Luna's Power and Rainbow's love

by zyr1987

Chapters

Meeting with Luna
The first day
A learning experience
That explains it
Going home

Meeting with Luna

It was just before dawn and Fluttershy, wearing two saddlebags worth of food, and her favorite blanket like a cape, was running into a field to meet with the one who had summoned her there.It had been a few weeks since the Nightmare Night festivities, and Fluttershy had hoped to put the scary and embarrasing events behind her, but It's not often that you get a personal summons from a princess, especially not one asking to appear in some field at dawn, and this is not the sort of thing you can just turn down. Even so, Fluttershy remembered her last meeting with Luna had ended up with her fainting on her doorstep after a particularly terrifying hug.

Adding to her nervousness was that she couldn't help but think of Luna as Nightmare Moon, even after Princess Luna had shown so much joy at her speech lessons, and Twilight had reassured her that she had changed. When she arrived at the designated meeting place, a tree in front of a small lake, she spotted the dark mare already waiting, and felt a magic field enveloping her. Oh no, She thought, afraid that she was about to die.

Rainbow Dash, more confused than concerned about the upcoming meeting, and having one saddle bag filled with her blanket, and the other with food, was rushing to the designated meeting place as well, when she saw Princess Luna clutching Fluttershy close to her body, a look of fear and angst on the yellow Pegasus' face. “Put her down right now!” Rainbow Dash yelled, rushing towards the two. Luna did as told, ducking the blue mare in the process, which resulted in her doing the other thing she was famous for, crashing into the tree.

“Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?” Luna asked, sounding concerned, and not using her booming “Royal Canterlot Voice,” much to the relief of Rainbow Dash.

“I'm fine.” Rainbow looked at Fluttershy who was lying in a heap on the ground. This scared and angered her. “What did you do to Fluttershy?”

“We gave her a hug. We had no intention of hurting her,” Luna said, sounding very worried.

Fluttershy came around quickly enough for Rainbow to not have time to chew Luna out, as badly as she wanted to, so instead she asked, “Are you okay, Fluttershy?”

“Y-yes, but, if you don't mind, can I make a request?” Fluttershy asked as she got back on all fours.

“Sure,” Rainbow Dash said, finding herself staring at Fluttershy for longer than necessary.

“N-no more hugs? Please?” Fluttershy asked, putting on the most adorable look she could through her fear of Luna.

“We are sorry, Fluttershy. We did not realize that our hugs would be so hard on you.”

“It's not that. It's just that I still can't help but think of you as Nightmare Moon,” Fluttershy said still sounding extremely nervous and poking at the grass at her feet.

Luna was slightly taken aback by this, but realized it shouldn't be all that shocking, considering how Fluttershy reacted at their last meeting.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was feeling protective of Fluttershy. She worked out a way to make the best of those feelings when she put her foreleg around her friend and said, “Don't worry, Fluttershy. If she tries anything, I'll be here to protect you.”

“Thank you, Rainbow.”

Luna noted this with some trepidation, after seeing how Rainbow Dash had reacted to her hugging Fluttershy. She had to wonder how rapidly the multicolored mare would act and what she would do if there was even the slightest hint of something wrong. Luna did admit that, during the events of Nightmare Night, she had taken a liking to Fluttershy because Fluttershy had taken the time to actually help her be less scary and more approachable, despite being terrified of her, and, like most ponies who knew her, Luna could never even think of hurting the shy Pegasus. Of course, she doubted the hotheaded mare would believe her if she said as much, and it didn't help that Fluttershy was still scared of her. She eventually said “You need not worry. We apologize for any harm we may have done to you.”

“Yeah, I still don't think I can trust you. Anyway, why did you call us out here?” Rainbow Dash asked, still feeling very protective of her canary-colored friend.

“Well, you remember how when the elements transformed us back from our dark form, we looked like a filly?”

“Yes?” Both Pegasi said in unison, one still nervous, the other merely curious.

“That was because when Celestia banished us to the moon, she took away much of our power, to ensure that we would be unable to escape our prison. Since our dark power has been taken from us, we have been gathering back our former power from vessels that Celestia used to take it when she sealed us away, and then spread about Equestria. Most were easily reached, but a few have proven more...troublesome, but, at long last, there's only one left to acquire.” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both noted, at this point, the lock of hair on Luna's head that was not billowing like the rest of her mane, and assumed that that was how you could tell how much of her power a goddess has.

“And you want our help with getting the last one,” Rainbow Dash said, feeling less than enthused.

“Indeed, Rainbow Dash. Acquiring this final vessel requires the assistance of two Pegasi, and we have chosen you two.”

When the full ramifications of Luna's plans to get her power back hit her, Rainbow Dash, remembering the Summer Solstice, when she met Twilight, and Nightmare Moon plunged the world into darkness for a while, asked, “Wait a minute, how do we know that, when you have regained your power, you're not going to try to take over again.”

“Your concern is well understood, but it was jealousy, as well as demonic spirits that turned us into that which you know as Nightmare Moon. We have dealt with our feelings, and the demons no longer haunt us. If it helps, Celestia has given her blessing for this mission, though our leaving a toy spider on her pillow did seem to make her want to get rid of us for a while.” Luna said this last part with a small grin.

Rainbow snickered at this, starting to warm up a bit to the princess, who she never expected to be a prankster.

“Why us?” Fluttershy asked, feeling a bit braver.

“It was you who taught us to speak more quietly and you have an amazing affinity with animals, and you, Rainbow Dash, are the fastest, if often least graceful, flier in Equestria.” Rainbow gave an annoyed snort at hearing this. “Your skills will surely help us on this journey.”

“Why not have your royal guards help you?” Rainbow Dash asked, making no attempt to hide the annoyance in her voice. She did not enjoy receiving the playful jabs Luna kept sending her way, because she hated it when someone poked fun at her flying abilities. That's why she worked so hard at being the best flier in Equestria

“They are too large to fit in the alcoves you will need to reach. You two, however, are the perfect size. It is a mundane problem, but it is also one of great importance.”

I have one more quick question, if you don't mind, Princess.”

“We're listening.”

“Why do you keep saying we and us, instead of I and me?”

“We have been able to adapt our language to the modern world, for the most part, but the royal we is a habit we have yet to break.” Luna said, feeling a bit embarrassed about this fact.

“So where are we going, Princess?” Fluttershy asked, breaching the topic of the hour.

Rather than answer immediately, Princess Luna opened her saddle bag, and pulled out a map, before using her magic to unroll it and place it at a level comfortable for all three ponies. She pointed at a spot on the map that both Pegasi could tell was a long way from their current spot. “That is our destination. A large cave in the side of that mountain. Our route will follow this river,” she said, moving her hoof in a long arc along a large river that began at their destination.

“Why not go straight there?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Fluttershy saw why not. “There aren't any sources of fresh water if we take a direct route.”

“Indeed, and here,” Luna said, pointing to another part of the map, about halfway between their starting point and ultimate destination, “are several volcanoes that have been producing large amounts of sulfuric smoke for the past hundred years, if our sister is to be believed. Personally, we have no desire to be flying through that.”

“I see your point.”

“Also, we presume you have made arrangements to have your duties taken care of while we are gone?”

They had been told that they should prepare to be gone for two weeks, and had managed to get some of their friends to take care of things in the meantime. Thunderlane would take care of weather duties, and Twilight would ensure that Fluttershy's animals were taken care of. When they answered in the affirmative Luna put away her map, and asked, "Did you bring the supplies we had asked you to bring?"

Once again, she got an answer in the affirmative. They had been asked to bring a lot of food that wouldn't spoil, and blankets.

“Then it is time we set off.”

“Wait, are we going to be rewarded for helping you on this adventure?”

Luna gave a look that was somewhere between quizzical and embarrassed. “We are sorry, we hadn't thought about that. Is there any reward that you would seek?”

For Rainbow Dash, the answer was simple. “I want to become one of the Wonderbolts.”

“Well, unfortunately, we cannot simply make you a wonderbolt, but we can put in a good word for you, though we doubt that they are simply going to let your tendency to crash slide on the word of a Princess,” Luna said with a slight smirk.

Rainbow Dash was growing a bit frustrated with Luna's poking fun at her tendency to crash, but decided that complaining about it would do no good. For now, anyway. "Well, if that's the best you can do, then that's fine."

Fluttershy, on the other hand, was having a hard time thinking up a reward for helping out on this bizarre quest. She was happy to live at her cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest, leading a simple life. The only things she would change would be to have less adventures or not have to deal with the crazy antics of her friends quite so much, and there wasn't much Luna could do about those things. The one thing that Luna could do that would make her happy, canceling Nightmare Night forever, she had done once already with decidedly poor results.

She briefly considered not having to pay taxes on her cottage but was sure that if she had a chat with Celestia, she could get her cottage classified as a charity house because of all the animals she took care of, and thus be tax exempt. She had decided that, if she was going to be rewarded for going on such a difficult venture, she wanted a reward that would be very difficult to get otherwise. Too bad nothing was coming to mind.

Eventually she said, “I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything right now. I'll let you know if I do think of something.”

“We understand. You should have about five days to think about this before we arrive at our destination, so do not think you're being rushed.”

“Thank you, your Highness.”

“So, are we ready to begin our journey?”

“Yes, I believe all four of us are ready to head out,” Rainbow smirked, taking the opportunity to make fun of the princess.

Luna rolled her eyes at this, but let it slide. She extended her wings and began flying to the west-southwest, followed by the two Pegasi.

It took all of five minutes for a problem to present itself, however. Fluttershy, not being as strong a flier as Rainbow Dash or Princess Luna was falling behind at a slow but steady rate. Rainbow noticed this, and sped up to speak to Luna. She said “I think we should slow down a bit. Fluttershy's not a particularly strong flier, and she's having some trouble keeping up.”

Luna looked back, and saw Fluttershy was a good distance behind. “Your concern is well understood. We shall slow down, so Fluttershy can keep up.”

Rainbow Dash fell back to Fluttershy's position and asked, “How are you holding up?”

“I'm a little nervous.”

“From working with Luna, or going on this trip?”

“Both,” Fluttershy admitted, feeling a bit better now that they were going at a more leisurely pace.

“Don't worry about it. I'm sure that if Princess Luna is taking along two untrained ponies, this isn't going to be super dangerous,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to reassure herself as much a Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash may act fearless, but even she would be terrified about heading deep into the wilds, where no help would ever find her if something happened. Only the fool is fearless Dash told herself, and I'm no fool.

“I hope so,” Fluttershy said.

Author's notes: LibreOffice doesn't recognize the word Pegasi? Really? Really?

Also, this is marked AU because down the line, there will be some large deviations from canon.

The first day

It had been a few hours since they had taken flight, and Fluttershy, who was not used to flying for so long, was getting tired. Fortunately for the poor Pegasus, Luna pointed to a small clearing on the river, and yelled that they would rest there. As they circled down towards the ground, Fluttershy wondered what Rainbow Dash made of all of this.

Luna, meanwhile, was about to learn that karma can be nasty. She hadn't realized it but her speed was a bit too high for a soft landing, and when she tried to touch down she ended up tumbling onto her side, embarrassed but unhurt.

Rainbow Dash watched with glee as Luna tried to land. She was hoping for a moment like this at some point, and here it was being handed to her on a silver platter. When she touched down, it was while laughing at Luna.

“Laugh it up, Rainbow Dash, but we are sure that we have crashed far fewer times than you, despite being over a millennium your senior.”

“You did spend most of that time inside the moon.”

“Must we be reminded of this constantly?”

Fluttershy, who had just landed and was panting, asked, “Are you okay princess?”

“We are fine. Just a little dirty.”

“Oh, good.” Fluttershy then took the opportunity to look at their surroundings. They were at a small bend in the long, winding river, near a vast forest. The clearing they were in was small but pleasant, and Fluttershy thought that, if she just wanted to get away from the world for a few days, she could just fly out here and relax.

Rainbow Dash, however was more focused on the river, and her thirst. She basically ran over to it, before something grabbed her tail. “Rainbow Dash, do not drink straight from the river!” Luna told her.

“Aw, c'mon, I'm thirsty!”

“And liable to make yourself sick, which we cannot risk on this trip. We have to boil the water to make it safe to drink. Trust us.”

“Oh, all right,” Dash said, with an air of exasperation.

Luna then looked around the site, levitated several scraps of wood and clumps of dry grass to her, and put them in a pile. She then took two things out of her saddle bags, a collapsible stand and cooking pot. She levitated the cooking pot over the river and scooped up some water, before igniting the pile of debris she had made. As Luna went about boiling the water, and adding a few teabags to it, Rainbow noticed that Fluttershy had wandered to the far side of the clearing and was staring at the river. She decided to see what was up.

She lay down next to her shy friend, and asked, “You still nervous about working with Luna?”

“Yes. Why?” Fluttershy asked, sounding strangely calm.

“Because you seem to be avoiding her. You think you'll be okay for the trip?”

“I think so. Honestly, though, I came over here to simply appreciate this place. It's peaceful.”

Rainbow looked around and tried to find the appeal in nature that Fluttershy saw, but, to her, it was just a bunch of trees and grass and stuff. Her thoughts then turned to Fluttershy herself. Rainbow turned to look at her friend, and saw her looking serenely out at the horizon, evoking a number of emotions from the cyan Pegasus, but before she had time to even begin to identify them, let alone process them, Luna called both Pegasi back for their lunch.

As they drank their weak tea and ate part of Fluttershy's stock of dried apple slices, Rainbow Dash decided to ask about an incident mentioned earlier in the day. “So how did Celestia react to finding a toy spider on her pillow?”

A mischievous grin formed on the alicorn's face. “She screamed and vaporized half of her bed. It was, how you say, fun to watch.”

Rainbow burst out laughing at this, and Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle. The idea of the sun goddess destroying her own bed after finding a toy spider on it was too much.

When she had regained her composure, Rainbow Dash asked, “So that's why she wanted you gone for a while?”

“We assume so. She hasn't exactly been pleased with us since the incident.”

“I can imagine. I didn't realize that Celestia was afraid of spiders.”

“She is, though she would deny it,” Luna said.

Fluttershy decided to change the topic. “I'm sorry if this a bad time to ask, but why did you think the water would make us sick, if you didn't boil it?”

Luna, with her mischievous grin still on her face, opened her saddle bag and pulled out a book to show to Fluttershy.

“Wilderness survival 101, all you need to know about surviving in the wilderness.”

“Twilight Sparkle lent it to us after hearing what our journey would involve. We took some time to pursue it before embarking”

“Sounds like Twilight. Still, it's better than going in ignorant I guess,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Our thoughts exactly.”

“Anyway, if you need me, I'll be napping.”

“We'll wake you when it's time to go.”

“Okay,” the cyan mare said, as she curled up and went to sleep. Fluttershy took the opportunity to go back to admiring nature by the river.

Luna eventually lay down next to the yellow mare, and took in the serenity of their surroundings. Eventually she said, “We can see why you love nature so much. It is very calming.”

“It is.”

“Do you still fear us-me?”

“Yes, but not as much,” Fluttershy admitted, still sounding calm and relaxed, instead of the more nervous self Luna was used to seeing.

“Why? What has changed?”

“I guess I'm just getting used to you?”

“I see,” Luna said, making a conscious effort not to use the royal we.

Fluttershy let silence fall at this point, happy to let the calm serenity reign over the area. Luna apparently felt the same way, and didn't speak another word until it was time to go.

Leaving, however, posed its own problems. Specifically, Rainbow Dash did not want to be awakened from her nap. Fluttershy tried asking politely, with little success, before Luna went with a more direct approach: pulling Dash off the ground with telekinesis and using her royal Canterlot voice to get the lazy pony up and about. Needless to say, Rainbow Dash did not appreciate this approach.

“Did you have to shout at me? I did ask for five more minutes,” Rainbow muttered, her ears ringing a bit.

“Yes, for the past fifteen minutes. We can only be so patient.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and set about getting her saddle bags beck on. They were planning to fly for another two hours before camping for the night. Luna had decided that this staggered approach would be better than flying for six hours straight and risking overextending themselves.

As they took to the air again, Rainbow Dash was reminded of that moment where she felt an onrush of emotions when she looked at Fluttershy, and cursed the fact that she didn't have enough time to figure out what those feelings were especially now that they were niggling at her, just outside of her consciousness. She tried taking a long look at Fluttershy to bring them into focus again, but nothing came of it, further frustrating the slightly cranky mare.

Eventually, after two long hours of flight, Luna pointed to a large clearing near the river, and directed them to land. This time the alicorn came down far more gracefully, having made sure to check her speed and not end up back in the dirt. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy alighted nearby, the latter obviously very happy to rest her wings for a while.

“How are you two feeling?” Luna asked.

“I'm exhausted,” Fluttershy admitted.

“Yeah, I could use a rest too,” Dash said, still feeling a bit sleepy after her rude awakening by Luna.

“Okay, do not worry. We are resting here for the night. We will set up camp, then have dinner and go from there. Just stay off your wings,” Luna said, unpacking a lot of stuff, including two canvas tarps and some metal poles.

She then started poking through her saddle bags, looking for something, before giving another embarrassed look. “It seems we may have not packed enough canvas for a third tent. So two of us are going to have to share one.”

“Well, the two of you are going to be sharing a tent anyway, so...” Rainbow Dash said.

“We are not amused by your attempts at humor. However, we assume that you are willing to share a tent with Fluttershy?”

“If she's fine with it, then I see no reason why not.”

“Fluttershy?”

“That's fine,” Fluttershy said simply, going back to thinking about Rainbow Dash's staring at her at the beginning of their flight, and wondering what it meant. She did consider Rainbow Dash a good friend, but had to wonder if the cyan Pegasus had feelings for her. Not that she knew how she would respond if Rainbow did love her.

She was brought out of her reverie by Rainbow Dash asking her to help out with setting up their tent. As they went about this, Fluttershy's thoughts returned to that moment and what it had meant.

This wasn't to last long, however, as the sounds of frustrated shouting filled the air, driving her back to reality once again. Luna's tent had collapsed on itself, and, on seeing this, Rainbow Dash started laughing, causing Luna to shoot a nasty glare her way.

As Luna continued to struggle with her tent, She thought about her companions. She had to admit that they were not what she expected. Fluttershy, who she expected to be meek and scared for the whole trip, was showing a lot of strength and solidarity, though that might be attributed to a lack of hugs on Luna's part. Regardless, Luna was glad to see this. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was making Luna want to banish her to the Everfree Forest, what with all the laughter and insults, though she did realize that she had brought it upon herself for picking on Rainbow Dash that morning.

Finally getting her tent up, Luna made a mental note to give whoever had made these metal poles a day in the dungeons for causing her so much trouble. She looked and saw that the other two had already gotten theirs up, and were preparing their sleeping area for the night, despite it being several hours until they had to go to sleep. She looked up at her sister's sun and mentally calculated the amount of time she had until she had to raise the moon. After deciding that she would have more than enough time to have her meal first, she quickly set about starting a fire for their tea.

With camp set up, Rainbow Dash briefly considered taking a bath, but, after seeing how fast the river was flowing, and remembering that her swimming skills were not great, decided against it, though she did wonder how she was going to wash all the sweat off. She eventually thought well, worst case scenario, I stink for a couple of days, but so be it.

Fluttershy was a bit more worried, because her long pink mane and tail would take forever to clean if she didn't have the opportunity to on this long trip, but she decided to focus on happier things, like being surrounded by nature, and having two weeks where she wouldn't have to worry about her friends dragging her into their latest bit of craziness. Her mind then wandered briefly back to the reward she still had to pick for going on this adventure, but, much to her frustration, nothing was coming to mind.

Distracting her from further thoughts was Luna calling the two Pegasi for dinner.

Over dinner, they chatted about topics ranging from pets and how Luna wanted one (Fluttershy could almost be heard squeeing at the idea of getting a princess a pet) to the Discord incident, before an offhand remark about The Stare drew Luna's interest.

“What is 'The Stare'?”

“It's some strange power Fluttershy has, where she glares at something so intensely that it is filled with terror. I experienced it once, and I can tell you, it's like staring into the heart of Tartarus, mixed with a compulsion to do whatever Fluttershy tell you to. I don't think anyone or anything could resist its effects for long,” Rainbow Dash said, shuddering at the memory.

“Interesting. So when do you use it?”

“I don't really control when it happens, it just happens when I get too angry or scared.”

“Can you name a specific instance of this happening?”

“Last year, I was taking care of some fillies, when they ran into the Everfree Forest to find a missing chicken of mine. I found Twilight turned to stone, so I knew a cockatrice was on the loose. Eventually we stumbled on the cockatrice, while I was trying to get the girls back to my cottage, and I was forced to use the stare on it as it turned me to stone. I get it to stop, and to turn Twilight and my chicken, who had been turned to stone about a minute before, back to normal.”

“Wait, you were able to use this power to stare down a cockatrice while it was turning you to stone?”

“Yes.”

“Amazing! If you ever learn to control it, our scholars would surely want to study it.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” The idea of dealing with a bunch of scholars trying to figure out how her stare worked didn't hold any appeal for Fluttershy, who would rather spend time at home, taking care of her animals than be treated as a science experiment. She resolved that if she ever did manage control over it, she wouldn't tell anyone.

They concluded their dinner, and Luna packed away the utensils once again, while Fluttershy wandered off to enjoy nature some more, leaving Luna and Rainbow Dash alone. Eventually Luna said, “We understand you and Fluttershy met in flight school.”

“Yeah, but neither of us likes to talk about it. It wasn't what you would call a happy part of our lives,” Rainbow Dash said, remembering the bullying she and Fluttershy had to endure for years, before both of them dropped out.

“But you two are still friends.”

“Yeah, we had been through hell together, and that sort of thing does promote bonding. Listen, can I make a request? Not as a reward or anything, but just out of the goodness of your heart?”

“We are listening,” Luna said.

“Can you talk to Celestia about making it a requirement for teachers to do something if they think their students are being bullied? It's bad enough having to be insulted and berated every day, but it's so much worse when someone who's supposed to be responsible for you at the time stands aside, doing nothing to stop it.”

“We are surprised to hear that this is allowable. We will have to speak to Celestia about it. In return, however, we would ask that you stop laughing at us.”

“Deal,” Rainbow Dash said, feeling much better about things.

When it was time for bed, Fluttershy had to ask Luna, “Wait, don't you have to be awake during the night?”

“No, we simply raise and lower the moon. As long as we are awake before dawn, we can fulfill this duty, and, even if we oversleep, Celestia can manage it, though she might give us an earful when we get back.”

As the two Pegasi climbed under the covers together, Rainbow Dash wondered what they would have to do when they arrived at their destination. Luna had said that she needed two Pegasi to do whatever needed to be done, but hadn't been more specific than that. For a moment, her mind wandered to bad places, before she decided to just ask Luna in the morning.

Rainbow realized that she might have an opportunity to finally figure out what she was feeling towards Fluttershy if she was patient. Instead of going straight off to sleep, as she normally did, she watched as Fluttershy fell into a peaceful sleep, and, sure enough, she felt the wave of emotions return, though now she had time to figure out what they were. First was the feeling of protectiveness, which she had felt ever since seeing the bullies pick on the yellow Pegasus at flight camp and knew that that was because she hated seeing Fluttershy hurt, then there was the feeling of closeness and trust, which, considering how long they had known each other and the hell they had been through together it was hard to see why they wouldn't be so close and trusting of each other.

The last one, though, was the most confusing, and the scariest. That feeling was love.

A learning experience

Well, that took longer than I expected, but such is the way of things when you're the sort of person who would rather be satisfied with what you've created, and the first few versions are not satisfactory for whatever reason.

Also, I bumped this up to teen to be on the safe side. There's a bit of content in the first paragraph that may warrant that.

And on that note, enjoy. :)

Fortunately for Rainbow, she's the sort of pony that can fall asleep anytime, anywhere, so long as it's not too noisy. Unfortunately, her subconscious decided to use this opportunity to make her feelings undeniable, even if it did embarrass her. Throughout the night, she dreamed about flying with Fluttershy, cuddling with her, and a few dreams involving more... intimate activities.

Now, none of this would be a problem if her subconscious had any sense of timing, but it doesn't, or maybe it does, and decided to have some fun with her, because when it was time to wake up, it was right in the middle of one of these more intimate dreams, and she decided to wait a minute or four to enjoy it before waking up. Well, until she felt hooves shaking her and heard a soft but compelling voice telling her to wake up.

Opening her eyes and seeing Fluttershy after having a dream like that was not how Rainbow Dash wanted to start the day. Her heart started to race and she fought to keep her facial expression under control, hoping she didn't say anything embarrassing or racy in her sleep. Judging by the expression on Fluttershy's face, she didn't have to worry about that, however, and, with the dream she had still on her mind, she got up on all fours and walked over to the camp fire, ready for breakfast.

Over breakfast, a curious Fluttershy asked Luna, “What does the princess of the night do? Other than raising and lowering the moon, I mean.”

“Well, I hold night court, hearing out the few petitioners who would rather deal with me instead of my sister, for various reasons. It's quite dull, usually, but it does allow me to catch up on the times. I have a few other duties that I choose not to disclose as well,” Luna said, making another valiant attempt to stop using the Royal We.

“Why would petitioners come at night?” Rainbow asked.

“If I had to guess their reason, I would say that, maybe a third come during the night because it's the only time their schedule allows, a quarter because they have fallen out of favor with my sister and wrongly think I'll be willing to deal with them, and another quarter because they think I am going to be easier to manipulate than her. I really love crushing that last group's expectations under my heel. The rest have their reasons, that I choose not to speculate on,” Luna said.

“But isn't that mean, crushing their expectations like that?”

“It is, but that's the risk you take when you deal with royalty, especially when you try to manipulate royalty to your own ends, instead of trying to work with us.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said, slightly worried.

“Do not worry. My sister and I have no intention of doing anything like that with you or the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony. We have only respect for you, as you have saved Equestria twice now, even if you had to save it from me once.”

Fluttershy blushed and gave a small smile at hearing this, but said nothing. Not long after, they packed up and headed out

Landing at their next spot, four hours later, they could see the edge of the forest. Rainbow decided to take care of a small but important matter while Luna prepared their tea. All three of them knew they would be sick of green tea by the end of this, but it was far better than dealing with the trots for a couple of days at best or violent illness at worst.

Her bladder dealt with, Rainbow managed to get Fluttershy out of Luna's sight and earshot without alerting her, as she really didn't want to risk a generally reasonable but very out of date ruler stumbling on two mares possibly getting romantically involved. After making sure that Luna wouldn't bother them, she said to her longtime friend, “Fluttershy, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes?” Fluttershy asked, her voice revealing nothing.

“I uh...I...Oh, buck it,” the impulsive blue Pegasus said, before wrapping her forelegs around Fluttershy's neck and giving her a big kiss.

Now, if you had asked Rainbow Dash how she would expect Fluttershy to react to being kissed like that, she probably would tell you that she would think that Fluttershy would kiss back, or at least accept it. Unfortunately for Dash, neither of those things happened. Instead, she found that Fluttershy was trying to pull away, her hooves scrabbling on the ground, looking for traction. Rainbow released her, and found herself looking at a very shocked Pegasus.

Before Rainbow could think straight enough to to consider how she should respond to what had happened, Fluttershy said, “I don't know what to say.”

“Can you just answer one question for me?” Rainbow asked, getting things together enough to seek an answer to the question eating at her.

“Okay,” a confused Fluttershy said.

“Do you love me?”

It took her a few seconds to respond, but she when she did, the answer was not what Rainbow had expected at all. “I'm sorry, but I don't know. I really don't.”

It was Rainbow's turn to be shocked. She had never thought that Fluttershy, of all ponies, wouldn't be sure of her feelings, and her answer was worse in some ways than a simple rejection. If she had just said no, Rainbow might have been hurt, but at least she would know where she stood, but this didn't even allow that. She asked, with surprise lacing her voice, “How can you not know?”

“I guess I never really thought about it, but if you give me some time, I can give you an answer.”

Rainbow, confused and unsure what to do, started saying something, but cut herself off, not wanting to risk hurting Fluttershy. After taking a moment to calm down and get her thoughts in order, she started again, saying, “Listen, take all the time you need to figure things out. I'll wait.” Rainbow may be fast thinking and impulsive, but even she realized that she would have to be patient if she wanted to have any chance with Fluttershy.

Fluttershy nodded, and walked back towards their camp, ready for lunch. Rainbow, hoping that Fluttershy would reciprocate at some point, followed close behind.

Luna could tell that there was something up between the two mares, but couldn't place it. As she handed them their tea, she watched them, noting how Rainbow kept glancing at Fluttershy when she thought the latter wasn't looking, and how Fluttershy looked conflicted about something. She debated speaking up for a few minutes, before deciding that it would be better to try to find out what was going on. “So, when you two disappeared over that hill, something obviously happened. May I ask what?”

“I don't want to talk about it,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy shrank back, shaking her head.

“Okay, it seems we will not be getting answers for now,” Luna said, slipping back into using the royal we, “but we will say that if either of you two has a problem, we would be happy to help.”

Both Pegasi gave a quick thanks, then sat in silence while they ate, tempests raging in their minds.

Rainbow Dash was struggling to figure out whether she should try to hurry along Fluttershy's decision, and how she should go about that. Numerous ideas, and their potential pitfalls whizzed through her mind. About the only decision she came to at this point was that just being helpful and understanding of the timid Pegasus would help things along.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, had a more complicated and intractable problem. She had to figure out all the myriad feelings she had towards Rainbow Dash. Some were positive, others negative. Some were intense, others barely noticeable. The one thing they all had in common, though, is that they were hard to identify, though mostly because there were a lot of them. She was glad that Rainbow wasn't pressuring her to make a quick decision, but she had to wonder if she would move onto someone else if she took too long. She quickly put that thought out of her mind however, deciding that it would be best to just get her feelings in order, and not worry about whether this or that would happen.

After lunch, both ponies did get up and move but neither went far, being too enamored in their thoughts to navigate somewhere too distant. This would prove fateful.

Two hours after lunch, everypony was still resting, save Rainbow, who decided a nap was in order, when a rustling of leaves drew their attention. The two wakeful ponies turned towards the source of the sound, confused, since they had not encountered very much wildlife during this trip.

Confusion, however, turned to fear when a chicken's head with red eyes popped out of the bush. A quick yelp from Luna woke Rainbow up, and the rainbow maned pony was about to complain when she saw the cockatrice. Abandoning all reason, as a pony like Rainbow Dash has a tendency to do, she rushed off to take it face to face right up until it looked her in the eye.

Fortunately for Rainbow, the cockatrice was blown off its feet before she could be turned completely to stone, thanks to a quick bolt from Luna's horn. Unfortunately, she was now halfway turned to stone, and the cockatrice was still very much alive as Luna hadn't fired a very powerful bolt.

The cockatrice quickly recovered from the blow it took, and turned to stare down the one who had shot it, when Fluttershy put herself between it and its target, and began to use The Stare and issue a verbal beat-down not unlike the one she gave to the cockatrice that had attacked Twilight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She felt her body transforming into stone, but ignored it. Her friends were in danger, and she was not going to back down. She would save them or die trying.

Seeing this angry pony using something that served to deliver immense fear to its heart, the cockatrice redoubled its efforts, but it wasn't enough. Eventually, terrified, and unable to resist the strange magicks of the pegasus in front of it, the cockatrice transformed both of its victims back to normal, and ran off.

Luna watched this whole scene, jaw agape. Se was amazed to see The Stare slow the transformation of the Pegasus into a statue to a crawl, and drive off the cockatrice, a creature known to be persistent in their efforts. She watched with equal amazement as the cockatrice reversed the effects of its magic on both Pegasi, freeing them from their stony prisons.

Rainbow Dash, now able to move about again, told Fluttershy, “You saved me.”

“No, Luna saved you. I just drove the cockatrice off. But I'm glad to see you're okay,” Fluttershy said, giving her friend a warm hug. The cockatrice had probably only stuck around for thirty seconds tops, after coming out of that bush, but, to the three of them, it felt like it had been hours.

“Thank you both,” Rainbow said, returning the hug and trying to shake off the lingering fear.

“We are happy to help,” Luna said, “But now we are more curious about the stare. We did not expect it to actually slow the cockatrice's transforming you into stone.”

“It did the same thing when I was protecting three fillies from another cockatrice, and when I encountered my first cockatrice. I don't know why but it seems to protect me from their magical effects.”

“Are you sure you cannot control it?”

“Yes. It refused to come out until I saw what had happened to Rainbow,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, we guess this strange power is to thank for all three of us not being turned to stone. Thank you again, Fluttershy.”

“Happy to help,” Fluttershy said, before walking off, obviously still dealing with the events that had transpired. Rainbow, still a bit traumatized by being turned partly to stone for a minute or so also walked off, leaving Luna alone to contemplate what had happened by herself.

A few hours later, they were heading off again, this time landing at the edge of the forest. For the most part, everypony had gotten over the incident with the cockatrice, but they were still on edge, setting up camp well away from any shrubbery, and carefully scanning the area for anything that might be dangerous. When they were sure that they were safe, they set up camp, which was much easier than the first day's attempts due to having some practice. Noting this, Luna rescinded the mental note to send the pole maker to the royal dungeons for a day.

Over dinner, there was noticeably less tension between the three ponies which wasn't surprising considering that they had fought off a cockatrice together. Luna, not wanting to think about that incident, asked Rainbow, “Why do you think you are qualified to be a wonderbolt?”

“Well, I am the fastest and most talented flier in Equestria.”

“Yet you are an individual stunt flier. They are a tandem group. Do you think you could adapt to the change in style?”

“I think I could.”

“But are you sure? If you made a mistake, you or one of the other Wonderbolts could be badly hurt or killed. Do you think you can make transition of style smoothly enough to keep that from happening?”

“Yeah, I think I can,” Rainbow said, getting annoyed.

“We will hope you're right, if you do manage to join the Wonderbolts. We would rather not deal with losing any of Equestria's best fliers due to a flight error if we can avoid it. Also, Fluttershy, we are curious, how did you discover The Stare?”

“Um...It's a long story. I'll tell you when we get back to Ponyville.”

“As you wish.”

Dinner ended shortly thereafter, and Fluttershy went to the edge of the river and lay down, sure that nothing would attack from this direction, and feeling like just appreciating nature and peace for a while.

Rainbow, also having had more than enough excitement for one day, joined her a few minutes later, trying not to let her presence be known. She lay down next to the yellow Pegasus, and looked out on the horizon, content to be with the mare she loved.

Apparently, though, her attempts at going unnoticed had failed, because Fluttershy asked, “what do you see in me?”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked, honestly confused.

“Why would a pony like you love someone like me? I'm weak, timid, fearful-”

“Listen, Fluttershy, you're too hard on yourself.”

“I am?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah. Sure you're not a strong flier, and you are timid, but you're also one of the kindest, gentlest, most beautiful, and most terrifying ponies in Equestria.”

“Terrifying? Really?”

“Yeah. When you use that stare, I don't think there's anyone or anything that can even pretend that they can stand up to you. And, either way, you're a lot braver than you think,” Rainbow pointed out.

“No, I'm not.”

“Yes you are. Who was it that walked right up to a raging manticore, made a dragon cry, and stared down that cockatrice?”

Well, I guess...”

“Listen, I know you're timid and jumpy, but I've seen how truly courageous you are when your friends are in danger, and that's why I know that when things are going sideways, you're the one pony I want at my side.”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked, a bit of elation in her voice.

“Really.”

That explains it

The, next day, the three ponies had flown to a clearing in a large patch of dry brush for their lunch stop. Now none of them liked landing here, because there were plenty of hiding places for things like cockatrices to lay in wait, and the whole area was a giant fire hazard, but their flight had left them in need of a rest, and Luna didn't want to risk overextending herself or her companions just to find somewhere else to set up camp.

While they were eating their lunch lunch, Luna noticed that Fluttershy had become more withdrawn than usual, which, considering Fluttershy was scared of Luna and liable to withdraw for that reason, was saying something. She asked, “Is there something bothering you, Fluttershy?”

“I don't want to talk about it.”

“Why not?”

“It's... personal.”

Luna didn't immediately respond, realizing that that might be the best she was going to get out of the yellow Pegasus at the moment. She shifted her haunches a bit, trying to get more comfortable, and, thinking a different line of approach might get results, asked, “does it have anything to do with the cockatrice we found yesterday?”

“I don't want to talk about it,” Fluttershy said, more assertively than usual.

“Okay then,” Luna said, backing down. She did want to know what was bothering Fluttershy, but it was obvious that she wasn't telling, and, if Rainbow knew, she probably wouldn't say anything either. This bothered the princess, not just because it could cause problems on their journey, but also because she did care about their well being. She asked, “Will it affect the trip?”

“It shouldn't. If it does, I'll let you know.”

“If you say so.”

An hour or so later, Luna, now playing solitaire, which was only working moderately well at staving off her boredom, looked up at the other two ponies, who were doing their own things. Fluttershy was lying at the river's edge, talking to a squirrel, while Rainbow was a few yards off, napping.

She considered the strange behavior that the two of them had been showing, specifically the fact that they stayed fairly close together when Rainbow wasn't napping, and away from her in general, and ran through a number of possible reasons in her head. Assassination was highly unlikely, as was trying to take the vessel for themselves, because there was no way Celestia would let them get away with either of those things, even if they did succeed. Also, the idea that they had committed a crime that she might discover made no sense, because their odd behavior had only manifested the day before, and she would be able to figure out if they were doing anything that would be illegal and worth dealing with. A couple of stranger ideas flitted through her head, but none of them fit with their behavior, so she still had no idea what was going on with them.

Moving on from the thought processes of a princess, Fluttershy, now done conversing with her new squirrel friend, noticed that Rainbow's nap was far from restful, and decided to check up on her. She reached the blue mare just in time to hear her mumble, “yeah, Fluttershy, right there. Just like that.”

Fluttershy had no idea what Rainbow was talking about, but decided that she was fine. As she walked off, she noticed Luna watching her, but dismissed it as worry about her earlier state. After all, even if she was a scary princess, she did seem to care about their well being, and that was enough to keep her from worrying about what Luna was thinking.

A few hours passed with nothing of import happening, or so one would think. Luna, despite having done this several times on the trip, hadn't properly doused the fire, probably because she was distracted by her thoughts on her companions, and it was still smoldering and throwing the occasional spark. Now this wouldn't be a problem if the winds hadn't started picking up.

Rainbow felt hooves shaking her, and a familiar voice full of urgency saying something that the Pegasus couldn't make out through the fog of sleep. Of course, when the scent of smoke reached her nostrils, she knew exactly what was going on. She sprung to her hooves and came face to face with a very concerned Luna. “Where's Fluttershy?” she asked.

“On the other side of the clearing, I will-”

Luna was cut short by Rainbow taking off towards Fluttershy's location. She sighed, grabbed Rainbow's saddle bag with her telekinesis, and flew off to the far side of the river, hoping the other two would find her.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew to where Luna had said Fluttershy would be, and found her a few yards away, safe from the flames for the moment, but it was obvious that this wouldn't last long. Unfortunately, in her terror, the yellow mare's wings had locked up, and she wasn't going to be able to fly.

Rainbow also took note of the fact that Fluttershy was wearing her blanket as a cape still, which was a big problem, as said blanket was much more flammable than her fur. Thinking quickly, Rainbow flew down and grabbed Fluttershy, holding her like a stallion would hold his bride. Fluttershy gave a squeak of surprise, and Rainbow said, “Don't worry, I got you.”

As Rainbow looked around, trying to find where Luna had gone off to, she took stock of the winds, trying to get a sense of where they would be safe, and where the princess had likely headed. She determined that the winds were blowing parallel to the river at the moment, though she wasn't sure whether they would change direction. The one aspect of the weather that pegasi don't control, after all, was the wind and, not being familiar with the local weather patterns, Rainbow had no idea what the winds would do. Fortunately, she spotted Luna on the far riverbank, and quickly headed over there.

They touched down on the other side, with Rainbow gently placing Fluttershy on the ground. Luna asked, “Are you two okay?”

“Yeah, you?”

“I am fine, do not worry. There is nothing we can do now, but I think I will have to be more careful about putting out our campfires from now on,” Luna said, dedicated to breaking her bad habit of using the royal we, once and for all.

“What do we do now, Princess?” Fluttershy asked, obviously still in shock, but having recovered enough to use her wings.

“We move. If the winds shift, we could be right back in the thick of it, and I do not want to take that chance.”

“Agreed,” Rainbow said.

Before they left, Fluttershy tapped Rainbow's flank to get her attention, and when the blue mare turned to look at her, said, “Thank you for saving me.”

“I promised I would protect you, and that's what I did.”

With everything in order, they set off, hoping that the flames would burn themselves out quickly, and not cause any major damage. Luna spent their long flight cursing herself for letting something like this happen, while Rainbow Dash was simply glad to be safe and Fluttershy wondered if the local fauna would be okay.

Touching down well away from the fire, they set up camp, and Luna started the campfire much closer to the river than before, saying she would dump the ashes into the river when they went to bed, and not risk another fiery wake-up call.

Over their early dinner, Rainbow Dash said, “Thanks again for waking me up, Luna.”

“Happy to help, but I have to ask why did you fly off after I woke you up?”

“I promised to protect Fluttershy, so it made sense to me to save her.”

“That makes sense, but I think I saw something else there. It looked like you were scared of something,” Luna lied, hoping to get Rainbow to explain what was going on.

Rainbow sighed, thinking she had been caught out, and said, “Well, it was also that I love Fluttershy, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing her to that fire. I needed to be absolutely sure she would be okay.”

Luna wasn't sure she understood what was being said. “What do you mean you love her?”

“Just that. I'm in love with Fluttershy.”

“Would this have anything to do with your state of mind today, Fluttershy?” Luna asked.

“Yes,” Fluttershy said.

Luna was now very confused, but only because she didn't understand why they thought that they had to keep this a secret from her. She had had plenty of romantic feelings in her long life, both towards mares and stallions, but between fighting Discord, building a new nation, and living in Celestia's shadow, she was never in a position to pursue them, much to the night princess' frustration. She asked “why not tell me in the first place?

“We weren't sure how a princess who spent a millennium in the moon would take the idea of two mares in a relationship.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. Also, I have to ask, how would ponies respond if ponies who grew up in the modern era found out?”

“If Lyra and Bon Bon are anything to go by, I'm not sure they would care too much.”

“Lyra and Bon Bon?”

“Two mares in Ponyville who have been dating for two years now,” Fluttershy explained. “Everyone in town knows they're together.”

“And no one has a problem with it?”

“Well, the older folks do,” Rainbow said, “But the younger ponies don't have a problem with it at all. I should also point out that it's a recent trend in favor of increased acceptance, which is why we were so concerned about telling you.”

“Okay, now everything makes much more sense. On that note, Fluttershy, how do you feel about Rainbow Dash? Do you love her back?”

“I don't know. I've been trying to get a handle on my feelings for the past day or so.”

“I wish I could help you with that, but, whatever you decide, know that you have my full support in this.”

“Wait, so you're not bothered by the two of us being lesbimares?” Rainbow asked.

“Being what?”

“Lesbimare. That's the term for a mare who's attracted to other mares. There are other, more derogatory terms for the same thing, like fillyfooler, but that's the most common and most neutral one.” Fluttershy explained.

“No, I do not have a problem with it. If I'm honest, I'm a bit surprised that anypony would, but perhaps there's something I'm missing that would make ponies think it is distasteful.”

“I can't think of anything that would, but maybe it's just my youth. Also, if you don't mind, I think I've decided what my reward should be,” Fluttershy said.

“Of course. I was hoping you would have something by now. So, what would you like as your reward?”

“The laws of Equestria still ban same-sex marriages. Could you change them to allow such marriages?”

“I did not know they were banned, actually. I will have to get my sister's support for this, but if I know my sister, I should be able to convince her to lend it, though she may make make me stop pranking her for a while, but that is the price you pay,” Luna said with a wry grin.

“I thought making her destroy her own bed would stop you for a while.”

“No, it just adds to the temptation. My sister is great to prank because she has the best reactions at the time, and usually laughs at herself after the fact. Sometimes she doesn't, though.”

“What does she do in those cases?”

“She tends to be very angry at me for a few days, and some of those times, I do go too far. For example, ask her about the noodle incident sometime, or, better yet, don't.”

Rainbow couldn't help but ask, “What was the noodle incident?”

“I am not telling, because my sister might banish me to the moon again if finds out I told anyone about what happened,” Luna said, jokingly.

Dinner concluded and they spent the rest of their time before going to bed talking about modern life with Luna, and what life was like before she was banished.

The next morning, lying in her tent, Fluttershy came to a realization about her feelings towards Rainbow Dash, but decided she would wait until after breakfast to tell anyone, to make sure that she had come to the right conclusion.

Over breakfast, Rainbow asked, “Do you really think Celestia would go along with Fluttershy's request?”

“I'm not absolutely positive, but I think that, as long as I am willing to compromise, and twist a few forelegs, to keep any naysayers from getting too loud, I should be able to get it done, though I will point out that politics is a dirty business, and sometimes things get unnecessarily complicated. If what you said about old attitudes is true, this looks to be one of those cases.”

“Well, hopefully it will all work out in the end, because I'd like to get married to a mare someday. Also, Flutters, I have to ask. Even if we do start a relationship after this trip, I doubt we'll be getting married anytime soon, so why take that as your reward?”

“I thought that if I was could request anything from a princess, I would go with something that would benefit a lot of ponies, instead of something that only I could enjoy,” Fluttershy lied. The truth was that it was the only thing that had come to mind, after days of thought that couldn't also be accomplished through simpler means. Still, it wasn't totally dishonest, because Fluttershy did believe in helping as many others as possible.

“Oh, of course. What more could be expected from the kindest pony in Equestria.”

Fluttershy blushed at hearing this, and thought about what she was now sure she was going to tell Rainbow in a few minutes. Luna then said to her, “your altruism is commendable, and if there is anything else you want, I am sure I could grant it.”

“No, that's okay,” Fluttershy said, now done with her breakfast, and in no mood to think about what else she would want as a reward. She walked to her tent, and started putting on her blanket. Wearing your blanket as a cape is much harder than it sounds for a pony, seeing as they have no fingers, but Fluttershy had her technique down pat, and soon was taking down the tent.

When Rainbow finished eating, she walked over to the tent and was helping take it down, when Fluttershy said, “I've finally got a handle on my feelings, and I have something I want to tell you.”

“Yes?” Rainbow said, her anticipation obvious.

“I love you too.”

Rainbow, overjoyed at hearing this, gave Fluttershy another big kiss, this one the yellow mare happily returned.

Author's Notes:

Sorry it took so long. It took three attempts to get a version I was satisfied with, and none of them were easy to write (and I admit, I'm not completely satisfied with how I started this chapter, but it is kinda hard to come off the sort of ending that I gave the last chapter in a satisfactory manner). Also, it nearly took a fourth draft before I figured it would be easier to rework this one into a form I was satisfied with (and, seriously, I'm publishing it because I'm tired of editing it).

And yes, I wrote Luna as bi, though only because I have some ideas I could play with, in that regard. Whether I do or not depends on how it works out in my drafts.

Also, credit where credit is due. First, kudos to Archlyn for supporting me throughout the process, and giving me some fun ideas that I'm planning on testing in the last chapter. Also, there's an idea that I got from Souldin's excellent fic, Magnetism!, though, depending on how it works out, the idea may be dropped. I also want to credit Souldin for helping me realize that lesbimare is an accepted term for pony lesbians.

And, lastly, the next chapter is the final one, and the one where the AU tag is finally justified (only because I forgot about it until now). It's going to be big, probably somewhere between 5000 and 7500 words because there's a lot to get through, and something that big doesn't get written in a few days, at least not with a perfectionist like me at the helm, even if I do write fast.

Going home

A/N: Hopefully the bug with chapters is gone now...

The events of this story take place during what would be Mysterious Mare Do Well.

xxxxxx

Now, if things were nice and simple, we could just say that Rainbow and Fluttershy would have a happy, easy relationship from the get go, but, seeing as life and love aren't simple, and the two ponies are total opposites in many ways, there was bound to be some friction.

Of course, Rainbow Dash, knowing that Fluttershy didn't like arguing and thinking that she might just go along with what the blue mare said, regardless of how the she herself felt, spent a half hour trying to get her to Pinkie Promise that she would speak up about her own feeling, opinions, and desires and not just go along with what Dash said.

We pick up the action that afternoon, with Dash and Fluttershy trying to deal with yet another issue of contention between them, this one about Fluttershy's preference for being alone, especially after extended periods around other ponies, not quite meshing with Rainbow Dash's dislike of being left alone.

“Why would you want to spend time away from me? I thought you loved me?” Rainbow asked.

“I do, but that doesn't mean I need to spend all of my time with you, does it?” Fluttershy had initially hated having to talk about her thoughts and feelings on these matters with Rainbow Dash, because she always thought it would end up in an argument (and several times it had), but, as the day wore on, she became more comfortable with it, especially since many times it meant not having to do things that she hated doing more than arguing.

“...I guess not, but can't you stick around for a while? Please?”

“It's not like I'm going anywhere. I just want a few hours to myself. Is that so much to ask?” Fluttershy asked.

“Fine. Just don't wander too far.”

“Thank you Rainbow,” Fluttershy said, before giving her marefriend a kiss on the cheek and walking downstream a short ways. She lay down and let her mind wander, starting to feel the tension of the day melt away within a few minutes.

Luna, who had been watching from the sidelines, said to Rainbow Dash, “it seems strange to me that you two would argue about whether you should spend so much time together.”

“Well, I hate being left alone, but, apparently, Fluttershy likes it. I don't get it, personally, and I guess I just hate to see her walk away like that, but I guess a few hours away from her couldn't hurt.”

“Indeed. Also, if you were to take your naps, she would have more time to herself, and you would be much less cranky.”

“I'm not cranky!”

Luna couldn't help but roll her eyes at Rainbow's demonstration of her point. She said, “Take your naps, it can only help.”

Rainbow realized that Luna was right and told the dark alicorn that she was turning in early, before crawling into her tent, quickly falling into the land of dreams.

A few hours later, Fluttershy was feeling much better, so she headed back to camp, where she found Luna waiting for her. She asked, “Where's Rainbow?”

“She turned in early. Something about missing her nap.”

“Oh.”

“And I must say, she's been having some very...interesting dreams about you,” Luna said.

“What do you mean?”

“I have been watching her dreams since she went to her tent, as I am able to do as princess of the night, and many of them have been rather...physically intimate.”

Fluttershy took a second to process what Luna was saying, then said, “That's a bit creepy.”

“Anyway, I was wondering.”

“Yes?”

“When we left on this trip, Rainbow Dash mentioned that you were not a particularly strong flier,” Luna said, hoping not to offend the long maned Pegasus.

“I'm not. I was always the slowest in my class, and fell out of the sky several times. I was picked on by students and teachers about it when I was a filly.”

“Is there any particular reason for this?”

“I'm not sure. The doctors said my wings had developed normally, but I just couldn't fly fast or hard at all. My parents apparently hated this, as they heaped all the attention on my brother, and basically ignored me,” Fluttershy admitted, obviously dealing with some very bad memories.

Luna said, “I am sorry to hear that, and, for what it's worth, I promised Rainbow Dash that I would have something done about the bullying problem a few days ago.”

“Thank you. It's nice to know others won't have to suffer like we did.”

The next morning Luna was forced to use her Royal Canterlot Voice again, because Rainbow Dash was trying to oversleep on the grounds that she had missed her nap the day before. After a bit of grumbling, though, Rainbow Dash was mostly ready for the day.

As they made their final preparations before taking to the sky again, Luna said “We should be at the cave by nightfall.”

“How long will it take us to get back?” Fluttershy asked.

“About five days, depending on weather and our physical states.”

Rainbow asked, “And will we be able to watch you get your power back?”

“I see no reason why not. If you attempt to steal the vessel, however, I will have to kill you,” Luna said with complete seriousness, scaring her traveling partners a bit.

They set off, ready for their goal to be met, and happy to soon be able to head back to Ponyville for some good food and soft beds.

Landing a few hours later, Luna looked at the mountain, now clearly visible, but obviously still a bit of a ways off. She looked at her companions, who were waiting for their tea, and said, “that is our destination. There is a cave about halfway up, which is where we'll be headed. We will rest in there, since it seems like the uncontrolled weather here is going to take a turn for the worse.”

The two Pegasi nodded in acknowledgment, obviously happy to finally be near their goal.

Their lunch ready, the three of them sat down, and Rainbow asked, “so what will you do with your full power restored?”

“Honestly, I doubt that having my full power pack will change much of anything. If I had to say anything would change I would say that I might find new ways to prank my dear sister, and mess with the nobility. Those are always good for a laugh,” Luna said, with a mischievous smirk.

“I don't think they would like that,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, yes, but my sister does have a bad habit of messing with me as well, and some of the nobles are so full of themselves that it does not hurt to knock them down a notch or two every once in a while. Even dear 'Tia knows this.”

“It still doesn't seem very nice.”

“Sometimes you have to be mean to ensure that things don't spiral out of control or take a turn for the worse, and sometimes its just easier and more entertaining to remind ponies who's in charge, especially when they start getting uppity,” Luna said.

“Makes sense, I guess,” Rainbow said, taking more notice of the fact that Luna had called her sister 'Tia, instead of some variation of 'my dear sister'.

They sat in silence for a few moments, chewing away at the dried apple slices they were steadily getting sick of. Eventually, Luna broke the silence, saying, “I have now come to the conclusion that camping is overrated.”

“Well, duh. Who would want to spend their time sleeping on hard ground, and having to boil their water all the time?” Rainbow asked.

“I kinda like it. I think it brings me closer to nature,” Fluttershy admitted.

“But you're already close to nature in your cottage.”

“This is different. I can't really describe it, but there's something about being out here among the untouched wilderness that appeals to me.”

Luna looked at Rainbow, who merely shrugged.

Fluttershy then said, “I could use a brush, though.”

Luna levitated a stick, and transformed it into a brush, before sending it over to Fluttershy, who took it, and set about brushing out her hair. Rainbow, meanwhile, decided to take a nap, letting Fluttershy have her "me time" in the meantime.

Luna watched the two mares, feeling a bit jealous about what they now had, and she never did, a lover that each could call their own. However, instead of mope about her lack of a love life, she decided to try to find her soulmate after this adventure, though she had no idea how she would even begin to go about doing this, and not just because a large part of the populace still feared her. Modern romance was not something she had any opportunity to familiarize herself with, which, combined with her reputation of being a terrifying pony who liked to eat foals, was going to be quite the hurdle to overcome.

After thinking about this, and the tangent of the events of Nightmare Night, she wondered whether she could get the bearers of the Elements of Harmony to help her out. After all, she did at least have their respect and they knew the modern world far better than she, so they could be a big help, but she realized, at the same time, they were a bit prone to causing havoc as Fancypants and his party guests had learned the hard way about three weeks prior (and Rarity did unwittingly humiliate Luna by dying her pink in the process of giving her a makeover, and she wasn't quite ready to forgive the alabaster mare for that). Eventually, though, she decided to put such thoughts on the back burner, and focus on the job ahead, since thinking of home was making her realize just how much she missed it.

She went over the procedure to get the vessel's power in her head for the 700th time and tried to think of anything that needed doing, but aside from a slight need to pee, there wasn't anything that required her attention at the moment, so she pulled out her pack of cards and set up yet another game of solitaire, wishing she had learned a few other card games.

Then a letter appeared.

Now, before Luna had set out on this trip, the two royal sisters had agreed to keep correspondence limited to things that were of great importance, since it's not easy to get a letter out to a specific pony in the middle of nowhere, when said pony didn't have a dragon as her mailbox, so Luna was worried of course. However, when she read the letter her worry turned to confusion, because it was reporting that Ponyville had been flooded after the nearby dam burst, but Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's homes had been spared from the flood waters, and while Luna's presence was preferred, it was not required, which made no sense. Why send a letter out here if her presence was not required, she wondered.

Since all of the information in the letter would most likely be publicly available, Luna saw no reason to hide it from her two companions, and, in fact, levitated it to Fluttershy, saying “you might want to read this.”

After Fluttershy read through the letter she said, “Oh my. Is everyone okay?”

“All the information I have is in that letter, unfortunately. However, I think I can have us back in Ponyville in three days, after I get the vessel.”

“How?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, we will spend three days flying back, and, after our afternoon flight on the third day, we should be close enough to Ponyville that I can teleport us to the outskirts of the city. It does take a lot of power, however, and will probably leave me too tired to do much of anything, so, since my sister is in town, presumably to boost morale, you may want to tell her where I am.”

“Okay. Should we wake Rainbow?”

“Yes. I'm sure it's better to let her know what's going on.”

They woke the cyan mare, who was really cranky after her second rude awakening that day, though she stopped complaining when Luna levitated the letter over to her, and said, “You may want to read this. It is about Ponyville.”

After reading the letter three times through, to get past the grogginess, Rainbow tried to leave for home by herself, exclaiming, “we have to get back!”

Luna used her magic to stop the rainbow maned Pegasus, and said, “Well, we can't right now. We are in the middle of nowhere and it would take at least five days flight to get back.”

“But we can't just sit here and do nothing!”

“For now, that's really all we can do. However, after we get what we came here for, I can get us back more quickly than if we just relied on our wings,” Luna said.

“And how fast can you get us back with your full power?”

“Three days, starting from tomorrow morning. Four if you do not think exhausting most of my supply of magic is worth it.”

“What happens when you exhaust your magic?” Rainbow asked, curious.

“I become really tired.”

“Oh. So when are we heading for the cave?”

“If you think you are up for it, we can leave right now,” Luna said, seeing how antsy Rainbow was.

“Let's go then! I want to get back as soon as I can!”

“I am sure.”

They set off, a lot on their minds.

They arrived at the cave an hour later, finding it to be a simple, practical place. There were a few alcoves near the ceiling, and a pink shield around a pedestal. Luna pointed at two of these alcoves and said, “In there, you will each find a pressure plate and a dial. Your job is to stand on the pressure plates and, when I count to three, turn the dials. Mundane, yes, but I cannot get through the magical shield otherwise.”

“Okay,” the pegasi said. As they moved into position, Luna considered the implications of returning to her full power. To be completely fair, this wasn't going to be a huge boost, unless Celestia was lying to her (not something she would put past her dear sister), but it did carry some symbolic weight, and that had its own implications. Implications that an alicorn that had recently dealt with the most desperate, homesick Pegasus in Equestria was too tired to ponder.

When the two pegasi were in position, Luna used the Royal Canterlot Voice to count to three, to make sure they heard her loud and clear.

Unfortunately, it's a bit hard to coordinate your actions with someone when the entire room is shaking, and your ears are filled with a booming voice which is why the first attempt failed.

Luna, who made no effort to hide her annoyance, said, “It didn't work. Try again.”

“Can we try without the Royal Canterlot Voice, please?” Fluttershy asked, her ears still ringing.

“Fine,” Luna said, with a much quieter voice, though one still laced with annoyance, “On three. One, two, three.”

This time, it went off without a hitch, and, with the barrier lowered, Luna quickly grabbed the vessel, which looked like a stone cylinder, about six inches long, with no markings of any sort on it. She cracked it open, and a strange energy swirled around her. The two pegasi watched with awe as it affected the alicorn's body.

As the energy swirled around Luna, her eyes glowed briefly, her coat became noticeably darker, she grew slightly, and the lock of hair in her mane that wasn't flowing shrunk. When this was done, she gave a small smile and said, “I always forget how good that feels. Anyway, shall we have our dinner?”

“Okay, but I'm not sure we have any wood or water for our tea,” Fluttershy said.

Luna looked around, then, with a slightly embarrassed look on her face, said, “I will return in a few minutes.”

While they were alone, Rainbow asked, “You think everyone's okay? In Ponyville, I mean.”

“I hope so.”

“So do I.”

“Why did you try to run off, though?” Fluttershy asked.

“Because I couldn't leave Ponyville hanging.”

“But taking a five day flight home through the wilds by yourself? I mean, I desperately want to help out too, but don't you think that's a little silly?”

“I had just waken up when I heard the news. I wasn't thinking straight,” Rainbow said.

“Oh.” Fluttershy thought Well, okay, what else should I have expected Dash to do, if she thought our friends were in danger..

Before they could speak further, Luna appeared with a pot full of water and a bunch of dry wood and brush.

Over dinner, Rainbow asked, “Are you sure you can have us back to Ponyville in three days?”

“Yes, though you may have to find my sister, or Twilight Sparkle when we arrive, so they can attend to me,” Luna said, knowing she had mentioned this before, but wanting to make sure they remembered.

“Because you'll be too exhausted to find them yourself, right?”

“Yes. It's a small price to pay, though, assuming I don't end up completely submerged,” Luna said.

“Well, seeing how this trip has gone...”

“I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility, no, but since my sister is on the scene, I should be safe, if a bit muddy,” Luna said.

The next day, they finally had the opportunity to drink something other than tea: rainwater that Luna had collected from a passing storm the night before. As they ate, Luna, deciding that it would be best to take their minds off what had happened in Ponyville, asked, “Fluttershy, is it true that you drove a dragon to tears?”

“Yes, but only because it hurt my friends.”

“Regardless of the reason, it's still quite the feat. How did you do it?”

“I think she used the stare on it. There's no other explanation I can think of, and it only seems to come out when somepony she cares about is in danger,” Rainbow said.

“Like when we encountered that cockatrice,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah. I'm still amazed that you could stare it down.”

“So am I,” Luna admitted.

Fluttershy didn't respond, instead getting up and preparing for the first leg of their journey back, something obviously bugging her. Luna, not quite finished with her hay, decided to check up on her.

“Is everything alright, Fluttershy?”

“I still worry about Ponyville.”

“So do I, but you shouldn't worry yourself about that right now. We'll do what we can when we get back, but, for now, we should focus on actually getting back.”

Fluttershy didn't respond but did visibly relax. Luna said, “we should leave soon. We have a long trip ahead of us, and I doubt any of us want to waste too much time.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said, turning to put her saddlebag on.

Also, You might want to carry your blanket in your saddlebag, in case it rains again.”

Fluttershy realized Luna had a point and stuffed her blanket haphazardly into her saddlebag, really wanting to leave.

Soon Rainbow and Luna were packed as well, and they were off.

Shortly after dinner, on day two of the journey back, still trying to keep her mind off Ponyville, and having resolved the bigger issues that could come between them, Rainbow Dash had set out trying to convince Fluttershy to join in on her and Pinkie's weekly pranking spree; something Fluttershy was very uncomfortable with doing.

“C'mon, Fluttershy, It'll be fun. Just imagine the pranks we can pull with you animal friends.”

“But what if somepony gets hurt, or hurts one of my animal friends? I couldn't bear it!”

“I promise I won't let anypony or animal get hurt.”

Fluttershy was still very uncomfortable with the idea, but, not wanting to argue further, said, “I'll think about it.”

“Okay.” Rainbow took this as a good sign, but was smart enough not to get her hopes up.

Luna watched with some bemusement, but elected not to comment. When she sensed that the conversation had ended, she said, “Anyway, Tomorrow, we'll be back in Ponyville, and, since you know the town better than I do, I am hoping that you will assist me in providing disaster relief.”

“Of course, though I think the town might still be scared of you,” Rainbow pointed out.

Luna groaned, and said, “Of course they would be. Why must these ponies keep fearing me? I have done much for them on the legal and political fronts since my return.”

“I think it has something to do with somepony called 'Nightmare Moon'.”

Luna groaned and facehoofed. “I wish they would forget about that lamentable part of my past, already. Being reminded of it constantly is getting tiresome.”

“Well, you kinda brought it on yourself.”

“Well, yes and no. While it is true that jealousy drove me down the path towards becoming Nightmare Moon, I did have some help unwittingly forced upon me. But still, how would you feel if you were defined by your time under Discord's influence?”

“Okay you have a point there,” Rainbow admitted, with a sigh. Noting that the princess was saying nothing more, she tried to get Fluttershy's attention, but Fluttershy had noticed the same lull and decided to ask Luna, “What was that song you were humming earlier?” That song was a melancholic tune that tickled at the edges of the yellow mare's memory, but one she couldn't quite place.

“It's an old tune that I remember from the days before I was banished. I have long since forgotten the words, but it's always had special meaning for me. I think it's about someone who's misunderstood, and ostracized.”

“Do you remember what it's called?”

“I think it's called 'Behind Blue Eyes',” Luna said.

Despite this new information the memory remained frustratingly out of reach. Fluttershy gave up on figuring it out for now, when Rainbow tapped her shoulder.

“Maybe you could ask Lyra about it when we get back to Ponyville. She would probably know.”

“I guess,” Fluttershy said, before she gave rainbow a quick peck, and walked down to the river's edge.

Rainbow Dash followed Fluttershy, holding the battleclouds box they had found in Luna's saddlebag earlier. They quickly set the game up and conversed between moves.

“Are you still scared of Luna?” Rainbow asked.

“Kinda. She does make me nervous, but it's not as bad as it was before.”

“I know what you mean. She did make me nervous early on, even if she did let me get away with using my thundercloud to scare ponies on Nightmare night, although she did scare me with it. Now that we've spent a week with her, though, she doesn't seem that scary.”

“I agree, but she's still a bit scary to deal with. Remember what happened yesterday?” Fluttershy asked.

“When her eyes glowed and she started yelling at me because I tried to knock her into the water?”

“Yeah, when you soiled yourself.”

“Yeah, that was terrifying. And stupid of me,” Rainbow said.

“Well, it wasn't the first dumb thing you've done.”

“Don't remind me.”

The day they would return to Ponyville arrived, and a certain member of this little adventuring group was already getting impatient. No prizes for guessing which one.

“When are we going to teleport home?” Rainbow asked, sounding more frustrated than when she had to deal with Fluttershy when getting rid of that dragon on top of the mountain.

“Tonight, after we reach what would be our dinner area. I know you want to get home as quickly as possible, Rainbow Dash, but magic has its limitations, and we need to get in range first, and, unless you feel like risking teleporting inside of a solid tree, I will need at least an hour to prepare after we land.”

Rainbow groaned in frustration, but didn't say anything else. Fluttershy who was listening to this, said, “so about 11 hours then?”

“Unless you want to cut our lunch rest short, yes.”

“I'd be okay with that,” Rainbow said.

“I am sure you would, but I would rather get an idea of what kind of condition we are in when we land. Better safe than sorry, as they say.”

“Okay, then, when we get back to Ponyville, you want us to find Celestia or Twilight for you, right?”

“Yes, since teleporting over such a long distance will consume almost all of my magical reserves, and I probably won't be able to move,” Luna said.

“Okay. But why Twilight?”

“Because she can probably teleport us to somewhere safer and more restful than a grassy knoll.

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Rainbow Dash, still impatient, and sensing that their conversation had ended, asked, “So, are we going or what?”

“We're leaving, okay Rainbow Dash?”

“Thank you!”

Landing for lunch, Luna was ready to be hit with another Rainbow barrage, but, much to her relief, it didn't come, though it was obvious that Rainbow was restless. Luna said, “If you take your nap after lunch, it will be time to go before you know it.”

“You think I can sleep when we're so close to getting home?”

“You look as if you haven't slept in three days. Try to get some rest.”

“Is that a royal order?” Rainbow asked.

“Let's say yes.”

“Fine. First, though, I want my lunch.”

When Rainbow seemed to go to sleep, Luna turned her attention to Fluttershy, who had become somewhat withdrawn, and asked, “Is everything okay Fluttershy?”

“Just thinking about how everyone in Ponyville is still scared of you, and what might happen when we get back.”

Luna sighed and said, “I do realize that that may be a problem, but maybe if I help out enough, they will grow to trust me.”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy said.

“Are you still scared of me?”

“I'm a bit nervous around you, but it's not nearly as bad as it was on Nightmare Night.”

“That is the answer I was hoping for. Maybe being around them and helping them out will have the same effect, and I can stop watching ponies cower in fear of me,” Luna said.

“Maybe,” Fluttershy said.

When she landed at their final location before teleporting home, Rainbow immediately demanded that they teleport now, with Luna having to magically zip her mouth shut before she could get a word in. The dark alicorn said, “Rainbow Dash, you need to be patient. I seem to recall mentioning earlier that we will need time to rest up and for me to determine a good place to teleport us to, unless you want to risk ending up inside of a very solid tree.”

“When will we leave, princess?” Fluttershy asked, watching Rainbow try to get her mouth unzipped.

“In an hour. In the meantime, try to relax. We'll probably have a busy few days ahead of us. And do not worry about Rainbow Dash. The spell will wear off in five minutes or when she succeeds in unzipping her mouth.”

Rainbow, upon hearing this, shook her hoof at Luna, who simply ignored her. Fluttershy asked, “should we make dinner?”

“I was actually hoping to eat when we got back to Ponyville, but I guess a few more apple slices couldn't hurt.”

Sooner than the pegasi realized, it was time to go. Luna said, “just to be safe, stay close to me. Long distance teleportation is risky enough as is, and I do not want to add any unnecessary complications.”

The two pegasi did as told, and soon the familiar sensations that come with teleportation filled their ears. When they rematerialized, they found themselves on top of a hill looking down at Ponyville, and Luna was lying on her stomach, obviously too tired to move.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash headed into town to find Celestia or Twilight, and almost immediately bumped into Rarity.

“Wow, you guys are back, already?” She asked.

“We kind of rushed back when we heard what happened. Do you know where Celestia and Twilight are?”

“Oh, sure, they're in the market, having dinner. Why?”

“Luna teleported us home, at the cost of most of her magic reserves, and she wanted to see Twilight or Celestia,” Rainbow explained.

“Oh. Is she okay?”

“She'll be fine, I think. If you want to see her, she's on that hill. By the way, why are you here and not at the market with everyone else?”

“Because I was chasing after my hat,” Rarity said, now wearing said apparel.

“Oh.”

“Anyway, I'll go with you to the market. Better than getting my hooves dirty on some muddy hill.”

“Okay,” Rainbow said.

Arriving at the market, the three ponies saw their friends and Celestia gathered around one very large table, and all of them were shocked to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in town. Twilight said, “I thought you two were supposed to be gone for two more days.”

“The three of us wanted to get back as quickly as possible after we heard what happened. Luna's on a hill just outside the east gate, and she wants to see you and Princess Celestia.”

“Well, it's good to see you back, but, if Luna wanted to see me, why didn't she come herself?” Celestia asked.

“For the same reason she wants to see you I suspect. She's too tired to move after teleporting us home.”

“Oh. Well, let's not keep her waiting, shall we?” Celestia said, before she teleported everyone to the east gate.

When they reached Luna, several seconds later, they found the dark mare was very tired indeed, but at least strong enough to lift her head and speak. She said, “It's good to see you well, 'Tia.”

“And you too, Luna. So how went your trip to the wilds?”

“Well, it was more complicated than I would have hoped. We had to deal with a cockatrice, a bad storm, and a fire, among other things, I learned that Fluttershy has a strange but very useful power, and my two companions fell in love,” Luna said, exaggerating a bit.

“Sounds like quite the story.”

“It is. Also, 'Tia, when we get the chance, I would like to have a word with you about certain of Equestria's laws.”

“Of course, but first we should focus on getting Ponyville back on its feet. The flood damage is pretty extensive.”

“Of course.”

Author's Note

And with that, we end my first true multichapter story. Thank you for reading through it. It was a fun experience, and I learned a lot in writing it, including how bad my perfectionism can get. For example, since people seemed to enjoy this story so much, I kept stressing out about living up to your expectations until this chapter, where I figured out how to calm myself down. If someone wants to be a proofreader, though, and tell me what could be reworked for better quality, it would take a load off my mind

Also, this ended up much shorter than I expected, probably because I ended up removing some plot details that were just stupid (a distant finale where two characters barely even mentioned in this story get married? What was I smoking?)

And, lastly, for those interested, I have three stories on the horizon at the moment: a one shot about how Fluttershy learned she had the power of the stare, a multipart story about Celestia turning into a three year old filly (inspired by a picture someone posted on Equestria Forums), and a multipart collaboration about Luna finding her soulmate (collab with who, I don't know yet, but if you're interested in taking part send me a PM and I'll give you the details). Sadly, though, no Flutterdash fics are in the works at the moment (just a byproduct of how my mind works), but there is a Flutter de Lis ship fic I have in the planning stages (Oh, and I now run the Fleur de Lis group, simply because I created it).