Chapter Five: Candied Hearts
Luna stared at the letter on her desk, her previous jovial mood having long since evaporated. Between the play and this message, the emotional one-two punch was too great for her to deal with behind a mask of normalcy.
I knew this would be coming. Such a childish thing; if I didn’t think about it, maybe it wouldn’t ever happen.
Perhaps I’ll let Steel know. I’m going to be a wreck tonight, so it’s only right.
A customary double-knock on the door heralded that option, Luna taking a slow breath as she continued to remain flopped on a pile of cushions.
“Come in.”
Her Assistant Guard trotting in, the stallion’s ears immediately perked up in apparent concern, the pony walking a bit closer.
“Everything alright, Luna?” Steel asked.
Luna didn’t immediately reply, the alicorn not entirely sure what to say. The fact Steel’s concerned tone made the Princess’s heart flutter only added to the whirlpool of emotion in her heart.
“No, Steel, it really isn’t,” Luna finally said. “I’ve been ignoring a looming issue, one of a few actually, pushing it off until it has threatened to crush me under its weight.” Her loyal assistant simply sat down near her, listening attentively as she Princess continued.
“I feel like a foal hiding under the covers from a monster. As long as I didn’t think about it too much, see it, acknowledge it, the issue didn’t exist.”
Her magic faltering under a surge of emotion, Luna levitated the letter over to Steel in a shaky grasp, the stallion carefully reading the title.
“Remembrance services for Cream and Peanut Whip will be held on…” Steel’s voice trailed off, the guard not saying anything immediately.
“I’m sorry, Luna,” he began, clearly thinking each word through before speaking. “May I ask who…?”
Luna nodded, sitting upright as her eyes watered. Fighting back the tears and sniffles, she took a picture out from a drawer and showed it to Steel. An off-white mare and light-brown stallion were waving at the viewer, matching tie-dye manes clearly a silly addition to their fashion.
“They were my friends, one of the first two I ever made back here in Canterlot years ago,” Luna whispered, looking at the picture with a shivering smile. “They were like you and a few other ponies, not groveling in my presence but just treating me as…me. They ran a bakery shop, and we just got talking there when I was browsing their goods. We had weekly lunches, sometimes more. Cream had just married that goofball a year or two before my return,” she remarked, reminiscing as Steel listened.
“Some of my first friends other than Twilight and the Elements to not hold my past against me. They didn’t even seem to care about the Nightmare Moon incident. Steel, I finally asked them why they weren’t frightened or treating me differently, for I could not understand it,” Luna then let out a soft laugh, wiping her eyes.
“I’ll never forget Cream’s response. She just looked at me with a raised eyebrow and gestured to her husband. ‘Highness, my husband cooked a peanut brittle wrong and we had to replace half of the kitchen appliances. We all make mistakes, big or small. Why should I hold your mistake against you? My husbands against him? Life’s too short for that.’”
Steel couldn’t resist a smile, she sounded like quite a firecracker of a mare.
“I nearly broke down in tears at that. Nopony had been so kindly blunt to me up unto that point. So, we had lunches, even as their bakery grew and flourished, until three months ago.” Luna angrily slammed a hoof against the floor, causing the stone to crack.
“A fluke. A complete and utter twist of fate. Going into the cliffs for some special ingredients on one of their adventurous dates…” her voice now dropped to a whisper, Luna’s tone shaking. “and being in the wrong place in the wrong time. A rockslide tore off part of the cliff face …and that was that.”
Luna looked up and saw Steel’s own guard mask cracking. A barely contained wince, a clenched jaw.
“I barely made it through the funeral. These remembrance services are a happy affair, to celebrate their life. I just….” She looked up, watery gaze meeting the empathetic green eyes that stared at her.
“Steel, if I may be painfully blunt, how did you do it?” she asked. “Death is a part of life. But the suddenness, the realization that it’s such a fragile thing, how did you get past that? I t-thought I knew how to handle these things,” Luna’s voice cracked, a few tears dripping from her eyes. “I’ve lost friends before the Nightmare Moon incident. I’ve conducted services, come to terms with it, but nothing like this. This is so different somehow. They’re gone and I’m still here. I’ll always be here. I’ll always be d-dealing w-with…”
The sobs now came in earnest as Steel scooted forwards, the guard taking a bit of initiative and wrapping his arms around Luna’s torso. He said two words, voice a bit gruffer than usual as emotion stopped any smoothness.
“You’re scared.”
Luna hugged the guard tightly, nodding ever so slightly as her limbs and barrel shivered, the Princess of the Night fully leaning into his embrace. After a minute or two, she had calmed down enough to pull back slightly, seeing Steel still struggling to reign in his own feelings.
“You asked how did I get past it?” he asked, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “The fear? The realization of how delicate life is? I had plenty of time to think in that hospital when I lay awake at night.”
The guard’s brow furrowed, Steel clearly trying to put thoughts into words.
“I was scared. So scared. I was so pumped full of painkillers I wasn’t distracted by much pain; all I could do was think. A dozen ponies gone and I remained. Guilt over who I couldn’t save, why I lived and others died,” Steel explained.
“My situation was a bit different, but how I got past it all? Not alone, that’s for sure. Support groups, pushing myself into a purpose; such events can destroy you, or push you forwards. I wanted to be happy, to find out what else I could do to help others. That’s how I got through it. I didn’t ignore it all or push it away, I faced it head on.” he paused. “Although some lessons can burn you a bit before it sticks.”
Luna stared at him in shock at the lighthearted joke, Steel shrugging.
“Like that. You can run, hide, or ignore a tragedy, or face it head on and keep going forwards. Life is worth more than one single event. And Luna?” he asked, tone now a bit cautious. “I don’t know your friends, but do you think they’d want you to only remember this part of their life?”
Shaking her head, Luna couldn’t keep a soft smile off her face at the thought of being berated by Cream at the idea.
“No, I don’t think they would. She most certainly wouldn’t. I suppose it’s not losing them that is the entire issue. But I couldn’t think about that until I processed their passing,” Luna admitted, only now realizing she had, at some point, snagged Steel’s hoof and was still holding it rather tightly.
She reluctantly let him go, rubbing a forehoof against the other in slight embarrassment, then wiping away her tears.
“Thank you again, Steel. You’re quite a good listener.”
“And a comfy shoulder apparently,” he added, apparently enjoying the blush that came over Luna’s face at that.
“W-well I suppose I best get this form off,” Luna managed to say, levitating a scroll over to the rather smug but happy guard. “The supply order again. They mixed up three separate items like last time. Please have them double-check.”
Steel nodded, promptly trotting out of the room and leaving Luna to tidy up her desk. Instead of placing the picture back inside a drawer, she left it upright and to the side.
Of course, you’d throw a bread loaf at me for all of this, Cream. You’d probably be the one who smacked me with a hairbrush. No more avoiding things. Luna mused, going to a separate desk to address a familiar pile of papers.
Ugh. I’d much rather burn these.
The time stretched and spread on, her previous sorrow forgotten under the warm memories of a spunky mare who would have most certainly not wanted the princess to mope. As she continued to fill out a particularly long financial request, Luna found herself staring rather wistfully off into nowhere, a smile on her face as a certain comfy-shoulder-comment floated through her mind.
Hmm. Speaking of avoiding things…
That was an easy thing in theory to address. But how in the world do you bring something up like that?
Bluntly?
I think he’d appreciate that. It’s nothing serious, a mere possibility. I do enjoy his company quite a bit, and I’d like to see how that goes outside of a professional aspect.
Well. Less professional than it already is, which…well not very at this point. It’s still a step, and all I can do is ask.
Luna found the forms were quickly pushed to the side, the alicorn biting her lip in thought.
What do I say?
HOW do I say anything related to it?
Moving from the desk back to her pile of pillows, Luna hugged a larger one between her hooves, frowning as her wings slumped.
I’ve officiated hundreds of negotiations between ponies and creatures abroad. Surely, I can voice my interest of a stallion in a cohesive way?
…hopefully.
The fact that Steel continually brought a smile to Luna’s face indicated that at least she was going in the right direction.
Well, at least that is figured out.
A decent stack of necessary but obnoxious papers later, the Princess heard some hoofsteps and a familiar knock.
“Steel? That was fast,” she remarked, walking over as the stallion returned with a few filled out supply orders.
“They were faster than normal, thankfully. That place gets a bit hectic,” he replied, eyes narrowing as Luna shifted on her hooves. “Erm, is everything ok?”
“I….” Luna began, then let her head slump with a sigh. “This is harder that I thought,” she whispered, cheeks immediately reddening as the words were spoken a bit louder than she intended.
“Not really following.”
Luna let out a huff, nodding once as she looked at the perplexed guard.
“Yes, just-I was wondering if you’d like to go back to that Bay spot again sometime?”
Steel looked rather confused, shrugging his shoulders.
What does she mean? Wanting to talk about stuff again? I obviously don’t have a problem with that, unless she thought I was being imposed upon.
“I mean, sure? That overlook was quite lovely?” he then paused with a wince, “I wouldn’t want to give the wrong idea though,” he added, now adding a perplexed alicorn to the mix.
“Wrong idea?” Luna asked.
Steel nodded, gesturing to the Princess.
“The other thing on your mind, I think I figured it out after that play. There’s somecreature that caught your eye, and you’re not sure what to do about it. I wouldn’t want to give the wrong idea to him or her.”
I don’t want to be the start of anything like that. Perhaps a noble? A diplomat? A prince?
Luna simply stared for a minute, then not able to hold back a laugh that brought her to tears. A soon as she got her chuckles under control, Luna swiped a forelimb across her eyes and pointed at Steel.
“Steel, that is so remarkably sweet, but you’ve completely missed my intentions.”
“I did?” he asked, blinking as he tried to come to the correct conclusion.
Luna trotted forwards, placing a single hoof on his breastplate.
“Servant,” she then gestured to herself. “Queen.”
Steel promptly sat down, jaw dropping slightly.
Wait.
WAIT.
“I-erm, hold on,” he stammered, removing his helmet to massage a temple with a hoof.
“So, the thing on your mind isn’t about another creature?” he asked after putting the metal and pillow armor back on, Luna still failing to suppress giggles.
“Well, the main issue isn’t about that, no. But this more pressing and interesting matter has clearly occupied my mind for a bit. You just happen to be that other creature.”
“M-me?” was the incredulous reply, prompting Luna to stare.
“And why wouldn’t it be?” Luna immediately asked as thought it was a personal insult. “You’re charming, sensitive, introspective, and quite obviously handsome. My question about a marefriend or any special somepony wasn’t in complete jest,” she continued, surprising herself with the defensive tone. “I find you quite fun to be around, and would like that to extend outside of an official work atmosphere, but I am not sure how that would go, since we already see each other a good half of the night…” her words trailed off, now realizing that it may make thing a tad awkward.
Steel clearly hadn’t thought that far ahead, still sitting and staring at Luna with a shocked expression on his face.
“Is…silence your answer?” she ventured to ask after a few moments, the stallion finally snapping back to reality.
“N-no! I mean, to the silence bit,” he stammered quickly.
Words. Cohesive sentences…Come on…
“Yes! Go to the bay. Date…it is?” he added and then smacked a hoof to his own face with a groan of exasperation.
Close enough.
Luna’s laughter brought a smile to Steel’s face, the alicorn struggling to catch her breath.
“Yes, Steel, I’d very much like it to be an official date if you’re interested,” she managed to say between gasps. “Stars above that was adorable.”
Luna’s smile only grew wider on seeing the guard blush, the Princess letting out a slight sigh of relief.
“For a moment I thought I was in error, that perhaps you did have somepony, or just didn’t see me, well, in that way.”
Steel stayed silent for a moment, but the guard was clearly trying to put his thoughts into words as his brow furrowed.
“Not see- ah, I guess that’s a valid concern,” he mused, but then shook his head, eyes turning back to the still blushing Alicorn. “But a very incorrect one. It’s been a bit of an exercise to try and not think of you in the ‘available’ sense, if I’m being honest.”
Luna blinked, not having received a compliment in that sort of manner in some time.
“I-really?”
Seriously? She’s surprised at that? HOW?
“Really. I mean, I’m a guard. You don’t think about the Princess’s that way, both from a respect standpoint and because you’re our boss,” Steel explained, scuffing the stones with a hoof. “Doesn’t mean such feelings don’t happen, it’s just easier to push them off.”
Luna appeared to think about his words, then tentatively trotted over to tap her hooves together nervously.
“I’m just happy somepony can think about us, me in that way. I do think if you hadn’t been as relaxed this past week or two, that may have been a bit different. But seeing as how that isn’t the case I…” she paused, wings drooping slightly. “So, you are able to see me in that different light?”
Oh. I never directly answered her question.
“Luna, you are an absolutely gorgeous mare who is an absolute pleasure and joy to be in the company of, and I would be thrilled to accompany you to somewhere as your date,” Steel stated with a grin.
Judging by the fact Luna’s wings flared and her jaw dropped slightly, the Princess hadn’t been expecting such a blunt answer.
“Uh, you did ask…” Steel ventured, finding that Luna’s pink cheeks were a very cute addition to her usual color scheme.
In fact, they were growing on him rather quickly, as well as across the Princess’s own face as she stared.
“I…you….right,” she stammered, Steel’s words apparently having a much greater effect than he intended.
Do I dare push my luck?
Well, I do love seeing her laugh and flustered.
Steel decided to up the ante a bit more, taking a few steps forward and gently pressing a hoof against Luna’s nose with a cheeky grin.
“However, no kissing on the first date though, or am I reading that adorable blush wrong?”
Luna’s face immediately flushed even further, and Steel could have sworn a soft squeak left her mouth at his words, the Princess’s horn flashing with magic.
Oh, that is the most adorable thing I-
Unfortunately, his thoughts were interrupted by a very familiar sensation and sound.
*THWACK!*
Aw, poor Lulu 
Now we get to see one of the things bothering our Lunar Princess....
Thankfully Steel is there to lend a hoof! Or shoulder 
At least he was wearing his helmet!
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Oh, for Celestia's sake, Luna stop hitting ponies with brushes!
I just hope he had his pillow on.
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We'er missing the detail of him putting his helmet back on, as he did take it off to rub his temple.
Luna's reaction at the end was so cute and hilarious.
10164372
A good point- thank you!
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Luna is adorable.
10164410
Oh yes she is and I just wanna give her a great big hug!
Steel you deserved that one
10164410
Indeed, if this keeps up Luna's gonna "have" to soul bind him just so she doesn't kill him.
That's what you get for removing your helmet
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Teeechnically he put it back on (I forgot a detail!) XD But.....well....hopefully it helped again?
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I mean....maybe?
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One less "I".
As for this last word since he was wearing a metal helmet I think a more appropriate *CLANG!* Might work better.
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Thank you for that!
And perhaps- but remember....he has pillow armor
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Fair enough.
Refrain, audacious tar!
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He took the helmet off to massage his temples so he wasn't wearing it when she hit him so it'll hurt more.
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I adjusted it- he technically was supposed to have put it back on. Whoops!
I thought he took his hamlet off when talking to her?
Celestia is so going to laugh about Steel being in the hospital again.
Luna, are you trying to beat the
loveTartarus out of him?!10164899
I fixed it. He puts it back on.
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Not as much of a comment this time. But these two. These two right here.
I may have possibly... kinda-sorta most-definitely made a "squee" and I had to resist dancing around like a total doofus to... varying amounts of success. Or... lack thereof...
*coughs*
But seriously! Just thinking about it now in retrospect
*happy dancing*
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Ahem. Back to partially-sane sense.
The confession scene and how both of them danced around the proverbial elephant in the room was hilarious, and perfectly in-character for both parties involved. One can look forward to more similar scene in the future. Also...
I CAN'T WAIT FOR CELESTIA TO ENDLESSLY TEASE POOR LULU FOR ETERNITY!
Back to normal (ish)
I'm also looking forward to the two of them either drawing out the darkness of their pasts by being in mere proximity of each other, and possibly them talking about it. (Don't think I've forgotten the Teen rating here)
But, that's for the future! Or is it perhaps the present of a separate corporeal reality where the present is the past and the future is simply echoes of an assumed past? Which may be in itself the present...
I'm rambling again, aren't I?
Regardless! Happy to be here in my nonsensical sensibalness, going forward into a sensical nonsense (becasue what fun is there in making sense?)
ONWARD!
10164983
Their issues will certainly be addressed in time- and one of Luna's already was in this chapter. There still is another though...
Glad you enjoyed it! And maximum adorableness is the goal with this fic!
But I love how the characterizations have sprung up- it has been quite fun to write!
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ALL THE FLUFF!
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ALL HAIL THE FLUFF! FOR THE FLUFFINESS!
Also I think I broke the favorite button, *looks at smashed button*
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Oh dear XD Well, the fluff will continue! I mean....*looks at other stories and upcoming one* it's kind of my thing.
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Yay!
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I don't think I've written a character as fluffy as the new star of the upcoming story.
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Hmm, I look forward to this very much
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You get to meet her in the newest chapter of Sunspots
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Oh sunspots I been meaning to read that, guess soon might be good time to
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They're rather long tales though!
Timeless is the prequel- then Sunspots, then the new story released next week.
That ending tho xD to be continued
I love seeing this two together
10167894
They're adorable.
"CELESTIA DAMN IT NOT AGAIN!"
Yep, sounds like me to a t
The pillow shall return. Next time, on A Brush With Fate!
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It's like that sometimes!
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Oh no! Godammit Luna
Calling it now, this is going to happen at least one more time.
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I hope he's still wearing the pillow helmet
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At least he's got the pillow
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How do you take off a village from your head, is what I want to know. X)