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Follows A Little Spark: Sc.37-39

By E4-NG
Created: 2021-10-24 10:40:53
Expiry: Never
anontwilight sparkle/rgre/princess celestiaprincess cadanceprincess lunatechnologyfalsraven inkwell

  1. >”Your Excellency!”
  2. >The use of your rarely heard official style stops you, and Celestia a few paces after.
  3. >Her stop isn’t even as graceful as yours, let alone as her usual self.
  4. >Both of you turn to the guard stallion you just passed.
  5. >”We’re keeping an eye on him, sir. Looking out for you.”
  6. >You toss a casual salute at him and resume walking.
  7. “Your guards are gossipy, as usual.”
  8. >Celestia continues walking herself, once you’re back to her side, and the two of you enter the library.
  9. >”This is the most excitement they’ve seen in awhile.”
  10. “Over a doorknob.”
  11. >”Over you. And Twilight, too; my sister’s guards don’t tell, but when mine saw the two of you leave your building together, this morning, there’s only a few conclusions they’d draw.”
  12. “Yeah, I’ve been congratulated a couple times too. It’s a little weird, being honest.”
  13. >Celestia closes the door to your private reading room behind her, then sighs and leans against the wall there.
  14. >Once you’ve taken a seat, you lean forward, elbows on your knees, and study her.
  15. “You’ve been off all day. You almost stuttered, earlier, and I’ve never heard you stutter in front of anypony. Your gait’s all screwy and you’re distracted as hell. I‘m pretty sure most haven’t noticed, but I have. What’s wrong?”
  16. >“Between Blueblood and you being with my sister now, I’ve got a lot on my mind. This whole thing with the Prince will become a big issue with the way this palace is run, if we let it drag. He knows something is up, even if we haven’t confronted him yet; the Guard is all over him, to the limits of propriety. Trust me, this is restrained, for the Commander. He’d be at Blueblood’s throat if I allowed it; after what you’ve told us, it’s the perfect storm to set his hopelessly romantic heart ablaze. As it is Raven is going to have to manage everything around here more or less alone, with those two angry enough at each other to become useless.”
  17. >She thumps her head lightly against the wall. “Luna and I just haven’t settled on a punishment, yet. I’ve been corresponding with… colleagues.”
  18. “That’s not like you, either. Usually you can think of these things on the spot. And why would me being with Luna bother you? I thought it’s what you wanted.”
  19. >She looks over to you and smiles, standing upright again. “I’m happy for you two. I just thought I should keep a respectful distance.”
  20. “That’s the last thing I want. I’ve been with you every step of your routine for months now trying to help you relax, and you said you liked my lack of respect. C’mere, sit down.”
  21. >You gesture to her usual spot.
  22. >Instead, she comes up to you, then lies down on the floor next to you.
  23. “Well, sure, no distance is what I asked for I guess.”
  24. >Her mane flows over and phases through your clothes and body, as Luna’s does like this. It feels like a warm mist, immersing your legs in a sensation of a very fine spray, though you know it doesn’t wet your clothes.
  25. >You reach down through it – though not very far; her greater than normal height is just as apparent when she’s sitting on the floor – and pat the side of her neck.
  26. >Honestly, this all seems so…
  27. >Pathetic.
  28. >The mighty and sure sovereign of Equestria is lying on the floor at your feet.
  29. >It’s been awhile now since she started letting her guard down around you, in here. You were glad for it; she really needed some time in the day she could relax. You were honored she could around you, honored in a way you’ve never really felt before in your life. It was a strange thing to realize, that you feel an entirely new feeling to you from these moments.
  30. >You’ve never seen her so put to pieces as this.
  31. >No, there was your dream last night.
  32. >But besides that.
  33. >In both cases, the key was… you.
  34. >How she felt about you last night, that was obvious enough. Between her reaction to the dream, and her own nightmare you’d seen before, she was terrified of losing you.
  35. >Maybe all the teasing was masking something more earnest.
  36. >Shit, you’ve never been good at this stuff.
  37. “Hey. Move over to the middle, a bit. Lemme get my hands all over you.”
  38. >She jerks as if about to stand, but stops and remains motionless.
  39. >She doesn’t even take that low-hanging fruit for some crude comment.
  40. “Seriously. I mean it.”
  41. >She sighs and does as you ask, settling on the floor in the middle of the room atop her legs, wings spread wide and loose.
  42. “Can’t believe I have to cajole you into this.”
  43. >You get behind her again, starting your massage at her hindquarters and planning to move up, as you did last time.
  44. >”Would it sound strange if I said I hesitated because I wanted it?”
  45. “Yeah, that is pretty strange.”
  46. >”I used to indulge in a self-satisfying selflessness. If I wasn’t sure on a course of action, where both choices were exactly equal, I’d often pick the option I didn’t want. To prove to myself I had that will, that I could make decisions with no regard to my own interests. But lately, a couple friends told me I should pursue my own wants more.”
  47. “No wonder you’re always so uptight.”
  48. >She laughs, the reverberations running through her body to your hands on her sides. “Yes, that’s probably part of it. But I used to be quite the opposite.”
  49. “Self-interested?”
  50. >”Partially. Haughty, stuck-up, thoughtless and careless. I’d mock my sister, when we were both young. Very young; still unicorns, and our first couple years after earning our wings. Not that I didn’t love her, but I used my wit and quick tongue for immediate satisfaction more often than thoughtful care.”
  51. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
  52. >“I learned, thanks to our shared mentor, and what we went through together. By the time we were set to take the throne of our then-recently founded country, I had acquired some of the wisdom that intellect should be paired with. But sometimes I still feel like that foolish filly, sometimes I feel like I still have so far to go.”
  53. >She shakes her head. “Back then, she and I used to always be at each others’ sides. The Elements of Harmony we used – just two back then, not the six Twilight’s at the center of now – were just one of many things we did together.” After a chuckle, “A list which includes, to be crude, a few stallions. But we’d stopped that once we took our thrones. So now, faced with my sister finally finding love again, I’m reminded of our earlier misadventures, but also of how poorly I at times treated her then. I wasn’t sure if I should just leave her to it, and I was tempted to apply that old test; what don’t I want? Yet my dear friends counsel me otherwise. I’ve spent too long thinking about how I have all the time in the world; for once I should take advantage of it.”
  54. >Your hands are massaging the shoulders of her wings, now, as you chew on this.
  55. >Yeah, you can see where this is going.
  56. “So what about that stallion you told me about? Did you stay away from him because he was hers?”
  57. >You can feel Celestia tense under you, briefly, before relaxing again and laughing. “He… oh, come now. I was talking about you then, Anon.”
  58. >You start laughing, yourself. And don’t stop, folding forward over where you straddled her hips to lay on top of her upper back.
  59. >She’s laughing with you, quieter. “Honestly, for someone who’s so capable of leaps of intuition, you are too often distracted beyond reason. Considering what I know you’re capable of, you miss some of the most blatant things.”
  60. “Yeah, I, uh, that’s me for sure. The only errors I make are the obvious ones.”
  61. >”Lets not get too full of ourselves, now.”
  62. “So if I asked you want you want-”
  63. >She does a little shimmy, tossing you onto her left wing, then she swings that wing up while rolling beneath you. Once you pass through her right wing, extended up over your head, she brings it down around you and pushes you to the floor.
  64. >You land between her forelegs, which wrap around your arms and upper body, pulling you close to her, followed by her hind legs around your thighs and knees. Her neck curls down, her chin against the top of your head.
  65. >The two of you are on your sides now, facing each other, and it’s a little hard to breathe with your face mashed into her chest as it is, considering her coat’s thicker there than most of the rest of her body.
  66. >”I want this.”
  67. >Celestia is the only pony who can cuddle you, instead of the other way around. Her being as tall as you standing means she’s got a lot more volume on you, with her four-legged body configuration. She’s currently making very effective use of it.
  68. >She must be thinking the same thing you are. “It’s nice to hug a stallion my size, for once. We’re… compatible.”
  69. “In more ways than one, I’d guess.”
  70. >Your response is muffled by her coat.
  71. >”Is this too far?”
  72. >Well, Luna said she didn’t care. Twilight…
  73. >Since when did Twilight object to anything Celestia did?
  74. “I don’t know, are you just teasing me again?”
  75. >She loosens her weird hoof-hug, giving you a bit of room to breathe. “I’m sorry for all that, before.”
  76. “Yeah, your sister told me.”
  77. >”I meant what I said in your dream, last night. I was upset because I cared for you. I don’t want to lose you, Anon, but that means I need to have you, first.”
  78. >You wiggle a bit in her hoofy grasp.
  79. >She’s pleasantly warm, and surrounding you with that warmth.
  80. “Yeah, that checks out.”
  81. >She laughs. “Knowing you, I should have stated it so simply earlier.”
  82. “Might have helped.”
  83. >After a moment of silence, “And you?”
  84. “I’m feeling less in control of my own love life by the hour, with everything that’s been going on in the past couple days.”
  85. >”Yes, I suppose it’s a bit much to take in.”
  86. >She adjusts her legs around you.
  87. >”I’ve waited many, many years. I can wait a little bit longer.”
  88. >You’re trying to figure out how she manages to smell like flowers. As far as you know that’s her natural scent.
  89. >Probably the same way her laugh energizes you, and how her mane works, and what Luna said about bodily control.
  90. >You’re fortunate you enjoyed her affections.
  91. >If you didn’t, you’re afraid she might have a way to make you enjoy it.
  92. >”You should take a shower when we’re done here.”
  93. “Woah, hey now, physical affection like this is one thing, but Luna got a little peeved when she learned Twilight and I were sleeping in the same bed, and that wasn’t even, ah, some other activities one does in bed. And that’s what it sounds like you’re proposing.”
  94. >”No, silly. It’s the scent.”
  95. >She pulls you in tighter, mashing your face into her chest again.
  96.  
  97. * * *
  98.  
  99. >Your office is very close to the library.
  100. >Close enough that your pink alicorn friend can sense every feeling coming from it with clarity, the emotional voyeur.
  101. >She’s looking in that direction now, but her eyes are closed.
  102. >She’s wearing a faint smile.
  103. >And she refuses to give you as much feedback as you’d like about what she’s picking up.
  104. >You’re about to ask her for the ninth time for more commentary when she opens her eyes and looks at you.
  105. >”It is done, Raven.”
  106. “Stop these cryptic replies, Your Highness.”
  107. >”Aw, let me have a little fun with it.”
  108. “So he loves Her Majesty?”
  109. >”No.”
  110. >The one word hits you like this whole wing of the palace just collapsed. The weight drops on your shoulders, threatening to drive you down to the desk you’d propped yourself up on, while watching Cadance.
  111. >She momentarily looks shocked and physically recoils, when that sensation reaches her. Then her expression shifts to apologetic. ”Not in the way you’re thinking, my inexperienced mentor. She doesn’t love him like that, either.”
  112. “Her Majesty told me quite clearly-”
  113. >”She didn’t lie to you. But their connection isn’t like that between Anon and Twilight or Luna. Those are deep loves rooted in shared experiences and aspects of being, intellectual or emotional. That’s not what Celestia shares with Anon. And that’s okay! Not all relationships start with the pair head over heels for each other. What’s important is the feelings are mutual.”
  114. “What do they feel, then?”
  115. >Cadance makes a show of pondering the question. “They care how the other feels. They interest each other, respect each other, and arouse each other. She’s invested enough in him that she’s off-balanced by recent events surrounding him, and if he slips her grasp she’ll be devastated. He’s realized his private moments by her side is as important to him as her, he’s proud and humbled she’s chosen him for that, and wants to see her get what he feels she deserves. The only difference between them is that she recognizes all this in herself, and knows what it means. That’s what she meant when she told you, and when she talked to us.”
  116. “And Anon?”
  117. >”He’s… still working through it. He believed her earlier behavior to be shallower than it was. I believe – this was hard to pick up, since he tries muting his emotional expression reflexively, poor soul – he understands otherwise, now. I did get a sense of understanding, but couldn’t catch on what. There’s only so much I can't see a pony I'm unfamiliar with.”
  118. >You nod, more to yourself than anything.
  119. >This all sounded good.
  120. >Not great.
  121. >But good.
  122. >Cadance, of course, can pick up on your feelings on the matter.
  123. >She sends a wave of reassurance your way, in return, allowing you to relax a tension in your posture. You release a breath you didn’t know you were holding, nor for how long.
  124. >”Have faith. As I said, not all relationships begin with love. Sometimes love grows into the space a relationship provides, instead, molding itself to all its nooks and crannies. Those two already have everything else needed, a lot of things some ponies don’t even understand in each other until after marriage. These things need more than just love to make them work, you know.”
  125. >No, you didn’t, not really. This was one field you had no understanding of. Your object of affection never loved back, not as you loved it. You’re fine with that. It’s part of the job. Equestria loves all ponies equally, in a distantly paternal fashion.
  126. >”Besides, her bonds with Twilight and Luna make a unique niche for her in their nascent herd. All that is enough, and she knows it’s enough, she’s been around long enough to see. The only question is whether or not he’s receptive.”
  127. >You prop yourself up again, at this, and look at her.
  128. “Will he accept her, then?”
  129. >The pink princess just grins at you, a gleam in her eye.
  130. >You stamp a forehoof on your desk.
  131. “Your Highness, I said-”
  132. >”It’s funny, Raven. You taught me a lot of what I needed to know, before I left for the Crystal Empire. I was the learner, but now I’m the master. Let me teach you what you’ll need to know.”
  133.  
  134. * * *
  135.  
  136. >”Your Excellency!”
  137. >The use of your rarely heard official style stops you, and Celestia a few paces after.
  138. >Her stop isn’t even as graceful as yours, let alone as her usual self.
  139. >Both of you turn to the guard stallion you just passed.
  140. >”We’re keeping an eye on him, sir. Looking out for you.”
  141. >You toss a casual salute at him and resume walking.
  142. “Your guards are gossipy, as usual.”
  143. >Celestia continues walking herself, once you’re back to her side, and the two of you enter the library.
  144. >”This is the most excitement they’ve seen in awhile.”
  145. “Over a doorknob.”
  146. >”Over you. And Twilight, too; my sister’s guards don’t tell, but when mine saw the two of you leave your building together, this morning, there’s only a few conclusions they’d draw.”
  147. “Yeah, I’ve been congratulated a couple times too. It’s a little weird, being honest.”
  148. >Celestia closes the door to your private reading room behind her, then sighs and leans against the wall there.
  149. >Once you’ve taken a seat, you lean forward, elbows on your knees, and study her.
  150. “You’ve been off all day. You almost stuttered, earlier, and I’ve never heard you stutter in front of anypony. Your gait’s all screwy and you’re distracted as hell. I‘m pretty sure most haven’t noticed, but I have. What’s wrong?”
  151. >“Between Blueblood and you being with my sister now, I’ve got a lot on my mind. This whole thing with the Prince will become a big issue with the way this palace is run, if we let it drag. He knows something is up, even if we haven’t confronted him yet; the Guard is all over him, to the limits of propriety. Trust me, this is restrained, for the Commander. He’d be at Blueblood’s throat if I allowed it; after what you’ve told us, it’s the perfect storm to set his hopelessly romantic heart ablaze. As it is Raven is going to have to manage everything around here more or less alone, with those two angry enough at each other to become useless.”
  152. >She thumps her head lightly against the wall. “Luna and I just haven’t settled on a punishment, yet. I’ve been corresponding with… colleagues.”
  153. “That’s not like you, either. Usually you can think of these things on the spot. And why would me being with Luna bother you? I thought it’s what you wanted.”
  154. >She looks over to you and smiles, standing upright again. “I’m happy for you two. I just thought I should keep a respectful distance.”
  155. “That’s the last thing I want. I’ve been with you every step of your routine for months now trying to help you relax, and you said you liked my lack of respect. C’mere, sit down.”
  156. >You gesture to her usual spot.
  157. >Instead, she comes up to you, then lies down on the floor next to you.
  158. “Well, sure, no distance is what I asked for I guess.”
  159. >Her mane flows over and phases through your clothes and body, as Luna’s does like this. It feels like a warm mist, immersing your legs in a sensation of a very fine spray, though you know it doesn’t wet your clothes.
  160. >You reach down through it – though not very far; her greater than normal height is just as apparent when she’s sitting on the floor – and pat the side of her neck.
  161. >Honestly, this all seems so…
  162. >Pathetic.
  163. >The mighty and sure sovereign of Equestria is lying on the floor at your feet.
  164. >It’s been awhile now since she started letting her guard down around you, in here. You were glad for it; she really needed some time in the day she could relax. You were honored she could around you, honored in a way you’ve never really felt before in your life. It was a strange thing to realize, that you feel an entirely new feeling to you from these moments.
  165. >You’ve never seen her so put to pieces as this.
  166. >No, there was your dream last night.
  167. >But besides that.
  168. >In both cases, the key was… you.
  169. >How she felt about you last night, that was obvious enough. Between her reaction to the dream, and her own nightmare you’d seen before, she was terrified of losing you.
  170. >Maybe all the teasing was masking something more earnest.
  171. >Shit, you’ve never been good at this stuff.
  172. “Hey. Move over to the middle, a bit. Lemme get my hands all over you.”
  173. >She jerks as if about to stand, but stops and remains motionless.
  174. >She doesn’t even take that low-hanging fruit for some crude comment.
  175. “Seriously. I mean it.”
  176. >She sighs and does as you ask, settling on the floor in the middle of the room atop her legs, wings spread wide and loose.
  177. “Can’t believe I have to cajole you into this.”
  178. >You get behind her again, starting your massage at her hindquarters and planning to move up, as you did last time.
  179. >”Would it sound strange if I said I hesitated because I wanted it?”
  180. “Yeah, that is pretty strange.”
  181. >”I used to indulge in a self-satisfying selflessness. If I wasn’t sure on a course of action, where both choices were exactly equal, I’d often pick the option I didn’t want. To prove to myself I had that will, that I could make decisions with no regard to my own interests. But lately, a couple friends told me I should pursue my own wants more.”
  182. “No wonder you’re always so uptight.”
  183. >She laughs, the reverberations running through her body to your hands on her sides. “Yes, that’s probably part of it. But I used to be quite the opposite.”
  184. “Self-interested?”
  185. >”Partially. Haughty, stuck-up, thoughtless and careless. I’d mock my sister, when we were both young. Very young; still unicorns, and our first couple years after earning our wings. Not that I didn’t love her, but I used my wit and quick tongue for immediate satisfaction more often than thoughtful care.”
  186. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
  187. >“I learned, thanks to our shared mentor, and what we went through together. By the time we were set to take the throne of our then-recently founded country, I had acquired some of the wisdom that intellect should be paired with. But sometimes I still feel like that foolish filly, sometimes I feel like I still have so far to go.”
  188. >She shakes her head. “Back then, she and I used to always be at each others’ sides. The Elements of Harmony we used – just two back then, not the six Twilight’s at the center of now – were just one of many things we did together.” After a chuckle, “A list which includes, to be crude, a few stallions. But we’d stopped that once we took our thrones. So now, faced with my sister finally finding love again, I’m reminded of our earlier misadventures, but also of how poorly I at times treated her then. I wasn’t sure if I should just leave her to it, and I was tempted to apply that old test; what don’t I want? Yet my dear friends counsel me otherwise. I’ve spent too long thinking about how I have all the time in the world; for once I should take advantage of it.”
  189. >Your hands are massaging the shoulders of her wings, now, as you chew on this.
  190. >Yeah, you can see where this is going.
  191. “So what about that stallion you told me about? Did you stay away from him because he was hers?”
  192. >You can feel Celestia tense under you, briefly, before relaxing again and laughing. “He… oh, come now. I was talking about you then, Anon.”
  193. >You start laughing, yourself. And don’t stop, folding forward over where you straddled her hips to lay on top of her upper back.
  194. >She’s laughing with you, quieter. “Honestly, for someone who’s so capable of leaps of intuition, you are too often distracted beyond reason. Considering what I know you’re capable of, you miss some of the most blatant things.”
  195. “Yeah, I, uh, that’s me for sure. The only errors I make are the obvious ones.”
  196. >”Lets not get too full of ourselves, now.”
  197. “So if I asked you want you want-”
  198. >She does a little shimmy, tossing you onto her left wing, then she swings that wing up while rolling beneath you. Once you pass through her right wing, extended up over your head, she brings it down around you and pushes you to the floor.
  199. >You land between her forelegs, which wrap around your arms and upper body, pulling you close to her, followed by her hind legs around your thighs and knees. Her neck curls down, her chin against the top of your head.
  200. >The two of you are on your sides now, facing each other, and it’s a little hard to breathe with your face mashed into her chest as it is, considering her coat’s thicker there than most of the rest of her body.
  201. >”I want this.”
  202. >Celestia is the only pony who can cuddle you, instead of the other way around. Her being as tall as you standing means she’s got a lot more volume on you, with her four-legged body configuration. She’s currently making very effective use of it.
  203. >She must be thinking the same thing you are. “It’s nice to hug a stallion my size, for once. We’re… compatible.”
  204. “In more ways than one, I’d guess.”
  205. >Your response is muffled by her coat.
  206. >”Is this too far?”
  207. >Well, Luna said she didn’t care. Twilight…
  208. >Since when did Twilight object to anything Celestia did?
  209. “I don’t know, are you just teasing me again?”
  210. >She loosens her weird hoof-hug, giving you a bit of room to breathe. “I’m sorry for all that, before.”
  211. “Yeah, your sister told me.”
  212. >”I meant what I said in your dream, last night. I was upset because I cared for you. I don’t want to lose you, Anon, but that means I need to have you, first.”
  213. >You wiggle a bit in her hoofy grasp.
  214. >She’s pleasantly warm, and surrounding you with that warmth.
  215. “Yeah, that checks out.”
  216. >She laughs. “Knowing you, I should have stated it so simply earlier.”
  217. “Might have helped.”
  218. >After a moment of silence, “And you?”
  219. “I’m feeling less in control of my own love life by the hour, with everything that’s been going on in the past couple days.”
  220. >”Yes, I suppose it’s a bit much to take in.”
  221. >She adjusts her legs around you.
  222. >”I’ve waited many, many years. I can wait a little bit longer.”
  223. >You’re trying to figure out how she manages to smell like flowers. As far as you know that’s her natural scent.
  224. >Probably the same way her laugh energizes you, and how her mane works, and what Luna said about bodily control.
  225. >You’re fortunate you enjoyed her affections.
  226. >If you didn’t, you’re afraid she might have a way to make you enjoy it.
  227. >”You should take a shower when we’re done here.”
  228. “Woah, hey now, physical affection like this is one thing, but Luna got a little peeved when she learned Twilight and I were sleeping in the same bed, and that wasn’t even, ah, some other activities one does in bed. And that’s what it sounds like you’re proposing.”
  229. >”No, silly. It’s the scent.”
  230. >She pulls you in tighter, mashing your face into her chest again.
  231.  
  232. * * *
  233.  
  234. >Your office is very close to the library.
  235. >Close enough that your pink alicorn friend can sense every feeling coming from it with clarity, the emotional voyeur.
  236. >She’s looking in that direction now, but her eyes are closed.
  237. >She’s wearing a faint smile.
  238. >And she refuses to give you as much feedback as you’d like about what she’s picking up.
  239. >You’re about to ask her for the ninth time for more commentary when she opens her eyes and looks at you.
  240. >”It is done, Raven.”
  241. “Stop these cryptic replies, Your Highness.”
  242. >”Aw, let me have a little fun with it.”
  243. “So he loves Her Majesty?”
  244. >”No.”
  245. >The one word hits you like this whole wing of the palace just collapsed. The weight drops on your shoulders, threatening to drive you down to the desk you’d propped yourself up on, while watching Cadance.
  246. >She momentarily looks shocked and physically recoils, when that sensation reaches her. Then her expression shifts to apologetic. ”Not in the way you’re thinking, my inexperienced mentor. She doesn’t love him like that, either.”
  247. “Her Majesty told me quite clearly-”
  248. >”She didn’t lie to you. But their connection isn’t like that between Anon and Twilight or Luna. Those are deep loves rooted in shared experiences and aspects of being, intellectual or emotional. That’s not what Celestia shares with Anon. And that’s okay! Not all relationships start with the pair head over heels for each other. What’s important is the feelings are mutual.”
  249. “What do they feel, then?”
  250. >Cadance makes a show of pondering the question. “They care how the other feels. They interest each other, respect each other, and arouse each other. She’s invested enough in him that she’s off-balanced by recent events surrounding him, and if he slips her grasp she’ll be devastated. He’s realized his private moments by her side is as important to him as her, he’s proud and humbled she’s chosen him for that, and wants to see her get what he feels she deserves. The only difference between them is that she recognizes all this in herself, and knows what it means. That’s what she meant when she told you, and when she talked to us.”
  251. “And Anon?”
  252. >”He’s… still working through it. He believed her earlier behavior to be shallower than it was. I believe – this was hard to pick up, since he tries muting his emotional expression reflexively, poor soul – he understands otherwise, now. I did get a sense of understanding, but couldn’t catch on what. There’s only so much I can't see a pony I'm unfamiliar with.”
  253. >You nod, more to yourself than anything.
  254. >This all sounded good.
  255. >Not great.
  256. >But good.
  257. >Cadance, of course, can pick up on your feelings on the matter.
  258. >She sends a wave of reassurance your way, in return, allowing you to relax a tension in your posture. You release a breath you didn’t know you were holding, nor for how long.
  259. >”Have faith. As I said, not all relationships begin with love. Sometimes love grows into the space a relationship provides, instead, molding itself to all its nooks and crannies. Those two already have everything else needed, a lot of things some ponies don’t even understand in each other until after marriage. These things need more than just love to make them work, you know.”
  260. >No, you didn’t, not really. This was one field you had no understanding of. Your object of affection never loved back, not as you loved it. You’re fine with that. It’s part of the job. Equestria loves all ponies equally, in a distantly paternal fashion.
  261. >”Besides, her bonds with Twilight and Luna make a unique niche for her in their nascent herd. All that is enough, and she knows it’s enough, she’s been around long enough to see. The only question is whether or not he’s receptive.”
  262. >You prop yourself up again, at this, and look at her.
  263. “Will he accept her, then?”
  264. >The pink princess just grins at you, a gleam in her eye.
  265. >You stamp a forehoof on your desk.
  266. “Your Highness, I said-”
  267. >”It’s funny, Raven. You taught me a lot of what I needed to know, before I left for the Crystal Empire. I was the learner, but now I’m the master. Let me teach you what you’ll need to know.”
  268.  
  269. * * *
  270.  
  271. >By the time Celestia had reluctantly let you go – as reluctantly as you were to be let go – you smelled a bit like her own body’s strangely floral scent.
  272. >Considering a human’s sense of smell isn’t great, relatively speaking, you have no clue how other ponies took it.
  273. >Your face had been ground zero, so maybe you’ve got a much better awareness than usual, but that doesn’t help matters any.
  274. >She wasn’t kidding about the scent-marking.
  275. >Luna was absent from the evening’s council meeting.
  276. >Strange, since these meetings were mostly for her benefit, when the two sovereigns needn’t meet with the ducal representatives from across Equestria.
  277. >Turns out that, according to Raven, she took some time off, now that she was with you.
  278. >Not that she told you that.
  279. >Not that she’d have even had the chance; this was usually your first opportunity to see each other in your daily schedule.
  280. >Quiet though she normally is, she always bore a certain presence, and her absence was noticeable.
  281. >It brought the table down to five; Celestia, you, Raven, Blueblood, and the Royal Guard’s commander.
  282. >It seemed what Celestia had done to you was quite apparent to all present.
  283. >Raven kept shooting the two of you knowing looks.
  284. >The Commander’s normally severe visage was cracked by a faint smile the whole meeting.
  285. >And Blueblood…
  286. >Blueblood looked terrified.
  287. >He was never as composed as Celestia, but even he had a mask he could don.
  288. >That masked was shattered, this evening, from the moment you had walked in the room at Celestia’s side.
  289. >Celestia herself wore the smuggest expression you’d ever seen.
  290. >The meeting was mercifully brief.
  291. >You couldn’t handle being the subject of so many different attentions.
  292. >You have no idea what Celestia’s guards think, and you didn’t really want to think about it yourself.
  293. >The sun was still below the horizon, by the time you and Celestia made your way to your workshop together.
  294. >She usually retires to her chambers or her library, but today she insisted on joining you.
  295. >As soon as you open the door, you’re thankful for it.
  296. >Because you can hear an altercation inside.
  297. >The two of you hustle through the main hallway to the lounging room’s door.
  298. >”And beyond age, we are clearly the more powerful.”
  299. >”I seem to remember taking your butt down, a few years ago.”
  300. >”This is no herd with thy five friends!”
  301. >”This isn’t even your herd!”
  302. >Luna and Twilight are all up in each other’s faces.
  303. >Entirely too close, considering the volume they’re speaking to each other at.
  304. >Not speaking. Shouting, in all honesty.
  305. >They don’t even notice the two of you enter.
  306. >At least you don’t have to explain why you smell like Celestia.
  307. >”We have shared secret and private moments with him inside his own mind.”
  308. >”I’m the only one who had faith in his life’s work, helped him achieve his goals.”
  309. >Celestia, wearing an expression of mock shock, leans towards you and whispers, “You just told Luna she was included, didn’t you?”
  310. “Yeah, what about it?”
  311. >You can already tell those two have been arguing in circles, retreading the same points repeatedly.
  312. >You have no idea how long this has been going on.
  313. >”There’s a procedure to be followed, Anon. You didn’t even have a herd for a single day before you screwed it up.”
  314. “How was I supposed to know, I’m just a human.”
  315. >Luna stamps a hoof, her head held imperiously high. ”We touched the deepest parts of each other’s souls.”
  316. >Twilight’s wings are flared out to make herself look larger. ”And you took too long to do it!”
  317. >Celestia pulls on the back of your shirt with her magic, beckoning you out of the room. “Anon, the lead mare calls the shots. You just have veto power.”
  318. “So what was I supposed to do? Your sister passed out when she thought I rejected her. In my dream! How does a princess of dreams pass out in a dream and not fuck something up? How do you even pass out in a dream anyway?”
  319. >”Because it was in your head, not hers or anyone else’s. Beside the point. You should have given her the go ahead to talk to Twilight, or talked to Twilight about her in the morning. Then they’d meet and discuss it and if Twilight’s satisfied, you have the final say.”
  320. “That’s ridiculous. I’m the stallion, isn’t it my herd?”
  321. >”You’re just the centerpiece, the nexus. It’s Twilight’s herd. Well, it was, but you’ve now called that into question; your unilateral decision made both of them leaders because you undercut Twilight’s authority. Now go out there and fix your mess.”
  322. >She nudges you in the back and pushes you on with one wing.
  323. >They’re apparently in a lull in the argument, because they’re angrily discussing things with their eyes instead of their voices.
  324. “Hey. Uh. You two. Shut up for a sec. Er, continue being shut up. Get over here.”
  325. >Twilight complies immediately.
  326. >Luna follows only after a moment of watching Twilight go, as if being the last to leave her spot was some minor victory.
  327. >Both of them shoot a glance at Celestia after they stop in front of you, but neither says anything.
  328. >Oh, right. Her scent.
  329. >Keep this focused.
  330. “What's your problem?”
  331. >Nailed it.
  332. >The two of them shift uneasily.
  333. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. The hell are you two fighting over? Me? Did this start the moment Luna came around and said something about it?”
  334. >They both nod.
  335. >”Heaven and earth, how are you two supposed to live together?”
  336. >Twilight adjusts her wings in a gesture you’ve recognized as discomfort.
  337. >Luna shoots her a glance, then says, “With a hierarchy. A proper one.”
  338. >”I never said I was going to overrule your position! You’re a princess of Equestria, but-”
  339. “We’re not starting round two! You two are acting like children."
  340. >You run a hand through your hair and close your eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh.
  341. “Alright. I know I’m not the one in command, with how you ponies do it, but Celestia told me I have to fix my fuckup here. One of you’s gotta be in charge over the other, for some dumb reason. That sounds an awful lot to me like I have to play favorites, and I really don’t want to do that, but it’s not like I have any idea what’s going on here in the first place. Okay, whatever, when in Rome and all that. Here’s what we’re gonna do.”
  342. >The two look up at you, expectantly.
  343. >You stare back, putting your hands on your hips, alternating your gaze between them.
  344. “Twilight.”
  345. >Her ears perk up, and her wings fidget again.
  346. “You were first. You’re in charge.”
  347. >Their expressions start changing immediately, but you hold up a hand.
  348. “Slow your fucking rolls, I’m not done yet. Twilight, you’re in charge because you don’t have a fucking country to run. Just a little slice of it or whatever. Also, Luna, you know I love you but your sleep schedule’s kinda garbage when it comes to managing this crap. We’re not gonna fuck up Twilight’s just to take her into a dream every night, and that’s where you and I do a lot of our shit. It doesn’t mean I love her more or something. It’s because she doesn’t have as much on her plate, and I don’t want you to suffer with this division of responsibilities. And I mean responsibilities, Twilight. If I hear you lording this status over her, I might rethink my decision, especially if you neglect her or whatever other duties this lead mare thing entails. And Luna, speak to her like she deserves. None of those pronouns of disrespect.”
  349. >The two of them look away from both you and each other.
  350. >”I was planning to anyway,” Luna mutters.
  351. >”She is right about the royalty thing,” Twilight mumbles.
  352. “Cool. Kiss and make up, or however you add ponies to a herd.”
  353. >Celestia walks up to your side as the two face each other.
  354. >At first they don’t look like they’ll move; both wear the remnants of earlier glowers, holding themselves in stiff stances.
  355. >Then Luna glances at you, smiles, and exhales in a cross between a huff and a sigh.
  356. >She holds that smile when she looks back to Twilight, and the smaller alicorn relaxes.
  357. >Twilight fully spreads her wings and draws herself up as best she can to the larger Luna while staying on all four hooves.
  358. >Luna spreads her wings only halfway, and tilts them so their leading edges are angled downward. She dips her head to the floor in a bow, then tilts her head up while keeping it low, to look up at Twilight.
  359. >The two bring their noses close, eyes closed.
  360. >You half-turn to Celestia and whisper.
  361. “I thought the breath thing was supposed to be romantic.”
  362. >”It’s shared between parents and foals too, but here you could consider it a sort of bonding ritual.”
  363. “Wild.”
  364. >Once they finish the gesture, they look at you.
  365. “Oh come on, we’re a family now, aren’t we? All that unpleasantness is behind us. Fresh start. Luna, welcome. Happy to have you here.”
  366. >Before you even finish, Celestia’s walking around you, towards Twilight.
  367. >”Twilight.”
  368. >Twilight looks up at her towering mentor. “Yes?”
  369. >Celestia smiles. “I too would like to join you.”
  370. >Twilight’s demeanor goes to pieces on the spot. Awkward shuffling, fidgeting wings, the works. “Wh-what? I- I can’t do that! Both of you in my herd? Celestia, I was your student for half my life! How can you ask to be my charge now?
  371. >Celestia bows to her once-student, then, a deep formal affair, exceptional wingspan swept out across the floor.
  372. >Luna walks up beside her sister, beaming.
  373. >Twilight looks to you, with an expression crying out for help.
  374. >You just shrug.
  375. >Shaking her head and sighing, Twilight dips her head down to Celestia’s. “Of course you can. You know I can’t say no. Go ask Anon.”
  376. >Celestia lifts her head and folds her wings again, still smiling, and walks up to you. “Anon, Cadance told me you still might be confused about me, and about how you feel towards me. I hope you will give me the chance to show how serious I am about this. About us.”
  377. >You shift your weight on your feet, and shake your head.
  378. “Princess, I’m pretty sure I smell more like you than whatever I normally smell like right now, and I didn’t exactly object to that process. No, I’m not as confused as I was, about you. I’m honored you would choose me.”
  379. >Celestia gives you a deep nod and reaches her head out to touch her nose to yours for the briefest moment, before returning to Twilight. She copies her sister’s earlier gestures, but her movements are more graceful and refined, with a bit of a theatrical flourish.
  380. >Twilight repeats her half of the ritual, though conversely, she does so more haltingly than before.
  381. >Turning to her sister, then, Celestia repeats the process. Instead of assuming Twilight’s pattern, Luna mirrors that of her sister at precisely the same time and down to every exact detail, including all the grace and flourishes she hadn’t displayed before. Instead of Luna rising again and Celestia tilting her head up, the two of them touch noses while their heads are still low to the ground.
  382. >You’re not sure if this is how the ritual is supposed to go or if Luna’s modifying it out of deference for her sister, but their perfect synchronicity just reminds you that no matter what you mean to them, it’s not a candle to what they mean to each other, in a different respect.
  383. >You’re pretty okay with that.
  384. >It’s not like it hurts your position in the relationship, after all.
  385. >Equestria’s a pretty wonderful place.
  386. >When they straighten again, you join the three, wrapping one arm around Twilight and the other around the sisters, which was a bit of a stretch, but you made it work thanks to some helpful repositioning on Luna’s part.
  387. “Now we’re all settled. All together. Honestly, I have no idea how this herding thing works, but I’m sure you all can teach me right.”
  388. >Celestia seems to just be basking in the moment. Luna’s keeping reserved, but arching her neck back against your hand. Twilight still looks dazed and confused.
  389. >You give her a pat on her side.
  390. “You especially. I’m sure these two have enough experience behind them to know how to get the better of me.”
  391. >”I’ll d-do my best.”
  392. “Atta’girl.”
  393. >”But could you give us a bit? To work stuff out. Mare stuff.”
  394. >You look at the other two. Celestia’s wearing an expression of exaggerated mock innocence, probably in response to your earlier comment. Luna just gives you a nod.
  395. “Yeah, yeah I can do that.”
  396. >You disengage from the group, but turn back to them once you’ve walked to the door.
  397. “But if I hear any of you treating others poorly, there’ll be hell to pay.”
  398. >Twilight and Luna nod, but Celestia just shoos you off with a wing.
  399. >Once you’re outside, you start walking towards the palace.
  400. >Before you enter, you see a pink spot standing out against the palace’s white and purple.
  401. >Cadance stands on the balcony of her suite, looking down at you.
  402. >When you look back up at her, she tosses her head towards the embassy in an unspoken question.
  403. >Wearing a smile you’re sure she can’t see, you give her a salute, and continue inside.
  404. >Unsure of how much time they need, you start wandering the halls by instinct.
  405. >You don’t live in the palace anymore – though you suppose that will shortly change again, soon – but your body still falls into certain patterns, while moving within it.
  406. >It’s not long before you find yourself at Raven’s office.
  407. >Smiling to yourself, you step inside.
  408. >”Ah, Your Excellency! Your arrival heartens me.”
  409. “You’re giving me the style too?”
  410. >”I hear you have become part of the royal family, now. You deserve more respect than I had been displaying.”
  411. >You take the seat in front of her desk.
  412. >She’s already floating over a cup of that wonderfully strong coffee she keeps for herself.
  413. >Was she expecting you?
  414. “Alright, how’d you know? It just happened.”
  415. >”I know a great many things that go on around here, Anon, from a great many sources.”
  416. “Yeah, that’s you alright. Wait. Don’t tell me you didn’t plan this.”
  417. >She laughs. “Anon, I do not take credit for the accomplishments of others. You made this happen. I simply helped in whatever ways I could, so you could succeed in the tasks you set out on.”
  418. >She gives you a more serious look, then. “Including ones that have not yet completed.”
  419. >You lean back in the chair.
  420. “So you know about my little project.”
  421. >”Oh yes. And I must say, your ambitions have met my expectations. It’s about time Her Majesty had a friend who would not outlive her.”
  422. >Friend.
  423. “Yeah, uh, well, plans have changed since then. But yeah, I hope it works. You know, if Blueblood doesn’t kill her.”
  424. >Raven tilts her head. “Kill who?”
  425. “The, er, friend. Kill, destroy, whatever. So, uh, what’s going to happen to him, you think?”
  426. >”If Celestia has not acted yet, she may be agonizing over her decision. That means she contemplates a severe punishment. But, if you want my opinion on the entire range of possibilities, I can provide.”
  427. “Sure, shoot.”
  428. >”The slightest involves removing him from his position and little more. Fines, mandatory service, or other more mundane penalties might be considered. Increasing in severity, his family’s status stems from links to her family, long ago. As the head of the senior branch, she could alter that status in various ways. Seizing holdings is a possibility, as well as altering his position in the noble hierarchy. Higher still, she could consider relegation, or deportation. At this point we speak of the most severe punishments. She could order the erasure of all records of his existence – that task would fall to me – or even simply turn him to stone.”
  429. >You choke on your drink at that last one.
  430. “Excuse me, what?”
  431. >”Justice fell harsher, in the time of her and her sister, long ago. Heroes dealt with threats in a manner that, if not permanent, at least lasted a long time. Those normally involved much more chronic and severe wrongdoing, however.”
  432. “All these sound more like stuff I’d expect from my world, not yours.”
  433. >”Ah, you mean her clever contrivances of rehabilitation. You asked of punishment, so I answered with such. What you speak of now is healing, of individuals or of a community. These means she seeks to implement out of an understanding of those who wronged and who suffered for it. Do not mistake this for an overabundance of mercy. With sufficient wisdom, one can display both compassion and justice at once, and deliver verdicts that satisfy the injured while helping the wrongdoer walk a new path. This way she may heal two, instead of one.”
  434. >You contemplate this, while sipping your coffee.
  435. >You’re dating or married or whatever to this manipulative mare, now.
  436. >Life might become a little more difficult than you’d thought.
  437. “So, uh, what happens to his job, if he’s removed?”
  438. >”I imagine, Your Excellency, the task will fall to you.”
  439. “I don’t know the first fucking- I don’t even eat half your food, let alone how to cook it.”
  440. >”I can help you.”
  441. “Celestia tells me this coffee is the only consumable thing you can make.”
  442. >If she’s offended by that comment, she doesn’t show it. “Anon, the keeper of the royal household represents a much more administrative position than a domestic one. You must think like an administrator, a leader.”
  443. “I haven’t led much, in my life, Raven.”
  444. >”A leader knows how to do things by knowing who can do them. Fortunately for you – and for Her Majesties – I know a great many talented ponies.”
  445. >You smile.
  446. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
  447. >”Neither do I.”

Misc. Prompts: Knightanon Christmas

by E4-NG

In A Better Light: Sc.01&02

by E4-NG

In A Better Light: Sc.03

by E4-NG

In A Better Light: Sc.04

by E4-NG

In A Better Light: Sc.05&06

by E4-NG