Harmony Unfurled

by Saturni_Rose

Part 14: they drop hard.

Back in the dining hall, Rainbow was escorting a worried Pinkie. “I’m sorry, dude, I don’t see her anywhere.”

“Where could she have gone?” pleaded Pinkie, before a flash in the air answered the question. Above them, they saw Luna looking around, presumably for them. With great initial relief, Pinkie called out: “There you are!”

All the ease faded when she set down before them. Ears furrowed back, Luna’s hurt-filled gaze locked Pinkie in place, as though gazed upon by a sad gorgon. “Tell me it isn’t true.”

Now it was Rainbow who hopped into the air. “Um, you know, I think I hear Rarity calling me, so I’m just gonna gooooooooo…”

Pinkie reached out for her, pleading to not be left alone to deal with this. But Dash was the fastest flyer she knew, after all. So with a sigh, she turned back to Luna. Her mouth hung agape when she saw the single gold streak across one cheek. She lifted her hoof to feel it. “What did she say to you? Are you alright?”

Luna pushed Pinkie’s hoof away from her face. “She told me something very interesting indeed. I need to talk with you, right away.”

Every hair along the back of Pinkie’s neck stood on end. She looked up at Luna with big eyes filled with sorrow and regret. “Okay.”

“But let’s go somewhere private.” Luna took her meek hoof and teleported the two of them.

Pinkie Pie found herself in a dark room, with the scent of stagnant air. This was not a room that saw much use. She could only see herself via moonlight pouring in through a large window higher up. Then, Luna cast another spell, and an orb of light brightened the room from just above them. It appeared to be a sort of rounded bedchamber, likely in a tower somewhere else in the castle. “What… where are we?”

“Pardon the dust.” droned Luna. “I haven’t been in here for ages. Literally.”

A joke surged up through Pinkie’s core, about having only been girlfriends for a day and already getting to see her bedroom. But she suppressed the urge to make it. Any good comic knows how to read the room, and now was clearly not the time. “I see.”

Luna took a step forward, looming over the mare she loved with a weak, trembling frown. Some small, desperate voice at the back of her head said there wasn’t any reason she couldn’t drop this now. She did love her, enough to want to believe she’d never, ever do this to her. But when she got a little closer, she noticed a tiny glint poking out from her vest. Whatever it was she was going to say first, she lost in this new fixation. Her magic grasp possessively snatched at it. It was an unused gala ticket. With a creak in her voice, she asked: “Pinkie? Why do you have this?”

Instinct told Pinkie to grab it back and try to hide it away, but she kept her hoof back. That hoof she yanked back, despite herself, she gnawed on nervously. “Look, I can explain. I-I--”

“We all had to turn them over to enter the gala.” said Luna coldly with resounding disbelief. “The only way you’d still have one is if you had gotten another. Like the one I misplaced.”

Chewing on her lip now, Pinkie fidgeted, trying to articulate. “It’s not… Luna--”

“When did you pilfer this from me like a common cutpurse?” Her trembling eyes affixed upon her and Luna let the ticket go. There was no use for it now. Her breathing became shallow as she waited for a response. “Answer me!”

Pinkie shrank back, looking the other way. The composure she was trying to maintain was starting to falter. Head drooping beyond her haunches, she mewled: “When you kissed me.”

Luna’s jaw hung open. “You put your lips on mine. Y-you said you loved me, and you kissed me, just to steal my ticket?”

“It’s not like that!” instisted Pinkie, head wrenching back. “I do love you, though. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone else in my entire life.”

“So it was just a convenient opportunity, then?” Luna took a heavy step forward, and Pinkie took one back. She quirked her brow and added: “Like the letter you sent to my sister?”

It felt as though the floor would slip out under her, and Pinkie would go tumbling back through the air. At least, that’s how her lurching stomach felt. “How did…”

“It’s true then, isn’t it?” Luna watched her grip at her own shoulder and quiver with guilt. Those pretty blue eyes hid away behind her messy bangs. “I can’t believe you. I was poised to give you my heart, and you skulk around behind my back to keep my sister and I from talking. How could you do this to me? Hmm?” She choked back at the well of tears, hoping to stem the font’s painful flow. “Please, can’t you speak? Can’t you tell me wh--”

“Because!” she shouted back, stamping her hooves down. Lifting her head, the fear in her eyes had been succeeded by newfound fury. “Your sister has always been horrible to you, and all she ever does is hurt you!”

Shock overtook Luna. She was unaware Pinkie was even capable of this type of outburst. She started to reply, but the words caught in her throat.

“A-and I can’t…” Pinkie couldn’t hold them back with the self-righteous indignation any longer. The tears came, a heavy downpour across the plains of her dry, dry cheeks. “I can’t stand to see you in pain anymore.” She drew a long, unsteady breath. “It hurts so much to see you cry, and just look! You saw her for fifteen minutes and you cried again!”

New tears began to flow for Luna as well, streaking gold down the cheeks of this former royal brat. She bristled up and spat back: “I shed a tear after she said something kind--something that finally made the hurt start to go away, after so long.” Despite herself, Luna shook, her whole body lowering with the limp frailty of a porcelain doll. “And you kept that from me for an entire summer. Y-you selfish thing.”

Pinkie watched her plop down in the dust and sob into her hooves. She glanced down at her own hooves, which shook with the realization of what she’d done. “It wasn’t supposed to… I just, I-I thought if I kept you away from the one who made you miserable, you could finally be happy. I thought… I could make you happy. That’s what I do, right?” She went blind from the tears welling up. “I’m the Element of Laughter. I make ponies happy…”

“It wasn’t your decision to make.” cried Luna.

“Luna.” pleaded Pinkie, wearily moving toward her. “I’m so sorry.”

When Luna straightened up, trying to feel less pathetic, she reeled away from her. She couldn’t look at her. She couldn’t have her hooves on her. After a hiccup, she said: “I think we should ride in separate cars on the train home. I just can’t be around you right now.”

“I’m sorry.” whined Pinkie. She found herself turning the other way. Her hooves shook at the latch to the door until finally it swung open. Dashing out, she bumped into someone, and yelped again: “I’m so sorry!”

“Hey!” came a voice from the hall. It approached, and following along came a somewhat thickset reddish pegasus guard. She said: “Nopony’s supposed to be in here. Luna’s old bedchamber is off limits, except to custodial staff on weeken--oh!”

Dreadfully embarrassed, Luna was covering her face and simultaneously trying to clean it off with her kerchief. With horrid golden smears and still yet fresh tears falling, Luna told her: “I’m terribly sorry. I hope it’s alright that I borrowed my old chambers for a moment.”

She knelt before her. “Of course, your majesty.”

Still dabbing at the corners of her eyes, Luna sighed. “Please don’t call me that.”

“My… lady?” asked the guard, confused about how to address her.

“Just ‘Luna’ will do fine, miss.” She stood up and dusted herself off the best she could.

“I’m Ruby Glade.” said the mare. “Um. Do you want an escort back to the gala, or?”

Stepping out into the corridor with this oddly familiar stranger, Luna glanced down the hallway Pinkie took. In that moment, her hoof picked up, then the other. In spite of herself, she truly wanted to go after her

But when Luna thought again on what she’d done, her lip quivered, and her blasted eyes flowed anew. She choked and then cleared her threat. “Actually, I suppose I should finish the conversation I was--ugh, excuse me--was h-having with my sister. Would you happen to know where she is?”

---

Nervously, Ruby Glade knocked on the door to the queen’s bedchambers. “Uh, your grace? You have a visitor.”

The door creaked in, and Petra’s head poked through the crack. Oddly perturbed, she said: “Queen doesn’t want any company, Ruby.”

“Just let me in, please, Petra.” sounded an exasperated Luna.

“Oh, I didn’t see you at first. You are out on the skybridge in the night, ya know, and you’re kinda… dark.” She practically winced at the displeased glower she was getting. “Yeah, okay, come on in.”

As the light from inside pooled at their ankles, Ruby looked up to Luna in curious wonderment, and said: “Wow, I didn’t know you were friends with Petra.”

Nimbus saw them waltzing in and perked up. “Oh, hey, Luna!”

Blinking, Ruby followed along. “What? You know Nimbus too?”

“It’s a long story.” explained Luna. “Thank you for escorting me, though, Ruby.”

Scuffing her hoof along the floor rather idly, she said: “Well, shucks, I didn’t think anything of it, I guess. ‘Sno big deal, really.”

“All the same,” replied Luna, trying to be warm, though it came out somewhat tepid, “I am, well, not in the best place right now.”

“I’ll say, yeesh.” agreed Petra derisively. “What happened to you?”

Before Luna’s grimace could stretch further beyond the corners of her mouth, a head popped over the bannister of the platform where Celestia’s bedding lied. Giddily at first, she said: “What’s that? Luna, is that you?”

“Yes, I’m back.” She gave her sister room to leap over her desk and flutter down before her. “Sorry about earlier.”

“No, no, it’s alri--egads, Luna!” She rushed over and gripped her gold-smeared cheeks. “You’ve been crying? Oh no, I’m so sorry! W-was it something I said?”

“No,” huffed Luna, breaking free, “no. No, I uh… I think I might have just broken up with my girlfriend.”

Disheartened, Celestia pulled her into a hug, caring little that her sister’s ruined makeup might stain her dress. “Aw, no, Pinkie Pie seemed like such a sweetheart.”

Nimbus shared a timid glance with Petra and Ruby. “Should we leave you two al--”

“What?!” howled Luna, leaping out of her sister’s hugging hooves. Bewildered, she gawked at her, eyes wide, and asked: “How on earth did you know I was dating Pinkie?”

“Oh.” Celestia’s lavender eyes were full of innocence and surprise. “One day, I mulled over the thought of paying you a visit in Ponyville, but I ran into her.”

Luna didn’t like where this was going, but pressed anyway. “And what, pray tell, did she say to you?”

“She told me how well you were doing, thanks to your new friends--”

“Despite how you made me cry last time we spoke?” cut off Luna with a snide guess.

Celestia’s train of thought came to a screeching halt. Concern seeped into her gaze. She nodded slowly, and told Luna: “Something to that effect, yes. But you don’t mean…” Luna gave her a dower, defeated nod. “Nooooooo. She seemed so sweet, though!”

The silent confusion among the trio of guards broke, Petra’s head hoisting upright with a gasping revelation. “Aha! Pinkie sent the note! I knew it!”

Then Nimbus promptly bopped her on the shoulder. “You so did not, shut up.”

Ruby scratched her head. “Note?”

“It’s a long story.” sighed Nimbus.

“Of course.” Ruby could already feel a headache coming on.

Luna plopped down onto the floor, looking as though she might start crying all over again any moment now. Head hanging low, she droned: “I can’t believe she’d do this to us. I loved her, I really did.”

Again, Nimbus spoke up, getting rather anxious. “Really, we can leave. This seems pretty personal.”

“I don’t care if I have an audience to my sorrow anymore. My sad history fills up storybooks anyhow, so what’s the point in hiding it now?” Luna put on a rather sardonic look.

“Wow,” said Nimbus, already pushing on Petra as Ruby uncertainly followed her, “that’s definitely a cool thing you just said, and not like, super depressing at all, but we’re gonna at least send for some tea. C’mon, girls.”

“Aw, but I wanna stay and listen.” protested Petra. Then another shove of her partner put her against the door. Unsatisfied, she said: “Whoa, when did you get stronger than me?”

“It’s in the technique.” said Nimbus with a shrug. She opened the door and gestured out into the night.

Timidly following along, Ruby asked: “Could you show me sometime?”

After watching the guards scurry out, Celestia sighed. They were finally alone again. She placed a hoof on Luna’s shoulder, and asked: “And what did Pinkie say? Surely she had some reason for all of this.”

“She seemed convinced that it would be better for me…” Luna placed her hoof on her sister’s, and glanced up at her, her ears folded back. “That I would be happier without you.”

“I see.” Celestia’s mouth grew taut, trepidation showing. “Alright, so, not condoning her methods here, but--”

“Ugh, what do you mean, ‘but?’” Luna shook her head.

“All I’m saying is I don’t think I can really blame her.” She sat down next to her sister, taking her hoof into hers and patting it. “Hear me out for a moment. Our past is pretty messy, to say the least of it. Then, the last time we spoke, that also went quite poorly. And, not to keep dredging it back up, but you seemed very reluctant to see me again, during that whole dragon affair.”

Pouting, Luna balked. “What are you suggesting? That I should merely let go of this entire conniving transgression?”

“Certainly not right away, or even all at once. But I can think of another mare who struggled with expressing herself and made some questionable decisions.” She reached up and pushed some frayed blue locks back behind Luna’s ear. It had been a very long time since she’d seen her little sister like this. It felt so nostalgic. “Luna, I can’t live your life for you, so it isn’t up to me to forgive this twisted form of care for you. But speaking personally, learning to be more forgiving after how I handled you, and Nightmare Moon, it… I’m much happier these days because of it.”

Luna took a moment to really consider this. “Hrm. I will have to think about this.”

Growing perky, Celestia pat Luna on the back. “And you’ll have plenty of time to sleep on it after the gala ends tonight. I can have your room dusted and the linens changed in no time.” She squeezed her tight, not noticing a growing look of surprise on her face. “It will be so good to have you by my side once more.”

“Wait.” bade Luna. Holding Celestia by the shoulders as she broke free, she nervously looked her in the eyes. “Hold on. I’m sorry, but I never said I wanted to be a princess again.”

The light faded from Celestia’s face. “I don’t understand.”

“I actually quite enjoy my new life. Frustrating recent events notwithstanding, I have all these new relationships I enjoy, and a nice quiet life in a humble villa out in the country. I don’t want to give that up.” Luna’s little shrug was so sheepish, she might very well start growing wool.

“You’d rather keep books than be royalty.” It wasn’t a question, so much as an observation. Even if Celestia struggled to understand it.

“It doesn’t sound like much of a life, I suppose. But it really does feel like mine.”

Celestia swayed her head from side to side. “I just can’t believe that after all this, I’m still not getting my little sister back.”

Luna’s lower lip came loose, a perch for the words to come, even if they might be waylaid. “Now that’s not fair. I do want us both in each other’s lives again, really. But outside this castle, I finally found a life that feels like my own.”

Celestia peered deep into those tealish blue eyes, searching perhaps for some hidden meaning. Pouting, she said: “You’re right. I’m sorry. I did just say I can’t live your life for you.”

Finally, at long last, Luna was the one to give her big sister a hug. Over her shoulder, and minding the wings, she whispered: “Thank you, sister. I love you.”

“I love you too.” cooed Celestia. She hadn’t felt this warm as sunshine in quite some time. “Which is why I must insist we at least do tea once a week.”

“I think I can agree to these terms.” For a moment, Luna squeezed even tighter.

As they parted, Celestia held her hooves tenderly. “We can start with tonight, and you can tell me all about your summer. I want to hear it all; monsters, romance, everything.”

“Alright, alright,” chuckled Luna, “I’ll see what I can manage.”

---

The clock struck midnight, and the gala was now over. A significant chunk of party goers had already left, though, so the exiting crowd was considerably lighter than the entering one earlier in the evening. Celestia rushed down the first flight of stairs, hitting the landing in the main hall with a heavy thud. She caught her breath, and announced to the tired, leaving crowd: “Thank you all so much for joining us at the annual Grand Galloping Gala! We hope to see you again next year!”

The sorbet trio exchanged perplexing looks. Cadence, being the oldest among them, approached her first while the other two maintained the routine of smiling and waving. “Your grace, we had already announced the end of the gala. Where have you been?”

“Ohhhhhh,” drew out Celestia slowly and shyly, “you knowwwwwwww. Just um, catching up with an old friend.” She glanced up at the second floor railing which overlooked the hall. There, leaning over the bannister was her sister, flanked by the three guards.

“I think I see my friends.” Luna pointed them out by way of seeing them look around for her. Now pointing at her own cheeks, she asked them: “Did I get all the smeared gold?”

Nimbus went right up to her and gave her a hug. “You look fine, Luna. See you next time.”

Petra pulled Nimbus off of her. “C’mon, girl. You don’t need to take any excuse to hug a pretty mare.”

“I wasn’t!” complained Nimbus. “But we’re friends now and I’m gonna miss h--”

“You think I’m pretty?” Internally, Luna went wild. Externally, she maintained a stoic facade.

Petra and Nimbus halted their little squabble, freezing in place with their shoving hooves at each other’s chests. Nimbus tried to explain what Petra said. “Well, you see, Luna--”

“Yes.” blithely interrupted Ruby. “You’re very pretty. We were all just being polite in not calling attention to it.” She shrugged. “Kinda like how we don’t comment on how good the princesses look, because that’d be, ya know, super unprofessional. But since you’re not a princess, I guess it’s okay?”

Incredulous, Luna scoffed at each of them individually. “Ah. Tch. Aha. Come now, surely you can’t all find me attr--”

“You’re super hot.” blurted Petra, cheeks red. “In fact, now that we know you’re single and into girls, Nimbus and I were wondering if--oof!”

Painfully embarrassed, Nimbus shoved her elbow into Petra’s side to stop this horrible, frustrating conversation. Through gritted teeth, she feigned a nervous laugh. “Hahaha, wow, would you just look at the time? You’d better go catch up with your friends and head to the train station and leave and not come back for a while! See ya!”

“Um. Yes, I think I will do just this. Goodbye, you two.” Luna glanced over her shoulder at Ruby. “It was nice meeting you as well, Ruby.” She didn’t wait for a response from any of them. This was madness, and she had to get away. So she leapt over the bannister and spread her wings.

Ever the discerning eye for detail, Rarity spotted her first as she landed among the dispersing crowd nearby. But whatever it was she was going to say, she abandoned for a new observation. “Luna, are you quite well? You seem rather flushed.”

“You know, let’s just say I’ve only recently reconciled some parts of myself, and fate has conspired against me to overwhelm those aspects tonight.” She glanced around for a change in subject. “Where’s Pinkie?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” shrewdly stated Rainbow, gingerly brushing up against Rarity. With her best stink eye, she interrogated further. “I saw her running through the halls a few hours back, crying. And when I tried to stop her, she kept slipping through my grasp, and said she was taking an early train home.”

Luna’s ears drooped. “Oh dear.”

Rainbow flew up to meet her eye to eye, newfound righteous fury burning. “What happened between you two, Luna?”

She groaned, resigning herself to the fate of having to briefly relive the torment from earlier. “I have some uncomfortable things to catch you girls up on. But we should really walk and talk, we need to get to the train station.”

The five friends found themselves waiting on a platform for the last train of the night. No one spoke, but some flavor of frown or another formed on every face. Uncertainty silenced them after Luna had finished her story. And wordlessly, they filed onto the hissing metal beast that would whisk them home in the dead of night.

After a time, one grew tired of the rumbling of the rails passing beneath being the only noise among them. Rainbow said: “Really? Nopony’s gonna say anything about this?”

Exasperated, Applejack asked: “Whaddya want us to say, Dash?”

“I dunno. That this whole thing sucks?” She glanced around at the uncertain faces. “Because it does.”

“‘Suck,’ Dash?” AJ’s eyes became surrounded by creases of judgement. “Really? That’s how you’re gonna put it?”

“It does suck.” muttered Fluttershy, causing a double take from Dash and AJ. “I am so cross with her right now.”

“I will admit,” added Rarity, “I’m a little shocked she’s even capable of something so underhoofed.”

“‘Suck’ ain’t a good word for it, though.” insisted Applejack, crossing her hooves.

“Ugh, fine,” groaned Rainbow, “it’s an awkward mess and I don’t know how I feel about it, is that better?”

“I feel the same way.” agreed Fluttershy. With a grumble, she leaned on Rainbow’s shoulder. “This is just so frustrating.”

Applejack slouched further back in her seat. “I s’pose that’s fair.”

Gingerly, Rarity pat her crossed hoof. “This whole situation is rather… tricky.”

“Yeah,” nodded Rainbow, “I mean, with Gilda, I felt a little more confident in dropping her. The way she was treating folks around town--the way she treated Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy dug her hoof under Rainbow’s, hugging her forelimb. “But I hate making my friends choose between their friends.”

“You still shoulda said something, girl.” Rainbow brushed some of those long pink locks out of Fluttershy’s eyes. “Something’s gotta give if one of my besties is outright attacking the other, ya know?”

“I suppose, at the very least, Pinkie had rather a decent reason, compared to that Gilda girl.” said Rarity, even if she sounded unsure of this herself.

Applejack sat up straight once more and shook her head. “Sorry, hon, but nah. Ain’t hearin’ that when it comes to keeping family apart.”

Rarity leveled her gaze at AJ “Look, I’m not saying she was right in what she did, but certainly you can see where she was coming from. We’ve all seen how much crying Luna’s done when recollecting her past encounters with her sister.”

Raising her nose up at the very notion, AJ told her: “I know I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve right now, but there ain’t nothing more important than family in my book. How would you feel about me if I kept you from seeing your little sis?”

Snorting, Rarity retorted with: “Sweetie might get on my last nerve now and again, but she’s never tried to kill me in a fit of envious rage!”

“Alright!” Luna leaned in across the aisle, making sure all eyes were on her as she shot them each a displeased glare. “I’d say that’s enough discussing my problems for me.”

They all hushed in an instant. Fluttershy squeaked: “We’re sorry.”

Rarity bit her lip, twiddling her hooves. “Yes, I’m especially, really, dreadfully sorry, Luna. I went too far just now.”

“No kidding.” muttered Rainbow. She wore an ashamed look, though, when Fluttershy nudged her to deliver a scolding glare.

“Listen…” Luna rubbed the temples of her head. “I appreciate that you all care, I really do. But I think I’d prefer if this dispute stays between and Pinkie and myself. I want to handle this on my own.”

Rarity propped herself up on the elbow rest of her seat. “And? How are you feeling, darling?”

Luna thought back to the moment she met Rarity, and her observation about looks that could kill. She felt that surely she was giving her one just then. But as always, something was so disarming about her sincere sapphire blue eyes. Her ire faded back into general frustration with a sigh. “I am unsure. Pinkie is still the mare who taught me how to be happy again. This doesn’t necessarily erase that, but… I’m hurt, to say the least of it.”

“Well, whatever you decide, we’ll all be behind you.” She turned to the others. “Isn’t that right, girls?”

A rousing agreement bounced around between them. Softening to a smile at last, Luna said: “Thanks, girls. But even as I think on this, uncertain as it might be, I am confident in one thing. Going forward, I finally feel at peace with who I am, and where I’m at. And for that much at least, I couldn’t be more thankful.”

Quiet settled over them once more. As she watched the Equestrian countryside pass by in the dark, Luna had one last passing thought: I do hope she’s okay, wherever she is.

In time, the gentle sway of their train car took its toll. Luna began to doze, completely ambivalent. While the future seemed all the less uncertain and murky, there nevertheless seemed a gray cloud to blot the brightness of possibility.

A yawn escaped her one last time, and she began to drift away. Gently swaying with the trundle of the car, she faded into another dream. She found herself under sister’s hot sun, surrounded by the golden wheat she’d seen earlier. A fwip of her head, and her magic grasp whirled around a great scythe. Pinkie came bouncing along, cheery as ever, with a basket and chord to collect and bundle up the newly rended stalks. And despite herself, well, Luna almost cracked a smile. Maybe, with time, things could be good again.

Author's Note:

Gonna be honest, this was the part that broke me. I wrote that scene and when I read it back to myself, I actually teared up. I kept thinking what am I doing this is too sad I don't wanna do this.

But then I did anyway. I do hope this turned out alright.

Comments

[Genjen]

Excellent introduction of Ruby with the bedchamber, a moment of levity after such a heart-wrenching (but necessary) moment between Pinkie and Luna. I also really liked all the ponies talking about forgiveness here. It's all too easy and cathartic to be angry, but the healthier response in much of this is to understand, forgive, and move on. This really shows the empathic nature of the ponies here and more importantly shows how far Luna has come from her past anger issues.

Also, Luna being shy and flustered due to the guards was great, especially with that line about her being "okay" to chat up because she's not a princess officially. Looks like the title had some perks that weren't immediately obvious. It also gives a little insight into why Luna probably had some trouble with romance in the past. Social difficulties combined with an unapproachable aura of authority. Also! Super excited about a possible multi-Princesses, and Luna, tea parties in the next arc. Haha