang things won’t go down...”
Dash leaned in close and whispered to her. “Just think about Granny Smith taking a bath.”
Fluttershy blushed heavily. “I-I find thinking about dragons helps...”
A moment later and the red on Applejack’s checks was a sickly green, and the wings snapped shut of their own accord. “Ugh... Thanks, Ah guess.”
Rarity rushed forward and examined the faux wings. “Why, these are exquisite! I was under the impression that that spell was limited to delicate, ephemeral wings. Did Twilight develop a new version?”
Applejack coughed nervously. “Uh, yeah! It’s brand new! Yep, nothing more than that!” Her eyes shifted around nervously. “So, uh, you were looking for us, Rare?”
Rarity was busy cooing over the wings, extending one carefully in her aura. “The things I could do with these! Are they a bit sturdier than with the original spell? Goodness, it mimics the feathers down to the last detail! Oh I simply must get Twiligh—”
Fluttershy tapped Rarity’s shoulder. She shook her head sadly.
Rarity looked confused, then frowned. “Oh, right. She’s not available at the moment.”
Applejack looked at her in annoyance, Dash trying to stifle laughter to the side of her. “Uh, Rare, you mind letting go? They’re kinda delicate, if you remember.”
Rarity nodded apologetically. “Yes, of course, do be careful not to fly too high... Well, I suppose Rainbow would be nearby to catch you as she did me. Still, best to not take risks.”
“Uh, yeah, Ah’ll keep that in mind. So ya’ll were lookin’ fer us?” Applejack carefully refolded the wing back along her side.
Rarity pried her eyes away from the sparkly wings guiltily. “Yes... You see Fluttershy and I will be going to Canterlot for a time and she was concerned about her animals. Would you two mind terribly checking on them at least once a day?”
Applejack nodded slowly. “Yeah, Ah can do that. Dash, you mind helping out?”
Rainbow started guiltily. “Huh? Oh yeah, animals, right. I’ll bring Tank by for a visit, watch him bump into things for a bit. It’s cool.”
Fluttershy cleared her throat a moment. “Um... the chickens need exactly one scoop of feed each, except for Henrietta, she’s on a diet, so she gets three-quarters of a scoop. The mice and birds have enough seed for three to four days, so they should be fine on their own. But you should visit them anyway, they get lonely if nopony comes to see them. I’ll leave a list of instructions for the rest. Oh,” she trotted forward and hugged them both tightly, “thank you, I feel so much better knowing my little friends will be okay.”
Fluttershy had gone to her cottage to pack, and had returned to the Boutique to see what was taking Rarity so long. Not finding her in the main reception room, Fluttershy searched nearly everywhere else in the Boutique, finally hearing Rarity moving around in the bathroom.
Rarity was rummaging furiously for her favorite comb. Certainly she had dozens of them, and brushes as well, but this was her favorite. The way it parted her locks was nothing short of magical, probably because she had embedded enchanted gems throughout its surface that helped to unweave tangles and even aided in drying her hair after a nice bath; which was why she had expected to find it in the bathroom. But while she found many other things she would surely need, her comb was nowhere to be found.
“Celestia, don’t let me have left it on the nightstand! I’ve lost so much in that room, don’t let that be another casualty!”
Fluttershy poked her head into Rarity’s bathroom. “Um... what’s missing?”
“Oh, hello, love. Packed already? Yes, well, it’s my jewel-encrusted silver comb! I was certain I had left it in the bathroom but I can’t find it anywhere!” Rarity continued going through the various beauty supplies, wondering where it could have gone to.
Fluttershy quickly went through her saddlebags. Silver... jewel-encrusted... yep, that was the one she had stuck in her mane. “Rarity, I found it.”
Rarity had been looking under her sink to see if she had for some reason placed it with the drain cleaners. She looked up abruptly, banging the top of her head on her kitchen counter. “Ow!”
She turned, rubbing her head with a hoof, and found the object of her search in her fillyfriend’s mouth. She took it in her aura, examining it closely. “Yes! Where did you find it?”
Fluttershy paused, uncertain how to respond. Oh dear, I suppose I should explain now. I hope she doesn’t panic again... “Um... about that.”
“So you mean to tell me I stalked down the streets of Ponyville covered in cupcake batter, with a comb stuck in my mane—”
Fluttershy nodded earnestly, “You had a towel stuck in there too.”
“... Yes, thank you. And somehow, in this catatonic state, I went to fetch you?”
“Um, yes. I think you knew I would understand what you needed. I told the spa twins you needed to be cleaned off thoroughly, but you were still... stuck. So I did this.” She reached forward with both hooves and took Rarity’s face between them, kissing her for several moments. She broke the kiss with a little gasp. “And then you came back.”
Rarity was in a daze a moment or two longer. She smiled dreamily. “Yes, I suppose that would work, wouldn’t it? Well, thank you, love. Once again I am in your debt.”
Fluttershy smiled from behind her mane, finding herself slightly embarrassed at the praise. “Oh no, I just did what anypony would have done!”
Rarity giggled and pecked the pegasus on the cheek. “Nopony but you, my love, they are not allowed.” She carefully placed the comb in one of her bags. “Well, that’s sorted at least. Come, let’s gather these bags and get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow.”
The night passed relatively uneventfully. Both of them found themselves too wound up to do much more than kiss and snuggle before bed, although that was certainly thrilling enough as it was. The following morning, Fluttershy checked her food stores and wrote out instructions for Applejack and Rainbow to follow, also informing all her animals to behave themselves for their temporary minders.
Angel was proving the most difficult; he seemed insistent on going with his caretaker, clinging to Fluttershy’s leg and shaking his head violently. She looked down at him helplessly, not wanting to punish him, but unable to separate him from her foreleg. After much cajoling and half-hearted shakes of her leg, Rarity finally pried him away in her magic. He stared at the two of them insolently, seemingly ready to revolt again. However, when Fluttershy explained who she was going to see his eyes widened in fear and he seemed quite content to be left behind. Rarity regarded the exchange in amusement, then trepidation. Apparently even the little troublemaker feared Posey.
Rarity in turn carefully petted Opalescence, who was curled up around her feet and purring loudly. Ever since the fire she had gotten much more affectionate, to Rarity’s delight. She resolved to buy several treats for the mercurial feline for being so very good in a crisis.
Finally, with all the animals fed and their caretakers having eaten as well, the two fillyfriends headed out to the train station. At first Rarity was worried they were late, but a quick glance at the schedule showed the train was as well. Rarity spotted Spike waiting patiently, and waved to him as she approached.
Spike held out their tickets, which Rarity took gratefully. “Thank you, Spike. Twilight is very lucky to have someone like you around to tend to things like this.”
The dragon nodded graciously; in the past such praise would have had him simpering, but those days were long gone. Truth be told, he found their new relationship as friends more rewarding than their old one. He had once loved Rarity with his whole heart, but now he simply respected and admired her. True, he was no longer blind to her imperfections now, but some flaws only served to increase the value of a gem. “Yes, she is. Oh!” He pulled out a scroll that he had burped up overnight. “I got this from Princess Celestia. She says Twilight is okay!”
“Oh my goodness, she’s staying with the Princess then?” Fluttershy inquired from behind her bangs curiously.
“Yeah! She kinda caused a big old fuss when she got there, though...”
Princess Celestia was hearing a proposal on a new tax form to add to the other four thousand, five hundred and forty two currently in use when she had a surprise land in front of her. It was a pony, and she quickly ascertained to no small surprise that it was in fact her faithful student.
Twilight looked around wildly at the assembled court, clearly panicked and not a little bit dazed. “I-I’m sorry!” She scrambled off Celestia’s throne and teleported quicker than the guards could protest, much less react, to her presence.
The assembled throng looked back to Celestia, unsure what to make of these proceedings. “Everypony, I apologize. It seems an emergency has arisen. We’ll resume this discussion during day court tomorrow morning. Please excuse me.” Before anypony could make the usual protests, she herself teleported to Twilight’s tower.
The Princess of the Sun found her student huddled in her old bed, weeping silently. Guards burst into the room moments later, calling the alarm as wards unbroken since Twilight’s departure to Ponyville were tripped. One glance from their princess and they knew all was well, bowing their heads respectfully before they silently closed the door.
She approached the bed cautiously, but Twilight quickly threw up a shield, cowering back from whoever had come to check on her. Upon lifting her head and seeing who it was, however, she quickly dispelled it. “Princess! I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!!”
Celestia nodded carefully, trying not to spook her protege further. "Twilight? Are you all right?"
Twilight shook her head.
Celestia climbed up on the bed and lay down beside her student. "Shhh. I'm here, it's okay."
Twilight nodded silently, stifling another sniffle and pressing against her mentor as if trying to disappear into Celestia's side.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Twilight shook her head again. She buried her head in her pillow and let out another sob.
The princess smiled gently at her student. “Twilight, I know that whatever is bothering you seems impossibly big right now. But I will be here when you’re ready to talk.”
She mentally made adjustments to her schedule to include comforting a distraught Twilight. “I have some matters to attend to before I lower the sun. Will you be okay here for now?”
Twilight looked up at her and shook her head violently, hugging her mentor’s barrel. "Please?" she pleaded. "Please don't—" She took a deep breath and swallowed. "Can you please stay with me? For a little while?"
Celestia smiled and gently nuzzled Twilight's forehead. "Of course."
Twilight's crying subsided slightly as she calmed down somewhat. "I-I’m sorry... I-I want to tell you what’s wrong, b-but...”
Celestia placed a hoof on her student’s lips to silence her. “Shhh, it's all right. I understand, it’s too soon. I’ll make sure the staff knows you’re here. We'll have meals brought to you and you can take it easy until you feel you are ready to talk.”
She draped a wing over the unicorn and squeezed lightly. "Rest now, and you’re free to join me for breakfast in the morning, if you wish.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
“Would you like me to send word to Spike that you’re safe?”
Twilight looked up in alarm. “Spike! I just left him there! I barely told him anything!”
Celestia inclined her head. “I will send word, then. Just try to rest for now.”
Twilight nodded gratefully. “I hurt somepony, Princess... I thought I was doing the right thing... but I broke her heart!”
Celestia sighed almost inaudibly. “I suspected it might be something like that; I know a wounded heart when I see one.”
“How?”
“You are not the first, Twilight Sparkle. Ponies have been making fools of themselves for love since the first pony walked the earth and saw the second. It will seem clearer in the morning.”
Twilight looked doubtful but said nothing more, instead laying her head back down on her pillow. Both ponies lay together for a time, until Twilight nodded off into an exhausted sleep. Celestia quietly got up, tucking her student into under the covers, and left just as silently.
The train finally pulled into the station fully half an hour late. After waiting for the incoming travellers to disembark the trio boarded, Fluttershy and Spike with their single bags, Rarity with a small mountain of assorted suitcases. She was deliberately packing light for this occasion, which was why it was not a large mountain.
A few hours into their journey, Fluttershy looked out of the window at her approaching doom. She had never before so feared Canterlot, even during their second gala visit, which she had dreaded for fear of how much she had frightened the castle’s animals during her first one. But where that had led to a joyful occasion of the animals finally accepting her apologies and flocking to her, this visit seemed to promise only a broken heart for both of them. And that was assuming her mother was in a good mood. On a bad day Rarity might come away from the meeting scarred for the remainder of her days.
While it was true that they could continue dating even without her parents’ approval, Rarity seemed determined to win it nonetheless. And Fluttershy wanted to see her achieve it, if for no other reason than to see if her mother was even capable of expressing approval. It was hard sometimes, being her mother’s daughter. She wanted with all her heart to believe her mother loved her, but the way she expressed it seemed so alien, it was hard to tell. Her father was very open with his feelings. He always encouraged her, but simultaneously seemed to dread her leaving his side. Her mother on the other hoof... Well, she supposed her mother was not heartless, but the first time she saw a baby bird pushed from the nest to fly or fall on its own... she had scolded the bird because its actions had reminded her so much of her own mother’s.
The train hissed off its reserve of excess steam as it pulled into the station, and that was when she realized there was no getting out of this. They were here, this was going to happen. She looked at Rarity, who was squealing with the excitement of being in the capital again. “Rarity, are you sure you want to do this? We could reschedule with my mom. I think she has some time next year?”
Rarity stopped her antics, turned, and embraced Fluttershy warmly. “Darling, it’s going to be okay. I can face this. You can face this. We will be all right!” The fashionista gave her a winning smile and pecked her on the cheek. “Now, where do we meet them?”
Fluttershy cringed. “I-I asked them to make time in the afternoon to see us. But it’s too early right now, my mom will have drills until at least two o’ clock.”
Rarity nodded. “Very well then. We shall arrange for accommodations and find a way to pass the time until it is more convenient to call.”
“Ahem.”
They both turned to see Spike, gently polishing his claws against his scales. “I’ve already arranged for rooms in the castle, Rarity. Did you really think I would invite you and not plan for where you would be staying?”
Rarity squealed anew. “You are officially the best little dragon in Canterlot!”
“Like I have any competition. You’re up in the east wing, so just let the guards know who you are and they’ll see you to your room. I'll see you later.”
Rarity began picking up her bags. “Later? Oh dear, I never asked if you had plans. That was terribly rude of me, Spikey, my sincerest apologies!”
Spike waved a clawed hand in dismissal of her faux pas. “That’s okay, I just have a lunch date. See ya later, girls.”
Rarity watched him go, feeling an irrational wave of jealousy wash over her. This is what she had wanted, after all; he had moved on. But the thought of him dating... He’ll always be my little Spikey, I suppose. Good for him! I hope that lucky mare, or stallion, makes Spike happy.
Fluttershy seized on the concept of food like a drowning pony finding a rock in the middle of a raging river. “Lunch! We should get lunch too!”
Rarity nodded, distracted by her thoughts. “Yes, I suppose so. Then we could meet your father at least, if your mother is too busy...”
Fluttershy nodded emphatically. “Yes! That’s exactly what we should do. You’ll want to take your time talking to him, Rarity. He’s very nice.”
“Well then, off we go. Taxi!”
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Wow I literally just reread this yesterday...
Twilight you silly little filly, go make up with Pinkie!
-Mis
And on this evening's episode of Monster-In-Law...
Oh man, that was a nice surprise, waking up and seeing this. Looking forward to see how all this pans out. =3
YUS updates!
Me Happysta
Awaiting next chapter with intrigue
Awaiting next chapter with intrigue
It feels weird that the TwiPie subplot is almost as complex as the main plot. Not bad, it's just intriguing to see writing develop like that since most authors tend to stick to one main plot line.
I had hoped they would meet Shy's mom this chapter, but I guess that would be rushing things a bit... Still I'm happy about the way you're developing this because it pretty much ensures there will be quite a few more chapters to come.
I think this is one of the best Twilight x Celestia scenes I have ever read in any MLP fanfic so far (and I've read quite a few of them). Rarely has an author so perfectly captured how I envision Twilight and Celestia's relationship. Thank you for the wonderful scene and the warming of my heart it brought.
And since it's been so very long since I last read this story, I have to re-read the entire thing so that I won't miss anything.
Not that I'm complaining.
This line made me smile.
An update?
Stop everything and cancel my appointments, i have some reading to do....oh and bring my lunch to me since i will be in my office for some time
Green updated! After I got done squealing in delight and got around to reading I gotta say, Shy's mom doesn't seem so bad. I just hope Rarity can break through Posy's armor.
Ha, I was really confused for a minute there. Been so long since this updated I forgot what had been going on. Nice update, and I can't wait to see how the whole meet the parents thing goes
Commerce read.
Glad to see this story updated.
Such a nice update. :D I hope the next comes soon, this one is such a good buildup....
2136085 Glad you enjoy the portrayal. I love her too.
That Twilight and Celestia scene O_0
FEELS
I just can't wait for parents scene.
Please tell me I won't have to wait 3 more months for the next chapter.
2136950>>2136746
Sorry, this is the longest time Green went unupdated. I was spending a couple months writing about a slightly different couple. I had to halt Green temporarily because the Pinkies and the Rarities got all jumbled in my head.
Just one question Steel, are you going to write about Spike's possible romantic interest?
That was quite nice, definitely was worth my time.
I feel so bad for Twilight
But I'm excited to see all the different happenings that are bound to... happen, in the next chapter! This was a great read, and a good way to spend my night; thanks!
2138223
why would I be playing? They seriously made no sense to me
2138664
It's okay Kreb. You will understand one day. Unless you end up taking a vow of celibacy or something.
2138720
whats celibacy?
2138794 a vow of celibacy is a vow to remain a virgin ( or to no never again have sex if your no longer a virgin)
2138794
Celibacy; state of partnership where you remain single.
Thank Celestia for my ability to speak fancy. I do realize the word "celibacy" seems weird to people who use English more commonly, seeing as it doesn't resemble the word 'single'. However, the word we use in french is 'célibataire', which is a lot like celibacy.
The more you know!
Ah, this fimfic never gets boring. I simply love it. I really like that Spike is becoming quite the 'gentle-co... dra... lizard'
Keep it up! Long updates are well worth such quality literature!
Cheers!
~Kyor
2136950 no, not nearly so long. I was still writing mind... just not for the same story. In the time between chapters I wrote 27k words for these two.
The problem was... Smile's Pinkie and Green's Pinkie didn't really respect which story they belonged to... resulting in a very flirty Pinkie in Green. I needed to write them through the climax so my internal characterization would not be confused.
2135839
2nd that !
Isn't she in the bathroom?
2143149 wow, editing derp
2143161 lol, no worries, I'm like a blood-hound. *snort-snort*
2144226 well now, chapter 11 is certainly an ending of sorts. but past that we do have quite a bit going on. its entirely up to you if you don't want to follow along. Green is... well its not written in the way you would expect. somewhere along the way I realized what I was doing. its like I am doing a manga in written form. there are story arcs, each with their own sets of rising and falling action.
"The most fearful things under the sun are Earthquake, Thunderbolt, Fire and Father.” --Japanese proverb
Or mother, in Shy's case.
Good chapter.
Got a question that's not to intelligent. When did we have Applejack get wings? (I am missing some things I might have not read a chapter in the
past or a side story)
2147295 interlude 5, she needed them to find dash
2147299
Tx tx tx yes I have missed that one and a update on your other pinky story
Yay an update! Nice work.
I've waited so long for this, this Has MAde MY YEARRRRRRRRRRRRr!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad to see that Twilight and Pinkie could work out, and as always I love anything that explores the relationship between Twilight and Celestia. Keep it up!
It's ALIIIIIIVE! :D I've missed this story.
Monty Python title for the WIN!
I love this, and I require MOAR! I mean, if that's okay with you...
Rarity thinks spike would go for stallions?
What the actual buck, the images....
Can't wait for a little more.
2175934
Well, she tries to be open-minded about such things. She ignored a large percentage of the population for years before even considering trying to date them. As long as Spikey is happy, that's all that matters.
2176317 If things became ironic you would get a BlueSpike fic. *SHUDDER*
Yeah I understand then.
Another great chapter! The part with Twilight and Celestia brought a tear to my eye.