February 29th, 1001 Domina Solaria
Doug rubs his full belly as he walks out of the Canterlot Castle’s kitchens; it doesn’t matter where they are, Pinkie Pie and Applejack could cook up a storm. Both have been hard at work the last three days, since they got back to Canterlot, preparing the wedding feast to Chrysalis’ exacting specifications.
It is funny, in a way, how changelings imbibe ‘pony’ food. They can, of course, at least the long term integrators. Doug hasn’t spent enough time around the ‘guard’ variety - bred for speed, power, and aggression, not social skills - to really spot the difference, but apparently they have a harder time extracting the ‘nutrients’ inside.
Three days ago
Applejack whistles a few short, dull notes as she yanks the steaming fritters out of the oven. Perfectly browned and smelling delicious, as they better well should. A hoof kicks the oven door shut, perhaps a bit harder than she needed to, and she roughly dumps the fritters onto a serving tray. Just a few minutes to let them cool, and she’ll ensure at least one of them goes to good use.
The heavy clop of hooves behind her signals two approaching alicorns, but it ain’t heavy enough to be Celestia. Applejack takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and steeling herself. She forces a smile to her muzzle, turning around to regard that impostor wearing Cadance’s smiling face, Twilight carrying a checklist wielding Spike right behind.
“Mornin’,” Applejack greets her as happily as she can, which means it’s barely cordial. “Lookin’ to sample some of my family’s finest fritters?”
‘Cadance’ takes a long look at Applejack, then at the plate of still too hot to eat fritters. “I’d love to,” she says, far too close to the actual Cadance for Applejack’s comfort. A hoof reaches up, grabbing the steaming fritter and taking a big bite. “Mmm,” she says, the broad smile on her muzzle never fading. She swallows, and Applejack is almost impressed she can stand the heat. “I just love love love them!”
Applejack growls as the pink alicorn takes another bite, though this one isn’t as big. “Ah can tell you’re just sayin’ that,” she says, her voice low and mean. “Go on, tell me how much you don’t like them. Ah can take it.”
Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle, the only other ponies in the kitchen at the time, stop their activities to gape at her. Cadance chews one more time before her mouth stops moving. Her horn lights, the pink of Cadance’s aura levitating over a trashcan. She spits out the piece in her mouth, the uneaten remains following after.
“I wouldn’t say I ‘dislike’ them, but they are a tad bland and unappetizing.” Applejack’s eyes widen in surprise, then narrow in anger. Nopony has ever called her food ‘bland’ before! Chrysalis continues, her focus shifting to each pony in the room, “At least try to put some effort into making the rest.”
Applejack’s gaze bores into Chrysalis, until the imposter turns and makes eye contact with her. She stares into the pink eyes, barely registering the flash of green. Her anger fades, uncertainty filling the void left behind. Did she bake those with effort, or was she merely going through the motions?
“Uh, okay, um.” Applejack pauses, looking at the five remaining fritters on the tray. “Ah’ll be sure to put a bit of love into the next ones.”
Cadance’s overly cheerful smile returns to Chrysalis’ face, and she even mimics perfectly that tittering happy dance she does. “Oh, that will be perfect! I look forward to tasting it!” She saunters away, checking with the exuberant party mare who never puts anything less than one hundred percent into what she does.
Applejack catches Twilight’s stern look as she turns back to prepare the next item on the list. She gulps; it’s gonna be way harder than she thought, keeping from spoiling everything by letting on that she knows. Okay, how would she feel if she was baking this apple pie for Cadance instead of Chrysalis?
Present
Doug sighs; apparently that’s how most of the conversations between Chrysalis and everypony involved in the wedding were. She wouldn’t let anything slide, making sure that everything is perfect. He didn’t have a lot of cause to interact with her, busying himself with his weather work and listening to the mares complain about the hoops Chrysalis is making them jump through. Though, to be fair, it’s a lot of the same things that Cadance would have wanted for her wedding. Maybe it’s partly Twilight’s influence, the alicorn wanting a perfect wedding if and when the real Cadance is released.
Meanwhile, Shining Armor stepped up security, using the wedding as a pretext to host one mock training session after another. He pits the newly arriving guards against everypony already inside Canterlot. The goal of the newcomers is to get to their bunks. If they are captured, they have to sleep outside the castle until the next battalion arrived. The ‘battles’ are certainly entertaining to watch, especially when a pegasus blows by the windows fast enough to get the panes to rattle.
But right now, with eighty of the eighty eight newly arrived Manehatten guards preparing to sleep outside, Doug has a different destination in mind. He walks out of the main castle, making a beeline to Luna’s tower. The tall gold and white spire has multiple balconies sprouting off the sides, though why Luna would need guardrails is a bit of an unknown. Maybe she just hasn’t bothered to repaint everything in a cobalt and black theme, but that would sort of ruin the rest of the aesthetic Canterlot has going on.
Doug nods to the two guards on duty at the base of the tower. While most of the guards look nearly identical, the one on the right has a small red and purple gem at the center of his armor instead of the normal cyan star. The left guard's star is more of a turquoise, not far removed from the norm but different enough if you know to look for it.
“Hey, Phalanx, Cuirass,” Doug says as he gets closer, finally getting an acknowledgement.
“Hey,” Cuirass says as Phalanx opens the door. “Looking forward to the wedding?”
Doug shrugs, Phalanx shooting Cuirass a nasty look. “Sure, I guess. I think I’ll be happy once all the preparations are complete, and it’s finally over.”
“Oh, yeah, me too.” Cuirass looks over at Phalanx, puzzled at the glare. “What?”
“We aren’t supposed to talk,” he whispers harshly, motioning with a hoof to the open door.
“But it’s-” Cuirass starts, then his shoulders slump a little. “Oh. Right.” He straightens up, again becoming the epitome of a perfect guard. The guise lasts for about three seconds, dropping as soon as he makes it inside the tower. Phalanx waits for Doug to walk through before he closes the door with a loud boom.
“Watch your head,” Cuirass says, motioning to the fairly low ceiling as they start to climb. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Used to it,” Doug replies, having to stoop through a majority of the buildings in Equestria. He still bends over a little more than he needs - it’d look pretty dumb to hit his head right after saying that. For a time, the only sounds are hooves and boots echoing against the cold stone walls.
The lengthy silence is broken by Cuirass. “Word in the barracks is that you and Princess Luna are going to plight each other’s troths pretty soon. Think it’ll be tonight?”
“I… guess that depends on her,” Doug replies after a short delay. “I think they are waiting on Twilight.”
“I wish I could be there.” Cuirass sighs, continuing after a pregnant pause. “I’ve always wanted to learn about Friendship.”
“That seems… like you’re trying to learn to swim by diving into the deep end.”
“Oh.” Cuirass sighs. “I’ve never been much for swimming. Maybe if I could find someli- somepony to teach me. But I’ve always had a hard time coming out of my shell.”
“Hey, maybe that’d be a great start.” Cuirass cocks his head a little as they near the top. “You know, just walk up to somepony at a pool and ask if they’ll help you get started.” He elbows Cuirass in the side, winking. “Probably wouldn’t hurt if they’re a cute stallion, either.”
Cuirass’ eyes go wide. “Oh, um, m-me? I-I don’t know, that seems like a lot! W-what if-”
“Shh,” Doug says, shaking his head with a smile. “Just think of it like a learning opportunity. Just like your name!”
Cuirass stands, puzzling it out as Doug walks up to Luna’s door. Then he grins excitedly, “Oh, I get it! Curious, like Cuirass!” He chuckles to himself, a short, “Hey,” getting Doug to pause with his hand on the door. “I don’t suppose you like swimming?”
“Sorry, you’ll need to find somestallion else. I’m spoken for.” Doug smiles, a short wave. “Have a good night.”
“Oh. Um, you too,” Cuirass says with a hopeful smile, returning back down the way he came.
Doug raises his hand to knock, but a cobalt aura surrounds the door and swings it open. He enters the sparsely decorated bedroom, much the same as the last time he was here. There is a spartan bed, replete of cushions, and a telescope near the door to the balcony. The cobalt alicorn is standing by her desk, looking up from a mess of scattered papers.
“Evening,” she says casually, her focus returning to long lists of pony’s names, twirling a quill in her magic.
“Evening,” Doug replies, walking over and resting a hand on her bare withers, rubbing into her silky coat. “Hard at work already?”
Luna glances outside, the sun not yet set. “It seemed appropriate. And we are grateful to finally have something that does not consist of public appearances and ribbon cutting ceremonies.” She sighs, turning back to the papers. “Though, eager as we are to help, we find Celestia’s machine too well oiled. We are having difficulty culling enough ponies from other walks to rebuild the necessary railway infrastructure. Too many have jobs or prior commitments.”
“You don’t see yourself out there, swinging railroad ties into the ground?”
“As a last resort, perhaps.” Luna turns her head to Doug. “Maybe you could help.”
“Nah; like you said, I’m too busy doing other things.” Doug waggles his eyebrows, Luna giving him a look of longsuffering. “Plight each other’s troths?”
Luna frowns. “Is it not an appropriate expression for our coming act of congress?”
“Well, sure, but… I don’t know. I just thought you’d be happier about it.” Doug sighs, rubbing the fabric of his light jacket as he sits, then lays down on Luna’s bed. His hands rest behind his head in lieu of a pillow as he stares at the ceiling.
“Are we not? Our dear Sister has expressed a strong desire to do more things together.” Luna narrows her eyes as Doug smirks. “Thou art incorrigible. None of our previous amours would have ever carried themselves so brazenly.”
Doug sinks into the hard bed, a long sigh. “Different masks,” he mutters to himself. Then he nods, in a louder voice saying, “Alright. If that’s what you want, then as you wish.”
Luna steps away from her desk, dropping her quill. “Thou would’st change thy behavior, to make us happy?” Her expression hardens slightly. “We thought thou stronger than that.”
“It’s not a matter of strength of character, it’s more like doing things that the other person appreciates. With Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy if we're alone, she's getting better at it, and maybe even Applejack - they love that flirtatious side, and the banter back and forth. Applejack might not look like it, but I can see the smile behind her disapproval.” Doug shrugs, glancing over at Luna. “If you don’t like it? Then I can cut back on it, when I’m around you.”
“Hmm,” Luna replies, considering. “Would thou prefer us to display our affections more overtly?”
“I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I do like physical touch,” Doug says with a broad smile.
“How fitting. We like ear scratches.” Luna grins as she settles down next to her bed, resting her head on Doug’s stomach.
“Hey, I thought I was the one getting pampered tonight,” Doug says with a smile. And yet, despite Luna twisting her head slightly to stick her tongue out at him, his hands move to her ears. Each lightly presses as they circle around, bending the pliable appendages back and forth.
“The night is young,” Luna says sultrily, though the sun shining outside belies her assertion.