//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: They Love Me, They Love Me Not // Story: My Overbearing Aunt // by Sketchy Changeling //------------------------------// Monday. The day after Nightmare Night. It was late in the afternoon, and I was still thinking about whether or not Rarity, Octavia, and Luna had feelings for me. At the moment, I was on my way off campus, and from there, I’d wait for a taxi carriage. After some consideration, there was no doubt in my mind that I liked all three mares, but there was still the question of whether or not any of them liked me back. I mean, based on how they’ve all been acting lately, there was enough evidence to make that assumption, but I can’t just go up to them and say “Hey, I’ve noticed this, this, and this about you. Does this mean you like me?” What guy does that? Plus, I’ve seen a lot of instances where a guy thinks a girl likes him, but he turned out to just be misreading signs. I didn’t want to put myself in that situation. Imagine how embarrassed I would be if I turned out to be wrong. Before I asked any questions, I’d have to see if I had enough evidence to go on. “Okay, let’s start with Rarity,” I thought. “If my memory serves me well, the earliest sign she’s ever shown of liking me was at the Pre-Nightmare Night Festival. After I got out of the haunted house with Octavia, she gave me that Blind Box that had the bracelet in it.” Was that enough to say that she had feelings for me? Probably not. The Blind Boxes were only ten bits apiece, so they weren’t that expensive. Plus, Rarity was known for her generosity, as she and other ponies keep reminding me. “But then when she saw me wearing the bracelet the other day, she seemed really… grateful, as though she feared that I’d throw it away.” That sounded more like a sign. I mean, if I bought a gift like that for one of the mares I liked, I’d feel great if they wore it every day like I did with Rarity’s gift. “Then there was the fitting two weeks ago. She had no problem with me changing with her in the room, and she was willing to tell me all about her bad date with Blueblood. I’d assume that she’d only share that with someone she trusted. Then when I mentioned that I wouldn’t let a mare close to me get treated badly, she immediately thought that I meant her, and then she quickly added Octavia’s name.” That was a HUGE red flag. What reason would she have to do that other than to conceal some hidden affection? With all this in mind, I was about eighty to eighty-five percent sure. “What about Octavia?” I thought. “When I think about it, she started showing signs before the party, when she asked me to go into the haunted house with her. Well, she asked Rarity to go with her, too, but when Rarity declined, Octavia didn’t even bat an eyelash. She actually looked even more excited than before.” Okay, that could count as a legitimate sign. As I walked out the front gate, I found a flyer taped to it. After examining the flyer, I saw that it was for the music competition that Octavia told me about, and it reminded me of the day she played that piece for me. “Hmm, that might be a sign, too. Octavia could’ve asked anyone to listen to her piece,” I thought. “Hell, she could’ve asked one of her fellow music students, ‘cause they would’ve given her a better critique, but instead she asked me. Wait a sec…” Something on the flyer caught my attention. Apparently, the competition was... only for first and second year students? “That can’t be right. Octavia’s a third-year, so why would she tell me that she was entering?” Another red flag. “Octavia must have wanted an excuse to play music for me. It’s the only answer that makes sense. Plus, she said that she ‘put a lot of consideration’ into the piece. On top of that, she said that she ‘missed spending time with me’.” Okay, I was now ninety percent sure that Octavia was into me. There was still that ten percent of reasonable doubt, though. I flagged a cab and got on my way home, and my mind continued to wander as I got closer to the castle. “Then there’s Luna,” I contemplated. “Up until last night, I thought that all her teasing was just part of her sense of humor, but when she kissed me last night, I brought all of those instances to question. Could that just be her way of showing friendly affection, though? I mean, her older sister is my adoptive aunt, which makes her my aunt, too. I could just be misreading signs, but then again, she seems closer to me than anyone else in the castle. Even though, she's technically family, I still feel an attraction to her.” I just couldn’t figure Luna out. If I was going to make an educated guess on whether or not she was romantically interested in me, I needed to wait, maybe test the waters a little. “We’re here, sir. Canterlot Castle,” said the carriage driver. “Oh, thanks,” I told him absentmindedly as I paid him for the ride. When I entered the castle, I was greeted by my usual guards, and I made my way to my room. As I walked, I decided to put all my thoughts to rest for a while, lest I get a headache. As I continued down the narrow castle halls, though, I got the feeling that somepony was following me. Somepony other than my guards. I heard distant hoofsteps accompanied by the sound of rolling wheels. I then heard a voice call out to me and the guards. “Excuse me, gentlemen,” the voice called. The three of us turned around and saw a maid coming our way, Honey Pot, to be exact. “I’m kind of in a hurry, so pardon my going so fast,” she told us with a smile. “Sure…” the three of us said as we stepped aside for the mare to pass us. When she passed me, though, she flicked her tail and whipped my butt with it, causing me to jump in surprise. The sneaky mare kept looking forward, as though nothing happen, but I knew that there was a satisfied grin painted on her face. Hell, I could practically see it. So that was two accounts of sexual harassment in two days. Honey Pot was scaring me more and more each day. Looking at my guards, I could tell that they were about to say something. "Not one word," I told them. I finally made it to my room, and I decided to jump into bed before anything else. Unfortunately, a knock on the door interrupted my nap was before it even started. I sighed and looked and went up to my door so see who it was. “If it’s Honey Pot again, I swear to God I’ll…” But it wasn’t Honey Pot. It was another mare, a mare that towered over me by a head and a half, a mare that I had made a conscious effort to avoid, a mare that I hadn’t said a word to in weeks. Auntie Celeste. I noticed the depressed look on her face. Her eyes were cast off to the side, like she was afraid to look me in the eye. “May I come in?” she humbly asked. “I’d like to talk to you.” What was I gonna do? While I was supposed to be avoiding her, I couldn’t just shut the door on her when she came knocking. Just because I was mad at her doesn’t mean that I hated her. Plus, if she actually came to my room to see me, did this mean what I thought it meant? I silently let my aunt in, and she took a seat on my bed while I pulled the chair from my desk and sat in front of her. It was at this point that I realized that I eventually would have to speak to her. “You don’t have to talk right now,” she told me in a soft voice. “Just listen, okay?” I nodded my head. “Marcus, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve rarely seen you around the castle as of late,” she started, her eyes still focused on the ground. “We’ve only seen each other three times in two weeks, and each time, you didn’t even say a word to me." I stayed silent. "After a while, I started to think that you were doing this on purpose. You certainly had the motivation to do that. I figured that I was just play along until you calmed down, but…” It was then that Celeste raised her head and looked me in the eye for the first time in a long time. I was taken aback by how red and teary her eyes were, and in my stunned moment, Celeste pulled me into the tightest hug she’d ever given me. “I just can’t take it anymore, Marcus,” she whimpered. “I miss hearing your voice. I miss seeing you happy. I miss being able to give you hugs and kisses. I can’t play this game anymore! I’ll give you anything you want. I’ll take you off of punishment, I’ll let you see Luna again, and I’ll even let you go wherever you want for however long you want! I just want my nephew back!” My aunt continued to whimper and snivel; her tears dripped from her face and would either fall on my neck and run down my back, or they would fall on my shirt and get soaked into the fabric. The tears, Celeste’s tears, felt incredibly cold, and I shivered whenever they would fall on my bare skin. “I’m sorry, Marcus,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “Please don’t make me suffer anymore.” This was it. The great Princess Celestia had finally broken. I had won. I outlasted her. This was what I wanted right? So why... Why did I feel so terrible? By then, I realized how much damage I had done to my aunt, and I started to feel like the most despicable guy on both worlds. I never intended for this to happen, for my Auntie Celeste to turn into a weeping mess before me. I never expected her to have such an adverse response to my ignoring her. I knew she was attached to me, but not this attached. What’s more, she always seemed like a strong mare that would never break down like this, so seeing her in such a defeated state, it… it… It broke my heart. Auntie Celeste continued to embrace me, my head lying on its side against her shoulder. I let out a sigh and hugged her back. “It’s okay, Auntie. I forgive you,” I told her, “and I owe you an apology, too. I shouldn’t have been so cold to you. Even when I knew that I was hurting your feelings, I still continued to do it. I didn’t mean for it to get this bad. I was acting like a spoiled brat.” “Even so,” she said, “I shouldn’t have used the Royal Canterlot Voice on you the night I punished you. I made a promise to myself years ago that I would never use it on a family member under any circumstances, and I broke that promise that night. When I think about how much I yelled and screamed at you, I get so mad at myself. You must have been so scared, Marcus.” “I brought it on myself, though. You told me not to go to the party and I went anyway. I broke your trust. That would make anyone mad.” Celeste released me and gave me a smile. “While that may be true, you did have a point when you said that I should have more trust in you.” “Actually, it was Luna that said that.” We both shared a laugh, the first laugh we shared in a long time. “Regardless, I’ll try to be less controlling.” “And I’ll try not to break the rules so much.” Auntie Celeste laughed again and pulled me in for another hug. “I love you, Marcus, you know that?” “I do, and I love you too, Auntie Celeste.” Now there was one mare that I knew loved me for sure. I didn't care that I beat her anymore. I was just glad to have my Auntie back. “Now, I’m sure you’ll want to go and tell Luna the good news,” she said. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.” I realized she was right. “Thanks, Auntie! See you later!” “No problem, Marcus, and don’t worry about me staying in your room. I’ll be right out.” I nodded my head and walked out of my room. When I passed by the guards, though, I heard sniffling sounds coming from both of them. Were they crying? Never mind that. I needed to find Luna. I figured the first place I looked should be her room, so I got on my way. As I was walking, though, I heard voices coming from the throne room. Curiosity overcame me and I peered into the room, looking in to see what was going on. It turned out that Luna was there, sitting on the throne with her advisor standing next to her. There was also an earth pony standing at the foot of the throne’s staircase. From where I was standing, he seemed to be rather tall, and he had a rather stocky frame. His coat was a pale shade of red, and his mane and tail were a light grey color. His mane was short and styled up, and despite his distance from me, I saw the unnecessary amount of gel that was in it. His back was turned to me, though, so I couldn’t see what his face looked like. “So you see, Princess Luna, I am obviously the perfect choice,” he said arrogantly. “The perfect choice? For what?” I thought. “I think that you really should consider this stallion, Princess,” said Luna’s advisor. “He seems to be a very good suitor.” That last word echoed in my head. Suitor? This guy was asking to marry Luna!? But he sounds like a total chump! There’s no way that she’d even think about accepting his offer! ...Right? Luna cleared her throat and stood up to address her… suitor. “While you make a… compelling offer, Platinum Vault, I will have to decline,” she told the stallion. “Like I’ve told the suitors that came before you, marriage is not a priority for me at the moment. I’m sorry for all the trouble you went through to see me.” The stallion stood there stunned, while I silently celebrated outside. Rejected and slightly humiliated, Platinum Vault turned around and left the throne room. Thankfully, he left via the east entrance as opposed to the west entrance, which was where I was hiding. Once he was gone, I peered into the throne room and watched as Luna stepped down from the throne, with her advisor bumbling behind her. “P-Princess! You’ve turned down yet another potential husband? That’s the fifth one today! Why?” he asked. “As I’ve told you before, Withers,” the princess explained. “I have no interest in finding a husband right now. It’s been merely two years since my return. Don’t you think I’d rather enjoy my life first before I make such a big step? We go through this nonsense twice a year. What’s the point?” “It’s tradition, princess.” “A tradition that I would like to be rid of. Furthermore, why are you harassing me with this frivolity instead of Celestia? Why isn’t she going through this ‘tradition’?” “Well, Celestia said that she didn’t want to be married just yet.” “Hmph. So you’ll respect my sister’s wishes, but you won’t respect mine?” she asked coldly, not even bothering to look at Withers. “I will be in my bedchambers.” Luna walked away from her advisor on her way to her room, and I stood there watching in awe. Wait, why am I waiting here instead of going to her? I got up and followed Luna, who was way ahead of me. She always was a fast walker. As I tried to keep up, I wondered why she hadn't told me about this 'suitor' thing before. By the time I had gotten to Luna's room, she was already inside. I knocked on the door and waited for a response. “Who is it?” she asked with a tired tone. “It’s Marcus. Can I come in?” A pause. “I’m really not in the mood to talk right now.” “Please, Luna. If something’s bothering you, you know you can tell me.” I stood there for what seemed like an eternity as I waited for her to answer me. Assuming that she would answer me, that is.