//------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven // Story: To Swoon the Stars // by LucidTech //------------------------------//         Luna felt the breeze across her shoulder, a waft of warm air making the hairs of her coat stand on end as it passed over them. She shivered at the sensation and exhaled her own breath of warmth in return. Hendrick nuzzled closer, resting his head next to her neck as she did the same. “The only thing that could make this better,” Hendrick said with a smile, “is if I were a little taller, so you didn’t have to stoop to hug me.”         Luna couldn’t stop the soft snicker from making its way out of her muzzle, and she didn’t see why she should. “Hendrick, don’t you dare change.” She whispered, her head resting next to his. It was wonderful like a candle of warmth in the depths of darkness. But just like that candle, Luna knew all too well it would need to end, if only to prevent the wick's suffocation in the wax. And so it was with a regretful sigh that she pulled her wings back from around her love. As she stood, Hendrick’s arms clung loosely to her escaping form until his gaze fell away from her. She knew he would have loved nothing more than to shirk the passing hours and stay together, same as her, but the unease of undone deeds would not leave her be. The simple knowledge that something must be done, after all, doesn’t always provide the strongest argument to do it. And even as they stood there, coping as it were, the still and empty air of the room seemed to mock their separation with only a memory shared between them as a reminder that it had happened at all. The warmth of touch had all but gone now. With a breathy sigh, they shared a glance, the final farewell to the moment.         Luna moved toward the doorway with no words coming to her mind in the somber mood. Hendrick’s steps echoed softly behind her, the strange moment striking him mute as well. It wasn’t until they entered into the grandiose hallway just beyond the threshold of the room that Luna turned to look at him, Hendrick mimicking the act after plodding a few short steps to match her pace. “The guards tell me Blue is opening up a bit and is ready for visitors, if you’re prepared to talk with him,” she began, gazing ahead with a hard expression. “He asked that both my sister and I restrict ourselves from visiting quite yet. I’ve a few other duties to attend to, and I’d rather not flood Blue with a judging presence quite yet anyway, so I suppose it works out for the best.” Luna levitated her jewelry, necklace and all, from the abandoned room behind her, adorning it as she talked. “As good as my intentions are, I can only imagine that my presence alone would put him to the grindstone.”         “That’s probably for the best,” Hendrick said with a nod, a pair of guards passing by on their way to the mess hall. Neither Luna nor Hendrick watched them as they passed, but the guards cast sideways glances at the pair of them, thinking they went unnoticed as they did so. It wasn’t until they were around the corner that both Luna and Hendrick heard gossip leaked in its usual way, in hushed and rushed whispers. Hendrick smiled as he turned his gaze from the corner and back to his fiance, a set of simple words on his lips. “New record.” “Yes, it would seem they’re getting used to the idea that their ‘Hermit Queen’ is, indeed, in love. And why, it only took them almost a full year, as well. Fantastic.” Though the words were sarcastic, the smile and wink from Luna that followed them was more than enough assurance for Hendrick that it was only meant in good fun. However, the conversation died there, the topic having grown old quickly when neither of them could expand on it. As the joviality faded into blissful beige, then wore away into stale emotion, the pair realized the time of parting was at last here. Hendrick smiled and leaned forward, planting a kiss on her the cheek that Luna had lowered for just such a gift, before walking away. Luna shook her head. “How long until you kiss me on the lips again, Hendrick? I don’t mind stooping a bit, I promise.” Hendrick’s lips seemed to tighten into a pair of tight bars and Luna thought for a moment that she saw a teary glimmer come over his eyes, but when an unconscious blink flickered her eyes, she wasn’t sure it had ever been there at all. Eventually, the lips broke free of their strange prison and Hendrick forced the smile to return. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but when no words came out, he closed it and stared at her for a moment instead. “Are you okay, Hendrick?” Tears alone weren’t common additions to Hendrick’s face, let alone for them to show up with so little prelude. “Do you need to rest a moment?” “No, I’ll be fine. Just a little… hard to explain is all. Kind of hard to think myself worthy of kissing you. I took it from you last time; I don’t want to do it again.” Luna smiled and leaned in to kiss him, but Hendrick pulled away. She looked at him with half lidded eyes. “You’ve got to do something about your self esteem issues, Hendrick. The voice in your head is lying to you. You’ve done plenty for me, and you’ll do plenty more, just by being here. With me.” A stymied laugh broke through Hendrick’s lips and he looked at her again. “I’ll do my best, Princess of the Night and Guider of the Moon. You can count on your part-time newspaper editor.” “Hendrick…” “I’ve got to get going…. Blue’s probably in some bad straight right now. Hope my company will do.” “Hendrick, you’re…. All the ponies in Canterlot know your name, know the good things you’ve done. To them you’re a—” “Don’t call me a hero.” Hendrick turned away. “Don’t call me ‘sir.’” His voice rose as he spoke, stomping the ground to emphasize his words. In contrast, the next words were barely a whisper. “And don’t say I’m a good man.” Hendrick stood there for a moment, his eyes lingering on the ground.  “I still remember what I did to earn me those titles before.” There was a sickly oppressive lack of sound for a moment, and when neither of them seemed willing to break it, Hendrick made to leave. “I’ll still see you for dinner, right?” “Yes, Hendrick, I promise.” “That’s good.” He seemed to drink in those words and a sort of relief passed over his tense body. “I am sorry, Luna, for what it’s worth.” “Sorry for what, Hendrick?” “Sorry that I tricked you into accepting my proposal. Now you’re stuck with me.” Luna shook her head at the words. Her eyes bore into the dejected stallion, his  own gaze on the ground as he took steps on his road to leave. She thought for a moment to let him be, threw it out immediately. With determination, she crouched, muscles tense in her legs, and lept forward, gliding over Hendrick and twisting to land with a thump in front of him. It was a long moment before he dared to raise his head, and she saw the gloom in his expression and tears clinging to his face. “Hendrick.” She looked into his eyes. He looked back, waiting. “There’s no one else I’d rather be stuck with.” She smiled and brought him into another hug. He was hesitant at first, but pulled the hug tighter after a moment, burying his face into her fur. She felt the tears on her shoulder, but she didn’t mind it, pressing her head against his lightly. “The voices are gone, but the echos are still there.” “I know, Hendrick.” Luna hugged him tighter, as much to comfort him as to comfort herself, fighting to subdue the memories rising unbidden to her mind. “I know. But you have to learn to ignore them, just like you learned to ignore all the voices who meant to hurt and shame you. It’ll tear you apart if you don’t.” Silence stretched on, but Luna didn’t mind. She was content enough to share this moment with him while she waited. “I’ll try.” Luna gave Hendrick one last squeeze before pulling back ever so slowly, not wanting to make Hendrick feel like she was abandoning him. “That’s all I ask, Hendrick. That’s all I’ve ever asked.” He stared at her for a minute, the tears subsiding. “I—” He struggled with the words, wanting to say something, but no matter how he shaped his mouth, it wouldn’t come out. He settled for a different phrase instead. “I love you, Luna.” “I love you, too, Hendrick.” She smiled at him. “Now, are you okay, or do you need another hug?” “I’m okay, Luna.” He smiled as he walked past her, his eyes not wanting to abandon hers quite yet, lingering for as long as he could until he turned the corner. “Thank you.” “Thank you, Hendrick,” Luna said with a smile, beginning her trip in the opposite direction. She was outside his range of hearing now, but for some reason, her mouth felt the need to continue. “Thank you for all you’ve done that you’ll never acknowledge. You're too humble and ignorant to know it: all the demons you’ve helped keep at bay without a clue. You’ll never know how much it means, but maybe one day, you’ll figure it out. I hope I can be there when you do.” Luna hadn’t realized her gaze had fallen until she finished talking. She became aware of a slack in her walk as well. Silently, she reprimanded herself. Such a relaxed pose was fine with Hendrick of course, but now that she was headed into the castle proper, she needed to look her part. Almost immediately, she straightened out, gaze forward, steady graceful steps, just like she had practiced for all those years. Lots of things had changed over the years: music, social cues, the news. But some things never change. Love, Honor, Heroism. Ponies were still ponies, no matter the time frame. And Hendrick was Hendrick, even on his off days. And for that, Luna was grateful.         One thing that Blue wasn’t grateful for was that he was still himself. And now he knew what that meant. He wasn’t sure why his memories had come back to him. There was supposed to be a seal in place. He remembered the Queen’s magic; he wondered why she’d broken it. Unless something else had. But there was not a soul in Canterlot who knew about, let alone anyone who could dispel it.         Maybe the Queen truly thought him dead, saw no reason to hold his memories anymore? Blue didn’t know, couldn’t know. The only one who could answer that was half a world away, and he wasn’t looking forward to seeing her anytime soon. Coming to no helpful conclusions, he looked to the pony who had spurred his thoughts to begin with: Celestia.         “I don’t know why I remember,” was all he said. She seemed to understand. She nodded and took a sip of her tea, proper and respectful through and through. Blue couldn’t help but wonder if she hid anything behind that demeanor, or if she’d worn the mask so long that she’d become it without realizing. It was a question he wasn’t sure would ever get an answer.         “I believe you, Blue,” she said easily, her words calm and breezy. Yet, despite the soothing tone, all it managed to do was make Blue that much more on edge. Blue didn’t know how to respond, so he waited for Celestia to make some move and continue the conversation, even though all he really wanted was for her to be gone.         She glanced at him, and Blue knew she saw the tension in his shoulders and panic in his eyes. He was angry at himself that he was as open as a book to her, but it was very hard not to be a little nervous as he looked into the eyes of a being who has all capability and motive to kill you where you stand.         “Do you want some tea?” she asked, levitating a second cup into the air halfway between them. Blue stared at the cup and back to her. He didn’t particularly care for tea, but he couldn’t decide if it would be worse to turn down the cup or to accept it and not drink any of it. He could feel Celestia watching him, knew she was seeing the dilemma he was in, but it took her a couple of minutes before she placed the cup back on the table, no answer from Blue either way.         “I don’t mean to frighten you, Blue. I only need to ask you a few questions.” Blue felt a small surge of anger at those words. He’d asked that the princesses not come for very good reasons, but now here she was, having fully ignored his request. And now she said she hadn’t meant to ‘frighten him’? As if there was any other way for him to feel? Defenseless and cornered and on the bad side of one of the strongest beings in Equestria? But Blue said none of this out loud. “What do you want to ask?” he said instead. He was walking a thin line as it was. The last thing he needed was to make accusatory statements. Celestia stirred her tea and watched the spoon, head bowed, as it traced the circumference of her cup. Blue thought that she might be trying to organize her thoughts, but he couldn’t know for sure. Maybe she just wanted to put him on edge. She took a sip, raising her head slightly to allow the liquid easy passage down her throat. As the cup rested softly on the table, Celestia dabbed a napkin at her lips, her eyes glazing over slightly. Eventually, as the napkin was folded and placed delicately on the table, Celestia made to speak. “Does the Queen want war?” she asked carefully, raising her gaze to look at Blue. Her eyes seemed… not scared. Determined, rather. Blue thought it was a fair question, but it still seemed completely absurd to him. Anyone who knew the Queen would tell you the exact same thing in response to that question, no matter how faithful or traitorous that being was. “The Queen always wants war,” Blue idly replied. “But you don’t actually mean that question. You wanted to know if she’s planning a war with Canterlot, or you again, didn’t you?” He tried to sound helpful, but knew he still sounded like a smart ass. It was the best he could on the spot, though. A single nod from Celestia allowed him to continue his thought. “Then no, not right now. She has to rebuild her army from her last defeat, and even then, she’ll go for some easier target, especially while you’re still on edge. You beat us with the element of surprise against you; she’s not too keen to try her luck without it. Celestia sipped her tea again. “Thank you for your honesty, Blue.” Blue decided not to comment on the fact that he was far too scared too lie. Despite having attempted suicide not a couple of days earlier, Blue knew that beings as old as Celestia knew of fates worse than death. He had never seen her angry, and he didn’t particularly want to test her patience. “Would the Queen dispatch spies so long before an official war? Should we be on the lookout for more changelings in our ranks?” She looked over the top of her tea cup as she took another sip, waiting for an answer. “Well…” Blue knew he sounded unsure. As much as he didn’t want to sound weak, he wasn’t able to get past it. The queen’s post-loss tactics were a bit strange in that it usually involved a lot of anger and blame throwing. “She might, I suppose, but if she did, the spy would probably have some mundane disguise, as a normal pony about town. She wouldn’t want the spy to get caught in case her opponents decided an all out war would be a good thing. She much prefers to fight on other’s turf.” “I see.” Blue couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the statement. There was something about it, just behind the words, that Blue couldn’t make out. Celestia flicked her gaze up and Blue decided not to question it. Not now. “One more question, if you’d answer it for me.” “I’ll do my best, Celestia.” “Why is it that the Queen punished you so severely? What did you do that made you a pariah to the changelings?” Blue froze at the question. It was the first one he knew the answer too, completely, and it was also the first one he didn’t really want to answer. There were implications from answering it truthfully that he wasn’t particularly fond of. But he knew that Celestia could easily have the intel to figure it out for herself. “After the battle… did you receive any reports of strange changeling actions?” “Are you, perhaps, talking about the event at the elementary school?” Celestia looked at him. He looked back. And in those locked glares there was an understanding, one that Blue hadn’t expected to see in Celestia’s eyes. Blue nodded. “I thought that might’ve been you.” A smile slowly touched Celestia’s lips and she stood from her seat with a nod to Blue. She magicked away the tea set and moved towards the door. “Thank you for your help, Blue. Both then and now.” “Happy to help, Celestia.” She nodded to him and left the room. Leaving Blue to wait for Hendrick in silence.