Nervous, but also excited, Maeve ran her right hand through her frizzy hair, then with a sweaty palm, she tried to smooth out her flowing gown. It was a fantastic gown, dark blue like Luna and covered in tiny, glittering silver stars, and Maeve both loved and hated it. With each step, she was afraid of tripping over the hem. Taking a deep breath, Maeve pushed open the doors to Princess Celestia’s throne room. She was late, but not too late, and it wasn’t her fault.
Today was the day of Prince Blueblood’s return and Maeve was supposed to be in the throneroom to welcome him. She was aware of many eyes upon her. She scared a lot of ponies. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried not to think of Ponyville. Not thinking of Ponyville caused her heart to flutter, there was a tightness in her chest, and she began to have some trouble breathing. Panic gripped her. Opening her eyes, she continued forwards, wondering if she would need to excuse herself before all of this was over.
Glancing around, Maeve took in all of the faces. There was Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna, the pair of them standing together, Luna looking sleepy, and both were smiling. There were a whole bunch of unicorns that Maeve did not know. There were guard ponies standing along the edges of the room. Several unicorns had gathered around a punchbowl and had been chatting, but had gone silent when Maeve had entered. This did not help Maeve feel comfortable.
Princess Celestia sat upon her throne, looking somewhat amused and talking to Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor. Of Bjarke there was no sign. Maeve felt a spike of disappointment. Next to Princess Celestia’s throne was an adorable, small, fuzzy brown bear sitting down upon the floor and being very well behaved.
“Sorceress Maeve,” a guard announced as she passed through the door.
At that moment, Maeve wanted to turn around and flee. She thought about doing it too, but she could feel a gentle nudge of magic in the small of her back. Fleeing would get her tugged back in. She wondered who it was. Well, if she had to be here, then she would have to find a spot where she wasn’t bothered. She moved along the wall, where the guard stood, the place she knew she wasn’t supposed to walk, all those boring protocol lessons had taught her that.
She approached Princess Celestia’s throne. She was one of the few that could do that and not immediately be surrounded by guards. Almost tripping over her hem yet again, Maeve muttered, feeling embarrassed and awkward. She met eyes with Princess Cadance for a moment, blushed, and then stared down at the floor.
Leaning over, Maeve lowered her voice to a whisper and then asked Princess Celestia, “Where is Bjarke?” She heard a soft tittering from the white alicorn and a nervous smile crossed Maeve’s face.
“Oh, Bjarke is here,” Celestia replied.
“Where?” Maeve looked around. There was no sign of her tall uncle.
“Oh, ponies could not bear having him around.” Celestia paused and then more giggling slipped out. She looked at the bear beside her and then at Maeve, her eyes glittering with good natured mischief.
The bear made a whuffling sound, snorted, and then sneezed.
“Preserve you!” Celestia said to the bear.
“Thank you,” the bear replied. “Everywhere I go, sneezes are acknowledged as near death experiences. I never understood that.”
Blinking, Maeve came to a slow understanding of who the bear was, recognising the bear’s voice. She stepped around the back of the throne, moving to the other side, and stared at the small brown bear.
“Ponies are okay with a bear and not an elf?” Maeve asked.
“Oh, Fluttershy regularly has tea with a bear. Bears can make for marvelous company, but sometimes they can be a little boorish,” Celestia replied.
“Is Bjarke?” Maeve rested her right hand upon Celestia’s throne.
“Is Bjarke what?” Celestia turned around to look at the girl beside her.
“Boorish.”
Maeve heard what sounded like an indignant snort from the bear and then laughter from Celestia. She managed a bit of nervous laughter herself. Looking at Bjarke, he was easier to be around as a bear for some reason. She didn’t feel as nervous and threatened. Lifting her right hand from the throne, she stepped forward, her whole body trembling, and patted the bear on the head, feeling his fuzzy softness on her fingertips. She then stepped backwards, pulling her hand away, and took a deep breath.
“You know, Sorcerous Maeve, you could do this,” Bjarke said in a low voice.
“Turn into a bear?” Maeve drew in a hitching, nervous breath.
“Maybe not a bear, but something. For each of us, it’s different.” Bjarke paused and scratched the side of his face, enjoying it, his eyes closing for a moment. “Your mother turned into a boar. Well, she did before giving up her blessing. And not just any boar either. A big cantankerous boar. She once chased a dragon and gave it what for because the dragon called her a hedge witch.”
Eyes wide, Maeve stared at the bear, her chest rising and falling from her slow breathing. She folded her fingers together, her right hand and her left hand clutching one another.
“It seems there is a lesson to be learned here,” Princess Celestia interjected, snapping Maeve out of her stupefied state with her words.
“And that is?” Maeve asked in a girlish whisper.
“Do not go around calling others a hedge witch,” Celestia replied, giving Maeve a wink. The alicorn turned back around on her throne, facing her subjects, a wide, sunny smile upon her face.
There was a palpable tension in the air when the white stallion with the golden mane walked through the wide double doors. He stood just inside of them, peering around, looking overwhelmed, frightened even.
“Prince Blueblood,” the guard announced.
For a moment, the stallion’s expression changed, becoming one of pain. He cringed at the words, looking anguished. He walked forwards, looking around, approaching Princess Celestia’s throne. His eyes glittered with tears, and he appeared as a stranger to all that knew him. His walk was not the proud walk that other’s remembered, but a slumping gait that made it look as though Blueblood carried some great burden upon his back.
“Welcome home, Nephew,” Princess Celestia said to Blueblood.
A tear rolled down his cheek as Blueblood averted his eyes. “I am not worthy of such titles of affection. I’m sorry, I did not expect a big to-do upon my arrival home.”
“Nephew, there is no need to torture yourself over what took place,” Celestia said as she rose from her throne. “It was mind control from the changelings.”
“No… no it WASN’T!” Blueblood’s forceful tone caught Celestia and the others in the room by surprise. “They worked with feelings and thoughts that were already there. Things I hid because I wanted to remain in your good graces, so I could continue to take advantage of you and exploit your generousity.” Blueblood’s sides heaved as he panted. “They took those tiny seeds and made them grow… made me a monster… but make no mistake, I gave them plenty to work with. You saw me for what I really was on the inside… and I beg for your forgiveness… I beg forgiveness from all of you.”
Princess Celestia’s head turned and she glanced at her sister Luna. She could see Luna’s teal eyes shimmering with tears. With a slow, graceful turn of her head, she looked at Blueblood. “Of course you are forgiven. Come with me, Nephew, so that we might talk in private.” Celestia looked at the room full of ponies. “Please, you must excuse me. Family issues… I know that you will all understand, and I thank you for your patience.”
Not caring for the party at all, Maeve slipped away, making good on her escape. Much of the crowd in the throne room was also leaving, going off to other places, like the ballroom or to where a buffet had been set up. Maeve was so nervous that she was itchy. Tired of almost tripping over her long, flowing skirt, she grabbed it in her hands, bunched up the cloth, and pulled it from her ankles almost up to her knees, revealing purple and blue striped stockings.
She was glad to be away from the crowd. The little ponies, foals, weren’t so bad, but she didn’t much care for how some of the adults stared at her. It reminded her of Ponyville. She shuddered. Pinkie Pie. Just thinking of the pink pony caused Maeve to feel a growing, gnawing panic.
Maeve passed by a mirror. Her fiery orange tresses had been combed this morning, but now, they looked as wild as ever. Her tight, frizzy curls stuck out in all directions, rising up from her head, making her at least a dozen inches taller. Ringlets of blazing orange hair clung to her pointed ears.
She needed a place to be away from all of this commotion, all of this hubbub. She ducked down a hallway, not knowing where she was going, but thinking of heading back to her room. She heard a giggle, a laugh, and a snort. Not in the mood to face anypony at the moment, she ducked behind a tapestry hanging on the wall.
She walked the length of the tapestry, a good ten yards or more, brushing up against the wall as she made her way through the darkness, and then peeked out of the other end. She saw two ponies that she had not expected to see. Twilight Sparkle and Luna.
Both Twilight and Luna had been acting very strange lately. They had been acting weird since going to the Crystal Empire almost two weeks ago. Eyes narrowing, Maeve peered out from behind the tapestry, her breathing shallow, fearful of making a sound.
The two alicorns were close to one another. Very close. Luna was whispering something into Twilight’s ear, which caused Twilight to let out a coquettish giggle. Luna began humming a tune that Maeve did not know, her hooves tapping upon the marble floor, and Luna’s muzzle brushed over Twilight’s ear, causing Twilight to let out a little squeal.
A strange thought occurred to Maeve. They were acting like they were flirting, like how boys and girls acted when they liked each other, or how men and women acted in the movies shown upon the silver screen, when the music swelled and there was a big rush of emotion and then the man and woman start dancing or maybe kissing.
This concept was unknown to Maeve, who had never even heard of two women, or in this case, two mares flirting with one another. It made no sense. Males and females yes, female and female, no. Maeve bit her lip, trying to understand the conundrum. It didn’t seem so bad; Luna looked happy, and Luna deserved to be happy, but this… this was confusing. What would two women kissing one another hope to accomplish? It was kinda icky…
But it was also kind of sweet. Entranced, Maeve listened as Luna hummed a tune and stood neck to neck with Twilight. Luna’s silver shoes tapped out a rhythm on the floor. Twilight’s cheeks were dark, the colour of spilled wine, and Twilight’s eyes were blinking in a rapid, erratic way.
Twilight had been coming to Canterlot to visit a lot lately, and now, Maeve understood why. She and Luna were… well, whatever it was when two mares liked each other. It was all so very confusing and it made Maeve feel funny as she watched it.
Unaware that there was a voyeur behind the tapestry, Twilight extended her wings, placing them around Luna’s neck for a moment, hugging the somewhat larger alicorn, and then pulling away, turning her head to one side, nervous, still giggling.
“You understand the majesty of my night,” Maeve heard Luna say in a low voice.
“Oh, I have a lot that I could still learn,” Twilight replied.
Maeve blushed—this was getting weirder. She felt hot and flustered. As she listened, she heard Luna say, “I could teach you… I have much I could teach you if you would let me. I could show you the stars… or perhaps make you see them.”
“And how would you make me see stars?” Twilight asked.
With a sharp intake of breath, Maeve gasped as Luna pressed her muzzle to Twilight’s. Maeve felt disgusted, but at the same time, she couldn’t turn away. It was gross, but also beautiful, and it was very confusing. Why would two women kiss one another? Or mares for that matter? Maeve watched as Twilight’s knees trembled and knocked together, her wings flapped, and her tail whipped around her hind legs.
Without understanding why, Maeve felt angry. She let out another loud gasp, not realising that she had done so. Her loud gasp caused both Luna’s and Twilight Sparkle’s ears to perk. Luna turned her head.
“Maeve!” Twilight said in a very surprised voice. “Sorceress Maeve!”
Feeling betrayed, feeling angry, not understanding what she was feeling, Maeve hiked up her skirts around her knees once more and took off running, tears streaming down her cheeks as she fled from the confusing, painful scene.