Chapter 15
Sprawled out on his back, sunken into a fluffy down-filled comforter, Gosling reached out and touched Celestia, who sat on the bed within foreleg’s reach. She was warm to the touch and she smelled of citrusy, floral soap. His touch made her feathers fluff, he saw her primaries spread just a little, then contract. Seeing this, a worried groan escaped Gosling’s throat, and he wondered what was wrong. She looked happy, clean, and perfect, as one tended to be when coming out of the shower.
Bucking his hips a little, Gosling flopped his body closer to Celestia, then prodded her again with his hoof. The bed creaked from his movement while he wiggled his croup and his withers to get him closer to the big white alicorn sitting on the bed beside him. Sliding his body over the comforter produced a tingle-inducing amount of static electricity in his sweater, and when he touched Celestia again, he gave her quite a zap.
“Hey, hey yous, what’s on your mind, Sunshine?”
“My mane,” Celestia replied in a teasing voice as she turned her head and angled it down to look Gosling in the eye. If the zap bothered her, she showed no sign.
“Oh, a wise guy, I see how this is.” Laying on a comforter as soft as any cloud, Gosling looked up at the alicorn looking down at him. Reaching up with his hoof, he booped her on the nose, and could feel the soft, smooth velvet of her snoot against his frog. His touch lingered, he reveled in the feeling of her breathing against him, and he looked into her eyes, trying to find signs of trouble.
“Oh, but I am wise.” Celestia continued her teasing and avoided Gosling’s question. “I am wise, I am beautiful, and I am—”
“I think yous has a flaw,” Gosling said, teasing back.
“And what terrible, tragic flaw would I have, Prince Peacock?”
“I think yous is allergic to stupid, Sunshine.”
“Oh, really… do you have any evidence to support this claim of yours, Prince Peacock?”
“Yous break out in sarcasm at the slightest exposure.”
“Hah!” Feathers fluffing, Celestia laughed, a real laugh, not just some polite chuckle. “That explains why I am so sarcastic with you!”
Not expecting the sudden reversal, Gosling laughed, but also gave Celestia the stinkeye. He also applied light pressure on her snoot, booping her once more. He felt her lips pucker up and press against his frog, and the light peck tickled him, causing him to shiver. Reaching up with one foreleg, she took his fetlock into her own and gave it a squeeze.
“This is nice,” Celestia whispered, “just being able to talk… to tease… to play around. I have missed this. All of this just highlights how lonely I was, and sometimes it is difficult to think about.” Relaxing her other front leg, she collapsed down upon the bed beside the sprawled out pegasus and rolled up against him.
“You still ain’t told me what’s wrong.” Gosling stared up at the ceiling now, but failed to notice any details. When the fire crackled, popped, or made a sound, his ears twitched. In between the various announcements made by the fire, he listened to the sound of Celestia breathing. Realising that she probably was not going to tell him, he changed the subject.
“That civil war that happened”—Gosling paused for a moment and engaged his mind—“you didn’t get involved. You didn’t pick a side when that happened. Why?”
“A history lesson this early in the morning, Gosling? Really?”
“I has me the hots for my teacher.” Gosling rolled his head around and slid it over the comforter to be closer to Celestia. “I’m also kind of curious. The book I’m reading has a lot to say about both sides, but it has no opinions from you, and I’m about ninety-nine percent certain that you wrote the book.”
“It’s a simple matter of practicality, Gosling,” she whispered, and then she let heave a colossal sigh.
“Yeah, well, I’m stupid, explain it to me.” For a second, he was shocked by the demand in his voice, and he worried if he sounded too aggressive. There was still the lingering fear of upsetting his princess, of offending her, of not offering her the respect she deserved, even when he was on her back, clinging to her, and working to relieve both of their frustrations.
“Gosling, this is a very difficult subject matter—”
“Past the pretty words, I am sure there is a point.” The edge. Gosling had a keen awareness of it and he was skirting it now. The fear increased just a little, as he approached the edge of princess versus pony. Laying on his back, he did not see her biting her lip, or the pain on her face.
“I knew that I would have to live with both the survivors and the victors,” she said, releasing her pent up confession in a low, slow exhale. “If the Separatists won somehow, there would need to be peace afterwards. By not getting directly involved, I left myself on the table as a bargaining chip. It was a calculated move on my part, and I have no doubt that it saved many lives in the long run. I had to let my foals go to war with one another, brother versus brother, sister versus sister, entire families became divided and the entire nation of Equestria tried to tear itself apart.”
“As we say back home, that’s uglified.”
“In the aftermath, when the Separatists signed a surrender, because I didn’t get involved, because I didn’t take sides, because I did not come out and say who was right and who was wrong, it was easier for them to integrate back into society. The Monarchists did not have the smug satisfaction of knowing they were right. They did not have the means to tell the Separatists that they were wrong. Because neither side could claim to know my preferences, both sides were forced to settle their differences. Equestria was sorted out and the wound healed with a surprising quickness, unlike our previous civil war, where I foolishly took a side and caused many lives to end.”
“That’s rough, Sunshine. It’s one of those consequences of immortality that nopony thinks about.” Gosling sighed and snuggled up a little closer to his mate. “The Separatists wanted a separation of faith and governance… I don’t understand the reasoning behind that. They wanted you to continue to be their Sun Goddess, but not their princess.”
“Democracy became a central issue… and before the actual war broke out, I did everything I could to achieve compromise. I tried to set up a system of governance similar to what we have now to satisfy the need for democracy, but the Separatists wanted me stripped of power completely.” After a pause, she added in a low, pained whisper, “I understood their reasoning, to an extent. Not everypony believes in the same way or shares the same faith. There was some bigotry against the First Tribes, for the perceived power they held. The Separatists wanted an entirely secular, democratic government for the sake of fairness for all.”
“I see,” Gosling responded, and he knew there would be a lot of thinking before he could digest all of these words. Understanding this, knowing this, it would make him a better leader, a better ruler. He did worry though, about his roles as a prince and as a Confessor intermingling. There had been problems in the past, which meant that there could be problems in the future. It was something to be mindful of, and Gosling could feel his awareness expanding.
“Later, there will be an oral exam, my ever-so-eager student. Be prepared…”
This was going to be a busy morning. Pacing in what he felt was his retreat lounge, Gosling tried to control his nervousness. He was getting two new assistants, and then he would begin his day, getting a briefing with Blueblood, and then meeting with Purple Party. Each second that passed felt enormous, as though his day was falling behind. There was so much to do and accomplish.
Breakfast sat like lead in his stomach, and his sweater clung to his body, keeping him quite warm, almost comfortable even. Looking about, he decided that he wanted to remodel this lounge, and why not? The other retreat lounges had their own distinctive feel, and Blueblood’s was a glorified liquor cabinet. He wanted this place to be classy, but Gosling wasn’t entirely certain what classy was. Being a poor pegasus from the inner city had some disadvantages. What he called classy, others called ‘tacky.’
Maybe Purple Party would have some advice, or could suggest a decorator.
Hearing hooves, Gosling almost hiccuped as he turned to face the door. It was exciting, this was exciting, and something about having ponies almost his own age to help him out was appealing. They would grow together, gain experience together, and when he was in his prime, so too would they be. It was an ideal arrangement.
Raven entered first, followed by a gangly filly, and bringing up the rear was a colt every bit as gangly as the filly. Gosling blinked, the pair of them could be identical twins, but one was male and the other female. Still, it was shocking to see them. Both had eyes that were the same shade of gold, they had dull brown pelts with dingy grey dapples, coal-dusting, it was called, and their manes were a dark, matte bronze that held little to no shine.
They both looked like consummate professionals already. The filly had her mane pulled back in a tight, severe bun, and the colt had his mane pulled back into a ponytail and wrapped with a black ribbon, a common Grittish style. Neither of them smiled, both wore round, wire-frame glasses, and they moved in a rigid, starchy manner. Raven however, was smiling wide enough for the three of them.
“Beans, Toast, this is Prince Gosling.” Raven bowed her head, causing the twins to do the same, and then she continued, “Prince Gosling, these are your two new assistants, Beans and Toast.”
Grinning, Gosling let his inner scamp out. “How do I tell which is which?”
Raven’s mouth fell open when the colt replied, “Coz I have the beans, I do, two of ‘em.”
Unable to stop himself, Gosling laughed, and was joined by the filly, who had to be Toast by the process of deduction. She had a quiet, reserved laugh, but laugh she did, and she might have laughed harder, had she thought it was appropriate. After recovering from her shock, Raven began to laugh too.
“I think the three of you are going to get along famously,” Raven said, chuckling.
“We’re at your disposal,” Toast said in a voice that held a soft, dignified sounding accent, “and we’ll do anything you ask of us just so long as you don’t separate us. We don’t like being apart, it puts us in a right state, it does. We work together, we stay together, and we give our best effort, you guessed it, when we’re together.”
“We thank you kindly for letting his happen. This is our life’s dream, so it is.” Beans took a cautious step forwards and held his head up high. “We’ve done a lot of work to get here and we wish to prove ourselves.”
“Raven, are they cleared for briefings and stuff?” Gosling asked, curious, and he watched her nod. “So, they can follow me around and do everything I can do, unsupervised?”
“Gosling, darling, these two have been put in charge of supervising you.” Throwing her head back, Raven let out a hearty, domineering laugh and her eyes glittered with mischief.
“Yous is a funny mare, Raven.”
Raven’s laughter came to a sudden, abrupt halt. “I wasn’t kidding, Gosling.” The unicorn mare leveled a stern, commanding gaze on the pegasus prince. “Beans and Toast aren’t normal foals. They’re Jumpers, twins with synchronised magic that can merge their spells with the same ease as breathing. It boosts their power output by a magnitude. They are your last line of defense in times of trouble. They are your bodyguards. Both of them have been given a specific set of instructions to ensure your safety at any cost. Should a crisis arise, you need to listen to them and trust their training. They’ve learned combat magic from Princess Celestia’s Immortal Solars.”
Blinking, Gosling’s head turned and he looked over the twins, both of whom were now grinning in the most terrifying way imaginable.
“I can cause a living creature’s constituent atoms to relax their bonds with one another,” the colt said in a cheerful, dignified voice. “I call it making a problem go away.”
“And my pyrokinetic powers haven’t been successfully measured.” Toast’s head tilted off to one side and her ears angled forwards. “That’s coz they’re not done developing yet. But when I get my knickers into a twist, I can turn steel into a gas. Princess Celestia says I show promise.”
Locking eyes with Raven, Gosling asked, “Is this for real?”
In response, Raven nodded. “After the, uh, previous security incidents, Princess Celestia wants to step up your security.”
“You’re talking about that day that Seville got stabbed.” Gosling shuddered at the memory, then looked at the twins. “Alright yous twos… no calling me prince. I’m just Gosling. We’re gonna work together as a team, as equals. I need to attend to a briefing, and I guess you’ll do whatever it is that you do.”
“Take notes?” Beans asked.
“Yeah. That. Perfect.” Gosling nodded at the door. “Let’s go, it’s gonna be a long day and we’ve got a lot to get done.”
“Have fun, you two!” Raven said to the twins. “And remember, it is perfectly okay to creep out Prince Blueblood! You have permission!”
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ahh Raven the sadist
what fun it is to watch her work
I like these two already!
I can only imagine what life around the castle would be like if Raven was also pregnant. Three hormonal mares trotting along the halls, two immortal alicorns and one a sadistic unicorn...
I'd fear for any stallion within a hundred feet who dares to even breathe funny!
The energy requirements to atomize steel into gas are insanely high. Those twins must be hiding some anti matter reactors in themselves to power that kind of magic.
8109365
Naw, just collide a few thaumatons together and transmute the steel from a solid to a gas.
8109372 Of course I forgot about how magic laughs at science with all the cheats in it.
Dang. These two could certainly make problems disappear, while simultaneously making interesting new problems appear.
I look forward to Prince Blueblood's discomfort.
8109365
You don´t need power when you have...
8109401 Just borrow Marvin's Disintegrator gun (hint: not Daffy's)
Male & female identical twins? Interesting... Magic...?
Also I have a minor edit suggestion:
Each second that past felt enormous
Each second that passed felt enormous
8109372 Also magic is magic and it makes physics cry whne it takes its lunch money :P.
Also i think i also have an allergy for stupid. You got any prescriptions?
8109349 ditto!
Now this trio will be fun.
Also, I think Celestia made the right choice.
Dear Sweet Discord, I could only imagine the chaos and comedy potential when Goslings Entire Entourage is together now.
HA! I think we're gonna love these two.
I love these two already! We're going to have so much fun if these two EVER get introduced to Pinkie Pie... *shudders at the implications*
Just for the record, the boiling point of iron is 2861°C (5182°F, 3134 K) at standard pressure.
Magic laughs in the face of science but what laughs in the face of magic?
8110882
Laughing in the face of Twilight Sparkle has been determined to be hazardous to one's health.
8110882
8110885
Pinkie Pie Does.
8111175
That's different. Pinkie is allowed.
Tirek laughed in the face of Twilight Sparkle too.
Instantly Vaporize steel? NOPE! I have burned myself with an arc welder before, NOPE! That shit burned for months! There is still a divit in my hand from that shit.
Creepy super twins are creepy.
Metals heated to the point of gaseousness actually sounds like it'd be trouble for everyone involved.
Covalent bond negating sounds real handy, though. Also terrifying.
The first part is thought-provoking. But perhaps beyond my ability to make a coherent point on.
Also, I am strongly considering referring to Beans and Toast as Palom and Porom from here on out.
8116151
Same thing different name, almost. Breaking covalent bonds, breaking metallic bonds, similar energies required.
Though it was never stated what happens to the constituent atoms mentioned, it could be done with much less energy input required if said atoms were allowed to recombine (not put into energetic, gaseous form).
You can't just thanos snap a motherfucker
10791735
Heh heh problem go poof