//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: The Perilous Romance of Swans // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Standing in the middle of the room, Gosling looked at his mother’s new apartment. It was in the castle, but not in the castle. It was in the gatehouse, where several apartments were located for dignitaries, diplomats, and other high ranking VIPs. It was small, but well appointed, furnished, had a window that opened into the castle courtyard, and was downright opulent compared to their old apartment. He felt his mother brush up against his side and then felt tingles running down his spine as she stroked his jaw with her muzzle. In private, she was a different pony and he hoped that Princess Celestia would see this. When the world was looking, Sleet was a tough, no nonsense, take no prisoners sort of pegasus. In private, she was quiet, reserved, and loving. The fact that he was in love with a mare that wore a public mask did not escape him. As his mother lavished affection upon him, Gosling let out a contented wicker, glad to have his mother with him. He had missed her something awful. “My little colt has grown up—” “Ma…” “My little colt has grown up and he’s become a stallion. A good one. He’s made me very proud—” “Ma, please…” “Gossy…” “Ma, don’t call me that in front of the princess.” “Gossy, I never felt that having you was a mistake. I was given a challenge, I was. So I doubled down and I dared to dream with you. There are lots of single mothers and they just get by. But with you… I tried to give you a sense of culture. I made sure that you were exposed to all of the right things. Music, art, the theatre, I worked twice as hard as I needed to just so you could have a sense of refinement—” “Ma…” “It’s paid off, Gossy. All of the crying, all of the hard work, all of the worry, all those sleepless nights.” Sleet began to sniffle. “Every mother wants to know that her work pays off. Every mother wants to know that all those hours of labour was worth it—” Gosling rolled his eyes as his mother continued to nuzzle him. “Ma!” “Those little wings of yours. You stuck them out and the doctor didn’t think you’d ever come out into the world. You caused me so much trouble, Gossy—” “Ma… please, I don’t want to hear about being born again.” “Gossy, I never approved of your secondary school sweetheart…” “I know, Ma, I know. I heard about it every day.” “But I do approve of your new sweetheart.” Sleet’s voice cracked with emotion. “I’m glad you approve, Ma.” “Hear me out, my little ugly duckling.” Gosling waited. He also angled his head and nosed his mother’s muzzle with his own. Sleet took a deep breath. “You, you are going to be a good father. She is going to bring out the best in you. Because of her, you are going to be the very best little pegasus that you can be, I just know it.” When his mother paused, Gosling became aware that he could hear a mechanical clock ticking somewhere. He did not look to see where it was. He was too focused upon his mother. He was looking down at her, and she was looking up at him, and he could see his own reflection in her blue eyes. “A mother has a special duty, Gossy—” “Ma, your list of special duties grows by the day—” “Gossy, you hush your mouth and you listen to me!” “Yeah, Ma, sorry Ma.” Gosling rolled his eyes again and felt a soft kick against his front leg. He tried not to smile, knowing that would only earn him another kick and his mother would begin fussing. He would never hear the end of it now that she was here. “A mother has a special, sacred duty, Gossy,” Sleet said, trying again, “she has to train her colt how to treat little fillies and later how to treat mares in the way that she herself wants to be treated. It’s a tricky thing, Gosling. I tried to give you respect for females. A sense of values. I tried to make you see that females were something to be treasured, respected, loved, and cherished. I wanted to make sure that you would never become like your father. Or any of the other rotten males that you hear about. I never wanted you to be a hitter, or a love ‘em and leave ‘em type. I wanted you to be a stallion’s stallion. A gentlepony. And this is why I know you’ll do just fine as a husband and a father, Gossy.” “Thanks, Ma.” Gosling felt a tingle go through his spine and his wings as he gave his mother a kiss on her nose. “Now, my job is done,” Sleet said as she began to sniffle. “Ma?” Gosling extended a wing and wrapped it over his mother’s back. “My job is done and it is time for me to step aside so I don’t get in the way—” “Ma, what are you sayin’, Mama?” “My little colt has grown up.” Sleet shuddered and gave her son her bravest smile, but her lips quivered and her blue eyes shimmered with tears. “I’m gonna be right here by your side every step of the way, but you are no longer my little colt. You’re going to be her stallion. You’re going to be a father. You’re going to be a husband. And to be those things, you can’t be my colt anymore. I have to give you to her… and as for you and I… while you will always be my son, our relationship has to change—” “Mama?” “—and we have to deal with one another not as a mother and her little colt, but as a mother and her grown son. We have to deal with each other as adults now, Gossy… Gosling. I’m so proud of you.” As Sleet spoke, tears trickled down her cheeks and spilled down to the floor. “I’m going to have to speak to the maid, it’s dusty in here,” Gosling said as he blinked his eyes and sniffled. “Gosling?” “Yeah, Ma?” Gosling felt a tickle in his throat as he both listened to and watched his mother crying. “I don’t want to sound awful, but there is one thing I ask for in return for all of the work I’ve done,” Sleet said to her son. “For you, Ma, anything,” Gosling replied. “Gosling, I’d like a little grandfoal… it could be a little filly or a colt, I’m not picky, and I’m okay if it turns out like you, I don’t mind another little ugly duckling, and I want to see if I can do a better job the second time around. Because, let’s face it, while you’re almost perfect, there’s room left for improvement—” “Ma…” Gosling let out a snort, rolled his eyes, and shook his head, which caused his ears to flap around. “Are you ready for dinner? Are you nervous? How are you dealing with the pressure?” “I’m fine, Ma.” Gosling wrapped his wing a little tighter around his mother, gave her a squeeze, and pulled her closer. He gave her an affectionate skull bonk, then stepped away from her while smiling. “You need to get cleaned up and so do I. I’ll see you at dinner, Ma.” “Okay, Gossy,” Sleet replied. She blinked a few times, her blue eyes still moistened with tears, and gave her son a toothy smile. “I’m so proud of you… so, so proud.” There was no sign of his mother anywhere. Gosling allowed himself to be escorted through the dining room and he was seated beside Princess Celestia. The table was large and round. Raven was there, and he saw her smiling at him, so he smiled back. Luna was absent, no doubt asleep. The table was set to perfection. The napkins had been folded into swans. There was silverware out, actual silverware, made from silver, and it had all been polished to a mirror finish. There were water glasses, wine glasses, soup spoons, dessert spoons, dinner forks, salad forks, it was easy to be overwhelmed. As Gosling made himself comfortable, he ignored the table. It was too easy to get worked up by all of the complexity. A unicorn was escorted through the room, he looked cross, tense, and a bit out of sorts. He paused beside the table, bowed his head, and said, “Auntie,” as he looked at Celestia. “Nephew,” Celestia replied. The princess turned to face Gosling and made a gesture to the unicorn that had spoken to her. “Gosling, this is Prince Blueblood.” She turned and looked at the unicorn who was now sitting down. “Prince Blueblood, this is Gosling.” “Yes, I know, I have been briefed,” Blueblood said as he made a dismissive gesture with his hoof. “Private Gosling, communications specialist, valued member of the signal corps, intelligent, and hopeful officer material.” Blueblood adjusted his silverware, freeing them from some imagined imperfection in how they were set, and turned his gaze upon Gosling. “I don’t care that you are courting my aunt. I do care that you are potential officer material. Do you have a sense of duty, Private Gosling?” “Blueblood, dearest, no talking shop during dinner,” Celestia said to her nephew. Scowling, Blueblood let out a snort. “It is not yet dinner time, Auntie.” “Gosling, Blueblood is one of the unofficial heads of the signal corps. He takes his job with a seriousness that does him credit. He deals in… intelligence.” “I see,” Gosling replied as he looked at Celestia. “Any other unofficial heads that I should know about?” “Raven.” Celestia looked over at her assistant, glanced at Blueblood, and then returned her attention to Gosling. “She heads communications. Blueblood deals in intelligence and information. Gosling… darling, you are going to find that the signal corps is far more than it first appears to be.” “Espionage?” Gosling’s eyebrow raised. “Well of course,” Raven said in a far more relaxed voice than she had earlier. “The signal corps is like—” “The brain and the central nervous system of our fine Empire,” Blueblood said, interrupting Raven. “The eyes, ears, all six known senses.” “I see.” Gosling felt a faint prickle in his dock and he fought the urge to squirm in his seat. “So, uh, just who is the, uh, high commander? I mean, who is in charge of everything? The pony really in charge?” “You’re sitting next to her,” Celestia replied. “But don’t worry. She’s not wholly active anymore. Blueblood and Raven do a very good job of keeping everything running smoothly.” There was a long pause, a bit of a giggle, and then Celestia continued, “Though lately, I have been wondering if we need an unofficial liaison to the Crystal Empire—” “Yes we do!” both Raven and Blueblood said in unison. The pair looked at each other, Blueblood let out a little cough, and Raven began to clean her glasses. It was Blueblood who faced Celestia. “Things have changed, Auntie. With our annexation of the Crystal Empire, there are now two seats of power. We are spread thin. While Canterlot is mostly secure, the Crystal Empire is not. We need more resources. We have more and more agitators and dissidents with each passing day. There are those who feel the monarchy is outdated and out of touch. Plus, we have ponies like Starlight Glimmer who seek to undermine your authority—” “Starlight Glimmer was made to see reason and has since turned over a new leaf,” Celestia said to her nephew. “I do not trust her,” Blueblood retorted, his nostrils flaring and his ears perking to attention. “Her ‘equality’ movement still has followers… misguided miscreants and malcontents who wish to see your power and authority stripped away.” “More than that, there are those who feel that Starlight was brought under control through magical means, an obedience spell or magical compulsion. There are reports of those who wish to free her from her enforced compliance.” Raven slid her glasses back on and peered at Celestia. “She’s become something of a martyr for the cause. Far too many believe that she did not willingly face reformation, but was coerced.” “Oh bother,” Celestia said in a low, worried voice. “I take a week off, come back, and hear this.” A scowl appeared upon her muzzle. “This is why I am loathe to talk shop at dinner.” “Ahem,” an earth pony said as he poked his head through the door. “Sleet has arrived.” “Fantastic, I’m dying of hunger,” Blueblood replied. “Dinner will be served in just a few moments,” the earth pony said as he began escorting Sleet through the room. “Sorry I was late,” Sleet said in apologetic tones, “I needed a little extra time to compose myself…”