The Trotzamore Stratagem

by The Rarispy

Flashback - Lilac's Choice

Remind me… what was that guard’s name, again?

Oh, no. Please don’t make me remember that again. That whole thing was so embarrassing…

The name, Lilac.

…Silver Helmet.

Yes, that was it. The big, handsome, burly captain of the Royal Guard.

Luna!

Oh, so it was so adorable, though! I cannot even count how many times I saw you batting an eye at him. Such as… when you two first met?

“HI!”

“…Hello, miss.”

“What’s your name?”

“What? My name? You wish to know my name?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Silver Helmet, Captain of the Royal Guard. … What is your name?”

“Eeeeee… BYE! I have to go now!”

Absolutely precious.

Luuuuuuuuna!

Ahh, yes. I still remember that faithful night, too. I was… sitting alone in the castle garden that night, as I find myself doing much more often these days. Just a place to be alone with my thoughts. That’s when you came to me… with the debacle whose outcome would change your life forever.

You had grown up so much already, but the real journey into marehood was still yet to begin…

“And so, that’s why I’ve come to you, Princess Luna. I-- I have no idea which one I love. On the one hand, Silver Helmet is stunningly handsome, and a charmer to boot.”

“Indeed…”

“But, Sepia Tone… He has captured my heart. He is but a mere bookkeeper, and yet… he suddenly feels like the most interesting pony in the world.”

“Even though you only met him yesterday when I asked you to stop at his store to pick up a book for us?”

Actually, that raises an interesting question. I only sent you there to get a book, and yet it ultimately took you several hours to return.

Lilac… what DID happen at Sepia Tone’s residence that caused you to instantly fall head over heels for him?

I, uh… I’d rather not say.

Ahh, I see now. He took away a tad more than just your heart that night, didn’t he?

...!

“Lilac Candescence, my faithful student. You are a young mare now. It’s high time that you were able to make decisions for your own life… yourself.”

“But how…? I just can’t choose between them.”

“Look into the stars, Lilac. For the stars hold the answers. Just gaze up at them… and everything will become clear.”

You looked up at them, closed your eyes…

…and inside my mind, I saw nopony else but him. My one true love.

“Lilac… wh-why are you crying?”

“Because… I’ve made my decision, Princess.”

And then you sat up, smiled to yourself, and ran in the direction of his house.

Sepia Tone…

Always and forever, I love him.

At that moment, right there. I knew in my heart.

Our lessons together were over.

Because you weren’t a child already. You had just matured into a woman. A proud, noble, strong, and sweet little woman.

Things certainly did change after we got married, didn’t they?

…

Luna? What’s wrong? Are you crying?

No.

…Perhaps a little.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the extremely short chapter. I had trouble finding a place to squeeze this scene into one of the chapters, and so ultimately, I ended up having to make this its own chapter. ... CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER.

Comments

[The Rarispy]

2946038
I accidentally hit "Publish" earlier while I was still editing it. Sorry about that.

[Web of Hope]

2946549
Silly.

[The Rarispy]

2946559
Yeah, I've realized that too. It's probably something I'm not going to experiment with again after this story. In fact, I might just end up sticking to third-person narrative from now on. It seems to be the thing I'm best at.

[The Rarispy]

2947459
memeorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/oh-me-dog.png

[Gammer14]

This is just raising so many questions as to what happened to Luna... Now you have left me with 4 cliffhangers... Grr I think I'm about to explode from curiosity and desire to see what happens next...

[La Vallett1]

'woman' should be changed to 'mare'.

[Inferno demon Dash]

Love comes in all kinds of forms it seems, how tragic when their lives end, oh well, that's life