12 – Royal Bonds
Chapter Twelve
Royal Bonds
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Things could be a lot worse. True, they could be better – there were still reporters around when they left the station in Ponyville, after all. But they were a lot less prevalent than they had been the week before.
And even better, there were none when they disembarked in Canterlot. It seemed that while reporters may have been hanging around their hometown, no news of their early visit to Canterlot had spread.
That had been Twilight’s idea – they intentionally spread the word that they were bringing Morning to Canterlot on Saturday, then instead they left on Thursday. And now their ruse was paying off, as they finally got some peace while in public.
“Wow,” Morning said as they got off the train. “All the buildings around here are so big!”
“That’s right,” Sunset said. “And for me and Twilight, this is home.”
“Really? What about Ponyville?”
“What Sunset means is that we were both born here,” Twilight explained. “Ponyville is our home now, but just like Fluttershy was born in Cloudsdale, Sunset and I were born here.”
“Oh.” Morning never took her eyes off the tall buildings as they spoke. “Like how I was born in Hollow Shades, but now I live in Ponyville?”
“That’s right,” Fluttershy said. “Now, stay close to us. It’s easy to get lost in Canterlot, and it’ll be harder to find you if we do get separated.”
“But if we do, tell somepony you need to get to the castle,” Twilight said. “If you can find a guard, tell them. They’ll be able to get word to us, okay? Can you remember that?”
“Tell a guard, or go to the castle,” Morning repeated.
“Good girl,” Fluttershy said. “But if you just stick close to us, we won’t have anything to worry about.”
“Are we going to the castle now?” Morning asked.
“Soon,” Twilight said. “First we have to find Shining and Cadance. They should already be here. Look for a big white stallion with a blue mane or a tall pink mare with a purple and pink mane.”
“Okay.” Morning started looking around at all the other ponies intently. Twilight just chuckled and led them further onto the station.
Sure enough, they came upon the others before long. They were sitting on a nearby bench, and Shining called to them when they got close. “Twily! Over here!”
“Oh, is that him?” Morning asked.
“Yup! That’s my brother, Shining Armor.”
As they approached the other group, Morning noticeably hung back behind them. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, Fluttershy kept a close eye on Morning all the same.
“Twily, Fluttershy, Sunset, it’s so good to see you all,” Cadance said once they got close enough to talk. They also were close enough to see the ridiculous state that Cadance, Shining, and Flurry Heart were in.
“What are you wearing?” Twilight asked. Sunset just laughed.
Shining Armor stroked the obviously fake mustache he had on. “I think it suits me.”
“I think you look ridiculous,” Twilight said.
“That’s what I told him, but he just wouldn’t listen to me.”
“You’re, uhm, not any better,” Fluttershy said with a giggle. Cadance was wearing glasses and a fake muzzle, which wasn’t even the same color as her fur, and a top hat that was placed awkwardly to hide her horn.
Even Flurry was in a costume. Specifically, she was – for some reason – dressed as a pig. “We’re ‘n disguise!”
“You’re in something,” Twilight said.
Flurry ran up to Twilight and shook her leg. “Did I do good, aunt Twily? Disguise is big word!”
Twilight smiled for her niece. “Yes, you did very good. Er, well.”
“Yay!”
It was still strange to see Flurry up and moving around, not to mention talking. She seemed to be maturing fast, and no one knew if it was a natural thing or because of her alicorn genes. She wasn’t the first natural-born alicorn, but they were exceedingly rare, requiring an alicorn parent to even have a chance at being born.
“And you must be Morning Glisten,” Cadance said as she leaned in close to the filly.
Morning ran and hid behind Fluttershy’s leg, causing her to giggle. “Say hello to Cadance.”
Morning looked at Cadance’s hooves and muttered. “Hi, Princess…”
“Aww, you don’t have to call me ‘Princess’,” Cadance said. “We’re family, you know. I’m your aunt Cadance!”
“We’re not using family names,” Sunset said. “We don’t want to force Morning into calling anyone anything that doesn’t feel natural.”
“Oh, of course. Just Cadance is fine then. Or Cady if you prefer.”
Twilight gestured to Shining Armor. “And you can call him ‘stinky’.”
“Hey!” Shining said, then made a show of sniffing himself to get the foals to laugh. It worked on Flurry, but Morning was still a little too skittish.
“Why are you dressed like that?” Morning asked.
“We’re disguise!” Flurry said. “I’m a piggy!”
“Uhm…”
Cadance laughed. “Well we didn’t want anypony to know who we were, so we thought we’d go incognito.”
Morning scrunched up her face in confusion, causing Fluttershy to laugh. She gave them a smirk and decided to play along. “We almost didn’t know who you were.”
“Yes we did,” Morning said.
“I dunno, could’ve fooled me,” Sunset said with a smirk. “Now I just feel silly, not in disguises or anything.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and took pity on Morning, who didn’t seem to catch on to the joke. “They’re just being silly. We should probably get going, though. We’re starting to attract attention.”
It was true. Whether it was because of the gathering of Equestria’s royalty or because of the ridiculously bad disguises, ponies were staring.
“Come on,” Shining said. “We have a carriage waiting.”
“A carriage?” Morning asked as they started walking. “Like what babies ride around in?“
Fluttershy giggled. “Well, it’s sort of like a bigger version of the same thing. We’ll all fit in it, and a couple strong ponies will pull us.”
“Oh.” Morning fell into contemplation as the group followed Shining as he led them away from the station and into the street.
As he had said, there was a private carriage waiting for them. He held open the door while everyone else climbed into it, then he came in behind.
Surprisingly, instead of sitting by her mom, Flurry immediately followed Morning and sat beside her. Morning frowned at her, but Flurry was all smiles for the older filly. “Do you like my costume?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be in disguise?” Morning asked. “Pigs don’t talk.”
“Play nice, Morning,” Twilight gently chided.
Flurry had her own thoughts on the topic, it seemed. “Pigs talk! They say ‘oink’!”
Since Morning, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Flurry were all on one side, Twilight sat on the other with Cadance. When Shining got in, he sat beside his wife and sister. “All ready to go!” he told the stallions in front, and they started pulling the carriage towards the castle.
“This is a carriage?” Morning asked. “It feels more like a truck.”
“A truck?” Cadance asked. “What’s that?”
Twilight chuckled. “We took Morning to the human world yesterday. Trucks are a thing humans ride around in.”
“That must have been a pretty big adventure,” Cadance said with a smile. “Twilight told me all about that world when she first went to it.”
“It was weird, but cool,” Morning said.
“Oink!” Flurry added. Morning looked at her with visible confusion.
“So how are you settling into life in Ponyville, Morning?” Cadance asked. “That must be its own kind of adventure.”
“I like it,” Morning said. “Everyone is really nice, and I don’t have to worry about all the other kids at Small Steps.”
“Morning had a little bit of a problem with a colt there,” Twilight explained. “But she did have one friend, who she wrote to before we came here. We’ll probably have a letter back from her by the time we get back to Ponyville.”
“It must be tough to not get to see your friend,” Cadance said.
“I guess,” Morning said, sounding like she didn’t mind one way or another.
Shining laughed. “You sound just like Twily when she was little, you know.”
Twilight laughed nervously. “We’re hoping she takes to friendship a little better than I did.”
“She can be very friendly when you get to know her.” Fluttershy brushed her hoof through Morning’s mane. “She’s just a bit shy.”
“Of course.” Cadance took off her fake muzzle and glasses, though she left on the top hat. “It must be tough getting used to everything.”
“It’s been a bit of an experience for all of us,” Twilight said.
“I think we’re all going to be just fine,” Fluttershy said with a smile. She felt so good being here with all of these ponies. Like Morning, she had been a filly that didn’t really have a family after her mom died, but little by little her family had grown, and now she loved everypony that was part of her life.
“Look!” Flurry said as she pointed out the window. “The castle!”
“It’s even bigger than the castle in Ponyville,” Morning said as she watched it from the window.
“I used to live there,” Sunset said. “Cadance and I both lived in the castle together for a while.”
“Who would’ve thought we’d ever be part of one family,” Cadance said with a smirk.
Sunset laughed. “I didn’t, that’s for sure.”
Fluttershy didn’t know the exact details, but she knew Sunset and Cadance hadn’t gotten along when they first met. Things were much better between the two of them now, but Fluttershy still wondered sometimes if there were still buried emotions they weren’t addressing.
But that wasn’t a conversation to be had around the fillies. Sunset just shrugged it off, anyway. “I wouldn’t have ever expected much of anything that happened in my life, though. From the moment I ran away from Canterlot, nothing in my life went like I expected.”
“You ran away?” Morning asked.
“Didn’t I tell you about that?” Sunset mussed Morning’s mane. “That was why I lived in an orphanage for a while. Even before I ran away, I was a very bad kid when I was younger. Gave Celestia and Cadance a lot of trouble.”
“What about Princess Luna?” Morning asked.
“Luna wasn’t around when I was a kid.”
“Wow.” Morning looked up at Sunset with a look of awe. “You must be so old!”
Sunset blushed as the others tried to stifle their laughter. Twilight stepped in to save her wife. “Did you ever learn about Nightmare Moon?”
“Oh yeah, that was like Luna but it wasn’t?” Morning scrunched up her face. “I never understood that.”
“Maybe we can ask Luna to explain it together,” Fluttershy said. “But when we were younger, Luna wasn’t in Equestria. She was still Nightmare Moon, and she was banished to the moon.”
Flurry nudged Morning. “That means she was in time out.”
“I know what banished means,” Morning said with an eye roll.
Flurry just giggled and oinked. Throughout the rest of the trip, she took to oinking at everypony. The adults all thought she was adorable, but Morning seemed to be less amused. Fluttershy was a little concerned about how openly annoyed Morning was, but she didn’t say anything mean to the younger filly, so she let it slide.
Still, when they reached the castle and everyone else got out, Fluttershy hung back and put a hoof on Morning to keep her in place. Sunset looked back at them before leaving, but Fluttershy just gave her a smile. “Go on, we’ll be out in a minute.”
Sunset nodded. “Alright, we’ll make sure they don’t drive off with you in the carriage then.”
“Thank you, Sunset.” Once her wife left, Fluttershy was alone with the filly. She smiled at Morning. “I’m going to guess you don’t really like little foals, do you?”
“I was good!” Morning protested.
“You were,” Fluttershy agreed. “And I’m proud of you for being a good filly. But I just wanted to ask you to keep being good a little longer. I know it’s tough, but I think Flurry actually looks up to you a little bit.”
“But why? She’s an alicorn!”
“Twilight’s an alicorn,” Fluttershy pointed out. “But she looks up to me and Sunset in some ways, just like we both look up to her.”
“I guess…”
Fluttershy brushed Morning’s mane back. It was quickly becoming a habit of hers with the little filly. “Flurry is younger than you. Sometimes younger foals look up to older foals just because they’re bigger than them. And she’s never had a cousin before, so I think she just wants to get along and for you two to like each other.”
Morning just looked down at the floor, not saying anything.
“Just… try to be patient with her, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Thank you. Now, let’s go back to the others.”
Fluttershy held open the door, and Sunset helped Morning get out of the carriage. With one final reminder to keep close to them in the castle, they made their way inside.
Morning had gotten used to their castle in Ponyville quickly, but then their castle in Ponyville was very different from Canterlot Castle. For one thing, there were ponies everywhere. Guards, politicians, castle staff; no matter where they looked, there was somepony doing their job.
And of course, Canterlot Castle was immaculately decorated. Even before Fluttershy and Sunset had moved in, Twilight had preferred to keep her castle more homey. But where Twilight would have hung pictures of her friends and family, Princess Celestia had paintings that were quite possibly priceless. Where Fluttershy would have placed a bookshelf full of knick-knacks, there were suits of armor standing guard.
“Nothing like being back at Canterlot Castle,” Shining Armor reflected.
“I guess this kind of feels like home for you too,” Fluttershy said.
Shining nodded. “I wasn’t Captain of the Royal Guard for nothing. I know this castle like the back of my hoof.”
“You were Captain of the Royal Guard?” Morning asked.
Shining wore a prideful grin. “I sure was. Used to meet up with Twily for lunch while I was on duty and she was studying here.”
“The good old days,” Twilight said wistfully. “I used to study in the courtyard where Shining would have his guards run drills.”
“Oh…” Morning looked around. “Did you ever get lost?”
“Once or twice,” Twilight said.
“Oh, I’m positive she got lost more than that,” Sunset said with a grin. “I know I did, and I’m better with directions than Twilight is.”
“I’ve only ever been here with Twilight, Sunset, or Luna,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t think I could find my way around without them.”
Twilight leaned closer to Morning. “One of us will be with you wherever you go here. And if for some reason we can’t be, we’ll have a guard escort you around. Still, if you somehow get lost –”
“Find a guard,” Morning finished for her. “Right?”
Twilight smiled. “That’s right.”
Morning smiled as well, until Flurry bumped into her and oinked. She rolled her eyes, but she didn’t complain at least.
The occasional oink notwithstanding, they made their way to the throne room without incident. Shining had to be reminded when they were outside that he still had his fake mustache on, so they stopped for a moment so Cadance could help him take it off. No one seemed concerned about getting Flurry Heart out of her pig costume, least of all Flurry Heart herself.
While they waited, Fluttershy noticed Morning looking up at the door apprehensively. “Nervous?”
“A little.” Morning bowed her head to look at her hooves instead.
“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Sunset said.
Fluttershy smiled. “Yeah, the princesses are really nice.”
“But… they’re the princesses!” Morning said.
Sunset grinned. “Thought you’d be used to princesses by now.”
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are different,” Morning insisted.
It wasn’t that Fluttershy couldn’t see her point, of course. She still felt a little nervous around Princess Celestia herself. But it was something she was going to have to face eventually.
What she said was, “It’ll be okay. They’re good ponies, Morning.”
Flurry looked at Morning strangely, then ran over to Cadance. She shook Cadance’s back leg to get her attention, then asked, “Mommy, is Morning a princess?”
Cadance smiled. “Yes, Flurry. Even though she’s not an alicorn, Morning is a princess. Just like Aunt Fluttershy and Aunt Sunset.”
“No I’m not,” Morning said, causing the adults to all look at one another.
Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Actually… you are. Or you will be once the adoption is finalized, anyway. You’ll be our daughter officially, and that means you’ll be a princess.”
“We, uhm, we weren’t sure how to bring it up,” Fluttershy explained. “We wanted to make sure you decided to live with us because you wanted to, not just to become a princess.”
“But… but I’m not special…” Morning looked between all three moms.
“Oh, sweetie, you’re so special to us,” Fluttershy said. “And we all felt the same way before we became princesses.”
“I didn’t,” Sunset muttered.
“Most of us felt the same way,” Fluttershy said with a smile and an eye roll.
“Oh.” Morning looked down at the ground.
“So you see, there’s nothing to worry about,” Twilight said with a smile. “Everyone here is royalty, and that includes you. And just like you, they’re all just normal ponies.”
Morning nodded meekly.
“Do we need a minute?” Shining asked. He was rubbing his muzzle where the mustache had been stuck.
“No,” Morning said. “I’m ready.”
Fluttershy wasn’t sure, but Twilight nodded. She opened the door for them, and everypony filed inside.
Directly in front of them, Princess Celestia and Luna were both sitting on their thrones. Celestia smiled warmly at them, while Luna didn’t acknowledge their presence – she was wearing sunglasses and sipping on a mug either tea or coffee. There was a third pony with them as well, a pegasus sitting beside Luna.
Morning hung back as they approached, so Fluttershy had to use a wing to guide her forward. As they approached, Luna finally smiled. She seemed to be looking directly at Fluttershy and Morning, and Fluttershy herself couldn’t help but smile when she saw her friends. She hadn’t known that Amber Glow would be here.
“Welcome, everyone,” Princess Celestia said. “It’s so good to see you all. I trust you had a nice trip?”
“We did,” Cadance said. She and Shining Armor approached Princess Celestia. “It’s nice to see you, Auntie.”
“Aunt Tia!” Flurry ran up to Celestia. “I’m a piggy! Oink!”
“I see that,” Princess Celestia said with a smile. “Is it Nightmare Night already?”
Flurry giggled. “No, we’re disguise!”
“Really now?” Princess Celestia looked over the others. “I believe everyone else here is a pony.”
“Mommy and Daddy were disguise too,” Flurry explained.
“Were in disguise,” Princess Celestia corrected.
“And what of you three?” Luna asked. “Although I suppose it was you four this time. It’s nice to meet you, Morning Glisten.”
“We got in just fine,” Fluttershy said. She nudged Morning forward a little. “Say hello, Morning.”
Morning pawed at the ground. “Uhm, hi…”
Luna and Amber stood up and walked down towards them, Luna levitating her drink with her. She bent down low to look at Morning while Amber and Fluttershy hugged.
Luna lifted her sunglasses with her magic, and Morning shrunk back against Fluttershy’s wing. “Hello, little one. My name is Luna.”
Amber butted Luna aside, causing her to spill a little of her drink. “You’re scaring her!” They turned to Morning and smiled. “Don’t mind her, she likes to flaunt how big she is.”
“It is not my fault if I am taller than the average pony!” Luna protested.
“She’s a big softy, really,” Amber said.
“Uhm, are you a prince?”
Amber grinned, likely in part due to Morning’s apparent assumption that they were male. “Nah, I’m just an unemployed layabout who mooches off of Luna here.”
Fluttershy leaned in. “This is Amber Glow. They’re Luna’s lover.”
Morning cocked her head to the side and leaned close to whisper in Fluttershy’s ear. “Are, uhm, are they a boy or a girl?”
Fluttershy giggled. “Well, Amber was born a girl, but they decided they don’t really feel like they’re either a boy or a girl. So instead of saying ‘he’ or ‘she’, we say ‘they’ for them.”
“Oh. I didn’t know ponies could do that.”
There was a whole lesson there, and it was an important one since Morning would likely be seeing Scootaloo around as well. But Fluttershy wasn’t sure she was the best pony to explain it, and she knew Amber was pretty new to the whole thing as well.
Morning looked over Amber, who just shrugged. “Most ponies don’t get it, it’s alright.”
“And dearest Amber misled you just now,” Luna said. “While it’s true they’re unemployed now, they’ll soon be working again.”
“Oh really?” Twilight asked. “What’s the job?”
Before they could answer, Flurry ran over to Morning. “Mo Glow! Come play with me!”
“What did you call me?” Morning asked.
Flurry Heart giggled. “That’s what Auntie Luna called you! Morning Glow!”
“Morning Glisten,” Morning corrected.
“Oh. Well, Mo Glow is cuter.” Flurry laughed as if getting somepony’s name wrong was a great joke by itself.
“It is a pretty cute name,” Twilight admitted, and Fluttershy was inclined to agree.
Sunset walked over to Morning and took a knee to be more on her level. “Hey, we’re gonna talk about boring adult stuff like jobs. Will you do me a favor and keep Flurry busy so we can talk for a bit?”
Morning looked like she was going to protest, but in the end she just said, “Okay…” and went off to play with Flurry.
Sunset returned to the others. “So what’s this new job?”
“Well, I’m gonna be your favorite thing in the world,” Amber said sheepishly. “A reporter.”
“Oh. Really?” Twilight wore a grin that was a little too big to be real.
“Do not fret, Twilight, Amber is not going to be that kind of reporter.” Luna nodded to Amber. “But I shall let them explain.”
Amber nodded. “Well, I was thinking about how much I miss travelling. Living with Luna is great and all, but I really miss the train days, you know?”
“I suppose being a reporter would mean you’d get to travel,” Fluttershy said.
“Yeah, and like Luna said, I won’t be that kind of reporter anyway.” Amber smiled, and it was clear to see how excited they were about this. “I’m going to travel and talk to regular ponies. Luna here heard about a travel magazine looking for slice of life stories, and we got in contact with them. Every week, I’ll have an article about a different regular pony somewhere in Equestria.”
“That sounds really nice,” Twilight said, finally sounding genuine in her happiness. “That’s the kind of news Equestria needs more of.”
“And it sounds perfect for you,” Sunset said. “You always were good at getting ponies to open up.”
“That’s what this is for.” Amber gestured to her cutie mark, a heart-shaped lock that was unlocked. “But enough of that, what’s it like being moms?”
They explained how the past two months had been going for them, from Sunset’s first visit to taking Morning home for good. As they talked, Fluttershy leaned against Luna, who draped a wing over her.
Soon enough, the groups were shifting. Sunset and Twilight went to talk with Princess Celestia as Cadance and Shining Armor came by to say hello to Luna and apologize for waking her up.
“It is nothing a bit more coffee can’t fix,” Luna said. “We have a small concession stand over here. Please, help yourselves.”
They made for the concession stand, all the while Fluttershy staying under Luna’s wing. She worried just a little about making Amber jealous, but they never seemed to have a problem with how close Fluttershy and Luna were.
Quite the opposite, as Amber just popped under Luna’s wing with Fluttershy, so that Fluttershy was sandwiched between her friends. “Room for two under here?”
Fluttershy giggled. “Of course!”
“I do have two wings, you know,” Luna said with a smirk.
“But this one’s extra snuggly,” Amber said, nuzzling against Fluttershy.
“I think Amber’s right,” Fluttershy said. She smiled, and even continued to do so when she noticed the look Cadance was giving them, even if she did so with a blush spreading across her face. She could practically hear the gears turning in the Princess of Love’s head.
In truth, Fluttershy hadn’t been sure what her relationship with Luna was for quite a long time. Even Sunset and Twilight had noticed; they’d made a point of telling Fluttershy that if she did want to date Luna, that was something they were open to discussing. Fluttershy appreciated that her wives accepted that she might develop feelings for another mare, but when it came down to it, she just didn’t know if she did have those kinds of feelings for Luna. There was a closeness with Luna that was different from how she felt about her other friends, but when she thought about things like kissing Luna or getting even more intimate with her, she realized she just wasn’t that interested in that.
Getting cuddly with Amber was just a bonus. She knew she didn’t feel anything beyond friendship with them, but she could still enjoy being close to a friend.
Luna also seemed to notice Cadance’s attention. She raised her other wing. “Perhaps you would care to join?”
“I think I’ll pass,” Cadance said. “I’d hate to intrude on a private moment, you know.”
Luna looked around. “There are ten ponies here, Cadance. One of them is my sister and two of them are foals. I shouldn’t think this in any way constitutes a private moment.”
Fluttershy giggled as Amber snickered. Not for the first time, Fluttershy thought that there was some sort of secret history at work between Luna and Cadance.
“All the same, I think I’ll leave you to it,” Cadance said. “Private or otherwise, I do think I know enough on this subject to see there is something going on here.”
“I’m sure none of us have any idea what you mean,” Luna said. “Do you think I would be so brazen to woo a pony in front of her wives and daughter?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy, Cadance, and Amber all said at once, then everyone aside from Luna and Shining laughed. Shining seemed to just be trying to figure out what was going on – he never did quite grasp the whole polyamory thing – and Luna was hopefully blushing, because Fluttershy thought that she’d be cute if she was.
“Well fine then.” Luna withdrew her wing. “If you’re going to be like that, then you can find another wing to hide under.”
“Aww, but Twily’s talking to Princess Celestia.” Fluttershy nuzzled against Luna. “Besides, I hardly ever get to see you.”
Amber took a more direct approach, flying into the air and landing on top of Luna. “Suit yourself, I’ll just stay up here. Wanna join me, Fluttershy?”
Luna sighed, but Fluttershy could tell she enjoyed it. “I do believe you’re a bad influence on Fluttershy, Amber dearest.”
“You’re just now realizing this?” Amber asked as they stole Luna’s crown and put it on their own head. “I’m, like, a bad influence on everypony.”
“I don’t think so,” Fluttershy said. “I’m glad I met you.”
“Yeah, well, no need to get all sappy with me,” Amber said, then patted Luna on the head. “Get sappy with her instead.”
Fluttershy just giggled, then walked over to get herself a cup of tea from the concession stand. It was going a little cold, but Fluttershy didn’t mind too much.
Not that it mattered, because Luna seemed to have other ideas. “Here, let me see that.” She bowed her head and touched her horn to the cup, using her magic to reheat it. “There, that should be better.”
Fluttershy took a sip and nodded. “Thank you.”
Before she could enjoy her tea, however, her attention was torn from it by the sound of a filly crying. Everyone’s eyes turned towards the sound, and they saw Flurry sitting on the floor and crying while Morning looked around in a panic.
All five parents were quick to get to the scene while the others hung back. “What happened,” Twilight asked.
“I – I didn’t mean to, I was just…” Morning looked down at the ground.
Cadance picked up Flurry who continued to cry as she clung to her mom. “There there, it’s okay.”
Cadance and Shining walked off to calm down Flurry, leaving the others to figure out what happened from Morning. “What didn’t you mean to do?” Sunset asked.
“I… She wouldn’t let go of me! I told her to, but she kept holding onto me, and I…”
Fluttershy sighed. It wasn’t hard to get the picture. “Morning, she’s only three years old. You’ve got to be careful with her.”
“I know! I just wanted her to let go of me…”
Twilight and Sunset exchanged glances, then looked to Fluttershy, who didn’t know what to do any better than they did.
“I’m sorry…” Morning said.
Twilight looked over at Flurry. “You need to apologize to her once she calms down.”
“I will.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sunset asked.
“You asked me to keep her busy…”
Sunset groaned. “I didn’t mean you couldn’t come get us if there was a problem. You do have to learn to play nice with Flurry, but your personal space is important too. It probably would’ve taken Cadance, like, two words to get her to behave herself.”
Morning bowed her head. “I just… I don’t know…”
Fluttershy wondered if there was something else on her mind. “I think somepony might’ve been a little on edge because of a discussion earlier.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“Was there something on your mind that made you feel a little overwhelmed?” Fluttershy asked.
“No,” Morning answered, though Fluttershy didn’t believe her. “I just didn’t want Flurry on top of me all the time.”
Fluttershy wanted to press the topic, sure that Morning’s behavior was linked to suddenly realizing she was a princess, but she didn’t know that this was the best place to do that. Eventually she just shook her head. “I’m going to go check on Flurry.”
She left Morning with Twilight and Sunset and walked over to Cadance and Shining. “How’s she doing?”
“Calming down,” Cadance said as Flurry’s crying lowered in intensity.
“What happened?” Shining asked.
“I think Morning was feeling a little overwhelmed by learning she’s going to be a princess. Then Flurry was being a little too touchy, and Morning pushed her back. I think she fell down, and that’s when she started crying.” Fluttershy stole a glance back at the others. Twilight was saying something to Morning about how to act around younger foals. “Morning has… a tough time when she feels overwhelmed. We should’ve been watching her better.”
“It’s okay,” Cadance said with a smile. “Kids are resilient. I think Flurry was hurt more that Morning didn’t want her around than by the fall.”
Fluttershy nodded; that was probably true. “I feel bad for Flurry, I know she just wants to be friends with Morning. It’s just that Morning isn’t so good at friends yet, especially with younger foals…”
“She really is like her mom, huh?” Shining asked, looking at Twilight.
“Like Twily and Sunset, really,” Fluttershy said. “Sunset was bad with foals when she was little.”
“You can say that again,” Cadance said with a sigh. “I just hope things work out with the two of them better than they ever did with the two of us.”
“I’m sure they will,” Shining said. “I don’t think Sunset had as good role models as Morning does.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, she didn’t. It won’t be hard to give Morning a better childhood than Sunset or I had.”
Flurry had stopped crying, instead just nuzzling close to her mom. Shining stroked her mane, which Flurry didn’t react to.
“Should I bring Morning around to apologize?” Fluttershy asked.
“I think that would be a good idea,” Cadance said, so Fluttershy went back to the others.
Morning looked at her expectantly when she did. “Flurry’s alright. She’s not hurt, she just really wanted you to like her.”
“I don’t not like her,” Morning said. “I just wish she wouldn’t be on top of me all the time.”
“I know,” Fluttershy said. “But sometimes little kids are just like that. If it gets to be too much, you need to tell one of us.”
“I’m sorry…”
Fluttershy nodded towards Flurry. “Come on, let’s go tell her that.”
The three moms and their daughter walked across the room. Flurry sniffed as they approached, but she kept her eyes focused on Morning.
Morning folded her ears and bowed her head. She kicked at the ground before saying, “I’m sorry I pushed you.”
Flurry didn’t say anything. Morning looked up at Twilight, who nodded.
Turning back to Flurry, Morning asked, “Do… you like books?”
Since Flurry didn’t answer again, Cadance answered for her. “She likes picture books.”
“Uhm, maybe I could read to her?” Morning suggested.
“What do you think, Flurry?” Cadance asked in an elevated voice. “Do you want Mo Glow to read you a story?”
Flurry nodded.
“I’ll take Morning to the library to find a good book for Flurry,” Twilight said. “We’ll be back soon.”
Twilight and Morning left, and Fluttershy turned to Sunset. “Whose idea was it for Morning to read to her?”
“Twilight’s,” Sunset said. “But it was Morning who wanted to do something. She didn’t want to just apologize, she wanted to make it up to her.”
“Really?” Fluttershy smiled. Of course she was upset that Morning had another outburst, and with a filly as small as Flurry at that, but this was a very good step for her.
“Yup. I think she just loses her cool, but then she regrets it after.” Sunset smirked. “Unlike me when I was younger, in that I had no cool to lose.”
“Flurry,” Cadance said softly. “Do you remember that talk we had about personal space?”
“No,” Flurry said. Fluttershy couldn’t tell if she honestly didn’t remember or if she was being obstinate.
“Some ponies don’t like it when you get too close to them,” Shining said patiently. “Morning is one of those ponies.”
“I just wanted hugs…”
“I know, and we’re happy to give you as many hugs as you want,” Cadance said. “But Morning doesn’t like hugs as much as you do.”
Flurry sniffed.
Princess Celestia walked over to the group. “Is everything okay?”
“Just a little excitement,” Cadance said. “I think everything is going to be just fine, though.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Princess Celestia grinned sheepishly. “I admit I wouldn’t know what to do. I’ve never been terribly good with younger foals.”
“Half the time, you just need to let them play with your mane,” Luna said, approaching the group as well. “Our manes are particularly appealing to little ones, I’ve found.”
“Aww, foals aren’t that hard.” Amber tickled Flurry under her chin, and she gave a small laugh. “Isn’t that right, cutie? You just want someone to hug, huh? I like your costume!”
Flurry gave a bashful “Oink.”
It didn’t take too long for Twilight and Morning to come back, Twilight levitating several books along with her. “We couldn’t pick just one,” she said as if anyone ever expected Twilight to pick just one book.
Morning sat down with the books, and Cadance set Flurry down near her. The others all gathered around Morning in a circle. Cadance and Shining sat beside their daughter, with Amber and Luna next to them. Fluttershy, Twilight, and Sunset were next, then Princess Celestia rounded out the circle by sitting between Sunset and Morning.
Morning looked around at everypony and blushed. “Is… everyone going to listen?”
Twilight giggled. “Sure, we’d all like a story. Right everyone?”
There were murmurs of agreements, so Morning lifted the book so that it covered her face and she didn’t have to see anyone. Fluttershy got comfortable lying against Luna while holding onto Twilight, who in turn held Sunset.
“Remember to show Flurry the pictures,” Twilight said.
Morning may have been embarrassed but she read the story well. It was a simple and familiar story about a country mouse and a city mouse, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but imagine Morning and Flurry as the titular characters.
As she read the story, she showed off the pictures to Flurry. Not content with just showing them off, she would often explain what was going on in them. “See, that’s the country mouse dressing up in fancy city clothes, like in the story.”
Little by little, Flurry scooted closer to see the pictures better until eventually they were pressed side by side. Then Flurry let out a big yawn, and everyone knew what was coming. Morning kept reading though, and soon enough Flurry was sleeping soundly against Morning.
“I’m sorry,” Cadance said. “Here, I’ll take her.”
“No, it’s okay,” Morning said. She blushed as she continued. “I don’t want to wake her up.”
They really were quite adorable together. Flurry was sleeping peacefully, and Morning didn’t quite seem to know what to do, but she was still letting her new cousin sleep on her.
“Should… I keep reading?” Morning asked after a moment.
“Sure, go ahead,” Sunset said.
Morning set that book down and picked up a different one. She read pretty well for her age. Of course, the books were for younger kids, but she still read them easily and pronounced the words well.
And almost everyone found someone to snuggle with. Cadance draped a wing over Shining as they listened, and Amber leaned into Luna’s other side so that she was the one in the middle. Then Twilight and Sunset were snuggled close to Fluttershy, leaving only Princess Celestia without a partner. Still, something about the Solar Princess felt more at peace than Fluttershy was used to.
Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was with her family listening to her daughter read to them. The day had held another learning experience for them, but now everyone was happy.
Fluttershy had her family with her, and that was all she could ask for.
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Flurry's job is to be the Princess of Cuteness, and dang if she doesn't pull it off. I hope she and Morning become friends.
Somehow I keep forgetting that your background for Fluttershy is totally and completely different from show Fluttershy, and have to keep reminding myself whenever it comes up.
Also, I think you made a mistake here:
Should that not be "his" muzzle? Cadance wasn't wearing a fake mustache, right?
10561967
Oops yeah you're right about the typo, will fix that. And yesssss all hail Princess of Cuteness!!!
Not honestly too surprised Morning doesn't initially get along with Flurry. Her general reserved personality, the amount of people in the room, the news that she's become royalty....I don't think it's going to be anything like Sunset and Cadance's initial relationship, but I think it might take some time for Morning to fully warm up to her cousin. Especially when they're both so young still. But....progress.
The rest of the scene was cute too. I enjoyed seeing Amber, as well as Luna getting roasted.
10562177
Slow progress is still progress, especially when a filly like Morning is concerned. And Luna getting roasted is always a worthwhile thing to see hahaha
That was a nice normal chapter kind of saw the tension with flurry coming morning isn't use to having so much family and add to the the fact that she is now a princess but it was touching that she decided to read to flurry I can actually see these to bonding later. Great chapter can't wait to read more.
10561918
No, you’re so right. Celestia does say to Twilight “You will soon know more about this world than I do”.
Gosh, movie moments that establish little known rules like ‘thirty moons’ seem so trivial compared to what the ponies don’t know about the rules of the portal, and the flexibility it offers authors. And yet, how freeing it seems to be following Rainbow Rocks, now that the restriction of time on the portal is no longer a set rule.
I am sitting here, enjoying it so far and yet I feel this looming sense of dread in my stomach.
10562529
Well we are reading a Kricks story....
10562341
Flurry and Morning will have a lot of future between them, but yeah, it was always doomed to get off to a rocky start. Glad you enjoyed it
10562379
The portal has been one of my favorite things in the world of MLP, as is evident by my use of it in this series. Parallel dimensions can be a lot of fun, and having one that's just freely available is cool.
10562529
lol actually, this is one of my lowest drama stories in this series; there's enough there to keep the story moving, of course (and like... it is a Krickis story), but most of the drama with Morning is going to come in future stories, with this one more serving to introduce her.
I can only second what 10562820 said
10563421
To be fair, we were warned:
Those last few scenes were so wholesome; I think I'm going to explode!
I think it's really hard for introvert children, especially around that age, to deal with very young, and very excitable little kids. This is especially compounded for Mo Glow, as she's under the constant stress of suppressing her emotions and reactions. Eventually, she's going to snap like a branch.
Thanks for the chapter!
10565015
Wholesomeness? In a Krickis fic??? For shame...
And yeah, Mo Glow's reaction is pretty understandable here. I was an introvert child and I remember being pretty easily overwhelmed by extroverted kids, especially a huggy one like Flurry. Add in the other stuff and yeah, poor Morning...
I hope eventually (in the future ofc) we get to see the cousin relationship between Morning and Flurry develop. I had never... I mean, I havent read all that many stories featuring an older Flurry, but giving her an older cousin more grounded than she is should create a very interesting dynamic.
I, uh, actually feel kind of guilty for imagining it for some reason, but... the Potential... the Shenanigans... the way they could learn each other's boundaries, and act accordingly, and it takes time but they learn to communicate and how they could relate to each other... If the "princess" awkwardness stick I imagine it could be a topic of discussion for the both of them, how they would relate to it, how it would affect them. How they find themselves sticking to it, and the similarities between their approaches. Perhaps neither of them feel they've earned their status, and try to either fit it into themselves, or rejecting it. Or fitting their expectations around themselves so they can reach them, each in their different ways.
Okay, look, I might have thought about this a bit too much. Maybe Morning will open up, maybe she and Flurry will never have the occasion to talk about it, maybe they'll manage to fit into their roles and expectations on their own. I mean, the issues with princesshood and asserting oneself is one that Fluttershy also has (or had). But... Fluttershy kind of "earned" it, I guess? More than Morning did. So I still think they could have this discussion.
Perhaps it is also that extroverted, hyper, younger sibling and introverted, grounded older sibling that bicker and tease each other but also care very much and will help and protect each other in their own way when they can is a dynamic I hold dear to my heart, and I may feel kinda guilty on projecting this here based on this having the potential to become that. Through I'm sure whatever you will do will be amazing, of course. I feel very invested in this relationship because it is very neat right now and it certainly will be very neat later.
10573413
There will be a lot of Morning and Flurry in the future, and how each of them take to being princesses will be something that gets explored. I won't say much more because we'll have to wait and see how it goes (lol I have my ideas, but even I'm not sure how those stories will pan out exactly), but I can guarantee that at least!
That's not nice, Sunset.
Glad to see the whole family together. Really hope Celestia gets to open up one day, maybe not to get a partner but just to the people close to her, because she can and should call them all family.
You gain Brouzouf Dopamine
11242053
I actually love how much of this story is cute happy moments like this. It's still a drama, and I wouldn't have it any other way, but while I love the drama (obviously) it's these kinds of moments that really make it all worthwhile as a writer
That's fortunate at least.
Huh, should of guessed Flurry would be talking now.
Huh.
https://m.Yep.
I'm terrible at directions.
Morning, what did you do!
Ok now I get the point. Still, bad move of you Morning. 😡
Hopefully Candace, hopefully.
It's Twilight, what did you expect.
Yeah, I had the feeling things were going to pop the longer Morning was exposed to Flurry for a while. And they did. But it wasn't as bad as expected and I think things were handled quite well.
Still can't help but wonder in the back of my mind though if Morning's act to make up to Flurry is genuine or because she's worried about not being a "good filly".