//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: Rune Cascade 
// by Valtyra 
//------------------------------//

Twilight groaned, 'Ow...' she tried opening her eyes, but a pesky thing called the sun was warning her not to. 'What happened last night?' She muttered as she tried feeling around for something to jog her memory.

Slowly, she felt herself rise and fall gently, as if she was laying on something nice and warm; taking a chance, she inched her eyelids open and stifled a gasp.

Beneath her laid Frederick. He had his shirt off and was gently cradling her against his chest. Somehow this made her feel all warm inside, but a strange feeling was surfacing, 'What happened...' she said, dread in her voice.

Looking around, she could see a lot of passed out ponies strewn around the library; she kicked herself for spiking the punch last night and now desired to never see any alcohol again.

Reluctantly, she felt the need to get up and use the bathroom. She didn't want to leave his warmth yet, but knew it would get real awkward fast if she didn't.

Slowly, she peeled herself away, feeling the nasty effects of the hangover start, she wobbled up the stairs and opened the bathroom door.

After taking care of business and feeling a lot better, she walked out to see Frederick gone from his place on the floor. Feeling disappointed, she looked around for him, only to see him cleaning some plates in the kitchen.

'Morning Frederick...' Twilight mumbled as she stumbled in.

'Good morning Miss Twilight, how are you feeling?' He asked, surprisingly chirpy after what just happened.

'Please, Twilight is fine; or Twi, I don't mind.' She clarified, 'Do you remember what happened last night?'

'Oh yes, it was a great party. The punch was a little weak, but still, got the job done.'

'You knew about that!?'

'Of course, how could I not taste whiskey in punch?' He replied nonchalantly.

'I see... so what happened between us?' Twilight asked, unsure if she wanted to know after all.

'Nothing, if that's what you're worried about. I saw you drink quite a lot, impressive I might add, you beat Applejack in a drinking contest, then you wandered over to me and started talking gibberish and fell asleep.'

'Oh no, I must have looked terrible,' Twilight fretted, running her hooves through her hair.

'No more than anyone else. Applejack and Pinkie wrestled... it got, intimate...' he shuddered, 'Rainbow dash got wasted and almost everyone else just went with it.'

'Oh... wow.'

'Yeah, it was a good time.'

'Yes, I suppose it was...' Twilight replied, thinking back to earlier.

'Why don't you get everyone out of here and I'll make you breakfast.' Frederick suggested.

'If you’re sure?' Twilight asked, not sure how he was still standing after last night.

'It's ok, anything specific you want?'

'Scrambled eggs, if that's ok?'

'No problem, Twi.'

Twilight smiled, he actually called her Twi. She turned around and shaking off some lingering nausea, gently woke every pony up and got them to leave.

Most of the ponies groaned about being woken up, but a couple absentmindedly congratulated Twilight on nabbing Frederick, to which she would quickly deny it; making the ponies grin.

Finally, once all of the guest had left the library, Twilight sat down at the table and sighed.

'Something the matter, shall I get you some tablets?' Frederick asked with concern. He placed two plates down, one for him and one for Twilight.

'Thank you. No, this'll pass quickly.' She replied.

'If you're sure, just ask if you need anything.'

Twilight smiled and started eating, feeling much better now. She still had things on her mind and would need to talk to somepony about them, but for now, she was content to just sit there and eat.

Frederick finished his eggs and got up, 'I'm going to finish cleaning up, just shout if you need anything.'

Twilight nodded and watched him walk off. She could hear the rustling of cups and paper from the other rooms. 'Why does this have to be so hard...' she thought, trying to remove the memory of her laying on him from her head.

Deciding she needed to talk, she conjured up a scroll and wrote:

Dear Princess Celestia

I've been feeling strange and I feel like I need somepony to talk to. Can I come and see you, preferably as soon as possible.

Your faithful student
Twilight Sparkle.

She teleported the scroll directly to Celestia, no doubt waking her with its "pop", but she felt this was urgent; she could apologise later.

Frederick walked in with a large bag of rubbish, 'Where shall I put this?' He asked, tying it up.

Twilight looked over, 'The bins are just outside, and you can't miss them.'

'Right.'

Frederick walked over to the door and saw a few large pallets of construction materials laying outside the library. 'Oh man, I forgot about them...' he pushed the rubbish in the bin and brought in some of the smaller bags; the held the tongs and some other pieces he would need to get started.

'What's in the bags?' Twilight asked, getting up from the chair and moving towards Frederick.

'Just some equipment, Luna gave me some bits, so I bought some stuff.'

'That was generous of her.'

'Maybe, felt more like a bribe, but whatever helps.' He replied.

'What did you buy then?'

'Some tongs, pieces of metal, a forge and some other stuff. I still need to make a Rune crafting table, but that can wait till everything is set up.'

'You want to set up a forge, in here!' Twilight frowned, she didn't like where this was going.

'No, that will be outside. Why does everyone think that...?’

'Oh, well, I guess that's fine then.' Twilight mumbled. All of a sudden, a reply scroll appeared in front of her, making her jump.

She unfurled it:

"Dear Twilight

I would love for you to come visit me today, I'll have a carriage pick you and Frederick up in a short while.

Please make sure he is presentable, I heard about that party last night.

Princess Celestia"

'Who's that from?' Frederick asked.

'Just the Princess, we're going to Canterlot.' Twilight said.

'What time does she expect us there?'

'She just said, "A short while". Which isn't a long time for her.'

'I see...' Frederick mumbled. He just finished unpacking the last bag as a sharp. Knock on the door rang out. 'I'll see who it is...'

He walked over to the door and said, 'you know, this is a public library, it's not locked...' he opened the door to find two ponies dressed in armour standing there, 'From the Princess I take it.'

'Yes sir. Please don't keep the Princess waiting.' One of the ponies confirmed in a deep voice.

'Twi, we have to go!' Frederick shouted.

'Coming!' She replied, levitating a saddleback onto her back, 'ready.' They walked outside and Twilight locked the door.

The two of them slid into the carriage and it slowly sped up and took off into the sky. Frederick gripped the handlebars for dear life and Twilight couldn't help but chuckle at the expressions of horror that he was making.

'Oh settle down, you big foal. It's perfectly safe.' She shouted.

'Riding a gryphon is safe, riding an airship is safe... this is NOT safe!' He replied, 'there isn't even a back to this thing, let alone a roof.'

'I've used it plenty of times and I’m still alive,' she placed a hoof on his leg, 'see...'

He looked over to her with a small smile, before looking away again. He was aware at how long she was keeping her hoof on his leg and wasn't going for it; but had to accept, it did help.

Twilight realised this and quickly took her hoof away and coughed awkwardly. The two of them stayed in relative silence until the end of the trip, which felt like a lifetime.

The carriage touched down on the landing pad and the two guards unattached themselves. They walked around either side and helped Twilight and Frederick out.

'Thank you,' Twilight whispered.

'Thanks,' Frederick said, stretching his legs.

'This way please, the Princess is waiting.' One of the guards said, walking towards a set of double doors that lead into the castle.

'We should go,' Frederick said to Twilight, turning to looking at her.

She nodded back and quickly looked away. Twilight trotted after the guard, letting Frederick follow behind.

The guard pushed the set of doors open and walked on through. Twilight and Frederick walked through and followed. They passed by various tapestries depicting scenes throughout Equestria.

Frederick stopped for a second and admired the stained glass windows that showed Twilight and her friends defeating Nightmare Moon. He stared at it in disbelief. He turned to Twilight, 'Is that really you?' He asked pointing to the window.

Twilight turned around, blushed and turned away, 'Yes, it is...' she replied bashfully.

'Wow, that's impressive. I'm surprised it didn't come up earlier.'

'Well, no pony really talks about what we've done. It was quite a while ago.' She admitted, 'but thank you.'

Frederick turned and walked after the guard. Taking glances at the busts of ponies and portraits along the way.

Eventually, the three of them made it to a set of doors with Celestia's cutie mark in the centre, 'We're here, and Celestia is waiting inside.' The guard said, saluting Twilight.

She nodded back and watched the guard walk away. She turned to Frederick, 'Let's go.'

'Alright.'

Twilight pushed the doors open with her magic and walked forwards. Celestia sat on her throne, high above.

'Twilight, how wonderful to see you!' She called down. Rising from her throne, she unfurled her wings and ruffled them slightly. She flapped and glided down to the ground in front of the pair.

Twilight rushed up and hugged her mentor, taking pleasure in her touch, 'I've missed this,' she whispered.

'So have I,' Celestia replied, nuzzling Twilight.

Frederick felt a little awkward, but kept quiet; knowing that this was a tender moment.

Eventually, the pair parted and Twilight moved back over to Frederick's side. Celestia looked over to him, 'It's nice to meet you again, Frederick.'

'You too, Princess.' Frederick bowed.

'Please, no need for that.' She said, smiling, 'you are my guests today, no need for the formality.'

'Thank you Princess,' he said, 'what did you want to talk about?'

'Actually, I needed to talk to Twilight first, if that's ok?'

'Oh yes, of course.' Frederick replied, confused. 'What should I do while you two are together?'

'I'm sure my sister would like to see you, this time in pony.' Celestia said, placing a hoof under her chin, 'I'll send her a letter.'

Celestia conjured up a scroll and scribbled down a quick letter; sending it off to her sister. 'There, she should get back to us quickly.'

'Okay, should I stay here?' Frederick asked, 'could your sister find me if I look around?'

'I'm sure she will, have fun.'

Frederick turned towards Twilight, 'I'll see you later Twi.' He smiled awkwardly, turning towards the doors and walking out.

'Bye...' she said, lingering a little too long.

As soon as Frederick walked round the corner, Twilight let out a heavy sigh and slumped her head down.

Celestia frowned and picked her up in her golden aura, 'Twilight, whatever is the matter?' She asked, concerned.

'You will think it’s silly...' Twilight mumbled as Celestia walked over to a different door, leading to a small hallway.

'I wouldn't ever think that,' Celestia assured. She opened the door and walked through, giving a nod to the guard, who saluted. 'Please, I can see it's troubling you.'

Twilight sighed again, forcing Celestia to turn her gaze towards her. Inwardly, Twilight cringed; she never liked it when Celestia gave her that look, it made her talk.

Celestia stopped walking and continues to hold her gaze on the nervous mare; she was going to make her talk, it was for her own good after all.

'Alright!' Twilight shouted, 'I'm starting to like Frederick...' Twilight immediately covered her mouth with her hooves and went bright red.

Celestia simply raised an eyebrow, 'Why wouldn't you, he's nice.' She replied. She knew what Twilight meant, but needed to know if she knew it as well, for sure; there didn't need to be any miscommunication now.

'I mean, I like, like him.'

'Oh,' Celestia simply said, faking surprise, 'but you've only known him for less than a week.'

'I know...' Twilight looked away, shame obvious on her face. Celestia continued walking, deciding to hold Twilight a bit closer to her chest; her motherly instincts blooming.

'Are you sure it's not just that he's,' Celestia paused for a second, she had to word this correctly, 'new, and mysterious?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, he's from a completely new world, he is kind of dashing... in his own way and he's promised to teach you knew stuff.'

'I guess he is kind of a mystery...' Twilight admitted, suddenly unsure of herself, 'what do you think?' She asked.

'I can't help you here... you have to figure it out on your own.' Celestia opened another door and entered her own chambers, it was decorated in fine silks, but still had the personal touched that made it unique to her, such as artefacts from thousands of years ago that she still liked to stare at and remember.

'What does that mean?' Twilight asked, 'I can't figure it out, that's why I came here; surely you can help?'

Celestia placed Twilight on her own bed and sat down next to her. She draped a wing over the mare and nuzzled her, smiling at the closeness despite the sensitive topic. 'Despite what many think, I don't have all the answers. Cadence is much better with these sorts of things. Would you like me to ask her?'

'No, thank you.' Twilight mumbled, 'I guess I just need some time. It's all a little strange to me...'

'It will be, it's your first time dealing with this.'

Twilight looked away, her face tinted red, 'I'm not a filly anymore...'

'You will always be that little filly I first saw.' Celestia cooed, rubbing Twilight's back with a wing.

Twilight smiled and leaned against Celestia, sighing from the contact, 'I'm so confused, I want to be near him, but now I don't know.'

'Shh, it will all work out.'

___

Frederick walked around the corner and sighed. The awkwardness was beginning to get harder to stand by the second. He wasn't one for situations like that and it obviously showed by that cardboard goodbye he had said.

He walked down some hallways, admiring the portraits and windows until he came to a set of familiar double doors; they had Luna's cutie mark in the centre.

He stood in front of them, contemplating whether or not to knock; from the looks of it, there were no guards about. Either it was too early, or they were changing rotation; either way, he didn't know what to do.

While standing there, the twin doors opened on their own, a dark blue aura hanging around the handles, pulling then inwards. Taking this as a sign, Frederick shrugged and walked on in, taking careful steps, just in case it was a trap; he couldn't be too careful.

Once inside, the two doors shut rather suddenly, catching him by surprise and making him jump. A soft laugh echoed throughout the darkened room, easing his nervousness.

'Luna, you there?' He asked, knowing full well it was her.

'Aw, you always spoil my fun,' Luna called out, using her magic to illuminate various candles around the room, 'what brings you to Canterlot?' She asked, getting out of bed, 'did you come all the way here to see little old me?'

'I'm guessing you would just love that, but no. Twilight had some business with your sister; meaning that I, for some reason, had to come along.'

'That doesn't sound very nice, does it?' Luna asked, slipping on a silk night dress, strangely familiar to the dress she wore when she first met Frederick, 'do you like it, I had it custom made.'

'It's very lovely.'

'Indeed,' Luna said, wandering closer, 'have you given any thought to my proposal?'

'Yes, I have.'

'And?' Luna asked impatiently.

'I agree, you can help, as long as you follow my rules.'

Luna squeed and launched herself at Frederick, who caught her in his magic. There was an element of strain showing on his face and he let her down, having to catch his breath. He gripped his hand tightly and rubbed, feeling the pain flow away.

'Art thou well?' Luna asked, a look of shock on her face. She rushed over and asked again.

'I'll be fine. It's just lingering pain, nothing to worry about.'

'Nonsense, come and sit down.' She guided him over to her bed and he sat on the edge, slowly regaining his breath back. 'I can get the doctor, if you would like?' She asked, gazing at his hand.

Frederick shook his head, 'It's ok, give me a minute.'

Luna nodded and simply sat next to him, a frown across her features. She felt guilty that she had hurt him; inadvertently, but still, hurt him anyway.

'I shall follow all of your rules, by this I swear,' she said, holding a hoof on his knee, 'I promise.'

Frederick smiled, 'Good to hear... and thank you for the bits they came in handy.'

'Perfect, I knew they would. But now that I'm helping, we have an almost unlimited budget; unless my sister says no...'