*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!*
“That’s the bell, class dismissed,” the economics teacher said as the other students and I got up and crowded the doorway. “And don’t forget to study for Friday’s test!”
Everyone simply ignored him as we left the classroom to head home for the day. Kadeem and I walked to our lockers as we made idle chitchat.
“So, Devin,” said Kadeem, “How’s it feel to be a prince?”
“Honestly, it feels weird,” I answered. “The guards now bow to me whenever I pass by, and other ponies get really antsy around me.”
“I’m not surprised. That’s how the Equestrian royals are usually treated. At least in Canterlot, anyway.”
I thought about it for a moment. It had been two days since the coronation, and I reflected on everything that had happened since then. “Well, I guess it’s not so bad when I think about it. I was worried that royalty around here would be treated similarly to how royalty is treated in the human world.”
With all the stuff we needed packed into our bags, Kadeem and I headed out the school’s main entrance.
“So, how do you plan on spending your day off tomorrow?” he asked me.
“Wait… we have a day off?”
“You mean you don’t know? On the third Tuesday of every month, there’s a scheduled Teacher’s Conference Day. All the teachers come to school to do… teacher stuff, I’m assuming, and the students have the day off!”
“Days off are always good.”
“So, what do you plan on doing?”
I pondered on the idea for a moment. “I dunno. I’ll call you tonight and let you know if I have any plans.”
Just then, the royal carriage pulled up in front of the school.
“Well, that’s my ride. See you around, Kadeem.”
“Catchya later, Devin!” the zebra said as he gave me a fist bump.
I sat in the carriage as it drove to the castle, and I wondered what I would do to spend my day off. My mind then went back to the day of my coronation, when Celestia took me back to my room. Even though it was for a mere instant, there was a moment where I felt a small connection with Celestia. She had made an effort to try and help me adjust to the life of a royal, and she welcomed me into her family with open arms. The least I could do was return the favor, and this day off was the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Once I got back to the castle, I walked to my room and dumped my backpack on the floor. I then took off my jacket and left my room to head towards Dad and Celestia’s. On my way over, I wondered what to say.
“How am I even gonna ask her? Hmm… Hey, Celestia! Do you want to spend the day together tomorrow? …Nah, that sounds too eager. She’ll think that I’m being insincere. Maybe I should just cross that bridge when I get to it.”
Before I knew it, I found myself in front of the door to Dad and Celestia’s room. I took a deep breath before I knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Dad said from inside.
I hesitated before answering. “It’s Devin.”
A pause…
“Coming!” Dad called, and the door opened not five seconds later. “Hey there, champ. How was school?”
“It was fine,” I answered, and I looked past Dad to see Celestia in the back of the room, trying not to look at me.
“So, is there something you want to talk about?” my father asked.
“Actually… I was hoping to talk to Celestia.”
I immediately noticed the princess’s reaction. Her eyes widened, and her head turned to me in surprise. She slowly turned around and walked towards me, apprehension in her walk, but hope in her eyes.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked me.
“Well, uh… I don’t have school tomorrow, but I was wondering if you had any free time on your hands so we could… spend the day together…”
I tried not to look at her, afraid of how she was going to respond, but I was pleasantly surprised when I heard her say:
“I’d love to, Devin!”
I smiled a little, and I looked up to see Celestia smiling back down at me, but then her smile wavered a little.
“But… unfortunately, I can’t.”
“Huh?”
“Celestia and I are leaving on our honeymoon to Neighagra Falls tomorrow, Devin,” Dad told me.
I raised an eyebrow. “And why wasn’t I told about this?”
“We talked about it when we had dinner after the wedding, remember?”
Honestly, I really wasn’t listening to anyone at that dinner. Everything just went in one ear and out the other.
“Not really,” I answered.
“Maybe we can do something when your father and I come back,” she said.
“How long are you guys gonna be gone?” I asked.
“We’ll be leaving in the morning at ten, and we’ll be back Sunday morning. Until then, you can spend some time with Luna!” she said, trying to make the situation a little better. “She’s been wanting to get to know you better.”
I raised my eyebrow again, questioning the validity of that statement. I remembered the morning of my coronation when Luna gave me that nasty look at the breakfast table, and since then, she hadn’t said a word to me.
I had this sinking feeling that the Princess of the Night wasn’t too fond of me.
“Okay then,” I said. “Have fun on your trip, you guys.”
“Thanks, Devin,” Celestia said, and I left their room, heading back to mine.
“This isn’t good,” I thought. “There’s a good chance that Luna doesn’t like me, and the fact that it’s gonna be just me and her for almost a week probably won’t be a good thing.” I sighed and tried to find something good about this situation. “Okay, maybe this could be a good thing. This could be my chance to get on good terms with Luna. If I try to get to know her a little better, maybe she’ll see that I’m not a bad person. Plus, there’s the possibility that she doesn’t dislike me, and that I was just worried about nothing.”
That night, I got called down to the dining hall for dinner. Since it was just me, Dad, Celestia, and Luna, we sat at a smaller table so we could all be closer together; Celestia sat to my left, Dad sat to my right, and Luna sat right across from me. I gulped nervously as we sat at the table.
“So, Luna, I hope you’ll be able to handle my royal responsibilities in my absence,” Celestia told her sister.
“Of course, sister,” she replied. “You needn’t worry about a thing.”
“Oh, really? Last time I left you in charge, you left a bunch of ponies standing on a life-sized chess board.”
“I was going to go back for them.”
“Anyway, this would be a good time for you and Devin to get to know each other,” said Dad. “I’m sure you two will really hit it off!”
I nervously smiled at the princess, and surprisingly, I got a smile back, but something about her smile felt… insincere.
“I look forward to it,” she said. Her voice sounded genuine enough, but I still had that sinking feeling that there was some hidden resentment towards me.
Maybe I was just being paranoid.
After dinner, I headed back to my room while Dad and Celestia went to their room to pack for their trip. As I sat in my bed with Misfit by my side, I wondered what I was going to do about Luna. While it would be a good idea to spend my day off with her, I wouldn’t want to practically throw myself at her. I might as well be shouting:
“HEY! BE MY FRIEND! DON’T HATE ME! HEY!”
I wouldn’t want to deal with that, would you?
I didn’t think so.
“Maybe I’ll just hang with Kadeem tomorrow and play this whole Luna thing by ear,” I said, and then I looked to my left. “What do you think, Misfit?”
The bear stared back at me silently.
“I thought so, too.”
The next morning, I took advantage of my day off by sleeping in. I had called Kadeem the night before and made arrangements to meet him at the movie theater at one in the afternoon. When I finally woke up, I looked at the clock and tried to read it, but it looked like a blurry mess. I reached out and grabbed the clock, pulling it closer to me, and when I got a better look at the time, my eyes widened in shock.
Ten-o-five.
“Shit!”
I practically threw the sheets off of me and got out of my bed as fast as I could. I went to the window to see if Dad and Celestia had left yet, and sure enough, their carriage-car had just pulled out from in front of the castle.
“Dammit!” I yelled, slamming my fist onto the windowsill. I was hoping to at least say goodbye before they left. I sighed, walked over to my nightstand, picked up my phone, and started dialing Dad’s number. I stood there with the phone to my ear as I waited for him to pick up.
“Hey there, champ!” he said as he answered. “Did you have a good sleep?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t get to say bye to you guys.”
“It’s okay, Devin. Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy your day off!”
“Sure. You enjoy your honeymoon, and tell Celestia I said hi.”
“Of course. See you Sunday, Devin!”
The phone clicked and the line went dead, and I smiled as I put the phone down, happy that my dad was having a good time. Just then, I felt a rumbling sensation in my stomach, so I headed to the bathroom so I could take a quick shower and head down to the dining hall for a nice, filling breakfast.
I never thought I’d say this, but I was hoping that Luna would be there.
After my shower, I decided to go with an all-black look and put on a black t-shirt with black jeans and black sneakers.
What? I like monochrome colors.
When I got to the dining hall, the breakfast foods were already set, and Luna was standing there, getting her food. I took a deep breath and walked up beside her.
“Morning, Luna,” I said with a smile as I took a plate and took my pick of the food on the table.
The princess looked down at me silently, and then she said. “You plan on going somewhere today?”
“Okay, she’s making conversation. That’s a good sign.”
“Well, I’m going out with a friend of mine from school. We’re going to see a movie.”
I didn’t expect the response I got.
“I expect you home by five.”
I flinched a little and looked up at Luna, only to see her glaring down at me. I opened my mouth to say something, but-
“Ah! I don’t want any excuses,” Luna interrupted. “The last thing I need is to hear that you’ve been going on a rampage in the streets. Royals must conduct themselves with dignity and class, which means they don’t go out at all hours of the night, understood?”
“I was just gonna say ‘okay’,” I said with a pathetic voice.
“And you can drop the polite act. I’ve already seen your true colors.”
Without another word, Luna walked past me, plate in hand, most likely returning to her room. I stood there watching her as she left, practically paralyzed by her severe demeanor.
“This… is gonna be a long week…” I thought.
After breakfast and a small bit of time killing, I brushed my teeth and called for the royal chauffeur to be at the main entrance to the castle when I got down. As I asked, he was waiting for me by the time I made it there.
“Where to, Prince Devin?” he asked.
I chuckled. I still needed to get used to that title. “Starlight Cinemas. I need to be there by one.”
“You got it, sir!”
I got into the carriage and it promptly left the castle, heading towards the movie theater, and I made it there five minutes before one.
“Thanks for the ride,” I told my chauffeur.
“Anytime, Prince!” he said. “What time do you plan on returning home?”
“Before five.”
“Okay, then. I’ll be here at four-fifty to pick you up.”
“Alright,” I said, but then I remembered how serious Luna sounded when she said she wanted me home by five. “On second thought, make it four-forty-five just in case.”
“No problem, sir!” the stallion said with his usual smile, and he drove off back to the castle.
I stretched my arms up and let out a yawn, and then I heard someone call me.
“Hey, Devin!” they said.
I turned around and looked at who was addressing me. “Hey, Kadeem. What’s up?”
“Nothing, but what’s up with you?” the zebra asked with a concerned face. “You look like you saw a demon.”
“Well, that’s one way to put it.”
“What do you mean? Problems at home?”
“Sort-of,” I told him as we walked into the theater lobby. “My dad and Celestia left for their honeymoon earlier this morning, and Luna’s looking after me while they’re gone. They won’t be back ‘till Sunday.”
Kadeem gave me a confused look. “How’s that bad, though? You get a break from the ‘rents and you can just chill out for a couple of days.”
“The problem is Luna.”
“What about her?”
“She fucking hates me, that’s what.”
“You sure about that?” Kadeem asked. “Maybe you’re just overreacting. My dad’s met Princess Luna before, and he said that while she seems a little intimidating at first, she’s actually really nice.”
I scoffed. “In that case, then the Luna I met this morning must’ve been some kind of imposter.”
“Alright then. If you’re so sure she hates you, do you have any idea why?”
I sighed and thought about it for a moment. “If I had to take a guess, she probably thinks that I don’t like Celestia, considering the fact that I spent months trying to avoid her up until now.” I sighed again. “I can’t believe it; right when I finally start warming up to Celestia as a stepmother, Luna starts to think otherwise.”
“Ain’t that a bitch,” said the zebra.
“Get this: she wants me home by five!” I told him, holding up my open palm for emphasis. “To be totally honest, I have no problem with that, but the way Luna said it to me just…. Ugh! I just don’t see what her problem is! I even tried being nice, and she just assumed that I was faking!”
“Look, man. Maybe you should just give her some time. It may just take a couple more days for her to get used to you being around.”
I sighed. “I guess so, but it’s kinda hard living with somepony that can’t stand you.”
Kadeem put his hand on my shoulder sympathetically. “Just hang in there, bro. So, since you’ve got to be home before five, we’ll hit a fast food joint after the movie, and you should still have time to get home.”
“Why aren’t we getting snacks here?”
“’Cause movie snacks are expensive as shit.”
“Point taken.”
“So, what movie do you wanna see?”
I shrugged. “I dunno. I think a good comedy would brighten my spirits, though.”
“Joyride 3 it is!” Kadeem exclaimed as he directed me to the ticket counter. It was then that he decided to make a joke. “You know what’s funny?”
“What?” I asked.
“Odds are that you’re dad’s gonna become the envy of every stallion in Equestria tonight.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t let Luna hear you say that,” I told him. “Besides, I think it’s safe to say that my dad has already become the envy of every stallion in Equestria by now.”
Kadeem and I had a good laugh as we bought our tickets. I hoped that this movie would be a fun distraction from my problems at home…
But distractions can only last for so long.
some time in the future, i see him going off on luna, and big argument happens
shit is said, luna's feelings are hurt. stuff like that.
but just a guess.
I'm glad that Devin is warming up to Celestia but the guy is unlucky enough to have Luna on his back. You really make me anxious trying to figure out how Devin will interact with his new family. Cant wait for the new chapter.
4107042
I dunno about Luna's feelings getting hurt there...
4107079
well he could bring up her past....
4107082
Perhaps.
Wooo I'm the first view! Can't wait for the next chapter! Keep up the great work
He should try and talk to Luna more, sometimes first impressions aren't always true. Or, I'm guessing some traditionalist pony group who hate the idea of humans being in the Equestrian Royal Family will attack him on his way back to the castle and injure him enough to put him in a coma for some time. This will cause Luna to feel bad and may cause them to grow closer. It would also cause him to become closer with Celestia.
Yes. Yes.YES. YES! YES!!!!!!!! I love it!!! MORE MORE MORE!
I'm half-expecting Luna to secretly like Devin, but won't say anything because of Celestia being with his dad.
i'm following this. it's cute. i just wish it'd update faster
You kind of had to laugh at the irony of the situation, Luna becomes Nightmare Moon because she was ignore and now she is ignoring someone that its trying to reach her.
“Where to, Prince Marcus?” he asked.
I assume you mean Prince Devin. Unless I'm reading My Overbearing Aunt. :P
4107760
And though Luna may not be part of the reason why, but it seems Devin is having his own dark side as he talks to his 'angry self' or something in his head from time to time... Strangely, I can see the 2 of them having some connection based on this similarity. Huh, strange.
4107983
Wow, now I start to had this picture where Nightmare Moon actually likes Devin in contract to Luna and ask if he would like the successor of the eternal night bringer, a Nightmare King if you prefer
4107996
Mmm... I can sort of see where you're going with this, but I doubt Devin would agree to something like that. It definitely wouldn't make Celestia happy, which wouldn't make her husband happy, something that Devin doesn't want from his dad no matter how much 'Angry Devin' in his head says otherwise.
4108015
yeah point taken Nightmare probably will just be like whisper into his ear that she is the only one that its on his side and try to make him angry or something, after all not even Luna knew exactly what was happening until it was too late.
But anyway, I see them bonding because they share that similarities, and I wonder if what she mean by 'true colors' mean she spy on his dreams
4108024
Well we've seen how Devin was acting towards Celestia in the first few chapters, and I'm sure Luna was calling him out on it based on those, considering how much she loves and respects her sister dearly. In new social situations, whether it be with peers or additions to families, first impression is pretty much everything, and though how Devin behaved towards Celestia was regretful, and makes an effort to making a connection with his new stepmom, Luna still has that idea of who Devin 'truly is' based on their first encounter. We haven't seen yet whether Luna was spying on Devin in his dreams, and we haven't seen any of Devin's dreams that relates to his situation that could more or less change Luna's perception of her new nephew. We'll just have to see what comes next that will give the 2 an encounter whether it will get better or worse.
4108045
Yeah and Luna already had a bad experience with Blueblood so she probably is seeing Devin as a second spoil brat awaiting for his moment to shine or something, by the way, where is he? I don't think they had show blueblood since the beginning of the story, I had imagine he object the coronation or made a big fit about it
4108059
I don't know, but something just came to me as you brought him up: If Blueblood does show up at some point, maybe we can see Luna and Devin on common ground in their dislike for the royal prick. They may not be in good connections right now, but remember this: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Considering Luna's nature of pulling pranks (basing this from the Nightmare Night episode), I'm sure she and Devin will come up with something that will get Blueblood steaming pissed.
4108059
Also just realized how Celestia was referring to Luna's chess thing earlier was actually based off of the MLP mini comics. I found that pretty clever.
4108081
Agree that was clever, I can't wait to see what Luna has to say when he return…hmmm maybe Blueblood could appear too
I hope we don't end up with Luna as the main antagonist for this. That would just leave me confused.
4107797
SHIT! This is the consequence of working on 2 stories at once!
4108383
Don't worry. Luna won't be an antagonist in this story. At this point, she's more of a foil to Devin than anything else.
I could never make her a villain. I can't do best princess like that.
4107584
The reason why this story doesn't update faster is because I'm working on another story alongside this one, alternating between stories chapter by chapter. If I was just working on this story, I'd be getting two to three chapters out a week, but such is the cost of working on two stories at once.
Kadeem is so awesome he really is the bro of bros
Maybe Luna will try to take away Misfit not realizing its importance to Devin. This could lead to an argument and through that maybe Luna could gain more of an understanding of Devin and his conflicted feelings towards Celestia.
:D that is all.
Great as always man keep it up
One thing I wanna say so far, on top of the fact that I found this to be a nice and productive chapter, is that I like this situation you've set up with Luna. This could go places in three reasonable directions as far as I can see and I'm not sure what plans you've made already but give these some thought. On the one hand, there's always the option that this whole 'misunderstanding' will eventually...well, just work out somehow and everyone gets to be best friends when Luna realizes the truth. Though personally, as far as I'm concerned that would be the least creative of the three options especially considering you have another story side by side with this one that nearly had a romantic relationship with Luna. There's also option B where this leads to a long-lasting little quarrel that leaves Devin and Luna on a sort of negative ground, not outright hate perhaps but getting in each other's hair. This one would be a less violent means of maintaining that slight suspense of, well, not perfection. Then as far as I can see, there's also the third option which would play a bit more into the sad/tragic theme and I personally found to be a bit more fun to imagine. The dispute doesn't get resolved and, instead, worsens as Luna's intensive treatment begins to completely wear Devin out. Especially considering he still has absolutely no positive reasons to enjoy his forced stay with Luna and Celestia's family, so it's definitely unfair that now he has to put up with Luna making these cruel misinterpretations of him. To be honest, while it's always mature of someone to do what Devin's been doing so far and try and ease tensions, there's been nothing really good for him in all this, and in fact there are quite a lot of negative consequences that could happen either directly or indirectly from his situation. Not to mention from the first chapter, he obviously has a decent amount of emotional weakness over the situation. Things could easily crack down on him. I know personally, as patient as I hold myself to be, if I imagine myself in this situation I would be livid with Luna and Celestia and even Calvin despite him being the father. Especially Celestia for not having any control or communications with her sister for this to happen. Luna could easily do something extreme and reckless and...well, to some degree you can only imagine the possibilities of just what kind of emotional impact could happen. Luna does something bad, negative emotions return, relapse of every current and past problem, emotional breakdown, any number of pieces of tragedy to work off of. If this story is supposed to be set more on the challenges of change and the sadness of adapting to new life unfairly, I think it's only fair that 'unfairness' be a theme. Ironically. I know it kinda sounds like the asshole path, as well, if he ends up distancing himself or holding grudges which would be likely but, at least I personally, think that the idea would be rather unique and could do for a story that doesn't always revolve around sunshine and happy endings.
This is to say...all that is just things I've come to think about that I thought might be useful input or even some form of critique. Over all your story is shaping up nicely and this might just be my favorite of yours so far, so forgive my adamant behavior. I only want to give input, not try and tell you what to do!
Loving this! Keep it going mate!
I think of Devin singing this quote from Portal when trying to bond with Celestia and Luna:
"But there's no such crying over every mistake,
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake."
4112795
I always get happy when I get long comments like this.
I decided to give your drama story a try Nee-J. But as I read it... well... just doesn't seem interesting to me not to mention... the main protagonist is such a big DOUCHE!
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvb87sj5nE1r2x0t8.jpg
4137602
Well, at least you gave the story a try. It's not for everyone.
Question, though, what makes you think of Devin as a douche?
4140038 Gonna PM you this. Don't want to rouse the flamer fans.
Just got caught up with this story and I have to say I'm liking the outcome so far. Luna has Devin at arm's length for the moment for sure. Ideally, if he made the first move and tried to talk it out with Luna he might have a better time chance of winning her over.
Things, however, don't always work out ideally.
All in all, great job so far. I'm looking forward to more chapters of this story.
4145240 I agree with you, but he still has the entire honeymoon period to try and reconcile with his new aunty. Though I'm curious on how they will interact with each other if/when they do get on good terms, as I think it would be easier to accept a new aunt as compared to someone trying to be your mother?
For some reason, I imagine him being in a world that is identical to Tumblr...
i dont know why but i imagine this
4113107 and then you shoot a portal to the moon and suck all the problems out.
Also If blue blood were to show up, all I can think of is this:
"Look, even if you think we're still enemies, we're enemies with a common interest"