Chapter 5
Liam yawned as he followed a day guard down the hall toward Celestia's office. The guard had been sent to find him in what was increasingly becoming a safe haven for the human, the library. Between the antics of both Luna and Chrysalis, it was the only place he could reliably find any rest. If he was roped into staying up for an ungodly amount of time, which had become a routine thing over the past few days, he'd simply disappear into the shelves for a few hours until he was rested.
This action came with both pros and cons. The pros were that he could sleep uninterrupted without royalty of one kind or another barging in and waking him, or just barring the way to his room entirely. The cons were that said royalty was not exactly happy that he disappeared on them.
Luckily for Liam, dealing with Chrysalis was fairly easy after the grilled cheese incident. Word had gotten around about their little chase in the halls. It had happened in broad daylight and there were plenty of castle staff around to see it happen, so it didn't surprise Liam that gossip had spread so quickly. What did surprise him however was that the castle staff had started coming to him when the changeling was up to no good. Apparently, he was now seen as Chrysalis' unofficial handler by the ponies. While surprising to the human initially, Liam adapted to his new role quickly. He'd obtained a spray bottle from one of the maids, and started using it whenever Chrysalis got too out of line. She absolutely hated it, but if she wanted to follow him around all day, she could at least have some manners. Naughty changelings get the bottle.
While spraying her did little to actually instill manners in the changeling, it amused Liam greatly and the show seemed to give ponies a higher tolerance for her presence. Castle staff were less likely to flee at the sight of Chrysalis when Liam was around as well. She wanted to improve her public image, and this was the best way they had of doing that right now. Though she may not be happy about it, in a strange, roundabout way Chrysalis had gotten exactly what she wanted from Liam.
On the other hand, his nights spent with Luna were quickly going south. He'd managed to keep her busy with games so far, but he could tell that she was tiring of doing the same things every night. It had occurred to Liam that he could have just asked others to get things for him outside the castle. It also occurred to Liam that he still had no money to pay them back for their services, rendering his first idea moot. He just couldn't come up with anything to do inside the castle to keep the night princess occupied, and that's what led him to where he was now. Celestia's office.
He needed to ask about his house arrest status. He'd been trying to find a time when Celestia wasn't swamped with work to approach her about it, but it had still taken him several days to worm a few minutes into her busy schedule. Liam waited as his escort talked with the door guards and he was let in with little fanfare.
It seemed Celestia's punishment for her sister had turned into a double edged sword when the piles of paperwork Luna had been doing caught up with her. The Princess jotted down her signature one more time before setting her quill down with a sigh and looking up to her guest.
"It is good to see you, Liam. I heard you've been trying to get an audience with me for some time. I'm sorry it took so long to arrange this little meeting, I've just been so busy."
"It's alright Celestia, I understand. I don't want to waste your time, so I'll try and make this quick."
Celestia frowned at the human. "Liam, please don't say things like that. You are not wasting my time. Besides, I could use the break from work." Like a switch had been flipped, her frown was replaced with a playful smile and one of the many cushions from her pile flew at Liam. He gracefully caught it with his face. "Take a seat. I shall have a servant bring us something to drink."
Liam smiled as he removed the cushion. A slight tickle on his tongue caused him to reach into his mouth and remove the offending object, which happened to be a single white hair. He looked to the now snickering Princess with a raised eyebrow.
"You know, I think I know why Chrysalis doesn't like having things thrown at her. It's decidedly less fun to be on the receiving end of this exchange."
"Just be glad I didn't throw something harder."
"Like a book?"
"Like a book."
They both had a good laugh while Liam took his newly obtained seat next to Celestia. They chatted amiably for a few minutes until a servant arrived with some tea. After the servant left, Celestia figured it was time to get down to business.
"So, what brings you here Liam?" she asked. "Is my sister giving you trouble?"
"A bit, but I'm managing for now. She's tolerating me, but I'm not sure how long that will last." He paused for a moment, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "I've got a... problem. A couple, actually."
"Well, what seems to be the issue?" Celestia asked, giving her whole attention to the human.
Liam began to explain the issue of keeping Luna occupied. How he'd come up with the idea of playing board games on the fly and Luna's mild interest in them, as well as how his attempts to win a game of chess were futile. Celestia got a kick out of it.
"The point is that I can't keep using the same games, so I need something else to occupy her time. Since you're her sister, do you know what she enjoys doing? Any hobbies, perhaps?" Celestia hummed in thought for a moment before responding.
"Regrettably," she said, ears drooping, "I haven't spent much time with my sister since her return. I don't know if she has taken up any hobbies in that time, but there is one thing she used to love before she was... sent away. She loved painting. In fact, that piece there is one of hers."
She pointed to a large canvas hanging from the wall, obviously old, but well maintained. It depicted a pony in blue-grey steel armor, sword in mouth, posing for all to see. Liam could clearly see the painstaking detail that was put into it, and its good condition after so many years said something about Celestia's love for it as well.
"I have a few of her other pieces hanging around the castle as well. I can have a few servants gather supplies for you if you'd like."
"That would be great, thank you," Liam said. Something she'd said bothered him though. "Feel free to tell me I'm out of line here, but you said you haven't spent much time together since Luna got back. Not to poke at old wounds or anything, but isn't that a big part of why what happened a thousand years ago happened? That means the most prominent memory between you two since she returned was you chewing her out in front of others for not having friends. I can't help but feel like history is repeating itself here."
Celestia was a bit surprised at his forwardness, but nodded at the truth of his statement. "You are not out of line, Liam. In fact, your assessment is spot on. That does seem to be the unfortunate reality of what's happening." She frowned and sipped at her tea. "It cannot stand, but I am always so busy, and up until recently so was Luna. I will have to come up with ways of spending more time with my sister. Especially after the unpleasant business from the other night." Then she looked at the mountain of paper on her desk and frowned even deeper. "Perhaps after I'm finished with today's paperwork." She sighed. "And today's meetings."
Liam didn't say anything, but he knew that was unlikely to happen anytime soon. Celestia was the definition of a workaholic and as long as more pressing things were presenting themselves, there was a good chance she'd put it off. He thought about offering help, but ultimately decided against it. His hands were already full with the problems of two royals and adding a third one to the list didn't seem like a productive use of time. Celestia was a big mare, she could handle herself. She was aware there was a problem, and that's what mattered.
"That brings me to my other issue," the human said. "The other night, when you confronted Luna, I remember you saying you didn't know why I never left the castle. That confused me a bit, because I was under the impression you didn't want me going anywhere. I distinctly remember you telling me not to leave the castle grounds under threat of imprisonment in the Canterlot dungeons when I first got here." Celestia had been much more professional towards him right after his unexpected arrival in this world. Luckily, she'd warmed up to him fairly quickly. Not so luckily, she had never lifted the order for him to stay put.
Liam always though he'd gotten off easy considering he'd literally fallen on top of her in the middle of day court. The yelling and spear pointing from the guards hadn't been fun, but once he'd explained how he wasn't some kind of spy and that he had no idea how he'd gotten there, the alicorn had been surprisingly forgiving. Considering Chrysalis was walking around the castle, Celestia was just the type to forgive, if not forget, and Liam was thankful for that.
His train of thought was derailed by the confused look his conversation partner was giving him. "Liam," she said almost cautiously, "I lifted that order months ago. You didn't know?" The surprise on his face told her that he hadn't.
"That's news to me," Liam confirmed.
The Solar Diarch cast a concerned glance into her tea, clearly displeased at this revelation. "I will look into it," she said. "I'm so sorry, Liam. These things keep happening to you and I am somehow left unaware as to why. You are free to come and go as you please."
Liam was relieved to have his confusion cleared up so quickly. This opened up his options considerably, and the thought of finally getting to explore the alien city outside was exciting. He'd have to venture out soon.
The pair conversed for a while longer before Celestia stared off into space for a moment, presumably checking the time based on the position of the sun. "I apologize for cutting this short Liam, but I have to meet with someone else soon."
Liam stood and stretched. "No problem. It was great getting to talk to you again. If I understand the trend, we'll be able to do it again in a thousand years or so," he said with a smirk.
"Is that a jab at me being swamped with work or the fact that my biggest problems have a tendency to resurface after a millennium?"
"It was meant as a jab at your age, old lady, but those other two sound smarter so let's go with that."
Celestia shook her head in amusement. "Bold of you to go looking for a prison sentence before you've even left the castle."
"Ouch," he conceded. He went to leave, but a thought caused him to pause in the doorway. "Hey, Celestia. You said you had Luna's paintings scattered around the castle, right? Could you tell me which ones?"
Liam stood in a side hallway, admiring the painting on the wall. It was a landscape of a large full moon overlooking a single hill. The small silhouette of a single pony from behind sat on the hill, admiring the very detailed moon, much like Liam was.
Celestia had jotted down a list of where Luna's paintings were, and of the handful he had found, this was his favorite so far. The vast majority of the paintings were military related. Maybe that explained why Luna was such a hard ass, she had been a military mare. Or she just really liked the aesthetic. He might have to rethink taking her to hang out in the guard barracks.
The few exceptions seemed like they were events from the past that Luna had seen and decided to memorialize on a canvas. Celestia bestowing a medal to a knight, a large number of trading ships unloading cargo at a port, an old moss covered wizard's tower laying halfway in ruins. This one stood out to him, though. It was much more relaxed than her other paintings. If he were an art critic, Liam might even say it was a more contemplative piece. He decided that when they met up that night, he would ask Luna about it.
"There you are," came a relieved voice, breaking Liam out of his thoughts. He looked over to find a servant heading his way. "Please, come quick. That changeling of yours keeps demanding we make her a grilled cheese."
"Okay," Liam said, confused. "Why is that a problem? Just make her a grilled cheese."
"We did! Over and over! Now we're out of cheese and she just keeps demanding more. All the other staff ran when she came into the kitchen, but she backed one of the earth ponies into a pantry."
"Lead the way," Liam sighed as he felt a headache coming on. It was time for naughty changelings to get the bottle.
Me, the author: "I'm going to try to write and release a chapter every month."
You, you reader: 
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- DatZigga · 34k words · 761 81 · 14k views
- Cackling Moron · 2.5k words · 639 7 · 8.3k views
- Mare Of Mystery · 3.2k words · 1,269 80 · 27k views
- Cackling Moron · 47k words · 582 5 · 5.4k views
- little big pony · 3.7k words · 1,647 25 · 28k views
- Some Dickhead · 10k words · 1,567 28 · 19k views
- RunicTreetops · 3.1k words · 891 18 · 11k views
- Turtwig-Tales · 32k words · 2,051 51 · 23k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
794 users online
1,142,635 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
A new unexpected notification... Now I need to re read the fic
11774132
media.discordapp.net/attachments/732738506085892136/1184807540589088798/FJxt5B9VUAALRka.png?ex=658d5102&is=657adc02&hm=311cdfd65482e834a102399788efc02e2cd65e295700735cc3310ad7a0dc12d1&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=778&height=936
woo finally, now to spend another year eagerly awaiting next chapter
Glad to see more~
Hope you can get into the swing of things easily, and find the enjoyment you need to continue.
You are loved~
Will always be a gem
Glad you aren’t dead.
Huzzah!
Finally it continues, its been a while.
New chapter, yaaaay!
once more this lives, bring forth more enjoyment for my eyes to soak friend
Got this mental image of Liam bringing out the bottle and spraying Chrysalis, and she reacts with hissing like a cat while arching her back.
Cheese legs wants cheese
Nice.
See you guys next year
Hehe that was a fun update. Thanks!
No worries, life has a way of making liars of all of us. All we ask is that you do what you can.
Ngl, I literally let out a loud "HOH! UPDATE!" when I was reloading the updated section.
11774877 And then, in 2224...
11774710
Same. Hopefully it won't be another 2 years before the next update
Where chapter 6?
So happy to see this still alive. Hilarious that you made Liam Chrysalis's handler. Look forward to the shenanigans from that.
Good chapter. Now I want grilled cheese
11775052
I wonder if grilled cheese triggers Twilight in the same way quesadillas do.
Glorious
thank you very much for the chapter cant wait to see more
A suprise for sure but a welcome one
grilled cheeeseeeeeeee!!!
Just glad we got another chapter
Alright, see you guys in 2026 for chapter 6.
I'm as glad as anyone to see this story continue, but I have to raise a concern because I don't remember the main character acting like a robot. For the past several months he thought he was under house arrest because of an order from Princess Celestia, who noticed his behavior perfectly matched her order but couldn't be bothered to make sure he knew she had changed it, even though she kept regular track of all his daily activities (despite saying "I don't know why he chooses to stay in the castle. That is none of my business,") and called upon him so regularly that the Guard built up a "cult following" about how he was always present in the library and could navigate it better than them.
For the past several days, more of her orders have made his life a living hell because she didn't realize her alternating 12 hour Luna/Chrysalis assignment meant he literally had no time to sleep, and that the royals he was burdened with would physically prevent him from entering his room and trying to sleep. He can only even sleep for a bit by hiding somewhere in the castle because if they find him it's right back to work, guzzling pots of coffee trying to stay awake when it was Luna's job to make friends with him, not the other way around. Same for Chrysalis in fact.
Then when he finally is allowed a few minutes to talk to Celestia about this, she picks up one of the cushions she has previously sat on and throws it at his face and her ass hair gets in his mouth and on his tongue, and she laughs at it.
And then he laughs with her.
Liam was described as "passive" but this isn't even human, and the previously established character of Celestia being a shrewd ruler watching all the activity in her castle is gone too. I would very much like to read more about the characters this story started with and developed to before this point.
Well I just discovered this, I hope it’s not too long of a wait for the next chapter this time ;)
Overall I love this story so far, Liam is fun, passive but in that delightful way! The slight hints at romance under the friendship between Liam and Celestia is done well, it’s not overpowering the friendship and fun of the story
Characterisations of Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis is also enjoyable, and personally feels like it’s in just the right place, and I had many a chuckle at the bug being swatted
Keep up the good work, I eagerly anticipate the next chapter, whenever it may be!
"That changeling of yours" eh? Are rumors of a romantic sort starting to be spread amongst the castle? :P
Thank you It took a while but I understand things can happen. You have a very real life outside of this. Be more open with it. Let us help you through it.
11778636
I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying it so far. I hope to have another chapter out relatively soon.
i.pinimg.com/originals/37/59/ec/3759ec996c765fe876e129af0938b1b3.jpg
Can't wait for the next installment of, "How to tame your changeling..."
Can't wait for the next update :)
Hi, your friendly neighbourhood part-time not-actually-an-editor here!
extra 'not' there
role*
Laims? Lame? ;D
Probably just Liam though xD
Rest looked good or the ol' eyes slid over em'!
11779682
Fixed
Grilled cheese is really addictive.
Holy shit, it lives.
Well, there are worse reasons to start a diplomatic accident than grilled cheese.
Ten bits chrysalis is getting fat from all the cheese
11856858
Ah! I was about to say that. You beat me to it.
11856858
She's roughly the same size as celestia who eats ridiculous quantities of cake and remains only large sized.
So i'd assume it'd be the same with her.
Although I have to wonder if she's actually eating any of them or just having them make them over and over.
I imagine he gets there and they've just built her one of those grocery store pyramids of grilled cheese.