Chapter 18
“I’m not sure how this fixes our problem,” Gosling whined in a reedy, nasal drone as Celestia’s weight settled over his back. She was heavy, she had a shocking amount of weight for looking so thin and delicate, but Gosling would never say that. He would never, ever say that the mare he loved had to weigh as much as a neutron star. He had to strain to hold her up, but his legs were askew in strange positions, which made his efforts quite difficult. He felt her leg reaching beneath him, brushing up against his sides, and then her hind leg was braced against the inside of his thigh, which was off at an angle. Something velvety brushed up against something sensitive, and it tickled him. He began to giggle. His jerky movements as he giggled made everything worse.
“Quiet you,” Celestia commanded, “and focus on holding up your princess, my little pony.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Gosling waited, his whole body straining as he felt Celestia’s stomach rubbing over his croup. This was torture. She was trying to torture him to death, he was certain of it. He had refused her and now this.
“Right front yellow,” Celestia said.
Cringing, Gosling made a move, trying to beat Celestia to the nearest spot within reach. As he moved, he felt her slide over his back, and he heard her hiss, sucking air through her clenched teeth. He felt… something brush up against his spine, near his dock. Two somethings to be exact. He tried not to think about what those might be. It might have been the pointy bits of bone on her pelvis for all he knew. He wobbled, almost losing his balance, and Celestia made it harder when more of her bulk came to rest upon him. She had to reach out even further to reach a different spot, seeing as how he had taken the closest.
“Gosling, how is it that both of your hind legs are brushing up against my hind leg?” Celestia paused for a moment and then said in reply to her own words, “Wait, don’t answer that. Some things are better left a mystery, my little pony.”
Sweat ran down Gosling’s belly and poured down his legs as his beloved princess settled more of her bulk over his back. He gritted his teeth and tried to brace himself as best as he could.
“Left front blue,” Celestia said.
Looking around, Gosling realised he was boned. He whimpered, lifted his left front leg, and then reached back towards the only blue spot he could reach. He wobbled, almost falling over, and with his right foot off at an angle, he tipped over, ending up with his backside up in the air. Somehow, he kept from falling over completely, but now his princess was forced to balance herself on his bum. He tried not to think about how he must look at the moment, bent over, with Celestia’s hot, sweaty belly grinding up against his backside. He whimpered.
The door opened and Cadance entered without knocking. She stood staring. Cadance had no visible reaction whatsoever, other than just staring at what she saw with her head tilted off to one side.
“Cadance,” Celestia said in a strained voice, greeting Cadance as she struggled to keep her balance on Gosling, who was face down and bum up. Celestia’s wings were out to help to keep her from falling over. “We were just trying to relieve a little stress.”
“I see that,” Cadance replied. “One… two… three… four… five.” Cadance nodded. “Huh. I wonder if having five legs to stand on counts as cheating.”
With a grunt and a gasp, Gosling collapsed, causing Celestia to come crashing down on top of him. The most delightful parts of her that he could imagine rubbed up against him, along his spine, and she was like a dense, heavy cloud made of velvet that could somehow crush the life out of him. Death was certain, but what a way to go.
“I hate to interrupt your game of Twister, but I was hoping to lure the two of you out of your room. There is still a lot of daylight left and the press is getting antsy. Might I recommend an invigourating cold shower?”
Saying nothing else, Cadance turned, exited, and shut the door behind her.
Just outside of the door, Celestia came to a halt. Gosling looked up, she had her head held high so it was difficult to look her in the eye. She was shaking. Gosling’s eyebrow raised and he took a step closer. This was a private hall and it was empty, save for some guards posted in alcoves some ways back.
“Heart’s Dearest, are you okay?” Gosling asked.
Shaking her head, Celestia replied, “No. I do not wish to go in there.”
Gosling started to say something, but Celestia continued, having only paused for a moment. “I know what is expected of me, Gosling. I know what needs to be done.” Celestia paused and sniffed a few times. Gosling wondered if she was about to start crying perhaps. He moved closer and gave her an attentive nudge with his nose on her neck.
“I keep thinking of abdicating,” Celestia admitted. “Just stepping down. When Equestria was small, rulership was easy. Oh, it was hard, don’t get me wrong, but the application of governance was easy. There was only a little land and it was relatively easy to manage. There was an island of civilisation in a sea of monsters. Discord had ruined so much.”
Waiting, Gosling stood with his ears perked, listening. He was glad his mother wasn’t here to hear Discord’s name. She would be spitting and cursing.
“Now though… oh my goodness… Manehattan has over a million ponies.” Celestia shook her head. “I can’t even remember the exact numbers. But all of Manehattan has more ponies packed into one city than Equestria had for its whole population when it was our golden age.”
“The fourth Celestial Era… Colonel Purple Dart… the era of southern expansion…”
Looking down, Celestia blinked at Gosling.
“What? I said I liked history. My Ma quizzed me with flashcards each night before bed, okay?” Gosling’s stormy grey face darkened a bit as he blushed and his nostrils flared.
After a moment, Celestia nodded her head. “Gosling, I worry sometimes how the old way of governance and the monarchy will hold up as we grow larger and larger. Equestria is a perilous mix of old and new. Sometimes, I worry that everything will fly apart.”
“Oy vey,” Gosling said in a low voice, sounding a bit like his mother. “Things change, but traditions survive. Just not every tradition. Some fall by the wayside and new ones rise up to replace them.” He held his head as high as he could. “You are the Eternal Sun, the last of the Great Ones of the First Tribes. That empire didn’t survive and there is no guarantee that this one will either—”
“Gosling…”
“Eventually, things will change. Something will give. Equestria might not be Equestria. But you will still be here, looking after and guiding whatever little ponies might still be around.” Gosling’s eyes narrowed. “The wise ones will always follow you. The foolish ones will turn away to face their own destruction.”
“I… Gosling… you… I…” Flabbergasted, Celestia fell silent. Her lips pressed into a tight, narrow line, her brow furrowed in thought, she pushed upon the door and stepped into the hall.
When the door opened, Gosling heard patriotic music playing. The mood in the hall was subdued. More reporters had arrived and the hall was packed. The bar was crowded and the buffet tables were being filled with supper items. Nopony was dancing. Reporters stood talking to one another. Others had formed a ring around Shining Armor and were listening with perked ears.
Seeing Shining Armor and how he dealt with the crisis, Gosling aspired to something better in life. He needed to go back to school. He needed to stay in the guard. Perhaps it was time to grow up, become a little bit more serious, and become an officer. Maybe it was time to double down on his therapy. He was still pretty angry about Skyfire Flash and the situation that had caused him to drop out of school. The events of the day had brought a lot of painful things up to the surface of his mind. It was like a sliver surfacing on the flesh after festering in the wound.
Looking up at Celestia, Gosling realised that it was time for him to become the pony that Celestia deserved. He didn’t have time to think about it for very long though, as several members of the press were coming over, edging close, trying to hurry without running.
When one was close enough, she spoke before the others had a chance. “I was hoping to get your opinion on what has happened.”
Celestia drew in a deep breath and her sides expanded. Before she could speak, she was interrupted by the mare. “No, I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but I was hoping for his opinion.” The mare pointed at Gosling.
With a huff, Celestia deflated.
Put on the spot, Gosling stood there, frozen, almost forgetting to blink. He wasn’t sure what to say, or what to do, or what was expected of him. He wasn’t sure what was the safe thing to say, or the Crown approved opinion. He had not been briefed upon the Crown’s official stance.
He sucked in a deep breath, which almost whistled in his dry, raspy throat.
Clearing his throat, Gosling spoke, hoping that he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. “First and foremost, I would like to ask all of my fellow First Tribe members to come together. Our Princesses need us. Maybe some of you have lapsed in your faith. Maybe some of you are First Tribe members in name only. Maybe some of you are old, starchy traditionalists hoping for a revival of the old ways. I tell you this…” Gosling paused and listened as pens all around him scratched over paper. “Now is your time. Revive the old ways. For too long, too many ponies have been worshipping the Royal Sisters in the wrong way. A lot of annoying bowing, a lot of useless prostrating themselves down on the ground. They offer the Royal Sisters lip service.”
Gosling felt hundreds of eyes upon him, boring into his flesh. He felt vulnerable, exposed, his mouth was dry and he was aware that his voice kept cracking. It didn’t matter though, he had to go on. “We need to show others how it is done! If you don’t know, turn to your elders and ask them what can be done… long ago, we served the alicorns, not because we had to, but because we wanted to. We built an empire of beauty out of our love for them. We can best serve them by returning to the old ways and embracing them! Restore our traditions!”
More reporters had gathered and Gosling closed his eyes for a minute, all too aware that pretty much everypony in the room was now staring at him, including his mother. Eyes still shut, he continued, “We can serve the Royal Sisters best by looking after what they hold dear… Equestria and the ponies who live there. Members of the First Tribes, my name is Gosling, son of Sleet, and I am here to ask you to begin a new era of civil service!”
Taking a deep breath, Gosling made ready to say more, but was drowned out by thunderous applause. He opened his eyes, blinked in astonishment, and felt his ears burning. In the sea of faces, he saw his mother’s blue eyes and her white face. Her silvery white mane had spilled down around her muzzle, clinging to her dampened cheeks. She was crying. Gosling felt something catch in his throat and even if he wasn’t drowned out by the stomping hooves, the whistles, and the whinnies, he wouldn’t be able to continue. His voice was gone. Seeing his mother crying had done him in.
Lunging forwards, the crowd parted, and Gosling rushed forwards to embrace his mother.
His mother’s embrace was warm and comforting. She clung to him, shaking, her cheeks damp, her wings around his neck. Gosling ignored the flashes as cameras went off. He didn’t care at the moment who knew that he loved his mother. He kissed her on the top of her head and wondered when he had become so much taller than she was.
When he was younger, she used to kiss him on the white spot located between his ears, calling it her special spot. Now, she couldn’t reach it, not unless he bowed his head. So much had changed in so little time. He had grown up… and up… and up. A matchmaker had set him upon the path to love. He was probably going to marry soon, perhaps sooner than he expected. His life had become a whirlwind, and now, he was caught in the midst of it, powerless to do anything but try to ride it out.
Somepony approached from the side and from size alone, Gosling knew it was Celestia. He felt two wings wrap around him and his mother. The three stood together now, with Celestia being the largest and Sleet being the smallest, with Gosling somewhere in between.
“This is my future consort, whom I hold most dear,” Princess Celestia said in a warm voice that somehow cut through all of the noise around her without a microphone. No other words were spoken, but Celestia bowed her head, bending her neck so that she could be closer to the two ponies she had embraced.
Many cameras flashed to capture the moment and many words were murmured.
Then, one old pegasus reporter shouted, “Mazel Tov!” and set off a frenzy.
Not marriage, but Twister. That's the secret to maintaining celibacy.
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I beg to differ...*cough*
She was very flexible... so very flexible...
7169682
saw saw
7169688 Yes.
Why do they even have Twister? It doesn't seem as fun for quadrupeds.
7169711
Why do they even have Twister? It doesn't
seem asfunfor quadrupeds.FTFY
Is there a difference between courting and marriage?
Ah yes, good luck indeed, for though that was motivating, it will start a firestorm. And of course the equalists, they seem like communist terrorists.
And really? Twister? That caught me off.
Bullshit!
I was honestly expecting Gosling to make use of his *ahem* limb-count advantage in their game of Twister.
7169711 Why would tying each other in knots be any less-fun for quadrupeds?
7169974
I'm sure that will come later. Right now he's probably just feeling his way around the situation.
7169942
Courting is formalized (extremely formalized) dating. Marriage is what it says on the tin.
7169942
Yes. Courting is an older term for our modern dating... if you can call it dating.
Making Equestria great again
7170229
Ugh, no. Just no. I want no association of any kind with that orange oompa loompa asshole.
7170272
7170272
He's a little young to be Pony Sanders, even if everything else matches. Besides, MEGA > MAGA. :)
And a surprise twist!
Not sure where you went to high school but... no. It can be... interesting enough fully clothed (I highly recommend bikini/bathing suit twister) but as the two of them are rubbing up against each other naked... Poor Gosling.
That right there is some high level Trollestia. what she said "Lets play twister and get our minds off of sex." What she ment "I admire you for your convictions however I'm horny and now I will slowly torcher you as a penalty for not rutting me silly."
7170484
It's called testing one's convictions. It builds character. Gosling has been made stronger through suffering for his convictions. He is tested, tried, and proven.
7170494
I would argue that he hasn't been tried yet... but he soon will be!
7169974
He was going to, but Cadence interrupted him before he had need of a sixth and seventh leg.
Twister? How lewd!
Not bad, Gosling.
7170494 howibecametexan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/fullscreen-capture-5202013-45504-pm-bmp.jpg
Wasn't exactly sure what was going on then this statement
caused me to fall off my chair laughing, OW!
7211275 Now THAT'S funny, and it was even a clean gag.
7170229
AWWW TARTARUS NAW, can we please please PLEASE keep the monsters associated with the story as the storyverse ones? The real life ones are just too horrifying even in comparison.
Hava Nagila