Of Heaven and Earth

by Garuda IV


Chapter 45- Relaxing with Family

It had been a few hours since Celestia left for the dungeons to "talk" with the prisoners. Since then, Sol continued healing Luna of her sunburns, while Luna took this time to talk with Twilight. As the two talked, they began to swap stories about what happened to each pair. With the exception of Sol's attempted assassination, and their visit to her parents' house, not much happened to them while they were gone. Of course, this was the complete opposite for Luna.

While in disguise, Celestia and Luna had spent their days traveling across Equestria, seeing the sights until they ended up spending their last few days over at a beach resort. While there, the two sisters spent most of their time relaxing on the beach. As her stories continued, Luna couldn't help but smirk when she started talking about the stallions that they had attracted during their stay, including a few who had approached and began flirting with them. While this brought on a sense of amusement to Twilight, Sol found himself having mixed feelings about this, unsure if liked the idea of some random stallion hitting on not just his mother, but his aunt as well. Of course, Luna went on to tell them how she and Celestia had turned them down, but in Luna's case, it didn't come without a little bit of flirtatious teasing at first from herself. While Luna wouldn't normally indulge in the idea of flirting with random stallions like that, once Celestia made a bet of it, she couldn't find it in herself to turn down the challenge. On the plus side, not only did Luna win the bet, but she also found out that she had quite the knack when it came to toying with stallions and getting to do whatever she wanted.

"So what do you get for winning?" Sol wondered, having finished healing Luna during her story.

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but paused for a moment before frowning.

"... I am not sure, actually," she said. "To be honest, I was not sure that I would win."

"And what about now?" Twilight questioned. "You had plenty of time to think about it afterwards, right?"

"True. I did have time to think it over, but that accursed sunburn I had acquired made it rather difficult for me to think about it."

Twilight and Sol shared a glance. "And now that you're better?"

Luna shrugged. "I don't know. I could have her wear a frilly tutu to court and have her do and sing the pony-pokey or something, but that might be pushing it."

"If it's all the same, Aunt Luna, I'd rather not see mother like that," Sol said, cringing as the mental image popped into his head. "Why not have her give you a hoof massage or something tamer like that?"

"That could be a possibility as well... and a rather pleasant one at that."

"Are the local spas not good enough? They seemed alright to me," Twilight said.

"No, Twilight. Though they are good in what they do, they generally are not strong enough to get those deep muscle massages. It would take an alicorn, or some creature with an equal amount of strength, to accomplish that." A coy smirk grew on Luna's face. "Speaking of which, has my dearest nephew shown you the majesty of his massages yet, Twilight?"

Twilight blushed. "N-No."

"A shame. He is rather good with his claws, as I'm sure my sister will agree to. As would Aero, Aques, and Aurora, if they were around."

Sol bashfully looked away from Twilight when she gave him a questioning look.

"You can thank father. He was the one who taught me."

Luna nodded. "Indeed he did. Actually, it was because of Fissure that the act of massaging was founded, and later refined to perfection."

"Huh. Interesting."

"And completely true."

Surprised by the voice, Twilight and Sol looked over to the doors and saw Celestia walking back into the room with a seemingly pleasant mood.

"Of course," she continued, "Fissure didn't want ponies to know that it was him and gain attention from it, so we had to claim that it came from somepony else."

Smiling, Celestia walked over and planted a kiss on Sol's head, before taking a seat down between Sol and Twilight, and draping her wings over the two of them.

"You seem to be in a much better mood, sister," Luna commented, eyeing her warily. "I hope you didn't incinerate the prisoners. I would still like my turn with them."

Celestia's wings briefly tightened against Sol and Twilight. "The thought may have crossed my mind, but no, it's not that. The reason for my improved mood is because, after accidentally melting the stonework around us in the interrogation room, I managed to get a piece of information out of them that could lead us to Sol's potential killer."

Luna's eyes widened, along with Sol's and Twilight's.

"But how?" Sol asked from beneath her wing. "The guard questioned them already and said that they had nothing."

Celestia adverted her gaze from her son and Twilight. "... let's just say that I can be very persuasive when I need to be."

"Would I be right to assume that it had something to do with the screams we heard after you left?" Luna questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"... maybe. But I promise, apart from them fainting, having nightmares, and probably having to see a therapist for the next few years, they are completely unharmed."

Twilight cringed. "Was it really necessary, Princess? You've always treated ponies with love and kindness, so... well... hearing this coming from you is just a bit surprising to me... and scary."

Celestia sighed and tightened her hug on Twilight as she looked down to her.

"You are right, Twilight. I do love my little ponies very much, even the ones who have done wrong... but, when it comes to those who bring intentional harm to my baby, I have very little sympathy for them."

"Well," Luna slowly began, "that is except for the doctor."

"That's different, Luna, and you know it. Speaking of which." Celestia looked down at Sol. "I'm sorry to say this, Sol, but it has come to my attention that you are in need of a specific doctor's appointment. So, on my way back, I stopped by and asked Doctor Cura if she could see you today."

Sol glanced over at the clock in her room. "What time?"

"She's free right now, so the sooner the better. So, you might as well make your way over now and get it over with."

With a small sigh, Sol nodded in agreement and made his way out of Celestia's room. Once Sol was out of the room, Twilight looked around at Celestia and Luna, both of whom were eyeing her with sly smirks.

"Now that we are alone, how about the three of us have ourselves some girl time?" Luna asked with a growing smirk.

Twilight gulped, not really liking where this might be going. "O-Okay. Um... what do you want to talk about?"

"For starters, how about how your relationship with Sol is going thus far?"

"It's been going good," she replied, blushing at having this sort of talk with Celestia and Luna.

"Good enough for you two to share a bed, as I understand it."

Twilight's eyes snapped wide open. "How did you-"

"Have you forgotten, Twilight? I can enter a pony's dream, and from what I saw of yours and Sol's, and how close together they were, it wasn't hard to figure out."

This earned Luna a shocking glare from Celestia. "You knew and didn't tell me?!"

Luna shrugged. "Such private moments are not mine to share with others... without their permission, of course."

"You still could have told me," she grumbled before smiling down at Twilight. "So, you and Sol have already progressed that far?"

Twilight, felt as though her face was going to burst into flames now. "I... guess?"

"I see... well then, before you two take things any further, I should probably tell you ahead of time so you won't be surprised when you find out."

While Twilight gave Celestia a curious look, Luna, knowing what Celestia was getting at, withheld a snicker.

"Okay. What is it, Princess?"

Feeling a little embarrassed herself, Celestia took a calming breath before answering.

"Sol's got two."

Twilight blinked. "Two what?"

"Two... you know..."

"... no, I don't know."

Luna let out an exasperated sigh. "What my sister is trying to say is that when it comes to Sol, the fun has been doubled."

"What fun?"

"... he is dual wielding."

"...?"

"... his twin swords?"

"... ?"

"... his fifth and sixth legs?"

"...?"

"... his Double Dragon?"

"...?

Eye twitching at how dense Twilight was being, Luna facehoofed. "Oh, for the love of- Sol has two penises!"

Now that Twilight understood. Of course, while this unexpected revelation left her face completely red, the mental images that began flooding her mind started to leave her feeling a bit light-headed. If it weren't for her sitting up against Celestia and beneath her wing, she would have surely tilted over by now.

"Two... he has... he... two..."

"I think you broke her, Luna."

Luna rolled her eyes. "She would have found out sooner or later, Tia, and you know it."

"I know, but I had thought that she had learned about male dragon anatomy from having raised Spike. Or at the very least, through her correspondences with Dragon Lord Ember."

Holding on to what mental stability she had left, Twilight dizzily looked at the two older princesses with a question that she almost didn't want to know.

"H-How... how do y-you know?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Incase you have forgotten, Twilight, I was married to a dragon, so I have firsthoof knowledge about it. As for Sol, who do you think changed his diapers when he was a foal?"

"Y-You mean... he d-didn't have a-"

"A foalsitter or nanny?" Luna inquired, earning a nod from Twilight. "He did not. Other than family and our absolute closest friends, we didn't really trust anypony else to watch over Sol, let alone change his diapers."

Celestia chuckled. "Remember when it was your turn to change him and he peed on you?"

Luna grimaced. "Which time are you referring to, exactly? Because I remember all of them."

Groaning from the headache she was getting, Twilight closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as she tried to relieve herself from the pain... and the mental images of Sol.

I bet Sol's having a much better time with Doctor Cura.


Over in Cura's office, Sol was sitting down on the exam table as he curiously watched Cura washing her hooves in the nearby sink.

Celestia's gonna owe me big time for this one. Maybe I can get some of that vintage ale she keeps down in the cellars?

"So, what all is involved in this 'physical', exactly?" Sol asked Cura. "I don't recall there ever being such a thing before, so this is rather new to me."

"Not much, really," Cura said. Once her hooves were clean and dried off, she walked over to Sol and slipped on a rubber glove with a loud snap. "I'm just going to ask you to do some things that may seem unusual, but I promise you, it's all apart of the procedure."

"Very well. I trust you, Doctor."

"Good! Now, first thing I need for you to do is turn your head and cough."


The rest of the day was rather awkward for both Sol and Twilight. After his appointment with Cura, Sol quietly made his way back to the safety of Celestia's room with flushed cheeks, his mind beginning to question the methods of today's modern medicine. Already in the room, Twilight was still trying to recover from the "interesting" information about Sol's anatomy. While her head had cleared a little, the temperature in her face couldn't seem to die down. This was only made worse when Sol entered the room, causing Twilight to hide away beneath Celestia's wing from him so he couldn't see her face. Unfortunatly, her flustered features were still easy to discern.

"I'm back," Sol said, smiling at Celestia and Luna before approaching Twilight, who Sol noticed was looking a bit red. "Are you alright, Twilight?"

Hearing his voice calling to her, Twilight slowly poked her head out of its hiding place to face him. Unfortunatly for her, when she did, and with the information still fresh in her mind, Twilight's eyes couldn't help but steal a glance at Sol's lower region.

No! Bad Twilight! Stop that right now! It's rude and impolite to try and sneak a peek at Sol's... two... QUIT IT!

As Twilight's mind began to wander again, Sol suddenly approached her with a look of worry on his face.

"Are you sure you're alright, Twilight? Your nose is bleeding."

"Huh?"

Snapping out of it, Twilight brought a hoof up to her nose and, sure enough, when she brought it back, there was blood on it.

"Uhhh... excuse me for a moment."

Lighting her horn, Twilight teleported herself back to her bedroom to take care of her bloody nose before anypony could get a word in. Confused by her behavior, and concerned by her bloody nose, Sol looked to Celestia for answers.

"What happened to Twilight, mother?" Sol asked, getting a chuckle from Celestia.

"Don't worry, Sol. Twilight is perfectly fine," she dismissed. "She was just told something that she's trying to come to terms with."

"And what would that be?"

Luna shrugged. "Nothing that she wouldn't have found out on her own."

Though he wasn't too big on how vague his mother and aunt were, Sol knew that they both loved Twilight, and wouldn't do anything intentionally harmful to her. Shrugging, Sol made his way back to his spot next to Celestia and settled himself down. Several long minutes later of talking, Twilight re-joined them, minus the bloody nose. But while her face was no longer as red thanks to having splashed some cool water on it and taking a moment to calm herself down, she was still sporting a noticeable blush.

For the rest of the day, the four remained in the room, talking about all that had happened during their time apart. Eventually, Helping Hoof returned to fetch them for dinner, which had been ready for them nearly half an hour ago, but understood that they had lost track of time whilst spending quality, personal family time together after a long trip. Heading towards the private dining room, the four sat down and ate in peace. At least, for the most part, as Twilight's eyes would occasionally drift over to either Sol, for obvious reasons, or Celestia, for a completely different matter. Once dinner was over and everypony was heading to their rooms to sleep, sans Luna, Twilight took this opportunity to talk to Celestia in private and knock on her door.

"Hello?"

"Princess? It's Twilight. May I come in?" Twilight asked through the door.

"Of course, Twilight. Come in."

Slipping inside, Twilight closed the door behind her and saw Celestia laying on her bed with an open book.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at such an hour, Princess."

"It's quite alright, Twilight." Celestia patted the spot on the bed next to her. "Come."

Taking her offer, Twilight climbed up onto the bed and settled down next to Celestia.

"Now, tell me what is on your mind." Celestia smirked. "Other than Sol, that is."

Twilight felt her cheeks heat up at what she was insinuating, but pushed away the accompanying thoughts... for now.

"Well, it is about Sol... but it's also about Discord, too."

Celestia's smirk disappeared, knowing what Twilight was talking about. "I see. I take it you told him?"

"Not exactly. I'm trying to ease him into reconsidering his perspective on Discord."

"It won't be an easy task, Twilight."

"I know. I saw for myself how much Sol despises Discord. The anger and near-hatred in his eyes and voice was a clear indication... but still..."

"Did you manage to make any progress?"

Twilight gave a small nod. "I believe I did. After we woke up the morning after our date, I brought up Discord. He didn't take talking about him very well, let alone mentioning his name, but after a bit of persuading, I managed to give him a, *ahem*, 'theoretical scenario'."

"And that would be?"

"His rescue mission into the Badlands to save us from Chrysalis."

Celestia blinked as she now understood Twilight's intent.

"I see. You tried to use his love and protective nature of his family to try and make him change his mind."

"Actually, I think it may have worked a little."

Celestia's eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure?"

"After I brought up how Discord had 'theoretically' saved you, Princess Luna, myself, and the others from Chrysalis' capture, he looked like he was in thought over it. He did say that, at most, that Discord would have earned his thanks for saving us."

"I see." Celestia smiled and brought a wing around her in a hug. "I am very proud of you, Twilight. And surprised. I wasn't sure if you would even be able to make Sol even consider that so soon."

"Thank you, but we haven't talked about it since. Yes, we did make progress, but I didn't want to overdo it and push more onto him."

"A wise decision." She closed her eyes and let out a pleased sigh. "Thank you, Twilight, for helping Sol through this. I know that we can't keep those two apart forever, and I fear that they are bound to run into each other soon. Hopefully, with your help, when that time does come, Sol will be calmed down enough that he won't attack Discord on sight."

"And what about Discord? What will he do when he sees Sol?" Twilight wondered.

"Apart from being surprised, I don't think that he will do anything to him... actually, now that I think about it, I don't believe that he even can."

"Huh?"

"Right after Discord turned evil, I secretly cast a spell on Sol to shield him from Discord's magic. I'm sure you're familiar with it, Twilight, for it is the same spell that I cast on the Elements of Harmony to keep Discord from tampering with them during his reformation with Fluttershy."

"Really?! That spell can be cast on ponies?! Wait. But that means you cast that spell on him over a thousand years ago. Would it even still be active?"

"Normally it wouldn't. The spell lasts between three to five years, but since Sol was sealed away in crystal, the spell was sealed and preserved with him. It only started to wear off after the crystal was cracked, so there should still be at least about a year and a half left."

"Does Sol know that you cast it on him?"

"No, he doesn't. If he did, then I would have no doubt that he would have gone after Discord."

"I see." Twilight frowned as a thought occurred. "Hey. If you can cast the spell on ponies, then why didn't you cast it on me and my friends when Discord first escaped?"

Celestia blushed in embarrassment. "Well... if I'm to be completely honest, Twilight, it is because I had forgotten about the spell, much to my shame and embarrassment. It wasn't until after you and your friends returned Discord to his stone prison that I had remembered."

"I see. Well, I'm glad everything turned out alright for us in the end."

"As am I."

There was a pause of silence between the two before Twilight opened her mouth and let out a yawn.

"Sounds like somepony's tired."

"Just a little," Twilight said, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Then you should go and get yourself some sleep before you pass out."

Twilight smiled. "Kinda like I used to when I was a filly?"

"Exactly. Not that I minded, of course."

With a small nod, Twilight hugged Celestia. "Goodnight, Celestia."

"Goodnight, Twilight. Sweet dreams, and I'll see you in the morning."