Storming the castle

Earlier that night, Celestia was becoming concerned, she still hadn't seen her sister all day.

It wasn't that uncommon for Luna to sleep through the day, especially after a particularly busy night. But still....Luna had missed breakfast, and they almost always had breakfast together, It was one of the few times that their busy schedules overlapped. Luna eating breakfast before going to bed, and Celestia enjoying her sisters company before starting her busy day. Celestia had waited for her sister at the breakfast table for over an hour, but when Luna didn't come to breakfast Celestia simply assumed that Luna must be exhausted after last nights excitement and had simply gone to bed without eating.

After meeting in the dungeon with the assassin that Luna had hired, Celestia had discovered that the man had an ulterior motive for sneaking into the castle, namely a certain blue alicorn princess. Celestia asked what happened between the two of them and the man visibly winced and claimed that the injury to his head had given him amnesia. Well played assassin, Celestia thought to herself, certain that there was something that he wasn't telling her. No matter, she would simply ask Luna later.

Dinner had come, and gone, but there was still no sign of Luna. Celestia was beginning to wonder if she had done something to anger or otherwise upset her sister. It was time to investagate. Celestia asked the kitchen staff, Luna hadn't eaten any thing all day. And she asked the guards, now Celestia was realy worried, apparently Luna hadn't even left her room all day.

Something was terribly wrong and Celestia raced towards Lunas tower to find her sister.

Satin Shadow shoved you roughly down the corridor, she still hadn't told you where you were going. And technically you hadn't asked, but somehow you got the feeling that asking stupid questions was a good way to earn another beating.

Maybe if you broke the ice first?

"So... you and Brandy make a nice couple" you say to Satin Shadow, in an attempt to start a friendly conversation.

"You keep your filthy hands off of Brandy" she says giving you an especially rough push.

Luckily Brandy had confiscated her arbalest and exploding arrows, otherwise you might be a red splotch on the wall by now.

"No realy, you two are cute together" you say, as you continue to walk down the hall.

Suddenly, Satin Shadow stopped. Looking over your shoulder, you could see that she was blushing again.

"You...You realy think so?" She asked, sitting on her haunches and poking her hooves together in front of her face, her blush intensifying.

"So how did you two lovely mares meet, anyway?" You ask.

Satin Shadow's mood suddenly sours at this, and she pushes you down the hall way again. Apparently that was a touchy subject. You decide its probably not a good idea to ask any more questions for awhile.

The two of you walk in silence for a few moments before Satin Shadow speaks again. "You do know that I'm not a real pony right?" She askes you.

"You shure seem pretty real to me" you reply. Bringing a hand up to your face and touching your still very tender nose.

"Oh I'm real alright....I'm just not a pony" she says, sounding rather distant and sad.

You just raise an eyebrow and quietly wait for her to continue.

"I'm realy just a Nightmare given flesh....maybe I was a pony once, and just twisted into a horrible abomination, or maybe I was simply created, just willed into existence by dark magics.... I don't realy know."she said, tears forming in her eye.

Oh no, she was going to cry, you couldn't let that happen, you hated it when they cried it always got you right in the "feels". You were kind of soft that way. "Sure, you ripped my butt off and handed it back to me, but that doesn't make you a nightmare" you tell her, hopeing to lighten the mood a little bit.

She doesn't cry, but she doesn't smile either. "I have razor sharp fangs and I can see in the dark, Even my wings are scary" she says, giving her leathery bat wings a flap.

You realy wanted to pick her up, just give her a hug and tell her every thing was going to be ok. But you had the distinct feeling that any physical contact might result in even more unwanted physical contact, namely her hoof colliding with your face, repeatedly.

"I'm over a thousand years old, I still remember fighting with Nightmare Moon against Equestria and its allies...I... I've killed..."she starts to say, beginning to cry.

"Shh... we don't have to talk about that" You say, as You bend down and risk putting a hand on her withers "tell me about you and Brandy Wine instead"

"sniffffff!" she wipes a tear away with her hoof, "Brandy always treated me like a real pony, she was always so nice to me even though I'm...I'm...ugly" a long strand of snot hung down from her nose almost touching the floor.

You reach into your pockets and search for a handkerchief, but sadly you didn't have one. So you instead, reluctantly, you offer her your shirt sleeve.

With a loud “phraaaaaaarrrpp!!!” She blew her nose.

You were pretty sure that was never coming out in the wash.

"One night hic! hic! a Griffin hic! broke into the castle hic! to steal stuff and..and hic! I broke his wings and...set part of the hic! castle on fire" she said, beginning to sob, struggling to speak between her hiccups.

Somehow she had managed to climb up into your arms without you noticing, and you were now gently rubbing her back between her wings while she rested her head on your shoulder.

"But it was an accident I didn't hic! mean to set the castle on fire"...."hic!"..."Everypony said that I was a monster....everypony except Brandy, she was nice to me. That's how we met you know" she said, as she wiped her nose on your shoulder. "Your nice to me too... hic! That's why I'm taking you to the Princess, she's been crying all day."

"What do you mean she's been crying all day?" you ask, holding her at arms length and looking her in the eye.

"you kind of dropped her like a hot potato so you could catch a glimpse of what's under Princess Celestia's tail" she says matter of factly.

"No I didn't" you tell her, gently setting her back down on the floor. "There has been A terrible misunderstanding and I need to set things straight." You say to her as you rush down the hallway in the direction that she was leading you.

You nearly reach the end of the hallway before you realize that Satin Shadow isn't following you anymore. Looking back you see that she's sitting on her haunches again poking the tips of her hooves together and wearing her brightest blush yet.

"If Princess Luna doesn't love you...I could...ask Brandy... maybe you could be our special somepony...I wouldn't mind." she says, almost to quietly for you to hear.

You scoop the blushing ball of fluff up in your arms and continue down the hallway.

You had to admit she was pretty cute for a living nightmare.