Lost Without Love

by AnnEldest

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The morning was no more kind to Luna than the night had been. The clattering of the train tracks pounded her head each time it happened. The walk through Canterlot was met with confused stares by the upper class nobility who wondered why their princess of the night now looked like she had just come from a sorority house bender. And the flight up to her window was clumsy and off course, more likely drawing attention to herself than the discreet entry she had meant it to be.

Her balcony was growing ever nearer. Just a few more flaps, and she was in the clear.

Unfortunately, her vision was not that clear, and she bumped hard against the concrete railing.

Hooves fumbled and flailed as she tried to keep her grip on the rails. Finally, she was able to pull herself up, panting as if she had just run a marathon. Her muscles spent, Luna allowed herself to go limp and slide over the top of the railing, and landed with a satisfying thump on the marble balcony.

She was home free. Safe from any gossiping castle staff or nosy guards. Most of all from her overbearing, overprotective, over-being-the-big-sister sister.

“Wheeeeeewwwwwwww…” Luna sighed, every ounce of air flushing from her lungs.

As carefully as ever, she picked herself up and walked inside of her room. Everything was as it should have been. And it was still at least an hour before the usual time she woke up from her nightly work. Except for that tapping sound that made her head throb, she was feeling better than she had all morning. At least, as good as she could have felt when she didn’t have Capper’s paws rubbing up and down her back. Her snout nuzzled against his chest.

Tap…Tap…Tap…

Luna smiled as she recalled the scent of Capper’s cologne mingled with his own natural scent. Strong and sweet. An aroma she would have had perfumed all over her room if she could have it so.

Tap…Tap…Tap…

That sound. Those damn jelly shots were still working their black magic on her brain. Even the taste wouldn’t leave her alone. Luna went into her bathroom and filled her mouth with mouthwash, gargled loudly and spat it out.

If Capper could have seen her that way, would he think of her so highly? Was it like a princess to go through a hygiene ritual so roughly?

Tap…Tap…Tap…

Of course it was. Everypony did the same thing every day. At least, she hoped they did. Keeping up with the rituals of hygiene, Luna took up her brush and plowed it through her mane to get out the many knots and tangles that she had gotten from the night’s misadventure.

As she looked at herself in her mirror, she saw herself becoming more and more the mare that she was on the night of the Gala. Only, she wasn’t that same mare. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but there was something different about herself then. Whoever was looking back at her, she thought that the stranger in the glass could have gone to the Gala with the expected poise and confidence of Equestrian royalty.

Tap…Tap…Tap…

That incessant tapping took Luna from her thoughts, and she put the brush down. The return trip to her bedroom was blocked by some large wall of something white and fuzzy, but she pushed past it without much heed. For now, she had to get to bed.

Luna opened up her wardrobe and started looking through it for something to wear for her brief respite. The usual frilly nightgown seemed so old-fashioned all of a sudden. But the silk gown with the spaghetti straps suddenly started speaking to her. Then again, how would she look in something saucy? Short and see through? Luna giggled at the thought of wearing that to bed. Or possibly for something else. For somepony else.

Tap…Tap…Tap…

“RRRRGH!!” Luna growled, picking up the nearest chair to smash whatever was making that ungodly noise. “TO HELL WITH Y–”

Luna dropped the chair the moment she saw the source of the noise.

There was Celestia standing in the doorway of her bathroom, tapping her hoof on the floor, scowling in a way that Luna couldn’t decide was admonishing or confused.

“Hitting the sauce a little hard tonight, are we?” Celestia asked.

“I…How…” Luna stammered.

“I smelled you before you got in. Could you at least have dove into the moat before coming indoors? You smell like a stallion’s room floor.”

Luna sniffed her own side and recoiled, realizing only then how terrifically horrid she smelled.

“I suppose you’re irritated with me?” Luna weakly said.

“Irritated, am I?” Celestia said. “After having to lower the moon, raise the sun and wait for you to come home at a reasonable hour, why would I be irritated? Did I mention doing all of this with a lingering brain freeze?”

“I’m sorry,” Luna said. “I didn’t mean to sleep in..”

“Sleeping in, were we?” Celestia suggestively asked. “Where?”

“I was…Out. Just out,” Luna replied.

“Out where?” Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Just out,” Luna firmly repeated, before having to hold her head. She moaned as she trotted over to her bed and sat down.

“Luna,” Celestia said as firmly as her sister, “don’t get smart with me.”

“Sister, would you please drop it,” Luna begged as she stuffed her head beneath a pillow. “The sun is risen. It’s not as if the ponies need me to wake them up.”

“And just how do you justify shrugging off your own royal responsibilities? Can you even begin to try?” Celestia said.

Luna rose from beneath her pillow, her bloodshot eyes wide and her mouth stern.

“You, dear Tia, are a woodpecker,” she said.

“I don’t follow,’ Celestia replied.

“You ram your hardened nose into everypony’s business, tap-tap-tapping your way in until you break through to all the details you can learn. And if you find nothing, you simply move on to somepony else’s business,” Luna explained. “I was out at the Fall Festival in Ponyville, making memories, having fun, and having a life outside of this castle. Taking all of your own advice that I’ve only seen you follow once every blue moon. Now, while you kindly fetch a fork to eat your own words, may I finally get some rest?”

Celestia grumbled as she recalled the very words that she had spoken to her sister repeatedly. The very same words she had said to convince her to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. For that, she couldn’t fault Luna.

“I suppose I should be glad that you’ve put yourself out there,” Celestia said through her clenched teeth. “But, I don’t feel like I should have to tell you not to let it get in the way of your responsibilities.”

“Yes, mother,” Luna sarcastically said.

“Don’t you–Ooh! I could just–” Celestia said. If anything pushed her buttons, being compared to their mother rated at the top of the list. It was no matter anyway. Luna appeared to have learned her lesson. And so, Celestia walked over to the door. “I hope you have a pleasant day.”

TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP

Luna had to hold the pillow over her ears to drown out her sister’s cacophonous tapping. Finally, she was alone. Only, some part of her wished that she wasn’t.

There she laid on her bed, placing that naughty little nightgown over her torso, feeling somewhat silly for even considering such a notion. Yet at the same time daring herself to go through with it.

Even still, Celestia was right. She had been careless. Nothing could come between herself and her responsibilities as a royal. Not even Capper. And the idea broke her heart ever so slightly.

In those quiet moments, Luna had often wondered how other ponies had managed such things. She had spent her life looking at the dreams of ponies. Their lofty aspirations and future promises to themselves. And yet, they always had more. Friends that they spent all of their best and worst times with. Families that sometimes seemed to grow without end. Ailing parents who needed constant care. Education that demanded nothing but all of their time. Through it all, they always kept their eyes on their dreams. The only ones that were never fulfilled were the ones that had been given up and left to be forgotten in the grey aether of the space between sleep and wakefulness.

Could she allow her own dreams to slip into that dreary abyss? Would she allow it? These thoughts drifted through her mind as she snuggled up to the stuffed panda that she now shared her bed with.

Somewhere in Canterlot, a bell rang. It was a tone Luna knew by heart, signalling the end of the school day for the foals of the kindergarten.

Kindergarten…

“The kindergarten!!” Luna gasped, before having to hold her head once more.

Any plan that she had would have to wait. Nothing could be done with a hangover that wouldn’t quit.

---

The sight of his dingy little home never looked better to Capper as he walked into it. Right after hanging up his red jacket, he walked to his bathroom, where he looked over himself in the mirror.

Patches of fur were missing on his chest. Bruises were all up and down his arms. And his left eye was faintly blackening.

“Damn!” Capper hissed as he started looking for something to cover that up.

Too many questions would arise if anypony saw him that way. Yet, there was nothing that he had that could have discreetly covered up his black eye. All he could do was ice down the swelling and hope that it would blend with his own natural coloring.

It seemed that the pegasus had been right. He should have just kept walking. Now, he was paying for his intervention.

The ice was taken from his freezer and packed up in a cloth. As Capper applied it to his eye, he walked back to his living room where he unconsciously pressed the play button on the cassette player he had lying on his coffee table.

The sweet strums of a ukulele started playing, and the song he and Luna shared began to fill his room.

His body cried out to him to lie down. His arms and legs were almost spent for the fight he had gotten into. Yet, he remained restless. Capper paced all around his living room, thinking more and more about the hole he was digging himself into. He had wanted his old life to be erased. To stay where it belonged in the dark abyss of time gone by, where it could be forgotten. Yet, time was a whimsical thing. It was said that time would wash away all pain. What was never told was how the current of time carried that pain along its winding course, and how that tumultuous tide would often find you once again.

Still, it was that same tide that had brought him to the sunny shores of Luna. And Trixie. And Rarity. Even that brain-dead street performer from the boardwalk. Really, any pony who he hadn’t even glanced twice at as he walked the city streets.

On that river of time, he felt like he was trapped under ice. Only, he was comfortably cold in its overwhelming embrace. Carried along by it, looking at a world that he could see, but never touch. A dream that he could never know. Until he met Luna.

Luna was what made him want to be a part of that. From the time he decided to put everything on the line and speak to her, he let her see more of what was inside of him than he wanted to show. Even when he told her such cold words, his love shone through.

Love…

Could it have been? Was it what he wanted?

Yes. And no pegasus thug was going to take it from him. Not even Verko. And especially not that rat bastard, Needy.

With any luck, it would be some time before he and Luna saw one another again. They could find a way to keep up their correspondence. But it was likely going to be a few days before Luna allowed herself to try anything beyond her royal duties. By then, his bruises may have healed.

Even by then, Capper doubted that he would have the nerve to tell her what had happened. Luna was not the kind to sit idly by while her friends were in trouble. For him, Luna may have gone off the deep end to protect him. And likely do something even stupider than Capper would have ever done. More so than risking a serious injury to bust a carny. But, that was just one of the best and worst qualities about Luna.

The ukulele he had bought was leaning against the couch. Capper laid down with the ice pack over his eye as he began plucking the strings. Idly at first, he began to play along to the tune of the song on the cassette, until he got to a part that he didn’t know.

It would come in time. For now, it would just be him and his special song.

---

The start of the school day was announced by the ringing of the grand bell at the schoolhouse. The sounds of student chatter, trotting hooves and flapping textbooks didn’t bother Luna in the least, now that her head had stopped pounding. How good it felt to be able to walk those halls without having to awkwardly explain why she was holding her head, or why she looked so tired. Still, would she be able to fool who she was going to see? Would she be able to keep her composure and glean the information that she needed?

Inkwell was one of the oldest teachers at the school, having been there the longest of any current staff member. If anypony knew the students of the school, it was going to be her.

There was her classroom. And Luna arrived at the door, which was half opened to allow the foals entry. She stopped to look inside, and saw the many foals cramming in as much playtime as they possibly could before the lessons began. And at the front of the room, there was Inkwell setting up to begin the day’s lessons.

Luna heard a step to her side and looked to see one last colt who was running late to class. He stopped at Inkwell’s door and looked up curiously at Luna. Luna smiled at the colt, and opened the door for him to allow him inside of Inkwell’s class. The moment she had, Inkwell looked up from what she was preparing and saw the unexpected visitor at her door.

“Princess? Well, I’ll be,” Inkwell warmly said. “Foals, eyes on me, please.”

The fillies and colts of the classroom all looked at their teacher.

“ We have a very special guest today. Everypony, say hello to Princess Luna,” Inkwell said.

“Hi, Princess Luna,” the class greeted.

Luna couldn’t help but smile at the mass greeting from the group of young foals. Seeing their bright eyes and eager smiles made her recall her own days in school, and the feeling of accomplishment with each project passed.

“Hello, foals,” Luna greeted back. “Actually, I came today to speak with Miss Inkwell. So, if she wouldn’t mind stepping out into the hall?”

“Er–Well, yes. Of course,” Inkwell said. “Cherry Blossom? Would you look after the class a moment?”

A mare who looked old enough to have just graduated from high school nodded as she gathered the foals around a table in the classroom, and started passing out papers to them.

Inkwell stepped out into the hallway with Luna, who closed the classroom door behind them.

“Luna, dear. I must say that this seems very unusual for you. May I ask what this is about?” Inkwell asked.

“Yes. Of course,” Luna replied. She thought carefully about her answer. “I’m looking for a filly.”

“A filly, you say? There are dozens of fillies here in kindergarten. Or is there one in particular that you’re looking for?”

“Yes. There is a filly here that I need to have a talk with,” Luna replied.

“Is something wrong?” Inkwell wondered.

“No. Nothing is wrong. Only–” Luna faltered again, wondering how she was going to be able to explain what was going on gently. If she hadn’t been in such a hurry to get to the kindergarten that day, she may have been able to have thought up a rehearsal. “There is a personal matter that I must speak with her about.”

“I see. A friendship problem?” Inkwell wondered.

“No. Er…It’s a little closer than that.”

“Oh. A family issue,” Inkwell said, the gravity suddenly dawning on her. “Princess, I think I may know the filly that you’re talking about.”

Luna’s eyes glittered unknowingly.

“It was about nine months ago that a little unicorn filly was enrolled in one of the afternoon classes. I’ve never seen her parents picking her up. Only her older sister. But, between you and me, I don’t like the look of her sister. She seems…unseemly,” Inkwell said.

Luna nodded.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” she said, keeping up with her cover. “I suppose I’ll have to come back later to talk with her.”

“That’s another thing,” Inkwell said, “Even though she attends the afternoon classes, she’s always dropped off in the daycare early in the morning. I’ve asked her why she always seems to be the first one there, but she can’t even tell me what her family does that they need to drop her off so early.”

“Hmm…” Luna hummed to herself. “If it’s alright, may I speak with her now? I’d like to help her as quickly as possible.”

“Of course,” Inkwell said. “She’s usually in the daycare’s library if you want to talk to her. Ask for Rosy Flower. That’s her name.”

“Thank you. I’ll be off now to take care of this business. Thank you for your time,” Luna said, before taking her leave.

Inkwell said her goodbyes and returned to her classroom. As she walked, it occurred to Luna just how long these thugs had been in Canterlot. For nine months that pegasus had been skulking around her home. And with her sister in tow. The idea of bringing such a young filly into her vile business was enough to make Luna sick. All the more reason for her to see through this matter as soon as possible.

Luna knew the way to the daycare by heart. After being asked to go there to visit the foals so many times by the staff and by her own sister, the walk there was practically second nature to her. She walked through the doors to the daycare’s library, and asked the adult there where she could find Rosy Flower. She was directed to a table in the back, where a filly with a teal coat and a red mane sat.

The filly sat quietly at her seat, looking at a picture book and putting together the story that its pictures told. She had so few books at home, and relished it greatly whenever her sister brought home a new one for her. This one was completely new to her, showing the lengths that a pet dog would go to keep his filly safe. The dog looked big and vicious, but no matter what trouble his filly got into he was always putting himself on the line to make sure she got home safely. She wondered if maybe there was already a dog like that in her own life. Somepony who wasn’t quite a dog.

“Pardon me. But is your name Rosy Flower?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

The filly looked up and her jaw dropped.

“P–Prin-Princess Luna?” she asked.

“I am,” Luna chuckled, “But, who are you?”

The filly stared a moment, before she realized what she had just been asked a moment ago, “I’m Rosy Flower.”

“Do you mind if I sit with you?”

Rosy Flower shook her head and allowed Luna to sit beside her.

Luna took her seat next to Rosy, looking the filly in the eye. She felt slightly uneasy, knowing how fragile and mercurial the emotions of a foal so young could be, and made a mental note to be particularly careful with her words.

Slowly, her eyes drifted to the book that Rosy was reading.

“What is this book you have?” Luna asked, starting gently with the filly.

“Um…it’s about a filly and her dog. The dog follows his filly and keeps her safe from a bunch of things that might hurt her,” Rosy answered.

“It certainly sounds exciting. I wish that I had a dog like that when I was a filly. Do you have any pets at home?” Luna wondered.

“Not anymore. We used to have a cat. But, that was before my sister moved away with me,” Rosy answered.

“I see,” Luna said quietly. “Why did you not take the cat with you?”

“Because it was my mommy and daddy’s cat. They didn’t come with us when we moved.”

Luna tried not to look confused at the filly’s words, but something must have given her away when she saw the way that Rosy was looking at her anxiously. Clearing her throat quickly, Luna resumed their conversation.

“You must have left in a big hurry if you forgot to pack up your own parents for a move,” Luna said, deciding to break the ice with a joke.

“I don’t think we forgot,” Rosy replied. “I heard my sister telling mommy and daddy that she was going to leave a bunch of times. She doesn’t yell as much anymore after we did.”

“Your sister yelled at your parents a lot?” Luna asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do you know what about?”

“No. I was always in my room when they were fighting. Then she’d come in and slam the door,” Rosy answered.

The picture of what had been happening was slowly forming in Luna’s mind. What life had been like for Rosy Flower and her sister was likely not the idyllic foalhood that she and Celestia had, where the only gripe she had while growing up was when Celestia would come into her room and use her makeup whenever she ran out of her own.

It wasn’t infrequent that Luna had to deal with dysfunctional families. In fact, many ponies who were having family problems came to her over Celestia, because she seemed to have a better insight to the workings of a family and how to help them get over their problems. Sibling rivalry was something of a specialty of hers. The family that she was learning about now was deeper in that terrible darkness than she had seen before.

Partly for her own sake, Luna decided to change the subject slightly.

“I heard the bell ring not too long ago. Shouldn’t you be going to class right now? You don’t want to be late, do you?” she said.

“I don’t take the morning classes,” Rosy replied.

“Then why are you here so early? Most fillies who take the afternoon classes come closer to noon,” Luna gently said.

“My sister always drops me off right after we eat breakfast. And we always get up early. I don’t see her for a lot of the day, but she always has something ready for dinner when I get home,” Rosy said.

“That’s nice of her to do.”

“She is really nice.”

“Tell me, Rosy. Do you ever have any friends over for dinner?” Luna asked.

Rosy looked at Luna as if her parents found out she had been stealing from them. Luna waited patiently for the filly’s reply. Not wanting to pressure her, she was just about to dismiss the subject.

“No,” Rosy answered. “Nopony comes to our house when we have dinner. All of my friends have dinner with their family. And I never meet my sister’s friends.”

“Alright. I was only wondering,” Luna said. She hoped that would be enough to settle the filly’s nerves, and decided that another change in topic was called for. “You seem to spend a lot of time with your sister. Does she go to this school as well?”

“No. She’s not a unicorn, like me. She’s a pegasus,” Rosy replied.

The change in topic did little to ease Rosy’s nerves. That much, Luna could see in the filly’s face.

“Princess? Is my sister in trouble?” Rosy asked.

“What would make you think such a thing?” Luna said, trying to sound incredulous.

“Just before we moved some city guards asked me a lot of questions like the ones you’re asking.”

More of the picture of Rosy’s life before Canterlot became clearer to Luna. What sort of trouble had her sister gotten into to make her leave her home? How was her younger sister the only one that she cared enough about to take with her?

“Rosy,” Luna began, knowing now that she had to be more delicate than ever, “if it’s alright for me to ask, what is your sister’s name?”

“Um…Uh…”

Rosy stammered as she looked back at her book. The picture of the gigantic dog standing protectively beside his filly met her eyes.

“I have to go now. Ms. Loose Leaf likes to have me help her put books back on the shelves,” Rosy said, slowly standing up from her seat.

“Bu…Very well. Don’t let me keep you from your duties,” Luna said.

She watched Rosy Flower leave, and found herself with a few answers, but with more questions. Who was this pegasus stranger? And what was her business with Needy and his gang? Moreover, had anypony else seen her or learned her name?

Even with all of that, Luna had a lead. With what she knew, she could find out who Rosy’s parents were, where she came from, and how to get her older sister on the right path. Perhaps it would be too much to think that she could make up with her parents, but not to get her out of a life of crime.

The biggest complication would be if the pegasus found out about her meeting with Rosy. If she did, it was likely that she would run off with her sister again and Luna would lose the chance to apprehend a wanted criminal and protect a filly who was at risk. At the moment, she had no actual reason or solid proof to call upon Foal Protection Services. But a quick investigation of her own might have warranted a good enough reason.

It was for the good of Rosy Flower that Luna decided upon her next course of action and stood up from her seat.

“Did my sister do something bad?”

Just as she was halfway to the door, a filly’s voice stopped Luna. She turned around, and there was Rosy Flower, looking more frightened than Luna had seen her before.

“Rosy, dear, I already told you that she wasn’t in any trouble,” Luna said. She paused when she saw the look on Rosy’s face change once more, looking more frightened than ever.

“I heard what happened at the Gala…” Rosy said.

Luna heard the choking in the filly’s voice and looked around for any curious eyes or ears that were upon them. As quietly as she could, she guided Rosy over to one of the shelves where no other foals were.

“Rosy,” Luna began, “you must understand that even if she was, you wouldn’t be at any fault.”

“But it wasn’t her fault. She just gets mad sometimes and gets in fights. It was the other pegasus’ fault!” Rosy said.

“It was nopony’s fault. I only want to make sure that everything will end with nopony getting in trouble,” Luna replied.

“But, she never hurt anypony!” Rosy said, more distressed than ever.

It was then that Luna realized how little Rosy Flower knew of her sister’s business with Needy’s gang, or any other shady business that she was involved with. She would have to be more careful than ever now. If her sister crossed anypony, Rosy would be in danger. If anypony found out their relation, Rosy was an easy bargaining chip.

“Rosy? Have you ever had to do something that you didn’t want to do, but had to in order to help somepony you cared about?” Luna wondered.

“What?”

“I mean, did you ever have to do something to help somepony, even though it felt bad to do it?”

“You mean like telling on a friend?” Rosy asked.

“Yes. Or something similar,” Luna replied.

Rosy was silent again, and that look of terror returned to her face.

“Are you going to tell my mommy?” she whispered.

“No. Not yet, at any rate. Although…” Luna paused a moment, wondering if she should continue. “Although, I feel I must ask for your own sake, where are you and your sister staying?”

“I’m not supposed to tell that to strangers…” Rosy mumbled.

“It’s so that I can keep you and your sister safe, so you won’t get into any trouble.”

For a long time, Rosy said nothing as she stared at the books on the shelf. Among them, she saw a book that her sister had recently given her. One about a cat, who whenever his family was away he would get into all manner of trouble. But he would always make things look like they were okay before his family ever found out with the help of his friends.

“We’re staying in a motel far away from the school,” Rosy said.

“That must be a long walk,” Luna said.

“It is. But, my sister said that she got a new job that can help her pay for a house closer to the school.”

“Did she say what job she got?” Luna asked, though she felt she already knew the answer.

“No,” Rosy said. “She just said that she was going to work for some other creatures. And that she’d be out of our room a lot, so I couldn’t go with her. I think she said she’s staying with a friend for a while.”

“You mean that she’s leaving you in your room alone?”

“No. The maid is really nice. She has a granddaughter the same age as me, so my sister asks her to watch me when she’s not around,” Rosy said.

Luna nodded to herself. “When did your sister leave?”

“A couple of days ago. Right after the Gala, she said she had to go on a business trip,” Rosy said.

It didn’t take much to guess what ‘business trip’ actually meant. However, after the attempted murder of a pony, it seemed that Rosy’s sister had trouble laying low.

“Rosy, thank you for your time. You may return to helping your librarian now, while I go about my day. Farewell,” Luna said. “Although–”

“Although what?” Rosy wondered.

“I know that I’ve already pried much, but I would like to know your sister’s name.”

Rosy was silent again. And Luna completely understood her reluctance to speak. She turned around to leave.

“Skylar Rose.”

“Is that her name. It’s quite lovely,” Luna said.

“It is. I like to call her Sky.”

She had a name and she had a location. The motive still eluded her, but Luna was beginning to think that Skylar and Rosy needed as much protection from Needy as Capper did.

Capper. What would he have thought if he knew that she was investigating the criminals that he had once been connected with? Would he react as violently as he had before? Would everything that she had worked towards blow up in her face? If it did, would she ever find it with somepony else?

Luna shook her head slightly, trying to keep her focus on the situation at hoof.

“Rosy, can you do something for me?” Luna asked.

“Like what?” Rosy wondered.

“If you want to keep your sister out of trouble, I will have to ask you not to tell her that we spoke to each other,” Luna said.

“You mean keep a secret?”

“Yes. Can you do that for Sky?”

“I can for Sky,” Rosy astutely said.

“I knew you could,” Luna chuckled. She motioned for Rosy to come closer, and the filly obeyed. When they were close enough, Luna lowered herself to speak privately with her. “If you ever need help, you let me know immediately. Tell anypony at the castle that I have given you permission to speak directly with me, and they’ll let you.”

“Okay,” Rosy said.

“Very good,” Luna said, standing back up. “Have a good day at school.”

“Thank you. Bye,” Rosy said.

Luna left the library and trotted back to the school’s entrance. The moment that she was on the street, a long, heavy sigh blew past her lips. Never before had she found herself involved in a family issue with such gravity. Not even her own descent into Nightmare Moon was as bad to her.

As she made the journey back to the palace to catch up on the sleep she had missed, she began to reflect on the highly eventful week that she had been having. From facing her fears of attending the Gala, breaking up the fight in the garden, Capper confronting Needy, separating and reconciling with Capper, their wonderful first date, their disastrous second date, and the conversation she just had with Rosy Flower. It was a surprise to her how much could have happened in such a short time. Then again, time had a way of making things happen all at once.

Luna’s ear twitched when she heard a familiar tune. A pattern of notes that rang like a bell to her ears. It seemed that her walk home had taken her by the Canterlot record shop, and the music that played softly on the public speakers was playing a tune that nopony would have heard in years.

“No…It couldn’t be…” Luna thought to herself.

A low chant was sung, and a quiet synthetic tune was played beneath it. Slowly at first, the chant became faster and more passionate and the music matched its fire. Luna’s mouth slowly dropped open as the words of love lighting the skies and finding paradise overtook her like a warm blanket, and a smile bloomed across her face.

It was exactly what she needed to make up for the rough week she had been having. Something that she knew would make a special somepony’s day. Or night, as she figured it.

There was no hesitation at all in her mind as she walked into the shop, ready to complete what she knew would be the greatest night of her life.

Author's Note:

Plot thicken. This chapter took some time for me to write out. It could have gone in many directions and I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go. I am hoping the way I choose is good. As Always...

Till Next Time!!