//------------------------------// // 12 - Rosemary // Story: Lunar Rosemary // by Liquid Truth //------------------------------// The Nostaltrain chugged away from the harbor, leaving behind trails of glittering ethereal clouds in its wake. Ships and waterborne vessels alike congregated all around to dock, and the lonely locomotive shimmied between the towering hulls. Soon it hid behind the giants closing in, dutifully chugging back to its station without an operator. The biome was silent, for it was in no need to sing; bagpipes and fiddles already rang across the kingdom in synchrony, greeting and accompanying all visitors, either World Dwellers or otherwise. It rang also to the single heart-bound pair of ponies, inviting them to the Kingdom of Evermoor’s party. Luna turned around, away from the mass of many creatures carrying with them their goods and to the towering castle far into the center of the kingdom. Her scarf gently danced, following her spin and trailing behind. Reaching halfway, it playfully brushed against Twilight’s face, bearing a pair of unfocused eyes still gazing toward where the train had gone. Twilight sneezed. Luna laughed then said, “Come on, Twilight. The fair has already started.” Twilight nodded and turned around, her scarf mimicking Luna’s previous dance albeit a little more giddy and lively. As Twilight trailed behind Luna, their scarves danced together with the beats of the street musicians and the hums from other World Dwellers. The streets they passed were filled to the brim with merchants and tourists, their sides with vendors and even more merchants of endless types of commodities, from herbs to scrap metal and from wine to ice creams. “Luna, look!” Luna turned around, and there, lying on a vendor’s table and its sides surrounded by a layer of glinting frost, was a cup of ice cream. She quirked an eyebrow. “Ice cream?” Twilight nodded. “You like ice cream, don’t you?” “I do, but…” She took the cup in her telekinesis and turned it around. No labels. “What kind of ice cream is this?” “The best you could find!” exclaimed the vendor, a giant insectoid that vaguely resembled an ant. “Crafted with love from hundred-year-old recipes of my family, our ice cream will awe even royalties!” Luna covered her smirk with a hoof. “We shall see. But first,” she added as she looked at the vendor, “what does it do?” The vendor laughed. “It makes you want more!” “So it’s addictive?” “As addictive as good food.” The vendor winked an eye out of his twelve. “But no, it doesn’t have any addictive substances. It’s just that good!” “...Just that? No magical properties or anything?” The vendor chuckled. “It’s ice cream. It doesn’t need to be more magical than that!” Twilight poked Luna’s side. “So, want some?” Luna rolled her eyes. “You just want it, don’t you?” Twilight gave her an innocent smile. “Well?” Luna smiled and playfully sighed. “Alright, alright.” She turned to the vendor. “How much for one?” “What have you in return?” Luna opened her wing, finding nothing underneath but their invitation card. She frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t have anything.” She turned to Twilight and gave an apologetic look. “Sorry, love.” “That’s okay.” Twilight put the ice cream back on the stand. “You’re an Invitee!” the vendor exclaimed. Luna whipped her head back to the now-gaping vendor. “I… believe so?” “Take one,” he said giddily as he handed them a cup. “And tell me what it tastes like for your kind!” Twilight took it and raised an eyebrow. “‘Our kind’?” “Yes!” he exclaimed. “You’re an Invitee, right? It means none from your world had ever gotten here before!” He clapped his appendages together. “I have to know if my ice cream’s delicious for you, too!” Twilight nodded and opened the cup. There was a small spoon inside, and she scooped the ice cream with it, then delivered it to Luna. Luna’s eyes bulged as she put her tongue around the ice cream, and she nodded in approval. “I’d certainly want this in the royal menu.” Twilight took a bite herself, and she shivered. “Wow.” And they took off from the happy vendor, visiting a few stands only to see their products. Along the street they went, a straight line from the harbor to the castle. Two gargoyles stood protectively between the gates of the castle’s outer walls. Their obsidian skin, black and bold, glinted by the Sun overhead, carrying out the message to stay away. As the pair went closer, however, the gates opened by themselves, startling the gargoyles and making them scramble for their halberds. They quickly stood facing each other in attention, waiting for the whirling wheels and giant gears of the bunker-like doors to unlock. Luna and Twilight stood in anticipation, waiting, waiting, and waiting. The crankles and the clicks of the doors rang melodically in rhythm with the rest of the not-world, happily dancing about the beats and notes like a sled down a musical sheet. “Twilight?” “Yes?” Luna stared down at her. “Why are we going this way?” Twilight shrugged. “I thought you wanted to go to Evermoor Fair?” “I did.” She looked around. “Aren’t we already in Evermoor Fair?” “We are.” She stared at the door, most of the locking mechanisms already open. “But I… heard something telling me to go in.” “A call?” “I guess so.” “It is a call,” said another voice. Looking up, they found the gates already open, and there, standing with his robe hanging majestically upon his shoulders and his golden crown adorning his head, was the Nameless King of Evermoor. He bowed to the two and continued, “Welcome to the Land of Neverafter.” Luna and Twilight bowed. “Thank you for inviting us, Your Majesty,” Luna said. “It is an honor.” The king rose and laughed. “The honor’s all mine, Your Highness,” he said, smiled at Twilight, then continued, “and Twilight Sparkle.” “You know my name?” “When you answered my invitation, I immediately noticed.” He frowned. “And I was worried when it took you almost an entire year to reach us. Were there any obstacles in your way?” The pair looked at each other. “Twilight jumped out of our world without knowing how to listen to the Worldsbridges’ music.” “And Luna needed some time to know where I went.” The king chuckled. “And I believe your journey has been resolved?” Luna nodded. “More or less. There’s still much for us to learn.” She gripped Twilight in a wing hug. Twilight giggled. “But at least we now know for sure that I’m meant for her.” Luna smirked. “Indeed you are, “O true love of mine.” Days went by the kingdom like a world normally would. The party went on full swing all the way, merchants ferociously trading with one another for commodities and random services for their respective worlds. Music was also traded there, and immediately as Luna found out, she jumped from here to there, writing down music sheets to trade with other composers and musicians of other worlds, and sometimes for an extra cup of ice cream to enjoy with her beloved. Alas, the fair could not last forever, and too soon did everyone return to their worlds. Luna and Twilight sailed home on the king’s private galleon, carrying with them bundles upon bundles of rosemary to start Equestria’s multiversal relationships. It would be hectic, Luna mused, but at least she’d endure it with Twilight. And inside Twilight’s mind, she saw upcoming days of them being pestered with even more bureaucrats, now from a lot of worlds instead of just one. But that was okay, she also thought, for it meant they’d be together more. Forevermore.