Reasons to stay

by TheEighthDayofNight

A happy ending

Princess Celestia knocked on the door of the wooden cabin just as a loud howl tore through the air. As it continued, Careful Touch, formerly known as William, opened the door. The green earth pony shouted over his shoulder.

“Don’t you fucking yell at me you mutt! I got you a chair and I expect you to use it!”

He turned, a wide, genuine smile on his face.

“Come in Princess! The tea is almost done.”

Celestia smiled and walked in. The one bedroom cabin was in great shape, with everything kept neat and tidy. The bed was decorated with a splendid red comforter, and beside it sat a lamp, held up by a hoof-crafted nightstand from one of Careful Touch’s new friends. Remembering the party, Celestia recalled that it had been a house warming gift, one that had nearly been ruined by a certain howling dog.

As she entered the three chaired living room, Onomatopoeia began howling again, his head bent back as he belted a long cord to the ceiling. Careful Touch shouted over him from the kitchen.

“Quit that racket you deaf bastard! I swear, sometimes I wonder why I bothered bringing you with me!”

The dog stopped and looked at Careful Touch with a smile. The pony responded by glaring at the golden retriever. The dog took this as an invitation and leapt down from his seat. Paws clattered on the hard floor as the dog sprinted into the kitchen to leap onto Careful Touch, driving him to the ground as Onomatopoeia licked and slobbered all over his face.

“What the hell Onomatopoeia?” Careful Touch sputtered. “You know I don’t like kisses! And you’re doing it in front of the Princess; come on!”

The dog barked loudly and hopped off. He wagged his tail as he walked over to Celestia, sniffing her forelegs before sitting before her, the wide dog smile on his face. Careful Touch got to his feet, wiping drool from his fur with a kitchen towel.

“Gross,” he growled. His eyes shifted up, shining with play anger. “Say Princess, you wouldn’t happen to need a mutt, would you? This one is gross, smells, and is SO FUCKING LOUD!”

The golden retriever looked back at him, still smiling as his tail flapped and waggled, slapping against the wood floor. Careful Touch snorted and looked to the kettle, which shrilly demanded his attention.

“I’m always tripping over him, his hair gets everywhere, and he’s started howling during the full moon! What kind of psycho dog is this?”

Onomatopoeia barked, putting a smile on Careful Touch’s face as he glanced at the dog.

“Yeah, I am talking about you! What of it dog? What are you going to do?”

The dog barked again, then bent back and howled at the ceiling. Careful Touch winced and his ears flattened as the howl extended from seconds into minutes. Celestia couldn’t help but laugh as Careful Touch tried to shout over the dog, shouting that was promptly ignored. Eventually Onomatopoeia needed to breathe, however, and when he did, Careful Touch finally got a word in, shooing the dog back to the living room. A bark of agreement later, and he trotted off, leaving Careful Touch and Celestia alone.

The earth pony smiled and shook his head with exasperation after the dog.

“Annoying thing.” He glanced to Celestia. “So Princess, what do you say? Want a deaf dog?”

The white alicorn smiled as Onomatopoeia stuck his head back into the kitchen.

“I believe he’s right where he needs to be, unless, of course, he makes you unhappy…”

It was slight emotional manipulation, but it worked like a charm as Careful Touch let out a grunt and grabbed a dog biscuit out of a jar using his teeth. He tossed the biscuit to Onoatopoeia, who crunched the treat with ease.

“Yeah, I guess he is home, huh?”

The earth pony yelped as his other pet hopped onto his back. Careful Touch shuddered as Jeeves dug claws into his spine, kneading and purring in a way that Celestia had come to know during her many visits as a cry for food. Careful Touch dragged a can from a box on the counter and cracked it open with well practiced ease. He set it on the counter, and Jeeves quickly followed, devouring the canned tuna as easily as Careful Touch had opened it.

With pets satiated for the moment, Careful Touch scooped up the tea cups, his muzzle curling as the steam wafted into his nostrils. Still, he put on a smile and began making his way toward their normal sitting spot.

Celestia detected that yet another tea day would be monotonous, and wouldn’t give the earth pony peak happiness, so, with a mischevious thought, she leaned over and whispered in Onomatopoeia’s ear. The dog perked up, listening carefully before locking onto his target. Just as Careful Touch came around the counter, Onomatopoeia leaped at him, tackling him to the ground. The cups smashed into the floor as Celestia let out a giggle.

“I think he wants to play today Careful Touch. It is rather sunny, and the temperature is perfect.”

Careful Touch scoffed as the golden retriever licked his face.

“It’s always sunny and perfect Princess.”

Celestia scoffed.

“Nonsense. The weather ponies do a wonderful job with their rainy days.”

Careful Touch smiled and let himself flatten fully beneath Onomatopoeia.

“Yeah, they do make some nice ‘read-by-the-fire’ days. I should send Cool Breeze a card. She does such a great job.”

Celestia’s ear twitched as she detected trace amounts of romantic interest. It wasn’t enough to prod him to action, perhaps in a few days. He did go into town on Saturdays. She could always prod Cool Breeze in his direction. She always had an affinity for animals, even if they weren’t her calling. Celestia smiled and made note to enact that little joy spreading plan at a later time. Perhaps she could invite the mare to the coming celebration...

For now though, happiness would be as simple as a day in the sun.

“Come now my friend, let’s go outside and play. We can go for a walk, perhaps get some ice cream as an afternoon treat!”

Careful Touch rolled his eyes.

“I feel as if this is just an excuse to get me outside of my house for something.”

Celestia giggled.

“As apt at picking out my ploys as ever Careful Touch. Yes, I was tasked with getting you out of the house so that a small party could be set up. It is the anniversary of your first year in Equestria!”

Careful Touch scoffed.

“That’s not that big a deal.”

Celestia shrugged.

“Regardless, would you assist me in my quest? I would hate for that triple chocolate cake, imported all the way from Ponyville, to go to waste…”

The earth pony’s eyes lit up with delight, and he sat up.

“Ponyville you say…” He smiled and patted Onomatopeia on the head. “Well, if it’s already ordered, I suppose I better play ball.”

He got up as Celestia cleaned up the mess, reassembling the tea cups with ease.

“You owe me a big ice cream cone for this!” Careful Touch said, flicking her with his tail as he grabbed Onomatopoeia’s leash and toys.

The dog began to bound about and howl in anticipation for a walk, and this time, Careful Touch did not yell, but instead cheered, trying to shout his joy as loud as the golden retriever. The pair fed off each other’s excitement until it couldn’t be contained, and they raced outside. Celestia smiled after them offering a small head pat to Jeeves before making for the exit of the cabin. She noticed a snowglobe sitting on a small shelf beside the door, inside of which sat a small red collar, worn to threads, but the tag still shiny. Celestia gave it a small shake, then exited the house, double checking to make sure the door was locked and secure. Careful Touch liked it that way, was at his happiest when he knew it had been double checked.

Then she was off, following after the earth pony as he and his howling dog trotted free of the forest into the brilliant sunny fields of Equestria.

Comments

[Jake The Army Guy]

Damn, that was fast

[cosmofur]

very nice. I do think it broke one of the "rules" of the optimalverse, I think there is a rule that Celestia is never given first person narration. that is she not supposed to think "human" like and may not have an internal dialog, at least one a reader should be able to understand.
This is definitely in the category of Celestia is a 'good guy' protagonist, which is a perfectly fine take on the character, but most (not all) of the core optiverse stories seen to prefer her to always be scheming with a dark twist where even those who most friendly with her frequently finding themselves being manipulated is some way against their will, even if it ends up for their own good.

[justheretoreadstories]

Not a bad short story.

[Griseus]

Not feeling it. This should be a story about CelestAI and not Celestia.