//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Love of the librarian // by Sarcastic Brony //------------------------------// It’s been a week since George visited Ponyville and now he’s been locked away in the castle. Why? It’s because of the heat. It’s finally reached Canterlot and it’s going to be a tough one. All the usual maids have been replaced with males. A few stallions from around Canterlot that had no place to go are taking refuge here as well. The gates have been locked and all the guards brought within and out of the public's vision. As for the sisters, they seem normal enough. Luna hasn’t changed much during this time and when asked she simply stated that she has no desire to lay with anyone at this time. All things considered, she’s got an iron will. However, it appears that Celestia was true to her word when it came to her heat. George is lying in bed as Celestia holds onto him tightly. He has no idea how this has happened but she was here when he woke up. Weird, seeing as he knows he went to bed last night alone. “Why are you in bed with me?” George asks. “I need somepony to hold.” She says. “Go hold Luna.” “She locked her door.” Damn, the one time he doesn’t lock the door and this happens. “Celestia, It’s bad enough I’m stuck in the castle, worse that you won’t even let me work in the library but now this?” She wraps her wings around him as she pulls him to her chest. George looks up as Celestia looks down at him, her face covered in a blush. “You know, I can’t have any children of my own but I’m old enough to be your mother.” “Aren’t you over two thousand yea-?” She rests a hoof onto his lips. “Shhhh... Hush now my sweet.” She wraps her hooves behind George's head and gently rests his head against her chest. “It’s still early, mommy will let you sleep in a little longer.” Oh god... This has got to be the weirdest thing ever. Considering the situation and how strong Celestia is, George really doesn’t have a fighting chance. He just shakes his head as he tries to get a few more minutes of sleep. “Rise and shine, Sweetheart!” George feels his mind instantly click back to reality. He finds that Celestia isn’t holding him anymore but instead is standing at the foot of his bed with a tray in her magic. He lets out a groan. “What is it this time?” He whisper to himself. “I brought your breakfast!” She says with glee as she uses her magic to sit George up and places the tray on his lap. George looks down to his tray and find that it’s the usual breakfast he has while in the library, eggs, hashbrowns and some bacon. How does Celestia even know what he eats? Sure this is her castle but she’s usually too busy to have breakfast with him in the morning. It’s why he usually brings his meal into the library. “Uh... Thank you?” George says while still looking at the plate. “No trouble, sweetie.” George jerks slightly as he feels something nuzzle into his neck. When did Celestia move right next to him? “Did I frighten you? Sorry about that. I just love when you’re around. It’s so rare for me to see you outside of the library.” George knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Celestia is under the influence of her heat. While he’s thankful it’s not physical like all the other mares, it’s still making him feel really uncomfortable but the least he can do is play the part, if only not stir things up too much. “There’s a lot of work to do, with the new system and all, you know?” Celestia lets out a love filled sigh as she rests her head on the side of the bed, still looking up at George. “You’re doing great things, George. This system of yours is changing how education works in Equestria. Everything is easier for both teachers and students to find. I’ve gotten a status update from the school for gifted unicorns praising this new system. You’re helping a lot of ponies grow up fast.” George is about to say something but Celestia quickly wraps him into a hug. “But you’ll always be my baby.” Oh man... “Um... I shouldn’t let my food get cold... M-m-mmom..” George can feel as if the heat of Celestia’ body quickly rises. She pulls away from him with a huge blush on her face and a large smile. “O-Of course...” She clears her throat. “I have a few things I need to take care of but I’ll be back by lunch in a few hours. So stay out of trouble.” With a squee of delight Celestia quickly runs out of the door without saying anything else. George is left there in shock. He doesn’t even know how many times he can admit how weird this is but it’s the only thing that seems to be on his mind. The only reason he called her mom was to play her game and maybe calm her down a bit but he’s not too sure how well that will work out for him in the end. He looks down to his plate, well, no point in wasting food. George has been locked in this room for too long. He’ll probably walk around the castle for a little to stretch his legs. As he gets up out of bed he hears someone knock on his door. “Sweetie! You have a friend here to visit you!” That’s definitely Celestia’s voice. Yet that doesn’t matter. Who could be here to pay him a visit? “Come in?” George waits sitting on his bed as Celestia opens the door and walks inside. Walking behind her is Twilight. George instantly hops up and takes a few steps away. “Are you crazy?! What’s Twilight doing here?!” “Calm down.” Celestia giggles a little. “Twilight is fine. I would never bring any horny mares to try and bed my little sunshine.” This can’t be happening right now. George’s face is completely red with embarrassment. “Why do you have to say it like that?” “Hmmm? Do the colts these days have a different word for it?” “J-Just... Can you bring us something?” Celestia beams at hearing this. “Right! Refreshments. I’ll be back in just a moment!” Celestia quickly runs out of George's room as he runs over to slam the door. He takes a moment to catch his breath just as he hears Twilight giggling behind him. “I almost forgot what happens to the princess during her heat. It must be nice to have the ruler of this land treating you like her baby.” She remarks with a smirk. “Nice wouldn’t be the word I’d use.” He lets out a sigh as he turns to face Twilight. “So... You’re not like the others out there?” Twilight shakes her head. “Nope. My heat is a bit mixed up after a few things that happened recently. It’ll probably happen a year or so from now, then slowly sync with the others.” “Huh... So what brings you here?” “Well, my friends aren’t the best conversationalists at the moment. So I thought we could hang out for a bit? Maybe even start our study session a little early?” “I’m up for anything to take my mind off this situation.” Twilight can feel a blush start to grow on her face as she thinks of where she wants to take George. Most of her friends are out of their wits because of the heat but Rarity in particular was an interesting change. She’s the reason Twilight is even here right now. After having sent Spike with her brother, there wasn’t much for her to do other than clean the castle and organize her new library. Rarity came barging into her home and pulled Twilight aside. She looked rather ragged and unkempt when compared to her usual looks. She told Twilight that she couldn’t stop thinking about George but despite being in heat, she didn’t want to take him away from Twilight. So she came up with a plan. A plan to get George into a situation where Twilight can admit her feelings and possibly even try going on a date. It was crazy but Twilight couldn’t deny that Rarity had spent a lot of time thinking this plan through. Not to mention that Twilight was also thinking about George more as the days went on. So Rarity didn’t really have to convince Twilight all that much to come to Canterlot to give her plan a shot but she is really nervous on how it’ll go. She timidly scuffs her hoof on the floor, trying to work up the courage to tell him her idea or at least part of it. “W-Well...” She clear her throat some. “It must be rather stressful being locked up in this room for as long as you have. I know of one place we can go that’s private. No pony will bother us and I think it’ll be the perfect place for us to have a study session.” George raises a brow. “Really? Yeah, if I can get out of this room then that’s a great plan.” Twilight nods her head some. “Alright... First we need to tell Celestia. It wouldn’t hurt to pack a few provisions as well.” “Oh, that’ll be easy.” George remarks as he walks over to the door and opens it. Celestia falls into the room ungracefully. She was obviously eavesdropping on George and Twilight. She gets to her hooves and acts as if that didn’t just happen. “You called?” She asks. “Twilight and I are planning a field trip. We won’t be gone for long.” Celestia looks over to Twilight with a questioning gaze. “And where will you be taking George?” “I want to show him the crystal cavern below the castle. It’s probably the only place right now that isn’t full of mares.” Celestia rubs her chin in thought. “I guess you’re right.” Celestia looks at George with a large smile. “Is this what you want?” “I could use some fresh air. Do you mind packing us something for the trip?” That smile of hers seems to grow as her entire face becomes red. “Of course, of course. What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t make sure my baby wasn’t ready for a trip?” “Alright, then it’s set-” “Just one rule.” Celestia cuts in. “Yeah?” “You must be home before eleven.” George rolls his eyes. “Can do, mom.” Celestia wraps George into her wings with a squee of delight. “I’ll be back in just a moment.” With that said, Celestia teleports out of the room. Once again Twilight giggles at George’s predicament. Still, she can’t wait to see the cavern with him. She can feel her heart flutter a bit at the thought of being in such a romantic place. Even though it was once part of a villain's plan to take over Equestria, Twilight found the cavern to truly be beautiful. “I’m just going to change my clothes before Celestia comes back. Then we can head out.” “Alright.” Twilight watches as George walks off towards the bathroom. It may not be her time for heat but she can’t deny that the thought of seeing George disrobed has knocked a few months off the waiting period. “So this is the place?” George asks looking at a large cavern. Twilight nods. “The crystals are deeper inside. Are you ready?” “Ready as I’ll ever be.” George responds after adjusting the bag on his shoulder. Twilight walks into the cave and George follows behind her. She makes sure to cast a light spell so they can see where they’re walking. To George, this look just like any old cave. No signs of crystals anywhere. Then again, if the ponies were mining the place, then obviously the front entrance would be clean of any minerals. “There’s something peaceful about this place, despite the history.” Twilight breaks the silence. “History?” “Yeah. A long time ago, before I was a princess, even before I was an alicorn... A changeling by the name of Chrysalis locked Cadance and I deep within this cavern.” “Wait... You weren’t born an alicorn?” George asks confused. “Nope, I was just a unicorn.” “Huh... I guess that explains why you didn’t have wings in those paintings I saw.” “Yeah, they mark who I was then and not who I am now. It can be a bit confusing, even to ponies.” Twilight quickly gets back on topic. “Anyways... Cadance is th-” “Princess of love. I’ve read about her.” “That’s right but before she even ruled the crystal empire, she was getting married to my brother. What do you know about Changelings?” “Not much, actually. Other than ponies and griffons, I haven’t read much on the other races here.” Twilight chuckles some. “There are almost too many to count. There are actually many different pony races. Most of them far different than the ones you’ve come to know. As well as other non-pony races. Such as Minotaur, Dragon, Cervine and even hybrids.” Hybrids? So all of these species can actually create offspring with one another? That’s an odd thought for George. “Back to my story.” Twilight brings George from his thoughts. “Changelings are a subrace of ponies. Insect like in body, with the ability to shapeshift. What they feed off of is the emotions a pony can feel, love being the most potent.” “That’s an odd thing.” George admits. Twilight lets out a sad sigh. “That day is still painful for me to remember. My brother was getting married. It was out of the blue for me. Yet I found out he was marrying Cadance, so I was happy. I’ve known Cadance since I was a filly and I knew she would treat my brother right. However, I started to notice that something was wrong with her, it wasn’t the Cadance that I grew up with.” George notices the pained look on Twilight's face. “You don’t have to tell me this story if you don’t want to.” Twilight shakes her head. “No, it’s fine.” She takes a deep breath to steady herself. “I tried to tell everyone that something was wrong, at first I was subtle but then I became desperate. No one believed me, not my friends, my mentor or even my family. They turned their backs on me, I understand in a way why they didn’t believe me bu-” “You shouldn’t have to rationalise betrayal.” George states. “What?” Twilight looks up at him as they continue to walk. “I wasn’t there, so I don’t really have a right to say this but I have to speak my mind... I think it’s rather crummy that not a single pony at least humored you. If you were wrong, then you were wrong and you could all move on from there... However, to not even give you a chance... That doesn’t seem right at all and you shouldn’t rationalise why your friends decided to ignore your plea. Though I’m sure it’s a decision that haunts them just as much, if not more than you.” Twilight can feel her eyes water a bit as she listened to George talk. It’s true in many ways that she’s been struggling to understand why her friends didn’t listen to her in that moment. They’ve faced so many things together and yet in that moment Twilight was truly alone. “If I was there... I would’ve believed you.” George adds. “Really?” “Of course. I always take my friends word, until proven otherwise.” Twilight is about to say something but she notices George’s eyes widen. She looks over to see that they’ve finally made it to the crystal cavern. Twilight uses a hoof to clear her eyes as she smiles at the sight before her. “Welcome to the crystal cavern, George.” George has never seen something like this before in his entire life. He appears to be inside of a geode like structure, yet he can easily tell that there are other tunnels leading to other places within the cave. However, there are crystals everywhere. The entire wall is layered with crystals so fine it looks like fresh snow and scattered every which way is crystals of varying sizes. Some are small clusters no bigger than George’s hand and others far larger than his own body. The soft glow from Twilight’s magic grows almost tenfold as the entire cavern becomes dimly lit. It seems that the mirror quality of these crystals is causing the entire room to be illuminated by her spell as the rays of light bounce between each crystal. It creates an odd twinkling effect as each crystal shifts slightly in color, as if a living rainbow were inside of them. “This is unbelieveable.” George whispers to himself. “Well, believe it.” Twilight says as she walks into the center of the cavern. She opens her saddle bag and pulls out a blanket and lays it on the floor. She takes her seat and looks over at George as she pats the spot beside her. “Let’s get comfortable.” George takes a moment to compose himself before he walks over and has a seat next to Twilight. He removes his backpack and sets it onto the blanket as well. “I still can’t believe this was under Canterlot castle the entire time.” “It’s a relic forgotten by many. Since the rise of the crystal empire, there’s no need to reopen this mine.” “That’s good news.” George admits. “I’d hate to see something so beautiful destroyed.” “I agree.” Twilight can feel her heart flutter some as the entire scene sets itself, still, it’s too soon to ask about dating. “So, is there anything you want to know about Equestria?” George snaps back to reality and gives Twilight his full attention. “Actually,” George pulls out a list from his pocket. “I have a list, if you don’t mind me asking so many questions.” Twilight giggles some as she too pulls out a list from her saddle bag. “I have my own questions as well.” “How about we trade? I ask one, then you ask one? After we exhaust the subject of course.” “That’s a fair compromise.” “Alright.” George looks at the first question on his list. “You answered my first question about different races but could you go into detail about hybrids?” Twilight nods. “Of course! Hybrids are, well, just as it sounds. A mix between two different races. It’s not very common but it does happen from time to time.” “So you’re saying that all creatures can get pregnant outside of their species?” “Well, I’m not too sure about all creatures but we know that a lot of the current races are compatible enough that there’s a slim chance they could have offspring.” “That’s really strange.” “My turn!” Twilight looks over her list. “So, you spoke briefly on human technology, could you go into detail on that?” “Sure, that’s easy enough.” George and Twilight have been talking for hours. Since they are in this cave, they have no idea how much time has passed, not like either of them cared. They’ve been enjoying the time they’re spending together. After everything they’ve talked about their lists were finally coming to an end, Twilight was the only one left and her last question is the reason she brought him here. She learned a lot about George and his people but her nerves are on edge over taking this step. “So what’s your last question, Twi?” He’s comfortable with her. She told him to call her that, seeing as they were getting to know each other, yet when he says it, Twilight can feel a skip in her heart. “Um...” Twilight looks to her list, there isn’t anything there, she didn’t want to write it down. “You’ve been here for a while, George. Have you ever given thought about dating a pony?” “Uh...” This is an odd question for George, in the sense that it’s something he’s only recently been thinking about. Twilight has been on his mind a lot. Since they’ve met, spent time in Ponyville, everything. He finds her to be smart, funny and even beautiful. She’s the only pony that he feels comfortable to be around. They relate on so many levels and that’s why he’s humored the thought of what it would be like to date her. The fact she’s a pony doesn’t bother him, he’s lived here long enough to see past what these ponies look like. Not that Twilight is ugly by any means. She’s got the looks and more than a few curves that put any doubt of attraction in his mind at ease. Still... he wonders what she would think if she knew how he felt? “Well...” George clears his throat. “Yeah, I think I’d be open to the idea but not with just any pony.” Twilight is alarmed to hear him say that. Is he interested in a mare? She can feel all the doubts in her mind starting to pile up... Maybe this wasn’t a good idea? No! She’s come this far and she’s not going to give up without trying. “So... Would I have a chance?” Twilight asks. George’s eye widen as he hears Twilight ask that, he even notices a large blush on her face and even a slight inkling of fear in the questioning gaze in her eyes. This can’t be happening, right? Is she actually asking him out? This isn’t how he expect this to go. Yet he won’t let this chance slip by him. “Yeah.” George answers. Twilight’s heart skips once more as all of her nerves settle. She can feel a smile on her lips as she looks to her hooves, she feels so embarrassed but this isn’t over yet. “Do you... Would you like to go out sometime?” “Sure.” George is almost speechless by what is happening right now. “How about next week? You know, when all this heat stuff is over?” “I have the free time.” There’s a brief moment of silence between the two as they process what has just happened. “It’s probably getting late. We should head back to the castle before Celestia comes looking for me.” George says breaking the silence. “That’s a good idea.” Twilight and George pack up everything and walk in silence all the way back to the castle. As soon as they leave the cave, George notices that it’s already late afternoon. Before he can even turn to say anything to Twilight, he gets tackled to the ground. “I was so worried about you!” Celestia says with tears in her eyes as she nuzzles George. “It’s not even eleven!” He shouts past her fur. “I know and I couldn’t bare to be away from you any longer!” She removes George from her neck as she looks down at him with a smile. “You’re back home and that’s what matters most.” George just shakes his head as he looks over at Twilight. “I had a great time, Twi...” He then feels his nerves kick in. “See you next week?” Twilight was caught up in Celestia’s reaction as well, as soon as George says that her face covers in a blush. “I’ll send a letter before I visit.” Twilight gives a bow to Celestia. “I’m going to head over to see Spike and my brother. Thank you for allowing me to take George outside.” “Yes...” Celestia responds seriously. “No harm was done. We will speak after a few days.” “Very well.” Twilight waves at George. “See you later.” “See you.” He responds while still being held by Celestia. Twilight quickly trots off before she starts jumping around in joy. She can’t believe it, she actually asked him out and he said yes! Twilight lets out a squee of joy as she skips merrily towards the edge of Canterlot so she can she how those two are doing. George watches as Twilight slowly disappears into the streets of Canterlot. He lets out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding. “Does somehuman have a crush?” Celestia teases. “Is that a problem?” Celestia smiles some. “Well, Twilight is a sweet mare. I wouldn’t be too upset if you two decided to date.” “Really, Mom? You’d let your son just date willy nilly?” Celestia chuckles some as she leans over and whispers into George’s ear. “My heat ended a few moments ago.” George feels his face turn completely red. “Thank you for humoring me during my time of need.” “How about we act like it didn’t happen?” Celestia lets go of George and get to her hooves. “Easy enough. So, you and Twilight?” She asks with a smirk and raised brow. “She asked me out, so, yeah... I guess.” “I wish you two the best of luck.” Celestia walks away back to the castle, leaving George by himself. Man, this entire day has been exhausting. Despite how tired he feels, he can’t fight the excitement of his date with Twilight. Looks like this week of waiting will feel like a long one.