Chapter 23

“Awe, isn’t that just the cutest thing that you ever saw?” I heard as I was waking up from my slumber. I could feel soft fur in front of me and in my arms, and then I remembered that Scootaloo was sleeping right next to me. With a yawn, I opened my eyes, and noticed that Scoots and I were not alone anymore.

Standing right next to our bed was Luna and Twilight, adoring smiles on both of their faces. I smiled back at them, and said in a low tone to avoid waking the sleeping orange filly, “Morning, girls, any reason why you’re in my room?”

Luna nodded, saying, “Well, long story short, I have been summoned back to Canterlot by my sister to deal with some royal matters that have turned up, and also, she has requested that you come as well.”

I raised an eyebrow at that, saying, “Why does she want me?”

“I’m assuming that she has some feelings for you, too.” Said Luna. I blinked in surprise, not fully comprehending what she said to me, and said, “I’m sorry, I must be more tired then I thought, for I could have sworn that I heard you say that your sister has a crush on me.”

However, Luna nodded, saying, “That is exactly what I’m saying, though I don’t think that she fully knows it herself yet.”

Now I was really confused, for I already had one of the Princesses in my herd, but to have two, I was left speechless, my mouth hanging open. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just said nothing. The two ponies noticed this, and they became worried at my expression.

“What’s wrong, Drak, aren’t you excited about having my sister want to join our herd too?” Asked Luna, concern showing in her eyes.

“Well, its just that, I’m not sure how I feel about having your sister join us as well, I mean, you’re already in our herd, so…” I said, trying to explain my reasoning.

Twilight cocked her head to the side, a confused look on her face. “That doesn’t’ sound like a good reason, Drak.”

I opened my mouth to try and defend myself again, and then closed it, for then I realized that I really didn’t have a good reason for her to not join our herd. I stayed quiet for a while, just thinking about everything that they had said to me so far. After a few more moments of complete silence, I slowly nodded to myself. “I guess you girls are right.” I said. “I really don’t have a good reason for not having her to join our herd. However, are the others ok with this?”

Luna smiled when I said that I would agree to it, and she said, “Why don’t you ask them, they’re all waiting for you downstairs.”

I blinked in surprise, and then I said, “Wait, everypony is downstairs?”

“Well, our friends and your herd mates, at least. Except for Trixie. I think she is still in the hospital at the moment” Said Twilight. I nodded my understanding, and then said, “Well, might as well get up now.” And with that, I gently nudged Scootaloo from her slumber, saying, “Hey, Scoots, time to get up now.”

Scootaloo mumbled something, and then she rolled over, saying, “Five more minutes.”

“Come on, Scootaloo, we got pancakes downstairs.” Said Twilight. At the mention of food, Scootaloo was immediately up, saying “Pancakes?”

I chuckled, saying, “Well, that’s what Twilight said, so I’m assuming that there are pancakes. You hungry?”

“Starving.” She said, a smile on her face. She then proceeded to jump out of the bed, but before she left the room, she turned towards me, and said, “Um, t-thanks for staying the night with me…Dad.”

I smiled at her, and said, “Hey, it wasn’t a problem, Scoots, I enjoyed keeping you company.” Scootaloo blushed at my comment, and then she went downstairs to enjoy her meal.

I sighed, and then turned to the other two ponies in the room, and said, “Alright, I’ll see what the others think of this first, and then I’ll think on what to do next, ok?” they both nodded, and with that, I got out of bed and got dressed as they both went downstairs to eat as well.

Once downstairs, I saw that everypony was downstairs, and this included my marefriends as well as my other friends. The only pony that I didn’t see was Pinkie Pie, and I thought that was fine by me, since there is only so much craziness I can take from the pink pony. I took my place at the table, and then AJ asked, “So, partner, you goin’ ta ask another Princess to join our herd?”

I was quiet for a few seconds, looking at all of them, and then I said, “I guess, but first I want to know if it’s alright with the rest of you girls, ok?”

They were all quiet for a second, looking at each other, and then they turned towards me and nodded. I was quiet for a few seconds, and then I sighed, saying, “Well then, I guess it’s just up to Celestia herself if she wants to join or not”

“Yay! That means I get two Princesses as my aunties now!” Shouted Dinky in joy, jumping in the air excitedly. I couldn’t stay upset after something like that, so I chuckled, saying, “Well, if she says yes, Muffin, then you will.” Everypony smiled as well, and then we all began to eat our breakfasts.

As we were finishing, Luna said to me, “Oh, by the way, Twilight wants to ask you something.” At this, the purple pony herself froze, and she slowly turned to Luna, saying, “I told you, I’ll say it when I’m ready.”

“Well, I think that you’re ready now.” Said the Princess of the Night. Everypony was quiet in anticipation, waiting for Twilight to say what she wanted to say, and then, slowly, she mumbled something, but it wasn’t audible to the rest of us. I leaned in, and said, “Um, can you repeat that?”

“I…uh, I-I w-w-want to j-j-join your herd, Drak.” She said, still in a low, but this time hearable tone. I blinked in surprise, and then I realized that this was what she wanted to tell me last night, and that it must have taken a lot of courage to tell me just now, especially in front of all of my other herd mates. I took a quick look around, and surprisingly, everypony didn’t seemed as surprise as I was.

“Well, it’s about time, partner. Ah was wondering when you were going to join us.” Said AJ, a big smile on her face. I looked at the others, and I noticed that they all had smiles on their faces. I was confused for a second, and apparently, so was Twilight.

“W-what do you mean, AJ?” Asked the unicorn librarian.

“It was obvious that you had some feelings for Drak, darling, we could all tell that it was a matter of time before you finally asked him yourself.” Proclaimed Rarity.

“Indeed, though if you had waited any longer, then I would have told him myself.” Said Luna, a smug grin on her face, making Twilight blush even more.

“Plus, you’re not the best at keeping a secret for long.” Said Dash, a smug look on her face.

We were all quiet for a while, none of us saying a word, and then Lotus said, “Well, Drak, are you going to accept her, knowing that the rest of us girls are ok with it?”

I was quiet again, looking at all of the ponies in the room. They all were looking at me, waiting with anticipation. Finally, I said, “Well, I would, Twi, I really would, but I don’t know if I feel the same way with you. I’m sorry.” At this, Twilight gained a mournful expression, as well as the others in the room. Finally, Fluttershy was the one to break the silence.

“W-well, w-what if y-you kissed her? If y-y-you feel the same thing that you felt by kissing us, then would you let her join?” I was quiet again, thinking about what Fluttershy just said. She did have a point, so far, with all of my marefriends I have felt those so-called fireworks going off, and I always fell for them afterwards.

I shrugged, saying, “Well, I guess it can’t hurt to try. You ok w-”

Before I could finish my sentence, Twilight suddenly jumps on me, making me topple to the ground. I grunted as I hit the ground, but before I could say anything, I could feel the fireworks beginning to go off, and when I opened my eyes, I noticed that the purple unicorn was already kissing me, her eyes tightly shut. I was stunned for a second, and then my instincts took over, and I began to kiss her back. Everypony was quiet in the room, looking at the two of us kissing each other. I then felt Twilight slip her tongue into my mouth, and I began to caress her muscle with my own. We stayed like this for I don’t know how long, but every second of her heavenly touch was amazing. Even though I loved the feeling of Twilight’s lips on my own, I was starting to get a little light headed, and after another good while, I heard somepony say, “Twilight, he needs to breath!”

Immediately, I felt her lips leave my own, and as soon as she did, I began to gasp for air. As soon as I began to breath normally, I looked at Twilight and noticed that she had a very big blush on her face.

“I…I’m so sorry Drak, I just…I just had to try and, well, see if I felt anything.” Said Twilight, a nervous look on her face.

“Well, did you, feel anything?” I asked, still trying to catch my breath.

The purple unicorn was quiet for a while, and then she slowly nodded. I smiled at this and said, “Good, cause I definitely felt the fireworks as well.”

Everypony was quiet for a moment, not daring to say anything, and then, slowly, Twilight spoke.

“S-s-so, I can…I can join your herd?”

I smiled and nodded, saying, “I would love you to join our herd, Twi.”

Twilight was quiet for a while, and then she gently gave me a hug, and I hugged her back with an equal amount of affection. All of my other marefriends looked on at us, all with smiles on our faces. After a few seconds, Luna cleared her throat, and when we separated from our hug, she said, “While I’m glad that Twilight is part of our herd now, we still need to go and get my sister to join as well.” I nodded, and then looked back at my newest herd mate, and she looked back at me, and I could see the happiness and love flowing through her dark amethyst eyes. I smiled, and then said, “Ok, Luna, but first, I need to do one more thing.”

Before anypony could say anything else, I brought Twilight back into another passionate kiss. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she slowly closed her eyes. We stayed there like that for a while, and then we heard somepony clearing their throat. We separated, and when we looked to see where the noise came from, we were surprised to see Trixie standing in the doorway, not wearing her usual hat and cloak.

No pony said anything while Trixie stood there, her face was unreadable to me, and then, the azure unicorn slowly walked towards us, and when she was right next to us, she stopped, and looked at both of us silently.

“So, Twilight Sparkle’s in the herd?” She asked. I nodded. “I understand that you and Twilight have some bad blood between the two of you, but is their any way that you both could forgive each other?” I asked, concern in my voice.

“I’m willing to forgive what happened between us if you are, Trixie.” Said Twilight, approaching the magician pony. Trixie was quiet, apparently thinking hard on what she said. After a few painstakingly long moments, she nodded, and said, “Trixie forgives you, as long as you can teach Trixie a few things about magic casting, since…since I only know simple tricks and illusions.”

Twilight was quiet, and then she nodded. “I would love to teach you some things, Trixie. You can learn them during Drak’s classes, if you want to.” She said, extending her hoof in a friendly gesture.

“Trixie accepts!” Exclaimed Trixie, placing her hoof next to Twilight’s and shaking it, making everypony smile. Once that was done, I asked, “So, Luna, when are we leaving?”

“We’re leaving right now, for she wants us there as soon as possible.” Luna said. I nodded and went to get my stuff ready. For my second trip to Canterlot, I decided to bring some extra clothing, my hoodie (obviously), and my bag of bits, leaving my weapons here since I doubt that I would need them. When I came back down from packing, I noticed that everypony was already gone, and the only ones here were Luna and Trixie.

“So, what are you going to do today, Trixie?” I asked the azure unicorn. The unicorn blushed at this, and then she said, “W-well, remember that you promised me that I could hang out with you before, but it kind of got…canceled.” I nodded. “Well, I was wondering if I could come and join you in Canterlot. I just…I really want to get to know my hero more, you know?”

I smiled, and gave her a kiss on the nose, which made her blush. “I would love to have you join us, as long as Luna is ok with it.”

“She already asked me, and I said that it’s fine. Also, I told her about Celestia possible joining our herd.” Said Luna.

I hesitated when she mentioned Celestia again. “Yea…about that. Are you sure you’re ok with your sister joining us?”

“Of course I am, in fact, I very much hope that she does join us.” She said. I thought about it for a second, and then, shrugging, I said, “Well, I guess I just need to see if I feel the same way, and then we will see what happens from there.”

They nodded, and with that, I began to head for the door to the library. When I reached it, I noticed that they didn’t follow me, so I stopped and said, “I thought you said that your sister wants us as soon as possible?”

Luna nodded. “She does, so we are going to teleport there.”

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief and then I remembered that I now lived in a world of magic, so it shouldn’t be that hard to believe in teleportation. I just shrugged, and I noticed that Trixie seemed to be holding something back, and when I took a closer look, I noticed that she was trying hard not to giggle.

“Well, I forgot I lived in a world of magic, ok. Everypony forgets things every once in a while.” I said, a slightly pained expression on my face. Needless to say, Trixie was unable to hold in her laughter, and she began to laugh her heart out, tears of laughter pouring out of her eyes. I just sighed, and then turned towards my other marefriend and asked, “So, how does this teleport stuff work?”

“Well, first off, I need you to take a hold of me.” She said, extending her wing slightly. I nodded, and went to gently grab her wing. When I took hold of it, though, I saw Luna shiver slightly. I was confused, and then I noticed that I was holding Luna’s wing by her g-spot, and I quickly switched my grasp closer to her wing tip.

“He, he…sorry.” I said, giving a sheepish grin. Luna raised an eyebrow, and then gave me a kiss on the cheek, saying, “Next time, warn me when you do that.”

I blushed at her comment, and then, with me ready, and Trixie holding onto Luna’s other wing, I saw her horn glow, and then a big flash of light.

The next thing I know, we are inside the main chamber were we first met the Princesses. I suddenly felt very sick, and I bend down, trying not to throw up. Trixie was immediately by my side, a worried look on her face

“You ok, Drak?” she asked, concern in her eyes. I tried to speak, but I then felt another wave of nausea rock me, and I doubled over, groaning in pain.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, first time teleports sometimes make the pony…or human, in your case…have a slight bout of nausea. It should go away in a few seconds, though.” I slowly nodded, and I could indeed feel the sickness starting to fade away. I then heard another voice speak.

“Lulu, what did you do to Drakalian?” I looked up, and noticed that Celestia was bending her head to stare right back at me, her pink eyes seeming to pierce my very soul. I was speechless for a second; for at that moment, I could see that she indeed had strong emotions for me, but, going by what Luna said, I’m assuming that she didn’t quite notice it herself. I then also realized that I was only inches away from the Sun Princess’s lips, and blushing, I quickly got myself up, dusting my knees and clearing my throat, saying, “Oh, hi, Celestia, I, uh…I didn’t see you there. I hope we’re not intruding on anything.”

Celestia giggled, and said, “No, you're not, Drak, though I do have my nephew that I’m going to be meeting shortly, so you’re welcome to stay and meet him, if you like.”

I was quiet for a moment, and then I said, “I guess I can. Is he this Blueblood that Luna told me about?” Both of the Princesses nodded. “Well, I can now see if what Luna said was true, then.”

Celestia cocked her head to the side, a confused look on her face. “What was it that she told you?”

“She said that he isn’t exactly the worlds nicest pony.”

Celestia sighed, and then she said, “True, but he is my nephew, and, well, it can be hard to try and correct him, sometimes.”

I nodded my understanding. “Well, I’ll just see what he’s like when he gets here.”

“When who gets here?” We all turned around to the voice, and standing by the doorway was a white unicorn with a blonde mane and tail. He appeared to be wearing the top part of a tux with a purple bowtie and a rose tucked to the side of his tux as well, and his cutie mark was a picture of a yellow and blue star.

“Well, speak of Discord.” Whispered Luna, her eyes narrowing a little. I took a glance at Trixie, and noticed that she seemed to be hiding behind Luna, shivering slightly.

“Hello, my nephew, I’m glad that you could join us today.” Said Celestia, a small smile on her face, though it seemed to be a little forced. The unicorn, now known as Prince Blueblood, simply stared at me, his eyes giving me a once over, a look of disgust could be seen in his eyes, and I could already tell that he didn’t like what he saw. After a few seconds, he slowly walked up towards us, however he stopped a good few feet away from me, though I thought it was best that he did so anyways.

“And what is this mutated…thing, Auntie?” He asked in a regal like tone, disgust in his voice. I raised an eyebrow at that, but decided to keep my mouth shut for the moment. Before Celestia could say anything, Luna spoke first.

“This ‘mutated thing’ that thou speakests of happens to be our coltfriend, Blueblood, and we doth hope that thou respects him as such.” She said, slipping into her old accent, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Blueblood, however, simply ignored her, and turning to the Sun Princess, asked, “So, Celestia, why did you invite me here?”

Celestia hesitated, and then said, “I invited you here because I wanted you to meet the newest member of the family.”

The unicorn raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Surely, you jest, auntie, for I could never accept such a horrid monstrosity into our family.”

“I’m not exactly too thrilled myself after seeing what I’ll have as a relative.” I said, unable to hold myself back any longer. Everypony was deathly quiet, the silence so thick that you could cut it with a knife. After a few tense moments, I heard a small giggle, and turning around, I noticed that Trixie was apparently trying hard not to laugh at what I just said.

Unfortunately, Blueblood heard this as well. “Who else is here? Show yourself!” He demanded. Trixie froze when he said that, and then, slowly, she stepped out from behind Luna. Once she was in view, the white unicorn’s eyes went wide eyed, and he said, “What is that criminal doing here, Celestia? Shouldn’t she be in jail for what she has done?”

“I have already pardoned Trixie for the crimes that she has committed a long time ago, and it would also be rude of me to place one of Drakalian’s herd mates into a dungeon.”

“Drak-who’s herd mate?” said the unicorn, cocking his head slightly to the side in confusion.

“That would be me.” I said, trying to keep myself calm. Thankfully, years of martial arts training helps with your self-control, though this ‘Prince’ was starting to test my patience.

“Oh, so you started a herd, instead of doing what a proper pony should, huh?” he said, a look of disgust in his eyes. I just stood there, arms crossed, not saying a word. “Well, if there is nothing else that needs to be done, I need to go and see if that old fool did what I requested of him to do and fire those ponies at the mailing department.” He said, before he turned and began to walk away. However, when he mentioned the mailing department, something inside my head clicked, and I said, “What a minute, what ponies did you tell him to fire?”

Blueblood paused for a second, and then he turned towards me, saying in a smug voice. “Well, I may have told the old stallion that his business would go out of commission and be replaced by a more reliable one if he didn’t fire some of the ponies there. Let’s see, if I recall, the ponies that I told him to fire were Trusty, Hazel Eye, Rusty, Derpy Hooves, Flint Lock, Jagged-”

“Wait, you’re the one that got Ditzy fired?” I said, my anger starting to rise in heat, but I brought it down again, knowing that it wouldn’t be good to hit him, even if I did want to.

He cocked his head to the side again, this time in amusement, and then said, ”Well, most ponies call her Derpy, cause of her eyes. They’re just so ridiculous, I mean, she’s always crashing into things anyways, and I had to clean up after her more then once, which was just a pain in my flank, do pardon my language. Also, she is just such an ugly Pegasus, she puts the name of those ponies to shame, with her messed up eyes, and that daughter of hers, I mean, she should be happy for what that unicorn did to her in Manehattan, even if she did get pregnant with a filly, for no pony in their right mind would even think about going out with her. In my honest opinion, what that unicorn did was a merciful thing to do, though it just pains me that I was unable to personally congratulate him before he died. Such a shame, for I even knew that unicorn before he got-”

At this point, I couldn’t take it any more, and I quickly gathered as much energy into my hands as I could, lifted Blueblood into the air, and then slammed him to the wall. The unicorn gasped as he made contact with the wall, the air getting knocked out of him, and then he sank towards the ground as I released my hold onto him. He slowly got up, gasping for air as I approached him. Once I got to where he landed, I took a hold of him by the neck with both hands, and slowly raised him up, my hands still glowing red, the magical current flowing hotly through me. I stared at him, trying to get all of my emotions my hate, anger, and rage, to show through my eyes. It seemed to work, for when he looked at me, I could see him begin to shake with fear, his eyes staring back into mine, unable to look away. I was quiet for a few seconds, and then, I spoke to him in a low voice full of my rage.

“What that pony did to my Ditzy was unacceptable at the highest of levels, and the fact that you want to personally thank him…that just sickens me. What kind of pony in their right mind would even think about another with such ignorance and such uncaring emotions? The fact that you’re actually related to two of Equestria’s Princesses makes it even worse. I hope, no, I pray that one day, you will find yourself without a home, no bits, no anything, and that somepony comes up and treats you like how you treated others, for only then would true justice be served.”

After my ranting, I was unable to hold onto my spell any longer, my hands ceased their glowing, and I slowly lowered him onto the floor. I could see the disbelief in his eyes, the fact that, at least, how I thought he saw it, some low life actually touched him, actually talked to him in such a fashion, the shear anger that he saw in my eyes, made him speechless, making him only capable of just opening and closing his mouth in horror. I stared at him for a few more seconds, letting the message sink in, and then I said, “Now, I want you to leave, and if I ever see you treating somepony badly, then prince or no prince, I will give you something to truly be afraid of.”

Blueblood was quiet for a moment, and then, he slowly got up and began to stagger towards the door. Before he left, though, he turned back to face me, anger in his eyes, and said, “You have any idea what I could do to you, you filthy animal? I could make the rest of your life here a living hell, coltfriend of the Princess or not, and there will be nothing that you could do! Now, I might be willing to forgive you if you start to beg for your life, maybe even give me a few bits as a start of your-”

I ignored the rest of what he said, shocked that he could still be like this, even after what I just did to him. Unable to contain myself anymore, I began to take a deep breath to tell him to get lost, but when I opened my mouth, something unexpected happened.

“I SAID LEAVE NOW!” I shouted, the vibration of my voice literally shaking the entire room to the very core. Blueblood took a few steps back, a shocked look in his eyes, and then, without another word, he shakily left the room, leaving me to deal with three very shocked ponies.

I looked at the two Alicorns and the unicorn, afraid of what I might see, and what I saw was what I expected. All three of the ponies had shocked expressions on their faces, and I didn’t blame them, for I did just assault a royal member of the family, and even if I am Luna’s coltfriend, I knew I would receive dire consequences.

I sighed, and then slowly approached the two monarchs. I kept walking until I was in front of them, keeping my head down to avoid eye contact. “So, mind telling me were the dungeons are?”

There was silence for a good while, and then Luna finally broke the silence. “W-w-why do you want to go to the dungeons, Drak?”

“Well, I did just assault a royal member of the family, so I assume that I would be arrested for my actions.”

“But what he said was cruel, and it was understandable that you acted how you did.”

“While it might be understandable, it is still unacceptable, and I still expect something to correct my actions.”

Luna was finally quieted, unable to think of anything else to say. I then looked to Celestia, who was quiet the entire time I was talking with her sister, thinking about everything that has been said so far. As she was thinking, I took a moment to look at Trixie, and I noticed that she seemed to have recovered quickly from her initial shock of what has happened. She looked at me, and I could see the worry in her eyes, so I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it didn’t even make me feel reassured, for I had no idea what Celestia might do to me. I looked back at the Sun Princess, waiting for my judgment. Finally, after what felt like a century, I saw a slight flash of emotions go across her eyes, but it was so brief that I thought it was just the light playing tricks on my eyes.

Celestia looked back at me, and I noticed that she was trying to make eye contact with me. Something told me that I shouldn’t look away like I normally do, so I held my place, looking back into her eyes. After a few seconds of both of us looking at each other, she finally spoke.

“While what my nephew did was unacceptable, what you did was just as bad as what he did, and I do believe that you should indeed be punished for what you did. However, instead of a dungeon sentence, I suggest that I keep an eye on you for the rest of the day while my sister handles the royal affairs of today. Is this acceptable to you?”

I didn’t even think about my answer, for anything would be better then staying in the dungeons for an unmarked period of time. “I gladly accept, Celestia. You truly are too kind to me.”

The white Alicorn blushed at this. “Well, I don’t know about that…”

“I have to agree with my sister, Drak, for I believe I know why she decided to ask you out instead of just placing you in the dungeon.” Said Luna. Celestia blushed at her younger sister’s comment, and it took me a second to figure out what she meant by that, and when I did figure it out, I too blushed.

Trixie didn’t quiet understand what was going on, however, and she asked, “What do you mean, Luna? Wasn’t your sister just being nice?” Luna bent down and whispered something into the unicorn’s ear, which caused Trixie to blush as well once she was told.

“I was just giving him an ultimatum, nothing more, Lulu.” Said Celestia, her blush still on her face.

“We knowest that thou was asking thy on a date. You just don’t knowest yet.” Said Luna, slipping into her old accent once again, causing her sister to blush even more. We were quiet for a few more seconds, and then, I decided to break the awkward silence.

I cleared my throat to get everypony’s attention. I smiled at Celestia and said, “Well, be it an ultimatum or a date, I still would love to hang out with you for the day, Celestia.”

Celestia was quiet for a while, and then she slowly nodded. “J-j-just l-let me g-g-get myself r-r-ready.” She said, blushing, before she began to quickly exit the room.

We were quiet for a while, no pony saying a word, and then, Luna said, “Told you that my sister likes you, Drak.”

I just shrugged, too tired to say anything else due to all of the activity that has happened so far. “So, what do we do now?“

I waited by the castle entrance, with two of the guards there to keep a watchful eye on me, since this was supposed to be my ‘punishment’. While I waited, I began to think about my feelings for Celestia. I have to admit, having two Princesses in my herd would be…awesome, to say the least, but I wasn’t one to brag about my skills or status, like a particular Prince. I could also tell that she indeed liked me, but if she would join our herd, then I would like for both of us to be in love, not just her. As I was deep in thought, I began to get sidetracked, and started to listen in on the guard’s conversation.

“While I think that Celestia made a good decision, I still think that she should have sent him to the dungeon for a good few days.” Said the first guard, a brown Earth pony.

“Why would you think that? I think that the human did good, what Prince Blueblood said to him was definitely uncalled for, and he had every right to do what he did.” Said the other guard, a tan Pegasus.

“And how would you know? I heard from one of the other guards that he threatened to kill the Prince, and even if he is a…well, prick, no pony should threaten another one in such a fashion.”

“You weren’t the one waiting outside the throne room when it happened. I was able to hear a bit about what they were talking about. I believe it had something to do with the fact that Blueblood somehow fired somepony that was close to the human.”

I decided to interrupt them at this point to correct them. “Close. It was actually one of my marefriends. And I didn’t threaten to kill him, just to severely scare him, maybe injure him a little, though I would have preferred not to, even if he is a prick.”

Both of the guards looked at me for a second, neither of them saying anything. Then, the Earth pony spoke.

“Well, do you regret doing what you did to him?”

I hesitated for a few seconds, unsure on what to say. Before I could say anything, however, all three of us were interrupted.

“Whether he regrets it or not, I would appreciate it if the two of you would concentrate on your duty rather then in other ponies business.” We turned to the voice, and there stood Celestia, an eyebrow up in what looked to be slight amusement.

“Yes, Princess Celestia.” The said in unison, before they went back to silently staring at the empty space ahead of them. I was quiet for a few seconds, and then I asked Celestia, “So, what will we be doing today, Celestia?”

“Well, I was hoping that we could go to the market for a while, since I would like to see how all of the decorations are going.”

I shuddered for a second, for I still knew how crowded it was there, and I wasn’t looking forward to going to a place that would have a lot of ponies in such a small area. Celestia noticed this, however, and she said, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that we stay clear of most of the crowded spots.”

I took a big sigh of relief and said, “I appreciate that. So, if you're ready, Tia?” The white Alicorn blushed a little when I called her by her nickname, and I even caught the guard’s snicker slightly as well, but she didn’t seem to notice it, or if she did, she choose to ignore it. With a slight nod, she began to walk towards the market, with me following close behind her, putting my hood up, just in case.

As we walked, I once again began to see if I had any feelings for the Sun Princess, glancing at her a few times. She was beautiful, that was obvious, but to me, the looks were only half of what I looked in for a woman…or, mare, whatever. I already knew that she was a very wise and capable mare, which I did like, but I also like a mare that had a lot of emotions to them, and while I didn’t want one that was too clingy, I still like to help others with their problems, so that was something to look for as well. As I was thinking about this, I noticed out of the corner of my eyes a wine stall, and remembering what I promised to Luna a couple of nights ago, I quickly got Celestia’s attention and said, “If you don’t mind, Celestia, could we go to that stall for a second, please? I need to get something for Luna that she would like for a Hearth’s Warming Eve gift.”

Celestia nodded her agreement, and we both went to the wine stall. Once we were there, the pony behind the stall, which was a brown unicorn stallion with bright orange mane, notice us walk to him, and when he saw the Princess of the Sun, he went to take a bow, but Celestia stopped him before he could, saying, “Please, there is no need to bow down to me, we are just customers right now.”

The stallion paused for a moment, and then, nodding, he said, “So, what is it that you are looking for?”

“There is this wine that I was hoping to get my special somepony for Hearth’s Warming Eve, and I was wondering if you had it. I believe it is called… Cabernet Sauvignon.” I said.

The pony was quiet for a moment, and then he nodded and said, “Yes, I do have that, but it is quiet expensive, 75 bits I believe.”

I sighed, knowing that it would be too expensive for me right now, since I already spent most of my bits on Ditzy’s present, and said, “Oh, well, thanks for telling us anyways.” I went to leave, but stopped when I noticed that Celestia wasn’t following me, and confused, I asked, “Aren’t you coming, Celestia?”

She was quiet for a while, looking intently at the small rack behind the stallion, and I noticed that she was looking at the wine in question. After a few more seconds of silence, she said, “I’ll take two, please.”

The stallion nodded, and took two of them from behind the stall, and then said, “That will be 150 bits please.” The Alicorn nodded, and floated some bits from behind her mane onto the counter. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, and then realized that they need to put their money somewhere, so I guess the mane would work. Celestia then took her purchase, and began to walk up with me. As she passed me, she lifted one of the bottles out of the bag and levitated it towards me. Confused, I slowly reached out for it and took it out of the magic field, saying, “Um, any reason why?”

“Because my sister deserves to have a great Hearth’s Warming Eve, just like everypony else, and just because you don’t have enough bits shouldn’t be an excuse, so I thought that I might as well buy it so that you could give it to Luna.“

I was quiet for a second, stunned that she would do something like that, and then I asked, “Well, that makes sense, but why did you buy the other bottle.”

At this, she gave a small, shy smile, saying, “Well, I thought that after our tour around the market, we could just hang out in my room for a while and…enjoy ourselves…if that’s alright, that is.”

I raised an eyebrow once again in amusement this time, and then, realizing what she just said, she quickly said, “I-I mean…um, j-just to talk, t-t-that’s all, really. I uh…just h-have a f-few questions to ask you, t-that’s all.”

I chuckled a little, and said, “Don’t worry, I understand, it was just a little amusing to me, is all.”

Celestia nodded, saying, “Well, I’m glad that you do understand.”

I nodded my agreement, and then I did something that I didn’t expect myself to do; I leaned in and gave a kiss to Celestia on her cheek, in front of a huge crowd, but for some reason, this didn’t stop me from doing what I did, which in turn caused me to blush, along with the Princess. I continued to blush furiously and I pulled down on my hood to cover up my face, as well as the huge blush that was forming on my cheeks. I took a quick glance at the white Alicorn, and noticed that she too was blushing like mad. We were quiet for a few moments, and then, clearing my throat, I said, “Um, well…now were should we go?”

We both entered Celestia’s room a few hours later, both of us with nervous smiles on our faces. During our trip into the market, I was able to check and see if she did like me by trying to pick up on subtle clues that she might occasionally drop. This, however, turned out to be much harder then it looked, and in the end, I decided to just throw all my findings away, deciding to stick with my old method of looking them in the eyes when necessary.

As we entered her room, I took a quick glance around, and noticed that it was quite similar to Luna’s room, with the exception that it was more light based then night based, but still, it looked just as beautiful. We both decided to sit on some of the chairs in the room, placing Celestia’s wine on a table, while I placed mine right next to me. We were quiet while Celestia got the drinks ready for us, and then she levitated a glass to me. I took it in my hands, and just stared at it. I took a quick glance at Celestia, and noticed that she was already drinking from her glass. I looked back at my own glass, debating if I should drink it, for I was still technically underage, though by only one year of age. Then, realizing that I was in a different world (more like a different universe, but I digress) I mentally shrugged, and took a sip of my glass. While the taste was interesting, it wasn’t something that I would go crazy over. It also had a slightly spicy taste to it, which I actually kind of enjoyed. We were quiet for a while, neither of us saying anything; just taking small sips from our wine. After a few minutes of awkward silence, I decided to be the one to start the conversation.

“So, Celestia, what is it that you want to ask me?” I asked, trying to get to the point.

She was quiet for a moment, just sipping on her wine, and then she said, “Well, I noticed that, during the breakfast before the match, you didn’t hold eye contact with me or most of the others, and I was curious as to why. Also, when I talked to Luna after I accidently…interrupted you massaging her…my sister told me that you were somehow able to notice her nervousness, which got me curious as well, for the way that she talked about it made it seemed like you noticed her emotions in an…unusual way. So, care to explain?”

I was quiet while I tried to process her questions, and then, I began to speak my answer. “Well, this kind of all ties into one answer, so I’ll start with the first part. I normally don’t look someone-”

“Somepony” said Pinkie Pie, peeking her head out of the balcony curtains; before she slipped her head back through again. We were quiet for a second, before I said, “I swear, I will figure out how she does that one of these days.”

“Good luck with that. There are some things in this world that just can’t be explained, and Pinkie Pie is one of them.”

I just shrugged and decided to continue my conversation from earlier. “Anyways, I normally don’t look somepony in the eye because…well…I can somehow see what that pony feels at the moment, though I can’t tell why they are feeling like that; I need to figure that part for myself. It has come in handy many times before…I think.” I was quiet again as I remembered that I couldn’t even remember if I had used it before I came to Equestria. After a few seconds, Celestia cleared her throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Anyways, it kind of makes me feel uncomfortable when I do look at somepony in the eyes if I’m not that comfortable with them at first. Basically, I can look at my marefriends in the eyes, as well as my family members and other ponies that are close to me. Otherwise, I’m only able to give a quick glance, before I start to feel nervous from the eye contact.

Celestia was quiet for a few seconds, debating on her next question. Finally, she said in a sad voice, “So, you don’t trust me enough then, that’s why you didn’t keep eye contact with me. I’m sorry if I did anything wrong, I-”

“Hey, hey, relax, you did nothing wrong at all, that’s just who I am. And if it makes you feel any better, I think that you are a very beautiful pony, and I have the highest respects for you.” Apparently, this was able to calm her down a little, and she looked back at me with a small look of hope in her eyes, and said, in a small voice, “Well, thanks, Drak.”

We were quiet for a while, both of us sipping on our wine, and then I decided to ask her some questions myself. “So, out of curiosity, have you had any coltfriends, royal or otherwise?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, I wasn’t one to look for a special somepony, though I had my share of one night stands, in the guise as another pony, of course, since I doubt anypony would go out with one of their rulers, well, at least that was what I thought about, until I met you.” I raised an eyebrow at this, but otherwise I stayed silent, letting her continue her story. “When I first saw you, I thought that it would be just like any other meeting with a foreign dignitary, for that was what I kind of thought of it as. And then, you complemented on my sister’s nights, and it made me feel so happy that there was at least one pony…human or otherwise…that appreciates her nights as much as I do. And then…I heard you…’hic’ excuse me…I heard you massaging her in her room, and well, I kind of gotten a little…jealous of her, cause she was able to find her special somepony, while I was stuck with being alone making sure that everything was ok in the royal department and…’hic’…it just made me feel so upset.”

At this point, I could see the start of a flushed face on Celestia’s cheeks, which made me think that she was getting a little tipsy, for I did see her gulp down three more drinks right after her first one. I assumed that she wasn’t that good at holding he liquor. I was also a little surprised that she got this drunk this quickly, and it made me think for a second about how strong the alcohol was here. I placed my glass down after my second drink, deciding that at least on of us needed to keep a straight head in this situation. The last thing that I needed was to accidentally sleep with her, especially if it turns out that I had no strong feelings at all in the first place.

“So, two things. One, I think that you have drank enough wine for tonight.” I said, taking her wine glass away from her.

“I’m…’hic’…fine.” She said, slowly getting up on wobbly legs, before she began to fall towards the ground. I went to catch her, but she was heavier then she looked, and I ended up being her cushion instead. I closed my eyes as we were falling, and when I opened them, I noticed that Celestia’s face was mere inches away from my own, and I cold feel my own blush coming along. Apparently, Celestia was sober enough to notice the situation that we were currently in, and she too blushed, saying, “Oh, I’m…I’m so sorry, Drak, let me just-”

Before she could do anything, I quickly wrapped my arms around her, placing my hand on the side of her cheek. She gave a surprised look, and I could see that her blush got bigger as I touched her cheek.

I decided that enough was enough, and to just come out with it and ask how she felt about me. “Celestia, I need to know something. I need to know if you have any feelings for me.”

The Alicorn was quiet for a second, and then she began to giggle, saying, “What, me, have feelings for a human like you? Why would I want to be with somepony that could distract me from my royal duties, become a burden to ruling a kingdom, make me…make me feel…not alone.” She slowly began to quiet down, and I could see the beginning of tears forming in her eyes. I quickly began to rub her back in small circles to try and calm her down, which apparently was working. After a while, I said, “You know, Luna noticed that you had feelings for me a while ago.”

She sniffed a few times before she began to answer. “W-was it that o-obvious?”

“Not really, for I didn’t notice until she told me herself. She would like you to join our herd as well.”

Now, this surprised Celestia, and she gave me a look of shock and hopefulness, and then her expression saddened a little, and she said, “Well, what about you?”

I shrugged, “Well, I’m honestly not sure how I feel about you, and I don’t want you in the herd if I don’t have the same feelings for you as well. I’m sorry, Tia, but that’s just my view on it.”

“I…I understand. No pony wants to go out with an all powerful goddess, anyways.” She said, starting to cry again. She was apparently still drunk enough to forget that I already was dating her sister, who was also a goddess, even when I was just talking about it a few seconds ago. I was quiet, for I didn’t want this day to end up with her being upset, and I really wanted to help her in any way that I can, as well as see if I do have any feelings for her. Suddenly, I remembered what me and Twilight did just this morning and, with a small grin on my face, I said, “You know, there might be one way to figure it out.”

Celestia’s eyes once again went up with hope. “R-really? What is it?”

“Well, I could kiss you, and we can see what we feel afterwards.” She was quiet for a few seconds, thinking about my proposal, and slowly, she nodded, saying, “I guess that could work.”

I gave her a small smile, and said, “Well, care to try now.”

Once again, she nodded, and slowly, we brought our lips closer, closing the already small gape between us. At first I felt nothing, and I was a little worried that this might be one of the times that I really don’t feel anything, but then, suddenly, I began to feel a small spark form. It grew brighter and brighter until it became full fledged fireworks bursting in my head. I kept on kissing the Sun Princess, and she kept on kissing me, both of our eyes tightly shut, both of us enjoying the simple contact of our lips on one another. After a while of our lips just floating on top of one another, we both slowly separated, and then we opened our eyes. I stared deep into her pink eyes, seeing if anything about the way I felt for her changed, and to my surprise, it did, and I could feel a new form of love for this other Princess. After a few minutes of complete silence, the Alicorn was the first one to break the silence.

“Wow, that was…that was amazing. I never felt this with anypony else. Did you…did you feel it too?”

I slowly nodded, and said, “If you permit me, I would love you to join my herd as well, for I know that your sister really wants you to join us.”

Celestia was quiet for a moment, and then she said, “I…I guess I could, but…I’m really tired right now. Can I…can I tell you my choice in the morning?”

I nodded, saying, “I’m ok with waiting. Just take your time, there is no rush.”

She nodded her thanks, and then she slowly got up off of me, her legs still a bit wobbly. I got up myself and held her steady as she slowly walked back to her bed. She got onto her mattress, and I placed the blanket over her tired form. She mumbled her thanks, and then as I was leaving to go to my room, she placed a hoof on me. I turned around to look at her, and she said, “Could I…could I have a good night kiss, please?”

I smiled, and slowly bent my face down next to her, saying, “Of course you can, Tia.” She smiled at me, and then she wrapped her foreleg around my neck, drawing my face closer to her own face. Soon, we were once again kissing each other, and after a good thirty seconds of kissing, I began to hear her making these strange moans. After another second, she moaned again, and curious, I opened my eyes and noticed that she apparently fell asleep as we were kissing. I gave a small smile as I removed my lips from hers, taking her foreleg from around my neck and placing it by her side.

“Goodnight, Tia.” I softly whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. I saw the ghost of a smile appear on her face, and I smiled again myself, before I took my wine from the ground and slowly left the room, closing the door quietly behind me. Once the door was closed, I began to head towards my room, since it was decided before the guards escorted me to the castle entrance that I was going to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms with Trixie, Luna having to go on her royal duty that she was brought here for.

It was at this point that I noticed that the moon was already up. ‘Hmm, Luna must have lowered the sun and raised the moon then, since Celestia was with me the whole time, and I didn’t see her do it while we were talking.’ I shrugged to myself, and after a minute of walking, I finally reached the room that I was sharing with Trixie.