Princess Celestia thought of love, and with those thoughts came a flood of memories. She thought of Twilight Velvet and Night Light. With an almost teary eyed fondness, she thought back on how they were. Cautious friends at first, both wary of one another, with all of the fear and the worry that colts and fillies have of one another at those tender ages. In time, they became close friends, then best friends, and from there, things progressed.
Night Light and Twilight Velvet had the sort of love that could change the world, and it did. She thought back to how she had nurtured their relationship, coaxing it along, looking after it in much the same way as one did a prize rosebush. She eased them through their spats, their arguments, she helped them smooth over their troublesome rough patches when they entered their tumultuous teenage years.
Every now and then, a couple came along that had the potential to change the world. Not on their own, as individuals, but only together. Twilight Velvet and Night Light had been one such couple that Celestia knew, but there were others—and just like with Twilight Velvet and Night Light, Celestia tended to check up on those couples from time to time to see what they were up to.
She thought of her own love, then thought of vanity. She pushed the thought aside, she was allowed to think about herself from time to time after all, and she wondered what the future might hold. What great things might her offspring do? She had hopes and dreams, as all aspiring mothers did, but she also had her past to draw from. Most of her foals had been thoroughly average in every way. Some became soldiers, some became wizards, and she had birthed an extraordinary number of wainwrights, for reasons she could not explain. For whatever reason, she produced marvellous earth ponies. Big ones. Hefty ones. Earth ponies of exceptional stock.
Her sister Luna, on the other hoof, had quite a number of exceptional unicorn wizards and those talented in magics of all varieties, a fact that Celestia was jealous of in secret. Luna’s unicorn brood had shaped the very foundations of magic in Equestria, powerful conjurers, exceptional diviners, and clever protectors. Luna’s lineage dominated in the magical arts and her bloodline remained true, right up to Twilight Sparkle.
Many times had Celestia thought about telling both Luna and Twilight, but Luna didn’t want to know and felt that her offspring were better off making a name for themselves than relying upon claims of bloodline. Perhaps Luna had a point, but Celestia could not help but feel a sense of pride when she saw a sun emblem upon the hub of a wagon wheel, as her generations of wainwrights still produced the very best wagons one could offer.
Celestia’s offspring also grew the very best apples, but that was a closely guarded family secret.
Feeling maudlin, Celestia thought of Twilight, and she thought of prophecy. The stars will aid in her escape… It had proven true, that prophecy. Every single of one of Luna’s indomitable unicorn offspring had borne star cutie marks, and sure enough, one of them, Twilight Sparkle, had aided in Luna’s escape from Nightmare Moon. The big white alicorn heaved a sigh of relief as this thought passed through her mind.
Moving on silent hooves, Celestia stepped away from Luna, who now slept in her bed. She had tucked Luna in, kissed her good day, and she had waited for Luna to fall asleep, just as she had promised. Now there were things to do, important things that needed to be done. Celestia regretted that she could not remain at Luna’s bedside, knowing full well that the nightmares would come.
As she headed for the door, she thought of another cutie mark—not a star, but a rubber duckie. Rubber ducks were a symbol of happiness, she had done a little checking to satisfy her own curiousity. While rubber ducks also represented a love of bathing and cleanliness, the humble rubber duck was also a symbol of irrepressible happiness.
Stopping at the door, Celestia paused, gave her sister a final glance, and then departed.
“Message for you, Gosling.” Kibitz stood holding a scroll while waiting for Gosling to respond. “Don’t just stand there staring at me, take it. Of course you are going to get correspondence.”
Holding out his wing, Gosling took the scroll and then watched as Kibitz strolled away. One eyebrow rose, and the other furrowed down as he stared at the scroll. It was sealed with wax and in the seal was a crescent moon with a star inside of it. The scroll was also scented with perfume. He sniffed it a few times, knowing full well who the perfume belonged to.
Staring, he watched Kibitz go. For being so old, Kibitz could move. The old stallion was spry and wasted no time lollygagging around. Ears perking, Gosling returned his attention to the scroll that he held in his prehensile primaries. Why would Luna send him a scroll? Why not just talk to him directly. Had he offended her? Made her upset? It was hard to tell sometimes.
“Usually, you open those when you get them.”
The voice startled Gosling, who yelped, flapped, and took to the air. He banged his head on the ceiling, let out a cry, and then, hovering in between the floor and ceiling, he heard giggling as the scroll clattered upon the floor. Whirling about, he saw Cadance and Flurry Heart, both of whom were laughing. At him, no less. He landed, folded in his wings, and watched as Cadance lifted his scroll up from off of the floor.
“This looks important,” Cadance said as she held the scroll out.
“Yeah, I was about to read that,” Gosling replied, “but then somepony came along and scared me.”
Looking up at her mother, Flurry Heart giggled and said, “Mistah Goose is siwwy, Mama.”
“Yes he is.” Cadance gave Gosling a grin, and then, reaching out with her wing, she straightened out his mussed up mane. “Well, what does it say?”
“Why do you want to know?” Gosling asked.
“You have a scroll that smells of my Aunt Luna’s perfume and bears her seal. How could I not want to know? I am the Alicorn of Love, and that means all sorts of love.” Cadance waggled her eyebrows up and down at Gosling, all while making a purring sound.
Rolling his eyes, Gosling broke the seal with his teeth, spat out some wax, and then unrolled the scroll as he held it in his wings. As he read, his ears drooped, and his eyes widened. “Princess Luna formally requests my company at eight of the clock this even.” He shook his head in disbelief. “She wants to have a date with me?”
“Oh, goody goody gumdrops!” Cadance cried as she bounced in place.
Beside her, Flurry Heart mimicked her mother’s behaviour.
“She wants to watch a movie with me in the theatre. The castle has a theatre?” Gosling looked up from the scroll at Cadance and shook his head as his eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You didn’t steal Luna’s perfume and send me this scroll, did you?”
Her mouth falling open, Cadance gave Gosling a shocked, astonished expression. “As if I would do such a thing!”
“Well, you did trick the three of us that night at the press conference,” Gosling said, recalling Cadance’s earlier treachery, “and you’ve manipulated pretty much every event right up to this point. You alicorns… you’re all a bit skeevy, you know that, right?”
Cadance’s shock and astonishment became mild irritation and her eyes narrowed as her ears pitched forwards. “Hey, you owe me a solid, you smack talkin’ peacock pegasus… I hooked you up with the hottest-homina-homina-homina-pony in Equestria and her sister—”
“Okay, fine, we cool.” Gosling held out his wings, his primaries spread wide, in an attempt to appease Cadance. “Don’t get your feathers in a fluff, I can dig it.”
“Sho’nuff?” Cadance asked.
“Sho’nuff,” Gosling replied. “We coo’ soul sistah.”
At the same moment, both Cadance and Gosling began giggling. Flurry Heart circled around her mother’s leg, looking up at the laughing adults. Reaching out a wing, Cadance touched Gosling’s cheek and the two of them continued to have a good laugh together.
“Ah…”—Cadance wiped her eyes with her other wing—“Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna have no idea what they’re in for. Please, Gosling, whatever you do, do not bring your collection of inner city accents to an important event or a diplomatic meeting. While I am certain that you would find it very amusing, others might feel genuinely threatened by such uncouth communication.”
“I ain’t makin’ no promises.” Gosling’s left eyebrow arched and he gave Cadance a cocky stare. He looked down at Flurry Heart, grinned, and asked, “Yo, Flurry, you wanna learn to talk like a hoodlum?”
“Don’t you dare, Gosling!” Cadance stabbed at Gosling with her wing and took an aggressive step forwards. “Shining Armor would go out of his gourd if he heard Flurry talking like that. He’s square, ya dig?”
“Hoodwum!” Flurry cried as she ran another circle around her mother’s leg.
“Fine, fine, I’ll behave,” Gosling promised as he retreated from Cadance. He took a deep breath, did his best to look serious, and then asked, “So, about tonight. How do I go about doing this and not blow it?”
Cadance froze in mid jab, blinked, and then pulled back her wing. She folded it against her side, flicked her tail, and stared at Gosling, eyes wide. “Gosling, before anything else is said, you must understand something… Luna is very dear to me—”
“I get that.”
“No, listen for a moment,” Cadance said in a soft, pleading voice. “Please… my concern for Luna is complicated. When I was made an alicorn, Celestia gave me a teeny, tiny piece of her soul, and with it came a whole lot of concern for Luna and her well-being. I can’t explain it.”
“Yeah, well, when you tricked Luna, you hurt her.”
“I know.” Cadance stood there with her eyes watering. “But just like her big sister, Celestia, sometimes I have to do what is right. Luna is stubborn like nothing else. Sometimes it takes drastic measures to get Luna to see that there is a problem or to make her react enough to do something about it.”
“Okay…” Gosling waited for Cadance to say more.
“Celestia and Luna both are stuck in their ways and sometimes it takes a lot to wear them down and make them accept help.” The corner of Cadance’s mouth twitched and her nostrils flared. “My sole motivation is to see that Luna is healthy and happy again.”
“I can accept that,” Gosling replied. “So, what do I need to do tonight to make sure this date goes off all nice and smooth?”
“Smoof!” Flurry Heart took a break from running around her mother and began to run laps around Gosling instead. “Smoof hoodwum! Sno’huff!”
“How can I say this in a kind and constructive way—”
“Just spit it out.” Gosling looked Cadance in the eye and waited.
“Don’t be such a spaz.” Cadance gave Gosling an apologetic smile. “Sometimes it’s okay, but sometimes you come off a little strong. Luna, depending upon whether or not she is manic or depressive, can be a little reserved. Her mood can shift without warning. She can’t help it, Gosling.”
“So I’ve gathered.”
“So, tonight, don’t be a spaz. Don’t be you, Gosling. My best advice is to listen to what she has to say, try to read her moods, and pay attention to her. But don’t be excessively outgoing. Don’t tease her. Don’t try to show off. Save all of that for Celestia, she gets turned on by your peacock antics.”
Blushing, Gosling nodded.
“Luna stays lonely… her mood swings make it difficult for other ponies to deal with her. If you want to get close to Luna, wait out her moods and remain with her for her highs and lows. Reassure her. Tell her that you won’t leave her during one of her difficult spells. But you have to make her believe it by staying with her, even when she’s being difficult. and let me tell you, she can be difficult. She will do everything she can to scare you away or push you away. She sabotages her own relationships so she has an excuse to stay lonesome and stuck in a rut.”
“So, reaching her is going to be a chore.” Gosling let out a sigh and shook his head.
“She’s worth it though, right?” Cadance asked in a worried voice.
“Hey, I’m committed to this. The good parts, the bad parts, the really bad parts, I’m not quitting. It’s easy dealing with Celestia… I just show her my wingspan and she laughs and we can carry on and everything is fine and good—”
“But Luna is complicated and you haven’t figured her out yet.”
Nodding, Gosling replied, “Yeah, something like that. I think that, if I’m going to reach Luna, I’m gonna need some maturity.”
“Well, maybe just a little,” Cadance agreed, “but there are times when Luna can be quite foalish. I do hesitate to think about the sort of trouble that the two of you might cause together.”
“So, any practical advice for me so I can put the moves on Luna tonight?”
“Well, I have a few suggestions…”