> In Pieces
>  by Krickis
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 – Façade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


In Pieces





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Chapter One
Façade

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“Sapphire Shores?”

“Met her. She was pretty great, too. Bit of an ego, but not really in a stuck up way.”

Amber Glow was leaning against her bed, while her brother, Fox Glove, was lying on top of it on his back, with his head dangling off next to her. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Like, you know how everypony knows she’s the best? Well, so does she. But as long as you just go along with the ego, she’s actually super friendly. I heard that you never want to catch her on a bad day, though.”

“You never seem to catch anypony on a bad day, though.”

Amber tapped her chin. “Well, I think Countess Coloratura was having a bad day or something when I saw her. Didn’t meet her exactly, she just ducked into her private cart and stayed there the whole way.” She scrunched up her nose. “Her manager kept requesting things for her. He was kind of a dick.”

Fox Glove laughed. Their parents were always telling Amber to watch her language around him – well, to watch her language in general, since she was a lady and all – but she remembered being thirteen. Her brother was ‘a good boy, who never swore’, which just meant he never swore around their parents.

“What about Trixie?”

“Nah, I don’t think she takes the train much.” Amber grinned. “There. You finally found somepony I haven’t met. Happy now?”

“Yup, that’s all I ever wanted in life. I can die happy now.”

“Hey hey hey –” Amber tried to muss his mane, but he rolled out of the way “– I didn’t give up traveling just for that. I better at least get to watch you graduate first. Then you can die.”

“What if I drop out?”

“Then you’ll still die, but that’ll be because Mom and Dad kill you.”

Fox Glove grinned. “That’s what I have you for. You’ll protect me.”

“Are you kidding?” Amber arched an eyebrow. “If you drop out of school and they don’t kill you, I will.”

“That’s not fair,” Fox Glove protested. “You dropped out.”

“And that, my darling brother, is why you won’t. So help me, you’re not going to be living with Mom and Dad when you’re twenty-four.”

He shrugged. “Eh, maybe I’ll just do what you did. Professional vagabond.”

“Uh huh.” Amber looked at him doubtfully. “You know that means you have to talk to ponies you’re not related to, right?”

“Besides,” he said smugly as he ignored her question, “I won’t turn into a lovesick foal and give up on it.”

“Now that makes sense,” Amber said. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Don’t forget that. Love’s a bitch.”

“Amber Glow!” her mother chided from the doorway, causing Amber to bolt upright.

“Uh, hi, Mom,” Amber said. She could only smile sheepishly at her mother’s stern gaze.

Wisteria Mist walked into her daughter’s room, shaking her head as she picked stray things off the floor. “I came to tell you that Caramel is here, but you’re not even ready!”

Amber rolled her eyes. “I’ve been ready for, like, an hour.”

“Like that?” her mother deadpanned. “You plan on going on a date looking like that?”

“What’s wrong with the way I look?”

“Did you do anything to get ready for tonight?”

Amber folded her forelegs. “I brushed my mane.”

Honestly, she knew it wasn’t going to get her very far. Wisteria turned to Fox Glove instead. “Foxy, go tell Caramel that Amber will be a few minutes.”

“Okay.” He hopped off the bed and gave Amber a sympathetic look on the way out.

Wisteria sighed and shook her head. When she turned to address her daughter again, she smiled slightly and spoke in a softer tone. “What am I going to do with you? Come on, let’s get started.”

Reluctantly, Amber got up and stood beside her mother in front of her mirror. All it served to do was remind her that her mom was prettier than she ever would or wanted to be. They had the same wavy mane and were both on the small side for pegasi, but that was the end of their similarities. Amber had a dark brown coat, which was dotted with tan spots. Her mane was a lighter shade of brown and was obnoxiously long. She’d let it grow out past her shoulders before finally putting her hoof down, and her mom still couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t grow it out more than that.

While Amber had pretty much looked awkward ever since it became apparent she wasn’t growing out of her spots, Wisteria Mist had a natural sort of grace to her. She was pale pink, and was the only one in the family who was lucky enough to have her coat be one even color. Whereas Amber’s mane was most often an unruly mess, her mother’s mane always seemed to cascade perfectly, alternating between waves of purple and white. The only trait that Amber genuinely liked about herself was her bright golden eyes, but even those paled in comparison to her mother’s deep green.

“You could at least try applying your own makeup once in awhile,” Wisteria said, although she was smiling playfully.

It was no secret that her mom actually enjoyed helping her get all girly, so Amber put up with it as good-naturedly as she could. “You know, I did once, and that was a mistake. I think Caramel will appreciate me leaving it to the expert.”

Wisteria gave a dainty laugh and began applying Amber’s makeup. Amber hated the feeling of it and tried to distract herself by figuring out what her mom was doing. Was that one lipstick or lipgloss? Amber never could tell them apart. Okay, that one was definitely mascara. And blush… right? That was blush?

In the end it didn’t exactly matter what it was, because Amber hated it. The mare looking back at her didn’t look like her, or at least not the version of herself she wanted to be. It always astounded her that she even could look so feminine. She smiled anyway. “Thanks, Mom. It looks fantastic.”

“My beautiful girl,” her mom gushed. “And what should we do about perfume?”

Amber grinned. “It’s Caramel. You know which one he likes.”

Wisteria giggled. “Of course.” She picked up a bottle – oh, so that’s the one he likes – and spritzed it on her. It didn’t smell bad. In fact, on any other pony Amber would have enjoyed it. But on herself? Definitely not.

“So what do you think?” Wisteria asked. She wound up doing Amber’s makeup before every date, and every time, she always seemed a little nervous that Amber was going to tell her it wasn’t good enough.

“Seriously?” she asked with a practiced smile. “I’m gonna drive the poor boy crazy. Plus, you know, every other stallion we come across.”

Wisteria smiled and nodded. “Well, that ‘poor boy’ is waiting in the living room. Probably at your father’s mercy.”

“Aww, he likes Dad’s stories just fine,” Amber said as she followed her mom out of the room.

Sure enough, Caramel Macchiato was sitting on the living room couch next to Fox Glove, while Dusty Quartz was going on about a story from his past.

In a lot of ways, Amber always felt like she took after her father more. Dusty Quartz was bigger than her or Wisteria, but still small for an earth pony. He shared Amber’s more muted colors, having a gray coat covered in brown and white flecks. His mahogany brown mane was always kept short; no nonsense, just like the pony himself. Ponies were often somewhat intimidated by him – years spent working as a prospector had done a lot for his physique – but he had a warm smile and soft blue eyes that quickly put any fears to rest.

“You forgot about the spatula,” Fox Glove reminded him. 

Dusty scratched his head. “You’re right. How in Equestria could I forget about the spatula?”

Between both children, Fox Glove was a more even mix of their parents. He had a pale purple coat and quiet nature, courtesy of their mom, as well as her wings. Like their dad, his coat was multicolored, growing even paler down his legs and completely fading to white around his hooves. Dusty also passed his spots to both children, and they appeared black on Fox Glove. He had his mother’s green eyes, which matched his sage green mane. His mane would probably match the texture of his mother’s and sister’s if he were ever allowed to grow it out.

“Darling,” Wisteria said, gently interrupting his story, “I think Caramel’s heard that one before.”

“That’s okay, ma’am,” Caramel said. “That story never gets old.”

“See?” Amber said. “Told ya he was fine.”

Caramel smiled at her. “You look lovely tonight, as always.”

“Thanks,” she said, fixing her face into a confident grin while she winked. “And might I say you’re not looking too bad yourself.”

He smiled bashfully. She knew he’d probably rather she didn’t compliment him like that in front of her family, but she never could resist teasing him.

“Well then, best not to let us hold you up,” Dusty said. “You two enjoy yourselves.”

“Of course,” Caramel said. “And don’t you worry about a thing, sir. I’ll be sure to take good care of your daughter.”

Dusty gave him a blank look. “Son, I don’t know what you think I’m still worried about, but I think it’s safe to say I trust you by now. How long have you two been together now?”

“Three years,” Amber and Caramel said together.

“You two are just so precious!” Wisteria said. Fox Glove made a gagging motion, which caused Amber to smile. “But your father’s right, you two have a reservation to keep. Run along, now.”

Caramel nodded and led them to the door, where he turned to wave. “Goodbye, everyone. See you all next week.”

Dusty waved, while Fox Glove was already preoccupying himself with homework. “Goodbye, dears,” Wisteria said. “Have fun!”

Amber grinned slyly. “Oh, I’m sure we will. Don’t stay up waiting for us.”

She saw her brother suppress a laugh as they walked out. Nopony else seemed to pay any attention to her innuendo. Even Caramel, who would have gone beet red when they first started dating at a comment like that, only looked slightly embarrassed. After three years, it seemed that they had all just come to expect it from her.

They stepped out into the brisk autumn air, and Caramel guided her to a carriage he had waiting. He hopped up first, then offered his hoof to help her up. She had to suppress an eye roll at the gesture. Caramel’s attempts at being the perfect gentlecolt never really endeared her as well as he seemed to think they did. Then again, the same could be said about their relationship in general; it just really didn’t work out as much as she let him believe.

She smiled graciously as she took her seat, and the carriage began moving.

“So how was your day?” Caramel asked.

Amber shrugged. “Not bad. Just packing for the big trip. A whole week without me, what are you even gonna do with yourself?”

“Why, spend it thinking of you, of course.”

Amber spared him the joke about what he’d be doing while thinking of her, and he just smiled that charming smile that made him so popular with all the mares in town. And, much to his embarrassment, he was rather popular with a lot of mares. Amber always found it amusing, although Caramel seemed to think it would make her jealous. Really, that was kind of amusing too, in its own way.

They talked about her upcoming trip out of town for a friend’s bachelorette party and wedding. She was leaving in the morning and would be back in eight days, making it the longest trip she’d made since quitting her job as a railway worker. Initially, she had divided her time between travelling and spending time with her family and coltfriend in Fillydelphia, but that soon became problematic. Apparently somepony found it odd that she would want to spend so much of her time away from him, doing who knows what with who knows who.

But as far as coltfriends went, she could be a lot worse off. True, their less than eye-catching coloring hardly made them stand out in a crowd, and Amber did get a lot of guilty pleasure at standing out. Caramel Macchiato was an earth pony with a reddish brown coat, with white around his muzzle, above his hooves, and on the tips of his ears. He kept his black mane long enough that her mom was always saying he should get it cut, but short and neat enough that she couldn’t really fault him. But what he lacked in standout looks, he did make up for with charm. Amber was never really interested in his attempts to woo her, which never ceased in the three years that they had been together, but he was very sociable, with an inviting personality. The two of them always become fairly popular in any social circle Amber didn’t ostracize them from, and even those that she did tended to still have a soft spot for him. Nice guy; shame about the radically liberal marefriend.

They stopped outside the restaurant. Caramel once again insisted on helping Amber down, so Amber once again pretended to appreciate the gesture. He gave a generous tip to their cab driver and led them inside.

Fromage was one of Amber’s favorite restaurants, and it had been the place they had their first date. She had been convinced that the evening would be absolutely miserable, but the friendly staff, delicious food, and yes, the charming stallion himself, all wound up working together to make her feel better about the whole thing. Since then, it had become a staple of their dates. Most anniversaries and birthdays were held there, as well as plenty of other occasions. Caramel had suggested it for Amber’s last night in Fillydelphia before her big trip, and Amber had been more than happy to agree.

“If it isn’t my favorite lovebirds. Welcome back.” Their server smiled at them and set their menus on the table as they sat down. “Are you two going to need a moment?”

They each opened their menus, but it was almost more of a formality; they had tried everything the fondue restaurant had to offer over the years. The beer-based spicy Appleloosa blend hadn’t been bad, but it disagreed with Caramel’s stomach. The home-grown Fillydelphia one was also okay, but Amber found it a bit boring. And they both agreed on the Yakyakistan mix – never again.

Caramel smiled. “No, I think we pretty much know what we want. Right, darling?”

Amber turned to their server, whose dark mane and coat always reminded her of somepony else. “Definitely.”

“Great, what’ll it be?”

“We’ll start with the Frozen North blend,” Caramel said. He personally preferred the wine-based Canterlot blend, but the Frozen North was Amber’s favorite. “And a bottle of champagne.”

“A bottle?” Amber asked, prying her eyes off the cute waitress to turn to her coltfriend. Most of the time they didn’t even order alcohol from Fromage, let alone a whole bottle. It was far too pricey, and really the fondue was more than good enough on its own.

“Why not?” Caramel shrugged. “We deserve a nice night out once in a while.”

Amber frowned. “But that’s gotta be, like, forty bits here.”

Caramel just chuckled. “Don’t worry about the money. I just want the night to be memorable.”

Spending as much money on a bottle of champagne as they were on the rest of their dinner was certainly sure to be memorable. “If you say so.”

Not that it was entirely out of character for him. Once in a while he seemed to decide he needed to perform some sort of romantic feat on an otherwise unremarkable date. She realized she should probably have seen it coming.

“You got it,” the waitress said. “I take it we’ll be doing a full course special tonight?”

“Yes. I’ll have the house salad.” Caramel turned to Amber. “And strawberry spinach for my lovely date.”

“You know me so well,” Amber said, which made him smile.

The waitress copied down their order. “Alright, and what about my personal favorite, the chocolate fondue? You should know we added a new white chocolate crème brûlée.”

“New menu item? I know somepony who couldn’t possibly say no to that.”

“In my defense, I don’t think anypony could say no to that,” Amber said.

Caramel chuckled. “It sounds delicious, we’ll try it.”

“Alright,” the waitress finished writing their order and put away her notepad. “I’ll be back before you know it with your first course.”

Amber leaned across the table as the waitress disappeared towards the kitchen. “So can we just, like, skip the first two courses?”

“Aww, so ready to get rid of me?” Caramel pouted playfully.

“Look, if I have to choose between you and white chocolate, well… we can still be friends.”

“Well, I suppose that is fair. I certainly can’t compete with something that sounds that good.”

“Not quite, but you do make a pretty good attempt.” Amber tapped on her chin. “You’ve gotta be, mmm… at least half as sweet.”

He smiled as he leaned across the table towards her. “Only half?”

“Fine. Two-thirds.”

“I guess I can live with that. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Amber was just about to tactfully change the subject when he continued. “Do you know what I love the most about you?”

There was no way for this conversation to go anywhere that didn’t make her feel awkward. All she could hope for was that it wasn’t too late to maneuver the subject away from whatever sentimental thought had popped into his head. “The fact that you can brag that your marefriend’s met all five princesses?”

He pointedly ignored her comment. “You’re just so… you.”

Well, it had been worth a shot. “I should hope so. If I was anypony else that would be pretty weird.”

“See? That’s a perfect example of what I mean.” Oh sweet Celestia, he reached across the table for her hoof and everything. This was about to turn full sap mode, and all she could do was smile through it. “I’ve never met another mare like you. You’re so full of life, and you never worry about what other ponies think.”

Buck trying to change the subject amiably, she’d take an annoyed Caramel over a sappy one. “Yeah, who else would get us kicked out of all those fancy parties my parents tried dragging us to?”

He just chuckled, as if the memory was an all-around good time. “Well, telling the chairpony of the Virtuous Equestrian Society that you consider Fluttershy to be a good role model for foals wasn’t ever going to end well.”

“Princess Fluttershy is a role model for all ponies.”

“Not to mention correcting everypony on her proper title…”

“She married Princess Twilight, that makes her a princess. It’s not an opinion.”

“And going on about how much you support them dating another mare.”

“Sunset Shimmer is also an ideal role model, and the three of them are, like, the best part of the royal family.”

Caramel just smiled and held up a hoof. “Amber, I’m not arguing with you. I’m just saying that anypony who would bring all that up at a dinner hosted specifically to voice the opposing opinion is clearly somepony very special. I love how passionate you are, how much you care about things. And most of all, I love how you stay true to yourself, and never let anypony get in the way of being yourself.”

To be honest, Amber would have preferred it if they were arguing. At least then she could feel self-righteous instead of feeling like the worst, most selfish pony in all of Equestria. “Fine –” she smiled and rested her head on her hoof “– you’re just as sweet as the white chocolate.”

While Caramel laughed, the waitress returned with their opening course. She poured them each a glass of ice water, and set the pot of cheese in between them, as well as a plate of assorted food for dipping. They had choices ranging from a hearty country bread, soft pretzels, sweet apple slices, and a steamed vegetable medley with broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.

“And of course…” She set down a bucket of ice and passed each of them a champagne flute. “Would you like it opened now?”

“Please,” Caramel said.

The waitress popped the cork and filled each of their glasses, then set the rest of the bottle in the bucket. “You two need anything else?”

“No, I think we’ll be okay,” Caramel said. Amber nodded her agreement.

“Alrighty, let me know if anything comes up, and I’ll be back in a bit with your salads.”

She scurried off again and they each began eating. Thankfully, the meal seemed to put a stop to their previous discussion.

While Amber took a sip of her champagne, a cheese-dipped apple slice appeared before her. She ate it and smiled at Caramel, who was holding it out for her. Apple slices were her favorite.

“You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful mare I’ve ever seen.”

Amber choked on her apple slice. Caramel looked like he was going to stand up, but she held a hoof to stop him then drank some of her water. Once she could breathe again, she laughed. “You must not have ever paid much attention to any other mares before.”

“I’m serious,” he said. “Name any mare you want, she’d never be able to hold a candle to you.”

Amber grinned. “Well, there’s our waitress for a start.”

He tapped on his chin, as if in consideration. “Mmm… Nope, I think I’ll have to disagree with you.”

She rolled her eyes. “What, you think I’m gonna get mad at you if you say another mare is attractive? She is.”

“She is,” he agreed, much to her surprise. “But nopony could possibly be as radiant as you.”

“Hmm…” Amber dipped some bread in the fondue and scrunched up her face in contemplation as she ate it. “You know, this fondue? Not the cheesiest thing at the table right now.”

“Okay, okay,” Caramel said as he dipped some broccoli for himself. “But it’s also kind of cute how you can’t seem to see it.”

Amber just smiled and shook her head, opting to not reply lest she get him going again. She took a sip of her champagne and wished there was more. The bottle only had enough for about two glasses each, and it was shaping up to be a long night. Then again, the last thing she needed was for Caramel to drink his way into more ‘heart to heart’ moments.

Before he could get the chance, Amber gave up subtlety and changed the subject blatantly. “So how was work?”

Once or twice she got the impression that they were headed for more sappy romance, but she was able to steer him away to safer topics. Eventually, the waitress came and replaced their fondue with salads. Amber kept glancing suspiciously at Caramel while eating hers.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked after a while.

“Oh, nothing.” She smiled innocently, but he didn’t seem to buy it.

“No, it’s something. Tell me.”

Amber chuckled and played with her salad fork. “It’s dumb.”

“Well I can’t let you go on thinking that. Now you have to tell me.”

“I was just expecting you to go off on some other sappy tangent.”

“Really?” Caramel arched an eyebrow. “Well, I wasn’t going to bring it up, but have I ever told you how much I love your eyes?”

Amber facehoofed. “Are you even serious right now?”

Caramel laughed and took a bite of his salad. “Well, I do really love your eyes, but mostly I’m just teasing you.”

Amber smiled and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I guess I pretty much invited that one.”

“I know you don’t like romantic gestures all that much, but thanks for putting up with it.”

“What? How can you say that and still sound sincere?” Amber dropped the pitch of her voice to try and match his. “Hey, babe, I’m sorry I’m like the most perfect stallion ever. Thanks for letting me be the biggest sweetheart you’ve ever met.”

“Oh come on, I don’t sound like that,” Caramel said. He was trying to keep a straight face, but it wasn’t working out well for him.

“Really though, any mare would be lucky to have you,” Amber said. She kept smiling, but went back to playing with her salad. “And yet here you are with me.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? I guess I’m a sucker for eccentricities.”

“Tch. If you think I’m eccentric, I know some ponies you’d just go crazy for.”

“Think I’m already crazy enough as is, thanks.” He watched her move her salad around absentmindedly. “Not hungry?”

“Huh?” She glanced up, realizing what she was doing. “Oh, I guess I’m just not really feeling the salad tonight.”

Caramel smiled knowingly. “Well, I know one thing you’ll be hungry for.” He looked around until he found their waitress. “Miss? Could we move on to the white chocolate crème brûlée?”

“Sure thing.” She gathered up the remainders of their salads.

“You’re not done with yours though,” Amber protested.

“It’s quite alright,” Caramel insisted. “I’m eager to try this, too.”

The waitress smiled. “Just you wait, it’s divine.” She finished collecting their dishes and disappeared once more.

“I try a lot more new things than I used to,” Caramel noted.

“Yeah, and I learned that maybe staying in one place long enough to have a favorite restaurant isn’t such a bad thing after all.”

Caramel finished off the last of his champagne and refilled their glasses. “You know, I’ve been thinking. Maybe we could take a trip sometime.”

“Where to?”

“Your choice. You’re the expert.”

“Wait, you mean like out of town trip?” In three years, Caramel had never shown much interest in travelling. 

“Well why not? We could go somewhere, just the two of us. Or we could take Fox Glove, if your parents don’t mind. Wherever you want to go is fine by me.”

“That…” Really, it sounded great. She’d been dying for a chance to take Fox Glove to some of the places she’d been to. But the problem was that she knew ponies all over Equestria, and ponies that knew her were liable to say the wrong thing to her coltfriend. “It’s definitely something worth thinking about.”

Caramel nodded, and Amber sipped some of her champagne. Was there anywhere she could go where nopony would tell her current lover about her previous one? Maybe the Crystal Empire, if they could avoid the Crystal Palace. Bit of an important landmark though, and there were ponies who knew her at the palace, even if they managed to avoid Cadance.

“Too bad you’re not a pegasus,” Amber reflected. “I never got to go to Cloudsdale.”

“I know I said ‘wherever you want to go’, but I also don’t really feel like plummeting to my death.”

Amber laughed. “Yeah, that might set a negative tone for the rest of the trip.”

It was hard not to feel excited about the prospect, even if she knew it was likely to fall through. While she mulled over options that she might be able to make work, the waitress returned with their food.

The pot of white chocolate she set down was topped with caramelized sugar, and she left them with a plate of strawberries, blueberries, bananas, bite-sized pieces of cake, and pretzels for dipping. Amber opted for a pretzel to contrast the sweet and salty flavors.

“To new experiences,” Caramel said, holding up his dipped strawberry.

“To new experiences,” Amber echoed, tapping her pretzel against it. Her eyes went wide at the taste. “I think I’m in love.”

“I should hope so, it’s only been three – oh wow, that’s good.”

Amber couldn’t help but laugh at Caramel messing up his joke, and for at least one course they seemed to steer clear of any awkwardness. They both had to try everything, and both agreed they’d have to try it all again on the next trip.

“You were right,” Caramel told the waitress, “that was simply divine.”

She giggled. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves so much. Are you ready for the bill, then?”

“Yes, please.”

Across from him, Amber was resting her head against the table. She was completely stuffed, and she still kind of wanted more. “They need to regulate this stuff, because I’ll seriously eat my way into an early grave here.”

Caramel smiled and finished off his champagne. Amber had already emptied her own glass. She heard the waitress come back, but was too stuffed to pay any attention. “You know, the vacation isn’t the only thing I’ve been thinking of.”

Amber didn’t look up from her place of contentment. “Oh yeah? I certainly hope you’re also thinking of learning how to make that, because I’ll love you forever if you do.”

“Funny you should mention that, actually.”

Amber popped her head up. “Wait, was I right? You’re actually going to –”

The look he was giving her was enough to silence her. She could feel something coming, but she didn’t even want to think about what it might be.

“Amber Glow, you are the most amazing mare I’ve ever met.” Oh no. He used her full name. He wouldn’t…

“Ever since you came into my life, it’s been the craziest, most wonderful experience I can imagine.” Where did that box even come from? He was kneeling, dear sweet Celestia, why was he kneeling?

“I know that no other mare could make me as happy as you have. There’s no other mare I would ever want to be with.” He opened the box to reveal a necklace. “Amber Glow, will you marry me?”

“Will I…” Amber just stared, dumbstruck. Why was this happening to her? Where had this come from? “What?”

Caramel glanced around nervously, his confident smile faltering. “Uhm… will you marry me?”

“I, uh…” Amber also started looking around. She half expected somepony to tell her it was all a joke, but all she saw was eager faces from those who were listening in. She took a deep breath. “Caramel, I’m so so very sorry.”

“I… oh.” Caramel closed the box, and took a moment to pick himself up off the floor. “I just… I thought… Well, I guess I shouldn’t have done this in public after all.”

“Uh, well, I mean, it’s not a ‘no’, exactly.” Amber wasn’t sure why she was bothering. She shouldn’t get his hopes up. “I just… give me some time to think about it.”

“Right.” He nodded. “Time to think. That sounds fair.”

Nothing about it was fair. Not to her, and certainly not to him. But she couldn’t very well say that, so she said nothing.

“We should, uhm, we should get going.” Caramel left bits on the table, more than enough for their meal.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Amber stood up and sullenly followed him to the door.

The ride back to Amber’s house was the longest and quietest she could remember. Neither of them said a word the whole way there, and they didn’t even so much as look at each other.

When they got to Amber’s house, Caramel still hopped off the cart to help her down. She wasn’t sure if he was still avoiding looking at her or not, because as she took his hoof she hated herself far too much to look anywhere but the ground.

“Thank you for the evening,” Caramel said. Even now he sounded completely authentic as he spoke.

“Yeah, it was nice,” Amber said. Her voice sounded frail and thin. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you in a week, then?”

“Of course.” He climbed back into the carriage and she chanced a look at him. “I love you, Amber.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but the words caught in her throat. How could she possibly say something like that to him? He loved her, legitimately loved her and did so much to make her happy, and she’d just strung him along for three years so that nopony would suspect that she was gay.

She watched as the cart pulled away, and couldn’t bring herself to say one word of comfort.
> 2 – Polarization
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Two
Polarization

⠀



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If only they had been out later. Of course, Amber certainly didn’t want to continue the night after the catastrophe that it turned into, but she kind of wished Caramel had planned something in between dinner and proposing. It couldn’t have been later than eight, and that meant she had no hopes of her parents being in bed.

She opened the door as quietly as possible and looked around. No sign of anypony. She closed the door, ever so carefully, then proceeded to walk as slowly as possible towards her room.

“Is that you, Amber sweetie?” Wisteria asked from the living room.

Shit. Hooves on hardwood floor, she wasn’t sure why she had even bothered. Too late to do anything else, she popped her head through the doorway. “Hey, Mom, Dad. How’s it going?”

Her parents were sitting around listening to their radio. It was kind of strange; for two ponies who very adamantly opposed Twilight and Sunset, they certainly didn’t seem to mind using their invention.

Wisteria smiled and shook her head. “Really, dear, we’re not the ones who had a big date, now are we?”

“Uh, yeah, guess not.” Amber covered her nerves with a sheepish smile. “It was nice. Fromage has this new white chocolate crème brûlée, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

“Hmm, I’ll have to try it next time,” Wisteria said. “I bet poor Caramel is in a tizzy about you leaving.”

“Boy could use some time to himself,” Dusty Quartz said. “Way he dotes on you, it’s amazing he hasn’t popped the question yet.”

Astoundingly, nothing about the conversation was doing anything to help Amber feel better. “Yeah, imagine that.”

“Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart, I think it’s just a matter of time.” Wisteria had a dreamy look in her eyes. “And I can just imagine it! You’ll be such a lovely bride, and with such a charming husband! Even your father said so, you know.”

The idea that Dusty would show that level of sentimentality clashed with his masculine nature, as did the way he blushed at his wife revealing such a secret. “I, uh, I don’t think those were my exact words.”

“Yeah yeah, grandfoals and all that.” Amber took a step towards her room. “But I have a different wedding to prepare for, so I better get to it.”

“Thought you said you were packed already,” Dusty said.

“Yes, yes I did say that.”

Before she could explain why her bag was still unpacked, her mom bailed her out. “I knew you were really waiting for the last minute.”

Amber chuckled and perfectly matched her mom’s good-natured smile. “You know me so well.”

“Do you think you have time to run to the store, too?” Dusty asked. “We ran out of milk for coffee in the morning.”

“No problem,” Amber said. Getting out of the house was just what she needed.

“Thanks, sweetie.” Wisteria chuckled. “You know your father and his coffee.”

Amber nodded her agreement, although in truth she also knew her mom was just as bad about her tea. Neither of them would dream of starting their day without their preferred drink.

She stopped by her room to collect her saddlebags, which were in fact completely empty of anything she might need for the wedding, then left the house. The cool evening air reminded her that winter was just around the corner, and she was almost tempted to go back inside for a scarf.

It wasn’t a long walk to the nearest convenience store. On the one hoof, she wished it was longer, since the more time spent out of the house the better. On the other, she knew she was cutting it close already. Even in a big city like Fillydelphia, there weren’t too many businesses that stayed open too late into the evening. The store was mostly empty by the time she arrived, with only a couple stallions standing around the newsstand, and the employees beginning their nightly cleaning.

One of the employees turned to her as she walked in. “Hey there,” he said. “How’s it going?”

While they weren’t on a first name basis, Amber shopped at the store enough that she was friendly with the evening staff. “Oh, you know, same as always.” Not friendly enough to go into the whole story, though.

She grabbed a bottle of milk and brought it to the counter. “How’s business?”

“Eh, kind of slow, but not too bad,” he replied. “Didn’t you say you’d be gone for a while?”

“Yeah, I leave in the morning. And to tell you the truth, I couldn’t be more ready to go.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I hear you. I’m about ready for a vacation myself.”

Amber dug some bits out of her bag and set them down. “Somedays you just gotta wonder why you stick around in the –”

“Think I could get her to sleep with me?”

“Why would you even want her to?”

Being the only ‘her’ in the room, Amber turned around to tell the stallion to go buck himself, but realized that he and his friend had their backs to her. The same unicorn and pegasus stallions she had noticed on the way in were still staring at the newsstand, and seemed to be gawking at some magazine. “I dunno,” the unicorn said. “Curiosity, I guess. Figure she must know a thing or two.”

Amber rolled her eyes and turned back to the cashier, but once again stopped short of replying when she overheard the stallions continuing their conversation. “Yeah, but think about it. All the ponies they’ve slept around with, they’ve gotta have some pretty nasty diseases.”

Amber had a feeling she knew who they were talking about, and decided the best thing she could do was leave quickly. The longer she stayed, the more likely she was to get into an argument with the two idiots.

“Anyway, I better get going,” Amber told the cashier. “Packing and all that.”

“Alright, enjoy your trip,” he told her.

She tucked away the milk and turned to leave. Despite her better judgement, she took a look at the newsstand on the way out. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t actually a magazine they were looking at, but an honest to goodness newspaper. A closer look revealed the headline read ‘More Harm Than Good: How Princess Twilight’s Relationship Damages the Gay Rights Movement’. Amber was more annoyed than surprised.

“Plus you’re the wrong gender anyway.” The pegasus nudged his friend and grinned. “Unless there’s something you’ve been hiding from everyone.”

“Oh please, there’s no way anypony that into sex doesn’t also mess around with stallions. Besides” – the unicorn levitated a magazine off the newsstand – “they totally said they do.”

“Captain Shimmer is bisexual,” Amber said. “That doesn’t mean she sleeps around with stallions.”

Both stallions turned to her as if her interruption was far more rude than their loud and obnoxious conversation had been. “Seriously?” The unicorn raised an eyebrow. “It’s pretty obvious. She’s into stallions, so since Twilight and Fluttershy can’t fulfill all her needs, she’s gotta be sleeping with somepony else, too.”

“Plus all three of them are, like, sex addicts or something,” the pegasus added. “I mean, that’s cool and all, we’re not judging them or anything.”

Her hoof was on the door. All she had to do was push it open and walk out. That was it, then she could just go home and just forget about the two of them. She’d never change their minds, and trying would just make her more upset.

She took her hoof off the door. “They are not sex addicts, and Sunset Shimmer is perfectly capable of being faithful to her marefriends. And it’s Princess Twilight and Princess Fluttershy.”

The stallions looked at one another as if trying to decide whether or not to keep arguing. Eventually the unicorn sighed. “Whatever. If they weren’t into some weird stuff, why would they even be dating a third pony? Look, even gay ponies don’t want anything to do with them.” He held up the newspaper.

Amber briefly looked it over. The author seemed to be making the claim that the ‘sexually deviant’ nature of their relationship had cast all LGBT ponies in a negative light. “That’s one pony’s opinion. Plenty of gay ponies still adore Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sunset.”

The pegasus snickered. “I thought it was Princess Twili–”

“I know them personally,” Amber snapped. Because so many ponies had a tendency to ‘forget’ to use their titles, Amber tried to make it a point to always do so regardless of her familiarity with them. Forgetting caused her to blush a little.

The unicorn looked doubtful, but the pegasus just grinned. “Ah, that makes sense now. She probably just hasn’t gotten to sleep with them, so she blames it on their ‘commitment’.”

Technically, Amber had actually slept with Sunset before she was dating Twilight and Fluttershy, but neither of them was particularly proud of that night, and wasn’t likely to help her case any. “Of all the stupid, idiotic –”

“Uh, miss?” the cashier said nervously. “Please, there’s no need to cause a scene.”

“What?” Amber looked at him incredulously. “I’m the one causing a scene?”

“Well, uh…” he glanced down and twirled his hooves around nervously. “They were just having a conversation…”

Amber blinked and looked around the store. The two stallions both looked smug, and aside from one other employee sweeping on the other side, it was completely empty. “Yeah, about having sex with princesses and demeaning their relationship.”

“Look, it’s just…” He glanced around the store. “We’re not that kind of store.”

“Aargh!” Amber threw a hoof up in frustration, then spun around and walked out. ‘Not that kind of store’ seemed to sum up most stores for the past few years. There was an idea that extending a basic amount of decency – or goodness forbid, respect – to Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sunset meant that somepony was outright supporting polyamory and all manner of liberal views. The only way to stay out of the politics seemed to be allowing anypony to just say whatever they wanted about the lovers, while silencing anypony who stood up for them.

Amber fumed all the way home. Despite what she had said in the store, she knew that the stallions’ attitude and what the article said were far from the minority opinion. When Twilight and Fluttershy came out as gay, it was celebrated across Equestria. Amber would never forget the reaction. Of course there was criticism, but it had been possible to actually see the change in opinion. Nopony could really speak against Twilight or Fluttershy directly; they had saved Equestria multiple times, and Twilight had even earned the title of Princess of Friendship. They were unquestionably two of the most upstanding citizens Equestria had ever seen.

When they announced their marriage plans, it was celebrated as a possible nail in the coffin. Over the course of the two years they had been together, they had largely become accepted by the majority of ponies, even those who had been uncertain at first. Looking forward, it had felt like holding a negative view of homosexuality would be as outdated as thinking different races of ponies shouldn’t be together.

But then they came out as polyamorous, and things took an immediate turn for the worse. Suddenly, even liberal-minded ponies were divided. Many seemed unable to comprehend that polyamory wasn’t inherently more sexual than any other kind of relationship. And Celestia forbid anypony ever try to argue that even if their relationship were open to sex with other ponies, then that still wouldn’t be anypony else’s business.

To be honest, Amber was a little afraid to find out what everypony would say when it was announced that the three of them had a secret wedding ceremony.

Spending the entire walk home dwelling on the unfair treatment of her friends certainly didn’t improve Amber’s mood. She didn’t bother to try and be quiet on the way in, and instead just went straight to the kitchen to drop off the milk. On the way back towards her room, she passed by her parents again.

“Thank you, dear,” Wisteria said as she walked past.

“No problem.” Amber put aside her concerns and smiled. “I’ll just go finish packing if you don’t need me for anything.”

“I think we’ll manage,” Dusty said. “Best not to stay up too late, though. Train leaves early.”

“I know. I really am mostly packed, just gotta double check everything and pack a few last minute things.”

She wished her parents a good night and walked down the hall. She stopped before reaching the door to her room, however, and knocked on the door before it. “Foxy? It’s me.”

“Coming.” There was the distinct sound of hooves on wood, and then Fox Glove opened the door. He stepped aside to let her in. “What’s up?”

Without answering, she walked over to his bed and collapsed into it. He shut the door and sat down beside her. “Bad date?”

“The worst.” Amber furrowed her brow towards the ceiling. “Caramel asked me to marry him.”

“Really? But wait, I don’t get it. You did give up your job to be with him, isn’t this a good thing?”

Amber frowned. “He’s a really great guy, but, uh… let’s just say he’s not exactly the type of pony I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Oh.” Fox Glove looked contemplative for a moment. “So he’s bad at sex?”

Amber snorted. Fox Glove always seemed to know exactly what to say to make her feel better, so in answer she hit him with a pillow. “Geez, what would Mom and Dad say?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, that you should get a better coltfriend?”

“If Mom and Dad give a damn about my sex life, then they need to not.” She nudged him playfully. “Besides, aren’t you a little young to… You know what, never mind, that was a dumb question.” Amber grinned. She remembered being thirteen, after all.

He fell onto his back next to her. “Seriously though. Just tell him you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, ‘cause that’ll be easy.”

“Well, are you gonna tell him ‘yes’?”

Amber sighed. “No, I’m not going to marry him. So yeah, I know I’ll have to tell him ‘no’ sometime soon. But he’s a really sweet guy, and I don’t want to, you know, break his heart or anything.”

“Better than stringing him along though, right?” Fox Glove asked.

Amber couldn’t help but wish he’d chosen a different phrase. “Yeah, I guess. It just sucks.”

“Yeah.” They lay side by side for a moment without saying anything. Eventually Fox Glove rolled onto his side and propped his head up on a hoof. “At least you don’t have to worry about it until you get back.”

“That is true.” Amber sat up and stretched out, nonchalantly pushing Fox Glove onto his back and causing him to laugh. “I’ll tell everypony you say ‘hi’.”

He pushed himself back up to a sitting position. “Yeah, ‘cause I’m sure they’re gonna remember meeting me, like, three years ago.”

Amber chuckled. “What, you think they could ever forget a little chatterbox like you? I think you might have even managed six or seven words to Cadance! Besides, even if they did forget, I’d be quick to remind them.”

Fox Glove rolled his eyes. “Come on, don’t tell me you really sit there talking to the rulers of Equestria about me.”

“Well why not?” Amber asked. Her contact with most of her friends from her days travelling had largely been put to an end when she settled down in Fillydelphia. She no longer had many chances to see her royal friends, plus her parents were already suspicious enough, considering how vocal she was in her support of all the princesses. She’d even stopped writing to them, as far as most ponies were concerned. However, she did happen to own a few magic journals which allowed her to talk to her friends Moon Beam and Spring Blossom. And as it happened, her friend Spring Blossom – who was certainly nothing like Fluttershy – had invited Amber to her wedding.

Only Fox Glove actually knew the secret. “And honestly, don’t they teach you foals anything these days?” Amber shrugged and shook her head. “Twilight, Fluttershy, and Cadance don’t rule Equestria.”

“Yeah yeah, only Princess Celestia.”

Amber waited a moment for Fox Glove to catch his mistake, but he remained quiet. “Only Princess Celestia?”

“Well, like you said, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining rule the Crystal Empire, not all of Equestria. Princess Twilight doesn’t actually rule anypony, but she’s an expert on foreign politics and is responsible for using the cutie map with the Friendship Council. Princess Fluttershy is on the Friendship Council, and is involved with a lot of charity organizations.” He tilted his head to the side and tapped his chin. “Feels like I’m forgetting somepony… Oh! But, uh, Princess Flurry’s only two, so she doesn’t do too much yet.”

“Okay, you asked for it.” Amber launched herself at her brother and pinned him down with one hoof. Using her other, she proceeded to torture him by way of tickling the sides of his stomach.

“No! Stop!” he pleaded in between fits of laughter, while flailing his hooves around wildly in an attempt to get free.

“Not happening,” she said as she went for the sensitive skin right where his wing connected to his body.

“Okay, okay! I remember now!”

Amber relented. “And?”

Fox Glove kept smiling while he squirmed away and tried to catch his breath. “Well, after the wedding on Saturday, Captain Shimmer will become Princess Sunset.”

“Oh ho ho, somepony thinks he’s clever.” Amber positioned herself to pounce, and Fox Glove held a pillow up as if it were a shield.

She launched herself across the bed, and he did a fairly good job at holding her off. But she was bigger and stronger than him, and eventually they found themselves in the same position.

“Luna!” he cried eventually, so Amber let him go. He was clutching his sides and still laughing, even when she moved away.

“Damn right,” she said. In all honesty, she was very happy with her brother. Even schools were hesitant to teach too much about Twilight and Fluttershy, deeming them a controversial topic. They wouldn’t outright lie, but Fox Glove’s teachers generally included them only in mention of the Friendship Council. Amber wound up being the one to teach Fox Glove and his friends exactly what all the princesses did for Equestria.

“I met her again,” Fox Glove said. “Princess Luna, I mean. Like a week ago.”

“You met – oh.” Amber put a hoof on her hip and tilted her head downward. “You mean that night you kept having me tell you all those scary stories, ‘Mr. Oh I’m A Teenager Now So I Won’t Get Scared’?”

Fox Glove blushed. “Maybe.”

Amber just laughed and rolled her eyes.

“So do you really talk to her about me?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t I? She wishes you were coming to the wedding. Said she can’t help but remember you as the cute widdle colt she met at the last wedding.”

“It’s so dumb.” Fox Glove leaned back and folded his forelegs. “I got to go to the last royal wedding.”

“Yeah, well, Mom and Dad don’t know this is a royal wedding. And if they did, then I don’t think either of us would get to go.”

“That’s dumb too.”

His pouting face so perfectly captured the picture of teen angst that Amber could hardly keep from smiling. “Aww, it’s okay, Foxy. When you’re older, I’ll take you around Equestria, and you can really get to know her, and all the other princesses. Well, maybe not Princess Celestia, but everyone else.”

Promises of ‘when you’re older’ never really meant very much to a thirteen-year-old, but he looked at least a little less miserable. “So will Sunset Shimmer really be a princess?”

Amber sighed. “No. Twilight hasn’t managed to make it legal for more than two ponies to get married yet, so it’s not an ‘official’ wedding.”

“That’s–”

“– dumb,” Amber cut him off. That at least got a smirk out of him. She ruffled his mane, which got him to unfold his forelegs if only to swat hers away. “Anyway, I need to pack my dumb bag so I can get to the dumb wedding.”

“Nah, the wedding’s cool,” Fox Glove corrected.

“Alright, well, for the cool wedding then.” She stood up and walked to the door. “Good night, Foxy.”

“Good night, Amber.”

Before returning to her room, she walked into the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and frowned. Sighing, she turned on the water and washed the makeup off her face. She looked back up into the mirror before toweling off. Better, but still not right. The front of her mane had gotten wet, which weighed it down and made it look even longer. She grabbed a towel and vigorously scrubbed her face, then hung it up and went to her room.

On the way in, she passed her saddlebag, which still sat unpacked. She ignored it, and instead looked at the two journals on her bedside table. She considered writing in one of them to see if anypony was available to take her mind off everything else. In the end, she reasoned that everypony would be busy making preparations, and she’d see them soon enough anyway.

She did pick one up though. The cover was blank, as the crescent moon that had once adorned it had since been wiped with magic so nopony would know whom it connected to. She flipped through the earliest pages and reminisced about a life she once had.

Amber was more than ready to leave in the morning. She needed to get out of Fillydelphia.
> 3 – Making Preparations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Three
Making Preparations

⠀



⠀
Like most things concerning the wedding, it was Fluttershy’s idea. When she married Twilight, it had been the wedding they were expected to have. For their wedding to Sunset, they decided to disregard expectations and have the wedding they wanted to have. When Twilight and Fluttershy married, there had been hundreds of guests in attendance; this time there would be closer to thirty, four of whom did not actually exist, officially speaking. Previously, every job had been filled by the highest rated professional ponies Equestria had to offer; now Twilight’s father would handle the photography, while Pinkie Pie, the Apples, and the Cakes took care of the catering. Media had been abuzz with any scrap of news concerning the last royal wedding for months on end; nopony had so much as whispered a word to the press that another was upon them. All in all, it was sure to be a much more intimate affair, held only for their closest friends and family.

Of course, there were less desirable aspects to their wedding. The public opinion of them was mixed at best, which was the reason they needed secrecy in the first place. They did well at putting up a confident front, but Fluttershy had confessed that all three of them were afraid of finding out what would happen when they did make the announcement. And, of course, Celestia had agreed to officiate their last wedding.

“I gotta say, this thing seems kind of ornate for a costume party,” the craftspony said as he boxed up Luna’s surprise gift.

“Come now, Arbor Press. Have you ever known me to give anything less than my all?”

He chuckled, and Luna could tell any doubt he had was immediately dispersed. “Yeah, ya got a point there. ‘Sides, that thing will make a damn nice souvenir. Family heirloom, even. Should last a couple hundred o’ years, no problem.”

“I have no doubt,” Luna said. In fact, she hoped it would last much longer than that, though she needn’t say so. There was no sense in raising his suspicions, not when Luna already placed so much trust in his work.

She assured him the payment would be delivered into his bank account as per their agreement, then left the shop. Without a word, Echo – her guard who was waiting at the door – fell into step beside her. Although they rarely talked, or perhaps in part because of it, Luna always found their presence comforting. Like her, they felt out of place. The chrysaor tended to keep to themselves, hiding away deep in the believed-to-be uncharted cave systems within Canterlot Mountain, making them an uncommon sight in the world above. Like her, they were also old-fashioned. While Equestria as a whole had progressed much in her absence, for better or worse the chrysaor largely respected tradition over progress.

And of course, it helped that many ponies were intimidated by them, leading to far fewer ponies approaching her to make conversation.

Echo guided her to her carriage, where Nocturn stood in wait. As Luna climbed in, Echo attached the carriage’s chains to his armor, and they lifted into the air. Luna always loved the view of Canterlot from above. Or indeed, of anywhere. She enjoyed observing, detached from the city below. She watched as ponies moved to and fro, most of them finishing their affairs for the day as the sun began its descent. She observed their small exchanges, and did not wonder at the meaning of them.

Soon they were moving too fast for even Luna to keep watch over everything, so she turned her thoughts elsewhere. She glanced at the box, safely tucked against her side, and wondered what Celestia would say when she found out. It amazed her that in spite of all the years she had been alive, she was still finding new conversations to dread. It had been eight years since her return, and in that time she had experienced more new things than she would in most centuries prior to her banishment.

‘What would the Luna who lived so long ago do if she were in the situations I have been in recently?’ she found herself thinking. She knew the answer already. It was easy for her to figure out what she would have done, because she knew herself. But there was much difference between who she was lately and who had been in ages past, and she had not yet learned enough about the Luna she had become eight years ago. With half of her lost, even she was unsure what remained.

There were many things that surprised her about modern times, even after almost a decade of relearning the world around her. One such thing was herself – Celestia had made her will explicitly clear, and Luna had defied it.

They landed on the balcony attached to the astronomy tower. Luna disembarked and walked to the edge of the balcony, while her guards set about hitching the carriage up to its post. Her horn lit with a blue aura, and the moon peeked over the horizon. She smiled, feeling the sense of companionship that few other things could bring her.

She turned back towards her guards. “Thank you, Nocturn, Echo. I do not think I shall require you further this night.”

“Yes, Princess,” they both said at once. They walked over to the balcony beside her and flew into the air. Being high ranking officers in the Lunar Guard, they would spend their night leading their own parties around the city perimeters, guarding her sleeping ponies from whatever else lurked in the night.

Levitating the box from the carriage on her way past, Luna made for her bedroom. She had, as ever, a busy night ahead of her to prepare for. To start with, there was a complicated issue concerning imports from Griffonstone she had to review; then her guard’s investigation into a criminal syndicate operating in Canterlot was coming to a head, so that would likely require her attention; as well, there were reports from Dodge City about strange things happening in the Badlands, so she’d have to make arrangements for yet another expedition to investigate. Honestly, by this point she was considering no longer making the trip personally, but it never sat well with her to not go with her guards on a potentially dangerous mission.

All on top of her usual duties to be fulfilled every night. Her court was never as busy as her sister’s, but nevertheless she would have ponies to meet with; there were forms that needed signing, and others that needed ignoring; and of course, she would have to find time to check in with her dreamers, to ensure they had no need to fear the dreams that her night brought to them.

And as she opened her bedroom door, she realized that she would need to add one more thing to her list: She would need to discern the exact reason her sister was lying on her bed.

“Good evening, Tia. I trust you are finding my lodgings comfortable?” Luna levitated the box onto a shelf, and was relieved when Celestia seemed uninterested in asking about it.

“Hello, Luna,” Celestia said, her voice almost nervous. It was the way she spoke when she was forced to put aside the mantle of Princess and show that even she was a pony like anyone else. It was a tone that nopony alive, save for Luna, had ever heard her speak in. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

It did not escape Luna’s attention that Celestia could have paid her a visit in the day, when she would be interrupting her own schedule instead of her sister’s. She noted it, but was not surprised. That was simply part of who Celestia had always been, and who she would always be.

“I can spare a few moments, to be sure,” Luna said, taking a place beside her on the bed. “What is troubling you, sister?”

“Well…” Celestia frowned.

Luna didn’t really need an answer, but in the interest of not forcing her hoof, Luna gave Celestia a few topics to choose from. “Is it the changelings or the wedding? Pray, tell me nothing else has come up?”

Celestia smiled, as Luna knew she would. Her sister did so adore being able to put somepony’s fears to rest. “No, thank goodness. It has been relatively quiet these past few days. Nothing new on the changelings either, not since that short spike in their activity a few months ago.”

Luna nodded. It was exactly what she had known all along. “So then the wedding is still troubling you?”

She felt bad as Celestia’s smile faded. She knew her question would have that effect, but it still stung to know that she had caused her sister unhappiness. All the same, it was better to get to the heart of the matter. Celestia had come to her to talk about the wedding, so there was little point in talking about anything else.

“I just heard from Sunset,” Celestia said. A smile returned, although it was not as bright as Luna would have liked. “She’s excited for her bachelorette party tomorrow, and it seems guests have been arriving throughout the day.”

“I am relieved to hear all is well on that front,” Luna said. She grinned playfully, although she hardly felt like teasing Celestia when she was clearly so upset. “So then might I presume your current problem is that you did not get an invitation to the bachelorette party? Fear not, for I am sure I will be able to find you a stallion who would be delighted to put on a private show for you. Several, if you prefer.”

At that, Celestia actually laughed. It helped to ease Luna’s own worries, and assured her the joke was not in poor taste. “I hardly think that will be necessary, although I thank you for the offer.”

“I see.” Luna bowed her head for a moment, then popped back up with the same sly grin. “A mare, then?”

“Well, I suppose it would make it slightly less awkward to have to explain I’m not interested.”

“Wonderful!” Luna placed one foreleg around Celestia and threw the other up in celebration. She did so love when her sister played along with her. “Did you know they do a thing where they pop out of a cake now? It shall be great fun!”

“Perhaps I could just have the cake?”

Luna gave her a perplexed look. “Now you know I am not one to judge, sister, but that hardly seems sanitary. I do not believe those cakes are meant to be consumed after having a pony inside of them.”

“Well, it’s not like the pony’s in the actual food itself. The cake is baked, then assembled around a small compartment, so they don’t touch the – why are you looking at me like that?”

“One has to wonder where you got your expertise on the subject, Tia.”

Celestia blushed and pulled away from her. “Well, of course when the invention was first patented it needed to pass safety regulations. I couldn’t very well allow anything dangerous on the market. Somepony could suffocate if they aren’t ventilated properly, for example.”

Luna continued to grin at Celestia, arching her eyebrows a couple time to maximize the discomfort. Eventually, Celestia covered her face with a pillow and they both laughed.

With both of their spirits somewhat lifted, Luna decided it was safe to push the matter at hoof again. “In all seriousness, you know I hate to see you so upset. Please, tell me what is troubling you.”

Celestia hesitated a moment while she found the words, and turned away to stare at the bed. “Did I… act poorly?”

Luna did not need to ask to know that she was referring to her decision to not officiate Twilight and Fluttershy’s marriage to Sunset. “You acted in accordance to what you felt was right.”

“It’s just that without being passed into law, the wedding ceremony isn’t legally binding, but my involvement would make ponies think that –”

“Tia,” Luna interrupted, “what do you suppose it says that you are still attempting to justify your decision? You know that I am fully aware of your reasons.”

Celestia sighed. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m just… concerned. I don’t want to complicate things between Twilight, Sunset, and myself.”

Of course, nopony but Celestia could possibly be oblivious to how complicated things already were between them. She had given her public support for their relationship, but in actuality her thoughts on it were clearly still mixed. Even when Twilight had begun to use her title to try and change laws to be more inclusive to polyamory, Celestia had chosen to remain distanced from the topic. Claiming that she didn’t trust herself to be unbiased in the matter, she elected that a decision would be made via the parliament which helped them oversee such legal matters.

In the time before Nightmare Moon, there had been no such parliament, only political advisors that had no power but to give an educated opinion to either of the two rulers. Celestia had come up with the new system of elected officials to help her rule fairly in Luna’s absence, as well as to appease concerns from ponies who had become terrified over the amount of power the sisters had. If one alicorn could go rogue, why not the other?

Although the chances of Celestia ever succumbing to such darkness were laughably small, it seemed to be a well thought out system all the same. It did allow for a better representation of each citizen’s interests, and provided the two of them with a way to delegate certain decisions. And as a pleasant surprise, upon looking through the nature of the parliament and authority it had, Luna discovered Celestia had left open a number of loopholes that would allow the diarchy to seize power, either completely or to pass a single issue without worrying about the red tape. She had been sorely tempted to make use of this fact and pass all of Twilight’s propositions into law, but it seemed even the new Luna was not quite so bold.

Just bold enough to fulfil Fluttershy’s request, and officiate the wedding in her sister’s place.

“They ask surprisingly little of you,” Luna said.

“I… I know.” Celestia leaned her head against Luna’s shoulder. “I should have agreed to do the ceremony.”

“Ah, but we both know the value of ‘should have’ is poor. You did not, and I have no intention of backing down from the position now.” Luna rested her head atop Celestia’s and wrapped a wing around her. “But as it happens, I have another idea for something that you can still do.”

“Really?”

Luna had to smile at the tone of hope returning to her sister’s voice. “As it happens, there is something that Sunset would never ask, although I can think of little else that could bring her as much happiness.”

Celestia lifted her head to look into Luna’s eyes, and Luna couldn’t help but smile at what she saw. Celestia would agree, which meant the final and least certain piece had come into play. Luna’s plan to gift her friends the most perfect wedding possible was coming to fruition.
> 4 – Questions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Four
Questions

⠀



⠀
To be fair, Amber had never actually been to a bachelorette party before. She’d been invited to Fluttershy’s, but it was a miracle she convinced her parents that she could go to a gay wedding without being gay, so she wasn’t even going to try explaining that she was also going to the bachelorette party. Especially since they would definitely make the wrong kind of assumption as to what type of party it was. So, really, she had no idea what a ‘normal’ bachelorette party entailed.

But this? This had to be pretty far removed from normal.

Okay, in fairness, the colorful lights blinking in time to electronic music was probably a pretty common theme at bachelorette parties, but that had to be where the similarities ended. For starters, most ponies probably left their house to party, rather than bring the party to their house. Pinkie and Spike had transformed one of the castle’s basement rooms into a private rave, complete with a preset mix arranged by DJ Pon-3 herself. Walking downstairs really felt like stepping into a full blown club.

But that wasn’t really the strange part. Even Spike’s presence was only a little odd. Apparently, Sunset had promised him that she’d let him throw her bachelorette party years ago, before she was even dating Twilight and Fluttershy, and she had decided to stick to her word. So all in all, the group consisted of eight grown mares and one male teenage dragon.

So that was an interesting twist on the usual single gender breakdown of a bachelorette party, but honestly Amber had always thought that idea was dumb anyway. When it really got down to it, there were only two things that made the whole thing feel bizarre. One was that out on the dance floor, Pinkie was dancing with Pinkie. The other was that at the table the rest of the group was sitting at, the Applejack next to Rarity and the Applejack next to Sunset kept glancing uncomfortably at one another.

Amber leaned over to Spike. “Do you ever… get used to it?”

Spike chuckled. “Trust me, with enough time, you get used to anything.”

“Even that?” Amber gestured to the two Pinkies, whose dance was just a little too intimate for comfort.

Spike tapped his chin. “Well… you stop questioning things, at least.”

“I can’t even tell which is which,” Amber said. She hadn’t ever met Sunset’s human friends before, but she had assumed that they would all wear clothes. Sunset always did, and she’d been living in Equestria for years. AJ – the name they settled on for the Applejack from the human world to avoid confusing her with the one from Equestria – seemed to share Sunset’s aversion to nakedness, as she was wearing a dress. Pinkie, on the other hoof, didn’t seem to care either way. They had apparently called her Pinkamena when she first arrived, but nopony bothered anymore. There really wasn’t a point, since both Pinkies insisted on doing everything together for maximum confusion, and nopony could tell them apart.

Well, almost nopony. “Pinkie’s on the left, Pinkamena's on the right,” Rainbow said lazily, after only giving them the smallest of glances.

“Seriously though, how do you do that?” Amber asked.

Rainbow shrugged. “I can just tell.” She grinned and leaned across the table. “And if you think that’s strange, I’m pretty sure they’ve banged before.”

Amber facehoofed. “Why thank you, Rainbow, for that oh-so-vital information that will never leave my head.”

Rainbow grinned. “Hey, what are friends for, you know?”

Sunset glared sharply at Rainbow. “You know, I think we could probably pick a better topic for the present company.”

Spike, who had only seemed amused at Rainbow’s comment, fidgeted in his seat at the reminder that he was younger than everyone else. Amber placed one hoof on her hip and the other on the table and leaned forward. “Hey, I’m a big girl! I got to sit at the adult table last Hearth’s Warming and everything!”

All she was really trying to do was make Spike laugh, which she did, but AJ also seemed amused. “Aww, don’t pay her no mind. She’s just too old to relate to the youngins these days. What are ya now? Seventy?”

“I’d tell you, AJ,” Sunset said, grinning good-naturedly, “but you know, I don’t think you could count that high anyway. Better to wait until you’re in at least, mmm… second grade or so.”

“But that’ll take forever!” AJ lamented. “You’ll probably be all kinds of senile by then!”

“Oh come now, you two,” Rarity chided. “There’s no need to get into all that again.”

“Again?” Amber asked.

“That’s pretty much how it always goes when they get together,” Applejack explained. “If ya didn’t know better, you’d swear they don’t get along at all.”

“I dunno, doesn’t seem that different from you two,” Amber said, gesturing between Applejack and Rainbow.

“Well, ya see,” Applejack said, “that’s ‘cause Rainbow’s a pest who refuses to stop sleeping in my apple trees! How’m I supposed to make a living sellin’ apples, when ya keep knockin’ ‘em out the trees, Dash?”

“They’re apples!” Rainbow defended. “You just pick them up and brush them off!”

“Oh dear, here we go again.” Rarity placed a hoof on her temple.

“All I’m sayin’ is –”

“No!” Rarity popped her head up. “No, we are not doing this again, not on a night of celebration. Applejack, we’re dancing.”

“We’re doin’ what now?” Applejack asked, giving Rarity a befuddled look.

“We are dancing.” Rarity stood up and took a few steps towards the dance floor, while Applejack remained seated. She stopped to look back at her. “I am going out onto the dance floor, and if you do not meet me there, I shall be very cross with you.”

True to her word, Rarity walked onto the dancefloor without another word. Everyone turned to Applejack, who didn’t seem to know how to react.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Rainbow asked after a moment. “Go get her!”

Applejack waited a few more moments before standing up. She wouldn’t meet anypony’s eyes. “Well… I, uh, I’d sure hate to be rude, so…” She kept her eyes pointed steadily downwards as she walked out onto the dance floor.

Nopony seemed particularly surprised by the interaction, except for one. “What in the hell was that about?” AJ asked, which only caused Sunset to laugh. “I’m serious. They ain’t together, are they? I thought you said that the pony and human pairs would be the same sexuality and all that?”

“Aww, what’s the matter, AJ?” Sunset asked, sounding distinctly unsympathetic. “Having doubts about yourself?”

“That’s just how Applejack and Rarity are,” Spike said.

Rainbow shrugged. “Yeah, Rarity only likes stallions, and Applejack only likes apple trees. Never stopped them from basically becoming an old married couple.”

Out on the dancefloor, Applejack and Rarity danced to DJ Pon-3’s music while both Pinkies cheered them on. Rarity was clearly more sure of her skills, showcasing her ability to perfectly match her moves to the rhythm of the music. Meanwhile, Applejack hardly seemed to even know how she was supposed to move to the electronic music. So she didn’t. Instead, she opted to dance as if it were an Apple family hoedown, and rather than match the rhythm of the music, she seemed to be matching Rarity, speeding up or slowing down her dancing according to her partner’s lead. Despite their vastly different styles, the two ponies remained perfectly in sync.

“You know what?” Sunset said after watching the two. “Why are we sitting around, anyway? Come on, AJ.”

“Think I’m good right where I am,” AJ said. She held up her hooves. “Don’t rightly know what to do with these things when I’m walking, let alone dancing.”

“There. You already have an excuse for when everypony sees me dance so much better than you.” Sunset stood up and waited expectantly.

AJ just leaned back in her seat. “Uh huh. But ya forgot one thing: Ain’t no way no how that I would ever want to dance with you.”

“You know, I’ll remember that if I decide to take your opinion into consideration next time.” Sunset jerked her head towards the dance floor.

“Tch, fine.” AJ stood up. “But only ‘cause this is yer last dance as a free woman.”

They walked onto the dancefloor, and Sunset kept things simple for AJ, who definitely had been telling the truth when she said she was uncomfortable on her hooves.

Amber downed the last of the soda she was drinking and stood up. “Alright, so which one of you am I dancing with?”

“Pass,” Rainbow said as she leaned back in her seat, hindlegs propped up on the table.

Amber turned to Spike and bowed. “May I have this dance, sir?”

Spike stood and returned her bow. “Certainly.”

They were definitely an odd pairing, since Amber was so small and Spike had grown taller than any other member of their group, but Amber had danced with Luna plenty of times before, and Spike still wasn’t as tall as her. She wasn’t really sure how Spike having only half as many legs as her would affect things, but that was half the fun.

As the Pinkies noticed them walking onto the floor, Amber winked and jerked her head at Rainbow. One of them winked back and they began dancing their way towards her. She couldn’t very well let Rainbow miss out on all the fun.

It turned out that it really didn’t matter at all how many legs Spike had. Most of the music was high tempo and didn’t lend well to touching while dancing anyway, so really everypony was more or less doing their own thing. She only caught glimpses of what everypony else was doing, but despite about half the group being initially reluctant to get on the dance floor, they all seemed to be having a good time. Rainbow was dancing with both Pinkies at once, and Amber could finally tell them apart since one was clearly more thrilled about that than the other. AJ was mostly following a set pattern of moves she was comfortable with, and Sunset was very gradually adding more complicated steps to their routine. And if they were putting it to a vote, Amber would totally vote for Applejack and Rarity as their prom queens.

Although they all entered with partners, everypony eventually found themselves dancing in one cohesive group. Amber couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed herself so much, and was reluctant to leave the dance floor. In the end, her sore hooves won out, and she made her way back to the table.

Rainbow was sitting in between both Pinkies, who had collapsed dramatically on top of her. She seemed indifferent to it. Sunset and AJ were discussing which of them had been the better dancer when they both lived in the human world. Rarity and Applejack had both taken a break earlier before returning to the dance floor, where they still were. Spike had never left; whether because he was a dragon or simply because he was a teenager, he seemed to have an unstoppable amount of energy.

“Does he still have a thing for her?” Amber asked as she watched Spike and Rarity.

“Eh, he got over that a while ago,” Rainbow said. “I think he has a thing for Scootaloo now.”

Apparently finding their conversation more interesting than her own, Sunset slid closer to the Pinkie-Rainbow sandwich. “Really? Do tell.”

Rainbow grinned, apparently finding the conversation just as interesting as Sunset did. She didn’t seem like the type to enjoy gossiping much, but maybe she just made an exception when it was their little siblings that were involved. “Well, I don’t know for sure or anything, but Spike and Scoots have definitely been hanging out together a whole lot. Without Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, I mean. And with the way she talks about it sometimes, well, let’s just say I have a hunch.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Rainbow, it sounds like Scootaloo is the one who has a thing for Spike. You sure you’re not just imagining it goes both ways ‘cause you want it to?”

“Well, why wouldn’t he be interested in her? She’s only the coolest filly in Ponyville,” Rainbow said, as if that was the only justification needed.

“I think Dashie might be right,” one of the Pinkies said. She grinned and went wide-eyed as she held her hooves to her cheeks. “And just think about the foals!”

Sunset blinked a few times. “Uh, Pinkie? Dragons and ponies can’t have foals together.”

“I can dream!” Pinkie snapped.

For once, the other Pinkie didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm. In fact, she and AJ were staring at each other oddly seriously. “I, uh, think I need to go to the little fillies room,” she said, before ducking under the table.

AJ sighed and spoke in a monotone voice. “I think I will also go to the ‘little fillies room’. Which is under the table. For some reason.”

Everyone was left looking around confused. Any of their conversation that would have been audible was covered by the music. At one point, Rainbow tried to duck her head under the table, but Sunset used her magic to jerk her back up.

Eventually an orange hoof tapped Sunset on the shoulder and she ducked under the table as well, leaving Amber, Pinkie, and Rainbow to just turn to one another in confusion. A moment later all three of them popped back up. AJ was grinning nervously, while Pinkie and Sunset – both better fakers by far – had much more natural looking smiles.

“So,” Sunset said, “I have a really cool story to tell everyone about when I went through the mirror last week.”

“Not a chance,” Rainbow said.

“A little chance?” Sunset pleaded.

“No way. Is something wrong with Scootaloo? Tell me!”

“No, nothing’s wrong with Scootaloo,” Sunset said. “It’s just, well…” She turned to AJ for help, but AJ looked like she wanted nothing to do with whatever conversation was going to follow.

“Don’t worry, Dashie,” Pinkie – or rather, Pinkamena, since it was pretty obvious which one was which at the moment – said comfortingly. “Scootaloo will always be Scootaloo, no matter what.”

Rainbow facehoofed. “Are you telling me Scootaloo is gay? Why would you possibly think I’d care about that?” She looked out at Spike, still dancing. “Poor Spike, though.”

“Well no, Scootaloo isn’t…” Sunset said. She paused for a while before continuing. “Uh, insofar as we know, both Scootaloos are attracted to males.”

Rainbow turned back to her, nonplussed. “That is literally the weirdest way you could have answered that question. Just tell me what’s going on with her!”

“Okay.” Sunset looked out at the others on the dance floor and sighed deeply. “I’ll tell you, but I don’t know how much time we’ll have to talk about it. If Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom find out… well, we’re not going to be the reason they find out, got it?”

Everypony nodded in agreement. Amber felt like she should probably excuse herself from the discussion, since she didn’t even know Scootaloo aside from her being Rainbow’s sister. But she couldn’t think of where else to go, and nopony seemed to mind her being there, so she stayed.

“And before we get to into everything, I want you to remember that we don’t actually know how strong the correlation between a given pair’s sexual orientation is, and have no prior experience with something like this.”

Amber had only seen this once or twice before – Sunset had hit scientific mode. Whatever followed was going to be crazy.

“Yeah yeah, ponies and humans are different,” Rainbow said. “I know all that, so just tell me.”

Another sigh from Sunset, then she finally answered. “The other Scootaloo is transgender. He identifies as a male.”

All eyes fell to Rainbow, who for a moment didn’t respond at all. Eventually she blinked a few times and shook her head. “What?”

“Some ponies don’t associate with –”

“I know what it means!” Rainbow snapped.

“Rainbow,” Sunset began, speaking as calmly as possible, “remember what I said. We don’t know about the Scootaloo here.”

“I know, it’s just…” Rainbow shook her head. “She can’t be!”

Pinkie threw her forelegs around Rainbow. “Dashie, Scootaloo is Scootaloo. No matter what.”

In response, Rainbow dropped her head onto the table and covered it with her hooves.

“It’s okay,” Sunset reiterated.

“No it’s not!” Rainbow said, her head popping up suddenly. “It’s just like Fluttershy all over again!”

“Fluttershy?” AJ asked.

Sunset seemed to understand. “When they were younger, before Fluttershy even really knew she was gay, Rainbow said some things that made her feel like it wasn’t okay to come out.” She leaned forward towards Rainbow again. “So… did you say something to Scootaloo?”

Rainbow sighed. “I think Scootaloo tried to talk to me about something like that. She… he…?”

“I think until your Scootaloo decides that for herself, it don’t make no sense to try and switch early,” AJ said.

Rainbow nodded. “Well, she asked if I ever didn’t feel like as much of a mare as my friends. And, well… I told her she was just letting things other ponies said get into her head. She’s a lot like me when I was younger, she’s tough, she’s athletic, and she’s not exactly girly. I thought I knew what she was talking about, you know? So I said that was just stupid ponies saying shit, and that nothing would ever make her not be a mare.”

Pinkie patted Rainbow’s back. “Don’t worry, it was just a mistake. We’ll fix it.”

Sunset nodded. “Pinkie’s right. We’ll talk to Scootaloo and figure it out. Or if you want, you can talk to her yourself. But one way or another, everything will work out.”

AJ cleared her throat. “And I think it’s important to remember ya ain’t exactly wrong. What you described, that’s jus’ like me and you, right? I can’t tell ya how many times I got called any number of words I won’t repeat today, all on account of my less than feminine ways. Plus haulin’ around crates of apples since I could carry ‘em did a mite for my physique, as Sunset could tell ya.”

Sunset did not seem amused at the reminder. “Why you gotta bring up old shit?”

AJ ignored her as she continued. “What I’m sayin’ is, the Scootaloo I know ain’t a man on account of him not bein’ girly. He’s a man on account of he just is. I think it’s important that if yer Scootaloo feels the same way, she ought to realize that.”

Rainbow looked around at her friends, and then back down at her hooves. “Thanks, everypony.”

“Don’t mention it,” AJ said. “And anyway, I think –” her eyes flickered up for a second, and she grinned, then continued in a much more lighthearted tone “– that now would be a great time for Sunset to tell y’all what we did last week!”

Rarity and Applejack took seats at the table. Spike just lay down on top of it. Sighing, Sunset used her magic to lift him up and set him in the seat next to her. Rainbow seemed somewhat reserved, but not obviously so.

“Perfect timing,” Sunset said. She leaned against Spike. “I was just about to – ew, you’re all sweaty, move over some – I was just about to tell everyone about my most recent exploits in Humanland.”

“Humanland?” AJ asked, grinning.

“Fuck do you want from me? Earth? We also had a country called Earth, you know.” She turned back to the others. “So last week, Twilight, Fluttershy, and I met up with Pinkie and AJ in” – she rolled her eyes – “the human world. So anyway, everyone else knows, but I don’t think I ever showed you, Amber.”

Amber had been left in a daze from what they had just been talking about, but shook it off as Sunset lifted up her left sleeve. She leaned across the table to see better, and grinned when she realized what she was looking at. “Ha! I knew that was Fluttershy’s cutie mark!” It was hard to see it clearly under her fur, but when they had first met years ago she had gotten a very good look at it.

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, Amber was actually the first pony to see it, but it was still another few months before I admitted to anypony what it actually was.”

“Wait, that was there before you were even dating Fluttershy,” Amber pointed out.

“I, uh… I used to date the human Fluttershy…” Judging by the way she wasn’t meeting anyone’s eyes, Amber could tell it was a sensitive subject, so she dropped it amiably. “That’s not really the point right now though, the point is this.”

Sunset rolled up her other sleeve, revealing a six-pointed pink star with five white stars around it. She smiled proudly while everypony clapped their hooves.

“Wait, Fluttershy and Twilight went with you?” Amber asked, grinning. “You don’t mean…?”

“Fluttershy probably won’t, but Twilight’s thinking about getting them as well,” Sunset explained. “I convinced her that it’s better to wait until after the wedding, though. I told her that it was because she might have a reaction to the ink since she’s never gotten one before, and we didn’t need that on our wedding. But really, it’s ‘cause she’s just sappy enough to talk herself into doing it because of the wedding. If she gets tattooed, I want it to be because she wants to, not because I did.”

“Still, very cool,” Amber said.

“It’s a nice thought and all, but I don’t get it,” Applejack said, squinting her eyes. “I mean, ya can barely even see the thing.”

Sunset nodded and rolled down her sleeve. “I’m sure that’s why tattoos aren’t very common in Equestria, and honestly I probably wouldn’t be interested in them either, but… I just felt like it was incomplete, you know? I can’t have Fluttershy’s and not Twilight’s. I love both of them.”

“Well I, for one, find it very romantic,” Rarity said.

“Thank you.” Sunset stood up. “I’ll be right back, I’m gonna go grab us some more soda.”

“Like hell you will.” AJ stood up as well and pushed Sunset back into her seat. “I’ll get us some drinks, you will keep your ass in that chair.” She looked at the Pinkies. “And since there ain’t no point in askin’ for jus’ the pony Pinkie to come with me, how ‘bout both of y’all come lend me a hoof?”

Both Pinkies stood up. “Hey, you said it right that time!”

“Yup, I’m finally gettin’ the hang of all this horse talk!”

Amber watched them as they walked off, then turned back to Sunset. “She knows horses are extinct, right?”

Sunset shrugged. “She’s just joking, she knows ponies and horses are different. And honestly, I don’t think she even knows horses used to live in Equestria. They’re still alive in the human world.”

“Really? That’s…” She shook her head and laughed. “You know, I’m frankly surprised that anything still surprises me.”

“AJ has some on her farm. We used to ride them around sometimes.”

Apparently, this was news to everypony else, as they all turned towards Sunset. Amber nodded and smiled as pleasantly as she could. “That is literally the weirdest thing you’ve ever told me.”

Spike chuckled. “Like I said, you stop questioning things after a while.”






The afternoon was filled with hours of talk and dancing. Rainbow remained somewhat detached from everything, although she did her best to stay a part of the celebration. At least there was little hope of Rarity or Applejack noticing anything was wrong, since the Pinkies were on double duty to cheer her up while also masking any negativity. It was an otherwise unremarkable – yet still exceptionally enjoyable – day.

They partied well into the evening, but since most of the guests were also involved in handling the wedding preparations, they stopped short of continuing into the night. “Well, I know I’m ready for a good night’s sleep,” Applejack said. “Had a heap of fun, but there’s still a lot of work to do over the next few days.”

“Thanks again.” Sunset hugged Applejack, then turned to address everyone. “I can’t thank all of you enough. It means a lot to us that you’re all chipping in for the wedding.”

“Think nothing of it, darling.” Rarity replaced Applejack in giving out hugs.

Pinkie leaped into the air and landed with one foreleg around each of them. “Yeah! It’s gonna be the bestest wedding ever!”

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Sunset said. “And with you all handling it? I know it will be. But you girls should probably get some rest. I’m sure we’ll all be pretty busy.”

Rainbow walked over and grinned. “Yeah, that’s nice and all, but you’re hugging the wrong Pinkie.”

Sunset arched an eyebrow at the Pinkie who was still holding onto her, and she smiled nervously. “Nice try.”

“It’s no fair!” Pinkamena said, walking back over towards AJ. “You always know…”

“Aww, it’s okay, Pinkie,” Pinkie said. “Maybe we can all do another slumber party after the wedding!”

Pinkamena nodded and hugged her double, who then walked over to the others by the door.

After saying their final goodnights, Sunset’s Ponyville friends left for their respective houses. Meanwhile, the rest of the group made their way towards the castle’s library.

“Thanks for coming,” Sunset said as she hugged Pinkamena.

“Are you kidding? Three of my favorite ponies getting married? You couldn’t keep me away if you wanted to!”

Sunset chuckled. “And we certainly don’t. We’ll definitely make plans to get together again once we’re back from our honeymoon.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkamena hugged everyone in turn, including Amber. “It was nice meeting you!”

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun,” Amber said. “Hopefully we’ll both be in Ponyville again sometime. And, you know, see you at the wedding and all that.”

“Definitely!” Pinkamena nodded, then tapped her chin in consideration. “But I have to say, I kinda think short hair suits you better.”

Amber blinked and shook her head. “Wait, you never met me when my mane was short.” She narrowed her eyes. “Are we sure Rainbow knows what she’s talking about with these Pinkies?”

“She’s never been wrong before,” AJ said, although she was also eyeing Pinkamena suspiciously. “Least, I don’t think she has.”

Pinkamena giggled. “Oh, she figured it out alright. It’s just that the other Amber has short hair, and I always thought it looks super cute. Anyway, I’ll see you at the wedding!”

While Amber sat frozen in place with her mouth hanging open, Pinkamena walked through the portal. Slowly she turned to the others. “The… other Amber?”

“Well,” Sunset said, “we think that there’s a human counterpart to every pony, so I would definitely have guessed that there must be another Amber. Still, I didn’t know you all knew her.”

“Don’t look at me,” AJ said. “If I knew anything ‘bout that I’d of said so right from the beginning.”

Amber turned back to the portal. She could practically feel her mind breaking.

“You know,” Spike said, walking up to stand beside her, “the other Spike is a dog.”

Amber slowly turned to him. Some combination of the strangeness of the situation and his disappointed expression cracked through her shock, and she burst into laughter. “Okay, this is without a doubt the best place in Equestria!”

“Glad to see you’re handling it well,” Sunset said. She pulled a journal out from the device that powered the portal, returning it to a regular mirror.

“Well, it’s like Spike said: It’s best to just stop questioning things,” Amber said as Sunset began leading the group out of the library. “I take it you’re not heading home tonight, AJ?”

“Nope, as the best mare I’ll be hangin’ ‘round until the wedding’s all said and done.”

“Cool,” Amber said. “So I guess it’ll be a busy couple of days. Should we get to bed?”

“Probably should,” Sunset said, although her grin said otherwise, “but since this is my bachelorette party, I was hoping you girls would join me for a drink.”

Not entirely sure what to say around Spike, Amber just cast Sunset a concerned look. For as long as they’d known each other, Sunset had been battling with alcoholism. And while she certainly didn’t want to bring up bad memories, she had also relapsed a few times over the past three years, although the last time had been over a year ago as far as Amber knew.

AJ caught sight of her expression first. “Don’t worry ‘bout her none. Not while I’m around anyway. We already talked ‘bout it, and she gets one drink.”

“If you’re sure,” Amber said. Worst case scenario, if things went poorly she figured they could wake up Twilight – or worse, Fluttershy.

“Uhm…” Spike looked down at the floor bashfully. “Can I have one?”

Sunset stopped walking to give him a bemused look. “Really? You’re sixteen. And what would Twilight say?”

Spike tried to look her in the eyes, then quickly turned away. “Well, I won’t tell her if you don’t,” he mumbled.

“Oh no,” Sunset said matter-of-factly. “When I let you stay up late, we don’t tell Twilight. When you help me out around the castle and find a mysterious bag of gem candy in your room, we don’t tell Twilight. Those magazines under your mattress that you think nopony knows about? We definitely don’t tell Twilight.”

Amber and AJ couldn’t withhold their snickering, try as they might. Spike was rapidly backing away and blushing furiously. “Okay, okay! I get it!”

Sunset turned and began walking again. After taking a couple steps her horn lit up, and Spike was pulled back over to them. “Tomorrow we’re telling Twilight together.”

Spike didn’t answer for a moment, likely deciding if it was still worth it. Eventually he nodded. “Okay.”

Sunset led them to the kitchen and began pulling out glasses while the others took seats around a table. “In the interest of not poisoning the newbie, let’s go with mixed drinks.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Amber said. Spike looked like he was considering protesting – no doubt sure he could handle something stronger – so Amber leaned in and grinned. “Trust me, you definitely want to start with some fruity cocktail thing if you want any chance of enjoying your first drink.”

“Amen to that,” AJ said. “In fact, this reminds me of my first drink. I was about thirteen or so, and I asked Big Mac if I could have one of his beers. He thought about it for a minute, said ‘eeyup’, and handed over a can. Just like that. I couldn’t believe it was so easy, and I was all sorts of ready to drink with my big brother. I opened it up, took one sip, and handed it straight back to him. In hindsight, I can tell that he knew exactly what was gonna happen.”

“That’ll do it,” Amber said, laughing. “Beer’s definitely more of an acquired taste. Same goes for most alcohol.”

“Wasn’t until I started hanging out with Rainbow towards the end of high school that I actually started to like it. We were actually right around your age, seventeen or so, and she thought it was the coolest thing that my family just kept beer in the fridge, where anyone could get to it. Granny always figured once we were old enough to want to we’d start drinkin’ one way or another, so best if we were drinkin’ at home where we were safe. Anyway, being a particularly dumb teenager, I didn’t want to look bad in front of my friend, so I pretended to like beer until I wound up actually liking it.”

Sunset passed them each a glass filled with a frosty orange and red liquid, each complete with a straw and peach slice. “Peach daiquiris. Much better first drink than beer.”

“Fancy,” Amber commented.

Everyone watched Spike as he took his first sip. He smiled. “I like it. It’s really sweet!”

Amber took a sip herself. She half expected the whole thing to be a trick, and that they were really virgin daiquiris, but they definitely had alcohol, even if not too much.

“My first drink was also my first kiss, and both seemed pretty awesome at the time,” Amber said. “Fourteen, and I was at a friend’s house. Her parents were out of town, so we decided to sneak some wine. She poured like half a cup for us to split, ‘cause she didn’t want them to notice when they got back. It was, well, it was way too strong, but you know. With only a quarter of a glass, it could of been a lot worse and I still would’ve loved it. But yeah, then I just kissed her out of nowhere. She’s all, ‘What the buck!’ and I’m just like, ‘I think I’m drunk.’ We didn’t know what we were talking about, so she’s just like, ‘Oh, me too.’ Then we made out.”

Sunset glanced at Spike, who seemed to be enjoying every minute of being included in an adult conversation. “Just to clarify, the odds of that ever working are, like, next to zero.”

“Oh yeah.” Amber grinned. “It was awesome at the time, but then the next day things got super weird between us. We pretty much stopped hanging out after that.”

“There, see? Don’t be like Amber.” Sunset leaned back as she slowly drank her daiquiri, clearly savoring it. It took her a moment to realize everypony was looking at her. “What?”

“Hey, we got a theme going here,” Amber said.

Sunset sighed and stared into her drink. “Fine. But remember, I don’t need to tell you that who I used to be is the last thing you want for any kind of role model. When I was Celestia’s student, I never drank at all. Some combination of actually caring about my life and being terrified of what she might do if she found out. But once I was in the human world? Both of those concerns went right out the window.

“Problem was that when I came through the mirror, I was essentially five years old as a human, so it took a while before I had the chance. To my credit, I was twenty-one when I had my first drink. To my discredit, that made me a nine-year-old human. Obviously no one was giving me booze at that age, so I stole it. Two little bottles of wine coolers, from a grocery store display. It was easy; I had been shoplifting for a while, so I already knew what I was doing. I ran out into an alleyway and drank them both warm. Then I just went home, somewhat intoxicated, but nothing really crazy happened. They weren’t that alcoholic, and the only reason they really did anything at all was ‘cause I was so small and had zero tolerance. I don’t even know if I liked them, or if I just liked being a little hellraiser, but I kept stealing them, and eventually moved on to bigger bottles of stronger stuff.”

Sunset was staring sadly at her drink, but AJ clasped her on the back, which knocked the frown right off. “Ya know? Sometimes I forget that you are without a doubt the most depressing person I ever met.”

“That’s a fair point.” Sunset shrugged, then turned back to Spike. “Anyway, point is I was awful and you’re, like, a way better kid than I ever was. Either time I was a kid, really.”

“Well, I think you’re pretty great now,” Spike said.

Sunset ruffled his spines. “Yeah, well, that is true.”

Amber chuckled and sipped more of her drink. “So Sunset sort of gets by on being twenty-one, but not really. Guess no one really ever makes it all the way.”

“Twilight,” Sunset and Spike answered together.

Amber laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Specifically,” Sunset said. “I kinda made it, but I wasn’t trying to wait until I was twenty-one. But Twilight waited until her twenty-first birthday, then went to Canterlot to go to a bar with Shining Armor.”

“She was all embarrassed about it, too,” Spike said. “She kept talking about ‘going out to dinner’ like I didn’t know what she was really doing.”

“Sounds like her,” Amber said.

They joked around a bit more, then Sunset put their empty glasses in the sink. On the way out, Amber caught Sunset lingering a moment to stare back towards the wine cabinet, but a guiding hoof from AJ saw her out the door without any problems. 

Sunset sent Spike off to bed, then led AJ to her room, which was next to Amber’s. They said their goodnights, and AJ went into her room as Sunset walked back towards her own.

Amber stopped at her door, then turned around. “Sunset?” she called quietly.

Thankfully she hadn’t gotten too far, and returned from around a corner. “Relax, I’m heading straight for bed.”

“Huh? Oh! No, I know that. I just…” Amber found the words disappearing before they could leave her lips. She didn’t even know exactly what she wanted to ask, let alone how she was supposed to ask it.

Sunset jerked her head away from the bedrooms, where they could talk without AJ overhearing. “So what’s up?”

“Well… mind if I ask you something personal?”

“I just told you about the time I stole booze when I was nine. What could you possibly have to ask that would be too personal?”

“Well…” Amber really only knew the general topic of what she wanted to talk about. But she couldn’t figure out how to put even that into words, so she picked a topic that felt like it was sort of close. “Since you’re bi, is it ever hard being with only mares? Like, is it kinda like hiding part of yourself?”

Sunset shrugged. “Not really. Sure sometimes I fantasize about being with somepony more rugged, but honestly? I like mares better anyway. But you’re not interested in my sex life.” She put a foreleg around Amber’s shoulders. “I’m not hiding part of me, because I’m open about it. Like Twilight’s mom. She’s also polyamorous, but she’s not actually with anypony but her husband, and she hasn’t been with anypony else the whole time they’ve been married. But these last few years she’s a lot happier about that part of herself, because for her it’s enough to just acknowledge those feelings instead of hiding them away. So yeah, I gave up being with stallions, because I chose that. But it’s still part of me. You can’t just stop being attracted to mares to win your parents approval.”

“Yeah,” Amber said sadly, “I know.”

“Have you thought about coming out again?”

“Only every bucking day.” Amber leaned her head into Sunset’s shoulder. She let out a mirthless laugh. “You know, I thought sex would be the hard part. I went from sleeping with a literal goddess to pretending I’m ‘saving myself for marriage’. But then… that bucking sucks, but okay, whatever. I can deal with that part. But I’m just so sick of living every single day of my life as somepony I’m not!”

“I know.” Sunset held her tighter. “I can’t tell you what to do, but… I can tell you’re not happy with how things are going now.”

Amber took a deep breath. It was comforting, being so open after hiding for so long, even if she still couldn’t figure out how to bring up what she really wanted to talk about. “I know it seems that way, and, well, it kind of is. But then… you never see me around Fox Glove. Everyone, even ponies who have no idea about the whole closet lesbian thing, they’re always saying how I’m totally different around him. He means so much to me, and I already missed four years of his life. I’m not missing the rest.”

Sunset was quiet for a while. Amber expected that once she answered she would try to convince her to change her mind, but she didn’t. “I understand,” she said. “I know what it’s like to have somebody you’d do anything for, be anything for.”

Amber sighed. “Love’s a bitch.”

“Yeah.”

Realizing they weren’t going to get anywhere else with that conversation, Amber pulled away. “Thanks. Even just talking helps, you know.”

Sunset nodded. “You know that we’re always here for you, whatever you need.”

“Yeah, I know. But right now, we should both get to bed. Good night, and thanks again.”

“Anytime. Good night.”

They walked in opposite directions, and Amber entered her room. She stopped to look at the mirror and sighed. As always, it looked all wrong.

She collapsed on the bed and pressed her hooves against her eyes. It had been an interesting day. She’d had a lot of fun, and it had given her a lot to think about. Especially that last part. She lay awake for hours, tossing and turning, all while replaying one thought in her head.

‘Scootaloo was female, until he realized he wasn’t.’
> 5 – Forever, Once More
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Five
Forever, Once More

⠀



⠀
“I’m surprised there isn’t a larger crowd,” Celestia said as their carriage flew near enough to the castle to see the ground below. There were a few curious ponies slowing their pace as they walked by, but no one was lingering.

Luna chuckled. “So little faith, Sister?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” Celestia said, smiling. “You did always have a gift for this sort of thing.”

‘Gift’ in this sense seemed to mean ‘finely honed skill’, but Luna didn’t say so. She wasn’t sure if Celestia honestly believed Luna’s penchant for covering facts was a natural talent, or if she was choosing to not address the fact that Luna had spent most of her considerable years hiding any number of facts about herself.

Regardless of her sister’s meaning, it couldn’t be denied that Luna was good at it. There were a number of secret locations that could have been used for the wedding which would have drawn less attention than Twilight’s castle, but Sunset had understandably wanted the closest of her human friends to attend, and the mirror-portal could not easily be moved, being attached to Twilight’s device as it was. Rather than risk moving the portal or having the duplicate ponies be discovered, they decided it simply made more sense to hold the event within the castle.

And so, Luna had Twilight and Sunset mention that they were working on a new project, and that they planned on holding a private showing of their work to close friends and family in the near future. A big announcement would generate too much interest, and they’d have ponies gathering for an entirely different reason. Not enough interest, and nopony would remember hearing about the excuse when the day came, or if they did, they may not connect the events. So Luna did what she could to control the flow of the information from the shadows – an off hoof comment to one pony, a small reminder to another.

“Tia,” Luna said as they neared their landing, “before the event, I think it would be best to warn you: Not a word.”

Celestia turned to her with an annoyed expression. “Honestly, Luna, I think I know how to handle inquisitive ponies by now.”

“One would hope. But I was not referring to the crowd.”

“Then what?”

The carriage landed, and all passersby began focusing their attention on the royal sisters, exactly as Luna had planned. “You will know when the time comes.”

Clearly irritated, but unable to say anything further since she knew their little ponies were listening in, Celestia just smiled at their approach. “Hello, everypony.”

The inevitable questions and comments followed. Some ponies just wanted the honor of introducing themselves, others asked what the big event was. The sisters spent a few minutes meeting with their citizens, then approached the castle, lest their presence draw more of a crowd. Luna had sent Echo and Nocturn ahead, and they stood by the entrance. They saluted and stood aside to allow Luna and Celestia entrance, then resumed their positions.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!” A little filly ran up to them excitedly. She looked like she might leap in the air, until her brother approached as well and bowed, prompting her to do the same.

“Hello, my little ponies,” Celestia said warmly.

Since her sister did not meet the youngest of their citizens in the dreaming, Luna obliged her with a reminder of their names. “Greetings, Pumpkin Cake,” she said, nodding to the yellow unicorn, “and Pound Cake,” she added, nodding to the cream-colored pegasus.

They both smiled excitedly at being remembered. “Come on! Everypony’s over here!” Pumpkin said, running ahead. The other three followed much more calmly, causing her to occasionally stop and wait, or to run back to them only to run ahead again a moment later.

“Are you enjoying the wedding so far?” Celestia asked Pound Cake as they walked.

“Yes,” he said, “I didn’t even know it was going to be a wedding until last night.”

“Mom and Dad only said we were doing something big at the castle!” Pumpkin elaborate.

Luna smiled. “I’m sure your parents just knew that the wait would be harder if you knew what you were waiting for.”

“Nuh uh!” Pumpkin said. “They said, ‘You two couldn’t keep it secret if your lives depended on it!’ All because Poundy went and told Mom about the surprise trip Dad planned for their anniversary!”

“It was an accident,” Pound Cake mumbled, causing both princesses to smile at one another.

The castle had several grand rooms that would be perfect for a wedding, and the young ponies led them to one. Luna surveyed the room and found a host of familiar faces, yet one stood out immediately. Amber Glow hadn’t noticed her arrival. She was wearing a tuxedo and had her hair tied back to keep out of the way, which certainly made her look more at ease than she had been at the last wedding.

Also of interest was the pony she was talking to. She could only have been one of Sunset’s human friends, as she was nearly identical in appearance to Twilight Sparkle. Nearly identical, but smaller.

“Tia,” Luna said as Pound and Pumpkin ran off to help the wedding in other ways, “would it be out of line for me to try my luck with somepony in attendance today?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Well, I didn’t mean during the ceremony, of course.”

“I honestly can not believe we’re related sometimes.” Without giving an answer, Celestia walked towards the table Cadance was sitting at. It was just as well. That was one unfulfilled fantasy that Celestia certainly didn’t need to know about.

Luna silently approached the two mares, who were standing by the refreshments table. Initially, she assumed they were eating, but as she drew nearer it became apparent that Twilight was actually examining the food.

She seemed particularly interested in the wedding cake. “It’s hard to imagine non-magical ponies could create such intricate dishes, not to mention how difficult it must be to get some of the materials that would be needed.”

“Uh, remember when you said to let you know if you were doing anything weird? Pretty sure this counts.”

“In truth, there are no non-magical ponies,” Luna said from directly behind them. As much as she adamantly denied it, sneaking up on ponies was a favorite activity of hers. Twilight jumped, although she wasn’t as shocked as her pony counterpart usually was, while Amber just grinned and wheeled around to face her.

Twilight bowed deeply. “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Maj–”

“Ink Butt!” Amber leaped into the air, throwing her forelegs around Luna’s neck. It had been years since Luna was able to successfully startle her.

“Greetings, Amber. I am happy to see you as well.” Luna returned the hug and closed her eyes, allowing herself for just a moment to not be concerned with anypony else. Amber took a deep breath, then made a noise of contentment. She did not, however, seem interested in letting Luna go, so instead Luna used her magic to place the smaller mare atop her back, where she maintained her grip and rested her chin against Luna’s head.

Twilight was trying her best to maintain her composure despite the scene in front of her. Luna continued as if nothing were amiss. “Please, simply Luna will do. You are clearly the human Twilight Sparkle, which means you are not one of my subjects.”

“Oh, well, I suppose not,” Twilight said, doing a surprisingly good job at keeping herself together. “Still, it is an honor to meet one of the rulers of Equestria.”

“The feeling is mutual. It has been some time since I last encountered someone from another world, Sunset Shimmer notwithstanding. Are you enjoying your time in Equestria?”

“Absolutely!” Twilight’s enthusiasm finally outweighed whatever awkwardness she felt about Luna and Amber’s affection, as she grinned excitedly. “This place is so amazing, there’s always so much to see and to learn! Even just staying here in the castle always leads to some sort of new revelation.”

It was difficult to decide how to proceed with Twilight when Amber was with her, but she saw an opportunity. If they met later, Luna would be free to pursue her without worry. “It is a shame that you visit us when we are in the midst of an ever-worsening changeling threat. You must wish to see more of our land than this one castle.”

“Oh! I didn’t mean it as a complaint!” Twilight insisted.

“Nevertheless, I will see what I can do, if you should wish.” Luna gave a friendly smile, the kind that never failed to build trust in other ponies. “Of course, the mirror and all relations between Equestria and Earth fall within your counterpart’s jurisdiction, but I believe Twilight would not oppose me showing you the Royal Canterlot Archives, along with some of the other historically significant locations of Canterlot Castle.”

And it was done. Twilight’s excitement at the prospect could not be more evident, and all that was left was for Luna to make the final arrangements. “Really!?”

Luna nodded. “I shall discuss it with Twilight after the wedding and have somepony contact you about the details. And of course, the offer extends to any of the others as well.” Admittedly, Luna hoped the others would just prefer to stay in Twilight’s castle on their trips, but even if they were a large group, it should prove simple enough to get enough time alone with Twilight to discern if she was interested.

“Now then,” Luna said, “I have a number of others I ought to see before the ceremony. Perhaps we will talk again afterwards.”

“Okay.” Twilight nodded and continued to grin excitedly. They had the same wonderfully energetic reaction to the prospect of acquiring new knowledge. Luna wondered in what other ways the Twilights were similar. “And thank you again, Luna.”

Smiling at Twilight’s use of her name instead of her title, Luna returned to the rest of the ponies gathered.

Amber spoke quietly into her ear. “Uh huh.”

“Yes?”

“Somepony’s got a crush.” At least nothing about her tone sounded upset.

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Hey, I don’t blame you,” Amber said. “I mean, she pretty much looks just like how Twi did when you met her, right? You know –” Amber leaned in even closer, so Luna could feel her breath against her ear “– fun sized.”

Luna’s ear twitched. “I can think of no reason that should matter to me.”

Amber laughed. “Then what’s with the twitchy ear?”

“Your breath tickles.”

Amber pulled her head back some, but kept her voice low enough that others wouldn’t hear. “It’s just as well. She has a girlfriend.”

Luna frowned. Of course she did. “I assure you I am interested only in helping her learn about our culture. Now then, I believe you are quite capable of walking on your own, and that my back will thank you for doing so.”

“But I like being tall for a change…”

“Be that as it may –” Luna levitated Amber off of her back and set her down where they could see one another better “– I’ve always liked you the size you are.”

Amber was wearing a burgundy tuxedo, in what Luna believed was a vintage style, although to be fair she was hardly caught up on modern fashion trends. Her mane was brushed back and tied so it would stay out of her face. It was quite the improvement over her appearance at Twilight and Fluttershy's wedding. “You look quite dashing this evening.”

Amber grinned. “Thanks. I made an offhoof comment about not being excited to have to wear a dress again, and next thing I knew I was being dragged off to the Carousel Boutique.”

“I am surprised to hear you were considering wearing a dress at all.”

“Yeah, but that’s like, all my clothes these days.” Amber rolled her eyes. “Anyway, what about you? You never get dressed up at all!”

“It has lost some of its appeal over the years,” Luna explained. “Besides, I do believe I stand out quite well enough on my own.”

“Come on, even your sister wears clothes, like, once every couple of years or so. I bet you’d look pretty good in one those gowns from…” Amber stopped and smiled wryly. “Hold on, you just don’t like modern fashion.”

Luna turned up her nose. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Amber attempted to pat Luna on the shoulder, but she moved out of the way. “Aww, come on, you should just wear whatever you want.”

“I do believe I am seen as ‘out of touch’ by enough ponies already.”

“What? Nopony even thinks that.”

“In any event, I –” Luna stopped in place as Amber leaned against her. She looked down at her side to see Amber smiling up at her.

“Well, for whatever it’s worth, I think you’d look great.”

Luna smiled and draped a wing over Amber as she finished leading them towards Cadance. As she expected, Cadance looked at the two as if she could see some secret that they were hiding away from everyone. Luna ignored it.

“Look who it is, Flurry,” Shining Armor said as they approached, his voice elevated as he addressed their two-year-old filly. “Do you remember who that is?”

“Lua!” Flurry Heart said. Both her parents applauded while everypony else smiled and commented on how adorable she was.

“That’s right, Flurry, it is Auntie Luna!” Cadance said. “You probably don’t remember Amber, do you? Can you say Amber?”

Flurry looked at Amber quietly for a second before throwing one hoof up and waving. “Hi!”

Cadance giggled. “Not quite.”

“Hey, close enough for me,” Amber said as she walked closer to Flurry Heart. She smiled and gently tickled her belly, causing the young filly to giggle. “You might not remember me, but I definitely remember you, little lady.”

They took seats at the table and caught up with the new parents, which largely amounted to hearing about what life with a toddler was like. Although Luna adored Flurry and most of the stories they told were happy ones, she was more than content to minimize her involvement with babies to her niece, as well as stopping the occasional nightmare. Not that she had much of a say in the matter anyway; pureblood alicorns like her and Celestia could not mate with other ponies. Mortal alicorns – those who ascended, like Cadance and Twilight, or their children, like Flurry Heart – were genetically closer to other ponies, allowing them the chance to continue their lineage.

Although they had both long since accepted this as a fact of life, it had been much easier for Luna. Celestia simply could not take her eyes off of Flurry, and once she took a turn at holding her, it seemed nopony else was going to get the chance. For her own part, Flurry Heart seemed to be primarily interested in trying to eat Celestia’s mane.

As much as Luna enjoyed catching up with the Crystal Empire side of her family, she was not simply a guest at the wedding, and had three more ponies to meet with before beginning the ceremony. “I take it the brides to be are getting ready?”

“Yes,” Cadance said. “Twilight and Fluttershy are upstairs in their bedroom. Sunset’s just through that door there, so they don’t wind up running into each other beforehand.”

Luna nodded. “I think I will meet with Twilight and Fluttershy first.” As she stood up, Amber rose to join her. It was the same whenever they were together; the two were unlikely to separate until Luna left for Canterlot.

However, as they made for the stairs they were stopped by three voices. “Luna!”

She turned to smile at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Luna had always had an easier time endearing herself to children of a certain age, being the guardian of dreams, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were among the first generation to benefit from her return.

“Hello, young ones,” Luna said, then smiled. “Well, not so young anymore, I see.”

The Crusaders were no longer fillies, all young mares of sixteen or seventeen. Luna knew well enough that treating the teenagers as adults would go a long way towards continuing their high opinions of her. “As much as I am looking forward to speaking with you all, I am afraid it shall have to wait until after the ceremony.”

“Aww, that’s okay,” Apple Bloom said. “We just really wanted to say hi is all.”

“Yeah! We can talk later, if you’re not busy,” Sweetie Belle added.

Luna nodded, but before she could go, Amber spoke. “Hold on, you’re Scootaloo, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” Scootaloo said, tilting her head in confusion. “Why?”

“Oh. no reason.” Amber shrugged. “I just wanted to meet the pony that Rainbow Dash was going on about the other day.”

“She was?” Scootaloo smiled excitedly.

“Oh yeah, she was talking about how you’re pretty much the coolest pony in town. Well, she did say besides herself, but you know.”

If Scootaloo felt bad about being left in second place behind Rainbow, she certainly didn’t look it. “Really!?”

Apple Bloom chuckled. “Are you telling me ya didn’t know that Rainbow’s always talkin’ ‘bout you whenever she gets together with her friends?”

“Uh oh, what’d I go and start,” Amber said, although Luna suspected she had known exactly what she was doing. And even if Luna wasn’t sure what that was, she could tell easily enough that Amber was looking for an excuse to continue talking with Scootaloo.

“Amber, do make sure you do a sufficient job embarrassing Rainbow Dash,” Luna instructed, before she ascended the stairs to the second story bedroom. It was perhaps for the best that Amber remain behind. While she would not have minded Amber’s company, she knew they walked a thin line that she dare not cross. There was no reason that they should spend all their time together.

She knocked on the door and announced her presence. A moment later it was opened by Rainbow Dash, who stepped aside to allow Luna to come in, then closed the door behind her. Luna only smiled silently as she wondered how Rainbow would react to learning the others had let slip the affection she was too cool to let show herself.

She exchanged greetings with everypony. Fluttershy was sitting by a mirror while Rarity fussed over a detail in her mane. Once Luna was in the room, Rainbow returned to the bed, where she had undoubtedly been lounging before. Sitting next to her was Twilight, who seemed a little on edge, though that was hardly even worth noting for her.

“I came by to announce my arrival and make sure everything is going well,” Luna said. “With the arrival of Tia and myself, I believe the guests are all present. Everything downstairs is going remarkably well, although I still need to check in with Sunset. And most importantly, I see at least two of our beautiful brides appear to be ready at a moment’s notice.”

“Ready?” Rarity asked, going wide-eyed. “I should say not! I simply can not get Fluttershy’s mane to look quite right!”

“Rarity, it’s really okay,” Fluttershy insisted.

“Not another word, darling,” Rarity said. “I will not allow anything less than perfection on your wedding day!”

“I know that, I mean I think it looks perfect already,” Fluttershy said.

“What do you think, Twilight?” Luna asked.

Twilight popped her head up, and looking at Fluttershy seemed to dispel whatever concerns were still plaguing her. “Absolutely perfect.”

“See?” Rainbow said. “Two of the brides are already happy with it, and I’m pretty sure Sunset is gonna love everything too.”

“Oh, I do hope so…” Rarity said. She finally left Fluttershy alone, and turned instead to Twilight. “Twilight, come here a moment, let me check your makeup one more time.”

If Twilight and Fluttershy had thought wearing the same dresses they had when they married one another was going to simplify the preparation process, it seemed they were mistaken. Almost reluctantly, Twilight got up to take Fluttershy’s place, while Fluttershy herself seemed only too happy to be freed. She took the chance to give a quick hug to Luna.

The decision to use the same wedding dresses tied into the idea that they weren’t marrying again, but rather that they were adding Sunset to the marriage that already existed. That was also the reason Fluttershy and Twilight were sharing a dressing room, while Sunset was downstairs, and it would have an effect on several other aspects of the ceremony as well.

“I have to agree with the others; Twilight and Fluttershy do appear perfect to me,” Luna said in an attempt to calm Rarity, who was without a doubt the most nerve-wracked pony of the evening. “ ‘Tis as I expect, of course. I know of nopony in Equestria whom could manage the task so well as you.”

Happy to see things were going well, Luna left the room. She was relieved to see that neither of them seemed as worried as they had been before their last wedding, but that was to be expected. They had experienced this before, after all, and had come to the realization that a marriage was not so different from a committed relationship. And, of course, there was no horde of protesters lined up outside, desperate to tear them apart if given the chance.

She could only hope Sunset was faring just as well, but first she had another stop to make. She walked through the room full of ponies to the entrance, noting along the way that Celestia had finally given up Flurry Heart to her grandparents, and that Amber was still talking with the Crusaders.

She nodded to Echo and Nocturn as she passed, and approached the carriage they arrived in. Unbeknownst to her sister, Luna had hidden compartments added to all their carriages, for just such an occasion. She pressed in an unassuming plate, and the compartment popped open, revealing the surprise she had brought for Sunset. Tucking it under her wing, she closed the compartment and re-entered the castle.

Not wanting to have to have anypony question the package, Luna moved quickly and silently through the crowd, not making contact with anypony. She went through the door Cadance had pointed out earlier, and found herself in a small hallway. Although there was no indication, Luna could feel Sunset was just through the door on the left, and that she was with two others.

She knocked on the door, and it was answered by Applejack. For a moment Luna found it odd that she hadn’t recognized her presence, then she noticed the other pony was Rarity. ‘Ah, more of Sunset’s human friends.’

“Well I’ll be,” Applejack said. “You’re the spittin’ image of Vice Principal Luna, alright.”

Rarity turned away from Sunset. “Applejack, please! This Luna is a princess!” She approached Luna and bowed. “It is an honor, Your Majesty.”

“Please, there is no need,” Luna said, entering the room and closing the door behind her. “I may be a princess, but I am not in fact your princess. Simply Luna will be sufficient.”

“Oh, we couldn’t possibly,” Rarity said.

“Speak for yourself.” Applejack extended her hoof and bumped Luna’s. “Pleased to meet ya, Luna.”

While Rarity stared indignantly at Applejack, Luna turned to Sunset. Her wedding dress began as a deep crimson where it trailed along the ground, then turned to a bright red further up, before becoming orange and eventually yellow once it reached her tail. Each color somewhat bleeding into the next, yet still distinctly separated by a jagged wave pattern. Where it tightened around her waist, it abruptly shifted from yellow to black, shifting to grey in a gradient around her torso. The neckline was golden, with her cutie mark adorning the front. The dress was sleeveless, showing off her shoulders and the tattoos of both her brides’ cutie marks, even if they were hard to make out.

“How are you feeling?” Luna asked.

“I’m doing good. Better than Twilight, I bet.” Sunset’s smile was confident, her voice was even, and her left hindleg would not stop shaking.

Luna nodded. “It is quite alright, Sunset. It is normal to feel nervous on your wedding day. I have been married a number of times, and before each I was nervous to some extent.”

“Aww, she’ll be just fine,” Applejack said. “Least you only gotta go through the whole thing once.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said. She idly scratched at the back of her neck, and Rarity ran over.

“Sunset Shimmer, if you do not stop touching your hair, I swear I will bind your hands together!”

Sunset held up her hooves and smiled apologetically. “Uh, technically I don’t have hands, so –”

“Silence! Now hold still while I fix this. Again.”

Luna took a seat and casually set the package down near the vanity. “I must ask, which Rarity designed your wedding dress?”

“We both did,” Rarity said while she worked at getting Sunset’s mane back in place. “When Sunset told me the news, I simply had to be involved. I am not nearly skilled enough with the equine form to even think about designing it alone, though. Fortunately, the other Rarity was kind enough to allow me to collaborate on the design, while she handled the actual making of the dress.”

“And the two of you did an amazing job,” Sunset said, grinning at her reflection. “Seriously, I love this so much. It definitely would have been less ‘me’ without your input.”

“Oh no, you are not getting off the hook that easily. I’m still quite unhappy with you,” Rarity said, although she looked nothing of the sort as she smiled at Sunset’s reflection.

“I believe Sunset looks just as lovely as her brides to be,” Luna said. “If there is nothing else to be done, then perhaps it would be best to start the ceremony. I would, however, like a moment alone with Sunset before starting.”

Rarity looked longingly at Sunset, almost as if she was trying to find something to fix. Applejack rolled her eyes. “Come on, Rare. She looks fine.”

“I… I suppose. Oh, I know! I’ll wait near the entrance to the hallway, and if anypony needs me, they need only ask.”

“A fine plan,” Luna said, if only because it seemed to be the only way Rarity would leave willingly. “Then I shall ask a favor of you, Applejack. Could you inform my sister that she should be ready for the ceremony to start shortly? She ought to be easy enough to find, she is the only pony larger than myself.”

Applejack chuckled. “I bet she never lets you forget that one.”

“Alas, she does not.”

Sunset’s friends left the room, finally leaving the two of them alone. She had been wondering how this meeting would go for weeks, and she was looking forward to finally seeing it fulfilled. And then she was dreading the thought of talking about it with Celestia afterwards, but that was a concern for later.

“Did you ever imagine you would be married when you were younger?” Luna asked.

“Honestly? No, not really. I didn’t imagine I would get married a couple of years ago, even after I started dating Twilight and Fluttershy.”

“No, you do not seem the type,” Luna said. She walked closer to Sunset, and they both looked at her through the vanity mirror. “I recall the day we met, when you told me of your foalhood dreams of being an alicorn princess.”

Sunset looked down, slightly embarrassed. “Yeah, I was really hung up on that for a while. Longer than I should have been.”

Luna gently placed a wing on Sunset’s back, careful to not mess up her mane or dress. “The alicorn ascension is a fickle thing, and to be truthful, even my sister and I do not understand it. We were able to see the signs that Twilight was ascending before it happened, although we could not have said why. All these years later, and I still could not tell you. Not that Twilight is unworthy, but why her and not another? In my opinion, any of the Element Bearers would be equally as worthy as Twilight.”

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, you’d think saving Equestria a dozen times would count for something.”

“And surely it does; there are many ponies across Equestria who respect them all. But they are not, nor are they ever likely to be, alicorns. If it were in my power, they would all ascend. I can scarcely think of anypony more deserving.”

“I don’t really think anypony minds too much,” Sunset said. “Plus, we do not need to give Rainbow something else to go to her head.”

“Yes, that is probably true.” Luna nodded, then continued along the slow path towards her final point. “It is also worth considering if somepony is more worthy simply for proving their worth. Who is to say if anypony quietly living their life here in Ponyville is not worthy of the ascension, but has simply never had the chance to be tested? For example, if it were within my power, you would be an alicorn princess.”

Sunset’s grin faded for a moment, then was replaced with a more sincere smile. “Aww, aren’t you sweet.”

Luna turned away from the mirror, looking at Sunset directly. “It is not within my power to make you an alicorn.” She levitated the package she had brought and set it in front of Sunset.

Sunset looked from her to the package a few times before opening it. There was no glamour to the packaging itself, just unassuming brown paper tied with string. She pulled it apart easily, and her mouth fell open upon seeing what was inside.

Luna retracted her wing and took a step back. She did not often do anything more than slightly incline her head to show acknowledgement of ponies she respected, but as Sunset stared in bewilderment she dropped her full body in a deep bow. “Princess Sunset.”

Sunset stared at the crown in her hooves. It was bright gold, with asymmetrical points that curved, and ruby red gems to accent it. Much like the mare it was made for, it was fire given solid form.

“This is…” Sunset shook her head, then let out a chuckle. “Okay, you really had me for a second there. This is pretty good, actually. Where’d you find it?”

“You know me well enough to know that I would not joke about this,” Luna said, rising from her bow. “That was made by the same blacksmith who forged Twilight’s, Cadance’s, and Fluttershy’s crowns, and will forge Flurry Heart’s when her time comes. If I could, I would have everypony acknowledge you as an official Princess of Equestria, but I can not do that any more than I could grant you wings. I, however, will always be proud to call you my equal in every way.”

Sunset looked at the crown in disbelief, and almost seemed like she was going to laugh it off as a joke again. Instead, she slowly lifted it to her head, hesitating a moment before setting it in place. She looked into the mirror, and her mouth slowly curved into a smile. She turned to Luna and looked like she was ready to make a cocky comment about herself, but instead she stood up and threw her forelegs around the other princess. “Thank you.”

Luna gently patted Sunset on the back. “Thank you, Princess Sunset.”

They stood together for a moment, but eventually Luna gently pushed Sunset away. “Now then, I suggest you dry your eyes. I believe everypony else is in place, and it is time for you to be escorted down the aisle.”

That caused Sunset to turn away from her reflection. “What? I said I don’t want my parents walking me down the aisle.”

Luna nodded. “They will simply watch from the crowd, as was arranged.”

She had expected Sunset to protest more, but it seemed the crown put her in a good enough mood that she just went along with it. “Twilight’s parents? I guess one of them would be okay.”

“No, they are also simply watching this evening.”

“Oh.” Sunset looked confused for a moment, then chuckled. “Okay, you’re officiating and walking me down the aisle? That seems like a little much, but I guess I’ll let you have the honor.”

“Not I.”

Sunset shook her head. “Then I honestly have no idea.”

“I would have thought you’d figure it out easily enough. I am referring to Celestia.”

“Celestia?” Sunset stared in shock. “That’s a joke, right?”

“It is not. She is approaching now,” Luna said, moving towards the door.

“How the fuck did you manage to get Princess Celestia to agree to that?”

Luna simply smiled. “I asked.”

She opened the door for Celestia before Sunset could consider removing her crown. Celestia had a hoof raised to knock, but quickly put it down. She smiled as she entered, but it changed to mirror Sunset’s surprise when they saw one another.

Many ponies seemed to have the idea that Luna and Celestia had some sort of magical bond that allowed for wordless communication. In truth, they did. It was called ‘sisterhood’, and they had been practicing it for several thousand years. Celestia gave half a glance at Luna, who smiled in just the right way to say, ‘Remember what I said earlier.’

Celestia’s smile returned full force as she heeded Luna’s advice to not say anything about the crown. “Sunset, you look absolutely beautiful.”

Sunset looked as if she might have a heart attack. “Th-thank you, Princess.”

“I will take my place then,” Luna said as she excused herself. Both of the other princesses seemed to barely notice her departure.

Luna walked through the hallway, where Pound and Pumpkin Cake were waiting. Outside the door she also found Rarity, just as she said she would be. Luna smiled reassuringly and motioned for her to take a seat, which she did with some reluctance. Luna herself walked around the crowd, rather than through them. Everypony awaited Sunset’s arrival, and she didn’t want to cause any premature excitement. She quietly took her place at the center of the altar, Twilight and Fluttershy on one side, an empty place for Sunset on the other. The only other pony present on the altar was Applejack, who would take the ring when Pound Cake brought it out.

They were not waiting long. The door opened, and the music started. After just a moment, Pumpkin Cake hopped down the aisle, spreading flowers as she went. Pound Cake was next out the door, and with the benefit of being three years older, he managed himself with more grace than when he was last a token bearer.

For a moment, the two young ponies were the only ones to approach the aisle. And then slowly, and only at Celestia’s encouragement, Sunset stepped hoof out of the door. She kept her eyes low at first, no doubt unsure of what everypony would think of the crown atop her head. As all eyes were focused on Sunset, Luna could not tell what their reactions might be.

Sunset did not look into the crowd at all, but once she was halfway down the aisle she did look up at her brides. It didn’t matter what the rest of the gathered ponies thought, or what anypony in all of Equestria might think, because what Sunset saw waiting for her on the altar seemed to give her strength. She lifted her head and smiled as she approached the altar, and the ponies she would love, and be loved by, forever more.
> 6 – Communication
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Six
Communication

⠀



⠀
The awkward thing about the wedding being hosted at the castle was that the brides had no way to get away from everypony once the reception was over. Most of the guests knew better than to overstay their welcome, but as always there were a few who just couldn’t tell when the party was over, and Twilight and Fluttershy were far too polite to say anything. Sunset probably would have, but she clearly wasn’t willing to risk having the two of them upset with her for kicking out their guests on their wedding night.

In the end, Amber wound up dropping some pretty big hints to the last of the stragglers before just outright suggesting that the newlyweds must be tired after their big day. Twilight almost blew it by not getting the hint, but Sunset and Fluttershy definitely caught it. It was hard to tell whether or not Twilight ever caught on, but she wound up following them up to bed all the same.

It was well into the night by the time the final guests left, but at least they had the decency to help with the cleanup. Amber herself was staying a few more nights at the castle, leaving the same morning that Sunset, Twilight, and Fluttershy left for their honeymoon. Since Twilight Velvet and Night Light had sent Spike to bed – a wedding was not a good enough reason for a growing dragon to stay up too late, it seemed – it was just the three of them remaining downstairs.

“So are you off to bed then, Amber?” Night Light asked.

“Eh, soon enough.” Amber shrugged. “I kinda like being up at night.”

Night Light gestured towards the kitchen. “In that case, would you care to join us for tea then?”

Twilight Velvet chuckled at Amber’s confused expression. “Our jobs wound up giving us pretty strange sleep schedules.”

Amber smirked. “A trait that rubbed off on Twilight.”

Twilight Velvet sighed. “And Spike too, although at least now he has Fluttershy to try and keep him on a better schedule.”

“Bah, being up during the day is overrated,” Amber said. “And I’d love to join you for tea, thanks.”

She followed them into the kitchen, then sat at a table next to Twilight Velvet while Night Light worked on making tea for the three of them.

“Some day, huh?” Amber asked, grinning. “Must’ve been pretty interesting for you two.”

Twilight Velvet closed her eyes and smiled. “Simply put, it’s amazing.” She turned to her husband and they lovingly looked into one another’s eyes for a moment. “Three weddings now. The three happiest days of my life.”

Night Light nodded. “Of course Sunset’s been part of the family for years, wedding or not. But I for one am glad that they decided to go through with the ceremony, even if it’s not legally binding.”

Twilight was lucky. It had to be nice, having parents who were so supportive of her. Amber just hoped she understood how lucky she was. “Wonder what everypony will make of that one.”

Twilight Velvet’s blissful smile faded a little. “Yes, I’m worried about that as well.”

Night Light sighed. “To be honest, I’m more concerned about what they’ll say about Sunset’s crown. I can’t help but think she’d be better off without that on her plate.”

“It’ll be tough,” Amber said, frowning. “There’s already too many ponies who don’t even acknowledge Fluttershy as a princess. I mean, I’m thrilled about Princess Sunset, but you’re right. I don’t think Luna did her any favors with that.”

Twilight Velvet chuckled. “Oh, they’ll be alright. All three of them are strong, and together they’re unstoppable. I think Princess Luna knew what she was doing.”

“She usually does,” Night Light said. He took a seat while waiting for the tea. “Kind of miss working under her. Not that we saw each other too much, but it was always interesting when she came into the office.”

Amber grinned sheepishly. “It’s… really weird to think of her as your boss.”

Night Light laughed. “Yeah, I can see why. Actually, when I first heard about you I was pretty shocked. She’s somepony I look up to as many years my senior, and you can’t be much older than Twilight.”

“Uh…” Amber glanced downward and traced a hoof around the table. “I’m… actually younger than her. I was nineteen when I met Luna.”

Night Light seemed surprised by the news, but Twilight Velvet laughed. “I guess once you’re as old as her, age difference doesn’t mean quite as much. What’s another twenty years on top of two thousand?”

It was actually over three, but Amber didn’t point that out. Nopony knew exactly how old the Sisters were except for themselves and Amber. “That’s pretty much how I see it.”

“Yes, of course,” Night Light said. “Sorry, you’d probably rather talk about something else.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” Amber insisted. “There’s no hard feelings between us or anything.”

“That’s good to hear,” Night Light said. “I guess I should’ve figured as much. You two seemed pretty close at the wedding.”

“Yeah, that’s us whenever we get together.” Amber grinned and laughed, but she didn’t really feel it. Who knew when the next time she’d get to see Luna would be? When Luna had said she wanted to remain friends, Amber thought she would return to some level of normalcy. She was still trying to get used to life with a coltfriend, and desperately wanted to keep Luna involved in her life in whatever way she could.

But things never went back to normal. Luna was often too busy to spend time with her, and okay, she was a princess. But that wasn’t a problem they’d often run into before. They had the journals, but if Amber didn’t write first, they never used them. When she told all her other friends that she wasn’t traveling anymore, they’d all tried to convince her to change her mind, or at least had shown some kind of unhappiness. Luna had nodded and said it was understandable. All in all, it made Amber wonder what Luna had really wanted out of their friendship.

The whistle of the tea kettle shook Amber from her thoughts. Rising from his seat, Night Light poured them each a cup then lowered the heat so it was just enough to keep the remaining tea warm. He levitated each of their cups over, and Amber smiled at Twilight Velvet’s motherly reminder not to burn herself.

“So what are you up to these days?” Twilight Velvet asked while they all let their tea cool. “Fluttershy said you live in Fillydelphia.”

“Yeah, I uh, I moved to be closer to my family. Mostly my little brother.” As awkward as bringing up her family was, it was still preferable to telling them she was unemployed.

“That’s sweet,” Twilight Velvet said. She was the first brave enough to test her tea, although she then set it aside to cool further. “How old is he?”

“Thirteen.” Amber smiled. “Thankfully he’s not all super moody. Or does that just come later? What do you think, should I be worried?”

They both chuckled. “Well, none of our kids did anything too out there,” Night Light said. “I think everypony gets a little emotional at that age, but I certainly wouldn’t say there’s anything to be worried about. Most teenagers just want a little space and to not be treated like a kid.”

Well that was certainly not a concern. If anything, Amber always worried she treated her brother too much like an adult. “Yeah, I can’t imagine Twilight, Spike, or Shining ever being anything but perfect little angels.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say they never got into trouble,” Twilight Velvet said, smiling. “But yes, for the most part they’ve always been any parent’s dream.”

“I bet. That actually sounds like Fox Glove. I went through the whole rebellious phase, but he’s a good kid.”

Twilight Velvet tapped her chin. “You know, I remember seeing you and Princess Luna together at Twilight and Fluttershy’s wedding. You had a colt with you, didn’t you?”

Amber nodded. “Yup, that was Foxy. He really wanted to come to this one too, but it would’ve been impossible to get my parents to agree to it.”

“I see.” Twilight Velvet blew on her tea one last time before beginning to take small sips of it. “I take it they’re not big fans of polyamory?”

“That’s… a bit of an understatement.” Amber tested her own tea. Still quite hot, but cool enough for small sips. “Or same-sex marriage, gay ponies in general, and any princesses besides Celestia.”

Although Amber expected Twilight’s parents to be upset that her parents had a whole list of reasons to look down on their daughter and her wives, they didn’t seem concerned with that part in the slightest. “Oh you poor dear,” Twilight Velvet said, placing her hoof atop Amber’s.

Night Light frowned, and his voice was also full of concern. “I suppose it goes without saying that they know about you and Luna, considering all the gossip magazines.”

Amber set her tea down and folded her forelegs. “You know, they’ve actually never even mentioned them. I know they don’t really read those types of magazines, but they must have seen them somewhere over the two years we were… whatever we were together.” Although she knew that should be a good thing, it always bothered her. It was as if they simply didn’t care enough to bring up the obvious issue, so long as she played the part they wanted her to.

They both looked at each other, seemingly trying to figure out which part of Amber’s statement they wanted to address. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Night Light said. “You’ve talked with them about it?”

Amber sighed. “Yeah, came out to them at seventeen. Didn’t go so well. Kicked out of the house until I came back and told them it was just a phase.”

At that Twilight Velvet’s demeanor changed completely. Her eyes went wide for a moment, then narrowed as her jaw clenched. “Seventeen? That is far too young. There’s no excuse for something like that, it’s –” She stopped as Night Light placed a hoof on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and softened her expression. “I’m sorry, dear. Of course you don’t need to hear all that. It’s just so frustrating to imagine…”

Night Light rested his chin on his hooves. “I’m sure you know, but we had… a bit of a disagreement when Twilight told us about Sunset. It took some time, but we realized we were wrong. I can only hope your parents do the same some day, for their sake as well as yours. It would be a pity if they missed out on having you in their lives.”

Amber had to smile at that. “Aww, thanks. And I hope so. The whole time I was living on my own, I mostly just thought about Fox Glove. But now that I’m back, I realize how much I missed them too.”

“Hmm.” Night Light smiled encouragingly. “You know, if you ever decide you do want to try and be open with them again, that sounds like exactly the type of thing you should tell them. Could be that they realized how much they missed you, too.”

Had things been different in the three years since she moved back than they were before she left home? Amber couldn’t tell. They definitely felt different, but that could just be because of her own emotions and how much she’d grown up during the time in between. “Maybe.”

As much as it wasn’t a particularly pleasant conversation, she was glad they had got onto the subject of her parents. Of the few ponies she trusted enough to be open with, most just parroted the same advice about how she should move out, and even ponies like Sunset who understood why she wouldn’t always took it as a given that she’d hate her parents. But Twilight Velvet and Night Light were nothing if not worldly. They genuinely understood how difficult the situation was, and Amber appreciated it more than she could say.

It made her wonder if they could help her with her other problem too. “So, uh… did Luna ever mention me?” She tried to sound casual, but knew it was anything but a casual question.

From the look he gave her, Night Light knew it as well. “No, but our relationship was always purely professional. And even at that, she usually was too busy to come into the office herself. I saw more of her aides than I did of her.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Something must have shown on her face, or maybe it was just obvious in general, because Twilight Velvet smiled sadly and said, “You still love her, don’t you.”

Normally this was where Amber would deny that she ever actually loved Luna. Love was a strong word, after all, and who needed to be tied down by labels like that? “I… I don’t know.”

“You should talk to her about it,” Twilight Velvet said. “It definitely looked like she’s still in love with you.”

Amber sighed. “I know how we looked at the wedding, but most ponies don’t realize that’s just how Luna is. Maybe not with everypony, but I’m not the only one, and she definitely doesn’t have feelings for everypony she’s affectionate with.”

Twilight Velvet smiled and inclined her head. “Oh, I don’t think that was all there was to it.”

“She fell asleep cuddling Fluttershy once,” Amber said. Twilight Velvet and Night Light exchanged surprised looks. “They woke up to find Sunset had joined them. Apparently Twilight took one look and just kept walking.” She tactfully left out that the only reason she knew this story was because Luna had been venting that out of the three, Twilight had to be the one who couldn’t enjoy some platonic cuddling.

“Well, that’s… not actually as surprising as it should be,” Twilight Velvet said. “But in any event it’s clear she cares about you a lot.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Amber drank some of her tea, finding it was finally cool enough to not worry about burning herself. She set down her cup to see both of them were looking at her skeptically, and realized she would be better off giving a full explanation. “Okay, so here’s the thing. Me and Luna weren’t ever dating, we were just friends who were a little overly friendly with one another. At first that was cool, but then I did kind of wind up falling for her. And by kind of, I mean totally head over hooves. So then I find out she’s still sleeping with other ponies, which is totally in line with our agreement at the time, but I felt super weird so I ended things.

“But nowadays, it’s like… sometimes she still acts exactly the way she did back then, but other times she’s just so distant. I stopped sleeping with her, so she stopped being as friendly to me? Except not always, because sometimes she still acts like I’m somepony super important to her. How am I supposed to interpret that, you know?”

Twilight Velvet took hold of Night Light’s hoof and smiled at him, so he smiled back at her. “Amber dear, we just celebrated our thirty-fifth anniversary.”

Although she didn’t know where that came from, Amber grinned excitedly all the same. “Holy smokes, that’s amazing. Congratulations!”

“Thank you.” Twilight Velvet nodded. “Do you know what the secret to staying together for as long as we have is?”

“Smiling and saying ‘of course, honey’ a lot?”

“Communication,” Twilight Velvet answered.

“That was gonna be my next guess.”

“She’s right, of course,” Night Light said. “It sounds like you and Princess Luna need to have a talk. Really, it sounds like you two should have talked years ago.”

Easier said than done. “But… what do I even say to her? She’s seriously wicked good at saying exactly the right thing at the right time. She could probably dodge any question I throw at her.”

“Tell her that you want an honest answer,” Night Light said. “If you ask a direct question you’re much more likely to get a direct answer. Tell her you want to know what you mean to her, and what she wants from your friendship. If talking one on one doesn’t work, you can always bring in another pony. Like you said, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sunset are all close with her, and if anypony can match Princess Luna in directing a conversation, it’s Sunset.”

“You could also write to her,” Twilight Velvet suggested. “It may not be as personal as a face-to-face conversation, but you’ll be on more equal ground. It can be a lot easier to figure out a response, or to say something that would be hard to say out loud.”

Parental advice was truly a wonderful thing, even if she had to borrow somepony else’s parents. “You know, I’m not surprised to hear you two have been together for thirty-five years. You definitely know your stuff.”

“We’re more than happy to help, dear,” Twilight Velvet said, smiling contentedly.

Amber took a deep breath. “Too bad I blew a perfectly good chance to talk to her today. I probably won’t get another chance for like another year, based on how things have been going.”

“Well, there’s always the journal,” Twilight Velvet reminded her, “but don’t you have a few days before going back to Fillydelphia? You could try and arrange something before you leave.”

“I do, but with her schedule it’d be pretty much impossible. Maybe if a train left right now I could get to Canterlot by the time she got off work in the morning, but it’s way too late for trains to still be departing.”

Night Light smirked. “You do realize there’s another way to get to Canterlot, right?”

“There is?” Amber asked, which caused them both to grin.

“You could fly there,” Twilight Velvet said. “If you really want to talk to her, I mean.”

Did she really want to talk to her? That was a silly question; she wanted to talk with Luna more than anything. But flying all the way to Canterlot? She’d never travelled any way other than train before. Ponyville and Canterlot weren’t far, relatively speaking, but she would be alone, in the middle of nowhere, without her security blanket on wheels to comfort her. Forget making it there in time, she’d be happy if she made it there alive.

She couldn’t go, but what if she stayed? She’d never know what might have been. She desperately wanted Luna’s comfort, and not just as a love interest. She wanted her best friend, the one pony whom she could always count on for support and guidance. Not somepony whom she only talked to once every four months.

She couldn’t go, and she couldn’t stay. Time to choose.

“Thank you both so much, you have no idea how great you two are.” Amber drank the last of her tea quickly, then stood up. “Tell the others I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, and that I’ll be sure to write to them ASAP.”

“Will do,” Night Light said. “And be careful out there.”

“Wait.” Twilight Velvet stood up and filled a bottle with water for her. “It’s not too far to Canterlot, but you should be prepared.”

Amber grinned. “Thanks, again.”

Twilight Velvet pulled her into a hug. “Now remember, you can fly from the castle straight to Canterlot, right over the Unicorn Range. There’s no need to do anything foalish like fly over the forest, and even at night the lights of Canterlot are visible the whole way.”

After hugging Night Light as well and assuring them both that she’d be careful, Amber gathered the few things she’d brought with her and walked out onto a balcony. Sure enough, Canterlot was dimly visible in the distance. She took a deep breath, spread her wings, and flew into the night.






Amber had barely left Ponyville before she started wondering if she had lost her damn mind. By the time she had to take a break from flying for the second time, she was sure she was going to die. And by the time she finally flew into Canterlot, she was debating what the first thing she was going to do when she saw Luna was. She narrowed it down to either uncontrollable sobbing or assault. This was Luna’s fault, after all, because of reasons she would decide while waiting for her to be finished with her work.

She didn’t land so much as fall onto Luna’s balcony. She was lying on the ground, trying to catch her breath, when she noticed four grey legs clad in purple gaiters.

“Amber Glow,” Nocturn said, by way of greeting. It was as friendly as he ever was with anypony.

“Nocturn,” she replied. She had planned to say more, but was still having trouble breathing. “Just… give me a minute…”

He waited around a moment before sighing and flying to another balcony. Amber was baffled, but she didn’t have the energy to think about it. Really, she’d be better off entering Luna’s room while she had the chance, because she had no idea how to explain herself if Nocturn returned or any of Luna’s other guards caught her loitering around.

She didn’t even make the attempt, and instead she just lay down and clutched her sides.

“Drink.”

Amber looked up to see Nocturn had returned, and he’d brought a thermos with him. She took it and nodded her appreciation, then drank it all in one go. She’d drunk the water Twilight Velvet had given her on the first stop.

“Thanks,” Amber said, finally pushing herself into a sitting position. She gave him back the empty thermos and tried to settle on an explanation for her presence.

“Is there anything else I can get for you, Amber Glow?”

Or maybe that would happen. “I, uh, I think I’ll be okay,” she said in between pants.

He nodded, then started to walk away. Apparently thinking better of it, he stopped and turned back towards her after a few steps. “Will you be okay on your own?”

The royal guard were known for being completely impassive, and yet Nocturn was still looking at her with concern. ‘I must look worse than I thought.’ She did her best to level out her expression. “I just need to lie down a bit.”

Nocturn bowed his head. “As you say.”

Amber stepped towards Luna’s room, but stopped. She knew better, that if Nocturn was going to just let her in then she shouldn’t question it. It was just so strange though, she couldn’t help herself. “Hey, uh, was Luna expecting me or something?”

“She made no mention of your arrival to me.”

“Oh, uh, okay.” That made sense, in that Luna wouldn’t have any way of knowing she was coming, but it didn’t, in that he should then be stopping her entrance. “So… okay, I probably should just leave this be, but like… you’re just going to let me go into her room?”

He looked at her strangely but made no move to do anything. “I can think of no reason not to. Princess Luna has explicitly informed us that you have permission to come and go freely, with or without her presence.”

“Really, she – oh! You mean five years ago?”

Nocturn nodded. “Yes. She didn’t give a time limit, and has never rescinded the order.”

Amber grinned. She might have been getting by on a technicality, but she’d take it. “Right, okay then. Well, thanks for checking on me, and for the water.”

Nocturn bowed his head, and flew off as Amber entered the room.

It was empty, which wasn’t surprising. Luna would be busy at work for another hour or two. Figuring it was a chance to get at least a little sleep before the encounter, Amber collapsed onto Luna’s bed.

She’d barely even noticed how laborious her breathing had become until the weight finally lifted from her chest. She clung tightly to Luna’s pillow and closed her eyes, letting go only to cover herself in Luna’s blanket. Everything smelled like her, and all of Amber’s worries disappeared into the night.






There was some sort of scratching noise. Initially, Amber hadn’t even noticed it. But slowly it worked its way further into her perception, and she realized that she was no longer alone.

She always hated waking, but even so she was finding it especially hard. There was no way to tell how long she had slept – the curtains on Luna’s windows were never opened during the day, so she couldn’t judge based on the sun’s position – but she could tell it hadn’t been long enough. There was a mild burning sensation in her eyes as they begged her to close them again. She ignored it, and groggily turned her head toward the scratching noise.

“Luna?”

The only light was a soft glow coming from somewhere Amber couldn’t identify, but Luna’s form was unmistakable. She was sitting at a desk, and the scratching noise had been her writing something. She set the quill down and smiled. “I apologize if I have woken you.”

Amber blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. There was something comforting in the knowledge that she could just show up unannounced and sleep in Luna’s bed without causing enough concern for Luna to wake her up. Still, she had to be wondering why Amber was there.

“I… I wanted to talk to you.” Amber pulled aside the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I must admit that I assumed you did,” Luna said playfully. “I am aware my bed is quite comfortable, but this would be the first time that somepony has visited it instead of me.”

“Yeah, but… I wanted to talk. Like, not just see you, but to really have a chance to talk.”

“Very well.” Luna stood up and walked over to the bed, taking a seat next to Amber. “What would you like to talk about?”

“I don’t know,” Amber said, though in fact she knew too many things. How could she possibly pick one, when she knew that Luna probably didn’t have much time? True, she had originally come to talk about their friendship, but there were so many things.

“I see,” Luna said. “We talked about Fox Glove at the wedding, unless there’s something else concerning him?”

“No, Foxy’s great.”

“The rest of your family, then?”

Amber hesitated. True, that was a lot more complicated, but she didn’t think there was anything Luna could do to help her with there. “Not really. Pretty much the same as always.”

Luna nodded. “Is there perhaps something else back in Fillydelphia which has been causing you trouble?”

Where to start? More and more she was feeling frustrated with her city and the ponies in it. Although, if she was being fair, she was sure the narrow-minded opinions existed in every city. She almost passed on that topic too, but there was something. Something she hadn’t told anypony but her brother yet. “Caramel proposed to me.”

Luna remained unfazed, continuing to watch Amber even though she herself wasn’t meeting Luna’s eyes. “I see. And did you answer?”

Why was her tone always so neutral? Why couldn’t she just once show how she felt? “I told him… that I don’t know. That I needed to think about it.”

“And have you found an answer?”

Amber sighed and shook her head. “There’s only one real answer. He’s a great guy, and he’ll make a great husband.” She looked up to meet Luna’s eyes, determined to see how she reacted to her next comment. “Which is why I’m breaking up with him once I get back. He deserves to be with somepony who really loves him.”

As she had been for three years, Luna remained impassive. “I am sorry to see you in this position, but I think this answer is better for the both of you.”

Amber turned away. What had she expected? Happiness, excitement even? That Luna would smile and tell her that she had been waiting for three years to hear those words? “Yeah, I guess.”

“I think you can rest easy concerning your parents. It has been over three years, surely they are convinced by now.”

“Maybe.”

They sat quietly for a while. At first, Luna kept her eyes on Amber, but eventually both of them found themselves looking elsewhere. Why had she thought this was a good idea? This was how things were between them now. On the rare occasions that they saw each other, they could have fun and play around like old times. But any conversation more serious? Amber may as well be talking to herself.

After a while, Luna sighed. “Amber, would that I could give you my full attention, but I have many calls on my time. You are, as ever, free to stay in the castle as my guest for as long as you wish. Perhaps if you stay we might be able to talk again before you leave.”

Perhaps, but they wouldn’t. It was just a way to mitigate her guilt while not actually committing herself to anything. Amber stood up and walked towards the balcony. “I’m sorry I keep wasting your time.”

“You have not wasted my time,” Luna said. “And surely you do not mean to leave so soon? Nocturn tells me you flew in less than two hours ago. Surely you are far too exhausted to travel now?”

Amber looked back and smiled. “Thanks, but don’t worry about me. I shouldn’t have come here anyway.”

She opened the door and shielded her eyes to the bright light. While she waited for her eyes to adjust, Luna walked up behind her and gently closed the door. After the blinding light, the room seemed even darker.

“Please, I did not mean to make you feel unwanted.”

Not unwanted, just never wanted either. “Luna, it’s fine. I’ll just… maybe in like three months we can talk in the journal or something.”

She felt like she was being a little unfair as she said it, and the feeling only worsened once Luna finally showed a reaction. Her ears folded down and she retracted back a step. “I… I am sorry.”

“No, I am.” Amber held a hoof to her head and sighed. “That’s not fair, you’re really busy. I’m just… tired, I guess.”

“Then stay.” Luna bowed her head, retaking the lost step towards Amber. “You are not expected back until tomorrow; you should rest here.”

She was concerned, but she didn’t have time to talk. She never did. “I’d… I think it would be better if I return to Ponyville.”

“I… see.” Luna hung her head. Was she upset? Did she want Amber to stay? “Will you at least allow me to arrange transportation for you?”

It was too much. Amber was exasperated from trying to figure it all out. “What do you want, Luna?”

Luna lifted her head, and looked into Amber’s eyes. “I should think it clear, I would like for you to rest in the castle.”

“But just…” Amber took a deep breath. “I don’t understand. We can go months and you’ll barely talk to me, but then out of the blue you’ll spend all night writing to me. You never have time to meet up face to face, except when we do happen to see each other we’re close enough that everypony confuses us for lovers. I can fly all the bucking way to Canterlot to talk to you, and you still don’t have time. But ‘oh, don’t leave or anything, stick around so I can keep not bucking talking to you!’ ” 

Luna waited a moment to make sure Amber was finished, then held up a hoof as she spoke. “I am sorry if I made you feel underappreciated. You must know I treasure our friendship dearly.”

“You can say that all you want, but it doesn’t make it true.” Amber shook her head. She should have taken Luna’s offer to let her arrange transportation. She never should have even come. “So, what? Should I just stop bothering? ‘Cause please, if that’s the case, let me know. I really don’t need somepony who’s only going to be a friend for a few days a year.”

Luna bowed her head deeply. “I apologize, I have been unfair to you.”

“I don’t want a bucking apology!” What did she want? Why was she doing all this? “I just… I want to know. I need an answer, a real one. Whatever it is, just please don’t keep dodging the question! What are we?” Amber dropped her tone. All the anger left her voice,  and was replaced with pleading. “Because, you know, I get it. You have a really important job, and we… we weren’t ever really a thing anyway. But if that’s what it is, if we’re just not as close as we were and won’t ever be, then… just let me know.”

For a moment, Luna was quiet. When she did speak, her voice remained very calm, although she’d lost her impassiveness from before. She spoke not as the ever-ambivalent Princess of the Night, but as Luna. “Amber, I know you don’t want an apology, but I have not been fair to you, and for that I am sorry. The truth is that I would like nothing more than to be as close as we ever were, but I fear it is not the case, nor will it ever be. It has nothing to do with my title, nor with the distance, nor with your decision to hide your feelings towards mares. It simply is because of me, and who I am.”

Amber snorted. “So that’s it? ‘It’s not you, it’s me’?”

Luna kept her gaze trained on the floor. “I am sorry. I have answered your question directly, although I realize it is probably not the answer you had hoped for.”

“Luna…” Looking at Luna’s pathetic expression should have made Amber feel sorry for her, or for herself. Instead she just felt angry again. “You’re so full of shit.” Luna winced at the accusation. She looked like she was about to talk, but Amber cut her off. “So, what about all the times we did talk? Because you sure didn’t feel distant then! How many nights have I stayed up until after the sunrise just because you were actually talking to me? And we’ll write to each other for hours, and I know you neglect your work to do it. So how am I both somepony who you’re not close with anymore, and somepony who you can periodically decide to put aside all your royal duties to talk with?”

The muscles in Luna’s face grew tighter, and a harsh edge worked its way into her voice. “I am not perfect, Amber, and I never claimed to be. At times I too feel weak, and it is comforting to talk with somepony.”

“So I was just the pony who happened to be awake?” Amber asked skeptically. “You know tons of ponies who are up all night, every night! This is just like when I first told you about Caramel; you just don’t want me to be close to you anymore!”

“Yes.” Luna rose to her full height and frowned as she looked down at Amber. “That is what this is. I have chosen to no longer be close with you.”

If Luna was trying to make herself look intimidating, it wasn’t working. Nopony could ever intimidate Amber less. “Well why the buck not!? Why do you have to push me away all the time!?”

“Because you are going to die!” Luna stamped a hoof and spoke uncharacteristically forcefully. “You are going to die, and I am not! You wish to know what I want? If I were able, I would stop death from taking you. And make no mistake, that is no kindness. I would do this to you, and I would not ask your permission. I would do this, and you would hate me. Still, I would do this, because I know how it would end. Centuries would go by, and all your loved ones would turn to dust. You would watch your family and friends die out, and yet you would remain. You would watch babies enter the world, only to see them wither away. I would give you this life, and I would not spare it a second thought, because I know that in the end, when everyone else leaves you alone, you would return to me. You would be broken, and you would be lonely, and you would accept me if only because I would be the only one who could not abandon you. What do I want, Amber Glow? I want nothing you can ever give me.”

They remained staring into each other’s eyes the whole time Luna spoke. When she finished, Amber shook her head and walked closer to Luna, with only one thought on her mind: AJ had been wrong. “You are, without a doubt, the most depressing pony I have ever met.”

Whether it was because she was too drained to resist, or because she never would have offered any resistance in the first place, Luna fell onto the bed when Amber pushed her towards it. Neither of them spoke as Amber climbed in with her. She nudged Luna’s forelegs with her head, and Luna conceded, wrapping them around her. She used both forelegs and hindlegs to hold her close, the smaller mare fitting against her body like a puzzle piece, and she blanketed her with a wing, so Amber was completely surrounded by Luna.

“Luna?”

“Yes, Amber?”

“I love you, too.”
> 7 – Confessions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Seven
Confessions

⠀



⠀
‘I love you, too.’

Amber had no idea where that had come from, but she had said it. When she woke up, Luna was still surrounding her. They remained together for the rest of the day, and neither of them spoke about what they had said to one another. Aside from sleeping next to each other, they didn’t do anything that could have been misconstrued as more than friendship, but Amber felt like a wall had disappeared from between them.

But the day came to an end, as they always do. Although she would hopefully stop using it as an excuse to avoid Amber, the truth remained that Luna did have a rather important job to do. She made it clear that if Amber was still around when she finished that they would continue spending time together, but she was expected back in Fillydelphia.

The carriage Luna had arranged for her landed near the train station, shaking Amber from her thoughts. “Is there anywhere specific you would like us to bring you?” Nocturn asked as she stepped off.

“No, this is good,” she said, smiling appreciatively. “Thanks a bunch, guys.”

Nocturn just bowed his head, but Echo smiled at her. As far as Amber could tell, Nocturn had traded in his personality when he took on the job as a member of the Lunar Guard, but she had occasionally witnessed Echo break character. “It was nice to see you again, Amber Glow. We hope you’ll come visit the princess more often.”

Amber grinned. “Hey, if you two wanna hang out sometime, you can just say so. And just call me Amber.”

Echo turned to face forward again. “Farewell, Amber Glow.”

Without waiting for her to return the goodbye, the two guards flew off with the empty carriage. Although they were turned away from her, Amber still waved.

She turned to walk towards Fox Glove’s school. It was a few hours before her family expected her to return home, which was part of her plan. Although it had been nerve-wracking to fly rather than take the train, letting somepony else handle the actual flying proved far easier than doing so herself, and the much more direct route had shortened the travel time enough that she would have the chance for some one-on-one time with Fox Glove before meeting her entire family for dinner.

With any luck, this would serve as the highlight of an otherwise miserable day. Sleeping the previous day away with Luna had been better than she could have imagined, but it had seriously messed with both her perception of time and left her more exhausted than she really should have been. Add in less than a full night’s sleep before her pre-dawn departure and not being able to see Luna one last time before leaving, and it hadn’t been an exceptionally good start. Then there was dinner to dread… She honestly was looking forward to seeing her parents again, but of course they weren’t who she worried about.

But before all of that, she had the chance to spend some time with her favorite pony. She stood outside his school, striking up conversation with others who were also waiting for their children or siblings to get out. The casual conversation kept her occupied, and it wasn’t long at all before kids began filing out.

“Fox Glove!” she called as he came out, sparing him from being called Foxy in front of his friends.

He looked puzzled when he noticed her, but told his friends that he’d catch up with them later and ran to meet her. “What are you doing here?”

“Taking you out for ice cream. Come on.”

She turned to go and he followed. Along the way she asked about school, and kept the topic off of what she’d been up to and why she was early. Although he had to be curious, Fox Glove played along until they were actually sitting down.

“So how’d everything go?” he asked as he started eating his sundae.

“The wedding was really nice,” she said. Best to get that out of the way, since she knew that was the main thing on his mind. “Luna surprised everyone by giving Sunset a crown. She’s been calling her Princess Sunset, and says she plans on keeping it up.”

Fox Glove grinned. “That’s amazing! So she is a princess after all?”

Amber sighed. “Well, Princess Celestia hasn’t acknowledged it, and I heard her say ‘Captain Shimmer’ afterwards. I think we’ll have to see what ponies make of it.”

All trace of Fox Glove's grin was gone. “Yeah, ‘cause that’ll go over great. Why doesn’t Princess Celestia just say it’s official? Nopony will go along with it if it’s just Princess Luna.”

“I don’t know,” Amber said. She could tell Princess Celestia’s feelings on the matter were complicated, and she was definitely not in a place to try and explain them. She knew he had a point though; Luna’s word didn’t count for quite as much as her sister’s. Still, that didn’t mean it was worthless. “But I wouldn’t say nopony will go along with it. We will.”

That made him smile a little. “I guess.”

As Fox Glove contented himself with his ice cream, Amber wondered how to best bring up what she really wanted to talk about. That was silly though; the best way was just to tell him. “So anyway, the main reason I wanted to talk is… well, first off I probably don’t even need to tell you this, but don’t tell Mom and Dad.”

“Deal,” he answered immediately. She almost could have felt worried about how readily he agreed to hide things from his parents, but that would have made her a hypocrite.

Amber took one more deep breath and fixed her face into a confident grin. “I’m a lesbian.”

“Uh huh,” he said skeptically, then took another bite of ice cream. “Really, what’s up?”

“I like mares?” she tried.

“Ha ha,” he said mockingly. “You went to a gay wedding and it turned you gay.”

“Hey, I was gay long before they were doing it. I get like, obnoxious gay hipster status.”

“Well, maybe the obnoxious part.”

Amber sighed. Admittedly, the timing of this reveal could have been better. “Do you remember Summer Song?”

“Yeah. She was like, your best friend back before you started travelling.”

“Not quite, although I have blurred that line a lot. She was actually my marefriend.”

Fox Glove smirked. “Your marefriend? You know she’s married to a stallion now, right? They have a kid together and everything.”

“Okay, when the buck did she have a kid?” Amber shook her head. Not important right now. “Never mind. I said was, as in she isn’t anymore. She said it was just a phase and broke up with me. That was when I started travelling. You didn’t think it was weird that we were living together?”

“Lots of ponies have roommates,” he countered.

She leaned back in her seat and folded her forelegs. “Foxy, look… I’m being serious here. I’m gay. I left home so I wouldn’t have to worry about Mom and Dad’s opinions while I explored Equestria and figured out myself. And because I didn’t want to keep living with my ex-marefriend, but you know. Lots of reasons.”

He looked at her for a minute without saying anything, then just returned to his ice cream. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I mean… It’s not really that surprising, now that I think about it.”

Amber had admittedly expected a pretty welcoming reaction, but she hadn’t expected ‘okay’. “Shouldn’t you, like, congratulate me or something?”

Fox Glove rolled his eyes. “You’re an inspiration to us all. So wait, what about Caramel?”

Amber frowned. “He’s… a decoy, basically. I grew out my mane, started wearing makeup, and even dated a stallion so I could sell the straight image.”

“You know, that was an incredibly stupid sentence, but right now I just have to say holy shit, three years?” Fox Glove winced and gestured towards her. “Bitch move.”

“I know.” Amber closed her eyes and held her face in her hooves. “I’m seriously the worst.”

Fox Glove slid his ice cream across the table, then stood up and walked to the other side himself. He sat down, pushing Amber aside so he could sit next to her. “You’ve gotta tell him.”

Amber wrapped a wing around Fox Glove as he pulled his sundae close enough to resume eating it. She absentmindedly pulled him closer. “No, I’ve gotta break up with him. Last thing I need is for word to get back to Mom and Dad. That’s why I waited so long to tell you, even though I knew you wouldn’t care. I also had to make sure you could keep it secret.”

“Why are you so worried about that? I mean, yeah, I get that they’ll be pissed, but it’s not like they’re not gonna kick y–” He let his spoon fall into the ice cream bowl, causing it to clatter loudly, and instead wrapped his forelegs around Amber.

She leaned her head against his. “I see you figured it out. Yeah, me and Summer Song came out to them when we were teenagers. That’s why I moved in with her.”

“But that’s…” Fox Glove pulled away and shook his head. “That’s bucked up!”

“Yeah, it is.” Amber shrugged. That was seven years ago, and she’d long since come to terms with it. “So anyway, that’s why you can’t let them know.”

Clearly, Fox Glove wasn’t over it. “But why?”

“Uh, because I don’t want to get kicked out again?” Amber replied questioningly. “I thought that part was kinda obvious.”

Fox Glove shook his head. “No, why did you move back in the first place? You gave up your job and your chance at being happy with somepony to live somewhere that you have to date a stallion just to keep your cover? What sense does that make?”

Amber smirked and ruffled his mane. “Yeah, what could possibly make it worth it to put up with all that?”

Fox Glove frowned. “Me? You gave up all that for me?”

“You know, what’s funny is that I’ve said that like a bunch of times,” Amber said. She had learned from Luna how easy and fun it was to deceive ponies by telling them the truth.

Fox Glove didn’t seem to find it funny. “That’s not okay. I don’t want you to give up being happy for me.”

Amber took a deep breath and smiled. While she enjoyed their playfulness, it seemed that the only way she was going to get it through to him was to lay on the sap. “Foxy… there’s a lot more to life than romance, and happiness can be complicated. While I was gone, I… I missed you. I missed four years of your life, while I was off having fun. And yeah, it was a good experience. I learned a lot, I met some of the most amazing ponies I’ll ever know, but you know… I still missed watching you grow up.”

At least he didn’t try and wriggle away from the sentimentality. “Amber, that’s…” He looked down at the table for a moment before staring back at her angrily. “That’s so dumb!”

“Well, geez, remind me not to tell you how much I care again.”

“Do Mom and Dad know where I am right now?”

Amber cocked her head to the side. “I guess not, but what’s –”

“Yeah, because I’m thirteen.” He waited a moment, but continued when he saw she clearly didn’t get it. “Which means I can go places on my own without having to check in with them all the time. We can still hang out, and if they’re not okay with that, then we just won’t tell them.”

Amber folded her forelegs and scowled. “See, now that’s exactly the problem. You are not going to be like me when I was your age. So help me, I’m going to make sure you don’t go around breaking rules just so you can rebel against Mom and Dad.”

Fox Glove matched her sour demeanor. “Yeah, or maybe I’ve already learned enough from you to know the difference between breaking a rule ‘just because’ and breaking a rule that shouldn’t have been a rule in the first place!”

“Sweet Celestia, when did I become such a bad influence?” Amber asked as she stared up into the ceiling.

“Sometime right around never,” Fox Glove replied. “Oh no, I learned that it’s okay for ponies to be gay. The horror of it all!”

“Ugh!” Amber let her face fall to the table and covered her head with her hooves. Fox Glove was growing into a teenager, and it was all her fault.

He leaned against her, and when he spoke again he dropped the know-it-all tone. “Amber… I don’t know what you think I’m gonna do if you’re not around every single day of my life, but I’ll be okay. You don’t have to choose between being my sister and having a marefriend. Even if Mom and Dad don’t like it, we’ll find ways to see each other. We’re not gonna drift apart again.”

Although she lifted her head, Amber still let out a sigh. She wrapped her forelegs around Fox Glove and hugged him tightly. “When did you get so sappy?”

They sat together for a moment before Fox Glove started laughing. Soon Amber joined in; the situation was so distant from their normal behavior that she couldn’t help it.

By the time they let go of each other, Fox Glove’s sundae had melted. It didn’t stop him from drinking the rest. As he set it down and insufficiently wiped his muzzle, he grinned at Amber. “Okay, I have an idea.”

“Uh oh.” Amber smirked. This could only go really well or really bad.

“You said you grew your mane out when you decided to move back right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, let’s go get it cut.”

Amber just stared at him. “Look, I never said I was gonna come out to Mom and Dad again.”

Fox Glove mocked an enlightened expression. “Oh, okay. See, I didn’t realize that gay mares have short manes and straight mares have long manes.” He winced. “Have, uh, have you ever told Princess Fluttershy?”

Amber shoved him out of the seat. “Yeah yeah, believe me, I know what you mean. But it’s about what Mom and Dad think.”

“Come on!” he whined. “You’ve been complaining about your mane for the whole time you’ve been back in Filly. You can tell them it’s coming in style or something, that all the mares are wearing shorter manes in other cities.”

It was a dumb excuse. They’d never buy it, and Amber knew that. But she also really hated her mane. “You know what?” Amber grinned as she followed him out the door. “Let’s do it!”

As they walked out the door, Fox Glove grinned at her. “So does this mean you’ll be twice as good at helping me get a marefriend someday?”

While she could argue that being a lesbian didn’t make her any better at knowing what mares wanted in a relationship, that thought barely crossed her mind as a much more important one took hold. “Oh my gosh, do you have a crush on somepony? Who is she? Do I know her?”

“No,” Fox Glove said quickly as he blushed and looked away. “I just meant, you know… hypothetically.”

“Aww, you do! Come on, tell me!”

“No.”

“Please?”

“It’s stupid.”

Amber wasn’t giving up that easily. “Okay, okay, how about this? Is she somepony you know, or are we talking like celebrity crush?”

“She’s…” Fox Glove’s ears folded down. “She’s pretty famous.”

“Hmm, okay. So is it somepony your age?”

“Older…”

Amber smiled, thinking of the guessing game they often played. “Have I met her?”

“Yeah.” Fox Glove was starting to sound nervous.

She was going to guess Coloratura; half of Equestria was smitten with her, after all. But then something occurred to her. “Is she a princess?”

His silence spoke plenty.

“It’s Cadance, isn’t it?” They had gotten along well when they met at Twilight and Fluttershy’s wedding.

“What? No.” Fox Glove sounded surprised at the thought. “She’s like… a mom.”

Amber snorted. She had almost forgotten that she was talking with a teenager. “Okay okay. Well, it’s obviously not Flurry Heart either, so that leaves five. I’m gonna guess it’s not Princess Celestia.”

“Definitely not.” Fox Glove didn’t seem too happy that the list was growing shorter.

“So then who…” Twilight, Fluttershy, Sunset, and… “Is it Luna?”

He turned away.

Amber stopped walking so she could better grab him in a hug. “Oh my gosh, it’s Luna! Wait until she hears about this, oh my gosh!”

“Amber!” Fox Glove pushed away and frowned. “Don’t tell her that!”

“Aww, why not? She’ll think it’s cute!”

“It’s embarrassing!”

Amber rolled her eyes and pulled him back into a sideways hug. “I won’t tell her. But you know, you really should find somepony else to dote on.”

Fox Glove kept his eyes forward as they walked. “Yeah, yeah, somepony my own age and all that.”

“Oh, well, that too. But I guess at least you picked one of the only ponies who won’t care about the huge age gap if you wait around long enough. But anyway, I was just saying ‘cause I’m not sharing.”

Fox Glove finally seemed to forgive her teasing. He laughed and grinned at her. “What, you have a crush on her too?”

“Something like that.”

Amber didn’t elaborate, and Fox Glove didn’t press for more. Apparently he was significantly less embarrassed when armed with the knowledge that they both liked the same mare; Amber couldn’t wait to see his face whenever she did decide to tell him about their history.

A bell chimed as they walked into the barbershop. “Well hello there, you two,” the barber said. He was a grey unicorn, and seemed to have a jovial nature. “Who’s getting a trim today?”

“I am,” Amber said as she approached the chair.

“Alright, what can I do for you?”

She took a few seconds to look in the mirror. As always, she didn’t like what she saw. She closed her eyes and imagined the way her reflection had been years ago, when she had been at least indifferent to it. “Just… short. Like, you know, a stallion.”

“Uh, you sure? Seems like a real shame.”

Amber opened her eyes, looked into the reflection she hated, and smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

At several times, the barber hesitated. Every time he did, Amber just grinned and said, “Shorter.” A few times he seemed like he might even refuse, likely thinking she’d just complain later, but in the end he complied. Her mane had fallen in waves to her shoulders when they had begun. Now the ends curled around her ears.

“I love it,” she said. Fox Glove clapped and the barber seemed baffled, but he shrugged it off. They shortened her tail to match, and she left him with a very generous tip.

“Mom and Dad are gonna freak,” Amber said on the way out. By the time they were finished, it was time to meet for supper.

“Yeah they are,” Fox Glove said. “Feel better?”

Amber ran a hoof over it. “You have no idea.”

Everything about her mood lifted. She stared at her reflection in windows, finally seeing herself instead of some a mare who had her face. They joked and laughed all the way home.

She was recounting a story from her time living away from Fillydelphia when they approached their home. “So Luna tells them –”

“Amber?”

They both stopped in place and exchanged worried glances. Eventually Amber looked up and tried her best to give a friendly smile. “Hey there, Caramel. How’s it going?”

He just stared at her mane. After a moment he blinked a few times, but didn’t quite seem to remember how to speak.

“So, Foxy, how about you run inside, and I’ll follow in a bit?”

Fox Glove glanced at Caramel, then turned back to Amber. “Just… it’ll be alright. I’ll see you when you come in.”

She nodded, but didn’t take her eyes off Caramel. Fox Glove took Amber’s saddle bag for her and went into the house.

“So, uh, hi.” Amber took a step closer. She had known this was coming. Caramel was supposed to be celebrating her return by having dinner with her family.

He shook his head and seemed to shake off some of his shock. “You cut your mane.”

She ran a hoof over it again. “Yeah, I did.”

“It looks really, uh –” he tried to smile, but it fell away immediately “– short.”

“Yeah, I know. You hate it.”

“No, no.” He did a better job at smiling, even if it was less than his best. “I just… well, I wish you would have told me you wanted to cut it.”

Amber took a deep breath. “Caramel, we need to talk.”

“I know, I know, it’s your mane, not mine.” He finally managed that smile, and Amber wished he hadn’t. “But you really can’t blame me for being surprised about this one.”

“That’s not it…” Why was it so hard? I can’t be with you anymore. That was it, all she had to say. But the words wouldn’t come, and instead she said, “I’m sorry.”

“It’ll grow back,” Caramel said. He grinned and chuckled. “I’m dying to hear the story behind this one. Less excited about hearing your mom’s reaction, though.”

Amber shook her head. “Not about the mane, I’m just… I’m so sorry.”

Caramel’s smile faded away as fast as it came. “This is about the proposal, isn’t it?”

“I… yes.”

“Look, don’t worry about it.” His smile returned, and he bowed his head. “I understand, you’re not ready, and that’s okay.”

Amber winced. Why did he have to say stuff like that? “You are just… you’re too perfect…”

“Nonsense, love. You only deserve the best. I missed you.” He stepped closer and put a hoof on her shoulder.

As gently as she could, Amber brushed it off. “Please don’t.”

He waited with his hoof in the air for a moment, then set it down. “Oh… This is about more than the engagement, isn’t it?”

Amber couldn’t speak, so she gave two short sharp nods.

“Amber, please… there must be something I can do? I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it up to you. I –”

“Caramel –”

“Amber, I love you.” He took her hoof in his and spoke desperately. “Please, tell me what I can do for you. Please don’t say it’s over.”

“Caramel… There’s, uhm…”

First, surprise flashed across his face. Then most ponies would have been angry, but not Caramel. Once the surprise left, it was replaced with a cold resignation. He dropped her hoof and bowed his head. “There’s somepony else.”

Amber wanted to deny it, wanted to tell him that it wasn’t like that, that she just needed to be alone. She wanted him to be able to walk away without hating her. But she couldn’t lie to him. Everything about them had been a lie, and she was responsible for the way he’d feel when they walked away. And so, although she had never been fair to him in their relationship, she would give him whatever respect she could in their breakup.

“I never… I want you to know that I never actually, you know, had sex with anypony. And for the most part, there really wasn’t anypony else. But…”

“But now there is,” he finished.

“I… I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, Amber,” Caramel said as he took a step away from her. “Thank you for all the good times. These last three years have been truly the happiest of my life.”

Amber closed her eyes and wiped away the tears rolling down her cheek.

“I can only hope you and him find happiness in each other.”

She didn’t open her eyes until she heard his hoofsteps as he began walking away. She wasn’t sure if it would make him feel better or worse, but she decided to tell him the whole truth. “She’s a mare.” He stopped and turned back to her. “I’m, uhm… I’m gay, actually.”

“You’re… gay?” He shook his head. “Did… you just recently realize this?”

Amber felt her body go tight and she froze in place. She had been hoping that the knowledge that it was nothing he did, nothing he could have done would somehow comfort him. But there was no way to address one part without the other. “No. I’ve known for years.”

“Years?”

“Yes.” She had to try to change things, had to make him see that it wasn’t his fault. “So, you know, there really wasn’t –”

“So it was all a lie.” Caramel’s words cut through hers, and left her quiet. “Everything about us was a lie. You never loved me, not once.”

She squeezed her eyes tight and wished she had never said anything at all. “I’m sorry.”

“Why? Why did you wait so long? Why even agree to be with me in the first place?”

“I’m sorry.” It was all she could think to say. She wanted to try and explain herself, but she couldn’t think. The only thought that kept bouncing around her head was ‘I’m sorry’.

For a while there was nothing. Amber would have thought he left, but she hadn’t heard his hoofsteps. She kept her eyes closed, unable to look at him.

She kept expecting more, but eventually the hoofsteps did come – slow, and moving away from her. She didn’t open her eyes, didn’t see him leave.

No matter how much she wanted to, she wasn’t going to fade from the world just because she wouldn’t look at it. Eventually she had to open her eyes and walk to the house, but she didn’t go in immediately. She watched her reflection in the window as she approached, and felt none of the excitement she had earlier. She had hated the mare she’d seen in the mirror every day for the past three years. But now she was gone, and she hated the pony who was looking back at her just as much.
> 8 – Goodbyes and Beginnings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Eight
Goodbyes and Beginnings

⠀



⠀
‘I love you, too.’

The words hadn’t left Luna’s head in the days that followed Amber saying them. It wasn’t exactly surprising – she had long since known Amber’s feelings towards her, and Luna had pushed her into an emotional wall. In hindsight, the statement was perfectly fitting.

So why had she been so surprised at the time? And more to the point, why was she still so caught up on it? It wasn’t complicated; she would just have to sit down with Amber, explain that she was sorry for sending the wrong message, but that she did not, in fact, love her in any way other than as a friend. In truth, Luna was simply stating why she would not love Amber. She would be perfectly happy spending an eternity with her, but she would be happy spending an eternity with anypony, provided it wasn’t herself. 

It wasn’t complicated. It would not the first time she would need to have a conversation like that with somepony.

She was almost at Fillydelphia, and it was complicated. It wouldn’t have been when Luna knew herself, but that was over a thousand years ago. The old Luna would never have found herself in a problem like this, because the old Luna knew how to separate herself and do what she needed to. But the old Luna did not know Amber Glow. Something about Amber always made Luna do things she didn’t expect herself to do.

Well, there was only one thing to do now. In a time when she barely knew herself, she couldn’t very well keep interacting with somepony who made her less sure. And so, as her carriage flew over Fillydelphia, she had every intention of helping Amber with this one final thing, then waiting for the right moment to end their friendship once and for all.

And yet, as she landed and spotted Amber in the crowd, she knew that some intentions would never be fulfilled. Amber had already written to tell her that she had her mane cut short again, but actually seeing her was another matter. It wasn’t that Luna preferred her mane short, but rather that Amber did. As she smiled and approached the carriage, she looked happier than she had in years, and Luna felt that happiness spread to herself as well.

“Luna!” Amber greeted her enthusiastically. Luna did so love to see her happy.

Luna’s smile was friendly and welcoming, but did nothing to betray her mutual joy at seeing Amber. “Greetings, Amber. I must say I admire the new – or rather, the old – look.”

Amber grinned as she ran a hoof through her mane. “Yeah, it’s nice not having to worry about all that hair. I don’t know how you put up with it.”

“Oh?” Luna smiled and took a step closer. “And would you prefer me to shorten mine as well?”

“Hmm…” Amber tapped her chin in contemplation for a moment, then smiled and stepped forward to wrap a foreleg around Luna’s neck, burying her face into the much larger mare’s chest. “Nah, you’re perfect already.”

Luna returned the hug then bent down to tease Amber about how it had only been a few days since they’d seen one another, and had been writing regularly the whole time. “I missed you, too,” were the words that came out, however.

When they pulled apart, Amber was wearing a content smile. She turned and led the way towards her house, and Luna followed. Along the way, Amber caught her up with what the situation was like with her family, although it had mostly remained unchanged from what she had described in the journal. Her parents had been shocked when they saw her mane, as was expected, although she managed to mitigate some of the reaction by tearfully telling them that she and Caramel Macchiato had broken up. Of course, that sympathy went out the window once she admitted that she had been the one to end things. She hadn’t dared to tell them about the proposal.

“And you’re sure they’re suspicious?” Luna asked.

“Yeah. They haven’t said anything, but I can tell.” Amber chuckled, but Luna could tell she was anything but amused. “And if they aren’t yet, they will be once news hits about the wedding and they realize the date matches up with my trip.”

Luna nodded at a pony who was bowing to her. “Well, Fluttershy did say they could announce the wedding was on a different date, but I suppose that hardly matters if your mind is truly made up.”

Not only did she not reply, but Amber had stopped in her tracks. Luna turned to her, and found she was staring at the stallion who had been bowing. Luna took a better look at him and realized who he was.

“Princess Luna,” he said, not rising from the bow, “it’s an honor to meet you.”

“Please, rise,” Luna said, adopting a polite smile. “It is good to meet you, Caramel Macchiato.”

Caramel jerked upright, shocked that Luna knew who he was. “I, uh…”

Although Luna was amused by his reaction, she did nothing to show it. “You are not here to see me, however.” She turned to Amber. “Would you like me to give the two of you some time to talk?”

Amber glanced between Luna and somewhere in Caramel’s general direction, before deciding to instead stare at the ground. “I, uh, I’m sure he’d rather not talk to me, anyway.”

“That’s not true,” Caramel said, taking a step closer to them. “Your dad told me you went to the station, so I came here to find you, actually.”

Amber kept facing away, but her ears swivelled towards Caramel. Since she didn’t seem too likely to speak up herself, Luna did so for her. “And what did you wish to speak with her about?”

Caramel seemed apprehensive about talking openly in front of Luna, but her concern lay with Amber. If she requested time alone, Luna would oblige, but otherwise she hoped to help smooth over the conversation, and would be ready to take Amber’s side in the event of an argument.

Realizing he wasn’t going to get any privacy, Caramel took a deep breath and addressed Amber directly. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I sort of see where you were coming from. Considering your parents’ attitudes, I can understand why you felt the need to keep it secret from them, and why you agreed to date me to help with that, but… three years? I don’t understand why you had to keep it up for so long.”

Luna moved so her body was pressed against Amber, leaned in close to her, and spoke quietly. “I could try and explain if you wish, but I think it would mean more coming from you.”

Amber took a deep breath and looked up to face him. Although he did not look angry, she still pressed herself closer to Luna for support. “I’m sorry. I know I was horrible and selfish, but I just didn’t know what to do. It just… it really sold them, and, well, I did always really like you as a friend. We really did have a lot of good times together, and it felt like if it wasn’t you then it’d be someone else. Who knows if I’d ever find another stallion who was as great as you? I always thought, you know, nopony would actually agree with the ‘no premarital sex’ thing, but you just… never questioned it.”

Caramel thought about what she said for a moment, then nodded. “I wish… you would have told me sooner. Things could have been different.”

“I guess… I was afraid that if you knew, you’d tell my parents.”

“I would never.” Caramel frowned and walked closer, so they were face to face. Amber turned away. “Surely you don’t think that I would date somepony so opinionated for so long without also agreeing with her opinions?”

Amber lifted her head a little. “But… you were the one who kept wanting to play nice at those stupid VES meetings.”

“Well, maybe I’m not as liberal as you, or as vocal about my opinions. And of course I didn’t want to do anything that would upset your parents. But I do support you, and I want you to be happy.”

“You…” Amber shook her head and looked up at Caramel, suddenly full of determination. “You’re too bucking nice! You’re gonna just let the next mare walk all over you.”

Caramel smiled a bit, and Luna had no doubt she knew how he felt. Even if things wouldn’t work out for them, there was something about Amber’s fire that never ceased to amaze. “I’m sure that’s not going to happen.”

“It better not!” Amber stomped a hoof. “I swear, if your next marefriend is as much of a bitch as I was, she’ll have to answer to me!”

“That so?” Caramel kept smiling, but it looked strained. Luna recognized that expression as well – he was seeing everything he was forced to give up.

“Sure is.” Amber seemed to not notice the subtlety of his expressions, or else she just didn’t know how to address it. “And if that’s not enough of a threat to keep her in line, then I could probably get Loony to make her miserable.”

Luna frowned. “I am not sure what you intend to do with my power, but I do not like the sound of it.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “I dunno, get her taxes audited, like, every year or something. And by the most anal accountant you can find.”

“You are a truly evil mare,” Luna said, although she liked the idea well enough.

Caramel blinked and looked between the two of them, opening and closing his mouth a few times. Luna couldn’t help but smile as the realization struck him. “When you said there was… somepony else…”

Amber blushed and looked away. Unsure of exactly how to explain their relationship to him, Luna just smiled and covered Amber with her wing.

Caramel put a hoof to his temple and stared. “Well… I can certainly see what made you decide to come out with this now.”

Amber leaned her head against Luna. “It’s… complicated. But uh, yeah, I was talking about Luna the other day.”

Caramel chuckled. “Well then, I suppose it is only fair to offer you the same courtesy.” He turned to face Luna, a nervous expression on his face. “Princess Luna, if you mistreat Amber, you’ll have to answer to me.”

Amber laughed, while Luna just widened her smile. “In that case, I assure you I will be on my best behavior. There is no need for concern.” She bent down to nuzzle Amber’s head. “Amber is very dear to me.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Caramel said. Luna pulled her wing back and stepped away to give them some room, and they bumped hooves. “I’m glad we had a chance to talk. Take care of yourself.”

“You too.” Amber looked torn between hugging him or leaving it at the hoof bump. Before she could make up her mind, he gave one last wave, then walked away.

Luna let him walk a few steps before interrupting him. “Caramel Macchiato?”

“Yes?”

“I have been told that you have your own coffee shop,” she said.

The topic seemed to confuse Caramel. “Yes, that’s right.”

“You have been having trouble keeping up with the payments on the property, however,” Luna said. It was not a question, but Caramel confirmed it anyway. “It has occurred to me that you might have had more free time over the past three years to invest into your business, but instead you were taking care of Amber.”

Caramel smiled. “Oh, I’m not worried about it. I’ll find some way of turning it around.”

Luna smiled back. “No, you will not.” She allowed herself the guilty pleasure of watching his expression shift to puzzlement, tinged with some concern, before she continued. “There is no need. I happen to know that a very wealthy private investor has transferred a rather large sum of money into your account.”

And in an instant, the expression changed – disbelief, but with the intense desire to believe. “You… Princess, I couldn’t possibly –”

“I assure you that you could possibly, and that you will. In fact, the matter has been taken care of for some hours now. And in any event, whatever you may think I am implying, you ought to know there is far too much red tape for me to involve myself in such a matter. Should you check your records, and I very much think you should, you will find it was not I, but one ‘Moonlight Glow’ who is responsible.”

“I, you…” Caramel took a moment to compose himself, then bowed again. This time he didn’t wait for her to tell him to rise, and when he did it was with an excited grin on his face. For the moment, it seemed, this would prove enough of a distraction. “Thank you, Princess, and it was an honor meeting you.”

Luna simply smiled and nodded as he left. Once he was gone, Amber nudged her. “That was really sweet. Nice name.”

“I’m sure I do not know what you are talking about,” Luna answered. “And in any case, we have another matter on our hooves.”

Amber sighed. “Right. That.”

Luna gently nudged her with a wing, and smiled when Amber turned to face her. “You are sure this is what you want to do?” she asked, although she was confident in the answer already.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Amber smiled back, then continued leading the way to her house.

It had surprised even Luna when she had offered Amber her assistance. She had explained that she was ready to come out to her parents once more, but that she was scared to do so. Before she could think better of it, Luna had offered to go with her and lend her counselling skills to the discussion. Had she thought about it, she was sure she wouldn’t have. On a professional level, Fillydelphia was a long flight from Canterlot, and she’d need to make a return trip as well. On a personal level, she was still unsure if she should even continue her friendship with Amber, and was not interested at all in meeting with her parents. The feeling would very likely be mutual, since they did not acknowledge her as worthy of her title, and would certainly not be in favor of her being so close with their daughter.

However, whether or not she should have come was unimportant. She did come, and now she would see it through. But there was still a matter that was sure to come up, which they needed to discuss. “When we meet your parents, what do you intend to tell them about us?”

Amber was walking ahead of Luna, so she couldn’t see her expression, but she did note the way her ears suddenly pointed upwards. “I, uh, I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

No, but Luna had. She did too many things with Amber without thinking them through, but she had thought this through quite a bit. She had reached two possible conclusions, both hinging on the same fact – she was not happy with the nature of their friendship any longer. The first option was to wait for a more tactful time, then tell Amber that she was sorry, but they would no longer be in regular contact. But she could see now that there was no way that was going to happen, which left her with the second option.

“The choice is ultimately yours, and I will go along with whatever you choose to do.” Luna watched the way Amber’s ears fell, ever so slightly, as she was disappointed in receiving another noncommittal answer. All she could do was smile. “But you should know that I would be honored if you introduced me as your marefriend.”

Amber stopped walking completely, causing Luna to bump into her. She turned with a bewildered expression on her face. “Are you serious?”

“I usually am.”

Luna anticipated Amber would be excited, but instead she just looked down at their hooves. “But… why me? You could be with anypony.”

“Yes, I could be with a great number of ponies, if I were to so choose.” Luna gently lifted Amber’s head. “I do not.”

“But I’m just… I mean…” She gently pushed Luna’s hoof away, and leaned her head into Luna’s chest. “I’m so confused lately.”

Luna chuckled and shook her head. “It is not that complicated, Amber. Although I would be content resuming the nature of our friendship three years ago, or with continuing it unchanged from how it has been in more recent times, I would prefer to enter a genuine relationship with you, should you wish the same.”

“No, not that…” Amber was staring off to the side, so Luna followed her gaze to find it pointed at a shop window. It seemed she wasn’t looking through it, however, but was instead examining her reflection. “I’d really like that, but… you deserve somepony who knows themself better. Somepony who doesn’t wonder who or what they are all the time.”

In the reflection, Luna saw both of them wearing the same expression. Somepony who knew themself? How could she fault somepony for that, when Luna herself barely knew who she was anymore? She turned away from the reflection and Amber did the same, so Luna was looking directly into her brilliant golden eyes. “Perhaps the best thing we could do is find out together.”

Amber placed her forelegs on Luna’s shoulders to prop herself up. Smiling, Luna closed her eyes as they kissed. She willed herself to not worry about her decisions, and instead just lose herself in this one perfect moment.

When Amber’s tongue slipped into her mouth, Luna pulled away grinning. By that point Amber had fully wrapped her forelegs around Luna’s neck, and looked more than willing to find a room right then. Seeing her disappointed look was almost enough to make Luna feel bad for her, but she had every intention of making the wait worthwhile. She leaned in close, putting her mouth right next to Amber’s ear, and seductively whispered, “Later.”

Although she continued looking reluctant, Amber pulled away. “Fine. But I’ll hold you to that.”

“Patience, Amber,” Luna said as they resumed walking, “I promise you, my word is not the only thing you may hold me to by the time the night is out.”

Amber laughed and resumed walking. Luna caught up to her, and draped a wing over her, keeping it there as they walked. Along the way, it seemed that much of Amber’s worry was dispelled; that is, until they neared the house.

“Well… we’re here.” Amber held back uncertainly.

Luna nudged her. “Everything will be alright. I am here with you.”

“Yeah.” Amber nodded, and led them through the door.

Luna took a good look around, knowing this was likely to be the only time she would get the chance to see Amber’s foalhood home. The house was as she expected – a nice suburban home, it was kept clean without feeling sterile, and was a comfortable size for a family of four. And like many family homes, the walls were filled with pictures in frames. She quickly recognized which ponies were Amber’s parents, as most of the pictures showed one or more of four ponies, with a few other relatives. There were pictures from every time in the family’s life, from what seemed to be Dusty Quartz and Wisteria Mist’s wedding day, to sometime after Amber had moved back to Fillydelphia. She was admiring a photo of Amber as a filly with her newborn brother when they were noticed.

“Amber, sweetie, is that you?” a voice that must have been her mother called as her hoofsteps approached from another room. “Did you get to meet with your fri– sweet Celestia!”

Wisteria Mist stood in a doorway, mouth hanging open as she gaped at the sight of Luna, who smiled as if nothing was amiss. “I am afraid not, although I have been told the family resemblance is striking.”

“Luna, this is my mom, Wisteria Mist,” Amber explained, if only to try and divert the awkwardness. “Mom, this is Luna, my, uh… is Dad around?”

Holding in her laughter at Amber almost getting ahead of herself, Luna looked around the room, as if expecting to find somepony hiding away. “I would also enjoy seeing Fox Glove, if he is home.”

Wisteria just continued to stare. Smiling nervously, Amber approached her. “Everything’s okay, Mom. Come on, let’s take a seat.”

Amber gently guided her mother into another room, with Luna following behind. She sat on a couch, while Wisteria sat across from them. “I’ll, uh, be right back,” Amber said, looking between the two mares nervously before walking out.

Examining the room revealed more pictures. “You have a lovely home,” Luna said.

Wisteria didn’t respond.

“I suppose an apology for my impromptu appearance is in order. It may comfort you to know that contrary to what I have heard some ponies believe, I have never personally visited a private residence because the ponies who lived there were in some sort of legal trouble. Truly, this is more of a social call.”

Thankfully for both of them, Fox Glove entered the room before his mother could continue to not address Luna’s attempts at conversation. “Princess Luna!”

The little colt ran up and sat down beside her, smiling excitedly. Luna suspected Amber had sent him to rescue her, and was thankful. “Greetings, Fox Glove. It is nice to see you again. Tell me, did that botanical project at school go well?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, enthusiastic that Luna had remembered. “I got an A!”

“Not surprising, considering you are such a bright colt,” Luna said, causing him to swell with pride. He did not share his sister’s gift for conversation, but Luna didn’t mind. “Your parents must be very proud of you.”

As she thought, that got Wisteria to finally speak up. “Yes, we’re both so proud of our little Foxy.”

Fox Glove seemed embarrassed by the affection, and maybe by the nickname, but Luna was satisfied to have found something that would get her to talk. “You are interested in botany, correct?”

“I guess,” he said, with all the disinterest that came from his age.

“ ‘Tis only natural, considering your mother’s work.” Luna turned to Wisteria, and asked a question she already knew the answer to. “Does Fox Glove often help you around your shop?”

She smiled and looked somewhat sheepish. “Oh, I don’t think flower arranging would be very interesting for a colt his age.”

“Really? I had thought you two may have similar passions. A florist and a botanist may hold largely different jobs, but surely they both stem from a love of nature.” She smiled at Fox Glove. “What do you think? Would you be interested in learning a bit about your mother’s profession?”

“Oh, uh, sure,” Fox Glove said. “That could be cool.”

Hopefully his interest would last after they were gone, and would be enough to encourage his mom to involve him in her work, despite his gender.

“Okay,” Amber said as she walked into the room, her father in tow, “Luna, meet my dad, Dusty Quartz.”

Luna nodded at stallion, whose reaction was similar to his wife’s. “A pleasure to meet you.”

Amber guided her dad to a seat beside Wisteria. “Dad, well, you already know who she is, but allow me to introduce Luna –” she walked over and took a seat beside Luna, and took  hold of her hoof “– my marefriend.”

Judging by the way nopony moved, one could have believed they were posing for another family photo. Luna draped a wing over Amber to emphasize her announcement. And, admittedly, because she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed being able to use her wing to shield the smaller mare from the world around them.

“Your marefriend!?” Fox Glove asked, surprising Luna by being the first one to speak as well as with his tone.

Amber didn’t seem worried about that, as she just showed him a cocky grin. “Yeah, that’s what I said, and I don’t mean she’s a mare who is my friend.” She looked around as if making sure the coast was clear, before holding a hoof to her mouth and ‘whispering’ loud enough for everypony to hear her, “Score!”

For reasons Luna didn’t seem to be privy to, Fox Glove blushed as he looked on in disbelief. “You needn’t worry,” she told him, “I will take good care of your sister.”

Amber seemed to find that amusing, while Fox Glove just blushed more, and Luna was confused by both reactions. She instead turned her focus to the parents, who both seemed to be moving past the worst of their shock.

“Foxy,” Wisteria said, “why don’t you run along for now? I think we need to have a talk with Amber and Princess Luna in private.”

It was amusing how she was suddenly a princess when they met face to face. “Please, I think just Luna will be fine, under the circumstances.”

Both parents looked unsure of how to take that, and Fox Glove showed no signs of leaving. “Is it the crown?” Luna asked, hoping to at least prompt somepony to say something so she would know how to proceed. “Because if so, then by all means.” Her horn lit as a blue aura surrounded her crown, lifting it off of her head, and placing it on Fox Glove’s.

The surprise of being adorned by the princess’s regalia seemed to snap Fox Glove out of his stupor, but his dad beat him to being the next to speak. “Foxy, listen to your mother.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Fox Glove said defensively, remaining in his seat. “There’s nothing wrong with being gay.”

Looks of concern passed between both parents. It was clear they weren’t going to talk openly with Flox Glove in the room, and a look towards Amber confirmed that she realized too. “Foxy, we’ll be alright.”

“You should listen to your parents,” Luna added.

He looked at them as if they had deliberately shunned his help, which Luna supposed was a fair way to look at the situation. Dejected, he stood up, but didn’t immediately walk to the door. Instead he walked over to Amber, and hugged her. “No matter what, I still love you.”

“Thanks, Foxy. I love you, too.”

As he pulled away from her, Luna held open a foreleg in invitation. Fox Glove accepted the hug and blushed again, and Luna was beginning to think she understood what all the blushing was about.

Wisteria and Dusty glared all the while, but didn’t say anything. Even when Fox Glove left the room, they remained silent for a moment, but eventually Dusty spoke up. “I thought you were done with all this.”

Amber looked to the ground. “I know I said that, but I was lying.” Luna placed her hoof atop Amber’s, and she seemed to find comfort in it. She looked up to meet her parents eyes. “Mom, Dad, I’m a lesbian. I can’t change that. I could date a stallion, I could even marry one, but that wouldn’t make me straight.”

“But what about Caramel?” Wisteria asked. “That poor stallion’s crazy about you, and I don’t believe you never felt the same way for him.”

“But I didn’t.” Amber’s ears fell at the reminder of Caramel, but she didn’t look away. “Caramel was great, the best coltfriend I could have asked for, and I still couldn’t love him.”

“Speaking of Caramel, we ran into him on the way here,” Luna added. “He gave us his support, and things were able to conclude on a positive note.”

“So that’s it then?” Dusty asked. “This is just the way it is?”

Amber hesitated for a moment, but turned to look at Luna and found her resolve. “Yes. I’m gay, and I always will be.”

“I understand you have reservations about this,” Luna said, trying to finally guide them towards a real discussion. “I assure you nothing has changed about your daughter. She is still the same pony you have always loved.”

“What do you plan on doing now?” Dusty asked. It was just as Amber had predicted; her mom would rather grasp at straws to try and make her daughter fit into her ideals, while her dad wouldn’t hear anything that wasn’t a cut and dry fact.

Amber seemed uninterested in obliging either of them. “You know, it was really hard to come back and pretend that everything had been some stupid phase I was going through. Hiding everything for three years, it… it really hurt. But I did it anyway, because… I love you. I don’t want to lose you two, or Foxy. I want to keep my family.”

There was some hope that the sentimentality would reach Wisteria, and to some extent, it seemed that it did. She was averting her eyes, unable to look at her daughter when she knew how much pain their actions had caused her in the past. Still, she did not speak up. It was clear that if they were going to come to terms with their daughter’s sexual orientation, it would not be in a single meeting.

“I believe the question at hoof is not what Amber intends to do, but what your own decision on the matter is.” If she wanted to, Luna probably could have guided them to allow Amber to still live in their house. She did not believe they actually wanted to kick their daughter out, after all. But unless they reached that decision on their own, Luna feared living together would create unnecessary tension, preventing them from coming to understand their daughter better. As well, she worried about the pressure they would surely place on her to conform to what they wanted of her.

The answer could have come from either of them, and it would have been the same. But it seemed only one parent had the will to actually break the news. “Amber,” Dusty said, his voice sounding uncharacteristically soft, “you know we both love you, and we always will. And we do want you to be happy, but… we have to think of Fox Glove here.”

“But Fox Glove doesn’t care!” Amber pointed out desperately.

Proceeding much more calmly, Luna asked, “What effect do you believe our relationship will have on your son?”

Dusty fidgeted in his seat while he fumbled with his words.

“Please, speak your mind candidly,” Luna requested. “I assure you that I did not come to cause problems for my marefriend’s parents. You have no cause for concern, no matter what it is you have to say.”

Dusty looked at her uncertainly, no doubt wondering if her word held merit, then cleared his throat and nodded. “We believe in traditional families. Mares date stallions, and stallions date mares. Anything else is against the natural order of things, and is not the type of relationship we want to expose Fox Glove to at such a young age.”

“He is thirteen,” Luna reminded them, before Amber could react. “His school has a gay-straight alliance. He has seen the news surrounding Princesses Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sunset. Whether you want him to be or not, he is exposed to this type of thing. All you are doing is robbing him of a sister, and yourselves of a daughter.”

“It’s one thing to see it, and another for it to be so close to home,” Dusty said adamantly.

Before she could retort, Amber wrapped her forelegs around Luna. She looked down to see Amber had tears in her eyes. “I’ll pack my things,” she said weakly.

Luna held her close and turned back to her parents. “It is not unreasonable to expect your children to find their own way. Even if I do not agree with your reasoning, Amber is twenty-four now, and is capable of taking care of herself, as she has proven in the past. It would be unreasonable to remove her from her brother’s life entirely. Will you permit visitations?”

The question was almost more of a test than anything. Luna had her own plans concerning the face-to-face meetings of Amber and Fox Glove, and she had little concern of their parent’s wishes in the matter. Still, their answer was important.

They looked at each other uncertainly, before Dusty answered. “Yes. Amber can visit him.”

It didn’t escape Luna’s attention that ‘Amber’ did not include herself. Still, it was hopeful. “Very good. Then I suppose we ought to prepare for our departure.”

Although she suspected they probably didn’t want Luna accompanying Amber as she said her goodbyes to Fox Glove, she also knew they would be too afraid to push their luck. She rose, and gently guided Amber to do the same. They walked to the door, and Luna paused in front of it to remind Amber that everything would be alright, and to give Fox Glove a chance to scurry away and pretend he wasn’t listening in.

He was still waiting in the hallway when they entered it, but at least he’d managed to not be right by the door. Rather than say anything to each other, Amber just walked up to him and pulled him into a tight hug, which he returned.

“Amber, I…”

Amber pulled away, smiling as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “Hey, it’s alright. I’m gonna be moving out, but I’ll come back and visit. Come on, you can help me pack.”

Luna collected her crown from Fox Glove, and Amber led the way to her room, which was just down a short hallway. The room itself was in line with the rest of the house; it was an average size, with decent quality furnishings. Unlike the rest of the house, it did not feature pictures covering the walls. Instead, there was one picture, sitting atop a dresser: Amber and Fox Glove, each with a foreleg around the other’s neck.

The picture got tucked away in a suitcase. It seemed that at least one of her habits from her days spent travelling had stuck around, since in three years she hadn’t accumulated many possessions.

“What clothes do you want?” Fox Glove asked.

Amber took one look at the assortment of dresses she’d come to own. “You can have them.”

“Oh, that’d be great!” Fox Glove held one up to himself. “It’d give Mom and Dad a heart attack!”

“Perhaps we should donate them,” Luna suggested. “As amusing as it may seem to rebel against your parents in such a way, you would only be validating their fear that Amber has somehow confused your sense of identity.”

He sighed and set the dress aside. “Yeah, you’re right Pr– uh, Luna.”

Luna smiled. “So tell me then, Fox Glove; does dating your sister entitle me to use the name Foxy?”

Whether from the question or the intensity with which she looked into his eyes, Fox Glove blushed again. “I, uh, I guess…”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Luna said. She levitated all the dresses into a pile, with the intention of donating them along the way back to her carriage. Noting that his parents weren’t as nosy as he was – likely they were still talking about the development amongst themselves – she sat down next to him. “Foxy, how do you think your parents would feel about you joining an after-school club?”

“Uh, I guess they’d be okay with it.”

“As it happens, I intend to make arrangements to pay your school a visit. Specifically, I would like to meet with the gay-straight alliance, and offer them my encouragement. I have not asked her yet, but I intend to see if Amber may wish to accompany me.”

They both looked at Amber expectantly. “I’ll have to check my calendar.”

Fox Glove smiled momentarily, but then turned away looking dejected. “But I, uhm, I think my parents probably wouldn’t like me joining the GSA.”

“Express your concern with the teacher who oversees the group. I am sure it is nothing new to them, and that they will have a solution in mind.” Luna rested her foreleg on his shoulder, and he smiled. “And when I visit, I will have a gift for you: a journal not adorned with a cutie mark, but still connected with your sister.”

“Okay, I’ll definitely find a way to join then,” Fox Glove said excitedly.

“Well, I guess that’s everything,” Amber said as she closed the suitcase. “I thought there’d be more…”

She stood up and Fox Glove moved immediately to her side. Luna took her other side, and the three walked out of the room, stopping only for a moment while Amber took one final look, before she closed the door behind them.

Their parents were waiting at the front door. Fox Glove glared with all the malice he could muster, but Amber didn’t show any signs of ill will.

“You… do have somewhere to go, right?” Wisteria asked.

Amber smirked, but her voice was strained. “Mom, my marefriend is a princess. I don’t think I’m gonna wind up on the streets.”

“Yes, of course,” Wisteria said. She made her way over to them almost cautiously, before suddenly throwing her forelegs around Amber.

Amber took a deep breath, and blinked away her tears. “Hey, it’s okay, Mom. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around, right?”

“Oh, sweetie, I… I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.” Amber smiled as they pulled apart, while Wisteria was clearly moments away from crying.

Luna levitated Amber’s suitcase behind them, but they could not make it out the door before another abrupt hug, this time from Dusty. “You take care of yourself.”

Amber grinned. “Of course. What, do you think the daughter of Dusty Quartz is gonna take any shit from anyone?”

Dusty smiled at that. “No, I suppose not.”

Amber looked away as they pulled apart, only to turn back to face him a moment later. “I love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too.”

She nodded, then walked outside. She turned to wave, but Fox Glove ran out the door with them. She grinned and poked his nose. “Remember what I said: If you don’t graduate, so help me, I will hunt you down. Don’t think you get to slack off just ‘cause I’m not around.”

Fox Glove matched her grin. “Sure, but if I don’t see you causing some sort of scandal in the news by the end of the week, I’m disowning you.”

Amber ruffled his hair, and he didn’t even try to get away. “Take care, Foxy. I love you.”

“Yeah yeah, love you too and all that.” They hugged one last time, then he stood outside waving as they departed.

Luna draped a wing over Amber as they walked, noting how Amber’s posture drooped as they distanced themselves from the house. “I am sorry things had to turn out like this.”

Amber sighed and leaned into Luna. “They love me, but they don’t accept me.”

“Family can be complicated.”

“Yeah. Love’s a bitch.”

Since she suspected Amber needed time to think, and would speak up if something was on her mind, Luna remained quiet as they walked. They passed the suburban houses, and entered the business district. Luna watched their reflections in the windows of the stores they passed, noting what an odd couple they made.

“Thanks for being there with me,” Amber said after a while. “And I’m sorry I made it sound like you’re gonna put me up or something. I have a friend who I got back in touch with yesterday, and I caught her up on the situation. She said I can stay with her if I need to. Funny thing is, I moved in with her last time I got kicked out.”

“Oh?” Luna asked, realizing whom she was talking about. “Honestly, Amber, did you not think how I would feel about you living with your ex-marefriend?”

“My totally straight, married with a foal ex-marefriend? Yeah, I think you’ll be alright.”

“No, no. This will not do. We will have to come to another arrangement.”

Amber grinned and nudged Luna with her head. “Uh-oh, don’t tell me all the stories of Princess Luna’s jealousy are true.”

Luna chuckled. “Well, some of them are. Truthfully, I have no problem with you staying with Summer Song, if that is what you wish. Being close to Fillydelphia would make it easier to see your brother, after all. But you do have other options that you ought to consider. I got in touch with Twilight, and she has offered her castle if you wish to stay in Ponyville. Alternatively I could rent you a house in any city you chose.” She looked back at their reflection. If she was going to do something, she might as well do it all the way. She dropped all trace of playfulness out of her voice as she continued. “Or you could come live with me.”

In the windows, Luna saw Amber’s reflection smirk. “Aww, do I get my own room and everything?”

Luna turned away from the reflected Amber to look at the real one beside her, and she definitely prefered the view. “If you wish, but I was thinking we could share mine.”

Amber smiled at the offer. “Geez, do you even know how to move slowly in a relationship? Barely a week ago I was getting proposed to by somepony else, and now you want me to move in with you?”

“I always thought I knew how to properly progress a relationship, but then this wonderful little pegasus came along, and I have been sure of nothing since.”

Amber shrugged. “Well, I guess I should face the facts: you’re hopeless without me. I suppose I could come live with you.”

“Thank you,” Luna said, playful once again. “I would be truly lost without you.”

“Okay, but we’re getting you some bucking clothes.”

Luna laughed. “To tell you the truth, I followed up on your suggestion to try wearing something from a time period I am more familiar with.”

“Really?” Amber turned to her hopefully. “You’re so mean, I want to see! You’ve gotta model something for me!”

“It was a worthwhile idea, but I did not like the results,” Luna said, much to Amber’s disappointment. “Initially, I thought I would enjoy it, but it still felt wrong. Closer, perhaps, but not quite in line with who I am today. I also made the mistake of informing my sister, who insisted that I was making a fuss over nothing, as they were just clothes.”

“Tch, please. Pretty sure Celestia just never has to worry about not being comfortable in her own skin.”

“Yes, I believe you’re right.”

Amber grinned, and swatted at Luna with her tail. “But hey, you have me now! And like you said, we’ll figure out all that stuff together.”

“Yes, I suppose we shall.” Luna smiled at Amber as they walked. It may only be temporary, but the camaraderie she felt with the pony beside her lifted her spirits. For a time, at least, it seemed she wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

⠀



⠀
The forest seemed to be empty of all animal life, providing an environment perfect for plants to thrive in. Amber walked along almost aimlessly, but sure she was going where she was supposed to. There were hundreds of paths through the forest, but there was only one that was real, and she could not have chosen any other. Such is the way the dreaming works.

As the path wound around a corner, she came upon a small lake. Sitting at its edge was a pale purple colt. She ran up to him and grabbed him from behind.

“Amber! Let go!”

“Aww, nice to see you too,” Amber said, but she did as he requested.

Once she let go of him, he turned around to see her properly. “How much time do we have?”

Amber sighed. “Half an hour, then Luna has to do her actual work.”

“Hey, at least we have that, right?” Fox Glove turned back to look over the water.

“Yeah, that is true.” Luna’s solution to giving them more time together was proving to work out well so far, even if they never did get much time together. She had the ability to combine dreams, requiring only that they were asleep at the same time. On this night, they found themselves in Fox Glove’s dreamscape. “Nice mind you’ve got here.”

“Why thank you,” he replied. “Although yours was pretty cool too. I still can’t get over that it was in black and white.”

Amber shrugged. “Yeah, that happens sometimes. Anyway, I’m just glad it’s not like my dreams when I was your age.”

“How come?”

“Because, my innocent little brother, I have no intention of getting to know that side of your subconscious.”

“What are you – Oh, Amber, that’s gross!” Fox Glove covered his face and blushed.

“Ah come on, don’t tell me you think mares have cooties.”

“No, but… we’re not talking about that!”

Amber just laughed. It was good to know that she could still embarrass her brother, no matter how far apart they were. Of course, the journal Luna got him helped with that as well, but there was really one thing she wanted more than any of that. “I can’t wait for Hearth’s Warming.”

“Yeah, me either. Just a few more days.”

In the month since she’d moved in with Luna, she had only seen Fox Glove once, and hadn’t seen her parents at all. But out of the blue, a letter arrived one day, with a formal invitation to Hearth’s Warming dinner. True, there was no ‘plus one guest’ mentioned, so she would be spending her Hearth’s Warming apart from Luna, but it was still too good an opportunity to miss.

“Just wait,” she said, “I’m gonna spoil you rotten with all the presents I got you.”

“That’s great and all, but you coming home is the best present.”

Amber smiled, and pulled him into a sideways hug. “You’re so sweet. But that isn’t gonna help you get any extra goodies.”

“What!?” He pushed her away. “Then just like, mail them to me. Geez.”

“Uh, I don’t think so. I need to get my present too, you know.”

Fox Glove smirked. “Who said I got you anything?”

“I did,” Amber replied. “And it better be bucking amazing.”

They both laughed, and kept joking around. While she would always miss seeing him every day, they figured out how to make things work. She’d managed to find a way to stop living a lie, and hadn’t lost her family in the process. While she still had a lot to learn about Amber Glow and who that was, for the first time she finally felt like she was on the path to becoming complete.