The Chef & The Moon

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The sounds of pots and pans clattering and the collection of happy ponies chatting about sweet merriment could be heard from the restaurant sitting pretty in the middle of the busy street in Canterlot Square. The lights shining from the windows of the building lit up the packed, snow-filled streets with a calming glow as the evening started to set in. The assortment of smells coming from the door whenever a pony or two would leave or enter the building entranced anyone close enough to smell it.

Anyway, that's probably what an outside spectator would be thinking.

Right now, I was trying my best to fight off an oncoming headache. I've stuffed myself with painkillers, and I'm backed up on orders far beyond what I'm comfortable with on days like these. I almost feel entitled to complain about the rise in popularity. Hearth's Warming is approaching quickly, and it's making ponies want to go out to treat themselves to something tasty, of which I have many. It's currently Friday, and it's the last day we're open for the season.

That means that right now, my restaurant is the cornerstone of Canterlot activity.

"Giddy, extra cheese, extra mushroom on order 985!" One of my servers, Chatter Batter, hollered across the kitchen to one of my chefs. The teal blue stallion at the receiving end of the order was darting back and forth between grills, sweating profusely. Multiple spatulas and ladles hovered in his purple hue of magic, and he had several small notes slipped behind his left ear and tucked behind the other was a pencil.

At the sound of Chatter's voice, his ear twitched ever so slightly for just a split second. Then, almost faster than I could see, he quickly jotted down something on one of the notes with his magic. He may be stressed, but by the grace of Celestia, that kid is good at what he does. Hired him only about half a year ago, right after he graduated from Canterlot Academy. He was damn eager to dip his hooves in practical work, and so far, he's delivered in boatloads.

Giddy Giggles was not my only chef today by far. I had to call in all able employees I currently had available as soon as I saw how many ponies were actually stopping by. By 1:00 PM, the restaurant was practically packed, and we had to unblock the staircase to the second floor of the place, and about half an hour later, everyone I had called for showed up. It was enough to make a grown man cry. Celestia bless the work ethic here in Equestria.

I was standing opposite Giddy, currently whipping up some Butternut Squash soup while sometimes peering up and looking over my shoulder, keeping a keen eye on all the orders going to and fro like a hawk. Checking the food quality going from grills to plates, ensuring the workspace remains clean, etc. I trust my cooks, but on days like today, something always happens.

"Violet, get those paninis back in the oven; they're still fucking raw!" I barked at the mare who was trying to sneak an early order, glaring at her. Not on my watch, you're not.

The poor mare looked mortified as she hurriedly shoved the tray back into the oven. "Yes, boss! Sorry, boss!"

I shook my head, a smirk forming on my face as I resumed my task. I added some small pieces of excellently cut garlic and red chilies into my soup while whisking vigorously. A pleasant aroma wafted upwards into my face, and I took in the smell as I gauged what else needed to be added. Finally, I decided on another teaspoon of crème fraîche and a dab of olive oil to complete the dish.

I stepped away for a moment and spotted Chatter about to head out the door with some more trays of steaming food on them.

"Order up!" I called to her. She stopped briefly and maneuvered the plates on her back to somehow not topple over as she turned her neck to glance at me over her shoulder. "All full here, boss. Gonna have to wait for the next poor soul to walk through these doors."

I made a mock crying face. Unamused, she resumed her circus act, pushed the doors open, and headed into the restaurant with the smorgasbord on her back. As soon as the doors went up, I heard the loud chatter of a large number of ponies in the restaurant seep through for a short moment.

Shrugging, I turned on my heels to quickly add soup into four different bowls for an order before adding some cut pieces of dill on top of each one to give it some contrast. The soup was thick and creamy. I could feel the flavor profiles of the dish on my tongue just by looking at it, and I had to resist the urge to dip my finger in and taste it.

I went to wash up the used whisks and ladles and poured the remaining soup from the mixing pot into a serving bowl so it could be more easily accessible for servers on the go. After cleaning up the pot, I quickly dried my hands on my apron and went over to give them a nice wash in the sink to rinse off the excess grime and other suspicious substances to prepare myself for my next craft.

Just then, Breezer, one of my servers, came busting through the kitchen doors. "Jean, some ponies want a word with the head chef!"

My brow arched. "Critic?" I asked as I turned off the faucet. Not now, please.

"No. Well.. uh, I don't rea- ugh, just please follow me." His head vanished back inside the restaurant. Okay, I'll bite.

On my way out the doors, I almost had an accident with Minuette, another one of my servers. She was on her way back inside the kitchen with empty bowls and plates balanced on her back precariously and several held in her magic, and she yelped when my crotch almost smashed into her muzzle. I screeched to a halt and danced around her, trying to look suave. Nailed it. I made a mental note to label the doors with 'in' and 'out' at some point.

I was now out in the restaurant proper, and I took in the sights while trying to see where Breezer went. Families and friends filled every table we had available with ponies of all colors and sizes, though most were unicorns. Canterlot is all about unicorns. A self-service bar was located between the seating areas and the kitchen doors, which ponies could use for special orders which were mostly pizza-related. It was a warm and welcoming sight, and I couldn't help but smile with pride, my headache momentarily forgotten.

I caught a glimpse of orange in my peripheral view and saw Breezer's orange flank disappearing up the stairs. I made my way past the bar and took to the stairs to follow.

I walked up the steps two steps at a time, and when I got to the top, I caught parts of a conversation happening not far from where I had emerged from. Breezer was standing next to a table to my right, looking back and forth between two unicorn stallions having a discussion. He didn't seem like he knew what to do.

"I just... I don't understand! You must be positively daft to propose such a statement!"

"How rude! I assure you, dear sir, I am convinced you are in dire need of medical care if you are seriously suggesting that I am in the wrong here!"

I approached the table cautiously as the two white-coated stallions continued their quarrel while I was trying to figure out what they were talking about. Breezer nodded his head sideways toward them while looking me in the eyes. I gave him my best 'are you shitting me' look I could before taking a deep breath and clasping my hands together.

"Gentlecolts! How are you finding your meals this evening?" The stallions took their eyes off each other and directed them at me as I declared my part in this conflict. "Mr. Pants, a pleasure as always." I nodded at the stallion to my right.

"Ah yes, quite! Good to see you again, dear Jean," Fancy Pants greeted me with a hoof, and I shook it. He cringed slightly as I let go. "but please, call me Fancy."

I nodded and smiled. This is why I prefer to be behind the kitchen doors. I hate having to force a smile or be polite when I don't really feel like it, but at least with some of my customers, it wasn't as hard to do. Mr. Pants being one of them. He's a decent dude and a loyal patron

The stallion to my left perked up. "You must be the head chef. Good! Now we can settle this!" I turned over and took in the stallion before me. He was a similarly white stallion, but his mane was long, blonde, and natural. Around his neck was a bowtie-collar combination and his cutie mark was some sort of compass.

I stood there nervously smiling at the stallion and fiddling with my fingers, waiting for elaboration. Hey, at least it's not a critic. I thought. Taking the hint, the stallion addressed me further. "As the maker of this dish, please tell this... fool across from me that his eyes have yet to firmly adjust. This pudding; It's clearly white with hues of yellow swirls accenting it."

What?

Fancy Pants butted in. "Now, Jean, surely you must agree that this pudding is distinctly black and blue. Yes?" He looked at me expectantly. I blinked.

Baffled at the unexpected turn this had taken, I could only stare at the dessert while trying to force my brain to work. I was looking at my Black & Blueberry pudding. The majority of the contents were jet black pudding and blue swirls of food coloring with a flavor of blueberry. "I, uh.. what?"

"See? He is clearly as confused as I am! Cease this nonsense!"

I blinked again. My eyes darted to Fancy Pants, and he was gauging my reaction. It's clearly black and blue. What the fuck is he on about? I thought. No matter how much I looked at it and turned my head around it, it simply remained as it was. Black and blue. As if reading my thought process, Fancy Pants smirked.

Slowly I turned back to the confused stallion and put on my best orderly voice. "I'm sorry, sir, but this is Black & Blueberry pudding. As you can probably tell by the name, the pudding is black and blue." I said matter-of-factly. The stallion then sputtered incoherent gibberish as he tried to form a response. Fancy Pants and Breezer just nodded sagely next to me.

We had gained the attention of several ponies, and they were all stifling their laughter as the white stallion questioned his reality and possibly his corneas.

That was... interesting.

I returned to the kitchen from my bizarre experience and felt my headache growing in volume. My hands were covering my face, and I tried to rub my fatigue off as much as possible. My kitchen staff eyed me like I was crazy as I beelined past them and headed straight for the back door and out into the cold snow, in which I had the intention of dunking my face in.

I opened the door heading into the small hallway leading to another door that would take me to the outside seating areas for staff only. Opening the second door, I noticed that the whole area out back was covered in a layer of fresh snow and still falling from the darkening skies. Stepping down the steps, I took a deep, long inhale through my nostrils. Big mistake.

I winced and coughed upon my nose being assaulted by the smell of a lit cigarette. Then, off to my left, I heard a raspy voice. "Hey, boss. here to admire the view, or are you joining me?" I glanced over and saw Sugar Plum, my server and pastry chef combination, who decided a second cigarette within a half hour was somehow an appropriate choice. She wiggled her eyebrows at me as she leaned against the wall.

Fucker snuck off again. "Oh, you know, I just figured I'd find a brick wall to slam my head against. Why are you out here again?"

"Why do you think? Dealing with snobby flank kissers all day wears me out." She said while taking a rather large pull of what was left of her cigarette. "Just give me a minute." She blew the hot air out in a thick cloud of smoke. She was obviously exhausted, evident by the visible bags under her eyes that were slightly darker pink than the rest of her coat.

I sighed and made my way over to her by the far wall and leaned up against it right next to her, and crossed my arms for warmth. "Yeah, well, after today, you can probably stock up on those cancer sticks as much as you want," I pointed at her pack of Mareboro's. "today's been fucked. But at least we all get like half a month's salary just from today."

...

"Give me one of those."

Sugar scoffed. "Oh, you're gonna lecture me, and then you start too? Hypocrite."

I raised my hand into a fist and made a cranking motion with my other hand next to it. Slowly, my middle digit raised to proudly present itself to the mare. She rolled her eyes as I kept on the show.

"What can I say? It's been a long day. Give me a break."

"Put that thing back where it came from if you're not gonna use it for something useful." She teased, and her horn lit up. Her pack of Mareboro's was surrounded by a crimson hue of magic, and the pack opened, fishing out the very last cigarette inside. She flicked it over to me, and it bumped against my chest before bouncing off, but I clumsily caught it before it plunged into the white abyss beneath me. Slipping it into my mouth, it instantly lit courtesy of her magic. "Thanks." I nodded.

I took a pull, and the end of the cigarette lit up. "So, how are you doing? I heard Giddy mention you and Cog fought again." My eyes noticed movement by her hooves as she tried to cover up a subtle bruise on her front hoof.

"I'm fine." She turned her face away from me. Oof. Didn't take a genius to guess she wasn't fine, but I wasn't going to pry.

Quick, change of subject. I took another pull. "Well, you better join us on Sunday for the Hearth's Warming party. Everyone's gonna be there, and we could use someone to keep us in line so Giddy and I don't burn down half of Canterlot." I bumped her flank playfully with my leg and chuckled.

She finished the rest of her snipe and turned her face back to me again, smirking. "Heh... we'll see. Not sure what I'll be up to this weekend. Thanks for the invite, though." She said before stumping it in a nearby ashtray that hung off the wall. That's good enough for me. My heart went out to the poor mare; I could tell she was going through it. Her face had fallen as soon as I had mentioned Cog, and I felt like shit about it.

I pushed myself off the wall, taking another long inhale, letting the toxic air invade my lungs before puffing it out in a large plume of smoke. "C'mon. Let's get your mind off the depressing shit before it rubs off on me. What better way to distract yourself than to suffer with your pals in there?" I pointed towards the door.

She snorted, her hot breath visible in the cold weather. "Alright then, you big ape. Ladies first." She teased, presenting the way to the door for me first.

"I'll toss you."

"You wouldn't."

...

"Okay! I'm going!" She yelped as I reached to pick her up by her tail. I continued to reach for her tail playingly as I chased after her the short distance back to the door.

When Sugar and I walked into the small area between the back door and the kitchen, I noticed she was a bit puffy around her eyes and slightly red around the edges. She probably excused herself because she needed some time by herself to get some emotions out when nobody was paying attention. I also couldn't help but notice she was stuck to my hip like glue as we walked back into the kitchen after wiping our feet and hooves on the carpeted entryway.

I put my hand on her neck to provide some unspoken support, and she flinched ever so slightly at the touch. However, she relaxed pretty quickly and glanced up at me with a thankful smile.

I smiled back and scratched her absentmindedly while we walked together toward the kitchen.

Opening the door, I noticed an alarming number of my staff gathered by the door leading into the restaurant, peeking through the small gap. They were all stacked on top of each other somehow in impossible positions to allow everyone to see into the restaurant and look at... whatever they were looking at.

Before I could start to question what they were all doing there, I was quickly made aware of a burning smell coming from the grills. I saw that a few tofu patties were turning black, and black smoke was coming from one of the ovens.

"Hey, hey, HEY! What the fuck are you all doing?!" I shouted as I bolted across the kitchen and tried to salvage as much as possible before the smell carried into the restaurant. The entire peeping crew by the doors yelped and fell on top of each other at the sound of my voice and they all scrambled to get untangled. Meanwhile, I got to work with quickly flipping the tofu patties over, but they were already way past being salvageable. Shifting my attention, I went to the oven to turn down the heat and went into a coughing fit once I opened it and was assaulted by the smell of burning pizza.

"The fuck has gotten into all of you?!" I shouted at them while removing the stone-hard pizza from the oven. I swore explosively as I burnt the tip of my finger that slipped through the dishcloth I was using to hold the tray with and dropped the pizza on the table with a hard 'thunk' for my staff to observe. They were all looking at each other nervously, and some of them were stealing glances back at the doors. Giddy approached me with a sheepish smile.

"Heh... sorry about that, boss, but you gotta see who just came in! This is really, really bad!"

"No, Giddy, what's really, really bad is the severely burnt food! Just because I step out for a few, it doesn't give you excuses to get lousy." I pointed at the rock pizza, and his head sank.

Sighing, I started to walk over to the doors to the restaurant. "Honestly, dude, we get important douchebags in here all the time; what's got you all so jumpy all of a sud-" I froze mid-sentence as I peeked out to see what the guys were fussing about. My mouth fell open.

Okay, maybe their reactions were justified.

I was looking directly at the topic of many debates and conversations I had been part of for the past few months; Princess Luna in the flesh. The newly reformed princess was seated by the window with two royal guards in dark lavender armor, one sitting next to her closest to the window and the other sitting opposite the two.

I also noticed that the seats on each side of the Princess were vacant, giving her a wide berth.

Ever since her reformation by the Elements of Harmony six months prior, nobody had seen the princess anywhere. It was like she had just appeared and then simply disappeared again just as quickly. Word had gotten out, of course, and media from all over Equestria were stationed near the castle at all times trying to get the latest scoop, though news never reached the outside about the princess. After about 3 months of nothing, the last crew had left.

And now here she was, exactly as described in the picture books about the royal sisters, sitting in my restaurant.

"So uh... That's Princess Luna, isn't it?" I asked stupidly to nobody in particular. My staff had mostly gotten back to what they were previously doing but a few had remained by my side, namely Chatter and Minuette. They were supposed to be anywhere but right here, inside the kitchen.

"What's she doing here?"

"We're doomed!"

I moved away from the door and pushed the two ponies further into the kitchen. "Would you guys be quiet?! Why is nobody out taking orders?"

They both looked nervously at each other. Minuette's lip trembled and she uttered, "b-but it's Nightmare Moon."

As if on cue, a cold breeze flew by the room causing everyone to shiver. I glared at her. "Of all the... If none of you are gonna behave like adults then I'll have to take this one." I threw my arms out in a 'what the fuck' motion. There's that headache again.

I untied my apron and tossed it in Minuette's face. I turned quickly on my heels and took a deep breath before opening the doors.

Stepping out into the unexpected, I noticed that most of the lively conversations had turned into whispers, and most, if not all the attention in the building was on Princess Luna. At least until I stepped out. The princess herself was looking my way as I tried to casually make my way over to her, the words of my staff lingering in my mind. Does this mean trouble? I know she's supposed to be reformed, but what is she doing here? Is she just here to eat?

When I got to the table, I noticed her guards tense up and stared me down as if ready to strike at any wrong move. They both had bright coats, although one was a mare and the other a stallion. The only other differentiating feature I could tell from glancing at them was that the stallion's ears had weird tufts at the end of them. I directed my attention back to the princess.

"Good evening, erm, your majesty," I said with an awkward bow, unsure whether or not I should've done that. It ended up looking half-assed as a result.

The princess eyed me curiously before my world exploded. "A fair evening to thee as well. Are we correct to assume that thou is the owner of this establishment?"

She practically howled into my face in what I can only describe as what being next to a sonic boom would feel like. The room shook at the volume of her voice, and I had to cover the ringing in my ears. The rest of the ponies in the room had the same reaction as I did, though they were not directly in the line of fire as I was. I also heard a faint crash coming from the kitchen.

The female guard next to her coughed lightly into her hoof and addressed her. "Princess, remember, mind the volume."

A look of realization seemed to cross the princess' face and she quickly looked over to her guards. They looked understandably distressed, albeit in controlled distress. I guess this was not a first-time occurrence.

Her head whipped back to me. "Our apologies, good sir." She said to me at a much more acceptable volume. "We are still adjusting to the customs of this modern age."

I smiled awkwardly, unsure how to address her or much less how to even speak to royalty. My ears were still ringing, and I was surprised that I could even hear what she had said. "T-that's quite alright, your majesty. I am indeed the owner. Welcome to the JeanDélicieux. Can I take your order this evening?" I asked her with as much professionalism as I could, although my voice did break halfway through.

A look I couldn't quite place came across her face, and she sadly cast her eyes to the ground. I noticed movement behind me and cast a quick glance to see that my servers had resumed their duties.

"Indeed. We wouldst not expect any more than so." She said, barely above a whisper this time. Her eyes met mine once more, "Doth the name Cibus mean anything to thee?"

My brow shot up. I'd heard the name before, indeed. The very street we were on was called Cibus, and I remember the previous owner of this place mentioned the name once or twice when we were handling the contract. If I remember correctly, he might have owned this place at one point. In any case, definitely an important pony to have a street named after him, much less in the center of town. It piqued my interest.

"I believe I've heard the name before, yes. Why do you ask, your highness?" I asked. As mentioned before, I have never been in a situation where I have addressed royalty, so I tried to just channel my training from talking to the elites that would sometimes frequent. They're not too far off, I suppose.

A small smile touched her face. "Forgive us. We only ask out of curiosity. We wouldst not expect old Cibus to still own this restaurant all these years later."

While talking with the princess, I noticed that my initial 'fear' of her was misplaced. Aside from the explosive first contact, she wasn't exactly intimidating where she sat. She was sitting at the table awkwardly, as she was quite a bit bigger than most normal ponies were. It was like watching a filly trying to fit into a foal chair. It was pretty hilarious.

Aside from that, I could tell she was a bit uncomfortable. Many ponies seemed to be afraid of her, reasonably so. She used to inhabit the villainous Nightmare Moon, the thousand-year-old tale that was told to scare little fillies and colts into not eating too much candy. Outside of that of course there is the whole 'banished to the moon by her sister' thing because she tried to take over the throne.

I knew better, of course. Being somewhat educated in Equestrian history, I knew it wasn't as black and white as it seemed. Nothing is. I had a suspicion that the princess was also aware of the discomfort of the ponies around us since she seemed to deflate when she noticed several customers had left as soon as they could when her attention was on me. Other than all of that, she just seemed... sad.

I snapped back to attention when I realized I had been staring at her. The guards were eyeing me warily as if trying to read my thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Princess. May I ask how you knew this Cibus?" I inquired.

Luna smiled warmly. "Indeed. He was our dearest friend before our banishment."

Oh.

"He and his soulmate were part of the founders of this fine city a long time ago. He was the pony responsible for the construction of this very building, which we frequented often." She told me. She wasn't looking directly at me. It was as if she could see something I could not and was re-experiencing moments that were far older than I could imagine. I shivered at the thought.

"You frequented here? I wasn't aware of how ol-" I stopped myself from almost insulting her. "I-i mean, I didn't know this place existed back then." She didn't seem to be fazed by it. Dodged a bullet there. The male guard shifted in his seat, though.

"It is so. Our friend Cibus had the finest dining in all of Equestria! We heard it was still operational and simply had to see it ourselves. Although it doth not look quite as we remember." She commented as she looked around.

Go figure. Obviously, the place has undergone some renovations in order to not crumble into a pile of rubble over the past thousand years. I would have never guessed it was that old, though. Speaking of old, I noticed that her accent was a bit dated. I had no issue understanding her though, so I didn't want to comment on it.

At her comment, I quickly looked around as well. It was a fairly quaint place. Aromatic candles hung from the walls to spread a faint smell of ginger and pine throughout the building due to the season. There were tables for two, four, and six spread out along the walls and in the middle of the room, utilizing the space as much as possible. All of it had a rustic design making it feel very homely.

While she was taking it all in, she noticed the surrounding ponies still kept their eyes on us and whispered quietly amongst themselves. Ah yes, this feels familiar. I thought.

"We must apologize for unsettling thy patrons as we have. It was not our intent." She said sadly.

I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively at the crowd. "Not at all, Princess. I've seen it all before, trust me. It gets better with time."

She looked at me curiously. Then her eyes started to drift up and down, sizing me up. I casually put my hands in my pockets and allowed her to take me in. Yes, I know I'm handsome.

"Thou hast also been outcast?" She asked hesitantly. I shook my head.

"Nah, I wouldn't say that. As you can probably tell, I'm just a bit different. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't stop ponies from staring, unfortunately." I tested the waters to see how she and her guards would react to me not using her title. Nothing.

"Indeed. We wouldst not want to assume thee to be different, however. Where dost thou hail from, if we may ask?" My favorite game of Q&A had returned. Yippee.

"I was born and raised here in Canterlot. My mother came to Equestria many years ago against her will due to some magical accident. We never figured out why." I said offhandedly. "Oh, and before you ask, she was already pregnant with me when she got here," I added.

Luna looked surprised. "Is that so?" She suddenly perked up. "Oh! Our humblest apologies. Introductions hast not been made! Good fellow, our name is Luna. As for thou?" She held out her hoof, presenting it to me with a small smile.

Oh fuck oh shit. Do I kiss it? Do I shake it? I know she's more accustomed to old ways but was it customary to kiss a hoof of royalty back then? If I shake it and she isn't used to that, is she gonna be upset?

Not wanting to stand there too long, I took a knee and tried to play it as safe as I could. Worst case, if I kiss it she'd only be confused, right? I took her glass-covered hoof gently in my hand and leaned in to give it a light peck with my lips. I looked into her eyes and responded. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Luna. My name is Jean."

I heard ponies gasp around me, and I tried to gauge her reaction. Her face split into a large grin.

"Oh, most joyous of days! Thou knows of our old customary royal greeting!" To her credit, she only half deafened me this time. I guess the excitement got to her. I did fall on my ass at the force of her voice, though.

Luna slapped her hooves on her mouth and got off her seat to help me up. She smiled sheepishly as she offered me her hoof. I took it while thanking her as she dragged me to my feet. Quite effectively, I might add. She's strong.

"Our apologies again, dear Jean. It is an esteemed pleasure to greet thee. We hast not had that experience in... quite some time." She said while lightly kicking the ground the same way a filly would when embarrassed about something.

A smile formed on my face, and I tried to ignore my worsening headache caused by the ringing in my ears. "Pleasure is all mine... and don't worry about it."

I like her.

For the next fifteen minutes, Luna and I would talk about whatever and she was quite engaging in conversation. It was awkward to have the whole place pretty much listen in on everything we talked about initially, but things were finally starting to calm down.

After the ponies had seen the princess helping me up after falling over and hearing of her insecurities about being different, they seemed to slowly ease up. Eventually, the place started to liven up again. My servers were back into full action again, and things were running smoothly. Ponies would never fully stop looking over their shoulders to catch a glance at a princess of Equestria, though, which I guess I can't judge them for.

The ponies upstairs had no idea this was all even happening for the most part. Only when they came down to leave were they made aware of Luna, and they froze up for about five minutes before moving again. Same reaction every time. It was never not hilarious.

It wasn't until a few ponies had migrated upstairs that some them had come down to investigate. And by 'investigate', I mean peeking from behind the corner of the staircase and then hiding when the princess would look their way.

The slight pause in time did allow my staff to complete every single order tough, and we were finally given a breather. Although some of my cooks would occasionally peek through the doors to the kitchen to see if I was still alive or not.

Some things just never change.

I had gone back into the kitchen after excusing myself for a moment to check on the state of my employees. Surprisingly, they were back to one hundred percent, and even Sugar was looking better. Takes your mind off it when you occupy yourself, huh?

She saw me coming in while doing dishes and smirked at me while making a witty remark about me hitting on the princess. I sat down on her flank to use it as a chair while rubbing my sore legs as a response, ignoring her protests as she tried to shake me off.

Luna herself was quite the character. She told me of the time she had spent in the castle for the past few months trying to learn how the modern age functioned. She still spoke in her ancient way but told me she was still working on that. After we talked about that particular subject, she attempted and failed to mimic how I spoke, which gave me a good laugh. It was only after all these months spent with only her guards and her sister that she felt somewhat comfortable coming outside and trying to be social. I respected her for that, and I could relate.

Her guards remained as stoic as ever and were just staring blankly at nothing mostly, though it was clear they were listening in. Their ears went back and forth between Luna and me as we chatted; it was adorable. Occasionally they would scout the area for potential threats before returning to their guarding.

Luna also expressed sadness for her departed friend, Cibus. He had been a very close friend of hers, and apparently, she had very few of those, even back then. Meanwhile, during her reminiscing, she moved to stand up, feeling pretty eager to walk me around the restaurant to explain how things looked from what she remembered all that time ago.

Her male guard had quickly fallen in step behind her while we walked, but his female companion had opted to stay at the table to hold down the fort. While walking around the first floor, Luna may or may not have snuck a few slices of pizza into her magical grasp to hide behind herself while we walked past the bar. I didn't say anything, but her horn remaining active until we returned to her table was a dead giveaway.

She also pointed out how I could improve my establishment. Her advice was... aged. She suggested I add some iron maidens to decorate my walls with and put gargoyles on the roof to serve as protection. How would I even get stuff like that?

At some point, I felt I had held her up for quite some time, and my legs were starting to cramp up from standing over her table for so long.

"It's been a pleasure chatting with you, Princess, but I should be getting back to my duties. Would you like to order something, though? I would be delighted to make it for you personally." I offered as I tapped the menu that was still unopened on the table in front of her. Her eyes found it, and she smiled.

"Of course, dear Jean. We wouldst love to try thy fine dining! Our apologies for keeping thee this long. Shall we see..." She mused as she opened the menu and tapped her chin while browsing its content. Her eyes immediately darted to one pictured item in particular.

"Huzzah! We shall take thy Black & Blueberry pudding, as it matches our complexion!" She exclaimed loudly with a hoof raised. I smiled and nodded, taking her menu.

From up above, I heard a crash and what sounded like a cat choking on an air horn.

I held the door for the ponies leaving the restaurant and wished them all a happy Hearth's Warming and happy holidays as they went past me into the evening street. There had only been a few ponies left by the time the clock hit 8:00 PM, and I was honestly just ready to collapse where I stood. I was in good spirits, though. The day had taken a strange turn, but I can't say I didn't enjoy it.

The white stallion from earlier had left a few hours prior with Mr. Pants while Luna and I had been talking. He looked deep in thought, and Mr. Pants seemed to be trying to get his attention, but the stallion's gaze remained blank. I shrugged at the scene.

Luna was still inside. She had remained for the past three hours ordering meal after meal, determined to 'taste them all' as she said. Who was I to complain? I got to cook for a princess, and by all counts, she seemed to love all of it. I take pride in that. She first ate an entire lasagna by herself, then moved on to tofu burgers, hay fries, pudding, soup, fruit salads, and a large selection of desserts prepared by myself and Sugar Plum.

She did share with her guards eventually, though. The poor things were practically drooling before she realized their suffering, and she had reluctantly offered them to partake in the onslaught. Her male guard seemed to protest at first, but after some convincing from the female guard, he relented.

The term 'eat like a princess' has been proven to be utterly bogus because Luna was anything but graceful. She ate her food as if it was the first decent thing she had eaten in, well, a thousand years. I didn't mind at all because, again, it just meant she liked the food, and that was good enough for me. However, some of the ponies in my restaurant were probably scarred for life at the sight of her swallowing a foal-sized pudding whole.

She was the last in the line of the ponies making their way out and I was holding the door for her with a smile. It was sad to see her go. She was the first guest in a long while that had had such a positive influence on me. Even my staff warmed up to her eventually. I had to force Minuette with me at some point just to get her to stop pestering me with questions about her.

Luna stopped in front of me before and bowed her head gently. "It has most certainly been a wonderful night out. It is with a heavy heart that we leave thee, Jean. We wish thee a blessed Hearth's Warming with thy loved ones." She said as she went past me out the door before turning back to me.

"We wouldst like for thee to visit us at the castle at thy own convenience," She started, and I felt my mouth open. "we have more stories we wouldst like to share with thee, dear Jean, and we wouldst like to hear thy own some more if thou doth not mind?"

It took me a while to find my words through my shock. She just invited me to the royal castle. "I-I uh... Are you sure that's okay?"

"But of course! It is our home after all." She winked. "We may invite whomever we please! We also believe thee can teach our kitchen staff a thing or two about fine dining." She added with a chuckle.

It wasn't hard to get a read on Luna after spending a little time with her; she was a mare of my own heart. I was feeling kind of bad for my initial reaction to seeing her because I think what she was really looking for today was some sort of comfort. A comfort she wasn't able to find much after her return, so she came to a place she remembered most fondly.

We could only relate to the whole 'we're different' thing, but beyond that, there is so much more to her that I just found endearing. I would happily spend some more time with her. Let's not forget to mention that just the idea of me teaching royal chefs how to make food was hilarious to me but I could also picture the idea of me working at the palace one day in the future...

One step at a time, though.

"Then I think I'll take you up on that offer," I winked back. "Take care of yourself, Princess, and have a safe trip home." I gestured to the still-falling snow coming from the night sky above.

"Verily!" She exclaimed with a raised hoof and waved her wing at me. She turned away to begin her journey back to the castle and addressed her guards. "Come along then, Iridescence, Silent Knight; let us return to the castle with haste before our coat grows to compensate for the cold!" She said, shaking off the snow that had already started to pile onto her.

"Yes, Princess!" They said in unison before marching off behind her. I watched them go for a moment, leaning out the door with a warm smile before I brought the door back in with me, flipped the sign to 'closed', and locked it for the season.

I was wrapped comfortably from head to toe with warm winter gear as I walked down the newly plowed pavement at a casual speed, just taking in the sights of Canterlot. The cold still hanging in the air was nipping at my nostrils when I would breathe; it was the only thing keeping me awake at this point.

The city was a lovely sight at this time of year, with decorations hanging from everywhere you could hang things and lights of all colors as far as the eye could see.

It was like Canterlot itself had been wrapped in a Hearth's Warming gift.

Canterlot Castle was the cherry on top, though. The tall spires were wrapped in spiraling lights and decor as if they were Hearth's Warming trees, and they even had massive stars on the very top that shone brightly and frequently changed color. That was only what I could see from where I was at, though. I'm sure the rest of it was in a similarly impressive state, as well as the inside of it.

My thoughts quickly shifted to Luna. I wonder how she's spending her holidays? I thought. I didn't know how they used to do it back when but since this was her first one in a while, I assumed her sister would help her get adjusted. I dreaded how it would eventually be like for me to actually go over to the castle to claim that I was 'invited' by the princess. I'd probably look deranged. I'd cross that bridge when I got to it, though.

Just across the street from me, I saw a group of colts and fillies playing in the snow, making show ponies and throwing snowballs at each other. I even saw one of the colts try to do the 'fortnight' dance that was pretty popular currently. I wasn't even going to try that one, much less was I able to in my human form. I chuckled to myself at their antics and felt a slight twist in my throat before I crossed the street toward the next junction.

My home came into view as I turned off the main road leading to my restaurant and sighed happily at the sight. Finally, I can go to bed. I think I'll just hibernate this year.

It was a simple two-story house. Nothing too fancy, as I only really had myself to care for now, and I honestly didn't need anything too crazy. I was comfortable with my space and had more than enough room for some guests if needed. Speaking of guests, my mother and her pony husband, currently living on the west coast of Equestria, were coming over to celebrate Heart's Warming/Christmas with me. My mother was very adamant about remembering her old traditions even though they seemed pretty much identical from what she told me, aside from a few key differences. The name being one of them.

I couldn't wait to tell my surrogate father about today. He was always a good listener, and for as long as I can remember, he was there for my mother and me. I hadn't seen them since... well, last Hearth's Warming. Just wait until I told him a princess of Equestria invited me to Canterlot Palace! He'd always take an interest in what I was doing, and I honestly couldn't ask for a better father figure. His advice over the years has been the most useful in my life.

I reached my front door and started to fiddle with my keys when I heard the sound of galloping behind me. Turning around to face the sound, I immediately saw Sugar Plum racing towards me, a scarf lazily hanging around her neck and a beanie almost covering her eyes.

She was bleeding from her nose.

"P-please, let me in!" She half shouted half whispered as she put on a burst of speed once she had gotten my attention. My eyes widened, and I rushed the key into my lock before I turned it, threw the door open, and held it for her. She crashed inside my foyer and I slammed the door shut behind her, locking it again. I reached for the curtains covering the window next to my door and peeked out behind them.

From around the corner, Sugar had just emerged from, a grey unicorn stallion came forth. His face was twisted in rage, and he was swaying slightly. He was looking around with gritted teeth, and I heard him shout unintelligible words that I'm sure would have set me off were they not shielded by my window. He stomped his hoof on the ground hard, causing snow to kick up from underneath him.

I felt my blood boil at the sight of him. Fucking scumbag.

After a few moments of looking around while shouting and some lights had turned on in my neighbors' windows, he angrily turned back the way he came, almost tipping over in his stupor, and vanished behind the corner.

I stepped away from the window and turned my attention to the mare splayed out on the floor next to me. Blood was running from a gash on her snout, and it was starting to form a small puddle on my floor next to her face. She was sobbing.

"Shit, hold on." I hurried into my kitchen to grab some tissues from the counter and returned just as fast as I went and sat down next to the mare. Gently, I used my hands to lift her head into my lap and tried to keep her still so I could treat her. "I'm soo-hooo-ryyyy!" She cried while I was frantically trying to wipe her wound, being careful not to hurt her. I don't know if she was apologizing to me for getting blood all over my entryway or... some other reason.

"Shh, it's okay. You're safe here." I put some tissues on her gash and pressed down on it after wiping her face a little and held it there while she continued to cry. I used my other hand, which wasn't currently occupied with applying pressure to stroke her neck. She stiffened at my touch. I winced. "I'm gonna kill him," I said through gritted teeth.

"D-don't. It's the h-holidays..." She hicced through her sobs.

This mare... "That doesn't make it right, and you know it!"

"P-please... just n-not tonight, okay?"

I sighed. There was no point in escalating things. She had clearly been through enough tonight, and Cog had left anyway. I grabbed another couple of tissues, tossed the soaked ones I had been using off to the side, and continued adding pressure to her wound.

"Fanks." She croaked nasally through my pinch on her snout. I snorted at the sight.

"Anytime. Though I wish we could hang out under different circumstances than this." Through her sobs, I saw a faint smile, but she quickly corrected herself and went right back to feeling sad again.

Her sobbing had mostly died down to hics and whimpers at this point. I gently stroked and scratched at her neck, and she finally started to relax a little bit. I gently removed her beanie and scarf without shifting her too much or causing my pressure on her snout to be taken off. I can't hold her like this all night.

"Here, hold this." I gestured to the tissue I was squeezing. Her hoof gently took it from me, and she pressed down while I carefully removed myself from under her. "I'm going to get some stuff for your boo-boo. Sit." I pointed at the floor with a finger, clearly indicating that I would receive no argument from her.

She nodded and sat up a bit while I quickly went into my bathroom to collect some medical supplies from my cabinet. I grabbed a large band-aid, rubbing alcohol, and some more tissues. She might need stitches, but for now, this is the best I can do for her.

Walking back into the living room, I noticed that my command had apparently gone right out her other ear because she had now moved to my couch, which just happened to be as far away from my front door as possible. I wasn't going to comment on that; I understood why. She just sat there while holding on to her muzzle for dear life, waiting for me to come join her. I sighed and made my way over to her.

I sat down next to her and gestured for her to lie down on her back in my lap. She did as I requested, and I started to carefully remove her bloody tissues. They came off with a 'slck' from being stuck to her snout and blood was starting to flow again from her still-fresh wound.

I got to work wiping off most of what I could before dabbing some rubbing alcohol on the worst parts of it with a cotton pad. She winced at the dabs, and her hoof slammed against my couch as her mouth opened in a silent scream before she bit down on her bottom lip to stifle the pain. "Sorry." I apologized.

Tears had started to roll down her cheeks again. I was unsure if it was from the pain or... the pain. I don't think the wound was very deep, but it was pretty nasty. It started by her lip and ran up to her nostril.

That asshole probably punched her. Hard.

"Alright, this is the best I can do for now," I said as I applied the strong band-aid on her snout after wiping the remaining blood, making sure it did its job. The adhesive stuck to her quite well, and from what I could tell, no blood was leaking out or seeping through at the moment. She just nodded and closed her eyes while I resumed petting the pony in my lap. I ran my hand through her mane and reached her ears which had started to twitch from my attention.

"Thank you," She said to me after sighing shakily. "I know I'm not the best at expressing it, but I appreciate it more than you know." Her eyes opened again, and she looked into mine with her brown and puffy ones. A small smile formed on my face and I put my other hand on her cheek. She nuzzled it gently and I stroked my fingers on her cheek, wiping some of her tears away.

"Hey, don't mention it, okay?" I wasn't going to pretend I knew what she was going through, as I had no idea. I didn't have any words of wisdom for her, nor did I have any advice on how to deal with all this. All I could do was sit here and be her nurse/teddy bear and offer her my ears if she ever needed them. Or my hands.

She looked hesitant for a moment and looked like she was thinking something over. She closed her eyes again and swallowed before opening them and looking at me.

"Can I sleep here tonight? I don't want to go back home."

Duh. I nodded. "Of course. You don't even have to ask." I chuckled and nodded my head toward my room. "Go ahead and take my bed. I have a mattress I can use. I'll bring it in after I get a fire going."

Her eyes widened and she shifted uncomfortably. "No! I can-" She started before I gently put my hand over her muzzle, being careful not to hurt her snoz. I shook my head 'no' and after some squirming, she relented. I pointed to my bedroom door with a stern digit, silently ordering her to heed my words.

"Fine." She lifted herself from my lap and flopped onto the floor, almost without catching herself. I'm sure the adrenaline she had been feeling from earlier had worn her out to the point where she didn't have much fight left in her because she was usually much more stubborn to deal with than this. She turned and walked shakily towards the door leading to my bedroom before stopping and looking back towards me over her shoulder.

"Jean, I-" She started, but I raised my hand to silence her.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone," I said before standing up from my couch and collecting all the waste. "You don't have to thank me for being a friend, Sugar. Go on, go get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."

She smiled tearfully and nodded before trotting into my room. After vanishing behind the door, I heard the sound of my bed squeaking and chuckled to myself, an image of her flopping into my bed entering my mind. Finally, I could take a moment to reflect on everything now that I was by myself. What a mess...

I took the blood-soaked tissues littering my foyer and tossed them into the bin in my bathroom with the rest of my cleaning supplies. I'll clean the floor tomorrow, I thought. I went to the sink to wash my bloody hands and made a mental note to get a wet towel for Sugar to wipe her face, ears, and neck, as she probably looked horrible from my touch. I hadn't really paid much attention to anything but her injury while treating her, plus it was pretty dark inside my house, the only illumination being the decorative lights coming in from outside through the curtains and a lantern on my living room coffee table.

After the third round of vigorously rubbing soap on my hands and washing them as best as possible, I slapped my still-wet hands to my face. I rubbed my eyes carefully, trying to work out everything in my head and what I would have to deal with tomorrow.

I doubt Sugar would even want to press charges. She's too stubborn, and I'd bet she's afraid of it too. I'd have a good talk to her in the morning about it, but for now, I'd let her sleep. She needed it, and so did I. On the bright side, however, I don't think she needed any more convincing to come to our holiday party now, as I would try my best to keep her here over the weekend.

I looked into my reflection, and my ugly mug stared back at me. My eyes were baggy and my hair was messy, a clear indication that I needed a good, long night of sleep. I was still wearing my work uniform, and I cringed a bit when I noticed the bloodstains that had managed to get on my white collar and sleeves. Looking down, I saw some had gotten in my lap while treating Sugar. At least I'll have time to wash that out over the holidays. Thinking back to my meeting with the princess again, I snorted.

Hey Luna, since we're friends now, can you do me a favor and give us some good dreams tonight? I joked.

I blew some hot air into my mirror, causing the face staring back at me to vanish behind a cloud of hot breath on my cold mirror. "Just another day at The JeanDélicieux."

Echoes Of A Dream

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"Look! You can see Canterlot from here!" The mare next to me exclaimed as she leaned forward as far as she could over my lap and nosed the window of the pod we were sitting in, causing it to dangle.

I yelped like a scared cat and my arms reached for the pole in the middle, dragging the mare with me. "Holy shit, sit still you lunatic! We're gonna die!"

Her nose made a 'woooop' noise as it dragged across the moist glass and tumbled to the ground as I attached myself to the pole like a gecko. She giggled at my antics.

"Oh, you're fine, you big silly. Look!" She stood up and started to wiggle and shake around like crazy, causing my world to dangle precariously, and I felt my vertigo set in as we hung there, several hundred feet in the air.

"Cut it out!" I cried as I held on for dear life to my only lifeline and made a few silent prayers while trying to become one with the pole. After all, inanimate objects would not betray me as easily.

"Aww, is someone afraid of heights? Hmm?" She poked my sides and bit her bottom lip as she stifled a laugh.

"D-don't do that!" I whimpered. "Y-you're gonna m-make us detach!"

A look of false shock came across her face. "Do what?" She then scanned around her. "Oh, you mean... this?"

That was the only warning I got before our pod swung back and forth again, causing it to go so far back that I could almost see directly down. I screamed bloody murder.

She finally stopped after what felt like ages of me clinging to my only friend in this world. "R-remind me never to ride a Ferris wheel with you again!"

She put her hoof over her forehead and put on her best hurt look. "Oh no! Anything but that!" She backed away from me as if I was closing in on her.

Sensing a short respite, I peeled myself off the pole and turned to face her. "You son of a bitch." She flinched when I flicked her horn with my middle finger and went cross-eyed for a few seconds.

She huffed at me. "Actually, I'm a filly of a mare." She said before poking my thigh with her horn, giving me a light shock.

"Oh, you asshole!" She yelped when I wrapped my arms around her stomach and sat us down in the seats before releasing my primal tickle attack. The poor thing never even stood a chance.

"N-uh.. n-uh... aaah! Noooo! STOP!" She screamed out through her intense giggles. She was struggling to breathe and trying to escape my lock on her as I continued to wiggle my fingers wildly all over her turquoise coat, though most attention was given to the joints under her hooves and on her belly where she was most sensitive. Her eyes were starting to water from how hard she was laughing.

"S-stahp... p-please... I surrender!" She wheezed as our pod was approaching ground level. Not wanting the ponies waiting in line to see us fucking around in here, I released her from my death grip for now, and she leaped away from me into the seats opposite the ones I sat in. She was heaving for air and blinking tears from her eyes as she fanned herself with a hoof.

I leaned forward and put my arms over my knees in a crouched position with a massive grin on my face. "Wanna go another round?"

She wiped some tears that had rolled down her cheeks. "NO! You win this time, goober."

I laughed, and we paused for a moment to let the pod go by the bottom and start its second round. I looked out the window and saw the safety of the ground right outside and had the urge to jump out before we even started going up again. I don't even think I could, though, because the attendant locked the doors before we started going the first time, so I remained in my seat. I still didn't want to look down or outside the windows as we started going up again, so I opted to stare at my marefriend sitting opposite me instead, now using the window as a mirror to fix her make-up.

She noticed me staring at her and turned to start another round of playtime, but I guess I was wearing a grimace because she dropped it. "Hey, you know I wouldn't do that to you unless I knew it was safe, right?"

"Honestly, just not doing that at all would be really nice. I don't like being this high up."

She snorted. "Ha, says the guy who grew up on one of the tallest mountaintops in Equestria." Her hoof pointed towards the city in the distance again, which was slowly coming back into view as we made our way back up the wheel of death.

I pinched my cheeks and dragged my eyes down to create a ghoulish face. "Y'know, I wasn't exactly hanging off the side of the cliff for the past twenty-three years." I put my tongue out after I finished speaking and dragged my mouth out horizontally, making my face look worse.

She giggled cutely, in the way I've come to love about her. She stood up and carefully crossed the short distance to sit next to me again, causing the pod to tilt slightly from our collective weight.

I sat still. She wasn't trying to play with me this time; she just wanted to sit with me.

She pulled her hooves around my hand and rested her head against my shoulder before she sighed happily and sank into me. Round two of the wheel of torture was turning out to be slightly more acceptable. The pole might have been my anchor, but this mare was my rock.

I put my head on top of hers and took a whiff of her silver hair. Hmmm... smells like spring. I dreamily nuzzled her hair, and she giggled. I had suddenly forgotten about my fear of plummeting to my doom as we sat there and enjoyed each other's company.

Canterlot was in view again, and she turned her head slightly under my chin to look at it. "Hey, Jean?"

"Yeah?"

"I... I wanna go to Canterlot." I lifted myself off her head and looked down at her. She had a distant expression I couldn't quite place as she was looking longingly toward the city in the distance.

I looked over as well before nodding. "Yeah, we can do that. I haven't seen mom and dad in a while. We could visit them if you want?"

She shook her head. "No, I... I wanna go to Canterlot, and then stay in Canterlot." Oh? What brought this on?

"You wanna move to Canterlot? What about your job?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I don't wanna be behind that counter ever again. I swear, next time someone yells at me because of a slightly moldy blueberry in a pre-packaged basket, they're gonna get it."

I shivered at that. Bless the soul of those who would piss this mare off. Her fury was nigh unavoidable, and her words held more weight than steel. Whoever was at the receiving end of her rant would not walk away unscathed.

She continued. "And what about you? You don't seem like you're enjoying the printing office either."

I shrugged and shook my head. "It's not exactly my dream job. But you know I'm not doing it for the cash. I just don't like being home alone when you're at work."

She smiled at me and stared into my eyes. "When we were in that contest, I was... I don't know. I felt like that was what I was supposed to do. It made me happy, and it was because I was doing it with you that made it so special."

I smiled and kissed her forehead. "I never said I was against moving," I started as she leaned into my kiss. "I'm just surprised. You were the one who wanted to move to Manehattan in the first place." I gestured out into the towering heights of the buildings that we could almost see the roofs of from where we were at.

She looked in the general direction I was gesturing to. "Yeah, it all felt like a dream come true back then, but now every time I look at Canterlot, I just get so... excited!" She exclaimed as she looked back at me. "It almost feels like it's calling my name!"

I snorted and twisted my face while covering my nose with my fingers, making my voice nasally and false. "Hey Willow, it's me; Canterlot. I've been trying to reach you about your extended warranty." She laughed loudly at my stupid act and pushed me with her hoof.

"Hey, I'm serious! Don't you ever want to move back there?"

I laughed with her and grasped her hoof in my hand. "Wherever you go, I go. If you wanna move to Canterlot, we move to Canterlot. It doesn't matter where we are."

Her eyes lidded, and she gave me a dopey smile. "Right answer." She said before leaning her face toward mine and locking my lips in a deep kiss. I put my hand on her cheek as I leaned into the kiss and was quickly lost in the moment as the Ferris wheel continued its rotary adventure.

I held my mare's face close as I continued to kiss her passionately, but her soft lips had changed shape for some strange reason. My eyes felt really heavy all of a sudden, and when I opened them, I was staring at a trio of sugar-covered plums resting on a particular pink flank that I just so happened to be locked in a deep kiss with.

My eyes widened, and I yelped before leaping up from my position on the mattress, causing my it to move and the blanket I had resting on fell over the flanks and covered the rest of the body associated with them.

The form of the pony was now stirring from her spot on the mattress and a head emerged from the covers and turned to face me. "Aw... don't start what you won't finish." She grumbled and winked at me.

I sputtered in my haste to try to find my wits, and my face turned crimson, realizing what I had just been doing. What the fuck, dude... "W-why are you in my bed?!" I pointed at her accusingly.

"I'm not in your bed." She croaked.

"Same difference!" I barked back. A quick look down made me aware I was only in my underpants, and I blushed before my arms quickly went to cover my upper body on instinct.

She chuckled raspily before her head fell down on her pillow with a 'pomf', using her magic to pull the blanket over her again.

"Mmm...'s too early for this. 'night." She grumbled as she pulled the thick blanket over her face and vanished under its warm depths.

I blew the hot air staining my cheeks out of my nose and rushed over to my drawer to pull out a shirt and some sweatpants before putting them on quickly and walking back over to the mare to stand over her.

She didn't move or react to me standing there, so I squatted down and poked her form through the blanket. Her body shifted, and the blanket was pulled down by her magic, allowing my blue pupils to stare into her brown ones.

"Why were you sleeping next to me?" I deadpanned.

Her eyes closed again, and she sighed before mumbling under her cover. "I couldn't sleep."

I figured as much. Couldn't really blame her for the kissing part either... that was on me. Just barely from under the covers, I could see the band-aid still stuck to her upper lip. Good, it survived the night. Doesn't looks like it's been leaking, either.

"About what happened just now... I was asleep. Don't get the wrong idea." I said, scratching the back of my head.

A hoof lazily raised into the air, and she made a dismissive waving motion as she slowly drifted away into sleep again.

The world was slowly starting to fall back into pieces as sleep was leaving my head, and the reality of my life was put back on track. I mused for a moment thinking back to the paradise I had been in just a few moments prior. So it was a dream...

I sighed softly, pushing it back as I stood back up and scratched my head before walking over to open the curtains. Light was already coming in through the thin cloth. When I opened it, my eyes winced at the brightness, and I felt some trace amounts of the headache from yesterday flare within my skull for just a brief moment. I looked out to my snow-filled yard and noticed it had become slightly more elevated than last night. Figures.

The sun was just barely above the horizon in the distance, and given the fact that I could actually see the sun today meant that the snow had finally stopped falling. I leaned a bit more forward in the window to look up into the sky directly above the Canterlot and noticed it was perfectly clear today.

I leaned back and yawned, stretching my body as far as it would go before feeling some pops in my spine, which satisfied me.

I sighed again. Well, no time like the present. I thought. Today, I would need to have a little chat with a certain mare. I looked over to her at the thought and saw that she had once again buried herself under the safety of her covers.

"I'm gonna go make some breakfast. If you don't wanna starve, I suggest you help." I said as I turned for the door. The only response I got from her was a muffled groan from under her covers which made me laugh.

I opened the door to my living room and was quickly hit with the cold air that was present within the larger area of my home. I hugged myself tightly and rubbed my elbows in an attempt to generate heat on my skin and looked over to my fireplace which was now only ashes.

My bare feet slapped against the ground as I made my way over and grabbed some pieces of tinder and used newspaper before stacking it inside the fireplace into a neat little stack. I ensured the bits of paper were rolled into little balls underneath the stick structure I had created.

Satisfied, I grabbed some matches from atop the fireplace and fished one out of the box. I dragged it across the rough surface on the side of the box, causing a flame to come to life. I then stuck it under some newspaper balls, and slowly, the flame spread on the paper.

Making sure the fire would be self-sustaining for the next few minutes, I headed into the kitchen to grab my needed equipment for breakfast. Since my morning had started with quite a bit of... spiciness, I decided spicy food would be best for Sugar and me today. Been a while since I've cooked for two...

Almost as if on cue, Sugar wormed out of my bedroom door, still wrapped in my blanket. Slowly, the blanket wiggled across the floor towards my open kitchen adjacent to the living room while I turned on the stovetop plates to heat them up.

Not a morning pony, I see. I smirked. I left my frying pan to heat itself, went over to the living blanket, and poked it with my toes. I heard a muffled 'oop' in reply. "Get up, lazy. I'm not your maid."

"mm..mfb," Came the reply.

Okay, enough of that. I reached inside a small opening and snaked my hands around the pony before lifting her off the floor with a heave. As soon as her eyes were exposed to the lights from my kitchen, she squirmed, and her hooves shot to her face to cover her eyes. "Gah! Lemme go!"

"Hmm... Nah," I said, not really caring about her protests. Time to wake up the sleeping beauty. I cradled her in my arms like a baby and began to coddle her. "Is the widdle pony tired? Is she? An iddy biddy widdle bitty tired? You wanna go potty?"

She deadpanned at me from her position in my arms, stuck her tongue out at me, and blew a weak raspberry before squirming out of my grasp and placed herself back onto the floor.

"That's weird. Don't do that." She criticized me as she looked up at me with a frown and a sour look on her face.

I crossed my arms and huffed. "You were sleeping like a baby, so I just assumed you wanted to be treated like one. Pardon me for being considerate!" I heard a groan behind me after I turned to head back to the stove before hearing hoofsteps behind me.

She yawned as she walked up next to me while I got some olive oil and spices out of my closet and started to dab some of the oil into the pan.

"What are we making?" She asked tiredly as she took note of what I had gathered. I added some cumin and mustard seeds to the pan and mixed them with the olive oil before adding salt and pepper.

"First of all, do me a favor and throw some more stuff on the fire." I pointed across the living room to the fireplace that was beginning to dwindle.

"Once you're done, get over here and heat this up," I said as I pulled a pack of fresh baby spinach out of a drawer in the fridge and tossed it on the counter next to the stove.

Sugar nodded and went off to take care of the fire as I continued with my craft. I shook around the frying pan a bit to fry the spices a little in order to draw out the flavor and spice as much as possible. Alright, let's get in the zone.

My eyes lidded, and I felt my hands and instincts take control as I cut an onion in half and peeled it. After throwing the peel off to the side, I sliced into the onion while holding it down with clean precision.

After about five seconds, I finished cutting the onion into thin slices. Next, I lifted the cutting board over the frying pan before dunking it into my prepared mix of spices. I then grabbed my wooden spatula and started to mix it all together.

The food sizzled, and smoke went up into the vents above my head. I could smell the onion caramelizing, which made me smile. I loved the smell of warm food early in the morning. Hot chocolate would be pretty good right now... Or maybe some coffee.

I hadn't noticed Sugar Plum standing next to me again until she was up against my hip, taking in the smell before she spoke up. "So, what should I do?"

I looked down at her as she looked up at me inquisitively with her head tilted to the side in the way ponies do sometimes that just makes me forget they're individuals just like me and not beings purely created for hugging.

I smiled at the sight and pointed at a pan I had already started heating next to mine. "Scrambled eggs with a bunch of other stuff to make it better." I winked.

She smiled back and nodded. Using her magic, she opened up the pack of spinach. She wrapped her magic around the stick of butter resting next to the cutting board, took a clean slice with her magic, and added it to her pan. Scary how magic works like that. You can just use it as a knife.

I bumped her hip with my own. "Give me a couple of teaspoons of those." I held my pan towards her magical grasp on the butter, and then two small pieces flew into my pan, which got a chuckle out of me.

"Y'know, magic is crazy useful. I wish us humans had something like that."

She smirked at me carefully to avoid disturbing her band-aid too much. "You do, though. Your fingers are magical on their own. I may be able to use magic on simple things like this, but that doesn't make me a good chef."

Compliments will get you nowhere. I shrugged. "Just born different." I joked.

She rolled her eyes and went back to her cooking. Before she could though, I stopped her. "Remember to not let them sit in there for too long. Just enough to get the sogginess out, okay? I'm not eating it if it's brown."

She gulped and nodded. She needed to get better at regular cooking too. She was my most trusted pastry chef, but she had yet to do much else besides that and dishwashing. I had tasted her home cooking before, which was a... crunchy experience.

"Yes, boss." She replied. Good mare.

She dumped the contents of the small plastic bag into the pan, which instantly started to sizzle, and she quickly began to blend it around with her own spatula to avoid it from burning. In reality, it only needed to heat up for about thirty seconds, but I'd try to let her find it out for herself. She needed to learn to be independent about this stuff.

The onions were now turning a nice, golden color. I mixed it a little more to get all the butter spread around before lifting up my pan and dumping it into Sugar's spinach. She looked confused at me for a moment before I gestured for her to continue while I started on the eggs. She seemed to get the hint and continued to mix it around again with her magic. The smell that had begun spreading around in my house, along with the warmth of the growing fire in the living room was really calming to me, and I could actually feel the Hearth's Warming feeling once again enter my mind.

That feeling used to come much more frequently when I was a child, though I guess that was because I was always around my parents. I could only really get that good feeling when I had other ponies and my mom around and... I haven't had much of that for a while. Since my mother lived so far away now, we could only see each other a couple of times every year. Hearth's Warming is one of them, and maybe one of the mandatory vacations or national holidays.

I shook my head to clear it of any thoughts before any unpleasant memories surfaced, and I noticed that Sugar had already removed her pan and put it on a dishcloth on the counter. She turned to me for confirmation, and I gave her a thumbs up and a sideways smile before starting on the scrambled eggs. Not so hard when ya try.

I added some Yak-yak masala with the lingering grease of the onions and mixed it around with my wooden spatula in the pan. Next, I grabbed a small bowl, quickly cracked open a few eggs, and added them to it before whisking it around to blend it into a yellow soup.

Sugar had started to set the small kitchen table for us with her magic and had somehow managed to leave her magic on in the sink, and I was now watching the frying pan she had used wash itself with a dish brush.

I poured the egg mixture into the pan and started frying it. "Hey, how do you do that?" I nodded towards the sink.

"What do you mean?" She asked while levitating some utensils out of a drawer nearby.

"How do you keep your magic going like that when you're not paying attention to it?"

She looked over at it, and her mouth made an 'o'. She shrugged. "Idunno, it's kinda hard to explain. I guess you could say it's like winding up a music box to a specific motion, and it just kind of goes until it runs out."

Holy damn, what? The things they don't teach you at school as a non-pony... I laughed and continued to stir the eggs. "Fuck me... Unicorns rule the world."

She snorted at that and continued her task. "You'd best believe it."

The eggs had now become spongey and stained with the spices I had added. Perfect. I then grabbed the pan that Sugar had placed off to the side and put it together in a large mixture before blending it.

By the time I was done, Sugar had already finished her job at the table and was now pouring us some pineapple juice. I opened my large bread box resting at the back of the counter and retrieved a small bag from inside that held some Naan bread I had picked up from one of my neighboring businesses just down the road from my restaurant. I need to re-stock on these. I thought as I took note there were only a few left. This is enough for now, though.

I dumped everything into a bowl and carried it to the table, bringing the bread with me. Sugar sat down on the chair, and I saw a look of hunger flash across her face. I then suddenly noticed that she still had some red stains on her coat on her neck, now that I could see with actual lights.

"Looks like we didn't get everything off yesterday," I pointed at my own neck as an example. She frowned, touched her neck, and looked at her hoof, thinking it would bring back any stains. I shook my head. "We'll eat first."

She nodded, and I placed the bowl of food on the table between our plates and put one piece of Naan bread on each of our plates while she looked on and licked her lips. I got some yogurt from the fridge that we would use to glue it all together and add some extra flavor to it.

"Goodness, this is making my mouth water... don't mind me." She said as she used her magic to spoon herself several helpings of food and placed it on her bread. She then used a teaspoon to add some yogurt and rolled up her bread.

I did the same. Now then...

"So..." I started, finally given some time to actually talk to her.

She looked at me and frowned as she took a small bite out of the food to avoid causing any pain to her lip.

"About yesterday," I continued, waiting for her to react to what I was saying. She stopped chewing her food, and her frown had morphed into a sad one.

"What about it?" She asked, her voice breaking a little. I pointed at the spot between my own lips and nose with a finger.

"How's that feeling?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It's better. It's not throbbing anymore, but it feels a little swollen." She mumbled as she softly touched a hoof to the band-aid covering her wound. She winced at the touch, apparently still hurting a little. It was pretty fresh, after all. She looked back at me and her look from last night returned. "Thank you, by the way. I know I already said it, but... yeah. Thanks."

I nodded while taking a large bite out of my food as I continued to watch her. I thought back to last night. She spent some time crying before she tried to get some sleep, and at one point, it had gotten so bad that I needed to sit on the bed and pet her to get her to relax. I really wasn't enjoying seeing her like this. While this was a first, I have noticed her becoming more distant in the last few months. She would frequently look more downbeat and upset about something, and right now, it's clear what it was.

"I wanna know what you're thinking. I can't help you if you won't let me." I offered.

She shifted uncomfortably and brushed some of her fiery orange mane out of her eyes and pinned it behind her ear. I started to eat my own food while waiting for her to respond. "I... What do you want me to say?"

I sank my food down with a helping of pineapple juice. "Well, I want you to say a lot of things. And knowing you, some of those things might not be on your terms. I am not letting you go back there for now, though." I said sternly. "I haven't seen it this bad between you two before. Can I ask what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

I frowned and insisted further. "I'm not going to get you in trouble, Sugar. You know I won't."

"I don't want to talk about what happened, not right now." She said, putting her hooves to her head and rubbing her face. "I didn't want to ask you if I could stay longer because I didn't want to impose on you, but since you're offering, I'll take it." She said, hiding behind her hooves. She's afraid. Things haven't gotten this bad before, then.

I nodded at that and took another sip of my juice. "You're not imposing, but I'm glad I don't have to force you to stay. When you're ready, I'll walk you back home."

She sighed, looking past her hooves up at me. We looked at each other for a long time, daring the other to look away. She didn't last long under my stern gaze before looking down at her food. "Okay."

I stood up from my seat and crossed the distance between us before bending down to be at eye level with her. "I'm not dropping this. One way or another, we're going to figure this out. And don't tell me it's none of my business; you made it my business by collapsing into my house last night."

She hid again. "I wasn't going to say that..."

I cupped her cheek and gently tried to make her look at me again, but she refused. I put a hand on her back instead. "You know that even if you hadn't come running into my house late at night, I still would have dropped everything I was doing if I had heard about this."

She finally looked up at me again, and her lip quivered as she blinked back some tears and nodded. She seemed deep in thought and looked conflicted between talking to me and keeping quiet. I could only guess what kind of horrid shit Cog's been telling her and making her shut up about, but I wasn't going to sit here and imagine fictional scenarios that I knew nothing about. For now, I'd let her eat her breakfast.

One thing I did know, I would not let this slide. Sugar Plum might be a bit of an oddball, but she's my oddball. I looked at her band-aid. No matter what happens to your marriage, what I'm looking at right now should never, ever, happen.

The thought of someone fucking up their loved ones like this made me want to storm out my door barefoot and walk across the freezing city to give Cog a piece of my mind.

No. I can't do that to Sugar. I have to be the adult one here. I sighed and suppressed the feeling of anger that came over me. A skill I had gotten quite good at. Headaches were the result. Speaking of, one just popped up.

After finishing our slightly awkward breakfast, we cleaned up and made our way into the living room. Sugar did the dishes while I prepared some hot chocolate for us to enjoy. I gave her extra marshmallows and whipped cream as a treat for taking my advice and staying over. She was like a filly on Hearth's Warming Eve; it was like nothing had ever happened.

I had just gone over to tend to the fire before I heard three very firm knocks on my front door. My head whipped around at the noise. Sugar had already vanished into my bedroom before I even saw her move. Shit, I didn't know he knew where I lived.

I was unsure how to proceed. I could just open the window next to the door and tell him to fuck off, but that might make things worse between him and Sugar. I had an anti-unicorn lock active, which would send a signal to the central that installed it if it was ever broken, letting them know it had been forced open with magic. If that happened, local law enforcement would be dispatched immediately, so I wasn't worried about that.

I was worried about causing a scene. I was worried about him trying to collect Sugar, and I don't think she'd be brave enough to refuse him in the state she was in. I was worried about containing my anger and many other things, and I would never have enough time to figure them all out while standing here, so I swallowed thickly before walking steadily toward my door.

Once again, I heard three sharp knocks on my door while I was walking. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," I said loud enough to be heard through the door.

Standing in front of my door, I took a deep breath. I then reached down my hand, grasped the handle, unlocked it, and pulled.

I was half expecting to be shanked by a unicorn horn, tackled, or blasted by magic, but that didn't happen. I looked down at the pony in front of me, and my brow went up. Well, I wasn't expecting that.

Instead of seeing Cog's nasty face on the other side, I was met with a pegasus I had never seen before. A pegasus in armor. Dark, lavender armor.

The guard stiffened at attention and spoke very clearly. "Good morning, sir. I am here as a courier for her highness Princess Luna." He said as he pulled a scroll out of his saddlebags. My brow went up as he hoofed it over to me, and I took it. Luna sent him?

"I... uh, Thank you?" I said, almost as a question. He nodded and turned around to take off, but I stopped him. "Wait! Uh, what is this?" I asked as I held up the scroll, unsure what to do with it.

He looked somewhat confused and cleared his throat. "It is a letter, sir. Her Majesty wished for you to receive it this morning. I recommend you read it."

I closed my mouth, which had been slowly opening, and looked down at the scroll. I noticed the seal on the scroll was a very detailed sun with many swirly lines lining it. Snorting in disbelief, I turned back to the guard and nodded. "Thanks, I'll do that."

He nodded and turned again before flying off towards the castle. I looked at him fly off for a bit before a cold breeze hit my body, and I shivered, retreating inside my house again and closing my door before locking it.

From inside, I heard Sugar speak up. "Who was that?" Her head poked out from my bedroom door.

I held up the scroll for her to see and smirked as I walked back into the living room. "Royal Guard. Luna sent me mail, I think."

Her eyes widened, and she stepped out fully. "Wow. You two made pen pals already?"

I shrugged and smirked at her. "Yeah, looks like it. Jealous?"

She blew a raspberry at me, but it wasn't very effective due to her injury. "Well, what does it say?"

I sat down on the couch, and Sugar hopped up next to me as I fiddled with the seal. I pulled it slightly, and it came off with a small 'tck'. I then unrolled the scroll and read it out loud as Sugar looked over my shoulder.

Dearest Jean,
I once again wanted to thank you for our lovely time spent together.
I hope this letter safely reached your home in Canterlot, as I spent
quite some time last night searching for your address in the archives.
It seems I had forgotten to equip you with a means to prove your invitation
to the castle's guards to be valid. Please, forgive me.
Attached to this scroll, you will find a pin only given to ambassadors and
politicians who frequent the castle for day court. However, it should work
all the same for you to enter as you please. I have also given you a note
stamped with my sister's emblem to ensure you are escorted to my chambers.
I look forward to seeing you again, my friend. Please, do not be a stranger!
-Luna
P.S. My sister is writing this letter for you to better understand.

I gawked at the scroll's content, reading it several times before something clicked in my mind. Holy fuck, dude, Princess Celestia wrote this letter! My attention was driven away when I saw a small pin sticking out of the scroll. It was in the shape of Princess Celestia's cutie mark, the sun, and it was golden and shiny. So I'd guess... it was probably worth a few bits.

Right under it was a pinned, folded note. I removed it and opened it, revealing a very official-looking stamp of Princess Celestia's cutie mark and writing that circled it, which said 'Equestrian International'. Well, I guess that solves my problem with how I was supposed to get in. I mused, still sort of flabbergasted at the sudden turn my life had taken.

I heard Sugar chuckle near my ear. "Oh my gosh, look at that thing! Do you realize what that means? Princess Celestia herself wrote this on Princess Luna's behalf!" She shook my shoulder with a hoof. "That's insane, Jean!"

I looked over my shoulder at her, still holding the pin in my hand and feeling its smooth surface. I nodded dumbly and turned my head back to look at the pin, and an idea entered my mind. "Well, now I know what we're doing today."

"We?" Sugar asked.

I turned to her again with my best evil grin. "Yes, we. I'm going to the castle, and you're coming with me."

Wavering Words

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Sugar Plum had absolutely refused to join me at the castle at first. I knew she would, of course, so I told her I wouldn't make her any more hot chocolate for the rest of the weekend. She gave up instantly.

She was worried about running into some of her acquaintances on the way to the castle, and she didn't want ponies spreading gossip about her obvious injury, which was covered by a big, orange band-aid. Some of her friends were just as aware as I was, so they would probably assume the correct thing. Even giddy knew about it, and he heard it from Chatter.

We had admired the royal pin quite a bit. Of course, it wasn't every day you received a royal summons, though this was arguably more of an invitation than a request.

I looked back to my encounter with Luna and remembered how excited she was about telling her stories of how she had picked up a woodworking hobby, read books, and studied what she'd missed since she returned. She talked so much about everyday stuff that wouldn't be so special unless you didn't have many friends to share it with, and I knew that was the case with Luna.

So why not? I didn't have anything better to do besides maybe sipping on some scotch while listening to the radio in my home, and Sugar needed a distraction.

We both agreed that we would wait a bit until later in the day because, given that she had been looking for my address at night, Luna may have been asleep by the time we got the letter.

That gave Sugar and me some time to relax and enjoy each other's company while I rewarded her with more hot chocolate. Her eyes lidded when she sipped on the marshmallow-flavored chocolate, and she again vanished into my couch's comfort.

She eventually asked me to buy her a pack of cigarettes, but that wasn't needed. I already had a bunch of it in my storage and figured I'd just give her one. I wasn't a fan of smoking, but it took the edge off when needed.

The time had also come to check on her wound, as we were still unsure how it was actually doing. Sugar's magic wasn't attuned to healing or other types of magic than the standard issue one that common unicorns have, which is impressive but still considered common. So we just had to do it the old-fashioned way.

I bit the bullet, and without warning, I ripped the band-aid off her upper lip with little effort. The adhesive had already started to turn into paste from the frequent licking of her lips to stop the itching that had started this morning. She only winced a little as it came off, and underneath I could tell it was a little swollen, but not horribly so.

It was a dried, bloody mess, though, because the band-aid had forced it to pool at the wound for it to close, so I went over it with a wet towel a few times to get all the dried blood off and wipe the area around the wound that had gotten stained to make sure it healed correctly. I then put a thin plastic sheet I normally use for food preservation over the wound before taking her into the bathroom so she could shower. She still had some dried blood on her neck, and I think she just needed some hot water running down her face to clear some stuff out of her mind.

Once she finished, I excused myself to take one myself. It had gotten a bit colder overnight, and Sugar only brought her scarf and hat. She asked if I had a spare jacket for pony sizes, and I did. It was in my old drawer in my storage room, along with... other things.

I enjoyed the hot water running down my body while trying to cancel out thoughts starting to seep into my mind about the other items in the drawer until I realized...

Oh shit.

My eyes widened, and I felt my heart beating faster as I jumped out of my shower and darted across my bathroom floor. I rushed to throw on my underwear and pants before almost breaking down my bathroom door, only to see Sugar standing there, already wearing a thick, yellow jacket. She jumped back at my sudden entry and looked at me like I had lost my mind as I stood there, water running off my body and wetting the floor.

"Is everything okay?!" She said, eyes wide as she looked at my bare upper body.

I felt my throat tighten at the sight of the jacket she was wearing and swallowed before nodding slowly.

"Yeah... I, uh... D-did you need some help with that?" I raised my finger to point at the jacket.

Slowly, she followed the direction my finger pointed and looked down at her chest for a moment before looking back up at me. "No... I got it, thanks?"

She looked at me curiously as I tried to hide my relieved sigh and excused myself to finish up in the bathroom. I pushed my back against the door once I closed it, slid down to the floor, and put my hands on my face. I sighed heavily and swallowed away the tightness that had started restricting my breathing.

I stood back up after sitting there for a moment, berating my careless self, and went to actually dry myself before putting on the rest of my clothes. I took a little extra time to ensure I looked suitable for my trip to the castle. I used an electrical hair trimmer to trim the edges of my hair at my neck and put some hair gel in it. I then brushed my teeth and made sure my breath smelled acceptable, just in case.

I breathed into my palm before bringing it to my nose and took in the scent of my breath. There was a faint smell of alcohol, but other than that, it was passable.

After cleaning myself up and feeling recovered from my minor panic attack, I headed back into the living room to find Sugar Plum sitting on her haunches by the coffee table with a pensive look on her face staring down at her empty cup of cocoa. She turned to face me when I came out and stood up when she saw me grabbing my coat.

"Ready to go? She's probably up by now." I said as I glanced at my clock, pointing at 5:23 PM. I tossed her beanie and scarf over to her, and she caught them effortlessly in her magic and put them on.

She looked towards the clock as she finished dressing and nodded before looking back at me with a frown. "Jean, you sure you're okay?"

I gave her a small smile as I put my own beanie on. "Yeah, just a little stressed about seeing the princess, is all." I lied. I wasn't a good liar, but it worked for now. I went to my table, grabbed the golden pin I had received, and pinned it to my chest.

Sugar moved with me as I walked over to her again and went for the door. My lie didn't seem to affect her because she still looked at me with that worried look before she laughed nervously. "Heh, seems like I'm not the only one going through it, huh?"

I put my hand on her neck to give her a reassuring scratch as I tried to give her my best smile.

Lock it up.

I inhaled deeply before letting out a deep sigh and grabbed the door handle. "My friend, you have no idea."

The sun had started its long dip toward the horizon once Sugar and I had left my house. It was still bright out, with kids playing in the snow and ponies walking to and fro to frantically shop for Hearth's Warming Eve, which was just a few days from now. Last minute shoppers... I shook my head.

We took the less crowded path to the castle because I knew Sugar wanted to avoid the possibility of running into Cog. It wouldn't matter which way we went because I owned one of the more popular hangout spots in Canterlot for friends and families, which in a way, made me a local celebrity.

I was also a human. Even from across town, ponies could recognize me from my shape alone.

There were ponies I preferred running into, but there were also some that I'd like to avoid. Some of my neighbors and old acquaintances would sometimes wave me down and ask how I was doing and ask me questions I never wanted to answer or talk about, so I avoided most of them when I could or dodged their questions as much as possible.

As a result, they stopped asking and went to look concerned about me and waving at me when we crossed paths. It made me feel like when I was young again... and it wasn't a good feeling.

We had to cross the town square at some point, and in the process, we walked by The JeanDélicieux. The windows were completely tinted, and I could tell the lights were on the inside.

"Is someone in there?" Sugar asked me when she saw the lights while being on the lookout for Cog.

I nodded. "Yeah, Minuette and Violet said they wanted to make the place look nice for tomorrow's party. They're probably inside decorating it. Looks like they figured out how to obscure vision through the windows, too." I said as I ran my hand across the window as we walked along.

"Oh, so I guess that means everpony's coming tomorrow?" She asked, her voice sounding strained.

"Yeah, and everyone was allowed to bring a plus one, so I assume there's gonna be a bit of a crowd. You're coming, by the way." I said non chalantly as I looked down at her and smiled slyly.

Her head sank. "I'd just be a downer on everypony. Plus, there's this." She said as she tapped her lip gently.

I waved a hand dismissively at her. "Nah, you're fine. If anyone asks, just say you walked into a pole, faceplanted, or something. Just because you're injured doesn't mean everyone's gonna jump to conclusions, right?" I said, despite knowing what some ponies knew about her.

"Besides, we're your friends, Sugar." I paused as I bent down to her level. "Friends support each other. We hold each other up when we're hurt. Same thing goes for everybody else in there." I pointed my thumb over my shoulder into the windows of my restaurant.

Her front hooves huddled closer together as she tried to bury her neck into her jacket and looked to the ground. "I'm not good at accepting charity like this, you know." She started. I opened my mouth to speak again, but she stopped me."But I trust you. There's a reason I came to your house and nobody else's. I just feel safer when you're around."

Her eyes widened a bit as she said that, almost as if she had thought it out loud accidentally. She looked to the ground as her cheeks turned red, which was very clearly visible in the cold weather.

I felt a twinge in my chest when she told me that. I smiled awkwardly and looked to the ground as well. "Thanks... that means a lot coming from you."

She looked up at me again and smiled. We looked at each other for a moment, and it almost felt like...

"Alright! Let's keep moving, yeah?" I stood up quickly and broke eye contact with her as I started to walk again, moving away from the town square. Sugar had stood there for a second before moving to follow me again.

"We don't want to hang around here for too long, right?" I said. I heard a quiet 'yup' behind me as I continued walking and suddenly became very interested in fiddling with the pin on my chest.

After a bit more walking and awkward silence, we made it to the castle gates five minutes later. It was a problem-free trip through the rest of the city. Canterlot Castle now stood before us, and I had to crane my neck to see all of it.

As before, I noticed the large spires with Hearth's Warming tree-like decorations with massive stars on top. Lights were lining the walls surrounding the gate we were heading toward, and all the bushes around us were filled with different types of decor. It made me wonder where they stored all of it during the months between each holiday season.

The castle didn't mess around or half-ass anything, it seemed.

Sugar was also very engaged in examining everything. She had been quiet since our last conversation, and so had I. I didn't know how to break the silence. I can't be thinking of stuff like that.

It felt awkward to be with her all of a sudden, so it might be good for us to meet with Luna right now.

I adjusted the pin still attached to the chest of my coat, and I pulled the note Luna had provided me from my pocket as we started to approach the guards standing by the gates, both wearing golden armor.

When we got within ten feet of them, they slammed their hooves on the ground to stand straight.

"Halt! What is your business here?" The guard to my right asked with a deep, gruff voice. I unfolded my note and presented it to him before tapping my pin.

"I have an invitation from Princess Luna. I was told this was fine?" I asked as I held the note with the stamp closer to him, and he scanned it. He checked my pin quickly before nodding.

"Very well, sir." He nodded as his horn lit up.

The large gates groaned before they slowly started to open, and a courtyard previously hidden behind the wall was revealed. More decorations filled every part of it, and now we had a clear view of the actual gates of the castle itself. They were large and golden against the castle's white walls, and there were decorative lights lining the castle's entrance, which stretched up high before meeting the roof of the castle. From there, I could see decorations hanging from the top and connecting to the towers nearby.

I pulled myself away from staring to thank the guard before Sugar and I walked past him into the courtyard, and I heard the gates groan again before shutting behind us. It wasn't a massive courtyard, so it didn't take us long to cross. It was beautiful, though; hedges and bushes had been shaped into ponies and patterns with the tops covered in snow. There was a fountain off to the side with some benches and birdbaths next to it.

When we got across and met with the golden doors, I was trying to figure out what to do as we didn't have an escort. Should I knock?

I looked back at Sugar, and she looked back at me curiously.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

I shrugged and turned back. "I dunno... Never been here before, so I don't know if I should open the doors or not."

"You should probably knock."

Told ya. I nodded, wrapped my hand into a fist, and knocked on the doors thrice with a bit of force. The metal echoed in the large doors, and I stepped back as I waited next to Sugar for a reply.

The doors started to move inwards just a moment later, and a female guard stuck her head out. "You must be the princess' guest." She said, addressing me. I nodded, and she gestured with her hoof for me to follow. "This way, please."

Sugar and I fell in step right behind the pony and followed her through the giant doors and into the castle's great hall. There were large marble stairs leading to several different places and massive tapestries that hung everywhere in neat patterns representing both princesses respectively. Large pillars stretched from the floor to the roof and were also wrapped in tapestries, with green and red ribbons swirling around the base of it as a holiday flare.

The castle was enormous, as one would expect, and my neck started hurting from looking straight up. High above me was the ceiling, and it held patterns that looked like a maze system that went on forever, no matter how long I tried to look for the exit.

Our escort had started to walk at some point, and Sugar had to bonk my knee with a hoof to get me out of my sightseeing. We followed the guard up one of the stairs to a pair of doors that led to where I assumed the princess was. I had never been to the castle before, so I had no idea where anything was. Thank goodness I had Sugar with me to calm my nerves. If she wasn't, I might not even have dared to come here in the first place. She may be the one currently in need of a distraction, but I still had some qualms about coming. I wouldn't let her see me like that, at least not now that she needed me to support her.

Speaking of Sugar Plum, she stuck to my hip again as we followed the guard through the castle. I couldn't see her face from where I was standing because of her beanie and our height differences, but I could almost feel the uneasiness coming from her, so my arm went for her neck to give her a reassuring scratch. She looked up at me and gave me a cute smile as we continued our journey through the castle.

When we walked through the doors to the side and entered into a smaller hallway more focused on Luna's color, the large windows along the walls had blue tint instead of gold and white, and lavender flowers were hanging from the walls in little pots between each window. It smelled really nice in here, and it was almost as if my fears had just melted away.

After crossing the hall, we opened another few doors before a large, spiraling staircase took us up to what I would guess was one of the massive spires from outside. It turned out to be a bit of a walk. After a few minutes of climbing, I could feel my lungs betray me as I suddenly noticed just how out of shape I really was.

I had to stop a few times to lean against the railing so I could rest, but eventually, we made it. When we finally got to the top, I was pretty wheezy, and Sugar gave me an amused look. "It's pretty embarrassing when the smoker doesn't struggle to climb stairs, you know."

I flicked her nose before coughing. "Yeah, y'know, for a moment there, I thought I wasn't gonna make it." I blurted out between my intakes of air as I looked back towards the stairs.

I didn't notice immediately, but once we were in our new surroundings, I heard the faint sound of music playing. It was... I don't even know how to describe it. It gave me chills and made me feel all kinds of feelings at once. The beautiful sound of a harp was playing over some light piano taps, and sometimes the serene sounds of delicate violin playing would join in, and my mind suddenly shifted into an image of the night sky.

"Wow," Sugar breathed next to me. "That sounds beautiful."

The guard continued after we had a short moment to recover, and we fell in step behind her again as we walked through the hallway. Everything had a very calming feel to it. The lights were dim and warm, the carpets on the floor were soft against our steps, and the air still held the scent of lavender. The roof was much lower than it had been downstairs, and the windows along the wall let in the last bit of sunlight that remained. As we walked along, I saw the sun almost vanishing beyond the horizon in the distance.

It feels like I'm dreaming again. I thought. Thinking back to my dream last night, I stared at the moving floor as I bit my bottom lip. Vocals had now joined in the music that was still playing from an unknown location, and it almost felt like someone was singing me a lullaby.

I looked down at my hands, which had started trembling. I was beginning to feel pressure behind my eyes as the music broke down my walls faster than I would like to admit. It always had a very soothing effect on me, and only when I had moments to myself with it at home would I eventually let some of my bottled-up feelings out. I had her... just for a few moments. How long has it been now? I don't even remember.

I was thankfully brought out of my train of thought as I almost walked right into the flanks of the guard we were following, and I noticed she had stopped in front of a door guarded by two ponies wearing dark, lavender armor. I recognized one of them as the guard who delivered my letter earlier today.

The door had a unique design to it. It was a mishmash of black and blue with some dark purple here and there. It all seemed like a large whirlpool slowly collecting into a crescent moon emblem in the middle of the door.

"Guests for Princess Luna." The guard in front of me declared with a salute, and the Lunar Guards nodded. The male guard on the left walked over to the door to knock before opening it and slipping inside. I heard some talking before a loud 'CRASH' came from within.

Sugar and I looked at each other with equal frowns before looking back at the door at the same time before it suddenly opened, and Luna's head stuck out with a large grin.

"Jean! We were not expecting thee this early!" she exclaimed happily before her eyes cast toward Sugar, studying her curiously. I smiled nervously and waved at her awkwardly.

"Sup, Princess. Sorry if we interrupted you. I brought a friend with me. Is that okay?" I gestured to Sugar Plum, who just stood there, unsure if she should go into a bow. I bumped her with my leg when she didn't say anything.

"H-hello, your majesty!" She squeaked with a very strained smile, and I saw one of her pupils shrink.

Luna continued to examine her for a moment before her smile reappeared. "Any friend of Jean is a friend of ours. Please, come in! Thou interrupted nothing!" she said tto us as she gestured us to come in with her hoof and vanished behind the door.

I pushed Sugar with a hand on her neck and dragged her with me into the room. The guard that had gone to fetch Luna had already walked out again and retaken position. Sugar and I walked past him and through the large door.

"Holy..." I breathed as I took in the place I had just walked into. It was like one of the penthouse suites they had in one of those highrises in Manehattan. The room was tall; the very top of the ceiling was domed, with some windows surrounding the structure.

Further down in the actual 'apartment,' I guess I should call it, was everything a pony could ever want. A large seating area with dark leather couches and a coffee table sat as a centerpiece in the room, with a tea set resting on it. Just off to the right was a kitchen resting under an upper-floor balcony that looked out over the room. The kitchen itself was fully equipped with an island, fridge, and a large freezer in the corner.

I felt a sparkle in my eye as I took in the oversized kitchen. Oh, the possibilities. I could feel myself drooling.

Taking my eyes away as I scanned the room some more, I saw the entrance to a balcony on my left with the remaining daylight shining in through them. Large blue curtains covered the windows surrounding the balcony entrance, and most of them were closed. I turned back and saw Sugar Plum was also trying to process the large room we were in, and I started removing my warm clothes to hang them on a hook just by the door. She reacted to my movement and did the same before joining Luna.

The blue alicorn stood in the middle of the room and waited for us to proceed. You have all this to yourself? I thought as I looked at her pony form standing in her absolutely massive room.

"What thinkest thou? Are our chambers not most stunning?" she asked with pride and puffed out her chest.

I nodded and smiled at her as I crossed the room to her. "I don't know what to say, honestly. I've visited friends before, but this takes the cake. Thanks again for the invite." I laughed.

She puffed her chest out further and grinned. "We art most pleased to hear it, Jean. May we ask whom thou hast brought?" She asked and peeked her head sideways to look past me at Sugar. She was still standing by the door.

"This is my friend, Sugar. She works at my restaurant, and she's a little nervous." I waved her over with my hand, and I could see her gulp as she slowly approached.

Luna held out her hoof to greet Sugar, and she took it quickly. Sugar had a very strained smile, and she was sweating. I guess this might be a bit jarring for her—the whole 'meeting a princess' thing and the fact that Luna is an alicorn. I learned in school that alicorns are the most potent ponies to have ever walked Equestrian soil, and standing next to one as a pony would probably feel a little overbearing.

Luna perked up when Sugar introduced herself. "We remember ordering Sugar Plum Pie... Was that thou who prepared that for us, young mare?"

Sugar gaped a bit before replying. "T-that's right, your majesty. I hope it wasn't bad or anything..."

"Nay, not at all! In fact, we must ask thee for thy recipe!" She exclaimed as she gestured for us to follow into the kitchen before looking back. "And please, both of you, call us simply Luna. We wouldst much prefer it." She smiled. Sugar and I shared a look before following. Thank Celestia, I really didn't want to learn proper etiquette.

"We know not much in the way of cooking. We were hoping thou could lend us a hoof as we would very much likest to prepare a cake for our sister." Luna asked as we joined her at her island in the kitchen. She was holding a note in her magic that she had unstuck from her fridge and had a pencil at the ready next to it.

I looked at Sugar and nodded at her. "If anyone's going to help you with that, it's this mare." Sugar Plum put on her best customer service face as best she could without straining her fresh band-aid too much.

Luna nodded and went over to Sugar before draping a wing over her and ushering her into the kitchen. She asked for some recipes to write down as she explained what she enjoyed eating on a regular Saturday. I chuckled to myself at the two of them. It feels so casual. We're in her home, so I suppose that's what she wants it to be. I mused to myself as I took one more look around me and saw...

Holy shit.

Further inside the apartment, around a corner previously hidden before we had wandered further into the room, stood a massive diorama made of wood inside what looked like a hobby corner. I say massive because this thing was absolutely monstrous. It was almost the size of the fountain in Canterlot Square!

The actual contents of the diorama had a giant crescent mood etched in wood, with Luna herself draped around it, hugging it close as a mother would her foal. The detail of it all was just... unreal. I walked over to it slowly as Luna continued chatting with Sugar Plum about baking and ran my finger over the moon. It felt smooth as if it had been polished. Wooden Luna was the same and was actually larger than her own lifesize version. "This looks professionally made... it must have taken so much time to make," I whispered to myself.

"Luna, did you make this?" I called behind me while taking it all in.

I heard her say 'huh' before her hoofsteps came my way. "Ah, yes! We did, indeed. We have not had time for much else since our return. What doth thou think of it, Jean?"

I looked back at her standing behind me as my eyebrows eyebrows went up, and I snorted. "I don't even know what to say. I know you told me you liked this stuff, but this is just on a different level than what I was expecting, Luna."

She blushed and smiled at me before waving at me with a hoof. "Oh shush thee, it is but a project. We thank thou for thy kind words."

I was going to comment about her possibly making this a career for herself when I remembered she was a princess. I turned back to study the artwork again, and my ears perked up when I noticed I could still hear the music from earlier coming from... somewhere. I turned to face Luna again. "Oh, by the way, what's with the music? I can't even tell where it's coming from."

She gave me a warm smile and looked up at the ceiling. "We art the Princess of the Night. It is our duty to ensure the dreams of our ponies remain safe and peaceful. To be able to work efficiently, we must also be at peace. We quite enjoy this music." She gestured to the ceiling above us, and I could faintly make out some sort of magic floating around.

Luna's horn lit up a bit, and the music increased in volume as the magical field became more apparent to the naked eye. It was like the ceiling had turned into the night sky. I could see stars dancing and floating in unseen streams as the night sky shifted and moved around our entire space. It was a bit confusing to look at, but beautiful nonetheless. My mouth opened. "So the music comes from you?" I asked her as I stared at the magical display.

Luna nodded and powered down her horn. My eyes widened as I remembered something I was told earlier today. This is probably more of what Sugar Plum was talking about. Like winding up a music box and letting it go until it runs out.

Magic is so fucking incredible.

I looked down again at the princess before me and smiled kindly at her. "I like this music, too."

Sugar interrupted our little moment together and asked for some help finding ingredients. Having the oversized kitchen that she had, Luna only had a little in terms of actual food. A few bags of chips in the cabinets, some premium chocolates in the fridge, and some tubs of ice cream. She was a little embarrassed, but it made her feel more like an actual pony, not a princess.

Sugar quickly warmed up to the princess after they discovered they shared a love for desserts. Luna never mentioned the band-aid. If it was out of respect for her privacy or just because she hadn't really noticed it yet, I didn't know. Either way, I think Sugar appreciated it. We did come here to distract ourselves from that, after all.

Luna would talk about her failed attempts during the last six months, and Sugar had expertly pointed out what Luna did wrong with each one. She didn't let it sit long enough. She left the oven on too long, didn't prepare it right, added too little butter, was too hot when added, etc. I just laughed as I watched them from my spot on the couch, a cup of coffee in my hands that I had made from Luna's very expensive-looking coffee machine.

It was easy to forget how she had been the last day over at my place, but Sugar was a fierce pastry chef. On more than one occasion, she had butted heads with her apprentices at work when they messed shit up in the kitchen. I liked that about her. The mare was a shell of her former self that I met a few years back, but she still had that stubbornness that we all knew and loved about her.

I looked at her, finally being herself for a moment as I sipped on my coffee and thought back to when I saw her terrified expression as she was running away from her maniac of a husband. I felt my brow tighten and my fist clench. Sugar, I swear. No matter what, I'll definitely figure out a way to help you.

Luna needed help to make a cake for Celestia because, as it turned out, the tallest pony in Equestria was quite the cake fanatic. She wanted to make lemon velvet cake, but we had no ingredients, so she called her guards to get the kitchen staff to fetch her what she needed and also ordered us some breakfast.

Except it was evening right now, though I guess it would be breakfast for Luna.

The food was... less than stellar. It was spaghetti, served on a food trolley, and some of the most fancy-looking plates and cutlery I had ever seen. It was a crime that the food on it was so poorly presented and looked like something you'd find at a two-star joint. The only reason I don't say one-star is because the utensils were pretty. I felt my hands tremble at the sight. I was two seconds away from sprinting down to the kitchen to give the staff a piece of my mind. The salad was burned, the noodles were over-cooked, and the sauce was thin and had absolutely no flavor.

It was just so fucking comical that they served this sewer junk in the poshest way possible. I need to find a brick wall, fast.

I told Luna I wanted to go on an inspection down in the kitchen, and she agreed. According to Luna, they hired a clown instead of a chef in the castle's kitchen. He would constantly complain about the work hours ever since the lunar princess returned and would make absolute garbage food. Of course, he wouldn't let anyone else make a meal for the royals either, so I guess that means the rest of the staff just stood on the sidelines and watched him cook most of the time.

Judgement is on its way. I thought as I grinned evilly with my fingers interlocked in front of my face. When the time comes, I'd have a few choice words for my friend down in the kitchen. Luna and Sugar giggled at my antics, although Sugar was sweating and her pupils dilated. She knows of my wrath.

Another time, though.

Luna had fished a newspaper clipping out from under the table as we ate the soggy mess. "We wanted to ask thou about this, Jean. Whilst we were looking for thy address in our archives, several other items were amongst the files we found. This one, in particular, caught our interest."

She flipped it around to us so we could see what she was talking about, and my heart sank when I saw the photo.

Luna continued with a sly smile. "It appears thou have a story to tell us, Jean. How could thou not tell us thou was part of the Equestrian Top Chef contest?"

Sugar gasped quietly beside me, and I looked at the picture she had presented to me. In the picture were a group of ponies and one human, each with a medal around their neck. There was no color in the picture as it was a bit old now, but I remembered what colors the medals had. The two ponies in the middle of the picture had golden ones, the two on their left had a pair of bronze ones, and... The pony next to me and I had silver ones around our necks. My hand was around the mare's neck, and our faces were close. We looked happy, despite having come in second place.

There she is again... The second time in one day. I thought as I tried not to react too much to the picture.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn't win, so it wasn't worth mentioning."

Luna gasped. "Still, this is quite an achievement! We do not recall seeing this mare before; who is she?" She asked curiously, pointing at the mare next to me with a hoof. I looked down at my food and pushed the remaining parts around with a fork as I tried to form a response. I saw Sugar next to me, leaning in to see the picture better.

"She's just a friend I was participating with," I said before changing the subject. "Oh, by the way, Luna. We're having a work-related party tomorrow, and we can bring someone. Would you like to be my plus one?" I asked her.

Luna was taken back by the sudden change in topic but seemed to think it over. "We... wouldst like to say yes, but we art afraid to ruin everypony else's merriment."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. Sugar here adjusted pretty quickly." I said as I patted the mare on her head before she tried to swat at my hand. "Plus, if you want, making a cake for the party would probably make everyone warm up to you in no time." I smiled at her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Introverts are hard to convince, but we're on a roll right now.

Luna smiled sadly at me. "As we said, Jean, we wouldst like to join. We appreciate thy efforts in convincing us, but we art still worried. We were only able to leave the castle yesterday because our guards accompanied us." She nodded towards her door. "Plus, we had waited too long to visit our old friend Cibus' establishment."

Sugar jumped in after she had finally put the picture down. "Actually, Princess, I don't have anypony to invite either. I could offer my spot for one of your guards if you would like?"

Luna's ears perked up at that. "Art thou sure, young Sugar? Have thou not somepony thou wouldst like to bring?"

Sugar looked up at me, and my eyes quickly fell on her band-aid. I gave her a reassuring smile and put my arm around her shoulder to give her a little shake. "It's fine, Princess. I don't have anypony to bring."

"Then we shall accept, thank y-" Luna started but was interrupted by the door to Luna's chamber knocking gently before opening. In walked none other than Princess Celestia herself. My jaw met the floor before Sugar and I stood to face her.

"Please, sit. My guards informed me that my sister had visitors and I wished to meet you. Treat me no differently." She said. Her voice was so soft and kind I could almost mistake it for an angel. Her prismatic hair waved in the same astral wind as Luna's hair did. Her hoof ornaments tapped gently on the wooden floor as she walked towards us from the door.

"Sister, we did not know thou were still awake," Luna said and went over to give Celestia a nuzzle. Damn... that's weirdly cute.

"I still have some unfinished business to attend to, sister. But, I am glad to see you are enjoying yourself." She told Luna as she eyed her like a proud mother would a child. Celesia raised her head to look at Sugar and me. "It is wonderful to see you again after all this time, Jean. And how much you've grown!" She came over to me, and cupped my cheek with her hoof. I blinked.

"What?"

"Do you not remember? I suppose you wouldn't." She giggled, draped her wing around me, and hugged me; for some reason, she smelled very nostalgic. It was like putting my nose into a basket of freshly dried clothes. "When you were but a boy, you stayed in the castle with your mother. Did she not tell you?"

I just stood there and returned her warm hug numbly as my face buried deeper into her neck. "S-she told me she lived in the castle for a while, but I didn't know you and her knew each other that well, Princess." I muffled in her fur.

She laughed as she pulled away. "Your mother and I have been writing to each other for almost forty years, my child. Surely she must have mentioned it."

My brow furrowed, and my jaw dropped. I had not heard about this. Mom would have told me at some point if she did, wouldn't she? I had seen her writing at her desk several times, but I never knew she was corresponding with the princess...

"She's hasn't mentioned that... I don't think. Why have you?" I asked.

Celestia smiled. "We are old friends. When she first came here all those years ago, your mother was the topic of every headline worldwide, and she needed protection from the other kingdoms." She walked around me to grab a cookie with her magic from the table. "I took her in while she was still pregnant with you, and she stayed here as my guest for quite some time. Until you were three years old, I believe." She finished as she munched on her cookie.

That part I knew. My mother had told me all about the political battles that had been going on when she came here and how crazy things had been. When she first arrived in the Everfree, one thing led to another. Before she knew what was going on, griffons were involved.

Long story short, she escaped the party of griffon scouts who were camping in the forest thanks to the serpent that happened to lurk nearby. He heard her shouts for help as they tried to tie her down and came rushing over. My mother has been trying to track him down since that day to thank him, but she never wanted to go into the forest again. Nobody ever said they heard from him either as far as any of us can remember, so some ponies thought she might have made him up in her daze.

She told me Celestia had taken her in as a guest and hid her behind the castle walls until everything had settled down. After that, actual laws and treaties were made on my mother's behalf so that she or I would not be kidnapped or worse by others who saw us as a rarity to collect.

Coming over to me again, Celestia looked at me sadly. "As I mentioned, your mother and I have been corresponding. Not as often as I would like to, but every once in a while." She paused before continuing. "I know it's been a while now, but I would just like to extend my most sincere condolences to you, Jean. I can not imagi-" I raised a hand quickly to stop her, and she did. I knew where this was going, and I didn't want to hear it, princess or not.

I felt a sudden headache flare to life in my head again, and I wanted to quickly stop this before Luna or Sugar caught on. "I... Do you mind if we talk alone, Princess?" I nodded to the corner on the other side of the room. Celestia looked confused and eyed where I had been gesturing.

Luna and Sugar had been listening to our conversations and looked confused between Celestia and me. At some point, Sugar had snuck behind Luna and perfectly disguised herself behind her flowing mane and tail. Celestia had yet to address her, and it seemed like Sugar wasn't ready to be, either.

Celestia looked back at me and nodded, her facial expression turning soft again as she turned to walk over to where I had directed.

I followed her and ignored the looks I was getting from Luna and Sugar as I walked past them. I was only focusing on what I would say to Celestia. Mostly, I just wanted her to drop it and not talk about it, but I didn't really want to be rude to her, especially now that I know she and my mother are pen pals. Why didn't you tell me that? I asked the mental image of my mother.

We made it around the corner and walked over to the diorama of the wooden moon before Celestia turned to look at me with her kind gaze. She studied me for a moment before pressing on.

"I understand it has not been easy for you. Your mother has told me such."

I sighed and looked at Celestia's hooves instead of her eyes as I nodded and felt a tear wanting to trickle out of the corner of my eye. Not even one sentence in, and you're already this weak. Pathetic.

She took my silence as a cue to go on. "She also tells me you spend too much time working. She talks about you quite often, actually."

She walked close to me and cupped my cheek, making me look into her eyes as mine started to get watery. My lips started to tremble, so I didn't dare say anything. I felt my throat tighten, and it made me want to get sick all over the floor. I didn't want to stain Celesia with low-grade noodles.

Celestia pressed on. "I have lived many lifetimes and seen ponies come and go. The first time is always the worst, so please let me give you some advice." She offered.

I couldn't say anything. I was afraid I'd burst if I did. So I just looked at Celestia and nodded again.

"Don't push the ponies closest to you away." She said as she kept her gaze locked with me. Her eyes were calming, and it was almost as if she was inviting me to open up to her.

She put her hoof down on the floor again, and I took a shaky breath before letting it out and finally talking to her. "I appreciate the advice, Princess," I said. "If you don't mind, please don't tell anyone else about this."

She frowned and nodded. "It is your responsibility whether or not you wish for anypony to know. I will not rob you of your choice."

I nodded in thanks and turned to walk back inside the living room before I heard her speak up again.

"Indecision is not a decision, Jean." She said sagely in a serious tone. "I know about your other dilemma, as well, and all I can say is that I hope you reconsider." She said as she walked up next to me, and I felt her wing on my back again.

I looked at the ceiling again to observe the barely visible stars floating around and thought about what she had just said. Indecision is not a decision. I said to myself in my head. You hear that, you pathetic piece of shit? Princess Celestia just told you what you've been telling yourself all this time.

"Nopony can make these choices for you. Remember that. You're not alone in this, Jean." She assured me as she rubbed my back with her wing.

I glanced at the princess standing next to me and thought about what I'd say to her. If this was any other pony giving me advice, I'd maybe think about it, but Princess Celestia was an ancient being who had been through more than I could ever dream of.

"Thank you. I'll... think about it."

She closed her eyes and nodded as she rubbed my back. "Now, as for Luna. I happened to catch the end of your conversation from the other side of the door." She started as she ushered me to look around the corner at Luna, who was currently showing off her small collection of wooden figurines of ponies she had crafted to Sugar Plum.

"She is afraid of scaring ponies but wishes to leave the palace because being behind these walls is driving her crazy. I am not often able to entertain her." She said sadly before looking at me with a smile. "So, I think her going with you tomorrow is a wonderful idea."

I nodded at her, very thankful that the conversation had shifted elsewhere. It was going to be a challenge to get everyone on board with her joining us tomorrow, especially Minuette and Chatter.

Luna was an alicorn, one of very few that had ever existed. That was a big waving flag, for sure. Her outfit was also standing out from other ponies. On her head was her black crown nestled behind her horn, she had some sort of black ornament around her neck that had her emblem on it and her glass hoof guards. That, plus her wavy blue mane that looked like a portal to the universe, was a dead ringer for a princess.

I tapped my chin as I leaned around the corner with Celestia. How to make her stand out less? I thought about it for a moment before a plan formed in my head.

"Say, Princess. Has my mother told you of the traditions from her home world?" I asked.

Celestia nodded and looked back at me. "She has. Are you referring to Christmas?"

I nodded, and then a large smile formed on my face. "That's right. And there's a certain jolly old fella I think we can dress her up as."

A Fleeting Feeling

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Princess Celestia had been pretty stoked about my plan, although it was clear we wouldn't be able to fool anyone. At best, I was hoping that Luna's costume could make other ponies perceive her as just another pony, as Sugar and I have.

And so, the princess had put the matter of Luna's social ventures in my hands for the time being. Shortly after our chat, she excused herself to her other duties after giving Luna some sibling love in the form of adorable pony nuzzles.

I sat down next to Sugar Plum when I got back, though she didn't talk to me about what had happened earlier. I could see she wanted to, but she left it alone. Instead, she had started to introduce me to Luna's figurines. They varied from Starswirl the Bearded to mythical creatures roaming the lands of Equestria. The detail on those things...

I wasn't really interested in sharing that part of my life with anyone these days. I don't feel like anyone would understand, and whenever I would try to open up about it, I felt like I'd been hit by a locomotive.

To be honest, I was close to opening up to Celestia, but my pride prevented me. My mother and father were the only ones I had properly talked to about my private life. I did my best to keep them out of my problems as best as I could, though.

To be honest, I didn't want to lose my cool in front of Princess Celestia on the day we first met.

Don't push the ponies closest to you away. The princess's words rang in my head, and I had to try to grip the situation a little tighter. While I had gotten somewhat adjusted to the fact that we were guests of a princess, Luna had not ruled Equestria for a thousand years.

Princess Celestia was a different case.

She was the benevolent monarch I remembered from growing up. I saw her at the Summer Sun Celebration with my mom and dad every year. I'd also see her with her guards when she sometimes went to charity events or obscure things like cutting ribbons for shop openings. She had never once spoken to me before.

It was surreal to actually be with her and have her talk to me, though I was honestly relaxed by the fact that she knew my mom as well as she did. It made her less daunting if anything.

To learn that my mom had been friends with her my whole life? I don't really understand why I wouldn't have heard about that part before. But, then again, I don't tell my mom about the friends I hang out with or our private conversations, so I guess I shouldn't be pointing fingers.

She'll be here in a few days; I'll just ask her about it.

As a result of being on the brink of spilling my guts all over Princess Celestia, I decided to push it aside for later. Sugar was the one in need of support right now, not me. I had been dealing with this stuff for a long time, so I was in no rush to suddenly start treating one of my friends like my therapist.

Which reminded me, my monthly session was coming up right after Hearth's Warming.

We bid farewell to Luna after letting her in on my plan, and she reluctantly agreed if I thought it would help her fit in. She put her faith in me, and I just hoped that I'd manage to deliver.

We agreed to meet outside the back of my restaurant a little before eight o'clock, so Sugar and I could help her get dressed. Luna and Sugar had spent some more time talking about baking and desserts before we left.

Eventually, Sugar instructed Luna on preparing a simple chocolate cake because Luna insisted she bring something for everyone even though the party would be loaded with stuff anyway. I didn't mind, I was sure Luna could eat it all even if there was leftovers. I shivered at remembering how she swallowed a whole pie in one go.

Once we said our goodbyes and left, we made it home without incident and made for the bed immediately. We were both pooped, and honestly, it had been a different kind of exciting day than what we were both used to, so it really took it out of us both.

Thankfully we didn't run into Cog on the way back.

I had taken the mattress again, but Sugar had somehow ended up right in the same spot she had been last time, only this time, I wasn't assaulting her flanks when I woke up. She never did bring that up again, actually.

I had another wonderful dream that night, though it was different. It was like I was floating in an empty space while I drifted down a river, but it wasn't water. It was very peaceful, and I could hear that music from before.

Once we were awake, Sugar helped me destroy one of the old outfits my mom had made for me when I was a kid. I figured I wouldn't need it anymore anyway, so I got to cutting while Sugar did the measuring and sewing. We didn't know the exact size for Luna, so we ensured it was extra baggy. If it was, we could fatten her with some pillows to give the costume the extra accuracy. Thankfully I had some red fabric in one of my closets.

The hat wouldn't be a problem... I hoped. I didn't know if it needed a horn-hole or not, but if it came to that, I was sure we could just skewer the hat on her head. I was also pretty sure I had a fake beard lying around here somewhere. Just imagining that on Princess Luna was already causing me to nearly shit myself with laughter.

It took most of the day to create the 'costume'. At some point, I left Sugar to her own devices when I realized I would just be in the way since I had no sewing experience. The costume wouldn't get any better even with an expert at work. It was human child sized, and the fabric I collected was a different shade of red, so it looked pretty bad. So instead of helping her, I went to the kitchen to make some food for us.

I thought about the party later today, and snickered to myself when I remembered the one from last year.

It was pretty neat being a manager. You could just task your employees to fix stuff for you without worrying too much about it yourself. I had given everyone something to do for the party today. Drinks, cakes, and pizza would be present, but mostly drinks. It was only once a year we were able to have a party like this with everyone present, and we were going to make sure it was a good one.

Some ponies would be over at the restaurant making pizza's for us while others would stock up on alcohol on a shared bill between all of us. The rest of those with nothing to do and would bring homemade cupcakes or stuff like that.

I sorely needed this after what the last few days had brought me. It's been a fucked up weekend. I wasn't about to complain about some of the things that had happened; it was all just a little too much in a very short amount of time.

We changed Sugar's band-aid again after she had finished getting herself ready for the party. What I initially thought was a deep wound turned out to not be so bad, all things considered. It was shut tight after almost two days of healing, but for good measure, I slapped on another one to make sure it didn't re-open during the party.

Once we had both gotten ready and made ourselves look as presentable as possible, we were off towards The JeanDélicieux.

"Why art thou laughing? We do not see the appeal."

Yes. Yes! This was every bit as ridiculous as I had imagined. I struggled to breathe as I leaned against the brick wall outside the back entrance of my restaurant.

"Ho... ho... holy shit. It fits!" I cackled between wheezing out my lungs.

Sugar was trying to stuff some fluffy couch pillows inside the very loose Santa Claus costume we had managed to get on Luna. The colors and the look on Luna's face were just too much for me.

The Santa hat was a little small, so it was squeezed down on her head, making her hair come out in a very concentrated flow. Her snout was too long to bring the fake beard over, so it just hung below her chin. That, and the costume was so baggy on her. It just made it all so hilariously stupid.

I haven't laughed so hard in years.

Luna frowned at me, and Sugar gave me a sideways glare as she continued to stuff a princess.

The lonesome male guard behind Luna wasn't saying much, as was his job. He had been standing there ever since Luna arrived a bit ago and just observed as we played dress up with the alicorn.

"Honestly, Jean. Get a hold of yourself!" Sugar snapped at me as she finally got the whole thing into the outfit, making Luna's chest much larger.

I wiped some tears that had trickled out and sighed in joy as I pushed off the wall and headed over to help out while keeping my giggles to myself as best as possible.

"You know, I think this is gonna be totally fine, Princess." I said to Luna as I started to wrap a belt around her to secure the pillows. We had made sure the back of the costume was open, so Luna's wings wouldn't be immobile at all. I had to ben back so I wouldn't get a face full of feathers.

I did my best to avoid contact with her coat as I tried to buckle the belt so that it would hold the pillows without slipping out. Sugar had done most of the actual dress-up with her magic, but some parts were too delicate and needed a push, like the chunky black belt needing to be threaded between skinny slots in the hem of the red costume.

We only had the upper part of the costume as it had taken all day to make, so we just dropped the pants and figured it'd be fine without them.

I didn't want to break any boundaries with Luna, so I was careful not to come into contact with her coat as I wrapped my arms carefully around her barrel. She stood still and allowed us to work while the guard stared daggers into my neck.

"Thou say so, yet still laugh at us," Luna said as I tightened the belt.

"Aw, c'mon Princess, it's friendly. I didn't mean anything bad by it."

She looked over her shoulder at me and moved her wings a bit to be able to look at me. "What doth thou mean?"

I shrugged as I finished up and made sure the belt wouldn't snap. "You know, like if I told you a joke that you liked. You don't laugh at me; you just think it's funny."

Her eyes darted back and forth as if she was reading an unseen script. "We see... We do not have much experience in joking, however."

"Oh, don't worry. Once you settle in with us, you'll be just fine. Speaking of, you ready?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "We suppose. We art still nervous, but we believe we art ready."

Sugar had also finished her task, and we both took a few steps back to admire our work.

I almost started laughing again, so I clapped a hand over my mouth. It was beautiful. Fat Luna. Santa Luna.

"Oh, and by the way, Princess," I started as I walked over to her when my snickering stopped. "Try to say 'I' instead of 'We'. That's going to do you a lot of favors."

Luna nodded and licked her lips nervously. "I... will try."

I nodded satisfyingly. That's all I'll ask. Then, clapping and rubbing my hands, I made for the door. "Alright! I'm gonna go introduce you. Just wait for my signal. When you hear 'Santa', come in and say the line I taught you. 'Kay?" I called over my shoulder to Luna as I made my way inside the back door.

I looked back and saw Luna nod before she turned to say something to Sugar Plum. I didn't hear what she said; I was already through the door and headed for the main event.

The party was held in the seating areas on the first floor. We had made sure to soundproof the building and tint the windows so nobody would hear the loud music from the speakers or watch us get smashed. That might give us a bad rep, after all.

The middle of the floor had been completely cleared, turning it into a dancefloor for later. On each side of the self-service bar were two huge speakers connected to a mixing table on the bar itself, where a white unicorn mare with a blue mane and purple-tinted glasses stood and mixed up some sick tunes for the party.

She turned to me as I entered and gave me a nod before going back to her work.

When I got into view of the rest of the tables, I was waved down by Giddy, who had saved me a seat next to him by a table filled with other stallions.

"'Ey, there's my guy! Get tha fuhg' over here, dude!" He called out to me drunkenly, waving his bottle of booze over his head.

I jogged over and slid next to him as I raised my voice to be heard over the music. "The fuck are you dumbasses up to?"

"Oh, dude, we're just fuhgin' around. Dude, I love you, man." He shouted back as he grabbed my cheeks with his hooves and tried to kiss me. I stuck each of my thumbs into the edges of his mouth and pulled him off so he stuck his tongue out of his mouth, trying to reach.

"C'mere ya weird pony. Giddy loves ya." He said dreamily as he attempted to drag his cheeks as far as they could to reach me.

One of the other guys got a chokehold on him and dragged him back towards him playingly, and momentarily took the attention off me. Giddy tried to get away weakly as he laughed like a maniac.

"Holy shit, Giddy. Ease up on the juice. The party just started, dude." I laughed as I grabbed an unopened bottle from the table and cracked it open with a five-bit piece from my pocket.

"Cheers, guys!" I called to the collection of stallions by the table. Some were unfamiliar, but around half of them were my partners in crime.

I'd sometimes forget how much I loved this part of The JeanDélicieux. It was only at this party at the end of the year that we would do this sort of stuff, and only then would I allow myself to feel this good. Just enjoy the small things and get absolutely wasted so I can forget about stuff.

The stallions responded to my cheers with their own, and we shared a mighty chug together. Then, as soon as we had drained a fair portion each, we all belched together and cheered. It was great.

Almost forgetting my objective, I stood again, went to the mixing table by the self-service bar, and picked up a microphone from a stand while keeping my beer tight in my other hand.

One of my cooks, Fanner, had fixed us the D.J. for tonight. She used to share a room with her in College, so she happily did it in exchange for food and company. She even set up karaoke for later.

I'd still pay her, though. It'd be rude not to.

I tapped the mic a few times to make sure it was on and cleared my throat before lifting it to my mouth. The D.J. saw what I was doing and slid the knobs down to lower the music. The sudden silence and the 'pop pop' sound coming from my taps were enough to get the ponies' attention, and soon all eyes were on me.

"Y'all having a good time?!" I growled into the mic. The responding cheer from all tables got my blood pumping.

"Y'all ready to have an even better time?!" The cheers increased.

"I got a jolly friend who wants to meet you guys, but you gotta help me call for them!" I said. It was met with another cheer, although they were just cheering for the sake of it, it seemed.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Sugar's head hanging out of the kitchen doors and a glimpse of a blue, floaty mane right behind her. She nodded at me.

I started chanting. "Santa. Santa. Santa. SANTA!"

The crowd looked confused for a second but joined me in the chant just as loud as before. All the tables were filled with party ponies, and they were wrapped around each other as they cheered on. Giddy had even started slamming the table along with the chant, and other tables soon joined in.

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen burst open as Luna Claus leaped in the past me with her wings and landed in the middle of the cleared room with a large, brown bag over her shoulder.

"Ho, ho, ho! Any naughty foals in here?!" She said in an exceptionally exaggerated deep voice, and I could have sworn I heard thunder tumbling outside. I grinned maniacally and looked around the room, waiting for everyone's reaction. They all just stared at her in stunned silence.

I was starting to have doubts enter my mind after it had dragged on for a bit too long when Giddy burped loudly and spoke up.

"Me! I've been really naughty!" He slurred as he fell on his back on the table and chugged the rest of his bottle. The stallions at the same table lost their composure and started laughing their asses off.

That snapped everyone back, and they all started cheering about how naughty they were or something along those lines. Fuck me... You guys are gonna regret this shit in the morning.

Luna had been slightly confused at the reaction but had started to cheer awkwardly with everyone all the same. My guess is she wasn't used to these kinds of get-togethers. It honestly just made the situation more hilarious. Well, nobody freaked out, at least.

A quick scan around the room at the more sober crowd told me they were still somewhat reserved. It was just a few worried looks and whispers, but most of the ponies just continued their drinking and partying.

Luna was overwhelmed when a table filled with mares came over to admire her outfit and mane before they dragged her with them to sit at their table. She looked hilarious as she bobbed her way over to the table in her fat suit.

She glanced over her shoulder at me as she was being dragged off, and I gave her a reassuring smile in confirmation. Just be yourself, Luna. It's okay.

Her guard had taken position by the stairs where he would have the best overview of his charge. However, nobody seemed to notice him when he entered because most eyes were on Luna.

...Until a few drunk mares had slithered up to him and started flirting with him.

Luna was now sitting in the middle of the horseshoe-formed couch on a corner table and had busted out a chocolate cake from her bag.

...How that thing was not totally demolished from being tossed around in her bag, I did not know.

I laughed and put my mic down, intending to go back and join Giddy, who had now become a bottomless pit of booze. The other guys at the table were pouring beer into his mouth as he was lying on his back. They were all cheering him on, telling him to 'chug chug chug'.

I noticed Sugar Plum had appeared at my hip when I looked down. I leaned down to her ear so she could hear me over the music as we stood behind the bar.

"You should go have fun. Just forget about everything tonight, okay?"

"Tell me before you go?" She shouted back. I wasn't planning on leaving her, so I gave her a reassuring hug.

"I'm locking up when everybody leaves, don't worry."

She broke my hug and gave me a quick smile before trotting off to find her friends. I watched her go to ensure she got a place to sit and noticed that she took a seat with Chatter and Minuette, both of whom were noticeably not as drunk as everyone else yet and were giving Princess Luna strained looks from the table over.

Yeah, I didn't think it would be as easy as all that. Oh, well.

I shrugged. I'd worry about that later. It seemed to me Luna was in safe hooves for now, and her guard was here anyway.

I had a party to enjoy.

"So, what happened to your lip?" Chatter asked as she took a sip of her glass of wine.

Sugar just shrugged and tried to look casual. "I tried to lick a frozen pole, and my lips got stuck. Had to tear them off. Not fun."

Chatter's eyes narrowed. "Seriously?"

"Yup." She confirmed as she put her lips to her wine glass and sipped, looking in a different direction.

Chatter put her head in her hooves as she leaned over the table and peered at Sugar. Sugar met her gaze for a second before her eyes flickered away.

"Alright, then. So... are you and Jean dating?" Chatter asked randomly.

Haven just taken another sip, Sugar's eyes widened, and she spat out the content she had just taken into her mouth before coughing madly.

Chatter flinched as some wine spilled on her hooves. "Oh, wow! You are, aren't you!"

Sugar beat her chest as she tried to get control of her lungs. "N-no! What makes you say that?!" she hissed through her teeth.

"Well..." Chatter started as she fluttered her eyes and pointed toward the bar. "I just happened to see you two over there earlier doing something. You're so cute."

Sugar sputtered. "T-that was... I mean, ugh. NO. We're not dating," she exclaimed with a hoof to the table. She blushed slightly before continuing. "...besides, I'm married. And I think Jean is too."

Chatter's amused expression fell, and she looked toward Jean. He had Giddy cradled in his arms while feeding him a bottle of beer as if he was giving milk to a toddler.

"Did he tell you that?" She asked, not taking her eyes off him.

Sugar shook her head. "No. I was visiting him this weekend, and I saw a bunch of framed pictures of him with a mare in one of his drawers," she said and her eyes flicked toward Luna on the other table. "Yesterday, I saw a picture of him in an old newspaper with that same mare from the winners of Equestrian Top Chef."

Chatter turned back to Sugar and frowned. Minuette was engaged in another conversation next to them, satisfied that Luna would not attack unprovoked.

Chatter sighed and took another sip of her wine. "I started working here about six years ago. Back then, there weren't as many ponies working here as there are now, and I'm pretty much the only one still around from the original crew. Everyone else has moved on since," she started.

Sugar nodded, urging her to continue as she started cleaning up her mess on the table with a napkin.

"Jean wasn't the only one running the shop back then. There was a mare too, his wife, Willow Rose."

Sugar's eyes widened. "Was? What happened to her?"

Chatter's ears fell. "Willow started to act really weird sometimes, and one day she just stopped coming to work. We asked Jean what had happened, but he kept dodging the question or told us she was just sick. I haven't seen or heard from her since."

Sugar eyes narrowed in thought. She never heard Jean mention her, not once. Then, suddenly, she remembered her short introduction to Princess Celestia and how she gave him her condolences, and things were slowly starting to craft a bigger picture in her mind.

Chatter's ears went up. "You found pictures in a drawer?"

"Yeah, I borrowed one of his jackets, and they were just right there."

"Why were you at his house, anyway?" Chatter pressed.

Sugar shifted. "I was... I don't know. I wanted to get out of my house for a little bit."

Chatter peered at her again, and her eyes flicked to the band-aid. "Is Cog hurting you?"

And there it was. Chatter had been the one pony that Sugar could talk to about everything at home, but she didn't know if she wanted her to know about this. "It's complicated."

"Girl, if there is something you need to tell me, tell me. You know I can listen." Chatter said as she left her seat and went to Sugar to sit next to her. "Come on, let's get out of this noisy mess and talk alone for a bit."

Sugar sighed before nodding, letting the mare take her towards the kitchen and into the office. She didn't want to put a damper on the party for anyone, but she couldn't take her mind off it. She trusted Chatter to keep it all to herself.

Not that she didn't trust Jean, she just didn't want to bother him with her problems. Besides... it looked like he might have his own.

Then came the questions. What happened to Jean's wife? Why hasn't he told anyone about this at all? Why is he hiding his photos in a drawer in a dark room?

She hadn't known him for that long, but long enough that they were considered friends. She wanted to be there for him as he had for her if she could. Even if it meant they had to exchange stories.

Sugar looked back over to Jean as they walked. He had now started chugging a large bottle while the other guys around his table were cheering him on. He slammed it down on the table once he finished, and the ponies around him roared at him. Giddy tackled him to the floor next to the table and started wrestling with him.

Luna was doing pretty well over at her own little party. Evidently, she was challenged to devour a whole pizza by herself. Those mares must not have seen her swallow half of the restaurant's stock a few days ago because she was already on her fourth pizza.

The party had been going for hours, and it was starting to creep toward ten o'clock. Music was still playing, although not as loudly as it had been when they were standing over by the speakers. It was a very relaxing beat that went well with talking. The D.J. had left her table and joined in on the food and drinks with a group of ponies.

Ponies were dancing on the floor to the beat with whoever they could find. The party had been thrust into a different gear by the time it hit eleven, and some ponies had just vanished altogether.

She saw Jean, now back up at his seat by the table. He and the boys were all laughing together at whatever the pony across from him was talking about, and from his facial expression, one would think nothing was amiss.

One question loomed over her mind as she passed the kitchen threshold.

What happened?

I leaned against Sugar as she and I walked towards my home after finally locking up the shop. It was a little after midnight, and it was absolutely freezing outside. The snow was falling in thick flakes and coated the ground with even more layers than before.

What a night it had been, though. I haven't had this much fun since... well, the last time we did this exactly a year ago. Thankfully, Giddy and I weren't able to take to the streets of Canterlot. He had already been dragged away by some mare later on and dissapeared.

In fact, that seemed to be a common theme tonight. As we were cleaning up, I found almost a dozen couples love-making in one way or another in our upstairs and downstairs bathrooms. Some had even tried to get their freak on in the kitchen. Even as a drunk shithead, I would never let that shit fly in there.

Love was certainly in the air this evening. Unfortunately, a cleanup crew was needed in the form of the most sober ones that were still remaining by the time everyone had left. Sugar, Luna, myself, and a few others of my staff had stayed behind to sanitize our bathrooms and put everything back in place. Luna was tasked with clearing out the food, thought it was all gone when I came back. Where she put it, I had no idea.

We were gonna re-open on Friday, so we needed to get everything sorted by then.

I made sure to leave the D.J. with a pretty decent tip. Her gear wasn't cheap by the looks of it, and she had been talented at riling ponies up as the night went on and kept the music lively and holiday-themed. She was cool.

Sugar and I were about to reach my house when we heard a voice behind us. "Hey."

Sugar froze up, and together we turned to look at Cog. Of course...

He was leaning against the corner opposite where we were headed, blending in with the shadowed area. He stepped out into the street light, and only then could I tell just how disheveled he looked. His eyes were bloodshot, his mane was messy, and he was shivering. I figured he might've been standing there for a while.

Sugar didn't say anything. In fact, she was doing her best to scoot behind me. I did my part and blocked her from view.

"The fuck do you want?" I asked, venom seeping through my voice as I tried to ignore how drunk I felt.

He flared his teeth at me. "I'm here for my wife, jackass. Get outta the way."

"Or what? You gonna hit me, too?" I challenged.

He was visibly taken back by that, and his eyes went to what he could see of his wife poking out behind me, and he tried to lean past me to get a look at her.

"Baby... you know I didn't mean that." He started. "Things got out of hoof. You know I'd never do that." he continued as he tried to snake his way over to her. "I'm sorry, honey. C'mon, let's go home?"

He tried to weasel his way past me, but I pushed him away with my leg to his chest, and he stumbled back. "Back off."

"Get lost, freak." He hissed as he went into a stance, ready to pounce at me.

I was so fucking close to wailing on the guy, but Sugar stepped in between us. "Please stop! I'll go with you." She said to Cog as she pushed me away from him.

"Don't listen to this fucking guy!" I warned her as she continued to push me away. She gave me a look. A look I didn't like.

She was afraid.

I looked back at her and tried to get a read on what she was thinking. This wasn't right. This isn't how this should be. Why was Sugar stopping me?!

She leaned up to my face. "Please... don't. It's gonna be fine. Just please don't."

Cog had now walked up behind her and put a hoof around her flank and pulled her back towards him before turning her around and giving her a very, very forced hug. A hug she was not returning.

"I missed you, baby." he said as he broke away and tried to make her move with him. What the fuck should I do? I didn't want to get into a fight in the middle of the night out here, and I didn't think I should actually attack someone in a city street...

I watched helplessly as Cog patted Sugar on the back and reassured her that everything would be fine. She didn't look back at me, and Cog completely ignored me as he continued to move Sugar along with him. I wanted to rip him away from her, but Sugar was very adamant about me not escalating it. She had even told me when we were at home that if they ran into him, I should just let her leave with him if he insists.

I was right here, and I was willing to help her. Yet, she refused it and just went with him anyway. It was like what happened a few days ago hadn't happened at all.

Why?!

I stood there like a frozen icicle, just staring ahead at me as I watched the two go. I thought I was actually losing consciousness because all of a sudden, my body started to warm up.

Okay... This is nice.

My eyes drooped as I suddenly felt incredibly relaxed, and I almost wanted to just let the snow catch me as I faceplanted when I suddenly noticed the thick, blue hair dancing in my face. My eyes opened more at this realization, and I saw Princess Luna standing next to me as her mane flowed into my whole being.

"Is all well, Jean?" She asked with amused expression. Her Santa outfit was gone, and she was once again back in her royal regalia. She appeared to be doing her best to keep her mane directed at me as she stood next to me, and I also noticed her guard was standing right behind her.

"Luna? What're you doing here?" I slurred, still struggling to keep my eyes open.

"We were returning to the castle when we spotted a most suspicious-looking pony. So we waited here for thee to return to ensure your safety." She said as if it was a fact.

She was likely talking about Cog. He had been pretty shifty, hiding in the corner like a rat. I knew he'd show up eventually. He might've gotten wind of the party happening today.

"Yeah... You're right about that one. He's on my shitlist, that's for sure." I grumbled as I looked back toward where he had been just a minute ago.

"Hmm... we do not know what a 'shitlist' is. Should we be concerned for young Sugar Plum?" She asked as she eyed the same spot as me. I sighed, causing a large cloud of smoke to appear in front of me before shrugging.

"I don't know..." I started and pointed toward the direction they had left in. "I don't trust him with her."

Luna looked at me and seemed to be in thought about something. "Then perhaps we should have a word with them, instead?" she offered. "thou seem to require some sleep, friend."

My eyes had lidded over again, and I snapped them open once I realized what she had said. I snorted before giving her a smile. "You know what? I think that's a great idea."

I gave Luna a thumbs up, and she nodded at me before heading off toward the pair. As soon as she had left and her hair had slithered off my body, I remembered how cold it was. I had to hug myself tightly to keep warm and took note that the snowfall had increased, as it was getting hard to see anything in front of me.

As she walked off, she glanced back at me and spoke softly. "Sleep well and deep, dear Jean. We shall speak again soon."

I laughed. "I'll do that."

Then, we parted ways. Luna headed off with the guard towards the pair, and I went for my home just behind the corner. In a way, I wanted to see the face of Cog as he realized his wife had made buddies with one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, but even that was not able to keep me awake right now. I'd trust Luna.

I was not joking about considering faceplanting. My eyelids were about to lose their strength completely. I thankfully didn't have a long way to go before my home was within my sights. Did I leave my lights on?

I had half a mind to run off and drag Sugar back with me, but at this point, that would just make everything worse. As much as I want to say that he seems apologetic, it's not as easy as all that.

You don't just assault your wife and then say, 'yeah, sorry, my bad', and then go home as if nothing happened. Something triggered this. Something's been going wrong with those two for a long time, and I don't see it just suddenly getting better because he realized he's fucked up.

I groaned as I breathed into my hands to warm them up. I reached my door and again noted how every single light was on. The light in my hall and the lights coming from my living room curtains. I went to unlock my door, but it was open when I felt my door handle. Uhh...

I slowly creaked the door open and peeked my head inside. "Hello?" I called out.

Nothing but my echo called back to me, and I stepped in carefully, I suddenly felt much more aware and ready to react to whatever awaited me.

Before I even had time to think about what could have gotten into my house, my mom's head popped out from behind the corner to my living room. "Boo!"

I screamed and jumped back. "Mom?! What the fuck! When did you get here?!"

She laughed at my reaction and emerged from the corner. "We got here just a few hours ago. Where have you been?"

I tried to regain my breathing as my heart beat a mile a minute. Caught me off guard... I doubted I'd have any fight in me with how tired and dizzy I was anyway. "The holiday party at work. I just got back."

I was going to ask her how she even got in, but then I remembered I'd given her the spare keys to the place. I didn't need another pair, anyway. It wasn't like I needed to bring two of them wherever I went. My mom 'ohh'd' in understanding and gave me a suspicious grin as she leaned against the opposite wall.

I was trying to get my shoes off when I heard another voice from where my mom had popped out. "Is that my boy?"

I recognized that gruff voice instantly, and I looked up and saw my dad's face pop out and noticed that he had more gray hairs in his mane than he did the last time I saw him.

I smiled at him as I walked over to them, but they met me halfway, not letting me all the way into the living room. I buried myself between them as I gave them a hug.

"It's good to see you two again. I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow, at least." I said as I buried myself between them, almost falling asleep right there. My dad was extra warm because of his coat, and I leaned into him more.

My dad chuckled at me. "Nah, we were gettin' antsy to get movin'. You smell like dung, by the way," he said as he wrinkled his nose when he caught a whiff of my alcoholic aura.

He broke the hug and waved a hoof away from his face. "Sweet Celestia. Go take a shower, stinky."

"Yeah, yeah. I think I'm gonna do that and just head to bed," I told them as went to hang my coat and scarf on the hooks while removing my shoes. "Been a long night, and I'm about to drop dead."

I went back to the door to lock it. "I made you guys' bed in the guest room, by the way."

My mother put her hand on my dad's neck and moved him out of the way as she stepped to the side to let me past them when I walked back over. "Thank you, sweetie. You go on ahead." She gestured past them to the living room and gave me a wide smile. My dad did the same.

I chuckled nervously as I moved past them. "Okay then... Well, don't stay up too la-"

My eyes fell on my couch to my right when I entered the view of the living roomand I cut myself off. My heart dropped into my stomach at what, no, who I saw sitting on my couch.

"As discussed, once the baby has been handed over to these two, you will have no right to see the child again. You will have no right to correspond with the child. It will be entirely up to Willow and Jean to tell the child anything about you. Understood?"

Willow and I listened as the brown-coated lawyer explained the rights of the pregnant pegasus mare over the table from us. We held each other close as we tried to calm each other down. Despite our sitting in this boring office, it was a very tense situation. Nothing about the room screamed 'life-changing decision', yet here we were.

I felt Willow's grip on my hands tighten, and I felt my own starting to sweat. We were getting close. The proceedings were soon complete. Just one signature and we were officially parents. I felt Willow looking at me, and I looked at her with my best reassuring smile. Of course, it probably seemed pretty crooked, but it was a smile nonetheless.

The mare across from us nodded and smiled before looking at the table with a sad gaze. "I just want to make sure you're going to take good care of the baby and give it a good life."

I pulled Willow close, and we both smiled at her. "Of course we will," Willow said to her.

She nodded at us and kept her eyes on her hooves by the table. We met the blue pegasus mare just a few months ago and spent a few sessions with her to talk together and agree on several things. There had initially been a worry about my appearance, but it hadn't lasted long. I thank my own ability to be a pleasant enough guy to be around.

She told us everything in her life just didn't work out. She wanted to start a life with her coltfriend, and he had agreed. They were both young and in love, but they might have just been too young.

One day he came home drunk and angry and told her he couldn't handle the responsibilities anymore and that it would probably get worse when the baby showed up. It made me even more motivated to take care of this child.

We felt terrible for her. It was almost like we were stealing her hopes away from her. She had told us that she wanted to name the child Fluffy Wings. The name came from her grandmother that had passed away just a few years prior. Willow and I had no names in mind, and we thought it was a good name. Especially since it came from her real heritage. We had agreed, and the mare broke down in tears as a result.

We... had tried. We went to see doctors and took tests. We were examined by surgeons who specialized in magic. We saw fertility doctors. We did everything we could think of, but in the end, we could never have a child together.

Not only that, we didn't even know what we would end up creating if we could. I shivered at the thought of having a child who was incapable of existing and would die from the inability to breathe or something worse.

Willow was heartbroken, and so was I. We had gotten married just half a year ago, and we wanted a child. We had known each other for so long at that point that it just felt right. Then came the devastating blow of her pregnancy test coming back with that one stripe every single time.

The lawyer snapped my attention back to the matter at hand. "Now, I'll need you to sign right here, where indicated," he said while tapping the piece of paper with a hoof and slid it over to her. The mare took the pen attached to it in her hooves and nodded.

We knew she was devastated. She told us how hard it was to let go, but she knew it was right. She had decided she wanted us to take the baby as soon as it was born. She was afraid of how she would react if she saw the baby herself.

She looked at us again as a tear trickled down her cheek. I could imagine this was probably one of the toughest decisions one could make in their life. I saw her doubts and reached over the table to grasp her hoof in my hands and gave it a squeeze. "I promise we'll take good care of her."

She smiled at me and nodded as more tears ran down and coated her cheeks. She sniffed, put the pen in her mouth, and signed the paper.

And just like that... I was a father. It felt so unofficial and underhanded, yet it was suddenly so real. We couldn't believe it. I shared a very passionate and lovely hug with Willow after we had left the office, and we cried loudly together as we stained the building in our tears.

After we spent some time talking with the mare privately for a while, she was escorted back home by her friend. At that point, all that was left to do was wait.

And wait, we did. We waited for months. Every day that passed felt like a sore throat that just worsened. It was like we were drifting at sea on a boat with no sails, waiting to be caught in a stream.

We had just gotten home from work on the day we received the letter. We practically ripped the envelope apart as we tried to get inside it, much like we had treated every other letter we got in those past few months, but this time it was finally what we had been waiting for.

We had put our most trusted staff in charge of our business as we took the first train to Manehattan. The whole way to the clinic was suffocating. We were both walking as if we were dancing on clouds the entire way from the train station.

Once we finally got there, we first met with Aqua, the mare who had carried our child this whole time, and gave our final round of thanks as she recovered in her room. She was doing well, considering what today meant for her. Her friend was by her side, talking with her about the school they had planned to go to together.

It would be the final time we saw each other, so we treated it as such and wished each other to have beautiful lives. Aqua had given us another round of hopes and wishes for the child, and we had reassured her once again that we would be the best parents we could be.

A nurse collected us, which meant it was time. We stood shakily and followed her out of the room after saying goodbye to Aqua.

She walked us into a different room with several small cribs, with nurses going back and forth between them, checking in. We heard crying everywhere, the sounds of newborn babies. It was all muted to my ears, as I was only focused on following the nurse until she stopped by a crib and gave us a sweet smile.

"Here she is. Come say hello!" She pointed at the crib. Willow walked over and melted over the crib, and I heard her break down. I still hadn't moved. I was nervous too.

I heard Willow talking to me and I saw her teary face as she looked at me. I think she was telling me to come over. I felt my legs moving under me. Before I knew it, I had crossed the small distance. I peeked over Willow's shoulder and...

...looked straight into the eyes of my daughter.

So Close, But Still So Far Away

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I realized that I had been staring when my mom tapped my shoulder and brought me back to reality. I was now thoroughly awake. I felt my blood pump fast as a surge of anxiety coursed through my body.

I didn't take my eyes away from her even as my mom started talking to her. "Come on, honey. Say hello to your father."

Fluffy Wings had broken eye contact under my stare and was now fiddling with her hooves nervously as she sat on the couch awkwardly. I already noticed several things about her.

The first thing I noticed off the bat was that she was much older than when I last saw her. It was almost like she was a different pony. Her mane had grown, her legs were longer, and her body had grown in size. She did not have a cutie mark yet, though. I almost sighed in relief when I noticed.

Heeding my mother's request, her eyes met mine again and she cleared her throat. "H-Hi..."

I blinked. Twice.

I licked my lips multiple times, trying to form some sort of response as my mind was replaying scenes in my head just at the mere sight of her. But unfortunately, my throat had clogged up, and my anxiety level had skyrocketed.

I turned quickly, grabbed my mother's wrist, and started pulling her along with me, ignoring the greeting from my daughter.

"Hey, wh- Jean, come on!" My mother complained as I dragged her inside my bedroom and slammed the door behind me. I heard my father start to say something on the other side of it but ignored it for now.

Once inside, I went over to the bed and kicked it as hard as possible to get some of my emotions out. "What the hell, Jean?!" My mom hissed at me through her teeth as she walked up to me.

"'What the hell, Jean'? What the fuck do you mean, mom?! Why is she here?" I whispered to her, trying not to let this conversation leak through the door.

My mother pointed a stern finger at me. "Do not take that tone with me. Doesn't matter how old you get; you will still respect me."

I shot my arms out in a 'what the fuck' gesture and shook my head as I turned around and made to stand by my window. I put my head against it to cool my overheating brain.

"Listen to me. It has been a very long time since you two have seen each other. I know this is hard for you, but I think it's time for you two to spend some time together again." she said as she walked up next to me.

"I thought she would stay at your friends' house in Ponyville again," I grumbled as I rolled my forehead around the glass.

She leaned against the wall next to the window and crossed her arms. "Jean."

I didn't answer or turn to her. I just looked out the window as it slowly started to fog up from my radiating heat.

"Look at me."

When I turned my head, I was met with a ferocious scowl. A scowl that she would often use to tame me. It was working, as always.

"She's been asking about you. She's getting older, you know."

I shrugged, and my eyes darted around wildly before settling back outside. "You promised not to tell her anything."

"You think I did? She's been putting things together herself." she said, keeping her voice low. "She's growing up, Jean, and you're missing it. Do you even know she turns twelve in a few months?"

I knew. Of course, I knew. I looked pleadingly at her as I pushed myself off the windowsill. "You said you'd take care of her."

She closed the distance and got in my face. "You think we're just gonna take her forever, and that's it? It's been five years!"

"I can't take care of her!" I challenged as I backed away. "I gave my word! I promised her mother that Willow and I would give her a good life, mom! I can't give that to her the way I am now! Do you really think I can love and care for her when I can't even do that for myself?!"

She put her warm hands on my cold face, and I realized that I had started to cry as I felt a tear run down my cheek. Her stern gaze remained.

"We are doing our best for her. And we're doing all we can to make her happy. But she isn't, Jean. That's the reality of it." she told me, still keeping eye contact with me.

I was close enough to see my mother's age clear as day as she looked at me. She was a young spirit, but she was getting older. She was only twenty when she came here, and now she was nearing sixty. I looked into her eyes with my own teary ones, waiting for her to continue.

"She asks about you all the time. She asks why you won't see her and why she's living with us. She's always quiet, too. How long will we tell her you need time alone?"

I didn't have an answer. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I would last this long, but still, here I am. The only thing that keeps me on my feet is going to work and losing myself in it.

Whenever I work, I get this sensation. It doesn't matter if it's at the restaurant or at home... It's as if something just takes control of my body and moves it along as I make food. I can't explain it, but those are one of the few times I feel truly... happy?

I don't want to call it 'happy', but it's the best way I can describe it.

"I don't know."

She put her hands on my shoulders and gently massaged them the way I liked, giving me a small smile.

"You must realize you're not the only one who lost someone close. Maybe it's time to think about what's best for her? It's clear to everyone she misses you." she suggested. I didn't answer.

She sighed and let go of me. "Anyway, we're here now. She's here. We're all going to stay here for the week, and I strongly advise you talk to her."

I nodded and sighed, feeling defeated. "Okay."

Satisfied, she went for the door and opened it. She looked outside for a moment, and I heard her talk with my dad on the other side before she came back in.

"Fluffy's gone to sleep. We're going to do the same." She said with a bit of a pained look on her face. "I'm serious about this, Jean. You're going to talk to her."

"Alright, alright, I will!" I assured her. She gave me that look again, the kind of look mothers give when they expect you to deliver more than what you're able to.

She nodded, then went to leave. I saw my dad looking past her at me, and he was also giving me a look before my mom closed the door and left me to myself. Great.

So, my parents were back in town. I was actually looking forward to it, but that was before I knew they'd only bring me more trouble. What the fuck... Why is everything happening at the same time?!

I flopped onto my bed and groaned. I wasn't tired anymore, and now I had a headache. It was as if my hangover had hit me way too soon. Speaking of, me being slightly drunk during all this might've been the only reason why I was able to talk after seeing... her.

You're such a coward.

I wanted to be sober when I met them to not give them the wrong idea, but of course, that wasn't gonna happen. I even cleaned out my closets and fridge and hid everything in the secret compartment under one of my floorboards.

Fuck me... Was the last thing I thought before deciding I needed to try to get some sleep and at least be well-rested for tomorrow.

But as it turns out, it wouldn't be so easy. I took a thoughtful shower to warm myself up and went back to bed to try and get some sleep, but it eluded me.

My thoughts were running amok. I was once again re-experiencing moments of the past that I did my best to forget but still came back to taunt me. It felt like I was dangling above an abyss, and something was trying to pull me down. The more my mind was plagued with memories, the more my anxiety would rise.

I was considering pulling up my floorboards to calm myself.

I didn't, though. Because as the clock ticked on through the night, I heard a sound coming from behind me. I was in my bed, facing away from the door, but I could clearly hear it opening. I was used to the slight creak it made as it opened.

I noticed a very faint light cast on the far wall of my room where I could see, which probably came from the living room lantern. In the light, there was a shadow. A shadow of a pony.

I studied it while trying to continue the illusion of me being asleep. I had a faint idea who it was, given the size of the shadow, so I wasn't going to 'wake up'. I wasn't ready.

What is she doing? She was just standing there, looking into the room. How long was sh-

She started to move slowly. Her shadow disappeared from the wall, and I could only guess where she was now based on her hoofsteps. I heard the small steps cross the short distance from the door until I heard them stop right at the base of the bed, which was just about a foot away from where my bare back was turned away.

So close was she that I could hear her very light breathing in the dead silence of the room. My own breathing was exaggerated as I tried to maintain the illusion I was asleep, but I could still faintly hear it.

It sounded shaky. I wasn't sure what would happen next, but I wasn't ready for whatever it would be. Please... just leave.

A very faint pressure hit the bed just inches from my back, and my breathing hitched. As soon as it did, the pressure vanished, and I could hear her retreating quickly towards the door until I saw her shadow again. It flashed for a second before the door was closed moments later with a little 'click'.

I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly turned around to look at where she was standing just moments earlier. I reached over to turn on the lamp by my nightstand to see better, and when I did, I noticed my bedsheets had been disturbed where I had felt the pressure earlier.

It was in the shape of a small hoof.

"I'm gonna get ya, you little 'blooing'!"

Fluffy laughed so hard she started to cry. She loved when I said that stupid made-up word in the way I said it. It was always a winner. She couldn't escape me for long before I caught her.

She shrieked as I wrapped my hands around her tiny body and lifted her over my head before using my hair to tickle her belly. She screamed and laughed again, causing all the ponies around to look at us with amused expressions.

"No! Da- dada, no!" she begged through her giggles. I was laughing at her sorry attempts to flee my deadly tickle attack, one that Willow knew most well.

The mare in question sat at a park bench just up the hill from where Fluffy and I had run down, eating a sandwich as she watched us. Ponies were spread out everywhere in the park, though some kept their distance.

In Canterlot, I may be well-known and respected, but that wasn't always the case everywhere else. We had never been in Fillydelphia before, so ponies here weren't used to seeing someone like me. It was only natural.

It didn't stop us from having fun, though. Fluffy had just stolen a piece out of daddy's sandwich, and now she had to pay a steep price.

"Who's the naughty little filly? You are!" I joked as I tossed her in the air slightly before catching her again safely. As I caught her again, I made sure to be extra careful with her tiny wings.

She loved it. I guess that because she is a pegasus, she gets some sort of enjoyment from being high up, a feeling I could not disagree more with. She squeaked in joy as I tossed her up again several times.

It helped that I was one of the tallest creatures in Equestria. She would always be perched on my shoulders or behind my head at all times to allow her the best vantage point, like a cat.

Fluffy laughed as I continued tossing her, and I noticed some other families with foals had set up near our own. A look back told me Willow was already engaged in conversation with a few ponies. They had their own foals with them, hiding behind their hindlegs as they looked toward us.

I smiled. "C'mon fluffball," I said as I cradled the filly in my arms, "let's go see what mama's up to."

Fluffy cooed in my arms as we made our way back. With some luck, she'd be able to make friends to play with while Willow and I got some time to enjoy ourselves a little. It had been some time since we could chill, just the two of us.

On my way back, I felt dizzy. My eyes were losing focus, and I noticed the world was twisting and warping before me.

I looked at Willow, and she started screaming in pain as her hooves went to her face, and she dragged down her eyes until I could see the exposed skin underneath.

Her mouth was drooping down until it started melting down her face, her skin dripping off her face like water as she slowly turned into a pony puddle of horror.

I looked on in terror and screamed her name. The mares that had been talking to her vanished out of existence as if they were smoke, and one look to my arms showed me that my daughter had suffered the same fate.

My feet started sinking into the grass under me, and I couldn't move. I looked up again at Willow, and now she was almost completely gone. Only a mishmash of her colors made up a puddle of herself. I heard her screams for me to help her, and I tried to drag my feet off the ground without success.

As I struggled to free myself, I saw that the skies, which were sunny and bright, had turned blood red. The buildings around the park became impossibly tall and were leaning over me as if they were going to fall. Then, one moment later, they did.

I still heard the screams of my wife as I covered my face from the incoming buildings, but before they could hit me, everything turned white.

A blinding white filled my vision. I tried to close my eyes, but it didn't help me much. It didn't last for long, though.

When I felt the very sharp brightness fade, I slowly opened my eyes, only to find myself in an alien world.

The night sky was everywhere. Far above me were beautiful nebulas that stretched forever with colors of all kinds dancing around them. I looked below me, and it was as if I was standing on nothing. I could see endless space in all directions, and I had yet to learn how I even got here.

Some of the stars were very far away, while others were so close I could see them right in front of me. I dared to take a small step forward, and my foot landed on something. I didn't know what, but there was some kind of invisible surface.

I had almost forgotten the horrors I had just experienced as I walked through several stars. I looked back to where I had been and ran my hand through some of the stars I had walked into, and it went straight through them. Everything moved a little, however, almost as if I had just pushed my hand through water.

As I was exploring my new surroundings, I noticed a very sharp light coming from behind me, casting my shadow on whatever surface kept me from falling to my death.

I turned to see what was causing it, and my mouth opened in shock.

The moon, as large as a house, was looming in front of me. I felt a sudden feeling of recognition, and I noticed the shape of a pony standing in the middle of the moon. A tall pony with wings, a horn, a flowing mane and tail.

"Luna?" I said instinctively.

I felt her nod, and she jumped out of the moon and materialized as her normal size in front of me. I stared on in adoration as I watched the impossible happen before my eyes.

As soon as I saw her, I heard music. Music that I could swear sounded familiar to me. It was calming to me, and helped me feel at peace enough to forget what I had just been through.

"Good evening, friend. We felt thou were dreaming of terrors and wished to be of service." She said as she studied me curiously.

When she talked to me, my eyes blurred for a moment before memories came rushing back of the past weekend.

Meeting Luna. Taking care of Sugar Plum. Visiting Luna. Going to the party. What happened after the party.

"What... what just happened? Where am I?" I asked. My voice sounded weird; it was like it had several layers to it. I heard it a second before I talked and a second after I had finished speaking.

Luna also had this effect on her voice. "We are in the dreamscape. This is our domain. We walk until a path appears to where we are needed." She explained.

"Dreamscape? So, this is a dream?" I asked, looking around again as I swished my arms up and down to make the stars move.

Luna laughed. "Yes, this is a dream. But, we must say," she said as a sorrowful look flashed across her face, "we did not expect to find thee at the end of our path, Jean. Nor what we saw."

I stopped playing around with the stars and looked at her. "You saw? Everything?"

She nodded. "Indeed."

I looked away. I didn't feel sad or angry; I just felt neutral about it. It was easier to think about things without choking up when I was in here, it seemed.

"What did you see then?"

Luna frowned and looked at the nebula above us. "Thy family."

I nodded. It was just a simple fact, nothing more.

She appeared beside me and looked up at me slightly. "We did not know thou had a foal and a wife."

"I haven't had them in a long time, so I didn't think it was worth telling you about. It hurts too much to talk about, and it is kind of personal."

She nodded again. "We understand. We do not wish to pry, but as the sovereign of all dreams, we see and experience what our subjects do as we ease their nightmares."

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "So... what, you know what I'm thinking and feeling?"

She waited a moment as if she was thinking something over, then she nodded. "We do. We apologize if this upsets thee."

I sighed and rubbed my temples. Well, at least she's honest. I started to walk forward slowly, and Luna fell in step with me. I stretched my hand out as I moved and saw the stars flow over and under my arm as I washed through the universe.

"Honestly... That makes it easier for me. I don't have to explain anything to you." I said softly. It was true. If Luna knew what I knew just by being here, that meant she already knew everything. There was no point in being upset, as this was what Luna did as a 'job'.

I knew that she was the ruler of the night and of the dreams of ponies. The same goes for me, I suppose, since I am one of her subjects. So I wasn't going to get angry at her for doing her job, although I wish I could at least agree to have my mind opened like a book by her.

"We are sorry for what you are suffering. Please allow us to express that, at the very least." She said as I felt her wing drape across my my back as we walked. It was so soft and fluffy that it was almost like pulling a warm blanket over myself after a long, cold day.

I felt a peculiar sensation come over me. Usually, when I'd talk to someone about this, I'd feel choked up or get a headache or start to cry, but that didn't happen now. Instead, I was only warm as I felt my soul surrounded by a blanket of peace.

It was nice.

"Thank you," I said to her.

"Th- Your daughter is most precious. She has a heart of gold if your dream is to be believed." She actually corrected her speech for me. I was surprised by it.

What Luna had seen was a good memory. One that I cherished and unfortunately would not let itself be known often because of what followed. Whenever I remembered fond times, my mind would warp it into terrors.

I had stopped thinking of the past to avoid the horrors and terrors. Only because I had been overwhelmed by so much happening recently was I unable to let it be in the back of my mind.

I didn't answer Luna's comment about my daughter, as I had just now realized. I was lost in thought and hadn't noticed that the space had started to shrink until the small nebula was suddenly in my face.

"It seems you are awakening," Luna said as she gave me a sad smile. "feel free to bring your daughter with you on your next visit. We would very much like to meet her."

I tilted my head at that. Oh yeah, they still don't even know that I know Luna. I gave her a small smile as she started to fade out of existence.

Wait, how does she know Fluffy is with me now?

"We see and feel everything you do, friend." Luna replied to my thoughts. Okay, that's weird. Don't do that.

Luna just laughed as everything continued to shrink.

It was like the dreamscape was imploding into Luna herself. She was like a vacuum as the space around us all warped inside her mane until she and everything around me were gone, leaving me in blinding light again.

I squinted my eyes as the sun hit my face from outside, and it hurt so fucking bad. I pulled the blanket over my eyes and groaned quietly. That was so bizarre...

I was suddenly made aware of my life again as I felt my head pounding. "Owww..." I rubbed my eyes, but it made it worse. It was like they wanted to pop out of my skull.

I reached for the drawer on my nightstand and fished out some painkillers I promptly swallowed without water. Bad idea.

My throat was dry, and the pills stuck to my throat before I coughed them out again. Okay... Water.

I reluctantly rose from my bed without opening my eyes as I went to my drawer to fish out some warm clothes.

Once I got dressed, I grabbed the sticky pills still on my bed and opened the door to my living room. I was immediately met with a wall of warmth that made me aware that someone had started a fire.

I creaked open an eye and saw that everyone was already awake and eating breakfast at the living room table, including... Fluffy. They were all looking at me with different expressions.

I wasn't fully present yet. My hair was a mess, I felt like ass, and I could barely open my eyes. I needed to splash my face and down my pills fast.

Nobody said anything as I walked into the bathroom and did my business while thinking of what I would say or talk about.

Finally able to open my eyes after washing my face, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. She's actually here. She's in my house again. It feels like it's been forever. I said to myself.

It had been forever.

I swallowed my pills with some water from my spring and slapped my face a couple of times before shaking my head around a little bit to psych myself up. Wake up, motherfucker.

It felt like I was riding a high from my dream, although I still felt the aftermath of the alcohol from last night. If I was going to do this, it would be now.

I left my bathroom, which led me back into the living room again. Everyone was still eating, and nobody was talking. Awkward...

"Good morning," I said calmly to nobody in particular.

My father nodded. "Mornin', son. Feel rested?"

I nodded. "As much as I can be, I guess. Sorry we weren't able to talk much last night. It's good to see you again, dad." I said as I went over to him to patted him on the head.

He chuckled as he looked awkwardly between my mother and my daughter. "Yeah, glad to see ya again, too. Been a long time."

It sounded so forced. While I'm sure dad meant it, he was also trying to avoid my mom's gaze. She seemed to be annoyed by the fact that he was the one who spoke up. I know, Dad. Mom's scary.

I left the scene to enter the kitchen and noticed a plate with eggs, hashbrowns, and tomatoes. I shrugged and went to grab the plate and some utensils.

I wasn't going to say anything about the burned hashbrowns and soggy tomato juice all over the plate. The scrambled egg on the dry bread also had a smiley face of ketchup on it. Neat. It was simple food for those who didn't know how to prepare proper food.

My mother's work, no doubt.

Regardless, I went to join them in the living room, and despite my body sounding alarm bells everywhere, I sat down on the couch next to Fluffy. My dad sat on the other side of her while my mom was in the recliner to my left.

Fluffy seemed to panic as I flopped down next to her because she stopped eating and looked in my direction. I could feel her eyes on me as I tried to settle in to eat my food.

Slowly, my eyes drifted toward her, and we made eye contact. As soon as we did, I wanted to smile, I wanted to cry, I wanted to...

"Hey," I said flatly, my voice cracking a little.

She blinked at my greeting and swallowed before replying. "H-hello."

This was it. I had put my foot into alien territory, and I was now at the mercy of my own stupidity. What would I say next?

For the first time in five years, I got a good look at her, and I mentally cringed when I realized how much I'd missed. The things I noticed from last night were still there, but there was so much more.

She had cute freckles on her light blue cheeks now. Her eyes had become a deeper shade of purple, and her mane was much longer and prettier than it was when she was younger. The edges of it were a dark blue, and the middle was a lighter blue color. One would think it was unnatural had they not been with her from birth. The words of my mother haunted me. She's growing up, Jean, and you're missing it.

We had been staring at each other for a little while. I'm sure Fluffy was noticing things about me as well. I wasn't much different than I used to be, except for probably looking older.

My age was catching up to me; I was in my late thirties now, approaching forty. It's inevitable, sadly. My brown hair is as short as it's always been, and my face is mostly clean-shaven. My mom considers my body average for humans, even though I am an avid Chef. Some ponies say never to trust a skinny cook, but I'm clearly an exception. I wouldn't really know though, I had never seen another person except myself and my mother.

I nodded at her when some time had passed and started to cut into my food with my utensils, slicing away at the bread and cutting through the smiley face without really paying it any mind. Finally, I stabbed the fork into the scrambled egg and added a hashbrown and tomato. Food always tastes good after a night of drinking; even if it was poorly made, it would likely satisfy.

And it did... sort of. I tasted the burned hashbrown quite distinctly, but mostly it was an alright experience. I dabbed my fork into the half-cut smiley face of ketchup on the bread and put it in my mouth to kill the burned taste. I felt Fluffy shift beside me.

My mother spoke up. "So, how is it, Jean? Fluffy made breakfast for us this morning, so I'm sure she'd love to hear what you think."

Oh.

I stopped chewing entirely and looked at my mom with my mouth full. She was giving me a sly smile and nodded towards Fluffy. I hesitantly looked down at her and saw her now blushing, head in her hooves. I don't remember her being this shy, but it's been a while since we've seen each other, so I guess I can't blame her.

I swallowed the food slowly and tried to smile as I gave her a thumbs-up. "It's uh... It's good." Nice one. Nailed it.

Fluffy emerged from her hooves and peeked at me before hiding again. This was awkward. I decided to talk to her a bit more to try to make her less embarrassed. "You got bigger," I said matter-of-factly.

She peeked up at me again, and I saw her nod slightly. Okay, that's progress, sort of.

The rest of the breakfast was relatively quiet, with a few inputs from my dad. We talked about business for a bit and how my restaurant was going, and I mentioned how it was currently thriving. It was true. The JeanDélicieux had never seen this much of a crowd before, and I was considering hiring more people.

This all fell off Fluffy's ears as she peeked at me awkwardly several times through breakfast, only to look away quickly when I looked at her.

How could I suddenly be so calm around her all of a sudden? It felt like nothing had ever happened between us the moment I sat next to her, despite our somewhat awkward reunion.

The dream I had apparently had a very positive impact on my psyche, and maybe I could use it to my advantage to move things along.

I was just nervous to see her again, but it seemed it wasn't justified because she was probably just as nervous, although she seemed to be scared of me.

A few times while conversing with my father and mother, I felt something. Something that was missing, and I didn't want to think about it too much. Even though Fluffy was here again, our family was still torn. This was one of the reasons why I feared bringing her back into my life, because I knew she would have that effect on me.

My mom was still being annoyingly pushy about me talking to Fluffy, so much so that I wanted to give her a piece of my mind. I knew she thought she was doing something good for us, but it felt very forced, and it would continue to be so.

"Why don't you show Fluffy your bedroom? You said you wanted to see it, right?" My mom said both to her and me. I wasn't expecting that sort of request, but I stood and brought my plate with me.

I collected everyone else's plates too, took them to the kitchen sink and left them there. If my mom wanted me to keep busy with Fluffy, I'd let her take care of everything else. "Alright. You get the dishes, then." I nodded at her and pointed at the sink. The only reaction from her was a raised eyebrow.

I gestured for Fluffy to follow, and she immediately shot up from the couch and jumped off. If she wanted to see her old bedroom, I wasn't going to be against it. Besides... she was already in there last night, anyway.

I opened the door, and Fluffy hurried past me before I could even enter. I was taken aback at the sudden intrusion and curiously eyed her as she made her way around the room to the other side of the bed, and she gasped. She was looking at my bedframe, apparently interested in what was there. I closed the door slightly so my nosy parents couldn't eavesdrop and made my way over to her.

Fluffy was leaning down to study the bedframe, and once I was on her side of the room, I could see what she was looking at. There were some very faded crayon markings on the bedframe. Some red and some blue, crossing into silly doodles all over. I remember how angry Willow got when she saw it. We had just bought the bed...

Stop.

I shook my head to clear it and squatted down to be on her level. "What's up?"

She looked over to me, now sitting on her haunches. She looked unsure if she should talk but decided to speak to me anyway. "You didn't get rid of it, " she said softly, just above a whisper, pointing a hoof to the 'drawings'.

That wasn't fair. It was unfair to look at me the way that she did and say what she said. Only now did I notice how much her voice had matured as well. Ignoring the twist in my throat, I ran a hand through my hair. "Yeah, I guess I forgot it was there."

She gave me a shy smile and directed her attention back to the markings. I wasn't able to smile at her at all, I didn't allow myself.

She remembered it. It was obviously something that had cemented itself into her memory since it was the first thing she did when she came in here. Just that alone made me aware that she probably remembered everything pretty clearly.

Fluffy turned to me again, and her smile grew. "I'm glad it's still there."

The twist in my throat tightened, and I swallowed thickly to get rid of it. It wasn't working. I looked at Fluffy as she continued to study the markings and a surge of emotions came to life inside me. She's right there, idiot. Show her that you're still here, too.

I felt my hand raise and started to slowly move toward her. My fingers were trembling as I studied my daughter's soft hair and coat, trying to reach out my hand to put it on her back. The further my hand went, the more I felt the alarms inside my mind tell me to stop. She was still looking away from me, unaware I was about to reach out to her.

I heard a noise at my door, and my arm snapped back to my side. My dad poked his head in.

"Son, where do ya keep yer Hearth's Warmin' tree?" He said as he saw us leaning down behind the bed. I shot up from my squat so fast I could feel my joints crunch from the sudden motion.

What am I doing?

"It's in the shed in the yard," I said as I walked away from Fluffy, who was now looking at me as I made my way over to help my dad, leaving her alone in the room.

Thankfully, the day moved faster after my 'talk' with my daughter. I dragged out the fake tree from my shed along with some help from my dad, and we all worked together to decorate it for Hearth's Warming the day after. My mom had finally put to rest her constant nagging about me spending time with Fluffy, and they had instead taken over charge for her for the time being.

Not that she needed any directions, she seemed very happy to do this all by herself. She had learned to fly in the time we had been apart, which did sting a little, but I was amused to see her fly around my living room with her poofy wings. She had made decorating an enjoyable thing to watch as she circled around it gracefully and added all sorts of streamers and bulbs to the tree.

She was an energetic filly, and I noticed that as she had grown, she had turned into a beautiful young mare. I might've been biased from a parental standpoint, but... whatever. The way she moved around was unlike other pegasi I'd seen before. She was graceful in everything she did.

When she thought I wasn't looking, she would peek at me almost constantly. I would look at her when she did, and she would pretend she wasn't looking. It was a game we played throughout the entire day.

I had started preparing our dinner for Hearth's Warming. My mother always wanted turkey for Christmas/Hearth's Warming, but we couldn't get that anywhere in Canterlot. It had to be on a special delivery from The Griffonian Empire, and they rarely replied kindly to requests of that nature. They never specified the reason the several times we did try, but we were sure it had something to do with the political disaster that is our existence.

I grew up with supplements for my iron deficiency, and of course, we were allowed to eat fish, as they were in every body of water in the world. I never really liked fish, so I was okay with my supplements. I didn't really know what I was missing out on, but my mom made a pretty big deal out of it.

Regardless, I would prepare a massive loaf of thin bread for our dinner that we would fill with all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Primarily root-based vegetables, along with some sweet fruit for the juicy flavor. Sweet potato fries to accent it with some salt I exported from Saddle Arabia, and I used Sugar's homemade flour mixture. It was one of a kind, and it made the food better every time.

Speaking of Sugar, I had almost forgotten everything about what had happened in the past few days with her. So much was going on in my house right now that my mind had shifted completely. I didn't want to tell my parents about that. I forgot to ask Luna about it when I saw her in the dream... I'd ask her next time I saw her. I wonder if Sugar's okay...

I imagined several ways it could be going wrong, and I tried not to think about her being hurt again. I kept it to myself for now.

My dad joined me in the kitchen to chop vegetables as I worked on the dough for the bread, and I suddenly remembered I was supposed to tell him about my meeting with Princess Luna. "Oh! Dad, you'd never guess who came to eat at my shop this Friday."

"Oh yeah? Some new fancy pop star I ain't ever heard of?" He chuckled as he continued cutting through a sweet potato.

Hehe. "Nah, it was just this mare called Princess Luna. You probably never heard about her, though. She even invited me home after." I said casually. I noticed that he had stopped cutting the food.

I turned to him and met his frown with a grin. "My flank," he said.

I shrugged as I wiped my hands on my apron and went to a shelf across the kitchen to grab the scroll I received from Luna a few days ago. I went back to my dad and handed it to him. My mom caught wind of our conversation while helping Fluffy attach some streamers to my ceiling, and she looked surprised at me.

"You met Luna?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I even visited her in the Castle." My eyes widened in realization, and I dropped the dough I had just picked up again and pointed at my mother accusingly. "Oh yeah! Why did you never tell me you and Princess Celestia were pen-pals?!"

My mother just scoffed at me and crossed her arms. "What do you mean? I told you many times when we first started writing."

I shook my head as I started beating the dough again. "Bullshit, I don't remember you ever telling me about it. I heard it from for the first time her just a few days ago!"

"It's not that big of a deal. You know we stayed as her guests for years before we could leave. You really think we never spent any time together during all that time?" she asked as she continued to help Fluffy, who had now become interested in our topic and almost dropped the streamers on my mom's head.

I figured it was something as simple as that. Just me not remembering the right things and her not being open about it. It wasn't like it was a crime for her to not tell me everything, and I remember Celestia saying they didn't really write that often anymore. "Alright, then. But yes, apparently, Luna and I are best friends now." I blew my mom a raspberry.

"Last time I got a letter from her, she said that Luna was nearly going insane with how she had to isolate herself because everyone was afraid of her. Did she say anything about that?" my mom asked.

I nodded as I kept kneading the dough. "Yeah... She's been lonely. I brought a friend with me to see her on Saturday, and we had a good time together. She even came to the party last night, too."

"Really? Sounds like you're doing well." She said playfully. I scoffed and returned to my business as my mother and I continued talking about Celestia and Luna. Fluffy was... distracted. She was taking in everything we were saying and was deeply interested in hearing about the princesses. Looks like she didn't know about the Celestia thing either.

Dad and I finished up with the food and the day went by in a blur as we all did our best to prepare my house for tomorrow. My mother told me we would leave presents under the tree for Fluffy tonight... and it reminded me that I didn't get her anything. Usually, my mom would get her something from me, but this time she didn't. The stores had closed, so I couldn't buy her anything.

I had gone into my room to brainstorm until an idea popped up. I didn't have anything unique or valuable for Fluffy, but I did have my personal items that I always kept in my drawer. Was there anything in there I could give to her? I don't even know what she likes.

Turns out, I could. After some digging around, I came across my old dragon plushie. It was purple, walked on all fours, and had two large, yellow horns on its head, along with a yellow mohawk. Two tiny wings were on its back, and they didn't look strong enough to lift its larger body from the ground. I didn't remember where I had gotten it from, but I had it ever since I was a kid, and I kept it for nostalgia.

I know she's probably too old for shit like this now, but I don't see what else I can give her.

I figured it was time to get rid of it, so I put it inside a small, empty box I had found under my bed. I covered the box with the lid that came with it and took it into my living room to wrap it. Fluffy had already gone to bed with my mom, leaving only my dad and me in the living room.

I helped him wrap the gifts that would be ready for Fluffy in the morning. He didn't ask any questions about what I had gotten her, he seemed satisfied about me doing anything for her at all.

My parents and I would exchange gifts after eating dinner like we always did, making it extra special for Fluffy. I didn't really have any arguments against it; it was how she did it when she visited her caretakers in Ponyville.

For some reason, I felt these pains in my chest when I thought of her spending her holidays elsewhere. Now that I think about it, what did she feel when she didn't get to spend time with her grandparents or her parents during Hearth's Warming?

I never got these annoying pains when I was blissfully unaware, but now she's here. We finally talked again after so long, and I felt like shit already. I hated this feeling. I wanted to get rid of it...

Don't I?

As I slept through another nightmare, it was one again disrupted by the blissful dreamscape, only Luna didn't join me this time. Instead, I was floating by myself as I moved along with an unknown force. It was like I could control my propulsion as I zoomed through the endless universe, and It was truly, actually fun.

As things usually do, it ended eventually, and I woke up. It wasn't daytime yet, so It wasn't what had woken me. Instead, I heard paper being torn apart coming from the living room. I left the bed after some grumbling and peeked through the crack in my door to see a lonesome Fluffy Wings, now sitting on the couch while several presents still remained unopened by the tree.

I frowned and looked at her as she sat on the couch, holding something close to her chest. I could barely make out something purple. She was facing away from me, so I couldn't really see anything, especially with how dark it was.

Probably something my parents got her that she really wanted. I had no idea what she even liked anymore, so how would I even know? It was hard to tell what present she had opened as the presents all looked the same with wrapping and sizes.

I went back to my bed and sat down to stretch. I was surprised to see an envelope sitting on my nightstand. It hadn't been there the night before, so I reached out to take it, curious as to what it contained.

I opened it and pulled the paper from the inside out of it and almost dropped it when I saw what it was.

It was... a drawing. A very, very well-made drawing of me, sitting by a tree with a filly on my head. The filly and I, who was obviously Fluffy, were looking toward the moon. That was it. There was nothing more, nothing less. I just couldn't believe how good of a drawing it was.

It wasn't drawn like a child normally would, it was drawn with a pencil and some colors here and there. Comparing it to normal crayon drawings children normally made would be an insult as it was near flawless. It was like a picture...

She made this for me.

I saw a drop hit the paper, and I pushed it away so I wouldn't damage it. I quickly put it on my bed and wiped my face eyes and rubbed them as hard as I could to escape what I was feeling. I had trouble breathing as I was trying to sort out my thoughts.

What the fuck am I doing?

Life As We Know It

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I leaned back in my chair and stretched my legs out while putting my arms behind my head as I enjoyed the hot sun against my skin. It was mid-summer, which meant prime time for me to get some color. My top was off, and I was considering dropping my shorts if it weren't for the fact that we were in full view of the street right outside the yard.

I heard the glass doors slide open behind me, and I twisted my head around to see Willow leaving the house with some cold drinks and a few magazines. I gave her a loving smile as she approached me.

She wiggled her eyebrows and smirked when she noticed I was checking her out. "Like what you see?"

I licked my lips and gave her a growl. "Oh boy, yeah."

"Put a sock in it, casanova." She brushed her tail in my face as she passed me, and I sputtered as a few stray hairs clung to my sweaty face and went into my mouth.

She laughed as I cleaned my face and removed some silver hairs from my mouth. I sat up once I had gotten rid of one that had somehow gotten into my throat and grabbed my drink from her magic. I took a sip from the straw, and my whole body shivered from the pleasurable feeling of cold, icy liquid running down my hot and dry throat. Willow's tropical smoothies... always delivered a result nobody could beat. The fact that it was mango flavored was even better.

"Damn, that fucking hits the spot." I groaned as I kept sucking the straw from the cup eagerly and sank into my seat.

Willow giggled, floated her glass over to me, and offered a toast. "To a happy marriage between me and my dummy-longlegs."

After reluctantly slipping the straw out of my mouth, I met her glass with mine. "To a happy marriage between me and my kitchen goblin."

We laughed at our quips and clinked our glasses together before consuming the contents eagerly.

Finally, we had time to just enjoy some life together. The last little while had been so stressful with setting up the wedding and everything that needed to happen for it to work out. Catering, guests, music, renting, equipment...

Don't get me wrong, I was excited, and so was she. In the mix of it all, it kinda became too much. We noticed that when we spent entire days out of the house, and both fell asleep before we could spend a few moments together at the end of the day.

It was a lot. It took a pretty big bite out of my wallet, but it wasn't something that was going to leave me dry, thankfully. A big perk that came with being a unique creature protected by the government is that I got a monthly income from said government. It was set into motion at my birth, and when I was 18, I could actually receive it.

It was overwhelming for me. I assumed it was compensation for being the only humans here and that we would likely be the last. So, they probably wanted to ensure we led good lives unhindered by monetary challenges.

The monthly sum was more than gracious, and it would likely keep me from needing a job, but... that wasn't a life I wanted to lead. I hated feeling useless. I preferred to keep myself busy and do something for society, even if it wasn't significant. It's how I was raised.

After finishing my train of thought and drink, I noticed Willow's gaze shifted elsewhere. Seeing her staring over the garden fence, I followed her stare, and my eyes landed on the cute little restaurant a few streets away.

"What's up?" I asked.

She bit her lip and looked at me with what I've come to call the 'I want it' look. It was as if she was trying to get me to guess what was on her mind. I had a faint clue.

I smirked. "It's about your restaurant idea again, isn't it?"

She sighed and leaned her head back as she looked into the skies. "I don't wanna annoy you with my constant nagging about it; I'm sorry."

I sat up in my chair as I tried to reassure her. "No, no, I never said anything about that, Willow. I'm just saying that I'm nowhere near as good as you are at this sort of thing."

She frowned. "Oh, you know that doesn't matter, silly. It's just... I've been wanting to do this ever since school. It was just whatever when I was doing it by myself," she trailed before looking at me. "but it's because I was doing it with you that made it special, Jean. When I'm with you... I don't know; it just feels right. Like magic." Her horn flashed slightly to emphasize her point, and she gave me a sweet smile.

I blushed, although it remained hidden under my reddening skin. "Okay... I can't say I have any contradictions. Are you sure, though? You don't just wanna start traveling or something like that?"

She shook her head. "No, I've saved up for years to be able to do this... I'm even gonna take up a loan from the bank if I need to."

She was stubborn. She knew well enough that I could cover all the expanses necessary, yet she refused to let me pitch in if I wanted to. It was because it was her idea that she never wanted my money.

"You know that's not necessary. If you really wanna do this, then it's gonna be a team effort. I'm your husband now, after all." I winked.

A dopey smile appeared on her face before she slowly started looking unsure again. We had this discussion a few times, and the last time we did it was before the wedding. We didn't have time for that then, but now we did. I felt like things were settled now with us being officially married, and suddenly, the idea of owning a place like that in Canterlot felt more welcome.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like you made a mistake." She said, looking away from me.

I laughed and sat up in the chair to face her fully. "If I thought I was making a mistake, I wouldn't have decided to get married to you, Willow," I paused as I reached my hand out to her. "you can count on me, ok? Like I've told you, wherever you go, I go."

She turned back to me with a blush and reached out her hoof to gently touch my hand. Hooves were rough, but very rarely were they softer than the fluffiest marshmallows. That was always the case during moments like these with... my wife.

I giggled and squeezed her soft hoof. "So, let's make a deal, Willow. You keep pumping out these drinks for me in the future, and I'll do my best to become a chef like you."

Her smile widened, and she shook my hand while laughing. "You got a deal! You're my number one fan, after all."

And that was it. We had just spontaneously decided on our future together. It was a big deal. Opening a business was challenging, and it certainly wasn't cheap. It would take both of us, it would take our hearts and souls to realize it, and it would take patience. I believed in her, and she had me as her backup.

What could go wrong so long as we had each other?

Willow and I spent some time talking about how we would get started, and she actually had this whole thing thought out. Apparently, when she sometimes went shopping by herself, she had been looking at possible locations around Canterlot.

There were a few places around going out of business that she had talked with personally and discussed her interest in opening her own place with the owners of those places at the time. There was a run-down diner in town she had taken a considerable interest in.

She had even planned out most of the items she wanted to put on a menu. Willow was talented in everything that had anything to do with making food, and it was showing. Entrées, dinners, desserts, drinks, special orders, everything. She had spent day and night planning this stuff out, and I was sure if I didn't at some point agree to it, she would just set up shop outside our house as a small take-out stand or something.

That was a pretty funny thought.

After she had told me everything she had been up to and shown me the stuff she had been working on, I felt a lot safer about the whole thing. For now, I'd just have to focus on my own culinary skills...

I looked over at the restaurant across the street from us and took note of the large sign and logo of the place when a thought hit me. "So, Willow... Ever thought about a name for this joint?"

Her ears perked, and her eyes went wide in surprise. Guess she hasn't. She tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. "I dunno, but it's gotta be something Prench! Those Canterlot elites love that stuff!"

My brows raised at that, and I smiled. "Well, good luck with that. I don't know a lick of Prench, so don't come asking me for help."

Willow shook her head and giggled at me, and her eyes lingered. She was staring into my soul as I watched her brain do a backflip between those eyes of hers. Her clockwork of a brain was ticking, almost loud enough for me to hear it.

"You!" She exclaimed loudly as her hoof shot up and pointed at me, causing some ponies in neighboring properties to look our way curiously.

I frowned at her and smiled weirdly. "What?"

"It's gotta have your name in it! It already sounds Prench to begin with!" She continued excitedly.

Huh? "But... why do we gotta use my name? Can't we just have another random word?"

"Because I love you."

Of course, she does this. She gives me that look and says that in such a way. She looks at me sweetly, and her eyes light up like when we first met. It's like she dove into my soul and sang me a lullaby.

There would be no argument this day.

I sighed in defeat as I was tortured by her adorable puppy face. "Okay... Uh, so what, then?"

Her face had become a satisfied grin, and she took a moment to think after calming down from her brainstorming. She tapped her chin with her hoof a few times, stuck out her tongue, and held that ridiculous pose for a few seconds before her hoof shot into the air again.

"Oh! How about..."

"...The JeanDélicieux."

Fluffy tilted her head up at me as I said it.

"The... Jan-dele-shoe?" she butchered.

I gave her a thumbs up. "A for effort, kid."

She blushed and looked the other way as I fished out my keys and unlocked the back door to my restaurant. Time to get back into it. I said to myself while psyching myself up for a long day.

I had another dream. A dream of my honeymoon to Ponyville all those years ago. And much like all the other dreams lately, it was about my wife. I was already having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that Fluffy was back home. These dreams were just extra salt in my wounds.

It felt like the shadows were closing in on me, telling me I'd been hiding away for too long. The shadows may be correct.

Anyway, today was the opening day of The JeanDeliceux for the new season. As usual, I was there hours before opening to get my regular morning orders started, warm up all the equipment, and ensure everything was in working order. I had been here a few days earlier to take stock of our store and sent in orders for new items and everything else needed.

As for why Fluffy was with me...

My parents had left. This morning, they were gone. The only thing left was a note on the table saying they were visiting friends in Ponyville. They had instructed me to NOT leave Fluffy alone and that this was her chance to see what her daddy did for a living... their words, not mine.

So yeah, here we were. Fluffy was coming with me to work because I didn't want to get into trouble with my parents. I got conned into being a responsible parent. I'd throw a tantrum about it later.

It wasn't the first time Fluffy had been here. I remember we had brought her a few times and left her with her toys in the office while we were working, as unresponsible as it sounds. Sometimes we couldn't get someone to babysit her, and some days we both needed to come in and work. Willow was usually better at baby stuff than me, so she would be home with Fluffy most of the time, which forced me to become better at the job and establish my role as a manager.

Don't get me wrong, we both loved doing what we did. We should have considered the challenges of owning a business and caring for a child more. They just clashed together sometimes.

I realized I had stopped with the key in my lock, my head suddenly going through all these memories as I was fresh off another dream. Whenever I'd think of her, I'd feel awful and empty inside, and it hadn't changed much over the years. I still felt that horrible choking feeling in my throat when I thought of that open spot next to me on the bed in the morning, when I saw a single cup on my table instead of two, when I saw the pictures...

It had been an awkward week together with my parents and my daughter. While Fluffy and I talked sometimes, we hadn't really talked. I never knew what to talk about. It was mostly just us making small comments at each other since we basically were strangers now with the distance that had been put between us. I knew why we were so hesitant to speak together more openly.

There were things I didn't want to discuss, and I felt like she could tell by how I acted. She's smart. She's also much older now and has undoubtedly gotten a more prominent personality that I was unfamiliar with. It made me sad.

The only thing I was holding on to was the picture she had drawn for me. It had become an anchor for me to think that maybe there was a chance to go back, but I was still too afraid to take the steps necessary.

I hadn't heard from Sugar Plum at all, so I was slightly worried about that, too. She was supposed to come in today, so I'd just wait and see.

I looked back at Fluffy and gestured for her to follow me as I finally turned the key. Her wings fluttered as she excitedly followed me once I had pried the door open from its cold lock. I stomped my feet inside a few times by the entrance to rid them of as much snow as possible.

Fluffy watched me do it and then did the same with her hooves. She did it more gracefully than me, however.

That was the thing about Fluffy. I didn't know what it was because I could never put my finger on it, but she just moved differently. Her wings moved along with everything she did, and her movements were naturally refined. It made her flying around look pretty amazing. She was like a silky feather fluttering along on a gentle breeze.

I removed my coat and scarf and hung it all on some hooks by the door before I headed into the kitchen to get started. I heard Fluffy fall in step behind me, and I snorted.

"You wanna help out, kid?" I asked without stopping as I made to turn on the ovens and went to get some stuff from the cold storage. I really didn't want her following me everywhere. I knew today would be loaded, and I was already stressed.

"Sure!" She exclaimed.

"Alright, then get all the tables set. There are instructions over there." I pointed to the dishwasher with a picture that described how to correctly set tables. Utensils were to face a specific direction, saucers and teacups were on the left upper right of the plate, and glass was opposite that. It was strict, and the elites let me know just how strict it was in the years I've worked here. Some nasty critic nearly set my restaurant on fire because his fork was somewhat diagonal.

So why was I giving this job to her? It was the one job that would keep her occupied for a while and one she was least likely to mess up. Besides, I'd have Chatter do rounds when she showed up to ensure we didn't get any complaints.

That's right... I have to explain who Fluffy is when everyone shows up.

"and do it properly, please," I added as I tied an apron around me. Fluffy was already on her way out with a set on her back, and she turned to me as I spoke to her. She saluted at me, almost knocking over the items on her back before she entered the restaurant.

I silently cursed my meddling parents for having me babysit her while working. I snorted hot air through my nose as I made some coffee for me and my crew before I started making some bread dough. Fresh bread with all our food was a standard here, so it was the first thing we did in the morning.

As I prepared the dough, I heard the door open and saw Violet slip in.

She looked horrible.

Her eyes were half shut, and she looked to be sleepwalking. "You look like you just survived a natural catastrophe," I said casually. She grabbed a cup of coffee with her magic and chugged it like soda, ignoring my comment.

After mumbling something insulting, she got to work on her own stuff, preparing some of the more popular dishes for our morning visitors. Fruits and vegetables need to be sliced and washed for an assortment of soups she was preparing. She had already set some potatoes to boil and was cutting red peppers.

Violet quickly noticed Fluffy while running back and forth to collect plates and utensils to continue her work. She asked me about her, and I gave my best short answer. Rumor in this kitchen spreads like wildfire if not quickly dealt with.

"She's my daughter. It's a long story, but hopefully, she's just here for today." I said as I tried to keep busy to show her I wanted to leave it there.

Violet was surprised, as anyone would be. I wasn't one for sharing, and I never planned to bring Fluffy here, so I never found the need to talk about it or tell anyone. Nobody who worked here really knew much about me except for Chatter. She was here before...

We were interrupted when the door opened, and Sugar Plum walked in, followed by Chatter and Giddy. They were all engaged in conversation all the way to the kitchen.

We all greeted each other before, once again, Fluffy entered the kitchen to collect more stuff, and she shyly said hello to the new group of ponies, causing everyone to go through similar stages as they filled in. Not every day you see a child running around like a stray dog in here.

Understandably, they were all confused.

Once again, I explained it as barebones as possible to everyone, but this time was met with different reactions. As I explained who Fluffy was, Sugar looked deep in thought, and Giddy seemed to think I was pranking everybody until I reassured him I was serious.

Chatter frowned at me and observed Fluffy curiously as she went in and out of the kitchen with more silverware and plates. I resumed my tasks and kept myself occupied to avoid being asked questions. Chatter followed my daughter into the restaurant proper to check her progress once I had informed her of what she was doing.

Chatter was the only one who knew about Fluffy out of everybody present and was the one I would trust to watch over her when I was not.

Eventually, through awkward interactions and my dodging questions like I usually did with other things, they all found it within themselves to accept it. I was not down for an in-depth Q&A about Fluffy. Hopefully, it'd only be for one day.

Sugar eventually joined me at my table to get started on some pastries. It was good to see her again, and I noticed she wasn't wearing any new wounds. "Had a good holiday?" I asked her.

She nodded and tilted her head slightly. I noticed that she was attempting to smile, but it appeared forced. "It was fine. Obviously not as exciting as yours," she stated while gesturing towards Fluffy, who was off on another run.

I snorted. "It'd surprise me if it was."

I paused as we fell into silence, the air in the room suddenly thin. I cleared my throat as I felt it was getting tight before I broke the slight pause and spoke quietly so nobody else could eavesdrop. "So, anything happen after you went home? Everything was just okay again?"

She was mixing some sugar into the batter while I sneakily examined her form quickly to look for any bruising I might have missed at first glance. I could see no fresh ones, and her lip had healed nicely. Most of it had already vanished under her fur.

"We were just going home when Luna suddenly appeared outside our door as we entered. She asked if I could treat her to some 'late-night tea.' Cog nearly collapsed and used me as a shield for the entirety of her stay." She shrugged as she explained.

Oh wow. Spicy. "Oh, oh! And then?"

She huffed. "She was there for hours! Talking about her lovers from the past and the challenges of love and whatnot... It would have been fun had I not been half asleep the entire visit."

I frowned and stopped what I had been doing. Not what I had been expecting to happen... Nevertheless, it seemed Luna had an idea about what was going on and decided to step in for a friend and share some advice, although she may have gone overboard with her 'counseling' strategy from the sounds of it.

It also seems that Luna had put some fear into Cog's heart just by establishing herself as a friend of Sugar. I didn't know what went on inside the princess' head, but her eyes were open. The fact that I said I didn't trust Cog caused her to pursue them for hours, so if anything, it made me feel powerful. Would Luna go on an adventure to the Gryphon Empire to fetch me a turkey? I wonder...

"Okay. So, you guys are good now? Nothing more happened?" I made sure I spoke quietly to her so the others wouldn't hear our conversation. Giddy was wrapped up in making sauce for some dishes while conversing with Violet.

"It's been fine. Can we change the subject?" She asked with some finality. Still keeping it tight, huh?

I put my hands up in defense. "Fine, fine. As long as you're okay, that's fine with me. Just remember," I said as I put my finger on Sugar's nose, and she went crosseyed, "If you need my help again with anything, remember that I won't mind that you come to me, okay? If you think it will burden me, I just want to put those thoughts to rest right now."

When I removed my finger, she scrunched her nose gently while her eyes adjusted back to normal. I saw a faint smile appear on her face. "Yes, boss."

The corners of my mouth slowly revealed a small smile, and I returned to work with a slightly lighter head. It felt nice doing something nice for someone else.

Some time passed as Sugar and I talked about other matters, like what to do before the doors opened and what could happen today. She told me about some up-and-coming critics I should be worried about and what they are particular about.

I told her what I had been doing during the holidays and explained the 'daughter' situation to her without going too far into the stuff I didn't really want to talk about. I could tell she had questions, but just like she was reluctant to talk about her issue, I was in the same situation.

She told me what she had been up to, which wasn't much. She mainly had been left to her own devices, according to her, while Cog had been distant and not really spending time with her.

She tried to leave him out of the conversation as much as possible, although she mentioned that he was out often in the evenings. Where he went, she had no idea.

It didn't matter. As long as Cog left her alone, I was happy. I was still uncomfortable with them being together after he struck her, but I couldn't force her against her will either. Even if I told the authorities, she would defend him or deny it in the end, which could cause Cog to become even more hostile. And that was the last thing I wanted.

Sure, there was a chance it might help her, but I had more doubts than hope. It's a force of habit.

I was finished with all my tasks for the morning, and so was pretty much everyone else, too. I popped into the restaurant and spotted Chatter and Fluffy talking together as Chatter was washing the windows. They had seemingly been getting to know each other as they had stuff to do in the restaurant, so at least the kid had someone to talk to.

Speaking of Fluffy, she had done an excellent job with setting the tables. Everything was up to code, and I was honestly impressed by the speed at which it had been made. I made a mental note to get her something nice later as I returned to the kitchen to make a roll call.

I clapped my hands and whistled a loud tune, and without missing a beat, my crew quickly got into a line. Chatter and Fluffy ran into the kitchen, and Fluffy was ushered next to Chatter as they joined the line of ponies. I stood with my hands behind my back, waiting for everyone to get into position, which didn't take long. I felt like a general.

A few more of my staff had arrived before I made roll call, so now we were eleven, plus Fluffy.

Wait...

There are supposed to be ten ponies. Why is...

My eyes widened as I looked at who was standing at the end of the line, first now noticing who I was looking at.

"Luna?"

The princess in question stared ahead as if she belonged where she was at the end of the line of ponies. Everyone was now staring at her. Most of my staff was as shocked as I was. When the hell did she even come in?

"Good morning to thee, Jean." She casually greeted me when I stopped before her. I felt an eyebrow raise, and I just stared at her dumbly.

I crossed my arms and gave her a questioning look. "What are you doing here?"

She was staring into my chest, still in position. I had to wave a hand in front of her face to get her to look at me. "We... I wish to try my hoof with the working class. And I do not know anypony else these days, so..."

I scoffed. "You want to work? Here?" I asked, gesturing around me.

"Only for today! Please!" She suddenly changed from her calm demeanor into an excited one as she sat down on her ass and put her hooves together pleadingly.

She wants to work here? I guess having a princess working for me is a pretty cool thought. This could be the only scenario where I would have the chance to tell the ruler of a country what to do...

My mind had started to chug along down some tracks as I imagined wicked scenarios in my mind where I had complete command of The Princess of the Night. I grinned maniacally and chuckled evilly to myself, and I could feel my employees' collective gulps. They've been through the same drill; princess or not, newbies get the worst jobs.

Luna was slowly losing her smile when she noticed that I had started to examine her as a predator would its prey. Her eyes darted around her for a brief moment as if to examine her best escape route, but it seemed she made a decision to stay.

Brave.

I approached her menacingly and laughed as I put my hand on her shoulder, stopping her from having the chance to change her mind. "So you wanna work here, huh?" I squatted down to be at eye level with her. "In that case... Welcome to Tartarus, Princess."

No, literally. I named the toilets of the restaurant "Tartarus." Why not add some flair to the place? How could I label the bathrooms with names and not put a label on the service doors for which way is in or out? I'm not telling.

So yeah, I didn't imagine Luna had that in mind when she decided to rid herself of her boredom by taking on an actual job, but she wanted to see the reality of it all. She wasn't seriously thinking I would hire her as a chef just because she was a princess? It may have been partial nepotism, but it was just for a day. No harm.

The blue princess was currently shining up the bathroom floors at the back of the restaurants. When I walked in to check on her, she was aggressively scrubbing away at a piece of wall mold starting to spread out on the tiles. The toilets were about as clean as they could become, and everything else looked pretty good, too.

When I started to speak, she snapped out of her fierce battle. "Well, would you look at that? I haven't seen somebody attempt to get that mold in the number of times I've had ponies do this. I like your grit, newbie." I joked.

Luna huffed in annoyance as she wiped her brow and spoke through her teeth as she glared at the mold. "We can tell."

"Well, once you're done in here, I got some more stuff for you to do. And don't worry, it won't be more hogwash like this." I said as I let her get back to it. I was just glad I wouldn't have to get rid of that myself.

As I left, I heard Luna mumble something about there being no pigs present, but I ignored it as I had more important matters at hand.

It had been about an hour since the place opened up, and some developments had happened since then. Fluffy had at some point become Chatter's apprentice and was tailing her everywhere she went to act as extra carrying space for her. From the looks of it, Fluffy was trying to learn how to also take orders.

I was just glad she had something to do, I wasn't much help anyways, and she seemed to connect to mares more easily.

Every time Fluffy came back, she would always scan the area in the kitchen until she saw me and then would quickly look away and try to pretend she wasn't looking. It was cute, but I didn't know if there was something I was missing.

Fluffy had quickly become a local celebrity in the kitchen. She talked a lot more when she realized everyone here was cool and friendly, especially since pretty much everyone encouraged her and asked her about stuff constantly. I actually learned a lot about her just by listening in.

I found myself feeling a little left out, as much as I hated to admit it. A little part of me wanted to connect but I just... I couldn't always find the courage to take a step forward. It was nice to just watch.

Not to mention, I was busy with work. While we weren't the most active place in town on Mondays, many of our usuals had come by for an early lunch. When the new year rolled around, so did a bunch of reviewers. They liked to have a yearly check-in with every place in town just to keep their fanbases sane. So, of course, they would sprint out their doors as soon as the first day of the year came around and show up at my doorstep, usually within the first few days.

If you're a high-status pony, your word matters greatly here in Equestria. So I was a little on edge as the hours ticked on, and my attention left Fluffy. It was entirely focused on completing orders as perfectly as possible and quality-checking everything going out.

I wasn't worried about us not passing a checkmark per se; I was just not looking forward to constantly interacting with their snooty behaviors. As fate would have it, we had two reviewers just this morning. I, of course, needed to chat with them as professionally as I could; otherwise, there would be hell to pay. They basically just wanted me to stand there and get interviewed by them while they were stuffing their face, and honestly, that pissed me off.

It always pissed me off, and I always swallowed it and worked around it. But, for some reason, this year was much more challenging as I had so many other thoughts bouncing back and forth within my mind.

A few hours passed, and our 'friendly' visitors were out the door, finally. I grumpily cracked some eggs into a bowl while ordering Minuette to straighten up before entering the restaurant. She was slouching.

The mood was shitty. I didn't feel well, and everything was bubbling up a bit. I was very snappy with everybody all of a sudden as the day went on, and I paid less and less attention to Fluffy. She mainly hung around Chatter the entire time we were working.

I suddenly heard a crash behind me as I grated some cheese over some cheesy omelets, and I could feel a vein pop in my forehead as I turned around. "Oh, of fucking course, somebody had to smash something today. Get your shit together!" I growled.

When I turned around, my angry face vanished wholly, and I instantly regretted opening my mouth when I saw Fluffy looking guilty by the door. She had her mouth open and looked like she wanted to say something as she stared at me, but I think she was too afraid to say anything. It was like all my previous anger left my body all at once, replaced by another feeling I couldn't quite place.

The kind of feeling that feels like a knife twisting in your gut.

It took me a little time to realize that Minuette had bumped into Fluffy by the unmarked doors while she was heading out.

I seriously need to mark those. I thought as I internally facepalmed.

She was sad, I could tell. I had not meant to yell at her, but here I was. Chatter scowled at me for raising my voice at a filly.

I gulped and spoke while I used my finger to itch myself behind my ear for comfort. "Um, Fluffy... I didn't mean that." When I started talking, she had taken off, running toward the office with Chatter not far behind her.

Chatter had time to give me a disapproving look before leaving, though.

Everyone stopped what they had all been doing and fell into a strange silence. All sounds that could be heard were boiling pots and customers' chatter outside the kitchen. They didn't say anything because nothing needed to be said. I fucked up, and I knew it.

Sugar had appeared next to me at some point during all this and currently had her teeth bit down on my pants and was trying to drag me toward the door leading to the back. The keyword is 'trying.' You don't realize how cute it is seeing these ponies try to pull my heavy ass anywhere.

"C'mon." She said through her teeth as she almost ripped my pants with her teeth. I pulled myself closer to prevent her from tearing them apart.

"Fine, just let go of my pants, please," I said to her with a whisper before turning around and addressing my kitchen. "Everybody, back to work."

We passed the office, where I heard some muffled voices talking. I trusted Chatter to take care of Fluffy right now because I didn't see how I could do it better. I yelled at her.

I'd never directly yelled at her before. The only problem we ever had was me being a pathetic excuse for a father and simply growing distant and not talking much with her. She was never the issue. It would've probably been my fault if she ever had any problems in life.

I was barely paying attention to Sugar as I followed her out the back. She was sternly leading me to the back door. We passed the bathrooms on our way to the door, and I could hear a very frustrated princess making snide comments about whatever she was fighting in there.

I was snapped back to reality when I felt a snowball in my face, which cooled me considerably as it ran down my face and neck. I slowly wiped my face but felt another snowball strike me on my forehead the moment my hand left my face. "Okay! I fucking get it!"

"You sure about that?" I heard from Sugar's direction as I wiped my face and used my other hand to shield myself.

"Give me a fucking break, will you?"

"How about you pull yourself together a little? I know this stuff is stressful, but why should that go out on your little filly like that?" She said accusingly.

"It's not like that! It was an accident! I..." I stuttered. "I didn't know it was her! Everything has been so fucked for the past few weeks, and I have so much gunk in my head right now!"

I pick up some snow and make a snowball of my own, setting my sights on the little pony. "We both have shit going on, so cut me some slack!" I growl as I send the ball flying at her face. She stops it, of course, before it hits her face, and she sends it back my way.

"Yes, but at least I'm not bringing my troubles to work, Jean!" She countered as the ball started flying towards me. This time, I caught it in my hands, but it just dissolved into snow again.

"Yeah? Well... whatever." I resigned. I didn't have it in me to fight against her. "How do you unicorns even lose snowball fights anyway?" I say as I sit down on the small stairs by the door. I hug my arms around my legs and put my chin between my knees as I breathe out some hot air into the winter chill. The cold weather helped my mind cool for a bit.

Sugar sighed and walked over to join me. "Jean, I get that things can be difficult sometimes. I don't know what's going on with you, and honestly, I'm sort of afraid to ask as I know it's none of my business..." She hesitates for a moment before dropping any further discussion about that topic. "but everypony has their own battles they're facing. We all have hardships to deal with, and sometimes it boils over. If anypony knows, I do."

She sits down next to me and puts a hoof on my arm. I sniffled my nose as I let her continue talking; it was soothing.

"Right now, you have somepony who cares about you, and whether you like it or not, they also get hurt by the world around them. If you care about Fluffy, then I think you should talk to her." She says while staring into my eyes. "Alone."

I got that feeling where you're about to meet a loved one again, but you're nervous about seeing them again. Worries, fears, and thoughts of not being good enough enter my mind in all those situations, but in this case, it's a bit of a tougher pill to swallow. As a father, how will I make amends with some kid I barely know anymore?

"I'll try."

She nodded and stood up to go back inside, but not before showing a snowball into the back of my neck; so far, it started running down my back. I arched my back from the sudden shock and tried to grab her hoof to shove her into the snow, but she had jumped away and into the building before I could. I heard her chuckling to herself as she walked through the door. Just you wait...

I sat on the stairs for a while longer, thinking of the different scenarios that could happen between me and Fluffy. Thinking of how things could be different in general. Thinking of where I would be today if... If Willow...

I slapped myself on both cheeks with more cold snow to get my mind out of the gutter. I had been slacking off from work for too long, and I didn't want to leave a bad impression at the start of the year for everybody. At the very least, not make it worse than it already is.

I walked back into the door and saw Chatter talking with Sugar a bit further in. They both looked my way when they noticed me coming in and broke off their conversation. Sugar went to go back into the kitchen while Chatter came my way.

"Hey, boss, I just wanted to let you know that I'm a bit disappointed in you." She said cheerily. I frowned at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh..."

She pointed toward the office that was a little further down the hall. "Go on, get."

I nodded at her and walked past her. I stopped for a moment and looked back at her. "I'm sorry about today. Things have been stressful, but it doesn't excuse poor management and attitude."

She looked at me for a few seconds as if she was in deep thought before she smiled slightly. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, but thanks, boss."

I nodded and sucked on my cheek. I know.

Satisfied, she nodded and walked past me to rejoin everyone in the kitchen. I had a job to do, so with a deep breath and a clean wipe of worries in my head, I started walking towards the office door. I faintly canceled out the sound of scrubbing from the bathrooms as I touched the door handle.

I opened it gently, trying to ensure I didn't startle Fluffy. I saw her almost instantly. She was standing by the drawers in the room, looking at some of the stuff on the walls. There were signatures of celebrity customers on some of our menus that had been stuffed inside picture frames as achievements. Other frames held pictures of my staff and me, while others just had photos of the food we were particularly proud of.

Sometimes our most valued customers would order special items from us, and we would go out of our way to make them exactly as they wanted. A couple that was getting married wanted a cake with some sort of edible decoration shaped into a diorama of two ponies dancing. Sugar had worked hard on that, along with the help of some of our other staff. We all figured it was too good to just let somebody eat it, so we immortalized the piece of art on our wall.

Fluffy was examining that exact frame when I walked in, and she quickly flipped her neck around and met my eyes. I was expecting her to look scared, but she only really seemed to be a bit sad.

As soon as I was in the room, I closed the door behind me, folded my fingers together awkwardly, and bit my lip a few times, trying to think of something to say before simply gesturing to the chairs by the desk. "Uh... do you wanna sit?"

She followed my hands to where I was pointing, and she nodded. We looked at each other, waiting for the other to move, before I snorted quietly and decided to walk over. We both made it over and sat down quietly.

I didn't know what Chatter could have possibly talked with her about or what Fluffy could have told Chatter. It didn't matter right now, because I only had one task ahead of me currently.

"I... I want to apologize for raising my voice at you, Fluffy. That, um, that was wrong of me to do." I said, facing my folded hands. I could feel her eyes on me. Why did I act like the kid in trouble here, anyway? I saw her shake her head rapidly in my peripheral.

"N-no... it was my fault. I understand." She said quietly and raised a hoof. I met her eyes now.

"It wasn't your fault, Fluffy. It was an accident, and I overreacted." I felt more relieved now that I had broken the ice and felt my shoulders sag a bit as I leaned back into the chair a little.

"I-i'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? I said it wasn't your fault, alright?"

She was forming tears now. I didn't really know what else to say, but somehow it felt like she had more on her mind than just breaking the plates. I think I may have been able to form a picture here, and it made me feel more like shit. She was sniffling now and looking at the floor in front of her.

Maybe if I brought up something positive, something I've wanted to tell her? Something that would make her feel good.

"I saw the drawing you made for me. I-it was really pretty." I stuttered a bit, sounding like I was confessing to someone I had a crush on. Why is it so hard to just be honest and talk about your feelings? My body felt like it was screaming at me to not speak anymore.

"Oh, um," She said quietly. "you did?"

"Yeah, I did. Thank you for that." I said, keeping my eyes on her.

She looked up at me a little now. I saw her eyes glossing over as she looked at me. "I'm glad you liked it."

I smiled and nodded as I rubbed my hands together, realizing I was sweating badly. I wiped them on my pants and folded my arms on the chair.

She spoke again after some silence. "I just... wanted you to see I could be good at working and stuff, but then that happened." She said, referencing the accident with Minuette.

It stung a little bit hearing it directly from her, especially since I had basically left her to her own devices and barely paid her any mind all day. I sighed gently and closed my eyes as I scolded myself internally for being a lousy parent again.

I chuckled a little to try to cheer her up. "You know, Minuette always breaks something going through those doors one way or another. Trust me, it's not your fault." I said before sighing and continuing. "I've been a little on edge. I can't really use it as an excuse for my behavior today or the last week. I'm sorry."

I felt a tear roll down my eye as I said that. It felt like it had a more significant meaning than it really did. I was just apologizing for getting angry today, right? I wiped my eye quickly, but she must have seen it.

"No! It's okay, I understand!" She waved her hooves frantically and looked like she wanted to stand up or run around.

She's right there. Make it up with her, daddy-style, you idiot!

I wanted to stand up and hug her or pet her head and reassure her things would be okay, but the best I could do was reach out my hand to her. On instinct, that was what my body did, anyway. My mind had about a thousand other ideas, but my body had made up its mind. "Okay. Well... Let's shake on it."

She looked confused but slowly reached her tiny hoof out to meet my hand, and as soon as she touched me, my body felt like it became engulfed in heat. Her hoof felt different than it did all those years ago. It was bigger, but just barely. It was softer but more refined. Her touch reminded me of Willow's.

I had to hold myself together to not lose it right then and there in front of her. I wanted to take the next step forward and be more to her, but a part of me refused to let me. Whatever that part was, I felt like I wanted it out of my with every fiber of my soul, but I couldn't shake it.

She looked at me curiously as we 'shook' on it. It was less shaking and more holding. We held each other for a few moments before I pulled away when I felt her ever-so-gently trying to pull me closer to her.

"Well, you want to get back to it? I'm sure everybody misses you about now." I said as I stood up and wiped my nose with my apron. I left her sitting at the chair and opened the door for us before standing by it and waiting for her to follow me.

I didn't want to influence her in this way. I didn't want to teach her to suppress her feelings, but it seemed like she was already taking it to heart as she stood up and trotted past me with a bit of a forced smile. We may have worked out things for now, but I felt there were many more layers to break through. I was not too fond of the feeling I was feeling, not one bit. I thought back to the things I had been through recently. My talks with Princess Luna, conversations and experiences with Sugar Plum, and my time with my parents and Fluffy.

As I watched her walk out of my office and toward the kitchen, I felt a voice in my head scream at her.

Come back...

I Dream of You

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I went to retrieve Luna after my 'talk' with Fluffy. Luna had missed all the drama, thankfully, and was still completely focused on the mold around the tiles in the bathroom when I went in to get her. While I did promise myself not to let her take on any serious tasks, I did get an idea that could turn out to be pretty fun. A risky idea for sure, but fun nonetheless.

I was still bothered by a lot of emotions going through my head. Some parts of me wanted to change while others were hanging on tightly to what I was used to. It was a fickle feeling, and it made me frustrated to think about how to solve any of it.

Walking across the hall toward the bathrooms, I grabbed the door handle and opened the door gently.

I was met with a blinding light.

It felt like I had just opened the door to heaven or something, because the room was positively shining. I squinted my eyes as I tried to focus on the blue blob hunched over in the corner, scrubbing away at something I couldn't see.

"What the shit..." I muttered as my eyes slowly adjusted. The room wasn't large, it was just a room with a sink and two bathroom stalls. At least, that's what it used to be. It looked like a house renovation crew had been by in the few hours I was gone and had shined it up to perfection.

Luna turned around to meet my gaze when she heard me speak, and I could see hairs standing out in her fur.

I scoffed. "Damn, Princess. When you set out to do something you go over and beyond. This is amazing." I said, gesturing around the room and running my fingers along the tiles. It was all polished and scrubbed clean. The odd smell that was probably a clogged pipe was gone, and every piece of wall mold was gone.

Luna didn't reply, she just grumpily continued to scrub away with her equipment on the floor-level tiles. I walked over to her and looked over her shoulder to see her using a brush to scrub away some remaining dirt.

"Hey, you already went way over expectations here, Princess. Come on, I want you to try your hand at the real deal." I gestured for her to follow me out of the bathroom. "Just leave all this stuff in here and I can take care of it later."

"But we are not finished! We must complete the task!"

"No. Come with me. That's an order."

She gave me an are-you-shitting-me look, and I just smiled and pointed at the little chef symbol on my uniform. She seemed to take the hint, and it just made me so incredibly satisfied knowing I could boss her around like this. Playing with fire here.

"Very well. Would you have us dispose of your garbage as well?" She added sarcastically. I think she may have taken personal offense to her mission.

Now, there's an idea.

"No, no. Nothing like that" I chuckled as I washed my hands in the sink. Had to constantly keep those babies clean on the job. "I just figured you might want a first-hand experience in the restaurant itself. You know, serving ponies their food. You up for that?"

I looked over my shoulder at her while I was explaining, and I saw her deflate a bit.

"What?" I asked her as I turned off the faucet.

She was thinking about something as she stared at her reflection in the tiles. It was hard to get a read on her, especially because of how ancient she is. She and Princess Celestia both have centuries of wisdom and mental challenges. I can't even imagine what that would be like.

After some time she looked at me. "The ponies fear us."

I snapped my fingers quickly to drag her out of it. "Don't go thinking about what other ponies think of you. You'll only be hurting yourself thinking like that."

"You think it so simple? To simply ignore the judgemental stares? We feel it, even from within our chambers. It is torture." She said to me with a frustrated sigh.

I knew she wasn't doing so hot with coming back to everything being different. It wasn't unexpected to hear her say something like this and I suppose I may be a bit hypocritical, given that most of my life I've been worried about if ponies consider me a freak or not. That all stopped once I met Willow, but things are different now.

What was sort of surprising to me and almost an alien feeling, was the fact that I was able to even think about Willow without feeling that extreme discomfort or urge to cry. That had only been in the past few days. I didn't feel better, not by a long shot, but I could at least bring my mind around it without choking.

An idea struck me, to take her mind of it all. "Say, Luna, you remember I have a daughter, right? She's working here today." I paused and smiled slyly. "The thing is, she is also a rookie for today, so why don't you two team up? I'm sure she would love the help."

It seemed to pique her interest. She was in a thousand-yard stare, seemingly measuring her options. On one hand, she could avoid the public eye by hiding away. On the other hand, she could partner up with a cute sidekick.

"Did I mention she's an adorable filly?" I said without really thinking.

She gulped. "Well... Lead the way and we shall consider."

And so, I left the bathroom with Luna not far behind. She was a bit of a mess after spending some hours in here by herself and fussing over details in every single nook and cranny. So she took a moment to clean herself before leaving, and she did so in the most magical princess style I have ever seen.

Her horn lit up with her magic, and very soon her body was completely engulfed in her aura. The best way I can explain what happened next was that Luna became a blender. Water covered her from top to bottom and it was spinning around her body impossibly fast, so fast that there didn't look to be any motion.

Soon, the magic popped like a bubble and a perfectly clean and trimmed blue princess stood before me.

Magic is awesome.

We left soon after she had put all the tools in a little pile in the corner of the bathroom. The idea of working together with a filly appeared to affect Luna, so she reluctantly went along with the idea, despite the discomfort she was feeling.

I wasn't totally heartless. I could tell she wasn't feeling comfortable about being pushed into a social setting like this. I've been in that same spot when I was a kid, and it took the help of friends to make me feel like it wasn't as bad as I feared it was.

I hadn't been inside the kitchen since my little incident, which was a good half hour ago, so everybody acted a little awkward when I got back in. Conversations stopped, spatulas froze, and eyes were pointing my way.

Naturally, I had been so focused on the fact that everyone probably didn't like me right now that I almost forgot I was standing next to one of the only alicorns in Equestria.

Oh, right.

No matter how often she's around, it was hard for these guys to adjust to Luna. I didn't think it was fear, it was more... respect. At least that's what I'd like to believe in this scenario. Luna was awkwardly waving at everybody, she didn't really get to meet with anyone at all since I dragged her off as soon as she mentioned free labor.

Everybody went back to work after showing their respect for Luna. As if on cue, Chatter came into the kitchen with some plates on her back with Fluffy close behind. I noticed that Fluffy now had a pretty flower tucked behind her ear.

Her eyes fell on me, and we looked at each other for a moment. Now that I knew what was going on earlier, I wanted to make sure I was better this time. I noticed her watching me all day, but I didn't know it was because she wanted me to see her. I am just too out of touch with reality sometimes.

She went to put plates in the dishwasher with Chatter. Chatter barked some orders to Giddy and Violet across the kitchen, in that very special kitchen voice. It's just different when you're yelling orders; it's like your vocal cords align to being as clear and vocal as possible without reaching out to the customers. Not that it would, the doors were magically sealed so the noise from the kitchen couldn't reach outside.

Although that is probably what is making my waiters crash into each other half the time, a place of our quality must provide the best comfort for our patrons as well. People pay to eat here, after all.

It's not exactly a highly expensive restaurant for elites only. It's a fairly priced place where ponies from all walks of life can enjoy a night out. Although all Canterlot citizens are usually pretty well off, so we don't often see lower-class customers.

Luna brought me out of my train of thought when she whispered up to me. "Jean, is this her? Your daughter?"

I nodded to her while still looking at Fluffy. She was grabbing more orders that were ready, balancing them in her wings. She was actually moving faster than Chatter, which seemed to frustrate her. Chatter was frantically trying to keep up with the elegant movements of Fluffy, and just seeing her do it so well made me feel something very odd inside me.

Pride? I had no idea. Maybe?

I smiled nonetheless, and so did the rest of my staff. They were amused seeing this child suddenly take command of my staff like this after only doing it for a few hours. It was pretty clear everyone in the kitchen loved Fluffy.

From the looks of it, so did the ponies eating in the restaurant. When she opened the door, I saw the ponies I could see from my position smiling and waving at her when she walked out into the restaurant.

I felt left out. And I felt jealous.

I looked down at Luna who was studying Fluffy with a smile on her face. "Do you want to go talk to her? I'm sure she'd be glad to talk to you."

"We would like to. She is a most precious filly, but we are surprised you did not tell us of her existence until now. Why is that?" She asked me while we started walking further inside the kitchen.

I shrugged as I checked out one of my cooks' progress on some sweet potato fries. "Eh, let's save that wonderful story for another time, yeah?"

She frowned at me and held her look for a few moments before letting it go. I appreciated it. The princess had excellent patience, as one would probably expect her to have. As awesome as it was to have Luna in my circle of friends, I still didn't know if I should just open up myself to somebody I was still getting to know. That being said, Luna felt like a safe pony to talk to. She didn't seem to hold any grudges for what had been done against her by her sister, so I think It'd be pretty hard to get on her bad side anyway.

So, Luna reluctantly joined Fluffy and Chatter, but not before I had made sure she looked the part. I got her a uniform, but unfortunately, it was too small for her large size. I didn't tell her that, because I know what happens when you call a girl too big for something.

It never ends well.

So Luna ended up wearing an apron and some hoof ornaments that our servers use for decoration. Every restaurant has its theme, so we stuck to our guns as closely as we could. She didn't complain; she was too nervous about scaring away our customers than worrying about her appearance.

Luna had been in our restaurant previously, don't get me wrong. She was here when we first met, although that was with two of her guards. Circumstances were different then because she was going crazy with cabin fever. That might not be the case now, because she is currently a lot more aware of how ponies perceive her.

Fluffy saw Luna earlier when she had come into the restaurant, and Chatter told me that they had talked about her while they were in between orders. She told Fluffy about Luna's first time at the restaurant, and when she came to the Hearth's Warming party. It helped calm her, knowing that Luna wasn't this crazy demon of the night that she had previously been. Schools didn't teach us that, but legends and stories did.

Regardless, Fluffy warmed up to Luna fairly quickly. She approached Fluffy and Chatter when they were on a run into the kitchen, and joined them after I explained to them that I wanted Luna to dip her hooves into serving. If Fluffy could do it, how hard could it be for the princess? "You guys can handle the princess, can't you?" I asked the pair.

Fluffy was still a bit strained from earlier, I could tell. Chatter was hard to read since she had been in an interesting mood when she had told me to join Fluffy, but I just had to assume she had put it behind us. I couldn't go on letting my mental state influence my job, so I would do my best to let it go. And give Fluffy attention.

They nodded, Fluffy looked a mix of nervous and excited as she grabbed some orders with her wings and tried to give them to Luna. "H-here you go, Your Majesty." She stuttered nervously.

Luna looked curiously at the food on the plates. Please don't eat it. I thought.

"Princess, would you want to take these orders to their tables?" Chatter took over for Fluffy when the princess had been staring at the food on the plates for about five seconds. Luna's eyes widened and she gave her a cheesy grin.

"Oh, of course. How silly of us." She said as she reached out her wings and took the plates from Fluffy. How ponies can even carry stuff on those things is beyond me, especially when the things they are carrying are at least a few kilograms.

It took Chatter and Fluffy to lead Luna out of the kitchen and enter the public eye. I followed through the door to observe, and I heard a collective gasp from the ponies sitting closest to us as they saw the princess enter the restaurant. Whispers started to break out. Some were saying 'Nightmare Moon' and others were whispering about how the princess could lower herself to minimum wage. Minimum wage my fucking ass.

I had to deal with a lot of rude shitheads in here, so I swallowed the anger as best as I could and ignored it. I was more occupied with whether or not Luna could handle her objective.

It was hilarious to watch, and also worrying in a way. As I mentioned before, I was taking a bit of a risk letting someone inexperienced work here, because we were stationed in Canterlot of all places. A place where rumor is everything and quality is guaranteed.

I watched as Chatter and Fluffy followed Luna closely as she approached whatever table Chatter pointed her to. The guests were staring at them, and so was I. Until she got to the table where two mares were sitting. I didn't recognize them particularly, but I could tell they weren't elite. They just seemed like regular unicorns, and that might be a blessing for Luna's first try at this. I was crossing my fingers as I stood by the double doors to my kitchen as Luna shakily brought the plates down on the table.

"PLEASE, ENJOY THE MEAL!" She blasted into the faces of the poor mares. Damn it!

Chatter and Fluffy practically threw themselves over Luna and covered her mouth. Luna's eyes went wide once she realized what she'd done wrong, and she looked in my direction as she had her mouth full of Chatter and Fluffy's hooves. I had a hand in front of my mouth and had to take a moment to breathe in order not to lose my cool.

Maybe I should have seen that coming.

I sped over to the table while Chatter was trying to pull Luna away from the table. The two mares who had been on the receiving end of the loudest sound in fucking history had probably looked better. Their eyes were wide and their manes were now a mess. I stood in the spot where Luna had been standing, put my hands behind my back, and gave them my best service smile.

"Sorry about that ladies, sometimes my staff gets rowdy. Please, enjoy your food." I said with as much charm as I could. That got them out of their shock, and then they looked at each other.

"P-p-p-p-p-" The one to my left started to stutter to the other.

"P-p-p-p-p-" The left one followed.

Okay?

I watched as they stared at each other and kept trying to say something that started with the letter 'P'. Luna did a number on them for sure. Chatter had dragged Luna back into the kitchen, and I followed after quickly doing a round of attending guests.

"All right, work on the volume, maybe?" I commented as I walked through the doors, almost crashing into Minuette heading out with a tray of steaming hot pasta.

Luna was sitting on her rump and she was chastising herself. "Argh! We have no idea what happened. It was like we couldn't control our voice. What... what was that?" She asked, panting and huffing.

I frowned and shrugged. "Stagefright?"

She shrugged back at me with a pout. Poor girl.

I understood where Luna was coming from. She's trying to break out of her comfort zone, doing something totally out of the ordinary for her. I see it through her expressions, she wants to fit in. She wants ponies to like her. She desperately desires it, any old fool could see that. Even me, the most ignorant bastard in this country. I felt bad for her, and I wanted to help her out.

I looked at Fluffy and Chatter. "Alright guys, get her back in there and keep an eye on her. Try not to let her interact with too many ponies on her own. Just try to help her out as much as you can, okay?" I said, and Chatter nodded.

"Yes, chef."

Fluffy firmly nodded too, and I smirked at seeing her taking my command seriously.

"But-" Luna started, but Fluffy cut her off.

"Don't worry, we'll teach you!" She said, and took Luna by the hoof and led her back out into the restaurant. The rate Fluffy had learned our routines was surpassing all my expectations. I couldn't believe how well she was taking up everything.

The sound of my daughter's voice sparked something in me, especially when I saw the look she was giving the princess. She was enthusiastic about this. She wanted to help her just as much as I did, but the difference was, she had the heart to do what I couldn't. I couldn't be the sweet and caring voice in her ear, and that didn't only go for Luna.

I saw her and Chatter lead the princess out the doors again, and I felt myself once again wanting to berate myself for not trying hard enough. I was making small steps toward some real progress, but I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere near my daughter, not really.

But these past few days, sometimes, I get this feeling. This very warm and lovely feeling I haven't felt in a long time. It only ever shows up a few times, and I don't know how to put it into words.

Pride, maybe?

As I thought that, I felt the corners of my mouth twist a bit, feeling it coming back to me once more. I went back to make some more food and looked over to the doors opening every once in a while. Sometimes, I would catch glimpses of Fluffy, and I would get distracted.

I was making some of my signature dishes when I felt someone brush up against me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Giddy smiling at me as he pushed me away from my work. I had almost burned the food.

"Hey boss, you're gonna burn the place down if you don't pay attention. What's got you so distracted?" He asked as he took over my station.

I rolled my eyes. "What?" I asked, trying not to smile.

"Nothing." He laughed and followed my gaze. "She's a cute filly."

I frowned at him.

"You know what else is cute?" He asked.

"No"

"You."

"Fuck off."

"So Jean, how are you really doing?"

I sighed. This was the part I hated the most about coming to this thing. He would always ask me that question after a very pleasant conversation about what nice things I'd done in the past weeks, just to warm me up. I always knew it was coming, yet it always sucked when we got to it.

"I'm... alright," I replied, which wasn't entirely a lie. I was doing pretty well since the last time we spoke, although I've had better weeks.

I didn't want to look him in the eyes, because I knew what I would find. Pity. I hated pity, but I've learned that I can't stop it from happening. He's seen me at my worst, and he knows that I'm only as good as I can get. But I've never been perfect, not even in my prime.

"You told me you've been reconnecting with your daughter? How's that going for you?" He asked, shifting in his seat. "Have you talked at all?"

"Well..." I started and rubbed my hands together. "Ah... I don't know. So-so, I guess."

Dr. Hopper's shoulders sank. "Jean, I know there has been a lot for you to handle over the years. However, do you view this as one of your challenges, or do you think it might be a gift?"

I pondered on that for a moment. My eyes drifted to the ground, and I felt my heart sting again. Of course, I thought this was a good chance for me to rebuild some parts of my broken life, to have some sort of chance to make things right. More than anything, I wanted to reach out to Fluffy and tell her... and tell her... something.

But I had no idea what.

"Idunno doc... I don't feel ready. I don't even think she likes me." I lied to myself.

"And where is your evidence of that?" Hopper asked me.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, staring up at the ceiling. "It's just a hunch,"

I heard Hopper move in his chair and lean forward. "Do you want to know what I think?"

I shrugged, still staring at the popcorn ceiling. "Sure."

"I think you're afraid." He said calmly. I didn't like it when he talked like that. It was always so fucking condescending. Yet, once again, he was right. Big Daddy is scared of a filly. Yee-haw. One hundred points for the doctor.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yes."

"So what?"

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

I frowned at him and looked him dead in the eyes. "I don't know, doc. You tell me." I said, getting more frustrated.

I felt like we were going around in circles. He would ask me something, I'd give him my answer and he'd go on to say the exact opposite, as if he knew better. He probably did, but I'm stubborn. I'm always going to take the road less traveled. I always had to have the last word, because it's me who has to live with the decisions I make.

That's why I hated how these guys did their job. Their job was to challenge your mental state and drag you out of it. You couldn't get out of your slog if you weren't prepared to step out of your comfort zone, and mine was being stepped on at this very moment.

Dr. Hopper leaned back in his chair again and looked at me over his glasses. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Jean, I'm not here to force you into making a decision. But I want you to consider the consequences of your actions. From what you've told me, it's clear to me that your daughter wants to talk to you. Are you prepared to let her go again, or are you willing to take a risk?"

The answer was yes, I would like to talk to my daughter again. I'd love to talk to her again. But the thought of that just made my insides twist and my brain freeze. What if I can't handle it? What if I'm not ready for the responsibility? What if I fail as a father? What if...

"So what should I do?" I asked him, suddenly feeling heavy and desperate, and I leaned forward in my seat. My voice cracked slightly as I felt pressure building up behind my eyes.

Hopper looked at me with a calm face. His eyes were unreadable. "You know what I do with my kids when we want to have some fun? We go somewhere together. We do everything and nothing together. Maybe you could take her with you somewhere? Somewhere you two can go to have some fun?" He suggested.

I thought about that for a moment. Where could we go? What could we do? What would Fluffy like to do? I took her with me to work, but that was forced upon me. How would it be if I actually invited her of my own will somewhere?

I took a while to think, staring at the tissue box on Dr. Hopper's table. "I guess... I can try."

I went home that day, thinking only about what I could do to have fun with Fluffy. What did she even like to do? I never traveled anywhere anymore, I didn't have a reason to. I had a fully committed job and I never really had anyone to travel with, so the thought never crossed my mind.

I kicked up some snow as I walked along the pavement in my coat, heading home from seeing my therapist. I didn't often see him, but we did a semi-monthly check-up. What that means is that some months I don't feel the need, and some months I do.

This time, I went to him on short notice to clear some things up. I felt myself going insane for the past week. A lot of stuff has happened in a very short time, and I needed to vent about it to someone. Dr. Hopper never has a judgemental bone in his body, so I feel safe to vomit out all my worries to him.

We spent the first half of the session mostly talking about nice things. However, I was able to tell him about the crazy holiday break I had, and he would take my side a lot, telling me how he understood it could be stressful. It was nice, and I felt a refreshing wave over me.

However, I now had a new dilemma. Take Fluffy out somewhere to have fun.

I thought about it the whole walk home. Maybe I could take her with me to the Castle and see Luna? Maybe even Celestia? That would be a crazy memory for her to tell her friends about.

It was only earlier today that Princess Luna had joined my crew and almost brought my whole business down due to leveling the building to the ground with her voice. She got the hang of it after being followed around by Chatter and Fluffy as if they were puppeteering her, she respectfully agreed that this was not the job suited for her.

I was inclined to agree.

It had been a strange day with Fluffy. We had attempted a conversation, though not much progress was made. Was I supposed to take the first step? Couldn't I just wait for her to do it? When these thoughts entered my mind, I suddenly realized that maybe she has been trying a lot of different ways, but I've just been coldly rejecting them, or ignoring them.

It sucked to realize that.

When I got home, Fluffy had already gone to bed in her room. My asshole parents were still nowhere to be seen.

When we closed up shop, Sugar and I walked home together with her, and she stayed with us until I left to go see Dr. Hopper. Fluffy enjoyed Sugar's company, and Sugar couldn't be happier to hang around my daughter.

The two had bonded a bit when helping Luna out today, and they had hit it off on the way home from work. It's like they had been friends all along. Additionally, they both shared interests in birds of all things, something I didn't have the slightest interest in.

But seriously, out of all things, I wouldn't guess my daughter was a bird watcher.

A part of me thought; A-ha! Now I can also get into birds and finally have something to talk to her about!, but that would be demented. Not only would it feel forced, but we're supposed to find things we both like already. How in the world could I know what she liked to do? It's not like I could just ask her, that was off the table.

I went to check on Fluffy as she slept peacefully in her bed. Her back was facing me, and I could see that she was hugging the dragon plushie I got her for Hearth's Warming. Her tiny frame moved quietly with her light snores, and I felt my heart stir at the fact that I had to once again send her to bed with just a simple 'goodnight'.

I closed her door quietly and went into my bedroom. I spent a great deal of time thinking of how to do something nice for Fluffy while I was getting into bed. I wasn't able to think for very long. The day had me exhausted, and I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I awoke rudely. One moment I was comfortably lying in my bed, the next I was hanging upside-down and suspended in mid-air. I panicked the moment I was conscious enough to grasp what was happening, but even then I was confused.

I started flailing my arms wildly around me, and slowly but surely I started flipping over to not being upside down anymore. I was still in mid-air, the strange feeling of hovering weightlessly taking me for a complete trip. I looked around at my surroundings, but all I could see was the dreamscape I had once visited all around me.

"Luna?" I shouted into the void.

The alicorn in question popped into existence with a small 'pop', directly in front of me. She had a goofy grin on her face. "Sorry about that, dear Jean. We simply couldn't resist pranking you."

"If this is your idea of a prank, you need to seriously up your game." I chuckled at her as I felt my body make its way back to the 'ground'. I landed on what looked like nothing, yet I felt my legs meet solidness and my body regained its sense of weight.

"Was I having another nightmare? I can't recall it." I asked as I moved my hand around, and the air it wisped through danced around it.

"No, we simply wished to thank you for letting us work with you today. It felt good to feel like a regular working pony for once. It was... invigorating. We were not able to properly display our gratitude earlier today." She said, looking away from me.

I smirked. "Yeah, no problem," I replied. "Thanks for not destroying the place. Seriously, you have no idea how hard it is to get insurance for a restaurant like mine. You might have been a bit rough around the edges, but you did well."

She looked back at me with a small smile and a twinkle in her eyes. "You really think so?"

I frowned. "Don't make me say it more than once."

She laughed into her hoof. "Oh, no need to try so hard for our sake."

She looked at me playing around with the air around me again, and commented. "We very much enjoyed the company of your filly, friend. Why has she not been with you to visit us?"

Oh boy. "We don't live together usually." I shrugged as I stopped playing around. "We don't really know each other too well, either." I sighed and scratched my short beard.

Luna's eyebrows rose. "Is that so? Why not?"

"It's..." I started, but I didn't know how to even start dipping my toes in the subject. I was able to kind of surpass my emotional block in this place since thinking of the subject didn't make my head throb, but I was still unable to take the plunge, especially with a friend I'm still warming up to.

"It's complicated." I said. Trying to stop my train of thought so Luna couldn't just read my mind.

She tilted her head slightly and frowned. "Jean, it seems you are having trouble connecting with your daughter. Is there anything we can do to help?"

I shook my head. "I don't even think there's anything you could do, no offense."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

I raised mine all the same and copied her speech. "That is so."

Luna lifted her head slightly and lit her horn. Behind her, a magical portal appeared out of nowhere, and Luna turned and leaped inside it. I stood there completely alone now, feeling kind of confused.

Did she just fuck off?

For a moment I worried about having hurt her feelings, but shortly after she left, the same portal appeared in the same place it had been prior, and Luna walked back through. On her back, however, was my daughter Fluffy.

She looked at me surprised, and I did the same. "Uh, hello." I waved awkwardly at her, and she returned it with an attempt at a smile.

"Um... hi?" She said, looking around at the dreamscape. She then looked at the princess and jumped down from her back. "Why am I here?"

Something that I suddenly started thinking about was that my daughter seemed to have forgotten she was talking to one of the two rulers of the country. I was a bit more used to it now, but I guess all it took for her was to see Luna fail in a subject she excelled at. Funny how that works.

Luna smiled at the filly looking curiously up at her. "Why, you are here because your father here wanted to spend some time with you!"

"What?" Both me and my daughter said in unison.

Luna chuckled and stepped between us. "It is so! He thought it would be amusing to show you around in this magical place. Isn't it nice here?" She asked my daughter as her horn lit up. Millions of stars twinkled brightly all around us, and my daughter gasped at the display.

"It's amazing! It looks like we're above the clouds in the sky!" She looked around at the vastness of the galactic nothingness around us.

Luna nodded. "Quite." She said. "Now, Jean, we have some work to do for our subjects tonight. We'll leave her in your care. Don't forget to enjoy!" She said and winked at me before turning around and walking through the portal again. It closed behind her and left me standing awkwardly in front of my daughter.

I cleared my throat and scratched my beard. "So..." I started.

"So..." She replied.

We stood there in silence for a while, neither of us sure what to say to each other. I was starting to feel increasingly awkward and unsure of what to do. Here we go again... Every time, even in a stupid dream world.

As these thoughts entered my mind, I couldn't help looking at her. She was so different from how I remember her. So much older now, and her tiny body had become so much bigger than the small one I remember holding on to so tightly many years ago. Her wings were so beautiful. I looked at how graceful they were, and some thoughts of jealousy entered my head. I wish I could've had wings too...

POP

My daughter's eyes widened in surprise and her mouth opened. I turned my head slightly and choked on my spit as I took in what was behind me.

Massive wings had sprouted from my back. They were fluffy and feathered, just like Fluffy's. My jaw dropped and I looked back at Fluffy, who was still staring at my wings.

"Woah! They're so beautiful..." She whispered. "How did you do that?"

I stammered. "I-I've got no idea...!" I tried getting a good look behind me, to review the size and fluffiness of my wings. I reached my hands back to touch them and they felt like silk, but even smoother. It was awesome.

"Holy shit, I have wings!" I exclaimed happily. I looked back at my daughter and saw her smiling at me in excitement. The tension from earlier was gone. I grinned back at her.

"Check this out!" I said and flapped my wings hard. I started lifting into the air and I began to hover. For some reason, I had no issues controlling my flight, it was almost like second nature that my wings just moved on their own to what my mind was commanding them to do. Fluffy laughed and clapped her hooves together.

"You're flying!" She cheered. I grinned even wider, and then an idea hit me. Seeing her laugh and smile did something to me, especially since that smile and laugh were only meant for me. I wanted more of that.

I wanted to make her smile like that for me every day.

I looked around me, and slowly, the scenery had started to shift. The empty cosmic landscape only littered with stars had now become one with hundreds of celestial bodies in every direction. Some large, some small. We both took note of it and gasped in awe.

"Hey, come on! Let's fly to that one!" I said as I pointed to one of the planets nearest us. It was an orange one that seemed surrounded by orange clouds. It was huge.

Fluffy nodded her head excitedly as she took off from the 'ground' to join me in the air. She did a loop around me to check out my wings, and she stopped in front of me to hover with me. I felt so excited, just like a kid.

My pride as an adult melted away under me, and I honestly didn't give a shit.

I let her fly first, and I followed after her. On the way over, we didn't stay far away from each other. Fluffy would constantly look over at me and laugh, thinking it was hilarious that I was flying with a pair of massive wings on my back. I would laugh back at her, feeling stupid, but happy.

I felt like I looked like a badass. I felt epic. I might look back at this moment and wonder what the hell I was thinking, but who cares?

I did a loop around her, flipping so that our backs were facing each other when I was above her, and ended up on the other side of her. She did the same after I had finished, and we both laughed again.

We had forgotten where we were going. We were having so much fun just playing around with this new feeling, that our sense of direction had abandoned us. Not that we cared, we were having too much fun to give it any thought.

We found a strip of stars, and it acted like a slide when we both jumped onto it and it sent us sailing down an endless direction. It went fast, and we loved it.

Deep inside my mind, my subconscious was screaming at me to stop. To not let myself get too close with her. It was telling me that I didn't deserve to feel happiness like this and that I should stop allowing myself these feelings. Normally, I would probably give in to this feeling. However, at the moment, my daughter was happy because of something I was doing, and how could I possibly take that away from her?

So, I respectfully told my subconsciousness to get bent.

I don't know how much time passed while we were having fun. We didn't say much to each other except a small comment here and there, but this experience felt like a massive icebreaker. I felt like it mattered to her, seeing me like this. I've wanted to show her that I also have a silly side, but it feels near impossible sometimes.

This meant a lot to me, and I like to think it did for her too.

We finally landed on a tiny planet. We had no idea where we initially came from, but I didn't think it really mattered. I just assumed Luna would know where we were. We sat on top of the planet as if it were made of glass or plastic, trying not to slide off.

Fluffy sat down next to me, looking around at the galaxy around us. "This place is amazing." She whispered.

I nodded, not looking at her. "It really is. I wish this was real."

She looked at me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." I said. "I wish we could really fly around like this. That we could just leave everything behind and just fly out into the great big universe. I think that would be great."

She smiled slightly and looked up into the vastness of the universe before us. "That'd be neat. I bet we could explore all kinds of planets and stuff. Maybe we'd find other life out there, too." She giggled at looked back up at me.

I chuckled at that. "Heh, yeah. Maybe."

I propped my arms behind me and leaned back on them. "Hey, Fluffy." I said as I stared into the sky above me.

She looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Do you remember when you were younger and I was reading you a story?" I asked. "It was one about a little filly who was lost in a forest. She got rescued by a dragon."

She nodded instantly. "Oh yeah! That was one of my favorite stories!" She said excitedly.

I laughed as I recalled her face every time I said I would read it. "Yeah, it was. We used to read it together all the time before you went to bed." I smiled at her. "We would always try to make the different voices for the characters, and it always made you laugh. Do you remember that?"

She nodded again with a wholesome smile. "Yeah, I do."

I felt my throat clog up when I saw her smiling at me again. This almost felt unreal. If this was a dream, which I knew it was, I didn't want to wake up. Fluffy hadn't even been that surprised by this place, she had just kind of gone along with it from the start.

She appeared to sense my feelings shifting. "Can I ask why you thought of that all of a sudden?"

I looked into her eyes and my mind felt a bit fuzzy. It was like she was fading in and out of my vision, as my eyes felt like they were darkening. I felt some pressure building up behind my eyes and I instinctively covered my face with my hand and pretended I was itching my eyes.

Why the fuck am I thinking of all these random thoughts?

"Are you okay?" She asked me, and I felt her hoof touch my shoulder.

I nodded and rubbed my eyes, not meeting her gaze. I looked in the other direction for a moment to regain myself. "Yeah, yeah," I started and turned back to her. "I don't know; It's pretty weird, I know. Sorry."

She looked at me worriedly, before I again said with a broken voice. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, please." She said, her expression changing and she shifted to face me with her whole body. "I know we haven't talked much lately, but... I like talking to you. I know it's been hard for you, but I just want you to know that... I really miss you."

That did it for me. I didn't have time to catch myself before I felt tears running down my cheeks, and I grabbed my face with my hands. My body shook as I silently cried, and I felt my daughter's hoof on my shoulder as I shook and sobbed. She didn't say anything. She didn't tell me to stop crying, she didn't tell me to say anything to her.

After a few minutes had passed, I removed my hands and wiped my face before looking at her. She was smiling at me sweetly, waiting for me to make a move, her hoof still on my shoulder.

"Fluffy... I don't even know what to say. I... I've missed having you around, too." I pushed the words out of me before they wouldn't, trying not to meet her eyes. Her hoof would rub my shoulder gently, and I never made a move to stop her. I didn't want to.

This little pony was so patient, so caring. She would give me just the thing I needed, which was her support. Why couldn't I be the one doing this part? That's what I always wished I could do.

I envy her, I wish I had her courage. Where did she even get it from?

She didn't respond to me. I just heard some sniffing next to me. I looked over at her and saw that her eyes were welling up with tears, too. Her cheeks were flushed, and her mouth was in a pout. But it wasn't a bad pout.

She smiled at me through her tears. For some reason, my vision was truly starting to fade this time. Everything around me dissolved, and I slowly felt myself become weightless as my vision darkened.

The last thing I saw before I left the dreamscape was my daughter's face, smiling with her teeth at me, and that image would be burned into my memory forever.

A Long Way Down

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When I woke up from my dream, my mind felt hazy. The memories were fresh from the dream, but all the events felt jumbled like they were jumping back and forth. Was Fluffy actually there, in my dream? Was that a figment of my imagination?

I had no idea. The memories of the dream were rapidly fading away, but not the feelings it left me with. They felt stronger than ever. I felt more clear now than I ever had felt in a long time, and my determination was ablaze.

I reached a hand up and rubbed the tiredness out of my face. I needed to start acting on these feelings that were stirring inside me before I lost them again. I don't want to be a failure anymore.

So, there was still one problem I needed to take with me into the day. What's something fun my daughter would like to do, something we could do together? I needed to figure something out.

These thoughts would probably invade my mind for most of the day. With that in mind, I got out of bed and started getting dressed, since I didn't really feel like going back to sleep.

I decided that since it was still early, and since I was still feeling peppy from my nice dream, I would prepare Fluffy a nice surprise pancake breakfast, to start the day with a good feeling.

So, with a skip in my step, and a new determination in my heart, I made my way out of my bedroom. Fluffy wasn't up yet, and part of me was still wondering if I had just dreamt about Luna, too. Now that I mention it...

Is it even possible to dream about Princess Luna without it meaning she's actually there, in the dreamworld?

Strange thought, indeed. Anyway, before I got to my kitchen, I decided to check up on Fluffy, to see if she was still asleep.

A quick glance at the clock on the wall in the hallway told me it was early. Way too early to be up, and I didn't have to leave to go to work for another hour. So there was plenty of time to make a nice breakfast for us both.

I gently opened the door to her bedroom and saw that Fluffy was asleep in her bed. I didn't want to wake her until I was done with the food. When I saw her, I suddenly felt unsure again about having seen her in the dream. I still wasn't sure whether or not the dream I had was real.

I didn't want to suddenly act all chummy with her, not that I thought this small event would change much in our relationship. Part of me wanted to assume it did, and I desperately hoped Fluffy would feel the same. Can I really have broken the ice with her by not even being awake? I needed to be able to do this outside of a dream, but then comes the challenge of how?

I went into my kitchen to grab some appliances for making pancakes. Flour, a whisk, sugar, butter, and a bowl. As I searched for the rest, I kept thinking about Fluffy.

I couldn't just walk up to her and say 'Hey Fluffy, how about you and I go back to being a nice, big, happy family?' I'd already considered that, and I just could not get myself to be so forward. I needed to make it count. I needed to let her know just how much I wanted to go back, no, how much I wanted to go into a new life with her in it.

I know she longs for it, so I have to...

I have to...

What the fuck is going on with me?

As I was casually cracking eggs into a bowl while whistling a tune, I stopped myself completely. My body shut down and I froze in place.

In my mind, doubts and thoughts entered like a freight train. It had only been just a few days since all I wanted to do was go back to my normal life. I kept telling myself I was fine the way I was, but at the same time, I knew deep inside that I wasn't okay at all.

A few days ago I just wanted my parents to take Fluffy and go, but the thought of that now hurts my head. I hadn't seen my parents in a few days now, but I now found myself hoping they wouldn't come back, just so I could have some more time with Fluffy to make things right.

What confuses and hurts my head the most, however, is the fact that I am now actively trying to get back into being a dad who cares for his little girl. Why has my mind shifted so much in this short amount of time? What happened to make it all feel so possible all of a sudden? I saw some of the moments pass through my memories, and it made me feel warm. This is something that I wanted all along, deep inside.

I stood there, completely frozen in place, as I went through the past few weeks in my head. A lot had happened. More than had ever happened since... Since I lost part of myself. I made a choice to lose more than what I had already lost back then, and here I found myself regretting it all. I felt my eyes getting moist as I went through all of it in my head. Right then, I felt more sure than ever.

I am going to make that little girl smile again.

Feeling a surge of motivation, and a rejuvenated sense of self, I put my back into preparing the best breakfast a young filly would die for. A stack of delicious pancakes with syrup, sugar, jam, and berries. This meal might just be enough calories for an entire day, but young ponies don't have to worry about that, only the fossils among us.

Recalling how old I was these days hurt my head, so I tried not to think too much about it.

Before I finished the breakfast, I heard a shuffling noise to my left and saw the door to Fluffy's room slowly opening. I saw her peeking through the crack before she emerged slowly. She looked tired as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep. However, it seems the smell of food was much more tempting than sleep. She appeared to be drooling.

All the determination I had going for me froze up momentarily when I saw her, but I pulled myself together as best as I could. "Good morning. Want some breakfast?" I cracked a small smile.

She yawned and nodded. "Morning. Yeah, I would love some. It smells really good."

Despite her tired look, there was just something about this filly that shone brightly. Why was it that every time I looked at her, I felt so proud and happy for her? I felt this incredibly warm feeling inside me, telling me I needed to praise her for something she hadn't even done. Is this what every parent feels for their kids?

I turned around and picked up a plate that had a couple of the pancakes I had prepared on it, and put them on the table for her. She licked her lips as I poured syrup on top and spread some berries over it. Fluffy eagerly trotted out of the doorway to her room and sat down at the table. She looked at me with a smile. "Do you make this every morning?"

I shook my head and chuckled. "No, only on good days." I grabbed the other plate, and sat down next to her, putting the plate down in front of me. "I don't usually make much breakfast. It's always a bit of a rush since I'm going to work so early. I usually eat something simple at work."

Fluffy looked at me, food already having entered her mouth and she was trying to chew it before answering. "So today is a good day?" She said, eager to talk before swallowing.

I nodded and looked back at her with a shy smile. I wasn't sure how I was going to broach the subject of the dream. Should I even tell her about it? If she doesn't even remember it, it's going to seem weird, right?

She cleared her throat and put her fork down for a moment. "Um, so... I had this weird thing happen in the middle of the night. A dream, actually." She seemed to hesitate. "I was just wondering... if you had the same dream, too."

I blinked a few times and looked at her, not sure what to say. No way.

So, she did remember it. "Um, actually, yeah, I had the same dream. You were there, weren't you?"

She looked at me excitedly, like I just told her we just won a million bits. "So, you were there, too! Oh wow, I can't believe we were both in the same dream." She said excitedly.

I smiled back at her and felt my worries melt away from me. "I-I know, neither can I! I think it was really cool though, being able to be there. To do those things, with you, no less."

She grinned back at me, and her cheeks turned a little red. "Yeah, that was amazing." She said softly.

I had never seen this side of Fluffy, and I couldn't help but feel this was the real her. There was no masking of any kind. No front she was putting up. This was all her. The fact that she was so unsure about bringing up the dream led me to believe that she had also been worrying about the same things I had been worrying about. So, I guess she did inherit some parts of me after all. Good to know.

"So, uh... I was just wondering if it made you happy?" I hesitantly asked her after a brief silence.

She gave me a very sweet look and totally forgot about her food. "Yes! Very! I can't remember the last time we had so much fun together. Thank you so much for that. To be honest, I have sort of forgotten what we did in the dream. I can remember feeling really nice though, you know what I mean?"

I nodded and understood exactly. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The same thing's happening to me right now, too."

We both laughed at the situation, and I wanted to try to express my gratitude to her, too. "I had a lot of fun, kiddo. And seriously, those wings? Totally me."

She giggled at my comment. This was it. Time to jump into it. My heart was already jumping at the feeling of finally being out in the open about something with her. I felt warm, my mouth was dry, and my pulse was going very fast.

"Fluffy?" I asked, and she stopped giggling. I could see her eyes reddening a bit, she was actually gathering up some small tears in her eyes. I figured it was from laughing at my shitty joke, mixed with tiredness.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"I... I was wondering if maybe you would want to, I dunno, do something together?" I was feeling very nervous, and my voice was shaking slightly. "Maybe not a trip to the stars, but..."

"Really?!" She exclaimed and looked at me with disbelief. "You wanna do something with me?"

I smiled. "Of course! It'd be great. I mean, I know we have been a bit distant, but I really would love to hang out with you."

Her face lit up and she had a huge grin. "I'd love to!"

My emotions swelled. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Her smile made me feel warm inside, and my cheeks were heating up from how silly I felt being scared about asking her. I always worried she would say no, and that she would turn away and never come back if I ever tried opening myself to her.

Why would anyone be scared to be open with their family? I don't have the answer to that.

It made me feel like back in the good old days when I had Willow at my side. This was a different situation, of course, but when I would ask her to hang out and do things with me, I would always feel so content with myself. It felt like such a small thing, but the memories made my emotions sugary sweet.

It made me feel like a different person. When this side of me came out, I would be pretty annoying to look back on, as I would feel extremely embarrassed about my own behavior when I had time to reflect. It was nice reminiscing about all of this, though. It took me way back to when I first asked Willow to come with me to...

An idea struck me. I knew where we could go.

"So, do you wanna go somewhere this weekend?" I asked Fluffy. "I don't know when grandma and grandpa come back, but who cares what they have to say?"

"Of course! Where are we going?" She asked curiously as she stifled a round of giggles.

"That's a surprise. You'll love it, trust me. Your mom and I used to go there all the time."

It came out without me even really thinking about it. I had brought up the one thing that I really didn't want to bring up with Fluffy. Not because she didn't know what happened with Willow, but because I never wanted to talk to her about it. I just didn't want her to feel bad about it or have it bother her at all.

Ponies and people don't work like that, Jean. You know that. My subconscious loved poking me with common sense. Something I never appreciate.

It was like a bucket of cold water being dumped over my head, and I felt like an idiot.

Fluffy looked at me hesitantly, as if talking more would make me shatter like glass. "Mom and you?"

Okay, so she didn't seem to want to dwell on it and tried to move it along. I nodded stiffly. "Yeah. We, uh... we liked going to a lot of different places." I started and started eating some food in between my words. I totally forgot to eat anything. "She would always try to go somewhere new, but this place was somewhere we could always go back to for some comfort."

We moved away from the uncomfortable silence to me telling about my travels with Willow. Fluffy listened patiently and seemed to really enjoy hearing about it. I didn't really mind telling her about Willow, because these were nicer memories. The poor filly never really got to actually know her mom that well, and that's partly my fault for not telling her anything before now.

However, it seemed like she was enjoying herself while I talked to her, and that made me happy.

Fluffy was listening to me talk without interrupting, though sometimes it looked like she wanted to comment on something. I was sure she had a lot she wanted to say but decided not to take it here.

I didn't want to talk too much about the bad stuff, so instead, I wanted to talk about the good parts. I know she had questions. These questions I would someday have to answer. If only I could give her any actual good excuse as to why things turned out the way they did.

It doesn't matter anymore. What matters now, is how I handle things going forward. And I will-

The front door of my house suddenly started banging. Me and Fluffy jumped, as I was in the middle of talking about me and Willows's trip to Saddle Arabia. I could hear crying coming from outside and a voice begging to be let in. It was Sugar Plum's voice.

Shit. Shit!

I jumped up from my seat and ran to my front door, unlocked it, and threw it open. A cold chill met me along with a broken Sugar Plum.

She fell into my entryway, her face beaten and bruised. From the moment I saw her, I felt a chill run down my spine. A voice in my head was trying to prevent me from going on a murderous rampage across Canterlot to find a certain pony to rip his tail off and feed it to him.

"Sugar!" I yelped and bent down to check her as she cried hysterically. I checked to make sure nobody was behind her, before pulling her very gently into my house and shutting the door. I needed to get a handle on the situation and gauge her damages to help her.

I never wanted to see this scene again...

Fluffy had joined us at the entrance of my house. She looked horrified at the scene in front of her but came to help regardless. As she was approaching, I had an idea. "Fluffy, go get some a towel and some tissues. Go into the medicine cabinet and bring as much of what's in there as you can, okay?"

She nodded and went into my bathroom without missing a beat. The last time this happened, I didn't have a helper like her around, but now I do. Just that feeling alone sparked some sort of pride in me. I turned back to Sugar who was drooling snot all over my floor as she cried and tried to talk to me through sobs. "Jean... I-I'm sorry for, c-coming here again,"

I scoffed. "Don't be, right now you just need to lay still and let me take care of you," I commanded her and sat down on my knees and put her head in my lap. I was very careful and checked to see if she had any severe injuries besides the ones I could see. "I told you that you could come back here if you ever needed to. If I found out about this later and realized you didn't come to me, I would be seriously pissed off."

Sugar Plum snorted as a response, but it ended up hurting her. She was bleeding from her nose, and the wound that had previously closed had re-opened. Her eye was black and she had bruises on her forehead, her cheeks, and her chin. This time had been the worst one for her, by far.

He had not held back. It made me so mad I wanted to sprint out of my front door, but I knew I would do something that I would regret if I did. So, I kept her head still on my lap for my own sake as well.

There was a moment of silence as she continued to cry on me before I started talking. "This time, he isn't getting away with this. Do you understand?" I stated. It was not a matter to be discussed, she would simply have to accept it. She cried harder as I said it, but nodded through her tears. She didn't say anything against it, to my great delight.

I didn't like the feeling I had inside me. I was never a violent man, and I never wanted to resort to violence, so I wasn't enjoying the feeling inside me right now. It was telling me that I should be violent, that I should return the favor unto Cog.

I wanted to purge the feeling from myself, I didn't believe an eye for an eye was something anyone should live by. So, I decided to handle it a different way, quelling the intense lust for justice in myself much to my chagrin. Right now, Sugar didn't need another angry guy with her. I gently stroked her mane as I let her cry on me.

Once Fluffy came back into the room with medicinal gear strewn over her wings, I got to work. Fluffy stuck close to Sugar, stroking her back and telling her it would be okay. This made Sugar calm down a little bit, but she was probably very shaken up. One could only imagine what a victim of domestic abuse goes through in their mind.

I would never aim to find out.

Fluffy didn't know about Sugar and Cog's relationship. To my knowledge, I wasn't sure if she even knew Sugar Plum was married. She had barely just met her, but they seemed to have already made a connection between each other.

Fluffy kept comforting Sugar, and eventually, her crying had died down to sniffles. She wasn't damaged beyond repair, and it was a fairly painless procedure to treat her injuries. I had to patch up her nose again, I put some ice on her eye and just went over her smaller wounds with some wet wipes and bandaged the biggest ones. No stitches were needed, it seemed. Other than that, she would have to suffer through the bruises as best as she could until they faded. I hated that.

It had been about twenty-five minutes since she banged on my door, and at that point, I felt like I was ready to get moving. We hadn't talked much since she arrived, but she did when I went to leave my house. "Jean, what are you going to do?"

I turned to her after putting on my coat. "You're not going to work today. You're staying here where we're gonna take care of you. Okay?"

She looked back to Fluffy and stood up properly before answering me with a horse voice. "And I w-want to thank you for that... I can't explain to you how grateful I am to you, but that doesn't answer my question, Jean."

I went to open my door, without looking back. "I'm gonna go turn his wheel."

My trip across Canterlot was quiet. Nobody was awake yet as it was still early morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet, and it was quite chilly. It fueled my irritated mind that Sugar had to run outside early morning in this cold weather without any warmth around her. If only I could have been there to keep her warm.

For a moment I felt a bit odd thinking I would like to have been there with her to comfort her, but when I thought about it, it didn't feel strange at all. Me and Sugar had always had a good tone between each other, and lately, that tone felt like it had taken a slightly different direction. I wasn't unhappy about it, but like everything else lately, it had been a bit overwhelming.

I wonder how I will handle these feelings once things settle down around here?

I had my hands in my pockets and walked as fast as I could without running. I may have made my intentions a bit unclear to Sugar Plum and Fluffy as I left the house, but I wasn't going to hurt Cog. I wanted answers. I just wanted to tell him that I wasn't going to stand for his bullshit anymore. I wanted him to hear it.

My destination was not far from here. My feelings on the matter might change when I see his ugly face again, I might lose control. He might shoot me down or threaten to beat me too. The outcome depends on him.

Cog and Sugar's house was just outside the inner city limits of Canterlot, in a rural area. It was a nice place, with a nice house and a large garden. There was a greenhouse outside and a lot of different plants and fruits growing. All of it was covered in snow now, but I had seen it in the summertime.

Sugar Plum was the only reason their house looked nice. From what I knew about their life, which wasn't much, Cog didn't have a job. All he did was drink and yell. Other than that, Sugar told me he would leave the house late at night and come back early morning. I guessed that whatever he was doing tonight went totally off the rails.

I approached the house and stopped a couple of meters away from the front door. It was closed and there was a light on inside. He was probably still awake at this point, I didn't think that any abusive husband could go to bed with a clear conscience after doing that to his wife.

I walked up to the front door and banged on it with my fist.

Nothing.

I knocked again, this time a bit harder. "Cog Wheel, open this door right now."

Still nothing.

I didn't want to knock any louder. I really didn't want to disturb the neighborhood I was in this early. It was already bad enough with how things had gone today, and I didn't want there to be some huge deal that would get covered by any news outlets.

"Cog, we need to talk," I said as loud as I could without screaming.

Not a sound.

Without much care of breaking and entering, I went for the door handle. I tried it, and I felt the door open. Surprised he would leave it open, I slowly pulled it toward me and looked inside.

I could only see the dimly lit entryway, and I could tell someone had come through here in a hurry. The carpet had been curled up and a bunch of stuff was tilted over. I walked in and left the door open in case I had to get out in a hurry.

"I'm coming in," I said out loud, not expecting an answer. I was greeted with a very cold silence. It was increasingly unsettling. For a moment I was expecting him to be hiding in the shadows to ambush me when another thought hit me.

Did he run away?

Of course, the best thing to do in this situation would be to leave town and hope nobody finds him. He probably knew things had gone too far this time and decided to bail. I cursed myself for not running over here straight away. "Fuck."

I looked around the hallway and then moved on into the living room. Nothing. Not a single sign of him.

That was when I heard a noise.

It sounded like something breaking. A loud crash came from upstairs. My eyes went wide. He was still here.

"Cog Wheel!" I yelled and ran up the stairs, taking them two steps at a time. I didn't know the layout of this house, so I kind of went with my gut. When I got to the top of the stairs, I was met with a hallway and two closed doors. Without wasting any time, I went over to grab the door handle of one of them and swung it open.

I was met with an image I wasn't expecting to see, and it made my brain twist. The room was a mess, there was blood on the ground, and in the middle of the room was a chair that had fallen to the ground. Right above that chair, hanging in the middle of the room, was Cog Wheel.

My head was in the process of restarting, so I didn't have the proper processing to react as fast as I would have wished.

"Hey!" I yelled and sprinted over to him when I was finally able to return to my senses. He wasn't passed out yet, he was choking. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

I grabbed him and heaved him up. "I'm not letting you do this!" I yelled as I tried to hold him up. I heard him gasp for air, and then he started to struggle. I reached up and tugged at the rope around his neck, and after a lot of struggling, I was able to loosen it for him. I lifted him up more, and at that point, he assisted me and freed himself.

He fell to the ground, breathing heavily. He was coughing and hacking with all his might. "Are you out of your mind?!" I shouted at him and got down on my knees to look at him. His face was purple and his eyes were bulging out of his head. He had been on the verge of passing out.

He was wheezing and holding his chest as he took in gulps of air. He couldn't say a single word, he was too busy trying to breathe. He looked horrible like his lungs had shriveled up in his chest.

"How could you do this to her?!" I said as I grabbed his shoulder and shook him in frustration. He flinched, but he didn't seem to have the energy to do much more. He was still coughing and sputtering, so I gave him a minute to recuperate.

I pushed away for him and sat on the floor, waiting. After a few moments of his coughing subsiding, he finally spoke. "Why did you stop me?"

I frowned. "Because I'm not just going to watch someone die when I can stop it. And you're not going to run away from the things you've done!" I said to him and stood up again. He looked down to the ground and banged his head on the carpeted floor gently.

"Why are you here?" He asked weakly.

"I came here to give you a piece of my mind, so I wasn't really expecting to see you like this."

"Yeah, no shit."

"How long were you hanging there? Were you waiting for me or something?"

"No." He croaked weakly. "I was trying to do this since she left but I chickened out. When you came, I had no other choice."

"So you're not a stallion, huh? You're just a fucking coward." I challenged him. He seemed to take the bait.

"Shut up! Don't say a fucking word! You don't know shit about me!"

"You're right. I don't. So why don't you tell me why the fuck you're beating the shit out of your wife, and why you just tried to kill yourself?"

"So, let me get this straight. You beat her senseless today because you wanted her to hate you so that you could kill yourself without her feeling bad? Do you seriously think she wouldn't be upset about it?" I asked after hearing his explanation.

We were sitting in their kitchen. He poured himself some liquor and I just sat there, not really feeling like drinking anything. He offered me some, but I turned it down. The situation had calmed down, and I wasn't really feeling my blood boil like earlier. Things had taken a turn for me, yet again. I was now a therapist for the guy who abused my friend. And it's not even eight in the morning.

Go figure.

I was supposed to go to work in five minutes. Needless to say, I won't be coming in today. I had way too much stuff going on. I would just pray that the others would manage in some way or another. Without me or Sugar, there might be some issues. Giddy would have to step in as the leader today.

I'm really counting on you, Giddy. Don't let me down.

Cog took another swig of his drink. "Everything changed when she told me she was afraid to go back home because she knew I was going to hurt her," Cog said. He sounded broken like he had been defeated.

I scoffed. "You did this to her. Don't you understand that your actions have consequences? She's afraid of you."

He nodded. "Of course, I do. Things weren't always like this..." I put his head in his hooves as he rubbed his face.

I looked at him, not really feeling much pity. Anyone with a brain could tell Cog was beyond broken. He had a constant case of dark rings around his eyes. He had gained weight, and he seemed to me like those guys who are always bitter and complain about something. I had never had a proper conversation with him before, and I never wanted to talk to him.

But here I was.

"So, what the hell happened? Why did all this have to happen? She's a pony with her own life, and you've been fucking it up. So tell me what happened, because I'm involved in this now." I said as I leaned forward in the chair.

Cog took a sip of his liquor and swallowed hard. He took a deep breath before he started.

"Me and Sugar used to be happy together. We had our problems, but we never argued or fought. Then, one day, I was tempted into playing the lottery after it was announced there would be a grand prize." He gulped another large swig of alcohol before continuing. "I ended up playing, and I won. On my first try. I never touched anything that had anything to do with lotteries or gambling before that time." He said, looking to the ground as he spoke.

I raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't really sound like a problem."

"No, it wasn't. Not at first. But that wasn't the problem. After winning the lottery, we had enough money to buy a big house, and to have a good life together. While that was all well and good, I started giving in to some other feelings. I was suddenly very tempted by the world, and the temptations were absolutely everywhere." He said somberly, reflecting on his past mistakes.

"What were these temptations?" I asked, kind of already guessing what he meant. I just wanted to keep him talking, because it was de-escalating his mood drastically.

"I wanted more money so that we could continue living a happy life. I spent so much on gambling... I ended up in debt. Not only did I lose the small fortune we had to drinking and gambling, but I started seeing my wife as a problem." He said, shaking his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, not understanding where this was going.

"At some point, I started blaming her for not stopping me." He said without much emotion and took another swig of his drink.

I was appalled. "Are you saying she should have stopped you from doing whatever the hell you wanted to do?"

He sighed deeply. "Yes, that's what I kept telling myself. I started treating her poorly because of it. And after that, it was hard to go back. The damage had already been done. And I didn't have a way out. My life had spiraled out of control, and it was already too late."

"What a shitty reason to abuse someone," I said.

He put his bottle down with a 'clink'. "I know."

"Do you even have any idea how bad she has it right now?" I asked, leaning forward in my seat and looking him in the eyes, challenging him to look back into mine.

He looked me dead in the eyes, his eyes full of sadness. "No. I don't. But I don't deserve to know, and I know that. Because I'm a coward."

"You're right." He said tiredly.

"What's the plan, Cog? You're not getting away with this, but I think you know that. So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm turning myself in." He said. He was holding his head in his hooves again, this time I could see tears streaming down his face behind them.

"Okay," I said.

There was silence.

He started sobbing. "Will you help me?"

I thought for a second that he was asking me to forgive him. Forgiveness wasn't something he could be granted at the moment, from either part. After a moment of deliberation, I had a feeling he just wanted someone to be there with him as he turned himself in.

Cog didn't have anyone besides his wife. He and Sugar barely talked, and when they did, they would argue. He didn't have any friends, or anyone he could talk to. Maybe now, for the first time in a long time, he wanted to stretch out his hoof to somebody.

I had a moment of 'fucking hell, when is this shit going to end?', but I wanted this to go as smoothly as possible for Sugar. I wanted things to work out for her because I truly and honestly cared about her. I could see how much she struggled. Cog had just tried to kill himself to avoid living with himself any more, but now he was ready to face his actions head-on. I had to make sure it stayed that way, for Sugar's sake.

"...Okay. I'll help you."

That morning, just fifteen minutes later, Cog and I left his house with nothing but ourselves. He didn't bring anything with him. I walked next to him and said nothing as we walked to the castle to find a guard. It only took a ten-minute walk for us to get there, and when we did, I waved down a pair of guards patrolling the streets outside of the castle.

I explained everything, and Cog simply nodded his head and agreed to all the claims I had to say against him. After listening to the story, the guards nodded and told me they would take him into custody for questioning. It was a fairly painless procedure, and it couldn't have gone more smoothly. They didn't cuff him, they simply told him to follow. I didn't need to come with them, so I stayed where I was.

Cog looked at me one final time before he was escorted by the guards into a building next to the castle. I didn't understand what the look in his eyes was, but I think some part of him was able to make peace with what was happening.

At the end of this little ordeal, I was left feeling bitter. This wasn't what I wanted, not really.

I thought I didn't want anything else but to see Cog rot away inside a jail for years, but now that he was being taken away, I wasn't feeling satisfied. I felt angry and empty. Maybe he had a chance of bettering himself where he was going, but what was left now was fixing what was broken here. I didn't even know where to start with that, but I had to find a way. Somehow.

As I walked away, I looked up towards the sun. It was finally rising, and it was a beautiful scene. As it slowly rose over the city, it came to life. I walked through the morning streets of Canterlot, meeting some of the residents along the way. I knew so many of this city's residents, so I was greeted the whole way home by happy ponies wishing me a wonderful day.

I passed by The JeanDélicieux but didn't go in. I could see activity happening inside, and I felt secure that Giddy had everything under control.

But as much as I enjoyed seeing familiar faces, it didn't fill the void in my heart. As I walked through the city, I could only feel emptiness inside. No matter how many smiles I would see, no matter how many ponies would say hello to me, nothing would make me feel better. How would I tell Sugar what happened to Cog?

Would she be happy? Would she cry? Would she want to know at all? I was lost, and I was afraid. I was so tired.

In a way, I started seeing myself in Cog. He was in a hopeless place, because of something huge that had happened to him. Of course, our stories are a bit different, but we always have a choice, in the end. I chose to distance myself when I lost my wife, Cog chose to ruin his life and he ended up losing his wife in the process. What was left for him now?

If anything, I would be even more grateful that I now had a chance to take my broken life back. If I ever needed more of a boost to make it happen, I supposed this would be one of them. But, despite all this, I was getting near the end of my patience with so many unforeseen things happening.

I needed all this stress out of my life, and I needed peace.

But most of all, I needed to see Sugar.

And actually, seeing my daughter would help a lot, too.

So without any more fuss, I left the streets of Canterlot and made my way home.