Catching Up
“I understand now,” Celestia said aloud in her dream immediately after falling asleep, a soft smile on her face. “She loves me.”
Luna faded into existence beside her, a large grin on her face. She threw her hooves around her sister, pulling her into a tight embrace. “I'm so happy for you! Am I correct to assume that you two have begun your courtship?”
“Well, I didn't turn her down, but we're going to wait until my vacation ends to do anything.”
“You're making her wait that long?” Luna's face contorted in disappointment.
“I'm making us both wait that long.” Celestia replied, walking along a cobblestone path through the garden of their old palace. Luna eyed her for a moment. “Something the matter?”
“I'm sorry, it's not that I'm not excited by your news, but I'm curious, why do you always dream of this place? You made no secret of what triggered your nightmare last night.”
“...To be perfectly honest, I suppose I don't need to anymore. This was sort of a happy place, if you will, to see me through the hard times. During your banishment, I could hold myself together with the knowledge that, when I fell asleep, I'd be able to come back to our old home, and you'd be there waiting.”
“A dream would be there waiting.” Luna corrected.
“That dream was all I had.” Celestia stared down at the cobblestones in thought, their patterns trying to adhere to her memory, but so vague was her recollection of the minor detail that they shifted every time she blinked. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't marginalize the ordeal of your banishment by whining about how it made me feel.”
“I always knew it must have hurt you.” Luna replied, moving closer to her sister, nuzzling her softly in hopes of comforting her. “I had guessed that this was why you didn't want to discuss it in depth. But it's not just me, is it? You knew I was going through worse, so you didn't talk to anyone about how it made you feel for a thousand years, because you felt like you were making it about yourself. You can't hold something inside like that, Celestia. It's not healthy.”
“Sometimes,” Celestia said, looking up into her sister's eyes, a sad smile on her face, “I feel that we know each other much too well for my liking.”
“It doesn't have to be me. It doesn't have to be now. But, please, find someone to talk to about how it made you feel. Maybe Cadance? Twilight? A therapist?”
“A therapist? Luna, we have to be the strength for the nation. We can't appear to have weaknesses. Our ponies won't trust us.”
“For all that the times had changed, I was so happy that you had changed so little with them. When I came home, you were still the big sister I remembered. But that's working against you, now. They're more accepting than they once were. After all, my attendance of therapy has been a matter of public record, which I have never shied away from. No one has, to my knowledge, spoken against me for it.”
Celestia stared at her for a moment, deep in thought. “I didn't know you were in therapy.”
“You didn't? I know I never brought it up, but--” Luna froze, wide eyed, her jaw hanging open.
“Luna? Luna, what's wrong?” Celestia asked, a strong edge of concern in her voice.
“Can you tell Twilight something tomorrow? I'd tell her right now, but her dreams have far too much momentum behind them to allow for my interference.”
“Certainly. What do you wish me to relay?”
“Just tell her the truth. You are not as flexible as her subconscious seems to think.”
“...Could you please elaborate?” Celestia asked, her mouth hanging open slightly.
“Absolutely not. That would be a breach of confidentiality.”
“...You're just teasing me, aren't you?” Celestia asked, closing her eyes and rubbing her hoof on her forehead.
“Just because I'm teasing you doesn't mean I'm just teasing you.”
Celestia sighed, rolling her eyes, but paused and stared at her sister for a moment. “Do you really want me to tell her that?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Luna nodded in response.
“Stop it right now! Right this instant! Ponies do not bend that way!” Luna shouted over the moans in Twilight's bedroom at the Golden Oak Library. “I told Celestia on you!” She ground her teeth in frustration, then paused and stared. “...”
“Where in Equestria did she learn that?!” She asked, her cheeks burning red.
“What? Luna, what did she learn?” Celestia asked, half way between concern and curiosity.
“...I can't. It's not right to give out those details without her permission.”
“You know, sometimes, you can be a very cruel mare.”
Luna thought for a moment about this accusation before giving her sister a devious smirk. “Little bit.”
Twilight awoke with a long stretch, a powerful yawn, and a glare at her alarm clock. She shut it off with a flick of her magic, rolled out of bed, and headed to the bathroom to splash water in her face. Feeling a bit more awake and refreshed, she quickly drank down a glass of water, and left her bedroom, following the twisting maze of corridors, her hooves remembering her path and guiding her along it.
She opened a door and walked inside, a tired smile on her face. “Good morning, Discord.”
“Good morning, Twilight! How are you?”
“Good! There's been some, uh, developments with Prominence. Positive ones.” She accepted a sweatband from Discord and stretched it over her head. She then went on to explain the hectic developments of the last two days as they entered the racquetball court.
“They all know?” Discord asked, serving the ball, which let out a shriek of anger (but not pain. Twilight made him promise on their very first game that these little monsters could never actually get hurt).
“They all know.” She affirmed, returning the serve.
“And now you're just waiting for her vacation to be over to be able to actually do anything.” Discord summed up, continuing the volley.
“That's about the size of it.” She spoke loudly, trying to be heard over the indignant screams of the ball.
“Think you'll make it?”
“Of course we will.” She began to think about his question, and, in her moment of distraction, she completely missed the ball as it whipped past her and collided with Discord's face. “Do you think we won't?”
Discord pried the writhing mass of tentacles off of his face with a wet shhhllllluck, and turned toward Twilight. “It's hard to resist something you really want when it's right there in front of you.”
“...I've got plenty to keep me busy. Especially today. It's Rarity's turn to bring the entertainment to court.”
Celestia wanted to relay her sister's message. She truly did. She wanted to let Twilight know that she, herself, was not that flexible, but the time just wasn't right for it. Twilight had her game with Discord right after waking up, then Spike was present for all of breakfast, and court began soon after. She had no privacy to tell Twilight about her flexibility or lack thereof. Of course, this was no longer an entirely relevant detail to Celestia.
The more pressing matter was why they weren't playing board games. It seemed the entertainment changed as the responsibility to provide it rotated through the group, and where Rainbow had brought cards and boardgames during Prominence's second time in court, and Pinkie just brought board games on the first, Rarity's choice was a little more...involved.
“Back stab, back stab!” Pinkie giggled, making a thrusting motion with her hoof.
“Pinkie, unless you figure out some other plan of attack, you'll be almost completely ineffective this whole fight!” Rarity noted from behind a screen. “You know full well that skeletons have damage reduction against slashing weapons! Your dagger is not helping!”
“At least I'm flanking them!” Pinkie replied, rolling a die.
“My turn?” Twilight asked, once the damage of Pinkie's stabbing was calculated and found to be negated. Rarity nodded to her. “I smash a chair over the skeleton's back.”
“Wait, where did you get a chair?” Applejack asked.
“Well, Rarity said it was a dining hall. The skeletons weren't just sitting on the floor around the table when we walked in, were they?”
“That they were not. Roll to hit.” Rarity instructed. Once the last of the skeletons had been bashed apart, Twilight sat back with a sigh of relief, the intense battle having finally come to an end. It was around this time that she realized she was being stared at.
“Something wrong, Prominence?” She asked, feeling a little bashful under her scrutiny.
“I'm just surprised you're playing a Diamond Dog barbarian, and not, say, a unicorn wizard.”
“W-Wouldn't that be a little redundant?” Twilight asked, looking away as a blush colored her cheeks. “Besides, I like Lucky. He...He has a good life. There's things to smash, and friends to smash things with.” Twilight smiled down at her character sheet.
“I suppose that's why Fluttershy's a bard instead of a druid? Communing with nature and working with animals would be redundant?”
“Actually, that's cuz she wants practice singing in front of ponies.” Rainbow explained, before jamming a hoof-full of salty snacks into her mouth. “And flirting,” she added.
“Rainbow. Swallow, then speak.” Rarity instructed. “Now, Fluttershy--” Rarity turned to find her friend's seat empty. She sighed, looking under the table to find an embarrassed pegasus hiding her face behind her hooves. “Come out of there, darling. The fight's over, I'm ready and able to shift focus to you and Applejack for a bit.” She sat back up in her seat.
“What about me and Spike?” Rainbow demanded, not mentioning how oddly quiet the dragon had been today.
“You should've thought about that before your brilliant plan to split the party off into pairs and make my job three times as difficult. I promise we'll get to you today, we've got another seven hours or so, minus breaks...” She frowned. “If you want, Cel--” She froze, catching herself, as the whole table stared at her with wide eyes. “Prominence, during the next break, I can try and write up a sheet for one of the NPCs for you to play this session.”
“It's fine, Rarity. I'd rather work out my own character, if I'm going to play at all.”
“Alright. We can work on that together, if you like. And I'll set up some easy solo adventures to run with you until you're up to everyone else's level. We should be able to get you in by the next game session."
“You couldn't just make my character the same level from the start?”
Rarity gasped in horror at the very notion of what Prominence was suggesting.“I'm not going to just give you a hoof-out and let you gloss over several levels of adventuring that could add so much to your character development!”
“Oh, um...I'm sorry for suggesting it?”
“I should hope you would be!”
Even as she was scolded, Prominence had trouble keeping a smile off of her face. They treated her like Prominence even now, and gave her no special treatment beyond what one would normally give a friend. Well, if you ignored all the staring they did when they thought she wasn't looking. Rarity's slip up aside, it was almost as if none of them knew she was Celestia. Except maybe Spike. She kept catching him glaring at her. Unlike the others, he didn't seem to care if he was caught. If anypony else noticed, they weren't saying anything, though it was likely they were just caught up in the game.
Without warning, the doors of the throne room burst open, a billowing cloud of smoke flooding into the chamber. An intruder stood, obscured by the shroud that preceded their entry. “Your majesty,” Bellowed a familiar female voice, “You are very fortunate! For your court has the honor of being visited by none other than...” with a wisp of magic, the cloud parted to reveal a familiar blue mare. “THE GREAT AND POWERFUL—Twilight? You're the owner of this castle!?”
“Hi, Trixie!” Twilight said cheerfully, waving. The rest of the table seemed far less enthusiastic. “It's great to see you!”
“Of course it is. It's always great to see Trixie, Trixie is great. And powerful. But you are the ruler of this palace? And an alicorn as well?” Twilight nodded, just a little sheepish. “I see...Trixie's information was clearly incomplete.”
“Well, it shouldn't matter, should it? You came here for a reason without knowing who lived here. What was it? Maybe I can still help you with whatever brought you here.” Trixie scoffed at Twilight's offer.
“Trixie...highly doubts that the mighty Twilight Sparkle has any need for a court wizard.”
“Well, I guess that's true. I can take care my own magic needs.”
“Then Trixie will take her leave,” She announced, turning to walk out the door. She hesitated as she began to leave, and looked back over her shoulder. “Trixie doesn't suppose there's any other position she might fill in your palace? If not as a magician, Trixie would still be happy to entertain as a jester. What about a maid? Herald? Cook?”
“Sorry, but I'm kind of actively avoiding having any servants until I can't get away with it anymore. So far, things don't usually get busy enough around here that Spike and I can't just take care of ourselves. But if you leave some contact information, I'd be happy to let you know if I have any open--” Twilight was cut off as a sheet of paper floated up to her face. Copies of the same paper made their way to each of her friends.
Trixie paused as she levitated her information to Prominence. “...Trixie does not know this one.”
Prominence just stared, dumbstruck at the entirety of what had been taking place before her. Twilight decided to answer on her behalf.
“This is Prominence. She's an aide to Celestia, here on vacation.”
Trixie stared at Prominence for a long moment, slowly narrowing her eyes. The glow around the sheet offered to Prominence intensified. Where there had once been a single sheet, there were now ten. “In case you need extras,” she explained. “Trixie would relish the opportunity to perform for the princesses in Canterlot.”
The aura around the papers shifted as Prominence accepted them into her magic, still unable to fully comprehend just what the deal was with this strange blue pony.
“And now, the Great and Powerful Trixie must continue to seek opportunities elsewhere!” With a flash of her horn, a blinding light enveloped her, and was gone. Though the sound of hoofbeats could be heard rushing down the hallway.
“Are all your visitors so crazy?” Prominence finally managed. Everypony gave her a questioning look.
“Whatever do you mean?” Rarity asked.
“Well, my first day at court here, a musclebound pegasus burst in, demanding to be made more muscular. Today, some blue mare explodes into the room in a cloud of smoke, hoping to be a court magician. And last week, there were those two stallions in the striped shirts! They just walked in, Applejack started glaring at them, and they slowly backed out of the throne room!”
“I, uh, I got some history with Flim and Flam...” Applejack explained, a little embarrassed, as she adjusted her stetson.
“And, really, Bulk's visit was a blessing. I never knew how much potential lycra had until I started working with it.” Rarity said, very pleased with herself.
Prominence just sighed. “Nevermind. Just, just get back to the game.” She quietly looked over the papers sitting on the table in front of her.
At the end of the day, they found a place to end their game, packed away their dice and papers, and court was adjourned.
Prominence headed for her room, moving at a relaxed clip. Twilight said she had some things to go over, and that meant some alone time to unwind after a long day of watching her friends play games and pretend not to stare at her.
She paused and listened, thinking she heard something. At the moment she stopped walking, she clearly heard the sound of footsteps behind her. They stopped suddenly, and she turned around to see Spike standing there. For a fleeting second, he looked embarrassed that he'd been caught. Now, though, he just looked angry and upset.
“...Hi, Spike,” She said carefully, unsure of what had him so cross.
“Hi.” There was a clear bitterness to his voice. She eyed him with worry for a moment.
“I'd like to talk to you in private. Would that be OK?” She asked, frowning a little. He looked a little surprised, perhaps having wanted the same thing.
“...Fine,” he replied, trying a little too hard to be standoffish.
She lead him to her room, and soundproofed it. After she did, she paused for a moment to consider that she might be overly paranoid. She sat down on the bed and smiled softly at him. “Spike, if this is about me upsetting Twilight--”
“You lied to me,” he snapped.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I've known you my whole life. You were there the day I hatched. I trust you, Celestia, but you've been lying to me this whole time. Why couldn't you trust me?” Tears were beginning to form in his eyes, and there was no mistaking the anger in his voice.
Celestia stared at him for a moment, at a loss for words. While she understood the nature of his grievance, his inference wasn't entirely accurate. “Spike, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that I didn't trust you. I do. I just wanted to keep the number of ponies who knew my secret to a minimum.”
“Yeah. Right.” He scoffed, crossing his arms and looking away.
“I swear to you, it's the truth. Honestly, if I hadn't thought it entirely necessary to tell Twilight, I wouldn't have.” She paused a moment as she let that scenario tumble through her mind. “And what a mess that would've made...I'm sure yesterday would've been much more painful for both of us if she'd only just found out that I was Celestia.”
“Wait, why wouldn't you tell her?” Spike asked, thoroughly confused.
She took a deep breath as she tried to think of how to explain, and realized just how much information needed to be given. “I suppose I should speak to the girls as well. There's a lot that Twilight knows that I should share with all of you, if you're going to know my identity.”
“Like what?” The anger was gone from his voice, replaced with curiosity and the slightest hint of concern.
Celestia closed her eyes and took a slow breath. “Spike, I'm sorry. I will tell you, I promise. But you've helped me realize that I owe that explanation to not only you, but all of the girls, as well. I'd like to get all of it done at once, if you're willing to be patient.”
Spike sighed, frustration plain on his face. “I guess.”
“Thank you, Spike. I really do appreciate it.”
“Yeah, yeah...I gotta go get started on dinner anyway.” He walked out the door, leaving Celestia to her thoughts. Thoughts which he immediately interrupted, sticking his head in the door. “I am still mad about you upsetting Twilight, though.” And with that, he was gone.
"Open minded and quick to forgive...if only more ponies were like you, Spike." Prominence sighed, looked around her room for a moment, put on the clothes she'd bought from Rarity early in her visit, and wandered the halls of the palace, a little unsure of what to do with herself. All she could think about was how much she wanted to spend time with Twilight.
Five ponies stood assembled in a barn, having agreed to meet up after court at Applejack's behest.
“I'm glad everypony could make it. I wanna thank all of you for comin'.”
“Of course, Applejack. What was it you wanted to speak with us about?” Rarity asked.
“The whole thing with Prominence. I mean, I trust Twilight and all, but it seems a little weird, doesn't it?”
“Well, perhaps, but who are we to speculate on the whims of royalty?” Rarity asked, smiling.
“What if she's a changeling?!” Pinkie demanded as she grabbed Applejack by the shoulders and shook her.
“But Pinkie, you're the one who said you already knew it was Celestia...” Fluttershy pointed out.
“Oh yeah.” She released Applejack suddenly, and the farmer yelped in surprise as she fell to the floor.
“How did you know about that, anyway?” Rainbow asked, staring suspiciously at her friend.
“Well, it all started when...” Pinkie's gaze slowly drifted toward the ceiling of the barn, and she stared silently for a few moments.
“...Darling, you do know we can't see your flashback, right?” Rarity's voice snapped Pinkie out of her reverie and back to reality.
“Oh, that's OK, Rarity, it's probably not how it really happened anyways.”
Applejack put her hoof to her forehead, and dragged it down her face with an exasperated groan. “Alright, I just wanna make sure, we all trust Twilight, right?” Her assembled friends nodded in agreement. “And we all trust that Prominence is who she says she is, and that she didn't trick Twilight?”
“I don't really know for sure, but it's hard to go wrong trusting Pinkie about this kind of thing,” Dash reasoned.
“Discord has seemed like he's been keeping something from me, and if anyone could tell, it would probably be him...” Fluttershy added.
“I see no reason to doubt her. As Dash pointed out yesterday, the excuse given for Celestia's absence isn't the most convincing. And, if we needed proof, I'm sure they'd be understanding enough to contact Princess Luna.” Rarity paused for a moment, before mumbling, “And it's so much like a fairy tale that I really really want to believe it.”
“Oh! Yes! We should totally call up Luna! We almost never get to hang out!” Pinkie squealed as she hopped out the door.
Applejack stared as Pinkie left without a goodbye. “...Well, I guess that means we're done here.” She turned back to the rest of her friends. “Thanks for comin', everypony. Glad we all know where we stand on this.”
“Do we?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't believe you've told us how you feel about it.”
Applejack sighed as she reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. “I ain't the biggest fan of them lyin' about who she is, but I can see why they did it, and I'm not about to make a big fuss over something that ain't really even my business in the first place, long as it's not hurting anypony. And I don't think she'd be doin' it if it was hurtin' anypony. Princess Celestia knows better than that.”
“How could I be so stupid?” Celestia muttered, her face in a book, her eyes resting between the words. “Of course that would hurt Spike, and of course he deserved my trust on the matter! I've known him his whole life, he's more trustworthy than most of my court! I feel like such an idiot.” The more she had tried to distract herself from Twilight, the more she found herself thinking about the conversation with Spike, and the more she thought about the conversation, the guiltier she felt.
Twilight shifted uncomfortably in the doorway, having been unable to clearly decipher just what Celestia was saying, but figuring from her tone that she was very angry with the book, despite not having turned a page in the five minutes since Twilight had arrived. Twilight was confused, to say the least. None of the interesting characters even died until two books later. “Um, Prominence?”
“Dyah!” Her magic faltered and the book fell to the ground. “Twilight! How, um...How long have you been there?”
“Not long,” She lied, picking up the book off the floor, and placing it on a table. “Um, dinner's ready. Downstairs. Is something wrong?”
Prominence rose to her hooves, shaking her head. “Nothing that's not my own fault, but I'm sure I can handle it.”
Twilight gave her a small smile as she turned and headed out the bedroom door. “Well, if you need any help, be sure to let me know. That's, uh, that's what friends are for. Right?”
Prominence smiled at the offer, but shook her head. “I think I'll be—no, wait. Could you help me get everypony together sometime soon? I feel like I need to tell them all something.”
“Of course. Now, come on. I was waiting for you to start eating, but Spike was looking a little impatient. There might not be much left if we don't hurry.”
Prominence stared at her for a moment, then bolted out into the hallway. Twilight chuckled, and followed her to the dining room.
After a fantastic meal full of casual conversation, during which Spike seemed to be warming back up to Prominence, the young dragon cleared the table and went to do the dishes.
“...I have a message for you.” Prominence said, shifting nervously. “Princess Luna asked me to deliver it when she visited my dream last night.”
“Oh, yeah?” Twilight looked into Prominence's eyes. “What did she have to s--” She paused for a moment, and they both looked away, blushing slightly. Prominence cleared her throat.
“Um, well, she said to tell you that Celestia isn't that flexible. I believe it was relating to your dream. I, um, I honestly have no idea what it means. Do you?”
“...Y-yes. It's not important, though. Don't worry about it.”
Prominence pouted. It was a small pout, but she pouted all the same. Twilight felt her pulse speeding up at the sight of it. That wasn't fair at all.
“Can we talk in private?” In a flash of magic, they were teleported into another room. A wave of magenta washed over it to soundproof the room and put Celestia at ease, even though the only ponies likely to barge in anywhere in the castle were the ones who'd learned her secret.
“...Why, yes, Twilight, I would be happy to speak with you in private.” Celestia answered, an amused eyebrow raised.
“Sorry, sorry, I just, we, there's so much stuff we didn't discuss yet, and I'm having some reservations, and I'm anxious, and I'm having trouble holding that stuff in when my friends aren't around to help me feel relaxed and I've got nothing to distract myself. Are you this stressed out?”
“I'd love it if I was, to establish solidarity on the issue, but honestly, knowing that we have so much time between now and when we'll actually begin an official relationship is keeping me from pulling my mane out over it.”
“...But if there was less time, you would be pulling your mane out?”
“There'd be radiant, flowing, ethereal wisps all over the floor,” Celestia assured.
“Well, that's something.” She paused for a moment, her wings twitching slightly.
“You should learn to control that. It's not good for a political figure to have such an obvious tell when something is bothering her.” As Celestia spoke, Twilight locked her wings to her side in response. “What's bothering you?”
“Well, is it really OK that all my friends know now?”
“I won't say that it's not a little troubling, but it's for the best. After all, they knew how you felt about me, but I'm not going to be here as Prominence forever.”
“I guess that would've been hard to explain...” Once again, Twilight's wings began twitching.
“Um, I was wondering, they're the only ones who know, right? About how you feel about me?”
“W-well, Discord knows. I'm not sure how, though. And I went to Granny Smith for advice.” She paused and thought for a moment. “I wrote Cadance a letter, asking for advice when I first started...crushing.”
“So it's just those who know who I am now anyway...”
“Oh! And Fleur Dis Lee.”
Celestia stared at Twilight, dumbfounded. “You—I—the model? How do you even know her?!”
“I, uh, I met her at a Canterlot garden party. On my birthday. When Rarity was staying at the palace?” She shifted uncomfortably, unsure of why Celestia had reacted in such a manner. “Is that a problem?”
“Oh, no, of course not, I was just surprised.” She replied, calming down. “She's actually one of the nicer ponies I tend to encounter at high class functions. I'm surprised you told her how you felt about Prominence, though. Are you two close?”
“Not particularly. She was just sort of, uh...” Twilight sighed as she rubbed a hoof against her cheek. “Right place, right time.”
“And what place is the right place?”
“Carousel Boutique. Rarity was working on her wedding dress.”
“Fleur Dis Lee is getting married?!” Celestia's shouting caused Twilight to flinch.
“Uh, y-yeah, to Fancy Pants.” Twilight watched in confusion as Celestia repeated the name a few times, the expression on her face shifting to an odd mix of shock, delight, and jealousy. “That's, uh, that's an unusual response.”
The strange expression was replaced with one of embarrassment, and finally a serene smile. “I'm sorry, Twilight. That must've been a little disquieting.” She said, a familiar and disconcerting pleasantness to her voice as she retreated behind the same mask she wore as princess.
“No, no, it's okay!” Twilight replied hurriedly, eager to have Celestia remain herself. “I was just curious why you reacted that way.”
“I was...Well, I mean...He's a very handsome, kind gentlecolt.” She replied awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.
“...You had a crush on him?” Twilight asked. Celestia nodded, embarrassed.
“But, like every other crush I've ever had, nothing could come of it. I just kept reminding myself of that until the feelings passed. I...suppose I may have gotten a bit jealous. Also, very surprised. They've always been close, and particularly flirtatious with one another, but I'd heard nothing of an actual relationship between them.”
“Sooooo,” Twilight tapped her chin, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully, “What you're saying is, you like mares and stallions?”
“Is that all you're taking away from this conversation?” Celestia asked with a chuckle. “That is indeed the case. And I believe it's the same for you? Spike mentioned someone from the other world.”
Twilight's eyes widened and she let out a nervous chuckle. 'Spike is in so much trouble.' “He told you about that?”
“Well, to be fair, I asked.” Celestia admitted. “During my first week here, I was trying to figure out what kept getting you so flustered. One of my earliest guesses was that you were hiding a boyfriend.”
“I...What?” Twilight stared in confusion and disbelief.
“You were acting odd, and I was trying to figure out why. Evidence seemed to suggest romantic feelings. I was just wrong about the nature of those feelings.” Celestia replied, matter-of-factly.
“I guess you have a point there, but me, with a stallion, that's, I, uh...” She giggled awkwardly. There was a short lull in conversation. “I really like that outfit on you?” She offered helplessly.
“...You know, I get the feeling that you're not entirely certain how to behave around me when we're alone.”
“That's putting it mildly.” Twilight said, lowering her head.
“Just act naturally. You've already won me over.” Celestia gave her a wink.
Twilight began stammering and blushing, before clearing her throat and looking away. “B-but what if 'awkward and stilted' is what comes naturally at a given point?” Celestia just chuckled as she turned to leave the room.
“That's not helpful at all,” whimpered Twilight.
A few days later, six ponies and a dragon sat and watched as Celestia nervously paced back and forth. As friendly and accommodating as the whole bunch was, patience was starting to wane among the group, as they'd been waiting for her to speak for a short while.
“What do you think she wants to tell us?” Pinkie whispered loudly into Applejack's ear.
“I don't know any better than I did last time you asked me,” The farmer spoke plainly.
“Oh! Okay.” Pinkie waited a few seconds before leaning over and repeating her question in Rainbow's ear, causing the pegasus to clench her eyes shut and rub her temples in exasperation.
Celestia sighed. She felt terrible for keeping them waiting, but this felt like the wrong thing to do. No, it was the right thing, she was just nervous. But, emotions serve to protect us, so if she's nervous about doing something, perhaps it'd be better if—Twilight had snuck up on her, and put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Are you OK?” She asked. She hadn't wanted to interfere, or to overstep the still unclear boundaries involved in delaying a relationship, but this had just gotten more and more painful to watch the longer she sat waiting with her friends.
Celestia stared at Twilight's face for a moment, then turned to Spike and took a deep breath. Then, she explained to everyone exactly why Prominence was necessary. She gave this group the same story that she'd given Twilight.
Spike suddenly felt horrible for having held her secrecy against her. Fluttershy felt overwhelmed by a burgeoning sense of kinship with her secretly introverted ruler. All in all, everyone, pony and dragon alike, was supportive, and offered her reassurances of their friendship once she'd finished her story. Except Twilight. It was her second time hearing the story, and for some reason something felt out of place, or missing. It was like she'd been reading an amazing story, and stumbled at the point where she could clearly see the editor meddling, forcing the author to put in a romantic angle to draw a wider audience, or forcing them to remove the death of a popular character. Something felt...smoothed over.
With Celestia emotionally exhausted from once again delving into her past, those who gathered to hear the story decided to give her some breathing room. But, before they dispersed, Pinkie Pie stepped forward, a completely natural smile on her face, and threw her forelegs around Celestia's neck.
“You don't need a disguise to know you can still make friends, silly. You just need to make 'em!” Without another word, she cheerfully hopped out the door.
All alone in the room with Twilight, emotionally exposed and vulnerable, Pinkie's words struck deep into the core of her being. She doubted she could hold back, but she didn't even want to try. Celestia allowed herself a nice, long, cleansing cry. It was a powerful, ugly, healing thing, all tears and mucus, and Twilight would've likely panicked if not for the smile that was on her face the whole time.
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That statement terrified me. lol
Huzzah! Update!
Great work and this makes it, what, pretty much the 1st anniversary of the story?
Spotted a typo:
Should be "dragged."
6243980 fixed.
also, wow. I did not even realize it'd been a year. holy expletive. I mean...I feel like I should say something about it, but I have no words for it.
While the Kickstarter page was loading the title just cause me to think of Pokemon
Oh and Happy Late 1 year anniversary.
*Insert a picture of a leftover cupcake with a single candle
Featured a year ago and featured the instant this updated again. I was kinda in a sense of disbelief when I saw this story in the feature box, "It can't be it, can it? No, it really is it! Holy guacamole, it updated!!"
6243985 please don't spoil but:
Guys, do you think AJ is jealous?
6244816 it seems it happened again an entire section of text wasnt posted and was cut out
6244078 the pokemon thing is natural. but the title is actually because it's a spiritual successor to Mega Man Legends. Legends is called Rockman Dash in Japan, so Red Ash is Re-Dash.
6244696 Rarity is easily the most detail oriented, and is totally also willing to give her friends what they want over what she wants to make. She'd make a world that was fleshed out, but adaptable to how they'd want their story to go.
6244816 are you sure it'd be capitalized? I mean, to my knowledge (and headcanon), that's not like...an official position, or a title she actually has, or anything. it's just something she happens to be. to the same degree that I am the guy who works the drive through window.
6244851 do you think she's jealous? I'm honestly curious as to which one she's jealous of. I will neither confirm nor deny this, as per your request, but my curiosity has gotten the best of me as to your interpretation of how I've written these characters.
Loved the chapter & I hope to read more soon!
6244696 I see what you did there...
A happy party isn't always what you want. Sometimes someone gets killed off, other times you are in a hamlet or city ravaged by plague or demons. Undead rending flesh and bone from still living companions... you know the fun stuff. I think Rarity's flair for the dramatic and her (assumed) experience with fantasy novels puts her in the best position for DM/GM-ing.
6244914 LICD is a webcomic. Or, an acronym for its title, "Least I Could Do." the main character, Rayne Summers, will often recount the tale of how he tried to buy a horse a prostitute, in inappropriate situations. despite the story being wholly inappropriate, the response he gets is always, "I love this guy!"
6244926 I don't recall cutting anything after posting a chapter, with the exception of removing some pinkie pie stuff. are you sure you're looking in the right place for it? they each wrote letters, with different closing signature type dealies.
Welcome back! It thrills me no end to remove one of my favorites from the "incomplete / likely abandoned" list. And you're right, the scenes here needed to happen independent of any narrative as a prelude to getting the rest of the story moving.
Also, there's nothing stopping the lovebirds from enjoying some private time together. It's only a problem if they're seen together publicly (as Prominence) prior to being seen together (as Celestia).
coltfriend
_______________
6245087
Sweet! I definitely need to look at that fic ^_^.
Also, welcome back, it's good to see this fic up and running again. I have a question though ... after this vacation ends. Will we get a sequel seeing the dating and romantic journey of Celestia and Twilight?
I love how Twilight can come up with things that shock the pony who is omnipresent every dream. Don't underestimate the smart, crazy ones, Luna.
No! Bad Pinkie Pie!
Undead aren't vulnerable to precision damage!
What are Applejack and RD playing as, and what races are Pinkie and Fluttershy's characters? Don't feel pushed to answer this if the game (Ogres & Oubliettes, I assume? It seems 3rd edition to me, but Thieves and Backstab are from earlier) is going to come up again in a later chapter. I can wait, in that case.
If it isn't, though, I would also like to know what Prominence was intending to create. She was making something before that talk about not playing as yourself, so is she continuing that character or did it inspire a new character concept for her?
Why, yes. Yes she is.
But seriously, Trixie sounds desperate. A maid? Trixie!?
Yes! Will this come up next chapter? I want to learn what Celestia was/thinks she was responsible for that she's so certain Twilight will hate her for--even knowing what kind of pony Twilight is.
6245087 i meant from my comment its happened to me multiple times
6244947 well, given how the story has processed so far I'm not inclined to believe she's interested in Celestia, but hey that's the fun of speculation. Might not even be jealousy.
6245117 celestia is overly cautious of curious pegasi, and most rooms in the castle have windows.
6245288 in the song, The Perfect Stallion, scootaloo uses the term girlfriend, so I assume boyfriend to be correct, if not at least acceptable. also, least I could do isn't a fic, it's a web comic. www.leastIcoulddo.com
6245290 Luna focuses on this more than she usually does on sex dreams because she is invested in the relationship as well as the lives of both ponies involved. usually she's just like, "yeah, sex stuff, whatever, I'll be reading the dream newspaper."
I kind of made up all the dnd type stuff on the fly, so I don't know if it'll come up again, and I do not actually have much practical experience with tabletop gaming, but what knowledge I have mostly relates to 3.5. I wanna play, I've just never had a group, and I don't have books because...well, it's pricey, for something I may never have the opportunity to use. a lot of my table top gaming information comes from webcomics. The Order of The Stick (which takes place in a universe run on 3.5), and a handful of campaign comics, such as darths and droids (starwars as an rpg, no specific game is used it's just generic stuff), and of course friendship is dragons (mlp played as a 4e dnd campaign).
but, pinkie's a griffon rogue, fluttershy is a changeling bard (shapeshifting for circumstance bonuses to charisma), spike is a donkey fighter (a donkey is, in reality, nice and hardy. so he can take a lot of damage. racial bonus to con.), rainbow is a unicorn sorcerer(studying isn't her style, but big explosive attacks totally are), and applejack is a zebra cleric. I don't know what zebra would do to stats, I just know they need someone keeping everyone else alive. Prominence...will probably be an earth pony paladin. if this comes up again.
6245689
Seriously? I don't remember that. I do remember coltfriend though (or I'm misremembering from the hundreds of thousands of fics out theere), and fillyfriend is something that is universal in fics. Since boy and girl are human related terms (and the word "man" causes confusion among ponies [ala Episode 100]). Fillyfriend and coltfriend just have a more natural feel when it comes to equines. Since fillies are female equines, and colts are male equines.
6245700 I actually dug through the transcripts to find out if they'd ever said the word "man" once. Rainbow says "oh, man!" in party of one. also, I can think of a few occasions where twilight refers to her friends as girls. and fluttershy too, with stare master. "GIRLS! BEHIND ME, NOW!!!" plus applejack, in the ticket master, says "ain't that just like a boy."
as for the song,
Apple Bloom: this guy's too silly. he's way too uptight.
Sweetie Belle: Well, nothing's wrong with this one, he seems alright.
Scootaloo: His girlfriend sure thinks so.
not that I don't think you'd believe me, but I like to back up my statements.
6245782
It's good to back up statements. Doesn't make the human terminology to ponies read or sound any less weird. Or get drowned out by fanon terminology. Still ... as weird and wrong as it reads. I guess it can be chalked up to "artistic choice", and left at that. That and the writers of the show really need to work on their terminology.
If Dash says it in one random episode but in a later one. The use of man gets you this:
6245689 Yeah, I understand that. For years I blew most of the money I got on D&D books, but I have had the hardest time finding groups. I've been in a few, but it never lasted long--in one case I had to move away, another group broke up after only three weeks (only two of us had any real interest, it appeared), and my most recent attempt led me to discover a group chock-full of assholes. Gaming comics help me keep my sanity--that, and looking through homebrew material. With 3.5 finished, I rely on homebrewers to give me my fix of new material. Pathfinder... I love it, but it's expensive to keep up with. I did get the core rulebook and Ponyfinder, though.
6244914 http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Webcomic/LeastICouldDo
Feels like it's been ages since I've read this story, and I feel like this update has lost a lot of context for me... i'm seriously considering a re-read to get back in the swing of things, but if I remember correctly, this is the first update in about eight months. Perhaps even longer.
*Edit*
Okay, not eight months, but damn close.
Welcome back. I completely forgot about this story until this update. I just reread every thing so far and I forgot how much fun it was.
Now, that being said, let me explain how this is going to work from here on out: you are going to finish this and you are going to release new chapters in reasonable amounts of time. At least one every two or three months or sooner; that seems fair.
If you do not, we will find you, coat you in cotton candy and let Pinkie Pie have her way with you.
If that's not an incentive to keep producing, iI don't what is.
Thank you!
I forgot this story existed.
Forgetting this story existed therefor made the update an incredibly pleasant surprise.
Also, I would favorite a sidestory featuring Prominence participating in Rarity's RPG in a heartbeat.
6248455 I don't know what that is.
You're the only person I've found that knows about Red Ash. Are you a Megaman Legends fan?
6249669 yep. Anticipation of legends 3 was, in fact, the whole reason I bought a 3DS in the first place.
6246368 huh. apparently you get down to -4 just for voicing an understandable opinion.
anyway, I wish I knew what I was missing from those earlier chapters, but try as I might, I can't seem to figure it out, and nothing I've tried to do to get it back seems to be working, but perhaps I'm just too close to the project. Do you have any insight as to what I'm doing differently, as a reader? If I can figure it out, maybe I can make it a bit less crap in the next chapter. or even go back and fix up all the ones where the quality declined once the story's done.
6250627 Same.
6251956 ...I may be rushing it. I'm not sure. I know I managed to come up with a lot more stuff when editing to improve a chapter that was already finished in the past, but I'm having trouble doing much more than changing language now, for more clarity and punchiness. honestly, my best theory besides that is that I'm more limited and my writing is suffering as a result. in the first chapters I had a blank canvas and could just put down whatever I wanted, but now everything I do is bound by the things that preceded it. it has to be in line with an ongoing story. perhaps I'm just better suited to oneshots.
also, I never heard of ya. so...I got no grudge.
“...Darling, you do know we can't see your flashback, right?” Rarity's voice snapped Pinkie out of her reverie and back to reality.
“Oh, that's OK, Rarity, it's probably not how it really happened anyways.”
That was soooo Pinkie...
Loved the story so far, great work.
Always lovely to see this update!
6252319 that I do not. the only new stories I'm likely to encounter are oneshots, as, with a few exceptions, I tend to only search for completed fics.
This definitely ranks among some of the most enjoyable "TwiLestia" stories I've read. I'll be coming back for more.
6400832 this came out a few months after the season 4 finale. That's why Twilight has a castle. you couldn't have had it on your list since before season 4.
Hmm. I'm not entirely sure what's different about this chapter when compared to the others, but it seems to be...
Lesser...
I don't really know how to describe it, but I found myself becoming less and less 'hyped' with the two chapters after 'Confessions pt.1'.
) well written. I look forward to the update, whenever that may be.
Have a follow anyway, as I am eager to see this story get completed.
Do you have an Editor? Perhaps they can nail what seems to have been lost.
Regardless, this story is deep and (most of the time
6456819 yeah, I don't know what happened. I think I stopped being good at writing? Honestly, I feel a lot less passionate about the story and I think that may be why it's suffering. which, if that's the case, and I don't even know for sure that it is yet, there's some considerations to be made as to whether I should keep churning out a subpar story that progressively gets worse, just to keep people happy, or if I should stop writing this story because it's just not going to meet my own standards.
6467513 let the readers decide if your story is dipping below par i honestly dont mind sub par stories so long as its still interesting heck it could be all fluff and no story and i might enjoy it
Relax. A chapter is as long as a chapter needs to be to be a chapter that does what the chapter does. Holding them to arbitrary standards just makes them and you unhappy.
6467513
I'm afraid I can't relate to this at the moment, having not produced any works yet, but I personally would finish the story and edit it at a later date. That's just my thoughts though, I'm used to not having a valid opinion
But regardless, the story isn't suffering that much. It's still very well crafted and I genuinely look forward to any upcoming chapters, whenever you feel like writing them. I definitely wouldn't say you're no longer good at writing, as you're still better than most others.
Whatever you choose, it should be a choice that you're happy with.
(Looking forward to the next chapter, whenever you can do it!
)
Watch this story in one day!
Please write more.
So Rarity's into DnD? Who'd have guessed?
I may have posted this before but" I really hope you continue writing this, I really liked the story and would love to see it to it's conclusion.
6928188 I am in kind of a writing slump right now, but I do intend to finish it in due course. I just...haven't felt up to writing for a long time now.
7023754 well i liek the story and i wait for go on, and i do hope it will but take all the time u need
7546668 thanks. I still want to finish it, but I'm actually working on another pony fic right now. I still haven't figured out exactly what I want to happen next in Prominence, so that kinda sucks, but at least I'm writing again.
7550259 well i for one cant wait to read the new fic
6245032
... Twilight wouldn't let me fudge the inherent bonuses up on my sheet every couple of weeks, she'd know there was an unaccounted difference. Rarity for best DM, my vote is cast.