Chapter 21: Beautiful Strangers
Princess Celestia slowly approached her throne. The pristine white pony was tired, worn from dealing with the rising number of troubling events. Her shimmering purple eyes heavily shadowed by her weighing eyelids.
“Its times like these I wish I wasn’t the one making all the decisions,” she sighed miserably. The weary mare sat upon her throne; wings drooping in an exhausted state. “I have a murderer on the loose with no leads, an innocent pony still suffering because of my decisions, a dragon lost in his own pain, and now,” she exhaled heavily, “a missing artifact and a noble captain in chains.”
Though every pony praised and cherished her on her wisdom and fair leadership, at this very moment, she felt like the greatest failure in Equestria.
“What a fine mess you’ve made Celestia. You’re supposed to be helping your subjects, not letting things get worse.”
Celestia remembered seeing Twilight, Rarity and Spike off as they headed for the train station back to Ponyville. She felt so awful; knowing she had to go arrest Spitfire in front of Rainbow Dash shortly after. If Twilight had known what was about to happen, she would have most likely tried to stop Celestia as Rainbow did.
“Perhaps…She should have.”
Deep down, the sun princess feared she was making the same mistake she made with Moonstruck again. Spitfire betraying her team to steal the Phoenix gauntlet made no sense. She knew it didn’t add up, she knew something didn’t feel right about this. But despite all her power and authority, in the end, she had no choice but to obey the laws that kept her citizens civil and safe. Spitfire was undeniably seen stealing the gauntlet. Deep down, she knew she had to make the arrest…Despite how wrong it felt.
“Sometimes I wonder,” she looked at the stained glass windows; as if seeking answers from their stories, “if Luna and I are doomed to suffer through the endless years of life’s troubles alone.” Feeling drained and miserable, Celestia levitated a large slice of pink frosted cake to her lips. She took a bite; grumbling as bits of her guilt binging food sprinkled from her lips. “I suppose being ruler means it’s too much to ask for a break every now and then.”
“A break? Hmmm sorry sunshine, I’m afraid I’m fresh out of breaks.”
Celestia’s eyes widened. She nearly dropped her cake from her magical hold. She recognized that voice.
“But about a nice BUZZ instead?!?”
BZZT!
Celestia eeped as she felt a sudden jolting shock to her rump. The startled princess sprang from her throne; leaping off as if she had just sat on a feral cat. Her golden cuffed hooves landed on the ground, her wings clutching her sizzling rump. The formerly composed princess looked quite flustered by this invasive little prank.
POOF!
Discord materialized in Celestia’s throne. He was draped across the chair; oddly assorted limbs dangling in a sensual, almost lusting position. The twisted trickster had the most disturbingly bemused smile on his face.
“Looks like someone else is in the hot seat now,” he said teasingly. Discord snapped his fingers and materialized a watering can above his head. The can tilted out, spilling water onto him and causing a gush of steam to erupt from Discord’s face and head. “Emphasis on the hot, wouldn’t you agree; princess?”
“DISCORD! What in Equestria do you think you’re doing here?” she huffed. Celestia’s cheeks were flashing hot pink. She hated how easily he ruffled her feathers.
“Why I’m here to cheer you up of course. That’s what old friends do, don’t they? And from the sounds of it, you could certainly use a dose of extra strength cheer,” he said; smiling smugly.
“And what makes you think I need cheering up?”
“You mean besides all the dreadfully serious moping you were just doing? Going on and on about how everything’s falling apart and you’re shouldering the blame for all of it?” he replied sarcastically. Discord casually checked his nails; filing them down with his white tail tip turned nail file.
Celestia bit her lip; pouting. She was so annoyed and rattled by his intrusive entrance, she didn’t want to bother dignifying his eavesdropping with an answer. Celestia turned her head and harrumphed loudly.
“Oh don’t be so hard on yourself Celestia,” Discord chuckled; suddenly vanishing in a flash. Celestia noticed his voice had vanished and turned to see where he went. “That’s my job!” he exclaimed jubilantly from above.
Celestia looked up to find the elusive trickster. Discord transformed himself into a stone statue of himself and collapsed onto Celestia. She grunted and captured his heavy form with her aura, the strain visible on her face. Discord was smiling broadly; each claw was holding a different object made out of stone: his eagle claw was holding a large eyeball and his lion’s paw was holding a boulder.
ZAP!
Celestia teleported herself back to her throne; dropping the statue and watching it shatter on the ground into numerous pieces. She panted heavily with one hoof on her chest. The princess was still shaken by Discord’s stunt, feeling more and more irritated by his pestering presence.
The rock pieces rolled into a large pile. Bit by bit, the pieces formed Discord’s shape and height. The rock form blasted off like a shell once Discord’s form was completed. He had a bitter, sour looking frown on his face.
“Oh okay, okay, I can see you’re in a mood,” he said with a snarky tone.
“You can crack all the jokes you want Discord but you will hear no laughter from me today,” she said angrily. Celestia bundled herself tightly on her throne. She was in no mood for entertaining a mischievous guest, or playing his games. “I just want to be alone…Please…Leave me be.”
Her icy front dissolved Discord’s frown into a saddened blank stare. He had never seen her this upset; so full of heartache.
This was something serious.
“I um…I hate to bring up the whole eavesdropping thing again, but you just said how you were worried about having to face all the problems of the world alone…Didn’t you?” he asked delicately.
Celestia looked at him blankly; silence was the only answer Discord received. Her heavenly aura was stained by a dreary cloud of misery and melancholy.
“I guess I just figured…You still had…Um…W-w-w-what about Luna? Surely she would be happy to-”
“Lulu is off visiting a personal admirer of hers. She’ll be gone most of the night,” Celestia said.
“Lulu eh? Heh-heh, oh I’m going to get a lot of mileage out of that one,” Discord snickered; rubbing his paws together.
Before any further impish ideas could sprout in Discord’s devious mind, Celestia flashed a lethal glare that stopped him in his tracks. Now was clearly not the time for such nonsense. He laughed nervously and offered a weak wave.
“Please Discord, enough tricks, enough pranking and playing around,” she said solemnly, “it just hurts too much right now. I’d like you to leave me alone now…Please.”
“A-a-a-all right but, if I may?” he looked at her apologetically; raising a single eagle talon. “Just. One. More. Trick?”
Discord leaned forward before Celestia could protest. His eagle claw reached behind her small, dove soft ear. A single, fiery orange orchid flower appeared in the palm of his claw.
Celestia gasped softly. Her eyes twinkled; staring fondly at the flower.
He placed the flower by her opposing ear; nestling it gently by her colorful flowing mane and royal crown. The orange shine from the flower sparkled radiantly alongside the princess’s eyes.
“An oldie but a goodie. Correct me if I’m wrong but, I believe it’s your favorite,” he said charmingly.
“Why Discord…I…It’s beautiful,” she said astonished. Celestia levitated the flower from her ear and examined it. She crooned at its heavenly scent and stunning colors. “How did you know?”
“I remember you were frolicking in a field of them when I first saw you. It was quite a sight,” he said; smiling sweetly. “That bouquet I gave you had quite a few orchids in it. Based on the look on your face, I’m guessing that was the right choice.”
Celestia blushed deeply. Discord’s charms were having too strong of an effect on her, she could even almost feel a smile coming on. She suppressed it though. Celestia wasn’t going to let Discord off the hook that easily.
“Your memory is better than I expected,” she replied coolly. She placed the flower back in her hair and turned sharply towards Discord. “I trust then you remember what happened after you found me in that orchid field.”
Discord tugged at his neck nervously; pulling on a green tie he magically summoned. He murmured nervously under his breath.
“Well I um-”
“You made the entire orchid field sneeze spontaneously…At me. I was showered with saliva, petals and pollen. Furthermore, it was that day I first learned of the chaos you were unleashing on the ponies of Equestria, thus; my sister and I began our long and difficult campaign to stop you and free the ponies from the misery you caused,” she stated boldly.
“Oh…Right…I guess that part must have slipped my mind,” he replied. Discord felt like he was being melted under that punishing stare of Celestia’s. The top half of his head slid off as if it were a teetering tower of blocks. A bouquet of orchids popped out from his open skull. “But you still like the flower…Right?” he meekly asked.
Celestia stared flatly at the fumbling trickster. His humor still failed to produce a single snicker.
“I thought we were past all that Celestia,” he said earnestly.
“We are…Err…I mean I am. It’s just that I have so much on my plate right now and I’m afraid it’s put me in a rather sour mood. I apologize if I’ve been curt to you,” she said.
“Nononononnonono, please princess, if anyone should be apologizing it should be me,” he said frantically. His panicking seemed sincere. The slippery trickster didn’t appear to be lying or deceptive this time.
“Apologize, what for?” she inquired.
“For everything! For the trickery, for stressing you out even further, for betraying you and all my friends to side with Tirek,” he counted each event on one of his lion’s paw claws. “But worst of all…For all those years I spent tormenting you, your sister and all the ponies of Equestria…I’m sorry.”
For the first time in her life, Celestia couldn’t see any hidden mischief behind those warped, red and yellow eyes. No crossed claws behind his back, no double talk or hidden meanings wrapped in a phony apology. This was real, this was honest. He was being honest.
Come to think of it, even when Discord said he was ready to use his magic for good…He never apologized about his misdeeds before. If this is another trick, then Discord is a better trickster than I gave him credit for. Could this be a genuine apology? Is Discord really trying to apologize…Because of me? She thought to herself.
“W-w-w-why Discord I…I don’t know what to say,” she sputtered fumblingly.
“Hopefully it’s not that you still want me to go, but if you really do, I’ll respect your decision,” he said; humbling himself.
Celestia smiled fondly at his request. Humility and honesty were quite flattering emotions on the conniving chaos spirit, it was a side of Discord Celestia had never seen before, even after all this time. She nodded gracefully.
“Not that I don’t find this confession comforting Discord, I must admit, I am rather puzzled at why you came to visit me now of all times,” she mused curiously.
The chaos spirit flinched. His face and eyes jerked suddenly, as if experiencing a heart attack. His body broke into countless puzzle pieces; scattering across the floor. Celestia cautiously pulled her hooves back. She didn’t want to step on any of those pieces.
POP!
The puzzle pieces instantly reformed back into Discord’s complete shape. Celestia found his reaction rather…Unusual, but then again, everything Discord did was unusual.
“What do you mean why did I come to visit now? Don’t you know?” he asked persistently. Celestia looked at him as if he was speaking a foreign language. She was quite perplexed. “The letter Celestia, I came to talk to you about that VERY important letter I sent you.”
“Oh? You wrote me Discord? That’s strange, I don’t recall receiving anything from you,” she pondered loudly. Celestia scratched her chin with her hoof.
The misshapen spirit felt like he had been turned to stone again. His rotten egg yellow eyes twitched nervously. Discord was becoming increasingly anxious. He started pacing back and forth, yanking off his horns and ears and throwing them on the ground, he continued to do this even as new horns and ears popped from his head. The thought of having to explain what was in that letter caused Discord’s mind to overload. He felt like screaming until his lungs collapsed.
Celestia sported a half grin.
“Well then, since I obviously didn’t receive this letter, why don’t you just tell me what you wrote?” she said smugly. Celestia plopped her rump on a velvet royal throw pillow, her eyes locked squarely on the panicking draconequus. “You have my full, undivided attention.”
Discord was reduced to a flabbergasted mess. He felt the weight of his words upon his mind; fearing that he may have to actually speak those heartfelt emotions he worked so hard pouring into his letter.
Now he must face his feelings towards Celestia, face to face.
“The truth is…I…I wrote you a letter explaining about feelings…Um my personal feelings…Towards you,” he said shakily. Celestia’s eyes widened slightly, but otherwise, showed no strong reaction. She continued to listen intently. “I never really knew what love was or why anyone would seek it. The only love I understood was the love of spreading chaos. It wasn’t until Fluttershy helped me understand friendship that I was able to move to this next step.”
“That makes sense but, why me? I was your enemy for so long and even after you reformed, we never spent that much time together. What was it that brought me to the outcome of your realization?” she asked tenderly.
“Out of all the beings, ponies and creatures I’ve met over my infinite life, you were the one that lingered in my memories. I hated you for trapping me in stone for all those years. However, I naturally had a great deal of time on my hands, so I had nothing else to do but listen to you and get to know you,” he said. Discord fidgeted uneasily with his claws. “This may sound odd but, you always produced the best reactions whenever I was toying with you or mocking you. There was just something so…Irresistibly delightful about seeing your beautiful face get all wrinkled and ruffled whenever I was doing something mischievous.”
Try as she might, Celestia could not suppress the blush rising on her cheeks. It was a confusing compliment but still a compliment.
“Especially that time I pulled your tail off and got a full view of that lovely sun butt of yours,” he said; teasingly.
Celestia felt like she was going to burst into flames she was so red.
“Despite that high and mighty image of yours, deep down, I always had a sneaking suspicion that you had a playful side you were hiding. I found that terribly interesting. Like there was some sort of prankster you hid beneath the surface, a side few ponies know about. That, along with the fact there are so few beings out there who understand what it’s like to live to the ripe old age of infinity as we do, convinced me beyond a Shadowbolt of a doubt that I…I…I’ve fallen in love with you…Celestia.”
An uncomfortable silence settled on the two immortal beings. It was as quiet as a graveyard in the throne room, neither one had the courage or the confidence to know what to say next.
“I see…Is that everything?” Celestia asked.
“Yes, yes it is,” his head hung wearily, “that’s everything I wrote in the letter.”
The princess smiled. She materialized a rolled up scroll out of nowhere, she unfolded the scroll right before Discord’s bewildered eyes. It was the letter he had sent her.
“Oooooooh…You mean this letter?” she asked coyly.
“B-b-b-b-but that means…You just…But why did you…What was the…Everything I just-”
“I just wanted to hear you say it,” she said with a giggle.
“Are you telling me that I was just tricked by Princess Celestia? ME? the master of chaos and mischief?!?” Discord sputtered.
“Gotcha,” she said with a wink.
POP!
Discord’s blue, misshapen horn popped like a balloon. Air came spewing from the popped horn as if he was being deflated. Celestia meeped as Discord’s body flew around the room; strewing about like a popped balloon. He zipped in the air for a few moments before finally landing. Discord lay at Celestia’s snow white hooves; flattened like a wrinkly pancake that’s been left out in the sun too long.
“Oh poo,” he squeaked in a high pitched voice.
Almost instantly, Celestia burst into a sea of roaring laughter. The snow white princess could feel her cheeks turning bright pink. She doubled over; clutching her chest as the laughter kept flowing from her.
Discord returned himself to normal. The heavenly sound of Celestia’s joyful laughter was like the sweetest music he had ever heard. He couldn’t remember the last time he heard something so beautiful.
“You-your laughing…Your actually laughing,” he said; astonished.
Celestia wiped her eyes clean of tears with her wings. She eventually composed herself so she could address Discord in a more dignified and respectable manner.
“What can I say? I’ve always found you to be a little funny Dizzy, just as long as you weren’t harming any pony with your mischief,” she said sweetly, “or manipulating them into something they’re not.”
“Fair point,” he conceded. Discord scratched his head at the odd nickname she just called him by. Celestia giggled quietly.
Another uncomfortable silence rolled in; settling around the two like a dreary fog.
“So then,” Discord coughed uneasily, “I’ve told you how I feel…So…What happens next?”
“Hmm I believe what happens next is a bottle of champagne, freshly baked rolls, a nice salad and OH, my chef knows how to make this absolutely scrumptious summer garden pasta,” she said casually.
“Pasta? Wait-wait, are you saying-”
“Oh I’m not saying anything yet handsome,” her sparkling eyes batted seductively at the stammering trickster, “at least not until you have dinner with me.”
Discord closed his gaping mouth. This was certainly not the reaction he was expecting from the princess. The shock slowly warmed into a charming and delightful smile.
“So, what do you say Dizzy?”
“Well then, I say lead the way…Sun butt.”
Luna had made her way to the location described on the last card delivered by her mysterious, secret admirer. Before she left however, she raised the moon and decorated the night sky with the most luminous of stars.
She wanted this night to be as perfect as possible, and being the princess of the night, that was rather easy to accomplish…At least presentation wise.
The location was at a café in downtown Canterlot. The café building was light purple and featured pink and violet colored canopy’s shadowing over tables that looked like sliced limes. A tall, black, elegantly crafted lamppost stood directly in front of the café.
“It does not appear he has arrived yet. Good,” Luna said. Her delicate hooves gracefully touched down on the asphalt in front of the closed café. The mare’s wings folded onto her sides.
Luna was infinitely grateful this mysterious RS individual chose to meet her at night. Granted, she would have seen him in the daylight if he had arranged their meeting in the afternoon, or even the morning. Seeing her admirer at night suited the dark blue Alicorn for many reasons, privacy and intimacy topping the list.
“This is the exact location written on the last card, he specifically stated to be here at 11:30pm,” she mused to herself. Luna looked across the street at a clock hanging above a store. “Its 11:20, he should be here soon…Hopefully,” she said. There was a spot of fear clouding her voice. A part of her feared her date would not show, or that this was some elaborate, cruel joke someone was playing on her.
Two bat pony guards landed shortly behind Luna; both were gray in color and proudly wore Luna’s trademark black and purple night guard armor.
The bat pony standing by the lamp post had a slight hunch. His wings were littered with holsters and strings containing weapons; blades mostly. The guard practically had his own cutlery stowed away in his wings. His eyes were faint yellow with a black, slit like pupil. The right eye however was covered by a metallic eye patch, two chrome bones cover the base of the patch in the form of an X. The pony scanned the area quickly. His hooves hovered anxiously near the blades stored in his wings.
The other pony hovered directly behind Luna as if he was her shadow. His hair was a grim shade of dark gray; eyes were rose red and featured dark upside down triangles directly below the lower eyelids. This bat pony seemed sturdier, bulkier and stronger than the guard carrying the blades.
“The area is secured your highness. No targets within the immediate area and any that approach are well within my throwing range,” the blade wielding pony hissed. His voice was cold and low; like a snake. “Come on, some pony just give me a reason to use these, just one reason” he whispered excitedly.
“Rest assured princess, any pony foolish to dare touch you will be sent to the emergency room as a bag of bones,” the larger pony said with a grunt. His hooves cracked with a shiver inducing crunch, it was a sound that always made the other guards cringe in disgust.
“Ugh, I have been over this with both of you many, MANY times! There will be NO harming of my date,” Luna angrily snapped. “I didn’t want either of you here with me in the first place. I am more than capable of taking care of myself, I am the princess of the night after all.”
The guards looked at each other and shrugged before looking back towards the blue mare.
“Sigh…but I know thou are my royal guard and Tia insisted I bring thee. I still maintain my claim however, that this situation does not require such drastic measures, so,” she turned to the larger pony, “that means there will be NO bone snapping, Shadows Fall.” Luna then turned to the blade wielding pony. “And if I see one blade pointed at my date, Scythe, I shall personally see to it that thou scrub the bathrooms for a month!”
The guards flinched reactively. They nodded quickly and bowed respectfully, both of them knew all too well what wrath Princess Luna was capable of when angered.
Luna sighed and paced around the area; eyes checking back on the clock impatiently. Very few things frightened the night princess. Vanquishing nightmares and monsters from pony’s dreams had made the princess immune to all kinds of fears.
Yet the possibility of being stood up by her secret admirer scared her more than anything else; be it in the dream world or the real one.
“What if he is too intimidated by the fact I’m a princess?” she thought to hereself. Her anxiety picked at her brain like a pack of relentless vultures. “What if my guards are frightening him, and making him less inclined to come? What if I don’t live up to his artistic expectations? What if he thinks I could become Nightmare Moon again one day? Oh Tia…What do I do, what do I do?”
PSST!
Luna’s crippling fears were suddenly frozen by a distracting noise. The strange sound was coming from around the side of the café. Scythe and Shadows Fall were inspecting more buildings further down the street; leaving the princess alone to investigate.
PSST! PSST!
The noise sounded like a blast of air coming from a can; like an aerosol spray. Luna peered down the side of the café, her ocean blue eyes shimmering with curiosity.
There, standing at the formerly blank wall of the café was a pony, a pony magically using an assortment of colorful spray cans to decorate the café wall with graffiti art. The pony is a unicorn, male. His fur dark ivory in color, he wore pale blue moon spectacles. His eyes were hazelnut brown and were focused intensely on his artwork. The pony wore a black leather jacket with metal spikes along the shoulders and sleeves, though oddly enough, all the spikes had been worn down into harmless little nubs. The pony’s hair and tail mane were his most striking features. Both were messy, unkempt and medium in length. The bulk of his wild hair was a fiery blend of vivid orange, red and yellow, the roots however, had a descending assortment of dark blue and blue green splashed in. His right eyebrow had a single silver piercing, while his left ear had 3 piercings along the curve of the lobe. The punk pony’s cutie mark resembled an ink blue gravity feed spray gun, only instead of a nozzle at the front of the gun, the brush from a paint brush was sticking out of it; dripping with a variety of neon colors.
“Yeah, yeah, this is splattering real nice,” he said proudly. The punk scratched his chin for a moment; planning his next move. He levitated 2 cans by his hoof and started spraying each one in opposite corners of the wall. “A few strokes there and smudge a few streaks over here; yeaaaaaaah. Love the mixing bowl going on here. This is way shinier than my last one, definitely razor grade work if I do say so myself.”
“Ahem!”
Luna’s assertive cough jarred the punk pony out of his artistic trance. He looked towards the radiant Alicorn. For a moment, the punk pony had to adjust his spectacles to make sure he was actually looking at the real Princess Luna standing there. His eyes drank her image up voraciously, an impish smile appeared as he looked adoringly at his newly acquired royal audience. The graffiti artist did not seem frightened by Luna at all, in fact, he resumed spray painting; acting as if she were another pony passing by in the street.
“Hey there, be with you in one tick, I’ve got some major storm waves in my pallet and I gotta get this sorted before I fizzle,” he said.
Luna’s cheeks became puffy and flared. She couldn’t believe this vandal was so blatantly ignoring her and treating her so casually.
“I beg one’s pardon but what pray tell does thou think-”
“Do you know what color quasars are?” he asked; mysteriously.
“What…What are thou talking about?” Luna sputtered. The peculiar question had caught her off guard.
“Well you bring up the night, and space, and the stars, and every other twinkle in the black sea, so I was just puzzling you for a quick snap on what a quasar might look like. I got some noodling going for the colors in my stash, but I’d rather not mix it up if I can get some legit specs from an expert,” he replied.
“I do more than that I will have you know, and I am not some expert. I am Princess Luna: princess of the night and co-ruler of Equestria,” she flaunted proudly. The pony nodded in reply. His demeanor was still too calm for Luna’s liking. “As for thou’s request, I haven’t the faintest fathom what bewitching words you speak of, but one thing is unmistakably clear,” she confronted the pony and pointed accusingly at the wall, “this sort of vandalism is not allowed in Canterlot. What authority is bestowed upon thou to disgrace another’s property?”
The punk pony smiled cheerfully. He chuckled amusedly at the princess’s choice of words, this only seemed to irritate her even further.
“Well of course it’s not graceful yet, this pool of dreams isn’t done filling up,” he replied cryptically.
The unicorn casually walked past Luna and resumed working on his masterpiece. Her face was stricken with rampant confusion. This pony’s words seemed like they were apart of some warped riddle she had to solve. Luna casually glanced back at the clock; still keeping track of the time.
“So what brings you out here; your royal loveliness?” he asked.
“Do not change the subject, and besides, I could ask thou the same thing!”
The colt stopped spraying. He turned his head into a sideways glance; lowering his glasses. It was a look that read: isn’t that obvious?
“Oh…R-r-right, I suppose I trotted right into that one,” Luna admittedly sheepishly. The punk pony chuckled dismissively and grabbed another spray can. “If thou must know, I am actually waiting to meet some pony here. There are still 5 more minutes until our scheduled meeting, but I fear that he will be late…If he shows up at all.”
“Or maybe he’ll be early,” the colt said; smirking smugly.
“Wishful thinking can be a most wicked enemy young artist. Perhaps I should just accept the truth that I will walk this world alone. Being a princess and an Alicorn are most formidable barriers for any potential suitor to overcome, and then there are the bothersome guards as well,” she pouted woefully.
“What? You gotta be messing with me, that’s just cracked thinking,” he exclaimed defiantly. Luna’s eyes widened at his peculiar, yet bold statement. The unicorn colt dropped his can with a clattering crash. He approached Luna without the slightest bit of hesitation, she stepped back in mild surprise.
“What does thou mean by…Cracked thinking?” she asked.
“Any pony with peepers can see you’re the finest fox in Equestria,” he said confidently. He spoke as if this was a globally accepted fact.
“Perhaps thy spectacles are not functioning properly. As thou can plainly see,” Luna motioned to her body with her hoof, “I am a pony, not a fox.”
“Wait-wait-wait, just wait, are you trying to tell me no pony has told you how insanely gorgeous you are?” he asked; exasperated. This revelation was most unsettling to the punk pony.
Luna’s cheeks turned slight shades of cherry blossom pink. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, her dark blue eyes having trouble maintaining eye contact with the graffiti colt. “Well…No…N-n-not in so many words” she admitted.
“Well now THAT is the real crime if you ask me, allow me to remedy this gross injustice,” he said. The pony gallantly picked up Luna’s fore hoof, planted a fur tingling kiss on it and placed it back down. “Princess, you are one absolutely, unequivocally and sensationally gorgeous sight to behold.”
Luna’s cheeks blushed furiously. Such chivalry mixed with strangely beautiful words, she was not expecting this from such a colorful and unsavory looking pony. He looked like the kind of pony one would avoid in a dark alley, yet he speaks as if he were a frog prince; charming himself a princess for a magical kiss.
“T-t-t-t-thank you strange artist. It appears your words, strange as they may be, hold an air of beauty to them,” she admitted.
“Strange artist eh, well, I’ve been called worse,” he laughed playfully. Luna stifled a giggle of her own. “But I prefer to be called Rebel Streak.”
He extended his hoof to Luna, offering a proper greeting and introduction this time. Before Luna could return the gesture, a pair of dark, brutish shadows blitzed Rebel Streak with the force of a rhinoceros. Luna gasped as the punkish pony was crunched forcefully against the wall he had finished painting mere moments ago; though thankfully, missing the still-drying spray paint. Shadows Fall and Scythe dug into him without mercy.
“Thought you could slip past us, eh punk face?” Scythe sneered. Rebel tried to protest, but a quick flash of one of Scythe’s blades instantly silenced his voice.
“How dare you soil the princess’s royal hooves with your fowl, grungy stench; where’s your respect low life?” Shadows Fall barked.
“Despite the fact my spine feels like a wet paper bag, I want to give a nice shout out to you hired guns for not pancaking me against my little mural here,” Rebel grunted. His voice was strained due to the pressure of Shadows Fall’s hooves digging into his chest. Though in pain and cornered, he really was quite sincere with his statement.
“Don’t worry your highness. We’ll take care of this scum for you. Scythe and I will personally see to it he’s locked up for disgracing you and the café with his vileness,” Shadows Fall said.
Luna was most annoyed at her guards persistent, albeit, useless need to protect her 24/7. She was about to address them when something stunning caught her eye. It occurred to Luna she had been so preoccupied with her anxieties, she had not taken the time to actually examine Rebel’s graffiti. It was a towering portrait of her, elements of outer space, such as quasars, black holes and shooting stars; filled up her body. The portrait depicted Luna as if she was comprised of the night sky and outer space itself. Most unsettling was the insignia located on the lower right hand corner; right where Rebel was being held. There were two yellow squiggly, splatter shaped letters; no doubt the artist’s signature. The letters were a capitol R and S.
I don’t believe it. THIS pony is my secret admirer?!? She thought to herself. Everything started to fall into place the more she thought about it. The wall painting, the use of her likeness, the matching insignia on all of her cards, and the fact that he was here on time after all, it all made sense to her. I don’t know why but I somehow thought he’d look different. Luna cleared her throat and firmly addressed her overzealous guards. “Kindly release my date this instant! I shall personally handle this from here. You two can take the rest of the night off, your services will no longer be required, Shadows Fall; Scythe.”
The barbarous guards eased off of Rebel. The punk pony landed to the ground; coughing weakly as he tried to regain his strained voice. Shadows Fall and Scythe were baffled by the princess’s commands. Shadows Fall in particular was especially flummoxed. Despite what his princess had ordered, Shadows Fall refused to show leniency towards this punkish rogue.
“Princess, please, I beg you to reconsider. This grungy delinquent is a gross offense to your good name,” he barked defensively. “Even if he is the date you have been seeking, he is not fit to be seen with the likes of you. Everything about him makes me feel uneasy.”
“Sounds more like constipation issues if you ask me,” Rebel snidely joked.
Luna and Scythe chuckled discretely. Shadows Fall snorted his bull like nostrils at his partner, the blade wielding Pegasus looked away and whistled innocently.
“He clearly has a rotten attitude, and let’s not all forget the fact he’s a criminal who was caught defiling private property with this vile so-called art,” he snarled crudely.
“Is thou actually referring to my likeness as vile?” Luna coldly asked.
Shadows Fall just realized what he had said and immediately regretted it. Luna stared down the muscular guard with the most venomous, heart stopping stare he’s ever seen. Scythe meekly tried to aid his partner, but Luna’s royal Canterlot voice silenced him effortlessly. Shadows Fall gulped loudly as the blue mare stood imposingly before him.
“Thou have treated my date as a despicable criminal and slandered his beautiful art as something that needs to be expunged. Rest assured Shadows Fall, if the rest of my night is tainted by thou’s oafish thuggery, I shall personally see to it thou cleans all the bathrooms alongside Scythe” she said fiercely, “only instead of brushes…THOU WILL BE USING THY TONGUES!”
Scythe and Shadows Fall lost all color in their faces. The guards scrambled to vacate the area as quickly as possible; they jabbered wordlessly in horror. Luna sighed once the guards were out of sight.
“Man, I think I saw their bones jumping out of their skin for a moment,” Rebel commented.
“M-m-m-my deepest apologies Rebel Streak. I should have called them off the moment I found thee, no part of me wanted them here in the first place,” Luna sadly confessed. “I must admit, when I first realized thou were the artist behind all those beautiful cards, thou did not look like what I had expected.”
“Ah no big thing, I get that a lot. Truth be told, you’re just as smoking hot and razor fine as I expected you’d be,” he smoothly remarked.
“Razor…Smoking? I do not understand. I find smoking to be a most unpleasant habit and do not partake in it. As for razors, Scythe was the only one who would have had any blades on his person if thou are in need of any,” Luna said.
Rebel shook his head and chuckled.
“No-no, smoking is how I call someone beautiful, and when I say razor, it’s when I refer to something or someone awesome, sensational or cool,” he explained.
Luna slowly processed everything he was saying. Her grasp over common colloquialisms and slang was still rusty at best, but Rebel’s vernacular was leaps and bounds more confusing than what she’s heard from others.
“I see…Thou speaks in a very strange and unusual manner,” Luna said.
“Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you.”
The Alicorn princess paused for a moment. Her face lit up with a newfound surge of joy, her lungs bursting with youthful laughter. The roguish pony had an eerily enchanting effect on the blue mare; one that she was enjoying thoroughly.
“Yes, I suppose that is true,” she said; smiling warmly.
Discord and Celestia sat comfortably across from each other in the royal dining hall. The extensive table was littered with gourmet cuisine; most of it eaten. The two ancient beings were laughing and smiling at each other. They felt like they could talk for ages, time slipped away in the nostalgic warmth of their infinite number of memories and stories.
“So-so wait a minute, are you telling me you actually wanted me to mess things up at the Grand Galloping Gala?” Discord asked.
“Of course, the Gala is the most dreadfully boring event imaginable,” she said breezily, “being surrounded by uppity rich snobs all night is more exhausting than battling Queen Chrysalis.” Celestia took a sip of champagne; smacking her lips.
The two shared a grand laugh that echoed through the halls of Canterlot castle. The guards securing the doors to the dining hall looked at each other and smiled. Though they felt it was strange leaving Celestia alone with someone like Discord, they were comforted by hearing their princess laugh with such merriment. They haven’t heard her sound so joyful ever since the matter with the artifact thief started.
“Well I suppose that makes sense. Part of me secretly hoped you invited me because…You know…You might have liked me,” he grumbled bitterly.
“Who said it can’t be both?” she winked; swallowing down a piece of pink frosted cake.
“It’s what’s not being said that’s troubling me the most,” he said shyly.
“Whatever do you mean Dizzy? You sound so serious, that’s not like you.”
Discord vanished from his seat and materialized in front of Celestia; hovering just above her dirty dishes. With one snap of his claws, the table and the empty plates vanished. Discord hovered wearily above the still seated princess.
“This is a very serious matter you see. No tricks, no illusions, just the real me asking a very real question and hoping for a very real answer,” he whispered boldly. The trickster coiled his tail like a spring. He descended slowly onto his tail and sat on it like a chair.
Celestia was rigid with curiosity. She nodded; looking at him endearingly with doe like eyes.
“What are we Celestia? What are we to one another? Old friends, old enemies, what does everything we’ve said and done amount to? These feelings inside of me are confusing and strange…I…I don’t know what to make of them…Or of you,” he said intensely.
“I…I…I’m sorry Discord, but I’m afraid I don’t have that answer,” she replied solemnly. Celestia stood up and approached a window. She stared breathlessly at the world down below, her eyes pleading the heavens for some kind of answer to her own internal struggle. “You’re not the only one who’s putting themselves in uncharted waters. I want there to be a special someone in my life, there’s a part of me that wants that someone to be you…But…I don’t know if you can be that someone.”
Discord whimpered sorrowfully. A shimmering tear drop could be seen dripping down Celestia’s cheek in the window’s reflection.
“And as powerful as I am and appear, my heart is far too fragile to be wounded any further.”
“W-w-w-what do you mean any further?” he asked.
“Oh Discord, please don’t tell me you actually believe that Fluttershy was the only mare whose feelings you hurt when you sided with Tirek?” she coldly wept.
The memory of his betrayal hit Discord like a sledgehammer. Somehow, amongst all his inner turmoil and emotional struggles, he had nearly forgotten one of the most devastating decisions he had ever made: betraying the ponies. He had been personally hired to capture Tirek and decided to work with him instead. The memories of the hurt pony’s faces came stinging back into his mind like a flurry of wasp stings.
Fluttershy took it the worst, as he knew she would.
Celestia however was the pony who personally enlisted him to find Tirek in the first place. Knowing how he feels about her now, makes him feel even guiltier since it was her trust he betrayed before any pony else’s. Celestia, her sister Luna and Cadence wound up being discarded in Tartarus because of his decision. One simple apology wasn’t going to cut it.
“You still haven’t gotten over that, have you?” he asked nervously.
“Does that surprise you?”
“N-no…I suppose not,” he admitted weakly.
“I trusted you Discord…I gave you a second chance because I believed you truly could change…And you sold us out to the devil,” she squeaked scornfully. Discord had never felt so ashamed in all his immortal life. Celestia turned from the window to face him, both eyes were dripping tears now. “You chose a criminal over your friends,” her tearful eyes intensified, “you chose him over me…THAT is where we are at…And we’ve been there ever since Discord.”
“I’ve done many, many terrible things to you and your subjects and I regret all of them. But none of them, absolutely NONE of them sicken me like that one does,” he moaned miserably. Celestia closed her eyes; refusing to look at him. “I thought that he accepted me for who I truly am. I was still raw with all this friendship stuff, I was worried every pony was forcing me to be something that I am not.”
“No one forced you Discord. You had a choice, you always had a choice…And you choose poorly,” she replied.
“I was afraid everyone was trying to change me, that I had to become something I am not just for you ponies to like me,” he said. His voice was growing louder and more frantic than he realized.
“You didn’t have to change everything you are to be liked Discord, you didn’t have to change everything…To be loved Discord,” she whispered breathlessly. Celestia’s eyes watered once more. The pain in her voice echoed with heartache, not anger like before. “Why do you think I wanted you free from your stone prison again? Why do you think I wanted you at the Gala? Why do you think I invited you to dinner? Our lives, our hearts, however long or however eternal they may be, they’re connected…And I wanted them to be connected, I wanted us to stay connected. There is something between us, yes, but I’m just too scared of being hurt again to trust you enough to find out what that something is…I’m sorry.”
“But-but I’m not the same person I was before. I’ve learned my lesson, yes I still have much to learn, I hear it from Princess Bookworm all the time,” he grumbled begrudgingly. “But the one thing I know for certain is that what I’m feeling is no passing fancy. I know I have given you no right to trust me, and yet, I’m asking you to do it all the same. Let me show you there’s more to me than twists and turns.”
Celestia paused to process everything. Her sighs were heavy and choking with teetering sobs, she felt like her mind and heart were being suffocated simultaneously.
“It’s not just that Dizzy,” she said gravely, “there’s so much more I’m scared of than betrayal, so much I don’t want to have happen again.”
Discord stared at her confusedly. His horns morphed into a pair of question marks.
“You’re not the first I’ve attempted to welcome into my heart. I’ve been alone for far too long. Despite my position and authority…I…I maintained a number of relationships over the years; kept hidden of course,” she confessed tearfully. “Those that stayed with me…w-w-withered and died…I remained the same; always the same. I knew they would end badly, I knew it would hurt every single time I outlived another pony I loved but…I did it anyway.”
Celestia’s tears burst like waterfalls; she couldn’t hold the pain back any longer. Discord was the first and only soul she had ever confessed these feelings to.
“I don’t want to lose any pony else, not again. I know we will both outlive countless souls in this world, but if we were to be together, that would mean we would be together forever,” she boomed intensely. Celestia’s hooves slowly clopped towards Discord. His yellow eyes slowly widening as the realization of her words started to sink in. Her beautiful face was so broken and empty moments ago, now, she looked intense enough to stare down death itself. “I’ve been alone too long to venture into anything that leads to a doomed relationship. I know this is a lot to put on you Discord, I know it’s not fair, but my heart cannot bear another scar. To love me is to love me for the long haul. If you are ready for that, if you are truly sincere in your commitment with me, then my heart can be yours forevermore…But…You need to decide if that is a promise you can keep.”
“And if I do say yes, if I do agree to this, then won’t your subjects be giving you the stink eye for dating you’re old enemy?” Discord asked wearily.
“I may be a princess and an Alicorn…But I am also a mare Discord. My heart is my business, and I will choose and love whoever I desire; regardless of public opinion. I’m done hiding this side of my life,” she said assuredly.
“I see…This is a lot to take in, you understand that?” he said rhetorically.
“Of course. By all means, take all the time you need,” she smiled weakly at the pondering draconequus. “What else do we have but time?”
Discord and Celestia decided it was best to call it a night. Both had given each other plenty to think about and both had enjoyed each other’s company; despite the emotional turbulence of their conversation.
Celestia politely requested Discord contact her once he had made his decision; for better or for worse. The trickster vowed he would. Despite his mischievous nature, Celestia truly believed he would keep his word…This was the first time she’d be trusting him since his betrayal.
Discord politely bowed, and before she realized it, stole a kiss from Celestia’s cheek; before vanishing with a snap of his claws.
The princess was left alone; clutching the tingling after sensation of his lips on her now rosy pink cheek. She smiled hopefully.
Even after all these years…He still knows how to surprise me, she thought to herself.
Princess Luna and Rebel Streak continued to enjoy their late night date; basking amongst the stars on a blanket in the royal garden. The princess figured it would be best to continue their date close to home so her night guards wouldn’t keep sneaking away from their posts to check up on her.
Plus, she always thought the garden looked especially beautiful in her moonlight.
“This is sure one swanky piece of green you got here. I feel like it’s costing me some serious coinage just chilling here,” Rebel said; casually looking around the exotic flowers surrounding them.
“Why thank you Rebel. The garden has always been a strong source of relaxation for me and my sister,” Luna said calmly. She levitated a moon themed tea pot and poured two cups for herself and Rebel. “If thou are still feeling cold after tea, I can happily arrange a warm coat for thee.”
Rebel was about to ask what she meant, but then realized his use of the word “chilling” mislead her to think he was cold. The punk pony chuckled at her adorable naiveté.
“Thanks but that won’t be necessary, your company is plenty cozy, princess,” he replied with a wink.
Luna’s innocent blush shined glitteringly in the moonlight.
“In all my years on this world, I have never been gifted with such a unique method of adoration,” she said; referring to Rebel’s artistic cards. Luna was quite curious why Rebel chose such an unusual style for his letters for her, and more importantly, why he chose her to be his date for tonight. “Forgive my curiosity. I do not mean to appear to question thou’s feelings, but I must know, why me? What was it about me that inspired thee to create such beautiful work?”
“Well, back when I was still squeaking through puberty, our school class had to do some digging on Equestria’s history on the Two Sisters. I had sunk pretty low on the grading alphabet so I needed some major grade-age on this particular test. Naturally, that lead me to learn all about you,” he said smoothly.
“But why would that inspire thee to craft my image into works of art? Surely teaching foals about our legacy is fairly common,” Luna said inquisitively.
“That’s the thing that sparked the lightbulb in the first place: the art. All our history books had these extraordinarily beautiful art pieces done by this masterpiece maker, an unicorn author by the name of Lady Faust. She sketched you, your sister and even your dark side of the moon makeover as Nightmare Moon, and they were so damn stellar,” he proudly beamed.
Once again, Rebel’s words confused her. He could see he was not making his point clear enough.
“Even though they taught us that Nightmare Moon was a real bad scene and-and we had to see you as this unstoppable villain that’ll always be scarred in our memories, I saw you a little differently,” he said.
The princess nervously asked him how he saw her.
Though his intention seemed kind, any memory associated with her darker days tended to be a dampener on her mood. She prayed he was not some radical Nightmare Moon fan who desired her instead of the real princess of the night.
“You just looked…So…Cosmic. You looked like the heavens had been forged in paint and paper. I had never seen a pony’s beauty captured so majestically. Even in the art depicting you as Nightmare Moon, I still couldn’t stop staring at those pages. I looked at them in class for hours and hours, the uh teachers thought I was on goofballs or something,” he said jokingly. Luna chuckled softly. “It was that day I decided I wanted to be an artist. You could say…You were like my muse. The way I saw it: our class taught us that you were the bad guy; you were someone who we studied as a threat to Equestria. If that artist could take someone who we were supposed to see as evil or bad and make her look that unimaginably exquisite, then there must be something truly magical about that mare,” he replied.
For a moment, Luna couldn’t formulate a single thought. Her face and mind were flustered beyond comprehension, her heart pulsating from the rising warmth in her chest. She bit her lip softly; looking as if she were a love struck teenage filly.
Rebel Streak smiled proudly at this reaction.
Suddenly though, Luna’s reaction changed from sweet to sultry. The princess had her own air of confidence brimming about her royal blue cheeks. Rebel was thrown slightly off by Luna’s strange, alluring glance.
“You know, for some pony who dresses like a scoundrel,” she purred softly, “you are quite the charming gentlemen my good sir.” Luna leisurely strolled past the red faced colt. She was moving towards a patch of lilac blossoms. As she passed Rebel, Luna’s star shimmering tail playfully smacked him in the face. Rebel turned several shades redder.
“S-s-s-s-scoundrel, no pony has ever c-c-called me that,” he stammered; fondly rubbing the spot where Luna’s tail struck him. He watched her gorgeously sculpted flanks swaying tauntingly as she moved towards the flowers. “I think I like the sound of it….And the look of it.”
Luna bent down and took a sniff of the flowers heavenly scent. She flashed a charming smile to Rebel and motioned for him to join her.
“Tell me then; what names do others typically call you?” Luna politely asked.
“Oh you know…The usual: punk, vagrant, vandal, thief, scuzzy…And my personal favorite: Disappointment,” he said causally.
Luna’s eyes flashed wildly. A surge of shock beamed inside her ocean blue orbs, Rebel was surprised at how alarmed she appeared.
“Those are horrible, wicked names! Do they not know the beauty in which you paint or the charming flare in which you speak?”
“Folks in Canterlot aren’t too fond of some delinquent punker with brightly colored hair mucking around their squeaky clean shops with spiked leather jackets and piercings. And don’t even get me started on how fast their noses shoot up when they see me working my spray can magic. It’s a fairly typical reaction to my appearance,” he said calmly. Rebel spoke as if rejection and disgust were reactions he experienced on a daily basis.
Luna found this unsettling and most unacceptable.
“There is nothing typical about baseless hatred. Your clothing and art style are unique, exotic; nothing to be feared or reviled. That portrait you crafted on the side of the café is nothing short of breathtaking. You are a truly gifted and brilliant artist” she stated proudly. Luna spoke with such certainty; Rebel almost looked like he genuinely believed her…almost.
He looked at her and smiled weakly.
“Thanks, it’s nice to know I got at least one fan. Your opinion’s the only one that matters so I’m glad you find my work to be razor,” he said.
“You’re…only fan? Surely you jest! Do your mother and father not applaud you for your remarkable gifts?” Luna asked; slightly stunned to hear she was his only fan.
“Oh…Heh…Them…Well actually, most of those nasty names actually came from my old man and lady,” he replied with a weak laugh.
If it wasn’t for the fact there were such lavish floras before her, Luna felt like she may actually vomit in shock. She felt sickened beyond measure to hear Rebel speak so of such horrid things like it was no big deal.
“It’s not that big of a bummer, really. You spark all kinds of dreamworks in me so I’ve got that to keep the creatives juices pumping,” he idly remarked.
“It is most definitely so the large bummer! I’ve never heard of such wretched, unappreciative parents before in all my ages,” Luna steamed. She began stomping vigorously around in a circle. Her crushing hoof prints were leaving large dents in the grass and ground, several insects darted away from her storming pacing. “How can they not see you are merely expressing your typical rebellious nature with your clothing and vernacular? It is fairly common for youth to respond in such ways during adolescence.”
“Actually, I’m 28,” he said.
Luna’s pacing stopped abruptly. This unicorn never failed to surprise her tonight. Her blank face and dazed look caused Rebel to chuckle; he expected she’d look at him this way.
“I know; I’m dressed like I’m much younger than I actually am. Mom and dad emptied buckets worth of bits to turn this bad boy into the next sparkly clean snob. We’re talking the full high society zombie works: manners lessons, personally tailored clothing, extra rigorous meal etiquette training, even rehearsing proper and improper conversational topics and responses,” he said with a shudder. “If it were up to the old ‘rents, I’d be sporting a life sucking cashmare sweater and learning the proper method of how to choke on caviar in front of a bunch of other rich douche nozzles.”
“Douche Nozzles, is that a family class I am unfamiliar with?” she pondered aloud. “Your wording is a bit crude but fairly on point, the Grand Galloping Gala is heavily saddled with ponies of that nature. It’s exhausting just talking to them,” Luna added drolly.
“Well you don’t seem to mind my wording Madame princess,” he added smarmily.
“And what makes you say that?” she asked.
“Well for one thing, you stopped saying ‘thou’ and ‘thee’ and used the word ‘you’ when referring to me,” he pointed out knowingly.
Luna’s eyes widened slightly. She hadn’t realized it until just now. Rebel was correct, she hadn’t used her traditional royal Canterlot dialog around him since they arrived at the garden.
“It seems I rubbed a bit off on you,” Rebel gloated.
“So it would seem,” she said; nudging him teasingly.
“My language tends to affect others like that, well, my parents think so anyway. That’s why I’m modeling the leather, hair dye and piercings; to ruffle my mom and dad’s already uptight flanks. All my life I’ve been royally janked to be some rich prude’s suck-up doll. I never had time to find out what flavor my weirdness was until the boat had already left Teenville. So I cranked the rebellious act up to 11 and punked out first chance I got; even invented my own kooky line of communication. I thought it might help the ‘rents see that I’m never going to be like them; get them to see me the way I want to be seen,” he explained.
“Did it?”
“No…If anything I’m an even bigger disappointment than I was before. They apologize because of me everywhere we go. They don’t even bring me up in conversations with friends unless some pony directly asks them about me…Which doesn’t happen often. If I laid down a sweet piece of art somewhere, they’d pay to have it scrubbed off and make me ride in the lecture wagon all the way home, which is probably what they’re gonna do to that dope portrait of you on the side of the café soon as they find out,” he solemnly stated.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you Rebel, why did you choose that particular café for the portrait?” Luna asked.
“Mom and dad go there all their time; it’s their café of choice. Thought maybe they’d be forced to actually look at my work and acknowledge it or something,” he sighed miserably, “it was a stupid thought…I know.” Rebel stared down at a nearby pond. His glasses reflecting the dark and dreary ripples in the water, he felt as cold and murky as the pond water.
Luna felt such pain and sorrow flowing from her no-longer secret admirer. It killed her to see him this way. She couldn’t imagine how any parent could be so uncaring to their child, could they not see what she sees when she looks at his art…When she looks at him?
Her lips form a kind-yet playful grin, she just realized how she could help her suffering artist. Luna gently patted his back with one of her wings.
“You know, I believe I have been inspired by your art Rebel. Canterlot could certainly benefit from an artist as gifted and free spirited as you.”
“Yeah right,” he replied dryly, “my art will be scraped off like chewing gum by tomorrow night.”
“Not unless I royally designate it as official art for Canterlot,” she boasted smugly. Her smile widened once she saw the stunned look on the colt’s face.
“Wait…What? Yyy-y-you’re actually going to-”
“It is as you said my charming scoundrel,” she smiled tenderly and nuzzled Rebel’s cheek, “you have indeed rubbed off on me.” Her horn lightly clinked against Rebel’s ear piercings.
“T-t-t-t-t-thank you princess, I-I-I’m speechless, I’m never speechless! I just wish there was some way I could repay you your royal-”
Luna gently halted his lips with her hoof.
“Please…Call me Luna…I insist,” she sweetly asked.
“O-o-o-okay…Luna,” he stuttered.
Rebel felt like he was breaking some kind of law by addressing a princess by her first name! He always felt because of the way he dressed and his passion for graffiti art, he would never be worthy enough to speak to a princess; certainly not one as beautiful as Princess Luna. That was why he sent the art cards instead of love letters. Rebel wanted Luna to come to him without knowing what he looked like, he knew no punk pony artist would ever be allowed to approach the castle without being stopped by the guards.
He doubted he would even get within 10 yards of the castle looking the way he does.
“As much as I have been enjoying our time together, I am afraid this is all the time I have to give tonight. I have nightly responsibilities I must attend to. This has been a most splendid evening Rebel, and if you choose to, I would be deeply honored to enjoy another evening with you,” Luna said sincerely.
“Consider my dance card thoroughly dusted and cleaned off for you prin-eh, I mean…Luna,” he quickly corrected, “Just say the time and the place.”
“The day after tomorrow, meet me at the castle after I raise the night sky; don’t be late. I shall happily inform the guards to welcome you as my honored guest err-date. You need not fear their spears or stares when you approach, I promise you,” Luna said.
Rebel believed her. He waved goodbye to the Alicorn mare as she flew off into the night; resuming her nightly duties. Before Luna departed however, she stopped in mid-air and flew back to the colt staring at her in the garden. She hovered just above Rebel’s horn.
“I almost forgot to give you something before I left,” she chirped eagerly.
“You have scored major brownie points with me already, and then some. What could you possibly have left to give me?” he chuckled.
Luna leaned down and planted a heavenly kiss on top of Rebel’s nose. Her soft lips left his muzzle with a loud pop. Rebel was once again stunned silent, he could feel the heat of his blushing glow filling up his face.
“I just wanted to rub off on you as well,” she said flirtatiously. Luna gave him a final smile and teasing wink before leaving.
Princess Luna finally vanished into the pristine night sky, her cutie mark last seen dissolving amongst the twinkling stars along with the rest of her. Rebel Streak was as still as the statues in Celestia’s garden. His sharp tongue left frozen in shock, his white cheeks sizzling with red hues.
“Wow…Now that…Was pretty razor,” he gasped.
To be continued…