"... and, as the abandoned foals of the streets and the orphans were vanishing, a shadow was spotted by the light of the moon, crossing the clouds under the stars, accompanied by all those she had removed from their dark fate. A silhouette more majestic than the princesses themselves, with a shimmering mane, possessing a proud horn and great wings. And no one heard from them ever again."
Twilight looked up from the book. Her, as well as Applejack and Rainbow Dash, were in Ponyville's library.
The violet unicorn closed the purple book that bore the title "Tales and Legends of Equestria", and looked at her friends in front of her.
"Can you tell me again why you are here, exactly? I'm afraid I didn't understood correctly."
Rainbow Dash, fluttering slightly, emitted a powerful and tired sigh.
"Rainbow's insistin' that there's another alicorn goddess. Since she start' reading, she's believin' nonsense."
"And I'm telling you she exists!" affirmed the pegasus.
The unicorn briefly gazed at the cover.
"I'm sorry Rainhow, but it's indeed written Tales and Legends, not History of Equestria. It's only a foal story."
"Ah! See!" said the farmer triumphantly.
"There's also some stories about the unification of the three races and about the princesses in this book," continued Dash, "And they are true. Why not this one?
Twilight evaluated the book with a doubting look and opened its index. There were indeed many stories that were in the official story of Equestria. But the unicorn held for principle to be wary of mystical sounding words like "Legends".
"Anyway, it is said that we never heard from her again. Why do you want this story to be true so much?"
"Huh, helloooo? A third mysterious goddess who saves orphans right under Celestia's and Luna's muzzle, and vanishes without a trace! It would be so cool if it were true!"
Applejack facehoofed, desperated by this reaction.
"And why come to me?" asked Twilight, intrigued.
"Because you're the most clever with history in all of Ponyville?"
"Because Ah had enough of hearin' that kind of stupid stuff! She's been goin' on and on and annoying everypony with it since yesterday!"
"And yet, we discussed about it and Fluttershy, Bonbon and Scootaloo agree with me! She exists!"
"Fluttershy an' Bonbon just wanted you to leave them alone," sighed Applejack, rolling her eyes.
"Well, I'm sorry," kindly intervened Twilight, "But this story has never figured and any of my books. I don't think I can help you."
Dash pouted.
"Couldn't you ask Celestia? She must know, right?"
"Rainbow," smiled Twilight. "I'm not going to bother the princess for a story that old, don't you think?"
The pegasus lowered her head a bit, disappointed.
"Well... I'm gonna go, in that case..."
She turned back, flapping her wings sadly to the exit. Twilight rolled her eyes with a little laughing sigh, faced with this awful overacting from Dash.
"Very well," conceded the purple one, faking being touched by the fake emotion of her friend. "I'm going to send her a letter."
The pegasus instantly gave up her downed face and volte-faced.
"For real!?"
"Of course," laughed Twilight," I just need to get Spike, he must be doing some tidying upstairs."
At the same moment, the little dragon appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Tidying done, ma'am!" he proudly said with a salute. "I may have heard someone calling for my help?"
"To send a letter," clarified Twilight, magically grabbing quill, ink and parchment.
She started writing, but suddenly stopped, scratching her chin with the quill.
"Something's wrong sugar cube?"
"I'm hesitant on the form..." she said, thoughtful.
The farmer and the pegasus exchanged a dumbstruck look, then discretely started to laugh at the same time.
In the end, Twilight rolled the parchment and handed it to Spike who, as usual, breathed on it.
They waited a few moments, then the answer came. Twilight read it out loud:
"My dear student. I am a bit surprised that you are asking such a question, but also happy that you are learning a bit more every day and you do not hesitate to ask for my counsel. To answer your question, yes, this legend is well-founded and dates back from way before my sister's banishment. I hope this answer is enough. Signed: Princess Celestia."
Twilight rolled back the parchment, concluding:
"Well, it seems that Dash was right."
"Ah ah!" said the pegasus, as it was her turn to display a triumphant face.
"Ah still don't think it was an alicorn goddess. Otherwise we would have heard about it."
"Rho, Applejack, just admit that you were wrong!" sighed Rainbow. "Does it bother you so much if there's a third goddess?"
"Ah mostly think we're not goin' to bother Twilight any longer. We're leavin', sugar cube."
"And thanks for the information!" added the blue one.
"You're welcome," smiled Twilight. "Always happy to help my friends."
The two mares went out of the library. Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof.
"Why is it not written anywhere in my books?" she asked herself in a whisper.
"Maybe an oversight?" suggested Spike, shrugging.
Twilight turn her thoughtful gaze towards him.
"Hm... I'm going to ask the princess," she finally said, grabbing another parchment.
Outside, Honesty and Loyalty were still debating.
"She's a goddess!" maintained Dash.
"Then how's she called then?"
"No idea, that's what's cool, it's totally mysterious!"
Suddenly, in between the two of them, appeared an extremely curious and smiling pink head.
"What are you talking about? Rarity's new haircut? Or something funny?"
"Nope," answered Applejack, "We're talking about an alicorn."
"Ooooh, wich one? Celestia, Luna, Cadance?"
"None of them," said Dash. "A new goddess."
"She's not a goddess!" disputed the farmer.
"She's an alicorn, what else do you want?"
"Look at Cadance, she's not a goddess!"
"Cadance is a special case," tried Rainbow.
"How so, sugar cube?" asked the orange mare, raising an eyebrow like only she knew how to do.
"I don't know," complained the pegasus. "But it's not the same."
"Your story doesn't sound really funny..." commented Pinkie, pouting.
"Anyhow, I have the right to believe what I want! And to me, she's a goddess in the same way that Celestia and Luna are!'
"Fine! You're right, do whatever you want!"
The two mare gave to each other one last black look, before turning their back and walking off on their own side, leaving the pink one in the middle, looking at one, then the other.
"Hey! What's going on!?" she vainly asked, her ears lowering.
Twilight woke up the morning after, like every morning, early and happy, getting ready while humming.
"A new morning in Ponyville..." she stroke up while opening the door, Spike on her heels.
"And a new problem to solve," commented Spike.
The unicorn opened wide eyes. In front of her, it was almost all the town that was arguing. An immense brouhaha surrounded the place, and ponies were always trying to raise their voices higher than the others, without Twilight being able to understand what this was all about.
"Sweet mother of Celestia, Twilight!" said Rarity, coming close, avoiding the crowd. "Do you know what's going on?"
"No i-" began the unicorn turning to her friend.
But she stopped in the middle of her sentence, a giggle escaping her mouth.
As Pinkie had said, Rarity had indeed changed haircut. Instead of her mane curling slightly, her long purple threads directly went backward, as if she was going out of a shower. Except that the hairs was suddenly lifting by the points, giving the whole thing an incongruous and unusual, if not shoking, aspect.
The white one frowned.
"You're also going to make a comment on my new haircut?"
"No no, it suits you really well," answered Twilight while turning her head away as to not offend her friend when she had a little laugh.
Spike, on his side, was looking at Rarity with big eyes, as if all of his world had just collapsed.
"But what's going on here?" continued Twilight.
"I don't know, everyone was already arguing with each other when I went out of my house."
"Maybe they know?" said Spike, pointing at two well-known mares in the crowd.
Twilight frowned suspicious eyebrows. Could it be that...
"I think I even know what's going on," she said while closing in on Rainbow Dash and Applejack who, in the middle of the crowd, were arguing with more ardour than everypony else combined.
"And 'am telling ya that if another goddess existed, we would've heard about it!"
"Anonymity and mystery, ever heard about that!?" retorted the pegasus.
"You girls are still arguing over this!?" Twilight reprimanded.
Around her, ponies were having the exact same point of dispute.
"It's unbelievable! You managed to put a half of the town against the other with your stories!"
"Well, just tell her she ain't a goddess then," Applejack protested.
"Or find her, that way it'll be settled!" answered Dash.
"Stop!" Twilight yelled.
Ponies ceased to argue, caught off guard by her raising her voice so suddenly. The unicorn sighed.
"Don't you think you two went too far for a thousand years old story?"
"It's important to know!" protested the rainbow one.
"To the point of arguing, even though you are friends?"
The two mares suddenly lowered their eyes and head, a little ashamed.
"It's true, maybe we exaggerated a bit..."
"Yeah... It's not that important, in the end..."
"Eyup. You can believe anythin' you want sugar cube."
Twilight smiled. They were both prone to argue with each other, but at least bringing them back to things that mattered wasn't too much of a choir. The unicorn continued:
"Especially since you are both right."
"Huh?"
"How so?"
"I asked princess Celestia for clarifications after you two went away yesterday."
With a spell, she made a parchment appeared and read it out loud:
"My dear Twilight, if that story is not mentioned in books, it is because those that originally contained it were burned. Indeed, the alicorn mentioned is, in fact, Luna. And after her banishment to the moon, a wave of anger – that I sadly was not able to stop in time – took over Equestrians, and they destroyed every work with a direct link to my sister. This legend was only transmitted by word of mouth, and was never reintegrated to Equestria's history. Which I am going to do at once. Yours, princess Celestia."
Twilight folded back the parchment and made it disappear, looking at her friends' astonished faces with a little smile.
"Wow..." said Dash, dazed.
"Eeeyup..."
"But why would princess Luna foalnap orphans?" a pony couldn't help himself to ask.
"She did not foalnapped them. She just built a nation for them, far from here. They were brought to another kind, more able to accept them and care for them."
"And we argued for that..."
Applejack turned to Dash, who did the same.
"I'm sorry sugar cube."
"It's my fault for being too stubborn. Sorry AJ."
Twilight kept on smiling and joyfully followed:
"Spike, take a note!"
"Right away!" said the little dragon, trotting back to his writing material.
On the way, he crossed Rarity, his gaze getting stuck again on the unicorn's haircut. He missed the library's entrance and hit the framing, before finally entering while stumbling a bit.
"Dear princess Celestia. Today, I've learned that even if you're convinced of something that may seem mystical to others, you have to stay open to everyone's opinion first and foremost. Even more so if it's between friends, accepting the fact that he has a different opinion and not forcing him to take yours like the one and only truth, is also part of being a good friend."
"Since we're talking about opinions," added Applejack after Spike had rolled the parchment and breathed on it. "Rarity, I'm sorry, but I find your new manecut ridiculous."
"Hmpf!" said the stylist taking on a noble pose. "You will never get acquainted with Canterlot's fashion, that's it!"
Dash couldn't prevent herself from snorting. And her laugh spread to all the others in the room. A big laugh, between friends.
Author's Note
This text is simple, but... well it brings back memories.
"Les lunatiques" was a challenge that had many editions (26 in 2 years as far as I know) and was probably the most popular recurring challenge in the french ficdom.
This is the only participation I managed to give in time for the challenge. It didn't won a top 3 spot. But. Well. It's a relic of a bygone time...
