In every male’s life, be they man, pony, gryphon, or even dragon, there is a moment when they’re in the same room as their mother, someone who had raised and nurtured and formed them into the person that they were today, and that mother just breaks down and cries her eyes out.

While this can be over the smallest things (depending on the mother’s disposition) other times its for the stepping stones in a man’s life. One’s first trip to the prom, the first time you go to the emergency room, when you move out; when faced with these life-changing events (once again depending on whether or not the mother’s a crier or not) a mother will grip her son firmly, bury her head into his shoulder, and cry her eyes out while doing her very best to make her son as uncomfortable as humanly (or what have you) possible. And, as fate would have it, it was once again time for Velvet Sparkle to unleash the waterworks.

“Oh my sweet boy’s grown into s-such a FINE STALLLLLLION!” Velvet cried, trying her very best to squeeze Anny’s leg off as the poor man tried to get his suit on. “I-I Remember w-when you w-were such a l-little thing…”

While Anny could have said that the mare, in fact, had only known him for a few months and she wasn’t actually his mother (he had a mom he loved very much thank you) he decided to let her have this…. whatever it was. The poor mare wasn’t going to leave him alone otherwise, so he may as well get this part of the night out of the way as quickly and painlessly as possible.

With a sigh he picked her up and held her tight. “There, there, everything’s alright…”

Velvet only sobbed louder. “I-I’m going to l-lose another c-colt to a p-p-princess! I-I’m going to b-be a-all alone…”

Nightlight looked up from his paper and smiled at his wife. “You’ll still have me after everypony else is gone, Honey.”

Velvet continued to cry like she hadn’t heard him. “I’m g-going to b-be all ALONE!” she cried again, burying her face into Anny’s neck (covering his suit with tears and snot) while Nightlight deflated, grumbling as he went back to his newspaper.

Trying his hardest not to laugh, Anny carried the mare into the living room where Spike and Twilight were lounging, Twilight reading a book and Spike looking over the newest issue of Power Ponies.

“Mom’s crying because she thinks the princess is stealing you?” Twilight asked, not bothering to look up from her book.

“MY BABBBBBYYYYYYYY!”

“Yep.” Anny started rocking Velvet back and forth while patting her on the back. “Do you have any tips to get her to calm down?”

Twilight hummed thoughtfully, putting down her book and surveying the living room until her gaze rested upon Spike, who was quietly reading his comic book in the far side of the room. Smiling she hopped out of her chair and trotted over to Anny and nudged her mother’s leg.

“Mom?”

Choking back a sob, Velvet looked down at her daughter. A daughter that she had nursed and bathed and put to bed and put socks on her whenever her ‘hoofsies’ got cold and who was probably going to leave her like Anny and Shining because she was growing up soooo fast!

The poor old mare bit back another sob. No! She had to be strong! For her baby! “Y-Yes dear?”

Twilight’s smile turned mischievous. “Spike was just telling me that he was getting kind of tired and that he’d like somepony to maybe tell him a bedtime story. Maybe you could help him with that?...”

As she trailed off Spike, hearing someone saying his name, looked up from his comic. “Hey Twi, were you talking about—“

Spike watched as Velvet, now wide-eyed and with a maniacal smile on her face, wiggled out of Anny’s grasp and charged toward him. “Oh my poor Spikey! Momma hasn’t been paying attention to her baby drake, has she?!”

Spike looked left and right, hoping to find a way to get out of the way of the steamroller that was his mother. But alas, he was a short, stubby little drake and the chair he was sitting on was a bit higher than he would have liked so there was no way he was hopping out of this chair without Velvet catching him. And it didn’t look like Anny and Twilight were going to be any help since they were just standing there with smiles on their faces while they watched his impending doom.

Spike the dragon was not stupid; he knew a hopeless situation when he saw one, and it would be better if he just took it like a drake and let his end come with quiet dignity…

“Nopenopenopenopenope!”

…But he’d be damned if he didn’t give running the good ol’ college try first.

“LET MOMMA BABY HER BABY DRAGON!”

Yelping, he threw his comic over his shoulder and rolled off his chair just as Velvet leapt toward him, hooves spread wide.

CRASH!

Hitting the ground with a painful thud, but quickly scrambling to his feet, Spike raced toward the stairs, running as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him. “This is horseapples, Twi!” he shouted, his voice high-pitched in fear. “This is horseapples and I don—oomph!”

Unfortunately for Spike his little run to freedom had been doomed from the start. A mother’s love was unstoppable and unreasonable; there was no trying to reason with it, there was no trying to get away from it, all one could do was sit back and pray that whatever happened was short and sweet (though it never was, EVER). It also might help that Velvet was quite a bit faster than our poor dragon.

Velvet cooed as she brought the struggling little dragon to her chest and gave his cheek a nuzzle. “There’s my baby. You know you almost gave me a heartattack! Momma thought you hurt yourself when you fell out of that chair.”

“SOMEPONY HELP ME!!!!”

Giving him one more nuzzle, Velvet looked over toward Anny. “You have fun on your date, Honey. Make sure that no-good princess doesn’t take advantage of you.” She looked down at Spike with a smile. “Spiky and I have a long night ahead of us; don’t we my widdle dragon?”

“HEEEEELLLLPPPPPP!”

Twilight and Anny watched as Velvet, humming a lullaby, carried Spike, kicking and screaming, up the stairs.

“…Was it this bad when Shining was going out with Cadance?” Anny asked as Twilight magicked his suit clean.

“It might not have been as bad since I was still living here so mom had somepony to baby, but I don’t remember it being that fun either,” Twilight answered, gesturing him to sit down. “So... are you ready for your date?”

Anny looked at his hands with a small smile. “Yeah, I think so,” he mumbled, twiddling this thumbs. “I’m still nervous though…”

Chuckling, Twilight wrapped a wing around her friend and pulled him close. “I’m sure that this date will go great,” she said, looking him over. “And don’t worry, I’m sure that the princess is as nervous about this as you.”

She tapped his side with a hoof. “If you just be yourself and not to anything silly during the orchestra I’m sure the two of you will have a ton of fun!.”

KNOCK KNOCK!

Anny and Twilight looked at the door for a moment before the purple princess lightly nudged him. “I think that that’s for you,” she said, straightening his tie before forcing him to his feet with her magic.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Anny walked over to the door and threw it open revealing a smiling Celestia.

“Good evening, Anny,” the mare said with a smile as Anny gaped at her. “You’re looking wonderful thiswith evening.” The princess was decked out in a shimmering gold dress, slim-fitting but modest, her mane had been done up and cleaned so the rainbow mane was draped across her neck and shoulders, and to top it all off she even had a gold and pearl necklace around her neck. Unlike the dress she had worn at the royal garden party, this dress was a very plain and simple one. One could find a dress just like it anywhere if one bothered to look, but that still didn’t stop Anny from staring…. And staring…. And staring...

Celestia giggled, reaching up and gently closing his open mouth. “And from your reaction I must be looking quite alright myself?”

A blush exploding across his face, Anny adjusted his tie with an awkward cough. “Sorry, sorry, I was just a bit….”

“Distracted,” the princess offered with a smile.

“Anny, if you get any redder you’re going to pass out!” Twilight chirped from the comfort of her chair.

Celestia had to bite back a chuckle as Anny squirmed in front of her and her old student giggled in the background. And here I thought I was going to be the only one that was going to be nervous on this date, she thought, taking a step forward and nuzzling Anny’s side. Though she might have looked calm, cool, and collected to Anny and Twilight, underneath that thin layer of grace and charm was a very nervous pony. For days and days she had woken up early and went to bed with this date in mind. She wanted to make this date as perfect as their first date had been, no matter what. And, to the princess’s irritation, she found this to be a terribly daunting task.

For the past week she had been running herself ragged. She had had dresses made and remade, she had visited every restaurant in the city twice to decide where she was going to take Anny, she even went and bothered the weather ponies to make today as clear and sunny as possible, and a dozen other different (some might even say insignificant) little things that she thought would add a little more “zing” to her and Anny’s day together. And even then, even with all of that work, she still didn’t feel like it was going to be enough.

This was the first date she had set up in a loooooooooong time; what if she messed something up that made Anny hate her?!

What if the food at the Prench restaurant she had bought out for the night made something that made Anny sick?! Or, even worse, it made the two of them gassy!

Or what, heaven forbid, if some ancient foe of her’s decided now was the time to take its revenge on her! Anny would be sure to be upset if that happened!

In fact, if Anny had bothered to look at all, he would have noticed that Celestia looked about ready to have a good old-fashioned breakdown. Her wings were twitching, her legs were shaking underneath her dress, and the smile on her face was just a bit too big to be real. But the Princess of the Sun was a strong-willed, tough mare, even though she was a… little nervous, she’d be able to power through it with a great big smile!

Probably.

Now you calm down, Celestia, the alicorn thought, nervously shifting her weight back and forth. You and Anny spend time together, so there’s no need to get fidgety like this! All you need to do is stay calm and everything will work out. Everythingwillworkout!!!”

Wanting to start this date out on the right hoof (and maybe calm her frayed nerves), Celestia decided to have a bit of fun and knock her giggling ex-student down a few pegs.

“I’m sure Anny will remember that whenever a stallion takes you out on a date, my old student. Maybe I should show him where your mother keeps your baby pictures so he can get in a few chuckles himself…” That shut the purple princess right up, Twilight ducking behind her book with a blush of her own.

A smile still on her face, Celestia offered Anny a wing. “Anny, would you please follow me?”

Breath in, breath out… Everything’s going to be fine, there’s no need to get all flustered and nervous…

Though she could hear her heart beating in her ears Celestia managed to keep her serene smile on her face as Anny took her wing. Just keep breathing, just keeeeep breathing. The orchestra is going to play wonderfully, your dinner is going to be the best either of you has ever had, and at the end of the night you might even get a kiss! So smile, be elegant, and don’t you DARE fly away! Or teleport! Or a combination of the two!

~_~_~_~_~__

Though we do our best to predict the future and plan for it accordingly sometimes life likes to throw us curveballs to ruin whatever plans that you’ve made for yourself. Sometimes these curveballs can be good, even great, things, but other times these curveballs can test a person’s mettle to their utmost limit. These curveballs are the most emotionally taxing because they always seem to come right at the exact moment you do not want any curveballs in your life.

CLOSED DUE TO UNEXPECTED HAPPENSTANCE
WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE

For the past ten minutes, Anny had been staring at the little closed sign on the locked door of the Canterlot Royal Theater with his date. For ten long and quiet and almost painful minutes the two had just stood there, not moving, talking, and with either hardly daring to breath.

“…Closed…” Celesta finally managed to choke out in disbelief, walking over and pulling at the door. “It’s… closed…”

Of all of the things that could have happened on this date this might have been the absolute worst possible thing. Celestia could have gotten another dress if the one she was wearing had been ruined, she could have booked another restaurant at the last minute if something had gone wrong at that end, but this, this?!

Going to the opera was supposed to be the main event of the night! This was where she and Anny were supposed to snuggle up in a booth together while they watched a beautiful reproduction of “The Stars in the Sky”! The finest musicians and best singers/actors in the world were supposed to come to this theater to play! And it had been closed down because of the WEATHER?! SOMETHING THAT PONIES CONTROLLED?!

There had been no back-up plan for this. Celestia had went all in and put all of her eggs in this basket, and now it looked like that was going to up and bite her right in the flank. They both had gotten all dressed up and she had spent all of those long, long days planning for nothing. When faced with something like this even the strongest willed people can and will break down, and the Princess of the Sun was no exception.

BOOM!

Celestia sniffled as the first raindrop hit the ground beside her, looking down at the ground and sitting on her rump in misery.

“…It’s closed…”

She looked back up at the sign, not even noticing as the rain quickly turned into nothing less than a monsoon, drenching the two within seconds.

“Celestia!” Anny cried, taking off his jacket and throwing it around her. “We gotta get out of this rain!

BOOM!

Using one hand to shield his face from the wind and rain and the other to get a good hold of the princess, Anny led his date down the street and toward the castle, neither noticing a pair of green eyes watching them leave from inside the theater.

~_~_~_~_~_~_

Fleur watched as Anny and Celestia sprinted through the streets of the city from the safety of a building that her “helpers” had gotten for her with a smirk on her face.

Oh, this is DELICIOUS! The mare thought, sipping on a cup of tea. The LOOK on Celestia’s face… oh my the gods will that look be in my dreams now forever and ever…

It might have taken a lot of work—ponies had to be coltnapped and/or brainwashed, a good deal of magic had to be used to give what was supposed to be a light rainstorm a bit more of a kick, and she had had to stay up half of last night and most of this day to see the look on Celestia’s face when she saw the closed sign— but Fleur felt that all of the hard work had paid off in the end. The weather was too bad for the princess and Anny to do anything but stay inside, and right now they were both wet and cold and probably miserable, and Celestia had looked like she was going to break down in tears before the storm had started up.

If what her “helpers” had said was true, the Princess of the Sun had worked very, very hard to make this date perfect, so being the one to smash apart everything bit by bit felt even better. It would almost be like how the princess had broken down her and Anny’s budding relationship by getting in the way and stealing him! Fleur gritted her teeth and sat her tea cup down a little harder than she meant to. There’s no need to get huffy, darling, she told herself, taking a deep breath to calm herself. You’ve won this round; maybe even the whole war. Surely Anny won’t want to go out with that cow after—

“Excuse me, lady Fleur?”

Fleur blinked as one of the mares Jeeves had hired for her suddenly appeared right in front of her with her head bowed low.

“Did you need something?” The supermodel asked in irritation. “Couldn’t you see that I was trying to enjoy a cup of te—“ Fleur gritted her teeth as pain erupted from her skull, making her close her eyes and hiss in pain.

The mare in front of her took a step forward. “Are you alright, my lady? It’s your head again isn’t it? Here, allow me.” Fleur heard the tinkle of magic before a soothing coolness washed over her.

Sighing in relief, Fleur sunk back into her chair. “Thank you very much,” she said gratefully, rubbing her temple with a hoof. This mare should really wait for me to answer before casting spells on me, Fleur idly thought, cracking open an eye to see the mare smiling at her with fanged—no… it was just a normal cheery smile; she was just seeing things…

“Now what did you need? I was in the middle of watching something very important.”

Though she hadn’t asked her to, the mare walked over and gently pulled Fleur out of her chair. “I was just going to tell you that a few of my colleagues were going to go to the castle for a few hours,” she said, almost dragging Fleur into what appeared to be a bedroom. Why does this mare’s coat feel so… rubbery? she wondered before yawning tiredly. It looked like all of her hard work was finally catching up to her. She could barely keep her eyes open….

“And what… are you going to be doing up at the castle?” Fleur asked, sounding far off and distant even to herself as the mare gently placed her on the bed.

The mare giggled. “You don’t need to concern yourself with that, “my lady”. All you need to worry about is getting some sleep...”

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

“Why was it closed? Even if there was a weather warning it wasn’t like the opera was an outdoor event… I knew I should have looked for something else for us to do… I ruined mine and Anny’s day because...”

Anny sighed as he placed his soaked clothes into a basket and threw on a robe that a maid found that the minotaur delegates used whenever they came to the castle. It might have not been the best fit in the world and it might have smelled… odd, but at least he was out of those wet clothes.

The same, unfortunately, couldn’t be said for Celestia, who was still in her dress, with rainwater dripping off her nose, staring blankly out of the balcony of her room while she muttered to herself. The princess looked sad; so sad that she looked like she was about to cry even, and Anny was sure that her being soaked and probably cold wasn’t helping matters. What had happened was something Anny had been dreading himself when he had set up their date, and he didn’t even pretend to understand how horrible Celestia must have felt right now. All of the hard work she must have put into getting these clothes made for him, getting the tickets for the opera she had apparently wanted to take him to, and for all of that to go right down the drain…

Honestly, Celestia was taking it a heck of a lot better than he thought he would if he was in her horseshoes. If he had planned out this fancy date and the two of them got rained out he would still have been in front of that theater laying on the ground in a fetal position probably crying his eyes out. Though, to be fair, Celestia didn’t look too far from that right now...

Getting up from the edge of the bed that he had been occupying for the last few minutes, Anny walked over toward the princess with the intent on trying to cheer her up a bit. We might have had a little... hiccup but that still doesn’t mean that we still can’t enjoy tonight, he thought, wrapping an arm around the poor, sad, snuffling princess. I don’t know what the heck the two of us are gonna do but we’ll do something.

“…Princess? Celestia? Come on, it’s not that bad,” Anny said, trying to lead the mare away from the balcony and toward her bed.

“Our whole day is ruined because of this rain,” Celestia said mournfully, weakly trying to push Anny away so she could mope in peace. “I cannot take you out to see the opera, we cannot go out and have a lovely dinner together, and…” trailing off, Celestia hide her face behind a wing and started to sniffle again.

“Hey, hey! You don’t need to cry! I hate operas anyway! Yep, they’re the worst thing in the world”

Celestia’ lifted her wing just enough so Anny could see the tears in her eyes. “Oh… so even if all of my hard work would have paid off you still wouldn’t have enjoyed it…”

Though Anny didn’t think it was possible, the princess looked even sadder. “Oh shoot! I DIDN’T MEAN THAT!” Anny cried, his hands going to his head. “The opera is GREAT!... And fun!... And the food they serve there is alright?... Please don’t cry; if you start crying I’ll start crying…”

Celestia couldn’t help but giggle weakly. “They don’t serve food during a proper opera, Anny. You sit and watch beauty itself happen before your eyes...” she said, hopping onto her bed with a sad sigh. “I would have been more than happy to show you just how incredible one can be if done properly… but now…”

“Now we can do something else,” Anny cut her off while she simply magicked off her dress and threw it into a clothes basket, levitating over a towel to dry herself off with.

“Such as?”

Anny opened his mouth as the princess raised an eyebrow, lifting up a hand into the air before slowly putting it back down against his side. “…I don’t know,” he admitted. Celestia tried to look down but Anny caught her chin and forced her to look back at him. “But we can have fun while this crazy weather’s going on, right?” Taking a step away from her, he gestured around the room. “We have loads of fun around the castle all of the time!” With a nervous smile he nudged her. “And you’re Princess Celestia: one of the smartest peo--er, ponies that I know! You’ll figure out something amazing for the two of us to do like that!”

Silence spun out between them for a horrible, terrible second, and Anny thought that the only thing that he had managed to do was make everything just that much worse as he looked at Celestia’s unreadable expression.

PleaseworkpleaseworkpleaseworkpleaseworkPLEASEWORK!

Wiping her nose with a hoof, the princess smiled at Anny. “…You’re right, Anny. I shouldn’t let a small bump in the road ruin this whole night.” With each word she spoke Anny could see the strength come back into the princess as the sadness was cast out.

Giving herself a quick toweling, Celestia hopped off her bed and trotted toward the door. “ We should have more than enough to keep ourselves entertained until I send somepony down to the Canterlot weather office to see why the weather outside is running amok. I’ll be back in a few minutes, Anny, so please make yourself comfortable.” She was about to reach for the door but stopped, looking over her shoulder at him with an embarrassed smile and a blush. “And I… I’m sorry that I might have gotten a little out of hoof.” Her smile dampened just a hair. “I just wanted to make this perfect for the both of us...”

HAH!I DIDN’T ruin everything! Anny nodded. “I understand, Celestia, and I’d be more than happy to sit here and wait for you.” Anny watched as the princess walked through the door and out into the hallway before falling back into the bed with a groan.

“What the heck is wrong with me?” he asked. “ ‘I hate operas anyways?’ How was that supposed to stop her from crying?” Still feeling like a moron he covered his face with his hands. “Why am I so bad at speaking to women?!”

~_~_~_~_~_~_

Though Celestia had been disheartened, Anny’s little pep talk, or what she assumed was his attempt at a pep talk, had rallied her. And in her rallied state she had gone around the castle cracking whips and getting things done so that her date could get back on track. She sent a messenger and a few guardsponies to see the city’s weather manager (she was tempted to send another group to see where the musicians for the orchestra had gone off to but decided against it), she had the cooks whip up some snacks and a few pizzas, and she had gotten her maids to scrounge up a couch large enough to seat two people very comfortably, a pair of the fluffiest and warmest blankets in the whole castle, and a movie projector. If she wasn’t going to be able to show Anny the finest play in the world she was going to show him the next best thing in her mind!

…Though in doing so might reveal something that she still wanted to keep a secret from Anny.

You see, Princess Celestia: Ruler of Equestria and Lady of the Sun, had a rather embarrassing secret. Though it was no secret that she was an avid reader, something that had rubbed off on that old student of hers, there were a series of books that she liked. Really, really liked; easily to the point of infatuation. It was so bad that she had even started picking up hobbies that revolved around this series of books. After completing the second book her sixth or seventh time, Celestia had started to write fan fiction (under an alias of course); and publish it to the local fan clubs around the city. After the fourth book (the strongest of the series) the princess had bought every collectable, book, and nick-nack imaginable and had constructed a secret compartment in her closet to hide from her sister so every once in a while she could gaze upon her “most prized possessions”.

This love of the series grew and grew and grew until it hit a breaking point when the seventh book (Celestia’s favorite book of the series) had debuted. After that she was no long just Princess Celestia, she was Princess Celestia the die-hard fan. She personally helped to fund at least half a dozen cons, she had made it a point to meet the author of the series in person and badger them until she had an autograph, heck, she had even hoof-stitched her own outfit (made exactly like the main characters of course!) and plushies.

Celestia: Princess of Equestria and Lady of the Sun was a rabid, hardcore, and unwavering lover of the Daring Do series. And she also happened to have the newest film for the series in her bedroom, a film that she had happened to watch many, many times and would continue to watch for a long while. And she hoped, with all of her heart, that she could show Anny this movie and this wonderful collection of books and he’d love it all as much as she did. But she had to be careful. If she showed him this thing that she cared deeply and felt strongly about and got a little too… excited she might ruin this whole night for the two of them. Or even worse she could just up and scare him off. So the princess was in a predicament. Should she show Anny that she was one of the biggest Daring Do fans alive, show him the true her rather, or would she just go and find another movie and find another way to approach this subject with him?

Ruffling her feathers nervously, Celestia trotted over and carefully brought out the film reel that she had been hiding behind her desk. Now you just need to EASE him into this, Celestia old girl, she thought. Don’t recite everything the characters say, don’t yell or cry or anything silly like that, and for the love of cake DON’T bring out your Daring Do vest and hat!... Even though you really want to! Looking over to the couch that Anny was sitting comfortably, already wrapped up in his blanket and eating his pizza with a happy smile, she gulped.

…Hopefully he doesn’t hate this… Pleasedon’tlethimhatethis!

“Anny? I know that it’s not much but I happened to have a film that the two of us can watch,” Celestia said, trotting over and nervously sitting on the couch next to him, doing her best to avoid eye contact. “I’m sorry in advance if this is not your cup of tea, but it’s one of the only ones we have in the castle right now and I don’t have the heart to send anypony else out into that weather right now...”

Anny looked at the roll of film that she had in her hooves curiously. “Oh I’m fine with watching whatever,” he said casually, leaning back into the sofa. “But if you don’t mind me asking what are we watching?”

Justbreathjustbreathjustbreathjustbreath!

“Daring Do and the Silver Shackle.”

Anny’s eyes widened and a particular sound (something between a gasp, a squeak, and something a startled ferret would make) escaped his throat as he looked at the reel.

“B-But that’s n-not supposed to b-be out for a-another three m-months,” he said, sounding shaky and breathless.

Celestia wiggled uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, you see, I was gifted an early version on the—“

“Have you seen it already?” Anny asked excitedly, almost bouncing in his seat.

Thirty-seven times, Celestia automatically thought. And I’ve already checked each and every scene to see if there’s any hints at the new book. Which there are plenty of! I don’t care what the--no, NO Celestia! Focus on your date!

“…I’ve watched it with Luna once or twice when I had the free time,” the princess said, eyeing Anny. “…Anny, if you don’t mind me asking, do you happen to be a fan of the books?”

Realizing that he may have been making a bit of a fool of himself, Anny once again leaned back into his chair awkwardly coughed. “…I may have read a few of the books, Celestia,” he said invasively. “Twilight bumped one or two on me and forced me to read them because of a… thing…”

You see, Celestia wasn’t the only one that had a “dirty” secret. Anny also happened to be a fan of the Daring Do series. Not to the level that Celestia was (mostly because he was usually broke), but he could have given Rainbow Dash a run for her money. He had seen every one of the movies twice, he had bought each of the books and read them to pieces and went and bought them again, and he may or may not have a T-shirt autographed by the author of the series (aka the most prized position in his house) hidden away in a closet locket in a fireproof safe that was under a bunch of blankets. And, unlike Celestia, who had somehow managed to keep her love for the series mostly under wraps, he was more… vocal fan when it came to anything Daring Do. Almost embarrassingly so.

Celestia smiled. So he’s read a few of the books, she thought, a small, relieved smile coming to her face. Oh thank Faust! “And did you… enjoy them?”

Anny took a sudden, and extreme, interest in the floor. “…I might have enjoyed reading the books… and I might have watched a movie or… three.”

The princesses eyes widened. Could it be that she had found a fellow Do-thusiast? She bit her lip, wondering if she should just take the plunge and ask him or should the two of them just dance around the issue for a few more minutes?

...No, no… We can just watch the movie and I’ll see his reaction from that…

“Good, then I’m sure that you won’t mind watching this then?” she asked, trotting over toward the projector and pulling out the film from its protective case.

Anny bite his lip and simply nodded, his eyes glued to the film and Celestia put it through the projector with practiced grace. Alright, he thought. You’re going to have to keep your mouth shut for this movie! You don’t want to freak Celestia out!

He flinched slightly when Celestia turned out the lights in her room with a spell, but a nervous smile found its way on his face as she turned around.

Sure, you’re about to see a movie that’s not supposed to come out for months, and sure Dash would sell her house for a chance like this and it’s going to be awesome to rub this in her face, but you need to be an adult about this. No screaming, no squealing, no shouting; you’re just going to sit here, watch this movie quietly and everything will go swimmingly.

Celestia, with a thoughtful smile on her face, sat down next to her date and cuddled against her side as the beginning credits started. “Anny? Would you be a dear and pass me a slice of pizza please?” she whispered, her eyes glued to the screen.

Oh my goodness look at how good that looks! OHHHH! And it looked like they’re going to be in Saddle Arabia just like in the second book! I wonder if they’re going to have to deal with the Sultan again or

“Anny? Could you please pass me a slice of pizza?”

Anny frowned, and was about to shush the princess (how dare she talk during something like this!) but then bit his lip. “O-Oh, yeah, here you go, Celestia,” he said, just passing her a slice of the pie.

Though the princess took it off his hands, her eyes were still scanning his face. “Are… you alright there, Anny? You look really... sweaty…”

Anny’s eyes widened. StaycalmstaycalmstaycalmSTAYCALM!

“Yeah, I’m--”

The world seemed to stop as Daring Do popped up on the screen, a grin on her face and a whip in her hoof.

Oh my gosh… She’s getting chased by zebra tribesponies! She’sgettingchasedbyzebratribesponies!!! THIS MOVIE’S GONNA BE SO AWESOME!

Celestia watched as one of Anny’s legs kicked out and a low whine escaped his throat, a great big smile coming to her face. It seems that I’ve found another fellow Do-thusiast, she thought, her wings giving a happy little flap.

“Anny?” she said, placing a hoof on Anny’s knee. “You know that you’ll be my friend no matter what you do, correct?” Anny’s eyes finally snapped away from the screen and landed on her face. Oh horseapples, he looks like he’s going to have a heartattack, Celestia thought in amusement. The poor dear must have been really trying to keep from having a fan meltdown…

Still smiling, she squeezed his knee. “Now why don’t you go ahead and tell me what’s wrong, hmm?”

The princess could see a range of emotions wage war across Anny’s face before he sighed, turning away from her. “I… might actually like Daring Do a lot more than I let on… Like I like-like it.” He took a deep breath before looking back into her eyes. “I didn’t want to… freak you out or anything so I tried to keep myself calm when you said that you had a movie I’ve been wanting to see for months but I guess I couldn’t do it…. I’m sorry, Princess.”

Anny expected her face to crinkle up in disgust, but all he got was a wing wrapping itself around his shoulder. “There’s nothing to apologize for, Anny,” she told him. “It’s good to be passionate in life, even if its for what some would call a “silly” hobby.”

Anny couldn’t help but smile, leaning into the princesses wing hug. “Thanks Celestia,” he said, sounding relieved. “I don’t know if I would have been able to just sit there and be quiet during the whole movie.” A sheepish smile can on his face. “It’s just that I really like Daring Do, and I’m sure you know how stuff like that is…”

Celestia found that her curtains were now the most interesting things in the room, staring at them as she said, “Well… would it be alright if I showed you an Ahuizotl plushie that I’ve been working on while we watch the opening scene then?”

Anny stiffened in surprise as Celestia levitated a piece of pizza over and started to nibble on it, refusing to look at anything other than the window.

Pleasesayyespleasesayyes!

“…As long as I get to hold it during the entire movie,” Anny finally answered, reaching for his piece of pizza before snuggling fully against Celestia’s side.

~_~_~_~_~_~_

Sergeant Gunter growled as he and his fellow soldiers landed on front of the palace, cold and wet and miserable.

For the past five hours he and his squad had been helping the weather ponies clear up this monster of a storm. A storm that had apparently just up and made itself since nopony knew who whipped it up.

The weather ponies swore that they didn’t make it (saying something about how it was supposed to be a sunny day today) but the Sergeant just thought that that was a load of horseapples. Somepony had obviously been asleep at the wheel and now they were trying to cover it up. The head weather pony might have even screwed something up now that Gunter thought about it. The old colt looked like he hadn’t slept in days…

Well, no matter. They had stopped the winds and destroyed all of the rain and lightning clouds, so as far as he was concerned the matter was over and done with. All they had to do was report that the storm was handled and then he and his men could take off this soggy armor, warm up, and hit the hay for a hard earned rest.

“Alright everypony, return to the barracks and hit the showers. You did good lads,” the Sergeant said with a small smile.

The colts saluted before trotting past him in single file.

…Wait a minute…

Why had Private Pawn and Rook’s eyes glowed green as they passed him?...

Eh, it must have been a trick of the light; probably nothing to worry about.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

“It appears that your doom approaches, Ms. Do,” Ahuizot said as he watched the adventurer slowly sink into a pit of quicksand. “I do hope that it is… quick!”

Anny couldn’t help but giggle, tightly gripping a life-sized plushie of the blue baddie as he watched the movie unfold on the screen. It had been a few awkward minutes of Celestia and Anny slowly easing into “doing the Do” so to speak, but when they did the night only went up from there. From talking about the complex lore of the series, to Celestia showing Anny her Daring Do vest and hat the two had spent the better part of night talking, eating pizza, and watching their movie all the while just plain having fun around each other. Anny had no idea what time it was, how much pizza he had eaten, or how many times that he and Celestia had watched this movie, but what he did know was that this next scene was really good and he would have watched it a hundred more times if he could.

“Come on Daring, you gotta get away!” he muttered, his eyes glued to the screen as Daring tried her best to wiggle out of her bindings. “You have to go save that annoying little donkey friend of your—“

“Zzzzzzz…”

Anny paused mid sentence as a loud snore filled the room.

What the heck is—

Looking around to see who the heck could be snoring at a time like this (one of the best parts of the movie was on!) he saw the princess, dressed in her little Daring vest and wearing her little Daring hat and covered in pizza sauce, was sound asleep next to him, her hat pulled over her face.

“…Princess? Are you sleeping?” Anny asked, cautiously poking the princess’s side. He only answer was a snore as Celestia leaned away from him and nuzzled the arm of the couch, a sleepy smile on her face as she muttered something about artifacts and adventure.

Anny frowned. “How could she be sleeping right now? Daring’s about to escape the Bearvarian sand pits and travel to the Temple of Gloom to get the silver shackle!” He looked over at the small clock on the wall and blinked in surprise when he noticed that it was almost four in the morning.

“…Oh, that might be why…”

The princess let out another dainty snore, scooching herself backwards so she could get a bit more comfortable on the couch. Since it was a small couch and she was a big pony, she ended up knocking Anny off and onto the hard ground below with a surprised yelp.

“Owowowowowo!” Anny hissed, crawling to his feet. “Hit my funny bone!”

Taking a moment to hop around in pain before calming down, Anny walked over and turned off the film projector, his little plushie friend still held tightly in his arms. Alright then, it looks like we had another awesome date, he thought with a smile, looking over at the snoozing princess. I should probably be getting home; Velvet must be worried sick right now…

Anny was just about to leave when he stopped and looked at the sleeping princess again. Though she looked comfortable on the couch, he didn’t think sleeping on it would be doing any wonders for the princess’s back, and, now that he was up and about, he noticed that it was a bit nippy in the room. There was no way that he could just leave Celestia cold and on the couch like she was! He needed to get to her bed on the other side of the room and tuck her in!

You know, like a gentleman would!

It took a bit of time, patience, and luck, but Anny managed to get an arm under the princess and pull her into his lap without waking her. “Come on, Princess,” he said, getting to his feet with a grunt, using a hand to steady the princesses head while the other held her firmly against him. “Let’s get you to bed.

Jeez is she freaking heavy, he thought as he struggled to carry the heavy mare toward her bed. It must have been all of that pizza. And the hat too. I bet that things weights a heck of a lot more than you’d think.

Celestia let out a sleepy whinny, rolling around in his grasp. Eyes wide and biting back a curse, Anny managed to keep her from falling out of his grip. Since she was a big pony, almost bigger than him in fact, it was a bit of a challenge to get a good grip on her. So now Anny not only had to worry about waking Celestia up but if he could get her over to her bed without just up and dropping her.

Don’tyoudaredropheryouidiot!

Stumbling as Celestia once again wiggled in his arms, Anny was forced to catch himself mid-step.

You’re almost there, YOU’RE ALMOST THERE!

The end of the room seemed like a world away but Anny soldiered on, stumbling over furniture and things littered around the floor while also keeping in mind the princess in his arms. With each step to grew closer to finishing his sacred task, the burning in his forearms and the sweat on his brow the only companions that followed him on his journey. Sometimes he almost fell over, other times he had to lean against a table and mutter to himself about how much of a weak baby we was, but in the end, like all epic struggles, our hero came upon the end.

The end of the bed, that is.

“Oh, thank god,” Anny muttered, taking a relieved step forward and gently setting the princess down. “I didn’t think—“

Faster than his eye could follow, Celestia reached up and wrapped her hooves around his neck. Before he could so much as squeak the sleeping princess had him in her bed with her hooves wrapped around him, humming a sleepy tune into his ear as she placed his head under his chin and laid a wing over him.

“…”Now the monsters… won’t get you, Cuddle bear,” she muttered, nuzzling into the top of his head while Anny had a very quiet, but very real, panic attack. “The monsters don’t come out… when Celly’s about…”

…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Anny squirmed, but an angry grumble from the princess and a tightening of her hooves made him freeze.

Igottagetoutofhere!Theprincessisgoingtobesomadifshefinds—

Anny couldn’t help but yawn as Celestia gave his head another nuzzle.

…Boy is her bed soft… he thought, unconsciously wiggling himself against the princess’s stomach.

Though he should have been freaking out right about now (and he was; like a lot) , Anny found that he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. All of the pizza and staying up really late watching the same movie over and over again, coupled with carrying the princess to her bed, must have taken a lot more out of him than he realized.

…Maybe… maybe it’d be alright if I just stayed like this until the morning? Anny thought, his eyes already closing. I’ll just explain what happened to the princess in the morning… I’m sure that we’ll both laugh about it in the morning…

As he drifted off he sleep, Anny didn’t notice one of Celestia’s eyes open as she stared down at him. And, since it was dark, he wouldn’t have been able to see the blush that was covering half of her body or the giddy smile on her face. But he did feel her wing tightening around him.

“Goodnight, my little cuddle dear,” the princess whispered, giving his head one last final nuzzle before she laid her head down on a pillow and closed her eyes. “Celly will keep the monsters away…”