Amidst the Clouds, Amongst the Stars
Vice Principal Luna walked the halls of Canterlot High School with a small cloth in her hand.
She surveyed her surroundings, polishing any surface she decided needed it. Every little bit helped, and she was going to help as much as she could before she had to lock up for the night.
However, upon reaching the front wing of the school, she sighed, slumping her shoulders.
Polishing just wasn't going to be enough.
More disarray lay before her: overturned trash cans, scuffed walls, broken cases, and even a stray bit of graffiti. All of it was fallout from the so-called "Battle of the Bands" which had just concluded.
The Battle had proven to be nothing but a sham, a vehicle for yet another magical, supervillainous plot. That plot had twisted and angered the students of Canterlot High, making them aggressive towards one another, with nary a thought to collateral damage.
At least the walls survived this time, Luna thought.
It was raining outside. The last thing she needed to worry about was a flooded school. And she would have worried. This was her school, just as much as it was her sister's. She would be in the cold ground before she let it go to ruin on her watch.
Her stomach growled at the thought of Celestia, who had promised to start on dinner while Luna did final checks. Sadly, all Luna’s checks had done was prove there wasn't much to do about the school's condition. At least, not at the moment—they would have to call a professional cleaner. She could already hear Celestia stressing over the bills.
Luna sighed again, draping the cloth over a shoulder. Sifting through her keys, she turned back to her office for her purse. Before she could get very far, she heard voices from around a corner.
"Rainbow, I'm sorry, but this paint just isn't coming off!"
"No way! We've gotta get it off! Come on, give it all you've got!
"I'm scrubbing as hard as I can! It's seriously just not cooperating! Maybe we should have sprung for brand name cleaners?"
"Or maybe, Raindrops, you just don't want this hard enough!"
"Look, you try it, if you're so good at this!"
"Okay, fine, I will!"
Luna peeked around the corner, spotting members of the Wondercolts soccer team. Several of them wielded cleaning tools, sweeping and polishing the surrounding area. In particular, team captain Rainbow Dash scrubbed furiously against lockers defaced by graffiti, while her defender, Raindrops, watched. The vice captain, Cloud Kicker, simply stood by and giggled.
After some more grunting and scrubbing, Rainbow flopped against one of the clean lockers with a huff. "Wow, this paint really isn't cooperating, huh?" she said.
"I hate you so much right now," Raindrops deadpanned.
"You're gonna hate me a lot more in a second," Rainbow said, jumping back to her feet. "'Cause even if we can't do anything about the paint, there's still a whole lot more trash we can pick up. Come on, you two, let's do this!"
As the three girls re-mobilized, Luna couldn't help but smile. It was a shame she was going to have to break up the proceedings. Erasing her smile, she stepped into view.
"Ladies," she said, voice stern. "Might I ask what you're doing here so late?"
"Oh! Vice Principal Luna!" Cloud Kicker said, stepping forward. "Uh, see… a lot of us felt really bad about trashing the school, even if we weren't ourselves while we were doing it. The clubs pledged to pitch in and help clean up, but the Wondercolts wanted to get a head start!"
"We've got a game against Cloudsdale in a week!" Raindrops wailed. "How will it look if they come down here, and our school looks like a tornado hit it?"
"What they said," Rainbow added. "We're a lot of things, but we're not slobs. Wondercolts walk tall and proud! Right, girls?"
The team cheered.
Luna couldn’t suppress her smile. "Well, I certainly respect and appreciate your school spirit. However, we're actually open past regulation hours,” she explained. Rolling her eyes, she added, "And being brainwashed didn't exactly leave my sister and I much thought for taking care of the paperwork needed to make the Battle of the Bands an officially board-sanctioned event. So, we need to close up."
Collected "awwwws" and one solitary “crud” echoed through the hallway.
"Believe me, I'd pitch right in with you if we had a choice," Luna said. "Go home, get some rest this weekend. Whatever the janitors don't get to, I'll give to you. I promise."
"Can we decorate the girls' locker room once the school's back in shape?" Cloud Kicker asked. "It could probably use some brightening up after what everyone's been through."
"I'll ask Celestia, but don't hold your breath,” Luna said, smiling reassuringly. “It might be another thing that's against regulations."
"Worth asking for, at least," Cloud replied, with a shrug. "Thanks, Miss Luna!" She turned to Rainbow Dash. “Hey, Rainbow, same time this weekend?" she asked with a smile.
Rainbow smiled back. "You got it! I'll see you tomorrow."
"Awesome. Take it easy!" Cloud and the other girls waved, then walked off towards the school's entrance. Cloud stopped at the door, turning back. "Um, Rainbow? I just realized: are you going to have any trouble getting home? You do live a ways from here."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "That's right,” she said, facing Rainbow. “You commute, don't you, Miss Dash?"
"Yeah. I'm West Canterlot District on the other side of town," Rainbow said. Smiling weakly, she rubbed the back of her head. "Heh. I guess I forgot to take the buses into account. They're... probably not running right now, are they?"
Cloud shook her head. "Are your parents still on leave?" she asked.
Rainbow sighed, rolling her eyes. "Uh huh. They don't get back from Neighpon until tomorrow."
"You wanna just stay at my house?” Cloud asked. “I'm, uh, sure we can find some space. Somewhere."
"Actually,” Luna said, stepping forward. “West Canterlot isn't too far from my home—merely a different exit. I can drive Rainbow home, if that’s alright.”
Cloud looked at Rainbow. Rainbow shrugged. “I’m cool,” she replied.
“It's settled, then,” Luna said. “Join the rest of the team, Cloud. Get home safe."
"Thanks, Miss Luna! Have fun riding with the establishment, Dashie," Cloud giggled.
"Yeah, yeah." Rainbow waved her hand, snickering back. "Go on, get outta here." Turning to Luna, she added, "What she said, though. Thanks."
Luna looked past Rainbow, to the departing team, and the cleaning supplies strewn about.
"Returned," she said.
The two climbed into Luna's car—a sleek, shiny, navy-painted SUV. After Luna fed Rainbow's address into the GPS, they left the school. Riding silently for some time, Rainbow stared out the window at the rainy night while Luna followed the GPS's directions.
"So, Rainbow," Luna said, breaking the quiet. "Have you been preparing for your future?"
"Huh?" Rainbow said, facing Luna. "My future?" She blinked.
"Well, your sports prowess is legendary according to your teammates and district standings,” Luna said. “And according to your teachers, your grades are actually quite good." She chuckled. "Far be it from me to condone stereotypes, but that's not a common combination. You'd actually go far on a scholarship."
"Hah! Already in the bag!" Rainbow crowed, smiling wide. "I have some lined up. And I'm waiting on a few more letters, but I'm a shoo-in for Wonderbolt Academy’s Young Fliers Program."
"Aviation university,” Luna said, nodding. “Yes, I do remember seeing something about that in your files."
"Uh-huh! College is gonna be awesome." She looked dreamily out the window again. "And from there on, it'll just be me and clear skies."
"Glad to hear you have your plans,” Luna said, smiling. “I hope the personal letter of recommendation from me and Celestia helps with them."
"Yeah, thanks again for that,” Rainbow said. “My family and I really appreciated it."
"Nothing you didn't earn," Luna replied. "You have gone above and beyond the call of dedication to Canterlot High. And that doesn't even take into account your role in defending it from magical threats. Whatever alma mater you end up at, they'll be lucky to have you."
"Wow, I..." Rainbow blushed, glancing out the window. "Thanks, Miss Luna.” She rubbed her hands on her pants, foot tapping anxiously. “Heh. You know, this is totally a flip from freshman year."
Another smile tugged at Luna's lips. "Yes, I do remember breaking up quite a few fights with you back then, Miss Dash."
Rainbow scoffed. "Then you remember how Sunset Shimmer may be cool now, but she wasn't always. No way was I gonna let her, or any other bully, walk all over me and my friends!"
Luna took a freeway exit, humming a little. "You know, Miss Da—" Luna paused. "Rainbow. I suppose, now that it's years after the fact, that I can tell you a secret."
Rainbow blinked. "Secret? What's that?"
"I agreed with you,” Luna said. “If I'd been in your place, I would have done the same things you had." Her smile was fierce and fond, showing the slightest hint of teeth. "I was quite the bully-puncher growing up. Celestia, too."
"What?" Rainbow's eyes widened. "Then why... all those times—"
"Because, as team captain, you know as well as anyone that leadership requires sacrifices,” Luna replied, voice firm. “Order is order, and it must be maintained. Without it, our school would fall. I had to discipline you as equally as I did Sunset."
Rainbow frowned, dropping her head into her hand. She watched the road for a little bit.
"Yeah, I guess," she said, with a long sigh. "Canterlot High needs someone to look out for us. Might as well be the people who run the place."
Luna outright laughed. "Thank you for the vote of confidence!"
Rainbow laughed as well. "Hey, what can I say? You and Miss Celestia are way cool. Y’know. For adults. Lots of us think so. Though... you do know they still call you the 'Detention Dispenser', right?"
Luna blinked in surprise. "Well,” she said, watching the road. “ I suppose I can hand out points for alliteration."
Rainbow blinked back. "A little what?"
Luna's smile turned smug. "Look it up."
A huge, brightly-painted building labeled "Skycastle Apartments" dominated the skyline where Luna parked the SUV. A paved walkway, lined with a grassy lawn on both sides, lay between the sidewalk and the building.
The two exited the vehicle and stepped up the walkway. The rain had stopped, leaving the grass laden with fresh dew, and the air clean and sweet-smelling. Save for their walking and the occasional cricket, neither Luna nor Rainbow could hear a single sound in the late night.
Halfway to the building itself, Luna stopped.
Rainbow looked at Luna, confused. "Something wrong?"
Luna shook her head, looking up at the starry night sky. "It just occurred to me that, as close as I live to it, I've... never actually been to West Canterlot. It's beautiful. Awfully quiet for this part of the city, too."
"Yeah," Rainbow said, nodding. "It’s why my parents picked this place. We get to come home and leave the crazy outside." Rainbow joined Luna’s skyward gaze. "And the view from anywhere is really cool."
"I bet,” Luna said, mentally noting constellations on reflex. “If I lived here, I'd never stop looking around. Or up. Especially during quiet nights."
Rainbow and Luna stood in the grass, enjoying the view.
"You know,” Luna said, glancing at Rainbow, “stargazing was once a nightly ritual for me. When I was little, I used to dream of landing on the moon. Or at least being somewhere close to it."
Rainbow giggled. "You wanted to be an astronaut?"
"Well, more like I wanted to be anything that allowed me to know what was up there,” Luna said, with a little laugh. “But yes, astronauts walk amongst the stars, do they not? Successful missions allow them to hold the vastness of space, or the terrain of the moon, in their own two hands. Up there, in space, lies infinite freedom. And, one day, we're going to travel to it, effortlessly."
Rainbow's expression turned thoughtful. "Is... is that why you have the lights off in your office so much? And why it's full of moon stuff?"
"You should have seen my room as a girl," Luna said, now laughing earnestly. "Completely drowning in star charts and spaceships." She sighed. "But yes. Even if it has been awhile since those dreams, I don't want to forget them entirely.” She gestured to the sky. “Hence… the 'moon stuff'."
Rainbow broke their shared stargazing to look at her vice principal. She scratched her cheek and stared back up.
"I… um, heard that your family was, like, super-rich, right?” Rainbow said.
“Did you, now?” Luna said, with a bemused smirk.
“Yeah. Kind of stumbled across it online,” Rainbow said, nodding. “And Principal Celestia used to be some kind of science bigwig? So... what happened? Why are you two running a school instead of... I don't know, the world?"
Luna blinked away from the night sky.
In its place, she saw Celestia, frazzled and tired, yet still committed to staying up in her laboratory until all hours of the night, neglecting the world around her.
She saw a small violet girl lying on a hospital bed—her mother, father, and brother glaring at both Celestia and herself.
She saw an utterly distraught Celestia, in that same hospital, diving into her arms.
And, finally, she saw a mansion, being closed and locked for the last time, minutes before a massive moving truck pulled out of its estate.
Luna shut her eyes, wishing to see no more.
"Life happened, Rainbow,” she said, voice thick. “Life will always happen, but in this case, too much life happened for me to think about anything else. Dreams included."
Luna turned to face Rainbow Dash. A slow breeze blew, ruffling her clothes and her hair. She shivered.
"Rainbow, you've been a student in my school for four years—and for most of those years, a shining example of one,” Luna said, rubbing her arms. “Even so, this is probably unfair for me to ask of you. But if I don't, my conscience will never forgive me."
Rainbow's eyes widened with curiosity. "What is it?"
"Do what makes you happy,” Luna said, putting as much weight as she could into each word. "And do it in the way that makes you happy. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't give up just because life tosses a few roadblocks in your way. You're going to school to fly? Then get up there."
Luna looked back to the sky. "And after you do... maybe toss an old woman who never never quite made it a few words on what it's like."
Rainbow looked left, right, then rubbed at the back of her head. "Um, Miss Luna, you're... uh... totally not really an old woman,” she said. “At least, you don't look it. You've still got a whole life ahead of you! Who knows what you can do with all that time?"
Luna chuckled. "Thank you for trying, Rainbow. But I already know that my place is where I am now. Vice Principal Luna of Canterlot High, formerly of Ponyville Elementary. A teacher I was, am, and shall stay."
Luna sighed, quietly chastising herself. Here she was, pouring her heart out to a young girl who clearly didn't deserve to have this kind of baggage dumped on her. She was supposed to be the adult here, not some broody wreck making a child listen to her sob stor—
"Hey, Miss Luna. Come up to my apartment with me?" Rainbow asked, breaking into Luna’s thoughts.
Luna blinked, then shook her head, raising a hand. "Perhaps another time,” she said, with an apologetic smile. “It's rather late, and I really must be getting home."
Rainbow reached out, gripping Luna's hand. "Please?"
Luna looked at Rainbow’s hand around hers, then Rainbow herself. The young lady’s eyes burned with sincerity.
"All right," Luna relented. "I can see you to your door."
Rainbow led them to the building, up the elevator to the 24th floor, then to an apartment at the end of the floor's hall. Rainbow swiped her key card and threw the door open.
"Whew!" she said. "Finally home."
The first thing Luna saw upon looking through the doorway was a sparkling clean living room, laden with the latest technology, and a fountain, of all things. Luna marveled at the elegance of the place. If she put the fact that this was an apartment out of her mind, it wouldn't have looked out of place in the mansion where she grew up.
"It's beautiful," Luna said.
"Yep,” Rainbow agreed. “I'll totally give you the tour when it's not so late. But for now, come on in. My room's around the corner."
Rainbow walked forward, and, after noticing nobody was following her, looked back. "Hey, Miss Luna, what's wrong? Come on."
Luna shook her head. "That would break all sorts of propriety, Rainbow. I saw you safely to your home, and now I need to get back to mine. If you want to talk further, feel free to see me in my office on Monday." She turned to leave.
"No! That won't work!" Rainbow grabbed Luna's wrist. "Look, can you forget all your dumb grown-up 'properness' and 'order' and 'rules' for just a minute?"
Luna looked back with a scowl. The second Rainbow saw it, she cringed, but maintained her hold on Luna's wrist. For a soccer player, Rainbow's grip was surprisingly firm.
"S-Sorry," Rainbow said. "But... look. I trust you. So you can either trust me, and lemme show you what I gotta show you so you can get outta here... or you can keep being sad whenever you look up into the stars."
She stared straight into Luna's eyes.
"So what's it gonna be?"
Luna returned Rainbow's gaze, seeing the same sincerity as before... but now there was a dash of pleading mixed in for good measure.
Head and heart warred, and once it was over, Luna sighed, long and low. She turned around and stepped through the doorway, nodding for Rainbow to let go.
Rainbow did so, grinning. Luna rolled her eyes.
Review committee, here I come, she thought.
Luna followed Rainbow Dash inside and shed her shoes. Following Rainbow again to another doorway around a corner, she was beckoned into Rainbow’s room.
And she was taken to the skies. Blueprints of airplanes, posters of superheroes, and sky maps adorned the walls. Even a few model planes hung from the ceiling.
In Luna's old room, those model planes would have been model space shuttles. The flying posters would have been posters of nebulae, diagrams of solar systems. Luna’s eyebrows rose in realization. This room was just as packed as her own in her youth.
Rainbow was serious.
A framed picture being pressed into Luna’s hand woke her from her reverie. Blinking, Luna looked at the photo, recognizing a young Rainbow and her parents, standing in front of... was that the Cloudsdale aeronautics museum? She'd been there in her younger teaching years and found it to be a great inspiration, if not entirely in her chosen field.
"Miss Luna?” Rainbow said. “I get it. I mean, I just wanna go into the sky and not full-on space, but I get it. That picture was taken years ago," she said, thumbing through the photo collection on her phone. Stopping, she held it up to show Luna another picture. "But this is what the Cloudsdale Aviation Museum looks like now."
Luna stifled a gasp. The whole place was in ruins. Her heart grew heavy at the sight. "I had no idea," she whispered.
"Neither did I, 'till last fall," Rainbow said, putting her phone away. "That trip all those years ago? Totally got me started. I knew exactly what my dream was, and what I wanted to do.” She smiled at the old, framed photograph, then sighed. “But since then, I've had to deal with bullies, and sports, and clubs, and keeping my grades up, and my friends liking me, then hating me! They like me again now, but a lot of students still think I'm just some kind of cocky jock all the time.
"Then my parents started going on all these business trips, and sometimes, it really started to feel like I was living on my own. Heh, early prep for college, I guess. And if all that weren't enough? Now all this evil magic stuff from another world happens! It's..." Rainbow looked at the ground. "...it's a whole lot to deal with. And a lot of times, I really have thought about putting my flight dreams to the side, and just waiting for life to 'give me a breather.'"
Rainbow raised her head, determination on her face.
"Except when I tried that, life didn't let up. There's always something new that gets in the way. There's always a down for every up. Sometimes more than one. So when the ups happen—heck, even when the downs happen—you have to make the most of them. You have to make them worth it."
She grinned at Luna, and raised a fist.
"You gotta fight."
Luna tilted her head at Rainbow, watching her carefully.
Rainbow walked to the window. "When we were outside just now, you sounded like my mom and dad last year. They were thinking of giving up, too. I know they wouldn't, they'd never give up on me, but…” She shrugged, shaking her head. Fiercening her grin, she added, “Doesn’t matter. Because now? I know they're fighting too." Rainbow's grin got bigger. "'Cause they just got jobs at Sterling Group. So they can finally get away from those stupid Northstar guys."
"Northstar?" Luna echoed.
"You know, the big gizmo company with the stupidly huge skyscraper downtown,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “That dumb star that's on, like, everything? That's them. And they're..." Rainbow took a breath. "...they're the ones that almost broke up my family."
Luna took out her phone. It bore a single-starred logo, which, now that she thought about it, did look familiar.
"I'm not totally sure what happened," Rainbow continued, "but after Diamond Tiara's dad's company got bought out... Diamond came and talked to me. She sounded really interested in other companies that went through the same thing, like the one my parents worked for. After that, Sterling called my parents, asked for an interview, then gave them an offer. And they've promised to keep my folks local."
Rainbow beamed, mistiness lining her eyes. "We're going to be a family again,” she said, voice brimming with hope. She laughed, rubbing at her face. “For a few months before I start living in a dorm, anyway." She giggled again. "But, yeah. All that happened, and I realized: a lot of people, people I don’t even know, fight so their lives can be what they want them to be. So I decided I was going to join them."
Rainbow clasped Luna's hands.
"Which means you have to, too, Miss Luna,” Rainbow pleaded. “What I saw outside? I don't wanna see that again! You deserve way better. You and Principal Celestia do. My friends and I didn't save the school just 'cause it was the right thing to do."
Rainbow smiled into Luna's eyes.
"We saved it because it was worth saving."
Luna stared at Rainbow. "Rainbow, I..." She reached out a hand, laying it on Rainbow’s shoulder. She squeezed. "Thank you. I never expected such an… enlightened pep talk tonight. But it is no less appreciated."
"Yeah, I've been told I'm full of surprises," Rainbow said, grinning cockily. "It's part of my awesome."
Luna chuckled. "Of course. I suppose I have a lot of thinking to do. But it will probably go better if I do so with my sister.” She released Rainbow, stepping back. “I should be getting home."
"Sure, that's cool," Rainbow said, staring into space briefly. "Family's always cool." She snapped out of it, then snapped her fingers. "Hey, hang on a sec." Rainbow ran to her dresser, digging into one of its drawers. Returning, she placed something in Luna's hand.
Luna looked at it, turning it over. It was a small plastic model in the shape and color of the Cloudsdale Aviation Museum—Rainbow's chosen personal insignia. At the end of the plastic was a string.
"I know it's not much," Rainbow said, "but this is a little thing I used to have hanging around before I took a bunch of stuff down. I used to have a whole lot more on my ceiling than I do now."
"Hmm," Luna said. "Perhaps it has a place near one of my many moons."
"It'd be awesome if it did," Rainbow said. "And if you get the chance, you should call up my family sometime. A plane ride to Cloudsdale doesn't set us back much, so we can do a night flight. That way you can still see some stars while being closer to them just the same."
Luna smiled, her heart warming and feeling lighter—a welcome change. "I'd like that," she said.
"Cool,” Rainbow said, grinning. Luna nodded back.
Rainbow stretched, yawning. “Well, we should probably both get some rest. I'm ready to drop." Rainbow walked Luna back out to the apartment's entrance. "Just take the elevator down to the ground floor, and head out the door. No problem. See you Monday?"
Luna nodded. "Yes. And Rainbow?"
Rainbow shook her head, waving a hand. "You've already been there for me for the last four years, Miss Luna. It’s cool."
Luna nodded once more, smiling. "All right then. Take care, Rainbow."
She only made it a few steps out of the apartment when Rainbow's voice called out from behind her.
“Hey, Miss Luna?”
Luna turned, just in time for Rainbow Dash to wrap her arms around her, hugging her fiercely. “Thanks for watching out for us. AJ was right—you really are awesome.”
Luna laughed, tears at her eyes. She returned the embrace.
Rainbow squeezed one last time, then released, rubbing at her face. “Man. I must be tired. I’m being all mushy. Don’t tell Rarity. She’ll be all—” Rainbow pulled a face, making Luna laugh again.
“My lips are sealed,” Luna replied, rubbing her eyes. “Good night, Rainbow Dash.”
"You too," Rainbow said, walking back to her apartment with a wave, then closing the door.
Luna stood in the quiet hallway alone for several moments before making her way to the elevator.
How odd, she thought to herself. Some days, it feels like I gave up everything for my sister.
She looked at the plastic model in her hands once more, then looked back at the door behind her.
And other days, it feels exactly the opposite.
She went down the elevator, left the building, and found herself back on the grassy trail which lead to her car.
Instead of following it, she looked up at the night sky. Two specific stars twinkled, near a constellation Luna knew well.
Luna's vision blurred.
Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. It's been a while, she thought. I'll get up there and see you as soon as I can. I promise.
Author's Note
Now I can use it.
~B
