//------------------------------// // 9: The Nobles // Story: A Whole New Responsibility // by Flanagan //------------------------------// I woke up after what seemed like a weeklong nap. Finally getting some shuteye after three days did the body good, but not nearly as much good as what Luna and I had done for six hours straight. A euphoric grin came to my face; I was always pleased when Luna decided to remind me just how flexible she was. Despite my reluctance to do so I made an effort to get out of bed, but a certain young woman with deep midnight blue hair held my arm firmly in place. Of course, why wouldn’t this be more difficult than it had to be? Fortunately for me however I was in a very good position to play this situation to my favor. Sliding my free hand below the covers that entangled the two of us I placed my fingers on the small of her back and slowly began to ascend towards her shoulder blades, adding a delicate kiss on top of her head with every few inches. When I reached about half way up her spine I received the first sign of life, a small, seductive moan. Taking that as a queue to continue I proceeded at a much slower pace, as to relish the moment myself. Several seconds of pleasing squeals and squirms later my palm was on her neck, gently rubbing away any kinks she had in the area. With a very quick shutter of her body she finally rolled over to face me, unfortunately pressing her naked body against mine before I could get a good look at it. “Good evening,” she hummed euphorically with a kiss to my nose, “sleep well?” “About as good as you’d expect given recent events,” I growled back returning her kiss with one of my own to her forehead. “Glad to hear it,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around my neck, “you know there’s still plenty of time before we have to be up~.” “Do you really even know what time it is? Hell for all I know we could’ve been sleeping for days.” “Somehow I doubt that,” Luna replied with a quick giggle, “if so you would have a full beard, not that magnificent stubble.” Before I could offer a rebuttal Luna pressed her lips to mine once more, her tongue surpassing any and all defenses I was able to muster. After a few seconds of fighting for dominance she finally pulled back, but not before playfully biting my lower lip. We laid there in silence, waiting for either of us to start up a conversation, or by the look in Luna’s eyes, action. I however, and oddly enough, had a different thing on my mind. “You should really let me grow a beard.” Luna’s seductive grin fell flat and her eyes went from warm to cold. “We’ve discussed this Aedan…” she grumbled, letting go of my neck, “many times.” “You already think my stubble’s sexy,” I contended, pointing to my face, “just imagine a full on beard.” “I think you have enough bodily hair,” Luna retorted, poking at my chest as she smiled cutely. “You know it keeps you warm at night sweetheart,” I smiled, wrapping my arms around her waist, “besides it could add a new sensation or two if you know what I mean.” “All at the cost of covering your handsome face,” Luna replied, cupping my jaw line with her hands, “you’re not growing a beard, and that’s final.” “Fine…” I groaned in defeat, “but only because you’re so damn cute.” “I’m glad you see it my way,” Luna smirked, patting me on the head, “now since you’ve effectively killed the mood, let’s try to get a few more hours of rest.” “I’ll leave you to it babe,” I said placing my hand on her shoulder as she wrapped herself in the covers, “I should be getting up anyway.” “Suit yourself,” Luna replied, snuggling up against her pillow, “we shall meet again in a few hours.” “See you then,” I grunted, forcing myself out of bed. After a few quick minutes I’d managed to slip on a shirt and a pair of pants, shoes on the other hand, here a whole other animal. I couldn’t even find the pair that I’d had on before I went to bed, and given the events that happened up to that point they could’ve been anywhere from the dining room to the balcony. I decided that I should just go barefoot until I managed to come by them as I walked around the castle; at least I hoped I’d be the one to find them. It would be really awkward trying to explain to a maid why my shoes weren’t in my room, and heaven forbid Celestia came across them, God knows what sexually depriving act she would come up with for me to get them back. When I opened the door to our room I was hit harder than a freight train by a wall of light. I was so taken by the sudden and highly unwelcome rays that I nearly fell back into our room, fortunately the door was there to make sure I didn’t make too much of an ass out of myself. I took a quick glance to my left and right, seeing if I had to bribe anyone into my not divulging my rather cumbersome reentrance into the world, and judging by the empty halls it looked like I was in the clear. I soon began scouring the halls in an attempt to find my shoes, but each room I searched proved to be fruitless. I did pass a maid or two in my quest, but they were just as lucky as I was when it came to finding my ever so elusive shoes. At least they didn’t look at me like I was crazy when they realized I was barefoot, but that probably had something to do with the fact that they never wore shoes themselves. Close to thirty minutes into my search I was beginning to think that I’d have to send a letter to Rarity to make me another pair. I started to think how to go about describing my shoe size in the letter when a door to my left slowly opened. I didn’t pay much mind to it until I felt myself being wrapped up in an embrace that only an idiot could forget. “Uncle Aedan!” Cadence cheered, pressing herself to my side as had as she could, “It’s about time the two of you woke up!” “About time?” I repeated, “just how long were the two of us out?” “Well, it’s four in the afternoon.” “Oh so we’ve been asleep for about six hours, I could’ve sworn it was longer than-“ “On Friday,” Cadence finished. My face went blank. If Cadence was telling the truth then I’d been sleeping for at least twenty hours. I tried to see if I could look past Cadence’s warm smile and welcoming eyes in an attempt to see if she was lying to me, but the longer I stared the more evident it came to me that she was telling the truth. My index finger and thumb slowly but surely found their way to the bridge of my nose, accompanied by the familiar deep sigh. Cadence couldn’t help but let out a giggle at my reaction, she clearly found my predicament funnier than what it was. “Twenty hours?” I asked, slowly dragging my hand to my chin. “Afraid so,” Cadence replied, shrugging her shoulders as she gathered herself back up, “I don’t see why that’s a big deal, you really needed the rest.” “Who took care of the moon?” I asked, “because that’s kind of important.” “Who do you think?” Cadence smirked, cocking an eyebrow. The hand that had previously fell to my side found itself right back where it was mere minutes ago. Cadence tried to hold back a laugh by covering her mouth, but the muffled sounds of her laughs really didn’t help. Apparently Cadence knew Celestia’s more private side just as well or if not better than me, given she’s known her for easily a decade longer then I had, but either way we both knew that’d she’d more than likely want something out of it. “She’s in the throne room~,” Cadence giggled cutely while she patted my back, “she’s speaking with some of the nobles right now, but I’m sure she’ll make time for you.” “You’re too sweet,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes, “I’d better get this over with.” “That you should,” Cadence agreed, “now run along, I’m sure Auntie is dying to meet you.” “Don’t remind me…” I sighed as I continued down the hall, leaving my giggling counterpart long behind. I slowly and reluctantly continued to make my way towards the throne room, wondering what kind of sick and cruel things Celestia would come up with as a ‘thank you’ for her services. Half of me cringed, while the other half, the half that I was trying to ignore, was a little too excited for what might happen. Because let’s face it, I’m a man, and when she’s a human she’s hotter than the sun she raises. A few minutes later I found myself standing in front of two titanic doors, carved of the finest woods and most polished of gems and gold. Guards flanked the sides of either door, one of them being the one I recognized. The Guard that had called me a freak all those months ago was standing opposite of one of the more reserved members of Celestia’s personal entourage. I looked the door up and down before turning my attention back to mister equality. “You gonna let me in?” I smiled, crossing my arms as I began to loom over the guard. “P-Princess Celestia is busy with Nobles,” he gulped, wrapping his foreleg tightly around his spear, “you’ll have to come back later.” “I’m sure she can make time for me,” I replied, adding a quick crack of my knuckles, “after all, I’m family.” The once high and mighty guard who once had the gall to call me a commoner and a freak was now sweating nervously under his helmet. I had no idea what Celestia had told him after our little back and forth, but whatever it was it was enough to get him to shut the hell up. Shaking my head I looked over to his more relaxed partner, who simply pointed to the door behind him with his head, giving me silent permission to enter. “Thanks a lot bucko,” I said as I placed my hand on the door. With a soft push the door was open, revealing to me a sight that at one point took me back for a second. The large stain-glassed windows depicted the details of past and current events. Discord being beaten, Twilight getting wings, Spike grabbing a blue heart, and probably the most important one to me, Luna’s return, were placed in chronological order, giving a rather surreal glow as the sun’s rays beamed through them. A red velvet carpet cut through the middle of a painstakingly crafted tile floor up to a marble staircase that ended with a throne. A throne on which the pony I wished to speak with sat upon. Now normally I would just walk up to her and do whatever I had to do as a thank you for her, but it was obvious that she was very busy, as evidenced by the fact that she didn’t even notice me walk in. I was about to alert her to my presence but the scene that was transpiring at the base of the staircase was far more interesting. “I implore you your majesty to reconsider,” a rather plump and well-dressed pony seemed to beg, “think about your country.” “I have thought about my country,” She replied in an annoyed kind of way, as if she had said it before, “As well as my ponies Lord Pompous, there is no need to beat a dead horse.” I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, I could hardly believe that phrase actually existed in this universe. “I only bring it up because of the consequences,” Lord Pompous reiterated, “there was already enough unrest when you decided to bring that… thing to our world, but now it has placed its seed in Princess Luna’s womb? Have you even thought of your sister in all this?” Celestia’s ears shot up at the mention of her sister, in her new now far more attentive state she actually noticed me standing in the background. I gave a nonchalant salute and she nodded her head in acknowledgement. Not two seconds later a small grin came to her face, a grin I came to know all too well in my time here, I had no idea what she was planning, but I knew it more than likely involved me. “Lord Pompous,” Celestia began in the most regal tone I’ve ever heard her speak in, “would you mind explaining your concerns for my sister?” “But of course!” Lord Pompous said rather excitedly, it seemed like this was the first time that Celestia was willing to listen to what he had to say. He quickly bowed before her, not noticing that Celestia had rested her head on her hoof in a ‘here we go again’ manner, but this time she sported a devious grin. “Keeper of the divine day, bringer of hope and joy, I beseech thee,” he began, “if your sister was to carry out this blasphemous act and conceive a half breed abomination all of Equestria would be thrown into utter chaos! You yourself witnessed the upheaval of the nobles and elites of Canterlot at the announcement some four days ago, imagine the strife once the creature is brought into this world!” Celestia’s passive hoof wave was the only thing that kept me from making my presence known, she obviously wanted me to hear this bullshit, but I was unaware of her ulterior motives. “So what do you suggest I do?” she inquired, cocking her eyebrow in her trademarked fashion. “Banish the lesser form,” Lord Pompous said instantly, “remove his every trace from this land, including his tainted seed.” “That seems to be a rather extreme solution Lord,” Celestia replied, shaking her head at me so I wouldn’t straight up murder him in the throne room. “The ends justify the means my lady,” Lord Pompous nodded, “we must insure the purity of the royal bloodline.” “And how do you propose we do that?” Celestia asked, signaling for me to come closer. “Well in the wake of the banishment I’d expect there to be a brief morning period,” Lord Pompous said rubbing his chin, “but when she realizes the error of her ways I’m sure she will consider finding a new suitor.” “And who would that be?” Celestia solicited, watching me creep ever so slowly behind the ‘Lord’. “Well if I may make a suggestion…” he said with a grin, I swore could feel the creepy ooze off of him as he did so, “since I was the one who brought this up to you, so I should be the one to bed Luna and sire noble offspring.” Celestia herself nearly gagged at the thought, but she managed to keep her cool long enough for me to stand directly behind him, all I needed was the go ahead. “Well, that certainly is quite the solution,” Celestia said placing both her hooves under her chin as she leaned forward, “there’s just one problem.” “And what would that be?” “Me,” I growled, picking him up by his flamboyant clothing, “I don’t like that idea one bit.” “M-Monster!” he shrieked, squirming in my grip, “g-guards! Assist me!” The guards that stood on either side of the stairs remained stoic, unflinching in their actions as I put the fear of God into the self-important, arrogant, egotistical, conceited twit. Turning him to face me I swore I saw him start to piss himself in fear, I could care less though. In fact after all the things I heard him say I was showing him an unbelievable amount of mercy. “U-unhoof me you beast!” he cried, trying to sound intimidating, “Or I’ll-“ “Keep crying like a bitch?” I interrupted, “because you lost any and all rights to threaten me when you soiled yourself.” “The nerve you have!” he hissed trying to swing at me, “release me you swine! Least you-“ “You know I actually have to thank you right there.” “W-what?” “Last time someone called me a swine was in Pashto, and it was really hard to hear because of the mortars and gunfire going on,” I brought his face inches from mine, “at least you had the guts to say it in a language I recognize.” “Aedan release him,” Celestia said calmly, “last thing I need is to have this carpet ruined.” “Fine,” I grunted, dropping him unceremoniously back to where he came from, “but only because you’re such a sweetheart.” “Flattery will get you nowhere Mr. Ryan~,” Celestia replied playfully, placing her hooves back on her throne. “I never I was trying to get places,” I countered with a cheeky grin. “Are you truly going to stand idly by?” Lord Pompous remarked, “this lesser being attacked me! Made me look a fool in front of you majesty! You can’t just let him do as he pleases, he must be treated as the dog he-“ A bright flash of light that I had come to know well quickly silenced Lord Pompous’s rant. Prompting both a smile and a quick aversion of the eyes on my part, because I was never the one to put Celestia above a chance to put me in an awkward situation. “It’s alright Aedan,” Celestia said with a noticeable hint of amusement, “you can look now.” I was cautious at first, because more often then not she would lull me into a false sense of security before blinding me with the absolute glory that was her naked body. This time however, she kept her word, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t completely modest. The top she wore wrapped around her neck and split into two separate pieces of cloth that barely covered her bountiful chest, and truthfully the only thing that I thought kept that top on was a combination of magic and the small golden ring that reconnected the cloth about two inches under her bosom. Her Glorious stomach was pale and toned just as, or if not better, than the models I used to see in fitness magazines and ended just above a gold plated belt with an indented sun on the buckle. Her long legs were draped in a downy white cloth that ran down her legs like water covering everything save for the slit the road clean up to her hip. She was just one of those women that knew she looked amazing no matter what, and was more then happy to show off what she had, which was made very clear by the way she carried herself as a human. She sat on her throne with a sense of swagger that commanded nothing but respect and admiration, but also with her own brand of steamy seduction that would make any straight man go crazy. Leaning forward with her chest dangerously close to bursting out she extended her hand in my direction and with a little twitch of her finger she beckoned me towards her. Not being the one to ignore a woman’s orders I walked up the stairs and stood at her side, all the while Lord Pompous was gawking in disbelief. Stopping when I finally reached the top I turned back and looked down to him, Celestia smiling smugly as she leaned back in her seat. “Lord Pompous,” She began, crossing one leg over the other, “am I now a lesser being? Or am I still your ruler?” “Y-you are still our ruler,” he stuttered, unable to avert his eyes, “but to take a lesser form, surely you must see-“ Celestia suddenly shot to her feet, interrupting Lord Pompous and catching me of guard as well. What surprised me even more though was when she turned towards me and grabbed at the center of my chest, the whole time giving me a predatory grin. “What the hell are you think-“ I didn’t get a chance to finish my statement before Celestia pulled me in for what was easily the second most unexpected kiss I’ve ever had in my life. It barely lasted five seconds but it was more than enough to rattle a few cages in the court, mine included. When she finally broke it off she couldn’t help but let out a playful giggle before adding a playful wink in my direction. “What about now Lord Pompous?” Celestia asked, still holding onto me as she looked to the pony in question, “am I a lesser being now? Answer me!” Lord Pompous was at a complete loss for words, as I was to be frank, but Celestia’s little stunt had managed to put the lord on a spot. He was visibly disgusted, but he wasn’t willing to show his disdain without a crowd to hide in, so he simply lowered his head in defeat. “Thought so…” Celestia growled, finally letting me go before taking a seat yet again, “get out of my sight Pompous… and if you ever return to this court with such venomous words and heinous suggestions I will insure that your nobility will cease to exist.” Lord Pompous shook in his own skin, Celestia’s words seem to traumatize him ten times worse then when I manhandled him. “B-by your word, my lady…” he stuttered and he crawled out of the throne room on his belly, the pride he once had now long gone. A brief silence fell over throne room; guards and myself included kept our eyes on Celestia, who was looking almost as pissed off as she did when Luna announced that she was pregnant. Soon though, her body relaxed and the fists that clinched the armrests tightly loosened their grip. Seconds later she flopped back in her seat in a very unprincesslike manner, blowing away a few stray hair strands in her way. “The things I must put up with…” she grumbled, taking off her crown for an inspection, “such as what happens when you rule a nation full of privileged stuck up fools.” “You could always kick them out,” I suggested. “And lose over forty percent of tax revenue?” Celestia asked, half chuckling as she put her crown back on, “I may not enjoy them, but they are necessary to keep this country running smoothly, besides only ninety percent of them like that, the other ten make up for them easily.” “Ninety percent?” I asked, to which Celestia nodded, “So I’m assuming-“ “Every hour of every day since the announcement,” she sighed, “and each time it’s the same thing, kick you out and replace you with either themselves or one of their sons.” “How do you handle those ones?” “The same way I handled Pompous,” Celestia shrugged, “but this time I had a chance to really lay it on.” “So I’m just an end to a means eh?” A laughed crossing my arms, “So to what extent am I to be used?” Celestia quickly rose back to her feet and backed me to the wall next to her throne reminiscent of what she’d done in the past. However this time she continued towards me until her face was inches from mine and breasts squish against my chest. A small bead of sweat trickled past my temple as her expression went from neutral to a far more seductive one, complete with bedroom eyes and a lip bite. “To whatever extent I see fit~,” she almost cooed pulling away in an almost mocking manner, “now let’s see who’s next.” Celestia sat back down in her throne and watched the doors swing open and for the first time in recent history I saw Celestia’s hand cradle her head in a fashion that I knew all too well. I looked over towards the door and instantly knew why Celestia had adopted my trademarked pose. The pony that stood on the far side of the throne room was noticeably taller than the average pony and certainly in much better shape than the pony whom Celestia had put the fear of God into a few minutes ago. A blonde mane a eyes bluer than the sky was evidence enough as it is, but the top half of an all white tux was the icing on the cake. “Blueblood…” Celestia and I groaned in unison, knowing that this wasn’t going to be enjoyable for either of us. “Aunt Tia!” He called in a demanding tone, “I demand to have an audience with you at once!” “Well you’re already here,” Celestia responded, looking to me with a shake of her head, “what is it this time? Did you spend your all of your bits at the casino again? Or did you spend another week at that ‘hotel and spa’ you enjoy so much?” Blueblood froze in place, taking a loud awkward gulp as sweat began to form on his brow. Even the guards couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as they looked on. With a quick wipe of his hoof he was back to his normal self, so full of himself, so ‘perfect’. I’d met Blueblood more times than I’d like to admit, but every time he acted like he’d never seen me before, probably for the same reasons the other nobles wanted me gone. Though he did have the decency to keep his opinion of me quiet. “Aunt Tia,” he began in a much sweeter tone than what he started out with, “may I have a word with you… in private?” “What you have to say to me can be said to everyone here,” Celestia said kindly extending her hand towards him, “tell me what ails you.” “Well…” he began, taking another gulp, “it’s about the other night.” “Oh?” Celestia said, barring a sly grin as she turned her attention to me, “do go on.” “I was wondering if I can have the quarters on the east side of the castle?” “And why’s that?” Celestia asked, barely able to hold back a giggle. “Well, I-uh… I didn’t get much sleep the past few nights,” he explained, “I was, rather distracted.” “Were you now?” Celestia giggled, “why so?” “I-I heard noises,” Blueblood stuttered, looking away from me embarrassingly, “noises that I never thought I’d never hear.” “I see,” Celestia replied, letting out a full blown laugh before covering her mouth, “well I’m sure I can arrange that move for you.” “You’re too kind Aunt Tia,” he said quickly bowing before doing a one eighty and sprinting towards the door, “I’ll expect the arrangements for the move to be made by tomorrow bye!” The door slammed shut, leaving Celestia and myself alone with her guards once more. The guards stoicism quickly descended into laughter, followed closely behind by Celestia’s own laughter. In fact the only one not laughing was me, because I had adopted the much more adult path of sighing deeply as I shook my head. “You done yet?” I asked Celestia, “cause I really should be getting back to Luna.” “You won’t be living this down for a while,” she replied through her laughs, “but by all means go, I won’t stop you.” “Then I guess I should be off,” I said as I began to make my way down the stairs, “see you tom-“ “Or…” Celestia interrupted, “I suppose I could stop you~.” “Why would you do that?” I asked turning back around, “furthermore, what do you possess that would force me to-“ “These,” Celestia said dangling the shoes I’d forgotten about since coming in here, “I’m sure you’d want them back.” “How did you…” my mind started racing at one thousand miles a minute, the one thing I didn’t want happening actually happened. Of all the creatures on this ball of sprinkles and rainbows, the one that went to the most extreme of measures to make me feel awkward had come upon them. “Well, the two of you didn’t particularly care about cleaning up after keeping half of Canterlot awake the other night,” Celestia explained, twirling my shoes in her hand, “Don’t even get me started on what I found on the ballroom chandelier, let alone the watchtower balcony.” I was about to give a witty retort, but I knew there was no use. It was best just to accept the fact that she had me. “What do I have to-“ “And there’s also that mess that I had to take care of with the moon last night,” she added, tapping her lower lip with her free hand, “I never thought I’d be doing that again, but I knew the two of you were exhausted. Aren’t I such a wonderful, benevolent being?” “What do you want?” I mumbled, placing my hands on my hips. “Well, now that you mentioned it,” Celestia cooed with a seductive grin, “Guards, leave the two of us at once!” Within moments, every guard present disappeared behind the doors that represented my freedom. However my freedom was now at the mercy of a smoking hot woman with a knack for putting me in awkward sexual situations. She stood there in silence, smiling smugly, making me wonder just what I had gotten myself into. “Alright, what do you want me to do?” I asked, putting on the best game face I’ve had in recent memory. “Well isn’t that the question of the day?” Celestia asked back, slowly making her way down the stairs towards me, adding some extra swing in her hips as she did so. Soon enough Celestia had a hand on my chest, growling like a hungry lioness eyeing a ding zebra. “Raising the moon is no small feat, meaning I could essentially ask you to do anything.” “I don’t like where this is-“ “Hush now Aedan,” Celestia interrupted, placing a finger on my lips fro good measure, “as I was saying, anything.” She walked around me in a quick circle before stopping at the side opposite where she started, “I could have you rearrange my room, I could have you clean every single window.” “Don’t you have servants for that?” “Not now big guy, I’m just thinking out loud,” Celestia replied, patting me on the shoulder, “now where was I?” “Cleaning windows…” “Ah yes,” she nodded, her eyes narrowing, “I could also have you polish the throne, trim the hedges…” Celestia’s eyes suddenly took a more seductive look, “or ask for another kiss.” “Now hold up a sec,” I said backing up a bit, “Not that I didn’t hate it the first time, but I’m with Luna until the-“ “Thinking out loud~!” Celestia repeated, “anyway, another kiss, perhaps I could have you be my personal bather for the next few weeks, or maybe because of your status we could-“ “Just give me the damn shoes!” I yelled reaching for my prize. I missed them just barely, and with a few choice words the chase was on. Celestia could have easily teleported to the opposite side of the room, levitate to above where I could reach, or turn back into a pony and fly to her heart’s desire, but she seemed to be more than content with the standard game of chase. Where she would only be fast enough for me to almost catch her, granted I already had a handicap, but I’d be damned if I let a women in heels outrun me forever. Celestia’s little game lasted for another minute or two until she made the mistake of ascending to her throne. I was able to reach out and clip her leg, causing her to tumble downward. My success was painfully short however, because when the leg of a woman hits your prosthetic limb, you tend to come crashing down too. A loud thud complimented our fall, followed by a few painful groans courtesy of the position we landed in. I had landed on my stomach, but my chest was mysteriously fine, cushioned by what I’d hoped was the throne. I uneasily opened my eyes to see that I was halfway right, I had indeed landed on the throne, but there just so happened to be a beautiful woman in between. I almost shot up and began to apologize, but the playful smile that grew on her face made me reconsider that notion. Within seconds I found my eyes traveling from hers down her neckline to her collarbone where the beginnings of my makeshift pillows lay. I managed to steel myself an not look down any further, for fear of something coming loose, instead I looked down to her left hand, which still clung tightly to the thing that got me in this mess in the first place. “I’ll be taking these,” I smiled, reaching for my shoes, but just as I got a hold of them Celestia wrapped one of her legs around my waist, effectively holding me in place. “I still haven’t gotten anything for my act of kindness,” Celestia whispered in a sultry tone, “you’re not getting these until I get what I want.” “Then just tell me already,” I grunted, “I’m sure I can-“ Somehow Celestia managed to free her right arm, using that and the leg she still had wrapped around me she pulled me dangerously close to her face and other parts most people are uncomfortable mentioning in public. She finally stopped pulling me towards her when our noses touched; our eyes were in a deadlock I did what I could to remain stoic, but my mind was going at one million miles an hour. Sure as a man I’ve let my mind wander down these kind of paths, but I didn’t actually think it would happen, furthermore I- “Say thank you,” Celestia whispered, derailing my train of thought. “What?” “I just want you to say thank you,” Celestia repeated, releasing me from her grip, “and then you can have your shoes back.” “Oh, uh… thank you,” I said rising back to my feet, reaching my hand out to help her up. “You’re welcome~,” she replied taking my hand as she offered me my shoes, “always happy to help.” We stood there in silence for a few moments, mostly because I was still trying to process what the hell had just happened. I still could hardly believe I’d gone though all of that just to say thank you. Celestia had a very weird way of entertaining herself, but when you’ve been alive as long as she has, you develop more and more extreme ways to pass the time. “You can go Aedan,” she said bringing me back to reality once again, “Go on, I’m sure Luna would want to wake up to a face like that next to hers.” “Well I’d better hurry then,” I said quickly looking to the door, “She’s probably about to wake up.” “Then I won’t stop you,” she replied taking a seat back on her throne, “and this time I mean it.” “Well thanks then,” I grunted hastily putting on my shoes, “see you in a few hours!” I practically darted towards the door, swinging it open like a curtain in the window, but when I took my first few steps into the hall I saw something that I didn’t expect. All the guards that were once in the throne room, including the ones that stood outside, had their ears pressed against the door. They obviously expected something to happen, given the collective look of shock on their faces when they saw that I’d walked out wearing more clothes then I’d come in with. “Really?” I asked, “really guys? Come on, professionalism.” Before they could offer a rebuttal I was off back to Luna and I’s room, I didn’t want to miss her waking up. Running as fast as I could muster, I passed by every maid and butler that walked lazily by, nearly running some of them over. Finally, after what seemed like a forever, I was standing in front of our door. Taking a deep breath in I opened the door to be greeted by complete darkness. I smiled to myself that meant that Luna still hadn’t woken up. Slowly but surely I crept towards our bed, doing my best not to make a sound so I could surprise her when she woke up. It wasn’t something I normally did, but after what happened today I felt that I had to make it up somehow. Adding a hint of precaution to my steps I softly placed myself on her side of the bed and waited. A few minutes in to my patience paid off as the first few signs of Luna waking up made themselves all too clear. Acting quickly I placed my body over her, using my arms to brace myself above her. The second I saw her face I swooped in for the kill, pressing my lips against hers with an extra amount of vigor. The initial contact threw her off, but within a few moments her body had completely relaxed and I felt her hands wrap around my neck. I returned the favor by wrapping my own arms around her waist and spinning onto my back, making my gorgeous moon woman fall on my chest with a playful squeak. “You’re excited this evening,” Luna giggled, finally breaking the kiss, “is something amiss?” “Can’t I just show that I love you differently sometimes?” I asked with a smile, perhaps my approach was a bit too obvious, I’d have to think of different ways to go about this next time. “I suppose,” she shrugged sliding off of me, using the blanket as a makeshift dress while she made her way to the bathroom, “but I need to get ready nonetheless.” “Take your time sweetheart,” I grinned, watching the blanket fall down to her ankles, “because whatever comes next, I’ll be there.”