//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The Princess and the Slacker // Story: A Celestial Mix-up // by pchn00 //------------------------------// Chapter 2: The Princess and the Slacker Alex groaned and blinked woozily. “Jeez… what the hay, Mariss? Your computer shocked…” He blinked again, eyes wider as he heard his voice. “Testing? Testing? Hello? I sound like a big girl?” He did indeed sound like a big girl. That’s when he started registering the many, many foreign sensations his body was sending his brain. His face felt huge. He felt huge in general but his face was way too big. Craning his neck around, which was weirdly easy to do now, he got a view of a long, white furry body. His body was enormous! He was a horse! “I’m a horse?! Why the buck am I a horse?!” A weird horse at that. He was acutely aware of the massive, white feathered wings flaring out at his sides as he got more and more worked up. “...I’m a horse with wings. And… a big rainbow tail…wait. Waaaait, wait, wait. I know this horse. No way. No, no, no this is not happening.” He blinked suddenly. “Wait, did I just say buck? Why the buck am I saying buck?” Frowning again he started to pace back and forth. “Um. Pony feathers! Horse apples! Hay! Buck! I can’t swear?!” Spying a mirror at the far end of the room he scrambled to his hooves and rushed over to it. “Oh jeez.” The displaced human stared hard at the reflection of the regal pony Princess in the mirror. “I’m Princess… uh… sun… pun!” “...Alex, you dipshit! What did you do?!” The extremely alien sensation of his ears swiveling around drew Alex’s attention to a… something covered by a sheet. A something his sister’s voice was coming from. He rushed toward it, eyeing it a moment before gripping the sheet with his teeth and pulling it away. There was a large crystal about the size of his new horse head hanging in the air. All on its own. A crystal with his sister’s extremely angry visage within. “Whoa. How’s it doing the floaty thing?” “It’s magic, Alex! You… you… oooo!” Alex’s eyes widened as he saw a hand rest on his sister’s shoulder. HIS hand. “May I speak with him for a moment, Marissa?” He experienced a very weird out of body moment as he watched himself sit down in his sister’s computer chair. “Hello, Alex. It seems we’ve had a little bit of a mix up.” Hearing such gentle tones coming from his own voice was almost as weird as seeing his body moving around without him controlling it. “A… a little bit of a mix up?!” “Please just calm down. This is all very easily reversible. Just take a few deep breaths, relax, and I’ll walk you through casting the reversal spell.” Alex’s new horse ears twitched a bit, and listening to himself WAS helping to calm him down. He didn’t know if it was what he… she… whatever was saying, or how she was saying it but the Princess in his body had a very soothing effect. “Okay… okay. I’m calm. Can somepony please…” He scowled. “Somepony? Really?!” “Alex! Alex, please. Your speech is being influenced by a safety I laid in the spell that would have allowed Marissa and I access to each others surface memories and skill sets. The intention was for she and I to switch places for a week. A sort of vacation for the both of us. The spell has little safeties sewn into it to make the illusion more complete. You’ll speak like a native Equestrian, and I’ll speak like a native Earthling.” Alex closed his eyes taking several more deep breaths. “Alright. Fine. It’s fine. I’m a big talking female magical cartoon horse and the real owner of this body is squatting in mine. But it’s cool. Everything is cool.” Finally he returned his attention to the crystal. “So lemme get this straight. You wanted to switch bodies with my sister, and live each others lives for a week? How is that a vacation?” “Well, I’ve been doing my job for a very long time. Almost longer than your species has had a civilization to be quite frank. It’s gotten very stale in Equestria for me. Everything is the same, like an endless cycle constantly repeating. There’s nowhere for me to go, nowhere to see. I can’t go to something like a spa because I’d be mobbed and treated like some sort of goddess. All I want is a nice, exciting vacation. New sights to see, new foods to taste, a new culture to immerse myself in. I’m sure it all seems very strange, but when one lives for nearly six thousand years you have to start looking outside the box for new entertainment and experiences.” Despite the utter insanity of the situation, Alex felt a small part of himself sympathizing with the Princess. Princess… something tia. He’d never been a big fan of the show but he’d picked up bits and pieces through cultural osmosis. He knew it was sun related. “I guess, like, that kinda makes a weird sorta sense. And I know Mariss would flip at the chance. You should see all the pony crap she has, it’s borderline creepy.” Hearing his sister’s indignant ‘hey!’ brought a smirk to his face. The Princess smiled gently as well. “Well I’m glad we’ve got that sorted out. Now! What say we get switched and you can get back to whatever it is you were doing before I messed things up for you hm?” Alex just shrugged, looking back as his wings opened and closed with the motion. “It’s uh, okay I guess. I mean this is an easy fix, right?” “It is! In fact just to be safe, one of the little safeties in our mind switch is the reversal spell. To find it simply turn your thoughts inward and focus specifically on the spell that will return us to normal.” Alex nodded to the Princess, closing his eyes and focusing as she instructed. *** Celestia turned to find Marissa chewing her thumb nervously. “Is everything alright?” The young woman nodded rapidly. “O--oh yeah! Yeah just fine. Sorry I’m just… I was a little wound up about the whole idea. In a good way of course! But then this happens and Alex says I panic over every little thing way too easy and that’s probably what I’m doing right now.” “Well try to relax. Everything will be alright… though I must ask is there a reason your brother’s face is so sore? It feels like I’ve been bucked by a mule right between the eyes.” Marissa shrugged. “More like punched by our dad right between the eyes. He and Alex kinda… disagree on a lot.” “My goodness. And they come to blows over it?” Marissa looked uncomfortable as she rubbed the back of her neck, avoiding eye contact. “Dad was a military man. Raised by a military man. Very strict you know? Men are men! Women are women. Guys like him see the world a certain way. Anything that doesn’t really fit in with the way they think things should go they take a dislike to. Alex is not exactly dad’s idea of a proper specimen of manhood.” Celestia glanced down at the body she was borrowing curiously. “Your brother seems male enough to me.” “Right, well sure physically he’s all dude of course. But Alex isn’t much into sports, didn’t want to follow in the family men’s footsteps and join the military. He’s always been more into reading. Pretty much anything he can get his hands on.” Closing her eyes Celestia rummaged through the borrowed brain a little. “My goodness he’s a very well read young man. Science, history, art, music, mathematics… is there anything he doesn’t study?” “Not really. If there’s something he hasn’t studied up on, it’s just that he was too busy learning something else to get to it. He’ll focus on a subject for a while before moving on. He’s been big into astronomy lately.” “Interesting. It’s a shame that such a learned individual isn’t appreciated for his talents.” “Well that’s the other problem with Alex. He doesn’t really apply what he learns to anything. He just finishes a subject and moves on to the next one. He never does anything with all his knowledge. If he’s not reading or wandering around the city like some kind of hobo, he’s sleeping.” “Ah. So he’s lazy.” Marissa nodded firmly. “Very.” “Hm.” Celestia leaned back in the surprisingly comfortable chair and examined her hands. They certainly were strange appendages, a little like a griffons talons though without the claws. She could certainly see how they’d be useful if one was lacking in magic however. She was only a little shorter than she had been as her old self, and her spell helped both she and Alex maneuver about in their temporary bodies. Turning to face the screen Celestia cleared her throat gently. “Alex? Are you still there?” *** The second Alex focused his thoughts inward, they began to stray. Juuuust a little. Just one tiny little question had poked its way into his head. ‘If she can do a spell that can switch the minds of two people from across dimensions… what other spells could she do?’ As it turned out, she could do a lot. The single stray thought had brought about a startling reaction in his host body’s mind. It was almost like a library had formed in his head, vast and never ending. Row upon row of books stretching off seemingly forever. Every one of these books he knew, held magical mysteries within just waiting to be unlocked. His ears swiveled back toward the crystal as his voice called for him. Peeking an eye open he saw himself smiling patiently. “Oh uh, sorry. I’m here I got a little…” “Lost in my head? It’s not surprising. It’s a rather large place after all. Alex, I’m wondering if perhaps you would like to be me for the week?” Alex’s “What?!” was echoed clearly by his sister. “I… I can’t do that to Marissa. She’s gotta be so excited about all this. Besides I uh, don’t wanna be a mare. No offense it’s just a little weird.” Celestia… that was her name! Celestia’s smile was understanding. “I know it’s an unexpected change, but I think you might enjoy yourself. And don’t worry about your sister, I’ll make sure she gets to see plenty of Equestria first hand when we switch back in a week.” Alex looked down at his hooves, blowing a bit of the constantly flowing mane of hair out of his face. “...I can’t deny a little part of me wants to learn about magic. But I mean, I can't be a uh, a Princess.” He made a face at how girly the title sounded. “I’m more than a little unqualified for the job y’know?” “Well I arranged for this week’s schedule to be practically empty. There’s very, very little that you would actually have to do outside of sitting on my throne for the morning and early afternoon. You might need to sign the occasional document but it’d be very little work.” “Mmm. What if I sign something to, I dunno, make it legal for ponies to eat each other or something?” “Would you sign something like that?” “No! No I mean, of course not. I guess what I mean is, I don’t know a lot about your kingdom’s rules or laws or whatever. Don’t you think I might miss something important in the small print?” “Ah! I see. Well not to worry there. There’s exactly one pony in all of Equestria who’s aware of my vacation. My personal aide and highly trained assistant Noteworthy. She’ll be at your side nearly the entire duration of your stay. She’s been with me for several years now and I trust her implicitly. Even so, if there is an emergency you can always contact me through the crystal. If you really feel the need, you can even cast the reversal spell.” Alex idly lifted a foreleg, letting his hoof dangle at the end and giving it a small shake. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. He highly doubted he’d get the chance to travel to a magical, alternate world and essentially be in charge of it for a week. Plus it would probably be a more comfortable week than crashing on his little sister’s floor. “It might not be a great time, ma’am. I’m sorta, uh, in-between places to live.” His sister poked her head into view. “Like I’m going to throw Princess Celestia out into the street, Alex! She can stay with me this week, I don’t mind.” “Are you sure Mariss? You’re the huge pony fan. I dunno if I feel okay taking this from you.” Marissa waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine! The Princess said I could see Equestria after she got back so it’s all good! Just don’t burn down the kingdom when you raise the sun!” “...raise the sun?” Celestia took over for Marissa. “Yes that would be your primary duty while you’re filling in for me. Yet another little safety in the spell that will help us fit in. You’ll have a sort of inner alarm clock wake you up when it’s time to raise the sun. When it goes off the sun raising spell will push its way to the forefront of your mind. All you have to do is let it do what it wishes.” Alex glanced outside to the slowly rising moon. “...uh… kay. I guess I can do that.” “So you’ll stay?” Swinging his head from the crystal back to the mirror, Alex studied the large mare staring back at him. “...it’s just for a week. I’ll give it a try.” He looked back to the crystal. “And you’ll uh, take good care of my body?” With an encouraging smile Celestia nodded. “Like it was my own!” “Okay. Alright. Well… I guess this is it then?” Celestia nodded again. “It is. When you’re not alone, do your best to remain serene, poised, and polite. Really everypony is so afraid of upsetting me that you’d have to REALLY act out of character for them to grow suspicious. Have fun, Alex. Good luck, and don’t hesitate to rely on Noteworthy or myself in an emergency.” A flutter of nervousness was making Alex momentarily nauseous, but he fought it down. “Well, have fun I guess. I’ll see you in a week?” He watched his own body smile and wave, before the crystal went dark. “Jeez. Guess I’m really doin’ this.” The butterflies returned in his stomach as he stepped away from the crystal. “It won’t be so bad. She said it was gonna be an easy week. I just have to play nice and I get to have a week long vacation pretty much doing nothing. Can’t ask for more.” Alex was grinning by the time he finished his reassurances. Standing solidly on all four legs now he looked his borrowed body over more closely. His coat of fur was a glossy snowy white color that shined in the brightening moonlight. His mane and tail were a pastel multi-hued rainbow of colors, that always seemed to be flowing. Which was a little distracting now that he was thinking about it. Some kind of big necklace was around his neck, it seemed like it should be heavy but he barely noticed its presence. Glittering golden shoes of some kind covered his hooves. Much of his attention was on his new wings however. Doing as he was told for the reversal spell, he closed his eyes and focused on the memory of how to use his wings. Like reading a book at a rapid fire pace, the information unfurled almost instantly, pushing itself to the forefront of his mind. He blinked his eyes open again and wobbled unsteadily from the momentary dizziness accompanied with such a large information dump. Making his way over to the wide open bay windows leading to a beautiful stone balcony he stepped outside. The cool night breeze running over his fur was a new, but pleasant sensation. Focusing on his newly acquired knowledge of flight he spread his wings tentatively. If having four legs and no hands was a weird feeling, spreading a massive pair of wings from his back was the weirdest so far, (he was doing his best to ignore the gender discrepancy). The feel of the breeze over his feathers sent pleasant ticklish ripples through the new appendages and into his large, equine body. It even brought forth a small laugh, (definitely not a giggle) at the feel. Giving them an experimental flap, it was all he could do not to prance in place in excitement. Learning magic was going to be cool, but so was flying. Taking a deep breath he spread his wings wide at his sides, and crouched down preparing to leap into the air. “You should probably get a running start first.” Alex reared in alarm from the sudden voice speaking behind him. “Sweet Celestia you scared the horse apples out of me!” Then he blinked. “...really? Sweet me is a curse word?” He got his first look at a native, non-Princess pony. It was a unicorn judging by the horn peeking out of her semi-messy mane. The mare’s coat was a glossy blue-black color, and her mane and tail a striking verdant green. Her mane was pulled back in a loose ponytail, a few errant strands framing her face. A pair of slender black framed glasses were perched on her nose. The cutie mark of a sheaf of paper and a quill adorned both flanks. Alex cleared his throat as the pony stared at him. “Oh um… hi there…” He frowned. Polite, poised, and proper. “Good evening uh… my little pony. Really?” The unicorn mare just looked more amused as he fumbled. “Miss Masters, I presume?” She fully entered the room, closing the door behind herself. Alex blinked as she did it without looking or touching it, her horn glowed a bright blue color then the door closed. “Uh… yeah! Yeah. Alex Masters. I guess you’re Noteworthy then?” “I am. Princess Celestia said she was trading places with a Marissa Masters, not Alex.” She was regarding him with a frown now.” Fidgeting in his hooves under the stare of the much smaller pony Alex offered a faint smile. “Last minute change of plans?” To his relief the mare snorted in exasperation. “Why am I not surprised? After all this was a fool proof plan concocted in the midst of one of her cake binges. Truly it was perfectly thought out with no room for anything to go wrong.” After a moment of silent fuming she took a deep breath, and a smile found its way to her muzzle. “Well then, Alex Masters, welcome to Equestria. I’ll be on hoof to make sure there are no huge catastrophes while you fill in for our immortal sun goddess.” Alex’s eyes widened. “Is she really a goddess?” Noteworthy shrugged as she made herself comfortable on one of the plush cushions on the floor. “Maybe? Nopony knows for sure. In olden times she and Princess Luna were certainly worshipped as deities. Had big temples and everything. After the whole Nightmare Moon thing though, Princess Celestia threw that whole system out the window.” Alex had the feeling there was a story in there somewhere, but he didn’t want to pry too heavily. “So you’re like my secretary?” “No, I’m ‘like’ Princess Celestia’s personal hoofmaiden and aide. My primary duty is to attempt to keep her on her schedule. Some days I imagine it must be what the weather teams deal with when they try to herd a hurricane. For a being as old as our world itself she has a tendency to act incredibly irresponsibly. And for the next week it would be best to think of me as your babysitter. I’m here to swat your nose and tell you ‘no’ if you start to misbehave. Also I’m to tattle on you to the Princess if you really misbehave.” Part of him was a little irked at the mare’s tone, but he had to admit… if someone all of a sudden was in the body of the person who kept his world going he’d be a little nervous around them too. “Well don’t worry Noteworthy, I plan to keep a very low profile. Whatever you say goes as far as I’m concerned this week.” It was impossible to miss the pleased look on the pony’s face. “W--well… that’s… very good to hear, Alex. Did you have any questions for me specifically right now?” “Weeeeeeell… can I go flying?” *** Celestia amused herself probably longer than she should have with the chair she was in. But honestly who wouldn’t have fun in a chair that spins around like the one her human body presently occupied. About the sixtieth rotation she started to realize Marissa had been staring at her silently the entire time. Planting her feet solidly on the floor she abruptly stopped her spinning and cleared her throat. “Well. I suppose we’re siblings for the week hm?” “You’re kind of silly aren’t you?” Smiling playfully the Princess rose from her chair, getting a feel for her new human body. The legs weren’t much shorter than her normal ones, though only two of them felt odd. Her arms hung rather uselessly at her sides she felt, and had her hands folded behind her back just to give them something to do. “Sometimes. Where’s the fun in being serious all the time?” “Well… Earth isn’t Equestria. We’re a lot more serious here. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but as far as everyone here is concerned you don’t exist. So telling people who you are is kind of out of the question. They’d think my brother went nuts.” Sensing that the young woman was worried Celestia retook her seat and arranged her smile to the more serene one she wore around her subjects. “I understand. I promise I won’t do anything to get your brother into trouble. In fact I plan to do very little of anything. Maybe tour your lovely city a little. I’m very interested in trying as many different foods as I can. Especially sweets from your world.” Marissa cracked a smile finally. “So that article in the Foal Free Press….” Celestia’s cheeks reddened. “I don’t know how that colt even got that picture! And those fillies… ooo if their sister’s weren’t the Elements of Harmony they’d have spent a week as a trio of frogs.” “Would you really have done that?” “Probably. Something unpleasant at the very least. I can take a joke as well as anypony but that was a bit too far. I want my subjects to be comfortable around me, but that was very disrespectful.” “...so you were really going to town on that much cake?” Celestia cleared her throat abruptly. “And speaking of cake! I believe I’m hungry. So, Marrisa Masters, official representative of humanity to the Princess of the Sun. What do you recommend for my first human meal?” Marissa rubbed the back of her neck. “I… was probably gonna go to Wendy’s?” Celestia was on her feet in a flash again. “Wonderful! What sorts of dishes does Wendy specialize in?” Marissa tugged off her shoes and started to change into her everyday clothes. The Princess was watching her expectantly. “...Wendy’s is the name of a restaurant. Can I have a little privacy?” The Princess blinked at that. “Oh! Of course, the nudity taboo. That’s going to take some getting used to.” Shuffling over to the corner she dutifully kept her strange little human nose in it. “So what sorts of dishes do they serve?” “Eh, mostly burgers, fries, some chicken. Oh jeez, you’re vegetarian aren’t you?” “Actually that’s a common misconception many of you seem to have about equines in general. While we tend to eat fruit and vegetables more than anything, we’re perfectly capable of digesting meat. We just find other foods tastier. While I’m human however I plan to fully immerse myself in what your people eat so… if my diet will be primarily carnivorous this week, so be it.” Marissa tossed her slacks and blouse in the corner, tugging on a t-shirt and jeans. “You can turn around. And we don’t have to eat just meat, it’s just what I usually eat. My roommates are huge mooches so if I keep food in the apartment they just swarm it like locusts.” “Aha. Well then we shall dine out this week, for every meal if you like. My treat.” Briefly glancing at her phone for any missed messages, Marissa looked up with raised eyebrows. “How exactly do you plan to pay for anything?” Celestia reached into her back pocket and produced a platinum visa card. “I opened a bank account and had a small pile of bits converted into dollars. The exchange rate on gold is surprisingly favorable.” “You… how did you open a bank account when you weren’t even on Earth yet?” It was Celestia’s turn to raise her brows. “Magic of course. I simply convinced the nice human at the bank that I was sitting in the chair across from him. It’s all very simple stuff.” “Uh huh. So how much did you set up for yourself?” “Well I wanted to be safe so I transferred ten thousand bits. It equated to one and a half million dollars.” Marissa’s eyes bugged out of her head. “A… a million dollars?!” “Well a million and a half.” The young woman put a hand to her chest, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. “Hoo. Okay. Okay I’m good. Well. The good news is you probably couldn’t spend all that money in a week unless you tried really hard. I guess with that kinda cash you can pretty much do whatever you want this week huh?” A sudden loud banging from the door drew the pair’s attention. “Hey Mariss! I’m having my boyfriend over! Kelly’s staying with her guy for the night so uh, can you get lost?” Celestia took a step further from Marissa as the woman’s face turned an alarming shade of red rather quickly. “Can you believe that?! Get lost! I pay for most everything in this crap hole and she’s telling ME to get lost?!” “Hm.” Celestia pocketed her card again. “It occurs to me that perhaps we would have a more enjoyable week staying someplace… other than here. How about we find the nicest lodgings in the city. This is New York after all! With all I’ve read about the sights and places I want to see the best of the best!” Marissa looked from her bedroom door, back to the Princess in her brother’s body. “You know what? I deserve a little ‘me’ time too. Since that putz gets to have my Equestria vacation, I’ll take one for myself right here in the city. I’ve never done half the touristy stuff everyone comes here to do and I’ve lived here all my life.” The Princess waited patiently as Marissa packed a bag. She called work taking some ‘vacation days’, (something Celestia noted she would have to incorporate into Equestria when she got back). Finally she stood, hefted her suitcase and got the door. “After you, your highness.” With a little grin Celestia curtsied. “Thank you, Lady Masters. So polite.” The two shared a laugh as they walked by Marissa’s staring roommate. “I’ll be gone all week. You and Kelly better not burn the place down while I’m gone.” The short blonde girl’s eyes widened at the announcement. “What? But we’re like, completely out of food. Aren’t you gonna get groceries before you go?” Marissa actually stopped and stared a little dumbfounded at the idiot’s audacity, before just storming out without another word. Celestia followed her downstairs silently, just taking in all the sights as she went. The inside of the apartment building wasn’t terribly exciting but it was somehow better than focusing on the angry woman. “I’m so finding my own place when this week is up.” *** “Ah ha ha ha!” Alex pumped his wings hard, the massive feathery appendages carrying him higher and higher into the air. Closing his eyes he pushed his way through the canopy of clouds in the sky, shaking the accumulated rain water from his coat as he emerged on the other side. “This is the greatest day of my life!” With one more heavy flap he flipped over in the air and allowed himself to fall backwards into the clouds, landing with a springy sensation on the suddenly solid puffy white mass. Rolling about and laughing wildly he relished the sensation of laying on the clouds. That was a morsel of information he hadn’t quite believed when his brain was teaching him how to fly. Walking on clouds. This place was awesome. “Goodness, sister, I do not recall a time when I have seen you so… exuberant.” Alex froze in his night time frollicing at the new voice. Lifting his head slowly he had to stifle a gasp at the pony standing calmly on the clouds before him. She was only a little smaller than he was, standing much taller than a normal pony. Her coat was a deeper blue than Noteworthy’s, and her mane and tail even darker. Their most striking feature of course being the glittering stars within the rippling depths. “I assume you are well this evening then, Tia?” “Uhhhh….” ‘Oh crap! Oh crap! She has a sister?! Okay! Okay I can do this! Just focus… focus...’ He focused hard on Celestia’s ‘sister’. He had expected the same rush of information he’d received when he’d focused on flying. What he did not expect was the colossal volume of information unfolding in his mind. Celestia and… Luna. Lulu, Little Moon. They’d existed since the beginning of the world, side by side. They did everything together. They made their first home in a large cave. The primitive ponies who discovered them erected shrines in their honor once they realized these two were responsible for the sun and moon appearing each day and night. Century after century they existed. Sometimes in the open, other times they would aid their beloved people from behind the scenes. Thousands upon thousands of years, side by side. Then all at once… he felt the most crippling, soul crushing loneliness. The most unexpected of betrayals, and the most painful heartbreaking guilt as he… as she, she… not he… as Celestia was forced to banish her sister. After that was the darkest time Celestia had ever known. A thousand years without her beloved Luna beside her. A thousand years of solitude. Her subjects adored and loved her more than ever, but all their warmth went unfelt by the Princess. The days were hollow, the nights filled with her heart wrenching sobs. Raising the moon only drove the dagger deeper into her heart as she felt Luna’s presence sealed within. Alex lifted his suddenly tear filled eyes to meet the younger Princess’ confused gaze. “Celestia? What is it? What’s wrong? Are you unwe- oh!” She exclaimed in surprise at the sudden nearly crushing embrace Alex gripped her in. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was hugging this stranger. He’d only just met her hadn’t he? This wasn’t HIS pain and sadness he was feeling, but Celestia’s. Even knowing that, it was impossible to ignore. Throwing his forelegs around her neck he hugged Luna close. The smaller alicorn’s tension eased gradually and she returned the embrace, resting her chin against Alex’s back. “I just… missed you is all.” Luna lifted her head and stepped back. “Missed me? I saw you scarcely an hour ago!” Sniffing loudly he wiped his eyes, pushing the tears away. “I… right. Sorry I was just… remembering.” Understanding filled Luna’s eyes. “Oh. Yes of course.” She smiled again. “Well, I am here now Tia. And I am not going anywhere ever again.” Her smile turned playful. “Honestly at times I wonder which of us is the baby sister the way you carry on sometimes.” Alex chuckled weakly, nodding. “Yeah. Sorry…” “It is very late is it not? What are you doing flying about so late? Is something amiss?” “Uhhh…. no! No nothing’s wrong I just… felt like flying is all.” “I see.” Luna eyed Alex for a long minute and he flexed his wings nervously. Did she suspect? Should he just come clean? “Well! Perhaps I will join you. It has been quite sometime since I flew simply to enjoy the sensation of flying. Shall we make a race of it?” Alex scuffed a hoof. “Oh… I dunno about that.” He casually strolled to the edge of the cloud. “Since you’ll never beat me!” He sprang away at that, rushing into the air and ignoring the indignant shout from Luna. This really was going to be a good week.