My Little Senshi

by sister_mike

Chapter 6: Back to Canterlot

Chapter 6

Back to Canterlot

Pinkie Pie walked into the barn, her mane dead straight and her head hung. She still looked faded in color like she had earlier.

"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack said. She pulled the pony into a hug. "You don't look yourself, girl."

Pinkie Pie didn't say anything. She just sighed and hung her head further.

"You think the princesses are tired of fighting? And that's why they've handed over the responsibility to us?" Twilight asked.

"That's ridiculous," Rarity said immediately, "The princesses have been guarding the universe for about as long as I have. They know, as descendants of the moon, that it's their duty."

"Then why would they only be sending Princess Cadance to the Crystal Empire? Why aren't Celestia and Luna going too?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Crystal Empire? Why exactly are we being woken up?" Pinkie asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"So you do remember," Rarity said.

"Of course I remember. I'm always the fastest to remember," Pinkie muttered under her breath.

"The Crystal Empire, Pinkie, is Crystal Tokyo. It's returned," Rarity said softly. Pinkie's mouth formed a small o.

"And is he back as well then?" she asked.

"King Sombra? Yes. That's why the princesses have asked that we all wake up," Twilight said.

"Who are the princesses? Who are all of you?" Pinkie asked, "It's harder to recognize you all in these pony forms."

"I'm Mars, Twilight's Mercury, Rarity's Pluto, Applejack is Jupiter, and Fluttershy is Saturn. Celestia is the Queen, Luna is the princess, and Cadance is Small Lady," Rainbow Dash said in one breath. She then turned and rounded on Rarity, "You didn't answer my question. If you're so sure that the princesses wouldn't abandon their duty, then why are they only sending Cadance to the Crystal Empire?"

"They're just sending Cadance? If she's Small Lady, then she's in grave danger there. King Sombra was obsessed with her," Pinkie said.

"Stop interrupting! Let Rarity answer!" Rainbow Dash said.

Rarity sighed, "The most likely answer as to why they're only sending Cadance is because technically she'd now be the ruler of Crystal Tokyo. Neo-Queen Serenity's reign would be over by now, and her daughter would have taken over, with Helios at her side. Since it is her kingdom then, it is she who must defend it."

"But Luna had help from Celestia and Cadance when it started to fall to King Sombra," Twilight said.

"The circumstances were different. The Sailor Scouts were failing, and the king attacking the kingdom wanted to essentially kidnap her daughter. Of course Cadance would fight for herself, and Luna would fight for her kingdom, and her daughter. And when Celestia saw that the kingdom was going to fall, after Uranus, Neptune and King Endymion fell, she couldn't just stand by idly and let it happen," Rarity said.

"You sure know an awful lot, Rarity," Applejack said.

"That's because I've been awake the whole time," Rarity said, a slight edge in her voice. Twilight felt slightly sorry for her. They did seem to be ganging up on her at the moment.

"Sounds to me like Celestia is tired of fighting, since you said she was technically dead when the last battle happened. To come back from the dead is... well, wouldn't it be sort of exhausting? And if the kingdom has moved into Cadance's hands, it sounds like Luna is tired as well. Especially if her king has died," Rainbow Dash said.

"If Celestia was so tired, she wouldn't have come fought. And if they were so tired now, she and Luna would have disappeared and left Cadance all by herself. We'd still be humans, and not ponies, and Equestria wouldn't exist. They wouldn't exhaust their powers changing the entire world's appearance, just to sit back and let it be taken over," Rarity said, "Whatever their reasoning is behind letting us control the powers of the Silver Imperial Crystal, I'm sure it must have something to do with them having other powers and other priorities. They'll probably be busy protecting the rest of Equestria, in case we fail in stopping King Sombra."

"Alright everypony, let's just take a deep breath," Twilight said, "And just take a minute to think and let this all settle in. It's a lot to remember."

"I take it we can't tell Fluttershy any of this," Pinkie Pie said, after a minute of silence. "If you say she's Sailor Saturn, I'm sure the princesses told you not to awaken her."

"Yes," Twilight said, "We can't wake her up."

"And we can't talk about any of this in front of her, should it trigger a memory," Rarity said.

"So what do we do from here?" Applejack asked.

"I think we need to go to Canterlot. I feel like the princesses are withholding a lot of information. I want all of the facts before I go barreling into the Crystal Empire fighting on their behalf," Rainbow Dash said.

"Doesn't sound like loyalty to me," Rarity said.

"Loyalty doesn't have to be blind," Rainbow Dash said.

"I agree with Rainbow. I want to talk to the princesses," Applejack said.

"I agree, we should go to Canterlot before going to the Crystal Empire. Let's meet at the train station in an hour and a half. I'll go tell Fluttershy that we're taking an impromptu girls trip to Canterlot," Twilight said.

"Alright then. It's a plan. See you all in an hour and a half," Rarity said.

Rarity left the barn. Pinkie Pie started to leave too, but then stopped once she saw the other three hang behind.

"Anyone else feel like Rarity's in an on more than she lets?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, totally. 'I just thought of it now'. What was that crap?" Rainbow Dash said.

"I think we need to keep an eye on her," Applejack said.

"Now, let's not go jumping to any conclusions. While I understand the vibe you guys are getting, Rarity said that she doesn't know anything of the princesses' plans, and that she hasn't been in contact with them. She said she's been hiding the fact that she's always known she was a Sailor Scout," Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue back, but Twilight cut her off.

"And until we find evidence otherwise," Twilight continued, "We shouldn't assume she's lying to us. Innocent until proven guilty. Rarity is utmost and firstly our friend. She always has been."

"And even if maybe she is holding back a little, she's still our friend in the end," Pinkie said quietly. Twilight turned and smiled at her.

"Exactly. So everyone, go pack your things, and we'll meet at the train station," Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash sighed. She sort of rolled her eyes, muttered something and then flew out of the barn. Twilight and Pinkie waved good-bye to Applejack and walked together into town.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Twilight," Pinkie said quietly. Twilight wasn't used to Pinkie speaking so quietly or seriously. She didn't like the way her mane was completely straight or how her color had faded. She was a completely different pony.

"It's ok, Pinkie," Twilight said softly.

"I've just..." Pinkie sighed, "I've always been the first to wake up. The first to remember the past, and then to worry about the future. My soul is just tired, I guess. And especially after Rarity mentioned the whole part about when Serenity had committed suicide... It was just too much pain to remember."

"It's ok, Pinkie," Twilight said softly, "It's in the past. It wasn't your fault. Nopony ever thought it was."

"I guess it was nobody back then..." Pinkie said. She laughed quietly to herself. For a second, her coat when brighter and her mane slightly wavy. "Can I come with you to get Fluttershy? I just... I just don't really feel like being alone right now."

"Of course you can, Pinkie," Twilight said with a smile.

---

Twilight knocked on Fluttershy's cottage door. Angel opened the door, a slight frown, as usual, on his bunny face.

"Hi Angel," Pinkie said, cheerfully. She had snapped back to her normal optimistic, bright self, so that nothing looked amiss when they went to get Fluttershy. Twilight could tell her cheer was forced though. "Is Fluttershy home?"

Angel stepped aside and let the ponies in. Fluttershy was in the kitchen, putting some dishes away.

"Oh, hi Pinkie, hi Twilight," she said, "What brings you two here?"

"Pinkie Pie just came up with a super idea," Twilight said.

"We're going to go on an impromptu girls trip to Canterlot! This afternoon!" Pinkie said. She jumped around the room. "Please please pleeaassse say you'll come too Fluttershy! Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash have all agreed to come too! We're meeting at the train station in about an hour and a half!"

"Oh my, that does sound like fun," Fluttershy said.

"It's going to be super duper fun! We're going to go shopping, go to some spas..." Pinkie said.

"Maybe we can visit the museum too!" Twilight said.

"Sure! Hey, I know! Everyone will get to pick one big fun thing for all of us to do together! That way, everyone gets to do something they really want to, and can share the experience with everypony else!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"That sounds like a lovely idea," Fluttershy said, "There is this tour in Canterlot where to get to see a whole bunch of exotic animals. I think that's something I'd like to do."

"That sounds like a great idea, Fluttershy!" Pinkie said.

"Excellent! So we can count on seeing you at the train station around 2 o'clock?" Twilight asked, glancing at the clock.

"You sure can," Fluttershy said with a smile.

"Great! We'll see you then Fluttershy!" Twilight said.

She and Pinkie Pie left the cottage. As soon as they were far enough away, Pinkie Pie's mane went flat again and her color faded, though not as drab as it had been before.

"That was pretty easy," she said.

"Yeah, it sure was," Twilight said, "Listen Pinkie, I'll meet you at the train station ok? I need to make sure I have time to pack my things—and make sure that Spike has enough time to pack his."

"Spike is coming?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes. I need him to distract Fluttershy while we talk to the princesses."

Comments

[CoastalSarv]

Rarity's mysteriousness continues...

[AkatsukiKaizoku]

Spike is totally going to distract her with "Spike: The History! Redux Director's cut in Blu-ray"