Chapter 61: What's In A Name?
Celestia had barely closed her eyes before she was confronted by an unwelcome sight.
“Oh, sleeping in, are we?”
She frowned at her doppelganger, currently occupying her work desk and looking thoughtfully at a notepad. The fact that she was back in Canterlot barely registered as an oddity, but seeing herself (or rather, Fiend) in her office immediately made her aware she was dreaming.
“Well, now that you’re here, what do you think of ‘Astra’?”
“Why are you here?” Celestia asked, plopping down on the opposite side of the desk in one of the many chairs she kept for visitors.
“It seemed a safe enough place to think for a time without bothering you.” Fiend replied, flipping the page to a fresh sheet. “I hadn’t counted on you actually resting,” she shook her head, crossing a name off. “You know, ‘Universalia’ rather rolls off the tongue, but I’m just certain it would end up being associated with the size of my rear...”
“There is nothing wrong with the size of your rear.” Celestia snapped irritably. “I should know, it’s a duplicate of mine, and it’s perfectly proportional to the rest of me.”
“Yes, yes, but you don’t have to hear it from your guilt complex constantly. She’s such a worrywort.” Fiend pursed her lips thoughtfully, tapping the quill to the paper. “No, Pinkie would dub me ‘Sally’, I can’t risk that.”
“Fiend—”
“Celestia,” Fiend said, looking up at her. “I understand why you have negative connotations associated with my existence, but can you please respect me, and by extension yourself, and stop using that name? I’d prefer you use literally no name at all.”
Celestia was a little nonplussed to be confronted with a sight she’d never seen outside of a mirror: the image of her own face regarding her with a disappointed frown. “How else am I meant to think of you?” she demanded irritably. “You’re constantly needling me and mocking me—”
“Not constantly, and only meant in jest, now that you’re acting sensibly,” the other mare said, cutting Celestia off. “I’m afraid you have only yourself to blame for the self-depreciating humor. I’m only voicing the thoughts you’ve had at the back of your mind for all of your very long life.”
Fiend blinked in surprise, putting a hooftip up to her lips in thought. “Hmmm, an age joke, and I didn’t even mean to do it. You really are very hard on yourself, you know,” she double-clucked her tongue in disappointment, then smiled brightly as a thought seemed to come to mind. “Although, the fact that you disagree with me is good! We both know you’re not really fat, and certainly no tyrant, and that most of what I say is nonsense. Except the age thing, no helping that, though it really matters little to us.”
Celestia opened and closed her mouth several times, finally just leaving it closed for a time.
“Oh, don’t pout. You can call me ‘Fiend’ if it really makes you feel better,” the other mare said as she sighed heavily. “I suppose I just grow tired of the idea of being your antagonist. I’d rather be more useful to you than just a source of opposition.”
“And how exactly could you be useful?” Celestia asked, her voice sounding tired even to herself.
Her double just looked at her with that same look of utter chagrin from before. It was no less disconcerting. “Well, as a source of inspiration, of course! I’m the little voice in your head that makes you linger on the finely sculpted flank of a mare or a stallion, the one that fills your dreams with sweet kisses and has you waking up having to change the sheets!”
Fiend got up from the desk, picking up the notepad and turning it back several pages. She flipped the book around in her magic, displaying what appeared to be... diagrams of things Celestia wasn’t comfortable looking at. “And I’m the one who was paying rapt attention during our student’s presentation. The one who would dearly love to take Pinkie up on her offers to show you just how Twilight wants to be kissed! I would love to experience all of that, and am dying to suggest just how it could happen!”
“Like you did the other night?” Celestia asked, and unbidden, the image of all of them on the bed together appeared to one side of her office. Celestia saw herself holding them close in her arms, Pinkie looking terribly excited, Twilight looked happy, but unsure of what to do.
“Yes! Exactly like that!” Fiend said, pointing at the scene and striding towards it. “You were doing so well, Celestia!” she swung around to confront Celestia, frowning. “Then you made it awful for poor Pinkie. She was so happy, exactly as you’d hoped she’d be, and of all the times to not be able to hide your reaction...”
The scene changed from one of happy frivolity to sudden awkwardness as Pinkie reached up to peck Celestia on the cheek, then whispered something into her ear.
“I wouldn’t have been able to if I’d tried.” Celestia replied. “She’s a natural pony reader.”
“But I don’t understand why you reacted that way to begin with!” Fiend said, gesturing emphatically at the scene before them both. “You started by kissing them both, for goodness sake, then they were kissing you, and then...”
“You know what happened.” Celestia said, looking away from the vision, not wishing to see it any longer.
“Of course I do. I just don’t understand why.”
“Don’t you? For all your claims of being me—”
“A part of you. That doesn’t mean I understand why you do the things you do. You can and do confuse me on a constant basis!” Fiend said, cutting Celestia off. “Pinkie is a wonderful, lovable, snuggable mare, so why couldn’t you accept what she said?”
Celestia turned back to the scene in the bedroom, once more hearing the words that had made her heart wrench in sudden conflict.
“Nopers! That one was for you! You’re so nice, Celly!”
Once more, she saw herself gaze down at the bubbly mare with troubled eyes, uncertain how to respond. Once more, she saw Pinkie’s wounded expression, quickly covered by a bright smile.
“This next one is for Twi-twi, though! Pucker up!”
“What happened, Celestia?” Fiend asked quietly. “I can’t imagine a more unfettered display of simple affection, and she asked nothing of you, other than some show of happiness. Why couldn’t you give her that?”
“I wanted to...” Celestia replied, forcing herself to watch the scene to its conclusion. “I wanted to so badly. But... she’s wrong about me. I am not a nice pony.”
“What? What could possibly make you think that?” Fiend demanded. “You’re nice to a fault! To your own detriment!”
“And yet... you exist.” Celestia said quietly. “My desires, my dreams, my selfish wishes embodied and given voice.”
Fiend was struck entirely speechless for a moment, just looking at Celestia as if she was uncertain if she was serious. Then she began laughing, and did not stop for some time.
Celestia simply watched stoically, trying to keep her cool. She knew from past experience that attempts to hurt Fiend were fruitless, even if it was satisfying to try.
“S-sorry.” Fiend sputtered out the laughter mercifully petered off. “It’s just... I know you’re serious. I... I know how you think, in general, and that makes it even more ridiculous! You really have bought into your own legend, haven’t you?”
Celestia knew this, but was finding it increasingly difficult to care.
“All right! I know that look!” Fiend said as she held up both forehooves defensively. “But really, Celestia, you are not the only pony to have desires. I daresay we’d not have any of them around if not for that simple fact.”
“That’s... that’s not the point. I’m supposed to be—”
“Be what? An example?” Fiend demanded. “If they truly followed your lead in that respect, they’d live fairly miserable lives. Granted you don’t absolutely need love to live a happy life, but it certainly makes the experience more tolerable. Ask your niece her opinion on the matter, sometime. I daresay she’d give you an earful.”
“That’s not the point.” Celestia grumbled. She glanced back at the scene once more, wishing she could affect it beyond simply reliving it exactly as before. “She just... made me feel...” Celestia trailed off as she watched, sighing heavily. Even she found it difficult to define what had happened. She turned back, but found her office empty, the only evidence of Fiend having been there being the list of names left on her desk.
Show me. Fiend urged from inside her mind. Let me help, if I can.
Celestia blinked in surprise, and was suddenly seeing not her office, but Twilight’s bedroom. Twilight was sitting primly on her bed, blushing as if she’d been caught with a naughty magazine between the pages of a textbook, Pinkie was hugging her, humming something cheery and ear catching. The scene was frozen in time, waiting for impetus to set it into motion again.
Her sister had tried explaining the phenomenon to her once, but seeing it for herself finally made her understand what Luna had been talking about. She was having a lucid dream.
Dreams were often malleable to the dreamer, time and space being fluid there, but it was rare that a pony was aware of it happening. When they were, they could do essentially anything.
Show me, Fiend urged once more.
Celestia was at a loss. There was a phenomenon that Twilight had often described in her letters. It was called the ‘Pinkie Pie Factor’. Essentially, whenever Twilight made a plan of any sort, she calculated in a variable of indeterminate value (usually around ten to twenty percent) and used that to help account for how much Pinkie would affect said plan.
It was one thing to read about Twilight explaining her reasoning, and quite another to see the ‘Factor’ in action. Celestia had made a fairly simple plan in coming up here, then Pinkie had happened. She had no idea how to proceed from there.
“So... uh... I’m guessing you two felt like I was getting a little too wrapped up in my research?” Twilight asked sheepishly, looking distinctly uncomfortable due to Pinkie’s insistent snuggling.
Well now, we can’t have that continue. We need to encourage more of that, not make her feel self-conscious when it happens.
“Twilight...” Celestia began, hesitant to voice her concerns in the wake of Pinkie voicing them herself, even if it had been accomplished in a very unorthodox way. “Yes.” She said at last. “We were a little worried about you obsessing over... trying to fix what happened to me.”
“Celly wants you to stop for a while, Twi-twi. We can have dinner together!”
“Well... I don’t mind taking a break, but could it wait? I think I might be onto something!” Twilight replied, “I just needed to calculate the size of the receiving lens...” she paused, putting a hoof up to her lips in sudden thought. “Well, and see about the building permits. We might have to erect outside of Ponyville city limits. Wait!” Twilight exclaimed, shrugging Pinkie off and searching for her notes. “If we set up at the peak of Dracodente we could attain even more—”
Pinkie and Celestia exchanged a disheartened look before turning back to see a very frustrated Twilight.
“Where are my notes?” Twilight demanded, opening and closing drawers and pulling books from the shelves from around her room.
“Twilight, please, let it rest.” Celestia pleaded with exasperation, but if Twilight heard her, she gave no indication of it. She seemed far too engrossed in sketching what looked like a large telescope on what looked like a crumpled piece of parchment.
“Okay, I think I managed to get the basic concept down, but I really need my notes, Pinkie. So wherever you hid them, I need you to get them now.”
“Twi-twi—” Pinkie began, her hair wilting back and eyes wide with dismay,
You knew this wasn’t going to be easy.
“Now, Pinkie.” Twilight repeated, giving her marefriend a stern look.
“I...I don’t—” Pinkie began, before letting out a little whimper.
Twilight was actively looking annoyed at this point. “Pinkie—”
“Twilight, I’m afraid she won’t be able to fetch those, since I hid them.” Celestia said, lifting the parchment in her magic. “And we’re going to put this away as well.”
Twilight’s head whipped to face Celestia, looking simultaneously contrite and anxious. “But...but Princess, I—”
“You may have them back in the morning.” Celestia said firmly, hating herself for having to use the ‘teacher voice’, but having no other recourse in this situation.
Oh, I don’t know. Being dominant can be fun! Perhaps Twilight could use a bit of discipline, surely she has a ruler around here somewhere…
“Please... I just need...” Twilight scrambled for the paper as it was taken from her. “I think I might have a solution—”
Celestia simply shook her head, folding the paper neatly and putting it into a nearby drawer.
Twilight looked to Pinkie for support, and found only a worried frown, and a slightly hurt expression.
“Why?” Twilight demanded, rounding back at Celestia. “It could help, I just know it—”
“And it will wait.” Celestia replied, her tone softening as she returned Twilight’s surprisingly defiant gaze. Celestia sat down on the bed heavily. After a moment, she looked back at Twilight, patting the bed beside her expectantly.
Twilight shook her head, looking down at the desk. “I could have fixed it,” she muttered. “I could have made you... you again.”
A moment passed, then two, as all three ponies were silent as none of them were sure what to say that hadn’t been said. Celestia wasn’t sure what to make of Twilight’s responses. She’d just assumed her student was wrapped up in the idea that something needed fixing, as she often did.
“Twi-twi?” Pinkie asked cautiously. “Is... is it that important?”
“No, Pinkie,” Celestia replied. “It’s not at all. And I’ve told her it isn’t.”
“But that’s what you say every time!” Twilight exclaimed, looking back up at Celestia with fire in her eyes. “I’ve watched you, when you’ve gone days without sleep, and they bring you one more stack of papers to sign.” It was then that Celestia could see the tears shining on her face. “If it’s for you, it’s never important!”
You know, she does have a point.
“Celly... maybe we could let her—”
Celestia could feel the situation slipping from her control, and she reacted in the way a trained diplomat would. “No, Pinkie, I’m afraid we can’t.” She turned to Twilight with a disappointed frown. “ You can’t bury yourself in a problem that doesn’t need to be solved, ignoring everything—” she paused, and treated Twilight to a meaningful expression, her eyes flicking briefly towards Pinkie, “—and everypony to do it. That’s not helping anypony, Twilight.”
“But she really really wants to do this for you!” Pinkie protested. “I think maybe it will be okay once she’s done?”
“She doesn’t need to do anything, Pinkie! I just need rest, and quiet, and for Twilight to stop worrying so much about something that isn’t her fault!”
Celestia blinked, not having realized she was screaming until the final word left her lips. Both Twilight and Pinkie seemed surprised, but Pinkie in particular looked stricken by the outburst. “I’m sorry.”
They were all silent for a moment before Celestia found her voice once again. “Twilight... I... I recognize that perhaps your intentions are to help me when I will not help myself, and... that’s very sweet.”
Sweet, if misguided. But then, you helped with the misguiding, didn’t you? It’s funny what our loved ones notice about us. I daresay she knows your bad habits as much as you know hers.
Celestia winced, but went on despite her internal heckler. “But when I say it’s not necessary... I should be saying ‘I don’t want you to even try.’ ”
“What?” Twilight asked, clearly confused.
“Sit with me, Twilight.” Celestia said, patting the bed once more. “Please?”
It took some coaxing, but in time, Twilight complied, though she still looked uncertain. Having accomplished that much, Celestia looked up to find Pinkie just looking at the two of them, biting her bottom lip. “Pinkie, please join us?”
“Uh... are you sure? I could go—”
“Very sure.” Celestia replied. “We planned this mutiny together, didn’t we?”
After another moment’s hesitation, Pinkie nodded. “Aye. We did,” she flashed Celestia a rakish grin, then leaped onto the bed, setting down on Celestia’s side and snuggling up against one of her wings.
“Now,” Celestia said, settling Twilight into her opposite wing. “I don’t want you to worry any longer about trying to help my recovery, Twilight.”
“But—”
Celestia covered Twilight’s mouth with her wingtip. “Let me finish.”
Twilight looked at the wingtip, then back at Celestia, and nodded.
Pinkie giggled from her other side. “I wish I had those. I mean... I had a pretty pair of them, once. Big white ones!” her eyes shone as she looked up, smiling a gigantic smile. “They melted after a while. I miss them.”
While Pinkie’s statement made Celestia’s ear and eye twitch, she forbore from asking about what she meant, instead making a mental note to ask another time. “While I’m certain you could come up with something amazing to cut my recovery time in half or even less... I don’t wish to rush at all.”
She allowed her wing to drop from Twilight’s muzzle. “I’m... I’m tired, Twilight. I’ve been tired for some time, as you pointed out just a moment ago. And... I want to rest. I want to spend that time here, with you.”
Pinkie tugged at her wing, and Celestia turned and amended: “With both of you, Pinkie. I made you a promise long before this mess with Luna and spells gone wrong.”
“Oh!” Pinkie said, looking surprised. “But you already helped me—”
“No, I haven’t fulfilled that promise to my satisfaction at all, Pinkie. All I have accomplished is coming to terms with my own feelings, and of course I’ve managed to make Twilight worried for me. But I will.”
Pinkie shook her head solemnly. “Twilight is happy. We’re okie-dokie, Celly.”
“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked from Celestia’s other side.
“I made a promise to Pinkie, Twilight.” Celestia said, turning back to Twilight. “I promised her that I would help her make you smile. And it seems all I’ve done is made you worry about me.”
“Twi-twi really likes it when you kiss her, Celly!” Pinkie supplied helpfully.
She does have a point. You should follow up on that.
Celestia turned back to Pinkie, smiling indulgently. “While true, maybe we should start with you kissing her?”
This seemed to give Pinkie pause for a moment, then her expression lightened. “Here, you give this to her!” she said, just before kissing Celestia lightly on the lips.
For a brief time, Celestia did not know what to do, her eyes widening in surprise as the smiling face of Pinkie Pie retracted from her field of view, a light blush visibly on those pink cheeks. She could feel the flush of blood in her own, and the remnant of warmth from Pinkie’s lips on hers.
Well, don’t just sit there staring, pass it along!
Celestia blinked, and almost mechanically turned to Twilight, kissing her in the same way that Pinkie had done. “From Pinkie, with love,” she whispered breathily.
Oh, nicely done!
Twilight seemed all but frozen at the strangeness of it all, and exchanged a look with Celestia. “I... I don’t know—”
“Should I give her something from you?” Celestia said, leaning in conspiratorially.
Oh my, you’re actually having fun with this, aren’t you?
Twilight hesitated but a moment more, then reached up to kiss Celestia in a far more passionate kiss than the one Pinkie had given for her. “Give her that for me.”
Is it getting a little hot in here?
Celestia gamely turned back to Pinkie, and kissed her with the same intensity and passion as Twilight had just kissed her, enjoying the look of surprise and excitement in Pinkie’s eyes as she did so. “From Twilight,” she whispered as she broke the kiss.
Pinkie just stared at her, her mouth still slightly open, her eyes shining and wet around the edges. She threw her arms around Celestia’s neck, and kissed her rather chastely on the cheek.
“Are you sure that’s what I should give her?” Celestia asked, favoring Pinkie with a quizzical look.
“Nopers! That one was for you! You’re so nice, Celly!”
In a single instant, with such a simple gesture, Celestia was made uncomfortably aware of who she was, where she was, and what exactly she was doing. Pinkie thought she was nice. Her, the mare who had only days before wished this poor, innocent mare to fail in her attempts to recover Twilight, simply so she could have the opportunity to comfort Twilight after the failure. Her, who had threatened dire consequences for Pinkie daring to hurt Twilight in any way. She was nice?
She tried her very best to obfuscate her hesitation, but she could see in Pinkie’s eyes she’d been found out. In them she saw disappointment, and sadness.
But most horrifying, no hint of reproach.
“This next one is for Twi-twi, though! Pucker up!”
Pinkie leaned in close, and in a flash, Celestia’s perspective changed once again.
Once more, her double was staring her in the face.
“Wait... You can’t mean—” Fiend stared at her, eyes wide with surprise. “She shamed you! You, the ever-suffering wanting-for-nothing eternal princess?”
Celestia frowned irritably, dispelling the scene of Pinkie kissing her with a thought.
“She did! My goodness, what set that off? Was it simple embarrassment?”
“She...” Celestia hesitated. “She’s just... I’ve never felt quite so unworthy of adoration as I felt in that one moment.”
Her double regarded her silently, and for once, there was no hint of merriment or mocking when she finally spoke. “I... I honestly have nothing to say about that. What do you plan to do?”
“I don’t know. What would I even say? ‘I’m sorry, I wish I was the pony you think I am?’ ” Celestia laughed bitterly.
“That... might be a start.” Fiend finally replied. “But I think you wouldn’t be as worried as you are over simple things like jealousy if you weren’t nice. I think you are quite possibly the nicest pony to have ever graced this land.”
Celestia just shook her head, though a small smile did grow on her lips. “Of course you do. You’re me.”
“A part of you. And not exactly the nicest part, though I am trying.” Fiend replied, returning the smile. “Well, maybe when you wake up, you can talk to her. I have a feeling she’ll forgive you easily enough,”
That actually made Celestia let out a true laugh. “She’ll probably just ask me what she’s supposed to forgive me for.”
Fiend chuckled as well, then in a surprising move, threw her arms around Celestia, nuzzling her in a firm hug. “Let’s hope. In the meantime, set your mind at ease, Princess. You’re a far better pony than you think.”
Celestia just allowed herself to be hugged, her eyes widening in surprise. Then she felt the form of Fiend fade, leaving her alone in the dream.
She looked around the room, finding it empty, almost eerily so. She supposed another pony might have taken the opportunity to live out some fantasy while in a lucid dream, but she had hers waiting in the waking world. She supposed it was time to wake up, and join them once more.
But just before she willed herself awake, she circled around her desk, or... the dream representation thereof, turning the pages of the notepad back until she found what she was looking for, and placing a small check on the list next to one entry.
“ ‘Astra’ sounds like a lovely name.”
The train ride to Canterlot was a rather long one most days, and today was no exception.
Rarity idly picked at the plate of fruit she’d gotten from the dining car, watching Fluttershy as she looked out of the window at the scenery passing by. She took a moment to pull out the little clock from her saddlebag, both to remind herself what time it actually was and reassure herself that time was passing.
It was a rather unnerving thing to have the sun just hanging in the sky as it was. By her estimation it had been noon for several hours now, and she suspected it would continue to be so until the sky caught up with itself.
That is what she hoped in any case. She supposed she would find out when it became noon, and then she could watch to see if the sun moved thereafter.
It was a bit nerve-wracking to have something so reliable as the sun become... not. Ponies counted on it, after all. Rarity herself had gotten used to simply reading the sun for the most part, though she did have her hated alarm clock, and a clock in the workroom for late nights. Admittedly, if she was working after dark, it mattered very little what time it was. She would keep working till she fell asleep or had completed what she was working on.
Work... she was actually starting to miss it. So much had happened of late, and all of it seemed inclined to interrupt her basic normalcy. Some of it was very, very good, of course... She felt her own heart beat faster as she thought of the largest and most important change that she happened to be in the same railcar with.
Fluttershy seemed in better spirits this morning, at least. It was good to see her happy, she’d been seeing far too much stress in those lovely eyes of late.
Rarity got up, sitting down next to Fluttershy and embracing her from behind.
Fluttershy stiffened for a brief moment before relaxing into Rarity’s embrace. “Oh, sorry. Did you say something? I wasn’t paying attention.”
“No, darling. I just wanted to snuggle. Is that all right?” Rarity asked, playfully nipping the edge of one of Fluttershy’s lovely wings.
“Oh! Um... t-that’s fine,” Fluttershy answered quickly. Dropping her voice into a whisper, she asked: “Rarity, maybe not here? I don’t even think there’s a lock on the door.”
“Relax, sweetness. I’m only teasing a little.”
“O-okay,” Fluttershy replied, letting out a little eep as Rarity nibbled on her wing, then a sigh of relief when it stopped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say I minded, just... someone could walk in and—”
“Quite all right.” Rarity said as she disengaged, sitting back on the seat as prim and proper as you would like. “Forgive me, it was a whim. You were looking so adorable I simply had to do it.”
Fluttershy turned around from the window, giving Rarity a sidelong look. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
Rarity laughed lightly into her forehoof. “Quite. Besides, we don’t have terribly long until we reach Canterlot in any case.”
“That’s true.” Fluttershy replied, worry crossing her features once more.
Rarity regarded her marefriend with a little frown. “Darling, there really is no need to fret. You know that, don’t you?”
“I...” Fluttershy hesitated for a moment, then took a deep, cleansing breath. “I know. But I can’t help it. Part of me knows Luna is a very nice pony and maybe isn’t totally evil although she might be just a little and maybe that’s okay because we’re all capable of being a little naughty and sometimes that’s fun?”
She paused, taking a breath of much-needed air. “But then there’s the other part that keeps saying maybe Luna is mad at the world and is just going to bring the sun down on us and maybe start over with brand new ponies except for maybe one pretty unicorn to rule at her side.”
Rarity stared at Fluttershy for a very long moment.
“Um... I mean... I’ll try to not worry as much?” Fluttershy offered with a wan smile.
“Yes... do that, please.” Rarity replied. “And... try to remember to breathe more.”
They simply sat for a time, lost in thought. Rarity scooted closer to Fluttershy and leaned against one of her arms, sighing happily as she did so.
“Oh!” she said suddenly as a thought occurred to her.
Fluttershy looked down at her, and Rarity sat up in a rush, tapping her forehooves together in worry.
“She’s going to have so many petitioners! Everypony will be demanding to know why the sun was late, and why it hasn’t moved!”
“I suppose so?” Fluttershy responded, the look on her face clearly conveying that she didn’t see Rarity’s point.
“She may not be able to see us!” Rarity exclaimed after a moment. “Not for a while at least!”
“Oh!” Fluttershy said, the confusion clearing. She considered that for a moment, and eventually seemed to come to a conclusion that she liked. She looked distinctly happier for it. “Well, we don’t have to see Luna. We could always just go to the bank instead. That stallion said you shouldn’t have any problems if you go there, right?”
“Well, yes, but that was only part of the reason we came here!” Rarity shook her head in agitation. “I mean, yes, the bank will have the bits I need, but we still need to talk with her to straighten out this nonsense between you—”
Rarity watched as Fluttershy’s face fell, and quickly added: “Not that I consider your fears nonsense, darling. But I think we can both agree you tend to...”
“Blow things completely out of proportion in my mind, driving myself into a paralyzing fear that makes me want to hide under my bed?” Fluttershy supplied, looking well and truly miserable at that moment.
Rarity blinked. “Well... I might not have put it that way...”
Fluttershy sighed heavily. “I know this about myself, Rarity. I’ve lived with it all my life. That doesn’t mean I can do anything about it.”
“Well... clearly you can. You acted when it came to us, after all.”
Fluttershy considered what she’d said, eventually shaking her head. “That was different. It was for you. I couldn’t... I couldn’t watch you, knowing what I did... knowing you felt the same and couldn’t say it and it was tearing you up inside—” she stopped, and Rarity could see the beginning of tears at the edges of those gorgeous blue eyes. “I’m... sorry...”
Rarity embraced Fluttershy, hugging her close. “Shhh, I didn’t mean to make you upset, darling. But I know you can do this. We can make it all right, then start off on the right hoof. I’m sorry I didn’t see how you were feeling before, but I know now, and we’re going to fix all of it.”
Fluttershy said nothing, simply holding Rarity in kind.
“Please form an orderly line.” An authoritative voice echoed down the long hallway. “Everypony will be addressed as soon as possible.”
A line stretched both far ahead and behind them. Rarity could not quite make out what was at the front of the line without squinting, and when she did she realized with horror that the line was turning around a corner.
“Again, I would remind any of you here regarding the astronomical anomalies that the crown will be making an announcement at a time yet to be announced, in the meantime please do not panic.”
Quiet whispers made up a constant buzz of noise all around them.
“If you insist on panicking, please report to a designated Panic Officer, who will provide you with pamphlets of how best to direct your terror in the wake of a world gone mad—”
“How much longer do you suppose it will be?” Fluttershy whispered.
“I honestly don’t know.” Rarity replied in an equally hushed voice.
“—to the best of our knowledge, the capital is neither under attack, nor subject to mass mind-control—”
“I’ve been here for... a few hours at least.” The stallion in front of them whispered over his shoulder. “The lines been thinning a bit from the front, so it is moving, I think.”
“—neither have the gates of Tartarus opened to release the souls of the disharmonious—
“How long was it when you got here?” Rarity asked.
“I’m not sure, but it was out the door of the main gate.”
“—most importantly, we have been assured by the guards posted in the garden that Discord’s statue is not cracked. I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief about that—”
“Oh dear.” Rarity shook her head ruefully. It had actually been some time for them as well, and these others had been filtering in behind them since they’d arrived.
“—If you need to vomit, you’ll find tables along the walls with bags, as well as water cups for those who are in need. Refreshment vendors are being summoned—”
Rarity winced as she saw a pony a little further up the line using one of the bags. “Darling... I think maybe you were right. We could try again later—”
“—For those of you who did not bring bits, the crown has thoughtfully hired Donut Joe’s Bakery to provide. Please be respectful of others and limit your intake to one per pony—”
“What do you think about getting lunch?” she finished, smiling sheepishly.
“—and we’d like to remind you that violators of the ‘one donut’ rule will be swiftly punished. Thank you.” The voice sounded very tired, and Rarity heard the sound of pages being turned for a moment.
“Please form an orderly line—”
“Let’s go,” she said decisively, stepping out of line.
“Hey!” the stallion called down the hall after them as they fled. “Can I have your donuts?”
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as she reached the palace gates. “Well, that was a bit of a waste of time.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Not really. We know she’ll be busy for a while, so we can try again later, maybe after court ends for the day.”
“A point, and a fair one.”
Rarity looked around the busy street, and soon spotted a free carriage. “Taxi!” she called out.
The carriage screeched to a halt, and the stallion pulling the carriage tilted his hat courteously to them both. “Where to, ladies?”
“Well, we’d like to have lunch. Do you have any recommendations?” Rarity asked as she and Fluttershy boarded.
He looked back at them, smiling genially. “Well, sure. If you need something quick, there’s Joe’s of course. Sal’s has some of the best salads around. There’s Sandy’s if you want sandwiches. Bit’s Bistro is great if you fancy a little Istallian food. I know the owner, good guy. Goes a little heavy on the garlic but he makes it work—”
“Pasta sounds wonderful. Take us there, please.”
He nodded, tipping his hat once more. “Bit’s Bistro, you got it!”
Rarity sat back against the seat, trying her best to relax. Today was not at all going as she’d planned it. She turned to Fluttershy and found her happily smiling back at her. “Well, I suppose after lunch perhaps we could get a little shopping in. I’ll need to pick up some replacement supplies, things I lost in the fire. We’ll deal with the bank, afterwards.”
Fluttershy nodded, not saying anything.
“Is Istallian all right? I tend to trust recommendations of ponies who eat at locations themselves—”
“It’s fine, Rarity.” Fluttershy said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Very well. I’m certainly looking forward to it, at least. It can be difficult to find good Istallian food. I mean, Ponyville does have a pizza parlor, but it’s nothing like what they serve in Manehatten. The sauce there is just to die for. It’s apparently not easy to replicate, unless you’re from there, of course—”
Fluttershy nodded patiently. “I know. Photo Finish was very fond of it, too. She wouldn’t let the models have any, though. It smelled good.”
“She wouldn’t?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, too many calories. I wasn't nearly as restricted as the others, but I felt like it would be mean to eat in front of those poor girls.”
There was a long pause during which Rarity simply contemplated how horrid that must have been for Fluttershy and all others concerned. While she had dieted herself, the idea of simply being forbidden to eat something seemed ghastly. “Errr, well, would you like some? Canterlot has some of the best food in the nation, or the worst, depending on your point of view. Either way, it’s tasty and wonderful.”
“Yes, please.”
“All right, pizza it is, then. Do you have a preference of toppings?”
Fluttershy simply looked at her, tilting her head to one side. “Do... do you mean like sprinkles and whipped cream?”
Rarity barked out a laugh before she caught herself. “Ah... no. You’ve really never had pizza?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t tend to go to restaurants very often, unless it’s with you and the girls. It’s simpler to eat at home.”
“Right. Well, I think you’re in for a treat. Now, personally, I am a fiend for spinach and artichoke, but I did end up with a slice once... got my order mixed up with a griffon’s, and it had this topping called pepperoni, which I understand to be a type of cured sausage—”
Fluttershy looked at her questioningly. “Um... what’s sausage?”
“Well, it’s various spices, and parts of—” Rarity’s eyes widened as she looked at the innocent curiosity on Fluttershy’s face, and she clamped her mouth shut. “Right, no pepperoni. Well, there’s always onions and peppers—”
The pizza was of formidable size.
Rarity had remembered the slices being a bit on the large size, but her memory hadn’t done the thing justice. At first she’d thought she would need a knife and fork, but after seeing Fluttershy simply pick hers up in both hooves, daintily folding it and taking a large bite out of the end, she metaphorically threw her hooves up. After all, Fluttershy was doing exactly what the other patrons were doing.
When in Canterlot, one must do as the Canterlotians do.
It was messy, and greasy, and the toppings fell off into the napkin she’d placed on her lap, threatening to stain her coat. After eating a single slice, she tried to abstain from having another, and failed. It was going to absolutely destroy her diet, which she hadn’t quite started yet but would need to now, certainly.
It was amazing.
After polishing off roughly half of the beast of a dish, they both sat back with a satisfied sigh, Rarity letting out a little burp and blushing furiously afterwards.
“Hey! Thanks for the compliment, lady!” Bit called out from the kitchen where he was shaping and stretching a fresh piece of dough.
“You... are quite welcome,” she said airily, trying not to address why he had thanked her.
Fluttershy poked at the slice she’s been working on for the last five minutes, seemingly uncertain if she wished to try another bite.
“Best to listen to your stomach, love. I know it tastes divine, but you’ll thank me later. Besides, we can take the remainder with us. Pizza is just as lovely late at night, even cold. I suspect there’s some magic involved. Perhaps Twilight could look into—” she let out another little burp. “—it.”
“That was.... very nice.” Fluttershy said, still eyeing the half-finished slice.
“We’ll have to have some pasta the next time we visit. I’m sure it will be just as wonderful.” Rarity got up, walking to the counter with a bit of a heavy gait, reflecting that she was going to need to increase her physical activity drastically if she kept eating this well. “Could we get a to-go box, please?”
“You got it, lady.” Bit replied, floating a box to her in his magic while not taking his eyes off of his dough. “Hope you and your friend had your fill.”
“Yes, quite. Shall I wait at the register, or—”
“You can settle up with Rocky,” he said, turning towards the back of the kitchen. “Hey, Rock! Get off your duff and ring this lady up!”
In a moment, a slow-looking stallion emerged, wiping his hooves on a soiled dishrag. “Okay. So we got one pie, loaded, with a couple ‘a drinks—”
Rarity’s eyes widened as the total rose, but in fairness, it had been a very good meal. Some quick calculations of her remaining funds after the carriage ride and the train, factoring in the meal and the tip, finished out at something that was just barely above zero.
She emptied out her bag, adding the few bits she had left to the tip. She was going to the bank later, in any case. But no bits meant she was going to have to put off shopping, which made her unhappy. Still, there were worse problems to have.
“All right, darling,” she said, putting the remaining slices into the box and placing it into her saddle bag. “We’ll need to go to the bank, next—”
Fluttershy looked at her in surprise as she got up. “No, we were going shopping, next. I need to get some spices and teas. And I promised Angel—”
“Shopping will have to wait, as I’m afraid I just used the last of my bits on lunch. But Celestia said it was fine to get extra for my personal items, and since I’ve already replaced some of those things from my own bits I suppose I’m actually owed that money. So...” she trailed off as she noticed Fluttershy didn’t seem to be listening, instead she had opened her saddle bag, reaching inside to pull a large bag out with her teeth. It jingled slightly as she shook it in front of Rarity.
“It’s okay. I brought plenty. We can go to the bank later.”
Rarity eyed the bag, judging the heft and size with a raising eyebrow. “I... see. Are you sure? I’m going to need some new perfumes and cosmetics—”
Rarity’s eyes grew wider as Fluttershy pulled out a similarly sized bag from the other side, allowing it to jingle just a little to demonstrate that it too was full of bits. She’d noted that Fluttershy’s bags had seemed a bit heavy when they’d set out that morning, but hadn’t thought to ask why. Now she could clearly see the cause. She wasn’t sure exactly how much Fluttershy had brought along, but at a rough estimate it was a lot. Maybe not enough to buy everything Rarity had planned to buy, but certainly enough to get a good start.
We could always come back another day…
She took a surreptitious look at the saddle bag’s interior as Fluttershy held it open to put the second bag back, and spotted what looked like a third bit bag in it, of similar size and weight to the first and second. Looking again at the right saddlebag she could see it seemed of equal weight to the first, as it was not sitting lopsided on Fluttershy’s form. That likely meant yet another bag, all of which were many times larger and heavier than the one Rarity had brought along for their expenses.
“I’m sure, Rarity. I wanted to maybe pick you up some nice things while we were here anyway.” Fluttershy explained, firmly closing the latches on the sides of her bags. “It’ll be fine. My treat.”
For a moment, Rarity was ready to protest, citing worries of it all being too much, and also fears that Fluttershy was carrying around so much money to begin with. It was rare, but robbery was not unheard of, even in the capital.
But, in the end, she simply smiled, for to do otherwise would be to refuse a gift from the heart. She threw her arms around Fluttershy, kissing her quickly on the lips. “Thank you, Sweetness.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.036 seconds
Total duration
919 users online
464,923 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Granted, Ponies tend to be a tad panic-prone, but are they seriously so forgetful as to overlook already knowing that Luna's had scant practice in raising the Sun (& is likely to screw up a bit while learning the ropes), while Celestia had a solid millennium of experience raising the Moon? Are the really going to gloss over that vital factoid in order to get worked into a tizzy?
. . .
Who am I kidding, OF COURSE THEY ARE.
Poor Celestia, we really need to work on her self loathing issues. I hope Pinks and Twi can help a bit with that.
Great chapter Resolve, thank you very much for the read!
And Celestia has taken some further smaller steps towards acceptance. Yay
Also, not naming her alter ego (hard to figure out what it is so I'll settle for that) Fiend anymore was pretty nice too.
A little more, and a solution will be revealed to the true problem. Well, problems, because there are more than just one that really need addressing.
And good news for Fluttershy, she won't have to see Luna as soon as she feared. Still, putting it off all the time won't work either.
So much money though... Luckily she's able to bear the weight, considering all the working out she does at home when she tends to all the animals.
Ulterior motives! I see no other reason for her to take all that money. She probably just doesn't want Rarity to take advantage of the Princesses' offer... but still. Unless she has far more saved, that could bring her finances down by a huge amount.
Also, you just made me want pizza. Damn you.
Oh yeah. I forgot that Fluttershy was a famous model for a little bit. That does a lot to explain where she gets her money.
7353878 Not just was.
Is it weird that I just now noticed that it's updating on the first of every month?
7354054 Not weird at all. But yes, with only rare exceptions (I never update on April 1st, because Green is no joke) it is the 1st, and usually at midnight because I try not to force smaller stories out of the box if I can help it.
7354071 True dat. Green is probably the best known Flarity story, and for good reason.
7354090 It's a bit of as fleet now
But every fleet has its flagship, and Flarity is definitely it for Green.
7354094 True that. It's grown a lot since 2012. The later chapters are almost unrecognizable when compared to the older ones. Like Fiend. Could you really see that being in the early chapters? xD
7354190
Well, the concept of Twilight having had a crush was a very, very early one. Celestia arguing with herself? That was a concept that grew over time and literally became it's own personality.
7354304
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1qexdZ7zQ1qgaob4.png
Celestia talking to herself was far and away the highlight of this chapter.
...and doesn't THAT sound silly!
Astra was definitely a good name for her. And this was the chapter that made me Like the story after having kept it as a favorite after the Favorite/Tracking split.
7355356 It is nice to see her start to come to terms with herself after so long.
7355591 Well, thank you for that! Though a favorite is wonderful as well.
7356737 Good luck! Be prepared for rough seas and lots of ships!
nice to see celestia get along with herself.
and how fluttershy can handel a heavy load (of bits)
This is much more than a simple Flarity fic
It'd been a long time since I added this in my ReadLater folder. I usually hold good fics for a while, and this one is far better than "good".
drama, drama everywhere! and without slightest out-of-character feeling.
Best wishes.
I like how you describe characters, how they act. It feels vivid, real,
insane. yea, "rough seas and a LOT of ships", now I got what you meant, looks like all those ponies don't want to make their lives easierYou have an amazing talent as a writer
7366212 New updates every first of the month at midnight cst. I'm pretty much dedicated to doing a chapter a month until I feel the story has reached an end.
7366656 i think i will wait till 2017 and then read it all from very beginning
good luck. that would be sad if such a wonderful story become abandoned
7354304 just reread Eternal, so that's rather impact up for me
I did it. I finally caught up with this thing. And just as things look like they're finally on an upswing.
7376517 Well, they'd have to eventually.
Look for another chapter on the 1st.
Commence read.
Great procedure/protocol for panics.
Made me want some pizza.
Feel like I'm forgetting something within the story...but can't place what.
Wonderful. As always, you deliver. It looks like I'm caught up for now, but I'm absolutely looking forward to more!
Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!
7425088 7 more days
7425189 I fear I shan't make it! Oh wait, yes I will. I always will..... mwa ha ha ha ha ha.
...
Ahem. Wonderful!
I am now hungry. You may have meant to hit me in the feels, but instead you hit me in the hunger button.
Heheheh, that was funny near the end with the Pizza, gloriousness well done!
Rarity, little bit of pudge means more to snuggle with
Nice job!
what is the difference between niceness and kindness?
Both Celestia and Astra are wrong, celestia is nice.
what astra wants to say is they are kind.
Man, the hoops that Celestia throws herself through would be enough to give Freud an ulcer.
What's an istal? I'm not getting that as a word. A good Italian ponification (And quite common in fandom) is Bitalian (Bitaly) or Neightalian (Neightaly). But how'd you go about pronouncing Istalian, and what would that be in Equestrian terminology / lingo?
____________________
Love this chapter and the growth that the ponies are starting to go through from the last Interlude up to here.
7529755
I'd think Freud would be super busy with all those holes to get an ulcer. He was a notorious sex addict.
Considering how good she is at fighting I doubt anypony could actually rob her.
9784425
Well, yes... but since they wouldn't know about that, it wouldn't stop them from trying... and you know how she is about hurting others...