//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Second Journey: Misunderstandings // by Kaille //------------------------------// ~Chapter 2: Invitations~ "Umm. . . Let me talk to Chroma for a minute?" So, this was not at all what I was expecting. I was unsure how to process this request: I knew that it was for the company alone (well, hoped - and yet not), but the dirty part of my mind interpreted it as a proposition. For, you know. Other stuff. She nodded, and I walked towards the doors slowly and left. I entered the hall and Chroma turned to me smiling, but her smile fell when she saw my face. "Whats wrong? Why are you so pale?" I blinked and shook myself a bit. "Umm. . . Luna invited me to accompany her tonight." Chroma's face also dropped into a blank mask. "What." I waved my hooves in the air defensively. "No! No! It's because the events and nightmares over the past month have left her insecure. She wants the comfort from company." This seemed to sate Chroma somewhat. "Okay. What did you say?" "I said I needed to talk to you first." She slowly nodded. "Well, I don't really know how to respond. On one hoof I understand her need, but on the other I feel iffy about letting my stallion spend the night with another mare, away from me." I gulped. "Well, I could ask if she is alright with you being there as well. She really needs this." Chroma thought for a few seconds, biting her lip in thought and glancing away. When she looked back at me she nodded. "I'm fine with that." She suddenly blinked, and chuckled to herself. "What am I saying. I know Luna. She would never go behind my back like that. These feelings are so irrational." I chuckled with her. "Jealousy? No, everypony is subject to that at some point. Lets go ask, though." She nodded and we reentered the throne room, to find Luna sitting where she was when I left. She looked up at us and smiled slightly. I decided to break the ice. "So, would you mind if Chroma was there as well?" Luna stopped for a second before responding. "Why, yes! Didst thou really feel it necessary to ask us? Thou art welcome anytime, Chroma. Thou art a dear friend." She smiled. "Thank you, Luna. I appreciate it. Shall we?" We fell in on either side of the Princess and proceeded to leave the throne room and make our way down the halls of the castle towards her quarters. We reached the large double doors bearing the design of her charge as Princess of the Night, and entered. The lighting was dim, with a bluish cast, and long, thin navy blue drapes ran from ceiling to floor against every wall. At the far end of the room was a large four poster bed, big enough to fit five full-grown stallions, and draped similarly to the walls. To the left was a raised platform leading to a balcony, and through the balcony one could easily view the night sky when gazing up, and one of the gardens when lowering their vision. If one looked closely they would be able to make out various items stored behind the curtains, but could not make very much of it. And to the right, the curtains were double-layered, the thin navy blue over thick, non-transparent pale blue - similar in tone to Princess Luna's mane in season one, to be exact - and I found myself incredibly curious as to what lay behind it. The princess walked into her room across the tile floor - I noticed the tiles were patterned to match the constellations in the night sky - and proceeded to strip off her regalia, throwing it over to the side and grabbing it with her magic to slow its descent to the floor wherever she tossed it. She leaped into the air assisted by her wings above her bed and dropped through the open top of the piece of furniture, grunting as she plopped into the mattress. Chroma and I couldn't help but smile at Luna's antics; it was absolutely adorable the way she did it. We followed the rest of the way into the room and approached the side of her bed, pulling across the veil to see her lying atop the sheets, gazing at the ceiling. She looked over at us and smiled. "Please, make thyself comfortable, both of you. We have no qualms about sharing the bed. It is much too large for our self alone." We laughed. "Alright Luna." I said and climbed onto the bed, Chroma in tow. It was surprisingly perfect for my tastes; not so squishy you sink into it, but not a rock. It was comfortably firm. I walked closer to Luna and lowered myself down to my belly, right next to Luna's head, but not touching. Chroma came over and laid down likewise in front of me, turned towards me, on the opposite side of Luna's head. Luna glanced up at us and grinned, before suddenly whipping her front hooves and her wings out, grabbing a hold of us and pulling us down directly to her sides. I yelped and Chroma screamed lightly, and we all fell into laughter against each other. As our laughter died down to giggles, and further into companionable silence, we slowly drifted to sleep, limbs and wings wrapped around each other. ~ When I awoke, my eyes opened to a room full of blue and orange. The sun was cast through the window lending it's bright citrus beams in, and the dark navy of the curtains contrasted the rays heavily, but they were complementary. I felt refreshed, no morning drowsiness, and happy. I looked to the side at the two contained within the grasp of my many appendages, and I reveled in their beauty. Luna and Chroma were sleeping, directly next to me, with Chroma's head nestled into the Princesses throat. Luna had her chin resting on top of Chroma's head in turn, and their hooves wrapped around each other in a tight hug. I myself had my hooves wrapped around them, Chroma had a wing clutching my lower half, Luna had a wing wrapped around under and behind me, and I had a wing draped on top of Chroma, who was on top of Luna, effectively covering all of us. We did not bother getting under the sheets, and it was not necessary; our combined body heat was more than ample requirements for fitful rest. I slowly lifted my wing and returned it to my side, and carefully extricated my hooves from around the two. They grumbled a little, but tightened their hug around each other and quieted down, smiling. I stood up, mindful of the Princess' wing, and carefully lifted it over top of Chroma, the same way I had used my own. Luna rolled over opposite me, taking Chroma with her, and sighed heavily. When Chroma hit the other side of the bed however, she let a cute little snort, grunt, and huff out at the same time. I grinned, and stepped off the bed. I stretched myself out, twisting my neck to crack it and relieve a little bit of tension that had built up over the night. I quietly walked across the room toward the balcony, careful not to let the clopping of my hooves ring too loudly. Thankfully the drapes around the bed and room assisted with that by muffling and absorbing the sound somewhat. I stepped up to the outside platform and lifted my forelegs onto the railing, looking out at Canterlot Castle. The sky was mostly clear with a few stray clouds, and was the purest of blues. The white marble of the castle was iridescent in the bright light, and the gold accents shone wonderfully, matching the rays of the sun. Down below, I could see a few ponies tending to the gardens, watering flowers, feeding the birds and the koi in the fountains, and relaxing on the benches drinking juice on their breaks. I smiled lightly at the tranquility of it all. Hard to believe that just yesterday was my supposed funeral, and a week ago marked the death of Nightmare Moon, and my own. Just goes to show that life continues, no matter what happens to you. I rested there, basking in the warmth of the sun and beauty of the morning before light hoof falls came up behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Princess Luna approaching, smiling. Without her regalia she seemed much more innocent looking, and exposed. Her mane was no longer bound back by her tiara, and a few long locks draped down in front of her ear, pulled back and over her shoulder. She looked breathtaking. She walked all the way over to my side on the balcony and sat on her rump, looking out on the morning with me. I nodded to her in greeting with a smile, and she winked in response, grinning. My smile grew into a grin as well, and I looked back towards the bed. Chroma was still resting fitfully, and the sheets had been pulled over top of her. I could make out the even rise and fall of her chest through the sheets. "It is a beautiful morning, is it not?" Luna said quietly so as not to wake the pony in her bed. I looked back to her, then to the sky again. "It is." I saw her turn to me out of my peripheral vision. "This may come across as rather sudden, but we. . . wish to spend more time with thou." I turned to her, making eye contact. "We - I, wish to know thou more. Viewing thy memories seems too callous, and rude, a way of getting to know thee. I. . ." She broke eye contact and looked back over the castle. "I have never felt this way about somepony. I am drawn to you, and I can't hold back." Her gaze lowered somewhat, contemplatively. "I don't know what to make of it." I blinked, letting this process. This. . . This sounds like how I felt for Chroma after getting to know her better in the hospital. Is that maybe when I developed an attraction for her. . ? Is this Luna developing the same for me. . ? I looked back over the castle, thinking. This wouldn't be unwelcome if that's the case. But. . . Where does that leave Chroma? I turned back to the Princess, who was now looking at me again. "Is this okay with you, Ink?" I thought for a second longer. "I would love to get to know you more, Luna," Her expression brightened. "but I must always stay true to Chroma, if my assumptions on the way your feelings have developed are correct." Her hope dwindled. I looked back over the castle and sighed. "Back home, polygamy was. . . not very common. Most even frowned upon it. If it is more common here, I may grow accustomed to it, but. . ." I shrugged, looking back to Luna. Her expression was crestfallen, and she was looking at the ground next to her. I reached a hoof out and lifted her face to look into mine. "but I am willing to work to make it happen faster." I smiled at her brightly and sincerely, and she smiled back, expression growing tender. Our faces began to slowly drift closer together, and when a hairs breadth away, some shuffling back in the room snapped us out of it. We returned to our original positions, blushing and wings slightly unfurled, and looked in at Chroma. She had just awoken, and she was sitting upright in bed. Her forehooves were stretched straight into the air, and she yawned deeply. At the end of her yawn she cast her gaze about, searching for us. When she saw us at the balcony she smiled. "Morning." We smiled back and nodded to her. We glanced at each other, glad she didn't seem to see, and walked back into the room. I spoke up. "So, who's hungry?"