//------------------------------//
// A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 
// Story: Fallen Sun 
// by shademaster24601 
//------------------------------//

They kept moving forward. The sound of their own hooves pounded in their ears as it echoed through the tunnels. They convinced themselves it hadn't been that long since they slipped past the guards and out of their cell, but the non-stop running and dust in their eyes made it seem longer and longer. The two unicorn stallions came to a screeching halt when the tunnels broke off into three paths. 
"ARH! Again?!" The older of the two spat at the ground. His eyes darted between the holes. "Okay which...which one...stars were we already here?"
The younger was silent for a moment, staring blankly at the wall and network. He gritted his teeth, his heart began to pound, and then he screamed at the top of his lungs. He thrashed and screamed, bucking wildly. "No! No! No! No more! Where are you?! Where are you?!"
The older stallion looked back down the way they came, then tried to calm his friend. "Comrade..." He narrowly avoided a kick to the head. "Permafrost stop. You're making too much noise."
"Yeah, if you're not careful, you'll give away your position and Uriah might show up."
"Exactly." The older unicorn held his friends shoulders, trying to settle him. "So lower your voice before..." Their eyes widened as they felt the wind leave their lungs. Pale as the moon, they both slowly turned to face the third voice with a mix of fear and disbelief.
Uriah gave a coy little smile and small wave with his wing. "Hi, how are ya?" He started to casually walk forward, ignoring that they were backing away like frightened animals. "So, I'm just going about my business, checking in with the Appleoosans and enjoying some nice home fries and applesauce. When, suddenly, one of the fixers comes scrambling in, having a conniption fit about two idiots getting themselves hopelessly lost."
The older unicorn looked over to Permafrost, who was fixing the alicorn with a hateful glare, and cleared his throat before addressing the alicorn. "We..we are not afraid of you. We are strong ponies of Stalliongrad, no bars can hold the spirit of our..."
"Shut up." Uriah said flatly as he rubbed his temple. "The doors weren't even locked! We didn't want you in there. That was only for the first few days while you all calmed down. Ever since, for weeks now, we've been begging you to come out and join the rest of the ponies in Goblin Town. Yet, for some dumb reason, you morons reject us. The Appleoosans try to assure you everything's safe, you call them traitors and snap at them. The Goblins bring you food, you throw it in their faces. They work hard on that cobbler, you jerks." Uriah threw up his wings in disbelief as he ranted. "You insist on staying in the cells, but then two of you get the bright idea to try and escape."
Permafrost finally broke through his bewildered rage to speak. "You..."
Uriah rolled his eyes at the guttural growl. "Yes, me tired, you stupid. Well Established. So let's just get to the part where you go back to..."
The enraged unicorn stamped at the ground, shook out his blue mane, and prepared to charge. "You took them from me!"
The goblin king puzzled for a moment. "Oh. Ohhhh. Right, Permafrost. You're that disturbed lunatic who thought his nationalism was more important than his wife and unborn foal."
Permafrost's pupils shrank and he let out a vicious cry. "I'll kill you!"
The unicorn took off like a cannon-shot. His hoof beats echoed like thunder in the confines of the tunnel. Uriah didn't flinch. Even with Permafrost's horn aimed right at his heart, the alicorn was unfazed by the outburst. If anything, he seemed bored. "Really...that's your battle cry?" He let out a disappointed sigh as he caught his assailant in his magic. His horn inches from Uriah's chest, Permafrost was frozen, still to the last muscle. "I mean, put some effort into it. "These caverns will be your tomb" or "With all my hate, I stab at thee." Something." 
It happened very fast. Shimmers of red appeared briefly in the air around Permafrost as invisible blows began to rain upon him. He buckled and jerked, as the barrage forced him to the floor. In just as swift a motion, he was pulled into the air by his tail and repeatedly slammed against the tunnel walls before being dropped with an unceremonious thud. The older unicorn backed into the wall, a look of terror on his face from seeing such effortless brutality. " W-Wait, please..." Permafrost's unconscious body was launched at the old stallion, hitting him in the face and knocking his head against the wall.
Uriah, with deadpan boredom, strolled over and collected the two stallions as they groaned from the ordeal. With a roll of his eyes and a flicker of his horn, the three teleported to the holding cells. The ponies of Stalliongrad met the Goblin King with their usual looks of anger with a clear disappointment in the failed escape. With a swift motion, without saying a word, he opened the cell in front of him and tossed the two in and locked it tight again. He left them and made his way three doors to the left. There, stewing in his usual misery, was Baron Frostbite.  He sat in the center of the cell, glaring at the back wall. Uriah announced his presence with a tired venom. "I've had just about enough of this. You refuse to negotiate with me and you send these poor, brainwashed, simpletons out with no concern for there safety. Do you have any idea how lucky they are one of the goblins saw them? If they had gotten lost..."
"Stalliongrad is strong." Came the baron's blunt reply. "Stalliongrad ponies are strong. They would have survived. They would have escaped."
Uriah scoffed. "Do you realize how easy they...how easy the second one went down. You're making them refuse to eat. I can only supplement so much with my magic."
Frostbite stood up and turned to face the alicorn with a scowl. "Stalliongrad will not live under the hoof of some vengeful despot. We will proudly die before we are enslaved."
Uriah's pupils shrank. In an instant the baron was grabbed in a red aura and pulled against the bars. "Listen here you ignorant little snot. I am done with your grandstanding and deflection." He slammed the baron against the barrs again. "You are the one starving your people for the ideas YOU put in their heads. I have been patient, I have been trying my best to make you understand. If I have to end you to make them, then they'll be better off.." The pale alicorn's eyes widened in realization. He dropped the baron, who scuttled away from him. Uriah shook the rage out of his head and took off down the tunnels.


Tirek examined the mechanism before him with curious intent. It seemed so simple, but the implications were astounding. "So, all you have to do his pull down this one beam and the whole structure comes down?"
The grunt next to him nodded with a bit of pride. "To a desired point, yeah. Comes in handy for long stake-outs and not bein' followed. Like dominoes..." He pulled Tirek behind a safety line drawn in the cave floor. "Pull this one, which pulls the next and so on,"  He pulled a cord attached to the beam. The beam folded, which triggered a chain reaction of four more beams folding, and then forty feet of empty tunnel collapsed in front of them. As soon as the dust settled, two brutes brushed past the grunt and centaur to start re-digging. "Waste not what not. 'Course if you put enough of these in the right pattern, in the right spot."
"Then it's a catastrophe at the flick of a wrist. Genius!" Tirek gave a wicked grin and turned with glee at the sound of familiar wing beats coming up behind him. "Uriah, this plan of yours is shaping up to be something spectacular."
The goblin king landed between them and rubbed his eyes. "It's going to take time. We'll have to set teams to work immediately. There's also a lot of ground to cover without being caught."
The grunt's ear twitched at the somber air of his king's voice. "Everything alright, m'lord? You seem out of spirits."
Uriah let out a sigh as he slowly dragged his wing from his face. "All this malevolence is starting to get to me. I almost killed Frostbite a moment ago. I've worked very hard with my uprising and the opposition is bringing the worst out of me for it."
Tirek crossed his arms. "It's fascinating to me that you can be so good at being evil, yet too good to be evil at the same time."
"I know, I know." The pale alicorn slumped down, defeated, his back against the wall. "I didn't think I'd be playing at both ends of this. It would have been easier to just rain vengeance down on everypony, but nooo. I had to go and think I deserve to be happy. Now I'm giving myself whiplash going between preserving the friendships I've built along the way, whilst actively working to destroy the world as they know it. Plus my back has been killing me lately, it's getting hard to fly."
The grunt gave a supportive smile and sat himself next to his distressed king. "Ah, heavy is the crown. The good pain?"
Uriah smiled at the reminder of his friend, Scrivvler. "The good pain."
Tirek rolled his eyes at the sentimentality. He turned to a nearby table and examined the blueprints for the Gala Operation. "No surprise. You've been running yourself ragged with this plan of yours. When was the last time you got any sleep?"
Uriah stared at the ceiling. "Oh, I had a wonderful nap with Chrysie...about a day and a half ago. This just needs to go exactly right. If one thing goes wrong with the set up, if we don't get the timing exactly right..." He shuddered to think of it, then let out a slow breath. "I. Cannot. Slip up. Not now, not with this."
"And you won't." The grunt put an arm around Uriah's shoulder. "You're the goblin king! No one stronger, no one smarter."
Tirek flipped to the next page of diagrams. "If you're really under that much strain, why not go see that little girlfriend of yours? Last time seemed to revitalize you well enough, maybe she can help you again."
Uriah's ears perked up and his expression brightened. "That does sound nice," His brow furrowed with a realization. "but the work. I can't leave in the middle of everything. There's patterns to work out, teams to coordinate, housing to prepare..."
The centaur drew marks on the plans. "The work will be here when you get back. If you leave that mare waiting too long, you might just lose her."
Uriah tilted his head. "That's actually really good advice. I'm not sure if I'm more surprised that it's coming from you or the fact that you care enough to give it."
"Don't read too much into it," Tirek said with a dismissive groan. "It's just that people like us don't usually "get the girl" as it were. Maker knows a supportive hand to hold might have kept me from the path I've tread. I'm curious to see if you can pull it off. Besides, you're no good to me weighed down with regret."
The alicorn smirked, then flew over to place a hoof on Tirek's sizeable shoulder. "You're a good friend." A dismissive eye-roll was the only response. Uriah returned to the grunt, who met him with an enthusiastic hand-to-hoof shake. "Let the others know I'll be away. Scouts will know how to find me in case of an emergency. If Chrysalis attempts a coup, just bop her with a rolled up newspaper." 
"Hey!" as if summoned by the smell of snark, the changeling queen emerged from an adjacent tunnel, looking peeved. "I heard that! What are you up to n..." *bop* "Ow!"
The valiant grunt stood at the ready, newspaper in hand. "For the king!" *bop*
"Gah! Cut it..." *bop* "Ow!" *bop* "Stop it!" Chrysalis scrambled to get out the way she came, hissing like an enraged cat as the grunt kept swinging.
Uriah chuckled and smiled warmly as he continued his flight out. "The best friends."


It wasn't exactly clear what was different about today. Maybe somepony spilled a bag of powdered sugar and loosed its contents into the air, or maybe somepony spilled strawberry jam into the water supply. Who could say. All Pinkie knew is that ponies' sweet tooths were acting up and there had been a packed house all day. Everypony in town seemed to be stopping in all at once and Pinkie and been at it nonstop. 
However, endless well of optimism she was, Pinkie would not be daunted. More business meant more smiles and she was ready for action. The double doors to the kitchen swung open as she burst through, pushing the desert cart into the lobby. One by one, she delivered trays to tables. "Okay, we've got two fudge brownies and a cinnamon bun for table three, two large strawberry milkshakes for table four, beignets with honey drizzle to share for table five, carrot cake and key lime pie for table six, and table two, your churros will be out shortly, we're just heating up the chocolate sauce. Phew!"
The crowd, all smiles, gave out a collective "Thanks Pinkie."
"You're welcome." She wiped some sweat from her brow. "Oh, my aching hooves. I feel like I've been at this all day...and I have."
There was a slight breeze coming from the front door, which seemed to direct itself toward Pinkie and blow under her chin. It drew her gaze up to see a cloud of mist begin to form. It condensed and solidified until a familiar alicorn dropped down with a thud. Uriah struck a noble pose "Pardon me, fair maiden, but I seem to have misplaced my heart when you absconded with it." 
Pinkie's eyes lit up and her smile became brighter than it had been all day. "Hey!" She leapt up and put her hooves around him, then immediately gave him a big smooch. "My boyfriend's here! This day just got amazing."
Uriah could feel his heart soaring through the roof. He held her tight and twirled her around in the air, both of them giggling like school children. He snuggled her mane and took a moment to enjoy her scent. "Stars, I've missed you. I know it hasn't been that long, but you just make everything so much brighter."
She blushed and gave him a squeeze. "You big softie." He gently set her down and she went back to her cart. "I was getting worried I wasn't gonna see you again until the Gala."
He walked beside her and draped a wing over her. "You kidding? Just because we set a date doesn't mean we don't see eachother until then. Besides, if went that long without you, I'd probably go crazy...Well, crazier."
"Is everything ok?" Her ears drooped and her eyes filled with worry. "Twilight told me about what happened at the Crystal Empire."
Uriah felt a lump in his throat. "How much did she tell you, exactly?"
Pinkie rested her head on his shoulder. "She said that I should let you tell me the details yourself, but whatever happened upset you. She said you were hurting yourself."
He gave her a reassuring nuzzle. "It started out working great. Right up until my mental illness decided it wasn't." He kissed her forehead. "It's a process. You definitely make it better. I'll tell you all about it if I can steal you away to somewhere private." With a sly smile, Uriah started to lead her away from the cart.
Pinkie ducked out from under his wing, leaving the prince befuddled. "I can't just leave. It's totally loco busy here. The Cakes need me."
Uriah was about to argue, but stopped himself. He had left his entire kingdom in the midst of a major operation just to see her, but he held his tongue. "Can I help?"
She shook her head. "Absolutely not." Uriah looked a little hurt, so Pinkie placed a hoof to his chest. "I'm sure you'd do great, but baking is a very complicated science and with a rush like this, it requires a very delicate rhythm." She cupped his cheeks and got right up in his face to look him in the eye. "In fact, as much I adore those ruby red wonder pools of yours, every second I spend talking to you nudges this bakery closer to catastrophe!"
His eyes widened. "Pinkie, you're scaring me."
"If that honey cake falls, I'll suplex you out the window!" A bell sounded from the kitchen. "Whoop, order up. I'll be free in a few hours once dine-in service ends. Hang out around Ponyville and I'll meet up with you when I can. The you'll get all the smooches and snuggles and emotional support you could want." On that note, she reached up and gave him one more hug and kiss for the road. "Love you."
His brain took a few seconds to comprehend the roller-coaster of the last few seconds. Uriah shook out his confusion and smiled. "I love you too, you beautiful pink goofball." He gave her on last squeeze before reluctantly releasing her. She returned to her cart and hurried back to the kitchen, leaving Uriah standing there, looking rather disheartened.
One of the patrons, a mint colored unicorn with a lyre cutie mark, took note of him. "Hey, aren't you the guy that helped Princess Twilight save everypony from those vines?"
Uriah let out a sigh and gave a nod. "Yeah. That's me."
She gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks for that, dude."
He gave a little salute then headed for the door. Walking out into the street, the pale alicorn was kicking rocks "Aww, man. I was really looking forward to some Pinkie time. Oh well. I can wait a little longer." His expression brightened and his pace picked up as he thought of the positives. "We did just say "I love you" for the first time. I almost didn't notice it felt so right and normal. I love her. I love her. Ha! It feels great. I love Pinkie Pie!"
"So happy for you." Came a dry reply from nearby.
"Thank you, random sarcastic citizen." Uriah could feel his spirits lifting again. Everything around him seemed so much brighter now. He had to admit it was a low bar considering he was living in a hole, but the colors were amazing. The sky was so blue, the birds so active, everything just seemed to be in a good mood. A cheerful call from a nearby stand drew Uriah's attention. An earth pony mare with a raspberry mane and cream colored coat beckoned him to her flower stand. He was more than happy to take the detour. Flowers, while cliché, always seemed a nice gesture, though Uriah wasn't sure what kind Pinkie would like. Roseluck, as he had come to know her, didn't have much of an idea either, but Uriah still enjoyed the conversation. Having a beautiful mare in front of him helped him focus, keep his mind off the looming shadow that was materializing by the roses. Uriah gave Roseluck a gentle bow and bid her farewell with all his princely charm. As he walked away, the shadow followed. It loomed close behind him, yet nopony seemed to notice. It gave a few low growls to gain his attention, but he kept walking, unamused. "I know you're there and I know it's you. You're not gonna make me freak out again."
The shadow gave a dismissive snort.
Uriah rolled his eyes. "No, sure, go ahead. Keep giving me the silent treatment and solve nothing. You and I both know you can't keep it up forever, so you might as well just drop the smoke monster act and talk to me."
Another annoyed grunt.
The alicorn looked to the sky. "I know it's not about what I did because you hated the basilisks as much as I did and wiping them out was your idea in the first place." He pondered for a moment. "Is it about Pinkie?"
This drew a growl.
Uriah shook his head. "You are not mad about Pinkie. We've had that conversation about my immortality before and you were very clear you wanted me to move on. More to it you were never the jealous type. I remember that Countess from...wherever-the-heck that one year at the Gala. All I said was that I thought her earings looked nice and she got all fake outraged and obnoxiously loud to make you look, like she was trying to start drama between us. I knew she was doomed because she interrupted you while you were eating. Then you strutted your way over, looked her dead in the eye and said "honey, I'll show you inappropriate," and then started kissing her. I mean you went for it, hoisting her up against the wall, grabbing her flank, pulling back to smile and lick your lips. I was about to pull you back, but then she started kissing you back. This was a married mare, in front of her husband and kids, and the two of you were just rolling on the floor. Then Nocturne started cheering you on, you tore off the countess's dress and tossed it across the room, hitting Celestia in the face. She was furious, the guests were horrified, I couldn't breath I was laughing so hard."
It was only a few seconds. Such a small delicate thing. A giggle mixed with a baby crocodile chirp.
Uriah stopped dead in his tracks. Tears started streaming down his cheeks. He turned back to face the shadow, which stopped itself and started to back away. Uriah held out his hoof. "No, no, please." The shadow paused, and a pain showed in the blurred yellow eyes. "This is crazy. Scarlet, I loved...I love you. With every fiber of my being. I was going to marry you." This triggered another pang in the shadow. "Just...just let me hold your claw. Give me that, at least."
He reached out and the shadow recoiled slightly, but leaned toward him, raising and arm. The smoke and shadow dissipated a little. It revealed a green, clawed, hand with fur and scales.  The shadow eyed him with hesitation, cautiously reaching for his hoof, but pulled back. The claw became enshrouded again and the shadow vanished. Uriah cursed and kicked at the ground. He paced in a circle, mumbling under his breath, then picked his head up and did his best to smile the pain away. Progress was progress. He was getting better. Then his mood truly brightened at the sound of a familiar voice "Ok just...Luna no, to the left. Pivot, pivot!"
The pale alicorn happily trotted around the corner to the Golden Oak Library. The normally peaceful site was in a bit of disarray, with furniture and several boxes strewn about the front and a large wagon parked off to the side. A few steps from the entrance, Twilight looked up with a critical eye as her partner set to work. Luna was on a ladder, putting up a new sign with both their cutie marks.  "Just say turn and don't shout at me!"
"I'm not," Twilight face hoofed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just used to doing this myself when I can see the angles. Just be careful, sweetie."
"A little higher then?" Luna did her best to nudge the sign up more, but keeping her balance proved difficult.
Twilight was about to respond, but found herself being scooped up from behind in a big hug. "Baby sister! It's so good to see you!" Uriah spun her around with a little laugh.
The surprise left the younger alicorn dizzy, but she smiled once she realized what was happening. "Uriah!" She returned the hug with gusto. After the Crystal Empire, she had been worrying about her surrogate big bro. "It's great to see you too!"
"Is that my nephew?" Luna called back as she focused on her task. "Tell him to wait there so I can give him a hug."
Uriah gently set Twilight down. The young princess gave him a grin and a curious look. "So what brings you to Ponyville?"
Uriah beamed. "I'm here to spend time with Pinkie," his ears drooped. "but she's busy and I have to wait for her to be done with work. What about you? What are you two up to today...in matching outfits?"
He was so excited to see them that he almost didn't notice, but Twilight and Luna were both dressed the same. They wore white work-shirts and overalls, had their manes done-up in ponytails, and little denim caps. Twilight's smile gave away that she was hoping he'd notice. "Luna's moving in. We thought it'd be nice to do it traditional earth pony style. No magic, just building a home with our own hooves, together."
Luna smiled, but strained as she tried to get the sign secured. "On that note, Uriah, could you give me a boost?"
"You're a wonderful princess and ponies say nice things about you," Uriah said with a confident smile. Twilight gave a little chuckle and bopped him on the shoulder.
Luna rolled her eyes. "Vertically, nephew." Uriah gave a nod and went to the ladder. He held it on both ends and lifted it up, giving Luna just the extra height she needed to set the sign in place. She stepped down and hugged him close. "It's good to see you." She pulled back with a worried look. "Are you alright? Back at the Crystal Empire..."
He silenced her with another hug. "Thank you." Uriah turned and pulled Twilight in closer, eagerly bringing his little sister into the embrace. "Thank you both for being there when I needed you. I've been getting better. Still working through things, had a little episode between the bakery and here, but progress is definitely being made." He waved it off with his wing. "Enough about me and my trauma. What's up with you?" He ruffled Twilight's mane. "My sweet baby sister knocks Celestia a good one, my dear Aunt pulls up roots to settle down for a fresh start..." He took a breath and a look of tired irritation washed over him. "What did she do?"
Luna hesitated. She knew Uriah would want to help her, but that look in his eyes projected a fire she'd rather not feed into. "We've...moved on. It's not important."
"It's important to me." Twilight interjected with a notable hint of outrage. "She deliberately said something way out of line and made you cry." There was a stiffening in Uriah's back that Twilight couldn't ignore. "I told her that was it. All the lying and manipulation is just too much. I had given her the benefit of the doubt about you, but then she did it again, right to my face. Even with everything out in the open, she still couldn't trust us to own up to her mistakes and then attacked Luna for calling her out on it." She took a breath to compose herself. "We packed up our things and we were out by morning."
Uriah took a moment, then draped his wings around them, bringing them close again. "I am so proud of you both. You stuck up for yourselves and each other, you're out here living your best lives, and I wish you all the happiness in the world. I'm so grateful to have found such an amazing family."
Luna gave him a warm nuzzle."We're glad we found you too."
He kept up the hug. "And I'll consider it an incredible honor if you decide to make me the Godfather of your first child."
Twilight's eyes shot open and she immediately shoved him to the ground. "Will you cut that out?!" Uriah and Luna both started laughing. "You know how long my mother's been pestering my brother and me for grandkids? At my coronation, she slipped me a book titled "What Are You Waiting For?" with a note saying "You have ALL the options now!"" She kept pushing him, and he kept laughing as he rolled. "I'm only gonna be 21! We're both immortal, we have time! At least let me propose first!"
Luna stopped laughing and she blushed through her azure coat. "Wha?"
Twilight stood at attention, suddenly looking a little red and sheepish herself. "*cough* Well, I...you see..."
Uriah sat up with a sly grin. "There's a ring in her left pocket. I felt it during the hug." He immediately started scrambling to dodge  the subsequent barrage of magic bolts from his furious little sister and then took off with a mischievous laugh. "Okay, I love you, buh-bye." 
Twilight sat, her face still frozen in astonishment. Luna carefully walked up and sat next to her. Twilight felt her heart race, yet somehow managed to compose herself. "Ok...so...I was going to wait to surprise you tonight, but..." Her horn lit up and a small box lifted out of her pocket. She floated the box upright before Luna. It clicked open.
Luna's jaw nearly hit the ground. It was such a delicate thing. It was a horn-ring, silver, but cast in such a way that made it almost black. Along the surface was an elegant wave-pattern, decorated in a neat little constellation of sapphire accent stones. It culminated in an absolutely beguiling center stone, a midnight blue spear with a design in the center that made it look like a dragon's eye. The night princess stared at it as if she were in a trance. "Twilight..."
"I know, I know," Twilight nervously brushed her tail. "It's just...when I said that being with you was the one thing I could be sure of, I meant it. It just clicked with me. When I told off Celestia, I could have just given her the cold shoulder and we could have just stayed in the castle awkwardly avoiding her, but instead I asked you to runaway and move in with me."
Luna's eyes fluttered a bit as she tried to look between Twilight and the ring. "That just happened, when in the world did you have time to get this?"
Twilight blushed. "I made it."
"You MADE this?!" Luna almost passed out. The ring was flawless, better than anything any jeweler had ever shown her before. "How?!"
The lavender alicorn let herself laugh a bit. "Uriah. There was a chapter in his book about alchemy and artificing. I just needed to apply that with text books on gemstones and ring design."
The night princess returned her gaze to the ring and something began to catch her eye. "It looks a bit like..."
"Nightmare Moon," Twilight finished. Luna's eyes widened in surprise. "I know, it's a weird place to be drawing inspiration from, but hear me out. That was where it all started. I became friends with the girls and we reawakened the Elements of Harmony, which set me off on becoming a princess. You got to reclaim your place as Princess of the Night and found the love of your subjects you always longed for. It was like our lives got to begin all over in the best way, all because fate aligned so that I was lucky enough to be here at the end of a thousand years." She shyly reached over and gently held Luna's hoof. "You've always had this...amazing effect on me. Ever since that first Nightmare Night, being around you just seems to bring out the best in me. I feel more like me when I'm with you. I'd like to stay like that...if you'll have me." Twilight hardly had to wait. As soon as she lifted her eyes, she was charged by an azure blur of affection.
Luna had her hooves around Twilight in a heartbeat, bombarding her cheek with kisses while keeping the ring safely above them. "Yes! Yes yes yes! A thousand times yes!" She gave one more big smooch to seal her acceptance. "Oh my stars! This is wonderful! I'm so giddy! I might pass out!"
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Don't pass out, Luna."
"Too late." She gave a playful smirk and went limp, draping herself over Twilight. They broke out in a laugh before sitting back up. Luna, on the verge of tears, brought the ring back to her. "Would you put it on me?"
Twilight nodded with a tender look in her eyes. "Of course." As gently as possible, they passed the ring from Luna's magic to Twilight's and the lavender alicorn tenderly slipped the ring onto Luna's horn. Twilight's heart practically melted at the sight of those teal eyes. "You're beautiful." They shared a loving nuzzle. "Engaged. Wow."
"Wow, indeed." Luna couldn't help but tease. She loved it when Twilight was a little dork. "So, shall we finish making our little house a home? We get my book shelf set up and you can help me reorganize my novella."
Twilight caressed Luna's cheek. "Hmmm, you really know just how to get me going. Mrrrrow."
Luna went wide eyed and then doubled over laughing. "What was that?"
Twilight kept up a seductive look and seized on the moment. She crawled over and layed on top of Luna, pinning her to the ground. "You think your the only one with a wild and mysterious side?" She fluttered her lashes for emphasis.
Luna smirked. "You are not mysterious. You mark all your library returns on your calendars and keep emergency flash cards on you in case of trivia."
Twilight rested her chin on Luna's chest. "So? I can still be sexy if I want." She snuggled the night princess and gave another purr. Luna practically melted in Twilight's grasp. With a confident smile in proving her point, Twilight got back up, stepped over a flustered Luna, and trotted toward the library. "Now, come on. That bookshelf isn't gonna put itself up."
The night princess rested there, hot, bothered, and still trying to process. She smiled and rolled over in time to watch her beloved head inside. "That's my girl." She took a moment to touch her ring and beamed before getting to her hooves and rejoining Twilight.


Uriah scratched under his chin has he soared over Ponyville's skyline. He observed the ponies down below, each of them happily going about their lives. A few of them spotted him and sent a smile and a wave his way. "Such a good town. I think I'd build a weekend house right there on the east end. Wake up in the morning, walk over to visit Pinkie at work, which will one day be walking Pinkie to work." He did a little flip in the air. "It really doesn't seem like anything could go wrong."
The serene calm was cut short by a loud crash and the sound of rolling thunder. A sharp cry drew Uriah's attention to the street. "Help!" He turned in time to see a wagon come barreling down the road. It had no driver, no control, and three little fillies clinging for dear life as it charged through two stands and forced several ponies to jump out of the way.
The pale alicorn went deadpan and rolled his eyes. "What do you know? Something going wrong." He plunged downward, pulling up until he was level with the cart. Stopping the cart was the easy part, but making sure its passengers were safe was a bit more complex. He focused his magic, wrapping the cart in his blood red aura, while priming his flight pattern to catch the kids should they fall off. To the credit of their little hooves, they held on impressively tight to both the cart and each other. Uriah regulated his breathing as he cast his spell, steadily draining the momentum of the cart. However, as they cleared the next hill, his muscles tensed. The cart was heading for a wall. Thinking quickly, he stopped the cart outright, which, as he figured, sent the trio flying ahead. In a flash of red, Uriah teleported down the road just in time to catch them. The three small bodies knocked him to the ground with a thud, leaving the pale alicorn winded, but relieved the children were unharmed. His first instinct was to wrap his wings around them. "Whoo...okay. Rides over. You kids alright?"
They looked themselves over and each gave a nod. One of them, a white unicorn with pink and purple curls, answered him. "We're okay. Thanks."
Uriah looked at the sky as he waited for his heart to stop racing. "Cool. Cool cool cool cool." He released the three fillies and they all stood up. Once he had composed himself, he gave them a stern look. "Now what the hay happened?"
The trio shrank at his scolding tone, then looked to the ground in regret. Another one, a yellow earth pony with red hair and a big red bow, stepped forward. "We were trying to get out cutie marks."
A look of realization came over him. "Wait, I remember Pinkie telling me about you three. You're the Cutiemark Crusaders." He focused on each of them as he recalled them names. "Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo."
Scootaloo, brushing dust off her orange coat, stepped up with a proud smile. "Oh, so you've heard of us?"
"I heard you're still in trouble," He quickly corrected. "Back in line." The girls cringed at his raised voice and Uriah rubbed his temple with his wing. "Again, please explain."
Sweetie Belle dug at the ground. "Well, like she said, we've been trying to figure out our special talents and get our cutie marks. We've trying different things all morning and that led us to wagon repair."
Uriah kept his cool, but also kept a hard look in his eyes. "Okay, so was that wagon just on the side of a road and you went at it or..."
"No," AppleBloom corrected. "There's a repair shop back up the hill and we asked if we could help."
"So you were supervised?" Uriah tapped his hoof, already figuring the answer.
The girls exchanged a look. Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head. "At first." It drew an eye-roll from the annoyed alicorn. "We didn't think we'd really know whether or not we were good at wagon repair unless we did it ourselves. It was going great...at first."
Apple Bloom looked particularly sorry for herself. "A chalk slipped out from one of the wheels. I help my brother repair our families wagon all the time, I know I did it right."
Uriah flared his wings. "Except he was with you to double check if it was secure. That's why you shouldn't have been doing this without an adult. Do you realize how close you three were to getting hurt? Did you see all that damage you did? Honestly!" He stamped at the ground as he raised his voice. "What would your fathers say about this?!"
The cut was evident immediately. There was this look of shock shared between them and then they split. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both looked sympathetically at Apple Bloom, who's eyes were welling up. Her voice came out in a soft squeak. "My dad...died when I was a baby."
Uriah's heart sank at the revelation. It wouldn't have been the first time he put his hoof in his mouth, but this one hurt. The look in her eyes told him plainly that he had just ripped open a wound and he felt sick. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, knelt down before her, then looked into her eyes with an understanding she didn't expect. "Mine too." It was a soft utterance, but it resonated with her as he placed his wing on her shoulder. Apple Bloom, on the instinct of a hurt child, hugged him tight, and he held her gently. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." They separated and Uriah straightened up again. "I'm gonna clean up this mess, then I'm taking you three home."
They all gave a defeated "Yes, sir," and he set to it. The bystanders were understanding, more relieved the girls were okay than anything else. It was also hard for them to stay mad after Uriah's miraculous repairs. Even so, Uriah brought the Crusaders to each stall, to each pony who had to jump out of the way, and back up to the repair shop, so they could apologize. After that, it was a slow march to Sweet Apple Acres. Rather than leave it a march of doom, Uriah thought it might help to formally introduce himself. They bombarded him with questions. They asked him what Equestria was like five hundred years ago, how did he protect everyone without the Elements of Harmony, and, as expected, how did he get his cutie mark. He reminded them that obsessing over that was what caused all the trouble, but the pale alicorn still enjoyed their wonder at how he got it from fighting an evil wizard. "Honestly, you really don't need to be trying this hard. Your marks will come to you naturally when the time is right."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "That's what everypony says."
Uriah raised an eyebrow. "You think maybe there's a reason for that?" The little pegasus shrugged. "Look, it really isn't as important as you think it is. A cutie mark isn't who you are, it's just a thing you do. Your sisters and their friends' connected experience is certainly touching, but the whole friendship destiny thing kind of overshadows the point. They were each following the path that felt right to them and their talents revealed themselves along the way. You three are going at it completely backwards. By trying every possibility to guess the result, you're skipping the very cause."
Sweetie Belle looked disheartened. She certainly didn't like what she was hearing, but had to admit it made sense. "But its been taking so long. It can't be that easy. How old were you when you got your mark?"
"Seventeen." It was such a short, matter-of-fact, reply. It took a moment to notice the synchronized look of shock they were giving him.
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Wha...I don't...HOW?! How did it take you that long?"
Uriah shrugged. "I was a late bloomer. Pardon me if I didn't almost die fighting an insane warlock sooner. Like I said, it wasn't a big deal."
Scootaloo smiled a bit. His confidence was incredible. However, a sadness came over her and she looked at her wings. "Did...anypony make fun of you or call you names?"
Uriah's ear twitched. It was such a small thing and she hid it well, but a slight break in the little pegasus's voice reached him like a cry for help. "Once, but I was the alicorn prince of Equestria, the hay did I care what anypony thought? Plus I threw him into a tree." It got a little laugh from the group. "Yes, yes, it was hilarious, just don't tell your sisters I told you that. Speaking of which, I believe I see a farm on the horizon." This drew a nervous groan. " Now now, none of that. It is usually best to admit mistakes when they occur and seek to restore honor. Just keep your head high, take a deep breath, face the oncoming angry, multicolored, projectile hurtling towards me at an alarming-oh bother."
It wouldn't be the first time Uriah was tackled at high velocity, but it was nevertheless unpleasant. He took the brunt of multiple impacts as Rinbow Dash rammed him through a fence, clipped a hillside, and slammed him against a tree. She crossed a foreleg over his throat and pressed with all her might, baring her teeth and boring into his eyes with the rage of her gaze. "You!"
Uriah winced as the back of his head scraped against the tree. "Yes...me. I take it...you're mad?" His words choked out through the stranglehold. The alicorn also smelled something. "Aloe and cocoa butter? Did you...gak...did you get a hooficure? This is the smoothest I've ever been strangled."
Rainbow gritted her teeth. "I know it was you. Cloudsdale's rainwater reserves gone without a trace, snowflake storage malfunction ruins that supply. Don't tell me it wasn't you."
Uriah's face reddened from the pressure. "Kind of...hrk...hard to...say anything." He gave her a teasing grin. "You know...this won't...kill me. Your leg...will fall...asleep first." She snarled in response and pressed harder. He chuckled. "Stars...you're adorable...when you're angry. Cute...little voice crack."
That did it. Rainbow fumed and pulled back to deck him. A small, frightened, voice interrupted her. "Rainbow Dash?"
You could hear a pin drop. All the rage drained from Rainbow's face. She turned and felt a pang of regret seeing her number one fan, looking at her in confusion and fear. "Scoots?" In that split second, an all too familiar humm broke the silence. Rainbow was wrapped in a blood red aura and, before she knew what was happening, she was planted in the ground up to her neck. "Oh, come on!"
Uriah got off the tree and straightened his mane. He looked down to shoot Rainbow a cocky grin, just as another voice interrupted. "What in Sam Hill is going on?" Both the ruffled alicorn and the planted pegasus looked like they just got caught in the cookie jar as AppleJack stepped over the busted fence. "Would you two care to explain why I have a fence to repair and a couple of patches of ground to re-seed?"
Rainbow had trouble looking her in the eye, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Before she could speak Uriah piped up. "I'm sorry, AppleJack. We were just messing around. You know how it goes, we talk smack, we rough house." He patted Rainbow on the head. "You almost got there, Dash"
It took every ounce of her self control not to bite him. "Yeah, we just got a little carried away."
The earth pony bounced an accusatory glance between the two. "Mmhmm. So, what brings our outlaw alicorn around these parts?"
Uriah's face fell and he glanced over her shoulder at the crusaders. "Well..."