Chapter 36
Like two majestic swans, Celestia and Gosling lay together, side by side, both on their stomachs with their legs folded up beneath them. Both had their eyes closed, and Gosling was resting his head against Celestia’s neck. Both of them looked serene, regal even, and would have made for a perfect painting.
Celestia’s ears perked up straight, revealing wakefulness, and she felt a powerful need. A dreadful, powerful need. Alicorn though she might be, she was still a mare first and foremost, and she had needs. Her body had demands. Like any other member of the equine species, she had a digestive system based upon powerful fermentation. Her ears twitched as she had a silent, internal debate about what to do. She had no way of knowing the nature of the lurking dragon.
Was it speciest to refer to this as a dragon? What a thought. What a terrible thought.
A test was in order. Celestia decided to send a scout out into the wild to determine the nature of the beast. She didn’t move, not wishing to disturb Gosling, and with her eyes still closed and with a perfect look of serenity upon her face, she released her scout and waited.
After a few seconds, she checked in upon her scout with a faint, imperceptible sniff. Everything seemed fine. It wasn’t bad at all. It was light, airy, little more than harmless fluff. It was like a pegasus napping upon a cloud. Something gentle, beautiful even. She had called the dragon’s bluff.
With a majestic smile, Celestia let it go… oh yes, she let it go.
At first, there was nothing, nothing at all, and Celestia was relieved. But then, something went wrong. The pegasus napping on the cloud was replaced by a boisterous earth pony, an earth pony who had eaten a fine lunch of boiled cabbage, beans, and vegetable pasties, then washed everything down with beer. A stocky, boisterous earth pony with a terrible Manehattanite cheer, announcing that he was indeed, ‘walkin’ here!’ as he honked for the right of way in traffic. Celestia’s ethereal tail rippled as the trade winds took it, shook it, and the dreadful southern wind whipped up a maelstrom in her auroral projection.
Oh, this was awful, her inner thoughts were so tribalist. For shame…
The majestic alicorn’s eyes opened as the earth pony became a unicorn summoning an eldritch horror from far below the southern ice cap. The entire bed shook as if it was possessed. A look of alarm spread over Celestia’s face as the dragon revealed his true nature. The sound was like one of Charon’s horn blasts announcing the departure across the Styx, a sound that could quite literally move the dead. Beside her, Gosling’s eyes opened wide and he looked up at her with a sidelong glance.
The unicorn became an alicorn that had gone wrong in the worst possible way, something so bad that it could only be left to the imagination. There was nothing that Celestia could do but just ride it out and hope for the best.
And as suddenly as it had begun, it was over, leaving two shell shocked ponies laying in bed together. Looking down, Celestia could see Gosling’s face. He looked properly intimidated. She felt her mouth go dry. This was the sort of incident that could wreck a marriage, or prevent one from happening. She saw him blinking, trying to compose himself, and she blinked back, it was as if their eyelids had some secret semaphore communication between them, perhaps brokering some agreement to avoid chemical warfare at all costs in the future, having seen the horrors of modern war.
“Eh, you and my Ma need to go on a spree… fuggedaboutit.” Having made his feelings known, Gosling closed his eyes and settled back in for sleep.
Beside him, Celestia grinned, closed her eyes, and began to daydream of adorable little muggers with precious inner city accents. She loved him, and he loved her. Love made all things possible and could bear all things.
Celestia knew that Cadance would agree.
When Gosling awoke, he could feel that noon was still a few hours away. The back of his throat burned with a raging fire. He blinked and looked around. He had slept for several hours. He had vague memories of dreaming, something about Luna and facing his fears. On the small table beside the bed, he saw a paper dispensary cup with a few pills in it and a plastic cup with water in it. There was also a brown glass bottle with the chalky stuff he had to drink. Seeing it made him shudder.
With care, he moved on the bed, wincing, the painkillers had worn off and his stomach muscles were killing him. His body was still recovering from the dry heaves and his sickness. As he moved, he felt a spike of nausea go through his head. The medication would help. He was alone, which meant that he needed to get himself out of the bed without falling on his face. He had the feeling that Celestia was already testing him, or preparing him for the test to come. He was determined to stick it out. He didn’t feel right being healed when so many others suffered worse. Or, maybe, Celestia was right and he was a silly pony. There was that distinct possibility.
He was on his own. He slid out of bed, landed on his front legs, braced himself, and then steadied himself as he allowed his back half to slip off of the mattress. He kept his hind legs underneath him somehow, and once he was standing, he stretched out his wings. So long as he moved slow, the nausea was manageable. Using his dextrous primaries, he picked up the paper dispensary cup, tossed the dozen or so pills into his mouth, and then took a drink of water so he could swallow them all. He saved half of his glass of water and put it down.
Lifting the brown glass bottle, he yanked out the cork with his teeth, spat the cork out onto the table, grabbed the neck of the bottle with his lips, and began to chug the foul, chalky liquid down. Somepony had added cherry flavouring to this batch and it wasn’t quite so bad as the plain chalky flavoured stuff. He gagged as he drank it, and for a moment, he wasn’t certain that he was going to get down the full quart of medicine. His eyes crossed and he went for broke.
Snorting with disgust and triumph, Gosling put the brown glass bottle back down upon the table. Somepony would be along to collect it. He could now feel the liquid sloshing in his stomach. Already, the burning sensation in the back of his throat was cooling off. He drank the rest of his water, set down the plastic cup, and stepped away from the table.
He stretched out his wings again, gave them a flap, and then tried to make his ears pop. He yawned and flexed his jaw, wiggling and waggling it around, all while making very silly faces. The first few pops of his ears brought relief, but then one happened that almost dropped him to the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut to hold back his tears, whimpered, and could taste something bitter draining down the back of this throat, something he still suspected was ear wax. He wobbled, but remained upright.
After a few moments, he opened his eyes again. The door was about twenty feet away. For some reason, it felt like a much longer distance than it used to. He gritted his teeth together, gave himself a bit of a shake, and then, not content to simply look regal as he made his slow march to the door, Gosling strutted. A slow peacock strut.
So long as he kept up his slow strut, Gosling knew he would be fine.
Passing the guards, Gosling eyed them with suspicion. He didn’t know who he felt he trusted anymore. He thought about his punishment that he had coming for threatening Sergeant Shamrock. A serious failure of protocols had happened. He knew that he could be tossed out of the guard for what he had done, and the thought concerned him. In light of everything that had happened, Gosling had discovered that he loved his service. He liked being in the guard. He intended to stay. He was going to go back to school and he was going to become an officer. Gosling saw how he wanted his life to be.
He moved with a fluid, regal grace, looking very much the part of the royal consort. He strutted, he was handsome and he knew it. Gosling allowed himself a little vanity as a vice, as he didn’t do things that other ponies his age did. He didn’t smoke, he had tried that once a while back and his mother had almost killed him. He didn’t drink much either. He didn’t go around chasing fillies, trying to bed them and add another notch to his bedpost.
Everypony needed a vice, an indulgence, and Gosling chose to look pretty. With his black-grey gradient pelt and silvery mane and tail, he knew that he was a head turner. He was well groomed, his feathers were kept in order, and everything about him was just so. He kept his mane and his tail a little on the longer side, but within regulations. Sergeant Circinus called him a wild maned hippie, but there was nothing the sergeant could do so long as Gosling kept it within regulations.
He yawned without looking like he was yanking, sucking in wind and trying to get his ears to pop. So long as he kept the pressure let off, he was fine. He took a slow turn and headed down the hall, not sure where he should be, knowing that he had to be somewhere. He headed for Raven’s office as he had no idea where Celestia and Cadance might be.
“Heya,” Raven said as she stepped out of her office. She stopped when she saw Gosling approaching, stood in place for a moment as if she wasn’t sure of what to do, and then rushed forwards towards Gosling. “You have got to get better. The pony they sent to operate the telegraph bench is a total boob and he can’t even remember a simple cipher. He has to keep looking at the reference sheet. Gosling, I can’t deal with incompetence. I’m about to tear out my mane.”
“I’m sorry,” Gosling said to Raven as he came to a halt and looked down at her.
“Gosling, I need you… you need to take care of yourself so you can get better… plus, it is getting time to send a dispatch north. I’d like for it to be you that is the courier. It’s just a little train ride, nothing strenuous. I wouldn’t trust my current help to find his own ass with a mirror and a ten million candlepower spotlight.”
“That bad, huh?” Gosling’s eyebrows arched.
“I don’t have time to hold his hoof and teach him every little detail involved in being my assistant.” Raven let out a sigh. “He’s not that bad, I mean, he’s not stupid, he did make it into the signal corps, but he’s not you.”
“Thanks, Raven, you know how to make a pony feel valuable.” Gosling smiled at the unicorn mare. “I want to come back to work. I like working.”
“And that’s something else. This guy keeps asking for a break so he can go smoke. Ugh!” Raven stood in place and began stomping all four of her hooves. “I swear, I am going to have him catapulted off of the Canterhorn.”
“We wage a quiet war against incompetence. There is naught that we can do but be patient.” Gosling lifted his head high and a faint grin remained on his muzzle. “When I come back to work, I want you to teach me your secrets for micromanagement.”
“There’s going to be a blackjack game later tonight. You should join us. Normally, we play poker, but Luna is fixated on blackjack, so we humour her. Time to work on those tells of yours.” Raven blinked and adjusted her glasses. “No ear tugging, of course. I’ll just slap you upside your head, instead.”
“That’d be great. I’ll be there if I can,” Gosling said. “I need to find Celestia and Cadance so I can figure out what is going on. I don’t know if somepony was supposed to come to the room and fetch me, or if I am supposed to find them, nopony made that clear.”
“Take a seat dear, and I’ll see what I can do,” Raven replied as she gave Gosling an affectionate smile. She gestured over at a nearby bench. “Really, have a seat. You’re trembling a bit. Did you just take your medication?”
“Yeah.” Gosling nodded and then made his way to the bench and Raven moved beside him, her horn glowing. He felt a little annoyed, he felt as though he was being coddled, but he knew that Raven meant well and was worried for him.
He sat down and was glad that he did. It was only after he had sat down that he realised that he had been straining to stand up. He heaved a sigh and tried to relax. A wave of dizziness washed over him as Raven vanished back into her office. He hoped that he would be up for a card game tonight. It was good having friends, it was good to learn how to be a better player of the game, and it would be good to spend a little more time with Luna, who still mystified him.
“Gosling?”
Ears perking, Gosling turned and looked at Sergeant Circinus. He couldn’t stand up, he was feeling far too dizzy at the moment, but he did manage to extend one wing in a salute as his sergeant approached.
“Private Gosling, how are you feeling?” Circinus asked.
“I’ve been better, but I’m managing,” Gosling replied.
The sergeant stood before Gosling, studying him, nodding his head, and squinting. He shifted from side to side and his face was pinched with worry. He opened up his mouth to speak, but then remained silent. He did this several more times until Gosling said something.
“What?” Gosling asked.
“I have news about your disciplinary action,” Circinus said to Gosling, “but I don’t want to worry you. There’s good news and bad news. All in all, it’s not too bad, but I’m worried you’ll be upset.”
“Eh, just lay it on me,” Gosling said as his ears drooped.
Circinus stood at attention. “You threatened Sergeant Shamrock. There is going to be a disciplinary hearing, but this you already know. I know the outcome. They plan to kick you out of the guard—”
“What?” Gosling demanded.
“Wait a moment and hear me out, it’ll make this easier,” Circinus said to Gosling. He took a deep breath, then continued, “You’re getting a black patch for your doublet. You’re still in the signal corps, but you are being transferred to the night patrol. You are going to be drummed out of the solar guard. Other than a change of patches, nothing else is going to happen, as far as I know.”
Gosling let out a sigh of relief. That wasn’t bad at all. He didn’t mind having a black patch for his doublet. He could live with that. His lips pressed into a straight line and he looked at his sergeant. The night guard had a higher pay scale anyway.
“Ex Ignis Amicitiae!” Sergeant Circinus said as he whipped out his wing in salute. “Keep the fire going in the darkness, Private Gosling.”
Gosling returned the salute, but before he could say anything, Sergeant Circinus departed and hurried away. He sat on the bench, stunned, relieved, and rather happy about the outcome. This wasn’t bad at all. This wasn’t a punishment to feel bad about. He had brothers in the night patrol already and certainly Luna would be pleased about this. He suspected that Celestia would be as well.
No more golden armor. Gosling sighed. The golden armor made him look sexy.
Walking between Cadance and Celestia, Gosling realised that Cadance was keeping her promise. She was going with him every step of the way. He felt a little rough, already the stress of the coming meeting was wearing on him, but he was determined to go through with this. He felt sweat rolling down his neck and a chilly, cramped feeling settled in his guts.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Celestia asked.
“Yeah,” Gosling replied in a croaking voice, “I gots dis.”
“Remember, Gosling, she is just as scared as you are.” Cadance’s words were gentle, soft, and soothing. “Do you remember when we talked about empathy?”
“Yes I do.” Gosling nodded.
“I want you to keep everything you learned in mind.” A hint of stern command entered into Cadance’s voice. “Be tough but fair, Gosling. Do not back down from your position. Be commanding, but gentle. Be the good pony that I know that you can be. You’ve already shown me what you are capable of.”
More sweat trickled down Gosling’s neck as they approached the door. He came to a stop and felt like throwing up. He closed his eyes for a moment, and he heard the door opening. There was a soft rustle of feathers as he opened his eyes.
He took a step forward, looked into the room, and that was when he saw her. Skyfire sat in a chair, looking distraught and weeping. Gosling swallowed and wondered what he ever saw in her. She didn’t look pregnant, but then again, she had always been on the somewhat chubby side, she was a filly that jiggled in all the right places and she carried her chubbiness well. He felt his breath catch in his throat and a nausea made his mouth alternate between wet and dry.
“Gosling… I’m sorry!”
Moving with slow, deliberate steps, Gosling entered the room, determined to face his past.
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And the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.
I'm nauseous now. Thanks.
7221138
Yeah, the idea of catapulting a poor pony off of the mountain was pretty bad. I'm sorry.
7221159
It must be hear-esy!
derpicdn.net/img/2016/2/24/1095815/full.jpeg
7221196 Prepare for punnishment!
img0.reactor.cc/pics/post/full/my-little-pony-%D1%84%D1%8D%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%8B-Princess-Luna-royal-911804.jpeg
On behalf of the moon, I will right wrongs and triumph over evil!
At least the beast gave warning of its approach, unlike its stealth relatives. Those of the silent but deadly variety.
Oh my gosh, I love conflict! Gimme more please!
7221122 Meanwhile, off in the Canterlot Geological Services Administration, a diligent young unicorn squinted at the squiggling line one of the instruments was making. "Hey, Quake?" he called out, keeping a close eye on the needle until the oscillations slowed to the regular tiny wriggling of a calm mountain. "Come here and see this. It looks... I'm not sure what it looks like. I don't think any of the city supports shifted, but something sure happened."
The older geologist strolled over and took a brief glance at the inky traces on the paper before scoffing. "Rookie. You should have been here for the big Cabbage and Okra Festival in Ought-Five. The Royal Guard had to set up a breeze brigade to keep the castle ventilated, and there are some places on the second floor where you can still see where the stones in the walls were pushed out of place. Still, that's a pretty good one. We'll have it framed for the wall."
You better update soon like tonight or I'm going all Discord on you!
Please?
7221897
I am currently editing and finishing up a Venenum Iocus chapter.
7221907 I am totally fine with that.
7221210
Based on that last bit, ya put up the wrong image. I found the right one though!
orig14.deviantart.net/5f04/f/2012/049/7/3/_my_little_pony_scouts__princess_luna_by_phoenixtsukino-d4q6y61.png
7222061 Tis an image of Luna! There can be no wrong images.
Well played, though.
7221122
I have to say, I haven't seen a more elliequent way to write that a ruler let out a massive, earth-shattering fart.
Another great chapter! I must admit, however, that I feel more than a little bothered by how far Gosling's "punishment" has gone. Considering the true nature of the situation and that both parties (Gosling and Shamrock) could argue before any hearing board that it was nothing more than a good-natured joke between the two of them no matter the testimony of so-called witnesses, who themselves could be accused with solid evidence against themselves of their seemingly personal vendettas against Gosling. And I don't speak from simple opinionated belief, but as retired US Navy senior enlisted who has sat on more disciplinary boards and Captain's Masts than I can remember throughout my career concerning matters from the trivial to deadly serious.
But a plot point is a plot point, I suppose. And if readers find themselves angry or conflicted or with any other feelings throughout the emotional span over a situation a character has found themselves in, then the author has done their job correctly; they have enticed the reader into becoming emotionally attached to the well-being of the character(s) and their story. Carry on, let us see where the winds take us! ..Just as long as Celestia is down wind, if you don't mind.
7223146
Which is why he was simply transferred rather than hard discipline. The brass can say with all honesty that some form of punishment was dealt out, (which it was) and the night patrol gained yet another troublesome soldier.
We shall soon see the night patrol in all their glory.
It begins.....
7223791
™ is actually a coded entry.
Really kudz, now you play that card? Im gone for 30 something hours due to a high fever and you pull that card even after i return. *sigh* SoonTM...
7221196 huh... How in hell and heaven above did i never once compare Celestia to Saint Celestine? That worries me...
Edit: shit! 5 seconds after i hit post i see that isn't Celestine but the Immortal God Emperor! Fuck me!
7223827
What card? I'm lost...
7223832 the make us wait before something we believe is big happens. That card, almost like the Cliffhanger card, and hell, you pulled that one too!
7223799 really? How do it?
7223870
I dunno. For me, I go into google docs, type TM and it fixes it for me. Then I copy it and paste it into this window. Badaboom.
http://www.alt-codes.net/trademark_alt_code.php
7223881 ...What?!?! It doesn't auto fix fer me, and i tried the code thing, my mac had a heart attack after that.
7223884
Click “Applications” on the Dock of your MacBook and then click “TextEdit” to launch Apple's native word processor. A new blank document appears. Press and hold the “Option” key and then press the “2” key on your MacBook's keyboard to type the “TM” trademark symbol.
You know that first quarter of the chapter, im lost. At first I thought "she fucked him? No." Then "visions?" "What up with the chemicals bit" it just confused me, what was I supposed to get from it?
7223894 huh, thank you. Though you still see me subscript it as it's my phone i read and comment with, but really, thanks!
7223896
You can't figure out the first part of the chapter?
7223910 No, no I can't, I've read it 3 times and i just don't get it...
7223912
Celestia is farting.
7223927 ... *reads once more* ohhhhhhhhh. Huh, well how bout that. The walls of Jerico comment down their makes sense now.
7223935
7223912
Well, that's... one way to start a chapter.
Man, Gosling has a hair-trigger stomach. I never realized that anyone could be so prone to throwing up (or nearly doing so) just from a little emotional turmoil.
7224163 he outright threw up once (and even choked on his vomit) because of tons of stress. Now he's nauseous and dizzy because his inner ear is damaged.
7224494
Ah, that's right.
Still, even before his ears were dissolved (which still freaks me out, by the way), I'm pretty sure I remember him being on the verge of puking half the time. I realize he's been under a lot of stress, but that's a rather extreme reaction.
It's scary to think that that kind of thing actually happens to people.
7225012
It was happening even then. Symptoms. Think about it.
7223255 And maybe we'll get to find out just what Luna and her guards ran into that one night?
I went to tap the "next chapter" button.....only to realize there wasn't one.....
....I farted a little inside, at that realization, and it ended a story.
7225584
Nope. Scarier when left to the imagination
7223791 hold ALT and hit 0153
Oh my god.
Just save time and schedule him some magical surgery, Raven.
The night patrol? Interesting, and probably a good idea.