Chapter 60: Sleeping In
Luna woke to a polite tug on her left wing.
She blinked in the darkness, uncertain what had happened. She could still feel the warm embrace of Fleur on her right side, the aforementioned breathing steadily in continued slumber. She glanced to her left side and found a pair of kind eyes glittering in the darkness.
“Ah, splendid. I was hoping you wouldn’t require too much prodding. Rather not wake Fleur just yet, she gets a bit cranky before that morning cup.”
“Fancy?” Luna croaked out, smacking her lips and grimacing at the foulness on her breath. She covered her mouth quickly, whispering: “What time is it?”
“Well, actually, that’s the problem. I have a fairly good sense of time, and by my estimate the sun should have come up quite a while ago. I’m going to guess that particular duty falls on your shoulders while your sister is taking her rest?”
Luna’s eyes widened in sudden clarity. “Blessed moon! Quickly, I must rise!”
A horn lit, and several candles flared up to provide some meager illumination. “Quite. I’ll let you get on about that, then.” Fancy said, rolling out of bed and settling into a nearby chair. “Do try to be quiet, though.”
Luna looked down at the white hooves clasping her form. “I am entangled!” she complained in a soft voice. “How shall I avoid waking her?”
“She’s actually a fairly heavy sleeper,” Fancy said with a wry grin. “Here, I’ll help with that.”
Fleur’s limbs lit with gentle golden light, and Luna was able to just barely escape as those same forelegs clutched at open air. Thinking quickly, she moved one of the pillows down into her waiting arms, and Fleur embraced the pillow with a happy sigh.
“Bravo. Looks like we weathered that one nicely,” Fancy said, relief evident in his voice. “Well, about that sunrise...”
Luna shook herself, looking away from Fleur’s slumber with a sheepish grin. “Yes, we must correct that. Just... just give me a moment.”
Just below the horizon, the sun was waiting with great impatience. It too knew what time it was, and very much wanted to make its appearance. On the other side of the sky, her moon hung low, tired from its journey. Unlike its mistress, it hadn’t been able to rest, and she could feel its longing for it. She apologized profusely, and in a sudden jerk shoved the moon down to its slumber and brought the sun up, casting the world in sudden and startling light.
“Hmmm, I think you might have overshot a tad.”
Luna blinked in the light of high noon, her mouth hanging open. “Oh.”
“Well, at least the sun is up, that’s something.” Fancy extinguished the candles, gazing thoughtfully at the window. “Bit late for breakfast, I fear. Perhaps you’d like brunch?”
Luna pressed a hoof to her temple, surprised to feel her actual hoof instead of the cool silver of her shoes. “That... that would be wonderful.” A quick glance around the floor of the room found nothing, but further investigation revealed that at some point in the evening Fleur had apparently co-opted her shoes, along with her regalia and crown. She didn’t mind so much except she couldn’t quite recall having brought those along with her when she’d come by to visit.
“I imagine you’ll want to freshen up. Feel free to use the master bath. I’ll go check with the staff about food.”
“Thank you, Fancy. I hope I’m not being an inconvenience.” Luna replied, sitting down heavily on the edge of the bed.
“Never, Princess. You know that you’re always welcome,” came the reply from the doorway, just before he closed it.
Luna stared at the floor, mulling over what was sure to be a very busy morning full of complaints about the lateness of the hour at such an early time, followed by another visit from that annoying fellow from the Astrological Bureau. She tapped a forehoof to her chin thoughtfully. Perhaps she could simply explain the excessive solar hours as a correction for her lunar displays a few days ago. It was worth thinking about. Middy could give a speech about it, he was so good at writing them—
Oh. Oh no, Middy, I missed your speech. I am so sorry!
She sighed, adding another percentage to the raise she planned to surprise him with. She wasn’t entirely certain if that alone was going to make up for the headaches she’d been causing him lately. He lived fairly frugally, actually. Mere bits might not mean very much to him.
That embezzler... he’d used his ill-gotten gains for an airship, had he not? Perhaps Middy would like that? No need for it to languish in some dock if Our good and faithful servant could make use of it.
She wasn’t entirely sure if evidence from an embezzlement case could be granted to somepony else, but then, it was property of the crown, as were the bits that had been used to purchase it. As such, she didn’t see a reason the crown could not give its own property away as a present. Perhaps she’d wait and consult with Celestia, first.
A sudden bodily urge reminded her that certain basic needs should be addressed before she brooded much further about how to make up with Middy, and she got up to make use of the amenities Fancy had offered.
Some time later, she emerged feeling cleaner and more relaxed than when she’d entered, and had spent a little time looking at her regalia and shoes and wondering how she was meant to retrieve them without waking Fleur.
“All right, then. Eggs and pancakes will arrive shortly.” Fancy announced as he re-entered the bedroom.
“Thank you, Fancy.” Luna replied distantly. “We’ll take our leave as soon as We are able. We thank thee for thy patience.”
There was a long pause before Fancy answered. “Ah, forgive me. Are we standing on ceremony this morning?”
“What doest thou—” Luna paused, looking away from Fleur, and flashed Fancy a grimace. “Forgive me, Fancy. I was simply thinking about what to do when I return to court. I’ll likely have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Quite all right.” Fancy replied, winking. “I simply wished to know if I am meant to bow and such. Protocol and whatnot.”
“Never you, my friend.” Luna replied with a look of relief. “I am sorry.”
“Now, now. Enough of that for the moment, eh? At the very least you can let your hair down amongst friends. Though I daresay you don’t have much of a choice, what with Fleur wearing your crown.”
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Yes, I suppose we do not appear terribly regal at the moment.”
“Oh, always that, Princess. Command away if you’d have something of me, I just wished to know if our little visit has become official. There are things I think I likely wouldn’t be forgiven for if I did them to Princess Luna.” He chuckled a little, and when when she looked at him questioningly, he shook his head. “Hmmm, I suppose it wasn’t very funny.”
Luna just looked at him, uncertain of his intent. “I...suppose it was funny,” she eventually said, favoring him with a little smile, feeble as it felt on her face. “I’m simply out of sorts, Fancy.”
He looked at her quizzically, his mouth quirking down almost imperceptibly. “I see.”
There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Luna struggled for what she was supposed to say. She was saved from further embarrassment by Fancy gesturing for her to follow him.
“Well, the staff will have breakfast waiting. Let’s give Fleur a while longer to wake up.”
Luna sat across from the table from Fancy, feeling horribly naked in his gaze.
This was both literal and figurative, as she was bereft of her usual attire, sparse though it was, and was also feeling horribly vulnerable before him. It had taken some time, but she’d finally reasoned out why that was.
Fleur was not here.
The mare was a very dominating personality. Her mere presence in a room naturally tended to draw attention to her, and when she spoke it was easy to forget anyone else existed.
Fancy, while extremely charismatic, tended to become overshadowed in Luna’s mind when Fleur was near. It was thus easier to forget that he was very much his own pony, despite being part of a couple, and while she now thought she understood Fleur better, Fancy remained an enigma.
It had been easy to accept Fleur’s words while the mare had been nibbling on her ear. But then, had she not learned that the words of one did not necessarily reflect the wishes of another? Rarity had said everything would be fine, and Fluttershy had bit her tongue until it bled, only to lash out in anger when she could not hold it in any longer.
Fancy... was a very difficult pony to read. For all that they’d enjoyed an evening together, and Luna had slept between them in the aftermath, it was rather telling that she’d woken wrapped up in Fleur’s hooves while Fancy had slept chastely to her other side.
It brought to mind her fears upon first encountering the pair: fears that Fleur was making a cuckold of her dear Fancy, and worse, doing it right in front of him. Fleur had assured her over and over that Fancy did not mind, but in the bright light of day, without passion clouding her mind in a heady elixir of hormones and emotions, she was uncertain.
“Forgive me for not being terribly talkative this morning.” Fancy said as he refilled his cup of coffee. “I have a bit of a busy day ahead and I’m just planning out my itinerary, as it were.”
“No need, Sir Pants. I fear I have a similar day ahead of me.”
“Ah, good, good. I feared I was being a terrible host.”
“Fancy, you’re an immaculate host. I don’t think you’re capable of anything else.”
That actually made him chuckle. “Oh, no. I can be a very terrible host, if the need arises. But then, my guests know how to avoid that need, for the most part,” he took a long draught of the coffee, gesturing for her to refill her own if need be.
She lifted the pot, draining the last of her second cup and pouring out her third for that morning. Before her incident, this beverage had not existed in Equestria. When she’d returned, she’d wrinkled her nose at the bitter taste and acrid smell. Now, she could not function without it. Tea, while containing some of the blessed chemical that un-dulled her senses, was nowhere near as effective for her. She’d even come to relish the bitterness, drinking it ‘black’ on occasion simply because the taste served to further envigor her.
“I fear I ask too much of you as a guest, if we are judging our comparative worth.” Luna said conversationally. “I came to you seeking counsel and solace, and received both in abundance. But all I offered in kind was my poor company.”
“Your company is more than enough, Luna!” Fancy said quickly. “Why, Fleur just adores you. She’s usually not one to invite a mare back to bed, much less to visit casually.”
Luna winced, worried anew.
It’s Fleur who adores me. Not ‘We adore you’, but Fleur adores you.
The words were more telling still. It seemed she had, despite her concerns, encroached where she was not wanted, and now poor Fancy Pants was left feeling estranged. “Well, I do appreciate it, though I fear I will have difficulty finding time for a while. My sister’s duties are more numerous and time-consuming than she ever led me to believe.”
“Celestia always bore the weight of the crown without complaint,” Fancy said, a slow smile growing on his lips. “When I fear I grow tired of it all, I have but to think of her, and I find I have the fortitude after all.”
Luna eyed him curiously, growing confused. She had expected him to be relieved that she might lack the time to visit in the future. Instead he’d immediately latched on to thoughts of duty.
Was that... perhaps, what drove him when it came to Fleur as well? Was he forgiving of her capricious nature out of love, when he himself might prefer something else? “Yes, well, We do what We must for their sakes, do We not?”
“Precisely!” he replied, looking pleased.
“But, perhaps there are times when we might wish otherwise?” she prompted. “When we wish the burden was taken from us?”
“Hmmm,” he replied, looking thoughtful. He stirred his coffee. Apparently not so much to properly mix in anything as to see the liquid swirl. “There are such times, yes. But then, if not me, who else? Certainly none of the lot that usually hangs about, too set in ways long taught by kin and kind. And... it’s not so bad, really. I just... try to pave another path, and hope a few follow along, out of curiosity if nothing else.”
She stared at him for a moment, her jaw open slightly. “Are we speaking of the same thing, Fancy?”
“I...I think we are?” he replied, taken aback by her reaction.
“Well, I can understand she might be a difficult mare to keep happy. Truthfully I worry about her, as her dreams seemed troubled at times... but surely you don’t mean to say that, Sir Pants! She loves you, truly and deeply, so much so that she refers to you as her heart in a sense that to her seems quite literal! She even speaks of having to fend off young mares as you both grow old—”
His expression grew more alarmed with every passing word. “Wait, I am fairly certain we’ve gotten our wires crossed, Luna—”
“And you two are adorable together! I’ve so rarely seen a couple so casually happy. Most seem to just exist in a state of tolerance as the years progress, though I will grant I haven’t met many couples so perhaps it is merely my own lack of socialization. But I feel that your love is special, and not to be dismissed!”
For a moment, he simply looked at her, his spoon dropping into his cup as he released it from his magic. “Princess, I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest idea how you got onto that particular line of thought, but having heard it, I’m dying to hear more.”
Luna opened her mouth to answer, tilted her head to one side, closed her mouth, and just looked at Fancy, trying to make sense of what he’d just said. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Perhaps we should begin again,” he said after a long moment. “Good morning, Princess. Do you have something on your mind?”
Rarity woke just before noon.
Which wasn’t to say she’d overslept. In fact, she’d woken up when it was still quite dark, so much so that she feared she was developing sleeping problems, as it felt about right for being awake.
But then, after a few minutes of stumbling around by hornlight trying to find Fluttershy’s candles, she instead ended up tripping over one of her bags as it suddenly and startlingly became noon all at once.
She stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, dazed and confused. She was fairly certain it had been very dark a moment ago. She looked around for some means of confirming the time, and found a darling little cuckoo clock up on the wall, which read (unless she was totally misreading it) approximately half past seven in the morning.
That... can’t be right, can it?
Her confusion was not improved by the rooster out in Fluttershy’s yard crowing in a manner that suggested he wasn’t quite certain what was going on either.
Fluttershy stirred on the other side of the bed, and she sat up a moment later, shock and dismay marring her previously peaceful features. “Oh my goodness, I overslept! Oh, my friends will be so upset...” She glanced around the room, her gaze falling on Rarity. “Rarity! What happened? Why did you let me sleep so long?”
“I just woke up myself, sweetness. But I don’t think it’s very late at all.” Rarity replied, shaking her head. “I hope this doesn’t affect the train schedules.”
“What do you mean? It has to be very very late in the morning!” Fluttershy said with a frown.
“Normally that would be true, but I think perhaps there was a slight mishap today. It was dark mere moments ago.” Rarity’s eyes flicked to the window, from which the crows of the rooster could be heard once more. “I think it’s confusing your friends as well.”
Fluttershy hurried to the window, and upon seeing her rooster, climbed out of it and flew down to him.
“—I know, Chanticlear, I was confused too. No, you didn’t miss it, it just came up very fast. Yes, I think it will be okay when it comes up the next time. No, I won’t replace you. Why don’t you go back to your roost for now. I’ll bring out feed soon, okay?”
Rarity watched in fascination and envy as her love helped settle the rattled rooster’s nerves. She wondered, sometimes, what it must be like to be able to speak with them and be understood, and understand in kind. Did Fluttershy just hear Equestrian, or was it less direct translation and more impressions of feelings? As always during such times, she began to wonder what her cat might have to say.
And, as always, her inevitable conclusion was something to the effect of ‘Feed me, admire me, then leave me alone.’
She sighed, wondering if both Fluttershy and herself hadn’t perhaps made the wrong choices in pets, but she didn’t see much recourse, as in both their cases it wasn’t so much ownership as a less than benign claim having been placed on the ‘owner’ by the pet in question. In other words, neither Opal nor Angel were going to give them up, for better or worse.
Speaking of that little monster, I wonder where he’s gotten off to? I haven’t seen him since yesterday morning—
A quick glance around the yard revealed Angel butting his head against the wireframe door of his hutch, which was apparently firmly latched in place with a padlock.
She... she locked him in? Whatever for?
As she watched him pitifully banging his head against the door, she quickly came to the conclusion that whatever it was, it could surely be forgiven by now. She also winced as she remembered she’d forgotten his carrot cake in her haste to get home, after more or less promising him she would bring him a slice. The least she could do for him was to get Fluttershy to forgive him for whatever he’d done to get locked in there.
He may be a pest, but he does have his good side, occasionally. Besides, I’ll be whisking Fluttershy off again for the day, and he should have a chance to have breakfast with her before she goes.
With that in mind, she trotted downstairs, trying to ignore her own misgivings.
“Yes, Henrietta, I know it’s very strange. But I promise you, it will be fine—”
Rarity shook her head as she walked past Fluttershy. It seemed her entire menagerie was disturbed by the sun this morning. Rarity herself was slightly perturbed, but she suspected everything was fine. Luna would have a reason for this happening, and she was going to go see her anyway, so she could hear it firsthoof.
“Hello, Angel!” she called out cheerfully as she got close enough to be heard.
He took one look at her, grunted, and turned his back away.
“Oh, don’t be that way. I came to check on you.”
No reply came, though he did cross his forelegs and stomp angrily while continuing to face away.
She just watched him pout for a time, eventually deciding one of them should do something, and being on the other side of a locked cage, it should be her. “Right, let’s get you out of there,” she said as she lifted the lock to examine it.
Thankfully, it wasn’t terribly complex, not even requiring a key to open, instead having a small knob which could be turned to lock or unlock. Angel himself could likely have opened it, were it for the fact that the hasp for the lock was well above his reach. Though, by the looks of the scratches around the wood of the hasp, it seems he had tried, at least.
She had it open in a matter of seconds, wondering at how it was operated if one didn’t have magic. She supposed the knob could be grasped with teeth, in a pinch. “There we are—” she began, looking down at where Angel had been, only to find in the instant she’d opened the door he’d charged through quickly like... well, like a bunny.
A quick look around revealed he was at that moment in time having a stare down with Fluttershy. Well, perhaps it was more accurate to say he was attempting to have a stare down with her, but she was preoccupied with the rest of her menagerie.
“Harry, it’s fine, I promise you—”
He shifted his stare into a glare, but when he didn’t get any response from her, he turned back to Rarity with a disgusted look on his face, and gestured to Fluttershy as if to say ‘Do you see the nonsense I have to put up with?’
“She’s a little busy, Angel. Not all of her friends are as calm as you are.”
He grunted softly, folding his arms and scowling at the ground.
Rarity frowned as well, not liking seeing him unhappy. She wished she could communicate in a more meaningful way, perhaps ask him why she’d locked him away. Maybe she’d done him a disservice by assuming he’d misbehaved—
Well, let’s be realistic. He may be a loving little scamp, but that doesn’t make him into his namesake.
Perhaps not a disservice, then. In all likelihood he had done something, but Fluttershy had been horribly stressed, yesterday. So, whatever he had done, it likely hadn’t truly merited being shut away for the day.
Having calmed the rest of her animals, Fluttershy finally turned around to see her pet steadfastly ignoring her, and she scooped him up with a troubled look on her face. “Angel! Oh my goodness I was supposed to let you out in the morning. How did you get out by yourself?”
“He... he didn’t.” Rarity confessed, smiling apologetically. “The poor dear was growing impatient so I thought I would let him out to greet you. And so you could say your goodbyes when you were ready. We do have a train to catch.”
Fluttershy wasn’t listening, however. Instead she was cooing at Angel as he pouted, pointedly not acknowledging her presence nor her continued pleas for forgiveness and heaped praises of what a good bunny he was for not making trouble for her the previous night.
Rarity just watched for a time, slightly envious. Opal was not a pet one could generally hug, or touch, or get within paw’s reach of. She was a cat that demanded your attention while simultaneously seeming to resent it.
But... her independence was part of her charm. And as much as she seemed to disdain her owner’s presence, Opal did keep the shop pest-free just by living there. So... it balanced out a little.
It still would have been nice to be able to hold her, for just a little while.
In time, Angel relented, going from ignoring her to simply glowering at the world in general for the existence of this pony who refused to stop showering him with affection. Rarity giggled behind a hoof, not wishing to further agitate him by laughing openly. “If you’re done making up, I think we should have something to eat before we head out.”
Fluttershy nuzzled Angel’s ears once more, then released him from her grasp. “Oh! Yes, they all need to be fed, then we should have something, and then we need to pack—”
Rarity nodded patiently, going to fetch the various feed bags and buckets for water they would need. She briefly wondered what time it was, feeling a little out of sorts that the sun hadn’t budged since they’d woken up.
Hopefully Luna will get it sorted.
As she’d feared, the train schedules were a bit awry.
They’d arrived by the intended departure hour, or so the little alarm clock from Fluttershy’s bedroom proclaimed. Rarity made note that the purchase of a pocket watch was going to be a vital one, as the sun was proving rather useless as a means to judge the passage of time right now. She briefly considered if she should in turn purchase a vest with pockets, but that led to further thoughts of a matching outfit and she didn’t want to spend all day pouring through another pony’s collection when she could craft her own at home.
In any case, they had boarded, eventually, and were in a passenger car together. Normally this would have had Rarity chatting quietly while Fluttershy listened, rehashing the various events of the week. But for once, Rarity found she had very little to say that she hadn’t already discussed with Fluttershy, as they’d been spending nearly every waking moment together. And so, they’d simply sat in silence for a time, alone together with only their thoughts to break the stillness.
“Do...” Fluttershy said hesitantly from the other side of their private room.
Rarity’s ears perked up, and she looked at Fluttershy expectantly.
“Do you think Luna is okay?” Fluttershy said, looking worriedly out the window at the bright sunlight outside.
“I think she’s doing fine, sweetness,” Rarity answered, relieved to have something to talk about. “I suspect she’s just very stressed right now.”
“No... I mean... do you think maybe she’s turning evil again?”
Rarity looked at Fluttershy in surprise, mouth agape. “That... Why would you ever even ask that? I recognize that you two had a bit of a falling-out, but that doesn’t make her evil, darling.”
Fluttershy turned back to the window with a sigh. “Nevermind.”
“No, I think I shall mind!” Rarity got up and sat next to Fluttershy. “Why do you think she’s evil?”
Fluttershy pointed outside, a troubled look on her face. “The other day it was the moon, today it’s the sun. Maybe she decided a noon that lasts forever would just... burn us all up?”
“I highly doubt that.” Rarity replied, refusing to look away when Fluttershy turned back to her with a wounded look. “She’s a bit new at raising the sun, remember? I think she just overdid it a bit. It’s a better explanation than Nightmare Moon returning and deciding that a long lunch is preferable to eternal darkness.”
“But... she’s...” Fluttershy trailed off, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. “It would just explain so much!”
“Such as?” Rarity prompted. “Surely it’s not just the solar cycle that prompted such an accusation?”
“She tried to steal you from me.” Fluttershy replied with a frown. “Isn’t that enough?”
“Well, that remains to be seen. I can understand you were feeling threatened by her, but I don’t know if I truly believe she was trying to steal me away. I was actually hoping we could discuss the matter like adults and—”
“You don’t believe me?” Fluttershy demanded, the hurt in her eyes growing.
“I...” Rarity hesitated, trying to be very careful with her wording. “I believe that you believe that, or at the least, that you fear that. But I don’t truly believe she’d do that.”
“She told me,” Fluttershy said, her expression darkening. “She said she wanted what I had! And she could do it, too!” Fluttershy’s voice rose in volume with every word. “She’s really, really sexy and she has those wings and she’s tall and I told her I wouldn’t let her take you away and now you don’t believe me!”
“Sweetness,” Rarity said quickly. “I...again, it’s not about believing whether or not you had that conversation, or that the Princess is attractive! That’s not the point, and never was!”
“Well that’s not what you said when she asked you in the garden,” Fluttershy muttered, drawing in on herself defensively.
“I’m sorry, what?” Rarity asked, tilting her head to one side.
“In the garden.” Fluttershy repeated, as if that clarified anything. “The one with all the night-blooming flowers? Where she brought us to talk after the party?”
“Night-blooming flowers?” Rarity wracked her brain for anything of the kind, and coming up blank. “I think you have me at a disadvantage.”
“See? You can’t even remember!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her wings flaring out in her agitation before she took a moment to pull them back to her sides. “She must have cast a spell on you to alter your memory,” she muttered darkly. “She’s evil.”
“Darling, we’ve established that my memories of the last few days are spotty, I don’t think Luna actively tried to deprive me of them.” Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin, trying to piece together the scattered memories. “After the party, you said. That was... yes, I remember something about wine glasses, and there are a few shreds of Luna showing off the dress I made for her...” she shook her head. “It’s all a bit of a blur. Would you mind filling in the details?”’
There was a bizarre sense of deja vu as Fluttershy recounted what had happened in the garden. She recalled little details, here and there. The smell of the flowers, the sounds of the various animals, and her fear of the large rodent Luna had named as her pet.
“I see,” she said at last, as Fluttershy told her of Luna’s intent. “Courtship. That’s... that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Fluttershy said firmly. “She wanted to... to...”
“She wanted to woo us,” Rarity replied with a little smile. “I imagine great feats would have been recounted, poetry written, perhaps beasts slain in our name.”
“Yeah! Those... things you said.” Fluttershy trailed off, confusion all over her face. “Wait, Luna would kill animals so she could date us?! That’s very, very evil!”
Rarity chuckled, shaking her head. “No, I doubt she’d do that, knowing your interests. She’d probably slay our enemies or somesuch.”
“That’s still not very nice,” Fluttershy said sullenly. “I mean, ponies have hurt my feelings, but I don’t want them to die. Maybe...maybe sometimes I want to hit them very hard...”
“Courtship can be many things, darling. The champion would never do anything that the object of wooing disapproved of.” Rarity stared off into space, still smiling. “Some of the greatest romances spoke of heroes pursuing the love of their chosen for half their lives, with only small tokens of favor to show for it.”
“Did...did you want that?” Fluttershy asked quietly.
“Hmmm?” Rarity shook herself, turning back to Fluttershy. “Goodness, no. It’s horribly romantic, but... not terribly interesting to have happen to you. And you say I agreed to this from Luna?”
“Well...” Fluttershy cringed uncomfortably. “A-actually... you said we could maybe have her over for dinner, and maybe star-gazing, and... and see what happened after a while?”
“I see,” Rarity replied, nodding seriously. Fluttershy’s reactions made more sense with this information. She was still perhaps overreacting, but not without reason. Luna had proposed intimacy, and Rarity had not said ‘no’. Despite Fluttershy’s more than apparent attraction to Luna, being approached romantically was an entirely different matter. “And, would you object to such a thing?”
“I... Luna seems like a really nice pony, when she’s... not trying to steal you away, or threatening to hurt ponies.” Fluttershy’s wings flared out once more, then fluttered back to her sides. “I...I think maybe I can understand, though. Sometimes it’s hard to not get mad.”
“So... you wouldn’t mind getting to know her better, provided she’s not evil?” Rarity asked, a playful look on her face.
“I... I don’t know if she’s actually evil, either.” Fluttershy admitted. “But I do know she does very selfish things and that makes me upset with her... And I really, really don’t like the idea of losing you. Just... just promise me that won’t happen.”
“Well, but of course!” Rarity replied, enfolding Fluttershy in her arms. “Darling, I am very sorry that I made you nervous. I think this just means we need to talk to her all the more, tell her of these concerns, probably directly mention she shouldn’t be killing anything and anyone for our favor... Normally I wouldn’t be worried, but Luna is Luna, after all.”
“And... she needs to stop being mean to ponies!” Fluttershy piped up. “She doesn’t have to be that way!”
“That too, I suppose,” Rarity said with a grin. She smoothed Fluttershy’s mane down with a hoof, nuzzling the top of her head.
Celestia blinked in the darkness, frowning.
To her right, snuggled tightly against her barrel and drooling on her pelt, was Pinkie Pie. The mare had surprising strength, and seemed ready and able to hold her down should she try to get up.
To her left, Twilight lay against her, her embrace seeming reluctant even in her sleep.
It wasn’t either of them making her frown at that moment, however.
Well, be honest, you’re still a little unsure of what to think about Pinkie.
Celestia blinked in the darkness, feeling Pinkie stir. That was... somewhat true, but it was the darkness itself that bothered her more than her current position.
Yes, running a bit late, isn’t she? Perhaps she’s just choosing to assert herself? You rose the moon late for... a month or so, if we recall correctly. You told them it was for them, but it was for you.
While that was a possibility, Celestia felt it was more likely that Luna had simply overslept. By all accounts she was not having an easy time settling in, and had never been very happy living on daylight hours to begin with.
She lit her horn with the feeblest of light spells, gazing around in the small pool of light the spell granted her. Her eyes first fell on Twilight, and she saw a very small smile on that beautiful face.
They next fell on Pinkie Pie, and Celestia’s heart warmed to see the unabashed, joyful grin etched on her face as if by a stonemason in granite.
Would it be so bad? She adores you, you know that. Even more so, she adores you, and not some false image they created of you.
She still wasn’t sure what to think of that simple fact. Pinkie’s affection was so freely given that it almost seemed selfish to not accept it, even if it set her aback to receive it.
Strangely enough, she might understand you on a basic level more than Twilight does. You’re both givers. Time, affection, happiness... You broadcast it out because others need it. But you could stand to receive, both of you. Twilight is happy to do that, but why not just complete the circuit?
Pinkie snuggled tighter to Celestia’s barrel, letting out a happy little sigh. Celestia wondered what she might be dreaming about.
Sorry, I have no more insight for that than you do. We’d have to ask Luna. But I could venture a guess or two.
Lurid images of Pinkie and Twilight preening her large white wings while Celestia lay down on a large bed surrounded by scented oils flashed through her mind. She quickly replaced them with more a more calming scene of a sunlit glade she’d stopped in two thousand years ago while out for a flight.
Awwww, they were just about to get to the shanks. That’s the best part.
“Please don’t make me shut you out again...” Celestia whispered quietly into the darkness.
Well, you did say please, and I can’t help but appreciate the politeness. Very well, I’ll ease off. There is time, after all. Just have a care you don’t waste it on indecision. A lot of fun can happen in a lifetime, and you’ve caught the eye of the elements of joy and friendship.
Celestia nodded in reflex, knowing Fiend would understand her—
We really need to think of a less offensive name, if you don’t mind.
“We can think of one if you’ll stop pestering me!” she hissed softly.
Fine, fine. I’ll make a list and show it to Twilight in her dreams. Wait, she won’t be able to read it. Perhaps Luna could send a scroll…
Celestia rolled her eyes, wondering anew at the oddness of her situation. She was in bed with her student (who would be a lover) her student’s marefriend (who lived to spread love) and her head was occupied by an entity of her own making striving to push her into intimacy for her own good.
Pinkie! She could remember it if I just recited it to her!
And now it wanted a nicer nickname.
Well, at the very least one not given out of spite. I am not your enemy. In fact, in an odd sort of way we might as well be sisters, or maybe I should call you ‘mom’?
“Oh, sweet sun, please don’t.”
A wicked little cackle answered from the back of her mind.
Very well, sister, I’ll leave you to your brooding. But I do mean it, about the name by which you think of me. You indulge in too much self-loathing as it is.
Celestia did her best to ignore that gentle dig, as she had no useful response to it. She instead looked out the window, hoping to see the first hints of dawn.
She only saw more darkness, and it worried her more.
As if sensing her distress, Pinkie laid a gentle kiss on her chest, her eyes still shut, her smile unwavering.
Celestia reached out with a forehoof and smoothed Pinkie’s mane with a light, affectionate stroke, before pulling it away again as she realized what she had done. She looked at the hoof in an almost accusatory manner, then forced herself to place it back on Pinkie’s mane.
It had been natural, the first time. For just a moment, she had felt right about one of her reactions to this enigmatic mare.
She lifted the hoof again, feeling a sense of relief for having done so. It was...natural that she was confused. Confusion had been a constant companion of hers since a sobbing Twilight had landed in her lap a mere week ago.
But last night... that had been an order of magnitude greater still.
To call herself inexperienced in the ways of passion was, perhaps not terribly far off. In her centuries, she had known love, but she had never felt terribly comfortable about the physical expressions thereof. She’d enjoyed them, of course, but that did not make it an easy thing for the mare who tried to live every moment behind a mask of perfection.
Yet, at her own suggestion, she was now arm in arm with the marefriend of her beloved, hoping that she could bring them together in a way that the two of them could not seem to accomplish.
Her knees felt weak at the very notion, but she kept her gait poised and her back stiff, the mask firmly affixed to hide the nervous mare behind it. She could do this, because while romance may have been absent from her life for so long, she was a very accomplished conmare when she needed to be.
“Maybe... maybe we should let her study just a little longer.” Pinkie whispered, stopping on the stairs beside Celestia. “She gets cranky when I ask her to take breaks while the sun is still up sometimes,” she tapped her chin with the foreleg linked with Celestia’s own. “Actually, sometimes after that, too. It’s usually when her eyes get all crinkly at the edges.”
“Twilight can get wrapped up in an idea very easily, Pinkie. Before I sent her to Ponyville, she became obsessed with an ancient prophecy about the return of Nightmare Moon. She spent weeks going over every text she could find.”
“Whoa!” Pinkie’s eyes grew wide as she looked up at Celestia. “What did you do?”
Celestia looked back down into Pinkie’s eyes, utterly confused. But she found no subterfuge, Pinkie was earnestly and honestly questioning what had been done. “I sent her to Ponyville.” Celestia repeated. “I changed her surroundings in the hopes of getting her to let go of the notion.”
“She was still talking about it when she got here, though,” Pinkie replied. “She didn’t even want to stay for her welcome party!”
Celestia shook her head. “That’s why we’ll need to be firm with her. She can have all the ideas she wants, but sometimes she just needs to take a break.”
“Right! So... we send her away to—”
“We’re not sending her anywhere, Pinkie,” Celestia interrupted her with a sigh. She was, for a brief moment, reminded of her old friend Starswirl. Like him, Pinkie was brilliant in some ways, but woefully dense in others. “We’re simply going to make her stop studying for a while, so she can spend some time with you.”
“Us.”
Celestia nodded, if only to placate the pink mare. “Spend time with us, then.”
Pinkie nodded, looking pleased at first, but then her eyes flashed upstairs again, and her expression was troubled once more. “Are... are you sure she won’t get mad?”
“She may, but we’ll do it anyway, for her own good.” Celestia replied, looking down at Pinkie with the same calm serenity she’d been affecting since shortly after Luna’s banishment.
If Pinkie read that her expression wasn’t entirely true, she seemed to take strength from the fact that it was nearly true, and stiffened her own lip from its state of quivering worry to something approaching bravery. “Okay! Okay, yeah! So... I’ll distract her while you hide the stuff?”
Celestia nodded silently, looking upstairs meaningfully.
In the next instant, it was as if a switch had been flipped. The nervous mare was gone, and in her place was the indomitable earth pony who had demanded to know Twilight’s whereabouts after quickly and efficiently infiltrating to her very throne room. Pinkie gave Celestia one last look, then charged up the stairs.
What followed was a series of surprised (and not entirely pleased) utterances, sounds of flesh hitting flesh and in turn flesh hitting wood, and ending in the sounds of rude noises and helpless giggles.
Celestia climbed the stairs herself, and saw her student with her back to the floor, Pinkie Pie having toppled and pinned her there. Pinkie was repeatedly blowing into Twilight’s belly button, creating the rude noises and the giggles from Twilight.
“Pink—haha—ie, what are you—hehe—doing?!”
Seeing Twilight thus occupied, Celestia quickly swept all of the documents and books from the table, quickly trotting downstairs with them and dumping them in a room that Pinkie had identified as a room that Spike used for comic book storage.
“Pinkie! St—haha—op!”
Having removed the source of Twilight’s obsession, she trotted back upstairs to see Pinkie sitting on Twilight’s chest, the latter gasping for air and looking outraged.
“Can you please get off of me?” Twilight asked as she finally caught her breath.
“No can do, Twi-twi. This is a mutiny!”
“Well, more of an... intervention,” Celestia said from behind them both.
“Same thing!” Pinkie replied, not budging from Twilight’s chest.
Twilight looked up at Celestia from her prone position. “Uh... an intervention?”
“A mutiny!” Pinkie cried out, shaking Twilight by her shoulders. “Now you listen up or we’ll make ya walk the plank!”
“Pinkie...” Celestia began, before being confronted by what she dearly hoped was a blunt prop-sword.
“Now, none of that, Tia girl!” Pinkie said from behind the sword, staring Celestia down with the one eye not covered by a black patch. Seeing she’d made her point, Pinkie lowered the hoof-blade, tilting her pirate hat forward in a mocking salute. “We be staging a mutiny, and I won’t be having my fellow mutineers gainsaying me different! Now put on that eyepatch and we’ll teach this lubber what for!”
Flabbergasted, Celestia took the eyepatch in her magic, and held it there. She was entirely unsure what was going on, and Pinkie didn’t seem to be in an explaining mood.
Pleased, Pinkie turned back to Twilight, laying the sword down beside her and gently placing both hooves on Twilight’s shoulders. “Now, captain, I d‘no mean to be so harsh. But yer crew be worried ’bout ya! You’re up here in the captain’s quarters studying yer charts and what’no and we be below bilging out the ship and wondering if our captain be noticing! Have ye no kind words for the poor crew, captain?”
Twilight struggled anew, trying to dislodge Pinkie. “Pinkie, please, I don’t—I can’t. Not now.”
Pinkie just looked at Twilight, frowning, then nodded, getting up off of her. “Pardon me, captain. I o’erstepped meself, do as ye will,” she said, turning away from Twilight as if awaiting judgement.
Twilight looked at Pinkie for a moment, seemingly unsure what to say, then she snatched an eyepatch from what was revealed to be a pile of them on the ground. Taking a moment to put it on, a change of demeanor occurred in Twilight, from her posture to the very timbre of her voice. She put a single hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder, and in a shaky voice asked: “Have I wronged ye, ‘Mina?”
“Neigh, captain.” Pinkie said before whirling around to face Twilight. “But ye’ve wronged the crew! We’ve taken yer charts from ye till things be set aright. Will ye walk the ship with us?”
“The ship be sound?” Twilight asked softly.
“Sound enough, but it could use the captain’s touch.” Pinkie replied, running a hoof along Twilight’s face.
Celestia watched the two of them for a moment longer, uncertain if she was welcome to see this moment. Eventually, she broke the silence. “Ahem.”
Twilight stiffened suddenly, and she looked back at Celestia as if seeing her for the first time. In a flash the eyepatch was flung to parts unknown, and a look of panic overtook her. “Princess—I mean... I—”
“Don’t apologize!” Celestia said quickly. “You... you were talking. You need to do more of that! I... I was just surprised. I wasn’t expecting to see something... so intimate.”
“Sorry, I... Pinkie, and...”
“Is this... how you...” Celestia blushed, not quite sure what to say. “I mean, you were explaining it to me, but... it was hard to really understand...”
“It’s... it’s a game.” Twilight said, even as Pinkie kissed her affectionately on the cheek. “She... and I...”
“It’s... a way that you express yourself, something that you share.” Celestia supplied as Twilight seemed unable to provide an answer of her own. “What I don’t understand is why Pinkie felt the need to do this now...” she looked at Pinkie expectantly.
“Hmmm?” Pinkie looked up in surprise as she finished stashing away the hat and eyepatches in a nearby drawer. The sword had disappeared to parts unknown. “Oh, sorry. I got kinda wrapped up in the moment. ‘Mina gets emotional, you know,” she leaned in towards them both, whispering conspiratorially. “I think she might have a thing for the captain. Don’t tell.”
Celestia blinked, brought out of her memories of the evening by a sudden and startling change in the lighting. That was to say, from darkness to high noon in an instant. Apparently Luna had been scolded into submission by Midnight Oil, or she simply realised that morning was late. In either case, she’d overshot more than a little.
Pinkie whined piteously, mumbling something about needing another half hour, and Celestia responded by simply absorbing all of the incoming light into herself, leaving the room in darkness once more. Outside, ponies were awaking to a very bright morning, but inside Twilight’s room, any light coming into the treehouse was instead being funneled as a trickle of pure energy directly into her horn.
Pinkie settled down once more, and Celestia closed her eyes as well. For once, she planned to oversleep and enjoy it.
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Hehehehe, awesomeness~
Nicely done man, nicely done!
Pinkie as a Pirate... I can see that, oddly enough, on the Sunny ship from One Piece 8D
Or with Captain Jack Sparrow
Very nice and sweet. Thank you for sharing. :)
Luna~
Tell him what's wrong already! Get it over with, dearie. They both care for you so much, and you need them!
Celestia-recharge ?
nice chapter, i hope we get to read about how rainbow dash and apple jack liked the late sun-jump
I love this series and this is another great chapter in it :D
please continue all this lovely interactions
7267304 Takes a little more than a roomful to fill the tank.
7267478 Well...
Okay, if you insist. 
You enjoy torturing is like this, don't you? So many things feel like they're on the cusp of being resolved, and you're just inching along once a month. Sadist!
Based on Applejack's Day Off, Rarity does not in fact need a vest for her watch, and it appears to be more of a pocket dimension watch.
7268417 Yes. This is true. But Pinkie had yet to share her access to pocket space back when this story takes place.
7267759 I may or may not have an infernal machine that runs on tears of frustration. If it makes you feel better, I get most of my fuel from MOBA and shooter players.
7268439
You say that like she doesn't already keep her fainting couch there.
7268485 That's not so much pocket space as a summoning spell.
derpicdn.net/img/2015/9/22/985472/tall.jpeg
7268532 Canterlot, actually. And it's on an airship.
So Luna overslept and then overshot with the sun. I'll cut her some slack though, she's really stressed out, and not used to the situation she's in.
Not everyone understands that nobody is perfect though. There will be so many complaints... bleh.
As for Middy getting an airship... eh... I think something else would be a good idea. An airship is just too flashy.
Rarity making Fluttershy a bit more rational by speaking about her fears. Good going! That's how it's done.
Now for the actual conversation.
And as usual, Pinkie was Pinkie. And Celestia was absolutely confused. But things are slowly, SLOWLY, shaping up.
So, all in all; yay!
7267543
a roomful. did you not say that all incoming light was also captured? if she stays like that for a few hours who knows. i expect a slight noticeable change. not enough to make her back to normal but to make her look noticeably healthier.
7269215 Oh, that's not to say it has no effect, just that she cannot replace what was lost in this way. Most of her recovery will come from simple time, and it will come faster if she's not expending energy moving the sun. Alicorns passively receive energy from the earth, the sky, and the magical fields of the planet itself, so all she really needs is rest.
i love the Rock-a-Doodle reference. i wonder why he didn't raise the sun when Luna was late.
7269362
in that case i exspest there to be a noticable change and that twilight will propose the idea of using that to fix everything. of course we all know that wont work.
7269503 I'm afraid the name is only a coincidence. #notallroosterscanraisethesun
Luna wakes up, i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/129/503/497.gif
This fiction is quickly becoming my favorite colour.
7272502 It's a good colour indeed.
7272507
The color of a frustration-gnawed keyboard?
I can only replace so many of those, you know! It's been FOUR YEARS! just about!
Commence read.
Luna still working things out.
Convenient way to keep the light from bugging you.
Fluttershy still working through the anger/lust/fear combo.
7301902 I hope you enjoy. Feel free to add questions or comments as you read along.
7302053 Holy shit you're still writing this story. I'm still kind of following it but your updates are slow so I haven't read it in a while tbh. It's really good though XD
7326765 Slow is fair, but I'm consistent. I figured out a while back that I was doing around 10k words a month on average, and have tried to make sure that the bulk of my writing was devoted to finishing this story. If I have time after I finish a chapter a month, other stories get worked on. But check my update history, 1st of every month, except for a few exceptions like april 1st where I wanted to avoid people thinking a chapter is a joke update.
Well, looks like I'm caught up.
This story is a lot of fun. It's smart, it's funny, and it has a lot of heart. You've managed to put together several very compelling relationships.
Applejack and Rainbow are surprisingly and pleasantly down-to-earth. Their conflicts and resolutions both come across as very honest and relatable. They never took center-stage here, but that's appropriate. Since the issues confronting the other relationships are rooted in fears of betrayal and a lack of honest communication, the fact that Loyalty and Honesty are the most stable makes a lot of sense.
Rarity and Fluttershy (and Luna, as is quite apparent but not official) is one I'm honestly having a hard time getting a grip on. Up through Canterlot things were very satisfying, but once the spell was broken I assumed they'd get some downtime to settle into their relationship a bit more. Instead, it feels like other relationships were given the spotlight, while theirs sort of hung in limbo for a while. I'm not sure I can properly articulate what my hangups here really are, but it feels like something is missing.
Twilight and Pinkie and Celestia is both the most interesting and the most exhausting. While Rarity and Fluttershy faced problems that were primarily external, these three are facing internal problems, which is a nice contrast. Between Twilight's insecurities, Pinkie's...Pinkieness, and Celestia being of two minds about the whole thing in the most literal sense possible, it's been a really fun ride. At the same time, I can't help wishing someone would just grab Twilight and shake her until she gets a clue. While throwing Celestia into the mix has complicated things, the issues between Twilight and Pinkie remain what they were when this story started, and the only one who hasn't figured out what those are yet is Twilight.
So yeah, this is pretty great.
7330980 Next chapter will be out on the first at midnight cst or thereabouts.
Yeah, those two are pretty solid, but then, they've been dating the longest.
Have no fear on that front. Luna has certainly not been forgotten, but she and Fluttershy needed a little perspective after their blowout.
wow I remember this story from four years ago... well... looks like I've got a LOT of catching up to do...
7338616
Just a bit.
7342853 Heh. Yeah, Twilight and Pinkie... They go through a lot in this story...
If you rename Fiend Molestia, I will laugh so hard. Also, it's kinda weird, but I can't really hear her with Celestia's voice. It's a strange mix of Chrysalis and Discord. Her voice, but his speech mannerisms...rhythms, patterns, however you want to say it. Okay, maybe it's more than a little weird.
9349095
That's quite interesting