//------------------------------// // Chapter 35 // Story: The Perilous Romance of Swans // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// As Celestia cuddled up closer to Gosling, she asked, “Are you comfortable?” She had laid him down on a day bed so he could rest after eating, and the temptation to join him was far too strong to resist. She pulled him closer and pressed her nose into his neck, inhaled, and drew in his scent. “I’m still sore, but this is nice,” Gosling replied. “Gosling…” When she said his name, she heard him let out a cough so she waited for a moment before continuing. “Gosling, darling, I said nothing at the breakfast table, but you are being a silly pony in regards to the healing issue.” “Am I?” Gosling asked. “I don’t see it that way. I see a way to gain public favour as the pony’s prince. Raven says everything can be an asset.” “But this is holding you back from, well, everything,” Celestia said in a low voice as she continued to neck with Gosling. It was frustrating, being as big as she was, Gosling felt like a foal beside her, and it was a bit difficult to be romantic when your brain kept reminding you that the pony you were cuddling was foal sized. “But it feels wrong to me,” Gosling said in a wet, wheezing voice. Frustrated, Celestia did the most equine thing that any pony could do in a moment of pique and frustration with the one she loved. She nipped him on the neck, and not a love nibble, but a quick bite to express displeasure. The equine species had a bite for everything and it was a major part of their unspoken language. Celestia’s bite, loosely translated, said, “You’re a dummy.” “Ow!” Gosling squirmed as he turned his head around to look at Celestia. Gosling’s ears registered the bite, swiveled around, and in their own unspoken way, replied, “Ow, my neck!” They were too shocked and surprised to say much else. Batting her eyelashes, Celestia gave Gosling a serene smile as he stared at her and ignored his ears, lest she have to bite them too. She let out a wicker, pushed her snoot against Gosling’s cheek, and rubbed. In the equine language, this snoot on cheek interaction could be translated as, “Dummy though you might be, I still love you.” “Perhaps we can compromise,” Celestia said as she looked into Gosling’s eyes. She saw him staring back, his eyes were curious and beautiful. She loved him, and longed to gaze into his very soul. “I’ll give you time to recover as much as you can, and then you will return to your duties. This means flying too, Gosling. And if you can somehow perform your duties in your condition, I will allow you to experience your misguided and foolish suffering—” “But if I can’t do my duties, if I crash into stuff and can’t walk right, I have to get healed?” Gosling blinked a few times and then his ears splayed out sideways. “That seems fair.” Celestia reveled in the warmth of Gosling’s body against her side and wished she could spend the entire day doing nothing but this. “I will allow you to have your foolish crusade of virtue and steadfastness.” “Foolish, eh?” Gosling’s voice was low and a bit raspy. “Yes, I fell in love with an idealistic fool. While he can be a little frustrating at times, I hope he doesn’t change too much.” Before Gosling could reply, Celestia kissed him, pressing her lips into his, and then kneading them against his as she caught him by surprise. She saw his eyes close and when they did, she closed her own, leaned into the kiss, and let herself go. And as suddenly as the kiss began, it ended. Celestia pulled away, smacked her lips, shook her head, which caused her ears to flop around, and stuck out her tongue. After recovering, she cried, “Blech! Cracked wheat!” “Eh, yeah, how do you think I feel after eating it? It smells like what I’d imagine wallpaper glue tasting.” That accent again… Celestia could feel herself heart-farting and she was almost certain that little pink hearts rose from her like bubbles and popped overhead. She felt like a swoony filly and she knew that if she was standing, her knees would wobble. Quite without meaning too, she let out a loud, abrasive, love-drunk giggle that almost sounded like a donkey braying. Wide eyed, mortified, Celestia sat beside Gosling, trying to figure out what had just gone wrong, and why she had just laughed like a jenny. She saw Gosling blinking, and his mouth opened. Before he had a chance to speak, Celestia cut him off. “Not one word, colt, not one word. I have no idea what just happened. Let us never speak of that again.” Still mortified, Celestia put on her best ‘serious face’ and gave Gosling a stern look. “Celestia…” “Yes?” “Cadance says I need to confront Skyfire—” Celestia sighed. “—and I can’t do it on my own. I’ve figured that out.” Her expression softening, she looked at Gosling and hoping to comfort him, she pressed her snoot against his in a gesture of trust. “Do you need me there with you? Would it make it easier on you?” “Yes, yes it would.” Celestia drew in a deep breath. “You can pardon her, but she isn’t free to go without consequences. Justice should be both just and clever. It is a difficult thing to do, to dispense justice. Consider this your first real test, Gosling. Take time and think everything over. What you do now will cement itself into the minds of the ponies of Equestria and will shape how they view you as a ruler.” “I have an idea already,” Gosling said to Celestia, his lips brushing up against hers as he spoke. “I’m worried that what I’m planning might be seen as mean spirited… I’m really scared actually… but I wouldn’t do to her what I wouldn’t do to myself.” Celestia’s lips, which lingered over Gosling’s, puckered up and pressed against his for a moment. After a moment, she pulled away and then said, “That is a good thing. Never dispense a punishment that you yourself would not endure. At least, that is a good guideline. Sometimes though, you must deal out the worst of punishments.” “It is my hope that she can become a better pony… maybe even a good mother. I want to lift her up, not destroy her. But to fix her, I fear she’ll have to be broken first.” Gosling closed his eyes and shook his head as his ears drooped. “If I give her an opportunity, I hope she will take it.” “Gosling, I have faith in you,” Celestia whispered, “otherwise, I wouldn’t be taking you as my consort.” As Celestia finished speaking, the door opened. She lifted her head, frustrated at the interruption, and saw Cadance enter. She was surprised to see Cadance, and also a bit miffed that Cadance hadn’t joined them for breakfast. “Just the ponies I was looking for.” Celestia felt magic and knew that Cadance was drinking deep of the love that was present. How much like Queen Chrysalis Cadance was, so similar, and yet so different. Cadance grew stronger and stronger in the presence of love of all kinds. Cadance strode forward, confident, proud looking, and a gentle smile graced her muzzle. She stopped beside the day bed and stood there, looking very much like a pony who was admiring some flowers, or perhaps a beautiful painting. “The two of you are adorable… look at you… intimacy is good. It bolsters the immune system, builds self esteem, establishes trust, and has even been shown to speed healing.” Cadance drew in a deep breath and let out a satisfied sigh. “What brings you here, Cadance?” Celestia asked. “Love is my business, and business is good,” Cadance replied as she began to giggle. She blinked, reached out her wing, and touched Gosling’s neck. “Are you feeling brave, Gosling?” “Not really, no.” Gosling’s reply was blunt and honest, he minced no words. “Well, don’t feel bad, Skyfire is scared too.” Cadance’s eyes narrowed. “In a few hours, the two of you are going to meet and have a little talk. It’s time to confront your past, Gosling. You won’t be alone, I’ll be with you every step of the way, just as I promised when we first started this journey together. Do you remember our first meeting?” Gosling nodded. “You had just joined the guard and you were still in prep camp. You were brave enough to take advantage of the counseling services offered by the guard. You risked being ridiculed and shamed by your fellow recruits to get some help.” Celestia’s ears stood up and her eyes narrowed as she listened. “One very heartbroken and damaged colt sought out some help, realising that he couldn’t face these issues on his own. This colt was brought to my attention after a bit of triage. The diagnosis was pretty grim. He had a bad case of the mopes.” It took all of Celestia’s willpower not to smile. “I found a very intelligent, very grown up, wonderful pony who had been hurt.” Cadance lowered her head down to Gosling’s eye level. “Even during our first meeting, I knew that this pony was pretty special. I knew that I had to help him, and I made him a promise.” Gosling nodded. “You promised me that if I took the journey to recovery, you’d be with me every step of the way.” “And have I kept this promise?” Cadance asked. Again, Gosling nodded. “You have.” “I’m really glad to hear you say that, Gosling, because there is another pony that needs to start a journey and she needs to know that I will be with her every step of the way once she starts down the road to recovery.” Cadance’s eyes darted over to Celestia. At that moment, Celestia knew that she was trapped. She both loved and detested Cadance. The pretty pink primadonna was just a little too good at her job and Celestia was realising more and more that Cadance had been plotting against her for quite some time. “You’ve been grooming Gosling to be with me from the very first meeting, haven’t you?” Celestia asked. “Well, not quite the first meeting—” “What?” Gosling asked. “I had gut feelings, hunches, the subtle tug of destiny, but I had a pretty good feeling about him,” Cadance admitted to her aunt. “It was you I was worried about, you stubborn old nag.” “Cadance!” “I’m confused!” Gosling’s cry was raspy and weak sounding. “Welcome to the royal family Gosling, where there is much plotting against one another,” Celestia said to Gosling as she attempted to stare down her niece. “Shining Armor helped you, didn’t he?” “Of course he did,” Cadance replied. “Oh, that’s just not fair,” Celestia moaned. “Tough titty said the kitty but the milk is alright.” Cadance’s eyes narrowed as she said the vulgar rhyme. “What?” Gosling blinked as he tried to figure out what was going on. “I practically raised Shining Armor! When he was little he used to stand guard over Twilight and I as I gave her lessons… I gave him cookies, and candy, and books about war… he was supposed to be loyal to me.” Celestia rolled her eyes in exasperation and then let out a frustrated unladylike grunt. “And I too, gave him cookies, and candy, and books about war… with pictures of me slipped between the pages. When we were older, the cookies were replaced with something that rhymes with cookie. Shining Armor willingly planted his flag in my camp. I made him mine. I bewitched him with my cotton candy backside.” Cadance flicked her tail from side to side and then laughed. Celestia’s mouth fell open as she realised the depths of Cadance’s betrayal. “I don’t understand what is going on,” Gosling said as his eyes darted from one mare to another. “I’m very lost and confused right now. Take pity on the sick pegasus.” “Gosling, darling, hush now and just accept that you are out of your league,” Cadance said in a sweet voice. “It’s all in good fun. This is how we keep one another on our hooves, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Someday soon, you’ll take part in the game.” “Duh… okay?” Gosling, still confused, fell silent and made a derp face. “Get some rest, Gosling. Maybe even get a little sleep if you can. You have a meeting with Skyfire today, if you think you can handle it.” Cadance leaned down her head, extended her neck, and kissed her aunt on the cheek. “I’m willing to try.” “Wonderful!” Cadance beamed. “Auntie, if I could speak to you in private, that would be great. Not right at the moment, but soon. Maybe you could stay with Gosling until he drifts off to sleep?” “Okay.” Celestia nodded her head in acceptance and eyeballed her niece. She wondered what Cadance was up to and what treachery awaited her. Already, she was plotting on the various ways that she could make Gosling loyal. Celestia was an old mare that had once been a fertility goddess, and she knew things. Exciting things. Things she would have to introduce Gosling to. Things that would make Gosling worship her and keep him loyal. Celestia was determined to take control of the board back from Cadance.