Life on a farm was all about routine.

The changing of the seasons, the growing of the crops, there was a rhythm to it as sure as Celestia’s sun rose in the morning and Luna’s moon at night. The last month, however, had been anything but routine. Mourne’s introduction to farm life had not exactly gone well and the reporters and photographers from Canterlot had been a near constant burden until the Mayor had stepped in and threatened them with expulsion from Ponyville if they didn’t respect the Apple family’s privacy.

Being the “royal coltfriend” certainly came with its share of new annoyances and irritations that had to be dealt with, that much was sure. Would Mac change it for the world? Nah, probably not. It had taken a while, but things with Luna had also settled into a comfortable routine since that night in her chambers. Luna often called in to his dreams when she was not holding Court. It was a chance to catch up and discuss their days, to spend time together away from prying eyes and sensitive ears, and each weekend they visited together in person, whether that be in Canterlot or in Ponyville.

Speaking of routines, fitting Mourne into the farm routine had proven to be a challenge of an entirely different nature. The prickly bat pony didn’t lack for strength or stamina, but he preferred working in the pre-dawn and dusk hours and his skills around the farm were...well, let’s just say it was just as well he was a royal guard rather than a farmer. It had taken the chickens near a week to get back to laying after that particular incident and the less said about his applebucking attempts the better. He was slowly getting to grips with things but he still required a whole lot of supervision to make sure he did the job right.

Still, for once Mac didn’t need to worry about any of that. This was his weekend off from chores and it was Luna’s turn to visit Ponyville. He had a plan for how they were going to spend their day together. He hummed quietly to himself as he assembled what he would need on his bed. Blanket, tackle box, lures, fishing rods, lunch was already packed and waiting downstairs, he only needed to load it into the picnic basket. Fluttershy usually needed re-stocking once a month so this was the perfect chance to get away from town and share this more private pastime with the Night Princess. He stepped away from the bed, nodding in satisfaction before turning to look out the window.

“Hi Mac!”

He was quite proud of the fact that he didn’t jump higher than Rarity’s cat when presented with an actual live mouse when he came near nose to nose with the town’s resident mailmare, Ditzy “Derpy” Doo, hovering right outside his window, a bright smile on her face as she gazed at him with those not-quite aligned eyes.

“Miss Doo,” he politely replied, even more proud that his voice didn’t betray just how fast his heart was beating at this moment. Seeing somepony right outside his second storey window was definitely not something he was going to get used to anytime soon.

“Got a letter for you, figured you’d want this one hoof-delivered as quickly as possible going by the return address,” she explained as she rummaged in her mailbags, only just avoiding drifting forward and banging her head on the window as she did. “There we go, got it!” she crowed as she pulled out a white envelope and passed it across to him. “That’s it for today, Mac. Have a good one!” She waved merrily and turned to fly away, swerving wildly towards the wall of the house before she regained her bearing and headed back to town.

Mac watched her go with a wry shake of his head before looking down at the envelope. He turned it over between his hooves and frowned as he saw the plain black type on the back. ‘Canterlot Department of Agricultural Affairs’. It was rarely a good thing when the CDAA got involved in rural matters, that was for sure. Best to open this where Granny and AJ could see it too. He clomped into the bathroom for a quick brush of his teeth, wouldn’t do to stun Luna with his morning breath, and then headed downstairs to join the family.

“Mornin’ AJ, Granny. Where’s Bloom?”

“She’s already out crusadin’,” Applejack gave a long-suffering sigh before taking a spoonful of her oatmeal, adding a little more syrup. “She grabbed an apple on her way out, said somethin’ about, heck, ah don’t know, was barely awake mahself. Ya know what they’re like.”

“Eeeyup,” he agreed as he helped himself to some oatmeal from the pot on the stove before he took his seat at the table. Granny Smith nodded cheerfully at him, then frowned, spotting the envelope as he set it down on the table.

“What’s that ya got there?” she asked.

Applejack looked up as well, peering curiously at the white paper. “Aw no. What does that buncha paper pushers want now? If this is another new tax, ah swear ah’m gonna…”

Mac tugged the envelope open, quickly skimming over his contents. A frown formed on his face that only got more pronounced the more he read. “It ain’t a new tax, but it’s gonna mean more work for us.” He sighed as he pushed the paper over to Applejack, who glanced down it with a deepening frown before quickly summing up for Granny Smith’s benefit. “They’re bringin’ in new regulations on the transport o’produce t’Canterlot, Granny They’re demanding more information an’documentation with every shipment. Says it’s due t’some suppliers tryin’ tah pass off substandard produce they’ve bought from outkingdom. Means more work and more paper with every damn cartload for us honest farmers.”

Applejack scowled and only just resisted the urge to crumple the paper up and toss it at the wall as Granny shook her head. “Figgers,” the old mare said simply. “Ain’t nothing in this world truer than death an’taxes unless it’s red tape.”

Applejack grunted in agreement and gulped down the rest of her breakfast before roughly pushing the bowl away from her and thrusting her chair back from the table with a loud screech of wood on wood. She swept her hat from the hook by the door and planted it atop her head. “Ah’ll be in town today, Mac. Rarity’s asked for some help with some repairs t’the Boutique, her roof got all banged up in the last storm. Ya still goin’ fishing with the Princess?”

“Eeeyup. She should be arrivin’ anytime now. Ah got everythin’ ready upstairs.” Winona’s excited barking presaged the arrival of their guest and Mac smiled as he turned to the door. “Speakin’ of Princesses… C’mon in, Luna. Door’s open!”

“Good morrow, Apple family,” the midnight blue alicorn cheerfully greeted as she pushed the door open, stepping nimbly over Winona as she did so, the dog dashing between her legs in an effort to entice her into playing.

“Now cut that out, Winona!” Applejack blurted, trying and failing to keep the embarrassment from her voice. “Princess ain’t got time tah play with ya right now.”

“It is quite alright, honest Applejack. We had a pet much like your Winona once upon a time.” Luna smiled as she picked a stick up from the yard with her magic and tossed it away, Winona streaking after it with an excited bark. “She would play from dawn till dusk if she could. If only we were all so carefree.” She let the door swing closed behind her once more. “And we must again remind thee that it is just Luna. Here I am merely the marefriend of your brother, not a Princess of Equestria.”

“Uh-huh,” Applejack deadpanned, watching the alicorn duck to avoid scraping her horn on the cabinets, her wings setting the plates on the drying racks to clattering as she brushed up against them. “Lemme know how that works out. See ya later, Mac, Pr-Luna, Granny. Ah’ll be back for supper.” She slipped her stetson atop her head and trotted out.

“Nice tah see ya’gain, Princess,” Granny Smith waved a hoof towards the table. Luna shook her head with a rueful smile, but did not comment as Granny rolled one shoulder in a half shrug and winked at her. Some things required no words. “T'ain’t no fancy Canterlot grub, but y’all are welcome t’take breakfast with us. Oatmeal’s on the stove as usual, an’we got some syrup if that takes yer fancy though ah know y’ain’t much a’one for the sweet things.”

“It would be our-my-pleasure, Granny Smith. Thank you.” Luna swooped in to kiss Mac’s cheek before she slipped into the chair across from him, her magic quickly applied to spooning some oatmeal into a bowl. “Oh, I don’t know…” she drawled, giving Mac a half-lidded gaze as her lips twitched playfully upwards. “I can think of one sweet thing I have grown most fond of.”

Mac did his best to hide his blush, ignoring Luna’s smug little smile. “How was Night Court?” He asked once he’d finished his own breakfast, pushing the bowl aside before pouring himself and Luna some coffee from the pot. “Any more nonsense from the nobles?”

“Nay, none tonight. In truth it was a pleasure for it to return to peace and quiet,” Luna replied as she ate her oatmeal, giving Granny Smith an appreciative nod and smile for the simple repast. Under the table, however, her hooves were up to things far less innocent. Mac stiffened a little in his chair as he felt the tip of her hoof sliding up along his leg, brushing along the sensitive curves of his inner thigh before dropping away again, stopping just short of touching anything too intimate. He shot her a glare over the rim of his coffee mug but she continued speaking as if there was nothing untoward going on at all. “Some reporters attempted to gain access once more, but we again informed them that all further questions should be directed to the Royal Press Office rather than taking time from important petitioners. I will admit to taking some small pleasure in the looks on their faces as they were escorted from the hall.”

Mac nodded, glancing out the window towards town. “They’re less willin’ to come out t’the farm since Mourne made his presence known here. Pushin’ farmers around is one thing, tryin’ t’do it tah a member of the Night Guard is somethin’ else.” He wasn’t about to take her teasing lying down, no sir. He shifted in his seat in turn, his own leg stretching out to return the favour. He was, however, slightly startled when Luna not only adjusted herself to press into his touch, he soon found his hoof sliding quickly towards parts that definitely shouldn’t be touched at the dinner table, and certainly not with your Granddam sitting right there!

“Speaking of our wayward child,” Luna looked around, her eyes glittering with mischief, not a trace of hesitation or even a quaver in her voice to betray what Mac’s hoof was doing to her beneath the tablecloth, “does he not join you for breakfast?”

Mac shook his head. “He mostly keeps t’hisself. We’ve made up a place for him in the hayloft, takes his meals out there most days. He joins us for dinner from time t’time but he ain’t really a great one for talkin’.”

Luna pursed her lips, giving a slow shake of her head. She was on the offensive again even as his hoof pressed right between her legs, sliding along her inner thighs to tease over the sensitive flesh that lay there. She remained on the offensive, returning the attentions every bit as eagerly with her own hooves. It wouldn’t be long now before he was going to have to either make his excuses and flee from the table or sit there and stall for time until certain things calmed down. “We sent him here for more than just physical labour. We had hoped that he would grow to know thee and thy family and understand why his initial beliefs were so wrong. Is he at least assisting thee with questions and concerns when it comes to the dealings within the noble court?”

“Eeeyup, he’s good with that.” Mac paused long enough to reach down and tap her hoof twice, inclining his head in what a casual observer might take for a simple moment of reflection. Luna hid her smile of triumph behind her mug as she took another long sip of her coffee, her hoof falling away from his groin and returning to the floor. Mac cleared his throat and went on. “He keeps an ear t’the ground, that one. He lets us know about anythin’ he hears, how it might affect us.” Mac paused a moment, then shrugged. The bureaucrats of the CDAA were hardly something that Mourne or his ‘contacts’ in Canterlot would concern themselves with. “We’ve had a couple of folks sniffin’ around the farm, hopin’ t’try and use our relationship for their own ends, askin’ me tah put in a good word with ya about their services or wares in return for a discount.”

“And what did you do?”

“Told’em that if they were that confident in their product, they should take it straight t’the crown rather than tryin’ tah get me t’vouch for’em.” Mac shrugged. “Ain’t got no time t’play mare in the middle.”

“Indeed,” Luna’s spoon scraped around the bottom of her bowl as she stared down thoughtfully into the remains of her breakfast. “We will need to speak to Mourne again, it seems. He may be abiding by the letter of his punishment, but not by the spirit of it.”

Granny Smith chuckled. “The boy’ll come around eventually, mark mah words. Stubborn as a bull, that one, but we’ll make him see the light, right Mac?”

“Eeeyup. But that’s for another time. For now, we need t’be hittin’ the road.” He pushed back from the table. “Sun’s up, sky’s clear and the river’s waiting for us.”

“River?” Luna rose with him, her head cocked quizzically.

Mac grinned. “Ever been fishin’, Princess?”

“So we just...sit here?”

“Eeeyup.”

“....how long does this normally take?”

“Takes as long as it takes. Might be minutes, might be hours.”

“Oh. We did not know that fishing was such a…”

“Yer bored, aintcha?”

“Of course not!” Luna sat up, nearly tipping her fishing rod from its simple y-shaped wooden mount. She fussed with the hat perched atop her head, snorting up at the floppy rim that kept trying to obstruct her view. Mac was laid out alongside her, a sprig of wheat protruding from one corner of his mouth, his eyes closed, face a picture of calm and serenity. “We just did not realise that fishing was such a...laconic activity.”

“Iff’n it’s more exciting fishing y’all are after, we could always head out to the coast.” He finally opened his eyes and turned towards her. “Couple o’cousins ah mine run a fishin’ boat out in Baltimare. They’ve always got tales o’some huge fish they’ve seen and nearly caught. T’hear them talk their boat’s near eaten whole every other month.”

Luna hmphed as she settled back down. “Well, perhaps we do not need to go so far as all that. You have our apologies, Mac. We, I, did not really know what to expect.” She settled back down, giving a little tug at her fishing rod, watching the lure jiggle in the water.

Mac grinned as he rolled onto his side to watch her, just drinking in the sight of her there on the grass. There she was, an immortal alicorn, one of the rulers of Equestria, used to walking the corridors of power in Canterlot and mingling with the nobility. Here, though, she was prodding at a fishing rod like she didn’t know which end was which with a look of intense concentration on her face that was both sweet and hilarious in equal measure, her star-filled mane swaying in the gentle breeze that rustled the leaves above them.

Planted atop her head was one of his daddy’s old fishing hats, worn and sagging, the brim constantly trying to slide down over her muzzle every time she thought she had it perfectly adjusted. Again, there was that strange moment where he tried to picture her like this every day, tried to see her in the simple, homely surroundings of the farm, and...the image simply wouldn’t come. It slipped away every time without fail, leaving behind only a lingering sense of confusion.

“A bit for thy thoughts, Mac?”

He blinked. Dangit, had he been staring again? He sighed and rolled back over, shifting his weight as he stalled for time, only to find the sun disappearing behind a strangely heavy starfield as she simply straddled him and leaned in close, her mane blocking out the world till there was only the two of them, muzzles so close they could feel the warmth of each other’s breath.

“Ah guess part of me is still waitin’ for the other shoe t’drop,” he admitted at last. “Ah try...ah try t’imagine us growin’ old together, well, me growin’ old anyway and…”

“And you cannot see it?” She sighed quietly as he shook his head. “And so because of this you hold your breath, waiting for the moment when I will somehow come to my senses and realise that the reporters and gossipmongers are correct and this relationship is doomed?”

“Well, when ya put it like that…” he muttered, “but eeyup. Ah wonder if this is what’s gonna make ya truly happy, Luna. Ah can’t give ya riches-”

“We have plenty of those already.”

“Or fancy living-”

“We are quite comfortable as things are, yes. You speak as if this will somehow change should our relationship progress.”

Mac frowned, huffing in frustration. “Ah’m sayin’ this all wrong. It’s kinda hard t’think with ya on top of me like this.”

“Why Mac, are you saying I am a distraction? But surely my standing here cannot be so off-putting as all that.” There was that glimmer of mischief in those deep blue eyes once more as she slowly settled down atop him, sliding her sleek frame against his broad one, her haunches wriggling ever so gently as she nestled right between his. He tensed, breath catching in his throat as she made sure there was not even a breath of light or air between them.

“That ain’t playin’ fair,” he finally found voice to whisper, feeling his cheeks burning as she leant in closer still, till her lips brushed his with every word.

“Princesses never play fair, Mac,” she breathed. “I would have thought you would understand this by now.”

“Uh-huh. Ah kinda noticed that at breakfast.”

Luna grinned broadly, shifting against him, her belly slipping against his as she teased him once again. Her legs pressed a little more firmly between his own, her soft coat teasing over other, more sensitive parts lower down as she wriggled sinuously against him. “We did not hear you complaining.”

He tried to glare at her, but it was so very difficult when she was looking at him with that almost childlike glee on her face. This, he had quickly learned, was a side of her personality she rarely got to show, the teasing, flirting mare that she truly was when away from the pressures of Court. She had become almost a different mare since after the night they’d shared together. No, that wasn’t quite right, she wasn’t a different mare. It was simply that, in Ponyville at least, she could truly be herself. “Not like ah could say “Hey Luna, mind stoppin’ playin’ hoofsie with me in front of Granny?” He muttered with a snort.

“We cry your pardon, Mac. We did not mean to embarrass thee in front of thy family.”

“Uh-huh,” he drawled. “Ya didn’t? S’kinda hard t’believe ya with that look on yer face.”

He had to give it to her, she really did try not to grin, but no matter how hard she tried to school her face into a look of contrition the corners of her mouth insisted on curving upwards. “Well….maybe a little,” she finally admitted. “Will you let us make it up to thee?”

She didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, her lips found his and all the protests, all the concerns, drifted away. For one sweet, perfect moment there was nothing but the touch of their bodies, the smell of her in his nostrils, the feel of her mane sliding against his neck and chest. He doubted he would ever tire of the feel of her, the taste of her, each kiss as sweet and thrilling as that first one on the dance floor all those weeks ago.

He could feel her pressing down harder against him, sense the tension in her wingbases as they threatened to spread over him in that oh-so amusing display of arousal and excitement, hear her breath deepening as the kiss drew out. In the midst of this tangle of bodies Mac was dimly aware of a splash from the river behind them, but it wasn’t until he noticed the high-pitched whine of the line rapidly unwinding from the reel that he realised what was going on. Snorting in excitement, he lunged for Luna’s fishing rod before it could fall into the slow-flowing waters, the Princess of the Night sliding off him with an undignified squeak of surprise.

“Hah! Ah knew there were fish here, ah could smell’em!”

“Mac! What do we do now?” She scrambled to sit beside him as he passed the rod over to her, helping her adjust her grip as she clenched it eagerly between her forehooves, her eyes wide and excited.

“Alright. This is a bit easier for ya with your magic. Ya wanna keep a nice firm hold on the rod and start reelin’ it in. That’s it, just like that,” he coaxed as the aura of her magic surrounded the reel and began so wind it back in. “Gentle and slow’s the way now, don’t wanna rip the hook out an’let it get free, and there’s no need t’cause more pain than we have to. Keep it slow and steady, don’t fight’im. That’s it. Ya just keep doin’ as you’re doin’ and ah’ll get the net and the bucket. Miss Fluttershy keeps’em in her pond till one of her animal friends needs’em.”

Luna nodded, biting down on her bottom lip in concentration as she painstakingly reeled her quarry in. She could feel the tension in the rod, feel the line tugging and jerking as the fish struggled to escape. “This is a most curious sensation,” she noted at last. “To know that there is a living creature at the end of this line, that we do this for...food.”

“Everything’s gotta eat.” Mac replied pragmatically. “Ah know some pegasi are fond a’fish. Gryphons and dragons eat all sortsa things, and Fluttershy’s bear friend can’t live on just nuts’n’berries. Still, eeyup, you’re right. It’s a strange thing for a pony t’do. Mah daddy did it, though, and his daddy ‘fore him.” Mac paused, then tilted his head towards her. “That’s his hat you’re wearin’, as it happens.”

She blinked, nearly losing her grip on the fishing rod in surprise as her hooves jerked up towards the hat she had spent most of the afternoon silently cursing in between attempts to make it stay in place. “Truly? You did not mention this before! What if we had sat on it? Or dropped it in the water? We could not be responsible for deprivin’ thee of a memory of thy sire!”

Mac laughed and nuzzled at her cheek. “Whoa, whoa, deep breath there, Princess.” He grinned as she glowered at him. It had almost become a game now, using her title instead of her name, it never failed to drag her attention back to him. “First off, this ole hat’s been sat on, trampled on, dropped in the mud, rained on, bled on, and repaired more times than ah can count. He wouldn’t thank me for leavin’ it hanging up in some cupboard at the farm. Eeenope. He’d be pleased as punch t’see mah marefriend wearin’ it, ah can promise ya that. Course, he’d be even happier if that marefriend managed t’land herself a fish as well.”

Luna stuck her tongue out at him, then squeaked in surprise and excitement as a silvery tail lashed at the surface of the water, the rod vibrating with the fish’s effort to break free. Little by little her patience won out and soon enough they had the still weakly struggling trout neatly scooped up from the water and into Mac’s net.

“If ya could do the honours, Luna?” Mac gestured to the hook. She nodded and withdrew it quickly and easily with her magic, watching as he let it slip from his hooves and into the bucket of water. “Sorry we gotta do this, little one.” He rested a hoof on the edge of the bucket as he addressed the fish that was now slowly swimming around its new, smaller home. “But everythin’ has t’eat.”

“You have a kind heart, Mac.”

“S’pose ah got a different outlook than a lotta ponies,” he replied as they sat once more. Mac reeled his own line in, checked the intricate lure in the shape of a small insect, then flicked it neatly back into the water with one smooth, well-practiced cast. “Mah daddy taught me how t’make the flies, the lures we’re usin’. Ah remember lazy days with him down by this very river, how he’d listen t’me talkin’ about everything and anything.”

Luna’s smile grew a little more sad as she tried to picture him as a garrulous young colt. The image just didn’t sit well with the often silent stallion sat beside her. “So what changed?”

He grunted in assent but didn’t look at her, gazing out over the water but not really seeing it, his expression growing distant. “After the accident, the funeral, ah just...stopped. The words didn’t want to come. Naw, that ain’t right, it just...it stopped matterin’ for a while. Took Granny remindin’ me that Applejack had lost her parents too before ah started talkin’ again. Even now ah find it easier t’listen than to talk.” He paused, and now he finally did lift his head to gaze over at her, a half-smile on his lips. “Except when ah’m around you. You make it easy, Luna. T’just let the words come out. That some sort of alicorn juju?”

Luna laughed musically and set her fishing rod aside, sliding along the grass to lean against Mac’s side and wrap one wing around him to hold him close. “You have been speaking to the stars and the moon for years, Mac. In a way you’ve been talking to me ever since my return from exile. Perhaps you’re just used to it?”

“Didn’t realise the moon was such a smartflank at the time,” he deadpanned with a wink and a nudge of his shoulder against hers. “Mighta been a bit more careful what ah said to her.”

Luna pouted, her bottom lip trembling quite convincingly. “Is that all you have to say about my flank? Celestia has poems written about hers! Sonnets! Even some rather risque plays.”

Mac blinked. “Really?”

“I may have made the last part up,” she admitted, “but the rest is entirely true. My Sister’s somewhat plush behind is most admired both far and wide. Kibitz, her assistant, regularly screens out some of the more, how shall we say, impolite fanmail that particular part of her anatomy receives.”

He stared at her and she stared back, innocently fluttering her eyelashes. “Uh-huh,” he drawled at last. “Would ya like me to write a sonnet about your behind then, Princess?”

“I’d prefer something other than a sonnet. I’ve always been rather fond of haiku, actually,” she said after she’d finished glaring at him. “Have you ever studied that particular poetry form?”

“Can’t say as ah have. Is that one of those poems where things don’t rhyme?”

“Indeed. There are many rules for haiku. They come from Neighpon originally but they’ve rather fallen out of favour these days. Modern poets complain that their structure is too restrictive, too limiting. Personally I always thought it a true test of any worthy author, to still be able to express their emotions and ideas within such a rigid framework.”

There was a lull in the conversation, the two of them sitting comfortably side by side, letting the silence fill the air between them. Sometimes you didn’t need words, they both understood that. Sometimes you said just as much by saying nothing at all. That said, there was something that had been niggling at the back of Mac’s head for a while now, a question that you didn’t really just up and ask royalty, not unless you fancied spending the rest of eternity freezing or burning, depending on which Princess you asked.

“Ah want t’ask ya something,” he ventured slowly and carefully. “But ah ain’t sure if it’s the type of question ya should be askin’ a Princess.”

“Oh my. We are intrigued, Mac. Is it a personal question?” She leaned in closer as she spoke, “An INTIMATE question, perhaps?” She sat back, melodramatically fanning her muzzle with a wing, “Why Mac, we did not know you could be so daring!” He just stared at her until she looked away, stifling her giggles behind one hoof. “We cry your pardon, Mac. You just look so serious!”

He could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks, making him stumble over his words. He took a slow breath, shaking his head. “Ya’ve got to know mah family pretty well. You know we’re pretty acceptin’ of most folks, an’the fact ya go out of your way t’leave any airs and graces behind goes a long way with the Apples….”

He trailed off and Luna’s smile faded a little as she sat up straighter. This was, it seemed, a more serious question than she’d been expecting. “What do you want to know, Mac?” she asked simply.

“Do...do you and Celestia….did ya have parents?” he finally managed to stammer the words out, his ears pinning back to his head as the last syllable left his lips. Well, no taking it back now. There was another long, long silence. It drew out so long that in the end he had to turn his head to actually look at her. She had her head bowed, a frown on her face.

“Do you know I...I do not actually remember?” she laughed softly, a little bitterly. “As far back as I recall there has only ever been Tia and I, and in later centuries Cadance and now Twilight, but…dear Mac, you must understand you are asking me to recall something from millenia ago.”

“Ya mean you don’t remember everything? Ah guess everypony just always figgered a long memory would go with the long lifespan.”

She shook her head. “No mind, even that of an alicorn, is strong enough to endure the weight of so many memories, I suspect. Now, though, you have my curiosity piqued. What else does ‘everypony’ say about us?” Luna asked. “We hear some of the rumours and gossip from the maids and guards but few are brave enough to openly ask us such questions.”

“Well… Some say ya were raised up from common ponies by some kinda higher power. God, Goddess, the Universe, Faust, Eternity, everypony’s got their own name for it. Others say that you two have always just been here. That ya sprang fully formed from nothing.”

Luna nodded, her expression distant. “I remember...warmth,” she said at last. “Tender voices, feelings of being protected and loved, but...not faces. I could not even tell you if they were alicorns or something else. Are those memories of my parents or my creators? I could not say for certain one way or the other.” She gave herself a little shake, sitting straighter. “Celestia may remember more, her mind was always the more orderly of the two of us. I have always been the more capricious.” She smiled and stroked his cheek with a wing. “But you have not offended me. With family being so important to the Apples I dare say I’m surprised you didn’t ask before now.”

Mac shrugged. “Like ah said, ain’t really the kinda thing most folks would think of asking a Princess. You and Celestia, you’re kinda like fixed points. The center of Equestria.”

Luna pulled a face, sticking her tongue out. “Please. My sister and I are by no means divine,” she paused, “though I will admit that the naked midnight orgies to celebrate our moon were rather flattering, and surprisingly good fun from time to time.”

Mac just stared at her, his mouth opening and closing like a landed fish until she leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose. “Oh Mac. You are so easy.”

Another loud splash from the water ended the conversation as this time it was the tip of Mac’s rod that jerked and twitched. He snorted at the still-grinning Princess before grabbing up his rod to quickly reel his catch in. Luna picked it up in the net and within moments it joined its compatriot swimming slowly around the bucket.

“How many do we seek?” Luna asked as he flicked his rod back, then sent the line arcing forward over the water, his lure landing with barely a ripple.

“Mmm. We’d like six, ideally. If we were fishin’ for Harry then we’d need t’head further afield for bigger fish. Lil things like this are for the falcons and eagles, should do’em a few meals. They’d be scarce a mouthful for him. Ah usually spend the day here, head back t’town when the sun’s going down. That okay with you? Ya don’t need to be back at Canterlot for anything?”

She smiled as she rested her head down on his shoulder, her eyes closing as she rubbed her cheek against his coat. “That depends. Did you bring any of Granny’s surprisingly delicious apple fritters for lunch?”

He grinned and turned to kiss her nose. “Naturally.”

“Then we are content to remain here. Of course we would be more content if there was a bottle of Apple Family Reserve in that picnic basket as well,” she added, that mischievous grin playing over her lips once more. Mac leaned down to kiss those smiling lips and nodded to a small circle of rocks in the water where two bottles were bobbing gently, kept cool in the running water. “As if ah’d forget.”

“Huzzah!” She clopped her hooves together in delight and snuggled herself a little closer to him. “Then let the fishing trip continue!”

Mac shook his head, stifling a snort of laughter. “As her Majesty commands.” The two settled into a companionable silence once more before Mac spoke up again. He’d been momentarily distracted by images of orgies, but that didn’t mean he’d forgotten that their conversation had ended without much in the way of an answer. “It doesn’t bother you?”

Luna’s ears twitched. “Mmm?”

“What ya said earlier, that ya don’t remember, well, where you came from.” He nuzzled into her mane. “That doesn’t bother ya?”

“No,” she replied. “If we had parents, they are long dead by now. If we had creators, they are long gone from this realm. In the grand scheme of things, it matters little. The fact that Cadance and Twilight both ascended from humble beginnings would suggest that we were raised up from common ponies. The question of ‘why’ is certainly an intriguing one, but neither Tia nor myself try to dwell too much on the past. We prefer to keep moving forward.”

“Ah guess part of it is comin’ from such a big family as ours, we always had an interest in our roots. Auntie Golden Delicious is the keeper o’the Apple family tree, she knows everything about everypony that was ever born, died or married in t’this family.” Mac hmmed quietly, then finally shrugged and let the matter drop for the moment. There were limits to how far you could push a princess, even if she was your marefriend. “Well, where ya came from don’t rightly matter. Ye’re here now.”

“Indeed.” She smiled as she snuggled in a little closer to him, her eyes closing as a slow, contented sigh escaped her lips. “And at this moment, there is nowhere in Equestria I would rather be.”

Author's Notes:

And we're back! If you haven't read "Dreams of Flying" I STRONGLY recommend you go and do so now or you likely won't have a clue who some of these ponies are or how we ended up here.