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// Chapter 6: Getting to know your wife attempt 2; the honeymoon edition (part 1) 
// Story: Of Consorts and Thestrals 
// by cealdra 
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The night had passed without any further incident. Though there was a small problem; the air yacht only had one bed in the master bedroom.

Twilight had offered to take the large and seemingly very comfy couch. But Dreams had opted against it. Like was said at the wedding, they had a image to uphold now. The crew, although professionals, would most likely sell any little piece of info on the newly weds to the press.

Especially if they were not sleeping in the same bed. That would shatter their little lie.

What Dreams had not said, was that she was more comfortable with the heat of another pony close to her. For the past few nights she had tried to sleep in a bed on her own. But each time she simply could not fall asleep.
And both times she had crawled into Twilight's bed, and the moment Dreams had felt the soft fur of Twilight pressed against her she fell asleep within moments.

Silently she had cursed herself for opting it, but if it helped to get a good night sleep. Though after the first night Twilight had claimed not to mind it.
Even saying that if need be Dreams could always crawl into bed with her, and that they would work on getting her to sleep on her own one step at the time.

Luckily the hustle and bustle of the luxurious airship had not impeded their sleep. All in all Dreams could say that if anything it even helped her sleep better.

Still lazing about a bit on the bed, Twilight had woken up a few moments ago. But they had been instructed to remain in the room when they had tried to ask for breakfast to be made in a few moments.

Perhaps ten minutes later a light magenta pegasus entered the room. Although bringing in a cart with breakfast the uniform clearly stated his function.
The overly elaborate decorations complete with golden bands on the sleeves screamed 'I am in charge'.

“M'lady's, my sincere apologies for the wait. We were under the impression that the wedding night would be a bit more tiresome. But we opted to let you sleep in anyway.”

The pegasus stallion pushed the cart with surprisingly enough a champagne breakfast towards the bed.

“My name is Cloudsail, captain of this fine vessel. On behalf of the crew I bid you welcome aboard the Luna's Grace. Now then, I will leave you to your breakfast and hope to see on deck later today.”

The captain nodded to the two mares and left the room again. He had not directly commented about the lack of a certain scent, but his words did have a certain twist to it that made it very clear he had noticed.

Dreams herself felt relieved by it, Twilight had not even once mentioned the wedding night and what usually happens then. But in the back of her mind she somehow there had been a small voice whispering disappointment.

Any thoughts about said voice were drowned out by the smell and sight of fresh chocolate chip pancakes floating in front of her nose.

And the glass of champagne did not hurt the sight. She had only ever seen the drink. It was said to be far too expensive to be given to a servant. Let alone one of her former ranking.
But one sip of it was enough to convince Dreams that champange, no matter how expensive Twilight had claimed that bottle must have been (Twilight had said that it was neighbouring on roughly 150 bits a bottle) was simply revolting. A very good waste of perfectly good grapes.
Her muzzle contracted from the flavour.
“You know, with how much the nobles guzzle down this stuff I'd thought it would be better tasting.”

This elicited a small giggle from Twilight.
“Yes, I never understood their fondness of it either. Maybe its just because its so expensive that they like it?”

They both looked at eachother for a moment, looked at the bottle and the two still half filled glasses and bursted in fit of giggles. Though Dreams was a bit more reserved than Twilight.

The breakfast went almost as swiftly as it had came and before they knew it Twilight and Dreams found themselves on the deck. Where captain Cloudsail had greeted them with a large map on the table in front of him and a even larger fake smile.

“Ahh there you are! I trust breakfast was according to your liking? If not, then please let me know. But for now please, please join me.”

The whole movement of this pegasus was off. It was unnatural, it was simply to friendly. And that was coming from a mare who was best friends with Pinkie Pie.

“Now then why don't you get yourself comfy.” He swiftly pointed to a loveseat on one side of the table.

Now snuggled up besides each other a bit more closer then comfortable the captain continued his little speech.

His smile never seemed to wane.

“Well then, as captain of this fine vessel it is my pleasure to...”

It was at this point that Dreams final nerve snapped and interrupted him. She had seen this type of happiness and friendliness before.
“Please drop the act? You and the others don't have to act like this around us. Just be yourself. We swear that if you do we will be giving you the high mark you aim to get.”

The captain looked at Dreams with a puzzled expression for a moment. But almost instantly after the painfully obvious fake smile vanished from his muzzle to be replaced by a small genuine smirk.
“Thank you, I will relay your wishes to the rest of the crew. Now if I can have your attention I'd like to explain the trip to you.”

Using the map as a reference the captain started to explain everything. Once his attempted charade of the 'perfect host' had been dropped Cloudsail proved himself to be quite capable of performing his function.
His voice had something strict, but with a joyful and pleasant undertone. Just like one would expect from a captain of the most luxurious air yacht of a cruise-company.

During the explanation lunch had been served. It was a simple fair, but that was to be expected as their breakfast had been quite heavy.

By the end of the speech they had been fully briefed of their journey and had been introduced to the crew. But they already arrived at the first destination. The famous old harbor of Baltimare.

The embarking yacht caught quite a bit of attention from the local population. They had been used to seeing a lot of ships and even airships docking from time to time. But the Luna's Grace was unique enough to catch the eyes of even the veteran harbor master.

As the captain went off to see the harbormaster to pay the docking fee's Dreams and Twilight were being let on to shore.
Luckily it had been on the other side of the ship, apparently its design was made that the primary entrance had been the servants entrance. It allowed for a graceful entry and exit for notable ponies as one of the crew had mentioned.

Hours later Twilight and Dreams had been walking through the city's ancient harbor. They had been chatting a little bit. Not much, just trading a bit of information back and forth. Stuff they knew about the city and such.

Twilight was actually surprised to find out that Dreams did not only knew quite a lot about the city but she knew more about economics in general then Twilight herself. When she asked about how Dreams knew all that the thestral shied away a little.
“Well most of things I know I picked up during parties. The nobles there tend to chatter about these things. Even though I was not allowed to loiter about it was always nice to learn a few things.”

Twilight could not help but smile at Dreams' words. It did her good to see that even with everything that had happened the mare still had tried to learn a few things. Combined with the fact that she had been reading the books in library of her former 'employer' one could almost say that Dreams had put together her own little version of a education.

A thought hit her, if Pleasant Dreams still had that drive to learn then Twilight would atleast try and tutor her. Maybe even get her into one of those special program exams.
But before she could make her decision known a set of rather loud growls got the attention of both mares.

Looking at eachother a small embarrassed blush came to their faces.The gowling returned.
It signalled that they would come to their last item. Something both mares were not looking forward to.

They had been instructed to go to this little restaurant near the air yacht for a specialty dinner there. And for what the captain had said the owners were quite adamant on making it a nice quiet and romantic dinner for the latest royal couple.

The restaurant itself was not much, but the acts of the staff was a bit much. Both Twilight as Dreams had admitted that. But no matter how much they asked, and in Twilight's case even tried to plead, they simply did not stop their act.

'Your highnesses' this, 'M'lady' that. They had been laden with practically every honorific both of them knew. And what Dreams was more than impressed about was that they had even used a few she didn't know.
And coming from a former servant of nobles that was saying quite a lot.

The appetizer had been quite good, better then most of the diners and the inn Twilight had visited in Ponyville.
But when the main plate arrived she had to suppress her gag reflexes a bit. Looking at the other side of the candlelit table she could see that Dreams was not faring much better. Even though that her pegasi-ancestry should make it a bit more digestible and appetizing than it was to a young (and still ascending) alicorn.

That was until she remembered that thestrals genetically resembled vampire fruit bats rather than birds. And the same went for their dieëts.

But it was a local delicacy, however creepy that large plate of steamed blue crab was, and it would be a insult to the cook not to atleast try it.

Picking up one of the crabs in her magic Twilight looked at it closely. Her mind had been made up with atleast trying one. But what she could not figure out was how to actually eat one of those things.
Its not like she had ever needed to read up on the proper techniques regarding the opening of a crabshell.

Across the table she saw Dreams had picked up a strange set of plyers and was experimenting with it. Seemingly in the same predicament as Twilight herself was.
But looking at the cracks in the shell of the crab quickly made sure that Twilight picked up her own plyers.

Several attempts later and they had finally cracked the code and where eating. The taste was surprisingly pleasant, sweet but not too sweet with a pinch of saltiness. The texture however was found by both to be a bit of a creepy experience.

Sometime later that evening Twilight and Dreams had been sitting on the deck of the ship, watching the sun slowly setting while the crew was preparing to cast off towards their next destination. The ship's butler had brought refreshments. Though he had been surprised that they had asked for a simple cup of tea and a glass of juice instead of one of the many bottles of wine the ship had been stocked with.

The silence between them was broken by Pleasant Dreams. Her voice hesitant but curious.
“Twilight? Can you tell me about what really happened?”

Twilight looked at Dreams, cocking her head sideways in confusion.

“About the elements, Nightmare Moon and those like her. What it was like to face them?.”

Dreams was awkwardly scraping the floor with her hoof. Embarrassed by the question. She had heard so much about it. But it was only gossip and rumour. Celestia had kept a very tight seal on the information of what actually happened. So much so that the guards who had been there had all retired as wealthy ponies in return for their silence.
She wanted to know not just to hear the story. But also to learn a bit about the pony behind all those rumors.

The pony behind the ascension and the prestige accredited to her.

It was this hidden meaning, that hearing a story like that from the pony herself would probably make a good baseline character sketch, that Twilight had picked up on. She might not be the most insightful, at times even more than a little naïve, but this was all beyond subtle.

Taking a sip from her tea Twilight looked at the increasingly worried Dreams. It was quite obvious that the thestral thought she had offended Twilight somehow with her question. Or it could be a remnant of her upbringing that had drilled it in her mind that asking such a thing was met with punishment of sorts.

Twilight however had no intention towards such, in fact she saw it as a perfect way to get to know Dreams a little bit better as well. Blushing a bit Twilight finally replied, she never did like to brag about her accomplishments.
“Well then, that is quite a long story. Too long for tonight alone. But I have a idea. Why not take turns? I`ll tell a bit about my life and you talk about yours. Does that seem fair?”

Dreams looked at Twilight for a moment, she could not understand what there was to tell. She had been a specialty maid, there was no tale of glory to tell. No stories of grand adventures.

Only ones that usually started or ended in a drunken or otherwise intoxicated slur in the likes of Raise that tail.

And no pony would need to hear those.

But something inside of her made Dreams agree. Perhaps she could skip those parts, perhaps she could talk about life in the mansion in general. About the few good times she had there.

An rough hour or three, and a complete pot of tea, later a large jawn coming from Twilight interrupted their conversation signalling that it was time for bed for atleast one of them.
It had not been as pleasant as both of them had wanted, but atleast they knew a bit more about each other.

Twilight had begun to tell how she had been sent to Ponyville in the first place, embarrassed by how she had thought about things during those days. And about the craziness the small village seemed to radiate.
But Dreams could see in Twilight's eyes, the small sparkle of joy in them that radiated every time she mentioned one of her friends, that she cared a lot about that place. Despite what the claim that 'everypony in that town is crazy.'

Dreams on the other hoof had said little. Only a small story about her first few months. How the kind old matron of the household had snuck in a few cookies once in a while before she retired.
A few tears fell when she failed to remember the kind old mare's name. She only had a face in her mind. But the name was forever buried beneath a deep scar in her memories.

That of her first time with lord Sugartongue.

No matter how well Dreams had hidden her pain, Twilight could still hear it in the young mare's voice.
Silently she swore to herself to help Pleasant Dreams create new memories, better ones. But also to introduce her to Doctor Whooves.
He had done wonders helping Twilight and her friends after the whole Discord-debacle. Maybe he could work his magic on Dreams as well, to help her atleast cope with what happened.
Though that might be a bit more difficult.

Yet the most important thing was, both ponies had felt at ease. There had been no pressure from either. For the most part it had been just a simple conversation.
Twilight could see Dreams becoming a friend in the future. 

And Dreams? Well she atleast felt a bit more at ease with Twilight. The voice in her head saying that Twilight was only acting kindly had gone a bit more quiet.

Twilight may not be acting, but there was definitely something strange about that mare. But maybe that was just the slight OCD, or the fact that she seemed to be a walking encyclopedia.

The next day a crewmember had stepped in the main bedroom cabin with the mission of waking up their two passengers for breakfast. Only to find that they were already awake and ready to head out to the small dining chamber themselves.

During breakfast the captain had shown up again to talk them through the activities planned for the day.
Both Dreams as Twilight got the distinct feeling that the gift from Blueblood had been a bit double-sided. It felt as if they had been the first to undertake this trip.
Like they were nothing but a test. But they still had no objections to that yet, they were mostly let alone by the crew unless they called for them or if something important came up.

However it seemed that the crew had read the nobles dictionary on the meaning of important. Meaning they were frequently interrupted whether they needed a refill, a snack, a massage or anything else.

While Dreams was trying to fit an entire slice of a melon in her mouth, atleast by the looks of it, Twilight addressed the approaching captain.
“Captain Cloudsail, please sit down. Have some toast if you had not eaten breakfast yet.”

It was one of the things Dreams had noticed about Twilight, she seemed to atleast be friendly to everypony until they had proven to be wholly unpleasant beings.

The captain swiftly sat down at the table and swiped up a piece of honeyed toast. He had already had breakfast in the small mess on the other side of the ship. But in his defence, the honey was an expensive product of the purest variety.
It was said that the merchant bought it in a small town near the Everfree from a mare who apparently simply asked the bee's for it. Thus making it taste sweeter and giving it a more refined structure. But it also made it very exclusive and even more expensive as the mare could only supply a few jars every few weeks.
He would have had to spend a months salary to even buy a small sample of it, and since it was offered he did not see a reason not to take this opportunity to see if it was all it was hyped up to be.

And if he was honest, it was definitely the best honey he had ever eaten. Might even going as far as saying it would be worth every single bit to buy a small jar for himself.

Happily munching on the toast he looked at the two mares.
“Well then your highnesses, we will be arriving in Manehattan later today. Unfortunately we will not be staying there as long as we did in Baltimare. Once we are safely docked I will return and explain the activity within the Big Apple. Please enjoy the sights until then m'ladies.”

Tipping his hat with a wing captain Cloudsail stood up and left them to their own devices.

As the captain left Dreams swallowed the last bit of melon from her plate and looked at Twilight for a moment before picking up another slice.
“He's still a suck up brownnoser.”

A quick swallow was everything Twilight could do to prevent herself from spraying coffee all over the table and quite possibly Pleasant Dreams.
The sheer deadpan of that statement, and the almost brutal honesty did not quite match the more reserved demeanour of the thestral and her often more calculated answers.

A fact not lost on Dreams herself who gained a bright blush.
“Did, did I say that out loud?.”

Twilight could only let out a giggle at the response. It was not the first time something like that had happened in the past few days. But they where growing to become more frequent.
She mused that it may be that Dreams was learning that she did not need to be constantly on her guard while being around her. And that those little moments, those small comments, that showed the true Pleasant Dreams.
The one hidden beneath all the scars and doctrine.

She could make a quip about it, about how she would like to see more of this side of her. The honest side, the rather humorous side. But she choose not to. Dropping the now empty mug of coffee she simply stood up and smiled at Dreams.
And with a horrible impersonation of the captain she saluted and exclaimed.
“Now then m'lady, if you would excuse me I have to be in the library for a moment. I will be on deck should you require my assistance.”

The day passed with a bit of reading for Twilight. Much to her disappointment the much acclaimed library had been nothing but a small room, even smaller then the crew bathroom, with two bookshelves.
And both had been filled with trashy novels and the likes.

But still, a book was a book. And it did kept her occupied for a few hours.

Dreams on the other hoof, she had spend the day doing something she hardly ever had the chance to. Relaxing in the shadow, simply doing nothing but watching the world go by beneath her.

Equestria really was a beautiful place, especially when seen from high up like this. Small villages coming and going, the gentle breeze on the deck.

The servants who despite her numerous attempts to stop them fluttering around her trying to see if they could be useful in one manner or another.

But still it was all she never had before. It was peaceful, it was only herself and her thoughts. Thoughts about the future. On what she was going to do now that she no longer had to wait a spoiled brat on hoof and wing.

No longer getting stared at like a hungry colt looks at a bag of sweets.

Well she might still get stared at, but not with a predatorial glance. Ponyville was a bit of a small rural town after all and thestrals were quite uncommon.

But further than that. She had no idea on what to expect. Perhaps she could string up a conversation with Twilight about it.
It was doubtful that the studious mare lived in a castle, or even a mansion at that. She was supposed to live in a small apartment or something. Atleast that was what the rumors said.

Several hours later, just after dinner, the air yacht had been safely docked on one of the specialized harbor of Manehattan. The captain had of course shown up again, from wherever he was when was not trying to tend to his guests.

“M'ladies, unfortunately we cannot stay docked here for long. Regulations and such, I will not bore you with the details.”

Something which caused a small pout from Twilight. She would have loved to know exactly why.

“But for the time we do have here there we have some high quality entertainment arranged for you tonight.”

A servant stepped out from somewhere and presented the two mares with a set of tickets.

“These tickets are for a classic show on the Briddleway. The phantom of the opera.”

Both the captain as Twilight looked at Pleasant Dreams who had let out a completely out of character squee.

Dreams looked at the other two and seemed to take on a whole new coat color on her muzzle. A nice deep pinkish tint.
Truth was, she had always wanted to see a play there. And now she was going to see one of the most famous ones ever!

The captain looked once more before drawing breath, rather loudly to get attention again.
“Well then, it seems you are excited enough. A crewmember will be collecting you shortly to bring you to the theater. Please enjoy yourselves and I will see you when you get back on the ship.”