//------------------------------// // 1. Serendipity // Story: Loved By The Sun // by TCSNxs //------------------------------// Loved By The Sun By: TCSNxs Chapter One Serendipity Twilight tapped a hoof on the circular central desk of Golden Oaks library while her violet eyes stared off at nothing in particular. She’d been stuck on the same line for the last few hours. Normally, the unicorn wasn’t at a loss for words, which only heightened her frustration. A strand from her two-toned mane used that moment to dangle in front of her vision. Without bothering to decide it it were metaphorical or not, she moved her tapping hoof off the desk and brushed it aside. Afterwards, she attempted to work through her stuck supposition. Twilight looked down at her words to judge them with her own critical eye if they were worthy. Speak to me words of the Acrostic form that I see more in your will. A bastion braced of a simple word; basking in the glow of act, the art. The librarian shook her head while she struggled to find the right wording. She’d been stuck on these particular problems more often than not as of late. Along the way, she'd come to the conclusion that life of a "starving artist" would leave her perpetually hungry. “What are the words,” the unicorn mumbled slowly. Seeing no immediate answer and the frustration building, her head surrendered to gravity and dropped with a resounding thump. She moved to raise her head, but found more resistance than she anticipated. She struggled for another moment before she let out a groan. “Twilight?” Spike asked as sauntered out of the kitchen. His normally clean apron was spattered with splotches of a Marinara sauce. “Are you okay? “Yeslth,” the librarian answered, her mouth muffled by paper and wood. “Did you get your horn stuck again?” Spike asked as his clawed foot tapped the ground. He watched as Twilight’s neck pulled against the weight of her head, but no upward movement was forthcoming. “....Yes,” she finally answered. At least she managed to free her mouth of the paper. Spike sighed. The baby dragon moved quickly towards the stuck and frustrated unicorn. When he climbed up the stool she sat on, he balanced himself on what space was left on top of it. Taking up two clawfuls of Twilight’s mane, he gave a tremendous yank. Between the two, they finally managed to free the magical mare’s horn free of the desk. Both fell back off the stool, where Spike had hit the floor first, followed by Twilight. Twilight struggled to regain her hoofing and her dignity while Spike just bounced up. Something about the resilience of the young left many a philosopher and doctor baffled, as demonstrated by the baby dragon. As Twilight rubbed her horn, Spike set the stool vertical again and climbed atop, surveying the damage done to the central desk. Aside from where Twilight’s horn had cleanly punctured the desk next to the previous two spots, he saw a pile of books and many crumpled pieces of parchment. “Love Poems for the Lonely Mare, Serenades: Wooing Your Object Of Love, Eroticism For Morons.” Spike read off the spines of the pile of books as he tapped his chin. He looked down and saw the wording on the librarian’s latest frustration. Where he expected some vague equations or a long dissertation on some magical phenomenon, he found a simple grouping of words. He mumbled while reading, “Speak to me words of the Cinquain; in those five line, syllabic kisses. Let's measure in beats of two between thy legs and thy...” The paper quickly glowed in a raspberry color and rolled up tightly, courtesy of Twilight’s magical grasp. Spike turned to watch the paper float past the Unicorn’s perturbed face. “Spike, you breath a word of this to anypony...” Twilight growled as much as spoke. “Twilight, what gives?” Spike asked before it hit him. His face broke into a smile. “You’re in love.” Discovered, Twilight dropped her head as she quietly berated herself for not having used a more secluded location. Indeed, the object of her affections was coming soon and she desperately wanted to finish the "research" she was doing. She reminded herself that personal collection of books was lacking the relevant information. Hence, she brought her papers down as she was sure there would be time to stash the evidence. Such was the price of not taking precautions. Something about the way Twilight moped shattered the baby dragon's heart. He climbed down from the stool and moved slowly towards his friend's side. Spike gently put a claw on her shoulder. The two held the pose like a painting of surrogate siblings. “Who is it?” Spike asked. He layered his voice with as much gentleness as he could muster. ~(o)~ Luna galloped down the marbled hall as fast as her hooves would carry her. Normally, she'd taken her time with all the visage and pomp due of her station. But when the guard that fetched her expressed the urgency with which Celestia spoke and forbade the door be opened, she dropped all notions of pretense. Luna arrived at the double doors that marked the entrance to Celestia’s private abode. The guards didn't bother with any salutes and hurriedly pushed the doors open. Otherwise, the marauding Lunar Regent would have barreled her way through both the guards and the door. The Royal Guard understood one thing: There was no reasoning with Luna where Celestia was concerned. “Tia!” Luna bellowed, her breathing was hardly labored. The doors quickly closed behind her as she finally found her sister. The Solar Regent's head laid very still on her rolltop desk. Luna's didn't dare blink as she put her hoofs to her sister's body. She rocked Celestia gently while panic continued to well up within her. “Tia! Wake up! Tia? Somepony fetch the...” “Lulu, I’m fine,” Celestia finally spoke up in an even voice; the words reverberated off the inside the walls of the desk. “Then why did you send for me?” Luna asked as she calmed down a bit. The Lunar Regent leaned in and examined the desk. Aside from her sister’s head took up a fair amount of space, there didn't seem anything out of place. As she pulled back, something below the desk had caught her eye. Curiosity drove Luna as she craned her neck down for a better angle. When she finally saw Celestia’s problem, she cackled. “Sister, in the name of our mother and father, how did you put your horn through the desk?” Luna teased as she fought not laugh again. A bemused smile creased her face. “When a pony thunders their head against wood while having a rather sharp horn attached above their brow, what do you think happens?” Celestia deadpanned, her head remaining still. “And you cannot remove yourself for fear of injury,” Luna finished for her sister. Her brain was worked on ways to torment Celestia about the silly scene later. “....yes,” Celesia confirmed. Luna, an ear-to-ear grin splayed on her face, quickly figured the angle for her sister’s extraction. After she willed her magic into being, she seized Celestia within the confines of a Telekinesis spell. After she slowly moved her sister's bulk, Luna managed to extricate the Solar Regent from the compromising position. Once Celestia was free, Luna set her sister down and dismissed her magic. Celestia sat herself upon the edge of the bed and quickly felt her horn up and down with her forehooves. As the Solar Regent called forth a magical spell to ensure that her horn wasn’t compromised, Luna glanced to the desk. Celestia’s favorite quill sat comfortably in its inkwell, which somehow withstood the impact made by her cranium. A parchment, below the newly formed hole in the desk, had scribbled words on the otherwise blank page. I always did love the sunsets seen from this window. It seems like a view only I am privy to, though I have no qualms sharing it with you, dear one. Will you wait with me? The dawn comes soon. “Tia?” Luna asked as she turned a suspicious eye towards her sister. Her grin grew even larger, if such things were possible. “Hmm?” Celestia answered absently as she looked up as she dropped the Telekinesis spell she worked on a pillow. “Who’s the stallion?” Celestia gave Luna a blank look before she finally realized her incriminating words were found. She grasped the parchment with her magic and rolled it up. After opening a drawer with the same magical grip, she dropped the rolled paper into the drawer and shoved it closed with a thud. The desk rocked under the force of the drawer’s closure. In bitter irony, the top heavy inkwell to finally spilt over. The Solar Regent watched in thorough frustration. Between the discovery that her sister would no doubt pester her to the end of time about, the compromised position in which she was found, the sore horn, and now the spilled ink, she had had enough. Her hooves met her head as it dropped down. For one of the few times in her life, the alicorn felt the bitter taste of embarrassment. Luna watched her sister’s reaction. Despite the fact Celestia had banished her for a thousand years, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy. Everypony had those days. Luna seated herself next to her sister on the bed and wrapped a wing about her in the process. “My apologies Tia,” Luna said softly. “I did not wish to upset you so.” Celestia wasn’t saddened as much as frustrated. She sighed heavily and leaned in, where she found the wing-held embrace of some comfort. The two held the pose for a moment as if they were in a painting. “Still though, the secret is out,” Luna said gently as curiosity drove her onward. “Who’s the lucky stallion?” Celestia didn't answer right away. Rather, she judged her options. At length, she decided it would eventually come out due to her sister's continued prodding or investigations to the same. "...Mare," She eventually spoke from behind her hooves. “You writing prose? Must be a worthy mare.” Luna said, not surprised in the least. She put aside the obvious verbal tortures she could inflict for the moment. This was her sister. Given the fact Luna was sure Celestia’s horn had a splinter in it, she decided to be delicate. "Who is it, Tia?”