Chapter 76
After drinking the Pink Lady, everything was fine. Everything was wonderful. Gosling wasn’t sloshed, no, he was socially lubricated. The pressure was gone and everybody was about to toast him. Also, for some reason, both Celestia and Luna were especially pretty. Though he wasn’t about to ruin his good standing with Luna, he still had his good judgment, he did feel the need to be adventurous with Celestia.
“You know, Princess,” Gosling whispered as Cadance addressed the crowd, “I’m gonna bury myself so deep in you that whomever pulls me out will be the next Princess of Equestria, just like in that old Grittish fairytale.”
With a face that showed no emotion and a perfect deadpan voice, Celestia replied, “Gosling, I am going to give your virginity an injury from which it will never recover. There will not be one shred of mercy; not one jot, not one tittle, you will not be spared, you saucy little cockerel.”
Smacking his lips, Gosling turned his head and gave Luna a very self satisfied smile. One eyebrow raised in a rather smug arch, and then he waggled said eyebrow at Luna, trying to goad her into a reaction. All he got for his troubles was for Luna to roll her eyes, snort, and look away. Of course, with Gosling being entirely too confident, Luna’s reaction only emboldened him, and he began to grin for the cameras.
Of course, Gosling had paid no attention to the toast, he was too busy thinking about what Celestia had said, and had missed Cadance’s rousing words. The crowd was cheering and stomping their hooves though, so it had to be good. In the midst of the celebration, Gosling’s mood shifted and he felt troubled. His mother wasn’t here and no matter where he looked, he could not find her.
A champagne flute was passed to him and he took it in his dextrous primaries. It smelled just like sweet and fruity grape juice, with a slight aspirin-like tang. Gosling wasn’t sure where champagne sat with his inner city palate. Still feeling a little troubled, but also feeling good about himself, he looked up at Celestia once more.
“I think… I think,” he began in a low whisper, “that I will pour some champagne into that little dimpled sunken place around your navel… and then lap it out. Slowly.”
Once more, Celestia’s face showed no reaction whatsoever as she held her champagne flute. Gosling didn’t care though, because his nose told him something different. There was a faint, sweet, somewhat musky scent that hinted at the beginnings of arousal.
“Once I’ve drank my fill, I’ll work my way downward and find other things to lick.” Then, without waiting for a prompt, Gosling emptied his champagne flute in a single gulp. “That’s enough alcohol for me. I don’t want to make a fool of myself.” He felt his wings loosen against his sides, it was too warm in here. He lifted them away from his ribs, holding them about an inch away from his sides, hoping for a slight cooling breeze, but his doublet kept the breeze from reaching his skin.
“Auntie, you look a little pink… are you okay? Getting too warm?” Cadance’s concern was evident in her voice.
“I’m fine!” Celestia responded. “Just too warm. That’s it. Too warm. This lovely gown doesn’t breathe well.”
Suspicious, Cadance’s eyes narrowed and she studied Gosling for a moment, then Celestia, and then, with her eyes narrowing into slits, she focused upon Gosling once more. The worst possible thing that could happen happened. Cadance sniffed and her brows formed deep furrows as her nostrils flared wide.
“You know, there is absolutely no good reason to torture yourselves. Just go find a private spot and take care of that business.” Cadance angled her gaze upwards and looked up at her aunt. Then, her brows relaxed as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Say, Cadance, would you happen to know where my mom is?” Gosling asked, changing the subject before things became any more awkward. “I can’t find her anywhere.”
“She’s with Flurry.” Cadance’s expression softened into one of concern. “Flurry has a bad earache and a bit of a fever. Sleet is looking after her.”
“Oh.” Gosling felt his flirtatious mood vanish. He couldn’t go off looking for his mother because he was expected to put on a good show here. Remembering his lessons, he kept his face as neutral as possible and he set down his champagne flute upon the table he stood beside.
The night was still so young and full of promise.
“Hey, you know, Seville, you should ask Twilight for a dance.” Gosling nudged his friend as he spoke and nodded in Twilight’s direction. “Before you say anything, princesses are ponies too. I bet it feels good to have that camera rig off, eh?”
“I can’t.” Seville Orange gave a vigorous shake of his head. “I’m all sweaty and I’m an earth pony and she’s a prin—”
“Hey, you don’t say stuff like that around me, you hear?” Gosling’s whole demeanour changed and he bumped his snoot into Seville’s. In a low, somewhat angry whisper, Gosling let his friend have it. “Being an earth pony doesn’t exclude you from anything or hold you back from anything. You gotta stop saying that stuff ‘cause it gets on my nerves and makes me angry. I don’t abide by that crap and neither should you.”
“I’m sorry, Gosling, it’s just hard sometimes. I’m not sure that you understand—” Seville gulped when he saw his friend’s eyes narrow. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Damn right.” Gosling pulled his face away from Seville’s and shook his head. “Now, as punishment, you are going to ask Twilight for a dance.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t.” Seville backed away from Gosling and his ears drooped.
“Let me guess… now that you’ve played the earth pony card, what are we left with? Scars? Being sweaty? Being stinky? So what, the train ride left you with a few scars, but they’re fading. Right now, everypony is sweating, because it is way too hot in here. As for being stinky, let’s face it, you’re always stinky because you eat too many damn oats and drink too much sugary soda.”
“Hey!” Seville’s ears perked up in a defensive manner. Before he could protest further, he found himself being herded along by Gosling towards an unsuspecting Twilight. Seville whimpered, but it didn’t do him any good, as Gosling was able to physically overpower him.
“Hey, yo, Twilight…” Gosling wrapped a wing around Seville’s neck to keep the earth pony from bolting. “My friend here, he very much wants to dance with you, but he’s skittish.”
“Oh… my… oh, well, I hadn’t planned on dancing and I really don’t know what to say.” Twilight cleared her throat and then looked around for a moment before continuing, “With all of the cameras around, I don’t know if that is a good idea. Ponies might get the wrong idea and the tabloids might start talking.”
“You see, Gosling, I tried to tell you this was a bad idea,” Seville said as Gosling kept him in a headlock.
Hating himself just a little bit, but understanding how the game was played, it was Gosling who played the tribe card. “I understand, Twilight. We wouldn’t want the press to run a smear piece about you dancing with an earth pony. It might cause a kerfuffle.” Squeezing his friend’s neck, Gosling began to pull Seville away.
“Now wait!” Twilight commanded.
Smirking, but only just a little, Gosling waited.
“It has nothing to do with that.” Twilight’s voice was low and worried. “It’s just that… well, right now, I don’t want any romantic entanglements and I—”
“It’s just a little friendship dancing,” Gosling interjected. “We’re not even talking about slow dancing on two legs and holding one another. Just a little shuffle on the dance floor between friends.”
“But I really don’t know Seville,” Twilight protested.
“So the Princess of Friendship is turning down an opportunity to get to know somepony and make friends with them?” Gosling laid it on thick—he tilted his head to one side and did his best to look both puzzled and maybe just a tiny bit offended, doing everything that Raven had shown him to do.
Feathers fluffing, Twilight’s cheeks turned a dark shade of eggplant. “NO!” She stomped one hoof as her horn flared and her wings flapped once against her sides as her tail swished. Then before he could protest, she grabbed Seville with her magic and dragged him off in the direction of the dance floor, ignoring his pleading protests. “We’re going to be friends!” Twilight said in a voice thick with authority that was loud enough to drown out Seville’s protests.
Feeling a little proud of himself, Gosling watched as the adorkable bookworm princess tried to dance with another pony. Neither she nor Seville had any idea of what to do and both appeared to be quite flustered as well as frustrated. All in all, he felt good about it, and it seemed that he wasn’t the only one. Beside him, he heard Shining Armor chuckling.
“That was well played.” Shining Armor’s whisper was a husky baritone and his chuckle continued as he spoke.
“I’m learning.” Gosling turned to look at Shining and give him a smile.
Standing together, both stallions turned to look at Celestia and Cadance, who danced together. Shining Armor was wearing a bright red doublet and both he and Gosling made for a dashing pair together. It made for quite a photo opportunity and there were many camera flashes from all around them.
“Shining Armor…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry to do this, but you need to cover for me. I gotta go.”
“Drink too much?” Shining Armor asked.
“No,” Gosling replied, “this is the most important night of my life, and I need to see my mother.”
“Oh.” Shining Armor blinked and looked surprised.
“I’ll be back, I promise I’ll only be gone for a little while.”
“I’ll tell anypony who asks that you went to go and cool off.” Shining Armor nodded and gave Gosling a nudge. “We’d be nothing without our mothers.”
“I know, right?”
“Luna… I was wondering where you went.” Standing in the doorway, Gosling just sort of stood there, out of sorts and not knowing what to do or say. He stared at his mother, who held Flurry Heart in a close, affectionate embrace. A part of him wished that he was Flurry-sized again. The little filly looked like she had been crying, her eyes were red, bloodshot, and her cheeks were matted from tears.
Stepping through the door, Gosling pulled it shut behind him.
The room was small, almost egg shaped, and had an upright piano at the wide end. The carpet on the floor was a very dark and dusky shade of purple-red, almost a wine colour. A tapestry representing the two sisters circling a merged sun and moon hung from the wall opposite of the door.
He cast his gaze upon Luna for a moment and felt embarrassed without knowing why. Perhaps it was because he had come to see his mother and hadn’t expected company. The mood in this room was very different than in the grand hall. It was quiet here, much, much cooler, and somber.
“I felt one of my turns coming on,” Luna said to Gosling in a low voice. “All of a sudden, I couldn’t stand the crowd and I just wanted to start screaming. Why can’t I just have a nice time? We are lonesome, and we are very confused.”
Hooves shuffling on the thick carpet, Gosling crossed the room to where his mother was. Lowering his head, he pressed his snoot against Flurry’s ear and felt heat. She squirmed beneath his touch and whimpered. He felt his mother touch the side of his face and then he looked into Sleet’s arctic blue eyes.
“She’ll be fine, Gosy,” Sleet whispered in a voice as soft and gentle as spring rain. “I think Luna needs you though.”
Nodding, Gosling turned about and then made his way to where Luna was reclining upon a fainting couch. Saying nothing, he flopped down upon the couch and shoved Luna over, making room for himself. Ignoring her grunts of protest about the invasion of her space, Gosling made himself comfortable and settled in. Luna had to fold two legs to get them out of the way and ended up tossing both of her left legs over Gosling, using him as a pillow.
“It’s not fair to you or Celestia… We… I am held hostage by these mood swings of mine—”
“Hush, Luna.”
“Don’t you hush me,” Luna hissed.
“If it makes you feel better you can be defensive if you like.” Gosling rested his head upon the large overstuffed cushion at the end of the fainting couch. There was no response from Luna, but he did feel her snuggle up a little closer to his back. “Ma, it’s a real shame you are missing the party. It’s quite a shindig.”
Lifting her head, Sleet kept her voice down so she wouldn’t hurt Flurry’s ears. “I’m sure it is, Gosling, I’m sure it is. I was the only one that Flurry would be quiet for and Cadance asked me to look after her.”
“I wanted to be at the party.” Luna’s voice was a soft whine that few ponies ever heard. “I cannot bear how I am sometimes. I wish I was like my sister… she is so fearless before crowds… she is the object of their adoration… their affection… and I am always the one left in shadow.” She shook her head. “In truth, I cannot bear to be in the spotlight, but I want to be there so badly. When I am forced to retreat, I feel so lonesome and ashamed.”
“It’s not so bad.” Gosling let out a huff and wished that he could remove his doublet, as he was still too warm. “When I am with Celestia, I have to share her with the crowd and I kind of hate that. But with you, right now, in this right room right now, I get to have you all to myself.”
Eyes narrowing, Luna’s lips pressed into a straight line. Her body shifted and the fine fabric of her gown made crinkly sounds. Saying nothing at all, she wrapped both of her forelegs around Gosling’s neck, slipping one foreleg beneath him, and then she pulled him close.
“And when Celestia is done giving the crowd what they want, she will return to us and we can all be together,” Gosling said as Luna’s head came to rest upon his neck. “So if you have one of your turns, just give me a chance to make a graceful exit, if I can of course, and we’ll go and wait it out together.”
Smiling, Sleet gave Flurry a gentle snuggle-squeeze and she gazed at her son.
“Gosling… this isn’t fair to you or my sister… me taking you away from her or the crowd that so adores you.” Luna’s words were muffled, as she spoke her jaw pressed into Gosling’s neck. “As much as it pains me, I am used to being alone. You should go and be with her and leave me to my darkness.”
“Hush, Luna.”
“Stop hushing me,” Luna grumbled.
“This is the life I have chosen,” Gosling said to Luna in an affectionate whisper. “I am a little pale shadow… a penumbra… a patch of darkness between the Sun and the Moon. I have chosen to wax and wane between the two of you. I stand in her light and tread in your darkness. For now, I have had enough of the light, and I have chosen to retreat into the darkness, as any good shadow does.”
“Thank you,” Luna whispered into Gosling’s ear.
“Now... hush, Luna.”
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- kudzuhaiku · 166k words · 533 37 · 7.3k views
- kudzuhaiku · 30k words · 1,024 60 · 12k views
- kudzuhaiku · 129k words · 394 16 · 3.8k views
- kudzuhaiku · 36k words · 417 15 · 3.6k views
- kudzuhaiku · 7.7k words · 332 5 · 3.3k views
- kudzuhaiku · 4.8k words · 279 4 · 3.9k views
- kudzuhaiku · 202k words · 594 28 · 4.4k views
- kudzuhaiku · 109k words · 297 21 · 2.5k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.441 seconds
Total duration
948 users online
486,891 hits today, 2,139,894 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.®
the first phrase in the sequel is.
Gosling had just recently been release from his cast. Turns out a good rump with a beautiful alicorn princess, typically ends with a cracked pelvis.
Poor swans. Why must everything be so perilous for them?
Still, great story overall and I look forward to the continuation!
7676122
Wow, hard to believe its over, feels like it just started yesterday.
I love Gos's little monologue at the end there. One of the things I've noticed is that stories in this vein tend to focus more on one princess or the other, but this one has that balance he's talking about.
Now I'm just waiting for the all-out battle that ensues when the wedding is attacked with all of our favorite heroes in attendance.
I rather enjoyed the story, as I do all in the weedverse. I eagerly await the next part of the story and am curious to see how it will weave within the whole story you have created in the weedverse.
This was absolutely adorable! Thanks so much~
Gosling is the fine line between Ying & Yang
40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me8ru5HxLw1rspji7o1_500.png
7676243 that image needs a rubber duck smack dab in the middle.
I know there is another part to this story, but this ending to this fic feels a bit not like an ending... Can't place why it gives me this impression. Maybe my expectation of something like that last scene with Luna to happen after the ceremony is the problem... But on it's own this story's end is like a fade to black used a bit early. The event of the century (millennium?) is taking place, there was hype built trough the fic, and the payoff is... Well it's there in the bonds between the characters, in the relaxed atmosphere, but I feel the need to get a bit of closure where the rest of the ponies stand or maybe the state of the country...
Can't put it into words... I need to sleep and I'll come back to you after I've read this chapter again.
7676285
The associated blog post actually addresses this issue.
7676279 I'll get back to you!
7676291 I just read it... still feels off, but I'll wait for the next part to see what's what
also sleep, I need that.
7676279 How's that? Yes he's off centre(isn't he always?) but didn't want to over shadow the sisters.
orig15.deviantart.net/397e/f/2016/301/8/9/gosling_ying_yang_by_lynx318-damjnon.jpg
7676310 perfect.
So what's the current odds that Gosling won't survive the wedding night alive or at least intact? I'll put $20 on "will require splint on very delicate anatomy" and $50 on "can't walk straight".
7676353
Oh, there will be death on his wedding night.
Re: Luna.
7676355
La petite mort?
7676363
7676360
That was, in fact, the reference I had in mind.
I'm sad this ended, but super glad it's gonna continue.
I like how it ended though, it was cute.
And so, a fantastic story concludes. I much enjoyed it - these are the things that keep me coming back, that they are. Magnificent work, kudzuhaiku. Thanks for all your hard work and bountiful creativity!
7676368
um... Celestia, just a friendly reminder about the cockerel you're about add sauce to: don't clench, he's not an alicorn and detached bits dont re-attach well.
Kudzu, that was perfect. All that build up was 110% worth it. The flirting with Celestia, the quiet time with Luna, ... just everything was perfect. Thanks for writing this.
7676420
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/coq-au-vin-recipe.html
More....? Heck yes~!
The complementary scenes with Celestia and Luna along with Gosling's monologue at the end did a good job at grounding the audience as to where everyone is in their relationships. This story ends right as the next part in their relationship begins. Poignant?
And of course Gosling's banter is in top form.
Well done Kuzu-dono, can't wait for more~!
YAY! Sequel coming up!
And yet another excellent read. The way Gosling dealt with both his internal conflicts and that of his surroundings is incredibly real, something many have a hard time capturing so naturally. I can't wait to see what else you have in store for him.
But first, as you've mentioned, there is much other work to be done, and those I am equally impatient to see. Keep up the good work Kudzu, but make sure you get a bit of time to yourself and your Beagle hmm?
Bit abrupt of an ending there, but at least there will be another sequel.
The ending was a hit abrupt, but my knowing that there's another sequel, I can't complain! Love your stories as much as ever :)
7677391
7677380
There is an associated blog post that gives some in depth explanation as to why that is.
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/685624/the-perilous-romance-of-swans-is-now-done
I think that was a fine ending. The story is told.
7687318 actually my partners would say the opposite :p
I'd... actually like to read about Skyfire next. It seems like there's a story worth hearing there.
... Also I didn't even notice when the story started following Gosling more than Celestia. Huh.
7702808
Her 'darker roots' are what she's done with the equality movement. As for what she did as a foal, she was clearly an adult when the others encountered her. She spent her life with an insane bent on destroying what makes people special and unique, stealing their talents and possibly their destinies from them out of a sense of jealousy. Her. Life.
Then poof, in one fell swoop she's turned into Twilight Sparkle 2.0, very seriously reformed and well-intentioned. The ideas, and ideals that pushed her to commit absolute madness are still dangerous, and if they've done something willfully once, they are more likely to do it again than someone who hasn't. Hi there 'reformed' Discord, looking at you kid.
Making it out to seem like it was out of her control or she was a victim of circumstance doesn't change what she did and why she did it. It doesn't change she orchestrated all this, stalked Twilight, and then ambushed her in her own home - very nearly rewriting history into an absolute shitpool.
Immaturity is ignorance. Starlight knew what she was doing was wrong, but didn't care - because, I can only assume, 'If it's something I want to happen then it's completely justified for some reason or another' the criminally insane tend to use.
7702582 my job drowns me in toilets every day.
Ginger molasses cookies make the swirling tides of brownish yellowish water bearable.
7708965 ... ?
Please emphasize. I don't know what point you're trying to make.
7702975 there is so much wrong with those statements.
7708287 while that sounds good, sadly, people would still call it an abuse and many would argue against it being "dishonest"
7708926 hard when you don't think them bad. Or realize that they aren't dead yet. Or dont know where the hell they are.
7708965 Seriously, what are you getting at here? I want to know what you where insulting me for and why, as well as how what you said connects to anything I said.
I love this story, and couldn't put it down from start to finish. In fact, it's so good a story, that I dream-read a sequel to this story a few years ago; before I'd even watched MLP. In the dream sequel, Murdock's counterpart was found to be hiding in Gosling and his mother's old pigeon coop apartment, and Seville was a member of the terrorist group. I remembered the dream sequel at about chapter forty and ended up reading the next 40 odd chapters with it in mind, and everything fit what I remembered.
Overall, I'd give this story a five
out of five, and an additional 
for it being such an awesome read. Thanks for writing it.
7730586
Technically, all 3 work (communism only for very shirt time before someone fucks it up). But sonce Free Enterprise caused the mess, im saying Socialism would work better. The market is still there, but the government still gets the final say.
7734512
Chapter 42
7734530
I've never read that story, so context remains unknown.
7746240 Yep, hoping for the best. For all I know those so-called "alt-right" people are paid shills... Take heart, though. Trump's wife and kids are orthodox Jews. I find it hard to imagine that Donald is an anti-Semitic person.
But, yeah... Enough politics. Back to ponies.
7751493 when i was saying "people tried to do good" i was referring to something specific, i forget what but I wasn't trying to generalize.
And yes, i do agree with your comment. (Costco is great!) Henry's $5 a day plan worked great.
7751493
Ford also kept his workers in debt to him through company stores, company vouchers, and company houses. Ford Village had astronomical rent that was always just high enough to eat somebody's income. Just look what Ford did to minorities. Ew.
7753998
Aye it's true. At the time I wrote this I was confused by high level unicorns using a Wing Spell, I think.
7754592 That he has.
7754578 Which follows my earlier point that Twilight should just use magic to transcribe the book to a blank one and send the original back. That way they get the benefits of the knowledge without messing with reality.