To: A Dear Friend -- From: A Silly Bugger · 2:21pm Oct 15th, 2016
"You know, this is my spot to do that."
Golden Retriever jumped, right near out of her skin, from where she had been standing looking out the crystal walls of Twilight's Castle in thought.
"I'm sorry, Dr Princess. I was just--" She blinked. Her brain just caught up past the interruption to what was actually said. "--your spot to do what?"
Twilight leaned out the window, resting her chin in her hooves and smiled wistfully. "This is the best spot in the whole castle to look out towards Canterlot and remember my tutelage... tew-telage? Toot-lage? You know, I've only ever seen that word written down."
"You had it right the first time."
"I did? Good. My tutelage under Celestia." Twilight took a deep sigh, still not facing Golden. "You know? Sometimes it doesn't feel like six years, and sometimes I feel every second of it, but whenever my time under her feels so close, or so far away, this is where I come to think. So, I really should ask, why were you doing that in my spot?" This last bit was said with a conspiratorial smile, the kind that screamed "I can keep a secret", and eyes that sparkled with "I promise".
Something only the most and least honest ponies in the world could hope to pull off, and if Twilight was the latter she'd been playing a very long con indeed.
"Well... I was thinking of one of my own mentors actually. Sort of. It's... weird." Golden leaned in next to Twilight and looked out again, up at Canterlot, and fell back into her thoughts as Twilight listened, like a good friend. "See, Dotted Line was always so... distant. He's always busy, busy with very important things. If you bothered him, he'd make time for you but..."
"He was busy?"
"Right. Always felt like you were pulling him away from something. Wouldn't act any grumpier than usual about it unless something was really stressing him, like a visit from a Princess--" Twilight visibly paled at that "-- or when he hadn't had his tea. Never stand between that pony and a thermos! But you just felt... guilty anyway. I don't know how to describe it."
Twilight, just now pulling herself out of the memory of just how many days she might have ruined making surprise trips to Canterlot -- something to stress over later, she was certain -- nodded beside Golden. "I got that feeling with Celestia sometimes. She always made sure to make time for me, no matter what, so I always felt bad about taking it."
"He felt the same way, I think. I think he might just be the only pony in Equestria to worship the Princess more than you do."
"I don't worship her!" Twilight spluttered, side-eyeing Golden hard, "I just give her the respect she deserves, that's all!"
"See, he'd say worshiping her was the level of respect she'd deserve."
"Ah."
"You know, he'd never -- and I mean never, ever, ever! -- dare or even think to ask her, but I think if he asked the Princess what she thought of him, she'd hold almost respect for him as he does her."
"Really? Wow. That's- Really?"
Golden, eyes still locked on Canterlot, nodded emphatically. "Oh, yes. In her own quiet, mysterious way. I mean, it's still the Princess, right?"
"Right." So they still were talking about the same pony then. It wasn't some other Princess Celestia that respected another pony who wasn't Twilight this much. That was impressive, at the very least. Twilight bit back the little pangs of jealousy over-
"Hang on... Dotted Line? Short, grey, accent, minister of something?"
"Minister? Oh, heaven's no, he wouldn't be caught dead doing so little. Actually, I think Dotted Line will be busier in death than Her Highness's Loyal Opposition is in life, if he has his way about it. No, he's Head of the Civil Service."
"I actually think we've met."
Now, that ripped Golden's eyes off Canterlot and towards the Doctor Princess at last. "Really?"
"Yes. He was on a park bench, I think, hugging a thermos and--" there was a long, pregnant pause, the kind that rested between 'Mum, Dad,' and 'I'm pregnant' "-- Golden, is he in counselling of any kind? Is he getting the support he needs?"
"Oh, yes."
Twilight took a deep sigh of relief, and Golden immediately realized there had been a misunderstanding. Her fault, of course.
"Sorry, getting support? I'm afraid not, never the kind he needs. I think he thinks he might be allergic, somehow, or it might cause him to explode in a very academic way. No, I mean yes that was definitely him."
"I told him "Tomorrow is another day" and he cried! Burst into tears! In public! Wailed "Not another one!" And that was probably four years ago now! Who knows what he could have done by then?!"
"I think he's said the same thing every day for four years, now, actually. Or the equivalent."
"Oh."
Another long silence. Enough to brace yourself before admitting 'And I don't know the father'. "Why are you thinking about him, now, then? Are you all right?" The Princess respected this pony so much...?
"Oh! Yes, I'm fine, it's just... it's his birthday tomorrow. And I don't think he wants many ponies knowing about it. I only know about it because I was in charge of locating his birth certificate when the Education Minister accused him of being, and this is a direct quote, 'Some unholy demonspawn, wombed by a changeling and sired by a filing cabinet'," Golden chuckled, but the smile faded quickly, "I'm sure he said it as a meanspirited joke, but it seemed the ponies representing Transportation, and quite a few of the Shadow Ministers, took it at face value."
"Oh. Wow."
"Yeah! So it's today, same day every year, and I don't know what I should get him. Or do. Or say. Because he doesn't want ponies to know about his birthday, and I don't think... I don't think he likes being reminded of it. Like, if nobody reminds him about it, it won't have happened, it'll have all gone away. And I don't know what I'd get him, because everything he wants, he has." She thought about it a moment. "Well, everything I could get him. I'm pretty sure I couldn't back a carriage over Prince Blueblood repeatedly."
"I'm sure Rarity would help."
"Do you think...?"
"I'm sure Rarity would hire somepony to help."
"Back at square one, then."
They looked back out the window.
"A card seems insincere, at the least. Like it would just remind him of everything he doesn't want to be reminded of, without softening the blow with something he would actually like. It'd be selfish of me. I'd be giving him pain just to remind him of me, just to say I'm still thinking of him, when really, I could do that any other time of year and it'd probably mean more to him, because it wasn't just for a special occasion."
Twilight seemed to think on it. "You know, you might be right. Which means you have your answer."
"You know what I should do, then, Doctor Princess? I guess you are the expert on friendship." Golden added hopefully.
"Write him a letter, talk about everything he means to you... then don't send it for another week. Or send it by the Equestrian mail service and hope it arrives within the month. That way you show all the sentiment without... hurting him? I guess? He does seem a very strange and melancholy pony."
"He's quite lonely, I think." Golden nodded, not even sadly, just a statement of absolute fact and that was what made Twilight feel that it was a truly sad remark, "I hope it helps him with that, at least."
Twilight thought a little harder about that. "You know what, Golden," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief, and Golden suspected that she really had just been taken for the long con after all, "You've given me an idea for something I haven't done for my mentor in a very long time. I think I'm going to write a friendship report."
Dotted Line poked the birthday card sitting on his desk with a scowl and the long end of a steel ruler. He had thought the dreaded event had been scrubbed from public knowledge; Scrubbed with reagents that would make a bucket of sand catch fire! His usual thoroughness had failed him, it seemed, which made him very concerned about what else was going to pop up that he thought was a resolved matter.
There would be diplomatic incidents, certainly. Possibly a war, if that thing with the gryphons were ever to come up. His eyes widened as he recalled his poetry journal... another diplomatic incident, then, with the zebras over what he had written about their ambassador in there, that was certain.
The card sat there, mocking him, golden text on white card. Simple and elegant. He flicked it open with the ruler, and took a deep sigh of relief when a musical chip inside did not play tinny, obnoxious and overly cheerful music at him. He might have had to burn the whole office down to salvage the situation, lest it lodge itself into the very walls.
Instead there was only a message signed, in immaculate, familiar penmanship;
This one is just between you and me, my little pony. I've kept greater secrets in the past than this one. Happy Birthday, Dotted Line.
Princess Celestia.
And Dotted smiled.
-- Happy Birthday Ghost
You made it through another year
DrPrincessNumbers --
There are few things one can say about this aside from the fact that it's lovely, and Dotted Line remains the best OC this fandom ever produced.
Happy b-day, Ghost.
You silly, adorable, silly, clever, silly, amazing, silly bastard.
Thank you.
Made me giggle. So did Dotted poking at a birthday card with a steel ruler in extreme suspicion.
I am beset with an extreme shortage of time but will natter at you more regarding this at some future point. Soon, I hope.
A lovely tribute to one of our best. Thank you for sharing it with the rest of us.
Yo lad, sick story but could you tell me from where Golden Retriever is from? The name sparks a bulb and I am sure she is one of your stories heavily involving Twilight but can't come up with the name atm. Thanks in advance.
This is adorable. Thank you for sharing it with everyone!
4257015
"Demesne"
4257090 Demesne
Very nice. :)
Happy birthday, GhostOfHeraclitus!
4256775
/me writes down the day of Ghost's birthday.
Happy birthday. Let's just hope that the next year's birthday card doesn't end with "They know everything, flee immediately!" :)
4257130
Yes. That.
Demesne remains one of the best Twilight x OC shipfics ever, though after the last chapter or two I do worry about it derailing.
Dotted Line has a perfectly sensible attitude towards birthdays. While the musical ones are bad enough, some cards have glitter!
Best wishes Ghost.
You think he's joking, don't you?
Damnit you bastard, you made me weep in the bloody airport.
yeeeeesss
At first, this felt like a tribute that was going to make me start searching obituaries.
I am rather glad to find I am just really paranoid right now, apparently.
That was great, i hope we see more dotted line stuff.
Sadly, I started reading and lost interest. I scrolled through it, saw it featured Twilight has something to do with mentoring and figured __boring__ I don't know why.
4258956
Why you felt compelled to make this comment afterwards is beyond me.
4259221
I might read it later. I might figure out why I was immediately turned off. I might leave it up on my computer screen for days on end trying to understand what I don't like about it. I don't exactly have an immediate way of putting it into my library to let you know I'm going to look it over again and again now, do I? Unless, of course, you want me to do the truly trollish thing and bring it up like six months from now when you aren't really invested in it anymore yourself. Maybe I was attempting to acknowledge I saw what you did there, but didn't have the time to truly give it the attention it deserves. My attending skills are a bit off, so its entirely possible the statement was altercentric and self validating.
Too bad I don't have any rhetorical questions for you; seeing as I haven't read your letter.
4259247 you should read the stories this is based on.
4259883
That would probably help. Maybe you could assist me with that.
4260280 http://www.fimfiction.net/story/146407/the-demesne-of-the-reluctant-twilight-sparkle
And
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/54117/whom-the-princesses-would-destroy
4258956 Your loss mate.