Chapter 7: Experiences Should Be Shared
Astra paced back and forth in Celestia’s Library. Which wasn’t to say that she was walking, precisely. As a mental construct, she had no real form unless given one, as she had been in Celestia’s dream. With no true form, she didn’t need to walk, or run, but she still envisioned herself doing such things. It was part of being what she was; a reflection of Celestia herself.
The Library was another visualization of a purely non-visual experience of being in Celestia’s mind. It was not an infinite space, but would seem so if somepony were to observe it as Astra did. Rows upon rows of shelves stretched out in directions that would twist the brain if looked upon by mortal eyes. Books opened and closed themselves as she glanced at them, disclosing memories as it occurred to Astra to think of them. She did this in hopes that she could find anything that could help, while taking the occasional peek into what Celestia was seeing, but mostly she was just listening to what she was hearing.
Most of what she was seeing and hearing was mundane and therefore boring, which was why Astra was spending most of her time researching the vast memories stored herein.
As fascinating as it was to watch Celestia scheme with Twilight, Astra had access to hundreds of thousands of memories in which Celestia turned her meticulous mind to a problem, and hundreds more of her specifically planning meetings between members of her staff because she thought they might hit it off.
If Princess Cadence had not come along, Astra suspected Celestia would even to this day be planning future generations of clerks, maids and guard ponies. It was a little baffling, because there didn’t seem to be any intent of encouraging breeding for strength, or for talents, or even for simple subservience. Celestia paired up those who seemed like they would make each other happiest.
The only way in which it made sense to Astra was to reason that happy ponies did tend to perform better, but it was the sort of logic that would give her a headache if she’d had a head that could do so. Whatever the reasoning was, Celestia seemed to derive great satisfaction from every successful match.
Or rather, she had, before her niece had come along. Not because it no longer gave her joy, but because she felt she could no more intrude on matchmaking than Cadence would attempt to raise the sun.
“I can understand the flowers,” Twilight said, catching Astra’s attention. “And I suppose I agree that a ‘greasy spoon’ might be better for Pinkie while still allowing for me to find a dish or two I can eat, but the hotel—”
“Would serve to make both of you horribly uncomfortable.” Celestia cut in. “You’ll want a nice, familiar environment. It will make intimacy easier. Need I remind you of what happened when you tried to perform a magic show for the guards?”
Twilight’s face flushed as she looked away. “That wasn’t an intimate situation at all.”
“But it was you taking yourself out of your comfort zone because you felt you had to, with all of the consequences that came with it.” Celestia continued without pause.
“I did learn a lot from it though!” Twilight countered stubbornly, no longer trying to relate her experience from back then to their plans in the present.
“Indeed,” Celestia paused to conjure a tome of pony psychology from the shelves of the library and opened on a seemingly random page. It wasn’t, however, rather it was a page that focused on stress as it related to unfamiliar situations and how it might affect a pony. Astra was flabbergasted at the idea that her counterpart could remember such little details with such alacrity. “The reason I didn’t stop you was because I knew the experience would be valuable. Though you seem to have forgotten one of the most important ones, namely: Don’t put yourself into a more difficult situation than you need to if you want to succeed at something important.”
Astra rolled her metaphorical eyes and shook her nonexistent head. As much as Twilight had been an apt pupil for many subjects, social interactions had always been a bit of a blind spot. Which was sad, because Celestia had nearly as much practical knowledge about helping other ponies into romances as she did about magic and running a government. Which wasn’t to say she was an expert in any of those things, but after several lifetimes it was easy enough to accumulate the experience to convincingly imitate being one.
Celestia had many fond memories of passing along her experience to the young Princess Cadence. Where Twilight listened with rapt attention and hunger for knowledge when the discussion was about sciences, Cadence’s passions had been diplomacy, poise, tact, and other social skills. Skills that would greatly aid Twilight if she could just be made to understand them.
Unfortunately, like friendship itself, it seemed some lessons Twilight would have to learn through experience, which could only be gained by failure.
This fact was putting a damper on Celestia’s mood, though she was hiding it outwardly. Not only could Astra tell that for every word Celestia spoke, there were ten she did not, it also tinted the entire head-space that Astra occupied a light shade of blue. The main problem was that she was trying to avoid giving Twilight the answers directly, instead leading her away from the answers that were ‘less right for them’. Which Astra understood to mean ‘end in disaster’ and possibly with Twilight upending one of the world’s fundamental laws in some way or another.
The whole process seemed tedious and unnecessary. It made Astra wish they could simply summon their niece back from the Crystal Empire to talk some sense into Twilight.
The Empire had vanished for over one thousand years before coming back inexplicably, but it could surely wait a few more days while her niece left it to solve a crisis of love for a family member. Whether that family member was Twilight or Celestia was debatable, as Celestia having adopted Cadence unofficially certainly made her feel like family, making the moniker of ‘niece’ feel as real to her as ‘nephew’ was for Blue.
“It would be so much easier with her here,” Astra said, regretfully. Celestia’s memories were clear on that point. While in the beginning she had passed along all she knew to her niece, it hadn’t taken very long before the student excelled past what could be taught. Being a social talent, Cadence had eventually even taught Celestia herself a lesson or two in passing.
Thousands of years of learning from one’s own mistakes were still no match for natural talent. Celestia had encountered the same many times over. While to many she was a master of several arts, a true Talent had a sort of genius that picked up on topics related to that talent with frightening quickness.
Celestia’s knowledge of magic had come from her own humble experimentation for the most part, as well as small bits and pieces gathered from the great wizards she had known over the centuries. Given such a breadth and depth of magical knowhow, she had fancied herself quite talented, until a little filly who hadn’t even gotten her cutie mark yet had quite literally blown up most every rule she had held true about magic, and had proceeded to devour every lesson since.
Likewise, Celestia had painstakingly learned the social mores and means of high society and low, making many a faux pas along the way. Being a princess did not automatically make one knowledgeable about etiquette, and living with Luna in their castle in which they rarely took supplicants hadn’t helped. But she’d had to learn after becoming the sole ruler in a government intended for two. She had outlasted almost all such scandals by merely physically outliving the ponies that were aware of them. And of course, being the one who made decisions about how history was written helped.
She had earned the nation’s love and respect through generations upon generations of fair and just rule, and many today would swear she was without flaw. Her niece Cadence, by contrast, had been beloved within a matter of months after Celestia had brought her to the capital, drawing huge crowds upon her coronation, and more still for her wedding. Prior to that she’d been the darling of her school, breezing through any and all social situations like she had been born for them; and knowing what little Celestia knew about fate, she probably had been.
And that was the crux of the issue. Celestia sometimes wished for the sort of insight that came so naturally to those two and others besides. Which wasn’t to say raising the sun wasn’t important, but at times, when she felt uncertain of what action to take and had to somehow convince everypony around her that she had matters well in hoof, she envied the Talented, just a little.
Astra sighed, then held her ‘head’ up high. It was pointless to dwell overlong on it. Besides which, much like Celestia did not wish to take Twilight’s potential sense of achievement away, Astra wanted to have the satisfaction of knowing that she herself had helped change Celestia’s fate. Having her niece there to pick up all the pieces and solve all the problems would feel like cheating after the trouble Astra had gone to. And, indeed, after all the trouble Celestia herself was going to. Celestia needed Twilight to succeed, and Astra needed Celestia to succeed.
And so, she grit her nonexistent teeth, and did her best to follow along with Twilight and Celestia’s conversation, even if it was a bit dull.
Celestia swayed on her seat, opening her mouth to let out a huge yawn. She’d been correct to assume she wasn’t going to getting any sleep any time soon. She took a moment to be thankful for the physiology that allowed her to maintain alertness regardless of fatigue, then yawned again. It didn’t stop her from feeling tired, it just helped her to keep going anyway. A day or two was fine, a week or more started to affect her mental state. More than that and she was potentially a danger to herself and others. Others, more so than herself, naturally.
There were still some very odd laws regarding the maximum height of hats as a remnant of a time when she did not sleep for over a year at a stretch. Historians thankfully glossed over that time in their chronicles, but looking back she could scarcely believe it. She suspected those selfsame historians had assumed the ones that had come before them were having a laugh at the future’s expense. It was a very good thing that Celestia herself was the one who decided whether to enforce a law, because Rarity was technically considered a criminal for multiple counts of breaking the laws of fashion.
Twilight was looking over the chalkboard with a deep frown. The formerly pristine board was now covered in chalk dust so thick that new markings were difficult to tell from the old. Options for restaurants were numbered in lists on one side while various cuisines offered at each were listed below. In a small corner was a list of flowers that Pinkie might enjoy, and while Celestia was very much of the opinion that Pinkie would not mind, Twilight’s intentions were paramount. She, as Celestia before her, had immediately protested that pink roses signified friendship. And while friendship was certainly part of their relationship, it most definitely wasn’t where Twilight wanted it to stay.
‘It has to be perfect!’ Twilight had turned it into a litany, nearly a chant. While her previous plans had been based on statistics which had the highest likelihood of success with the average pony, they were now based on what would have the most importance to Twilight and Pinkie. This was not aided by the fact that, while Twilight had great affection for Pinkie, her understanding of the mare was limited at best (which was still more than most ponies had). Celestia had been bashing her head against a metaphorical wall trying to explain that Pinkie was remarkably simple in her tastes and rather easy to please. These assertions had only lead Twilight to become even more determined to understand what little she did know about Pinkie, in hopes of gaining some insight into the proper date path.
“Twilight..” Celestia began again. “It’s really not as bad as you are making it out in your head. There really is no such thing as a perfect date to begin with, and Pinkie wouldn’t want one if there was. She just wants to be with you.”
“But she’s been waiting for—” Twilight cut herself off, blushing.
“You can say it. There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Celestia said quietly. “Least of all with me.”
“I... I know. It’s just...” Twilight took a deep breath and tried again. “Right. She’s been waiting to... reconnect. To be... intimate. With... me.”
“Exactly. So long as you allow her that, she won’t mind what comes before. The date is a formality, a prelude.” Celestia smiled coyly, giving Twilight a wink. “An appetizer, you could say.”
“But... shouldn’t it be as good as it can be?” Twilight said, still looking distressed. “You said my original plan was bad—”
“I never said bad, I said it wasn’t very personally tailored to you or her,” Celestia said, interrupting before Twilight could progress much further down that line of thought. “And as dates go, it was quite nice regardless. I would have loved it, myself.”
Twilight didn’t say anything more for a time, her brow furrowed, apparently deep in thought.
You really should just let her fail, you know, Astra said, startling Celestia. She had been silent for some time, almost making Celestia forget she existed.
“No, I don’t know. That’s what I’d like to avoid happening, actually,” Celestia responded in an undertone.
I think it’s your only option, now.
“Celestia?” Twilight asked, looking at her curiously.
“Just a moment, Twilight,” Celestia said, holding up a hoof. “I need to talk to...” she hesitated. Twilight knew about Astra, but it still felt so very odd speaking of her to other ponies. “Myself,” she finished, feeling very foolish. “Actually, I think I may go get some sleep while I’m at it.” She grabbed a piece of chalk in her magic and used it to underline a few of her favorite options. “I think she’d adore carnations, just as my personal suggestion.” She opened her mouth to add more, then yawned loudly. “Right, sleep.”
“Okay... sleep well, Princess.”
“All right. Now, why would you say my only option is to let her fail?” she asked to the open air as she turned away from Twilight and began walking back upstairs.
You’ve been watching her for hours trying to explain why what she’s doing is not ideal. You don’t want to just tell her what to do, and she isn’t going to understand without experiencing it for herself.
“And did you think I’m not aware of that?”
A palpable silence followed. Celestia reflected that it was an experience that was likely fairly unique to her and truly mad ponies, when one shocks the voice in one’s head into silence.
If you know already, why are you wasting time like this? Astra demanded eventually.
“None of this is a waste at all,” Celestia replied in what was barely even a whisper. Glancing back at Twilight, she cast a very small sound bubble over her own head just in case her voice had any chance of carrying as she made her way upstairs. “Every decision she makes gives me a greater insight into her general state of mind. Unfortunately, she’s become too fixated to see things clearly. It’s fine, she’s going to make some mistakes. My own was thinking I could just teach her what she needed in this case. But Twilight is a scientist at heart, and that, unfortunately, requires trial and error.”
But wasn’t your plan to help her come up with some sort of idealized date? To get her to reach that perfection she wants?
Celestia laughed lightly. “There is no such thing. Even if she did plan out every last detail, there are always things you can’t account for. The wait staff having a bad day. You picked a crowded restaurant and everypony is on edge. Someone drops an entree and another pony slips and breaks a limb! No, I just want her to come up with the best plan she can. Then, once I see it in motion, I’ll do my best to account for the factors that, if I do well, she’ll never know about.”
If you do well?
“Yes, I’m going to be there, shadowing along. I’ll be their guardian angel,” Celestia said, smiling wryly. “Well, not me, but Aurora.”
But their date is going to be in Canterlot. Are you that confident in your disguise?
“Yes, with a few adjustments,” Celestia said simply. “Although there is one aspect I’ll require help with. I’m going to need access to resources that I normally would give to one of my personal assistants.”
How do you plan to do that while still not being yourself?
“That part is easy. I’m going to ask my sister to give Aurora a job. I imagine the interview will be interesting.”
“Hello? Sorry to intrude, but I seem to be a bit lost?” a deep, cultured voice said from somewhere in the garden.
Luna smiled, lifted her head up, and called out: “Come this way, Sir Pants.”
A few moments later found him strolling around the corner with a look of bemusement. He smiled as he saw them, and quickly joined them on the bench, taking a place by Fleur’s side. “Terribly sorry. There was a nice young mare who let me in just now, but she appeared to have business elsewhere,” he scratched his head, looking a little abashed as he admitted: “Which is to say, she up vanished before my very eyes. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what’s going on but I’m willing to venture we’re not at the Briarpatch Estate. They don’t have the room for an outdoor garden.”
He paused, then added: “I am also entirely certain I was on the third floor before I came in here.”
Luna nodded judiciously. “Welcome to my realm, Sir Pants. And welcome also to my personal Garden.”
His eyebrows rose as he looked around with renewed interest. “Your realm, you say. I get the feeling you mean that in a sense beyond this being in Equestria as a whole.” He squinted a bit for a moment before shying back in surprise as what appeared to be a snifter of whiskey floated in midair in front of him with no visible means of support, magical or otherwise. He took it in his magic, tilting the glass into his open mouth and sipping at it. “Convenient, that. So a dream then. That does make more sense than being at a celebration I had no recollection of being invited to. Or doors appearing out of nowhere.”
Fleur had been watching Fancy’s antics with evident amusement, but the mention of a door seemed to especially interest her. “Did it have a crescent, Mon Coeur?”
“It did,” Fancy replied. “I found it odd that there was a second door where they said the bathroom would be. But the first one was locked and the second one was... here.”
Luna listened to the exchange for a time, simply feeling happy to have them both near, then blushed as she realized the implication of his words. “Fancy... did you need... that is, are you currently in need of a facility—”
Fancy chuckled. “No, not that sort of call. I simply needed to take something for a headache that thankfully seems to have cleared up after having left that particular party. Besides which, I’ve heard if you attempt to relieve yourself while dreaming you’ll only wake needing to clean your linens and quite possibly purchase a new mattress. So, even if I did require such, it would be best to wait.”
Luna breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, be welcome, then.”
“I’m honored,” Fancy said, giving a little bow from his sitting position on the bench. “Though I wonder if I’ll recall any of this. I don’t tend to recall dreams.”
“Lucid dreams are special,” Luna replied. She swept an ebon-clad hoof around in a grandiose gesture. “And dreams touched by my hoof are more special still. You will remember, Sir Pants.”
Fleur looked at Luna with a little frown. “Are you not going to tell him where we are, ma petite?”
“I... I was getting to that.” Luna said, a blush burning on her cheeks. “Sir Pants...” she trailed off, shaking her head. “No, Fancy. It should be Fancy. Sir Pants is... too formal, and... we’ve been very informal together...”
Fancy Pants looked at Luna curiously as she attempted to collect herself. After a moment, he adopted a more relaxed and receptive posture, summoning a prelit pipe from the ether and puffing on it. “We have, Princess. But please, don’t concern yourself about such matters.”
Luna shook her head more violently, sending waves throughout the swirling mass of stars that existed in her mane. “I must, Fancy! I... I must learn to treat the hearts of ponies I care about with more respect, and I must start with yours... I...” she trailed off with a frown. “This was so much easier before,” she muttered.
“It’s because these are new feelings, Princess.” Night Blossom said from behind her. She lay her head over Luna’s right shoulder, nuzzling her. “New feelings are unsure, hard to define. Feelings for her were much more certain, you just did not wish to feel them.”
“Oh!” Luna exclaimed in surprise. “You’re back!”
“I never left, Princess.”
Luna turned back to Fleur and Fancy, gesturing behind herself. “Fancy, meet—” she frowned, puzzled by what she saw. Her friends were there on the bench, but seemed unnaturally still, as if—
“Time is fluid here, Princess, but theirs is frozen,” Night Blossom said as she walked casually around the bench to sit down in front of Luna. “We’ll thaw them soon, but it seemed you needed a moment to collect your thoughts.”
“I see...” Luna replied. She waved a hoof in front of Fleur, turning away when there was no response. “How did you—”
“I am a part of your magic. My entire existence is within dreams, and I’ve learned some small things in the long years since Blossom passed.”
Luna looked at Blossom appraisingly. She had wondered when the mare had pulled her disappearing trick earlier, as it had reminded her of her own mist form. But time manipulation was a feat that even Luna had not been aware of as being in her power. “You’ll have to show me how that’s done.”
“I’ll attempt to, Princess, though I’m uncertain how I do it, myself.”
“I’m not certain either,” Luna admitted. “I’m not certain of anything, right now,” she gestured to her two friends. “Should I not feel the same for both? Is that fair?” Luna pressed, frowning down at the stone path. “It seems unfair.”
“There is an old saying about love and fairness,” Blossom replied quietly. “The pony I was did not find love fair, until one day her life changed when it seemed it might end instead. From that day until the day she finally breathed her last, she found love to be solidly in her favor despite all odds. Was that fair? I cannot say. Blossom considered her earlier troubles the price she paid for the eventual reward.”
Luna smiled despite herself. “Blossom was a silly mare.”
“She would agree wholeheartedly, Princess.”
“Still,” Luna continued after a moment. “Fancy is anything but silly. And... I have put him through hardship in my little dances with his wife. He’s never been anything but kind to me, despite it all.”
“Deserving of praise, to be sure,” Blossom said solemnly. “Love is another matter. It’s not something you gift to another pony, it simply is or is not.”
Luna considered Blossom’s words for a time. “I think... it is there, but I worry, will it be enough?”
Blossom smiled, and gestured to the garden around them. “You’ve but planted a seed, Princess. What will come from it, I do not know, but it’s here, which should tell you something already.”
Luna tittered into a hoof. “So, this is what it’s like to be on the other end of somepony being needlessly cryptic.”
Blossom laughed along with her, saying: “Not needlessly. I’ve seen you guide others within their dreams. At times, when necessary, you are direct. At others, you try to lead them to their own answer. I believe you know how you truly feel about Fancy. But you wish for it to be otherwise. Be not afraid. Let the feelings find their own path.”
Luna closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Right. Simple, then.” She opened her eyes, looking back at Fancy and Fleur. “So, do we have to do something in particular to...”
Her words trailed off as both Fancy and Fleur gave her a confused look, though in Fleur’s case it was more amused than bemused. “Oh, this must look odd.” she said after a moment.
“Well, this is a dream, so I expect some oddity, but I admit I am curious who you are talking to.” Fancy replied.
“I was talking to—” Luna looked behind her, her mouth screwing up in annoyance as she saw open air. “Night Blossom! Your Princess requires your attendance at once!”
The aforementioned appeared from the shadows with the same grin one might see on the manticore after it had devoured its meal and was just settling down for a nap. “At once, Princess.”
Luna gestured to Night Blossom saying: “Fancy, meet the shade of my former lover from many centuries ago.”
“Well, I never stopped loving her, but Blossom did pass on, so half-true,” Blossom said. She gave a little bow in Fancy’s direction. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Fancy Pants.”
“Entirely mine, to be sure,” Fancy replied. He stood, walking up to her, and lifted one of her forehooves with his own, kissing it lightly.
“So polite...” Blossom said, pulling her hoof back only once he’d broken contact. “Less like a Knight and more like a scholar.”
“The title is hereditary,” Fancy replied. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t know what to do with my family’s old suits of armor besides have them dusted and polished.”
“Nobles in this day and age are quite different,” Luna said. “Ponies are not warlike by nature, and centuries of peace have bred most martial talents out.”
“I can see why you took to him,” Blossom said, looking Fancy up and down.
“As I can see why she took to you, madam,” Fancy replied. “I must admit, this is a novel experience. I’ve heard of spirits haunting the material plane but had always supposed it to be so much hogwash.”
“I could not say, as my existence is quite singular,” Blossom said with a little twinkle in her eye. “I’m not sure I could be said to be haunting, exactly. The pony I was left the world quite peacefully, in the arms of her beloved. I am merely an echo left behind. A hoofprint in the dust, so to speak. But I imagine Blossom would have been flattered by your praise, while secretly being insanely jealous that her Princess favored you,” she paused, smiling apologetically. “Night Blossom was very possessive of her Princess.”
Fleur sidled up next to Night Blossom and ran a hoof down her mane. “She was a fiery one, wasn’t she, ma petite?” Looking back at Luna, she added; “Did that extend to more private rendezvous?”
“Blossom was very agg—” Night Blossom began to respond before having her muzzle forcibly closed by Luna’s magic.
“I would rather not discuss such things,” Luna said, hastily. “That is, that’s not why we are here.”
Fleur frowned, but nodded after sharing a long glance with Luna. “Very well, ma petite, but I will ask again some night.”
“I will consider myself forewarned, Fleur,” Luna replied with a roll of her eyes.
“Blossom,” she said, turning back to her. “I believe I will be fine—” She blinked, frowning as she found herself addressing empty air, and silently cursed Blossom’s capriciousness, resolving to give her a good talking to some evening.
She took a moment to collect herself before shifting her gaze back to Fancy Pants. “Now... Fancy... I...” she trailed off, blushing furiously.
“Are you attempting to ask me to join your harem?” Fancy said after several moments of awkward silence.
“Yes!” Luna said excitedly, meeting his gaze once more with a burning intensity. “I mean no! Not a harem! Fleur, don’t get any more ideas!”
“It is too late, I am already deciding which of my friends you will meet first.” Fleur replied archly, fluttering her eyelashes. “Would you like to see them one at a time or in groups?”
Fancy’s mouth quirked up into a little half-smile. “Introduce her to Silk Stockings, they would get along famously.”
“No harems,” Luna said firmly to Fleur. Turning back to Fancy, she added: “I merely wish to formally acknowledge you, that is, both of you, if... that’s agreeable...” she finished meekly. She stared down at the stone pathway, unable to say the words while meeting his gaze. “I don’t wish to embarrass you, Fancy... But I... that is, you’re both...”
She stopped as Fancy laid a hoof on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw him smiling down at her. “Luna, if that’s your wish, I’d be proud to be acknowledged by you.”
“But... you said it would ruin your reputation,” Luna protested in a sullen voice. “It would make the others think you’re just using your connections—”
“Not ruin, just make things difficult in certain circles... and It’s true, some will talk,” Fancy admitted. “But it won’t be the first or last time I’ve been the focus of something scandalous.” He looked back at Fleur, who gave him a firm, empathetic nod. “If both of you want this, I’m more than happy to go along with it. Honestly, it doesn’t really change much, it will just make it a bit easier for Fleur to pester you.”
“And perhaps we sojourn in your bed when next we meet, non?” Fleur said, blowing Luna a kiss.
Luna nodded, and motioned for Fleur to come closer so she could embrace them both in her wings. Fancy looked startled for a moment, but allowed himself to be drawn in.
“Thank you, my friends, my dearest ones,” Luna said quietly.
After a fond embrace, Luna sent them both to their respective dreams, leaving only herself on the stone path. “You will want for nothing in your lives,” she intoned quietly. “ I will be your shield and your succor, for as long as both of you live.”
Down the path from her, a pair of luminous eyes watched her, resolving themselves into Night Blossom as she stepped forth from the shadow. She said nothing, only smiling and mouthing the words: “I love you, Princess.”
It had been a long day for Pinkie Pie.
Which wasn’t to say it was a bad day, just that it had seemed to take its time passing. Time was supposed to fly when you were having fun, but sometimes even when you were trying your hardest to have fun, time just stubbornly stayed on the ground and glared at you no matter how many bread crumbs you threw its way.
Time was kind of a party pooper like that.
So, while refusing to fly, Pinkie had at least gotten it to pass by at a walking speed instead of a dragging crawl like some days. Those were the days when she couldn’t manage much happy for herself and had to spread what she had around to others in hopes of getting some back.
She’d been having less of those since Celly had come to visit and stayed put until she got better again. It was nice having her there at the library. Pinkie wasn’t quite sure how she was going to react when one day Celly had to go back and be Princess Celestia, but she tried not to think about it too much. It did worry her just a little, though.
She knew sometimes her friends had to be away. Rainbow would have to leave for Wonderbolt tryouts, Rarity would need to go to fashion shows, even Fluttershy would leave on occasion to defend her championship in ‘Shhhh.’ But her friends lived here, and always came back.
Celly lived in Canterlot, and even if she was here now, and could visit later, it didn’t change the fact that one day she’d just be gone and would have to do Princess Celestia things and she wouldn’t be there to try out a new recipe or talk about how cute the Cake twins were.
Thinking about it too much made it so time laid down and stuck its tongue out at Pinkie.
But that was a worry for Future Pinkie. The Present Pinkie (not to be confused with Pinkie’s Presents) was going to go see Twilight and Celly both as soon as the day finished going by. She felt a little sorry for Future Pinkie, but there was always hope for her. Hope was a good thing. It was basically happiness you wished on yourself and others in the future.
“I need some more carrot cakes, Pinkie!” Mr. Cake called out to her from the cash register.
“Coming right up!” Pinkie singsonged back. Luckily, she already had those baking, and only needed some time for them to cool so she could frost them. She took out the cake pans, letting the rich carroty smell out of the over in a waft.
Time did finally pass after taking its sweet time while Pinkie made sweets. First breakfast time, then lunch, and finally it was time for Mrs. Cake to relieve Pinkie. She then spent a little bit of time with the twins before collecting a few things to take with her to Twilight’s library; a couple loaves of bread, a dozen doughnuts, a half dozen cupcakes, and something undefinable she’d made by mistake while she’d been distracted. She hadn’t figured out a name for it yet, because she wasn’t quite sure what had gone into it besides a lot of flour and sugar and a few eggs. It looked and smelled interesting, at least. She saw a few things that might have been chocolate chips, or raisins, or both.
She decided to name it the Experience, and wrapped it up to take with her. Experiences needed to be shared with ponies you loved.
“Bye, Mrs. Cake!” she said as she dashed out of the kitchen.
“Oh, goodbye!” Mrs. Cake replied to Pinkie’s rapidly moving form.
Pinkie hummed happily to herself, moving at a brisk gallop and watching time fly alongside her as if it had been waiting for her all day. She smiled at it, then turned her attention back to the library a short distance away.
It was rapidly approaching, or that’s the way it looked to Pinkie.
Things tended to approach her fast a lot. Friends, treats, Gummy, the world just liked to zoom up and say ‘hi’.
“Hello!” she called out into the library as she entered. She frowned after a moment, not hearing a reply, but after a moment or two she slapped the smile back on her face and went to the kitchen to deposit her snacks. If Celly and Twi weren’t where she expected them to be, it just meant she had to spend a little time finding them.
Time, like money, liked to be spent. Especially on the ponies you loved.
A search of the kitchen proved fruitless; Twilight needed to restock on fruits, especially apples. It was not saladless, however, as one was waiting in the fridge presumably to have for lunch later. Pinkie put the Experience next to the salad, unsure if it was the sort of thing that should be served chilled. That was the trouble with unidentifiable food. You couldn’t be sure how it was meant to be stored. She supposed they’d need to eat it quickly lest such problems continue to compound.
She’d already checked the library, so she reasoned the next most likely place was the bedroom. That’s where half of her mystery was solved, as she found a Celestia-shaped object under a pile of blankets. Lifting one end of the blankets revealed a mostly pink tail, with streaks of other faded colors. The other end was where she found a very tired-looking Celly sleeping soundly enough to not even notice the broad daylight all around her.
Pinkie frowned for a moment, feeling just a little bit put out that she wouldn’t get to share the Experience with Celly, but after a moment of consideration she decided that the Experience could just stay on ice where it was until later, when she could share it with both Twi-twi and Celly. She wasn’t even sure if it was any good, but she wanted to find out with both of them.
Besides, she had lots of other things she could share with Twilight while they waited for Celly to finish her nap.
She carefully lowered the blanket onto Celly’s head, tucking it around her muzzle and covering only Celly’s eyes while leaving her free to breathe. On a whim, she kissed the tip of Celly’s nose, then carefully left the room.
She still had a Twilight to find, but that would prove both easier and more difficult. If Twilight wasn’t in the library, the kitchen, or the bedroom, that only left the lab, which Pinkie was supposed to stay out of unless Twi invited her down into it. She could still call down into it, though. It just required opening the door, which she also wasn’t supposed to do but was less bad than intruding in the lab.
“Twilight!” she called down into the dimly lit stairway.
“Pinkie?” Twilight’s voice replied.
Pinkie smiled, pleased that she’d at least found one pony awake. “I’m back from work, and I brought snacks!”
“I know,” Twilight said from behind her. “Thank you. I kinda forgot to eat since...” A few seconds went by before Twilight admitted: “I think since yesterday's dinner.”
Pinkie spun around with a gasp of barely suppressed glee. “Twilight!”
Twilight yawned, and flashed Pinkie a smile after she finished. “Welcome home.”
There was no suppressing anything after that, least of all Pinkie’s charge and the hug-tackle that followed. Though Twilight did brace herself to avoid being bowled over entirely by making her hooves stick to the floor. Even so, Pinkie heard the floorboards creak as they impacted. Afterwards, she was busy showering Twilight’s head and neck with little kisses and not really paying attention to the protests of Twilight or the building they were in.
After she was satisfied that every square inch of Twilight’s face had been thoroughly kissed, Pinkie pulled back from Twilight and just looked at her for a long moment. Twilight looked tired. Not in that ‘I just climbed a mountain to tell off a dragon’ kind of way or ‘I just made my way out from a huge cavern to tell off a changeling invasion’ kind of way, but tired nonetheless. But... she didn’t look unhappy. And for the first time in days—
“The crinkles are gone!” Pinkie said with a gasp.
Twilight tilted her head slightly to the left, favoring Pinkie with a confused but not irritated look. “Uh, what?”
Pinkie looked again to be sure. Under Twilight’s eyes, shadows hung deep and heavy. But the edges of Twilight’s eyes, by contrast, were relaxed, whereas normally Pinkie would see very small creases growing more pronounced as Twilight grew more stressed. Instead, the edges were smooth, in a way that Pinkie rarely even saw when watching Twilight sleep at night.
Pinkie took Twilight’s muzzle between her hooves and pulled her forward to stare directly into her eyes, then looked as close as she possibly could at the edges. There wasn’t a single solitary crinkle to be found. She released Twilight’s face, then wrapped her forelegs around her in a big hug, picking her up and spinning her around. “You’re okay!” she exclaimed in a rush. “Really, really okay! Celly was right!”
“W-what was she right about?” Twilight managed after being set down.
“She said I was probably worried over nothing. Sometimes I’m too much of a Thinky-Pinkie and it all just piles up in my head—” Pinkie stopped in mid-sentence as she saw the reaction Twilight was having to her answer, and her smile slid off her face and shattered all over the floor.. “Oh no! They’re back again! I didn’t mean it, honest! I wasn’t worried, really!”
“I didn’t mean to worry you, Pinkie.” Twilight said. “It’s just... I’ve been making plans and they never felt right—”
Pinkie firmly pressed the frog of her hoof against Twilight’s mouth, effectively muffling her. She was silent for a long moment while she studied Twilight’s face, at the end of which her shoulders slumped. She drew her hoof back to herself, cradling it with her opposite hoof as if she’d just been burned just like that first time she’d been so excited to take out a cake that she’d forgotten the oven mitt.
“It was the third date thing, huh?” she said after a long moment, staring at Twilight’s feet.
“I just wanted to get it perfect, Pinkie—”
“Are you going to be there?” Pinkie replied, still not meeting Twilight’s gaze.
“Yes?” Twilight said, sounding confused.
“Then it’s already perfect!” Pinkie all-but-shouted. “That’s all I want!”
Pinkie looked up in surprise as Twilight hugged her.
“I’m sorry I made you worry,” Twilight whispered. “I should have just told you what was wrong.” She pulled back from the hug, and though Twilight’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears, the crinkles were gone again. “But I think it’s okay now. Princess Celestia helped me figure a few things out. So you don’t have to worry anymore, okay?”
Pinkie buried her muzzle in Twilight’s mane, hugging her back with twice the intensity she’d used before. “I won’t worry. Pinkie Prom—”
She stopped as she felt Twilight’s magic force her mouth closed, silencing the pledge.
“Don’t promise that!” Twilight said in a rush. “Nopony should ever have to promise that. You can worry, it’s okay! I just need to stop doing things that make you worry about me.”
“Mmm Mmmmmmmm, M mmmmm mmmmmmm M mmmm mmm!” Pinkie said, and gave Twilight an extra squeeze before letting her loose.
“What?” Twilight asked, frowning. Then she smacked herself in the forehead with a hoof. “Right, sealed your lips. There!” she said as she released her magical hold. “Now, what?”
“I said, “But Twilight, I worry because I love you!’” Pinkie repeated. “I’m always worrying that you don’t sleep enough, or that you forgot to eat, or that you’re trying to keep your worries from making me worried.” Pinkie looked down at the shattered remains of her smile still scattered across the floor. It was gonna take a lot of happy to fix that one, and she was still unsure about trying to put on another, it might just fall off again.
Because there was a worry she’d never told Twilight about, either. And she wasn’t sure she ever could bring herself to say it. Part of her worried even more about ever saying it, because it might make it true.
She’d told Celly, once.
“With me, she gets cranky, and sad, and... it’s like there’s a part of her I can’t reach. I just want to hold that part, and hug it until everything is okay.”
The worry deep inside her sometimes whispered that the reason she couldn’t reach that part was that she couldn’t. She was just a Pinkie Pie, and even if Twilight said she loved Pinkie... maybe it wasn’t enough.
Or worse, maybe it wasn’t true.
Twilight nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, I should have just told you. I just... I want us to be okay again.”
Pinkie hesitated for what seemed like an eternity, but probably not. Time could be such a sour-face when it felt ignored. She swept up the smile, glued it back together with every bit of happiness she could find, and when that ran out she borrowed as much hope she as she could to finish the job.Then she put it back where it belonged, good as new, maybe even better. And while she was at it, she pushed the worry back into the darkness, even daring to stick her tongue out at it before slamming the door in its stupid not-face. “We’re okay!” Pinkie insisted. “We’re okay as long as we both want us to be okay. And if we’re not we’ll make it okay! You’ll see!”
A final look of concern flashed across Twilight’s face, but she let it fade away into relief when Pinkie’s smile refused to budge. “You’re right.” she took a deep breath, exhaling it noisily.
“So... doing anything this weekend?” Twilight asked, answering Pinkie’s smile with one that felt truer than Pinkie’s own.
It was a little shy, but genuine, and it made Pinkie fall in love all over again.
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I really love how you write Pinkie, she's smart and insightful but she's so anxious and she's so sweet and tries to cover it up... I'm really glad Celestia helped Twilight, now they just need to actually have their date and hopefully help things.
And we continue to see Luna, and how the hearts and minds of Alicorns are complicated places.
And their dealing with that scandal... well, it won't be easy, especially given Luna's general difficulties with the press. But they'll face it together.
Fleur and Luna's relationship is very cute~
She loves her princess~
9433768
It's such an Interesting head space to occupy. Pinkie is just adorable.
9434176
Yeah, it's a rambly half metaphor stream of consciousness that just doesn't stop (as much as Twilight even!) that seems childish until you actually pay attention and realize that she's actually being serious and that she's really clever. Heh, Experience...
Clears his throat.
EEEEEEE SOMEONE DRAW THIS EEEEEEEE <3
I simultaneously want to hug Pinkie, lecture Twilight, grumble at Celestia for being a bit too hands-off, and throw Luna, Fancy and Fleur a "Congrats on leaving the closet" party.
...
...
I don't have nearly enough arms.
That lil kiss from Pinkie to Celly though.
Ugh... at first glance I read the title as "Experience Should Be Sheared" and I was quite perplexed ^^;;;
guess it should be "along"
Unless Pinkie started dressing quite ghetto I think it's "hoof" ^^;;
Sigh.... Okay, Twilight’s got (what she hopes is) a decent date idea, Celestia’s content to leave her to it (outside from running interference in real-time), and Pinkie generally tries to be optimistic... you’d think they could avoid another cycle of angst.
It does sometimes feel like a considerable portion of this wordcount- especially for the Twipinklestia arc- is worrying about worrying... I guess Pinkie’s insecure about not being “worthy” of Twilight sharing her worries with her, but that’s only after Twilight did explain what had been going on.
At any rate, it feels like they should be able to move forward smoothly from here. But we’ll see.
9438685
In fairness, there was gonna be just a bit of repercussion when Pinkie had her earlier worries confirmed as true. But she pulled through it because now she has hope. Maybe things did go badly just now, but it might be better soon. And more importantly, if Twilight was worried before, it seemed to be over, for the moment. Which makes even the present better.
With Celly meddling in the mix, we're thankfully past the stage where Pinkie and Twi would just angst alone, trying not to be a further source of concern for the other. But we're not quite at the stage yet where they are comfortable being totally open about their fears.
i am shocked and appalled at how few people are reading this, Pinkie is adorbs.
9439931
Green was a slow starter too. Plus it's a sequel so the appeal is largely people who made it all the way through the first book.
i don't know why but with all the repression(not sure if that's right) i feel like we're headed for a Nightmare Pie, instead of a Nightmarity.
wonder if the princesses will wise up and go on alternating vacations after Celly is all healed.
9448010
I feel like Pinkie pushes a lot of worries into the darkness. But it takes several centuries to actually lead to madness the like of the Nightmare.
Fluttershy defends her title
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/2012/the-contest
9448231
It's funny. Pinkie worries she might never reach Twilight's little wounded Self deep down... and we haven't even touched yet upon Pinkie Pie's little wounded Self deep inside her. I wonder if Twilight might ever reach that? Or, more pertinently, if she'll ever become aware of it. She should - I mean, if it takes one to know one... Perhaps if she realized this, it might become easier to both look at her own issues and understand how Pinkie thinks. (Not to mention the short bout with insanity she'll have when she does...)
Though I expect it to become a point down the road, seeing as Celestia is already making short forays into that field. Takes one to know one indeed...
Also, I fear Twilight is too occupied by the process of it that she entirely fails to notice the intent of things. But I suppose one could write volumes on all three, and never quite exhaust the issue...
I also wonder when exactly will Celestia finally acknowledge that her own issues are staring her right in the face, in the form of Pinkie's and Twilight's issues and insecurities. She's supposed to be more clever than this, and being clever also means being able to take others' circumstances and apply the reasoning to your own problem. Perhaps another case of "Doctor, heal thyself"? *sigh*
Though I suppose her being involved this way serves both her need to be involved and her need to somehow keep herself away. *heavy sigh*
9439984
And it was a privilege.