//------------------------------// // Preening // Story: Brony Recon: To Live and Love in Equestria // by Freescript the Bard //------------------------------// This chapter is short, but quickly advances shipping between my OC and Luna. Longer chapter is coming, guys, I'm just getting it edited. Thanks! -MarkusBrony (Skyblaze) >>><<< Skyblaze's POV Preening with Luna was… awkward, to say the least. She showed me how my primaries on my wings were out of alignment, probably from my cloud-nap earlier, and how to use my nose to nudge the misplaced feathers back in order. The whole thing seemed like a sanitary thing that pegasi did when nopony else was around. Judging by the way it just felt wrong in my pegasus mind when I preened in front of Luna, my assumption was likely correct. "Ugh… there, I'm done," I complained, "can I go fly now? I just learned how and now I'm itching for more." "One moment, hold out your left wing," she ordered, and I complied hesitantly, "one of your primaries is slightly out of alignment." I inspected the wing. "Where?" "Here," she bent and shifted the feather with her nose, making me jump back. Something about having some other pony touch my wings felt… wrong. But to have myself preened, let's say I was not exactly the happiest pegasus at that moment. The only phrase my pony-mind could come up with to describe it was 'wing-rape'. "Whoa… let's just calm things down a bit," I pleaded. "Not until I have revenge for this morning!" she grinned evilly. "Uh-oh." I made a break for the window flapping my wings desperately. But alas, no pegasus is fast enough to outfly magic. A sparkling midnight aura surrounded me, dragging me back in. I was at the mercy of the Moon Goddess, for whatever eternal punishment she would inflict upon me. "Oh, would you look at that," she said with malice, "your senseless flapping threw your feathers out of order again…" I looked at her, horrified. "You wouldn't." When Luna wants to do an evil laugh, she doesn't kid around. The maniacal laughter seemed to carry and echo, making it even more frightening. I felt Luna's magic grip and extend my wings and pin them to the ground, leaving me helpless. Luna drew her nose closer to my right wing. "FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, SOMEPONY HELP ME!" She began preening my wings. It was terrible! I felt completely violated and tortured. No wonder pegasi are sensitive about their wings; the wings themselves are very sensitive. So there I was, unable to do anything but scream as Luna probably broke pegasus rule number one. Eventually, my feathers were straight again and Luna stopped to admire her hoofwork. I was shivering from the absolute shock of the assault on my pride as a pegasus by the Princess. "Please…" I begged, "no more…" "Oh, don't worry," she mused, "your wings look extravagant." Coming from anypony else at that point, I would have accepted the compliment. "Just… let me go," I persisted, "I want to fly, Luna." I didn't mean for that to sound like an invitation. "Of course, we'll go flying after I see to it that your quarters are properly organized," she said, peering around at the destruction that was my room and opening the door slightly with magic, "guards? Fetch a maid for this mess; Skyblaze and I are going for a flight." "Wait, what?" >>><<< Okay, flying with Luna wasn't all bad. I really can't stay mad while flying. The sky is too peaceful, the wind in my mane too surreal. This was, to be honest, my first flight just for the sake of flying. I discovered that my aerodynamic body and basic knowledge of aviation allowed me to reach speeds that Wonderbolts would be proud of. Luna herself was having fun, as she too had a love for flight. As it turns out, alicorns are not born with both wings and a horn, the extra appendages growing in when they were three or four years old. Luna was originally a pegasus filly before her alicornification. Celestia, on the other hoof, was a unicorn at birth. However, Luna still had the sky call to her, as it did with my first flight. Pegasi apparently have a natural calling to the sky, and may go insane if that call can't be answered. Lovely. I wonder how Rain was doing. In any case, the night had fallen, Luna taking a short break in order to raise the moon. Canterlot Valley wasn't as grand as one may think, the entire extent being between Ponyville at one end and a bit past Canterlot was the other. I would put the entire distance of the Valley at maybe fifteen to twenty kilometers. I wondered how slow the royal carriage must go to take an hour to get to Ponyville, when it would take Luna or I a quarter of that time. "Do we have time to stop down in Ponyville?" I asked the Princess. "No, I'm afraid not," she replied, "it is late and I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on due to my… recess from duty." "Oh, so now I'm a recess?" "Well, when you put it in that context…" I chuckled, unable to do any more harm in the peace of the night. Then I thought about something. "Hey, do you mind if I help with said paperwork?" She raised a brow. "Do you have experience running a kingdom?" "IRL? No. But I have played Civilization, and how different is that, really?" >>><<< "Oh, that's how." "Yes, how are you doing on that proposal for the Griffon Empire?" We were in Luna's study, going through a mound of papers half a meter thick. They were mostly diplomatic proposals, domestic petitions, and anything else with the initials DP. "Well, the griffons want a mountain that is on our side of the border, but has been identified recently as an ancient roosting ground." "Is said mountain any use to us?" "Um… the archeology team that discovered the roost is there. All they want is the mountain and the immediate foothills." Luna put a hoof to her chin. "Sign the agreement in my name; we can't risk any quarrel with the Griffon Empire, as our relations with them are already tense" I nodded, picking up the quill with a magnetic bracelet and signing Luna's name on the line, sending the notice into a mail bag. "Well, I'm not an alicorn, so sleep is pretty much mandatory for me. I'll be in bed. G'night Luna!" Not my most noble action, but it got me out of doing more dull work. Almost… "Oh, I require sleep as well; usually during the day…" "You've been staying up just for me? D'aww, that's sweet," I said, "but if your health is forfeit, then I won't let you. Gimme that petition!" I snatched another sheet off the pile. "If you stayed up for me, then I'm staying up for you." She smiled at me, blushing. "That will… hardly be necessary--" "Nope. Don't even try to get rid of me, 'cause if we're gonna make this work, I'm gonna match your sleep schedule." "Make what work?" Facehoof. "Um… me and you?" My answer was in the form of a blank stare. "This is awkward." "Yes, yes it is," she replied, then surprised me by giggling, "You look cute when you're bashful. But thank you for allowing me to keep my normal sleep. I was worried you wouldn't adjust." "Wait, so… are we… dating?" "I would think a first date would be necessary," she said nonchalantly. "Oh, then maybe at midnight we can go grab some coffee?" I asked, the blush on my face turning it violet, "I think Starbucks stays open twenty-four hours." "That would be great." "Sure! Now, what do you wanna do about this cult in Manehattan?" I said, looking at the paper I just grabbed.