Luna's Lacunae

by kudzuhaiku

Chapter 36

The scent of orchids was strong and made Maeve’s nose tickle. She stood, looking down at Red, while Red was looking up at her. Something was different, but Maeve wasn’t quite sure what. She felt funny, jittery, but not in the normal way she was jittery, but different. This was a happier jittery.

Unbeknownst to Maeve, another had joined Blueblood in watching her, and a small brown bear peered out from around the shrubbery on occasion, not wanting to be seen. Blueblood stood guard near a marble pillar, and while he was attentive, he was also looking around at the orchids.

“I understand that you had an exciting morning,” Rose Gold said to Maeve in a voice that contained more than a hint of laughter. “How is Fuschia? She is a little darling, isn’t she?”

As Maeve flopped down into the grass, she nodded. She folded her legs, trying to sit cross legged, her skirt spreading over the grass around her. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a carrot, and offered it to Red, who took it and began crunching it up.

“Carrots are supposed to be sweet treats.” Rose smiled as she took a step closer. “Carrots are supposed to be a reward for doing something exceptional. Maeve, you just pass them out. It’s no wonder that foals love you. It’s almost cheating.”

Lifting his head, Red Russet swallowed. He looked at Maeve, peering through his spectacles, a broad grin upon his small, somewhat squarish face. “Today I guessed three tea types by smell alone. My teacher says that what I did was exceptional for somepony who just started.” Red scooted over to Maeve’s side, sat down, and whipped his short tail around until it was resting against his cutie mark.

“I keep wondering, if I had a cutie mark, what would it be?” Maeve reached over and with her fingers, she pushed Red’s mane out of his face, and then adjusted his glasses, which were crooked.

“Maybe a magic cutie mark? Like stars, or a moon… sometimes earth ponies get moon cutie marks. My mother won’t tell me why though, she just says they're blessed with special lunar cycles.” Red peered up at his mother, hoping that she might say something. When no explanation seemed forthcoming, he heaved a sigh of disappointment.

Maeve, who figured it out right away, began blushing. She didn’t want to imagine having extra lunar cycles. She shivered, looked at Rose, got a faint nod of understanding, and then looked back over at Red as Rose sat down in the grass.

“Red, don’t forget, you have something to tell Maeve,” Rose said, reminding her son of what to say. She gave Red a patient, maternal smile and then watched as Maeve pulled out another carrot. Rose sighed as Red began crunching up another sweet, sugary carrot. Why couldn’t Maeve carry around more nutritious foods, like stalks of broccoli?

“In the near future,” Red said around a mouthful of carrot, “I’ll be going to the Crystal Empire for my first tea sorter’s convention. This is a chance for young colts and fillies to learn more about the trade and find out about supply chains and a bunch of stuff I don’t understand.”

“You’ll be leaving me?” Maeve didn’t like the sound of this at all. She felt butterflies in her stomach and the palm of her right hand began to feel sweaty. The tips of her pointed ears began to feel warm, uncomfortable even. There was a sinking feeling in her breast.

“Come with me?” Red’s eyes narrowed and he swallowed. “You’re a Sorceress… I mean, you can do what you want, right? Surely you can come with me.”

“To the Crystal Empire?” Maeve felt a tightness in her chest just thinking about it. “Leave Canterlot? Where I’m safe? But I… I mean, well… I…” Maeve’s words trailed off and she ran her right hand over the grass, tickling her itchy palm.

Seeing Canterlot hadn’t been so bad. She had rather enjoyed Canterlot. But the Crystal Empire? What if it was like Ponyville? Maeve shuddered hard enough that Rose raised her eyebrow in worry. Then there was Fuschia to worry about. She had Fuschia to think about and that was important. She was responsible for the little filly, because a Sorceress needed responsibility, for whatever reason. Maeve became so lost in thought that she didn’t notice Red’s hopeful, sad-eyed begging expression, or how the corner of his mouth quivered as he waited to see if Maeve would produce another carrot.

Reaching up with her left hand, Maeve rubbed her left temple with her wooden fingertips, massaging the skin and trying to think. She was beginning to feel anxious again. She didn’t want to disappoint Red, but she also didn’t want to shirk her newfound responsibilities either.

“I’ll ask Princess Celestia about it,” Maeve said, deciding that asking was the best and safest course of action. As Maeve sat there, still thinking about the whole thing, she had a worrisome thought—what if Princess Celestia said yes? Maeve did some impressive mental gymnastics, trying to figure out which side of the coin the issue would land upon. She was supposed to be responsible, but what if Celestia wanted her to get out and see more of the world?

“Maeve, try not to worry… if you do go, I’ll be going with you. Everything will be fine, I promise.” Rose’s voice was soft, gentle, and pulled Maeve from her intense worry. She could see the change already, as Maeve didn’t look quite so frantic.

Extending his hoof, Red poked Maeve in the stomach. “Worry takes precious years off of your life. A calming tea can add years back to your life.”

“Red, darling…”

“What, Mom?”

“You’re talking like a tea salespony.”

“Uh…” Red’s face split into a wide, toothy grin. “Mom, someday, I might be a tea salespony.”

Reaching out, Rose booped her son on the nose and shook her head. “I thought you were going to be Maeve’s assistant. Do you plan to abandon her?”

Red went cross eyed as his mother’s hoof touched his snoot. He then looked up at her, his eyes wide. “No… no… but I can be a tea salespony on the side. I’m keeping my options open… I’m allowed to do that. Ponies might want to buy tea blended for a Sorceress.”

Covering her mouth, Maeve giggled.

“Some ponies,” Rose said in a voice that contained a hint of laughter. “Some ponies get their cutie marks and it goes right to their head. It changes them.” She reached out her hoof and booped her son once more, then turned to Maeve and smiled, glad to see Maeve distracted from her worry. “I’m thinking about having Red’s last name changed to Rooibos. He started off as my little spud and as he grew, my little potato sprout became something quite unexpected.”

“Mom… embarrassment…” Red squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

“Little ponies grow up and things change. Red, you have your whole life ahead of you, and it’s going to be a good one.” She reached out and stroked her son’s cheek. “Your father and I put in so much physical labour for so long… and we still do. You’re going to know a completely different life than we did. You’re going to do a different kind of work, the sort of work that takes your mind.” Rose Gold smiled, a beatific smile of motherhood. Turning her head, she looked at Maeve. “You as well… from what I know of you, you came from poverty with deep roots in farming.”

“I did.” Maeve’s head bobbed and her frizzy orange hair bounced on her freckled cheeks.

“Both Quickie Cob and I, we come from families who broke their backs as we worked to make a name for ourselves and better our lives. For me, my first family members in Canterlot worked with night soil—”

“What’s night soil? A special kind of dirt?” Maeve asked.

Rose Gold cleared her throat and one eyebrow made a graceful, perfect arch. “Night soil is a euphemism for feces, Maeve… pony poo. Horseapples. Pony flops. Meadow muffins. My family collected the night soil from sump holes, chamber pots, and and other receptacles around Canterlot. Now, that is an awful job, and nopony really wants that job, especially not ponies with a knack for growing potatoes, but we took that job because this is Canterlot. We took that job and we made something of it. We took the richest, most nutrient dense night soil in the world and we sold it. We sold it as fertiliser to anypony that would buy it. When Ponyville was founded, we had regular buyers in the Apple family. Ponies off in the Unicorn Range couldn’t get enough of what we offered. After a lot of hard, smelly work, we had a name for ourselves, a reputation, and we had Canterlot.”

“Ew… yuck.” Red, who now had his eyes open, stared at his mother in disgust.

“Red, darling, nopony likes digging out an outhouse basement, but there is a reason that you are here, living a very comfortable life on the castle grounds. There is a reason you get to enjoy a little privilege. There is a reason you have the ear of the princesses and have the friendship of a Sorceress. I am very, very thankful that you have what you have.”

Reaching out, Maeve poked Red with her finger. “Because you have brittle bones and I don’t think you’d be very good at digging out an outhouse.”

“We have toilets now.” Red shuddered and shook his head. “I am a lucky colt.”

“I didn’t work to get where I am now—”

“Maeve, that’s nonsense!” Rose Gold had trouble believing what she had just heard. She frowned and felt a brief surge of anger, shocked and surprised by Maeve’s thick headedness.

“But I didn’t… I was brought here and all of this just sort of happened.”

A low rumble of equine frustration crept out of Rose Gold’s throat. “Horseapples!” As she spoke, Red’s ears pinned back against his head and he flinched at both his mother’s harsh words as well as her frustrated tone. She ignored his reaction and focused on Maeve. “You chopped, hacked, and sliced your way out of a castle full of very bad things. You saved Princess Luna and brought her back to us.”

Maeve shook her head. “But I… but that wasn’t… but that… I was only doing what needed to be done… I didn’t have a choice. It’s not like I—”

“Maeve,” Rose broke in, her voice both stern and loving. “That is the point. You did what needed to be done. You did the work required. You went about the bloody business of securing your own freedom and Princess Luna’s. You could have just saved yourself, or you could have just accepted your fate. But you didn’t. You picked up that sword of yours and you carved your way to freedom. Maeve, sometimes, sometimes a hero can do an entire lifetime’s worth of hard work in just one day… just one night… just one battle… just one encounter. Never, ever discount what you have done. Princess Luna would be furious with you.”

The sinking feeling in Maeve’s breast returned. She sighed, knowing that Rose was right. She tried smoothing out her skirt but the wrinkles persisted no matter what she did.

“Being a hero is a tough occupation… it takes honour, courage, sacrifice… it means giving all you have to give, and then sometimes, it means giving your life. Equestria honours its heroes. That is why we have Hearth’s Warming Eve. Maeve, if you had a cutie mark, it would be whatever a cutie mark is for being a hero.” Rose shook her head and a sad, pained expression came over her face. “Heroes hardly ever get a happily ever after. They’re often troubled souls, pained by what they’ve done, haunted by violence, they have scars on both the outside and the inside… and every scar is a reminder, a mark of bravery, every scar is a testament to courage. Sadly, for most heroes, just because the battle has ended, it doesn’t mean the fight is over. Most of them struggle for the rest of their lives to be normal, to be happy, to find acceptance and fit in. Being a hero changes a pony… and no doubt, it’s changed you as well, Maeve.”

Nodding, a single tear rolled down Maeve’s freckled cheek, but for some reason, she felt better. She felt sad in a good way. Lunging forwards, she threw her arms around Rose’s neck and squeezed the earth pony mare, holding her, and Maeve’s chest hitched. But she felt better.

“Thank you, Rose Gold, thank you so much,” Maeve said in a voice strained with emotion. She gave the earth pony mare another squeeze, took a deep breath, and let go. She wiped her eyes, wobbled a bit, and got to her feet. “I think I want ice cream. I’m going to go to the kitchen. Who wants to join me?”

“I do!” Red replied, glad that the mushy moment was over.

Rose, who felt a little misty eyed, smiled at the pair. “You two go ahead. I have orchid bulbs to tend to. Go and have a nice time.”

“Come on Red,” Maeve said to her companion, “we’ll go and eat ice cream and ruin our appetites.”

“That sounds like a plan…”

Author's Note:

Little brown bear...

Comments

[Sigmacipher]

Little brown bear...

Aw cripes...over-protective family member anyone.

[ChibiChabot]

D'awwww happy to see this story get some attention.

[Misty Horse]

6845574

Considering her history, i wouldn't blame him.

[Raul]

He did want to know about Red. And he did fall in love with a skunk.

Welp, I have a day of measure taking and dice rolling tomorrow, so I pause here for now. Good job Kudz. I rarely like HIE story's, or Fantasy, and Bam! here we are.

[McBehrer]

she just says their blessed with special lunar cycles.

THEY'RE