Chapter 56 (Night Dreams and Meetings Part 3)
Chapter 56
Luna sat at her desk, the clock on the wall reading five minutes to eleven. She was currently pouring over several reports as she waited for her eleven o’clock appointment to arrive.
Things are worse than We had thought, thought Luna bitterly to herself as she set another report aside with a look of disgust. How sister has managed to keep things functioning this long with this amount of mismanagement and rot happening in the background We will never know.
Setting the rest of the reports down on her desk with a frustrated groan, Luna leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes with her fetlocks. When she had accepted Blueblood’s proposal to begin making reforms, she hadn’t thought things were going to be this frustrating, yet here she was. Thankfully, the one good thing was that her sister was on board with Blueblood’s overall plan, even if she didn’t know the finer details yet.
We art grateful that Tia was so supportive of Our actions and plans this morning when We broke the news to her.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Luna recalled that morning’s meeting. After she had lowered the moon, and her sister had raised the sun, she quickly made her way to their private dining room and taken a seat to await her sister’s arrival. While she had waited, she had busied herself organizing the stacks of reports and papers that she’d commanded to be brought to her so that she could get a head start on disentangling the rats nest that was the royal guard.
Unfortunately, she was only able to acquire a small amount of reports and papers this early in the morning, and she was confident that she would need her sister’s help to acquire everything else before the day was done.
The fact that We art a princess is not enough for some of these ponies. She had thought bitterly as she’d set aside the most recent personnel report for Canterlot’s guard force. To them, We art an outsider, a pretend princess. All they have ever known is the warm rays of mine sister’s rule. They still shun the cool beams of Our moon and scoff at the comforting twinkle of Our stars. But We shall prove to them that We are just as capable as Our sister and that We can bear the weight of Our office with grace and aplomb that befits a princess.
The sudden opening of the dining room doors pulled Luna from her thoughts, and setting aside the latest report, she looked up to see her sister come trotting gracefully into the room.
“Good morning sister,” greeted Luna as she stood up to hug Celestia.
Celestia, seeing Luna, eagerly returned her hug with one of her own. Her warm smile lit up the room like the noonday sun.
“And good morning to you too Luna, how are you doing this morning?” she asked as she cast a side glance at the piles of reports and paperwork on the dining room table.
“We art fine, dear sister,” replied Luna as she returned to her seat. “Though unfortunately, We hath encountered a most vexing problem that will require both of our attentions this morning.”
Celestia’s smile dimmed. “A working breakfast Luna? Can’t it wait? I was hoping to simply spend some quality time with you and leave the drudgery of government outside for a bit.”
Luna sighed and shook her head. “We art sorry, dear sister, but this cannot wait. Art thou aware of the recent timber wolf attack near Ponyville?”
Celestia’s muzzle scrunched up in distaste as she gracefully seated herself at the head of the table nearest Luna. “I am, but from my understanding, it was taken care of with no fatalities and minimal injuries.”
Luna nodded and passed Celestia a report. “Indeed, however, additional information has come to light showing that this incident should hath been avoided. Hence why We hath turned this meal into a ‘working breakfast’ as thou put it.”
Quickly skimming the report in her magical grasp, Celestia’s shoulders slumped slightly and she let loose a disappointed sigh. “Why am I not surprised? Those two have been scheming for years, but it’s always been small things that were ultimately harmless or not worth the political headache to go after them. I never thought they would go this far and in this way.”
“We wish to remove them from their positions post haste, as well as dismiss them from the guard as quickly as possible. If possible, We would also prefer that these two be hauled before the courts and charged accordingly for their actions. This type of behavior is unacceptable, and doubly so as they have interfered with a direct royal command.”
Setting the report aside, Celestia shook her head. “If only it was that simple Luna. Commander Money Bags has an extensive network of wealthy contacts in Manehatten and across Equestria. Dismissing him in this manner, let alone charging him with a crime, will be difficult as many of his contacts are involved with other matters that are also equally important. Losing their support would be catastrophic for several ongoing projects across the country. On the other hoof, Commander Pish Posh has noble connections here in Canterlot. His wife is the sister of one of my senior cabinet ministers. Getting rid of them will cause me no amount of grief, and all of my political capital is tied up right now with various long-term projects.”
Luna nodded in understanding, after all, before her banishment, things had been much the same. Ponies looking out for only themselves or their closest allies and family, to the detriment of everypony else, a tale as old as time. However, she kept her thoughts to herself, and instead replied, “We understand sister, which is why We’ve brought this to thine attention. Thy nephew has convinced Us of a plan that he hath created, though he failed to provide much in the way of details on said plan, that should remedy some of these problems while reducing the political fallout for thee and Us.”
Celestia smiled and leaned in to playfully whisper. “You know Luna, he is just as much your nephew as he is mine. After all, Princess Platinum did adopt us into her family all those years ago as sisters, and Blueblood is a descendant of hers.”
“A distant one at best,” replied Luna, an unamused expression on her face at her sister's antics.
Giggling Celestia leaned back and waved a hoof. “Does it really matter? As I said, he’s family. He calls me auntie all the time, so I don’t see why he can’t do the same for you.”
“We believe he is uncomfortable with the idea, as he only referred to Us as princess when we met. We art not surprised, as We hath only recently returned, and judging by how he spoke and acted around Us last night. We believe that he doth not see Us as family yet. Thus We shall not push him if that is not his wish.”
Celestia’s smile vanished and she reached out to place a comforting hoof on Luna’s foreleg. “Have you asked him about it?”
Luna blinked. “What?”
Celestia sighed. “Perhaps he thought that you would be uncomfortable if he treated you as he does me in private. Maybe you should speak with him on this matter and find out for sure one way or the other. I don’t want to see you bottling your emotions and thoughts up again, we both know how that ended the last time.”
Luna’s ears fell flat against her scalp and she looked away, a hint of shame flashing across her face as she recalled her slow fall to the nightmare all those years ago. Sighing, she quietly replied, “We know sister, but old habits die hard, We suppose. Things are... delicate right now, and We do not wish to create tension where it would cause issues until things art better sorted.”
“Luna, you and I both know that will never happen. There will always be some kind of issue where additional tension will cause problems. I believe it is best to sit down with Blueblood and have an honest discussion with him regarding your feelings. Understanding where boundaries lay is very important in creating a healthy relationship with somepony, and avoiding problems later on. Besides, the longer you wait, the more awkward it will be when you do finally ask him.”
Luna cast an irritated look at her sister and asked with a huff, “And why doth thou care about this so much? We have thee, and that is good enough for now, there will be plenty of time later for other things.”
Instead of answering, Celestia stood up and walked around to stand next to Luna. Extending her wings, she wrapped her younger sister in a warm hug and replied softly, “We both know that isn’t true Luna. You and I both know that I can’t, and won’t, always be there for you and that sometimes you and I will not see eye to eye. You need other ponies to help you through difficult times when I can’t be there for you. Please, don’t isolate yourself again. I know it’s hard for you to open up to others, and I’m not asking that you try and make friends with everypony out there. All I’m asking is that you have somepony other than me in your corner for when times get difficult.”
Loosening the hug, Celestia pulled back slightly and looked into her sister's eyes, a single tear rolled down Luna’s cheek and Celestia felt a few welling up in the corners of her own eyes as well.
Her throat feeling as though it was clogged up, Luna choked back a sob and said, “Okay, We will, promise.”
Leaning back in and tightening her grip, Celestia quietly replied, “And that’s all I can ask for, thank you.”
“I love you, sister,” said Luna from within Celestia’s embrace, her words were slightly muffled from being trapped behind Celestia’s large wings, but the solar princess heard them all the same.
“And I love you too,” she replied, her heart nearly bursting with love for her recently returned sister.
Neither one knew how long they held that hug for, but they quickly broke it when the sound of the doors opening heralded the arrival of their morning breakfast.
Returning to her seat, Celestia discreetly wiped any sign of tears away and slipped her serene mask back on. Luna for her part simply hid her face behind some papers and pretended that nothing was amiss.
Once their food had been delivered, and the servants had left, Luna said, “So, returning to our original topic.”
Celestia sighed. “As I said, I won’t really be able to help you sister. My hooves are effectively tied in this matter.”
Passing her sister the book that Blueblood had brought her, Luna pointed to the passage with a fork, before digging into her morning omelet. “Read that section please, dear sister, We believe it will improve thy mood.”
Taking a sip from her teacup, Celestia quickly read through the passage. I remember this law, has it been that long since Luna and I created it? My, how time flies. Still, it would be best to make sure nopony has since amended or even outright rescinded this law and snuck it through under my muzzle over the years. Even if the law is wholly intact, I can imagine the blowback this will cause amongst the powers that be should we use it. Most likely it’ll end up in court, and the nobles and other powerful ponies will make a big stink about it. But, if Luna can push this through quickly, then it shouldn’t matter in the long run. Even if they force us to remove or amend the law, we’ll have already gotten what we want, and we can always sneak it back in a few decades from now when everypony is either dead or has forgotten about it. Hmmm...
Setting her teacup down, Celestia looked at her sister and nodded. “Assuming it is still on the books and has not been amended, I don’t see why this couldn’t work in your favor.”
“So thou hath no objections to this path?” queried Luna.
Celestia shook her head. “No, I don’t believe I do. You have my full blessing and full support, however limited it may be, to pursue this matter.”
Luna felt a smile blossom on her face. “And that was all We needed to hear. Thank you, Tia.”
Returning Luna’s smile with one of her own, Celestia replied, “You are welcome Lulu, now come, let us talk of something other than political intrigue and skullduggery.”
Giving a nod in agreement, Luna set aside her current batch of papers and she and Celestia let the conversation drift to other, more enjoyable topics until it was time for Celestia to go and hold morning court and for Luna to go and get some rest for the day.
A sudden and forceful knock pulled Luna out of her pleasant memories and opening her eyes, she glanced up at the clock to see that it was eleven o’clock on the dot. Schooling her expression, she called out, “Enter!” and waited as four stallions trotted in.
Unlike earlier this morning, all of them were dressed and groomed properly, though Ink Stick still looked haggard with dark bags under his eyes, and his mane messily combed over.
We art not surprised. Even though nothing hath been made official yet, We art sure he is still upset about the upcoming changes.
Keeping her thoughts to herself, Luna cleared her throat, catching the attention of everyone before her. Fixing each pony with a stern look, she said, “We thank thee all for coming.”
The four stallions bowed their heads in return, signaling their humility before their princess.
Lighting up her horn, Luna summoned four chairs and placed them behind each pony with a wave of her horn. Blueblood was the first to sit, followed quickly by the other three after they saw no ire directed the prince’s way.
Once everypony had been settled, Luna settled her attention on Blueblood and asked, “Hath thou anything to report?”
Blueblood shook his head. “Not really. A few rumors were flying around the castle today regarding our earlier morning meeting, but nothing that couldn’t be redirected elsewhere with a few words of misdirection.”
“So none of the other nobles or guardsponies suspect the coming changes?” she pressed.
Again, Blueblood shook his head. “Unlikely, the usual gossips and rumormongers have been quiet in regards to that particular topic according to my informants within those circles. However, I doubt that situation will last very long, given our second meeting tonight.”
Hardtack grunted and gave a nod of his head. “We passed a few night guards on the way here, and much like old mares, bored guards spread gossip and rumor around as fast as a wildfire tearing through a pine forest. I reckon we’ll start drawing attention within twenty-four to forty-eight hours at the earliest, possibly four to five days max.”
“I agree with the inspector general,” piped up Shining Armor, his purple-accented armor clanking as he shifted slightly in his seat. “While I’ve done what I can to teach my subordinates to keep their muzzles shut when on and off duty, guards will talk, and servants will spread it soon after.”
“Then we must act with haste,” replied Luna as she began passing out sheaves of paper from her desk. “Within these sheafs, are thine orders. Mine sister and I have come to a consensus, and she hath given her blessing to our efforts. As such, We hath been busy drafting these plans and orders. They are not complete, but will be a strong starting point in thine coming endeavors. Thine ranks and position changes have been made official, effective this moment. By tomorrow morning, everypony else shall be made aware of these changes as We have already sent out the corresponding orders and notices. Inspector General Hardtack,” she said, causing the stallion to look up from his orders, “We expect thee to vacate thy current office by this time tomorrow. Thou shalt find the location of thy new office within those orders, any questions?”
He shook his head before returning his attention back to his new orders, his eyes quickly scanning each page, and committing their contents to memory.
“Good,” replied Luna with a nod of her head before turning to look at both Ink Stain and Shining Armor, “As for you two, the same orders stand. Thou art to move to new offices effective immediately. Sub-Captain Armor, hath thou found a replacement for thine previous posting yet?”
Shining Armor lowered his head slightly and replied, “Not as of yet ma’am. I have a few officers in mind to take over my position, but I was waiting to speak with them after the changes went into effect.”
“Understandable, how many doth thou have?” she inquired.
“Half a dozen, though I doubt any of them will be very interested in taking my position. Being in charge of the night shift is often seen as a demotion and the hours suck... no offense,” he added hastily when he saw Luna frown.
Sighing, Luna shook her head and replied, “None taken, tis not surprising that most day ponies prefer to spend their time awake during the day, rather than at night. Very well, do thine best to fill the position, even if thou must order somepony to do it for the time being.”
Shining’s ears fell flat against his scalp and he replied, “I’d prefer not to have to do that. It tends to lead to resentment and poor performance, and night duty is very important as most of the castle is quiet, making it easy for somepony to sneak in and cause mischief.”
“Understandable, however, thy new duties will prevent thee from performing thy current ones, as such We expect thee to have this matter sorted by the end of the day tomorrow, one way, or another. Understood?”
“Perfectly, ma’am,” replied Shining Armor with a sharp salute as he sat up straighter in his chair.
Glad that he had gotten the message, Luna turned her attention to Ink Stick and said, “As for thee, We expect thee to follow our instructions outlined in thy orders to the letter. As We mentioned, these instructions are only the beginning, and any deviations will not be tolerated, understood?”
Licking his dry lips, Ink shakily nodded. In truth, he was relieved that Luna was keeping him on a tight leash. Thinking on his hooves was not his strong suit, and nopony would ever accuse him of having any amount of creativity either. The fact that he was essentially just to observe and report back anything out of the ordinary that came across his desk to Princess Luna was something he felt he could do. Additionally, any changes that needed to be made would come directly from her as well, so really, his job hadn’t changed much. He was still just moving paper from one tray to another and signing on the dotted line. The only difference was that his position and pay rate were higher now.
“Uh... Princess Luna... about my son?” he asked nervously.
She shook her head sadly. “As of this moment, We are unable to fully help him. The best We can do is to provide him with nightly counseling within his dreams as a way to ease his suffering, at least at night. However, regretfully thy son’s situation may worsen before it improves due to a need to mask Our movements from others. As of this moment, nopony else knows that our group knows of their treachery. However, if We were to release thy son now, they may grow suspicious and change their plans or worse. As such, the most We can do is prevent him from coming to permanent harm, however, other than that, We cannot do much else. We have explained this to him, and he understands. So take courage in that, your son is a strong pony, and he hath hope that things will turn out alright. Those two things wilt see him through till the end. In the meantime, if thou wilt do as We direct thee, then thy son shall be less likely to suffer for long, and this unpleasant affair shall end sooner, rather than later.”
Ink Stick’s head fell low, and tears welled up at the corners of his eyes. “I... understand, Your Highness,” he replied, a light sob breaking through at one point. Swallowing, he looked up, met her eyes, and continued, “You can count on me. No matter what the price is I... I’ll pay it if it means my son can be free and safe again.”
“We hope that thou shalt not have to pay a high price. However, the hour grows late, let us move onwards. Inspector general,” Hardtack looked up, “as much as We wish that We can throw thee at our nearest problem, We art certain that would be an unwise move. As such, thou art to direct thy attention to lesser matters first. Namely the smaller towns and lesser cities. Thou shalt go on an inspection tour and record thy findings, along with a list of recommendations for fixing any problems that thou mayest encounter.”
“Do you want me to start with Ponyville, Your Highness?” asked Hardtack as he lit up his horn and summoned a pencil and notepad.
Luna nodded. “Indeed, thanks to Lieutenant Palisade bringing to light the issues facing his command to Prince Blueblood following the timber wolf attack. Twould make sense if thou shalt go there first and inspect things. After which, We believe that thou shouldst start upon the peripheries of the kingdom and work thy way in. We expect regular reports from thee. In addition, thou art also ordered to build from the ground up a proper office of inspection, complete with ponies who are able and willing to execute the law when needed.”
Hardtack nodded as he scribbled down Luna’s instructions. “Understood ma’am. Though what is to be the limit of my authority when dealing with local issues?”
“Thou art second in rank only to Mine sister and I. Thou speakest with our voice and thy word is to be taken as ours. Anypony who goes against thee goes against us, and thou mayest relieve them of their command as needed to accomplish thy tasks, which thou shalt find laid out before thee in thy orders.”
“I have seen them, and I understand. What of any subordinates that I need?”
“They are able to exercise authority over those who are equal rank or lower, except in cases where gross dereliction of duty and outright treachery are evident, and report directly to thee or whomever thou choosest to place over them. To be frank, We trust thee to take care of the creation of this office, and unless thou overstep thy authority, We shalt be content to let thee set things up thy way. Any further questions?”
Hardtack shook his head. “Not at present, though if I think of one later, I’ll let you know.”
Lighting up her horn, Luna summoned a stack of blank parchment papers and passed them to him. “Take these, they are dragonfire scrolls, simply write on one what thou wishest to write, roll them up, and set them alight with any flame, they will be sent to Us directly. The same is true if We send thee anything in return.”
Accepting the parchment with a bow of his head, Hardtack carefully set them aside next to his chair.
With that out of the way, Luna turned to the final pony in the room. “Prince Blueblood,” she began, a serious look on her face, “We have saved thee for last. Thou art the one who hath brought this issue before Us, as well as provided the seed of this plan. As of this moment, We have little in the way of direction for thee beyond keeping an eye on various parties within and without the government. Mine sister hath told me that thou art quite the ‘little snoop’ as she calls thee, and that thou hath found things even her spymaster hath missed on occasion.”
Shooting the princess of the night a wide smile, Blueblood casually buffed a hoof against his chest and replied, “Yes well, it pays to be well-informed on various matters. How do you think I managed to improve my family’s fortune so quickly after taking over from my father? Information is power, and the more of it that I have, the more I can do. Simple as that.”
“Indeed,” replied Luna, an unamused expression on her face, “which is why We art tasking thee with providing Us with all of the information that thou collect going forward. As all of thee art aware, I have only recently returned from my thousand-year banishment, and as such, any supporters that I may have had at one point are long gone. Consigned to the dusty pages of history, and with them, any political pull that I may have had is also gone. Therefore, I am counting on all of thee to help me rebuild my political power so that I may bring forth the needed reforms.”
Turning her full attention to Blueblood she said, “Which is where you come in... dear nephew,” Blueblood felt his eyebrow’s rise slightly in surprise when he heard Luna call him nephew suddenly. However, he quickly schooled his expression to hide his surprise and put on a look of normalcy.
“In what way?” he asked.
“Thou hath many friends and acquaintances, correct?”
He nodded. “I do.”
“Then We would like to be introduced as soon as possible. Mine sister hath restored Our yearly stipend to Us. Additionally, she hath returned Our wealth to Us from before Our banishment, though she called it a ‘small loan’ at the time.”
“Why would she do that?” asked Shining Armor curiously.
“Because the other nobles would throw a hissyfit if Auntie just gave the money back to her sister,” snarked Blueblood with a roll of his eyes.
“Indeed,” nodded Luna, “even so, they still ‘threw a hissyfit’ as thou said, only it wasn’t as big as it might have been otherwise. The reality is that I simply owe my sister a weekly back massage and preening for the next few years as ‘payment’ for holding Our money and artifacts from before Our banishment. Tis no great trouble, as it gives Us time to bond with Our sister and as a way to say ‘thank you’ for not squandering it while We were gone.”
“But... why a back massage?”
Seeing Shining’s look of confusion, Luna giggled. “Yea, apparently, We give the most excellent massages according to her, the preening is just an extra goodie she tacked on, as mine sister doth not like to preen her wings.”
“Really?” asked Shining, a look of disbelief on his face at the thought that Princess Celestia would hate keeping herself looking presentable.
“Yea, sister was always being scolded by our mother for not properly preening her wings when we were foals. Honestly, it was a wonder that her wings are as nice looking as they are today considering how raggedy they looked back then,” explained Luna with the smirk of a sibling sharing embarrassing stories about their family with others. “In truth, ‘twere it not for her personal servants attending to her daily preening, We believe her wings would still be in poor shape to this day.”
Adopting a thoughtful look, Shining slowly nodded his head in understanding. “Yeah, Twily’s the same way, though in her case it’s her horn. She hates filing it, and says it makes her ‘brain feel itchy’, whatever that means. Mom was constantly on her case about doing it when we were foals too.”
Blueblood snorted in amusement. “I would think, given her meticulous nature, that she would be better at maintaining her appearance.”
Rolling his eyes and blowing a raspberry, Shining replied with a laugh, “Ha! My sister? Yeah sure, she’s meticulous alright, but I wouldn’t call her ‘neat’. If it wasn’t for Spike she’d be an absolute mess right now. There is a reason her mane and tail are styled the way they are, as it is the easiest for her to keep them brushed and trimmed and nothing more. Same way with her horn, she will only do the bare minimum necessary to keep it working at peak efficiency, and not an ounce more.”
“Really? Because I remember the last time I spoke with her, her horn looked quite nice, well polished, and even lacquered if I remember correctly,” remarked Blueblood curiously.
“She told me in one of her recent letters that Ponyville has a local spa service that several of her friends go to, and unlike everywhere else she’s gone, the owners have a special technique that doesn’t make her ‘brain itch’ when they work on her horn. Don’t ask me how, but she swears by them. I’m just glad she’s finally getting it properly taken care of these days. It used to be a nightmare getting her to take care of it properly, what with her constantly keeping her nose in a book all the time, I swear, if she could, she would marry her books,” replied Shining with an exasperated shake of his head.
Giving a small snort of amusement at Shining’s description of his little sister Luna replied, “Yes We have gathered that much from the few times We have visited thy sister’s dreams. However, We believe that this conversation has wandered, let us return to our original path, shall we?”
After a course of nods from all the stallions, Luna returned her attention back to Blueblood and said, “As thou said earlier with Us, We art without allies and friends at this moment. Moreover, Our funds, while adequate for Our personal wants and desires, will not last long should We dip into them heavily to provide patronage for those We seek to curry favor from. As such, We will place Our trust in thee in regards to building Our war chest once more in these coming months. We expect this campaign to be a long one, and not without issues. Mine sister hath been overworked and distracted for many years, through little fault of her own, and this hath allowed corrupting forces to sink their fangs into our great kingdom. You four are the beginnings of change within Equestria. Should thou remain faithful and stand by Our side, then thy rewards will be great and history will regard thee as saviors. However, thou shalt not be enough to stem this tide, We must find additional allies and friends, and thus, I turn to thee, Blueblood. Please bring to Us trustworthy ponies that We can count on to carry Our banner and fight for what is right in this coming campaign.”
Licking his lips slightly, Blueblood slowly nodded. “I will see what I can do, Your Highness. I can think of a few ponies already who would be interested in hearing what you have to offer them.”
“Excellent,” replied Luna, a pleased look on her face, “then unless there is more to discuss, We bid thee all a goodnight and pleasant dreams.”
Hardtack, Ink Stick, and Shining Armor all stood up, bowed their heads, and swiftly departed, though not before casting a curious glance towards Blueblood who had yet to stand up from his chair.
As soon as the door closed behind the last one, Blueblood waited for several seconds before turning to Luna and arching an eyebrow casually asked, “So, what made you feel the need to call me ‘nephew’ back there, Your Highness?”
Surprisingly, Luna fidgeted nervously in her seat, an expression of discomfort marring her previously neutral look. After a few tense moments, she replied, “While W- I was speaking with my sister this morning, the topic of thy lineage in relation to us came up. Thou referrth to mine sister as ‘auntie’ and to U-me as princess.”
Blueblood nodded slowly. “Yes, I thought you might be put off if I were to refer to you in a familial fashion the first time we met. So I just used your title to play it safe,” he paused and cocked his head slightly to one side. “Would you prefer that I also call you ‘auntie’ as well?”
Luna fidgeted some more, unsure if she really wanted Blueblood to acknowledge her as his ‘aunt’. However, a small part of her soul yearned for the acknowledgment, and it yelled loudly its desires to the heavens. Swallowing her nervousness, Luna fixed Blueblood with an unreadable look and slowly nodded. “We... I mean, I would like that, I think. It shall be an adjustment for sure, as you and I are not related by blood, but only by paper.”
Blueblood smiled and gave a nonchalant shrug. “In the end, what does it matter if we are related by blood or not? I have met many ponies that were related to each other and they couldn’t stand to be around one another for even a second. Conversely, I have met ponies that were not related who acted as though they were the closest of family and would do anything for their fellow pony. So in the end, I suppose it all comes down to how you see our relationship. I’m fully willing to embrace you as family if you are as well... Aunt Luna.”
Luna felt her heart warm a touch at Blueblood’s words and she bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out how to respond. After a few moments, however, she opened her forehooves wide and waited.
Seeing her invitation, Blueblood rose from his seat, stepped into his aunt’s forehooves, and gently embraced her, like one would a long lost relative that they had recently found, which in this case was most applicable considering the circumstances.
To Luna, the hug, which was slightly awkward at first, quickly turned warm, and she felt some of the cold loneliness that had clung to her since her return, leave her soul, and in its place, the warm fire of friendship and love sparked to life. A single tear fell from the corner of her eye as she and Blueblood shared this close moment together. However, after a few moments, she broke the hug, subtly wiping the tear from her features and after ruffling her wings, she said, “Thank you... Nephew, that felt... nice. It has been a long time since We hath felt like this.”
Stepping back, Blueblood inclined his head and replied, “Happy to help,” he paused and glanced at the clock on the wall, and seeing that the hour was getting late, he turned back to Luna and asked, “It’s getting late, and as much as I would like to continue this conversation, I am afraid that duty calls. I have several ponies to speak with before I retire to bed this evening. Was there anything else that needed to be discussed before I left?”
Luna shook her head slowly. “Nay, We hath given thee all that thou needest right now, and We would not wish to keep thee any later than We need to.”
Giving her a respectful bow, Blueblood replied, “Very well then, until next time Auntie.”
“Safe travels, and pleasant dreams, nephew,” said Luna as Blueblood turned to leave.
Reaching the door, he looked back over his withers and gave a nod in return before quietly slipping outside, and gently shutting the door behind him with a soft click, leaving Luna alone with her thoughts once more.
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No need to apologize, Timothy. You're pumping out these chapters considerably faster than I expect of a story with this level of depth.
So, through a proactive administrative stance, competent delegation, and a bit of tentative warmth, Luna is seeking to establish herself as a leader among Her little ponies and turn her stipend into a salary. And she has a good first hoof going forward: Hardtack seems to have taken to his new tasks with dedication from his willingness to take notes, Ink Stick is weak but I doubt he'll screw up his assignments willingly and should complete his predicted tasks well if he's properly supervised until he can be replaced, Shining Armor clearly cares about his duties and has a coherent vision of due process, and Blueblood is, well, Blueblood – resourceful, astute and undaunted by the prospect of putting in elbow grease to get results he wants or needs.
Oh i like this and the plans are sure going to shake the trees so we all can see the dead would fall out.
The plot is moving!
Another great chapter.^^ Always great to see more of this.^^
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Yeah, Celestia need to cut back on all the cake. That jiggle is distracting.
Is Blueblood going to start circulating the rumor that the real meetings occur in the dream realm, and any physical meetings are just distractions, where its actually such an event is possible but only when physical information doesnt haev to change hoofs on an immediate deletion action?
How is HardTacks Party Preperations going?
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You want to slap it don't you?
11824721
Darn right!