A/N: Special thanks to InsanityStreak, the other sans, and Greycait for your thoughts on the last chapter. I am sorry I have been MIA on this story for awhile, and I hope to rectify that in the coming weeks.
So, in the meantime, have this small bit of content! I hope you all enjoy, and I hope to hear from you in the comments below!
Seated on the bed he and Luna shared in Equestria, Loki found himself feeling...off as he read a book he intended to later teach to his apprentice. He took a look up from his book and tried to ponder why he felt the odd feeling. Had he forgotten something? If it was something important, he was not aware, and so he turned to the woman sitting beside him.
"Luna?"
Luna stopped playing with the toddler in her arms to look to her husband. Fenrir struggled briefly until Luna began to feed him while responding to Loki's inquiry.
"Yes Loki?"
Loki put his book down so he could run a hand across his son's head, "Today feels off. Is there supposed to be something happening today?"
Luna paused to think about what he was asking. She had felt that something was a bit off as well, but had not been able to pin it down yet. Loki not knowing made her at least feel better since she wasn't alone, "I don't know..."
Laughter in the hallway signaled the approach of two children before they ran past the door, Trixie in the lead as her best friend ran after her. Luna pursed her lips as she thought about the last time she saw one of them chasing the other. The fact that Trixie was wearing Kael's robes and he was left shirtless as he chased her added even more to it, but Luna had come to accept that these two were far too similar to their predecessors. The fact that they were happy, that they could laugh and play around instead of suffer under the weight of the world's burdens, made both Luna and Loki happy.
"That seems familiar," Luna sighed as she watched the display. The two children doubled back and briefly ran inside the adult's room, running around in circles momentarily before running back out, with Luna noticing something else as they left: Kael had some personally crafted, heart shaped card sticking out of his pants.
Luna would have questioned if he was preparing to give or if he had received that card, and what it meant, when a loud noise down the hallway drew her attention.
It was a utterance of sorts...not one of pain...not exactly any one thing, in fact, but Luna could almost recognize who it came from.
Luna blinked as she tried to wrap her mind around the absurdity of what she just heard, "Was that Hela?"
The noise, a seducing moan, returned and Luna's eyes flew open. As Luna placed Fenrir down on the bed as quickly as she could while retaining a gentle touch, Loki flipped to the next page in his book and spoke in a dry tone, "Let it be known for the record that she is not, in fact, mute."
Luna was halfway out the door by the time Loki called after her.
"Luna, don't castrate the poor boy. Hela is the aggressor I believe."
"Hela!"
Loki would regret if the child of his friend Illidan was to die that day, but between Sleep Near and Hela's powers he wasn't all too worried. Luna could take out the frustration of a thousand mothers on him and the Elf would still be alive...just a bit bruised.
Hela's romantic proclivities made Loki think about another romantic pairing he had been waiting to hear progress about for awhile.
"I wonder how things are going for Sleep Near?"
The day was Hearts and Hooves day. That's what was off...which would help explain why Sleep Near was so nervous earlier.
The prince in question stood hesitantly in front of a house situated in Ponyville atop a cloud, pondering if he could actually go through with this for what must have been a half hour before the front door opened without any aid from him.
In the doorway stood a stallion with a coat of fur lighter than even Frost Bolt's. Sleep Near smiled nervously as he was sized up by one of the house's residents, a small voice escaping from his lips as he felt himself looked over like a lab specimen.
"Hi..."
The stallion gave a small laugh, hushing himself from making too much noise as he turned away from Sleep Near to instead look inside the house.
"Frost, someone is here for you!" he called out, at which point he went back to whatever he had been doing inside the house, likely cooking if Sleep Near's nose whiffing the smell of pie was any indicator.
"Okay dad!"
Sleep Near froze as he realized what was about to happen. He hadn't even been sure he was going to go through with this, but having been noticed as he stood there contemplating it meant he no longer had an option. He was discovered, and now he had to pay the price for his carelessness.
Frost Bolt flew into the hallway leading to the door and the then plopped herself down on front steps right in front of where Sleep Near stood. It was a distance most would consider too close, but their familiarity and years together made it less of an issue even if Sleep Near was head over heels in love with his best friend.
"Oh, hey Sleep Near-"
Before Frost Bolt could finish her greeting the door behind her was pushed shut by someone waiting for the moment she stepped outside.
Twirling around, Frost Bolt began to pound on the door, her face flushing red at what she knew was happening, "Daaaad! Open the door! Dad!"
Realizing that it was locked and she was not getting back inside anytime soon, Frost turned back to look at Sleep Near and sighed heavily. Her father was forcing her hand...no opportunity to retreat except to literally run away now, and she was too prideful for that.
"Oh come on..." she muttered to herself as she finished turning to face her friend. She could see that he was extremely nervous, and she knew exactly why, even if he was about to try and pretend otherwise.
"Soooo...want to hang out?" Sleep Near asked, attempting to play off the whole situation. Any other day of the year and she might let him duck out of what he came to do since he wasn't seemingly ready, but today...no, not today. She had her mother's pride, and that meant she wouldn't let someone mess around with her.
"You know what today is, right?" Frost forced a smile as she baited him to admit his reasoning for coming over.
Sleep Near averted his eyes and began to speak some truth as for why he was there, though not actually answering her, "I really don't want to be around Hela today, and Trixie is busy playing hard to get, so..."
His words stopped when Frost flapped her wings to rise to his level and then look him daringly in the eyes, a smirk on her face. She had been waiting way too long for this and he wasn't going to weasel out now.
"You're asking me on a date, aren't you."
The blush on his face and lack of words told her everything she needed to have her heart melt. She lowered herself to the front steps beneath her, then spoke in a gentler voice.
"Come on...say it," after a moment, she added, "Please..."
The warm fluttering feeling she had felt like it was about to drip away, leaving behind only pain in its wake, as Sleep Near continued to look away and not talk. He was reluctant to admit his feelings, he had always been reluctant, and to actually go and risk a lifelong friendship over his feelings was a tall order for him. If he didn't though, Sleep Near felt like he would also risk losing her, so with a brief bite of the lip he finally mustered the strength to admit his feelings.
"I know you're my best friend...and I know you're a regular pony while I'm immortal...but...I..." he brought a pair of hands out to touch the mare before him, who nearly jumped back at the hug she found herself being pulled into, "Will you go out with me?"
Fighting the urge to jump away, Frost instead moved forward so she could wrap herself into his chest, her wings clinging to his body as she clung onto his chest, "It's about time, idiot."
Sleep Near's extra arms unfurled to his sides both in his confusion and to allow her to go against his body. The fact that she was seemingly...okay...with this made him unsure of what to do next. So obsessed with the horrible possibilities of what might happen if he actually asked her, he had not considered what he might do if she accepted, "W-what?"
Frost looked up at him and prepared to say something when a loud voice inside the house cut her off, possessing a very similar voice to the one that had been about to speak.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, FINALLY!"
Frost blushed as she heard her mother continue to gasp over the conversation she had no doubt been listening in on. Rainbow Dash was happy for her daughter, and she was not restraining herself whatsoever despite years of military discipline.
"Moooooooooom!" the mare complained as her mother continued to gush.
"I win, Soarin! You said they'd take until they were older than twenty! It looks like we ARE going to be grandparents!"
Sleep Near blushed as Rainbow continued to celebrate in her tactless manner, and to save both him and his "date" further embarrassment he nodded away from the cloud hovering by Ponyville.
"Want to go?"
Frost nodded slowly before lowering her head and sighing, "Yeah, let's go. I'm not sure I can deal with them right now."
They made their way to the edge of the giant cloud when Frost stopped and looked over to the Prince who had come to see her. They had come a long way from the time she beat up his bullies...and the thought about what they had just agreed to made her blush. She had wanted this for years, but her own obsession with living up to her mother's image as the best flyer in Equestrian history as well as unwillingness to be the first one to make a move had kept her from ever doing anything about it.
He had made the promise that she would be his princess years back...she hadn't felt like she should be the one to make that happen. That was his promise to fulfill, and now he was making good on it.
"Hey Sleep Near?"
The Prince paused as well, looking down to his best friend and one day lover with some confusion. Was something wrong?
Fortunately it was nothing of the sort, and she lent her head on his side affectionately, "Thanks..." she fought the urge to show how touched she was that he was finally admitting his feelings, not wanting to appear weak and cry like some regular mare, "I was close to giving up, you know? That you'd ever..."
Sleep Near could see the tears welling up at the edges of her eyes, and before she could give in to them he brought her in for another close embrace. The two stood there, together, as Frost slowly managed to regain her composure.
After standing for some time in silence, Sleep Near moved back slightly so he could look at her. Seeing him smiling down at her made Frost blush more than she had already been, so she became the one to avert her gaze as she next asked, "So, you have anyplace in mind?"
A flash of black and green light preceded Hela appearing right beside them, looking around in some worry, fixing her dress so that it was fully on, and then transform and take flight away from the scene.
"Hela?" Sleep Near questioned as his sister flew away without acknowledging him.
Hearing her name, Hela twisted around mid-flight and waved to her twin, "Happy Valenhooves day."
"Hela, where are you-"
A similar flash of light, this one dark blue, preceded Luna appearing with fangs bared.
"Hela, get back here this instant!"
Luna's would-be rampage was cut short by noticing her oldest son standing with his now-girlfriend. She did not know this though, so the two of them standing in a way which couples ought to confused her enough to distract her from the fleeing Hela.
"Oh. Sleep Near. Frost Bolt. How are you doing?"
"We're going on a date..." Sleep Near mumbled, not really sure how to explain things to his mother other than telling it to her straightforward.
Luna threw her head back and groaned, "Damnit, Loki wins! I thought it'd take you two another decade..."
Frost's jaw dropped as she listened to her Princess/Queen exclaim something about her personal life, "Oh come on, was everyone betting on us?"
Luna stopped her complaining to tilt her head in confusion, "You didn't know? I mean there is the general betting pool, the wager I had with Loki, your parents and their agreement..."
Her explanation was cut short by the sight of Hela flying away rapidly. Her quarry escaping, Luna looked back and forth between her and Sleep Near.
"Damn..." she narrowed her eyes at her son before giving him a supportive smile, "Sleep Near, feel free to stay out tonight, just don't get into any trouble. And whatever you do, stay away from the residence hall."
Luna flew away without further explanation, leaving her traumatized son behind. He had a good idea what his father had just won, and he was going to need brain bleach to survive that inference.
Also having realized it, Frost Bolt rubbed Sleep Near's back softly, not really knowing what to say, "I'm so sorry."
"I'll be okay. I just need a moment..."
She smirked at him, having a good idea of how to distract him, "Let's go calm down wherever you were going to take me, okay?" she paused before adding, "And...you know...I'm glad you're finally keeping your promise."
"I love you."
"I love you too...sap."
That's one family that will never have a normal holiday.... Or anyday....
There was too much in this chapter XD Lil'Trixie and Lil'Kael continuing to get along (and the shirt XD), Luna and Loki loosing track of the day...But I notice you didn't describe Fenrir... that's evil. But Luna is just winning most of the name battles, isn't she?
But wow... everyone was betting on Sleep and Frost's love life, weren't they? Rainbow has NO TACT AT ALL. But considering her hair.... Bold and In Your Face is literally her calling card. Though I suppose she had been keeping it subtle for all those years...
Ahh yes, the ever pleasant royal shenanigans and their ever eager behaviours. Loki is a betting man Luna, you should have thought about making the bet more carefully before doing it. Though judging from Sleep Near's description, not much of a loss in their regard.
I also just realised that Soarin technically cheated on his bet (and Luna's) by purposely locking his daughter out to dry. Sort of. But then again, he did bet against it... Meh, que sera sera.
Haha this made my day. Sleep and Frost interaction reminded me of the early points of my time with my wife, difference being the family reactions (I much prefer Dash and Lunas reactions).
Loki being the chill parent with Hela waz surprising I thought he'd be more likely to go mental than Luna (considering how she came on to Loki originally) but this was funnier so I approve.
6948694 Ehhh, Loki was having a pretty normal day since he didn't know what day it was along with Luna and their youngest Unfortunately Hela ruined that for them, but I doubt it changed too much about what Loki was doing!
6948855 It pleases me that a mini-chapter with barely anything can still be seen as having a lot in it Trixie 2.0 and Kael 2.0 are best friends as one would expect, and Trixie continues to mirror the other Trixie by once again stealing his shirt, in addition to running away from him (something that happened twice). As for describing Fenrir, this was his first mention similar to how I gave Trixie 2.0 a small lead up prior to her actually appearing, so expect a bit more on Fenrir later.
As for Luna "winning" the name battles, I don't see how she can be winning when they are 2 to 2. Here they are oldest to youngest: Hela (Loki), Sleep Near (Luna, though Loki only wanted it to be Sleipnir so not too different), Trixie (Luna), and Fenrir (Loki). So if anything, Loki's winning by the slightest margin because he's not opposed to Sleep Near, it just isn't Asgardian sounding.
Everyone is betting on Sleep Near and Frost's love life because they were getting sick of just waiting for them Might as well make a game out of it. And don't blame Rainbow for having no tact, she's been waiting for this moment for almost a decade and a half and finally her daughter managed to get the guy she likes to ask her out. Even with Sleep Near going to do it himself, Frost still was the one to truly make the first move by actually making him say it. Just like how Rainbow Dash would in her shoes!
6949095 What more can we truly expect of this family after all? Luna has domesticated Loki in a way, or at least the story as a whole has. He can still have his fun though, such as betting on when his kids are going to get with their love interests Poor Sleep Near has to live with knowing what was bet though.
Soarin only intervened so far as he made his daughter not run away: he didn't actually make Sleep Near do anything. He opened an opportunity rather than forced anything, so I'd say he was well within his rights to do what he did. Besides, he just wants his daughter to be happy, and as Frost hinted at in the chapter she was close to giving up altogether so he did what a good dad ought to and tried to make her happy...even if he would lose a bet. Good Soarin.
6949229 Glad to have made your day! Also happy that Sleep and Frost's interaction has somehow resembled a real relationship. As someone without much experience in such realms of life I am left to simply guess, and when something is as off-the-top-of-my-head as this, it's even more difficult to make it "real"!
In Norse mythology Loki isn't exactly a prude, so I didn't make him one here: Luna, on the other hand, is very "old fashioned" since she was removed from society a thousand years ago. Loki was an exception to her overall morality concerning such things, and since she has to play the part of mother now she's not going to just sit by as her daughter acts more like her father (since Hela is basically Loki's trickster side, but mute) instead of her more proper mother. So in this way Loki is the chill parent and Luna is the overbearing one, though Loki's "chill" status would disappear the moment it came to his daughter being in any actual danger or harm...but her spending a romantic holiday with a close friend's son, in their own house? Lokicould care less.
6950904 I didn't even consider the Norse side of things, that does make more sense in that regards.
My relationships beginning may not classify as normal but it was memorable, but I think if two people end up together no matter the circumstance then it would be real to them. That's whats important.
6950939 Very well said.
Also, thanks for giving my other story a chance by the way.
6951045 No problem.
Will admit knowing little about the source material is making it harder to follow but there have been a few moments that made me chuckle. Hopefully by the time I catch up I'll know whats going on
6951162 Well, if at any point you don't get something, feel free to ask and I'll answer, and if it's something seriously unadressed in the story I will tend to it within the story itself Hope you'll enjoy the many chapters, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
6956708 You mean Luna, as Nightmare Moon, isn't happy go lucky? Perish the thought!
Luna isn't Luna. She's trapped as Nightmare Moon, but trying to still be like Luna, so she's supposed to be more petty and resentful. It's not OOC, it'd be OOC to NOT be. I thought showing her literally kill people a few chapters back would help show a certain level of darkness resulting from being Nightmare Moon, but its being irritated with Twilight that makes you think she's going too far?
Notice the character tags DO have Nightmare Moon in them. Just because she's called Luna out of politeness doesn't mean Luna is the Luna from the first few chapters.
While Trix and Keal still hurts, this chapter, this chapter was glorious.