//------------------------------// // Ch. 9 - Time // Story: The Traveling Tutor and the Diplomats Daughter // by Georg //------------------------------// The Traveling Tutor and the Diplomat’s Daughter Time There’s always time. — H. G. Wells The suite balcony was perfectly quiet as Green Grass reclined in a chaise lounge, spending his last few minutes of the day looking at the sunset. It always felt as if Celestia appreciated sunsets more than sunrises from the way the sun seemed to pause at the horizon and wreath the world in gold, red and heliotrope smears of clouds. The distant sounds of singing from below had died away some time ago, the unmistakable chorus of six happy friends and one dragon that he could never perfectly harmonize alongside. He no longer felt as if he were attempting to steal Twilight Sparkle away from them, even if it were possible. Instead, he felt a changing in his self, as if there were a square hole that needed a square peg, and the universe was busily squaring his corners and rounding off any bumpy bits that would not fit. It was probably inevitable. Ponies changed, ponies were born, they lived, they died. Even Celestia was not immune to the forces of change. It was pure folly to think his own shedding green hide would be immutable, although he always had thought there would be some role for his own input into his fate. No, that was not true. In the long river of his life, he had influenced the course of his flow around many turbulent rocks and curves, but when two rivers merged, a different river was formed. If he had not wished for this to happen, it would not have. Quite the contrary, he had fought fiercely for the position he was in now just as Twilight had fought through princesses and chaotic gods for her rightful place in the universe. She had blessed him with her decision; it would be an act of craven cowardice to retreat from a similar blessing on his part, no matter the cost. But just as he would be a coward for retreating, he could not muster the strength to charge ahead. Yet. Time. It all rotated around time. It would take time for Luna’s changes to the postal service to take place, time should make Twilight and her friends’ frantic trips into chaos more manageable, and both of their lives would become more predictable as time flowed onward. They had time, both to spend together, and to allow the world to catch up with them. A faint shuffling noise filtered in from the suite behind him, a sound of bags being dragged in and dropped in the middle of the floor indicating the long-delayed arrival of his marefriend. A faint, “Will that be all, Ma’am?” from her guard and the clunk of a door vaguely irritated him in his peaceful moment of artistic appreciation, although the presence that filled the balcony behind him soon after made the emotion vanish away like fog before the sun. Two purple hooves covered his eyes from behind, and a soft voice whispered into his ear. “Guess who?” Suppressing a giggle, he responded, “I’m sorry Princess Luna, but we can’t play any more of those games this evening. Twilight will be home at any moment.” One hoof tapped him gently upside the head as the laugh that he appreciated so much echoed through the balcony. “No, silly. Second guess. Win, and you get a kiss.” “Well, that’s easy then. Flash Sentry, the best kisser in the entire Royal Guard.” “What?” The gentle knock on the back of his head was scarcely more than a rustle, and barely parted his mane, although it did knock his hat over his eyes. “Where did you hear that?” “Would you believe Shining Armor told me? Although I’m not sure if he had it direct from the source, or from secondar—” The kiss that followed was anything but restrained, lasting until the sun had been set below the horizon and the moon raised in its place. “Liar.” Twilight Sparkle ruffled his mane and grinned while staying wrapped around the trapped stallion, still reclining on the chaise lounge. “Flash Sentry is the second best kisser in the Royal Guard.” “I am so not touching that line,” murmured Green Grass, kissing her gently on the nose. “Guess what happened to me in the Crystal Empire,” she implored with an extra squeeze to the hug that concealed a faint tremble. “Well, I don’t see a ring. Or wings,” he added with a caress across a feather-free flank. “Very funny. Although,” she purred, curling up in his lap and batting her eyes adorably. “When I was in the Crystal Empire, I just happened to meet the most handsome unicorn stallion.” “Eligible?” Although he knew Twilight was just teasing him, there was still a small corner of his heart that held fear. A very small corner that shrank every month in her presence. “Tall, dark, powerful and mysterious. Immortal.” She curled up on his chest, feeling much like Sunny for a moment, only much warmer and without the talons. Until she whispered into his ear. “He has the most enormous—” Twilight breathed the next word as if it were made of pure chocolate “—library.” Fighting a tremor that raised goosepimples up one leg, he managed to grin in response. “When’s the wedding?” “Never! We kicked his flank all the way back into the mountains!” With another brief kiss on his lips, she grinned and waggled her eyebrows. “Did I have you worried?” “Nope. I’ve got something I know he doesn’t have.” Kissing her way up his neck, she murmured, “Oh, I’m pretty sure he has one of those too. Just about all stallions have— Phhtft!” While Twilight tried to get some shed hairs off her tongue, Green Grass struck as heroic a pose as he could while trapped on his back. “I happen to have reservations for the entire evening for the castle Observatory. And supplies,” he continued, reaching underneath the chaise lounge and patting a large basket Friday had put together at his request before retiring for the evening. “Dinner, a bottle of wine, a few small boxes of excellent chocolate…” Spitting out a purple hair, he continued, “and four different currycombs.” “Oh, you stallion!” Twilight writhed around to lie on her back, causing his stomach to twitch in response as she leaned backwards and tucked her head up under his chin. “Take me, I’m yours.” A subsequent giggle floated loose a few more hairs to drift in the still air of the balcony, both green and purple threads floating in the moonlight. Wrapping his legs around the giggling mare in perfect contentment, they both looked out at the streams of pastel color in the north painting the stars of the darkening night. Despite her relaxed demeanor, knots of tight muscles rubbed against his chest and a low trembling seemed to encompass her entire body, showing the stress she had been subjected to over the last few days. Her body pressing against his chest forced the ring box painfully against his ribs, a twinge of pain that would be so easy to relieve. A single question. All he would have to do is ask. All he would have to do is to add one more stressful item to her already overloaded life in this vulnerable time. “Greenie,” said Twilight Sparkle, pointing out the balcony with one hoof. “If the fate of Equestria depended on how far you could throw me to catch a falling artifact—” “Hypothetically, right?” “Nevermind.” She tunneled in under his chin and blew some shed hair away from her nose. “Why in the world did you decide to reserve the Observatory for tonight? You know Luna keeps the telescope there under a dust jacket during shedding season. Hair wreaks havoc with the lenses and mirrors. Besides, you knew I was coming back this evening.” Green Grass stirred uncomfortably. “Princess Luna granted me a favor for doing a little fledgeling sitting for her today. I thought if you were late returning, I could sit out under the stars, watch the glowing sky, and think of you. And if you were on time—” he shrugged in resignation “—we could watch the sky together.” “You incurable romantic, you.” Twilight kissed him on the cheek, and promptly spit out another green hair. “I always loved being up at the Observatory with Princess Celestia. It’s quiet. Secluded. Very private. Lots of cushions.” Twilight brushed her tail up his side as she slipped off the recliner, heading into the suite to tuck her limited travel supplies into drawers. Her voice echoed back as he got up off the chaise lounge and picked up the basket. “The Princess put up all the girls in the surrounding suites until we go back to Ponyville tomorrow, but Rarity and Fluttershy have Spike out for the evening as a reward. You should have seen him, Greenie. He really saved the day for all of us. I want to tell you all about it once we get to the Observatory. Did you find anything interesting to do while waiting for us?” “Nothing as interesting as what you went through in the Crystal Kingdom, from what you said. It was a very educational two days. I escorted a griffon princess around the city, asked a few questions, did some shopping. ” He sighed, looking out the window at the starlit horizon before closing the door to the balcony. “I bought you a snow globe, but I gave it away.” Twilight giggled in response, putting her saddlebags into the dresser and pushing it closed. “I bought you a snow globe too, but Spike thought it was an exotic candy. It’s been such a chaotic weekend. I think I’ll just scream if I have one more lump of stress dumped on me.” The ring felt like lead in his pocket as Green Grass slipped out of his jacket, hanging it up in the closet before picking up the basket and gesturing to the door. “If m’lady would step this way, I would be greatly pleased if you were to join me for a relaxing, dull and uneventful night of stargazing— phutooy!” He spit out another hair and wiped his tongue on a hoof. “And some brushing.” “Brushing sounds good. Very good,” she added, making one circuit around the tutor while swishing her tail in a motion that reminded him uncomfortably of Princess Luna in one of her fey moods. “I itch everywhere, and I’ve been— Oh!” Twilight dashed over to the dresser, pulling out a bottle and a spoon. Pouring herself a spoonful, she took the medicine with a grimace. “You’ve been keeping to the schedule this time?” asked Green Grass with a curious tilt to his head. “Yes, I’ve been very good all month. Now let’s get going before the girls get back. When we get tired of watching the stars...” Twilight levitated one of the brushes out of the basket and ran it down his flanks in a loose cloud of green hairs and quivering hide. “We can see about combing some of this loose hair out of every single inch of our bodies.” The door to the suite closed as the two young lovers departed, the silver beams of moonlight through the suite windows illuminating the bottle of ‘Chill Time’⁽*⁾ sitting on the dresser where Twilight had put the medicine. And the slightly-damp teaspoon which Twilight Sparkle had just used to take it. (*) Chill Time Instructions: Take one tablespoon every evening during the month of estrus for the prevention of symptoms and ovulation. Caution: reduced dosage may only mask the symptoms of estrus without providing pregnancy protection. Always follow label directions. Not responsible for misuse.