• Published 17th Apr 2012
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Green - Steel Resolve



Rarity and Fluttershy have been friends for years, and every week they go to the spa. But after every trip, Rarity finds herself growing greener with envy over Fluttershy's beauty and grace, if not something more than just envy—

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Chapter 48: Rest

“—Are there any questions?” Luna concluded, looking over the mass of press ponies expectantly.

A sea of blank faces stared back at her. If an audience could be said to be out of tune with what the speaker was trying to tell them, this one was. It was infuriating.

Moments before she blasted one of them just to get a reaction, a hoof went up hesitantly. “Yes! You have a question?”

“Erm... when does the princess get here?” The stallion attached to the hoof asked, holding his note pad at the ready. “We were told she would be addressing the press corps.”

Luna regarded the unfortunate stallion for a time, uncertain how she should respond to a pony with such utter disregard for his own safety. “What is your name, press pony?”

“Ink Blot, ma’am,” he replied promptly.

“Ink Blot, did you, by chance, just receive your cutie mark last week?” Had anypony at all paid close attention to her, as newsponies should, they would have been able to make out very small jets of blue flame coming from her nostrils.

He just blinked at her, seeming surprised to be the one questioned. “N-No, Princess,” he responded, eventually. “I’ve had it for some time.”

“Then I have to assume fate decreed your talent was to show others how not to gather news.” She turned away from him, gazing over the assembled masses. “Are there any questions—” Several more hooves went up, “—from anypony who listened to my carefully prepared speech?”

The hooves all went down again.

The room grew very dark and cold, and Luna’s eyes flashed with dangerous levels of magic.

“Erm... Princess Luna?” Midnight asked from her side.

“Yes, Middy?” she replied through clenched teeth.

“Did... did you inform the astrological society of this solar eclipse?” Midnight was worriedly looking out the window while he asked his question, apparently concerned about the way her moon was behaving. And well he might be, she’d set it hours ago.

“That is not an eclipse, Middy,” Luna said, staring down the entire mass of ponies before her, and contemplating their overall worth to her and the nation.

“Ah... good...”

“That is my charge coming to crush my enemies.”

A minute of shocked silence followed, after which Midnight rushed to her side. “Majesty, please calm down, think of the citizens—”

“I already have. I will tell them all to evacuate, even these miscreants. It does take time to bring the moon here, after all. Except clearly all those present will die because they refuse to listen!” Luna slammed a hoof down on the pedestal, delighting in the satisfying cracking sound as she did so. “Gentleponies, feel free to flee! Those who survive will merely be flogged.”

As a mass, the press ponies bolted out of the room, leaving only one, far in the back, who had been jostled awake by the sudden commotion. He stood, looking around in confusion. Seeing the princess, he raised a hoof, waiting to be addressed.

Yes?” Luna asked, staring at him incredulously. For a brief, confusing moment, she wondered if this single pony might actually have a relevant question.

“Excuse me, when does the princess—”

Get out!” Luna screamed at him in the Voice, and he fled as if Discord himself nipped at his hooves.

Luna gripped the podium, nostrils flared, mane thrashing about in her anger.

“Princess—Luna, please, I beg of you, calm down!” Middy pleaded. “They are insufferable, I know, but surely that doesn’t deserve this much reaction!”

“Whyever not, Middy?” the princess replied coolly. “I promise you, this is nothing compared to what I would have done had my sister not begged me to be diplomatic.”

“I’m certain your sister would not approve of you destroying Canterlot, even if you consider it more diplomatic! Now, will you please stop the moon from coming any closer?” Midnight laid a hoof on Luna’s own.

She looked down at the hoof, considering for a long moment. “Very well. But no more of this press nonsense. I will inform Canterlot as we did in my day. All will be told.” She turned to Midnight, using a brief flick of magic to cast a spell. “I’ve cast a sound dampening spell on you. It will protect your ears—”

What?” Midnight said in alarm. “Majesty, I can’t hear you! Are you speaking?” He reached up, cupping a hoof to one ear.

“I said I cast a sound—”

“Sweet Celestia, I’ve gone deaf! Majesty, please, can you hear me at all? I can’t tell if I am making any noise!” His eyes grew wide and frightened. “Am I mute as well? How am I meant to function? I—”

Luna’s horn flashed once more, dispelling the sound dampening, and she put her hooves on Midnight’s shoulders. “Middy, calm down. You can hear me now, yes?”

Pure relief filled the old stallion’s eyes. “Oh... I can hear again! Sun and stars, I thought I—”

Middy,” the princess said, shaking him lightly. “Focus, please. In a moment, I am going to recast the spell to protect your ears. I want you to get down on the floor. This tower may shake violently.”

“—never realized how sweet birdsong sounds—” Midnight’s eyes widened as he finally realized what Luna was saying. “What? What are you planning, Princess?”

“I am going to address Canterlot. Now, you won’t be able to hear for a time. Please don’t panic, get down, and remain still until I return.” Luna looked him directly in the eyes. “Understood?”

“Y-yes,” he said quickly. “Get down, don’t panic. Very well. And if I do this you won’t bring the moon down?”

Luna’s eyes softened. “We... we would never have done that, Middy. We were merely upset, and our charge responded to our anger. But we will not suffer those fools again. Now, we’re about to cast the spell anew. We have no wish for thee to lose thy hearing.”

“Thank you, Princess,” he said, meaning every word. He got down on his haunches, then dropped down on his barrel. “I am ready, now.”

Luna recast the spell, then spread her wings, briefly taking on mist-form to slip out the cracks of the tower window. She circled high over the castle, looking down below at her happy and burgeoning city.

She re-materialized at the highest point of the tallest tower in Canterlot, which was unsurprisingly her own sister’s tower. Though she noted in satisfaction that her own was not significantly shorter. Perhaps the addition of a tall and imposing lightning rod was in order, adorned with frightening gargoyles.

Another day, Luna. You have a speech to make.

She cast on the top three stories of the tower the same dampening spell she’d used on Midnight, just for safety’s sake,. It would hardly do to deafen her sister’s guards and maids, not to mention waking Philomena, who would assuredly take offense, even if she could regenerate her own hearing.

She gathered her energy, placing the moon high in the sky for all to see. Let them know which princess addressed them, for they needed to learn to respect that word. Eldritch lightning flashed across a previously clear sky, and storm clouds formed in their wake. Luna would address her citizens in darkness, lit only by her moon.

Citizens of Canterlot!” her Voice thundered throughout the city. “Thy Princess of the Night addresses thee. Take heed, and hear her well.

Below, sounds of traffic halted, save for the occasional crash as some carriages lost their bearing in the sudden thunderous address of the princess. But as one, every citizen looked up and saw her.

We have need to inform thee that our beloved sister is taking a much-needed rest from her centuries of constant servitude. But fear not!” Luna punctuated this with another lightning strike for dramatic effect. “We are here for thee, and will not let our fair nation falter in her absence! Know that she is well, and that she will return as soon as she is able. Any who have questions are welcome to ask them during Court. You may now return to your normal activities, and rest easy knowing thy princess has thy safety and comfort well in hoof!” With that, she dove down from the tower, returning to mist-form to rejoin Midnight.

A span of mere moments found her back in the press room, helping Midnight to his feet with a self-satisfied smile. “And that, Middy, is how a princess addresses her subjects.”

“What?” He asked, frustration clouding his features. “Princess, are you talking?”

Luna groaned, dispelling her sound dampening spell from him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, dusting off his clothes self-consciously. “Thank you, Princess. Now, what did you say?”

“Nevermind, Middy. The moment is gone. Let us discuss the miscreant stealing from our coffers for his enjoyment. We would have words with him.” Her face lit up with a mixture of righteous anger and pleasure.

We will make you proud, Tia. She thought, her breast swelling with pride.


Rarity woke with a languid stretch, under covers that were not her own. That much she’d expected. What was unexpected was that they were not the fine linens of their suite in the castle, but the hoof-crafted quilt made by her very own Fluttershy.

A quick glance at her surroundings confirmed where she was, though a similarly quick reflection in her own memory told her little about why she was in Fluttershy’s cottage. Then again, her mind seemed particularly sluggish to respond. It was oddly like being hungover, but without any recollection of drinking.

Wait, no. A bit at a party, apparently. But... only enough to get the tone of the glasses correct? What... what was I... She shook her head. No, that hadn’t been enough to account for this feeling. That did not mean she hadn’t overindulged later, of course.

Perhaps something to ask Fluttershy about?

Recollection of much of anything in the last day or so was proving difficult. Evidently, something had gone awry. The clearest memories were of conversations with Pinkie Pie, which sadly didn’t yield much actual memory of the conversations themselves, just a sense that Pinkie had been incredibly easy to understand.

As she blinked at the rough-hewn lumber that made up her love’s ceiling, other memories slowly unfolded in her mind. Something had gone wrong. She’d... had an injury, and it had been treated magically, she remembered that. But there had been something... a party to go to, another knock on the head, and from there it all seemed so very confusing.

Luna; she’d forged some sort of... link between them? Luna was very prevalent in the few memories she could recall, she knew that much. Further racking of her brain told her that Fluttershy had been upset with Luna, though Rarity had no immediate notion of why.

Something about Twilight, and... Princess Celestia... Twilight explaining some procedure to her, lots of magic, and then blackness. So... assuming everything had worked, she supposed she was fine, now. Perhaps that might explain why everything seemed so hazy?

That, or her dreams had become extremely elaborate. But she suspected these were actual memories. Her dreams usually involved more ice cream and whipped cream, and Fluttershy in various pieces of lingerie.

So, she was back in Ponyville, apparently in good health, a little fuzzy-headed but hopefully that would pass with time. Everything had gone as well as could be expected, it seemed. She tentatively felt a sense of hope that her life in general would continue its current trajectory.

Well then, first order of business: getting out of bed.

She eyed the lovingly-crafted quilt, uncertain what was about to happen. Her last clear memories told her what she was about to do should prove impossible, but the fuzzy ones assured her everything should be fine. She attempted to use her magic and… the quilt lifted easily.

Ah, that’s a relief. I will need to thank Luna.

That thought did make her wonder where Luna was. Perhaps downstairs with Fluttershy?

Only one way to find out, I suppose.

“Fluttershy?” she said as she trotted downstairs. “Where are you, darling?”

The living room proved empty of all activity save the movements of the various mice and birds that made their home therein. Rarity judged the time to be roughly noon, which meant the most likely location for her love was out in her yard.

“Hello?” she called out from the doorway.

“Angel Bunny, stop picking on the chickens this instant!”

Rarity’s ears perked up in alarm. “Erm... darling, is everything all—”

“I don’t care, it’s not okay to tip over their feed trough! You should know better!”

There in the yard was a sight she’d only very rarely seen: Fluttershy was actually reprimanding Angel for bad behavior!

“Later, Angel Bunny, I already told you that. Just because you aren’t getting your way doesn’t make it okay to throw food! Now, stop misbehaving!” Fluttershy punctuated the end of that sentence with an angry little stomp on the ground which Rarity would have found adorable if she wasn’t so utterly baffled.

“Erm—” Rarity tried to interject once more.

“Maybe you should just go to your hutch and think about how you acted for a while. And if you’re a good bunny, I’ll make you a new salad.”

Rarity sighed in relief. That sounded more like her Fluttershy. Even in her attempts to discipline that little scamp she managed to sound accommodating.

“No more back talk, mister! You march into that hutch or no carrot cake for you!”

Fluttershy pointed expectantly at the aforementioned, and Rarity was treated to a very unusual sight: Angel Bunny, his ears laid back, slinking into his domicile. Just before he went in, however, he turned back and chittered a very quiet question.

Fluttershy did not budge, but her strident tone took on a softer edge. “Of course I still love you. But you’re being punished. Now, be good, and I’ll forgive you.”

His bottom lip quivered as he just looked at her for a moment, then he nodded, turning back to his hutch and crawling inside.

“Ahem,” Rarity said softly, hoping she might get Fluttershy’s attention finally.

Her onerous deed done, Fluttershy finally turned around. Her eyes boggled as she saw Rarity, and she rushed forward, immediately latching onto Rarity as if to a log in a raging river. “Omigosh, when did you wake up? I waited with you for so long but you just wouldn’t budge! Are you hungry? Thirsty? Come with me, I made soup hours ago, but I left it over the fire so it should still be nice and hot,” Fluttershy said, pulling Rarity bodily along by one hoof. “I was so worried, you just fell down and Luna said you were okay—” Her head whipped back, giving Rarity a penetrating look. “You are okay, aren’t you? Please be okay?”

“As far as I can tell.” Rarity responded hastily. She did her best not to take offense as she was unceremoniously plopped down on Fluttershy’s couch, and patiently waited while Fluttershy poured out a bowl of soup, trotted it back to her, and laid it down on the table in front of her. “Did I hear you correctly, though? You haven’t slept at all?” she asked, looking down at the soup.

“No, I was too worried.” Fluttershy said, bonelessly collapsing on the seat next to her. “What they did was so dangerous. I never ever should have let Luna do that to you. You could have—”

Rarity looked at the soup a moment longer, but eventually came to a decision, even if her poor stomach didn’t thank her for it. “I can eat in a bit, love. You are going to bed.”

Fluttershy stiffened against her, and she sat up, looking at Rarity sternly. “Now don’t you start with me, too! Angel kept pestering me about it the whole time I was feeding the animals! I expect better from you!”

Rarity just returned the gaze, her mouth open slightly. “Wait, wait, wait. He was pestering you... because he wanted you to sleep?”

“Yes! He was being so naughty!” Fluttershy replied with a huff. “Now, you eat up.”

“I...I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have to agree with Angel! You need sleep, love!” She got up, levitating the soup with her, and poured it back into the warm kettle.

Fluttershy just watched her, a hurt look in her eyes. ”Rarity, I’m fine, really—”

“You clearly aren’t! I appreciate that you were worried but the time for that is over!” Rarity scooped Fluttershy up from the couch, floating her deftly into waiting forelegs. “Have all of your friends been fed?”

“I had just finished when Angel tipped over the chicken’s feed.” Fluttershy replied, trying to twist in Rarity’s magical grasp. “And I need to feed Angel later, after he’s done being punished—”

“Punished!” Rarity repeated, shaking her head in disbelief. “Nevermind, I’ll tend to him, and the chickens,” she said in a voice that brooked no argument. “You’re going to worry yourself sick like this, then what will they all do?”

She finally stilled, allowing herself to be carried upstairs, though she gave Rarity a sulky look as she was tucked into bed. “I was supposed to take care of you.”

“Well, you can’t very well do that when you’re on the verge of collapsing yourself.” Rarity sat down on the bed next to Fluttershy, pushing her pink forelock out of her eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Are you?” Fluttershy asked. “Really? You haven’t been yourself since Luna ‘helped’ you.”

“I… I believe so,” Rarity replied, hesitantly. “Truthfully, though, the last couple of days are a bit fuzzy. I was meaning to ask, where is Luna? Is she all right?”

“She went home,” Fluttershy said, her voice sounding bitter. “She’s fine, now. Princess Celestia is the one who needs to recover.”

Rarity noted with concern the anger on her love’s face, but for the moment she was far more concerned that her mishap had apparently inconvenienced Princess Celestia herself. “Goodness, is she all right?”

“She’s... Well, it took a lot out of her, but she’s going to be okay,” Fluttershy admitted. “Twilight did something that took all of the magic they were blasting at you and had it go into Luna, so now Luna is going to take care of the sun while Princess Celestia rests. It’s the first grown-up thing she’s done during this whole mess.”

“Oh, dear,” Rarity said, drawing a hoof to her chest. “I’ll have to apologize to Princess Celestia for the trouble I’ve caused her...”

“No!” Fluttershy said quickly. “It’s not your fault. It’s not even really all Luna’s fault. I had a feeling it was a bad idea to let her do that, but she said it would help, and I thought she knew what she was doing. I mean, she’s a princess, she should know better—”

“Enough, darling. This has you all tied up in knots and it needs to stop,” Rarity said, gently tracing her hoof along Fluttershy’s face. “Get some rest.”

“But I—”

“Please, darling. We can talk all about it once you wake up. I understand you’re feeling upset with everypony—”

“Not upset. Worried,” Fluttershy insisted. “I had to worry, because nopony else would! Luna kept holding back how bad it was, and then she—” Fluttershy let out a frustrated grunt. “She nearly took you away from me, and then she had the nerve to get mad at Twilight, and none of it would have happened if she’d just been patient! It was all fine!”

“All right, worried, then,” Rarity said placatingly. “But it’s all going to be fine now. So let me worry for a bit, all right?”

Fluttershy just looked up at her for a moment, her bottom lip beginning to quiver. “You’re worried? Really, really worried?”

“Very much, love. You need rest, please.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said, smiling. She let out a huge yawn. “Thank... goodness...”

Rarity watched her drift off, immensely relieved. She had acquired more questions than answers, but she did know slightly more about those days of her life. Fluttershy’s face slowly cleared of tension as Rarity sat next to her, occasionally stroking the side of her chin up to her ears.

She thought about Luna. It seemed things had gone very badly indeed. Rarity hoped she was doing well, but it seemed other ponies would need to be given priority.

She wondered about Princess Celestia. Luna had been insistent that her sister needed to act on her past with Twilight; address it, at the very least. And she was here, in Ponyville, with Twilight. What was going on there? So many questions.

She looked down at Fluttershy, hesitating. She was quite hungry, and the soup had looked delectable. Plus there were the chickens and Angel to consider, they would need to be fed.

Fluttershy, as if sensing her thoughts of leaving, reached out with both hooves to grasp hers.

Rarity sighed fondly. They could all wait for a time.


Celestia laid her head down on the table. She was exhausted, mentally, physically, emotionally. Twilight; little Twilight, who had once hopefully presented her with a gift of love at a time when Celestia had presumed she didn’t know what love was yet, had kissed her, and she had no idea what to do about it.

Oh, stop being so overdramatic. She’s not exactly so little anymore. She loves you, you love her, problem solved.

And then there was... that. The mocking voice making light of everything. “It makes everything worse, actually. It was bad enough my own emotions were getting in the way, now I have to tread around Twilight’s as well.”

You don’t have to tread around anything, you stubborn old nag. Embrace them. Take a little happiness for yourself for once.

“I can’t just take her, even if she might want that. Pinkie—”

Pinkie already offered to let you have her. So long as Twilight is happy, she will be happy, and I can’t think of anypony that would make Twilight happier.

“And I promised her I would never try to take Twilight away!” Celestia exclaimed in what was perhaps a bit too loud of a tone. She looked upstairs for signs that she had disturbed the couple, sighing in relief when she saw none. Perhaps returning to Canterlot would be for the best. She obviously wasn’t equipped to deal with the problems she had set out to fix. Quite the opposite, in fact; her proximity to Twilight only made things worse.

And then there was Pinkie, poor, generous, trusting Pinkie. The mare who desperately wanted only for Twilight to be happy, and had no idea how to bring that happiness. It didn’t matter how she felt, or how Twilight felt. Acting on that would be a betrayal of the highest order.

But there was another snag. Twilight would feel horribly guilty about her moment of weakness. That mustn’t happen. “She deserves better,” she told the empty room. The books and tables offered no comment on whether that was true.

“Who does?”

“Twilight,” Celestia answered, yawning. She probably needed to stop talking out loud when thinking. If not, she was going to end up sounding crazy.

“Oh, totally! Twilight deserves the best!”

It was the cheery tone that finally made Celestia look up and see that Pinkie was trotting down the stairs. “Heya!” she said, pasting a big goofy grin on her face and clearly doing her best not to stumble. “I thought you were going to bed?”

“I will be,” Celestia replied. “I’m just a little wound up right now. Forgive me if I woke you.”

“Nah! I was still up!”

“Oh, I see,” Celestia’s eyes flicked upwards to Twilight’s room. “Is Twilight resting?”

“Yeah! But she was all snuggly and she kept muttering she was sorry about something.” Pinkie scratched her head, shrugging. “But I got her to lay down and she started snoring really quick!” She went into the kitchen, fetching a thermos of coffee and a dozen donuts. “So, why can’t you sleep, Celly?”

Celestia hesitated, unsure what to say. She stared dumbly down at the coffee Pinkie had brought her in a little mug, embossed with the words ‘Best Princess’. “It’s not important. You should be sleeping, Pinkie.”

“No way!” Pinkie replied, waving a hoof in the air and nearly losing her balance in the process. “I’m like you. I mean, sleep is nice, but I do without it when I need to. Parties don’t plan themselves!”

“I suppose they don’t,” Celestia said with a chuckle. She looked down once more at the coffee, debating whether or not she wished to drink it.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Pinkie said, poking a hoof at Celestia’s mouth.

Celestia looked down at the hoof, confused. “Doing what wrong, exactly?”

“The corners of your mouth go up; yours are down.”

“Ah.” Celestia affected a gentle smile. “Better?”

Fake,” Pinkie replied, shaking her head. “C’mon, don’t you have a real smile?”

“Forgive me.” Celestia summoned up what vestiges of happiness she could for Pinkie. There were donuts and coffee, after all. That was something.

“Better, but not quite there,” Pinkie said after studying her for a moment. “But it’s a start.” Her expression brightened with a sudden thought. “Ooo! I know, try the coffee!”

Celestia looked down at the coffee once more. As Pinkie had said, it was still quite hot, even now. She raised it to her lips, intending to drink it black and unsweetened, the bitterness would suit her current mood just fine. But as the liquid hit her tongue she found that Pinkie had sweetened it, and more, had done so with just enough sugar to take the edge off, without spoiling the bite of the drink. Which was exactly the way she normally took her coffee. Her eyes widened, and as she drank it down the affected grin gave way to something far closer to a real one, Pinkie had remembered, despite being told only once! Having drained the mug, she looked up to see Pinkie smiling back at her.

“There we go!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I knew you had one!”

Celestia laughed at Pinkie’s excitement; it was impossible not to. Though the first smile Pinkie had put on had seemed somewhat false as well, Celestia could tell the one favoring her now was true. “I suppose I did. Forgive me for attempting to put up a false expression.”

“That’s okay! I know sometimes it’s hard to smile, so I like to keep mine in tip-top condition so they’re ready and raring to go whenever I need them!” Pinkie pushed over a plate of donuts to Celestia, gesturing for her to eat. “So, what had you so frowny?”

The princess hesitated, not quite prepared for this particular conversation yet. She of course intended to tell Pinkie what had happened—

Why would you do that? No need to break the poor mare’s heart. You could always just keep it a secret, arrange a few ‘supplementary magic sessions’ with Twilight, and begin practicing the oldest magic of all. She’d be an apt pupil, very eager. By all accounts, she could teach you some things.

Celestia’s smile faltered, and she could tell Pinkie had noticed. No, there would be no secrets. Secrets were a very bad idea.

Spoilsport.

“Pinkie, I... I was brooding over something. Something happened while you were out. But...” Celestia looked into Pinkie’s curious, slightly worried eyes, swallowing reflexively. No secrets. “Before I do, you must promise you won’t blame Twilight for what occurred. It was a moment of weakness, nothing more. Do you promise?”

Pinkie’s expression brightened, and she hurriedly made her promise, going through its various strange motions. It was an odd ritual, one that spoke of tradition, though the words were juvenile. Earth pony magic, most likely, and powerful for the belief imbued in it.

Celestia took a deep, cleansing breath.

Last chance. That smile will die if you tell her what happened. You’ve kept terrible secrets before. Surely you can do it again.

“Pinkie, while you were gone, Twilight and I...” Again she hesitated. Pinkie would need context. “I suppose I should tell you something else first. While we were helping Rarity earlier, something happened, something unexpected.”

“Oh.” Pinkie replied, leaning forward. “What happened?”

“Well, what we did to help Rarity is called a magemeld, and it is very intense for both casters. It was a bit like...” Celestia trailed off, unsure how she could possibly describe what had happened. It made her realize, in retrospect, why such things weren’t well documented. How could you possibly explain it? “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to properly convey what happened.”

“Huh?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side. ”What do you mean?”

“I mean... it’s unicorn magic, which I don’t know if I can relate to you in any kind of a meaningful manner,” Celestia said helplessly. “I don’t want to hold anything back, but I honestly have no idea if you could even begin to properly comprehend.”

Pinkie’s expression cleared. “Oh!” A great big smile sprung out of nowhere. “That’s easy! Just do it improperly!”

It was Celestia’s turn to be confused. “I’m... I’m sorry?”

“Yeah! Twilight’s had that problem loads of times.” Pinkie threw her hooves up in the air to demonstrate what Celestia assumed to be a very large number. “She used to get frustrated and scrunchy-faced that she had nopony that could understand what was going on in that smart noggin of hers. But then one day I asked her to explain it all wrong, and that worked!”

“Explain it... wrong?” Celestia asked, her own face scrunched up in confusion in much the same way Pinkie described Twilight’s. She thought about that for a moment before the beginnings of an idea formed. Pinkie was a very visually-minded pony. Everything she described was done in such a way as to put a mental picture into somepony else’s head. It was imperfect, but it did get the point across. So, logically (or illogically) to explain what had happened, Celestia would need to follow suit. “I see. Give me a moment, please.”

She could do this. She had taught all of her long life, after all. Pinkie was simply another pupil; one who could not experience magic in the way the lesson demanded, but still a student. How was she to explain the principles?

Her first thought was to dumb it down, but Pinkie was not stupid, merely... different. Logical, in her own way, but very different.

“Do you want more coffee?” Pinkie asked as she waited patiently for Celestia’s explanation.

“Yes,” Celestia replied, absently. Her eyes flickered to the cup, watching Pinkie pour out the contents of the thermos. Pinkie wasn’t adding sugar, which surprised her. She picked up the cup, taking a sip, and realized that the entire thermos had been pre-sweetened exactly the way she took her coffee.

Her eyes lit up as inspiration hit. Visually-oriented thinking worked better with visual aids. While she was far from being able to perform most magics, illusion was particularly easy, since it was just creations of light.

“All right. Pinkie, think of me as that thermos.” Celestia said, creating an image of a thermos in the air, with a picture of herself on the side.

“Okay!” Pinkie exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

“Now, Twilight is...” Celestia looked around, eyes lighting on the mug. “She is this mug.” She added a rather large mug with Twilight’s face next to the thermos with her own.

“Uhuh.” Pinkie nodded rapidly.

“Now, my sister was aiding Rarity...” She made two more images, Luna as a thermos and Rarity as a mug. However, unlike the Twilight mug, Rarity had a large crack in it. “She had to keep feeding her magic.” Celestia tilted the Luna thermos so it began pouring coffee in a steady stream. “But Rarity was losing magic nearly as fast as Luna fed it to her.”

“Oh, no! Do you have any glue?” Pinkie asked, eyes wide and concerned.

Celestia looked at the illusion, then at Pinkie. “Um... I don’t literally mean that she has a crack in her body, just that she was...” She looked again. “Perhaps leaking is a bad analogy.” She patched up the crack in the Rarity mug, and instead put a straw in the mug, slowly drawing the coffee up into it, complete with slurping sounds. “Better?”

“So somepony was drinking Rarity?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

“Well, not quite. It was a healing spell gone wrong...” At Pinkie’s dumbfounded expression, she stopped, then smiled just a little. “I suppose it was doing that, in a way. So, Luna kept pouring, and Rarity kept being drained.” Celestia made the illusionary Luna slowly pour to the point where the stream was running out. “Now, Twilight and I had to provide enough energy, or... liquid, that the spell—” She made the drinking straw glow. “—could not keep up with it. To do that, I poured into her, and she poured from both of us, until Rarity overflowed into Luna.”

The Celestia thermos moved next to the Twilight cup, both tilting at once, and the combined stream flowed down into Rarity, which in turn ran over and down into the repositioned Luna thermos, slowly filling it back up.

“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed, clapping her hooves together. “So, what happened to the straw?”

“Erm...” Celestia paused, looking at the offending image. “It... went away.” The straw dissolved into smoke.

“Okay, so lots of coffee, got it.” Pinkie leaned forward expectantly.

“Well, yes, lots of energy moving about, but while it was moving... it was a bit like we—” Celestia made the Twilight mug and the Celestia thermos glow “—flowed into each other a little as well. I experienced little bits of what Twilight is, and she apparently felt the same. As if the sugar from my thermos mixed with the cream from her cup.”

“Fluid dynamics!” Pinkie giggled at her own words. “Twilight talks about that after we play sometimes. So it was like you were kissing, only with magic!”

Celestia very nearly choked on her coffee at those words. She coughed up the offending droplets which had been inhaled, her eyes closed tight. “Errr, not precisely?” She finally managed to sputter out, and as she opened her eyes, she saw a very alarmed Pinkie Pie hovering over her.

Once she had assured herself that Celestia was okay, Pinkie settled back down on the other side of the table. “Okay, I’m still not sure why that would mean I would be upset, though. Did Twilight not like it?”

“We were a little too busy to think about it at the time.” Celetia admitted, looking down at the table. “I… I knew that a magemeld was considered to be an intimate act, but I had no idea what would happen, exactly.”

“Huh. So that happened,” Pinkie replied, scratching her head. “As long as it didn’t upset Twilight, I think that’s okay.” She looked up in alarm. “It didn’t upset you, did it?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, I... was merely made aware of some things about Twilight in greater detail. I don’t regret the experience.” She cringed in the back of her mind at the half-truth, hoping Pinkie wouldn’t call her on it. “The problem was that it happened again, while you were getting coffee, and it took us both by surprise.”

“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed, leaning forward once more. “So did that upset her?”

“Well, no. It just knocked her off balance. That was when she fell,” Celestia admitted. “She... she saw a moment of my life, and I hers. It was the moment she got her cutie mark.”

“That’s neat!” Pinkie bounced in her chair in excitement. “I should tell you about how I got mine sometime.” She stopped bouncing after a moment. “Wait, that can’t be why you think I’d be mad at her, huh? That sounds like it would be super happy stuff.”

“No. No it wasn’t,” Celestia replied.

Look at that face. Do you really want to make her unhappy? Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?

The princess took a deep breath, doing everything she could to clear her expression of emotion. “She fell over, and... she yawned so much that her mouth cramped—”

Speaking of bliss—

“I helped her massage the muscle, and—”

So much could be had, you know—

“And she leaned up and kissed me,” she finished, breathing heavily as if she’d just run a marathon.

Pinkie just continued to lean forward, waiting expectantly.

“That was it,” Celestia said, slumping in her chair.

“Oh.”

There was a long silence as Pinkie just looked at her. The look was not judging, or angry. When she opened her mouth again, the single word she spoke confused Celestia greatly.

“Okay!”

“ ‘Okay’ what, exactly?” Celestia asked, not quite believing her ears.

“‘Okay’ okay!” Pinkie said, giggling. “I won’t be upset with Twilight over that.” She dragged a hoof across her brow, wiping a bead of sweat away. “Phew! I thought that was gonna be hard!”

“Pinkie,” Celestia said very slowly. “Are you upset with me, then? I… I could understand that.”

“No?” Pinkie replied, confused once more. “Why would I be?”

“Because Twilight kissed me!” Celestia not-quite yelled, immediately regretting it when Pinkie’s ears went back.

They said nothing for a while, Pinkie looking hurt, and even more confused.

“I know. You just told me,” she said once it was apparent Celestia wasn’t going to raise her voice again. “Why would I be mad at you? Twilight kissed you. Didn’t she?”

“Well, yes, but... she kissed somepony else,” Celestia said, trying to keep her voice calm and even. “Doesn’t that upset you?”

“No,” Pinkie replied, her ears going back again. “Twilight.... does that all the time. The princess, the knight, the peasant girl, the court jester—”

Celestia just sat there baffled as Pinkie rattled off names of titles, eventually recognizing them from Twilight’s detailed accounts of her love life. “Those are all your costumes, Pinkie!”

Pinkie nodded her head sadly. “Yeah, they’re all my costumes. And... never me, not then. Sometimes, Pinkie gets a peck on the cheek, a little nuzzle, and snuggles. But Twilight doesn’t kiss Pinkie. Not like she kisses those other ponies.” She took a deep breath, retrieving her smile from wherever it had fled to. “It’s okay, though. I know she loves me. I just... sometimes I wish—” Her smile faltered and she visibly forced it back into shape, shrugging sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Pinkie...”

“So, did she like it?” Pinkie asked, her voice full of false cheer.

“She... she scrambled away, afterwards.” Celestia found herself replying absently as she watched Pinkie struggle to maintain her mask.

“Awww, you got the shy kiss.” Pinkie smiled a bit more genuinely at that. “She did that with me too, the first time.” Pinkie looked up, deep in remembrance. “And... with the costumes, at first. The hungry kisses come later. It’s like she wants to eat you up.”

“Pinkie, there will be no later—”

“Sure there will! Later comes after now, silly Celly.”

“Pinkie—”

The other mare looked away from her, staring at the table, one hoof trembling as she folded it over the other. “What was it like? Was it really quick? She likes that sometimes, and other times she tries to be all slow, and makes my tummy all fluttery and—”

It hurt to hear Pinkie talk about Twilight in such a way. She was a mare so completely devoid of jealousy, but was clearly coming to experience it at that moment, without even knowing what it was. Celestia knew that Pinkie needed somepony, anypony, to comfort her. She did not remain idle after the thought had come to her, leaving her cup on the table while she stepped around it and caught the pink mare in a warm hug, born out of mutual pain and understanding.

Pinkie looked up in surprise when she felt the embrace. “Oh, hey. When did you come over here?”

“Just now.” Celestia replied, nuzzling the top of Pinkie’s mane. “You looked like you needed a hug.”

“Oh, that’s nice. But I’m fine, really. I—”

“Pinkie, everything will be okay.”

Ohhh, I should have known you had a larger plan. Well played, Celestia. Her smile is breaking at the seams. We might get Twilight all to ourselves yet.

“She does love you,” Celestia said quickly, ignoring the errant thought. “One kiss doesn’t—will never—change that.”

“She does,” Pinkie repeated in a shaky voice. “But—”

“No,” Celestia cut Pinkie off, putting just a little power into her Voice, enough that it reverberated throughout the room for a moment. “There is no ‘but’, Pinkie. She loves you, and I promised I would never take her from you.”

She never promised, though!” Pinkie cried out out from under Celestia’s wing as hot wet tears hit her chest. “And she kissed you, with no costumes or anything! She loves you, and now she won’t want me anymore!”

“Pinkie—” Celestia lifted her wing, revealing the crying mare underneath. “Pinkie, I need you to listen to me—”

“I shouldn’t be so sad! You two are gonna be s-so happy together. I—”

“Pinkie, please—” Celestia looked down helplessly at the inconsolable Pinkie crying into her white pelt. “You are not a replacement, and you never were, do you hear? Twilight loves you for you! I can’t even compare to what you are to her!” Pinkie just continued crying, leaving Celestia wondering if she’d even been heard.

Such a kind-hearted mare. No resentment at all; she’s already grieving for her lost love. Perhaps you can send her a nice fruit basket as a consolation prize. Oh, and some flowers, and a card. Do they make ‘Sorry I stole your marefriend’ cards? You could have one commissioned!

No, Celestia thought, and through sheer force of will banished the voice for a moment. It would return, no doubt, but she refused to allow it to trouble her any longer.

Pinkie clung to her side, and Celestia gathered her up in her forelegs, bringing her up to face level.

“Pinkie Pie, dry your tears,” Celestia said, holding the other mare close to her breast. “You will not be abandoned, or replaced. You are worthy of love, so very worthy.”

Pinkie just shook her head bitterly, her long curled locks falling flat and lifeless around her.

Why are you bothering? She won’t listen, you know. Look at her. She’s closing her heart even as you watch. Just as you’ve done so many times before. Even if they reconcile, she’ll never feel the same with Twilight. Part of her will always think of herself as your poor substitute. And why wouldn’t she? That’s what she is.

In that moment, Celestia felt a deep anger well up within her. This thing in her head was wrong. Pinkie was a wonderful pony, and anypony would be lucky to share her life with such a mare.

Celestia watched helplessly as the light in Pinkie’s eyes guttered and slowly died, leaving a dull parody of the happy pony she knew. That light could not be allowed to go out.

Poor thing. If only somepony loved her.

The anger went white hot, and she was filled with a deep desire to comfort this mare, no matter the cost. But she had no idea how. As she watched the last spark of light fade, Pinkie’s words came back to her.

“Pinkie gets a peck on the cheek, a little nuzzle, and snuggles. But Twilight doesn’t kiss Pinkie.”

In a flash, Celestia understood Applejack’s words from yesterday. The two of them had kissed her, not out of some malice to steal her away from Twilight, but in comfort.

She clung desperately to that thought as every shred of her sanity demanded to know what she was doing. Then she pressed her lips to Pinkie’s own, trying to convey her caring, admiration, and yes, even love, with one kiss.

Pinkie stiffened against her in surprise, then kissed back.

Well, this is an interesting development.

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