Sunrise Surprise.
“Better,” Celestia admitted, “But not quite right.”
Sunset—
“No.”
Is something wrong with Sunset Serenade? I rather liked how it rolled off the tongue.
“Still no. I have no doubt that’s in another forbidden section in my mind. Suffice it to say, no.”
All right, clearly a touchy subject—
“Best not to ask,” Celestia said firmly.
Fine. Sex On The Beach?
“Now you’re just naming beverages,” Celestia said with a frown.
That one was to make sure you were paying attention.
“I am, and you’re reminding me that I could use a stiff drink or two.”
Shoot, I was hoping it would remind you that there are a few beaches nearby, and that you could use a little—
Celestia rolled her eyes dramatically at the mirror. “Yes, yes. Very clever. Did you have any other suggestions?”
Oh, yes! So many.
After a long moment of staring at her own reflection, Celestia let out a long-held sigh. “All right. Let’s hear a few more, but I’d prefer a singular name, if that helps you narrow it down.”
They’re all quite singular—
“And by that I mean like Celestia, or Luna, or Astra.”
In the silence that followed, Celestia heard the sounds of pages flipping and pen scratches in her head.
All right, that does narrow it down somewhat. Let’s start with the A’s again.
Celestia listened patiently through several more suggestions, not hearing anything she particularly found interesting, until her ears perked at one name in particular. “What was that last one again? I mean not the very last, but the one before that?”
The sound of pages flipping resounded in her mind. Aurelia?
Celestia pursed her lips thoughtfully. “No, I suppose it was the very last one after all.”
Aurora.
“Aurora.” Celestia repeated, allowing it to roll around in her mouth for a moment.
Aurora Borealis, if we were going to use a last name for her.
“No, I think I like just being one name. I’m already saddled with Princess, I think I’d like to be just plain Aurora for a little while.”
Well, it does seem to suit you. So, should we take her out for a walk?
Celestia took one last long look in the mirror. After a moment, she bowed her head. “Hello, my name is Aurora.”
What are you doing?
“Introducing myself?” Celestia replied.
Do you think she’d just do that?
“She?”
Yes, her. The mare staring back at you. The curvy pegasus with the pert little flank and the pretty eyes. Would she just come out and introduce herself to somepony?
The pegasus in the mirror blushed back at Celestia as she heard all of the casual praise. “Does it matter?”
Yes! Aurora is not a princess of the land. She’s not expected to wave, or smile just so. She’s not even expected to acknowledge other ponies she doesn’t know! She’s whatever you want her to be.
“But I want to be polite.”
Okay, so you want her to be polite, that’s a start. Being polite doesn’t necessarily mean introducing yourself to everypony, though, just to ponies who introduce themselves first. It could actually be rude to just assume ponies will want to know who she is unless they ask.
Celestia mulled that over in her head, finding the logic sound. Everypony wanted to meet the Princess, but Aurora was just a pony, even if she was a rather impressive example of one. “All right, I suppose that’s true.”
Of course it’s true. Now, what is she here for?
A moment of dumb silence followed before Astra clarified: Why is the pony you’re calling Aurora in Ponyville? Was she traveling? Is she here to meet somepony?
“I... I don’t know. Is that really important?”
What followed was the unmistakable sound of a gold-clad hoof smacking into a forehead. Yes, it’s important! Did you just plan to make something up? What about if you talk to multiple ponies and get the story mixed up?
“Aren’t you asking me to make up something now?”
Only so you’ll have an answer ready. You’ve given at least some thought to how a secret identity works, correct?
Celestia frowned at the pegasus in the mirror as she thought. “To be honest, no. I am familiar with the need, of course. The crown has spies in every major metropolitan area, after all. But I can’t say I’ve ever considered needing one myself.”
All right, that’s fair, but in this case if you wish to avoid alarming the town because of the sudden and inexplicable presence of Princess Celestia in their midst it would be a good idea to have a cover story ready for our poor Aurora, who doesn’t even know how she got here, who she’s here to see, and when she might be leaving. And that’s only the very basics of conversation that a curious pony might ask!
“Can we please stop talking about her as if she’s another pony? Talking to you is confusing enough as it is.”
Of course she’s not another pony. She’s you, you’re just not thinking like her, yet. Do you think A.K. Yearling thinks about a review of her last book when she’s dodging arrows?
“I... no, I suppose not.” Celestia squared her shoulders up, looking at the mirror to address the illusion of the pegasus mare instead of Astra. “All right. I... am Aurora. I’ve recently arrived in Ponyville from Canterlot. I’m staying with Twilight Sparkle because...” Celestia trailed off, uncertain. “Why would she be staying with Twilight?”
The best lies are as close to the truth as possible, Tia. We know why you’re here, at least, why not make that the reason she’s here?
“Well, because it doesn’t work for her.” Celestia said, pointing at the mirror. “I’m here because I was concerned for Twilight and Pinkie, and I stayed here because I needed to recover and I’m less likely to be bothered if ponies don’t know where I am.”
Fine, but we don’t need to use the exact details, just a variation of them. She traveled here, to a place she’d never been. She’s staying with Twilight, apparently, because you’ll be stepping out of the library. That probably means some familiarity with Twilight, like a friend from Canterlot—
“Or a friend of her family,” Celestia asserted suddenly. “Perhaps Aurora needed to take some time off from the hustle and bustle of Canterlot and was recommended to go to Ponyville?”
Interesting. So, not Twilight’s friend. Does she know Twilight’s parents, or her brother?
“Her mother, I think.” Celestia said after a moment. “Velvet and I do know each other fairly well, at least.”
Yes, you met with her to discuss Twilight’s progress fairly often. But that’s how Princess Celestia knows Twilight Velvet. How does Aurora know her, and why would she go to meet with Twilight?
“I...” Celestia deflated as she admitted: “I don’t know. I don’t know very much about Twilight’s family. I think Velvet is an editor?”
I’m afraid I don’t know any more than you, Celestia.
“I’d probably better not make claims that can be easily disproven.” Celestia said with a frown. “I suppose she could know Cadence? Perhaps an upperclassmare?”
Now, that might be something. So Cadence sent her to Ponyville and suggested she check in with Twilight, since she’d know where to get a hotel—
“Except Ponyville doesn’t have proper hotels, just bed and breakfast, and those are all occupied by construction workers rebuilding after the storm!” Celestia finished, clapping her hooves together in delight. “And Twilight insisted she stay here, since the library is quiet. Just right for somepony who needed rest.”
That works, yes.
“Good,” Celestia said with genuine relief. “You know, I think I’m going to like being Aurora.”
Yes, I’m certain you’ll be fine now, or at least you’ll survive casual conversation. So, now that you know who she is, you can go outside and be her. Are you ready?
Celestia nodded to the mirror, and Aurora nodded back. “Yes. I think I am.”
A pegasus named Aurora exited the library for the first time in her life. She almost immediately blew her cover by trying to use magic to close the front door after herself, before fumbling with the door with her hooves, then awkwardly pulling the door closed with her teeth.
She glared at the door balefully for a moment or two, trying to decide if she was perhaps meant to use her wings instead. Celestia reflected on the situation with a wry smile that only barely touched Aurora’s lips. Thankfully, due to diplomatic relations with various species, some of whom prefered not to witness magic in their presence, she was not unpracticed with manipulating the world with her other extremities. However, it had been some time since she’d needed to do so.
Still, some things were like riding a bicycle, which was another thing she hadn’t needed to do in some time yet always seemed to remember the mechanics of.
She turned and looked around at her first glimpse of the outside world in weeks. She hadn’t even dared to look out of the window for fear of spurring her poor ponies into a panic with her mere presence.
All around her ponies were going about their business. Here and there she could still see work crews fixing roofs, cutting down trees that had been damaged by the storm that had ravaged the town some weeks earlier, and taking long breaks for no adequately explained reason as construction workers were wont to do from the time the first hammer was produced.
She wondered about where to go first, and a loud rumble in her stomach as she glanced towards Sugarcube Corner decided the issue.
Breakfast would be nice, Astra said, sounding a little amused.
Celestia had to bite off the automatic reply, simply murmuring a silent agreement. Twilight had left her with plenty of food in the kitchen, but fresh donuts were beyond the capabilities of the little stove. She set off in a leisurely trot, enjoying the pleasant burn in muscles that had enjoyed scant use in the prior weeks. She would have dearly loved to stretch her wings as well, and might have if not for fear of being questioned about their size.
“Perhaps if I can reach the outskirts of town, then I could risk it,” she mused to herself in undertone.
Risk what?
“A little flying.”
Oh! Well, that does sound nice. But donuts first?
“Of course.”
As she approached the restaurant, the sounds of ponies chatting and smells of baking became more pronounced. By the time she actually entered her mouth was watering. She normally did not get to see a bakery in full production, and the experience was almost overwhelming to her poor nose. While she’d had a feast laid out for her during her official visit to Ponyville, that was nothing compared to what Sugarcube Corner produced for the hungry citizens every morning.
She forgot herself for a moment, heading directly to the front counter, before being halted by a polite but firm cough in her direction.
She turned, and found herself looking at a long line of slightly annoyed-looking ponies. The friendly mare who had stopped her looked meaningfully at the back of it. “It’s okay sweetie, I’m guessing you haven’t had your coffee yet. But we’re all hungry here, and you’ll have to wait with the rest of us.”
Celestia’s cheeks flushed, and she trotted obediently to the back as suggested, murmuring apologies to everypony as she did so. Thankfully, the wait was not terribly long, as the Cakes proved to be a very efficient duo, Carrot taking orders and filling them while Cup took payment. She ordered a dozen donuts, promising herself she would not eat all of them in one sitting, then took the proffered box in her mouth, depositing it on the counter.
“That’ll be two bits, ma’am,” Cup Cake said expectantly.
Celestia nodded, as the price seemed more than fair. It took her a couple more moments to realize that payment was expected of her, and that she had brought no means to satisfy that requirement.
Her face fell, and after a final, longing look at the box, she pushed it back to Cup Cake. “I’m very sorry. I seem to have forgotten my saddlebags.”
“Oh, that’s a shame. Is home nearby?” Cup asked. “I could hold them for you.”
“Home is in Canterlot, but I am staying at Golden Oaks, which isn’t far.” Celestia said, her eyes flashing to the door. “Let me just trot—”
“At the library? Are you staying with Twilight?” Cup said with sudden interest.
Celestia turned back and nodded. “Yes, there wasn’t much in the way of lodging, and Twilight’s a friend of a friend. I’ve been there for a few weeks.”
“You’ve been staying at the library, for a few weeks, and Pinkie hasn’t thrown you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party?” Cup said, looking as if she scarcely believed the words coming out of her own mouth.
Celestia was speechless for a long moment before Cup added: “Oh, I didn’t mean it to come out that way. I’m just surprised! Our Pinkie would usually insist, even if you were only staying for a little while.”
Oh dear, we didn’t think of that.
“You’re not wrong,” Celestia said after a moment or two. “She wanted to. She’s a very sweet pony for that. But... I’m here because I needed some peace and quiet for a while. That’s why I took Twilight up on her offer to stay in the library. It doesn’t get much more quiet than that.”
“My goodness...” Cup said, sounding a little faint. “I’ll need to praise Pinkie a little for learning some restraint.”
“It did take some convincing.” Celestia said with a slightly strained smile.
“Oh, but where are my manners?” Cup swept the donuts under the counter, deftly grabbing two plates and placing a donut on each, depositing them on a nearby table and herding Celestia bodily into a chair. “You’re practically a neighbor and I don’t even know you!”
Celestia blinked, looking down at the donut and back across the table at Cup. “Um... shouldn’t I go fetch my bits?”
“Later. It’s not like I don’t know where you live, and I can have Pinkie fetch them for you when she gets back,” she held out a single hoof expectantly. “I’m Cup Cake, co-owner of Sugarcube Corner.”
“Pri—” Celestia froze for a split second before saying: “Pleased to meet you? My name is Aurora. I...”
We didn’t come up with a career, think fast!
“I... work at the castle in Canterlot. Sort of a civil servant.”
Civil servant! Astra said in Celestia’s head, letting out an appreciative little chuckle accompanied by the sound of quill on parchment. I like it!
“Oh...” Cup replied, pouring them each a cup of coffee. “That sounds—”
“Boring,” Celestia supplied with a smile. “It is. Lots of paperwork and ponies complaining. I really needed a break.”
“I can only imagine...” Cup said, taking a deep draught of her coffee. “I just thought... that is, you look very familiar. Have you been through Ponyville before?”
Oof. I was hoping it would take longer than your first meeting for somepony to notice. You have a choice; you can either come clean and beg her to keep quiet, or dig deeper and lie more effectively.
Celestia hesitated briefly, remembering how Cup and Carrot had gone to so much trouble for her official visit. It seemed unfair to burden this poor mare with the knowledge. “You might have seen my image here and there. I used to do some modeling when I was younger, a bit of posing for statues in Cloudsdale... A few magazines... It’s a little embarrassing, actually.”
Well done!
“Oh, my! I’m sure that must be it.” Cup said. “Forgive me for prying.”
Celestia picked up her own coffee in her hooves, having already added sugar and cream to taste while they’d been talking. “Not at all. I am sorry I haven’t been by to see you. Pinkie talks about you often enough I feel like I already know you.”
“She is a dear.” Cup replied with a nod. “I imagine you’re the reason she’s been taking an extra dozen donuts with her when she goes to see Twilight. Is that right?”
“Guilty as charged.” Celestia said. “I had to venture out on my own if I wanted them today.”
Cup Cake nodded. “Pinkie’s supposed to be back later today. It’s so strange to think of her attending weddings being officiated by one of the Princesses, and staying over at the castle for the night.”
Celestia was honestly surprised, saying: “She is a national hero.”
“I suppose. But she’s also my most dependable foalsitter, and the pony who will move heaven and earth to put a smile on your face. The pony who can run my kitchen more efficiently than any four other ponies, myself and my husband included. She’s always been our hero.” Cup sighed fondly. “That probably sounds a little selfish.”
“No,” Celestia replied. “No, I can well understand, actually.”
“Aurora, does she seem... happy, to you?” Cup asked suddenly. “I mean... staying at the library, you might see her around Twilight quite a bit...”
“Well, yes, she does seem happy...” Celestia replied, nonplussed.
“And you’ve never caught her seeming down?” Cup pressed. “I worry, sometimes. She tries so hard to be happy for everyone else, it can be difficult to tell when she’s upset about something. Or maybe just concerned... Something is on her mind, is all I can tell.”
“I... I’m afraid I haven’t noticed.”
Cup Cake nodded, looking just a little disappointed, “It’s fine. Forgive me for asking. I was hoping, since you likely see her around Twilight, that maybe...” she shook her head ruefully. “I’m sure it’s fine.”
Celestia wracked her brain for any response that might help... and couldn’t think of a single thing. “I’m sorry,” she said lamely.
“Don’t be. I’m likely jumping at shadows.”
Celestia finished off her donut, washing it down with the remnants of her coffee. She felt like she should say something more, but in the end could only rely on long-trained etiquette on how to end an awkward meeting. “Well, it was a pleasure. I’ll just run back to the library—”
Her eyes widened as the box of donuts was deposited in front of her. She looked up questioningly, and saw Cup nudging the box towards her.
“On the house,” she said. “You’re Twilight’s friend.”
Celestia frowned as she regarded the box. She didn’t bother questioning whether Aurora was friends with Twilight, even if she’d introduced herself as being a friend of a friend. One did not stay as a guest of somepony for weeks without becoming their friend directly, after all. “That doesn’t sound like a good business practice.”
“Just tell Pinkie you had lunch with me. It will make her happy.” Cup said firmly.
Celestia hesitated for another moment before quietly acquiescing. It was unwise to unnecessarily question a Queen in her own castle. “Thank you.” she said instead.
“Just remember to tell her you stopped by. And, as a warning, she likely hasn’t given up on throwing you a party. If she really likes you, she might even let you know when it’s happening instead of springing it on you. No guarantees, though.”
Celestia grinned, knowing that Cup was likely right, and wondering if she shouldn’t just allow that to happen. She didn’t like the idea of Pinkie feeling like she couldn’t exercise her talent on Celestia’s behalf, grateful as she was for Pinkie’s decorum in not throwing her a party and revealing her presence to all of Ponyville.
But first, she decided she would go back to the library and try to find bits. After all, in all of her life, she’d never really shopped for herself. It might be nice to have dinner ready for when Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike got home.
After a nice lunch, Luna cut her Day Court session cut short when she became disgusted with the local tea vendors.
They had come to her as a group complaining that prices had risen, and no amount of explaining the Yinglong problem would mollify them. The loudest of them had been sent to her newly-dusted dungeons to meditate on his actions for an evening and the rest had been shouted at until they’d left.
She made a mental note to give her Press Corps a full detailing of the events that had transpired, and of the new trade agreement she had signed, in hopes that it might stave off future complaints from the other merchants that had been affected by the devastation wrought in Chineigh.
She went to visit Tibbles afterwards, and in that pursuit found herself in the branches of a tree in her Night Garden trying to coax her pet out from its hollowed out trunk where he had made a home. Normally, he came at her call instantly, but she hadn’t had time for a visit in the last few weeks and moreover it was early afternoon, when he would normally be sleeping. Consequently, he was a little surly with her, poking his head out and squeaking at her in a small, angry little voice.
“Tibbles, I really am very sorry I didn’t make time. I’m not very good with these hours and Our citizens require so much—” she stopped, feeling silly. “You can’t understand, of course.” she sat on the tree branch, allowing herself to slump and feeling very grateful that this was her private garden, and nopony was around to see her spurned by her own pet.
After a moment of silent reflection, she felt the scampering of little paws climbing through her mane, and shortly was face to upside-down face with her pet, who eyed her curiously with redder-than-normal eyes before letting out a yawn that looked as if he’d had to unhinge his jaw to unleash.
She reached up and grasped him with her hooves with a quiet little coo and cradled him in her arms as she looked down at him adoringly. “Thank you. All the more for not understanding why! Would that my citizens were as trusting...”
He squeaked at her in a sleepy yet pleased-sounding voice.
She had missed him greatly. Though Tibbles had his own bed in her room, she had elected to set him loose in the Night Garden while Middy was away, knowing that her schedule would not permit her time to spend with him as she should. Cooping him up in her room needlessly would have been pointless, cruel, and selfish on her behalf.
Yet still she had regretted her decision as she saw his empty bed night after night. Tibbles liked to snuggle, and his warm body nested in her mane helped her sleep after a long and lonely vigil of patrolling dreams.
She tweaked the end of his nose with her magic, laughing as he wriggled his whiskers at her. “Still, even if you cannot understand, I am very sorry. I hope you’ll also forgive me for disturbing your sleep.”
He squirmed, and she allowed him to move as he willed. He flipped around, standing upon his hind legs to nuzzle her nose before scampering back into the hollow of the tree.
She let out a loud sigh, promising herself she would return to him during hours when he could be more active. She was an alicorn, after all, and could function without rest if need be. And if Tibbles was not able to remain awake long enough for a proper visit, she did have some actual business to attend to.
“Drat,” she said, frowning.
She’d honestly hoped she could put the matter off indefinitely. But it was time to check in on the would-be embezzler Get Rich and see if he had maintained his path on the straight and narrow, as it were. She hadn’t heard of any problems thus far, but still felt a bit of personal responsibility for him, having put her trust in his willingness to reform. That feeling more or less obligated her to check in on him, rather than simply trust in her reports.
“Good day, Tibbles.” she whispered fondly into the trunk before allowing herself to slip down from the tree branch.
As her four hooves touched down, she felt a soft impact deep in her mane, and after a moment, found herself looking up at Tiberius’s upside-down muzzle once more.
“Tibbles?” she asked, her face tightening into a worried frown. “Is aught amiss?”
He chittered at her once more, let out a yawn, then settled down just behind her crown, making a nest of her mane. She pawed at her mane in an effort to reach him, but try as she might, he refused to budge.
“Tibbles...” she said plaintively, but to no avail. She could feel him shifting into a more comfortable position, his little breaths tickling her as it moved strands of her mane.
She sat beneath the tree for a time, at a loss. Had she any public appearances for the day, or had she not finished Day Court, having him in her mane would be unconscionable. But she really only had her meeting with Get Rich for the rest of the afternoon.
Tibbles was unlikely to be in any danger, since her mane was voluminous and he was used to riding therein on a regular basis. She shrugged, allowing herself a small smile. It would be nice to have him close, even sleeping as he was. Tibblekin’s mere presence made her happy.
She stood carefully feeling him lightly grasp at her mane as she shifted. This confirmed her suspicions that she would not have been able to shake him out had she wished to attempt it. Of course, if she truly wanted him out of her hair, she could have taken her mist form... but she rather liked him snuggled close.
“All right,” she said softly. “You can keep me company while I talk to the naughty embezzler, Tibbles.”
A quiet squeak followed by a yawn came as her only reply.
The office was small, and unpresuming. It held a desk, two chairs for visitors, a chair for the pony behind the desk, and a few file drawers. Rather unimpressive for a pony that had once held a healthy amount of the crown’s coin and used it for his own ends. The pony sitting at the desk wasn’t much to look at either.
Get Rich was dressed in a manner more appropriate for a laborer than a pony who made decisions. A simple work shirt of red and a hard hat of yellow was all he wore. On the work shirt she saw various pockets with small instruments for his work; pencils, a ruler, something that vaguely resembled a sextant, a large eraser, and what seemed to be a half eaten candy bar.
His coloring was similarly unremarkable, a coat of brown, mane of black, eyes of a dull grey. Only his cutie mark was in the least unusual about him: it was a small golden bit, an unusual talent for one in government work. She supposed somepony with a talent for money would be somewhat useful, as managing a budget was always necessary when one was in charge of public works. A money talent was useful for many different things.
It was a shame he’d exercised it in a way that had made him run afoul of her sister. And, of course, by extension, herself.
He didn’t seem to notice as she came in. Or rather, he noticed the intrusion, but not the intruder. He waved to one side of his desk, saying: “Just leave it there, and thanks.”
She regarded him with a single raised eyebrow, replying: “What am I meant to leave, exactly?”
The room became filled with scattered papers as Get Rich immediately jumped several feet into the air from a sitting position. Luna was suitably impressed with his feat, and waited patiently as he scrambled to retrieve the documents. She even helped him recover a few that managed to land under the meager furnishings, laying them neatly on the stack with the others he haphazardly piled back on the desk.
One of the guards who had escorted her on her excursion opened the door, poking his head inside. “Princess? Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine, thank you,” Luna replied to him before turning her head back to Get Rich. “Guard the entryway, please. We are not to be disturbed.”
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
Luna took a seat at one of the two chairs facing Get Rich’s desk, gesturing for him to take his own.
“P-princess, I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you,” Get Rich muttered as he nervously shuffled his papers back together.
“We apologize for startling you, Get Rich. We simply wished to check on your progress and ensure thy muzzle remained unsullied,” she looked around, noting the smell of fresh ink and parchment with approval. “At the very least, it seems you’ve been busy.”
“I... I had a lot of apology letters to write,” he said slowly, his eyes following her as she looked around.
“So you did. And work began again in earnest. Workers are much more apt to perform when they are paid.”
“I never wanted anypony to have to go without, Princess. I simply—”
“You simply misplaced the funds needed to pay them. Very cleverly. I wanted to thank you for showing my accountants how you went about it. I’m told it was quite horrifying for them.“
“It was in the terms of my parole, Princess,” he said, shifting uncomfortably.
“I am aware, having set them myself. But you could have refused and forced me to imprison you. You could have withheld the identity of the business you invested your budget with. I imagine we might have recovered the money in time, but you made it all so much easier.”
She turned her attention to his stack of reports, lifting the top one. It appeared to be an invoice for cobblestone. “You’ve had no difficulty working with your accountant?”
“What, Old Money Bags? He’s a bit tight with the purse strings, I guess. Not much for a joke. Won’t go drinking with me and the boys—” He abruptly cut himself off with a small gasp.
When she looked back at him, he had a very odd look on his face. It wasn’t fear, or not exactly fear, more of a disbelief. “Is something amiss?”
“You... you have eyes in your mane...” he whispered quietly.
She looked upwards to see Tibblekins’s sniffing nose sticking out of her mane just before his whole head popped out. He squeaked urgently in the direction of Get Rich.
“Is this some sort of test?” he asked fearfully.
Luna clucked at Tibbles, and he scrambled down from her mane to curl around her neck. “Tibbles is my pet, Mr. Rich. Forgive me once again if he frightened you.”
“Oh! Sorry, Princess. I was just surprised is all. So... he’s not gonna bite me or anything?”
Luna looked at him quizzically, then looked down at Tibbles. “I don’t think so. He might be interested in that candy bar you have there, but he wouldn’t bite you unless you threatened him in some fashion.”
Get Rich quickly grabbed the candy in his teeth, holding it out for her. Tibbles leapt from her neck, snatched the candy from the stallion, and landed on his back, clutching it in all four paws while balancing on his own tailbone and nibbling at the treat.
“Huh. Lookit that.” Get Rich said as he glanced back at Tibbles.
“So, you are getting along well with the accountant?” Luna pressed.
“Well, yeah, I mean, he could loosen up a bit, but he’s okay.”
“And you’ve not lacked for personal means?”
He mouthed the words for a moment before responding. “Oh! You mean like food and stuff. Yeah, I’m doing fine. Thought I’d miss the yacht and all that, but... Eh, it was just stuff. Got to where I was taking bigger risks to make a little more so I could buy more stuff, and well, you know. Just glad I had the chance to make it right,” he tilted his helmet forward with a single hoof. “‘Preciate the chance.”
She nodded, happy with his words. “And... those stallions I sent you for work detail, have they been—”
“No trouble, Princess. They grumbled a bit but they settled in all right. Only the one had a chip on his shoulder, the others was just happy to work.”
“And the one with the chip?” she pressed.
“He got knocked around a bit when he got out of line. By his own guys, if you can believe that. Don’t expect him to be much trouble anymore.”
She let out a sigh of relief. Much as she had wanted the stallions punished, she had worried for the workers who had to work alongside them. “You seem to be doing well. I will leave you to your labors, Mr. Rich.”
Luna gave a little cluck at her pet, who immediately rolled over, grasped his candy with his teeth, and took a flying leap into her mane.
She left his office, feeling pleased. She had not had the opportunity to check on him since his sentencing. She’d seen the results of his work, of course, as repair crews had gone back to work all around the city, but she’d been concerned for the stallion himself.
The ponies of her age might have stoned him before exiling him, but her sister had instilled a strong sense of forgiveness in the populace during her absence. An almost unbelievable amount. A pony in this age could be forgiven for anything, so long as they were willing to change.
Getting a pony to forgive themselves was... more difficult.
She put the matter from the mind for the moment, though she thought she might whisper a word or two about him into Fancy’s ear at some point.
A pony with a money talent was useful for so many things, after all.
She spent a large part of the rest of her afternoon with Tibbles, staying until it was time to send the sun to its rest and greet the moon for the evening. All around her, the other creatures of the Garden came out to greet her, their various cries bringing a smile to Luna’s face.
During an evening in which she’d been entertaining Rarity and Fluttershy, Fluttershy had asked her if she could speak to them as she herself did. While she lacked a talent for true empathy with creatures as Dear Fluttershy had, she did have a certain base understanding for the feral creatures that hunted in the darkness.
One could even call it a kinship.
In preparation for the moonrise she added a few more stars to the sky just beyond the curtain of daylight (just to see if the astronomers would notice) and bid her menagerie a fine evening. The ground-dwelling creatures such as Tibbles would be fed by servants, of course, but the various bats in her Garden had a job to do; they helped control the insect population all around the base of the mountain.
When she had conceived of the Garden, she had imagined having wolves and raccoons and such roaming the streets to help with feral rodents and to literally consume the trash in the city. Celestia had objected to that, and so the matter had been dropped.
It still rankled a bit, it had been a very good idea.
Despite them not serving the purpose she had originally intended, she had gone ahead with her plans. Her Garden was populated with many examples of nocturnal creatures; as well as many night-blooming flowers that had been transplanted from her old Garden.
The same Garden that had been lovingly tended to by her very first love.
There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of flowers that bloomed in the light of the moon. Some were entirely unknown to ponies of this age, acquired in the dark depths of forests with foliage so thick that its inhabitants had never known the touch of her sister’s sun. When the moon was out, they all carried a light of their own, making them seem a private field of stars all around her.
The most common and prolific was also her favorite. Ponies had since ‘discovered’ it and named it some other nonsense, but its true name was the one Luna had given it when she’d first found it and presented to her hoofmaiden.
My Princess, you honor me, but surely such a beautiful bloom deserves a better name.
We can think of no other name for such beauty. Wouldst thou give it another?
I would, but Princess Luna seems an odd name for a flower. If you will it, I would gladly lend my name to it.
A mere hoofmaiden even daring to lay with a Princess of the land... Such a thing was unheard of then, even if it had been Luna who had approached first. Had they ever been found out, their affair would have potentially destroyed Luna and possibly her sister as well just by association. She would have married that mare, if the customs of the time had allowed it. She should have.
But her Night Blossom was long gone. Nopony would remember the sweet mare but Luna herself. Even Celestia had never known what she’d been to Luna.
She gazed at one of the flowers that were named for her first, last, and perhaps only love.
It was the perhaps that troubled her, as she wasn’t certain if it was true, any longer. Something had changed, almost without her willing it to be so.
Another flower had caught her eye. A fiery, willful thing.
“Ma petite... I hide nothing from my Fancy. He and I are a mated pair of scoundrels, and we share everything.”
“You...he...what?! What is the meaning of this?”
“This is why I must ask you to forgive me, ma chère. There was never any danger of a rift between Fancy and myself. My intent was to ask if you might join us, not separate us.”
She still felt a thrill when she thought of how Fleur had blindsided her with that casual offer. Fleur had been so very brazen as to kiss her full on the lips and invite her to bed the very night they’d properly gotten to know each other. Luna, the Steward of Night, the Protector of Dreams, had felt... afraid, and excited, but also deeply troubled. And all of that before she knew what Fleur would truly become to her.
When she’d first proposed the idea of polyamory to her sister (as a solution to the ‘Twilight and Pinkie Problem’), she’d rather liked the idea of courting a couple herself. She had even foolishly proposed to court two of her most dear friends, Fluttershy and Rarity, to see what it might be like to fall in love again.
“Luna, are you inviting us to bed this particular second?”
“N-no, we had in mind a long courtship, many evenings together watching the stars and perha—”
“Just a moment, darling. Fluttershy, if I understand you, you are not outright dismissing the idea; you just never considered that the princess might be serious in her flirtations?”
“Um... well... maybe... yes?”
“Right! Well then, Luna, I hope you’ll understand that we are still feeling out our own relationship and would not necessarily be very certain about the idea of a third, even if it were on a casual basis. And, if I understand... your intentions are less than casual?”
“I... We... had thought the more formal means—”
“Yes, I see the way of it. Fluttershy, She seems to be on the up and up about it. Are you sure we want to turn her down just like that?”
“Um... I... I don’t know,”
“Here’s what I think, if you’ll indulge me further. I think stargazing and the occasional night out with a friend sounds perfectly lovely. And should things progress... I wouldn’t have any objections. What I’m not hearing is either of you saying that you’re against the idea, just that you want to move slowly. Have I hit the mark?”
“Yes!”
“Um... okay,”
It had seemed so very appealing, to get to know them, to see if love would blossom from mere attraction, and to follow up on that attraction.
That vain wish had very nearly cost her their friendship. And though they had assured her that they had forgiven her, and were still not opposed to such a thing, the whole experience had made her wary of attempting such again.
Things with Fleur and Fancy were... different. She’d never even entertained the idea of such a thing with them, because she had assumed she understood what she was to them; a favored plaything and close friend.
She found herself at a bit of a loss. Despite promising herself she would do nothing to potentially embarrass her sister after their rift was mended, here she was again, tempting fate, with a married couple no less.
It was supposed to have been simple. She’d read all about it after being introduced to how very different ponies treated attraction in the current age. Things that might have gotten a pony stoned in her age were not exactly common now, but neither were they so uncommon they would cause a pony to be shunned from a community. Friends could be lovers, and indeed, couples did sometimes take a third or even more into the bedroom for variety, and this was considered normal.
And so, Luna had done her best to adapt. She had been successful after much worry, discussions with Fleur and Fancy, and more worry. She had found being Fleur’s lover was delightful, and equally so for Fancy, though she still preferred Fleur of the two, as Fancy was sometimes a little too accommodating.
Her sweet Blossom would likely have been happy to know of it, despite Luna’s assurances that she doubted she would ever take a lover again. It had felt right, then. One made such bold declarations to a beloved as they lay on their deathbed.
But, after so very long, she had come to accept the idea of taking lovers. She had even accepted that she might seek out romance for herself once more, given time and familiarity.
She hadn’t counted on being loved, instead, fool that she was.
She shook herself as the connection she’d established with the sun made her realize that she’d let it stay up overlong in her reverie, and she quickly lowered it while raising the moon.
The flower in front of her bloomed, glowing dimly in the moonlight, and somewhere she heard the quiet laughter of her beloved.