20The Starmaker
Chapter 2: Twilight's Day Off
Twilight Sparkle woke with a start at the sound of a knock at the library door. She had fallen asleep face first in the mysterious book the previous night, and it was now the next morning. The unicorn pony moaned.
"If you're bringing another mysterious, indecipherable book, you can just GO AWAY!" Twilight shouted in frustration.
The reply came faintly from the other side of the door. "Okay…if this is a bad time…I can…I'll just…go then…"
Twilight went to the door, flinging it open. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Fluttershy!'
"It's okay," the yellow Pegasus said timidly, looking up from the ground. When she got a look a Twilight, her eyes widened. "Wow, Twilight, you really look frazzled. I really can come back later if that's-"
The unicorn waved her hoof. "No, no, no! It's fine! What can I help you with?"
"Well…" Fluttershy started, "I was looking for a book on flying."
Twilight grinned lopsidedly. "Flying, huh? I guess you're taking Rainbow Dash's lessons pretty seriously."
"She'd be disappointed if I didn't…"
The only person you have to worry about pleasing is yourself, Fluttershy. Your great the way you are."
"But…Rainbow keeps bringing up how many times her flying has come in handy."
Twilight grinned again. "Then just bring up how many times your empathy with animals has saved us from being eaten."
"I guess that's true…" In an instant, Fluttershy went from bashful filly to worried caregiver. "But what about you? You look terrible. You should come out and get some fresh air. I was just about to feed my animals, you should come with me."
"Let's see…flying…flying…aha! Here!" Twilight levitated a book towards Fluttershy. "Here you go. And I'd love to come with you, but I'm just so busy. There's this book, Princess Celestia gave me a new assignment-"
"Oh! A new assignment! What is it?"
"She just wants me to go over some things for the upcoming solar eclipse. It's the first big celestial event that requires both princesses since the Nightmare Moon debacle, and she wants it to go off without a…without a…" Twilight seemed to be fighting back tears. She gulped.
"…hitch."
Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. "Twilight? What's wrong?"
Twilight burst into tears. "Princess Celestia doesn't respect me anymore!"
"Um…okay…"
"Oh boy," Spike appeared in the doorway. "You had to get her started, didn't ya?" He rubbed Twilight's back. "There, there. I told you, it's probably nothing to worry about. It just slipped her mind."
"What happened?" asked Fluttershy.
Spike sighed as he comforted the crying unicorn. "The princess usually addresses her letters to "her most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle". This time she just addressed it to plain old Twilight Sparkle."
"Oh my," Fluttershy intoned, raising a hoof to her mouth. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing…but I insist, come with me. You need a break."
Twilight sniffed. "I'm sorry, but I really am busy-"
"I said, 'I insist,'" Fluttershy said, her features forming the beginning of "The Stare." Twilight gulped.
"I guess a little fresh air will do me some good…"
As Twilight spent the morning with Fluttershy and her animal friends, she felt her stress melt away. She almost forgot all about the mysterious book, the perceived snub from Princess Celestia, and when Fluttershy invited her and Spike back to her cottage for lunch, she was all but too happy to accept.
When they stepped inside, Twilight immediately noticed something was off. Fluttershy's usually tidy domicile was a mess, strewn with papers that appeared to have been scribbled on.
"Wow," Twilight mused. "What happened here?"
"Oh!" Fluttershy squeaked. "Well, my lack of ability to communicate with Angel has always been a problem, but last week it almost got us mauled by a bugbear, so I decided to teach Angel how to read and write."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Mauled by a…? Oh, never mind. So, um, how is that working out?"
"Quite well, actually," Fluttershy said as Angel hopped up. "Oh, here he is now! Angel, show Twilight what you've learned!"
The rabbit produced a pencil and notepad and scribbled on it. He turned it to the ponies so they could see the message: FEED ME.
"He certainly is forward, isn't he?" Twilight remarked.
"Hmm, that's odd," Fluttershy wondered, "He used an 'M' and we've only gotten up to 'G' in the alphabet…"
"I guess he's just a fast learner," Twilight shrugged. "But he's going to be the cutest little writer in Ponyville!"
"Oh, I see how it is," Spike grumped, crossing his arms.
Twilight giggled. "Spike, you know you're still my number one assistant." She turned back to Angel. "Show us something else!"
Angel scowled, then scribbled something else on his notepad, flipping it over for Twilight to read. The unicorn's eyes widened. Fluttershy leaned in to see her pet's message.
"Oh my. I certainly didn't teach him those letters…"
"LUNA!"
Princess Luna's eyes shot open at the sound of her sister's panicked voice. She groggily looked upward, spotting the source of the panic; a black cloud hovered above her bed, misty tendrils reaching down to caress her.
"Nightmare Moon…" a voice whispered from within the cloud. Luna whimpered, trying to hide beneath her sheets.
A blinding light came from the doorway where Princess Celestia stood.
"You will not take her ever again!" the sun goddess declared mightily, her horn glowing. The cloud shifted, as if it facing this threat, and let out an inhuman howl. With that, it retreated out of the open window.
Several Pegasus guards galloped up behind Celestia. "Princesses! Are you all right? We heard-"
"It's nothing," Celestia immediately dismissed. "Do not worry yourselves." She smiled, and the guards softened, leaving the scene in a serene state of mind. Celestia approached her younger sister, who had summoned the courage to get out of her bed.
"It's her, isn't it?" Luna inquired. Celestia nodded.
"I'm afraid so."
"What will we do?"
The older princess sighed. "We need to call upon the Elements of Harmony once more."
"Will that be enough?"
"No…but it's a start. Go back to sleep, sister. I'll post guards to watch over you."
Celestia turned to leave, but her sister stopped her by saying, "Celestia?"
"Yes, Luna?"
"This Twilight Sparkle…do you think she is the one?"
"Honestly?" Celestia started. "I don't know. Her power is great, but…"
"I'm sorry," said Luna. "Good day, sister."
The younger princess snuggled back into her bed beneath the covers.
"Good day, Luna. Sweet dreams."
Celestia turned to leave again, but looked back at her sister. She sighed, then slowly trotted over to Luna's bedside and settled down, keeping watch over her younger sister for the rest of the day.