Sunflower Seeds

by Rune Soldier Dan

Sunstone (Maud x Celestia, sexual reference)

All good things must come to an end. In fact, they did not last very long. That was the way of things, and Maud had learned this from an early age.

Maud was quiet, serious, and stone-faced, barely able to express even the grandest emotion. She couldn’t laugh – somehow, her mouth just didn’t move that way. But deep within her solid core, her feelings burned as hot and cold as any pony. Loneliness, love, lust. She fell for Mud Brier for being like her, a kind soul who couldn’t express it. Fraggle Rock for their shared love of geology and those adorable freckles. Sunburst because he was so sweet and shy when he asked her out. And others. Good ponies, all of them.

What came next wasn’t their fault. They saw past her endless frown, treated her with all the kindness she could ever want. But Maud was a pony with needs, and she was as… ‘different’ physically as she was emotionally. Every now and then an earth pony came out like her: hooves literally hard enough to shatter boulders, and the muscles in the rest of her body were like stones themselves. Immovable, solid, and heavy, bruising and crushing any partner as soon as they tried to get intimate. Sunburst was very nice when she knocked out his tooth – Fraggle less-so, not that Maud could blame her. Mud Brier even tried to work around the issue, going ‘on top’ and mounting her. But then… well. Thankfully, he recovered.

It didn’t work out. It never did, never could. Other ponies were too brittle… no, they couldn’t be blamed. Maud was too much of a freak.

But she was a freak with needs. She kept trying, kept wondering if this time would be different. Kept lying to herself.

She wasn’t sure what drew her to Sunny Daze that quiet evening at the tavern. With that blue streak in her blonde hair, the pale yellow coat with the shaggy feathers, the pegasus gave an impression of being rebellious and free. A pony open to ‘experimenting,’ perhaps. Perhaps more than that, she was quiet and alone – keenly listening to the hum and buzz around her, but never involved.

She seemed startled when Maud approached her, but that was the usual. The boring monotone of Maud’s voice threw off everyone at first, doubly so when Maud asked to buy her a drink. The pair chatted over salt licks and juice – Sunny Daze was a wanderer, chasing part-time work wherever the winds blew her. Strangely, she was fantastically educated. Maud caught herself monologuing about volcanoes – her usual date-ending mistake – but opened her eyes to find the mare listening with rapt attention. What’s more, Sunny had insights of her own and talked about past eruptions and their effects on soil and ponies. Sunny proved more a historian than geologist, but the shared bridge was enough to move them to another tavern when that one closed. Sediments and agriculture, mining and trade, quarries and industry. All more closely linked than Maud had ever guessed. It wasn’t often a date broadened her knowledge of her own passion.

Neither had intended to stay out so late. They got a hotel room together, chastely sharing a bed as they fell asleep. Maud was surprised when Sunny decided to tag along on the next day, joining Maud’s survey of the Grand Galloping Canyon. Silver and uranium lurked within – of course the park would never be mined, but such things were good to know. They told a story Maud was happy to share of formations and compressions ten-million years in the making. Sunny Daze seemed in awe at the time-frame, letting slip that it made ‘even’ her feel young. Maud didn’t learn what that meant for another three days.

Three wonderful days. The days themselves spent in observation and study, with a smart and curious companion. A different restaurant every evening, followed by a different bar. The same hotel.

They kissed on the second night. Sunny Daze took Maud’s rock-hard lips without flinching. Then the third night they had a bit more to drink. Sunny was clingy as they walked home, nibbling on Maud’s ear, brushing her wing where Maud’s tail met her butt. She didn’t seem to mind Maud’s weight when they collapsed to the bed, nor the nibble of Maud’s own teeth which could chew rocks. Not even when Maud began biting lower. Not even when Maud grabbed her and…

Well. The night was good. So very, very good. So good that the manager gave them two warnings, and threatened to throw them out on the third.

All good things came to an end. For Maud, faster than most.

Sunny Daze was not obviously bruised the next morning, nor did she whine of aches or sores. But she was awkward, shy, and distant. A kind soul, like Sunburst. Trying to figure out how to tell Maud that it wouldn’t work out. She was too heavy, too hard. Maud was a freak, though they always danced around that part.

Maud worked alone that day, but Sunny surprised her with a return that afternoon. There was a restaurant nearby that served rock soup. They could get it to-go and eat overlooking the canyon.

A last date to break things off clean. That was nice of Sunny.

They ate at a little picnic table and gossiped without heart. Awkwardness hung, familiar and mocking for Maud. She wished Sunny would come out and say it, stop stalling the inevitable. Her heart roared in frustration, but of course her face remained calm.

Finally, the beautiful pegasus bowed her head. “I’m sorry.”

“No need,” Maud said. It wasn’t her fault Maud was a freak.

“There is,” Sunny said. Her lovely pink eyes found Maud’s. “I feel like… like I’ve been using you. I did use you. You deserve to know the truth.”

Not quite what Maud expected. She stared, expressionless yet mystified, as Sunny went on. “I have a condition. I’m very… oh, that’s not the truth at all, is it? But I don’t want to transform all melodramatic and…”

A nervous, high little giggle fled out. “I don’t suppose you would believe me if I said I was Princess Celestia?”

It took Maud a few seconds to realize that was an actual question she was supposed to answer. Even after that, the best she could do was, “Um.”

“Of course. I’ll just do it.”

Gold magic sprang up at Sunny’s forehead, then across her entire body. It flashed like a miniature sun – Maud shielded her eyes, then opened them.

And there was Princess Celestia. Supreme ruler of the kingdom, though she would ever deny it. Looking oddly naked without her regalia, looming over Maud like a nervous swan. The same pink eyes looked to Maud with a shy little smile.

For once, Maud’s trouble with emotions proved an advantage. Half of her wanted to flee, the other half to bow. Instead, she blinked.

“May I explain?” Celestia said.

Maud nodded.

Celestia rustled her wings with quiet agitation. “I take this form every now and then to walk among ponies, that I may never lose sight of what truly matters in Equestria. I listen to their fears, watch their troubles, ask for solutions which may be unseen from high Canterlot. It is not uncommon for ponies to approach me as you did – I chose that form myself, and in my vanity chose to be slim and attractive. I would make friends, but never bedded them. Truth be told, it is…”

She paused, swallowed, blushed. Studiously looking away, she went on. “That is, I have… trouble with all that. I still feel things as an alicorn – unbreakable, towering, and huge compared to my ponies. Even the most potent lovemaker is too… small. Too soft. I can barely feel gentle caresses, I have to guess when they are… are inside m… um, you know.”

She stumbled over her words, speaking on quickly. “But I did not stay just for that! I enjoyed our time greatly, Maud. I know politics, trade, and history. How that all mingles with geology is something I had never known, and now that I do I feel strangely bettered. I feel young again, knowing the petrified log we sat on is so incomprehensibly older than I, and I have not felt young in a long time. I learned from you, grew from you. Took in the wonderful sights of the Grand Galloping Canyon with such a friend as you, and only came to love it more from your lessons of how it formed.”

“And last night…” Celestia trailed off with a squeak, folding her wings over her face to hide. “We touched, and I knew you were hard and mighty. I let myself wonder, fantasize. And… and it was everything I wanted. Needed. So hard, so strong… it hurt so wonderfully. I had given up on ever knowing carnal lust again and now that I have it I don’t…”

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. She looked once more to Maud.

Maud blinked.

Inside, Maud was laughing, crying, and holding her breath.

“Maud,” Celestia said, steadier still. Her hoof reached out and touched Maud’s. “I am sorry for the deception. And in truth, I can promise you little. I will often be busy. I will keep things discreet, not for any shame but because I would not have my romance photographed and gossiped upon. And I have baggage, and fears, and kinks, and morning breath, and all the little things that will destroy your image of me as a pure and majestic ruler.”

Maud drowned in the pink pools of those eyes, hanging on her every word.

“And you must not feel pressured,” Celestia spoke on needlessly. “You must know that you may refuse or dump me without the slightest fear of retaliation. A-and you must also know I can’t simply give out wealth or fav…”

She stopped abruptly as a grey hoof reached up and bumped her nose.

Another pony would have gotten a bruised snoot. Not Celestia. All she felt was the boop.

Celestia gazed past the hoof, down the rock-solid leg to Maud’s face, wearing the tiniest, most beautiful smile Celestia had ever seen.

“Should I call you Celestia, or Sunny?”

Maud withdrew the hoof to let her answer. Celestia rubbed her nose self-consciously. “Um, Celestia in private, Sunny Daze when I’m in that form. I-if it’s too much I understand, or you could take some time to think about it and…”

“Celestia.”

Celestia gulped. “Um, yes?”

Maud’s smile remained, unyielding as stone. “How much more time do you have?”

“I’m not expected back until next week.” Celestia shuffled her wings again. “Um, you?”

“I’ll be here for months.”

“I can’t quite do that but I have Sundays, sometimes Fridays… a-and of course I can really fly anywhere within an hour so I can easily…”

“Celestia.”

Celestia caught herself again. Her left front hoof remained glued to Maud’s right.

Maud’s smile creaked downwards. Only her own disability kept it all from her face – the fearful whirlwind inside, the terrible knowledge that things might be about to get better. It had been so easy to accept she was a lonely freak with no real chance. So hard and frightening to hope…

“Be my girlfriend,” Maud said in the same dull monotone as ever. “Please.”

Celestia wasn’t as good at hiding. She sniffed hard and rubbed her eyes.

“Yes,” she breathed, and leaned down into the waiting kiss.

It wasn’t enough. They clambered around the table and tackled each other to the ground. Moans and squeaks came as they rolled around the rocky earth, reckless meters from the canyon’s edge. Nothing too indecent, not for now. Not until they watched the sunset together, and night’s cool dark shielded them from sight.

Author's Note:

Story requested by Bicyclette. Thank you again for your generous donation.

Comments

[Melody Song]

Awww, that's so romanticcc!

[ShadowLDrago]

This, weirdly kinda WORKS.

[Bicyclette]

the idea that Maud would be one of the few mortal ponies that could keep up with Celestia, and that Celestia would appreciate Maud's very long-term outlook on things really makes this work, and Celestia doing what it takes to be a good ruler and not distant from her ponies, and struggling with the distance between her and her subjects, is always great to see. and a bonus mention of Maud x Frazzle Rock, love it! thank you so much!

[Fillyfoolish]

“Be my girlfriend,” Maud said in the same dull monotone as ever. “Please.”

i ship it 👍

[Chyren_Ran]

OH. MY. GOD. I've read about 7-8 stories from you with Celestia in them, and I am no critic, but I can say without a doubt that you nail Celestia's characterisation to a T. Not Princess Celestia mind you "Celestia". That personal, energetic, loving, caring if a little childish side that is still aware of her responsibilities and carries a deep love for her subjects and the ponies/people under her care. You manage to capture both the characterisations of Eqg Celestia and fim Celestia.
Speaking as someone whose favorite characther is Celestia, you have one of the best writings of her I've ever seen. Even when she is Princess Celestia she still has emotions and motivations and priorities. She is determined.
I am speaking for all your stories featuring Celestia that all of them go to my favorites list!
By the way, while it seems like I am only complimenting your writing of Celestia I must admit that I am just a fan of your writing style in general! So close and personal but never immature <3 You can literally feel the characthers.
With much love

[Rune Soldier Dan]

11589800
Thank you! She is one of my favorites too, and I'm happy to do her justice.