The sun had set long before Big Mac trotted through the farm house door of Sweet Apple Acres. Naturally, Applejack was there to ‘welcome’ her brother home, though this time her greeting was a lot less severe that before.
“Ya do realize y’all were gone a whole day, don’t cha?”
“Eeeyup.” The stallion crossed the living room and went into the kitchen.
“And that Ah had ta get our farm workers ta cover yer chores?”
“Eeeyup.” He casually pulled a large fork, a small plate, and a glass out of one of the cupboards.
“And that they didn’t come near ta doin’ as good a job as y’all would have?”
“Eeeyup.” Mac rummaged briefly in the refrigerator and took out one of Granny Smith’s apple pies, followed by an ice cold milk bottle.
“And that y’all completely missed yer training with Shadow Starlight this morning.”
“Eeeyup.” The farm pony carved out a wedge of pie so large it almost didn’t fit on the plate. He then poured himself some milk and returned the bottle and pie tin to the refrigerator.
“And that we were all plum worried about ya?”
“Eeeyup.” The stallion propped himself up at the table, grabbed his fork and dug hungrily into the pie.
“And that y’all haven’t been listin’ ta a thing Ah’ve said since ya walked in the door.”
“Eeeyup,” Macintosh mumbled, causing small flicks of apple pie to land on the table in front of him.
Applejack began pacing back and forth in front of her brother. Ya know, it’s more than a mite irritatin’ ta carry on a one way conversation. Ah’d think y’all would have the courtesy ta at least tell me where y’all were.”
“Canterlot Castle.”
“Ah assume ya were with Luna the whole time>”
“Eeeyup.”
Big Mac’s sister stopped pacing and looked at him. “So ya spent the whole night with the Princess? Don’t cha realize that could lead ta something unfortunate?”
The stallion smiled. T’weren’t anythin’ unfortunate about it. As a matter o’ fact, we had ourselves a right frolic-some time.”
Applejack paused for a second. “Now what in tarnation is that suppose ta mean?”
Macintosh swallowed another bite and looked at his sister, a grin on his muzzle. “Yer a grown pony. What do y’all think it means?”
The palomino looked at her older brother for a moment or two, then her eyes went wide with astonishment. “Are y’all sayin’ ya was…was… sleepin’ with Luna?”
“Nnnope.”
“Well, that’s a relief…”
“We were too busy makin’ love ta get much sleepin’ done.”
Applejack went dead silent. She stood there in the kitchen, frozen in place, her mouth open in shock watching, but not truly seeing as her brother finished his slice of pie and downed his glass of milk. She was having some difficulty processing his words. It was just so, matter of fact… so casual… that she couldn’t believe he’d said it.
Mac carried his utensils to the sink and washed them off, placing them carefully in the dish drainer. When he finished he went over to his sister, lifted her Stetson off her head, kissed her on her forehead then replaced the hat. “Goodnight A.J. See y’all at breakfast.” As he left, he flicked off the kitchen light.
Applejack was still standing there fifteen minutes later when Applebloom came downstairs to get a drink of water.
**********
Big Mac was in the barn early the next morning when Shadow Starlight arrived. He had been searching the apple bin for a dozen of the most perfect apples he could find and placing them carefully into a wicker basket after washing and drying them with a clean towel. The basket also contained a jar of Zap-Apple jam and a small jug of Sweet Apple Acres cider, from the family’s ‘special’ reserve stock. The stallion couldn’t remember a time he felt more alive and at one with the earth. He glanced over his shoulder when he heard the unicorn enter.
“Mornin’ Miss Starlight. How are ya this fine day?”
“I would be doing a lot better if I hadn’t seen the Canterlot Chronicle this morning on my way to the train station.” She magically flipped open one of her saddle bags and drew forth a copy of the newspaper. She unrolled it and held it up for the stallion to see.
The pre-dawn light in the barn wasn’t the best for reading, so Mac had to squint to view the headlines. “The Princess and the Plow Pony? Now what kind o’ headline is that?” Beneath it there was a picture of Luna and him taken through a window. She was gently nuzzling against him, her eyes closed in bliss.
“It’s the kind of headline that’s going to stir up a lot of trouble. Do you realize how many ponies out there look upon Celestia and Luna as near goddesses? The thought… the very suggestion that one of them might take up an affair with a lowly farmer will make the princess seem all too… normal.”
“There ain’t nothin’ lowly about bein’ a farmer,” Big Mac insisted. “As a matter o’ fact, Ah’m right proud ta do the kind o’ work Ah do.”
“I know that, and probably the majority of thinking ponies do as well. It’s just that for a vocal minority it’s going to be difficult to accept, especially for those who think status is important.”
“Why? Ah was always taught that every pony in Equestria was equal, be they earth ponies, pegasi or unicorns. Ah don’t see no reason fer me ta change my mind about that, or even let it worry me.”
“No?” Starlight asked. “Then maybe you should take a look at the opinion page.”
Big Mac flipped the paper open to the back page. There were a number of opinion pieces about current government policies or administrative decision, which looked fairly routine. What drew his eye though was a short article asking, hypothetically, whether or not a candidate for knighthood was taking advantage of his status as a hero to advance himself socially, and perhaps politically to a position he did not merit. It did not name names, but it was clear that HE was the unnamed candidate and that Luna was the ‘naïve innocent pony’ who was being imposed upon and/or threatened. It wasn’t until he read the name of the article’s author that it suddenly made an odd sort of sense.
He smiled as he folded the paper up and handed it back to Shadow Starlight. “Ah might be a bit more worried if this here opinion were written by somepony of importance… but Prince Blueblood? Ah don’t think there are enough ponies out there who take him seriously enough to matter.”
“You might be surprised. Politics in Canterlot can be… convoluted at best with every pony owing every other pony political favors. That’s the stock in trade. Unfortunately, despite his poor sense of how to deal with his ‘Aunt,’ Blueblood knows just enough about manipulating things behind the scenes so that there are a lot of ponies who owe HIM favors. It’s just enough to make him a significant nuisance.”
“So… what’s his beef with me?”
“I don’t know. It might not even be with you. It might be with Princess Luna. She doesn’t like him much and he despises her. You may simply the path of least resistance to get to her.”
Big Mac snorted. “Well, if he tries ta hurt Luna, he may just find out how resistant a path Ah can be when Ah get riled.” The stallion grinned wickedly. “Y’all may not realize it, but earth ponies in general, and Apples in particular can get rather… physical if need be.”
“Seriously?” the unicorn asked.
“Don’t believe me… just ask Discord.”
Shadow Starlight smiled ruefully. “That might be something I’d pay some bits to see.” Putting away the newspaper she then pulled out a thick roll of parchment. “Let’s see what you remember about protocol from our last lesson.”
**********
“So… how exactly did this pony…”
“Strobeshot, your majesty.”
“Strobeshot then… manage to get a picture of my sister’s bedroom window?”
The Captain of the Pegasus Guards tugged nervously at the collar of his armor. At the moment, this was the last place in all Equestria he wanted to be, but truth be told, it was also the one place he absolutely had to be. Rank and position had its responsibilities. “According several sources, he rented a tethered sight-seeing balloon and paid its operator to keep it airborne for most of the afternoon… with him in it.”
“Yes, we’ve seen those often in and around the city, but none are allowed to operate within a mile of the castle. How did it get close enough for this picture to be taken without the palace guards taking note?”
“It didn’t,” the Captain replied. “Strobeshot owns a rare, and rather expensive telephoto lens. It allowed him to… I believe the term is, zoom in… on Princess Luna’s window and take a very close-up image.”
“Is ownership of such a device legal?”
“Yes, your highness,” the pegasus replied. “It’s a less advanced civilian version of the kind of lens we use for our more powerful battlefield telescopes.”
The white furred alicorn tapped a hoof against her chin in thought. “It sounds certain that no laws were broken, nor were any sensitive state secrets revealed… just some inconvenient… personal ones.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“Thank-you Captain. We appreciate your candor.”
The pegasus bowed, keeping his eyes downward as he took the required five steps backward before turning to leave. He paused when the princess spoke again.
“Oh, and Captain;” Celestia said, a gentle smile on her face. “Worry not. There has been no failure on the part of your guard ponies to keep this castle safe. We shall duly note this in our court record.”
“Thank-you Princess,” he replied.
Celestia watched as he left the throne room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Princess Luna stepped out from behind the massive throne. She was carrying a copy of the morning paper tucked under one wing.
“Well… now we know the source of this morning’s picture. The question remains; what to do about it,” Luna observed.
“I don’t know if there’s anything we can do,” the white furred alicorn replied, “not without undermining our own ‘Regis Lex Legis’ and the promises we made when we became rulers of Equestria.” Turning she levitated the paper out from under Luna’s wing. Opening it, Celestia skimmed quickly through the story once more. Much of it was subjective speculation, but unfortunately, it was very accurate speculation. She almost found herself admiring the skill of the writers and their deductive reasoning.
“I admit, I am more than a little disappointed with the Chronicle. Normally, when they’re preparing a story involving a member of the court, they have the courtesy to inform us in advance so we can either request a delay in its publication, or prepare a response. ”
Luna looked at her sister. “So that’s why we always inform the Chronicle first about any official statements or Royal news… quid pro quo.”
“Which they’ve unfortunately broken. I would have expected a story like this from a tabloid… not the Chronicle.” Celestia frowned. She passed the newspaper back to her sister which Luna promptly open to an interior page. “Regardless… we’re still going to have to come up with some kind of response to this revelation.”
“You and I both know it was only a matter of time before other ponies found out.”
“True… but we still…” she was cut short by a small squeal from her sibling.
“Tia… look!” bubbled Luna holding up the paper.
“What?”
“They’re having a sale at Hoofington’s Department Store tomorrow!”
“Lulu…” the Sun Princess replied irritably. “Can’t you be a little more serious?”
The dark furred alicorn looked coquettishly at her older sister. “…on wedding veils.”
“Wedding what?” She caught Luna’s expression and suddenly understood. “Are you hinting at what I think you’re hinting at, and if you are, are you SURE?”
“Absolutely… Of all the stallion’s I’ve met, Sir Macintosh’s the most open, sincere, honest, brave and trustworthy one I’ve ever known. And after yesterday, I know in my soul that he loves me.” She giggled slightly. “Well, actually I’ve always known he loves me, but now I KNOW he loves me.” Luna became a bit more somber. “My only worry is how to get a pony as shy as he is to pop the question.”
Now it was Celestia’s turn to smile. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
**********
“Just what the hell were you thinking?” growled the publisher of the Canterlot Chronicle. He was a rather formidable looking earth pony with light-blue fur and a black mane and tail, each with a gray streak. At the moment he was pacing angrily back and forth chomping on a rather short cigar, the ashes of which threatened to set fire to his thick, wire brush moustache. “You knew full well that any and all stories about the royal court in general, and the Princesses in particular, had to be routed through my office for approval.”
The editor frowned, glaring at his boss while sitting in a chair normally reserved for reporters who had earned the publisher’s ire… which as of today was perhaps 97% of the staff. “What I was thinking was I had a good story and a chance to get it into the morning edition before any other newspaper got their hooves on it. And I didn’t run it through your office because you were out with your family and had given strict instructions NOT to be disturbed for anything. Quote unquote!”
“Since when did you ever listen to me in the first place?”
“Since last month when you promised to fire me, my wife and my brother-in-law, even though neither of them work for you, if I ever disobeyed another one of your direct orders.”
The publisher paused in his pacing and puffed several times on his cigar. Large clouds of smoke defused through the air, obscuring the NO SMOKING sign that hung next to his desk. “Crap!” he grumbled. “Do you realize what this is going to do to our ‘understanding’ with the Princess? We had a sweet deal… just let them come up with a response and we had a pipeline into any exclusive story involving the Royal Court.” He kicked a nearby trash can in frustration. “Crap! Crap! Crap! And Double-Crap!
The editor looked at his box with some confusion. “Why would it affect our ‘understanding? We gave them a chance to respond before putting the paper to bed and they sent back that ridiculous editorial by Prince Blueblood, which we printed.”
“That piece of dreck was their response?”
The editor nodded.
“Then why did I get this letter from Princess Celestia claiming we had lowered ourselves to the status of a tabloid?”
“I don’t know. But if you need proof… “ He reached across the publisher’s desk and hit one of the intercom buttons. “Edwina? Would you please bring the contents of my IN box up to Mr. Jay Jay’s office?”
“On my way, boss.”
Moments later the editor was rifling through an assortment of papers. “Here it is!” he responded triumphantly holding up a large manila envelope. “If you look, it’s got a royal time-stamp on it as well as a routing sheet, copies of the photo and article, and Prince Blueblood’s editorial.”
The publisher studied it for a moment. “Whoever signed for this scrawled their name so badly I can’t read it.”
“Doesn’t matter,” the publisher nickered triumphantly. “Grab your hat and that envelope.”
“Where are we going?”
“To see a princess about our agreement!”
The editor pony looked at himself in the full length mirror his boss kept in the office. “But I’m not dressed for the Royal Court.”
“Don’t worry about it. If I can get in… you can get in.”
**********
“MMMMRRRRHHHHHHH!!!!” Emerald Cloud screamed into her gag and muzzle bindings. The inverted studs on the leather straps biting into her fur and making small perforations across her face. Her fore hooves were bound so tightly that they were numb. She lay on a studded blanket and could feel each and every one as they pricked at her chest and belly.
The pegasus mare had been forced to her back knees, her hindquarters elevated. The pain was unbearable, which made the pleasure that much more incredible. “MUURR, GEEHRR, HUUUH, HUH, HUH!”
“I think… you are… enjoying… this… entirely… too much, my dear!” Blueblood huffed. Bending his neck forward, the unicorn grabbed a small mouthful of her silky mane then abruptly jerked his head upward. The strands tore painfully free from her head.
“MMMAAAAAUUUHHHH!” Tears of agony flowed from her eyes as she gasped once more. Blueblood repeated the mane stripping twice more, the final time tearing skin as well as hair. A trickle of blood slowly dribbled across the pegasus’ neck. The unicorn stood atop the bed for a brief moment, making sure his fore hooves pressed down once more against her wings. There was a final, violent pop as he leap from the bed, dislocating them in the process. Emerald screamed one last shuddering time into her gag then went silent.
Blueblood left her there for almost half an hour as he showered and carefully quaffed his mane. Returning to the bed, he studied his lover for several long moments before finally removing the enchanted necklace that inhibited her power. The first thing Emerald removed was her gag and muzzle straps. Painfully turning her head she looked at the self-satisfied stallion.
“Your magic has become unstable,” she said quietly.
Blueblood quickly looked at himself in a nearby mirror. Sure enough his eyes were tinged with green and very small patches of his normally white fur had become dark, dark gray. His horn glowed for an instant immediately restoring him to his normal appearance. “Thank-you my dear.” With uncharacteristic grace, he offered the pegasus a hoof as she painfully rose from the bed, supporting her until she could feel her front hooves once more.
Emerald Cloud staggered over to the mirror and examined the damage. “You really outdid yourself this time,” she observed as she looked at her tattered mane and her wings which now dragged on the floor.
“I hope it was as good for you as it was me,” he nickered.
“Better, I think,” she replied with an evil smirk. She closed her eyes and focused her magic. There was a swirl of energy and within seconds she was completely healed. She knew Blueblood liked hurting mares and these ‘torture’ games were something to be savored as often as possible. The healing spell faded, leaving behind a dull ache that suffused her whole body and gave her a sense of… fulfillment.
The mare turned and looked at her lover. “Feeling better?”
“I’m still angry with the situation, but now I feel more focused… less out of control.” He strode over to the window and looked out upon the castle’s main courtyard. “By now, the story we intercepted will be printed and circulating throughout Canterlot, along with my so-called editorial.”
“So what do we do now? Our backup plans required Princess Luna to be weak… ineffectual. The fact she’s taken a lover for the first time in her life is going to seriously embolden her.”
“Is love so strong?”
Emerald Cloud chuckled in amusement, planting a nipping kiss on Blueblood’s cheek. “Believe me, it is. I know from firsthand experience.”
“Then what we’re going to have to do is split-up the two lovers. If we can break ‘Auntie’ Luna’s heart it should turn her into a mewling filly, ripe for our manipulation.”
“And how do we accomplish that?”
“You’re not going to like it,” Blueblood warned.
“What?”
“It’s time we reunited our ‘triumvirate’ so to speak. We need to bring Queen Chrysalis back into our scheme.”
“NO!”
“We don’t have any choice!”
“NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
“Why not?” Blueblood asked, his voice becoming dangerously low.
“BECAUSE SHE’S COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE! She had her chance last winter and she completely blew our first plan because she couldn’t deal with a simple farmer.”
“I happen to know something about that farmer, and believe me, there’s nothing simple about him or his family.” Blueblood glared at Emerald Cloud. “We ARE bringing her back in on this, whether you like it or not.”
“NO! IF SHE’S IN, I GO.”
The unicorn abruptly slapped her across the face. “THEN GO!”
The pegasus mare looked at him in shock. “What?”
“I SAID GO! IT’S EASIER WORKING WITH THE QUEEN THAN YOU!”
“But… but I… I don’t want to go,” Emerald replied. “I… I love you.”
Blueblood brought his hoof up to her face again and touched it where a red welt was just beginning to form. He pressed against it and she hissed in pleasure. “I know you do,” he said. “But you were right. You and Chrysalis can’t be together, but you can still be my lover and part of the plan. Just work with me… alright?”
“Will you send for me? Will you call me back to you?”
“As soon as I can…” the unicorn promised.”
Emerald Cloud nodded sadly and kissed Blueblood’s hoof. She took several steps back and looked at him longingly, then closed her eyes. She dissolved in a swirl of sickly green mist, only to reform seconds later as Chrysalis.
The Queen glared at Blueblood. “It’s about time. So, what have you and that green-furred strumpet been up to?”