Prologue
Prologue
Celestia entered her bedchamber, letting out a sigh as she did so. The court had been particularly trying today, with seemingly three times as many petitioners as there usually were. She was exhausted, having been listening to and either granting or rejecting petitions for hours. She'd even needed to take a shorter lunch than usual, there were so many.
Of course, it's your own fault, Celestia berated herself. You've pushed back some of these petitions once or twice, and they just happened to come together on the same day. You're so lazy, sometimes.
She flopped unceremoniously onto her bed. She was glad that she'd spared Luna the majority of the petitions, but there would still be a significant number for the Princess of the Moon to deal with. Celestia sighed again, although it morphed into a yawn halfway through. Rubbing at her eyes with a hoof, she winced at the amount of stiffness in her joints. She'd been still way too long. This didn't escape notice.
"Long day, huh, Celly?" a brash male voice said, as the owner stepped out of the adjacent bathroom. The red alicorn looked at the white, feeling a twinge of sympathy. "Jeez, how many petitions did you have to deal with?"
"Too many," she moaned. "Oh, sometimes I wish I could just run away for a day. But then Luna would have to answer all of those boring requests. I couldn't do that to her."
He chuckled. "You're not giving her enough credit, Celly." He walked up next to the bed. "She's a lot tougher than you think. You need to quit babying her."
She mock-glared at him. "I'm not babying her, I'm protecting her," she protested.
"Same difference," the red alicorn said. "Look, Luna's got a good head on her shoulders. With you going out of your way to run the kingdom yourself, though, she's not getting a chance to use it."
Celestia sighed. This was an old argument between them. "One thousand years is a long time, Gil. I've been running the kingdom by myself for so long, it's become a habit. Plus, Luna's still not – "
Gil cut her off in a rather unorthodox manner. He put his forehooves onto her spine, and began rubbing and pressing. Celestia trailed off into a slight purr.
"Celly, it's been, what, five years since she was brought back?" A slight nod answered him. "I'm telling you, she's more than capable of handling things on her own for a day. And you know what? I'm going to prove it. Tomorrow, you and I are going to take a vacation down to Ponyville. We're going to leave Luna in charge for the whole day."
Celestia tried to be worried. Really, she tried. But Gil's hooves were having a numbing effect on her mind. He was slowly but surely turning her into a pile of alicorn-shaped putty. There was a sharp 'pop', and she gasped as a jolt of pain shot through her, but then it vanished, leaving her even more relaxed than before.
"Sheesh, you were really tense," muttered Gil. "This wasn't just from sitting still too long. Just what kind of petitions were there?" He paused, then grimaced. "Wait, don't tell me. Blueblood was trying to push his 'anti-same-sex' petition again, wasn't he?"
"He's so stubborn," murmured Celestia. "This is the third time he's brought it before me. I actually lost my temper a little bit this time. I told him that if he brought it or anything similar before me again, I'd strip him of his title and banish him from Canterlot for a year."
Gil chuckled. "You should have done it anyway. That jerk needs to be brought down a peg or ten."
Celestia giggled in response, as Gil continued to work his hooves into her back. "Well, like it or not, he's family. Your family, come to think of it."
Gil winced. "I'm only his family because I married you. And even then, there's no way I'm calling that spoiled brat my many-times-removed nephew-in-law." He shook his head. "Back on topic, we're going to Ponyville tomorrow, and that's that. Okay?"
Celestia sighed, but relented. "All right, all right," she said, then yelped a little as his hooves moved to her flanks. "Gil!"
He gave her a roguish grin. "What? Not in the mood for any fun tonight?"
She mock-glared at him, then grinned. "Oh, you want fun? I'll give you fun!" She used her magic to throw him onto the bed next to her, then straddled him. "Prepare yourself, my stallion."
It was fortunate that the bedchamber had soundproofing spells around it. Otherwise, the rest of Canterlot Castle might not have gotten much in the way of sleep that night.
*****
The next morning, Luna accepted Celestia and Gil's intentions eagerly.
"Sister, do not worry so! We shall maintain the day and run the court with no problems!" The Princess of the Night smiled at the two. "You should not worry overmuch about us, sister. We are more than capable of handling this."
Gil smiled at Celestia, who could only sigh. "I'm just nervous, that's all. I mean, this is the first time since you've come back that you'll be taking sole command of Canterlot, even if only for a while."
Luna gave Celestia a dour look. "Only because you wouldn't let us," she deadpanned. "Sister, we are not helpless! You have been coddling us for five years! It is high time that we proved our worth as a Princess. As your equal."
Before Celestia could comment, Gil nuzzled her. "Like I said, you haven't been giving her enough credit. Let her take the reins. You won't regret it."
Sighing, Celestia nodded. "Alright. I'll see you when I get back, Luna."
Smiling again, Luna gave them both an affectionate nuzzle. "We look forward to it, sister." Directing her look at Gil, her tone became hard. "And you! Should anything happen to our sister whilst she is gone…"
Gil got the hint. "Relax, Luna. It's just a vacation to Ponyville. Nothing's going to happen."
With that, the red and white alicorns left the throne room to the midnight alicorn. She let out a happy sound. "Ah, finally! We shall impart our wisdom on the denizens of the day!"
*****
Celestia and Gil arrived in Ponyville minutes later with minimal fanfare. Well, minimal for visits from the rulers of Equestria, at any rate. There were still plenty of slack jaws here and there. Still, they weren't accompanied by an entourage of guards, and they weren't wearing their royal regalia. A few of the more sensible ponies took this to mean this wasn't an official visit, and went right back to their business.
Still, one pink pony in particular decided to greet the two. "Heya, Princess Celestia! Hi, Gil! What brings you two to Ponyville? Ooh, wait, you're not in all the fancy stuff, so you're on vacation, right? Tell me you're on vacation!" Pinkie Pie bounced around the two alicorns, occasionally shoving her face into theirs.
Long used to the pink earth pony's antics, Celestia chuckled. "Yes, Pinkie, we're on vacation. Luna's currently running things back in Canterlot, so I decided to come visit."
Gil coughed. "What she means to say is I finally convinced her to give Luna a chance on her own."
"Well, about time!" Pinkie said with a nod. "It's been five years, after all! You should have taken a vacation long before now! I mean, don't you get bored just sitting in the castle answering petitions day after drawn-out day?"
Gil chuckled, while Celestia rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do get bored from time to time. But, I just never really thought a vacation was necessary."
"A chance to relax is always a necessity, your Highness," a cultured female voice cut in. Turning, the two alicorns saw a white unicorn with a carefully-styled mane give them a bow. "Even I don't work on my designs twenty-four hours a day."
Gil laughed. "See? Even your own subjects agree with me, Celly!"
Celestia sighed. "Is it wrong of me to want to do my job as ruler of Equestria?"
"Not wrong, your Highness," Rarity clarified, stepping closer. "But, you should keep in mind that you aren't the only ruler of Equestria. You haven't been for five years."
Gil nodded, and then decided to change the subject. "How are Dawn and Dusk doing, Rarity?"
The fashionista's eyes lit up. "Oh, they're absolutely darling! Dawn's following in Twilight's hoofsteps already. I saw her change a vase into an apple for a few seconds. And Dusk, though he's barely started talking, is showing interest in design. I saw him just staring at my designs in the Boutique the other day. He was completely enraptured."
Pinkie grinned. "Ooh, that sounds awesome! It'd be nice to see you and Twilight have more help in the future!"
Celestia smiled. "What about your children, Pinkie? What were their names… Arlet and Surprise?"
Pinkie nodded. "Uh-huh! Arlet hasn't mastered walking yet, but she's getting there! And Surprise was a bit of a… well, surprise for me and Applejack. I mean, who knew I had pegasus blood in my ancestry? Anyway, she's flitting around, pleased as can be!"
The alicorns chuckled. Gil then began counting off. "Three… two… one!" He reached out with his magic and snagged a rainbow-colored blur just before it would have hit him.
"Whoa! Um, thanks for the save, Gil," Rainbow Dash said, once she recovered from her rather abrupt stop. She gave a quick midair bow to the two alicorns. "So, what brings you two by Ponyville?"
"They're on vacation, Rainbow Dash," Rarity explained. "About time, in my opinion. All work and no play makes for a very dull life, after all."
Rainbow nodded. "Yep. Speaking of work, what about your work, Rarity?"
The fashionista chuckled. "Oh, Rainbow, I don't have any orders that need to be done. Business has hit a bit of a slow patch, I'm afraid. But, not to worry! I'm confident that next season will see a massive turnaround!"
Gil glanced at Rainbow. "Say, how are your foals doing?"
Rainbow, who was in the middle of coming up with a response to Rarity, nearly fell out of the air. "Huh? Oh! Spectrum's doing fine, and he loves my Wonderbolt posters! I nearly had to drag him out of my room to clean it a few times! As for Birdspeak, he stays at Fluttershy's most of the time. Makes sense, given she's his mother, while I'm Spectrum's mother."
Celestia shook her head. "I still don't understand why Luna gave that spell to Twilight."
Rarity chuckled a bit, blushing. "I'm not certain either, but I'm not complaining. Twilight and I couldn't be happier!"
Pinkie, who'd been hopping in place, suddenly let out a gasp. "Ooh! Ooh! I have an idea! We ought to have a story time session for all our foals!"
Rarity and Rainbow blinked. "Uh, why a story session?" asked Rainbow, scratching the back of her head.
"Well, we need to do something to keep Celestia and Gil entertained while they're here," the party pony said matter-of-factly. "And I can't keep throwing parties every time royalty comes to visit, it'd get old!"
"Hey, I enjoy good stories," Gil agreed. "I'm in for this."
Celestia nodded. "I'm certain you all have an abundance of stories. And I have a few myself. I'm willing to participate in a story session."
Rarity nodded. "In that case, I'll just pick Dusk up from the Boutique, and I'll meet you all at the library. Twilight and Dawn should still be there. Ta-ta, everypony!" She turned and galloped off to the distinctive spire of the Carousel Boutique.
"I've got to let AJ know about this! Then I've got to get Surprise from Sugarcube Corner, let the Cakes know what I'm doing, bring some cupcakes to snack on…" Pinkie Pie continued rambling as she bounced off toward Sweet Apple Acres.
Rainbow shook her head. "Well, I guess I'll go fetch Fluttershy and Birdspeak. Spectrum'll catch up to us, no problem, once he sees us getting together." The cyan pegasus zipped off, heading for the edge of the Everfree Forest, where Fluttershy lived.
Gil chuckled. "Well, dear? Lead the way," he said with a roguish grin and wink.
Celestia laughed. "You'd follow my lead anywhere, wouldn't you, you charmer?"
Laughing, the pair of alicorns trotted off to the library, where an unsuspecting lavender unicorn was busy instructing her daughter in the intricacies of magic.
*****
Half an hour later, the two alicorns, six mares, and six foals were all gathered in the library. Celestia and Gil, being visitors, were swarmed by the foals; those that could walk, at any rate. Young Arlet was barely a year old, and hadn't quite managed to move under her own power yet. Still, Celestia took pity on the young foal, and levitated her onto her back, much to Arlet's delight.
Dusk, Spectrum, and Birdspeak all clustered around Gil, while the fillies surrounded Celestia. They all listened to the stories their parents shared, including Pinkie's sad 'Party of One', Twilight's shameful 'Lesson Zero', and Rainbow Dash's exciting 'Sonic Rainboom'. That one left Spectrum and Birdspeak in awe.
"Yeah! Mom's the best!" Spectrum whooped, flitting in circles above his rainbow-haired mother. Rainbow grinned at the colt's excitement.
The fillies all chuckled, before Dawn asked a question. "What other stories can you all tell us?"
Arlet waved a hoof. "Ah wanna hear a story about Uncle Gil!"
Gil mentally grimaced. The six bearers of the Elements of Harmony had unanimously decided (without telling him) that he would be an honorary uncle to all their children. He still didn't know how that worked, considering he wasn't related to any of them at all.
Dusk and Birdspeak looked at each other, before Birdspeak asked the question on both of their minds. "Um, why do you want to hear about Uncle Gil?"
Arlet smiled. "Ah heard from Aunt Applebloom that Uncle Gil wasn't always a pony!"
Surprise, Arlet's sister, laughed at that, hovering in midair. "Silly filly! Uncle Gil's a pony, so he's always been a pony!" she said, matter-of-factly. "Aunt Applebloom must've been pulling your leg!" The other foals all nodded in agreement.
Arlet blinked. "She wasn't even touching me when she said that," she said, confused.
Gil chuckled a little. "Actually, Applebloom is right. I wasn't always a pony."
At this, all of the foals fell silent. Then Spectrum hovered onto Gil's back. "Can you tell us how you became a pony?"
Gil was initially going to refuse, but then he saw the intrigued looks on not only the foals', but their parents' faces as well. Looking at Celestia, he saw her shrug in a 'what can you do' gesture. He sighed, but then grinned.
"Alright, kids. You want a story? I'll tell you a story. This is the story of Gilgamesh, a lost warrior. This is the story of how he found peace and love in a world far different from the one he came from, and the trials he went through to get it…"