//------------------------------// // 3. More real than fiction. // Story: Chasing Eternity. // by the frank //------------------------------// Chapter three More real than fiction It was rare for Princess Sunset to have a free afternoon. Her secretary, Blueprint, usually kept her on a tight schedule, but even he couldn't fabricate royal business on a whim. It was a beautiful summer day, and Sunset’s little ponies decided to spend their day in parks or at the beaches, meaning no cases in Daycourt. And most of the nobility had moved into their summer houses in Canterlittle, meaning no pre-booked audiences or angry requests from nobles demanding to see the princess ‘right this instant’. There had been one booked, The committee for the dismantling of popular music had an appointment at 11 o’clock, but in the end she got sick with hay fever. And to Blueprints annoyance and her own surprise, she found herself with absolutely nothing to do. No documents to read, no magic to practice. She had... a day off! That was over ten years since the last time! So what to do? She decided to not make such an important decision on an empty stomach, and so a lunch at that new hot place down at Plaza de Luna was first on the agenda. Then she would decide. In the end, she decided that if she had nothing to do, then nothing was what she would do! She would spend the whole day slacking of in the castle garden. And there she was now. An ice cold cider within hooves reach, her favourite couch moved into the garden, and in front of her, a book. “The Queen and I” by Mare Laydown. Sunset never had it much for pure fiction, but even she had to admit that a nice days in the sun shouldn't be spent with “Starswirl the Bearded’s 87 least useful spells”, which had decorated her bedside since Mars. And to her dismay, she found herself deep in the book after just a few chapters.The protagonist was a young unicorn named Unique. At a party in the city of Townsville, she meets a strange mare, the most unsocial creature she ever met. And yet she can’t forget her through the years. And then they meet again, but now the strange mare is Queen of The United Pony Kingdom. Unique gains access to the queen's inner circle and goes on many adventures, as she is trying to repress her love for Queen Stardust. The story was pretty fantastic and completely unbelievable, but the author was an excellent storyteller with a slight snarky sense of humour, making the most cringeworthy moments bearable. Not to mention the more… parental advisory parts. Sunset found it fascinating that ‘teat’ could be used in that many ways. Sunset grabbed the glass in her magic and took a sip. She had just finished the suggestive chapter 16 with the title “Getting served by a Queen” when she heard discreet hoofsteps against the gravel, and a low voice next to her ear. “I am to inform you, your highness, that dinner will be ready in half an hour.” She abruptly looked up from her book, finding herself face to face with her valet, Bitworth. She was staring, but the griffon’s face was as calm and discreet as always. Finally she got control of her face and replied, “Thank you, Bitworth. I am sorry, but this book... Half an hour you said? Alright, I will have time to finish one more chapter until then, I hope.” Bitworth responded with a small nod. “As you wish. However, I believe it is possible to delay dinner for at least a quarter, should that be necessary... Do you wish for some more refreshments, your highness?” Sunset looked at her glass, almost empty. Oh, what the hay, it was summer. “Thank you Bitworth. I’d like another one of this, thank you.” The griffon left, and was soon back with another Cider, slightly colder than the last one. Sunset smiled, and took a long sip. And then she devoured chapter 17, “The Question”. That chapter however, gave her a feeling of annoyance. It was pretty obvious that Queen Stardust and Unique loved each other, but none of them made a move. The Queen was afraid to open herself to another pony, and Unique was sure the Queen never would get involved with a commoner. The ‘Question’ that finally was asked was ‘Do you like… roses?’ She grew more and more annoyed and finally she ejaculated, “Idiots!” over the whole garden, so that the royal gardeners and guards turned their heads. She smiled sheepishly, finished her cider and made her way to dinner. Dinner was a calm affair, with only her and Twilight attending. After the coffee was served, Twilight spoke up, “You seem a bit off today, Sunset.” “Can’t hide anything from you? Yeah, but… It's silly. It's a book and, well, I shouldn't be so annoyed with a work of fiction but…” Twilight put a hoof on Sunset's shoulder. “Trust me, I understand. And it’s not silly, it’s perfectly normal. Although slightly annoying sometimes, I remember when the second to last Daring Do book was released, where she got married to…” She shook her head, “Well, it doesn't matter now. But I was frustrated for a week! So, what did the author do to you?” “Well… I haven’t finished it yet, but… It's about two ponies in love and none of them dares to make any moves and it’s all for the stupidest reasons! Nopony would be that foolish in reality.” “Hmm, really? One of M. Laydowns books perhaps? She has a tendency for that style.” Sunset nodded, and Twilight continued. “I have read a couple. They’re not the kind of book that makes a deep impact, but they are perfect for a rainy day, or an impromptu afternoon off, in this case.” Twilight paused, “Except, perhaps for… Oh. One of the ponies is a Unicorn? White fur, likes fashion?” Sunset raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Is it perhaps “The Queen and I?” “Yeah, how did you guess that?” “Because it’s probably the best description of our marriage I’ve read. And I always imagine that you would react that way to our story.” Sunset’s jaw hit the table. “YOUR MARRI… It’s about… you and Rarity?” “Oh yes.” “And… it’s accurate?” “Yes, with a few exceptions. But she got most of it right. Especially the first years.” Sunset stared at Twilight, and when she finally opened her mouth it was clear that her mind had not yet recovered. “So… you were really that big of an idiot back then?” Twilight’s cheeks turned red, and she had a sharp reply ready on her tongue... And then, they were interrupted. “Oi! Yer ‘ighness! Yer...Oh. Sorry, Princess Sunset. I reckoned Princess Twilight was alone. Yer royal… Twilightness, Oi need yer to look at some documents before Court, see?” “Well, that’s all right, Parsnips. Just leave them here, and I will have a look at them after we’ve finished talking.” “Very well, yer ‘ighness! G’night yer ‘ighness! Err…’ighnesses! um… Sunsetness!” Sunset looked after the secretary with curious eyes. “How can you stand that?” Twilight looked up. “What? I know he can be a bit frivolous, but he’s a good secretary. ” “No, not that. If he could get my Blueprint to pull that Banana out of his rear I would only be grateful. No, It’s just… that dialect…? Hello? Hayrish? That’s just so… Where is he from?” “Connemare. But he studied in Barrytown, so most of his dialect is working class hayrish. It’s interesting, because while he keeps his rounded ‘I’s, he’s still keeping the flat ‘d’, and...” “Twilight…You’re lecturing... ” “Language and dialects ARE interesting, Sunset, but that's not really the thing. You see...” Twilight paused “Oh, it’s so silly but... He reminds me of her.” “HE reminds you of HER? You mean Rarity?” Twilight nodded, and Sunset went on. “Exactly… how does HE remind you?” “His speech.” Sunset raised a curious eyebrow, “Sorry? His speech? That awful dialect? Twilight, I may be a few hundred years old, but I still remember how Rarity spoke. It was nothing like that, not even close.” “It’s not awful! And you are wrong, but it’s not surprising, really. He talks almost exactly like Rarity… Thing is, her father was from Barrytown, and her grandmother as well. And when she was little, she spent a lot of time with her gran. And she, well… adapted. Now, usually she spoke with her refined dialect, as you remember, but when she was really upset or angry, she forgot to control her speech, and then… Oh, you should have heard her…” At the same time, Carfax Street. Sneaky was busy with perfecting a Daisy sandwich for dinner, when a call came from upstairs. “Ehrm!” She turned her head to find Rarity making her way down the stairs, wearing a delicate piece of orange, yellow and green. It was, however rather long and covered all of her hind legs and even her forelegs. “Sneaky, darling! Look! Isn’t this fabOooooooaaaah!” And in that moment she tripped on her dress and fell down the stairs. “Mistress, are you okay?” “Dis bloody dress is just bollocks!” “Beg your pardon?” Sneaky stopped some steps from her Mistress, not sure what to do. Rarity got up on all fours, rather ungracefully. “Oi can’t be arsked to wear it one more time if dis is de way the bogging thing will treat me! Oi ain't no stampcrab! And…” She fell silent. Rarity’s face was red with annoyance and slight embarrassment. Sneaky stared. “What was that, Mistress?” The Mistress eyes glew red. “You heard nothing, Thrall. NOTHING!” “...But of course, she hated for ponies to know. I was one of the few and I had to swear never to tell anyone. She almost divorced me when I mentioned it to mother.” “Oh geez… I don’t think I could ever learn to live with that around me.” “Didn't you date human Applejack briefly?” “Yeah, briefly. You can only take so many countryisms a day.” They talked a little more, sharing some slightly saucy secret of friends and lovers long gone. And then Sunset retired to her quarters, leaving Twilight alone with another cup of coffee and the documents. However, the subject of the discussion at dinner made her uneasy. Rarity was a sore subject, and even if she tried to be levelheaded, she always felt anxious talking about her. She didn't want to upset her fellow ruler again, but that book, and talking about how Parsnips reminded her… not to mention all the gossip. But Sunset was so happy, and it HAD been fun reminiscing, but… She hoped that she seemed casual enough, but deep inside she had been shivering. A small tear showed in her left eye, and she whispered a shaky, “Rarity”. She lowered her head, and let her mind go where it wanted. To a white unicorn with a purple mane, always shiny and chic. She thought about long talks in the evening, about visits to Manehattan, about parties where her wife made an impression on everypony. About those nights where the hours were almost too short and the many kisses, always too few. And finally, her thoughts went to a small room in the west wing. To an old and grey pony whose eyes still were blue, but whose legs were tired, and too weak to walk for long. Who spent most of her time in bed. For her inner sight, she saw an fragile hoof, who took her hoof in hers and promised...promised… Twilight suddenly raised her head, and shouted to the world, “You said you’d never leave me…You PROMISED! Why? WHY? ” “Twilight?” Twilight opened her eyes, finding Sunset Shimmer in front of her with a worried look in her eyes. And then, there was nothing holding her back. The powerful princess of Friendship wept loudly into her fellow princess’ embrace. And Sunset was silent, doing nothing but to stroke her mane. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I’m sorry I ever read that damn book. I didn't mean to upset you. If I’d only known...” Twilight silenced her. “It’s okay, Sunset. It’s partially my fault. I could have kept my mouth shut, and I mean… who am I to forbid the princess of the sun to read what she wants? Especially ‘princess booky’ herself.” Twilight laughed, a hollow, empty laugh. “Yeah, but… I still made fun of you.” “Oh, no! No no! Honestly, Rarity would have agreed. I was behaving like a fool then. No, it was just… the memories.” Sunset kept her legs around Twilight, what else could she do? Then she said, “about what you were screaming…” Twilight answered in a low voice, “The very last thing she said to me before I left. I didn’t want to go, but she urged me on. She wasn’t sick but she was… weak. She had a weak heart, and the doctors told me that a chock could… I dreaded the day I would come home and find her… gone. We talked about it sometimes… perhaps I made her feel guilty, but… I had you, of course, but Adagio had just come over and I didn't want to upset you…” “Oh, Twilight…” Sunset began to speak, but Twilight waved her hooves. “I know, I know, I could have talked to you but… but it felt… wrong. And she had always been there for me. And so I talked about how much I loved her and ranted about how lonely I would be, and how unfair everything was.” Twilight began to trot to and from the window. “And she listened. I didn't think it really did any impact so I just ranted on. And she always listened, without a word. We cuddled, had tea, and then that was it.” Twilight stopped at the window. “And then came that last time… I had my bags packed and everything, and I was just going to give her a quick goodbye, but soon I was talking about her medication and to eat properly and then I was at it again. And then, she did something she never done before. She hushed me.” “She hushed you?” The pause had been so long that Sunset decided she had a que. Twilight nodded. “She did. Put her hoof on my muzzle as well, to silence me. And then she said, ‘Darling, don’t be sad for me. Things may change, and times may be hard for us, but remember this: I will never leave you. I will always be with you. Forever and always.’ I told her that I off course knew she’d always be in my heart, but she shook her head. ‘For real. I mean for real. Forever and always, Twilight Sparkle. Forever and always.’” Again, they just sat there in silence. It was finally broken when Sunset said “What did you think she meant?” “I don’t know… But in that moment, I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe her so much. Logically I knew it was impossible of course, but logic didn’t really work that day.” Another moment of silence. Sunset emptied her coffee in one go and put her hoof around Twilight. “Do you want me to take Night Court again?” Twilight nodded, and Sunset gave her another hug and left the room. But at the doorstep she paused. "Twi? I haven't brought up the subject but... you know, Equinox... it's just a few days left and... You want me to take care of that too?" Twilight shook her head. "No. I will manage. I owe my ponies that much. And Sunset? Thanks." "Anything, Twi." And she was gone. Twilight sat there a bit longer, but eventually she sighed, and left the room herself. In another part of town, Rarity closed her notebook and leaned back on her sofa. She had much work left but a start was always a start. And the start had been promising. "Forever and always, Twilight. Forever and always." She paused, and shook her head. "It's about bloody time too."