• Published 15th Jul 2019
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The Centurion Project - TheEighthDayofNight



Elias "Rubrum Aquilae" Bright, the former leader of the Legio I Americana, on the run from his past, finds himself thrown into the conflicts of Equestria.

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Chapter 50: A Canterlot Wedding; Part 3

Elias had no frame of reference, having never been to a formal human wedding, but while beautiful and well-coordinated, Elias found the whole ceremony boring. He could understand what they were trying to do, and he listened intently to every word, especially when Book Binder and Night Flash shared their vows, but in truth, the wedding couldn’t hold his interest. When he began to glance around, he was surprised when he found many ponies crying, including Night Sky. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, her makeup staying perfect as she sat leaned forward in her seat. The sight made Elias look inward, trying to remember the last “wedding” he had gone to.

It had been a simple affair between Bevin and Sarah, and it had been outdoors. They had both been in their legion armor, and with Tristan acting as a minister, their whole community had come together to celebrate with a small feast harvested from their first crop. The ceremony had taken minutes to complete, after which a simple party had followed. With ponies there was much more ceremony. First, Celestia welcomed everyone with a lengthy speech about the magic of friendship and how marriage was just a lifelong friendship between two close ponies. Then the best mare gave a speech about Night Flash and Book Binder, talking all about their lives together. What should have been full of entertaining stories was mostly just cutesy things or stories Elias had already participated in. He had pushed Night Flash forward, and while he wasn’t mentioned by name, the dark blue stallion sent him a happy look. The speech was followed by the exchanging of the vows, which were also lengthy and personalized. Then came the rings, another speech from Celestia, and finally the ceremony was over. Elias hated that he almost yawned.

Everyone stood as Night Flash and Book Binder began making their way back down the aisle together. They both seemed ecstatic and energetic as they pranced down the center aisle, and both shot him brilliant smiles as they walked by, chased out of the wedding hall by a thunderous stomping. Elias remained silent, not knowing if he should clap like a normal human, or if he too should stomp. Instead, he merely waited, staying completely still as ponies began filtering out of the pews to follow the newlywed couple out of the wedding hall doors. Elias looked back to Night Sky to find her wiping her eyes, and smiling up at him.

“It is a simply wonderful thing when two ponies get married,” she said. “It is the ultimate form of friendship, and is a tradition I will never tire of.”

Elias nodded and scratched at his chin.

“It was a nice ceremony,” he agreed. “makes me curious about a few things.”

Night Sky snorted and shook her head.

“Oh Elias, so eloquent when it comes to speaking of ceremonial beauty, but I suppose I can share in your bored sentiment.”

She raised a hoof when Elias tried to protest.

“I did not mean insult, I simply observed that look you get in your eyes when something loses your interest. Believe me, I noticed your attempts to remain focused and attentive. You are simply not an individual who likes to remain a bystander.”

She slipped off the pew bench and scooped up her saddlebags.

“I think you would have enjoyed one of the ancient wedding ceremonies. The best mare was actually the most adept magic user the groom and bride knew, and was there in case any spurned lovers or jealous herd mates decided to interrupt the ceremony.”

Night Sky giggled.

“I was once at a wedding where a stallion had seventeen herd mates, and he hadn’t informed any of them that he was getting married again. To say that Blue Arrow had her work cut out for her would be a great exaggeration.”

She sighed longingly as she took Elias’ arm, leading them out of the largely empty wedding hall. Only Celestia was left, and Elias could feel her eyes on his back as she talked with Book Binder and Night Flash’s parents. No doubt she was wondering why he wasn’t working with his legion, and as Night Sky continued speaking about past wedding ceremonies, he couldn’t help but think about it himself. What was he doing? He was on a date with somebody who wasn’t even in the same species as him, let alone the same class. Why Luna had given him so much as the time of day was a mystery, and not only was she distracting him from his job, she was distracting him from the job that she had forced him to do. He was supposed to be a solider, an elite killing machine. He was decidedly not supposed to be watching ponies celebrate their marriage with a princess on his arm.

And yet that was what he was doing as he watched Night Flash chase a shrieking Book Binder around as the pair waited for their carriage to the reception hall to be brought around. The building wasn’t far at all, but from what little he knew of pony marriage, it was traditional for the bride and groom to be taken by carriage to the reception. The fact that he had put any research or thought into that fact worried Elias. Was he being played? Was the mare at his side actually a changeling in disguise, making him complacent while his legion was infiltrated under his nose? Elias’ bad eye twitched and he looked down at “Night Sky”.

The pegasus’ tail wiggled happily, just like Luna’s did whenever she was over-excited. Elias had seen her wiggle her tail exactly three times. Twice when she was trying to cuddle him, and once when he had accepted her as his date to the wedding. It was accompanied by a slight scrunch of her muzzle, and her green eyes poked through her illusionary disguise, sparkling happily in the light of the streetlamps. Elias felt his throat tighten with nervousness, and as he continued to stare at her from the corner of his eye, he knew that she was the same Luna he had always known. Her smaller, hornless state was just to keep the public eye away. He knew that. She had also promised to enact further measures to ease his concerns about the march. Why would a changeling spy do that? No, a spy would try to simply draw his thoughts permanently away from the march. The wedding was supposed to last a single night, then they would bounce back into work with more fervor than ever.

So why did he still have a sour feeling in his stomach?

Elias didn’t know, and he couldn’t keep a small frown from his lips as the carriage finally arrived, and Book Binder and Night Flash climbed inside. It began to rumble away, and the cheers of the crowd naturally fell to light chatter as the ponies began to make their way to the reception hall. Elias felt a slight tug on his sleeve, and he looked down to Night Sky.

“Come along grumpy,” she said with a smile, “let us get to the reception. I am eager to see if they have any cider.”

Elias snorted, but he stayed at her side as they began walking at a leisurely pace.

“You think I’ll be able to get anything hard?” he asked absently. “I’m not even twenty yet.”

Night Sky scoffed.

“Unless Book Binder specifically ordered the bartender to not give you drinks, I imagine you can pass for a much older stallion. Besides, your birthday is in a few weeks, yes?”

Elias side-eyed the pegasus.

“A month,” he replied. “How do you know?”

Night Sky’s tail continued to wiggle, and her muzzle curled up in a wider, cuter smile.

“You told me, remember? It was our first real moment together as friends, locked in the castle dungeons.”

“We wouldn’t have been locked in that cell if you hadn’t locked us in there,” Elias replied.

Night Sky slapped his pant leg.

“Hush you, I eventually realized, and took fault for my mistake. It took thorough research to find your lack of a magical soul. I couldn’t have possibly known that other worlds truly have no manifestation of magic. It is unnatural.”

“Says the talking pony to the talking monkey,” Elias muttered.

Night Sky conceded the point with an incline of her head, and they fell into a comfortable silence. They continued following the crowd as they made their way to the reception hall. The building wasn’t as ornate as the wedding hall. In fact, it looked to Elias that it was merely a space that would cater to any kind of large party. It stood at four stories high, and the outside was an unremarkable white, decorated with lamps and flowers.

Elias let Night Sky guide him toward the door, and his eyes took in the roomy interior of the building. The ceiling was relatively tall, and was decorated with a series of chandeliers that held dimly burning candles. Half of the hall was empty, and Elias spotted a large pair of speakers with a sound system sitting idly between them. No doubt it was some sort of dance floor. The walls were decorated in a myriad of whites and blacks, and as Night Sky nudged him toward a table with their names on it that sat close to the bridal party table. Elias took note of the table settings. The tablecloths were all white, and the center pieces were simple, consisting of a slim glass vase with a mixture of blue and green flowers, no doubt to match Night Flash and Book Binder’s coats. Small orbs of light drifted through the air, giving plenty of light to the room where the candles slacked. Overall, he thought it all looked quite nice.

“Elias, are you all right?” Night Sky asked in a worried tone.

He blinked and looked down to the pegasus.

“I’m fine, why?”

She frowned at him, then turned to her saddlebags.

“You seemed out of sorts, and you don’t seem to have noticed that you are bleeding.”

Elias blinked stupidly at the mare. It took her less than a second to pull a handkerchief out of her bags. She hopped up onto Elias’ shoulders, then pressed the handkerchief to his nose.

“I’ve got it,” Elias said, placing his hand over her hoof.

Night Sky blushed lightly, but withdrew the limb. She pulled out a seat and tapped it lightly.

“Come, sit down. Let’s see if we can’t get your nosebleed to stop before most ponies get here.”

Elias took the offered seat, and Night Sky quickly pulled over another chair, hopping onto it. She tipped his head forward. Elias pinched the base of his nose, applying enough pressure to slow the bleeding. As he breathed through his mouth, Elias looked to the mare staring at him with obvious concern.

“What?” he said. “Are nosebleeds not a common thing for ponies?”

Night Sky shook her head.

“No, not unless the pony has an underlying condition. Nosebleeds are usually the first indicator that something is wrong. I assume things are different for humans?”

Elias shrugged.

“I wouldn’t know, but I’ve had nosebleeds once or twice every year for a while now. ‘t isn’t anything special.”

The pegasus didn’t seem like she believed him, but she did relax slightly. They sat in silence for a while, watching ponies stream into the reception hall without much interest. Most of them he didn’t recognize, and they gave him curious glances in return, whispering about him whenever they thought his eyes weren’t facing their direction. None of the whispers were anything hostile however, just the casual gossip that normal people seemed to indulge in, and since he was a different species, he supposed it was just par for the course that he would be looked at and whispered about. Elias occasionally peeled back the handkerchief to check if the bleeding had stopped, and after the third check, it had.

The lights of the room dimmed as ponies settled down, and music started to play softly. The bridal party entered the wedding hall, and while most of the ponies made their way to their table, Moonlit Night pealed off from her family. She made straight for Elias, making no effort to disguise her target. Elias felt Night Sky tense up at his side, and he briefly wondered if he ever told her of the reaction Night Flash’s mother had to his presence.

The blue unicorn wove through the crowd before coming to a stop just before Elias. Her expression was closely guarded, and even though he had a great deal of experience with reading emotions, her face was a blank slate. She had a better mask than Luna did. Night Sky cleared her throat.

“Good evening General Bright.”

Elias gave her a nod.

“Mrs. Night, enjoying your son’s wedding?”

The unicorn snorted.

“I should be asking you a similar question. You’re a guest here after all.”

She glanced to Night Sky.

“Hello dear, enjoying your date with General Bright?”

Night Sky’s muzzle twitched with irritation.

“Indeed, but for tonight there is no General. It is merely Elias here with me.”

Moonlit Night nodded slowly at her words and looked back to Elias. The human regarded her carefully, keeping his face blank. They stared at each other for a moment, then Moonlit Night sighed and stared at the floor.

“General…” she paused to take a deep breath, then met his gaze. “Elias, I came over here because I wanted to apologize, and to thank you.”

“Thank me for what?” Elias asked. “And save the apology. You were trying to protect your family from what you viewed as an external threat. While I didn’t appreciate your words, I understood your actions after some reflection.”

Moonlit Night scuffed the floor with her hoof and sighed again.

“And that is doubly so the reason why I have to apologize. I thought you were some kind of immature threat that was making my Flashy act rash and immature, but even now you act like any grown stallion would. In fact, I would go so far to say that you are more mature than many stallions twice your age.”

“So,” she continued, “I am sorry. I should not have treated you as I did, and for what it’s worth, I am glad that you have become so close with Night Flash and Book Binder. All of their talk has been about you, and if they have faith in you, then I can’t go against them.”

Her facial mask slipped, and a genuine smile appeared on her face.

“And I wanted to give you my sincerest thanks for rejecting Shooting Star’s application. I know Night Flash wanted to work with his brother, but knowing that at least one of my sons will be safe at home is… well it’s a gift that any mother should cherish. Thank you, General Bright. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

She shuffled shyly, then extended a hoof for a hug. Elias would have laughed at the strained smile on her face, but some small part of his mind whispered that it would make Night Flash happier if her got along with his mother. Elias leaned forward and embraced the mare, and the awkwardness in the air became stifling. Unlike every other hug he had with ponies, Elias couldn’t tell when it was supposed to end. It seemed that neither did Moonlit Night.

After a few seconds of awkwardness, Elias pulled away and looked toward the dance floor, clearing his throat loudly.

“You’re welcome,” he said stiffly. “I was just doing what I thought was right.”

“Right.”

The blue unicorn shuffled in place for a moment, then coughed and nodded.

“Right, okay. I… will go sit with my husband now… then.”

She coughed again before trotting away, pointedly not looking back toward Elias. The human continued to look anywhere other than Moonlit Night, and a snort drew his eyes. Night Sky held a hoof over her mouth, barely suppressing a giggle. Elias gave her a deadpan look.

“What?”

The disguised alicorn threw her head back and laughed aloud.

“What?” she said through her giggles. “What he asks. Oh, by the Keepers, Elias you are too precious.”

Elias flushed red with embarrassment and looked away. As he crossed his arms over his chest, Night Sky hopped out of her seat and flapped onto his shoulders, resting her chin against his ear.

“Oh don’t be grumpy,” she chuckled. “All ponies get nervous when talking with family. ‘tis simply the way of the world.”

Elias grunted in response, drawing further chuckles from Night Sky. One of her legs kicked out and dragged her chair over so that she could permanently settle against him. The blue mare hummed in his ear, and he could feel her smile as his muscles instinctively began relaxing at his presence.

The dancing floor lights flicked off, replaced by two spotlights twirling around the empty floor. An announcer’s voice came through the speakers, and the lights focused on a curtain, from which a pair of ponies walked out of. Everyone cheered and applauded for Night Flash and Book Binder, but from some reason, the pegasus’ eyes immediately locked on Elias. Like a fuzzy blue bullet, Night Flash leaped forward at breakneck speed, and Elias had no time to stop the pegasus before he slammed into his chest and sent him smashing backward into the table.

The clatter of a breaking table and destroyed place settings were ignored by Night Flash as he snorted and snuggled hard against Elias’ chest. After a moment of contemplation, Elias gave in and hugged the pegasus tight.

*****

Elias felt on edge.

The reception had so far gone off without a hitch, save for needing to clean up the results of Night Flash’s snuggle fit. The pegasus had remained locked in his fervor for almost half an hour, and the entire time Elias spent trying to contain him within his arms. Night Flash wouldn’t quit squirming however, and after trying his best to put up a fight, he simply stopped, letting the pegasus get the snuggling fever out of his system.

Even when he came down from his snuggling high, Night Flash was unapologetic about his aggressiveness, and he refused to come down from Elias’ lap. It took Book Binder a great deal of coaxing, as well as Elias threatening to leave the reception, to get the pegasus to go to his proper place at the bridal party table, and even then Night Flash would occasionally send glances Elias’ way. His wings puffed out happily as he wiggled in his seat. His energy for the occasion never diminished, and without the ability to snuggle against Elias, Night Flash decided to let the energy out on his new wife. Book Binder tried to fight him off, but the pegasus won out eventually, and he curled around her as dinner was served.

Dinner was a simple thing; spaghetti with marinara. Night Sky and Elias ate in relative silence, only occasionally speaking between bites of noodles and garlic bread. They were alone at their table, and it was one of those times that they didn’t need to speak. They simply enjoyed each other’s presence.

After dinner came the cake cutting, and after that the party began. Most of the ponies moved to the dance floor as loud music started up. Night Sky joined in after a few moments of nervous twitching, giving Elias a look that she wanted him to join her, but that she wouldn’t force the issue. The few who didn’t join in the rave drifted toward the bar, Elias included. He had no idea how to dance, and the electronic music blasting through the speakers wasn’t really his taste.

Instead, he glanced over the bar menu, then ordered a glass of the hardest drink they had. Once the cider was in his hand, Elias leaned against the bar and watched the dance floor. He didn’t know what he expected when he thought of ponies dancing, but it wasn’t what he saw.

Some of the older ponies were doing their best to waltz to the music, while the younger ponies simply kicked and jumped about. Night Sky seemed to be locked halfway between the two as she “danced” beside Night Flash and Book Binder. The pair of ponies did their best to help her loosen up, but the disguised alicorn often fell into a stiff three-step that made others around her step wide.

She looked like she was having fun however, which was more than Elias could say as he looked over his shoulder. He couldn’t shake the nervous feeling that sat on his chest like a ton of bricks. Something was going to go wrong; he could just feel it.

It took all of his discipline not to jump when Night Sky seemed to appear at his side. After giving the bartender her order, she hopped up on one of the bar stools at his side and leaned back. She fluttered her wings and panted softly as she smiled up at him.

“Enjoying the festivities Elias?”

He shrugged in reply.

“It’s fine I suppose.”

Night Sky rolled her eyes and snagged her drink just as the bartender set it down. Elias glanced at the drink as she began to suck it through the twirling blue straw it came with. It was made in a coffee mug, and it had a mountain of whipped cream on the top, but if it was hot, Night Sky didn’t seem to care as she took a long gulp of the beverage. The mare shuddered and smiled as she took a breath.

“I do so love cold chocolate,” she said, looking out over the still raving dance floor. “It has all of the deliciousness of a milkshake with less of the fattening properties. It is so difficult to find ponies who do it right.”

“So why don’t you hire someone for the castle?” Elias asked.

Night Sky shrugged.

“I tried once in the past, but it was as if his abilities failed when he hit the castle kitchens. After that fiasco, I simply took to doing my best to find it in the wild.”

She wiggled in her seat happily.

“And apparently Book Binder hired just the right ponies to make my favorite celebratory beverage.”

She began slurping again, and Elias silently took another sip of his cider. When he glanced over again, Night Sky’s drink was gone, and she was staring at him expectantly. He stared back silently, waiting for the mare to speak. After a few moments of silence, Night Sky snorted and rolled her eyes.

“I assume you did not hear me?”

“No,” Elias answered.

Her brilliant green eyes shined in the dim light.

“Then let me repeat myself; will you come dance with me?”

Elias stared at her blankly for a moment, then snorted and looked away.

“No. I don’t know how to dance, and even if I did, I wouldn’t. I’m not the dancing type.”

Night Sky matched his snort.

“That’s what all the tough stallions say just before they start dancing, then they have a blast. Come on, join me. Just for one slow song.”

Elias motioned to the dance floor.

“They’re not playing slow songs.”

“Book Binder promised me that they will in a moment,” Night Sky replied. “So will you join me?”

Elias scratched the back of his head and refused to meet the mare’s eyes. He instead focused on staring at the crowd, watching the ponies dance about as if interested. On one hand, dancing with Night Sky would be like something straight out of a trashy romance novel, but from what he could tell, ponies ate that kind of thing up. It was likely that he would make the mare very happy by at least giving her one dance.

On the other hand however, he really didn’t know how to dance and stood to make an absolute fool of himself. Even though he wasn’t attending the wedding as a General, he still had a reputation to uphold. If he was lacking in any area and ponies found out, he would lose respect, and he needed every scrap of it to maintain the level of discipline he had established.

Doing his best to hide his shame, Elias shook his head and finished off his cider.

“Sorry Night Sky, but no. I can’t dance, and can’t afford a fuck up.”

He felt a hoof on his arm, and the sensation of absolute caring underneath the gesture forced him to meet the eyes of the mare at his side. She smiled gently.

“Elias do not worry. I may be inept when it comes to party dancing, but I am a master at ballroom dances. I can teach you as we go, and with a slow dance, it is little more than swaying. I promise you; you won’t regret this.”

The music slowed to a crawl and the electronic sounds were replaced by the sounds of bows and strings. Most of the ponies filtered away, chatting quietly amongst themselves, while a select few remained behind, pairing up. Night Flash curled a wing around Book Binder, and the two closed their eyes and began to sway back and forth. Night Twister and Moonlit Night did the same. Velvet Breeze and Ice Shard, likely due to the fact that they were both unicorns, hopped up on each other’s shoulders, looking closer to what Elias imagined humans would like when they danced.

His eye flicked down to Night Sky, who still smiled gently, awaiting his answer. A sense of overwhelming nerves washed over him, but Elias wouldn’t let fear overcome him. He nodded silently and pushed away from the bar. Outwardly she gave no sign of her happiness other than a smile and a short tail flick, but Elias could tell from her posture that she was ecstatic. She led him to the center of the dance floor, staying a few paces away from Book Binder and Night Flash. Neither pony gave him so much as a glance, and when Elias looked over his shoulder, he found that nobody was watching him. They were either helping themselves to the remains of their meals, going to the bar, chatting, or a combination of the three. They didn’t seem to care about the strange tall creature and his date.

Night Sky hopped her forelegs up on his shoulders and smiled at him.

“Alright Elias, this is very easy,” she whispered. “Pretend your giving me a loose hug, but don’t slouch into it. You’re taller than I am, so I will lean on you.”

Elias nervously wrapped his arms around the pegasus. Her wings twitched as his fingers brushed her feathers, and she giggled lightly.

“A little higher you naughty colt.” She adjusted his hands up to rest at the base of her wings.

His fingers rested against the softness of her dress, and he could have sworn that he could feel her plush fur beneath the fabric. Night Sky hummed in contentment as she leaned her head against his chest, and slowly, she began to rock back and forth. With as close as they were, Elias had no choice but to follow along, mirroring her motions along to the song. Night Sky let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.

“Perfect.”

Elias didn’t know why, but alarm bells started to ring in his head. He wanted desperately to relax, to simply “dance” with his date, but he couldn’t help but feel something was wrong. His mismatched eyes flicked around the reception hall, but he didn’t see anything. No waves, no malicious eyes watching his every move, nothing. Yet he couldn’t shake the sick feeling in his stomach that something was wrong.

“Elias,” Night Sky said, her voice barely audible.

Elias looked down to see the mare smiling up at him. Her eyes shined, and it was almost as if he could see little hearts at the centers of her pupils. They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, then Night Sky’s began to close at a snail’s pace. The world around him seemed to slow, and Night Sky pursed her lips and stretched up to meet him.

All Elias could feel is dread. His heart pounded in his ears as the music seemed to die away, and despite the attractiveness of the mare he was holding, he couldn’t meet her lips with his own. His bad eye twitched as images of blood flitted by. She was already so much weaker, so frail. He could picture Luna with her throat opened, twitching in a pool of blood. He could feel the wet clumps of her luxurious fur as it fell from the cuts that scarred her. He could smell the stench of death as her body collapsed under the weight of wounds far too horrible to heal.

The living nightmare ended with a snap, and Elias saw reality. He saw Luna lowering herself to love him, and all he could think about was the tremendous risk she was taking. All he saw was the absolute danger she was putting her in. He couldn’t bear to watch.

So he turned away.

When his lips didn’t meet her own, Night Sky opened her eyes and seemed to wither in his grasp.

“Elias…”

Her voice bled hurt, and Elias flinched at the knowledge that he was the sole source of that pain. His stomach plummeted like a stone, and he stared at the floor.

“I’m sorry Luna,” he whispered.

He couldn’t meet her eyes, but she wouldn’t look away. After a moment, Elias realized that she wasn’t pulling away either, and he was forced to look up to figure out why. Night Sky stared hard at him, as if her sight alone could tell her why he had turned away. It was almost as if she thought he was nervous, or that he found something wrong with her, when the opposite was the case.

Elias heard the song come to an end, and out of his peripherals, he noticed the couples separate back into the crowd of ponies moving back onto the dance floor. He pulled away from Night Sky slowly, giving her more than enough time to hop off his shoulders. He shook his head and turned away.

“I need to get some air.”

He walked away, doing his best to keep his standard stride as he made his way out of the reception area. As he walked toward the exit, he noticed a set of stairs going up. He altered his course and took the stairs two at a time, bypassing the second and third floors in favor of going to the fourth-floor balcony’s he had noticed on the way in.

He went out the first set of doors he found, and Elias quickly found himself leaning over a stone railing, his mis-matched eyes staring off into Canterlot. Despite the moon being up, it was still early enough that plenty of ponies were out and about. Elias spotted more than one family trotting by, laughing and playing as they moved through the cobblestone streets. None of them looked up, and Elias was glad for it. He didn’t need his tall, beaten figure putting anyone off a good night. Anyone else at least.

“What were you thinking?” Other-Elias snapped from out of his sight.

Elias sighed and rubbed at his forehead.

“Don’t attempt to scold me like some kind of child. I thought I could find a balance, but I couldn’t and now I’ll correct that mistake. Leave me alone.”

Other-Elias cackled.

“Oh no, you don’t get to just say ‘I’m done’. That’s not how people work, and we know that. So I ask again, what the hell were you thinking?”

Elias clenched his fist and whirled around at the specter.

“I was thinking with my stupid bleeding fucking heart instead of my head!” he bellowed. “I was thinking that things could be different, without doing a single damn thing to make sure they were! Don’t play stupid with me, you know what will happen! Am I supposed to just let Luna die because it will make me happy for a few months?”

“It isn’t about you,” Other-Elias snapped. “It never has been. If Luna wants to have a relationship with you, and you return her feelings, then you should accept her advances, like a normal person would do.”

Elias laughed aloud and turned away, throwing his hands in the air as he spoke.

“I’m not a normal person! I’m anything but a normal person! Normal people don’t see blood on their friends faces, normal people don’t have night terrors every fucking night. Normal people certainly don’t have to tell their friends to march right to their deaths.”

Elias jabbed a finger at Other-Elias.

“And most importantly, normal people don’t play this little game. Normal people aren’t haunted by themselves. Normal people can’t see themselves when they talk to themselves. I can’t act normal because I am not normal.”

Other-Elias rolled his eyes.

“Fine, we’re not normal, but don’t you think Luna knows that and doesn’t care? Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, the centuries old alicorn princess is trying to give us her heart now of all times for a reason?”

“And what reason would that be?” Elias spat. “What, she cares?”

Other-Elias’ eyes hardened into a glare.

“You shut that up right now because we know better. Of course she cares, she always has, we’re just an ass.” He tilted his head. “As for real reasons, there are many. Give us a greater reason to fight, while also giving us the reward, making us relax, because we are beyond stressed out, and it will impact our work if it hasn’t already.”

“What do you mean?” Elias interrupted. “My work hadn’t slipped whatsoever until I started seeing Luna more.”

Other-Elias shook his head.

“That’s not true. You’ve been slowly getting more and more irritable, and though Snowball has helped, we’re sleeping less. We need to get closer to ponies not further away, and unfortunately, you’ve fucked that up.”

The specter straightened and smiled.

“Lucky for us though, ponies are a forgiving bunch, and I’m sure if you groveled enough, Luna would take us back, even after you rejected her. Now sack up, and go and beg for forgiveness.”

Elias’ lip curled into a snarl.

“Fuck that. I don’t know what part of my head you crawled out of, but I don’t beg. Maybe I fucked up, but I don’t think so. I think my decision is right, and you’re just some weak, soft part of my brain that either needs to die off or get with the program. I am going to do what I believe is right, and right now, that means actually sticking to the principles I laid out, and that I should never have broken. If you don’t like that, then crawl back into your hole until the march is over.”

Elias opened his eyes and sighed at the sound of the balcony doors opening.

“Time to fix my mess,” he whispered, letting the anger her felt toward himself slip away.

Luna certainly didn’t deserve his anger. She was at no fault; he had given her signs that he reciprocated after all. His only wish was that he had sat down with her and talked before it had gotten to confrontation and rejection. No matter what words they spoke, it was going to hurt.

“Elias… I simply want to know why. You have been receptive these past few days, and I know in my heart that you feel love toward me, so why? Why will you not accept what already is?”

The human sighed and turned to look at the mare. She was still wearing her dress, as well as the disguise ring. For some reason, his anger made a sharp return, and he looked away again to hide his look of disgust.

“Take the ring off. I don’t want to talk to ‘Night Sky’. I want to talk to Luna.”

Elias heard a clatter of silver on stone, then felt a slightly larger Luna press into his back. She wrapped her forelegs around his stomach and nuzzled between his shoulder blades.

“Speak then,” she said at a whisper, “I am not angry with you, I just want an answer. I need a reason why you turned away.”

Elias stood up straight, and turned, forcing Luna to let go. She waited silently as he sat down and leaned back against the railing. Elias draped his hands over his knees and stared at her.

“I don’t know what to say, if I’m being honest,” he started. “I’ve expressed my concerns about preparedness in the past, and we’ve both ignored my words.”

He raised a hand as Luna began to protest.

“I’m not assigning blame; I am just plainly stating what we’ve done. I am as guilty in ignoring my thoughts as you are. More so actually.”

He sighed and stared up at the sky.

“But I’ve figured out that I should never have let any of this happen. I should never have compromised my principles, because all it’s done is hurt you and distract me.”

Luna sat down and seemed to shrink as she stared at the ground.

“So I am but a distraction to you?”

Elias closed his eyes and sighed again.

“Luna, you know that isn’t what I meant.”

The alicorn shrugged and remained silent. Elias let out a third, longer sigh.

“Luna, all I can say is that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leading you on, I’m sorry for hurting you with every word I speak.” He stared at his hands. “I only wish that I had remained distant, so that we wouldn’t-“

He stopped as a hoof gently pressed his mouth shut. His eyes flicked up to meet Luna’s. Her eyes were shining with tears, but they didn’t hold any anger or bitterness toward him, just sadness.

“Please don’t apologize for that,” she said. “Even now I wouldn’t trade the moments we’ve shared for anything in the world.” She removed her hoof and wiped at her eyes. “I just want the answer to one question. Is this the end of us for good?”

Elias stared at her.

“I hope not, but I can’t decide that alone. I’ve hurt you tonight, I’m not that stupid. Will it be possible to forgive me once the march is over?”

Luna snorted and he saw a smile creep across her muzzle.

“Oh Elias, you may not be a complete idiot, but you are fairly stupid sometimes.”

She rose and walked to his side, then flopped against him, nuzzling his shoulder.

“There was never anything to forgive.”

Elias shook his head.

“How can you say that? I just-…”

“Followed your heart and did what you believe is right,” Luna cut in. “Even if it hurts you, and risks our relationship, you strive to do what is right. It is proof of the strength of your character, and I only wish I was as strong as you.”

Elias sat in silence for a moment, then wrapped his arm around her barrel. He laid his head overtop hers.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Luna sighed and closed her eyes.

“I know, but we shall persevere. Is this our last snuggle until the march is over?”

He nodded silently. Luna sighed again and wrapped her wings around his chest.

“Then I thank you for giving me this one last concession my friend. We shall meet again soon.”

Elias felt his heart ache as she pulled away. She offered him a sad smile as she stood and began walking toward the balcony doors.

“Goodnight General. I hope you rest well.”

She grabbed her ring off of the ground and slid it on before trotting back inside. Elias stared after her for a long time, then with stiff muscles, he rose and made his way back into the wedding hall. It was far past time to say his goodbyes and get back to work. As a group of ponies came in sight and his nerves started to rise, he thought about a certain bottle squirreled away in his room that would help bring his focus back to it's proper place.

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